The Ringer NBA Show - Are the Brooklyn Nets Really Going to Trade Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant? | Real Ones

Episode Date: July 7, 2022

Logan and Raja are reunited once again to round up the most interesting bits from the NBA offseason. They start with the Rudy Gobert trade to the Timberwolves, then move into a larger discussion of whether the Nets will actually deal Kyrie and KD, and how the player empowerment movement created this strange situation. Finally, they give their thoughts on Bradley Beal’s humongous deal with the Wizards, and each award their Real One of the Week. Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Producer: Sasha Ashall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up, everybody? Are you tuning in to the Challenge USA on CBS? Well, tune in to me, Tyson Apostle, as I break down each and every episode with my co-host, Amelia Weddemeier. I'm also a contestant on the show, which gives you all the insider scoop. Amelia, how stoked are you to do this? Tyson, I'm freaking excited. I cannot wait to sit my butt down every single week to watch the show, then come here and recap it with you on The Ringer Reality TV podcast. It's popping. Logan Murdoch here. Real ones, Raja Bell is back.

He's back in the building. We haven't had any pre-pod talking or anything, so everything we say off the top right now is just going to be in the show. So I haven't seen Raja in like 10 days. I don't know what he's been doing. He missed all the good stuff. Everything good in the NBA, he just straight up missed. He was gone.

He was, what's going on? Where were you? We're going to talk about the stuff that you missed, but what the fuck were you doing? Listen, man, it's summertime for my kids. So I was enjoying that. And more importantly, not more importantly, but we were in Greensboro, North Carolina for AAU 13 U world championships

with my son Ties team. So we were up there. We did that. We kicked it a little bit. And I kept an eye. I know what's going down. Okay. All right.

How was Greensboro? Greensboro was good. Listen, I'm going to get emotional talking about this because I've had some of these kids since they were in the third grade. Okay. And we took second. We wanted to win it, but we took second at the event, which is respectable. but the way we played was everything that I love in basketball

and everything that rarely happens now in the NBA. Two teams play like this for the most part. It's to some degree, definitely Golden State. And at times, I think Phoenix could play like this, where we just offensively had people in the torture chamber with our movement, our ball movement, our people movement, you know, our screening or reading screen. Like we just, it was, it was fun to watch them play like that.

And defensively, you know, we were equally as good. We held one team to like two in the first quarter, another team to four in the first quarter. We were just swarming. People didn't know what hit them. And so for me as a coach and then as a dad watching, like, it was really, really cool times. Were their thug tears shed it? Thug tears shed at the event? No, no, no, no.

But I got a little misty-eyed a couple times, you know, talking about my team. and the parents and the kids, right? Because it's tough. Anybody who deals with 12-year-olds trying to teach them anything, they can feel me on that. Work, work, work. Yeah, so I was getting my MBA information

from those little cats. Like, they would run around and be like, coach, do you know what, this so-and-so went here, coach, so he just got traded. So I was getting all my information via the 12- and 13-year-old. So of the little, of the little AAU wages, like when they gave you the news, what was your,

what was, what elicited the biggest reaction from you, Ra? When you got the, what was the biggest bit of news nuggets from the little homies that piqued your interest the most? Of the, of the bombs. I mean,

it was probably the Rudy Gobert trade. Yes. Yeah. That one, that one was like, what? He got wet? And they got wet?

And so I was, yeah, so that one was probably the, the most, some of them were, you know, I anticipated happen and some of the bags that were, they were handed out. Like, you know, some of that I saw coming, but that Rudy Gober one caught me by surprise.

That's a good place to start. We've been very, I've been very critical. I have been very critical of Rudy Gobert, you know, for the last few years. And also while recognizing there, and it's a lot to blame on all sides, but Rudy Gobert has gotten the brunt of my, of my, just vitriol in Utah. Shout out, Walters. But I think this might be a great little new start for him, man. I think, you know, to go to a team where, like, the locker room doesn't hate you,

it seems like a great, maybe hate is a strong word. But there was a clear disc to neck for years with Urugu Bay and the rest of the guys there. To go to a new start, I think it'll be good. Oh, I think, yes, everything runs its course. NBA, you know, life in general. Everything runs its course. And I think we had talked about Quinn having maybe run his course in Utah. And I think, you know, you saw him even admit to that, right?

Like he was like, I'm out. It just was, it got a little stale. And so you could say the same from Rudy Gobert. And not only that, but I think the type of team that he's going to now, it's going to, it's going to fit. It's going to be more of a natural fit for him, I think, because some of the things that he doesn't do, you know, they have more people doing it. and he provides a real, you know, a real piece that they were missing. Like, because for everything Carl Anthony Towns is offensively, he's the opposite defensively. And, you know, now you have a piece that in theory should be able to hold that down.

And you got, you could put Carl Towns at the four. He doesn't have to play the five. I mean, you could also keep him at the five in like, in small ball situations and kind of like strategically do it. But for the most part, having him play the four is just going to, is going to be great. No, that's exactly. I mean, yeah, there you're up. Yeah, I mean, of course, it gives you flexibility as an organization and a coaching staff. But you're going to want to play him at the four, four that is a true stretch, like, you know, can get to the rim.

And it's going to be interesting because Katz, like, you know, Anthony Edwards and even Carl Anthony Towns to some degree. When you're, when you're playing with Rudy, there's no, there's a big on the opposite team anchored to the rim. Yeah. So, you know, like, that's going to change the math. for them offensively, but they'll figure it out. So we didn't, we haven't, I had to go leg and look, we haven't recorded since June 27th. And, you know, the NBA was a total different, it's a totally different place the last time we recorded to where it is now. Okay. So like two days afterwards after our last record,

one Kevin Durant decides to ask for a trade. And this is coming on the heels of, I'm not sure if we recorded during this time. I think it was happening in real time as we were recording. But Kyrie, like, had a day where he did a lot of Kyrie stuff. And, like, there were rumors that he was going to, like, decline his option. And maybe he'll go to the Lakers for a mid-level. And then, like, he sends this very cryptic tweet of, like, how he's opting in. But he's not really opting it.

He's opting into, like, the money. He's getting the bag after all of that. But he's not necessarily committing to, the Nets and then a day later Kevin Duran demands a trade Raja Brooklyn Brooklyn

I how do I I just want to be fair but I want to say so many things I have true mixed emotions I have not talk to anyone in Brooklyn because I certainly don't want anyone to think that I'm speaking for anyone else I've had no contact in any way shape or form with anyone there. These are purely my own thoughts. That's got a, like, that is, it's got to really

suck. And I'm at a point now where I tell you, I'm always pro player. I don't, I'm always pro player. But I've said this before and I'll say it again, two players. You know, there was a, there was something that you're like dad or mom, like maybe grandparent, whoever was holding you down, like when you were young, whoever that person was in your life when you were out acting the fool and they'd look at you and they knew you couldn't you know there was not much they could do to you then so the saying was you you show your ass now and I'm going to show my ass later oh right hey hey hold on that's that's really triggering rajah that's very triggering as the childhood that I grew yeah yeah you go ahead act the fool right now you want to go to act a fool if you want to correct but

the repercussions when we get to the crib like I know you know so you better shut that down and so I say that to say, this player empowerment, leverage, while I love it because I know where players have come from on the flip side of that argument, just be careful because owners will show their ass at some point. They will show their ass. You can do what you do what you do now, but there are consequences and repercussions at some point. I don't know when that will be. But Logan, we can't be in a place where, you know, organizations are building and doing what they can to facilitate moves that they think are in the best interest, not just of the club, but of the star.

And then if things don't work out for one reason or another, injuries, just things beyond control, you know, players are like, nah, I don't want to play here no more. Four years left on a deal, I'm out. I don't want to do it. Like, that's not a business. That's not sustainable.

My thing is this, specifically with the Nets. And I'm sure we're going to talk about this throughout the pod. But the two guys that are asking, out were the two guys that had the most power within the organization. And when you talk about a player empowerment situation, it doesn't get much player empowerment than the situation in Brooklyn, right? And there have been whispers about, you know, front office discontent on both sides, right? From the front office side to the player side, I don't know. I don't know

how we got here Rajah I don't know how we got here because on paper this scene you have a two players first it was three all star players right really like obviously

Reservets speak for their cells really great players they put in a coach in place that you know they asked for you know because they get Kenny Atkinson out of the pain right

they so they and then they get the coach that they want former player who, you know, really knows, you know, knows the ins and outs of what it's like to be a player in the NBA. Not only a player, a superstar player type player in the NBA. Get all that. They're up and rolling.

And it just goes to shit. And I just don't know how that, because on paper, it's, that's not supposed to happen. It's not supposed to. I mean, there's so many variables that were in play. And so many of them wound up being the worst possible scenario. you know like let's just start with and and Kevin Durant I'm a huge fan of Kevin Durant I've been I think he's phenomenal but like let's be honest they paid they paid Kevin Durant um in good faith

and I guess he had earned the right but like he didn't even play the first year you know like they're paying him for for the future and then you know you got Kyrie the injuries then then mounted right Kyrie was hurt a lot um you know the Joe Harris piece that that that that was hurt, didn't help. You lost a bright young star of a coach that was paired along Steve, because we all knew Steve coming in was gonna be learning on the fly.

Like Steve knew that, right? So there needed to be some consistency in the coaching staff, some cohesiveness behind closed doors for that. And that hasn't happened. Mike left. He may took a job in Boston. Then you bring in James Hardin.

And I don't know whose idea that was, but I have to assume from all accounts, like KD and played a large role in that. And then we're injured some more. Kyrie opts out with the virus situation. James Hardin looks disinterested. He now wants to leave. Like, that's just a mess.

Nothing's gone right. Nothing's gone right. And I'll say this. Nothing's gone right. And I still would say, I disagree with cats like that deep or early in deals. I disagree with you just pulling the plug saying, I want to be out. I don't agree with that. There, I said it.

I'm not agree with that. We've talked about Kyrie an nauseam, and so you guys pretty much know our feelings on that. We haven't talked about Kevin much on this, though. I have just baffled that he would want to dip. And, like, I just don't know the reason why he would want to leave this situation, right? Like, they're, this was his choice to go. You hear, and it's just interesting, you hear the Golden State rumors, too. Like, that's just really interesting.

I don't, we'll get to that. We could talk about that in a minute. But, like, I, because if you leave, say you go to Phoenix, is that a team, like, they're going to gut the team to get you. You know? Yep. You go to Miami. I mean, I think you have a. better chance to win a title in Miami. That's good. But again, they're going to gut the team to try

to get you. You go to the Warriors, which is not, I don't, that's not happening. There's no, like, that's, that's just fairy dust. That's not, that's all out in the wind. I think that it was like a fun day to like hear that. Like, ah, but that's just, that's not happening. But if it were to happen, they would have to trade Wiggins's pool, like all their young guys who they have comminga to go through something they've already kind of gone through already, right? It's kind of crazy to even have this discussion about Kevin Durant that like, oh, man, it's, it's crazy to have him get traded. But like, it's going to take a big sacrifice from a team to take that on only to like not even

know for the next year. Is you going to want to leave again? Like, what is what's going to happen? Like, I just don't know how you, how you tread this on both sides. I don't have great answers either. I would just say that there's another. saying, like when people try to tell you who they are, you need to listen. As it pertains to this, not just Kevin Durant, but any player in the NBA who is frequently

in the middle of something and wanting to leave or whatever that looks like, and I'm not saying Kevin does that all the time, but there are guys who are trying to tell you, yo, this is what I do. Like, I get somewhere, I get unhappy somewhere, and I'm ready to go. I would just, it would behoove NBA teams to listen, okay? when they try to tell you who they are. And so, yes, you should be slightly leery of that said star, any of them, who have track records like that, you sell in the farm for them.

And then a year or two in, they turn around and tell you, nah, I'm ready to go. Like, I think that's prudent. Like, you should be in the habit of vetting it out better. Secondly, while Kevin Durant is awesome, Kevin Durant is. is on the backside of it now. He's no longer on the front side. He's on the back nine. And he has had some significant injuries as of late.

It's not to say that he won't be healthy moving forward, but all of this goes into the pot, right, when we're trying to make a decision like mortgage in our future for right now. And I think even Kevin would tell you, like was not really good in the playoffs this year. While he was the year before, wasn't this year. So that's, again, will be great again in the playoffs.

I'm fairly certain. But these are all things that are going in to us making this decision, right? And then do we have the pieces in place after mortgaging the future where we still have an open window and an opportunity to win right now? Or have we gutted it to your point to a level where it's impossible? And then it wouldn't be worth it anyway. So like, it's not as easy as you think. And if he's holding cards, you know, like he seems to be. I don't, you know, maybe I'm not smart enough.

I don't know. Like, if I'm Brooklyn, hey, look, dog, I don't know what to tell you, bro. I'm under no obligation here. Yeah. I'm under no obligation, dog. And if I really want to, let's just sync together. We're just going to sync together. Then let's just do it.

Don't even trip. Don't even trip, bro. Wait, wait, word. All I bet. So I don't, I mean, look, that's a whole mess of a, of a situation. I think part of me is, is a little hurt. that KD would do that. You know what I mean?

Because again, I'm a fan, and I didn't see that one coming from him, you know? So I think I'm a little hurt as his fan that he would do that. Where they go from here, I have no idea. And it's just a mess. And owners, I get you, man. When you got to show your ass,

I can't sit on this side of the microphone and talk shit about it because you will have earned the right to do it because players are really showing theirs right now. What does that do for, you keep bringing up ownership? the greatest thing that NBA players have on their side is something that NFL players don't have.

And then, you know, it's guaranteed money. It's guaranteed contracts, right? Bully guaranteed. Bullie guaranteed. Give me, rummy my money. What I see when I sign is what I'm going to get by the end of the deal. And that has to, that's, I feel like we're on the path of that changing,

bro, especially when superstars do this. I think we've talked about this on this pod plenty of times where what a good is player empowerment when you don't do much for when the power, when you take advantage, sorry, what good is the player empowerment when you take advantage of that power

to the point of no return? Are they doing it for good? Well, you can't do it for good because at some point, it's not going to make sense for owners to be in the business of that. It might not be right now. I'm not saying it's right now.

I don't know the dollars and cents. Owners are making silly amounts of money. But it's trending in a direction where it becomes less and less favorable for owners. And up to a point and up until like an equity point, I'm sure that's okay to some degree, right? Like every, but once the scale split, and now players are making more of the pie than owners are,

end, they're completely, they're completely like just making contracts obsolete in, in regards to their commitment to your team. And they, you know what I mean? Like once you flip the thing on its head like that, you've done the league of disservice. You know, every player's job, you know, along with, you know, making a living out of it and trying to be the best that they can be and trying to win games is to try to leave the league in a better place for those coming after them. Like it's part of the right of passage.

You're taking care of your rooks and rooks doing their rookly duties and, you know, this fraternity continuing to exist. And the money is at a place now where someone like me could sit there and look at it and be like, man, that is so dope, man. These cats, like this level of player is making that kind of money. Like, that's incredible, you know? And so the league has done a great job. But when you stop working like as a team with ownership like that and you start saying,

okay, I know I signed a four-year deal or a five-year deal. I don't give a damn. I'm not playing here anymore. Oh, there are going to be problems. You're going to do irreparable damage to the system. And when enough of you do it, it's almost guaranteed. And I think you're seeing, you know, the trend is that's what we're doing, Logan. And so, you know, I always found the NBA funny.

I noticed I got nothing to do with nothing. But people would ask me, you know, something about contracts. And I'd always say in the NBA, you're not paying me for what I'm about to do. Like, no one's getting paid for what they're, I'm getting paid for what I did. You know, my free agent money is coming off the five years I just had somewhere. Like, and I'm probably not going to be that player. So, like, the NBA is weird like that because that bread is fully guaranteed. Like, once you get it, it really doesn't matter.

That's why you see the cat, I won't call any names, but they're, I play with a lot of them. They go to sleep for three years. Don't work, get heavy. You wonder what happened. And then the fourth year, boom, 18 a game. What? Just in time for you to pay me for what I just did. Right? And so they get paid for like three months of service. Throughout the contract, just three months of just being.

Forget about the three years before that. Just pay me off for these last, a great playoffs and a great second half of the last season. And so, you know, I don't have the answers. I'm not smart enough, but ownership is going to come back to that table and they're going to start trying to roll stuff back. They're going to have to. Roger, you're the GM of the Brooklyn Nets right now.

You just got hired. I got news for it. They just gave you a bag And you're living in Brooklyn right now I don't know where in Brooklyn you're leaving But it's fully guaranteed And you're the GM of the Brooklyn men You're inheriting what we're doing

What is currently transpiring Kyrie Opson and still somehow Kind of wants to go to the Lakers And then you have Kevin Durant Your second day on the job is like I want to hey Rajah yeah bro I want to get tried it

I got four years left on my deal but I want to get traded. Roger, what is going through your mind right now? And what do you do for the rest of the offseason? You're the GM of the Brooklyn Nets who just got a bag, but it seems like you're sad right now. There's a lot of money right now, but it seems like stuff is going to ride.

Did I also do the Royce-Oneal deal? That's done already, right? Yes, that's a good piece. I've also done the T.J. Warren deal, right? Yes. Which is another good piece. These were adding pieces that can play, make, create, and score. A lot of things that you saw not in the tool shed,

last year at the end when Boston was just locking down on KD and Karee, right? So with all that in place, let me holl at you, KD. Hey, Kyrie, I'm going to need you to come in on this too. Just so you know, I'm not fucking budging. So you could get your asses back in the wait room and get back on your training regimen and I will see y'all at training camp. Hang that shit up. That's it.

That's it. It's a 37 second call. That's why I can't be a GM, though. I feel like you need that, though, right? No, I'm not doing that with y'all. I'm not doing that. Listen, here's what this was our vision. Let me remind you, this is me and I'm playing my role again.

Okay. Kevin, allow me to remind you why all this happened in case you've forgotten, right? And let's go down the X, Y, and A, C's to X, Y, and Zs of the decisions that you co-signed on or asked for that we've acquiesced to. Kyrie, let me tell you what we put up with you last year in case you fucking forgot. All right? And then let me tell you how I'm going to move forward in case you didn't hear me one second ago. Get your ass back in the wait room and get back on your little training regimen.

And I'll see you at training camp. I just don't get how, bro, the Brooklyn, and I don't like being on the front office side on stuff. I really don't. I don't like it. I feel like an op. I feel like a fed. you know, like I'm really just out here. Like,

wow, blah, but, if there was any front office that just bent over backwards for a group of stars, it was this one. They literally acquiesced

to every demand, every single demand. Bro, could you imagine if you just, I don't know this situation, and I'm probably, even this scenario is going to make you pissed and you might fucking just get off of this pot,

just for the simple fact that I'm telling, just saying this. Bro, could you imagine just giving something to somebody, just giving it, giving it, just loving a person, and just acquiescing to all their needs. And they say, you know what? I can't stand this. I'm out. It's why you don't do it. It's why you can't do it. It's why every pod we get on and we talk about something like this, I have the same response to it. You cannot sell your soul and everything that is the fiber of who you are, all of the things

that you put stock in, all your morals and ethics. You can't give them up. You can't. You can't just let someone trample all over them because there is no no one cares like they're like they're going to tell you if they don't like what happens even after you do that that they want to leave so my point is and and sean marks definitely not like look i think sean is creative enough smart enough and he'll figure it out but i do know that the the tree that he was that he was groomed in that san antonio tree they don't operate in those spaces and so i have to believe that sean marks because of the talent that were the three players involved in that deal. Like, that's hard.

And that's sidebar. That's why T. Liu tried to tell you all to dealing with all of that talent. Like, this is what he's described. People laughed at T. Lou, and that's ridiculous. They fucking laughed at Tilly. Yeah, it's so hard because a general manager like Sean Marks, he doesn't give up who he is and all of the things that he learned in the San Antonio tree.

he doesn't give those up to a marginal to above average talent, maybe even a star. He doesn't do it. He figures out how to work around his own agenda and the way he sees things and the roadmap that he's kind of mapped out and it either works or it doesn't, but you stick to it. You're not tempted to take a swing at it because the talent is star.

But once you creep into superstar, that's that's it's it's just tantalizing enough right it's tempting enough oh shit man i know i shouldn't everything in me says this isn't the way to do it man but it's kevin durant but still i learned like let me go back through my checklist of experiences that everything suggests that this isn't a good move but it's kairie shit all right let's do it we're gonna take a leap of faith and it you know if you do that and you wind up with takes i've said this off air i'll say it again if you're dealing with super conscientious people that that are all about protecting your interests and theirs together, maybe.

But clearly, the dudes he was dealing with, don't subscribe to that. So if you're not 1,000% sure and the only way to be is if that's your family, like literal blood, then I say don't do it. Because you'll turn around, you'll give up everything that you're about, everything you've worked hard for in an effort to chase this incredible talent. and they're going to shit on you at the end of the day. And so I'll take it back to me wearing a hat. Get your ass in the trainer room.

Get in the weight room. Okay, but like, okay, a caveat to that is like, you know, GM Raja, if they do go back at the wait room, meet you at training camp, this ain't going to get no better. This is why I don't think, like, this is why I don't think, and this is just a guess. This is no reporting or anything. My guess is that they will not be on the team come to,

attorney camp. Because it's that untenable. It's that untenable. So with that being said, GM, Raja, how do you make it a tenable situation to get in our hypothetical world? How do you make it a situation to where they're good? Or you don't care. You're just like, I'm just... Look, man.

This is me feeling spited and spurned and just cut in my nose off to spite my face right now. It's why I'm too emotional to be a general manager. I know that. I know that. It's not a problem. But this is a fucking podcast, so I can say whatever I want.

The only way to really do this is for Sean Marks to get a co-sign from his owner that they're ready to go into rebuild mode. And you're not getting players in return in a hall that would put you back into the mix because those teams would be, again, to the original point,

giving up too much to put themselves in the hunt for a championship. So what they're going to try to do is hit you with the top. ton of picks. Like that's, you know, you'll get some players and then you'll get a ton of picks, right? And so, you know,

I imagine you're right, Logan, I imagine that those two, you know, if they're really going to, now what we haven't talked about, and I just, sorry for cutting myself off midstream here is,

what if, what if KD's not really, I don't know, what if, what if he's not really all the way out? What if he's just pump faking? That's a hell of a pump fake. I'm not saying pump faking,

like, I'm saying, but what if, what if the door's not closed? Like, what if, what if, what if Kevin is an emotional dude? We see him engage all the time. He engages all the time on, yes, he does. On shit where you're like, why would you do that?

Like, so he seems to be emotional too. Not judging, I'm emotional. But the point is, what if, what if cooler heads could prevail? And we could have that conversation in a less antagonistic way than I just did. You know, look, Kevin, what the, what the fuck's really going on? What the fuck, man? Like, come on, Kevin. Let's, hey, let's, let's burn one.

Go to Chelsea, you burn one. Hey, let's burn one. Yeah, get a glass of wine. Let's burn one. And then talk to me, dog. Like, what? Come on. What are you need, bro?

What are we doing, man? And so. And if after that conversation, there's a trade that still needs to have, then fuck it. You know, we just, we tried. But. Correct. Correct. But you're going to, like, let's be clear, Brooklyn, you're now in a situation,

I mean, best case scenario where you were with Kenny Atkinson, where you have a team full of guys that are just going to play hard. They're good NBA players, not great. And maybe you can get into eight, seven. Yo, bro. The Nets, and this is fine. Which is where they were this year. You're an asshole.

You're a terrible. That's a scale. Damn, I lost my trade of thought because that was just so mean. That was just so mean. Why would you do that? Two points. Oh, shit. And I get why they did this, bro.

The Nets are just, they're just, they're clamoring to be relevant in a market that is just, they're not relevant in, right? And so what do you do? Sometimes you've got to take chances. We want to get Kevin Durant at the time a top five player in the league, right? He's instant gives your franchise instant credibility, right? Okay, so what? He wants to bring Kyrie in, dude, for sure.

Let's do it. Let's get it in. Let's be relevant. Let's go compete for titles. Ooh, let's go do it. We want a championship parade down Fulton Street, right? Hey, let's go. And then, like, I can't help but think, like,

they're probably, the front office probably thinking, damn, we just made such a deal with the devil, man. Like, when we, there's a world where, like, Ben Simmons is the last, like, player we got on the roster, and he's coming off of a back surgery, hasn't played, and damn near a year and a half, you know, like, it's got to be sad to go to work over there, dog.

Like, here, And the second point is, even if they would have won the title this year, like in some cases where they got all their shit together, would they be that happy? Would, like, it would be just a relief if they won a title this year. Yeah. That's a great way to pick that. They just, like, they just wanted to run, right? And they just somehow just beat everybody. The only two people, and there would only be two people that are happy.

Everybody else would be like, who, what a relief. Let's go to this. Let's go. Let's go enjoy our summer, man. Let's just get out of here. leave i think you you just said something there that stuck with me a little bit they don't look happy just watching them i'm not i'm not i'm not behind closed doors so i don't know but the joy looks missing sometimes you know um and that's that's that's tough that's that's tough and it's tough

when i don't know i say this all the time man but it's tough when that's coming from your your stars when your stars are uneven personalities uneven i'm trying to be when they're uneven, right? Like I don't know necessarily what I'm going to get all the time or most of the time because no one's on all the time. But, you know, it can be a tough thing to navigate. And I had forgotten about Ben Simmons, but I would just add that, again, another deal where you have to know while Ben Simmons, I could sit here and make an argument.

I have why Ben Simmons is a great pair with Kyrie and Kevin on the court for a lot of reasons. believe them all. I would also turn around and have to factor in that Ben Simmons is dealing with some stuff emotionally and mentally that's very real. And to help him be the best version of himself, I need a very stable environment, a very established culture, you know, kind of like, but different situation than Andrew Wiggins, if you will. You understand what I'm saying? Like Andrew Wiggins, I thought needed, needed like real role model. type of culture, not because he was dealing with anything, but just to just to help him on his professional arc and understand how to win and do those things. And so I see Ben Simmons in that light

too. You need to have stability around him, teach him the ropes of being a really good pro, what the process needs to look like every day if you're on a quest for a championship, what he is going to be responsible for in that equation, like hold him accountable in a way. And that I don't think was being done in Philly. And your organization isn't set up to do that. No, it's not. It's crazy, man. I remember when Steve Nash,

when I used to see him periodically, like in the Bay, you know. Because he was a special consultant for the Warriors. Oh, I remember living his best life. Bro, I had never seen a man smile as much as he did. He had such an aura about him. He used to just come in, chill, work out a player for like 20 minutes. shoot the shit with Bruce Fraser like Steve Nash and just be like

Hey hi hello hi hey what's going on And then fly his happy ass back down to LA Just just every every like month or so Bro when I saw him in March dog And I you know and I I saw him in March And it was just like He was a shell of that If there was even a shell of that that existed

Well he was walking through that thing like He was like the zombie apocalypse bro I'm sure it had to be weighing on my dog at that point. I saw him. I had dinner with him for Father's Day. And Steve is like the most optimistic, upbeat, positive energy, dude. So, like, it was all good. Now, none of this had transpired yet.

Like, this whole Kevin thing hadn't happened yet, but he looked good. Because I've told you before, like, watching sometimes I'm worried, you know, just about his mental well-being over there. Like, that's got to, it looks hell of stressful at times. And just, you know, reading all that's going on, like, that's got to, weigh on you. But he looked great. He and his wife were having a blast. The kids were all good. And so I left that feeling like, okay, man, my man's straight. Like, they're going to get that together. He's in a good place. And then, I mean, what was that? A week and a half, two weeks later,

the Kevin thing. And I know how close him and KD are or. They're really close. That's what hurts even the most. Yeah. No, I know. So then I was, then it put me back in a spot. And again, I haven't reached out. Like, I don't even want to, I don't even want to do that, man. But that's got to be taking a toll again. You know what it was? It was just that Miami Globe, bro. It's just something about, I guess, you know, when my, motherfuckers go to Miami and Florida,

they just have this glow about it. That's probably what it was. That's why we live here, bro. Yeah. Yo, really quickly, Brad Bills signed his, speaking of getting to the bag, he doubled down with the Wizards,

who I don't think have a plan for him or plan in general, but he signed on because he says he wants to bring a championship, to Washington wants to win. It was probably the most anti-climactic, like, star signing that I've ever seen, where, like, even people in D.C. were like, dude, why did you do this? Why? Why did you commit to us for this long? You didn't have to do this.

We want to see you, you know, spread your wings and just fly like a butterfly somewhere else. I'm just kind of sad right now. What do you feel about this deal? Because we've been on the Bradbill, get out of town, Hormant, what are you doing, Brad Bale? This is not the environment for you. And he doubled down. I don't mean to be, this is going to sound contradictory because of what I just said about

Kevin and them asking out. And I also said that about, I said that Brad Biel should while I said that Kevin Durant and them, I didn't like that they did. So yes, it sounds very contradictory. But the difference was I was saying that to Brad Biel after seven, eight years in an organization where they just hadn't been able to figure it out. Like they just, you know, and we're not that deep into the Kevin Durant situation there, right? So yeah, let me just clarify that.

I want to put that up front. But I would say this to Brad Beale. My bad, bro. My bad. My bad. My bad. I missed. I miss.

You love Washington. You do. You love it. You love living there. You love what you got there. You love what's going on behind closed doors there. Obviously, you got great relationships there. The bread's not bad.

either, but you love it there. And to that, my bad, dog. Like, do I think you're going to win a chip there? Probably not. But you're no dummy. Like, you know that. And so if you've still said that this is the place for me, my bad. Okay. That's cool. I mean, you know what I mean? Like, what else could I say, Logan? I mean, you can't. And there's the thing though, you know, we can't want something more than they want for themselves. Like, yeah. Like, I would, what I love to see Bradley Beal, you know, somewhere better suited for winning now with, with better, you know, support. You know, reporting cast or what have you. Yeah, I would. But clearly, Bradley Beal is like, no, this is, this is home for me, man. I'm going to do it here. And in the day and age where it's increasingly

not like that. And dudes are like, I'll sign a four-year deal or a five-year deal. And after a year, I want out. Like, in that world, I'm selling Bradley Bill. Doar, my bad. I hear you, bro. And I can respect that. That's what's up, man. That's what's what. We get out of here, man. I'd like to do a little segment we like to call Ruin of the Week. Glad Raja came back on a Thursday so we could do this. I'm going to go first, Raja. Okay. So my Rural One of the Week is going to go to one of my homies.

I haven't done a homie real one of the week in a pretty long time, but it's going to go to one Colton Pouncey of the Athletic. My man just got the Detroit Lions gig. He's the Detroit Lions' gig. He's the Detroit Lions beat writer for the athletic now. Right. And so let me, let me, let me, let me, no, I know we do Roger story time, but let me do Logan's story time for a little bit. So I met Coulton in 2017.

We were interning together at the Tennessean as part of this program called SJI Sports Journalism Institute. But we wound up at the Tennessean together. And, you know, we would go around Nashville and just do stuff. stories together and stuff, became one of my partners. And, you know, he was there actually when I got the call for getting the Warriors gig, the Warriors beat writer gig, which changed my life. And he was there always he was always supportive. And he was a guy that I always thought was just a phenomenal writer.

And but he had to take a bit of a long way. So he was working at the Tennessean, had to be the Austin P. report, beat reporter, then went to go to Lansing, Michigan to cover Michigan State and paid his dues. And now he's, after a few years, just like grinding. You know, we love grinding on the real ones. We love that shit when you do it the hard way. And now he's getting this big break covering the Detroit Lions. So really, really juice for my guy. Shout out to Coulton Pouncey.

Go kick ass in Detroit, bud. Congrats, Coulton. Real one. Real one. All right. That's a good real one. It's hard to follow that. But I'm going to go with the number one ranked male tennis player in the world, one Novak Djokovic, who as I was wrapping up my tournament in Greensboro in the bowling alley with the kids, was playing Yonick's center. At least that's when the game, that's when the match was broadcast. And my man was down two sets early, five, seven and two six. And it looked like it was a rap. Yonick was big. He was pounding the ball. Like it looked like it was a rap. And Novak just came back and rung him up 6362 to win a five setter down, two sets in the quarters of Wimbledon to go to the semi. So real one for that, man. It was an amazing match to watch.

That boy hit some crazy shots. Man, he ran down, this cat ran down a backhand from one alley to the other on this grass. Hit it. I think he was in a full slide. He had both feet, like you have to understand sliding on this grass. But he tracked it down. and then he just went into a full slide. He had both feet, like, wide open,

and he hit a winner back across course, stupid angle on it, and then wound up in like a Superman position with both hands sprawled out, like, on the grass. It was some of the wildest shit I've ever seen. But shout out to the Joker, man, real one. At your absolute best at tennis, could you do that?

At your absolute peak of tennis. Do what? No, man. What are you talking about? What was the greatest thing you could do at tennis? At peak, Roger tennis. Talk shit. Who's the best thing?

I mean, no. That's about it, man. I don't know. I stopped playing young. I was playing in like men's, I was playing in a men's draw in the Virgin Islands when I was like in the fifth grade. Okay. So like, you know, we were playing and I was going over to St. Thomas,

like in Stan with the host family, like in the fifth and sixth grade, to playing tournaments and stuff like that. So we played. but I was still so young. Like, I never got really, really good at it. Like, I can still go out now and be serviceable just because I learned it young, but I was never really, really, really good at it. But I still have an appreciation for it, and what he was doing was crazy.

Real one. It's good seeing you, bud. Hey, good to be back. Yeah, man. Yeah, Doc. So that was another edition of Real Ones. Check us out Mondays and Thursdays. I'm not to go to Summer League, ground.

That should be interesting. Lots are hot. All right, we're in Vegas. We're in Vegas. I'm not a big Vegas person, but like, I'm going to be there for her. Sunday to Wednesday, I think, is when I'm going to be there. So, let's go walk in. I'm not like, and just, yeah, yeah.

You're Vegas, man? I like Vegas, yeah, I like me. Yeah, okay. All right. I'll do that. Yeah, I don't know. But in the meantime, between time. You guys see me, man, you know, oh, I was at, I was at Chase Center and the other night for

the California Classic. And I was walking up to my seat in the media thing And then like somebody I forgot the homie's name I don't think I got the homie's name But he was like, Logan, love your show, real ones Shout out to you, my guy, you know what I mean? We got some folks out here to the past the pot

I had a few of those in the Greensboro Coliseum up at AAU Nationals, man I don't know your names, but hey, shout out to y'all for show. Are we locked in like that? They work with the vibes. All right, man, shout to all my real ones, dog. If you see me just, you feel me? I got daps for you, dog. It's good.

It's love. But, yeah, man, we'll see you guys next week on Monday. I'll be live from Vegas. I don't know how coherent I'll be, but I'll be there. I'll be around. But in the meantime, between time, make sure you check out all of our other ringer slated shows. That is upside high. That is group chat.

That is the answer. That is the void. Follow the void with KOC. Also, check out the mismatch. We need to do it. I think I've been saying this for a long time. They can't. It's all good.

It might not even ever happen again. But, you know, we need to do that, um, that joint show, you know? We need to get the real mismatch popping. Maybe that'll happen next year. We'll see what's up. They duck in the smoke. Stop playing. Stop playing, bro.

Hey, all my real ones. Tell Kevin O'Connor and Chris, Chris Vernon, it's time to lock in. Oh, hey, y'all thought I was going to, I was going to forget about the propaganda. They thought that it was over. Propaganda is still here. Check out Black Girl's Songbook with Who, Roger Bell. Town legend, Ms. Danielle Smith. I saw her last week, real one.

She was out in the bay. She was out in the bay promoting her book, Shine Bright. Make sure you guys check that out. And also, make sure you guys check out R2C2 with who, Roger Bell. The Leo legend, the crest-eye clown, C-C-Sabatia. See y'all next week. Howl.