The Bill Simmons Podcast - Ep. 64: All-Star Weekend & NBA Trade Deadline w/Joe House

Episode Date: February 15, 2016

HBO’s Bill Simmons talks to Joe House about a great All-Star weekend/dunk contest, the loaded West team (11:30), best All-Star games (14:30), and then they consider how the trade deadline could affe...ct Miami (21:15), Houston (28:30), Blake and the Clippers (39:00), Boston (49:30), and Jabari Parker (54:30). Plus, House on the Super Bowl, and Bill’s daughter reviews Adele’s surprise Friday concert in L.A. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Today's episode of the BS podcast is brought to you by SeatGeek, our presenting sponsor and favorite app for buying and selling tickets for sports and music. Go to SeatGeek.com slash BS to start using SeatGeek. That includes Boston transplants, looking for tickets for the Celtics West Coast trip later this month. Hopefully Al Horford will be on the team by then. Oh my God, I'm so excited. Don't forget to download the free SeatGeek app and or promo code BS. SeatGeek sends you $20 upon your first purchase. Today's podcast is also brought to you by MeUndies.com, home of the world's most comfortable underwear that's two times softer than cotton.
Starting point is 00:00:40 I've been wearing their underwear and their boxers. House, I threw my old underwear out. It's out. It's gone. Congratulations. Thank you. How old was it? Old. Moldy. MeUndies has dozens of styles and limited edition original prints.
Starting point is 00:00:54 Save up to $8 per pair with a subscription. Shipping free. US or Canada. Go to MeUndies.com slash BS for 20% off your first order. And we are off. Well, it's not Friday. It's Monday.
Starting point is 00:01:16 We're Monday rolling house. Yeah, we're rolling. We could roll any day of the week. Yeah, it doesn't really matter. Friday rolling sounds the best, but Monday rolling doesn't sound bad. How are you? I am fighting off depression, is how I am. I'm happy. I loved All-Star Weekend. It really was the shot of lightning I needed to ward off its snowing right now in Washington, D.C.
Starting point is 00:01:46 It's cold. It was the coldest it's been here in a full year. The snow is coming down. They forecast at three inches it's going to be seven or eight. Oh, God. You know D.C. is going to shut down. Yeah. I mean, we're in shutdown mode.
Starting point is 00:02:01 So I missed All-Star in Toronto. I missed it last year too this saturday i'd gone to everyone from 04 through 2014 and finally just gave up i just just thought it it was so boring in person everything had been done nothing was exciting about it And then last year there was a little juvenation with Zach Levine, Curry. Now this year, an all-timer. It really was. Wow. I just want to say one thing, though. Everyone needs to settle down when saying it's the greatest Saturday ever
Starting point is 00:02:35 because 1988 had Larry Bird winning the three-peat in the three-point contest against Dale Ellis and Jordan against Dominique, which was the greatest moment in the history of the dunk. And the difference is Michael Jordan, the best pour ever, and Dominique, the best dunker of the 80s other than Jordan, versus Zach Levine and Aaron Gordon. I mean, neither of those guys are going to go down as all-timers. You've got to put it in a context, you know?
Starting point is 00:03:01 We're in an all-time recency bias mode. Like, anytime anything great happens, it's immediately in the conversation of, is it the greatest? Is it top five? That's just how we live now. But it was spectacular because it was so unexpected that those two dudes made their dunks on the first try. I know.
Starting point is 00:03:28 I know. We become so numb to guys trying technical, difficult things and not being able to pull it off. And those two, it was like, what? Oh? Oh? Oh? You know, it just went up.
Starting point is 00:03:43 It just went up and up and up. And over the weekend, I watched the dunk contest probably another dozen times through the clips and so forth. I mean, I was watching it this morning getting hyped. Yeah. The Gordon dunks were extraordinary to me. Yeah. And I do feel like he was in the 1988 Dominique position where he lost the battle, but he won the war. Yeah, I think by far the best dunk of the night was the one where he sat on the mascot's head nearly.
Starting point is 00:04:16 Yeah. And pulled the ball from underneath his seat and dunked. The one where he put his knees up and kind of put his butt on top of the guy's head, but his legs were on the left side of the mascot's head. I've never seen anybody get higher than that on a dunk. That was all time. He passed the ball from one hand to the other underneath his butt and dunked it. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:38 I think that was the greatest dunk in the history of the contest. I really do. Well, I don't know. Some of those VC dunks, the VC dunk where he put his forearm inside the basket will always go down. The thing about the Gordon dunk was if he miscalculated by like four inches,
Starting point is 00:04:57 like his butt hits the mascot in the head and he goes flying and he's probably like in a hospital right now. How did he practice it without getting injured i don't know right that that's the thing is like even that first mascot dunk that he did where he jumped over the guy and it was just like wow at some point somebody's gonna get seriously injured doing one of these but i i don't know it's almost like he figured out to push off the guy a little bit like the famous Kevin Johnson dunk.
Starting point is 00:05:26 Yeah. Where like you go up against the guy and you can actually push off their body to go higher, which seems like what he did on that first dunk. The second one, I have no idea how he got that high. All three of the mascot dunks were three, again, recency bias alert, three of the great, 10 great dunks of like the last 10 years, I would say. Yeah. The level of execution, the level of difficulty, the degree of difficulty, those were off the chart degree of difficulty dunks.
Starting point is 00:05:58 And he did them on the first try. The problem was he wasn't prepared to go extras, whereas Levine was just ready to roll. So I was looking up the, I think the high jump record is eight feet. Yeah. Wasn't Aaron Gordon eight feet in the air? Couldn't he just take the high jump record right now? It seems like there should be a, you know, should be a good sports science analysis there, right? Yeah, that would be a good one, actually.
Starting point is 00:06:29 It was awesome. Curry versus Clay was fun, too. I enjoyed that. I enjoyed Carl Towns winning the Stupid Skills Challenge, even though he's like 6'11". I thought that was interesting. Yeah, it was not a bad idea. Good night. And they got rid of the terrible
Starting point is 00:06:45 shooting stars, which was another reason why it was a good night. All that did was drag everything out by another 20 minutes. And I thought it was smart to get Kevin Hart in the announcing team. Very smart. Right. The whole thing is entertainment. Let him be in there. Kudos. Kudos
Starting point is 00:07:02 to the NBA. I don't know what this means for Zach Levine and Aaron Gordon going forward. Gordon's had some moments. I've watched Orlando, especially against the Celtics. He had two games this year where all of a sudden his defense and his athletic ability kind of dismantled the
Starting point is 00:07:17 Celts a little. He swung the game a couple times. Zach Levine, I don't know what position he is. Yeah, but who cares don't know what position he is. Yeah, but who cares? He's been extraordinary this season. I made an observation sometime in the last month that you didn't express much enthusiasm for. I really feel like the three guys that Minnesota has.
Starting point is 00:07:39 Yeah. That's a really solid three. I watched him drop 35. I don't remember who in the last two or three weeks. He was unstoppable because he is so fast and gets up in the air so quick and is not afraid to go right to the rim. And he's got a credible face-to-basket 18-to-20 footer. Credible.
Starting point is 00:07:59 Not incredible, but credible. Eh. That's what you said three weeks ago. Eh. Is he a good stats, bad team guy? Not with that athleticism. I think we need to suspend all judgment on Minnesota this season because of the Sam Mitchell factor.
Starting point is 00:08:20 Great point. You won me over. Last 10 games, he's shooting 51%. 30 minutes a game, 16 points a game. That's good. Yeah, my question is, like, what the hell, Ricky Rubio? Did we put enough athletes on your team? Do we just give up on Ricky?
Starting point is 00:08:42 It's just he's that bad of a shooter, there's nothing we can do anymore? Or is it just never had a good coach? He's only 25. You just beat me to the point. He's still young enough that it's okay to say, let's see what the stable situation for that team looks like. They get another lottery pick this coming offseason. By the way, if they got Ben Simmons, lights out.
Starting point is 00:09:09 Oh, wow. But is Wiggins, Towns, and Zach Levine, is that enough athletic ability for you, Ricky, to run the floor and do stuff with? I don't know. I hope, I would like to see, if I was running one of these, like Gatorade or one of these soft drink companies or Red Bull or whatever. I would definitely do a Gordon Levine dunk dunk related. I'm going to give this idea for free.
Starting point is 00:09:35 A dunk related ad where they're just trying to top each other a little bit like Jordan. Oh, the McDonald's. Yeah. I think there's a way to translate that because that was the really fun part of the Saturday. I didn't even know it was going to go into a double extra dunk. I thought they were just going to be co-winners.
Starting point is 00:09:51 It just kind of kept going. Did you know it was going to keep going? I loved it. No, I had no idea. They change the rules every year a little bit. I was so happy that it kept going. And honestly, I felt like Gordon got cheated because he was so fast. He cocked the ball behind his head before he went down between his legs.
Starting point is 00:10:13 The only way you could really appreciate it was on replay and in the moment. I don't begrudge the judges. It looked like a great dunk, but not a 50 yeah but i i was so thrilled to to have them keep going i had no idea that that was the way they were going to resolve it we also had hall of fame dunk reactions and there was one where i i was showing it to my uh my daughter and there was one where the entire bench collapsed. Drummond just fell over like he'd been shot.
Starting point is 00:10:49 He just went on the ground. I enjoyed Wiggins being featured prominently. Wiggins had some spectacular facial expression. He was great. He had a great hairdo-coat combo. He really did. He brought the whole look. He was ready to fall out of his seat on some dunks.
Starting point is 00:11:08 It was definitely – I think this has happened a couple times with All-Star Weekends, right, where you see a generational shift and you see three distinct generations that are happening at the same time. We've seen this a couple times. But I was thinking about it last night. First of all, I mean, the game, no defense whatsoever. It was a travesty. But at the same time, to see Curry and Durant and Westbrook
Starting point is 00:11:36 all on the same team in their absolute primes, I thought was pretty riveting. I watched more of it than I thought I was going to watch. And then you had Draymond, you had Kawhi, you had Klay. That was about as loaded of an all-star team just from a scoring standpoint as I can remember. Everybody complimented each other, you know? I really enjoyed the 12 minutes that Boogie got.
Starting point is 00:11:59 I thought Boogie was awesome. Did you see how hard Boogie played? He got a rebound. He was sprinting down the floor to get that alley-oop back. I was like, wow, if you played this hard in the regular season, you'd be the most unstoppable big man in 10 years. Wait a minute. He's throwing up a 27-11.
Starting point is 00:12:16 You want more? Well, I've never seen him run like that. Yeah, okay, okay, okay. He took that long three and made it. I was like, whoa, Boogie time. They had a real chance at 200. Chris Paul kind of killed them in the third quarter for a couple minutes, and then near the end,
Starting point is 00:12:31 Russell Westbrook just started shooting 40-footers going for the MVP. I would have given Paul George the MVP. He was right there to break Wilt's record, and, you know, to their credit, they didn't pump him up to go do it. Yeah, Pop got mad. They didn't tell him. But if he didn't play like he did in that game, I think the West could have won by like 50 points.
Starting point is 00:12:50 Oh, my gosh. Because LeBron put a full stamp on it. But I was saying about the generations. You had this distinct generation. Like Curry's generation is now in its prime, right? It's Curry, Westbrook, Durant, Harden, Clay, all these guys. That's like a distinct generation now. But then you
Starting point is 00:13:09 have kind of the LeBron Wade generation, the Bosh, all those, Carmelo, kind of post-prime, still good, still really good, but feels like... It's tough to call LeBron post-prime. Well, you know what I mean well he's post-APEX
Starting point is 00:13:25 but he does belong more to that generation than the Steph generation right and Kobe was like the last vestige of he was actually the generation before them that belonged to Garnett and Duncan and all those guys right
Starting point is 00:13:36 but you know slight ties to them because he played in the Olympics in 08 you know he battled those guys I think Dwight's in that LeBron generation. But anyway, now you have this younger generation that you see like Wiggins, Towns, and Drummond.
Starting point is 00:13:58 Actually, Paul George is in the Curry-Westbrook derby. I think he's in there. He's a contemporary of that. But like Jimmy Butler. There's this whole younger generation forming. I don't know if Zach Levine's going to be good enough to crack that generation. But you're seeing the last three drafts. Davis.
Starting point is 00:14:18 I don't know if Davis. I guess he's probably in the Curry generation. Did you see his box score last night? No. What did he end up with? He was 12 for 13 for like 24 26 points in 14 minutes he didn't miss but a lot of those were dunks it was it was about as loaded of a of an all-star team as i can remember i went back and looked at i was looking at like 84 and 87 and 93 because we've had some good ones. Like 93 had – the West team had Barkley in his prime.
Starting point is 00:14:49 It had Hakeem, David Robinson, Carl Malone, John Stockton, Tim Hardaway. Like that was ridiculous. And then MJ was on – Peyton was on that team, right? Yeah, and Sean Kemp, I think. I don't know if Peyton made it, but Sean Kemp was on it. It was just loaded. And MJ was on the other
Starting point is 00:15:05 side with you know a bunch of the east guys but yeah that 87 had uh I think Jordan Bird Isaiah Dominique all in the starting lineup which is pretty good West had magic 87 I think was the best I wrote a whole column about it probably eight years ago I think 87 was the best all-star game because they actually gave a shit in the 80s about the All-Star game. They played hard. You watch those tapes and they're actually like trying. Definitely in the fourth quarter they would play hard. I remember that. Well, that's what we got
Starting point is 00:15:33 cheated with yesterday because my favorite thing in the All-Star, and I always say this, but the last seven minutes I just like knowing who are the five on both sides. Who are the guys? Let's see who it is. There's always some intrigue with the coaching, too.
Starting point is 00:15:49 Who does Pop think is his best five? I'm not that interested in knowing what Tyronn Lue thinks is his best five. I'm not that interested in Tyronn Lue's opinion. But I like to see Pop put his best five out. You weren't that interested, huh? So far, it colored me a little unimpressed with Tyronn Lue. But I like to see Pop put his best five out. You weren't that interested, huh? No, not so far. It colored me a little unimpressed with Tyronn Lue. Pop wasn't going to do it last night because he didn't want to give the other teams confidence.
Starting point is 00:16:13 I'm almost positive he didn't play this lineup. But there was a Draymond, Curry, Clay, Durant, Westok, five that was kind of sitting there. Just merging OKC and Golden State created this Uber team. Wow. But I don't think he played it. And I think if he did play it, he would have won a Kawhi out there with those guys. With like four of those five. Sure.
Starting point is 00:16:42 Yeah. So, yeah, look at this. I'm looking at a couple all-star games here so 93 which was a which was a great one west 135 east 132 overtime right overtime competitive starting five for the west was malone barkley stockton david robinson and clad drexler with hakeem hardaway dan marleyley, Sean Kemp, etc. off the bench. That's pretty good. Pretty good.
Starting point is 00:17:10 The East had MJ, Isaiah's last all-star, Scottie, peak apex Scottie, young Shaq, young LJ, and then off the bench, Patrick Ewing, Price, Doherty, Wilkins, Dumar, Schrempf, and Larry Nance. That's a freaking loaded team. My goodness. I'm making a face like now like I just watched a nasty dunk. So then 87, which I think was the greatest ever, this was the Tom Chambers game, remember? Yes.
Starting point is 00:17:41 When Magic showed everybody that James Worthy was the luckiest man alive, because if Tom Chambers and James Worthy had just switched places, we're calling Tom Chambers Big Game Chame. Right. Big Game Chame. West team was Magic, Chambers, Worthy, Hakeem, Alvin Robertson, and then Kareem off the bench with a bunch of guys you've heard of. The East was Moses, Bird, Doc, Jordan, and Dominique with Mikhail, Isaiah, Barkley, and
Starting point is 00:18:10 Parrish off the bench. Oh my God. It's like 15 Hall of Famers in that game. What was that final? That was the 154-149 West 1-0T, but that was the one where Rolando Blackman hit the two free throws to tie out a regulation with no time left on the clock. Right. And all the guys trying to psych him out.
Starting point is 00:18:29 And then I also think 84 was another classic. East won an OT. Isaiah won the MVP. It was Isaiah, Julius, Larry, Parrish, and Sidney Moncrief back when he had his knees. Off the bench, Bernard King, Andrew Toney, and Kevin McHale. There wasn't anything the East could have done this year to make it competitive. Every one of those classics you just railed off went to overtime. And that's our recollection of the best games.
Starting point is 00:19:03 Somebody wins in the last possession or it went to overtime. I don't know. What could the East have done to have made last night more competitive? Well, the problem was they lost perimeter guys because they lost Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler would have really helped them last night because the West was basically playing, you know, multiple perimeter dudes at the same time. It was not a game for big guys. Right. Bosh is a perfect combo guy. Bosh is a perfect combo guy.
Starting point is 00:19:27 Bosh is a perfect combo guy. Yeah. I wonder if we'll ever see a good all-star game again. We probably won't. It hasn't been good for a few years now. Everything changes so quickly. Who knows? There's a trade deadline coming up.
Starting point is 00:19:42 Yeah, that's what we're going to talk about right now. I have a bunch of trades for you. Oh, you ready i'm ready you ready for me i'm i mean i i went through uh you know buyers sellers targets i'm excited seems like something big should happen this year yeah should we go i so i made up a bunch of trades, and we're going to subject the listeners to them right now. I'm sure they'll love it. But first, I want to say hi to our friends at SoFi. It's a new kind of company that's sending shockwaves, the good kind, through the financial world. SoFi decided that banks aren't going to fix banking, so they brought some Silicon Valley smarts to the table. I'll see you next time. And if they show promise, they will back them for life. For life! And because SoFi is not a bank, they can provide services in rates that the banks cannot.
Starting point is 00:20:49 Anyway, if you're looking for a financial partner designed for the 21st century, visit SoFi.com and discover why banks are not the future of banking anymore. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS number 112-1636. Again, that's SoFi.com. They're also on Twitter. It's at SoFi. All right, I got some fake trades for your house.
Starting point is 00:21:13 Where do you want to start? Name a team. I'll come up with the trade. You name a team. Name a team off the top of your head. I'm interested. I want to start with the Miami Heat. Great. The reason I want to start there is because right now there's four teams
Starting point is 00:21:27 that legitimately have an opportunity to win the NBA title right now. Yes. And I feel like Miami could enter the discussion with one juicy move. And they have an X factor, right? The white side is going to be a free agent this summer. And I don't think they want to pay him. They don't want to pay him. And he's also a house of cards.
Starting point is 00:21:52 Who knows with the white side? You know, we've seen him now put up almost a full year, a full calendar year of good basketball without any major incidents. But who knows? And some incredible analytical stuff, right? calendar year of good basketball without any major incidents. But who knows? And some incredible analytical stuff, right? He's 12th right now in wins above replacement. I mean, he's a darling of the player efficiency rating.
Starting point is 00:22:19 I think he's top 15. 23.8. Leading the league in blocks, 3.9. Not that blocks totally matter, but he could be DeAndre Jordan. Oh, I mean, he's, you said it, full body, full year's worth body of work, but outlier personality. Got to be right situation, right coach, right kind of environment for him to mature. And it's weird that Miami is not that environment. But yeah, if he's going to move, he's got to go somewhere where they can sit on him
Starting point is 00:22:53 a little bit. So Miami has, he's cheap. He's under a million. But they also have Luol Deng's expiring contract, $10.1 million. They have Chris Anderson's expiring contract, $5 million. Then they have a bunch of, like Josh McRoberts makes four or five, but a couple years left on that. A couple deals like that.
Starting point is 00:23:12 How about your team, the Wizards? Oh, how about them? Would you trade Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley's expiring for Luau Dang, Chris Anderson, and Hassan Whiteside? Immediately. You'd get a little taste of them for a little bit? That's so thoughtful. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:23:30 What a nice idea. Thank you. I would do that in half a heartbeat. I would do that so fast. It would be like, watch me eat this delicious chicken taco. Oh, it's gone already. That's how fast I would do that deal. So if you're Miami, would you do that deal?
Starting point is 00:23:45 Now I got Gortat locked in at $11 million a year. He seems like the kind of guy who should live in Miami because he's Marcin Gortat. He is. He's hanging out with a bunch of Eastern European guys. They get Dudley as an expiring. Dudley and Luol Deng is almost a wash, except Dudley is $6 million cheaper. And then they know from a cost standpoint that they're not going to have to pay Whiteside $25 million next year.
Starting point is 00:24:10 The thing that might disincentivize Miami from it, Gortat is best in a pick-and-roll, and if Miami keeps Dragic as their point guard, I don't know how. But Dragic as their point guard in the high screen is great. The problem is if you're just throwing it to Dwayne Wade and everybody stands there, that's not good for him. Yeah, so I haven't seen – the last pick and roll that Dragic was great with was Channing Frye,
Starting point is 00:24:45 who was a step-back three-point shooter. That was the pick-and-roll. It wasn't a guy who banged down the lane hard. Gortat's best attribute is catching the ball, rolling to the basket, and finishing with a flush or a layup or getting fouled. Well, I have one more trade for Brook Lopez. I'm sorry, for Miami with Whiteside.
Starting point is 00:25:11 Okay. So I can't find it. Oh, it's basically the same trade, but it just has brooke lopez in it it's white side with luau dang with chris anderson and to brooklyn and miami turns that into brooke lopez and now they get guaranteed brooke lopez but he is more expensive he's like 18 19 million a year and if you're if you're brooklyn brooklyn's in a weird spot and that's why i can't figure out what to do with them with this trade deadline because they have no first round pick the next three years. So actually they're incentivized
Starting point is 00:25:50 to, I think, take risks on guys to add to their collection, maybe take flyers on guys, things like that. And if I were them, I would actually want to get Whiteside under my hold and see what's going on. I don't know. Would you want to get Whiteside under my hold and see what's going on.
Starting point is 00:26:06 I don't know. Would you want to sell high on Lopez because he's on pace to play 82 games? Do you trust his body? Brooklyn has to figure out a way to get young. I mean, they're so stuck with this roster. They have to figure out a way to get good quality young players. And the only way to do it is through trades and free agency. I would do that in a heartbeat if I was Brooklyn.
Starting point is 00:26:35 And it feels like, I hate to acknowledge this, it's a more fair trade for Miami than the Washington when you proposed. I mean, Brooke Lopez with those guys, that's an interesting sort of group making a playoff run. If Brooke Lopez can stay healthy. I have a three-teamer that actually involves the Rockets and would get... Miami right now is $5.6 million over the tax line, according to the ESPN trade machine. The Rockets are $3.5 million over the tax line.
Starting point is 00:27:10 So in this trade, Miami gets Lopez. Houston gets Luau Dang. And Donald Sloan is a throw-in. He's cheap. Brooklyn gets Ty Lawson. Chris Anderson's expiring. Sam Decker. Montrezal Harrell, however you say his name, and Whiteside. So they shell out.
Starting point is 00:27:33 They're basically the same. They stay under the tax. Miami would get rid of—Miami would get almost pretty close to getting under the tax. It would help them a little bit. And then Houston, it would help them a lot to get under. It's just the tax, though. The only inducement for Houston is the money. Because getting back dang doesn't help their basketball team.
Starting point is 00:27:57 No, but it gets them under the tax so that they're not a repeater. And they get rid of Ty Lawson, too. Isn't that conceding this season effectively, though? Well, we haven't talked about that. So they're basically trading. In this trade, they would trade Ty Lawson and Sam Decker and Harrell, and they'd get Dangbeck, and they would get under the tax. Miami would get Lopez with all the same pieces we just talked about.
Starting point is 00:28:24 And if you're the Nets, you're turning Lopez into five guys. You get a flyer on Ty Lawson, the Anderson expiring, then you get Decker and Harrell, two young guys, and you get Whiteside. Interesting. So Houston right now is the nine seed. They're in the nine hole at 27 and 28. Yeah. I mean, you could make a real case for houston to just blow this baby up because i don't think they would trade harden that would go against having known daryl for 10 years yeah he's a big fan of just grabbing the best possible guys like everything his whole blueprint is constructed toward trying to get top 10 guys and he has one i don't know why you would
Starting point is 00:29:03 train him i do think they'll trade Dwight, though. I think that's going to happen. There is no other player on the team that you would say, oh, you can't trade him. Harden's the only one that you would make that statement about. He doesn't help Houston to make the playoffs. They're not going to reach the five seed. Well, wait a second.
Starting point is 00:29:24 But if Houston keeps their pick if it's in the lottery, if they're in the playoffs, they lose it. So if they're the eight seed, they lose the 16th or 17th pick in the draft and they get killed by the Warriors. Although, if they kept their team together, watching them play the Warriors, it's not a terrible matchup for them. I still think they'd get killed, but at least you could be like, well, we played them well in the season,
Starting point is 00:29:47 and you talk yourself into it a little. What, you take some positive momentum out of losing in the first round? No, I think they should trade Dwight Howard right now. Yeah, I mean, I agree with the idea of keeping the pick at this stage. You know, go ahead and commit to the redirection that you have to pursue here
Starting point is 00:30:14 and do it with the most assets possible. They're not helped one bit by losing in the first round. They're not going to beat Golden State. They're not going to beat San Antonio. They're not going to beat Oklahoma City. And they're not going to win Golden State, they're not going to beat San Antonio, and they're not going to beat Oklahoma City. And they're not going to win enough games between now and the end of the season to jump all the way up to the five seed. So they should be sellers at this trade deadline.
Starting point is 00:30:35 Well, they could also, there's some Ewing theory potential that they could try to go after. And that's this next trade. This is one of my favorite trades. I would just call this trade into the commissioner right now. It's that good. It involves Brooklyn, Houston, and Portland. Portland gets Dwight Howard.
Starting point is 00:30:55 Houston gets Joe Johnson and Mason Plumlee. That's it. I don't hate it. Brooklyn gets Ty Lawson and Tim Frazier from Portland, who has to be thrown in for salary cap. So Brooklyn saves $12 million, right? Yeah. Which pro-rated for the rest of the year, it's really like five or six. And they get a flyer on Ty Lawson.
Starting point is 00:31:26 Let's check him out. Because they were going to buy out Joe Johnson anyway. So instead of buying him out, just go cut $10 million off your cap. You don't have to buy him out. Houston would save $10 million. No. No, because Joe Johnson's got the biggest contract in basketball. He's 25, 26.
Starting point is 00:31:46 They'd save about $8 million. But that gets them well under the tax. And you could make a case, like, putting Plumlee in there, playing 20 minutes a game with Capella and Monti Yunus, and just getting Dwight and Lawson off the team from a chemistry standpoint. They might actually be better for McCarma. For the McCarma slash chemistry thing, right? How do you sell it to Portland?
Starting point is 00:32:13 So Portland's $20 million under the cap. They're going nowhere. They have no reason not to spend that money. They're owned by Paul Allen. Why not take a look at Dwight Howard for 30 games? What's the downside? Just check him out. Well, here's the downside.
Starting point is 00:32:30 And you made a very compelling case about him. I feel like it might have been two years ago when he was waffling Indecision 2000 and whatever it was, 2013. The record for censors with his particular health profile and the log of games that he's accumulated is not good. And the trend line is not supporting any kind of rejuvenation. I don't know what circumstance is best for him, but it's not one where he's playing 32 to 35 minutes a game and you're hoping to get 16 and 12. Yeah, but you're not going anywhere.
Starting point is 00:33:19 I watched him a month ago just destroy somebody. Who was it? What was that game where he had like 37 and 20 it was against clippers he killed deandre that's what it was huh it's still lurking in there somewhere the guy the guy remember him in the round two and round three last year he was awesome he was awesome in the playoffs it's true put him with lillard lillard and mccollum and a couple rebounders i i would do that if i was Portland. I think they should take a flyer on him. Why not? How else are they going to get a superstar?
Starting point is 00:33:48 And he's not a superstar anymore. The only reason I wouldn't do it is the same reason I don't want the Celtics to trade for him. It sucks to watch Dwight Howard. It just sucks. Well, for Portland, there is an interesting angle with Portland, too. They're going to make
Starting point is 00:34:04 the playoffs, it seems. And they, with Dwight Howard, kind of interesting. Both those two guards plus Dwight Howard, maybe they mount something interesting against Oklahoma City. And how? So you're getting him in a contract year. You're getting him in his... Remember DeAndre once, like, January, February hit last year
Starting point is 00:34:26 when he turned into Will Chamberlain? You're getting Dwight, like a very motivated Dwight for 30 games. And, you know, the soccer moms would love him. They would nurture him. They would protect him. He would feel so loved. Love him. I think all the people the soccer moms defended over the years,
Starting point is 00:34:40 they wouldn't defend Dwight Howard. They would defend Dwight Howard. They would cheer him. I kind of like him. I'm talking myself into it. Yeah! All right. That. I kind of like him. I'm talking myself into it. Yeah! All right! That's fun.
Starting point is 00:34:47 I knew I'd get you. Yeah. Yeah, I have a couple trades for the Nets because, again, just take some shots at dudes. Like, here's another one. Tyreek, who's out for the year but who is under contract for next year,
Starting point is 00:35:06 Eric Gordon's a free agent. Just trade Joe Johnson for those guys. This is it. This is the expiring for Joe Johnson, right? Yeah. This year? Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:35:17 And if I'm New Orleans, I'm in salary cap hell with Tyreek and with Ashik, all these dudes. I get out of Tyreek's contract next year. Just good luck with Tyreek and with Ashik, all these dudes. I get out of Tyreek's contract next year. Just good luck, Tyreek. Thanks. I'm out. I'm fine with that.
Starting point is 00:35:32 I don't have any problem with that. There's a three-team version of this that would send Lawson, Tyreek, and Terrence Jones to Brooklyn, Joe Johnson, Donald Sloan to New Orleans, and then Gordon to Houston which I kind of like too those are three teams I should just trade just to trade here's one here's one for the Knicks because the Knicks fans all want Brandon Jennings oh when did that happen?
Starting point is 00:35:59 they want a point guard they have corpses as point guards Detroit and the Knicks. Brandon Jennings and Jody Meeks, who is under contract next year for like $6.2 million, for Jose Calderon and Kevin Serafin, and that's it. That's Detroit.
Starting point is 00:36:19 It would save the Pistons like $4 million. They'd get rid of Meeks next year. They'd have to take back Calderon, who's like a million more. Maybe somebody throws in a second-round pick. I just want to get Jennings to the Knicks. That's the only way I could figure out how to do it. Pretty boring. Yeah, why Jennings?
Starting point is 00:36:36 There's a bunch of free-age point guards that are kind of in the mix. Why is Jennings preferable to Teague, for instance? Because they can't get teague there's no way to get them okay they don't have picks and the other thing with the knicks is no they don't have they don't have their first round pick and they have no incentive to stink so why not that's right they don't have any incentive to stink the knicks to me um it feels like they're not going to have better leverage for Melo. Melo's trade value is at an all-time high. It will not be higher than this moment.
Starting point is 00:37:13 I understand the idea of just playing out this season and trying to win as many games as possible since you don't have your pick. And you continue to groom Porzingis. The risk to me is 31-year-old Melo with two knee surgeries, something stupid happening over these 30 remaining games that really impairs his trade value going into the offseason. Here's the problem, though. I wouldn't want to take on if I'm them.
Starting point is 00:37:42 Go ahead. He has no trade class. Sure, sure. I don't think to take on if I'm them. Go ahead. He has no trade class. Sure, sure. I don't think he wants to leave. You can't send him to Milwaukee, and you can't send him to probably even Boston. But you could send him to Houston. You could send him to Miami. You could send him to Cleveland.
Starting point is 00:38:00 You could send him to the Clippers. I know, but I actually don't think he wants to leave. I think he wants to stay with the Knicks. I think he's happy there. You don't think he wants to go play in the playoffs with other great players? I don't think he cares. I think he likes being in the Knicks. I think he feels like he doesn't want to sell them out.
Starting point is 00:38:17 I think he wants to retire there and go to Knicks games after he's retired and be the guy who was on the Knicks for 15 years and didn't want to leave. And didn't accomplish a single noteworthy thing other than a playoff loss in the second round two years ago. Maybe he believes in the Lativian gangbanger and whatever free agents out there this summer. I don't know. I don't think he wants to leave because if he wants to leave, there's the trade that
Starting point is 00:38:41 was rumored. But that trade's sitting there with Love going to Boston and Carmelo going to Cleveland and the Knicks getting a whole bunch of draft picks. That trade's sitting there. Well, there's two other trades. Him to the Clippers makes plenty of sense, and him to Miami makes plenty of sense. And there's plenty of assets at both of those places
Starting point is 00:38:59 to get those deals done too. I don't know if Blake has the kind of, uh, the kind of trade value that people seem to think he does. He's at least as, as, as valuable as Mello. They called Denver. They offered him to Denver.
Starting point is 00:39:17 Who did? The Clippers. Hold on a second. Breaking news. NBA insider Simmons says, what's the, what, why did they call they did i mean it's kind of out there it's not it's not because denver you know denver has the pieces for three i think they wanted jokic in the trade too which wasn't happening but they i like jokic
Starting point is 00:39:36 there's a gallinari farid barton trade for blake that would all of a sudden make the clippers legitimately scary it would make them better. I love that trade. Yeah. What has to happen to make that trade? I think the Nuggets just have to say yes. Come on, Nuggets. That's a good trade. But the Clippers want a jokage in the trade, too, and that's not happening.
Starting point is 00:39:56 That's an overreach. I think they called Denver and tried to see if Denver would make a godfather effort. But if you're trading for Blake, he's 27 years old. He missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury he's been kind of banged up now he has a really effed up shooting hand that everybody is oh yeah he'll be back six to eight weeks he he legitimately broke his shooting hand and and has had two surgeries on it now. And we have no idea if he's going to be back in time for the playoffs. And what happens if he comes back during round one and has to serve a four-game suspension? How does that work?
Starting point is 00:40:33 I actually think if they want to win the title this year, I don't know if they can win it with him on the team. Oh, I like them trading him in this period. I like them trading him in this period. I like them trading him this week. I think it gives them the best chance to achieve the destiny that they set out for themselves, assuming they get the right pieces back. So Denver's probably already said no because Will Barton— I love Will Barton.
Starting point is 00:41:00 All of a sudden, it'll be funny to see your trade value. I know. We've got to work on that. Gallinari, Farid, and Will Byer. Oh, the Clips would have to throw in Lance's expiring in that trade. I think they can manage, they can pull that together. Yeah, well, it's a question of whether Denver would want it. But that's one home for Gallo. The other one for Gallo, which I think is interesting.
Starting point is 00:41:22 I keep saying the word interesting, I'm sorry. Boston, Cleveland, and Denver. Who? Gallo? This is the trade. Oh, this is a three-teamer. Okay. Gallo goes to Cleveland with the J.J. Hicks in expiring,
Starting point is 00:41:39 which has to be in there. Yeah. Kevin Love goes to the Celtics. Denver gets the two first round picks, 19 and 23. The Celtics right now, they have three first round picks. They have their own pick, they have Dallas' pick, and then they have this Brooklyn pick. Cleveland gets Gallo,
Starting point is 00:42:09 and they get the Brooklyn pick for Kevin Love. That's a lot. That's a lot. The Brooklyn pick helps pick up, you know, as I was listening, I was like, I'm not sure Cleveland is getting enough because Gallo is always at an injury risk.
Starting point is 00:42:26 I love Gallo on Cleveland. Yeah. But that Brooklyn pick just changes things. That's a shit. Wow. And then if you're the Celts, if you're the Celts, oh, Denver would have to get David Lee, too, to make all the contracts work. But if you're the Celts, you have a million picks.
Starting point is 00:42:44 The Celtics right now, if the draft order held, these are all the picks they'd have this year. 3rd, 19, 23, 31, 35, 49, 51, and 57. That's ludicrous.
Starting point is 00:42:59 That's ridiculous. So, if you're the Celts, oh yeah, fine. Here's 3, 19, and the Celts, oh yeah, fine. Here's 3-19-23 and the league expiring and we got Kevin Love. I can make a run with that team now.
Starting point is 00:43:12 Yeah, well, we've been saying for a long time now, when we talk about the thing that the Celtics need, what we talk about is a guy that can touch the ball
Starting point is 00:43:20 in the last four minutes and, you know, feel comfortable taking a shot facing up or maybe in a little back to the basket. There's room for Kevin Love down there.
Starting point is 00:43:29 And if I did that trade, if I was the Cavs, I would then follow that up by using my trade exception and stealing Kyle Korver for nothing, trying to rejuvenate him. Why would Atlanta agree to that? Because Atlanta's going to trade Al Horford. And Jeff Teague. It's a weird moment for Atlanta, then.
Starting point is 00:43:54 So you're saying Atlanta's conceding. Right now, they are the four seed. No, I don't know. If they do. Here's the thing. If I'm the Celts, I would actually rather go after Al Horford. Because I think you can get Al Horford without giving up the Brooklyn pick. All right, let me hear how that gets done.
Starting point is 00:44:13 That's easy. That's the Lee expiring, Kelly Olenek, and you give him 19, 23, and 31. The thing that Atlanta needs more than anything on the planet is rebounding, though. Okay. That's the thing that impairs them more than anything else. You want Sullinger instead of Kelly
Starting point is 00:44:36 Olenek? I'm making a bad face right now. Yeah. I'm right to think that the Celtics cannot give up the Brooklyn pick for two and a half months Al Horford without knowing he'd resign, right? I wouldn't. Yeah, I don't think. It's got to be somebody like Kevin Love for that three, the Brooklyn pick to be in the mix. It's got to be Blake or Kevin Love. It's got to be that caliber. I don't know if I'd trade for Blake. I'm worried about Blake. Kevin Love. It's got to be that caliber. I don't know if I'd trade for Blake.
Starting point is 00:45:06 I'm worried about Blake. Come on. I'm worried, even though I thought he was the third best player in the league in the playoffs last year, I'm worried about him physically. I think these injuries are starting to add up. Supposedly he's got really bad tendonitis too. There's a monster trade. This is stupid but I came up with a four teamer
Starting point is 00:45:26 that would solve everyone's problems okay Utah gets Teague and Kyle Korver the dramatic return of Kyle Korver to Utah I like the start to this good one right the Celtics get Al Horford
Starting point is 00:45:42 okay the Clippers get Paul Millsap, Tiago Splitter, Thabo Cephalosha, and Trey Burke. Who the hell's playing on Atlanta? Atlanta gets the Brooklyn pick. They get Blake Griffin. Okay. They get the David Lee Lance Stevenson expirings. They get Alec Burks.
Starting point is 00:46:08 They get Kelly Olenek. And they get Wes Johnson and Cole Aldridge. And probably like more, probably like something. I mean, it's ridiculous. I love it. Thank you. It's absolutely preposterous. Yeah, I don't remember.
Starting point is 00:46:28 Well. The starting five for Atlanta is Schroeder, Blake Griffin. But let's narrow that down, though. Yeah, because the Teague for Alec Burks and Trey Burtrade is sitting there for both teams. And I actually like that trade for both teams. But fundamentally, is there a Blake Griffin-Paul Millsap possibility for you? He's the one name not mentioned.
Starting point is 00:46:52 Paul Millsap's 31, but that guy's a pro, man. And he would be really good with Chris Paul. And then Atlanta fought to re-sign him, and they re-signed him to a pretty reasonable contract. Right. They chose him over Carroll, essentially. They let Carroll go and re-signed Millsap. If the Hawks, basically Millsap and Cephalosha and Blake,
Starting point is 00:47:18 and those are the principles of something, that kind of works for me. I'm not against it. Because I do think there's some urgency with the Clippers. And I do think that Blake is a legitimate trade candidate. Not just because he keeps having these injuries, but also I think that thing that happened was a really serious thing with their team. Everybody liked that guy.
Starting point is 00:47:40 He repeatedly punched the guy in the face. Well, and against all odds and reason they keep winning they're 18 and 5 now in games without blake griffin how is that possible 17 17 and 13 with 18 and 5 without and there's a version of whatever happened in that fight where that's why the fight happened because the guy was really teasing him about how they were better off without him and it started to get personal. Wow. I'm throwing this out there, because I don't know what Phoenix is going to do.
Starting point is 00:48:12 Nobody knows. Phoenix doesn't know. Right. But I think they know one thing, is that they want to stink. They want to get a really high draft pick. I mean, mission accomplished. Yeah. Well, they need to get Markeith Morris off their team
Starting point is 00:48:25 because he's actually going to start playing hard now that Hornacek isn't there. So I did think of one trade. I don't know if this will work. Markeith Morris to Detroit gets reunited with his brother. I like it. Phoenix gets David Lee's expiring and Boston's pick. The Celtics get the Jody Meeks expiring. Or no, not expiring.
Starting point is 00:48:49 He's next year's contract, too. So it's like a $6 million tax for what else you're getting. Toledovic. Have you seen Toledovic? I like Toledovic. I remember him doing things last season. Has he been doing things this season? He's having a really good season, secretly.
Starting point is 00:49:07 I mean, he's a sieve defensively, but he's like a 40% three-point shooter. He's big. He's physical. Right. I don't know. I like that guy. I liked his stroke. Go ahead.
Starting point is 00:49:20 Yeah. That's it. That's all I got for you. Oh, okay. No, I have a couple more trades, though. If you're the Celtics, would you trade David Lee and the Brooklyn pick to Milwaukee for O.J. Mayo and Jabari Parker? I feel like Milwaukee might say no to that. Milwaukee could get the Brooklyn pick, which would be one, two, three, or four, basically, and their own pick, which would be seven, eight, nine.
Starting point is 00:49:55 Why sacrifice the unknown of that Brooklyn pick for the known quantity with Jabari? Because I'm not sure you can play Giannis and Jabari. And Middleton. And Middleton at the same time. If, I don't think they're, or maybe they can trade him by now. The guy on Milwaukee that has proven to be the big bust is obviously Monroe. Unless he's just destroying the Celtics single-handedly. Well, because he's coming off the bench.
Starting point is 00:50:31 Because they said, hey, dude, we kind of could use you playing hard every night, not every other night. So here's what we're going to do. You're not going to be a starter tonight. You're going to come off the bench. It's like, oh? House, what kind of shape are you in right now? I would say I'm in pretty decent shape, to be honest with you.
Starting point is 00:50:51 Oh, good. Do you know about Slender Tone? I do not know about Slender Tone. I'm interested in hearing about it. Well, I know you're like me. You hate going to the gym and you hate doing sit-ups. I hate both of those things. It's true.
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Starting point is 00:51:38 Well, what's that mean, track workouts? I'm not going to the gym. I know. You're putting this belt on. It has EMS technology. It sends deep pulses that engage your stomach muscles. I like deep pulses. It causes them to flex and contract, just like in regular exercise.
Starting point is 00:51:53 So here's what I love about this. You can watch television as you're doing it. You mean I can exercise and watch TV? You can stand up in front of your TV for 25 minutes as this belt engorges your abs and gets them going. Did you just use the word engorge? I did. You're talking about deep pulses and engorging. I know.
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Starting point is 00:52:46 my annual trip spring break down to lovely Jamaica, I got to get that mid-belly fat under control. I mean, I'm in decent shape, but it's that belly fat that's such a challenge. A couple more trades quickly and then we'll go. I'm worried that Masai is going to steal Thad Young from Brooklyn. Oh, I love it. I love where you're going with this one. Let me hear it.
Starting point is 00:53:12 It's easy. It's Patrick Patterson. It's that Deion Wright, that young point guard they have. And then they either throw in, they have the Knicks pick, which is outside chance of winning the lottery with it, but you're probably in the 10 to 15 range. Or take Bruno. Still valuable.
Starting point is 00:53:31 Or take Bruno. But I will just tell you, as somebody who's watched way too many Nets games this year, Thad Young has single-handedly ruined my chance at the number one pick. Because he's good. Yeah, he's kept Brooklyn in like five or six of these games just doing Thad Young's thing and it's weird because he's not the type of guy that makes sense in the way the current NBA has played like he's not a three-point shooter he's I think he's a four I don't even really totally know what position he is but he just does stuff and you throw him on that Toronto team with
Starting point is 00:54:03 the type of team they have, and I think he'd be really good in that team. I agree. I like this quite a bit. I'm really bullish on this Toronto team. I loved how they repped this weekend. I'm really high on the T-dot. I'm really sad we couldn't figure out a way to get up there this weekend,
Starting point is 00:54:23 although it was freezing cold. Yeah, I'm not as sad as you. Well, it's cold here, so for me it would have been going from cold to cold. It wouldn't have made that big a difference. All right, here's my last trade. I think it's my favorite trade of all the trades. Okay. Jabari Parker for D'Angelo Russell, straight up.
Starting point is 00:54:42 Huh. I like it. Thank you. I'm trying to come up with a reason to not like it I'm trying to come up with a reason you can't you won't be able to it's a great trade because and we should all root for it because the moment D'Angelo Russell gets traded he's going to unleash holy hell on
Starting point is 00:54:59 Byron Scott it's going to be awesome he's going to ruin him he's going to say terrible things about him the Lakers that means they have Randall Parker Byron Scott. It's going to be awesome. He's going to ruin them. He's going to say terrible things about them. The Lakers, that means they have Randall, Parker, Jordan Clarkson. Jabari? That's what I said. Parker, I said.
Starting point is 00:55:15 Oh, yeah. Jabari, Julius Randall, Jordan Clarkson. And this pick that's coming up, this lottery. Top three pick that they might screw up and have to give to Philly. Yeah, it's a good one. Larry Nance Jr. A lot of cap space. A lot of Kevin Durant rumors about how he has a Hollywood house in the summers. Might just come here and wait for Westbrook to join him a year later,
Starting point is 00:55:39 which I've yet to hear anybody really refute. Who knows? Well, it's still the case. I know that Durant somebody put to him are you just going to resign and wait put yourself on the same cycle he's like oh I hadn't really thought about that I haven't really thought about any of these things he's totally thought about it
Starting point is 00:55:59 he's totally thought about it and that's what he's going to do he's going to put himself on the same cycle as Ibaka and Westbrook. So I think it's kind of silly to talk about where he might go this offseason because he ain't going anywhere this offseason. Especially with the tear that they're on. Or he could just go to the Lakers.
Starting point is 00:56:17 Be a Laker. That's the nicest thing you've probably said to the Lakers, the Lakers fans, the hope that you're offering them in 10 years. Here's a scenario that should scare Oklahoma City fans. The Lakers win the lottery. That makes it a lot more likely that Kevin Durant's going to go to the Lakers. They get Ben Simmons. So you have Simmons, Parker.
Starting point is 00:56:39 Oh, I like how you added Parker to the team. Even forget the Parker. Just keep Russell there. And get a real coach. But they could also, if they won the ladder and won Ben Simmons and Durant said, I'll come, they could also trade that number one pick for something a la the Wiggins love trade. That could happen. Yeah, that could happen.
Starting point is 00:56:59 All right. We have to go because my daughter wants to talk about the Adele concert. And she's actually here today because she got another day off from school because her school looks for any reason to give everyone a day off. Yeah, the same is true here. The snow that's coming down here, kids down here are going to have tomorrow off too. But before we go, give us two minutes on Super Bowl 50. I know Chicken Parm really tasted good one last time for you.
Starting point is 00:57:22 Yeah, I don't think I want to sing. I put it out. But I would just like to give us a little pat on the back. We got two things right these playoffs. We were very, very correct about the Patriots and the Chiefs, and we were very correct about this Denver-Carolina matchup. We hit all the right notes. We said it could go one of two ways.
Starting point is 00:57:45 Either Carolina comes in and blows out Denver, or that Denver defense is up to the challenge. They're a disruptive force. They are of a caliber of talent and speed, the likes of which Carolina has not seen all season long. And we went through quite deliberately the defenses that Carolina had faced. I think we reached the right conclusion. I think you gave out Denver and the under. Big fat winner.
Starting point is 00:58:17 The only thing that I regret not having given out is the money line, the Denver money line. I mean, that could have been incredible. We talked about it. Yeah. I thought we broke it down really nice, and we said it was going to be, we put our eggs in the,
Starting point is 00:58:32 Denver's defense is going to keep it close. Manning's not going to have to do a lot. Carolina was a great home team. Who knows about them in any other situation? Nobody believes in us. It had a lot of factors that I liked. And the other thing that I thought financially. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:58:49 Underrated. You made this observation about the lack of talent at the skill positions. And very early in the game, Jericho Cotri is out there dropping balls. I hit him right in the hands. Yeah. Potential touchdown. Because I watched what they did to my team. And I had never seen a defense do anything like that to my team.
Starting point is 00:59:07 I thought I had good skill position, except for the running backs. But I had a healthy Edelman, I had a healthy Amendola, and I had a healthy Gronk. And the guys really couldn't get open for most of that game. And those guys are all better than anyone Carolina had. So pass on the back, we didn't make any money off of it. At the same time, neither of us could have predicted Cam had...
Starting point is 00:59:30 I saw Wilbon this week, and he said this, and I thought it was really smart. It was very LeBron 2011 finals-ish. Oh. Yeah. It was a good call by Wilbon. Not up to the moment.
Starting point is 00:59:44 Just the moment kind of got him. The moment got him. Just he wasn't himself. From the pregame warm-ups when they were showing him rolling his eyes and he said all that stuff, I think he'll learn from it. I'm a Cam Newton believer. I think he's great. But that game, I don't know.
Starting point is 01:00:00 They got into his head. Well, that is the one thing you're worried about if you're a Carolina fan, Cam under duress. What game or games can you point to where important things are on the line that Cam under duress has come through? Now, they did mount a couple comebacks in the regular season. Yeah, in the regular season they did. But, you know, this is the playoffs,
Starting point is 01:00:24 and this was Cam under duress in the playoffs, and he wasn't up to it. Seattle last year beat Carolina, right? Yeah, they had a better team. They had a better team, and that wasn't really anything you would pin on Cam. The one curious thing I felt like game plan-wise that I did not like out of that I did not like out of Carolina and did not like out of Riverboat Ron why didn't we see Cam with the
Starting point is 01:00:50 ball rushing a little bit more? I don't know especially with the way they were attacking the outside it seemed like it was just perfect for QB draws spread them out I don't know I think there's a lot they probably would have done differently if they had to do that game over again, I'm guessing.
Starting point is 01:01:07 Yeah. Wasn't great. Do you want to sing Chicken Parm one last time or no? Well, this is to honor Peyton on his way out. He's going to be facing sexual assault, allegation charges due to Duff. Possibly. He's got issues going on with the shipments of illegal substances to his household. Allegedly. Peyton,
Starting point is 01:01:27 just fade away. Chicken parm, you taste so good. You were on Denver. You picked them a bunch of times. I enjoyed picking them. Yeah, you sniffed it out early. That team was pulling wins out of their butt, and they
Starting point is 01:01:43 had a really good defense, and you were on it. So congratulations to you, buddy. Congratulations to you, too. So we might run this back on Friday, at least in a shorter form, if there's crazy trades. There should be trades, and it'll be Friday, and we could do a little rolling. So last thing, if you're Atlanta,
Starting point is 01:02:04 and you could trade Horford to Boston. You just can't give it up. You just love it. Go ahead. You trade Horford to Boston and I'm giving you back Olenek 19, 23, and 31. I trade Teague to Utah
Starting point is 01:02:19 and I get back Alec Burks and and and Trey Burke and I go to the Clips, and I somehow get Millsap and Cephalosha, and maybe I throw in 19 and 23 from the Celts, and I try to get Blake. There is a way for them to blow up their team. I personally, if I were them, I would keep everyone, and I would just trade Teague for the Utah package if that package is available. Yeah, and maybe Korver.
Starting point is 01:02:52 Maybe Korver to try and get something back. I don't know if you get anything back for him. Something? He's been terrible this year. Some money? I know. That's the difference between 60 wins last year and the mid-40s they're going to end up in this year.
Starting point is 01:03:07 If I was Atlanta, I would keep Horford, and then I would try to sign Joaquin Noah this summer and reunite them. Oh, I like that very much. I want them to play together. I'm worried about how many miles Joe Noah has left, but that'd be cool. Or you could reunite them in Boston. My team is good, though. My team is competitive, and my team needs one more piece. And it can either be a really good swing guy who can play 20 minutes a game
Starting point is 01:03:38 and shoot some threes, or it could just be a better version of some of the big guys they have. I like the resiliency of your team. It's tough, man. Some tough losses that could bounce back and then they make a shot at the end to beat Cleveland. I like that.
Starting point is 01:03:51 My team has a fantastic coach and my team has three guards that, for whatever reason, play really well together. And I think they're an interesting playoff team because they're just so competitive. You need one more player. they need one more piece. You need one more player.
Starting point is 01:04:07 They're going to get them. I mean, the good thing if you're trading with Boston is they're going to overpay because they have so many assets. It actually makes sense for them to overpay a little bit to try to get one more major piece. So that's why I think they're going to do something. I just hope and pray that it's not Dwight Howard. I'm just going to warn the Celtics and everyone out there right now.
Starting point is 01:04:29 I grew up in Brookline. I was born in Newton. I lived in Marlborough for four years. I lived in Brookline for the next 10. My parents got divorced. I moved to Connecticut for five years, moved back for college, spent 10 years after or 11 years in Boston, the area after. I feel like I have as good of a handle on the Boston sports scene as anyone.
Starting point is 01:04:53 And what athletes will and won't work there, Dwight would be an out-and-out disaster. They would hate Dwight Howard almost immediately. Danny knows that. I think he knows that. Danny knows that. I think he knows that. Danny knows that. He's just about the perfect storm of things that Boston fans do not like. They will not like watching him miss free throws.
Starting point is 01:05:12 They will just hate that. They won't like his wishy-washiness. They won't like that he doesn't show up in some games. They won't like the is he here? Just don't do it. Just stay away. The unnerving thing is as you're going through all of this, I just get this
Starting point is 01:05:29 sinking feeling that's growing and growing. It's going to end up here. Oh, in Washington? It's going to make me so sick, yeah. It just makes me The quartet for Dwayne has been sitting there for a while. I know. You put it out there. It hurts my feelings. I don't like it.
Starting point is 01:05:45 Enjoy the snow. Uncle Tony says hi, by the way. I saw him a couple times last week. He says hello. Who? Uncle Tony. Oh, yeah. Tony K.
Starting point is 01:05:55 Love that guy. Yeah. All right. Yeah. So trade deadline, 3 o'clock Thursday. Maybe we'll have some stuff to talk about Friday. Thanks, buddy. Thanks, buddy.
Starting point is 01:06:03 All right. If you heard the BS podcast a couple times this year, I had my son on to talk about Friday. Thanks, buddy. Thanks, buddy. If you heard the BS podcast a couple times this year, I had my son on to talk about wrestling. Caused a little tension in the Simmons house. My daughter... Is it fair to say you took it slightly personally? You weren't invited
Starting point is 01:06:17 on the podcast? Yeah, pretty much. Okay. That's my daughter, and she went to see Adele at the Wiltern on Friday night. You love Adele. Yes, very much. So you go to the Wiltern, which is this place in LA that has, I think, less than 2,000 seats. It's not big.
Starting point is 01:06:41 Usually Adele plays in arenas, and she did this special concert for her fans there weren't any seats right everybody just kind of stands there's seats in the second part of it but um and Adele sang how was she she's just amazing like first of all when um when she has James announcing and just like starting off the whole thing, you know, it's going to be good. You know, the show is going to be amazing. Right. Because Adele and James together is like candy and soda. It's always good.
Starting point is 01:07:15 I don't know who James is. James Corden? You don't know who James is? Oh, James Corden was there? I didn't know that. Oh, your favorite, the carpool karaoke. Yeah. All right.
Starting point is 01:07:25 So then Adele sang her song. What was the best song? Definitely when we were young, because the whole crowd was totally into it. Yeah. And well, also, Hello at the end, she let the whole crowd sing it instead of her. She sang Hello at the beginning, and then at the end, she let the crowd sing Hello again. Yeah. But she recorded it and she
Starting point is 01:07:45 was like she was just taking people's phones from their hands and taking selfies it was just amazing like she's she's so amazing she doesn't need any props at all to make her because you know other singers aren't so talented right and they need to her prop is her voice her prop is her voice and the three background singers but she doesn't need anything else To make the crowd totally into it And totally Everybody just was totally into it And loving her because she's amazing Did you annoy everyone in your
Starting point is 01:08:13 You've said amazing like seven times Was this concert amazing? Did you annoy everyone in your section By singing at the top of your lungs? No there was a bunch of people Next to us And I was singing I started singing so high everyone in your section by singing at the top of your lungs no there was a bunch of people next to us and i was singing like i started singing so high that everybody was just staring at me for a little while uh the best moment for me personally was when she was she was just talking in her little
Starting point is 01:08:38 british accent and then i started screaming i love you Adele. You had it during a dead spot. Yeah. Okay. And she was totally stunned. She was like holding her heart. She said, oh, I love you too. You're so cute. And I like, I haven't.
Starting point is 01:08:54 So she was talking to you. Yeah, she was talking to me. They put the spotlight on me too. What? Yeah. So you basically sort of kind of interacted with Adele. Yeah, that was like, I don't, that's probably going to be like the best moment of my life ever. Better than the Kings winning two Stanley Cups?
Starting point is 01:09:14 All right, that's a little better, but Adele talking to you. Better than making the final four in State Cup? Adele talking to you is great. That's pretty good. All right, so you, in the lastle talking to you is great. That's pretty good. All right, so you, in the last five weeks, you saw Hamilton, you saw Billy Joel at MSG, and you saw Adele. So rank those three.
Starting point is 01:09:39 I thought Adele was first. Okay. Yeah, Adele was first because she's just an amazing entertainer. Yeah, Hamilton second. Everybody should see that. So good. And then Billy Joel. But very tight rankings, though.
Starting point is 01:09:54 Yeah, really, really tight because it was just Billy Joel is so great. So it was hard. I was debating between Adele or Billy Joel. And, you know, I was just thinking about Adele. So Adele's won. Wow. Adele. You've had quite a 2016.
Starting point is 01:10:09 I know. Those are three great experiences. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Adele talked to you. All right. That was good. So, Nick, can you stop sulking that Ben's been on the podcast twice and you were not?
Starting point is 01:10:19 Yeah, I'm happy now. All right, good. Can I read my ads for the end of the pod? Yeah. Thanks to SoFi, a financial partner designed for the 21st century. They find great people to invest in and back them for life. They can also provide services and rates that the banks cannot. Find out more at SoFi.com.
Starting point is 01:10:39 That's S-O-F-I.com. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS number 112-1636. Thanks to Slender Tone Connect Abs, the smart fitness device that tones and tightens your abs, creates your personal toning plan, tracks workouts, sends customized tips to keep you motivated. You'll have firmer, more toned abs within six weeks.
Starting point is 01:11:00 Visit SlenderTone.com. Receive 20% off using BS at checkout. Thanks to HBO Now. You don't need cable or satellite to watch HBO anymore. Download the HBO Now app. Start your free one-month trial today. Thanks to SeatGeek, the presenting sponsor of the Bill Simmons Podcast and Channel 33. And thanks to my daughter.
Starting point is 01:11:19 Yeah. Now you can't be mean to me anymore. Well, you'll find other reasons to be mean to me. I'll find other stuff Yeah thanks Alright we'll be back later in the week With more stuff on the BS Podcast Trade deadline coming up We also have some announcements to make
Starting point is 01:11:34 Stay safe everyone on the East Coast Good luck with the snow We'll talk to you soon We about this bitch Anytime y'all wanna see me again Rewind this track right here Close your eyes And picture me rollin'

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