The Ringer NBA Show - NBA Birthdays, Griping Wiggins, and Jokic vs. Malone | Sources Say (Ep. 228)

Episode Date: March 14, 2018

The Ringer’s Chris Ryan and Juliet Litman sit down to discuss Stephen Curry's and Tristan Thompson’s birthday festivities (01:00). Then they discuss how unhappy Andrew Wiggins is (29:50) and the potential rift between Nikola Jokic and Mike Malone (33:20). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know what time it is. Yes, it's time for sources say, but also it is bracket time. There's no wrong way to pick teams with Yahoo Sports Tourney Pickham all through the Yahoo! Fantasy app. Join a public group or create a group or join Jremon Green's group for a shot at $25,000. Don't miss out on March Madness. Get your bracket in before the games tip off on March 15th. Build your own bracket now at yahoo.com slash tourney 2018.

We won. Yeah. They suck. Yeah. We hear. Sound the alarm. It's time for another source to say. It's birthday week.

I'm Juliette-Litman. Happy birthday, Juliet. I'm Chris Ryan. Thank you. It's not my birthday. It is Stefan Curry's and Tristan Thompson's. And we're going to talk about their parties. But first, I just want to mention today, the NBA draft guide went live at

at NBA draft. Atterringer.com. It's phase one. It's 15 players to watch in the NCAA tournament and five to know about not in the tournament. Shout out to Luca Donchich. I've already learned so much. Last year, I've felt. like I had a much better handle on the lottery guys.

That's great. And this year, you know, I was coming into it, I was like, I don't really know a lot about Marvin Bagley, but now I do. Nice. So here's the plan. It's like, where this is, this is like the soft launch. We're going to update it really continually until the actual draft itself on June 21st. But there's a lot more to come, but there's already

some scouting reports. We're going to have some exclusive player data. We'll have mock drafts. We will have rankings from Charks and Danny and Kevin. We got a lot coming to check it out. NBA draft.com.com. Bookmark Have you got a favorite, an early favorite in the clubhouse for favorite new rookie? Hmm.

Future rookie? I want to believe in Michael Porter. Okay. I just feel like we're, we've all fallen off the Michael Porter bandwagon. Well, he fell off. He broke his back. Yeah. But, you know, a hero will rise.

Okay. So Michael Porter is the dark night. Yes, he is my Bruce Wayne. And your Gotham City, that is the NBA draft pool. Yes. I didn't know that Christopher Nolan did not make up the phrase, the night's only darkest just before the dawn. Isn't that Shakespeare? I thought, yeah, I thought that was a Christopher Nolan original from the dark night.

Somehow Michael Porter Jr. figures into that for me too. That would be dope if you could go back in time and do your yearbook page and you were like, it's darkest, night is always darkest before the dawn, Christopher Nolan. And it's just like a picture of you looking out over New York City. I had a dope quote. What was it? It was from Rolls Famous and it was from Russell Hammond's fight with Jeff Beebe when he goes, can we just script the vibe and go straight to us laughing about this?

Is that how you actually, I don't know if, is that actually how you are in real life? Is that an applicable phrase? I don't know. Let's come back to that. Let's dive into what, you want to know what mine was? Topic at hand. Yes, what was yours? It was.

It was. It was. Yeah. That's great. You found your spiritual home here at the ringer then. Okay. Birthday time. Let's begin.

Do you think NBA players typically celebrate their 30th birthday with such gusto? So. Because for somebody like me, 40 is kind of like the bell is tolling a little bit. But for an NBA players, 30 kind of signals. It's a tough turning point. Here we go. So Steph Curry turns 30 today, March 14th.

Pie Day. Yeah, 314. Okay, gotcha. Like pie. I thought it was like national pie awareness today. Well, it is like pie day. Like, for both. Like I was thinking should I get us a pie?

Yeah, I understand. I was thinking should I get us a pie because it's pie day. Hilarious. Like just for us right here in the pod? For our office. Okay. Steph had his birthday two nights ago because it was an off night for the Warriors. He, um, Ayesha,

planned it. However, a lot of the coverage from the Bay Area blogs and newspapers were like, the Warriors threw a great party and like, thanks to Aisha Curry. It's like, no, Aisha Curry just like threw him a party and like the Warriors attended. I don't want to give the organization credit for this. Yeah. So do you know specifically where it was held? I tried really hard to figure it out. I could not. Because part of what's sort of adorable about this party was that it doesn't look that much different than where a bar mitzvah would be held. Yes, absolutely. So he arrived on a yacht and then I was like, did everyone else get on the yacht with him, but I don't think so. I believe they went into a nightclub because it just looked like

the room was too wide. Yeah, it was his, the yacht was his entrance. Yes. And just so you know, this did happen on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills this season. Doree K. K. Lundle planned a party for her husband P.K. He represents Boy George or something like that. And he arrived. He took a helicopter to a boat, which took him to a yacht and there was the party. Very similar. Was the party that far away from where he was living? Or was it just a matter of building up? The bay of like Orange County, basically, a little south of here. They live in Beverly Hills, obviously, per the name of the show. So they arrive, and it was a big fiesta. All of the warriors were there. His kids were there for like part of the time. I was wondering who was in charge of taking Riley and Ryan home after they danced

for everyone. I'm sure they've got an N. Like a nan, they probably have several. Yeah, grandma was there too, so maybe she jumped in the action. Yes, she was. Grandma was there and she was dancing with D. They were both trying to dance with her, which is the kind of thing you do to Bar Mitzva. You're correct. Also in attendance, Sidel Curry and her MBA boyfriend, her fiancee and Seth Curry and his MBA girlfriend, Callie Rivers.

Her Instagram was a great source of information for me. Some other interesting attendees, Matt Barnes, a major source of information. A Warrior for Life. Yeah. How do you feel about Matt Barnes being a Warrior for Life? Is that the team he would have assumed he'd be a lifer? Where did he most recently pop up?

Was he part of the. Isaiah Thomas Paul Pierce arguments. I can't remember where did he kind of get back in the mix. Yeah, I think he weighed in on Instagram. Yes. Yeah. On the Paul Pierce situation. And then he and, he and Lauren had a couple of like a little bit of a flare-up on

Instagram as well. Lauren Govan. Yeah, because I think she was like, she was either like happy birthday to him or happy like, you know, this is a picture of our family and he was just like see you in court. It's kind of rough. Yeah, that's a tough one. His kids are cute. Yeah.

The Barnes twins. How do I feel about Matt Barnes being a warrior's for? for life. I think it would be cooler to see true club legends, like maybe Baron Davis or Mitch Richmond or Chris Mullin. Stackjack? Yeah, sure. But yeah, it's interesting. It's like this new wave warriors has taken over the franchise. Yeah, and I guess he's sort of the, the sort of the chieftain of that, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Head of the table. Yeah, I just was surprised that he still gets the invite, but I guess he's in the area. So Steph notoriously, at least in this podcast, skipped out on the trip to Vegas when they won the title last year. Yes, correct. And, and, and, and,

And I was wondering if anybody opted out of this party. I don't think so. It seems like everyone was aggressively opting in. Zaza? Zaza. Oh, yeah. It seems like Zaza and, oh, shoot, who was the other person that I saw him, take a picture where I can't remember?

But yeah, Zaza was there. Oh, Zaza and Omri Kaspe and their wags were in the photo booth together. But I was like, oh, cool, foreigners. Like it. The United Nations here in Oakland. Didn't see Ron Adams. Certainly wasn't dancing. Who do you think is a better dancer?

Steve Kerr or Mike Brown. Steve Kerr has no mobility anymore. Steve Kerr is in a constant state of agony. Like, there's no way that he's out. I mean, unless you're like, he's doing like Ian Curtis's Joy Division dancing, like there's no way that Steve Kerr is cut in the rug. The biggest revelation of this to me was that it seems like Quinn Cook has become an essential glue guy of the Warriors. Yeah, I was wondering what the faction situation is on the Warriors, the clique situation.

And if anybody's out, because I always assume that Steph is a real like, hey, Steph, we're going out for drinks after work. And he's like, sorry, guys, I'm going home. Can't make it. Yeah. Well, when staff was hurt and Quinn Cook started, Steph famously gave him a lot of encouragement. It was like giving him tips on the sideline and everything. So I feel like he is like just a good leader.

There was that article. I think it was in Yahoo or maybe it was ESPN a couple of weeks ago about what a good leader. Oh, it was in ESPN. It was a Chris Haynes joint about like what a good leader staff is. And that was like some of the anecdotes. So I feel like everyone likes him, but he's just not really a partier. So I have a major question. There was some entertainment at the party.

Yes. Lecray. Lecray. the Christian rapper. The Bay Area rap legend and Paramour. Paramour. One of our

trending topics for the course of our, of our, what now, five-year friendship has always been, what did that cost? Yes.

So we're always curious about what it would cost to get certain celebrities just to appear at something. Like we were always just like, you know, maybe what if it was like $20,000 to get

Miles Teller to show up at a nightclub opening? I want Michael be Jordan at my birthday. Just to be clear. Okay, just to be clear. I'll start saving.

How much do you think, what is Paramore's, do you think Paramore just did it? That's a good look for Paramore. Huge look for Paramore. So just to be on social, just to be on the social media signal boost? Or do you think that there was like somebody cut a check to Paramore

or this is what I think it is? Travel and accommodations are taken care of and maybe a discreet payment to a charity of Paramore's choice. Interesting. I think they get paid. Straight up. I think they get, well, first of all,

do you think they get paid more or less than La Cray? Who has a higher one-night fee? I would imagine Paramour. I don't know. Look-Cray is popular. Sure. I don't. I really don't know. But I think Paramore, they just finished up a tour, I believe, for their album from last year, which was really good. And they're from Nashville, so they have no NBA allegiances. You can't say Paramore traders. They got to, they were the band on stage when they sang Happy Birthday to Staff. Yes.

So does that mean they were the headliner? Yes. So LaCray and E-40 opened for Paramore. I think so. Is what we're saying here. Where would you, like, what, how? After how many guesses would, if I was like, Chris, a rock band played at Steph Curry's birthday, would you have gotten to Paramore? I don't really know, because like Steph would be, I could see Steph liking Coldplay.

You know what I mean? Like, I could see Steph liking Imagine Dragons. I feel like he likes Imagine Dragons more than Coldplay. I'm sure you're right. Because he probably listens to the top point radio. You don't think him and Aisha like some soft inspirational rock? Well, I know they do because they're really good friends with this duo who I love called Johnny Swim. I don't think I've mentioned them before. It's like a husband and wife.

They have like a bluegrass duo together. And they were there. You like that? I love that. I love them. Okay. She, uh,

the woman in the duo is named, is Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano. Okay. Who is the daughter of Donna Summer. Oh, wow. And she is like one of the most beautiful humans in the world. It's actually hard for me to believe she's not more famous because she's just so

gorgeous and a great singer. I ask Amanda Dobbins. I send her like videos of them all the time. Okay. I'm really into them. They were at, they were there. And, but they weren't performing. at the Curry party, but they weren't performing?

Yes, they're just really good friends with Steph and Aisha. Okay. I love them. There was, Quinkle was a glue guy. For sure. Paramore was a headliner. Steph Curry was the man of the hour. China clay was the star.

The man of the night was China Clay. Shoeless China Clay. What's up with him? He just broke his thumb. Is it broken? Yeah, fractured thumb. So that's tough, tough beat. Apparently he's back at the end of the month, but it's his right hand.

I believe it's a shooting hand. So how will that affect his quick release? I don't know. I don't know. It's not looking great. Has China Clay ever made a domestic appearance? No, I think this is his first one. Do you think he was taking advantage of this interagnum period between Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo to bring his wares into the country?

It is true that trade tariffs are going to target China. So that is important to note. China Clay was not wearing shoes. China Clay was wearing baggy gray jeans. China Clay was wearing a sponsor T-shirt that he presumably did not have to pay for. And was dancing on stage at someone else's birthday. Yeah, but he wasn't the only one. But he also fell because he was dancing so hard.

But that's not how he injured his hand. No, he injured his hand, luckily, in a game. Okay. Because it would have been really bad if this party brought down the Warriors. Yes. Really, really bad. China Clay was there in full force. At one point, he also, like, someone was filming him.

And he was like, fuck your camera. And he, like, ran away from it. But then he, I don't know, he just, I think China Clay was just partying. And he was just a wild man mixing it up. It was so great. I think we also learn from this that Draymond is still very much the emotional and energy center of this team

He was leading the shenanigans on stage Dancing with Steph's grandmother Fake fighting with KD or who gets to dance with their grandmother I like to see KD is like the cool kid who knows he can't dance So he just like stays near the scrum And like sways but doesn't actually try to break out any moves Also why it's because he is foot problems

So it's like probably not a good idea for him to dance Yeah that would be tough if he injured his metatarsal Because he was dancing at Steph's birthday What's your least favorite coming storyline about this party and how it pertains to the Warriors' I have zero. Warriors' worry level is at zero. Even with zero. Even with Steph's bum ankle and Clay's broken thumb.

First of all, if Steph for some reason, God forbid, missed the playoffs, I'm excited to watch Drank become the five tool all-star. Okay. I run the team. I can play center on defense and point card on offense. Can't wait. I feel like they need these kinds of social gatherings to reinvigorate their bonds

to realize like this is a crazy trip we're on I've been listening to a, there's a couple podcasts recently where I feel like, I thought you were going to be listening to some motivational speeches. Chris Bosch, Chris Bosch, Best Podcasts the year, Chris Bosch on the Bill Simmons pod was talking about just like how hard it is to go to four finals. And I think they were just almost underestimating

what they're doing because they're not only talking about the four finals, But for the most part of the last three seasons, they've been among the great regular season teams of all time. They're going full bore every night. They're destroying people. This year, it's like a little bit of a drop-off, but still really, really elite. I just think that I'm really,

I'm very pro-warriers heading into the playoffs. I'm going the other way. I just feel like we've been expecting them. This is confirmation bias, because you've been calling the Rockets for a while. Yeah, it's not confirmation bias if it's true. And we've been, And like waiting for them to turn it on and waiting for them to flip that switch and just

like be the dominant team and like sure Iggy looks better. Who by the way has not really been pictured at this event, but I'm sure he was there. They're really close. Yeah. He probably just is like smart and like stays off camera. Were the folks there? Parents? Yeah.

Yeah. Oh yes. They were. Actually, Sonia Curry looked very 90s. I was like, is that a shirt you've been holding on to for the last 20 years? 90s are back. I saw Steve. We saw Steve and from Stranger Things.

Yeah, Joe Kerry. and Micah Monroe. and this might be a reference over your head, but they were dressed like Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis and pump up the volume? Not over my head. I didn't know if that was like in your wheelhouse for... I loved the Samantha Mathis of the 90s.

Okay. She's also one of my favorite movies. Yeah, so 90s are back. Sonia Curry and Steve from Stranger Things are bringing the 90s back. Anyway, I just think with Steph's bad ankle and now Clay hurting his thumb and Draymond has really been healthy.

I just don't know if they can put it all together this year. They're a great team. I think there's some like matchup problems for them too. Do you think that if they... Okay, so let's say they lose in the Western Conference Finals to the Rockets? Does that give them more motivation to come back

for the fifth season and make a finals run? Or do you think that it's like the end of a dynasty and they maybe trade some major part of their team to like bring new blood in? Like trade Clay? I would hate to see it happen.

Me too. He wants to be a warrior for life. Trade Draymond? I feel like Draymond is destined to be a piston. Send him home? Well, you brought up Do NBA players Embrace Turning 30 I also think Draymond and Blake On the same team would be the funniest thing

That ever happened Oh my God. They would be so bad for each other I think they would like each other though You think that Draymond would be like Oh, I like Blake now? Yeah Blake's quitting on the pistons You can kind of see it

Oh definitely he's also like quitting on Probably being in Michigan He's probably get me the half out of here I think Steph turning 30 is interesting He's already not a great defender It's something that Sean has brought in before Like what will it look like when Steph is just like, is more like Ray Allen than he is like transcendent Steph Curry.

So that'll be a hard transition, I think. We'll be interesting to see how it goes. There was another birthday that we're going to get to. Yeah. But first, let's take a quick break to your from our sponsors. Chris. Yeah. When I wake up in the morning, I do a couple things.

Grab my phone, check in on the site, have coffee. And crucially, I turn on music, like almost immediately. I open my Sonos app and I just pump some tunes. I usually connect it to my Spotify account. Yeah. So I can listen to my daily. And it's just, I start my day that way pretty much every day. That's funny.

I actually, when I come home, some people like a cold beer. Some people like to take a jog. I like to sit down on my couch, put the NBA on mute, and let my Leonard Bernstein playlist pound through the apartment on my Sonos speaker system. Either way, you and I, whether we're beginning our day or ending our day, we do it with Sonos. It's been revolutionary for our homes. It absolutely has.

I can't imagine not having it. In fact, when I'm like in a hotel or in a different, or like, it's just on a trip. I actively miss it. It's such a great way to have, like, ambience in the background. And the cool thing is now you can use the sonos with your voice. You can use the sonos with almost like any streaming service you can even think of. My wife is listening to SoundCloud the other day. I have Spotify. You can listen to Apple Music on there. Like anything you can think of. Fire up the Bill Simmons podcast in any room in your home. Absolutely. And all sono speakers connect wirelessly. So actually, my wife can listen to the news in the kitchen while I'm listening to Leonard Bernstein and living.

and we could be 100 years old together. That sounds beautiful. And now Sonos is offering a listener to the Ringer MBA show, 10% off one order of $2,500 or less for any product on Sonos.com. All you need is the promo code Ringer 10. That's Capital Ringer 1-0, R-I-N-G-E-R-10, all caps, at Sonos.com. This offer is available for a limited time only and cannot be combined to other discounts or promotions. You know who probably wanted the Sonos for his birthday?

Steph Curry. Tristan Thompson. Ooh. Let's talk about Tristan Thompson's birthday. Because Tristan Thompson is now in a family that love swag. Oh, my God. Okay. So Tristan Thompson turned 27 this week.

I honestly can't believe he's that old. I think of him as younger. And the cabs are in town for the double-acre swing, Clippers and Lakers. And they had a free day on Saturday. How lucky for them. Yeah. The Kardashians could go full spawn con. They started the day with the Tristan Thompson's, Tristan Thompson and Chloe Kardashian baby shower

held at the Bel Air Hotel planned by Mindy Weiss who was a celebrity party planner also really weirdly best friends with Russell Westbrook's wife, Nina they have an Instagram account together where it's about like fashion and it's like about their best friendship

it's super weird and interesting and I love it anyway Okay that party was sponsored by Amazon Tristan attended Why is Amazon sponsoring people's parties? People are pissed about this I don't know why are people pissed about this Because they're like Coli Kardashian could have paid

for her own party she didn't need Amazon I mean, which is sort of like, it's not like zero sum, like if Amazon. So how does this work? Is it like everything you see here? There's like a referral link for it. Like what is the deal? It was for the Amazon baby registry. Oh.

And so she was like, I'm so excited to get baby wipes. I'm going to need tons of them. And luckily I have them from Amazon. Like she gave interviews about using the Amazon baby registry and then the party was sponsored by Amazon. And people are really mad that they did that. But it's not like they were like going to give that money to charity if it didn't go to the Kardashians.

Like it's like a marketing budget for. Amazon, Baby Registrates, whatever. So that was part one. Part two of the day was at Beauty and Essex. Which is right down the street from our office. Yes, very close. It's fine. It's like a Hollywood.

It's like kind of like Planet Hollywood, but called Beauty and Essex. You mean, Sean and Mal went to dinner there once? Yeah, it was totally fine. I think before it became a hot spot. Yeah. It's now like in the NBA scene. Like there were some All-Star events there. It's right next to a club called Avenue that's also like

semi-popular with athletes and whatnot. And this was sponsored. sponsored by Remy Martin, which also sponsors some ringer Rambia show segments. And in attendance, LeBron James with Savannah. Etruson Thompson's party, yeah. Yeah, Etcherson Thompson's birthday. Kevin Love, Jordan Clarkson, and Rich Paul. Okay.

Team Cavs. Couldn't tell there are really anyone else there. It was a small affair. Every Kardashian was there except for Cam. No, no Osmond. No. No Clarkson? No, Jordan Clarkson was there.

He was there. Okay. Awkward. Used to date Kendall. She was there, too. Whatever. It's all in the game. Some of the real housewives attended, Kyle Richards and her wife and her husband.

So do you think that here's a question I have. Steph Curry's party, I'm not trying to be like Steph Curry's party was so much more sincere and organic than Tristan Thompson's party. That's kind of what I'm saying. But do you think the real housewives are invited because they are sincerely friends with Tristan Thompson and or Chloe Kardashian? Or is it one of those L.A. things where people get invited to parties and they show up and do the red carpet, go in for a little bit and leave.

But they're not actually there because they're like. sincerely friends with Tristan. I think this was small enough that the people who were there actually stayed for the whole thing. But because it's like in the Kardashian filter, it just becomes like content for people, like for me. And like it's just like, we don't know exactly where Steph had his birthday.

Like he was like eating ribs. But we know exactly where this was. We know exactly who was there. They even released the menu. I could tell you they had a family style meal of kale and apple salad, oven braced chicken meatballs, flet mignon,

Mexican street corn ravioli and NYC. donuts for dessert. Like, okay, cool. Now I, now we know everything. Mexican Street corn ravioli. We had that. It was good. Yeah. If you recall. Yeah. Came on like a spoon. Yeah. But it's just such a, it's a zoo. And like, okay, fine, good for them for getting money, I guess. But the way they, they do this just makes me so mad. The staff party seemed like in some way silly. It seemed like a family barbecue. Yeah. Exactly. With Paramour playing it. A family barbecue done really big, which is part of Steph's charm that I really come around done. This, it's like total encapsulation.

of the two different ways to be an NBA star. Yeah. One is to be like, kind of like family man gone big. And the other is to like play into the endorsement machine. And it's like very L.A., very, very L.A. I don't know. It just makes me mad.

I also noticed that I just, I just, who else is Tristan Thompson hanging out with? Like no J.R. Smith? Well, also I think these guys, the calves are an interesting opposite path from where the Warriors are, because they too are trying to make their fourth finals. And they've been through so much upheaval. Sure.

And now, you know, J.R. Smith getting demoted via text message by Ty Lou and Kevin Love talking about some of the panic issues, anxiety issues that he's been dealing with. LeBron, will he stay or will he go? Tristan's been dealing with injuries and maybe hasn't been up his best playing. Like, it's just kind of like you can just tell that like that team needs to probably be broken apart. Just for chemistry. Although they have been broken apart multiple times the season already. How many times can you break up a LeBron team and put it back together? We'll find out.

We shall find out. There's, it just is like a whole weird scene. What do you think about the middle of the season in the playoff hunt, birthday party in general? I think that you have to break up the monotony. Like, the reality is that the Caval are going to make the playoffs. And if this makes these guys feel good and it keeps them happy, then they should do it. But I do think that there is an interesting juxtaposition, both between the two cities,

the bay and, you know, like, you know, Oakland versus Los Angeles, but also just like, the people who are there and the way in which obviously like you're saying the way it was communicated it just seems like it's like completely different affair yeah and just uh but i'm all for people like having a personal life outside of their work yeah like have fun yeah also if you're professional you should be able to handle both yeah do you think that the cabs had to cancel practice the next day the way the warriors did uh i hope not because they've only apparently practiced like five times as isaiah thomas really wants you to know i noticed not a lot of idea thomas quotes coming out of this, the two games against the Cavs.

And I'm surprised by that. Like, has the Isaiah Thomas, like, speaking tour finally ended? Well, they, he's now starting to get a little bit of his juice back. Because, like, last night, he destroyed Yukic. Right. And I think it was, like, the first time that he had, like, I think it's, like, literally his only highlight of the year. It would be cool if it turned out that he was, like, actually, like, got back to where he was.

Yeah, I mean, I think I always had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't, if somebody was, like, if you play now, you're all. only ever going to play be at 75%. I think he probably would have been like, I'm going to sit out for the season or I need to get more surgery or whatever it is. So I'm not surprised that he's getting better. And I think that ironically, like the Lakers, there's not as much pressure on him because the Lakers are like, even if they like miraculously were to make a run to the playoffs. So they're pretty good since like, they've been pretty good since that actually since that article came out where Lovar was like the guys

don't like Luke, right? They're 20 and I think. Right. I still think that like they won't make the playoffs and this is going to be a lost season. But Isaiah is showing. a little bit towards the end of it. And the fact that he hasn't destroyed the Lakers chemistry, as it were, is like a feather in his cap. Also, Lonzo is starting to get some legit highlights. I know. Good for him. I know.

Makes me happy. I just want him to escape this family drama. I hope that he is not like a, like the Kardashian. It's too bad. I hope that he isn't the price that. I hope he isn't the LeBron tax. Obviously, Isaiah would be like Isaiah can't be there. But it would be a shame if it was like, yeah, Lonzo's got to go.

LeBron's coming to town. It really would be a bummer. Although maybe he'd be a good mentor for him. He knows how to handle the fame. He knows how to be in the spotlight. It's true. Knows how to court it but also control it. Maybe that's exactly what he needs.

Let's move to a different city, but first let's take another break. Talk about our sponsors. Produced in one of the world's longest running distilleries. Velveteer vodka is the world's finest all-natural vodka crafted by a collective of master distiller's. Belvedere is made with non-GMO, Polish rye, pure water, and no additives.

Recognized for quality, Belvedere was named the ISC World Vodka Producer of the year in 2015-16, and 17. Belvedere's unparalleled qualities reminiscent of the king, aka LeBron James' recent run where he has made the NBA finals in an astounding, truly astounding, seven consecutive times from 2011-2017, including three NBA finals MVP awards. LeBron, whether with the heat or the calves, always plays basketball of the utmost quality, just like Belvedere vodka. Enjoy a delicious cocktail with Belvedere vodka today, and remember to always drink responsibly.

Libman, I also want to tell you something. Okay. March is finally here. It is here. Which means one thing. It's bracket time. We've been filling out our brackets at the ringer. I was very bullish on UVA. And then DeAndre Hunter hurt his wrist, so I am screwed.

But that doesn't mean you are. Yahoo Sports Tourney Pickham is the best place to fill out your bracket. All through the Yahoo Fantasy app. Joining a public group is easy. Or you can create a group and play with your friends. Or if you are feeling lucky, join Draymond Green's group for a shot at $25,000. If you don't know college groups, that's okay. You can choose one of the auto fill brackets.

You can pick coaches with the highest winning percentages, or you can just pick party schools like Arizona State. Or you can just totally rebel and pick the least popular picks. There's no wrong way to fill out a bracket in Yahoo Sports Torney Pickham. Don't miss out on March Madness. Get your bracket in before the games tip off. March 15th. Build your own bracket now at yahoo.com slash torny 2018. Do you want to talk about how you're in on the Raptors?

Sure. Because you are. Were you swayed by Kyle and DeMar de Rosen going to the, uh, the, uh, the, conference championship. I thought that was adorable. Really was cute. I find this team incredibly endearing. Top to bottom.

Really enjoy the guys in the team. Even dark Sir Jabaka? Yeah. And I thought that that Detroit game was like a real signature win. Sure. And Van Vleet is becoming a cult hero. Fred. And I just really think that I actually think that they're going to probably,

I don't know if they are going to easily win the East, but I think that they are going to confidently win the East. I think they're going to the finals too. Yeah. What a tough time for trade tariffs, you know? They're Canadian after all. I think it would be really cool. I just am so desperate for something different.

I just don't want it to be the Cavs. I mean, Houston, Toronto would be thrilling. It would be one of those things right. The people like you and I would be so psyched. Do you think that the ratings would be down? Yes, 100%. As opposed to Warriors Cavs 4. Yeah.

But Houston is like a much bigger market than people realize. So I think there's that. Also, it would be a cool story for the city of Houston if like after the hurricane and everything. And after the World Series. And after the World Series. they want. Like, that would be kind of wild. Houston and Philly

becoming the new dominant sports towns. Yeah, that's what everyone's clamoring for. I really do love the friendship of DeMar and Kyle, though. It's really, like,

it's fun. And like, their kids are friends. It seems really sincere. There's no reason for DeMar to go to the Big East Conference tournament with Kyle.

And also, like, what a year for Demar de Rosen. Like, he's, you know, come out as like a public advocate of mental health and also talked about how him and Kyle Lowry

didn't even talk to each other for their first year on the same team, which I love. I think he's a top five MVP candidate. Yeah, definitely. Who else do you have in that race right now? It's a really interesting conversation right now because it's obviously I think Hardin's

going to win it. Yeah. Number two I still think I think it's probably Anthony Davis but I think the LeBron has a real claim. LeBron's played every game like you know so he has his team's bad or worse than it usually is but he has a real shot at it

at that number two spot so it's Harden LeBron Davis I think Durant and then there's like this There's Damar, there's Dame. Dame. I guess Steph, even though he's missed a lot of games. He's missed too many games. I think if Butler hadn't gotten hurt, he'd be in there too.

Yeah. It's been a lot of good individual performances. You know who is not in this conversation? Jimmy Butler's teammate. Andrew Wiggins. Andrew Wiggins. Griping. Today there's a report that came out that he is on,

it was on talk radio in Minnesota, that Wiggins has whispered to teammates that he's unhappy being a third option behind Butler in towns. What a shock. We've heard a little bit of stuff like this over the course of the season. Yes. Just some grousing. Some wolves howling into the night.

Has Wiggins ever been happy since he entered the NBA? Well, it's been a pretty tough, tough trajectory for him. Sure. I think we always wonder about like, oh, if this guy had gone somewhere else, as I like to say, sliding doors. Sure. Maybe too often I like to say sliding doors. But you have to wonder whether or not if Wiggins have been in Cleveland and been the number one option playing with Kyrie Irving, or been one of the number one options with Kyrie and Cleveland,

what that would have looked like. And the way in which Minnesota has, A, had several coaches in his tenure in Minnesota, and then also added towns and added Butler, so that basically, like, he's just got to be the third option there offensively. Yeah. And I don't know. They wouldn't have added Butler if Wiggins was capable of.

I think it's like, it's tough for a number one draft pick to be like, yeah, I guess I'm Chris Middleton. and not even as good as Chris Middleton. Really, you'd rather have Middleton. Wouldn't you? I guess so. I don't know. Do you think Wiggins has potential, but...

I definitely think Chris Middleton seems like a more magnetic personality and better locker room presence, like just anecdotally, yeah. It seems like Tibbs just also a bad personality manager. Well, this is the thing, is that Tibbs probably 10 years ago is the kind of guy who could have made Wiggins into Butler 2. Mm-hmm. But now, I just think that the way people's personalities, I just think the people change, you know, like times change.

And I don't know if Tibbs grinding these guys into dust really creates diamonds anymore. I don't think it does. I mean, they are definitely getting better because, like, they, you know, play together more or whatever. But it's not like there's been like some kind of astounding change with these timber wolves. No, if anything, they're getting worse defensively. Yeah. And like it seems like there's just a lack of mental engagement, not because they're not like capable of it. Which is crazy because this is like the first playoff team they've had in 10, 13 years, something like that.

Like this should be one of the feel-good stories of the season These like last time I remember when Kevin Garnett Like standing on the scores table Pumping his fist in the target center Everybody's losing their minds And there just doesn't seem to be any of the energy

surrounding this team work because of that New Clippers Damn That's what they are Yeah Like always good, not great Unhappy Can all work together

It's tough It's like you know They're missing that Joada Vive You look at guys Like Spoh Spoh and Brad Stevens And Steve Kerr And there is a kind of

model for the open shirt collar, you know, kind of like creative bureaucrat kind of guy. And that's not Tibbs. Tibbs is like, I got a vein popping in my forehead and I'm screaming about pin downs. Tibbs is like mourning the loss of grit and grind. He's just like so upset that Memphis is tanking. He can't believe Lionel Hollins got fired. Can't believe. He's still not over it.

Hasn't had a good night's sleep since that happened. He's still not over it. It's pretty weird. It's weird when you just see like these like random flowers. layer ups in the crucial part of the season. Like, what is going on with Denver? Yeah. So I think that Denver...

They're in a hunt still. Whereas on... So what is like, it's mostly Yokish and Mike Malone, which is the point of contention, right? He got benched for the fourth quarter and didn't play against, I believe, I don't remember. For defensive purposes? It's unclear. They wouldn't talk about it, basically. So it's just, but that's bizarre.

I mean, he's the best player in that team. Like, he can be like electric. But then he's... also get his ankles broken by Isaiah Thomas. But it's just weird for the franchise star to be benched by the coach like that. Yeah. And also that's what. In a playoff hunt.

That is what got David Fisdale fired for doing it to Marcisaw. That's right. And that, but like this is just Mark, Mike Malone, I guess has more control there. Plus there is a playoff hunt. I haven't heard you say wherever I stand. I stand with Mike Bowlin a long time. It's a little hard. Are you backing off that take?

I'm not backing off. That was one of your top three deeply held principles. I still mean it. I'm on Mike Malone side here. I think the Yokish. probably deserved it. Okay. But it's a little bit harder to defend him as a coach because he's,

they've not been great. I hear you. I don't know what to say. I think that Denver is like a couple years away from being a couple years away. And also, where do they even go? They've got some exciting pieces, but.

I feel like they held on to too many of their vets through too many trade deadlines and now are like stuck with Farid and Chandler and all these guys weighing down their bench. So they just don't want. Yeah. That's tough. I really liked when Will Barton, weighed in on the fight between Jamal Murray and the Lakers.

I believe it was that fight, right? He called it a suburban beef. Yeah. I loved it. Snap pull. Thunder making the playoffs? Yes. Tough 10 year and schedule are coming up.

They're still making it. I don't know. Just making sure. What do you think? Spurs making the playoffs? I think the Thunder more likely than the Spurs. Okay. The Thunder have stars.

That's what gets you wins in this league. What do you think? I'm a little concerned about, I think the Spurs. will make the playoffs. I'm concerned about them though. Who do you think is most likely to get upset in the West playoffs? Here's who's making it right now. Rockets, Warriors, Blazers, Thunder, Pelicans, wolves,

clippers, jazz. On the bubble are the spurs and the Nuggets. I think the spurs get in there. Who's going to fall out though? The Jazz. I think the Clippers might. Yeah, I guess the Clippers might. Without Gallo now as well. No Gallo, no Bradley.

I know. It's wild. I'm happy for Haley O'Shaughnessy. Which is your favorite of these teams on the bubble? I think the jazz just because I love watching Donovan, and I still have a lot of time for Ricky Rubio. On your schedule, clear out some blocks. Also, did you see, and this is a great way to end the day, because I know one of your favorite topics is Gordon Hayward,

did you see that Gobert popped off about how he was kind of mad about how Gordon handled his exit? So what happened was a go, so Gobert said that Gordon Hayward kind of ignored me during free agency. Like what is that you think that entails? Just didn't text him back. Yeah, like he wanted like the heads up or he wanted the opportunity to convince him otherwise. Yeah. I don't think go, I don't think you go to Gobert to be charmed though. No one's like, oh, Gobert. He's going to win me over. Maybe me though. I like a surly Frenchman. Sure, exactly. But I love it. It's been a nice year that Gordon Hayward. I wish him well. I hope he gets back. I look forward to him returning to full health. Sure, but it's been interesting to see what life would be like without him. Yeah.

Yeah, like having to like not having to pretend that he's like some kind of franchise player. Yeah, absolutely. Because he's not. Yeah. Although, you know, next year, I guess the Celtics will be interesting. They're kind of, they're just in trouble. They are, talk about team facing some injury problems. Yeah, seriously.

Yeah. All right. Thank you for listening. Thanks for everyone. Thanks to Belvedere. Don't forget to sign up with Yahoo. And don't forget to buy a son note. I love mine.

Top that. Yeah, all we was gone.