Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective - Answering Your BIGGEST Questions About The NBA Right Now - From the Philippines

Episode Date: October 7, 2026

The Hoop Collective is live from Manila, Philippines, answering your biggest questions about the NBA! Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon welcome Jimmy Alapag to discuss his coaching career with the Sacramento Kings before diving into underrated storylines for the upcoming season, the Clippers’ outlook and the NBA’s growing international talent pool. Plus, the biggest “what ifs” surrounding LeBron James’ free agency, the best path to building a contender, trades that could have changed the league and offseason moves deserving more attention. Brian and Tim also share their favorite basketball moments, and what they miss about Bontemps. Timecodes: 00:00 Welcome to the Hoop Collective live from Manila 01:02 Jimmy Alapag joins the Hoop Collective 04:57 Jimmy's coaching career with the Kings 18:23 Answering your biggest NBA questions 23:12 What is an underrated storyline for this upcoming season? 27:32 What to make of the state of the Clippers? 32:08 Will the flow of International players continue? 36:39 What the crew misses about Tim Bontemps 42:23 Who couldn't the Heat close a deal for LeBron James? 46:22 The biggest "what ifs" of LeBron's free agency 50:20 What is the best route to building a contender? 55:06 Brian & Tim's favorite basketball moments 1:06:12 What failed trade would've changed the league? 1:07:19 How to report controversial stories 1:09:54 What offseason move deserves more attention? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing today from Manila Philippines. Joining me in his first visit to Manila and experiencing all of it in its glory is Van McMahon. Howdy, partners. It is a pleasure to be here. As I told you before we started the show, you are living up to the hype. And trust me, nobody loves the Filipino basketball community, at least no American, I should say, loves the Filipino basketball community. as much as this man, Brian Windy Winnie Winters,

he's been talking about you ever since he came here for the World Cup. It was very important to me that when we started this tour, that we come to Manila. I wanted to come back ever since 2023 when I was here for three plus weeks for the World Cup. Fell in love with it then, despite it being in the absolute middle of monsoon season, which was an eye-opening experience.

But I'm so glad to be here. And we have a special guest right out of the gate. this guy is a Filipino basketball legend 13 years in the PBA six championships six championships an MVP an MVP two finals MVP's a great nickname they called a man the mighty mouse oh man I mean and is had a just tremendous post career now as a as a coach has coached last six years in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings and the Stockton Kings. Now a head coach in the PBA. Listen, I don't know what's more impressive.

The MVP's, the championships, or the fact that this man helped the Sacramento Kings make the playoffs. I know. Without further ado, Jimmy Alapang. Brian and Tim, thank you guys. It's a huge honor to be your first guest here, especially in the Philippines, where our country has a different passion and love for the game of basketball.

I'm sure as you guys can see today. So I'm extremely honored to be here with you guys. So McMahon is so excited about one aspect of the PVA that he just learned about. I just learned they've got a four point line. This is the first year of the four point line. And I guess it's like 27. I haven't gotten the official measurement. I guess is it is it 27 feet from the hoop going from, you know, arc to arc? I believe so. Okay. And so that they used to call that Alpanic territory, right? Once upon a time. Once upon a time. Back in his day when he was a perennial all-star, an MVP,

finals MVP, that was your territory. But it is such a fascinating basketball experiment to me. And I'm just curious, like, how has that changed the strategy? Like, what have you thought about as you guys are, you know, getting into using that as a tool and, you know, as part of your game? Well, you know, Tim, I think the, the four point line definitely adds a very unique dynamic to the game, especially here in Asia.

Because like you said, with the four point line, now end game situations, end of game, you know, situations if you're down four, now it only takes one shot to tie the game. Or if you're down three, get a four-point shot to win the game. 12 points becomes a four-possession game. Nine points. It becomes like, nine points was like, oh, man, if you get to nine, you got a game one. Not anymore.

You better score. And so I think it adds a new. level of excitement. I'm happy that the PBA is the one who took a little bit of a leap of faith to try it. And I think, again, I've been coaching with it and against it for the last three or four months, and so far so good. How many of you guys have the green light from four point range? On our team, we have a couple of guys, actually. We have a couple of guys who have that, you know, NBA-type range. And so, you know, try to give our guys the confidence if they're open and they work on it. that they have freedom to take it.

How many have earned a seat because they shot a four-pointer and you're like, dude, that's not your game? Maybe one or two. Yeah, I feel to mention that you're the coach of the NLEX Road Warriors, and this is one of the things I love about the PBA. They, the nicknames, so the nicknames match the sponsorships.

I love this. So, for example, San Miguel, which is a famous beer here in the Philippines. I'll get to know that tonight. Yeah. The Bierman. That's your nickname. If I sign with a PBA team, I guarantee it will be the same Miguel Beerman. I have a matter of fact, I got to meet their owner. I need a jersey. I need a t-shirt.

You love that. And Lex is a tollway. Is that correct? You say a tollway. And it's sponsored. The Road Warriors. I love that about it. You have spent the last six years with the Kings, Stockton Kings and the Sacramento Kings. And we were talking earlier about the fascinating experience that you have. had you were a player development coach, so you worked a lot with the younger guys, but the fascinating experience that you had with Russell Westbrook. Yes.

With the Kings, his final stop in the NBA. You know, Brian, it's amazing looking back at last season with Sacramento, not knowing that it was going to be Russ's last season, but to be able to have an opportunity to be around one of the all-time greats and really just see the day-to-day preparation, and discipline. I think he's got to be, you know, one of the best condition, 37, 38-year-old pros that I've ever seen. And on top of that, just an incredible person, you know, in terms of his character, you know, as a husband, as a father, as a teammate,

to be able to meet an all-time great and spend time with him and learn that side about him, aside from the legend that he is, was incredible. You know, I mentioned you helped the Sacramento Kings break what was the NBA's longest playoff drought at that time. That's obviously as part of Mike Brown's staff. What was it like working for Mike Brown and then you're watching the NBA finals? What's it like seeing him finally getting, it wasn't in Sacramento, but finally get to the top of the NBA Mountain and win that championship? You know, Tim, Coach Brown has a very special place in my heart because he was the first one to give me an opportunity to move up to his staff in the NBA. So I'm forever grateful

to coach Brown. And like you said, to see him last season and, you know, the way that they made that run to the finals and win the championship, couldn't be happier for someone who has been through a lot and has seen, you know, some super highs and lows throughout his NBA career as a coach, you know, to finally win the championship. And in New York, no less, you know, I joke with them all the time. I don't think he's paying for any more meals in New York City anytime soon. But just a ton of respect for Coach Brown. He's the drop breaker, right? 16 years without a playoffs in Sacramento, 53 years without a championship in New York. And you think about it, two things about Mike Brown's career. They're fascinating. One, he coached LeBron,

coach Kobe, coached Steph. He was an assistant coach for the Warriors. One rings there. Obviously, now he's coached Jalen Brunson. Kyrie. Karee. And he's been fired four times. You know, so just because you get fired, it doesn't mean you don't know what you're talking about. If you've been fired four times as an NBA head coach, you must know what you're doing because that means you've been hired that many times. So we had on the podcast last year, a friend of all the podcast, Max Rayneau, who made the all-rookie team as a second round pick.

Also, some really good young players in SAC. We don't get a chance to talk about SAC too much. They would love. Their fans are, I think Sacramento is a good comparison for you because Sacramento has had, you know, they don't get the attention, but their fan base is very passionate, just like the Filipino fan base is very passionate. But really good young players, Max Rayneau, Neat Clifford, they've had. Keegan Murray. Yeah, absolutely. And so from your perspective as a player development coach, what do you think you're going to see, you know, from those young Kings players going forward? You know, I think during my time in Sacramento, it was great to spend time with those young guys. You know, as a player development coach, you're able to really be with them from the start, you know, and playing a small part and hopefully helping them have success in the NBA. You know, Neek and Max, you know, are two great rookies. I thought they got invaluable experience last year, you know, despite the team struggles, they were out there playing 30, 35 minutes a game, which I think for a rookie,

is almost unheard of in the NBA. So I think that experience is only going to help them, hopefully take another leap going into this season. Obviously, I was there during Keegan Murray's rookie year. You know, it had a tough season last year because of the injuries, but I'm rooting for him. He's another guy who, you know, is in the gym all the time. And I'm really hoping that he has a breakout year this year.

What is, because you experienced this firsthand, describe what a NBA player's daily work load is like when they're, because this is what your job is, your job is to work extremely hard on non-game days and then before and after the game. I don't know if the average person understands just how much work the NBA players put in on their game. I'm telling you, Brian, NBA players, it's like a nine to five job, but you're just in the gym, especially when you're talking about the NBA players. These guys are the best players in the world. And so, you know, their days start early in the morning, whether they're on the court, you know, they're spending time getting

to working on the court, then they're on the table. You know, the NBA, I think nowadays is a great job balancing their workload on the court while also balancing the recovery to keep them healthy throughout the season. They still spend time in the weight room. Then you still have practice. And what I think a lot of people don't realize is a lot of these NBA guys, after all of that work, they'll go home for a few hours and most of them come back at night. to get extra work. Because I think at that level, with all those elite players, I think everybody's looking for an edge.

And if it's an extra hour in the gym, if it's an extra hour in the weight room, they're willing to do whatever it takes to hopefully help them have success. What are the things from your experience in Stockton and in Sacramento that you feel like you've been able to take back here and has influenced the way that you're coaching now in the PBA? I think my biggest takeaway,

being in Sacramento was my time with Coach Brown. And sorry, Coach Brown and Coach Bobby Jackson. I think just their attention to detail in everything, whether it was game planning for an upcoming opponent, you know, breaking down what we're going to do at practice, the drills, how many minutes we would do each drill. I mean, it was very technical in all aspects and making sure that the players were on the court,

getting the recovery on the table, and then still getting to work in with the strange conditioning. So it was it was an entire process and to be able to see that up close again the attention to detail and how important it was to to to all the players and the coaching staff to to give ourselves the best chance to have some success. So when I'm around a team for the first time, I'll pay a lot of attention to the point guards relationship with the head coach and the in your interactions with the head coach. It's like the quarterback in American football, quarterback and the head coach, the point guard and the head coach, the constant, you know, dynamic.

So you were a point guard for many years who dealt with many head coaches. Now you're a head coach dealing with a point guard. Were you easy or hard on your head coaches as the point guard? No, no, I was very easy. Yeah. I would like to check on that. We'll see. I bet you he was easy because he wanted to shoot it every time, and the coach wanted to shoot it every time.

That's great. You know, I took that responsibility as a point guard, you know, to be an extension of the of the coach on the court. And, you know, I grew up old school, so a lot of my coaches, you know, taught me the balance between being able to score and being able to shoot, but then also at the same time, you know, being able to set the table for the team and playmaking at the same time. So I'd like to think I made my coach's job easy for the most part.

Definitely. Yeah, well, I'm sure there are good days and bad, but a lot of good days. You won six titles after all. So I have been asked repeatedly to, day, and I'm sure you get asked all the time, because the fans here are so passionate, and the league here has so many strong Filipino players. They so badly want to have a Filipino into the NBA. And what is the pathway for it to happen? What, you know, what has to happen for someone to rise up to that level, because it is something that this country so badly wants?

You know, Brian, from my experience these past few years, being around the guys and really just seeing the amount of work that it takes to get to that level. You know, I think Filipino players, especially local Filipino players, you know, we're closer than a lot of people think. And it's always going to be toughest for the first one to kind of break through. But, you know, I encourage a lot of our, you know, this new generation of talent here in the Philippines. You know, I try to encourage all of them that for anybody who, who has NBA aspirations, the amount of work and discipline that it takes to be the first one, not just to be Filipino, but to be the first one, you know, it's going to take, you know,

a lot. But I do feel that we're close. And, you know, sometimes it's just a matter of combining the work and the discipline with the opportunity. And I hope in the near future we're able to have one. Well, I'll encourage your Filipino fans. They don't need my encouragement. They already are there because we have a Filipino, half Filipino about to get an NBA ring Jordan Clarkson very soon here with the Knicks will be getting his reign. But

I have to assume the Filipinos are wholeheartedly on the bandwagon of Dylan Harper in San Antonio because he is half Filipino his mother, it's Filipino and he has the flag

on his arm, the three stars and the son, which is part of the Philippines, Pino flag on his arm. I think the three stars represent the three regions of the country. Is that correct? On the flag? I don't know if I'm 100% right about that. But he's got it on his arm, literally wears it on his sleeve. And this is going to potentially be a big future for Dylan Harper. Not potentially. This should absolutely be a big future. I mean, he was number two overall pick. The guy was their second best player in the finals. And they didn't win the finals, but they had a 10-point lead in all five games. You know, he was 20.

20 years old, excelling on that stage. I mean, Dylan Harper has superstar written all over. Are you going to have to be trying to recruit him to the Gillas to play on the national team? I'm sure they would love it if you could help bring him over. I'm sure the country would love to have Dylan Harper here at home represent the national team. And, you know, hopefully, hopefully down the road, that's, that's a door that's open for him and there's a chance for him to come to the Philippines to play. Yeah, it was awesome. any of you guys go to the opening game of the World Cup in 2023?

That was an amazing event. They did it. What's the name of the stadium they did it at? The giant nationals, like 30, I don't know. Oh, Philippine Arena. Yeah. It was an amazing opening game, a historic moment for the World Cup. And so I would say to Dylan, who I don't even know.

Dylan, consider playing for your national team of the Philippines. It would be great for a world basketball. And Jordan Clarkson's done that. Yes. And he was great. Ask Jordan what that experience was like. And played well for him, represented well. We got to mention Jared McCain, Jalen Green.

That's right. You see their pictures all over the place around here. So, you know, there's the Filipinos are well represented in the NBA. And you played proudly on the national team of the Philippines. Yes, absolutely. Broke the Korea curse. I just learned of the Korea curse. So did I, but you saw how you.

settled with authority. It's safe to say we didn't have much success against South Korea for quite some time. Until you got there. Until around 2013 and it changed a little bit. And imagine if there had been a four point line, he'd have blown them out. Absolutely. You and Dame Lillard could go head to head. Well, Jimmy, thank you so much for taking time out on this day.

Good luck to you with your season with the Road Warriors this year. We're so happy that you can share the Filipino basketball culture. and we proudly take on the responsibility of help spreading to the world. And so thank you for being a part of it. No, thank you. It's a huge honor to sit with the both of you. Obviously, I've been a fan of both of you guys for a number of years and saw you from a distance in my time in the NBA.

So the fact that you guys would come back here at home in the Philippines to do this podcast, it's amazing. So I'm honored to meet the both of you guys. We appreciate that. It's also a scouting trip, Wendy, I know you like your discoveries, and you're asking about the first Filipino NBA player? Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do. We got a prospect right here. That's right.

All right, we got another one in the pipeline. Eight years old was out here getting shots up. Shoots it like his daddy. So keep an eye on this kid. And has many supporters in the NBA, I hear, who's already helped work with him. So Jimmy Alupang. Appreciate it.

Okay, so one of the things that was important to me when we were planning to come here to the Philippines was, I wanted my American audience, which included McMahon and Jackson, by the way, I wanted my American audience. I trust me, I'm his audience. You're my toughest critic sometimes. I wanted my American audience to hear from the Filipino fans. We don't always do Q&As.

We had a great crowd in Australia a couple of days ago. We had, you know, a great podcast. We didn't do Q&A. We don't always do Q&A. But I said, I think it's important for our fans who are across the world, but mostly American, to learn just how intelligent the Filipino fans are. Because to be a Filipino basketball fan, you have to be dedicated. We're on the other side of the world here. We're 12 hours from the East Coast.

Okay? You've got to really put in your time. You're going to get up early in the morning when your best teams, when your favorite teams play. The other thing about this, when you go across Manila, which I've luckily been all across the city, yes, of course, there's a bunch of Lakers jerseys. Yes, there's a bunch of Nix jerseys. Yes, there's a bunch of Bulls jerseys. But Hornets, Timberwolves, Utah Jazz.

Well, and there's also just hoops everywhere. And by the way, we're in an amazing facility, the Sheet 360 facility where they've got like NBA quality technology. but we saw so many outdoor hoops like really we drove by one that was a really cool colorful and it's like you know in the in the evening and there's a pickup game going you can feel the the hoops culture pretty much everywhere you go well the first things i wanted to show mcmahon was the jitney buses these buses that go across the town and you cop on and off of them and the buses paint their route on the side but they don't just paint their route. They put character on the side and so many of the buses are

NBA themed with Atlanta Hawks with Toronto Raptors. We don't like the Hawks. They got bond tips. Down with the Hawks. By the way, that reminds me. The other night when we were in Melbourne, we were at the game and we're watching the Melbourne United play against the Cannes tight pans. And Melbourne was having an amazing game. Cole Anthony, the former Magic and Milwaukee Buck. He was with us on our podcast on Friday, and he went out and missed his first seven shots on Saturday. But then he started making them. He scored 40 points in 29 minutes playing for the United. And everything was going great. The United were up by 12 points. And then in the fourth quarter, there was a timeout. And McMahon and I, who were sitting in very,

nice seats provided by the United. Thank you. Their camera came in front of us and they put us on the scoreboard and they welcomed us. And we, you know, waved, you know, thank you. And Joe Ingalls, our old friend from the NBA who's now playing for the United, saw us get on the scoreboard and gave us the thumbs down. And boo! Now, I was going to say earlier, we didn't have a Q&A with the Australian folks and that's because Wendy doesn't think they have very good basketball IQ there. But I told I told him you're just judging them based on Joe Ingalls. There's a lot of smart people in Australia. Yeah.

So, but as soon as Joe Ingalls gave, I want to say he gave McMahon the thumbs down. I've never done anything to him. He usually gives me another digit pointed up, but this time it was thumbs down. And all of a sudden, things started going terribly for the United. Hey, you boo me, things aren't going to go your way. The old Thai pans went on a run, and the United walked out of there, one and three. 35 to 14, the visiting Kans Taipans finished the game, scoring, totally putting down the booing Joe Ingalls and his teammates.

So I don't know if it's a lesson, but that's what I've been reporting something that actually happened. So anyway, but today I want to give you guys a great chance. We want to have great interaction. And I also want all of our listeners and viewers to realize the intensity of the Filipino fans. So we're going to do Q&A, bring it, challenge us, speak well for your country and its culture. So here we go, let's have some questions. I want to call on Paolo Manuel Yorlores.

If I say that right, say Paolo, all right. Great name, by the way. Hello, hello Tim. Hello, Brian. As you can see, I'm a king's fan, so I don't have much to look forward to this is. You're a man of character. beam. Light the beam, light the beam. But my question for you is, what's an underrated storyline that you're excited to see for this upcoming NBA season? I wish it was the four point

line. All your analytics friends are going to love that that has already been implemented here. Absolutely. You know, speaking on four point line, it's a little bit off the radar and their ownership situation is a major mess. but the Portland Trailblazers to me are a fascinating team. I say, you know, obviously you think four point line, Dame is one of the great distance shooters of all time. I mean, you talk about like that kind of range. It's him and Steph.

You've got the first time we've ever had an NBA head coach on a 10-day contract in Mike Anori. You know, they traded for John Moran. You know, now Mike Anori is basically saying, hey, it doesn't make sense for us to have Jai and Dame both in the starting lineup, who's coming off the bench? That's a fascinating thing.

Josh said he would come off very happy. Well, he said it. Now, you know, actions over words. Let's see what it looks like. And, you know, I'm just fascinated to see how the trailblazers all come together, you know, under the circumstances of having a fan base that is as loyal and passionate as any in the NBA. However, that that fan. base feels alienated and disrespected by the cheapest owner that we've seen in quite some time.

Paulo, I have two answers for you. Number one, the Boston Celtics, because everybody seems to think that they made a terrible mistake in trading Jalen Brown. Not that I'm necessarily on board with the trade, but they are very confident that their trade is going to work for them. They are very confident in Mitchell Robinson, who they signed, will be a big addition to them. And I think they believe that they have a good chance to win the east this year. Now, maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong. The second team is the Washington Wizards, which is a team that very rarely has been talked about in recent years.

In case you forgot, they lost 27 of 28 games to finish last season, which was a massive success because they got the number one pick. And so now they are trying what I call the flip, where they're going to put AJ DeBanza in there. They're going to put, you're going to activate. Tray Young and activate Anthony Davis and say, okay, now let's try to make the playoffs, not in two years, today, now, immediately. We're going to do it right now.

And there's the Anthony Davis issue because they've really put themselves in a weird spot by signing Tray Young to a contract, trading Tray Young with the expectation he was going to get a new contract, and then giving him a contract that was over the market value. They would disagree and say it wasn't. I'm saying it's over the market value. Anthony Davis didn't get the same stuff, didn't come with a promise of a trade, didn't get a contract, didn't get offered over the market value. So that, to me, makes them very interesting. Yeah, AD on a trial period is absolutely fascinating.

And just the fact that you've got this strange thing where you've got these two former all-stars trying to hit the ground running, but the guy who's the most important player in the franchise is yet to play a single game. And by the way, I like what Paolo did. When you get the microphone, tell us who your favorite. team is. Don't let it all be the Lakers. All right. First of all, I saw Boston fans out there, suddenly start smiling. I don't know if we have any Wizards fans here, do we? By the way, you know what, Ron Harper Jr., we got to shout him out. Dylan's brother, obviously, also shares the same bloodlines. You know, another guy with Filipino descent who was carved out a very nice NBA career for himself,

gone from a, he was not even on a two-way, right, at one point, to become a rotation player for the Celtics. Next question we got is from a member of the media, J.B. Manahan, JP. Hi, J.P. Manan, you're, yes, you said team affiliation. My team's gotten the headlines as of late, thanks to what happened to Kauai Leonard. So, yes. So I actually watched their game earlier today. what do you think about how the dynamic of having Brandon Ingram, Rui Hashimura, figure in the development of Keanu Wackler S for the development of the team as they try to extend their regular season over 500 winning streak? See, this is right off the bat, the first two folks we talk to are Kings and Clippers fans.

Yeah, there you go. Yeah, I'm sorry about the Clippers. And honestly, man, the Brandon Ingram thing, like, it's been such a rough go for the Clippers fans. clippers over the last year, obviously just an awful summer where they get the stiffest penalty in the history of the NBA, and then it just gets worse because on media day, and they knew this when the trade happened, but on media day they announced, hey, Brandon Ingram, this, you know, at least a centerpiece player in their return for Kawhi Leonard, when he had

that surgery on his heel, they discovered his Achilles is partially torn. we don't know when Brandon Ingram's going to be on the floor for the Clippers. That's obviously not a situation they're going to rush him back from. I like the Rui Hachamura signing. And to be honest with you, one reason I really like that signing is because, Wendy, what do you always ask when a contract is signed? Can you trade it? And Rui Hachamura, I think, has a very tradable contract for a Clippers team.

But look, look, they're not contending this year. they've obviously got to take a long-term view to building that roster when they've got some major handcuffs on them because of they still haven't paid off the James Hardin trade, much less all the penalty, all the picks they got taken away in the Kauai deal. And so one thing I'll be watching with the Clippers is just how long is Rudy Hachamura actually on that roster. I've got a feeling that he's the guy who's at least in some discussions leading up to the deadline this year. I'm issuing a podcast edict going forward. and I'm sure I will not violate it. I'm sure I will stick to it. But here is my podcast edict. When it comes to the Los Angeles Clippers, I will only look forward. I will not look back. I hereby swear. Hey, Kauai has the same. He has the same edict with the clippers. So let's look forward, JP, and say that one of the things that the NBA couldn't take from them is that they're still playing in Los Angeles last I checked. They still have all of the attractive.

that Los Angeles gives. And they are going to have salary cap space next year. And they're sure not going to be drafting anybody anytime soon. So you might as well try to sign somebody. So I suspect that they will be active in that market going forward and keep that in mind. And I did feel bad for Trent Redden. They're acting GM because he's like, oh, I just got named GM. This is the day that you're supposed to have your family.

you've worked your whole career to be general manager. You know, you're going to get to have like a cake and a party and nice photos and you post, you know, nice pictures. And he's like, not only do I have to come out and talk about this historic penalty, but then I got to tell all of our fans and drop in there, the guy we traded has a torn Achilles. Oh, and by the way, re-signed Bradley Beale, he's got one. I don't even know what he's heard, but he's out for a while too.

A partially torn Achilles. You know what we call that? A torn Achilles. So stick with them. We're only looking forward. Write that down. Jackson, write that down.

There's a sign in the tunnel. It's by the visitor's locker room and then to a dome. And it's like a big picture of a ship on, you know, choppy water. It's a sign. It's got to be 100 feet wide and 10 feet tall. It's like it would cover basically this whole gray part of that wall. And it says something like rough waters ahead. And the first time I saw that sign,

And I was like, that's way too on the nose, but it's not for the visiting team. All right. So we got something from a Kingspan. We got something from Clippers fan. Your host is a jazz fan. I mean, we're all over the place, right? Oh, my gosh, Palo. Oh, my goodness.

Don't get me started. All right. Up next we have a John Vincent Alexander Somera. There you are. Right. Your affiliated team, please. Who robs you of sleep at night? So, first of all, good evening.

Ryan, good evening, Welcome back to the Philippines, Brian. So I'm actually affiliate, well, not really affiliated, but a team might watch a lot of this Golden State because it's Steph Curry, but my question is mostly on the

internationalization, if you will, of the NBA. So in the past years, if you will, the NBA has had a plethora of international players such as Victor Rwambayama from France, Nicola Yokic from Serbia, and even here in Asia from the likes of Jordan Clarkson,

obviously Dylan Harper, we also see Rui Hachimura, as well as Yang Hansen from China who plays for the Blazers, I believe. So as you watch these current crop of players, specifically international players from outside the United States and those yet to be drafted, do you see this trend of international players making it to the NBA continuing in the foreseeable future? By the way, we've got a Kings fan. We start off with, obviously he's been through agony. Clippers fan. I mean, if you're still right with the Clippers, that is loyalty, that is perseverance. And then we've just got a Steph Curry bandwagon hopper. I don't think he's a bandwagon. He's played for 17 years or something. Yes, not only do I think it's going to continue. I think the,

flow of international players of the NBA is even going to grow. Because two things. One, the NBA is expanding to Europe. It's going to happen, I promise you. And part of the way that they're going to get everybody to buy in there is that they are going to guarantee investment in European players. This is going to be part of their sales pitch when they get it done. They're going to limit how many American players can be on there. They're going to expand their rosters because they're going to be playing in two different leagues, their National League and the NBA Europe, and they're going to say, the reason you should care about our new teams in London and in Rome and elsewhere and the existing teams is we're going to develop European players. And they are going to Europe for 20 years or

more. They're investing in it like they did the WNDA. They don't care if it doesn't do great or somebody kicks rocks on it in the first year. They're going to invest in it. Secondly, international basketball is thriving. It's thriving here in the Philippines. It's thriving in other parts of Asia. Look at the Japanese are churning out players. The Japanese have become a powerhouse. In Australia, we just had on our podcast. We brought you 17-year-old Luke Paul, who has a chance to be the next great Australian player. And Africa still remains a continent that has got a lot of potential. So the international game is only getting more powerful. And the U.S. is going to be in an absolute dog fight in Los Angeles for,

we have the World Cup next summer, and then the U.S. has hung on by the skin of its teeth to the gold medal. They're going to bring their best, and the rest of the world is going to bring their best, and I'm looking forward to a tremendous, I felt before it happened that the 24 Olympics was going to be the greatest basketball tournament ever staged, we're going to surpass it even again in Los Angeles

with a great international play. Yeah, I think there's, more talent in the NBA than there ever has been. And I think one of the primary reasons for that is because the base of talent is worldwide. You know, I mean, really the dream team is kind of the thing, I think, that launched the globalization of the game. But now you, like, you look at the NBA, one of the questions we ask is, who's the next American MVP? There hasn't been one in a while, and I'm not sure when the next one will be. When you talk about kind of the consensus,

top five players in the league in no particular order, you know, you're talking about Victor Womenyama from France, Nicola Yolkos from Serbia, Shegildos Alexander from Canada, Lugodontas from Slovenia, who am I leaving now, Yana Santayatoupo from Greece. And there's no slowing down on that trend because NBA teams are investing more and more and more resources

in money, not just in scouting international talent, but as Wendy said, in developing international talent. Up next, we got a podcast-related question, actually. Anton Fausto. Yeah, there he is. So the team you're affiliated with, if it's not a bandwagon team, please. Hello. Hi, Wendy. What's up?

What's up, Tim. My name's Anton. I actually don't have an NBA team. my favorite player is Derek Rose and I've just been kind of watching the NBA ever since So yeah my question is a podcast

I'm a good question It's actually a two part So now that Bon Temps What is the thing you're going to miss Most about doing shows with him And the second part is Have you thought about the permanent replacement yet His team is the hoop collective

That's what I think it is That's right Listen I'll tell you what I miss most about Bon Tim's I miss having a punching bag you know, Bon Timps could take a punch with the best of them. And now I'm stuck with Wendy who just has extremely thin skin. So I've got to take it easy on him.

I can't be as just vicious and nasty with Wendy. I've got to kind of coddle him a little bit where Bon Timps could take, you know, Bon Timps could take some verbal punishment with it with the best of them. Yeah. So here's the thing. Let me tell you why it's hard to replace them. You got to have somebody that knows basketball. you got to have somebody that is easy to mock because this is what McMahon's,

and I won't put up with him doing it to me, but this is what you need from McMahon. But no, believe it or not, I know that nobody can believe. Were you guys surprised when Timontemps got hired by an NBA team? They said, I heard some notes. Yeah. I'm telling you. Our bosses were. I'm telling you, multiple teams were interested in hiring him.

and it was only a matter of time. I know you may think that's crazy, but he is respected within the league. And so, frankly, he's hard to replace. We have some people in mind. There's contracts being negotiated right now. Maybe it'll work out. Maybe it won't.

But I also, the reason I called at the Hoop Collective was because I wanted to use our collective strength at ESPN. And so one of the amazing things is, you know, our people right now are spread out all over the world. You know, we're here in the Philippines and we're going to China. We have people in Hawaii with the warriors and the clippers. Where else do we have people? I'm sure where else we are international-wise right now.

But partially we'll lean on that. But the best thing I can say, I wish I could spill the beans, but stay tuned is the best we can say. And look, we're about halfway through a two and a half week trip where Wendy usually gets to see me like two or three times a week via Zoom. Now he has to deal with me every day in person for two and a half a week. So you're asking who's going to be our third? Wendy might make this a solo act by the end of this trip. I have to tell you what crazy itinerary that I made Jackson and McMan do on this because I often have crazy days.

It's routine for me, especially in the playoffs. And I travel. That's why we have windy sleep updates, by the way. Right. And I travel internationally a lot, okay? A lot windy. Yes. And so I don't, it doesn't affect me to go continent to continent.

But like, we seriously, he was in Oklahoma City on Monday, on Tuesday. On Tuesday. On Tuesday, on Tuesday. He was in Oklahoma City. And like a day and a half later, he was, I was, I dragged him into a studio in Melbourne to do morning radio show. And then I went and I don't know if anybody saw my Aussie Rules football debut. Hey, now check this out.

McMahon does footy. Oh, yes. Six points. Six points. We're from very close. It's 140 yards side to side. We had like a 20 yarder, but I couldn't do it. At how we had 30 yards to spare?

The Carlton Blues want to sign me now because let me tell you, I like I could punt that thing. I will say that the sound of the ball made coming off your foot. On the third take, first. too weren't so pretty. And that's the thing, like Kobe, like Kobe had a special way when he shot it where the ball went through the, he just went, the ball went through the rim in a special way. Like it hit like the back of the net.

The sound coming off your foot on the third try. Yeah. The punting part, I think, would be the best part of my game, but at my age, I don't want to get hit. Here's the thing. They had like this, the special ball, like there was a, you know, because the ball gets really dirty. the football. It's called a scaron, I believe. Yeah.

A Sharon, scarin? They had like a special, really nice ball that I think they give to visitors for photos and whatnot. And Tim was like kicking it around this like dirty field. He's already, I think, kind of annoying them. And then he wanted to take it with him. He kind of like... No, Jackson tried to steal it. Okay.

I actually bought one before I left. Right, right. But anyway, we thank you for your support. and we thank Bont Hems for everything. And we have some tricks up our sleeve. We'll see if we can pull it off. I'm looking forward to that for sure. Howla, what about you?

You can come on. Yeah, I'm open. Let's see the offer. Then we'll talk. Okay, all right. Well, good answer. All right. Up next, we have Edgaro Carlo Antig,

with a very specific question. I like this one. Hey there, Wendy. There you go. Howdy, Tim? I represent the heat lifers. Okay. A spow guy.

Yeah, Spow guy, that is. I'm still wondering, did Pat Riley and Miami actually have a pitch that could have beaten Phillies or was LeBron already leaning toward the Sixers because of Maxie, Embed, and the chance to make history with the fourth franchise? Or what do you think was the one thing Miami couldn't offer him?

So, you know who would love to, know the answer to that question? Pat Riley. Pat Riley. Because I think the heat loved their pitch, and I think they thought they were getting him. And I will tell you, I thought they were getting him. I was not confident in Cleveland. I came to the point where I kind of thought he was not going to Cleveland. I thought he was going to Miami.

I didn't have great insight information on this one, but that's where I thought he was going. And what LeBron has now articulated, I think, quite fascinatingly, and I actually don't think that this got the attention that it deserved. LeBron said he wanted to be a Nick. He wanted to be a New York Nick. He came out and said it. And that's fascinating because the Knicks between 2003, I know I was there on lottery night in 2003,

clearly 2010, again in 2014. I would say probably every year between 2003 and 2025, if LeBron said he wanted to be a Knit, Nick, the Knicks would have grabbed him. They would have done everything they could have taken to get him. And now, isn't this the way life goes, that LeBron wanted to be a Nick, was a free agent, and wanted to do it, and that's when the Knicks didn't want him. I mean, he wanted to live in New York, which he's doing.

And really, the 76ers weren't confident. I'm going to be honest with you, I was talking to people, the 76ers. They weren't that confident. And then LeBron started calling people with the Sixers and also talking other people about the mechanics of living in New York and also playing in Philadelphia because there's been some guys over the years who've done that. And that's when the Sixers were like, oh, my God, he might actually do this. And so I think the Sixers have a lot going for them. Obviously, the Jalen Brown trade made a dramatic. His connection with High Reese Maxi.

I mean, it wasn't all about that. I think LeBron wanted to live in New York. Yeah. And this got him to a good team, and he sure wasn't playing in Boston. So this, I think, is a fascinating thing that after all these years, he wanted to be with the Knicks. And so this is the second best thing. Well, and I think his last two decisions in free agency were based in large part on geography. He didn't go to the Lakers for basketball reasons.

He went to the Lakers. Look, the glitz and glamour and all that of hell, but he went to the Lakers because he wanted to live in L.A. and, you know, enjoy the sun and have all the business opportunities that come along with that. And then I think this was based in large part on going to New York. I was a little bit surprised that he went somewhere he hadn't been before. You know, like Kauai decided he only wanted to go to San Antonio, Toronto, because he didn't want to be in a strange uniform for the twilight of his career, where LeBron had, you know, I mean, two opportunities at his former stops where they're contenders.

If LeBron joins either team, they're contenders, but he decided that he didn't want to go back where it'd already been. I think our next question actually comes from a LeBron fan. John Daniel Onas. John Daniel Unas. Are you over there? He's at the very end. That's a member of Jackson's fan club.

Jackson's getting more and more fans by the minute here. Well, and Jackson does like to refer to himself as the LeBron of producers. so hi windy hi you're not banned here so hi tim my question is actually well uh it's kind of related to the other question before but it was about it's also about lebron i'm just interested in to knowing what were the biggest what ifs like what were were there other any other destinations where LeBron could have went instead of like Miami or Lakers or going back to even Cleveland. What if from your perspective, Brian, like what was the biggest what if? I think the what if was last year when the Lakers did not get a contract extension with him.

There was a lot of things that were on the table. He had a no trade clause so he could have controlled it. But one of the big what-ifs is what if he had forced a trade? He elected not to. What if he had tried to force his way to Golden State to be with the Warriors? What if he had tried to force his way to Cleveland or something like that? What if he asked for a buyout and said, just pay me off and I'll go somewhere else? He didn't do that.

He really did invest in the season. One of the things with LeBron, I'll say, he's obviously changed teams now a number of times. in all of those situations, he played to the absolute buzzer, giving his team he was leaving everything he had. That hasn't been the case for a lot of other star players who want out. They sort of will opt out of the season. There's a bunch of what-ifs, but I don't think they're from this summer. I think they're actually from last year.

Well, and just team-wise, even this summer, you know, what if you were gone to Golden State and you're seeing Stefan LeBron play together in their elderly years? I still don't think that's a contender, but what if he'd have gone to Minnesota, which had a glaring hole at the four. Which was on his list. Yeah, which was on his list, you know,

and desperately needs wisdom and experience on that roster. Although they filled the whole power forward with your favorite player, Jonathan Cominga. It's McMahon's intention to say Jonathan Camingga's name on every podcast this day. Do you know that in August, we had a great month in August in terms of, audience. Our most listened to podcast in August was when Jonathan Cominga signed with the Minnesota

Timberles, and nobody hates that fact more than Wendy. It's nothing personal. I just don't get it. He just thinks that the interest to impact ratio is completely out of lack. I'll give you one that's not necessarily a what if, but more of a why not. Why wasn't returning to the Lakers on a minimum part of the equation. Why wasn't that something he'd consider? No, clearly, money was not a factor in his decision. He's playing on the minimum. Why didn't he consider going back to the Lakers on a minimum, and I'll go a little bit further than that, would the Lakers have considered bringing him back on a minimum? Because I'll be honest with you. I think it was, LeBron made the announcement. I think it came down to kind of a mutual decision of the LeBron era is closed

and let's all move forward with the Luca Air in LA. I was with the Lakers last week and I can tell you that there's no hard feelings at all. I don't think there's any animus whatsoever, but they are excited about the new era. Will they be as excited in six months? We're going to find out. You know, I kind of get the Jonathan Cominga thing. I think we're all fans of Jonathan Cominga, right?

Oh, come on, guys. Help me out here. Hey, we've been talking about the passion of the Filipino basketball community, but I didn't hear it for Kamenka. All right. Next question coming up from Jandrick Lim. Hello. Hey, Wendy.

Hey, Tim. Welcome to the Philippines. I'm Jandrik. I'm a Nets fan. Oh, my goodness. We've got some gluttons for punishment in this crowd. I told you. No wonder they like the podcast.

But I've been cheering for them since 2001. Jason Kidd is my favorite. There you go. Yeah. So I just have a question here. The point of every NBA season is to win the NBA championship. And the past few seasons have seen a number of teams built differently. Whether it's the Knicks who were built through free agency and trades, the Thunder comprising homegrown players, or teams that experience some luck selecting franchise players in the NBA draft like the Bucks or the Nuggets. In this new apron landscape, what would be your preferred route to be?

building a championship contender. I'd like to hear from both of you. I think the best and most rewarding way to build a championship contender is through the draft. Unfortunately, the lottery is such a confounding situation, and to do it through the draft, you either have to have many, many shots at it, which requires tanking and all kinds of manipulation,

or you have to be thunderstruck lucky, and it's hard to build an organization through thunderstruck luck, lucky. But the teams that I have been around that have had their championships that have truly been the most embraced are the teams that have built it organically through the draft. And so that is why you saw seven teams or whatever eight tanking last year. Because if you put a bunch of people in the room and analyze it and take all their opinions, the draft is the best way. It's not the fastest way. It's definitely not the least painful way. It's definitely the most painful way. But That is the way to go, and that's why so many teams do that.

The only thing I would challenge with your question is the way that the thunder were built. Because the thunder were built by being able to trade essentially the rights to a reigning finals MVP without ever having them on the roster, going back to the Paul George trade, where they're able to cash it on Kauai Leonard's value and get Shagio to Salis, Alexander, which nobody knew he was going to be a two-time MVP, but, you know, a promising prospect, plus all those picks. So, you know, that's one of those. I don't think we're ever going to see a situation like that ever again,

especially the way it worked out for the Clippers. I still think building through the draft is the preferred route. You know, I think when you look at the, like, the Thunder in large part or built through the draft, and Shay's kind of, he's homegrown in the sense that his development came in OKC. their chief rival and the two teams, I think, if we look at the next 10 championships, I bet you they'll win four or five, if not more, combined. The other one being the Spurs, the Spurs are clearly, their cores built through the draft. Now, the question is, are you going to be able to keep those kind of teams together

with this apron era? You know, and Victor Wemeyama understood the pressure of that, and that's why he signed the contract that he did instead of getting the Supermax escalators. and potentially making dozens of millions of dollars more. But then a lot of it comes down to just how much our owners willing to, how much pain are they willing to deal with in terms of the financial pain threshold? And that's what the next big question is for Oklahoma City. And we'll get answers to that next summer.

Let me add one thing. The Knicks are very proud of the way they built this team. They will tell you we didn't have anybody on this team that we didn't draft higher than 25th. By the way, they drafted Obitop and eighth, the front office, but they don't bring that up. They did have an eighth pick. Well, and the crazy thing about that is the Mavericks offered in that draft to move up, they won Tirees Halliburton, they offered the 18th pick, the 31st pick, and a backup point guard named Jalen Brunson.

Well, they are very proud of the way they did it. So they would say that you don't need to do it through the draft. You can do it without tanking, which is what they did. Yeah, you know, my fellow, well, my friends who are used to the pain. of supporting some of those teams that try to build through the draft, and we all understand. Up next up, Elijah, Cesara Pinlack Kalinawagat. Other end, we're going to go to you over there. Oh, we got a Knicks bandwagoner.

Hey, that hoodie looks like it's about three months old. Hi, Wendy, hi, hi, Tim. So I'm actually a Lakers fan. You're a Knicks hoodie. I'm sorry, Wendy. I'm sorry, Tim, but 53 years. Yeah, so I'm very happy that the next one. Yeah, so next in five. So I have a question for both of you. So the pure bandwagon. He's a Lakers fan, but the next one gets a hoodie. So my question is, as a journalist and as a fan, what is your greatest moment so far? Huh. What's wrong with you, Wendy? I will say that the moment that I enjoyed most was the Cavs 2016 Championship.

Obviously, I've covered the Cavs for many years. To be a part of that story and understand what they went through was very special. That was obviously my favorite story that I've ever covered. I will say that I loved covering the 2020. 2024 Olympic team. The opportunity to go with that team to Abu Dhabi, to London, to Paris, to Lille, where they played, and watch them like a traveling rock star band and come together and really be tested against Serbia and really be tested.

In that game, in that gold medal game, you know, it's Saturday night, the end of the Olympics in Paris, all of those French players know that this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime moment. to win the gold medal on their home court in their home country. They sing the French National Anthem. The crowd is, you know, blowing out of the stands with energy. And Victor Wenmignon come, Wemagnama comes down in the first 20 seconds,

hits a three-pointer sending the message, I am here to play. You do not, you're not going to push me around. And then for Steph to have that moment, you know what my, one of my big memories of that, Carmelo Anthony is sitting in the front row. And as he is watching Steph have that moment, jumping high in the air because he's so energized

by being able to witness Steph have that moment. And at 2 a.m. in the morning on the Paris streets, Steph running down the street, high-fiving the fans outside the team hotel and his Ngui-Nui, you know, he had a hoodie made up that said, night night in French, you know, and he had that moment. So being a part of that and actually one of my favorite memories of that, boy, it sounds like I'm talking myself into 2024. Team USA was very, Steve Kerr was very kind. He let the media, some people in the media,

in to be with the team. And because of the Olympic security, they didn't allow the families to get too close. Like literally, you couldn't even get, I mean, they could like sort of reach up, but the team didn't get to see their families until they got back to the hotel. And the U.S. rented out this entire hotel. They controlled the whole hotel for all the players and the families. And so I was there when the players came in. It was probably two hours after the game because they had to go through all the ceremony and then the media.

And then the president, Macron, was there. And so he had to leave. And so they had to close down all the streets. So they'd been waiting to see them for like two hours. And it was after midnight. And they came in this hallway. and the whole lobby of the hotel was filled with all of their families. And they lined up all of their kids, all of the players' children, all lined up waiting.

And as soon as their dads came down the hallway, they were wearing their gold medals, and they rushed to them, and they hugged them, and they get to embrace winning this gold medal. And so that memory and being a part of that was very special to me, even though the Americans were hugely favored. And look, they had LeBron Stefan Doreen. Okay? The French did not. But there's no way, like, there's no way you couldn't have experienced that and seen how important it was to them.

And you know what they did? They had all, because they controlled the whole hotel, they had all of these big sayings up on all the walls. And right when they would leave, right when they would walk out of the door, there was a giant wall-sized quote from Kobe about playing the team USA. and winning and showing the world. And that was the last thing that they saw every time they would go and get on the bus to leave. And the first thing they would see when they came back.

And so having that experience was very special. I got to experience me with Team USA here as well, but being to experience that was truly a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Yeah, I would say the most memorable series that I ever covered was definitely the 2011 finals. I'm based in Dallas. Obviously came up. There you go. He liked that one. Came up as a, you know, covering the Mavericks. And so the first playoff series that I ever covered like traveling full time was actually the 2006

NBA finals. Same two teams. And that's when I was, I think I was still covering high schools for the Dallas Morning News at the time. Maybe I was coming colleges. But, you know, with the Dallas Morning News. I was like the 12th man on the roster of our. You still are. I'm second on this roster, buddy. And that's just because I haven't hit you with an elbow yet. But, you know, and that 06 series was such a disaster for the Mavericks.

Mark Cuban will go to his grave swearing that the NBA robbed them. You know, Dwayne Wade's parade to the free throw line. But Cuban throwing a fit in the middle of that series, like, listen, the Mavericks lost their composure, lost their poise from the, from literally the very top of the organization on down. That's the same series when Avery Johnson freaked out because some guys went and, you know, went and got a steak dinner and we're out too late and said, okay, we've got to, we've got to move hotels. Did your boss make you move hotels too?

No, no, but I didn't have enough budget to get a steak dinner at the time. I can promise you that. You know, and remember, that was also the series. The Mavericks go up to O. and the city of Dallas and all of its wisdom releases parade plans. Too-O, that's unacceptable. Unacceptable. And just a complete meltdown, obviously, they lose it in six.

And then the Mavericks come back the next year, win 67 games, only to suffer the humiliation of the 8C, we believe, warriors upsetting them in the first round, at the hands of Don Nelson, who, you know, had sued Cuba. after leaving Dallas, and you felt like their window enclosed. And so then it's the same two teams, right? The heat were heavily favored. Remember, this is LeBron's first year.

There was the crazy comeback in game two, where the Mavericks are down 15, about five minutes left in the game. You know, D. Wade hits a three right in front of the Mavericks bench, and he's dancing right in front of their benched on him. That was one of the most incredible. incredible comebacks that I've ever seen. Then there's, you know, Dirk's flu game where he's shivering on the bench. He hits the game winner. The switch in the starting lineup where J.J. Berea is,

plugged into the starting lineup with the Mavericks down to one in the series, completely changes the series. And I remember I got to the, I was also kind of allowed behind the curtain of their celebration. They were at Club Live in Miami. And I got there probably. like 3, 3.30 in the morning. The Mavericks were still going strong. I remember walking in. They've got the largest Aces Spades bottle of champagne that I've ever seen in my life. Dirk's got that thing tipped over, which I looked like he was playing the tuba or something. It was so big. But just to see the pure joy, especially for Dirk, after enduring so much heartbreak. And honestly, I felt like Dirk was one of the most heavy.

criticized players, harshly and unfairly criticized players in the history of the league, just because he was judged by the finals meltdown and then the eighth seat eliminated him the next year. And people perceived him to be like some kind of playoff choker when he was one of the only players in the history of the league to average 25 and 10 for his career in the playoffs. And, you know, honestly, he shattered the soft bureau of steroids. He was a seven-footer who was primarily a finesse player, seven-footer best known for his shooting touch, which was when he came in the league unheard of. He shattered the soft hero stereotype during the 2011 finals.

You completely shattered it with the way that he performed in the series, the way that he put a dagger in the first iteration of that heat super team. And then the most memorable story of my career is another hero who played in Dallas. the Luca trade. And Shams broke the trade, but for me, like the next nine months was just a never-ending story. The worst PR I've ever seen in my life is like, you made a completely inexplicable trade, and then kept managing to make the situation worse on almost a daily basis leading right up into the general manager's fired. And that was just one of the most intense, bizarre tales and sagas. I can't imagine ever cover anything like that again.

Speaking of going to a club after a championship, everybody thinks that J.R. Smith didn't wear a shirt for like days and weeks after the Cavs won in 2016. He actually set a record for getting dressed when he found out the calves were going to Vegas in the locker. When he heard they were going to Vegas, he immediately put his clothes on. He said, let's go, let's go. All right, I know we got big one.

Oh, that reminds me. Deshaun Stevenson in some ways was kind of the J.R. Smith of that Mavericks team. He did wear a shirt that night and on the plane home. And he actually got it off the back of a fan. And it said, hey, LeBron. And then on the back it said, tell me how my dirt taste. I know we got Manila traffic to deal with. So we'll just do one or two more.

Thank you so much. For sure. We got a question here coming from someone who literally in the middle of this program came up to me and asked me, can I ask a question? Sure. It's from one of the students, actually. Alexa Diaz. I think she was in their master class a while ago, Wendy.

Hi, hello, I'm sorry for asking too much. Ask what good journalists do. I have two questions, if that's okay. One as a viewer and another one as a campus journalist. Which almost trade or free agency signing in recent history do you think would have completely changed the landscape of the league today if it actually went through. I think the only answer on this is Chris Paul.

Yeah, Chris Paul to the Lakers. It's an iconic thing, you know, I've talked to Chris about it, and I've also talked to people in the league about it. And there's stories that came out, but I'm just going to tell you that David Stern heard the trade, because you remember the Hornets were owned at that time by the league, David Stern heard that the trade was going to happen. He didn't check with anybody.

he just immediately said no. I talked to the person who told them that the trade was happening and he said, no way we're letting that go through. He decided like that. So the big what if, David Stern has his reasons why,

but he didn't do it. I don't get it, but that's got to be the answer. Yeah, I would agree with that. My second question is, when telling the story of an athlete with strings of controversy, do you only focus on who they are on the court

or do their controversies come with it? How do you navigate delicately on telling their story? Yeah, so I obviously it's something that it's a gray area and it differs with how you do it. I am a believer in focusing when I can on the four lines on the court. You know, I try to respect players. Sometimes talking about outside the four lines is something that can educate you and help a player out. but I am I've learned many things over the years

from Pat Riley and you know it's like one of the things that in my profession you hear like oh so-and-so was out at the clubs last night. You should talk about how so-and-so was out at the clubs. I'm like, well, how do you know that when that player had a triple double last week he wasn't out at the club?

You know, you don't know. I know some who were. But I kind of follow Pat Riley's philosophy, keep the main thing, the main thing. Obviously, there's sometimes things that happen. It's not an ironclad rule. But I try to focus on, you know, focus on the game, focus on the basketball when I can't.

Yeah, I would agree to that. But there are times when things that happen away from the facility or, you know, outside of the court do impact MBA business, impact games. And so, you know, it's a case-to-case basis on those kind of. of things. Typically, family issues, if a guy wants to discuss his personal life like that, then that's one thing. Unless there's some kind of illegal issues that could impact the players availability

or whatever, I would say their family issues are their story to share if they want to and not it's not our job to dig into situations like that. All right, so we have around two questions left. Sounds good. Yeah, just last two questions. And I have one here. So I can choose the questions, by the way. I have all your questions.

So I got the power. I want to talk to Juan Atai De, because his question actually involves a moment that changed my life as a fan. Right there. Juan Attaide. And actually involves Windy. Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

Hi, Brian, Tim, and of course Jackson. No one said hi to you yet, so hello. So I am a huge fan of your podcast. I watch you every Mirienda time with my fiancé and my father. So my question for Wendy, your iconic finger wag is the most iconic wag since the Kembe Motombo. So I know we've talked about all these different high-level moves, LeBron, what is a move that in this NBA off-season that you guys would say would make a big impact

in this season or something down the line that maybe right now we're not talking about? I got to tell you, I referenced this recently. I really think the Boston Celtics have a good idea of what they're doing. They're really good at their jobs, right? And two years ago, the Celtics played the Knicks in the playoffs, and they were really really worried about Mitchell Robinson. I covered the series and I couldn't believe that the number one thing that they were focused on was getting Mitchell Robinson off the court. Like it seemed like, yeah, okay, Jalen Brunson, I guess we got to guard him. Yeah, we should, you know, worry about Carl Towns.

But get Mitch Robinson off the court. Fow him and get him off the court. And then this year, they were like, not only do we think Mitchell Robinson is, and they, by the way, they'd the series. Not only do we think Mitchell Robinson is awfully important, we need to take him away from the Knicks. And so look, maybe this Jalen Brunson or Jalen Brown trait will blow up in their face. Maybe they'll be looking like fools. But what if Paul George, like, has a 45% three-point shooting season? This is not impossible. He might play 45. I was going to say, if you, that's exactly. And what if Mitchell Robinson is like, he, he, he's not impossible. He's not impossible. He might play it. I was going to say. I was, he, hugely important for the Celtics and like hurts to Knicks a lot. So look, Mitch doesn't

say healthy that much either. They're banking an awful lot on two guys who don't say healthy, but the Celtics kind of know what they're doing. I kind of respect them. I think Brad Stevens is pretty smart. And they did those two things. They prioritize getting rid of Jalen. They prioritize getting Mitchell Robinson. So let's watch and see how that works out. The Jalen Brown trade will ultimately be judged by what they're able to get when they're flip Paul George and picks. And that's not this season. That's got to be next summer or next trade deadline

when it is an expiring contract. But I'll give you another one. I notice you were wearing a Denver Nuggets Championship shirt. There you go. Did you see Yokic's pass yesterday? Of course you did. Exactly. So I think one of the most fascinating moves for both themes

was the Payton Watson sign and trade. And look, that's a case where the Nuggets, they were going to be, I mean, they're already extraordinarily expensive for a team that just got bounced in the first round of the playoffs by a wounded Timberwolf team, by the way. And so they just weren't going to be keeping Peyton Watson at that price. And they felt like they did well in that trade, though. They feel like the upside of that Cavaliers, it's a 2031 unprotected pick, I believe. Am I right on the year?

Right. at 2031, they feel like that was really good value because, you know, this cavalier's core is not going to be together in 2031. The problem is everything the nuggets do needs to be viewed through the Joker prism. You've got one of the best players of all time. And so to me, the value of that pick might not be who you can get in the 2031 draft, but are you able to use that pick to get a piece in there that can help Joker have a chance to contend during the later years of his career

because he's still an MVP caliber player. So what Peyton Watson becomes for the Cavaliers is going to be fascinating. And then how can the Nuggets crack back open a chance to contend when they have one of the best players of all time? And for the final question, we're going to try to keep it around the superstars. here. So let's call on Joshua

Bern Santos. All right, no, I'll just read out his question here because it really is interesting. Because with so many all-stars changing zip codes this summer, Janice to the heat, LeBron to the Sixers and Kuwait to the Raptors, which superstar transition do you feel would

be the most seamless or at least have the smallest risk of buyers remorse? Good one. So those are two different questions to me, because the seamless is Kauai going back to Toronto. There's no question how he fits there. But I do think there's significant chance for buyer's remorse.

Because of the contract? Because of the trade. Just because you, a little bit because of the contract. You hate that contract. I don't like, I don't hate it. I just, I do think they paid too much. But more so like, you don't, is he going to play 30 games a year? You're going to play 60 games a year. You know, so his durability leads to buyers remorse. or could lead to buyers or mores, but I do think that's the most seamless of the transitions.

Yeah, especially since we now know they traded a guy with a torn Achilles. Right, and I think BAM and Janus are going to need time to kind of figure out that fit with the spacing, although they did a nice job of bringing in shooters like Hardaway, by the way, who the nuggets will miss,

Clay Thompson, you know, they got at least some shooting around them. And then I think Philly's going to need pretty much all season long to figure out how it fits with four guys who are used to being alphas. Yeah, I mean, the heat, the heat gave a lot for Janus in terms of the picks and the players. They're really, it's going to be narrow

and how the heat are going to have to build that team going forward. I don't necessarily think that they're going to be buyer's remorse, but it's going to be hard to build up that team, I think. Well, the least buyers remorse is obviously LeBron. They're paying them the minimum. they didn't have to trade anything to get them. You know, these other guys are making max type of money, and they had to give up a boatload of picks and players to make it happen.

Good question, though. All right, well, Manila, you lived up to the hype. Thank you so much for coming out. You want to thank the staff here at Shoot 360, this fabulous facility. I'll tell you one thing. Team USA wishes they had this facility when they were here. I'll bet this is where their hub would have been if this was here, because this is exactly,

this is even better than some NBA teams have. I really want to thank our team at Disney Plus, which the Plus side of life, that's how you get the NBA here in the Philippines. They were great putting this together.

We gave them this challenge. I think they thought we were insane, but we did this and we're so happy about it. Palo Del Rosario, who was our MC, who was one of the leading basketball voices in the Philippines. We're so glad to have him.

obviously Jackson, and I guess McMahon. I guess I dragged you from Australia to the Philippines. Hey, I'm glad I'm here. This has been a great trip, great audience. Adios Kaibian, how do I do that pronunciation? No, eh, work on it, Adios Amigos. Thank you so much, Manila. We will be back.