The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #84: Huge Expectations in the Valley of the Sun with Saul Bookman

Episode Date: October 25, 2023

The guys were joined by the GM of PHNX Sports Saul Bookman for this week's episode. The trio discussed the beginning of the NBA season and heightened expectations in Phoenix!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, y'all? It's Cam Jordan from the New Orleans Saints

here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Catch new episodes every Wednesday and I'll have the biggest NFL stars join me to give a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did-that-really-just-happen moment from around the league. So tap into Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast,

your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week, we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the Fantasy Footballers,

only now it's from the Dynasty perspective. Join me and the rest of the crew every wednesday for a new episode listen to the fantasy footballers dynasty podcast on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts well well well we are finally back Crawling back. The NBA. Crawling back. Thought you could quit us. Thought you could quit the fans, didn't you, National Basketball Association? Well, you're back, and we couldn't be more excited. They're so thirsty for my attention, Miles. It's crazy how much they need my attention.

It's good that Gatorade is a sponsor because the thirst is extreme over here, and we can't wait to kick things off this season especially with the state of the phoenix suns we definitely have our eyes on that team and talk more with the gm of phnx sports saul bookman on today's episode i'm miles gray and i'm jack o'brien and this is Miles and Jack on Methodist. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I held my breath for too long this summer, and now we're back, and I can't wait to see the season start. I've just been hallucinating nonstop the last couple weeks.

I think Victor Wimbanyama is some kind of ghost. Did I dream that, what he did in the preseason? Was that a dream? I don't know. A lot of people would have you thinking, it's just a preseason. It's all happening. It's an interesting wrinkle. According to one NBA commentator

whose name I will not mention. It's an interesting wrinkle. The second coming is upon us, Miles. It's all happening. I'm freaking out. I'm letting myself get overhyped because I am not a professional basketball commentator and that is fun. But guess who is our guest?

We got one right here. Saul Bookman, welcome to the show. How are you, Saul? What up, fellas? How are we doing today? Doing great. We're doing great. I appreciate you having me on the show, despite the fact that I'm a Suns fan. No, of course. I'm a Suns fan myself. I appreciate it.

Oh yeah, that's true. Jack is a Suns fan now. And I appreciate you coming on the show despite me being not tethered to reality Lakers fan. I mean, how many Lakers fans are? Yeah, truly. We're still looking for the first one. Am I right, Saul? These guys.

Boy, I'll tell you. Oh, man. I'll tell you, these guys, they think they got the world under strings. But yeah, Saul, I mean, you know, I'm guessing you are just as excited as anybody else for the season to start, especially with the Suns looking the way they do,

or at least that roster looking the way it does. I mean, everybody in Phoenix is, certainly everybody here at PHNX. Like, I mean, this is probably the most anticipated season start to a season since Charles Barkley. I mean, it's got to be that far back. I mean, the seven

seconds or less suns were fun. Chris Paul was fun, but we've never started off the season with this much star-studded talent on one roster ever. And this is I can't wait to see it for real. Right, because we were gonna ask like how do you think like you i think you already said we're like how does this compare to 93

05 or even 76 and you're saying this is here we are this is the excitement right here i think so yeah yeah this is i mean listen like i think in the middle of i think the closest thing you could say is probably the seven seconds for last suns um terms of Hall of Fame talent. You can make an argument that Amari Stoudemire, Sean Marion, and Steve Nash, obviously, are all Hall of Fame worthy, whether they get in or not, you know, whatever.

But at the time, you didn't know which way that was going to go or if they would have a chance to be that caliber. Right now, you know Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal all have hall of fame talent. They could all be there someday, you know, provided they stay healthy.

And I mean, that's, it's pretty remarkable. I also like, listen, I love Charles Barkley, but he never won a championship. I love Steve Nash.

He never won a championship. Kevin Durant has, he's won two of them. And so they're, let's just say what, what they are. No, that's not what I'm saying. I am being satirical about the NBA

media. Yes. They did win MVPs, so that's their credibility. But as a team, I'm really excited for these three to see how they work together. Again, expectations for the new guys coming in.

What level are you at and what is your expectation in terms of what the contribution is going to be and how that ends up when we get to the business end of the season? You know what's so funny is you were just talking about Lakers fans and their irrational feelings about how good their team should be. And that we are owed championships. We're owed them. Always owed, right? And I think that's been part of the,

yeah, that's definitely been part of the learning process out here is that I'm sick and tired of always feeling like, you know, we just hope this is going to happen. We just hope that things are going to go our way. Like we've actually started on our shows being like, it's time to this is going to happen. We just hope that things are going to go our way. Like, we've actually started on our shows being like, it's time to start expecting this to happen. Like, we are owed championships. Are you kidding me? Like, I don't think there's a franchise out there

that's owed more championships than the Phoenix Suns. So my expectations are extraordinarily high. It's championship robust, in my opinion. We've gotten to the finals multiple times, three times in the franchise's history. We've never gotten gotten it done we've come close we should have done in 21 but then we lost four straight but this is it this is the year i don't care about the nuggets i don't care about the lakers i don't care about the bucks of the celtics we control our own destiny these three are plenty good enough to get it done so they need to make it happen by the way

sir producer jabari is his mic is muted so the listener can't hear him but he is steepling his fingers and laughing and saying yes yes like the uh emperor in the um let it course between darth vader and luke skywalker to you Exactly. The other teams don't matter, no matter what they look like. It's all about us. Exactly, Saul. Welcome. Welcome.

But it's true. But I know, yeah, I think that's important. And I think that's obviously exciting for a fan base when you do kind of turn that corner and it goes from like, well, we might have something here

to be like, no, we have something here. Now let's see it through. So, yeah, I'm excited. Well, I mean, listen, we have something here. Now let's see it through. So yeah, I'm excited. The hardest part about this is always going to be kind of similar. It's kind of funny that Kevin Durant was kind of in this situation before in Golden State

where he had two premier shooters and then he had Draymond Green as well. Now you have the same thing when Bradley Beal who's an efficient scorer at every single level. Devin Booker is probably one of the most efficient scorers at the mid-range we've ever seen. Kevin Durant right there with him, obviously, and KD being able to play off the ball, on the ball.

Like, he could do everything. And those literally, literally you have three guys that can play at every single level. And then the evolution of Devin Booker, I feel like, is what's going to change this a little bit. I really, I hope for his sake, and I really hope for Suns fans sake that he starts to get the national love from the beginning of the season that he has deserved basically the last three in terms of how great a player he really is and people sleep on him they

talk about oh he's not a top five or ten player no he absolutely is like you just haven't watched him a lot and his growth and development i think is what's finally going to get the attention this season and i i really do believe that they're going to win their first championship this year that's just how i feel i like to hear it i like to hear that i love the optimism i root for the the players and i root for kd i uh i'm very, I feel like this, this season could be what was exciting to me about those nets teams. Like,

you know, it's something that we've talked about since the first episode of this show is that we love how much KD is a fan of the NBA and has a good eye for like players. And like Booker was one of the first people he was one of the first people to call out Booker like his rookie year he was like he's actually gonna be incredibly good um and so like a team that's kind of put together in his image like kind of he's taking another swing at the Nets thing and I don't know the Nets thing should have worked out better than it did like it was that that's like when they had it going and I don't know the Nets thing should have worked out better than it did like it was that that's like when they had it going and I think I talked about this last week but I like I

think we we just all remember it badly going badly because of how it ended but like at the peak when they actually played together for like five games like that was an incredible experiment that was unbelievable to watch and so I don't know it's like better i think i think the problem there was i love kd i think he's he's pretty level-headed in my opinion but i don't i don't know if he's necessarily the stabilizing force in a locker room or an organization if that makes sense yeah um and so then you're relying on Kyrie and James Harden. There's the problem. This is Devin Booker's team.

Kevin Durant is the superstar and one of the two biggest names in the game, but this is Devin Booker's team. Kevin Durant said it. Bradley Beal said it. Devin Booker's been here in the Valley. He's established himself in the Valley. They came to his organization. He wants to be here in the Valley. He's established himself in the Valley. They came to his organization.

He wants to be here for the duration of his career. Like this is his team and he's the stabilizing force. Even with all the drama off the court, the Deandre Aiden saga for the last five years, like Devin Booker has been that stabilizing force across the board. And I think Chris Paul helped teach him how to get there. But once he got there, which is basically year two of Chris Paul,

he never let it go. And that was it. And now it's just Devin Booker's franchise. Yeah. How are you looking at? Oh, just, I mean, like one thing I think we've always kept talking about, especially when you talk about the Suns are like, okay, you're going to score a lot of points defensively.

Well, is it, does it even matter because the scoring is going to be so off the charts. Or, you know, Jack, you were spending time with Vogues, as you call him, Frank Vogel. I do. I love the league, baby. Yeah, with Vogues and saying, you know, like Vogues knows how to get teams to defend, though, too.

So it's not that big of a deal. How are you looking at, you know, that experience with the coaching staff and everything and how that's going to factor into perceived, you know, weaknesses of the team? Yeah, I actually don everything and how that's going to factor into perceived weaknesses of the team. Yeah, I actually don't think that it's going to be much of a weakness by the end of the season at all. I like what they

have defensively. Now, you can look at Nurkic and you're probably going to have some deficiencies on the perimeter in the pick and roll and matchups from time to time for sure. But Vogel will try to scheme them out of that as much as possible. You're not going to be able to hide them completely. I mean, let's be honest. I mean, he's, he's a little slow footed. So when you have those bigs like Anthony Davis, uh, who gave him

fits the other night and just a preseason game, like that's when it's really gonna, you know, that ugliness is going to come through. But at the same time, when you, when you got a matchup against the guy like Jokic, Jokic is still going to get his triple-double. He's probably still going to get 30, 20, and 10. But he's going to have to work a little hard for it, which I'm okay with. And you're hoping that that's going to pay dividends in other areas. And honestly, the length of this team is insane. I like their athleticism across the board.

They added Grayson Allen. They added KBD. They added a bunch of guys. And then the biggest thing for me is really when you're talking about guard play in the NBA playoffs, we have two guys that everybody in the league is sleeping on. They don't understand

them. And Josh Akogi and Jordan Goodwin, who I really believe are going to be the biggest pains in the ass for any backcourt in the league. They get their hands on just about every pass, every ball. They die for loose balls. They're the league. They get their hands on just about every pass, every ball. They dive for loose balls. They're gritty.

They're grimy. And I think they're going to set the tone a lot of times on the defensive end. And then you talk about the length. We're not even going to bring up Bol Bol because I don't think he should play ever. But, you know, it's just my opinion. Just generally, not even in an NBA game. You just don't think he should play pickup basketball?

Yeah, like ever. No, I don't. I have zero interest in watching him play pickup basketball anywhere. Listen, he's alright. He's alright, but he's not alright for the NBA. He's not alright for the Suns right now and what they're trying to get accomplished.

I like those standards. They have a lot of flexibility across the board that I just don't think a lot of people are really giving a lot of respect to. We had the question are these the highest expectations the heading into a sun season ever are these the highest expectations heading into any nba season ever uh that that's the question on my mind hearing you talk you are you are psyched no no i don't think so like i want them to win the championship if

they get to the finals and they lose it's not going to be the end of the world. You look at teams like the Bulls, you know, or even the Warriors when they first got KD, you're like, if they don't win a championship, that's an epic failure. Right. I think that was, the bar was set high because they had already won a championship

before KD showed up. Right. Then you add KD to the piece. Like, how can you not win a championship? Yeah, right. Right. Yeah. Anyways.

What would you consider a quote-unquote failure? You get bounced in the second round by 30 points at home again. Okay. Okay. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Mavs, Nuggets, back-to-back years, you're losing, you know, big time on home and elimination games.

That can't happen. That's just not going to happen. So, yeah, that would be a big epic failure. Obviously, listen, we already know the injury history of of these guys too um you know it would be sad if if you know one of them missed out a duration of the season or all of the season for injury um but i wouldn't even consider that an epic failure because you can't really control that yeah i think it would be an epic failure for the Philadelphia 76ers

if they didn't get bounced in the second round. I think they have set an expectation and an equilibrium that their fans expect from them. And if they don't

live up to it, I think people are going to be disappointed, confused. City of confusion. Get into the conference finals? What's wrong with y'all?

Yeah. Get your head in the game. I don't think we have to worry about that um all right should we take a break yeah come back and talk about some milestones this season and just how we're feeling heading in it is uh we are recording this on uh christmas eve of the nba season uh the first game hasn't been played yet, but, uh, you know, y'all have seen a couple of days, but, um,

I am giddy. Like the video of Wemby stretching got me excited. Like that's where I'm at. I'm like, look at that flexibility. Um, what? Yeah.

Look at his shoulder. Look at the mobility. Look at the mobility. It's not about strength. It's all about mobility now. He's got it. Uh, but yeah, let's take a quick break. Look at the mobility. Look at the mobility. It's not about strength. It's all about mobility now. And he's got it. But yeah, let's take a quick break and we'll come back. All right, here we go.

It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints. Here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can of my podcast off the edge with me cam jordan can't stop it you know what's gonna happen can't stop it that's right catching new episodes every wednesday all season long that's what you look for year 14 to do more and i'll have my friends who happen to be some of the nfl's biggest stars join me on the pod we'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen

moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month. Join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than Syke. You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap

in to Off the Edge with cam jordan's podcast your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football listen on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts hey this is mike wright from the fantasy footballers dynasty podcast you heard that right the fantasy footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the fantasy footballers, only now from a Dynasty perspective. Maybe you've been living in the Dynasty fantasy football space for a while. Well, we're here to take your game to the next level.

Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the Dynasty format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast has something for you, and you're going to have a great time listening, I promise. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes.

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Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast and we're back we are back we are back in so many ways man beyond our respective teams what are you guys most looking for in the first couple weeks here? I want to see Boston. You want to see Boston? I want to see Boston. I want to see Drew.

I want to see Tatum and Brown and how they're going to mix in Przingis. I'm interested to see what that's going to look like because I love me some holiday brothers. I don't care if it's Aaron. I don't care if it's aaron i don't care

if it's drew i don't care if it's justin i love them all i think they're all ballers man so i want to see boston i'm interested in boston but not for the same reason it's more like you got to keep an eye on that neighbor just be like hold on what they're doing now oh no okay okay i saw him practicing with his left didn't look that great so i'm still feeling okay but they've added some pieces that definitely has me snooping and being like what are they working because i i feel i see the potential for something to just go off over there but yeah i think i'm i have a more fear-based interest if i'm completely transparent when you say off do you mean like off like off kilter or like off like they're just like going insane like they're gonna is about to go if they're gonna set it set it off uh like the fantastic uh crime heist film starring queen latifah like in that sense they will set it off

proverbially speaking i i feel the off kilter part uh for the bucks. Okay. I don't know. There's something about I love Dame. I love Giannis. I love Middleton. But there is something about that team that I'm like, I don't know if this is going to work. It sounds stupid. I know. But I just I don't know. I don't think

that Dame is going to be the Dame that we all know with those other two-star players being as prevalent as they are. Especially Giannis. Dame has never played with a guy like that, ever. Not a lot of players have, but Giannis commands the ball. He's a demanding player. Middleton needs his touches, too.

And so Dame is going to have to figure that part out the closest he's ever come is you know having cj mccollum as his number two like that's not the same as what he's getting into so i do wonder about that flexibility him being able to play off the ball as well um a little bit more than than he's probably accustomed to i think there's just going to be a nice little mix there that they're going to have to learn now by the end of the season i I could probably be wrong and they could be one of the best teams in the East. I expect them to still be one of the best teams in the East.

I just don't think it's going to be as easy as people are making it out to be. Right. Yeah. Yeah, I don't think it's going to be easy. I'm definitely intrigued. I'm checking for them. I'm not checking for Boston

because I think they're just going to be very good and it bums me out. I love Holiday. And, ah, man. Don't love seeing him in the Celtic green. But OKC, I'm checking for Wemby. I'm going to be watching his games. I'm checking for OKC.

I love OKC. They're going to be fun. OKC is definitely my NBA side piece, for sure. Oh, OKC. I love missing OKC. They're going to be fun. OKC is definitely my NBA side piece, for sure. Oh, OK. Love me some OKC, man. I can't wait to watch them play. Yeah. I mean, it's... OK, so I'm thinking Celtics is the other

one. I've actually... I've been also excited about the Bucs, but I'm definitely looking at it like NBA 2K, where I'm like, yeah, put Dame on there. Okay, yeah, I'm going to pick this team every time. But you bring up a good point of what it's going to look like in action. Also, part of me just, I just want to see how Portland gets along.

You know, like what this next step is going to look like. A lot of their fans are like, get ready for some grotesque stuff. But part of me wants to believe in the like the impossible and be like hey maybe you'll do a little bit better than you know bracing yourself for horrible impact but i just you know either way i'm gonna either be being like oh or like okay i'm not i'm i'm interested to hear what you think about da oh man i mean that just just off the alone, I don't know how I feel. I gotta say, when people have those kinds of self-referential tattoos,

that always gives me a bit of pause. I get that you've bought in. I love that you believe in yourself, but that's just only one dimension of it all. But yeah, we will see. Yeah, Jabari said, especially

in... Back in the day, Saturday Night Live used to have those skits with, I think it's Stuart Smiley or whatever, and he had Michael Jordan on the show and he was looking in the mirror. He's like, I want you to repeat after me. I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me. And I feel like

that's DeAndre Ayton. I feel like he's constantly having to tell himself that because he doesn't have a lot of believers in his game now yeah and and now he's trying to convince himself that he is that superstar and he's trying to play like it but it just hasn't come it hasn't shown up on the floor as much as he'd like you know i think he needs to embrace like you know what he said about the environment well i think like i I, I res that resonated a bit with me and it's like, I just, okay. I feel like I'm in a place that, that feels good out that I'm wanted.

I think he needs to just like reset with that energy first before he can really have any expectations of himself here. Like try and shed any baggage you may have had and just try and start over clean rather than like immediately coming in. I'm like, it's dominating time. Let's go. Okay, no, no, no. We get it, but give yourself a moment. I think the minute he realizes

he's number two, I think the better he'll be. But I think he forever thinks that he should be a primary option no matter what. And that's just never going to happen in the NBA. Not with his skill set. Listen, the guy struggles when it comes to dribbling the happen in the nba not with his skill set he listen the guy struggles when it comes to dribbling the ball in the first place um he can shoot the mid-range as

good as any big man um he's got a nice touch around the rim shoots a high percentage but the problem is is getting him set up for those opportunities is it's been a little cumbersome for a lot of for a large period of time especially with the suns um and you surround him with superstars and he thinks he's equal to those said superstars and it just isn't isn't the case if he just came with like that you know uh al horford mentality where he's just gonna do the dirty work right he's gonna hit the open bucket when you need it he's gonna play he's gonna be a uh you know the smartest player out there that he can last another 20 years in this league. But I just don't know if in his head he's ever going to get there. Yeah.

Yeah. Rather than dominating, I'm dominating waiting to see what happens. Wow. Amazing. Yeah. That's a trademark, too. We're going to brand that. Thank you.

It is a little hurtful for you to hear you talk that way about his tattoo because I did show miles that i have the jackknife uh in that exact same font across my back weird and i didn't and all and i'm like how come it looks like a big wheeler like an 18 wheeler got in a car accident and you're like jackknife it's a jackknife man a big rig jackknifed and i'm like oh i didn't know that's what it was and then you ran out with tears in your eyes and I was like, Oh, are we recording today? Yeah. Also the tattoo hurts really bad.

Um, so we've got some potential NBA milestones this season. Uh, LeBron, uh, closing in on 40,000 career points. KD needs 518 points to pass Hakeem, uh,

Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone to move in 10th all-time in scoring. Which, yeah, I mean, he feels like one of the best scorers to ever play the game. So that feels appropriate. And Russell Westbrook, two triple-doubles away from being the only player with 200 career triple-doubles. Wow. He's already the leader. Yeah, just two away. I was like, how many did Magic have? Oh, 138? Oh, wow. Okay, so he's already the leader yeah just two away i was like how many did magic oh 138 oh

wow okay so he's gone and oscar robinson has or had 181 yeah yeah that's uh that's that's look you know he's he's also feeling good about himself so we'll see you know he's definitely the clippers version is better than the lakers version from what i've seen so much better yeah So much better. So much better. I don't know if there's ever been a superstar like him before. Yeah, it's very strange. He wins an MVP, but also like the amount of disrespect for a guy of his caliber.

Like, I just, I don't know if it's just the, you know, sometimes people just look at somebody and they just immediately decide that they don't like him. That's what I feel like with Russell Westbrook. A lot of people just look at him and they're like, he just looks mean, so I don't like him. And they just buried him because of it. And it's just been really unfortunate. I think Russell Westbrook's an amazing basketball player. He's obviously...

His triple doubles tell you that. The only guy to average... One of the few guys to ever average a triple double. I don't understand why he doesn't get as much tell you that the only guy to average or one of the few guys to ever average a triple double I don't understand why he doesn't get as much love as all the other guys to be honest like the LeBron scoring stuff like I don't care about that anymore he's already broken the record he's going to set that

bar so high that I don't know if any other player will ever be able to match it again and so I'm looking forward to the KD stuff because he's here and that's what I'm looking forward to the KD stuff because he's here and that's what I'm going to be watching yeah with Russ it is like one of those

I think part of it is again coming to one of the most grounded fan base of all time yeah those expect I mean because man there was some just some indefensible stuff coming out of some of the fans during that Laker era. Awful stuff.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I said, it's indefensible to the point where you're like, that's not even how, you shouldn't treat anybody like this. We're talking about basketball. Like, let's take a second for a moment. And plus, you know, Bruin love too, so I always got love for Russ. Here in Phoenix

when they were playing the Suns he was behind the scenes he was coming out of the locker room and he got into it with a fan and that fan was allegedly the same guy that during the NBA finals was counting the dollars yeah allegedly it's the same guy and it's so funny

to see everybody in Phoenix kind of come to Russell's defense like dude sit down sit down, guy. I'm going to Russell Westbrook. He came out in the early part of that second half and was balling and we're like, great. Awesome. He just set off Russell. I've always loved Westbrook's game. I really wish that

he would get the respect that he deserves because he's definitely one of the best players in the NBA. He's awesome. Behind the scenes, everyone consistently says how he's a really of the best players in the NBA. Yeah. And he's awesome. And he's, and like behind the scenes, everyone consistently says how like, he's a really sweet, kind guy too. Like I've only heard good things. Like a friend of mine works for the Lakers.

And I was always asking, what's up with Russ? He's like, man, I'll tell you this. He's the nicest guy. He's like one of the nicest dudes. He's like,

so I'm always rooting for him. And I'm like, wow. Okay. Well, that changes things a bit, but yeah. Yeah.

Um, all right. but let's talk first nba jerseys uh tyler hero oh yeah this was a thing that was going around right people were talking about nba yeah yeah first first jersey they ever got yeah mine was uh kareem abdul-jabbar wow it was like because i i, uh, school project as a, I think second grader, third grader. Wow. Okay.

Did wrote a autobiography of Kareem and wore his Jersey. Um, which one? Lakers. Okay. I wasn't sure if you had like a box throwback or something. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I got this Lou Alcindor Bruins throwback. Completely shaved my head yeah yeah they're like oh is jack sick they're like no no he's just one method with it yeah well so tyler heroes was uh ai jamal murray's was vince uh lamello al horford they all had their picks, but yeah, okay, so yours was, that's the first one that you got, what was the first one you bought with your money, Jack? What was the first jersey that you said, here's my money,

I'm buying this jersey now? Take my money, please. Probably, that's a good question, probably either Paul Pierce or Antoine Walker, like that era of okay uh numeral ocho didn't he wear number eight employee number eight yeah right exactly uh i okay mine was the first one was obviously a laker jersey was surgically attached to me at birth so i don't

consider that my first the first one i ever bought and i told you this off mic the first jersey i ever bought with my own money this coming i know but i have to remind people that it was the year 2002 or three and the style back then was to wear a very baggy basketball jersey with a big white tee and a fitted hat and it had to match the team so i was i remember i was i was beholden to what they had at champs that day and i bought a michael finley dallas mavericks wow wow because it was blue i was like i can't wear red i like blue and that was the only thing that fell in and i was like and i've i my mom still asked why i have it she's like i thought you always like laker once and i'm like

yeah look mom it was a different time wow boo-boo do rag underneath this whole thing what about you saul uh i actually man so i've never bought an nba jersey ever oh look i know kind of crazy i do have nba jerseys and the first one i was ever given was uh kevin johnson son's jersey the old western font back in 88 89 uh the the first two jerseys i did now i have bought basketball jerseys before. And the first basketball jersey I ever bought, this is going to take you way back if you can even remember this guy. Joey Browner. Joey Brown from Georgetown. Way back in the day. We played with, I think he played with Alonzo Mourning back in those Georgetown teams.

Yeah, I don't know why he was my favorite player. He just was. And I saw his jersey in the store and I bought it. So I did. That was that. And then a Mike Bibby um when he was at the university of arizona because that's my that's my school so uh yeah i never bought an nba jersey what about mike bibby now would you work out with him uh he would put me to shame but yeah i would totally work out with mike when i see pictures of him i feel like i don't even know if i can move my limbs the way it would take because he's he looks like a cyborg now yeah dude he's massive and it's so

funny because i played against him in high school and like he wasn't big obviously he was he was cut though he was cut back then i but he was like scrawny cut and so you can kind of move him around a little bit but now like there's not a chance. Yeah. He's top heavy. Yeah. I wonder, was, was Henry baby just ripped like that underneath his clothes? Yeah. Yeah.

He was ripped too. I don't know about underneath his clothes, but I do know he was ripped. Okay. I can, I can see it in his arms and his chest. You know what I mean? It'd be wild to see them both shirtless.

They're both just as defined. You're like, Oh no, this is my 73 year old dad, Henry. Mike exists for a reason yeah right exactly yeah um i had a weird like i i was obsessed with uh bill cartwright in the 80s for like even though he was i think he was when i found out about him he was the backup center to patrick ewing

and i was like man love the way that guy's shot looks like if i tried to make up how to shoot a basketball um so yeah i i had a weird obsession with uh xavier mcdaniel yeah okay i don't know why i just loved x i liked his bald head then he got traded to the suns for a short little bit of time and then he went to the next yeah yeah my weirder ones too i would say man i was really into mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. I think because at the time I was like, why are they messing with this guy? And I'm like, I kind of like that. I think I like this young man.

And then another, Wayman Tisdale. Oh, great name. Because when I found out he could play bass, it blew my mind that I was like, hold on. You play, you're crushing the bass too. And I was like, this is so interesting to me. And that was like one of the first times I realized you can be good at more than one thing as a child. But I will always think about, I was like, man,

Wayman Tisdale, man. Wow, wow, wow. He has this nice little lefty jumper too. It was so nice. Rest in peace. Should we take one more break and come back and do the fastest segment in all of podcasting? I think it's time. It is time.

We'll be right back. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints. Here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it.

That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday all season long. That's what you look for in year 14 to do more. No days off. And I'll have my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it.

Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psych! You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast.

You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the dynasty space every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the fantasy footballers only now from a dynasty perspective maybe you've been living in the dynasty fantasy football space for a while well we're here to take your game to the next level maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the dynasty format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast

has something for you and you're going to have a great time listening, I promise. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here.

Just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen.

Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. During the break, we were talking about a little college basketball. Yeah.

talking about a little college basketball some college basketball reminiscences uh of when your arizona wildcats surgically removed my heart as a i think it was a 16 year old cats yeah yeah um while when they defeated the kentucky wildcats in the finals my dad was an assistant for Kentucky at that time. And yeah, man, that was, oof, what a win. I got to go to the Suns training camp and meet Miles Simon for the first time. See him in person for the first time since he was removing my heart with a dull instrument. And I smiled, but man, on the inside i was like right okay okay but we're talking but we're talking about how like i was like i was trying to remember that final four and i thought providence was in the final four but saul corrected me that that was on the way to the final four was a grade eight and i was like why did prop like how did providence go that deep? And it was God, sham, God, God, sham, God, baby.

We saw this week, uh, holding down the role for the, he is an assistant for the Dallas Mavericks. Yeah. And he was holding down the role of Victor Wembing, Yama, holding up to like giant broomstick, huge foam hands on them.

I thought everybody, I thought you guys are going to give me some juicy update. He's involved in some scheme or something like that. He's just holding up broomsticks. He's involved in a scheme of pretending to be somebody with an

8-foot wingspan when he's not actually. Do you think Wembley will hit the sham god? I mean, kind of. I think the ball would move way too much but i would love to i mean we've already seen him do his little in and out stuff but when he does the in and outs the thing i'm i think of is like have you ever heard the like that those big windmills when they're moving like and a bird flies into them they just get vaporized because even though it looks like they're moving slow at the very tip they're moving like and a bird flies into them they just get vaporized because even though it looks like they're moving slow at the very tip

they're moving like 400 miles per hour because the wingspan is so wide on those things that it's flying out there and that's what his like dribble moves remind me of is like man like he's crossing from one baseline to the other

baseline when he crosses somebody up right it's true he reminds me of those uh those blow in the air things oh yeah like for like a used car lot when he hits you with the in and out it just looks like he's just you know he's kind of flowing through it right yeah but he got right right by. Hard to know. All right. Well, I think it's time now. Enough reminiscing. And it's time to get into the real hard stuff. Saul, it's time for the fourth quarter rapid fire round of questioning. This is the fastest question and answer segment in all of podcasting history, in all sports podcasting history, I guess, to be specific.

I don't want to speak for the whole genre. Yeah, yeah. There's still some, you know, historians are debating want to speak for the whole genre. Yeah. Yeah. There's still some, you know, historians are debating whether we're the fastest segment in podcast history. Right. So these are all yes or no answers. Uh,

no, no, but here's, this is where it gets tricky. So we're going to ask you a question. You answer as quickly as you can. Okay. Okay.

Cause you have to like the, the whole point, like our record depends on the guests getting these answers out quick and also keeping us on task. Cause sometimes Jack and I are very unprofessional. We like to start, you know, expanding on some topics and stuff,

but you got to keep us focused because I'm sure in your role, you know, as a GM of PHNX, you can probably help us, you know, get just, just, just a little bit,

whatever the record is. Let's, let's, let's break it. I'm ready. I like this. See, this is, this is, you know, just, just, just, just a little bit. Whatever the record is, let's, let's, let's break it. I'm ready. I like this. See, this is,

this is, you know what the Phoenix, if this is how the fans are thinking, there's something going somewhere. I like this. Okay. We ready? Let's go.

Brian, start the clock. All right. This is, this is gonna be a fast one. Uh, Jack, you want to go first or should I go first?

Oh, I don't know. Why don't you kick us off, Miles? You sure? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. I guess I can. All right.

The clock's starting now. Here we go. Saul, give us your three best scorching hot takes for the upcoming NBA season. Three of them. Three of them. Three of them. Okay. Number one, the Dallas Mavericks will not they will be in a play-in if they make the playoffs at all. That's number one.

Number two, the Suns will beat the Denver Nuggets to get to the finals. And not only will they beat the Nuggets, but they will hold Jamal Murray's under 20 points a game. And then my third one is, oh, the Sacramento Kings might not even make the playoffs.

Wow. Wow. Okay. Now, what is it? Why the lack of belief in the Kings? I just am not a believer. I didn't feel like they really added enough in the offseason compared to the rest of the powers in the West.

I think everybody else got significantly better as opposed to the Kings. And yeah, and I don't think Sabonis is a bona fide big enough to create havoc in the order that they're going to need to be effective down the stretch

of these games. Right, right. He's not Sabonified? He's not Sabonified. Okay, cool. And just wanted to make sure that I had you on record saying that Sabonis was not Sabonified.

I'm going to steal that for sure. Okay, up next, you can take two players from all of history or create your Matt Boosty's edition NBA Jam team. Which two players are you taking? Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Great answer. Okay, now what is it about? I'm familiar with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

What was the first name? What's the first guy's name? You know, the greatest of all time. Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. There's like a Twitter thread that went viral of like, all right, who are you sitting on the bench out of these six? And a lot of people were answering. It was like, you know, the six best players of all time.

And a lot of people were like, oh, I'd sit Jordan and like play Kobe in the two spot. I just think a lot of people forget. Kobe wouldn't have done that. No, Kobe wouldn't have done that. For sure. Saul, I'm sorry. We have to keep this segment moving.

You know what I mean? And I know. Yeah, it's all completely up to you. I'm just, I'm taking your lead. I know, but hey, I need you to yell at us, man. what i mean because this is on you you know what i mean i need you to really run this thing okay let's go thank you uh okay next up next up uh saw who is the best player that you've ever witnessed in person and what did they do like what were they doing you're like oh my i can't believe i'm seeing this with my bare naked eye oh damn, damn. That is a good one.

Giannis. I was there in the building when he caught the alley-oop after they ripped Devin Booker at the end of game five, and that was the most amazing play I've ever seen in person from thinking we were going to win that game to utter despair and just the Greek freak coming up

big in that moment that was just amazing would you say yannis is also again again this is kind of a follow-up but who's a player that you feel like you kind of have to see in person to fully appreciate a million percent yannis a million percent yannis he's he's just unbelievable and his then his measurables take him to a whole another level like and and he's honestly like he's just a phenomenal dude too like he's just one of the nicest guys you could ever meet so yeah that would be why all right next question let's go oh whoa whoa i don't know if you heard me say yonestly it was another word play he said yonestly sabonafides and yonestly yonestly his new podcast with his brother you could have any player's

skill set for a day whose skill set are you choosing and which of their skill sets you like I don't want to have you on record saying like Steph and then it's actually like Steph's rapping skills you know if I could have

anybody's skill set to me I would take does it have to be current player or former no you can go deep into his Dennis Rodman's rebounding ability wow this way that way this way that way whatever

that would be phenomenal now if we're talking about on or off the court I mean I'll be honest I would love to have Magic Johnson's charisma because I'm not a people person very much. I don't like to talk to people too much. Uh, and magic Johnson just seems like he would talk to anybody. Yeah.

Yeah. And I was going to say his tweeting ability. Oh, power tweeter. Power. Yeah. Yeah. No,

I don't want that. I don't want that. Hey, Robin's rebounding is, uh, is really incredible. It's like, you know, his his ability to just like and i guess it was not it was hard one as we learned in the last dance right that like he studied what the direction that the ball came off when when certain people missed but um yeah it is like a skill that i didn't i really aware of. Like when I was playing basketball, I wasn't like, oh, I can always predict which direction this person is going to miss to.

For sure. Now, I kind of feel like you're delaying us by getting to the next topic. So I'm not so sure if I'm supposed to step in and be like, hey, I think you're purposely trying to slow this down. No, no, no, no. But I do want to add, I feel rebounding is one of those underrated skill sets as a kid. You don't really appreciate it at the time. Kids are

funny, aren't they? You got to keep us moving, man. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Next question. Next question. You can go back in time. You're going to hop in the DeLorean. You're going to put the banana peel in the Mr. Fusion and get this thing to whatever many gigawatts you needed to go back in time, you're going to hop in the DeLorean, you know, you're going to put the banana peel in the Mr. Fusion and get this thing to whatever many gigawatts you needed to go back in time.

And you could permit either Charles Barkley or Steve Nash to make a run with this current SunSquad. Which one are you choosing to take that ride in the DeLorean? That's a great question. Everybody would crucify me if I did not say Steve Nash, because we don't have a point guard and Steve Nash would be phenomenal. And I think he would, he would ultimately win us the championship. So I'm going to go with Steve Nash, but Charles Barkley down low would be just so beautiful.

I'm going to go Steve Nash. Had a luck once again, Chuck. Sorry, buddy. Yeah. Sorry, Chuck.

Yeah. Here's a fishing pole though. We'd be putting up like 175 points a game with steve nash right now yeah right right that's true that's true uh finally uh the final question the ultimate question yeah for sure most important question yep jack or miles wow i like that he's taking it seriously yeah yeah he's taking this very seriously the whole process i you know i i don't have enough information to decide so i'm just gonna ride the fence on that one i like you both man you guys have both been pretty dope

do i have to pick one or the other well i mean i will because i feel like miles and i kind of connected a little bit during the break and you went to the bathroom, Jack. I'm going to say Miles. Miles is my guy. It's also the interracial connection that we both have. Yeah. I mean, it's just, it's natural. Jack, I'm sorry.

You never had a chance, man. So you shouldn't feel bad. You never had a chance. Between the second and third act of this show. I was, I was absent for like 45 minutes in the bathroom. Guys, uh,

absolute paint job. Googling, Googling stuff. Like what does Saul Bookman like? Desperately trying to get it to win this one. Um, yeah. Oh,

Saul, man. So I heard you were a character in Breaking Bad. You're like, what is Saul doing? What are you saying right now? It's the wrong Saul, man. What are you doing, bro? Well, Saul Bookman, thank you so much for joining us

on Miles and Jack Got Mad Boosties. It has been a pleasure and an honor having you here. Where can people find you, follow you, and experience the work that you do at PHNX? Yeah, for sure, man. They can follow me at Saul underscore Bookman on Twitter, on Instagram. They can follow us on PHNX

underscore Sons, and then also at PHNX underscore Sports across Twitter and also Instagram, and then also YouTube. Subscribe to our YouTube. Listen, you know what? One of the cool things about what we do is we do a lot of things from a fan perspective. We like to say we speak from the crowd, not the stage.

And we want people to be engaged with us on our channels. And a lot of times, especially in the last couple of years when we've faced the Mavs or the Lakers or whoever, we've had people from those fan bases come and see our show. And they've actually had fun and they've stuck around and they've liked our shows. So yeah, come have fun with us no matter what, even if it's not your team. I love that. And also

make sure you give us a follow on Twitter and follow the hashtag MadBoosties for show links, but you can follow me specifically at MilesOfGrayJack. I'm at Jack underscore O'brien yeah uh and shout out to listener of the week uh at anthony davis inc said right on i'm gonna follow and listen anthony davis yeah wow he said i'm going to follow rate and listen wow three the holy trinity

yeah yeah thank you and that's Anthony Davis. Even though the Twitter avatar is of a completely different person, I'm going to go ahead and take that as a job. You can't really see that it's not him. So I don't know. That ain't him. That ain't him. Blue hat.

Maybe he's a Dodgers fan. As much as I want it to be. And it could just be one of those things where he's got, you know, like how Chet Holmgren has, you know, his teammate as his avatar. You know what I mean? Right, right. So, you never know. Alright. Well, thank you so much for listening. We are going to be back next week to talk about all the goings on as the

official start of the season begins. And we're going to go try and catch our games right now because that's what's happening as we record this. So, we'll talk to you later. Bye. Bye. Bye. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee.

The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolfe. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, y'all? It's Cam Jordan from the New Orleans Saints,

here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Catch new episodes every Wednesday, and I'll have the biggest NFL stars join me to give a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moment from around the league. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football.

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week, we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the Fantasy Footballers, only now it's from the Dynasty perspective.

Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.