The Mismatch - Where in the League is James Harden Headed?

Episode Date: December 11, 2020

Verno and KOC start with Paul George’s shiny new contract with the Clippers (0:41), what in the world the Rockets can do with Harden (8:33), and Kyrie’s $25,000 fine levied by the NBA (18:40), before they get into the teams playing on the first day of preseason games (41:27). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's Kevin O'Connor. On today's episode of the mismatch, Chris Vernon and I talked about all the latest news around the league from Paul George, extension with the Clippers to the James Hardin drama. And, of course, the Carrey Irving fine that came out on Thursday night. We also talked about the teams that are playing on Friday night. We got basketball tonight. So we went through each of the teams, five games, 10 teams playing on Friday night. So all that's next. Welcome to the mismatch.

I'm Chris Vernon. and join me as he does every Friday from the ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor, a.k, Kevin O'Blessar, A.Kever, Kevin O'Blessarion, Kevin O Conflict, Kevin O'Candle, Kevin O'Kindness, Kevin O'Cardt, Kevin O'Cardness, Kevin O'Cannib. Burntle, you added some of the new recent nicknames in there. I like it. I like switching it up, keeping it fresh. We got to spice it up a little. Especially with a new feed. Yeah, we've got the new feed. Again, very, very appreciative to everybody out. there that has been subscribing to the new feed. We have been very overwhelmed.

Obviously, there is always going to be a bit of timidness and worry that we are leaving what we, you know, was home for so many, for the first four years in that Ringer NBA show feed. But you have truly come along with us and we're very, very grateful for that. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Speaking of grateful, early Christmas for Paul George, who got a four. four-year $190 million extension from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Now, this news hit this morning. And I mean, I think the instant reaction from a lot of people was, why were they doing that? It just blew a three one lead. Like, why are you committing to Paul George for the long term and whatever else? And I'll just, I'll just tell you how I took it right off the back, Kevin. You could tell me if you agree with it.

this. So if I'm the Clippers and I'm not wanting to go forward with the Paul George Kauai Leonard marriage, I'm at a very, very difficult spot with him going into the last year of his contract because there's a finite amount of teams that would feasibly trade for Paul George because what players do is they get their agent to go out there and tell all these prospective teams that you wouldn't resign with, yo, don't trade for him. He's not resigning with you. This is a rental, so he's not going to resign with you.

So don't trade for him. And so they try to, you know, tamp down the trade market to any place you wouldn't want to go. Therefore, teams aren't going to give up a ton unless they have the assurance right off the bat that that guy is going to sign an extension. But that amount of teams gets whittled down. to the ones where he would want to sign an extension with. And so to me, this is the price of doing business with Paul George right now.

You lock him into the contract. And now you see if it works, if you like the way it looks, or if there's a carryover from last year that you don't like. But you've got a real asset now on your hands that teams can trade for, right? Like to me, that's it. I don't think this is as much about, a commitment to Paul George and they want him to be a clipper for life as much as

we can't go into this season and if it doesn't work, not be able to get any, you know, have three teams that we could feasibly trade with and not get crap back. For sure. I mean, I think he nailed it there. When it comes to him being a clipper for life, there was an interview last week where he said that. And, you know, I actually heard that was the day where he actually signed the deal. Maybe it wasn't like sign of the dotted line, but there was an agreement.

since last week. So he knew when he said that, that he's locked up of long term. But for the Clippers, what did they do with Blake Griffin, Chris? What do they do? They brought them in. They showed them, you know, Clipper for life, you know, Clippers Hall of Famer, you know, we love you. They had a whole tour. They did like a museum for him. Yeah. And then they shipped them out, which was the right decision. Shipping Blake Griffin out led to everything that they got. It led to Shea Gildes-Alexander. It led to all the young players.

It led to a young, fun, exciting team that led to, Kauai Leonard and Paul George in finals hopes. So that tough decision turned out to be the best decision they could have made. And now with Paul George, look, Paul George is still a great player. I mean, he struggled in the playoffs, shot 40% below 40% from the floor, 33% from 3. He hit the side of the backboard in game 7 of a blown 3-1 lead. He struggled.

Blame Doc Rivers for it all. And he blamed Doc Rivers for all of it. But Paul George still, if you look at it, his numbers. He mentioned in that same interview or some other interview. He's been doing a lot of media recently that he's training with the same guy that he had during his quote MVP season. It wasn't

an MVP season. He may be misremembering the 2018-19 season with OKC, but he was an MVP candidate that year. Average 28 points, by far, by far his best career season. There was a month that he was the best player in the league. Yes, there was. And that year, that

year he drew more files than ever before. It's such a great job at getting to the rim and drawing files, posted career numbers. And that's what really gave him the difference in the scoring numbers. This season with the Clippers didn't draw quite as many files, went down to his career numbers. But if you look at the, you know, per 100 possessions or the per 36 minutes, the numbers are pretty comparable to that season with OKC. So I wonder, you know, we talked about this last week with his comments about, you know, Doc's role, not being right for him. I wonder if we will see them force the ball more to Paul George, like instead of him averaging 16.3 shots per game, can they get him closer to 20, 21 like he had with OKC?

Maybe that's a priority for this team because Paul George is still really, really, really good and he's still a great defender. So you got to do this if you're the clippers. But if it doesn't work out and he falls flat on his face again in the postseason, and Kauai and Jerry West and the whole front office, Lawrence, Frank, if even Tyloo, coach, if everybody's like, we got to make a move here, you nailed it. You got them locked up long term because it makes sense to lock him up long term because he's a great player.

But also, if you got to make a change, the player is going to be signed long term. And the clippers have shown they're not afraid to make it big moves. And I had not thought about this, but you bring up a perfect example of the way this can play out with Griffin. There is not a chance in hell. You can trade Blake Griffin to Detroit unless you've got him on a long-term contract. Because Blake Griffin's representatives would immediately say, do not trade for him or you can trade for him, but he's gone at the end of the season because there's no way he's going

to keep playing in Detroit, right? Yeah. If he's got a choice about it. But he was signed. Right, but he signed to a contract. And so now, and same thing with Paul George. At that point, I mean, it doesn't matter if you want to play in Charlotte or not. Like if Charlotte wants to trade for you, you know.

Then they do. Yes. Well, one thing to make clear, it's not like the Clippers, you know, did all that for Blake knowing we're probably going to trade him in a couple months. They do that. And then like he gets hurt and the team is in a position where it's like, I mean, we got to make a change. Like, that happens.

It happens. Plans change all the time in life. and in sports and in business. And for the clippers, this just, you know, it opens up more avenues for them. Like, theoretically, let's just say, Paul George is not eligible to be traded until after the trade deadline, which is scheduled for March 25th. He can't be dealt until April 9th. So there will be no Paul George trade during the 2020, 21 NBA season.

But next summer, let's just say the Rockets still have James Hardin. Let's say it doesn't go well. Suddenly, you know, Paul George for James Hardin becomes an option. I mean, it really does. Like, that's something that could be out there at that point. We need to talk about this Harden thing because it's it's not going to happen. He's not going to be on that team. And I say that because.

You don't want to talk about Hardin and Kauai? No, I, I listened to a podcast that Woj did with Doris Burke. And at one point in the conversation, I wanted to see what he was going to say about Hardin. Because obviously he's so plugged in. And one of the things that they mentioned, which I had not heard, before when they were talking about kind of feeling bad for Stephen Silas was they painted a picture of and I didn't realize this. Houston has let him do whatever he has wanted to do.

Oh yeah. As long as he's been there. Like to the point where they were saying on off days, he might go out of town and go to the club and then come back. Or they may not practice on a day because he doesn't want to. Or they may stay in town an extra day in another city. Like he was running things. And in fairness, he's a total iron man.

He plays every single game. It doesn't matter what he's done the night before. And he goes out and he drops 40 points and he might have a triple double. But that that's not the case with everybody else. And that that was one of the big rubs that when Westbrook got there, they're just two different humans. And one, Westbrook is very meticulous, like parked in the same parking spot every single day. He arrived at the training facility.

at the same time every single day. Is that surprise anybody? Everything we know about Westbrook and the way he plays. He feels like I'd be shocked if you said, oh, Westbrook is the type that doesn't have a routine. A routine or a schedule. He seems very OCD.

And so all of that stuff was wrecked, right? Because he goes to Houston and it's like, wait, what the hell's going on? Like, no, we're not staying overnight here. Like, here's the plan. And so basically the whole thing was, look now, how do you go back from that?

Right? Like once you've turned over the keys and everybody, you know, he gets to, he's the superstar and he gets to say this is this way and this way. And we practice then. And Mike D. and Tony gave him that kind of leverage. The organization, frankly, gave him all that kind of leverage. You can't rein that back in. You just can't.

You can't, you know what I mean? Especially now when he's not going to be at training camp. or anything else. You got John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins trying to revive their careers. And so just hearing

that and hearing that part, something of which I was previously unaware that kind of he called the shots on so much, like ultimate player

empowerment with all that kind of stuff that now at this point, like it's a, it, I think everybody kind of has always thought, since all this started, that it's a matter of when.

But like, now I am, more convinced than ever because I don't know if you're Stephen Silas I don't know how you have any kind of proper structure or culture change or any of the things that a new coach talks about if it's already been that way and you've kind of set the standard that you can do whatever you want to do because and we're dealing with that we just talked about the Kauai thing and obviously that went the wrong way with ownership at Doc Rivers right at what point is is it too much catering right is it too much?

A lot of stars do get it. Of course they do. Yeah. I mean, in the case of Harden, I think you're pivoting to this because it's like you don't even expect it to get to that long to next summer. You don't expect that.

And like I said to you and Bill earlier in the week, I don't think it's done yet. You still have to bring him back. And he is back. And he's got to do six negative coronavirus test before he can return to full practice with everybody. So, you know, if that happens, when that happens, he might enjoy having Christian Wood be able to pick and pop and roll down the lane and throw down big time dunks.

He might enjoy having John Wall on the team. What if John Wall, look, listen, with the Wizards, part of the reason why the Wizards made that deal was for culture. They wanted the example Westbrook sets. It's everything David Aldridge reported that we talked about last week when the deal happened. They wanted that culture change and a player who's better and not coming off a ruptured Achilles. But with John Wall, what if it's true that, like, his point is my bone spurs were removed and I feel more explosive than I did prior to these injuries. What if that's true and we get a John Wall who's pretty good, pretty comparable to prime John Wall? What if James Hardin likes playing with that guy?

What if with the new system, apparently they want to have more ball movement with the new ball movement? What if James Harden likes that? Like, feelings can change quickly. and, you know, the Rockets know hard and more than anybody. They may have seen mood swings from him in the past where one day or one week or one month, he's unhappy and then something clicks, something changes, a roster changes, a trade, makes a change on the roster, and they may have seen that behavior change and for him to fall in love with the team and the organization again.

They know him more than anybody because they've been there day to day with all the demands from him, with all the changes he asked for, with all the good and all the bad. and I see no reason at all to take anything now. And I even, I would go as far to say, I think taking it through the deadline if your team is at least on the playoff bubble, at least like a six, seven, eight seat in the, in the West. Even that to me is reason enough because where is that offer that is acceptable for an MVP candidate? Where is it? It's not there. No, you're probably right.

And I think this is probably somebody who along the way probably did a pretty good convincing job of like, hey, let's all just play nice. Can you just do this? Yeah. That's what raises value too. That's right. Show up. Say all the right things. Be a pro.

And we will continue to look for a deal. Yes. But the help us help you thing. You know what I mean? We understand. We understand. And this might be over. but there's a season that's about to get played.

So how about this? Show up. Be cool. Be cool with Stephen Silas. Say the right things. Do the right things. And we'll get you out of here, man. But like we're in a position right now.

We cannot, we can't do this because, you know what I mean? Like it's the future of our franchise is going to depend on the deal that we get for you. So let's just all play. nice and say all the right things. And I will tell you, I'm not going to believe a word of it about, oh, he's actually happy here now. Because that's what you have to do with this point. What if the team's winning?

What if the team is like the three seed in the West and Christian Wood looks great? John Wall's looking pretty good. Like maybe he's, you know, we're getting work back, but he looks like he's getting better week to week. Even then, Chris, even if they're really good, you still want to buy it? Why? Why? But you say, why, though?

Because I think that. What if Brooklyn is looking like less than what people expect from a team of Katie and Carrie Irving? Is that not possible? They have no defense. Because I think that once that decision has been made and it obviously was made, that it's almost impossible to go back. We really only have.

I don't agree. Well, we only have the Kobe one. When has it worked out? it's very rare. It's very rare. But like it's, it's not always public. And that was extenuating circumstances of which they were able to pull off a

a Pagosol tree. I know. And that was very unusual. A trade. Very unusual. Who reported that one, Chris? I did.

For those of you, for those of you, uh, they don't know what we're talking about. And obviously you wouldn't. Right before we went on the air, we were talking about, we were talking about a story that Kevin could have broken that he didn't.

And I said, look, man, it doesn't matter. This stuff is dust in the wind. It doesn't matter. Nobody ever remembers in the end. And I said, do you know who broke the Powell Gasol to the Lakers trade? And you're like, no.

And I said, I did. And nobody cares. It doesn't matter. All these years later, it doesn't matter that that happened. Right. It's all dust in the wind. It's news. Right.

And eventually everybody gets a hold of the news. And very rarely do they ever remember who reported the news, unless it's something that is like, You know, somebody got in a fight in a locker room and you're the only person that knows about that. Or you something like... It matters in the sense that, like, if that's what you want to do,

if you're Woj or Mark Stein or Shams or Amick or whoever likes breaking news, Chris Haynes, building up, you know, over time that you are a reliable source or reliable reporter to send the news out, whether it's true. You're,

you're reliable. I mean, I like, yeah, I like putting stuff out there when I know it's the truth, you know, sometimes when I have something, I'll put it out. value is people knowing that you are plugged in and you have sources within the league. That's the value. Not necessarily that some guy signed an extension or some guy isn't reporting or something.

You know what I mean? Like, I do think there is great value in the reporting, right? No doubt. I'm just saying that with so much news in the NBA, one report here, one report there, it's dust in the wind. In the end, you don't really remember. That's what makes an amazing what like Woj and Shams and all. all those guys do.

I mean, they are, they're so plugged in. They're so plugged in. It's, it's incredible. Like, you know, they are, you know,

the source for news from some teams too. Absolutely. They're machines. It's incredible. They're machines. All right. So let's get back to, so obviously that hardened thing

is still hanging out there and we'll see what ends up happening. We talked about, you know, possibly Brooklyn at some point, and there was news on the Brooklyn net's front because we kind of goofed about it, but we didn't really go really in depth on it last episode about the Kyrie Irving sending out a press release and I'm not going to talk

to the media this year. And I'm just focused on winning. And so things are going to be different from now on. And here's how I'm going to be communicating. Like you just get an email from Kyrie Irving that would tell you his thoughts. Well, the NBA didn't like Kyrie Irving's giving statements to the media stance. It said, Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets have each been fined, $25,000 by the NBA for failure to comply with the league's media rules.

The fines result from Irving's refusal on several occasions this week to participate in team media availability. The NBA said, the NBA requires that healthy players be available to reporters before and after games and practices. typically the league also has teams set aside one day at the beginning of training camp for every player on the roster as well as a general manager and a coach to speak to reporters. This year, the league's coronavirus protocols limit the number of players allowed in a facility at any given time. And teams have been making a handful of players available each day.

Irving has declined. Can we speed up your voice for this? Irving has declined numerous requests to speak to reporters since the beginning of training camp on December. first. And so, don't slow it down like Colin Hanks. Like, did you see the Colin Hanks thing that he's been doing on podcast?

No. Like, he has on his Instagram story. So he listened to the watch with Chris Ryan and Annie Greenwald. And then he did it with binge mode with Mallory Rubin and Jason and Sapsione where he listens to the podcast on 50% speed. And so they sound really drunk. And he's like having a conversation with them like they're at a bar or something like that.

It's hilarious. So he did two. ringer videos about that. I love it. I'll have to go check it out. We can speed up your read of the press release. But feel for it to slow down everything else. I was just trying. I was just, listen, I was only, I was not doing that because I thought it was mega interesting. I was doing it because I wanted people to be aware of kind of what

the NBA protocols are and how big of a giant piss Kyrie Irving was taking on those protocols. Now, you, like, it's like, you don't have to take. a side on this, but I will say that as a fan of the league and as a fan of teams in all of sports, I want to hear what the best players have to say. I want to hear what you think about your teammates. I want to think, I want to hear about that shot you took at the buzzer. And so for him to say, hey, I don't like what some people have written about me or said about me in the past.

So now I'm going to freeze out everything, especially. with his role within the players union does a colossal disservice to fans. Now, I don't think media should get all self-righteous and stand up about this because the league always works this stuff out. Like the truth is, you can't act this way. But 90% of the time, I don't feel like he is misrepresented or people are hypercritical of things that he said for no reason. season. He says a lot of strange stuff and he also says stuff that a lot of people might not agree with, right?

Including LeBron James for that matter, who just, you know, said he was hurt by what Kyrie said about having a player that can hit clutch shots next to him and whatever. Like, it's not like. And so you have the choice to be able to talk. And somehow there's all manner of players to. throughout the league and all manner of superstars throughout the league that navigate this just fine. So is this a media problem or is a Kyrie problem? Like, why is it, why is this not a thing with everybody else? You think Kyrie is just trying to protect himself saying, you know, from being in front of the media knowing he might say something. I don't know. I don't know what it is, but, but ultimately with Kyrie, I mean, he's obviously a complicated guy and like I'd love to talk Kyrie and just, you know, have a conversation, whether it's on a podcast or not, just to get

a feel for who he is, you know, who he really is. And but with him, with the media, you're right. He said a lot of stuff, you know, whether it's about teammates or whether it's about the earth. You know, it's like with Kyrie, he said some stuff that is polarizing. And with him, I feel like he is somebody who he's a polarizing character in the league. He's a polarizing person with the things he says and he's a fantastic player so he has this platform he's fun to watch he's got awesome shoes he's got a fun style of play i mean like kids love carry around the world he's that level of player but on the inside he's somebody that just kind of wants to chill out and doesn't want all that attention and want all that fame so it's like there's these two opposing forces that work within him

that you know turn out and spit out you know some of the things he says or the statement like this idea which isn't going to work. And it's like with him, it's the type of thing where I, he's the type of player. I wouldn't be surprised if he just retires early. Maybe he wins a title on Brooklyn and retires in his early mid 30s because for him, I mean, it just wouldn't shock me. That's not me like reporting, you know, rumors or anything like that. He's spoken about the idea of retiring young in the past.

But with him, it's just like he seems like someone that doesn't care for any of it, you know, except for the basketball aspect. I think he's even said that, you know? But I mean, what you don't want is somebody that is even a high ranking person within the Players Association. Exactly. You know, setting that kind of a standard. And that's why these fines came down. And I would just tell anybody that I understand resent or dislike towards the media.

I get it. I get it, man. Me too. I grew up fans. I grew up being pissed off when reporters would say something. I mean, of course. I get it. And you defend your guy.

But I will tell you that part of being a fan, is that free flow of information and that you can hear from these guys, right? And that you do hear what they have to say about the game that was just played. I love that. I used to watch like Celtics Post game all the time with my dad. After games, the game would be over 930 that we watch until 10 or 1030 after post game to see what the players said, to see what Tommy Heinzen said and everybody in that studio. Because I love that.

I love it. And I will tell you that there is always, you know, I'm part. of a post game show and you hear from players when they win. Also, when you lose, you would get LeBron James in the locker room talking about what he thought about John Morant playing against him the first time and whatever. It's like, this stuff does matter. You know what I mean? Like every day, it's about what these guys have to say, you know?

And I'm sorry that somebody was critical of you at some point. But, you know, look, man, it's part of the job. And you don't get to say it's not part of the job. It's not always the fun part of the job. I'll tell you this. Like, look, you and I get on a much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much smaller level. But we get criticized all the time. There's not a show that we do that, you know, somebody doesn't say, right?

Like, Kevin, I wish you didn't have Chris is your co-host or they say, I don't like Kevin. He never, he never says anything. I agree. Whatever it may be. like once you are in the public eye you're in you've got a target on you right like that's the way it is and I guess you could just say I'm going to shut all that off but at some point everybody's dealing with you ain't the only one you ain't the only one that's dealing with it right and frankly nowadays everybody's dealing with it even when they're not famous that's not that's not

Social media now for anybody. High school kids. Yes. I mean, I, dude, I had a, I had a buddy the other day who said he was asking me what he should do about his daughter is in middle school. And she had put up like a TikTok or a web video or something. And a couple of the boys at school got in the comments of it and were making fun of her ears. like the chip and she was just crying her eyes out. He's like, do I call the kids parents?

What do I do? And I'm like, this is the world we live in now, though, right? Like that was, yeah, you could get teased at school face to face or whatever. But now these kids, it happens to them when they're young. Like now, like if somebody was going to criticize me when I was a kid, they did it to your face at school. And sometimes you'd end up getting in a fight over it or you could just make fun of him back or whatever else.

But now, even on the internet or something, they'll start jumping on each other and criticizing each other, making fun of each other or whatever else. And like, that's real life, you know. And I just think about it even with my kids. It's a different world where they get, you know, that even now, I think that humans are having to deal with criticism at a much earlier age than ever before.

And now are so much more open to it. So I'm sorry, man. I'm not going to cry a river about somebody saying something bad about you because, you know, yeah, you're mega famous. But like, you got $40 million at least in your pocket. You know what I'm saying? Like I don't want any, I don't think anybody should have to deal with unfair or undue criticism. On the other hand, bro, get over it. Like, come on.

Come on. Yeah. I feel you, man. I feel you, man. Why can't you just be cool? I think about that all the time. Why can't he was he was Uncle Drew. Like why do you have to be like you?

Why do you have to be like this? Why do you have to be so like arrogant and like turned off and saying weird shit all the time? Like just be cool. And I know people that know him and say he's cool. Yeah. But he just doesn't act cool at all when he's in front of a camera or behind a microphone. Like just be cool, man. You know, I don't understand.

You need a podcast on the Ringer Podcast Network. Be cool, Kyrie. Hosted by Kyrie Irving. To be cool, man. Well, I guess he'll be cool now. It would be funny is if he just keeps taking fines. You know what I mean? I mean, you're so right, though.

Every single thing you said there about, you know, the way it is nowadays. Like, I've gotten some pretty nasty messages and emails. Usually it's Instagram DMs for some reason. That's where I get the nastiest stuff. And, I mean, there's mean people out there, man. There's mean people. And like when I see stuff like that, like it's one thing if someone says you have a stupid basketball take. Like that's just friends arguing.

Like when I see something like that, like you're wrong about the wizards or whatever, that's just us arguing as buddies. That's cool. It's when it's personal that sometimes it's like when I see stuff like that, I was listening to a philosophy podcast years ago. I can't even remember the name of the pot. It was so long ago. And someone on that show was talking about like criticism and how you respond to it. And he said the way he thinks about it. it is is someone is you know especially rude to him in a personal way he's like i hope that makes

you feel better because if someone is going to do that to another person and hurt them in ways that they don't understand that person probably has something going on themselves you know something within that they're like you know they're just outlashing at people and they're trying to hurt other people because of something from within whether it's you know depression or like you know you're frustrated about life whatever it might be it could be literally anything. And like the person on the philosophy podcast basically was just saying, so I think like, I hope that makes you feel better. And they, they almost just like deflect the feeling they they may get from that. And there's some stuff I've received, you know, like this past year

that many times I've thought, I hope that makes you feel better. Because I feel like I'm so hardened by the internet. I've been on the internet since I was 11 years old. And I grew up on forums. I was on like cartoon orbit forms for anybody who's around my age, NeoPet's forms. I was on sports forums growing up. And I would take it. And like it's a type of thing where you, that's the way the internet was when I was 11 years old, 12 years old, 13 years old, all through my teen years. And for me, I feel like I have like 20 years experience of just like weird like personal comments being thrown at me. And the type of thing where I just, I just, it literally, I don't feel anything.

Like, it doesn't hurt me. So it's just funny, you know, for me, like with my upbringing, growing up on the internet, when it's stuff like this where I wish sometimes like people like, obviously I wish more than anything else that those people are able to get the help they need that say stuff like that to others. But it's also like you just got to like just let it go, especially when it's part of, unfortunately the job. It's an entertainment job. And I think that that's

and so to wrap this back, I think that's why sometimes it in a different, maybe in a different era, Carrie Irving would get more of the benefit of the doubt and feel more like a colossal victim.

Yeah. Right. But you know, like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you didn't like something that somebody wrote. Right. But we're not changing the way sports works. Right? It's part of it.

Those post game shows, those pregame shows, those morning shows, those anybody could do that though, Kev. Anybody could do it. Janus could come out tomorrow and say, I don't want to talk to media this year. We got to mention this. This is a quick 20 second timeout. The whole story this morning about how he's added the bucks to a team you would want to be traded to.

Oh, yeah, yeah. That's right. We forgot to talk about that. What the hell? But so he added the bucks and the, who, I don't think Yonis added the bucks, though. I mean, that's what matters here. That's cool that you added the bucks. Are they trading Yonnas?

I mean. Yeah, so he had the bucks in the heat added to his list above teams that he would like to be traded for. With Milwaukee, like the most they could actually offer is the swapped first round picks in 2021 and 2023 with Chris Middleton, Brooke Lopez, Dante DiVincenzo. If it, let's say he, this is me just speculating here. Let's say Houston does have to trade hard and, but they want to take the Spurs approach. The Spurs took, you know, DeRosen and Pertle. They wanted to continue winning now.

They didn't want to go into full on rebuild. What if that's the approach Houston wanted to take? Middleton is an all-star two years in a row now and a really great defensive player. So, you know, I'm just saying it's not to me. If they're taking picks, if they're taking young players with their future focus, hell no. Milwaukee has zero, zero percent chance of getting James Harden. Zero.

But if Houston wants to get veteran players, which we may disagree with, but if they want vets, Yonis Aitlan that has. Chris, Chris, maybe not. But I'm just saying, how am I wrong about that, though, if Houston wants vets, if Tillman-Forten is like, we got a field, a playoff team, sale if we trade James. If the owner says that, the front office is going to do it.

And we've seen it happen before. Man, I'd hang up that phone to get Ben Simmons. I know. Me too. That's not a better deal than that. I agree, but I'm just saying, I'm just saying like that, if that's the, if that's what for Tito wants, what if that's what ends up happening? The best player that is out there, because we're going to assume that with that Miami

thing, they ain't getting rid of Bam out of bio, right? who would be a... I don't see how Miami has a... Miami is a team I look at. I'm like, where's their path? That's what I'm saying. He would be... Well, what hero.

And hero, too. And a lot of picks. Cornerstone. Do you do that if you're Miami? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I'm just curious. I'm not saying I wouldn't, but I'm curious.

Because you just played in the NBA finals while losing Gore and Dragage. And you were competitive in those NBA finals while losing Gore and Dragage. And I think, Bam out of bio is going to get even better. So there are a lot of NBA teams that think, you know, Miami making is partially just, you know, a little fluky, not because of the bubble, just like they're like that Cinderella team. That's what some people in the league think.

I don't believe that for a second. But that's what some people think in the league. A handful of executives I've talked recently. You know, I believe someone else reported recently teams think they're kind of fluky too. They're goofy. I don't, I don't feel that way. But that's the way people feel. What if Miami themselves?

What if people within that front office think, how can you say no to James Hardin? An MVP level caliber player. That is not a Pat Riley guy. Pat Riley, no. He is the antithesis of heat culture. He is the antithesis of heat culture. As a star player, you mean. Not like, you know, obviously you're bringing bench players.

They might have personalities like that. But stars you're talking, star levels you're talking. You have to be there before practice to get your friggin' body fat. You can't, you can't be smelling like tequila and, you know, whoever. Don't say that from the night before. That's true. What, no, I wasn't, I was saying tequila to alcohol, not the girl. I mean, come on.

It's not like he doesn't, and like, what, am I speaking out of school that he likes to party? There's been three pictures this week, Kevin. What are we talking about? You act like I'm breaking news here? Shit, I've seen him. I've seen him in three different clubs this week. You're kidding me? Like, what?

You act like I'm like a conjecture? Like, no, I saw it. I saw it on Instagram, Kevin. All right, let's get to. We are going to get to watch basketball starting tonight. So you're saying he's going to Milwaukee. Hell no. God has ain't letting that happen.

They might. No way. Now it would be hilarious. After all the beef between those two the last couple years. They got real beef. They do have beef. They got real beef. Yannis said he wanted a guy who could pass.

And James Hardin said basically that Janus was skillless. He's just a big bull in a China shop. It's so funny. I mean, they really don't like each other very much. Oh, man. Can you imagine that marriage? That would be funny. What was the other clip?

The other clip was he. better and I had never seen that one. So for anybody that doesn't know what we're talking about, go to my mayor Worldwide Wob's feed and you can find this recap of the Hardin and Yonis beef. But the one that I had not seen before. So we had the Yonis one where he said they're doing the All-Star draft and he said, I'm either going to pick Campbell Walker or Trey Young.

And Charles Barkley says, wait, you're not going to draft the dribbler? and Yanna said, no, I want somebody that's going to pass, which is hilarious that he's usually between Kimball Walker, Trey Young, but whatever, who are not exactly known as, they're not modern day Steve Nash is here. One quick interjection, Trey is a really good passer. It's just he's a ball dominant guy. He's a really good passer. I get it.

He's a good passer. He's a really good passer. But when you've got the ball every single time, you get a lot of assists. Like when the whole offense is built around you. He's a way better pass than you giving him credit. But we'll save that conversation for like an Atlanta conversation. Maybe, maybe later in this pod. Let's, can we at least say he's not?

Can we at least say he's not pass first? You at least say that. He's become a score first guy. Yes. That being said, the one, the clip I hadn't seen was the post game of the All Star game. And they asked him about the game. And Yon- You didn't see this?

I don't recall it, no. And Yonis says, well, our game playing down the stretch was to give the ball to whoever James Harden was guarding. Oh, yeah, that's right. And attack him. And I was like, God. Like, I mean, that's so obviously him taking a shot at James Hardin. Like, why would you even say that?

Like, Yonis really doesn't like that, dude. He doesn't like that, dude. And he threw the ball in his head before. I think it was a mistake. He was trying to throw in a milk of Brogan for a quarter three, but he nailed hard on it. Oh, it's so funny, man. All right.

That would be great. Anyway, I don't think that one's going to happen either. I look, I've said this two months ago or whatever, maybe whenever. As soon as Daryl got that job, I said, you watch James Hardin will be on Philly.

I still think that to this day. I'm with you there, but also watch out who's the sleeper. Who's the team? You know, like we talked about Tuesday with Bill Simmons. who's the team that comes out of nowhere and they put it all on the table

and Houston's like, sorry James and they take the best deal. That team might come out there. We saw it with Paul George going to OKC. We saw it with Kauai Leonard going to Toronto and winning a championship. It happens. It happens and it could happen again

with a player of James Harden caliber who almost net players that good never become available. It's so rare. We saw it with Kauai. We could possibly see it again with James Harden. All right.

There is going to be basketball that we can actually watch. And we talked about while the outcomes don't necessarily matter, it is fun to get to see these teams back in action. And for a good group, a good amount of teams, we haven't seen them even play since March. So it'll be interesting. And so I'm just going to run through the five games that are going to be tonight as kind of like a jump off point. And I'm just going to, I'm going to name the team and you tell me.

the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about that team and the upcoming season. Okay. All right. We're starting with the opener. The Orlando Magic. Our opener, yeah. Say it. Orlando Magic.

Say it. Say it. What do you want me to say? Oh, Bobba! Come on. No, it's not a Obama. I wasn't going to say, Obama. It was Markle Foltz.

Oh, Markle Faults. Oh, okay. He's losing his job to my guy, Cole Anthony. We both got, we both got, we both got, you know, holding on to hopes that our guy, our draft prospects work out there. It's Markle Fultz. I want to see as he's shooting the ball better, you know, has he developed at all? He was good last year. Yeah, I mean, he's solid. He's solid. He did it. He's a guy who could stick in the league. but I want to know can Markle Fultz become a guy that can maybe lead a team. Is that still in there in him? Probably not, but it could be.

That's the last team I saw in person before the bubble. Orlando. Yeah, there's a last team. They actually came to Memphis and were great. Terrence Ross went off. But I thought it was interesting. They had like at that point, they had a poor man's version of what they were doing at Oklahoma City where Michael Carter Williams

kind of played the Shea Gilgis role, right, in that deal. So they kind of ran the three guards out there and they were more fun than I expected them to be watching them. It was more fun, you know what I mean? They're not bad. They're not a bad team.

They weren't, at least last time I saw them. They just got a bunch of odd parts. And our boy Jonathan Isaac's got to make a career out of it. he was coming on and was really becoming a defensive force. And he's got to stay on the court, man. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Orlando might take a step back this year.

But, you know, still get some good pieces there. Yeah. I was surprised that they didn't do anything. maneuvering wise. They didn't really make any big moves. I think, I think they should be okay with that. It's on the horizon. Good year to be in the lottery.

Yeah. They won't be in the lottery. Now with Steve Clifford. I don't know, man. That's a eke out every single win, coach. Maybe. That's not a lay down coach. But with Atlanta getting better, who will, you know, we'll talk about next because they're facing

each other, Washington, other teams in the East. Yeah, Atlanta, all new. It's Trey Young. It's Trey Young. That's the number one name. And it's how he interacts with the new pieces around him. Like you said, it's a new team. They get Bogdan Bogdanovich, Rajan Rondo, Danilo Gallanari, more guys on that team that deserve

touches. Those guys are deserving of touch. But Trey Young just averaged nearly 30 points with over nine assists. And he was one of the most ball dominant players in the entire league. Trey to me, the best version of Trey Young is a guy that is leans towards the Steph Curry side of himself, rather than the James Hardin, rather than the true ball dominant force. It's the guy who's also a threat off the ball. Can Trey become a guy who can run off screens, who can come off handoffs and hit a three at a high level from, you know,

five feet behind the arc. Can he do that when Galanari's running the pick and roll with John Collins? Can he do that when it's Bogdan Bogdanovich getting a possession at the end of the game and Trey's going to get himself open? To me, if Trey Young can become that guy, we'll see him take another leap this season from really, really, really impressive guy who could average 39 to somebody who has winning qualities. And that's what I want to see. I want to see that leap. A winning top 20 top 15 guy. Let me ask you about two young guys that they've drafted on their team, right? Um, we'll set aside this past year's draft. Would you buy more stock in DeAndre Hunter or Cam Reddish? Still Cam. Still Cam. Still Cam Renish. I think with Cam all season.

Hunter was a high draft pick too. Hunter was good, you know, but like I, I like Cam still. Cam to me, he sucked on offense to start the season, like just awful to watch. Just gross. But, He was great defensively all year long. And at the beginning, at the end of the season, he came along offensively. He was getting a lot better, a lot more comfortable. Shots were starting to fall. He looked more comfortable on drives to the rim and finishing. And with Cam, like, you can get yourself locked into an evaluation.

If you see someone struggle early on or they're really impressive early on. If they're impressive, you always think, oh, they're just in a little slump. They'll get back to what level they were before. If someone is struggling, you think, oh, yeah, that's what they are. especially when it's a rookie because most rookies you know that struggle continue to struggle cam he got better he got better chris he is he is very and i'm not saying this as when it's going to come off as a criticism he is very uh rudigay jeff green ben mcclemorey in the sense other players think he's really good like he must be a dynamite pickup player when they all play pickup

right because he is an immensely talented player right he's a well-liked person too people like as a person I mean he's like he's like he's like sort of like he's sort of like Clay Thompson like you know minus like the fun China Clay and all that like it's like with Cam he's just quiet and he likes to be in the background yeah and just hoop all right he'd like don't demand the ball so nix uh obi topping oh I thought you were going to say RJ no Obie, it's Obie. And because with him, because Obie, the defense's

going to be better. Like, simple as that. Like, he's got to be fun on offense. I'd be shocked if Obie's not putting up points. He can shoot threes. He can roll the rim. Like, he's going to be really fun. But how good is he defensively? Is the big question that we need to see.

He told me, like, during his NBA draft combine interview or whatever it was, we put this in a video on the ringer, actually, talking about draft prospects. And Obie told me, that's one of the number one things he's been working on. Lateral quickness, movement. You know, he's doing strength and conditioning.

He's doing all this and that to improve his hip flexibility, his ability of change directions. Is that true? Well, we're about to find out Friday night. We're going to see him on the floor. I look forward to finding out if the training has helped him on defense. I want to make this clear because Nick's fans bust me up all time. I still, look, I may be wrong about him.

I still have my RJ Barrett stock. I wouldn't give up on that. I know I got John Morant, but I still liked R.J. Barrett. Oh, yeah, man. I thought that I never turned into a, this is only a two-man draft. And I think that Zion went into a very good situation. I think Morant went into a very good situation. And I think that kid went into a miserable situation.

There's no debating. He went to a, I mean, look, the front office got overthrown. the head coach got overthrown and it i mean that's and and they lost over and over again and you're trying to fit in and that's your intro into the NBA that is a tough spot he is a immensely talented score and i still have my rj stock i do yeah i'm i'm with you man i still like rj too right now it's low but i think it's a good time to buy yeah i haven't with you uh pistons oh god Oh, I mean, you know who it is. I'm not going to say Rookie Swoll with them, by the way, but then it's Killian Hayes, of course.

Oh, I thought you were, I thought you were going to say the land of centers and how it all plays together. No, no, no, it's killing. Hey, I'm kidding. Did you see that? Did you see that guy Troy Weaver the other day? He's like, I love centers. Like, okay. Like, he was like, I, I freely admit.

He was like, make all the center. He said, make all the center jokes you want. do love centers. And I was like, is he for real? Like, bro, that's fine if you love them, but you ain't got to sign them all. You know what I mean? Buy the basketball card. What are you doing? I want to see you play the five centers at one time. It was bloody Dvok's dream.

Now I guess it's Troy Weaver's dream. Anyway, killing. One quick thing on the centers, though, what they did make sense if you remove Blake Griffin. If you trade Blake Griffin for like a wing or a guard or draft picks, suddenly the piece is kind of fit. Like with way the way like you'd have Jeremy Grant and Mason Plumley starting with Isaiah Stewart. And and then that's a three big rotation. And then Jolaleigh one was a deep bend.

I'm not saying they're going to win. I'm not saying. You can't tell me it makes sense. It makes sense if you want to lose every night. No. I'm saying it makes sense from like a roster balance perspective is all I'm saying. No. No, it does.

Yes, it does. Three rotation, three bigs in a rotation with one depth guy and Jale O'Locry wouldn't play. It makes sense. What are you talking about? Give me the ones that are playing.

Jeremy Grant's not even really, so let's say, what are we doing with Dwayne Dedman? Right now you get Blake Griffin, Jeremy Grant, Mason Plumley, Isaiah Stewart, Jolah Locafour, and Sakeu Demoia would play some, you know, four, too. Wait, is it Deadman there?

Deadman got, he's gone. Oh, he is? Yeah. Man, I feel bad about that. Sacramento Kings fans jump me last year when I said that signing sucked. How'd that work out? Yeah, they did. I remember that.

I remember those tweets. Oh, you never watched him. You never watched him play. You never watched him. Like they were sitting around watching a 20-win Atlanta team. Just listen to me. I'll tell you when their team does right and when they don't. Frigin Dwayne Deadman, get off my nuts.

Jesus. Chris is on one. I love it. He quit on him. They got rid of him by like the trade deadline. They sound like Trevor, Reza, Corey Joseph, and Dwayne Deadman. I'm like, oh, yeah, great. Good jobs.

Who, geez, Chris. Edmund. You're on the way. By the way, Dwayne Deadman, I'm just making this clear. He's deserving of a job in the NBA. Where was he? Three point shooter. Do they to cut him?

Yeah, he's gone. Oh, he let go. Wow, that's crazy. See, he can shoot threes in defense. You need to go play for my boot nozer again. Actually, could be pretty good for them if they trade Brooklyn. Yeah, I got rid of Robin. Yeah, I know.

They did get rid of them. So Robin, you know, he can go in there and play with him. Anyway. All right, back to Killian A's. Is Killian A's going to be immediately good, or is it going to take a while? What do you think? I mean, he's going to be better than I think people expect. Better than Frankie smokes?

Yeah, sure, better than Frankie smokes. That's okay. I don't know why you're taking shots at Frankie smokes. We're talking about the Pistons. Come on, Chris. Well, they're playing each other. I know, I know. It's a battle of France.

Stay away from Frank. It's a battle of France. Give Frank some time, please. Stay away. This thing is going to have huge ratings in France, Pistons, Nicks. That's the only. plays. Oh, God.

There's going to be more people watching this game in France and there are in New York and Detroit. Well, with Killeen Hayes, yes, he'll be better with the other point guard playing on the other French point guard, the other top 10 pick. But I'm excited because I thought,

you know, everything I've heard about his training this summer focusing on his weaknesses, especially his offhand. James Edwards from the athletic wrote a really great story about all the training Hayes to the summer. breaking everything down. And everything I've heard out of Pistons, you know, you know, scrimmages so far as people are impressed by what they've seen from Killingayne

Hayes so far. So for me, like I had him right number one and, you know, we'll find out. Yeah, you've got a lot of stock in the guy. There's no way around.

And for him, I think there's a lot of talent there. And I think it would be really cool if the Pistons with a situation that they're in right now, they have a guy that gives them. you know some reason for optimism because i think killing is could be that guy it's also cool you know you get derrick rose on that roster another guy that once you gave a franchise hope and you know you then help along killing and hayes maybe do that rocket oh boy i mean

i mean like when you said rockets everything was the first word that popped into my head that doesn't really count it's not specific but how can it not be anything but everything because john wall right like i mean we just want to see what he looks like but like he fits into john wall directly fits into all the James Hardin stuff we talked about. It's right. You know, it fits into so much with there. It's like, how good is Boogie two guys coming back from major injuries with

Houston to me, from a basketball standpoint, I'm excited to see this team. I think on paper forget the Hardin Drama for like a moment. Like pretend it doesn't exist. And you only knew about this team on paper, the names on the page. You'd look at them and like,

huh, this is pretty impressive. A breakout player in Christian Wood who can roll the rim and shoot threes, plays pretty good defense. You'd look at the other guys. They had a jaw and wall. You'd look at the name. You'd look at James Hard on the name. You'd look at what they did with their versatility on defense past couple years. You think this is a pretty good team. And they have a chance to be really good. But then you can't do that without factoring in the drama. And that to me, what makes them probably the number one most interesting team to watch from like a business standpoint with the moves they make from a drama standpoint with everything. Like they are

the team to watch. One thing that you haven't mentioned. They're not going to be the small ball spread it out. PJ Tucker at the five team. They got a new coach and Stephen Silas, who was very highly respected and was part of a team that just had one of the most efficient offenses in NBA history that he was overseeing. And so it's just going to be weird.

We've gotten so used to seeing the Rockets being the team that shoots 65, three's a game and might play five small small guys at any given moment. And how much different does it look now? And especially, obviously, we're not going to get a good gauge until Hardin comes back if he comes back. Bulls. Billy Donovan there now. Billy Donovan there. I mean, I don't want to say another rookie and Patrick Williams.

I was going to say Kobe. He came on at the end. Right before this all. back court. It's how do these pieces fit together, right? It felt like Kobe White was really coming on. He had some big games. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like that last month before they suspended play, Kobe White was nice. And so he was really good. And I think him and Zach Levine, they're an interesting back court, those guys, kind of similar-ish styles. You know, they're not necessarily defensive-oriented players, but they play really hard on offense and their dynamic scores. And do we get a marketing

in revival. Hot rookie dead man sophomore year. And so it's like, which is it? Wendell Carter. Wendell Carter as well. I still like him. Do you like him more than Marvin Bagley now? No.

No. Oh, we'll get to Marvin Bagley. He's back. He's back. He's back to him. But with Chicago, you know, you know, that's what's encompassing all those guys is the new coach, Billy Donovan, in the system. Can he install the offense that he long wanted to install in OKC with motion and passing and cutting,

just like his great teams that he had in college. That is the thing that he's always wanted to do and push more of. It just didn't work because of the personnel. You don't do that with Russell Westbrook, but with Chicago, with the younger team with Zach Levine and with White and the pieces on that team, can he install it? And if so, how does it look and how does it facilitate the development of those young players? I think Levine ends up getting moved. That's my prediction.

Interesting. Yeah. Interesting. Teams want him. It's just a matter of. Oh, I think you could get really good return for him. Oh, yeah. Teams want him.

Teams want Zach Levine. He's a good player. He just averaged 26 points with pretty good efficiency, considering his role, he's only 25 years old. He's a good player. And I think with Levine, he's not a lead playmaker for you, but he can still pass a bit. He can still make some plays for others.

And maybe as he gets older, he hones that ability. further and he becomes even better passer. Maybe he starts trying on defense even more consistently. He doesn't need to be the man. Yeah. Though on some nights, he can do it. He can do it on certain nights. If he's the man on your team, your team sucks.

We just saw it. We found that out with Chicago, yeah. But, you know, he can be your, maybe your second in a couple years if he gets better in those categories. But we'll find out it, you know, how, that's what I mean with Billy Donovan. Can he bring that out of Zach Levine in ways that we haven't seen at the level it can be? We are going to spend an inordinate amount of time on the Clippers and the Lakers this season. Those guys won't even play tomorrow night.

You know, the big ones won't. And so we can bypass that. We're going to talk about these teams all season. Let's do a quick hit, a quick hit, Luke Carnard for the Clippers. And the reason why I say that is because we know everything else there. Like we know what Sergei Baca is. We know what these starters are. When they made that deal, I tweeted out, he is better than you think he is.

Yes. He is. Exactly. Exactly. To me, it's like the bench guys. Batum. What does Batum look like? Does he have anything? Probably not, but does he? I mean, but I'm just, you know,

you want to spoil? You want a spoiler? I'm just saying. I'm just curious. I'm curious to see the new pieces. Because with Knaar, look, I'm just saying any of the new pieces on there. Why'd you have to say Baton? Oh.

I'm just saying, like, I'm just saying, like, I want to see these new guys that they have. I got that. Is there anything they can bring to the team? And with Kinnard, there absolutely is. Ibaka Kinnard, I'll listen to. Come on, bro. You want to see what Nicholas Battoon looks like.

No, you don't. Hey, dude, I'm not, like, it's the preseason. What are we watching for? You just said Kauai and Paul George. What else are I supposed to watch for? I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you something. It's the third quarter. If you want me to name off 500 things, I'd rather watch the Nicholas Batoon play basketball, I will.

Have you watched Queen's Gambit yet? It's going to be a long pot. If you're not watching, if you're not watching third and fourth quarter of Clippers. Is that the chest thing? Yeah, watch Queens Gambit really good. It's worth watching?

It's awesome. Yeah. Really? I love it. Yeah. It's really good. Not what I expected from you. But again,

I didn't expect you to promote Nicholas Batum either. If you watch Queens Gambit, we'll talk about something we alluded to a couple weeks ago, like the deeper conversation about visualization and all that. Okay. But not Beth's. Toom. But not Patooam. Do you think Padu's going to play in his ski mask or no?

All right. The guy's a robber. He's probably robbed Charlotte for four years. All right. And Lakers, like, one sentence, it's the guys who were first and second and six man in the year. Shruder and Highland, Horton Tucker. Okay.

Cool. All right. It's the Taylin Horton Tucker show. And Caruso. And Caruso. Carusia. Sacramento Kings. I mean, it's Marvin Bagley because you mentioned.

Marvin Bagley. So I had him on my mind. There you go. And you should. Is he going to bring anything? Dude, Marvin Bagley has been, I don't understand.

He has been outstanding when he's played. He hasn't been. He's been riddled by injury. And that is part of, you know, you know, great, sometimes your greatest ability

is availability and he hasn't been available and that is a huge knock. But it is not like when he has played he has sucked. He's had some really good moments. He's had some 30 and 20s. I mean, he's had some big games in the NBA so far. The numbers aren't bad. And I do think that he,

look, I saw them in person a year ago and I said, boy, they got Fox healed and Bagley. If you don't screw this up, You got some nice stuff to build around with this team. And they got Harrison Barnes still like, that's not healthy. That's not going to be a bad team. It's not.

Because I love Fox. I think Fox will make all-star teams. And I think Bagley will eventually make all-star teams. I still believe that. And so I might end up being wrong about that. But I certainly have, there's been nothing that's happened, even in a short time in the NBA that has made me sell my stock outside of the injuries. you probably just bought more stock

because people are selling off they're selling off on the guy I don't think they should sell off on the guy so anyways Blazers I mean Covington's there now who else anything else different about them

I mean they kind of are what they are they've made changes they've made changes the roster I mean big ones that matter I mean Armello's back you know they've made some moves but ultimately Derek Jones Jr.

Oh, yeah. I mean, they made some solid ads. I saw something the other day about him and they were like the blazer. I was reading some story about it was some season preview about a bunch of different teams. And they were going through like the transactions that took place. And I remember being shocked by Derek Jones Jr.'s age in the article. How old is he? He was way younger than I thought.

23. Yeah, I was going to say he's a young 20s, 23. I thought he's been around longer than that. I feel like he's been around longer than that. Hey, came in the league at a young age, man. I guess. I guess I don't remember him in college either.

Do you? Where do he go? I mean, he's, you and LV. UNLV, I don't remember. He's kind of similar to the guy that he is today.

You know, obviously dynamic athlete as everybody sees, you know, when you watch him play, but, you know, energetic. Yeah,

he's a solid player. He's pretty devastating at the top of that zone with Jimmy Butler when they ran that zone. He was pretty great at that. He's a fun player. So I think for Portland, you know, I think there's really almost nothing specific. It's similar to some of the other teams we talked about where it's like how to all these newer pieces that round off the roster fit together with CJ and Dame and NERC. We got those five games coming up and then we got a whole bunch of others.

And then the preseason, honestly, to get these guys, you know, you've got the group of the guys that are coming back from injury like Curry, like Durant, like cousins, even Oladip. on a on a smaller level that are coming back and trying to reclaim what they once were. And then you've got all the rookies. That's what the preseason's fun for is seeing the rookies and seeing kind of what they look like right off the bat and kind of how they, how they look on a floor with other NBA players for the first time. And there's some of them, like you were mentioned, Obey, he'll, he's going to look like he's going to look the part in the, in an NBA uniform, like immediately. He's a grown-ass man.

And let me tell you something. I'll say this at the very end because I saw the kid, was it yesterday a day before? And you were all over him when we did all of our draft stuff. You are all in on Desmond Bain. I saw this kid, Kevin.

He's good. Look, I have never seen, a rookie built like this guy. He looks like when you see him, he looks like a linebacker. Yeah, he does. He has like bodybuilder arms, like huge muscles. It is bananas.

How big this guy is. He is like he is bigger than like PJ Tucker. He is huge. I was like, Jesus. Like, why is this guy not playing for the Carolina Panthers? He's being a star tight end. He can make an Antonio Gates level transition. Every once in a while, you got to see a guy, but like just see a shockingly huge, especially for a rookie.

So I'll tell you this, if there's nothing else, he could go fight Jake Paul if basketball doesn't work out. And you know, the funny thing is, like, you think muscular players in the NBA that are usually not knock down shooters. But Desmond Bain has. flame thrower from three. Like he can not just stroke three is like stand still. He can become sprinting off a screen or pull up off the dribble. Like Desmond Bain can shoot it. Like he can shoot it.

So like he's going to be like a fun like league pass nerdy type of player to watch because it's like this big huge muscular guy who can just shoot the hell out of the ball. When people see this dude and I may tweet out of video tomorrow. He flexed for the camera and I was like, what the hell? Like a big fire hose vein running down his arm. He looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He looked like the real bane from the food.

I'm like, Jesus, they drafted the real bane. And also one of the quick thing on him, he's also an awesome dude. Just wanted to say that too. He's a great guy, a great teammate. And he's going to be one of those people. People love to have in their locker room as our teammate.

I can't wait to see all these different rookies and all these games that are going on this weekend. Kevin, have a great weekend. I will talk to you on Tuesday. Thanks as always to producer Sasha. And thank you to all of you that continue to help us get the word out and subscribe to the mismatch feed everywhere.

Thank you, everybody. Yeah. And we're getting the artwork updated everywhere. Kevin's supposed to, to go and be Kevin O. Picasso and do the artwork everywhere. Yeah, well, he just hasn't, he hasn't gotten around to it.

Yeah. I think, I think sometimes you need to refresh the page and sometimes like other apps take long and rough day. I don't know. But people are working on it behind the scenes. But thank you everybody for listening to the mismatch. And it's awesome. It's great, Chris. I'm excited for the season and get wrong.

We're going to be fun. By the next time, by the next time we speak, we'll be talking about basketball action. And let's just keep our fingers crossed that during this global pandemic, we're able to have a basketball season and everybody stay healthy and safe. Hope so, man. It's going to be tough. It's going to be tough.

There's no way around it. We'll talk to everybody next Tuesday.