The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #96: Trade Talk and More with Jovan Buha

Episode Date: January 17, 2024

The guys were pleased to be joined by The Athletic's Jovan Buha on today's episode. The trio discussed the state of the Lakers and the latest trade talk surrounding the team before widening the conversation to include players from around the league!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And well, well, well, the Celtics reach 30 wins first. Wow. Utah is suddenly one of the hottest teams in the league. Why are you clenching your jaw? I'm not clenching my jaw. You're crying. I'm not choking up. You're getting choked out.

You're getting choked out. That's not what's going on. And as the February 8th NBA trade deadline approaches, there are rumors swirling all around the NBA. Some interesting, some upsetting, some fantastic. But who knows? And we'll get into all of that and more with NBA reporter Joven Buha on the episode today.

I'm Miles Gray. And I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is... Miles and Jack O'Brien Boosties! Dacic hits 10K. There you go. He's driving, spinning, fading, hitting. LeBron's got it with five. He's going to try another three. Mr. LeBron James. Giannis with the take.

Uh-oh, look out. No showtime. What you got, Giannis? Yo, Bambuja, thank you so much for coming to this wonderful NBA podcast. Thank you so much for being with us. Some hard times for me as a Lakers fan, and I've been living and dying by your tweets. You guys are fine. You're recording.

Stop, Jack. I have already seen the notes you've taken. You're going to have fun with my dead body of a fan body because i'm so down in the dumps and you guys anyway um thanks so much for joining us man how how are you how are you what's how's life broadly before we zoom in on basketball i'm doing well uh i tore my achilles at the beginning of the season so i've been been dealing with that uh yeah throughout the year uh which it's been an interesting wrinkle to grow into a season but uh other than that i've been good and i mean the lakers are always interesting so there's always something to talk about that's what i know is it

true that you tore your achilles out of solidarity with aaron rogers or is that no rumor that's just the rumor that's just the rumor right but you but you did hit those free throws right after you said i'm not coming off let me hit these free throws yeah so it was actually a celebratory tear at the end of winning a game on my birthday oh and it was right before it was the week before the season started so it was like the the worst timing yeah like i would have and it was my right leg so i haven't been able to drive for the past three months oh yeah so it's been uh yeah so i missed basically all of november i covered remotely and then returned at like end of the month uh but young

crutches yeah what you work with down there right now i'm just walking in a boot i'm actually about to be getting out of the boot um i i don't like crutches so i stayed away from them okay exactly because they're tools of the weak minded right exactly like i just it's a mindset from like from like i was out of commission for like two weeks really uh and then i just went to like so i i kind of pushed through it yeah wow okay you and aaron rogers both we're big aaron rogers i know it's an nba podcast we just love the guy i didn't get the 50k surgery unfortunately but yeah i mean before we get to the lakers, just league-wide, what we're looking at, the Celtics, they've hit 30 wins first. Good for them.

Good for them. Good for you. Yeah. And the Lakers and the Warriors, we are out of the plan. Memphis has had some of the worst injury-like luck in the league, but somehow is getting results here and there that sort of blow the mind. And, yeah, I'm just – but then I also begin to look down. I remember last week we were talking

about how like, yeah, the Lakers are right there. You know, we're in there. Maybe we'll see what happens at the bottom of the standings. And now look at what's happened. We're firmly there. And it's like, we're just looking at just a comparison. The 2022-23 Lakers after 40 games, just a comparison, the 2022, 23 Lakers, uh, after

40 games, 19 and 21, the 2023, 24 Lakers after 40 games, 19 and 21. So, you know, uh, improvement. I don't know. Well, Yovan, what, what do you, what do you, first of all, what are the vibes like with this current Laker squad, given what's going on? That's a good question. Um, I, I think they were better last night just because winning

always helps. In general, they have not been good recently. I really think since... I mean, they're 6-12 since winning the in-season tournament. The in-season tournament, it was almost playing playoff-level basketball in the regular season.

You saw when LeBron and AD are locked in and they have a competent supporting cast. That's all they've really needed these last few years is just put competent players that compliment us and we'll figure out a way to win. And you saw that the year they won the championship. You saw that really the next year before AD and LeBron both got injured.

And then you saw that last season once they rem ad and lebron both got injured right and then you saw that last season once they remade the team at the trade deadline uh got out of the russell westbrook mess they all of a sudden go on this crazy run make the western conference finals and they ultimately lose but like we now have a proof of concept of when you have a solid supporting cast around lebron and ad they can beat just about anybody. So go back to the in-season tournament. At that point, they're 14-9. They're fourth in the West.

They just won this tournament. You're looking like, okay, they're right there. Maybe not Denver-Boston level, but right behind those types of teams. And since then, they've just been free-falling. And they've lost some games that they, in my opinion, shouldn't have lost. I had the report with Shams Sharania about the locker room and some disconnect in there, which is players not feeling like they have consistent roles. And the lineups and rotations changing night to night, really without a lot of rhyme or reason.

Some of that's been injury-related, some of that not. So I think there's been a lot of stuff happening on and off the floor for them but that was a big win last night against the thunder they had a big win against the clippers last week so they've still shown their ceiling is high like they can beat the best teams in the league it's just about doing that night tonight and right now they're in 10th that they just passed houston so they are back in the play-in mix. That's not where you want to be at the end of the season. It's 10th place, having to win two play-in games

on the road just to get into the playoffs as an eight seed. For them, they got a few more home games before they go out on the Grammy trip at the end of the month. I think they got to go probably three and one over their next four games to get some momentum, get back above 500,

and start slowly climbing back up in the West standings. Something I noticed with LeBron last season was when he was chasing the record, and he was playing great, and then for a little while, including in that game,

after he scored the bucket, it just felt like, I don't know. I just wonder if he rests so much on the court these days that there are just chunks of the season where he's just kind of shutting it down a little bit. And this is all just him biding his time, knowing that he's working with a finite amount of energy. I guess he wouldn't really be playing if he was really trying to rest, but like, what, what do you, do you think there's anything to that, that it's just like resting in season while playing resting in motion? Yeah, I think he, he rests on defense sometimes, right?

Like I think that's, it's no secret that there are some games, quarters, certainly possessions where he's not necessarily locked in defensively. But I think it makes sense. I mean, he's 39. He's played the most minutes in NBA history. It's hard to hold that against him. Again, I think when he's locked in and engaged, we still see like he can be

a top 10 player in the league or or in that conversation uh it's just a matter of again to kind of your point like the you know infinite energy like isn't there the way it used to be so if there is a finite amount of energy you know resources that he's working with i think it kind of makes sense and we've seen this kind of with lebron i think if you go back through his career his teams tend to ramp up throughout the season like you know even in la but going back to some of the cleveland teams and like they get off to these kind of weird starts um and then they don't like sometimes they'll underachieve in the regular season but then you see in a playoff series like good luck game planning against lebron he's gonna figure out your weaknesses he's gonna call up your your worst defender into picking roles and like he's just gonna he's just chess master out there so i

think as he ages of course you know it's like the other thing that i think is the disappointing part of the laker season is him and ad have been healthy all year yeah and like looked good yeah and looked really good. And the fact that they're still under 500, that to me is that would be kind of a point of concern just because I think at some point, one of those guys

is probably going to go down if history tells us anything. Each one of them has suffered a significant injury in each of the last three seasons. So to kind of think that that's not going to happen again, I think is a little foolish. So the Lakers have kind of not given themselves much room for error. But with LeBron, I think part of the pacing himself

is also just trying to stay healthy, where we've seen, if you go back and look at some of the injuries, right before, he was playing 40 plus minutes for for stretches and like it was clear that when he ramped up too hard too early in the season eventually an injury kind of came out of that so i think for him he's almost kind of figured out ways to do load management on the floor which is kind of crazy but certainly if you look like he plays at a slower pace he's not always trying defensively. And then fourth quarter comes, last five minutes comes.

All of a sudden, he ramps up both of those things. And he's pushing and he's trying. So I think it's hard to blame him. If he was 31 and doing some of these things, I get it. But a 39-year-old, he's already exceeding all expectations, in my opinion. And I mean, what he was able to do in the end season tournament was pretty impressive so yeah 100 and so i think a lot of you know us as lakers fans or me as a laker fan jabari as laker fans were like so what do we got like is it ham is that we need to just we need to completely read

like organize this roster what is going, the lineups that we've tried almost every kind of a lineup barring using characters from the Looney Tunes. Don't rule it out. I know, exactly. We're like, you know what? Who we got? Okay, so it's AD, LeBron, yeah, Vando, Taz,

and Daffy Duck. Okay, let's go for it. Let's see. So, one thing that has been is like Austin Reeves getting floated out. They're like, oh, maybe the Lakers trade for him or whatever. I have always felt I'm like, that is something you don't move. We got him for a steal. And like, I just feel like when we find the right mix of things, he actually delivers when we need him to.

When that reporting comes out, I have to ask you as a journalist, like what going on with with like words like that coming out is that just for like posturing is it for negotiating or is it something like or is it likely that he is not on the team after the deadline well so the lakers have two attractive assets that opposing teams want and that's austin reeves and either their 2029 or 2030 first round draft pick that's the only draft pick that they can trade uh they can do pick swaps they have upwards of four pick swaps but they can only trade one first round pick uh most likely the 2029 one because teams are going to want uh the one that's more immediate but so when the lakers have these conversations with different teams everybody's asking for austin reeves he's on one of the best value contracts for a role player in the nba if not i think he's right up there with

basically anybody of he's making essentially 12 million dollars a year for the next you know including this season and then three more years so did he have an agent this offseason or did he just negotiate his own deal i'm just like some bill murray stuff he's got a couple of agents uh so the problem the problem was that there's this gilbert arenas rule for second round or undrafted uh you know younger players that kind of caps how much money you can make right so he he basically was a restricted free agent but the lakers he ended up getting the most the lakers could offer him now a rival suitor could have came in and offered him upwards of about like 100 million dollars almost double what he ended up making uh so the spurs

were close the spurs were considering it uh houston had they not landed fred van vliet was considering throwing the bag at austin as well but neither one of those ended up happening so the lakers got pretty fortunate and got a discount so to get back to austin in terms of the lakers shopping him they have no interest from my understanding in trading him i think for them to move him it would have to be for like a clear cut all-star level guy and that's like a guy above a dejante murray a zach levine like that level of player isn't cutting it good enough for them to like mark and reeves uh yeah i think it would have to be a market in maybe a pascal siakam like those are probably the two best players currently somewhat on the trade do not like the outcome

for you guys i don't think i don't like anybody who can't shoot threes for you guys right now. So I think that's a big thing too. But like those types of guys at like that level, I think that's the type of player you would see them consider moving Austin for. But anything below that,

they're not interested. So for them, it's D'Angelo Russell. That is the most, I think from their end, kind of the most movable asset that they have he's making about you know just under around 16 million dollars then you also have Rui Hachimura who's got a couple more years on his deal uh you have Jalen Huchefino you have that first round pick you have upwards of four pick swaps so like they have some things that they can do uh like DeJ the Jonte Murray is making $18 million.

Uh, he does have a trade kicker that would raise it another like two, 3 million, but you could get to that. The Jonte number with, uh, like the Angela Russell and Jalen hood, if you know,

and you're right there. Uh, so like, I think that the Zach Levine deal and some of these bigger deals are where it gets a little tricky just financially, uh, where the Lakers historically don't take on a lot of money in trades. And they could only take back upwards of $4.9 million. So they are limited with their financials in terms of the incoming salary.

but I think if they do make a move, it most likely will not include Austin Reeves. Uh, unless again, it's a blockbuster deal for a third all-star, which I just don't see really happening with their lack of draft capital. Right. So, I mean,

but for all the talk, right? Like everyone's like, Oh, like what's going to happen, Levine or whatever, who are like, who are even the most likely Lakers targets?

Because we're taught, we've heard things about like Murray or, you know, DeMar DeRozan, all these other people. But given what we understand now about what the actual immediate needs are, does anything seem likely? But also, that feels like something's got to give here, too. So what do you see being likely? Yeah, so something is likely. The Lakers have been active i mean they're always active at the trade deadline always um yeah and and even you know i want to say

it was what the 2022 trade deadline didn't really do much but they were still active and close on a couple deals uh before that fell through so i you know i think something's gonna happen it's just a matter of the magnitude of is it a medium-sized deal is it a bigger deal um you know, I think something's going to happen. It's just a matter of the magnitude of, is it a medium-sized deal? Is it a bigger deal? You know, I think that they have a couple needs. I think upgrading that Torian Prince, Jared Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Cam Reddish, basically like the two to four spot on the roster, like adding another three and D wing. One name I've heard is

dorian finney smith uh from brooklyn i think he's probably going to be the best if not you know top three three and d wing candidate on the market potentially so i think that's a guy who could come in start uh like if you look at i mean they would likely have to give up dilo in that deal uh but just let's say they don't somehow can just do it with like ruey uh thinking about like dorian finney smith and torian prince's spot last night and and what that would look like uh if you have like dilo austin uh dorian lebron and ad like i really like that five-man grouping uh and then the other one is uh they are looking for some more athleticism and speed in the backcourt,

some more scoring punch. That is where you hear names like DeJounte Murray, Zach Levine, Terry Rozier from Charlotte. I think right now Murray is the most realistic because of his contract and because of just how low his salary

is. He's basically making half of what zach levine is making so just finding a way to make that deal work uh i think it's just easier uh he's also probably a better player than zach levine i think it's close he's definitely a better defender than zach levine and i think there's a more natural fit there with him and austin reeves versus an austin reeves, Zach Levine backcourt. So my understanding is DeJounte Murray of some of the bigger names that have been rumored. He's the most realistic, but they're looking at some smaller deals again, like a Terry Roge or something like that. Dorian Finney-Smith.

Those are just some of the names that I've heard. Amazing. All right. of the names that i've heard amazing all right let's take a quick break and we'll come back and we'll we'll get into uh so some other things from around the league and how they affect the lakers because this is a lakers podcast all right here we go 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. Can't stop it.

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Yeah! 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. Join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psych! You have to tune in to find out.

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This guy, pretty good. This guy, pretty good. I think he said he's gonna play in the skills challenge too he did announce that and i think they i think one of they took out the passing skills challenge and one were how fast how quickly you could read infinite jest yeah so instead of passing they are going to be seeing how quickly you read infinite jest and then pass he's gonna blow that one out yeah reading comprehension off the charts y'all yeah um but yeah that'll be fun and jabari was saying you know a lot of people suspect he might be he might be playing in the all-star game maybe you know maybe just

show up as like a an alternate if possible just to get him out there which i mean you know that would be the most fun thing for the all-Star game is for him to be there. That would get eyeballs on it for sure. For sure. What's, I mean, we got to ask you too, Jovan, like, well, how have you been embracing the Wemby of it all this season? Going from like, let's see what this kid can do. And then being like, ah, we'll see.

We'll see. To being like, oh, okay. Yeah. This young man's got something. Yeah, I've bought into the hype. I don't think it, I think it was a little forced in comparing him to LeBron

just because I remember how crazy the LeBron hype was and they were televising his games as a high school junior and it was the chosen one and like that you know the next MJ and and this and that so like I don't think Wemby it felt a little manufactured some of the like I think he's arguably the most hype prospect since LeBron or like the most intriguing prospect since LeBron but I think people were trying to say it

was like as much if not more than LeBron and I just felt like that wasn't necessarily accurate and it was also kind of setting him up to fail just because that would be putting insane expectations on him but I think he's been pretty much as good as advertised like the spurs don't have a point guard and you know it doesn't really make sense like that's where if i'm the spurs like i would have tried to go and get austin reeves and maybe he isn't a traditional you know pure point guard but just having a guy who can handle the ball and run pick and roll and create for wemby like i think the fact that he's had as much success as he's had without that like with sohan running point guard like it just it it's kind of crazy so um you know that watching the spurs like they have a lot of guys like they have a lot of talent individually and guys that i

like but it just doesn't necessarily fit together and make a lot of sense. So I would like to see one be in a more structured offense with pieces that compliment him more and them feature him more. But outside of that, you just see there are certain things he can do. And I go back to the Lakers played there twice in the beginning of December. And he had this sequence where, you know, he, he dunks on AD and then Max Christie has like eight feet of space and shoots this floater that when B somehow reaches the top of it and blocks it

and it ignites a fast break. And then he gets an alley-oop and transition. And it was like this 30 second sequence of this is like the insanity that this guy could do of just what he could do on both ends so i think he's a special prospect i think he's going to be a future multi-time all-star i think he's probably going to be a top 50 player ever i just i do think that the hype got a little out of hand entering the season, but that's also kind of how the media works and how some of this stuff goes. If he or Chet make the all-star team as like a alternate,

they would be in the likes of the last person to do it. It looks like it is 2011 Blake Griffin for that. Yeah. In 2003, Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Shaq, Matumbo, David Robinson,

Ewing, and Jordan. That's the list going back of rookies who've made the All-Star team. Basically all big men. Other than Jordan. Used to be a big man's league. Back in my NBA, when the game was about the game.

Dame time had the big buzzer beater in OT versus the kings um that's like one of the wildest thing is that he hits a running at full speed fading five feet to his left like four steps outside of the three-point line buzzer beater and my first response is to wonder how the kings let him get that look because i knew it was going in like the second it left his fingertips just like he makes that type of shot look so easy um it's just a blast so here we'll watch it right now he two to tie three to win 5.2 left if you already know the way he's running. He's just going to do it.

Three seconds. I'm with you. This is just terrible defense. Terrible defense with such a hard time. We've seen him make these types of it's Dame time. But Sabonis right here,

is Brook Lopez going to pull up from half court? No. Why is Sabonis behind the three-point line there? That was going to keep him up at night. This is, to me, the fatal flaw of the Kings. I just don't trust their defense. I mean, their defense is already bad, but I just don't.

It's an example like this of why I don't think they're going to win a playoff series. Right. Because that was just sort of like they're going to win a playoff series. Right. Yeah. Cause that was just sort of like, it almost felt like a drill for Dame. What's like, yeah,

go around this cone and then I'll hold the broomstick up and then you just shoot over it. Yeah. About with that kind of intensity, you'll be defended. Uh, but yeah, I mean,

look, he does what he does that Dame and Chris Middleton looks so excited. He looks so excited when he came on the court. Who's that guy? What's he doing on the court? I said, who's this guy? I just like his very simple, like he keeps, I feel like he hasn't changed the way he's dressed for a long time, which I like to see.

Yeah, flannel hoodie. Exactly, exactly. He just got off your shift. And then also very heartening, Gigi Jackson, his reaction. Youngest man in the NBA. Yo, his reaction. Child. Youngest child in the NBA.

He just turned 19. Yeah, right? His reaction to hearing Shaq's voice through the headphones while he's giving a post-game comment, it was really, I felt like a child for for some I don't know why. It felt like the thing, I think for a lot of people of a certain age, especially for millennials, where we grew up with a gigantic shack shoe in every mall.

And that's the size of Shaquille O'Neal's foot. Yeah, the guy who plays for the Magic. He's the Thanksgiving. Yeah, exactly. It's bigger than the turkey. Let's carve the shack shoe. But yeah, that was just a really, really great great moment just to kind of see the excitement on his face let's play that just because are we allowed to play this or

yeah we got clearance oh hell yeah just trying to be as coachable as possible GG Shaq here I don't have any questions I just want to say congratulations young fella you played a hell of a game and the people that know who you were they know who you are now congratulations on being ready brother it's an honor to get We played a hell of a game, and the people that know who you were, they know who you are now. I'm so proud of you.

He makes a face. Congratulations on being ready, brother. It's an honor to get to hear your voice. Appreciate you. Thank you. Well, G.J., you could tell it was Shaq. He was mumbling. Okay.

You better act impressed to hear my voice, too. It was so wild. He makes a face like. And also, like, the way he tightened up like he suddenly had like the politeness of somebody working at chick-fil-a yeah he was like thank you very much sir i appreciate you all the time and please pull up to the next window thank you so much god bless you like it was so it was like a little kid who saw santa or something it was yeah so amazing yeah oh it's beautiful and well like he's he's joining an interesting group right of like the last people

the youngest people to do like put up 20 points at least 20 points back to back with like lebron and kd i think the only people younger than him yeah so wild company yeah for real i long i hope it lasts i mean this this season has been sold all over the place like we've seen it all that i'm like please let i want to i want to keep saying this young man's name with the grizzlies yeah yeah um and then speaking of joining wild company uh and bead 41 and 10 in a blowout over the rockets on martin luther king 16th straight, 30 and 10 games. So I just found out that he's reached the level that Lakers fans are actually willing to entertain him as a future Laker. I like this guy.

You always talk about, yeah. I always go, yeah, we like him. But you've never been like, there are certain players who you're always like, yeah, he's a future Laker. And I can't wait to watch him. See him in the purple and gold. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is huge for me. As a Sixers fan, as an Embiid fan, I'm just so flattered that you guys are like, oh my God, really?

The Lakers? Wow. This kid's put his head down. He's looking great playing for his local team. Oh my god. You know, we really like that. We like the spirit of it. It's the final level of stardom.

Is Laker fans willing to entertain? Yeah. Yeah. And it's never at a moment of crisis for us either. Never. Can't wait to see the trades you guys invent. I'm going to say, producer Jabari was asking if he could interest me in a slightly used D-low. of crisis for us either. Never. Can't wait to see the trades you guys invent. So,

producer Jabari was asking if he could interest me in a slightly used D-low. I think that was when we were talking about, I think that's when we were talking about the Spurs for Wemby. Oh, okay.

All right. Yeah, Wemby obviously is another player that you guys have voiced some confidence. I mean, we need that rebounding help, man. Yeah.

You haven't voiced interest. You've voiced confidence that he will eventually be on your team. That's how Lakers fans communicate. I'll show him all the fine homes of the publishing titans that are in the San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena area.

Some of the greatest book publishers lived in this area, Victor. You could also live in the Rand McNally house. Wow. Just think about that. Just think about that, man. Just think about that. We love books.

We love books. Huge for a literate. Yeah. Yeah, but no. Embiid is looking. I keep asking you this. Are you feeling good? Are you still going to have your ice heart that you have to have to protect yourself

as a Sixers fan? As a Sixers fan? Yeah. I default to ice heart that you have to have to protect yourself as a Sixers fan. As a Sixers fan. I mean, I default to ice heart, but last season I did not feel good the entire season, like even when they were putting it together and winning some games with Harden. It just, the fact that they had the same basic structure of Doc and, you know, where they looked too similar to the teams that kept

going out in the second round. For some reason, they seem... I wouldn't be shocked if they got out of the second round this season. Oh, wow. That's big. Wow. I also wouldn't be shocked if they didn't get to the second round.

I mean, I guess I'd be a little bit shocked, but it depends on where they face the Celtics, who I think have the... It's Celtics versus the field in the Eastern Conference, basically, in my opinion. They got it all going right now. So, if they stay healthy, I don't know. It's really like whoever is not playing them in the second round. Yeah. Yolong, how do you...

Have you heard of the Eastern Conference? Have you heard of it? Are you familiar with it? I've heard of it. I've visited it a few times. What's it like? I thought it was a mystery. I thought it was a fantasy world.

I thought it was like Narnia. It's cold, a little depressing. No, I think the sixers have had some obviously have i would say underachieved to put it uh kindly over the last few years in the playoffs but we haven't seen the milwaukee philly matchup that's been one i've i've really wanted to see of just yannis versus indeed in a playoff series and how that would go. Philly always somehow ends up on the Boston side of the bracket, and that's just been their Achilles heel to bring up a sore subject.

Except when they don't, and they play the Heat and get beat by the Heat. Yeah. We'll lose to anyone in the second round, man. We don't care. The Hawks, I mean, we're not picky. You give us the second round series, and hey, man, we're happy to cough it up. I think getting rid of James Harden, Ben Simmons, and Doc Rivers

in the last couple years has... I think it's kind of cleansed the Philly. I think if they're on the opposite side of Boston in the bracket, like think if they're on the opposite side of Boston in the bracket like let's say they're the three seed and Boston is the one seed I think they could beat Milwaukee or Miami or whoever else they match

up with on the way to the conference finals then it's just a matter of can Embiid be the clear cut I guess best player in that series you know and what's Boston's health looking like? They've got some injury prone players. There's a lot of ways they can

shake out, but I've been really impressed with Maxie. I think Maxie should be an all-star. I think he should potentially be an all-star starter, depending on how the backcourt plays out. I think they're right there. Nick Nurse is one of the best coaches in the NBA.

I think people, Toronto kind of being in the middle class the last few years after Kawhi left, people forgot how good of a coach Nick Nurse is. But I've been impressed with him. I think he should be in the Coach of the Year conversation. And Embiid is probably the MVP frontrunner right now. So on paper, Philly's got, again, I give Boston the edge, but Philly's right there for number two, I think,

potentially even ahead of Milwaukee. We do kind of think of talent. I tend to think of talent cumulatively, like you add talent until you're the best team type thing. But just seeing the standings right now, Philly's in third the calves are in fourth and we're seeing the thing happen with the calves right now where they're like really putting a run together after two of their three best players got hurt philly

lost supposedly the best player or second best player in harden and like they've had a better beginning to this season. That that's just always interesting to me when it's like, actually you just need to like clear, give people a little bit of room to like cook in some ways that makes it work. I want, I do wonder if that's like something that's happening with the Lakers. I don't know why it would be, but just feels like there's a lot of pieces there that aren't kind,

aren't necessarily coming together. And I am just throwing that in there because I'm contractually obligated. This is a Lakers fan podcast, so I just want to bring it back. Thank you. And you still have to mention the team or the city four more times before I have an absolute anger fit. That's happening with everybody except the Clippers who are uh they added and yeah they added to it and talent can be additive yeah yeah yeah oh yeah i wonder if it is i mean there are so many things too where you have around the league people like i just need some minutes man that's all i need that's all i need i got these other these pieces of dead wood that are in front

of me and i'm telling you if you just get them out the way, I will show you, but just help me out. And I feel like, yeah, I mean, like any competitor is going to feel that way. But, yeah, when it actually comes together, there's definitely some credence to that way of thinking. I just look. I'm willing. The Lakers, please do something.

Please do something, man. Just for me. For me and the rest of us out here. I think they will. I think they will take the first couple times Miles burst into tears when he was saying that. Hey, but what I say about telling people about my courage water coming out my eyes. That's what we call it. We rebranded crying on this show.

Anyway. All right. Shall we take a break and come back with the fastest segment in all sports podcasting history? I think we should. I think we will. We're going to be right back. And you're about to go into the hot seat after

this. Alright, 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. Ha! Yeah! 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 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 Claibon, 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. Yes, we are. My God, he's unhinged. I know. It's because the state of the Lakers became too real in my mind. And now I must retreat to a world of fanciful with fantasies.

See, I can't even speak anymore. But it's just watching Wonka. You've just been in a theater for the past five weeks watching Wonka over and over. Indubitably. It's just like, how do you get so good with that cane? But anyway, it's time for the fourth quarter. It's a rapid firefire round of questioning. Johan Buha, you have wandered into this show,

and it's now time to subject you to one of the fastest question-and-answer segments that has existed in all of sports podcasting history. We're going to ask you a question. You just respond quickly. Boom. Just be reflexive. Don't think at all.

At all. Because if it slows down... And I can already tell you're not ready because you're not in your athletic stance. You don't have your feet chopping. You're not... Yeah. I can already tell you're not ready because you're not in your athletic stance. You don't have your feet chopping. I can't really chop my feet right now. Chop that left foot.

Chop that left foot. I'm ready. Here we go. Okay. I think we're ready. Shall we, Jack? Let's do it. Brian, start the clock! Brian, the editor. Brian, the editor, start the clock. Brian, the editor. Brian, the editor, start the clock. Sorry, I need to use your legal name.

We're doing a branding thing with our editor, Brian, the editor. With our editor, Brian, the editor. He insists on calling Matt at all times. And, Yobar, you really have to keep this segment moving. When we start doing bits on the side. When I start talking about Brian, the editor, and his marketing plan for himself, you really need to stop me and just say, Hey,

I'm here to talk about NBA stuff. Yeah. Let's get this thing. Get this thing moving. Remember, remember the goal folks. Here we go. Who's going to go first.

You, why don't you go first? All right, here we go. Well, let's try that. That sounds fun. Here we go.

Where are the following players following the deadline? Gut instinct. Just say if they're gone or if you have a team in mind that they go to say that team or if they're staying, they're staying. Whatever it is, just answer me now. Here we go. First question. Number the one. Donovan Mitchell. Stang.

Zach Levine. Stang. Pascal Siakam. Traded. I Siakam. Traded. I'll say Indiana. That'd be fun. D'Angelo Russell. Atlanta.

Traded for Joel Embiid. Straight up. Stop. Stop. DeJounte Murray. LA. Joel Embiid. Wait, so who would Murray go for? You think

Murray for... Russell, a pick. Maybe throw in JHS. Wow. Interesting. Who's the most underappreciated of the truly all-time greats? Somebody who deserves to be mentioned, but is often left out of the all-time debates. And I will be asking my questions in rhyme.

Chris Paul. Chris Paul. Interesting. All right. What is it about Chris Paul? Yeah, what is it about Chris Paul? I think he's, I mean, depending on, I guess if we're considering Steph Curry a point guard,

I would say he's right there at maybe number four. In my opinion, I don't think Magic, Steph, Isaiah, Chris Paul, I don't think a lot of people would put him at number four. But I would. Okay.

We're going to have more on that later, but we do have to keep this segment going. Now I'm going to ask you two players that you can take from all of NBA history or film, sport, you know, I'll, I'll, I'll widen this out. Even films that include basketball characters from there to create, to create your, I know had to do something different. I'm messing with the form. It's jazz, baby.

Uh, to create your mad boosties edition, NBA jam team, which two players are you combining to make this call? And just keep in mind that it is Jazz, and Jazz is about the notes you don't play. Go. I'm going to go prime Shaquille O'Neal. Okay. And prime Steph Curry. I think that's basically unstoppable.

Was that? Yeah. Last week, was that also the combo we got last week? Unfortunately, it is the correct answer, and we do have to we got last week? Unfortunately, it is the correct answer and we do have to stop asking this question. It is the best answer. There's only one answer. Yeah, you're just going to shoot the lights out and then just dunk or

block every single thing. When you really throw somebody across the court with somebody who has high full-up power strength, that's just demoralizing. You want to quit the game of NBA Jam at Boosty's edition. Yeah.

The defense is the one maybe weakness with that combo, but I'm going all unguardable offense. I mean, if it's Prime Shaq, he was blocking five shots in some games. Yeah. Well, play an NBA Jam, too. Like, you could just... Sure.

There was no fouls. You know what I mean? So just body him and then just have Steph on fire, and then it's jam too. There was no fouls. You know what I mean? So just body them and then just have Steph on fire and then it's a wrap. And then you take another child's lunch money. I hope you're proud of yourself, NBA jam team. Special edition. Next one.

Jack. You are from the Valley. What's your favorite movie about the Valley and try and describe it the way Magic Johnson would in a tweet. The super bad count as a Valley movie. Yeah. It's Burbank,

which isn't good to be in Burbank Valley. We talk. Yeah, that's, that's a hotly contested thing, but we will take it. Super bad. My favorite movie of,

uh, of all time. So, wow. Okay. That would be, uh, I guess, uh, Superbad is my favorite movie of all time. Wow. Okay. That would be, I guess. What would Magic have to say about that movie? Yeah.

It's a movie about friends who stop being friends and then are friends again. Yes. Nailed it. Yeah. We've all had friends like this. Sometimes you're not friends, but then you become friends again. 10 out of 10. And finally, since you have that Southern California blood coursing through your veins, rank these Los Angeles chains.

In-N-Out, Fatburger, Tommy's. I'm going to go in that order. In-N-Out, Fatburger, Tommy's. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Has anyone ever taken Tommy's. I'm going to go in that order. In-N-Out Fatburger Tommy's. Wow. Has anyone ever taken Tommy's? I've taken Tommy's pretty high and that's because my elementary school was right by a Tommy's.

That used to be the one fast food or drive-thru that my mom would entertain going to just because it was so close to my school even though the chili destroyed me. I still keep coming back. That's what I love about it though. It's just something.

And, and they put, when they put the hot chilies in there too, they will overload that thing and you will have problems for the rest of your life. But Hey, it's that thing being your digestive system. Yeah.

Tommy's will clear you out. Yeah. 100%. Like those are actual, those are actual pharmaceutical companies. Those are not full-on pharma they have pharmaceutical needs and uses um thank you so much for joining us i'm miles and jack got mad boosties where do the people find you follow you read you support you

all that good stuff yeah you can find all my work at the athletic and you could find me on social at yovan buha j-o-v-a-n-b-u-h-a appreciate you guys for having me on oh of course of course man again like i said thank you for honoring us with your presence like i said i've been living and dying by your reporting recent like oh yeah we're going back to the old lineup okay maybe it's okay we're doing some adjustment okay that was wild that was wild and I remember texting my friends and be like, it's back, baby. And then be like, okay, we spoke too soon. Darvin won over Lakers Twitter for like an hour. And then it was too good to be true.

The memes were beautiful. 100%. Anyway, make sure you follow us on Twitter. I'm at Miles of Gray. And I'm at Jack underscore O'Brien. And you don't follow hashtag mad boosties, B double O S D I E S for show links, updates,

and your chance to ask some questions. I know some of y'all had some questions and I'm sorry that we didn't get to them, but this is a dynamic show. And I was in a state, I was just in a downward emotional spiral talking about the Lakers. So you'll have to forgive me until next time. Hopefully the things improve for my Los Angeles Lakers and

even your team as well. I'm willing to grow a little bit and say I want everybody to do well. You want every team to do well? Terms and conditions apply. Terms and conditions apply. Anyway, thanks for joining us. We'll see you next time. Alright, later. Bye! Bye. 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. Hey everyone, Jake Storielli here from John Boy Media. I want to tell you about my podcast, Wake and Jake. I've been a sports nut my whole life and there's nothing I love more than talking about it. If you're a sports fan, Wake and Jake is the place for

you. Covering all the hot topics from the sports world, a lot of baseball, a lot of postseason coverage, mock drafts, awards, guest interviews, all of it. New episodes every Monday and Wednesday. Come watch along on the Wake and Jake YouTube channel or listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone.

This is Jimmy O'Brien from Jomboy Media. I want to quickly tell you about my podcast. It's called Jimmy's Three Things. Episodes come out every Tuesday, and for 30 minutes, I dive into three stories in Major League Baseball that I want to talk about or I do a stat deep dive. Sometimes I create my own stats. It gets weird. It's now your go-to podcast for staying up to date and in the weeds with Major League Baseball. No topic is off limits or too small. Bad umires great pitcher catcher duos new rules old rules

three things that i want to talk about listen to jimmy's three things on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts