The Deep 3 Podcast - We Gave 1 Hot Take For Every NBA Team | Ep. 168

Episode Date: November 21, 2025

Hot takes for every 2025-2026 NBA team! #nba Check out the TD3 merch: https://the-deep-3-shop.fourthwall.com/ Listen on Spotify!: https://open.spotify.com/show/3elbbqVumwqz8wlIdknsLW Listen on Apple Podcasts!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-deep-3-podcast/id1657940794 Follow us on TikTok!: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedeepthree Follow us on Instagram!: https://www.instagram.com/thedeep3podcast/ Isaac's twitter: https://twitter.com/byisaacg Mo's twitter: https://twitter.com/Mojo99_ Donnavan's twitter: https://twitter.com/Dsmoot3D 0:00- Intro 1:27- Southwest Division 24:50- Southeast Division 46:05- Pacific Division 1:03:46- Atlantic Division 1:16:55- Central Division 1:31:10- Northwest Division 1:50:20- league hot take 2:00:48- tiktok time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I think that over the last few weeks, we have been too reserved. We have been too professional. We've done too much watching games, learning new information, trying to be level-headed, not overreact the sample size, not do too much too fast. And today, all that changes. Today, as you see by the title, we are here to give one hot take about every single NBA team. Let's go.

Let's get spicy. We're throwing it back. That's crazy. He was bragging. I'll eat his shit. The cranium is crazy. Oh my God. Crown eaters rejoice.

So obviously being hyperbolic, we're not going to be a person crazy shit. But we are going to try to give one hot take. You know, let's try to embody what that means. So whatever you feel naturally, put it about 10% crazier. Let's push the boundaries of how you're feeling. willing to go with these takes do i have to believe these things a little bit you have to believe

the essence of these takes they can't be complete BS but they can be embellished a little bit okay because i'm not going to lie i've been scarred through hot takes based off of the TD3 lies that we usually do and i see the most nonsensical thing so you're telling me i have to be like them but a little bit more realistic yes let's push the boundaries but you have to believe it at its core you have to believe there's something to it okay okay all right and uh we're going to try to single-handedly make divisions matter again in the NBA. If anybody's going to talk about division is going to be us. We are going to go division by division to do this to try to give ourselves some

organization. I want to go first. So I'm going to begin with the Southwest Division to start this today. And I'm going to start with the Houston Rockets as my first team on my list. Gotcha. One hot take for the Houston Rockets. Alfred and Shangoon has lapped Evan Mobley as the second best player in the 2021 draft blast.

And he might be coming for Cade. Okay. That's spicy. I like that. I like that. And I really do love it because I saw a tweet the other day, made me crack up laughing where somebody quote tweeted the stats of what Jalen Duren is doing where he's taking a leap. And somebody quoted him. He was like, everyone will be still going to do the same 18 and 80s? So half of this day, am I willing to actually take him over them in the redraft? I don't know yet. But as of so far in this season, he is playing. so much better than Mowgli. And half of this is really Mowgli slander and how disappointing his season's been and how much he clearly misses the offensive organization

they had last year that was feeding him all the buckets, how much he's focused too much on stuff that's not finishing around the room, how much he misses Darius Garland, all this culminating and a disappointing start to have him Mowgli's season. But also, man, Shinggoon just keeps having these games where you look up and he has 30, 10, and 10,

and everything he's doing with the ball in his hands that's leading to them having the number one offense, all the playmaking burden that he's had to carry because of Avivantvliad has gone out, They've had to go true point center Shangoon and really make him be Baby Yokish Like people have been saying he is for years He's actually playing that now

And last year he made a jump obviously Where he wasn't bad on defense anymore Two years ago he was in Sabonis territory It was these hubbigs that were just really slow footed Bad defensively Last year he shook that narrative He was clearly a part of a high level defense And he was not like the anchor

But he can clearly exist in a good defense It's clearly smart and be in good position Even if he doesn't have the like shot blocking chops some other star centers have, right? Even if he'll never be Chet as a rim protector, he's not a negative anymore. This year, the on-ball scoring, he keeps having these games where it pops.

I think the main way I viewed him last year offensively was incredible shot generator. Draws double teams, very good at creating looks for others and can muscle his way to be physically a mismatch to create good looks. But he was average at best in a lot of the finishing categories. Man, all those categories are going up this year. The rim numbers are looking a little bit better,

the post of numbers a little bit better he is killing people in the post i love yeah i love what what he's doing i think it's really it's really interesting because like like you so there's obviously been like the civil war that happened with the rockets where like some people were big big uh singoon people some people were big jailing green people and when one was out then the team would would play well when the other and the team would play well they're like oh you can't play them together right yeah and it's so interesting that how and obviously completely different levels but you swap out Jalen Green for Kevin Durant and now you see you see Sangoon being able to be his full potential and if you look at the opposite side of this take which is like the Evan Mobley side of it

he's playing with DeMitts. He's playing with D.Mitts. He's playing with Darius Garland. And so you've been expecting this leap and the moment Sangun gets Kevin Durant, you get the leap that should probably be happening for Mobley on this other side. So I don't I don't hate it because of the for all the thing as you said, the responsibility, the growth as a defender. We're seeing the best from Albert and Sangoon right now, and it's awesome. Yeah, I agree. This take him being the second best player out of the 2021 NBA draft class, which entails Scotty Barnes, of course, Kate Cunningham, obviously Evan Moby's there too. I think that's probably going to end up being what is the actual case over the next few years. And I don't hate it. I don't hate it at all, especially

considering how the rare ability for i'm maybe talking about some of his size just to be an engine on offense while also not tanking your defense and being able to touch every asset of the basketball court and while also not being like the worst defender on the planet as well he showcased that last year last year he's still solid defensively this year as well hasn't necessarily taken a huge step back it's amazing and you're right this is more so uh evan mowably thing and i think that we're seeing that there's like a clear like tier of star superstar players or neither are superstars just yet but they're on the verge of that need a couple more steps to do that but they're clear all stars and there's a clear gap between eva mowgli and

sangu yeah i think right now the main thing is like we've seen right here last five games 24.4 points 7.4 assists 11.4 rebounds the main thing will be is this 24 25 point per game level that he's currently scoring at real because that's predicated on the two point shot has gotten better this year and that's the main thing we talked about last year where i was talking about him versus Chet, him versus Mowgli, and these guys that are obviously way better defenders, but not the on-ball creator that Shangoon is. I can buy that this guy can be better with the ball in his hands

and the offensive equity he has as a shot generator can make him have equal, if not even greater value than these elite defenders on the interior. But to me, to get truly out of those subonist talks, one, it is the difference he has the one-on-one scorer, but really it had to be space on the floor. And being able to have off-ball value, that two-point shot has been there this year.

We're buying that that's real, and we're buying that this 24 points per game of on-ball scoring, led by the fact that he currently has 11.5 creation true shot attempts per game with an above-average relative true shooting percentage, you see on screen right now, if that part of the game is real and he's just a one-on-one bucket, he's just a Marcus Cousins reincarnated, and he can stretch the court, the defensive gap doesn't matter nearly as much. And with St. Goon, he's also proven, you can extend this out.

And it's not the same draft class, but it's the same kind of era. You can extend this out to talk about Palo and his stuff, because obviously, with palo everything's been like the space isn't good the spacing isn't good go watch a rockets game right like go go look at what their plan is offensively which is we're just going to get the biggest people on the floor we're going to have non-shooters out here sometimes or or people that are not proven so they will they might get treated like a non-shooter and sanguine is still out here getting buckets doing what he's doing and so that's what we're saying at a certain point you do just have to go do it that's a good difference and like he he is part of that of that space and obviously but like

He's also just doing it. That's a good point. It takes a certain skill set to be able to operate within the lack of space and they have and allow them to do this offensive rebound, cutting heavy offense. It takes the ability to play this old school style where you can attack in the post in these tight areas where you don't have big driving lanes. You have to bludgeon your way there one-on-one in these small, low-post areas. Shingoon is amazing at that, Impalo less so.

Yeah. And I think this is, for me personally, it's like a philosophical thing. I'm not going to use spacing as an issue or as an excuse. for any star player, either not perform to a certain degree, or not their team not necessarily being what they should be, of course. Yeah. And so I think Sangoon is like the first pillar of that for me in that thought process. Yeah, so we'll see.

Right now, again, 44% three point percentage in the last five games, the two point percentage has also been great. For the season in the first six games or so, the two point percentage wasn't great. So that was why we've seen this conversation over the last week because he's really heating up as a scorer. If that maintains, he will be the second best player in the class. obviously you're not going to overreact too much, but for a hot take, right now it's feeling like he's on that direction.

His two-point shooting hasn't been like super, I'm not going to say super consistent, but it's the actual attempts has been so up and down. And I believe that's more so what teams are willing to give him and also take from him. And whenever he, their teams are like Darien Bichute, he's pulling him off like four, five, six times a game. And a couple days ago he did that. And he had like four of them. So yeah.

So yeah, this score and aggression will be, he will be one of the most interesting parts when we do our Christmas episode we do every year and we rank the top 30 players in the NBA after it was like 30 games or so. Yeah. If this scoring aggression is still maintaining and he is above 20 points for a game and is this true engine, he will be very high on that list.

Yeah, I agree. All right, what's the next team in the Southwest Division? Who has the Spurs? I have the Spurs, but I want to go over and I want to talk about the Mazz real quick. The Dallas Mavericks.

Of course, we all know just a couple of days ago, or last week now, I guess. Nico Harrison is gone, and now we're on all into the next phase, the next chapter of life that they're faced with. And I think right now the number one concern obviously needs to be like trying to figure out ways to optimize Cooper Flags, Rookie here and set the standard for the rest of his career and all that. And I think the number one pillar for that and avenue to reaching such levels of success is making sure you reacquire your 2028 draft pick and that currently belongs to the Charlotte Hornets. Now, the Hornets have really interesting protection on it.

If the pick is not number one or two next year, then the shot Hornets get the right to retain that pick. So if they don't have the number one or two overall pick, it's fucking gone. It's a lost season. I think the Dallas Mavericks really need to make it a priority to re-get, to retain that pick. Because after that, they don't have no control of their picks over the next few years. And at that point in time, you're just coasting alpha vibes and seeing what you can get from random players through development needs and all that and drive the players. So what's the hot take that they need to tank? They need to get the pickback from the Charlotte Horns.

And whatever, whatever that means, whether they'd be trading AD to Charlotte or trying to figure out a way to say, hey, you want, you on PJ Washington? Hey, man, he's looking really good right now. Miles Bridges is still Miles Bridges. They need to do anything possible to get that pickback or else their feature is like pretty rough considering how they don't have full control of their assets.

They need it bad. Okay. Yeah. Other teams in this division, so Mavs get bad quickly. Yeah. We have the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, and San Antonio Spurs. Oh, shit. Do you have one of those teams? I do. So I had the Spurs and I traded them more.

Okay. What is the hot take for the Spurs? All right. So the Spurs, I think right now they're going to be pretty middling. They're currently in the five or six seat or whatever. I do believe that the San Antonio Spurs will be the best second half team in the entire NBA at the start at the turn of the all-star break usually every year we see teams like the i think last year was probably the los angeles clippers the year before that i think it was the uh may have been the minnesota trembles if i'm remembering correctly a couple years before that was dallas mavericks every single team like has a moment in which they just like turn

the corner whether it be offensively or defensively of course for the most part is defensively i think offensively though for this team that's when things will probably click that's when you'll have all those guys, Harper, all those guys being Harper, Castle, and Darren Fox playing fully healthy together. They still haven't had an opportunity to do that just yet because of constant fluctuations through the health injury report or whatever. I think this team is bound and set to make a last minute, late season push because of all these injuries and because of the ascension of Wembe, of course. What do you think about this video? What the fuck? What do you think about this video that Harrison Barnes posted?

I never thought I'd start my own music video. The tech has come a long way inspiring more people to make music. You can craft one yourself. Just mention at producer underscore AI and ask for a vibe. All right. Brother, you can't be like,

he got a couple years left under his button in NBA. He can't be doing this. I don't even care about the like ethics of it. I don't even, yeah, do you care about like, I'm not here to laugh at that. Like, whatever. This is so lame. This is so whack.

You want to make your own music video? What is this dumb shit? What are we talking about? I don't know why it's popped in my mind, but this is hilarious. This is despicable. Your own music video, bro? Where are we going with this? Never mind then.

Fuck that take. Yeah, I have to hear the song too. Oh, yeah. Yeah, this is awful, though. Oh, this is terrible, man. It doesn't even look like him. It doesn't. It looks at the guy from insecure.

What was that one boyfriend's name? Ellis. Ellis? No, no. Lawrence. No, the other one. Lawrence. No, the other one.

What? The dark skin dude? Yeah. Daniel? Yeah, looks like Daniel offense here the beard.

That's funny. I think it does look like the main dude. You think it's more like Lawrence? Yeah. They both got a beard. Yeah, this is much

more J. Ellis. More fierce in for so. Oh no, okay. No, no, no, right there looks like Daniel. The AI is bad.

I see it. Yeah. They keep you shift in the face. So what do you guys think about my take? Every year there's some second half. There's some team

in the second half who takes like a seismic step. Yeah, I see the vision. A lot of times that comes from being a good defensive team, I think, and stomping out March basketball when these teams are rolling out their BS lineups. That makes sense.

If Wemby's fully healthy, if Castle's there and everybody, they have the array of wing defenders, hopefully Carter Bryant becomes a bigger part of the rotation. The second half of the season is another defender. You typically see a lot of good teams kind of just choke the life at a terrible teams in March with defense.

Obviously, that stands the reason that can be them. Stands the reason that they could finally get their full array of ball handler thanks to Wemby, which we literally haven't seen for a single game yet. I see the vision. It really comes down to is Wemby going to be healthy, which feels like it's always going to be a question now.

Don't say that. I hope not. I hope not. It's just a capturing. It happens across the league now. New discourse arrived. Everyone's talking about the rise of capturing is because the rise of pace after everyone's copying those pacers.

Yeah. It's whatever. But I do, I don't, yeah, I don't hate it. I do think that it does, it's like their situation perfectly sets them up to peak in the second half of the year. Makes total sense. Yeah, just because everybody's been injured. So I don't hate that.

Okay. The next one is the Grizzlies. Donner, I realize you don't have anybody in this division, do you? No. Sit tight, buddy. Grizzlies. Okay. It's a real hyperbolic.

Let's do it. Let's punch people while they're down. I think the grizzlies have the hot take here is. They have the second worst long-term outlook of any team in the Western Conference outside of the Suns. So the third worst? Outside of the third worst. No, no. The second worst overall, the Suns are the worst one.

Gotcha. Outside of the Suns, they have the worst outlook. So this is the Grizzlies versus the Pelons. It's me and you. Which, okay, maybe I'll take 30. Because the Pelicans are fuck. You guys got hell of pigs. Hell not.

Pelicans are fuck. Never mind. Bottom three, I would look in the Western Conference. Okay. Put whatever teams you want. Yeah. I forgot about the Pelicans. Honestly, it makes, it makes sense.

They are in a better spot just because they, if they decide to tear it down, you have better assets to trade. That's why I put them here because I don't know if they do. They're probably not going to trade Jaron Jackson, Jr. If they do want to trade him, he still has value because so many teams can tell themselves that he fits in any team, three-point shooter, shot blocker, Versal Defender, you can literally plug him into any team ever. He also is not playing well if anybody wants to talk about it.

Everybody's just ragging on jaw. Jaron Jackson also doesn't look like he's loving this system. Also, isn't performing super well. I would know, I have my fantasy teams. I've been watching every game and it's dreadful. I don't know how much he's worth, less than he was last year. Still something, though. They have Jha, who all we can talk about across media.

is that he has no fucking value and nobody wants to straight for him. So that's like, what are we going to do with that? Their best interesting young players are rookies who were 22 or 23. So those obviously aren't like super enticing building blocks. They're great role players and they draft them because they're trying to win now.

So you bring in a 22-year-old Zach Edy, you're bringing a 23-year-old, Cedric Coward, because you want them to help you make the playoffs this season. If you lose the stars that you have that around, you do still have your young players, but none of them are building block young players. So you'd really, really have to hope that you can get a good return for Jaron Jackson

if you were going to blow it up. And I don't know if they're going to. I feel like they're probably more likely to build around Jaron Jackson and have this weird hodgepodge, middle ground team. I think that's the, well, so one, they were able to sell high on Desmond Bay. And so you get four first-on picks from that trade. And that covers up for any loss of value between Jared Jackson and Jod.

Right? And I actually do think that Jaron Jackson, out of both teams, out of the people who are reasonably on the trade block, because, like, Derek Queen's not getting traded. Jeremy, I figure, right? John Jackson probably has the most trade value because I do think, right? He, he more than, more than Jai, more than Trey Murphy, all those guys. He has shown the ability that he can, that in the right offense, right, right space,

he can be a volume score, one of the top two or three scores on your team. He's won a DPO-O-wide. He's done all these things. He's been able to play off of a star. he's shown his versatility so I think that if especially this season even if even if Jerry doesn't get back to where he was

last year when we were talking about him making this this leap if they decide to trade him they would still get a really really good haul and so I think between that and the four first round picks for Bain it's okay if you sell for 50 cents on the dollar for Jai and you'll still be

in a better spot than New Orleans or than Phoenix and you'll be in stage one of a rebuild you better hope you find some pillars pretty soon because they have no other pillars in that door right now. Yeah, this is honestly they have the worst vibes in the entire league and I feel like this is like the worst vibes that we've seen in quite

a while. They really do. Aside from like the teams they're 1 and 12 or whatever like those aren't real teams. Aside of some teams that have some kind of expectations so it makes the vibes matter, they are definitely in towards the bottom. I mean, for the last few years especially too. The Wizards are 1 and 13. They still feel like they have better vibes in Memphis. Yeah, they certainly do. I was really

talking about the Nets because I feel like they had terrible vibes. But yeah, obviously again, hyperbolic to hot take they're i'd probably rather have their outlook than like the clippers but they're in the conversation for bottom three outlook when you think about that plus how painful the job morant thing is for them it's a dreadful time it's painful because your heart is literally torn because you could easily imagine a world and where um it's similar to a jimmy bellar situation just simply don't fuck with these guys in the organization the higher ups and how they're constantly like demoting it the other day we are there was a report that came out i think dylan

Brooks is talking about talking in some podcast or some interview he said that he got a mess he was told from the Memphis Grizzies GM I forget his name to yell bro like he said yo bro like in this series that playoff series against I think it was the Lakers don't take more than six shots he was told not to shoot that much at all and of course like that year for the grisies a lot of people were bullish on Dylan Brooks because of course great team defender great culture guy and all that but he would tend to just hijack the offense and think he's maple mama Canadian and Kobe Bryant at times. Being told, that is insane.

So you could only imagine what's happening to Jock. I feel like there has to be something in between there as well that just throwing off his entire psyche. It has to be. Pelicans. Who is it pelicans? I have the Pelicans again. And my hot take for the Pelicans is,

maybe Joe Dumars wasn't wrong. All right. Maybe he was kind of cooking. Maybe he did whatever it takes. by any means necessary to trade up for someone who might be the best player from this draft class. Derek Queen might be the best player

in this draft class. Maybe he is Shangun V2. Let's go ahead and talk about it. He's been whooping. He got kudos just a couple of weeks ago. We talked about he got kudos from someone like Tim Duncan who never says anything about anyone, bro. That's his first quote in like 10 years.

I haven't heard from Guy in a minute. Nicole Yokin said, yo, after last night game, I think he gave Yokis like 28 and 11 and 4 or something. like that he said yo he said i see it with this guy derrick queen and the level of touch and just like how he gets to his angles and whatnot and his ability to at least like garner his ability to evaluate the defense rather quick than everyone else on this roster except for like i don't know

jordan pool and jeremiah fears and zion or whatever is amazing and it screams to me yeah you're a future star yeah he had last night stateline against yo hits 30 points nine rebounds forces two steals two blocks on 12 of 18 from the floor now the three games before nine points on three or 10 nine points on two or four nine points on four a rookie it's okay it's okay we're gonna excuse that because the highs are extremely high and this was always this is always the the selling point with derrick queen was like yeah like his his his um his body archetype is really weird we don't really know like where he where he's gonna play he's kind of a tweener we're not we're not really sure but he's just a hooper

like his feel for the game is elite and so being able to see him in his rookie year already you know be in the starting lineup already be able to go up against some of the other bigs in the league and get his game off it's extremely encouraged so

how good does he have to be for it to be a good trade because obviously nobody ever said yeah like I think he has to finish his career with like seven all-star appearances that's a fucking ridiculous bar calm down That's crazy. It's not a hot right now. I don't even think DeMarcus Cousins has to be like a four-year stretch.

We're like, yeah, like Derek Quinn's going to be. And it really just comes down to how lucky they go to the lottery too. If they give the Hawks the top four pick, it's fuck. If it's a 10th pick, it's a shit. Derek Queen's probably a better player than 10th pick in the 2026 draft. So it really comes down to that. Also, Aes Anul, part of that too. I think we forget about that.

It's Ace of Newell plus next year's pick. But, yeah, no matter what, it's going to be like crazy. They made it unprotected. But he's certainly doing his part to make sure that he gets that stigma off his name because he is as good as you could possibly hope for offensively. I'm going to double up for you. Another hot take. Zion Williamson just doesn't have it anymore.

Him losing weight was a bad thing. Yes, he looks so much less powerful as a driver and like, again, the offense is, the ecosystem they have is bad. Maybe it takes him time. He got to gain weight again, bro. He looks weak. He looks not at, this is his worst

efficiency of his entire career. Shooting 48% from the field? No, hearing everything, I would be so mad. And for five years everyone's like, you're fat. You need to get the shape, block in, bro. And he's like, you know what? I will do that. I will take everybody's headbites. And then you come up here

a month into the season, like, yeah, he don't got it anymore. He should have stayed big. I would be so mad. There's so many drives where he simply felt like he's going around people instead of threw them before. He had his superpower. He was the best rim finisher I've ever seen outside of LeBron James and his Yonis up

to Nacombo. That does not feel like that anymore. And if he's not going to be an unstoppable force driving to the rim the shooting touch isn't good the passing is good when the slashing is good outside of that he's not some preemptive faster that can that can build his game off of that without the slashing lord knows the defense isn't good it's such a weird time for a player that clearly needs to be a very specific type of player to have impact and that specific type player is the best slasher in the league and if you cannot be that everything falls apart very quickly. Good news is you came along with. Bad news is you went the wrong way. I think

B.F. That was better. Man, it's over, man. And honestly, I think he, you mentioned trade his eye on, bro. I think they 100% should do that because at this point in time, you're just wasting. Oh, why his PR is good too. Yeah. It's, it's thriving. This is the highest has ever been for not basketball reasons, which is so funny as well. And at this point in time, you just got to prioritize Why is there queen in his development, bro? You're going to know where it was on. We'll see where I go. That's all five teams in Southwest Division.

Donovan, what division want to do next? We're going to go southeast. Okay, southeast. What do you got? The Washington Wizards, they will break the Pistons record for most consecutive losses in the season. Oh, shit.

This is awful. This is so bad. They are starting worse than what they did last year. And for a team that, like, is obviously in rebuild mode, the way that they are, playing on a night-to-night basis.

They're just getting blasted every single night. It's a really terrible product. Remember for years ago when people were, like, crying about how the OKC Thunder were, like, a disgrace to the NBA because they were tanking so hard that it was a stain on the legacy of the sport, that's how watching some of these late-game Wizards games are. They play the most unsurious lineups three years into a rebuild. They have two starters on this team, I think, and Kishon, George, and Sarr. T.

T.D. is a rookie. He only played 12 games. I don't know yet. But even to give that credit, 2.5, because we like him as a lot. prospect zero clue if he's a long-term starter yet i know they're only the three years under the rebuild now i would like to see a little bit more respectable players on the roster respectable formation of style of play on the roster at this point in the rebuild they to be fair it's probably a good thing that they're this dreadful with this draft class coming up it's a very good thing you secure

the best chance you can for one of the three stars up top so it doesn't matter in the long run but in terms of the image and your timeline of the rebuild it does feel embarrassing they lost by 23 to the nets good lord they they won unless second game of the year, they beat the Mavericks. They have lost 12 straight since then. They lost by 11 last night to the, to the Timberwolves. There was a point with, I think at halftime, it was like 71 to 49. They are, they are awful defensively. And even trying to find like the bright spots, would you want to be honestly for this point and would you want to start getting to in your tank is yes, we're not winning games, but we're going to have a lot of games

where we're either up by 10 in the fourth quarter or it's a close game all the way through and ah we just we don't make the plays at the end so sad we get another loss we get better draft odds they're losing these games 20 minutes in and it's and it's over and i think for them this it truly does feel like throwback tanking it does feel like we are going to put out some of the most abominable lineups that you have ever seen and we're going to lose these games and everybody who shows up and pays their $3 to get into Wizards games, they know I'm about to see bad basketball. It's a very good thing that Keishon George was found later in the lottery

and it seems to be a very good wing for them. That should start for them again when they're good. Thank God that happened. Because if it was just SAR and if that pick was insert X player that isn't doing anything, that was Cody Williams in that class, just insert young player who has not made a name for themselves. Johnny Davis. Well, I didn't say, I would listen, calm down. I'm just like, oh.

If that was insert X player that's done jack shit, this would be dreadful. But thank God they have Sarr, they have George. They will probably get a top four pick in this coming draft unless they're unlucky again, which I shouldn't even say probably because you literally never know anymore. Hopefully they get a top four pick. If you insert one of those guys into this, if you insert Cam Boozer here, say it's third pick overall, and you have Sarr, George, Boozer, and we can figure the rest out. We'll be on good trajectory next season.

But this is going to be a painful year of feeling like you're just behind schedule. Dude, the type of defense that they're playing and like their defensive years, units out there, which is just Saur and everybody else is so painful to watch. I don't think they have a single good defender outside of that. Kishon George is not terrible. I think he's on, like, the cusp of being respectable in the NBA. But outside of that, it's like Sari and everybody else. And Sari's not the type of prospect to anchor a defense like Wembe or Rudy Gaubert.

He's not a rim deter. He's a good shot blocker. Yeah, for sure. But he's not like similar to Jaron Jackson, Union. He's not controlling the whole, that whole end of the floor. I think he could anchor a defense one day, though. I think he could be a great defender. But it doesn't matter.

if the rest of your starting lineup has dwarfism and Kishon George is playing power four for you at 6-7. Their lineups are so small and skinny and just like again, it's a good thing because they need to be losing these goddamn games so it's going to net out but they have no chance of filling respectable defenses. Yeah. Yeah. As good as the

thunder are like the wizards are that but just the inverse? Yeah. Our next team is division. Who has the Atlanta Hawks? That's me. Double up what we got for the Atlanta Hawks. I have like three teams in this division. Okay. What's your hot take for the Atlanta Hawks? Trey Trey Young today

You are full You rage baited the fuck out of me On a T-D3 Live Monday tap The fuck in 4 p.m. Central Time Yes, we talked about this On stream earlier this week And I laid out the case That the biggest reason

Honestly, it's not The fact that the Hawks have found A little bit of success In this moment It is in The reason why you would trade Tray Young is because you are not certain about whether or not

Trey Young is going to be the guy and for somebody who for somebody who picked who you picked at the top of the draft for somebody who has been on your team for multiple multiple years in the NBA standard culture is when this guy

when it's time to give him the money for the extension you give it to him and they have not because they are still on the fence I think that that says more than anything and if you are trying to decide your decision is already made and so I do think that they should Trey Trey Young and they should, they should, you know, get assets back and you keep building

from from there. Based off of this season, what do you see, what do you all see that tells you this may be viable? Okay, here's the thing. I think there's two sides of this, both are dramatic. I think to say they need Trey Trey on today because they went seven and two without him in the stretch, was according to tweet you see on screen right now from David Lee, only two of those games were against top 10 teams.

Atlanta's first in transition points added, which is masking the slightly above league average half-court offense being 13th, and their plus net 9.5 net rate. voting false to plus 3.9 when the blowouts are excluded. So what he's saying is this run was fake demon timing, that their chain is fake, right? Obviously, they're not going to be a 7 and 2 caliber team without Trey Young. So the point that you would make that they're not actually that good, we do need Trey.

I see your point because that other side's dramatic. Also, though, duh, they're not good with no trade. The point is they'd be better with this style of play and then you get the equivalent value of trade added to that. That's the point that I think is interesting, that no, they don't need to trade him. They can give it a chance to see if it were. works and see if they can harness everything they're doing now, the egalitarian offense,

continue to empower Dyson, Daniels, and Reese to Shea and obviously Jalen Johnson, who's empowered either way as ball handlers, see what it looks like when on Yeko, Kongu is shooting this well next to Trey Young. They can give it a good scouts honor try, but if it doesn't work, there is a point here that with this style without Trey, which means with no small guards, we can cook something up. This is a better style that leads itself to winning and leads itself to everybody else playing the best version of themselves than Trey Young basketball. So whatever the Trey Young Packers look like, I don't know. You insert that into this, that could be a better version than the best version of Trey.

I think it's so interesting to hear like these guys can play the best, be the best versions of themselves without Trey Young because I think that's like the quite opposite of what's happening. Yes, because I think seeing very interesting, Dyson Daniels, MIP candidate, everyone was blistering for him to be that came out of nowhere from the New Orleans Pelicans and was a demon defensively specifically, but offensively he took. a legitimate step. Last year he averaged 14 points. This year he's averaging 8 points a game. Why? Because he's tasked more to be a point guard similar to what he was asked out of in New Orleans. And that kind of like seeing Dyson Daniels be relegated to that is not him. It's not his true position at all.

He's worse without Trey Young, offensively especially. That's a score. Exactly. He's good at when it comes to penetrating the pain and creating his own, not his own shot necessarily, but creating opportunities and looks for other people, dishing it out on the perimeter. That's a very good talented asset to have, but it's amplified when you have someone like Trey Young on this team. Same thing for Jalen Johnson.

I think Jalen Johnson is producing, of course, like slightly better numbers. But when you watch the actual Encore product, it's like clunky as hell and he's not smooth of a score. And if you're not someone who's a smooth score, then you tend to get your buckets in a clunky-ass way. You want me to read the messages we said about him the other day? Go ahead. It's hilarious. We were watching.

Who are they playing again? I think they were playing against the pistons. They were playing the Pistons. Yeah, the Pistons. Yes. We're watching the Pistons versus Hawks game. I'm trying to find the text. And we're talking about Jalen Johnson and how he's obviously good, but he's such a funny player.

Where is these tech? He's good. And he actually had a really good. I know. I know the text he was playing very well that game, too. He was playing very well. Obviously, we ended up losing. He was a demon in transition.

And he was able to get his, get his looks up on. I got it. Jalen, Duren, and all that and everybody. I got it. So, like, so, yeah, so we're talking about that. Oh, I kind of do. And Mo says it's like he got too good on accident. Okay, let me start from the top, though.

Yes. I said, yeah, Jaylon Johnson turned over and you said, do you see how bagless Jalen Johnson is talking in the half court? Exactly. Obviously, right? I said, every time he goes crazy, my brain sees it the same way as when a shitty role player is going off. Like, I know he's really good, but he has role players, Sigs and aesthetics.

When I say Sigs, I'm talking like two gay lingo, like his dribble moves and the way he moves around the court. I say he has the least aura of any good player by far, but he is. really good. I said specifically the way he gingerly walks into pull up threes kills me because that's how the non-shooters look when it goes in. That's like how Yannes shoots threes. Yeah. And you said it's like he got good on accidents. Like he just got like he just got zapped into the six eight six nine body frame and it's talented but he's just learning how to use it still, bro. Yeah. So all that's true. And I think that's to the point where clearly they can't exist without Trey Young as is as it currently constructed for everything you said

Dyson becomes worse of a score without anybody to give him open looks. Jalen Johnson's over-tasked. The point, I think, for somebody who wants Trey Young, it would be, this is a pie in the sky version, right? But let's say the magic continue to stink and they panic and they want to trade Franz Wagner for Trey. Whatever, whatever equivalent young player,

let's even say, go lower. Let's say it's Denny of Dia and somebody else for Trey, which maybe there's a trouble wouldn't do, a point I don't know where. But the equivalent creator, that's bigger, a little bit less of a score, but can play more defense and ball handle and give them this two big wing defender,

or big wing ball handler looks, right? that would kind of serve to alleviate the pressure on those guys. They'd have a higher defensive ceiling because they don't play anybody that's six foot one. And even though Trace tried, he's never going to be a great defender, you know. It would be that version of the vision that we continue to go all in on size, length, and athleticism while maintaining some playmaking. That idea of the team is better. And maybe the only way to get there is by trading Tray Young.

Potentially. And I will say to that, like that's not insane to say. And I think that very much should be on the table. I'm on the same side of our GM on Sey Sala. like you want a contract, please prove it to me first because I have PTSD trauma. But why should your franchise player have to prove something? Everyone has something to prove.

What do you mean? And night in and night out. There's only like a handful of players where you give them whatever it is regardless. That's not true though. Most teams, there's more than a handful because to his point, there's more players across the league

that are treated this way. I guess you would say they shouldn't be true that way either. The way Tray Young's being treated is the way all this guy should be treated. Which is different combo. Maybe that maybe the toxic game is just smart to not treat. Considering, like, if you, if you give him this contract, when I say it's only a handful of players, there's only a handful of players in the league who are asked to be, like, the guy for the franchise.

For its franchise that's specifically trying to be serious and contend. Yes. But so my thing, my thing with Trey and honestly, like with the Hawks in general is a couple of things. One, we are in year eight of the Trey Young experiment. And it's not his fault that right whenever we were getting real, real momentum for the Hawks to like take the next step and do that, that they're all in move was to go get DeJante. That's not, that's not, that is not Tray Young's fault. And so I'm not going to put absolutely everything on the, on the franchise because he had, like, that wasn't his, his call or that wasn't his

choice, right? I will, I will say though, um, one of the reasons why, honestly, not only should they probably trade, Tray Young, but be, be potentially open to tearing everything down to the studs is tearing everything down. Hold on. Because one, we, we, We've talked before about, do we even know if Quinn Snyder is a good coach anymore? We've had those combos. We've talked about, we've talked about Troy Young. And I have this, I have this overwhelming confidence in the Atlanta Hawks that they will not be the Washington Wizards, which is if we tear everything down to the studs, we can't get

respectable again. They can find themselves in mid. They know, they know how to do that. We can take five years. And if things are going bad, then you'd be like, are, you know what? let's run that old plan back and they can get to 41 and 41 like that i don't know i don't know for them if getting to the highest highs of doing all of this is going to happen with tri young and you look at them in the standings right now and we were very high on them coming into the season

and like you had them at the 3c you had them at the 4c i was the lowest on them i had them at 5 and i was like we we are very optimistic about what all of this could look what if we just end up at the end of the day and the hawks are just the five or six seed and right now if you look at them they are nine and six they are at the five seed this looks to be what their destiny is and so i think that like giving tray young that contract and running this back with trying to trying to piece all of these pieces together i don't think that's the smartest way to build this team moving forward yeah and so that that's why i would trade i would say the optimism we have preseason around the vision of tray young surrounded by athletes and defense is why you give it a try at least you don't trade him

yet you see what happens like I said with unyaka shooting well and all this stuff everybody kind of coming together without tray see if trayon can buy into this and see if we can harness it if not if we come out there and traeon just doesn't fit and they just don't have the chemistry with this again more spread out usage style of play if triung simply cannot fit because he's not good without the ball in his hands then so be it then we wrote the band it off and say we got to make it happen you got to give him a chance first yeah the hotness of the take is training him today needed to happen yesterday but in february by february we will know i think and i think that is on the table.

Yeah, you don't make, you don't construct a team around him and give him another fair shot and then just decide to let him go before you even had it. You gave him the correct opportunity to actually cook. Orlando Magic.

There's also me. What you got? They will have a new coach before the playoffs. We've seen, before the playoffs. Before the playoffs. We've seen,

we've seen for a couple years now, teams be willing to fire their coach even when they have aspirations of making a deep playoff run. if you look at the Orlando Magic right now, the number and the baseline that we always keep saying, can you get to 20?

They are right there at 20. I still... Offensively, you're speaking? Yeah, yeah, offensively. I still do not think that that is good enough. And ultimately, when you have Desmond Bay, when you have Franz Wagner, when you have Palo,

and all of those pieces are coming together in the times that they have played together, it has not felt great. And whether you like this or not, knowing that we have committed ourselves to Palo. We just traded four first-on-picks for Desmond Bay and we gave Franz Wagner and extension Jamal Mosley. You are making the least amount of money out of all of them.

You are the most expendable out of these three guys. We will find somebody else to try and see if they can be the ones to leave this brain trust to figure out how we can get our offense to not only 20th and not only in the upper two-thirds. How can we get to league average at 15? How can we get to 14 and 13 and start to do all of those things? I don't know if, I don't know if that's going to happen. And so I do think that changes will be made.

I do think that impatience will start to creep up with the Orlando Magic. So I do think that they will have a new coach before the playoffs roll around. Very understandable. Now, I will say these last three, four games, the Orlando Magic have, I think, the seventh highest offensive rating. And within these last four games, what's going on in those games? No, no, listen, listen, hands down slowly. They played the Knicks. They also played the Brooklyn Nets, of course.

The Houston Rockets and also the Warriors. Two known to be good, very good defensive teams. The Nakes aren't the worst defensive team either. They're not the Nets. They're closer to the middle of the pack than they are to the Nets. Yeah, yeah. All I'm hearing is. I think we have probably a higher hot take to go there.

The wrong dictator has been the one being talked about. I think so. Comptuous for another day. Who has the Charlotte Hornets? That's also me. What's your hot take for the Hornets? Once again, I have changed my rookie of the year pick, and it's going to be con canoomple. Okay, Hot-take.

So that's not a hot take. He's the best rookie right now. Are you willing to say he's going to be the best rookie in the class? Let's say outside of Cooper flag, give you a better out. Outside of Cooper flag? Will he be the second best player long term? I'm really high on VJ still. I don't think it's crazy to say Conk could be better than VJ.

That's obviously a conversation. Yeah, I don't, I don't, it's not crazy if you feel that way. I just really like VJ. But those two will battle it. out for the second for the second spot so at at worst he would be the third best place. This is a good class man. We just talk about Derek Queenie so good offensively. Dylan Harper's going to be a star. I almost

almost can feel like I can guarantee it. This is a crazy class and Khan is closer to two than he is to six. But a lot of these rookies are already better than the year two players. It's insane. Well yeah that's that's kind of yeah. Yeah. It's more about the year. I know it's sad, bro. And I didn't and I didn't know how

how to go to this but like he can win rookie of the year. I do think that by the end of next year, he will be the best player on the Hornets. That's even harder, okay. Is he the best player on the Hornets now? Let's have a fucking conversation.

That's even hard. How about that? You should have to respect Lemello's talent. Do I? I think you have to respect his ability to create still. And the fact there's been like 10 games.

Yeah. But I'm just talking. But I'll take it though. I do agree with you. And the next year, we could be in that conversation. Concanibble is just such a well-rounded player that just doesn't have the built-in flaws of many players, like a lamello ball.

He's good on-ball, good off-ball, surprisingly good slasher for the athleticism limits. Great feel as a cutter. Like you just saw it, I don't know if it's on screen now, but he set a screen and backdoor cuts instantly off of it before they can even switch it and kind of like hits between the defenders. Great feel for small stuff like that.

I don't think he'll be a bad defender despite being the stereotypical white boy. Yeah. I think he'll have no holes and he'll just be a very malleable player to anybody. Yeah, I agree. him honestly I like to take I like when you said or I think it was you

know you said that lamello ball will be the second best player on the scene aka Khan's going to be taking over the franchise I almost feel like regardless of what happens with Brandon Miller I hope he's okay like this franchise has finally taken like the first right step in a long time years they got a winning basketball player

we got one years exactly and Calcutter Listen, I'm sensing a pattern. We mentioned that pattern after the draft. They did a sweep. They brought in a certain prototype of player. Pat Connington is on his team. Plumdog is still on his team, too.

Where did their coats come from? Boston. They did a sweep. They brought in a real lunch pail type of organization vibe to the roster. It's working. This offense has been more disciplined. We're seeing the vision of Charles Lee, Mathematic, Boston Celtics basketball.

They're getting lots of threes up. It all makes sense. We can work. something out and if you if you decide to trade lamello and you get some you get some pieces you get some assets for it now you can start building out your your roster truly in the way that charles lee wants to play basketball and in this vision i i like that and i'm i'm with that so but yes con has shown so much already in in these first couple games where it it doesn't just feel like oh yeah he's he's he's a rookie having a good start to the season this feels legitimate

he is a good, good NBA player. Miami Heat, last team is division. We've got to fly through these. We're only two divisions. Finally, I don't have one. I got the Miami Heat, man. We're going to keep this pretty simple cut and dry. I don't think this is sustainable.

I think they are a fake good team currently. So what's your hot take? They're missing the playoffs? I think they're going to be a playing team. I think they're going to be a playing team. I think once Tyler Hero comes back, it's going to throw off the entire psyche of this, of this rhythm. Because Tyler, of course, like he would think, oh, like he fits perfectly in which I could actually be true. Point is, I'm hating right now. I never liked that Miami

one second a day in my life other than when the Broncos are in that Jersey. I don't give a flying fuck about the Miami heat right now at all. And for that, doesn't even a hot take. It's just hate. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And for that, I think what you guys are doing is not sustainable at all. I don't think so. I think Norm Powell is a revelation. I think you actually are pretty good. But it's not my hot take today. So fuck you guys were hating today. If we want to be honest for a quick second. Nope, no, but you already decided we're hating on the next team. Do you think that they should get rid of Tyler Hero? No, he uses as a elsewhere.

No. Or should they stand on their superpowers and just spam? I think Tyler is probably going to fit in fine. Yeah. But we'll see.

Maybe not. We'll see. It's hard to end on them. They're good, man. I know you already decided you hate to eat. Next division, let's do the Pacific Division.

Okay. Los Angeles Lakers, I believe I have them. Do not not? My hot take for the Lakers, I would say I'm doubling down. I'm quadrupling down. John Dr.

Aiden was the best signing of the NBA off-season value-wise for $8 million a year. there is no player performing better in terms of dollar per I don't know impact than DeAndre Aden Good job

Okay Who is in contentioned Kevin Durant obviously was acquired This year we'll count that Even though he got to Yeah so you played like a solid bag For him too I can understand that

See in terms of Kevin Durant's the money The picks and stuff you gave up Aiden was gotten for next to nothing And he has been I think he's been a top 10 center so far this year This year Actually a lot of centers have made start a leap So maybe not enough to think about it

He's been not tier one, not tier two, but that like tier three of above average starters, he's been firmly as good as anybody, shooting 70% from the field, has great synergy with all three ball handlers now, his defense. He's never going to be a highly active defender that makes up for like the, you know, like guards getting blown by, you're closing all the holes. But in terms of him playing his job, being a good drop defender, switching more than adequately, he really has had zero times besides the first game of the season

in which I feel like he's been a mistake or has been the worst player on the floor, selling the team anything. pretty much been nothing but good things from John Jayton his life is looking better man like JJ Reddick putting him in the best position ever

and now that LeBron's back he got some of the easiest looks of his goddamn life there were like a couple passes in LeBron's first game against Utah where Aighton was just like dumped off the ball mad fast and there are specific passes

that of course like Lou can make any pass or Austin Reeves is a good pass for himself but the type of passes that LeBron just whips and dumps off to him in the paint and he hasn't had those opportunities just yet he's just used to lobs from Austin Reeves and LeBron or Austin Reeves and Luca and these looks these the the efficiency that he's that he has 70% is insane for someone like Aiden yep and you know he's also taking

his fair amount of middies he's been automatic I feel like I've seen a miss two all year he's still getting to his spots there he's averaging he's rebounding 15% of his own misses which is 81st percentile 11.5% of his teammates misses which is 71st percentile so he's been effective on the boards he has been everything everything you could have hoped he could be everything I to be. Okay. Okay. Okay. Good job. Shout to him, man. Shout to you on. What's the next team that you want to talk about? Chaunty Billis and I catch you and the things you did to this man's reputation, you motherfucker. A lot of people trying to catch Chaunton. A lot of people are trying to catch him. Also, we have new news I just broke about the Lakers while we've been talking.

What happened? The Los Angeles Lakers are reorganizing their basketball operations apartments because they got the new owner. He's doing a sweep. And terminating executive Joey and Jesse bus from their respective front office positions effective immediate. he said this is not your father's lakers the new owner's coming in he's building a real front office i better see a blank check offered to sam presti holy shit i'm just kidding but that'd be nice but no obviously he's doing a sweep he's going to build a real front office that isn't genie her brothers and their fucking friends i hope the rambi aren't going to be big decision makers for years to come i hate them kurt and linda rambus i'm a bit surprised the other person's fired

as far as i know joey and jesse bus have ran the scouting and draft department They were the ones that were given a lot of credit for that era in which they found a bunch of great players in the draft starting with Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Zubach, Caruso, which they didn't draft. It was like an unrestricted free agent thing. They had a lot of fines with young players in the 2017 to 2020 era that I thought they were credited for it. I also haven't heard their names in the past like three or four years. So maybe things have changed and they've gotten bigger, different roles. But either way, they're cooked. I wonder what's going to happen with Rob Polinky.

He's probably going to stay. I imagine they're going to keep Rob Polinka and they're going to build out like he's in five, they're going to have assistant. GMs, a real scouting department, analytics department, like actual resources. So it's not just like a few guys in their office, feed up on the desk, shooting the shit, thinking about who they should go get. Oh, I've heard Kendrick Nunn's name before.

It's on him. A Rondo used to be good to sign him. Like, they just had a hundred big names because they didn't know shit about shit. They didn't have any type of analytics department, any type of in league scouting. Everything that they did was based on players and how they played against them

because they had nobody who was hired to watch the rest of the league. That won't be the case anymore. Jeez, man. That's good. My next hot take. Let's go over to the, Little Brothers of LA The Clippers

I think that letting go of Norm Powell Willing to just like Do they trade him away Or are they just letting him For John Collins essentially Trading him away for John Collins Had nothing to do with

With J.C. at all And his production Although you'd want Maybe a little bit more room But that's a whole system thing I think the premise of this trade And what's at risk Will go down as one of the

Seven worst trades Of this entire decade Oh, what? Seven worst trades in the entire decade. Just considering the fact of what's on the line. I thought you're going to say like seven worst moves of this year. Seven worst trades in a decade. Yes, because you have the ability to not only ruin like your life.

You're also ruining the life of 28 other NBA teams. Okay. Because you're given this. This is true. Okay. This is true. Given OKC a stimulus package? You are at risk of putting giving OKC a top three pick and this team already looks better

than what they were. last year, and their fourth and third best player, maybe second best player, hasn't even played yet this year, or played for real, Dix and Cicely this year, and J-Dorp, and also Lou Dort. What are we doing right now? The NBA, everyone should be James Hardin fans and also Clippers fans as well. You have to be this year. He's right.

I mean, he's right. Norm Powell was averaging 22 a game last year. They traded him away. He's averaging 25 right now. He's gotten even better. He's shooting 47% from three. He's a fucking flame door. Yeah, he's a, he's a demon.

And I, I agree. I think, like, for the clips, they are also, I think, on the shortlist. Like, I, I might put them in the top three worst situations in the Western Conference. Because they don't own their picks until, like, 20, until we get to 2030s and 2031 and all, all those years that are fake right now. but they have that your you're your second best player whatever kawai does not play james hardin shot to him he's he's been having you know great performances he's old as hell and and like you are not you're not building anything you're you have a roster that's all in right now your your team is under investigation oh my god like nothing nothing right now is going

is going right for you and i i do think they they don't really have any moves to to to really, really make that can set them up for a legitimate title run this year or future success. There are so many disasters across the league right now. We keep talking about trades and people getting shipped out and all just tanking and picks one and so forth.

This is the most disaster start to the year I've seen in terms of like amount of teams that are drowning. Yes. It's crazy. Now my next hot take comes from another disaster. The Sacramento Kings. Okay. I do want it to be said and I'm asking both of you right now. Can this be the last

time this season that I talk about the Sacramento Kings. There's a lot at risk here. We have like six months of the NBA season left. I really don't. Unfortunately, I cannot grant you that with us. I don't want to discuss the minimum more loudly like the rest of us talking about this motherfucking team. Come on, man.

I hate them. You can't do this. Now, my hot take for the Sacramento Kings is that within the next three years, the NBA will take over ownership of this franchise. This is one of the worst franchises to ever grace professional sports. In the last 20 years, damn, with this year, right?

Because the 3 and 12, they are not making the playoffs. They have one playoff appearance in 20 years. They consistently finish fourth or fifth in the Pacific Division year after year after year. Their idea of pivoting and saying like, yes, we can still be made,

is creating Chicago Bulls West and going out and getting Levine and DeRose and doing all this stuff. Obviously, Deer Vox forced him into that. That's fine. You could have had a lifeline because you just drafted. He didn't force him to get Zach Levine at all. Forced him, whatever. He requested a trade.

You take that how you want to. You had Tyrese Halliburton who just led the Indiana Pacers to the NBA finals, and you traded him for Demandis Sabonis. Shout out to you. Shout out to the beam team. You have one year in two decades to show forth. This is one of the most incompetent franchises the league has. They are in a small market.

It would not shock me. and it would be in the benefit of the league if they take over this team and either relocate them or find somebody who can actually be a real-life GM slash owner of this team. They are awful. They are so, so bad.

And that's that. Sorry, Kings fans. Yeah, actually, you cooked. You probably agree. Yeah, he cooked me. Not only are you starting the Bulls duo, you're also starting some bonus and Russell Westbrook with them.

Those four are your four best players in 2025. It's infuriated. No more word. That is a hilarious. You have less logical roster instruction than the Brooklyn Nets who are trying to lose on purpose.

Damn. Golden State Warriors. I don't have a ton of hot takes for them just because we've talked about them so fucking much and they're so transparent. So this may be hot take to Warriors fans but it won't be to us. There'll be a playing team this year.

That's sad. I didn't know fault just aside the top six. Yeah. Now is the difference between four through seven substantive in terms of quality of the teams? Maybe hardly. Maybe they will still be in the same tier

of quality of a team. all things considered the availability of their old star players and how often they can play throughout the course of season. We'll see who gets hurt and who doesn't, but it stands to reason that those guys will be less durable in an age where everybody gets hurt and all your best players are old.

It stands to reason you won't have picture of perfect health throughout the course of the season. Also stands to reason that they won't have the best games when those guys miss because we've talked a lot about the offensive ecosystem around their stars, how the first five games of season were like, yeah, Kaminga figured it out. It looks kind of like Kaminga since then, pods, looks exactly like Brandon Pajemski in the entirety of the season.

Everybody kind of is what it is. We still have the clunky issues of figuring out who's going to be the team around these guys. It doesn't feel like they have picture perfect, watching instruction to say the least. They're really predicated on Steph, Jimmy and Drake going crazy, holding them up on offense and defense with their IQ. That doesn't lend itself well out of baseball in the modern NBA in which it's a marathon out of sprint. Yeah, they're just old as hell. They're old as hell And they

They had a back to back And sat Al Horford Steph, Draymond, and Jimmy They are getting fucked by the schedule this week It's kind of hilarious The amount of games they have in the back to backs It's kind of tough But if it was just a regular

A regularly aged NBA team Your guys probably play Or at least two of the four You wouldn't say all of them But because Al Horford is like 40 Steph is 37 Dremont is up there Jimmy is 35 plus, you have to already take these precautions.

And when those four guys aren't playing, unless pods or Moses Moody or Caminger is just like, hey, I'm going to do it myself, you're probably going to lose that game. So you're kind of just punting games at this point. And in the Western Conference, you can't do that. So being in the playing makes 100% sense. Yeah, I agree, man. It sucks and it's sad to say because we all know at the end of the day, once this team is fully healthy, they could look any team in the Western Conference outside of probably

okay scene in Denver. I don't know that anymore. In the eyes. I don't know that anymore. When everyone's healthy, I think so. When you have a healthy stuff and a fully like normal Dremont Green and Jimmy Butler, I think they're just as good as anyone and there's any universal world where they could like advance in the playoffs.

But in a situation like this where you're in the plane and you have to face those demons day one in the first round. Yeah, you have no chance. You didn't even mention Houston. Wow. That, that, I don't know, I don't know if they're looking at me eyes. And I don't know if it's looking at Lakers in the eyes when it's all said and done, especially if the Lakers make the trade,

everybody assumes they're going to make and get at least one more wing defender. I don't know if they're going to look them in the eyes. They can look anybody in the eyes in the first round. No. And that's it. No. In the first round,

when the schedule works for them as well. But we saw it last year with a very young and physical team in the Rockets that it takes, things take a toll on you. Obviously, Jimmy missed time in that series as well. But I don't. There's going to be four teams,

the top four seats. I don't know if they're going to look them in the eyes. I don't know what the first round. I just, I think they got a fair shot against most scenes. They wouldn't get, they would not get blasted by, maybe the Thunder, yes, but like.

The Thunder and Nuggets would blast them. I guess you could see what would they hold. I don't know if the Nuggets would blast them. Well, yeah, whatever blast means, they're going to win some games. I don't know.

I don't think there would be any way I would pick against the Nuggets. Whatever the margins are, you know, they'd get a couple games. I think I would pretty confidently pick the Nuggets. That's fair. And I think I was confidently pick the Rockets too.

Lakers, you could convince me as a toss-up, ish. But the top three teams, I feel like I'll confidently pick against them as a team is currently constructed. Okay. But, you know, maybe Steph and Jamon,

they're going to make a new series long, but it'll be like a fake long, I think. Okay. Spir, sons, last in this division. That's me. Jordan Ott will be a coach of the year finalist. I think right now it's very hard to say that he will win it just because of what the Pistons are doing

and the credit that J.B. Bickersaf is going to get. But the Sons were, they still are like on this. Like, hey, your future is not looking too bright. That doesn't, it doesn't feel like that right now. They are winning games. They are firmly in like the playoffs slash playing picture. They've been doing this without, without Jalen Green, without their second score.

And they look bought in. And so for a team that has had awful vibe for the last two to three years, if they finish in like the top six, I think that Jordan and the way that he's been able to help re-tooled this team and everybody else. Who knows? Listen. Look at the strength of schedule. Slow down. I'm just saying, I understand, I understand what you want to say.

I understand what you want to say. There's seven, there's seven right now, right? And so I do get that. But behind them, you have the Warriors who we just talked about, the trailblazers who are low key, not not low key, who are skating right now, the jazz who are probably going to give up in the second half of the year, clips, gris, mavs, kings, pelicans. There's only a couple teams that they really, really have to contend with.

And by the time that their schedule does get hard, if Jalen Green does come back and he plays the way that he played in the first two games, obviously he's not going to be 28 a night on whatever efficiency, but you give them some more scoring boost. They're more bought in on the defensive side of the ball. I think that the Sons could be a nice story, and Jordan Ott could be a finalist. No, he definitely, yeah, that's a great take. He will be a finalist, I think.

That's certainly in the cards. Yeah, I agree. This team is good earlier in the year. I was getting jumped for quite a second because I said, you know, this team, I feel like this team is going to be decent. They're not going to be a tie fire. I don't think they're going to be one of the three worst teams in the Western Conference. And I feel very confident in that state, take still to this day.

Top three. Oh, yeah, because there's so many disasters now. So you're definitely like, they're not going to be bottom three. I'm still waiting and seeing because the schedule is about the heat up. I'm going to wait and see before you're too excited about them being like good, you know, like in like the top seven. But they're certainly not bottom three just by the nature of how God awful the bottom of this conference is now. Yeah, they're watchable.

They're watchable. Yeah. Okay. that's that division what do you want to do next uh let's go back to the east okay atlantic division mo would you have a team in this division i do oh yeah i do i have one team in this division and that is the new york nix the nicks the nicks are a very interesting team because they reinvented their entire play style and i'm not going to lie i tried my fucking hardest to try to hate on this team. I tried my

hardest, brother. Mike Brown has done a masterful job reinventing this team the other day. If you guys were tapped in and watching TD3 live stream 4.30 p.m. Central time Mondays. I said that yo, OG and Ovi taking like

seven threes a game. All these guys are having like career highs, numbers, and attempts in three, and three point attempts per game. Last year, there are 27 and threes. This year, I think there's like top three in three in three point attempts per game and of course like they have naturally like a lot of shooters so a lot of those shots are going to tend to go win this team i'm not going to lie i think they're

their finals bound i'm going to stamp i'm going to stamp them for the NBA finals right now coming out of the eastern conference i have the least amount of questions compared to every other team in the eastern conference of course like you could talk about the the Cleveland cavaliers and they always fucking fall on their who's that sound they always fall on their fucking face they always fall on their fucking face for whatever reason whether it would be like injuries Jared Allen's and minutes constantly declining we can talk about that they have to they have their own issues within themselves we can talk about the Detroit Pistons and they're ascending but they still need like a second star they still need some type of firepower on the perimeter I have no legit

questions anymore about the Knicks we all know their weaknesses but we all see how they've worked or worked their way around those weaknesses so far so I think they're like surely a stint to make the finals this year surely a stamp okay that's certainly a hot take. That's a good one. I would like to see Carl Anthony Towns play good for a week straight. That'd be nice. That's a big question I have. I'd like to see him shoot at league average efficiency from any point of the court. He has been a dreadful shooter for some reason. This offense is supposed to be to maximize Carl Anthony Towns and he's having his worst scoring season in his career by far, which I'm sure that won't maintain. He's certainly going to have some positive regression. But the goal isn't to get to regress to being as good as you were last year. It's to get an unlocked new version of cat that can give us the ability to hit that next level as an offense. we know they can be an elite regular season offense getting great cat in the playoffs is like the championship question to me I would like to see that before I'm super confident in them

but it's easy to assume that he'll get better so it's not they're a very worthy final spec yeah and with with Cleveland sputtering right now it's like okay it's it's wide open yeah it feels much more open than what it was you know at the start of the year yeah so all right cool I like it

Toronto Raptors in this one I have Scotty Barnes is a top three power forward and what the NBA he's back

every top three no everything that I said last year about how he's drowning I'm no longer gonna think he can

be the best offensive player on a championship team or anything one day that's we're seeing that that's hard

for him to maintain any type of scoring efficiency when he's asked to be the guy last year he was throwing

out there were bullshit ball handling said go get a bucket couldn't do it right now

Brandon Ingram is here And when that trade happened, I said, yes, this is a pretty mid-on-paper duo in terms of your sharp power to really make a splash. But it will be great for Scotty Barnes because Ingram being the primary shot creator with a ball in his hands will alleviate that pressure. We'll see way less Scotty Barnes forcing these weird post-ups for ending these terrible jumpers. We'll see him get back to being a passing hub, get back to focusing his energy on defense. I assume his three-point shot will come back around because the shot quality be a little bit better. Pretty much every single element of that has happened. The brand of basketball while he's playing is as good as every.

ever been. It looks like that stretch a couple years ago when Siakum and OG were still there and he was shooting 40% from three being one of the best defenders in the league for his position, one the most versatile defenders especially, one of the best passers at the position outside of Draymond Green. All that came together and he looked like this guy that can be the perfect Swiss army knife. That is back 100%. This is the best version he's ever played. So y'all, this is one. After that, let's have conversations. Conversations are two. Let's have fucking conversations. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. He's not better than Pascal Seaccombe. That is 100% of conversation. That's not a conversation.

The level he's playing right now. Man, can you be... I know you're upset. Hell, no, he's not better than Laurie. Lowry doesn't play a lot of defense and has the, has the worst passer in the NBA of any high volume player. He's not supposed to pass. He's not supposed to pass.

Correct, which is not asked to pass. Yeah, which is why you can rank somebody above him. He's obviously one of the better scores, but like, that is a conversation. Nope. He's a million times better defender and a million times better playmaker. He's not even better than Jaylon Johnson. You don't average more points rebounds or assists in jailing Johnson either. Don't care.

He's a way better. He's not a better shooter. Points rebounds assists. What year are we in? He's in a million times better defender. He's a better player. What are you talking about right now? Not even a better.

We can't use those at data points at all. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, but that's not better. He's not better. He's a better defender. He's a better than Jayon Johnson. Bob, obviously, he's having high football like with top three. I'd probably pick Lowry.

We'll see that. That's a debate, actually is debate given the style of play differences. But he's in these convos. Okay, is he better than Zion. Fuck yeah. Right now he's better than Zion. This is the world we're in Zion. Game way, please.

That's just because zions slashing has been horrendous. I would hope Zion gets back on track. This season, this season, the Raptors fans are getting their time to get that look back because last year Mowley fans were spitting all over him because that was obviously

the draft year that Mowgli shed on him last year it was an longer conversation. The Raptors fans are getting him back in blood right now. He's playing better than Mowgli this year. Okay, do you think, we haven't seen him this year,

but he's better than J-Dub. I'm not counting J-Dub as a goddamn power forward. Get out of here. What is he? What do you mean? He's a small forward or he's a wing, clearly. I mean, If we're actually going

what they actually play Chet starts at the four so but they play like three small two small fours two centers and a point

yeah they're weird okay all right like you see the conversations are there obviously it's not crazy to pick all these guys above him

but like he's better than Jaylon Johnson I would take him over Jalen Johnson Lowry Lowry's shooting so outside of this world right now

that you'd probably pick Lowry for this season but Lowry's been bat shit insane I don't know if he can maintain this but there is also the fact he is zero playmaking

like outside of a willhardy system that really maximizes him off ball. I don't know if every team Lavery would look like this because if you go to a team that needs to win some gains with their $50 million player they might need to do more stuff with the ball in his hands. If you put him on the clippers, he does not look the same

at all. That offense is so slow. Yeah, exactly. So, like, I don't know about Scotty versus Lavery. That's actually like a reasonable debate in terms of different play styles. Siakum, I think I, nah. Again, you fucking are obsessed with Seaccom. We have a picture of Seaccom on your wall when you brush your teeth. Why are you telling people my

business? You're never coming back to my house. I didn't think about that one Because obviously Siakum scoring is real Is a versatile defender It can't playmaking Like the clutch half court scoring Is very important But Scottie impacts the game

In so many small ways That add up to a good value So to Seacom too He just shoots better as well So it's hard Not really not Scotty I think Scotty's like a better Big Man defender as well

Exactly and Scott can guard guards Like Scotty is one of the more Versal defenders in the NBA And the playmaking is real He is that like The most like I-Test style of play leads to go on off numbers

so the small things he does like oh the way he sets a screen and slips and makes that pass to the corner like all this small nerdy bullshit that is Scotty Barnes game what makes him so valuable okay

okay listen it's a hot thing you got everybody yeah really he's top five would be more reasonable conversation but top three

we can get into those debates okay you can get in yeah their conversations to be had and last year they were not so we're listen whoever didn't liquidate

the Scotty Barnes stock you're making some profits right now because he looks like he's back to what he was you sold yours right i sold the idea of him being the best player but i maintain that he could be the perfect number two i said if you bring him like a star score to play next to you he would be one of the best number two's and i said when ingram came back that'll fix a lot of it yeah but i'm not gonna say i'm like building a team around him anymore the scoring isn't there for that shot to ingram man he's been who being he's been like such a seamless fit and he's everything that we like wanted him to be yeah him and saudi barnes makes so much

sense on paper together. Yeah. So wildly efficient. I have the last three teams in this division. So I'll just go. So one, the Brooklyn Nets. I, they are like halfway to King's timing, but I will say instead of, instead of the league taking over, the league should investigate them.

I think that we used to joke a lot. I think they are money laundering. I think that they are committing financial crimes. Okay. Because this is, this is also not real basketball, what they're doing. And in terms of draft process and now development, I have no idea what's going on with the Brooklyn Nets. They are also an abomination.

And if this is truly just a basketball operation, then this is one of the worst basketball operations. But if you tell me that something else is going on here, then I could believe you and then other things can make sense. I agree. I think there's no world and universe. The most irritating thing to see is like, you draft all these players.

They don't get much, like, they don't get asthma. much burns I thought they would be. And then also, you're starting Terrence man. You're starting Terrence man. I would have said it. For what? For what? What's to be had? Come on now. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, listen, they are rehabilitating Michael Porter Jr. trade value. They are going to get something forever the deadline. At this point, the way he's getting buckets, that's going to be something. I'm giving them a little bit of slack because this is the draft. Again, like I said, for the Wizards, this is the draft to be the worst team in the NBA in. So losing games on

purpose is a smart MO, but man is it ugly. They're lucky. It's the first. It's a first year of a real rebuild. I can give them some slack. If this was your two or your three, we'll be having conversations. Yeah. I can't wait until they trade MPJ. Celtics. Who has the Celtics? That is also me. Where's your hot tick for Boston? I think they should trade Derek White. That's a good hot take. And I think, I think right now, right now they are, so everything that we said about the Celtics coming into the year is true in that Missoula is a madman. Jalen Brown and Derek White, they, they are still, like, they know how to play basketball. And it's not going to, it's not going to be a complete, complete tank job. And for them to tank, you're going to need

somebody to turn an ankle for two weeks. You're going to, you're going to need Brad Stevens to have a top-down memo that says, we are tanking. And I think if they just keep doing what they're doing, they're going to be what they are, which is eight and seven. And so to, to really maximize what you want to do, which is, hey, we have, we had the ability to get into the top 10 of this next draft, you're going to have to force the tank onto the Celtics, and you can do that by trading Derek White, getting another asset for him, while he is still a winning player and can still, you know, contribute to a lot of people. And there's been a lot of noise about whether or not Tatum is coming back. I think it's dumb to force Tatum. Yeah. And not,

forced Tatum, you know, but to let him to force himself onto the court. Yes, to let Tatum play this year. I think that's dumb. So if you're truly using this year as a gap year, as a retool year, you want to give yourself the most opportunities to do that. Or whenever Tatum goes back and now you can run with the duo of Tatum and Brown for the next five years, you're going to have to make hard decisions. They did it once with Market Smart. They'll do it again with Derek White. Everybody's gone. Continue on that path and trade Derek White. Yep. Who has a Philadelphia 76ers. again, that's me.

What is your hot take for your favorite team in the league that you have so much love for in your heart? That Tyrese Maxie is going to win Clutch Player of the Year. Oh, okay. Are his Clutch numbers crazy? I haven't checked it on that yet. So here's why. So he's fifth overall in the odds to win Clutch Player of the year.

Shea right now is dominating in Clutch points per game. Really? Even though he doesn't play fourth quarters? He has like, now, this is a problem. He's extremely efficient in Clutch moments. Yeah. He's averaging like nine points in clutch situation, but he's only played six. You want to know who leads the league in games played in clutch situations?

Tyrese Maxi. Tyrese Maxi at 12 games. Damn. Okay, I got the clutch points pulled up. 9.3 clutch points for game for Shea Gildes Alexander. Yes. Nine for Benedict Matherint. Oh, it's only one game.

You only played like two games. It's only one game. Kauai, only two games played. So a lot of these top ones are only one or two. Let's look at three or more clutch games. Yokich is 6.3. Zion, six. Devin Booker, six clutch games played 5.3 points

with how mediocre they are and they're going to play these close games. Devin Booker's a good pick too. Is he in the top five of the odds? Devin Booker is not. The top five in odds right now is Cade, Shea, and Kady Maxie. Okay.

And so I just think 12 games is ridiculous and they are going to have as many opportunities to be in these clutch games as possible. They've played 14 games on the year. 12 of them have been in clutch situations. He hasn't been the best. He's averaging like 3.3.

I do think that maxi is, I think that his leap is real. And I think that him closing games is going to be obviously something that takes time to figure out exactly where you want to get to your spot. Well, we're learning every single night. And I do think that by the end of the year,

those numbers will go up. He will be better in those situations. And I think that's how he's maxi will win clutch player of the year. Okay, yeah. The volume is there. So eventually he'll get some good maxi games in the clutch. Yeah. That's, okay.

Fair enough. That's a good thing to point to you because I don't know what else you would say about the Sixers right now because they are who they are we talked about them at length

they are fake basketball team I would like to see them trade Jeremy McCain somewhere he can get some burn that's just like I really like we talked about it before the year I'm like they had these

three small guards and nobody's like talking about the fact that like they can't close games together really like how do you have a good defense with that and Jeremy McCain

obviously got hurt to start the year so he came in slow I've every time I watch them I feel like I'm watching Quinn Graham's cook while Jeremy McCain is yeah just wait for

I would like to see him get some more ball on his hand reps and obviously I'm being hyperbolic here doing it as a hot take send them somewhere you can get them bring in another wing that fits your guard timeline a little better it's a crowded back court now you don't have the ties to him you do to the top three pick and Vijay Edgecombe

let's reshuffle this roster for fit I don't know what their pick situation is looking like in the future Detroit let's go get Jeremy King oh that would be cool that would be amazing or they could just get back Crane Grimes too you keep saying that that ended poorly

I don't think they want anything to do with each other. Not again. No. Yeah, probably. Who would they, because not Ron Holland, they'd pick Ron Holland over Jeremy Kane. So they're not going to do that. No.

They're not going to trade Isaiah Stewart anymore. He's fucking great them. Ivy would probably be in the deal. And so that's when you have to, you have to make the decision of like, of like, do we think that Ivy, should we just stay with what we have and just keep Ivy instead of trading Ivy for. If they're going to trade Ivy,

it's going to be for a sure thing, I think. So I'm saying. See, I don't know, maybe just be more picks. If you just replenish your pick. things and give them first round pick and a second round pick. But that would be fun. It would give them some more shooting, some more creation. I like it.

Free Jared. I want to see him thrive. Yeah. Okay. That is that division. Let's move over. What division are the pistons in? Central.

I can never remember. Adam Silver has succeeded at making divisions not exist in my head. So, like, I don't remember any of the names anymore. Central division. I have nobody in this division. I think I'm, wow. I think I'm going to run rampant in this movie. I got two teams in this division.

Yeah, I guess I got three. then Detroit Pistons. Cade and Jalen Dern are a top five duo in the NBA. Let's let's talk the duels right now. And when I say duo, I mean, obviously there's like talented duos. Like in the past we have like Devin Booker and KD. We're like, I guess it's a top five duo. They're two top ten players playing together.

But duo in the sense that they make each other better. Their synergy is why they win. All the stuff we talked about for years with Jamal Murray and Yolkitch, Steph and Dremont, those types of duos. Cade and Duren are the newest addition to that. Yeah, the duo is not co-workers. Correct. yeah yeah they play off of each other

and yeah who are the duos obviously we'll go Yokic and Jamal Murray both the teams are like that. Yoakish Samal Murray then there's Katie and Sangoon I think I'll take over Katie and Sangoon of course yeah over them Stefan Draymond will throw them in there until they retire Luca and Braun I think it should be fair to us

we can go Luke and Reeves we can throw them in there if want to do that yeah either either one looking Reeves and then Shea and Chet that's five now we're getting the conversations I think we're here I think six-ish, whatever, like if you want to not count Luke and Reeves because they're two guards that don't have that synergy, whatever, I think we're into the convoy where we talk about Kate and Duren. This is two all-stars. Jalen Duren is an all-star

now. He is a legit star. Yes. What makes your sentiment valid is the fact that Jalen Duren has ascended out of fucking nowhere. He's been kind of middling. Since he got drafted, everyone saw flashes and he's had in moments where he's like getting like 20 rebounds and put up the most absurd stats and whatnot. But he hasn't necessarily put it together up until this year and yeah when I watch him I feel like I'm watching like Shirley someone who feels like a top five center in the NBA yeah there's a few centers you said that about like the centers making leaps this year are crazy but he is as deserving as any of them two years ago I came up here and I said I hate watching jalen during play defense this is a fucking putrid

defender the off the pick and roll IQ he was displaying and just like spatial awareness as a rent protector was so bad halfway through it last year that switch flipped it was no longer Isaiah Stewart on off numbers or so much better because he can defend so much better than Duren. It was okay. Duren's catching up defensively and obviously we know the athleticism and the aggression he can play with through the rim offensively. We're starting to see him

really get together going into the playoffs last year. The spark was late end of last season. This year, defense took another step. He's actually impactful as a shot blocker as a rim protector. He still has some lead feet a little bit when he gets onto the perimeter. I don't love what I see all the time with him jumping around. I think his footworks a little bad, a little clunky.

But interior-wise, he is, He's a, I'd say, slightly plus defender now, no longer just, like, flashes. And offensively, he looks like Bam out of bio that watched a lot of Kevin Garnett tape. The way he's moving as a ball handler, shooting off the dribble, doing size-ups and attacking with the size because he's long with these spins, like, it's crazy the stuff he's doing with the ball in his hands. Yeah, Big Man Bagwork is so not rare to see, but it's rare to see a team, like, go to it consistently.

And there's only a handful of teams who, because they obviously have, there's only handful of guys who are allowed to do that. Jill and Duren has ushered himself into that territory, which is so crazy to say. 67% on Tuesdays this year. He creates with the ball in his hands a good amount. They rotate. They do pick and rolls. They throw it out to him from like a popping position and he just attacks off the dribble.

He kind of, like, it's a little shangoon-like with why he's so good at like creating the stuff with the ball in his hands because it's a physical mismatch and he can just like walk you down. Jalen Dern has done a lot of that. And it's, it's needed. Yeah. Like you look at the, you look at the, you look at the pistons and the fact that Ivy has been out, and you have Cade

if anybody else like they just have to be in the film room just like if anybody else like wants to try to hezy tween somebody know that you have the green light because if you guys can do it consistently we would very much appreciate that

and the fact that he is doing that now gives them a little bit more offensive power especially when you're playing lineups with with Ron Holland with the men Thompson Tobias hasn't really played this year what's this tweet man Talk to me

I think Jalen Durenson doing money spread When he gets on him I don't know It's tough He was his birthday in Atlanta It went down bro Alright calm down Yeah

What man it did The game you had But yeah he's great This is a true second star I mean with how good they are This will be an all star In the Eastern Conference I'm pretty sure he'll make his first appearance

It will be deserved And yeah he's entering that echelon When we talk about these young centers Across the league That are like pillars of their teams which is shangoon Chet's a different tier but like these guys told Mowbling there

who's a power forward but maybe one day shouldn't be I mean they're playing them you know they're playing them at center I don't know Jared Allen's myth yeah John Allen's their dundling as you speak yeah I'm most talking like we need to get Mof his big ass in the paint we need to make him play center for his own good yeah but like

told Mowbling that like Dern is entering that conversation with that tier of players dude brother 13 and two that's crazy 11 straight this is the same team like what two years ago who lost how many guys games in a row like 20 so he's only 22 that's crazy that's crazy like he obviously we knew he came into the league as the youngest player in his draft and that's why it was always like what we're talking about his defense two years ago it wasn't you can't win with him it was yeah

this guy sucks this right now but we'll give it time we're here now this is the age that he should be good at it just feels like we got a little frustrating for time because he came in so young that what is this year four year five probably four he's so good it's such a young age like this this changes the team it's crazy man and it's much such a good feeling for Pistons fans, kind of like a most of you good feeling for Rockets fans keep making that Shangoon comparison. Obviously, every fan base latches around their young star and, like, defends them to death and, like, that's their guy. Seeing them make that leap into being a star and seeing them finally have to get that respect

from every other fan base. What a moment. Yeah, I agree. Because there's a sense, let alone, like, nothing's necessarily changed with this Piston team. Like, of course, like, J.B. Bigger's staff is honed in on like, yeah, we're going to be in similar lights the Houston Rockets of last year in the Eastern Conference. We're going to beat the fuck out of you in the paint. We're going to put big bodies on. We're going to grab all the rebounds in the, we're going to try to grab all the rebounds in the world. And on top of that, too, we're going to help physically you and get to the line hell of times. Yeah, and he plays a lot with Isaiah Stewart who can space the floor a little bit.

And there's no coincidence to keep drawing these comparisons. I keep saying to him and Shangoon, having a big man who can dribble the ball and create attacking a mismatch, it's a very like returning to old norms when the power forage used to do that. They used to attack people in tight spaces. That got phased out of the game. It's back if you haven't noticed. Like, it's important to be able to create a shot in the interior and once again, maximizing, winning the rebounding battle, winning the turnover battle, all this stuff from the old hoops, it's coming back

with the flair of modern space and put in. Yeah, I agree. That's Al Harrington. Oh, shit, man. We're back. It's Kenyon Martin reincarnated. Jeez, man. Well, honestly, better. Next team is division.

Cleveland Cavaliers. I think you have them too. Do I have the Cleveland Cavaliers? I do. Darius Garland is the most important player on this team. Easily. That's fair.

That's not a hot team. Easily. The 64 win pace they played at last year, not pace they did get 64 wins. The offensive genius they showed last year with their new system that had prioritized getting Jalen, I mean getting Jailen, I mean, getting relocating to the corners with Max Drews, all the other shooters they had, making a three-point shooting factory that led to cutting angles for their two big men playing off of that. That whole crazy system they had that we haven't seen last year, in part, everyone keeps talking about because they lost. Josh Jordan, I'm sure that will be a big part of it. Biggest part to me is Darius Garland's playmaking is the most undervalued skill across the NBA. Donovan Mitchell having to set up a big man for a lob.

Challenge level is impossible. He has no interior passing abilities. Very good at setting up three-point shooters, obviously an amazing score. Cannot set up big man scores. Never has been able to. We talked for years with him hating the other ball, Rudy Gobert, because he obviously didn't think it was a do shit with it. Feels that way this year with him being the primary playmaker having to set up these bigs. It's crazy.

having Darius gone there for that one game, I was like, wow, this is, this is Cav's basketball again, got hurt again. They need him back so desperately. So much of the Evan Mowably disappointing scoring stuff will be alleviated when Darius is there to set him up. Yeah. One of the most alarming stats for the Cleveland Cavaliers is,

what's their record this year? I think they're like 10 and 5 or something middling like that. Yeah, it's not bad. They're 10 and 6 right out. 10 and 6. Yeah. Okay. They are 5 and 0 whenever Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points or more.

you don't want to win like that it's cool like i love the counting stats donna mitchell's like consistently like building up this case for one of the like more solid guards greater guards of the generation or whatever but you don't want to win like that at all that screams to me that there's some misconnection that's happening in this team overall and that misconnection like you said is darius garland yep need them bad you can quibble with who's the best player on that team most important to making everything coalesce together making the two Two Bigs work, making Donovan Mitchell basketball work and being able to not have the downsides of his playmaking, it's Darius Garland. This is like the complete opposite what we saw last year.

Last year we saw Donovan Mitchell average like, what, 21, 22 a game and his shot diet was not nukes, but he was relegated to just like play moreso team basketball and let guys like Evan Mobley try to cook and Darius Garland as well. Because he gave the keys Darius Garland to run the offense and shit looked a lot better. Mm-hmm. Tough. Who was up next? Who has the Pacers? Oh, I do. Tyreys Halliburton is a 2026 NBA MVP. How?

He's making a history. What the fuck? He goes down. God awful. God awful team. Granted, everybody else got hurt. But it's just funny looking back at how some people obviously would have downplayed Tyrese Halliburton in the conversations he entered last year when he has crazy run saying he's a product of the system and all this stuff. It's complete opposite. He is the system.

People should have known that. It's abundantly clear when you watch them now. Tyree's Halliburton was the system. They immediately crater, which again, it's a little more context of that. They have a thousand other injuries. Tyree Taliburton is the system. Yeah, you saw it from day one that, okay,

like they're still going to try and do all of the things that they did last year. We're still going to, you know, we're still going to pressure our full court. We're still going to play with a lot of intensity. But having a, having a computer run your offense like Tyrese Halliburton, that's going to take you to a completely different level. And so obviously, like, I didn't think they were going to be two and 13 bad, but like, but it's a lot of compounding injuries.

Yeah, it's a gap year. Oh, and eight on the road, too? Haven't won a road game? It's a gap year. They're unwatchable right now. Like, it's truly terrible. It's just wake me up in Tyra Taliburton is back. Only team in the league to not win a road game.

Dude, Pascal's Yacum got to have like the most depressing year as like a former all star, bro. Like, you're hooping your ass off. I'll still trying so hard. Putting up good numbers, like 35% from the three point line, 24 points. And you, it doesn't matter because. you're not the type of a player to shoulder the load of a team. And last year, too, a lot of people had, like, we're trying to make narratives of like, oh, yeah, he's not really the best player of this team.

Is he even, like, Finals MVP? Who, did he win the Easter conference? Yes, yeah, he did. Yeah. We, this, like, vindicates everything. Yeah. Yeah. So Tyree's Halliburton stock is at an all time high despite not playing a game.

Chicago Bulls, what did you get? Ew, I have the Bulls. This is a very bowl statement. And I think this is something that hasn't been able to. be said for a long time. I'm talking like at least four years. If you are a Chicago Bulls fan, I think this has been the happiest that you've been in a long time. You have no qualms of what's going on right now. Like Josh Gidey has been given a contract extension over the last year and he's been performing great. Modis Roselle is continuously taking

strides. You have not one, but two game winners already in the hands of Vuchimein guys that we were, at least you guys were like on the fint of trading and all that. Like you have no cons about this year. You have just like the most fine season ever in no expectations, no none fun team. You run up and down. You're happy. And that's great because happiness is important when it comes to fandom, right? Is that a hot take or is that an observation?

I think it's a hot take for me. Because like I over what? What was the claim? They're happy? They're happy. Okay. Like they're never happy usually though. Hot tape, Bulls fans are happy.

You don't know happiness. Yeah, exactly. What do you have for the bucks? Oh, I have the bucks too. Um, man, they've been sliding as a late, they're 8 and 7, and everyone needs to be on their P's and Q's. Just a couple years ago, maybe like damn near 10 years ago now, Bobby Porter's had an incident where he punched one of his teammates. I'm not saying he needs to commit violence, but through these next, I believe it's two weeks or a week and a half that Yonis will be out due to, again, a calf strain. Bobby Portis needs to

instill fear into the into the locker room He needs to look at Kyle Guzma and be like, yo, show him articles Don't say none show him what happened to Nicole and Murchase his face Don't say none

and just like let it be no we need to play really fucking hard we're playing good basketball Keep on doing it Okay so Bobby Porters is to walk in Day one, punch the biggest motherfucker he can find in the face I'm not saying he's not saying that I'm not saying that

he just wants to do his presence every morning before the locker room bro you need to be the first one there walk in let a warning shot off keep going that's energy that is needed bro while yonness is out because I think as you speak they're like the

11th seat in the east right now or the 10th seat they slid like a motherfucker bro yeah they're the 11th seat now of course like it's a whole lot of like 8 and 6 8 and 17 so doesn't really mean much, but clearly like they're like a third half, their two team in the Eastern Conference. Okay.

That is that division. I don't know if a single hot take was given for those last two teams. We'll let it keep going. What division you want to do next? We have one more. It's the Northwest. Oh, it's the last one. Yeah.

Northwest. I think that's all my teams too. I have one more team, the Utah Jazz. Damn. I got everybody else that's got a division. Yeah. The Utah Jazz will compete in the play. in the playing tournament

and they will win a game. They will win a game. They will win a game in the playing tournament. Okay. And because right now, once again, the Western Conference playing

would consist of the Phoenix Suns, the Golden State Warriors, the Portland Trobladers and the Utah Jazz. I am counting out the Clippers, the Grizzlies,

the Mavericks, the Kings, and the Pelicans. I understand that the jazz have a reputation for tanking. Listen, Keontage George is playing

really well. Lowry is is hooping, I think eventually, eventually, Ace Bailey has to play a little bit better than what he's playing, like, right now. They can get to 10 because the way that the East has been these last couple years where the playing, you have 7 and 8, they're like somewhat respectable,

and then 9 and 10 are like sub-500. It's looking like that right now, where the jazz are 5 and 9, and they are in the 10th spot. They might be able to maintain there. If they play, if they play at the Portland Chowblazers who are also sliding, that game is in Utah. Who knows?

They can get there. They can get a playing game. Okay. That is certainly the type of team that can upset somebody in a one game tournament style. Like the shot making of Kianti George

when he gets hot like he did against the Lakers and fucking everything like Damian Lillard and obviously a lot of marketing who's having probably the craziest shot making season in the NBA right now.

It doesn't make sense. It's truly remarkable. The types of ridiculous shots you can take and make because he's so goddamn tall. Semeh a high Luke is running around making everything.

everything like Clay Thompson what's going on they can win a game off a three point shot variance that's super possible yeah I would fucking hate that obviously because it means fuck bro are you kicking the clippers out shit but I wouldn't hate that I would not care if the clippers lost the first playing game like I understand we do have

to think about the greater good of the league objectively it would be funny though it would be hilarious I don't care at all if they lose in the playing tournament I'm sorry to that point they're they're not giving number one pick to them okay see thunder so at that point they've ducked top ten pick talks they can go outside

I guess not necessarily you never know sure they could they could slide up you never know into the top 10 if that happens again if that happens again it's been happening I'm really I hate the lottery in like principle just because like I hate seeing

the worst team to league at the fifth pick year after year like the pistons did if it happens again where like a 12th odds gets number one I'm so sick of this goddamn system It's not me. It might. But you probably need it for basketball because you can't have that outright tanking.

You need some kind of. But. But deep's still outright tank. It doesn't matter. That's what I'm saying. They clearly are like, it doesn't matter if we get it. Obviously it matters. But like we have to do our part in giving ourselves just whatever best chance that there is.

But just think about it if like there's two teams that are clearly the worst two in the last month of the season is I'm trying super hard to lose because like one game over the side. It's probably bad PR. it is what it is you can't stop it yeah like it happens now but it's not quite as overt down the draft I know like right now these teams are still losing but there might be there's a certain image to the fight

for worst thing for like a month and teams are actively rooting for losses for that long the overtness of that is bad for the league's image they have to do what you would do in like a fantasy football league and same way that they have the NBA cup you have the lottery cup everybody

You have the draft combine Top six teams Top eight or bottom six bottom eight teams You guys play single Single elimination tournament for the number one pick That would be cool Do it like a gap between the end of the regular season The playoffs the playoff teams can rest

And we have a shiver cup for a week Dude no I'm sure some random fan Would sit down and be fucking piss At someone like I don't know Came Whitmore If he sold the game bro And now I can't get the number one because of you Who cares?

Fuck bro Employ better young players And you could do it Listen, everybody's already on vacation They do it in college basketball With the Maui Invitational Let's have the Cabo invitational

You're already terrible though So like you're good You don't stand a chance I'm cooking That elevates the other like We can do that The bottom 16 do it So the teams that are like

Barely outside of the playoffs Don't get to be in it It's the bottom six teams Bro, the Nets don't stand a chance Against anyone Five and six have a buy One four and two three play Then they play five and six

Like we can get something going Oh, man, this is bad after the league. Bro, we can run the league. What's the next team? Next team, I have... Guys, let's start a league. Everybody else's division? Okay, so we're in the northwest.

You have Denver and you have Minnesota. Oh, I do have Denver, Minnesota. I completely forgot about that. Yeah, you're not close to done, buddy. Denver, what you got? Okay, so let's start off with Denver. I think that you guys, you, you and everyone else watching, cannot name four more dominant regular seasons

and NBA history more than what Nicole Yolkich is doing. Let's see, 2024, Shea, 2025, Shea, 26, Shay, 2026 Shay. Dude, Yokich right now is averaging 29, shooting like 66, 65% from the fucking field. While taking 5-3s a game, just hitting at like a casual 40% from the three-point line,

averaging the most assist in the goddamn league, most rebounds in the goddamn league as well. He's a fucking top-five score average in 29. Like, it's just so efficient, it's so complete and he's just he's impossible to game to game plan around and scheme around so dominant. Yeah, we're past

that point of game plan or scheming around you. It's just like, all right, what are we going to do to everybody else? Yep. He's the best offensive player of all time, is what it is. It's getting to a point. It's getting to a point. You know how much to say anymore about him. He just is the best. Yeah. Which one do I want to go with first in this

division? The Portland Trailblazers my hot take they will be the next NBA team to trade for the next available superstar whatever it is we were talking a lot about all these stars are becoming available they're going to be a trailblazer I don't care who it is guard big forward no matter who becomes available they will be a trailblazer this is a team that obviously is around the playing range

as expected their offense in the recent weeks it has not been going super well they're blaming it on Tiago Splitter not being a good coach and finding ways to cope that's what we thought they're a great defensive team that has tons of lengthy defensive talents to offensive ecosystem is not good there especially with Drew Holiday missing time now

who brought them some good ball handling to start the year, it's Denny and the Bros. He has to do everything. His scoring is almost too high for Denny's efficiency and his, you know, types of shots he wants to get. You don't even know if you want him to shoot that many times. The leap is too good for the well-being of the team.

I don't know if it's John Morant. I don't know if it's a lot of marketing. I don't know if it James Hardin. Whoever becomes available from all these terrible teams, send them to Portland. Dude, like, underlying storyline, but Tomani Kamara has not been good, like, at all. He's fell off defensively, and he's taking, like, way too many shots, wildly inefficient. He just is not good.

I've seen their fans raging about that. How do you fall off in your two, or not your two, but like, year two would be in a great defender? That is terrible. The shooting falling off, like, that comes and goes. That's fine, but they've been saying he's getting burnt a lot on ball. Yeah, the defense, he got hyped up too much. Yeah, no. Let it go to his head.

Unbelievable. unbelievable Minnesota Timberwolves do you want to talk about how bad Anthony Edwards has been this year nah not really what I do want to talk about is how bad Rob Dillingham has been though okay it was the hot take that the worst draft pick it last 10 years so no I'm not going to say that but I will say let's get even harder this hot this trade of when they traded I think it was two years ago now yeah two years ago now we were in New York we're in New York and we saw that Rob Dillingham slid to the eighth pick and I think the eighth pick was in the hands of the San Antonio Spurs then surprise surprise the Minnesota Timberwolves came

out of nowhere and they sent over, I think, a 2030 draft swap and also a 2031, like fully owned draft pick. So for those two years, they don't have any control of their draft capital at all. They have a pick, but it's not theirs. I think that trade alone will probably be the reason why the anti-Ewards doesn't see a championship in Minnesota. Damn. That's going to kill the era.

Off two years. It's a combination of that, of course, you gave Nasry, like a back. that's kind of questionable considering his player archetype and now you sold in you bought a lot of stock in rob dillingham and it's falling on your face and none of the other role players guys like who i hyped up and terran shenny junior hasn't been showing up jane mcdaniels has like took a leap great to see but outside of that like it's pretty bare and now you're kind of just like an aunt save me territory their offense is so interesting it is a relatively high high offense right now. Let me see what it's at in

offensive rating so far this season in totality. But last of my check, they were top four in offensive rating because they were 8-0 against up 500 teams. I mean 5-0 or no, yeah, 8-0 and then 0-and-5 against over 500 teams. They were being the hell out of all these terrible

teams. They currently set at 4th in offensive rating as of today. So curious how this goes in the playoffs with straight-up point guard Anthony Edwards. It is overtly, they are running the ball through him. He is point guard in almost traditional sense. He is a high pick and roll, heliocentric style

play through Anthony Edwards, which he's not doing well as of late. The past two games have been stinkers in the field. I think he was like six for 20 last game. The three point shot is down a 36 percent. So not horrible, but not the insane superpower was lasher off the dribble. Stans to reason. You know, I'm sure the shot quality is a little bit worse.

Have him look at those numbers. They can clearly win games playing through this with a shooter next to Ant, using Julius Randall as a secondary playmaking hub, empowering Jamie Daniels a little bit more as a slasher. I just can't imagine you can beat the Oklahoma City Thunder who are the best ball pressure team I've ever seen in my life at forcing turnovers.

I cannot imagine you can win a series against them with this little playmaking. No, I, you can't, I think like for the, for the Thunder to be challenged and from what we have seen, you can get challenged in two ways. Either one, you can have one of the best offensive players of all time.

And that is a big man. that attacks your, your biggest weakness in Chet, who is coming off the hip injury and then Hartenside, who's obviously like good, but, you know. You're a worse defensive starter. Yeah, whatever. You either have to have that, or you have to have this frenzy of a team that says,

oh, you're going to pressure us. We're going to pressure you right back and has that same identity and also has one of the top point guards in the league in Halliburton. They don't have it either. And it's like, whenever, whenever they were, playing in the conference finals last year you had you had a little bit more right because you hadn't a kill um you had not and that that's that's obviously not there um and we're talking and i was

talking i was like yeah answer is going to have to go and he's going to have to be Jordan for them to win this series he's going to have to score like 43 45 points a game for them to do something like that and it just doesn't work like that because okay c is able to they're able to stop him at so many areas of the of the floor because of all of the defenders. Yeah, dude, it's gotten so bad for Rob Dealingham to the points of where fans are questioning if he's too bad or too small to actually get his shot up and get quality shot looks. They think he's not like generating enough power to get his shots to go in. For the NBA three point range. Insanely sad to see.

Dude, he has to jump so high. There's so much torque he has to do on these jumpers. Like, it's bad, man. Yeah, and I think that's going to be the reason why they don't see a chip with Anthony Edwards at all. Imagine if that was like a, I don't know what level of a player of like young point guard is good right away. Yeah. Imagine if he was like as good as AJ Mitchell is right now. And even if they didn't take a point guard, they could have taken someone like Jared McCain in that draft.

They could have taken, like went the center route and have Rudy Gober insurance and taking Zach Edie. Could have taken modest. Yeah, Boozellis. Fucking dude, they had a few more options rather than dealing him. But they were so sure. And this is like a nasty, a nasty miss on Tim Connolly's resume. Tim Connolly is pure hooper brained. He's been a lot of movies in recent years.

He loves pure hoopers. Yeah. I mean, Julie Randall's a pure hooper, to some degree. Some power forward. He loved put the ball in the basket between the legs, that would hoopers. It's getting bad, man. It's been bad. Who else I got?

There's two teams left. We have, no, one team left? Should be one team? It's just Oklahoma City Thunder? Yeah. It is just Oklahoma City's under. Okay, C. All right, I got about five.

I have hot takes here. You guys have which one you want to talk about. I have back-to-back championships. I have 16-0 in the playoffs, 70 regular season wins. Shea is modern Michael Jordan. We can accept that now. Shea is top-three guard peak of all time. Chet Holmgren is top-three center.

A.J. Mitchell, most improved player, steal of the decade. Any of these you want to talk about? Let's talk 16-0. Yeah, that's the hottest one. They're all happening. Because low-peak, out of all of them, that one and AJ Mitchell most improved are probably the two that are like the most on the table right now. On the table.

And they're winning back to back. They're winning 70 games. Shea is MJ. Oh, in terms of like hot things, whatever. Shea's MJ, man. She is MJ. Could they go 16 and like, do you think that they are as dominant as the 17 warriors? If they get every,

two different questions. Are they as dominant as the 17 warriors? No. So when you say dominant, are they as individually talented? Obviously not. No, no. As dominant,

they have won, they've lost one game. they haven't had jade of so like kind of like kind of it feels like they're going to be on pace for the 16 warriors in a regular season so it's hard because they have a defensive slanted team and in the modern NBA three point variance decides games a lot so it's pretty hard to go 16 and no when a team can just catch fire from three you know and especially you have like shrieky shooters in your team so they'll probably never sweep people like that and really go 16 you know but whatever the modern equivalent of that is like whatever the 17 warriors like net rating was and like margin of victory in cumulatively, they could probably compete with that. That's nasty. Now, that I think is a better angle for that argument, because when it comes to straight up mass of the game and what they actually do and their whole game plan to like swamp you and surround you with just like constant arms, left and right, left and right. People are swatting your wrist, swan your forearm. Like, I can, I can see how they're

dominant from that aspect, but because the warriors are so like more of a holistic team. Opposite. They're top heavy. Like the, Dunder, the more holistic. team. I'm holistic in terms of like both sides of the four. The thunder might be like I don't know if the thunder is a generational offense. Well, that's not okay. So that's what you mean? Okay.

Like Domino, like I think about Domino on both ends. Yeah. Okay. Like they're defensively they fucking got you can tell me the best defense ever. You got it. Like I don't. Their bench is so crazy. That's kind of what I was thinking.

Like top to bottom of the roster. The way like last year it was like carried by shade minutes and he was doing insane lifting which is why I won MVP. He was a one man offense. but they're killing people in non-shay minutes right now because they have AJ Mitchell now who is giving them the ball handling they desperately needed last year

haven't even touched Jade up all year this team is as dominated as anybody in the modern NBA and obviously looks very different like that 70 team Warriors team is like especially like the better starting five more talented team best team of all time so I'm not saying they'd beat the 17 Warriors that's not a conversation that will probably

ever be had again but in terms of beating who's in front of you how you compare to the rest of the league and your style of play works with that state of the league they're probably as dominant I guess okay so because the league's different so it's hard

is there anything that they could do that can make you think yeah they can beat the 17 warriors no because they have Steph and KD I'm just like never gonna like you know like roll the ball out there how are you gonna beat them in one game yeah but I think the conversation that matters

is like relative to the league around you and what wins for that day those type of teams don't win as much these days now with the way NBA has evolved even since 2017 like death is rewarded the age of second apron you can't stack stars that way we say that but like there's also

not a team that has one and two on their team. Exactly, and you really, like, can't get that anymore. Like, that's such a once in a, that's, like, hard to get these days, but the way the salary cap is and just the way the league is and, like, how we've wizened up since that era, you're not really going to see T, I mean, maybe one day that happens out of, like, luck.

You just happen to draft those guys. Maybe Chet becomes the second best player in the world and, like, they become that. But more often than not, this type of, like, death is the style of winning, at least in this five-year span. They're probably just as dominant comparatively. Okay. I can, I can, I can get with that.

Like, you know, for what it needs in that league that year? Yeah. They're 15 and 1 and they haven't had their second best player from last year. Yeah. It's outrageous. That's insane. Shea hasn't played over half the fourth quarters this season. And he's averaging, what, 33 or something like that again?

Dude, like, what the fuck? Yeah. Like, a couple years ago, like, I remember, I think it was probably a live stream, like, two years ago or two and a half years ago or something like that. And I was like, yeah, I think Shay's like a top five player in the world. And I think I was more so early on that. and I saw, I could see how he has like pieces, bits and pieces of his game that could turn and that felt unstoppable already and he was like just 25 years old at the time or whatever. And seeing it develop to like this degree of like consistency and just having moves on moves

and moves and like just consistently like polishing his game. Yeah. What can you even say about that MJ take, man? People like, people get so mad at me now for saying that like still glazing Shay obviously, I'm using their purpose. I'm like, I've like, like, accepted their terms of being a Shea glazer, but I'm just like acknowledging reality. People still get mad at it even post-champions when I say I'd rather have him than Luca

for like style of play reasons and why I think that like obviously they're both top five players, they're close and like overall abilities. But the style of play and the way Shea plays these days, like it's truly like not flawless as nothing, no NBA players flawless outside of I guess Jordan LeBron. He's getting close in the way that doesn't turn the ball over, takes constantly good, efficient shots, can play off ball, doesn't hoard the ball, allows others around him. to thrive because he's not such a high usage player doesn't give anything back defensively

he rebounds he rotates he pushes the ball in transition which is something I would love to see Luca do more like it truly is like the perfect maximization of what wins on the margins in the NBA he contributes to all of that while also having the on ball scoring that's yeah yeah I saw somebody say like when is the general public going to accept

they're watching MJ and the Bulls again that's really what it feels like we gotta get to we gotta get to go back to back yeah you got back to back where you can have that but like they're obviously on paste you if everybody's healthy. It's crazy. Yes. Yeah,

I think I'm closer to getting on board. They're on board already right now that they're probably going to win it all. And Zado hasn't even sniff the core. Who the fuck knows when he's going to come back still too? No one knows. Have you heard an update? I'm sure it's soon.

At this point, it's been a month, but they've been weirdly cagey about it. Now, league-wide hot take, we have about nine months to 18 months of the 65 game rule still being in charge. I've always hated it. I hate him. I'm glad people.

Realizing I hate it. I think, yeah, I think it's going away. I think one, the fact that Brown probably isn't going to get at all NBA selection this year, you can't mess. You can't mess with King James Legacy. Go, man. For Wemby. Yeah, and now when we get two straight years of everybody saying, yeah, Wemby's the best

defensive player in the world and he has no DPO-wise, that's going to happen. You're fucking with the way we talk about the game. And for guys like J, really everybody. But when you are missing out on all. NBA and it's costing you tens of millions of dollars in your contract and like that's the accelerator. I don't know exactly like if you do want to have some type of sliding scale for incentives. I don't again, I'm not 100% sure what that should be. But if you do want to make that a part of it and now we're putting like this specific cap on it, it is going to be something

where people are going to look up and like, you know, I just lost $40 million because I played like 63 games instead of 65 and I don't think people are going to rock with it. It just it was always dumb like I've seen people on Twitter be like y'all didn't care when Embed was getting fucked by it but now the golden shot went B now everyone cares

I care when Bid was getting fucked by it it's so stupid I cared when Tyreys Hallibur was destroying his hamstring because he was pushing the plate through it and ruined one of the seasons like it's so dumb

to put handcuffs on discourse and put handcuffs on voters they already thought about games played it was already considered so to say now you have to consider this and we're saying this has to be the like baseline priority one

there's no more subject activity and what you value that alone is silly to me any type of any type of things that you have to adhere to in a subjective award is silly on the surface that should be 100% like a contract thing that should be negotiated between a agent player and a team like when it comes to players our games played that should be a money thing and a minuscule money thing in case by case basis like if you X team wants to do that for X player go for it league wide requirement is ridiculous yeah and I think I can understand it in the moment because I think we've moved a little bit past it.

I'm glad you said this. We've moved a little bit past it in terms of like the wide, wide discourse of like load management and how much that felt like a problem a couple years ago. And so I don't know if like this specific rule like changed any of that

but the fact that we're here now and it feels a little bit tempered down, I feel like the league can now maybe dialed themselves back a little bit. You want to know what the exact what you just explained it was a fake-ass phenomenon that we decided to change rules for because people on TV couldn't stop former players on TV couldn't stop talking about low management

all of them all of them Barclays, Shack everybody that got a mic for a guest appearance Michael Jordan now on NBC they can't stop talking about low management this is the most fake boogeyman ever you would think that 30 stars across the league are sitting out 20 games for no reason that never existed the players that did load management did it because their bodies couldn't handle playing those games and their teams

wanted them in the playoffs. They didn't just do it just because Joelle and B couldn't play those games back to back. Kauai couldn't play those games back to back. Some teams did it preemptively because they were smart and they saw what was coming and what we're seeing now with the pace of play and making so much more injuries and that you just can't get through 82 games

in a playoff run, staying fully healthy with high usage, high pace and all this stuff. Like there was small amounts of that that was necessary. But the overblowing of that because it was like this back in my day, we didn't sit games out. We just dealt with it while we all understand the difference in the game.

that allowed for that and allowed for the ability for your body to handle more games it was the most nonsensical fake problem that for some reason they adhered to because because people people actually did like they believe it like yeah like people legitimately bought into it you know what so there was like a a PR thing this goes back to a conversation that we have all the time and it's like listen the the the um the value of having media members who who discussed the game in the correct obviously obviously they believe it because chef will stop telling it to one That's what I'm saying. Like, obviously, there's this big, like, overarching thing.

But it was a real problem with, like, if you go and you ask, like, a regular fan about, like, low management, they're like, oh, yeah, everybody is sitting games. They're taking off for just the casuals. And so you do kind of have to, like, adhere to them. Whether this was the way to adhere to them, that's, that neither here or there, probably not the thing to do. But we're, again, because of who is on TV now, we let the general public be brainwashed. Exactly. 100% did it be a lot.

Like, the impact of the people that. represent your game in the discourse on TV specifically is so important and you mentioned you have to adhere to them you do to some extent you can't allow the reputation of your league to be harmed by certain things but you don't have to accept the terms of the people that are spreading this you can try to like address why people think that and go the other way not necessarily say okay I guess you're right I guess it's rather bitch made we got to play 65 games they they they tried to and then they got another deal it's like they like the NBA clearly had like a preference on who was going to broadcast these games they tried their best they said this is going to be our chance to

to change things they tried to and then you know they say hey we can keep you guys on everyone's like okay cool and then ESPN came and said now let's keep it going yeah it was always been the bigger problem honestly ESPN but yeah so that's the that's that's that's the big hot take is that I do think like we are we are going to get to a point where especially after we see a couple years of history changed and like you start looking at the record books and oh this player average da da da da da da didn't have this this this uh this award this this this this All-Star appearance, any of that, it will start to feel like, okay, now we're really are messing with the history of the game because other stuff is coming down the road,

whether it be how we're changing the schedule, how many games, how long the games are. Things are about to change a lot with like history books. And so I think giving people the opportunity to just get all the awards possible, that will be something that the league has to do. And that's the other half of the convo, right, is that people are talking now like, should we play 72 games? Is that going to help with this? because the new core issue clearly is the injuries are insanely high,

which we mentioned several times in this convo, because the pace of play and the intensity of the style of play that everybody does now because we've realized the importance of spacing, it's harder on the bodies. We've been talking about this for years, right? Every year now, the past like three seasons, the playoffs have truly been a war of attrition, who can stay the most healthy and not lose their series,

almost implicitly because of injuries. Like, it's almost been like the reason these teams are losing. Staying healthy will be the new edge. You need to get players and find ways they're trying to do it. it in the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies coach is trying to come in and play four minute stints to not do as hard on the body and their fans are an open revolt. They're saying fuck you. You're not you're not doing our core of our team. You're really ruining the spirit of Grizzly basketball and they hate them for it. That's going to be a continued rise in

things you see. Like you have to do something about it. You can't just allow your season to be cooked by injuries every year. Listen, if they wrong right, if they switch the, if they switch the schedule to 66 games, 72 games, it's going to take two decades. before all the old heads are are out of the general discourse to to die off for people to talk about it because it's two decades i promise so targeted man i promise you know because you have like it's going to take like 20 years for people to like actually accept because even even people who are like our age are going to feel like wow we had 82 games when i was in 2015 now we're 10 years 10 years later and we have to switch it like there's going to be this insane yeah insane feel

about the league of like oh now it's really soft it's really less than they're not going to do that though they can't minimize the games you know so that's not actually going to be the practical matter for many reasons we all know so like what else they're going to do they're probably going to remove the 65 games thing because it will be the new reality that the best players are probably going to play 60 games instead of 80 we'll have to build that in we'll have to focus on depth focus on having styles of play that don't require your best player to be there all the time, which is getting back to the things we're talking about with like why I value certain players over others is because we can't be all encompassing, like heliocentrism really can't

happen anymore just because you're going to get hurt at some point with this new style and new realities of the league, it's going to be how everybody's shifting the way the league works around 82 games and around the realities of injuries rather than them being able to adjust anything for it. Yeah. Yeah, man. Which that's good. Interesting. So at some point, there's going to be one team in the coming years that figures out a hack for staying healthy or It's a hack for not being reliance on injuries. Listen, Nick, y'all have a lot of money. Get to work.

There's no way to happen. Go down to NYU, you get all the med students. Figure something out. You know, they're going to fire their coach. They're going to fire, what's his name, Tomas in the Grizzlies. And we're going to look back six years from now. Like, he had it figured out. They didn't give him a chance.

They booed Jesus, too. They didn't give him a chance. I don't even know, though, because John Morant's out now. So it's like, what did you figure out? He stays hurt regardless. Well, it's hard because they're hurt in their roster. It's not that good. But somebody's in a lot.

to do that and like figure out that like short bursts lead to better health and like better intensity like they do with yannis under mike boot noser someone's going to figure that out and get the best of that and we're going to say this guy had to figure it out you didn't let get a chance i don't even know if that's going to happen but the nature of this game and how it's going to have so start it's just it's impossible in my mind it's impossible it can't happen it's for human and this flesh is not supposed to like go really fast and come to a certain a hole like isn't but there's no somebody's going to find a way to to either figure out how to And if it is going to be illegal.

Or how to, because, like, there's already stuff that, like, they could look at, like, at your muscles and see, like, okay, this one is, like, 40% stronger than the other one. Like, there's more tendance here. Like, they're going to figure out a way to look, to do a scan and be like, hey, man, you got two weeks before this is the Killies. And we're going to talk a lot about the people that, like, you ever hearing people talk about how Derek Rosas got hurt is because, like, his style of running his gate, like, landed itself to poor landing. And I, yeah, specifically how he would land after ferocious dunks. Yeah, that was one thing. the landing but also the way he ran too like a lot of pressure on his knees it's going to be stuff like that we can get a lot of biometrics and like trying to the biohacking is crazy

in the same way we try to tweak shooting forms we're going to how to tweak the way you run and the way you jump that's late as well as it's just going to be simple fact that players should play less minutes and we should have more good players yeah yeah well the league's going to change in the next 10 years we'll see yeah we'll see and with that being said that is every single NBA teams one hot take for them as well as a league wide theory slash hot take with that being said it's not some fun we're on a TikTok time time. We move. Woo.

Welcome to TikTok time. Today, as usual, we are going to begin with the draft. I know as of late we've been doing these sabotage drafts. I've been very fun. Don't have back a little bit. Doing a regular draft today. Draft order is me, Moe, Donovan. This time we're doing a draft with only players that we have interviewed before.

Okay. Players that we have talked to in content before. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. How surprised that we were able to, like, a mass, like over 15 players, it's crazy. It helps when you talk to two whole draft classes.

So this will be a young player-leaning list since we have talked to mostly the youth. But we have a handful of All-Stars here now, current and former. So it should be some pretty good teams, honestly. Okay. Okay, let's do it. So let's draft NBA teams.

Only players we've been here before. First pick right now, I think I'm going to take this year's Tyreys Maxi. I think he's elevated to be the best one. Unless I'm forgetting somebody, I think I'm taking him over Peak Darren Fox. Yeah, okay I think he's playing better right now

Tyrese is averaging 30 He's averaging 8 and 9 assists a game It's crazy He's played like 40 minutes a game Handling that load He's averaging bro He's averaging so many assists Well just dishing it out lifting the rights

Like physically impossible to guard him Because he can pull up from 30 While also just blow right past by you That's fair That's the most he's ever given and taken Like the amount of production he's putting out And the amount of wearing terror on his body It's ridiculous

Okay Okay I guess that leaves with the second best player just through the any reason we had. The second best we interviewed is Darren Fox, so I'll take him as my one.

Okay. Luckily, we have three all-star guards, so Domin gets to get a pretty good one, too. Actually, we have four all-star guards you can pick from play guards. There are. Ooh, and I can play shooting guard the one I just picked.

Let's see, let's see. Now, the interesting part, though, is we haven't interviewed a lot, a lot of Bigs. Yeah. And so I will say that at my power forward, at my power forward, give me Derek Queen.

Ooh, okay. Go straight for the rookie. Yeah, Derek Queen, just, you know, just coming off a 30-point game. Mm-hmm. And then, ah, see, this is tough because I feel like now that I've expressed this, coming back, I won't get the opportunity.

Yeah. So at my center I just need big bodies Give me my watch Oh okay Okay, I'm going double rookie With your start of your team Okay

Wow, okay I don't know how much common plays yet I don't even I don't know but he's 7 to So he's gonna play on the time Oh, where you're going? Fucking give me someone who's seven three Give me Zach Eadie, bro

I can't believe you did pick Eadie Yeah Common was not not gonna lie That injury has him out of my head He completely forgot. That's four years old. Tough. Okay.

Damn. I'm going to go with a small back court. I'm going to pair up my All-Star guards. Give me Darius Garland. Give me another one like play off ball. I'll give you guys Barron. Give me the two shooters. Okay.

And then... That's kind of food. A little bit, but I'm going to build around that. It's a little sneaky. Can I pick Jared Jackson, Jr.? Because Mo did a shoot with him. No. No.

Mo did a thing with him. This is a deep three interview. That was not a deep three interview. Yeah. Okay. I need size and defense around these guys. Give me Alex Sarat PowerFord. We were there for work. Yeah. We were employees. Exactly. Give me Alexar PowerFord to cope for these guys defensively. Okay. Okay. Alexar PowerFord is not, not bad. It's not the worst thing. Okay. Ooh. Give me someone who's been fucking firing on all cylinders. Not necessarily a need. Give me conking about my two. Oh, that's more.

Some who might be the rookie of the fucking year this year. That is smart. That's good. Okay. He fits with Fox, too. Yeah. Perfect. Thank goodness.

Give me modest at the three. Okay. Nice. Your team is huge. Modest at the three. And see, this is tough. I can go a couple ways, but we're. Ah, I have no idea.

Okay. We'll do this. We'll do this. I can't believe you, you might be disrespectful, man. I'm not because I have, I have room to do it because you guys aren't going to do it. So at the two, give me Vijay N's goal. Oh, okay. Well, please take Baron Davis because he got greedy.

Dude. Lay his greedy ass, put Conn to Small Ford. I cannot believe you didn't take Barron Davis. Take Barron, please. Don't let his greedy ass get a point guard. Put Baron Davis at your three. No, put Conant to three. Six, six.

Yeah, I could put Conant to do. I can afford it. But my shooting is kind of dicey. Don't let his greedy ass get Baron Davis on the back end. whether he whether or not he gets Baron Davis or not like I think my team

still going to be better so actually actually I just forgot what keep going okay

I have two choices in my head similar is position wise I think I want to grab Cooper flag already put him at my three I completely forgot about Cooper like until this moment

keep put me at my foot Completely. Okay. Because as soon as you said that you might take Baron, I was like, I'll run a flag at the point. Yeah. I might do that. Oh, who do I go with now? Damn.

I was hoping. Damn. Now he's going to get, I can't take Baron Davis. I have two guards. Yeah. I mean, you can. Why not? Who's stopping you guys?

Just try to run five guards. I do. I need size and defense. Take bear. I need a role player. Take Barron. Give me Keegan Murray at small forward. we interviewed on rising stars our first year i did i did take talk of kegan murray you're right you're right

i completely forgot about that was like kegan murray who else we talked to rising stars i talked to a rising stars i can't remember was it kegan or did you talk to his brother no i thought the kegan murray come on the christ murray was a rising star he also wasn't a league yet they came on a legal year later all right did i talk to a center of rising stars is there another big i'm not thinking of there was a big i had i talked to to a big or not like center big but somebody with some size someone who was just big yeah is common the only center from last year I think there was this is there was no center in this class yeah we didn't talk to

Donovan Klingin that's tough oh yeah we didn't talk yeah we didn't know yeah dumb lane he was so late too so is there no more centers left all right I don't know I can't think of any more centers I don't know man there might not be go ahead comments like you talk to this guy but we don't remember yeah i'm trying to go who did that rising stars thing was such a one-off i can't remember because we were like at the media day thing went around i talked to rana miller i talked i talked to sohan kegan murray talk to pods no talk to pods i don't remember i don't think there's any more centers i'm trying real hard to rack my brain yeah have we is it really every two centers yeah

go hey slide everybody out get yourself away okay you know i don't got i'm going straight offense then saar welcome to center Tray Murphy, welcome to small four Tray Murphy. Okay. That's not bad. I got two big wings, two small guards. One mobile big.

I'm switching everything. Okay. Very interesting. So at my four, give me Jaime Hawkes. Going crazy for Miami right now. Okay. You really flagged your four.

Finally, he is hooping, but it doesn't matter. Four or five, it don't matter. You're seeing one white at the wing. You know what's funny? What? He just said an hour ago that he doesn't believe

anything that the hit are doing. Facts. But I believe in Jaime Hawkees, if that's one thing. And that is why I had my last pick. Give me Baron Davis to run my post. Yeah, I can't believe that and do that. Damn it.

Okay. Great value. I guess Moe won. Mo has a big man. Most team makes sense. Yeah. The Cooper flag pick made him win. Fox, Con, Jaime, flag, Ead.

They fit really well together. Damn. I took the bed in two small guards. I assumed I get one of the bigs. Yeah. Did not. I knew the bigs were so scarce. That's immediately, like, I just, I couldn't afford to pass up on Edie.

I got Hoopers, Hoopers, one through four. and then model watch you have the the most athletic back court for sure oh my goodness yeah we're dunking on everybody yeah yeah Madison queen is such a weird fit your team has no offensive skill though right now they're all so young

you got barren and a bunch of athletes that's fair maybe shout out queen queen's ready take some ball handling off queen's been good VJ has scored 30 queen scored 30 he's good 30 points I have Tyre's maxi or dare is gone at point guard Tyre's maxi at shooting guard

Trey Murphy the third a small forward Kegan Murray at Power Ford, Alex Hart at Center. Beautiful. I got Deeron Fox at my one at my two, Connoble, three, Jaime Hawkass, four. I got Cooper Flagg and my five, Zach Edie. He's come back, man. I have Barron Davis at the one, VJ Edgecombe at two, modest Muzellis at three, Derek Queen at my four,

and Common Maluasch at my six. That's funny. I have the best center. At my center. I have the best center, but he's so small. These other two guys are gigantic. He's getting out physical. Like, I'm like, oh no, I do have the best player at center.

he's just little and the four I'm a King and Murray can probably make up for that a little bit King and Murray can check Cooper Flag Derek Queen's

in a permit to post petite, too small okay so that's our team you guys let us know who won as usual next thing we're gonna do

we are gonna do a tier list last week we started our yearly early season positional tier list starting with the point guards we put 15 of the 30 starting point guards

in the league into a cheer list based on how much you want them on our team to build around so it's not you know not entirely like just skill it's like context who we'd want which is why we had some difference between like guys who are the first option on their team but they're a mediocre first option versus an elite second option keeping that in mind this time with off guards shooting guards where do you guys want to begin um so we set the standard sure anthony edwards

yes dear welcome to estier he has had a slow start to this year don't care he's still anthie edwards now i was hoping if he would have kept up that pace for the i guess the first game that he played the first two games, he would be in a tier of his own. But sadly, I don't think he is right now. He might as well be in a tier of zone. We'll get to that conversation. But despite the slow start we've seen year after year of him getting his team in the conference finals, him leveling up as a defender when he did, the shooting jump he made last year. The fact he's playing point guard now and their offense is still good. He's the most well-rounded, take over a game, highest ceiling player on this list. Exactly. Devin Booker. I think he's, I think he belongs in the next tier as

well talk about well-rounded like it's him and there's anthony edwards of course he's not the defender that anthony edwards is but there's been so many years and where he's been tasked to forcibly be a point guard has been pretty but it's not like a complete tire fire yeah it's not it's not the worst thing he can do it but it's also never worked you know if this never led to like a good offense so we always get too generous with s tier there's always the inclination to put everybody that's in the like conversation ish estier should be like you are the guy like at the top you know like they're you stand alone and i feel like it's pretty undebatable that you'd rather have anthem booker these days yes that that is true like is there any car is there any part of you

that could argue that booker is better or you'd rather build around booker i kind of want to not his fault devon booker a little bit even with that we can't not as fault it is not as fault at all yeah even with that in mind if that's the case and that's how you want to set this and okay because there's no universe where i'd rather have devon booker over anthony edwards if there's no universe and not even a combo i feel like that's the definition of a tear break No universe? He's probably right these days. I would always want Anthony Edwards over Deebuck.

Yeah, like there really is. It doesn't matter what the team construction is or situation is. Yeah, I'd rather having it. Okay. Would you disagree? Was there, is it a world in which you better? I mean, I feel like there might be one universe. At least, at least one.

I feel like no universe was a little disrespectful. But an overwhelming majority of them, obviously, is the guy. But I do feel like if you get, we could get Booker into a, into not a dumpster fire. of a of an organization and I could see that team having a deep playoff run as well for sure I would view it like so if there's a redraft of the league

you have the gods up top the big man go you're at the number five pick both are available is there any part of you that would think about selecting Booker over Anthony Edwards everyone for this year sure yeah just this year not really I don't think it would be maybe I'd talk to my staff about it

just this year yeah just this year I talked to I would be like the Lakers owner I'm cleaning your house If you're not doing that You get fired Yeah and it's not about Booker I'm fully ready

To like not his fault him The team Just completely disintegrated around him He should be a shooting guard Should be the lethal off ball force He once was Shouldn't be tasked With being a primary pick and roll

Ball handler being the true point guard All of it not his fault Still think Anceteer above Yeah Austin Reeves What do we do with this guy Who's currently I think Still averaging near 30

Like eight assists a game inflated for the time That Luca missed But we do know he clearly took a step forward. He currently has a better rim football percentage than shake-outers Alexander.

He's not a, he's not a Devin-Bucker range. Or are we going to put him in the same tier as Devin-Bucker right now? Because it feels weird to say, but the production is the production. Yeah.

And Booker's a better defender, but it's not like Booker's such a good defender that it's going to be a tearbreaker to anybody really, but he is a better defender. Passing low-key, I don't know if there's a gap there anymore. Like, Booker is a good passer.

So is Reeves. It's hard because, like, you want to give Booker the credit for clearly being the better score because he's Devin fucking Booker. How much is Austin He said to produce that we view that as an equal score?

Christmas? We got to get to Christmas. Yeah. So you want to go B now, but if he's still averaging 28 or 26 by Christmas? He's at the very top of B. Okay, yeah. Yeah, especially now that LeBron has come back

if you can, and I don't think, obviously, LeBron's not going to tank Austin Reefstock or whatever, but now that there are just more, more pieces on that team, you can still continue to do what you say,

scored 28. Okay, fine. you're you're that guy now yeah okay if we get to christmas and he's still let's call it 25 points per game which is crazy for a second option and he's the second scoring option over lebron still insanely efficient he's currently shooting 80% at the rim that's not going to maintain but if he's still elite at the rim elite getting to the free throw line great off the dribble jumper can playmaker averaging over five assists as a second option he can be in a one day yeah yeah oh wait a little bit alice caruso amazing role player amazing role player key part of a championship one of the

best primitive defenders of a generation. Got to put him at C tier, though. He's face a C tier. Any team would love to have him on your roster. He does everything extremely well. He doesn't necessarily, like, have any dire parts of his game that could kill an offense or defense at all. Great player.

Stefan Castle. Come to this year where he's taking a leap as a score. He's a legit, elite driver these days. A little bit overtask early in the year as a playmaker, a lot of turnovers, but he's not, he shouldn't be a point guard. He was kind of forced to get the point of a time. He was averaging. damn near six as the turnover is a fucking game.

It's crazy. But amazing on-ball defender, kind of like a, a, what's his name? A Nemhard archetype where he can defend on-ball and be a secondary playmaker with a little bit of scoring juice. That's fine. I think that Caruso still,

as far as role players go, still kind of like, it takes a lot to be as impactful as Caruso. So I would put Castle in D right now. I think he's still a level below Caruso. Caruso is better, but do you think he's the same tier of player? Do you think we'll get to a point where, like, D should be, like, very average players? Maybe, and we could do some reshuffling, but I still, I still look at Alex Caruso in a very, very high light.

And I don't know if Castle's there yet. And it's, it's hard to get there because we haven't been through, like, a playoffs. And you know what it's hard because you view Caruso as this, like, elite role player in this tier where in his role, he's going to be this, like, insanely niche, insanely impactful player versus Castle. so he's like a young building block and that's like something that has a higher ceiling so he's further away from that ceiling and his peers are like other young stars

before he's at in that development I think he might be at like a lead role player he could be there's also like a very old world in where like the San Antonio Spurs are good on Stefan Castle trying to be like this damn near

all star level guard and they just ask him to be someone like Alex Crusoe and he will fucking thrive at that role too so I kind of maybe he is see yeah I think he is definitely see. I think he's there an M hard.

Because the talent is there. He's not like nothing on offense. No, he's a very good driver. Yeah. I think you see. See this? I agree. Just because I think we should be careful

with the D thing because we're going to put some people in D there. We're going to be like, we'd so much rather have Castle than that guy. RJ Barrett. Now that, I think that's a D tier. He is producing. Yeah, he's scoring,

but you know. He's not having a terrible year for RJ Barry's standards. It's so funny. The other day, I was rewatching the Charlotte Hornets game versus the Tarna Raptors and then my girl was watching with me and she was like yo whoever that dude is

he's so bad she watched the worst five minutes of RJ Barrett's career and I was crying bro I was dying I was like you don't even know she's in the lab grind

she was like what the fuck is he doing didn't beat on backscreens oh my God yeah everybody on here is a starter so D tier isn't bad players I think he's in a clearly lower tier than these two guys

and see yeah because it's It's, he's in an interesting, the whole Raptors team is just like interesting at this point. You're still trying to figure it out. But if you're trying to put RJ Bear on other teams, I do feel like it's going to be very, very hard for him to get his game off and be impactful on not only just the winning team, but even like some of the upper echelon B tier level teams. Yeah. So D is fine. Yeah, never going to be a great defender.

He's athletic and like can contribute. He can slash has his shooting moments. Not a bad player that deserves F tier. F tier is for this list like you shouldn't be a starter D tier is you're an average starter Norm Powell I'm a heater Put Norm Powell in B tier A tier

S tier he is who I really don't care Where we put Norm Powell But he is dominated right now He's averaging 25 he's shooting nearly 50% From the three point line He is an all star this year in the east Yes Without a question

Here's thing so we're doing it early in the year Insane start Do we think he'll maintain that Do you think he'll be an all star? Do you think I think he is but that says more so about the Eastern Conference. Well, it's actually a little bit of both. I disagree because he was on the line last year of being it.

And also we saw this, we saw this jump from him. And now that he is in Miami and Tyler Hero has been out, they haven't missed the beat because Norm Powell is out here having the greatest late stage jump of all time. Before the season, he said, I don't care about my age. I feel like a budding star at 32. Seems like he was on to something. And we were like, yeah, okay, SoundCloud rap a little bit.

Damn, bro. Get a job. Taking you 10 years to develop. All right. He's a good score. Amazing shooter runs off the screen. Does everything fits in that scheme with the pace they play, the transition opportunities fantastically? Obviously isn't the playmaker.

Obviously, isn't like an above average defender. Does that deserve to be in B tier? Or is that just, is that kind of like the inverse of Caruso where you're so good at scoring, but don't bring the other stuff that you're still like top of C? Yes, but dang, the buckets are. I will say. They're plentiful. Norm Powell is like a great.

Right, you're right, he's the complete opposite of Caruso in the best ways. He's like the coolest gadget player in the league, but he's not like necessarily the main weapon that you want to surround your team around. Yeah, an amazing scoring role player, which is a very like important thing to have, especially a team like the heat that are built around Bam out of Bio who's not going to be your primary score. Yeah. But still a role player, just like in a people think about the bucket is usually the best player. So it's like the inverse of what people think about when they think about role player. Yeah, I think you see. But like, look, these players in C are fucking great.

So it's not an insult for this. might have to reclassify C. Dude, the shooting guards are good, man. So we could put, if you want to put Austin Reeves in A and then move some of these guys up, but C just isn't bad for this list. This is just a, the shooting guard position is as deep. It does, yeah, they, these guys in C don't feel like

your players at all. 25 points a game. We have, actually, we got to, we got to move on. That's what I'm saying, like, we have, we have a first team, all, all defense level guy in Caruso, and a 25 point per game all started this year in C tier. Like, both of those. like they should be a little bit higher.

Do you want to put Austin Reeves in eight? I think, yeah, Austin, he's got to be in eight tier. He's having 28 a game, bro. I'm like eight assists a game this year, too. Okay, Austin Reeves, welcome to A tier. Norm Powell, welcome to B tier. And I guess Caruso B tier? Yeah. Okay, there we go.

Next up, Christian Brown. He has not been good this year. He's had a very bad here after being paid. Is it D or is it C? Because we've seen him be good. Obviously, he's a very good defender from running transition. It has been a non-threat offensively for, lot of the season it's a lot a lot of the so with with jemal murray we talk about him anybody who plays with yokech you talk about in a certain way because you understand that there is an attribute

boost that you get by playing with yokech plus five immediately you're right if we're talking about like building a team or just having on on your team minus yokitch i'm not sure of i'm sure he should be fine but i'm not sure the impact that that he would bring so i think that feels like a d tier yeah for right now we can go d keep it pushing okay Desmond Bain Obviously highly touted Four first-time picks to get him Came in, couldn't make a shot

Hit a game one of though With smelling though At his best I think he's beat here But so far this year He's been playing like D In the middle With the respect that I gotta give him He might be C right now

Is Norm Pallel that much better than Desmond Bain though Are we gonna overreact that hard to 12 games Even if we give Norm Pallel to boost him You think it's real Like that's just where Desmond Bain always has been As a 22 point per game score That can give you a lot of other stuff Yeah, let me not let, like, Jamal Mosley and his game plan, like, fool me into thinking

that Desmond B-Bain is worse this year, he probably put him in B-tier. Put him in B-tier, but you are on watch to fall to C. Yeah. You got 15 games to turn it around, Desmond, but we're going to give you a lifetime achievement award and put you in B, but you were on watch. Dice and Daniels. C, that's just clearly C, right? Dude, you're from averaging 14.

Take out our best score. He's averaging eight points. Doesn't make any sense, right? So are we talking D then, non-threat offensively, regressed offensively? No. He creates love. He's the best playmaker out of C&D. He's the best defender out of C&D as well.

But he's just no longer the same offensive threat. Last year, him, he was B this year right now. See? Just don't take enough to him. She shoots no threes, bro. That kind of sounds like D. He's such a weird player. That kind of sounds like you're describing D right now.

No, he's not D because he's getting his shot and he's not making the most of his opportunities. We want to give him credit from last year. We can keep him in C, but it sounds like he's on D-watch. I think that defense is too special to be on D-W. you watch. Do you? Okay.

Too special. And also with the playmaking that he does, too. I view him in similar lights as Caruso, just different strengths. Both elite defenders, Caruso can shoot Dyson Daniels. He can playmaking out of the ass. Probably just paid a lot more than Crusoe. Yeah, he is for now. Stop bringing about you right now.

You're talking about money right now, right? Derek White's. Not having a good year. 30% from three this year is looking like you have him next to two other stars. Oh, Derek White's a third star. You make him have a little more responsibility. Oh, Derek White's a role player. He tricked us.

He tricked this, man. He tricked you too. Sounds like C-tier. It's just a worse environment for him. He's not in his pride. He fell off. That's the angle. I said earlier in the episode, trade Derek White.

Yeah. I don't know. He showed that he can't scale up, but he's still amazing when he can beat his proper role. So if you want to say that still be because we know what can happen when Jason Taylor's back, I'm fine with that. Or if you want to say, if you can't scale up at all that you're to see. It's going to be. Well, yeah. Why, because Caruso can't scale up offensively.

Exactly. So, all right, B. We keep me B. I mean, he's just, do you think he's going to keep shooting 30% from three? Obviously not. No, it's, it's going to get better. And I think if we kept, if we kept Dyson Daniels and C basically because of his reputation, we can do the same with Derek Quartz.

Yeah, we know who Derek Quires. And we know he's just, you know, construction that isn't the best version of him, and it will get better even in that construction. Tyler Hero. And my B-Tier's getting crowded. I mean, the league, the, the, the, the, the, position's kind of kind of talented i can't i can't see him the same light as austin rees and devon booker because they have their different edges in different ways he's the austin reeds last

year him in they were on telling here they're in the same conversation it's just tough because we're awarding austin reeds because you guys decided to reshuffle all these so like now it's weird because we can't put that here on this different booker but he's pretty much deserving to be in austin reves conversations unless you want to really really believe austin reves has taken that true star leap and this is 100% and real and like he is all-star Tyler Hero averaged like what 25 last year yeah five assists

and whatnot like this year Austin Reeves is better than all-star version of Tyler Tyler Hero last year yeah but keep mind it is because the dynamic of who's missing games for those raw numbers I just need it's again for a lot of people you get your reputation stamp once we get to to the playoffs

and if we can get there you've never seen that with Tyler I know and well no we haven't seen that with Austin Reeves and so if we can get to one to one run where he doesn't have wet leg syndrome and he's not pissing down his leg

then maybe we can stamp him right now it feels like he's outside the club waiting to get into a tier Austin Reeves what are you talking about

here? Tyler Reeves Oh Reeves do you want to put Reeves Oh we're not putting back down before we were past that

I don't I'm saying because Tyler Hero also like for all the same reasons where it feels like he's not yet at Devon

Booker tier. Oh, Boston Reeves is better than these guys. You decide to move it to B, so now we can't do that. We can make a Reeves tier, a purgatory tier. No, he's going to be the worst in the air. We already, we've already decided our fate. We're putting a tier on A. Because you guys didn't want to put the role players in C tier. Everyone got covered up. We always put people too high. I mean, shit, man. I think these players are good, bro.

They are good. Me too. In my defense, I do be trying to hate. Yeah, I think B.T. is okay. You're too aware of you're hating. Now you're trying to glaze too much. Not even. Ludoort. That's S-tier, man He's the fuck out of here

He really transcends the sport Because he could be First Team All defense In the NBA He could be first team all prize A linebacker He's awesome I love Lou Dorr

The one above ball Lou door based off of what we've seen Last year Because this year he's just injured And he's shooting like 30% From 3 point line Put him in C tier Nice C tier exactly

Where the rest of all players are Cam Thomas I'm sorry That's a D tier I don't even No, we might have to put FD, bro. I, straight up, I do not want Cam Thomas in my team. Like, if I'm a GM, that's F2.

I just, like, he's talented. He can do, he can put the ball in the basket. And I'm sure there's a team out there that can harness that in some positive way. I don't want to be that GM that tries to figure that out. Right now, he is the face of, like, tank commanding. Michael Porr Jr. start going off when Cam Thomas left the lineup. McKill Bridges did terrible. And that one time, he played with Cam Thomas for too many games.

Tank commander. Yeah, not a lot of teams. Who'd rather have him and RJ Barrett RJ? He touches his other assets of the game A little bit, he'll pass a little bit rebound, I know he'll try He'll get to the rim

Yeah, I'll take RJ RJ Barry can get to the rim He's can't finish when he gets there Yeah I'm taking RJ This sounds like It sounds like F tier for Camp Thomas right now I think he's F

So you got time to hate Maybe you got time to put somebody low You didn't want to do it Everybody clammed up nobody's trying to be real anymore everybody wants to be PR safe nobody wants to say what it is C.J McCollum

F quickest F of my life yeah you're not gonna tell me what I can and cannot say F tier is he falling off completely yeah he is he's like below 40% focal percentage this year yeah he's not good

is there any part of you that like the Wizards are a goddamn tire fire and like the shot quality is obviously terrible is there any part of you at things if a contender saves him he'll be like solid again part of it but the shot quality is terrible also because of him too yeah because he has to force it like it's truly terrible over there like that's the worst offensive ecosystem in the league

yeah he got send there to die but like you think if you put him on a on a reasonable team he could be as good as r j barrett still maybe but it looks like the basketball left him does it i'm okay yeah it's it's up to your there's just a lot of instances where i'm like watching the wizards and i'm trying to see how um tray johns is developing alksar and kishan george and leap he's making and then cid mccorms stepping back you know that wallow me we're just like yeah

sit him right there like bro pass the fucking rock bro man damn it's probably we're probably riding him off a little too quick but maybe we're not

two point he's 34 fair maybe we look up in January this is what happens fair yeah fair enough I should put Clay on this list

nah no no no that's too mean Zach Levine Zach Levine Zach A lot of people will say

people have like written him off as ever being able to win And what Pubba would say C tier, I still feel like part of me is like, it's not his fault. He's not great. He's not A tier or anything crazy. But like, is he that different from Tyler Hero? Like, I think he's one of the more hyper-efficient guards. One of the best shooters in the league.

Offensively, when it comes to scoring, he has a lot in his bag. Defense don't talk to me. Rebound. You don't talk to me. Playmaking. It's not much there. And we got Norm Powell and B tier. I'd rather have Norm Powell right now than exactly.

I don't know. If money, well, probably money is a big factor for. that it's a lot easier to stomach the one-way score because he's making half as much well if he wasn't though like well this contract's been to end pretty soon and he's gonna get a reasonable deal and exactly me making 24 million dollars a year might be pretty goddamn enticing again now we also felt the same way there's a lot of guys where we kind of feel like that where listen the deal is is about to get up we're going to get them on a much more manageable deal are you going to go the way of norm power and reignite your career or is it going to

skew more towards the Bradley Biel era and I'm not saying he's going to be that bad and break his hip, but we are asking to get a second acting in your career on a team friendly contract and it might not just it just might not happen. He's not performing that poorly right now.

I feel like he might be posted to that. He's shooting 50% from the fields, 40% from 3, averaging 22 points a game while just casually shooting like 88% with no point guards, no room protection, no wing defenders, nothing going for him that makes sense on that team. Like he shouldn't be this efficient at all. I don't think it's his fault. I think he's gotten maligned as the face of

empty stats. And part of that is probably there's some truth of that. He's not Devin Booker. He's not at that level. But he's not this like hopeless, terrible player you can't win with. You're right. I think earlier in the year or earlier in his career, everyone compared him to Devinbucker. We see the athleticism. We see him growing as a shooter and all that. And then people are like, oh, he's a one-way player. He's just driving off his athleticism scaled all the way into skill and just forgot about certain answerary parts of his game. And now we talk about Zach Levinian in the most, like, lose your way ever because he's done nothing but

played for losers and has forever been irrelevant outside for maybe one year, one playoff series against some Milwaukee bucks. That's it. I think he's BTA. He's really good, man. I think he's pretty comfortable with Norm Powell and Tyler Hero, if you want to keep him in the same conversation.

Yeah. I mean, I'm out of voted. I think he's good. Does anybody in B2, we should move down? Do we want to hate on Desmond Bader, Derek White, if having bad starts of the year? I think we know. Are we okay with his big ass tier?

Yeah. If anybody would go down this dare quite. I don't know. But even, yeah, maybe. I don't want to do it, but that would be. We don't got to do it. Yeah. C tier feels really standalone.

These are all players who are like very flawed in their own right. Yeah. So it feels right. Okay. C tier is flawed starters that are still overall good. D tiers, average starters because they're flaws. F tiers, I don't want you. Yeah.

I would not want you on my starting lineup at all. Last name, Donovan Mitchell. Obviously, it's been the SRA. Do we feel like there's an art, there's an opening with Anthony Edwards, low start to the year that I don't really care that much about because it's only 10 games but it hasn't been the strongest start.

D. Mitch is an amazing score. We know who he is. We know the playoff elevation which really is like he just taking more shots in the playoffs. He'll turn it on when needed. Unload the clip first team only be a couple years ago. Last year. Unloading the clip is very valuable though.

He's giving you 30 years this year right now. Same thing we do. Same exercise as Devin Booker. We know those are the big three and we know those guys have always been in the conversation for the last five years or so. And we know Anthony Edwards is elevated in recent years to where he's being talked about as the best American in the NBA, top five to seven player.

Nobody really does that for Devin Booker. There's a little bit more of that for Donovan Mitchell. Some people put them in those conversations, whether they be right or wrong, let others decide. Even all that together, if you had to rebuild a team right now and you're tasked with picking them,

is there any part of you that would pick DeMitch over Anthony Edwards? No. There's no conversation for us here. No, he's just the best player in there? Yeah, sorry, bro. I can't. For me, at this point in time now, when I think about who I'd rather build my team around and debug, even if you want to open that conversation or Donovan Mitchell, I think at this point in time, I'm getting really into the weeds of the conversation.

All fantastic scores, all amazing shooters, all just like guys so you can build your offense around. But I think I'd rather have Devin Booker in and over Spider right now. you know that Devin Booker over Spina? I think so. Wow. It's a really close conversation. Yeah, it's close. I don't think at that point

it's just simply because of like size. I don't know. I don't know. That's such a hard debate now these years. I keep going back and forth. I'd probably go Donvin Mitchell, but it's a conversation. Either way, I think they're both behind it.

Yeah, I agree. There's a lot of standalone for sure. It's a perfect distribution. B tier being the fattest. Probably how it should be. Wait, B tier being what? The fattest, the biggest tier. Gotcha.

So there we go I don't think there's much to complain about here Unless you People probably get mad To some of the people In BT are having bad years Like put them down to C

They suck Maybe they do suck We'll give it 15 more gains Before we decide Desmond B and Derek White are washed Are we doing too much For our last Caruso

No No If you have Norm Powell B I was Chris Nog as B They're both Specialists on one side The ball

While being competent on the other side Actually I think Caruso is more competent Offensively than Powell is defensively Pals not a Beck Powell's not like a black hole, but he's not plus at all, really.

Yeah, okay. I like this, though. This is fine with me. And what do you know, a perfect tier list? Whoa, we just keep on going. Going and going and going. Next thing we're going to do,

we've been talking a lot of this episode in our hot takes about how many players have been breaking out this season. There is like 10 players right now that we can say are the most improved player in the NBA. So what we're going to do is

I'm going to show you an NBA player. You let me know if this player is leap this season is real or fake. Okay. So whatever that means to you, you know, if you think they're bound to have some regression

or if you think they're just a star now. Okay, okay. I got my diamond tester out. Yeah, exactly. First off, Jalen Duren. Oh, that's real. Real as fuck. That is real.

He is an all-star now. He has leveled up. Everything that everybody wanted him to be, he is that now. Exactly. The defense is more than passable now. Offensively,

the level of ball handling he has. The fact that he can take mid-range jumpers after between the legs dribble while also being the ferocious rim finisher and pick and roll threat, All-Star.

Yeah, I don't know how many centers in the league that I'd rather have over Jalen Duren. There's just, Wembe, Wembe, you could say. Yokic. Yokic, of course. And then after that, Sang-Goon, maybe,

but it's a tight conversation. Convos begin, but I'll take probably Schengun and Chet. Yeah. And then I'm, but those are like, you, if you tell me Jalen Duren gets in that tier and those talks,

I believe you. It's close, man. It's close. Yeah, this is everything the Pistons needed from this position. They have a bona fide second star now. Yeah. Welcome to the,

of contention in the Eastern Conference Detroit. Tyrese currently average two over 30, 40 minutes for game, being the best player on a team's offense, carrying the load. Is this real? Can he be this player? Real as fuck, bro. He has shown nothing

over the last few years, but signs that he will eventually come into this. One of the biggest issues with his game was his ability to have gears into his game and no one to start and stop and then, oh no, like Hardens there and he's like one of the best heliocentric players of all time or whatever he leaves

gives Tyre's Maxi a buffer year and he just becomes this demon on offense who can finish at the rim. You already know what he does from the mid-range standpoint. He's developed and took a real leap from playmaking and just like continuously polish his game. It's so real he's here.

I think it's probably pretty real. It's like when the best score is in the NBA. So if this is real to this point where he's averaging over 30 granted it's 40 minutes per game that's probably like they probably don't want him to keep doing that. But Even if he's averaging 28 and a half points per game, this is the top 15 player in the world. Yeah.

Yeah. This, I mean, I said earlier, he's going to win club's player of the year because I do think that he's going to get to a point with all the close games that the Sixers are playing. He's going to keep scoring 30. He's going to start having game winners. I believe in everything that Tyrese maxi do.

At this point, if this is real, what have you seen to start the season, how different is he than Donald Mitchell? As this slightly like smallish guard that's just this nuclear shooter slash slashing combination that can lead an offense with the scoring gravity. Yeah, the difference would just be vertical at that point. Yeah, pretty much.

Vertical and braids, that's it. Next up. Aaron Gordon, now being one of the best three-point shooters in the league. It's real. I mean, it was real last year, and you can say, oh, you know, when. Got even better. Yeah. 20 points your game now.

I want to call this fake so bad because we don't see this ever in NBA history. But I figure it's real. This feels like super similar to the late career. development that Brooke Lopez made. They never took threes. And all of a sudden, that's what he's known for. That's what's keeping his NBA career alive. And then Aaron Gordon already like one of the best, maybe the best role player in the

league, just becoming like a sharpshooter. What the fuck? It's crazy. It's insane. What are we talking about? This is so weird. Yeah, the Nuggets, they didn't even have to go out and get anybody really, really new. Obviously, they had to add to Camp Johnson, but they didn't have to add another piece

because they just say, hey, keep, Aaron Gordon, keep getting better. He said, okay, I got you. And now I'm just here. All these feel real. This is a crazy year for Leaps. Josh Katie. The Diamond Tester is silent. He is not shining.

Those are not VBSs, man. Like here's the thing. He's better. He's better. But he's probably not as good as the numbers say. Correct. I think he's a better version of him. He still has the same flaws,

except for the fact that I think he can shoot now. The three-point shot from a standstill, catching shoot, running in transition, feels pretty real. So you improve that big weakness. Still not a good defender. And still, if you ask him to create a shot for himself in the half court, it's just going to get scary real fast. That's not a strength. I don't think you'll ever build around him as one of your better players. But he is a better version of himself in some meaningful ways.

He's way better in transition, which means something. But if you're asking me, is he a star is fake? No, yeah, I'm not buying into that. Sorry. Yeah. I'll buy into him that he's. improved but as far as he having like all like star build around my team equity fake yeah because he's still like he's still gonna lead the bulls to the playing yeah and it's still a style of play that

it won't it's a style of play that will probably rarely work in the playoffs it's not they do that every year he's guard de montes a bonus now okay wow which is a good player that can get numbers but it's going to be real hard to win the playoffs with that you can get numbers and you can get yourself a bag yeah yep yep and who won't want that it's a good life for him ryan rollins we could easily say fake but I feel like this might be real man like that seems pretty goddamn real it's two years in a row now where he shoots really well and you simply give him more usage and he's had more numbers because of it still a very good defender can attack a pick and roll great driver attacking a close out can run in transition it feels like he's just an elite role player now yeah and that's that's completely fair because you can say that for a lot of you can say that for a lot of role players but also sometimes you give somebody more usage and they just throw more bridge And his shots are actually going in. And it's also very clear that for this team construction, especially whenever Janus is there, having somebody like Ryan Rollins, who is contributing the way he is, he's also like legitimately helping the team and they need him to doing it.

I would rather have him than a lot of ball handlers that put up 20 and 10. You think about them as a best player on their team. I would rather have Ryan Rollins than them just because he's probably better in his role. 2010, be more specific. Josh Giddy, I'd rather have Ryan Rollins on my team. Trey Young, I'd rather Ah! I'm kidding.

But am I? No, you're kidding. Okay, okay. Austin Reeves, is he the newest All-Star shooting guard? I mean, we just put him in A tier. It's real. Listen, man. Seeing the way he's just barreling,

barely his way into defenders, get into the line and his playmaking lead to feels real as fuck too, I'm going to say he's real. His swag's too different. He's doing money spurts. I hope so. Yeah,

he needs to be. He's about to do a lot more because he's going to get paid. By the Lakers. They're going to give him a brink truck. He is the future co-star, the current co-star with Luca Dunchit. They're an amazing duo.

Incredibly hard to defend them when they're both in the court. The level of three-level scoring he brings, the playmaking he brings. Going back to what you said, though, we need to see it in the playoffs. Yes. We keep saying that.

He had that bad rough stretch last year. That wasn't his first year in the playoffs. He's not a pumpkin every single time. He plays the playoff team. I never. Jamie Dan just put him in the torture rack. is what it is. It was one bad series.

I don't know, man. Can't have that happen. It's starting to stack up. No, it's not. It is. Okay. I mean, going from zero to one is the beginning of a stack.

So I guess that is true. Yeah. Fair enough. Ooh. AJ Mitchell. I really think that anybody in the OKC jersey, if you get better, it's real.

It's real. Everything they touch terms of the motherfucking goal. It's real at this point. It's like when all those NFL coaches are getting opportunities and head coaching jobs because they knew Sean McVeigh.

If you know Shay Goodell's Alexander, you know Sam, You're probably going to get rich one day. Dap him up. You're going to make money the next day. Yeah, he's, he's getting, when his contract is up, he's getting paid. He's everything that, the times I think that leaps are real are whenever your team needs you to be a specific type of player. And they say, hey, Jay, do you think you can do this?

And he says, yes, I can. And then you start producing. You know what's hilarious? Last year during the playoffs, specifically I think it was in the finals. He was spotted minutes, force fed minutes. And everyone was like, oh, my God, what the fuck are we doing? Put this guy on the bench. Mark Dagnall, we see what you were doing.

We understand you now. It was too early, but now you're on perfect timing. Yep. And the Thunder needed another ball handler. Desperately, we saw it up and down the playoffs. Now they have it. They're never going to lose the game again, apparently. Dude, there's so many leaps that are real.

I'm dying to find a fake one, but all these guys are amazing this year. I don't know. Did he? I say, did he? You child? We just say, giddy, need some company. Oh. James Hardin, going back to 26 points per game, the highest he's had since 2019.

I think this is going to be fake. That's fake. Yeah. I've seen so many times where he's given it all scoring 20 in the first half and then the next two quarters, Pumpkin. There's been a couple games laid up in the opposite where he's been shit for three quarters and then goes nuts in the fourth to try to come back. And that's how you know, Aunt doesn't still have it. When you can only choose one half or when only one half is going well, that's when you know. I think he's real somewhat

It kind of feels like he's been coming back From his hamstring injury a couple of years ago And slowly getting better For five years? Five years He heard again on the six years So it's really been like the past two and a half years Kind of does feel like he's getting a little bit better

Every year and get a little more juice under him 26 points of the game is a lot Maybe it'll fall back down to 23 But I do kind of feel like we're getting a better version from the last year I don't know I think it's just a simple fact That Norm Powell's not there Kauai is consistently not there too

So you need someone to score those points best believe hard and don't mind jacking up a couple threes a couple more threes a game yeah but doesn't mean anything in terms of like he's in a different tier than we thought he was before probably not in the playoffs he's probably gonna be the same it's kind of hard to rely on his playing they're not making the playoffs okay if he did though if he got traded they're not making the plan they're not I still wouldn't feel good about his scoring a playoff setting so I guess we'll say fake yeah norm pal I mean he he made the leap last year he's making another leap this year this guy is an all-star

This is a real leap. At 32, he is showing people will never give up on your dreams. I don't know if that's great advice to everybody, but for him it worked. It's a real leap. Now, fuck that. If you're 32 at home,

so trying to be a rapper, keep going. God, keep printing demos. Keep going. God. If you're trying to make a clothing brand, you got some T-shirts,

28 years old, nobody's buying them. Keep printing those shirts. If you are, see, this, and this is how I know. If you are printing demos in 2025, give it up.

You don't know how the game works. Please, God. You're out of it. Burning CDs. Indeed. LinkedIn. If you're still selling knives at 28, keep selling knives.

Trying to be the CEO, Cutco. Come on, man. If you're still making parlay, he's trying to be a Rala Bob. Oh, my. Keep setting parlay. What the fuck?

Stop making those deposits. You're setting a bad story, man. You go get a job with a union. Please. Denny. This is real. I think we saw him last year start to make a pretty

noticeable leap to the point to where, like, yo, like the prolet and trailblazers aren't a completely irrelevant team. They're like a feisty team who no team wants to play against. Simply because their defense is like disgusting. Defense is still nasty and he's been barreling himself to the rim,

getting like eight, nine attempts for game. And he's putting up star numbers. I don't see how this is available. He's actually 26 points for game. Yeah. 26. He's currently shooting 6.73s a game. Yeah.

This is very real. This is who Denny is. And this is who the Washington Wizards gave up on for nothing. If this is real, Danny, you are who we've always wanted Franz Wagner to be. Welcome to being the best big point forward in the league. Wow. Bells are heavy conversations.

Franz has never shot threes like this. All right. So now we have to get Palo to Portland. The same experience really worked. Jayden McDaniels currently shooting 50% from three. Oh, this is your guy. This fake. 50% fake as hell is not real.

It is not real. It is a replica, bro. I've seen this before. Second half of last year when they were cooking, Julius Randall came back. He was hooping his ass off too. I don't think 50% is real, but I do think he got better since last year. If you take the best 20 game stretches of Jamie McDaniel's career, that is a top 10 player in the world. Every year he does this for stretches where he's unstoppable.

This year it happened when the answer. I think Edwards missed some games with an ankle injury. He came out and he couldn't stop getting buckets. I've been burned too many times. Fake until I see Jamie Jones look for 40 straight games. Then I'll believe in you again. 40. 60. I need to see a whole season of 20 points for game.

Yeah. Until then, you're an elite amazing defender, but I'm not getting my hopes up with a scoring leap. John Morant. Is it real that he's completely falling off? Is it real that he's no longer an all-star level player? Yeah, I saw the highlight where he tried to dunk on, on Hartinstein, got two inches off the ground.

at 24 yeah it's over it's over it's real it's we gotta recalibrate our opinions about him I think oh no man it's he's just so weird like there was no catastrophic injury or none like that he's still young relatively like what

I don't I don't believe the athleticism was just gone like that bro I do believe there's a lot of think attack injuries I do believe a little bit I also do think there's a chance that he trades he gets traded and he's no longer on a team that he completely fucking hates and maybe he's reinvigorated and like plays a little bit better so there's a world

gets better and he's not a complete dumpster fire like he has been to start this year. But the days of me thinking that's a top 20 player in the world, let alone top 15, I'm never going there again. Oh, it's over. Been over. That's over. But he can still be like a very good, like $30 million worth a year player. Yeah. Yeah.

Maybe. But just none of my team. Yeah, you're not leading my friend. I won't be the one giving you 30. Yeah. Michael Porter Jr., is it real? No. Like 24 games? Something stupid. No, this is not real.

This has happened multiple times. You gotta stop Stop being so loud because we need them to be able to sell him for a first round pick and get their rebuild going. No, no.

You need to stop being so loud. I don't even trust them to use the first round pick on anybody. No. Specifically one that can't shoot. Yeah, we're not going to do this.

This is fake. He's not any better than last year, but it is real that he can get buckets on a bad team and some team out there will buy him because of it. It's plastic.

Yeah, right? And that's the last one. got a couple fakes in there so many leaps coming just watch mpj like oh my goodness that should be me not him next thing we're going to do I'm going to rank to you the biggest disasters in the NBA this year and I want you to react I got 10 of what I think are the biggest disasters for different reasons

so this is your personal list my personal list of the top 10 what I think are disasters and there's a big variety of what makes for an NBA disaster for different timelines different expectations you let me know what you think. All right. Number 10, we got the Washington Wizards being one and 13,

three years under a rebuild. And no motion. No motion. They got two good starters, maybe a third in Trey Johnson. No motion to be had. They better pray they get A.J. Devonson.

This might have to be higher. No, no, no, no. It can't be that bad. It can be higher because they are still like going to get a top pick in a great draft class.

So it's possible it works out. But right now it's nasty. Yeah, they delayed their rebuilds based off of what they did with Bradley Beal a couple years ago and whatnot. They let go of Denny for like no. reason they lost that trade by a long

shot as well. I don't I don't know if this is 10 because I think they're in a good It's higher. It's higher. It should be higher. You say it's higher. There's some goddamn disasters on here. It can't be higher. Impossible. It's at least nine. Okay. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe eight.

But you're going to say five or three. You said nine. They're barely on the list because they will be fine is long term. But the lack of motion so far you squeeze on here because there was no other 10th real disaster. You say that. That's a lie. I have no idea if they're going to be good long time.

You're right. I have no fucking clue. That's why they're on this list. Number nine, I got the Milwaukee Bucks. Low on this list, lower than we thought they'd be a year ago, just because the team they've put together

around Janus is competent enough that he can lead them far. But he's hurt. You don't got shit to help when he's gone. You're going to fall down these standings. You're going to be the eight seat again because he missed his time, losing the first round to one of the juggernauts out east.

And we're going to be just where we were before us and there's no chance Janus can win a playoff series. Yeah, man. like their best hope is can they remain like just under 500 while Janus is out for these next two weeks two weeks and I don't even know if they can do that. Yes, they might be able to do it's only two weeks.

So they're not a horrible disaster they can be high just because Janus has proven he doesn't want to fucking leave. If he has any excuse to stay he will stay. So the ramifications aren't too bad right now but they really don't have a ceiling. Okay, I don't like your list so far. You want to be higher to?

No, I think the book should be. lower than the Wizards are much more of a disaster than the buses. No, they're not. The Wizards will be drafting top three in his draft most likely. Yeah. If the Wizards didn't have their draft pick, then it's like, okay. Exactly. Or if they have protection on the draft pick, it's like, okay. You will see. There's a stark difference in some of these teams and what the outcome will be for

this year. No, they are so bad. They are remit. The, the wizards might have the single worst record in NBA history. That'd be hilarious. You know, that's the case. You put them higher. Go for it. Sure. And, you know, honestly, nine and ten aren't real disasters. These are baby

disasters, because there's only eight that I think are actual disasters right now. These two are on here because things aren't looking great, but you'll be fine long term. So I'm not, these two are barely, honestly, these two are honorable mentions. Now we get to the real disasters, the teams that I think need to be worried. At number eight, I had the Orlando Magic. You were eight and seven, certified mid. You gave up four first-on picks for Desmond Bay, your offense is barely any better. You swung real big and it seems like you whiffed as of now.

You gave up so many future draft picks just to be mid. You were mid last year. you were mid the year before that you might as well just kept you might as well just kept all your draft picks just waited your preseason win total on sports books was 50.5 they thought this team would be great and they are the definition of mid for what you give up this is terrible this is a disaster but they can't be too high because they do so have all their young good players they could pivot if they want to there's a world where they get better in season so they're at the back of this list but it's not going good so far okay okay okay okay you want to be higher no we'll keep

listening we'll keep seeing what's your inclination you want to be higher lower lower so you think they're not disaster no the disaster is a very very strong word there's only so many true disasters there's a there's a he's seen some disasters man he's been through some shit you're a disaster just because it's such a slow start but again at the bottom of the list because you can't turn it around number seven the dallas mavericks four and eleven Luca donches looms yeah this is and this this should be higher because until Luca retired It's going to be a disaster. It's going to be a what if.

The only reason is not higher, you do have Cooper Flag. Your future is pretty bright around one of the best prospects we've seen in years. And you're going to get a good pick this year probably. And you'll probably trade Anthony Davis because something decent for him probably. They'll be all right. But Luca Donch just does loom heavy. Yeah. At least Cooper Flag does look like he's worthy of the number one overall pick.

Although he didn't have the greatest start to the year. As a late, he's been picking it up. And so I can see a world in which is the seven. And if Nico Harrison was still there, this is up still. Yeah, exactly. But he's gone and so he let go to the dead weight. They've already rid the virus in their system. They've already started to go on their right track and they have a building block.

It could be worse. Okay. Because some of these teams are in equally bad situations and it's a lot worse for what is coming next year. Yeah. Next team. Charlotte Horn is the number six. You are now 4 and 11. Lamello Ball and Brandon Miller are still an experiment.

We have no idea what the outcome will be. We've got to report today as we're recording that Lamello Ball is open to a trade because he's frustrated with the team. I'm frustrated with him I'm sure the team is more frustrated with him than he is everything over there has been just the roots

the foundation of the team are rotten you want to be traded Mr. President who want to trade you you want to be traded I fucking dare you I'll be so vexed

if you said that to me bro I'd be irritated what do you mean I tried my best to give you law threats I tried my best to go ahead and sign Gordon Hayward and I got you

I got you under the fucking plan what do you mean you want to be trading I'm irritated we have some good stuff around the edges it seems like we have a good coach We have Khan now who's a good wing

that maybe's their best player We have Calc Brenner We're starting to get more competent around him But your foundations are flawed I mean listen Con's the real leader of that team He had everybody over to the crew And walking

Yeah You're right bro Best player, best leader This is not your team anymore La Mello Gives They let Miles Bridges in the building They're nice over there And like what is Brandon Miller

He's never be healthy It's so unfortunate I have no clue if he's gonna be good Trade him too I don't even want I just want to know he's good Like, I want him to play. I want to find out for 60 straight games what Brandon Miller looks like.

Yeah, you're not getting 60 straight. It's unfortunate. Like, I'm more anti-Lamello than I'm Brennan Miller. Brendan Miller is just sad. Like, I just can't, I just don't know. Yeah. At this point for the Hornets, I'm just on the hunt and on the look for someone who can be the the face of my franchise.

LeMello did a good job with just being entertaining, but the cute shit just wanes off as time goes on. Next up. Memphis Grizzlies, number five, they are an open mutiny against their coach. both their star players seem to fucking hate it there and nobody's having a good time not even the fans okay this is this is where we get into real disaster territory this is where we're getting into complete shit shows yeah because this only ends with this ends with a power struggle this ends with people getting traded this ends with people losing losing their jobs there's no way

that we can make it through this season with everybody being on the same page or everybody coming back for next season i agree with this end of i can't even sell myself maybe it'll figure it out. We've seen John and Jaron work together before. They just need time to gel. Fuck that. They need time to figure out how to blow it up. Yeah, exactly. Like, we already seen it's so crazy to say, like, you're past your prime, your past your peak.

And they're only like 25, 26 years old. Younger than me's pastes prime. Like, what are we talking about? You should not be in the midst of not even retooling, rebuilding from head to fucking toe. This is a disaster you're right. It's true disaster. This is really top five, true disasters.

six, seven, eight are like baby disasters, nine and ten honorable mentions. One through five is good Lord, I'd hate to be you right now. Number four, we've got the Sacramento Kings. They're currently three and 12. They're still the Kings.

And just now, DeMontesabonis is out for three to four weeks. They're going to be three and 25. Yeah, what's going on over there? Sacramento, bro, Russell Westbrook, Zach Levine, DeMarta Rosen and DeMontasabonis are starters for this team in 2025.

Everybody working for them needs to be working for, never mind. They need to be unemployed. they need to be unemployed tomorrow yeah Doug christie he was so fucking like gung-ho and he was like yeah this is the king show and it was incredibly lame it's like all right man we get you're trying to you're the head coach

you're trying to like muster up everyone's attention and be that guy in a room but settle down unc know where you lay in the league if you're a king's fan pick another team right now you have the like free right to go you have the right nobody nobody would call you you could be an oklahoma city thunder fan and nobody will call you a bandwagon because they understand the level of trench that you are coming from and the level of disappointment and just ultimate despair that has played your life we got you to team name you're

not a king's they're not even they're not even dukes jester's they're barely barons we had to promote them several tiers in the royal hierarchy these are peasants men that's what they are These are fucking old-fashioned iron smiths. No, no, man. Clippers number three. They're currently 4 and 11. Their pit goes to OKC. They employ Co-Eleinard.

It's tough. Yeah, when you are under investigation and you might give the team that already fleeced you once, right? You already gave them, Shea. You already gave them one of the best guards of all time. You might give them the number one overall. pick the feds are fitting to a sweep i don't know what they're going to find but it can't be good

i would hate to be a clipper's fan james hardy i understand your clubbing you need an escape man just go out do what you do i won't even hate this year oh he's cuffed now whatever figured out they're going together find a new escape they're having fun outside good for them number two we're at the pelicans you're two and twelve two and thirteen now your pit goes to Atlanta and you still employ Zion Williamson. Not only this pick go to Atlanta, it also could be like this pick also could end up being

the Milwaukee Bucks pick two if they continue to slide. So honestly, in my mind, they're one. Zon exists, but he's no longer like superstars on anymore. They're one to me. Zon got skinny and he got worse. It's fucking outlandish. I can't believe we're in this reality. You might give the Hawks a top three pick

in the draft. Dare Queen better be Yokic. Otherwise you look crazy for giving fucking AJ DeBon or something to Atlanta. This is going to, this is crazy. Two and 13? Two and 13 is crazy. We got two chances at number one pick.

Oh yeah. You don't hear about these type of trades, but it's so rare for teams to give you that opportunity. Two and 13 effort training unprotected pick is outlandish. Yeah, Janus is out, bro, too. You guys just find your head coach. It really can't get worse than this. To be the worst team in the league and not have your pick.

But they're number two for you. Yeah, because number one is the existence of the Oklahoma City Thunder because it's a disaster for the rest of the league. Welcome to the new Michael, Jordan Bulls, welcome to the greatest dynasty you're going to see in the modern NBA. It's a disaster for everybody else in the league that they have the Clippers pick, that they have the Jazz pick, that

they're 15 and 1 without J-dub, everybody else should be fearful. These are new ways to glaze, man. I'm not going to lie. I'm not. Are you with a underfan? No. I'm not. Are you with underfan? Nope. It's a disaster for all of us. Nobody's getting a championship. We're all playing for second place.

Yeah. Like, this is their era for the next, I don't know, seven years bare minimum. Let's get back to Well, that's seven years a lot. That's hard to do. It always looks crazy. Yeah, just being like relevant as fuck. Yeah, bro.

Well, seven stuff, but the rest of 2020s, there's a thunder era. 2025 through 2029, maybe 2030. This is the thunder era. It's a new day. It's a new era. And I say that when we get to 2030, that's going to be at the prime of a lot of these stars. Yolkich, please fucking save me, bro. Do something, bro.

Got some bad news for you. When they get the number one overall pick and he's hitting his prime in year five, It's going to be tough. Oklahoma's going to be running the country when it comes to basketball. Oh, God forbid. Like Oklahoma, bro. Wow.

And those are the 10 biggest disasters in the NBA right now for a variety of teams. That's funny. Next thing we were going to do, we are going to play NBA 12 words or less. I've seen this all over TikTok.

We're going to give a try. I have seven names for you guys to try to figure out. I'm going to give you one hint and you try to guess the name. Of my hints, I can only say 12 words. Okay. So one hint at a time.

Basically, you can get five extra hints, but you want to do one per name. Yeah. Fuck. Okay. I never seen this before on TikTok. Yeah, so I have a list of 12 names. You're going to try to guess the first name. I'll say a hint.

Try to take it the player. Okay. So, player number one. Word number one, son. Whoa. This could be a lot of things. S. O.N.

Bronny. Yep. Bronny. Okay. You got out of way. Okay. That's one word. Okay.

Player number two. I had to make sure I don't waste them because I was going to say I was going to say I was two words, but I don't want to give you to and waste it for you guys. Player number two. Let's go. Why did I just forget the country he's from? Oh my God.

I just completely folded. Player number two. He pulled it with geography. Player number two, white. White is the white places. The whitest white people. No, no. Don't get too.

I caught up in that. Just white. White. Austin Reeves. Incorrect. Damn. Okay. teammates

white teammate so I'm thinking Luca Luca Luca there you go yeah okay okay okay okay you forgot Slovenia yes I blanked I was gonna say Serbia

I was thinking of Yokish for a second I don't want to take too long to try to think Player number three round Yokic no you are seven right now

what I need you to lock in round so rebound Charles Barclay there you go okay okay okay okay Okay, I got you. I'm I suck.

I mean, you did pick a round player, so I see you. I get what you went there. But Yonkers is a round, though. This season, he's round. He's ovular. Yeah, he's not. He's rotund. I don't know about round.

I think he's round, man. He's more, honestly, he's more rectangular. He's kind of like fridge. Yeah. French. Wembe. And Victor Wemagnama. There was so many places to go.

How many words do we have left? We're only at six words. You have three names left, six words. Okay. Okay. I'm going to use two words for this player. Actually, actually, buckets. So who's all about their buckets?

Okay, so, see, this is tough. There's a lot of buckets. Yeah, a lot of buckets, a lot of bucket getting. But when you think about it, I'm thinking about the best players, thinking about Kade, thinking about Palo. I can't, Campa Kade, he's soon like 28% from three. Palo. Cam Thomas is all about buckets.

I might need another word. But I will guess. You might as well guess. Who put up hell of buckets recently? I don't know, but I'm going to guess palo. Incorrect. Only buckets. Only.

So it's Cam Thomas, MPJ, someone who's super one way. Can't do nothing else in the game of basketball. That feels like Camp Thomas. It's Cam Thomas. Okay. Okay. Four words left two players. Bald.

So we can go. Derek White. We can go with Derek White. Wright or as Caruso. Regal Bears now bald. No, but he's not thought of as like a bald guy. He hasn't been bald for long enough. It's either Derek White or Alex Caruso.

And I think I kind of want to go with Caruso. Caruso? Incorrect. Oh, he's too fresh. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Who's a recent ball? Legend. That's 10.

You have two words left. Michael Jordan. This is Michael Jordan. Okay, okay, okay. Just saving him. Two words left, one player. Okay. Goofy

So Lance Stevenson LeBron Goofy There's a lot of goofy guys right now You have two words Who just be like Who embodies that? Who embodies that?

Is this Scotty Barnes? No Scottie Barnes goofy? No No, not Scottie Barnes We have, it's okay We have one more We're one more word

Yes Okay. How can we ladder this? I don't make it too easy. I'm trying to think. Okay. Tattoos. Goofy and you just got tattoos.

You better get this. You better get this. Who's someone who's hell of tatting? I don't know. Lamello. You see Lamello like toe tattoos? I took the last guest. You can have the final guess.

Someone who's goofy, hella tattoos. I don't, I don't hate that guess, though. Yeah, it's called Lamello. It is Lamello. There you go. last verse. Thank God. Thank God you got it. Clutch as fuck. I ain't do nothing, bro.

I was on Jeff Teague timing. It's on a bench. Yeah, you guys barely got that. Yeah, that was clutch. I could have made easier. I could be like goat from Michael Jordan. That's lack. That's why. Okay. Last week we did a video where we tried to see who could name the most players to ever play the guard position that are better than Shea.

Donovan did it. He tried to name 10 players better than Shea. We can do it now with any position, all-time players. better than Nicola Yokic. Gotcha. Who can name the most players better than Yokic? Yokich is high, man. It's going to be tough.

Peaks better than Yokich after peak the best version of them. Okay. I can name five players all time I think are confidently better than Yokish. Confidently, I think. Say five, I can do nine.

I'll go 10. I can get 10. Okay. I can do 11. If we're having real arguments, don't try me. I think we can do 15. We can do 15.

You can do 15 players all time better than Yokchich. Like real legitimate arguments? Yes. Okay, I can't. I'm not going past 15. I'm not going past 15. All right. All right. Here we go. 15 legitimate arguments. Let's go. We got LeBron. Naturally. We got MJ. Okay. Throwing Shaq. Okay. Throwing Hakeem. Okay. Throwing Hakeem. I feel like I was going to be debate one day. I thought he said Larry Bird. Okay. Did I mention Magic Johnson? You didn't? I have to throw in Tim Duncan as well. Okay. Seven deep in. Seven right now. Okay. I feel like some of these When they're retired, Yoko's going to have a debate with them.

But they're all fair. Yeah, it's fair. Okay. Right now, Yokic has how many MVPs? Three. Fuck. Three and four years. Kobe.

Okay. Yeah. That's a legit argument. I will not speak. They were stealing MVPs from Kobe. No, they weren't. They were giving them to that Canadian over there. If I speak, I'll be yelled at eight.

Okay. Yeah, Kobe. We got eight. Ah, man. Now we get to a little bit diceier, but guess what? I think we have to throw back. with this one. Wilt.

Sure. Okay. That's nine. Go for it. Very firmly. Wilt. You're missing a guy. Who am I missing?

Steph. Oh, easy. Easily Steph. Yeah, easily stuff. So that's what, nine. Okay. After Steph. It's 10.

10. I think I can throw Kevin Durant in that conversation to you. Again. I can throw Kevin Ryan. Talk about longevity as well. It's a real debate. How long his peak is. So many different versions.

It's certainly reasonable. We can give you Kevin to rant. That will be debate, I promise. Yes. I think I could easily go KD. Yep. Now, me personally, I would want to have a conversation about Dwayne Wade. I think he firmly deserves to be in these conversations.

Can Dwayne Wade's around the 12th peak of all time? One singular year. Talk about 06 individually. I think he deserves to be in this. Okay. Okay. That's 12. Yes.

Okay. So I said, did I mention Kareem? No. You didn't say Kareen, you forgot. The fuck? Yeah. Put Kareem up there. Okay, that's 13.

13. Easy. Okay. Finish start sweating. Rooms getting hot. No, no, no, no. The walls are closing in. No, no, no, no, no, no.

Okay. After Kareem, can I enter David Robinson into these conversations. Nope. I'm promise. I'm, I'm, I'm, okay. Yeah, we can do that. Oh, sorry, my bad, my bad, my bad, my bad, my bad. Jerry West, firmly in these conversations, too.

You get, you can't. You got it. You got it. Bill Russell, in these conversations, too. He did it for so long. Prime as a coach and a fucking player. Do you want to give him Jerry West? You have to.

I'll give him Jerry West. You have to. I don't think you have to. I mean, it's hard to adjust for ERA. So like, I don't think you, I think we're in those tears now with Yokic. We'll give it to you. So that's, that's 15 now. Yeah. Can you go one more?

Can you get to 16? Yes. Can you break the number you gave? Yes. I can go 16. Who? I'm going to give you 16. Now, it depends on what area you want to lean towards, but I think me personally,

hey man. Don't shoot me. Please don't stab me. This is going to be stupid. No, it's not. But those few years of James Harden and how he ran the fucking league and force us to change rules is damn it. That's something that Yoko should never do.

I wish there's not a 15. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. He did this plan. I would never give you James Hardin. Let me cook, no. You could never have James Hardin. Peaks? You could never have James Hardin.

Absolute peak. No, Cole Yoak just peak easily and taking jail with James Hardin. dude hard on average fucking 40 and 10 this is not a conversation playoff numbers exist hard and forced the lead to change rules right come on man all right whatever but you got you got the 15 you're doing what you planned yeah you're on the wrong side of history though but whatever stay over you are on definition the wrong side of history that is not correct I believe it's a conversation last thing we're gonna do we're gonna play NBA 20 questions 15 questions you can't ask

any questions about basketball we did this on the football show and we did it kind of with the forehead game where you had to ask questions about your player but you guys got against the player I'm thinking of no questions about basketball okay it's tough so straight personality

really whatever I got my name okay okay is this player influential is he cool he got aura those are two different things he does have aura okay I don't know influential or

Those are very distinctly different things. Or is all I need. That's it. Is this player popular on social media? Yeah, I'd say so. Okay. Okay. Can this player do, does he have versatile hair?

Versatile hair? Can he like rock out the fro or does he just have a simple like low cut? Every hair is versatile. I don't, he's not bald. So yeah, he has versatile hair. Okay. Okay. If you looked at him, would you think that he had a white parent and a black parent? What's his ethnicity?

That's a funny way to ask him. He's light skin. You could just ask him his life skin. I'm not a basketball question. No, he's not. There's little black jeans. There's no black jeans. Okay. He's a little. He's an octaroon. I didn't have to tell you there's no black jeans. He said there is no mix.

Fuck. I made it easier. White man. Okay. Fuck. Now you better get it. You better get it right. Do you think this white man, go ahead.

Is he from America? He is not from America. Okay. So that passport is in use all time. Okay. Does this white man look like, or do you think he can, like, throw a football fairly accurately? do I think he's an athlete yeah I think he'd probably throw football like really well though do you think he would be like exceptional at that I think the highest level at the no he's not

Tom Brady yeah I think any NBA player could throw football but none of him would do with the highest level I'm not giving you anything for that question that's a that's a bit's a bad question thank you just good at actually man uh the highest level is his family uh well I I would ask this but I know that like honestly it wouldn't give me the answer that I knew. No, because I really can't do anything with this because I don't know what the split is.

Yeah. But is he a thing. Okay, wait. Has aura. He's from over there. White. Somewhere.

Honestly, most though, guys over there have aura. Like, outside of the one. Even the one, I mean, whatever or a museum they mostly have aura is he would he be taller than a majority of his co-workers a majority of his co-workers no not a majority no all right thinking about a wing in the middle i'm not i'm not thinking about center i was i was trying to think what the average height was no not not a taller majority no okay so pretty normal size dude i'm assuming this is not

compazo all right that's something i'm thinking not compazo not um is he how do we how should we ask if he's playing now or not should we go like the age question just don't not a lot there uh would he be okay i'm seven questions in seven questions in okay we have to we have to figure we have to figure something out okay um is his language commonly spoken i doubt it no i'm becoming by like americans no no just yeah like in america like is okay i've never heard anybody speak it okay yeah i'm i'm thinking i'm thinking luka right now maybe but it's first language of spanish actually it could be yokech though you know good and dang well no it actually was like no no i i know

but you know if i ask you about his language you are not saying yeah he's spanish oh no i would to make it difficult. Oh, your ass. Okay. No, good at what I'm talking about Slovenia. Okay, does this, I think this will help me a little bit. Does this part look like he would be good at wrestling? Is he like physical?

That's not a bad question. He doesn't look like he'd be bad at wrestling. Like, he's not like weak. So, yeah, sure, yes. Is he a father? I have no idea. He might be young. I won't count that.

I have no. hasn't hasn't been around it's kind of obvious who's you know i just generally have no clue who what's european people i don't want i don't follow him on ig i don't know uh european did he recently join a union a union yeah what does it mean oh whoa no he's not a welder okay i mean that could extend to the players association as a union yeah no okay so it's not recently drafted Ten questions. Damn, yo. You can pick this up.

Okay. Five questions left. Counting the final one is a guess. Fuck. So four questions. What was his answer when you asked him about the coworker question? He said he's not taller than a majority of his coworkers. Fuck, okay.

I don't know what the average height is, like, to give you guys a technical answer. I think the average height's like, that's hard. Yeah, I don't know. Okay. It's not an overt answer. Like, he's not seven to. Yeah. It's not Porzingis.

Okay. we haven't taken this guess is this Luca this is Luca oh it's obvious sitting in our face it was almost too easy yeah

damn I was getting creative I was thinking about like could this yeah I figured you like is you talking I'm bogged on no it's look

I was like I don't know sometimes you'll leave the answer right in front of their face and overthink it damn this really couldn't be anybody Luke will get his ass

up in wrestling I think too he's sturdy I don't know what were you looking for that. You're asking for Yokic? Yes, I thought it was going to be Yokic because he wrestled bears.

Were you asked for the throwing question? Were you talking about Yokich? Yes. I wanted to see if he was a good passer too. He wanted to have a good passer. I was like, I'm not going to give that to you. I'm going to go out of you. Okay.

Okay. Who wants to do the next one? All right. I'll think of a player. Okay. Okay. No basketball. I said, I got one right now. I got one.

You got a player? Okay. Yep. Okay. Is your player scrawny? No. Damn it. Dick boy.

would would your player pass a paper bag test paper back this can tell like darker than a paper bag or lighter than paper bag passing means you're lighter than a paper bag

yeah it's a police joke yeah he's not lighter than a paper bag okay he's failing the test that's funny as hell do you think you're a player oh that Peter Griffin yeah he's gonna he's gonna

arrested do you think if you got if you And then he got a bar fight with this player. He beat the shit out of you. Yes. Okay, so he's big. How many questions at three?

That's three. I'm counting. Is he a father? No. Is he a Shaq? No. Is Shaq a father? I don't think he is.

Yes. Shack has mad kids. People let him be a father? Dude, dude, you know his kid. Come on. What do you mean? Oh, God. I forgot he to play a kid.

I forgot he to son that played. Yeah. I forgot. The Lakers for hot time had like 10 kids. Yeah. I honestly didn't know that. I thought the vibe he gave. I thought he was like a 50-year-old bachelor.

I mean, well, he's not married. Yeah, yeah. That don't matter. People still be having kids. I forgot.

I forgot. I forgot. Five questions. I've never seen any other kids of his besides Sharif. One of them's in like some random D2 basketball college school. Or it's actually took a V-1-1. Once you get past 27 in the league, I assume your fault. Yeah.

Yeah. Fair enough. Okay, five questions. Yep. Uh, did this player play in the NBA Cup last year? Actually, I, that's a basketball question. That's straight basketball. I know, I know.

I was thinking about the question about them. Is this person considered a good dresser? Um, like neutral. Okay. Neutral. He got some stuff on, but he's not amazing. I try to have a creative way to ask you. now.

Has this player Has this player ever worked for a boss whose last name is silver? Has he worked? Yes, he has.

Yeah, that was a bad question. No, he's played in the last 10 years. Sure, yeah. Maybe he's a coach. Maybe he's a coach. No, just saying yes, your question. He's a part of the modern NBA.

He's a part of the modern NBA. It's not an old tire player. Yes, you're correct. all right um let's see let's see i'm blanking on on these questions i know it's all right you got to get mad creative does this player have a revenue stream relating to fashion and like clothing and shoes uh i believe not no okay no shoe so no motion everybody got a shoe and everybody got a shoe but this player he does not have a shoe if would this person um would do you think that this person would be a popular member in a group chat popular member in a group chat

so that means he like got to be funny yeah he brings a personality to chat life the party funny yeah i think he's a good personality yeah i think he would he would okay so he dresses decent he's played the modern NBA he's dark skin or brown skin not like he's funny enough no he say he's getting arrested. He's dark skin. Okay, he's dark skin. Funny enough. It plays now, ours played recently in the last decade. Is this person American?

I'm going to say, based off of what we've seen, yes. What does that mean? Yes, he is. So he's American? You're not leaving straight? He's American. Straight up, yes. Okay. Based on what we've seen. So like, you're saying, you're

in the door open for like African heritage? Is that another question? No. Don't take what your big ass question. Go ahead and if you want another question, let me know. Okay. Does this player's name sound African?

Yes. So it's like an Ogen and Obi type, but 10 questions. Okay, but he's British. He's British. Okay, an Ogen, Nobi type name. So an American player that sounds like the African name played in recent years,

kind of puts us on a little bit. bit kind of funny uh-oh who the fuck could this be I don't know right now maybe it is maybe it is

band kind of funny kind of is this Bam out of bio it is Bam out of bio you guys got it kind of funny he's not a nothing

in the media but you know he has some type of personality always cheering for his girl he has his girl shoes on he don't have

his own shoe so it's like yeah ha ha ha ha well there you go and that is the end

this episode we successfully got our players if people were still here watch the comments I don't know I don't know pick something

pick something oh bro shout out to Miami shout out to band out of Bayern hi hi me Hawkeves

saving my life today man shout out to Miami and we'll see y'all next week