The Mismatch - Do the 76ers Need to Make a Move? Questions from Around the League, plus Lakers and Warriors' Concerns

Episode Date: January 8, 2024

Verno and KOC go through 10 burning questions from around the league. They discuss which team in the West they have the most confidence in besides the Nuggets. They also discuss whether the 76ers should make a move to ensure a Finals run with the way Joel Embiid is playing, Draymond Green's return, the league's most impressive head coach, and so much more. Got a question for Verno and KOC? Send them an email at [e-mail]! Or you can send the guys a tweet @ChrisVernonShow and @KevinOConnorNBA! The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please check out http://theringer.com/RG to find out more, or listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up everybody? It's Austin Rivers from Offguard, and I've got some exciting news. Offguard hosted by me and my guide Pasha Giggi is officially moving to our own podcast feed. We are now dropping two shows every week. Me and Pasha go way back and talk so much hoops already that we figured it was time to fire up the mics and let you in on these conversations. Every week, Pasha and myself will hit on the biggest stories happening around the league. Tap into the show twice a week on our new Offguard feed on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to the mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon and joining me as he does every Monday from the ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor,

aka Kevin O'Bomber, Kevin O'Bomber, Kevin O'Connor, Kevin O'Conflip, Kevin O'Brien, Kevin O'Brien. How are you doing today, man? We're recording a little earlier than usual. We are recording this on Monday afternoon. So if anything happens in the Monday night games that we do not mention, do not blame us. today on the show coming off of the weekend. We are going to go through a myriad

of subjects around the NBA as we head towards the midway point of the season, even though three weeks ago Kevin called it the midway point of the season. We are about to be at the true midway point of the season. Before we get going, can I ask you a question?

What's that thick chain you have around your neck right now? You have a thick chain. It's a fake Michael Parsons. He wears a big lion chain. So this was an honor of the Dallas Cowboys getting to host a playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. And I have a Michael Parsons T-shirt on, even though this is an NBA podcast, but I was representing Michael Parsons today. Well, so you're like, you're like Anthony Edwards wearing the fake jewelry.

I can't tell the difference. Yeah. Who can tell the difference? You didn't have to tell me it was fake. I would assume it was real. Yeah, Team T-Moo. Well, congrats for your cowboys. Packers are tough, though.

Joy Love's been on a tier. Now I have to watch 700 million replays of Aaron Rogers, third and 20. Des caught it. Honestly, like two of the worst heartbreaking losses I've ever had to endure. But hopefully it is Mike McCarthy's revenge against the Cream Bay Packers this weekend. That's what I'm hopeful. Pretty good subplot. That's going to be cool.

Yep. All right. We are going to go through 10 questions about things going on in the NBA. I will pose you the question and we will go from there. You ready? I'm ready. Number one, the Western Conference team that you believe in the second most. Now, I'm assuming Denver is far and away, number one.

Number two, the Western Conference team that I believe in, the second most behind the nuggets is the Minnesota Timberwolves because they have that elite, elite defense that you could say, hey, maybe with the number one defensive rating in the league, they could 04 pistons their way all the way to the NBA finals. They have the 19th offensive rating in the league. That's concerning, for sure. You'd like to see that get better ahead of the trade deadline. Find a better backup point guard.

find another 3-and-e style wing. They don't have a ton of assets, so they're not without concerns. But I think because their defense is so elite and because Anthony Edwards, perhaps by postseason, could take another step forward. I'll say they are the team,

I believe, in the second most in the West behind the Nuggets. Are you ready to be stunned at who has the second best odds at the NBA championship, according to Fandul? I haven't looked. I have not looks.

So off the time, top of my head, I can't imagine it's okay, see. I think they're too young for the odds makers to make them second most, even though they have a better net rating than Nuggets. I will tell you, they're fourth, they're fourth of the Western teams. The Clippers number two? The Clippers are behind one other team. Okay, so fourth is OKC, third is the Clippers, and second's not Minnesota then.

It is not. Second is not, hmm. Minnesota is behind Oklahoma City. Really? Huh. So second is it, it's not like the sun's still, right? It is. Really?

It is still the sun. It goes Boston, Denver, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and then the Clippers. Really? Yeah. And I think. They still get the sun's number two. I mean, I think it's one of the, those they haven't had their three guys together for any amount of time.

Let them get together for 25, 30 games, and then we'll be able to decide what they are. And I also think, look, sometimes there are the teams that can break through and really surprise us. But generally, and we've talked about this for many years on the pot, you've got to have one of the best five guys. And so I think it's one of those, okay, we know what. history tells us. And we know that Denver is a prohibitive favorite. No one else is particularly close. Like anybody else is over plus a thousand on a hundred dollar bet. Denver is plus 420. Okay. So they are, you know, their odds are much, much lower. But I think the reason they've got the sons and the clippers there are simply because you look at it, you go, one of them has Durant

Booker and one of them has Kauai and George. And so we know. And as good as it, Edwards is and as good as talents is and as good as Gaubert is, that history tells us you usually have to have one of the very best players in the league. And not that we won't look up in three or four years and that's Anthony Edwards. But it's usually older teams and it's usually veteran-laden teams and it's usually teams that have one of the best five at the max 10 best players in the league, but usually one of the best five players. which is why they would have to 04 pistons their way, right? Like they'd have to do it with defense and the offense being good enough.

Because at the moment, 19th and offensive rating, I don't like your odds against Denver at all. Even if you're the team you believe in the second most, which I guess is probably also why the odds makers put the sun's second. Because if you're betting on any team, it's going to be a team that gets so scorching hot in a postseason series that it doesn't matter what you do. the issue with the Suns is how many times are we going to watch the blow fourth quarter leads

and just become completely stagnant on offense, unable to get stops on defense? Like that loss for them yesterday, man? How disgusting does that feel if you're a Suns fan watching that game? I would just feel hideous waking up this morning after watching that team. Like for all the star talent they have, there's nothing to feel great. about right now as a Suns fan. They couldn't score in the fourth quarter at all. It just got run

gross. They got run out of the gym. I think Memphis won the quarter by 17. Yeah. Yeah, 35 to 18 last night. Couldn't get stops. Couldn't score. Yeah. And part of it is they are too thin

at four and five on the defensive end. You know, you live in a league where teams lay it up and tray it up. And so I look at Phoenix and I go, they got two really big problems here. They got nobody for four and five that can guard

because Nerkich can't guard these guys and they don't really have anybody at four. And if you're moving to rant over, if you're thinking forward, you don't want him having a bang with the Aaron Gordon's and the cats of the world when it comes to the playoffs. And the other thing is,

they trade two for three a lot. You know, they got, they got a lot of guys that score in that two point range. It did not help them at all to have Eric Gordon out. But the fact that I'm talking about, geez, it really hurt them to have Eric Gordon out should tell you something. Well,

you guys have Jabberant out. Right, right. And granted, I've always said the Grizzlies are better without job. Stop. Ridiculous. I'm kidding you. I wish you would have gone.

to that Laker game so you could have seen it in person. Yeah, I know. That would have been great right down the street from your house. I was under the weather. I'm glad. I'm made late last week. I'm glad we brought up. Back to 100%.

So the Lakers did get a good win last night against the Clippers after what had been a tough go for them, Darbin Ham, getting some bad articles written about him. and they got their win over the Clippers. The Warriors, it hadn't been going nearly as well. They're going to get Draymond back in the pool soon, but they lost Chris Paul over the weekend to a busted hand that is going to keep him out for a long, long time. Who should be more concerned between those two teams?

The Warriors or the Lake? The Warriors. I mean, I think it's close between them. they both have plenty of reasons for concern. I mean, the Lakers have, like, if you're ranking the players who have had the best season so far this year, LeBron and AD are both in the top 10 to 15 this season alone. And yet the team is under 500, or both of those guys being largely healthy, missing very few games throughout the entire year.

And playing big minutes, and playing big minutes, too. Playing a lot. Like, that is undoubtedly concerning. And on the warrior side of things, they're saying. 17 and 19 under 500, with Draymond Green being suspended twice. Trey Thompson for most of the year being a shell of his former self. Even Stefan Curry in recent weeks has had some real dud performances, and yet they have still nearly equal records.

I just think with the Lakers there are some more solutions within. We did see some of that against the Clippers on Sunday, and I'm not about to say Christian Wood is the answer or Max Christie is the answer at all, but I do think you see some of the benefits for dark, Marvin Ham playing Christy with his three-and-de qualities. He comes in the game right away makes an impact. Christian Wood playing alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James throughout the entire year. That lineup has performed very well with the spacing he provides,

with the room protection that he can provide as a backline guy. So I think the Lakers have some answers within. The Warriors are a team that I feel like needs to make a bigger move in order to take that next step and the Lakers need to. It's crazy. Just checking out that game last night. night. I got to tell you, I know everybody can't stand DeAngelo Russell, but

in the absence of having someone else that can dribble and pass, it was, you know, you even saw him, he was the one that whipped it over to Tarim Prince that stepped into that big open three that was a crucial shot last night against the clippers. He's the one that whips it over there. And it stood out the other night when he's not there,

that they just don't have that many guys that are going to beat you off the dribble or collapse the defense or keep the ball moving around. And so I'm not saying that they desperately need Russell, but he helps them and they need more play-making. Just the fact that he can make a play, I think, because you're putting a lot on

LeBron and Reeves to make the play for everybody else because nobody else is making a play and half the time I know Christy might have been better last night but in that Memphis game Christy did nothing in that game he's been up and down

cardio and Christian Wood trying to dribble was an abject disaster and it's like I'm and reddish and like all these guys it's like man you just need somebody that can put the ball in the deck can keep it moving. And so just having Russell there last night, I was like, at least there's another guy that

could dribble and make an extra pass. In the absence of something better, they need their full complement of guys. Both teams need to make a move. That's for sure. I just think with the Warriors, if you're going to pick one of the two teams, they both have major concerns. I mean, take your pick. I'm not going to argue either way with who has more concerns.

They both do. but the Warriors side of things, I mean, like, we'll see Draymond Green coming back soon. He dropped his podcast today and all that. I just have a hard time believing in them considering the amount of time that he's missed and how tough it's going to be to potentially reintegrate him back midseason. Because even I said to you in the pod last week, like they weren't good defensively with him this season. They've been very poor defensively even with him. So sure, in theory, he helped solve some of their transition defense

woes and makes them better in the half-court. But they statistically have been equally bad with him on the floor this year. It hasn't mattered. I agree with you, too. On the, I would be more surprised if the Lakers don't get in the mix than if the Warriors didn't get in the mix. The Warriors thing is just, it's been a lot of drama.

And they just lost Paul. And I know nobody wanted to hear what Darwin Ham had to say about injuries and being able to build chemistry or whatever else. But they have lost. I mean, they're in the top five in terms of games lost. player minutes lost. They have had a lot of rotation guys injured so far this year. And if they got their full complement of players and you were able to settle on an eight-man nine rotation, eight-nine-man rotation,

they will be much, much better than they've been, especially when they're getting this AD, who has generally been fantastic. It's very, absolutely incredible. Who would you say, by the way? So you say, for sure. No, no, no, Lakers for sure. I'm saying Lakers for sure. But you're more concerned about the warriors.

Yes. I would be much more surprised if the Lakers didn't get back in the mix than if the Warriors did. Totally. Okay. We're on the same page then. Yeah. But they both that drama, you know? Yeah.

I just think that, you know, the personnel on the Lakers, and they'll make a move. They know that every year. is win now. Yeah. Yeah. Next, the Philadelphia 76ers, were still very high in the standings, but dropped a couple, would be foolish to wait till the offseason

to make a big move. It would not be foolish for the Sixers to wait to the off season and make a move because they're in a unique position as a potential caps-based team. I think that's the incentive for them in waiting, where if you make a deal now, it only makes sense if it's not cutting into your space unless you want it to cut into your space, unless it's a guy that you'd have, you'd be willing to sacrifice that space for, because this offseason, maybe you're going after a Pascal Seacum, or if the clippers were to implode a Paul George, or if LeBron James were to want to leave the Lakers for another contender, maybe you pursue him. Like, whoever the fantasy target is, the Sixers retaining that cap space with a free.

agent in mind or a big salary to absorb via trade in mind to surround Joelle and Tyrese maxi, that's a big incentive for them to want to wait. With that said, they should be looking for deals because you do want to capitalize on Joelle and Bean having another MVP caliber season and Tyrese Maxie taking a leap forward and the supporting cast that you have now with Nick Batum and Melton and so on up and down the line. This is a really, really good team. And So if you can improve that, you should. But I don't think they're foolish if they decide that there's nothing out there or nothing's affordable for them considering the cap space they'll have.

Oh, boy, we break ways here. They have to. You have got to take advantage of this MP. You have to. How many more are you getting? You know, you always talk about how windows close. You talk about how windows close. It's like, bro, this guy is at the absolute.

absolute apex of his career and you got rid of what's available though? What's available though is my question for them. They're not in on Siakum. I don't think they can afford Seacom. So like what's the move is my thought? Like Zach, do you want to go get Zach Levine? I'm not against Zach Levine, but that's a significant risk compared to waiting and using Cap Space with his flaws. I mean, the ones I talked about you remember you remember I talked about a while back Jeremy Grant.

I mean, I think Grant would make sense for sure. As a third guy? I'm not sure Portland's dealing him for what the Sixers can afford. I mean, even if I have to give up Harris and, you know, and that's coming off the books or whatever. I mean, I got expirings and picks. Yeah, I don't, I don't know if you can get Grant. Why? I don't know.

I'm not sure Portland. What do you hold on to him for? I don't think Portland's. I know, but I don't think Portland's eager to trade Jeremy Graham, unless he asks out, unless he demands to be traded. I'm not sure they're in a big rush to move Jeremy Graham. Well, then that's just stupid. Then you're doing exactly what Detroit did, which is just dumb.

Yeah, I mean, I've got a guy that's in the timeline of a winner at a time where the rush your team is not ready to win. And for what it's worth, there is a chance Jeremy Grant would ask out and say, trade me to a contender, I don't want to be stuck here. And I think that would push things forward. And for Philadelphia, like, yeah, that's exactly the type of guy that would make perfect sense alongside Jeremy Grant, alongside Tyrese, Joel B., Jeremy Grant offers the skills between Embed and Maxie that makes sense because he can slide into that high-level elite role player position where he's hitting spot-up three, he's attacking closeouts,

making passes, defending multiple positions, offering. offering size and room protection. He offers those things, but also we've seen him be a guy who can handle the ball and create for you out of isolations and pick and rolls. And with Philly, he's going against oftentimes the third best defender. So I think Grant is a perfect target for the Sixers. Yeah, he's a perfect target, Chris. I agree with you. If he's affordable.

Yeah, if you could, I just think that somebody's going to be able to get, I, we talk about this when it came free agency. They signed the guy like that for the. asset that it was, not because he fit their timeline and what they're doing right now. They knew that they'd be able to move that for expirings and picks, that there's going to be a contender that really needs a guy like that. Because we've brought him up with Dallas, we brought him, you know, with like Tim Hardaway and picks, and we brought him up with Philly. And maybe you can, you know, maybe you can get what you need, right?

which is teams like that want to be able to get cap space and stock up as much as they can in the future picks going forward. I just think you've got to take advantage. This is a historic embed year going on. And I think we know it's not good enough right now. It's not good enough right now to win the title. What they have is not good enough right now.

And so if we all accept that, than I think that it, you know, it's really on Daryl to. And I think he could be one of the few, like, big buyers. I don't think there's going to be nearly as many buyers. And you might be able to work around the margins. Maybe you can go and you can snag a Bogdanovich from Detroit. You can grab a grant from Portland. And all of a sudden, you've got, like, a veteran-laden, like, team ready to go win a title.

I think, like, the way I answered your question, you said is, will it be foolish? Yeah. I don't think it, I don't think it. it would be foolish not to make the move. If you ask the question in the way, would it be foolish to not pursue trades? I would say, yes, it would be absolutely foolish. But I don't think it would be foolish to not make a move

because I'm not sure what's actually going to be available for them. I think they should super, like, be aggressive in making moves here. They should be going for it all. You've got to take advantage. But if it's not there, then I completely get it because of the cap space and something at the end of the rainbow here for them. Yeah. If I've Joel and beat,

I don't think of shit about cap space. I know, I know, but it's about who's available. And like, what you would do and I would also probably do as well, is you might go over the top for Jeremy Grant. Yeah.

You might offer that extra first round pick on top of what feels like fear of value because you're going for it. Because I've got a chance at winning the title. I agree. I agree. and Jeremy Grant would be awesome next to those guys. Get in on all the NBA buzzer, beaters, ankle breakers, and tomahawk jams with Fandul, America's number one sportsbook.

Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place a $5 bet. If you've been thinking about joining Fandle, there's no better time to get in on the action. The app is easy to use, and there's a bunch of different ways to bet with Slive, same game parlayes. You can find bets in the new Explorer tab. but you can look ahead with future bets, whether it's a team winning the NBA finals, a player winning the award. It is a bunch of different ways

you can put these bets together in the parlay hub. There you can find the best way to find popular parlayes. So visit fandul.com slash mismatch and make your first bet a layup. Fandul, official partner of the NBA. Must be 21 plus and present in select states, $5 pregame money line wager required. First online real money wager only,

$10 first deposit required. Bonus issue is not on the drum, bonus bets that expire seven days, after receipt. See terms at sportsbook. Fandul.com. Next one.

Who is the bad team player you want to see on a good team? A player you like that is on a rat team right now that you think could really help

a good team. Since we just talked about Jeremy Grant, not him. So we'll go with somebody else. The bad team player that I want to see

on a good team is Kelden Johnson from the Spurs. Oh. Kelden, he's interesting. He's got those three and D qualities.

He's not like an shooter. He's a solid shooter. He's not an elite defender, but he's a good defender when he's hustling and trying hard, which I think would be really interesting with his versatility in a winning environment. I'd like to see how he could be used in a creative half-court offense with some of his downhill, attacking closeouts. Maybe you could use him as a screener a little bit, too. I'd just be intrigued. What does Kelvin Johnson look like in a winning environment? And I won't say Bogdanovich

because we just mentioned him in passing as well. You know mine is Colin Sexton. I mean, he spent his whole career playing for teams that can't win. And when... They count as a bad team, jazz? 17 and 20. But they're going to do asset accumulation again, too.

They did this last year. You play well, you play well as a team. Everybody plays well. Stock up, stock up, stock up, right? You build them all up. And then you end up getting some like actual, like real assets. back for these guys because they did it last year. They know they're not winning anything in the long run.

I don't know if they're going to get rid of marketing or guys like that, but the Olinix of the world, the Jordan Clarksons of the world, the Colin Sexton's of the world. These are all guys that can help playoff teams. I just think I want to see Sexton in that like kind of playoff environment. I want to see him on a team where like every game really matters. That dude still plays like it's his last game on Earth. He plays so hard. You see a clip of him last week where he's just diving in the middle of two guys,

like risking life and limb, and his percentages are always still good. Like, I love him. I love him. I would love to see him on like a good team. You know who I'd want to see along those same exact lines that you're talking about? Terry Rozier. from the Charlotte Hornets.

He's a dog. Yeah, he's a dog. I think he's one of the more underrated assets in the league right now for when it comes to trades. Like you think about Terry Rozier, the last time we really saw him in the playoffs was when he was with Boston years ago, years ago. And he is a completely different type of player

on offense now than he was then. He's become a 40% guy from three-point range on catch and shoots. So I think he offers more value for a team in the half court on offense. in addition to his pick and roll creation. He's just a more incomplete player. And I'd love to see him back in a winning environment.

To me, like, he's the guy that I'd want to go for. Like, you get him at a discount compared to, like, say, Zach Levine or Desjante Murray. I'd be going for Terry Rozier. Another guy that they've built up his stock, too, because he's had some huge games. I mean, they lose every night, but he's had some huge games. Yeah. Right. Next one.

The rookie that gets our attention. going forward that we have not talked about very much. You know, we talk about some of the guys that have been on the winning teams or even subpart teams. We've talked Keante George. We've talked Hamihakis. We've talked about, obviously, Wembe and Chat. There's been some other guys that have gotten our attention over the course of the

first couple of months of the season. But one that you think that we have not talked much about, but we'll snatch our attention. attention going forward. Brandon Miller from the Charlotte Hornets. He's the number two pick in the NBA draft. And yet, when we're talking about the best rookies this year, he so very rarely gets mentioned because the Hornets stink. They are not an enjoyable team to watch.

There's not a lot of attention on them this year. And yet, he's shooting 39% on over five three-point attempts per game. He has a positive assist turnover ratio. Individually, he has made a ton of great plays on defense. hustle plays, blocks, good rotations, contesting shots at the rim. He's been solid on ball. He has his typical rookie mistakes that he makes, his inconsistencies. The big thing that I hope that we get to see from him over the second half of this

season is more pick and roll, more creation opportunities. And maybe this comes as a result of, say, Terry Rozier being traded. Rozier is one of their heaviest pick and roll guys this year. Brennan Miller is taking only three pick and rolls per game. that's like a low amount for a guy who I think can create more than he's been allowed to. So I hope the Hornet, Steve Clifford, their head coach, I hope he gives Miller more of those opportunities over the second half of the year. And also one last thing on him, we saw it happen at Alabama last year.

He started out the year. It was until around mid-December, his freshman year in Alabama, where he was really struggling, finishing inside the paint. And then in the second half of the year until he got hurt right before the tournament, he was finishing at a high, high level inside the arc. And I think we could potentially see if he's given more pick and rolls, that similar type of second half leap this year's rookie year with the Hornets that we did his freshman year with Alabama.

Do you think they'll win enough or he'll have enough extraordinary games that it truly catches our attention? Because that's usually what has to happen when you're on the bad teams. It's going to have to be the latter, the extraordinary games. He hasn't really had that game where it's like, oh, my God. Brandon Miller just had 40 points. Right. He hasn't had that game.

Right. So I think he's going to have to have a game or two like that for people really to catch on and say, oh, wait a minute. This guy is already really good as a rookie. He's shooting almost 40% from three and he's doing all this other stuff too. Brandon Miller's going to have to have a big night like that. Yeah. It feels like another one of those.

And because, you know, I also think it's going to be, Scoot's going to get attention if he does anything well. And it's tracked better recently. but we talked about I feel like I've heard a lot of people mention Asur Thompson Assar Thompson this year from Detroit the brother not as much but he's been getting run recently

and I kind of feel like if he keeps getting more opportunity that Amman Thompson's going to get on the radar because the rockets have been better than people expected them to be probably they will get good wins right they will have highlight plays and things that take

but Kim Whitmore's actually gotten some minutes for them as well who was fantastic in the G-League in the time that he spent down there but Amen was he's the he's the Thompson brother that has not gotten talked up as much

but by virtue of being on a competitive team and I think they'll be competitive the entire season I think he's probably the one that's got the best chance of kind of getting on people's radars more often simply because

it could be Iman Thompson had blankety blank against the Lakers or against the Warriors or whatever moment gets you in these viral videos and the big dunk or the big block that gets you in those they're going to win games

and so it's always easier when you're a part of winning to get the attention and but I feel like he is not you know obviously he's not that's good answer he's out of the rotation and whatever else. And I like him too. He is springy now. I like both Thompson. I think Thompson,

I'm in Thompson's a great answer for that. Yeah. All right. Next question regarding the NBA, the college player that you are interested in. Kevin McCuller. I looked at a mock the other day, and I swear to God, Kevin. There were a couple of G League ignite, but I mean, like the whole damn thing looked international. It was like a college player here, a college player there. And like all these international guys I didn't even know. And I was like, oh, boy, this is going to be a YouTube draft. I got to get on YouTube. It really is going to be a YouTube draft.

It is. The player that has my attention that I'm interested in is Kevin McCuller from Kansas. I really liked him last year. He's a fifth year senior. So he's on the way older side right now. but I mean, he's just a do-it-all guy, and he's been a do-it-all guy for years. The difference between him and past years where you talk about him is, oh, yeah, a second-round pick, do-it-all guy.

And now is the fact that he has transformed his ability as a three-point shooter. He's shooting 36% from three this year, which includes a lot off the dribble and off the catch. He's shooting over 80% from the free throw line. He made some tweaks to his mechanics that have really just unloaded. leased his jumper. He used to have touched near the rim now. It's translating from three. He'd remind you of Josh Hart. He reminds me of Nick Batum. I think you combine those two guys with sprinkling a little bit of Bruce Brown. That's the type of player you're looking at with McCuller. I think he could be a really, really good player in the NBA. And he also serves as an

example of the incentive of staying in school for some of these guys. Rather than being a second round pick, he stays at Kansas. And now he could be a lottery pick. I have him in my top 10, even though he's a fifth year senior. I don't care about the age. I'm not going to discriminate there. This guy's proven he's a late bloomer. He still has upside. I am very interested to see where his year goes with Kansas this year because they're a great

team. One of the best teams in the country. How does McCuller continue to improve? Interesting. You know the one I saw that I was like, oh boy, he feels like a guy that is better than people are going to think he is? And I went and look, the steel rates,

the block rates, all the stuff Like all the, all the extra stuff, you know, beyond just the like shooting or playmaking, whatever is the, you know, I tune in because I covered DeWan Wagner. So I like to check out DJ. And then, of course, they got Rob Dillingham. But I love Shepard. Oh, yeah. Shepard's fun. Reed Shepard in Kentucky is like, I could see him turning into something like really, really good.

Yeah. And really helping a good team. he feels kind of like the kind of guy that'll go a little bit lower but is better than some of his peers. You think you'll go high? I don't know. I don't know anything about this draft. I mean, he's only,

he's only six foot three, but defensively he makes a much, makes a much greater impact than a six foot three guy. I mean, that dude could shoot the hell out of him, man. He is good. He's like,

he's like 50-50-90. Yeah, he's like 50-90 this year. It's crazy what he's doing. I watched that Kentucky that Kentucky Florida game was pretty good on Saturday because Florida's had a good year I mean the Kentucky guys

like Shepard didn't have a big standout game he hit a ton of free throws to close but he didn't have a standout game in that game the player who really stood out to me was on the Florida side Zion Poland who has a great basketball name Z Y O N

Zion Poland he's a senior transfer point guard and like that guy just runs a tight shit man like he's just doesn't make mistakes out there on the floor he makes the right pass he hit big shots he's had over 40% from three this year he's six foot four wide frame he defends hard like i think if you're looking for who's this year's Craig porter junior kind of like this older guy who maybe goes on drafted and has a big year like to me zion pulling i'm watched him a handful of times this year.

And that Florida game, I really had my attention. To me, like, he looks good, man. I think he's draftable. I don't know how many players we're going to launch with on my, in my draft guide in a couple weeks. It might only be 30. I wouldn't have him in my top 30, but I might have Zion polling in my top 45, top 50.

Like, he really stood out to me in that game. All right. So I have, this is not on our list, but I have a crazy question for you. Are you ready? Please. Kyle, turn to TikTok. camera on. No, the question is this.

So I was looking at that draft and I was like, I don't even know most of these guys. I've got to look them all up on YouTube. And then this weekend, LeBron James said in the locker room so that all of his teammates could hear, Brani could play for us right now. Easy.

Easy. Okay, I'm going to set aside. that the father thinks the son is very, very good and good play and believes in him. We're setting that aside. I'm going to ask you a crazy question. There are five, like, truly terrible teams in the league right now. We have said that this is not the year that you want to tank out because there's not that prize at the end. There is no Zion Williamson.

There is no Victor Wimbayama. there is no Carl Anthony Pounds or Joe L.M. whoever you want to mention in the past. If I told you that if you got the number one pick and you took Brony James, that it would guarantee you LeBron would sign with you next year, is that worth tanking like tanking for the next great thing? No.

No. LeBron's just turned 39. And also, how long are you going to have him for? Are you going to have him? He said 45. He said 45. I mean, look, dude. If you're going to take Brony James, who said, I mean, he's a good defender.

He's got a good feel for the game as a passer. Team player. Team guy, but he's. You see that graphic? They did him dirty with the team graphic, showing. Isaiah call your boogie Ellis and all their stats and that it said Bronny James hard worker team player I mean I love the fact LeBron LeBron is a supportive and loving father at the same time like I hope it doesn't put

I hope it doesn't raise expectations for brawny so much that it becomes like a disappointment and becomes backlash for him if he doesn't meet any of those expectations because look dude I know the shot looks good but He's in high school, he was not a good three-point shooter. He's not a good three-point shooter right now at USC, shooting 27%. He's been a sub-70% free-throw shooter going back to high school. He just might not have shooting touch.

Maybe it'll develop over the course of time. I just have concerns with him being an NBA guy, unless the jump against the owner. Hold on. You would not draft Bronny James number one if it meant LeBron James signed with you. No, because what are you signing? him too. What's the contract?

Give you some more detail. Even if you're San Antonio? No, I wouldn't. I would not because I think if you'd rather take your French guy or whatever song. Yeah, I'd rather roll the dice with an 18, 19 year old player that hopefully is with your team for 8, 10, 15 years than LeBron, who in all likelihood, who could ask out after a year, who could retire after two years, who could decline after three years. to me, the upside on that is so much lower than what the number one pick, an 18, 19, 20-year-old guy is, or trading down from that pick, trading it for another established player. I think the LeBron Brani path would be absurd taking him number one. All right. At what point? At what point in the draft would you draft Brony if it meant you got LeBron?

Probably like number 10. Two? not two, not too. Maybe like 10, maybe like 10 or 15, something like that. I think like around 10 I'm starting to be like, well, why not? Oh, come boy. That might even be my guy, Reed Shepherd.

Would you rather have Reed Shepherd or Brony and LeBron? I love it. I love these hypotheticals. I know, it is fun to figure about. I mean, look, dude, you never know. Like, what if this becomes the thing? What if the Lakers implode? What if they completely implode?

What if they miss the playoffs? Which isn't off the table. They miss the playoffs. They completely implode. LeBron decides to opt out, and he puts it out there. I will go to your team if you draft Brony in the lottery. That would be amazing. You could 100% see a scenario where he says,

I want to play with my son. Yeah. that's that's not crazy oh for sure he has said he wants to play with it yeah if the only way to do that is to play for the team that drafts him i mean this is not that far fetch i'm telling you i i mentioned it earlier the sixers they're the team to watch there because they have a first round pick in the 20s they have cap space the sixers are the team to watch they need another ball handler They're the team to watch. All right.

All right. I'm not kidding you. I'm not, well, you think I'm crazy? I'm telling you. They're the team to watch there. The coach that has impressed you the most this season is Mark Dagnoll.

Mark Dagnoll. What he's done with the thunder. I think having all those young guys executed such a high, high level, obviously it's a testament to the player's own individual capabilities, their basketball IQs, their hustle, their mindsets. But, you know, having all those guys play together.

And thus far, a lot of guys not getting minutes either who are deserving of minutes and integrating them into the rotation here and there. Like sometimes you get a sprinkle of Usman Jang out there, right? Like sometimes you get Aaron Wiggins. Sometimes you get Kenrich Williams. You get a veteran who comes overseas in Meachich. You're putting him in there sometimes, managing the depth that roster has on top of installing the system and getting those guys to execute.

I think Dag Nol's done a great job. I was going to say Darwin Ham, but I instead went with, no, I am going to go with the other LA guy. Ty Lou. Oh, that's a great answer. He's navigated this so much better than I would have ever expected. Truly. You see the LeBron quote after last night's game.

He, like, he was a reporter referred to the Clippers as James Hardin's Clippers. And LeBron's like, what do you mean? It's Ty Loo's Clippers. It's just crazy. If you watch them, I know they lost last night. They all like, I've seen more Kauai smiles in the last two months than I've seen in the last 10 years. They all seem like happy and they cheer each other on and you've got like Russ on the bench waving a towel for everybody and getting fired up. And I'm like, what the hell is going on?

What is going on? What is going on here? this guy is a friggin magician to pull this off how badly do you think LeBron wishes Ty Lou was his coach instead of Darwin Ham Tyloo was at his birthday party Darwin Ham was not at least photographed oh really

yeah at least some photos that we saw I didn't see him there but Tyloo was his birthday was a movie I didn't stroke a pretty good costume party you have a good party like that? Like you were, there's dress requirements. You got to no, never? I never had either. Halloween. Yeah, Halloween, yeah. I went to

one party that was like a very like subtle requirement for what you wear. It was like, we're like 1920s style like suit. I just wear like a big jacket or whatever. But that was, that's it. Nothing like extravagant like LeBron's. Oh, I remember that. You were like dressed like a gangster. I don't know. Yeah, you posted a picture.

weren't you in like Miami or something? No, no, no. That's the act. I forgot about that. Yes. Yeah, you remember. Thank you for remembering for me. I did.

In Miami last year, there was the, uh, the white linen party. Yeah. All were white linen. That was at, uh, the, the All In podcast summit, uh, party there. I was there for Celtics Heat playoff series. All In was there. Check that out a little bit. It was cool.

That was fun. White linen's very comfortable. I'd never worn white linen ever before. I've not worn it since. It's super comfortable. It's relaxing. I can see why people in Miami wear it all the time, apparently. You ever wear white linen, Chris? I can't remember. I think I had like a linen shirt, and it was rather comfortable. Feels good.

Did the NBA do the right thing with Draymond Green? What is the right thing? I'm just not sure what is the right thing there? Like should they have suspended him for 25 games? They have not talked about a retirement. Why is Adam Silver playing like babysitter with Draymond Green? Like, oh, no, don't retire. Like, why is he not saying you should do whatever the hell you want?

But when you come back, get it right, buddy, because you're making us look horrible. That should be the Adam Silver response. Look, from the very beginning of this, we have turned him into a victim. it's the wildest thing I've ever seen in my life. I can't remember anything like this where it's like the guy choke someone, stomp someone, and punch

someone. And immediately it was like, man, I just hope he gets help. What's going on with him? I mean, geez, what could he possibly be going through that is causing him to act this way? Even though he has a 12-year track record

of doing wild stuff, And then it's like, even this one, it's like, thank goodness Adam Silver really cares about the players. It's like, I guess he cares about the guy doing the stomping, punching, and choking. Like, how many conversations did he have with your victims? Like, he is not the victim in all of this. And it's just crazy. I see this stuff. I love all the memes out there that are like, Adam's.

Super told him he couldn't choke and punch a kick anyone he's like, well then I'm just going to quit. Isn't fun anymore? You know, I just think it's crazy. I don't know, man. And I know that different people have way of

different things, but like in my own household, if my son went and pissed on my daughter's pillow just to be a jerk, I wouldn't be like, hey, buddy, what are you going through? What's wrong? Do we need you to talk to somebody? Do you need to get some help here?

What is it? Why are you lashing out in this way? There's got to be something going on that's caused you to, you know, piss on your sister's pillow. I'd be like, what the hell is wrong with you? You're grounded. Give me your phone and stop acting like an ass. Like, what are we doing here? it's crazy to me.

Did this actually happen? Is that a true story? No, but I would kill him. I mean, I'd be like, what is wrong with you? And that's my own son. This is like, what is, are you okay, bud? Is everything okay? Because we just need to make sure that you're in the right.

I know you're punching, kicking and biting and punching people in the nuts, stomping on their chest. and punching them in the face. But we just need to make sure that you're okay. That's what we need to make sure of. I'm like, what is going on? Am I in Bizarro world here? What the hell?

This guy is a menace. And I don't care. Like, you take him, suspend him for an amount of time, make him get the help. If that's what you think it is, even though this has been like 12 years, the way, nobody gave a shit when he knocked out

his co-worker a year ago. Nobody cared. They made a whole documentary about how he was a changed man after that. Right. This guy somehow has the greatest PR ever. Ever.

And I'm not a Draymond hater. It's just this whole situation is like crazy. Can you imagine in a workplace? Can you imagine if you showed up to the ringer today and just knocked somebody out?

Not that you could, but let's say someone knocked you out. Let's say ban late that knocked your ass out. I mean, I've seen him throw bunches. He's like, oh. Yeah. Oh,

oh, what's going on, man? Why would you act this way? And you're like just sitting there in a bloody mess. Like, why? Everybody's worried about how he's doing? This guy knocked the fuck out. This is crazy. I mean, look, sometimes, I mean, you talked about this with the example with your son,

theoretically pissing on a sister's pillow. Sometimes punishment is necessary. Firm punishment can be necessary sometimes. True in society as well. And even now. Well, nobody else. Look, did you hear all of this when, When Morant got caught waving

waving guns around on Instagram, did anybody say, what's he going through? What's it? Oh, what, you know, nobody's feeling bad for him. They're saying, what an idiot.

He's going to blow it. Maybe somebody thought that their 25 games was too severe, whatever, but nobody was trying to river. There were some people, but not as much as the Dremont stuff. For whatever reason. There was,

I've seen some people saying, oh, I hope he doesn't have a drinking problem or a drunk problem or anything like that. I did see that with the Joss. stuff on social media. Everybody knew he was obviously coping with fame and lashing out and all those kind of things. But there was not the pity party that there has been for a guy who's actually being

violent towards his co-work. On the court. And off. Oh, sure. Yeah. Well, I mean, that was the practice court. But he's doing it directly with his team and with the... In the workplace.

With cameras recording. Not that they knew about the practice cameras recording. That was that being leaking out. Regardless, Draymond, like, Draymond, like that's the, like,

we don't know what Adam Silver actually said to Draymond. We only know Draymond's recollection saying, like he told him he's going to retire and all that. But, like, I just think the lack of a firm suspension

doing this kind of weird, oh, yeah, I'll come back and, you know, some amount of time. He's still got to do counseling. And he still, yeah,

whatever. Like, I'd prefer they just drop the hammer, give a firm 25, 30 games, suspension, say get it right or you're gone next time. Sometimes that punishment is necessary. That's what

they did with Moran. It's exactly what they were. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that was a severe penalty. Guys just don't get 25 game suspension. I guess the NBA, from their perspective, they still view the waving of a gun as more detrimental to the

league's reputation than Draymond doing those things to opponents. That's clearly the incentive here. And also, there is the ulterior motive as well of ratings and the TV deal coming up. With the Warriors being one of the most popular teams in the world that draw the biggest ratings, it is advantageous for the league to have the Warriors on TV, productive, healthy, thriving. Oh, is this conspiracy, Kevin? Do you think if

Draymond Green was playing for the Hornets that the penalty is the same? He'd be a goner. Okay. Just wanted to be clear. What do you think about that theory? I don't deal in conspiracy.

Oh, God. I mean, it's, I mean, it makes sense. Of course he'd be gone. Nobody would give you shit about the Hornets. I'm talking about it. Talking about. When do I get you to be a believer in the Grizzlies? I don't know.

When they crack the play in? Geez, there's still four, four or five games out right now. It's Lakers, sons. I mean, happen six and three with Morantan uniform.

That's a pace. Okay. That's a pace. I'm just trying to get you to be early rather than late. You told me I was stupid. I'm giving you your opportunity. opportunity to jump on board now. Before it's too late.

I'll tell you this, okay? Maybe you can say this is too late, but here's their next stretch of games. Tuesday night on the road against the Mavs. Then they have a back-to-back, at home, Clippers and Nix. Then the following week,

they have two national TV games. Monday night against the Warriors, Thursday night, on the road against the Timberwolves. These next five games. These next five games are going to be really telling. with where the Grizzlies are and what they can become. Is that fair?

That's fair. I said 37 and 20, Kevin. They're on a pace. They're on a pace. That Monday is, hey, that's Martin Luther King Day game. Oh, yeah, that's a big one. And you'll never get to believe this. So obviously, there's every year, it's a huge one here in Memphis because the Lorraine Motel,

the National Civil Rights Museum, there's always awards that they give out for the National Civil Rights Museum. And it's crazy. So when you were growing up, you had like huge heroes, right? You loved Tom Brady. You were a fan of that Red Sox team when you were really little, right?

Like all those guys. Those were like posters. Poster on the wall, huge stuff, right? I, so they are, they're going to, like Alex English is one of the recipients, Calvin Hill, who's grant father, who played for the Cowboys, Renee Montgomery,

WMBA star. But anyways, they bring in for the National Civil Rights Museum they have these different awards that they give out. And one of them, they told me, and he's actually going to come in on my local show. And it will be probably the most nervous

I have ever been in my life. I never get nervous, ever. Like, unless it's like someone, there's something weird. I'm around athletes all the time and executives and all this stuff. But if it's somebody that I like idolized as a kid, and that has been true when I've, like, when I've been around like either a musician that I grew up loving or an athlete that I grew

up loving, that I like turn, it almost like I turn it to a kid again, right? Your inner child comes out. My hero as a child was Ozzy Smith, the shortstop for the Cardinals. I mean, I probably have more Ozzie Smith memorabilia jerseys and everything else than any other athlete. And he's coming in. And they were like, yeah, and he's coming in studio. And I was like, oh, no. Wow, you're having him on Monday.

You're going to interview Ozzy Smith on your local. That Grizzly's Warriors thing is so, I don't even care what happens in that game. Because all I've thought about since is like, oh, my God, he's really going to, like, I don't even know how I'm going to react. Is this your first time meeting him in person? I've never met him. No. Wow.

Never spoke to him anything like that. Never a phoneer. Never like that over the years on your local. Never. Never. Wow. What a thrill. I've never, no, never gotten an autograph, never been around it, never.

But he was like my guy when I was a little kid. And he's actually going to be at that game because he's getting honored by the National Civil Rights Museum. And so obviously, look, Grizzlies warrior should be a good game anyway. It's always great to see Curry. but that whole thing it's like I hadn't even been able to think about other stuff because I'm like that's I don't know if there's anybody else you could have said

that I would have been like more like no no what do you maybe like think I don't like maybe somebody that I was like a like a musician or something that I was a fan of as a kid or something like maybe like Paul McCartney or something like that I'd be like no way right like that would be insane but yeah yeah of an

athlete. Jordan. Jordan is the other one for sure. What do you think little you at your peak Ozzie Smith fandom would say? If you could tell him, hey, X amount of years from now, you're going to be interviewing Ozzy Smith before he's inducted ahead of a massive MLK day game. What would he say that little kid? I think he would say that you got to do what you wanted to do. right? I mean, there comes a time, I think, when you're a kid, and I was probably by high school age, no, by junior high. Like, you know, every little kid wants to be that athlete. And then you realize, I'm not going to be that. I'm never going to be Ozzie Smith. I wanted to be. I threw the baseball like him. I watched, I watched.

there was a video that I bought at a supermarket. I bet I watched it 100,000 times. The VHS tape of him. And I did all the drills on there like every day. But there comes a time where it's like, okay, I'm obviously not this guy. And so it's like I wanted, I wrote a paper in high school about how I wanted to be involved in sports. Some way, somehow. If I couldn't play them, I wanted to talk about them because that's what I cared about.

And so I guess that would be it. Yeah. I mean, I knew that what I love, you know, and I've told you many times. I wanted to do what I loved. I wanted to do something that I love. My parents had, I think my mom loved being a college professor. My dad had like the, you know, Fortune 500 corporate job. It was stressed out all the time.

And I just knew I didn't want that. I love my dad. We've talked about, same with my dad. I just wanted. Yeah. I wanted to be happy. Yeah. Yeah.

Made the most of it. Made money for the family and all that, but it's not like it was like a passion or enjoyment. No. Yeah. Last thing. Let's speak about something from your childhood because it's in the news

and no news has come out as we are recording this. As a Patriots fame, do you want Bill Belichick back? Without a doubt, I want Bill Belichick back. I want him back. I want him back. Without a doubt, no questions about it. I want Belichick back with the Patriots.

I want to see what he can do with a real quarterback. I mean, what they've had, Mack Jones, total bust, Zappi, not an NFL quarterback. They have the number three picking the drafts. Maybe they move up. Maybe they stay at three. Maybe they move down. There's a lot of options with quarterback this year in the 2024 NFL draft. I'd like to see what Belichick can do with this roster moving forward with a real

quarterback. If he were to leave, I get it. I'd understand. There's other appealing situations that he could go to, but I want to see him back with the Patriots. You don't want it to be over. No. I don't know if I should trust your football opinion. I mean, you

tweeted me, Dak sucks, and I'm trading him off my fantasy team, and you may have noticed, Kev. Well, that was more. That was more trolling. He led the NFL in touchdown passes. That was more trolling. He led the NFL a touchdown passes, Kevin.

That happened. I also brought him back on my fantasy team this year. What? I did. I brought him back probably the week after I sent that to you. How? He was in waivers. What?

Nobody picked him up? So, okay. So in Yahoo, this year, I joined one of those paid public leagues, right? Where you pay a fee and you're at a public league. league with 10 random people. Mid-year, I made a trade that I think would have saved my season. I acquired Debo Samuel and Justin Jefferson as they were just coming back from injury. The trade was agreed to.

It was in the system. It took two days to go through and all that. But Yahoo didn't allow it because that guy added somebody to his eye on. I say this not to talk about my fantasy. team, I say this as a warning with Yahoo that they need to fix this bullshit because the trade was just not allowed. It just was like removed from the system. Like if a trade, if a trade gets denied, it shows up in the trade section as it was vetoed. This trade was not even vetoed.

It was just not allowed because he shifted a guy to his IR. It's like it was removed from the system entirely on the day it was supposed to be put through. And it screwed me so bad that week because I didn't do waivers waiting for the deal to happen. I didn't do other deals waiting for the deal to happen. And for a paid league, putting $250 into a paid league with money on the line, I think it's, it is completely shameful that Yao Yu, has this loophole in their system, by the way, to allow something like this to happen. The guy should not have made the deal.

I completely screwed him. But the fact is, is it was agreed to. It should have been put through. I'm disappointed. I'm never going to play a Yahoo publicly again. I'm never going to give them my money ever again after that. I've been loyal to Yahoo for years. You're done.

But yeah, I think I'm I've retired from fantasy football twice. You've done again. I've won plenty. I've won enough championships in my life. But I think I'm going to come back again next year. I'm not sure if it's going to be with a Friends League or something like that, but I'm going to come back again next year, but not with the Yahoo publicly. They're never going to get my money ever again. That's like that. That is inexcusable.

They need to fix it. If anybody listens to this podcast, you work for Yahoo! Get it fixed because it's garbage in that system. Garbage. I love it. I didn't even know this happens. I'm glad I said it's to warn people like don't like seriously like it is not fair. Garbage. Be careful on the Yahoo Yahoo Leagues. Be careful. Garbage. Giving them your money. Be careful. It's garbage. Who said that? Where is that from? Oh, that's from I'm a man.

I'm 40. The Mike Gundy thing. It's garbage. They write this stuff and it's garbage. Come after me. I'm a man. I'm 40. You ever win one of your fantasy leagues?

Man, all the time. I stay winning them. The greatest fantasy GM in history. My favorite fantasy championship that I ever had was the year Drew Brees became the all-time leading passer. And like, I won my game on the touchdown throw that he made to Darren Scrolls. It was, it was like the, it was on that throw that I won.

That's honest. It was the greatest thrill in my fantasy career. And also, I believe the last time that I, no, I won a league once since then. But that was, I think, the second last time I won a league. But what a thrill. I love playing fantasy football. I hate playing fantasy football. And that's what makes it so special.

It's going to do it for this week's episode. Thank you to our executive producer, Jesse Lopez, as always. And Kevin, I'll talk to you later this week. Very much looking forward to it. Must be 21 plus in present in select states. Fandul is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with the Kansas Star Casino, LLC. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler, visit fandul.com slash RG.

In Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia. In Arizona, call one at her next step or text next step to 533342. In Connecticut, call 1-88-7-8-7. 97777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat. In Indiana, call 1009 with it. In Kansas, call 1-800 5224-7-700 or visit KSgamblinghelp.com. In Louisiana, call 18777-7-7-stop. In Maryland, visit MD GamblingHelp.org.

In West Virginia, visit 1800 gambler not net. In Wyoming, call 1005224-70. Hope is here. In Massachusetts, visit Gamblinghelpline, MA.org. I'll call 1003-3-2-50-50 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts. In New York, call 18778, Hope, N. Thank you.