The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Local Hour: The Yankee Clipper

Episode Date: December 4, 2025

"The Heat took the Bucks' soul." A deep dive into Greg Cote's habit of falling asleep on the beach on the Fourth of July, a suspiciously well-timed injury for Giannis, and Zaslow misses an "s." Le...arn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 I want to give everybody a brief recreation of what I walked in on this morning as everyone was gathered around a sad bucket of bagels that you'd find at the average PTA meeting that was filled with underperforming students and parents who didn't care. Jeremy is muttering under his breath. I'm not kidding. It's only one game. It's only one game. Zaz is saying, I knew that was going to happen. Yeah, I heard that. And Rose is singing in both a bad accent and bad singing voice.
Starting point is 00:00:34 Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. She does this thing where she's so loud because she has their headphones on and she doesn't realize people can hear. Zazel can't do the thing of I knew that was going to happen when you have three hours the day before on the air and you never said that was going to happen. Oh, well, we're going to break down heat at Mavericks on a Wednesday night. In his defense, we didn't do predictions.
Starting point is 00:00:53 I know, but I'm saying if you knew that was going to happen and Tony, you seem to be someone who would call bullshit on this. Like, if you knew it was going to happen, you've got to tell somebody. And then what would happen? You got to put it on wax, Zaz. Would you prepare? Like, if I told you yesterday, hey, the heat are going to lose the Mavericks tonight, then what? I've been like, okay, I'm going to watch a little bit more intently now.
Starting point is 00:01:12 Zazz got a little bit something online. He said something, right? You say nothing, I don't care. You say something. All right, good. So you know what? Are we going to make it a thing now where every day we ask Zaslow, are the heat going to win or lose tonight? You want to make it a thing that every day you announce you announce you.
Starting point is 00:01:26 your MVP candidate for the league and the MVP conversation I'll make similar imaging for his pick glad you're on board will the heat win tonight Tyler Hero make a layup Mike Ryan watch the game Andrew Wiggins Mike God can you make a slide
Starting point is 00:01:40 Ryan Nemhardt wow I do tangentially Cooper flag is he 19 years old yet No no he's 19 in December He said it on the broadcast When they said he turns 19 I audibly gasped that doesn't happen often
Starting point is 00:01:56 watching a game in the regular season? Oh, my God. I know that Kevin Garnett and a handful of others, LeBron James came to the league out of high school, but I personally have never met at that age someone physically who can play in that league. Like, I've never encountered someone who's 18 years old that I say, yes, of course he could play against, you know,
Starting point is 00:02:19 Rudy Gobert, physical players in that league. Like, I, that's not a, I have not encountered a human, being who is 18 years old that I would say that person can play starting minutes handle the ball in the NBA. Not only that, once they switch him from actually playing a good point guard with Ryan Nemhard, his game is like almost taking another step. Rex, they started the season with like him as the part. Him is the point card.
Starting point is 00:02:42 It's tough. It was too much and he was turning the ball over at a crazy rate. He had one of those types of turnovers last night too, but it's not just the physicality. It's the IQ. This kid is such a smart basketball player at 18. That defense is legit. Like when Kyrie comes back, it's going to be really frustrating to play. Did Nico have a vision?
Starting point is 00:02:59 Well, yeah. The heat got unlucky last night, though. Anthony Davis played. That never happens. 17 and 17, too, by the way. A.D., big dog. That defense is good, but so is the heats. Like, the thing that I, there are two things above all others that I am surprised by,
Starting point is 00:03:14 that they're playing at that pace and can be that good defensively at that pace, which is a ridiculous pace. and you said, speaking of public comments that you have made, that Davian Mitchell was going to get benched when Tyler Hero came back. Well, you say bench, that means like that he did something wrong. That's not how I meant it. No, but that he was going to have to go to the bench. And I was saying you can't bench that assist to turnover ratio.
Starting point is 00:03:40 Like, it's the best in the league. If you're going to play it that pace that efficiently and never turn the ball over, that's not someone you can bench. Like, that's legitimately one of the biggest surprises in heat history. that point guard, even at a place that recreates and fixes all manner of players. This is the Dan Levatore show with the Stucats podcast. In making their stars so important in basketball and making the NBA matter over the last 40 years by celebrating the stars,
Starting point is 00:04:17 they have created a league that has a lot of delicious. drama. So James Harden and Kauai Leonard are legitimately shocked when in the middle of the night Lawrence Frank and Chris Paul are having a conversation that gets Chris Paul a really unceremonious exit when I'm thinking I can make the argument that Chris Paul is the best clipper ever, right? Or who's in that discussion? Like if I just say best clipper ever. Okay, yes. Blake Griffin, who they also just discarded of. So you've got the drama over there. But all of the drama around the league and the fact that everything changed with Damian Lillard on star player gets what he wants, I'm asking this question while I am leaning toward the innocence of I believe Janice's injury to be real.
Starting point is 00:05:10 Is the next step on countermeasures for players making sure they get to go where they want, faking non-contact injuries? He's like, I believe everything that happened there to be real, but you come out of a meeting with the box in which... I can't hear anything you're saying right now because these guys won't stop arguing about Best Clipper of all times. It's not even close. I think it's Chris Paul. No, it's Chris Paul.
Starting point is 00:05:31 I think of Chris Paul. I think of him as a Hornet. It's not close. It doesn't matter where I'm at least. He's not... Blank Griffin changing him. You're still going to think about Chris Paul. He jumped over us.
Starting point is 00:05:43 A corporate partner in those moments. Think of the synergy. Carpet. I would nominate the Yankee Clipper. Zaslow, is it unfair to say or to even wonder when Yannis wants to force him his way out of there because it's being reported that they're meeting to see if Yannis can work anything out with the Bucks.
Starting point is 00:06:09 That's not what they're meeting about. You gave yourself the Hakeem next laugh. You can't do that. The Yankee Clipper. Yeah, no, that was great. You can't, actually. There's four people here. It's in the criteria.
Starting point is 00:06:20 Four people driving around listening to this being like Yankee Clipper. It's a hotel in Fort Lauderdale. No, it's that what you think? It's an actual clipper. Now it's called B-Ocean. He's right about that. You think that the origins of the Yankee Clipper are a hotel in Fort Lauderdale? Fourth of July every year, Codys.
Starting point is 00:06:41 It was great. Do you guys know? I don't know if Greg still does this, but Greg Cody, who has been white, trash my entire life. Sleeping on the beach. Does the vacation of sleeping on the beach. And it's really not, when I say sleeping on the sand at the beach outside of a hotel on the beach in Hollywood, that's not the greatest of hotels. It's always after he's had too much to drink. So he just doesn't get back to his bed. It would be a bunch of families doing it. And the families would go to the hotel room. But my dad and Papa Benson would sleep on the beach to protect everyone's stuff.
Starting point is 00:07:16 because we'd be there on the third and the fourth and it used to be a zoo there on the fourth so instead of like setting up resetting up every morning they would sleep on the beach and my dad would always bail at like 6 a.m and stumble into the hotel room and try to like get two hours of sleep and then he'd get
Starting point is 00:07:32 Benson would get mad at my dad be like I've been on your all night and Greg my dad would just slither away but he would sleep on the sand and I'm guessing that occasionally given what your dad gets into that there wouldn't even be a towel or blanket or anything out there.
Starting point is 00:07:48 There would just be your dad with sand in his hair wandering back into the hotel room. Sleeping crisscross applesauce. Raw dog in the shore is crazy. They would have issues like homeless people would come by and stuff. Unhoused. Yeah. Actually, no, you can say homeless again.
Starting point is 00:08:01 Thank you. You can also say that your father was scaring the unhoused. It wasn't the unhoused scaring your father. No, say homeless. Homeless guy was like, hey, can I get a sig? Yeah, I knew Tony would have my back. They are homeless. They have no home.
Starting point is 00:08:16 Homeless. What are we doing? Never got that one. Okay, not for you to get. It's not offensive to you. Okay, home fewer. How do we ask them? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:26 Because you're saying that. You guys are all big on like, how do you identify? Have we asked them? Hey, are you cool with homeless? Do you on house? They're like, hey, I don't have a house. Do I give a shit? They've got greater concern.
Starting point is 00:08:36 So when do we acknowledge it's Joe DiMaggio as the Yankee Clipper? Right. Well, thank you for that. Really? What? This whole time I thought I was Tyler Clipper. I was about to ask him, actually, Jeremy, who was the Yankee, who was nicknamed the Yankee Clipper to try and get the surprise out of him because I don't think he was going to get DiMaggio. I thought it was Tyler Clippard.
Starting point is 00:08:57 He clearly did not know this was a nickname for anyone. He really truly only associates it with a hotel. It's a hotel in Fort Lauderdale. It's a hotel named after Joe DiMaggio? There's also a hospital in Fort Lauderdale. I want to kiss your cheek. Named after Joe DiMaggio. Put it on the poll, please, at Lebitard Show.
Starting point is 00:09:13 more famous Yankee Clipper, the hotel in Fort Lauderdale or Joe DiMage? Can you throw Tyler Clippert on there? I think I'm right about this one. Like a dog with a bone. Jeremy, when you watch what it is that's happening with the Bucks, and I'm going to play some Doc Rivers sound for you in a second. Is it wildly unfair for anyone to wonder? And again, I'm going to preface this by saying, I believe he's actually injured. I am just wondering if the next step. on making a mess where the player takes the power back
Starting point is 00:09:46 is nah, nah, I'm just not going to play for you and I'm going to make the mess bigger than any mess and the way to make it a biggest mess because the reports are from Windhorst that he wants to be a nick, that he's just saying, make me a nick. It's not a meeting about can you come back to the box. Once you're at this point in the meetings,
Starting point is 00:10:04 it's I want to get out of here, no matter what Doc Rivers says. It's funny the way this is escalated because I came in here with sort of the same energy as you, which is I think he's hurt. but if you were going to muck things up it sure would be the right way to do it which is delete everything off your social media
Starting point is 00:10:25 and then immediately the next game you play come out with an injury of which was undetectable but calf strain Zaz and I were talking like that's bad news like if you if you have a cash train you don't have to play for a year that's the new that's new Achilles tear and you know what I normally I would obviously doubts that Janus is faking an injury because that has never been his M.O.
Starting point is 00:10:49 He's a super tough, hardworking player, great reputation. But he's doing the childish bullshit. Like, you wouldn't have expected Yonis doing the let's delete everything off social media, childish nonsense. So, look, he may be doing the get me out of here playbook. Remember, his leg snapped on national TV in a finals game and played and had 50 points and 20 rebounds. Okay, but I would say that if you're just willing to be most cynical and be willing to explore the hypothetical, I believe that the faking of an injury is a bridge too far.
Starting point is 00:11:27 There's one thing with, you know, the childishness of deleting the team that you're following. That's a different thing. The faking of an injury to me is something, while not criminal, is something that should ruin your reputation. Like, if Damien Lillard wasn't willing to ruin his relationship with the fan base of Portland, I know that Janus is not only a great spokesman for the league. Janus is, as you say, the stories are legendary. Janus used to run back and forth to the gym because he just jogged to the gym.
Starting point is 00:12:03 He'd always want to be at the gym. He is a hard worker. Everyone has known him to always be a professional. But if you fake an injury to get out of somewhere, to me, that is a scar that should stay on your resume forever. Dude is not faking an injury. Like, he's not, this is not fake. We'll never know. Well, I think we'll know.
Starting point is 00:12:23 I guess technically, sure, we can go into it conspiratorially and saying we'll never know. He's not faking an injury. He loves that city. He might be frustrated with the organization, but he cares about the fans. He cares about his own career. He's not a guy who was one to fake anything. But the fact that we are where we are in how to escalate the drama to get what you want when you're a piece like Janice, that we can sit around here and even question it just shows kind of how nuts things have gotten in terms of those contracts and being moved.
Starting point is 00:12:54 If you look at an injury that he had previously a couple years ago, it's kind of the exact same thing. There was a side by side of the videos of him pulling a calf the same exact way, a couple of steps after something happens, he goes down to the floor. Like, I don't think this is something that's fake. It's something that we've already seen before. May I just say, I am so proud of us. We've done this for about eight minutes, and we have not put them on the heat yet. We've learned. I would say that it is less likely that Janus is faking an injury than the grand majority of players in the league,
Starting point is 00:13:27 just based on what you think of their reputations, how much they want to be out there, how much they love basketball. He would be one of my last choices on this, but let's hear what it is that Doc Rivers had to say about this, because he says this is not Blake's fault. So here we go again. There's been no conversations. I want to make it clearer just for the, I would say, one more time, but for the 50th time, it clearly is not getting the one network for sure.
Starting point is 00:13:57 Yannis has never asked to be traded, ever. I can't make that more clear. He's only implied it. So here we go again. He's not asking to. be traded. He's telling them to trade him. It's not a request. It's a demand.
Starting point is 00:14:15 It's not, he's not, he's not politely, he's not politely asking. He's politely telling, I don't want to be here anymore. What a reporter then followed up with, but has he told you he wants to be traded? Yes, yes, that I can't make that more clear. You could.
Starting point is 00:14:34 Windhorse is saying that Janus told the Bucks, I want to be a Nick, make me a nick, end quote. So does everyone think Doc Rivers is just lying there? Okay. Well, that was over the summer. I mean, his initial report on that and everything that was going on, the whole long ESPN article, the detailed everything was all about Janus wanting out, asking for enhancements to the roster. They came back with Miles Turner. They told him we're not moving you the conversations between the Knicks and the Bucks were not the Bucks calling the Nicks,
Starting point is 00:15:11 but the Knicks checking in, and it all just stalled out there. But now, all these months later, so here we go again. Hey guys, Tony here. This Tuesday, at 830 Eastern, it's the Emirates NBA Cup championship game on Prime. This year's quest for the cup has delivered incredible moments and jaw-dropping highlights, and they've all been building towards this, the final two teams. The Emirates NBA Cup Championship live from Las Vegas Tuesday night at 8.30 Eastern on Prime. And if you're not a prime member, that's not a problem.
Starting point is 00:15:41 Sign up today for a 30-day free trial to get started. The Emirates NBA Cup Championship game this Tuesday at 830 Eastern only on Prime. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com slash Amazon Prime for details. Hey folks, it's Mike Ryan. Happy holidays to you and to our tremendous partners of almost 20 years, Miller Light. It's the 50th anniversary of Miller Light. It makes the holidays special. It makes the football games special.
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Starting point is 00:18:35 They're going to say, oh, the nuggets are going to win. Oh, Denver, the altitude. And you know what? The hit are going to win it all. This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats. Okay, so this is what's happened to Janus with Milwaukee, because I don't believe that yesterday is a conversation about, Let's see if I can be here
Starting point is 00:19:01 Let's see what we can do Let's see how we can fix this I don't believe that that's the case I believe that Yannis has been stewing in some form since they lost Chris Middleton and Drew Holiday They're not the same team He's out there with Bobby Portis now
Starting point is 00:19:13 And yes Miles Turner Who every team in the league could have had The last three years Did you see last night by the way We almost had a big time That was a serious scrap I mean two guys really scrapping Bobby Portis Isaiah Stewart
Starting point is 00:19:26 If I was at that game And those guys started fighting I would get out my seat, I would leave. I'd be very scared. Put it on the poll at Lebitard show. If Bobby Portis and Isaiah Stewart started to fight, would you get out of your seat and leave the arena? I got out of my seat and stand. I'm excited to watch it. I'm trying to
Starting point is 00:19:41 stay safe, Tony. Please. You guys understand what I am saying, though, right? If you're 20 games into a season and you're under 500 and he's playing the way that he is, which is very well and you look around and you're like, I can't win this way, this isn't a conversation about how do we fix this
Starting point is 00:19:57 here? This is a conversation about how do you fix this for me so I'm no longer? Oh, you don't think he's going in there to game plan with the front office? Well, but that's the way they're presenting it. Of course. Okay, you say it, you say, of course, but that's not accurate. It's not an accurate representation of what's happening. But even with that, what assets do you have to trade?
Starting point is 00:20:13 What assets do you have to make this team better? You don't. And then on top of that, when they've been with him, they've been a 500 ball club. Without him, they've been dreadful. Offensive rating drops like 15 points when Jan's on the floor to when he's not on the floor. Like, this is a completely flawed roster from top to bottom. And we knew that going into the season. And then it's like, oh, Janice is just going to score 30 and have 15 boards a game.
Starting point is 00:20:33 Like, I guess it'll be fine. Here's the reality. They should trade him and they are going to trade him. And not just because Janus wants to be traded because it's literally the best thing for the franchise. They've already won a championship with him. Like, they've maxed it out. They've maxed it out. They have no assets like Tony said.
Starting point is 00:20:53 They have no way to build around Janus for the foreseeable future. They took big swings. they missed, and now the way to replenish is actually to cash in on Yannis. I'm sick. It's like winning the in-season tournament buys you nothing. So Zaslow claims
Starting point is 00:21:08 the bucks have maxed it out, and I would argue that with that kind of player they've underachieved, that one championship is not enough to win when you have that player. I don't even mean it very much as an indictment, because
Starting point is 00:21:25 he's playing during an era when they're are a lot of great players. Two championships. There's two banners. Emeritus IST. Do they have a banner up for that? I know the Lakers do. Boy, I'll tell you what.
Starting point is 00:21:37 You know, the heater in the NBA Cup semifinals? I really hope the heat win. I'm into it. They better not put up a banner. They've got Dan Marino's jersey retired up there. It's like in the corner and it's dark. It's not even a spotlight on it anymore. How are you into it but don't want a banner?
Starting point is 00:21:54 Because I would like to say that the Heat won the NBA a cup, but you better not put up a banner. Does Mark Anthony still have a banner? I haven't been to the arena in almost two years, so I don't know. Wait a minute. You haven't been to the arena since they let you go since you work there professionally in a suit? Since you got paid to be there?
Starting point is 00:22:13 I was at Travis Scott concert there. I went to that. Nice. Did you see the Mark Anthony banner? So Michael Jordan's banner is up there. Michael Jordan's jersey has been retired up there. Dan Marino's jersey is retired up there. but this is where Zazz draws the line.
Starting point is 00:22:29 Not the... Bar Cove. Oh. That's a good one. Haslam. They're going to put Haslam up there, aren't they? I think Haslam's already up there. They'll probably just keep it there.
Starting point is 00:22:38 Haslam's already... Haslam's got the one without, like, a Hall of Fame below it. It's kind of a little sad by comparison. Or gold medal. LeBron doesn't have Hall of Fame. Or, you know, LeBons on up there, but whenever, you know... Yeah, LeBron's on up there. Will he?
Starting point is 00:22:52 Do you happen to know? I don't happen to know. And I'll be honest to you, I hope not. If Shaq's up there, LeBron's up there. Get out of here. If Shaq's up there, LeBron's up there. You guys are nuts if you think LeBron's not going up there eventually. And you're crazy if you don't think Jimmy's going to be up there soon.
Starting point is 00:23:07 That's, get out of here. Oh, shame on you. You take that back! Jimmy will be up there. Shame on you. So here we go again. Put it on the poll at Levitard show. Will Jimmy Butler's number be retired by the heap and put in the...
Starting point is 00:23:22 That is such bullshit. Yeah, it would be. It would be. This isn't about Mickey. This isn't about Pat. It's about the fans. And I know it was ugly at the end, but Jimmy brought a lot of great memories here. You think the fans want that?
Starting point is 00:23:33 I mean, Tim Hardaway's up there. He did, I guess, more than Tim Hardaway. I think right now, it's split. I think in 10 years' time, we'll be like, you know, COVID. The photo of him, the tired photo. Yeah, like, you know what? Like an asterisk for COVID? Just going to say COVID on the bottom.
Starting point is 00:23:50 It made us all crazy. I think in 10 years time, fans would be like, wow, we didn't win shit when Jimmy was here. What did we win with Tim Hardaway? I understand, but that's not the same. I don't think this is fair, okay? Like, I understand that the standard in sports is that there's one winner and everyone else gets to be a loser, but you don't get to disgrace everything that was five years of an era of basketball that was really good in Miami and really successful because they got close a few times
Starting point is 00:24:16 but didn't end up winning the trophy. I'm not going to dismiss that entire era as loser, but I also think the hostility and the mess at the and we'll make it so that I doubt very much that while Pat Riley's alive, that jersey's going up there. I'd love to see how that process goes. Is this something that they visit with annually? Is there a committee?
Starting point is 00:24:36 Like, is there like a board meeting where someone's like, all right, Gorin Dragich? And he puts out feelers? It's a quick meeting. We'll have this conversation next year. For 22, they immediately gave it to Andrew Wiggins. Like, Jimmy left, they give 22 immediately to Andrew Wiggins.
Starting point is 00:24:51 Like, come on. Yeah, but when LeBron came here, Mario's like, all right, I guess I'll give you six. Yeah, okay, but it's different. Do you guys disagree with me saying that Janus winning one championship in Milwaukee is not a max-out? It's an underachievement. I do disagree. Two titles.
Starting point is 00:25:08 I do disagree. What if it's two titles? I do disagree. I think winning is really hard in that sports. I mean, it's Luca Dunchits' time in Dallas, a major disappointment? You won anything. Yeah, but if Janice didn't win a championship, he'd go right there with Barclay, is the best players in that sport
Starting point is 00:25:25 to never have won a championship. Right, but he did. Like, why does he have to win two? Like, he won, he did. Oh, because I thought he was going to be dominating the sport over an era. It's like if Wembe only wins one. To me, the kind of player that Yannis
Starting point is 00:25:38 was when I'm looking at what that was physically. And I, again, we're really splitting hairs because I don't mean this as an indictment of Yannis. I've said of Aaron Rogers, that's underachievement. I've said of Shaq. That's under achievement.
Starting point is 00:25:52 and I don't mean it as indictment. I just mean those are physically such gifted players that they should win more than they've won because they were the best among the best of what it is I've ever seen. And I would think in this conversation, you're using that more as an indictment of the front office than, but I'm saying they won with Drew Holliday and Chris Middleton. That's fine, but it's like, that's fine,
Starting point is 00:26:16 but it's his two best teammates winning a championship. It's exactly what I'm saying. It's why he's leaving. Like, it's because since they won the championship, you're supposed to build off that, and they've gotten nothing but down because he's like, you're not even going to get me Drew Holliday and Chris Middleton? You're going to get me Miles Turner? But they were old at that point, right?
Starting point is 00:26:35 They were already kind of on the cusp of, all right, these guys are older guys that are champion veteran players. Now, all of a sudden, you get rid of those guys, you don't tool up on young guys. You get A.J. Green, who's running out there shooting threes. They're like, what am I going to do with this? They did get them Damien Lillard, though, and they won that bidding war. Everyone was in on that trade. And it resulted in, again, an Emirates cop title. You guys keep glossing over this thing, and I don't get it.
Starting point is 00:26:59 Can we just say the very obvious? And that is that in the year 2023, Jimmy Butler in the Heat took the Buc's Hole. They did? What? They took the Bucke's Soul. Okay. The soul. I heard Bucke's Hole.
Starting point is 00:27:14 I heard Bucke's hole the same way I heard Pocrysey yesterday. I heard Bucke's hole. You think I said they took the Bucks Hole? You said they take that ass. You're the inventor around here of taking that ass. Why would anyone say bucks? I thought that's what you said too. The guy that says take that ass would say bucks hole.
Starting point is 00:27:31 I heard that. Tony, how did you hear that? I heard soul. I know what he was going. Jeremy, what did you hear? Soul or hole? Whole for sure. Get the hell out.
Starting point is 00:27:37 You said bucks hole. It didn't sound like you said bucks hole. When you take a bucks hole. They took that bucks hole is what you said. What happens when you take their hole? You said they. What happens when you take that ass? Oh, you know what happens.
Starting point is 00:27:49 You said they took that buck's. whole, that's what I heard anyways. That is what I heard. I want to go back on two different things here. First, the Chris Paul thing, because I don't think we talked about this enough yesterday. I almost don't care what happened. Outside of an illegality, you cannot have your franchise's all-time great scent packing in the middle of the night. Like, you're sitting here telling me that the bucks are constructing an assortment of lies to protect their franchise, their optics, and everything, an assortment of lies as it relates to Janus. But the clippers in this case, who, by the way, put this on the poll at Lebitard show,
Starting point is 00:28:27 did Pablo Torre ruin the clippers? Did he take their hole? Did Pablo Torre take the clippers hole? Pablo. Maybe we shouldn't phrase it that way. Because this has been a clipper disaster. They won last night in Atlanta. I defy you to look at that Atlanta roster last night and figure out how it is.
Starting point is 00:28:48 that that team was 13 and 9 headed into that game. But you can't let the best player in franchise history. I'm saying outside of an illegality, outside of him committing a crime, that's not the way you can have that career end publicly, almost no matter what he's done. If he's arguing with Lawrence Frank in the middle of the night in a hotel room for three hours, whatever it is.
Starting point is 00:29:09 What if he's spit in Lawrence Frank's face? You can't do that. You cannot. I think there. I mean, Zaz went to the extreme. No, no, I'm saying you cannot. have Chris Paul's career end in a way that looks like that. You can absolutely waive him, but it's got to look better than that at the end because what ends up happening with the
Starting point is 00:29:28 way that they did that, okay? People wake up in the morning and they're like, what happened with Chris Paul? And all you have after that is everyone asking, what else happened there? You have to be able in protection of your franchise, in protection of who it is that Chris Paul is, in protection of what it is that he's done for your franchise. You have to protect the optics better than that. If you're willing to tell me that the bucks are just out here lying, just lying about what's happening with Janus,
Starting point is 00:29:55 why wouldn't they lie in this situation to simply wait until the next day? It's the sending him home in the middle of the night, shocking his teammates, where you're now got a locker room the next day, where Hardin and Kauai Leonard are giving the quotes of like, this totally surprised me. So you're telling me Lawrence Frank
Starting point is 00:30:12 can be sitting there with a luggy hanging from his face. Like, I'll see you practice tomorrow. I'm saying they can wave him and make it look better than that. He doesn't have to come to practice. You could say, you can actually say conduct detrimental, whatever it is that you want to say. You can't just send him away in the middle of the night
Starting point is 00:30:27 and leave all of the questions there when it's an all-time great. Like when I'm sitting here looking at this, when people are saying, I'm listening to the coverage yesterday, I'm like, Chris Paul, I think is the best player they've ever had. We're still debating it back here.
Starting point is 00:30:43 This is a franchise, this is a franchise that before Chris Paul, got there was a laughing stock for 30 years. Like before Chris Paul, Chris Paul is the beginning of them getting to be more credible. Chris Paul's the beginning of Balmer being able to make one of the dumbest trades in history that we all thought was a good trade at the time. Yeah, and I guess because everything you said is true, I guess the place that I go is he must have been impossible to deal with this season for them to do all of those things
Starting point is 00:31:17 you just did. Yeah, but you can have all of that be so and still protect your organization and optics better than that. The way that you're doing it, the way that the Clippers did it, as far as I can tell, show me all the hypothetical worst ways they could have done it. Give me all the things that you imagine that a PR team, a crisis team, a marketing team on optics, tell me how they could have done it worse than the way that they did it, where they're just leaving a bunch of questions from people in the morning on like, what the hell happened there? Lebatard Teammates
Starting point is 00:31:49 can shoot from three Now they're gonna see a different Jimmy Now he's just Just playing Nickelback in the locker room And Stugats They'll play D
Starting point is 00:32:02 And show threes As they chase the nets For the six seed These five words in his head Scream are we winning games yet? This is the Dan Levatar Show with the Stugats Briefly revisiting the worst basketball trade of all time.
Starting point is 00:32:28 Everyone was grateful that the Clippers got into that thing because if Kauai went to the Lakers, they would have ruined the sport. Why even have the games? The Lakers are going to win everything. And then, cut to now, that trade did end up ruining the sport because OKC is unbeatable. Just thought of something. Do we think that the Clippers did this to distract from Pablo's aspiration story?
Starting point is 00:32:51 So that that way there's just something crazier that's happened more recently that seems like an even bigger front office and ownership bungle? No, because there's a mystery here with the Clippers. And the last thing they want is another mystery. I feel bad for the PR people, right? Like just one storm after another, it's the aspiration thing. It's this, it's that. All of a sudden they wake up, you guys did what to Chris Paul? Now we have to clean up what again?
Starting point is 00:33:15 I know we like to talk about front office executives, general managers, even coaches. They're stupid. They don't know what they're doing, all right? I'm guilty of that as well. Lawrence Frank definitely understands the optics of what he did or was about to do before he did it, yet he still did it. So doesn't there have to be something really bad that happened? Again, the fact that they've left that question in your mind a day later is part of the problem.
Starting point is 00:33:47 I don't assume Lawrence Frank knows what he's doing based on how I saw him with weeks to prepare for the Pablo allegations, how he arrived at camp to talk about that publicly. We can get that sound. Get me the sound, please, that we were making fun of Lawrence Frank about when it is that he made those comments when he had weeks to prepare for the making of those comments. but also get me the sound of Hawks fans last night, just chanting that they're wondering where Chris Paul is. Where's Chris Paul? This is in Atlanta, and this is the fans heckling the Clippers saying, where is Chris Paul?
Starting point is 00:34:26 Where's Chris Paul? The idea that you would take an all-time great, just basketball great, never mind clipper's great because again i'll just i'll keep saying it whoever you think is the best clipper of all time in my lifetime of watching basketball it's been chris paul just seeing everything that is happening around the clippers reminds me that they've been a laughing stock when they've cleared some of that laughing stock energy off of them over the years but mike mentioned that kawai leonard would have ruined the sport if he had teamed with lebron chris paul would have ruined los angeles in basketball if they'd let him go to the Lakers before David Stern stepped in and said, you can't go to the Lakers. Like, if they'd let him go to the Lakers, the Clippers would still be something that we're laughing at. Because Chris Paul is more responsible for the Clippers resuscitating than themselves than the Clippers have ever been for resuscitating themselves. And it shifted in Los Angeles where the Clippers became something formidable when he got there. And I just don't know what he could have done when he says Spittalugie in his face, like Jamar Chase.
Starting point is 00:35:37 And Jalen Ramsey, when he says spit a lugie in his face, Chris Paul's more important to everything the clippers have been than Lawrence Frank is by leaps and bounds. Like, it's not, Lawrence Frank doesn't have it to eat it. He can wave him. But you have to make it look better than that on behalf of the organization. So I ask you guys the question again, what is the hypothetical worst way that they could have done it if it's not this? Midgame, right? Midgame.
Starting point is 00:36:02 He's not playing. Yeah, but at one point, like, Tyler just walks over to him. What if they killed him? Just flat out, hey, he's dead. Mid game. We killed him. Midgame. Half time show. Just murder him.
Starting point is 00:36:12 Okay, you got me, Tony. You did. Thank you. You sat in the chair? Electric chair. He's dead. Sorry. Really?
Starting point is 00:36:20 So, electrocute him. Electrocut him to death in Atlanta. Pro capital punishment, my man. All right. Very good. I appreciate the effort. Let's check in here with Zaslow and make a final verdict here on whether he said, take their soul or take their whole.
Starting point is 00:36:37 Jimmy Butler in the heat took the buck's hole vindicated I hear holes I still hear hole play it again yeah right Jimmy Butler in the heat
Starting point is 00:36:45 took the buck's hole I still hear holes I know that S is not that S is not attached to the bucks that that X Dan has the S somewhere else I'm with Zaz on this
Starting point is 00:36:55 I hear soul no listen to me just listen to me closely that S is attached to the buck it is not attached to the hole Jimmy Butler in the heat
Starting point is 00:37:04 took the buck's hole bucks hole that's possessive that s belongs to the buck something wrong with your ears you keep playing that keep playing that we're fine tuning it took the buck's hole he took the bucks hole oh it's come on what do you mean come on i still hear hole he took the buck's hole yeah that's definitely wait a minute there's only one s like dan said you shouldn't there's not two s is there there's there's one s is there's one s is the bridge he took the buck sole and it's with the hole It's not with the buck. The more I listen to it, the more it's whole.
Starting point is 00:37:37 The more I listen to it, the better I feel. He took the buck's hole. I'm like, Yankee win. There's no ass. This one who's only one. He took the buck's hole. That is not vindication for Zaslow. I don't know how you hear vindication there when all I hear again and again is whole.
Starting point is 00:37:54 He took the buck's hole. Thank you for playing that again, because now I definitely know I said buck's soul. Thank you. Got to pay the troll toll. Jeremy, do you have a ruling on this? Because I believe, I don't believe. Mike and I are doing bit here. I keep hearing. Now, this might be one of those
Starting point is 00:38:08 things where you hear whatever it is you want to hear before you start the conversation. It is, but I'm telling you, the more you hear it, the clearer it becomes. It's obvious. There's one S there. He just flew through the other S. This is why you're not a judge. Okay, but you've got to give Chris Cody time to edit this.
Starting point is 00:38:24 When he's editing most ferociously, his mouth hangs open and he panicked. I can tell he's editing this. Don't. Just yelled an F word. Can't hear what I'm editing when you guys are talking. Can everyone shut up? Stop blowing the car.
Starting point is 00:38:38 Just give him time lay out. He's like out and you feel and then we do something funny. Oh, hey, look, it's the Yankee Clipper. I have Lawrence Frank talking about rules. Has Dennis Roberts and Kauai's uncle ever asked for any extra benefits that wouldn't be allowable under the NBA settler cap directly to you? There's no lot coming out of his asks. Yeah, look, Dennis knows the rules.
Starting point is 00:39:00 Kauai knows the rules. Mitch Franklin knows the rules and we know the rules. Is that a guess right now, though? Yes, we all know the rules. You're positive? He knows what he's doing? You're telling me it's not possible. Chris Paul spit a luggy on that guy's face?
Starting point is 00:39:18 I heard hole. Are you reporting it? Let's relive this. He took the buck hole. That's obvious. Whoa! It's obvious. Like, that's how I've heard it every single time.
Starting point is 00:39:28 He wasn't even saying bucks. It was just straight a butthole. He took the buck hole. you guys are bullshit what do you mean you're bullshit you said it you said it and we heard it that way you're a professional communicator we we often listen around here we listen at a clip of about 91% around here to what other people are saying and multiple people heard you say that he took the buck's hole he took the buck hole and now it's even worse now it's even clearer to me the more I hear it, the more obvious
Starting point is 00:40:04 it is to me that you said something that's inappropriate and you should be on the cusp of being canceled. He took the buckle. Is that not obvious to you? What are you making faces for? This is why no one takes me serious. He took the buckle. It's the backwards flex fit hat.
Starting point is 00:40:20 It's the fact that you wear a Roman rain shirt out with your walkhole. Not a spread hit man, heart. No. You are a judge, you're a lawyer, you are a race expert. Race war experts.
Starting point is 00:40:36 You're a journalist. You are being taken seriously around here, but I think that what is hurting you is the way that you dress. Like, I believe that Juju is right when he says you can be taken more seriously. Anyone can be if they dress for the part. I had to go to a school function last night with my older son, my younger son, excuse me. My wife couldn't come because she had something else going on. I was wearing a wrestling shirt.
Starting point is 00:40:59 I said to my wife, do I have to change? She said he'd wear whatever you want But date night is different Well yeah because I wasn't with her last night But date night you know I'm right next to her So I guess she felt that that's the difference Okay so the shame is not of having you
Starting point is 00:41:14 As an adult dressed like a toddler Being among other parents as her husband And my wife's a principal at the school by the way Whoa What? What happened? Wait the same school? Yeah So people know you
Starting point is 00:41:29 You're like kind of like a boss around there I mean, I'm not there that often, so I don't know if they know me. I want to clarify a couple of different things here. As Jeremy, please isolate the shocked woe from Jeremy as he just fled the microphone with like shame and embarrassment on behalf of Zaz, the way that Zaz feels shame and embarrassment when watching anything Tim Robinson does on an airplane. The idea that your wife, when you're next to her, would have an objection. to going out to dinner with you wearing a Roman rain shirt, but she's fine with you representing among other parents at the school
Starting point is 00:42:09 where she's the principal, which is really a detail I did not know either. And inside, I had the same reaction that Jeremy had outside. It came out of Jeremy's mouth, but it was pinballing inside me. I just didn't want, you know, Zaz to feel my shame, which is, oh, my God, the principal must be so embarrassed that her husband is going out. out in public, among other parents, wearing a Roman Range shirt that none of those kids would wear. I'm just glad she finally allowed me to express myself.
Starting point is 00:42:39 What did your kid wear? Is he also wearing a wrestling shirt? He's like, Dad's wearing the wrestling shirt. I'll go like... Nah, school uniform. So everyone there is dressed professionally. You're the worst one. You're dressed...
Starting point is 00:42:50 Worst. I think you're mispronounced. He looks more like the middle schoolers than the middle schools. I look great. I was very pleased with my look last night. But when you look at the other parents, is there anyone else? See a bunch of nine to five losers is what I'm looking at.
Starting point is 00:43:04 Got a point there. You don't think they trade places with me? Of course. Did you wear jeans? No, I don't wear jeans. I wore shorts. You were shorts at night. Yeah, whatever, man. You never wear jeans? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:43:19 He took the buckle. So, nine to five losers is what you have now called the purse. principal's constituency. You were just dressed like you are now. He took the buckle.

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