The Mismatch - World Cup Takeaways, Anthony Edwards's Ascension, and Another NBA Investigation

Episode Date: August 22, 2023

The NBA is investigating James Harden calling Daryl Morey a liar, as Verno and KOC discuss the ongoing drama that surrounds Harden (01:27). With the FIBA World Cup around the corner, the guys discuss some of Team USA’s young rising stars, including Anthony Edwards's emergence as the face of the team (15:27). Also, after KOC shares his experience watching Mt. Joy at Red Rocks, the guys answer all your mailbag questions (27:50). Got a question for Verno and KOC? Send them an email at [e-mail]! Or you can send the guys a tweet @ChrisVernonShow and @KevinOConnorNBA! The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please check out http://theringer.com/RG to find out more, or listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Football is around the corner and we are ramping it up over here on the Ringer NFL feed in the month of August. Every week, Ben Solac and I will be bringing you not one but two extra point takens. That's right. Double the trouble as we predict, debate and analyze our way through camp and the preseason every Monday and Friday. But that is not all. Stephen Ruiz and I will be coming to you every Wednesday. We'll talk about everything in the world of the NFL. And who knows, maybe Stephen will even have something nice to say about your favorite squad. Though frankly, I wouldn't count on it.

Subscribe to The Ringer NFL show on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. And be sure to follow the Ringer NFL on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter at Ringer NFL. Welcome to The Mishmatch. I'm Chris Vernon and joining me as he does every Monday night from the Ringer.com. It's Kevin O'Connor, A.K. Kevin O'Bomber, Kevin O'Bomber, A.K.K.O.com, Kevin O'Compter. Kevin O'Frider. How are you doing, man? What's going on? Great. We have actually had some. basketball that has been going on. We'll touch on that and also really the only big basketball news that has taken

place since we last spoke. And that is the NBA launching an inquiry, dun dun dun, done, into the circumstances surrounding James Hardin's public admonishment of the franchise as president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey. The league office is believed to be pursuing an understanding of whether Hardin was portending a 2,023, 24 holdout in violation of the league CBA or had been referencing past contract discussions with the organization that might constitute salary cap circumvention.

So the NBA has got their detectives on it. They are going to try to find out why James Hardin stood in. in a public forum and said, Daryl Morey is a liar. What do you think they'll come up with? Well, the one thing we do know so far, according to Sham Sharania, he tweeted this on Monday morning

that as part of the NBA's probe into that liar comment, Hardin told the league that he was referring to Mori telling Hardin that he'll quickly trade him after he opted into his contract. So that clarifies part of our discussion last week where it was, well, is this about the trade demand or is this about everything prior with the contracts and some type of promise there? Clearly, it's not about that as we assume, considering there was already an investigation into other Sixers' business last summer.

So it's just about the trade. As far as I understand, unless there's something more, there's no rule breaking here. It's just Daryl Morey may or may not have told James Harder, we will quickly trade you. I mean, ultimately, like, yeah, that sucks for James Harden if that's what he was told after he opted in. But ultimately, Chris, I think, I mean, my impression at the time of the opt-end was they're going to try to look for a trade. And they did try. And just like James Harden found out when he was looking around in free agency, there was no market for him. there was no real market for him in the trade market either.

So I think that's the harsh reality here for James Harden that he's found out this summer, regardless of what Daryl actually said to him directly. Okay. So here's where I would come out. So we talked about this at length last week. If I think that my guess would be there was an understanding prior to the opt-in,

that the opt-in was contingent upon, Well, but the Schaam's report said, the Schaum's report said, just to read it directly, James Hardin told league investigators he was referring to Daryl Morey telling Harden he will trade him quickly following 35.6 million opting for the 2023-24 Cs. And so, like that could mean that he told him that prior to the opt-in. Of course he did. He's not opting in unless he thinks he's getting traded. No, he's opting in if he knows there's no market. out there for him. Okay. So let me play devil's advocate on this. And I cannot believe I am in a situation where I am taking up for James Harden, but here we are. I can't either. I really can't.

No. There was no market for him, Chris. Nobody wants them. Okay. Perfect. Now let me turn this back on you, okay? Understood. There's no market for him. And there's no market for me because I am a reduced version of myself or because people don't think they can win with me or whatever, right? Then why in the hell is everyone supporting him not trading him for less than monster return? It's one or the other. Either I'm a sack of crap or I am worthy of monster return. You decide. Chris, no, it's not

It's not sack of crap or worthy of monster return. It's a top 30-ish player. That's what it is. It's an old top-30-ish player on an expiring contract who's a malcontent right now. Then why is there the demand for a monster return for me? Because the demand is the fact that if you're the Sixers, you want to continue being a championship contender.

The demand is a return that allows you to continue contending, have hopes for a championship. All that matters is how he's valued to the Sixers. A bunch of other teams have point guards, primary ball handlers, they're young guys that they're invested in and that they don't want to sign for mid-30s James Hardin, who's never happy and Burns Bridges every time he leaves a team and is on clearly on the decline.

Nobody else wants him, but the Sixers do want him. Again, I totally understand. So then I'm saying this in the role of the employee here. I get it. You value me. Then why are you paying me? It's one or the other. Either I am of great value or I'm not.

And if I'm of great value, why aren't you paying me? Well, I'll tell you what, there, Chris. So you don't want to pay me, but you don't want to trade me for less than superstar return. I will. You don't want to pay me like a superstar, but you also don't want to trade me for anything less than a superstar. I'll take the side of management here. Of course.

It's easy to understand why Hardin would feel that way. But if you're on the sixth side of things, the offer that you may have made him on that Friday was probably some short-term Fred Van Bleet-esque contract with a team option on the final year giving you control. And if you're James Hardin, maybe you would rather be. bet with the player option and say, you know what, this will be my ultimate prove-it year, and next year you're giving me the Supermax or somebody else will, because I'm going to have a MVP season, I'm going to be best-shaped my life, maybe Hardin feels like he doesn't want to

take that two-plus-one type of contract that Philadelphia likely would have offered him had he hit free agency. So I think for the Sixers, they could have paid him more annually. Maybe they would have given him 35, 40 plus million dollars annually. But if you're hard and I think it's the length of the contract that you value more. And if you're the Sixers, no matter how much you value him for this year and maybe next year, like year three, year four, that that's where things get really, really difficult from the Sixers side of things. Well, here's what I would say. If that is true, they should have leaked it and it been reported. Here is what leaked the offer. He turned down. But maybe it will come.

It might come. Maybe it will. We never saw that. So that would give, that would give me perfect context. Hey, bro, you turned down 120. You turned down 90. You turned down 160. You turned down less than a Supermax.

Like, as far as I know, I never saw it reported anywhere. I never saw any offer that he said no to from now. My understanding is that, like, I believe some others have reported this, and I've heard this as well, that the Sixers were unwilling to even talk to Hardin in the lead up to free agency. Like, they were, like, super buttoned up, not even, like, entertaining offers or discussions. They were trying to stick, like, really to the rules, right, after getting the penalty of the last year. So, like, maybe that was partially them playing hardball with James Hardin there to try it out. Like, maybe it was sticking to the rules, but maybe it was. Let's see what he does.

Let's just see what he does. If he does panic and opt-in, which was beneficial to the Sixers, because then they retain even more flexibility rather than giving him a 2-1 or a 3-plus-1. So, like, there might have been ulterior motives from the Philadelphia side of things there, but I do wonder if that will leak out, because that is the type of information that you would think would sway this conversation in a different type of way that here's the offer of the Sixers were prepared to make to James Hart and had he not opted in. Yeah, and at that point, then to me, because I'm just, I'm trying to separate James Hardin from the situation and just saying, like, look, bro, you've either, as we should, as we should. Yeah, you've either got to pay me or you've got to then say, okay, here is what we actually think he's worth.

Like, you can't want superstar return for a player that you're unwilling to pay as a superstar. That's not right. Yeah, but it's the length of the contract. It's not like they are paying him big money. They're paying $35 million this year. It's the length of the deal. And like the fact is, is he stunk in the playoffs.

He had two amazing games. And other than that, he was absolutely garbage. Worst than he's ever been since his rookie season in the playoffs. And he was at his best when the ball was in his hands and it was hardened ball all over again. And Joelle Embed was out. And I don't think that that is any coincidence.

You know what I mean? that like all of a sudden when it was all built around him again, he's he all of a sudden had forgotten that he was a slowed down version of himself. I mean, he was unbelievable that night in game one. Oh my God. Game one and four. It was like he was MVP Hardin. He was freak of nature.

And it was like, oh, so he can do this when he wants to. This is a joke. It almost made me resent him even more. You know what I mean? Like, what you can do? Like, you're clearly capable of doing this. You know, it's just we needed to have you have your time to shine where, you know, you've got the ball in your hands every single play.

Quick question that comes to mind, Chris. With this, let's say, with Shams reporting what he did about, you know, that he'll trade him quickly, with Hardin saying this and revealing that while in that little tour in China, why do this if you're hearted? Like, is it just about trying to turn people against Daryl Morey? Do you that, so nothing else, because clearly, like, there's nothing,

unless there's more to this, there's not going to be some penalty towards the six years or anything like that. He's trying to make him look bad. He's trying to make him look bad. He's mad at him. Does this actually help your leverage, though? No, of course it doesn't. It hurts your leverage.

Of course it doesn't. He's just mad at the guy. He's mad at him. But it's dumb. If you're Steve Ballmer and the Clippers right now, Like, if you're Steve Ballmer and Lawrence Frank and the Clippers front office is coming to you saying, we should give more to go get hardened. If you're a bomber, you got to be sitting there like, no, why would we trade for this guy?

Like, I think it lowers his chances of being traded. Of course it does. Of course it does. I don't get it. What G, we talked about this last week, it's going to take a desperate GM. That's it. Yeah. A desperate GM or one of two things.

And again, we covered this. It's one of two things. Either somebody that is so solidly in their role, they can get away with the risk that doesn't work out. Or somebody that needs to take a risk because what the hell else? If I don't do something like this, I'm losing my job anyway. So I might as well just go ahead and try to hit a grand slam and maybe catch lightning in the bottle with this guy for a contract year.

Other than that, like you're ruling out a massive amount of team. like guys that are not worried about their job at all or super worried about their job. That's the two categories. But I don't see any other scenario where somebody is trading for him. It has to fit into one of those two. What are the odds that you think he finishes the season with the Sixers? Zero percent. I mean, we've seen the way he acts.

Like 25 percent. No way. No way. You've seen the way he acts when he doesn't get what he wants. You know what I mean? He will sabotage. I know, I know. He is a willing sabotage.

I know, but like he, he's not the MVP anymore. He's not that guy anymore. I get it. And it's at the point now where if he does that, I think he just further hurts his chances of actually getting what he wants. What he might find out is that what he doesn't want staying in Philadelphia is the, only good choice for his future and his career, considering the fact that nobody else is making an offer that's acceptable for the Sixers. Nobody else necessarily will be able to pay him as much as the Sixers can.

And nobody else can possibly offer him a teammate of the quality of Joelle M.B. Or a co-star in the backcourt and Tyrese Maxie who's emerging. If you're hard and when you're diminishing right now, these are the type of players that you need to be surrounded by. And I think, like, if you look at all 30 teams, if you just plug, if you're, you're ranking the 30 teams best fits for James Hardin. Philly's at least in the top three. Arguably number one without a doubt. No, number one is the Clippers.

So that me and you could finally have Westbrook and Hardin together. Oh, my God. What a debacle. Yeah, on a personal level, number one is the Clippers, yes. I would go to, I mean, look, I would take over Bill Simmons' season tickets that he's getting rid of and fly into games. if I could see a Westbrook Garden backcourt. Oh, my goodness. It would be amazing.

Oh, boy. Absolutely amazing. Another thing that's going on is the rise of some very young stars. So this Team USA thing has been super fun for anybody that's got to catch any of it. Now, all you've missed at this point, if you have missed it, is exhibitions. They are going to be headed to the Philippines where the World Cup is going to be going. going on. But this World Cup team has been very fun because while it is not an assembly of the best players that the United States could put in uniforms, it is, they've constructed it as a team.

And you also see the guys that are kind of up next going forward and getting their opportunity. And it's very interesting to see how it shakes out amongst them and who really stands out. So for those that don't know, they were down big to Germany, a German team that has the Wagner's, they've got Dennis Schroeder, they've got other guys that you would certainly recognize. And they got down big and made some lineup adjustments and came storming back behind this heroic effort by Anthony Edwards. And it was with a back court of Halliburton and Austin Reeves. it was with wing players that included Anthony Edwards, who was kind of in the I'm the Alpha role and McEl Bridges, and then a center in Jaron Jackson Jr.

And they ended the game, I believe, on a 14-0 run. And it's fun to watch them because I do think it gives you a glimpse kind of into the future. Jalen Brunson clearly like kind of a leader slash captain for that team. and he's got some other guys that have played pivotal roles in just the exhibitions. But I think one of the big takeaways is figuring out kind of where Edwards assent leads after this year, for all of these guys, frankly, for Hallibur. Like, how good can all of these guys be? And especially those ones that were closing out, you know, Halliburton, he had that Indiana team before.

his injury as one of the, in fact, the massive surprise, there's really them in Utah as the huge surprises, but I mean, they were like a solid playoff seed when, before he got injured and it went to hell. Reeves, we saw him perform on the biggest stage in the playoffs. I watched him in person win a game against the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter yelling I'm him. So, I mean, I probably got a higher opinion of him than most. McKell Bridges, we saw an explosion after he went to Brooklyn, where it was like, I'm not the third or fourth best player on a team. I can be the first or second best player on a team.

Edwards is the one that looks like the massive assent to superstardom. And then Jared Jackson, Jr., who was lived up to the defensive player of the years. I mean, he had six blocks in yesterday's game. It is just looks like a different guy and being used a lot of different ways by Steve Kerr that I think will be beneficial to him. But I got to think, I wonder if Taylor Jenkins has taken notes there for the 25, 25 games without John Morant if we see. I mean, Sharon Jackson did show those dimensions and spurts, but now it's like a brand new system, different environment. So it's exciting to see if you're a Grizzlies fan what Jackson's doing in Fianna Fever right now. And a lot of the Dremont stuff, like the triple handoff stuff.

Totally. I'm driving to the basket. And, you know, he gets bigger and stronger every off season. He looks huge, man. His ability to block shots with both of his hands is just ridiculous. Totally ridiculous. Yeah, I think that, you know, you've got to recalibrate what you think he's capable of, especially when you've got 25 games of an absence of your leading score.

He had big, big scoring output last year when Morant was out. So he certainly wanted to. to watch. But the Edwards thing is fun because, you know, he's kind of taking over that role for this team that so many great players in the past have taken over. And, you know, I saw him. I covered that playoff series a few years ago. He's taken his lumps in big time games. He had that abject disaster of a game against the Lakers in the play in last year, or else they're probably a playoff team last year. He has very high goals.

He has all the confidence in the world. And I love seeing him on that stage in international basketball against those teams because he's one of those guys that brings to the table the unstoppable thing. When he puts it all together, I really, with his size, speed, strength, athleticism, I really don't know what you do with him. And he's also a willing defender. Like, he's a guy that's willing to guard De Aaron Fox when it matters most. Like, you know, just say, get off of him.

I'm guarding him or whatever. And so the Edwards thing has been super special. And I do think it's going to be very, very fun to watch this team in the World Cup and kind of see the future of the NBA, which appears to be in tremendous hands with some real startle. 100% and Anthony Edwards looks like the face of that right now for Team USA. Like he had the Michael Jordan-esque mid-range pull up late in the game. He had the no dribble dunk in the third quarter, I believe it was.

The dude just is a living highlight real. And like we know Edwards for years now. The swagger, the personality, the smile. I mean, like we've talked about, you know, all the international players in the B.A. as kind of the faces right now. Who's the next face of American basketball? Anthony Edwards has the personality that, like, say, Jason Tatum is lacking that a Trey Young lacks.

Well, this is the perch that John Morant was supposed to be on. Yes. Yes. 100% true. And he hasn't blown it completely yet, because, I mean, Nike hadn't ditched him. But that was kind of be, you know, especially when you're looking and you're, when you're listing off the best players in the league and it's Janus and it's Yonkich and it's, It's reigning MVP Joelle Embedde and it's Luca Donchitz. And the best rookie coming in is Victor Wimbayama. I mean, we've talked about this quite a bit.

It's like, where are the great American players that are going to, you know, be that guy? And I think that, you know, Nike was certainly behind making that brand. You know, they built a whole mountain for him, literally a mountain in Salt Lake City at All-Star Weekend and unveiled the shoes and everything. and Edwards has got the personality, he's got the charisma, he's got the, but he's kind of floated in that area of not being a massive superstar that can't go and do everything. He started to get a little taste of it this offseason with the controversy where people were trying to cancel him for some missteps.

but I mean that's part of being young and being a star is you start to realize every move you make is under the microscope. And yeah, I do think that he could certainly be one of those guys that everybody's looking towards as kids won his jerseys. And, I mean, he's fun. He plays perimeter basketball so kids can act like him. And he's a couple of ad campaigns away from. Well, he can be imitated with the perimeter style, but he's also someone who kind of inspires awe because of the loud, ferocious thungs at the rim.

The guy's a freakish athlete. He's huge. He's got like a jumbo-sized football player frame. So I think all that really needs to happen at this point is that the Minnesota Timberwolves need to start winning. They have to be better than a 500 basketball club. So you see Carl Anthony Towns getting thrown out of games, getting ejected, still being a whiny baby. and Rudy Gobert. Rudy hit a three earlier this month,

and I just have to point this out. I got to point this out. He's shooting 81.3% from the free throw line, 26 of 32 from the free throw line, Chris. I just got to point that out as a guy who's hovered around 60% throughout his career. Maybe Gobert has actually figured something out

with his shot. with this teeny tiny sample with one made three out of two attempts and over 80% from the free throw line. Just throwing that out there that if something's going to hold back in the Edwards. I know you love. I know you love. But if somebody holds back in Minnesota, it's not Rudy Gobert. It's Carl Anthony Town. That's coming from me, a guy that used to be a cat guy. And I'm no longer.

No, cat stretches the floor at least. Cat's great for international basketball, too. He is. He very well may be the most accomplished guy that's playing in this thing. Seriously. There's not that many guys playing in this. And that Dominican team's not terrible. Bahamas team's pretty good, too.

Bahamas team's got, you know, Eric Gordon and Buddy Heald and Eric Gordon. Eric Gordon has been amazing. Dude, that Eric Gordon dunk might have been the most shocking dunk I can remember. Like, I didn't even know he could. I'm not kidding. I didn't know he could dunk, still. Not only, driving and dunking,

I was like, what is going on? Let me check how many dunks he had last season. All right, hold on. Okay, all right, take a guess. How many games did he play? Do you have that? He played 69 games. Nice.

How many dunks in 69 games? Seven. One. Not even like breakaways. I mean, now that I realized he could dunk, off a drive. I was like, all right, he probably,

maybe I'm just, maybe I just don't, I mean, it's not like I was watching the rockets last year. Yeah, well, I mean,

I didn't have a, I'm not a glutton for punishment. His last five years have been 752, three, one. So, like his career highs

in the early prime 35, and he typically hovered around like 10 per year. He talked off a drive for the Bahamas. Anybody can go look that up. It's crazy. I mean, he looks like a guy

who's a strong candidate to be closing games for the Sons this year. That's for sure. Yeah, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that was a cheap ad for them, because he can still play. You know what I mean? That son's team, like, that offseason looks good already. Yeah, it's going to be fun for 2K for sure. Fun for 2K.

And we'll see about real life. If DeAndre Aiton continues playing well, he seems to be playing well as well, uh, for, uh, Bahamas. Yeah, the Bahamas are in. So anyways, that's going to be starting up this weekend. People are going to be able to check out that team USA. But a lot of fun young players on there, and it's kind of fun to see them in this environment. Because I like this one because when we put together the Olympic team, they can beat the piss out of people.

Like, they'll have a couple of close games there at the end, you know, where they get challenged. But this team is like up for a challenge. It's not a sure thing. they'll win the thing. They're going to be challenged by these teams. And it's fun to see them go against teams that have more experience, teams that have played together a lot longer. And I think it is tremendous for them in the individual development, as well as their development as team basketball players. I think that this is going to be, I think the World Cup is actually going to be fun to watch.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. All right. I know we were going to try to get to a couple of mailbag questions that we haven't been able to get to. over the past week or so. Before we get to that, when we last left, you were going to be heading for your first trip to Red Rocks,

where many concerts have been played and recorded. There's a lot of live albums, live from Red Rocks, from different bands, but you were going to go see one of your favorite bands, Mount Joy, and take the trek to Denver, Colorado. Tell me about it. It was the best trip I've ever taken on my life. What?

Yeah, just having so many different friends there from Massachusetts, from Philadelphia, from L.A., just a big group of people that I love and care about. And then the amazing music and my friends in that band, seeing them after the show, it was just an amazing collection of people that I really love in my life. And just the stuff we did as well. The food we had, we went to 8-5 Steakhouse, and this place called Bardo, and both of those places were, like, especially 8-5, some of the best food I ever have had. Were they recommendations, or did you look them up online? Recommendations from one of my friends who used to live in Denver. They did not let me down with those recommendations for sure. I mean, look, you can say this out loud.

It was Yokic, Yolkich. Yeah, Yolkich recommended him, of course. Yocich, Nicola Yokic recommends going to A5 Steakhouse in Denver. It is, hey, did you go where job recommend it? Well, we were talking about it, but we did not. He doesn't recommend that point. It was productive as well, worked ahead on some stuff for this coming season. So I'd spent some time there working and getting ready for October with some preseason content on the Nuggets.

So I'm excited about that as well. I was super productive. I'm looking forward at working on that. But yeah, dude, Red Rocks, you got to go to Red Rocks.

Oh, I do. If you love going to concerts, like, or whatever they have there, I noticed like they had some comedy in the past, like George Carlin played there many, many years ago.

But like, whatever the event is there, it is magical. Being there in that crowd with the stands going seemingly forever, like a stairway to heaven, with these two big, beautiful rocks on the side of the stage, it's just magical. It is the type of thing where you just look up and, like,

watching Mount Joy play and being there with my friends, it was just one of those moments for me personally, where I was just like, these are the moments that make you happy to be alive and to experience and to do things with the people you love and care about. And, like, all my friends felt the same way. and it was just an amazing couple of nights there. And just that's a motivator to do more stuff with the people you care about for me.

One of the things that I wanted to ask you is I always see it. You know, I honestly, like I see the concert videos. And so it appears as if this place is in the middle of nowhere. Like it's in the middle of nowhere and then there's just this concert venue. So I've always wondered, like, do you have to walk away to get to it from wherever you park?

Or is it when you pull up, Does it look kind of like an arena or an amphitheater that I've been to before from the outside? And then just when you're seeing it on the inside, it looks like self-contained and like it's in the middle of a field somewhere. Well, I mean, when you're there, you're kind of like at the top of like, so like you're there and you feel like you're isolated in the sense that you see the big rocks and other rocks, but you're not really near anything else. You don't see anything else. I've seen the videos. No, nothing. It looks like they're in the middle of a mountain.

We went back to back nights to the Mount Joy shows, and both nights were awesome. The first night, it was a little harder for us to get to there because we weren't sure where stuff was. We had to stop at the box office before the show. The box office is way far away from the arena. So, like, it was just complicated. But if you ever do go, I recommend if you take an Uber, have it, like, do double stop, a stop at the box office if you have to go there, and then a stop at the top, the north entrance,

I think it is. and it brings you're right up there, super easy, unless you want to get some exercise. If you want to get some exercise, then, enjoy walking up those hills. It's beautiful, man. It's far to walk, though. The first night, one of my groups that I was with,

they had to do the long walk. My group, it worked out where we were able to take an Uber up, or then a shuttle. They have a shuttle as well from one of the parking lots. But, dude, the venue's amazing. Not overrated at all. No, no. not one bit. And I went in there, like, you have to have eye expectations. It's

red rocks. Yeah. And it still surpassed them. It's just so amazing to be there looking at the stage and then looking around and just seeing just the sea of people and those crazy rocks on both sides of you. And it sounds great. It's also like a dream for all these artists. You know, they always talk about playing there. How much they love playing there. And Mount Joy, they released a live at Red Rock's album. I believe it was last year. And like, Mount Joy, like, there's a lot of artists who come out. And like, they have like one great album and then they fall off. When I first saw Mount Joy five years ago in 2018, I saw them live. I love their first album. They are so much better now than they were five

years ago in terms of like how tight they are on stage, their performance, their skills, the production, they have this huge screen with like these cool, trippy visuals and the lighting. Like they've released two more great albums since their first release. I just, it's, It's rare for a band or an artist to get better over a five-year period. A lot of times they fall off slightly. And Wow Joy is one of those artists. Like everybody I've talked to. Like I posted about it on social media and like multiple people who, you know,

follow our stuff has said, oh, they get better and better. Like people, like we're talking about after they're even better. Like they keep getting better. And I just think that's a really cool thing to see that band grow. Because I remember, you know, two or three years ago talking to Matt Quinn, their lead singer and Sam Cooper, their lead guitarist, they're the guys that formed a band.

And they're like, we want to do more jam stuff. You know, kind of like flowing song to song, transitions, different set lists every single night. And they have now grown into that where that's exactly what they're doing

where night one versus night two is dramatically different shows and they're awesome. They're awesome. All right, so we need to give some context to this. One of the reasons that you connected to them in the first place

is they're big Sixers guys. Huge Sixers guys. Did you have the opportunity to ask them about Hardin? We did talk about Hardin, yes. What did they say? What is their opinion? Sixers fans, they are just absolutely crushed.

And Matt, at this point, he just feels like there's a sense of dread in that does this just inevitably lead to Joel and Bede asking out? No. It's the down and out feeling. Well, I know. And how can you not feel that way, right? After you have this big victory

after the Ben Simmons scenario and then it comes full circle and here you are. I mean, it's it really sucks for six years. Hey, at least the band is the good thing is going personally. Yeah, the plane red rocks.

All right. Let's try and knock out a couple of mailbag questions that we've been wanting to get to. What do you got? All right, let's start off here with something on a personal level from Robbie from Indiana. He says he's getting married

on September 9th. Congratulations, Robbie. And then on September 10th, he's getting to see Pearl Jam with his family. And then he's going on his honeymoon. In Memphis, Tennessee. No.

Really? I don't know why he's going to Memphis for his honeymoon. How dare you? But that's where he says he's going. So he asks you, Bruno, what are the best things to do? Are there any hidden gem restaurants?

Oh, the music stuff is the best stuff to do, right? I mean, a couple of the, you know, Look, this is like the birthplace of rock and roll. So you can go over and see Sun Studios where that's where Johnny Cash, that's where Elvis Presley, that's where Carl Perkins, that's where Roy Orbison, all manner of people recorded there. There have been, there's Stacks, which was Otis Redding, where you had Aretha Franklin. You had all kinds of different people recording there over the years. So, and those music studios you could still go to and check those out.

And so there's like music tours that are even done. Obviously, you've got Graceland if you want to check out a part of American history where they still do tours every single day. And you could check out Elvis's house. And it would be something, it's a monument, certainly something you would remember. The National Civil Rights Museum is about as powerful a place as there is in the world. The National Civil Rights Museum is right next door to the Lorraine Motel, which still has the car, the very famous photo of Dr. Martin Luther King on. the balcony and the you can the the room is still intact the the whole hotel the the motel is intact with the cars outside exactly how they work and it is i'm getting chills even talking about

it's very very powerful for sure and it gives you a history of civil rights within this country um obviously tremendous food great great food soul food barbecue barbecue a million barbecue places in town, a million chicken places in town. I mean, it's down home. Like, you can find all kinds of great food. Where do we eat for chicken? We went to central barbecue when you guys came in town, I believe. But yeah, there's all kinds of great barbecue spots.

There's all kinds of great food. And then, yeah, I'd say taking the history, right? There's monuments. There's so much music that was produced out of the city that there's a real soul to it. I mean, even, I don't know if I've ever told you. you this. But when I was, I worked downtown. My studio for my radio show was downtown many years ago. And every day, Rosa, my producer and I parked behind this business that was down on Beale Street. And I would walk by this little house. And it was the Handy House, W.C. Handy, who is a music legend.

They have his house intact. It's still there, like, near the street. Now, I would just walk by it. It's a little shotgun house. You know, kids will go on field trips there and check it out, whatever, as a historical monument. So anyways, I was walking to work one day, and there's a place where you walk down,

if you're walking downtown, it's called Handy Parks, just a small little park. But there is a statue there of WC. Handy. And this was right before we were about to have my son, and I was walking by it one day. And I don't know why, but I had never, I had never stopped at that statue. I'd walk by that statue a thousand times. And I'd never stop.

And I stopped and I started to read it. And it said, William Christopher Handy, blah, blah, blah. And it gave his whole, like, why there is this monument here to Kim, a legendary music. My father's name is William and my name is Christopher. And I went home and I said, that's what we're naming our kid. And she's like, I'm with it. Wow. How about that?

And it is in large part because I saw that statue as I was walking down. I was like, you know what? This is like my father's name is William. And so that's why my son's name is William. And his middle name is Christopher. And that was because, right? And so, yeah, as I was walking by. And so anyways, whether it's WC. Handy, whether it's B.B. King, whether it is Elvis

Presley or whether it is the people Otis Redding or it's Jerry Lee Lewis or whatever. Everybody recorded in Memphis. So much music that you care about, know about, love. Even one of the biggest hits of the last 10, 20 years, Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars, I mean, that was recorded in Memphis as well. Like artists still come to Memphis to record music. And so I would say take in as much of the music stuff as you can for sure. I think that's taking advantage of being in the town because it is unique in that sense.

What a great recommendation. List of recommendations for you, Robbie. That's awesome. I mean, hell, I've been doing it for 20 years. I mean, he's going to make the most of Memphis. Thomas from Massachusetts also asked for recommendations in Memphis, and he also asked for South Shore, Massachusetts. I'll just give him food wrecks in South Shore.

Just go get bar pizza, you know, try out. Linwoods and Randolph. or poopsies in Pembrook. Go to Cape Cod pizza, maybe in Brockton for a different type of bar pizza. There's a number of different ones you can try out. Town Spahn, Stoughton, very good, though the last couple times I've had it, not quite at the level of those other ones that I mentioned. But if you're ever near any of those in South Shore Mass, Thomas, I would go to one of those

ones. I'd tell you this, just from doing that peacock thing I did earlier in the summer, every time I go up there there's a constant reminder the pizza in the northeast is just better it just is. It is really good.

It's the bread. And they tell me it's from the water, you know, being so close to the Atlantic Ocean that so many of them. Whether it's New York style. The bagels are different.

The hard rolls are different. The pizza's different. New York style pizza or a New Haven style and Connecticut or the South Shore, Massachusetts pizza is very distinguished,

which is why I think Thomas if you go there. That like, you know, you can get fish, you know, in Boston or whatever, but South Shore Mass specifically, try out the pizza.

Ben in Australia has a basketball question for us. And, you know, I don't think we've talked about this player. Ben said, just wondering why the Malik Beasley signing in Milwaukee wasn't a bigger deal. Seems like they're getting a player of need with a movement shooter. And I asked this, I know it's just Malik Beasley,

but it is a team that has finals hopes. I don't believe we have talked about Malik No, it's because the Lakers didn't play him. That's why. Yeah, he kind of, fell off the face of the earth, right? But a couple of years ago, he was, I mean, he was in witness protection

for the entire playoffs. But he is, out of sight out of mind. He is, every once in a while, you know, I mean, it's almost like he should have been what Lonnie Walker was.

That one night where he just won him again. Yeah, right. Right. But, you know, I guess it's probably because of the defense, you know, kept him off the floor. But he's certainly one of those guys

that on some random ass night can drop you 26. And I could see him much like, you know, a very reduced version of what they thought they were going to try to get a couple offseason to go in Bogdanovich. And maybe the DeVicenzo, you know, those nights where DeVincenzo was a heater for them.

I think we could look up and Malibisly swings you games. I've always been a fan of his as a scorer. And they've got the defensive back. line to make up for any kind of defensive missteps that he may have. And so I actually think it's the, they got him for nothing. It's an absolute perfect spot for him to revive and get himself a good contract next offseason.

So I'd imagine you get the best version of him, which I think is a pretty damn good player. He's certainly a rotation player who some knights can be your leading score. I agree with every word you said there, Chris. another one here from Christoph from Poland. We had actually a number of different emailers from Poland over the last two weeks with our last mailbag saying, I'm your second Polish listener. Well, there's actually like eight of them. Oh, we're huge in Poland.

So Christoph said, Christoph is the Polish equivalent of Chris. And he brought up the Pacers, who we talked a little bit about earlier, but we focused mostly on Edwards. He said with Halliburton, Matherin, Memhard, Healed, Turner, can they become a serious threat in the East in the next three years? That's true. That might be true. That's ridiculous. Okay.

If you're talking about with those players, that's ridiculous. Yes. They need to make another addition. No, they cannot be with those players. Yeah. But if Halliburton, who has been, he's one of the ones you've got to watch on this Team USA, he is awesome and just makes everybody better. you got to find a running mate for him.

And I don't think it's any of those guys that you name. So you don't think Mathron. No, no, I'm talking about, like, no, I'm talking about a star. Superstar. Mathron. Yeah, I'm talking about a star. Almost 17 is a rookie. Okay.

Coming off the bench, the majority of the year. He also, he also got played less than Andrew Nemhard, right? So who was drafted in the second round. Look, I like Matherin. Matherin, I do not think is going to be a big star in the league. Very good player. But I'm saying, you need that second star to go along with Halliburton. But, well, you got one of the two pieces.

You see one more. So I don't think with that group, but I do think you might have the goods to be able to attain. And I don't know if they drafted it in Jaris Walker. We'll see. I don't think so. I like Walker, I don't think he's a star. I think he's a supporting piece.

Yeah. So, I mean, yeah, but look, you got Haliburton. Albertan, you got a chance at having one of the best players in the NBA. I really believe that. He's that good. He was one of the best players in the league last year. I mean, I forget if we talked about those weeks ago, but I mean, I had... He would have been all NBA.

I had them top 15 the last time I voted on the Ringer NBA rankings back in January or February. I think Halliburton is that good. This guy is a star in the making right now. And if Indiana empowers him to score more, I think this guy could be a highly efficient 25 plus point per game guy and somebody who makes your teammates better and provide size on defense and just has all these leadership intangibles great locker room guy he can be the face of that franchise kind of their their new reggie it's just about getting all the supporting cast around him so need one more need one more one more awesome one yes and maybe top 20 top 30 yes and maybe

math run turns into like the third guy and that be a perfectly acceptable result for him but they do need that second star next to Hallibur, and I agree with you. And then you're competing. Yeah. Like, that's how good we think Caliburton is. And fun, fun to root for if you're an Indiana fan, because he's special talent, for sure.

And he helped save their ass in that, he's part of that backcourt that helped Team USA save their ass yesterday. Yeah, great third quarter. That guy's awesome. I love Halliburton. I just hope he's empowered by Indiana to score this year, and I hope he seizes that opportunity, because I think he adds it in them.

And there ain't that many players that truly make everybody they play with better. And he does. He does. And he doesn't turn the ball over, doesn't make mistakes, and he's an unbelievable passer. Ladies and gentlemen, if you had odds on, would we get an Indiana Pacer's question from Poland? You can cash your ticket.

which was a billion to one. I mean. Let's end on that. You're not topping in a Pacer's question from Poland. Let's end on that. The one last thing I'll say on that Pacer's note, there's been a lot of talk on social media this week about most improved player of the year,

who it might be. Halliburton at plus 4,600 on Fandle, I know he's already very good, but the leaders for that are Bichael Bridges, Kate Cunningham, Tyrese, those guys are already good too. To me, to me, I think Haliborne's a really good value pick, especially if the Pacers get way better and his scoring goes way up, which is very possible. Totally fair.

Thank you to our executive producer, Jesse Lopez, as always. Kevin, I'll talk to you next week. Have a great week.