The Mismatch - The Wemby Debate, Zion's Revival, Houston’s Hopes, and LeBron’s Leverage

Episode Date: September 26, 2025

As we inch closer and closer to the regular season, Verno and Jacoby return with 10 questions about the upcoming season and more. (00:00) Welcome to the Mismatch!(02:24) Question 1: Is Victor Wembanyama the fifth-best player in the NBA?(10:34) Question 2: What are your thoughts on LeBron James potentially creating a rival basketball league to compete with the NBA?(18:13) Question 3: Is it time to believe in Zion Williamson again?(25:47) Question 4: How much does Fred VanVleet’s injury change the Rockets' expectations?(35:04) Question 5: What are your favorite teams that never made the Finals?(44:51) Question 6: What are your thoughts on Kyle Lowry joining Prime Video’s NBA coverage as an active player?(49:05) Question 7: Who is the most surprising free agent still available?(56:57) Question 8: Why has Pablo Torre gone quiet on Kawhi Leonard?(01:00:50) Question 9: Which non-All-Star acquisition will be most impactful?(01:05:36) Question 10: What have you been watching on TV? Leave us a message on our Mismatch voicemail line! [phone] Hosts: Chris Vernon and David JacobyProducer: Jessie LopezSocial: Keith Fujimoto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon and joining me as he does every week from the ringer.com is Dave Jacoby. Jacoby. An oddly interesting week of news in the NBA. It was. I mean, for like late September, it's oddly interesting. Well, we are, it's right around the corner. I am going to be covering a media day in Memphis on Monday. there are some teams that have already had their media days. And obviously by next week, there will be a slew of said media days.

And then training camp is going to get started. And then we're going to be in preseason games within the next two weeks. Verno, Nick's Twitter is already on fire. Nick's Twitter is already on fire. This Josh Hart Mitchell Robinson thing is already like, oh, like a real conversation in the group chat. Oh, yeah. And we saw J. Labrinson's comments.

on Tom Tibido that's made headlines everywhere. And there are other comments about Mike Brown already and his takeover of the New York Knicks. And so there is going to be a steady flow of news over the course of the next couple of weeks now as we head into media days, training camp, and preseason. But as we have been doing throughout this offseason, every once a while we will bring you 10 questions.

We will start today with the following. I'm going to start with the Wembe question. Why? So ESPN.com put up their list of the top 100 players in the NBA. There is a consensus top four. I think anybody that made a list would have SGA, Yokic, Janice, and Luca as the top four players in the NBA. Then the question always is, who is five, right? you putting Curry there, are you putting LeBron there, are you putting Anthony Edwards there?

You know, obviously it was a spot for Jason Tatum before he was injured, but obviously he's left off the list because he's going to be unavailable this season. But the ESPN.com panel chose Victor Wenbenyama as the fifth best player in the NBA. Too soon? I think it's important to acknowledge that this is not a, if you were to start a, if you were to start a franchise, who would you take for the future list? This is a next season who is the best player list, in which I would not have Wemby in that spot in any way, shape, or form.

Let's take health aside. He will be on this list at some point, but not for this year. this year, I want Anthony Edwards. We're taking Halliburton off the list, right? I want Anthony Edwards, I want Steph Curry. Like, do we forget

Steph Curry, Steph Curry? I'll take LeBron James over with me. To win games next season, I would take those three names over him. If you look at the Ringin 100, it's Yokic, SGA, Janus, Donchich, Steph, Ant, Man,

injured Donovan Mitchell, Shailen Brunton, Jason Tatum, and then Wembe. Wemby's like double digits. Right. If you look at the ESPN list, it's Yokic, SGA, Dantzich, Janice, Wembe,

Aunt Steph. I'm taking Aunt Steph. I mean, it's a look, it's a way to get clutch. It's a way to get the conversation. Yeah, talking about the question in sports media is ridiculous. But the question becomes, should you have to have had a winning record before you are, a top five player in the NBA. And I think most people would say yes.

Yes. Here's a better question. If I always do this, if I lined them all up on a wall, I don't know if Wemby makes it past five. Five? If we're choosing teams. If we're picking, like,

to win a game right now, I might want Kevin Durant over Wemby right now. For an 82 game season? No, no. to win a game. To win a game. Okay.

I think this is like, you know what? That's why I hate talking about lists. Because I feel like this is sort of like they make a, they put that person at five to make us discuss it. Here's just wrong. All right. Here's what I'm asking you. You would have put Curry five? You think Steph Curry is the fifth best player in the NBA right now?

It's not easy. It's hard. It's hard. It's not easy. card. There's no wrong answers here. Right. Like, I will forever be a,

are we talking about a season or a game? A season? I'm talking about I'm asking Dave Jacoby to bring the five best players in the NBA. You do not believe he is the fifth best player in the NBA right now. Until he proves me otherwise. He has by his team not advancing. He has. I'm a LeBron guy, man.

He's not. I'm just watching play for 20 years. I know. Best player. But he's like, prove me wrong. He's not the best player on his team. What got me. Here's where the conversation turned interesting for me in my own head as I was

prepping for this pod. Is KD and Brunson. I would probably take Wemby over Brunson because of defense. I would probably take Wemby over KD because of defense. Would you? I love Jaila Brunson I do But he's a defensive liability

I'm a next year I got it I got it We got a DPOY guy versus like the guy that you When the clock is ticking down That you isolate Look here's what I'll say

Is it totally possible That Victor Wimbaniama Is one of the top three players in the NBA This upcoming year? That is That's a real thing that could happen, right? Absolutely.

It is only, it has not been accomplished yet, right? Should you have had to have had a winning record? Should you have had to be in the playoffs before we vault you into a different category, right? Yes. So there's a lot of people, let's just liken it to the NFL. Right? This is the year of the Justin Herbert Ascent. So far, so far, right?

But people have always- It's week three, but sure. Bro, that throw he made this past weekend was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in my life when he is running to his left and throws that thing across his body to Keenan Allen. But the point is, people have always loved the talent. It appears as if this is going to be a year that that talent pays off in winning and losing and statistics, right? and Victor Weniama has not been a part of a winning team yet. And so that's why when he is certainly, when he is ranked ahead of a guy that was the best player on the team

that just went to back-to-back Western Conference finals as the best player on that team in Anthony Edwards, right? It's fair to say, this guy should have accomplished more before we vaulted him into one of the top five players in the NBA. but I also do get torn on where would I take him because he is an absolute freak of nature. Absolutely. Yeah, just the height.

What he did in Washington, remember that Washington game? He scored like 50 or whatever. It was just like insane. But Anthony Edwards, again, like last summer he was like, I'm going to shoot threes now. Right.

Like, let's not forget that. Like, he didn't really shoot threes like he did. A year ago today, he was like, I'm going to shoot threes now. And he ended up shooting like 40%, 41%, this is setting it up. Nine again. I will say this. And we have seen this happen before. This sets you up completely for the Wembe backlash.

That's what this, that's the only thing this does. It's going to be so hard to deliver on being a top five player. It's going to be very difficult to deliver on that for him to be considered one of the five best players. in the NBA. It is much more likely that his team is, right? Because what we say is, if you, I would, I would do it like this. If you've got a top five player in the NBA, your team should be awesome. That's it?

Yeah. That's it. That's rare. Yeah. That's it. That's the deal. And so is his team going to be awesome? It's possible.

But wait, they have not taken that step. He's, is. how do I say this? Things have happened around him that weren't his fault. Of course. Popovich stroke. Like, you know,

I think if Popovich was at the helm, I'd feel differently about the Spurs. And, um, they also don't have good enough players around him. The blood clot is, is like just a freaky thing that just happens because he, like,

moves his right arm too much and it's a clavicle got in the way of some fame. Like, it's just not like, like, like an ACL tear or something that, like, really, You can say he's injury prone.

You know, so I think that things have happened around him and to him, but not necessarily his fault, which is why I give him a little bit of grace, but top five, hell, no, just no. Does anyone think he's top five? Seriously? It's literally on the biggest sports site in the world. I know, but they do this to make us talk about it,

which is why I'm moving on to my second question. Do it. What do you make of this little rumor news story headline about LeBron James and Maverick Carter starting this like live golf basketball semi-European new league thing. And before you answer, I'll say this, that like, we've all heard, oh, he wants to be an owner at some point. We all saw what Michael Jordan did, which is safe and within the community.

And it's sort of like, it's sort of the trajectory of a goat or baby goat. but this is something else. What do you think about LeBron and Mav and that group competing with the NBA with the new league? I think it's a nightmare if you're Adam Silver to have, you know, if this is what he does after he walks away, I would try to find, I mean, I think it's a leverage play to get involved with the NBA. This is negotiation. Yeah, like look what I can do if you're not going to let me in the,

good old boys club. If you're not going to let me be an owner for a new team, watch what I can do. And people like that have to be taken seriously. You know me as I'm a golf fan, right? Yeah. Greg Norman bitched and bitched for years and years. And then Phil Mickelson, bitched and bitch for years and years. Then they went and they got the Saudi backing and they started this league.

They say, ah, nobody's going to care about what Phil. Nicholson's doing and always get care of whatever, which is true, right? Like they have not gotten the numbers for. They've gotten in person that has become a much bigger event, but as a television product, it is not taking hold. Here's the problem. They got Bryce and DeShambo and they got Brooks Kepka and they got John Rom and they got Dustin Johnson and they got Cameron Smith and they got Joaquin Neiman and they got like

they just kept getting guys right off from golf. And so you don't want to lose. And it's not like the PGA has floundered and Liv has succeeded because of what they took. But it hurt both products. And my thing would be, to me it feels like a leverage play. Like, look what I could do. I would say, honestly, it would have a much more profound effect on the women's game. They're the ones.

Oh. Yeah. Because the problem with the PGA was because... First of all, I just want to pause you. This is a good take. I like this. I like this. Continue.

Okay. All right. So it would have a much more profound effect on the women's game, especially with their collective bargaining coming up, especially with them talking about, they make a paltry amount of money to do what they do. And we all know they make their money in Russia and other countries in the offseason. Right.

So I do think that you would be able to poach the best women's players very easily. The men's players, that's very hard. I think you would have to find guys that because right now you're on track. You're making $70 million if you're on a max deal right now. The problem with the PGA was those guys. You looked up and Liv was going to pay you infinitely more money than you could ever make. Like guys were making, guys have already made more on Live than they did in their entire career. Somebody like Dustin Johnson has made more playing in a golf tournament that you didn't watch than he did in,

12 years of PGA tour earnings, right? And what the PGA did then was they turned around and they said, oh my God, look at all this money that we have. I guess they just opened up some random door. And they were proven, right? The Micklesons and the Normans were proven right, right? There was more money to give to the players. So the play here that LeBron's making is he's saying there's also more money for the players.

Look at what these franchises are being sold for. we will give you player equity into this thing, right? Here's where I say it's a nightmare. It's a nightmare if the numbers do get absurd. And when you're dealing with oil money and you're dealing with- It's Saudis. That's what we're talking about. Let's be honest.

It's-s. I mean, you know, what, again, it's kind of like the best of the best ones. And I think there were a lot of guys. that had already been made whole. Like with their PGA tour careers, they were already ranching. So it's like, okay, do I really want to?

But there were certainly some that decided to. I think that to me, this is a set this up. Hey, just understand we can do this. I have a plan B. If you don't let me exercise plan A, which is owning a team in Vegas or Seattle or whatever, I have a plan B.

So you've got to sweeten the pot for plan A and make sure that it happens. Well, and this is, this is no, always. No, hold on. Well, hold on. Just real quick, I just want to just to say, it was always, you know, even Rory McElroy, who was the, he's the one that was like, I hate live and all this kind of stuff. Like even Roy McElroy was like, we should have found a way to just get that money involved with us, right? And that's what they were saying.

They were like, absolutely not. We're not letting you in. You're not going to be a part of this. And so that is, to me, that is what the NBA, that's the bridge that you have to cross. And you just have to say, okay, we would rather be in partnership than competition with. Here's, you say it's a nightmare for Adam Silver. And I agree.

But here's where my mind went. Somewhere Ice Cube is like, what the fuck, LeBron? So Ice Cube is like, I already did this. Like that sort of like MLS third act of your career. Right. Like I did this already, LeBron. And now who's going to play in the big three? If you've got that sort of like when you're 35, where do you play,

Lee? You know, like, O'Shea Jackson is so pissed off right now. Yeah. And he's, and Mav Carter has seven. miss calls from O'Shea Jackson right now being like, what the fuck are you doing? This is my corner. Get off of it. Well, and the other thing is, I mean, if I am the NBA, I'm like, hey, hey, hold on

on this. Let's figure out how we can be partners and not competitors. Well, that was a new story from six months ago was like Adam Silver wants to create the sort of like global NBA extension league. And now the new story today is LeBron wants to do it himself. But I agree with you and we can move on. This is a leverage play. This is LeBron saying, I am not going to play in the NBA for four more years.

I'm going to have the second act of my career and it's going to be very lucrative and I'm going to own a franchise or a league. Which one do you want me to do? And how do you want me to do with Mr. Silver? Yes. And I am of the opinion that the NBA should be in partnership with rather than competition because I just watched it unfold the other way and it's not good for anybody and it's worst for the fans.

Yes. And there are some people that will happily fund with billions of dollars in LeBron James Maver Carter Ledden. Absolutely. Next question. Last year, I said I was done with Zion. Definitively. It was never going to be what it should be. Should I be back in after the unveiling of Skinny Zion at a press conference? Oh, he looks unbelievable. He looks so good. He looks unbelievable. He had a haircut. The goatee was shaped up.

He looks really good. But to answer your question is no. No. Do not get back in. How many times do you have to go through this? How many times do we have to go through this? Yeah, he looks great. I did a little bit of research because, you know, not a lot of news.

I did some research for the pod. James played in his career, year 1, 24, year 2, 61, year 3, 0, year 4, 29, year 5, 70, year 6, 30. But we're about to, hey, we're about to extension time. Oh, no. Would you give him an extension? No, I'm saying that's why, like this is the, oh, wow, he really just decided to get in shape after. No.

No. Do you remember when Stan Van Gundy was the coach and he was like sort of like the ball handler and picking rolls and sort of like they ran the offense through him and he was just absolutely dominating. They ran. They scored 27 points a game. I loved that version of Zion.

Kim and Lakers coach, JJ Reddick, ran that same play a thousand times in Memphis. Spammed it. And it was, I remember coming on the air the next day and said, unless the Grizzlies can sign Aaron Donald, I'm unsure what we're supposed to do. Like, he was too fast for Stephen Adams. He was bodying Dylan Brooks. And Dylan Brooks is big.

And it was like, I've never seen anything like this. This is like something out of a movie. He was an absolute force of nature. And so, look, I've seen him in person several times out. And every time I see him, I'm like, my God. Point Zion. When Stan had him being Point Zion, it was like, oh, this is, this is just no answer to this. There's no antidote.

You lose. I mean, here's why, this is why I always get pulled back into. Why? No, you, Chris Vernon. Because. We were on this podcast. And you said, I'm out. I know.

And you declared it. I know. Are you a man of your word or not? I know. But that might have been after the Mariah Mills pictures. I can't remember. Shot for knowing her name. Here's what I know.

You've done some Google searching. I for sure if not. Capital B, capital B, capital L. Here's what I know. I don't. The full, healthy. In shape version of him. Pro, no, no, no.

We can talk about M.B. We can talk about Kauai. We can talk about Zion. It's, it, but it just never exists. But if it did. What are you doing? I feel, you're embarrassing yourself. I'm embarrassing yourself.

I am just always tantalized by the idea of, oh my God, if it ever did come together. Like, those guys are all, come on, Kawhi and B, like, we got. We got the best of them. We saw the best of there. We never seen the full version of this. Do you remember where you were Zion's first game? I remember exactly where I was. I remember him hitting the three.

The threes. Yeah, he had like three threes in a row. And I was just like, I don't, I, I didn't expect this. I didn't see this at Duke. I have no idea what happened. But now this guy's going to shoot 50% from three and be able to winmill 360 dunk in the middle. of a game.

Like, this is the best basketball player I have ever seen. You remember that very first game? Yes. But he's not that guy anymore. In Verno, you need to get on the therapist couch.

How many times this man need to disappoint you before you realize that he is disappointing? But, but you see how skinny he looks so skinny. It looks great. He looks great.

The haircut. I even saw, did you see that Alvarado pass in the training camp and he just... Dude, I did. He started to fuck the rim and I'm like, I started looking at the Western conference and I was like, are the Pelicans a playing team?

That's what I started doing. I don't think there's anybody. I can't remember anybody like him where it's like, bro, I think this guy would be a top 10 player in the league if he could stay healthy but he, you know, and and not be fat. Like, I mean, I got it. Those are too big ifs.

I think that, but I'm just always tantalized on what it could be. Post-Lebron. Because LeBron was, you know, we all know what he was in high school and what he was in the league. It's flag, Zion, and Wembe are the sort of the three like unicorns, the three like aliens. And sometimes that works for you, sometimes that works against you. and I feel like in Zion's case, the idea that he's Charles Barkley that has a vertical that can do what he does and athleticism that can do he does works against him. I think his physical stature works against him and will keep him off the floor. And I hope that's not true for winning.

Oh, so too. So, all right, you're convincing me. And look, we get 20 games into the season. this bastard's average in 30 a game and is a highlight reel every single night. And he starts, I can tell him to look on your face. I have not convinced you.

I can tell I have not convinced you. You're in. You're like you're the buddy with the bad girlfriend that cheated three times. You're like, no, no, we're good now. I know.

That's exactly what you're doing right now. And I'll let you date her. Go ahead. You could date her. Go ahead. I said I'm done. I know. I can't do this.

You said it with your chest. I know. I got burned one last time I felt like, I got burned one last time, but then he came back. But like he came back so skinny. He does look good. For me, it was like the haircut. I was done.

So, I mean, I don't want to continue this analogy, but let's just say, bro, that cheating girlfriend, like, she cheated on you twice, like with your buddy, too. But now she came back super hot. That's bad for you. That's bad for you. But you would understand. No. Yes, you would.

You'd be like, dude. I got it. Like, she didn't look like that before. Well, listen, we'll be doing this pod forever. And you're going to regret this. I promise. Okay. Moving on.

I found this interesting. Van Fleet News. It's just terrible. And we did this pod last year. and the rockets were in a swoon in the middle of the season. And I credit you for saying this. You're like, because Fred Van Bleet is hurt, they need an organizer, they need a table setter, they need someone to run this offense.

When he comes back, they'll be fine. And ultimately, they were, right? How much does the Ban Vleet injury change your expectations for the rockets this season? Critical loss to me. I text you this when it happened. it's not sometimes the individual talent of the player. We talk about this a lot. It is how that player allows everyone else to function, right?

It's not, you cannot look. Basketball is a team sport. As much as we focus on the individuals and their stats and what they shoot from three and what they do, right? it is a team sport. And so how does it make the whole thing go? How much better. And to me, Van Vleet has always been one of those guys that makes his teammates better.

Now, you can use statistics to figure that out. And you can say when he went out last year, one of the things that happened on a regular basis was their turnovers went up. Well, surprise, surprise. He's in like the 95th percentile of not turning the ball over every time. So that is extra possessions for the opponent. Also, their steal numbers went down, right? Because he's the point of attack defender. And so now in a league where so many games are decided in the fourth quarter,

four or five possessions can swing a lot of games. Last year, when Verde Van Vleet was in their lineup, they were 41 and 19. Okay. They won 52 games, Jacoby. So you can do the quick math here. 41. So they were 11 and 11.

They were a 500 team without Fred VanVillit last year. We talked about it. And I was concerned about the Rockets. And you quickly just said, oh, they don't have Fred Van Belit. He makes it work. Yes. And rarely will I compliment you. Rarely will I compliment you.

But you were absolutely right then. And the second this injury news came out, I was like, oh, this is going to be a problem, especially when you are integrating a Kevin Durant figure into your offense. And because I always roll my eyes. when people like to me the underrated thing is the guy that sets the table, the adult, the organizer. And I can't tell you how many teams I have argued about this where it's like, oh, well, they could just have him do it or they can just have him do it because Phoenix said,

oh, we could just have him do it, we could just have him do it. No, you can't. And New Orleans said, we can just have him do it. We can just put C.J. McCollum at point. No, you can. And San Antonio said, oh, we can just put Jeremy Sohan. or we can just put this guy. No, you can't.

And Minnesota tried to go away from Mike Conley last year. No, you can't, right? They tried to. And then they had to put him back in the lineup because he sets the table and he makes everybody, it gets everybody in their spots, gets the ball moving. Miami last year played a whole season, basically without, right? Like, okay, we'll just have Tyler Hero be the ball handler. Like, you still need the ball handling guy.

You still need the guy that's running the show, whether or not that guy is a primary scorer. There are many teams where that guy is a scorer, but sometimes that guy is just a table setter. Absolutely. He's just like in crew, like the guy at the top of the boat that doesn't row, but he's just like telling you what to do. Well, and this is what, the reason I say it is critical

is because the margins are so small, right? We view Houston, and we talked about this a lot last year, Jacoby. we viewed them through the prism of a team that got a two C last year. But they had two more wins than the Lakers. And they had two more wins than the Nuggets. And they had two more wins than the clippers. Four wins out of the playing. Three more wins than the wolves and four more than the Warriors and the Grizzlies who were seven and eight.

So the margins are so small. That's why something like this. other thing is you had a team that won 52 games last year. Player number one, player number two, player number three in terms of your point guard, your shooting guard, and your small forward are all different now going into the season. All three of them.

You're going a little far here. You're going a little far here. They are. But you got Kevin Fing, Durant. Okay, so did Phoenix. Yeah, you added Kevin Durant. So did Phoenix.

Phoenix had him, remember? Kevin Durant will raise your ceiling and lower your floor. And I feel like Fred Van Fleet was a big part of raising the floor to calm that variability. Oh, I remember. You remember Durant in the playoffs last year with the, oh, wait. That's rude. He wasn't in the playoffs. He's about to tweet you.

I mean, come on. She's about the X you, whatever it's called. Sometimes we just got to stop living five years ago. But here, all I'm saying is Fred Van Bleet, Jalen Green, and Dylan Brooks. I'm saying you still have to build continuity. That's a team that just moved up to being a team that won 52 games. And no matter what, you're dealing with a new group. This is a totally different team than the one that had the success last year.

And don't. But here's. what I don't want to hear. That's what I'm telling. I don't work for the Rockets. I'm not at every practice. I don't know them as intimately as the head coach does. But Ima Udoka did not play Reed Shepherd, and he did not play Reed Shepherd for a reason. I would say that his minutes versus where he was drafted, the capital that the Rockets invested at him versus the amount of time that he spent on the floor was a little out of whack. And I think it was out of whack for a reason. and I don't think that you can have Reed Shepard step into that role and have it be a seamless transition, especially when you add the Kevin Durant element. Look, you've already decided that you're trying to win now. That's why you went and got Philly Smith.

That's why you re-signed Stephen Adams. Wait, do you say Kenny Smith? That's why you went and got Kevin Durant. Huh? You said Kenny Smith? No, no, no, no. I say, what? Finney Smith.

Finney Smith. Darring, Diff Smith. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They went and got a hand. You built the team to win. This is a championship team. They're like, we're the number two seed. We're adding Kevin Durant.

And you're, and you've got vets all around. You're not throwing in second year Reed Shepard to run the show for that team. They will make a move to go find somebody to take that spot. And when they do, then we can recalibrate. I'm saying as it is currently constructed, this is a critical injury that demands replacement. And if they don't replace them, yes, I will have them much further down in the standings than I would have previously. I loved Reed Shepard in college. I don't know him personally.

And we didn't see much of him last year outside of the G league. But something tells me that this news made him a little nervous. Don't you think? Don't you think he's like, oh. Maybe it didn't. Maybe it didn't. Maybe he looks at it and goes, this coach hates my guts. I need to get so much.

I mean, players want to play. I don't know, man. I don't know. I think he's being thrust into the spotlight in a role that he is not ready for, and we will see. I don't know if he'll be thrust into it. I bet you, I bet they make a move.

I listen to Bill's pod, and they proposed a million moves, and I didn't see any of them that worked for the team that the Rockets were trading for. You know what I mean? It's like, why would this always give up Peyton Pritchard, like for Reed Shepherd? Like, why? Right. They all seemed like rockets heavy moves.

Also, also not a real, not a organizing point guard, not a point of attack, defensive point guard. Like, Bradman Bleed is a very, he was perfect. He is a very, he's a very unique player, too. There's not a lot of guys like him. Just solid, steady. He doesn't turn the ball over. He calms everything down.

He can control pace of play. He's always going to play hard. And I think a lot of people think of it as, Kevin Durant got hurt and the Raptors won the finals. But Fred Bamblite had a game. I think it was game six in the Bay. Like he had a game. Like he closed that series.

All right, moving on. All right. Next one. Zach Lowe and Chris Ryan drafted their favorite teams that never made the finals. And they went through like several years. And I thought it was relatively comprehensive. list of good teams because even the ones that they did not mention, there was a lot of honorable

mentions given by Zach Lowe. I really liked this bit. I was jealous of this bit. So now I'm going to absolutely steal it and ask you, Jacoby, your favorite teams from the bet, the ones that you enjoyed watching or had a liking, that you really like that never made an NBA finals. I've got a couple here. First of all, I want to say that

Zach Lowe and Chris Ryan are my favorite team. And I will second that by saying, and I think that this is an easy one, the Steve Nash, peak Steve Nash, peak Amari Stottomeyer,

pick and roll, 20, 04, 2005 sons were an absolute joy to watch. Just an absolute joy to watch. It was just like, Steve Nash,

dribbling in circles and Amari just alley-yuk dunking and hitting mid-range shots when he wouldn't roll he'd pick a pop, he'd pick and roll. Sean Marion. It was just like our our Shail and Anthony Rose was involved

a little bit. Our ringer compadre Rajabelle. Yeah. Like that team was it's just like I just wish they won a championship so they could sort of hang a banner and be remembered forever. That was one of the teams. And my second team is this is really more vibes than like good basketball.

Alan Iverson and Carmelo Anthony were on the same team. Like, like, and they were on the same team. And like Iverson hadn't really, he wasn't, he was kind of over the hill, but he was just a quarter of the way down the other side. He could still do, it wasn't like your Memphis, Alan Iverson, you know what I mean? Or like the Pistons, Alan Iverson. He was still like a scorer.

You mean the four games that I got? Do you know Alan Iverson never played a home game in Memphis? No. Yes. I've seen him in the uniform. We started this season on the road. A West Coast road trip. He never played in Memphis?

Never. He never played a game in Memphis. That was such a weird offseason. for him. I remember I was working. I was working on Sports Nation. And I made a topic. I was like, as a producer in Sports Nation, I was like, there's been no offers for Alan Iverson. I had offseason. And I remember they went to the newsroom and they're like, you can't say that because we don't know that. I'm like, guys, no one has offered Alan Iverson a contract. So I, obviously, I was on afternoon radio at that time. And in that day and age, this is several years ago, like, what year is this, like 2007, 2008?

I don't know. But, I mean, I, I, there is a song that we, we still have it somewhere recorded, that I sang and performed called My Butt Hurts. And it was. See that again. See it again. My butt hurts. Hey, listen to this. It was in honor.

Hey, it was in honor of, hey. You were so serious. I'm sorry. No, it's real. The song I sang it recorded called My Butt Hurt. The reporters, after the game, asked Alan Iverson if he was injured. And he said to them, my butt hurts from sitting on the bench. Oh, I remember that.

Yes. My butt hurts from sitting on the bench. and we never saw him again. We never saw him again. He was gone. He was gone. So we had like, it was all a weird thing. Lionel Holland's like, was like, I'm done with this guy.

I don't want a part of it. It was all an owner thing. God rest his soul, the owner of the Grizzlies at that time was this guy named Michael Heisley. Michael Heisley was a self-made billionaire and Michael Heisley went to Georgetown. So we always loved Alan Island. So against everybody's wishes, he always wanted to sign Alan Iverson. They had a meeting and everyone's like, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.

And he's like, I hear you, I'm doing it. I'm doing it. And our coach can figure it out. And then the second he started Mike Conley over Alan Iverson, Alan Iverson is like, to hell with this. I'm not doing this. Yes. I'm not doing this. I'm not backing up Mike Conley.

There's a lot of stories I've heard about Alan Arverson that I will not share. into this microphone that we can talk about on our own time. But that was one of my favorite teams. Like the idea that Carmelo and Allen Iverson are not supposed to be on the same team but they were. It does not work. Like it's just like

it doesn't work. But I love it so much. A couple of the ones, and I would encourage everybody go listen to the low post of that episode because it's really good. But a couple of the ones I didn't mention that were some teams that I guess had a personal affinity for but like most of those teams were like good teams that like had a chance maybe you know and maybe you feel like

they fell short for some reason maybe it was an injury or maybe something went wrong or maybe they ran into a buzzsaw whatever but once it like came to my mind i remember finding it so enjoyable watching that Kenny Atkins and Brooklyn team before they got like the Jared dudley demari carroll de angelo russell the ones that were doing all the celebrating and like They were woo walking. They loved each other. It's like a Brooklyn thing. They loved each other.

It was, it is Karris Levert. Yeah, yeah. Karris Levert. And Dudley and like in those guys that they were the reason. Jared Allen that everybody came there because the vibes were so good. Oh, so good. The woo walking on the sideline was something that was just like so, I was like, first of all, none of you are from Brooklyn.

It's a very like local Brooklyn dance, but they would do it. And I was like, none of you are from Brooklyn. you're assimilating this. But it's working so well. They were so much fun. Who did they play the Sixers in the playoffs? I think there was just six games. But they took the Sixers.

Like the Sixers, they made the Sixers sweat. You just remember thinking they have no business doing what they're doing, but they are not only are they do it. They're fun to watch and their bench is elite. One of the best vibes you've ever had for team. The other one I've weirdly put down was the Oklahoma City team with Chris Paul.

I had so much respect for that team when they just threw it together. You know Chris Paul didn't want to be there. When they traded, when they made the Westbrook trade and then they put him there and it was like him and Danilo Gallinari and like that whole crew. And it's like, what is this team? And they like, he got, he drugged them to like a five or six seat,

something like that. Like they were, I just remember respecting that team and be like, man, I hope they win. It reminded me a little of the old, those old rockets like Kyle Lowry, Shane Bannier teams. Well, because, you know, I've been so used to watching players like Chris Paul, quote, unquote, ring chase. And he has done like the opposite. Oh, honestly. He's just like, yeah, I want to go play with Womenyama.

And we're not going to win, but I'm going to, I'm going to go to San Antonio. I'll be around Popovich. I'll be around Wemina. I'll be a part of that legacy. And I think that, you know, if you were to, if you were to give SGA three cocktails at a bar, he would tell you how important Chris Paul was. You don't have to give him any cocktails. He did it right before the NBA finals.

You remember when Paul showed up? He was like on the front row. He loves them. He always taught, and he talks about a lot more about, I thought it was fascinating when he kind of opened up about it because SGA is not somebody that we know. a bunch about. And he was saying, I've learned a lot more off the court, right? How to how to manage a family, how to manage a marriage, how to manage being out of town, how to manage finances, how to manage health and wellness and the stretching and the diet

and like all kinds of things that like he can glean from a guy that's played 20 plus years in the NBA that he like really took to heart. And obviously, look, it has helped him become the best version of himself. You got to give Chris Paul credit for that. I also think that while neither you nor I think Wimbanyama is a top five player at the moment, in three or four years when he's gotten an MVP, Chris Paul's name will come out of his one. Yeah.

Not a well-liked guy either. You know what I mean? Like sometimes the strictest teachers are the best teachers. You know what I mean? I think that's totally fair. this was a little news story that I that really piqued my interests the two of us have like almost 50 years of combined sports media

experience what do you think about Kyle Lowry being added to the NBA on prime team while currently being a player number one to your original point about the level levels of experience. This makes me feel extremely old as I covered rookie Kyle Lowry in Memphis. And so now he is a full grown adult. I forgot.

Yes. Yes, he did. I love Kyle Lowry. I think Kyle Lowry is going to be great on television. And Amazon's got like 66 regular season games. So they're going to be on. They got the NBA Cup. I have told you,

I think the Amazon team, I have very high hopes for them. I think rooks with Blake Griffin and Dirk are going to be great. I think they're going to be great. Candace Parker and Dwayne Wade also, I think part of their broadcast. Look, I've seen Dremont get put into the broadcast already on TNT. This isn't brand new. No, no, no, no. When he was playing, like, this isn't like an unprecedented thing.

No, and I mean, obviously he's there kind of as a Udonis Haslam. Nick Collison-esque role on his 76ers team. It's not like he's going to be playing a bunch of minutes and he's going to be a huge part of the Sixers. I think Kyle Lowry has a great personality. I've always thought that. And I think he's going to be a natural when it comes to broadcasting.

And so I like it. I think getting, I think it's smart. I think it's one of those. To me, I don't think. think he'll be on all that much throughout the year, but he'll get reps. And to me, this is more of a, this guy's going to be an amazing free agent the second his career's over. And so let's go ahead and get him in our fold.

You know what I mean? To me, that's what I've always felt about Dremont is, you know, I've been doing this a very long time. And early on, I was like, Dremon, when he stops playing, is going. to be in media and he's going to be very successful. And he has already proven that. And I don't know about Kyle Lowry's personality enough to say the same. But it is an investment.

It's also Kyle Lowry signaling to the world. My career on the court is going to end shortly. Yes. But I'm planting seeds to have a successful one. Yeah, if I'm Amazon, I think it's brilliant to get him in the fold now. And whatever he does, he does, this year. And it's kind of a cool little wrinkle.

Hey, there's a current player also. It is cool because in the meetings. They are game planning for people. That's right. And, you know, so that you do have a certain, when you've played against current players, you have a certain level of analysis that other people do not. Correct.

And so I do think, and the other thing is that, and also point guards, they see the game. And they see, you know, they, point guards always have an attention to detail.

right time and score plays where somebody's supposed to be on the court like they're just in charge of so much that many times they end up becoming very good at seeing the game as a broadcaster as well um and so i just think getting him in the fold and then you've kind of got you've got dibs on him when he retires and he'll be a good one to have i won't name names but everyone listening knows them it's not always the case but let's move off Not always the case. Not always the case. I mean, will you, I mean. Let's not name names. What do you? Why not? You're talking about magic.

You're talking about magic. I didn't name names. No, you're talking about magic. Let's move on. Mark Jackson was part of it for a long time. All right. Hand down, man down. There are some guys so far that have not been signed.

Precious got signed. You see that? Are you going to root for precious in Miami? As a former Nick, do you have love for precious? Not only is he a former Nick, he's also a New Yorker. Also a former Memphis Tiger. Oh, that's right. I will be rooting for him in the very limited minute.

since he gets him. All right. I sent you a list of the player or players on the list. I sent you a list of guys that still have not signed with teams. So best available free agents. And I told you don't do like Kaminga and some of the guys that we know are going to be on. Or for whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Right. As you went down the list. So if you ignore the top of the list, who is. Who is? There's only one person to talk about. about. Who are you most surprised does not have a team? There's two people to talk about on this list. And again, like we're ignoring the like obvious ones. Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons. Because these are two of the most talked about controversial might not be the word, but sort of like interesting players.

Polarizing. We've had polarizing is a good word that we've had in the last decade. Like Ben Simmons and Russell Restbook, Russell. Westbrook are just interesting players. Russell Westbrook was getting prime time minutes, making game winning plays for the Nuggets four months ago and is not on a team in the playoffs. You know what I'm talking about? Kicked it out to Aaron Gordon, Aaron Gordon hits a three. Like, that was a huge play.

And he's on the floor to finish a huge playoff game against the Clippers. And he's not on a team. if you have him, you have to play. That is the difference between him and Simmons. But if you're a GM. Jim might not want to play. If you're a GM. That's where we break though.

Like if you, like Russell Westbrook is going to be pouring with sweat before your practice starts and it's going to be like doing everything he can to be the best player that night. Right. And he might, and obviously he is incapable of being the best player on the floor that night. but he is going to work like that,

and you are going to have to play him or it's going to be a problem. Ben Simmons might just be happy that you're paying him. I think that's a good thing to point out when you talk about these two humans. I think that they both approach the game very differently. One is going 100 miles an hour, 100% committed,

and one is like, this is my side hustle. Well, Ben Simmons had a chance to be on the Knicks already. But I also feel like Russell Wilson, I mean, Russell Westbrook is a fish that when you put it in the fish tank, it might upset the chemistry. You know what I mean? I'm unsure that he has ever made somebody worse, though. I know people have drawn that. And you could say, well, you didn't make the Houston Rockets thing. I got it.

Did he make the Rockets better? I mean, I would have probably rather had Chris Paul, but... If he was signed by the Grizzlies, would you be happy about it? I would not want him to sign with him. No. I would not want him to sign with him. I just don't think it's a right... I just don't think it's a right fit either. It's just...

But it is hard to find a net negative. I think it's a net negative. There is a lot of positive, but it's a net negative is what I would say. But I think it's fascinating that he was such a... He'll end up like... A player for the Clippers, I mean, the Nuggets last year. You know where he should end up? You know where he should end up?

Pelicans. Miami. That would be perfect. He's like a Riley type of guy. And who gives a shit anyway? You're not winning anything. And it gets you, you know what I mean? It's him and out of bio while Tyler Heroes out.

It makes them a lot more watchable. I'd rather watch him play in the Terry Rozier. Oh, hell yeah. Yeah. You know what? Put Russell Westbrook on the Miami. Let's report it right now. I already have, oh, look, did you see how many people hit me up for reporting Taylor Swift's engagement?

You're too scared. I'm on it. I'm reporting. No. Jacobi's reporting. All right. You're most surprised that those two are not on teams. Do you think?

Those are the two that are most interesting to me. Do you think that either of them will not be on a team when we start the NBA season? Or both? won't be on teams. I do wonder. It is, you know, it's September 26th. It is. It's training kids next week.

Like, you know, I would not be surprised if those players are not on teams. Do you think it? And this is break glass in case of emergency. Oh my God, I lost a guy. And obviously, look, they're hard captain Houston. They're not going to do that with the band of the front.

But I'm saying, somebody is going to lose their starter and or backup and like, okay, this guy is better than our other options. I would say that I think that we will see Russell Westbrook in the NBA this season. I am not so sure about Benson. Wow. I don't think that there's a mutual interest

for him to play NBA basketball and the NBA to want. him to play basketball. Are you glad he said no to the Knicks? Absolutely. You are. Okay. Yeah. So you don't want to revisit that one. No. You just don't want to root for Ben Simmons. No. And I know people that have known him for a long time. And I don't think that he is committed to basketball the same way that Russell Westbrook is. I think that's a fair point of view. All right. I don't think you need to know people to ascertain that. It was a point

where he was like really good though. Oh yeah. He was second and defensive player of the year. Like the second best defensive player in the entire league. I mean, I think his legacy is not going to respect how effective he was when he was at his peak on the sixers.

I mean, look, you, sometimes you get hung up on the past too, just like I do. Like, I mean, I'm still thinking that Zion might turn around one day. You have totally forgotten the Kevin Durant Phoenix era. I mean, it's like everybody has just forgotten that that happened.

We're just acting like that didn't happen. We're going to act like Kevin. Kevin Durant went to a team. We were doing this show a year ago. And I was like, I think the sun's going to win the West. Honestly. So this is worse than my Zion hope. At least Zion's skinny.

All right. Go ahead. Next. All right. Why has it been so quiet with Pablo Tori and Kauai Leonard and the Clippers? And I want to entertain all sorts of conspiracy theories on this one because he was Ivy dripping up with us with news.

Every other day was a new bombshell. And all of a sudden, now it's cricket. what happened? Well, he booked that guy that won the Democratic primary thing for mayor in New York, right? Wasn't that the last pod?

Rohan Mandami? Oh, oh. Didn't he have him on for something? We're not getting into that. No, I'm saying. I think he had him on there. The New York City mayor thing is say it's all.

No, I think Pablo had him on his show. Anyway. I wouldn't be surprised. He did. It was like, Oh, no, it was about tickets to the writer come for something. I didn't listen to it.

Sorry, Pablo. I love you. Look, he's waiting for what Adam Silver is going to levy. And if it's not a hardcore, then he goes over the top. I like this. This is LeBron leverage. This is, hey, man, do what you're supposed to do. But just understand.

It's a two second round picks in a $100,000 fine, and then Boblo drops another pot. Correct. I like that. I like that. If it's a wrist slap, we get more. If he gets, if it's a big penalty, right? It's kind of like a, you remember when Baxter Holmes got everybody fired? The Clipperland and, no, no, Phoenix.

Phoenix. He got everybody, right? You got that owner like, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, all right. Like, you did, you did right. We'll let it go. It's over now. So I like to think about it.

Pablo goes to the bodega. and he's ordering a tuna sandwich. And two gigantic men in suits walk up on each side of them and say, you're coming with us outside. He's like, let me get this tuna sandwich. They're like, forget your tuna sandwich. And they walk him down the street. They put their arms around him, like friendly, but kind of menacingly.

And they say, Pablo, we've had enough of this. You're going to stop talking about the Slippers and Kauai Leonard. We appreciate that. I don't think that happened, but I like the idea that happened. It's way more David Stern than Adam's still. You know what I mean? I like the idea. I don't think that happened.

And obviously I know Pablo it didn't happen. But I like the idea of that happening. So I'm being like, you're causing too many waves in the lake. And we're going to take you out of the environment. I think that it is. I think that Pablo will look at it as, disrespectful to his reporting if they get a slap on the rest,

therefore he will take the necessary actions for him to not be disrespectful. There's one more in the chamber. That's what I think. There's one more in the chamber. I think this is just like, oh, really? Because if you're not going to respect what I've already reported and hold them accountable and you're going to give them a slap on the wrist, then I'm going to make a fool out of you. I would be really worried about that if I was them.

I'm not kidding. I would be really worried that like, oh, God, what else does he have? Yeah. Because if we do this. If we levy out a punishment, he's going to make a mockery of us. Then he's going to do one more pod. Yes. I'm also wondering, like, who's, who's, like, combing through the bankruptcy files of aspiration?

Like, who, how do that even start? The guy that hates his job. Yeah. That's, yeah. Yeah. That's bankless. horrible. That's a horrible gig.

All right. Last one I've got for you. What non-all-star acquisition do you think will be the most impactful for a team this year, i.e. a Cam Johnson or a DeAndre 8, somebody that has not made an all-star team. I think Camp Johnson's like the easy answer, so I'll skip it. Well, and honestly, look, it's not a for certain that Cam Johnson. Johnson will be an upgrade on that team over Michael Porter.

That's the thing is like I, because, you know, I pay a lot of attention to what people are saying and like the narratives and whatnot. And the idea that he's this huge upgrade over Michael Porter Jr. is kind of like, I don't know. Nah, you don't know. It seems like, you know how he fits either. It's kind of like, I don't know, man. Like I can see that being a net neutral.

Right. But the one I want to say is based on the 12 minutes that I watched of Tray Young talking about Pat Bev. and him mentioning Nikila Alexander Walker, and I kind of sold on the Hawks. Really? I'm kind of sold on the Hawks. You think Alexander Walkers, do you think that it will be a bigger loss

than people expected to be in Minnesota? Those are, you put those words in my mouth. What I am saying is I think it's going to be, I think he's going to be a key player for the Hawks because when you have Dyson Daniels and then you bring in Alexander, Walker, like, you can cover up for Tray Young's.

Trey Young does a lot of great things in the offensive side of the floor. He's not a defensive stopper, and he can't get picked on. But I think that you up the sum of the parts on defense by adding Alexander Walker. Boy, they hated, boy, and they hated Trey Young in that list to go back to the very beginning of the show. They had him 29th. That's disrespectful for someone who's. Mega, mega disrespectful. So what's you get like, I don't have the numbers in front of me, eight assists and 24 points.

Like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, 11.6. He led the league and assists. That's like 50 points. You know what I mean? Like, that he brings to a basketball floor. Like, like, I'm higher on trade. People can hate, people can hate him all they want. That dude was the best player on a team that made a conference finals. You cannot take that away. That happened. I don't care about the circumstances. Everybody.

There were some circumstances. There were some circumstances. There's always circumstances. Always. Always. The best player on the opposing team in a game seven Torres Achilles in the first quarter. There is always.

Last year, I don't have his numbers in front of him. 11.6. That's crazy. It's crazy. That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. I love Tray Young's offensive game.

And I think that Nikkela Alexander Walker is going to help make up for what he doesn't have on the outside of the floor. And I think that the Hawks are just, people talk about Desmond Bain on the magic and blah, blah, blah. I love the Hawks. By the way, you can apologize to me right now. Apologize to me about the second Desmond Bain got traded. Oh, he got so much better. They moved him from 60th to 39th.

60th to 39th. Then he changed uniforms. Unbelievable. Verno, you know what this means. What? You have to move. You have to move. I know, right.

You stayed in my place. We've got plenty of room. Come to New York City. My ranking would be so much higher. The mismatch numbers are going to go through the roof. I would be, we got room for you. We got room for you. No, I'm just a small market, nothing.

It's not like he went to Orlando. It's not like he went to the frigging Lakers. I understand guys getting, you know, and look, and here's what I'm saying. If he gets an oblique injury, I'm going to start asking questions. No, no, no. I, what I, and don't get me wrong here. I love Desmond Bade. My point is Desmond Bain was always that good.

He just wasn't, he wasn't recognized as that good until he got traded. well he's also not loud good right he's not like hoops highlights you know the Twitter Instagram good like that it's not like he's not dunking on people and doing John Morant stuff or lamella ball stuff

so it's just he's great shooter good yeah but catch and shoot doesn't get you viral on the internet you know what I mean fair all right I got one more question for you before go what you've been watching before the NBA season starts just honestly like football and I'm going to be watching the Rider Cup. And so, like, maybe a couple of weeks ago, I watch, I have not watched anything on TV.

I did, you know, I went through that whole bit of the, the documentaries, all the murder documentaries, if there's a murder on me. The cruise documentaries, all that crap. I watched all of those. I did, I burned through all the seasons of the White Lotus as that was the one cultural touchstone thing that I was like all right and I got to be honest with

I found myself this is something fun and that may it may inform me doing some other words I went back and listened to like the ringer recap the pods Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald

I would watch an episode and then like on my way to work the next day listen to them talking about the episode it's so weird that like I will watch an hour episode of White Lotus and then listen to six hours of people talking about that one hour of White Lotus.

I enjoyed that every bit as much as I did the show. It's so much fun in real time. That's one accomplishment I had, I think, during the summer of it. I was like, I could actually pull this one off. Like, I could get through all of these. You just called that an accomplishment. You realized you just said that was an accomplishment.

Well, I just don't watch a fucking television show. I don't, but because I am, I am so. unaware of what people are talking about. Like, all I watch is sports. All I watch is, I'm not kidding. I, I'll watch like movies. You know what I mean? Like every, if it's good,

maybe if it's like, but if it's a big one, like not many. Like I still have you see weapons? No. Weapons, dude. So weapons. Like I don't want to oversell it. It's fine. But it's good. It's worth your time. I, uh,

I went to the. movie theater today. Ooh, let me guess. Were you with one of your children? My son went with me, but I was doing it because a friend asked me to. What did you see? The Kanye West documentary. Oh, hell no. I have no interest.

It was not. I have no interest. None. I had seen all the clips online and I was like, all right, I'll watch it. The guy followed him around with the camera for six years. And, you know, I was hoping it would give me insight as to why he's so over Kanye he's a self-sabotageer there's no way around and you just get to watch himself sabotage yeah yeah i mean things things i'm watching is um i'm watching task and i'm listening to bill and um the excellent rob mahoney and jana robinson

talk about it i started testing them about it what's show task i don't i've never even heard of it it's the new HBO Sunday night 9 p.m. show. Oh. I always have like that spot. Yeah. There's only three episodes happened so far. Yeah, it's the white lotus spot. It's the,

The Spot. Game of Thrones, yeah. Yeah, it's the spot. So I listened to Rob and Joanna and Bill talk about it. And then I text them about it, and I text them so much that they just stopped responding. They probably have blocked me. But I have a lot of thoughts about the program.

And I'm also, my wife. Would you encourage me to watch it or no? Yes. This is a good one. This is a good one. What is it about? It's only three episodes. All right, tell me what's about.

I'm not going to tell you a single thing about. Just watching it. You're not going to tell me what it's about. It's heat. It's heat. It's the movie Heat is what it is. Oh. No, it's cops and robbers.

It's cops and robbers. It's heat. It's what it is. I like cops and robbers. But you end up loving the bad guys. You're like, why do I love this piece of shit? You know what I mean? Like, this guy's a true piece of shit.

But I don't want to see anything bad happen to him. I don't know why I feel this way. We've been trained. It's anti-hero stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I got you. There's that, and my wife today, because I flew from Toronto, I did a Spotify thing. Shout to the salespeople, Spotify was excellent. Spotify sessions.

And she's like, you have to start watching the summer I turn pretty. I was like, do I? So I watched the first four episodes, and I cried. I cried. About a 16-year-old's love life. My wife watched it. I don't watch it. Yeah.

I'm at the point of my life where I'm like, I relate to the parents way more than the kids. You know what I mean? I'm like, I'm like, I don't care about the kids. I'm worried about the parents. Why aren't these people together anymore? Maybe I'll do the task thing. I have found myself. Do task.

If I'm not, if I'm not watching like a game, like, if there's not a football game on, I've found myself. I watch YouTube golf and I watch, I watch like all those guys that do YouTube golf. Yeah, yeah. It's a huge subculture. I watch it a lot. I watch YouTube golf. Oh, I'm, I am getting up. The guys, like tell you how to swing or whatever and give me little tips.

No, no, no, no. Like, you know, like all the guys that, like, they film themselves playing golf and they do like all kinds of bits. So you watch other people play golf the way my son watches other people play video games. That's right. Oh, God. And I'll be up in. Hey, I can't. I'll be up at 6 a.m. watch a rider cup tomorrow.

In fact, you should drive up to Best Page Black. Someone told me that. I was in Toronto and the Uber driver. I had this great Uber driver. This guy was like a hockey guy. You could tell that he's like never lost a fight in his life. He was like two, fifty, six feet. Real Canadian had a thick accent.

And he was like, oh, bro, I can't do an accent. Oh, bro, Beth-A-Black. The writer cup is there. You should go. And I was just like, I'm not going to watch other people play golf. Like, I'm not going to tell my wife, what are you, oh, sorry. I'm not going to be around to take care of the kids tomorrow. I'll be gone for 13 hours to watch some other guys play golf.

I'm no chance I'm doing that. There's no chance. No chance. No chance. But I do like opening up my Fandau app and betting whole by whole. I love that. There you go. All right.

By the time we speak again, we will have had a bunch of media days. Training camp's going to be getting going. And hopefully there won't be any more big injuries before the season kicks off. Because the Van Fleet's thing was a true bummer for Houston fans and, frankly, any NBA fan. I mean, it's just awful to have that happen. So hopefully we go injury-free throughout this next week when the media days of training camps are all getting going. Thank you to our executive producer, Jesse Lopez, as always, and Jacoby.

I'll talk to you next week.