Wyndham Clark's U.S. Open Victory

This episode is brought to you by Holiday In by IHG If I'm ever traveling for work Where I stay is so important I actually really care about this because sometimes I even have to do a podcast and wherever I'm staying Um In general, I don't go on the road that much, but when I go on the road to be in a nice hotel with a nice room. I'm spoiled If you sound like me Check out holiday in It has a whole new energy, especially for business travelers. You'll see it everywhere from refreshed rooms to reimagined social spaces. Dining done right New drinks Dishes business, there are flexible spaces that work for the way. You were It's a new day. and a new stay at Holiday Inn This episode of the Bill Smans podcast is presented by PayPal clutch move and you see one, a no look pass, a buzzer beater, a big steel. Well, imagine if your' wallet pull off moves like that. my friends, is PayPal. Right now you can find offers from hundreds of brands like Sony All birds and Vioter and save offers before you check out. Unlimited rewards. pllus you can add those rewards on top of credit card points Now that clutch. Download the PayPal app today Save those offers Start scoring rewards. Terms and exclusions apply. See payPal d. com slash rewards terms, credit card points subject to issuers terms and conditions Bill Simmonss podcast we are liive on Netflix. We had Zach Low and something happened and he just disappeared like two minutes before we went live, But that's fine. I can I can carry the very top here because I want to tell you we have a new rewatchables we have two com in this week. We have from Hell month still going. reallyally strong. We have domestic disturbance coming on Monday And then the good son. is going to be Thursday. And then the next Monday We' been doing Pacific Heights, so Three more from Hell movies, then we'll get into a more regular schedule after that. Check out all of our Ringer basketball podcasts, by the way, because we have the draft on Tuesdayight. I am going live. on Netflix. Hopefully Zach's U laptop will be working Its our computer and camera will be working at some point. he will have a show. I think on Monday. We're going to have on my show on Tuesday on Netflix It's going to be Joe House because his team has the number and pick and that's the rule of House has the number and pick We're good. and then Jay Kyle Man will be joining us. as well. And now Zach Low, I think Is this working, Zach? How are we feeling? Are we Are we live? Am I back? We're liive. I just did my intro. Let's go. Oh my Godd. Okaykay. my computer just died. it came back to life. I don't know what happened. I don't know what's gonna happen, but I just I popped into Netflix just like that. I'm live. Okay. You did. Iuries I thought the bucks or the Miami heat or Miami media members might have sabotaged your feed So we could talk about the trade. We have The honest Trade hostage crisis. What day three o five, D three hundred seven. I don't know how long this has been going. We were kind of hoping it would happen this weekend. I think I think it's going to happen tomorrow, sadly, not not good for our podcast. mayaybe, not good for you with whatever week you had planned out. But I think it's going to happen tomorrow And I just am' discounting ninety five percent of everything I'm reading. So we're at the very top of this podcast. We're talking honest quick. talk are just knowingough enough about the draft to be dangerous takes And then I have a mega mail bag that I'm going to bring you into. And then at the tail end Joe House is going to tell us what happened in the US openp. So be honest, triter, arere you surprised? it has not happened yet? Are you tired of talking about it? Where are you? I'm not surprised it hasn't happened yet. totally understand both why Milwaukee wants to take this as far as possible and why other teams are perhaps a little frustrated with Milwaukee's communication style. I understand all of it. I understand every party involved. I kind of thought it would be done by now. They clearly want to do it before the draft. their owner, Jimmy Hazlam came out and said we'd like to do it before the draft if he's not going to extend I thought it would happen before now. I still would lean to it happening before the draft like you I'm not frustrated to B like I just It's just got to roll off your back. There's nothing you can do. Am I going to a World Cup game on Tuesday? Am I tentatively throwing out the first pitch at City field tomorrow? whether perbiding whetatherher permitting like all those things are happening. It's just nothing I can do. I can't control these variables. I got I just got to roll with it. Its got to roll with it pieace Peace, Srerenity now, Srendity now is all I can do. Is this the highlight of the metet season? you're throwing up the first pitch? I can't think of any other highlights. I mean the st. The state of the rotation is such that you would not be the first one of my friends to joke that hey, if I look good, they might have to throw me out there for a few innings, just eatat some eat some innings for them Well you could be like like the Eddie Harrison major League Crafting over forty Hey Row John So with the honest honest thing, my feeling has not changed for a week I think they know what Miami's offer is. It can only be so far Um They're not putting bam in it. So at that point it's pretty easy to figure out everything that's in it and they're just waiting on Boston to see if Boston. going to top the offer or maybe they're trying to get them to add stuff to the offer that already happened Um I still think I would still bet on Boston. And as we talked about last week, I'm still conflicted about that. I don't feel great about be honest trade, but th there's been some stuff floating around in the last week that that I don't want to discount, but I just don't believe. Like I think Hio if if it ends up being Miami, I think Hio is appealing to Milwaukee. He's from Wisconsin I think that would be a piece they want Um, I don't Once we start getting into three team or four teamer stuff, I just become a little more suspicious. And the other piece is I think Kzmo is the honest tax for this trade for whoever gets him And I haven't seen that really anywhere in a real way. but For Miami, it would have to be Wiggins being in the trade and then Czma going back to Miami. He's an expiring deal. I think they just want to move off him. And then for the Celtics, I think that might be a piece of this. L if it is going to be Yonest and Jallen as the principples, the Celtics have this trade exception And I think the honest tax would be, well, you have to also take Kzma So I wonder if that's a piece of this. Have you heard anything about that? It's a great call. I have not dug so deep as to get into the cusma sediment layer of this, but It makes a lot of sense, particularly for Miami because I think they would like to end up with Wiggins and Powell, who's an unrestricted free agent on this theoretical bam Jonest team. bothoth of them, not just one of them because they're going to be scrambling to fill out the team. They have lost Roger as a salary matching tool, which makes it even more difficult to do that And it's doable keeping both of them If it's just Yanis. if it's Yonis plus a tiny salary, but if it's Yonis plus another twenty million or whatever Kuza is making It becomes very, very hard and then there you get into the concerns that I think are very real for Miami is like if we do this and all our first round picks are out the door and Yakachunus is out the door and all our young guys are out the door, what is it going to amount to? You could argue like what is the present state of the team? going to amount to But at least you have some optionality down the line for whoever the next star That becomes available is, but like, you know, as Miami has seen, A, you never know who it's going to be and B, you may not get them. like you didn't get Damien Lureer. you haven't got Kev Durant. you may not get Y honest now Right. And then on top of it, you're getting a guy that hasn't made even the conference finals in five years. who has had trouble staying healthy, who's thirty one, thirty two years old and you're banking that he's going to completely change your playoff destin. So the more you put in the trade the less likely that goes. But like if Wiggins and Kuzma have to be the extxtra piece for a Miami trade Now you don't have herero weare z and Wiggins, you're just removing all those guys out U and you're basically just you have to You know, bring back Norman Powell, you have Janas, you have Bam. Um, and then you're just kind of doing the Miami zombie thing trying to revive careers all over the place You're probably still in a better spot than you were at forty three and thirty nine losing a playing game But I also don't think So we'll see. Boston's a little different because I think They could talk themselves into This Tatum Jayalen thing might have reached the end Jalen got a taste of being the guy And now we're resetting the team. We're going to be more inside outside and hopefully we can ride Yanas for three years here Um I understand it. I don't agree with it. So How much if you're if you are Brad Stevens How much extra are you gonna put in? Be you know they're just they're asking for Derek White. I'm just making this up to be clear, but just like Derek White plus two first round picks. What about Jayen Brown plus two picks and a swap? likeike what's your threshold of pick? would't I wouldn't do that at all. You're just going likeike one for one and we're done. That's it. take it it Yeah, I'm not taking Yianis, but also getting rid of Derek White. likeike part of the reason to get Yanis would be that you still have Derek White and he's like the perfect guy to play with Yanis. agreed if he makes me I would suck it up with Kusma And if it's like Yanis plus the Kusma trade exception thing for Jalen I think that's a that's a pretty fair trade. Jalen was one of the, you know, the eight or nine best players in the league last year and he's not even thirty years old yet. And then if you're Milwaukee, the way the new lottery rules are you're more competitive than you were and you still have a chance to flip Jay in. I still I'm still rooting for the scenario with the Celtics. if they've decided that they actually have to move Jalen, I think there's other teams that I would rather look at than Janis Cliippers number five was on the table Um if New Orleans with Murphy and Herb Jones and patching together a bunch of contracts and try to reset and have more flexibility. I would still prefer that over the Janis It' what's not a Hil Mary, but it's a little bit of a hail Mary. What's coming with the number five pick because you're you're trying to you're trying to you're going for the title or the the trying to win this coming season, right? So are you getting Kawi in the number five pick? That seems like much for the clippers ever do. like what's coming with I think it Coins Collins in the five and maybe one more thing. Collins is a free agent, isn't he? Is Cin but can't you team option him and keep him so you can trade him. I thought you I think he's unrestricted. Is he unrestricted?s He's unrestricted. Yeah. All right. Well, he's out. But the Cippers have a ton of cap space though, so I guess I mean, that wouldd be part of the deal, right? You could just do Jaylen and the fiveive as the principlals. because the Cippers really only have Kawaiian Garland as their big contracts I just think the clippers look. Again I can't sit here and claim that, Ohh yeah I've been on the phone with everybody with the clippers and they're telling me exactly what their plans are. Anyone sort ofp posturing like that is lying to you. but I just think This this pick from Indiana is such a gift from the basketball and the lottery gos. such a rare opportunity for a franchise that has not had any after the Sheay Kai Paul George trade to not quite reset, but to at least get a blue chip young guy in the door. att least I have a shot of like this guy could be on our team for twelve years and be really good I just don't see them passing it up for like, hey, if we get Jailen Brown, Jayalen plus Ket plus Garland. like we might be able to throw a couple punches at the Spurs in the Thunder and everyone else in the. I just don't see them doing that. That's just my gut though. That's not reporting. That's just my gut I think you might be right. I was thinking of the Bogdonovge contract, not Collins because Coins has the team Bogdonovich is a team option for like sixteen Um But the Cippers are still way under the cap and could do stuff. But New Orleans would be the other one. I don't know what to make of a land anymore. Like I thought it was interesting today. They extended McCollum for one year for twenty one, which I thought was really smart They had the eight pack Um the weirdest part of this draft is the fifth and sixth are both point guard picks and yet the teams that have those picks have point guards. which is one of the many things that make this complicated. If I had to bet I still think Boozer goes to Utah. I wouldn't bet my life on it, but Um I still feel like I'm leaning boozer versus Rolling the dice with Peterson. Peterson goes three. Wilson goes four I think the quippers that they stay at five have to take while they're I think Mel Michuel Brown goes six A cuff seven to Sacramento And then Atlanta is the first one that um Really on the edge of my seat for. I don't know what to make of them And it would seem like Flemings makes a lot of sense. They could go nuts and take a center Um, If I were them, I would take Brandon Burris I just think that I just think he's the best player that's available at number eight, but would it Do you feel like Atlanta is the pivot team Why? Why would why would the cllippers not take Burries? Is that too much of a reach at five If I were them, I would take Bures and five, but I don't feel like I feel like in the rankings. probablyroably a couple spots behind those other guys. I think he's pretty consensus eight nine. Now they might not care and have their own rankings But I think for him, he's a much better bet. I love Birth. I feel the same way about him that I about Castle two years ago. I think he's a guaranteed really good pro The Hawks have eight and twenty three and a ball handler makes a lot of sense for them because you saw like once once Trey went out, they kind of cobbled together. a functional offense have screens and cuts in motion. then as soon as they got McCoum, it was like, o a real high level skilled ball handler. chang the complete changes the dynamics of the team completely. They're really hard to guard. It's really hard to hide any bad defenders against them. They need a ball handler like Jelen Johnson, not quite an numberborn ball handler and Nikil Alexander Walker same deal. So it make a lot of sense for them to take a swing at one of those guys with that pick It's also like an interesting first trade ship to like are they going to cobble things together and try to get Treay Murphy I third or somebody like that. I don't know, but I agree they're in a very interesting spot. I have a I have a follow up. Well by the way in the Hawks at twenty three You have all these I think guards that have a chance to be really good. and I just feel like one of them' going to fall And you might be able to get a corey the Point guard He's like six one, he's a little Kembble Walkery. Christian Anderson could be around there Um they you just might be able to get one of those guys at twenty three and get a blue you get Burus at eight. There's like one version of him in the draft. like just an old school two way two guard And then hope you get lucky with a point guard later I have a Celtics question for you You mentioned has the Tatum Brown thing run its course the other side of that coin is The Celtics have been extremely quiet and extremely careful about this wholely honest thing. It's all been sources say The Celtics are interested in Yana. sources say there have been talks, whatever The leak that says specifically Jayen Brown has been offered for Yanis has not really come out yet. It's just everyone making the very logical, no other way to do it deduction And then there was a brief like, well, could they do it without including Jala Brown, which I didn't buy for second. I don't think there's any way to do it. But my point is the Celtics have been, I think very careful because they know haaving done this dance a little bit with Durant and Brooklyn that there's collateral damage to a guy who thinks He's been offered They can probably plausibly go to him now and be like, hey, man, like it was never out there that we explicitly offered you. likeike just ignore all that stuff Do you think that is too far gone, like that collateral are you worried about that kind of collateral damage if this doesn't happen? And how does he how does Jen Brown feel about it? Is there still a path forward I mean, I said a week and a half ago. I know they made an offer And they' they're definitely involved in this and they're definitely the other team. Like there's no question The bigger question to me is how much does Jayalen Brown even care My fear with all of this and maybe this is part of the reason they're thinking about blowing it up but changing whatever they're doing is that He got a legitimate taste at being the guy last year and having his own team. And that's a real thing. and that's something that has submarined a lot of MBA teams over the course of history and has is something that's subarined O facets of life. Like I jokelen was talking about the wire when Avon went to jail and Stringer Bell took over the business and was kind of the guy running thing and then Avon came back and they and that's the TV fictionalized version of it But when you have a taste and it's your team And you're the guy Pre prettyty tough to just be like, okay Here you go. I kept it warm for you And I think what's different than a couple years ago is that Um You know, if Jayalen had his own team, I don't think he's shedding tears over that And I also think he's since the season ended. It's just done a lot of like Small things that make you go That was like two two nineties song lyrics in a row. All the small things, I guess that's post nineties and things that make you go h all just sandwiched together. nicely done. There there was someitch You're not enjoying the Twitch stream the Twitch, this was the best season of my career Tatum hasn't come on the Twitch. It's like all these little tiny things where I still don't have a lot of hardcore evidence that these guys are fired up to play basketball with each other for the next ten years. I would rather it worked out and they stayed together because I think that's the rarest thing you can have in sports I just dubious that it will. But you've done not to derail the mail bag. I'm sorry, but you've done a very smart thing, which is This is There's so much yonest mania that this is being framed as Yonice or bust. and it doesn't have to be. You can canvass the league for jail and brown trades However, I will say just scanning and I remember doing this at the time findinding the one if this is your priority and I think it should be keeps you at or near the top of the east with like a reasonable championship equity next season is not like the clippers one that you propose does not do that in my opinion. It's a huge stepback for the team. So like I remember I remember landing in places like Houston that that have a lot of just stuff that and picks that they could throw in And I just I'm struggling to remember sort of who else fits the bill is like here's Well The Pelicans are the other one. That's why you have Murphy and Jones and all that. There just aren't that many who can throw back Here. Here's some stuff that is different than Jal and Brown but keeps you at a fifty eight to sixty win pace, which is what they've been at Well, the only thing with that Cipperers one is you're resetting your salary in like a pretty crazy way becausecause with theQipper is able to take on his money and you basically take that fifth pit back plus you had the trade exception. now you really have flexibility a bunch of different. Like like what about like I remember thinking about like like and I don't think either ofam. I don't think Cleveland would do this, but like a Jayelen Brown from Boby. Like that would be the kind of thing that I'm talking about where it's like here's another pathway that's not yon us, but satisfies that makes us just as good now. as we are and And it's just hard to find. those deals are really hard to make We have a fake trade in the mail bag. Oh good That's another one for this. But yeah. I mean, he's making high fifties So any trade unless you're getting a draft pickback and a bunch of flexibility, you're looking at another guy who's in that range and a team that's probablyably sting it the same way. I guess the bigger thing for me is with the I think the Kicks have at least a two year run here where they're going to be really hard to beat because of the team they've assembled all the guys at the right points of their career and there's a real selflessness with this. L the model for them would be what happened with the seventies through seventy three Kicks where they won two titles, were able to stay together even like the zo eight to twenty twelve Celtics So you kind of know that's the team That's the bar you have to beat. That's a team that feels like they can beat Boston as O like or later the early two thousands pistons who only get one, but are in the deep in the confers for a half decade and probably should have gotten another one in there somewhere. Yeah. they have a really special guy, which that pistons team did not have. The piston team was a totality Brunson is unlike anything that piston team out. dismiss the next repeat chance at your apparel. That's all this is a really, really good team and if they' they're help they're deep, they're smart. they know how to play. They're incredible problem solvers. somethingomething magical happen to them in this playoff run that is like maybe it's completely sustains. mayaybe it doesn't. But like I think they're going to be a force for the as long as they can keep this cps together Yeah, and Brad, his press conference was so telling right after the draft for the Celtics. where he was clearly like really and really publicly unhappy for the first time in a while. Not just that they lost to a team. I think he thought they were better than, but He just Didn't know if this style worked anymore. And even if you go back, we have a great mailback question coming up about thatzero four Celtics team That team was still able to play more inside outside than the team last year. That team last year ultimately was Threes and jump shots and weirdly Pichard as the only inside outside guy. So I'm prepared for anything with them. I don't know what's going to happen. And I still feel like I still feel like it's going to be honest And then I'm gonna have to spend the summer talking myself into it. Souff honestly, that is a really appealing part of it for me. I just want to witness you coming to grips with it and then going all the other way of like why this would be the perfect fit the I've loved Janis all shape his career. he's totally rested. I'll talk myself into it. And it's the same thing. like I said last month about if Miami gets him Wherever Yonest goes, the team And the content from that team is going to be way more fun. right? Last year, we were in this Yonest situation Really where it was just like, this is just a wasted asset for us to watch and discuss. And wherever he goes It's going to be a lot more fun. The other thing I want to see with this draft ee the eleven twelve range of golden state picking right before OKC Um And I'm sure you've heard this too These teams now that see it through the prism of I'm tired of watching OKC just nail the draft. How would they be thinking about these guys in the spot I'm in? And there's a couple like classic OKC guys in this range right after that top eight where Yaxel Um Moris Johnson, like these are just guys that Okayy will pick and then you'll you'll get texts from twenty teams being like fuck. Okaykay see did it again And I wonder if that's going to change how people see the draft with their own spot It's like Even attlanta at eight or the Warriors at eleven, like I, I wonder what OKC would do here I will call you I heard you say that was Leglar a couple days ago I will say that the Spurs had that kind of reaction maybe ten, twelve years ago where they would take a guy and be like, I remember vividly this happened with Kyle Anderson like, oh, of course the Spurs steel Kyyle Anderson. And then it turns out he's just like, whatever. Like it sometimes he's like, oh, of course they drafted this guy turn into like, of course the Spurs drafted Josh Primo. What is steel he's going to be? Oh yeah, that was that a steel. Okay So just you feel then care play with o D you you' awayay with it All right, aggregate that Zaclow says Presty overrated. Oh, I didn' Zlow viscerates Dan Presty We're takaking We're taking a quick break. Oh good And then I have an awesome mega mail bag and Zach can recover from a viscerating. S pressure right after this This episode is brought to you by Miclobe Ultra. We're in the heart the World Cup Look at these little special bottles for Micolob Bulttra Every play matters here. FIFA World Cup twenty six for you Mistakes. or just aside. Mich Lobuchch are the official beer sponsor of FIFA World Cup twenty six is giving you a chance to win one million dollars worth of tickets and prizes. Micolobltra pitch. Four periors worth playing for. Eter now at Miclob Ultra. com slash superior access slash FIFA World Cup T six Micolo Bulttra a F four World Cup twenty six superior access Purchase necessary, open a US residence twenty one plus begins on december first, twenty twenty five ends On july thirty first, twenty twenty six multiple entry periods Visit WWW d. miclobltra. com slash superior access slash FIFA World Cup twenty six for free entry, entry deadlines, prizes, and details All right, mail bag time. All right Some really good ones. This is from, I hope I pronounced this correctly, Pacho in Dusselorf, Germany He threw you in this mailbag question. Okay. He said I want to know how you and Zach think a tournament of the last eight Champions would actually shake out Here's how the seeding landed based on wind percentage Number one is OKC two Boston, three Lakers for Toronto Five Nicks, six nuggets, seven wers and eight bucks How does it shake out? So first round would be OKC one versus Bucks eight. Boston and Golden State, Denver and the Lakers and Nicks. Toronto So let's let's go through the one eight. I have okayK see over the bucks in five twenty fifteen, twenty five OKC against that twenty one bucks team. I think I think the Thunder handled them I didn't make specific games picks, but I took the thunder it's a Thunder and six. I'll give Yonest a couple games Yonest throughre H holiday, Chris Middleton, I'll give a couple of games for sure. Okay I think OKC was better. That bucks team. God bless them. Great team. They got a really nice pack Honiton playoff run Middleton was great U I just think the OKC team was really good. Celtics, the twenty four version going against the twenty two warriors. So they almost beat the twenty two warriors And that twenty fourteen, I think was just better the guys were older, more experienced. I have to sadly take the Celtics. I think it's the Celtics. You put you throw Ju Holiday and Por Zinggas into the mix and it's just the depth and versatility are a different animal than those warriors could could summon, I think. Yeah. But congratul listen, there's no losers. These are eight champions. We're not We're not downing any of these You're setting me up for for some inflammatory All of these are wonderful teams, great teams and one ofes. onene of the common themes we're going to run into is we debate the merits of them. And I focused like on matchups and like how they would match up with each other and what they look like in the playoffs more than like regular season win totals and net ratings because if we you're going to do that way, just pick the twenty five Thunder the whole way if you're going to do just it that way. And you're going to run into like debating the the difficulty of their playoff paths to the title like and that's a common, it turns out that's like a common thing. You don't always get the twenty eleven Mavericks path where you just have to beat all the best teams. likeike a lot of these teams in the moment, people said, well, they didn't have to play this team. They didn't have to play that team. It's actually pretty common Denver over the Wakers sets twenty three Denver against the twenty Lakers and that twenty Lakers team did have This is where it gets complicated because KCP is KCP is in both in both teams I don't know what we do with that. I think about that. double KCP. Caruso was on that Laker team as well. They had Rondo Aya I just think Yokage had the Lakers number over the last few years there and I would take Denver over the Lakers in six or seven would be my pick. I'm going nuggets in seven B player And the best version of that team I think that we've seen the twenty three nuggets. We're going peak against peak, right? We're going like peak form twenty three nuggets versus twenty ls. That twenty Lers is a really good team. I have always been Lakers fans a proponent of like the bubble title counts just the same as all other titles. It's special in its own way. I'm not saying that. there's nothing about that. they had Danny Green to. you forgot about Danny Green. They had a lot of good role players on that team. I just think that Denver team was was pretty awesome and I will take them in a long seven game slog I feel the same way Pus Yokage was on That twenty three playoffs that Yokachad. is one of the all time heaters. I think he was thirty one, fourteen and eleven or something. shot fifty percent from three. crazy. All right. last one's a fun one Nicks in Toronto And you have OG and Anobbe on both teams, but we have to factor in the appendicitis for OG and Aobobe. You do. So he's wiped out in the Toronto side but playing for the next side And all due respect for Toronto, which I think was the prototype for the Every single guy in our team can create a shot for themselves was really one of the first times we had seen that with a with the title team. Kawi was great that year, but I think the next beat them How many games do you think it's a good series I had Nixon six. going into Toronto and when and and going into the air Cada center. Oh no, that would be they would be winning in MSC reggardless. Nixon six. would you have? I think this is a tougher one than I initially just circled Nicks because A, my brain is dumb and this just happened and so I'm overwriting them in my head probably a little bit But they are just an awesome team. They solved all comers. They just had the highest point differential in the history of the playoffs That Rapors and our last memory of that Raptors team is tainted by Durant injury, Clay injury Kawuai was kind of running out of gas toward the end of that series and Van Lit carried him over the finish line. Van Bed heat check Young Sakam, young Anenobio didn't play, but young Sakam was already really good. The Gl combo was really good. That's a really versatile well rounded two way team. I'm going to give them a seven game loss to the nexticks. I think theyick take the Nicks to the distanceance in that series, but I'm taking the nexticks That sounded like somebody that's going to Toronto for a World Cup game in two days didn't want to be yell there. Yeah. Well look Next, next round is much better and much tougher. Yeah We have I'm not going to like what's going to happen in this in this room. We have okay in the next And we have Denver and the Celtics. And I think that's an easier one. I think Denver beats the Celtics. Yokage always beats the Celtics. And I don't care how good that twenty four Celtics team was. I don't think we're beating the twenty three nuggets unfortunately. So I have them in six. The other one's a tough one. Who'd you have in the Denver series? That That's the like the dream series we didn't get, right? Like that whole season when Boston got won the title, the dream was Denver Boston like although the two regular season matchups were like the most Aed up matchups of most hyped up matchups of the season. I remember vivibly watching one on a plane and praying the Wi Fi would stay strong enough for me to continue watching the game because they didn't have live TV on this particular flight. U I went back and forth. I'll take Denver and seven just defaulting again to they have the best player and that team was just huming like Aaron Gordon It's like Peak Aaron Gordon. Peak Bruce Brown Pak Pak everybody involved pretty much. And so I will take Denver and seven, but I think that Celtics team was was awesome Um and solve some of its's like late game you know, whatever, Yips or whatever they had. No question That would that would have been an awesome series OKC over New York is an even tougher call I went with OKC in seven. U because all the dudes they would have had to throw up Brunson the big what F for these playoffs that we just had is if OKC just beats San Antonio and seven. do we feel much better about San Antonio than we did after five finals games and then That OKC team was just, all my NX fan friends were like, Thank God, we didn't have to play OC that was a much tougher matchup for us. So I would go OKC in seven in that one, but I really waffled and I couldn't decide. My heart wants to take the nexts And I think I think the Nicks again, their level of problem They're a very difficult team to play against. They unusual team in a lot of respects with the with this six foot nothing guard who gets whatever he wants in a shooting five and all this wing versatility wing size around them I mean, what do you make of Oklahoma City needing seven to beat Denver with Michael Porter j Jr. playing with one arm and Aaron Gordon playing with one leg and then seven to beat Indiana. L like this is what I struggle with because again, if you're just going to go on new on paper, regular season plus combined resumes Oklahoma City and it's not close But the playoff resumes are New York's run better however you want to quantify was certainly more dominant, easier conference, albeit I think I might actually take the Nixon seven to win to win this matchup over that specific Oklahoma City Thunder teeam. I think I might I think something because of the inexperience and I just it wasn't it was a Ver good playoff run by Oklahoma City G championship run I just think something crazy happened with the Kicks and they just found Nirbana and found magic. So I'll just whatever. this is a fun exerisode I'm taking the Kicks in seven. Forget it. sorry It's a great one I u Heres here's why I took go KC All the guys They're amazing. They's so bown up. just all the guys to throw Brunson, which San Antonio had, But the difference is in the last five minutes, OkayC had Say and San Aonio didn't have anybody. and that's why they kept losing those l games. right so I have Finals, Denver have over OKC So just because they came so close to beating OKC anyway. And that twenty three Denver team was way better So that one was an easier one for me. So you have Denver versus New York in your matchup. So who you have. I went Denver in seven. It's crazy that we both ended with the twenty three nuggets who were pilloried for having to play in teams in their playoff run and how soft it was and playing Miami in the finals and all that. I think, you know, how we're ranking these I think twenty three Denver, twenty five OKC, twenty six Nick, the last four. to me are stronger than the early parts of the run U the last four are really, really good single season teams, just awesome teams top to bottom Yeah. I think the twenty three nuggets were the best of the eight. So we agree. Okay It's fake trade season for the next part of the mailbag. First one's for Mac He said, I have to say that you were early and so right about Harper takeake all I noticed Dylan Harper was awome compliments in the preseason, which was the single easiest thing to know U I know that Dallas is contractually obligated to have their best player be a white guy. But hypothetically Let's say you are the Spurs GM and Dallas calls offering flag for Harper. Do you say yes? What if the wizards call and offer you the first pick for Harper Harper is not getting traded for any pick in this draft. They've already litigated that flag for Harper is more interesting. Dallas obviously isnt trading flag. Nobody's trading anybody wondering what fromom what we know now I still think flags should go first, but I did waffle way more than I would have two months ago So the question is not who goes first in the draft. It's do the sppurs who says no to to flag for Harper or do the sppurs say yes or no I mean, it's actually a better trade for San Antonio because they already have a point card, right? I think I I just think they say no anyway because what they just saw with Harper in the playoffs is a known commodity. They've gotten a year to know him and within their walls. They know how he fits with Wenbinyama. He's more I it's more of a sea change to go to flag as the super size point forward. You lookook, you can't lose with either of them, but I think they would probably be like I think it's a double no. I think it's a double no. Yeah Ms the mads aren't in hurt. The Mads are saying no as well. for sure. They hang up faster The flag on that spurse team would have been fascinating. literally what they needed Not that Harper wasn't what they needed, but flag next to Webby would been really fun This one's a little more realistic, even though I don't think it happens from Earon and Oregon Who says no? Austin Reeves for Jayind Dur and double sign and trade. Lakers get their big for Lucaa tor. that's a perfect Fit next to Kate avos overpaying Duran And then he adds also Everyone' sleeping on Dame freakaking lower joining this Portland team that got a win in San Antonio So he Damn coming back. He just did the two part question that you do at the press conference when you really get one question A two for you and they're just completely unrelated. like, hey, what about expansion B aspiration, that finishing anytime soon. Thankanks. I'll take it from here Yeah, we are sleeping on Dame. It I'll talk more about Portland later. What was the first part? I already forgot. This is a danger two part question. Dur Durren Reeves double sign and trade. So who's I'm just going beef Stew, Pul Reid all in on those guys and finding a center down the line. It's like Austin Reeves is a better player right now than Jal and Durren. I feel like his They need secondary creation around Cade they more urgently need what regular season Jail E Durin was in terms of like Rim running, all that stuff. So I'm just that's too much these are huge changes. I'm saying no, it's too much for me to contemplate as the Detroit Pistons I'm saying no as well for both teams I do think D Troit needs to get dururing somewhere between thirty and thirty four to five. seems doable to me Yeah. I don't think he can't be a Max guy. This next one's fun. from Joval s trade fifth pick Paalo Bonkero CQips already have Garland, draft the and Garda.end it. Magic could choose ACuuff to pair with sugs and fronds and fix their luxury tax issues. What are your thoughts? As earlier in the podcast, I had a Jaylen Brown for the five. You said that wasn't on the Boston timetable, which you're right? U This is a little more on the magic timetable, pretty good trade That's a good B basically it's cuff and you save thirty five million on the c And Bancero is still very young. so it's sort of although he's making a max salary, my whole thing about the cllippers and being just overjoyed to have a blue chip young guy kind of still applies Flippers got think hard about that got to think really hard about that. There is something a little depressing about pairing sh of like two guys who are leaving disappointing postseason teams or I guess the cabs are no longer a disappointing postseason team. but Garland and Ban Caro feels like Andy we got We got the discards from teams that just didn't do quite as much as didn't play quite as well the playoffs as we wanted That's a good one. I don't know if The way the film I've watched the draft guys with the clippers, I'm just saying, I'm going to make the pick. I'm making a pick. There's enough guys that I would love to have on my team that I'm just going to make the pick Would you trade the fifth pick for Moby That one gets really interesting because that solves a lot of luxury tax shit for Cleveland too. I probably I think that's hard That's hard. As the clippers As the clipperers I probably would And I just think Moby's a little bit more Is he better than Vanero? I think he is a little bit better than Vancero just because of what he could do defensively is like a total known A plus Commodity, andie's very young, but S I wouldt do that trade if I was the cals. You would I would not be with this It's all guards on the fifth pick and I think I wouldd rather Oh I wasn' even thinking about it from their perspective. I don't think there clips I would do it. I don't think they're moving mobly. Almost for anyone right now So good They shouldn' Adam from Santan Valley, Arizona had a three teamer where the warriors got Anthony Davis and Clay Thompson. Washington got Jimmy Butler in the eleventh pick from Golden State Dallas got Pods and Moses Moody in the trade exception from AD. The eleventh is way too much for Anthony Davis. I don't think he has that kind of value I do feel like there's a next year's first from Golden State Butler expiring for Davis is like in the vicinity of what I think and I don't think Davis wants to be in Washington and neither do you I don't think he's worth the eleven picks the injury history over the years and his age in his cell The wararriors just you got to you just got to think a little bit about tomorrow too. And I think they've been pretty open about that. like yes, we want to win around Steph. Yes, all Anthony Davis would help You got to think a little bit about about tomorrow. Why was Dallas in that trade? What was Dallas getting out? I just to get Clay Thompson back, which I fully support. I think Adam was thick right. All right. this is the best one from Doug from Sleepy Hollow You discuss Chicago Memphis trades to get Peterson to Chicago with house The ideal one is staring us in the face Number three for number four and a sick new hiat in downtown Memphis. Oh, come on One of the weird subpots of the season, finding out NBA players hate Memphis because of the hotel Well, the governor of Illinois is rich because his family owns hyat And he's currently taking heat from Illinois sports fans because the bears are threatening to move to Indiana. withith one move, everyone wins Bulls get Peterson, Memphis gets Wilson and a luxury hyatt in downtown Memphis. But that's not helping me as theem. That's not helping me as the Memphis Grzzlies. It's helping my opponents rest better and be happier when they come to my city and that's a great. I want them that like Memphis. Yeah, so Memphis says no. they're like this hotel thing' an advantage for us. The players are pissed. they don't sleep well. They can't get good room service. likeike we like where we are with this sccrew you to hang up. Um o, this was the Jalen Brown trade that got. this is from Shean T. Jayalen Brown and Hauser for Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon M I got it o out of me It's funny because Jayalen Brown and Jamal Murray was the big Boston. whoo were they going to take it three ten years ago in the twenty sixteen draft. Jamal Murray was one of the guys people thought Boston was going to take. U Jayen Brown and Hauser for Jamal Murray in Aronor Denver would save a little money on that one too. they'd save a lot of money. We're going to have to ignore that element of, I think is it's eighty one million dollars coming back to the Celtics and Jalen is at fifty seven and Hauser is at sixty seven for eighty one, sixty eight. Yeah you could throw in one more to make that work potentially Pretty good one Wow, this wow, you're really deliberating on this one. I like this one So this will give the Celtics Murray with Derek White Richard off the bench Eron Gordon Tatum You're still hurtting at center a little bit U that would be it. I think I'm I'm a no if I'm Boston. because Oh, I thought it would be Denver. that would be the no. I mean, it it could it could be either honestly Again, no I have no prep for this listeners. iss just being thrown be blind Yeah, that's that's what we love. Gordon leg issues are really worrisome to me. And I just like like ninety five million dollars of Jamal Mar and Aaron Gordon in twenty twenty nine makes me a little nervous if I'm the Celtics and I care a little bit about like maybe cleaning up my books at some point, which is one of the things you've talked about with Jayalen It's a double no. I think the more realistic one would just be Jalen for Jamalari straight up with Maybe some massaging from the Denver side Randy in Sacramento would like to propose the following King spepecial Everyone wins The Spurs received Demantas a bonus. Hawks received Aaron Fawx Kings get Resa Sheay, Kominga and the Spurs twentieth pick and maybe their're pick swack back I'll go was more simple than this What if it's just Fox to the Hawks Richoche and Caminga to Sacramento and Sabonus and buddy heel to San Antonio. No picks, nothing else. That actually worksade machine. This person needs assistance immediately. This is absolutely an insane trade Insane for who? Everybody involved. So so the sppurs are like, hey, we just made the finals and one sixty whatever's a bonus. Like how about we upend everything and try to pairse a bonus with Viictor Wbinyama? That'sounds amazing. some rebounds. The Hawks are like, Hey, we're a pretty good young team. Yeahah. we just resigned CJ McComn for one year You know what sounds great? fourour years and two hundred twenty million dollars a year in Foxford player of the year picked it number one and Jonathan Caminga And I and the kings are getting what? They're getting comominga and Rop in the cominga and they get Red. That's it. That's all they. That's actually that's actually not even the kings are not making out like bandits there for a guy who called this a Sacramento presumably fan who called it the Kings special. That one That one broke me a little bit. It broke my spirit, it broke my morale. I'm a little flustered by that one. Sorry, Randy And then the last one's from Alice in New York, who says he loves the pod I know the nuggets have no plans to trade yoko. Okay, let's go. I was waiting for this one But could the Thunder offer something like Ch J Dub and ps for Yoka Jaron Gordon? What's the mother looad Um G. It did. So I texted you and I was like, got this yogkage trade. They're not trading yogkage. You texted me. I just want to be clear. fifty five minutes before the scheduled start time of this podcast, you just text said, Hey, build some fair realistic yogkage trade. Okaykay They're not going to trade him, but I do think if they ever did, Utah would be the team because it's reasonably close to Denver. Is that who you had to? I have six teams. I That's just s how I roll build. You give me fifty five minutes. notice I give you six team. All I needed was one. I can't believe you had six. Ellis gave me Ellis gave you one, which is okay. se'ason an obvious one. You perchet and yo kitch and you just figure out the rest I wouldn't trade both Chet and J Dub, but one of them I wouldn't neither, but Chet twelve, seventeen. I got toas. They also others. They get the Caysons's got to be in it Gim me sober. They they own the rights to multiple Denver first round picks. So I get my picks back. like there's a lot of stuff there. And Utah is I'm surprised you landed on Utah too because I have there's there's a Utah trade to be madeain The problem is I really want to sign and trade Walker Kessler as part of that trade if I'm the jazz and the nuggets because of the apron stuff can't take a player back who's acquired into sign and trade. because I don't he's the one if I'm getting Yokch So I have to make I have to make a three team trade and it gets a little complicated. It was hereere's my question in your Utah trade was the number two pick involved? Yeah, one hundred thousand percent. Okay It's it's a full blow it up for Utah That was the only one. Yeah, I had a to market in all the other picks they have where they they basically and I had them keeping Kessler in the trade Not just for the reason you mentioned, but I also kind of like the idea of Kessle and Yogage together. But welcome. But Utah is one of the few teams that could make a fuck you offer And US have to figured you want Yokch to be happy. and he kind of likes being on that side in the mountains. U You don't have to say what the other offers were, but what were the other four teams you had? I want to I want to say Oh no All right, so first of all, here are the three different challenges for this, right? Whatever team get we're seeing now with the honest, whatever team gets Yokca ch has to be in position to win immediately. That's number one. Number two, picks in this new lottery world have to have some upside for me as Denver where it's like I okay, I'm not going to get the twenty fifth pick every year And number three, Yoga ch has to be willing to sign an extension So we talked about Utah We talked about Okay, see Uh Houston Shenoun, Jabari Smith Junior. Nets pick Suns pick, a bunch of swaps Rockets pick. So I get bites at the apple from different from different teams who could bottom out in the right year Um Fortland Donovan Clingon, Scoot Henderson, Jeremy Grant, all the bucks picks, all the Bazers picks. Anything of interest there for you Um You get all the Milwaukee stuff Portland has the headliner for that trade necessarily. No Kling in plus Scoot is not as sexy as it might have been. Now the number two pick to me is a much more important headliner. Charlotte, LameMello Ball or Brandon Miller, take your pick Number fourteen, number eighteen, salon, a Mavs pick, a heat pick, all the future Charlotte picks No now. And I need if I'm trading Joker I need something inccredible back. The lakers the Lakers straight up for Lua Donic Just because I thought you'd have a lot fun with that one Hold on, let's talk this out. I keep Lebron Reeves And I get Yoch and we're going all in to win the title with that group. We're not going to We're not going to have a lot of defense, but we'd already don't have enough I have to throw in more Luca though more than Luca, right? I got to throw in a pick or two with that fut or something Anything. I don't know. I mean, that's pretty good. and Winham Clarkke just won the US O. a guy I have always I've always said You always said W Clark. Wyndham Clark is my guy David Sherman said, one of my favorite takes you've ever had is the NBA shouldward larger, smaller trophies to the NBA champion depending on how important impressive the runner triumph is What size would you give the next afterter this year? Obviously no one is getting a bigger troph in the twenty eleven maps B blah bl. I actually, that idea was for the MVP, not the NBA Uh, not the Lawrence O'Briran trophy Be I feel like every championship is special I think I've been p you just threw the trophies's full name. Not the Larial, Brian. You just Lawrence, Lawrence. Ironically, probably the worst commissioner of the league's ever had U just overwhelming amount evidence I think this is a better idea for the NVP because we have some incredible You know, like the Shq two thousand or LebBron. twenty twelve MVPs where it's just like these are the biggest forty pound MVPs. and then there's the other ones where' like Carl Malone d in the lockout every a free chance a free pounder. I want to tell people both privately and publicly Any chance you get a slander, Carl Malone, you're not passionate about I have text threads with Carl Malone S slander.' just great at it I feel one of my least favorite non Celtics ever U I wish he had had a cup of coffee with the Celtics at the end of his career So the trophies, if we if we gave them three, maybe three sizes only for how impressive the run was and I still feel like the twenty eleven mabs would be higher than this Nick title, but I still thought it was really impressive. It was a level two for me. It was level one level two level three. being the highest Threes the high That's and that's really just twenty eleven maps. I don't know who else is on that But this was a solid level to. The level is are we combining difficulty Memorability Yeah the whole whole thing. Yeah, the historical significance. the Kicks had bunch of it but I don't know the path. I I think know you could get them. I think this is a level three. I think it's just had a level three And my case would be sixteen and three in the playoffs, greatest point differential in the history of the playoffs Um Collision with Wembenyama, which we will always remember because the next phace of the league and all that entered a hero and left a villain in very simplastic terms And first title in fifty three years for the biggest market and one of the most historic franchises this the world. I think it's a level three, despite that you could nit pick the opposition. It's a level three. You know what else You're right and you left out the greatest comeback in the history of the sport. One of the most iconic plays all the time. It's a level three. My apologies, Nick fans. You were there' a level three title U This next email is really good. It's from Sean and Charlotte who fances himself as an amateur MA historian. He said the next playoff run was one hundred percent unbelievable Clocked your Shawhank Rdemption reference in your june fourteenth podcast Was the Patriots two thousand one Super Bowl like this for you you actively remember thinking you didn't have to cringe at that refrigerator pair well touch downown anymore the rest of your life. And he's right. But he said seeing Patrick Ewing hugging Carl Towns was genuinely emotional peopleople I don't have to think about it anymore. Michael Jordan, Scottty Pippin, Horace Grant, Hugh Hollins, Phil Jackson, Hakim, Reie Miller, Rick Smiths, Pat Riley PJ. Brown Scott L, and Isaiah Thomas Kurt Ramb, Jeff Fornner second David Fisdale, Treay Young and Tyerese Halbert. and that was Sean and Charlotte And it's such a great point When you win a title All of these horrible skeletons you have in your polzer guys pool just vanish into the dust. Why did he include Hugh Hollins Hue Hollins. That was the the that was ahantom foundound in the Nick's favorite. was it not? I know, But then it led to them making the finals. So maybe he sees Hugh Hollins and it led to more pain. I don't know why he included him But it's a great point because I remember when the Red Sox want tozer four Aaron Boon game had happened the year before. Rember when the Yankees won in I remembering exactly where I was. Yeah And that was going to haunt me the rest of my life and then the Red Sox beat the Yankees next year. All all of suen that Aar Bon Homer Nothing means nothing to me anymore. She's dead And that's what happens when you win a title is all the skeletons just vanish I felt terrible. I remember exactly where I was in that game I was a neutral party in as much as I was not a neutral party. I was a Mets fan growing up, but my dad is a Red Sox fan. so I' stering for the Red Sox I was at the I think it was called the Lion's head on the upper west side slash morning side Heights And it was a it was the it was a mixed crowd half Yankees fans, hal Red Hx fans rowdy. I just remember RIP feeling the absolute worst for Tim Wakefield who just had made such a great career out of being a knuckleballer was an Ironman and endning Zater, beloved member of that team and just watching him walk off the mound. I said, man, this this Anbody I would have been I would have felt less bad if it had almost been anybody on the Red Sox but him they gave up that home So beloved that none of us held it against him that he gave up the season ending Homer. We all loved him Wakefield. It was never it wasn't like a Calvin Sraldi, Bob Stanley thing. And then a year later, he became one of the playoff heroes But that is a great part to win the title This episode is brought to you by State Farm Countless hours in the gym, a thousand shots before tip off day after day in the same court The state fararm stanchion right there That's right. the best players put in the work and state fararmms is the same way with insurance experts put in the work as well, whether you get a digital quote, or reach out to a local agent. State Farm is there to get to know you. and help you select the right coverage that fits your life and your budget Putting the work is what separates the good players from the great and that's why you want state fararm on your team So get the coverage that's right for you Like a good neighbor, state Farm is there. Coverage options are selected by the customer, availability and eligibility vary by state This episode is brought to you by Netflix. The World Cup is finally here and the coolest thing right now, FIFA World Cup, launch edition on Netflix, a fast and fluid game where your phone is the controller and your TV is the stadium. Play as as any of the forty eight teams in sixteen real world stadiums and it's included. in your membership. Yeah Go to the games tab in your TV and play Fefld World Cup, Lunch Adition now Netflix tears Working hard can take its toll But your relief doesn't have to. With icy Hot original no mess roll on, you get maximum strength fast acting mess free pain relief, so you're ready to go again. Ice works fast. Heat makes it last. Iicy Hot. You're so back Learn more at Iyhot. com. Jeff from New York. now it's going to get a little dark The next look at the best I've been and completing owning the city with this title. It's officially over for the Brooklynets They are a zombie franchise playing in a gentrified mall Why not move the nets to Las Vegas Buout Rober Pera moved the grizzlies to Seattle and let the new ownership groups pay a massive relocation entry fee to the other thirty owners instead of expansion You get you still get a lot of money. Seattle gets Sonic back Vegas gets a roster. We don't have to watch thirtyin expansion teams, who says no I do wonder, do this did the size you think have like a secret meaning being like, is this ever going to work here What do we do?? I mean, I think I think This is not even a I mean, the relocation thing is a little bit crazy, but this whole like existential crisis of the Brooklyn Nets as a franchise is a real thing because if you did like ancillary winners and losers of the finals and the playoffs and the next title run, the nets are near the top of the list because this just underlined Iirrelevant is too strong of a word. But New York is a multi team town for every sport seemingly except NBA basketball and I guess top NB basetball because of the liiberty. who the size also own and are like a phenomenal fan experience and a great team Um just like This high like I found myself imagining What would a next parade look like if if they had won during the Durant. It would not have been like that. It would not have felt like that. It would have were twenty to ten percent like that. And I and why I find it interesting is because obviously the nets have been kind of tanking since that team broke up and failed Yeah the lottery gus have not been kind to them. They were not kind to them again. They're picking sixth on Tuesday they have just drafted a bunch of point guards. That's a point guard spot U I just wonder sort of how aggressive the size want to be I like, hey, we got it like we this is embarrassing. like we got to put something together that creates a little buzz. and I'm not sure how we do that. Like do we want to go out and get this guy That guy. I just I'm interested to see how they respond because I do think the Nicks winning And the outpouring of emotion from the entirety of New York City is like a meaningful material change to like what the Brooklyn Nets mean to the NBA. I really do. I'm sorry to Nets fans By the way, it was lying underneath for decades opportunity with the nets was that the Kicks run had been so awful for twenty years. Could you steal some Nicks fans based on how they tried for they run and weird andran Kye were like mom earmarked for the Nickson. they went to the Nets and that was and that whole thing and then they got harden and we fucked at nausea about that I I actually watched the foot on the line three from Durant. It's like mass chaos in Barkways. that has to be the loudest and craziy when he makes it and actually goes in and the fans thought they win So there was some energy there. and if you're this size, you have to think like, okay, well go back and watch some of those games like there wasn't nothing. No, but it wasn' enough them I honestly feel the same way about the ippers. I just think LA is a Laker town There's very few Cipper fans. and I don't really fully understand why Bommer just want to move to Seattle. and just be like, you know what? I tried. Obviously he can't now because he just built this into a dome and he's just kind of all in There's just a couple teams. It's the same reason why we don't have two teams in Chicago and The NBA makes way more sense and works better I wouldn't Memphis wouldn't be the team I move. I would move New Orleans if I had to pick team to move that would be the that would be the one. We've never seen professional basketball succeed ever in and it's not the fault of the fans, but It's a small market and a team that's run horribly And if you were just going to say relocation net somewhere and and the pelicans somewhere and we don't have expansion. Here's the other That makes more sense to me. This is maybe obvious, but here's the other thing that happened with this next title run an entire group of young fans in Brooklyn is N in Queen in every borough and every of New York is they're now Nicks fans forever. You've lost an entire generation. E some fans who may be like flirted with being a nets fan have now pivoted to being Nick fans I watched it happen in Boston after I left with the Bruins because the Bruins, the owner and some of the stuff that the Bruins really like faded and became like just hardcore Bruins fans and nobody else. And then This new Bruins group came in and completely rejuvenated the city and the Bruins. And the same thing happened with the Patriots and All of a sudden, you had all these people who are, you know, under twenty five hundred thirty that just love those teams That might not have been there and the same thing' going to happen the next All right, you had no prep for this question Okay from Joshua. I was thinking about all the sets of NBA Bothers. All Star weekends should capitalize by creating a Bothers two one two tournament. What would that look like I'll give you the eight Bother teams. Okay. The Thompsons Donan and Ron Harper Jonis and Pick a brother. Franz and Moe Wagner, Jalen and Cotody Williams, Eron and Drew Holiday Kason and Keatin Willis Wallace and I sorry, Wallace and Stehan Seth Curry Um basically comes down to I would say the Thompson Twins versus the Harpers In the finals would be my guess. unless you just think Y hon us could one minute I really would be curious of who Yonest would think. Would' this tnment be amazing though? First of all, anything is better than the Taco Bell Poolan Weed or school Taco Bell skills joal. Free presented by Sprite U I think Janis would try to pick all of his brothers and just sort of like sub them in and out. And I think the league would have to make him pick. No, you have to pick right. One of them, only one and you have to snub the others and create family drama that will last generations. You have to do it. I think the Thompsons find a way to bully and defend their way into beating the Harpers and everybody else and they would be my pick. But Dylan Harper is the Dylan Harper, Ron Harper Jr., said game seven star nice team Ron Harper Jr. a nice team. Yeah. It's a playoff experience for both Thompsons Probably a rock fight with the Thoppss, but maybe I don't know. I'd have them in the finals, Tops and twins. I imagine one hundred forty I imagine trying to score on those guys two on two. My God. what a what a Brother tournament. I love it U This is from Sts He says, has the Luca Brunson Maps team overtaken The Hard and Katie Westbrook OKC team as the biggest, what if we kept this team together team of the twenty first century Um In retrospect, none of those OKC guys prove they could win a team no a championship single handedly Prser and he did it, Maybe Luke could do it someday. and then he says Time is luck. Sts from Charlotte. That's a reference to, Mind mevice to movie timee is luck Michael M U So the only other one twenty twenty two The only other one I would say is the what if we kept the team together, but it's not this century it was the ninety five magic. But I do think those two are in the finals Brunson thing in a lot of ways was even worse than the hardarden. Um, The hard and trade which we hated and I think we did Multiple pieces and podcasts about appreci sure we workking together. It's single handedly made Grantland's NBA coverage profitable and workable for like two years. It' great. We loved it. We loved getting content out of the hardart and shay because it was so stupid. The Brunson thing was worse because it was four for fifty five. And if you remember that last season, evenven though they said we weren't talking four for fifty five during the season, Rick Brunson did go to Dallas and say it was like in January of that last season. We'll do the four for fifty five and Dallas is like, we don't know I still don't understand it. It was inexplicable as it was happening. Well it was it was for trade purposes, right? Like that was why if they extended him, they couldn't trade him at that deadline in case something big came up for Luca And it turned out that something big was on your team The guy that juston finals ABP and scored forty five points in an all time great closeout performance. So what do you think is the bigger? what if we kept this team together team Probably still OKC because of the sheer totality of the guys I just I think this is to pick Dallas is a little bit of a prisoner of the moment take because it was it was just we like Luke and Brunson clearly could have been special together, but one was still coming off the bench for the most part. And yeah those three guys together All of whom have won MVPs in the regular season is just so iconic and had just like was we had we saw proof of concept. they make the finals as like in the roles that they were probably going to have or hardarden was going to start eventually And then poof, it was gone so dramatically and so quickly And they're all such iconic players for all different reasons and I still think that's the one. The other thing hard I would have bought them was star power when either guy got hurt which is what happened the next year and two that thirteen when Westbrook got her in the playoffs and then in twenty fifteen with D Rant. Everybody just would a year from hell with injuries. also That four for sixty four. Remember he goes to Houston. They immediately give him an even bigger contract than that four for sixty four for Harden was like a bargain where the league was going post lockout. so yeah I remember everything. I remember Harden's first game I believe it was against the Detroit pistons as a rocket and it was imm like, o my God, this guy's going to actually do this game game out holy smokes Sid McCllum and Salem Morgan He said, I was discussing me being the NBA commissioner Naming House as my deputy commommissioner just so he could announce the secondaround picks. This is a joke. I made a month ago. And he said withith House's Affinity for food and drinks, my mind went to sponsorship opportunities E each pick house comes out with a different food or drink option for different sponsors and league partners and says Rby Steake Bes brings us the thirty first pick. And with that, the next select blank I'm not going to be the NBA commissioner. I still feel like House could do the second round and they could They could have food sponsors for each pick. I think he would do better than Mark Tatum honestly. I think it's a great idea. just think he could be eating when he walks out on stage. Like I think it works. I think a different surprise second round announcer every year is a great gimmick. Just keep just you just got to keep it under wraps and just here comes a smoke machine. NFL does it. Yeah, I I saw they had different different people coming out making different announcements, but just one guy could be anyone. It could be a music artist, It could be Joe House, it could be you, it could be anybody I'm available. Theory the more tough to pronounce names, the better for you. Kbe from Oakland now in Vancouver says Pper quickly emerges as a prodigy and potential grape but foxes at his way. What similar MBA situations from the past future outcomes. And he said the first one that came to mind for him was Curry Ellis where it was the two of them together. Now that team had never won anything. This team made the finals So I came up with four and then I came up with the winner They're not preppy for this. No. There was a Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McKale situation where McKale eventually took over, but the It was kind of the way it was gonna to go anyway. So I don't think that counts. That was pretty seamless the transation There was a James wororthy Jamal Wilk situation on those Laker teams, but that was also one guy was getting older, one guy was about to take over. I don't think that counts. There was a Jamal Wilkes Rick Barry mid seventies warrior situation That Jamal Wilk solved by signing with the Lakers is a Fra agent and we never found out And And then there was a Norm Nixon magic Johnson situation. That was the one I thought where you were going to you were going to start with where they traded Norm Nixon got the number one pick from the Cippers. They took Byron Scott Silar to the Jaylen Brownsrades we were talking earlier I don't have that as my answer either because that liquor team won a title The answer is Adrian Dantley and Dennis Rodman in the late eighties pistons when they traded dantly because Rodman had to play more and that was the whole point of the trade They had this absolute O one of a kind rebounding defense force that just needed more minutes and dantly wasn't ready to play less and they saw that by trading for Aguire who was U Isaiah's buddy re That so they won two titles. That's all Chicago connection, right between Markin Wyer and Isaiah D. They won two titles, But that's a really good parallel to this because Adrian Danley little bit older question for me with Fox because there's some interesting stats about didn't finish at the rim as much this season. Not as fast. like he was probably the fastest or one of the fastest guys. the league didn't seem as fast. So Is there wear and tear? Is he getting older or is he just hurt this year? Did you land on an answer for that? I think it's probably a little bit of both. I mean, that level of speed and athleticism doesn't last forever and then you throw in some playoffs some ill time. He started the year coming back from both it was some sort of leg injury hamstring or a shin something or calf rather or something and then finished it with a high ankle sprain But like also that's life in the NBA. How many guys you're not getting through one hundred games just like, oh, I was just healthy and energetic the entire year. That's just not realistic And I just think You can throw all the fake Fx tradade you want out right now. Like I don't think any team is trading for him without another season of him kind of rehabbing his game and his trade value a little bit. I don't see any realistic trade this off season So you think he's a top five when Was in House and I do the worst contracts draft. He's top five for you now two hundred and twenty one for four years. It's I mean, it's just it's a huge number And people are already like, well, is he the third best guard on his team? And he's a very, very good player. But if you're having that conversation and that number hasn't even kicked in yet, like it's probably in the top five It's a gulp and a sigh when you hear the numbers It's like Oh Steve from Tobaccoville, North Carolina. S He thinks we should have a playoffs participation trophy Sout out to Vince Goodwell. whichich goes to Fitz is a nice guy whichich goes to the team who lost to the team, who lost to the team, who lost to the team, who lost in the finals So he said you're going to have to Well, I'll walk you through it. The twenty six trophy our winner would have been the Houston Rockets They lost to the Lakers, who lost to the Thunder, who lost to the Spurs who lost to the Kicks This trophy reminds the team's fan base that wow, they made the playoffs. they weren't anywhere close. Your thoughts So it has like this. It has to be a first round loser. That's a first roundos F first round loser who loses to the team that lost to the team three times in a row It's not it's not dissimilar to the thing you hear from fans sometimes of you know, our team loses in the second round and it's a crushing disappointment. We were the higher seed or whatever it is. And then but the team we end up lost losing to ends up winning the titles. I kind of feel better about. R second round loss It's a cousin of that. So the rockets The turnovers at the end of what was it game two of that series. You're disqualified from all of the awards. I don't I don't want any of the awards. Maybe it's not an award. Maybe it's Maybe it's like a Like a voodoo dollar. Dould we ever figure out what spepeaking of which, do we ever figure out what Mazoua did with the coach of the ear Trophy? Do we do we know that Oh my God. I look at eB I'm ready to bid on it on eBay It's definitely in his garage Ny wants to know Jayen Brunson was actually the best fre agent signing of all time and says, I find this hard to believe. You do, Rubby I have a couple that I think were bigger I think Saack to the Lakers in ninety six, eight years, three rings, four finals, one MVP. That's just a bigger signing than Brunson sorry Lebronen Bosch D Rantig in state, that's two titles LeBron back to Cleveland in fourteen and then bring in Cleveland a title. I think has to be dead even with Brunson to the nexts So I would have it. tied for fourth I think part of the reason why people would make the argument that it should be higher. and I'm not sure that it is the Shack one is great is a great call and obviously like doomed Orlando forever and ever. and there's all sorts of controversy about who offered what and when and what went wrong and all that Um is it's the only one of those that's not a max, right? Like Brunson is not a max and you kind of have to piggyback on top of it. the extension that wasn't a max that has allowed them to sort of wiggle around under the second apron for a little while here. That's going to be Pablo's next five parts here. Wh' a Nicks fan, I guess you can't do it of Jayen taking less. still still I don't think still dubious. I don't think there's any secrets there. He knew exactly what he was doing He trusts that he's going to be taken care of on the back endnd because he knows all these people. There' his family and he wants to win and it help them win. I don't think there's any like I think it's a unique one of one situation is that is unreplicable other ones Gus Williams to Seattle. that led to a title. Jamal Willes to the Lakers Totsy Bobbs to Detroit Round in Miami, the shot Robert Hordard to San Antonio in two thousand three And then Nash to Phoenix was a great one. I think if the question is what's the savviest reagent of all time signing of all time I think Brunson might win where they went higher than a lot of people thought. U It was not a well received signing, right? It was F for one hundred six for the team that wouldn't pay him four for fifty five And the way it worked out A couple of other random ones Richard Lewis and Carlos Boozer, both really good ones. Did't lead the titles, Richard Lewis led to a finals, but Okay, I'm really excited for this next question. We're almost done, by the way. James James Phelps. Yeah. Have you been watching the World Cup Cyclo I don't want to talk about the World Cup, but yeah, I' been watching some of it He likes James Phelps likes that in soccer they have specific jersey numbers for certain positions Tacky mid number ten, striker nine defefensive stop are usually six So what would you do for basketball and should we do it So it's a two part question What would the numbers be 'causeuse he said, like shooting guard twenty three Small forward, thirty three. And would you like it more if the best players on teams wore the numbers that the best players wear like in soccer? I gott to say I did thoughtought experimented out and I kind of enjoyed that. I can't believe you I can see you doing this. I can see you put out a pad and paper And you started you took this thought about it. Sime in your life couldould otherwise have been spent with your wife or children The mail bag was spent on this. The mailbag you have to take to the end with all questions twenty three shooting guard twenty one powerower forward in honor of Duncan Okay Six for center Bill Russell thirty three small forward for Bird and then one or thirty two for point card. I would vote for thirty two because of magic Thinking is Best guys ever would all get the numbers. But I do like I do like the concept of like, if San Antonio right now, it's like Harperard x is wearing thirty two. Sh Harper have it card number Who's getting Yeahah, okay And whenby would wear six in this Wey would wear six stillill This is particularly artful what you're doing because LeBron is not represented except twenty three sixix and twenty three. both So twenty three in soccer ten is like the number. I know that much.u Luam Modrich. So in this we have twenty three, which is shooting guar, but it's also like LeBron basically could have played any position It's not like you can pitch it on So twenty three is like the number and that's You know, like Orlando,, Palo wanted twenty three, but Franz thinks he should have it. I think it opens up for a lot of just you're just creating trade rumors. You're just creating trade rumors. whose team is it? your whole your's team is being perhaps Tatam's out for the year. Jalen wears zero. Wh'ars the thirty three thirty three Yeah. I I do like this though I think I've been My mind immediately went to Jay Crowder can't be ninety nine. We're just we're censoring individual expression like this. I mean, like, you know, I like numbers. I like being able to pick my num Ethan from Cleveland says, when Janis forces a trade It' be the second time this summer, a team owned by Jimmy Haslam has traded a generational talent He screwed up the Browns and Buck so badly his teams are forced to trade both Garrett and Janis in the same off seseason. Miles Garret U Does this move him toward the top of the list of one of the worst owners recent sports history. I mean Just as Brown's work alone has done that. I can't really hang the buck stuff on him as much Um, because when he got there it was kind of That was one of the reasons u u Lazry sold in the first place because it was like, I'm going to get up from this black jap table right now because they just changed doors on me and he just got out W that said, it is pretty crazy that he presides over those two teams. that just traded their two best franchise guys. They are one of the two teams Along with Phoenix That I have to remind myself when I go on So track, I got to scroll down a little further to the dead money section to get their true cap numberers. He' like, Oh Ohh my Godd, Bradley Bele, what are he you doing here? Dami Lillard, Ohh my God, twenty two a year nothing. did I did the sun's cap sheet earlier today because of their Galespie and Jordan Goodwind deals. And they' like, o, they're in pretty good shape and I scroll down Yeah tax Dead Money sounds like a movie we could rent on Roku H Moses says, my question regarded Darren Peterson, why would anyone draft this guy in the top three It's not often we see a guy with this many red flags pay out really think he's going to be a bust. I would gamble him at four, but I wouldd much rather have the other three. Thanks, love the podcast. what a b. So he's gonna he's a bust and he's like, I'll take him at four That's like if you're a bus, just go all the way to the bus, donon't take him. Moses. Moses was all over the place. I do think Peterson has enough red flags that A moment of truth, I'd be a little nervous when these other three guys I think are all gonna be really, really, really awesome. Like You better really be sold on the reasons Peterson had the cramping stuff and some of the other stuff happened last year. I don't Where did you land on him? I mean that when you look at the YouTube clips, it's out of control He's he looks awesome. I think the upside I think he has scary scary upside. I would take him with one of the first two picks just because I've heard all of the teams have seen every bit of medical data that they would want to see and have come away feeling like, okay, like there's nothing here that is of long term. So you like them more than Boozer I love Boozer Th are so good. He's incredible. Um I think his floor is maybe even higher than anyone else in the draft and his ceiling is pretty damn high too. I just think those two guys as fulcrums of elite offenses could be so special that I don't know if I could take Goozer over any of them over either the Tabanzo or a Peterson, but I love Boozer. I was absolutely blown away by the boozer tape as I've mentioned several times on the Zach Low Show. This is the most Zach low question possible. It's from Conor and Ben Oregon Every time I listen to people praise the Nick roster construction I think to myself My blazers did it first. twenty fifteen Dame, Wesley Matthews, Nick Patoum, Aldridge, Robin Lopez A season that ended with the Blazers getting dogwalked by Memphis, Dame getting his playoff lumps and West tearing his Achilles Um dread at the possibility of our new owner moving the team. It's nice to imagine another reality where the Bazers won a championship. So Dame wasn't Dame wasn't really Dame yet in that playoffs in Memphis. see He was sixteen percent from three. Memphis beat them in five He is right. That was the construction was a little bit similwhere to that next construction. Aldridge left after the season. that Blazers team. I went back. that team was Really good on paper. They also they tradadeed for a flallo They'd seeJ McCllum, younger. They admires Leonard D Alan Crab a year away from getting paid seventy two million by the nets and Pre solid team. The West Mattheist then killed them though look That could be my burner account from Ben Oregon who emailed that in because you would love it. It's one of my most beloved forgotten teams. ever I absolutely love that team. It's Nick Patoom, It's Robin Lopez, Wesley Matthews. everything just came. They were a classic greater than the sum of their parts team and they were super fun to watch. And then one by one, it all kind of came on doneone starting with West Taring is Achilles then L.A. leaves in free agency, I believe, after that after that playoff lost too. And so that was hanging over the team all year was a beautiful team to watch. They won a lot of games. And I do think they had an outside chance of having like making a finals and they they just didn't and that's That's tough, man. It's hard to win a title These two are related. Oes from EB who says he's a H Mwaukee fan. He gets upset that people don't mention Yanis' fifty point close out game six Why is Brunson's thing over that already So we had a whole thing about that. And then Jordan from Hoboken said Everything you have said on your pods about Saylen Brunson should also apply to Eli Manning, being an outfind on championship teeam Trumps everything. Eli did it twice You bump Rrunson all the way up to forty one on your pantheon orr your pyramid, imagine if he did what he did twice, youless you be in the ha of fame, blah blah blah Here's here's the difference comparing Brunson to Eli Banning and Janis. This will be the first podcast this I can't wait for this U There was A real inevitability with what was happening with Brunson in these fourth quarters kindind of kind of trump that as great as that Yonest fifty point game was It was a lot of chewing your nails that he was going to make free throws and he was I'm a little bit of a heater And then Eli was basically would have a couple great throws, but it wasn't like he was dominant Brunson broke the spurs by game five. I just felt like I just value a little differently what he did the playoffs and especially game five. And I think it's hard to compare it Um on, first of all, Jon is fifty point closeout game is being mentioned because every graphic on television that has had like here's where Jayelen Brunson's closeout game rightamba history is mentioning that g. It's an all time classic game the d The Drew Tianis Lob is one of the craziest most iconic plers. was game by them Okay No, that's the end of the series. That's the game five was in Phoenix and then game six. was the fifty point game. That was the game when he couldn't shoot the free throws That's right But he has a preposterous free throw l in the he made it. Remember he missed the two near the end of game five and it was a whole thing of Yo, Yianis is free throws. and then he went on the heater and Game six. I just It felt like Brntson was a level above it where I mean, when it gets to the point where you're down ten and you're just like, H here comes Brunson That's that's a whole other level againgst against one Binyama and that defense to. I mean, look, it's they're all it's all incredible, but Brunson Brunson Yanis two great close out games and I don't, you know I don't have a strong take. I guess Brunson, Brunson is just sexier because it's like, a six foot nothing point guard in real time problem It' a hard work title. But it's problem solving. It's like, you're over there. you're over here. We're going to do this. We're going to do that. I'm just going to get to my spot no matter what you do and make tough shots. Tough classic NBA shots. Yianis is not a classic NBA shot shot maker Brunson is. Seth from seven hundred seven says, hey, conspiracy bill Was that finals losost all part of Wimbinyama's long game to convince us that he's not an alien. Interesting. So like he's like he zagged on us because he was like if I win the title at age twenty two, they might investigate me they might find out where I'm actually from. I really like this idea As an as an old school exX files fan, I'm all about it. Have you seen Dclosure dayay yet No, I still haven't. Neither have I I haven't seen it yet. I it this way. It might be a solo. I'm just going to drive to movie theater in the middle of the day by myself and watch it. U Now, there's a Chris Paul question here I'm going to skip It was about Chrisa in the pyramid because we're running out of time. I'll save it for the next time. Um, Tiago wanted to mention that he's forever grateful for Leon Ross, Leon Rose and the Kicks Has ever been a front office roster combination that saved the image of an owner more than these guys saved Dolan. It was considered one of the stupidest owners of all time. mishandled the team for decades in the market and now They win the title. It's a really good one. Then think of like, I couldn't think of another owner that had his legacy just flipped like that The only one that was close was Steinbgner or ninety six becausecause they had him won for eighteen years and he kind of he went crazy Steinbrerenner in the eighties and Early nine days it was like, oh my God, this guy's deranged And then all of a sudden They built around the farm system and they built this next dynasty and it kind of flipped the Steinbreadner narrative again. So when I get the go. So deranged they had Larry David made a Seinfeld caricature people are like, that sounds about right. Like that doesn't seem too deranged at all And But yeah,'s that's a good one And then uh There was this email from David Harman because I've been talking lot about home field advantage and homeomect advantage and what's happened And he reminded me that Wortham and Moscowitz did that book scorecasting when we were Glin Really getting in the first chapter is about home field advantage. they crunched the data way the writers concluded the single biggest factor was referee bias They dismissed travel, crowd noise, everything else and concluded subconsciously or subconsciously. The refs don't want to piss off the home crowd. And then he says in the last fifteen years, we have technology replays, we have these referee grading systems are different P pretty good explanation, right? I gott to tell you, it's a good explanation. I think the referees are tougher and better trained. Um, tougher in terms of like, I don't think they care about the crowd. I will say I'm getting it's it's old man yells at cloud me, I'm getting pretty close to the how about we just review nothing solution to basketball? Just like how about there is no reviews Because I just these games just take forever and the reviews sap all the time But soccer's fast. Soccer, they're banging these out. and it's like, how is this a hundred times easier than basketball Soccer Do arere they stopping the clock for the hydration break in the worldorld Club Okay, so they're at least stopping the clock for that Yeah. because I would love to introduce soccer to the stop and the stopwatch. It's great Great adventage seven Seven minutes. She's going to do seven. Eone good with that. seven would have been funny if they did that for game five of the finals. The spurs now have two extra minutes. four Okay, I guess it's four. four on the dot Caleb wants to know Jimmy Butler demanded a trade from Minnesota because he hated playing with towns and wigs And now wigs and toowns are now champions and Butler is not and likely w never be one. Is he going to snap this summer? I thought it was going the question was going to go the other way and say, who was who has been most wrong exiting a team U about the internal makeup of the team they exited Pretty crazy though Yeah and into like Kattin Wiggins gota done A couple more really quick. OG Laurerence from Toronto Asid OG is the Gope Per with no All Star selections. Right now probably And Andrew Miller was in the lead before that finals So I did the research, you want to hear the I did a deep dive Basketball reference, I looked at OG stats and only regular season stats because that's the only way can do it And I went I Over seven thousand career points. he's right around sevenenty thousand two hundred P are above thirteen, win shares above thirty five, value over replacement player above ten because that's where he is. No all star appearances Um The most points scored the answer is no. I just despite the fact that you can you know, you have to account for what just happened in the playoffs like twenty one a game on insane shooting, the iconic tip in I mean, Eddie Johnson has nineteen thousand career points and never made an all startar seam My our friend Edy Johnson from Yeah. Johnson in Termy. I was surprised too. He's on this house. No all stars. No all stars is not an all star as part of my ser. But he deserves it. He's a yoka chge. Johson That's what you got for H to Yogkage. Andre Miller' up there. CJ McCollum just in the news today, like three games into this playoffs would have been the answer to this question And I just think there are too many Sam Perkins is on here. Robert Ore is on here. That's an interesting one. Oh, Robert Hre is a good one. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of there's a lot of a lot un you else wre them because I Sam Perkins is a nice one too Yeah, no, there's a lot of, um There was Michael Cooper, Marcus Canbey, Jason Terry, Lamar Odam U is on here There's some good ones. Tony Kucoach. So what do you think the answer is? I think the answer is I can't Right now no, just because like the career stats are in's mist.'s another like seven or eight years. Yeah, but but because those guys are pretty like Jamal Crawford has nineteen thousand some points. Those are pretty accomplished dudes. Grant Hill is I'm sorry, George I saweorgeild. Geor Hild, forget. No, Gr Hill.'re God Georgeill Um I just think there are too many like Eron Gordon is a good one for this. another like, you know, championship Second, third, third wheel That's a really good one. and put us some stats So I mentioned M McKail Bidges by the way on this to consecutive game stream that he's am Mark, I messed up this email He said he watched without limits couldouldn't Iel but wonder if the Nicks figured out the Bill Baumann success equation into basically how he told Steve Pronte and stop front running because he'd lose You're burning out your gas in the gettingning spured out. I screwed this up when I did the pod and I talked about how he would roar from behind Baowererman was the one that was like, you're expending too much energy. stay behind, come up in the end And was that basically what the Kicks were doing? with the Bill Barran strategy of they would let the sppurs punch themselves out and then come in late. So I want to apologize to him Okay This is the last one, Zach JeffM boy He said, in honors from in honor of from Hell mononth and the reewatchables to come in this week I wanted to present the case on the Pacers having one of the worst from hell years in sports history. We lose the final after our beloved star tears his Achilles in game seven after hitting three threes The same star gets shingles, derailing his recovery. Our tank season is rewarded by losing our lottery pick at a fifty fifty coin flip. Arch Nemesis wins the championship without having a playoff and simultaneously kills the Halberton shot in Reggie Miller s been one gut punch after another I fully suspect Haliburton to get attacked with Africanized bees this summer. been riding with you for almost twenty years by far my longest relationship. That's Jeff M. And then Samir chimed in I've had enough of everyone applaud in the twenty six Ns without mentioning that everone through the team that knocked them out the last two years I can't remember another NBA team who just got to avoid beating their bugabot team to win it at all brutal way to wrap up the most devastating pacers year. So I got a lot of pacer emails like this And when you talked about winners and losers, and I think the nets were bigiggest loser of the finals I think the pacers were like second. The pacers a year ago were riding high with their fans And a year later, on top of everything else that happened to them, they had to watch the next one and the title. It's brutal You know, it's funny that it didn't pop into my head that way fununny because The Hallibon shot has been so in my mind because of what happened in game one of the conference finals this year where the Kicks pull the reverse comeback and have the shot that hits the rim and bounces in. So it's not like that team's been forgotten. But yeah you're you're right. the pacers limited the next two years in a row. The first one the Kicks just like ran out of players. I think they were the better team in that series probably Yeah and just like everybody got hurt including Brunson in the last game, Anonobi could barely move if you remember that But yeah, I mean, look, the pacers This is why they're one of my more interesting teams coming into next season. A like half their team is extension eligible and B. they just made the Zooot straade that became a little bit more painful for them than maybe they anticipated. But they're loaded for bear next year. likeike why not why not them as your East favorite? Why not Biggest question would be Hallalibt and what's he going to look like next year agreed. But Zoobots will be better for them. They basically have everybody else back in some form. sameame coach, all that stuff. And I got an email from Mark. a couple people asked this too The Halburn actually getting hurt in game seven. Is that officially move into like one of the higher levels of great what ifs in the Aolute Lague No question. It's also like if they win that game, does all the Brunson stuff happen with Haliburton last year to some degree, probably mean his stats weren't as good. He was eighteen nine and six in the finals Brunson thirty three in the f like there was something different to what Brunson was doing, but Halbur was in the vicinity What if Oklahoma City has still has not won a title? Like what I mean again, if we're doing what if like they lose that finals and then that this year happens exactly what as it happened and they're still like what is this offseason like for them if they haven't won a title. It's also like one of the most I mean, there's been obviously like gruesome injuries happen more than you would like. There was just one in a soccer game the other day for Canada, right? Like Th those are horrible in terms of just like, taking away the drama and of a big moment like that I can't remember anything quite on that level to the point that when Brunson went down in game one. theseese finals I had like PTSD from that like you do not like we've just spent a week hiping up this finals. Everyone is beyond dam dump. please do not let this be a thing that just erodes the finals and like that. I can't remember ever feeling like that during a game. like that was game seven forget that he starts hot and all that. It's like this magical run by a team that pretty much no one saw getting that far in the playoffs and they might actually never won the title. neverever won the title. obviously ABA theyles but fifmost years ago. But like just and then the whole game was weird after evenven the pagers being weren't the paters ahead at halftime by like or it was like a one point game at halftime. It's just it felt like you were a zombie the rest of the night SJA talked about it during the playoffs actually saying he wanted to win again because it was so weird the way they won the title the first time. He almost wanted a normal version of the same experience. That Halburn thing was like a black cloud over that whole night Zachlo, doing a podcast tomorrow. I think so we we're all kind of on Yonis waiting on Yonest and call like We're like doctors. We're on call with Yonis. Yeah, and then yeah the mercy of Yonis tra. I have a busy sports fan week coming up. and so we're going to have to find ways to pot around that and during the NBA draft, I will be in weather permitting in whatever stadium they're playing in Toronto, watching Croatia play Panama. and I can't I really it's my first international soccerame, first big international soccer game ever. I really wanted to just like, I want the I want to sing the songs, I want to drink. I don't want to be sober. and now I gott to be sober because the draft is gonna to be happening. Who knows? I might podcast that night after the game. I'm robbed of like full hooliganism. I'm robbed. I think just pod the next day. J have the whole experience. I'll be there with my Croatian brothers and sisters who got gott to win this one, gotta win C to get W Good luck. Thanks for popping on. G bring in a Joe House right now to recap the U.S. Ooy By Zach. Bye have fun This episode is brought to you by Barshead. What if we told you the taste of deep fried turkey is now available at your local deli? Well, Barhead just did that Bursting with flavor, perfectly seasoned with that indulgent taste, that usually means planning your whole day around it presenting. of Friyar's turkey breast only from Barhead ard tradition now available behind the counter Visit your local deli today, Discover the craftsmanship behind every bite boars head committed to craft since nineteen oh five pushed hard today. Now give your body what it needs tonight Before you drift off, reach for icy hot nighttime recovery roll on for fast acting pain relief with a blend of lavender and eucalyptus. It'll help soothe muscles and joints while you sleep, supporting overnight recovery, setting you up for a stronger comeback the next day. After a painful day, make icy hot part of your nighttime recovery ritual Iy hot, You're so back This house coming on. I see a a black screen. I still see a black screen. C you hear me? There go Yeah we did it. Hey, we did Zach low. H ac Hi boys. I saved one last mailbag question for you before you tell us what happened in the US Open. Let's go because we did a bunch of pacer ones, but I had to save this specifically for you Connor from Mndinneapolis. Did the last two years of Nedanna Pacers mirror the plot and Boogie Nights Up until game seven of the twenty twenty five finals, being a Pacers fan was like being a nineteen seventies Dirk Digler fan Things were looking great The ball dropped that it's nineteen eighty. Halliburt gets taken out like littleittle Bill's wife to team tanks and loses their pick like Aamber Waves loses cust of her kid all while seeing the rival the Kicks replace them like Johnny Doe Watching the pacers on Lague passass was as bad as Dirt's music career Can you give us more sports parallels to the cast of Boogy Kights with the Pacers K keeps going. So that would be Kevin Pritcher, the JM is Jack Horner. Halibberton and his dirt. Pascal Siaka, Mazambra Waves It's my dojo. We gotta do somebody Kevin Pritchard is worse than Jack. Ke Kevin Prchard the number Yeah He should be in jail for what he did with I pick Yeah. Nemhart is Reed Raothchild I'm actually mad Earon Nesmith as as roller Girl Sure. You never know when he's just going to pop in and change a game TJ McConll is Becky Barnet OJ OJ Top and his buck Kind of never know where he fits in, but he's always ambitious. Miles Turner, definitely little Bill. just out. Uh Catherine is Todd Parker. Todd And then Brs's Johnny Doough. And I think that's it I think that's it for the bang. Yeah it's a pacer for you. Okay. Great job. So we started this live podcast during the last few Holes of the US. Open. I assume Winham Clark was going of business. You're going to be talking about with Nathan later tonight Imair way wrong but He made it a little hairy. He won by a stroke What happened? He bogy the seventeenth hole, which is a par three. He was on the green and, you know, he left himself. This was partart of his true secret sauce. This entire golf tournament. He made so many pars from, you know, ten feet from six feet from thirteen feet He saved Par like crazy and then it came all the way down to the very end And the seventeenth hole, he had a reasonable five or six footer Um and and and he ask it he gacted it, but He he validated because he came out on the eighteenth hole He his approach was short as he was fifty two feet from the hole U on his the put that he had on the eighteenth toall. He needed to get down in two to win the golf tournament and he putted to like two inches. I mean, it was an awesome put that he made on eighteen. So youre root for the playoffs. And you also don't you're not a big Wyndemam Clark guy Well, I I I don't I don't think I'm alone in that Yeah. Can we dive into this?? Sure. Yeah. so he wins wire to wire and he's American and it's US open And yet you could feel it in the crowd all weekend. Teepid applause for the good shots and then If something bad happened, you could hear a couple of people doing like cheering or whatever. It was just It seems like all these little tiny things that he did, but nothing major, but they all added up and people have just decided I don't like this guy. Well there were there was back speaking of major a bit of misbehavior last year at twenty twenty five at the PGA Championship He threw his driver, snapped it and it came close to hitting somebody behind him. He was angry with the shot with his driver snapped it throughrew it and almost hit somebody. Well maybe that person shouldn't have been there. Well that person wasind the te. I mean, that person was not in harm's. should not have been in harm's way And then he the real cherry on top, the most infamous misbehavior was at Oakmont where the US Open was conducted last year. oututside of Pittsburgh, one of America's all time great courses, a great US. open. menu with all of this history. like when you walk into the clubhouse, the history it's the same, you know, floors that people have been walking on. and when you go up to the locker room, they still have the wooden benches that have spike markarks that are there that have been there for eighty years or so. and Hy terrible on I think Friday and went up in there with some kind of of weapon and smashed in one of these lockers that have been there for, you know, decades and kind of rolled out without going or, you know, doing the appropach. my badizing. Yeah, no my bad. And so you know, he's been living with that since, and it really made him unpopular. And there was not a giant act of remorse and contrition to follow quickly enough, I think for at least sort of golf sickos to where it was clear like he he's he has owned it since then and he did, you know, pay for restitution. He did make a char. So he basically became Patrick Greed from this A little bit. Yes. and you you know, in some respects, we've been missing speaking of Patrick Reid A villain in golf. I was gonna say, all this sounds great. Like we always talk about how fucking boring golfers are. then we have a guy destroy a lockerard at Oakmond. everybody's like, put him in fucking jail. You're right. P jacket. Definitely get so mad. pick aside, do we want charismatic fucking crazy golfers or just boring guys What do we want? Well he got his act together and today was especially compelling because the entire crowd was rooting for Scottty Scheffler, who he was playing with. He was the crowd was rooting for Scottty Scheffler because it was Scottty's chance to to win the grand sllam. his first chance to complete the Grand sllam. didn't have it. I watched the first fifteen holes before we went live on Netflix and he just he couldn't get it going to make a but. I mean, he going to get over it. He was getting, you know, his his especially on the back His approach play was very good. He was putting himself in position to make Birdie. he just couldn't get any of those puts to drop and Clark hung on. He got out to far enough lead on Thursday. He just hung on for dear life. I mean, after Thursday, he shot two over par over his remaining three rounds, but not the right two over for you because you had You were shorting him yesterday. I sure did with him yesterday with some wagers. That's true. I had him over seventy one and a half strokes yesterday.. I did that today. Did you have that today? I didn't touch it today. I left alone all the betting. Well he did It was a classic. He's up six. Wha. now he's up three. Yes. L within like half hour of when the tournament started. There was regression built into the performance, especially yesterday. I mean, he really pulled the Saturday round even Par out of his butt. I mean, it was a miracle that he saved Par from from several of the places and he had Really the whole of the tournament was the eagle that he made on sixteen on Saturday in front of no fans whatsoever because yesterday, Saturday, they started the final groups off at three hundred forty five, three, you know three thirty in the afternoon because they wanted for television purposes to for it to be some prime time and for that golf course, you know out there in the Hamptons to get some of that late afternoon glow Everybody got the fuck out of there. Everybody's like I'm not sticking around to watch this. There's trains that take two hours to get to New York. So the golf course is basically empty, but the shot of the tournament was his approach on the sixteenth hole. He made Eagle, the only guy the entire golf tournament to make Eagle on sixteen And that that to me was really the thing that Well he won by a strokes. so that ended up winning in the tournament. Yeah. And then Sam Burns was was great today I got to see his whole round O charge. He did forty forter at one point and did the whole thing, but it was just he had pos seventeen and eighteen either one of those fall. Now he didn't really make a great stroke on the on seventeen but on eighteen. That ball was half a rotation from going into the hole and then we would have had a playo and then that would have been something Would that have been an eighteen hold playoff or just a sudden No, So they changeed that rule. It's now a like twoo aggregate and I think they play the same hole on repeat.. That's right. I forgot. they did that. Little while. Yeahes. just I remember the guy All right, so what's your grade for the tournament overall It sounds like it was like all the golf threads were on and all the people we know. everyverybody like really seemed like they enjoyed rooting against Wyndham Clark, which is like a fun It's a fun wrriinkle for a golf tournament. It was like we don't really have the American villain ever Yeah, we we didn't get kind of the the carnage that this golf course. can deliver because there was anticipated Wind in the forecast Thursday and Friday and it never really materialized. Wyham Clark was supposed to be on the wrong side of the weather forecast on Thursday, his sixty four was what won on the golf tournament sixty fourth Thursday afternoon when the wins were supposed to be at their worst So that piece of it and there was some complaints you know the USGA was very careful to not have the golf course get away from them to where the balls were were going to be because of the wind, you know, just rolling off willy nilly So they watered the golf course and there were some complaints that it was a little bit too easy earlier on You know, I give it the whole thing overall I guess a solid B. I mean, wire to wire is pretty impressive out of Windham. He went out and did did the damn thing and we got one hard charge out of San Burns. on Sunday, which is I guess all you could ask. We needed somebody to do it. Yeah. Six stroke Lague going into Sunday Um, you know, leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the drama, but we got some drama I'm asking Claude right now How many two time US champions in golf have there been? What's the answ I think six seven U He won this couple years ago in twenty three. Yes. Th then he wins this one It's more than six or seven. s still thinking. Yeah. it's more because Tiger faster. Tiger and Jack both have multiple twentyw four men. Yeah, okay I was thinking about there was a stat about how quickly guys have won, you know, after you win one, how quickly do do you win your second? And he's in the top handful of guys. He did it, you know, in pretty short order Where's he in the, uh pecking order for American golfers now. forget this one Yeah. I mean, he immediately puts he's changed his his putter at the masters this year. And he was like putting one hundred and thirty fifth on tour goingo into that tournament. Now he's number one on tour and it was his Potter that saved his ass all week long And now it seems like the sky' the limit with the confidence that he has putting wise because you know, this Chinnacock is an enormous putting challenge and you know, he was all around though, very good off the te. He was in the top fifteen in his short game, he was top fifteen and his putting he was top five. That's how you win a US open But he's not fucking drives too. Jesus.. Well because they they had the benefit of a very firm golf course. So lot, you know Bryson had a four hundred and one yard drive on the eighteenth hole before he missed the cut on Friday Um, But the yeah, by the way, that was your best pick of the week Thank you. Yes. I did. You shorted Bryson. You I said he wasn't going to make the cut. I was was like four to one No no the odds went way down. It started off near two to one for the week and then as it got to be Wednesday going into Thursday, America woke up and jumped on. I would like to say very humbly on fairway rolling two weeks ago. I said, I am betting to win att the US. Open, Wyindham Clark and Sam Burns. I had two picks that were from weeks ago I said, I just want to have some money down. att the time Sam Burns was forty to one and at the time Winham Clark was thirty five to one So U You could just see those both of those guys coming in in very qu. Well you should you should text me that info as you're asking to borrow money to pay for your Saturday Windowam Cark pets. Well, you could you could also listen tond by you. You could listen to the show. I mean, that would be another thing. I'm I'm just trying to, you know, because you did get killed on Saturday I Ty Windham was going hit like a seventy five I thought he' was going to shoot seventy three. I't. There's so much to bet on right now. It's I mean, this World Cup. I'm just waiting into these I'm not even asking to bundo anymore. I'm just like, a Belgium. All right. I walked right into it. Hench put Turkey into a parlleay for us even after I swore off Turkey. I told everybody they never setting on Turkey again. All they did was was take shots on the net that didn't go in for two h hour Turkey sons of bitches. I didelve I had a three team parlay on Friday and that was the last piece. It was like four to one then All they did was just shoot the ball over the net and head the ball to the side. We said don't bet on jurkey anymore and then we did it because we're about Paraguay. What time is the bus? What team is Yanis on? And I miss you and I want to But we don't know. He's going to wait until the most inappropriate time possible the trade is going to be announced. The draft? Yeah, p the draft. one minute before the draft I've loveved the World Cup though.re Are you didid you get patriotic on Friday Oh I mean, you know, it's must see TV at this point now. This is because of how dominant U S was against Paraguay and and the like eye opening reaction to the soccer by the soccer community Yeah taking US seriously like, well, if the soccer community is invested in this team and thinks that they're capable of great things and I want to see it. I want to see what they're capable of. And I thought that performance against Australia, that was a trap game. Um, but they didn't get trapped. They let themselves, you know Go out and feel it. I love my guy is McKinney. I love that guy McKinney. I feel like he's the the straw that stirs the drink. I love honestly, they had the most liable group of dudes they've had. I love Jedi Hey, the Freeman How about that? Antonio Freeman's son Amazing Unbelieve what we've been begging for. Yeah, right This is these are these guys are bad asses. They got our athletes. I didn't feel like we flopp that much. I just really Valan's been great we'll get pololistic healthy. That's the key What's happening with your team on Tuesday night They think you're taking AJ. I sure do. Yes. I do think that because they're trying this always happens around the draft or it's like Sources say the wizards taking a longer look at Darren Peterson. It's like they're taking AJ. My phone has sources say they're taking a long look at Peterson and that's just people telling that saying that to me. But Im not I'm not permitting it I'm not acknowledging it HJ one. I heard Utah maybe had a secret workout of Peterson this weekend. Okay I don't know what happens at two though. I still think they're taking Boozer, but if, you know one workout and Obviously they have to do all the diligence on Peterson. What would you do if you were Utah Bzer I take Bizard. I think he raises their floor and For that team what they've assembled, you want somebody that's not a question mark in any way, shape or form that can immediately come in and help the overall, you know, help the the tide rise up, you know and be on the same timeel. I like having crazy front court depth and figuring it out because I think it's easier to get guards than You don't have another pick though, right U no, I think that. You' born the first time, right? And you'll try to trade Anthony Davis at some point You have to go do fairway Rowand. I see you. on Tuesday night. Live right after the draft. M, J Kow man right afterwards. I cannot wait. We'll do winners and losers. All kinds of stuff. Maybe We don't need drunk house, but maybe like ay drink. A couple of drinks house. Yeahah. I have toast AJ. I have to welcome AJ to the city with an appropriate. Probably maybe sing a little Washton song Um Thanks to Zachlo. Thanks to Je House. I'll see on Tuesdayight. Thanks to Gaha and Eduardo as well. Thanks to everybody who watched on Netflix. I'm going to see you again on on Tuesday night. Thanks, House My pleasure Must be twenty one plus in P presresident select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino