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The NBA Has a Sam Presti Problem! · Bring The Thunder Podcast

0:01
What is going on? Everybody, welcome back to
0:04
another episode of the Bring the Thunder podcast, episode 25, as
0:09
we have a full slate of topics today, but we also have the full
0:13
line up today. We have myself, we have Joe,
0:16
Jack, Landon and Satveer. So we're just going to dive
0:19
right in and immediately start hitting some of these topics.
0:22
So first up, Joe had pulled up a staff for us here that says that
0:25
there is currently a listed at a 23% chance for OKC to hit 70
0:31
games this year. In the win column.
0:33
We can kind of just dive into that discussing what we think
0:36
and what our predictions are. So Joe, you want to start that
0:38
off since he brought up the set? Yeah, I'll kick it off.
0:42
So clearly hottest team in the league to start the year.
0:45
OKC is 11 and one and they are missing a top, dare I say 10
0:51
player in the NBA and Jalen Williams alongside some key
0:56
players as their best defender. Lou Dorton has been out, Aaron
0:59
Wiggins has been out. So they're missing a lot of key
1:02
guys and yet they're still 11:00 and 1:00 to start the year.
1:07
I believe 23 percent is fair because seventy wins is a lot of
1:12
wins and the NBA season is a very long one and a lot could go
1:15
South very fast. But with that being said, I
1:19
believe a few of us on this panel predicted 68 wins.
1:22
I think Sapir might have went, I think Sapir might have went like
1:25
73 wins, if I, if I'm not mistaken.
1:30
So I believe there's a definitely a strong chance.
1:33
I do want to just say how, how crazy is that?
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First of all, we're kicking off episode 25 of our podcast show
1:41
talking about is our team going to win seventy wins this year?
1:44
Unbelievable. And and we're talking about
1:46
this. The West might be as good as
1:49
it's been in a very long time. There's amazing teams all over
1:53
the Western Conference and we'll get we're still talking about
1:57
this. So for me, I personally think
2:00
that they're going to chase it with the news that J Dubs coming
2:03
back shortly. He he got re evaluated today and
2:06
now it's more of a day-to-day thing.
2:08
I think they're going to chase it and I think they're going to
2:10
come damn close. They're at 68 last year.
2:14
I'm not going to lock it in that they're going to get 70.
2:16
Like I said, it's a long season, but they're damn well they know
2:19
they can break the record and they're I think they want to.
2:24
If there's any team in the NBA that can do it, we know it's
2:26
Oklahoma. I mean, OK, CS got the deepest
2:29
roster. We've we've been watching that
2:30
for a while now. We have the MVP.
2:32
We've been doing all this without J Dub like you just
2:33
mentioned, Joe. The only thing that I can see
2:35
getting in the way of us hitting that 70 mark is actually Mark.
2:40
I could see us getting to a point where we've learned that
2:42
we can win no matter what seed we are, no matter what team we
2:45
play against. Which could lead to not
2:47
necessarily losing games intentionally, but resting
2:51
players. Which granted, we've also seen
2:54
at this point that Shay can be put out there with any four
2:56
players and still end up winning games.
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So it comes down to how many games will certain players end
3:00
up being arrested if we get into a kind of cruise control mode,
3:04
in my opinion, where if we are that dominant, I mean, it gets
3:07
to a point where you get close to the playoffs, Guys like Chet,
3:10
you don't want to risk putting him out on the court every
3:12
single night. We've already kind of seen that
3:13
potentially. I mean, he's.
3:15
Quoted to have. Back issues here and there, but
3:18
we've we've felt like it's probably just being on the
3:20
cautious side. So that's the only like, if
3:23
that's the only thing in my opinion that is going to keep us
3:25
from hitting seventy. I think that's a pretty crazy
3:27
feat because we are more than good enough to hit 70.
3:31
The only way I could see that is just if we end up going in full
3:34
cruise control. I'm going to come in here and
3:38
say, you know, the 23% chance kind of feels low.
3:43
And also Cauchy has this predicted at 40% odds to win the
3:48
West to kind of add to the surmounting.
3:51
I guess all the odds makers are kind of shocked at how favored
3:56
we are because it's kind of rare to have the bookies.
4:00
Kind of not to not to interfere. Do you know who they put as the
4:03
second best odds? Just out of curiosity.
4:06
Yes. So let me get that.
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I'm just curious. Yeah, they got the 18%, They got
4:13
the Lakers at 11 percent, they got the Warriors at 10 and the
4:16
Rockets at 9:00. And.
4:18
That was definitely all the last.
4:20
Was is 40% too high? And I think most of the comments
4:23
were like, that's too low for the Thunder.
4:27
I bet of that 11%, about 9% of them are Lakers fans.
4:32
Yeah, probably, Probably. But I thought it was still
4:36
special for I think the bookies to favor us in the way they are
4:40
across like any kind of stat or anything that you could think
4:44
of. I think it's just a rare thing.
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Even I think Gabe mentioned it with the odds or Joe mentioned
4:49
it with the odds of Shay scoring like 20 plus points.
4:54
The odds are just getting in our favor.
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So super exciting. Savvy, you were talking a little
4:58
bit ago about like the favors and the odds and the stats and
5:01
whatnot when it comes to, I mean, not just betting, but when
5:03
it comes to just favors in general and who's kind of like,
5:06
you know, putting those numbers up.
5:08
This has just been kind of a ridiculous year for OKC in terms
5:11
of those stats. And you mentioned like the
5:13
people who made those odds, like they almost feel, I'm sure they
5:16
almost feel like wrong putting that number at a certain number,
5:20
like 23% probably feels high to them.
5:22
And and you mentioned like that feels low, but you would kind of
5:25
also mentioned it as well, Joe earlier you were like saying how
5:31
23% is like like that's, that's crazy.
5:33
Like that feels kind of low to us, but.
5:35
That is a high. Percent saying to to win 70
5:39
games, like we obviously think we're more capable of doing
5:42
something, but that's insane. I mean, a 23% to to do that is
5:46
crazy. And you mentioned the shy thing.
5:48
Yeah, Yeah, I was. Just going to say like an actual
5:51
percentage on a book, 23% is very high.
5:55
Like if they said right now, OK, she had a 23% chance to win the
5:58
finals, that's very high. That's number one.
6:00
And that to be 70 wins is just unbelievable.
6:04
Exactly because obviously naturally if we keep when it's
6:07
stacking wins, that percentage will increase by default.
6:10
Right, and you mentioned earlier as well Sabir with like the Shay
6:13
line of to score 20. It's like -1800 I mean that that
6:17
is insane. Like for a player to
6:19
consistently score 20 and every I mean, we don't see that from
6:22
stars nowadays other than like, I mean, obviously LeBron had it
6:25
has had a ridiculous streak of 20 point games.
6:28
But like a lot of players, like we don't see that.
6:29
I don't remember the exact stat that you had mentioned from
6:32
Giannis in second place being at like 24.
6:35
Yeah, it was like 2425 games, they said the other night, which
6:38
is second place for active players with unbelievable.
6:41
Like it's this is crazy. You have like, you have probably
6:45
a higher chance of Shay scoring 20.
6:47
Then like some sort, like I, I would love to look through, just
6:51
look at a sports book and just look through the odds and
6:53
compare that to like how ridiculous it is that you're
6:56
saying Shay is going to score 20 points and they are that
7:00
confident that it is -1800 like I'd, I'd be really curious to
7:03
compare that to other -1800 level bets.
7:07
For like a reference you quite literally have Shay scoring 20
7:12
at lower odds than OK C beating the worst team in the league.
7:18
Yeah. That's that's a good, that's a
7:20
good stat. That's that's what I mean, bring
7:21
it up. Stuff like that, like that is
7:23
ridiculous. So in general, when you're
7:25
talking about these stats, you're talking about the 23%
7:27
chance to win 70 games. I mean, this is a historic year
7:30
in terms of like just looking at OK CS betting odds for all that
7:34
stuff. And I mean, it can't help but
7:36
kind of it can't help but kind of concern betters.
7:39
I'm sure like do they feel like they should really be taking
7:42
these odds? And that's that's what we're
7:44
here to say is absolutely like we do think we should be taking
7:47
these odds. Like, yeah, OK, C can can hit 70
7:49
games. Like that is not it's not
7:51
whether they will or won't. It is we know they can.
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Like it's it's capable. It's it's a team that's more
7:57
than capable of doing that. So that's what really stands out
7:59
to me is the fact that we're given 23% That's from that's
8:03
from I would not say an uneducated source is not saying
8:08
that's uneducated, but we watch OKC essentially more than you
8:13
know, more than any other fan base does in that sense.
8:15
So we know 23% is that that's. We're grateful.
8:18
For it. But we, we can do, we can do
8:21
that like we know we can be higher than that.
8:24
OK well anyone else want to add anything?
8:26
Yeah, I kind of just want to add one thing before I'm going to
8:29
lead into Jack because I know Jack has a few comments about
8:32
it. But I remember right after we
8:34
won the we won the championship, I was on DraftKings, hands up my
8:37
fault. I was on DraftKings doing a
8:39
little bit of betting and I they put up a prop for the NBA
8:43
already and I was like, what is this?
8:45
It wasn't odds for OK C to repeat.
8:49
They put up odds for OK C to three peats right after they won
8:54
their first NBA Finals. That's a bit crazy.
8:57
But they didn't do that for Boston, who was looking like the
9:01
next dynasty. They looked better than anybody
9:02
two years ago. They didn't do it for Denver.
9:06
They said screw, repeat. We're going straight to three
9:09
peat. And I was just like, they know
9:11
something I don't. Either they're going to win it
9:13
this year or lose it next year or they're going to lose it this
9:16
year or win it next year. We'll get another chip one of
9:18
these next two years, I'll tell you that.
9:20
Go ahead, Jackie. What I was going to say was at
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this point, we're not really betting on the wins or the
9:25
funders performance. You're betting on their injury
9:28
odds and their health because we know when they're healthy. 70
9:32
wins is going to be easy. We got 68 last year and we heard
9:35
Shay say that he thinks his team is way better than last year and
9:38
everyone's improving. So yeah, I think it's it's it's
9:43
a crazy time to be a Thunder fan, really, and we're just
9:45
getting better. And tell me if I'm wrong here,
9:47
but they are 10 times better when they're going when they're
9:49
fully healthy. They didn't have an AJ Mitchell
9:51
off the bench last year. This guys putting up 17 points a
9:54
game and he's a primary ball handler when Shay and Dubber off
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the floor. Shay Shays getting better, chats
10:00
getting better. Isaiah Hartenstein looks the
10:02
best he's ever played. They're they're clearly a better
10:04
team than what they were last year.
10:06
Well, and we haven't even seen it yet, but I mean Jada could
10:08
come out and look better than he did last year.
10:10
We we don't know like that, and that's something that I don't
10:12
think the NBA fans are even ready to like fathom.
10:15
Like if he comes out and he's playing at a higher level and
10:18
more consistent level, which is the one thing that we kind of
10:20
narc on him for was that consistency, you know, which we
10:23
didn't as much. I know savvier and I at least
10:25
were constantly saying that Jada was going to we we had some good
10:28
toxic capers about that one saying that Jada was going to
10:31
come through. But I don't think the league is
10:33
ready for the fact that J Dub could come out and be a more
10:36
consistent scorer, a better defender, a better playmaker.
10:39
And another thing we mentioned is hitting 68 wins last season
10:43
without without Chet for half the season, missing heart
10:46
throughout the season, not having AJ like Joe just
10:48
mentioned. And then the biggest thing that
10:50
we've always said is 1 of. The few things that can stop OKC
10:54
last year was the the the youngness.
10:56
Factor, you know, the inexperience and that's not a
10:58
thing anymore. You don't get to argue that
11:00
anymore because going to game seven of the finals and winning
11:02
is the most experience you can get in that sense.
11:04
So better roster, healthier roster, hopefully players
11:09
getting better and then now you can't argue that they're too
11:11
young. So and and the crazy thing is
11:13
they are young. So that's where that 3 P odd
11:16
comes in is like how can you really doubt them right now
11:20
until they give you a reason to doubt them and they're 10 and
11:23
111 and one without the second, second third best player like
11:28
that is just that's. Ridiculous.
11:29
You can't. Be before we change topics here.
11:32
I have a bunch of different Thunder futures pulled up by
11:37
FanDuel right now. So for us to win the Finals were
11:40
plus 185. For us to win the NBA Cup were
11:44
plus 170. For us to be the number one
11:47
seed, it's -380. For us to win the Northwest
11:52
Division, that's -550 and for us to be the eighth seed in the
11:56
Western Conference, that's plus 40,000.
11:59
For us to win the Western Conference, that's plus 110.
12:03
And then for us to advance to the finals, that's -230 so
12:08
that's negative odds for us. They're pretty much saying that
12:11
we're essentially going to be in the finals.
12:14
And then for us to win 60 plus games, that's at -750 I mean,
12:20
these futures tell you kind of everything that you need to know
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of, you know, 23% is probably not enough, but it's more of a
12:27
projection like Gabe mentioned. And for A2 game difference, for
12:31
all the stuff that you guys mentioned, it's way easier to
12:34
win two more games when your centers are healthy, especially
12:37
if you have both of them healthy the whole season when you're
12:39
missing either the guards or whatever.
12:41
We have enough depth to, I guess, get through those games.
12:45
Missing a center is huge. So I have no doubt that we'll
12:49
win 70 plus games. Yeah, and plus, 110 to make the
12:52
NBA Finals is practically even money.
12:55
It's like unheard of. You hear that line towards the
12:58
end of the season or like halfway through the playoffs
13:00
when there's like a favorite, like a clear favorite.
13:02
We're 12 games in and we're even money to make the Finals.
13:06
Go, go, I got to cut you off. Go ahead.
13:09
Guess what the nearest next finals odds are in the Western?
13:14
Daniels. No, just just in general, you
13:17
can say Western Conference. It's got to be like 300 or or
13:20
longer. Bro the difference is the next
13:24
best team has odds of like plus 1300 and that's the Knicks and
13:29
after that it's like the Golden State Warriors and Philly and
13:32
whatnot but like. I'm I'm looking at the 70 win
13:35
mark and the more and more and look, I look at it, the more and
13:38
more capable I think we are. Every NBA team was scheduled
13:42
between 13 and 16 back to backs and we were one of six teams to
13:47
get 13 back-to-back. So we're actually on the low end
13:50
of the spectrum there and we're 22nd and strength of schedule.
13:54
So the NBA thinks we have the 2020 second are 22nd best
14:01
schedule. Yeah, so the 8th weakest.
14:04
I found that really interesting. Yeah, it's all all good points.
14:07
And and don't just take our word for it.
14:10
And I guess we could transition right into kind of our second
14:13
topic. It's not really our second
14:14
topic. It goes right hand in hand with
14:15
this. People listening are probably
14:17
like, oh, these five assholes are spewing nonsense about OKC
14:21
winning 70 games. It's a lock.
14:22
It's a lock. Well, there was a guy who had a
14:24
dynasty team in the in the late 2010, Steve Kerr, and he lost to
14:29
OKC last night and these were his words straight out of his
14:31
mouth in the post game. He said When you can line all
14:34
that stuff up, I could be really unified.
14:37
It allows you to get through the inevitable adversity that you're
14:39
going to face, which we had that adversity in the playoffs last
14:42
year already, he said. They have a great stable
14:46
infrastructure, coaching, management, ownership, all of it
14:50
because they have great players, great talent and they're all
14:53
connected. They're going to be doing this
14:54
for a long time. So he's pretty much saying, OK,
14:56
C's going to be around for a while.
14:58
They the question before that was, you know, how are they
15:00
doing that and how are they doing that?
15:02
He just mentioned Shay. It's just like Shay's leadership
15:05
and coach Marks, you know, the way he he he's a player's coach,
15:09
but also could coach basketball. He pulls it all together.
15:13
It's pretty much just the identity of the team and, and we
15:17
easily have the best identity in the NBA and Kurt is clearly
15:21
saying that's about the number one thing you need to create a
15:24
dynasty. He would know.
15:27
He would know a thing or two about dynasty.
15:28
I was, I was about to say coming from someone like Steve Kerr, I
15:31
mean, you kind of mentioned it, you know, with, if you know
15:34
anything about the NBA, you probably know who Steve Kerr is.
15:36
So it's, that is just such high praise.
15:39
And he is someone that I, I don't, I don't really understand
15:42
if people don't at least give him credit or respect him for
15:45
what he's done. I mean, he knows what he's
15:46
talking about. He's not, he's not just another
15:48
coach. And we know that this is a
15:49
league where it's, it's almost easier to it is it's it's easier
15:53
to get fired as a coach than it is to keep your job in some
15:55
instances. And.
15:56
He has kept. This job with this team, he's
15:57
stayed around, he's worked with one of the greatest players of
16:00
all time and he's he's one ring. So hearing him mention that
16:03
about us is I mean that's he's not just saying that because we
16:06
beat him. You know, Kurz, the kind of guy
16:07
who would say that if if they beat us by 30, he would still
16:10
come out and say it, but there's a reason they didn't beat us by
16:13
30. You know, and that's without our
16:15
healthy team at the moment. So it means a lot to hear that
16:18
from curve. But he's right.
16:21
You know, I mean he, like Joe said, don't take our word.
16:24
Take one of the best coaches to ever do it sword, because he
16:27
gets it. He understands.
16:28
And the thing that is interesting to me is the first
16:31
thing he mentioned is how we have a really good staff.
16:35
Like he started with that before starting about the players, and
16:37
we know the players are talented, but it's not very
16:40
often that you hear them compliment the entire staff from
16:43
the management down to the coaches, because that's
16:45
something that OKC has incredibly well, is the staff.
16:48
I mean, obviously we know who Presti is, everyone knows Sam
16:50
Presti, and there's a reason for that.
16:52
So I think it's interesting that that's the first thing Kerr
16:54
points out is how good our staff is.
16:58
I. Was going to say he's been a
16:59
part of two dynasties. Even with MJ, that stuff that
17:04
they had was very special and they try to keep that together.
17:07
For even every dynasty that you think back to, there was the
17:12
ownership to the management was probably the reason that those
17:15
dynasties stayed together, stayed as long as they did.
17:19
Like if we think back to the Spurs, all the Lakers dynasties
17:22
that have been around. So, but it makes sense,
17:25
especially since he's been a part of them.
17:27
I wanted to mention some stats for us.
17:30
We're fourth in the Association for points and points per game
17:33
at 122.7, first in defensive rating at 104.1, net rating at
17:39
14.4, and our point differential is a little bit lower than last
17:43
season at 14.4. Of course, other comments that
17:48
he made about Shay was how he knows out of, you know, I guess
17:53
get bowels in the league and he understands it very well.
17:56
And obviously Jimmy Butler's on his team and he kind of compared
17:59
Shay to Jimmy Butler in terms in terms of their understanding.
18:02
But the thing that I loved about his comments about Shay was he
18:06
also added nuance to it. Like Shay's able to get his 30
18:09
not just from the free throw line.
18:11
He's able to get it from other areas.
18:13
And most coaches nowadays don't actually add that nuance when
18:17
they talk about Shay And also the fact that I know he's a ball
18:20
knower. He talked about his balance and
18:23
his control, you know, whether it's going to the basket or
18:27
whatever kind of movement he does.
18:28
He really spoke a lot about his movement in terms of as a player
18:32
and as a kind of an artist. And that's something Mark's
18:34
mentioned. It's usually rare that other
18:36
coaches focus on that part of Shay's game.
18:39
So we clearly know Steve Kerr knows what he's talking about
18:42
when it comes to this Thunder team organization, but also
18:45
Shay. Yeah, the, and the last thing we
18:49
need is Sam Presti pulling what the Bulls manager did back in
18:55
the day, what he actually wanted to end it early.
18:59
And they that's where the last dance came from.
19:02
They got one last season, then he ended it.
19:04
But Sam Presti won't do that to us.
19:06
I I hope. No, there's no way.
19:09
Hey, just a quick shout. We finally got some Draymond
19:11
Green praise last night too. That wasn't the shocker of the
19:14
night for me. He called us.
19:16
He called us a well, called us a well oiled machine.
19:20
That's that's just him realizing that he sounded like a not.
19:24
Super intelligent A. Dumbass.
19:27
He sounded like a dumbass last year when he tried to dog on us.
19:31
That's that's he's eating his words there.
19:32
So pardon my pardon my French there, but yeah, no, that's
19:37
that's what it is, You know, that's, Yeah, Joe.
19:38
Joe egged me on. He gets he gets me, Yeah.
19:42
That's what it is, though. I mean, he I think he's he's
19:44
known it, you know, but Draymond is never going to be the kind of
19:47
guy to just come out and say it. He's the last player who wants
19:49
to compliment another team, at least in that situation.
19:52
And he he came out and just straight up said it.
19:55
So that that is high praise. I mean, I, I obviously
19:58
Draymond's an incredibly, incredibly intelligent
20:00
basketball player. Like he's, he's been doing this
20:02
for a while. There's a reason he was a part
20:03
of all those dynasties. So it is nice to hear it said.
20:06
It's nice to know that he's actually giving us credit.
20:08
But yeah, I think I think at least a little bit of that is
20:11
trying to make up for the stuff, he said.
20:13
Earlier, full quote, full quote was they got their top, top dog,
20:17
they got their number 2, everybody coming to know their
20:19
role. They are a well oiled machine.
20:20
They kind of just plug and play, which is how we were doing
20:23
during those times. So I guess the question was
20:26
about the old Warriors. Well, he, he's listen, he's
20:30
right though, because winning basketball, everyone knows their
20:35
role on their team and this team is warm, selfish, and everyone
20:40
does know their role and everyone plays their role
20:42
perfectly. And it's just a couldn't ask for
20:45
anything more. I'm so happy.
20:48
And that's. That's because Sam Presti drafts
20:51
players, people and not players. Like everyone through the whole
20:55
organization is like genuine good people.
20:58
You don't have these locker room problems.
21:01
I mean, I know he also bans media from the locker room.
21:04
It's all these little things that going back the management
21:07
do that make this successful and all this stuff that goes under
21:11
the radar. But.
21:12
It's. Really appreciated by the
21:13
players. Also shout out to the the city
21:16
of Oklahoma City, you know, like it's, it's a good spot to be in
21:20
where you could solely focus on basketball and your teammates
21:23
and your family. Like it's it's, you know, some
21:26
people want to play in the huge markets, but it's just so nice
21:29
to see a a team that buys into the city.
21:32
City loves them. They love the city back and and
21:34
they they play for the fans every single night.
21:36
It's great. Hey, back to.
21:38
Yeah, back to Jacks, Back to Jacks thing with the people.
21:41
First thing, shout out to Hardenstein Community Assist
21:43
Award big time. Oh yeah, good shout, good shout.
21:46
Yeah, for sure. I mean, you're also talking
21:48
about just the city of OKC as well.
21:50
I mean, you know, they always talk about the college
21:51
atmosphere. So it's like you said, you know,
21:53
the players, the the fans, loving the players and the team
21:56
and, and a lot of that is the management.
21:58
You know, the team management's got us here.
21:59
It's it's. And I think that's a perfect
22:02
transition. I was going to.
22:03
Damn, you took it. You took.
22:05
It. I was going to I was going to
22:08
say, and that's just great management.
22:09
And on the other hand, we have bad management as Nico Harrison
22:13
gets fired from The Mavericks. That's awesome.
22:15
I loved it. We were going to jump.
22:17
Yeah, no, that's, that is the next topic here is Mavericks
22:20
fire Nico, which feels like it was a little, a little late at
22:24
this point. You know, they've definitely
22:26
discussed they definitely discussed with the media kind of
22:30
things like that. And now we're already hearing of
22:32
potential Mavericks are going to look at the possibility of
22:35
moving Anthony Davis, which I it almost feels like anything that
22:38
is even Nico related is just they're just trying to clear
22:41
house, get it, get it taken care of.
22:43
And I, I don't have anything against that personally, but
22:46
savvier if you want to get into what that really means for OK C
22:49
at least, because there's something pretty interesting for
22:51
us in this scenario. Yeah, on February 8th, 2024, we
22:57
actually acquired a Mavericks 2020, 2028 first round pick
23:03
swap. So I think this is going to be
23:05
something that's actually big implication.
23:08
That's kind of why we're bringing it up, not just a bag
23:10
on Nico and to get back at The Mavericks fans, which we'd love
23:14
to do. I think they're I think they're
23:16
happy with kind of their rebuild that's going to be going on.
23:20
But I think there's going to be a big selling spree either this
23:23
summer or the next. And regardless of when that
23:25
comes, when AGM changes, usually brings in a new coach, brings in
23:28
players that he likes. And clearly, you know, he was
23:31
the one that wanted Anthony Davis.
23:32
And I'm sure the next person that's coming in may not be as
23:35
fond of Anthony Davis and Kyrie as he was as a Nike executive.
23:39
So I do see those guys getting sold off and us having that pick
23:44
is going to be extremely valuable.
23:47
Every time this kind of news comes out like, oh, press, he
23:50
had done a trade, whether it was with the Spurs or whomever, it's
23:54
always like he's a one step ahead of knowing what teams are
23:57
going to, what dominoes are going to follow around the
23:59
league. And he saw the cracks.
24:02
And the thing about the Thunder organization is you never really
24:05
know about what what's going on in the background, but they hear
24:09
so much noise and they're so tapped in to what's going on
24:12
around the league. And that's what that's another
24:14
thing that makes Sam Presti really special.
24:16
Nothing leaks, but he gets all the leaks probably for himself
24:20
by making phone calls, being strategic.
24:23
And I think other teams eventually need to start
24:25
following into his kind of footsteps.
24:27
I'm surprised more teams are, you know, not doing what he's
24:31
doing. Like the Spurs are another
24:33
really good example of not many things leak out of that
24:35
organization. It's usually really, really rare
24:38
unless they really want it. Well there is indeed there is a
24:41
tie there. Same prestige.
24:44
Started his career in the Spurs organization so makes sense to
24:48
be honest. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense.
24:50
So I guess what do you guys think about him being one step
24:55
ahead on this and I guess, you know, getting this draft pick
24:59
for us? All I have to say is Mavericks
25:03
fans better hope Cooper Flag's the truth or they are doomed
25:06
because that team has that team does not have much of A future
25:10
outside of him. And I know Cooper Flag's not not
25:12
going to want to be go through a rebuild because that's not
25:15
really where his mind is set. He's always been a winner.
25:19
There was a graphic post. It was like through high school
25:21
and college he barely lost any games.
25:23
And I just don't think winning's really part of his part of the
25:27
way. I don't think losing is part of
25:29
the way he carries himself. So I don't know if that's
25:31
something he would want to be a part of.
25:34
I actually, OK, I actually think that that should be something
25:39
that he should take on. I think that's something he
25:41
needs to learn. I think it's a process that he's
25:43
got to figure out, and one of the biggest things in the
25:45
scenario is something that Nico was doing horribly.
25:48
Was. Constantly trying to mold him
25:50
into this point guard role. He made a comment about it
25:53
saying our goal is to make him uncomfortable.
25:55
You're doing a really good job because he looks like shit and
25:58
he's not a bad player. Like Cooper is a very good, very
26:01
talented, athletic forward and we're trying to turn him into a
26:04
point guard. Like I understand the appeal of
26:07
having a player like that that can that can move the ball.
26:10
It's just not who he is, it's not how he plays.
26:12
It's it's it's not something that's just going to casually
26:14
come. So I hope that with this change
26:16
of management, I I I like coop, like I hope he succeeds.
26:19
I really do. But the way that they were
26:21
setting him up wasn't it was not good.
26:23
It was not good for him. So I hope this rebuild.
26:25
I do hope they're they tank for a couple years.
26:27
And that's not just because I want The Mavericks to suck.
26:29
I mean that's half of it. But the biggest reason for that
26:32
is because I want to see coop succeed.
26:34
And I think that that will help him succeed is giving him giving
26:37
him the team. I mean, give give him the keys
26:39
of the to the team, like let him run it, let him be your star,
26:42
build around him, give him a year, give him two years where
26:45
yeah, they are going to struggle.
26:46
But I mean, look at the Spurs. When the Spurs got Wendy
26:49
immediately, they were not just all of a sudden A55 win team
26:52
like it it it takes time for players to be really good.
26:55
And I'm not saying that Coop's going to immediately jump like
26:57
Wendy did, but he's the kind of player that can.
26:59
So the way I see it is, yeah, winning has been all about a a
27:03
huge part of his career so far. He's got to learn to.
27:05
Lose too, and that's. Right now that's going to
27:08
happen. He's going to learn how to lose
27:09
real quick. Most definitely.
27:12
I got some of the details for that 2028 Maz first rounder
27:16
swap. So one is Andy Davis will be 35,
27:20
Kyrie will be 36. This is an unprotected swap and
27:24
it was part of the Daniel Gafford trade.
27:26
OKC traded the 26th pick in the 2024 NBA draft for that swap.
27:31
So we ended up getting the pick back and drafting Dylan Jones at
27:34
that time, but still considering we he gave up nothing
27:38
essentially for that pick, ended up getting it back through
27:41
second rounders or whatever and got one of the most valuable
27:45
trade pieces before we knew other dominoes were going to
27:48
fall. I just think it's it's crazy
27:52
insight. And he definitely knew what was
27:55
going on in the background when he made that trade that he knew
27:58
like Nico's an easy person to kind of catch off guard.
28:01
And we see that with what Gabe's mentioning about, you know,
28:04
trying to turn a power forward into a point guard, you know,
28:06
playing people out of in a position and not having kind of
28:09
the stability. And I hope for Mavericks fans
28:12
sake that the next person they hire, they get that stability.
28:16
But shout out to Sam Presti being goaded again and playing
28:20
chess, not checkers as always. No no no no no no don't.
28:24
Don't wish them any good luck. Screw them, they deserve
28:26
everything that came to them. The GM is a piece of shit.
28:29
He's an idiot. He shouldn't be running the
28:30
team. The owner is the one who
28:31
actually brought up the idea of that trade first of all, and the
28:35
coach knew about it and he's still still there coaching the
28:38
team. They should all pack up and go.
28:41
Feel bad for the kid. Don't really though, he joined a
28:44
solid team being the number one pick, but don't feel bad for
28:47
their fans or their organization at all.
28:49
That's all I'll say. That's fair.
28:50
I actually kind of remember when this pick or when this trade was
28:53
made for the pick. I feel like I remember us
28:55
specifically saying we don't fully understand it, but
28:58
whatever pressed he's doing, it'll work out.
29:00
Like that was exactly something that I remember us mentioning
29:03
cyber particularly as well, just saying like we don't see it, we
29:06
don't know it, but it'll it'll turn out good.
29:09
And now we're doing a segment on it where he just got the pick of
29:11
the team that's blowing up. Yeah, and we were talking about
29:15
it the other night about what we're going to do with all these
29:16
first round picks and the roster space.
29:18
And we were saying, oh, you could trade to the future, but
29:21
we don't know if that'll work. And this shows it can work.
29:25
I mean, it's taking a gamble, but what else are you going to
29:27
do with all these picks, right? So.
29:29
Nothing's a gamble. Nothing's a gamble with Sam
29:32
Presti. Sam Presti is.
29:33
It's never a gamble. He knows what he's doing.
29:35
Every single time he does it, you know, it's it's the odds are
29:38
in his favor. Every time he does it, it's like
29:40
Joe was saying he's got he has information on every single
29:43
thing that he does. It's never just a joke.
29:45
So he he's just he's incredible. But there's a there's a good
29:50
graphic right there of coop saying for me it's the most I've
29:53
lost since I think ever high school record was 33 and O
29:56
college record 35 and 4 Mavs 2 and six at the time they.
30:01
That's rough. Better, better get better.
30:03
Get used to it. More losses in in his eight
30:06
games of NBA than he had literally had ever so.
30:09
Who just be better you've had some shit games you're playing
30:12
with ADI know he's injured now you're playing but just just
30:15
shut up I I I hate this team. I hate this team through.
30:18
That BJ Edgecombe Rookie League. I don't know now.
30:22
Now if this team blows up, Coop's going to get a chance to
30:24
really take over, I hope. But yeah, for his sake.
30:27
But yeah, no VJV JS a ball or two but.
30:31
I mean, with that, I think we could probably move over to our
30:34
next topic, which will be doing something a little different
30:37
here. Instead of just discussing
30:38
something. We're going to do a little bit
30:40
of ranking here with OK CS, New City Jersey.
30:43
We're gonna look at some older jerseys as well, some of the
30:46
older cities with us. So yeah, savvy, if you want to
30:49
pull up those graphics, we can get a look at the the jersey
30:52
first. All right, so let's go ahead and
30:54
take a look at this one. This reminds us of that lighter
30:58
colored jersey and they still added that color with the
31:01
turquoise, but it they made it darker for that city edition.
31:05
I actually personally love this color set that we have and also
31:08
the when they have the stadium colored this way as well.
31:11
I feel like it's our best color and we usually win a lot of
31:14
games in this type of jersey from what I recall.
31:17
So me personally, I'm a fan of the old design mixed with the
31:21
new colors. I would say this is probably my
31:24
favorite out of the rest of the city editions that we'll you
31:26
know later look at, but love to hear your guys opinion on it.
31:31
I love this I, I, I absolutely love this jersey.
31:33
I, I agree with you so much savier.
31:35
The color scheme is beautiful. Like I love the turquoise.
31:38
I really like the dark blue as well as the light blue.
31:41
I like the design. The only thing that I'm not
31:44
fully sold on is the OKC logo. I like it enough.
31:48
It's, it's a little strange to me, but it, it's so easy to like
31:53
just love everything else so much that it doesn't even
31:56
matter. But what I really like this is
31:58
kind of strange, but what I really like is the design on the
32:00
jersey side and the and the shorts.
32:02
I just love that simple little design.
32:03
So I I love these jerseys. I love the color schemes.
32:07
I'm getting one of these as as soon as I can.
32:09
As soon as they hit the shop I'm I'm going to buy one or as soon
32:12
as I can afford it more so. Yeah, I don't mind them, but
32:18
this is like the fourth year in a row where we've had black
32:20
jerseys as a city. I wouldn't mind seeing some
32:23
color eventually, but it looks good.
32:25
But yeah, like I said, just that's white jersey off the
32:28
black jersey. But that's that's my only
32:31
thoughts, isn't it? I'm a fan.
32:33
I despise the black jerseys we wore last year.
32:36
I feel like they had bad luck during some playoff games and I
32:40
never want to see them again. And this, this is nice, you
32:43
know, because it kind of like honors the Native American, you
32:49
know, spirit and, and, you know, Oklahoma's identity and, and it
32:53
kind of what, what do they like to say?
32:55
You know, bring brings the the cultures that shape the
32:58
community in Oklahoma City. So it means a lot.
33:01
It's a it's a nice color. I like this, the darker version
33:05
better than the Super turquoise we had back in like 18 or 17.
33:10
So I don't mind it at all, but damn, do I miss those white
33:14
ones. All white ones are fantastic
33:15
man. Speaking of the color of the
33:18
jersey, I was actually hoping for an orange version, like a
33:22
flipped version of the 2018 one. I think I think an orange
33:25
version with some turquoise accents would be pretty cool.
33:28
But I am completely fine with this one.
33:31
I think it beats some of our jerseys in years or some of our
33:34
city jerseys in years past, but I don't think it's the best one.
33:37
I think it's just kind of, I think it's just kind of
33:40
whatever, it does the job. I think it's a cool jersey, but
33:43
I don't think it's our best work.
33:45
You know what, I do enjoy, Sorry to interrupt, I do enjoy.
33:50
I don't believe they'll be wearing these as much as they
33:52
did wear the black jerseys last year like we were wearing city
33:55
jerseys in the playoffs. Like that doesn't sit right with
33:58
me. I like our home jerseys and our
33:59
away jerseys in the playoffs and that's it.
34:03
Yeah, I, I, I agree. I, I do, I, I definitely, these
34:06
are fun and, and they're definitely cool.
34:08
We've seen some city jerseys in the past from other teams that
34:11
are nothing short of abysmal. So it's nice whenever your team
34:14
puts out a city jersey and you're like, yeah, that's nice.
34:16
Like it's got good colors. It looks nice, savvier.
34:19
And I might be a little higher than everyone else, but I, I, I,
34:22
I love these. I'm just glad that we all at
34:24
least enjoy them enough to, to not be complaining, not feeling
34:27
like the, the Timberwolves, White Lake ones or whatever
34:31
those were. Those were something else.
34:33
So. Yeah, let's, let's go.
34:35
Ahead and get into our next topic here, which might be the
34:38
one where we wrap it up. But that's that's what the
34:40
Clippers right now. They just had Beals out for
34:44
season with a shoulder injury. He will be getting surgery on it
34:47
and once again we are back talking about Sam Presti and the
34:51
magic that he's. Worked in this.
34:52
Scenario. So Sabir, if you'd like to cover
34:55
that, you sure can. Yeah.
34:57
So essentially what we're looking at with the Beal injury
35:01
is we're hoping that essentially they slide as far down as, you
35:06
know, possible. I think through 10 games, they
35:09
were three and seven so far. I think according to Vegas odds,
35:15
they still predict them to pick up the win total.
35:19
We also don't know what the Kawhi suspension is going to
35:22
look like with the NBA. There's just so much uncertainty
35:26
around the team and the fact that we also have this pick, a
35:30
part of that I believe shape trade package or wherever we got
35:33
this one. It's just it's just crazy to me
35:36
that we have this in this year where we could win 70 games and
35:41
possibly end up with a top four pick.
35:44
I mean, I don't think it gets any better than that.
35:48
I think Clippers fan fans may end up fainting if we take their
35:52
pick again this year and probably win the NBA Finals.
35:57
I wouldn't even know what to do considering also the past two
36:00
seasons Norman Powell has had career seasons and they traded
36:03
him to the Heat. I mean everything that could
36:06
possibly go wrong with the Clippers ends up going wrong.
36:10
I remember even that 2014 super team that they had with DeAndre
36:14
Jordan and all them, they something would always go wrong
36:17
with injuries or whatever else. And it feels like it's just
36:20
continued even with the state-of-the-art new stadium
36:24
that they have. And honestly, the fans are
36:26
showing up for that, but I don't know how they're showing up for
36:29
it when they're losing some of the game.
36:32
I mean, it's rough. Yeah, Joe, you go.
36:34
Yeah, for me it's pretty simple. Trustees a mastermind.
36:42
Great. Great for him to get this pick.
36:45
It's unfortunate for the city of Los Angeles, but they dug their
36:49
own grave there. The one thing I will say is I do
36:52
believe the LA Clippers are a curse organization.
36:57
They've had so many great teams, especially in the last 10 years
37:01
and, and something always goes wrong.
37:04
And the biggest problem they the biggest thing that went wrong
37:08
for them in the last 10 years was the trade for a kid named
37:13
Shay Gil, just Alexander for Paul George.
37:15
Like it's unfortunate for them, but it might just be better off
37:20
because they need to. They have a lot more to worry
37:23
about. But besides just drafting one
37:24
guy, they got to dump a lot of contracts.
37:26
They got that Kawhi shit going on where he maybe Bomber was
37:30
funneling money. I do want to also mention that
37:32
Beale was actually a hip fracture.
37:34
Hip, hip. Yes, My apologies.
37:36
I know it's all good, but yeah, I mean, nothing more to say.
37:40
What will OKC do with this pick? Who knows?
37:43
We'll see when that time comes. I mean, like you mentioned with
37:46
the trade itself, it, it is unfortunate for them at least
37:49
because you know, you as AGM, as a manager, you, you can't
37:53
predict the future of a player unless you're Sam Presti.
37:56
But you, you just can't. You like, I understand why they
38:00
made the trade. You know, at the time it made,
38:02
it didn't make sense. It felt like they just made this
38:04
very, very dangerous team. Can I mean Paul, as we know,
38:08
like I don't need to explain this, but Paul George coming off
38:10
best season of his career, Kawhi coming off a ring like it made
38:13
sense. It did.
38:13
So as a Clippers fan, you know, you were living on top of the
38:16
world and here we are. But it's unfortunate.
38:20
But once again, you know, here we are with with at.
38:23
Least their arena's cool. Yeah, they got a cool arena,
38:29
that's true, that's definitely true.
38:31
But it almost gets to the point where I feel like we've made
38:34
mention this before, but you're, you're as a Thunder fan, you
38:38
have to now decide how do, if we do get a top four pick, how do
38:43
we handle that? Because we you almost feel bad
38:46
for for how that's going to work, you know, so it's
38:49
concerning for sure at least to see how, how it's going to go
38:53
with with us if we do end up with that pick.
38:55
But. Landon, you, you want to throw
38:57
something up real quick here for us?
39:00
OK, there we go. Yep, that's that's the current.
39:03
Is that the current standings at least for for the pick?
39:08
Oh, wow. OK.
39:09
Yeah, Right now they got it at 7:00.
39:13
If I'm going to target anyone at that seven spot is going to be a
39:16
power forward. I do have a graphic that I can
39:19
also share with us. These are the top power
39:22
forwards. Do you guys like any of these
39:24
names or anyone stand out here? Obviously, I don't think it'll
39:29
be between these guys, but what do you guys?
39:32
Think I'll I'll just mention that there's no chance we get
39:35
Amboozer and Pete from Arizona is probably going to be much
39:40
higher than the 10th overall I think I think he looks really
39:45
good to start in his college career so.
39:47
I agree. And it all changes throughout
39:50
the year too, so I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here.
39:52
For sure, I'm a I'm a big fan of Quaintance.
39:54
I like Jane Quaintance a lot. I've been a fan of him for a
39:57
while. I think he's an absolute.
39:59
I, I, I think he, whatever team ends up getting him, you're
40:01
going to see him make an impact quickly.
40:03
I think he'll, he'll be an NBA ready player.
40:06
So acquaintance is someone that I would be thrilled.
40:09
I mean, beyond thrilled to end up getting.
40:11
But like Joe said, you you can't.
40:14
We're we're way too early. I mean, he could end up having
40:17
an incredible season, picking up top five.
40:19
He could end up struggling, dropping out of the out of the
40:22
lottery. You never know.
40:22
But yeah, acquaintance is the one that that gets my attention.
40:26
And really, yeah, I just want to, I just want to point out the
40:30
only thing that's really been on my mind, and I don't want to
40:34
think this far, but of course we are.
40:37
I don't really care about the pick.
40:38
I just want to resign Hardenstein somehow.
40:40
That's it. That's all I want to do.
40:44
Yeah, we can definitely work something out with Hartenstein.
40:48
He got paid heavy on the front end of that deal.
40:51
I still think he'll take a discount for the home team.
40:55
He loves the organization. Also, we have that Utah pick
40:59
right over there sneaking in there.
41:01
So we could have two top 10 picks from 2 lottery level teams
41:05
on a season where we're stated to win 70 plus games.
41:09
I mean it's just getting ridiculous.
41:13
We're losing words to describe Presti other than he's going to
41:16
be the all time GOAT when it comes to playing the lottery
41:20
odds. I guess he he always talked
41:22
about the ping pong balls and playing the odds early on in
41:26
this I guess in his career, but now it's paying off of what he
41:30
was talking about back then. We had talked about it a lot.
41:34
But we need the statue. Really, really my main point on
41:38
this graphic was The Mavericks last year they had a 1.8% chance
41:41
of getting the first pick. The Thunder right now, if the
41:45
lottery were to happen today, they would have a 7.5% chance of
41:49
getting the first pick. So really any, I mean, you might
41:53
think it's a low percentage, but really anything is possible.
41:55
And that for it would be in. I don't think, I don't think the
41:59
league could let that happen if the Thunder went from winning
42:02
the finals back-to-back to getting the 1st overall pick.
42:05
But I don't want to live in a fantasy world.
42:07
I'm not going to act like that's going to happen.
42:09
As Jason Tatum once said, anything is possible.
42:13
Yeah, I bet you know what, just because you said that, I bet
42:14
Boston gets a one pick on the way this year.
42:17
Yeah, I thought the NBA goes right.
42:19
Shit, what have I done? All right.
42:23
No, it kind of seems like in recent years the trend isn't
42:25
giving the team that deserves it.
42:27
Right. We'll see.
42:29
Giving it to the team that deserves it.
42:32
Just like, just like Dallas. Just like Dallas, just like
42:35
Dallas. All right, Joe, if you want to
42:38
jump us into the subscriptions here before we wrap up.
42:41
Yes, that's really going to do it for all the topics tonight.
42:44
I do just want to mention we got to go work on a video for you
42:48
guys and our members only premium subscriptions.