The Mismatch - Evaluating the GM Survey and Preseason Overreactions

Episode Date: October 5, 2021

Verno and KOC first go over the surprises and revelations from NBA.com’s recently released 2021-22 GM Survey (0:50). Then Chris asks Kevin to assess his preseason overreactions on the Nets, Kings, Nuggets, Clippers, and many more after the first big set of preseason games (27:00). Finally, they discuss breaking news from Adrian Wojnarowski that the Suns are balking on giving Deandre Ayton the maximum rookie contract extension (57:40). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Associate Producer: Sasha Ashall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, everybody. Before today's episode of the mismatch, I wanted to tell you about one of my favorite shows on our network. The Ringer Fantasy Football Show with Danny Hypitz, Danny Kelly, and Craig Horbeck. There are fantasy football experts at the ringer.com, and they're guiding their listeners through every single fantasy football season. I had a lineup question for them about Josh Jacobs recently. They were able to answer that for me. I still lost. Very disappointing. But their help is very much appreciated. And you can find the Ringer Fantasy Football Show every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. So you too can get assistance with your fantasy football season.

Welcome to the mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon and joining me. He does every Tuesday from the ring of dot com is Kevin O'Connor, aka Kevin O'Connor, A.K.K.A. Kevin O'Colmourke, Kevin O'Colm, A.K.K.A. Kevin O'Connyl conflict. Kev-O. Bruno! It's Tuesday. We got basketball games, baby.

We do have basketball games. And as some of our listeners alerted us yesterday, it is almost exactly the five-year anniversary of the mismatch. We have made it five years together. More than many marriages in America make it today. A lot of them. What's the average divorce rate? I don't know.

50%? Is that a true stat? I don't know. Look, I haven't looked at the numbers in a long time. I just know that five years is a hell of an accomplishment. I will tell you this. I want to know what the podcast divorce. rate is. How many

pairings make it five years? Not that many. You have to be highly successful to make it this far. And hopefully our massive bonuses from Spotify

kick in now that we have gotten to five years. Yeah, a five year bonus. Yeah, you made it. We will for sure be able to have some overreactions to the preseason. I have written down many of those possible preseason overreactions, and I will get your take on whether those are utterly ridiculous or they might not be

overreactions at all. Let me just say this ahead of time, Chris, no matter what you're going to say about Mo Bamba, it's not an overreaction. We can resume now. Oh, well, I think I might have framed this so that even you look, I knew what was coming my way with Mo Bomba today. You're setting me up. You're setting me up.

I knew what was coming with MoBamba today. And I think I have set it up to where not even you can agree with my overreaction. But we will see. All right. But we've got a little bit of a change in plans because right as we were about to press record on this podcast, we got a blessing. NBA.com release their GM survey.

So people, as you are hearing this, I have made sure that Kevin has not looked at this at all. I clicked on it. I clicked on it and I said, you never know with the way the world is now, with all these nerds getting jobs,

Kevin O'Connor may be a GM one day. It's possible. It's possible. Can you imagine, imagine like, 20 years from now, there's a, like a son of an owner who grew up listening to the mismatch. That's right. He's like, I want the guy.

That's right. I want the guy that had Killian Hayes number one. And the other guy that loved Marvin Bagley. Is there any way to get us? It's like, you guys are both running the team. Is there a president of basketball? No, you got both. Same title.

You're sharing every decision. Can we get them both? All right. He just wants us around the office to argue about what we're going to do. That's all. He wants to know. By the way, that's a free content idea for one of 30 franchises or any of the two expansions of the coming decades. It's a free content idea. Hire us to run your team and do a podcast every Tuesday and Friday. We will sit in your war room and let all of your basketball people listen and then you will know exactly who not to take in the draft. Therefore, you have got an upper leg on everyone, right? Because if you hear us arguing about it, if you hear us going to the wall, you say, eh, you know what, maybe we should go another direction.

And it becomes proprietary, right? Like now the whole world for five years has been blessed with our knowledge. It would only be you. Kind of like, you know, how the Clippers hired Lee Jenkins. Now everybody doesn't get to know what Lee. Jenkins thinks. Only the clippers get to know what he thinks. Exactly. So if you want to know what we think.

All right. The GM survey. By the way, one quick thing on Killian Hayes before the GM survey, Rodney McGrooter said yesterday through James Edwards, the third, great pistons rider, that Killian Hayes has been aggressive and quote, big time

to start training camp. He's been highly, highly aggressive. Just to point that out that I look forward to watching Killing Hayes this week. In the words of Draymond Green. I'm a believer.

Who is Rodney McGruder? Rodney. Rodney McGruder? Remember with Draymond? Yeah, I do. I do. I'm rocking with Juan T. That's what he said.

Yeah. He said, I'm rocking with one T. All right. That was great last season. Here we go. Kevin O. General Manager. Just saying, though. Just saying, I'm a believer in Killian Hayes still.

Kevin O. General Manager? Big time. big time. We are going to put you on the clock as a general manager. All right. If you were starting a franchise today, it could sign any player in the NBA,

who would it be? Luca or Janus, I think I'd lean towards Janus because of the two-time MVP, proven aspects, one of finals aspects. But if you're projecting five, 10 years into the down the line. Maybe you're leaning Luca,

maybe, but it's really close. You probably want the guy right now today that you feel like has done it. The number one pick by the GMs. It is. In fact, they were tied for first last year. Yeah, that's really close. This year, Luca Donch, it's 43%. Yannis, 40%.

Okay, so super close between those two. That's right. I mean, I think, I think, is there, is there more dominant perimeter talent? it today. So like you could, if you took Janus first instead of Luca, you could still find some elite talent on the perimeter, some shot creation. But are you finding another guy that can do what Janus does if you're building a franchise? Maybe I'm overthinking this question and it's clearly Luca who has MVP's in his future. I don't think it is clearly Luca. I wouldn't say it's clearly

either. I think that vote is fair. 40% last year or something. What was it last year for them to be tied? Neither of those are goofy answers. Of course. Which player forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments? I mean, the obvious names are LeBron, Steph. Steph is number one. Okay, Steph's number one? Yeah, that's, I mean, look, it's who you think it is.

Nobody like them. Nobody like them. That's right. Steph Durant, LeBron. That's one, two, and three. Okay. Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2021.

Darius Garland. Ah. Jah. It's probably some of the second year players. Probably your guy, Terrence, man. The number one answer. MPJ without Jamal Murray. Who's number one?

Jaron Jackson, Jr., Memphis. Are you serious? Yes. Really? Number one. According to the general managers in the league. Well, you know this. Jared Jackson.

People love. What percent vote? 17%. Second was Anthony Edwards. Third was Michael Porter, Jr. People love Jared Jackson, Jr. coming out of that draft. And when he has played, he has been generally fantastic

outside of when he came back last year post-entry and tried to fit in down the stretch. But his first couple of seasons, he certainly looked on the way to becoming a great player in the NBA. So it means five of third. 30 GMs answered with Sharon Jackson of all the players. And Garland and Kelden Johnson also are on there.

Okay. Kevin Porter Jr. on there. That's interesting. I'm not going to go through some of the easy ones. Best point guard. Steph Curry, best shooting guard, James Hardin, best small forward, Kevin Durant, best power forward, Janis,

best center, Yokic. I was kind of surprised. What was the vote for Yokish? That's the one that surprised me. Yokits got 63% of the vote. Embed got 23. Huh. 63.

That's more than I expected. Me too. Yeah. 63 to 23. The team that made the best overall moves in the off season, and this was, I mean, the vote, I will tell you, the number one team is 47%, and number two is 17%. So who would have had almost half the vote? like it wouldn't be they wouldn't have given it to Chicago or the Lakers they wouldn't have given it they wouldn't have given it to the wizard so it's hard to remember this heat because

Lowry yes just because it happened right away at the very beginning of free agency you know so that one kind of it got lost because of half you have 47 percent I mean I wouldn't say they're like the overwhelming clear best off season but I mean I get that being number one but half that's a lot I really like what some other teams did. Second was the Lakers. How about that? All right. Best player.

It's fair. They had a good. I think the Lakers had a really good offseason. Best player acquisition to make the- Well, it's got to be Lowery, because if they were number one. Which one player acquisition will make the biggest impact? 77% Kyle Laueri. Seriously.

So GMs that are all over Lurie, yeah. And then second place, and that was 17% Westbrook. interesting. Who else received votes for the one player acquisition? Spencer Dinwiddie. Jonas Valentunis. Those were the two. Spencer Dinwiddie and Washington.

Jonas Valentuanian, David Griffin vote? I don't think you can vote for your own moves. Are you serious? Who voted for Jonas Valentunus? I don't know. People that think he's underrated like I do. The most underrated player acquisition.

Oh, you're going to love this. almost under it. So wait, Jonas Valchunis is in the all player acquisitions, not the most underrated player acquisition category. No,

he is the biggest impact acquisition. I don't know, man. Yeah, Griff's showing us cards. What is the most underrated player acquisition?

You're going to love this. Patty Mills is probably up there. Dinwiddie. Those are two and three. Two and three. Oh. Oh. Is it,

is it, Is it my guy? Oh, is it? Oh, is it your guy? It's Larry Niz. Number one. Yeah, baby. Let's go.

These GMs know what they're talking about. They're the most brilliant people in the world, Chris Vernon. 28%. All right? Which team will be the most improved? Warriors. They are second with 13% of the vote. Number one is actually a team that you did mention earlier.

regarding the off season. Pelot, no, Bulls. Bulls. Because, 27%. Because they're the type of team where people acknowledge they're definitely

going to be better, but they don't acknowledge that what they did will actually result in them being a good team. Like, there's a lot of skeptics of the Bulls. I'm not one of them.

I like what the Bulls. Everybody will be able to see all of these answers on a MBA.com. We are not going to go through every single question. I'm going to ask the most important ones now. The GM said,

who will win rookie of the year. Cade. They said Jalen. Green. They said Jaylen Hayes are going to be cutting into Cade Cunningham's touches. That's why.

Jalen Green, number one, 47%. Cade Cunningham 2 at 40%. Jalen Suggs 3 at 7%. Okay. And then two other guys got votes. Davian Mitchell got a vote.

And Alperin Schengue. Wow. Shet Shet goon. Yes. Wow, that's interesting he got a man. Here's a fascinating one

because this was the answer. The Sun J.M.'s not take this seriously. Well, I will tell you that this particular question that I'm about to ask next, this can play into the

one we asked before about the breakout season because Jaron Jackson Jr. was the answer to this question, I recall years ago, which was which rookie will be the best player in five years. And a lot of people had Jaron Jackson very highly in that.

And so now they're just kind of believing what they believed once upon a time, which was it's going to take a couple of years. But when you look up in a couple of years, this guy's going to be great. Who do you think it is with this class? The rookie that will be the best player in five years? I mean, I'd still say Kate again, but since he wasn't the winner for rookie of the year, probably Jalen Green.

So Cunningham is second and green is third. Mobley, I guess. Mobley could be one. He's number one. Okay. So I think. What's the vote breakdown for that? 33% from Mobley.

So it's third. And then 30% for Cade. So close. Yeah, it was close. Look, one of the things, that has been very common with this, and I think is fair, is that last year, when they did this, the vote went to James Wiseman. And this year, it goes to another guy that's a big guy.

And we just talked about Jared Jackson Jr. And I do think that the perimeter players in the NBA are developing at a much faster rate with the ball in their hands. And that now for big guys, it used to be big. Big guys could go in and they could do what they do, like immediately in the NBA. And now, because of the switching, because of the defensive assignments, because of what is asked of big guys, I do think what we're seeing is that it takes a little bit longer that guys don't truly come into their own maybe for four or five years in some cases,

right, that we're really getting to see, or maybe even three, right? We saw the best of DeAndre Aiton last year. He was a much different player last year than he was before. Clearly, Janus's development took a little while. If you went up and looked three years into Janice's career, you probably weren't finding a lot of people that believed Janice Jansad de Kumpo is going to have 50 points in an elimination finals game. You know what I mean?

And so with some of the big guys, I think people are giving that more time to develop, that they will grow into their body, even Yokic. You know what I mean? Like, he was the MVP of the league this past year. Well, that wasn't, we weren't exactly talking, it's not a guy in his rookie contract, right? Like, he had a lot of, he had a lot of games under his belt

before he developed into that type of player. And development is always different. for every other player, but I do think that this is a sign that people think that you've got to give some of these bigger guys more time and that when you do, they will develop into something extremely special, but it's going to take a little more time than maybe some of the Trey Young, Lukadontich, John Morant, Lamarant, name the guy that gets to come into the league with the ball in his hands as a perimeter player. So it's fascinating.

The rookie that was the biggest steal at where he was selected in the draft. And so Shengung got a vote earlier. Shengung got 20% of this vote. He was second. And the first one is impossible to get because I think it's kind of unfair. It was Suggs. Oh, Sugs at five. I mean, you had five.

there's only four guys failed up it's long as you fell to eight top five should be exempt unless like you're projected number one that's right best defensive player who won last year for that

because doesn't I list like recent years yes last year it was Tyrese Halliburton oh so they got that right last year for sure yep the best defensive player of the NBA according to general managers

they're not going to give it to go bare they're not going to give it to Ben Simmons. Janus then? Janice. By a wide margin. How about Perimeter Defender? Ben Simmons?

He was second. They're not going to give it to the Simmons. Simmons would be like versatility category. He was second though. I mean, then it's got to be Drew Holiday. Drew Holiday. Okay.

It was Drew Holiday. Versatile defender they gave to Janice and Simmons, of course. Best head coach in the NBA. according to general managers. And this was 55% of the vote. Okay. The percent helps me. It's got to be spolstered that because he was last years, I think.

He was. He was. Multiple years in a row now. He was. Popovich doesn't get the same love around the league that he used to. No. So he might not. Was Pop even in the top five?

He was number four. Okay. So the top five were. That's fair. Spolstra, Monty Williams, Quinn Snyder, Popovich, Bootenholzer. By the way. A little surprise they put Boonholtzer in the top five. Not saying they shouldn't, but it's just a little surprise.

Well, and we know the Spolster story of starting off in the video room. He's been heat culture his whole life. Those other four are in some way connected to Popovich. Monty Williams, Quinn Snyder, Greg Popovich, Mike Booneholzer. So, you know, that's crazy. You do have to give him credit for that. Certainly, he has had a massive impact on coaches throughout the NBA. One more, and the guy won it last year.

He won again, the active player that will make the best head coach one day. Chris Paul. Chris Paul. And number two, Rhonda. Rondo's going to be up there. other than that, I'm not sure who you would say. Like, Chris Paul and Rhonda are the only two that I would even think to answer with. One of the things that I thought was fascinating in reading that was I was talking to somebody a few weeks ago after the Manning broadcast was on for Monday Night Football.

That was terrific. And, you know, they should just do less guests, just the Manning brothers. Well, and one of the things, as you're watching that, you are listening, you're listening to Peyton Manning talk through the game and you realize that you are becoming privy to this individual that thinks about the game he is watching as if he is in the game and he is able to explain that to a viewer at home in, I think, you know, rather simple terms, which is the brink. The brilliance of broadcasting, right? And I was talking to somebody a few weeks ago, and I was saying, now, Chris Paul may become a coach. And I said, if there is an NBA player that could do this one day, it would be Paul. Because as someone who has covered, Lord knows how many Chris Paul basketball games and watched him up close and personal, he is the one guy that I think is Manning-esque in terms of, the way he thinks about everything that is going on in the game, right?

That he is thinking about things in a way that the other nine players on the court are not. He knows how many fouls you have, even if you don't know, how many fouls you have. He knows how to get into the bonus with eight minutes left in the quarter because he looks up and he sees it's time. you know, if we can get one foul. And so he will go and he will, you know, do an exaggerated dribble towards somebody like he got fouled. Or he will go to the basket and get a foul on the guy that's got three fouls that the coach hasn't been able to take out yet.

Like he, you can watch him in a basketball game, and he is thinking about all of the details of the basketball game in a way that I feel like other guys aren't. And you can see him also coaching his other. players on the field. And that's the sense you got when you watched Manning play. And it's certainly the sense you get when you're watching a broadcast. I think Paul could absolutely pull that off and be brilliant doing it, making you think about what's taking place in a basketball game and explaining you know, whose fault that was or what they're trying to do here in a way that I think fans would eat up. I hope we get to see that one day because I think he could pull that off.

Yeah, I mean, I mean, and whether he goes broadcasting route or coaching row, who knows. But I think one of the things that makes the Manning Brothers work is they're funny in their team chemistry. I mean, those guys just got chemistry on the broadcast together. And they're funny, especially Peyton. So, I mean, like if Chris Paul has got a funny bone in them that we don't know about that would help or pairing him with a player who is intelligent that also is funny, that could work then for an NBA style. because I feel like with players only failing the way it did, people got turned off. But the concept itself is very, very smart and has an immense potential. We're seeing why with the Manning Brothers broadcast.

Like I missed not having it for last night's game. It would have been nice to have that option. Granted, that wasn't a game that tune into and stay watching. But yeah, the Manning brothers are great. And I hope the NBA can find something like that. Chris Paul, Rondo, whoever might be in the future. Last thing, because I do just want to mention. because I think it's fascinating not only to us as fans,

but to the listeners out there, for general managers, their choice as to what rule needs to change, most needs to change. I was a little fascinated by this, and I agree with it, that take or transition fouls. You know,

that is something that I think is probably highlighted because we got to watch international basketball again this offseason, and there are certain things. in international basketball that people really enjoyed. There was a lack of calls as compared to the NBA. There were not a lot of the calls. There was an adjustment that had to be made by some of the NBA superstars in

international play. But the whole transition fouls or taking fouls when it's about to be a breakaway, that was one that you don't see when it comes to international play that you do see in the NBA. And I think that that's probably what led that to be on top of mind for so many GMs when they were filling this out. Was the in-season tournament on there? The end-season tournament was not on there.

The other ones that got voted were additional coaches challenges that you get to keep it if it's successful, free agency before the draft. A lot of people feel that way, yeah. schedule seating the playoffs 1 through 16 and the Ilam ending. Elam ending was ahead of in-season tournament. Very interesting. Yep. And so those were those were some of the ones.

Now, in-season tournament did also get a vote. I mean, there were other things that received votes. Oh, yeah. That received votes. Just not like multiple votes, I see. Right.

But yeah, that is, that's some of the GM survey that took place. look, if that's the gauge, if that was the test, you had to get through to be a GM? Kevin, I think he, I mean, I think you're pretty much a GM now. You were on it. Thank you. Who's the only one that's going to hire me?

I'll even accept being the King's GM. Probably Tilma for Tina. He knows you love Shenig. I could live in Houston. I could live in Houston. Yeah, I could live in Houston. Okay. Well, turn up.

It's a rebuild, right? You're not going to get blamed for anything for a while. Yeah, I got time. You got time. That's what you need, time. All right. All right. The preseason has begun, Kevin.

We saw games over the weekend. Maybe a finals preview between the Nets and the Lakers, even though I don't think that's what the Nets Lakers would look like if they got to the finals. I don't think it would be a starting lineup of Kendrick Nunn and Taylin, Horton Tucker. Camp Thomas is looking pretty freaking good, dude. Camp Thomas making the most of his opportunity, making the most of his opportunity once again. Okay. So it is time for preseason overreactions.

I am going to give you a statement you can decide whether this is ridiculous or whether it might just happen. You ready? I'm ready. I'm in the hot seat here today, Chris. Mo Bamba will supplant Michael Jordan as the greatest player of all time. That's a factually incorrect statement anyway. I mean, it's ridiculous. James, who's the greatest player of all time.

Oh, give me a break. So, yes, we are on that path. So you think it'll be one, two, three in your mind. It will be James Bomba Jordan. I mean, Mo Obama is at least going to surpass the great Bill Russell this season, moving into the top three. But, but this is a legitimate, legitimate statement. Here's the legitimate statement. This is the year that you become right about MoBomba.

Yeah. I think it is. I really do. I genuinely, I have like over the years, like people sometimes say, oh, it's just a bit. No, it's not a bit. I actually, if I don't believe in a player, I'll dump. them i'll dump them like it's nothing if i'm wrong i'm wrong i have no fear in being wrong with bomba i've always still been a believer i really i really have been and i'm still a believer today

i think you said it earlier chris you said it with bigs and this is why i still have believed in bomba this is why you still believe in bagley with a lot of these bigs it just takes time situation opportunity for their bodies to grow for them to understand the intricacies of how to play defense, how to defend without falling, whatever the case is, how to read the floor on offense. For every big, it's different. For Bomba, it's all of those things and consistent opportunity. This is only going to be his fourth season. He's still on his rookie contract. He's still only 23 years old, a guy who came into the league very, very raw out of Texas. Maybe now this is the year in which he's getting that consistent opportunity and starts producing because

we've seen flashes over the years. I really do believe we're going to see a new and improved Mo Obama this year and it's going to change perception of him around the league from bust to actually a guy that can contribute and make an impact on both ends of the floor. I'm a believer, Chris. I'm a believer. Mo Obama's back. The bomb believers

unite. We're back, baby. He was very good. He was very good against Boston last night in the preseason. He was. Did it all. Did it all. Also very good was Jalen Brown. Oh, yeah, terrific.

Tatum and Brown will be enough for the Celtics to be a contender. You buy that? That's a complicated question. They don't really have the third wheel. You know what I'm saying? Like the third, like, you know, obviously they tried the Hayward thing before that. They had the Kyrie thing. They had Kemba up until this year.

You know, there's really not that third guy for Boston. a collection of other guys. But that Tatum and Brown is enough. I mean, I think for Star Power, I mean, you can do it with two instead of three, but they definitely need like other guys to contribute at a high level, like whether it's Schroeder or Josh Richardson getting back to the, the former Miami version of himself or, you know, Marcus Smart having a consistent ear in that back court. They do need other guys. Those two aren't enough, but I think they're enough for the star category. They just need others to really step up to.

You think they can be a contender? I really do think this Celtics team is underrated. I do believe that. Do you think that they could be a top four in the east? Yeah. Yeah, I can see that. No doubt. I mean, because you would say Philly, Milwaukee, and Miami.

I'm not sure you'd say Philly right now. Oh, really? I mean, there's just in such a funky position. Without Ben Simmons there, it's hard to say what exactly they will be. Yeah. I mean,

they did have the best record in the conference last year. So I suppose, I suppose they could fall off. Do you think that Boston should be regarded as a better team than Atlanta? Yes. And Easter conference finalist. Yeah. Last year.

You did. I mean, look, like Miami, Atlanta. in New York were the three teams ahead of them last year. Boston was seventh. I don't see them seventh this year. I definitely could see them finishing top four. They got a great roster, man. The problem last season was chemistry.

The team just was sour last year. This year, if things are different, which all indications out of training camp there, they seem to be. They've made some changes to their system under Udocha. We'll see how things develop, but I really like the Celtics team on. paper. I will say this. I flipped that game on and watched for a little while last night. That Orlando team's going to be a fun league pass team too.

Just the collection of guys that they have because Suggs is a fun watch. Cole Anthony can do some exciting things. They've got, of course, Jonathan Isaac who wasn't playing in that game last night, Wendell Carter. They've got a bunch of guys like they don't have Markhill Fultz back yet. They have some guys I liked coming out of the draft. I still am a Chumoh Kiki believer. Like they just got some random guys on there that I think that they're going to be they, I could see them pulling off

some, I get a little Oklahoma City vibes in the sense that teams are going to screw around with them. You know, like it's an off night and they'll catch some teams. That's what I think. Could very well happen with that Orlando team. because they are not without talent.

They do have some talent on that team. Obviously, they're in the middle of a rebuild right now, but I think they'll be kind of a fun league pass watch. That was the sense I got last night checking them out. Another last year. That magic team is going to be fun. No doubt about it. I think both of these teams,

whether the Celtics are the fourth seed or whether they're the sixth or seventh, I think the Celtics team's really good. going to be fun too they have a they have a lot of you know really entertaining players and sometimes like if you're throwing on league pass what more can you ask for one one last quick note on the selfics chris i thought the quote out of boston last night that stuck out to me was jalen brown saying i'm all focused on defense because with him the one flaw with him on defense was his off ball focus he'll backdoor cutters he'd lose track of guys fall out of position that's his one flaw in defense

if we're seeing this from a lot of guys. Bradley Beal with the wizard said he wants to be all defensive team. All guys are always talking about what they want to be on defense. They don't always do it. But if some of these players, you know, on an individual basis do step up, that changes what the whole collective can be for those respected teams. So it's something to monitor. It's something to monitor.

We got to pause a little bit though. Look, if you want to sell me on Tatum and Brown are worth the price of admission, you can. But don't sell me on how many fun guys they have to watch on that team. What? What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Different strokes for different folks, Chris.

Dennis Schrooter, Al Horford. We've seen, I've seen Marcus Smart for over a decade. Robert, Robert Williams is a really fun player. I love watching Marcus Smart play defense. What? Peyton Pritchard's a fun little small guy that comes off the bench, gets buckets. they have a bunch of fun players, dude. They was Jabari Parker.

Sometimes you might get to watch Jabari for seven, eight minutes and get to think about what could have been. I draw the line with they've got a bunch of fun players. Come on now. I like the Celtics roster. I know you. I know you do. I'm a fan of this roster.

I really am. All right. Last year, everybody's league best team became the Hornet. Oh, Terry. James Booknight. You know, we always look for these rookies and the rookies that have some good preseason games that have either become meaningful later down the road because they showed that maybe this player is pretty good

or they become meaningless because we say, yeah, remember when he had the big game in preseason? Yeah, they didn't stick when it got to the regular season. But James Booknight was good and he did score. And there were a lot of people when he came out of the draft that thought he could score. Now, unfortunately for James, the most popular highlight of James coming out of Summer League was him getting the handcuffs put on him by Davian Mitchell. But James Booknight is the rookie that will be much better than he looked in Summer League. Yeah, I think that's fair. Really?

Totally. Yeah. I think that's fair. Let me tell you who's not. Franz Wagner. Oh. It continued. It continued.

He does not look the part. I get, I get, boy, I'm, I'm not with it. I am not with it, Kevin. So you like the Suggs pick, but not the Wagner pick. That's right. I like, I love Suggs. I love Sugs. I think Suggs is going to be a very special player in the NBA.

Wagner, I have not seen it yet. It was rough in Summer League when I watched him and rough again. in this preseason debut. But Book Knight, let's get back to him. You buy that. You think it actually could be him. You remember once upon a time, Tray Young's super. Trey Young really struggled in Summer League, right?

We all came out of Summer League like, oh, boy, did Atlanta screw this up? I mean, look, look, you're not asking me if Book Knight's going to supplant Magic Johnson and John Stockton is an all-time great point cards, like you did with Mobile. I'm not going to go that far, Chris. I think they need him to supplant Malik Monk. Yeah, that'd be a victory. That'd be a victory. Because, now this is where the real professional that I am comes into play.

Malik Monk, not the biggest name, but will be the most important of the Lakers' free agent acquisitions. You buy that. I think, I think Hendrick Nunn will be. I think none will be over Monk. And that's because of the playmaking, ball handling presence that he is compared to Monk. Monk is more the shooter who comes in, Flamethrower for you, but doesn't really defend a lot. I think none, none is the guy that we're going to look at after this coming season with the Lakers and think, damn, like how the hell that the NBA let the Lakers get Kendrick Nunn? I think it'll be him as the most important.

That's interesting. You know, and look, we're not throwing in Westbrook in this. He was a trade acquisition. Yes, we're talking about guys that they attained. Monk, the reason I think it could be, honestly, is because I could see him in big games doing the KCP thing on offense, which is I'm the guy that you're not paying attention to. And one night I knocked down seven threes. I could see that happening because he is a bucket when he gets going.

Oh yeah. He really is. Totally is. And he will be, when he's out there, now he has to hold his own defensively, clearly, on a team like that. But when he's out there, he is that other guy that you're not paying as much attention to.

You get to play that Joe Harris type role, you know, when everybody is healthy. Yeah. Kevin the Spurs did it again with Josh Primo. Everybody thought that was crazy.

Everybody thought that was crazy when they took Josh Primo where they did. But Josh Primo was going off for San Antonio. Again, it's preseason. I saw this tweet

come along my timeline last night, Chris. If you want, want dribbling, look at Kyrie. If you want shooting, look at Curry. If you want finishing, look at Janus. If you want midrange, look at CP3. If you want defense, look at Kauai. If you want all of that, look at Josh Primo. I saw that on my timeline. I got retweeted last I from at AGLR underscore 23. And it just made me smile. It did because this is a classic summer league game one overreaction but with that said chris one of the youngest players in the league

already looks dramatically better than he did at the end of the college season and the spurs were drafting a guy that even they were saying yeah we're drafting him a year ahead of where we think he would be improved and become a lottery pick because he's so young and because he's so raw as a player but he's already looking like he's figuring things out i mean he's already looking a guy like they can contribute. Well, I know. The problem is we're not going to get to watch him play for three years. This is, if you want to watch Josh Primo, watch him now,

Popovich putting him on the court, what is the maximum amount of minutes Josh Primo could get per game on an uninjured Spurs roster? It's low. Maybe he will play with Austin a lot. Another reason to go to Austin. So who knows? He could play.

He could play a lot with the Austin Spurs and a little bit with the San Antonio Spurs. but we'll see. I think he'll get some minutes over the course of the year. Yeah, all right. You know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of moths to feed

in the back court. Yes. They have a lot of guards and wings. They're not necessarily a playoff team, but they just have a lot of talent on the roster. Just enjoyed the Primo show in the preseason. Just like we got to enjoy the Taylin Horton Tucker show last year, but he looked really good,

really good. We didn't see a ton of Taylan Horton minutes last year, right? We watched them go crazy. in the preseason. And then when it got to the season, we didn't see him as much as maybe some preseason performances would have indicated we would see him later down the road. All right.

Another guy that I recall on a draft night shocked everybody by being chosen where he was, was Jordan Poole. The Warriors X factor this season is Jordan Poole, who went crazy doing a close. Thompson impression the other night for the Golden State Warriors in their preseason game. Didn't I mentioned to you last week, Chris and what we're looking forward to. Did I say something about Jordan Poole? We talked about him recently. I forget when it was, but I said at some point to you, I look forward to seeing if Jordan

Poole could continue doing what he did to close last season. Game one against the Blazers in the preseason, the answer is yes. he looked outstanding doing like you said that Clay Thompson impression he can do a little bit more off the dribble than he was even able to show. But like this guy, things began to click in the second half of last season. Whether this continues with Golden State throughout the year or not remains to be seen. But this is an amazing start for them, dude. Like if you get this Jordan pool, if he's able to really pop as the, what was it, 28th, 29th pick in the draft a couple of years ago, they need one of their young guys, whether it's a top pick like James Wiseman, another

lottery guy like Camingo or late first like Jordan Poole, they need one of these guys to pop to help be that sustainable winner as their ownership and front office has long talked about. It's looking like it could be Jordan Poole. It looks awesome. People can go back and look up this game, but it had happened in Memphis last year. I watched Jordan Poole destroy the Grizzlies. like, I mean, it was a Clay Thompson impression,

which strangely enough, we have referenced Clay a couple of times. You know who Jordan Poole spent the whole summer working out with? Clay Thompson. Clay Thompson. Do you see they took 69 threes last night? Nice. Nice.

Jordan Poole has got something. He really does. You remember when we were talking about how, you know, they didn't want to give up Jordan Poole if they did a Brad Beal deal or something. Remember that whole thing? That was like a while back and everybody was kind of scoffing at that. There are some

people that are big believers in Poole. And you never know. Maybe the guy ends up being a big timer. You know who else was a big timer in the preseason so far, Kevin? We'll be killing. Hayes. Ended a quarter with 14 straight points.

Oh yeah. Hero Island has got some visitors with me. Hey, Chris, you called it. He called it. We are filling up. Here. You called this. Look, you said, you said all his cards is top shots. Get them. Discount prices. Buy now. You said it's a couple weeks ago. A couple weeks ago. For any for any collectors, you know, I guess it's not too late. No, but 26 points in his first preseason game and looking like every bit his dynamic as people would have hoped he would have looked last year after the bubble playoffs.

Lowry could really help him too. Lowry could help him. Oh yeah, totally. Lowry, I mean, it's understandable why he led the GM survey and, you know, the best acquisition and why the heat were number one.

And by the way, they did more than just Lowry. Like we mentioned Lowry. They got PJ Tucker. That's right. They got good depth on their roster that they did do more than just him. A few more. The Kings.

I thought it was fascinating to see who they started. They started Fox and Halliburton, and then they had Davy on Mitchell and healed coming off the bench. The best back court pairing for Sacramento is Fox and Halliburton. Yeah, that's fair. You buy that. Yeah, I think so. Bringing Mitchell off the bench is the third guard makes total sense to me.

What about Buddy? They're never going to move him, aren't they? I mean, buddy's kind of the fourth wheel here. How do you, how do you, how do you, how do you keep him after so publicly, you know, like he showed his frustration with coach and franchise over the last couple of years. And then it's well documented. Kyle Kuzma had his bags packed to go to Sacramento until the 11th hour. And so I think that's very hard. There's a, I think it's very hard when a player knows you wanted to move him. You wanted to move him.

And then just bring him back and, you know, just be professional. Everything's going to be fine. You know, we watch it play out in the worst way, clearly with what's happening in Philadelphia. But I do think it has a, it can have a very, very poor effect on players when they know. you were trying to get rid of them. That's how they think about it, right? You were trying to make a trade, and that's the business of basketball. But in your mind, when you've got an ego, they wanted to get rid of me.

They'd rather have Kyle Kuzma here. They'd rather have, Can Davies-Colwell? You know what I'm saying? Like, that's what you're thinking. And so I'm kind of surprised. Don't you think that that's eventually going to end up where Buddy healed somewhere else? Yeah. I'd bet on that.

Especially if they're bringing them off the best. he's going to be super mad. Oh, totally. It's just a matter of when. I mean, he's making over $20 million. So finding the right salaries that can match, getting the right pieces back, I'd expect the buddy he'll deal at some point.

He's more valuable to other teams than he is to the Kings right now. For every reason he just stated. Bowl, Bo. There's another big guy that we have not seen that much of yet. But he is the one player in the league that we want to see play. more this upcoming season. I'm going to say.

I mean, that's a tough question off the top of my head. But I mean, I certainly would want to see. He'd be on my list of guys I want to see play more. Yeah. Talk about fun factor. Name somebody more fun than Bowl Bowl to watch play basketball that's not a star. Taco? Bobon.

Taco Fall. Yeah. Like I think Bo Bo Bo, but he's better than those guys. I think Bo Bo Bo Bo, is as fun as it gets. Seriously. I mean, he's a good time. He shoots three.

That tall and not lanky. He shoots trees. He shoots threes. I think he had five blocks. I mean, unfortunately, he had a bunch of turnovers. We have five blocks in the game. Like, he's doing

something when he's in the game. You will notice him and he will impact what is happening on the court. We have not gotten to see much of him at all. The development. I love to see more bowl. I need Bobo in my life.

I want to watch. I don't want to like, this is just I get to watch him play in the preseason for Denver. I want bowl bowl regular season minutes. Come on, Mike Malone. Come on. You want, they gave the money to Michael Porter Jr.

Now you want them to bubble wrap MPJ, sit on the sideline and give all of Porter Jr.'s minutes to bowl bowl. That's the move here. for Denver. I don't need all of his minutes. I'm just saying. Some of them. Yeah.

Some of them. Like, let me get, let me get some bowl, minutes. And Yokic can give up some minutes too, right? Is that where you're suggesting? Yokch, move over a little bit.

Take a rest. Chill out. Why don't you? Take a breather. You're a dad now. Relax. Well, I mean, bowl ball some time.

You don't need another MVP. I mean, let, let bowl eat, man. Yeah. Let him eat. That's all I'm saying. I'm tired of this.

I mean, he could pack on some more weight. Like, that'd be helpful. That's right. He is very lanky. He might actually need to eat. I was speaking in basketball terms, but he also may actually need to eat food. I think it does. You think he needs to eat food?

That's another reason why. That's another reason why bigs take long to develop. It's a hot take, Kevin. You think Bobo needs to eat food? I think he does. You know, I read these, I read these stories of players who say like, oh, you know, it's like Brandon Angerman. It's so hard for me to put on a weight like they'd do like 6,000 calories a day.

Oh, yeah. They can't gain a pound. What a tough life that must be. Oh. Yeah. I wish I could trade with you, buddy. The cross you bear. I wish.

Let's trade metabolism. I'll give you multiple first round draft. picks to trade metabolism. I ate a burrito this weekend to gain seven pounds. One burrito. It's possible. I mean, I bought a, I got a burrito on DoorDash. I forget the restaurant off the top of my head.

It's a place I had never ordered from before. And it arrived and it was like, it's just like a weight. I know. These burrito places are not screwing around anymore. Like, I could have got a workout with it. Like, it was such a huge burrito. Great. All right.

last one overreaction. The Clippers made a big mistake in bringing back Eric Bledsoe. So let me ask. Why are you asking this question? I didn't see anything from that game last night. I was writing at that point. Okay, because he played. Oh, because he played.

Well, no. You look up and down their roster. That Denver Clippers game, I didn't see a thing. Hold on. You look up and down their roster? He didn't play a ton. He is going to play. This is what you know.

When you acquire Eric Pletso, and Tyloo is their coach, Eric Bloodsoe is going to get real minutes for that team. And I'm not so sure that Eric Blitzow makes you actively better in any way. No, I wouldn't say they made a mistake. It's a, it's a buy year for this team. These are the dangerous ones, though. These are the dangerous ones, though, Kevin.

It's the sneaky ones like that that when you attain a guy like that, it actually can end up hurting you more. That's what I will say. My opinion, because they end up the coach, whether it's a trust factor, they've been in the league for 10 years, they've been on some good teams before, you know, regardless of what they are in their current state, the coach will play them. He's not just going to not play the guy. Yeah, I feel that. So instead of getting like Brandon Boston minutes during the regular season, you're giving the minutes to Eric Bletsso, it's what you're saying. Yes.

Or whoever, or whoever may be. I had a conversation with an executive of the other day. And he brought up Brandon Boston to me. And like I said, I didn't see any of this game. I see Boston last night had 10 points, four rebounds, two assists in 20 minutes with five files as well, super raw, you know, young player, second round pick. But this executive brought up to me that he thinks Brandon Boston is like the steel of the second round.

And this is just one person. Wow. But they, they were disappointed that they, weren't able to get him and he went 50 first so i mean there are people who look at boston as somebody very underrated that the clippers landed so just just i'm just only bringing that up to say for a team this year that without kawai lander doesn't have real finals hopes the stuff to watch for to me with this team isn't the derrick blood so's of the world unless they're eating up minutes of some of the younger guys that could use that opportunity like a terence man like you're talking about

Chris, like even Luke Kinnard getting touches an opportunity to get into the offense or a Boston to see how somebody like him could develop for when Kauai Leder does return. Because, you know, the clippers, they gave up a lot to get the team that they have, but they're trying to add some youth on the back end of that roster. Let's see how it works out. Yeah, I did see last night that, and here's another one regarding my Terrence, man. I do worry about this a little bit, even though Ty Lou has been a few of him praise. you know, they acquired Justice Winslow.

And I will just say, for anyone out there, I went through the Winslow experience, as you know, last year. I not only Bomer, who of course sits on the front row, but I would say anybody in the first four rows of that stadium, I would encourage you to wear a helmet if he is going to be on the court. And just make sure you are watching the game at all times. You are such a dick. Because make sure that you are focused on the game at all times, you know, all of his minutes. Because I have seen many people where I thought massive head injury was possible after a wide open Justice Winslow shot went caraming into the stands. Before we get out of here, I do have to ask you about this. You should talk to the Grizzlies game broadcasting.

group for when Winslow comes back with the clippers, you guys have like ready to pass out hard hats to like people sitting courtside and like just have alerts pop up on the screen. That'd be really insulting to do that to a way player. But also I've kind of love to see some trash talk like that. That would be kind of fun. Can you imagine if teams started doing stuff like that? That'd be a good time. You know what? They wouldn't they wouldn't do it while I am going to get my jokes off. Everybody likes the guy as a guy. He's a good dude. He is. Yeah, he's a good dude. But my God. Shooting, not his forte. Like, I never seen a player. Like, I got real excited because, like, typically, like, you go out and even the guys in the NBA that you think can't shoot, right? You go out there and you watch, like, Tony Allen back in the day, warm up before the game.

Everybody, like, he is held up as the guy that you don't have to guard. He can't shoot, right? You go to a warm-ups. You watch these guys will hit 25 threes in a row when they're just. just screwing around. He's one of the only players I've ever seen like before the game. Just he might shoot 40% then before the game. I'm like, I'm like, bro, he never makes it. I still own a single share of Winslow stock. Oh, single share after after after. After last year. Oh my goodness. I had,

I had almost nearly my entire portfolio and justice Winslow back in 2015. So. Yeah. It didn't work out great for me, but I still owe one share. It just just as a memory. All right. And you never know. Before we get out of here, I want to get your thoughts on this. Phoenix Suns DeAndre Aiton negotiations on max rookie extension have stalled. Adrian Warnocki Annowski report. The Phoenix Sun's reluctance to offer a max rookie contract extension to DeAndre Aiton has stalled discussions on a deal.

A key part of the Sun's run to the 2021 finals has no intention of accepting a deal less then the comparable max contract signed by Trey Young, Luca Donchich, Sheigilded Alexander, and Michael Porter, Jr. He is eligible for a five-year, $172.5 million extension with escalators that could reach 207. So that is the Porter Jr. deal. A deal that many executives league-wide expected would be complete in short order this offseason. Of course, we only have until October 18. That is the deadline for rookie extensions. What do you think?

How much do you think Michael Porter, Jr. getting, granted, it's not fully guaranteed, but a partially guaranteed max deal. How much do you think that is influencing these talks? Because Michael Porter Jr. gets it. You could say maybe he's not worth it yet. You can also say DeAndre Aiton is not worth it yet for that type of money. I wonder how much of these negotiations are about the first. value of the max deal fully guaranteed versus some incentives and qualifiers that the Phoenix side

understandably might want to have in there. Because with Aiton, I can totally see the argument for not wanting to give him the full max deal right now, but I can't see the argument for not wanting to give it to him in the same spirit that Michael Porter Jr. got it. I think that's the market. that's the way players with his type of status and success are getting a deal so I just wonder like where's the compromise end up falling here

in terms of some of those incentives because they should they should find a deal and we are back to you know Robert Sarver then being in the spotlight and it says if Sun's owner Robert Sarver doesn't come

to an agreement with Aitn before the deadline it will certainly raise questions again about his commitment to constructing a sustainable contender in the Western Conference. He hasn't paid the luxury tax as an owner since 0-9-10, a full decade before the franchise returned to the playoffs. And it says

there were long questions about Sarver's decision to trade Joe Johnson instead of extending his contract, a move that many believe cost the sons of championship in the Nash-Stadamire era. Here's what I would say. At the 10 years after that, right?

until you end up getting back of the playoffs. And then you went to the finals. And this kid is coming into his own. I am not the biggest Aiton fan in the world. But I was having a discussion the other day with somebody because the Michael Porter Jr. deal got done. And they were talking to me about Jaron Jackson, who was also going to be up for one.

A contract extension is up for one. And they're negotiating as we speak, right, attempting to get that done long term. And I said, even with an Aiton or with a, Jared Jackson or whoever. You might have initially people go, oh, that's an overpay, right? And here's what I, here's what I have to say about this. What's the other option, Kev?

What's the other option? Trade them. Then what? How are you replacing that level of talent if you want to maintain being good? Exactly. You know what I'm saying? I'm sure. I'm sure that's what James Jones would be saying to Robert Sarver.

What are we going to do? You don't want to give him the money? We're going to trade this defensive stalwart who has gotten better every single season of his career and has shown signs of being able to do more on offense that might make him worth this max deal. He's worth a max for what we do. I'm sure that's what James Jones is saying.

I mean, I just look at it and I say, what are your options? How are you when you're in Phoenix, when you're in Memphis, when you are in these places like, okay, fine, don't sign them. Now what? you know now what how are you getting a player that can be that good i mean unless you bottom out again

you're not getting that guy in free agency in these in these places the one thing i'll say about the sons here though chris is the the financial aspect is a legitimate challenge it's not just a robert sarver thing with him being cheap which you know i think that's a little unfair with in this situation because they also have mckell bridges coming up he can be restricted in 2022 the following year they have cam johnson coming up they already have devon booker and chris paul getting paid 30 million dollars if you slap on eight into that you slap on bridges suddenly you're in a situation where you're keeping the whole group together which is wonderful but the goal is to win a championship and that really severely limits your flexibility with the types of moves that you can make so what options do you

have this is it's a tough spot it really is because you want to keep all these guys but you know What is McHill Bridges worth? Look, you also don't know, like, do you consult Booker and, and Paul on this? You got to, you got to. But they're saying we want to keep all these guys. But they might. Chris Paul got voted as the next coach, not GM. I know.

I'm aware. But, I mean, you would respect what they have to say. And you say, there's going to come a day where Chris Paul's gone. And is Booker Aiton good enough? You know what I'm saying? Is that what we want to build our core around? and are we good to build around that with bridges also involved when Chris Ball walks away? That's the question you have to answer, right?

Because that day is coming sooner than later. You think they get it done? Yeah, I do. I do too. I do too. Maybe it'll just be, maybe it'll just be like, you know, some of the non-guaranteed language like they had in the Michael Porter one. you know, make it more incentive. I think that's what we'll find.

Yeah, make it more incentive laden. He still gets a boatload of cash, but make it more incentive-laded with less guarantees that you're on the hook for going forward. All right. Preseason has begun. There will be a lot more things to overreact to. Thank you to our executive producer, Sasha Eshal, as always.

And Kevin, I will talk to you on Friday. Have a good week, everybody.