The Ringer NBA Show - NBA Summer League Observations, Reactions to Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson’s Debuts, and Thoughts on the New NBA In-Season Tournament | Real Ones

Episode Date: July 13, 2023

Logan and Raja discuss their observations from the 2023 NBA summer league, their expectations for different types of players, and the significance of body language on the bench (1:50). Next, they talk about the debuts of Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, as well as the amount of hype that surrounded this year’s event because of both players (29:15). Later, they briefly share their thoughts on the addition of the in-season tournament to the league next year (37:12). Finally, the guys close with their Real Ones of the Week (43:02). The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming, please checkout ringer.com/RG to find out more or listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Producer: Jonathan Kermah Production Assistant: Kai Grady Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, I'm Joanna Robinson. Join us every week on the Prestige TV podcast feed is your favorite ringer hosts like Bill Simmons, Van Lathen, Mallory Rubin, Sean Fentasy, Chris Ryan, Julia Limon, and many more cover the latest episodes of your favorite TV obsessions. From boardrooms to throne rooms to courtside

and through the mushroom apocalypse, we'll be here throughout the week breaking it all down. Subscribe to the Prestige TV podcast feed on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. What's popping? Real ones. Logan Murdoch here, Roger Bill there. Roger.

I was telling him the pre-pod, I'm pulling a you today, fresh off a plane. I just got back from Vegas. And I just said, let's fucking do this. Let's go, because I want to go to sleep. How you doing, pal? It's good to see you. Full disclosure. On Moro Pods, Roger is flying in because, like, shout out to the God Diabelle, who was, like, out here, you know, getting these offers and out here, you know, being an all-American quarterback.

But that requires a lot of flights for Raja. And he sometimes just comes in here and he's like, yo, let's fucking do this. I'm here. Let's go. We're ready to go. That's me today, Raja. That's fair. And it's fair that that's how I normally am.

Dia's got a lot of work to do, though. Let's put that out there. He better go. He had a good summer. He got a lot of work to do. His ass needs to, it's just life. Hey, man, you can have a little bit of height, but you still got to go out there. You got to cash them checks.

There's another thing. Them offers, it's cool to get them. But you got to keep them. He got to keep them. He got three years. Oh, yeah. He better get on the head. He got to secure the bag, but he's a hard worker, but let's clear that up.

I can appreciate that, dog. Like summer league, when I played, obviously, it was taxing. But when I went, you know, as a member of the Kaz front office or if I ever have to go for various media, you know, obligations, it's a very taxing and draining experience. Vegas in general is like that, but then you throw the summer league on top of that so I can dig it, brother. I feel you. Bro, it was, it was the, and I don't, we don't even have a real run down here. We're just going to talk and then until we're stopped talking. But, um, but, but, bro, it was this year's experience was a, like, a bit different, man.

Cause like, this is my third one. Kind of know the lay of the land. The hard thing, though, is like, you're talking, you're, you're talking to people while trying to plot ahead. I don't know how it is for you guys, but like, you're talking to people. You're trying. You're just, it's so much social activity, bro. And like, do you add the heat on top of that?

And then you add to the, this year, a hype on Wimbunyama. It was just, it was one of those, I think it was the most hype summer league that I've ever been to. Vegas was packed, bro. It was, it was like fight night packed all the whole time. I could imagine, just by looking at some of the crowds in the arena, obviously, Wembe. But, you know, I got a call from Matrix. It was yesterday. I was like, why is he calling me, bro?

What is this dude hitting my phone for right now? Just weird time of year for tricks to be hitting me up. You know what I mean? Like, I'm like, what's going on? But he was out in Vegas with the retired players association. And he was saying that this. The legends. And he was saying there was a huge, you know, turnout this year.

And they had a bunch of stuff going on. And he was trying to get me to come out and participate next year. So not only, I mean, like, there was everybody was out. in Vegas, bro. Like, Vegas was on fire, apparently. It was on fire for sure.

Oh, also one of the things I wanted to tell you, I'm, I'm inching in and out of sleep at this point. One thing I want to tell you, a lot of real ones fans

of Summer League. A lot. A lot, bro. Bro. I signed two basketballs. I signed two basketballs. So I'm walking, I'm walking to the,

it was, I didn't know our demo. We got like, like 10, 11, 12-year-olds. too fucking with us too, man. Like, so I'm walking. So I get into the arena right now.

This is a Thomas and Mac. This ain't even Cox Pavilion. Like, I'm walking to Thomas and Mac. And I go by one of the, uh, the tunnels. And shout out to the little homie Josh. And so he's over here like, he's like putting the ball up or whatever. And I'm like, and he's like over the, over the railing putting the ball up. And I'm like, you're like, I'm not Thobos et alosia.

You got the wrong one. I'm not. I'm not him. I'm sorry. I'm not him. But he's like, no, Logan, real ones. And he throws the ball down. I signed it and throw it right back up.

And I'm like, oh. Well. So, shout out to real. Shout out, Josh. We see you, buddy. But yeah, the brand is strong, Roger. I just wanted to, like, just to report, the brand is strong. We need, I'm just going to say this out loud for public pressure.

We probably need a live show, bro. We need to lock it in. I don't know when it's going to ever it's going to happen. One, I want to, like, meet my. guy, my dog, but like, there's a demand for a live show, but well, I'm down, I mean, provided I mean, there are a lot of stipulations around me being

down. Of course. Of course. If those are met, I could definitely possibly maybe be down. I'm down. If you're in the Legends thing next year, we got to do a live pod from Vegas. It's 99% chance that I'm not going to Vegas for the legislature. I know. I know.

If you know, you know. What were your observations from Summer League as a guy on the couch with kids um i can always appreciate summer league because it's what i had to do to come up it wasn't like hey you got drafted we want you to go out there and run a few games let us get a quick look and then it doesn't really factor into your your your your your your your your your your positioning on this team at all but let's you know let's let's let's just go see what you look like so you know i was appreciated because i was a dude where it had it meant something like it was

factoring into whether I got an invite back to vet camp or, you know, in some instances I was signed, like with the spurs, I was signed right out of Summer League, like literally in the middle of Summer League. They told me they were going to sign me. So it had real ramifications every minute that I got, you know, every practice leading up to it meant something to me. So I watch it kind of through those lenses, you know, that lens. And I'm looking for players like that. A lot of very skilled basketball players. But as I'm older now and I'm sitting back washing it, a lot of guys that don't really know what they're doing, if that makes sense.

Like you could see the skill level. You can see that, you know, there are good players in terms of, you know, can you shoot it, can you handle it? You know, are you physically strong? Are you athletic? But, you know, just unseasoned for the most part, you know? And that's okay because, I mean, if I'm really reflecting back and comparing to when I played, they're probably even more seasoned than I was when I came in.

so I don't even know what the hell I would have looked like but I saw a lot of talent a lot of guys playing hard you know in some instances a lot of guys pressing you know that's a it's a fine line between and I don't really know exactly what it is I mean you could

call it luck you could call it you know there are a lot of ways to characterize this both players player A and player B wanting to go out there very similar skill sets nothing that really separates them except player A, can get out there and just relax and play,

even though he's playing really hard and it means a lot, when player B just tries a little too hard and it doesn't translate. So, you know, you saw some of that. And then obviously, you know, looking at the big guys was fun. You know, the Wembees and the Scoots and the Thompson twins like that. You know, it was fun to watch those guys. I want to get to the Wimby stuff in a second and talk about Scoot. But I do have to run something by you really quickly because this is an observation that I had.

just like the different types of player experiences because the thing about Vegas, especially during Summer League, it's just like everybody you know in the NBA is just walking around and you can just see different types of players and things like that. And also you could kind of see the players

where it's like Vegas is getting to them a little bit, you know? There's a little bit too many vibes. How do you like there were a couple of guys, you know, like not suited up, looking all in the stands during the game and stuff. just trying to be seen, you know, there's those guys. There's the guys you know that are probably not going to make it just because of the

simple fact they're not like locked in at all in this opportunity. What are the kind of barometers and kind of clues that you're looking at in Summer League from a veterans bet perspective, but also like a front office perspective? What kind of, what's the, what kind of body language doctor do you have to be? And you're like, uh, I don't like this. I don't know. I saw a lot of that from my thing, but I'm also a commens and I'm also getting old and watched. So I don't know if I'm like, do you see that?

Like, what are you looking for as a front office guy on like how you want Summer League players to lock in? What level of player am I looking at? Like, who am I looking at? Am I looking at our first round pick? Am I looking at a guy that's trying to get an invite to vet camp? Am I looking at a guy who's two years in probably going to come? come to vet camp. We're trying to make a decision on whether or not he makes final roster. Like what? Because there might be a different answer for every, you know, different level of

player. I'm glad you did this because this is great fodder for the summer league pot. Let's just go down the line with it. First round pick. Let's start with the first round pick. What are you looking for from a body language perspective? And what are you looking for from just how we how he goes about, you know, their business? Yeah. First round pick. Let's see. I'd be looking for you know a level of confidence um i'd be looking for a level of of leadership um you know competitiveness like are we gonna are we going to are we going to be out there you know trying to win games you know even though that's not always the name of the game at summer league like i want the players to think that that's you know we're out here trying to win right and are you going to

lead the charge in that regard um you know i already know what his skill set is like for the most part I worked him out a bunch of times. I've done extensive digging into his game and stuff like that. I'm going to keep an eye on you in terms of when you're coming in and out of the hotel. You know, like what times are you checking in, man? Is he per hour security staff rumbling in here at 4 a.m. Like every night, like those type of things. But for the most part, I want to see on the court if you're going to lead, you know,

if you're how you interact with your teammates, if they're not living up to your standard as a first round pick, things like that. Okay, so how about the, this is another one, the second year guy who played a year in the NBA, but he's in Summer League again for, and that's, that's kind of evolved, right? Because they used to be like, oh, man, what are you doing to Summer League for the second straight year? But now I think that's evolved into, yo, you need to play this. There was a lot of players on OKC that were getting Summer League reps, right? Absolutely. Justin Smith, Jr., great example, who was ball. And I was at that game when he played that game against the Rock.

He's got the game winner. But what are you looking for for those guys? Well, let me break those down into that specific category down into two subcategories, right? Let's go with the guy who played a lot his first year in the NBA, had success. And now he's here at Summer League. I'm looking for domination. You know, I'm looking for him to, like, let's see if he can hop back in with this level of player, having this experience for a year.

And let's see if he can get what he wants whenever he wants to get it. whatever that looks like, specific to whether you're a guard, a big, you know, that you should be at that point, if you've had success in the league for a year, pretty much getting whatever you want in Summer League. You should be efficient. The same leadership type of qualities and, you know, veteran type of presence, because you are the vet in that scenario, is he comporting himself like a pro? And on the court, like real talk, he should be getting whatever he wants,

whenever he wants to get it. and now let's go to the player that didn't maybe play as much was in and out of the rotation. I want to see if that skill set has developed. Like things that you may be struggled with and those were the reasons why we couldn't kind of get you into games or things that we saw that were weaknesses of yours throughout practice and that we targeted to work on as a staff with our player development team.

Like are those things starting to round into form? Is his jump shot coming along? Is he looking for his jump shot? You know, what is he doing defensively? Are we still having these lapses off ball? Like whatever those things are, I'm trying to see if you are developing in those areas because, you know, obviously you've made a roster.

We see something in you. There's the bones of the house are good, forgive my pun, but the bones of the house are good or the analogy, whatever, what is that? What would that be? A pun or an analogy? You're a writer. It's whatever you want it to be, man.

Whatever the fuck it is. But they're good. There are some things that we need to work on, right? And if we can get those square, you should be a contributor. Let's see if they're developing the way we want them to develop. The last one,

which is the player that I thought was catting off. And I don't even know the name to do it, but like just, you know, the ones at the end of the bench that probably at least had intentions on going to vet camp or training camp or whatever camp

that was supposed to happen in two months from now. What are you looking for from them? Certainly not what you were describing. I mean, I would be looking for a guy that when I showed up to the gym, he was in there already. You know, when my first round pick showed up to the gym already, you know, he would be, if my first round pick was the leader by example, he'd have to adjust his schedule to beat this other kid into the gym because this other kid is like, yo, I'm here.

And I'm here for one reason. His level of hunger, you know, his level of his level of, his level of, understanding of kind of what his role is, even on this summer league team, you're out here with our first round pick from this year, you're out here with our first round pick from last year, and you're out here with a guy who made our team last year, all right? That's at least three mofos that probably are going to eat before you eat. Do you understand that? Or you out here taking the ball in ISO mode trying to show us that you could score 25 points

a game? Like, what's his understanding of that? is he coachable? Like if we have these conversations with him, you know, in regards to like, hey, what we need from you as a supporting cast member now, can he take that and try to deliver?

Or is he looking at you like, man, I'm, that's not what I do. I'm just going to do me in an audition for the rest of these, these teams, you know, is his focus where it's supposed to be?

Like, bro, every time out, I'm not in the stands. Like every time out, even if I'm not in the game, I am, when the coach turns around to try to get out of the huddle, he's bumping into my ass. Hey.

Oh, my bad, gosh. I was like, I'm sorry. That's, sorry. Yeah, like, you got to tell me to get out of the way because I'm here. And so, no, but these are the things that if you're going to take a flyer on a guy to have as your, you know, 11, 12, 13th guy on a roster as a project, like, you want to know that the foundation is solid. Like all of that criteria is met. Now, his skill and the things that you're going to ask him to do may need developing. But as a human being, as a person who understands time, place, situation, you know,

like he's got all of those things down, high character. So the last thing I would be looking for in a type of player that would be maybe making a roster, maybe coming to vet camp, like something like that would be like, what does he do if we barely put him in a game? Like if he gets in for their last 35, 45, 45 minute and a half, what have you? these minutes don't mean anything really in terms of winning or losing. How does he compete? What does he do? Does he go out there and he thinks he's too cool for those minutes?

Is he acting like this is an embarrassment to like, you know, who he is as a player? Or will he go out there and fight in whatever minutes we give him to show something? Like that shows spirit. It shows class. It shows, you know, who you are at your court. And real talk, I was playing in those minutes in the CBA. Like I started in the CBA, not even playing. Like really getting garbage minutes.

And, you know, I just did that over and over and whatever they give me. And it's snowballed and you wind up, you know, making something out of essentially nothing. But I would definitely be looking for that. Before I went to Vegas last week, I was in L.A. for a day to go watch the L.A. Sparks play. And also, you know, to see my homie, Leisure, who was injured during the game. She was injured. She was not playing because she was injured. and the level of I'm going to be in every huddle and live and die by every huddle was so palpable, Raj.

The fact that, like, you can tell, the pro game isn't that different in terms of body language than any other form of basketball that you can think of, right, from like middle school to high school, all the same intangibles are pretty much the same, right? And when I saw Elisha, just even as an injured player, just, you know, in the huddles, like maybe taking the board and putting their arm around people and stuff like that, or just honestly living and dying by the game. I'm sure it's harder when you're not playing the game, when you're injured and not being able to actually have that type of impact. But you can tell the people that give a fuck versus the ones that don't even at the pro level all the time. Oh, for sure. I try to tell my middle boy tie was at live period

his first go around he's a rising eighth grader and he went with his varsity to live period the multiple camps this summer and so a couple of them I got to go to two I didn't get to go to

because I was with Dia but a lot of our conversations revolved around you know in situations where you can't go out there and show them necessarily what you can do

with a skill set because of your age and you had older players on the team and you may be getting in, you may not be getting in. Like, what can you do to make sure that people evaluating understand how invested you are in this process? Like, and if you're someone who is a competitor, it's going to be human nature to feel like some kind of way about not getting in that game. But you got to channel that and direct that.

So instead of having a shit face about it or sulking, right, like, you're, that's one way to channel it. Hey, you be the most hype and helpful person on that bench. Like, every time people are coming out of the game, you should be meeting them on the court. Not when they get to the bench. Yolo ass should be jogging out, dapping people up.

You know, if there's a little bit of something that you see that you think could be helpful, maybe chime into one of your partners on the sideline be like, hey, man, watch, you know, they're playing pick and roll like this. But you should be helping. You should be adding to this equation, man. Like, anytime there's a timeout or something going on, absolutely front and center if anything is taking place in the game like you should be the first

one up cheering like you know these are the things that if you're raised right in this game and you're a competitor people teach you know how how to handle your business and for the most part you know like your partner is a pro like a high level pro a contributing pro to winning like that's just given when you see you know and i can speak to this because i was both like when i played i was the guy we're talking about. And at the end, and when I was disgruntled and I was being an old jackass, I was the other guy sitting there like, man, I'm going to fuck about this, bro. You over here, you know what I mean? High five from the bench. You're not even really just getting up. You're just like here,

bro. I'm just trying to go home, bro. I'm trying to get to the crib and see my kids. You know, and so I know what they both look like. And I know what they both can do to a locker room or to an organization, you know? And so, you know, I spend a lot of time, you know, talking to my kids or any kids that will listen, even kids on my teams, about. that because it's critical man that people don't even know what the what what what type of drain you know that can have on the collective psyche of an organization or a team versus what type of fountain and addition you can be if you have the opposite energy you know and it's really you know it's really critical that you get it right all of that raja and you can tell a lot about a team and

where it's going by just looking at the bench you know you could tell a lot of lot by how the team is doing, if the team is going anywhere, if the team is engaged, all of those things by just looking at the bench. If you see a guy, if you see someone just like, fake doubt, yeah, whatever, or if you see somebody just, LeBron is a good example of this, because you can honestly just tell by his reactions on the bench what he feels about anything, right? Like he doesn't, he doesn't, his body language will never lie. And so, like, and that goes both ways, right? Because I see some of the things, like, I've seen him be, like, whack on the sidelines,

but I've also seen him engage. Like, the last part of this Lakers season, when they were going on that run without him, he was so locked in giving, like, high fives, giving coaching and things like that because he saw the team that he had a chance. But, like, there are other times where he's just like, uh, eh, uh, but that's palpable. When you see, like, when you see players, And I don't mean to just single out LeBron because other stars do that too. But like you could, the energy is palpable and you need that to get your juju good when players are just like, yeah, you're good job, good job.

Or they're up and they're giving energy. 100%. LeBron is a great example of it. I think he's an interest in one, right? Because he's such a great player. And I think way more often, I mean, way more often than not, falls into the cat. category of helping instead of hurting. However, the times that stars, like the times that stars have the negative body language, and look, you're allowed to have it. Like, you're trying to get

something done. Sometimes us as role players can't do the things that you do. Like, we'll fall short. That's why we're role players and you guys are the stars. But man, I talk about this all the time. It is, it is really, really tough when you play with a dude. And LeBron's not an example of this kind of dude, but a dude who more often than not is going to blame you as the role guy for something that goes wrong instead of shouldering that himself. Now, LeBron's not that guy, but I would say in those times where it's evident that we've let you down and you can, like, we know we've let you down. So when your body language is bad and, and you look negative about it, that's human and it's allowed.

Man, that really fucks with the role player, man. Like, it can because... Star has so much power, bro. That's so much power. So, you know, I always relate shit like, you know, to the kids, so I'll allow me to do it again. Like Dia's about to step up as, as the head of a nationally ranked football team

down here in Florida, right? He's a quarterback. All the time. I said, listen, bro, I lived this. I played with multiple different dudes who were the guy. And the ones that I wanted to play for them, most were the ones where if something went wrong, even if they knew it might have been someone else's fault, they knew that their shoulders were broad enough and they had enough confidence

with the organization and it would be much better for that other player's psyche that if they just say, yo dog, that's on me, don't even worry about it. The guys that you didn't want to play with, the ones that didn't have equity with you, the ones that didn't lead in the right way, were the ones that even if it was their fault slightly, were pointing the finger and placing blame on other people. So I think it's for those guys that are leading, for those guys that are looking for people to follow them, for those guys that are wanting people to get in line and do what you need them to do to help people get toward championships,

being able to say like, yo, that's what I mean. Even if it's not, even if the media gets at you a little bit, I mean, your brand is so strong, nobody gives a fuck. Like, I don't have a brand. Like, why blame me, bro? My brand is you fucking yell it at me on national television right now. Yeah. So it like, look, there's, again, a human and I ain't, I'm not talking shit about it,

but a lot of times when that human element pops up and if it's, if it's, you know, if somebody catches it or it isn't controlled right away and it becomes a thing, like that can do way more damage to those guys sitting around, you know, trying to just trying to live up to the expectations, then you would know. Definitely. It's like, I always think about the story. about, I think it was, it was, I forgot which Super Bowl it was, it was, I got to get all this Niners propaganda because I'm in the Bay, but there's a story in the Super Bowl, I forget

what 80s, it's going to fucking rack my brain. But anyway, I think the, um, Joe Montana, it was a last drive, right? Yep. And I think they're at their own end zone, the Niners are. And he goes, this is the, to win the, the Super Bowl, he goes into the first huddle. And the first thing he says is, hey guys, there's John Candy over there. And he's John Candy's at the other end of the field. He says, let's go say hi to him. And they fucking go down to field score. Like, just that as a leader, like, just putting your guys at ease in that way, just does so much.

It's huge. You know, because I talk about this in, you know, as it, as it kind of pertains to guys coming out and doing their job. Like in playoff games, we talk a lot about a star coming out and being a star. And then role players like saying, oh, okay, we're good here. Like, he's doing, he's doing his thing. Like, you know, I'm good. Now, not every role players. Like, like, I wasn't necessarily like that.

Like, real talk. Like, very degrees of success. But I was just coming out to do what I did. I didn't give a fuck whether, you know, listen, if Logan don't play good, that ain't my problem. Like, I'm coming out to do me. It doesn't mean I'm always going to be great. But I didn't really roll like that.

But I knew other role players and guys that were. Like they're looking around for cues. Like, yo, are we good today? Are we good? We're good. Okay. We're good. And so that's one of those things, right?

Like, he's relaxed. Joe Montana's relaxed. Like, he ain't out here, like, heart beating out of his chest, like, you know, sweat dripping down his cheese. Okay, we're straight. Like, let's go do this. And it just might be from Montana. His heart might be beating, but he ain't going to show you.

Fair. Now, the other part of it, and this is, you know, they're far greater leaders than I ever was. but, you know, like, that's one part of it, and the other part of it is also being able to hold people accountable. So while I'm telling you, like, the body language and the shit face and the demonstrative display of dissatisfaction can be, you know, negative at times, there are also times where you got to hold people to the standard that you expect them to, we had this conversation the other day.

D.A, you got receivers that don't aren't where they're supposed to be. Like, you don't trust them. They don't show up on Sundays and Saturdays to get that extra. working with you outside of practice, you need to have a conversation with them. Hey, listen, partner, you ain't going to get this ball. I'm not throwing it to you. Why? I don't trust you.

Why? Because you ain't where you're supposed to be. And every time I give you an opportunity, come out here and fuck with us and get some extra reps, you don't show up. You know, but listen, but you have those conversations with expectations. You know what I mean? And you communicate and you don't have to show the world that he ain't doing his job and try to show him up and make him look like an asshole.

You just have a private conversation. you know what I mean, letting people know what this looks like. And then the ball's in their court. But there are times where leaders have to do that too. You know, you can't always be like, hey, guys, my fault. It's going to be like, sometimes you got to be, hey, bro, we got to tighten up. This is not it. And the line, being able to tow that line and knowing when to do one and when to do the other

and when to do the other and when to lead by example, you know, without saying anything, that's what makes great leaders, great leaders. All of that is true. I want to take a quick break. and we're going to talk about Summer League some more. And we are back. I want to talk a little bit about just the difference and the debuts of two players

that I was really looking forward to seeing in Summer League. And that would be Scoot Henderson and obviously Wemby. Bro, I saw Scoot's first game in Vegas. And just the command that he already had of, this is my team. And I had heard from people that he was the guy. He was going to make a splash. And he had all these intangibles, right?

But like you don't, I don't care about none of that shit until I watch you play for myself. You know, I'm sure you feel the same way. We're going to see what this is like up close. And the command that he had off rip was so impressive. And then I go and look and then I see Wimbunyama's first game. And there was so much potential there.

But there were a lot of just mistakes that I, and the conclusion that I got was, damn, both these dudes are going to be special, right? Yeah, yeah. Just in their different ways. How did you compare and contrast from me how you scouted both of those guys during when you seen, like, even the bits and pieces that you seen. What were you looking for? What did you see that was good and bad? I didn't really do a full scout because full disclosure. I was like on vacation up in New York.

And I was just sitting kind of on the couch with other people watching. game like having a beer so i didn't get to really like dig in dig in into a scout but i was looking to see if they're if they're if they're if the thing that people say is so special about them if that jumped off the page to me right like so like was scoots athleticism allowing him to get where when he wanted to do it get where he wanted to go easily do you know like did he did he look like he was i mean it's tough he played in the g league but so it's not necessarily a step up in level for him, but like, is this speed and athleticism going to translate in the summer league,

basically? Like, let me see. Like, and to some degree, you know, what, what is the shot really look like in live speed? Because I haven't watched a lot of him in, you know, with the ignite or wherever he played. So, um, I felt pretty good about, about Scoots. Felt pretty good about it. Like, I was like, oh yeah, when he wants to go,

he goes. Like, that step is real. Like, there's a real physicality there. You know, he looks like he could get where he want to go. A lot of the nuances of playing and understanding and although there's no real deficit in them, they get better and better and better the more you have the ball in your hand.

So, like, you know, he'll polish up in some areas and get better at certain things. But, you know, I kind of liked what I saw, but that's what I was really looking for with him. Like, look, man, let's see if this is an elite NBA type of athleticism that when it hits a court,

at least in the G League right now, looks like that. And then with Wembe, you know, I watched both games. I was really trying to see with him the physicality. What would that look like? And I want to just pause for a second

because most people would probably be like, well, you saw him play against like G-Leaks select teams and he came over and he dropped 28 and so on and so forth. Sure, and that's fair. But when you're in the summer league and I've already told you, there's a bunch of dudes on rosters that want to just make a vet camp.

There's a level, even though the play might not be the super highest level play at times, there's a level of hunger and of like, oh, I really need this. It's out there. Do you know what I mean? Like there are people scrapping for their survival in the basketball world. And so I wanted to see, you know, if he met some bigs like that or some, you know, people

guarding him like that, how he was able to kind of maneuver. Like what the physicality was going to be the thing. Like he's so long and he's so lean defensively around the rim with that length. I mean, that's going to affect the game right away. But I saw a lot of instances, and this isn't like a knock on whether he'll be good or not or whether he'll reach, but he is going to have to get a lot stronger. Like,

and I've heard him say, make comments about like, he don't got to get bigger and all. Now, yes, you do. Sorry. Bro,

I literally said that to somebody after the game at Thomas and Mac. I said, verbatim, I said, I don't give a fuck what he says about the pushups and the length and all those things.

He's getting pushed around. There were a few times where, and it goes, it's funny that you said, what you said, just about comfortability. Like, just looked more comfortable, right?

And it makes sense because the G-League Ignite play in Vegas, right? Like, he's just in a very, way comfortable setting right now. And also has been just playing this style, whereas Wimby has been not only just played like a championship overseas before he came here, had to go through all the shit through the draft and then do these little practice sessions. He said, wanted to, like, after the game, he's just excited to just finally just get some downtime, you know, in San Antonio. you'll just kind of get back in the lab.

But you saw that in Wimbunyama's game where he was a bit indecisive too, right? Where like even I think about the dunk when he got dunked on, he read the play perfectly. He saw where it was. If he just innately just goes there and just trust his instincts off top,

he would have blocked it. It wouldn't even been a high. The highlight would have been him blocking it and getting out of the way. But there were certain things where I was like, Oh, if this goes right, what he's thinking in his head goes right, he's going to make some place. He needs to figure out how to dribble, though. I will say that he got stripped every time going to the cup.

And they'll figure it out. Like, Pop was sitting right below me and he was watching everything with R.C. Buford and the rest of the Spurs stuff. Like, I don't doubt that he's going to figure it out because in the best possible environment to do so. Yeah, I mean, look, the Spurs are, you know, as good as anyone historically. speaking about, you know, their development. Now, I don't, yeah, I think he's going to be fine.

And I wasn't like knee jerking saying, oh, man, God, like he didn't score it about like, I wasn't really, or the other way when he had the 27. Like I, you know, I was just really just watching. And the one thing I took away from it, because even when you're talking about getting stripped, like that, that's a strength issue. That's a, you know, when, when that, you know,

you're long and you're, and you're lean. And, you know, that's a grip strength. like you're trying to pick that ball up and handle it. Like, you know, let's use Steph Marbury. You remember when Steph used to come through there, like a running back with that ball tucked and he'd have it in? Like, he was so strong.

You couldn't get that out. Now, it's not a great comparison because he's a PG and Wembe's. But the point is, like, that ability to get that ball off that floor. You know what he looked like, though, Ra? He looked like Summer League Janus. If anybody looks at like how Raw Janus was when he first got in the league, It's just like this, this just barreling service or whatever you want to call it. And it's just, it's just out of control.

Wembe had a lot of that the first two games. But it was like, it was, it was, it was, it was sprinkled with like special moments. Yeah. So I didn't see Yonness, right? I thought Wembe, like, you could see, you're like, okay, yeah, he could do, like, there's some, there's some shit there for sure, not taking anything away from that. There's some shit there. The question becomes like, you know, I'm not even looking at conversions.

I'm looking at like, there were plays where he was handling it. getting into a spin, like, and trying to, and he's falling down. Right. Like, you know what I mean? Like, there were a lot of those, Logan. Like, I'm not here to, this is, this has nothing to do with whether or not I think he'll be good or not long term. But, you know, when it's hard for you to keep your legs under you

in a, in a G league game or as. How many times on the television do you say, get your big ass up? I didn't say it because I was just kind of like, damn, if he was down again, like, oh, he lost his balance again. Like, and that might be if he played more in the summer league, might have been something that didn't happen. He had his legs under him. He hadn't played in a while.

But it'll remain to be seen. But my first thing was like, man, he's going to have to whatever they're talking about in terms of weight, you got throw that out the window, son. You're going to need some more weight to play in that lead. One of the other things before we get out of here that I wanted to get your take on. Because honestly, Roger said 25 minutes today,

and we are over time. But I wanted to get your take, though, because when we were there, the NBA announced the mid-season tournament in which all 30 teams will compete in the inaugural NBA Cup, it will be divided into six groups, five teams. Groups are based on prior season's regular season record. Each team plays the four teams in its group once.

All tournament games will count towards a regular season standings except for the championship. There are knockout rounds. There are league honors. There's a prize pool. Raja, you're an NBA player. I need you to go back 20 years. However you are, what would you think about a tournament like this

after what I just told you to start the season? I would have thought it was horseshit. I mean, that's what I would have, when I played, I would have been like, you were kind of getting mad as I was telling you the run down. Having said that as a fan of the NBA now, like I'm interested.

I am. Like, I'm interested. Like, I'm okay with, like, us trying to see what this looks like if it, if it, if it incentivizes people in different ways, like I am, I'm intrigued. I want to see.

Like, as a player, I would have been like, this is absolute bullshit. But I was like that with the dress code. I was like that with everything. That's just where I am. I don't like to change.

I'm like, that is bullshit. But, uh, but I, I just want to like, I mean, I really was. This is all true.

This is all true. I was like that every time I had to play for a new coach. You still like that damn, my fucking. You're still like that. That's who I am. But,

but, uh, as a fan, I'm intrigued. I'd like to see. I don't know how you get guys to play in it, you know, how you get teams to put forth their best effort.

Like, I don't know how all that's going to work out. I just think that, like, when I was talking to all the homies in Vegas, I was just thinking, like, this is going to affect the younger teams more.

Because, like, think about, like, a Sacramento, right, who just wants to make an imprint on the league, right? Or one of these young teams

just was like, yo, we want to show out. Or like the Memphis Grizzlies. Or, what we were talking about the one that got most of the attention the Minnesota Timberwolves

right the team that just loves like probably just relishes in tournaments like this right who's gonna play really hard and just stick their chest out or maybe put the banner up if they win this right but like the older why don't I just go in on them

I was out of pocket but like or as opposed to like the Lakers who need to keep their health right like or they ain't got shit to prove they're trying to win the title or like the Nuggets trying to win the title. They don't give a fuck about a midseason tournament in December.

That's what's going to be interesting and like strategically how these teams go about this tournament because and then if what if the, what if the Lakers are like LeBron's like bruh, I'm just, I'm not trying to go hard this hard this early in the season. What if teams like that just start point shaving? Not even like on no betting anything like that, but like they're not giving their best effort on these games, right? Just to like, yo,

how does that work? Like, what is going to happen? That's what I'm saying. Like, I don't know how you do that because cats sit out now for load management

on a regular Wednesday night. Like, why? Why? It doesn't mean anything. And LeBron is like, yo, I'm going to sit this game out, bro.

Yeah, like, what's like, what's like, I'm going to fuck. Give a day about this cup. I mean,

what always speaks, and I guess what always speaks to, to a player like me, when I was around, like, making mid-level, mid-level money now

is so it's so not like it's astronomical money so it might not speak the same way it did when I played. Same thing exists I think what you're about to say. Yeah, if you make that, if you make the cash prize and the pool big enough. I'm trying to get the $200K. What you mean?

It's down payment on the house. Yeah, but I mean it would like now like I don't think, I don't know if $200K would be doing it for boys. I don't know. I really don't. I don't know what the, because yeah, I really don't. It's going to be fascinated. I would have loved to have been in the meetings when they like conceptualized it

and they were going through like the the possible pros and cons and some of the some of the issues that they thought might arise like what were their solutions to them? I would just be fascinated to know. I'd love to sit down and ask, hey, how did you guys plan a guard against X, Y, and Z?

Like, do you not care? That's not going to be a deal? You think the tournament's just going to be good enough. Fans will be tuned in. Like, I'm fascinated. I know Vegas is going to be rocking, no matter who's playing in those conference. Whatever ones, like the semifinals and the finals,

it's going to be popping, man. Like, it was, people were juiced about it. Like, in Summer League, like, fans were excited about it. Like, it's going to be a really good thing. And I'll tell you what, man, Las Vegas, they're not fucking around right now, man. They want in a real event every 365, they want something popping in Vegas now.

I don't even think there's going to be no lull period or nothing, man. It's about to be, like, popping, popping in Vegas now. Well, that's my report from Vegas, Roger. There you go. I won't be there, but there you go. Because they about to do F1 and shit. They was like prepping for F1 through the city, dog. Like they're going to, so what I heard was they're going to have like during the F1,

they're going to have stands up in the, like where the Bellagio, um, fountains are. They just going to put stands there like for FI.P. People, bro. It's going to be tight. Yeah, that's so tough, man. I wait to watch that on television. I talk a lot of shit about Vegas.

I like Vegas. I do. I enjoy time in Vegas. Like can't be there for too long. But, but, but. It's just, it takes a lot out of me, man. Like, it's a lot. A lot of walking, just unnecessary walking.

It's like you're going to the abyss, no matter what. All right, we gave you guys 45 minutes. Let's go to it. It's Thursday. Let's go to our segment we like to call Rear One of the Week, where we point out a person, entity, or organization that won the week. All right, I got my Rear One of the Week. Mr. Usher Raymond.

I went to the show last night. I'm still tired from it because I just got back home. Usher, his residency at Park MGM cannot recommend enough. Okay. It was, it was like church, bro.

I'm not going to hold you. They was, when they broke out the, like the DJ pre-usher, they broke out

the Bobby Brown. They broke out the outstanding the gap band. They broke out all of it. It was like a whole HBCU

function. It was fire. And then the show itself was great. Usher went on for like two and a half hours, bro. He was,

it was locked in, which it was a great show. So Usher, ruin of the week. Appreciate it, bud. Who is your real one of the week, bro? I've been seeing a lot of stuff, uh,

been seeing a lot of stuff out there about usher and these concerts, bro. You've been getting people in trouble. So I don't know how you roller skate, bro. Like, I don't know how you roller skate and do all that stuff, like in motion and unison.

I would have broke my whole ass. All right. All right, man. All right. My real one of the week is going to be Wimbledon. It's going to be American tennis player, Christopher Eubanks. Word. He lost in the quarters, but

it's his first time there. It's his first time in Wimbledon. May I got one of the best four hands in tennis, bro. He's got a rocket serve. Young, black American tennis player remains to be seen like if he's

if he's here to stay or what, but he had a nice showing at Wimbledon, so he'd be my real one of the week. Are you, how much affinity do you have for tennis. Is it like your football is your number one? Where's basketball? I'm assuming as you're number two. Is tennis you're like close number three? Because you play

tennis, right? I did play tennis. I did play tennis. I did play tennis and I swam growing up in a Virgin Islands. But I play everything. My dad was a PE coach. But I have an affinity for tennis. I will watch major matches. I think golf is number three for me. Like probably golf and and then tennis. Got it.

I was I was asking to friend of the show Sue Bird like one time we were just kicking it and I was at an axer I was like

so like what is like Megan taught you about soccer right and she was like basically not much because like I had to choose in high school and I was like

oh oh okay I shouldn't I shouldn't forget soccer either soccer slots in there with, and soccer might be before tennis. Could you have like, could you, did you,

were you to choose? Is my question. Because like, your athlete at the end of the day. I was, yeah, I, I had to choose between, I made the choice not to play tennis pretty early, like when I moved. And then I really wanted to play football. And I was made, like, it was summerly, I mean, spring basketball down here, but you also have spring football. And the football coach told me that I could not play spring basketball if I wanted to play

football and so he made the choice for me. And I said, we're good. Thank you. That's crazy. Crazy. But yeah, it wasn't worked out. Well, we're worked out. All right. Little housekeeping news. No show next week. But we have a show coming for you guys soon. You know, if people come through, it should be a very, very special episode.

So you guys, stay tuned for that. Yeah, we'll see you guys when we see you. Talk soon. Tap in. Bye.