The Ringer NBA Show - The Seven Most Intriguing Names of the 2019 NBA Offseason | The Mismatch

Episode Date: July 9, 2019

Live from Las Vegas at NBA summer league, the guys discuss seven topics they're most interested in from the offseason so far. Hosts: Chris Vernon, Kevin O’Connor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Ringer Podcast Network. Our rewatchable spin-off show on Luminary called Rewatchables 1999 is taking a little summer break, but we'll be back in the fall with more movies including eyes wide shut, never been kissed, and more. In the meantime, we're launching a new show on Luminary about another influential moment in 1999 called Breakstuff, the story of Woodstock 99. The pod will dive deep on the iconic music festival and how its success and failures left its mark on history. The series begins on Tuesday, July 9th, and will be coming to you every Tuesday for eight weeks. So make sure to check out

Breakstuff, the story of Woodstock 99 on Luminary. Welcome to the Ringer MBA show. I'm Chris Marnie. And joining me as he does every Tuesday from the ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor, aka Kevin O'Bomber, aka Kevin O'Connor, aka Kevin O'Candiland, in person, in the flesh, together.

The mismatch is in Las Vegas for Las Vegas Summer League. We have both been here since Friday. We are recording this on a Tuesday, and today we are going to have seven names that have some significance from Summer League that has taken place so far. This has been the strangest of the summer leagues that I have attended because of the news that took place when we first got here. In fact, that's the number one name we are going to talk about, which is Kauai Leonard. Everybody is at Summer League. It is very, very late,

even on the West Coast when the bombs start dropping, that Kauai Leonard is going to the Clippers and that Paul George is also going to be going. And like nobody had, listen, number one, you're in Las Vegas. Number two, it's very, very late. And you have to process everything that just took place and like nobody can believe it. Even when we were at the live taping of Bill Simmons podcast, the other night, Darryl said when he saw it, he's looking at his phone going, oh, blank. You know, like, because it just surprised everybody with the way it all played out because

you are, you're then asked to process what this means for not only the Clippers, but what this means for the rest of the Western Conference and the rest of the league. Look, the Clippers, as we know, Kevin, I mean, they pulled off the Incredible with this. as we now have had a few days to process at all. And do you know what they gave up in order to get both Kauai Leonard and Paul George? What are we thinking about the trade? It's a necessary move. You're getting two of the best players in the league to, you know,

it's the type of move for them. Like, yeah, it sucks that you gave up a lot. But you didn't give it up just for Paul George. You gave it up to also get Kauai and Leonard. And for the clippers, to me, they are the favorite in the NBA. And they're not like such a definitive favorite. that it's like Golden State Warriors again in KD or the Miami Heat.

It's not like that with the Bronjames, but they're the favorite. They have an edge over this large group of teams that is going to compete for a championship. The margin forer is a lot slimmer because they don't have as much star power some of these other teams. And you are seeing a lot of people now saying within the league,

this philosophy which is absolutely true and it has led to huge returns for the teams that are trading stars. Anthony Davis, we talked about, like, what is the amount that you can give up that is goofy? Same thing with this one. And the truth is most people feel there is no amount.

And I'm talking about people that run teams. The more you talk to the people that run teams, you know what they say? What you can't get in the NBA is the star slash superstar. That's the unattainable. You can find the other guys. The hardest thing to get, is a star, somebody that's really a star.

And we're not talking about a draft pick. We're not talking about maybe this could be. You know it is an established, unbelievable player in his prime. And so the cost of that has inevitably gone up. But these teams are now, you know, it used to be if you traded the star, you never got the better end of the deal. And that may change, right? because it can play out. Oklahoma City, what they did,

we saw it a couple weeks ago, what New Orleans got. Yes. Yeah, two times at around a month. And, like, by the way, like the funny thing is, is like, New Orleans had the greatest return

for a superstar ever. Then a couple weeks later, it's the Oklahoma City Thunder and return for Paul George. But, you know, for the Clippers, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.

Like, you have to give that up because of the two guys that you're getting. And now they have two guys that perfectly complement each other. These two superstars who can defend at a high level, who can play on,

ball or off ball who can serve as a go-to score or as a shooter off ball or a guy who makes the right play off the dribble they have the guys who complement each other perfectly unlike past teams where you know katy goes to the warriors and he needs to get adjusted to the system because he's so used to being a ball dominant guy you have lebron james and dwayd wade some of their overlapping ball dominant tendencies these guys perfectly compliment each other and they're on top of this unbelievably impressive core with veterans and young guys you have the landry shammats of the world your own robert's of the world your own robert Robinson maybe he becomes a player, Montrez-Harrell, and the veterans, of course, with Lou Williams, Pat Beverly, and so on.

So this is like a strong, deep team that also has its star power. And that's where they get an edge over some of these other teams. There's just a lot, a lot of contenders still. And by the way, like, I was so happy that night that he went to the clubbers just because, like, if he went to the Lakers, we'd have that one super team, like we've talked about. And now we have a league where you can make the case for, like, 12 or 13, maybe 14 teams to have a shot at a time. title, maybe with how their team is currently constructed, or if they add one more guy. So I'm thankful on Friday night that was what drops. Kwai Leonard going to the Clippers and then Paul George being traded there.

It's awesome. NBA is nuts, man. Because what has taken place is we have all of these teams now that our opinion of them has grown exponentially over the course of the past couple of weeks. So we have looked and we have said, well, geez, look at what Utah did. and they have to be considered a contender. And then you talk about Portland, who, like, you can't cut them out. I mean, look, they were right there in the Western Conference the entire year

and were the three seed last year. Clippers and what they have added, the Lakers and what they have added. I mean, you are now getting down to, if you just talk about both L.A. teams, Utah, okay? So those are three teams that we have looked at this offseason and gone, my God, how much have they have. improved. You still have, how about this, Kevin? If you talk about those three, if you talk about Utah and the two LA teams, you're talking about them before you even get to who the top three seeds were. I'm sorry, four seeds were last year. Golden State, Denver, Portland, and Houston. That was the top four seeds in the Western Conference last year.

And we're talking about the two LA teams in Utah before we get to any of them. It's pretty ridiculous. And even those teams. I mean, like Golden State loses KD and Clay's out for most, maybe. Who knows what maybe all the season, but Golden State adding DeAndler Russell to their core. I mean, if Clay's able to get back midseason, if by the playoffs, he's healthy,

who knows? Like maybe Golden State, we're talking about them still as a contender. Well, right now, they're viewed as a team that might be fighting for the playoffs when it's just step for the majority of the year, and they will be, I think. But DeAngelo Russell changes that whole dynamic.

And then with Denver, I think Jeremy Grant is one of the most underrated editions of the offseason. He is absolutely the perfect front court player to have next to Nicola Yokic and then Jamal Mari as well in the back court for them. Jeremy Grant is that versatile defensive player who can rebound, who doesn't need to touch the ball offensively, but he's a good spot up shooter who attacks closeouts. And they could not have gotten a better guy for that team. So like they got better too.

And then with Portland, like you get the Hassan Whiteside salary, but maybe he helps you, but maybe he's also that $20 million salary filler that you can use during the season to try to flip for a guy. So, like, those teams got better than Houston is still Houston, despite all the stuff. They still have a really, really strong team. So, like, those four were, had a shot last year, aside from the fact Golden State was Golden State. But now we're writing those two LA teams on top of that. It's unbelievable, man. Well, and it's really hard if you are one of those teams that really wants to win and really wants to get into the playoffs. Say you are the Sacramento Kings.

And they went and spent a ton of money in this offseason. I forgot Houston added Shemori Ponds. Oh, ha, ha, ha. He had a great game in the Summer League. And they are, they are going to be hopefully taking a step up. Like, let's say you're the Kings, okay? Look, if we replace OKC with the Lakers, right, that gives us warriors, nuggets, Blazers, rockets, razors, rockets, jazz, clippers,

Spurs, Lakers. Unbelievable. How are you getting in the playoffs? Well, I mean, then after that, it's like you have these teams like, you know, Minnesota that are trying to make a push. Minnesota wants to win. Yeah. The king.

The Kings want to win. And then Pelicans and Mavericks aren't going to be bad. Those teams are not going to be bad. What the Pelicans did this summer is unbelievable. And then with Dallas, if Chris Tavs, Porzingas is healthy and Luca Dantridge makes another little bit of a bit of leap, they're going to be trying to push for that 7-8 seed. And they might not get it. You're going to have 10, 11, 12 teams that have playoff aspirations in the Western Conference,

and they're going to make it. Okay. If I gave you Lakers, clippers, and gave you the rest of the field, would you take it? If I say, I'll keep the lake. Would you take that bet? I'll take the Lakers and the clippers. You get the rest of the field. Yeah, sure.

I'd take the rest. You would? Yeah, I think so. You think it's, I mean, I'm getting six teams versus two teams. No, no, no, no, no. I'm talking about the whole league. Oh, sure. I'll take, I'll take the rest of it.

There's nobody. Nobody in the east. I would take 28 other teams. You would? The Lakers and the Clebers, yeah. It's just math. That's all. Well, look, the Clippers' odds are overwhelming, right?

They're not overwhelming. That's what I mean, though. They're not overwhelming like KD going to a 73 win. I don't know, man. You see. They're not like the Miami Heat with LeBron, Wade, and Chris Bosch, when the league landscape was totally different. It's not, it's not to that extent.

George, by the way, until George is, shoulder went bananas last year and he turned into a radically different. There was a stretch where he had gotten himself into MVP conversations. He was dominate. There was a one month stretch where every game you watched, oh my God, he's the best player on the floor. He was out of his mind. If he can come back to that form and you're pairing him with Kauai Leonard and you've

got all those role players, you've got Pat Bibb, you've got Lou Williams, you've got Montres, which by the way, Montres Harrell, guy I was with the other day, he walks into the summer league game, Clippers Grizzlies, basketball shorts, a Darius Miles throwback at like six chains. And then my buddy said that is the most gangster thing I have ever seen. This dude is walking in just like a G, six chains, Darius Miles throwback, the big basketball shorts. I mean, I love Montres Harrell. So I love everything about Montrez-Harrell. But they got...

I used to love everything about Darius Miles on the court. He's a fun player to watch. I actually covered him for... I was like 10 years old and he was a rookie. I think he... It wasn't rookie of the year, but he was like one of the best rookies in the league. I really liked him as a player. I love Montres-Hareil.

So anyways, now let's move on to what has taken place when we talked about. One thing, though, about Paul George. I don't know if this is true, but I don't really care. An agent told me that the clippers are telling teams that Paul George might miss like the first month of the season. That's fair. Yeah, which seems reasonable. But I guess that's what they're telling.

All right. So I was at- And other teams, you know, because, you know, they may need more players. Guys they might add could get more potential opportunity to open the season. That's essentially- I think I've mentioned this before. But this is two things that stood out to me throughout the year when I was at games and things that I had never seen before,

one of which I had mentioned a long time ago, and it's interesting now the way everything's played out. I've never seen a GM and a player talking to each other at half time of a game. I've never seen that. And I was in a hallway where for a long time, Danny Angel Kyrie Irving were talking to each other. And I mentioned it. And I was like, something is a rye here when you are at half time of a basketball game.

and the general manager is talking to the star player in the hallway. The other thing that happened this year that I had not seen before was a lot of teams will commandeer a hallway in the back. And so it happened to be a hallway that I was walking through to get to the media room. And I was walking there the night of the Oklahoma City game. And Paul George was laying on a table and he had one of these guys that was working on his shoulder, doing all kinds of stretches to his shoulder, massaginous shoulder, like all kinds of stuff. And you could see it. I mean, he's wide, we're right there in the open, right?

I went, was in the media room, I ate dinner, was talking to all manner of people. I walked out and he was still on the table getting worked on by the guy. It was like, and I remember thinking to myself, is this the level of preparation that it is taking for him to be able to go and play a basketball game? Like, something is wrong here. That is very uncommon. not, you know, there's always guys in the training room, but I'm telling you, it was a long time, Kev, that he was on that table, because I went and when I walked back through, he was still getting worked on, and it was the same thing. He was laying on the table, and the guy was working

on his shoulder, and it just really stood out to me, and I thought, man, this guy may be more banged up than what I think. You know, his shooting numbers went down. He had surgery right right when the damn season was over. Well, that's why, like with the Clippers, there are no guarantee. They're not like these other teams. Kauai Leonard played nine games only two years ago because of a major random, mysterious quad injury. This past season, he only played about 60 games

because he had arrested that quad over the course of the whole year. And in the postseason, it's like I'm watching him like limp like an old man through the locker room. Even though on the court, he was a superhero. Watching him walk through the locker room, the guy's clearly hurt playing through something serious. So for the clubbers, they're going to have to continue load management for Kauai Leonard.

And then for Paul George, he misses the first month of the year. And who knows how the shoulder injury affects his shot afterwards? Paul George had a super amazing hot streak over the beginning of the season, but he's never been that level of a guy. So those guys are unbelievable and they complement each other nicely. But George just had surgery and Kauai has a issue with his quad that's not going to go away. So these guys, whether if they miss games or whether they get hurt in the postseason, I don't

think the margin for error is so much slimmer for them than it was for some of these past favorites. They're just the favorites. That's all. Let's get to the number two name on our list. And it was the aforementioned Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook. Oh my.

We talked about Oklahoma City not being a playoff team as we look at the teams right now with the way everything is shook out. We know, you know, they're trying to move on. They're trying to make a trade. They're trying to move them. And it was reported Miami. Yep. It was one team. It was reported Detroit.

And was there one more? Detroit. Houston. Houston, you know. So silly to me. You know that, well, Daryl Morey is about stars. That's it. And he gets his name involved with every star player in the league.

Okay. I can't imagine Hardin, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook. It would be a, well, I think. It would be like one of the NBA 2K teams. He was like, why'd you build your team this way, dude? I think it would have to be, I think it would have to be a deal that would send Paul. I don't. And so would you.

rather have Westbrook or Paul? I got an NBA slack argument. Would you rather have Westbrook or Paul? If I'm Houston. I mean, Paul's a theoretically a better fit next to Hardin. But he's not a better player right now. Right. But he's theoretically a better fit.

If I'm Oklahoma City, I don't care about it from Houston's perspective. Oklahoma City is the team that has the player people want. And I don't think it makes much sense to trade Russell Westberg for an Albatross contracts with Chris Paul. Right. yesterday we had an NBA Slack conversation about this and my point was if you're Oklahoma City, I think you can easily do better than that than Chris Paul because we're all talking about how Chris Paul is this untradable contracts.

Okay, so you're telling me Oklahoma City is going to trade Russell Westbrook the face of their franchise for an untradable contract. It just doesn't make any sense to me. They're going to trade Russell Westbrook for a package that gets them contracts that combined to amount to make the trade happen, not the one singular contract with Chris Paul. If they make a trade, it would be like a goal. Gordon Capella package. It would be a Miami package with Winslow and

Kelly Olenick and salary filler. Easily tradable contracts or players that you want in addition to draft picks. I don't think it makes any sense for the Thunder to trade Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul. So for Houston's perspective, if they want to combine those three, there are other guys, PJ Tucker, Kuntkepella, Eric Gordon. Maybe that's how you get a deal done.

But even then still, what I've heard is that Miami has been the team that's been by far the most aggressive in pursuing a trade here, which is interesting because Miami is hard-capped. They don't have their 2021 or their 20-23 first-round draft pick. So on paper, you would think this doesn't make sense for them because they're hard-capped. It doesn't make sense for Oklahoma City because they already have those two first-round draft picks. So you don't want to make them stronger and they also don't have as many assets to give.

However, what's the difference here? It's Pat Riley. He's old. He doesn't care. He wants to win now. And he's willing to give up whatever it takes to make it happen. And that's why executives that I've talked to tend to think that if any team is going to land Russell Westbrook, it'll be Miami. And that's probably also the preferred destination for Westbrook as well.

At one point when ESPN wrote about like six possible trades, I had jotted down what they had written for Miami. Like what kind of, what would a deal look like? And it was it was Westbrook and Patterson, right? Would go to Miami. Why Patterson? I guess just to fill it. Just to make the money work. The Thunder would get Goren Dragut,

Justice Winslow, Kelly Olinick, and a 2025 first round pick. Only a 2025 first round pick? Top 10 protected and then unprotected in 2020. I would need more picks than that. I'm like the biggest Russell Westbroader that I know. Yep. I think Oklahoma City can do better than that.

There is this odd side where people think... Put a pick swap in there too. Listen, and you know how I feel about when people complain greatly about overpaying the star level players. You and I got into it about Blake Griffin last year because I am of the mind that there is, like, stop telling me about overpaying great players. Oh, right? It's Blake Griffin conversation. But if you're going to talk about overpaying players, because I think it's gone too far on the Westbrook contract. And I get it.

He's always going to have a super. high contract. He also affects winning and losing a lot more than a lot of guys. And typically stop. Listen, your mistakes are overpaying guys that aren't good. Your mistakes are usually overpaying guys that aren't good, not overpaying guys that are good, right? Because at least you are overpaying somebody that brings a lot to the table and is an outstanding player. You know, when you look through teams and you say, God, if they could just get off of this contract or this contract really held them back, it's typically not some great player that you're sitting there going, geez, well, if they weren't playing Russell Westbrook $40 million, they'd be able to have a good team. Like, that's probably not the problem as to why you don't have a good team. It's possible. But he is still a force of nature in the league.

This guy has averaged a triple double for goodness sakes. I get it, right? You can focus on what he can do. Is he going to go to a new place and there's he can have a big man that's going to let him get all those. rebounds. I don't know. That's four or five a game. Is anybody going to be as nice as Stephen Adams?

Maybe not. What a sweet guy to let Russell Westbrook get his triple double. Yeah, real sweet. I mean, how nice is that? How nice is that? Make no mistake. Russell Westbrook. Here you go.

Look, just take it. Hey, you want to talk about overpaying? We can. Who are we talking about? Well, let's talk about Stephen Adams. You want to? Sure, yeah.

Why not? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Look, Russell Westbrook got Stephen Adams $100 million. So, good thing you got out of the way. It's the only reason. he's making a bucket load of money

and is because he played with Russell Westbrook, so I don't want to hear about it. And that's the thing. I am of Russell Westbrook hater. I think he's a losing overall star player. I said he's right now after John Wall being hurt. Russell Westbrook is now the worst elite point

card in the NBA. But he's still an elite point card. Oh, foo. Dude, he's still an elite point card. He's just the worst elite point card in the NBA. Stop. That is ridiculous. Yes. That is ridiculous.

Dude, okay, so here's the thing. For years, ever since the second article I ever wrote on the Ringer was about the Russell Westbrook roadmap. Like, how can he take his game to the next level? And therefore, his team to the next level. It's improving as a spot-up shooter. It's becoming a more active off-ball player, cutting, screening, becoming a more active engaged defender, which he does sometimes.

The off-ball stuff has not changed. The shooting has not gotten better. And the shooting, maybe it won't. Some guys just don't get better. They have a ceiling. Maybe he has a ceiling. but the off-ball stuff has not changed. And so for Russell Westbrook,

it would have to change if you're playing alongside Jimmy Butler in Miami. It has to change because that's also a guy that has some of those weaknesses where he's an all-ball dominant star. But for Westbrook, though, Chris, I'm saying all that as, like, his criticism for years of criticism criticized him, but he's still a star-level player.

And I feel like in the conversation here, he's been a bit underratedly, I think it is just outrageous to even suggest that for Oklahoma City, it makes sense to trade him for Chris Paul. It just doesn't not make sense for them. Here's what I know, Kev. I know that he has had,

that Jimmy Butler would be well served to be playing with Westbrook, because as much as everybody pops Westbrook, Durant won an MVP playing next to Westbrook. Paul George was just out of his mind until the shoulder thing. Stephen Am's got $100 million. Stephen has got, I mean, he has made players. He has played with great players. He has enabled them to have outstanding seasons.

Even Jeremy Grant, who we talked about earlier. Yes. Even with him, it's like he was somebody that was able to play off of Russell Westbrook because he's somebody that doesn't need to control the ball. You can cut, play defense and all that. Like, he compliments Russell Westbrook perfectly. He attracts so much attention. He demands so much attention that when he drives to the basket, if you can knock down shots,

you are going to get a lot of great looks playing with him. And so it would be interesting because of what we have seen with him playing with Durant, what we have seen playing with Paul George? What if Jimmy Butler is the third? And here's the thing. Those guys are both absolute dogs. I would love to see them both. Spider-Man in the Eastern Conference.

Yes. I'd love to see them both in the Eastern Conference on a team and somebody have to face them, them going up against like a Philly or them going up against a Milwaukee, you know, when it comes playoff time. I think Miami, that's by far the most fun destination. it's also hard to see how it gets there, given what Miami has to give up.

Maybe you can get a third team involved in order to facilitate it. Who knows? But let's move on to- Well, one second, though. I think with OKC, the one name we haven't mentioned yet, he mentioned all they gave up, all the first-round draft picks, but also giving up Shigil just Alexander, one of the best young point cards in the league.

And that's why trading Russell Westbrook is something that they have to do. But I think Gildes Alexander is the worst of the great young point card. I'm sorry. I'm just invested with you. Giltz is Alexander. Like, he's already a really good defender. And he is already like a smart pick and roll playmaker. And those are two things you can very rarely say for a 20 year old player,

for any player in any position, but especially point guards. And he's already good at those two things. and he got steadily better over the course of the year on the offensive end of the floor his shots gotten better. So for him, it's like,

that's the guy you're going to invest in now if you're Oklahoma City. And I just don't think it makes sense to keep Russell Westbrook around. You got to trade him for what you can, whether it's now or sometime during the season. And bringing in another point guard like Chris Paul who is going to demand

having the ball on his hands, I think that hurts Gilges Alexander's development. So like if you're trading him, it has to be a drodger's type, a guy who is an expiring contract. Detroit, a Reggie, Jackson type, an expiring contract, the guy who cares cut his ass if he's going to become a problem.

Like, that's the type of player, because you're investing in Shaggill's Alexander Hare. That's the player you're investing in. Not anybody else. If you're investing in Chris Paul, you need to play that guy for as long as you have him. And you're going to have him for a long time because we just had the conversation around, you know, and we as and then the collective NBA Twitter about how this guy is an untradable contract. So they're not going to trade for it.

It does not make sense. And if they do, if OKC does, it's a mistake. They can do better than Chris Paul, which is fascinating. saying to say because he's so he was a star player just yeah that's during last season that's right and now you know he's his loss a step defense is not quite the same still really good still really really good still really good but not the guy who makes sense right for okay c um the guilds of Alexander thing is i like you bring it him up because summer league makes me think about guys from last year and then guys from this year and i'm just going to do this as a quick aside

when I was writing the article for the ringer about players. Your incredible brand. Yeah, right. The draft guys that won't fail. I, several years now two, three years in a row, when I have talked to people that really know that Kentucky program, they were really high last year on Knox and not so high on Gilges Alexander. And you know who the one this year is that they weren't that high on? And I'm talking about fans of that program, people that cover that program, when I say, hey, who's really worth banking on?

And it was Knox that they were telling me last year. This year, not high at all when I was trying to get feedback on what they thought. Because they watched every game. They were covering that team. They weren't that high on Kelden Johnson. They said he was very underwhelming, whatever. And I'm telling you, saw him in the Utah Summer League, and I've seen him some here. he looks way better than he did when he was playing in Kentucky.

I got worried that there might be a little Devin Booker action going on with Kelton Johnson. I'm like, this guy looks good. Anytime the Spurs draft a guy, I was wrong on that guy. Yeah, right. As soon as they make that thing, I was like, oh, where did I have Kelton Johnson rank 37th? Oh, too low. I made a mistake.

And like, just like another quick aside on Kelton Johnson. It's like the flaw with him really is that like he's just sort of. of, you know, he's robotic in some ways. Like, I think I had a word for, I called him robotic in the draft guide. It's like his passing is sort of robotic. He's, his,

he doesn't have the best ball handling ability. It feels deliberate. Yeah, he's just sort of like a straight line driver guy, very decisive with his decisions. And that's sort of what San Antonio likes, a guy who is decisive. It makes those reads, you know, as a score. So he plays hard.

Yeah. Like, those are two positive qualities. Get to passing lanes. He's, a solid three-point shooter as well. So it's like for San Antonio, you're not drafting him to be a star. You're drafting him to be a really good role player.

And that's where he projects as. And that's what San Antonio, it's like, well, maybe he pick him as a role player and then he makes that next lead where in that system he developed some of those things they showed more in high school. Let's get to our third name, which is Zion Williamson. Zion. It was not.

What a night. It was disappointing that Zion Williamson, who, I mean, Hell, it feels like half the first round, if not more, the whole first round, is basically sitting this out for summer. We're not seeing a ton of players playing in this as compared to years in the past, but we were going to get to see. On the TV, we have the Duke Gonzaga game playing for some reason. From last year. They're showing the top 20 games of last year on some channel that's on the TV here. ESPN.

Is that what it is? Zion Williamson. We only got to see him one night for a short amount of time. And then as a precautionary measure, what the Sepulikin say is nothing serious at all. A precautionary measure is it's a fake injury. Yeah. He was not going to play anymore. I'll tell you this, Kev.

It's the first time I've been in an arena. This is the first load management in Summer League ever. Probably. First time I've ever been in an arena where Zion Williamson was playing. I had not seen him yet. I was not Kevin O. Cameron crazy earlier this year. I know it was. I was kind of like bringing it.

Number one, he's absolutely huge in person where you see him. I mean, I was next to the tunnel and you see him on TV and you think like, my God, that guy, you know, he looks huge. And then to see him in person and just the size of this guy, he's just a mammoth. And so I was there in the tunnel when he was. was walking out. And when they were going through their layup line, the buzz in that crowd, even at Summer League was just crazy. I mean, roars every time he would do something. And then he went and the layup line just did a layup and everybody started booing. I mean, I was like, this is crazy. The only time I can ever recall something like that is Steph Curry's warmups.

Yep. That's the only time that I can remember. And there's probably other times that I'm forgetting. I have a poor memory. Forgive me. Like Steph Curry is the most recent time. The biggest one I've ever seen in my life was, I mean, it's many, many years ago. It's whatever, 10, 15 years ago. And it was at the very height of now when Jordan came with the Wizards, it was huge. No doubt about it, right?

But certain LeBron years. In terms of like roar, pandemonium, it felt like a rock star just walked in. There was always the Kobe Shack. one and I would put that one up very high. Nothing compared to Iverson. Nothing. It was like, I mean, it was like something, like some kind of like, like, uh, like Justin Beaver walked in or something.

I mean, people, it was. You know, I'm just saying like, you know, like, you know, like when you see those, like, you know, at the height of his stardom when you'd see those things and he like, he would like walk out on the balcony and London or something. Are you a Bieber fan? I'm a believer. Okay. Really?

No, but he was like, walk out on the balcony. Right? And there'd be like these throngs of people. They're all just going absolutely crazy just because they're seeing him. That's how it felt with Iverson. Is Justin Bieber the greatest Canadian artist of all time? I mean, I'm, I mean, unfortunately, you think about Nickelback when you, think of Drake, Drake, Rush. Rush?

You seem like a Rush guy. Yeah, I like Rush. I could see you blaring Tom Sawyer in your headphones. I like Rush. Today's time so you mean, mean, mean, right. I don't think, I don't like. No, it's fine is not for rent. The bottom down is arrogant.

Yes. You like it? Yes, it's very good. Yeah. Very good job. Shout out. Do you work on that? Shout out to Neil Park.

Do you work on that? That's her drummer. Do you work on that? I'm giddy Lee. Oh my God. Does Arcade Fire count as a Canadian band? I don't know. I'm not sure if they do.

Celine Dion does. Because they have some people from Canada in there, But Win Butler. Shout out to Celine Dion. Texas lives in New Orleans now. Let's call Arcade Fire Canadian band. You want to do that? Yeah.

They're my all the favorite Canadian artist. Number four. A player that is not playing. Oh, and we got to mention Zion. There was a frigging earthquake that night. There was a frigging earthquake. Okay. Well, one thing we need to talk about Zion's game.

Zion had a good game. Why did Kevin Knox not retire after that? Oh, when he stripped the bowl. Okay. That is, you are a child. Give me that ball, bitch. He's just yanked away from him and dunked. And I couldn't live with myself.

That game, we only saw Zion for nine minutes. We saw the full scope, except for the transition offense aspects. Well, you did see him pull up. They were like, and Zion Williamson's going to try to show off more parts of his game. I love when they're always talking about these guys trying to show more parts of his game. He doesn't have that part of that of his game. He pulled up for a jump. and it was wind.

Well, that's the thing with Zion. His fan almost got a souvenir. That's the thing. His jumper is not good. And that's going to be a problem for him as a rookie. He needs to develop that over time. We saw that off the dribble. He's a non-factor from shooting,

shooting off the dribble is a non-factor. And then spotting up, he's Mitchell Robinson, sagging off him, like, shoot it, shoot it, shoot it. Because he's not a threat yet. And defense is going to do that all year. But what we did see was the dunking, the pick and roll.

He had three finishes. rolling out of the pick and roll in that first quarter alone when he only had seven all year in college. So already three and nine minutes in summer league action. That's going to be a huge factor for him as rookie. We didn't see the passing as much, but he can do that as well. And I thought the most impressive play was the one you mentioned, we ripped the ball out of Kevin Knox's hands. Yeah, anybody can look this up, the videos everywhere, just type in Zion when you said Kevin Knox.

You don't know what we're talking about, but it was insane. And the one reason why it was so great for me is because Zion got up to a poor start in the game. did not do anything early in the game, but still he continued playing aggressive defense. He continued staying locked in. Sometimes when things don't go well for certain players, they just kind of just get lazy or they try to do too much as a player. Zion perfectly read that play and got there at the right moment to rip the ball out of his hands.

There's an aggressive moment that sort of activated him. Like then from there, the rest of the first quarter, you're awesome. So for Zion, like that's one thing he does have that a lot of guys don't. It's just that real intense will to win. So that's going to carry him through some of those struggles he has as a shooter because he can do so much already on the floor. I wanted to run on the court like it was the rucker. You know what I mean?

He snags a ball out of that. I was chairing. Give me that frigging ball. I don't really care. I was doing. And then he dunked and started flexing. And I was like, oh my God. What a man.

What a friggin man. I was sitting there cheering. I don't care if I'm in media. It was a great time. It's unbelievable. Dude, the atmosphere of that, no, it's a shame that. I mean, they'll play nine minutes. The atmosphere is unbelievable.

Okay. Then the earthquake happens. Okay. So look, after about right into the second half, I end up going back. We had had a long, long day of travel. We're going to go catch the rest of it back at the hotel. And me and my producer for my local show, John Rosa, and Jaron Jackson, Sr., had met up. And we were, because we were all leaving at the same time or staying at the same hotel.

We go and all starving. We've been on the same flights all day and we go to the sports book. We go to the sports book and grab some pizza. Okay? So we're sitting there eating pizza. I am sitting on a bar stool and... What kind of pizza? It is just cheese pizza.

And it starts wobbling around. And I'm like, yo, are y'all's bar stools wobbling? And like I see like there's like this wall of beads up on like the tanging from, from the top of the ceiling, and it's like swaying back and forth. And I'm feeling like everything is off. And all of a sudden, Darren Jackson, who has been played in L.A., he's like, that's an earthquake. I've been through one of these before. And I was like, wait, what?

And he's like, it's an earthquake. And I'm talking stuff. He's just like rattling around. I had never felt an earthquake before. And that, what? You want to talk about troubling. I mean, I'm feeling it. You're so out of control and I don't know what's happening,

but everything just feels like it's moving at this time. And I've never, I've never been through one before. Obviously, now I'm an earthquake survivor. Come on. No, I survived it. Dozy, you don't have to be. Earthquings are serious business. I'm not asking you to.

call me brave, but I'm kind of asking for you to call me brave. I mean, I'm really, I was brave in that moment. Actually, I was freaking out. I didn't know what the hell was going on. Was you really freaking out? Yes. What is happening? And why is my chair moving?

And what? Am I going to, am I going to die? Like, I don't even, I don't know. I don't know anything about an earthquake. I don't know what's happening. I know that the ground under my feet feels like it's moving. And this is extremely troubling. But, you know, in true brave fashion, I fought it off.

After the earthquake on the 4th of July, I was in L.A. for that one. Yeah. I started listening to a podcast called The Big One, your survival guide. And it's for like preparing for the big one in L.A. or anywhere in California. You're listening to a podcast about surviving an earthquake? This is on the 4th of July. I'm listening to the podcast. So on the 4th of July, I didn't really do anything.

I went to go see John Wick 3 by myself. I went with to eat by myself at the Century City Mall. Say something else pathetic. Yeah, it's okay. And I also listened to the big one, your survival guide, by myself. Oh, yeah. On the 4th of July. That is 3 for 3.

Can somebody in the ringer invite him to do something? Damn. That would have been great. God, bless. Yes, that is. On Belize, it's a 4th of July. Call my man Kev. That would have been good.

My non-ringer friends were out of L.A. And your ringer friends just did. Yeah, I did have one thing I could have went to. I just wasn't feeling it. So I decided just to, I wanted to see John Mc3, to be honest with you. But anyway, the point is, the point is, is like, earthquakes are serious business. And, like, it's right, you are right to be scared.

Like, what we felt here. And I, for what it's worth, the one on Friday night in Vegas, I didn't even really feel until the end. I was walking out of the arena. Like I had my backpack. I was getting ready to go back to my hotel to go record. And so I'm like hustling out to get that done as soon as possible, try to beat the crowd.

And as I'm walking out, I see Mark Fissel, who works at the NBA. And I say, you know, have a good night, Mark. And he's like, Kevin, stop. And I was like, why? And so I stopped. I, like, he's like, there's an earthquake happening. And I stopped. And I felt like the lasting rumbles of it.

So I didn't feel the whole thing. I wasn't in the arena with the, with the jumbotron swing or whatever. I didn't see any of that until afterwards when I saw the video. But at the end, I was like, oh, my God, another one happened. I was like, I said, how powerful was this? We didn't know at the moment yet. But quickly found out it was a 7.4-1. And then were you running around everybody?

Say, everybody, I've been listening to a podcast and here's what you do. Yeah. Tip number one. Yeah. All right. I've been listening to a podcast about what to do with this exact. It just so happens. I think the most important thing I learned from that podcast is like to have it like underneath your bed having like shoes ready.

Like having your stuff ready. Your water having lots of water. Having all this type of stuff. Ready to go. Because if you don't have shoes, glass can break and all that. Is this like, it's like, hey. I'm not going to tell you this shit. You should listen to it.

Hey, have your shoes ready. No. Because glass shatters so often. And the most common injury people had in past earthquakes is people coming to the hospital with a bunch of little pieces of glass in their feet. They didn't have shoes on in their house? Yeah, that's simply the reason why. So it's like being ready, like instead of walking around and all that, like just don't run outside, anything like that. Just be ready.

So do you just have to sit around with your house? Having like having like a pack ready, like especially we live in L.A. Do you have an earthquake pack? No, I don't, but I'm going to get one. What's in it? I don't know, dude. I don't know. Jerky.

You have plenty of water. Stuff that keeps. It's pretty, it's a little of the podcast. I'm not explaining it well. I only listen to like the first one. Do you sit around in your shoes in the house now? No, I don't. Just in case.

LA streets are dirty, man. I'm trying to get, I'm trying to get in the habit of taking off my sneakers every time I get in the house. They're dirty, dude. All right. Let's get to the rest of these names because we've got to bust through these. Number four, Michael Porter Jr. Upon arrival, We're at 40 minutes.

No, the night before, the night before Summer League starts, it comes out that Michael Porter Jr. has injured himself and is not going to be available for Summer League. He was, no lie, the second most intriguing player that I thought I was going to get to see here. Because he is such an unknown. We have not gotten to see him play real competitive. competitive basketball in so long.

He was a shell of himself when he did during the SEC tournament and the NCAA tournament. By all accounts, when you talk to people, that was a very poor representation of what he is. And so don't, that's the only time I've seen him. Don't judge him on that. And then you have to go back to the high school tapes, which are absolutely incredible. I have had more than a few people tell me that he is one of the absolute greatest college prospects they have ever seen when they saw him in high school that what we saw at Missouri when he played at the very end was not a good representation of what kind of player he is.

And so this was going to be the stage. And we were going to get to see him live and in person. And that was taken away from not only him, but also all of us that were so excited to get to see him play for the first time. So the most intriguing guy, this guy that, you know, if it all goes a little bit differently, might have been a number one to number five pick in the draft, but he's taken towards the end of the lottery. Instead, he stowed away by a team that was already a great team last year. The weight continues, Keb.

So I will still look forward to getting to see Michael Porter Jr. play basketball. It's scary. I heard the injury happen towards that. end of practice, maybe even the last player practice. So for him, like, I can't imagine how painful this is. Yeah. Because the thing about also his family history of injury. His brother tore his ACL twice.

His sister tore her ACL five times. His other sister needed, like, knee reconstruction. I think more people in the family had injuries as well. Like, this is an injury prone family. Yeah. Why? Like, people say it's because they're vegan. I have no idea.

I don't know why. I don't think that's why they just might be genetically injury prone. So from Michael Porter, it's like, you want to be the one guy who at least stays healthy when he might be the most talented one of any of them. And it's a shame if he's not able to stay healthy. But the back problem he has, and what's that foot issue? I don't. I don't know.

I don't know. It's some type of foot thing because of the back. The back is what scares you. I know, but now the- Right? Because he's a 6-11 guy with the rough back. But now with a knee problem as well. It's scary because this is a guy who, like, I just mentioned earlier, our Jeremy Grant is perfect that Denver team.

Well, so was Michael Porter with his size at 6 foot 10 with his scoring ability. That's exactly what they need is another guy alongside Yokic and Jammari. He's the guy who could become that third star alongside those two. And if he's not able to see healthy, obviously can't. But it would be a shame if we're not unable to see him on the court for an extended period of time for him. Like any rather rookie, he has a learning curve. And hopefully we're able to get that at some point during preseason. I look forward to seeing him because what we saw.

Missouri, like he said, was not a representation of what he was as a high school prospect. My question is, is the Missouri representation just more accurate? Okay. Can he be the same guy that he was in high school? More fluid without the medical problems that he's had. All right, Kevin, we're right back to it. I want to remind everybody that today's episode of the mismatch is brought to you by Express. I love wearing jeans.

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Today's mismatch is also brought to you by Google Fi. Doesn't it feel like most phone plans just weren't made for us in mind? Between bad coverage, paying too much for data that you don't actually use and crazy roaming charges, GoogleFi is a phone plan by Google made with features that people like you and I actually want. Features like free international roaming, so you never have to worry about calling up your provider to let them know you're going to be traveling. And three networks in one, so you stay connected wherever you are, you're home to your office, and everywhere in between. GoogleFi works on your favorite smartphone, so you don't have to switch phones just to switch plans. In fact, it's just as easy as downloading an app.

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from North Carolina. I mean, I'm intrigued by you calling them point guards. Well, I'm just intrigued. What do you think they're going to do? I don't know. They're going to have a ball in their hands, aren't they? Yeah, primary ball hand on their playmaker types. You would imagine so.

I'm torn on the RJ stuff. He clearly looked really bad. Okay. But there are times where I've seen somebody in Summer League, and I have seen them be great. and we've come on here and we have talked about them most famously two years ago, Donovan Mitchell. I'd seen him in person. I watched a game where he had eight steals in the game.

He was just, it looked like they had taken a five-time NBA All-Star and thrown him in a summer league game. He was so much better than everybody else on the court, and it was obvious then. So sometimes you can have these elite-level performances, and it is a sign of things to come. There are other times where you can be terrible, and it doesn't mean, anything. Or times that you're unbelievable and it doesn't mean anything either. Right. So that's the thing. It's so hard to gauge now because in the past couple of years, there have been two times, specifically, that I can remember where I was at a game, I watched a guy, and I'm thinking of myself, oh, man. One of what, and I was, I was dead wrong to put any stock into it in retrospect.

fact. One of them was I watched a game where a kid was like one for 11 and 0 for 9 from 3, I think, and that was Markanin and he, I mean, he looked terrible in the game. He missed every year. Trey Young looked horrible. And Trey Young last year. So that is two

and so. There's many, many more. Stanley Johnson had an unbelievable summer league and he has not been an unbelievable player. Oh, there's been tons of these over the years. It's every single year. Yet we continue to be like, oh, R.J. Barrett's going to be bust because he sucks in Summer League. It's like, yeah, so what?

So what? Is it so what? Is it so what? I mean, there are other times where a guy sucks and it is like, oh, well, maybe he just sucks. That's a hard part about this. Sometimes it, sometimes it has meaning and sometimes it doesn't, and that's how you have to delineate. I will say this about when you see white in person, big, and also in addition to size, I mean, he's a quick guy that can really get in the lane. and he has not shot the ball well

he has not shot the ball well I mean and he throws the ball I mean he can he can get he can force your defense he can get your defense in scramble mode and he could toss it up to Daniel Gafford who's just finishing it for thunderous dumps his passing's been good yes

that's been the impressive part yes like the shooting has not been there and I do I do have concern about his shot off the dribble because of the low release but there's no doubt man the passing looks good He looks like a guy who could be a primary for you. And on RJ, who you were very high on, you have no level of concern that he has looked terrible.

Yeah, I mean, his weaknesses are his weaknesses, then that's what we're seeing right now. The ball handling ability, how great is this first step getting by the defender, getting to the rim, the sort of ground-bound athleticism, where he just barreled into people. We're seeing that as a concern as well. His jumper has not been great. That's also a concern.

Like, they're legitimate concerns about RJ Barrett. And if you're expecting them to come in as a rookie player because a super productive player, you're going to be wrong. You're going to be disappointed. RJ's a guy that he's a long-term investment. That you're banking on the size and the athleticism and the playmaking that he's shown and the potential scoring ability if his shot continues to improve. And maybe it will not.

Maybe he just has average touch, which a strong probability that he is just going to be an average shooter. But I think you're betting on his competitiveness and his character and how much he loves the game of basketball to improve as a defender to reach his potential there. and to also just find the right balance of finding scoring and playmaking because he can play make but sometimes it gets tunnel vision so finding the balance there and that doesn't happen overnight it's not going to happen now in summer league it's something that happens over the years so no i'm not going to overreact to a couple poor summer league performances now okay number six uh and i mentioned that there are sometimes where you will go to games and the there is a player that is out on the court that just looks so much better than everybody else that is on the court and that has had

and multiple times with second year player for the San Antonio Spurs, Lonnie Walker. The night of the earthquake, in a game that got called short, he had 28 points in 23 minutes, and then yesterday he had 32 points. And if you watch the game, it just looks like this guy is better than everybody else. Now, second year players that are playing in this, which there aren't a ton, typically feel much more comfortable. in the setting, it slows down for them. These games are going 100 miles an hour in many cases. And so it kind of slows down to them.

They've got a confidence about the way they play and what they're trying to do. But my reaction as I was watching him was, oh man, the spurs got another one. Because he looks like he has a chance to be extremely good in the NBA. Yeah, with Lonnie Walker, the shooting off the dribble, the go-to scoring ability. He looks like he's coming a long, long way in a short amount of time.

Look, with him, there's going to be a learning curve, of course, still a young player. But he's showing some of the flashes that he's showing college, being more than like a three-indy type of guy, but being that go-to-scoring type, because he's an elite athlete. And his ball handling is a shifty guard, a shifty wing. But, like, there are certain flaws that he had in college, like the vision, the field, the field. things like that, but the ability was all there. And we're starting to see that. I think after a year of working with Chip England as well,

his shot looks a bit better, a bit smoother. So for him, it's like, hmm, does he have star potential? Is there a star lane here from Chris? If you see him in, if his summer league performances are indicative of not all of it translating, because the competition level is obviously nowhere close to what you are seeing on a nightly basis.

But for 20 years old. I would tell you that. if Lonnie Walker became a star player in the NBA, it would not surprise me. He does some really special stuff, and he is a mega athlete. I mean, there are a couple of drives where, I mean, this guy is cocking it back like like slam dunk contest dunks. I mean, he can really get above the rim. And so when you find guys with that kind of athleticism that can also knock down shots,

you've got the components. you've got the components to be able to be, you know, if you're a smart player that's like a crazy athlete who can also shoot, yeah, you've got a chance at being a star. Yeah, the go-to scoring ability is the ticket for him. Yep. You know, I didn't love him in the draft. I had him ranked 13th or 14th, you know, late lottery guy.

We went 18. Yeah, I think that was fair. I think that was fair for a ranking. You know, with him, he has, like for him, he had good touch in college, the street of the percentage. is we're not great. But he shot the ball well from three in a limited sample last season with San Antonio. He didn't do any much else well on the offensive end of the floor.

But he looks to be a guy that's going to get more opportunity this year. And maybe after De Rosen is gone at some point, then Lonnie Walker will be ready to step into an elevated role. But yeah, he looks unbelievable, man. And we'll see how he develops because he wasn't great last year in limited opportunity. But he only played 17 games. Number seven, you have a. hell of a impression made by Jackson Hayes. Jackson Hayes, and this is not hyperbole or being prisoner of the moment, that was one of

the greatest dunks I've seen. It was unbelievable. The dunk that became incredibly viral. And it shows what kind of an athlete this guy is. And when you are talking about Zion Williamson in the mix on this team and this kid, holy mackerel. This is going to be the run for the hills or end up on a poster team. Because between him and Zion and their ability to elevate and what they are going to do to people

that try to get in their way and stop them from talking. I mean, you've got two guys that can jump over people. And it wasn't just that. I mean, he's got 28 points in the game. He blocks some shots. He's very active. And he is a fascinating prospect, to say the least, because, you know, as the story goes, he was a football kid who grew up playing football and then hit this huge growth spurt. And so he wasn't somebody that was on the national radar since he was 13 or 14, like many of his peers, right?

It was later that he kind of jumped onto the scene and became somebody that was coveted in recruiting circles. and so it came to him later. It is not totally, it's a little reminiscent of, and I don't want to say this, listen, he's nowhere near the prospect the kid is. But story-wise, it reminds me when I hear about it of Davis, right, who was a guard, Anthony Davis, who was a guy that was always like, you know,

a smaller guard, and then he hit this massive growth spurt, and then it's like, oh my God. Like if he keeps the skills that he has had, he was an afterthought as a perimeter guy. And then when he sprouts up to become this 6-11 mega athlete, it's now, oh my goodness, if all of this stuff can be refined, you have this insanely special player. And there are certainly moments where you see Hayes and you go,

boy, there is really, really something there. When you are that size and that agile, and with the ability to jump like that, if you can learn the game, right, and play a role within the game and find out what you are best at doing, which at least he's already really good at doing one thing. We know that.

It's like you said, he's agile. Interesting. He's not just a leaper. He's agile. He's coordinated. And the skill that really does carry over from football, he's a wide receiver, is the hands.

He has really good hands. He can catch the low passes, high passes. It doesn't matter where you throw it, he's going to get the ball. And he's not going to double-cutch the ball either. He's somebody who is a coordinated player who can fluidly transition from a dribble

or from like catching a lob and dunking the ball or laying it up with good touch as well. So I think for him, he's not just going to be a dunker. He's a guy who can hit those shots near the rim within a couple feet of the rim. Over time, like you mentioned AD

in the sense that it's like a guy who had a growth spurt. Like he's not AD. He's not going to be coming. but maybe he can become over time like a I mean we compared him to Clint Capella and the draft guy I think he'd be better

than Capella. Copella was somebody when he came into the league he was not as fluid like Capella was like ball handling wasn't great his decision making was not great slow to read the floor and Hayes has some of those flaws as well but he's more fluid and he has better hands

and for him I'm gonna be most curious to see how does he defend as a rookie because he obviously is athletic. He plays hard, and he's going to be somebody who it works hard over the course of the season too. So how does he get better over time at reading the floor?

That, to me, is going to be the most interesting development to monitor for him, because there's no doubt about the rim running, as you said, where does his defense start and where does it end the season? For me, that's going to be the most exciting thing to watch. With this, dude, like, we didn't see Zion, but Hayes and Nikale Alexander Walker. In my Ringer article.

By the way. Yes. Because of your incredible brain, he was the first guy on your list as well. He was. And he looked awesome in yesterday's game. I did not see it live, but I did see the highlights.

And, dude, all the positives that he had in college, decision making, reading the floor, versatility as a playmaker or as a secondary score. Both hands,

too. He can shoot with both hands. Like, I mean, he is just a mega talent. He is so skilled. He can shoot with the right hand and the wrong hand.

I couldn't resist. He can finish. No reason to throw that in there. But if you watch him, he can finish with both. Oh, yeah. He can finish with both. And he passes with both of his hands. He does everything where you can watch highlights of him.

And if I told you he's left-handed, you'd believe it. And if I told you he's right-handed, did you believe it? Which is, that is not all that common. Yeah, he's, I mean, David Griffin had a great, great year. Man, did he? did he have because it's not just Zion they got Alexander Walker and Hayzer super super appealing interesting prospects have a chance to be good for a long time and no book has been written on Lanzo or or on uh or on ingram or maybe even Hart like who knows what heart's good

ends up being hearts already a good role player yeah so uh it's super super off season for sure and if you're a Pelicans fan you got to be all jacked up about what you were going to see this year the last name we are going to cover is the man who has gotten the most reaction inside of the arena, save Zion Williamson. The second most buzz, cheers, whatever you want to call it, has been for Taco Fall. Taco Fall.

He was playing for the Boston Celtics. He's playing for the Boston Celtics Summer League team. And every time he is in the game, every time he gets the ball, every time he dunks or challenge. is a shot, the crowd is going crazy. It is like a, he's like a cult hero out here. It is hysterical. It's unbelievable to watch, man.

Tago Fall, after four years, it was not a good player to start a college career, ended it solid. And now he's got an opportunity here. Can he be a Boban Marjanovitch? That's what it feels like. You know, he can't shoot like Boban, which is the big weakness here. But Taka, like, he's not just a stiff. He can move a little bit.

As a big seven-foot-six guy, right? I mean, like, does he have a shot, Chris? Or is he just a Summer League star? Does he have a chance? Are you signing Taco Fall as the 15th man on your roster? Hell no. Why? What?

You want to sell some jerseys? He shoots. Get kids excited about basketball. I give him a two-way so I can draw some people to the games. I mean, look, Ken, he shot 30% for the free throw line. Like, I mean, it's impossible. Yesterday, I had a guy sitting two seats to my room. right. And so Taco Falls

free throw for him. He kind of brings it up. And he pauses at the top of his release as if his arm like just freezes. A guy sitting to my right is like, is there a balk in basketball? A balk, yeah. A balk, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. And it's like, oh, maybe there should be for Taco Falls free throw. He's like, he

cannot shoot at all. Oh, who was the guy that did that? That paused. And they, and, and, and everybody would cross the line. There's an NBA player for a long, long time that would, that would pause when they were about to shoot their free throw and people would... I know Jermaine O'Neill did for a while.

No, no, no, that people would jump over the line. Like, there were routinely the violations that had taken place. But I can't remember who it was that was the guy. Maybe it was Anthony Mason, that may be right. See if you can look it up. Pause at free throw line.

Because that would be the... There was a guy that would stop, like mid-motion. and then people would jump across the line right before or right when they were waiting for the guy to shoot. But I can't remember who it was. I mean, you have had to. This is a little paragraph. I think it was Anthony Mason. Rolling Stone wrote,

Witness one of the oddest examples of free throw form in NBA history. Oh, that's somebody else. That's sorry. No, it was Anthony Mason. Anthony Mason would like stop. And then you've had, I mean, there was the, there was the one. Yes. There was a shack would have that weird like shot put thing.

Chuck Hayes also had a really weird one. But anyways, Taco Fall, back to him. Kevin. He's also. All right. The dude was in college for 15 years. Like if he's still shooting free throws at 30%, like something ain't getting fixed. It's not like he played one year of college.

He was in Central Florida. I mean, the thing I put up every time that Memphis would play Taco Fall every year, that's a damn vine. Vine's been gone. for like half a decade. All right? So Taco Falls been around forever. Yeah, he has.

But it is fun to watch him. It's awesome to watch him. I love watching Taco Fall. And by all accounts, great kid. He's an unbelievable guy from what I've heard. I hope he gets an opportunity somewhere in a two-way. Seven foot six guy. Bobon is the construct for him.

Like to become Bobon, but Bobon is a good shooter. Can you go in? He's got a mid-range shot. He's great from the free-thri-line. Taco Fall anytime he's in the game, you're going to intentionally follow him. Oh, yeah. Yes.

And here's the thing. Can you go in for four minutes and grab three rebounds and block two shots? Go in for four minutes at the end of the game. When a fan, like it's a blowout and fans are sticking around. Yeah. Kids are buying Taco Fall shirts. Yep. Selling merch.

And he's a fan favorite and a fun guy to have in the locker room. And in certain matchups against other bigs, maybe a guy can be a stopper perhaps. Yeah. For like eight minutes here and there. Yeah. Who knows? Maybe we'll see him. He's been a joy to watch, though.

What a blast, Tiger Fall. Last thing, things we've done in Vegas. We do want to just run through these real quick. You and I both ate at Momofuku, which is Dave Chang's restaurant here in Las Vegas inside the cosmopolitan. It was outstanding. Oh, my goodness. I mean, that is not one of those, like, you know, sometimes you go to these restaurants and they want to make it an experience. And they certainly do make it an experience there.

Like, it is, it's unforgettable. It is. I'll give it, I will certainly give it that. That if you go, you will remember the dining experience that you had there. And it was great. Went there? I think the, we got, what was your favorite thing on the menu that we got? I would, I think probably the lamb ribs.

Yeah, those lamb ribs are awesome. I love the pork chop. Yeah. We got the tasting of the country hams. The hand was unbelievable. I don't know where you got that country ham, but it was outstanding. I've never had ham. Hair.

Yes, it was great. Ham is not something I really care for, but that I just couldn't. There's like a delicacy. Yes, it was delicious. There was some beef thing, beef, too, something like that. We were so high class. How high class are we? The beef was unbelievable.

Just sit around with our pinkies out, eating Momofuku. No big whoop. It was one of those meals where it's like every single bite. Everything was great. Every single bite. Everything was great. You have seen a couple of shows. You've gotten to see our friend Christian Stoynev, who is an NBA halftime performer,

big ringer NBA show. Formerly on America's good talent. Listener. That's right. When people say, who's he? I say he's the muscular shirtless guy with the cute little dog. That's right. I'm like, oh, I've seen him. I saw him at this game or that game or I'm on the show.

The act is Christian and Scooby. And they are part of a show out here called Opium, which is on the second floor of the Cosmopolitan. And you were able to go on Sunday night. You might be going Thursday, correct? Might be going Thursday night. And it was awesome. Oh,

it was awesome. It's just an awesome, awesome time. It's highly recommend going to see opium. It's a, the Cosmo, right? Cosmo,

yeah. It's just a good time, like 90 minutes of good, you know, you were entertained the whole time. It's like the talent on stage is unbelievable. Yes. It's like if Christian doing his balancing with Scooby,

then you have like the guy doing bubbles, like the most amazing bubble show you'll ever see in your life. Really? Tap dancing. Yeah. They have a rotating set of people that go on stage and perform as well as a little script and live music as well, which was different than the show that I saw last night. But with Opium, they have a live band there playing. And the singer that they have is incredibly talented.

Great performances. It's funny, raunchy. Don't bring your kids. But Opium is great. Have you seen Absinth? Have you seen that yet? I saw that last night. The first year.

It's made by the same people who do opium. The first year I came to Summer League, I went to Absinth, and I will tell you, Kevin. It was one of the most, I rarely have been more entertained from start to finish than I was when I, I mean, I laughed or was marveling at everything that happened straight for like 90 minutes. I mean, it got in great reviews. I had heard good things about it. It's very politically incorrect. Oh, yeah. It is also

It is also absolutely hysterical And I loved it. I loved it. I thought it was funny And I thought the acts were just insane. Like the talent that these people have. And it's stuff that you never see anywhere else. I don't know if they still have it.

You could tell me because the shows were different. But there was a, there was an act. And I believe it's a brother and sister duo that at one point during the show does they come out on roller skates. Oh yeah, the roller skaters. They're still there? Close the show last night, yeah. And there is a guy that is spinning around.

I'm talking as fast as you can imagine someone spinning on roller skates and the girl is on his shoulders. The only thing that is attaching her to him is imagine her feet being on his shoulders like they're like hooked to the back of his shoulders, almost like if you were trying to do a sit-up or something. And he is spinning. around furiously and she is, he's not holding on to her with his arms. And she's somehow staying on there.

And I'm like, if I, if he slips at all, she's going to fly into the crowd and kill somebody. I mean, everything about that show was insane. The host did say before they came on, he's like, you know, with a lot of expletives. In between, he's like, don't stand up, you're going to get kicked in the face. During our end this next day. It was great. And it's true. Like, there are a certain times.

were like he's swinging her and like her head was like inches from the ground. And they were another act that was on America's Good Town. I mean, I had seen them before. When they first got on stage, I was like, oh, I've seen them before. And they were unbelievable. At your show, did you see the security guards?

I don't know. So there's these two security guards, super muscular guys with a combined 1% body fat. Yes. And they just sort of like, pick each other up. That's what they do. Yeah, they strip down and it's just incredible athletic achievement. There's one point where like, I don't know how to describe it exactly, but it's like the guy's head is like leaning on.

So one guy's standing up and the other guy is upside down. It's like doing a head stand with his head next to the guy's head. Like next to the guy's head. And he's like just sticking straight up in the hair. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. Everything, everything about that show is ridiculous. and unforgettable, to say the least.

Very funny. I'm politically incorrect, like you said. Fun to be in Las Vegas for this summer league. Also, awesome to get to do the mismatch in person, which we rarely get to do as we are on different parts of the country. But it has been a fun week so far here in Las Vegas, and you can continue to hear about what has happened at the ringer.com and also listen to the podcast as they are coming through this week.

No doubt it. And, you know, so many people came by our ringer booth. Yep. And we met a ton of fans. Thank you to everybody who said hello. Yep. People were, you know, asked with my family and my dad and everything. You know, it was like super cool, having people, you know, again, share their own stories and all that. Super cool.

There's a lot of fans love the ringer. It's cool. Yep. Oh, and I will tell you my favorite one. I'll tell you my favorite one of somebody that came by. So my dear friend, Kristen Ledlow, who everybody knows from NBA TV, I've known Chris for a very long time. I'm not speaking out of school here. People know she recently got married.

Yeah. Guy she married is a guy from. It's on social media. Yeah. Guy she married is a guy from Fiji, right? That's where he's from. He's Fijian, I think is how you say it. Anyway, he's been like a rugby fan, right?

He doesn't really care about basketball all that much until he starts going out with her. And obviously that's her job. So he starts watching basketball. And he starts getting into it. And he starts listening to a podcast. Yeah. And we're his favorite. Wow.

Big in Fiji. Big with the Fijian population. Yeah. Of all things. A guy that has just got into basketball because he likes our chemistry and likes the way that we laugh about stuff and don't take it all too seriously. And so that was my favorite one. I was so proud of that when Kristen told me. And then I got to meet him while we were here.

That's great. Because I met up with Kristen. You're recorded with her, right? I did for my local show. And that was super cool to meet him. And for a guy, he's just, he's just getting into the NBA, right? Because his wife worked with the NBA.

Like, all right, I'm going to watch her. So he ends up watching the games because he's being supportive. I met an executive from a team who who said, my wife is going to be happy than a meeting here. And I was like, why? He's like, because she loves your beef with Shea. Oh, that's great. That's great.

She's like, he said she's like, it's her favorite thing about the NBA is NBA Twitter. It's all the arguing and all the debating, all the joking, all the memes. Well, it's great to see everybody out here. That's the best thing about it.

Certainly, thank you to all of you that came up to Kevin and I throughout the week in Las Vegas. It's going to do it for us from Las Vegas. If you dig what you're here and go give us a rating and review on iTunes and we will talk to you next week.