The Ringer NBA Show - D’Angelo Russell Traded to the Lakers, and Mike Conley Joins the Timberwolves. Plus, More NBA Trade Deadline Reactions. | Off Guard with Austin Rivers

Episode Date: February 10, 2023

Austin and Pausha are talking everything NBA trade deadline, starting with Austin's former T-Wolves teammate D’Angelo Russell being traded back to the Lakers and veteran point guard Mike Conley coming to Minnesota. They discuss what the Lakers are getting from D-Lo and touch on how the Timberwolves can use Conley on their roster (3:49). Then, they weigh in on the two biggest trades of the deadline, Kyrie Irving heading to the Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Suns, and discuss how these trades affect the Western Conference heading into the playoffs (17:38). Later, they highlight LeBron becoming the all-time NBA points leader (41:26) and wrap things up with another round of rapid-fire questions. Hosts: Austin Rivers and Pausha Haghighi Producer: Ben Cruz Associate Producer: Erika Cervantes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Chris Vernon, and me and my buddy Kevin O'Connor, aka Kevin O Everything, host an NBA podcast called The Mismatch. They call it The Mismatch because I'm awesome and Kevin is a gigantic nerd. No, no, that's not why at all, Chris. They call it the Mismatch because I have a brain and you're a loudmouth bozo. Good grief. Anyway, listen to our amazing NBA podcast, The Mismatch. Or don't.

We really don't care. We're probably going to win a million awards either way. Chris, we do care. So don't say that. Please subscribe and listen to the mismatch only on Spotify. Did you really call me a bozo? What's up, everybody? Welcome to another episode of Off Guard.

I'm your host, Pasha, and joining me, as always, Macaroni Tony, Austin Rivers. What's up, man? How you doing? You know, I would accept that, but before this episode started to record, we looked up what macaroni Tony is. and the wrong definition is on urban dictionary.

That is not what aunt. That is not what aunt means. So do not look it up. So I'm going to give you this moment right now to kind of clear the air. What does macaroni, Tony, mean? And how many people have called you that since? It's a pretty boy. It's another name for a pretty boy.

Do you think, do you kind of refer to yourself as pretty, like, do you think you are a pretty boy or do you? Rule number one of being one is you never refer to yourself as one. You just let the, you let the people do it for you. Okay, I'm not going to say what I am or what I'm not going to take credit for it. I'm not here to do that, okay? Ant was, aunt did it for me. So if you guys want to call me that, by all means.

Well, the T-shirts are going to get made, and so that's going to be a good thing for us. You're in Memphis right now? You're in Memphis right now? Yeah, that's my city. I live there for a few years. Hip, hip, hooray. I'm in Memphis. And you're playing tomorrow, correct?

I am. I'm back. Um, fresh legs, fresh mind. I feel good. Uh, no, I'm really excited to be back with the team. It's, uh, it's that weird time of the year after the deadline. A lot of stuff going on. You got to stay focused.

Got a couple games left before the All-Star break. So we really got to close out these last three games, the best way we can. Considering what the West is looking like now. The Grizzies are, we've talked about this before. They're kind of your, your team's rival, I would say, definitely. I, you know, again, it's hard for me. to speak on that. I wasn't here for that, really. But just in the games this year, they've all been high-intensity games. I think we have the series right now, two to one. This is the last

game. So it'll be a good game tomorrow, Friday night game, especially with obviously we've made moves, big moves for our team, or they made moves for our team. And yeah, we'll see what happens. Yeah, and the Grizzlies haven't been playing well as of late. They've been kind of going through it, there's been drama kind of surrounding their team. And, you know, Jha recently said that they're the most unlikable team in the NBA. Do you agree with that? Um, sure, I guess, you know, I, you know, they, they are a certain way and some people love it and some people don't. Um, I think it's part of their makeup, you know, them being that way and, you know, that way I mean by dancing and talking. This is that. I don't see a problem with it.

I really don't. I don't have a problem with the way they act, but some people, I guess they do rub the wrong way. You mentioned your team made a lot of big moves. Let's get into it. You guys made a big trade at point card. Yeah, man, they traded out. My boy, D. Lo, who is now back in his starting grounds, Los Angeles. We'll get into that, I guess, in a second. And we got Michael Connolly, who's just the epitome of a pro, just a real all-around solid player. I think someone who they wanted to just help balance, maybe balance the water a little bit, balance to boat, especially with Carl coming back, you know, just have someone in there who's a little bit more even kill. You know, again, I don't know. These are all assumptions, but yeah, and I think it will be good for us.

I think this is one of those trades you'll see as a win-win. You know, I think it'll be good for our team, and I think it's obviously much needed for Los Angeles, them getting a player and score like Delo, you know, and we bring in a really high-calibre guy in a good vet in Michael Conley. And then, you know, also we, we also lost Bryn Forbes, who they waived. I think he's close to signing a deal with the Bucks if he has it already. And that's really cool, too, because that's where he won, had some success. So, yeah, I mean, it's always, it's always so interesting, man, like during the season when guys head out and move and you have to, like, you really just get snapped back into reality how much of a business this really is. You'll make friendships with guys.

you'll, you know, build relationships with guys. And, you know, just like that, they're taken away and guys got to go somewhere else. You know, guys' wives can be friends with your wife or your girl, can be friends with someone's girl, you know, how that goes. So it's always that weird time of the year, but I wish nothing but the best for those guys. And I'm officially not the oldest. So I am not by even close. It's not even close.

What's Michael Connolly? Mike Connolly was in the 2007 draft. So he was class of 06. He's got to be 35. 34, 35. 35, I think. Okay. He's got you about half a decade.

Just think that's five years old than me. People treat me like I'm like 37, 36. I'm like, bro, I'm 30. I just turned 30. He's 35. That's a real inspiring number for me just because it tells me that's five years away. So I officially don't feel old anymore. And we'll get into what Mike brings to your team in a minute.

But what for all the Laker fans out there, what are they getting with the local because I know you really like being his teammate. So what the Lakers are getting there? I enjoyed D-Lo, man. You know, he's misrepresented in a lot of ways. A lot of it just do the stuff that haunted him from a long time ago. I still think follows him today. And not every player is for every situation in every environment.

You know, I've been in places where I might have not had fit in the best to where now I fit into this culture very well. And I'm sure it's the same way for other guys. What the Lakers are getting is a supreme. confident player, supreme high IQ player, shot maker, especially down the stretch. I can really shoot the ball and he's crafty. He's not athletic. He might not be the greatest defender, but he's actually gotten better. He tries a lot harder now on defense, which has been obviously kind of like his Achilles heel for the most part. But he's played a lot better

defensively this year. And offensively, man, like the guys is gifted. He really is. He's, he's so highly skilled Pasha. Dilo's one of the higher skilled players in the NBA. He's not really that athletic at all. He's just so crafty and knows the game. He's a high IQ player. He's really what the Lakers need. They need another guy.

That way, LeBron's not making all the decisions and all the plays. I think he'll be valuable for LeBron and AD. So it's a big pickup for them, honestly. And then you add the Beasley in there with shooting that they needed. And then Vando is just a guy who could really play hard and knows how to play his role as a pro, they got a lot better. And then you add the Achi Mora came in one like a week ago, two weeks ago.

So they're all around a different team. You know what I mean? The West is crazy. I mean, who else made a big move today? A lot of teams that got a lot better in the West. Your team is one of them. Mike Connolly brings a lot. I feel like especially last year in the playoffs with the Grizzlies,

the T-Wolves, they just lacked that experience, right? Like, Timberwolves probably should have won that series. And what they were missing was probably a guy like Mike Connolly, who's kind of going to be the adult in the room, kind of set the table for everyone, you know, be a leader, like, set by example. So I feel like that's a great pickup for you guys. And yeah, the Lakers, they get, they get a, I think, I feel like Dilo is a gamer. And I feel like he's going to show up. He's going to have big games for the Lakers. And LeBron's just getting a player when in the beginning of the season, everyone kind of made front of the Lakers and said they don't have a lot of NBA players on their roster.

You can't say that anymore. They added four rotation guys, a few starters there in the last week. So I thought the Lakers got a lot better for sure. Yeah, the Lakers definitely upgraded. We upgraded just in the sense that, you know, Mike is going to fit more so what I think they're trying to do here. So not really comparing player for player. I really do think D-Lo's in a perfect spot. I'm actually happy that he's back there so he could like do it right this time almost.

You know what I mean? Go back to where, you know, the Lakers wanted him. saw a lot of good in him, you know, him being back there now at this point in his career, he's a pro now. I think he has a chance really to resurrect himself in that light, especially because he's going to have it. There's no bigger stage in being a starting point guard for the Lakers in basketball. It's like being the quarterback for, you know, the Cowboys.

So it's exciting for him. I'm excited for him. And I'm excited for us. You know, I think a lot has cleared the air with Mike here just because I think even had to be hard on Delo. It's probably hard on everyone here. because that was kind of looming all season is what's going to happen with him. And I think now it gives clarity to DeLo in his situation,

and it gives clarity to our team and our direction, and we can kind of just go be our best selves. So I look forward to seeing how this season's really going to end, man. It's going to be wild because the West is so tight right now from team to team. Anything can happen. And there's 27, 26 games left, man. It's going to be, I think, actually less, like 25 games left for us, personally, I think, or something like that.

And it's going to be a dog fight. Yeah, and I was going to ask you, is there, the month or so leading up to the trade deadline, you know, it's probably a little nerve-wracking. Some guys think, am I going to get moved? What's going to happen? Now that the trade deadline's kind of come and gone, do you feel like there's a sigh of relief? Like, now guys know, okay, this is the team we're going, and this is the squad we're going to war with. This is what we have. Is it just a different vibe? Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, I think, like I said, it's like a relief. You know, a lot of guys feel that off their shoulders. You know, at least you know, okay, this is the squad that we have

remaining going forward. So now we can build with this team. It's really easy for us because we're adding a guy like Mike and he's one of the most high character guys in basketball. So, you know, adding him to the team is only just going to help us. Plus, there is some familiarity with there with him and Rudy. They play together on the same team. So, you know, you already have that connection. And I'm sure he'll fit in just fine here. We got good guys here. So, you know, it's my job, Kyle's job, TPs jobs, some of the older guys to help him to progress and, you know, fit in as well as he can here. I've spent some time with Mike in Memphis. He is just one of the best guys overall, not even in basketball, like one of the best guys I've ever

I've ever been around. I think he's played, what, 16 years in the NBA, never had a technical foul. Like, you're getting like an all-time teammate here. So I think you're going to see that offer up. And I think, yeah, that's what they wanted at that point guard spot, really, especially with Carl and Anthony, still being very young, especially Anthony. I think they really needed that and wanted that. Yeah, it's a good move for both parties.

And can you kind of take me through? You've been traded in the middle of a season before. People don't understand that part of it. They just, you know, they see trades. They see a tweet and they're like, oh, that guy's going over there. He's going to wear a different jersey. What goes down when you get traded in the middle of a season? I mean, there's so much that goes into it, right?

The logistics moving, a different team, getting to know, a different style of offense or defense, for example, what's, you know, can you take us through that? Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's never easy, even when it's a situation, uh, even when it's a situation where you're relieved to be going somewhere else, you know what I mean, it's still just so much that goes into it, uh, packing your stuff. Uh, you have a girlfriend, you have a fiance, a wife, kids, multiple kids, animals, uh, your cars, your stuff, all in all, you got to get all that stuff that has to be moved quickly. Uh, your mindset changes. your family has to readjust themselves in a new neighborhood and a new culture in a new environment.

You know, she probably made friends on the team with other players' wives. It's never easy. People always think it's just so easy. And the response to that would be, well, that's what you guys get paid millions to do. And that's correct. That is why we get paid a lot. It's part of the reason why we're able to handle stuff like this. It's a very small part. But it doesn't make the situation any more easier. Just because we have money, of course, we're able to pay for moving this, this, this, but the main, issues of moving are still there. And that's always nothing that money can buy. Reasserting yourself in a new culture and a new environment, making new friends, fitting in, not fitting in, you know, the pressure of that, not just for you and for your family on the court, but off the court. So it's

never the easiest thing. And I've been on all sides of that. I've been traded when I've wanted to be traded and I've been traded when I was kind of surprised to be traded. You know what I mean? You just kind of have to keep moving forward. It's just, it's always a reality check to how much of a business it is. And that's why you see less players showing loyalty to their teams in today's day because there really isn't any loyalty in terms of, you know, just the business of sports, not just the NBA. That's just sports in general. There always is to a certain extent. There can be loyalty in a friendship and a bond between a player in a front office, no doubt, and a culture, no doubt. But push comes to shove, they always have to do what's right for the culture. And that means you leaving

or getting traded, they'll do that. Yeah, and I feel like what fans and everyone wants are players to buy into a team, a city, and just completely be locked in, right? Selfless. And, you know, you could have that, but then you can get traded, you know, in a blink of an eye. You can find out on Twitter. And then you're on a different team. You're going to war with a different group.

And I feel like that happening to you could make you a little, I mean, it's your humid. It can make you a little jaded, right? Like, you can make you be like, you know, like, is this, you know, you won't put someone to buy in, but is this my team? Like, once you get traded a few times. Guys like Jeff Green that have played for 11, 12 teams, what's that like? It's probably a little different to buy in than your rookie year when you're just buying into the first team that drafts you. Right, 100%.

100%. And it does bother me that players find out on Twitter or I saw the McHale Bridges where he found out through a FaceTime of a friend. I would like to get to the point where the player itself who's getting traded or moved can get a call from the front office. first and foremost and be like, hey, the news is going to break in the next 10 minutes. We want to let you know first. Even if it's a text, call, whatever the fuck you got to do,

I don't know. But a player getting on his phone on FaceTime and talking to his teammate and his teammates saying, sorry, you're going. He's like, what are you talking about? And him not knowing what's going on is absurd to me.

And it's not just this case. It happens all the time, all over the league. Players find out they're traded through Twitter. Do you remember Harrison Barnes being traded on? Harrison Barnes found out he got traded. He got traded when he was on the bench for the Mavericks.

That was the worst case. Mid-game. Yeah. But here, see, that's different because that can happen. A guy can be going out to do his job and a trade happens. And they might have to tell a player like, hey, you just got traded. Even if it's mid-game, at least they're telling them. In that case, it's hard for the player to find out first.

But in a situation where a guy's not playing, like, the first call should be the player. Like, we just got this done. And this is what's going to break. A player should not be finding out through Shams or Woj. These guys know before the actual families and players that self were moving and uprighting their whole life. They don't, it's just like, it's just a flawed system to me. I think it's bullshit.

I've always felt it's bullshit. Shams and Woj are the best at it. They're great. I have no problem with them being the first to announce it. Just they need to be the second to the player. It's not just them. It's everybody. The player should be the first person and know they're getting traded.

It consistently happens all the time and I think it's bullshit. I mean, if you're going to trade someone that's fine, it's a business, whatever, whatever, but we shouldn't be finding out through phone calls and Twitters and people breaking the news. Can you not call the player right away? Can both parties call the players involved? Let them know, leave a voicemail or at least tell the agent. If he can't get a hold of the player, call the agent and tell them what's going on, and then release it at least. But like, I think it's a little cold when they do that, in my opinion.

And I feel like it happened to Josh Hart yesterday in warm-ups, and he seemed like a good sport about it. Like, you know, there are people like, McKell Bridges went on Twitter in the morning. It was like, oh my, my God. I got, I got traded. Like, they seem to be a good sport about it, but I completely understand what you're saying. Like, they need to clean that. Yeah, yeah. I mean, listen, it's, it's happened to me, bro. I found out I've been

traded through Woge. You know what I mean? And I just, you know, I just, and then you get a call from the front office, maybe an hour or two later or whatever the case may be, and they talk to you, and you just be professional about it. You always have to be professional about it. Josh Hart's a professional. McHale Bridges isn't a professional. I'm a professional.

You know, you have to be professional, but it still doesn't diminish the fact that I think it's wrong. I think the athlete and the player itself should know before fans and anybody else. That's just my opinion, whatever. So let's get back to some of these trades at the deadline. The first one that kind of sparked everything was Kyrie going to the Mabbs. And you've already kind of expressed your admiration for Kyrie's game, how good you think it is and everything like that. What do you think about the Mabs now with kind of Luka being paired with that? I mean, they've got to be a top back court in the NBA.

What were your initial thoughts when you saw that? I love when people are debating whether they have the two best back court players. Like, who's the best, who honestly would you guys put against Luca and Kyrie? Who's a better back court than those two? Like the fact that there's even like, they're one of the best backcourt. Who's, you have the number one point guard and I'll put number two because Steph, step's the greatest point guard in the NBA, in my opinion. But Lucas two, and Kyrie's probably three.

I mean, I'd probably put Kyrie 3, 3 or 4. I mean, at that point, you're, you know. He's up there with Dame and, yeah. Yeah, he's, he's, nonetheless, Dame, he's in the top of the crew. And you have both of them on the same team, which you can do because they both can score the ball so well. So they're both like shooting guards anyways. So one can be a point guard, one can be a shooting guard. I mean, the initial concern is ball movement, you know, how much will be there.

They have really good pieces around them. Josh, who's a, what's a green? Is it Josh Green? Josh Green. Yeah, he's really surprised them. I like him. He plays hard. He's athletic.

He's got a game. Jaden Harley. Jaden Hardy? Jaden Hardy, yeah. Yeah, I like him. And then they obviously still got their anchors in terms of their role cast. They got Timmy and they still have Christian Wood and they have Reggie Bullock. So they have their core shooting role players there with their two stars.

They have their bigs. They like that. They can switch because they like to switch one through five a lot. That's why they play Claver. they play Dwight Powell. These guys can switch and guard one through five. They still kept them pretty much their core of their team. Finney Smith was a big loss, but in Dinwiddie,

but you replaced that with a Kyrie Irving. It seems like a good move. You just don't know what his future is going to hold this summer. But they're going to be tough, man. Guarding him and Luca, man, like, wow. You know, I can't wait. We play them in two days. So I'll get to find out.

I think his home opener in Dallas is when we, play them. So that'll be a fun game. I feel like people also, yeah, they're asking, can Kyrie play with Luca? How's that going to fit? Have people not seen in the past when there's a guy like Luca where James Harden, for example, in 2017, he gets a star secondary ball handle like Chris Paul. That was the best the Rockets were when they had another guy handling the ball like Chris Paul. Then you had Luca, he had Jalen Brunson last year. They went to the conference finals. So it seems like Luca and a guy like James Hardin, I'm not saying they play the same, but their usage rate is kind of the same. It's not too far off. Those guys do play better. The team has better success

when there is a secondary ball handler. So I feel like it shouldn't be a thing about if Kyrie could fit. Definitely could, especially if you stagger their minutes where one of them is always on the floor. Great point. I think you're right. I think you're right. James, I think was at his best with Chris. It also relieved him in so many ways where he didn't have that nightly pressure to carry a whole offense and create. You had another big time creator. That's what he's going to do. I mean, he's going to provide scoring and playmaking for them on a high, high level to where Luca can still be high usage and dominate, but it's not just going to be so solely on him to play 42 minutes a night or 40 minutes a night where he's really just putting so much pressure on his body

when you have another superstar on your team because Kyrie is a superstar, I believe, and they're going to be really tough to guard. Yeah, and I also feel like it's definitely a high-risk move that they made, and they've been trying to pair Luca with, like, the right sidekick, right? They had Prisngas in there, they've had Brunson in there. Do you feel like maybe they're running out of chances of kind of finding Luca, like the right guy?

I think Lucas, it helps that I would have to, imagine Luca has as a role model, he has a guy that stay through the good and bad. I mean, Dirk's probably a role model for him there. He's from overseas. And Dirk won a championship there and is a legend there. Luca probably sees that and says, you know what, I want to do the same thing, but maybe even more or even better, obviously to do so, he's got to continue to play the way he's doing and he has to bring him a championship. I think he's willing to go through that and stay put. Dallas is not a bad place to live. No income tax. It's very, very nice place to live. It's a good, you know, they got a good fan base, nice arena.

I don't understand why they, I don't understand why they haven't gotten free agents in the past. Like, they struck out on like, I think it was, you know, Dwight Howard before, Carmelo, Darren Williams back in the day. Then I went to Dallas and I was, I'm so shocked that they don't get, they're not a more of a free agent destination. It is, it is one of those cities that's heavily slept on. You know, Phoenix was slept on for, for decades. You know what I mean?

Before I was in the NBA and now, like, Phoenix is now because people have really like gone out there. favorites for players. That place is now, like, you saw Kevin Durant, one of his places, like, I want to play Phoenix. Like, people don't mind living there. It's beautiful. You can get a nice house for not too much. You got the girls.

They got the environment. You got the sports teams. You got the nightlife. I mean, Phoenix is very similar to Dallas in a way, maybe not weather-wise, but Dallas is still gorgeous place to live. You just have more of a seasonal aspect there. But they have all the boxes ticked. And I think Luca has a great relationship with Jay.

Jason kid who's a legendary point guard himself. And I think he has a good relationship with Mark Cuban. And saying this, the business of basketball, anything could happen. But I don't see him going. I think he just stays there and just stay or continue to try to build around him. And they'll keep taking chances. I think they'll, the Kyrie thing doesn't work out. It'll be to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next.

I think the only consistent thing they have there is Luca, just like Dirk was. You know what I mean? I don't see him going anywhere for a while. And I really appreciate the segue into our next topic, Phoenix. They made maybe the biggest move of the deadline. And just from a basketball standpoint, how do you feel about KD, kind of paired up with, you know, Booker, playing with Chris Paul, A.N.

How do you think that's going to go? Well, they're going to be really good. I think this helps out Phoenix in two major ways. A, Devin doesn't have to be such a, they don't have to rely on him to score and come through all the time. Now you have the best closer in basketball. one of the best scores to ever play at Grace the Game. Now you have him on your team.

It also allows Chris Paul not to have so much pressure. I think he can now be a little bit even more removed from like, you know, he's gotten older. I think he went from him being the best player in your team. Then he went and teamed up with James and kind of played alongside and was that Robin. You know what I mean? He played second. And then he went to Phoenix and played second again.

But he's gotten older. So now I think he gets to play third. You know what I mean? He's kind of like moving his way. It allows him to kind of take a step back as well. Anytime Chris Paul is your, you know, your third best player in your team, you're pretty damn good. So then you had it. You keep Aiton.

I mean, so they have a very... Anytime Aiton is your fourth best player, you're really, really good. Right, yeah, exactly. So they have all the pieces there. They're going to be a really good team, and they're going to be a team that's going to be fighting to go to a championship, no doubt. With that being said, what's going to be their concern or what's their Achilles heel? Right now would be their supporting cast. And what they can add because they lost a lot.

They lost a lot of good key players, especially defensively, especially defensively, all their best defensive players, for the most part of left. Josh Okoge has played really well for them. I think that's also what's helped them make that decision because he's really stepped up as a really good defender for them. So I think he'll keep his way in that rotation. And I think with a lot of these players being bought out, which you'll see, they're going to sign and add players.

I think you have, you know, campaign still there. You have Damien Lee, who's really filled in as that backup shooting spot. You have a Kogi, who's like a hustle player. I would not be surprised if they go after, though, like a Russell Westbrook or a Reggie Jackson, a Will Barton. Some of these guys, some high-level players are going to get bought out and are going to sign quickly with a new team. I've already seen Bryn Forbes looking to go to Milwaukee. I've seen rumors of Will Barton might make a re-react. union back to Denver off the bench there.

You know, there's a lot of different places that Reggie Jackson is a favorite to go to Phoenix. They're saying, what's his name? Russell might go to Miami. I mean, these are all rumors, but people are going to make signs, you know, in the next week or two, you'll see some of these guys who have gotten bought out our way, you know, sign on some new team. So that's going to be their question. What can Phoenix add as their supporting cast?

And I feel like every time that happens, for example, when the Miami had the big three, they were like, well, how they're going to fill out the rest of the roster? The NBA has a lot of good players. They figure it out. Like you said, you just named, like, you know, the shamit campaign, Damian Lee. They have T.J. Warren. They're going to, these players are, they're in the NBA. They're good basketball players.

They're going to step up. They got the hard part down first. That's to get stars. Okay. So that's what they, that's, they took the bet, like all the teams that have won. Let's let's have a, the Warriors are no different. All the teams who have one over the past 50 years. Let's have a great starting unit.

Let's load that up as much as we can. And then let's try to fill in the pieces with really good pros. There are good pros out there that they'll be able to fill in. Like you said, T.J. Warren is a really good player. It's just his only concern is his health. But if he's healthy, that's a great role player to have. Shammett can shoot. Damian Lee is a pro.

Played on a winning team of the Warriors last year and has played really well for them this year. And Josh Okie's really, like, surprised them over the past couple of months. He's played good basketball for them. So, you know, they're going to be really good. They're going to be a top-tier team in the West, and they're going to be one of the teams to look out to come out of the West for sure. Yeah, and I feel like also there's KD, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, even T.J. Warren, this is one of the best mid-range teams ever assembled.

All they need to do is as to Martin Rose. This might be the best, they might be the best mid-range team ever assembled. Yeah, for sure. If they win the championship, the mid-range is officially back. Well, I hope not because my whole game has been tailored to threes and layups, so Well, it's Darryl Mory Ball, but

100% though, the sons are a great mid-range team. If they this summer somehow get the Marta Rosen, just chalk it up as the best mid-range team of all time. Yeah, DeMarda Rosen would be insane. Another team that got a lot better, let's think here, we got the Lakers and they added, we already talked about earlier, four rotation guys,

They added shooting. They got younger. Do you think that they're definitely in the playoff mix now? Because right now they're on the outside looking in. It's going to be tough, man, because there's 25 games. So for some teams, even less. So now when there's that many games left, not only is your season predicated on how it will you play,

it's tough when you have to also depend on someone else losing. It'd be one thing if there's 50 games left and there are two games out. There's 25 games left and they're three, four games out. You know what I mean? And the teams that they need to lose are teams that don't lose a lot. You know what I mean? The West is loaded, though. I mean, Memphis, I think even Memphis got better.

They added Luke, it provides them even more shooting around Jha. The Clippers really got, I think the Clippers really got better. You know, they lost kind of like baggage that, like, you know, guys that weren't, they didn't really want to play. And they added, like, a spry, Bones Highland. and an Eric Gordon. And you played with Eric Gordon and Bones Highland. And you like both their games.

I love both of their games. This would be a good place for Bones to go. I think it's his first time getting traded. I think it's his first time going through the business of basketball, him understanding how serious it is to go somewhere and acclimate. You know, and he's going to be around top tier scores, guys that could probably teach him a lot, just about getting to their spots, playing with pace,

you know, learning how to make plays for others because the dude has like so much talent. So, yeah, I like Bones there and I'm really happy for Eric. Eric's kind of been stuck down in Houston for a little bit of time, which didn't really seem like the vet fit for him. And now he gets to go on like a contending team, which Eric belongs on.

He's a really good player. I play with Eric in Houston. He was nasty. So him getting out and going to the Clippers is going to be really cool. Where he started, too. And I also feel like, oh, yeah, good point. I forgot about that. He was part of the Chris Paul Trid. Yeah. Yeah, the the nuggets are at the top of the West right now. And I think they probably thought, you know, we might just sneak in,

you know, win the West this year. It's kind of been a weaker Western conference and then every team got better. They went from being like, you know what? The Nuggets are probably come out. I mean, they're playing really well to being like, oh, well, hold up. The whole West has reloaded and the east the east is just top heavy you know you got Boston Milwaukee and Philly you know those are the three teams

I like Cleveland Cleveland as well they're just young man I like Cleveland they're really good it's just hard for me to see them beating like a Philly or or a Boston or Milwaukee in a seven game series you know what I mean

they are really good though I like Cleveland and they're going to be a good team for a long time I like their coach I like what they've put together over there but they are a little bit young. So, you know, we'll see. Are you a little surprised about the Nets roster

and then not making other moves after they collected kind of all of those solid players? Yeah, they got a bunch of pros. They're just not put together. I mean, like, Cam's like their best player. I don't even know. I mean, like, it's a weird team now. They don't really have a direction.

At this point, it's kind of just like, but they're not like in the bottom of the east, too, because of the team they have. had before, they still could make, they'll probably either be in the playoffs or a playing at worst. You know what I mean? They're just, they don't have a team that they're trying to move forward with. I mean, I would imagine they're going to be really busy this summer trying to bring in guys or move guys. I don't really know what direction they're going to go in now. But they have so many pros that could help like a lot of good teams. So it reminds me of the

jazz in the beginning of this year how they got rid of Rudy and Donovan Mitchell. And they just had all of these, they went like 11 deep of just solid players. And it's a lot of players that other teams want. And it was just kind of weird and wacky and they were winning games in the beginning of this year. And now the, I get the Nets roster. And I'm looking at all those players and I'm like,

and these guys could really help other people. And together, just no one's really standing out, but just a bunch of good players. Besides Cam. Cam Thomas? He's going crazy right now. All right. Let's take a quick break. And then when we get back, we'll talk about Cam Thomas going on that big scoring

run. So Cam Thomas had three straight 40-point games after they shipped off, you know, the net stars. You and me have always talked about how there's so many good players in the world and all it takes is opportunity. He's obviously a really good example of that. What do you think about his games? Yeah, he's talented. He's a confident score. Can do it at three levels, has a mid-game, has a three-point game, can get to the basket, he's shifty. And yeah, you know, opportunities everything. He's taking advantage of it. Three games in a row of 40 is no easy feat. I mean, he's really putting in some points and some bucks in a short amount of time. You know, that's, again, like we talked about, the Nets are not like a team that's contending

anymore, but they still have a team full of pros who are going to do their job and play. I'm sure a lot of them will be moved this summer to various places because, like you said, they have like a whole team full of, like, really desirable role players. You know what I mean? They have a lot of really good role players on their team. So I'm sure a lot of those guys will be moving in new directions this summer. So the rest of the season, you just kind of just play it out. You know, if they go to the playoffs, great. They don't, they don't.

But Cam Thomas, guys like that are going to have an opportunity to really go out there and, like, show their ability and show what they could do. The NBA is 100% what I'm looking for. What's the word I'm looking for? Opportunity, for lack of a better word. It's 100% opportunity-based, man. It's all about opportunity. It's all about fit. It's all about scheme.

People constantly look at players and be like, oh, that guy's a role player. Like, bro, no, duh. The NBA is 99% role players. There's 1, 0.1% of stars. There's usually one star team. Maybe some teams don't have any. And then some teams that are really good will have two. The whole league is made up of role players.

And it's all situation. And it's all based off if you fit into the scheme. Most players on average were all getting five to six shots per player. So you're going to average six, seven points, five points, depending on, you know, opportunity. Guys could go down and you'll see a guy have 30 points. He's like, oh, my God, he was nine of his life. No, bro, he just got time. He got minutes.

Guy's really good. Cam Thomas has always been a really good score. He's playing with the two best players, two best one-on-one players in NBA. He's playing with Kyrie Irvin and Kevin Durant the past couple years. I see that all the time. So I'm happy for him. I'm happy to get an opportunity. Yeah, and I feel like people were surprised about his,

scoring outbursts, everyone besides him, he earlier in the year in his Instagram bio had free CT in there. And he just seems like a super confident guy. And I know I'm cool with Giovante smart that play with him at LSU. And one time I asked Javante, I said, who's the best shooter you've ever been around? He wasn't joking at all. Cam Thomas does not miss. And he was saying how great of a shooter he is. Definitely stems from confidence. So by the way, he didn't even make the Rising Stars game. He's not even the rookie sophomore game. And he's out here scoring 40 and three straight games. Yeah, that's crazy. That's a snub. The rookie all-star game means about as much of nothing as something could probably. It's the most waste of an all-star game. Who to first up,

who the fuck watches it? They sneak it's the most, it's the least competitive game ever put together and you're rewarding players for doing what, being half decent, half the guys that play are just, some of them are just on bad fucking teams. Most of the good players that pan out are guys that aren't playing a lot right now and they're just on really good teams. Like some good players get drafted to just teams that are really good. So they just don't have a chance to play. And then two, three years later, because they've learned from good players and good pros, they like turn into good pros.

And that guy that made the rookie all-star games, not even the league anymore. Like that game is so stupid. I've never liked it. I say that because I never made it. I never made it in the rookie game. Yeah, there's definitely some bitterness in here. I never made it to the rookie game. And I never made it to the sophomore game.

And if you look from the class of 2012, the draft class, I would love to know how many guys are left. You know what I'm saying? And there's a lot of us who didn't make that game. Dremont didn't make that game. You know what I mean? And Dremont's obviously, see when he's done in his career. And there's a plethora of guys who haven't made the Rising Stars challenge

and have turned out to have good careers. Like Cam Thomas, like you just said, having three-point, but you'll have five guys from the, I'm not even going to say in the name of a team, but you'll have the five guys from one team and they're just ridiculous. I mean, it's just, it's, yeah, I don't pay attention to that. at all, bro. No rookie should pay attention to the rookie sophomore game. It's a waste of fucking time. So what would you rather watch

the celebrity game or the rookie sophomore game? I'd rather watch the cell. I'd rather watch Kevin Hart shoot three pointers. There's no way he's still in it. Or a doctor from Gray's Anatomy hit a backdoor layup than watching the rookie

sophomore game. They don't even play defense. They just let each other like throwed off the glass and dunk. Do you think this Cam Thomas thing is The closest thing we've seen since Lynn's sanity, or do you think it's just the two have nothing to do with each other? Who? Cam Thomas's run. Is that the closest thing you've seen?

This is no discredit to Lynn to Jeremy, because Jeremy could play. You know, Jeremy was a good basketball player. And a lot of times people just used his ethnic background as like a slight towards him. Like, oh, he could ball for, you know, he's an Asian guy playing the NBA. Like, no, he could actually really play basketball. I played at Harvard, worked his way up to Harroway, went through the G League, really earned his way in the NBA, and then took advantage of a moment. and then after that was able to have like a semi-productive pretty, you know, decent career after that.

And then obviously found his way out. But I feel like Cam Thomas is more of a prospect and a guy that, you know, people look at as, you know, someone who could be a, you know, who knows for this team. I mean, three point, 40-point games in a row is impressive. Not to mention that's not the first time he's done that. He's always been a pretty good score. Have there been any, and I know you've seen all the trades that happened today, which one of the trades caught your eye

that was the most underrated? Ooh, it's a good question. I was surprised by the Basley, but they're not really using him. So you think he'll have an impact on the suns? Like you said, people are worried about their depth now that they have there.

I just like his ability. He's like 6-10 who could dribble the ball. He's athletic as hell. He's not a great jump shooter, but he's very capable. He can't just leave him open. He has a solid jump shot that I'm sure he can improve on.

And he's going to be, being a run and gun system in Phoenix and he's super athletic. I just think he has ability and he's young. I like him. I don't know why they did that especially considering they're a team that's like going young, they're rebuilding with all these young players and picks, but I think they like

the foreign player. I can't pronounce his name. It starts with the P. Thunder. Pocodo. Okachapski. Yes. Yeah, yeah. They like him. It's Poku. People go Poku. Yeah, I knew he had a nickname like that. they like him, I think, and the kid Jalen Williams is like a, he's a real deal.

So I think they just had to make that move. I guess now I see why it makes sense. But I think the Phoenix did a great job and acquiring him. Now that I think about it, Phoenix has a really good team. Jesus. Yeah, they'll be a good. They'll be good. Phoenix is going to be good.

Like you said, it's defensively is probably where they lost, you know, Bridges and Cam, Johnson. There wasn't a trade that blew my mind. I mean, I knew Kevin to the Phoenix is the, most shocking one. I mean, everybody knew he's going to be dealt after Kyrie left because there wasn't enough for,

that's the point. Katie felt like there wasn't enough on the Brooklyn team with him to win. So you know, with Adam, they're a whole different team. So, I mean,

he wanted to go somewhere else. I didn't know where it's going to be, but yeah, Phoenix is a place. They made it happen. You knew Matt Ishbia, the new owner of the Sons was coming in to make moves.

He wants to win now, prove something. They're probably more of a desirable team because the new ownership, you know, that's in there. So, yeah, I mean,

Phoenix is going to be. They went from like mid-season. Everybody thought this team was on the verge of collapsing. Everybody's like, you know, they're going to trade CP and they don't, this guy doesn't get along with this guy and the coaches don't get along with the coach and this, this, this. And now you got, you know, a whole new life there. So they're going to be a dangerous team. I feel like, yeah, I feel like everyone was saying that Phoenix, the vibes were off. Ever since game seven last year against the Mavericks, people were counting them off, but got her.

hurt. They started losing a bunch of games. Just adding Kevin Durant, it just changes everything. And like you said, their roster is insane right now. And if they get figured it out, they're going to be, definitely one of the favorites. Did you happen to watch, before all the trade deadline, Hoopla, did you happen to watch LeBron

past Kareem? Of course. Yeah, of course, man. An amazing night in basketball history, an amazing night for him. The funniest part about it was the fact that Thomas Bryant actually thought for like a second that he was going to get that fucking ball.

Like, my man had him pinned wide open, wide open under the basket. Would have been a good play to throw it to him, too, because he was wide open and had a guard under him. He would have definitely turt and finit. LeBron shoots a one-legged fadeaway. Thomas Bryant's in the frame, like, not a chance. That's his last moment on the Lakers, too. He just got traded today.

Not only the last moment, he will be remembered in that photo forever. forever, which isn't a bad thing because he was actually doing his job. He closed out, a guy, had a wide open. Thomas was actually really good for the Lakers. He plays hard as shit. Every time I watch Thomas Frye. He plays hard as hell every night. And he's a skilled big.

I mean, he doesn't have the greatest footwork defensively, so he struggles on the defensive end. But he makes up for it a lot of ways with his effort and with his shooting as a big. He picks, he rolls, he plays hard. Everyone has positive things to say about it. I actually played with Thomas a little bit in D.C. was before he really started to play a lot. But I liked him.

I liked his energy. But yeah, him in that frame is just completely comedy. I was joking about it. If I'm Williams on the Thunder and I get switched on to Braun for the point that's going to make him, I'm not switching. LeBron's getting an easy highway down to the basket. He's getting an easy highway for a dunk. I'm not going to be in the frame.

Selfish. Selfish. It's crazy that I asked you about LeBron, but we just went on a little Thomas Bryant. Ryan, that was just pitching Thomas Bryant. I was just talking about the moment.

The moment is just too good not to talk about it. I know there's no way I'm being in that frame. I don't want to be in that frame. I don't want to be in it. The whole game was a spectacle. Every time LeBron got the ball,

the crowd was nuts. And you just feel it was a weird game. There's also a lot of weird things going on over there. Like, I don't know what's going on over there. I think you're referring to AD kind of moping around

when the bomb passed. There's a lot of weird stuff going on over there. And again, no one knows. so we can't speak on it. I can't, I'm not going to be that guy in the media that's going to speculate and start to throw stuff out there in the wind. I don't like when people do that to me or anybody else I play with. So I'm not going to do that. Something is, I don't know what that was. It was weird. And then now things are coming out because of that clip, him sitting down,

people are going to do their digging in their research and people are now coming up with stuff. They're saying there's stuff there. There's stuff with Russ. And obviously people knew that. anytime you got your player going on TV saying, I'm mad that we didn't get a certain player traded here. Like, obviously, what do you think the guy in the locker room feels? You know, Russ is probably like, what the fuck? You know what I mean? So it was just the whole dynamic was strange.

You know what I mean? Like Russ got into it with the coach at halftime. Then he finished the game. And 80's sitting down while, you know, LeBron's getting the record. They're trying to win the game. But are they trying to win the game? Is it about his scoring?

Then they stopped the game. There's 10 seconds left in the third quarter. Fucking Adam Silver is in the middle of the court with the, with the microphone. They couldn't play the 10 seconds at the end of the third. That's like, Thunder players are sitting there

like being a good sport about it just completely disregarding the fact that it's a regular season game they're trying to get into playoffs. No one gives a fuck. And I get it because we just seen something that... There's no protocol for this. I mean, this has happened once every 40 years.

So we don't really know when it happened. I don't think there was like, oh, what's the rule book on this? Should we stop the game? Should we not? It just never happens. So I think they just... Kareem's watching.

Kareem's watching and just completely. complete bafflement, just trying to figure out what the hell is going on. There's stuff going on. I don't think Kareem. I don't think Kareem was hating that night. I think he was like a 75-year-old guy that was just like in a circus. And he was just like, man, can we get this over with?

Like, I don't think he necessarily was like mad. Obviously the last few months, even this whole year he knew that the record was going to be passed. I think for him it was just like, the camera was just panting on him every time LeBron did anything. I mean, we get to 36 points. every basket we're staying at Kareem's reaction. There was a camera in Kareem's face the entire game. There's no way he was comfortable with it. I don't think LeBron was,

I think the LeBron wanted to get it over with. I think he's like, let me just get back to playing basketball because it's hard to, that has just been, but the stoppage in the middle of the game, 10 seconds left in the third quarter, in a crucial game, the Lakers are trying to make the playoffs here.

They stopped the fucking game for 20 minutes. I knew it was something was going on when LeBron starts calling his kids on the court I see his mom on the court then I see Mav in the background I'm like what the hell is going on? Next thing you know Adam Silver's walking out of the night I thought they won the NBA finals.

There's a parade people were crying. It's a huge accomplice. It's not going to happen in our lifetime again. It's a huge accomplishment. It never would. No, no, no, no. I don't want a downplay.

It never will happen. It probably will never happen. I see Richard. Paul on the court. I'm looking for Adele. I don't know what's going on. Okay. Also, when LeBron made it, he just put it both hands, both arms up. It started running the other way.

The 10 seconds, he, I think it was kind of him. He ran back after he made it, put the arms up, and then everyone was like, I guess we have to stop playing. Like, we're not going to, we're going to have shade just cut down the court. Yeah. You have to. You have to. Listen, I'm making fun of this right now to all the people that are going to be listening to it. I'm making fun of this.

The NBA script was good that night. But you have to stop the game. I mean, what we saw was remarkable. I mean, what we, like you just alluded to, we'll never see something like this happened probably again. You know what I mean? That's a special night that everybody will remember where they were that night where LeBron passed Kareem and became the all-time leading score.

I mean, just think the top of the list, most points, most buckets, ever in the NBA, your name's number one. I mean, that is insane. You know what I mean? And to do it in today's era, today's regulation, the way the games advanced with the pressure that, that's been on him. LeBron continually makes his case for the goat.

In every bucket from now on, it just extends that record, which is going to be insane because he's probably got another four or five years a pretty decent good basketball in him. So high-level basketball. I mean, he's dominating still at his age. So crazy night.

Just funny, though, man, the 10 seconds left in the game just absolutely blew me. I was laughing so hard watching that just because I know the Thunderworld over there, like, what the fuck is going on? what is going on? It was crazy.

It was a crazy night overall. And I knew, obviously, I think you were the same way. We saw LeBron with his outfit, what he chose. We knew he was going for it. Oh, no, he met business. He meant business.

And then he had the headband on. Yeah. He was going for it. It would have been embarrassing if he did it. You know, it was even more impressive? Do you know what was more impressive? He did it efficiently. Like, he didn't go out on some...

Listen, I love the way Kobe went out. By the way, the way Kobe went out his last game. Just like on some... I'm firing it is the most legendary shit I've ever seen in my life. 50 shot at 10. But I love, I love that LeBron did, on the other hand. I love that LeBron did it so efficient. Like, he knew he didn't get to that 36, and he did it efficiently, playing the right way, playing within the scheme, wasn't chucking bad shots.

Like, I think he was like, what was he? At one point, he was like 10 for 16 or something like that. He was playing, like, high-level basketball like you knew he would. You knew he meant business with the all-black fit that he came in on. That was a crazy fit. Also? All-black, ceramic, skeletal AP. Don't think I didn't notice.

That's above my pay grade. But I just saw it. The crazy thing too is he obviously was going for it. And so he was being a little more aggressive. Normally he's like a past guy. Kind of let's the game, the kind of game come to him in the beginning of a game, and then he figures it out. You saw him aggressive in year 20, get to that 36 and three quarters.

Imagine if he was always that aggressive and wasn't, you know, fourth and assist all the time. And he was always trying to score like a KD. or a Kobe. I'm not trying to name guys, but their job isn't exactly to create for others like LeBron has done his whole career.

Look what he could do in his 20th year, how easy he could score if he just wants to score. It's crazy. Exactly. For real, though. For real, though, if he really wanted to just be on some like fuck winning, losing,

I'm going out here to score. If you just thought, like, strictly as a score, this record probably would have been broke three, four years ago. Right. If he put it, if LeBron put his head down, and went to the basket every single time.

Like, I'm just going to, I'm just going to go like. Yeah, you see guys that have that. I don't know, man. I don't know how much better. I don't know how much better he can really be, man. We're like, we're saying better as a score. I'm not saying better as a player. I love the way he's an all-around guy.

I just feel like he, he never has those like, you know, four for 25 games that some of the great ones have had. Some of the great ones have. Exactly. Yeah, he's too efficient getting to the basket. Right. So it's just a testament to how good he is. you mentioned Kobe's last game

it's crazy how these guys with all the hype you know the celebrities there for both of those games we just mentioned how they kind of rise above it every time they put on a show because it could be easy it could be really it could be really easy to not right and to kind of fold under that pressure other players have and those two guys just when when the lights are on they kind of get better

yeah are you ready for rapid fire can I ask you this one question though are you surprised the heat and the raptors didn't make moves I'm shocked that the if the raptors haven't made move If they were never going to make moves, what was this season about?

Because I feel like there was a cloud over their team the last few months with Van Bleet or even Seacom or OG. Like being on all these trade rumors. Every team has OG in their jersey, you know, in their jersey, you know, on Twitter. It's if they weren't going to move these guys, their record would have been a lot better. The vibes would have been a lot better for them.

I'm sure if they just kind of stuck with those guys, didn't have all these trade rumors going. Like, what's going on with them? The fact that they kept them in Van Blitz, some free agent this summer. OG knows you were trying to move them. I just don't understand how they didn't make a move. Then they add Yacopold there.

They added a guy. They didn't lose guys. They added a guy. That's crazy. Yeah. I was surprised Miami didn't move anybody either. They saw they were like a, they're still trying to add some of those.

I think guys who might get bought out. But I thought they were going to make a move. It looked like Fred Van Fleet. A couple of other guys were like favorites to go to Miami, which is weird. They do have Kyle there. He's fit in there. He has a really good chemistry with Jimmy.

But I wonder what their, what direction they're trying to go in right now. They're obviously still trying to compete for something. They have a good enough team. They're like kind of just stuck in the middle where they're not like good enough to contend, contend, but they're no, by no means a bad team. They got, they're a high level team, high level coached. So I'm surprised they didn't make a move to really try to improve this year. Maybe I think they're just, you know, maybe they're thinking.

So I think sometimes, I don't know, I, you start thinking about next year or maybe they're take their chances with the team they have now. Maybe they're just super, maybe they're just super confident because in the last three years, they've been to the finals, and last year they went to the conference finals.

You know, a Jimmy Butler three away from going to the finals for the second time in three years. This is that same group. I mean, I thought they would maybe move Lowry. I mean, you heard about that, but maybe they just think they can get it together. Is Kyle, is it weaker? Yeah.

So maybe they saw an opening. Same with the Bulls who didn't make a move. I thought for sure there'd be, you know, sellers. They don't have their own pick, though. Somebody they have this year, so maybe they don't have any incentive to kind of blow it up in tank. But I know a lot of people thought they would. All right.

Rapid Fire. It's Fight Night Edition. Are you ready to answer these? Oh, God, Pasha. Go ahead, man. All right. Just go ahead. I knew you couldn't reserve.

Is it true you got Mo Bamba traded out of Orlando? You know, it's crazy. I've seen all the memes and stuff today. I want to take credit for that, but I can't. I had nothing to do with that, and I don't wish ill will and nobody. Although I do think he's happy. I think he's happy to be going to get a fresh start and going to L.A. You saw him post something, I think, where he's like, by the U-Haul trucks.

What is the funniest thing that someone texted you after that? I got a voice message from Jamie Fox on Instagram. And I'm like, okay, so I go through my Instagram. I see Jamie Fox sent me a voice memo. So I clicked him. And he goes, all right, young fella, got to get them off you. Got to get those big. And I can't say everything.

He said everything. He said, got to get the big motherfuckers off you. I seen you with the little left, right. I was just laughing, man. He was just like, you know, way to handle yourself. You know, got to protect yourself. You know, just I thought that was kind of funny. I feel like what I learned from me was the best time to ever get into a fight if you have to is right before the trade deadline because a bunch of shit happened right after.

LeBron passed Kareem, the Grammy. They forgot about me real quick. Yeah, the Grammys were on. KD got traded. I had like two hours of being a B-list celebrity. And then I went immediately back down to like a D-list right after the Grammys and the trade deadline went back on. I had my moment. And it was a brief moment because it feels like that was already like a year ago.

And it was six days ago. Somebody messaged me on Instagram that night and said, a random person said, this is your fault because you brought up the Royal Rumble. Who would win into Royal Rumble in the NBA? We said, Stephen Adams. And someone blamed me and said, I put it in your brain, the whole fighting thing. And then you went out there and you had fighting on the mind. So I apologize for my part in it.

And I don't know if you even agree with that. But that was, yeah, I got that random DM. I mean, any opportunity I have to put a little bit of blame on you, Pasha, I'm just going to go ahead and take it. So, yeah, you have your part in this for sure. I'll make sure I don't I'm careful what I bring up going forward for sure Yeah just listen I'm I'm easily I'm easily My mind's still young still being molded Just be careful what you say around

You're not the oldest guy in the Timberwolves anymore So now you're your mind is young I'm not I'm actually rather young nowadays if you haven't noticed I'm far from being the oldest player and I'm very happy about it I think around the players now you should call Mike like old head Kind of really play into this young thing maybe ask Mike for advice a lot Yeah really play into it That's a great

great idea. I'm like, what up OG? What about how you frame it? You're in control. I'm in control. For sure. You're in Memphis. You have a game tomorrow. What's, what's for dinner tonight? Because when I think of Memphis, I think a barbecue and Gus is fried chicken. Well, if I can get the hell off. If this ends anytime soon, well, I'll get to go to flight maybe. Otherwise, it's going to be like, I don't know, what do you order late night in Memphis? Papa Johns? I don't even know what they have out here. I think it's blue. I think it's blue. City Cafe on Beale Street. Get it to go. Unbelievable food. It's staple in the city. It's open to really late. I think it's Blue City Cafe. It's on Beale at the end of the road. It's really,

really good. It's open until really late. Have you ever been a Gus's fried chicken? Yeah, of course. Thoughts? It's great. They got, I mean, their barbecue and fried chicken down here is, it's hard to beat. It really is. It's really good. They got some good food down here. They got, especially some soul food. They got great soul food. down here. I lived there for three years and I was trying to keep it healthy and obviously the barbecue is like the best there. But every time someone visited, what did they want? They want the barbecue. They want to get that fried chicken and people were visiting often. So I was constantly having to go get the barbecue, get the fried chicken. Because that's what they wanted when they visited.

Were you a Graceland legend? I went to, I went to Graceland once. My ex-girlfriend was a big Elvis fan. So I took her out there. Shout to her. We don't need to do that. But she, it was really cool. cool to go one time. It was really cool to go one time. Did you go through the house and everything? They have a lot of anything Elvis. They have it on the walls, man. I don't even, it was, it was, it was a lot. If you're an Elvis fan, you got to see it. Isn't it remarkable of how much stuff they have of his still? It's like overwhelming. You're like walking through this house and like every picture frame. Like they maintained it like, I was like, this is kind of like a little weird. Oh, I walked by like the racquetball court and there was a water fountain there. And the guy that was giving me like a tour, he was like, yeah, Elvis used to drink out of that water fountain a lot. I was like, I was. like looking at it. I was like, I don't know.

Checks that he signed were up there. I was like, did Elvis okay this? I felt like I was invading a guy's house. Like, it was nuts. It was super detailed. They wouldn't let us near, they wouldn't let us upstairs though. Oh, they didn't?

Yeah, I guess not. I don't remember. They don't let you upstairs, whereas the master bedroom is and the bathroom is, of course, which is where everybody really wants to go. You kind of want to see, like, if you're already in that space,

you just kind of like when you're on YouTube, and like you look up something and then you end up in, just like a deep hole. Next thing you know, you're watching just videos that, like, you go to bed and you have to put on, like, the Grinch or something like that before so you can feel good about yourself again. Like, I go on YouTube, and sometimes I'll get in a dark hole, and I've got to remember who I am as a person. I think we're all guilty of the YouTube dark holes for sure. And I agree afterwards.

You got to, like, you know, soft landing into the night. We've got to put on, like, friends and just go to sleep. Throw on some, hey Arnold, some Doug. Or I'll throw on a damn Pixar DreamWorks movie and feel good about myself again. That's awesome. Well, good luck tomorrow. I'll be watching. I don't want to keep you up too late.

Enjoy that flight food. And we'll talk next week. Appreciate you, my guy. Always been real. A lot going on this week. I'm sure a lot will continue. This season's going to end in a lot of ways. All exciting.

So look forward to chatting up with you.