Survival of the Fittest: OKC Overthrown

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[00:01:08] We'll be right back. We'll be right back. No doubt from the east to the west. It's the order we shall.

[00:01:49] It's about to go down. Yes. You are now listening to the sounds of Sports Reports As Ordered. We might get a little hostile tonight, like Caitlin Clark and Stephanie White. You know, coming off of game seven, OKC in San Antonio, the intensity. Check out my socials so you can see me down at the Riverwalk. Check out the honking.

[00:02:13] But first, like, review, subscribe, share, rate, do all the free things, do all the good things. Liquid Death, Inhand, Blueberry today. You know, we are everywhere you get your podcasts. Check out Say Less, Say More. Let's get right to it. So, Saturday night, big game seven, right? The best two words in sports. And it did not disappoint. So, right before the game, you know, I had made a video where I was talking about,

[00:02:43] I just want to see what's going to happen tonight. You know, is OKC going to press the issue? Because from my vantage point, you know what I mean? Like, they were just afraid to attack Wendy. And I get it. Who wants to get their shot blocked? Who wants to get dunked on? Ain't that right, Chet? But, you know, but at the end of the day, it's one of those things that is just a part of playing the sport of basketball.

[00:03:09] If you've never had your shot blocked, if you've never been dunked on, then you just weren't on the court, right? You're getting paid millions of dollars. Cities are dependent on you. The least you can do is give effort and act like you want to be there, right? So, when I look at OKC, you know, they were dead in the water once J-Dub was gone.

[00:03:38] So, you know, because going back to game one, you know, and I made the comment about how in game one, he got to the bucket at will. He just made up his mind. I'm going to get there. I don't care about a Wembanyama, Bimby, or Simby. I'm going to the hole. And nobody stopped him. Game one, right? So, obviously, A.J. Mitchell going down is a big deal.

[00:04:02] Now, before I go any further, this is not one of those moments of, hey, OKC would have won if they weren't injured. That's not what this is about. It's just deducing and having a conversation, right? So, once A.J. Mitchell went down in addition to J-Dub, not only did OKC lose their second leading scorer, but they lost their second ball handler, their secondary ball handler.

[00:04:30] So, SGA is fully equipped to run the point. You know, he averaged about nine assists in this series. So, that's not the issue. You know, the issue is that there's no one to take that pressure off. You know, so not only – it's one thing when I can tell you, hey, you know what? Go out there. Get us 30 points. If you're getting doubled, kick it out to the open man. That's one set of rules of engagement.

[00:05:01] On the flip side of that, what if I tell you, hey, I need 35 from you and I need you to create shots for these guys that cannot create for themselves? Whole different game plan, right? So, I say all that to say SGA is an MVP. And he showed up in game seven the way that an MVP should until he didn't, right?

[00:05:28] In the last couple of minutes of the game, you can criticize him. But what came first? The chicken or the egg? You know, he kept them in the game to get to that point. Kaysen Wallace stepped up to the plate and said, I'll come along with you. And they almost pulled it off. But what happened? Now, and I'm not even trying to be disrespectful, but I can't remember your name right now, but we were arguing about Chet the other day.

[00:05:54] And you were telling me, oh, how could you think that he was going to have a good series? What up, Reyes? How could you think he was going to have a good series against the Spurs? Well, one, because he finished second in defensive player of the year. Two, because Wimby has put all eyes on him. So the least you can do is respond, right? You can miss shots. I was trying to find your name. Sorry, y'all. But you know what I mean?

[00:06:22] I was going to give you a shout out on here, but I can't get down to the message. I got too many mentions. No, not yet, Reyes. He coming through. But you know, oh, potato, potato. There you go. Potato, potato on TikTok. Where's Chet? You know what I'm saying? Because I was told that Chet was doing his job. I can tell you with 100% certainty, in fact, that Chet was not doing his job.

[00:06:50] Now, before you even get to the rest of the series, just looking at game seven, right? Two shots, both in the first quarter. He played 33 minutes. He had to be benched in the fourth quarter because of how ineffective he was. You know, that's right, Reyes. There you go. That's right. You know what I'm saying? Biggest movement since Dipset. But you know, like, Chet left a lot to be desired.

[00:07:17] But I'm appalled right now because all I heard today, whether it was on TV, whether it was on podcast, whether it was just talking to people in the same room as me, and everybody's basically saying, trade Chet. That is not the answer. You know, said don't pull the bitch move that the Warriors pulled, right? Because game seven came and went. And, you know, and there's Mr. Logical right on time.

[00:07:46] You know what I'm saying? Like, we're going to get them in here in a minute. But, you know, like, game seven, right? The Warriors had a chance to beat the Cavaliers to avoid giving up the 3-1 lead. Steph Curry threw that behind the back pass to Klay. And that's when I knew they were doomed. So, what happened there was the Warriors lost.

[00:08:15] And they decided, you know what? We're going to go get Kevin Durant. When all you needed, Mr. Logical's in the building, y'all, cool, calm, and collected. But they went and got Kevin Durant, right? Ultimate bitch move. Because all they needed was somebody that was a little bit better than Harrison Barnes. That's all they needed. It was a bitch move. What do you want me to say? That's what I came into? Yes. On a happy Monday? Yes. Seven minutes into the show?

[00:08:45] Bitch move. Yes. Bitch move Monday. You know what I'm saying? But it was bitch move Sunday because they didn't even let Monday come. They ran into the parking lot and called this man crying in the parking lot. But, you know, all they needed was somebody a little bit better than Harrison Barnes. Somebody that could be a little bit more consistent. So, Mr. Logical, what I'm saying is it is not time to trade Chet. You know what I'm saying?

[00:09:12] Even though Chet tried to put himself on the Summer Jam screen. But it's not time to trade him. You just need some other pieces to fill out. You needed your team not to be hurt. And, again, I'm not saying that the Thunder win this series if J-Dub and A.J. Mitchell are there. But that takes some of that relief off of Chet. What's your reaction to Game 7? I absolutely believe they win. They win if Chet takes nine shots. Okay.

[00:09:41] If he goes four for nine, I think that makes him more aggressive defensively. I think those nine shots, let's imagine that. I don't want to do imagining, but, like, Wimby's going to be defending him three to four of those nine shots. Maybe get a cheap, you know, foul on the elbow. Seeing the ball go through the hoop. Because when he missed those two free throws after he got dunked on, I was like, okay. But then I'm watching the game.

[00:10:11] And it was like, yo, Chet hasn't taken a shot in the second half. It was like three, maybe like four or five minutes had gone by. And the third, one of the commentators mentioned it. And then the fourth started. And they said he hadn't taken a shot in the second half. And then he got a pass on the wing, like right on the wing. Somebody was in the corner. He faked it, set up like he was going to shoot. And then just dribbled and passed out to the guy in the corner anyway.

[00:10:39] I think it might have been like Dort or Case and Wallace or something like that. But it was like, dog, on the pump fake, now you elevate. There's only one dude on the floor that can contest your jumper at its apex. And that's Wembanyama. And even with that, Wimby doesn't really jump that high. He's just really lengthy. I think Chet is a little bit more athletic than Wimby. He's definitely lighter. So I think you could have got that shot off no matter who closed out on you. It just, you could tell he had the yips.

[00:11:08] But, I mean, Case and Wallace went for like 12 or 14 points in the fourth. I thought, and the reason I had picked OKC was because I feel as if a lot of guys for their role also have a green light to shoot the rock. And Case and Wallace was on. Like I said, he put up 14 points in the fourth. They still were down. SGA was exhausted. And Chet just still was like, even when he was on the bench, like, dog, you're an all-star.

[00:11:37] You won a championship last year. You signed a $200-plus million contract. And in the closing minutes, you're not in your coach's ear like, yo, put me back in. You're just sitting there watching. Literally, you're literally watching your season in when you are the second or third best player on your team.

[00:12:03] And, you know, if you want to call J-Dub the third, he's not there. So, you got your guy out there solo. Case and Wallace out there playing unconsciously. You can't get a part of that. It just, yeah, it was odd to me that that went down that way. So, Rez brought up the point that I was about to bring up next. You know what I mean? They had Wimby with five fouls with about seven minutes left in that game. Eight minutes left. And Case and Wallace was coming up the side. I'm, like, driving to his chest.

[00:12:33] Even if he blocks it, it was him and Wimby on the fast break. And he pulled it back. I'm, like, yo, just, I'm, like, you got him at five fouls. This was, like, this was the possession right after the fifth foul, too. So, it was a rebound and a run out. I'm, like, just driving into Wimby's chest. Because either way, he's going to try to, he's going to try to avoid getting the sixth foul. But he's going to want his hand in the cookie jar. He's going to want to get the block anyway. Driving right into his chest.

[00:13:03] Well, at that point, his pelvis, because, like, he's a foot. He's a foot. But, like, literally drive right at his hip. Drive right at him to where he has to avoid you. And now you got a free layup. And he pulled it back out, missed the jumper, and then that's the end of it. Now, with that being said, let me talk to the MVP real quick. You know what I'm saying? Mr. MVP.

[00:13:27] You know, Mr. Logical and I sit up here all the time, and we talk about more so on the coaching side. You know, teams react to how their coach reacts. If their coach panics, the team kind of panics. You know, if the coach is kind of, you know, smoothing out, the team will follow that lead. With SGA, it's the same thing that makes him great that doomed him in game seven. It's that he never has any urgency. He never has any reaction.

[00:13:57] He never has any moment that it looks like, hey, guys, it's go time. Or, hey, guys, we need to get it together. He's just the same way all game long. And at times, that works, right? It keeps the ship steady. You're not going to overreact to a bad call. You're not going to overreact to missing a couple of shots in a row. But the problem is, is that when you get to the end of the game and the game is on the line, there's not that sense of urgency. So you have to force the issue.

[00:14:26] So I say that to say when they were down six, you know, late in that game, you know, Harper had hit the big shot. You know, SGA came down and forced a bad three. You know what I'm saying? That was just, and this wasn't the first time in the series that he did this. You know what I mean? Like, he gets real, I don't want to say he panics, but he knows that the game is on the line and now it's time to make a play. But the problem is, is if you had that mentality three minutes ago,

[00:14:54] maybe the game would be tied right now. You know what I'm saying? Versus trying to come back at the last minute. If he, the most recent LeBron game six, Boston, the 45, 15 to five game, you can see it in his face. I'm going out on my shield.

[00:15:21] Dwayne Wade in the finals, his first finals when he beat Dallas, you could tell. Yeah, he was like, I'm going out with the refs. Yeah, call it what you want. He was still out there following around. Kobe, when they asked him, like, are you going to smile? He was like, smile for what? It's not done. It's an intensity, I think, that kind of matriculates to the entire team. Shea should have gone to Chet. Like, yo, dawg, you've only taken two shots. Get to the bucket.

[00:15:50] If he blocks it, he blocks it. The man leads the world and blocks right now. It's inevitable. Attack him. And I think OKC kept playing so passive. Like I said, they kept throwing that angle pass to the corner every time he was in the paint. Dylan Harper was picking it off every time. I just felt like they got passive. And San Antonio was like, at the end of game five, I think Wimby whispered, like, listen, dawg, you get suspended or you get fined. I got you. But go ahead, elbow old boy in his back.

[00:16:19] What's the boy named Tick-Tock? McCain. McCain. He won the same after that elbow. He had 24, 24, 25, maybe 27 points in game five. Game six and seven was not the same. That elbow to his back, maybe it did something. Knocking SGA down in game six a lot. I mean, Carter Bryant was basically out there like Sherman, Cam Chancellor. They were just running into him. But I think maybe that took a toll on him.

[00:16:48] But I didn't like how he wasn't in the game to start the fourth. And I was sitting there watching. I was like, Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Shaq, Patrick Ewing, Reggie. I don't think any of these guys are sitting to start the fourth. Game seven at home. Down. I think they were down seven or eight at that point.

[00:17:15] The Thunder, you know, to your point, you know, they have the bitch, generally speaking, that you can get away with that a little bit. But just not in game seven. I'm not doing that 12 minutes left. Season on the line. In a season. 12 minutes left in a season. Like, yo, dog. Yeah. You can get an IV in the back. Yeah. And then. So then. We have all the stuff you need to re-energize you 45 feet from here in the locker room. You go out there, exhaust yourself. Chet, stop being a bitch. Go out there and play basketball.

[00:17:44] Like, but you need an old head. And they were talking about a guy like Plumlee and Biz Bak-Bianna. Bianna. Yeah. Yeah. So they were talking about a 15-year vet. You talked about Harrison Barnes. They had Caruso. And Caruso was out there showing you, hey, man, if you got to snatch him out the air and borderline flagrant foul him, do it. Because he did it three games in a row.

[00:18:13] I don't think anybody else understood that. Even Lou Dort was pretty much nonexistent in game seven. No, Lou Dort was nonexistent. He was nonexistent, period. He hit some threes. He hit the three to put him up one. But as far as, like, the thing that he brings you, the Draymond Green defensive energy, that pesky over-the-line kind of activity. Even nonexistent. That, like, at least at some point throughout the series, I would expect him to toss Wimby

[00:18:42] into the photographers, at least one. Well, that's why I told you. That's all you can really give me. Give me that. Well, that's why I told you. After game four, I think it was, I said, yo, I'm not playing the rest of the series. Like, because his offense isn't good. So, like, think about the Knicks, right? They're about to play the Knicks in the finals. You know, Josh Hart does enough on offense to where even if he's not scoring, he's setting

[00:19:09] these screens, he's getting assists, you know, he's grabbing rebounds, he's doing this and doing that. That's all Lou Dort does is go out there and play football. You know what I mean? He doesn't provide you anything else. And if his shot is not falling, for me at least, you're just wasting possessions. You know what I mean? So, I'm not saying that Jarrett McCain has to play 38 minutes or anything like that by any needs. But you got Joe and Wiggins, too. I think Lou Dort can be more confident. I think, but the same goes without saying.

[00:19:38] I think the confidence, Lou Dort could be 0 for 6 from 3. If the score is 68-66 San Antonio and he gets that ball, he's trying to take the one-point league. Like, there's no doubt in his mind that I'm putting this shot up and it's going in. Sometimes that is enough. With Josh Hart, like I said, with the Knicks, all those guys have such a pivotal role and

[00:20:07] I think everybody embodies it to the maximum level degree. OKC, those guys have that same role. It's just, Hartenstein was getting silly fouls. Like, dog, just let the layup go. Just let it happen. We need you to be in here to get rebounds. We need you in the game. Because what, I think game three, he had about 15, 16 rebounds.

[00:20:32] Then he probably had 16 for games five, six, and seven total. You know, so just like keep yourself in the game. I just felt like there was a lack of understanding the sense of urgency and how to apply it in real time. Like, you said, SGA put up the bad three. Because I think that was his interpretation of urgency. It was like, no, we got to get a good shot quickly. Not a quick shot that hopefully goes in.

[00:21:01] But I think a veteran coach, a veteran player, someone would have been able to kind of convey that. And I just believe there was a lot of moments where even at the end of the, I believe it was in the half of game seven, where they had, like SGA had the bad turnover. It's like, yo, they are trapping him when Vassell and Cass are on the floor.

[00:21:26] Whoever is guarding, being guarded by Vassell or Cass, however it works out, get away from SGA. Just get away from him. Because every time that guy was, they knew SGA wasn't going to be able to give it up to the guy that was, the OKC player that was being guarded by Vassell or Cass. And he would get right across the line and they would blitz him. I'm like, stop trying to do that dribble handoff right there. Well, yeah, remember when you were a little kid? They kept forcing it to him.

[00:21:56] Remember when you were a little kid and you were playing pickup ball, you know what I mean? Like either you or your teammate brought there. You were like, yo, get him away from me. Like, you know what I'm saying? Get over there. Like, don't bring your defender over to me. You know what I mean? And that was the other part of this was that, like, I don't understand why Mark Daganow didn't. He didn't switch it up.

[00:22:21] Like, from the standpoint of, you know, when the Spurs were trapping SGA, a lot of the times they would do it as soon as he got across half court. So it's like... As soon as he crossed that line. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like you already know that that's coming. Like, once they do it the first time, you know they're going to keep doing it because it's effective. You know, like there was one play where SGA, I don't even think he could see. That might be the turnover you were talking about. And he threw the ball. Yeah. And he threw it right to the front row line. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:50] And, you know, it's like, how do you not, you know, have a Caruso or somebody on the floor and just say, hey, just stay across from SGA. When he comes across half court, be ready to go. And then you've got two defenders. Right. And you've got two defenders on Shea already. So now just drive and somebody's open on the wing if you want to make that kickoff pass.

[00:23:13] If you bring Harden, if you bring Hardenstein up, whoever's guarding Hardenstein isn't as athletic or defensively as good as Castle Loversell or Dylan Harper or Carter Bryant. It's like now that guy can't do the same thing. SGA can beat that trap. And then he can run his guy back into the screen and force a switch.

[00:23:37] And now whoever's guarding Hardenstein, even if it's Wimby, give me Wimby on SGA 34 feet from the hoop. I'll take that matchup because if he can get on him, he can't get the pass to anyone. And there's no one protecting the paint. I thought it was like a little bit more elementary and I just don't understand why they kept going to that. Yeah. I think the media and Twitter won this series for the Spurs too, because once the OKC flop in and all that became a topic of discussion,

[00:24:07] they just let the Spurs play Royal Rumble the rest of the series. Like there was times like in game seven, even, you know, Kelton Johnson, my other Kentucky Wildcat, he was all over the back, you know, all over everybody's back. He grabbed Caruso one time and just straight up tossed him on the floor. And, you know, no call. You know what I mean? And I'm not saying that to say that the refs cheated for San Antonio at all. But the course of how the series was called was influenced by a lot of that outside talk.

[00:24:37] But Mr. Logical, so what I was getting into was, is there a move that OKC needs to make? Like, is there something that they, because I know Hartenstein has an option that they're probably going to, he's not going to take it, then he'll probably sign for less because they're near the apron. You know, I've heard people say trade J-Dub. I've heard people say trade Chet. You know, I've heard people say get Dord out of there.

[00:25:05] So is there something that you feel OKC needs to do? Or is this just a matter of, hey, our guys just got to be healthy and we're right there? Yeah. If, like I said, their guys are healthy. And like I said, I firmly believe if Chet put up nine shots and shot a few more free throws, the game is completely different. But he was such a non-factor and it was clear. So I don't think they need to make a move. I think the team is young.

[00:25:35] I don't know what their money situation is looking like because I know. Well, that's what I was talking about with the apron, yeah. It's getting 700 million. I mean, I think you do something. I think you probably could move Lou Dort and bring in another guy that's strictly 3 and D. I'm pretty sure those guys are there. Yeah, so right now. So right now. Maybe you get a traditional point guard to come off the bench.

[00:26:05] So right now, Hartenstein has a $28.5 million team option. And Dort has a $17.7 million team option. So I'm letting Dort walk. I'm signing Hartenstein for less. And I'm letting one of, if not both of, Joe and Wiggins go. And then we'll see what happens with Cason Wallace because it sounds like he ready to get paid.

[00:26:34] Yeah, but that leaves you room to bring in a back, a traditional point guard to come off the bench. I think you have a baller in McCain. And I've heard people say trade A.J. Mitchell too. I think he is probably, he's probably sought after, after his, you know, performance against the Lakers.

[00:27:00] I could see how, like, if he would have kind of given you that in the San Antonio series and you would have lost, I think it would have probably increased the stock a little bit. But I could see making a couple moves, but I wouldn't do anything drastic. You know, their big young three that they have, I would keep, like I said, I would try to keep Hartenstein. Just because Chet's not going to be a big body that can do what Hartenstein does.

[00:27:27] Yeah, that's why I don't know if people are just trying to make content, but, you know, say like all day it's been Giannis, Giannis, Giannis. You know what I mean? Like, and that is not. So, okay, Steve. Yeah. This is the, and this is the problem. And we talk about, how you talked about the KD move was a soft move. I didn't like the move, especially because, you know, you're a couple of three-pointers from Harrison Barnes connecting on these threes.

[00:27:53] And you're winning game seven and you're back-to-back champs and, you know, the greatest season in NBA history. So going out and getting arguably, you know, a top 10, top 10, 15 player all time to add to another guy who's arguing top 15, top 10, when you already just had 73 wins. I think trying to get Giannis to OKC pretty much the same thing. And it changes the total dynamic of how you play basketball. Because now you're Giannis dependent.

[00:28:23] You can't go fast. You can't go young. I don't know. I just don't think, I don't think you need it. And people in any, any kind of point of view for that. I just don't think him and SGA are a good fit together. That's so, like, I don't, it's not even if it's a good fit. I'm just sick of the fantasy basketball coming to reality. And then every single year, Pundits talk about the quality of the games and how teams don't want to watch this. And people don't want to watch this.

[00:28:48] But yet, every year you're formulating these plans before the finals are even over about how to get the next upset superstar to join another team. You know, it just, I just think the sentiment is just poor. Like, let Giannis figure out what he's going to do in Milwaukee. And if he's really that guy, trade him straight up for Zion Williamson. You can go down to New Orleans and see if you can turn him around.

[00:29:11] Like, I don't want Giannis to try to figure out, I don't want anyone in basketball to try to figure out how to get Giannis on the Lakers. I don't want anyone trying to figure out how to get Giannis on the OKC. How to get Giannis to Houston with KD. And, like, I don't want any of that math being even thought about. If he wants to leave Milwaukee, cool. Go to Orlando. You know, maybe Detroit. I'd give you Detroit because they need a second guy. That'll give you KD and Giannis.

[00:29:40] I think two guys on the team where you want to be an upper echelon team, I think that's good enough. But trying to pair them with a team that just won a championship is like, I don't know, I just, I just, it's just disingenuous. Considering they're going to complain about it all year long. All right, well, you know what? I had enough time talking about losers. Let's talk about these winners.

[00:30:03] So, on Wednesday night, on Wednesday night, down here in the Alamo, in come those New York knickerbockers. You know, I said Nick Kerr, you know what I mean? And like Steve Kerr's son, right? These scripts, yep. So, this is a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals. And then, of course, you know, you know what's cool about that too, Mr. Logical?

[00:30:32] Wimby's the same age that Tim Duncan was in that series. You know, this is a rematch of the NBA Cup Final from this year. You know what I mean? So, question number one, does this make the NBA Cup a success? You trolling me. I'm not. That's a serious question. I mean, who won it? The Lakers won it.

[00:31:01] Lakers won it the first year. The Milwaukee win. The Milwaukee won it. Yep. Milwaukee won it. And then the Knicks this year. Then the Knicks. I'm not anti-NBA Cup, though. I am. I think it's less of a burden than I originally thought it was going to be.

[00:31:24] Like, when you hear about it as an idea, as a concept, and then it's applied, it's like, okay. I think the biggest thing about it is, like, you hate the floor. But it's real games. I hate the whole purpose of it. I like. Like, for me. I wouldn't put. I don't put too much credence in the trophy in and of itself. But just the pre-Christmas kind of.

[00:31:54] But, like I say, you, the league has to do these things to make it interesting because the people who talk basketball shit on the product. We talk about this all the time. Phil Simms doesn't say anything negative, even if Caleb Williams throws up a Hail Mary Prairie ball in the second quarter. He doesn't say, this is why you shouldn't let these guys out of college, blah, blah, blah, paint their nails.

[00:32:21] But if Jared McCain shoots a bad three, the first thing they're going to say on these things is like, oh, this week I got all these flamboyant guys. All these guys worried about making TikToks can't play the game of basketball like how we played in the 90s. And then that becomes a narrative. Phil Simms never says, hey, in the 80s, you'd never throw a pass like that. They don't say that in NFL games. So the NBA had to do something to make it interesting. I like the floor. I think that's kind of a cool look.

[00:32:49] I like that guys do compete because it is like a thing. It's like playing against a guy when you get traded from one team to another. Yes, you want to go out and score 30 any given night of the week if you're a scorer. But the team that traded you, it means a little more. So for the NBA to be like, hey, let's throw a little carrot out here. You know, a few million dollars in prize money between a couple of teams. Let's see if it means a little bit more.

[00:33:18] So that and then it works. So a couple of things, you know what I mean? If the NBA wants to make the league more interesting, you know, how about you enforce the rules that you have on the books? Call a travel every so often. They got to call a travel. You know what I mean? Like, how about you stop calling soft ass flagrant fouls? How about you actually give technicals and find people for flopping? You know, like it was on the books a couple of years ago.

[00:33:49] Those are the things that will contribute to the games being more interesting. But also, it's an 82-game basketball season. And people got lives. So you know what I mean? So that's a part of it, too. But the reason that I don't like the NBA Cup is I think I would like it if it wasn't associated with the regular season. Like, if it was just like its own little tournament at some point, I think I could live with that. But, like, I don't know.

[00:34:17] It's just a gimmick to me. But anyway, you know what I'm saying? But it does, like I said. It's just a carrot. It's just a carrot for entertainment. And you got to have it every once in a while. But let's talk about these here teams that played for the NBA Cup that are now playing for the NBA Finals. Mr. Logical, who wins? How many games? And why? All right. So, I'm a logical guy.

[00:34:48] I think the Knicks, you know, historic run that they're on, you would say they have to come back to the mean. I was going to say that! That's one of your staple statements. I was going to say that! But, I think, to your point that I've kind of made for you.

[00:35:14] I think the height and the size of the San Antonio defenders might make that more of a reality. And that's what I'm concerned about. I think that everybody, every guard, every wing player that San Antonio plays is probably three to four inches taller than Jalen Brunson, at a minimum.

[00:35:43] So, I think if they have him listed as 6'1", or 6'2", I think everyone, everything, every guy that they bring, they bring that San Antonio. Hey, all them dudes look at Jalen Brunson and go, he said I was overlooking him, but he was outstanding straight. Yeah. So, that, I mean, he does have, he's crappy, he's a strong guy, so I think he'll be able to, I think he'll be able to do more with the contact, what SGA was trying to create.

[00:36:12] I think Jalen will be able to better, you know, he'll get to the free-throw line more. But, it's just, that's the only thing I'm concerned with. Because I think everywhere else is pretty much even. I don't think the San Antonio 6'5", 6'7", guys are more offensively, like, just weaponized than the Knicks.

[00:36:34] I just think defensively, they could cause more problems for the Knicks' best score versus anyone defensively for the Knicks causing for San Antonio's best score. That's, that's the toss-up. Now, still thinking about, you know, I want to say Knicks in 6, because I didn't like, I didn't like a lot of the games that San Antonio played against OKC. I felt like they got, there was one game where Wimby had seven rebounds.

[00:37:01] Hell, even in game seven, I think the first half, OKC had like eight or nine offensive rebounds. So, I don't like that, I don't like that aspect of it. Mitchell Robinson has his pinky. I don't know if he's going to stay out, because I'm like, if you're the Knicks, like, yo, dog, if you can grab the ball, we'll deal with the pinky. Like, just shoot the free-throws with your left hand. Like, I mean, you're 40% anyway.

[00:37:27] So, when I first thought of this series, I thought about the things that weren't. So, for example, San Antonio in the second round, and look, I'm not trying to dismiss anything that anybody accomplished, but they played about a 60% of an Anthony Edwards. You know, there was no DiVincenzo. You know, then you get to the Western Conference Finals, J-Dub, Hurt, and then, you know, A.J. Mitchell goes down. You look at the Knicks, right?

[00:37:57] They got a hobbled Joel Embiid, you know, in the second round. Even though Philly was coming off of that win against Boston, he was compromised. You know what I mean? But then, also, when I go back to the first round, because I'll be up front, you know, I picked Atlanta to beat the Knicks. You know what I'm saying? And this is where the issue is for the Knicks in this series. Because the reason that I picked Atlanta was because SGA's cousin, I ain't never calling him by his name again. He's just SGA cousin. You know what I'm saying?

[00:38:26] SGA's cousin and Dyson Daniels, I was like, hey, they're going to make life hard for Jalen Brunson. You know, like, this is a defensive player of the year candidate, most improved player. They're going to make life hard on him. This is the difference, though. The Spurs have Castle, who should be on the Cincinnati Bengals. You know, they have Bissell's long arms. Heck, man. You know, they have Harper.

[00:38:51] But then, they also have the front court that Atlanta didn't have from outside's standpoint. Because Atlanta's problem was they didn't have anybody over 6'9". You know what I mean? So, the Knicks have to deal with those perimeter defenders. And you got the giant down there. So, that's where it's kind of iffy, right? So, call Anthony Towns becomes important. But I don't think they're front court. I don't think the San Antonio front court.

[00:39:19] Because, I mean, unless I'm missing something, I see Cornette coming in for Wimby. Everybody else feels like bigger, big guards or big small forwards. No, but they negate a lot of what the Knicks have is what I mean. So, like, Mikael Bridges, right? He's, what, 6'8", 6'9". But he's got those long arms. You know, Adanobi with the long arms. You know, Shamit coming off the bench.

[00:39:48] You know, it's pretty, you know, he's been playing really good defense in the playoffs. And, Antonio was giving up a lot of open looks. They were. They were. Other teams' best ball handler. They were. And the way the Knicks were shooting the ball in these last two and a half rounds of the NBA playoffs. Now. They can't do that same thing. You trapped. Because Jalen was giving the ball up. Thank you. Game one. Yeah, I know we all hear. Game one. No, no, no. You walked right into my trap.

[00:40:16] And he had, like, 14 assists in the second game. I saw a video breakdown the other day of a guy that was breaking down the Knicks. Like, just some action, some back screen action they were running. And they ran it three different ways in three different rounds. So, against Atlanta, they ran it where, like, Josh Hart was at a screen. This is, like, a rudimentary breakdown of it. But it was, like, Josh Hart was at a screen. Adanobi would get the ball in the corner and he'd be open for the shot. So, they saw that on film.

[00:40:45] And then, against the 76ers, they would, Josh Hart would run it and set that screen. And then, he would slip it. So, then, he's going to the basket for layups. Or, like, it's swing, swing. It's another open shot. But the action looked the same. Like, okay, they're going to run that play. Adanobi gets in the corner. So, then, the defense overplays it. Josh Hart gets 27 points. Like, in the Philly series, he's got, like, 27 points that game. So, then, against Cleveland, they had the same thing.

[00:41:16] Neither one of them slipped it. And then, like, Jalen Brunson just went around. Like, they thought it was going to be, like, the same thing. But then, Adanobi would step up, set the screen on Brunson's guy. And Brunson would come off, late-handed, shoot an open shot. So, I think Mike Brown's kind of taken all of his experience as a coach, what he learned in Golden State. And I think he has the personnel. And they're playing, like, that's the difference. I think the Knicks can get those open looks off.

[00:41:43] And if they can keep Wimby – if they can make Wimby a jump shooter where they don't go in early, I think the Knicks – I think Knicks and Six is a real possibility. Because, like I said, we saw the bad San Antonio playoff games. And we saw what it looked like. And what it was, it was like Wimby wasn't going off for 30 points. Everyone kind of, like, you know, just – But – They weren't as explosive as a team. So, I'm glad you brought that up. A couple things.

[00:42:13] So, one, you know what I mean? They were also playing against the defending champions. And, you know what I mean? The best team in the league, basically, you know, obviously before injuries and all that. So, that's one thing, the level of competition, compared to what the Knicks were playing. For two – But the Knicks are playing against the best team in history. Well, no, but wait. Because, remember, it was not that long ago, Mr. Logical. The Knicks were down 22. You know what I'm saying?

[00:42:42] To the Cleveland Cavaliers, right? And I say that to say the first two games of that series, they were coming off of rest just like they're coming off right now. And those first two games, they shot awful from three. The problem was – you know what I mean? And I'm going to get there, Rez. Hold on. You know what I'm saying? But the problem was is that Cleveland plays stupid. You know what I mean? And Cleveland couldn't take advantage because they wouldn't keep Mobley involved.

[00:43:12] So, in game one, for example, the Knicks started off something like two for 16 from three. And that's how they got into that hole. Game two came. Jalen Brunson had two points at halftime. The Knicks were still winning by four. You know what I mean? If the Knicks – I think John McClendon had six points. Yeah. If Jalen Brunson has two points at halftime, the Spurs are up 17. You know what I'm saying?

[00:43:38] And I don't know if you're making up that ground against them. So, respond to Rez for me. What do you think about this? Every team the Spurs played was better than every team the Knicks played. Spurs' first round was – Remind me again. Portland, nah. Second round was Minnesota hobbled. No second score.

[00:44:03] I think the Western Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, it was a definitive advantage where the Spurs could showcase, hey, the team we played was better than the team you played. But I think the first two rounds are a wash. So, I think – Because I don't – Because, like, Minnesota without – Because Minnesota had, and on a pitch count, the first game. And I think the second game was supposed to be the same thing. He just stayed out there.

[00:44:33] He's supposed to play, like, less than 30 minutes or something like that. He just stayed because it was close enough. And then he felt like – You know, they felt like, you know, it needed to win. Yeah. Yeah. I think the Western Conference, you know, they were better. But this thing, the way that the Knicks are playing right now, you got to think that they would beat anybody. They closed out their last three series. First round, 51 points.

[00:45:01] I think the second round was 37 points. And then the last round was, like, 37 points. So, for a team to be playing that well, I don't think – I don't care who your opponent is. If you got a guy coming off the bench shooting 10 for 11 from three in Eastern Conference Finals in a series coming off the bench, that's a different level. Mikael Bridges was shooting so many tough shots. Even if it's well defended, you can't – there's nothing to do for a good shot, even if it's well defended.

[00:45:31] So, I think they've been playing at a level. I mean, they're pouring people out. So, to your point about it, let's talk about the wash real quick, and then I'll wrap this up and we'll get back to the preview here. Yeah. So, like, Minnesota still had – and along with probably the one person that could protect the rim against Wimby or at least give him a little resistance, Gobert. You know, they had that going for them.

[00:46:00] Whereas, like I said, the Knicks had a hobbled Embiid, you know, and you were relying on Paul George. That hobbled Embiid just beat – that hobbled Embiid, they just beat Boston. Well, he didn't get hobbled until game seven. Like, you know what I'm saying? When he got hit in the knee by Matthew. He's always on the – he's always on the fence. Like, he was still – you know, but look. So, the Knicks, you know – well, first of all, this finals. Yeah.

[00:46:28] We're going to have a new champion for the eighth straight year. I like it. I like it. Which is the longest stretch that we've gone through since 1975 to 1980. The Knicks – this is the point where – this is where Wimby comes in. Coming into this series, the Knicks lead the playoffs in points in the paint per game. So, they're averaging about 53 points, which is ridiculous. 53 points per game in the paint.

[00:46:56] So, I got to imagine that that changes, right? That has to change, yeah. So, now, where it could not change maybe is if Cat can knock down a few shots. You know what I'm saying? Because that was what I was going to ask you next. Who – if you're each coach, who do you start on Cat? Who do you start on Whitney? Or do you let them play each other first? I let them play each other first.

[00:47:24] Just – just to not get too technical. Just like, yo, I got a 7'5 guy and a 7' tall guy. 6'11", 7' whatever it is. That's the matchup. That's the matchup until I feel like it can't work or I can clearly see it will work. Because what are you going to do? Are you going to put Ananobi on him? You're going to put Miguel Winses on him? I'm going to put Ananobi on him. To start the game out?

[00:47:54] Yeah. Maybe not to start the game out. Maybe not to start the game out. But I think – yeah, yeah. I think that's where you end up, though. Yeah. Yeah. I'll start – I'll start the big on the big and then see how it looks. And like I said, I don't – I know Mitchell Robinson, the report came out that he was going to miss some time with a broken pinky. Hey, you never know. He might be able to say, hey, man, take these two things together. Numb me up.

[00:48:19] I can go out there and give you – I can give you a body that – it's not about trust. It's about not over-coaching. Just like, listen, go out there, do your job, and if it doesn't work, we adjust. But I don't want to have to – because at some point you're going to have to put him on Wimby. Just in whatever rotation, energy-wise, substitution, you're going to get him on him.

[00:48:48] I don't want to start it off where I got Wimby thinking, oh, they don't even – they're afraid to put their big on me. And now his confidence – because you can tell in games where he wasn't confident. He doesn't get a lot of rebounds. He doesn't fight through people. So if I put a big bite like Cat on him or make him try to defend Cat far from the hoop, and if that's the case, now I'm the Knicks. I'm getting those 53 points in the paint. If he has to come out to 22 feet and guard Cat, and Cat's a willing passer.

[00:49:18] We talk about his points. You know, he's normally a 23-12 guy. But these playoff runs, he's probably been closer to 16-8, but like eight or nine assists because of the way that teams have been playing him. I just think the Knicks are understanding the ball moves faster than any defender. No matter how tall Wimby is, he can't defend the entire half of the floor if you put him in positions where he has to get pulled away from the hoop.

[00:49:44] And now with the Knicks having this much time off, I thought the rest was going to mean a little more because I thought the finals were going to start – I thought the game seven was going to be Sunday and the finals were going to be Tuesday. I thought it was going to just be a couple of days rest for whoever won the Western Conference.

[00:50:03] But with it being, you know, two days from now, I figured the rest is a bit of a wash because the Knicks just got a couple more practices in and maybe a couple more longer nights sleep. Yeah, especially with the Spurs being young. And they're at home. You know what I mean? So like they went from OKC to San Antonio almost immediately. That's 30 minutes. So like they're in and out.

[00:50:27] So also one difference in this series as well is that you got game one tomorrow – or I'm sorry, on Wednesday. You got game two is on Friday, so you maintain your every other day. Game three isn't until Monday. You know, then you go Wednesday, Saturday. Really? I figured they would want Sunday night in the garden, but I guess it's the garden. You can do it any kind of – any day of the week. Yeah, you can do it any day of the week.

[00:50:55] Yeah, so it goes Friday – so Wednesday, Friday, Monday. Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday. And if there's a game seven, it would be that following Friday. So now this is where I think it – this is where I think it helps the Spurs, right? Because for me, I felt that Wimby struggled because remember he was on a minutes count during the regular season. You know what I mean?

[00:51:20] So I think that it was one of those things where I think that every other day just caught up to him. You know what I'm saying? Because he had to play longer minutes than he was playing in the regular season. So he would have uneven performances. You know, he would have that 41-24 in game one, but then game two kind of sputter. Game three pick back up and then sputter. And then not talk to the media afterwards and all that kind of stuff. So I think having it spaced out a little bit helps the Spurs as well.

[00:51:50] I think the other thing that the Spurs are going to run into is just – I'm sorry, the Knicks are going to run into is the quality. You know what I mean? So, like, you're going to get Landry Shaman off the bench. And if he continues his heater, you're in trouble, right? You know, you got Deuce McBride. You got Jordan Clarkson, San Antonio Nato, who's going to come out in one of these – The Knicks have Phil Jackson in the film session? You know what I'm saying? But, you know, here you go. You know who you're talking about.

[00:52:21] Yeah. But, you know, but you're coming off – But I think that's part of it, though, when you talk about Whitney. I think that philosophy of the Spurs – sit them down. Don't panic. Hey, Luke, give us four good minutes. He got the chase down block. Oh, don't forget that block. Don't forget that block against Hartenstein. God – And they put Whitney right back in. So, it's like – I think just the Spurs manage –

[00:52:49] Because I do believe that they were at a bit of a disadvantage against OKC. Because OKC – those guys, they're shooters. They're scorers. They go on these runs. Everyone shoots. Everyone just was ready. And they got tight. Hence why Chet only shot two shots. I think San Antonio just stayed to their physicality because you could take that anywhere. Physicality travels. That's why we're – Well, that's what I was going to say.

[00:53:18] A lot of times the Guardian works against the Knicks, too. You know what I mean? More than it is an actual home court advantage. Like people want to play in the Mecca. You know, they want to silence the New York fans. You know, Spike Lee and the whole nine. But the Knicks can play – the Knicks can play a physical basketball game, too. There's not a lot of finesse in their game. And so – We talk about big market, small market.

[00:53:46] Yeah, we're going to talk about it again later, too. The Knicks might be – I know it's New York, but I think people might be rooting a little bit more for the Knicks just because it's like an American team. And I think Wimby's kind of cocky. I don't think people really rock with Wimby like that. Too tough. I don't think it's a small market. I think people kind of looking at the Knicks like, whoa, look at these guys.

[00:54:16] Especially if you know the Villanova history, the undersized. They're more like under – they're more underdogs than the Spurs are because – Okay, hold up, hold up, hold up. I got it on good authority right here. Fuck the Knicks. You know what I'm saying? How's that? That's because you were in San Antonio. No, it's not because I'm in San Antonio. It's because – See, baby, that's what we're doing. You know what's up to make it to be.

[00:54:44] Even though you saw me out on the Riverwalk the other night, you know what I'm saying, honking and everything, you know what I'm saying? But I got it on good authority that is fuck the Knicks. But anyway, so like I think that – I'm going to the parade when they win. You know, so one thing that I did find funny, though, because I forgot about this as I was going through my stats, you know what I mean, and all that. And all that.

[00:55:10] I was like, yo, Jalen Brunson has a 61-point game against the Spurs. You know what I mean? But Wimby went 40-20 in that game, and the Knicks won that game. You know, that was last season, not this season. So there's no need to even look at the regular season here because when they played in the regular season, Wimby came off the bench. You know, it was the whole you're not playing more than 25 minutes thing.

[00:55:37] I just think that the Spurs have grown up along these playoffs, and I think that the one thing that I would be afraid of, the one thing I would be afraid of as someone that thinks that the Spurs is going to win this series is coming out game one. Like how do you come out game one? Because when they beat OKC, Wimby was ready for the parade. He was ready for the confetti. Like, you know, that was a lifetime achievement. You know what I mean? For him. That's what I'm afraid of. Is that what's at their NBA Finals?

[00:56:07] Did they blow their emotional low pause in that? I doubt it because they don't seem to play with a lot of ego. I know, like, Wimby's super cocky and confident. I understand that he has to be that. If you're going to be the face of basketball for your country, because I believe he probably is one of those between him. I don't know what Gobert's impacted. Oh, you're just going to disrespect Frank Milikina like that, huh? Yeah. And Tony Parker. Disrespecting Evan Boyd, yeah.

[00:56:37] Yeah. Don't you disrespect Boris Diao? Now, he's like a long line of tall, light-skinned French players that seem to take the league by storm every few years. So I understand, like, his level of confidence that he has going into each one of these games and these matchups. I just think that I don't think the Spurs lose out anything because I think their physicality travels.

[00:57:05] I think the camaraderie and the joy, I think, that Knicks are playing with travels. So it's just a matter of can you stay defensively sound if you're the Spurs? And if you're the Knicks, can you not panic when they inevitably go on their run and Champagny hits a couple threes and now the San Antonio crowd's rocking and you're down 25 to 16 early in the first? So, yeah.

[00:57:34] And I was going to bring up. Can you keep it going? I think the familiarity that these guys all have and the lack of ego. I think it's a lack of ego on both teams. I don't think it's going to be a guy that goes into a press conference and says something like, I got to have a good game for us to win. I just don't think a guy will say something like that. And don't forget, this means a lot to Mike Brown. You know, like he came up under pop. You know what I mean? He's playing against De'Aaron Fox. It means a lot. You know what I mean?

[00:58:01] But also, you know, I think Vassell is going to play a big key in this series because he gets those J.R. Smith streaky moments. You know what I mean? Where he's either going to go 8 for 16 or 0 for 16. Nothing in between. And you know what I mean? And to your point about Champagny, you know, he was the one that really kept OKC at bay in game seven. So the Knicks best beware where he is. And just like we said before the OKC series, make Champagny put the ball on the ground.

[00:58:32] That's how you handle that. Don't let Dylan Harper do anything. Just don't let him do anything. Oh, you ain't got no choice. He hasn't made a mistake. I don't think I've seen him turn the ball over. I don't think I've seen it. Like, I imagine that he did. But I think he got called for a travel one time and I was amazed. I'm like, wow, they called travel. But like with the ball in his hand, it's like it's a different level of what he's doing. His daddy has him well prepared.

[00:59:01] His mom was his coach his whole life. Shout out to moms out there. I know his father's date is month. We'll get our flowers. So my NBA 2K fans will appreciate this. I'm taking the Spurs and the real life manifestation of Jackson Baldwin. You know what I mean? Here we are. Spurs in five.

[00:59:29] Knicks in six. Knicks in six, huh? Okay. Knicks in six. You know what I mean? Okay, okay, okay, okay. You know what I mean? But yeah, you know, for those of you not in the know, there was a version of 2K. I want to say it was 2K21. You had Freddie Staples, Jackson Baldwin, and then you had like the big Jokic guy.

[00:59:54] And those were the top picks in the draft that you can go on and like develop your career with. And they come in instant stars and all that kind of stuff like that. But yeah, I got Spurs in five. So, Mr. Logical, moving on. So, the Memphis Grizzlies are the only team that stood up against Adam Silver in his 3-2-1 proposal,

[01:00:20] which is kind of redundant anyway because Adam Silver only does what the owners want him to, you know, what the owners allow him to, even though he's the face. And we shit all over him for these decisions. You know what I mean? Like the Memphis Grizzlies are the only team that voted against this. And they voted against it because they got screwed.

[01:00:45] Because now that this rule is in place, you know, they made this trade for Jaron Jackson with the Jazz. You know, now they're picking number three. So, next year, you know, they can't pick. You know, they can't get a top five pick because that would be three years in a row. You're working on the assumption that the Jazz are going to be drafted. You know, they're going to be. No, it is. But all it takes is an injury or two, which is the problem with this rule, right? Because I was thinking about this earlier.

[01:01:15] Knock on wood. Now, first of all, this rule should be called the San Antonio Spur rule. You know, because they went out here and had rookie of the year galore, right? You know, they had Wimby. They had Castle. They drafted Dylan Harper this year. You know, he wasn't rookie of the year, but you get the point. And then my brain is not working right now, but they drafted somebody else, too. They had another guy that was capable. Might have been Vassell, actually.

[01:01:44] But the point being is that the Spurs live in these drafts getting these star players. So my thought about it was, if I'm a small market team, why would I vote yes for this? You know what I mean? Because the number one thing that we talk about is ain't nobody going to Memphis or, yeah, Memphis.

[01:02:13] Ain't nobody going to Cleveland. And I mean, you can look at it through the lens right now as like, hey, we're the Cleveland Cavaliers. We just made the Eastern Conference Finals. That doesn't apply to us. Not right now. You know what I'm saying? But then my other thought was, knock on wood, that's where the knock on wood comes in. What if Wimby gets hurt next year or, you know, SGA gets hurt next year and one of these two teams that I just said goes to the play-in

[01:02:43] and then they get into the draft lottery and ends up with a top three pick? What did you just accomplish? Like, and this is part of my argument for the tanking rules altogether.

[01:03:00] The tanking rules, I felt like they were implemented to try to discourage something that was almost inevitable.

[01:03:15] Because no matter what you do, how hard you play your tiny little hearts out, if you are the 2025-2026 Brooklyn Nets, you're not winning 35-40 games. You're not going to be competitive night in and night out. But why? You don't have the talent. But why don't they have the talent? It wasn't because they tanked.

[01:03:44] They just made bad trades. They had bad ownership. They had bad GMs. And that's the problem for all the teams. I would think the market size is indicative of how well you can manage a team. No, it's not. It's hard to sign a free agent. Yes. But are you willing to trade a few extra pieces and get Anthony Davis? Dallas did it. Washington did it. Dallas the big-ass market. Washington the big-ass market.

[01:04:15] Washington's not a big... Like, I'm looking at them right now. I got it. I got it up right now. Yeah. They got Washington at eight. Yes! That's a big market! There's 30 teams. Okay, what do you think Phoenix is? What do you think Phoenix ranks in this market? I would say Phoenix is probably fourth or fifth. Eleven. Okay. I'm saying so it's like 11, Orlando's 13, Cleveland's 17. You know, so...

[01:04:46] Yeah, but the difference is that Cleveland is in a location that nobody wants to go to, be in. Like, LeBron couldn't even get Bosch to come there. Like, you know what I mean? So, like, if I can't get Chris Bosch to come there, like, I'm suddenly going to get SGA to come there? Or I'm going to get Giannis to willingly come there? I'm going to get Luka to willingly come there? I think not. You know what I mean? And that's the issue within itself is that...

[01:05:14] You know, because even to your point about the people shitting on the product, right? Whenever these finals and all this stuff are in these places that are not Miami, New York, so on and so forth, they get on TV and complain about where the finals are. You know what I mean? So, like, you know what I mean? So from that standpoint, this draft is important to places like that. You know what I mean? Because that's the only way you're going to get your hands on these stars. You know what I mean?

[01:05:42] Like, so you got Memphis at, what, number three in this draft? You know what I mean? Like, they're not getting a Cameron Boozer to come there without being the number three pick in the draft. You know what I'm saying? They're not getting anybody that's currently in the league. All right, so our top two markets. New York and LA. Our top two markets. New York and Brooklyn are one because they're both in the same city. Lakers and Clippers, number two.

[01:06:09] Now, let's go 27 years back. How many championships between those four teams? The Lakers got five, six. So the Lakers have five. Six. Okay. That's probably it. Between them, that's probably it. That's it. So these markets are gigantic. It's great. Chicago's three.

[01:06:39] Yeah, but guess, but guess, but they had the last 25 years. But guess, but guess, oh, hey, hey. No, no, no, no, you don't. Don't you forget what happened from 2015 through 20. Don't you forget about that. With who? Don't try to leave the Warriors out of this. Oh, I'm going to get to them. I'm going to get, I'm going to get to like, the Warriors market is 10. San Francisco, Boston's nine.

[01:07:08] So Chicago is a big market. They haven't landed a big free agent. Fuck the market. They had the whole bank. Apparently, I guess Anthony Davis is from Chicago. Like, I keep hearing that a lot, but I never hear him really say anything about like, see that guys from Chicago talk about being from Chicago a lot. He didn't go there. He didn't want to get a trade from New Orleans to Chicago. He wanted to go to LA. That was also because of the management.

[01:07:35] Like, I'm not saying that these things are independently exclusively to each other. And I get that the small markets. The small markets are, I get that you fall out of love as a player with the smaller market, because if you're winning a lot in Memphis, if you're winning a lot in Minnesota, I'm pretty sure Ant loves Minnesota right now. But if he does two more years there, gets his extension, does a couple more years, and they're out in the first and second round,

[01:08:03] he might fall out of love with the idea of like, all right, I don't like losing and I'm playing in the small market. So I understand, but like, that's just movement in general. People are going to want to move. But I don't think it's a big market. But to Rez's point, the Knicks had the worst owner in the league. You know what I mean? I think he's still the same owner though. I know, but he hired good people under him now. Leon Rosen, those guys, World Wide West, he hired them. You know what I mean? Boston is probably considered the most racist city in sports.

[01:08:33] You know what I mean? And then Chicago has had bad management, you know, ever since they told Bill Jackson, even if you go 82-0, you're not coming back. So I'm not making the point that large markets are going to win championships. That's not the point. That would be too simplistic and not true. But what I'm saying is they just get more bites at the apple. You know what I mean?

[01:09:01] Because the players are going to want to go there, whether that's endorsements, whether that's being on TV, whether that's importance or being talked about on ESPN and those type of things. You're not getting that in Sacramento. You're not getting that. You know what I mean? But that's the thing. I don't think that – but I don't think – because I just went over this in my research class.

[01:09:25] I don't think that's the reason why the Utah Jazz don't win 44 games a year. No, Jalen was a free agent. Jalen was a free agent because he took the discount. Indiana's 21. I just – I think if your team's managed probably because it's basketball. Can you put the ball in a hoop, but can you not?

[01:09:53] Can you hire a coach and keep – but can you not? Can you hire a good GM? Can you make the right draft pick? Because a lot of times it's just a matter of like maybe Ace Bailey probably wasn't the pick for Utah right there. Maybe they could have gone with somebody else. But they picked Ace Bailey, and I don't think he looks anything like Dylan Harper. And that might be a difference of two to four. But I don't think – He's got some 30-point games this year. Yeah, but I don't think – that's what I'm saying.

[01:10:22] Like the draft order isn't indicative of your market size. It's just where the lottery balls fall. No, definitely. I was so against the anti-tanking narrative and the tanking rules changes because there's not a lot of ground in the NBA to help the smaller teams get better. They don't get a perk to pay.

[01:10:49] So if we were worried about the small market, if we're looking at our teams 20 to 27, or we'll go 17 because that's like the last 10. So Cleveland, Sacramento, Charlotte, Portland, Indiana, San Antonio, Utah, Oklahoma City, Memphis, New Orleans, Milwaukee. Springer those guys. None of those teams getting free agents besides OKC. So now you say, all right, cool, you're a small market. And that's just because of the success that they have now.

[01:11:15] And we understand the billboard aspect of – or the marquee aspect of having a marquee player. You guys are going to be able to offer X amount of percentage more than a big market team. So if the Lakers are offering – we'll just say Paul George, for example, because he's always been like a big free agent piece the last few years. The Lakers, you're a bigger market. You can only offer him four years, 160.

[01:11:43] Milwaukee, you can offer him four years, 175. Exactly. Like give him – but the league would have to build that in. But the league doesn't build that in to allow for such a transition. Like with the NFL, you finish last, you draft first. We're going to give you your opportunity to rebuild your team.

[01:12:06] They don't say, oh, you didn't play your starting right guard in the last game, so you get penalized and your top 10 pick is now 7-9. It's like, no, you need to get this best player so we can put you, Las Vegas Raiders, on Monday Night Football against Kansas City, and the score is not going to be 35-0 at halftime. We need you competitive because we only get X amount of games per week to showcase our league. Right.

[01:12:34] And me, it's spoiled because they have hundreds of games to play, and they treat it as such. We don't care about Orlando versus Brooklyn. You should. Brooklyn's a major market. It's East Coast. Orlando's a young team. You should want both of them to be good. All right. So let me go into the past and bring it back. Yes, and – you know what I'm saying? Because it's the same thing that I always say.

[01:12:57] Because in the NFL, I can draft an Aaron Donald, but it don't matter if my quarterback can't complete a pass. We'll talk about Miles Garrett later. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? But in the NBA, if I get my hands paused on Darren Peterson, that could change everything. You know what I mean? That's a draft position. That's not indicative of the market size. No, it is indicative, though. Like, the draft is its own separate thing.

[01:13:26] But the thing is, is that you wouldn't get a Darren Peterson without a draft. So, like, yes, you still have to be lucky to end up in that position. Yeah. That's why – Like, yeah, you still have to be lucky to end up in that position. No, we're not. Because, you know, because – You think that – you like the new change. That's my thing. I don't – okay, okay. I don't like the new change. The change should help the team.

[01:13:55] I think this change helps the narrative surrounding – This is the problem. I don't think it helps any actual basketball teams. I don't like the change. What I think is if y'all wasn't fucking around, I wouldn't have to do something like this. So, it's the same thing with the 65-game rule. Like, if y'all weren't sitting out these nationally televised games and this was a national topic, then I wouldn't have to create a 65-game rule for you to win MVP.

[01:14:24] So, I'm not saying that I agree with it, but I'm just saying, like, if you didn't – cause an effect. The 65-game rule made sense because it was simple. Well, I mean, they did some waivers. I get it. All organizations have some level. Well, I get it, though. Luka had a baby, so I'm fine with that waiver. I get it. So, but they drew a line in the sand because they had a problem.

[01:14:51] The problem was I'm trying to sell Golden State versus the Knicks on a Wednesday and Steph Curry's sitting out. That's the problem because I put the ticket prices at this percentage. You guys are causing me problems.

[01:15:09] With tanking, I don't think what they did solved the problem for tanking because the problem for tanking is we have no other recourse to add a player and get better. Yes, you should be able to get better GMs and develop players so forth and so on. But, like, in the NBA, the only way I'm going to be able to get better is to hopefully get the top draft pick.

[01:15:37] So, now, as a team, you're just taking that away. Like, yo, I don't have the horses. I don't – like, and there's no relegation and everything else. If Brooklyn still won't have the horses to compete next year, they simply won't. So, who am I a fan of? The Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards. So, within the last two to three weeks of the regular season, the Wizards played the Bulls twice.

[01:16:06] So, the Bulls ended up with the fourth pick. Obviously, Washington got the first pick. You know what I'm saying? Both of those games that Washington played the Bulls, they dug into their G League stash. You know, on top of trading for Anthony Davis and then not playing him at all this season, you know, once they got him. You know, on top of getting Trey Young and he was out for the first month that they had him.

[01:16:35] And they got rewarded with the number one draft pick. Now, it was luck. It was luck. It takes luck. But how did San Antonio get Tim Duncan? They probably take – David Robinson was healthy for the last two weeks of the season. He didn't play him. So, that goes back, right? That goes back to it. So, that goes back to it. So, because I did something wrong 30 years ago, I should continue doing that wrong? What pick was Kobe? 12 or 13?

[01:17:05] 13. So, you just got to be able to find the talent where it is. No, 100%. 100%. Alex Carr and Risha Shea were one and two, right? Well, I was just about to bring that up. I was just about to bring that up. So, you can't get – Hold on, hold on. Let me see. So, you can't get the – So, with this new rule, you can't get the number one pick in draft in back-to-back years.

[01:17:27] So, imagine that you got Sar or Risha Shea at number one, and then you were still bad, and then the next year you missed out on the number one draft pick because you drafted Risha Shea or Sar. That's the thing. And that is the bigger piece. I look at it like this.

[01:17:47] I think tanking – I think losing happens before tanking occurs. We talked about James Harden when he was in the locker room wearing a fat suit in Houston, and he said stuff at the press conference, like, I can't win with these guys. He knows early in the season you can't win. Brooklyn had five picks last year, like the first round.

[01:18:15] So, none of them were top five, and none of those guys probably had an ESPN highlight all year long. And that's unfortunate to get that many guys in one draft and it not work out. But that's not a tanking problem. That's just – they were losing games. Indiana was down. Halliburton, they moved Evan – what's the boy's name that went to Milwaukee? Miles Turner. Miles Turner.

[01:18:44] I keep saying Miles Turner. They moved some pieces and it was like, okay, we're going to let these guys we have on the team play out and do as best they can. And then you know what they did? They traded Matherin at the midseason, and they got Zubach and sat him down for like a week. And then they – then it didn't work out. Like, just the lottery – the lottery balls will get you the results you want. So, if I'm Adam Silver, I'm like, listen, personally, I always say this.

[01:19:12] I'm not changing the tanking rules because it is a lottery. It is no guarantee that if you get the number two pick or the number three pick, it's going to change your franchise. Because I know the guy that I just ordered a pair of his shoes the other day, he went number three overall. Another guy went ahead of him. And that league – that team's been cursed ever since.

[01:19:40] And the other guy is arguably the greatest of all time. And he went three. So, it's like it just – what happens happens. These guys have to play, and you got to develop. I just think they legislated it to the point where now, if we think about it, okay, who – who was a terrible team last year? So, this – the Pelicans. They're going to be terrible again. The Pelicans were terrible. Brooklyn was terrible. Sacramento. The Clippers are probably going to be awful. Sacramento is going to be awful.

[01:20:11] No, the Clippers will be fine. The Wizards. Are they going to keep Kawhi and the gang and everybody else? I mean, they – I think that's going to get broken up. You know what? Side note real quick. I was reading the article today. They said that Cleveland was actually interested in Drew Holiday. But they didn't feel like his offense was good enough, and that's why they went with James Harden. Bad management! But anyway. That's bad management.

[01:20:40] But, you know, here we go. That makes everybody around him better. But you got to know that. You have to know these things. And you – So, this is my problem. This is my thought. And this is – so, to answer your question, this is – because I'm trying to think of all the different angles. And this is an angle why I don't like this rule.

[01:20:59] Because now, to some degree, I could argue, depending on who you are, all you did was move tanking from the top pick to the playoffs now. Because now, play-in teams are involved in this lottery. You know what I mean? So, now, if I'm a play-in team, hypothetically, I'm going to just use a team that was in the play-in this year. Let's use Portland. Let's use – okay. Let's use – well, no, because Charlotte's got good players, though. But that's what I'm saying.

[01:21:29] Because Charlotte – now, Charlotte's going to be able to be in that little mix of that 7 to 10 with the potential of getting a 1, 2, or 3 pick or something because of the math, the way it works out. Whereas, Indiana – okay. Sacramento's still going to be terrible. Brooklyn's going to be terrible. Memphis is going to be terrible. New Orleans is probably going to be terrible. And they're not even going to get a shot. Memphis does draft good. They're not even going to get a shot at getting one of these top guys in the 2027 draft. Right.

[01:21:58] But what I'm saying is, though, like if you're one of these play-in teams, you know what I mean, and you lose the play-in game and you get into the lottery, you know what I mean? So that's why I was using Portland as an example because I'm just saying, like, you know, Drew Holiday is another year older. You know what I mean? Donovan Klinger, you still have to figure out what you have with him. Shaden Sharp and Scoot Henderson, somebody's probably got to go because now you've got to make room for Dane.

[01:22:25] Dane doesn't got much time left, right? So if I'm in a position where I'm like, hey, I could get this eight seed and get swept by the Spurs, you know what I mean? Or I could lose and get a top five pick potentially. Like, so all you did was move the tanking to where you don't for sure need it to be. Exactly.

[01:22:53] Like I said, the NBA didn't have a real problem with tanking. They had a tanking conversation that they treated like a problem. They tried to legislate it and they made it worse. The NBA having a low management was a real problem because people were actually sick of seeing four starters. Like, come on. Maybe.

[01:23:21] Like, if you have five starters on a team and I buy a ticket for a game in January and four to five aren't starting, that's the problem. No, 100%. But if I'm a team like the Lakers. Addressing that problem. They addressed that problem with a little bit more. But the problem with the. The, the, the, the, the. But being, but being, but being logical though. Because these guys will play, they wouldn't play against the terrible teams.

[01:23:51] They would, they would. No, you're right. But that's what I'm saying. So being logical, right. I could probably argue. I could probably argue. Like, if I'm the Lakers that had Anthony Davis or I'm the Clippers with Kawhi, I could argue that maybe, I'm not saying this is true, but I could probably argue that. My low management paid off in the playoffs because you were here. You know what I mean? Like, you made it through the playoffs without being hurt, whatever it might be.

[01:24:20] So I'm sure that there's a way that teams were looking at it, not to cheat the game per se, but it was just like, hey, you know, like. But with low management, I think the teams with low management, like, yo, just have them sit out a couple of practices. Like, he knows basketball. So that was a real problem that the NBA was having was that guys would, you would put a face on the marquee and he'd be wearing a Balenciaga hoodie on the sideline.

[01:24:49] But tanking was not an NBA problem. It wasn't even a fan problem because fans didn't care because fans didn't go to those games because the team sucked. No one in Brooklyn was like, oh, I'm so upset that the Nets are tanking. They just didn't go to the games. They were upset that I would buy tickets. Right. And that's part of Adam Silver's hang up is that I need these seats filled.

[01:25:19] Well, just drop the price of $35 at the WNBA games. You can sell at the arena and you can still sell them hot dogs. And, you know, and like the thing is, like, so the thing is, right, is that there's going to be bad teams. Like we talked about this. Just like you. But they're punishing them no matter what. No, no. But just like. But just like. If you finish bottom three, you're punished. That's the difference. No matter how hard you try. But that's the difference. Cardinals are going to be bad this year.

[01:25:49] You know what I mean? Like, you know, Kyler Murray's gone. You have nothing to do about it. You know what I mean? Like, right. But the difference is. Is that when you turn on the football game. You're going to see maximum effort from everybody on that field. And they're going to beat somebody that they shouldn't beat. Right, right, right, right. But that's what I'm saying. You have to because you can't be passive on a football field. No, right, right. Right, right. But in the NBA. You still got to play football. Right, but in the NBA. But in the NBA.

[01:26:18] But in the NBA. If I have a perfectly healthy team. No, I know. But if I have a perfectly healthy team. And you came here to see Ace Bailey. You came here to see Keontae George or whatever. Like, you know, you came here to see Halliburton. Whoever it might be. And then I sat them down with a month left in the season. If it was two weeks left in the season, cool. Last week of the season, cool. Just like you don't go to school the last week of school.

[01:26:46] But if I'm sitting you down a month out. I don't know what to call it but tanking. You know what I'm saying? Like, you just doing it just to do it. I understand that it existed. My issue is that the rule change didn't fit the actual tank. Like, the outrage of it. I got to say, I understand that tanking existed.

[01:27:13] But I didn't think it existed to the point where you have to come up with the rule for it. And now, no matter what, there will be a team that is 28th, 29th, and 30th in the league. No matter how hard you play. Yeah, and you know what's funny about that? You know what's funny about that? And then I'll wrap it up with this. If Adam Silver or whoever didn't make some kind of change, whatever that change was, then in five years, three years, whatever the time might be,

[01:27:40] and people are like, y'all, I'm not watching this garbage no more. People are going to say Adam Silver fell asleep at the wheel. I think the load management was a bigger problem than tanking. And hence why I think that rule makes more sense. No, you know what? You know what? That might be correct. That might be correct. But that doesn't mean that the other one is not a problem. Like, you know what I mean? I think – Like, I might have the flu or I might have the cold. One is worse than the other, but I don't want either one of them.

[01:28:10] Your taking idea for me made the most sense. The bottom 14 teams, you get – you put 14 balls in there, and whatever comes out comes out. Yeah. So if you are – if you are 17 through 30, that's 14, right? So 17, 18, 19, 20. Yeah, 13 teams left, yeah. Yeah, so 17 through 30, all of you go in this little pot.

[01:28:37] Like, I would have made the draft lottery a little bit more difficult. But putting stipulate – because, like, no matter what, no matter how hard these guys play, there's going to be teams. They're going to be bottom three. So for them to, like, have a disadvantage over a team that is 26, 25, or 24 out of the 30 – like, it just – it kind of ruins the essence of helping another team rebuild because I feel like the NBA's objective

[01:29:05] should be helping this other team rebuild. And if you want to punish tank, like, listen, you need to get to here or you're going to have a very limited opportunity of rebuilding. But you're terrible. But I'm going to let a team that made the plan get a guy that's – draft a guy better and be even better than you next year. He's like, yo, dog, what are you expecting to do? How am I going to get to the top 12 of the league? According to these rules, Adam Silver can change odds.

[01:29:34] He can take draft picks from teams. So we'll see what happens. We'll see. Hence why, like, that's – and that's the problem. That's why, you know, they didn't have a real problem because they didn't come up with a real solution. Well, this is only a three-year thing. This is only a three-year thing, and then after three years, they're going to vote on it as far as – The 65-game thing doesn't have stipulation on it. It's locked in because it made sense. But it makes sense you keep it. You know it doesn't make sense.

[01:30:04] That's why you have to build trial period. Well, no, because I don't – because I truly don't think that you can stop tanking. You know what I'm saying? You can shift where – That's a real point. You can shift, you know, where the tank goes and all that stuff. But at the same time, like, you have to, as a commissioner, as a boss, you know, whatever the case may be, I have to show you that there are consequences for lack of effort,

[01:30:35] for constant mediocrity, you know, for not caring to be better. You know what I mean? That's my job is to put the best product on the court. Now, I might make some missteps to get there, but I got to do something. Yes, and to Renz's point, he was like, it's not the NBA's responsibility to help a team rebuild. But they understand the small market, and they instituted the rule that allowed your current team

[01:31:01] to offer you an extra year on these Super Mac contracts. So they understand that it's incumbent upon them as a league to help the smaller market teams or the smaller teams keep their players. So in that same vein, they should be in the same position. Like, hey, how do we help these teams get an opportunity to get better players? That's all I'm saying. The management has to figure it out.

[01:31:28] But I don't like the NBA kind of taking that opportunity away, even if you play terrible. It's like, somebody's going to be awful. Somebody's going to lose a lot of games. Yes, and that's what I'm saying. But that's the overall thing. There's always going to be a bad team. You know what I mean? Just like I brought up last time we had this conversation, I brought up the injury thing. Like, what if I'm only bad because my best player got hurt or whatever the case may be?

[01:31:58] So there's those lines of subjectivity that get in the way. But you wouldn't be here. I like your rule with the one. Every team gets one lottery ball. They hit that little thing, and it's 14 balls in there, and they go from 14 to 1. Live on TV. There you go. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You just... And that's it.

[01:32:26] Yeah, so I woke up today, and the NFL said, it's been a long time. I shouldn't have left you without a good trade to talk about. So not only did we get a trade, we got two major trades. But of course, we're going to start in L.A. So the Los Angeles Rams get the one and only Miles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns for Jarrett Burse,

[01:32:54] a first rounder in the upcoming draft, a second in next year's draft, and a third in the draft after that. I am so sorry, Brock Purdy. You know what I mean? And they talking about, like, hey, look at Aaron Donald up here working out again. Is he coming back too? Reaction is illogical.

[01:33:21] All right, so the NFL, like, listen, they just know how to win the spotlight. Like, they just know how to do it. We are two days away from the NBA Finals, and I'm guessing tomorrow this is going to lead more shows as well, as people get more information. Just another reason to keep talking about it, and more speculation that Aaron Donald's coming back. Because someone talked about it.

[01:33:51] He posted a video three days ago of him working out. I was like, he always works out. He loves posting those videos. He said he doesn't miss the grind. I don't know if he comes back. It would be unfair if that happened. Yeah, that would just be unfair. But, I mean, I'm trying to understand the perspective of Cleveland. Oh, I can tell you the perspective of Cleveland. Are they getting rid of all the money they owe people? So, is Deshaun next?

[01:34:22] Are they trying to go cheaper and younger? If that's the case, I get it. This is one of those rare cases where I think both teams won. I like it more for the Rams this year, Cleveland 2027, and going forward.

[01:34:47] Because I think the Rams this year, 17 games with Myles Garrett and looking at three playoff games, I imagine they're probably going to get a bye. I think 17 games with Myles Garrett, they could be in the one seed. But you figure 17 to 20 games with the potential Super Bowl. I mean, they were a play or two away from going to the Super Bowl this year. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[01:35:13] So, I think 2026, 2027, L.A., Los Angeles Rams with Myles Garrett. Last year, Matthew Stafford. I know you sound like some extension, but you don't know how your body's going to feel at the end of the season when you're pushing 40. But if Cleveland moves off of Deshaun Watson this week, or however they can make that work,

[01:35:40] and they go young, Shador, Dylan Gabriel, the running backs, the young defensive core, and just say, hey, go out there and play. We'll find out where the chips fall, and we're going forward this way. Like, as long as they decide on their direction and it's clear, then it makes sense. But if they keep Deshaun Watson just to pay him and the rest of his hundred-something million dollars, he's probably still old.

[01:36:08] But get rid of Myles Garrett, I'm like, then it's a silly move. Well, see, like, I was thinking of it, and what I came up with was, if I'm the Cleveland Browns, Myles Garrett didn't have to re-sign with me last year when he did. You know, he had the opportunity, you know, people were saying, oh, hey, Philly's going to call and all this kind of stuff, and they took care of him.

[01:36:36] But then, Jared versus five years younger, and, you know, I look at this as I'm sending you to a contender. You've been so great to us. You're the only reason people talk about us in a positive light. So I'm going to send you away because by the time we're good again, Myles Garrett is going to be our age. You know what I'm saying? So even if you get rid of Deshaun Watson, right, and you stuck with Shador for this season,

[01:37:06] you know, what, you're 5-12, 6-11 at best maybe in that division? You know what I'm saying? Now next year you've got the draft of quarterbacks. Then I've got to wait a year. I've got to wait a year, potentially, let this quarterback develop because my division didn't change. That's why they've got to get rid of Deshaun Watson and let Shador play because you can't halfway do it, give Shador seven games at the end of the year and be like, you know what? You're going to sit.

[01:37:33] We're going to play Gabriel so we can get this top five pick and get one of these next. I think it would be on par for Cleveland to not do it right. But that's why I like the move because then you add the picks on to it. You know what I mean? The Browns are like just like we were talking about the Raiders doing the NFL draft. The Browns are not one piece away. You know what I mean? So now I've got another first rounder for next year. You know what I mean? And I get a second and a third in the years after that.

[01:38:02] So I have foundational – I'm able to make this work and get better because Mason Graham is only in year three coming up. So, you know, maybe two. Maybe. It's two or three. Swessinger just won rookie of the year. Yeah, because he went at the – yeah. Yeah, he won rookie of the year. You get in Jarrett's verse. You know what I mean? Samson is coming off, you know, a good season.

[01:38:31] Your lead running back, Jenkins is off of injury. Tight end. You know, yeah. The rookie they had at tight end. Yeah. Harold Fannin. They've got to get a key to Shador to see if this is going to work. And they drafted some receivers this year in the draft too. So you're putting the parts in place. You just need the head of the snake quarterback. But I can't just hold on to Myles Garrett just to hold on to Myles Garrett.

[01:39:00] And I think my defense can still be good without Myles Garrett. But the other thing that I wanted to give the Browns – It's the deal that the Raiders should have made with Bax Crosby two years ago. Yeah, exactly. That's what – I was going to say something similar. But basically from the standpoint of there are certain players in sports that the media kills you if you even think about trading them. And I think that was the initial reaction people had when they saw this was,

[01:39:30] the Browns are trading Myles Garrett. Are they crazy? And it's like, well, what are they going to do with him? You want Myles Garrett to be there for another 4-13 season? Because they got Jared Burst right back. Like that's – for me, if they would have done this before the draft and didn't get Jared Burst and said that they were going to go get one of these, you know, one of these guys that were in the draft, I'm like, I don't know about that.

[01:39:53] You're giving up a sack leader to get maybe a guy out of draft. But seeing Jared Burst on the field and getting him back in the trade, I think they did a good job with the trade. And I don't want to say both teams – both sides win. But, you know, say – I mean, they do. Both people got – both people have to lose something. So the Rams lost their young defensive linemen to get an older guy who's more productive. Like the Rams might have already been –

[01:40:23] The Cleveland Browns lost their older guy and got a productive young guy. So, like, it balances out. It's just – No, for the Browns – Now you have to do everything else right. For the Rams, it can't get no better because you might have been the Super Bowl favorite before you even got Myles Garrett. You know what I mean? Because now, you know, Philly – Seattle got fleece. Yeah. Seattle lost a lot of pieces. Philly lost A.J. Brown today. You know what I mean? You know, Chicago, can they do it again another year? Micah Parsons probably not going to start the season.

[01:40:53] You know, Detroit got to bounce back. You know, you got the 49ers, you know, like at the very least, you think a player or two might not make it through the season. You know, Mahomes is going to be slow to start the year. You got a couple of players that might not start the season. I don't know. Fred Warner just broke his ankle, so I imagine that he would be ready to go. But it's probably a few players that won't start the season from last year. Buffalo still got to win the big game.

[01:41:22] Yeah, Buffalo still got to win the big game. They got to get a wide receiver that can make plays happen. Yeah. You know, so that's what I'm saying. So if you're the Rams, you were already in the catbird seat or whatever that old – that bird's eye view, whatever the old saying is. They were already there. Catbird seat, yeah. Yeah, they were already there. And you just added the best defensive player in the league, you know, on top of you still got Kobe Turner. You still got Braden Fisk. You know what I mean? You went out and got Kansas City's corners. You went and got their secondary basically.

[01:41:52] So at worst, you're probably going to have a top five offense, and I would say at worst a top six defense. So, like, this is dying on your sword, as people say. But the Eagles, they traded A.J. Brown to New England for a first-round pick in this draft and a fifth-rounder in the next draft. What do you think?

[01:42:19] I saw somebody say something along the lines on one of your social media groups that basically A.J. Brown kind of soiled the market for trade, which is probably true. But it was very clear for two years, even before they won the Super Bowl, that Philly just wasn't a place for him, which is fine. Like, I think you just kind of – you know, everybody doesn't get along forever.

[01:42:48] Winning doesn't cure all. I'm not sure. Him and Jalen were on the same page. And I remember I saw a clip about a week ago. About a week ago. It was – Jalen, they asked him something about the A.J. Brown trade while he was taking a sip of water. And then he kind of coughed at the end. It was like – he's like, that's a hell of a question to take a sip on, right? Jalen doesn't make jokes. He's not a whimsical guy. He's not a quirky guy.

[01:43:18] So he probably – yeah, I'm sick of this dude. I'm sick of him because you got to keep in mind, there's probably a lot of conversations that happen in the locker room and they're a very tight, you know, well-run locker room, a lot of veterans that probably don't come out. It was probably a lot of argument, conversations on the sideline and just kind of like – kind of like T.O. when he kind of wore quarterback's den. But in the same sense, from T.O.'s perspective, he's like, yo,

[01:43:47] the best career numbers you had was with me. Throw me the ball. And A.J. Brown's like, yo, dog, you throwing the ball to me makes it easier for everybody else. Just throw me the ball. Hey, O.C., get me the ball because other than that, I'm just doing cardio. And I think it kind of just wear it thin. Ray Brown's probably the coach that can, you know, I'm going to say handle him because that's – you know, that's the last – Well, he has history with him. I don't want to use. He has a history. I think it's probably a mutual respect.

[01:44:16] And New England needs A.J. Brown. I'm projecting Jamar Chase-level targets next season and a big year for New England. I think the Eagles will be fine. They just have – they have enough weapons. They have everything they need. They just need to keep – they just have to have –

[01:44:43] everything has to be on the up and up mentally in Philly because I think it's a pressure city to play football in. It's a pressure region to be a professional athlete in any sport because the fans are on you. Like, they're on – like, when I talk about the sports complex where the games are, it's not like, oh, the Philadelphia Eagles play way outside of the city in Philly and then this team – no.

[01:45:13] Everybody's right there. All the fans are all the fans of all the sports. You talk about the Philly tuxedo. Do what the Flyers had on, Eagles jersey, and a Phillies hoodie. They wear it all at once. So they will stop you in the grocery store. Like, yo, why are you in here buying fruit when you be out here running routes, catching pests? That's what I'm doing. The guy talking about when he – it was a house fire in Philly,

[01:45:42] and he was like, yo, they was just throwing kids out the window. I was catching them on, like, Aguilar. Like, dog, he was talking about how he was saving children from a burning house. A guy was throwing babies out the window. He was like, I was catching them, but not like Aguilar was. I'm like, yo, are you kidding me? You talk about saving lives. But that's what kind of fans – Philly fans are. So it was like, as long as they can keep it together mentally, then they'll be all right. No, I think Philly's fine. You know what I mean? Like, obviously, generally speaking,

[01:46:11] you don't want to lose somebody as talented as A.J. Brown. But just going back to two years ago, maybe it was three now, the year that they lost to Tampa in the first round of the playoffs, like, they started 11-1, and then it just all came tumbling down. And they won the Super Bowl, but then last season, you know, it was just all over the place. So I think that having that out of your locker room puts everybody at a little bit of ease, you know, like, you're not looking –

[01:46:41] you're looking over your shoulder waiting for the next drama, for the next comment, the next clip, the next, you know, soundbite that people are going to end up asking you about. Because when they would lose, they would go to him first because normally when they lost – Because they do – yeah. He didn't have – he wasn't – I want to say he didn't have a good game. No one had a real impact on the game. If you lose a game, you lose a game. But his stats especially would be highlighted, and the microphone would be in his face.

[01:47:09] So they could go 13-4, and after every loss, there would have been a mic in his face. I think that's another thing. He can go to New England and not have to deal with that. Yeah. So I think from that standpoint, if I'm Philly – if I'm a Philly fan, you know, I'm happy because now we've just put our team out on the field free, just go play football. You know, if I'm New England, obviously you feel great. Because the one Achilles heel that New England's had in forever was,

[01:47:39] when the last time New England had a wide receiver consistently that you had to worry about. It required a double team. Yeah. I mean, if they had A.J. Brown last year, you know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? Like, I don't know. But, you know, so I think if you're New England, you know, he has the history with Vrabel. So theoretically, you'd think that Vrabel knows how to get through to him. And, you know, they know how to talk to each other. They kind of understand each other.

[01:48:07] So I think that that helps because you're also throwing him, depending on his diva attitude, you're throwing him on another young quarterback. You know what I mean? A quarterback that's younger than Jalen Hurts. A quarterback that's coming off the Super Bowl. So now, you know, maybe you have that conversation of, hey, you saw what we could do without you. You have the ring. Let's just come together and make this work Dragon Ball Z fusion style, right?

[01:48:37] And let's go win a Super Bowl. So I think that there are times in life where, you know, you need a fresh start. Like, you know, playing for the Eagles in this edition of the Eagles, you feel like you have a chance to win the Super Bowl every year. You know what I mean? So he could have gone to a lot worse places than New England. So here's your chance to show what Jalen kept you from, you know,

[01:49:06] whatever you thought Jalen kept you from accomplishing. Now you got a quarterback that just finished second in MVP. Let the good times roll. Yeah. You know what I mean? But we will be back. Listen. Yeah. It just is what it is. We'll see. We'll see what happens. I mean, listen, it was bound to happen. It was inevitable. I think they should have made the deal last year. I agree. You know.

[01:49:35] But, yeah. So we'll be back on Friday for game two of the NBA finals. Of course, game one on Wednesday. So we'll have reaction to that and much, much more as we go around the world of sports. He is the world-renowned, world-famous, cool, calm, and collected. Born in Texas. Raised in VA. Do not tell this man nothing about Old Dominion, even though he represents New Jerus at this time. So you would think.

[01:50:04] But he's out here with Nick everything. He goes by the name of Mr. Logical. Bandwagon has some seats I hopped on. Don't bring feelings to a fact fight. Thank you, sir. Don't do it. You know, down here in the Alamo, you know what I'm saying? Honking on the river walk. Going left so much you thought I was southpaw. Tell Shakur Stevenson, watch his mouth and watch for the hook. You know what I'm saying?

[01:50:32] I am your unorthodox statistician, 2-5. This is Sports Reports Authority. Thank you for joining us. We love you all so much. Like, review, subscribe, share, rate. Free things, good things, liquid death. Y'all know the rest. Say less, say more. Holler back. Sports Reports is on it. No gimmicks, no clowns. True 5, Mr. Logical. We run this town. We'll talk only. No chaser, no doubt.

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