Development and Future NBA Goals

Coming up, we have Es Barahhini from the athletic, talking about game three of the NBA finals, what we're expecting going forward in the series as well as the Yanos under the Kpo sweepstakes and guards in the twenty twenty six NBA draft. And then later in the show, I got Karem Lopez as a potential lottery pick in the twenty six draft talking about his journey all the way from Mexico to Spain, then to New Zealand to the NBA. It's a fun conversation with Karem. that's all coming up right now It's the best time of the year in the NBA right now with the conference finals, then the finals, then the draft and summer League And on gameime, you get the advantage as a fan. It's the hack for unlocking amazing tickets and just a few taps. It's incredibly easy to use. and the game time guarantee means you can trust you'll get one hundred percent authentic tickets to no matter the event that you're trying to go to. Plus Fes are always included so you get to see what you pay. 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They come with small fries, a soft drink, four piece McNuggets, and one of nine legendary compumps. partarticipating incal's for limited time,e supplies last All rights reserve twenty six McDonal's FF F Wor twenty six. ODeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, ONDeck's loans up to four hundred thousand dollars make it happen fast Rated A plus by the Better Business Bureau, and earning thousands of five star trust pilot reviews, ONDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at OndDeck. comot Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by ONDeck or Celtic Bank. Ondeck does not lend in North Dakota all loans and amounts subject to lender approval. Welcome back to the Kevin O'Connor showhow. We're here to discuss game three of the twenty twenty six NBA finals, a Spurs win in Madison Square Garden, one fifteen, one eleven, joining me from the athletic Raptist's Republic S Barahaney. S. What's up, man? Dude, living the dream. It was first of all, thank you for having me, Kvin. What a game It feels like we've had three great games, you know, Close encounters fourourth quarters have been like the margins have been very, very thin And we've seen both teams kind of throw their punches. San Antonio throughrew their punch in game three. I thought they made some really interesting adjustments that I'm sure we'll get into, but It was a great crowd, great atmosphere. It was my first game in Madison Square Garden. So to see that, you know, live and up close, very, very cool But it was a great game man. It was an awesome game. It was a lot of fun. We've had three really good games. I mean, this has been an A plus series so far. It feels like we are headed towards a deeper series. We'll see. it's hard to predict, obviously. Nx could blow them out on game four and it could be a five game Gentlemansave. who knows how it's going to result? But you mentioned the adjustments in this game Game three, number one thing that stuck out to me is the Spurs defense felt like theyd turned the Nicks into an IO heavy offense. There weren't as many of those beautiful drive and kick sequences like we saw previously in the series for the Nicks. It was more stagnant. They were pressuring Bruunson full court, getting the Nicks into their half court offense later, switching on ball very aggressive against Bruunson What did you see that slowed down that N offense from the San Antonio defense and game through. The first adjustment is the fact that they they committed to putting Lembonyama on Josh Heart. you know, I think for stints in game one in game two, We saw that they sprinkled in those moments where he was guarding Heart sagging off of them into the paint, but this time they just fully committed to it. I don't think we saw that much of Weenby on Carl Anthony Towns and that really unlocked the Nicks driving game. He was able to attack closeouts, obbviously Weenby being further away from the basket allowed theur the Nicks to be able to drive a little bit more And so I think that was the biggest adjustment defensively that allowed the rest to your point be a little bit more isolation heavy. I mean, the Kicks were, let's see, eighteen assists to forty shots or forty made shots Comparing that to game two where it was like twenty nine, thirty assists to thirty eight made shots It's such a massive difference to the style that the Kicks were able to play. I think that directly is, you know, a Cl Anthony Towns thing because toown scored eleven points on ten shots. It was definitely his quietest game of the finals offensively. I think a lot of that has to do with one U the sppurs picking Stefan Castle to guard him, make things physical on him. The Nicks, the spurs in general were very physical with with Cat And then the other side camping out Wemby in the paint, making it so that if there are drives, they're going to be met by Wembinyama And he's a little bit closer to the basket. He doesn't have to guard as much space, right? You remember that crazy play from game two where they were springing back and forth, the drive kick, the beautiful game Nicks. Yes. That didn't happen in this game. And the only time something that even came close in game three was that Wey swatted Lander Sa shot into a bl, which was incredible block It's crazy to watch oney live in person because they're like, oh, that's a wide open layout. Yeah And it's no longer a wide open layup. It just disappears. It's incredible. Remember in early in the first quarter, I think there was a moment where like he deterred somebody from even attempting a shot at the rim and then he blocked the three. Yeah. I forget who it was on. I was like was Yeahbe it was first three, four minutes of the game blocked the three point. I was like, okay, it's one of those weby nights and I mean you mentioned they had him on Hartmore That's true Castle on towns as well more often towns in the game. Game one, sixty three touches. Game two, sixty four touches Game three, forty five touches. Yeah, that track. And it felt like he was just invisible for many sequences of the entire night. compompared to games one and two compaarered to this whole win streak for the Nixon, which he's been a focal point. I think the Nicks to me, it felt like got away a little bit of handanding the ball of cattle. It was a lot of Brunson dribble, dribble, dribble. It almost felt more like last year's Ns that fell short. And with Jalen Brunson, I think It' it's partially what he had to do given everything you're talking about with the adjustments But also it felt to me sometimes it was like a bit of herall. was getting into things slowly, running the offense slowly, making slower decisions just dribble dribble, dribble over and over again. Do you feel that as well watching the game or I alone there? Yeah, I wonder if it is by necessity because look at the end of the day, I was looking this up earlier, but Bronsson is thirty of eighty one in this series, shooting thirty seven percent from the field I think the Spurs guards did a much better job in game three of containing him on those drives, not letting him get to the free throw line. I mean, look, we can get into the free throw stuff because Mike Brown was clearly not happy about that after game three, But ultimately, I think A lot of that has to do with the Kicks not being able to hit their shots. like Lander shham it was one of seven in this game. They didn't get the ancillary guys knocking down the shots. Of course, a great OG An andobi game, but you don't have brridges knocking down the shots is a guy that the Spurs defense is willing to live with knocking down those threes. Kat was unable to knock down in space. And so the spacing was a little bit tighter for Brunson to attack. I do agree that that's that's a that's a crutch for them things aren't going their way when that secondary pass doesn't lead to a shot. It ends up being Bruunson, okay, I'm going to be the hero for this one. He struggled in this series and to the point about Kat earlier. The Kicks are at their best when Carl Anthony Towns is their best player, you know, and I think he' the MVP when he's the Yes, absolutely. and I don't, I don't mean that it Jnson was trying to be right away into the e. Okay. All right. Okay mayaybe it wasn't intentional or anything, but that's what it felt like watching a game where it was like, oh this is a guy shoot his way out take his award batch. Right, right. Hey, maybe, you know what? I don't know, but I do think likeike stylistically, the Kicks are just at their best when Carl Anony Town is their best player. and I understand how important Jayen Brunson is to this team. He's hit two massive shots in game one and game two that that iced those games for them But at the end of the day, like the stylistic difference between a Carl Anthony Towns led team and a Jalen Brunson team is clearly different. you know, and it it's a difference maker, especially against the Spurs team where you don't necessarily have bigs to contain cat in the way that the spurs want to. Wemby's obviously there but it's a tough match upp for him I was just Seeing a quote on screen a quote card from Steven Steven' similar to what I just did. a good thing. A good thing or a bad thing playing a good perception It looks like he was playing to be an FP rather than play. That's a good take. Good take. I did not even see that. it's a good take. I didn't even see that. I went straight to bed, woke up, did podpp this morning Speaking of Bronsson, though, I have some stats for you. This is what I was putting my time into this morning Brunson continues to struggle in the WMB lineups on for the series This is crazy. He has scored sixty five points with Wemby on the floor on twenty two of sixty six field goals, thirty nine percent effective field goal percentage with Wemby off the floor, Bronson has scored seventeen points on eight to fifteen, fifty three percent effective field goal, which is basically equivalent to his numbers efficiency wise during the regular season. So Were We're seeing what we've seen throughout the playoffs where Wemy on court is causing opposing star ball handlers to see their efficiency plummet. happening in SGA last round, forcing him out of the paint. It's happening against Bruntson. I think it's a little different with Bronsson though, because Bronsson is normally a highly efficient perimeter player on mid range jumpers and three point jumpers Part of it, I think, is what Castle and the guards are doing are able to do against Bronson when Wimby's on the floor. But the bottom line is you see these numbers on screen This is not going to cut it for the Nicks in the series. They win the first two games But ultimately Jalen Brunson needs to be more like in that right category. Brunson would Wem be off the floor. He needs to be more efficient or else this could be a series that swings heavily back into the Spurs favor It's fascinating to see that because it's like sixty six shots. obbviously, Weenby's on the floor for a longer majority of than he is off. Yeah. It's it's also like I don't know how you feel But every time Jayalen Brunson runs a pick and roll with Mitchell Robinson, good things happen. You know, I think even against Weemby, Mitch has found ways to seal Wey off and those driving lanes get Brunson a c screen little go top screen. Absolutely getet him some easier looks. We actually saw that in game three a couple of times when' Bruunson and Mitch. I wonder if that's a counter. likeike just have those guys paired together more of Mitch or Mitch Rob even though we saw him less than game three. Yeah. we saw actually saw small ball. Yes. We saw smaller Well I think they were trying to juice their the Th point shooting and passing. I think so. But I think they should be playing more Mitchell Robinson, especially because now the spurs have countered, right? They've they their defensive adjustments are clear It's like what what are the solutions that we have? I think it is more Mitchell Robinson. It very well. Robinson also has played good defense on Weby. Like one on one has done a good job of containing. He has. And I mean, I think that's the interesting poull for Mike Brown because on one hand, I think You're right Good things seem to happen more so for Jaalen Brunson and Pickking roll with Mitel Robinson. Yeah. but also he is a hackable threat That can totally ruin the flow of yourball. I love that. And I is I think I think it's it's a tough balance. And also Carl Anthony Towns, you want to play him as much as possible Smallall did get them the lead in the second quarter too. So maybe there is something to small ball Yeah. But it did feel like the small ball did run out of a little juice, which is what tends to happen against bigger front lines. but ultimately, I mean For Jayalen Brunson, he needs to be straight up better. And I thought with Victor Wiminyama, he was better in this game and that was in part the way the Spurs adjusted with him Game one He took twenty one total shots in the game Nine of them were threes, S came in the paint. Game two, twenty one total shots Six were threes. eleven came in the paint. game three. He had eighteen total shots, only four threes and thirteen of them. cameame in the pain. So thirteen of his eighteen shots. came in the paint in game three and by game, his first two games shot distance shot shot distance was closer, assisted opportunities. He was ten of ten of his twenty one shots in games one and game two were assisted opportunities. in game three, fourteen of the eighteen shots were assisted opportunities. So they've realized Carl Anthony Towns has this guy under control one on one self created chances. We're going to find ways to get him buckets at the rim with assisted chances. It was I honestly think it had to do with Weemby's level of aggression in the pick and roll with Daron Fox and with Steph Castle, it wasn't about him popping out more. It was rolling and really making the Kicks have to tag him those tags like they came, but he kind of found ways over top of it. L he had a couple of loobs where even through traffic, he was just able to get a hand up and dump the ball I agree with you. I saw that there was there was a tweet, shout out to whoever tweeted this, but shot distance was a big thing. So in game one and game two is, I believe seventeen feet in game one, sixteen feet in game two in game three, ten feet to get him in terms of shot distance. So they're getting him closer you talked about the assisted pr points. you look at Just shots in the restricted area between Castle, Wemby and Harper. They had thirty two of the Spurs forty points in the restricted area. And forty points in the restricted area is good. Like the paint battle was pretty split, but in terms of restricted area points, which is points at the basket, the Spurs absolutely dominated. Part of that is Weenby. Also, I think the trickle down effect of that is the Spurs guards were able to get downhill more often because of Weenby's gravity. We talked about the Gortot screens with Brunson and Mitchell. It has a similar effect We're now Okay, Castle can kind of snake the pick and roll. He can use Weby's gravity and finish at the basket and Castle had an incredible game to with the driving, the An ones really showed his aggression. So it's that's the way the spurs offense is at its best is when Weemby is aggressive, now your scar guards are able to be aggressive and it just it creates this trickle down effect for an actual good offense. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think thats spot on us. I mean, and ultimately, I think for Weemby, you mentioned the aggression aspect that he had two dunks basasically in the open open to three minutes. and I was like, oh wow, the throw the ball up to the kind of felt like one versus OKC right where most of his buckets were in that restricted area. Yeah, of course he hit that crazy shot at the end of the game, but A lot of what you saw from him was, hey, I'm going to force the issue. I'm going to make the reps make the calls. How many free throws did he end up having? He had nine free throws in that game. partart of that is just being more aggressive. Part of that is is making the referees actually make the call. Yeah absolutely. I mean, obviously Wendby is an elite free throw shooter that sure helps out in those fourth quarters as well. I think I think with Weby it's interesting early in that game The throw it up to the tall guy strategy. We saw that late to. you see the play he had where like he, I think it was foox threw a kind of a lob in the lane. he kind of guided an in Chamberlain style. Absolutely. I mean, o my God. I mean it's inreak out. I'm like this guy is nuts. It's also again back to back to the defense like on offense watching this guy doesn't make sense. You're like, oh, that's going out of bounds No it's not going out of bounds. he can ca out the ball.ly nobody else can get there. It's impossible. And you really, it doesn't make sense how absurd he is until you watch him li.. E from our perching angle of of being a million feet away, you can actually see it a little bit better, just his size advantage compared to everybody else That's what. lookook, again, I keep coming back to this, but maybe more Mitchell Robinson because again, this is a seven footer who can contest some of those lob opportunities, some of those ducin opportunities. I feel like that's the solution for the. It's interesting. I mean, we saw the Kicks go small. I knowame, but I do like in the back of my mind, I'm wondering, could we see them go too big? You know what I mean? You know what's crazy? So I did a video about the Kicks before the playoffs and a lot of their success in the regular season was actually with one of Kat Robinson. It wasn't with both of them And rarely ever They rarely go to those. I feel like that's not something that we'll see. but still in the back of my mind. Yeah, yeah, that's fair. They have they have the c that can pull. Yeah, you know, abbsolutely. It's necessary. And look, it's the finals. You're two wins away from a championship. you really only need to win one to be the commanding team here. and it's at home. I feel like The shots need to fall, you need to play with better pace. This is this is the way that the Ns got of win. And I'm got to say with Weenby, like from a psychological perspective, he has this horrific turnover at the end of game two throwing it off the back of Stefan Castle. and the next day he's painting statues painting statues in New York City with his sister. Yeah H he is, you know, game three bounces back thirty two points eight and six in the game. Yeah. He was outstanding on both ends of the floor played truly a perfect game his best game of the entire series. G to give him a bit of credit there for bouncing back as a young player. and he did say I'm built for this. He did seem built for this Yeah during game three. I'll go even a step further most of the spurs line up outside of, I guess,, you know, their big man and Luke Cornet has no finals experience. Yeah. you know, And all of those young guys answered in such a massive way. you talk about resilience, the fact that they lost their first two games at home coming into this crazy crowd in MSG and they were still focused and wired in and you got the supplementary shot making of Devin Visll. you got Julian Champani knocking down a couple of threes. Fox had a big shot in the fourth quarter. obbviously great games from Castle and Harper and W Binyama young nucleus for the sppurs. They could have just given up. They could have said this series is over. we're done. We don't have a chance here in MSG. And the way that they responded in game three shows you just how incredible of a team this is. I mean, they won sixty games in the regular season. they beat the defending champions. There's a reason that they're here. And I think we saw that in game three. I think so as well. as you mentioned something earlier about the way the spurs were operating on offense Before we get to that, I just want to read a quick promo here. The all new twenty twenty six soccer pickam is here just in time for the world's biggest soccer tournament. makeake picks each round, earn points and climb the leaderboard. You can play solo, create a private group with friends, join a public group to play with other fans, or even join our Yahoo sports group to see if you can beat this. Join at Yahoofantasy dot com slash soccer pickam Allright S You mentioned the Spurs offense. It felt like to me they were targeting Cat early in that game. You mentioned Castley aggression in those pick and rolls, just downhill relentless attacks at Carl Anthony Towns early in that game. by the numbers Pick and rolls defended per game. This is either as the pick andoll ball handler or the pick andoll screener defender Towns twenty in game one, twenty eight in game two, thirty two in game three, Brunson teeen in game thirteen game two, twenty four. and game three So they clearly, the Spurs that is made a point to we're just going to bring Brunson into picking rolls as much as we can to wear him out, get him involved and we're going to attack towns downownhill relentlessly with some tough hard drives You're causing Nicks fans some trauma right now because I I've mentioned this before, but any timee you want to attack the Nicks, it's Brnton and Kat in actions and put them in actions and try to get them into a blender. And Nicks fans are just so sad about because there's no real solution to that, you know outside of Obviously, I think pinching in with OG and Bridges and heart and having those guys help a lot in pick and roll situations and truthfully just hope that the ancillary guys, the roll players for the spurs aren't knocking down their shots. I think that's the biggest thing here On top of that I would say the the pick and roll defense particularly, a lot of that had to do with them tagging Weemby You know, because we saw in game one and game two, the amount of bodies that they were throwing at Weembinyama, just not letting him get into the paint. right? Brunson was even Brunson, who's six foot two on a good day was tagging him pushing him out as soon as that roll was coming. And I feel like we didn't see that as much. I feel like we didn't see or An andobi or those guys being the aggressive tager, making sure that Weenby isn't able to get into the paint or just limit his opportunities there. He got a lot easier opportunities getting those loobs. So that's probably the counter. The other thing is when the sppurs are knocking down their shots, they're so much harder to guard but they were disguising a lot of weak side actions, you know, whether it was Champanne in that corner or Vasll in that corner to make it a little bit easier for their pick and rolls to work It was a lot of empty side stuff for Fox and Lembanyyama. so there was a whole area of the floor that they could operate. It was just I think it was just more proficient offense, you know, I think they had one hundred and twenty two half court rating at some point in that game. It was because of their shot making. It was because the other guys were able to knock down their shots. And again, this is how NBA offenses work, man. Like if there is one specific problem that a team can't take away, it starts to trickle down into everything else that you see And when the spurs are hitting their shots when you can't guard the pick and roll, it becomes a tough night at the office for the Nicks defense. Did you think this is going to be a sweep in her in game three? No. No I did not No. I thought they weren't swav. There was no way that the sppurs were going to get swept. I just I thought it would have been insane if a team that won a seven game series with the Thunder ended up getting swept by the Kicks Look, I know this the Nicks have had a dominant dominant run and that should be given credit. I mean, thirteen straight wins, one of the best point differentials ever in that time That's awesome, but this SpurS team is also awesome and they find ways to answer. Again, I think it's a level of resilience that both of these groups have. Now it's like, okay, The nicks have been punched in the face Let's see if they can counter. Absolutely. I mean, especially their first loss that's april twenty first. Yeah right I mean they how do they bounce back after their first loss in nearly two months? That's kind of crazy. That's crazy. That's really nut in the middle of the playoffs. Mike Brown after the game complained about the the free throw disparity in the second half, twenty four threeree throws for the sppurs to eight for the Nicks. He said, I never thought, you know, I'd be in an NBA finals and we'd be talking about free throw disparity in a in an NBA finals game personally ask didn't see it watching it live. I felt to me like there were a few extendi calls. Yeah ye. but for the most part, I just felt like the Spurs were a more aggressive Forceful. downownhill attacking game whereereas the Kicks the thing all the things we talked about bit more stagnant Not as much driving kick, not as much flow I felt like it was more Spurs defense driven. Yeah. That said in a game where Wenby, you know, tugged at Brunson's head and we saw a Carter Bryant truckstick and a Stefon Castle truck stick. Yeah I can understand why any Nicks fan would be feeling like really dude, right flagrant for that on Weemby. Do you not want to get him suspended for a game? I can totally see that argument. but the twenty four to eight aspects I don't have as much of an issue with It's some of those other calls where I could see why Nick fans are just furious this morning. And I think by the way, that's probably what Nick fans are telling themself about Jalen Bronsson because what's one of the great things that Bronsson can do is get to the free throw line. I know he still did in this game, but they probably wanted more. They probably wanted him to get to the free throw line more and honestly the Spurs level of aggression. It's one of those things where they're like, we are going to foul every single time so that you have to the refs have to decide when they're going to call a fou. It's something the Thunder do incredibly well, but the Spurs do the same thing, which is we are going to be as aggressive as possible. We are going to force the officiating to dictate how this game is going to be played. And in game three, it was, you know, I do think it was in favor of San Antonio. There were there were a couple of like touchfouls that ends up going one way or another and that will flip a game. Ultimately, And I don't know how you feel about this, but one of the big things with officiating in the NBA is the consistency. You just don't know night in, night out what kind of officiating you're going to get whether it's the physicality and just assessing what kind of physicality will be allowed in any game. I mean, obviously there was that one time you mentioned the truck stopping, but like Castle elbowing Brunson on the offensive foul. and they I think they said it was nothing in that. But those are the type of calls I'm sure Nick fans are looking at and saying, how are you not calling I saw w ost last night saying it's kind of like no blood no fall series. It does feel like it really does. Yeah. I personally am loving it. I love it a lot. I think like you're combining the beauty of the nostalgic aspect of the eighties and nineties Yeah with the physicality and all that with the modern day spacing and flow and passing and shooting I find the blend to be unbelievable to watch. Dude, do you feel the same?s the best basketball that has ever been played is my opinion. The level of physicality that we're seeing, the ground coverage that teams have to just cover spacing wise, you think about the three point era, everybody talks about three point shots, but it's also ground coverage for defenses. and we are seeing just from a sppur's perspective, from OKC's perspective, from the Kicks in these playoffs, some of the best defenses in the NBA and the way that they are able to contain that amount of space That's just something we've never seen in basketball. You go back and watch like eighties hoops, nineties hoops the spacing and how much ground that had to be covered compared to now. it might be two times as much ground covered just because there's guys who were pulling up from halfcourt. There's guys who are able to like attack closeouts consistently, drawing out the big man. I really do think it's the best basketball we've ever seen. And to your point about toughness and physicality. I think the NBA has taken that note over the last couple of years where they're allowing the physicality to be an element in the game. And of course that happens in the playoffs as well where You know, no blood, no foul. I was texted with my buddy Phil who works a job that is very, very busy. He's like one of those dudes that works eighteen hours a day. And I'm so sorry Pil. I mean, he loves what he does. he does he doesn't have like a lot of time to watch basketball during the season Yeah. And he he texted me, I think it was after game six or seven, one of the two of the Western Cmts Finals And he's like, this is the best basketall I've seen him It's awesome. And like he's somebody who's been a fan of the nineties and two thousands a little bit older and loves that era of basketball. Yeah. And this is the best it's ever been. Yeah. And I feel like that's the thing when I talk to some older fans who still watch the game. they're like, oh it's better than It's ever been. It's But there is a nostalgia aspect that I understand sure from the past ever. Yeah. abbsolutely. And look those those stars, by the way, in those eras would still do well in this era. course I really think a lot of the skills are replicables transferable to any era the greats truly are able to do it whenever. I think that applies in honestly any sport. If you're great at it, you'll be able to play it in any era. But basketball, you see the way that again, ground coverage is a massive part of this. three point shooting is a great part of this, but also the level of physicality that scores have to deal with now. We've talked about Brunson, we've talked about SGA, the sort of trickery, if you will, that they're able to go along with. That applies to a lot of players in the league now. they are able to dictate what the defense is giving them. I mean I would wager, I don't know if this is necessarily true, but I would probably make the bet here that in terms of stars They get blitzed and trapped and double team more often than they probably have ever. And so that that has a trickle down effect to the amount of space that people are guarding to. So I guess some'm lose notes S from last night's game number one of my lists here is Spurs went with their all skill lineup at the end of the game last five minutes. I mentioned this, I think it was after game two. I said, well we see Three guards, How are Harper Castle Fowx with Weemby and Vll. We did see that. The last four minutes and fifty seconds of the game They got outs scored during that stretch, but they had played only three minutes together during the regular season and one minute together playoffs. I played five straight minutes to close the game I'm intrigued by Mitch Johnson going to that lineup as his closing unit because I think even though it got outs scored, even though it felt like there was some plotting possessions offensively still despite having all those ballhlers out there I think there's something to that decision that he's made with having all those guys out there in part because Even though things did get kind of mucked up at times, we did also see Castle hit a big shot Fox hit the clutch pull up, despite not having the best game Yeah. he had that pull up. There' the points of attack from different areas of the floor with Vll instead of Champanney and having the three guards out there. I think there's something to that that Mitch Johnson decided would be effective for the team. and I wouldn't be surprised if we see it even a little bit more looking forward to me it's what the Kicks do well, which is have five guys on the floor that can make decisions, dribble past you. right? And you know, we talked about modern basketball, but that's sort of the way things are leading, which is you need to be able to make a decision on the floor. If you're a basketball player, if you're an NBA player, you have to make decisions now. And from the spur side of things, all of those guys that you mentioned can do that, you know, having extra ball handling is a big factor here. It was a huge factor in the OKC series when, you know, the Thunder didn't have Jayalen Williams, they didn't have AJ Mitchell and the ball handling for the sppurs really allowed them to carve out an advantage. Now you can lean into that more against this next team that Truthfully, I think those guys aren aren't bad defensively either. They're incredible defenders. So they can hold their own against bigger guys like OG and Josh Hart Probably the way to go. I wonder if we the sppurs lean into that more often. He said OG twenty eight points, drives on Weenby big threees but excellent defense. He had a sequence where he hadit a step back on Dylan Harper and then he blocked Harper on the other end. I was like, this guy' possessed. How can they lose this game? The OG in an Obie Kight? Yeah. And they did lose it. They did That was that was the most cool Y Leonard askk I've ever seen in Now everybody talked about it. It was like this guy's the next. But he was he that was the most coi Lard esqu he's ever the pull ups. he had the like mid range jumper going. he attacked close outs. This guy by the way, has no fear of Victor Wbinyama multiple times now in this series where he's attacked the close out and tried to dunk right over him that's That's the fearlessness of OG as a player. I think You know, back to what we were talking about with isolation basketball and a little bit of dribbling the air out of the ball This isn't a knock on him because I think o Oh, Gee' is an incredible player. He's one of my favorite players of all time, as you guys know, I cover the Raptors, but Sometimes when OG has those big games, it tends to be the nights where the Nicks aren't moving the ball a lot. And the ball finds him. He's able to knock down his shots Bailout plays It's bailout plays. It's it's the ones where you don't necessarily have a great shot But OG ends up being the guy to knock it down It kept them in this. they were able to stay close, but I think that's a symptom of some of the issues that we were talking about. I think that's a really good point in part. I mean, like OG having to find the ball in his hands with Yeah eight seconds off in the clock is because of that Yes. Yeah. You're not getting those early offense chances. You're not getting transition chances in the sppurs barely turn the ball over in the game. It was only eight turnovers to thirteen for the Kicks and you're not getting that. you're not getting drive in case. you're not getting the these second second side opportunities or third side ball swing and sides. You're relying on OG to have to make a play at the end of the fuck and it isn't your ideal, even though tonight it worked and it did help keep them. In the game. I mentioned the turnovers like really straight out of the gates. Nicks had some really sloppy turnovers right away in the game. and like you look at it in the end, only thirteen turnovers. It's not like they had twenty plus. But the turnovers they had l the twenty one points off of turnovers for the spurs. It felt like every time they coughed it up The furs are going back the other way and some of the turnovers were just just silly So sloppy. Yeah like just passing it to wide open space. Nobody standing there. Even in the fourth quarter, there were a couple possessions where, you know, the Nicks got to stop points I think was like a three or four point game. They had a chance tie to take the leader tie. and they would dribble down the court and Brunson would kick it out to the corner and it would be like, OG misses the pass or Hart is like trailing the play and is isn't able to catch the ball. Very silly mistakes that actually seemed or it felt like game two for the spurs where the spurs had all those turnovers with the pitchback passes, the cross court passes, the ill advised stuff I think that happens when you're trying to force it when you're rushing things when the Spurs defense is dictating the pace for you. And I mean, look, we saw that in game three. I think I think it was OGN and Oi post game. He said it. He said we weren't on the same page and I agree. they were not on the same page gameud We'll be right back This year's girls trip to Tur Ride was the best. We went up ourselves. With my Spphire preferred card, and with five times points on chase travel plus three times points on vacation homes with top brands, we got this incredible cabin. It was a mansine. And with three times the points on dining, we ordered a Wagu steak dinner. And that pistachio gelato was too good. So where should we go next year I've got ideas. Chase Sppfire prereferred. the card that's preferred for a reason. Cards issued by JK Morgan Chase Bank and any member of DIC, subject to credit approval. terms apply Now at McDonald's, get an eight dollar McCicken or a nine dollar McDouble FIFA Wor Cp meal deal. They come with small fries, a soft drink, four piece McNuggets, and one of nine legendary compups. A participatingcal's for limited time. Allw supplies last All rightes reserve twenty six McDonal's FF Wor twenty six. On Deck is built to back small businesses like yours, whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps OndDeck loans up to four hundred thousand dollars help make it happen fast. Rated A plus by the Better Business Bureau and earning thousands of five star trust pilot reviews, ONDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at OndDeck dot comot Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OndDeck or Celtic Bank. OndDeck does not lend in North Dakota, All loans and an amount subject to lender approval your experience getting into the arena last night because I obviously there's a lot of talk about all the security, President Donald Trump Join attendance in Everything was Yeah more locked down. Yes, it was. I will say, it did seem like every seat was filled twenty to thirty minutes before people did get in. Yes. the buzz before the game was amazing. Absolutely There was a real thrill It was like, oh my God, this feels like the finals. However, I'm curious about your personal experience getting. Honestly, it kind of surprised me that it filled out that way. I thought there was no way that the arena would be filled because of the lineups that we saw outside. So I mean, kudos to the Efficiency, I guess of everything that was going on. For us personally, you know, I had a great experience getting yelled at by Secret Service because I was in the wrong lineup. But how many times can you say that? you know, gettingting yell yelled at by S secret Service? You were wrong line? I was in the wrong There were two different media lines and then we got into one and we stayed in this and they're like, you gott to go to the other one, getet in there. I'm like, okay, all right, sounds good. It is what it is Honestly, outside of the commomotion and the lineup outside, getting in was fine, findinding your seats were perfectly fine, everythingthing else was fine. It worked out well. And to your point about how loud it was, I would put there put it up there as like one of the loudest arenas I've been in my life. you know obviously Toronto, twenty nineteen finals, that's probably still number one for me OKC in game one of last year's finals was very loud. That was probably second. You know, I think some San Antonio crowds in this series have been really loud in moments This was a really, really lou loud crowd. I still think the loudest crowd I ever was in was After Isaiah Thomas lost his sister he scored forty something points. That was a great in the playoffs against the wizards. I think I've been doing a lot of loud games at TD Gardens throughout my life since I was a little boy going to games with my dad.. I think that was the loudest possible level hit That's That's a surprising one. I would expected that I mean, maybe I don't know. mayaybe it's just in my head because motion of the night Yeah. But I really do I wonder if there's like some stats at Teny Garden in behind like what's the ldestciible level because there's something about that night kind of curious. shhot after shot after losing his sister and had surgery and all that. like he was Okay now that we're sharing stories, I think the loudest crowd that I was ever part of was twenty fourteen Game seven Raptors Nets. There was a moment where Darren Williams was at the free throw line and you could genuinely see the rim shaking. You know, and that those are the type of moments where you're like, man, like I might lose my hearing after this, you know, those again Crowd pop and MSU was awesome. Yeah. But you know, hey, it is I always I bring my earplugs that I use for concerts. Listen older fs like yourself. I've had my tinnitus scares th. Oh I had a tinnitus I still do have tinnitus, but it's very subtle. It's not that noticeable.. Like I had my tinnitus scare like ten years ago where Noticeably hair in my ears for like a month or two straight And I was like, oh my God, is this going to be like this for the rest of my life Yes, but it like kind of like l the volume lowered Is it the worst when you're sitting down in bed or like lying down It's the worst for me if I don't get enough sleep. If I don't get enough sleep, my tinnitus is always louder the next day. If get If I get my seven to eight plus hours, I am good. It's not even noticeable Yeah at all. But it's very important to protect your ears. It is a disclaimer for people. I will say like don't be young and dumb like me at concerts and wear the ring in your ears as a badge of honor Tough. Yeah yeah Bring air plugs brring airplugs and use them bring good ones. So it's like, youre not you don't want to ruin the experience. Yeah, yeah. Maybe someonees twist them out a little bit for a good song and put them back in for a song you don't care about as much. but it's true. Have you watched the movie Sound of Metal? No, I haven't. No. It's about a drummer who ends up going deaf. And so he he deals with the ringing at first and then he slowly starts to lose one of the best movies of the last ten years, but I agree with you. One time that happened to me, I had a tonight of scare as well. Salt Lake City We were coming back and apparently because of the elevation or something like that, I had the ringing in my ear. It was scary. And it was also one of those things where you're like, am I is am I going to deal with this forever? Yeah That scary. Yeah. where earplugs. A lot of a lot of older media members, you will see them put the earplugs in because it gets dealt with it. I mean, it' another quick disclaimer, not, I mean this is NBA files plock It's very important My mother has something called hyperacusis, which is like basically the volume has turned up to twelve. all the time, rightight? So it's like you can't go like busy restaurant. like it's really packed.'t can't tolerate it It was causeed for her from MRI So if you're getting an MR, you know how loud those are? Yes, Make sure your hearing protection is properly in W I no idea gre you up. Yeah. So like take take your hearing seriously Games, concerts, MRI. Yes this is brought to you by the hearing Society of America. Yeah if there's ever some technological advances to cure tinnitus or hypergusis, that would be horable. But it is true I mean, I do think for like going to games like that, like the loudness. I've been to games like I remember Houston. I excite this game all the time. Harden had like a forty eight point eighteen assist twelve rebound game in like twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen. And that was like one of the best games I'd ever seen in person. It was actually against the Knicks, Rockets Knicks and the crowd was dead for the game. And I remember sitting there like, wow, how thankful am I to have grown up a Celtics fan Go to those games with loud crowds even when the team was bad Never mind when my favorite player is having a historic night and the crowd is dead. And So it's like I think there's I've been in Nix games when the team was bad. This was my first team. firstirst time in a N game when the team was great in the finals The crowd was good when the Kicks sucked. Yeah. and they were an ugly team. The crowd was good. I have been the bulls games when the team when the bulls sucked Blls always suck every time as long as I've covered the league. The crowd is still great. You can feel the buzz in the arena. You can feel the buzz outside the arena and you root for teams like that to do good. And so for the Nicks, I'm looking forward to seeing game for tomorrow to see what it's going to be like. Yeah. because I mean, I would imagine the vibe will be a little bit less confident after this game three because game three it's like Nixon four sweep, right? L like you're done, Weemby They're boom him every time he steps out on the court, Game four it's going to be like, we gott to win this one. You gotta win this one because now you go to San Antonio if you're tied two two and there's a chance to sppurs take the three two lead and you don't want to get out that conversation. That's scary. I would still look After everything that we said, I would still favor the Kicks in this series. I think they have the solutions. they have the answers to what the Spurs can do. U it just it's just about execution for them. You know, especially when it comes to Carl think tals, it's just about execution. It's just about that guy being the best player in the series. If he can do that For two more games, the Kicks will be NBA champions I think I think so too I think so too. But that said, I didn't pick the spurs in seven. I I pick the spurs in six. So that's Okay So I mean, I do think like everything that could have gone wrong for the Spurs the first two games did go wrong And the margins were so close But every game has been so close. even the first game, ten point game. it wasn't really it got extar It was extended at the end. It was a close game It's been an A plus ten out of ten series. Thats for me personally so far. likeike I couldnot wish for any more Maybe you're g give it a nine point eight instead of a ten, you know, this sort that you can nobody best finals since I mean, last year's finals were incredible actually. now that I'm thinkking about it. but this one's better than last year so far You think so? I think so. I mean these games have been amazing. Yeah, but we got a seven gamame series. I know we did get a seven game series, but like the first three games I don't know man. No. I can't do it yet. No. It's we got a seven games series. I know the first three games. Okay, sure, maybe. Yeah, I don't know, but no, no, I'm going with the last responp We'll see though. I agree with you that it could go seven and I mean, everything rides on game four. You know this so well, but game four of any playoff series is the best. That's the one that completely dictates the series. I wonder what the stats are on that where like how many teams in a two one situation end up going on to win the series if they win game four because really does feel like whoever wins game four for most of the playoffs series that I've watched in my life ends up going on to win the series. So we'll see what happens. I think It's it's it's going to be fascinating to see from the from the N side of things we're going to see any maj adjustments here because the losing team tends to always make adjustments like the Spurs did enter in game three. but also I think For game four Will there just be a different type of vibe outside the arena? Non basketball? Well c will be will there be still. I don't know. but ultimately, I think these finals, I think we're set up to go deep into the series. Yeah. even after the two games going into San Antonio winning both. It's hard to fathom that actually happened. but there's something different about home court nowadays, post pandemic. Yeah. Home court isn't as powerful as it once was.. what do you think of the factors behind that S? I think teams are more experienced and we talk about a sppurs team that is an experience, but teams don't let the road crowd get to them as much I actually think the younger teams benefit more from that because They don't know any better Like younger teams. think that's what it is. I really do like think about how young tes before. Sure But think about how often young guys, young players get like a phone forced into their face from when they were twelve years old. That's one thing. is psychological about upbringing. I feel like it has to be because it's one of those things where They have been used to the attention. and attention from a camera point of view since they were like ten years peopleople in their mentions and their DMs tell them they stuck they're loser that're going to make it. They've dealt with about that. hundred percent. And I actually think that helps younger teams now. deal with the pressure a little bit better. Like we saw OKC last year. we're seeing San Antonio this year. I think there's a level to Just young teams not knowing any better and being like, look, we the pressure is that they do know better and that they like they come in more grizzly. Right. I know what You know what I mean? Like it's because of their life experience or like this guy yelling at me from the second row. Yeah, it only like makes me gives me more fuel. It doesn't make me shake. That's makes me more conf. That's what Steph Castle was saying before the game yesterday. He was saying like men The Wemby hoopplaw and everything that's happening right now, that kind of reminds me of my time in Yukon. Yeah. you know, And this is a guy who's won a national championship. He knows exactly what it takes for the fanfare, the crowd, the atmosphere. I mean, those games can get crazy too. And so I don't think these guys get phazed by these moments. one bes a guy who played in the Olympics, you know, I mean like all the U seventeen U eighteen U nineteen like Olympics Mets ninety two. he's coming second place, second place, second place, second place, second place. Yeah almost every time he's competed at the highest of stages at the biggest stages. So ultimately for him, he's like used to these stages as well So I think there's something to that, but but still MSG is like a different level monster, but it's first seem completely unaffected by it. Yeah. it's it's cool. I that's that's why I'm fascinated for game four because I think they showed a level of calmness and resilience throughout this series. Honestly, even when they've been losing in the first two games, it felt kind of weird how cal they were about the situation. It's like, hey, you just lost two games at home and Weby's out here sketching in a park. just I think that shows you the type of calm the type of like collective effort that they all have will be fascinating game for a spontaneous topic here and It tell you we would discuss, but it's just coming to mind. beforefore we were on the podcast, we're talking about each of us both interviewed Bennett Sturts. Yes. potential top fifteen, top twenty pick in the NBA draft of rappers' target, potentially a number nineteen as well. Jalen Brunson, Tiny guard Yeah in this series Nixer in the finals. Yeahep with a guy who's been there MVP and Jalen Brunson. 'm curious about your general thoughts if you've watched these playoffs as whether pros and cons, about size for guards and its's importance because there's a lot of small guards In that draft range of the ten to twenty five range. feeles like it's all small guards. basasically five to twenty five. Really. It's a lot of small guards. Like ACuff is a small guard. Le Baron Fylon. Berlland Falon is a small guard. Bennet Sturts is like six two ish, right? Mikeael Brown is is like sixty three, one hundred eighty five or something like that. And then you get to like Christian Anderson, who's also smaller small. Ibuo Cy is like six two ish I'm curious because I think Jalen Brunson is the exception to the rule. I think Steph Curry is the exception to the rule. I think Alan Iverson was the exception to the rule I made a video about this at the athletic if you guys want to go check it out, but it was about how rare it is to see a guy like Jayalen Brunson be as prolific of a score as he is as deep in the playoffs as he is when it comes to the rest of the league. You just don't see it as often And especially when it comes to Brunson and his style of game, it matches what the playoffs want the most. I know he's struggling here in this series, but for the most part, he's been an incredible playoff score. likeike basically for the four seasons uh that he's been in New York. He's basically averaging like thirty points per game only guys who do that who haveve done that six foot two and shorter. Steph Curry, Alan Iverson as a Thomas. Like those that's a very small group of players across forty years of NBA basketball. So when you look at the draft guys, I'm kind of curious about how they survive in this league. I think every single guy, whether it's Christian Anderson or Corey, ACuff, whatever, sturts Being small does not help you in the NBA anymore. I think Jalen Brunson is the exception to that rule How can those guys become the exceptions? Be Rob Dillingham struggled in this league. you know, he still kind of struggles in this league. It's just It's very hard for smaller players, especiallys read Shepherd. Read Shepherd, sure. That's a great one too. Eespecially like not just short. physically small Weaker one hundred and seventy five one hundred and eighty five. Yeah. That's my concern with him. Fyon is incredibly skilled with the ball in his hands, made significant improvements his sophomore year at Alabama, improved his street pointor shooting, impro was driving to the rim improved literally everything across the board. He got better in the ways that you wanted Le Baron Filon to get better. Yeah. But he's one hundred and seventy five pounds. Even Brunson listed at one hundred and ninety. I'm not convinced Brunson one hundred ninety. Brunson don know dude he has like Yeah. Yeah thick legs, thick upper body. I think he's well over two hundred, like physically very strong. Yes and that's why he's able to bump You see him bumping sometimes on those whemby rollles and he's playing really. He's got tree trunks, dude He's g getting. He's got like n hundred and ninety pounds. Oh's serious here. plays more than Age just not listed So I think with some of these guys I can finally get to two hundred plus. I don't know. Yeah. I don't know. And like that Stur I mean, this is something interesting from the interview that I did, but Sturts was talking about how he heats like eight thousand calories a day. he's trying to bulk up in such a massive way. And sometimes that goes to hurt players, you know, I hope it doesn't for Sturs, he seems like a really good guy. Um, it's just one of those things where You also have to be careful not to bulk up too much to take away parts of your game. So much of guards right now, especially those that draft class is about speed and agility. like Christian Anderson, his ability to like score, get to the hoop. a lot of that is his speed. a lot of that is his quickness. Do you bulk up too much? Does that take away parts of your game? I think it's a valid question to ask And honestly, o, I'll throw a question back at you. Which of these guards is like the safest pick I think Bennett Sturts is the safest. Okay in part because I mean, so I interviewed him on Saturday for my podcast. I people want to listen to that to my version. They should check out yours as well again. Just do a double header. Yeah.ouble right after you listen to this. Bennet Sturts. I think Sturts is the safest in part because of the the size aspect. He does't have some strength to him to survive on But he has just so many different layers. He can Be an a elite offftball player. as a shooter off the catch as a cutter. he can be a potentially elite playmaker as a just a straight facilitator, not as a score, but just like get the offense and flow High assist to turnover ratio, great decision maker The shooting and the scoring translates Well then we're talking about a guy who has suddenly A lot of layers to his game as an essential engine. So I think with him, he just has so many different ways that he can contribute the game And there's a level of safety there with his experience level where, you know, playing playing at you know, D two to to Drake to then then Iowa every level he stepped up and maintain his elite level of play I think like Sturs is a guy I had ranked in my twenties after my interview with him. I heard everything that I wanted to hear from Sturs in terms of like how he perceives himself as a player and the things he's building towards. And I've talked I've followed up with a few executives around the league about that and like Alex Sturs' Really impressive in workouts, really impressive in interviews as well. So I'd say SturTs is the the safest from that next group, the non top ten group. Fylon the weight aspect, I worry about. Christian Anderson, I worry about He didn't do a lot of like outside of pick and roll. Like he really needed a screen to create space Um Wh else is thatp like a Cy. Cy is probably the higher upside guy I'd say of that That's the most intriguing of the bunch because he's also long Yes fifty percent of his shots at the rim despite, you know, that Stanford offense. Yeah get the buck He does get to the hp. Yeah. something with him. Also like to your point about defense. I think his his length will allow him to be at the very least like a pretty good offball defender. That's that's another guy. I think I'm looking for for Toronto. I would I would go big if I was the Raptors, you know, grab like a big or a wing. I really like Daylen Swain as as a wing to throw in there, but If they went guard, I think Sturz or Aquory is the guy to go. Sing. There's like also every year there's guys in the draft that Don't shoot Yeah, but they looked like they could shoot like Swain is an eighty plus per percent guy from the free throw line. He's got some touch in the paint. Yeah I think she shot like thirty five percent from three last year And so it's like a little bit of improvement after being a non shooter. I here his first two years and it's like, well, wait a minute is swaying and end up being the steel of the draft. R. right? Like if he goes to a team that has the right fix for his three point mechanics and you know off the catch Suddenly six, seven, six eight with long arms defensive playmaker who was up elite isolation player last year gets the hp all the time. Oh my God withithout a jumper. Yeah. guysuys like that. I'm like wait a minute. A we overthinking it with Dallen Swain and some of these guys? That's what happens every time. around this time of the year where like the draft coverage ends up being how can we poke and prod it basically everybody? you know? And I'm very curious to see what happens in this draft. Obviously the top of the draft is stacked. We'll see what who goes first Do you feel like there will be any crazy surprises upside? Look, I mean it's so hard to predict. Yeah. It really is I think these teams seem open. moves likeike I've heard I think AJ D Bana is the favorite to go number one. Yeah I don't see any reason why the wizards aren't going to listen. I think you know. Tom Habastro suggested it on your pod for OKC to go out and jump into top four. was that for Cambooser. I would agree. I'm here to say they should do it. They should try their because look, the first round picks at some point, you got to cash in your chips This is the year to cash in your chips. You've got twelve, you got seventeen, you got a bunch of. interesting assets to throw out and attach to those. I would try to get up there. like even if it wasn't for the Camboozer types, if you get like a di Mara Um It they like great I think so. Yeah.'s get to either, you know five, six eight Yeah. I think you know', you don't think top top four is hard to get it. I mean, ultimately as here's the thing. the big variable in this whole draft process, the whole off season is Gana up Janis, if he is moved to one of these teams in the lottery Man I had eight Miami thir at fourteen Yeah. I sorry, thirteen for Miami. Miami at thirteen, Atlanta eight Some of these teams warriors at eleven My feeling from talking to teams around the league is that the bucks putting out there that they think they'll have multiple water That might be just them trying to get as many prospects in as possible to schedule people. Oh, we're going to have multiple multiple lottery pick. Come on, come on right. Like come come to Milwaukee and you know work out for us. It might just be that But it could also be They have some stuff on the table for Jonison Numpo that is acceptable and that they're just waiting to drive up the price as much as possible. But like there's teams in the lottery that are intrigued. Yeah. You could make the argument for Atlanta at eight absolutely put on their both of their first round draft picks. I think Miami the arguments obvious. they could put on the table. You could argue for Charlotte at fourteen. Right? Imagine you know what I've heard the Miami offer I don't love the Miami O offer Yeah, I get it. They have thirteen The prospects don't intrigue me in the way some of these other prospects do. Like of course Tyler Hero is an intriguing player, but you have to extend him Whare is an intriguing player but has shown like very highs, very, very big highs and very, very low lows. And then Jaquez is like a good rotation player. I just I were the bucks, I would try to swing for getting the best blue chip prospect possible. Is that out there? Is that available? I think that's a fair question to ask, but let's say the cabs were able were willing to include Evan Mobbley. Would you rather the heat offer or would you rather Ev Mby don't either. Wow I'm not a mobile guy. I've never been No but fair, but like just from a value perspective, I don't want who do you want that I't? I Z I don't mo. Okay, fairough. Okay, I don't know, Chet home grin, I guess. I'd rather have chet than moly. I would agree. I think Chet's get a little bit more offensive skill, granted what we saw in the postseason. not does not help that argent one bit at all. It doesn't help. I'm trying to think like what other blue chip prospect would be available for Janis You know, I don'tither one. I don't know. Is there one? I don't think I know. Yeah. Maybe Anthony Black. I don't even know thousand is not blue chip. I don't know what's I don't know what's under What what you What's under? Yeah White chip. I don't know. I don't know what it is really idea. but I think I think Pick's heavy package. some flexible salaries, quality players Yeah in return. like to me, that's what I'd be looking for from the boxs because I don't know if they're going to get that Blue chip pros. right Aollo Benhero, bllue chip prospect probably Yeah. but he's not available Yeah.ably not Yeah, sure. A even then, I don't know if I'd rather That. then Very picks heavy package with. movable pieces because I think for Milaukee obviously you want everything. Yeah all of the above. But if Atlanta is making an offer for Janison to Cooper, arere they putting Jalen Johnson the t? No they're not. It was Reseese and Harts Yeah Yeah, if Charlotte's putting a deal on the table, they're not putting Brandon Miller or Con Knipple or anything like speaking hypothetically. Yeah. they're putting Miles Bridges and Grant Williams and like T man, those salaries and then all the picks, right? Exactly. That's what's on the table. If it's Miami, Tyler heroess not if it's if it's the warriors that doesn't exist in the organization. they're just giving all the picks. Jimmy Butler expiring salary and I mean, who else could even make an offer down? Alallas Alas. They're not putting Cooper flag obviously there's no blue chip to offer. So I think I think for of those teams I don't see the blue chip prospect. I think it's picks heavy. The bllue chip prospect is the pick right because of this year's draft class being as strong as it is. The bucks already have the tenth pick if they also get eight or thirteen, whatever the pick is, that's two blue chip prospects and then maybe that is it. honestly, you can also try to move up from there. likeike exactly if the clippers, you know, I feel like the cllippers are a very, very good candidate to try and trade down. There's so many guards and wings and whatever that they can draft from five to whatever. So if if you're the bucks and you get eight and ten or eight whatever You can move up. You can get to five. You can get another again, blue chip prospect, if you will. I think that would be nice. Also, can I just say outside of the draft stuff Minnesota should be the team that trades for Yanis. I feel like that is of where the pieces Okay, you talk about getting good guys and flipping them. I feel like Randall and Gobert are good guys to grab and flip. You can't you can't flip who wants to jooyle? The flip is available. It's like who wants Randall. It's not a bad team I don't want Randle. I'm a good team I don't want Randall. If I'm a mid team a dumb franchise maybe I want. Maybe the Sacramento Kings. Yeah. It feels like they're always the team. That' three L you best. You're the one who set it. You're the one who set it. Look, it is what it is. I will say lottery reform I feel like lottery reform has changed the one, the value of first round picks, but also how willing teams are to trade them. So if you are going pick heavy on the packages, I'm kind of curious whether that will be the case for Yest. you know, if someone's willing to include a pick in twenty twenty seven or twenty twenty eight and twenty twenty nine. I know the drafts aren't as good because of those flattened lottery odds, It might be risky. you never know. the drafts aren't as good but like they could Yeah players improved. Yeah. But I think to your point, that is the fear Well, there's fear in dealing any pick now because there's so much randomness in twenty seven, twenty eight, and twenty nine. Exactly. There is unknown about what's going to happen thirty and beyond. Yeah next decade because we don't know what system is going to look like. It's insane. Carly, there's risk in dealing future picks because the NBA willilly nilly can decide retroactively and arbitrarily to change a rule that ree months after the Grizies trade for unpoted underround pig. That pick can suddenly have an effective top five protection on it. So clearly, the precedent has been set the legal change rules without regard to what past picks have been dealt. So that's why I think there's some fear front offices to deal pixs twenty thirty and beyond Maybe that's more I think that hurts the honest trade packages. I think so. I think that will. I think I don't think we will see that surplus Michael Bridges for five picks type of thing. ever again I just do not see that type of thing happening. I know Yianis is obviously a much, much better player than Mkaelle. But I just I think the the market has kind of evened out here, if you will in terms of trades. What What if a team is like, you know what? screw it row the ch we're not going be in the lo. Well, the Toronto wpp. Hey, why they do seem like a team that would be willing to do that. I would have said that more strongly if Masi were still there. Yes Massi the Yianis connection. Absolutely. But ultimately, I mean, here's the thing though, like we're talk we just threw out a bunch of hypothetical teams for Gianis. Yeah only in the lottery. never mind non lottery teams. I think there's a lot of teams that you can make an argument Sould trade for Ian us. We didn't even have like non lottery teams. Boston I think Boston should be putting Jalen Brown on the table for Janison I would agree. Trade Jayalen to New Orleans or Atlanta, try to bring in Yana. He'd be a perfect fit next to tate him man It would be awesome. Also the two teams in the finals right now maybe there's an opportun. here in New York, they have talked about Janis at Nauseum, you know, and I know was they've Yonis clearly wants to play in New York. It's one of those places where he listed as a destination. San Antonio, can you imagine a combination of him and Victor Winyama? That would be insane. They could cash in on those two. I just I wouldn't putut it out of question that these two teams could make a run for them too. whyy not crazy to be in the files Flip be honest. Flipon.y, we saw the wararriors do it with KD, you know? a little bit different situation, but I still Well, let's say this. Okay. so the warriors did it after they they they lost in twenty sixteen And in a horrific way What if the Nicks lost blow two lead blow two lead and then go for Yan. I don't know. It's just Well well I could blow a two lead and they might go up three one and who knows if would let' say what if they were to blow a three one l Th long say that's. Yeah. like sorry Nick fans like your turn' be terrible. I'm hoping that. I' feel horrible for you. But if that were to happen I think you would ask serious questions Very similar. Yeah, you'd ask real questions. The Katie thing was different though. the cap spies Yeah yeah Katie Trader to Okay, see, I still I still to this day, yes I got issues I agree. I can fathom Your team losing three one. Yeah and then go into the team to beat you. Yeah. I can't fathom doing that. Yeah. I again, I saw a great tweet about this, but during the OKC San Antonio series, it would be like if you know, Shay was like, I'm going to go and play for the San Antonio Scriries now. Like that's how bizarre of a situation that was. just I can't fathom it. Look at, Wh knows how differently Katie's career would have went? He took a meeting in the Hamptons with the Boston Sellex and Tom Brady was there thought he should have one I think he should have went to Boston and maybe things would maybe he never would have the Sics win the chip. Well, that's the thing. mayaybe he never wins a title and things flame out in Boston and he's he's ringless to this day. But maybe he's still with Boston and he's got three rings and his jersey' going to be in the rafters I don't know, I don't know. it's a sliding doors moment for Kevin Durant in his life. I just think joining the warriors Yes, it was your best chance to win a title alsoso the situation where you knew peopleople would say you're joining a seventy three one team that just beat you. Yeah. You knew there was really no winning in that situation either. I think he should have chen They went on a fifteen game wind streak. We talked about it with the Nicks and going on that thirteen game wind streak. the team that record as the with Mike Brown. The team that holds the record is that twenty seventeen Warriors team with KD with Steh with those guys. They were unbeatable onene of the best teams ever genuinely could go toe to toe with any team And it's because Kevin Directed know. can't w seat. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. It is what it is, man. He knew he took advantage of an opportunity. shhout out to you, Katie. Easy money man. I know. you can't blame him, but at the same time. Yeah I just not what I would have Well, I mean, he's in a situation right now in Houston where it's like, what's next Yonest. Maybe that's another you exxactly We're thring out all these teams like well, they should be a honest and they should be aonest twenty eight or twenty nine teams should be interested in pretty. And that's the thing, even though he's older, even though he's over thirty, even though he's expensive, even though he's very whiny this past year, dealing poorly with a breakup Yeah. He's still youonest in the coy has a chance to be one of the ten to fifteen greatest players in the hory and his two years removed from being top two, top three and MVP voting for seven straight years by the way kidding right. You know, like that I think that goes lost on people. This is a guy who aver just thirty, ten and five for like the last seven years of his career. By the way, the injuries are a valid point, but I also I wonder if what the next step of Jonis' career is, like that second half of his career. I've always likened Yonis to KG where KG when he was in Minnesota was more of like a wing slash power forward. He transitioned into becoming a full time center I don't know if that necessarily happens for Gonest, but there is a transition to be had into the late not late stage, but like the second half of your career. What does that look like for Yanis? Because he's not driving the ball as much as he did when he was younger He's taking more mid range shots. hisis game has evolved to be a little less bruising What does that look like going to another team? Well it's interesting. I had Drew Hanlin, the NBA skills coach on my podcast. I think it was early this year, mayaybe it was last year, mayaybe both years. I don't know. One of those years, Drew said to me on the podcast. he said Yest came to him about wanting to improve a shot in part. because of the desire to be less of a bruiser over the long haul of the regular season, knowing the need to adapt conserve energy for the playoffs. He had gotten hurt in consecutive post seasons. He's say I need to need to stay healthy for April May and June I think this is a Jonest driven decision to be less of a bruiser during the full regular season And so with that said I imagine that he'd be open to being kind of more of that Scond guy on a team with with the primary. We saw. I mean, I saw a report Jake Fisher reported this that, you know, he's not open to being the second fiddle to Steph Curry, which is so fascinating. Yeah because is it's just a warriors thing? Is it Is it something else? It a Wester conference thing that's been reported as well. that Jana doesn't want to be in the West. He wants to be in the east. Yeah I'm sure there's other factors involved there, but not being second fiddle o Cry is at Morbuck I don't want to be the Steve Cer offense thing. Yeah. I don't know. I agree with his Western conference thing. Avoid the West as much as possible. S. you know, especially with OK Sene San Aonio whyy would you Well, you want to know what I heard, like this kind of relates to what you just mentioned there, like the being second fiddle or curry thing. If your're second fiddle of a curry. Harry is Hurry. It's his team. He is the franchise. He's going to be kind of a Katie situation. bigiggest statue. Yeah right? exxactly. It's kind of a Katie thing I've heard that Janas would love to be a kind of a historic franchise. You know, he did it he led a small market franchise that never won anything in recent decades to an NBA finals I've heard that he would like to be on a historic franchise, which I'm sure is part of the appeal with the Kicks you're the guy who comes in New York and leads the team to their championship. Yeah If you go to Boston, team like that, these historic franchisees. I don't know if Miami counts that. They've had so much success for multipleades, mayaybe they're becoming that. right? Yeah. And mayaybe Jas can help them reach that level for the next X amount of decades they are that team. Yeah. So You're cu you're missing a team here The Lakers. Well yeah, historic franchise. Yeah, but like, you know, the Austin Reeves trade thing. I could think of a Luca Yanna situation. This is what I'll liken it too. in nineteen ninety nine, the Surs made it to the finals. they beat the Kicks. Obviously everybody remembers the Tim Duncan comoming out party. He was awesome. He was incredible. became arguably one of the best players in the league almost immediately once he came into the league After nineteen ninety nine, it was Lakers two thousand, Lakers two thousand one, Lakers two thousand two. Why? the combination of Kobe and Shaack Lua Nianis in LA. I'm just I don't know, I'm planting the seeds here. storytell them, baby. I'm with you, man. I think there should be appeal there, evenven though the fit's not perfect. I think there's something special about what those two could do could do together. Yeah T high IQ players. I figure out. Absolutely. Yeah figure out and go Yes Thank you so much for joining me today. Finalals talk, draft talk, Yan' talk We did it all man. Yes. Thank you so much to As Barahini for joining me. Check him out at the Athletic and Raptorss Republic We'll be back again later tonight or tomorrow. I get another podcast coming more NBA finals coverage and a lot else. All thank you to Es Barry Hi for joining me coming out. We got Carem Lopez talking about his journey to the NBA With my Sapphire preferred card, we took a trip to a desert Oasis. eararning five times the points on Chase travel, two times the points on all other travel plus one hundred dollar hundred hotel credit. Chase Sapphire preferred, a card's preferred for a reason Card issued by J. Morgan Js Bank and a member of DDC subject credit approval terms apply Now at McDonald's get an eight dollar McCicken or a nine dollar McDouble Fa World Cup meal deal. They come with small fries, a soft drink, four piece McNnuggets, and one of nine legendary compumps. Participatingcal's for lited time, suppies last, Allrights reserve twenty six McDonald's F fore Wor, twenty six. On Deck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps OndDeck's loans up to four hundred thousand dollars make it happen fast. Rated A plus by the Better Business Bureau, and earning thousands of five star trust pilot reviews, ONDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at OndDeck dot comot Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by ONDeck or Celtic Bank. OndDeck does not lend to North Dakota all loans and amounts subject to lender approval All right now join me is NBA Draft Prosspect in twenty twenty six, Kareim Lopez. Kareim. How are you, man? Good man. Well first of all, thanks thanks for having me. excited to be here. L great. L looks great right now How are you I'm doing good man. So I think with you, it's interesting because you're a projected lottery pick, but a lot of people just watch college basketball. They're like Kareine Lopez, that's not a name I'm familiar with. So for for those people who have never seen you play, what's the Kareine Lopez sccouting report ot a report. o I'm a I'm I'm a wing, I play, you know, a small forward, power forward or whatever I think I play a lot of positions. I feel like, you know Very versatile in the court, you know, I I'm a flag player, player that can play above the room. you know, I play that A player I can has, you know, a very all around player, obviously, you know a lot of things to get better at, but, you know, I feel like I'm really I'm a good player overall, you know? caause a board and And just a fun player, I would say, a winning player. I mean, I I think you described yourself well there because you are an all around player. You have just so many different skills across the board. You're six eight, seven foot wingspan hundred and twenty two pounds you measured in at the combine as well. So you have size for the NBA coming in right now even as a nineteen year old rookie. And I think that's one of the qualities that's impressive about you as well. And the funny thing is There might be some segment of fans that are familiar with the fact that you've actually played against the NBA before. I remember in twenty fourteen preseason game against Utah. you had thirteen points, seven boards three assists two steals, one block ats seventeen years old and that one block was on a walker Kessler or Dunkt attempt, you grab grab the rebound opportunity, ran the breraak for a layup going back the other way. That showed off the two way ability. What do you remember from that specific sequence in that game Yeah, well, you know, I remember, you know, that was a great that was a great game, you know, great opportunity playing in NBA court for first time. I was only seventeen Yeah that play was that play was fun, you know, I feel like I showcase a lot of, you know, What I can do, I show the world, you know, who I am a player, you know, can play both ways bothoth sides of the of the court, you know, getting getting that block in a big man, you know, taking the ball and just going in transition, you know, using my He's my ball ability, my ability know to get on the break and Yeah, using myth playism two to finish to finish the play. It was it was really it was fun. It was fun You were born in Mexico, right? How old were you when you left to play in Spain Yeah, I was born and raised there. you know, I moved when I was fourteen. Did your family go with you too? or is that just like? Solo adventure at fourteen years old It was, it was a sol adventure. It was it was, you know, the challenge something that I wanted to do and Yeah, I think I think it was great I mean, I can't I can't fathom what it was like being fourteen years old moving to a new country. I lived at home until I was twenty seven. I didn't even live on a college campus. Total opposite experience of you until t I totally left the nest. I mean, it's kind of crazy that happened. I mean, what was the conversations like with your parents at that young age when deciding to leave home Yeah, it was it was a challenge for sure. and it was, you know not just for me, but also for my family, especially, you know, my mom. You know, she was like the one that was kind of like most hesitant, you know, she didn't want to let herer baby just go at fourteen years old to a whole different. continant and you know, by himself, but You know, it was an opportunity it was to just follow my dreams, rightight? It It was an opportunity to just, you know get better and it's something that I really wanted to do. My dad understood that, you know, and my mom ended up understanding that, right? So You know, as it was It was a process but, you know, at the end at the end, you know, they They figured, you know, it's what I wanted to do and it's what I needed to do. So you know, they let me go. and I think it was a right decision by my parents right there, props to them You mentioned that dream. was that dream at the time the NBA And if so when did that dream to make the league first kind of spark in you? Yeah, absolutely. The dream, you know, has always been to make the NBA. since I can remember, honestly, you know, since I'm a baby probably since I have use of of my my brain, right So yeah, my dad used to play You I used to play P pro and in Mexico, play with the national team, so you know, that's how kind of Got into basketball and ever since I was really young, you know, watched the NBA No, like every, like every hooper in the world, you know, dream about about making it one day So Yeah, that's when it started Now that decision to go to Spain. obbviously, it set you on a path to where you are today as a potential lottery pick in this year's draft. How did it help Growing up in that Spanish system that's produced taght a lot of, you know, NBA NBA level talent, international level talent as well. I would say helped a lot. You know, I helped a lot in lots of different ways. First of all, I'll start with like off the court. I'll say, you know, moving into a different country, a different played by myself, you not having my family. Like it made me mature way quicker, you know, it made me I'll see the real world, see Say what it is about. And you know, live things that, you know, many fourteen year olds don't live. So I would say, you know, that also helped like on the court, right? And, you know, the, you know, the system the European style, you know, it's different different to to the NBA, right? M and more tactical, more like alf cour, you know, more of a half cour game or more said plays. So, you know It's about expanding and you know, adapting learning. That was a learning experience for me. I learned a lot, you know about basasketball, I learned a lot about myself, you know, and I feelel like I grew in lots of different ways, you know, I feel like my IQ proroved, I feel like, you know It's a big part of my game And It's a thing that really like helped in my development And you know, also I was playing against the older people You know, s s Yes, as I can remember so So it was it was really good for me, you know, just getting that experience, getting, you know, to play against better players, stronger, faster, better than you. You know, it makes you with ad thatap that makes you, you know wants to get better and makes you, you know more hungry to just get to that level. I mentioned earlier that game you played against the NBA team, the Utah Jazz. That's when you were in Australia or with the New Zealand Bakers rather in the Australian Lague and you spent two years there. with the breakers for you, what was the biggest difference between year one and year two with the New Zealand Breakers? Yeah, I would say going into year one with the breakers, you know, I didn't I didn't necessarily knew what to expect. You know, you're going into a whole new environment. you're going, you know, as a seventeen year old kid. I was, you know, super skinny goingo against People that are thirty, people that are, you know, have been playing the game for having pros for Pan Plause years So, you know, just at first I was just trying to adapt, but I knew in the back of my mind and I really always knew that, you know I was ready for it and I was gonna you know make an impact and I was gonna Be good in there and I feel like, you know me took me a couple games but I feelt like, you know, I real I adapted pretty quick and Yeah, I would say the difference with you too is, you know, oming' here too, I knew the team. I knew the league. I knew the, you know, The pro, the pro life if you want to say it like that So yeah, I was also much more confident, you know, having a season under my under my belt Um, I was I mean, way better, I was faster, I was stronger, I was bigger I was just better overall. I had more experience. so I feel like, you know I just improved way too much across the board Do you feel like New Zealand put the ball in your hands more? Was there more responsibility for you in that second year Yeah, I would say I got the ball I bit more in the second year Yeah mean, I think the connective ability like the playmaking you showed off a little bit more in year two which is probably part of the appeal for you at the NBA. You're not you're not necessarily, you know, going to have the ball in your hands every possession like a Luca type. You're not that. But you are a guy It does feel like who can as we talked about earlier, that block you had on Kessler can bring the ball up the floor yourself. You can run a pick and roll, you can set a screen and operate out of the short roll. can post up with your back to the basket or face up, you can be used as a guy who attacks a clothes out from the corner and makes an accurate kickout passes. I feel like the connective ability when I talk to NBA teams is one of the more appealing qualities about you on the offensive end of the floor Yeah, I think that's, you know, something I've I've always been been good at, you know, the development throughout the years. I've been, you know I had the opportunity to show it a little bit more this last year than the first one I would say, you know Also a lot of other stuff that I haven't, you know Maybe fully shown or shown, you know, maybe I've shown flashes but I haven't, you know consistently, you know, Sown that I know I can do and that I know I will do at the NBA level was as years go go by and I improve. So yeah, you know there is You know, you got I don't think you guys have seen have seen it at all. Definitely not I'm curious about that because I mean, like in the N Stars program, there's been, you know, three top ten guys, Lameellaall, Josh Gitty, Alex Sar and there's been a number of highly productive offensive players. I think you've been one of if not the most productive two way guy overall player over over two ways. You were the youngest player in NBA NBL history to record a double double that happened in october twenty twenty four. You had a career high thirty two points in january twenty twenty six earlier this year. And in that game, you showed off a diverse ability as a scorer. I remember in the second second half of that game late in the game, you had this almost kind of like a dirt one footed fadeaay right around the free throw line area and you hit a three early in the game, did a lot off the dribble Is that what you mean when you say showing off more is kind of kind of that offensive skills set as a scorer Absolutely, you know, I feel like Like I said, I showed in the flashes like that game, for example, you know, had the ball had the ball in my hands had to, you know, create more And it's something I'm comfortable doing. You know, it's something I really I really feel good about, you know, my abilities to do that and Yeah, you know, like that that dirk as fadea away if you can if you can call it like that. I feel like it's something that' a shot that I'm pretty good at. that I've always been pretty good at, you know, but yeah, I'll continue to show it more, you know, show more of my my You know skills and in my talent What is your biggest area of improvement on the offensive end of the floor? I would say on the office if any sit. Yeah in the offense event. Yeah, I would say, you know I' say, I mean, I'm working on everything, right? in this pre drive process. but you know, I would say my shot consistency, you know, I'm a really I'm a really confident shooter. and I think, you know, if you watch the film, you can see it, you know, the shots I was taking, I was not hesitant at all, you know, was Land Land a fly even from, you know behind the arc, you know, a couple a couple feedback or, you know evenven what I canest you know, I'm really confident as a shooter, but I feel like, you know I had stretches where I was really good and I had stretches where I was not so good, right So you know, getting that consistency up, I feel like you in my game for sure you hit thirty three percent of your citch and shoot threerees these past two years in the NBL. Were you more of a non shooter? at younger levels and you're like still growing into what you will become as a shooter U I guess I'm curious about the history of your development as a shooter. whereere you once a guy that didn't shoot much at all Not really. I've always I've always shot like I've always shot threes. I've always, you know, Yeah, I've always taken them. I've always been super confident in that. I feel like, you know Before coming to New Zealand, you know, I was playing in Spain, the UA UA teamens with also a little bit with the with the ACB team Yeah, I feel like, you know, especially the in the youth program, I was really, you know I was shooting pretty good, you know, different different types guys can shoot, ob the dable, you know, stpe backs, differentiffere types of types of things, Th you know the adudgment, you know, youre into You going to the NBL is different. You know, you're going against better defense, right? better defense the game just is quicker, you know, it's It's different So it too me a little bit to adapt. I feel like you know, especially at the start of my first year, I was I was, you know I was breaking a lot. Let say let's say like that But I feel like, you know It will, you know, that will come. I'm super confident in that I'll be I'll be a super high level shooter. So Yeah, I'm really, I'm really confident in that I've heard you know, there's been like a lot of group workouts, it seems like Do you have any upcoming that you're looking to prove yourself against other, you know players in the similar range as you? Yeah, well, I haven't had any of these of these dw work calls, but I'll be I'll be having a couple soon. you know, I'm going to Brooklyn in a couple days Yeah, going going up against Native Man, going up I think that's who's going to be in in that workout. Super excited for that. I feel like, you know I feel like you're gonna be a go. I'm excited for that The improvements you've made, I'm curious. We talked about your offense on defense you show ability sometimes to be a lockdown on ball guy. so ility to be an effective help defender. We talked about that Kessler block of many plays. obviously, you've had a lot of success as a weak side room protector coming in for blocks and all that. One of the criticisms I've heard of you sometimes is that occasionally you can get a little you know, spacey, a little aloof ball sometometimes you can be a little late with rotations. What needs to happen for you to become like A plus in that category? Well how do you close that gap Yeah, I think those things u One also come with experience? Also you know. I mean, I've been watching I've been watching a lot of film, you know, even throughout the season, I feel like you can see the improvements from the start to the to the end. you know, I feel like at the start I was definitely a bit more, you know you can say it may be spaced out on the on the All ball actions are, you know, on rotations I was a bit I was a bit worse but then, you know, I would say at the end, you know, I worked a lot on it, you know, with the team with the coaches extra work Watching a lot of film U I think those are things that, you know, Th are the things that you got to do, you know, just I mean, it'll come with playing. it'll come with watching a lot of film androving working on that. but I think I've made pretty good progress in that How much have you watched the playoffs this year U get himem out. I mean, obviously you're busy with workouts and training and everything like that. So I am curious th like what stood out to you from watching the playps? What have your observations been Yeah, well, I would say the physicality, you know of the game, the pace has been played out is just p You know, really fast game, really physical game, you know Um, the size, I think all those all those three things I really I'm really good at and I can provide many team. You know, my my size, my physicality, my, you know, my ability, you know, to play you know, fast and plane transition alsoso You know, It's about it's about making the quick reads, right? It's about making quick decisions, You know, you don't have to you don't have the time to, you know think about it, you don't have the time to you don't have time to waste, right? And I feel like I'm a high IQ player and I feel like, you know Those are things I really I really comprvise them to any team. I mean, I think I think you're spot on about that. the physicality, I feel like everybody's mentioning, but I think the quick decisions you're talking about as well. I mean, they kind of go hand in hand. If you're playing a physical game or're able to bump and push you off your spots, you need to react quickly and adapt and and come up with a backup plan to if your plan A and your plan B aren't working. I think that's like Plers that are getting minutes and playing effected in minutes are able to be physical and they're smart. I mean it's like if those two qualities, it's kind of hard to to get those heavy minutes right now in the as the deeper it goes into the postseason, right Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like, you know, that's something that's gonna help me. I feel like I'm already. No're really good at that. And I feel like, you know, I feel I could be plugged into eight team right now in the playoffs and you know help them and, you know, play a role and, you know He the team win I have some random questions for you, Karem. startarting with number one What's your biggest motivator My biggest motivator I wouldd say I think it's motivator. I would say I have a lot, honestly, you know First off You know myself, you know, I want to I want to, you know, makes this dream a reality. you know, it motivates me to, you know, step into my you know, be so close to my goals and you know All the work I've put in It really really motivates me to keep going and to show myself that I was capable to and show everybody that, you know that I belong Al motivates me, you know, to do it for my family. you know, they really believe in me. they're always supportupporting me always been with me., so it motivates me you know to show them that that I was, you know I was right. I wasn't I wasn't crazy to think I was going make the NBA at ten years old, right? And also a suden know it motivates me is to go into the best league of in the world and, you know Go up against the best players, compete U And just live live live the dream, right?' something I'm really excited about. You mentioned The NVA at ten years old. Who is your favorite player at that time? in like what twenty seventeen? you were ten, something like that. Yeah Le Broad Okay, LeBron. So you probably love those cals teams, right? you grew up with him making the finals every year through or through when you were baby all the way to being a toddler and a child. We missed a lot of it to be honest with you Yeah, mean, literally I was like two two nights ago, I was watching I was rewatching some of that twenty eighteen LeBron playoff run. And I was like, wow, like I was just insane, insane. I mean, assuming he doesn't retire, you'll be entjoying the league with him still minute. It's kind of crazy, right? It is It is crazy. you know, I feel like Growing up, I didn't really think about about that because like, you know You know, his his I You said What is he the oldest player in the league? Yeah, he is, right Yeah, is Yeah. He is the oldest player in the Lague still playing at this this high of a level' just's just insane. something that I've never seen before. I think I would have never thought