Gil's Arena - Gil's Arena Reacts To Kawhi Leonard Leaving Team USA

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

Gil's Arena Reacts To Kawhi Leonard Ditching Team USA as Gilbert Arenas & The Gil's Arena Crew discuss Kawhi leaving Team USA to focus on preparing for the upcoming NBA Season and debate if Derrick White was the right person to take his spot over guys like Jaylen Brown & Kyrie Irving. Next, they discuss Ja Morant finally being cleared to play from his season ending shoulder injury and break down how Ja's return along with the addition of Zach Edey sets the Memphis Grizzlies up for a big bounce back season in the NBA's Western Conference. Then, they react to Kevin Durant shutting down trade rumors surrounding a potential departure from the Phoenix Suns and discuss the current state of the Miami Heat, as the once strong culture has spent another offseason not making moves around Jimmy Butler and losing role players like Caleb Martin due to not having a winning culture. Finally, the crew ranks their top 6 teams in the Western Conference for 2025 in a new Paper Champs segment. Please give us a Like & Subscribe!!! Gil's Arena Crew - Rashad McCants & Lexie Brown Gil’s Arena premieres every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET. Sign up for Underdog Fantasy HERE with promo code GIL and get up to $250 in Bonus Cash and A Special Pick: https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-gil's-arena Enter The Aura Watch Giveaway For A Chance To Travel to NBA Summer League & Meet The Gil's Arena Crew!! - https://forms.gle/9ZmMwsycBsbLXdLn6 SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAvjYgmwadC682OoC4Cc6TQ Join the Underdog discord for access to exclusive giveaways and promos! https://discord.gg/underdog Intro 0:00:00 Show Start 0:02:35 Brandon Swept Out Of The Arena 0:05:06 Kawhi Withdraws From Team USA 0:15:48 Ja Morant Cleared To Return 0:53:34 Expectations For Ja This Season 1:01:14 Zach Edey Shines In Summer League 1:06:59 Angel Reese & Caitlin Clark's Record Breaking Season 1:18:37 Kevin Durant Shuts Down Trade Rumors 1:45:25 Gil's Arena's Ranks 2025 Western Conference Teams 2:01:48 MostlyFans 2:31:09 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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presented by Underdog Fantasy. Woo-woo! Sorry we a little late, y'all. But good things come to those who wait. Women be shopping. Women be shopping. Women be shopping. Okay, that was funny. That was funny.

You know y'all be shopping. Okay, that was funny. That was funny. You know y'all be shopping. You be shopping all the time. I save my money. Okay? I'll probably shop for you. See? It's gonna be one of those days. As usual.

Dang, couldn't get five minutes into the show. I just said women be shopping. Like, dang, couldn't get five minutes into the show? I just said women be shopping. Like, shit. They do be shopping. No, I'm just kidding. But this is Gil's Arena presented by Underdog Fantasy. As always, we've got the legend Gilbert Arenas. Hey, what's up, Gil?

What up, what up? Last show before we go to Vegas. 700,000 subscribers. Life is good. I don't know why I have a sweater on. It's hot as shit outside. I know. You do. It's hot as fuck. I don't know why I have a sweater on. It's hot as shit outside. I know. It's hot as fuck.

I know, man. I'm over here, Mel. Can I get a napkin, please? In your own house, dude. Yeah, I'm over here like, I'm like, it's a nice sweater. Sweater? It's a nice sweater, though. All you had to do was walk downstairs.

You're like, this nice sweater. It's very hot outside. Especially out here. We got Lexi Brown back in the arena. Always a pleasure having you here. Love being here. How you doing? Good.

I commentated our game last night. Okay. Did you like it? It was cool. It was hard. It's, yeah. We didn't really play that well, so that made it very hard. But it was fun.

They told me yesterday morning at shoot-around, they're like, you want to come commentate tonight? That's how much a heads up you got? I was like, sure. But I miss being on the bench, so. Were you biased? Oh, 100%. Anybody tuned in was like, who is this Sparks person? And it was me, a player. But yeah, it was fun. It was cool.

Naturally. Game against the Lynx last night. Did not go as we hoped, but... It was not good. It was not good. Nonetheless, we will keep striving for excellence. And we got the man known as Cemetery Larry. Rashad McKenzie is back here with us. With the Demetrius Jermell Morant throwback.

Murray State. Yeah. Okay. 12 is back. It's a new day. 12 is back. New players and new teams to pick. Still on the hunt. Free agency. How free agency going? Josh is one of them, though, for sure. Okay. 12 is back. It's a new day. 12 is back. New players and new teams to pick.

Still on the hunt. How free agency going? John's one of them, though, for sure. He might bring you over to Memphis. No, not to Memphis, bro. Just the job. I'm not going to get two players in a team. Okay.

Two players in a team. That ain't going to be the team. Not the team, but definitely might be the player. For sure. So if you've been watching our Gills Arena all-time draft NBA 2K simulation, then you know that Kenyon's team completed the sweep of Brandon's squad Tuesday, and Gills celebrated Kenyon's series win with some standard trolling. We got some video. You're lucky this ain't my house,

because it would be no cameras or nothing in here. Sir, any tissue? Fucking goddamn fucking tissue. Fucking tissue. I know. You know? Gotta clean up the arena. Clean up the arena.

Clean up the arena. I would never fuck with Michael Jordan ever again. Even in real life. Even in real life, Brandon. That's what I got. That's what I got. That's what I got. That's what I got.

Thank you, bro. Thank you, bro. I had to clean up the arena. You got a trash bag on. Cut the whole lot of trash. For everybody listening to the audio version, Gil was dressed as a janitor in his own theater room. Had to clean it up. In his own theater room. Had to clean it up. In his own theater room. Had to clean up the arena after Brandon was swept by Kenyon's squad. But we got game four today.

Gil, your second-ranked squad taking on Rashad's third-ranked squad. Your team's up 2-1 right now. Game four in the garden. Are you going to take the 3-1 lead? Trying. Or is Rashad going to tie the series up? You have faith in your squad still? No, they told me he was cheating.

I got to check all the sliders. Check the sliders. I don't know. I got to check everything now. I didn't do my due diligence before. Now I'm just going to make sure to make my adjustments. Make all my adjustments and we're going to be good. Got to verify everything.

So when Kenyon's team is blowing out Brandon's team, that's fine. I beat his team. I'm cheating. Yeah, that's pretty much it. I have nothing to do with that. Brandon picked the worst team. He's not supposed to win no games. He wasn't supposed to beat none of us. Okay, in theory, this is beyond. How is your team supposed to win no games. He wasn't supposed to beat none of us. Okay, okay. In theory, this is beyond. How is your team supposed to beat my team? My team, it's a lineup.

It's a certain lineup that can beat your team because we got the best. But have you used that lineup? No. Okay. Wait, so how does the simulation work? Y'all can, like, change things? In a team, the team that won,

we put our teams, and then we adjust it before, and then we let the computer play it out. And then you just do the rest, okay. So the game I won, it wasn't the lineup that was my winning lineup. I won just based on the fact that we was just better than y'all. What was my lineup? You didn't realize that.

You had the Magic Johnson lineup. Yeah. But you still had a big lineup. I had the Magic Johnson lineup. I had a big lineup. But now that I know what your lineup is, it's a series. That's why you play

this whole series, right? Seven games. I got two games to figure out what your adjustments is. You had two. All right. Cheated the game one.

Game one was a clear cheat. Game one. It's really one-one. Game one. How was game one a cheat? Because you put my guys. They wasn't the top guys. My guys was like 91.

I have nine players and seven got re-upgraded. Seven. We're going to figure it out, though. Yeah, I ain't tripping. Make sure you pull up today. We got seven games. I'm trying to figure out why am I the cheater. And in 2K history, no, 2K history this year,

the best player in the game is Michael Jordan, right? I don't have him. The second best player is LeBron. I have him. Third is Kareem. I have him. Fourth is Magic. I have him. Fifth is Dirk. I have him. Sixth is Duncan. I have him. I have

five of the top six 2K players. He has seven. He's number seven. That's Larry Bird. So I don't understand why I'm a cheat. If he beat me, we should be saying he cheated. What else does he have? He has a history of cheating. That's what else he has.

What is he talking about? I have this. I have that. You're on the tour. You're a self-proclaimed cheater. You're a self-proclaimed cheater. You've admitted it on this program. A proud self-proclaimed cheater. You are a self-proclaimed cheater. You admitted it on this program. A proud self-proclaimed cheater is you.

But is it cheating or taking advantage of the circumstance? That's not what you said. That is a fair answer. It's not cheating. It's taking advantage. Like there's a gym, I'm taking advantage. If you have a shootout at the district, then you'll go to the district.

And I know the owner. He owes me favors. Yeah, but those favors were not offered to everybody else. Like cheating. Hey, Ronnie 2K, I could just call you. You did call Ronnie 2K, Gil. Cheating is I turn the sliders up or down, which I'm not that dumb because I know they're going to check.

Duh. So you're a smart, self-proclaimed, proud cheater. Paul Ryan, he was like, how can I do this without them noticing? No, all I do is just run 100 simulations against every lineup I think he's going to pick. So if I run a lineup and I got beat, I'll just line up until it beats that lineup. Then I write it down. So when he puts the lineup, I put the lineup that's going to be simulation. Because it's a simulation. That is a lot of work for an NBA 2K simulation.

That's a lot of work. Just to beat me. So, Gil, you're not a cheater. Just to beat me. I just show up like, hey, okay, yeah. But you're changing. You are championship champion. There is a lineup that I haven't beaten yet on his.

I'm not going to tell him. I'm not going to tell him. Chad, investigate, figure out the answer. They've been asking me for the lineup. They want us to put the lineups on the line so they can load them up and play with them. They've been begging for it. Well, we will see what happens in game four tonight. But here's what's cracking in the arena today.

Yes? Uh-oh. I did figure out something though. Cheater. So, you know how like we were doing um, we put the minutes on? We put the minutes, and then they're supposed to play those minutes

and I'm like, yo, I don't put Julius in. I found out I don't put Julius in. I found out how not to put Julius in. It's the timeline. Rotation timeline? Yeah. I didn't know that. That's the last one. Yeah, I didn't know that. I seen it, but I was like, what the fuck is all this?

Yeah, so there's no subs. My five guys, 48. 48. You running that tip. 48. Ain't there fatigue on fatigue? Yeah. 48. You're running that tip. 48. Ain't there fatigue on? Fatigue on? Yeah. Okay. 48.

We'll work you. But here's what's cracking in the arena today. Ja Morant has been cleared to return to basketball activities from the shoulder injury that sidelined him for most of last season. But what should we expect from Ja this season? KD responded to the recent trade rumor saying he's committed to the Suns. But how good can the Suns be if their big three stays healthy this season. KD responded to the recent trade rumor saying he's committed to the Suns, but how good can the Suns be if their big three stays healthy this season? And Kawhi Leonard has withdrawn from Team USA, but is Derek White the best option to replace him on the 12-man roster, or should another Celtic that won finals MVP have been picked instead?

There were some thoughts, some tweets hurled, some things we will need to discuss. Before we get into all that, as always, this show is brought to you by Underdog Fantasy. Do yourself a favor. Download the app. Use promo code GIL. You can get up to $250 in bonus cash, plus a special pick-em. And as a reminder, this is our last show at Gil's house for a cool minute.

What's the last show today? Today's Wednesday. Or Thursday. Gil, you gave us... Wednesday. We needed to recalibrate, regroup before our travel day to Las Vegas, get our minds right, do some laundry, all those good things.

But we will be... You just had a day off last damn Thursday. Holiday. You didn't want to do holiday pay, Gil. Did you do it? Get up. No, I'm just saying. How many goddamn Thursdays y'all need off?

Get up. This is like... We're tired, boss. We're tired. This is like private school, dog. Max. You know I'm just saying how many goddamn Thursdays y'all need off? This is like we fire balls. We're sorry. There's like private school doll back I'm only a thirty two thousand dollars. Are you supposed to have school every day? Guy go from public schools like that now to 1238 dismissals and I like this is babysitting. I don't send my kid home. Fat, fat. We work. I'm on the air. I don't know, yeah, Jewish holiday. Jewish holiday. My son ain't Jewish. Chuck your ass to school. He is today.

Shit. What you doing home? I have plans. What you doing home? What you doing? We have things we wanted to do today. Where your teacher at? Get to work.

What y'all on? But as a reminder, we'll be in Las Vegas at the Sirius XM Studios at the Wynn show starting this Saturday, 1 p.m. Pacific to 3 p.m. Pacific. That's 4 to 6 Eastern. We will be at the Wynn Saturday through Wednesday. We got all types of special guests coming through. Most of the Girls Arena crew, obviously. Lexi, you will not be there. You will be there in spirit.

Yeah. Maybe I'll pop. You know, maybe a light pull-up. Steve, maybe I'll pop in. You got a new budget, so stop playing. Stop playing. Light budget. You got a little weekend, man.

You know. Underdogs, paranoid spans. We got the corporate art When is y'all break? Tuesday's our last game for all star. Mm-hmm Is there a limp the Olympic break? She could she could Wednesday Thursday Phoenix you can be there Wednesday Thursday wait, is that Phoenix. She can be there Wednesday, Thursday. Wait, is that Phoenix? Yeah.

Oh. Mm-hmm. Okay, well, pull up if you feel so inclined. We do have the corporate card, and we are down to run it up. My ears. Down to run it up. You're telling me Phoenix. Phoenix, Phoenix.

What's down there? We have spent some time out there. We're just out there Final Four. We got to start talking good about the Suns so I can welcome. And as always, we do Mostly Fans. At the end of every show, if you drop a good question in the chat with your

underdog fantasy username and we use it on this program, you get a $50 bonus to your underdog fantasy account. If you send us a video at mostlyfansgill at gmail.com, keep it under 30 seconds

and we use it on the show. $100 bonus to your underdog fantasy account. As always, we do this show live most of the time from Monday through Thursday except when we force Gil to give us off days.

But if you can't watch it with us live on YouTube, we've got audio versions available on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. So we're going to start this with the breaking news on the Team USA front. Kawhi Leonard is withdrawing from Team USA. Unfortunate turn of events. Surprising? Not surprising?

Not really. Is it surprising? We got the news. Shams reported it. He was drawn from Team USA for the Paris Olympics. Sources told Shams and the athletics Joe Varden.

Derek White has subsequently been named as his replacement. That's according to them and Mark Spears. So USA Basketball also released a statement on Kawhi withdrawing, and they said the following. Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks

and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas. He felt ready to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it's in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season

rather than participating in the Olympics games in Paris. Wow. So they... Strong R.D. That's very interesting. Get your ass back to the Clippers facility

and get ready for... We got the Intuit Dome opening. To Paris and... Fuck off. Not played like what? I feel like I'm a necessary evil in these moments like this because a lot of shit that's

not being said needs to be said. That little thing that we just seen could be every single player on the roster. I think particularly Kawhi and Embiid who both had injuries in the past. Hey, listen. LeBron, you're old.

We're all at a certain age where we're not going to risk being available next season. Tatum and Drew, how are you just coming off of a championship run, playing way too much basketball? Cool, yeah. Sit the fuck down. Move around this summer and get back ready. And then, like we was talking about, giving these young players the opportunity to really go out there and prove

that you're the next level of USA basketball, right? LeBron and them wanted to come in and save the legacy of USA basketball by continuing to be undefeated, whatever. FIFA showed us that shit. These young guys ain't getting it done. Let's put a couple more together. Let's see what they can do.

Y'all old fellas chill. Let's let them lose a couple. Let's let them. If together. Let's see what they can do. Y'all old fellas chill. Let's let them lose a couple Let's let them if they can't get it done Like what are we saying? So Kawhi I think Kawhi got down there and seen that he didn't like none of them niggas I'm not going to Paris with y'all. I'm cool, man. I'm not trying to go to Paris with you. USA Basketball is like basketball boot camp. And think about it. You down there with a bunch of dudes that you got to compete against in the regular season, and you looking and seeing how they work and all that. It's like, man, fuck them.

Fuck them. So cool, y'all. Kawhi played in 68 games with the Clippers this season, his most since joining the team, but missed the final eight games of the regular season and four of the Clippers' six playoff games with inflammation and a surgically repaired right knee. Just want to throw that out there.

Can y'all put that back up there? Can we please put the Team USA statement back up? You think that's what it was? You think that's what it was? Or did he just want a vacation to Vegas for a couple of days? I just think he wanted to show that he was a part of it, but he knew he wasn't going to do it. Yeah, he was probably like, you know what? This is not me. It was like

120 in Vegas in these last couple of days. He probably said, I'm going to go. Yeah, he was probably like, you know what? I'm not. This is not me. It was like 120 in Vegas in these last couple of days. He probably said, I'm going to win. He's like, damn, I got a month left of this. And it felt like AAU camp. Yeah. Probably felt like AAU, like, man, what are we doing? That's what it looks like based on the content they've been putting out. It looks like summer camp.

He probably like, y'all don't need me to win this. I'm going to go home with my family. There's plenty of y'all in here. How long have they been training? So I think it opened like the day after the 4th. Everybody pulled up, I want to say, that Friday, last Friday. A week? Less than a week, right?

Less than a week, four days maybe. So less than a week, and the statement says, over the past several weeks, and had few strong practices. Over the last several weeks, who's been training him of USA Basketball? We've seen he was in vacation. Lying.

Costa Rica. We've seen him in Costa Rica, chilling. Looking like a mercy. So over a few several... We've seen him at the fight. Over a few weeks, you're lying. Well, he had a few good, strong practices, also he wasn't dominant.

Because we've seen the vote. There was a vote of the best players. He wasn't on it. So let's just say what it is. His knee was probably hurting. His knee was probably sore, right? And you're probably just, yeah, we're going to let you go. We're going to say some good things about you,

but you need to go ahead and go ahead and get up guilt to that there was also report that uh why I was working out at the Clippers facility recently in Grand Hill some Team USA reps and Clippers reps were there watching it let's just say in the recent past I don't know the exact dates but let's just say that everybody wasn't particularly confident he'd be able to handle this Team USA schedule. They wasn't confident that he could handle it? That's what the report So that means, so if he couldn't handle

it when they were watching him back then then you don't need to give us this fluff story. Just say he wasn't equipped yet to even participate. But he came out there, showed his face, and we've been trying to replace him ever since.

Let's just be honest. I don't think it's that. Even though that sounds good. The nigga played terror. He had a few strong, strong. What is strong? Think about the word. He had a few strong practices.

What the fuck does that mean? Don't they play tonight? They play in Canada tonight. We see how they said about Cooper wordage. He had a few strong practices. What the fuck does that mean? Don't they play tonight? They play against Canada tonight. We see how they said about Cooper Flagg, right? We heard the language in Cooper Flagg, dominant, dominating. We heard what they said about LeBron James, right? Dominating. Look like the best player here.

Kawhi, A few strong prizes. That's why he got, hey, look, that's why, it ain't about the injury, it's about him, the narrative. Man, listen, you're going down there to be a part of something, and it's about one person, and his whole little ride out into the sunset, he on our team is him. He the number one. Who is that person, Rashad?

Steph Curry? I don't know. Steph Curry making his first Olympic team? I don't know, man. All I'm saying is, Rashad? Steph Curry? I don't know. Steph Curry making his first Olympic team? I don't know, man. All I'm saying is certain dudes that got certain type of mentalities and egos. It's like, man, I didn't come down here for this. I didn't come down here for this. And I don't think it's an injury thing because if he was injured,

just like him taking them games off in the series, they got swept. But he did get swept, right? For the Clippers? Yeah. No, went to six with the Mavs. So the games that he didn't play in that series was based on... I think they won one or two of those.

They won two games without him, and then he came back and they lost, and then they decided to sit him, right? So at this point, I'm like, Kawhi, he had enough time to get his shit right. He goes down there, tested out, looking around like, what's this about? Let me see what you niggas on.

Oh, this is what the storyline's going to be? Man, nigga, knee was swelling up like shit. I'm cool, man. Lex, what do you think about Kawhi withdrawing? If he was going to withdraw, why go in the first? We had this conversation before they started training camp. He would have definitely bowed down if he didn't know the dessert. We just don't know him. He was there long enough to sign basketballs, though. We don't know anything. He would have definitely bowed down if he didn't know the dessert. The thing about Kawhi is we just don't know him.

He was there long enough to sign basketballs, though. We don't know anything. The only thing that he does or how he reacts to things is just pure speculation on our part because he literally does not show any type of himself to the public. Do we have that video of him getting off the bus on day one? I've seen it. Did he look healthy then? Yeah.

He looked like OJ. I didn't look at his walking and shit. He just looked like a big-ass kid that's just saying, hey, you. He looked just... Hey, that's how I feel, though. Like, man. Hey, that's how I feel though. That's how I feel. Like man, all the company said damn, he hurt already. Yeah man.

Costa Rica life, Gil. Come on man, he ain't fooling nobody. He made a business decision. You know everybody was looking at two players walk. Who? His and who? I would say Joel Embiid. Joel Embiid.

That's all. Statement coming next. Embiid's. No, no, he didn't have a, when I was sitting in practice, he didn't have a knee bracer on anything. But that's what, I know what you're saying. You're saying, why wouldn't Embiid's release be next? Just because of the same situation. So you think for these guys to save face, like, hey, I came, I tried for my country.

And let me go back. Just because the statement makes so much sense, if you're going to release a statement to get your main player out of the situation look somebody said he was living with his luggage and just considering the factors he missed four of the six playoff games how much sense did it make now it don't make a few weeks later none of the players who were injured and used injury as some type of crutch during the playoffs, Halliburton,

sit your ass down. Embiid, sit your ass down. Kawhi, sit your... Anybody who had injuries up until that point should be giving someone else

the opportunity and he'll love for the season. But that's what I'm saying. So the fact that the other two are still playing, which means they're full of healthy. So the fact that he's out,

I don't think... I think he's the only one that's not willing to risk it, though. He's saying, I'm not about to risk going out here. Y'all got enough. Y'all got plenty. Y'all don't really need me. But we also have KD, too, with the calf strain who won't be playing in the exhibition. I'd say he'll need a few weeks before he's ready. A few weeks?

When does the Olympics start? A few weeks? When does the Olympics start? A few weeks? End of the month. End of the month. I don't know if he will, but he'll need a little bit of time before he's back out on the court. Had a calf for him. Had him participate in the first couple days of practice. Won't play in the exhibition game tonight. It's the exhibition game.

But don't let Canada win. First exhibition game is tonight against Canada. But don't let Canada win. Of course. They cannot lose to Canada. They need it. See, they'll just But don't let Canada win. Of course. They can't. They cannot lose to Canada. They need it. See, they would have had to sub his ass in.

See, they would have had to sub his ass in, and then we would have been like, oh, hell no. So what do you think about the roster now that you lose KD and Kawhi? Do you still come? We haven't lost KD, but... Yeah, I mean... KD's down for right now.

Yeah, for sure. Just the showing that, like, they get to go play, like what they just did against Team Select. Yeah. Could happen. Did they beat of, like, they get to go play, like, what they just did against Team Select. Yeah. Could happen. Did they beat them bad? No, so, Select Team lost by one in a scrimmage. Oh, it was one. One point.

But that's... But Select Teams have beaten the Team USA squad in these scrimmages before. Most of the time, yeah. So, I mean, Dream Team got smacked. Like, I'm just... But the all-college roster, this had NBA guys on it. I think we're just, you know, we're going to win gold by, like, 25.

Okay. Yeah. That's still too close. Huh? So we also have the video, Gil, you said Kawhi with... With the leg sleeve. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's a limp right there.

Look at that little back. He wasn't playing. That's definitely a limp right there. Yeah, see? It's hard to tell with Kawhi, though. That's just a vagus thread. Nah, you can see it. I was a limp like that.

That's the hip length. That's a hip. That's a little bag. The little, the little. I wonder what that is. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. After Vegas, they go where?

Abu Dhabi or something like that? He's prepared to stay how many days? Four. I have a bigger bag. Yeah, no, he came from. I can only assume that his bigger bag is with the belt on. He's got three pair of drawers. That is a one-two night mask.

That's a one-night bag for sure. That motherfucker finishes his bag like, oh, yeah, y'all, I'm done. I'm wearing all the clothes. Y'all surprised. Look what I walked in here with. Everybody else got duffel bags. How much do we want to bet that suitcase is empty?

He's got a briefcase on wheels. So, Gil, in that statement, it said, USA Basketball and the Clippers determined. Who determined more, like, percentage-wise, out of 100? Clippers? Oh, yeah. Steve Ballmer said, get your ass back to LA. I mean, it just makes sense.

I mean, that's what I said. If he's working out at the Clipper facility and USA went down there to see him, and they're both like, ah, we don't think he can handle that. And they lost PG. You know, it just, it'd be, it'd be dumb if they know he's, he's still not 100% then he's going to go travel. He might as well just stay home and just rehab here in the facility and just get ready for

this season. If he's still hurt right now, man, it ain't no... It ain't gonna work. If he's still hurt right now, if he hurt right now, it's not supposed to work for them. He gonna keep getting hurt, yeah. What procedure did he have? Meniscus tear?

Let me see. I think so, yeah. It just must be tough on him, even mentally, to just keep getting. Because he probably trains. One of the coaching staff said the main problem is literally the opposite of what people are saying. He works too much. So what ends up happening is after practice, he wants to stay. And then late night when nobody's there, he comes in, shoots three, four hours.

So his knees and his body is never really healing because he's sitting there trying to stay in it. So he never just, all right, I'm going to sit and just not do nothing. He doesn't just not do nothing. He doesn't just not do nothing. So shortly after Kawhi made the withdrawal, it was announced that Derek White will be replacing Kawhi on the Team USA roster. So White's Celtic teammate and Finals MVP Jalen Brown posted this cryptic tweet. The monocle. So Brown was a member of the 2019 World Cup team that finished in seventh place, which also included Tatum and Derek White,

who was then with the Spurs. Did Jalen Brown deserve to be Kawhi's replacement on Team USA over Derek White? It's a real privilege to be out to travel and to see different places. Taking yourself out in comfortable positions and challenging yourself. No one builds a legacy by standing still.

Start your journey at remova.com. From commutes that become learning sessions to dishwashing filled with laughs, podcasts can help you make the most out of your everyday. And when it comes to everyday spending, you can count on the PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard to help you earn the most PC Optimum points everywhere you shop.

The PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard, the card for living unlimited. Conditions apply to all benefits. Visit pcfinancial.ca for details. Is Jalen Brown even here right now? He could be wherever you need him. I'm like, maybe they asked him. He was like, if y'all give me some time,

I'll come back. He's only a flight away, but should he perceive that as a snub, Rashad, that his Celtics teammate, who did not win Eastern Conference Finals MVP or Finals MVP, was given the replacement nod? Nah, I think he just need to understand

that we're all put in certain categories depending on how you present yourself in the public manner when it comes to being politically correct or what stance you have politically and your ideologies. And I think that for Jaylen right now, don't take it personal. You know, even though there's some people on there that probably don't want you on there. You know, they was picking Kirk Heinrich and certain players back then. Shane Battier, certain guys got on certain teams that people may have felt that they deserve it. But for him, I think he needs to keep his eye on the prize and not worry about being affiliated with anything except for being a champion

being an MVP and Making a name for himself and I think that uh Just gives him more fuel to the fire More things that they won't they don't want to give to him so he got to take it So let's put yourself in Jalen Brown shoes if you Jalen Brown again You just won finals MVP and say you wanted to play on this team, USA Squad, how disappointed would you be that they brought your teammates? You got three teammates on there.

No, I would look at the other guys who they didn't ask to come as well. Okay. I would look like Kyrie. He's more deserving than I am because he's been there. He's a vet, and he's already an Olympian. Well, do you consider the fact that Drew and Derrick now are on the team and not him? It's a preference.

You got Tatum, you got Drew Holiday, you got Derrick White. It's a preference. I have more finals MVPs than all of them combined. It makes no sense. It does. I mean, yeah, it doesn't make sense. You just think about it. If you talk to other people who aren't on the team, that should be.

Okay, that's one conversation. But the fact that there are three Boston Celtics on the team, and he's not one of them, is crazy. The fourth and fifth option. Okay, the problem is this. Is Derrick White actually going to get in the game? To do what? Is he going to get in the game? He will. Because you know they to get in the game? To do what? No, is he going to get in the game?

He will. He will, because you know they all get in the game. No. They all put them all in. The reason is Kawhi is a forward. They replaced a forward with another guard. Point guard. Another point guard.

Right? If you're going to go another point guard, you might as well get damn near the second best point guard in the league last year, which is Brunson. And he was already on the FIFA team. You might as well go get Brunson. He should be the first one. So the fact that you have one, two, three, four, five, six guards now. Steph Curry at the point.

Tyrese. Drew Holiday. He's the fourth point guard. Like, you got rid of a wing player. Tyrese, Drew Holiday, he's the fourth point guard. Like, you got rid of a wing player, so you bring in a wing player. KD's not playing. Wing player. Eat him.

Kawhi's out. Wing player. You bring in a guard. They can't play three or four. You're not going to have a lineup of Curry, White, and Drew Holiday. No. You're not going to have a lineup of Curry, White, and Drew Holiday. No. You're not going to do that. No.

So that means it has to be Jalen or it has to be any other small four, Jimmy, someone out there who can play a big two or a three. And we know he's willing, too. We know Jalen Brown's willing to go. But it's not the point of the player themselves there. It's not you. It's your position. Like, I don't care about the player. It's your position.

Why do they get rid of a big, knowing you just lost one, a bigger guy? You just lost a 6'11", 7'3", 4'5", however you want to play him there. And then you lost a 2'33-4 to bring in a 1. Mm-hmm. And Brandon Ingram, you look at Brandon Ingram, he was on the FIFA team. They didn't consider him. He's the same type of size, same type of cut.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. They didn't have a good World Cup. They had some issues with some of the substitution patterns. You're in the pool of the list of players. I'm thinking about the position itself. There's only 12 players on a team. Six of them are guards, but then you're complaining that, oh, we need stronger guards. Man, think about Kawhi looking at his replacement, though.

I'm happy I'm sitting now, because y'all replacing me like I'm... You don't really need to go up. You don't need to go up a tier level to replace what I'm... Was Kawhi going to start on this? Who's their starters right now? We don't know.

Projected starters? Well, since KD's out, I think it's Steph, Bron, Ant. They had Booker in front. They had Booker in front. Yeah, some people had Booker in front of Ant. But I think now they have Booker. Jalen Brown, Jimmy Butler, Paulo, Benchero, Paul George. They said, this is my team and they got to figure out how to work around me. I'm the number one option. They got to work around me. You said about this team?

Yeah. Lightly joking, but also serious. Yeah, doesn't Paulo Benchero been a good one? Paulo should have definitely got one. Oh yeah Apollo Manchero been a good one? Apollo should have definitely been a good one. Oh, yeah. Apollo would have been a great one. Because now you can play three, four. You can put him in anywhere. You can center him, too.

Wow. I don't like the committee. They never really like Graham. How many 6-3 guards you need? That's what I'm saying. Is Derrick Wright going to get it? Oh, he needs chemistry. We got too many scores. He won. won he is not gonna get in the game there's three other guards you're

gonna put in front of before him that's another thing like you got steph you got the back i mean shit you got steph you got hallenberg you got drew holiday there's all three of them are not gonna get big minutes so where is that where is Derek? And in the case where that 12th person might have to play, it's going to be because those teams are big as hell, the European teams. Yeah. They're huge. See, they're going to end up running.

They're going to, at some point, they're going to end up running lineups where you have Booker and Ant-Man at the 1-2. There's going to be where you have to play big. Yeah. Now you play them two at the, who's your three and your backup three now that the Kawhi? Was his brain Katie and go yeah. Yeah, so you only got brawn By himself now he overworked you overworking him alone by himself

Taylor Brown would have been perfect. You got Tatum still still that take that's what I can put Tatum at the I can play Tatum Kawhi at LeBron at the for now you but when you have in that that big that that three doesn't say you're missing someone like So I don't need maybe they thinking about going small You know even if they go small they can't put Four of them in no they can't't put four of them in. No, they can't. There's four of them now. But you know health protocols and for the point guard position, maybe somebody go down, maybe somebody get hurt. They can play the two guard heavy.

But like you said, they got four point guards. Four point guards. And three shooting guards. Two shooting guards. Two small forwards. They got two shooting guards. Book, Ant, and that's it. Because now you got to-

You got what? Steph, Halliburton is point guard, right? Steph, Halliburton, Derrick White. Then you got Derrick White, yeah. So I guess they banking on Drew Book, Ant-Man, at the two, Ron, Tatum, Bam, A.D., and B. Like what position was Kawhi going quiet gonna be like what was this rotation? I mean what what on the line of seven man eight man? Yeah, it wasn't gonna start

I know you know, I wasn't gonna start so you bought the 7 8th first first wing off the bench, right? Yeah, so you get rid of yours your 6 7th Rotation guy to put in a guaranteed 15th or 12th man. Facts. That's what I'm saying. I'm looking at it like that. This guy was going to be the first or second person off the bench. And I replace him with a 12th man.

Because there's no way Derek is going to be the 6th or 7th man. So I need to replace him with someone I can put in there. Paul George, Ben Cero, Jimmy Butler, someone who can fit. But do you think adding Derek White from a defensive standpoint? How much defense? How much defense? You know what I'm saying? The best defense is a good offense.

I know that's my opinion, but I'm just asking you. So what I'm going to do, I'm going to say, all right, Curry, get off the floor. Right? Curry, get off the floor. Right? Curry, get off the floor. So we can play more defense. Once the names get off the floor, Derrick, go in and play some defense. Screw Derrick. Go play defense.

No, but think about what we argue about, right? About the Euro versus the Team USA shit, right? Your argument, brilliant argument. Hey, man, they're just not good enough. Mm-hmm. Right? So what the fuck would you rally up and go get a bunch of defenders? Who are you defending?

What is the fear of you going to get a bunch of defense if we already know there ain't nobody over there to be afraid of? And if there are, who are they? The bigs. We don't need no guards to be out here trying to trap. We ain't got no

Euro Jordan over there. So if we needed anything, we need another big guard that can actually segment, helping, moving, rotating. You know what happened to the USA basketball man is they started overthinking what they needed, right? They started overthinking after overthinking and fucked up. 92. 92 teams.

There was no thought process. It was, all right, who made the first team and the second team? Right? And get the best player. All right, all of first team, you're on. All of second team, you're on. Well, Tim Hardaway, we're going to bring back Magic for optics. Yes, for this.

We're going to sit you out. Bird, come on, Legner. But it was the first team and the second team. So there's nine players on the team. It was all NBA first and second team. Then they put Magic and Bird and then Christian Legner. That was dream team. 96, 12 players. dream team. 96, 12 players.

First team. Second team, two people from third team. All 12 players made the all NBA team. Knockout, knockout. 2000, we need to make some, we need some more team players. Right? Then you started adjusting it. Then 2004, you started just putting in these role players.

Well, unfortunately, with role players, when you need them to do something great, they can't. They're role players. Why do I need to bring off a guy who averaged four in the center position when I'm bringing off Shaquille O'Neal in 96? It don't even make sense. Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem was coming off the bench for the 96 team. They both averaged 29 and 10 that year. That was off the bench. Now we talking about,

we need some role players to come. Hey, no, here, I got a role player. Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem, that's my role players. So if anything happens with them, I have dominance coming off, not a guy who plays a role. And you wonder why we keep getting beat or have these problems. You're trying to create a team. Just put the best players out there. They will figure it out like the rest of them did. 92 did it, 96 did it. World Cup team.

It was like a bunch of role guys, very talented, amazing players. A bunch of bench guys, and they're like, we can't score. Nigga, they don't even score on their regular team. They off the bench. What do you expect? Are they going to get on here and like, let me average 20? They're not even capable of doing that. You said that was a D-level roster.

A D-level roster. Let me ask you this then. Do you think, because I don't want to just say this is what it is, even though this is what I believe. Do you think that they're doing the new roster setup that 4Map changed from 92 to now based on not being able to cater to everyone's ego? Because you think about Shaq goes back and he says,

you motherfuckers didn't put me on the team and I was averaging this and then you brought me off the bench and me and such and such was averaging this. Then you brought me off the bench and me and such and such was averaging this. Then you look down the line at the other players who complained about,

man, I just wasted my fucking time to come out here. I'm coming off the bench for this nigga. I've been busting his ass and woo, woo, woo. It's favoritism with the coaches. Then we go down the line 2004 to 2008 to 2012

where those rosters completely went to team-oriented rosters, right? So now we're in the team segment and we're like, we can't invite the main players no more because we got to treat them like role players and we'd rather put a role player in that position. And lose.

And lose because we don't have to deal with the ego of fighting back and forth with these star players who demanded to start and it's's like there's only five spots. Well, I feel like now it's harder now because all NBA teams, they're players that are not eligible to play USA basketball. So how do you just slide the people up? Yeah, you slide the best.

You have the first team, and then if you have, like, two or three players that won't play USA, you just put the second team. Yeah, because, you know, like the Euros, because of the Euros are taking up first team and second team. Yeah, once you remove them, everybody else. Just slide up. Right, but the ego checks itself, right? If I have on the team, if I have at the guard position,

I have, let's say, Kobe and Tracy McGrady, right? And then Allen Iverson is on the team. You're eager. Yeah, I know you're mad, but one of you guys got to sit. One of you guys got to sit. One of you guys don't matter like this, but I know I got one of y'all coming off the bench. I'm not gonna say I need, hey, I know you're going to be upset.

So let me go get a guy who's going to be happy to be. He's just happy to be. It's bigger than them. It's bigger than them. The USA, which is why I think now they're more selective, which I think sometimes they're flawed in their selection with assuming that someone is. They're assuming that someone's ego can't be put aside.

But think about what you're saying. Think about what you're saying. It's bigger than you. Yeah. What star player is going to assume that something outside of their own little castle is bigger than them? And you're going to go about that situation. You're sitting there and you're in there. This is the first time feeling something's bigger than you.

And you're in there like, I don't like this shit. Yeah. Because some players, it something's bigger than you, and you're in there like, I don't like this shit. Yeah. Because some players, it isn't bigger than them. And some people are used to being a part of a team, and they understand once I'm in this element, this is perfect. I love this element. Yeah.

Because I do less in this element for us to win a bigger prize, so all I need to do is be ready when he call my name. Yeah. But outside of that, everybody else is in there like, man, this motherfucker ain't calling my name enough. Even the team that lost right even a team that that lost where they created a team 2001 gold the team that was fucked up was who 2004 yeah How did they select that team feet 92 fine

96 5 2000 you're starting to look like wait some of these guys hit and I don't know it don't look like 96 and 92 this starting there's a couple guys in here that shouldn't be in here they ain't qualified yet so what y'all doing y'all getting a little teenish and in 2004, you get smacked, right? You got Allen, Iverson, Stephon Mulberry, and Duncan. And that was it. Was that Young Mello? You got them three, right? Bonafide.

Now, we can question everybody else at this point. Was Lamar Odom... Lamar was on that team. Was Lamar Odom... What I'm saying is, no, no, no. Was Lamar Odom an Lamar was on that team. Was Lamar Odom. Or Harvard. What I'm saying is, no, no, no, was Lamar Odom an all NBA player? No. Right? He a legend though. Was, Amari Stoudemire wasn't an all NBA player either yet.

That was his second year? Yeah. He wasn't an all NBA player yet, because back then they had the three young boys, or four young boys. They had Carmelo, James, Wade, and Amari. player yet because back then they had the three young boys or four young boys they had carmelo james wade and amari so if i know if i got four dudes that i'm really not gonna play then i need to make sure think about the team this is you got a mecca ogre for sean marion lamar odom richard jefferson in a league where T-Mac was Vince, Kevin Garnett.

But you got to think about the year before that. Right. Like, think about who. The roster before that was KG and Vince. 2000. When they jumped 2001. The 2001. 2000?

Oh, yeah, 2000, 2004. So, go from there to that Tim was the only one that stayed came back right and then Amari they had to pick somebody doesn't somebody the white wasn't of I don't think the number that he wasn't but he was younger but I'm someone you got so a Michael Ogilford went over the white but I'm saying you if I got four young dudes that I'm trying to just but then I need the rest of my stars to match right I can't just bring in a bunch of role-players and then wonder why the role players ain't rolling away I need the rest of my stars to match. Right. I can't just bring in a bunch of role players and then wonder why the role players

ain't rolling the way I need them to roll. What was the other role? Because you had... You didn't even say championship pedigree with a lot of them. You had Richard Jefferson. Richard had one. You had Lamar Odom.

He had one. No, they haven't won yet. Oh, he's 0-4. He's 0-4. So Richard, Lamar, you got Sean Marion. Hasn't won. Emeka Okafor. Hasn't won.

Carlos Boozer. Carlos Boozer. Carlos Boozer. And I won't even put Amari in there because he was young. That's six unproven guys. Six? No. On the Olympic. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. They won bronze that year?

Eight, yeah. Yeah. Eight. But that's what year? Eight, yeah. Yeah. Eight. But that's what I'm saying. But that's where it started. Right? You put four young boys in there that wasn't, like, it was better if you did play them versus the role players.

Braun, Wade, and Mello over Lamar Odom and Richard Jefferson? Yeah. Yeah. But would you say that that's the reflection? Some of those guys didn't Jefferson? Yeah, yeah. But would you say that that's the reflection? Some of those guys didn't want to play, too. LeBron didn't play much. Mello was in the back handicap. He was singing, oh, they locked up, they won't let me.

Because he was busting everybody's ass. He wasn't playing them. A great song. So he didn't play. LeBron didn't play, right? LeBron number didn't play. So you don't even have the chance to do nothing if you needed it. Would you say that Halliburton, Drew Holiday, and Derek White are three of the unproven guys? No, because if I'm going by what the first two teams did, Hallib burton's on his team because he's an all nba player so right brunson will be on his team he's the all nba player so that's the only all nba player whoever got screwed bam wasn't on their own thing oh no all nba player who got

screwed and i don't know why they keep saying is Thomas should have been. It was Tim Hardaway. They took everybody on the first and second team and screwed Tim Hardaway for Magic Johnson. That's who got screwed over in the 92 Olympics. It wasn't Isaiah Thomas. Isaiah Thomas wasn't an all-NBA player at that time. It was Tim Hardaway who got removed for Tim. I mean, for Magic. So we asked the chat who should have replaced Kawhi.

We gave them four options. 58% said Jalen Brown. 24% said Paolo Bancaro. 8% said Jalen Brunson. 11% said other. But let's talk Brunson just for a second. Only player who made an all-NBA team this year that's not on this team, USA Squad.

And he was second team. How disrespectful is that for him? I understand Jalen Brown has a case as finals MVP. Look what I did. But also Jalen Brunson. Look at this playoffs I'm just coming off of. Major market, king of New York. And I'm second team All-NBA.

I'm going off of, when I'm judging, I'm judging off what success was from USA alright, they did it so this team dominated this team dominated this team dominated but it looked a little shaky this team lost, why did they lose compared to everybody else

that's the product so when you keep moving forward you're seeing that you guys are making your guys are going down the same rabbit hole that you did in the 2004 the reason you went and lost in 2004 is because of this this thing you're trying to do you're trying to create a team Like a bunch of NBA superstars can't play together It's like you're trying to try to create an NBA championship squad instead of a elite Olympic Juggernaut yeah, I want to babe

Yeah, Brunson's hurt. I understand that but even from the jump not not making that squad Listen, even if you was choosing all of the all-stars just all of the guys was on the all-stars East and West just pick between All of the those in that bubble. There's not going to be too many role players that you're going to pick out of that bubble. It's going to be all the elite guys in the NBA. Well, we will see. I'm going to assume that they reached out to some

others and maybe they were like, hmm, I'm cool. Think so? Maybe. I don't know how many. But, I mean, Olympics isn't like everybody's like... Gary Payton starts coming off the bench Jason Kidd. And then the backup, and then the backup backup was Tim Hardaway. Vince Carter, Ray Allen, and then the questionable was Steve Smith. Steve Smith, yeah.

So we will see what happens tonight in their exhibition game against Canada. I know one thing. Lonzo Mourning, Kevin Garnett. Oh, man. Is the sinners. 2010. Team USA better not lose to Canada tonight. They better not.

Canada is desperate for a W right now with all things going on in pop culture and life. LeBron James! It will not be LeBron's fault if it does happen. It will be everybody else can move around. But LeBron was the best player in camp, which is wild. They said Kawhi is healthy. The Clippers don't want nothing to happen to him.

Understandable. You got PG dipping. You got the Intuit dome opening up. And I think Kawhi played that entire postseason without any issues with his knee inflammation. It's a different thing we're talking about. But you can't have not played in the playoffs. It's just, at this point, it's smart.

This is my asset, man. I don't want that to happen to you. I'm sorry, dog. What are you getting out of this? It's the real question. Has he gotten a, man. I don't want that to happen to you. I'm sorry, dog. What are you getting out of this? That's the real question. Has he gotten a gold before? I don't think so. I don't think so, right?

Is this something that you want? Right. Like, if you don't really... Something you feel like you need? Yeah, if you don't feel that way about it, then... Yeah, like, don't feel pressure to go out there and do that. That's not everybody's... Yeah, Kawhi's... That's not everybody's goal and dream to get a gold medal,

and that's fine. You can go 2028, man. You know what I mean? If that's an option. No, no, no. 2028, they put him as the 15th man. Go ahead, get a little gold. Go ahead, get your little gold.

We owe you. Go ahead, get a little gold. Let's keep this thing moving. Tuesday, Grizzly star guard Ja Morant was cleared to return to all basketball activities after successfully completing shoulder rehab. So Ja made the announcement by tweeting, it's go time. Ja was

suspended for the first 25 games of the season for blicky related issues. Returned to play nine games before suffering the season ending labral tear. I feel like we can like, are we going to mention that every time we talk about Ja? That will be the last time. Okay. I'm just talking about in general. I know we're going to stop that every time we talk about Ja? That will be the last time. Okay. Okay.

I'm just talking about in general. I know we're going to stop, but I wonder if the regular media is ever going to stop. That was the official the last time. This is a job I ran a fan club over. He missed some games for some shit. He missed some games for his shoulder. Shoulder. All right. He's healthy.

We don't need to bring up nothing else. But after the thing that stopped him from playing the first 25 games of the season. We don't know about that. Nothing at all. We have already forgotten about it. He returned to play nine games before suffering the season-ending labral tear in his right shoulder that required surgery and missed the Grizzlies' final 47 games. Let's go 12.

In the games that he did play, Jha averaged 25 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds. And the Grizzlies were 6-3 with him in the lineup, 21-52 without him. So now Morant looks to return to the All-NBA level and get the Grizzlies back in the mix amongst the top teams in the Western Conference. So what are your expectations for Ja Morant this season, now that he's been cleared to play, will likely be fully healthy coming into the 2024-2025 campaign.

I think he's going to, you know, the glimpse we've seen of the nine games. I mean, you know, he knows he has something to prove. Right? He wants to let everybody know who he is. You know, don't forget you know, what he does on that court. So I think he's going to come out very, very, very strong.

Rashad, see you rocking the jersey. What do you think your expectation for Jaim this season? Well, he's my number one pick. He will be your... Are you announcing that officially on this episode of Gil's Arena presented by 100-Dog Fantasy? What are you announcing? I get two players in the team. He in the shop takes two players in the team every year two players this Year jaw, I mean, uh aunt and Luca

Yeah, and look at it. Look at all the one across the board. No, no here aunt Luca and Wendy And the Celtics. Yes. Made that move early in the season. Yes, I did. You abandoned shit from confidence, coffee in the heat. Yeah. Jumped on the Celtics bandwagon.

Three players in a team. That's right. But John Moran will be one of those players. John's one for sure. Okay, John Moran will be one of those players. I think I'm going to double back with Ant-Man, and I'm going to wait until everything pans out for my third. Okay.

And you're not sticking with the Celtics? I think with what I've said recently, I can't. Just because I'm like, the year's over with for them. And I think Philly made a big move that threatens their... They need to make a move now. So I can't see them going... You just missed their bandwagon over there. Yeah, just...

I can't go back. So I got to figure out... That's okay. We don't want you back. You should. I'm the good luck charm. No got to figure out what to do. That's okay. We don't want you back. You should. I'm the good luck charm. No. The moment I picked yourself.

No. The moment I picked yourself. The Celtics did win a championship with Rashad showing his allegiance. Go back over there. I need some fucking presents and shit. Laila Brown sent me a jersey. Lexi, lifelong Celtics fan. Yes.

You don't want Rashad on the bandwagon? No. He already jumped ship. Yes, she does. You're not hurt by that? I'm the the bandwagon? No. He already jumped ship. Yes, she does. You're not hurt by that? I'm the reason why they won. No. No.

When he joined the team, I was like, cool, you're going to leave in months. We can't refute that. You can't refute that. I was the reason why. Because they do win. I'm the reason. She's been a fan this whole time. They've been fucking getting killed.

I was there for the championship, the Paul Pierce championship. Oh, wait. Okay. So you've... I was a fan then. You've been a real fan then. Yes. I've been a there for the championship. The Paul Pierce championship. Oh, wait. Okay. So you... I was a fan then. A real fan then. Yes. I've been a fan for

29 years. You were like 9 years old. I was pretty young. Still rolling though. I was supporting. So that don't count. Where do... This is not trolling. Where do Boston Celtics rank in franchises since the NBA?

The real NBA has started in 78. What, how many championships? The merger, which is the real NBA in a sense. So everything before that is not real NBA? Where do they rank as in franchise? Top five at least. Top five still? Since 78?

Yeah. Since the merger. The 80s were a very strong show. Oh, and he might not be. No, Boston, because Boston, I mean, because Bird at three, Paul Pierce in this one, so that's five championships with them. Bulls got six. How many the Warriors got?

Warriors got four. And the Spurs got five. Spurs got five. Right, Heat has three. Heat has three. Heat has three. Lakers. Lakers have, you got five with Magic. And then five with Cole.

Five with Cole. And then one with LeBron. So they got 11. So, as expected. So, Spurs... What point are we making right now? I would just... No, no, no, because...

Oh, with championships? No, just organization. Because the Boston legacy, everyone uses the whole legacy and is like, well, technically, the NBA really started here, so what is the legacy? You can't hold on to something that was...

Yeah. Even if you don't do the same thing with the Lakers... It's 11. Yeah, and they're pre-'78, 16. So that's what I'm saying, out of the last, you know... But are you talking about prestige of organization, like where the organization ranks outside of championships? They would be out of, like, seven, maybe.

Like, for how taking care of players? Or just, like, the revenue brought in and just thriving as an organization? Their fans are crazy. I think the Warriors came up. Oh, yeah. That was a Warriors dollar. The Knicks up there.

See, it's hard. I don't know. We're talking about organization. We're talking about when people take care of you. Cleveland went up. So you're talking about ownership and all that kind of stuff. When it's like you come here, you just think basketball. Oh, so Dallas is one.

You think Dallas is one? Dallas and Golden State at the top. I think Dallas and Golden State is number one. I've never heard anything bad about Spurs. I don't know. No, I don't think. I just think it's boring. They just think it's boring.

It's just boring. You know, like when you get there, it's about just basketball. So you don't have to pay for nothing. It's a locker room. It's prestigious. You got all the equipment. You got everything. It's like A1.

The video games, the locker room, everything is just classy. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Orlando's up there. Orlando was probably the best. So they had good meals. Hell yeah. They doing blood. Listen, they doing blood. Where's some of the not so Hell yeah. They doing blood.

Listen, they doing blood. Where's some of the not so good ones? They doing blood testing. They doing blood. It might have changed since. Yeah, they doing blood testing on you to see what you're allergic to every month. Yeah. You got breakfast, lunch.

You got breakfast, lunch, pregame, and after game. So you never got to spend money. Damn. Yeah, you never got to spend money on food. I would love that. Got the club right in the arena, so you never got to leave. After the game, you just go party right up there.

Yeah. I was like, yeah. I was like, man, this is some nice shit here. I just remember Dallas having the fucking TVs and locker and shit and all that. I was like, yeah, they spending money over here. So, Rashad, the people want to know, when will you be making your new team announcement?

Prior to the start of the season, or are you going to wait? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, all right. Once everybody starts moving where they need to move... Where they're at. ...and we figure out rosters, I'm good. All right, well, let's get back to Ja.

Gil, what are your expectations for Ja Morant this season? 20... Gil, what are your expectations for John Morant this season? 20- 20- 20-7-8-7. Damn. So, those sound like all-NBA level numbers, just hearing them right now. Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no.

He is going to be all NBA player That team is not gonna help him get into the all NBA But that Memphis team is he's gonna sell out the arena His first they're not coming for the rest of that team first came back is gonna be crazy But sounds like they're gonna have a hard time making the moves that's going to help him do anything. I think E.D. is going to help him, though. We're going to talk E.D. in a second.

Get him open. Get a good screen. Big block. He looks a lot more athletic and, what do you call that, agile than I thought he would. He looks a lot more in shape. He looks like he's in shape. When everything is just. Hey and that's the difference he when he has 16 14 everything spaced out spread out you

got more room to operate. Nasty work down there. Yeah. But let's talk Ja Ja 6 and 3 with Ja in the lineup last season obviously they were not good without him had a ton of injuries though a ton of different starting lineups a lot of young players got experience now guys like Gigi Jackson that are now gonna come into this season but prior to jaw getting hurt finished second in the West and the two seasons prior to that so I'm it's not different team is a different thing you lost some you lost

some veteran players that really like molded and helped that team. And those players moved on. They were worth money. You got Dylan Brooks. You got Dylan Brooks. What's the name for him? Marcus Smart. So you have a squad now, Job, Marcus Smart, Jaron Jackson, G.G. Jackson, Desmond Bain.

Olympic shit, right? I lose six, eight defender that can play the two, three on defense, and then bring in a small point guard. Doesn't help me. I think they all in development mode in Memphis. I think they're going to try to figure out, right?

We're going to rank our Western Conference teams later in the show, but I think y'all are a little too down on the Grizzlies right now. If Ja's back and playing, that's a completely different team. No, no, no. Everyone has gotten so much better, though. Yes, that part. Like, again.

Especially in the West. He got them 6-3, but we see what they look like without them. A good team at least can be, they can hold the ground. Like, that's how good we know Philly could be. Without Embiid, they struggle, but they learn how to, they can maintain. Yeah, yeah. Right? So that means when you add the best player, they can take off.

Facts. Right? That's, nah, Jaren Jackson Jr. can't do that. Bane couldn't do that. Well, also, I think the situation in Memphis and the situation in Philly is very... Oh, I forgot Bane still did. Yes, he had Bane out of position, you know.

I mean, Jaron Jackson out of position, playing a lot of center last year, well, now she's likely back in the top four. I mean, I think we could say that they're going to be better than we think because they did get all that in-game experience. Yeah. Who was their-game experience. Yeah. Who was day three last year?

Yeah. Who was day three last year? Who? Who was the three? Yeah. I don't even know. Was it the skinny kid number eight? Because, wait, so we got Ja.

If we have Ja and... Marcus, Bane. Bane. No, and Bane. If we have Ja and Bane at the one, two, and then Gigi Jacksonain at the one, two, and then Gigi Jackson goes to the three, Jarrett at the four, and Edie at the five,

that's the line. It'll be okay. But Marcus... They might be all right. I'm trying to tell you, girl, like this. They might be all right. They just get a couple free ages that's just out there that you can just pick up that can Like if you something they gotta

Like I like this it left. I'ma tell you a Gigi Jackson gotta start but he got a plate of love What's up? Well, I don't know nothing about him and with his game Who Gigi Jackson? Yeah Hungry you to shoot buckets. Plays D. Here are the free ages. Gary Trent Jr., Markel Fultz, Sadiq Bae, Spencer Dinwiddie, Gordon Haywood, Doug McDermott.

I go Markel Fultz. Lonnie Walker, Joshua Colby, Evan Fournier, Isaac Okoro, Pat Bev, Kyle Lowry, Jay Crowder, Tyus Jones, Luke Kennard. I go for guards. Or they just...

I go Markel Fultz. What you need him for? You got Bane, Bane, Ja, and Marcus Smart. How many if I don't have Marcus? Another guy who can get to the rim and put pressure. He said he needed three. And then a three. I'm thinking what?

Shoot or no? Lonnie Walker. Jay Crowder. Too old, man. Defender. Too old. Okoro. How about Lonnie?

What position did Lonnie Walker play? Lonnie Walker, two, three? Two, two, three? He could be good. I wouldn't mind. I mean, if you're going to go with Lonnie, I'd go Josh Okogie before I go with Lonnie. I like him in San Antonio. Sadiq Bae.

He's about 6'8". Shooter. Yeah. Stretch. Yeah, yeah. How tall is the Gigi Jackson kid? About 6'8", 6'9". Yeah, 6'9".

But let's talk about Zach Eadie. So Grizzlies shocked a lot of people, selecting the two-time player of the year with the ninth overall pick. Eadie made his summer league debut Monday against the Jazz, gave the Grizz some hope for what's to come in the league. So we've got some highlights here. Out there beating shit, playing well on both sides of the court. He was a presser, 14 14 points 15 rebounds four blocks in

the game Out there dunking on people. Oh nice. Oh, hey, he can't see that That's a big boy and obviously obviously, it's just summer league, so we don't want to overreact. He's 22 years old too, Gil, so he's a little bit older, so a little bit more ready to be thrown in the fire right away. He got some stuff, though. Yeah, and I'm not worrying about those with him.

I want to see him in pick and rolls. Yeah, because he's not doing that. Because that's what he's going to be playing against. He's going to be playing against teams that's picking and rolling. Caught Walker. Caster slipping. Also, the Grizzlies down 2.8 seconds to go. A little tip drill. Send it to OT.

Hey, uh... If I'm the... Ooh, nice. I like that. He's moving. Look at him. I like that. I like how I'm moving. Go back to that second play. If I'm them. Second play, yeah, so it's all the way at the beginning.

Yeah, get that shit out of here. When he gets the, not that, just keep going, keep going. When he has the ball and they give him a post-up. Oh, when he said he's going to pass? Yeah. Right here. Slow down. Right there.

Woo, woo, woo. Slow down. That pass? Right? Look, right? See? Right here. Boom.

Stop. I am... All they need to learn and teach him what to look for, right? To be like the Vlade Divac's type, the Jokic type. I am all they need to learn and teach him what to look for right To be like the Vlade Divac's type the Yogi's type. He gonna see that he didn't see it here seen it late The defense to so what I'm saying, oh, he's now he's okay look at him why but he had already he checked it

But that's I'm saying but he sure like that's way for it. that's what I'm saying. But he should, like, wait for it. But that's what I'm saying. He's already, right now he's in robot mode because he don't have those passes. We know we coming. Yeah, in college someone is standing right there. He's throwing it in front of him. He's not looking because they're not cutting behind. It's all pass and space. Now it's pass and cut. You got to know those passes.

Yeah, so I got that. Those are the plays that I'll be looking for him. Like when you have it, right, you got to, this patterns. Yeah, so I got that. Those are the plays that I'll be looking for him. Like, when you have it, right, you got to, this man is going to have to rotate here if he's trying to, like, you got to know the options. But I just want to see him in pick and roll. Him guarding the bucket, love that. Yeah.

Love it. With him posting up, I love it, too, because, you know, those guys are going to cut. He's just going to have to hit them Cuz once he starts hitting those cut guys can do Opinion shifting a little bit on Zack. Edie you as what you weren't super high on them coming coming into the draft No, no For where he's playing, he's perfect. Perfect for them.

But you said he was going to get a GM file. No. If he was in Atlanta, no. If he came to the Spurs, no. All the other teams are too young for him. To his credit, though, Memphis was the furthest team away of thinking about putting him at a spot. We talked about the Spurs. Yeah, we talked about the young teams. This is technically

a veteran team. So even if he got drafted to, let's say, somehow the Sacramento Kings, perfect. Perfect spot. Perfect. Shit, if he got picked

for the Lakers, perfect spot. Put Andy Davis at the four, put him at the five, I like it. But here he gets to actually start. He gets to start.

He has the potential to start. Shit, he would start with the Lakers. I wouldn't. But here he gets to actually start. He gets to start. He has the potential to start. Shit, he would start with the Lakers. I wouldn't. At the five? Nah, not right away. At the five? Because before drafting him, if you draft him, you're not even thinking of having a five, man.

Yeah, we need a five. And if you drafted him, you would draft him for a backup five. We need a five, man. And who would you get? Outside of him, there wouldn't be Valachunas is who they was trying to get. Yeah, Valachunas. And for some reason, he was not trying to tango with the Lakers. Robbed.

Robbed. Robbed you. Robbed and robbed you. You got robbed. Robbed working for somebody else. Make the T-shirt. Make the T-shirt. People will buy it.

But Edie will be potentially competing for a starting role with that squad. Make the t-shirt. Make the t-shirt. People will buy it. But Edie will be potentially competing for a starting role with that squad. We'll have the opportunity. Who's his name? Is he healthy? Adams?

No, he's not. He got traded. He would be coming off the bench if Jarrett Jack played his position. Exactly. But he don't want

to play the five. He don't really want to play the five. He wants to ship over to four, but you got Gigi Jackson there as well. That's why I said it kind of messes it up. But he can still come off the bench. He's young enough now where he won't necessarily be tripping despite what he's... That's why I said put him at the three. That's why I said if they go three, four, five,

you got a different team. You potentially have Ja, Marcus, Smart, Bane. I'm not starring Marcus Smart. I'm not going six, two, six, two, six, two. I'm just telling you. Right. That's just a zone. Bane is 6'2"? No, Bane is bigger. No, he's 6'4".

He's 6'4", but he's 6'4", negative wingspan. Yeah. He's got small arms. He's got small arms, so he's negative wingspan. He's 6'5". But still, it's a small negative. He's got T-Rex arms. No, but I'm saying it's tough, though. He's still tough. He a small. T-Rex. He got the T-Rex arms. No, but I'm saying. Still effective.

Huff, though. He's still Huff. He makes up for it with Huffness. So that's why I said, so I'm fine. Listen, I'm fine with having my guards both 6-4, 6-5 with 6-8, 6-9, 6-10, and then 7-3. That is a perfect lineup for me. But I am not going 6-4", 6'4", 6'4". Well, shit, I don't mind that either.

6'4", 6'4", and then I have two bigs back there, but it still puts too much pressure on them. Okay. How good is Jaron Jackson Jr., though? Huh? How good is he? Jaron Jackson Jr.? Is he good enough to play the four and really be something for that team?

Let's just say we haven't seen it since Steven Adams, right? And that's when he broke out. He broke out as a premier potential talent while he was playing next to him. He goes down, forced to play the five. Wins defensive player of the year. Right? So he don't have no room to go down from here i mean his first team

ed playing the five now back in his natural position but that natural position wasn't defensive player of the year he got defensive player of the year at the five because he was guarding them five. Two-time block champ. He said Jared Jack, I guess. Both centers he was block champ. No, no, he was block champ. I don't know. Check the tape.

I mean, when you're talking about him being an elite player, are you talking about defensively or overall? He obviously is an elite defensive player he was dominant he was dominant at the four two so it's it's really on it's really on him i guess because what i watched them at the till like maybe like 30 games left in the season i'm watching him play and he didn't take a leadership role for that team and he just kind of showed up when he wanted to because he didn't have like there role for that team. And he just kind of showed up when he wanted to. Because he didn't have, like, there was no excuse for him, but it was.

It was like, oh, well, we don't got Steve, and I'm forced to play the five, and I can't do everything by myself. We don't got job. We don't got this. It's just me out here. And it's like, well, show us you're going to get 25 and 12. He barely cracked. He didn't even average over 10 boards.

Yeah, I think that's the one place he can improve. Five boards as a center. See, but that's what I'm saying. So now technically, you need Eady. You need Eady at the back there then. So now Eady becomes more valuable. So you have a career high in points, but only six rebounds. What was his career high in points? 22.5. See, that's So you have career-hiring points, but only six rebounds. What was his career-hiring points? 22.5.

See, that's what I'm saying as far as his talent. At the center position. I don't know how to gauge that. He's like 22 at the center position. You go to the four, can you give me 28? Basically 23 and six. I don't know if he realizes this. He goes to the four.

His production's going to go down. Because he's playing his guys' size. No, I mean, you're playing guys your size, too, but that offense is not going to be ran through you. At the center, you are the only person that we get to pass the ball down to. Now we're going to, we'll probably throw it into the big man and do cutoffs on him. Yeah, facts.

It used to be you. It changed the whole offense around him. It used to be you. Now we're going to throw the Edie goal, and then if Edie don't have no pass, now you can go sit there like, ah, it's high-low now. But he gets that jumper. He gets that high jumper.

He wants that high jumper by himself. So high-low from him is they got to go help from the top. And then kick out. Or they let him go one-on-one in the post. Yeah, see, his numbers are going to go down just because of the way the offense has to shift now. He plays Z-Bo. He's going to play the Z-Bo role. Z-Bo, Marc Gasol.

He's going to play the Z-Bo role, but not the Z-Bo plays. Right. Because Z-Bo had all isos. Yeah. You're not going to iso him. You're going to do pick and roll. You got Bane coming off. I mean, it's...

They got a lot more, though. What I'm saying is, him now saying he don't want to play the five and go to four and bring it in to five... Yeah. ...is going to hurt him. For sure. For sure. It's going to hurt him. For sure.

You have his 23 last year. I mean... And this is not just a five that you're bringing in and just play five. He can score that bitch. Yeah. He can give us 20 and 10. So that's going to make sure we run the offense through him now. That's why I was asking.

This is the best. I'm afraid for him at four. This is like a great, like when you think about it, like how it rotates. That was a great pick by them. So you were on forward enough. They was happy.

He was a favorite. Yeah, that was a great pick. Ladies and gentlemen. You have changed your stance. Like I'm thinking, it was like for Memphis, that was a great pickup by Memphis because now the whole team is about the same age.

Yeah. That is correct. Oh yeah, because it's a young team. It's not even a young team because that's not considered a young team. That's the middle. Compared to other. Compared to other. That's the middle of the road because Ja is what, 23, 24 now?

Yep. Right, Bane is about 24. Yep now. Right, Bain is about 24. Jared Jack is about 24. Ja will be 25 in August. So one of them is the oldest one. He's probably 30. Yeah, so ZD on that. Desmond Bain, 26.

Yeah, so that's perfect. He's considered young. He's the second youngest player on the team. Marcus Smart, 30. After you've been calling him old for a week. Yeah, he was an old rookie, but he's young young for that. Yeah for sure Now that we started to talk about it more. I see them now and Even though they're in the West you could put them on the East

They would have a chance like I like that's what I said like before my out there there run down I said the West is just so stacked. Well're going to talk about it later in the show, and we will see where the Grizzlies stack up. I like them now. Against the rest of the West. When you spread it out, you're like, all right, they got some potential. When you open up the team, like, okay. Let's shift over to the W.

We've got to talk more about these two super rookies, and Kayla Clark and Angel Reed. Both continued to look impressive as their battle for rookie of the year heats up. So Reith set a new WNBA record with her 13th straight double-double on Sunday against the Storm, dropped her 14th double-double today in a win against the Dream. And after being named Rookie of the Month for June, Reith became the first rookie in WNBA history to be named Player of the Week as well. Kayla Clark made some history of her own this weekend, becoming the first rookie to mess around and drop a triple-double, 19.12 rebounds, 13 assists, and a comeback win on the Liberty.

Clark is on pace to become the first player in W history to average 16-plus points, 7-plus assists in a season. So, Lexi, got to start with you. How impressive have Kaitlyn Clark and Angel Reese been so far in their rookie seasons, and do you expect either of them to hit a rookie wall, especially considering that you guys are going to take a break now for All-Star? Will that benefit them? Will that hurt them?

I mean, I think it benefits them. Like, they're All-Stars, which is amazing. They're going to have some time to rest mentally, physically. I think they hit their rookie wall already. It's over. Okay. I think both teams are still in the process of adjusting to them, but you're seeing those two teams building their future

around their rookies, and that's something that I haven't seen in a while, which I think is amazing for them. Kaylin almost had another triple-double tonight. I think she was very close, or today. It's been good to see. I mean, it's been good to see them be able to work out their rookie season and get through it while getting game experience.

Because I know our team, our schedule, we barely practice, so you don't really have time to work on things and figure things out as a rookie. So them being able to figure it out in-game, real-time, and being successful is good for them. And I do want to give a shout-out to our rookie, Rekia Jackson. Shout-out to Rekia Jackson. If we were winning some more games, I think she would be in this Rookie of the Year race for sure.

She's been really fighting her way, and I'm really happy and proud of her. So you talk about Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn had 29 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds in a loss to the Washington Mists. They also were down 21 in the fourth quarter. That's lost by 5. Yeah, lost by 5. When you look at these two rookies, all the hype that was coming in before, they're both living up to it.

It's the, I guess it's the media and the fan base trying to put them two against each other like this is still college, right? Where what they're both doing is making history, right? It's not whose history is better. It's they're both making history. At the same time. They're both doing something different, right? One's a guard, one's a big, right? Reese double-double does not change Caitlyn Clark.

Caitlyn Clark triple-double doesn't change. Reese, she might get a triple-double one day. Maybe, but she's going to be a double-double queen. How she plays, that's going to be... She already is. No, what I'm saying is, the way her trajectory, she might break the all-time double-double record.

Right? Because rebounding is what she's got. That's her gift. Her offense is this is the bottom end of her offense, right? This is the worst she's going to be offensively. She's only going to get better. So those numbers is going to be she's going to be averaging 22 and 12 or 14 one of these years. She's going to be averaging 22 and 12 or 14 one of these years.

She's going to be a dominant force. Kaitlyn Clark is going to be on the verge of playing like Luka. Two, three years from now, she's going to be averaging 22, 8 and 7, 9 and 7. Right? So if you separate and just watch them individually and stop, oh, you talk about Kaitlyn Clark. People go, what about Reese? You talk about Reeseate and carter people go what about reese you talk about reese what about kate appreciate both of their games separately just look at them separately they're both doing great and who wins the who wins the this is the problem with the

rookie of the year whoever wins it the other one got cheated the The other one's going to feel like they got cheated because they're both, history is being done. That's why I said it's easier. For both. For both to win. I don't know. Kaylin gets a few more triple doubles. It's still, even though she gets a few more triple doubles, you got one who holds a record of double doubles.

It's just one of those seasons that you're like, you know what? Nah what nah you know we're not doing this what are we not doing we're not doing this doing what someone gotta win no we're not doing this you know why because that shit was fucking beautiful and i was over here like do i sway with y'all niggas or no because that shit does like it's the what they're doing is like incredible it is and what i'm proud of i'm proud of chicago and i'm proud of indiana because i've been around this league and there are some hating ass coaches there's some hating ass players in this league that would have like stomped that shit out so fast and they're on two teams that absolutely

did not allow that to happen. And I'm going to credit Chicago and Indiana for that because I've seen that shit happen in real time on other teams with other players where they see something amazing brewing with their rookie or young players and they're like fuck her. Absolutely not. Do you think that because of the

media was so strong they had to conform fast? Because we've seen fever at the beginning of the season. Yep. And the shit had led to... And it was looking on the line. They're looking like, you know what I mean? You're going to sit on the floor.

And all that media is sitting there like, well, she needs some new teammates. They said, look, girl, let's tick-tock. Dot, dot, dot. All that. Dot, dot, dot, dot. Girl, we with you. We with you. We with you.

Y'all better get right or y'all getting left you left On both sides her passing ability was going to show Show up before her story came So y'all are gonna benefit more from knocking down these open shots and be able to play with her on the floor Because she's gonna get you the ball. Mm-hmm. We're not doing this You know why? Somebody got to win. Somebody got to win it.

So we in entertainment, right? And we going this person versus this person, this team versus this team. We love both teams. We bias. We don't know who going to win. We don't know who we want to win. But guess what?

You can't tie. You can't fucking tie. They do it all the time. No. When was the last co-worky of the year in NBA? Was it J. Kidd and... Grandin and Jason Kidd. Think about how...

They were playing so well that it was like, Wow! Think about the competitiveness, the landscape of what size you gotta pick now. You think about how we've always tried to unify all of this stuff, right? But, like, why do we gotta to, like, if one wins, which that is very possible that one of them does win,

it's going to be a shitstorm. No, it's not. It's going to be beautiful. Yes, it is. Because everyone's now watching. We wasn't watching before because it wasn't a reason to pick. But this is, like, the perfect setup for the co-rookie of the year. Nah.

They are so different. Nah, yeah. Nah, we don't want peace and love and unity. Yes, we do. None of that. Because what happens after? We want we don't want peace. How do you love it? That could be the Steve Francis own brand you got that's what it's it because it's not two guards It's this is not a guard. This is a garden of sinners. So how do we just how do you do it every year now? How what criteria every year now cuz I know we now. Because what I'm saying is, teamwork. If the voters are this, like, let's put the voters as, all right, Shaq is a voter, Duncan's a voter, Embiid's a voter, Curry's a voter, and Kyrie's a voter.

What's this going to go? Angel Reese. Angel Reese wins, right? Because the three bigs, the three bigs value. All of them black. They're going to pick Angel. The three bigs value. All of them are black on that battle. Oh, yeah, that's true. All of them black. They're going to pick Angel. The three bigs value the double-double. Now the guards value what she's doing.

So the guards see Kaitlyn Clark. The bigs see how hard what Angel. So it's two different slides, but they're both playing great. We all are players. Even you saying guards are this, bids are this, but we all know wholeheartedly who deserves to be the rookie of the year, based on record, based on what you do for your team,

points, and all the stats that's around it. I look at Angel Reese and I say, she's doing exactly what she's supposed to do. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, I mean... Because you're underrated. You're underrated as a rebounder. You're proven that you should be respected

not only as a rebounder, but as a force, period, a presence. Wait, who underrated her as a rebounder? No, I did. Oh. I underrated her as a rebounder. Yeah, absolutely. I didn't know if she could do it in the W.

Oh, I absolutely am not surprised. So I wanted to see it. So now that I see it, and it's like, okay, she deserves everything that she's getting for as far as recognition. But then Caitlyn, expectations for her were already here. The team that she's spoofing

and keep dropping them motherfucking eggshells all over the place. Imagine if she's picking up six more assists, she's getting three more rebounds, and she's putting the ball in the basket more because they're not really just trying to deny her everything. I look at the potential of what happens when you

make it even. You make it even, Kaylin goes here. If they switch teams? No, when Kaylin doesn't get all the pressure defensively. That's what you're asking, right? Because she's making the teammates are playing better. She has to overcome more than Angel does.

So Kaylin today, 29 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 blocks. Like she said, she's turning the corner on that rookie wall. No, no, no. What she realized, David. What I'm saying is they're both turning. One has the ball the whole time. For sure. The other one has to get the ball and make her own play. Yes.

Right? And that's not her attribute. Her attribute is not scoring. Right. Right? But the fact that she's still averaging like she's still getting points. Nobody had her literally nobody had her averaging double-double. But if she's getting us 10 or 12

or even 14 a game and that's unexpected, that's you getting dimed off oh i got a quick one quick one here give me 10 and i know i'm gonna get 10 boards that's a double double yeah just about how many times i get the ball to get my 10 points caitlin on the other hand i gotta come off the pick and roll but i got so much more to do but as i said the fact is we've seen what Caitlyn looked like in college, right? And because of her points was very high, no one else looked at her passing ability. But me.

Huh? But me. Yeah, you did. Me too. So what ends up happening is her biggest attribute is actually her passing ability. Yes. So there's going to be a year where she leads the league in assists.

Who's doing it right now? But that's what I'm saying. But that's going to be... Probably Natasha Klapp. So like that's what I said, two, three years from now, there's going to be a time where Caitlyn surpasses

just people in the league because of her stats is going to be crazy across the board. Alyssa, she's second. Second right now, too. She could be the assist leader this year. Imagine if they actually finish in her league. Okay, so now we have her assist and then Angel's rebounds.

Angel leading the league and rebounds. We'll neutralize each other. Neutralize that. Because Angel's leading the league and rebounding. Kaitlyn probably will finish leading in assists. No, you got to go Angel's rebounding and Kaitlyn's points. Because we knew her points was going to be there. We knew her rebounds were going to be there.

We didn't know Kaitlyn's assists was going to be here. We didn't know Reese's rebound or points was going to be here. That's what I said. They're both. They're both doing, and I don't want to. If you gave it to both of them, I think both of them will sit there and say... Look what we're doing.

Fuck that. Because you need a villain. You need a motherfucker that's mad. I didn't win. No, you don't want a Gordon. You don't want a Gordon. Fuck that. You don't want a Gordon in a dunk contest. Yes, you do. No, you don't. You need that fire. That's what creates the fire.

That can ruin. It creates the fire. The fact that I was running up, it was me and you head to head, and you beat me out, and now I got to figure out why. Well, she's never going to because they're not,

they're never going to guard each other. Well, it's not even about, it becomes envious. It becomes envious. You don't want, you don't need that in this sport no more. It becomes magic versus sport. You don't need it in this sport no more. It becomes magic versus sport. They're in the same position, Rashad.

There's no way they're not going to be anything that either one. They can both play out of their minds, respectively, and it's never going to matter. It ain't about it. You got magic versus bird. Not small forwards. They're small forwards. No, he was a point guard. No. He was a point guard.

No, he was a small ford. They were small fords. This is it. One just had a different gift. Okay, but it's a point guard and a center. Exactly. So look, regardless of the position. It's always going to be the center because she's the bigger one.

Regardless of the position, you have now a dynamic where people can identify with one or the other. But why can't we love both of them and how they play? Because everyone has their tears of where they want to go. But that's what makes this situation so beautiful because you can appreciate so many aspects of the game. You don't want a Gordon, I'm trying to tell you, dog. You do not want someone who feels like they were ripped off so bad to the point where they're disgusted with the league itself. Hey, that's too bad. And that's what ends up happening.

So now I don't want to be a part of it. No, no. Ten more push-ups because you stopped early last time. And that's why you didn't get that last rebound that could have got you to a war. Ten more points. You missed 20 layups in three games. Now that person won't feel

that it's because of their players. It's going to be because you cheated me. Now I'm looking at you like that. Now I hate you. Now I hate you. Did you get cheated? Whoever Did you get cheated? Whoever got whoever wins it, the other one feels cheated. No, you can't feel cheated.

Listen, who won the dunk time boxing? She broke the record. In boxing, if you get a draw in boxing, you don't feel cheated unless you just knew you were winning. She broke the WN In boxing. If you get a draw in boxing, you don't feel cheated unless you just knew you were winning. She broke the WNBA record in the first 20 games of the season. Her rookie year. Who won the dunk contest? What does that mean?

Between Gordon and Zach Levine. Gordon won it, right? No. That's why he hates the dunk contest. No, he hates it. He hates Dwayne Wade. No, he hates the whole thing. For giving Dwayne Wade, he gave him a nine.

No, he hates the whole thing. No, he hates all of it. No, he hates Dwayne Wade. No, he hates the whole thing. For giving Dwyane Wade, he gave him a nine. No, he hates the whole thing. No, he hates the whole thing. No, he hates Dwyane Wade. You know, video about him, music video about him. But he hates it. Yeah, you know, he's like, it's because... And we hate it for him. You have to choose a winner.

A loser doesn't like when he loses because you had to pick the other niggas. Because Dwyane Wade was being a weird hater dude. Yeah. But it's a vote. It could have went dude, yeah But it could have went it could have went even even good with even but there ain't no evens you gotta pick somebody Hey, let me talk who is the way way to the community and let me see a weird hater person or he let me tell you What I all the fame niggas that we let me tell you what happens though The way it went this person does not want to perform anymore.

This man won. He don't want to perform anymore. So now your two biggest draws don't want to perform ever again. If they tie the following year, one has to say he's the winner. So you have both of them back the next year for a tie. But that ain't going to stop them from being light-skinned. Them two soft-ass light-skinned niggas should have came back anyway. Nobody cared.

Why we got to be all that? Because that's how y'all act. Why we got to be all that? You're acting sensitive and shit because you lost and you won. It's a dunk contest, bro. We're in touch with our emotions as a community. So who you going for? Y'all going for both?

I'm both. Both of them. See, I know you're lying.'all going for both. I'm both both See, I know you're lying under them goddamn eyelash. I'm going for Clarice Chloe That's how they do it he buying both of them Clarice I know you're lying under them lashes So just so we're clear Levine be Gordon the Gordon came back next year lost to Derek Jones twice Oh in the first time and Wade gave him the nine, I think, in that dunk hunt.

Oh, okay. Yeah, man. I don't know. I'm not going to say who I think because I think they're both doing amazing things, and they're both breaking records every week. So good thing we don't have to decide right now. We will see. I'm also not a voter, so who's going to be out?

We have a nice break to recalibrate, get our barriers together. Can we choose the frontrunner right now? I just don't... The frontrunner right now is Caitlyn. I just don't like... I just don't like to... You're in a position where both girls are in a great spirit. They're happy.

They're doing things with the idea of everything is fair. I don't know. Whoever loses, I don't know if either one of them accepts it because from their lens, they're doing what it takes, right?

I'm sorry, but Angel Reese, who she has to play against, the big girls, the physical girls, and she's shooting 30%. She's getting her offensive rebounds. She's getting her offensive rebounds she's getting the offensive rebound right so she's getting it back and putting it back in so it don't matter

she's doing what it takes for her position the other one too right so they're both facing adversity so we can't say who rode is harder if they they both get to the top, it's like I got to reward you both since this is what you're doing. If one was averaging 10 and 7, then it's like, eh. But a double-double is a fucking double-double. It's hard. It's hard for me to just say one or the other. I'm sorry. I can't.

Listen. I can't. If we're in the game, you got to pick one or the other. You can't pick both. Yes, you can. That's why co-workers have to. Right now, it's doing time right now. Unless there's a big, like, it's like one of those,

if it goes down to the end, and one has a triple-double and one doesn't, right? I mean, one doesn't have the double-double, and her record get broke, and then you give it to her off with the triple-double. It's like, ah, that's fucked up. You can't. Like, someone has to. You know we wouldn't do it that way. What I'm saying is

someone has to, in the next few, after All-Star break, someone has to jump high, because right now where they are, that motherfucker's even if it's 50.5 to 49.5, I still don't feel comfortable saying 50.5 wins. If it's a triple overtime, right?

Triple overtime. Tie game. Two seconds left. Missed a shot. Guess what we're doing? We're going into the fourth overtime, right? Somebody got to win this shit. Somebody got to win this award. This is overtime. I'm asking y'all to put this in the scenario

where somebody got to win. No. Ain't no coals. Ain't no coals. Ain't no coals. Yes, there is. There's no coals. What they're doing together as rookies with all that pressure, all that attention, all that negativity from both sides. Both sides.

Both sides are horrible to each other. Not the girls. The fan bases are awful. But there's not a not like us. There's not a not like us right now. No, there's not a not like us right now. No, there's not a not like us right now. No, there's not. No, but I'm balling.

No, no. There's no not like us. Balling. Their game has like completely surpassed this fake beef. No. No, no, no. How about this? It's over.

The Indiana fever or seventh place. No, no, no. Who wins? Who wins? Who's winning the beef before Utopia comes out? Drake, because he already put out two diss tracks. Euphoria.

Euphoria, Euphoria. Okay, so like, okay, now Euphoria comes out. Who's winning? It's a tie. Okay, that's where we are right now. But no, we're not. No, we're not! What do you mean? Big tracks still dropped. No. Drake still we're not. We haven't had a good season for this. What do you mean? There's been tracks still dropped. No.

There's still an album. There's 20 games left. That's Caitlyn. Caitlyn is Kendrick. I still have an album. No, right now. I ain't even done on y'all. But I'm saying it.

But that's what I'm saying. Right now, there's no Not Like Us or Family Mat. There's not yet. How? How can we say that? It's not. Triple-double with Not Like Us. Double-double?

Triple-double. The first triple-double. 13-double-double was not like us. Double-double? Triple-double. The first triple-double. 13-double-double. He's another one. First triple-double. It's a record. She broke the WNBA. She broke a record.

And I broke a record. Rookie. A rookie. Angel broke the W record. The W. One set of rookie record. One broke a W record. Listen, Caitlyn would have broken a whole fucking basketball record by now

if they would catch the ball and lay it up. Okay, well, she had. No. Here's your word. Catch the ball and lay it up. No, no, no. Look, when it comes to Kaitlyn's turnovers, I don't. They're not her turnovers.

She's averaging five of them. But those are not real five turnovers. Those are adjustment, like being in the right place. Her team, remember I said it, her teammate didn't understand that this is what she does. They didn't know that someone passes the ball like this. Like with J.Kid, four turnovers. But I kept saying, her passing ability is at freaking level.

And everyone was like, she's going to average 30. No she's not. She's going to leave the league and assist. Her passing ability and her scoring ability, right? That's two things, right? Alright. Angel who? Angel rebound. And what else?

Rest my case. Two to one. Hey look, like Magic came to the league averaging four turnovers. We didn't expect no week pass the ball like that, so they're not even looking. Boom. It's too early to just be like, this is the winner. This is the winner. It's tied right now.

It's tied right now. For me. Extremely. So we asked the chat who will win WNBA Rookie of the Year. Over 5,000 voters. Currently Angel Reese in the lead with 51% of the vote. See? It's close. 51%. There's two Americas. They're both

united. And it's still 51%. Yeah. You probably thought it was going to be like 80% Angel. No, I didn't. No. 80% Caitlyn. I thought people would be honest. Be honest. That's what I'm saying.

Remember a few weeks ago, it was Kayla. Kayla. Kayla. And now they're like, okay, Angel got a little shit to her, which we all know we're going to do. That's what I said. 51% that I'm not comfortable with that yet. That's what I said. Right now, there has to be something that puts them.

Like, if she keeps going and she 20-something, and then the other one's two more triple-doubles, she's still tied. Someone has to fall. And they're going to keep getting double-doubles because even the way she got her double-double today, her teammate fed her the ball at the end of the game. Go get her. And that's what's going to happen. What's going to happen is her teammates,

when they realize, because they know this double-double is holding you ground, just like everybody knows Kalen Clark assists. They're going to be doing it. Don't say this. They're going to start making shots. Don't say this. Y'all remember the Shaquille O'Neal?

Don't do that. Y'all remember the Shaquille O'Neal? I'm a set of Indiana Fever's field goal percentage. You talking about David Robinson? Y'all remember the Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson, right? They fighting for the scoring title. Shaquille O'Neal decided to sit his ass out because he thought he won. And David Robinson's team was was like how many points he need

60 some I think fella. There you go. There you go. There you go. And he got his 72 Was it a real 72 being these next 20 games both of them, you know, so funny No one even questioned was that patting the stats? Well that padding the stats? Was that padding the stats? We didn't have internet back then. We didn't take it for what it was. When his teammates was like, oh, you can get the scoring title if you average as many points. And it just force fed him the whole time. And he scored 72 the last game against the Clippers.

No one talks about that. Is that a real 72? On the books it says it. But in reality was it not? It's not going to diminish what Andrew does. Because it looks easy to her. That's great. That's great. That shit don't look easy.

What I'm saying is if a rookie is making it look easy, god damn it, let's go. They both making it look easy right now and I can't wait the next season. Hey, both y'all ladies, congratulations. Co-MVP. Let's get into next season.

Hell no. You on this side. You on this side. You on this side. Y'all not going to do to Spain and Asia like that. Now, both cities got a rookie of the year. Woo!

Woo! Shit, if I could throw a third motherfucker in there, I would. Hell no. Separate that. Separate that. Separate that. White's over here.

Black's over here. Stay over there in your line. Stay in your line. Let's keep this thing moving. I didn't talk to you. Come over here. Okay? Let's keep this thing moving.

The water fountain is over there. You got your own water fountain. I'm tired of the WNBA being the fourth round. Stop. Water fountain's for everybody, Rashad. Let's keep this thing moving. Somebody got to win. We're tired of it.

If we win, you get the water fountain this week. You see it. Don't you want to drink out that water fountain? We don't want it no more. It's cold. I'm tired. Let's keep this thing moving. I just want to hoop.

Now, you know what's funny, though? What's funny is no matter how you look at it, it goes back to this. Indiana fever, White City, Chicago, black city. For sure. That's what I say one time. It just makes it for the jokes that we just can't help it. Let it be. Let it be, bro.

The jokes write themselves off. It's one of those things in the playoffs. I don't know if you can get away with it during these times But like I don't know if y'all know about the Philippines the Philippine Leagues when two rivals is going against each other There's no mixed crowd. Mmm one group sits on one side and the other group sits on the other side It's not me. You're going for the game versus the fever game All Chicago fans, y'all over there.

Over there. We're going to cut it in half. Fever here. Don't come over here. Now y'all get to chant back and forth back like in high school. That shit would be fun.

That shit would be real fun. Like a Raiders-Niners game. What they... Didn't they just do something? They put their games on... I don't like that. What? I don't like that. What? They put their games on at I don't like that. What? I don't like that.

What? They put their games on at the same time. The WNBA? Yep. Yeah. Oh, today? And what's going to happen is, obviously, Kaitlyn Clark is going to get more views on her game than others.

Then you're going to try to use that narrative. I don't like that. Pack that up. Yeah, I don't like that. Enough with the narrative. As soon as I seen it, I was like, ah, that's some bullshit. Appreciate the rush. It should have been like back-to-back game. It should have been like boom, boom.

Let's keep this thing moving. So during the week of the NBA draft, the Nets and Rockets made an interesting move, swapping some future first-round picks. Shams had that report. The Nets traded the Suns' 2025 pick swap and 2027 first rounder and a first rounder and a swap in 2029 to the Rockets for their own 2025 pick swap in 2026 first rounder from the James Harden trade.

Wait, what? But why would he even type that out? It's confusing. But this was before the draft. But there was some reasoning behind it. Okay. So word on the street is the Rockets could be looking to try and make a move for either Kevin Durant or Devin Booker in the near future if the Suns don't live up to the hype. So in response...

Who? The Rockets. Oh, the Rockets. The Rockets. So in response to those reports, Suns owner Matt Ishbia dropped the following tweet hours before the first round of the draft. He said the following. He said the NBA draft night is the best. Everyone talking about the drama and storyline.

Some are right. Some are just wrong. My turn. Phoenix loves Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant loves Phoenix. And we are competing for a championship this year because we have the team to do it. Got to love draft night. Go Suns.

So we now fast forward. During an interview with Yahoo Sports' Vince Goodwill at Team USA training camp, KD addressed the trade rumors, effectively put them to bed. Were you online on draft night when everybody was saying? It's hard not to hear what they got to say about you. You know what I'm saying? It's like, yeah, because especially then you could just make up lies. Like everybody going to believe you.

Like you could just press the KD want to leave button anytime you want some attention. You think it's a button? Yes. It's for sure a button. What else is going to get people going around this time? Besides, oh,

the journey, man, is leaving again. That storyline going to always hit, you know, the people. You know what I'm saying? That's why they send you the alerts on ESPN on your phone. Oh, KD's thinking about leaving. That's how big that story is which is whack because i'm talking to phoenix every day oh you know since the season ended like our our gms coaches everybody we've been locked in so it's like to say here somebody say well phoenix doesn't phoenix wants to get out

of the kd sweep somebody sitting like, where is this coming from? So we actually had a button we ordered off of Amazon Prime. It was delivered. Let me just come in. It's coming from sources. This should be a rule moving forward that as journalists, you should never be allowed to use sources. Because... Just sources.

Because, well, because if it's not a real... Because if it's not a real person, if it's not a real person that someone can go fax check, then it's just you saying it. Right? That's just how it is. Sources say this person said this. Okay, who's the source?

So we can check to see if it's valid. Because if not, then... But what if the source can't put their name on it because they didn't want to lose their job? Then they shouldn't be saying it. Because it shouldn't... Like, you shouldn't be able... You should not legally be...

Go to your little burner and tweet about whatever you want to. Don't use your... Wouldn't that destroy the very fabric of journalism, though? No. Which was predicated on sources giving information? No, you're not, you shouldn't be, it's, you can't do it in court. You can't say my source told me. Reveal your source.

Ah. Ah, can't, you can't, that's what I'm saying. It should be illegal. Who's the source in this situation? Whoever wrote it at this point. The facts are the source. The facts? You know what the facts are? What are the facts, Rashad?

Does Kevin Durant have a I want to leave button? Like what? Does Kevin Durant have a beep I want to leave button? Has he pushed this button before? He has left from destination. And how many times has he pushed this Kevin Durant is on the move button? He don't got it no more.

I'm just asking a question so I can just kind of lay this thing out for you about why it made sense what you're saying. But the facts are the facts. It's that you have been a journey sense what you're saying but the facts are the facts is that you have been a journeyman and you have been on the move and that button has been pushed before so even if the journalists don't have sources what they do have is a timeline but his point he's making is that people use that story just to get clicks and conversation instead of them going to do their job. You've allowed me to do that based on an insinuation on what your past have

looked like. Your past has looked like, if it don't go well here and I don't win here, I'm going to go here. I'm going to go here. I'm going to go here. So exactly what he's saying. That because you guys call me the journeyman, you guys can sit there and push the button of KD wants to leave.

And because of the resume, you believe it. Even if no one in my organization, we don't even think about, you get to use it. Tomorrow, they can come during the Olympics. Hey, Sons is thinking about moving KD. Fake. Sources say. You can't sit there and do that. But it sounds real, though. Why?

Because he's left. Because he's left. And that's the only reason why it seems unfair to him. And it seems like the media shouldn't be able to do it. But the fact that they can do it is the fact that you have left. And that's the only reason why. The button is there. And we can use that button on anybody's past mistakes or past anything.

You'll be like, hey, man, you've done it. You can't say it's just... They're not pulling shit out of thin air. Yeah, they are. KD might be on the move. I don't got no views today. If I don't have no views today and there's no storylines up... Hey, we got this button.

KD's leaving. Oh, shit, KD's about to leave. Now he's sitting there looking on Twitter. KD about to leave. What the fuck? Now he going to call somebody? Hey, y'all trying to trade me? No.'s about to leave now. He's sitting there looking on Twitter Katie about the lead the fuck now He gonna call somebody. Hey y'all trying to trade me. No, you trying to leave? No What is he supposed to what does that person on the phone pose to say? Yeah, I Feel like your no, no, cuz you know not to be honest. It's business not personal. No, of course not

Hey, who the fuck told Kev we was trying to move. Hey, have you noticed? Fucking fired Of course not. Hey, who the fuck told Kevin we was trying to move? Hey, have you noticed? Who the fuck told Kevin? Hey, bring him here. He's fucking fired. We're supposed to be doing this under the table. Who told him? And how did it get to Kevin already? Have you noticed?

It's never sources inside organizations anymore. It's just the word sources. Yes. It's just like I told you with Stephen A. I told you that when he was making that shit up. What I'm saying is it's not even sources in the Suns or sources on the Capitol. Because if you say sources in the organization, now the organization is getting to start looking. Of course. Where do you think this shit's coming from?

Of course. Sources not allowed to speak publicly on the matter. Yeah, like sources I can't name. Sources don't got their own fucking phone? They can't name. Like, sources I can't name. What, sources don't got their own fucking phone? They can call you. Mm-mm. The funny thing about the world we live in now is it's usually easy,

because there's only, like, four or five people who know this shit, so it's a process of elimination, usually. If I'm James Bond and I'm undercover, don't fucking blow my fucking cover. Let me do this. I'm cool. I'm the one giving you this inside information.

Relax. But that's the point. People are releasing these statements because they want traffic to their pages and their stories. You should be a true. It is true. It's the people inside the camps that's releasing information. No, these journalists are lazy.

Because they are unsure. They're annoying and they don't be caring. So you're saying 100% of this shit is not true all the time when we hear it? I would say more of it is untrue than true. Or some of the sources actually leaked the shit, and we actually hear the truth, and we have to make sure that shit doesn't get out as fast as possible? When has any of it panned out?

When you sit there and hear some of these things, like, can you have it? The Paul George shit. The Paul George shit. What was that? What did it say? It leaked that Philly had 212 available. They would go for him.

If he opted out, they did it two weeks before that. Who's sources say? They didn't say it. They're not going to say this. No, who reported it? I think it was Sham. Sham's or Woj, one of them. We got to look.

One of them. If you scratch and sniff and do a little digging, it's usually pretty easy to figure out where these things are coming from. Once it came out that PG could potentially opt out, it popped up that we could give you the money. We'll give you the money. Boom, now he know. Somebody just leaked it out.

Where was the sources? When I look at now, when I look at real stories, real stories that happened this summer, where were sources then? Where was the fucking source on Klay Thompson moving? There was no source. Where was the fucking source on clay thompson moving there was no source where was the source to say ah they're not gonna sign him he might be leaving there was no source it was oh shit clay clay unfollowed the golden state warriors clay was the source clay unfollowed gordon state so that was a real thing. There was no sources behind.

What was the sources behind when they denied his 20, his two-year 20? There was no sources then, right? No. The first time we felt that there was fucking, it's because he pushed the unfollow button. Then everybody, oh, shit. There was no person that came out and said there was a problem going on. The source ended up being Claylay Thompson the whole time.

It's always the source of the player. But I'm saying, if we're talking about finding the source in the Klay Thompson situation, it was him because he was the one that was holding on to the information about, I'm not signing back with them because they didn't take care of me when I wanted them to. Then what was the Golden State source? What I'm saying is, where's the sources on real things that's happening? That was a real thing. That was a real thing.

Was there a source about DeMar going to Sacramento? No. A damn source? It was. It was a source that came out before that deal came. When? It was a source. An hour before they signed?

Three days before. Who reported it? Potential. Potential. I think Woj reported it. After he done signed the contract? It was like Sacramento Kings are in talks with a sign and trade for DeMar DeRozan. I remember.

In talks and signed and traded. When he signed, when did we find out? When the Lakers didn't sign. When we found out the Lakers couldn't take the deal down. When we found out the Lakers dropped the ball. That was the only reason he did the deal because he couldn't go to L.A. No, we don't see no sources or no deals.

It's just always some fluff shit, fake trades. It's a little unfair to say that every report has been wrong, like, all the time. And it's, like, wrong to say. What's the percentage? Because if you're going to say... What I'm saying is if you're going to say sources... If you're going to say sources... The T.J. Reddick story, for example, was correct. If we're going to say. What's the percentage? What I'm saying is if you're going to say sources...

The TJ Redick story, for example, was correct. If we're going to say... Shams initially saying that was correct. But we're talking about the same player every year. TJ Redick was going to... What I'm saying is... Somebody on this couch said that as well.

When we say sources... I definitely said it way before Shams said it. When we say sources... I definitely said it way before Sean said it. When we say sources... But when we say sources... What is the percentage of the source actually being right? It's hard to calculate that.

Because you're going to be... When you say sources, you're getting real information from a real person. You have to be batting about 90, 95%. You can't be the weatherman. People are literally told

not to reveal their sources. That's how they're trained. So it's just the opposite of what you're saying. And they're legally protected since you did bring them up. Legally protected by who? They don't have to reveal their sources. So then you can make it up. Well, that's what social media is doing now.

That is a very real thing as well. So you can legally, like if I want to be popping and I need traction, I can just make it up and hide behind the word sources. That's true, Gil, but if you are wrong a number of times in a row, you lose credibility and no one listens to you anymore. But here's the good thing. If you're wrong, you just switch it up.

Oh, he was going to go to the lecture, but then the Kings came in at the last minute. The question is how many times has the source or the journalist that has the source been wrong? Because you just move on to the next one. How many times has the source been an actual person and not the person just typing the shit out? Well, you have to be wrong as a journalist pushing out that this source gave you this information.

And then people would stop listening. Then we would have to find out who the source is. That's what I'm saying. But you have to be wrong for that. How am I wrong? In order for us to find out that your source is your source, you have to be wrong. So it's like, who gave you that information, bro? That shit is wrong.

So if I make a statement and say sources, my sources tell me that Anthony Davis is on the chopping blocks to be traded. How do you prove that's real? As a journalist? Yeah. No, as fans. How do you prove that's real? They're going to say. No, as fans. How do you prove that's real? They're going to say,

oh, we're not trying to trade him. He going to comment what's going on. There's no proof there. I just made it up. Oh, sources say they decided

they're going to keep him. Well, that's the beauty of journalism. It's fake. When I went to try to get the lawyers on the National Basketball Players Association to talk on my behalf for collusion. And they told me that I needed a certain amount of information that I couldn't get from sources.

Couldn't get from sources. And if I can't prove it, I shouldn't present it because you don't have no evidence. So if you don't got no evidence for sources, like you said, they can hide it. They can lie. They can literally be like, man, yeah, we just didn't want him. So it didn't have nothing to do

with the fact that he was injured because if you guys didn't pick him up because he was injured, that means we owe him workers' compensation. Yeah. Right? But y'all can all, to avoid paying him that money,

say we just didn't want him. You can literally lie. But that's what I'm saying. I don't like journalists like you. If you are a certain, if you had a certain standard of journalism, you should be able to say the source or not report it. You shouldn't just hide behind source, right?

Right now, someone can say Memphis is upset with john morant for what he's been doing this summer and 99 of everyone's going to believe it we don't know what the fuck he's been doing this summer we know he ain't being in trouble but you can just put it out there because of the past and it's going to make sense to everyone but what if the source can say i got plausible deniability i don't know what you guys are talking about. And of course, it's coming from the president or the CEO or the fucking owners. Coming from him. Directly to this, I want you to put this statement

out. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. You know you can't say my name, but it's coming from me. See how they respond to it. Now, I like what you just said. You say a source, and we come to the source, and the source be like, I didn't say none of that. But how do we know that the source ain't lying? That's what I'm saying. How do you know the source is not lying?

Cool. Now you just put him under the burner, because you just denied that you was the source because you don't want to out yourself. Now he's under the burner. Now when the source give his ass another story, what are you going to do with it? Yeah, you just burned me last time. I'm not going to put this shit out no more. But they still don't know who the source is. But sometimes these sources need these stories to go out

because they got their own personal agenda. Of course, because the sources are in the organization and they're the ones trying to shake the shit up. Or they're negotiating with the organization. Because we need them. Yeah, because we need them. We need the journalists. So they're just trying to shake shit up

to see what everyone thinks about. If we move KD, what would you think? Yeah, sometimes they like just checking the tip. Yeah, let me see what you think about this. What you think about this? And then they present it to KD, and then he has to respond. And they're like testing him. Yes, how do you feel? Are you really loyal to us?

I just want to be here. I just want to hoop. Man, players used to do that shit in the NBA, dog. Still do. They'll talk to him and put, hey, man.. Man, players used to do that shit in the NBA, dog. Still do. They'll talk to him and put, hey, man, hey, man, this man ain't passing the ball enough, man. Don't you see? Sources say he's ball hogging.

Yeah. Now, when he write it, sources inside the organization say McCants is ball hogging and need to pass the ball a little bit more. Need to pass it to Gil. Now everybody's watching. Now everyone's watching. Now he's possession.

What happened with Wemby and his teammates? Yeah, now he get to go out. Now he got to go out and give me back the ball. Every time. Every time. Because they're watching now. There ain't no real story. It was me.

It was me. Let's keep this. You are a sport. You are a sport. And that's how you do it if you're smart. That's how we did it. You're smart. That's how we did it.

You better pass the ball. Let's keep it moving to our... He's not passing Gil with the ball on purpose. Yeah, man. Sorry to kill that motherfucker, man. He don't give you interviews anyway, man. Let's keep it moving to our new segment back here on Gil's Arena.

Since the offseason, we want to rank the top-tier teams in the playoff picture in each conference on paper. So when we say playoff picture, we mean top six spots only because those are the ones that are guaranteed entry,

not the play-in. So we ranked each yesterday, so today let's shift to the Western Conference The couch agrees on where a team should be ranked and they will be added to our extremely sophisticated white board Where the official rankings will live? Underdog fantasy spare no expense To clarify since yesterday there was some confusion teams can move up and down the board as new teams are presented We need at least two or three

Of our gills Arena crew to agree before we can move on. If we can't agree where to rank a team, then we will leave it up to the chat. And I know none of y'all here want to do that, so y'all better get it together and agree. So our production team has decided on 12 Western Conference teams that will be vying for these top six spots.

We're going to start with Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. So they were 49-33, 6th in the West last season. Lost in a sweep to the Timberwolves. Key offseason moves. Nothing major. They did get Bo Bo back. That is important.

The people's champ. Bo Landre Bo. Suns Big 3 were 26-15 in games they played together this season, but were only on the floor for a total of 862 minutes, 125 minutes to play. That's when they got 15. So where should we rank the sons amongst our paper champions? Damn, who's even on the board? Fuck, that's a hard one.

Okay, so Kevin Durant played 75 games. Bill played 53, so that's 22. He ain't play. 29. 29. 68. New coach, also Coach Bud in for Grayson. Mike Budenhoser replacing Dirty Frank on this couch now.

He finished sixth last year. Yeah. Sixth in finished sixth last year. Yeah. Sixth in the West last year. The West is kind of, damn. And they have Bobo. I'm going to leave them there. That's it, five or six.

I don't know. Because I'm looking at the top six, and I'm like, who am I kicking out the current top six? I'm going to put Sacramento up there. Yeah, I'm taking them out. You're taking them out? I might put them right on the outside. Lexi, you say six, or now are they out as well?

Because if you and Rashad come to a consensus, you have negated Gil's opinion. They're out. Sons are out. Sons are out. They can move on. Lexi, do you agree with Rashad? Sons are out.

Lexi's gone, man. Sons didn't. They can move on. Lexi, do you agree with Rashad? Sons are out. Lexi's gone, man. Sons didn't give me no hope in thinking that the future was going to be... Well, now I'm thinking about the Clippers being out. We're going to talk all these teams. Yeah, but keeping the Sons in, though. And the Kings are taking over where the Clippers were. Teams have gotten better. Teams have gotten better.

I'm going... Because Clippers have gotten worse. Mavs... gotten better. Teams have gotten better. I'm going... Because Clippers have gotten worse. Mavs. Got better. I think Westbrook going to Denver. I don't know. I can safely say five. Yeah, I said five or six.

So do you want to say five to agree with Gil so we can get a majority rule? Denver. OKC. Minnesota. Dallas. Dallas. Yeah. Phoenix.

Lakers. No, no, no, no, no. Kings. Kings. Kings at five. Then I'll throw L.A. in there at six. OKC, Denver, Minnesota, Dallas. I'm throwing them out.

26 and 15. I'm throwing them out. I still won 49 games. Yeah, just three-card heavy. Dallas. 26 and 15. I'm throwing them out. I still won 49 games. You're throwing Phoenix out? Yeah. Just three guard heavy. They just got out. Gil, you said five.

Lexi, do you want to agree with Gil at five or do you want to say the Suns are out of the mix? We need a consensus. We do not want to leave this in the chat. Five is cool. So Gil and Lexi have both said five. Five. So Suns at five.

That's amazing. Let's move on to our next team. No, y'all don't know that. The Golden State Warriors No 46-36 last season, 10th in the West They lost play into the Kings That's nasty

But they finished 6 They finished 6 We have 12 teams and we are on a tight time schedule Some of us need to pack for Vegas Some of us need to pack for Vegas Go ahead. Watch our draws. It's not healthy.

Golden State Warriors, 46-36, 10th in the West. Last season lost playing game to the Kings. Key offseason moves. They picked up Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hilton, De'Anthony Milton, but lost clay to the Mavs. Where should the Warriors rank amongst our paper champions? I got out. Out.

Warriors are out. Good job, guys. Quick, out. Warriors are out. Good job. Got quick, efficient. Next up, the other team in Los Angeles, the Clippers. Out. 51 and 31 this season, fourth in the West. Lost in the first round of the Mavs six games. They re-signed James Harden, Westbrook opted into the season. They got Batum, Derrick Jones Jr., but lost Paul George to the Sixers. Where should the Clippers rank amongst the paper champions? That's top six.

Top six locked in playoff spot. Shit. I mean, they got to be out. Who else are going to move out we already moved out we have several more teams to go I'm out

Clippers out Clippers are out clean sleep on the Clippers next up let's move to one of Rashad's favorite players teams the San Antonio Spurs

22-60 14th in the West last season missed the playoffs got Chris Paul Harrison Barnes in that DeRozan trade drafted to find Castle out of UConn where should the Spurs rank amongst our paper champion they out too yeah I don't think that's enough to win 30 more games Spurs are out but do we, just for the sake of conversation,

do you think the Spurs have a chance to play in this year? Yeah, facts, 100%. Spurs are a play-in caliber team. They could finish top 10 in the West. You think they're going to double their... Victor Wimbenyama. They could get eight or nine, yeah, for sure. With CP and Harrison, those two vets that can get the ball,

they can score, they can make good plays. So next up... They would have to double their wins. They can make good plays. So next up. They would have to double their wins. This is going to be a rough West season. Next up. That's why there's 12 teams vying for these six spots. Next up, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thunder were 57-25 this season.

First in Adam Silver's Western Conference. Lost in the Western Semis to the Wolves in six games. Traded Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso, signed Isaiah Hartenstein. I got them at four. Where should the Thunder rank amongst our paper champions? Four. Lexi has the Thunder at four.

Six. Rashad has them at six. Six. Rashad has him at six. Yeah, I'm not mad at six. I'm not really. I'm not fond of the Caruso, Giddy. I think Giddy gave them more. Or the Hardenstein. Oh, yeah, no, I'm six, too.

The Hardenstein. Yes, I changed. Hardenstein. Where do you feel the thunder? It wasn't enough. All right. Isaiah Hardartenstein. Where do you feel the thunder will rank? Isaiah Hartenstein. Well, they got a match six. Six?

Six. I mean, I had him at three. Gil had him at three. He just wanted a preference, but we have majority rule on this couch. Thunder are six. I got Dallas. Why such a significant drop in your guys' minds from first in the West last season? Because other teams got better. Did they not get better, Addy?

Not as better as the other teams. Former Laker Alex Caruso? To me, when you look at OKC and the way that they got to that spot, they just played hard, hard-nosed, played consistent throughout the season. Young team. Young team, and when you play that way, you're going to take games from teams that don't come in thinking that they're... Well, now, yeah, they got a target on their back now. Now they got a target. Now we see that you got... Now they know what to expect. Yeah, we know, when you play that way, you're going to take games from teams that don't come in thinking that they're – Well, now, yeah, they got a target on their back now. Now they got a target.

Now we see that you – Now they know what to expect. Yeah, we know what to expect. So it'll be different. Yeah, it'll be different. All right, so now let's move on. Sacramento Kings, our next team. They were 46-36, ninth in the West.

Lost in the final playing game to the Pelicans after knocking the Warriors out. I have to say that. So they acquired DeMar DeRozan via sign and trade. Traded Harrison Barnes. Also re-signed Malik Monk. Where should the Kings rank amongst our paper champions? Four. We had to go four since y'all got five. I was going to have them five, but four is good.

Four good? Lexi, you say four for the Kings. Gil, where are you putting the Kings, even though the majority's already ruled? Just want to know. I mean, they were only... They weren't that many games behind. They were like five, between three and five games out of...

It was a very, very, very tough Western Conference this past year. I want to see how many games that the best player play. Is it about Fox or Sabonis? Sabonis. Both of them. Sabonis played more. I think he close to getting Ironman. Maybe he'll get some love this year because he deserves it.

All right. So Fox played 74 games. That's a lot. And Sabonis played 82. And Sabonis played 82? Yeah, he needs to get way more recognition. And where did they finish? Ninth. Out.

Out. Gil has the Kings out. Where do you have them? Huh? I had them at four. We had them at four. So majority rules. They're two best players.

The two best players played damn near the whole season, and that's where they were. But now they have DeMar DeRozan. Four or five wins behind six plays. And now they have DeMar. Yeah, so you add DeRozan, you fight for six. So Gil said they were out, but Rashad and Lexi both

said fourth, so we have a majority rule on that. Kings are fourth. Based on that, so let's recap quickly. I would have put them at eight. You guys have Warriors, Clippers, and Spurs out. Currently have Thunder in sixth, Suns in fifth, Kings in fourth. Let's move on to the most important team in this discussion,

the Los Angeles Lakers, 47-35, seventh in the West, in-season tournament champions, the first in-season tournament championship in NBA history. Man, that seems so long ago. Banner number 18. You know, when you're a champion, you seem long.

Seem a powerful, a powerful, unfortunately, that derailed the rest of their season. Focusing on the most important championship, the hardest one to win.

They drafted Dalton Connect and Bronny James. Where should the Lakers rank amongst our paper champions? Also, one! Gil has Lakers at one our paper champions? Also? One.

Gil has Lakers at one. One, baby. I can't find any reason to argue with that. Just hear me out, though. Hear Gil out. We got LeBron James. Okay. They do have LeBron.

Right? That's like Donkey Kong. Who are you negotiating with, her or me? You talking to her or you talking to me? So we got Donkey Kong, right? I can do this when you say that. Say it again. We got Donkey Kong, and now we got Donkey Kong Jr., right?

That's a better game. That's a better game. Better game by a lot of standards. We do not play on that system no more. Diddy Kong was nice. We don't got it. So I'm just saying we got two LeBron Jameses on the court. Not just one.

There are two LeBrons. We got two. Two LeBrons on the Laker roster. When Big James gets hurt, we can put his DNA in there. Hype him back up. I'm going one. So what y'all got? I'm going to use my veto power.

And do what? You guys vote. Do not count now. No, I'm just kidding. So Gil has Lakers one. veto power. And do what? You guys vote. Do not count now. We are, we are, no, I'm just kidding. So Gil has Lakers won. But Rashad and Lexi both have Lakers out.

Unfortunately, due to the rules, which have now become very annoying, majority rules, Lakers are out. Ah! Almost.

You're right. We should have changed the rules. Why? Just sit your little ass over there. Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey and Diddy.

We got two James. Never had two James. We got two LeBron James. We have two LeBron James on the roster. We'll be watching from the sideline today. Career points leaders combined. So our next team up is the New Orleans Pelicans. 49-33.

They were eighth in the West. Got the eighth seed after getting the win over the Kings in the playing tournament. They were swept in the first round by the Thunder. They got DeJounte Murray but lost Valanchunas to the Wizards. Where do the Pelicans rank? We can just go ahead and fill in. They lost to the B. Lost Valanchunas.

What are we doing this for? So, out, two outs for the Pelicans? Out of here. Fuck out of here. It's tough when you just for? So, out, two outs for the Pelicans? Out of here. Yeah. Fuck out of here. It's tough when you just look at one, two, three left on the board. Right. Yeah.

You know what that is. Next up, this one's going to be tough. Minnesota Timberwolves, 56-26, third in the West, lost to the Mavs in the Western Conference Finals in five games, signed Joe Ingles, also acquired Rob Dillingham in a trade. finals in five games, signed Joe Ingles, also acquired Rob Dillingham in a trade. Where should the Wolves rank amongst our paper champions? They were three last year? Tied for it? No. Three-way tie. Three-way tie. I got them at two.

Yeah, two. Ah, Timberwolves, moving up. They did lose Kyle Anderson, also known as Lee Kyer. Oh, shit. Lee Kyer. Don't get him started on Kyle Anderson. Lee Kyer in China. Oh, man, we lost a whole four points. Give you a little to regret that.

Uh-oh. Mr. B, Brandon Jennings, has just entered the arena. He has just pulled up for our post-show meeting. Obviously got swept by Kenyon. Not in a particularly good mood right now. I thought, dang, he came in here mad as shit. Not very happy. But Timberwolves 2, let's keep it moving.

The Grizzlies of Memphis, 27-55, 13th in the West. They missed the playoffs, drafted Zach Eady out of Purdue, getting a healthy John Morant, Desmond Bain, Marcus Mark back. Where should the Grizzlies rank amongst our paper champions? They're out, but after our little dialogue. That's why I tried to set you guys up earlier in the show. They're fringe, I feel like. Nah, because we could have orchestrated this shit a little bit better.

The Lakers could have been in. I think Denver can be out. Mmm. We will get to them shortly. Out? I feel like Denver's days are numbered. I'm not mad at them. I'm thinking Denver's days are done. I'm not mad. I'm thinking Denver's days.

Who did they lose? They just lost who? They lost KCP and Reggie Jackson. We are not talking about them currently. We are talking about the Memphis Grizzlies. Okay. We appreciate the conversation. Always shifting to some shit we were not in.

We could have slid the Lakers in at six, but you put the Suns there. we appreciate the conversation always shifting to some shit we were not in we could have slid the Lakers in at 6 but you put the Suns there I'm in limbo with the Suns even being there which then says the Suns got to fight against the Pelicans and the Clippers depending on who the Warriors get

they might even make a run for top 6 depending on how the season goes but I see Denver in there, like, scrambling. We are talking Grizzlies. Denver's scrambling. Grizzlies are out. Grizzlies are out. Yeah, Grizzlies are out.

Okay, so now let's move on to our next team, the Dallas Mavericks. 50-32 this season, fifth in the West. Reached the NBA Finals, lost to five games to the Celtics. Got Klay Thompson inside and trained, but lost Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. Where should the Mavs be on our paper champion board? One.

The Mavs are the top team in the Western Conference right now. Didn't they end up champions, right? They won the West. They won the West. That's fair. Without Klay Thompson. That is a very valid point. Valid.

Rashad says number one. Lexi, what are you feeling? What did they win last year, five? They were fifth in the West last season. I mean, shit, y'all got me second guessing Denver. Yeah, I don't... I don't know, as long as Joe gets his opportunity. Y'all want to move Timberwolves to the one spot?

Ah, I like that one. Regular season? Ah. Because season? Ah. Because think about that. Think about Timberwolves, what they were struggling with. They didn't get better at the things they were struggling with.

Man, I don't see Dallas being the number one team in regular season. No, they're not number one. They're too small now. Oh, they're too... I think even trying to figure that part out

with them three, that's a better big three that the Suns got. No. To me me as far as playing not maybe not individually but together together them three i'm just thinking about defensively that they were bad last year lucas bad last year they still made it all the way to the top yeah i mean that's just that's but they didn't their record didn't say that they were the best they had they were at fifth right yeah they were fifth last year. But then Kyrie missed a lot.

Yeah, Kyrie missed. And there's no clay. We had the trades in the middle of the season. You depending on Derrick Jones Jr. to hit threes for you. Now you got clay. But now, yeah, you left 42-inch vertical defensively for 32-inch. Washington moved to his spot, man.

Get in the gym, get that vertical up. 32-inch vertical, then you got Kyrie with his vertical and Luka with his 21-inch vertical. That's very hard. That's a small metric of stats that we need to cover. The base is we need scoring, and we're gonna get 18 a game from this dude. We got rid of Tim Hardaway Jr.

And we need a shooter. That's a guy right there. Man, they're definitely number one in the West. So, Rashad, Mavs at number one, Lexi and Gil Gil we need your vote. We do not want to let the chat get involved No, it's because I don't I don't Remember right because I don't think Denver's number one either. That's why I said it's easier to say maybe Minnesota That's that's why I know that I'll play that was. They got outplayed. Dallas outplayed them without Klay Thompson. But they got it from five to one. Man.

One, the best team in the West. Gaffer and Lively outplayed Rudy and Kat. And Nas Reed. I'm mad about that Thunder. Because... Well, you would take... Oh, gosh. Thunder.

We need an answer. Thunder and the, uh, the Thunder and Denver, to me, man, toss up with the Lakers. You could throw them in there. Denver. One of them, three. Thunder, Thunder. Certain teams played good last year.

Where you, where you, where you, where you say, where you say Denver's going? Outside. He said outside. Outside. No, they're not going out of six. They're going seven. They're not going past six.

Joker hasn't had any setbacks in the last five years. Right. He took no seasons off, nothing. He's skinny now, too. And he's going to go play in the Olympics, right? Yeah. He's skinny now, too. Last reports. He's playing in the Olympics, right? Yeah, he's playing in the Olympics. No KCP, no Reggie Jackson. You ain't really got no bench.

Gordon ain't. I don't think they're the number one team. Jamal Murray, them three. Jamal Murray, Gordon, Joker. Number one team. Michael Porter Jr. got to come back and be a real star. He might. And what if he does?

Compared to everybody else's lineups, the Kings better than Denver to me right now. I'm matching up Sabonis. On paper because we don't know. Sabonis versus Joker. I think we got Thunder too low. But the Suns, they should be above the Suns. For sure. Suns should be in there, bro.

The Lakers should be in there instead of the Suns. We should put the Suns at six, the Thunder at four, and the Kings at five. But then you still have Denver. Do you think Denver, I don't know if Denver's going to be better than them. I don't know. As long as Jokic is healthy and playing, they got a chance to be tough. Where are we putting the Mavs? They need a full roster.

We can move. Mavs need a full roster. Why did Denver lose to the Timberwolves? Because they had Jamal Murray in hell. Match-up. There's match-up problems. Jamal Murray's calf issue. They didn't have enough.

No, there's just match-up problems. Denver didn't have enough. No. Match-up problems. Denver did not have enough. So we need... They knew if they took Jamal Murray out the game, it would just be joking.

But if they didn't have played Minnesota, they would have been in the... We can't think about the playoffs. We got to think about how they play in regular season. They barely beat the Lakers on the buzzer beater. But they beat them. But they beat them. That's the nicest thing you said about the Lakers in a long time.

I'm just showing you where the nuggets are when you come to looking at theirs. They didn't perform like they dominated. It would be Thunder or Timberwolves, number one. So we have the Dallas Mavericks. We need to put them in a spot. Mavericks are three. Mavericks three. We got to move.

I go Mavericks three. Mavericks three. We have a consensus. We got Mavericks 3. Mavericks 3. We have a consensus. We got Brandon. All right. Brandon has given us the international move-around symbol. So this brings us to our last team. And probably the most important team in this conversation,

the Portland Trailblazers. No. No, I'm just messing with y'all. Our next team is the Denver Nuggets, 57-25, second in the West. There was a three-way tie for the top spot in the West. Thunder got first. Nuggets got second. Or two-way tie, excuse me.

Did we disrespect OKC a little bit? Yeah, I think so. I got Denver four. Two-way tie. Nuggets got second. Denver four. I got Denver four. Lost to Timberwolves in Western Conference semi-seven games.

Lost KCP and Reggie Jackson. Denver four. Move Timberwolves to one. I got Denver four. Move Timberwolves up and LKC right behind them. So where do Kings go? Out? The Kings. Thank you, Brandon.

You're back on payroll. Are we moving it? We're moving it. So what are we doing now? Why are the suns in there, Brandon? Timberwolves 1. Timberwolves 1. And where are we putting the nuggets?

Nuggets 2. They picked the suns in there, bro. So Nuggets 2, Mavericks 3. So does this complete? Oh, wait. No, no No no. Nuggets. Who did we say 2? Who's 2? Thunder. Thunder 2. So Thunder 2. So is that Sacramento? That's who you have. Yeah. So wait who's now 3? Sacramento under. Suns is out. Suns should be out out. That should be five and then Who is six then I put the Suns at six then Lakers six Suns is out. Thank you sick. Mm-hmm

we're sure I mean, I think we trying to go for three three Pete on a playing game Playing game Denver five I I'ma just be honest with you. We do have success in the play. Three-peat play in game. Denver, five. I mean, no, wait. Dallas, five. Sorry. So who's three now? Oh, shit. My head hurts.

We need that six spot. Just put the Kings there for right now so we can see everybody. And then flip-flop the Suns and the Kings. Okay, so right now, Timberwolves, Thunder, Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns, Kings. That's nasty to have the Mavericks as number three and they beat the shit out of both of them in front of them. And then they got a bigger acquisition.

That is playoff. You're talking playoffs. We're talking regular season. Regular season. To get to the playoffs so they can beat the shit out of them again. Hell yeah. And they got a new guy. Because I know Luka's only going to play about 70 to 66 games.

That's just his resume. He's only playing about 60 to 68 games a season. They literally hold him out enough to stay fresh. The Suns don't got no Anthony Davis. See, you lose LeBron, you still got A. How many games they won? Hmm. They were in the sixth spot,

and they missed Damien all of last year. Who? The Suns. 49 wins. As I said, we're not really thinking about this as if all of them play, let's say all of them play 72 games. Right.

They're not going to be a fifth seed. They're going to be. What are they going to be? Higher. They'll be higher. No. They're not going to be out of the top six. Hell no.

They're not going to be out of the top six. They were playing together. They wasn't playing like that. It wasn't still just blowing it. But they were still at six, though. They wasn't winning like that, though. They're not going to be out of the top six. Because they was coming in and out.

But I'm saying they were coming in and out. If we're going to give them 70 games, that means they're going to be willed or machined. Failed experiment. So are we comfortable with this list as constructed? I'm going to just tell you, man. Suns out. That top four. Suns out, Kings up, Lakers in.

That top four is going to be crucial. And that 7, 8, 9, 10 is going to be brutal, dog. Just look at the teams that's out. That's going to be... You got the Grizzlies, the Pelicans, the Lakers, the Clippers, the Warriors, or the Kings or the Suns. That's going to be some good-ass basketball. So are we comfortable with this list?

Hell no. I did not just say the top four are going to be battling. basketball. So are we comfortable with this list? Hell no. I did not just say the top four are going to be battling. We will revisit it later this summer. Look at the out list, right? We want to take the Suns out, put the Lakers in. They're stars.

They're stars. Is this proof of how much better the Western Conference is than the Eastern Conference? Oh, here, my man. We had to do the East, though. We gotta do the East. We did the East? Yesterday.

We did the East yesterday? I didn't, okay. It was easy. I said, invite Rashad. I got vetoed. I said, can we please have Rashad? Everybody vetoed. Boston.

It was like Boston, Philly, Bucs, New York, Bucs. It was Bucs, New York. So y'all got through that this week. It wass. It was Bucs, Washington, New York. It was five, six. Orlando. Five, Orlando. No, Indiana. Was it Indiana, six?

So some of the chat say... Also, Philly replaced Cleveland in how they finished. So we will hold this for right now. We will revisit this later in the summer, depending on how moves pan out. But as it stands right now, Timberwolves 1, Thunder 2, Mavericks 3, Nuggets 4, Suns 5, Kings 6. And in the outhouse, the Warriors, Clippers, Spurs,

Lakers. Throwing another year of Rockets in the mix? Mm. Fuck another year, bro. Them Suns is in trouble. Them Suns is in trouble. Them Suns is in trouble. And I think them Nuggets is in trouble. Mark my words.

What I'm saying is... The Sostradamus again. Them two teams is in trouble. All right, well, they have... The upside is with the Suns. Whatever happened wrong last year happened, and they still was six. Anything that went wrong happened last year,

they were six. Denver can only go down. Yeah, that's because their guys are playing. We moved them down. When you're on a roller coaster and you're looking down, guess what's about to happen? You're about to go down. Even with Thunder. Even Thunder is sitting there like

this because they're young, but most of their guys played. Their starting five played 72 games and above. So they were all there. I even believe that that was a momentum season for them. That season went the way it went because they were consistent and everybody else was going like this. If we come into the season, everybody going like this,

man, Thunder going to be 6'7". 6'7". We figuring y'all out now. We know how y'all do. Y'all come in here and y'all going to play hard. There's a bunch of roster full of niggas who just play hard. But that's the thing about SJ. That's what everyone loves about him.

He wasn't getting like 50 and then like 20-something. It was 30. 30. 30. 30. Because he knew what his team needed. I don't think Mavs is gonna be as... I don't know.

When we were revisiting this list... Mavs is gonna have to make a decision. Pass it. He's getting 10 assists. No, what I'm saying is if we say his offense is that good because of Clay's there, that means he can't average 30-something. If he's averaging 30-something, that means Clay ain't getting off. He can, though.

Think about his assists. He's averaging 34, 9, and 9. Nine of those assists, six of them going to Clay. Do you know a great place to revisit this conversation? 15 points. I mean the more the better your team the better your team gets the production goes Is a segment into the to a new new player that no shit those are says are going to little easy little lives for niggas who's averaging four points. Those assists was going to Derrick Jones Jr.

and P.J. Washington shooting them wide open threes. They were wide open shots. It's easy to pass to a wide open person. You're passing it to Klay Thompson now. Klay is not going to be wide open. You're passing to Klay Thompson. He's not going to be wide open. Klay said, the reason I chose Dallas

is because I've seen how easy the shots are. He's going to be more open, which to most people would not be wide open, but to him he'll probably feel wide open, but he's still going to be very... So this is how our list stands right now. We will revisit... You know where a great place would be to talk about this list? Las Vegas, Nevada,

where we will be starting this Saturday at the Sirius XM Studios at the Wynn. Gills Arena, live, Saturday through Wednesday, 1 p.m. Pacific to 3 p.m. Pacific, 4 to 6 Eastern. I don't know. We didn't have to clap for that, but that's just what we're gonna be doing. So we're gonna get to packing,

but now let's move on to Mosey fans. I really got to itch that Lakers gonna be number one. I'm just saying. Number one? Probably the most rational thing that you've said since I've worked with you on the show. There is easy to believe No, I do LeBron's Rashad. There's no LeBron on the roster You know, I would love it for the story

You know his son his son gonna be watching him like right off the bench So he got to come and play like this is for you sign to the bus. Go daddy. Go You see Jaden Smith turned out, right? What does that mean? Will Smith and Jaden, they just don't do well in movies together. You crazy. Just don't do well?

Pursuit of Happiness, not a goal. Good-ass movie. It wasn't the movie I was referring to. The other one? Yeah. The one after Earth. That was cool, too. You and I all, man. You can't be doing British accents. That one doesn't work for anybody. That was cool too. You know. He can't be doing British accents.

That wasn't worth for anybody. That was when he was a baby. See, but Sue was early. That was Ronnie and Cleveland. That's how we're starting. What's up? What's up? This is how we're starting.

But now... Our first movie together. Dad, dad, it's enough, okay? Dad, shit. All right, so our question is from underdog user Quan Tron. Quan Tron. Said, Steph never won a title but had the same numbers. Would he be called influential?

Steph never won a title but did everything else the same. Would he be called influential? Yeah. If he was able to, I mean, if he didn't win, they would be like, stop doing that shit. Yeah, I don't know. I don't think so. He's not't know. I don't think so. He's not winning championships. I don't think so.

But he's been able to continue to play that way because of the championships. No, you got to think about it. Yes, that's the truth. Because back then, you got to remember, that position itself was not a championship resume for scoring guards. So when he won it with that style, it kind of opened up the floodgates for this new generation of guards being able to score. If he just came down, shot the ball, and it was meaningless...

It would be Trae Young. They would have been... Like how they do Trae Young. It's the same thing, but they didn't like it. Because he won a championship, they had to respect his style. And then the fact that he won multiple ones, they're like, this shit works,

and that's what changed the game. What does that mean? That's what changed the game. Who does that? Does Dame do that? Is that Dame time? Does it do that? Is that Dame time?

Is that Dame time? Is that what it's doing? They shoot from the same area code, right? Uh-huh. It's like three of them that does it, right? No, no, yeah. that Dame time? Is that what you're doing? They shoot from the same area, right? Uh-huh. It's like three of them that does it, right? No, no, yeah. So Dame. So to make it okay for Dame, it wasn't the championships that made it okay.

It was the style. It was, no. Steph winning. But what was the question? It was the fact that I could come down. If Steph never won a title but had the same numbers, would he be called influential? He's not influential. So is Dame influential to the league?

Dame is influential to the league. It's Dame time. Why? Logo Lillard. No. Logo Lillard. We have a special. What do you mean? We're talking about two of the masses. Yeah. Little guys that can shoot from far away. Steph started it and he started it before

he won a championship. He started it before. Mr. B, would you like to interject? It's his favorite player, so... I mean, if Steph don't win the ring, he's not influential at all. No. Did Allen Iverson win the ring? He didn't need to.

He won it. I'm just asking questions. He's the people's champ. I'm just asking questions. No, but he got MVP and he went to the finals, though. Did he win a championship? No.

We're talking about Steph Curry in particular. Was Allen Iverson influential? Yes. Okay, without a championship. Yes. Okay, so why is Steph Curry not? Okay, so when they both got into the draft,

were they even in the same building as people? Who? When Allen Iverson came into the league and Steph came into the league, were they even on the same planet for influential? Yeah, because Steph came from Davidson and March Madness and all the- One was a number one pick and one was the fourth point guard to be drafted in this class. They wasn't even on the same planet. Yeah, they were. It was just about picks back then. Back then, Steph got picked where he was because he was small, combo-

That took seven years. Steph had Bron and him coming to his game in college. Cool. That was his start in his influence. Bron to everybody's games. Huh? Bron to everybody's games. He didn't go to my games. Shit, he didn't go to mine.

But that Davidson had stars at their games, watching Steph Curry run around, shoot threes, and look at them. And if he don't, yeah, and that was his college influence. Boom. But he had influence. I'm saying, when he get to go to state,

he started shooting them threes. No. It took him some time. He got hurt. His ankle got hurt. Exactly. He still had influence, and he playing with Monte Ellis,

who he just got maxed out. Who? 2001. What? 2009? Yeah, 2009 who So Harden was picked in front of him Tyreek Evans Rubio Johnny Flynn And then Steph and they all played good in college to play Griffin number one

What I'm saying is if he if you put them on the same same pedestal as Allen Iverson without a championship without a champ What I'm saying is the name Starting off the career was very different Allen Iverson was a bona fide star One had to build his stardom one was a star Right, they started off their careers different. So Steph Curry's Winning pushed him into this category as a star player. I disagree. I disagree.

Because his skill set that makes him a star, he's always had it. Exactly. His skill set had nothing to do with the goal. The winning put him into a different element. So why are the kids out there shooting that shit with no regard? They're not even thinking about winning.

When did they start? After he won a championship. It didn't start before? It didn't start before? He got the Under Armour contract before the championships, right? No. No. No, they didn't.

For sure. No. His NBA deal was some bullshit. Drew Holiday was an all-star. He was the all-star from the, he was the first all-star in the class. Drew Holiday.

So Steph, In Philadelphia. When was the first championship? 2015? 20, Steph? Yeah, 14, 15. Steph debuted his first signature shoe January,

I believe, of 2015. 2015, after the championship? No, before. Before. Yeah, before Before yeah before the first about to go in for so his first so when he was on when he was when he was so when he That cuz remember that the year before he got popping and then starting off that next season the curry was on fire the curry won Debut before he won his first championship before he won a his first championship. A couple months, but that year, but talk about that year. So the reason for the Steph Curry one was

because Steph Curry was Steph Curry with Mark Jackson. What was the No, that was before. That was, Mark Jackson was gone when he was 13. I'm saying when he became Steph. Steph became Steph before the championship. Steph signed with Under Armour in 2013. Uh-huh. About a $4 million

deal. $4 million. Say that again? In 2013. And what?-huh. About a $4 million deal. Steph... $4 million. Say that again? In 2013. And what? $4 million. A $4 million deal. A $4 million deal.

What does that mean? Still his signature shoe. $4 million. Signature shoe dropped 2015 before the Warriors won their first championship. What was their record when he signed it? 20... What, they won on a 20- winning streak. 24 game winning streak. That was that year. And what year did he win

MVP? That year. 2015? I guess at the end of the... Yeah. Huh? The next year. Win streak was the next year. 24? Oh yeah, yeah. That was the following year. That was that crazy

record season, right? So I guess we just agree to disagree. So his first deal, so even his first contract, his first contract, Drew Holiday was making more than him, too. So we will agree to disagree on this topic. That is our show for today. We appreciate all of you for pulling up to Gil's Arena

presented by Underdog Fantasy. Woof, woof. Woof, woof. Shout out to all of my folks out there supporting the Move Around podcast. I'm a boy. Move around.

A-Verb and Rito Brown, man. Shout out to A-Verb, Rito Brown, and Rashad. We're going to be in Vegas. Move Around podcast, generational, for the people. Doing a lot of shit.

Get right or get left. Get right or get left. We will see y'all in Vegas starting this Saturday. Make sure you tap in with us. We got a bunch of special guests. Hopefully some gentleman's cut is on the way.

Steph Curry, please. We need to get inebriated as we go to Vegas for Summer League. We will be at Bronny's game on Friday if you need us. But this has been

Gil's Arena presented by Underdog Fantasy. Woo woo! Woo woo! We'll see y'all in Vegas on Saturday!