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1:52

Slows. Welcome

2:07

to the Missy Mash, I'm Chris

2:09

Vernon and joining me as he

2:12

does every Monday night from theringer.com

2:14

is Kevin O'Connor aka Kevin Obama,

2:16

Kevin O'Concert, Kevin O'Climber, Kevin O'Conflick,

2:18

Kevin O'Camera, Kevin O'Candyland, Kevin O'Blazarian,

2:20

Kevin O'Bruno!

2:23

How are you doing today then? I'm great,

2:25

we have had a ton of NBA

2:28

news since we have last spoken. Of

2:30

course the beginning of free agency came

2:33

right after we just talked about the NBA

2:35

draft late last week and there has been

2:38

a lot going on. We have a ton

2:40

to cover so what I have done Kevin

2:42

is I have pulled up the list of

2:45

the free agents that have signed and we're

2:47

just going to start with the top dollars

2:49

and we're going to go down from there. At

2:52

any point if you want to bounce to another

2:55

one we can or if you want to stop me we can.

2:58

Of course before when

3:01

I was getting ready for the podcast the

3:04

biggest number on the board for an extension

3:06

that had been signed was the

3:08

New York Knicks with OGN and OB for

3:11

roughly $212 million. That

3:14

has been surpassed by $100 million

3:16

since I wrote that down because

3:19

Jason Tatum got $315

3:23

million with his

3:25

extension with the Boston Celtics

3:27

that now has gone

3:29

as we expected between

3:32

Tatum and Brown. It's

3:34

going to be over $600 million

3:38

in salaries and I tweeted earlier

3:40

today, Kev, I was covering free

3:42

agency in 2016 when

3:45

Mike Conley in Memphis

3:47

signed at that

3:49

point the richest deal in NBA history because

3:51

the cap had gone up and

3:54

it was five years and $150 million and I said at

3:57

that time I'm like wow. NBA

4:00

players, there's gonna be an NBA player that makes

4:02

$30 million a year. How

4:05

crazy is that? And then today,

4:08

same amount of time, five year

4:10

deal, 315,

4:13

100% inflation in the amount that the biggest extension is

4:15

this offseason. I

4:23

mean, the Tatum thing, it was whatever

4:26

the number is, the number is, right? Yeah,

4:29

and then Derek White gets $125 million. Also,

4:33

resigned to Boston, and that was four years. So

4:36

if you extrapolate that out to five years, it'd

4:38

be more than Conley for Derek

4:40

White. And I think that

4:43

does put into perspective the

4:45

change in salaries when you consider Mike

4:48

Conley was All-Star caliber,

4:50

and Derek White kind of is in

4:52

his own way, but doesn't have the

4:55

same status of you're stacking up all

4:57

the point guards in the league. So

4:59

for Boston, I think

5:01

you see all the news today for the

5:04

Celtics. They re-sign Tatum, they re-sign White, they

5:06

bring back all their role players as well.

5:08

And then there was the news that Wick

5:10

Grossbeck, the team owner for 22 years now,

5:13

is selling the team. Talk about a

5:15

major sale. Sell

5:19

high, but their statement did

5:21

say he'll be the team

5:23

owner until 2028. So

5:26

that will see them through these

5:29

big expensive salaries for their championship

5:31

run, the next handful of years

5:33

until he's actually not the owner

5:35

anymore. But definitely an

5:37

up and down kind of crazy day of

5:39

Celtics news for everybody dealing with

5:42

it there. OGN

5:44

and OB got the $212 million. Again,

5:46

this one was not surprising to us.

5:49

We figured once they made the deal

5:51

with Toronto in the season, that it

5:53

was set up, you always reach out

5:55

to know the same way Indiana did

5:57

with Siakam. So we figured, this was

6:00

just pen to paper. I know that

6:02

he got hurt at the end of

6:04

last year, which maybe could have muddled

6:06

it a little bit. But I think

6:08

that one was about what we expected

6:11

that it was in the

6:13

cards that he they wanted him. They

6:15

wanted him going forward as a major

6:17

piece of the team. I think maybe

6:19

we, you know, there was some sentiment

6:21

that would the bridges thing change anything

6:23

with that. But I'd

6:25

imagine that there was a wink,

6:29

wink, hey, we're making this trade. Want

6:31

to make sure you want to be

6:33

here with us going forward. And there

6:35

was an understanding that this is the

6:37

kind of deal that OGN and OB

6:39

would be getting in the offseason from

6:41

the Knicks, right? Yeah, I mean,

6:43

I think that was kind of an obvious one

6:45

that that would be happening for the Knicks. And

6:47

then they get Mikel bridges and, you know, great,

6:49

great, great for them to have those two wings

6:51

and to bring those guys in. But it is

6:53

a bummer for the Knicks that I lose to

6:55

Hartenstein, though. Yes. I mean, he was so critical

6:58

to the Knicks last season and him going to

7:00

Oklahoma City on the three year, $87

7:02

million contract. I think with Oklahoma

7:04

City, you know, the

7:07

Knicks are winners of the offseason too,

7:09

but like, but the Thunder getting Caruso

7:11

for Giddy, like we talked about

7:13

on last week's show, you get Caruso, he's an

7:16

upgrade over Giddy three and B, you know, I

7:18

know you and I disagree on this point, but

7:20

I think it's going to unlock Chet, more case

7:22

and Wallace, those guys are going to get more

7:24

touches. So you do all that. But then you

7:27

also get Isaiah Hartenstein, who solves

7:29

the rebounding issues. He

7:31

adds some screening and creation and

7:33

playmaking and facilitating as a center.

7:36

And the toughness he brings in the front court

7:39

next to chat all the flexibility you have to

7:41

run Chet and Hartenstein or just one of those

7:43

guys out there. Like I think Dagnall is going

7:45

to have a lot of fun with different lineups

7:47

he can use. But the one

7:49

thing with Hartenstein that I don't think the

7:52

Knicks needed to get out of him or

7:54

or tried to get out of him is

7:56

some of the perimeter stuff we've seen him

7:58

do over the years. Throughout his career, he's

8:00

never been a great shooter, but he's

8:02

been 31% from three in his career. He

8:05

had some really hot stretches in the

8:08

G-League and overseas before he entered the

8:10

NBA. I wonder if

8:12

OKC, a team that everybody's been talking about,

8:14

do they want to retain their five out

8:16

identity? I wonder if OKC's gonna,

8:18

with Chip England as their shooting coach, get

8:20

Hart and Scene shooting threes at the top

8:22

of the key, corner threes,

8:25

and with OKC on defense, Hart and Scene has

8:27

switched on defense more often than he did this

8:29

past season with the Knicks. I wonder if maybe

8:32

we'll see some of that perimeter stuff from Hart

8:34

and Scene with OKC moving forward, because I think

8:36

you pay a guy 87 million

8:38

dollars over three years. You're expecting

8:40

him to be more than 25, 26 minutes per

8:43

game player. I think the OKC is gonna be

8:46

able to get more out of him than any

8:48

other team ever has in their

8:50

past, especially with the way the rest of

8:52

their roster is. Yeah, and I think

8:54

that if you are, well, it's

8:57

a bummer if you're a Knicks fan, because he

8:59

was a fan favorite and I love Hart and

9:01

Scene. His clutch, big rebounds,

9:03

big everything. I think for anybody that

9:05

looks around, that number was so big

9:08

that it's perfect for Oklahoma City, because

9:10

they've got, you

9:12

mentioned Wallace, you

9:14

mentioned Jaylen Williams, it's the luxury of

9:17

having three of your top six or

9:19

seven guys on rookie contracts

9:21

at the time. And his

9:23

contract will then be coming

9:25

off, right? When it's about, you know, when

9:27

it's check time, like their pinch will be later

9:30

down the road, but they have that money available

9:32

now to be able to spend on

9:34

a player like Hart and Scene. And so

9:36

you can go and target a guy that

9:39

you think will help you and will fill

9:41

a need. And if

9:43

you pay a little more to make sure

9:45

that you get him, then

9:48

you pay a little more to make sure

9:50

you got him, because you're getting such incredible

9:52

value out of three, at least

9:54

three of your top six guys.

9:56

They are wildly outperforming

9:58

their contracts. And so

10:01

that was obviously a great signing Going

10:04

back up to the top. We got to talk

10:06

about the Paula George one. I know you love

10:08

the fit in Philadelphia this

10:11

is just it is

10:13

so strange to me and I heard

10:15

our buddy Zach Lowe talking about this

10:17

because I Don't

10:19

know why the Clippers put a statement out

10:22

about this and Then

10:25

talk so much about the second apron

10:27

because the reporting on this was

10:32

That they were willing to go three years, but not a fourth

10:34

year Well, what

10:36

does that have to do with the second apron?

10:38

Right now the reason you're losing Paul George is

10:40

not the second apron I like you

10:43

were you were willing to do it

10:45

I I almost think it would be better if

10:48

you just said nothing about

10:50

this um Or

10:53

if you just said look we

10:55

want to go a different direction we think

10:58

it's a better direction for the Los Angeles

11:00

Clippers, but And and

11:02

if you did in your meetings decide

11:04

look we've tried this and we've

11:06

given it a good run It's

11:08

been five years that we gave this

11:11

a run and we got three playoff

11:13

series wins to show for it We

11:15

haven't won a playoff series since 2021

11:20

So what are we doing here? Why are

11:22

we spending a fortune every year on this

11:25

team? We don't get the results I

11:27

don't get my money's worth on

11:30

this version of the Clippers and

11:32

we need to pivot And

11:34

we need to go a different direction but this

11:36

whole like We didn't keep

11:38

him because of this big bad second

11:40

apron and everything else is just a

11:42

little strange to me Because

11:45

of the reporting on it that it was an

11:48

impasse was the years that they were gonna

11:50

be able to do And so I

11:52

don't know what the Clippers are doing. I don't know

11:55

why they gave James Harden 35 million dollars a year

11:58

Who else was doing that? Who

12:00

else was giving James Harden 35 million dollars to

12:03

play? And

12:05

so we'll get back to the Clippers Philly Wait,

12:09

no, no, no, no, no. Okay. I'm good. I'm

12:12

I mean the clipper like what are they gonna say we? Nothing

12:16

what I know they they have

12:18

to say anything But like if they're gonna release

12:20

a statement, what are they gonna say? We didn't

12:22

want to pay Paul George more than Kawhi Leonard.

12:25

We told Kawhi that Kawhi be the highest paid

12:27

player I mean, they're not gonna admit the truth.

12:29

No, I know I was very clear I

12:32

my opinion is to not release a statement. Yeah,

12:34

but don't release a statement saying Making

12:36

it sound like you're scared of the second

12:39

apron and trying to blame the NBA For

12:42

these rules that are gonna make it impossible

12:44

to manage your team when you were willing

12:46

to be in that clearly but I but

12:48

I think I think that's fair what they

12:50

said because the the length of the contract

12:52

would Would impact your ability to

12:55

have flexibility moving forward if it's a three

12:57

year instead of a four year and He's

13:00

one year older on the back end of that contract

13:02

It would make it even more difficult for you to

13:04

move off him if necessary So I

13:06

think there's some truth on that where if you

13:08

become even more locked in with that fourth year

13:10

It's not just about the annual value. It is

13:13

about the length of the contract We're seeing that

13:15

with some of these other high, you know, highly

13:17

paid players that are hard to deal The Bulls

13:19

can't find somebody for Levine. I

13:21

think I think the length of a deal does

13:24

matter Not not on top of just the annual

13:26

value, but they were willing

13:28

to be in

13:30

that apron Even

13:35

Yeah, but they didn't say that they said in

13:37

the statement They're like the under the constraints of

13:39

the new CBA right? They blamed the CBA and

13:41

that's not the reason I mean, I think that's

13:43

part of the reason if they didn't want to

13:45

give them a fourth year They don't have to

13:48

give them a fourth year Because

13:51

because of the constraints of the CBA if

13:53

you're locked into an old team with these

13:55

lengthy contracts a three-year deal is far more

13:58

manageable to get out of have been a

14:00

four year deal. And I think the Clippers

14:02

have done a okay job with what they

14:04

did. They declined some of these, you know,

14:07

sign and trade, you know, or opt in

14:09

and trade scenarios with the Warriors and all

14:11

that, that would have kept them in a

14:13

similar position with some other big contracts or

14:15

longer term deals. And, and I

14:18

mean, I'm not saying Batoom and, you know, Chris

14:20

Don are going to be game changers for

14:23

them necessarily, but I think

14:25

they did come out of this so far. And

14:27

in a spot where you look at the Clippers

14:29

and you're like, okay, I kind of understand the

14:31

mindset here with wanting to retain

14:34

some flexibility moving forward, but

14:36

overall, like regardless of what they done, like

14:38

any time a guy walks for free, it's

14:41

a big L. I mean,

14:43

it's a whole, whole Kawhi Leonard,

14:45

Paul George experiment is a massive

14:47

thing. And that's why ultimately, like

14:49

part of me wonders if this

14:51

was the plan all along that

14:53

they just didn't want Paul George,

14:55

the Kawhi Leonard doesn't want Paul

14:57

George anymore, because why would you

14:59

have those conversations with

15:02

Kawhi before ever talking to

15:04

Paul George? I forgot who reported it. Somebody

15:06

said it might've been Windhorse who said Paul

15:08

George was rubbed the wrong way about how

15:10

they signed Kawhi to that length of a

15:12

deal. That's not something he ever agreed to.

15:15

Part of me just wonders if the Clippers every

15:17

step of the way and Kawhi knew this would

15:19

offend Paul George and knew that he could possibly

15:21

believe and knew that they were going to go

15:23

down this path because they're not necessarily done yet.

15:25

They could still try to work something out for

15:28

Demar, Demar, Demar to Rose. And I said months

15:30

ago or weeks ago rather on this show,

15:32

I think to you when I reported the

15:34

stuff about the Sixers, that the Rosen could

15:36

be the backup plan with the Clippers and

15:38

he has the, at the sign as of

15:40

recording, we'll see what happens there. Sounds like

15:42

he's not going to be staying with the

15:45

Bulls. So the picture is still incomplete for

15:47

the Clippers as of recording. But,

15:49

you know, obviously it sucks. Anytime a

15:51

guy ends up leaving for absolutely nothing.

15:53

Well, I know when everybody's over to

15:55

the moon about the fit and about

15:58

the acquisition of the player that is.

16:00

Paul George. That

16:03

being said, the guy

16:05

does not play basketball very much.

16:08

You look at the five years. Go

16:12

look at his games played until it

16:14

was a contract year. I

16:17

mean, he played 74 last year. Go

16:21

look at the four years before that while

16:24

he was in LA. He did

16:26

not play 60 in any of them,

16:28

Kevin. He didn't

16:31

play 60 games. He's

16:33

injured a lot. I mean, so.

16:35

So that's why it's understandable why. My statement

16:37

would have been we just gave this guy

16:39

a billion dollars to not play. You want

16:41

us to do it for four more years?

16:44

Enough. You know. I

16:46

just think clearly the Clippers are operating with a

16:49

two-year plan here. They give to Harden, give two

16:51

years. Kawhi gets three. I think

16:54

this team is looking at two years

16:56

with Kawhi and Harden with some flexibility

16:59

as the years go by. Maybe next summer,

17:01

picks become available to trade. They try to

17:03

make a move to maximize that finally year.

17:05

Who knows when as a Pabner, maybe they

17:07

pull the plug on all of it and

17:09

they trade Kawhi and they trade Harden and

17:12

then they go to a full rebuild in the middle of

17:14

next season or next summer. So but I understand

17:18

the viewpoint of wanting to retain flexibility because

17:20

that's a hell of a lot of money

17:22

for Paul George. This is a risk for

17:24

the Sixers to give him that money, but

17:26

it's the best choice that Philly had to

17:28

make. This was their plan A. It

17:30

makes all the sense in the world for them

17:32

to go to Paul George. He's a 40 plus

17:35

percent guy from three. He's a versatile defender. He's

17:37

a connective passer. He can be, you know, a

17:39

high-end role player on some nights next to Maxi

17:41

and Joelle Embiid and then other nights that he's

17:44

feeling it. He can be that guy who drops

17:46

25, 30 plus points. It's

17:49

a perfect situation for Paul George. It's a

17:51

perfect fit with the Sixers. And I think,

17:54

you know, like it still comes down

17:56

to Embiid's health. It still comes down to George

17:58

being able to stay on There's

18:01

still risk here for the Sixers, but this

18:03

was their best choice in order to pursue

18:05

a championship with Joel Embiid as their best

18:07

player. They had to do this, whereas the

18:10

Clippers, I think, they didn't need to commit

18:12

to that. And so this makes sense for

18:14

Philadelphia to do. Yeah. And we always talk

18:16

about the best of the best ability as

18:19

availability. And Paul George has not proven

18:21

to be available and great

18:23

when it matters most over

18:25

the course of his Clippers career. And that's that's

18:27

what he's going to be judged upon. And it's

18:30

going to be a lot harder in Philly than it has

18:32

been in the other stops because he's

18:35

played in Indiana. He's

18:37

played in Oklahoma City and he's played

18:39

with the Clippers. And you know, that

18:42

fan base in Philadelphia. And so

18:45

there is going to be a

18:47

different level of expectation and

18:50

microscope on him in

18:52

a way that he probably

18:54

hasn't had in his career. In

18:57

the same way, I'm talking on a local level,

18:59

of course, when you're that level of star on

19:02

a national level, you get a big microscope.

19:04

But on a local level like that fan

19:06

base is so passionate that they're going to

19:08

be on his ass if he's not playing

19:10

and on his ass if he's not performing.

19:13

And so you can kind of

19:15

just do whatever when you're playing for

19:18

playing for the Clippers, you can kind of just

19:21

skate. And I do

19:23

think they set a standard there, which I

19:26

don't want to bust them up too bad. But when

19:28

your best player and your franchise guy

19:30

and Kawhi Leonard treats

19:33

the season the way that he is

19:35

treated the season. I mean, I was

19:38

at a game, Kevin, where Kawhi Leonard

19:40

literally did not

19:42

come back out after halftime. He

19:45

had a great first half. It was

19:47

a tie game and didn't come back

19:50

out. And there was no there

19:53

was no memo from the PR department. Ty

19:56

Lou was visibly frustrated and didn't even

19:58

know what to say. $45

22:00

up front for three months

22:02

plus taxes and fees. Promo rate for new customers for

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limited time. Unlimited more than 40 gigabytes per month. Slows.

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Full turns at mintmobile.com. All

22:10

right. Next up for the highest paid guys that

22:12

have signed extensions, five years, 200 and almost

22:14

4 million for Tyrese

22:16

Maxi. You

22:19

and I both love Maxi. I'd have

22:21

given him whatever he's available to get,

22:23

honestly. Yeah. I mean, he's worth it

22:25

after the improvement he made this past

22:27

season. I mean, I feel like he's

22:29

the type of guy you can't bet on him to, I

22:31

mean, you would bet on him to continue with sending as

22:33

well. I mean, he'd be giving 25 points

22:35

per game last season. I think his hit

22:37

the playmaking leap that he experienced from the

22:39

year prior under heart with Harden as a

22:41

teammate to last year. It wouldn't surprise me

22:43

if that's the next step he takes more

22:45

diverse ability as a playmaker on a pick

22:47

and rolls because the scoring ability is already

22:49

there. And so now you pair him with

22:51

Paul George, sharing the ball with him and

22:53

be maybe he takes another step as he

22:55

has every year of his career. Yeah.

22:58

Tyrese Maxi is the guy I'd want to

23:00

bet on regardless of the dollar amount. And

23:02

the other thing is the

23:05

only good thing that came out of MB's injury

23:07

was Maxi probably would have made

23:10

all NBA. He was on track to be

23:12

able to make all NBA at

23:15

the time. He was certainly in that conversation, maybe

23:17

in the end, but I mean, MB

23:20

doesn't get hurt. They are a top, you

23:22

know, three seed or something like that. He

23:26

probably gets that over Halliburton. Yeah, he might.

23:28

Yeah. Right. And then they would have

23:30

been on the hook for even more. We

23:33

already covered the Siakam one, Emmanuel

23:35

quickly, five years, $175

23:38

million. Okay. So

23:43

my instant reaction was what the hell

23:46

not that I do not like Emmanuel quickly.

23:50

It's just the number was so

23:52

startling because it

23:54

was after Malik

23:56

monk signed for what was it? $77

23:58

million. dollars or something like

24:01

that. I

24:03

do not view them in a different class.

24:08

I think quickly is way better.

24:10

You do way better, better shooter,

24:13

better ball handler, better at everything.

24:15

I think he was 42% from

24:17

the field in his games

24:20

in Toronto. Yeah. I mean, but quickly

24:22

is also like a 40% guy from

24:24

three, you know, a higher volume shooter.

24:26

Monk is monk is not an

24:28

elite shooter. Uh, he had like one

24:30

year really, where he was an elite shooter of 40

24:32

plus percent from three and other than that, he's been

24:35

pretty average. So I think quickly we consider the age

24:37

as well. You know, he's a year

24:39

or two younger than monk. Not that much.

24:41

Yeah, not that much, but I mean, he's a better.

24:45

$100 million different than Malik monk.

24:47

He's a better creator, a better

24:49

passer. Is he a hundred million

24:51

dollars better? No, but I

24:53

think he's better than Malik monk. You

24:56

think he's a starting high level point guard in

24:58

the NBA. No, I like

25:01

his role in New York. Not necessarily. I mean, I

25:03

think, I mean, he's a way better defender than Malik

25:05

monk too. Way better defender. So yes, he's better than

25:07

monk, but I mean, I think for the Raptors

25:10

signing, Scotty bar and signing quickly. In

25:15

some ways it's like, what choice did you really have here? I'm

25:17

not, look, I'm not saying he's not better

25:19

than Malik. But what I'm saying is I viewed

25:21

them in the same hemisphere. Like they're kind

25:23

of in the same class. The same class of player

25:25

to me. They're

25:28

kind of in the same class of player. I think

25:30

quickly is much better. They do different things. I think

25:32

quickly is way better as a player than monk monk

25:35

is a bucket, man. Yeah. You

25:38

know, I don't know if quickly does anything

25:40

as well as scores. Can

25:44

I think quickly is a better score,

25:46

a better defender, better passer, better. All

25:48

right. We break ways on this. I think that's

25:51

crazy to give him a hundred. I get it

25:53

that, you know, the cap's going to go up.

25:55

It's not going to be that huge percentage of

25:57

your cap. This could end up looking like the

25:59

Mike Conley thing many years ago. It could, where

26:01

it's like, all right, that's not that bad. But

26:04

I just don't know if he's a high level

26:06

starting point guard

26:08

in the NBA. That would be my question. Nick

26:12

Clackston got four years,

26:15

$100 million, play

26:17

in Brooklyn. I think

26:19

what we found out is these bigs, they

26:22

got paid. There weren't that many available,

26:24

but they got real money. Hartenstein got

26:26

real money. Clackston got real money. I

26:30

don't know what the hell that valentine's deal in Washington

26:32

is. That just, I mean, I'm

26:34

glad that he got $30

26:36

more million, but that just made no sense to

26:38

me, but you know, of the

26:40

big guys that were out there, you're a

26:44

Clackston fan, right? Big Clackston

26:46

fan. Yeah. Elite switch defender,

26:48

good lob finisher. Could

26:51

pass a little bit. 25 million seem reasonable

26:53

to you? Oh, super reasonable. Okay. Where

26:57

are you at on Patrick Williams? Five years, 90 million.

27:02

I'd love to know. I'd

27:05

love to know. I mean, I think this is a

27:07

fair bet for the Bulls. 90

27:09

million over five years. He's still only

27:11

22 years old. He'll turn 23 next

27:13

season. I mean, he's a big switchable

27:15

defender who's improved a little

27:17

bit offensively over the years. I

27:20

think this makes sense. Uh, like

27:22

dollar wise, very much so for the Bulls

27:24

in the same way that Kobe white became

27:26

a discounted contract. So if, if

27:28

Williams continues improving year by year, then

27:30

this could become a major discount deal.

27:33

Now, will he pop in

27:35

the way that white has? Probably not. I

27:37

don't think he's got that fire in him

27:39

that white does as a fucking getter, but

27:41

this is worth it for the Bulls. I

27:43

think it could end up a bargain contract and if

27:46

not, it's a very tradable number. So

27:48

I actually like this deal for the Bulls. You

27:50

do like this deal. Yeah, I do. All right.

27:52

I was surprised by that one. Uh,

27:54

18 million annually. That's not, that's

27:56

not that bad, right? 18

27:59

million annually. I mean, I

28:01

mean I get it bad, but he's a guy

28:05

Maybe he improves greatly. I mean it's a bet on him and

28:07

so I guess it just depends on what you think he's gonna

28:09

become Right. Yeah,

28:12

I mean I think but even if he

28:14

doesn't improve that much Like let's

28:16

just say he doesn't he he stays pretty close to what

28:18

he is now 10 12

28:21

point per game guy, you know It's

28:23

an overpay but at 6 8 6 7

28:26

40 percent shooter from 3 Versatile

28:30

defender. I think you can

28:32

do worse at 18 million dollars annually and

28:34

maybe he continues to get better and better

28:36

Maybe he gets better Much

28:38

better player in three years, but to me he would

28:41

have to be a much better player in three years

28:43

for this to make sense That's what

28:45

I'd say You're and and that's

28:47

the bets that team mate teams make right

28:49

when they're signing these You

28:51

pay sometimes you pay for proven production and

28:54

sometimes you pay for a few for future

28:56

potential. That's right Hartenstein

28:58

monk Harden we covered all those Do

29:01

you think there's anybody else that would have

29:04

given James Harden 35 million dollars? No, I

29:06

don't either I don't who why were

29:08

you bidding against on that? The

29:11

next one on the list and this is a

29:14

big one for the Western Conference katavia's

29:16

Caldwell Pope 66

29:19

million dollars went to Orlando I'm

29:23

a big fan of this for Orlando And

29:26

I like his fit there This

29:29

makes absolutely no sense to me for

29:31

Denver honestly no sense

29:33

whatsoever I don't know your

29:35

boy Calvin Booth. He's throwing me for

29:37

a loop on this one Kevin. Why

29:40

I was looking at this uh This

29:43

chart the other day taking on

29:45

the toughest assignments It's a thing

29:47

that came out from sport radar

29:50

and it was percentage of players

29:52

on ball defensive time Spent matched

29:54

up with the opponent's scoring ball

29:56

handler So the number

29:58

one on that list was Derek Jones junior. It

30:01

would not surprise you, right? He

30:03

was the only perimeter defender

30:05

on that Dallas team. Number

30:07

two, Lou dorked. No,

30:10

you spent us right. No surprise. Number

30:12

three, OG and an Obie. No

30:14

surprise. Very, very. And you'd

30:16

expect all those names. Number four,

30:18

contagious called well, and that's why

30:21

it almost just as much as

30:23

the scoring, the three point

30:25

shooting with KCP, the defense will be a

30:27

loss. Now, KCP, I had

30:29

him second team all defense on my ballot. He

30:31

ended up not making it, but he was

30:33

on my ballot. I voted for him. He

30:37

did get destroyed by Anthony Edwards

30:39

in the Nuggets Wolf series. So

30:41

I had last year against the

30:43

Suns. He did not do great against Evan

30:45

Booker. And this

30:47

isn't to dismiss his defensive ability, but

30:50

it is merely to say, I'm sure

30:52

in the eyes of the Nuggets, they

30:55

feel like Christian Brown can step into his

30:57

role and and do at least similar to

30:59

what he's done. Then

31:02

what do you do behind Brown, though? Like

31:04

that's the questions here. Like if you lose

31:06

KCP, yes, you have Christian Brown, but then

31:08

you're relying on Julian Strawther to step up

31:10

who was not great last year

31:12

in the NBA. He did not shoot the ball

31:14

well at all. He shot the hell out of

31:16

the ball as a junior at Gonzaga, but he

31:19

was pretty inconsistent prior to that. Maybe he's just

31:21

one of those streaky shooters. Maybe you can't rely

31:23

on him. You get Jalen Pickett, who we both

31:25

loved in the draft last year. But he barely

31:27

played. But

31:30

then, well, Peyton Watson's already part of the rotation.

31:32

Peyton Watson was more of the Bruce Brown replacement.

31:34

So Watson was kind of like in the Brown

31:36

lane. And you got

31:38

Christian Brown in the

31:40

KCP lane. Well, who's

31:43

filling the gaps behind those guys? That's

31:45

the concern for Denver right now, where

31:47

they haven't signed anybody yet. So you

31:49

lose KCP's defense. You lose one of

31:51

your best shooters. He's a 40% guy

31:54

from three in his two years

31:56

with Denver. He can shoot above the break. He can

31:58

shoot from the corners. He can shoot the- one

32:00

or two side dribbles when a close

32:03

out comes. Christian Brown in the playoffs

32:05

has hit like less than a quarter

32:07

of his shots in the postseason from

32:09

three. Brown had success last season during

32:12

the regular season from

32:14

three, but he still stunk again in the

32:16

postseason as a shooter. So you're a team

32:18

that was 30th in the NBA in three-point

32:20

attempts, 25th in the league

32:22

in three-point makes. You're already feeling like

32:25

you need shooting. And now

32:27

all the reports are that you're going for

32:29

Russell Westbrook I

32:32

mean, I think there's like something strange going

32:34

on here. I just don't get winning a

32:36

title and then getting worse and then getting

32:38

worse again. I

32:40

mean, like they lost. They lost Brown and

32:42

Green last offseason. They lost Paul Caldwell Pope

32:45

this. Like what are we doing? What do

32:47

you got? You got the best player in

32:49

the world. Well, and those were two of

32:51

Booth's best acquisitions. He takes over to for

32:53

Tim Connelly. He gets Brown. He gets KCP.

32:56

He drafts Christian Brown, and then you lose

32:58

Brown, then you lose Green, then you lose

33:00

KCP. And your

33:02

bet is on your rookies. Your bet

33:05

is on your draft picks. It's a mistake. And

33:09

you're not going to get every draft pick

33:11

right no matter how great of a general

33:13

manager you are. And also, not to mention,

33:15

as I wrote about after Denver got eliminated,

33:17

your head coach doesn't see things the same

33:19

way. Malone didn't invest in those

33:21

rookies during this regular season. He played

33:23

two-way guys more than the rookies that

33:25

you selected in the draft. More than

33:27

Hunter Tyson, more than Jalen Pickett, he

33:29

pulled the plug on Strahter, who struggled

33:31

and actually received opportunities. So I

33:33

think all the minutes and playing time that

33:35

maybe could have went to those guys this

33:37

season, they got none of it. And that

33:39

hurts them entering year two. So I think

33:41

Denver is a team where there's clearly a

33:44

lack of organizational alignment. And maybe things

33:46

got better after the season. Maybe this

33:48

coming year, Malone will play those younger

33:50

guys. And maybe Hunter Tyson ends up

33:52

really good. But maybe Pickett ends

33:54

up really good. But I mean,

33:56

the fact is, is that it's hard to replace. KCP,

34:00

especially one year after losing Bruce Brown, we

34:02

saw how tough it was to replace Bruce

34:04

Brown. And it's undeniable that the Nuggets are

34:06

a worse team today than they

34:08

would have been with KCP. And this hurts their

34:10

finals chances in pretty profound ways,

34:12

considering how vital he's been. You mentioned

34:14

all the tough player, the good opponents

34:16

he defends, the shooting he provides. Denver's

34:18

in a tough spot all of a

34:21

sudden. And this is a massive bet

34:23

on their young guys taking a leap.

34:25

Like Brown's going to be Christian Brown's

34:27

going to be way better. Peyton Watson's

34:29

going to be better as a shooter.

34:31

And if you do end up signing

34:33

Russell Westbrook, and it seems like they're

34:35

gonna, I mean, Harrison Wind, a

34:38

very reliable reporter over at DNVR.

34:40

He was the first to report

34:42

that the Yokich wants Russell Westbrook

34:46

on the team that he's pushing for. If

34:48

you sign Ross, and I know you and

34:50

I see differently on Ross, but I'm sure

34:52

you and I can at least agree on

34:55

the strange fit in Denver. If you're letting

34:57

Ross, a guy who shoots 25% for three,

34:59

you can't play him with Aaron Gordon. They

35:01

already said off of Aaron Gordon and force

35:03

him to shoot. You can't play those guys

35:05

together. I just think it's going to be

35:07

a complete disaster fit. And

35:09

then also it takes minutes away from

35:11

some of those young guys that you

35:14

need to work out. Yeah,

35:16

and say whatever you want. But Reggie Jackson

35:18

played for him. Right? I mean, they

35:20

moved off of him too. Like I just don't,

35:24

I don't get it, man. This should be a

35:26

team that's like going for titles right now. It's

35:28

like, there's a window where

35:30

this guy is the best player in the world.

35:33

And you got to surround

35:35

him with a team that and KCP's

35:38

number is not that high. 22

35:41

million annually. Reasonable. Well, you know

35:43

what I mean? I get it.

35:45

If somebody like massively overpaid, like

35:49

everybody looked at the Bruce Brown thing and

35:51

went, yo man, go get your bag. Yes.

35:54

Right. But KCP, this is reasonable. Very

35:56

reasonable. Nobody's going to be like, wow.

36:00

If you've got a small four or a shooting

36:02

guard slash a wing that defends the

36:04

best player on the other team every

36:07

night and hits 40% of his threes,

36:09

$22 million

36:11

is super reasonable for that. Very reasonable.

36:13

And so that's why, like I think

36:15

with Denver, they're

36:17

the team right now where you look

36:19

at and say, that's cheap ownership. Like

36:21

you got Boston right now who just

36:24

paid their fifth player over $30 million

36:26

annually, their fifth, their fifth. And

36:28

then Nuggets can't dip into the second

36:31

apron for the first year with giving

36:33

KCP 20 million. I

36:35

mean, like that, that's a

36:37

failure to support your, your megastar in

36:39

Nokich, your future hall of famer, your

36:42

all time great, your three time MVP.

36:45

That's on ownership. And it is on front

36:47

office as well in the sense that they

36:49

didn't have to sign Zeke Najee. If

36:51

they didn't give Zeke Najee the money last year,

36:54

then they wouldn't be in this position where they they'd

36:56

have to move off of him where they couldn't be

36:58

in a spot where they'd go over the second apron.

37:00

So I think for, for Denver

37:03

here, I look forward to seeing if

37:05

they got any other moves coming. I think

37:07

Russ would be a major mistake. It

37:09

would be one of the worst mistakes of Yoko just

37:11

career to end up pushing for him, he would learn

37:13

the same thing that LeBron James learned. I

37:17

hope, I wish they had signed like the lawn,

37:19

right? Who went to the bucks for the minimum.

37:21

To me, that would have made a hell of

37:23

a lot more sense. There's other guys in free

37:25

agency. I'd rather go for, I'd rather go for

37:27

like Tyus Jones. Maybe you could work some trade

37:29

for him with that Zeke Najee salary

37:32

number. Or go grab Malcolm

37:34

Brogdon from, you know, Washington or, you

37:36

know, whatever. Other paths I'd rather go

37:38

here. And then the other side of

37:40

it though, two Chris's, I forget

37:43

who reported it, forgive me. But somebody

37:46

said, I think it was Sam Anick

37:48

with the athletic. Matt Crew said that

37:50

the Nuggets made an offer for Paul

37:52

George, including Michael Porter Jr. of

37:54

which the Clippers declined like they did all

37:56

of these other sign and trade or opt

37:58

in and trade scenarios. So that

38:00

is at least an indicator that the Nuggets are

38:03

open to moving Michael Porter Jr. And

38:05

that's the big salary number. You look at their team,

38:07

a 35 million dollar guy, Connelly

38:09

gave that deal, not Booth. That was

38:12

before Booth took over. But that MPJ

38:15

number is massive for a guy

38:17

who doesn't do a lot off the dribble.

38:19

He is largely just a shooter and he's

38:22

an okay defender. That's the salary

38:24

that you look at on the Nuggets and

38:26

I'm like, whoo, like, how do you split

38:28

this into multiple role players? Or

38:30

a better, you know, higher, a

38:33

higher paid player than MPJ. That's

38:35

the that's the piece that they need to

38:37

flip somewhere along these lines in order to

38:39

I think optimize the roster around Jokic. Next

38:42

one on the list, Obi Toppin got

38:44

four years, 60 million from Indiana, man,

38:46

he made himself a lot of money

38:49

last year, didn't he? Yeah, good for him,

38:51

man. He's turned himself into a really good

38:53

role player, good shooter, still a lob guy,

38:56

good defender. I love Obi Toppin. Did a

38:58

between the legs dunk in the playoffs. So

39:00

funny. That's worth 60 million.

39:02

Oh yeah. Tobias Harris, two years, 52

39:04

million. Good for him, man.

39:07

You've made over 300 million in your career. Congrats.

39:09

Why would Detroit do this? I don't

39:12

know. They need shooting. Because he fits the timeline

39:14

of their team. I got it. They need to

39:16

find some- You got money to spend, right? They

39:19

got to find shooting somewhere. They have to. Yeah.

39:22

Well, they did it with Joe Harris back in the day. Remember that?

39:25

Yeah, that sure worked out. We

39:28

never heard from Joe Harris again. I know,

39:30

whatever happened to him. We

39:33

literally never heard of him. Again,

39:35

I never heard his name. Joe

39:39

Harris is most significant thing he has done for me.

39:41

No lie. It's

39:43

the last time me and my

39:45

son ever played 2K. I think it was

39:47

five years ago. And

39:50

it was going to destroy our relationship. Oh,

39:52

I mean, I probably had 56 with

39:56

Joe Harris. That Joker was

39:58

auto for- from three,

40:00

green, green, green. This is when he

40:02

was on the net. And

40:05

it was like that fun Nets team. And

40:08

I picked him one night and I lit his ass

40:10

up with Joe Harris so bad that

40:12

he got so mad at me and left. And

40:14

then I, and I was of course running my

40:16

mouth about it. And I don't think we've, I

40:18

don't think we've- You run your mouth? Yeah, I

40:20

don't think, yeah. You're a trash fucker, what did

40:22

you do? I didn't teach him young. I didn't

40:24

teach him young. He

40:27

hates, I think he hates Joe Harris. Still

40:29

to this day. And

40:31

it's all because of the 2K game. But

40:35

congrats to Tobias Harris. All right, let's get to

40:37

Clay Thompson. Three years, 50 million

40:40

bucks from the Dallas Mavericks. There's a sign

40:42

and trade, as we know. I

40:47

like this for Dallas a lot. Me

40:49

too. I think he could just

40:51

set up and knock down threes. That's the

40:54

role. It is Heat Ray

40:57

Allen, right? And

40:59

I think he's probably, he could do more

41:01

than Heat Ray Allen could at the time. Chip

41:04

on his shoulder, big chip on his shoulder. Chip

41:06

on his shoulder. He wants to prove something. And

41:09

I think he, at a minimum, he

41:11

has a big upgrade over Tim Hardaway Jr. Like

41:14

at a minimum. Look, it generates a ton of

41:16

open threes. You just gotta make them. And

41:19

there's one thing, that Joker is one of those dudes

41:21

that 80 years

41:23

old Clay Thompson is gonna be able to walk

41:25

out on a court and hit threes. Yeah, and

41:27

I think you have some Warriors fans. Like I

41:29

responded to the report by Woj saying this is

41:32

a big upgrade for Clay Thompson and a bunch

41:34

of Warriors fans. Understandably so,

41:36

like a legend leaves. You're feeling emotional

41:38

about it. But they're like, he's not

41:40

a sniper anymore. Like he's not the

41:42

same shooter he was in the past.

41:44

And I'm like, that's true. He is

41:47

not a 45% guy from three. He

41:50

is not an otherworldly shooter

41:52

anymore. But he still is a guy

41:54

who hit almost 40% of his threes on

41:58

a very high volume. He is

42:00

still an elite shooter even though

42:02

he's not as elite as he

42:04

once was in his prime years

42:07

pre-injury. And for the Mavericks, a

42:09

team that Derek Jones Jr. is

42:12

error-balling Open 3s and Tim Hardaway,

42:14

it's so streaky and can't do anything

42:16

out there when he's off. You go

42:18

to Klay Thompson as an

42:20

upgrade over Hardaway, that's an automatic upgrade,

42:22

in my opinion, for the Mavericks roster.

42:24

Then you factor in that they also

42:26

got Najee Marshall, who replaces

42:29

Derek Jones. Jones, very good player in

42:31

his own right, good defender. Najee

42:33

Marshall, I think, checks the boxes that

42:35

they needed a little bit more with

42:37

size. He brings more bulk as

42:39

a defender and he was a more consistent

42:41

shooter at least this past season. And then

42:43

you get Quentin Grimes, who, you know, he

42:46

was riddled with injuries this past season and

42:48

he replaces Josh Green, who had to go

42:50

to Charlotte in the deal to get Klay.

42:52

But you get Quentin Grimes as kind of

42:54

that young wing. Grimes has had

42:56

some really great stretches on defense and

42:59

he's had far higher highs as an

43:01

offensive player, as a scorer, a bucket-getter

43:03

than Josh Green ever has. So I

43:06

think for the Mavericks, all

43:08

three of those moves, you know,

43:10

Klay over Hardaway and

43:12

Marshall over Jones and Grimes over Green,

43:14

they don't feel significant independently, but collectively

43:16

the three of those, I think, could

43:19

be quite significant for the Mavericks. Well,

43:21

and I just think, Kevin, that championship

43:23

pedigree, he'll be good in the locker

43:25

room. He's a good team basketball player.

43:27

You hope, you hope, you hope he'll

43:29

be good in the locker room. Because

43:31

it wasn't the last two years with

43:34

the Warriors and the Lions. Crying and

43:36

complaining and taking bad shots. The

43:39

other thing is, you know,

43:41

and he's an elder statesman

43:43

there. And also, he's, the

43:46

role, they needed him

43:48

to be a lot better scorer than even he was,

43:50

right? Like, I mean, with the way their team was

43:53

set up and the amount of money they had, like,

43:55

you look around, you go, who's getting me 20

43:57

tonight? Yes. You

44:01

know, Curry, Curry, and then who,

44:03

and once Wiggins sucked, it was

44:05

like, it then became like friggin'

44:08

Kominga. I feel like Clay is

44:11

being judged still as a $40 million

44:13

player. He is now a

44:15

$16 million player. He

44:17

is now the third or fourth, sometimes

44:19

the fifth best player on your team,

44:21

not the guy who's second best or

44:24

third best, making $40 plus million. He

44:26

also needs to be the third or

44:28

fourth leading shot taker, not the second

44:30

shot taker. Exactly. And so, and so

44:32

for Dallas, I'm very excited to see

44:34

what, you know, Jason Kidd does with

44:36

him. I hope, I mean,

44:38

I think if they put him in the Tim

44:40

Hardaway Jr. role alone, that's going to lead to

44:42

a greater production. But if they

44:44

install like a little bit more motion, a

44:47

little bit more movement with Clay to do

44:49

some of the stuff that he's been so

44:51

successful with in the past, that could add

44:53

a new ingredient to the Mavericks half court

44:56

offense that makes him even harder to defend

44:58

because, you know, shooting makes everything, shooting

45:01

is an, has an amplifying effect, right?

45:03

So if Clay's out there beyond the

45:05

arc, that makes driving lanes more open

45:07

for Luca, that creates a more efficient

45:09

shot for Luca in the mid-range area

45:11

at the rim, more kick out passes

45:13

to other guys, cutting lanes, lob opportunities.

45:15

Clay, I think, helps everybody on that

45:17

team and he makes all the sense

45:19

in the world for the Mavericks. Say

45:22

whatever you want about him. He still has

45:24

to be honored 30 feet from the

45:26

basket. Somebody is

45:29

occupying him. They're not leaving him. And

45:32

so that's what you're talking

45:34

about. One thing I will say, Chris, we're talking

45:36

a lot of offense. They still have defensive questions.

45:39

For sure. Because that's where

45:41

Clay's decline is most apparent. Like he

45:43

is nowhere near the guy he was

45:45

on defense. Well, and the

45:47

numbers that I gave you earlier, Derek Jones Jr.

45:49

is at the very top of the list. Yes.

45:51

Because they didn't have anybody else to do it.

45:54

Yes. Marshall will need to step up in a

45:56

big way. Quentin Grimes is going to have to

45:58

get back on track. can stay healthy or you

46:00

might just have to average 130. Yeah,

46:03

maybe. And then Luca needs to be better defensively

46:05

too. He can take another leap. Luke could get

46:08

better. He's still so young. The

46:10

next two guys on the list are actually both

46:12

Oklahoma city guys. These are great contra. I mean,

46:14

Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, they both, they got

46:16

them both on great deals. By the way, interestingly

46:19

enough, you know, Lou Dort was at the very

46:21

top of that list of most times spent on

46:23

the other teams perimeter score. Aaron

46:26

Wiggins is also on that list. A

46:28

majority of the, in fact, I'll give you

46:30

the number here. When Aaron

46:33

Wiggins was on the

46:35

floor. Uh,

46:39

I believe I take

46:42

that back. He is not on this list.

46:44

So forgive me on that. Caruso was on

46:47

this list. I'm sorry. That was the other

46:49

Oklahoma city guy. No surprise. The Caruso. Yeah,

46:51

no surprise. Of course. I mean, these names

46:54

are all the names you would think when

46:56

I told you it's Derek Jones, Jr. Lou

46:58

Dort, OGN and OB Caldwell Pope, Jaylen Suggs,

47:00

Jayden McDaniel's, Mikel bridges,

47:03

Caruso, Taurine princes on there.

47:06

Sohan, Andrew Wiggins,

47:09

uh, Golden state, IU Dusunmu Herb

47:11

Jones. Like it's all the, it's

47:13

all who you expect, right? The guys that are

47:15

guarding the best player on the other team or

47:17

the perimeter score on the other team. Um,

47:21

but, uh, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, I

47:23

mean, you're getting to keep young

47:26

players as a group

47:28

together on that team and

47:31

got one of them at 48 million, one of them at 47 million

47:34

and both on four year deals. Yeah.

47:37

And they're both guys that can play for you,

47:39

play real minutes, you know? I mean, OKC is

47:41

one of the big winners of the summer, man.

47:44

You get Caruso, Hart and Steen as we talked

47:46

about earlier, and then you get two of your

47:48

high end role players back on very, very, very

47:50

fair contracts. Uh, yeah. OKC, if

47:52

they're not the favorites, they're right up there as one

47:54

of the favorites in the West right now. Do

47:57

you think they're number one at the moment? Would you

47:59

put them as the favorite? the West? Yes. I

48:02

think so too. Oh

48:30

hey! We're invited to the Johnson Summer Pool Party this Saturday. Oh,

48:39

Saturday? But that's when the Blinds guy's coming

48:41

to give us a quote. Oh, I already

48:43

found everything we need at blinds.com. They're totally

48:45

online, so we don't have to wait around

48:47

all day just to get a quote. And

48:49

they're sending us free samples. Well,

48:52

blinds.com sounds like a no-brainer. Shop

48:55

Blinds.com's 4th of July Early Access Sale now

48:58

for up to 50% off site-wide, up

49:01

to 50% off at blinds.com. Rules

49:03

and restrictions may apply. As

49:06

I go down this list, any of

49:08

these you want to talk about stop

49:11

me. Royce O'Neill, Max Christie, Jonas Valentunis,

49:13

Derek Jones Jr., Najee Marshall, Jaylen

49:16

Smith, Goga Badazzi, Kelly

49:19

Oubre, Gary Harris, DeAnthony Melton. Any

49:22

of those names stand out to you? Let's get to the

49:25

next one. Chris Paul. Chris Paul. Let's

49:28

go to that one. Chris Paul to the

49:30

Spurs. Isn't this beautiful? You get a Hall

49:32

of Famer at the end of his career

49:34

going to join Victor Webin-Yama, who's still at

49:36

the beginning. And he solved so

49:39

many of the issues we talked about

49:41

last year with the Spurs. He's a

49:43

better point card clearly than Trey Jones.

49:50

And I'm kidding when I say that. I'll tell you

49:52

this. He's going to make Trey Jones better. Yeah.

49:54

Yes. And I say that jokingly because

49:57

he's definitely a better point card than

49:59

Jeremy Sohan. give

54:00

them somebody because there was nobody

54:02

that's like Doug McDermott ain't wrangling

54:05

them and saying, Hey, this is

54:07

not how we're supposed to do

54:09

this. Listen,

54:11

people look at you. Go

54:16

back to the bench. But, but I think

54:18

with Chris Paul, Chris Haynes said

54:20

in his report, he was the one who had

54:23

this first, if I remember correctly, he said, Paul

54:25

is eager to prove he's still an elite point

54:27

guard in this league. Now you're 39 years

54:29

old. What if he

54:31

has an unbelievable season? That would be crazy.

54:33

That, and that's the funny thing here. So

54:35

with Chris Paul, the last time people talked

54:37

about him, it's like, Oh, Chris Paul's done

54:40

with his last year in Houston. You're right.

54:42

That, that year, Chris Paul, if you looked

54:44

at the on off numbers, Chris

54:46

Paul with James Harden, he's standing in the

54:48

corner, not doing anything without James Harden, Chris

54:50

Paul put up great numbers. I interviewed Dan

54:52

Tony before that season. He's like, I don't

54:54

know why everybody's talking about Chris Paul being

54:56

done. He was great when he was on

54:58

the floor without James this year. He was

55:00

still the same old self. And then he

55:02

goes to Phoenix. He goes to, uh, then

55:05

he goes to Oklahoma city. I'm sorry. He

55:07

changes his career. Then he goes to Phoenix

55:10

and he goes to a finals and he

55:12

extends it. Like he's still a good player.

55:14

The city thing was one of the most

55:16

unbelievable runs because they

55:19

were like, he had them at like

55:21

a five seed. And it

55:23

was not supposed to be good. It was

55:25

just like this mixed match of. Three yards.

55:29

And whatever. And it's like, they,

55:31

they damn near beat

55:34

the Rockets in that series

55:36

the next year. And it was like,

55:38

what, and you know, he didn't want

55:40

to go there. Like he got traded

55:42

there and could not have been more

55:44

professional and just drug that team to

55:47

being good. It was, that

55:49

was a fun team and a fun year.

55:51

And so now he goes to San Antonio.

55:53

It's five years after that all happened. You're

55:56

39 at this point. It's you're not elite

55:58

anymore, but cool. Chris

56:00

Paul in this situation prove enough that

56:02

he makes himself appealing

56:04

to another contender come February that a contending

56:06

team says we need Chris Paul at an

56:09

$11 million salary to help put us over

56:11

the top to go win a title. So

56:13

for Paul, I think it's a win-win. You're

56:15

part of the Spurs, maybe you're good enough

56:17

that they want to keep you moving forward

56:20

as one of your guards in the rotation

56:22

when the Spurs do like go pedal in

56:24

the middle and try to go contend, or

56:27

maybe you become appealing to another team

56:29

for your 40s and you you

56:31

you kick the can forward for another two, three

56:33

years and you play a little deeper into your

56:35

career. So I think for

56:38

Chris Paul, this is a win-win in in

56:40

in so many different ways and I'm excited

56:42

to see what else the Spurs have cooking

56:44

because we we still haven't talked about Lowry

56:46

marketing who's out there. A lot of reports

56:48

about him being available, you know the the

56:50

Warriors like him, the Spurs like him, other

56:52

teams have had conversations for Lowry marketing. I'm

56:55

not so sure. What about Minnesota getting thrown

56:57

in that mix? I mean, I wonder if

56:59

that says something about cat. That has to.

57:01

Do you think? If that's so.

57:03

Right. Has to, I would think. You're not

57:05

acquiring marketing unless you're giving up cat. I

57:08

don't think so either. So I

57:11

wonder if that's what it

57:13

could be there because marketing, I mean

57:16

on paper, like that does

57:18

make a lot more sense for Minnesota market. I

57:20

mean, I like towns what he did last year

57:22

with Minnesota, but marketing is a better

57:25

defender. He is more versatile. Like marketing

57:27

played the three with the Cavs, right?

57:29

Like marketing can play the three sometimes.

57:31

It would provide more positional versatility and

57:34

he's a more consistent T and L presence.

57:36

He's a better mover without the ball, better

57:38

cutter. He's equally potent as a shooter, if

57:41

not better than than cat is. So I'm

57:43

intrigued by that, but I don't see how

57:45

they would have the best offer among, you

57:48

know, San Antonio or, or Golden

57:50

State, which can offer distant future

57:53

first, like post-Stefkari. And

57:55

I don't, I don't see how Minnesota would have the best offer,

57:57

but it is intriguing that they were. It does make you wonder

57:59

on the. I

1:04:01

liked it as well. I'm looking up

1:04:03

my- I've been to the movies twice in the last

1:04:05

month. Wow. Interestingly enough, well,

1:04:08

once summer break hits, you're

1:04:10

trying to find stuff to do for fun. I

1:04:14

haven't seen adult movies, but I went to those kids

1:04:16

movies with kids. Yeah. I

1:04:18

most recently at the theaters for Dune 2, and

1:04:23

at home I watched the movie Hitman with

1:04:25

Glenn Powell. Oh yeah, I saw that. It's supposed to

1:04:28

be awesome. Hitman was great. I really liked it a

1:04:30

lot. I haven't watched it. I just saw that it

1:04:32

got great reviews. Super good. Yeah. The girl in there

1:04:34

is super hot. I don't even know her name, but-

1:04:36

It's not Sydney Sweeney. No, but

1:04:39

beautiful and good, well-acted movie.

1:04:41

Cool story. Glenn Powell is

1:04:43

great. In his role,

1:04:45

it's a cool Glenn Powell movie. He

1:04:47

has so many different characters in it.

1:04:52

But then he was good in Anyone But

1:04:54

You as well, which is not a great

1:04:56

movie, but it's a fun movie. That's what

1:04:58

I knew. That's why I asked you. Yeah,

1:05:00

it would be fun. Yeah. I'd never heard

1:05:02

of the guy before that movie. Wasn't

1:05:05

he in Top Gun? Right? Oh,

1:05:07

you're right. Was he Top Gun? But I didn't know

1:05:09

that's who he was. Am I thinking of

1:05:12

somebody else? No, you're right. He was Top Gun. Okay. He

1:05:14

was Top Gun? Yeah. Well, no. I mean,

1:05:17

he was in Top Gun, I'm saying. He

1:05:20

was in it. Yeah. Yeah. Top Gun is

1:05:22

great, man. Are they doing another Top Gun? I

1:05:24

hope so. I hope so. I'm pretty sure they

1:05:26

are. Yeah. Right. That

1:05:29

was announced, right? Top Gun 3. Let me

1:05:31

confirm this real quick. Top Gun 3. I

1:05:33

don't know. Top Gun 3 2025. I'm

1:05:37

with it. Yeah. Hell yeah. Okay.

1:05:39

That's great. More Tom Cruise,

1:05:41

the better. The more Tom Cruise ever. Is he

1:05:43

going to do... Remember that announcement

1:05:45

years ago that he was doing a movie

1:05:48

in space? Like SpaceX was going

1:05:50

to be doing a movie with Tom

1:05:52

Cruise where he'd be filming in space,

1:05:54

like the first movie filmed in space.

1:05:56

Is that still happening? Well, I

1:05:58

mean, except for the moon land.