Latest / Small Ball with Kenny Beecham / Ranking Top 10 Contenders in the NBA Right Now

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Ranking Top 10 Contenders in the NBA Right Now · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

0:04
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beacham.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: On today's episode, unfortunately, Giannis got injured.
0:12
SPEAKER_00: One of our boys out four to six week, we got to talk about all the implications with that.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Is he gonna get traded?
0:17
SPEAKER_00: Is he not?
0:18
SPEAKER_00: What does that mean for the rest of the league?
0:19
SPEAKER_00: And later in the episode, I want to give y'all my updated contender tier list right before the trade deadline.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: I would hope, I would assume that a few of the teams that we talk about later in the show are going to make moves to maybe get better.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: So I just want to get a snapshot of what we thought, at least what I thought, before the NBA trade that line.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: And hopefully these next 50 minutes of me talking hoops can be some type of outlet for everybody because there's a lot of things going on in the world.
0:43
SPEAKER_00: So hopefully me just talking hoops could get you away for that for a little bit, and we can just kind of enjoy what we have.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: Let's start off with our boy Giannis.
0:50
SPEAKER_00: Um Giannis timeline.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: You know, there's been so many rumors, there's been so many comments from Giannis himself, you know, kind of being one foot in, one foot out.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: And in their game a few nights ago, just randomly, Giannis is running down the court.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: He tweaks his calf a little bit, he looks back, which is always a little bit scary from my perspective when I see a player get injured and then he looked back.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm always thinking Achilles after seeing a thousand Achilles injuries over the last 10 years of the NBA.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: Luckily it wasn't that, but we did find out that he is dealing with something in this calf that he announced that it's gonna be four to six.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just when it happened, I was just trying to think to myself, when was the last time we seen a player officially announce their timeline?
1:29
SPEAKER_00: Like usually it comes out afterwards, right?
1:31
SPEAKER_00: Shawn Sharani gets gets to spin on it and he's like, oh yeah, Giannis is gonna be out breaking news.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: But Giannis, like an hour, not even an hour, 30 minutes after the injury, he's like, Yeah, they took a look at it, it's gonna be four to six, which is unfortunate for everybody involved.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: It's unfortunate for Giannis, it's unfortunate for the Bucs.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: It's unfortunate for anybody that was interested in potentially trading for Giannis if he was available.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing this hurts me to say.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: For the first time in Giannis's Bucks tenure, for the first time, let me let me say it again.
2:02
SPEAKER_00: For the first time in Giannis's Bucks tenure, I believe it makes sense from both sides to cut ties.
2:09
unknown: Yeah.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: It's a weird place to be, man, because normally the entirety of Giannis's career, I've been a Giannis Milwaukee guy.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: I've I try to steer closer to smaller market because I truly do hate when a smaller market does most things right when it comes to drafting, acquiring, um, and facilitating a star player to become a star, or in this case, a legendary player to become the franchise GOAT.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: I hate when that happens.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: And then you just those teams get dismissed in a way, right?
2:38
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna watch the Bucs.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: The casual fan is not gonna watch the Bucs, but man, well, imagine if Giannis ended up on this team, if he ended up on that team, I can understand, and I haven't been in this position myself because it's been a long time since the Bulls have had a star player, one of the best players in the league, but I can understand the toll that it would take on the fan base to see every time that y'all talking about my favorite players, not about how great he is, even though you recognize that.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: It's more about him getting traded.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: I can see the frustration from that from a fan base.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: So I've hated any time a guy like Giannis's name came up in trade talks because it just he felt like a Milwaukee forever guy.
3:12
SPEAKER_00: Because the Milwaukee Bucks, we'll talk about this a little bit later, for the most part, have put Giannis in the best position, right?
3:17
SPEAKER_00: They do have a championship.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: All things considered, no matter if Giannis stays on the team, no matter if he gets traded over the next 12 months, one thing you can say is that the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis got the first championship in 50 years with him.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: So anytime, you know, with me being a smaller market guy and basically saying anytime Giannis's name came up, like, nah, he's gonna be a Milwaukee.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: It would have had to take Giannis himself coming out and saying, I formally request a trade for me to finally really think about it.
3:42
SPEAKER_00: I guess until now.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: I just hated to see mock-ups, hate to see mock-ups of like smaller market guys.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: And every time you see a trade, it's like to a bigger market.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, take my trash, I get Giannis.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: Giannis in a Lakers jersey, so-and-so in a Lakers jersey, so-and-so in the Heat jersey.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: And that's nothing to do with those teams in those markets themselves.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: It's more about the lack of value that's kind of attributed to when we talk about those guys getting traded to those markets.
4:09
SPEAKER_00: So, in most instances, I get, I mean, in some instances at least, I have no problem when a player specifically requests out of a place to end up in a big market.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: Even though I hated it in real time, when LeBron James went to Miami, I couldn't fault him for leaving Cleveland.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: Maybe we can fault him for teaming up with Wade and Bosch, even though that was 15 years ago.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: Get over it, people.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, in real time, I hated it because I was also 13 years old.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: But I understand it, right?
4:36
SPEAKER_00: The Cavs never really put in a position to really get over the hump going against some really good teams.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: Even the time they get to the finals, you look at that starting five.
4:43
SPEAKER_00: Just go back and rewatch the first finals to LeBron James in.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: Look at those starting fives against each other.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: You tell me if LeBron even should have been there.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: So I couldn't fault a young LeBron James for switching teams.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't blame Anthony Davis when he wore the that's all folks shirt with New Orleans after they made the playoffs twice in his seven-year tenure with New Orleans.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't blame them for switching teams and eventually going to a bigger market.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: But over the last couple seasons, whenever Giannis's name came up in trade talks, I just said no.
5:13
SPEAKER_00: Legit, it would have had to take him coming out and saying, I want to leave Milwaukee for me to start drawing up trades.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: But things are now different, right?
5:21
SPEAKER_00: Giannis has made his own conversations about wanting to be a Milwaukee, but he does have the luxury of changing his mind eventually.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's called out his teammates multiple times this season, and I can't blame him.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: The team's trash.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
5:34
SPEAKER_00: It's not a very good team.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: But he called out his teammates recently.
5:37
SPEAKER_00: And I was really confused on like trying to put together, usually when a team, a player calls out his teammates, you could kind of be like, yeah, that sounds like he's talking about so-and-so.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: He's talking about this guy, he's talking about that guy.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: Some of the stuff you mentioned about them playing selfishly and playing for themselves.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm just, I've watched a lot of Milwaukee Bucks games this season, and I just don't get that vibe for a lot of different players.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, it's not like, I don't know.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: I mean, Kevin Pork Jr.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: kind of always has been that type of dude.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: He's a talented guy, of course, but like he definitely looks like a more my stats me thing.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: But he also has come out with some comments about the team more than him.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: So I just can't imagine who we could have been talking about.
6:10
SPEAKER_00: Either way, Jonz has gave us a lot of quotes, um, a lot of things to think about.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: And I've said this before, I don't remember if it was on this podcast or the other podcast or on the YouTube channel.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: God damn it, I make a lot of uh basketball-related content.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: That as somebody that has switched teams in my profession multiple times, I understand the one foot in, one foot out thing.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: The first company we signed to was House of Highlights.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: It was amazing.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: We loved everybody in the team.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: We were there for six years.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say, in this industry, being with the same company for six years is a very long time, y'all.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: But eventually, we had to switch.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: We got a better opportunity over here.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: And even though I'm looking at the new payday and I'm looking at the new opportunities, and I'm looking at the like everything seems like the grass will be greener, it took a lot for me to finally tell how's the highlights I was switching teams.
6:56
SPEAKER_00: You know, this is during the pandemic, so I couldn't make a full meeting in person.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: But I remember being on that Zoom call literally in tears as I'm telling them, I love y'all, but I have to take this opportunity.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: Right?
7:08
SPEAKER_00: And Giannis, if you think about it on a way bigger scale, his upbringing, his story from, you know, being a kid in Greece to being right outside of the lottery of this guy that for the first year of his career, every away announcing crew was mispronouncing his name.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: Nowadays, everybody in the world feels like they can spell onto the Kumpo.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: You know, that's how big of a person and player he had become.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: So I can understand going from, you know, if you've watched the Giannis documentary, going from the selling purses on the side of the road in Greece to end up being in the NBA, and the first place he stepped foot in in America was Milwaukee.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: That fan base welcomed him with open arms through his trials and tribulations, through him going from, like, remember early in his career, he was playing under our guy Jason Kidd, and Jason Kidd had him running the point guard for better.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: Like, it actually helped, yeah, it's a lot.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: But all of the, you know, the missteps of him playing point guard and doing this and doing that and coming in as a felt like a 150-pound rookie to now be one of the biggest and strongest players in the history of this sport.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: I can understand, even though it makes sense maybe for him, for his future to switch teams, how difficult it can be to finally make that call.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: And I could guess, again, I don't know Giannis.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean I'm on the PR list where, like, if he drops a new candy brand, guess what?
8:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm there.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: I get it.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: But I don't, I've never really talked to Giannis.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: We've DM'd, but something tells me it wasn't him.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: It was somebody that was really, you know, in his his assist then or somebody in his company.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I don't know Giannis himself.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: But if I had to guess, based on all of the comments he's laid out over the last, let's say 10 months or so, he doesn't want to be the one to ask for a trade, but I bet he would welcome a trade if it happened.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
8:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, so so we can't point the blame at Giannis if he formally requested a trade.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: And I'm here to say, Giannis, I I just don't know.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: And I can't speak for Bucks fans, I guess.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: I just don't know if you did formally request a trade, that the that the fan base would be upset with you.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: You got the MVPs, you got the DPOY, you got the champions.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: You literally have a championship.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: The last time they did that was 1971.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: It took 50 years.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: And we see that there is not much wiggle room within this fan uh franchise to get better and get back to a contender.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: I can get actually, no, no, no.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm not speculating.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: I can guarantee if you got traded to set team, the first game you get back in Milwaukee, you're getting a standing ovation, you're getting applause, you of course get in the getting the uh the video because everybody, Luke Cornette, got a video, everybody gets a video.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: So you're gonna get a video, you're gonna be beloved, you're gonna get a statue, you're gonna get your number retire.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: Everything is going to be okay if it eventually did happen.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: But again, from his perspective, I completely understand why he wouldn't.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: Now, when we come back, we'll dive back into what this injury means because, well, there's a lot of things going on.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: So, in the 30 games that Giannis has played this season, the Milwaukee Bucks are 15 and 15.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, there was a time where they were a couple games over, but now it's a smooth 15-15, which means that they are 3-11 without him.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: It's not good.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: Four to six weeks is a long time in the NBA.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: A lot of things can happen in four to six weeks.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, in four to six weeks, we're getting past the trade deadline, which has its own implications.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: But let's say, because we don't know Giannis's healing factor, he is kind of a superhero, so it could be three weeks, it could be seven weeks, we don't know.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: But I'm gonna, I'm gonna look at it from the pessimistic side.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: It's not normally what I do and say, let's say he missed entire six weeks and then he comes back.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: Not just reevaluating six weeks, but he will be back in six weeks' time.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: That puts us around March 7th, which is a 15-game sample size, which is basically what they have sample size-wise with playing without him this season.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: Just looking on based on the way they played this year, obviously there's so many different factors, right?
10:59
SPEAKER_00: We don't really know.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: The schedule is actually kind of easy, if you will, over the next month or so for the Milky Bucks, but you you can never really tell.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: Hell, uh, Jokic went down with his injury, and I was like, nah, that team's about to lose eight in a row.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: They about to be awful.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: They're gonna be in a play-in team when he comes back.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: The team has sustained himself.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, they don't have the talent of Jamal Murray and even Peyton Watson or those dudes, but you never really know in the NBA, it's basically what I'm saying.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: There's a game earlier this season where Giannis missed some time, missed a game, and it was against a healthy Warriors team, and they spanked that ass.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: So you don't know at the end of the day.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: But I'm just speculating based on the sample size that we have, you know, of the first 40 games of the season.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: Based on how they perform so far this season, let's assume that they win in that 15 games, five or six games.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: Again, just going on what they've done so far.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: That would put them at about 24 and 36, leaving about 20 games left for the season.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: And based on the way they've played with Giannis, which is a 50 win or a 50% win team, that would make them around a 34-win team this season.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: Again, only based on the sample size that we have.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: And that's just not good enough.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: Even even in an Eastern conference that is not very good, that puts you, let's see, let's see.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: Let me just quickly try to do some um right now.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: That puts you on the outside looking in.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: Because right now in the Eastern Conference, to make the play-in, you're you basically have to be a 500 team or near 500 team, and 34 wins is not really that.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: I keep seeing these conversations, by the way, this is a little tangent.
12:27
SPEAKER_00: I keep seeing these conversations over the last however many months about Giannis and the Bucs and how the Bucs failed Giannis.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: And I can't even say this is all of the fan base that's been talking about this.
12:40
SPEAKER_00: And maybe my algorithm is just weird that I'm in the wrong pocket of NBA fandom because I couldn't disagree more.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: Like it was far from perfect.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: Do not get me wrong.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: They traded Dante DiVincenzo, a 24-year-old Dante DiVincenzo for Sergi Baca, who was basically on the last year of his career.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: You know, it has been misses.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: They they basically have missed on every single draft pick since they drafted Giannis.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: It is far, far from perfect.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: You know?
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Also, them missing on every draft pick since they drafted Giannis is the biggest reason we're in this position that we're in now because they've had shots at it.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: They've been late first round, it's don't get me wrong.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: But like, I mean, Thon Maker at 10 is really tough because I forget who's right after somebody who's right after Thon Maker that is a true impact player in the NBA.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: Oh, Sabonis.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: Sabonis is one pick after Thon Maker.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: That's a real impact player in the NBA.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, from the DJ Wilsons of the world, the Rashad Vaughns of the world, it's hard to hit a late first-round pick.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: But some teams that are in the position that the Bucs and Giannis are in, when they do hit on that, when you did do hit on a Christian Brown, when you do hit on a Peyton Watson, it just makes the window just bigger.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: Now, I said it's far from perfect uh because some of the moves that they made were just brilliant.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: It did cost two first-round picks against Drew Holiday, but Drew Holiday immediately came to the franchise and they won a championship.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to remember, do I have to remind you on steel in the Latinis and in the 2021 finals, man?
14:01
SPEAKER_00: That was huge.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: That's Drew Holiday, baby.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: That's Drew.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: All defensive team.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: Chris Middleton was a throw into a trade.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: He ended up being one of the best players in franchise history, even though they threw him to the waist as soon as his body started to give up on him.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: Brooke Lopez was brought in to Milwaukee on a prove it deal after leaving LA.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: He turned to an all-defensive dude.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: You know?
14:21
SPEAKER_00: Even Bobby Portis came in on a prove it deal,$3 million, and eventually ended up being one of the legends in the franchise.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: So it has been far from perfect.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: They've made their missteps, and a lot of them ended up being in the last whatever amount of time.
14:33
SPEAKER_00: But getting that championship is important.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: The one thing I could tip my cap to when it comes to Horst and anybody that's in charge over there in Milwaukee, they've tried.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: Even the times that it hasn't worked out.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: The Damian Lillard thing was a shot.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: And a lot of us, like me included, believe that this was a really good trade.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: This was going to be a great match for the Milwaukee Bucks.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: Dame is one of the best pick and roll players.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: Giannis is a force.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: Boom.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: It should be perfect.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: He's a 40-foot three-point shooter.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: That's what Dami Lillard is.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: It didn't work out.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: But you can't be mad at the shot.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: And they continue to try to take chances.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: Hell, they traded one of their franchise goats, Chris Middleton, and try to get marginally better by bringing in Cal Kuzma.
15:11
SPEAKER_00: And Kuzma's not a good basketball player, but it, you know, so I don't think they failed.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: I just think that they've struggled as of recent.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: And I've said it before, when you have one of the best players in the world, I think it is your duty as a franchise to do everything in your power to maximize the window with that player.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: I think that's what the Denver Nuggets have been doing recently with Nikola Jokic after them trading a 2031 first-round pick to acquire Cam Johnson.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what the Milwaukee Bucks did.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: But one of the reasons why the window for the Denver Nuggets has been wider is because of them hitting on those late, the few first-round picks they can retain in those late guys.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: And the Bucs just haven't been able to do that.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: They have been able to draft.
15:53
SPEAKER_00: I mean, one of the like it's been it's been rough in Bucks fandom over the last couple months.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: We can agree on that, right?
16:00
SPEAKER_00: Another nasty thing happened over the last week where our boy Keyshawn George was on Old Man in the Three with Tommy Alter, Balaku Libali, and Alex Sarr.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: And he just basically aired out dirty laundry that said the Bucs gave him a promise, but passed on him for AJ Johnson.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine if the Bucs had Keyshawn George right now?
16:22
SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna act like Keyshawn George is an all-timer, right?
16:24
SPEAKER_00: He looks really good, a 15-point per game score already in his career.
16:27
SPEAKER_00: And I think his ceiling is higher than that as a two-way guy.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: But Keyshawn George comes to the Bucs, he's the second best player on the team.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: And they they they passed on that to go with AJ Johnson, who was basically it's like 16 years old when he got drafted.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: And when he got drafted, we did the live draft show.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: And I wasn't a draft expert at this time, but I even recognized like that dude was projected to go in the second gang, and you drafted him right now.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: And Keyshawn George is on the board, and boom, um, he's he goes to Washington and he again is a building block for the Washington Wizards.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: So it just feels like it keeps piling up on the team.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: Before we get into why it makes sense for both sides to make a trade, can I give you the last this ditch effort I would give if I'm the Bucks to Giannis, if I want to keep Giannis around?
17:16
SPEAKER_00: Right now, the Milwaukee Bucks own the rights to the worst swap between the Pelicans and them.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: That Pelicans pick obviously got traded for Dare Queen on draft night, but it basically means that since the Pelicans are trash and God knows they are one of the worst teams in the league, that they get to retain their own pick, basically.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: Because they're too good to end up being a better odds than the Pelicans.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: So there's a world, a pretty decent world, depending on the way these next six weeks go with Al Giannis, that the Bucs have a top 10 pick.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: Right now their odds are at eight, and I think it could get up to six low-key if they are trash enough.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: So they could have the eighth pick in the draft this season, and that doesn't even account for a world where they jump up into the draft.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: And then obviously it's a worse swap, so they would still have to be beneath the Pelicans' pick.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: But regardless, there could be a world where the Bucs have the fourth pick in this year's draft.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: We won't go that far because it's like a 1.0% chance because you need you to jump up, you need the Pelicans to fall a little bit.
18:13
SPEAKER_00: But there's a world where you have a top 10 pick, almost a guarantee, if as long as the Bucs don't turn it up, it look great without Giannis.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: So you sit down with Giannis and his team and say, hey, hey, Giannis, because I don't think he's getting traded this trade deadline.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: Spoiler, it could happen, obviously, but I just wouldn't like I wouldn't bet on it.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: I think if it will happen, it will happen in the offseason.
18:31
SPEAKER_00: But before that happens, you sit down with Giannis and his team and say, yo, Giannis, right now we have the eighth pick in the draft.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: I promise you, I guarantee you that we will use this pick in order to get you some talent.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you right now who that potential guy will be, but between them having a top 10 pick this season and two tradable first-round picks, not including the swaps, we can sit down with Jans and say a top 10 pick in this year's draft is a pretty valuable asset.
18:59
SPEAKER_00: So-and-so team just flamed out in the postseason.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: And from my understanding, they're trying to blow it up.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: Forget about the rumors for the mid-tier guys, the Zach Levines of the world, the Jeremy Grants of the world.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: A top 10 pick plus two other picks in the future could be very valuable on the market.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: So, Giannis, just give us two before you officially request a trade, give us two weeks to try to tell you what the plan is.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna use this pick.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: We already got a deal set up to acquire this guy.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna use this pick.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: We already got a deal set up to acquire this guy.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: And just like that, Giannis, we can't promise that we're back into contention, but damn it, we're a lot closer now than we were six months ago when you got injured with that calf injury.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: That is the pitch.
19:39
SPEAKER_00: Is it a pitch that Giannis would believe in?
19:41
SPEAKER_00: I'm not completely sure.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: But is it?
19:44
SPEAKER_00: I think it's a pretty damn decent pitch.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: Only thing it, the biggest factor is trying to figure out what that player would be on what team.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: Who is the next potential all-star caliber player that might request a trade or might be available because your team is trying to blow it up?
19:59
SPEAKER_00: I don't know the answer to that right now.
20:01
SPEAKER_00: Um I have some speculations, but I won't go that far.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: That is the pitch.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: And when we come back, we'll talk about why it makes sense for them to make the trade.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: Before we go any further, we're gonna say thank you to our sponsor over at DraftKings.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: You may know all about DraftKings pick six.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: By now, you pick more or less of different players' stats for the upcoming games.
20:23
SPEAKER_00: So pick two or more different players into your pick set, look at some stats, decide more or less, sit back, relax, and see if you made the right decision.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: As always, I remind you to play responsibly.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: But as you know, we what we do on the show is we put together pick sets.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: Do we hit on those pick sets?
20:39
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we do.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: How often?
20:43
SPEAKER_00: What's what am I shooting from the field?
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we hit.
20:48
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
20:50
SPEAKER_00: So, like I say, I'm I'm giving you my pick set.
20:52
SPEAKER_00: You definitely don't have to follow what I'm thinking, but you could download the app and play alongside.
20:56
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: Actually, today, we got a couple banger games, if you ask me.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to start off with the 76ers versus the Hornets.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: Spoilers, 76s, our team is gonna come up later in the episode.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, this game should be really fun.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: These are two of my favorite league pass teams.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: The Hornets have been playing a lot better as of recent, and I can't stop watching 76 or basketball.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: They're always in a close game, it's always interesting.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, but in this game, I'm I'm gonna swing a little bit and I'm gonna say the rookie matchup, I'm swinging and saying VJ Edgecomb more on points.
21:25
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what Khan Knipple is gonna do on the other side, but I'm sure VJ wanna show something because right now I just saw that Khan Knipple took over Cooper Flag at number one when it comes to the rookie ladder.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure VJ wants to say, hey, he, if he's number one, I'm coming for that.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: So I want to go more, more, more, more on VJ Edgecomb's points.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: Next, we got a good old classic on Peacock.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: I love the home and home.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: The Mav Maverick, I'm sorry, Magic and the Cavs just played a couple nights ago.
21:52
SPEAKER_00: They play again tonight.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna go more on Paolo Bancaro's assists over the last couple games.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Paolo Benquero has had so many assist opportunities.
22:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, and unfortunately, his teams haven't been able to make shots.
22:06
SPEAKER_00: But maybe this is where things shift a little bit.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna go more on Paolo Benquero's assist because it's not like him not getting a ton of assists is not from the lack of passing from him.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
22:17
SPEAKER_00: It's more about his teammates not making shots.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: And now I'm counting on his teammates making shots.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: After that game is over, we got another great game over on Peacock.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: The Portland Trailblazers versus the Boston Celtics.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: Another two of my favorite league pass teams, y'all.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: Come on, man.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: In this one, I'm gonna go more on Donovan Klingon's rebounds.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: The Celtics team, they don't lose on the margins a ton, but I think Donovan Klingon on the offensive glass is still a monster.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: That's why they call him Kling Kong.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: And I think he's gonna go on that glass and kill it.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: Next, we got the Bulls versus Lakers, y'all.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: The Bulls are over 500, 45 games into the season.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of a scary time.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: What we I'm if we have time, we'll talk about Derek Rose's jersey ceremony later.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a scary time because I think the Bulls should be selling, but because they're one game over, and being one game over right now, you're a game and a half away from the sixth seed.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: I'm a little bit afraid of what this front office is going to try to do because they think they're closer to what they am.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: They are.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, in this little stretch of the Bulls seven winning basketball games, they're shooting a blazing percentage from three.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: I just don't think that's something you should really believe in.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh, so I mean, that's just that's just my opinion.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: Who knows?
23:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, LeBron James versus the Bulls, killer, killer, killer, have been since 2003.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: Just kill Chicago.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: So even in the ripo age of 41, I'm gonna take more on LeBron James's um points.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: Should be a good game.
23:49
SPEAKER_00: Josh Giddy, another half court he for a Ruin, who knows?
23:53
SPEAKER_00: And we got, I didn't realize we had three games tonight on Peacock.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: We got Warriors versus Timberwolves.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: Timberwolves haven't looked great as of late.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: Of course, the Warriors lost Jimmy Butler.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: So both of these teams are coming in trying to right the ship a little bit.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna go more on Julius Randle's points.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: It's an interesting matchup between him and Draymond Green, but I really enjoy Julius Randle's season so far.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: So more on Julius Randle points.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: So Julius Randle points, LeBron James's points, uh, Donovan Clingen's rebounds, and then oh, we I didn't I didn't realize that five.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: Um VJ Edge Combs points, and then Paolo Benquero's assists.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: That's what we got cooked up tonight.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: Be sure to tune into those Peacock games, man.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: They like they're hit.
24:37
SPEAKER_00: I cannot wait.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: All right, when we come back, we'll get back into the Giannis conversations.
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25:11
SPEAKER_00: So we made the pitch to Giannis that if we wanted to keep you around, if we wanted you to stay a for four-lifer, which I just think we need more four-lifers in the NBA, we made the pitch.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna trade that pick, we're gonna get you somebody cool.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: But here's the reason why they probably should trade him away.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: We love Giannis.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: He's one of my favorite players in the history of this sport, like 100%.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: I can't I can't like even trying to have this conversation hurts my soul a little bit.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: But Giannis, right now, is a 31-year-old big fella who over the last couple seasons have missed time.
25:46
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is the first time where the regular season has been in trouble.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: Usually he's a 65-gay minimum guy in the regular season, and he had struggled once we got to the postseason, and maybe that was the length of the regular season, whatever.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, he struggled to stay healthy when things got down to the postseason.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: It's unfortunate because, you know, maybe you can argue that the Dame and Giannis era didn't go well was because the injuries or the last hoorah with Chris Middleton and company was because of injuries.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: And I couldn't even tell you that you're wrong.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: But Giannis now has accumulated a few seasons where the injury bug did end up biting him in the worst times.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think his trade value is going any higher, but I do believe that the opposing teams that are eventually going to call to trade for him, because he is, of course, still a ridiculously valuable player in this league, that they will think about the fact that he has missed those postseasons, that he has now had a few injuries this season alone at the age of 31.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: I don't know where I land on like the conversation about how Giannis will age in the NBA.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: I don't know where I land because he's so good of a player that I don't even want to think about the idea of him not playing as well as he has over the last seven, eight, nine, ten years.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: But I think it is something that the opposing teams will have to have the conversation of.
27:00
SPEAKER_00: I think they're gonna have to do the risk reward of it all.
27:03
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you believe that even if even if you're on the side that Giannis will not age as gracefully as some of the other people across NBA history, that you can argue with yourself, if we get two years of Giannis being an MVP caliber player, which is what he still is, then they may be worth the next four years and the next three years of him maybe not being that.
27:21
SPEAKER_00: And it feels weird to say this after him being first time NBA last season, the year before that, the year before that, the year before that, the year before that, the year before that, and second team the year before that.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: So it's it's not as though it has really prevented him from being the top two to three player in the world.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: But again, these lower extremity injuries can be scary at times.
27:40
SPEAKER_00: So I I I also, even though I gave you the pitch of how you could try to maybe convince Giannis, I still, depending on who the player is, I would assume that that's still not enough to get over the hump to win a championship.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: So maybe it does make a little bit more sense to try to go out there and inquire some assets for Giannis.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: It's sad to say, it hurts to say, because again, Giannis feels like a Milwaukee forever guy.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: Y'all let me know.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: Hit me up on Twitter, hit me up in the comment section, whatever you may need, the Spotify comments.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: Let me know what you think about the whole Giannis thing.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think that majority of fans, outside fans of Milwaukee, would say, yeah, it makes sense to make that trade.
28:18
SPEAKER_00: But again, like I mentioned earlier, I understand from the fan base perspective that maybe you just don't give a damn about them not being a contender over the next couple seasons because Giannis is your guy.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: And I can't even say you're wrong because I've been there on a less lesser scale with Derrick Rose.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: Y'all want to get into the updated contender tier list, y'all.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, these are the teams in the specific order that I believe are the contenders across basketball.
28:40
SPEAKER_00: You know, um, I made it a round number.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: And you know why this is funny because I made fun of Stephen A.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: Smith the first time I talked to him about the round number thing.
28:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, because before I before I had met him, he had done a piece on his show, First Take, where he was like, these are the five players with the most pressure.
28:59
SPEAKER_00: And number four and number five, in my personal opinion, I remember who it was at the time, in my personal opinion, shouldn't been on the list at all.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if he watched my video or his team watched my video and told him about it.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: He said, All right, Kenny, you give me your top five there.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: You give me your top five since you think it's so easy.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: And I told him, I don't live in a world of round numbers.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: It's not important for me to get to five or to 10 because I'm a YouTuber.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: Nobody can, if I made a video right now to say, these are the seven best contenders across basketball, nobody's gonna be like seven while I ain't gonna ten.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: But on TV, it makes sense to go a little bit around.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: And now I guess I'm being a hypocrite because I got to 10, even though I don't believe there's 10 teams that can win a championship this season.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: But I do have 10 teams on my list.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: Number 10 team, maybe it's because I want to talk about this team.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: I ain't gonna lie.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: Number 10 team on my list is the aforementioned Philadelphia 76ers.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: Now, right now the 76ers are 24 and 20.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: That don't sound like a contention team.
29:53
SPEAKER_00: They don't have any advanced stats that make you believe that there's a world where they could win four playoff series.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: But I can't quit the team.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: I can't quit the team, man.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: The way Jordan Bede has played month to month, the way Jordan Bead has looked over the last just say week and a half, two weeks of Sylam.
30:09
SPEAKER_00: He had a game the other night, and this was their overtime win, a game that shouldn't have gone to overtime, by the way, because it should have ended the regulation because Tyrese Maxie got goaltended.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: In that game, he played 46 minutes, y'all.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: Talk to me.
30:23
SPEAKER_00: I didn't think he had a 46-minute game in his bag.
30:26
SPEAKER_00: That's the second time this season where he's played 40 plus minutes.
30:28
SPEAKER_00: The other time was also an overtime game in Denver that they lost by one point.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: But he played 40 plus minutes in it and he looked as dominant as a normal Joel Lambiad would be.
30:39
SPEAKER_00: So I can't quit this team, mostly because I still believe there's a world where Joel Lambi can go into a playoff series and say, I'm the best mother here, and nobody can mess with me.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: He had an internet beef with Alprin Shangun.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: It had nothing to do with Alprin Shagun himself.
30:56
SPEAKER_00: It's because Fourcon Corkmos was not, I can't even say talking trash.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: I think Forkon Cork was so let me set the stage for you.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: Fourcon Korkmoss was asked about the best center he's played with.
31:05
SPEAKER_00: And he said, after playing with the Turkish national team, that Alprin Shangun's the best player that I ever played with, right?
31:10
SPEAKER_00: The best center, I think he said specifically, the best center I ever played with.
31:13
SPEAKER_00: Fourcon Quorkmoss, if you don't know, let me let me just let me make sure I get my numbers right.
31:18
SPEAKER_00: Fourcon Corkmos played seven years in the NBA, all of them with the 76ers, right?
31:24
SPEAKER_00: All of them with Joel Lambian on the team.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: So Joel Lambi being his former teammates, probably like, this this guy, you, this is the guy you said is the best center you ever played when you play with me.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: I won MVP with you on my team, buddy.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna look at Alpra Shangun as food.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: And he did.
31:41
SPEAKER_00: Oh man, I love what Joel Lambi could get out there and troll a little bit.
31:44
SPEAKER_00: And he did that, got to Instagram.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: He he shouted out for cotton Corkmas on IG.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: So those are the type of moments that get me up there.
31:50
SPEAKER_00: And and I we ain't even mentioned Tyrese Max, who legitimately is the best player on the team right now.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: How he now has a sample size that we can say through the first however many games of his playoff career, he he could literally just be a guardable.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: I vividly remember the game in Master Square Garden where the game was over.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: Tyrese Max hit the four-point play on, I think it was Mitchell Robinson, and then they ended up uh going to OT in that game.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: I I don't remember if they won that game.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: But that like Tyrese Maxie is just a killer.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: And if Joel and B can just give you 90, 80% of the what we normally can see from him, obviously in the postseason, the games are more spread out a little bit more.
32:25
SPEAKER_00: So now he got a little extra rest.
32:27
SPEAKER_00: Paul George is playing ridiculous level defense.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: It's unfortunate that he's making so much money because I think it kind of gets lost in the conversation about what Paul George has been this season.
32:36
SPEAKER_00: He's done everything you could have imagined for the team outside of being a top whatever score like he was a few years ago.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: VJ is incredible.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: And I'm always scared of rookie players when they get to the postseason because you never know how it's gonna go.
32:49
SPEAKER_00: The game of speed is a little bit different.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: Rookie wall, yada yada yada.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: Um they have enough depth and talent where like even if VJ's not the supernova version of himself that he's been so far this season, I still think there's a chance where this team can be kind of sneaky.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think it would help if Quentin Grimes woke the hell up, started off the season pretty good the last week or two.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: I ain't been looking too great.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: It would be great if Jared McCain was still looking great, because oh my, if if this team had last year's version of Jared McCain, come on.
33:16
SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of time to say on the number 10 team, but I'm impressed, even if they're five and five in their last 10, even if the advanced stats don't love them.
33:24
SPEAKER_00: It's something about this team that I cannot quit.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: Number nine on my list, don't look now.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: The Cleveland Cavaliers have won 10 of their last 14 games.
33:34
SPEAKER_00: The defense is looking as normal as it will as good as it did last season, and they're slowly putting it together.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: They are slowly, and I mean slowly putting it together as of right now.
33:44
SPEAKER_00: They're the five seed, but two games behind the two seed.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that this team could get to where we thought they could be the start of the season.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think some people may have saw them as a one-seed, but in the two seed conversation.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: And this is with, you know, they just had a three games and four nights type of thing.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: And it's so easy to lose that last game and three games and four nights.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no, no.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: Diamond Mitchell started off really slow in that first half, second half, he was supernova.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: Lonzo Ball got a DMP the night before and said, no, I'm here to provide some value, some energy.
34:13
SPEAKER_00: Same thing with Thomas Bryant.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, and this is them without Darius Garland.
34:17
SPEAKER_00: This is them still without Max Stru.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: So, like, I could I can see it.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm back.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm back on the bandwagon just a little bit when it comes to the Cavs.
34:25
SPEAKER_00: The only problem is some of the losses they do end up getting, they're to like teams.
34:29
SPEAKER_00: It's like, how did y'all y'all lost to the Jazz?
34:32
SPEAKER_00: I know Larry Marking and played that game, and when the Jazz have Larry Marking and they're just a different team, but you lost to the Jazz.
34:38
SPEAKER_00: Their upcoming schedule is a little bit tougher, though.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: So we'll see what ends up going.
34:41
SPEAKER_00: Like I mentioned, they got Orlando, um, they got LA, they got Phoenix.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: I as of right now, I don't know what the Devin Booker timeline is or the Jalen Green timeline, but who knows what that game's gonna look like.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: They got Portland, they got LA.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: So, like, they got a little tough stretch here, and they're gonna tell us a lot about who they are as a team, but they're slowly getting back to it.
34:59
SPEAKER_00: Evan Mobley had a game where he took 20 plus shots.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: I need that almost on the nightly, Evan, even if it's not the most efficient basketball.
35:06
SPEAKER_00: We need to see it.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: When we come back, we'll go through eight through one.
35:17
SPEAKER_00: Number eight on my list is the Boston Celtics.
35:20
SPEAKER_00: Now, Celtics fans, before you come at me and say, Kenny, that's way too low.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: We have one of the best net ratings, if not the best net rating.
35:25
SPEAKER_00: No, this second, because obviously, okay, she exists.
35:28
SPEAKER_00: The second best net rating in all the basketball.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: What are you not seeing about a team to have us at number eight?
35:31
SPEAKER_00: Hey, Kenny, we got Jason Tatum coming back.
35:34
SPEAKER_00: Reminder, don't you forget Jason Tatum's coming back after the all-star break by all reports?
35:38
SPEAKER_00: And I understand it.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: I completely understand it.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: I still believe in this again.
35:43
SPEAKER_00: This is just a snapshot of what I feel right now.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: Ask me again in a month, maybe a number three, maybe a number two, maybe off the list.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
35:49
SPEAKER_00: But as I watch this team, I still think there's something missing.
35:53
SPEAKER_00: Maybe what's missing is Jason Tatum.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: But I keep trying to like pump the brakes.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: I feel like most people feel this way too, but like for that small percentage of people who say, like, we can't Jason Tatum back.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: We're back.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: Like, I want to pump the brakes just a little bit.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: I just don't believe that Tatum is gonna come back and look like an all-NBA first team player, which is what he was for the last however many seasons.
36:11
SPEAKER_00: But I got y'all a number eight.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, oh, we did we did the whole thing about the Celtics maybe like a few episodes ago, and I was telling you how I was trying to explain Missoula Ball to my to one of my homies, right?
36:22
SPEAKER_00: Uh the social team clipped that up, they put it up on social, and the comment section helped me a ton.
36:27
SPEAKER_00: So I want to say thank y'all to the comment section because y'all basically explained Missoula Ball to a T.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: And I did hit my boy up.
36:33
SPEAKER_00: I actually called him, I FaceTimed him about it afterwards.
36:36
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't know if he was still asking or cared about what Missoula Ball was, but I did to explain to him.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: Mozula ball is, of course, getting up a lot of three-pointers, but more than anything, it's about winning on those margins, winning the rebound to battle, don't turn the ball over, yada yada yada.
36:49
SPEAKER_00: And obviously that is a recipe for success.
36:50
SPEAKER_00: As you can see, even though Kevin Hurdish's game they asked two nights ago.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Kevin Herter.
36:55
SPEAKER_00: Number seven on my list, Houston Rockets.
36:58
SPEAKER_00: Ooh.
37:00
SPEAKER_00: Rockets, the Rockets, the Rockets.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: What can I say?
37:02
SPEAKER_00: Another team that like they give you sometimes weeks at a time.
37:07
SPEAKER_00: You're like, oh, snap.
37:08
SPEAKER_00: The advantage to be top five and offense and defense, Kenny, what do you what is what are they what are we missing for you not to see us as one of the top even five contenders across basketball?
37:19
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
37:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
37:24
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
37:24
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: It's obviously a very, very good team.
37:27
SPEAKER_00: You know what it is?
37:27
SPEAKER_00: You know what it is.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: This is what it is, actually.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: I do know.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: I figured it out in the last three seconds.
37:32
SPEAKER_00: The offensive identity scares the hell out of me in the postseason.
37:36
SPEAKER_00: We talked about this before.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, it's got better now that Kevin is on the team.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: But 90% of their identity is getting like rebounding their own misses and getting second chance opportunities.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: And it scares me to think about a seven-game series where that is as important as anything in your offense.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: Could it work?
37:54
SPEAKER_00: It almost did against the Warriors last season, right?
37:57
SPEAKER_00: Like there's a world where this could work, but could it work for four straight series?
38:00
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: So though I still have some stock in them being contenders, I'm not saying they're on the outside looking in.
38:06
SPEAKER_00: I just have them a little bit lower on the list, maybe they consensus.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: That's all.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, I will say I've been loving Kevin Durant.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: We talked a lot about how the Phoenix Suns were unwatchable last season.
38:19
SPEAKER_00: This is the polar opposite of that.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: God damn, Kevin Durant is so good at basketball.
38:24
SPEAKER_00: You kind of forget because that team was so trash last season.
38:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm loving everything about Kevin's season, from the defense to the not missing any shots ever to just being a fun follower on Twitter and everything.
38:35
SPEAKER_00: So, Kevin, you already know this.
38:37
SPEAKER_00: Love you.
38:38
SPEAKER_00: One of my goats.
38:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, number six on the list is the Minnesota Timbulls.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: It may feel weird to put this here because they are on the four-game loser streak and they lost to some bad teams, including the Chicago Bulls.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: They struggle to close games as they have basically over the last three seasons.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: All of their recent losses are by less than five points, which is nuts to say aloud.
38:54
SPEAKER_00: A four-game loser streak where every game was by two possessions is crazy.
38:58
SPEAKER_00: That's the reality of the Minnesota Timbows.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: But I do like a lot of things about this team.
39:04
SPEAKER_00: I do believe that this is a team that will try to be pretty active on the deadline.
39:07
SPEAKER_00: Again, maybe again as a snapshot before, but afterwards, after the trade deadline, maybe they get higher, maybe they get lower.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but Anthony Eritts, Rudy Gobier in the back end, Julius Randle just having a sneakily amazing season.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: Jaden McDay.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: The list goes on and on about guys that I really like and trust.
39:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, but when it stops, it really stops.
39:25
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
39:26
SPEAKER_00: You know, you have some of those players like I do kind of trust them.
39:28
SPEAKER_00: They don't got a lot of those guys.
39:30
SPEAKER_00: They got guys either I really trust completely or I just don't trust at all.
39:33
SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of a scary place to be.
39:35
SPEAKER_00: And some of those players that I don't trust at all might have to get playoff minutes.
39:38
SPEAKER_00: So boom.
39:38
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but they're number six.
39:39
SPEAKER_00: Number five is the Spurs.
39:43
SPEAKER_00: Kenny with the two seed.
39:45
SPEAKER_00: What else do we have to do?
39:47
SPEAKER_00: I think you gotta earn some stripes.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: I think that's what it boils down to.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: I do believe there's a chance.
39:52
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I got you on this list for a reason.
39:53
SPEAKER_00: You're number five.
39:54
SPEAKER_00: I do think there's a chance.
39:55
SPEAKER_00: But the more I watch and the more I think about it, I just find it hard to believe a team with zero play, well, not zero, because De'Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes are here and they have playoff series under their belt.
40:06
SPEAKER_00: But for the most part, let's say 90% of the roster, um, and Luke Cornett's here, obviously NBA champion, but 90% of the roster has no playoff experience.
40:16
SPEAKER_00: Three of the top five guys on the team are either a rookie, a sophomore year player, or a third-year player.
40:22
SPEAKER_00: It's just scary.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: And maybe Wemby is so much of an alien that none of that will matter in the grand scheme of things.
40:29
SPEAKER_00: But I do feel like you have to earn your stripes.
40:31
SPEAKER_00: I do feel like you got to get into the postseason.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: You got to get punched in the nose before you figure out who you are as a team truly, and we find out if you are a team that can win a championship.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: And I feel like this is a team that can get out of the first round, can get out of the second round, but eventually they need to get punched in the face, punched in the nose for us to really know what the team is truly about.
40:49
SPEAKER_00: Number four on my list is the Knicks.
40:54
SPEAKER_00: I flip flopped between them and Detroit a hundred times.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: The Knicks just had two great wins.
40:59
SPEAKER_00: The game where they held the Brooklyn Nets at 66 points.
41:03
SPEAKER_00: And then the game they went into, is it still called Wells Fargo in Philly?
41:07
SPEAKER_00: They went into Wells Fargo and got a win.
41:09
SPEAKER_00: Um were basically their big fella.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm not gonna talk about it.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: Um this team has the highest potential to jump up, obviously.
41:18
SPEAKER_00: They just came off that one stretch where they didn't even look like an NBA team.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: So they're they're a wishy-washy team, but I do think it says a lot about these last this team over these last two games.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: They were able to put together a dominant performance and sneak, not won't use the word sneak out a win, but a clutch win against a good 76er team.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, I still think they got I got a lot of sock in them being a championship contender.
41:38
SPEAKER_00: But as of today, I do have the Detroit Pistons one spot higher than them by maybe 1%.
41:43
SPEAKER_00: Like I've been flip-flopping like crazy.
41:45
SPEAKER_00: Um, a lot of things that I don't love about this Detroit Pistons team, but the thing that I love the most is that it just reminds me of when I was a kid.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: It reminds me of some grinded out 89 to 87 games.
41:58
SPEAKER_00: Like, that's how good of a defensive team they are.
42:00
SPEAKER_00: And even though their supporting cast is the best around Cade, they still do find ways, right?
42:06
SPEAKER_00: It ain't like over the last couple week or so, go look at Kate's numbers.
42:09
SPEAKER_00: It ain't like he's playing like an all-NBA first-team player as of right now.
42:13
SPEAKER_00: And they still have been able to get wins when Cade can have a 12-point performance and not as efficient as he normally would be.
42:19
SPEAKER_00: And that means something.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: That has to mean something.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: That we keep seeing like Duncan Robertson hitting five threes in a game on three nights in a row, or, you know, um Jalen Durin in the game where Kay Cunningham doesn't play is getting the ball off the rim and going coast to coast and so on and so forth.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: Again, I will say I would love for this team to go out there and make a move.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: But even if they didn't, I still think they're a championship contender.
42:42
SPEAKER_00: Number two on my list is the Denver Nuggets.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, and as you can imagine, OKC's number one.
42:49
SPEAKER_00: The Denver Nuggets, I think the gap between the Denver Nuggets and OKC is not as large now as it was in my mind a month ago.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: Seeing a guy like Peyton Watson, seeing, you know, Aaron Gordon come back, even though I'm pretty sure he got re-injured in their game yesterday.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: So I'm hoping to hear good news about that.
43:05
SPEAKER_00: Peyton Watson, Jamal Murray should be a first-time all-star.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: Even a guy like Zignaji, who was unplayable for the first however many years of his career, even though he got that$32 million contract, he looks like a genuine NBA player.
43:17
SPEAKER_00: And for the first time in the Jokic era, outside of their champ, their first championship run, I can say that this team has genuine depth behind it.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: And that just hasn't been the case.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: Tim Hardaway Jr.
43:28
SPEAKER_00: is like a sixth-man of the year candidate.
43:29
SPEAKER_00: He comes in, he's a flamethrower.
43:31
SPEAKER_00: He always has been.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: And if there's any true threat to OKC this season, as easily as Denver, and honestly, with health, when that if that series did happen, I'm thinking about it.
43:41
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I'm thinking about it much when OKCs goes against any other team in the Western Conference.
43:45
SPEAKER_00: That's one where I'm like, I gotta really sit down and think about it.
43:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then again, in my number one spot, we do have the OKC Thunder, who did have the little stretch where they weren't looking like a champion.
43:55
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm sorry, they weren't looking like the greatest team of all time, six and six and twelve.
43:59
SPEAKER_00: They just lost their.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Ninth game, if I'm not mistaken.
44:01
SPEAKER_00: So dang it.
44:03
SPEAKER_00: The likelihood of them winning the rest of the games this season is pretty low.
44:08
SPEAKER_00: So greatest team of all time.
44:09
SPEAKER_00: Out the window, out the dough.
44:12
SPEAKER_00: But this team is still incredible.
44:13
SPEAKER_00: The defense is still incredible.
44:15
SPEAKER_00: They do have like the Pacers loss a few nights ago showcase to you how bad their offense could be on any given night where Shea can have 50 and it still doesn't matter because nobody else on the team could throw a rock in the ocean.
44:30
SPEAKER_00: But that's, I don't know.
44:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if that's enough for me to be ultra biased, like some people may be asking for them, since the gap between them and the rest of the league is not that crazy.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: Still love watching this team play.
44:40
SPEAKER_00: Still think uh Shay is the MVP of the league and one of the greatest players ever.
44:47
SPEAKER_00: Full stop.
44:48
SPEAKER_00: I just think he's one of the greatest players ever.
44:49
SPEAKER_00: And anybody denying that it's not really locking in to what they should uh be locking into.
44:53
SPEAKER_00: Um but they had a really good stretch where they went against on two back-to-back games.
44:58
SPEAKER_00: They beat the San Antonio Spurs after the Spurs kicked they ass three three times in a row and then went into Houston and won in Houston.
45:05
SPEAKER_00: And like those are pretty dominant wins that kind of showcase that, like, hey, we still got a lot that we can do.
45:11
SPEAKER_00: The game of the shade missed, they only lost by two.
45:13
SPEAKER_00: So, like, still my favorite to win the championship.
45:16
SPEAKER_00: When we come back, talk Derrick Rose jersey ceremony.
45:25
SPEAKER_00: So Derrick Rose's jersey went up in the rafters in the United Center.
45:29
SPEAKER_00: One of five players in Bull's history to um get their jersey retired.
45:35
SPEAKER_00: And it was an emotional night, man.
45:38
SPEAKER_00: I was there last year when we had Derrick Rose Day, where it was just like giving the flowers to Rose.
45:44
SPEAKER_00: Oh, look at that.
45:45
SPEAKER_00: Gave Derek Rose's flowers.
45:46
SPEAKER_00: And that was an emotional day.
45:48
SPEAKER_00: And I was not in attendance for his jersey.
45:51
SPEAKER_00: I wish I would have been able to, but I had another obligation last night that I couldn't really um get out of.
45:57
SPEAKER_00: Even if I, I mean, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
45:58
SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to get out of it.
45:59
SPEAKER_00: It was for my daughter.
46:00
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
46:01
SPEAKER_00: Like, I I I personally valued my daughter's party over the Derrick Rose ceremony.
46:06
SPEAKER_00: It was, I wasn't trying to get out of it.
46:08
SPEAKER_00: I worded that really weird.
46:10
SPEAKER_00: I would stay at home with my kids 100% of the time.
46:13
SPEAKER_00: All right, cool.
46:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, but we did watch it on TV.
46:17
SPEAKER_00: And I was thinking about what it meant in real time to be there last year on his day and how emotional I got.
46:25
SPEAKER_00: You know, um, Derek Rose is truly a Chicago icon.
46:29
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think people outside of Chicago would truly understand that, right?
46:34
SPEAKER_00: Because even with his jersey's retirement, I I'm not a comment section looker often, but there were people like he didn't do like he won an MVP, but like that's it.
46:44
SPEAKER_00: And it's a lot deeper than just being an MVP.
46:47
SPEAKER_00: It's what he did for the city, it's what it's what he did for the people, the belief that he gave is the dude on the south side with with no priors to like anything, like like it be dirt poor, can end up being an icon.
47:05
SPEAKER_00: And that's important for the kids.
47:08
SPEAKER_00: It's important for the kids, man.
47:10
SPEAKER_00: Growing up, I don't, I don't, I guess I didn't think about it much, but I I didn't I didn't think there was a world where I could be beloved by millions.
47:18
SPEAKER_00: Dear Gross gives you the idea that it doesn't matter where you're from in this city.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: You put your nose down, you stay out of trouble, and and and you go to work, great things can happen.
47:29
SPEAKER_00: And one thing that that stuck with me from the time I was there last year is when he's talking to his oldest son, PJ.
47:36
SPEAKER_00: And um, first of all, anytime something like this happens and Derek was talking to kids, I'm I'm boo-hoo crying.
47:41
SPEAKER_00: I boohoo cried at Taj Gibson last night too.
47:44
SPEAKER_00: He asked his son, do you want to be good or do you want to be great?
47:51
SPEAKER_00: He was putting it on a simple scale, not like, do you want to be in the NBA?
47:54
SPEAKER_00: Do you want to be an NBA GOAT?
47:55
SPEAKER_00: Even though I think he has NBA aspirations.
47:57
SPEAKER_00: It was the small things.
47:58
SPEAKER_00: And I truly think that in parenting, that is so important.
48:02
SPEAKER_00: He he broke it down to like taking the garbage out.
48:05
SPEAKER_00: Do you want to be good or do you want to be great?
48:07
SPEAKER_00: And how how these minuscule tasks can help you be great outside of good.
48:12
SPEAKER_00: Doing it when you're asked to do it, or how you do the small, the the way you clean the bathroom.
48:18
SPEAKER_00: Do you want to be good?
48:18
SPEAKER_00: Do you want to be great?
48:20
SPEAKER_00: Because you can be good and the bathroom looks clean, or you can be great and the bathroom is clean.
48:26
SPEAKER_00: And it's just, I think one of the reasons I get emotional is obviously my formative years is me watching Derrick Rose, Todd Gibson, Joe K.
48:34
SPEAKER_00: Noah, Lual Dang, Booze Cruz, all of these dudes.
48:37
SPEAKER_00: Luke Ritt, not Luke Ridd, uh Kirk Heinrich, Tom Thibodeau, uh Jimmy Butler, Bink Gordon.
48:43
SPEAKER_00: The list goes on and on watching these dudes and falling in love with the game of basketball because of these dudes.
48:48
SPEAKER_00: So it's that.
48:50
SPEAKER_00: But it's also, again, being from a kid from Chicago, I saw Derrick Rose as a high school person.
48:58
SPEAKER_00: I saw him in Memphis.
48:59
SPEAKER_00: I saw him the first couple years of his career.
49:01
SPEAKER_00: And I mean this as a compliment.
49:03
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, if this ever got to Derek, this is not, he doesn't take it the wrong way.
49:08
SPEAKER_00: For the majority of Derrick Rose's career, he didn't talk.
49:12
SPEAKER_00: He didn't want to talk.
49:14
SPEAKER_00: Because he wasn't very good at it.
49:16
SPEAKER_00: Right?
49:18
SPEAKER_00: Derrick Rose just gave us a 30-minute speech in front of 25,000 fans in the arena and however many fans were watching at home.
49:26
SPEAKER_00: Didn't stutter.
49:27
SPEAKER_00: Not saying that stuttering is a bad thing, but didn't stutter.
49:29
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm comparing it to who he was as a person just 15 years, just 10 years ago.
49:34
SPEAKER_00: And it shows the level of growth you can have if you really care about something.
49:38
SPEAKER_00: He wanted to get better at speaking, and now he, I think he could give a full fucking convention, and people would listen.
49:47
SPEAKER_00: It's not easy to grow up in Chicago, and he acknowledged this multiple times in his speech, but it can be done.
49:53
SPEAKER_00: And not even in a sense that you have to make it to the league and be the MVP.
49:58
SPEAKER_00: You could do a normal thing and still be great in this city.
50:02
SPEAKER_00: And Derek Rose was a beacon of light and love for this city for a very long time.
50:07
SPEAKER_00: And you saw that last night with how many people came out, all the great speeches that we got.
50:12
SPEAKER_00: So, shout out to D Rose.
50:15
SPEAKER_00: One of my favorite things is he brought up Jerry Reinstorf and the fans booed.
50:18
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to the fans for that.
50:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, love me some Derek Rose.
50:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh, hopefully, this is another great edition of Small Ball.
50:24
SPEAKER_00: I will see y'all next week.
50:25
SPEAKER_00: Peace.