The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best Of - Mavs contenders with Flagg? Durant traded to Rockets, Haliburton made "right decision"
Episode Date: June 29, 2025Nick Wright reacts to the Dallas Mavericks selecting Duke's Cooper Flagg with the number one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Is Dallas an NBA Finals contender with Flagg, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving s...et to return later in the season? Later, Nick breaks down the Phoenix Suns trading Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets... is Houston Nick's pick to win the Western Conference with KD? Then, Nick shares why Tyrese Haliburton made the right decision to play in Pacers-Thunder Game 7 despite tearing his Achilles. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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This is an IHeart podcast.
Guaranteed Human.
Hey guys, it's us.
The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.
I'm Kevin.
And I'm Nick.
And guess what?
We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it.
But, you know, tired and sick.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.
you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel
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Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Last night, a blown call changed a game.
This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.
That's where SportsSlice comes in.
I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest
moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline.
And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories,
their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear.
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Winning on Clay is an art.
The rallies are relentless.
And at the French Open, only the toughest survive.
I'd know.
I competed there for decades.
Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris.
Jen should win.
She's an outsider to win the French friend.
And she likes Clay.
Listen, Leonard Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now.
And I actually can win on any surface.
Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the Iheart Radio app.
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.
Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right with Nick Wright.
The Best Takes and Moments from this week on the show.
Enjoy.
Let's get to Kevin Durant.
He's headed to his 14.
in four years, is that correct?
13.
13.
Sorry.
The Rockets,
even they borrowed your strategy
to land them
that you pitched on your show.
I mean, it was my exact trade.
Just to be clear,
everybody was throwing out,
do they have to include Jabari Smith?
Do they have to include Taris?
And the trade that I put out on first things first
that was roundly mocked
was Jalen Green,
Dylan Brooks,
and Phoenix's 2020
first going back to Phoenix.
The trade that just happened was Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks,
and Phoenix's 2025 first going back to Phoenix plus, plus some second rounders.
It was the exact 100% trade.
And for the record, the trade that I put out there for the Timberwolves to offer was
Gobert, DeVincenzo, and Dillingham for Kevin Durant.
What was reported today was the trade the Timberwolves offered was Gobert, DeVincenzo,
Dillingham, and one first round pick for Durant.
I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to infringe on Bill Simmons' territory of the
Picasso of the trade machine, but it, you know, some are saying the torch has been passed.
Some are saying it.
Like you just go go and check the archives of what the actual teams were offering and compare them to all the trades I came up with on first things first.
And see what other people were describing on their platforms and just, you know, let history be the judge.
All right, but go ahead.
Sorry about that.
Since this injury in 2019.
he's won a grand total of two playoff series.
Do you think the Rockets?
It does sound like you think the Rockets are a real contender.
Or do you think they'll end up like previous teams that he's ended up
landing on like Nets of the Suns?
So listen, it's different situations, right?
The Nets, he was unbelievable in 2021 postseason with the Nets.
unbelievable.
Lost a historic series to Janice.
Yannis goes on to win the title.
Since then nothing's gone right.
And the sons never were going to be a contender.
It was a terribly built team.
It was him and Booker and Beal never made sense.
And listen, Katie is older.
He's not the defender he once was.
And his injury concerns are really.
With that said, DeMonse, I think that right now this moment,
I'd pick the Rockets to win the West.
Now, that might change, most notably if the Lakers are able to handle their center situation.
But your starting five is going to be Fred Van Bleet, I'm in Thompson,
Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith, Alpern Shingoon.
Off the bench, you are going to have Terry Esen, Stephen Adams, who we saw Adams and Shingoon play really well in that two big lineup.
Cam Whitmore and Reed Shepard, who was a top five pick last year that is a sniper from three,
and that Udoka just didn't play because he couldn't defend and was a rookie.
So now you go from a team that didn't have.
shot making that has Kevin freaking Durant and potentially Reed Shepard getting minutes.
They are deep. They are well coached. They are great defensively. Jalen Green was an
abomination in the playoffs. And now Kevin Durant steps in for him. There was a trend. It was
Halliburton. I can't I remember. I forget the other guy. But I mean, what if what if Jalen
Green turns out to be a star? Like, you know, if he just needed a little bit of a little bit of a
trackway and he just ends up being, I mean, Katie, what, he's like 36 years old?
He's 37.
I am not a Jalen Green believer.
So I am.
Oh, it was SGA.
It was Halliburton and SGA.
Those are the two players.
They traded him for old stars.
It was Paul George, I think.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, I got you.
Yeah.
So I think Jalen Green is a bit of an empty calories guy.
he's a decent shooter, not a great shooter from threes, 35% last year, 34% for his career.
He's not that efficient outside of his threes.
He's 42% last year and the year before and the year before that.
And I don't love when my young players aren't showing market improvement.
Year 2, Jalen Green, 22 a game.
year 3, 20 a game, year 4, 21 a game.
So I, and I certainly don't see what Phoenix is, like Phoenix is just like they have a hundred guards and nothing else, but they don't know what they're doing.
That's fine.
It is a short-term bet for sure, De Manzay, but it's a short-term bet that I think could net them a finals.
Now, for Durant,
Durant, his last six years in Oklahoma City made four conference finals and one NBA finals.
His three years in Golden State obviously made all three conference finals, made all three
NBA finals.
He then leaves there and as you mentioned has won two series total and not been out around two.
I would love to see Kevin Durant with one more deep playoff run.
I would love to see Durant remind people how Grady still is because he is, man.
And I love that he went to the Rockets.
The team that the Golden State, you know, the Rockets couldn't get over Golden State.
Katie's like, I'm going to over there and help you guys.
Screw Drame.
And here's the other thing.
The Rocket.
couldn't get over Golden State, and who are the Rockets trying to get over now?
Oklahoma City.
Katie's old team.
And so there is some nice kind of storylines there.
I think it's a perfect fit, and they didn't give up too much.
They kept their depth.
They kept their flexibility.
I think, oddly, they actually still, if he were to come available midseason,
might have the ability to still trade for Janus.
And like that, I don't think that's off the board.
The-
Who are you saying trade for Janus?
The Rockets?
The Rockets?
Yeah, I think, let me, I can try to do this on the fly real quick,
and then we're going to have to move on.
But I think we can make the salaries work
because you so let me turn this off uh fred van vleet is 44 million yannis is 54 so if you if you were to send for instance
fred van vleet read shepherd let me just see if that if that works so the salary
I believe Fred Van Bleet and Shepard work.
And then Houston would have to include all the Phoenix picks that they have 2029 and
27, the Brooklyn pick that they have in 2027.
Like you could make a trade that is if you are, if you're the Rockets,
where you are sending out
Fred Van Vleet,
Reed Shepard,
and
the following picks.
You could send them
the,
what picks would they probably want?
Yeah, there we go.
You could send them,
if I'm reading this properly,
Fred Van Bleet,
read Shepard,
and
Brooklyn's first in 2027,
Phoenix is first in 2027,
Dallas is first in 2029,
Phoenix is first in 20209,
and Houston's first, their own first in 2030.
Those are valuable prime first round picks.
And so my point is,
I don't think they're going to do that.
But the point is,
it's not like by going for Durant,
they punted on any chance at Yannis.
And I think that's very useful.
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co slash audio.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, name?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts.
We're starting a trend.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel
and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you
funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an
a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some
retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and
friends on the Iheart radio app, Apple
podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcasts. Last night, a blown
call changed a game. This morning, the
internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending,
opinions are flying, and nobody's
telling you exactly what happened.
That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.
Every episode, we're cutting through the
noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies,
and the stories behind the headlines.
We go straight to the source, the athlete
themselves, their locker room stories,
their reactions, the stuff nobody
gets to hear. The laughs, the drama,
the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.
From viral moments to historic games,
from buzzer beaters to controversial calls,
we break it down,
give you context,
and ask the questions everybody wants answered.
Sports Slice brings you closer to the action
with stories told by the people who live them.
Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
And for more,
follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.
The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.
And I know firsthand because I competed there myself.
I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast,
I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris.
Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay.
Jenchian went.
I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.
She's an outsider to win the French for me.
And she likes Clay.
Listen, Lena Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now,
and I actually can win on any surface.
Because if she's serving, well,
Good luck.
Consider this your court side seat to the French Open.
Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.
Tyrese Halliburton tried to play through that injury, obviously Torres Achilles.
You committed him on first things first for playing through that.
Is his injury in Game 7 the single biggest story of the finals?
or the playoffs included?
No, I don't think so.
The story has to be the champion,
but the most memorable piece of this is his injury.
And so I said almost all of this on TV,
but I want to reiterate it here.
It's two things.
One is, you know,
I am not going to run from or pretend that after game six,
I didn't have real questions.
No, I definitely, hold on.
That didn't happen.
At no point did I call him soft.
No, you didn't call him soft,
but you were like, if you're moving around,
like you got to play in 100%.
And what I said was he didn't look hurt.
Right.
That it seemed like, like it was,
I said that for a guy to have a calf strain,
and supposed to be out a month or a few weeks,
which is what the reporting was.
He's pretty bold.
Right.
To injure it and then play after the injury in game five,
played 27 minutes after the injury.
And then in game six was awesome.
I said like,
it's unlike any calf strain I've ever seen.
Now,
I actually was watching game seven with,
some active NBA players.
And when it happened, everybody all reacted the same.
But I just said, I was like, if it was that close to tearing,
how did he move like that in game six?
And what one player in particular said to me was said two things that I thought
were fascinating. He said in our in our league the calf strain is the new torn MCL like a scary
precursor of a potential devastating injury. And the other thing they said was the calf strain.
It's not it's not like a hamstring where it be when it happens you just simply can't
stay as well. Right. Right. But it's it's that he's like with a hamstring or a groin.
You can see that impact it has because of how NBA players move. They can't move as well.
They're like with a calf, you can move a lot of times like okay. And you won't see it.
But the only way to get it to heal it is to stay.
off it. He was like, if you get a calf strain, it's got to be what I was, what he told me was
three or four weeks of nothing, of just flatly staying off it or else you risk that. And so I, listen,
I didn't know that. And so when I saw Hallie moving around like he was in game six, like the
timeline of my Halliburton takes were game five, I in Demons, they disagreed with me on it. I didn't
really cut him a lot of slack for a zero field goal,
0 for 6 performance,
because he was playing.
And in game 6, he was so fluid and so good.
I thought, okay, like he's, you know,
dodged a bullet here. Of course he's going to play game 7.
Of course, he was going to play game 6.
And then in game 7 minutes, and he tears his Achilles.
So all that happened, right?
And people can judge it.
however they want like that's fair is fair the here is my updated if you will opinion that
maybe people will judge this as well it's good that he played he was supposed to play he wanted
to play and he took a risk that he was supposed to take when you
and people are like, well, it cost him and them all of next year.
If the goal of team sports is to win a championship,
games six and seven of these NBA finals,
DeMonse had more championship equity attached to them
the next season in its entirety for the Indiana Pacers.
Like when you are that close, like those games are worth more in your chance to win a championship than the entirety of next season.
They just are.
And your mindset.
The goal, your mindset and also just for your teams, like for the Pacers, the what Halliburton's performance in game six and even just the five minutes of game six.
added more to the Pacers championship probability than him having a full all-MBA season next year.
Because even if that happens, like, you still have to get through the whole tournament and get there.
And so they were there.
So the only and qualifier, I think that one would put on it is, yes, that's all true.
The goal of team sports to win a championship, but the goal of anyone in what they do for a living,
is to make a living for them and their family.
So if Tyrese Halliburton were in the final year of a rookie contract and hadn't been,
you know, re-signed, then you do have to do some personal math on what this means for me
and the people I care about and all of that.
But when you are Tyrese Halliburton and you are in the first year of,
a five-year, $250 million contract.
And you can play and play well through the injury while risking catastrophe, which is what happened.
Playing is the right thing.
He made the right call.
It went terribly for him, but he made the right call.
And by the way, I said this on TV yesterday.
And then he today or last night tweeted this, well, tweeted a lot.
But one of the things he wrote is the following.
I'll just read you the whole thing.
Man, don't know how to explain it other than shock.
Words cannot express the pain of this letdown.
The frustration is unfathomable.
I've worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends.
Makes no sense.
Your heart breaks.
Like, for real.
Now that I've gotten the surgery, I wish you could count the number of times people will tell me,
I'm going to quote, come back stronger.
What a cliche, L.O.L.
This shit sucks.
My foot feels like dead weight, fam.
But what's hurting most, I think, is my mind.
Feel like I'm rambling.
But I know this is something I'll look back on when I'm through this as something I'm proud I fought through.
It feels good to let this shit out without y'all seeing the kid ugly cry.
At 25, I've already learned that God never gives us more than we can handle.
I know I'll come out better on the other side of this, a better man and a better player.
And this is the part that I speaks to what I was saying.
And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don't regret it.
I do it again and again after that to fight for this city and my brothers for the chance
do something special.
Um, and he goes on from there and everybody like, people can check it out on Twitter.
I that's right.
That's right.
And the point I made at the top of the show that Brew made yesterday that I think was worth
revisiting is I always go back to that quote.
Um, the and it's guy,
It's from the guy who wrote the road.
Never under.
Who wrote the road?
The road author.
Cormack McCarthy.
And the quote is,
never underestimate the awful luck that your bad luck saved you from.
And that has,
that to me is like a very,
from like a mental well-being standpoint,
a very useful quote.
that I and it for me as a parent I it has helped me a ton um the only really tough instance in
uh my life since I've started really kind of leaning on that kind of mind frame that that
didn't help at all with was last year when our friend passed because there's no there's no like
silver lying to that there's not like oh well um because it's the the sudden death
of a friend is, you know, it's as rough as it gets. But I had some, you know, anything bad that's
happened to a loved one, I've thought, I've tried to use that as a silver lining, um, or bad
that's happened to me. And when I, when I bring it up with Halliburton is this. The, the, the,
is don't play.
Keep the Achilles intact.
And for the rest of your career, wonder, what if?
And did you let your teammates down?
Did you let the city down?
Did you, was that your, would you have gotten through it without getting hurt?
What did you leave your championship on the board?
And when I say never underestimate the awful.
luck, your bad luck saved you from, would that de Manzay have changed him fundamentally as a player?
A guy whose rep for this postseason was the most cold-blooded assassin at the end of games,
would that decision tree have altered him and while his Achilles would have been intact,
would have changed him forever. Maybe. Absolutely maybe. So,
I, so I think that he clearly made the right decision, even though it was a tragic decision.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.
And guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, new?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to a first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts.
We're starting a trend.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come?
up with a name hey Jonas guys.
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.
Before Jonas Brothers was...
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,
where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas,
and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen.
We don't care where you hear it.
Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy,
not quite.
Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.
Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman
help make you funnier.
This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel,
help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.
Where does your group perform?
We do some retirement homes.
Those people are starving for banter.
Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends
on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Last night, a blown call changed a game.
This morning, the internet lost its mind.
Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,
and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.
That's where Sports Slice comes in.
I'm Timbo.
Every episode, we're cutting through the noise,
breaking down the plays, the controversies,
and the stories behind the headlines.
We go straight to the source.
The athlete plays.
themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs,
the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to
historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask
the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories
told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok
podcast network on TikTok.
The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis,
and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.
I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast,
I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris.
Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay.
Jen she went.
I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.
She's an outsider to win the French for me.
And she likes Clay.
Listen, Lina Rabakina.
is arguably the best player in the world right now.
And I actually can win on any surface
because if she's serving, well, good luck.
Consider this your courtside seat to the French Open.
Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast
on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.
The Bafs took Cooper Flag with the first pick,
so they extended Kyrie and Gaffert.
The question is,
if Kari ends up held,
do you think that Dallas is contenders or Dallas are contenders?
Do you think they are?
Yes, I do.
I knew you did.
I could tell just from the look in your face.
So go ahead.
Yeah, I mean, I was just telling the guys this morning,
the balance of defense and offense on that team also paired in with the way,
I know it's your guy,
but the way that Luca was looking in the playoffs last year,
it just kind of seems like Deco might have had a grasp on the situation
and what was going on over there.
And I like that team.
Like if Cooper flag pans out nicely, I hate that it worked out for him.
And you know, he got the, they ended up with the number one pick.
But with that number one pick, that's a, that's a squad right there.
So, so that let's talk about the Nico piece of this.
And then we'll get to the team because Nico had a quote.
Nico said fortune favors the bold.
And on behalf of Mavs fans everywhere, I wanted to break a TV.
Yeah.
You do not.
You do not get to.
Trade Luca hold a press conference saying,
we did this for this year,
because we think we are better right now
to win a championship this year or next year.
And then end up bad enough that you're in the lottery
and fall ass backwards into the number one pick
and then be like,
all part of the plan.
If at that, listen, honest to God, if at that press conference he had said, listen, we, we are all about championships.
I even though we thought last year's finals appearance was Fools Gold and we traded for Anthony Davis knowing he's injured.
And by the way, he's going to take some time to come back this year.
This is not about this season.
And we may or may not even be back in the playoffs this year.
we're okay with this because this is a long-term play and then you end up with Cooper flag
then you can say told you a part of the plan didn't expect number one pick but we were
going to add an impact player fine you don't get to be like we are doing this to contend right
now you fall into the and then be in the play-in and be trying to win the play-in lose fall into
the lottery get the number one pick and be like bang told you so that's first of all but
they are where they are. Go ahead.
Well, yeah, just to be clear, I don't want to give
Nico, I don't want to give him any credit for this.
No. The Luca piece of it, like I
kind of can see he was a little bit on to something. It was a crazy trade.
But with it working, painting out the way it did and them getting that
first pick, I think they have quite the squat on them right now.
Okay, so that's the real question is do they?
And my answer to that question is, I think right now
they are more than a touch overrated.
And here's why.
Listen, I heard, and again, this is not picking on him.
I think other people thought this,
but I heard this from,
I heard Stephen A yesterday say
that they think, that he thinks
they could be Oklahoma City's biggest competitor.
I disagree.
And the reason I disagree is this.
I do not care
how good you are, how what your profile is,
in the modern NBA in particular,
rookies that have to be the focal point of a team's offense
do not contribute to winning flatly.
They just don't.
Like, I understand magic was great as a rookie.
He was not the focal point of the team's offense.
Kareem was.
LeBron, as unbelievable,
as he was, that Cavs team missed the playoffs.
Michael Jordan as a rookie, I think average 28 points a game.
That Bulls team won 38 games, okay?
Like, asking rookies, hell, take the Mabs with Luca.
Luca's first year, he was, Cooper Flagg's not going to be better than Luca
year one Luca, when
year two, Lucca, he was first team all
NBA, they won
33 games. Now,
obviously those guys
didn't have an Anthony Davis on that
on their team and eventually
Kyrie Irving.
So they should
be better than those records.
But the point that
I am making is as long
as Kyrie is out
and I do not think
Kyrie, I think, expect
expecting Kyrie to be back before the All-Star break is foolish.
I think Kyrie Irving, given his, you know, knee history and injury history and his size
and his age and you just signed him to an extension, rushing him back would be foolish.
And until Kyrie comes back, you are going to be asking your primary ball handler
and your primary creator to be an 18 year old.
Like, I love flags upside because of his age,
but he's 18.
He turns 19 in December.
And, you know, maybe Clay has a bounce back year.
He is not creating.
Anthony Davis is awesome.
He is not creating.
Gafford and PJ Washington and Derek lively are all used to
players. They are not creating. You traded away a guy who could create a bit in Quentin Grimes
for reasons I don't totally understand to bring in Caleb Martin. So like your secondary main
creator is going to be Max Christie, the other part of the AD trade until Kyrie gets back.
What about Spencer? And is he not, is he just not good at creating shots? No, I don't, didn't, am I wrong?
I thought Dinwiddie was a free agent.
Maybe I was the, I don't, so I think Dinwiddie right now is the, uh, maybe they bring him back, but he's so he's not on the roster right now.
So they, I mean, so and Dinwiddie is, I mean, there's a reason that Dinwiddie's last few, last contract was for the league minimum.
You know what I mean?
Like he, he can be a microwave offense, but right.
He is not.
I was about to say if it's,
if it's for the purpose of making it to where Cooper flag isn't your main guy,
then,
you know,
if Dinwiddy's the alternative.
Sure.
And maybe that's something.
And free agency hasn't happened yet.
And they obviously will,
you know,
add some pieces.
They will add some things.
I understand that.
But I,
I do not think it is rational to expect the Mavs this next year with Kyrie playing
I don't know, I would say 30 games at best
and I would take the strong under on that.
With Anthony Davis and, you know,
if you right now as a Mavs fan,
if you were like, hey, AD is gonna play 65 games on the nose,
you would be like, take it.
Like, you know, I'll sign up for that immediately.
And with Cooper Flagg being the youngest kid
in this draft class and, you know, having a lot on his play,
plate, I don't think in 2020, this coming season, the Mabs are contenders.
I do think that if Kyrie comes back from that knee injury and looks like he did before
the knee injury, and Cooper Flagg is the guy that a lot of people think he can be,
that in the season after this one,
they can be really good.
So I don't, if I am power ranking the West
going into this coming season,
I personally would power rank it.
Thunder, rockets,
Lakers with an asterisk,
the asterisk being,
I'm assuming they are going to add a major piece in the next 10 days.
Nuggets, Minnesota, 4, 5, Golden State 6, and then Dallas alongside the Clippers 7-8.
That's where I think they will be for next year.
Now, in two years, I think that could be different.
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