Latest / Fanatically Speaking with Kent / NBA UPDATE! Celtics, Suns, Trades, All Star Preview & The Hornets Buzzin

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NBA UPDATE! Celtics, Suns, Trades, All Star Preview & The Hornets Buzzin · Fanatically Speaking with Kent

0:00
what's up everybody welcome to fanatically speaking
0:02
i'm kent i'm log off i'm the log off legend and
0:05
uh we're here to say everything that every fan
0:07
is thinking but louder and probably a little
0:09
crazier get ready this is fanatically speaking
0:12
with kent and log off you know what's funny like
0:15
i don't hate i don't i'm not a social media hater
0:18
i'm a social media I don't want people to think
0:25
that I get on the internet and start hating people
0:27
on social media. That's not what I do. The first
0:29
half was absolutely, absolutely horrible. You
0:33
know, just inept offense, inept defense, special
0:37
teams, you name it. I'm going to turn into Oprah.
0:40
Why were you so angry? He sucks this season.
0:45
This game, whatever, whatever's going on, right?
0:47
And then in the very next pitch, guess what they
0:49
do? They double Homer. And he's like, told you
0:53
that. Why are you always knocking down people?
0:55
Listen, you got the highs and the lows. Yeah,
0:58
so I knew that. You need the highs and the lows.
1:01
So I do that, yeah. I'm trying to be the voice
1:04
of reason here. I am what I am. Hey, what's up,
1:16
everybody? Welcome to another episode of Fanatically
1:19
Speaking. I'm Kent, the co -host and promoter.
1:21
I'm Log Off, the Log Off legend, hater of all
1:23
things social media, co -host and producer of
1:26
the show. Yes. And today's show, we're finally,
1:30
I guess, going to get back to the NBA. We've
1:33
been on an NFL run of late. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Basketball's
1:38
been played the entire time. A lot of interesting
1:40
things. It's not a huge 180 from the stuff that
1:44
we talked about the last time, but there's been
1:46
some decent shifts. And yeah, let's see what
1:50
we can get on them. Yeah, so we're at almost
1:53
a halfway point, right? Coming up on the All
1:56
-Star break in a few weeks. Got the trade deadline.
2:00
So I just wanted to touch on a lot of the...
2:04
Top stories standings. We're gonna hit trades
2:07
possible trades and the all -star game a little
2:11
bit and then You know the Charlotte Hornets our
2:14
local team Is a kind of a hot story too because
2:18
they're actually getting attention But first
2:20
let's get into the standings and I'm not really
2:23
gonna I don't really want to go into like all
2:25
the standings Just what I just want to hit on
2:27
some surprises what you're not surprised and
2:30
what you are surprised on Cause I got a huge
2:33
surprise that has really shocked me. And I think
2:37
is, you know, a big deal. What's funny is I think
2:41
what surprised you didn't, didn't really surprise
2:44
me at all. Can you leave with that go? Cause
2:46
I'm curious what you got on it. Well, this is
2:49
one of those things that we always joke and battle
2:51
about. Cause one, there's a player in a team
2:54
right now that's playing really well. Do it,
2:57
do it. Dude, the Boston Celtics. I mean, if you
3:06
just look at their roster. Oh, man. And we talked
3:10
about this. We said that we said they were going
3:12
to take a step back because Tatum's hurt. They
3:16
traded Prozingis. They traded Holladay. They
3:18
lost Horford. All they have is Jalen Brown and
3:21
Derek White. And just a bunch of random dudes.
3:25
And right now, they're second. And one of the
3:29
weirdest NBA head coaches ever, but continue.
3:32
Exactly. So great coaching job by Missoula. And
3:36
if I had a MVP vote right now, I'd vote for Jalen
3:39
Brown. Yeah, Jalen Brown is cooking and full
3:43
disclosure. So I caught a lot of hell for years,
3:48
for years. And this was at the very beginning
3:52
of Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum. being on the
3:56
same roster for the Celtics. I have been consistent.
3:59
I have you as a witness, Kent. We've got the
4:01
text messages to prove it. I've always liked
4:03
Jalen Brown more than Tatum. I always thought
4:06
that Tatum was, I don't want to say a knockoff
4:09
Kobe, but a poor imitation of Kobe. And I know
4:12
he can play ball. Like I know the guy can hoop
4:14
and he's become a much better three -point shooter
4:17
and jump shooter than I thought he would. But
4:19
for me, I always liked Jalen Brown's game, his
4:23
overall basketball game was better. I thought
4:26
he was a better defender. The only thing that
4:28
he does poorly is dribble and he turns the ball
4:31
over it in opportune times in previous seasons,
4:34
right? So if there was ever a knock on them,
4:37
that's it. But in turn, and I've made that part
4:40
clear as a player, if you gave me Tatum and Brown
4:44
and I had to start a team, I would rather have
4:46
Brown because I feel like he was more versatile.
4:49
Now, That's going to sound like a flavor of the
4:51
moment type take. But again, you can vouch for
4:54
me. I have been saying that for years. When Taz
4:58
Tatum, as Tatum is erupted as a, as an NBA on
5:01
the cusp superstar and champion, people always
5:04
love Tatum, but I've always been a huge Jalen
5:07
Brown fan. Um, so I will admit that the boss
5:11
that the Celtics turn around and their win streaks
5:13
have been a bit of a surprise for me just because
5:15
I didn't think the Rosser had enough talent.
5:18
But to see Jalen Brown get the opportunities
5:21
that he has without Jason Tatum being there and
5:24
being the go -to focal point of an offense, I
5:27
think we see what a team led by him is capable
5:30
of, even though it is in a relatively weak Eastern
5:33
Conference. Yeah. And again, I'm always team
5:38
Tatum because again, he's a Duke. But yeah, but
5:42
again, I think when you look at like the NBA
5:45
up, they've always pushed stars. Pushed certain
5:49
types of people, you know, I don't know how to
5:51
explain it But I think Tatum has that star power
5:54
right got the commercials Got the smile. He's
5:58
got you know, I mean like again. He's got he's
6:01
got the appeal. Yeah, he's more Yeah, right,
6:04
but yeah, I agree Jalen Brown though, you know,
6:07
I'm and I'm a guy I'm honest person so I give
6:09
him credit where credits do You know, he might
6:12
want to give his NBA finals, you know MVP to,
6:15
to, uh, to Tatum, but you know, that, that I
6:19
will argue with, but, um, not the Eastern conference
6:23
finals MVP, but the finals MVP. But yeah, so
6:27
like I said, that's a big shock to me. Just the
6:30
team, not Jalen Brown playing. Like, I mean,
6:33
I know he's a good player. I know he's an all
6:35
star. And obviously without Tatum, he was going
6:38
to benefit, right? Like he's going to have to
6:42
do more. And without well without everybody on
6:46
the team, but just that roster and what they're
6:48
doing and again I have to give them credit but
6:52
not put a too much stock in that regular season,
6:55
right? we can't be fooled in the NBA about the
6:57
regular season on some teams and That will come
7:01
back to that later on the team. But right now
7:03
I think that's the biggest surprise for me right
7:05
now though is the Boston Celtics because You
7:09
know you see New York they're above New York.
7:11
They're above Cleveland Philly Orlando Miami
7:13
And those are teams we expected to kind of be
7:15
in the race, you know for that top You know top
7:19
four top top tier in the East But yeah, so that's
7:24
that's the biggest surprise for me I'm gonna
7:34
give you a Western Conference team The Phoenix
7:39
Suns. They traded Kevin Durant. They got a good
7:44
package out of it. And they're just, as a team,
7:48
in a tough Western Conference, right now they're
7:51
at a sixth seed as of this recording. And again,
7:55
Adden, Dillon, Brooks, Jalen Brown, Jalen Green's
7:59
kind of been injured this season. But still,
8:03
with Booker and Brooks and everything, the other
8:06
pieces they picked up, in the off season, Mark
8:09
Williams, Grayson Allen playing, no tripping,
8:13
but they've been playing really good basketball
8:16
as well this season. It's kind of a surprise
8:18
that they're as well as they have been. They
8:21
have, and I caught some hell from one of our
8:26
recent episodes when I said that I would rather
8:29
have mid -tier coaching, just middle of the road
8:34
coaching as opposed to a big name super elite
8:39
type coach in the NFL, of course. But this lends
8:43
to kind of a representation of what I'm talking
8:46
about. When you've got a good balance across
8:49
the board where everybody understands what their
8:51
responsibilities are, not a lot of huge egos
8:53
in the room, and you're all focused on one goal,
8:57
I think that's something that has shifted. a
9:00
lot in sports, where it's not just about, look,
9:03
big names, huge personalities, like you mentioned,
9:07
like with Tatum. It puts asses in seats. It gets
9:11
eyeballs to the television. But if you're trying
9:13
to win, and I mean, look at you, like, I mean,
9:16
I know you've talked about it some on here, but
9:18
you're a Spurs fan. They had Tim Duncan, who
9:23
is, to me, in terms of basketball talents, one
9:26
of the greatest big men ever in history. but
9:29
he's never been flashy he was he was good at
9:31
everything not great at anything and hall of
9:34
famer won all the championships coached under
9:37
greg you know uh played under greg popovich played
9:39
with tony parker mono ginobili they were a balanced
9:42
team and they were able to win championships
9:44
over and over again and we've seen it in more
9:47
recent trends. We saw the Pacers get to the finals
9:51
last year with a balanced team. We saw OKC make
9:54
it to the finals with and win the finals with
9:56
a balanced team and SGA, who is their star player,
10:02
but you don't really think of him as the star
10:04
player on that team. They need all those pieces
10:07
to play well in order for them to be competitive.
10:10
The Phoenix Suns are trying to emulate that.
10:12
Booker has always been a star NBA talent and
10:17
they tried a lot of mix and matching with him
10:19
and he's played with so many guys that we thought
10:24
would have better careers than him and I'm just
10:26
thinking mainly like a CP3 and a KD and he's
10:31
been the only consistent thing on that Phoenix
10:34
Suns roster where it's like you know what you're
10:35
going to get from Booker. All the other pieces
10:38
are interchangeable. And for them to be able
10:41
to It's not even about the wins in the NBA and
10:46
I and I kind of hate to reduce it down to this
10:48
The thing that hurts teams in the NBA are bad
10:50
losses Like those those seven eight losses a
10:54
year where it's like what the hell were you guys
10:55
doing that night? You know, was this the second
10:58
night of a bat in the back? Like, did you guys
11:00
just mail it in on this game and just give it
11:02
away? And then it allows you to slip in the seedings.
11:05
And the next thing you know, as opposed to you
11:07
being a 3 -4 seed going into the playoffs, now
11:10
you're a 6 -7 -8 seed. So I give them credit
11:13
for sloshing through it now during this point
11:16
in the year when nobody's been watching. We haven't
11:18
been talking about it. I give them their props,
11:21
man. They've been doing everything they need
11:22
to do. And we can say whatever we want to about
11:25
Dylan Brooks. He is, he's doing what he's supposed
11:29
to do for that team to get them the wins that
11:31
they need at this point in the year. And I commend
11:34
them for doing so. Yeah. So, so them being right
11:39
now, they succeed again, that keeps them out
11:42
of the play -in, right? Yes. And that's a win
11:46
for that, that team. I didn't have I didn't have
11:48
them that high, but what they've done is, you
11:51
know, after they swung big for Kevin Durant,
11:54
you know, this is a coming after they went to
11:56
the NBA finals and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
11:59
And that when, like you just mentioned about
12:02
having a balanced team that, that season at that,
12:05
that point, they had a balanced team, even with
12:08
CP three cause back end of his career, but he
12:11
was more like a, you know, He wasn't prime CP
12:16
three, right? Yeah, he was feet he was feeding
12:18
off a Booker and bridges and and everybody they
12:21
had so They blew that up right fire the coach
12:25
trade everybody swing big get Durant and it didn't
12:28
work out and Then they trade Durant and now they're
12:31
getting back to that like we like we talked about
12:33
now more balanced team Got some young stars young
12:38
talent Veterans like a Dylan Brooks that he's
12:42
that piece, right? Uh, so yeah, like I said,
12:45
the Celtics being the two seed right now in the
12:47
standings and the sons being the six seed for
12:50
those two teams. That's like, again, that's a
12:53
win, right? Yeah. Uh, especially in our, especially
12:57
in our conferences for each one, you know? Yeah.
12:59
Yeah. Especially in the Western conference. Um,
13:02
the one thing that I will, I will say is just
13:05
looking at the layout of the Western conference,
13:10
I think the sons are in, they're playing consistent
13:12
basketball. And the teams that are both ahead
13:16
of them and on their heels, you know, with them
13:19
sitting in the sixth seed, I think that they'll
13:21
still be able to move up if they keep the way
13:24
that they're going now. And the examples I'm
13:26
going to use are very simple. So we're looking
13:29
at, they've got the T Wolves, the Warriors, the
13:32
Blazers and the Clippers behind them. Clippers
13:34
have hit a hot streak. They're playing to their
13:38
potential. They are playing to their potential.
13:40
I'll give them that. But at the same time, they're
13:42
flimsy. I mean, they already are. If they lost
13:45
five, six in a row, you wouldn't be shocked by
13:47
it. That's one side of it. Warriors, we all obviously
13:51
already know Jimmy Butler is out for the year.
13:52
That's going to hurt them. They're going to slip.
13:55
T Wolves, up and down team. You know, if they,
14:00
I do think they're going to end up being a playoff
14:02
team, but I don't see them going on a crazy win
14:06
streak this year. So there's still competition
14:09
for them. in that conference, but I think that
14:12
they'll be able to hold their own. And then above
14:13
them at the fifth seat is the Lakers. And then,
14:16
you know, like you said, like the Rockets, I
14:18
feel like the, like the sons are competitive
14:20
enough to play with either of those teams. And
14:23
I think they'll be fine doing so. So the bottom
14:26
half of the Western conference is garbage. And
14:29
I don't think, yeah, I don't think that they'll
14:32
have a problem, even if it is in the, in the
14:36
play in play. Yeah. I still don't think they'll
14:38
have a problem. No, no, they'll still make the,
14:40
uh, the, the finally got it. Yeah. I agree with
14:43
that. Let's go straight to, uh, let's go to the
14:53
trade deadline. Okay. So the trade deadline fast
14:58
approaching, I, I want to backtrack a little
15:02
bit from the deadline and I want to talk about
15:04
something that I actually I started to think
15:08
about the, so the Trey Young trade happened.
15:11
He got moved from the Hawks to the Wizards. And
15:15
you know, I've had some crazy takes about Trey
15:20
Young. I don't think he's that good as a player,
15:22
mainly in terms of being a winner. I feel like
15:25
you need so much help on that team for it to
15:29
be competitive because all he can do is score
15:32
inefficiently and pass the ball. and play no
15:36
defense. So to have him as one of your highest
15:40
paid players, like you are at a massive deficit.
15:44
And if you think about all the great teams in
15:46
the NBA, I don't even think he fits on any of
15:49
them. If you think about the top, like the best
15:51
teams in the league, and you just throw Trey
15:53
Young on there, he makes them worse, in my opinion,
15:56
okay? So my question for you is, you know, that
16:01
kind of shifted the trade market. because he
16:05
was traded for CJ McCollum and I forgot the other
16:09
gentleman he was traded for but no picks which
16:12
is mind -blowing that a player of that caliber
16:15
who's made all -star teams just does not get
16:18
traded for any picks whatsoever is mainly a salary
16:20
swap Do you think that that's gonna have an effect
16:26
on on future trades? Let's just say for like
16:28
the next two seasons where a player has a value
16:32
but the value for what Trey Young went for can
16:40
diminish what other players are worth. Do you
16:43
agree with that? Or am I trippin'? Well, if we
16:48
try to figure that out, we'll be here all day
16:50
because you see guys like, you know, Rudy Gobert
16:53
and Desmond Bain get traded for multiple pick,
16:55
you know, first rounders. Mikel Bridges, yeah.
16:57
Mikel Bridges, yeah. So, you know, It just depends
17:01
on the teams and what they want. You know, I
17:04
mean like the Hawks I think we're just ready
17:06
to move on and They wanted to dump that salary
17:09
for many reasons. They've got a young roster
17:13
And they had just moved on past Ray Young and
17:16
they were just like let's make the deal we get
17:18
McCullum on a one -year on expiring contract
17:20
and Then we can look to free agency or a trade
17:24
to bring in someone else right and then we'll
17:27
use our picks or and game, whatever the deal
17:30
may be. And the Wizards, of course, they just
17:33
need somebody to give people a reason to watch
17:38
their team play basketball. But let's unpack
17:44
it for a split second. I guess the question is,
17:47
does the trade market, because we've seen this
17:49
in other sports, we've seen this in sports history,
17:53
and I'll whittle this down to housing. you know,
17:59
today your house is worth 200 ,000, but your
18:04
neighbor sells their house that is similar to
18:06
yours for 250 ,000. That means that you, at a
18:11
minimum, aren't going to sell your house for
18:12
less than 225 ,000. They shifted the market by
18:16
simply just having it go at a particular number.
18:20
Trey Young, being a player that he is, with a
18:23
value and a contract, went for far less than
18:27
what we thought he would. way less. Things like
18:31
that usually shift the market. Now, if you talk
18:35
about an outlier, I mean, I mean, you could look
18:37
at like what even like what Luca went for, that
18:40
shifted the market. A little bit. I mean, you
18:44
still got the Desmond Bain trade though. So again,
18:48
and the Luca is just, you know, again, the dumbness
18:51
of that trade, but it just depends. I compare
18:56
like this trade. to like the Westbrook for John
18:59
Wall. It was just like, we're done with this
19:02
guy, and we're gonna just trade for the, whatever
19:05
we can get. And then make the contract, make
19:08
the money work, and it's expiring, give him a
19:11
shot, things like that. The Hawks were just looking
19:14
for a piece, and the Hawks are no better now
19:16
than they were when we were young, so. Fair point.
19:19
they are actually worse. I was going to say,
19:21
I was going to say, I think they're actually
19:22
worse off, but they would rather be worse and
19:26
not have to pay him that money or guarantee him
19:28
a bigger contract. Yeah. And I think they're
19:31
looking for another move. Uh, you know, we can
19:33
get into Anthony Davis, but that was a rumored,
19:35
like they wanted him and like he's the missing
19:38
piece. And, um, but they've actually They're
19:41
actually a disappointment in the season and we
19:43
didn't even talk about disappointments in the
19:45
standings. But the Atlanta Hawks with what they
19:47
tried to do in the off season thinking that poor
19:49
Zingas, which he's always injured and a Trey
19:52
Young and all that roster would make them better.
19:54
And they just haven't been and they are teetering
19:58
on that 10 seed with some other teams, you know,
20:01
looking to jump them. Yeah. So I don't, I don't
20:05
know that it shifts the market. I think it's
20:06
just NBA. Like you said, it's all about money.
20:11
contracts, trades, does the money work? And then
20:15
again, it just, to me, it just depends on what
20:17
the team's trying to do. That's all, that's all
20:20
fair. Um, yeah. And I, and I did, and I did jump
20:24
us off topic a little bit. Are there any trades
20:27
or expected or projected trades that you were
20:32
looking? forward to or expecting and I mean like
20:36
in a realistic sense, obviously there's a lot
20:37
of rumblings about Yannis and those have been
20:41
going on for weeks and I just haven't seen enough
20:44
traction. Yeah. I mean, I haven't seen enough
20:47
traction to where I don't know if I should take
20:50
it seriously. even with all the discussion going
20:54
on around it, I don't know what's next. And the
20:57
NBA has become a lot more unpredictable in recent
21:00
years. So, but is there anything that stands
21:02
out to you the most? So, I mean, the names that
21:07
are out there, like you said, Giannis, which
21:09
has been out there all season, John Morant, which
21:12
has been out there. All season? Yeah, I mean,
21:15
all season. Anthony Davis, Jonathan Kaminga.
21:20
Now what all these four guys have in common is
21:23
they're all injured right now Which I don't know
21:27
if that's going to affect the trade Market because
21:30
if you're a team if you're a team like the Golden
21:32
State Warriors who obviously cominga has requested
21:35
a trade so They just lost Jimmy Butler for the
21:40
season And again their time is ticking on time
21:44
with Steph Curry to be competitive for an NBA
21:47
championship which I don't think they are. I
21:51
think if they got Giannis, I mean, who knows?
21:56
But they would, you know, as if you've heard
21:57
all the rumors, they would have to trade Jimmy
21:59
Butler to get Giannis. But if they can make a
22:04
few moves, that's what I look, that's what I'm
22:06
looking at right now is really the Golden State
22:08
Warriors. You know, that's got my attention.
22:11
I mean, John Morant, the word is there's not
22:15
a lot of interest. And again, Like you say, it's
22:20
a contract. It's a huge contract that a team
22:22
has to take on. So they have to move contracts
22:25
to make that work. Now Jah is still a talented
22:29
ballplayer and he's just kind of been forgotten
22:32
about in Memphis for whatever reason. His own
22:35
issues, we talked about this before. The team
22:37
is not any good anymore. They traded, you know,
22:41
Bayne in the off season. So I don't know what
22:43
their path is. But they would have to find a
22:46
team again to take on jaw and I don't you know
22:50
That's that would be a good one to say does he
22:52
get picks? Right with his baggage does does a
22:56
do it does another team give up draft picks for
22:59
him? But like I said the Warriors is the one
23:03
that I'm looking at right now if we're not really
23:05
looking at players because I just named the players
23:07
But you know the Warriors do they make a move?
23:12
to try to Just make again. We talked about that
23:15
one last push. We thought Jimmy Butler was it
23:18
he has not been it They have Kaminga. They're
23:21
holding him a hostage. I think they could get
23:23
he's got some value to get something in return
23:27
But yeah, that's the one I think if the Bucs
23:30
and Giannis, you know, they've had a little Whatever
23:34
you would spat lately. Giannis said the fans
23:36
booing and you know, he's not happy with you
23:39
know cut some of the the play of the team which
23:43
you know, they're there again right outside the
23:45
10 seed and That's what I've been looking at.
23:49
I mean, I don't know of I hear yeah, I think
23:52
Carl Anthony towns There's there's rumors about
23:54
the Knicks and him which I I can't imagine they
23:57
give him give up on him now Again, unless you
24:00
get a Yanis, you know, I think that's the huge
24:02
name. That's the big That's the what do you call
24:05
it the way the whale whale? Yeah, the biggest
24:09
well that's available. Yeah. I so I'm going to
24:13
I'm going to dive into the the Warriors really
24:16
quickly. And I'm just going to ask you off top
24:20
of your head. Not looking. Do you have any idea
24:23
what Jonathan Kamanga averages for his career?
24:28
For his career? Yeah, that's just say points
24:30
per game. Just guess. Like how many points per
24:35
game you think he scores a game? I'm going to
24:39
say 15. OK. So 15 is one point short of his career
24:44
high in the season, which is the 23, 24 season.
24:47
He averaged 16. He averaged 15 last year. This
24:51
year he's only averaging 12. OK. He's been in
24:54
the league five years. He averages 12 points
24:56
for his career. So we aren't talking about a
24:59
player that is like all time, all star great.
25:03
But we all know that he's got the potential to
25:06
do that because we're talking about a guy who
25:08
averages 12 points a game And we mentioned him
25:10
in the same breath with Yanis with John Moran
25:13
You see what I'm saying? Like so the potential
25:17
is there when you said that the Warriors were
25:19
holding him hostage I Know and I'm and this is
25:23
the thing that that blows my mind I don't understand
25:27
why a player like him of that caliber You don't
25:32
just play him and let him have a breakout year,
25:37
increase his trade value and then move them.
25:39
What am I missing? What happened? What did he
25:43
do? He went from 16, 16 points a game, 15 points
25:50
a game, 12 points a game. Now we know that the
25:52
Golden State Warriors is the Steph Curry show
25:55
starring Steph Curry and Draymond Green, but
25:58
really Steph Curry. We know that that's what
26:01
the Warriors are about, but if you have the opportunity
26:04
to make him a centerpiece on that team and just
26:09
get him and just think about if he was averaging
26:12
21 points a game, how much trade demand you would
26:16
have for him. as a player and that was something
26:20
that was mentioned by their front office that
26:22
you know in order to have you know to demand
26:25
a trade there has to be a demand for you as a
26:27
trade which was the craziest thing for a front
26:29
office executive and you know to say at a at
26:32
a press conference unbelievable but so you say
26:36
that but my point is is i don't understand if
26:39
these guys i don't maybe it's a ego thing where
26:42
ownership and front offices don't want to move
26:44
guys simply because they don't they're upset
26:46
and don't want to be there anymore but none of
26:49
these teams that we're talking about are winning.
26:51
The Bucks, terrible. Bucks are going through
26:54
it. Warriors, they're gonna go through it, especially
26:56
with Jimmy Butler going down and Curry scoring
26:59
30 to 35 points a night, and they still can't
27:02
win games. So make the moves that you need to
27:06
make to go ahead and finish out your roster if
27:10
you're trying to be competitive. But maybe these
27:13
teams are just trying to stay middle of the road
27:15
and keep their cause low. and maybe they're really
27:18
not trying to win that much. Well, I think the
27:22
biggest thing with Kaminga is they don't play
27:25
them until now because Butler's out, but they
27:29
gave them the contract in the off season. And
27:31
that was another thing. Like the market was the
27:33
market in free agency. Teams have to have money
27:36
and they're going to spend it on what they want
27:38
to spend it on. And Kaminga was looking for a
27:41
bigger deal and he ended up with a two year 48
27:44
and a half million dollar extension with Warriors
27:46
So the head scratcher is okay, so you ended up
27:50
paying them So you you're giving them 48 and
27:52
a half million, right? But you don't want to
27:55
play them and you don't want to trade them That's
27:58
a hell of a bench player that's a hell of a contract
28:00
for a guy You don't really want to put in the
28:02
rotation, right? So like you were saying like
28:06
what are you doing with them like make a move?
28:10
again, either play them or trade them and you
28:14
had to think, there's gotta be a reason why you
28:17
signed him back. And if he's not the guy for
28:20
your team, he doesn't fit the culture, the rotation,
28:24
the play, whatever it is, then trade him. Get
28:27
some value, try to win. So I don't really know
28:31
what they're doing with him. Again, he's 23 years
28:35
old. So, I mean, like I said, I think he's got
28:40
a lot of upside. Yeah, and that's what you would
28:44
be banking on look I'm not gonna fault them for
28:46
not signing him to a three four -year contract
28:49
which obviously a player coming out of their
28:51
rookie deal that's that's what he wanted and
28:54
Ultimately, yeah, it's a good deal. It's a really
28:57
good deal for it's a good deal for what he has
29:02
Displayed thus far 15, 16 points a game. Yeah,
29:07
dude, that's about right. And like you said,
29:09
he doesn't quite fit into the Steve Curry's offense.
29:13
He doesn't play great with Steph Curry, which
29:15
is something that you kind of need for the Warriors.
29:17
But if it's me and everyone and you and me included,
29:22
Kent, we've kind of taken the first half of this
29:25
NBA season for granted. We weren't really paying
29:27
that much attention and we're still talking about
29:30
Jonathan Kamenga. If he was dropping 19, 20,
29:33
21 points a game, the eyes would be there and
29:37
go, oh, you know what? This kid does have something.
29:39
You know what? Yeah. Let's go ahead and make
29:41
a move for him. And then a team would go ahead
29:44
and acquire him as a piece, knowing that they
29:47
would only have to pay him two years from now.
29:50
It just makes more sense to me. I don't know.
29:53
There's clearly something going on at Golden
29:55
State we have no idea about. But for me, I I
30:02
don't like to see what's happening with him take
30:04
place in organizations where it feels like they're
30:07
kind of Handcuffing a guy, you know to that locker
30:10
room, but hopefully they can figure something
30:12
out soon Yeah, just trade him like I think if
30:15
he was on another team Like imagine him imagine
30:18
him on the Celtics Well, even Boston yeah, I
30:22
mean he would at least for this season, right?
30:23
I mean he had a piece Yeah, but I mean I'm just
30:26
saying on a team. That's not that great, right?
30:29
where he could shine and you look at like a Brooklyn
30:33
Sacramento teams like that. Yeah. That could
30:36
make a move to get another veteran piece in Golden
30:39
State, right? Cause you hear rumors, you know,
30:42
maybe for DeRozan, uh, we talked about Giannis.
30:46
Um, I had thought about one and we go back to
30:49
Jah. Does Jah fit in Golden State? No, let me
30:56
take that back. I Does jaw fit in golden state?
31:02
Yes. But it would have to be after Steph Curry
31:05
retires. Oh, wow. He does not. His game does
31:10
not fit well to have to have two of them defensive
31:13
liabilities. You know what? One of one of one
31:17
of them, an athletic slashing guard that could
31:19
break guys down. Ball stopper that could get
31:22
to the cup and make a bucket. And then the other
31:24
guy is a ISO. you know, three point score. We
31:28
know, we know curry can get to the rim too, but
31:30
I just, I don't think there's enough room on
31:32
the court for two guys of that caliber. And then,
31:35
and then of course you throw in dream on. So,
31:39
you know, who is the fire hydrant in the middle
31:41
of the court getting in everybody's way. I just
31:44
think like, you know, would the warrior shift
31:46
their, their plan and say, okay, Steph, like
31:49
you just play off the ball and move around, get
31:51
open and John will find you or, you know, create.
31:54
They had to pay attention to Josh. So maybe it'll
31:57
create more opportunity for you But again, they
32:00
do have one headache already that they've always
32:02
dealt with with dream on so I don't know that
32:04
they want more Just do it out there. I think
32:07
I think Yanis would be better there obviously
32:11
But yeah, that's uh, I Don't have any other trade
32:16
ideas then let me let's be realistic about this
32:20
Can they even can they realistically trade for
32:23
your honest? Again, I think for money to make
32:26
the money work. They would have to trade Jimmy
32:28
Butler Yeah, do you know do you know how much
32:32
Jimmy is making man It's like 54 million. It's
32:36
like yes, like it's almost something a year man.
32:39
Yeah. Yeah, so he's up there with y 'all That's
32:41
what I'm saying. It makes the money work Where
32:43
and they and he just tore it and he just tore
32:46
his ACLs like he's done Yeah, so like so he has
32:48
no trade value, but I mean Well, if he does,
32:51
he does contract wise because then the bucks
32:54
get probably Butler and a young player, maybe
32:59
a, maybe a draft pick and then or two, however
33:04
that were, you know, but then they would get
33:06
Butler not for this year, but he'd have one year,
33:08
he'd have an expiring deal in which they probably
33:12
could move, then move him next year to another
33:15
team. I would very seriously doubt he'd want
33:18
to play in Milwaukee. I don't think that's enough.
33:24
Like I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't see the
33:26
bucks giving up that player for that trade package.
33:30
They can do better. Oh, they will date. Yeah.
33:34
Well, yeah, they're not, they're not, yeah, they're
33:37
not going to make a Luka deal. So, uh, yeah,
33:41
yeah, you're right. They could do way better.
33:43
I mean, Yanis even now is still worth multiple
33:45
first rounders and Yeah, and of course in terms
33:48
of like player and pick wise, you know, the true
33:51
the word is out You know on the Knicks and you
33:54
know, cuz you get to trade cat big guy big name
33:57
good player, you know that would be you know
34:00
still still relatively young and You know and
34:04
he makes an immediate impact like he's a day
34:06
one starter, you know at Giannis his position
34:09
once you trade him to the Knicks. So even though
34:13
I'm not a huge fan of the way Carl Anthony Towns
34:16
plays, I could see that being a more realistic
34:19
move. But I don't want to see the Knicks do well.
34:23
I'll be the Knicks' hater. I'm the show's Knicks'
34:26
hater. Do not want to see them be well. Yeah,
34:30
I'm not a fan either. OK. Think that's all the
34:39
names I got for the trade down on so we're just
34:40
gonna move move into the next topic we got Just
34:44
real quick. I'm gonna talk about the all -star
34:46
game How you feeling about the starters because
34:49
that's all we know about and the and the format,
34:52
right? Three sure. Do you have a list of them?
34:55
Can you break those down? So here are the starters
34:58
Even though there's going to be three teams Right
35:03
two two america dumb dumbest thing ever but yeah
35:06
sure two teams that are american and in one uh
35:10
foreign team international however you want to
35:12
say it so here's the 10 guys which is again three
35:18
teams but you get 10 guys starters so that's
35:20
weird uh but yeah so in the east again they break
35:25
it up east and west all right jalen brunson cade
35:30
cunningham your boy jalen brown Yanis Antetokounmpo
35:34
and Tyrese Maxey. In the West, Luca, SGA, Stephen
35:41
Curry, Wimby, and Jokic. Yes, and there's still
35:48
kind of word out on, you know, the Joker, Jokic,
35:52
AKA Big Honey, because we don't know whether
35:54
or not he'll be back from his injury. Yanis will
35:55
not be back. Yeah, Yannis, you know, and obviously
35:59
I know, you know, Wimby's had some, you know,
36:02
some injury stuff in and out. I don't know. It's
36:04
really no telling. And some guys may opt to sit
36:06
out of the All -Star game. So, but making the
36:09
team, making the rosters, I think this is, I
36:15
think they got it right. Yeah. in terms of who
36:18
made the actual teams. And I'm really, I'm glad
36:22
to see, I do think the weakest easily is the
36:26
Eastern Conference roster with Yannis, Jalen
36:29
Brown, Brunson, Kay Cunningham and Tyrese Maxey.
36:32
But I like to see these new names and these fresh
36:35
faces on there too, because it gives them an
36:37
opportunity to go out there and represent that
36:41
spot and actually play tough. We all kind of
36:44
got sick of seeing LeBron. We all kind of got
36:46
sick of seeing Kawhi. We all kind of got sick
36:48
of seeing Harden, you know, and go out there
36:51
and kind of half -ass it through All -Star games.
36:53
So I like that these guys are getting opportunities
36:56
on teams that historically haven't done well
36:59
recently in the, you know, the Sixers and the
37:02
Pistons and the Knicks. So I'm going to give
37:05
them props for that. The Western Conference obviously
37:08
is going to be the tougher. have the better players
37:12
on their roster but this shake -up man with the
37:15
international versus the US stuff I mean I'll
37:20
give it a I'll give it an honest try I don't
37:22
want to crap on it before I got a chance to actually
37:25
get a chance to actually sit down and watch it
37:27
but I just I don't like I don't like annual watching
37:33
experiences like NBA All -Star weekend coming
37:38
with a handbook in which you got to read all
37:41
the new rules of shit that they came up with.
37:44
You know what I mean? It's like going to somebody's
37:46
house and playing Monopoly. And it's like, oh,
37:48
we got these rules that we play with here at
37:49
our house. And it's like, no, no, no. I played
37:52
Monopoly my whole life. How are you coming up
37:54
with all these new rules? The Super Bowl doesn't
37:57
change their rules. The NFL playoffs, they don't
38:02
change. You know what you get. It's football.
38:04
We're going to go out there and play football.
38:05
some nuances, oh, okay, we're going to change
38:07
the overtime rules. Both team gets the ball,
38:10
kick a field goal, other team gets a chance to
38:12
score, they score, they win. That's easy to pick
38:14
up. But with them in the NBA and even to the
38:19
dunk contest and bringing in guys from the G
38:21
league, it's just like, guys, what the hell are
38:23
we doing? It's just so much math to have to figure
38:26
out what the hell's going on that it makes for
38:29
a less than desirable viewing experience, which
38:33
I know this is sports, but ultimately it's male
38:36
soap operas, dude. We are soap opera consumers
38:40
and we're here for the drama, but we gotta understand
38:42
what the hell is happening for us to even enjoy
38:45
it. I'm not gonna crap on it. I'm gonna give
38:49
it an honest watch and hopefully it's something
38:54
that appeals to me. I want to like it, I just
38:56
don't know if I will. So here's my concern. and
39:01
it goes, I'm gonna take it to baseball real quick.
39:04
So baseball, and I really looked at this dealing
39:07
with like looking at the Hall of Fame numbers
39:10
and things like that because you look at guys'
39:12
stats, and one of their stats is how many All
39:15
-Stars did they make? And I was gonna talk about
39:19
this on another episode, but in baseball, you
39:21
know, like back in the day, you say, oh, this
39:23
guy was a 13, 15 -time All -Star. But then they
39:26
changed the rules, right? Major League Baseball
39:28
changed it where every team has to have a representative.
39:32
And what does that do? That costs other guys
39:35
an all -star appearance because you got to pick
39:38
an all -star off of this random team. That sucks.
39:41
And they probably don't have an all -star, but
39:43
you say, well, okay, well, who's the best player
39:44
off their team? Okay, let's find a spot. So this
39:46
other guy misses out, right? We got that name.
39:50
We're just going to see what I mean. So I think
39:52
that's costing, you know, current. New era whenever
39:57
they started, you know, I can't remember exactly
39:59
when they started this but it's been a while
40:00
So I think it's Causton guys all -star appearances
40:04
on their resume, okay So now with the NBA You
40:14
have to feel to American teams And I don't in
40:19
the rosters are not gonna be as big if I'm not
40:22
if I'm I think it's like eight on a team something
40:24
like that Yeah, it's a truncated roster. Yeah,
40:27
you're right. So instead of having now you're
40:30
expanding rosters in a way, but you're only expanding
40:33
it because you have three teams. And like you
40:35
said, the simple way would be just expand the
40:37
rosters and have two teams. That's the easiest
40:39
way to do it. But they, like you said, they got
40:42
to make you have to, you know, read and, you
40:45
know, understand. Yeah. You got to figure stuff
40:48
out. Ask questions. What's the algorithm connect
40:50
the dots. So Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, no. And then
40:54
and then and I'll let you finish. And then on
40:56
top of that, there's the thing that's aforementioned.
40:59
We just talked about it and we breeze right over
41:02
it. Who's actually eligible? Yeah, you have to
41:05
be eligible. Yeah. Now, again, is this going
41:10
to cost people an all -star game? An appearance
41:13
on the resume? Because you got to fill the international,
41:17
which, of course, I'm just looking at the starters
41:19
right now and I'm counting and for you know,
41:23
uh if you count SGA is Canadian, right? I mean,
41:28
he is. Well, yeah. Well, he is Canadian. So,
41:30
that's international. So, you got, you know,
41:32
out of the west, four to the five are international.
41:36
Giannis on the east, right? Who else? Oh, in
41:43
the east, uh Carl Anthony Towns. Well, out of
41:46
the starters, I was just saying like Oh, okay.
41:49
Fair enough. Yeah. Yeah. So out of the starters
41:51
in the East, um, no, I mean, uh, uh, Jalen Brown,
41:54
Kate Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey. No, I mean, like
41:56
those are all Americans. So like they'll be fine,
41:58
but we all know. And, and that's kind of how
42:01
I started this off. We know that they're not
42:03
that they're, they're not going to be as talented
42:05
as whatever's on the Western side. No, but again,
42:08
you're taking those and you're going to split
42:10
it now into three. I think we're going to have
42:17
to see it. Like, and this is what I mean, like,
42:19
think about us, like, think about all the basketball
42:22
we've watched in our lives. And we still can,
42:26
like when I guarantee you, we can do all the
42:29
reading and research and, and trying to understand
42:32
this. And then when we watch this game in February,
42:35
when we watch this all -star weekend, There's
42:38
gonna be something new that we learned right
42:39
there live on the broadcast where we go Oh, you
42:41
know what didn't even get a change Didn't even
42:43
come into play. No one even mentioned it like
42:45
we fixed the lottery and the draft and the playoffs
42:48
Again silver give us a call again. Somebody connect
42:52
us. We can fix this I just Like I literally just
42:55
said it like the voting confuses you on the rosters
42:59
So again, just have two rosters Expand the rosters.
43:04
There you go. And then the voting if you were
43:07
gonna go with the three rosters, like you're
43:09
doing, say you're gonna do that, don't have a
43:13
east -west vote. Just have people vote for All
43:15
-Stars. And the top 10, or what would it be?
43:20
I don't know. There's some way to do it, right?
43:23
So it's an easy fix. Why split it up if you're
43:26
gonna divide it into three teams anyways? The
43:29
math don't math. Matt's not checking out and
43:35
I do have two really quick things on this specifically
43:38
All -Star related. One thing, I don't want to
43:42
clarify or I don't want to make it seem like
43:44
I'm trying to correct you. I just want to more
43:46
clarify it. All -Star appearances are huge, but
43:51
I do think what's more important to an NBA player's
43:56
resume is all NBA teams over All -Star appearances.
44:01
I think, I think you would think that's, so I'll
44:04
put it to you like this, Jalen Brown will make
44:07
the All -Star starter team. I don't know if he's
44:10
going to be an All -MBA starter. I got you. I
44:13
mean, but I don't know if he's going to be first
44:15
team and I think he's worthy of it, but I don't
44:16
know if he'll make it. But it's still a big deal.
44:18
Like you still talk about, like you said, we're
44:21
still talking about All -Star snubs and who made
44:23
it and every year it's the same. I think it's
44:25
still a big deal. I mean, like I said, LeBron
44:27
was a starter for how many years in a row? 21.
44:29
And now he's not. You know what I mean? And that,
44:32
hold on, and that's, and I'm, look at you, setting
44:35
me up and didn't even know it. That was my next
44:37
thing I wanted to go to. How big of a deal do
44:41
you think it is that a LeBron James does not
44:46
make an All -Star team in this NBA, in 2026's
44:52
NBA? He doesn't, now he'll, he's not an All -Star
44:58
starter. But does he make it? Which seems absurd
45:01
Do you do you think do you think it was a misstep?
45:07
I mean I mean he was out right? I mean he missed
45:13
a lot of time So he's not even eligible for yeah,
45:18
I mean right now like he's not even eligible
45:20
for stats so I Get it. I think I think him being
45:26
out a good bit of the first half of the season
45:30
to begin and all that. I think that's why, ultimately.
45:36
But it is a big deal. I mean, like I said, I
45:38
mean, you know, it's kind of weird, but I mean,
45:40
I'm happy because I don't have to watch him pick
45:43
his team anymore this year. So I was like, if
45:47
I have to watch him pick every single year. So
45:51
I think you brought up just a question there.
45:53
Does he still make the All -Star team? That's
45:55
kind of like, hey, He's LeBron. So, you know
46:01
Hold on. Okay. So it's funny. You say that I'm
46:04
gonna throw out the rest of the names that are
46:06
available to make the all -star team in front
46:09
of conference players I think I think it's a
46:12
tougher question than you think Katie Ant Man
46:18
Jamal Murray Kwa Leonard and Shangoon and LeBron
46:26
That's a tough cut, man, because all of those
46:30
guys have been hooping, and especially Kawhi.
46:32
We can talk about the injuries and all you want
46:34
to, but every name that I just gave you are guys
46:36
that have been hooping. They have all been playing
46:38
well, especially the last month and a half. You
46:43
can make a case for any of those guys to make
46:45
that All -Star team over LeBron, statistically
46:47
speaking, not resume -wise, legend -wise. So
46:53
it's a tougher question than most people would
46:55
want to admit. So again, I have not read up completely
46:59
on the process. So forgive me for that. So we
47:03
counted five American players out of the starters
47:08
that already are all -stars. So that would leave
47:12
11 more. Katie, Ant -Man, LeBron, Kawhi, all
47:17
-American. I believe Jamal Murray is, I think
47:20
he's Canadian. But I'm saying you got to look
47:22
east and west. That's what I'm saying. I don't
47:23
know. Are they just picking out of both conferences
47:26
for the rest of the rush? No. And that's what
47:28
I'm saying. This is just from the Western Conference.
47:31
But you're just naming them. I'm saying, what's
47:33
the process? Do you know? The process of how
47:37
many players from each conference are eligible.
47:40
Well, how are they going to pick the reserves?
47:42
Are they just picking? Because the reserves is
47:48
a like uh like a coach's well yeah right yeah
47:52
i'm saying is it going to be divided also by
47:55
the east and west like is that right i mean i
47:57
might you know what i'll text adams over here
47:59
in a second he changes the rules every five minutes
48:01
but let's just let's just yeah so let you yeah
48:05
let's just name the american players in both
48:09
how about that just to say hey there's 11 more
48:12
spots and you named uh yeah antman kawaii kady
48:19
Jamal Murray's Canadian. Yeah, yeah, Jamal Murray's
48:22
Canadian. Yeah Harden Harden is good enough this
48:27
year to make it but I'll give you that but I'm
48:29
just saying I'm just looking at like yeah, just
48:31
name just name it yet Harden Booker What's it
48:37
let's see who else is on here Trey Murphy gets
48:40
a lot of love lately Yeah, I mean like it's it's
48:48
like it's strong. I mean he has I think he has
48:50
a shot Okay But yeah, and just again, I gotta
48:55
go. I gotta go read the All -Star Bible and figure
48:59
out Yeah, yeah, we got to read those amendments
49:02
and see what changes they made to To flip it
49:07
and then go to the Eastern Conference side, you
49:08
know We mentioned Yonis and Jalen Bronson who've
49:11
been open and the Eastern Conference side You
49:13
still got guys like Donovan mentioned Mitchell.
49:15
You got Paul van Caro You mentioned Kate Cunningham
49:18
already on you know as a as a starter um in beads
49:21
back but he's been hurt all year so he won't
49:23
qualify um uh towns again i'm not sure if he
49:27
qualifies as an international player it's not
49:30
a lot of meat on the bone in terms of eastern
49:32
conference players so maybe it opens the door
49:34
for some guys that we aren't thinking about but
49:37
the big names are in the western conference yeah
49:41
the big the bigger names for sure bigger names
49:42
are in the in the western conference and again
49:45
we'll read up on the all -star uh rules Yeah,
49:48
yeah, I know I'm gonna text Adam so I'll let
49:50
you know if I hear back from Alright, let's move
50:05
on with another topic real quick I just wanted
50:09
to talk about the Charlotte Hornets and their
50:12
resurgence of late and you know, we had a bet
50:19
at the beginning on the over under of wins this
50:23
season and I believe I'd had to go listen. I
50:27
want to say that I was, I would be happy with
50:29
37. No, I think you said, no, I believe you said
50:32
38. 38. Okay. 38 wins. Yeah. They are currently
50:36
18 and 28. And again, they are finally healthy.
50:42
All their players are playing even though sometimes
50:45
they decide to bring Mello off the bench. Somehow
50:50
that makes a difference in his minutes. I don't
50:52
know why, but it's the way Charles Lee does it.
50:56
But their wins of late. And they've been road
51:00
wins. They've lost a couple of close ones at
51:02
home on just, you know, buzzer beaters and random
51:07
quirky stuff, right? Not getting a timeout, things
51:10
like that. Regardless of who's playing, this
51:14
is not the Charlotte Hornets team that we thought
51:15
we would get, right? Blowing out teams on the
51:19
road. They just recently beat the Magic by 27.
51:25
They beat the Nuggets by 23. They beat the Lakers
51:31
by 18. They beat the Jazz by 55, which is the
51:36
Jazz, but still beating the team by 55, that's
51:39
not the Hornets that I know. And then they beat
51:43
the Thunder by 27. I got my math right? The Magic
51:52
was 27 and the Thunder was 27. 27, yeah, that's
51:57
right. Yeah, and then they beat the Bulls by
51:59
13 on the road. And then one point losses to
52:03
the Bucs in Milwaukee and at home to the Raptors
52:06
and two to the Pacers. And then a couple of the
52:09
close games, but they've just been playing really,
52:11
really well. Just getting Mellow, just having
52:15
Mellow, Bridges, Miller and Kniepel on the, on
52:18
the court at the same time has been huge. Their
52:22
defense has gotten better. You know, the one
52:25
night, you know, they got, we were joking, you
52:27
know, about when they actually got on TV on ESPN
52:30
and they were actually talking about doors blowing
52:31
off. Well, they did in the first quarter. First
52:36
half right and they battled all the way back
52:38
man, and they only lost by seven They just shot
52:41
they had one of those nights where they just
52:43
couldn't hit a shot, especially mellow They end
52:44
up like two points one for one for eleven something
52:47
crazy So it was just one of those nights when
52:51
you watch that game. We watched that game I was
52:53
just like my god, they can't make up they can't
52:55
one They can't they just keep getting dunked
52:57
on and they can't make a shot It was just a bad
53:00
night because then they followed that up. They
53:02
you know again They went down to Orlando and
53:04
beat the wheels off of them, you know, by 27.
53:07
So. Do you believe now? Do should we believe
53:12
in this team in the future? Not like, like you
53:14
said, for this season, I'm just again, we were
53:16
like happy if they just make the plan, right?
53:18
That was the goal. Well, yes, and it was more.
53:22
I feel like you have to be. You have to have
53:26
a track record of winning to be taking taken
53:29
seriously in. the NBA. And I'm going to repeat
53:34
my take that, you know, we talked about, we had
53:36
our last deep dive, a soul searching podcast
53:40
on the Hornets. Yeah. And I told you, if I gave
53:44
you the last 20 years of the Indiana Pacers and
53:47
made that the Charlotte Hornets, do you take
53:49
it? And you said yes. Oh yeah, for sure. And
53:51
it's because they constantly put out, they had
53:54
good players, they made the trades, they made
53:57
the drafts, they were developing players. they
53:59
had good coaching and they were able to make
54:01
it to Eastern Conference Finals. And then obviously
54:04
last year they made it to the finals to lose
54:06
in a game seven, right? You take that as a sports
54:09
fan every day. So the question is to me, does,
54:13
is this the Genesis of something like that? I
54:17
don't see it. Okay. It doesn't mean it's not
54:20
good. And it doesn't mean that it, you know,
54:24
that it doesn't mean that I'm right. I do think
54:27
that, that it's going to take, More than what
54:30
they have now now they have a lot of really young
54:32
players very athletic conca nipple was a steal
54:36
in the draft for them clearly and You know and
54:41
mellow Him the the change of hey, man We're gonna
54:44
bring you in off the bench and that has totally
54:47
changed the offense. I think the fact that they're
54:50
winning the games has signified that This was
54:56
a good change And I think it'll work. I think
55:00
it actually works out great for his career because
55:03
it shows him as I think he's always kind of gotten
55:06
the moniker as a relatively selfish player. And
55:11
this shows that he's willing to be selfless for
55:14
the sake of what's best for the team. And it
55:16
is resulting in wins in which he's been a huge
55:19
contributor to. That's the first part. Okay,
55:23
the second part to this is I'm really big on
55:26
just kind of how NBA projection totals shift
55:30
Right now the Hornets are projected to win 33
55:35
and a half games this season So they would have
55:40
to catch they would have to really pretty much
55:42
keep up this let their last ten games stretch
55:45
to to surpass that But I don't know if that's
55:50
gonna happen. The schedules are gonna get tighter
55:52
They're gonna play more difficult teams and teams
55:55
are actually gonna need to beat a team like the
55:57
Hornets in order to have a secure better playoff
56:00
seating But I am surprised by them I'm it's good
56:06
to see them play. Well, they are getting some
56:08
national attention recognition and some attaboys
56:11
and pats on the back and all that's great But
56:14
it doesn't mean anything if they don't keep this
56:15
up through the rest of the season. It doesn't
56:17
mean shit and um the last point I have is this
56:25
is gonna sound like an insult but I don't want
56:28
it to be an insult but it's gonna sound like
56:30
one I don't want them to be the light the beam
56:38
sacramento kings flash in the pioneer right where
56:43
they have a season like this and then they turn
56:46
a corner where they get a good enough seating
56:50
to where it looks like they can make a playoff
56:51
run and then they flame out and then we just
56:53
completely stop talking about them. That's not
56:56
what I want for the Hornets. I would rather see
56:58
slow building consistency, you know, high 30
57:02
something wins, low 40 something wins, and then
57:04
eventually mid to 50 point wins, hopefully in
57:07
the Eastern Conference, but they're gonna have
57:09
to build on this team. They're really young,
57:12
Ken. You know how young they are. Miller's young.
57:16
Kniepel's young. Bridges, young. Ball, young.
57:20
Relatively, yeah. Relatively. And all of those
57:24
guys are going to want to get paid. And all of
57:27
them will be up for contracts. And Con Kniepel,
57:29
they may have to sign him to a deal a little
57:31
early and a little fast and pay him a little
57:34
more to keep him here. So just things to keep
57:37
in mind, man. No, I get it. It's just, it is
57:42
like we talked, I did have high hopes at the
57:44
beginning of the year with the team, with the
57:47
roster, when they're all playing, when they're
57:50
all healthy, it's worked out. Grant Williams
57:51
is back, a veteran. So that's got a lot to do
57:55
with it. But like I said, man, them going out
57:57
west and playing like they did, that was, again,
58:01
we've not seen that from the Charlotte Hornets.
58:03
And they actually were not, they were not good
58:05
on the road early in the year. But again, injuries,
58:07
things like that. So I think if they stay healthy,
58:09
I think they're on the right path. Like you said,
58:12
everybody, you know, I think Miles Bridges will
58:14
be the odd man out eventually when you talk about
58:18
contracts because Mello signed. Bridges will
58:23
have next year will be his last year on his deal.
58:25
By the way, he's third now all time Hornet scoring
58:30
behind Kimba and Del Curry. So I think we have
58:34
to start considering miles bridges and all -time
58:36
Hornet Yeah, I you know mellow is like we talked
58:41
about he's matured with all the trade rumors
58:44
He answered all the questions shut that stuff
58:46
down said he wanted to be in Charlotte at the
58:49
times They bring him off the bench. They're doing
58:51
it for his to keep him healthy and and manages
58:54
minutes And again, like you said, he's been a
58:56
team player. He showed maturity I think that's
59:00
what everybody had been looking for and consistency
59:02
playing You know, it's working again right now
59:07
with this team because you said like said they're
59:09
young I'm just looking for a play -in playoff
59:11
game something like that. Can they do it in the
59:15
East? I think they can Especially like if you
59:18
say like Atlanta has dropped. I like Charlotte
59:21
better than Chicago Milwaukee if they trade Yanis
59:24
or he's gonna be out so they have a path to bump
59:27
up So we'll see, but it's just fun that they're
59:31
actually playing well and showing, getting some
59:34
attention. But yeah, like I said, let's see if
59:38
they continue it. Yeah, and something to build
59:41
off of, selfishly we're talking about the Hornets
59:46
locally, but at the same time, I like to see...
59:51
Much like we were talking about with all -star
59:52
teams, you know with like Kate Cunningham and
59:54
You know getting an opportunity to represent
59:57
the city of Detroit as an all -star starter.
59:59
That's massive for a franchise like that Yeah,
1:00:02
I would like to see the Hornets get opportunities
1:00:03
in the playoffs on a national spotlight It's
1:00:06
like alright, let's see what these guys can do
1:00:08
and they don't have to be spectacular All they
1:00:10
have to do is be competitive to say, you know
1:00:12
what? I like what they got going on down there
1:00:14
in Charlotte. So there's something to build on.
1:00:18
Yeah, their last two play -in games they got
1:00:20
destroyed so we don't want that anymore when
1:00:23
you get that chance like you said like you said
1:00:25
the other night on esp and it was like oh my
1:00:27
god they get on tv now national television and
1:00:29
they look horrible so don't want that so yeah
1:00:32
hopefully if they do they can at least show out
1:00:35
and show uh you know that they they could have
1:00:38
a future so fun now we are going to try to have
1:00:43
some fun are you ready fun now we are having
1:00:48
fun so i'm going to do something really quick
1:00:50
Because we're running on time, I know. I have
1:00:54
a fun topic today to end the show on. And we
1:00:56
haven't done this. We really haven't done this
1:00:59
in a while. It's been a minute. Yeah. And I know
1:01:03
who you're going to pick and I know who I'd pick
1:01:05
probably. I think we're going to pick the same
1:01:06
person here. All out brawl on the court with
1:01:11
all these guys. Who's the last man standing?
1:01:18
Well this one right here they must have put him
1:01:20
in as a joke LeBron James Okay, I don't know
1:01:26
why he's on here you don't as haslem Matt Barnes
1:01:31
Kevin Garnett Charles Barkley Charles Oakley
1:01:38
Dennis Rodman Draymond green Or Ron our test
1:01:49
Okay, that's a lot of guys it is and Okay, so
1:01:53
I just want to make sure I understand this. So
1:01:55
this is an all -out melee All out brawl on the
1:01:59
court. All these guys are on the court And you
1:02:03
got to pick the last guy standing Yeah Damn,
1:02:07
okay. I know who I'm picking. Like I said It's
1:02:11
actually okay to me. It's pretty easy. So So
1:02:17
I'm going to apply logic to this. So I'm going
1:02:22
to think about the circumstances. I'm going to
1:02:25
think about who is going to be the most tactful
1:02:30
when it comes to having the altercation and like
1:02:37
their strategy involved with it. So who's going
1:02:41
to apply the most thought? into being the last
1:02:46
person standing on the court. And another thing,
1:02:51
and I hate to, you know, for the hypothetical,
1:02:54
just make sure I get all the context. We're just
1:02:56
picking all these people like at their prime
1:02:57
at their best, correct? Well, yeah, I mean, it
1:03:00
would be like in their prime when you've seen
1:03:02
them get into it on the court. And they're all
1:03:05
on the court at the same time. Yeah. All right,
1:03:09
I'll go with Oak. Oh, okay. Yeah, he's a good
1:03:12
one. I have to, yeah, I gotta take Oakley. He's
1:03:16
a right amount of thinking man and crazy person.
1:03:20
Okay. Like, it's a good balance. Ron Artest is
1:03:28
probably a really, really close 1B for me, but
1:03:33
I think Oakley would, he'd whip everybody's ass
1:03:37
with a lot more composure. Where our test might
1:03:40
be going a little too crazy and might get caught
1:03:42
slipping. Yeah, so i'm gonna go oakley. Okay
1:03:45
So my mindset is again. I go to wrestling so
1:03:49
i'm thinking like royal rumble last man standing
1:03:52
match You know what I mean? Like each person
1:03:55
gets knocked out eliminated. They're down So,
1:03:58
you know lebron's first like he's gonna, you
1:04:00
know, he'll flop out first and uh But I was like
1:04:04
man the final two standing to battle it out would
1:04:07
be like Ron Artest and Charles Oakley. That's
1:04:09
the two I had. And then I'm gonna go Ron Artest
1:04:12
because once again, I always talk about, when
1:04:14
I talk about Hillman is crazy, we obviously have,
1:04:17
you know, the malice of the palace. So we know
1:04:19
he'll fight anybody and do anything. But then
1:04:23
again, he used to tell the story all the time
1:04:24
on, you know, they're talking about on Jerome,
1:04:27
you know, playing outdoor basketball. And you
1:04:30
know, he, he seen a guy, you know, grab a. you
1:04:33
know, pull a leg off of a table, break it off,
1:04:38
and bring it into the court. So I think Artest
1:04:40
would be that guy to just grab anything. And
1:04:43
yeah, him and Oakley had to battle it out. It'd
1:04:46
be chairs, anything going, man. I'll go Artest.
1:04:52
We had the same thought process. It was a fun
1:04:55
one I saw. And I was like, yeah, I mean, to me
1:04:57
it's around Artest. He's... He really, I think
1:05:00
his mind would just blank and he'd black out
1:05:02
and all of a sudden wake up and he'd be standing.
1:05:06
Well, you know what, I feel like there's one
1:05:09
person on here, a key. I mean, plenty of these
1:05:12
guys on this list can hold their own. Oh yeah.
1:05:15
But I think, but I think, I don't think I'm giving
1:05:21
Dennis Rodman enough credit. Oh. but I just,
1:05:27
I don't think so because if it's, Hey man, you
1:05:29
got to survive it. I felt like he's one of those
1:05:31
people that'll, you know, he'll be eye gouging
1:05:33
and he will be grabbing and he'd be doing the
1:05:37
things to win in advance. So, you know, you know
1:05:41
what? Maybe I'll do a one a one B one C and I'm
1:05:45
going to put Rob in there too. But when it's
1:05:47
all said and done and the dust is clear, Oakley's
1:05:51
walking out that building. He'll drag everybody
1:05:55
else out one by one when he's finished with them.
1:05:58
I could see him doing like a little big brother
1:06:01
on Ron Artest. Just one punch to the face, knock
1:06:03
him out. Yeah. Yeah, I could see that. No, that's
1:06:07
a good one though. And by the way, completely
1:06:09
off, off the top, you sent that to me. seconds
1:06:13
ago before we started doing it. That was a good
1:06:16
surprise. I wasn't expecting that. I like you
1:06:18
coming out of nowhere with it. Yeah, it makes
1:06:19
it fun. Yeah, that works. All right. Well, that
1:06:22
is another episode of Fanatically Speaking. Again,
1:06:24
I am Kent, the co -host and promoter. I am Log
1:06:28
Off, the Log Off legend, hater of social media.
1:06:31
Sorry, I just drank some water. Co -host and
1:06:33
producer of the show. Thanks again, listening
1:06:36
to another episode of Fanatically Speaking. Everywhere
1:06:40
you get podcasts. You know where they are. I
1:06:43
mean, it's 2026, man. You know where podcasts
1:06:46
are, damn it. Google podcast. So go to them,
1:06:49
go all those places, including YouTube, like,
1:06:52
subscribe, share, review, send it to people that
1:06:55
you know, post it on your pages, ask questions,
1:06:59
inquire, send us messages. You know, the DMS
1:07:02
and all that stuff, you know, are open. So send
1:07:05
all that stuff. It helps spread the word and
1:07:08
just kind of raise the profile of things. Yeah,
1:07:10
I think you mentioned we're all over social,
1:07:13
all the main ones, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.
1:07:17
You can watch, listen to us on YouTube. We have
1:07:19
no video yet, but, um, yeah, like, you know,
1:07:23
listen and share. That's the big ones that always
1:07:25
go to, uh, you know, Google fanatically speaking.
1:07:28
And that'll take you to all of our stuff. Anyways,
1:07:31
we're set up that way. We come up first. Um,
1:07:34
and then again, tap that app. Yeah. Tap that
1:07:37
out. Um, for sure. And yeah. And even though
1:07:40
like, yeah, the, the videos and everything aren't
1:07:43
like us, but the videos are there. So it's still
1:07:47
a, it's still an experience where I know a lot
1:07:49
of people consume a lot of stuff on YouTube.
1:07:50
I'm not a huge YouTube guy, but I'm also old,
1:07:53
but, um, but we, but we are on there and that
1:07:56
profile exists and it's alive. So comments are
1:07:59
open and, um, and any messages that come through
1:08:02
will still hit us. That's right. And, uh, I had
1:08:06
a joke, but I'm gonna roll with it. Oh, no, is
1:08:09
it inappropriate? Go ahead and do it. If it's
1:08:11
bad, I'll cut it out. Nah, I was gonna say I
1:08:12
am old. We are old. So when I say tap that app,
1:08:15
I was gonna say smack it, flip it, rub it down.
1:08:21
Listen, they don't matter how old you are. They
1:08:23
know what that means. I don't care if you're
1:08:25
12 or 112. You know what the hell that means.
1:08:27
Look up the lyrics and then go listen. But yeah,
1:08:29
that's fun. All right, that's all I got. I'm
1:08:32
out. Yeah, same thing, man. Me too.