Latest / Small Ball with Kenny Beecham / Who's REALLY a contender + Will he really be traded?

Transcript

Who's REALLY a contender + Will he really be traded? · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beecher, man.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: I am so happy to be here to talk all things hoop with y'all.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, anytime the Bears walk out with a victory, I feel like I put together a banger episode and the Bears got like a real win.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean a bad team, but I like all the teams we had gone against that we had beat that were bad.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: We won by a touchdown, a field goal.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: We actually like put the smack down on a bad team, and that made me feel really good.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: It gave me more time to go through my notes for this episode instead of you know standing up at the TV hoping that a field goal go in for game.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: No, we was up at so much.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was chilling.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Synergy, basketball reference, all of the above.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: The bulk of today's episode, we're gonna talk about what it means to be a contender.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Do we give it to teams too early?
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: And do we take it away from teams too fast?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the catalyst for this conversation comes from two different places.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: The Cavaliers have not been as good as most people expected, and I've seen a lot of people just say this team is not ready to win a championship.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: And the second catalyst is Stan Van Gundy, because Stan van Gundy used the C word contender to talk about the San Antonio Spurs in their win versus the OKC Thunder in the Cup semis to go to the final.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it got me thinking about like, the Cavs not a contender?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Spurs a contender?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about it today.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Before the season started, I posed the question on numbers on the board.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Are the Cavs more like the team that started off, this record's about to be crazy, 64 and 18?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Or are they more like the team that finished the regular season at 15 and 8?
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't have a real opinion.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: I just wanted to have the conversation, right?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because I mean they were, they had one of the greatest starts in NBA history.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then a lot of the times when a team is so great and they get to those last two months and they struggle, and it's 15 and 8, but struggle in comparison to that first start, the conversation becomes well, they just got bored.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: They secured the number one spot.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Why should they continue to play hard or why should they continue to try to win every single game?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I've personally never really subscribed to that idea.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And you saw once we got to the postseason, whether it be because of injury or because of this or because of that, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn't even make it to the conference finals.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Before the season started, they had an over-under of 56 and a half.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, man, that's even though they just won 64, there's something about that number that feels high.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And what we're seeing right now, and maybe, going back to that original question, maybe more likely that they are a team, the team that finished 15-8 versus the team that started off 64 and 18.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, some people are completely out on the idea of the Cavs before the season started.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was Cavs Knicks, Cavs Knicks.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we get Atlanta.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we get Orlando, but it should be boiling down to those last two teams.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm close to being one of those people that's out on the calves.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: But then I have to think about it.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: This season alone, Darius Garland has played 10 games as of right now.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And let's be honest with each other, uh, of those 10 games, I would say nine or eight of them have been completely mediocre games.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: I guess turf toe is a lot more dangerous and a lot more difficult to get through than the names out.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Turf toe, that don't sound like anything, but for Darius Garland and quarterbacks across America, uh Turf Toe is a real thing.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you can see him play sometimes, and he looks okay, and then he has a flare up or he cuts wrong, and then it feels like for the rest of the game he's limping or he's sitting on the bench.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: But only 10 games from him.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Jared Allen, 15 games.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Zero games to Max Struce.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to our friend Max Struce.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: They showed him on the broadcast a couple games ago.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: He was rocking this hat right here, our good old friend Max Struce, and enjoy your basketball.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to him.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And now we have Evan Mobley about to miss at least two to four weeks with a calf string.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: They just haven't had their guys.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of teams fit into that bow, don't get me wrong, but they just haven't really had their guys.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of the frustration comes from, you know, the people that are out on the Cavaliers, is that this is the fourth season we've seen of this core.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, hell, after last season, a lot of people are like, okay, they have to trade DG.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: They have to trade Jared Allen because it's just not working out.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is a very small sample size of them having their core four together.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: So far, they have just played 57 minutes.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: 57 minutes is nothing, y'all.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And they are plus 31 in those minutes.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty good.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Four games, 57 minutes.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm still on the fence about whether or not I am revoking the contender name from the Cleveland Cavaliers because we just haven't been able to see them at full strength or even close to it.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Four games of your four of your starting five and a fifth guy, Max Truth, like I mentioned, has not played a single second just yet.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then I went to think about it.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, okay, we're in the parody era of the NBA, maybe, right?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe OKC says that's not the case, but as of right now, we're in the parody era of the NBA.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I was thinking about last year.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, well, the Pacers weren't very good until they were.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: The Pacers at this exact mark last season, again, the team that went on to go to the finals and be one game away from eliminating and being the NBA champion, they were three games under 500 at this Zach Mark last season.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe what the Cavs are doing right now isn't as bad if we just look at the record.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Then the year before that, the Dallas Mavericks, they were 15 and 9 at this exact spot in the NBA season.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, another team that was good, but maybe not great for the first month and a half of the season.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Then the year before that, the Miami Heat were a 500 team at this exact mark.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: They went on to an NBA Finals.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Out of the last, what, one, two, three, four, six seasons, five of the teams, or five of the finals, one of the two teams ended up being mediocre to just above average at this exact mark of the season.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: List goes on.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: The Boston Celtics, they went to the finals in the year versus the Golden State Warriors.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: They were a 500 team at this exact mark.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then the Milwaukee Box were just three games over and they went on to win the championship.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So because of that, I'm kind of reluctant to say, yeah, they ain't got it right now.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because we've seen time and time again, at least in this current era, that you can have the start of the season start slow, and then we get to mid-December, we get to the beginning of January, and boom, just like that.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: The Pacers are a great example of this.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: The Pacers had so many injuries they were fighting at the top of the year.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's how they ended up being three games under 500.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually Nemhard came back, eventually Neesmith came back, and just like that, they rattled off what, 20 of 25 to go into the NBA uh playoffs, and then they did their thing.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Were they an anomaly team?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: But again, the time and time again, we had we've had one of the two final teams just be okay at this mark of the season.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: The only reason that I'm pushing back on myself on that little experiment of going through the last couple seasons is that some of these teams that we're we're talking about don't have four years of being together beforehand.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: And not even just four years of being together beforehand in the three previous finals, again, dealing with injury, of course, in kind of an embarrassing fashion.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you get to the point where what did they do?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Did they tank their last game of the season to avoid a certain half of the bracket and then went into a series versus the Orlando Magic and then went to seven?
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's not good.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Then lost in the second round.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Then they went against a frisky and ended up being a great pacer team.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: A game where 95% of analysts was like, yeah, Cavs and five, calves and six, and they got the smack put down on them.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then you get to the years before it at the lights too bright moment.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: This team feels like they may be lacking that dog, that aggression that you kind of need to win for a playoff series.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I've given you the reason for giving them the benefit of the doubt, the injuries and then the history of one of the two finals teams.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I've also given you one of the reasons why they may shouldn't be contenders.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of the times I come into these episodes without having a real definite answer.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of do the research, present it to you, and I talk through it.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And by the end of it, I'll say, I believe this team is a contender.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Or I am out on this team being a contender.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm close to just being out.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think one of the reasons for this, for the people that saw them as contenders before the season started, not just because they were really good last season, regular season-wise, being the one seed, but it was the DPOY, Evan Mobley.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was him making an all NBA appearance and him having more uh responsibility on the offensive side.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: And because we got so many reports from Atkinson, from um people in leadership saying this is about to be a breakout offensive season, I bought it completely as an Evan Mobley guy.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that hasn't happened.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's not having a bad season by any means.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that in order for this team to reach the pinnacle of where they want to go, Evan Mobley has to be almost consensus best player.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that's saying a lot because Don Vomitchel is a goddamn dog.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: The reason we really are talking about the Cavs today is because they had the game against the Washington Wizards a few nights ago, and the Wizards were up by a ton going into the fourth, and Don Vom Mitchell said, hold on, here go 24 points in the fourth quarter.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna win this game.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: But they were eerily close to losing to one of the worst teams in the league.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And here's a peek behind the curtain as I record this episode.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, they're playing against the Charlotte Hornets, and they're down by 10 in the third quarter.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how that game is going, other than just looking at the overall box score.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: But eventually I will go home and see what the hell is going on.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, Evan Mobley's not there now, but if you have three of the guys, because they do win this game, Jared Allen is back, that should be enough to not just beat the Charlotte Hornets, but dominate the Charlotte Hornets.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, to the original question, do we take away the title of contender too fast?
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Probably.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: But that also gets to the conversation of what a contender is.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Can you be a contender and not even make it to the finals?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Can you be a contender and lose in the second round?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you lost to the team that eventually won.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot, it's a lot, y'all.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: But the Cavs have been underwhelming.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm like one foot in, one foot out.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the name of the show?
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: One foot in, one foot out.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: When we come back, we'll talk about another team that is young and upcoming and maybe our contender, the San Antonio Spurs.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: The San Antonio Spurs looked at the best team in basketball who went into the NBA Cup semis with a record of 24 and 1 and 1.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: 25, 24 and 1 and 1.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: They beat that team, the OKC Thunder, the team that might win 70 games, the team that might be starting a dynasty.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: They went into that game and won.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: And on that broadcast, again, Stan Van Gundy, who has been doing an amazing job over there on Team Amazon, kept using the word contender when talking about the San Antonio Spurs.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: And though I was watching this game and I was taking my notes and I was having so much fun watching the Spurs take all the momentum and win this game, in the back of my mind, I kept thinking about contender?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Contender?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Contender?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Is it too early?
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So now let's have a generic conversation about the checklist of being a contender in the NBA.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Top 10 offense?
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Top 10 defense.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Every single team that's won a championship over the last however many years, since like 2005, has been the top 10 offense and the top 10 defense.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people use that as the barometer of whether or not a team should really be in conversations to win a championship.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: So top 10, no, top 10 D, top seven player in basketball.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Highly specific from you, Kenny.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely highly specific.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Consistent half-court offense.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: What else?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that is a very generic checklist of what it means to be a contender.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Good coaching?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Should we add that?
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Number five.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: So now let's figure out the how many of these things the Spurs have.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Top 10 offense, the jury is still out on that because we we still just don't have a ton of sample size of De'Aaron Fox and when we playing together.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: So jury's still out.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna give them a half a point when it comes to top 10 offense.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Top 10 defense, they can have two thumbs up, to be honest with you.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, they got that.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Top seven players, seven thumbs.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: I don't got that many thumbs, but I'll throw them all up if I could, and Victor Wimanyama.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And a consistent half-court offense, the jury is still out, similar to the offensive top 10 offense, because we just haven't seen enough of the guy, the top two guys over there.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: But the more I watched the Spurs, because when they were oh, this is probably number six, um, great role players.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'll give them that.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Victor Mediama missed what, 12 games?
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they were nine and three, I think the record was.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: So like they were really good without Victor Wimbanyama, so much so that we had an episode a few weeks ago where a viewer of the show, Cam, was asking, like, how do we reincorporate Victor Wimbenyama?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: We've been playing so fast and playing so great.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do we go back to giving him post touches?
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Do we so on and so forth?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so so they have been playing really, really well.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: I watched this game against OKC.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's not smart to take a singular game no matter the stakes, no matter the what, and just use that as the real conversation around the team.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: But we're gonna do it today because this is basically the first game of Wimbenyama's NBA career off the top of mind.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'm wrong here, and you can fact check me and send it to me on Twitter or on Instagram or whatever.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is the first game of Victor Wimbenyama's NBA career so far that had real stakes.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, he has not been to the postseason, he hasn't been to a playing game and just want to go home.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: This tournament, as you can tell, if you watch this game, it means a lot to them.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: It means a lot to him.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And Kevin Johnson might get a goddamn lama if they beat the Knicks um tomorrow.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: So to have a guy like that on your team that is just generationally great defensively, like I hope y'all really are internalizing that we might be watching the best defensive player of all time.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Where once he checks into the game throughout the second quarter, the OKC Thunder are on a nice low run.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: The first stint he has is like two minutes.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's not even a big stint, and he immediately has some impact.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just about the rim protection that is scary about Valvicta Wimbayama, it's the quarterbacking on the defensive side of the ball.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Where they're early on, they're throwing him into actions, and he is early calling out switches so he can stay the low man, so he can roam and protect the paint.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: The OKC Thunder have a lot of great things about their team, and they still, even after this game, should be looked at as the heavy favorite to win a championship.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things they do the best in the NBA is driving to the basket.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: You get into the rim, finishing at the rim, kicking it out to shooters.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: All of the things about getting two feet into the paint.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And when Victor Wimbanyama was on the floor, they could not do that.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: And now I'm thinking about that, just overall, just having Wimby down there and him scaring teams and him being a deterrent at the rim.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, you can port that against every other team in the postseason and be like, yeah, that is enough to carry us on the defensive side of the ball.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: One man defensive unit.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: And they have other really good to great defenders, don't get me wrong.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: But when you have that luxury of being able to gamble on the perimeter to double a guy like Shay, because you know that if he swings it to his left, they have to take that three-point shot because they they don't dare want to get to that basket because Big Wimby's down there.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: He's playing with this level of aggression and his passion and he's throwing shots.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I mentioned in the video after this game that I uploaded on YouTube that him talking this trash and all of this is great for the NBA.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think that Wimby truly wants to be a heel in the league.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe he just hates OKC specifically, but it feels like he's okay with being the heel.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's any team over the next however many years that OKC is going to be great, if there's any team that I think could take them to the brink because of their versatility, it might be the San Antonio Spurs.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: The defensive side, cool.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Even though Shea woke up with 29 points, they made Shea turn the ball over more than any time this season.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: They made Shay, again, a guy that will get to the basket, just be a jump shooting guy.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: And he's a 55% jump shooting mid-range guy, but they made that be his entire game.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: I saw somebody put up on Twitter that when Wimbenyama was on the court in those 20 minutes, plus first of all, he's a plus 21 in 20 minutes.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: When he was on the court in those 20 minutes, the OKC Thunder put a shot on the rim in the paint three times in 20 minutes.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Three times?
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: One of the greatest driving teams in all the basketball.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: So you see that and you like, okay, if he they go against this, I can see that.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: If they go against this, I can see that.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then one of the more underrated things about them is the guards.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody wants to draw up the Giants de Cumpo to the San Antonio Spurs because they have the assets, they have the young talent, they have picks from other teams that they can make look interesting.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm out.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm out in the idea completely.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because that will mean trading one of these guys.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, Kenny, you you wouldn't trade Stefan Castle from Giannis.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: You wouldn't trade Dylan Harper from Giannis.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the answer is no, because one of the things they have over a lot of different teams of basketball is the size of their guards.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: And some of those dudes are legit dogs defensively.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Stefan Castle growing in the half court is one of the scariest things that can happen to the Western Conference.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: And if he can come in and guard Shay heavy for a seven-game series, if you can have a guy between Castle, Harper, and Fox, where there's no minute on the court for you where you don't have somebody that is elite at getting to the basket and creating rim pressure, it just, I don't know.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: So Van Gundy's using his word, man.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's saying, he's saying, contender.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: And he might be right.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: And he might be right.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: God forbid this team makes a mark a move around the edge instead of going get Giannis, going to get, I don't know, of a starter that may be able to take away Harrison Barnes.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Harrison Barnes has been really good this season, don't get me wrong, but he was over eighth last night.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, to to replace some of the Harrison Barnes minutes with another really good player.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, again, it don't have to be Giannis, but it don't even have to be a star, but just a super high quality three or four, then we might really be in business, y'all.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't come into the season thinking we would we would have this conversation about the Spurs being a contending team.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: But here we are.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to go above and beyond or go overboard with it, but I I I squint my eyes and I say, hmm, I there are it reminds me of a previous team who I won't even say.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because maybe I'm just I'm just super early on it.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: But a guy that I think can win in, well, they won't have three MVPs, don't get me wrong.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: But a guy that can be one of the best players in the world, that's Victor Wimbanyama.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then two younger guards, you know, one of them coming off the bench early in his career, good role players around.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was a young team out there that went on a run.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think that if you pair these two teams up in a seven-game series, I'm talking OKC versus uh the Spurs, that OKC still wins the series.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't think it's as I don't think it's as, you know, shut the door as it was four or eight hours ago, just because Stan Van Gundy has got me thinking about all of the things that incorporate has to be incorporated in order to be a contender.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let me shed some light on my boy uh Luke Cornette, because when he played for the Bulls, our coach at the time said that he reminds him of Robert Ori.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is pre-Lou Cornette stopped shooting threes and stuff.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody laughed at him.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: Even on the broadcast, Stacey King, who loves the Chicago Bulls and would try to make you optimistic as a viewer, he laughed literally on the broadcast right after Jim Boylan says that.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Jim Boylan was early.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: No, let me stop.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: He's not no Robert.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Robert Ori got so many rings, I can't even count him.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: But he is one of those guys that you could see, as you saw a few years ago, can be really impactful in a team that is winning a championship.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it is him playing spot minutes or him starting over Victor Wimbenyama yesterday.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I really, I really do love this team.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if Wimby's gonna play this well when the stakes are high and impact, again, we're talking about 20 minutes opposed to 30, which is what he would play or in the postseason, 37 minutes.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm in on the cat on the I'm in on the Spurs.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: And to answer the question, do we give it too early?
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: No, because I truly do believe the Spurs are contenders.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Before we go any further, we want to say thank you to the sponsor, DraftKings.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: You may know all about DraftKings pick six by now.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: You can pick more or less of different players' stats for the upcoming games.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just put two or more different players to your pick set, decide more or less with some stats, and sit back and relax and see if you made the right decision.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: I've been having a lot of fun with pick six so far this season.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, me and the guys have a competition.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And though I'm not winning that competition as of today, I have some belief that at the end of it, I will be notorious or victorious.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'm notorious too.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I put together a little pick set for tonight's games.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I can't wait for these games.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: I can't lie though, you know, the NBA Cup being tomorrow.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's like the boom game, Wimby versus Jalen Bronson, who has done an amazing job getting to the paint.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, what does that look like versus the Spurs and Wimbanyam?
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, I've been running these themes over the last couple weeks here on Smallball when it comes to my pick set.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm calling this one.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Let me cook this up.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: The All-NBA point getters.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like the okay.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm gonna I'm gonna workshop that one, but uh let me tell you what we got.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Jalen Brown continue this up, and this and the Celtics continue to win ball games.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: All NBA lock.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: I got more on his points.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't, this might be the game of the night, if you ask me.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: It is Pistons versus the Celtics.
• 21:36
  unknown: K.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: Cunningham's playing good basketball.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is on Peacock, um, by the way.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh be sure to tune in.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: It is 7 o'clock Eastern Time.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the Celtics have been playing good ball.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: They did get a bad loss a few nights ago, but they were playing great ball before that.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna go more on points with my favorite Twitch streamer, Jalen Brown.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: While we're in that game, again, I said this is the all NBA picks.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go Kay Cunningham more on points as well.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I was close to going more on his PR.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm going to keep it very simple.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that Kay Cunningham, again, is nice enough to get that more against this Celtics team that has continued to surprise me.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: The next guy on my list is a NBA MVP contender, Nikola Jokic.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in my notes right now, I hadn't decided just yet if I was going to go points or just go the combination of PRA.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Again, sticking to what this is supposed to be.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's the point getters.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: I will go more on his points.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: In this game, he is going against the he's going against the Rockets.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the Shingoon versus Jokic matchup.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Man.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, wait, we got some heaters.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's also on Peacock, y'all.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: We got two great games on Peacock tonight.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, uh Nicole Jokic is averaging 29 and a half points, 13 rebounds, 11 and 6.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's really laughable how great of a player he is.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: And tonight he's going against the Houston Rockets, and that's a team that will bruise you up, scratch your arms, just like you know, Jokic always got a bear scratch on his arms.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: And um, him versus Shingoon has been magic before, and I'm expecting him to come out and put his best foot forward.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna stick to that game, and I'm gonna go Kevin Durant on the other end.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we had the All NBA conversations last episode.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Does Kevin Durant get it?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Does Shingoon get it?
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: I read through the comments, I saw the tweets.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all were like Kenny.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: If we were going, and this is from Rockets fans, if we are going to get an all-NBA player, it will be Kevin Durant and not Al Prince Goon.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: Note it.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: I ain't gonna fight it.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Kevin Durant get another All-NBA.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: Let me see what that put him as.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um Kevin Durant, because I it's a lot of them, and that's with him having, you know, the streak where he was out with his injury.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Kevin Durant will be getting, if he made it, his 12th All NBA appearance.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: My goodness, do y'all recognize how blessed we are that a guy that is 37 years old can come in and make an all-NBA appearance after not making it for do do do do, this will be two years.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: He last made it his first year in Phoenix, the first half year Phoenix.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: He only played eight games there.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, like it's been a little minute.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a little minute since our boy KD has made all NBA.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: So to reiterate, in game number one, Jalen Brown more on points, and Kay Cunningham more on points, a little star uh duel over there.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: And on the opposite side, more on Kevin Durant points and Nikola Jokic points, NBA pick set.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know one thing I gotta do in one of these episodes with my picksat?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta go get like the.7 boosts.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you know, you know.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Just go over to DraftKings, download the app.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: When we come back, the NBA trade season officially upon us today.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna tell you some of the top candidates and whether or not I believe they will be traded.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: For those who haven't checked out DraftKings PickSticks yet, there's an exclusive offer waiting for you.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, new DraftKings customers can play$5 and get$50 in Pick Six credits.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: All you have to do is download the PickSix app and use promo code Enjoy when you sign up.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: Pick six is available in most states, including Texas, California, Missouri.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: So don't be afraid to get in on the action.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: We're at the upside with Pick Six.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: It is December 15th, which makes about 90% of the league eligible to be traded.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: It is the opening of NBA trade season, ladies and gentlemen.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I asked Twitter who are the top trade candidates this season?
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to just tell you whether or not I believe they will get traded and where to.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: And even if I don't believe they will get traded, I'm gonna tell you the team, if they were to be traded, a team I would like them to be on.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Are we ready?
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: Starting off with the biggest name imaginable, one of the top players in all of basketball, Giannis Dedocumpo.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: Do I believe he will be traded this season?
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Bucks fans, this don't turn off the episode.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: I promise you, we're gonna get you back.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna say yes.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: I do believe Giannis will be traded.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: There is a report, and and sometimes you have to take report with a grain of salt.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Giannis has been one that's been very adamant about it.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you didn't hear from me, it didn't happen.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: But one of the reports was like, what's high on Giannis's um things that he wants if he is traded is a big market.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: A chance to win a championship definitely makes sense.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's the whole reason he would potentially win out of Milwaukee.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then sun.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: He wants to go to a city where this is he got some sun.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: He's tired of the Midwest winters.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: Me too.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's zero degrees outside as I'm filming this episode.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Wind Chills got in minus whatever.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I agree with you, Giannis.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be traded though.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh keep me resign me here um with the team at ABC, please.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so if Giannis wants all of that, let's let's get him to a team where meets the criteria.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: Big market team, check.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: Got some son, check.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: What was the other one?
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Chance to win a championship?
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Check.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: I got him going to the Atlanta Hawks.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: I got him going to the Atlanta Hawks.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think out of all of the individual assets, like just individual assets that you could potentially get for Giannis, that Pelicans pick is the best one.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I don't know if the Hawks are really in the sweep six.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if they care to even want to go get Giannis.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: But if there was one individual asset I would want, if I'm the Milwaukee Bucks, it is that pick.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then you can add, you know, a resache, give us back Trey Young because well, I'll hey Trey Young on my list.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say yes to Milwaukee.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, bring us back Trey Young because that does not allow us to be good, don't get me wrong, but allow us to be competitive on a nightly basis while we can go out there and um hope that the Palace continue to lose.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: If we don't have the access to our own first round picks, then we might as well try to put together the best possible team while they're con while the Mouse turner contract's still there.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe he's the one that gets traded as well.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm okay with the form of that trade.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh more has to be in it, obviously.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's Yance DeCumpo.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: But if it is a Traygon, if it is a Rizasha, give us a Sonua, give us that Pelicas pick, give us a little bit more pick value on top of that, then maybe we have a little bit of a deal, and that fits the criteria.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: Atlanta's a beautiful, beautiful place.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: What is Atlanta?
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: Atlanta weather right now.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's sunny.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: It is sunny right now, Giannis.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: And also 34 degrees.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: But it's sunny.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: You didn't say it needed to be warm.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: You just wanted the sun, and damn it, Atlanta could get you the sun.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: The number two name, according to Twitter, is Larry Markinen, a guy that has been in trade woman for quite some time.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: He couldn't get traded at all last season after signing that big old extension.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: He played relatively poor compared to his previous season, and they were like, man, Danny Ainge should have popped him off when he could, because we don't know if he'll ever gonna be back to it.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: He's averaging close to 28 points per game again.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all, he's back.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: All that being said, though, Danny Ainge is such a person that I can't read.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna say Giannis, I'm sorry, uh Lari does not get traded this season.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: He does finish this season out a part of the Utah Jazz.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: But if he was going to be traded, I mentioned it a bunch of times on the show before.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: My number one team for him would be the Pistons.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, based on the conversation I just had about the Spurs, maybe the Spurs are another good team that if you're not gonna go get Giannis, you don't want to spend that level of assets, maybe you try to go get Larry Market in, who alongside a Giannis, or alongside um Wimby makes a ton of sense.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, man.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: The next name on my list is Ja Morant.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think Ja is getting traded.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of those guards, I know I already said yes to Trey Young because Trey Young is in the Giannis potential trade.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: Between Ja, between Lamelo, between some of these other really good in theory point guards that are available, it's hard for me to find the teams that will be trading for them unless the value is all the way in the gutter.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the one team that if John Morant was going to be traded, that kind of makes some sense to me is the Miami Heat.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: That may not make sense to he fans.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: That may not make sense to Ja Morant because John Morant just got his coach fired for running this no high pick and roll system.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sending them to a team that's doing the exact same thing.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Hell, it's the same, it's literally the same coach uh coming in helping the Miami Heat do that.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: But it's something about the Miami Heat star chasing, and John Morant objectively is a star.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: Is he playing like one right now?
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely not.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: But if you can get to Miami, then maybe that changes.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: I also thought about the Toronto Raptors a little bit, but I saved them for another player.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Anthony Davis is next.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: He is another one of the big names in the market.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: We saw the report that maybe the Dallas Mavericks act more like buyers this deadline.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought that might be a little bit of smoke, right?
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because we all assume that Anthony Davis will be traded.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: But if we tell the world that no, we actually buyers right now, then maybe that gives us a little bit more value on an Anthony Davis trade.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: And we have at least a few teams that are interested.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I truly don't believe Anthony Davis will be traded, though.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: As of today, December 15th, I got a vibe that they aren't trading AD.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't, I don't know.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't think so.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: But if he was gonna be traded, I think the Raptors are that team.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think there it makes some sense there.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: Trying to make the contracts work is really difficult, right?
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Between Anthony Davis, it will probably have to be RJ and quickly.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want to trade two starters there?
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe Yaka Purdo's in it because Derek Live is going to miss the rest of the season.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: I don't, I don't know.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I didn't formulate the trades.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just telling you the team that I kind of like the fit of it.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the Toronto Raptors have been a team that has showed us time and time again that we're not going to go get free agents, but we are willing to pay players that we trade for.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: And Anthony Davis in his camp is saying if you trade for us, we want that bag.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I do believe that if there's any team that'll be willing to give him that bag, it will be them.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: Him, Scotty Barnes, Brandon Ingram still there.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's not the best on paper, but I could see it working out.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: And they just completely buy into being a high-level defensive-oriented team and let that be it.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: The next name on the list, I'm realizing this is not ranked in the talent level of the player, but just the names that came up.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: Jonathan Kaminga is 100% getting traded.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: He is one of the people that is in the 10% that can't get traded today, but he's got to wait to the middle of January because of when he signed his contract.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: So he's getting DMBs again.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: Do you remember the first episode of the week when the season started?
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: And we was like, yeah, man, Jonathan Kaminga, bro, he's finally being the guy that they need him to be.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: And now here we are, DMBs.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: He's 100% getting traded.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: It makes no sense for him to sit back on this team.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: And the team that makes the most sense to me is the Sacramento Kings.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: They were in on him last season.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't know if that's revolving around Malik Monk, who I guess the Warriors were saying they didn't want in the first place.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I actually think that Malik Monk can add a little bit of a bounce, a little bit of speed that the Golden State Warriors could use.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: And we've seen Malik Monk be on good teams.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: He ain't on a good team right now.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: We see him be on good teams to still be able to play good basketball.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: He's not one of those guys that, yeah, he's averaging this amount of points because he's playing for the Sacramento Kings.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: He's not that type of guy, in my opinion.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so I think that John Tikaminga gets to go to Sacramento, start every single game.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: Him and Russell Westbrook, whoa, they're gonna be nice.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: The next name we have is Zion Williamson.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't see it getting, I just don't see him getting traded.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it makes sense for the value of Joe Dumas to trade him now.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: But maybe it doesn't matter to Joe Dumars because there's a rumor that the pick that they traded to Atlanta, Joe Dumas and his team didn't even know what they were trading away.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe they don't know.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't think the value is nearly as good enough to make it so that you're trading Zion Williamsman as today.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: But if he was going to be trading, send him here.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: Send him here.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, send him to Chicago.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: Next name on the list is Anthony Simons.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm saying yes on Anthony Simons.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think that this is going to be an interesting play for the Boston Celtics because it seems like Jason Tatum's going to come back this season at some point.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if he is coming back and the Easter conference is what it is, we just had a whole segment about whether or not a preseason top contender in the Cavs or even a contender today, the conference is all the way open.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: Jason Tatum comes back.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's a world where Simons and whatever is flipped to go get a center that they really like.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: There's a conversation in the mascada is that guy, because he is one of the best on-off players in all the basketball.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I do have Anthony Simons going to the Clippers because that would mean that Big Zoo is trading.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I was asked by the guys on the panel of numbers on the board that if you are the Clippers, does it make sense to trade away Zoobots now?
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because he is one of the few people with real value on the team.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I fought with it for some time and I thought that, yeah, it does, it does make some sense to try to maximize the value that you could get for Zoo.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: It still would allow you, allow you, in theory, to be the 2027 buyers that you want.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: But if you can stockpile some of the assets now by trading away Zoo, I could see a world where that makes sense.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Kawhi doesn't have a ton of value.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: James probably won't have a ton of value.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: They're not value less, don't get me wrong.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: But the one guy on your roster that would have like real Trey value and teams would trade you real picks or maybe trade you a real prospect is Big Zoo.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: The last name I have on my list is Trey Murphy the third.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think the Pelicans in general are just one of the biggest wild cards of this trade season.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: But I will say, when it comes to Trey Murphy the third, I will say no.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: I know Warriors fans want him.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: I know Pistons fans want him, and that's the team I had him, by the way.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: If he was going to get traded, I like the idea of him going to the Pistons, but um, a lot of teams want a guy like Trey Murphy third, who is an elite level shooter and can shoot it from 30 plus feet, and has showed you that like he's not necessarily he's maybe a better defender in theory, but I've seen him really get in that chair, and that's what you need in the playoffs.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: So those are the top 10 guys.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: And whether or not I think they will or will not be traded when we come back, we'll be here with Ask KB.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is where we answer your questions.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can hit us up on Twitter or on Instagram with the hashtag AskKB, and I try my very best to get to some of the better and the cooler questions.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: The first one comes from Ethical Hooper, who says, What is one trade a playoff team needs to make at the deadline?
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: Look, I have been absolutely obsessed with one fake idea I had on numbers on the board.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like I was just kind of just, you know, just chopping it up with the boys.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you just say something and see what the reaction is, and then you're like, wait a minute, did I just say something?
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it had to do with the Portland Trailblazers.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the Trailblazers are not a playoff team at the moment, like I mentioned last segment.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: But this is so interesting to me that their best player, Denny, is making$14 million this season, 13 next year, and 11 the year after that.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: Damian Lillard, their franchise GOAT, or one of their two franchise GOATs.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how you feel about Mr.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: Drax Lover down.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: $14 million this year, again, coming off a major injury, so at and 35.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe he's just not as good next season, but regardless,$14 million this year,$13 million next year.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: Donovan Klingan, your center of the future.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: $7 million, and then he he's not gonna get that contract extension any like this year, next year.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: So there's an opportunity for the Portland Trailblazers to be buyers.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: They have their own first-round picks, but also like two Milwaukee Bucks picks, which like depending on what happens with Giannis, those picks become infinitely more valuable in the market.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know exactly what the trade is, but I think there's a world where you, if you can find the right star player, the Skruntal guy, whatever, whatever, to bring him to this team.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_00: Jeremy Grunt's$32 million is just something you want to move in anyway.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: Even if it's Drew Holiday's$32 million and$34 million next year, he was good when he was playing, but it ain't like he's truly a part of the core.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you know that Dave Mill is gonna come back and he's gonna be healthy, if you believe that what Shaden Sharp has done over the last couple weeks or so is good enough for him to be a real time, full-time starter, you don't really need Drew Holiday.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need Jeremy Grant.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a$50 million pool.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: Robert Williams is making$13 million.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: So even if it's one of those guys, it's Jeremy Grant and Robert Williams, it's Drew Holiday and um uh Matisse Steible who's on$11 million.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: You got$40 plus million dollars to potentially trade for while your best players is on a descending contract.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, man.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: Come on.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I don't know what that player is.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's Giannis.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Milwaukee, you want to hold your own destiny again?
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: Here, boom.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: Get Drew Holiday back.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you want Drew Holiday and Yannis.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm so intrigued that maybe this is my 2K brain coming in.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so intrigued about the possibility of them being buyers without giving up any of those young core players that I mentioned earlier in the episode.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm in, I'm I'm truly, truly intrigued.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: The next team, if you want a like a real um playoff team, is Detroit Pistons.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: Detroit Pistons um are one of the best teams of basketball.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned Larry Marking for them quite a bit, which makes sense.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Larry Marking is kind of the type of player that they would need.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a guy that doesn't need to put the ball on the floor, he moves off the dribble, he hits shots, he does does whatever.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: But another guy that fits similar modes that won't be as expensive salary-wise or um his overall trade value to his team, Michael Porter Jr., man.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you are the Detroit Pistons and you can turn, I don't know, Tobias Harris and Jay Nivey to what Michael Porta Jr.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: is doing right now.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, when he gets to the Detroit Pistons, his role is back to somewhat limited.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um but he could he's show he's showing you right now what type of player he can really be.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: And this is kind of the the Brooklyn Nets way where they get a nice wing, a part of a bigger trade, and then they get his value up like they did Cam Johnson, where he plays a lot, Mikhail Bridge plays a lot, puts up his stats, and you ship him away, and then maybe he loses some of his powers.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: But it won't be as expensive to get him because I get I guess the the Utah Jazz is out here saying we want to keep everybody.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: So it might be like a Michael Porter Jr.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: type of move for the Detroit Pistons.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think it could be some I think it could be some really cool, cool stuff.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the next question comes from Joey that says, best favorite fan moment, but not sports.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I really, really struggle with this one.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_00: Not sports.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: What else could I be a fan of?
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: I guess music is in there, art is up in there.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have one that's not sports related.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's basically what I'm saying, Joey.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: I would have love for you to tell me your favorite moment, uh fan moment that's not sports related.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna shift it.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: It will be sports related.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I'm changing your question, but damn it, I thought it was cool to talk about some cool things.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: I I hate the front office of the Chicago Bulls.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: I hate the ownership of the Chicago Bulls.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: That is not a not a surprise to anybody.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've verbally said that for the last five years.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_00: But I absolutely love the social team over there.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: I love the people that are in charge of their talent relationships and stuff.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: So the most um, the most interesting or coolest thing, fan moment, best fan moment, is when I was able to do the collaboration with the Chicago Bulls on the merch.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: I had an entire merch line where it's Kenny Beachum ex-Chicago Bulls.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been so blessed and lucky to do so many cool things in my lifetime because of this profession.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's a lot of the times hard to internalize those things.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: Hell, I was just Forbes 30 on the 30 like last week, and it didn't feel like anything.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: But one thing that did feel like something was that collaboration piece, a bomber jacket that says the Chicago Bulls that I designed.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: A t-shirt, some sweatpants, and yeah, I don't, they ain't they ain't the best looking things three years down the line, but like when it happened in real time, it was such a cool moment.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then for them to give me like a spotlight day where I was there and I was a part of the team.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: I was running on the court throwing the um the free t-shirts in the crowd, and I'm on the jumbo trying Chicago's own, Kenny Beachum.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: Look at his merch.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's in the shop.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: It literally is in the shop in the United Center.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: That is the best and my favorite fair moment, bar none.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to say thank you to the Bulls.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: I also want to say thank you to House of Highlights because that was back when I was with them, and they are the ones that kind of made that connection happen.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: So even though I'm not with them anymore, I got no hard feelings about my time with them boys over there because they really changed my life.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, shout out to my friends over at HOH and shout out to my team over there with the Bulls.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I will say not shout out to the people that's running a show.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: The next one comes from Junior.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: If the Lakers win a championship in the next two years, what do you think that does for Lucas Legacy?
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: Whoa.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a very interesting thing because Luka Doncic, as of right now, is on pace to be the greatest player to never win an MVP.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: Is that fair to say?
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, is that fair to say?
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: Wait a minute.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: Let me think that through.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: Let me think that through.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: Who else is on their list?
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like DeWay Wade is on that list, Elton Baylor's on that list.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say it.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say it pretty comfortably.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, Luka Doncic is on pace to be the best player to never win MVP.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: With him being only 26 years old, I'm assuming that he will get one, by the way.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: But um, with him adding an NBA championship, let's say, that puts him as a one, two, three, four, five, six-time all-NBA first team player and a champion at the age of 26.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have always been a guy that won't shy away from the uncomfortable conversations of kind of leaving nostalgia in the back burner and thinking about what's going on right here, right now.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he immediately jumps into conversations of top whatever player ever at the age of 26.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, he's not one of those young guys that have the accolades but don't have the postseason success.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: He's been to the NBA Finals, he's been to the conference finals twice.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: And now you're telling me he's getting an actual championship on top of that.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: And if in order for the Lakers to win a ring relatively soon, that man had to be on his stuff, man.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: That team ain't super far away, but they far enough away that Luca Donza had to turn the Superman to make it happen.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it changed the legacy.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_00: It was like some of these dudes, Giannis's, the Jokic's, the guys that we saw as top players in the world pre-championship, obviously they just jump up so much higher on those potential top player of all time lists with being the best player on the championship team.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_00: They were saying, could you win a championship with a guy that plays like Giannis?
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: Could you win a championship with a big fella that don't defend like Jokic?
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: And both of those guys got it.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: And now we look at Jokic as one of the best whatever players in the world, and we look at or of all time, and we look at Giannis in a similar vein.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I think Luca getting the ring changes everything.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so shout out to Big Luca.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, you also can send us audio questions.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_00: So let's let's see what we got on the audio air.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Kenny, which NBA star fits the best with Giannis?
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: Curious to know what team he'd fit best on, even if he's not willing to go there.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: And let's go next.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: We're winning the chip this year.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all winning the chip this year, huh?
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this is this is very interesting.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're saying just in this fictional world, Giannis is getting traded to a team that he fits the most perfect with.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm being honest, and this is why I'm not an NBA general manager, I thought that his combination with Damian Lillard was one of the best case scenarios, right?
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: Dame, as a guy that runs a lot and can run a lot of high screen picking roles, he is a deadly guy in that pick and roll as a ball handler, can shoot it, can pass it, can hit it from the logo.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that would be perfect.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: But what we found out is through a few different um iterations of the team that it didn't work out.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't run as many pick and rolls as you really would have imagined.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess I'm kind of steering away from these high usage, high pick and roll players like a Luka Doncic, which is what I immediately kind of thought of.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think he might just benefit from just talent, man.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: It may sound crazy, but just any anybody that is top 15 um Shay, Jokic, Durant, the answer should be Women Yama.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_00: And because that is somewhat realistic, I will say Women Yama, De'Aaron Fox.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: I will say womenyama.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's Jalen Bronson.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh be sure to stay tuned.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: We got more EBA talk coming up.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get out of here, I want to talk about a few of the trends that I saw over the last two weeks or the last week.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um and kind of just talk things through.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's not about whether it's sustainable or not.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's not really relevant to me.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of want to get my flowers where it's due.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_00: The first place I want to get flowers is to the Dallas Mavericks.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_00: They are the worst offensive team in basketball by a wide margin, or at least they were the worst team offensively in basketball by a wide margin.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that is scary because a team like the Washington Woods exist and they had the worst net rating for the first month of the season.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_00: But as of recently, their offensive game has kicked up quite a bit.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: In the last two weeks, in the seven games they play in those two weeks, they have the eighth-ranked offense in the league in the league.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just, I'm just saying, does that change the dynamic of where they want to do with this season, right?
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um it felt like a full-on guarantee that Anthony Davis was going to get traded.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: But if they're playing, let's say okay, they're playing okay, you could kind of convince yourself that maybe AD sticks around for the rest of the season and really picks it up next year when they are completely healthy.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: But in this stretch, Cooper Flag gave them a 35-point win against the Clippers, his best game of the season by a wide margin.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you expected it to go down from that.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it did go down, but not that much because they had a win against Denver where he had 24.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_00: They had a win against Miami where he had 22.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: They lost against OKC.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody does that.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then they went against Houston and he had 19.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_00: He's playing great ball.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: Not only is he playing great ball, undrafted, free agent, rookie free agent, Ryan Emhart over the little stretch here.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: He had a 28-point game in that Denver Nuggets win, also with 10 assists.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: The next day, um, they played against the Miami Heat.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: He had 15 and 13, then 10 and 4, and then 11 and 7.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then I mentioned that he doesn't turn the ball over often either.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: Gets to the post-game interview, and he answers very uh candidly.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, hey man, in this game against the OKC Thunder, we try too hard to give Anthony Davis the ball.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes he got to get away from that.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: An undrafted rookie-free agent don't say stuff like that, man.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_00: He's him.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: He's him.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_00: What more can you say?
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he he truly, truly is.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_00: On the opposite side of that, we still do have a wide margin between the best defensive team in basketball and the second best defensive team in ball.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_00: But another trend that is happening as of right now, during a stretch where the uh New York Knicks are seven and one in their last eight, they have the number three offense and the number four defense.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I can't give you all of the reasons why I have to go back and watch it with a final two comb.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: But right now, the Knicks overall on the season is up to the 12th ranked defense.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I think they are one of those teams that fit into the OKC, I'm not the OKC Thunder, the Denver Nuggets way of doing it, that we want to be a firecrack on the offensive side.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_00: And if we can be an average defense, then that should be enough.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, over this little stretch, they're playing better than a well above average defense.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I can't say exactly what's leading to this.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_00: Could it be matchup related?
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really know.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: But again, I just I just wanted to put that on on your minds.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: Going back to a little negative, Toronto Raptors were a huge surprise.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: A month into the season, they were a top 10 team on offense and defense.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that is not the case anymore because their offense has fallen off completely to 28th in the last two weeks.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some of these games, you have the two losses against the Charlotte Hornets.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: One of them, whether they want to be a schedule loss or what, they just played against the Lakers one night and got gained by Rui Hachimura, and then the next day they played against the Hornets, and it was bad.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm saying this out of love, Raptors fans.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: The Raptors fan base is an emotional group, and there's nothing wrong with being an emotional group.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: But to see them on Twitter, on Twitter, go through these waves of boom, y'all doubted us, yada yada yada.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_00: We are really like that.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: To just on a little loop, two weeks' sample size, where they're four and four in these two weeks, the sky's now falling out completely.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_00: To see them shift completely to like, no, we we're done.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_00: So and so needs to be traded.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's just that's what fandom is.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's what fandom is, but it's just it's just surprising when it happens that fast.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: I made this tweet two days ago when the Denver Nuggets were in Atlanta when they gave up 70 plus points in the first half to the Atlanta Hawks, that Aaron Gordon deserves some level of award, and I didn't want to go DPOI.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: Some level of an award for the way him and Christian Brown kept that defense together.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: That defense was so bad.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in the second half, they ended up putting it together and they won that game, they came all the way back, but they are also um one point per 100 possessions better, just one point per 100 possessions better than the Washington Wizards defensively.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_00: I listen, I ain't trying to be a conversation with the Wizards on any statistic, on any statistic.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just one point better than them.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of crazy.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: So those are some trends that have happened over the last week or so.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm hopefully enjoyed this episode of Smallball.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm trying my very best to get on my comfort zone a little bit.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been around, you know I don't love rankings, but I'm doing it uh more and more because y'all enjoy it.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_00: This has been Kenny.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_00: I will see y'all next time.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_00: Peace.