Law Murray Joins for a Two Hour Clippers Talk Special

I think he came on with us once on Clips and Dip. But now I got this YouTube channel going at Clippers Talk is where you could find it at La Murray. The NU is where you find him on x. He covers the Clippers for the athletic He is well. He is an unbiased, objective, impartial member of the media. He does a service to Clippers fans because of his great coverage. You are more plugs did and more informed with this team clipornation. I know everybody loves La Murray a lot of my friend, good catch.

that one. And so last year I gave myself thirty days to do it, and that was that was reasonable. My life was a little bit more hectic going into August twenty twenty four, so I didn't get around to You might have heard about that building opening up in Englewood, So you know, I was a little busy the first half of August, but it was August seventeenth, I was like, all right, if I start today on this project and do two today, then I can get this done before

September first. And so doing doing these video breakdowns, I watched entire an entire game for every team, and I would basically break down what I thought was like the gain that showed their biggest extreme as far as their strength or their weakness if they were a team that missed the playoffs, and and you know I had I had a good time doing it, Like you can't tell me I don't watch your damn team. So I've watched every single team at least once, and a lot of

those games were not fun to watch. I watched the Blazers get smacked by sixty points. So like it was a project I wanted to do, especially after doing it last year, I was like, yeah, let me, let me, let me do it again, because not only does it refresh me at the deadest time of the year as far as games go, Like we're in the midpoint of it's been a while since the playoffs, but it'll be a little while before the season starts going, So August is that time where it's like, let me remind myself

what basketball looks like in the regular season. And so not only do you have that refresher, but also naturally you're going to look at that and preview this upcoming season. So you know, it's a It was a service to me because newsflash, a lot of the work I do for anyone else that's got to start with me. Do I want to do this? Is am I engaged with it? Do I have a sense of purpose here? And then obviously if I do this, I want people to see it.

So shout out to anybody who is like, yeah, I want to watch one hundred minutes of what Law's got to say about thirty NBA teams. It goes by quick if you break it down like that.

But if you're saying they're going to be around that area, that means six through ten somewhere in there. There's a lot of teams in the mix. We know how close the standings were last season. Do you believe I know we say this every year with the Western Conference, but to me, this might be peak Western Conference Gauntlet because of the young teams that are on the rise. Wemby with the Spurs now as CP three, the Houston Rockets could be right there fighting for position with the Clippers.

Do you believe this is going to be one of the most competitive years in league history in the Western Conference?

I thought that was the case last year. I don't really see anything that new, to be honest with you. I mean, I know Clippers fans are going to probably see it a different way because, you know, they had a different kind of team last year, like an end stage team with some high star power, you know, a level of desperation that comes with the contract status of the guys that they had. Like that's not the case anymore. We're in a different kind of era as far as

discussing where the Clippers are at. But the Western Conference was like that last year, Like Becase was different last year compared to the year before.

under Toronto Loo anyway, it's just astet of P's. It's James Harden, you know, when you look at teams like Memphis, just like, on one hand, you get job back, but on the other hand, Joe's not coming back to the same team that he left when Memphis was the two seed in twenty twenty three, and in I think believe they were the two seed also in twenty twenty two as well. If the two, or I believe they were two.

wound up winning the championship as a three. So like the Grizzlies are a team where it's like, how much better are they going to be? It's like, on one hand, yes, John coming back changes a lot, Like they were literally the worst offense in basketball last year. They were terrible to watch play basketball, like from the jump, and Joh changes a lot. On the other hand, that team is not as good as those teams that were two seeds number one and number two. The thing with Jah is

Joh don't stay healthy either. Like John didn't just play nine games because he was suspended for twenty five of them. Joh had a shoulder injury that took him out for the rest of the year. Joe rarely stays on the floor for you know, John's probably going you can pencil Joh in and probably miss twenty games. So that's the thing with these teams. It's like, on one hand, yes, on paper, the competition is going to be crazy, but

what separate teams every year? Player availability? And yes, if you're the Clippers, you're probably a little bit concerned about that. If you're a team like Memphis, if you're a team like Golden State, if you're a team like the Los Angeles Lakers, you should also be concerned about that. Some of the teams that might take a jump, they gotta take massive jumps, like the Spurs have to take a massive jump to be quote unquote competitive like they were.

Of course, they looked better in the second half of last year because they started the year damn near five and thirty. Like, if you're going from an F to a C minus, you're gonna look like an improved team.

gets to a playoff situation. Like I think Phoenix actually like they hired the right coach if they wanted to get their regular season stuff together, Like Bud goes to teams and makes them better in the regular season, but you knows, I.

you think Dallas is going to be? Like I expect them to be really good, But at the same time, they're the typical team where given a short run, bacon hurt you. Given a long season, they're more likely to run in some real bumps and stuff because of the guys that are that are on their team, like Klay Thompson is all of a sudden their third most important player, and that that's a little scary. So the competition in the West is more like every night is just going

to be something. But the teams that are going to be at the top of the West, they have real flaws. And the teams that are already at the bottom, it don't take much for them to be like, Yo, we were talking some game and we ain't really about that life. The Clippers, I feel like, are literally dead smack in the middle of that. They are the most bubble of the bubble teams. There's like, if.

the swelling really subsides. You just kind of have to go off of the timeline of when he showed up for camp or Team USA, right, and that's almost three months so when and he said, then, you know, two weeks beforehand he had a turning point. It's like that to me is really worrisome. Is that am I being a little bit too caution cautionary there?

a crazy number of five and sevens. I know, people are I reacted to the fact that they have sixteen sets of back to backs and if Kawhi misses games on those back to backs, then you're just gonna have to be ready for that. But I do feel like if Kawhi, the most important thing for right now is

that Kawhi is going to be ready for camp. Like when I last saw him in Vegas in July, he was feeling, he was feeling good, he was feeling like he was in good spirits, like he could have did the Team USA thing, Like he wasn't in distress or anything like that. He was ready to work. We've seen him be in San Diego working at USC working with Eric Musselman, Like I think, you know, you have to

let basketball players play basketball. And I do think the Clippers are going to do things differently to kind of adjust for the fact that they don't want his knee to get worn down at a terrible time. And I think that reasonably that probably means Kawhi is a shoe in the mist fifteen to twenty games. The hope is that that's all you have to do is just manage, you know, stuff and hope that he doesn't have an

occurrence where something random pops up. What you don't want is any Joe Ingles incidents or any time where he falls on the dude and springs an ankles. Seriously, you want to just avoid the freak stuff from happening. And if Kawhi is out there, the team's going to be good because that's what Kawhi does. He raises the floor and he raises the ceiling. Not every star does that, and James is a similar way. Like I think people react to James in the playoffs and James having fallouts

with the teams that he's been on. What people will gloss over because James is the kind of player that you move go posts for is the fact that James is a guy who is a league average at worst offense every single year. So the Clippers are going to

need offensive contributors this year. Well, at the very least, it's good that you have James Harden as part of the solution, the figuring that stuff out, not just getting himself more opportunities to do what he does well, so as putting the ball to the basket, but he's going to work with ben guys who are new to the team to get them up to speed, to do things that a lot of those guys are trying to get paid or in position to get paid, they haven't done before.

And that is a floor raising thing. And we're talking about regular season at him right, We're not talking about what they might do in the playoffs. So those guys getting a reasonable amount of games out of those guys, both individually and as a combo, is going to be a good place for where the Clippers are going into the season.

my guest. I didn't like it. Of course, I want Kawhi to be playing, and if he says he's ready to go, you know, he's such a legacy player and one of the greatest players of his generation. I think he should have had that opportunity. But I think that's why.

not being ready to go. And I felt like Kawhi was always going to be the guy who was whether Kawhi looked great or Kawhi didn't look greater. Really it was a matter of, you know, Kawhi is not going to be a flashy dude. Okayhi is just going to show up and go through the emotions. It was t USA basically to me, this is my read on it, and this is I feel like Kawhi's reading as well. I feel like it was like, we have this zude Derek White, who we know is healthy and going to

be ready to play. Do we feel better about him being with us or do we feel better about risking whether it was Kawhi or somebody else being shorthanded for a port or the a portion of the Olympics. And I just feel like they took a I and Derek, who was more of a short thing than Kawhi was. Yeah, and he.

the points record. What are you gonna do? You wanna send KAD home when Kawhi is out there feeling his way out? Nah, Like you're gonna get Derek White in there, and you're gonna hope, all right if KD is there, at least you know KD got a level to get to and kt got to that level. So it worked out for USA. It was definitely a more eventful Olympics. I feel like than any Olympics that I've ever experienced since two thousand and four.

jersey numbers. The two one three era is over. It's Kawhi, it's James Harden, and Miles Johnson wants to know this from law the points rebounds assist expectations for Kawhi and James Harden this year.

hit twenty a game. I don't think either one of those guys hit those numbers last year. As far as points, rebounds, like Kawhi's rebounding has declined over time, but I think that I think seven the game is probably a good a good number. The thing with kaw Kawhi is a

pretty good contested rebounder. That's something that there are some guys who grab a ton of rebounds, but like Jason Tatum for instance, Jason Tatum is an outstanding rebounder from a I just got rebounds perspective, But Jason gets a lot of uncontested, cheap rebounds, okay, you know, and.

Like so if you look at it. From that perspective, Kawhi is a really good, like contested rebounder, but there's gonna be more of those that he's gonna have to get because instead of Paul George, you're playing with Derek Jones Junior more often, and Derek is not going to be around the perimeter as much. It's going to be a cascading effect. So there's going to be more rebounds that Kawhi is going to have to, you know, pry

his hands on to secure possessions sort of. Clippers. I think the Clippers are going to be a pretty bad rebounding team this year, but you know there's a side effect to that. I do expect them to be more aggressive as well, trying to force some turnovers. James is a guy who last year he have five rebounds a game. I think that that guy is a really good rebound for reguard, like I think he can get back up to six next year. We're talking about rebounds like dimes

per game. James slipped to eight point five last year, and the thing with you know, James Harden going eight point five, he was still close to top five in the league. In a sistber game and look at all the mouths that the Clippers offense had to feed. Again, you don't have PG, you don't have Russ you got, you don't have as many playmakers. James averaging tennisist per

game is a thing that is a real possibility. Like he's got he's going to have guys, he's gonna have to create the balls want to be in his hands. I think you know, he led the league and assists his last year in Philly, Like, it's a pretty good expectation. Like ten tennisis per game is a pretty good number for James and possibly reach like he can average twenty

and ten next year. Kawhi Kawhi has never been a huge, you know, playmaker, So I mean where he was last year is probably about where he'll be next next year. I think for a sists per game is probably what you can expect for Kawhi. And yeah, I think that covers points, rebounds, and assists. But good luck on you old fantasy draft bro Like, I don't know why you would draft any Clippers for your fantasy team, but if

you need to. If there's one Clipper I'm drafting for fantasy, it's James Harden because I trust his health more than Kawhi's I trust defect. The ball is going to be in his hands all the time. Like Toronto Lu learned in November of twenty twenty three that what you're not going to do with James Harden is tell him to get ready to catch and shoot from three. You're gonna get the ball in his hands to get the most out of James, and Tlu leaned into James more than

he's leaned into any guard he's ever had. Like and now you got less, guys. James Harden is going to put up crazy numbers. I'm not sure how efficient he will be. I don't feel great about his efficiency, but he's his counting stats. His volume is going to be spectacular going in the next season.

It's not like he's a bad catching shoot guy. It's just that you know, the ball has to be out of your hands and back in your hands somehow. You have to play with other guys who make plays. So for the most part, we're talking what James is outstanding at, and that is the pull up three, that sidestep three. Like, we're gonna see that a lot. That dude's going to be launching them three is a lot. Like The concern is can he embrace the floater we saw in game four?

I wrote a whole story on float school, you know what I mean. But he wasn't the floatgoat in Game five though? So like because James is the type of player where if that thing is working and he knows he needs to hit it, he'll hit it. But James is also the kind of player where he'll get discouraged, you know, so it's like, oh, I got my ship blocked, like, and then he won't he won't go back to it.

hit the mid range more often? Will he embrace the floater more often? How can he get to the rim? Because when you're older, any player who has bursts to consistently get to the rim as a special player. James used to be that guy. Does James consistently get to the rim at this age of his career, And if you see it early, I don't care. You got to see it over the course of the dog days of the season. I thought, James last year, here's how the season win.

He needed some time to get acclimated and to get into playing game shape. I thought he actually came to the Clippers in good shape physically, but as far as being a basketball player and playing games, he needed a good ten games to get to the point where he was comfortable playing games. And then he got to that point and the Clippers offense took off, and then you saw in February that there was a little bit of a Okay, we've been playing hard for two months, now,

let's see some regression. And then he finally missed games in March. Right, So it's sustainability. How can James be effective? Efficient? And that third part sustainable and what does that look like?

A sorry his shot diet and that's and I have concerns about that part from an efficiency standpoint, but I think those three's are going to get them, and I think he knows he has to hit the paint more often, and he's going to get you know, I think you're going to see a lot more paint James Harden than you did last year.

of the play in that seems very difficult. That's a difficult balance.

guys to handle that instead of Terrence. You know, Derek is going to do that to start games, and Chris Dunn is going to be asked to do that in relief. On the other end of the floor, Paul wasn't running as many ISOs, as many pick and rolls. His off ball was enhanced, and Paul had to kind of accept that. But you know that James Harden allowed out for Paul to be healthy efficient, not because Paul and Pete and

James clicked together. You know, I think Paul played better when Russe was on the floor, But at the same time, Paul didn't have to take the beat down that on ball guys have to take, and I think that helps Paul get through the season. You know, Paul had a little rough patch in there physically at the end of January and throughout February.

the games and all the minutes that he can. They literally had to pry him to the bench in March because if it was up to James, he wouldn't have missed even the games that he did miss Like that's how James is wired. James is more durable than Kawhi and Paul George are, and at the same time, there are things that James can't do that other guys can do. So the key to sustaining James, especially if the key is getting James to do the most, I think Terrence

is gonna have a lot to do with it. If you're gonna want James to be able to get a little bit easier buckets over the course of games, you need to put the ball in Terrence Man's hands a lot more. And Terrence has to show that he can make things happen as a playmaker. That is something that people probably aren't talking about as much, but I believe that if Terrence and I believe Terrence is the better option to start so that Norm can do what we know he's capable of, and that is cook entire second

units by himself, like me and me and Norm. Norm doesn't like to hear it, but me and me and Norm like used to talk all the time about, hey, you have more points than the entire other team's reserves combined. Like we didn't have as many of those games last year because Norm's scoring output wasn't as required. It will absolutely be required this year. But we know what Norm doesn't do. Normans. Norm's on the court to get buckets.

Norm's not on the court to send Zoo bots wrap around passes like Terrence can do that stuff, though, and Terrence has to be able to do more on the ball because the entire offense just needs somebody. You're not gonna ask Derrick Jillones you're gonna do that Zoo, I'm sure if you're gonna want to talk about Zoo on here, Like Zuo is a proficient post player, but what Zoo is not is a guy who's going to be a

guy who you play through. You know, we see that if Zoo's allowed to post jus up and match them and score. He can be incredible. If a team says, screw that, we're gonna beat the hell out of Zoo, double team him, take him out the game, Zuo's probably not hurting you as much like Zoo's not a proficient passer. He's not a guy who if you put two on Zoo and Zoo's catch areas aren't expansive. Zuo is a low block guy, a role guy. He's not a guy who's setting up, spacing the floor, picking him pop in,

doing any of that stuff. So Terrence is the guy who has the versatility to do more. Has shown us he can do more, but has to actually do more. And Terrence will be highly motivated to do those things because he's the one who's next in line for a new deal, whether there comes from the Clippers or some other team.

you've heard something behind the scenes. Do you think he goes into this season betting on himself that he can get more money after having a big year.

else are they going to say? Like, of course you want Terrence on your team, playing well, playing for you, take a deal that fits you as an organization. Terrence changed representation last year. Okay, so Terrence is read by the same people that play pgs repp by. I just think that's a relevant thing. Like it's not everything, but I don't think it's nothing. Uh. Terrence Man was asked

before last season when he was extension knowledgeable. Hey, so what's the chances And Terrence shook his headings like nothing's happening there. That was last year. The last time Terrence sign an extension wasn't until we were coming home from the Ontario game back in twenty twenty one. That was October. So if the same timeframe matches up, and again that's extension was like, you're still under your original deal for that year. The year after then your extension kicks in.

It was a two year extension and that didn't kick in until twenty twenty three, a year ago. Okay, so like and again that was the previous representation for Terrence. But it's like, you know, Terrence took a deal way earlier than most people would extend for that was after his second year in the NBA. And again as a forty eighth pick, you're looking at that, it's like lock it in. Terrence has no reason to give the Clippers

any favors. Now, if I'm Terrence Man, unless you get an overpayer or something like that, I feel like, play this out. See what the team does, See what the trade deadline looks like, See what your role is, See how much more money you can make being that ye're not sharing the floor with for future haul famers. It took Terrence until last year to win a starting job and then he gets hurt and then he comes back

and James Harden's on the team. Like that was an adjustment and that was his most stable you know again October to April roll of his entire career to this point, Like Terrence is every reason to be like, let's see how this goes.

competitive the West was going to be. There was the outside pressures of the ND season torn the TV contracts being up, the player participation policy and all of those things that it was like even from upstairs, you know, the message was we need the best players to play right and how that was going to affect competition in the league overall, people are gonna forget how last year started.

Last year was incredible from a competitionandpoint, and the damn Clippers were three and seven at them, they were three and seven, okay, and they had to put the pedal to the metal, like even they win a few games. Seelu tells me, minutes, we're not gonna send anybody, so what there's a five and seven coming up. Minutes are going to be dictated by winning games, and so yours urgency. At least every team in the league has some level of optimism going into these media days at the end

of the month. That optimism is going to go straight to hell by December when reality sets in, and the reality will be mean different things for different teams. For the Clippers, it means if Toronto Lo decides to start Terrence and Derek Jones together, then those dudes better improve the defense significantly and those guys have to make the very most of their offensive opportunities. It's a very easy job for Derek Jones year. It will be very difficult

for Terrence. Man, It's not impossible for Terrence, but he can't come into the season passing up shots, missing shots from the corner, not knowing how he can get increased volume with the players that he's playing with. That can't happen because then the Clippers will sit there at three and seven again and they won't have a magic pill, Like, what are you gonna do? Start Norm? Like they could do that, but that would I believe that decreases the ceiling of your team. Yes, yes, like we all know

the role that Norm is best at. Like I think they want us to start Norm. Two years ago, wh Kawhi was dealing with his recovery, his comeback season, and after like a week, Tilu was like, you know what, I don't think I can do that. And there were a lot of moments that t Lou had over the course of that season, you know, for example, not having

a competent backup center. You know, there are a lot of things we learned that the team didn't really look at going into the season as being a potential issue.

So hopefully he's got that confidence coming into the start of this season, because I do think it's his offense that's going to keep him on the court to start things off, because I'm not worried about his defense, but he's got to do something the offense.

Like Terrence is better guarding up, and what that means is if you have Terrence guarding bigger bodies, physical guys, guys where Terrence can be able to put contact on guys and be physical, that's where Terrence is at his most effective. Get let Terrence guard Luka Doncic's not Kyrie irvings, right, And there's a lot more Kyrie irvings, And there's a lot more Kyrie irvings in the NBA than there are

Luka Doncic's. Now you have a guy in Dereck Jones Junior who he can chase those dudes around point of attack, Okay, and he can do it for twenty five minutes a game. That allows Terrence to guard your top wing if you will, your guy that isn't starting plays but is going to get the ball in the half court run some ISO's that kind of thing. Having Terrence play against those guys more often instead of being in the back court trying to be a spider is a lot more effective for him.

But he needs to he needs to show that he can be more of a playmaker. You know how many steals in blocks Terrence Man had in the Ploseason series in that six game series, Uh?

That's why I said the defense. This is what I'm worried about with Terrence, because even if he's in more advantageous situation defensively from a matchup standpoint and who he's guarding, you got to do more in that role. You got to be able to, you know, come up with some turnovers. This team has to force more turnovers, and I thought they did a good job of that last year. But you don't have Paul George, who's one of the best

guys in the league at getting steals. You don't have Russell Westbrook, who I thought was really good for him. You do have Chris Dunn, and the more Chris Dunn plays, the more likely you are to force turnovers. But then Derek Jones, you're not a guy who forces a lot of turnovers, and you're not going to really ask him to do that as much as a point of attack guy like it would be nice, but Derek is going to focus on preventing guys from getting comfortable shots. Terrence

is comfortable that role too. Someone else has to force some turnovers, though, and if it's not going to be Derek, it's got to be Terrence. And what you can't have is you can't have Terrence going damn near two hundred minutes in between steals and blocks.

be huge. He's playing with James Harden, who he did not have a training camp with last year, and you saw once James got up to speed how much better Zoo was. Right, Zuo is going to have a really good season next year. We'll see if James is still on the team the year after. But like we saw, like Zuo has rarely gotten to play with the kind of point guard that enhances what Zu does, and now he's got James Harden. It's it's a that's a big deal.

So again, we know what Zuo's good at. Maybe you know, some other people don't know what Zuo's good at, And I gotta maybe write more explicit stuff about that. Zu can help me. Zu can help me with that, Like ZU can't give me one big game and then the next game miss all of its loaders. Okay, so there's that.

thirty minute player. And because what you're asking Zoo to do requires Zoo to actually be able to do it for four quarters. If Zoo's gonna get more touches, well he's still going to have to be able to do what he does on the other end of the floor at a high level. And I think he can do it. But production isn't just how many minutes you're playing, how many touches you're getting. It's like who you're playing against and can you be effective against a number of different teams,

like the teams that are going like the OKAC Thunder. Now, the OKC Thunder did Zoo a favor by signing Isaiah Hart and sign I will tell you that. But last year you couldn't. You couldn't really, like it was hard for Zoo to play against Okay, see with hit Holmgren just running circles around him, Like, that's a tough matchup for Zoo. There's a lot of matchups that are a little tough for Zoo than others. So you know, there there are teams where Zoo's like, yeah, he can play

over thirty in this game, like Toronto Lou. I think he played Zoo forty minutes in one game last year, and t Lou made a scene like Zoo had had to do a bit, you know what I'm saying. It's like, Yo, we had as to play a lot of minutes. We ain't. We ain't really going to do that, But I'm glad he was able to handle it. It was you guys need.

Zoo's really good at missing the right games. But it has been a thing where three years in a row, I've seen this dude either missignificant time, be on a cart heading out of the arena during All Star break. You know, I want Zoo. Zuo's gonna gonna get a chance to eat and to show that those numbers aren't just quote unquote efficiency numbers. I like volume. Zuo's going to get the ball more. Zuo's going to be James Harden's target on pick and rolls. The Clippers were not

a heavy pick and roll team last year. I think they're going to run more picking rolls this year. They just need more guys to diversify their offense, and Zoo's going to be the guy. Zoo has to show that I'd like in again, it's year nine for him. I'd like to see an expanded skill set for Zoo. As

great as he is in the post. Like, I'd like to see Zoo like show the coaching staff that he can comfortably hit a shot outside the paint, that he can confidently hit the double teams, that if he puts the ball on the floor he can draw more fouls. He's so great in the post without being a guy who draws siles out a high rate. Well, let's draw

some fouls this year, Zoo like. So there's things where Zuo is going to get the greatest opportunity to showcase his offensive game than in any of his previous eight MB eight seasons, and a lot of it's going to be on Zoo to show that all that stuff that you have let us kind of you've hinted at, this is the time to show it.

rim in the playoffs was It was a disappointment. I don't put that all on Zoo, But look at what Zu did in the regular season, where I can reasonably say he was the best rim protector in the NBA among starting centers, and then look at what them rim protection numbers and what the output was in the playoffs. It wasn't nearly as good. So that's what I mean. I think you want Zu to do more in the

minutes that he's on the floor. But Mobamba better be ready to play, Kobe Brown better be ready to play whatever small lineups that Toronto Lou figures that he's going to come up with. Because it's twenty twenty four in the NBA. You will have lineups out there that doesn't have a traditional center. They're gonna have to be effective. So that's where I'm looking at. Averaging thirty minutes, Adam means for every game you're playing twenty five, you're playing

thirty five. That's what that means. For every game where Zoo's like, oh man, they only got twenty minutes, foul, trouble, ineffective, nicked up, whatever, it means that you're doubling that with a forty minute game.

series was. It came down to one one team stars shot the ball and the other teams didn't. Like that's really that decided the series. Like Luca kept coming as inefficient as he was, Kyrie was like, man, I'm glad I got that first quarter out the way. It's time to get buckets, you know, because Kyrie, you need to do a damn thing in the first quarter in the series.

buckets and next thing. You know, the Clippers are trailing after being up by more than thirty, but what was it?

what the feelings were going. We were in Hawaii and people were asking about Paul in his contract, and Paul was looking around, like what do you want me to say? You know, like we just I just feel like I spent the whole damn year with those dudes in getting a feel for stuff. So I don't really have as much of a visceral reaction to the fallout as I feel like a lot of people who might have gotten comfortable with the idea that, you know, Paul was at least going to take the high road on a lot

of stuff. Like I think Paul's mentally preparing himself for a rude awakening when he gets back here on November sixth or whatever the date is. But I think that's where Paul's at his most comfortable. I think that's how he treated Indiana. You know, Oklahoma City did him the biggest favor of all. They paid him and then they said him where he wanted to go. So and Okay, see obviously has no hard feelings because they got Shay and they got draft picks for you know, forever.

going to Indiana. Okay, see the Clipper's version of Los Angeles. Like no shape, it's just reality. Like you're going to a place in Philadelphia where if you have an zero for ten game, if you have a quiet game and a big spot, you will be booed. And they don't need to wait to the playoffs to do it. You will be booed on Halloween. If you underperform with a

big price tag, you can't do that in Philly. Like Philadelphia is passionate but they're passionate in a way of you underperform, and we will let you know right away. The worst thing you can get from Philadelphia is apathy and not caring and not showing up. But yes, the next level above that is play poorly in front of those people and see what happens. And I think Paul

understands that. So I think that Paul's going to be great in Philly because he's got guys that are going to put Paul in the positions that are most comfortable for him on both ends of the floor, especially offensively. Defensively, I've got concerns, but I don't think Nick Nurse teams rebound anyway. So I think that's going to be great for what the Philadelphia seventy six ers do offensively. The

meal ticket is Joel. Joel gonna walk his butt to the elbow and he gonna do what Joelle does, especially in the regular season. Tyresse is going to play fast. He's going to play like Russell Westbrook plays, and that's going to be great for Paul because Paul doesn't have to worry about the extra ball handling duties. But Tyree is going to get the ball to Paul. And when

Paul has it going, he's gonna cook. And when Paul doesn't have it going, you got Tyresse, you got Joel, you got some other guys who can handle the ball, who can shoot the ball. I think it's a great situation for Paul from a basketball standpoint. The other stuff, I think Paul's gonna have to adjust to and get used to, not just being back in the East, but being in cold Weather City, being in big city, being in big market, that Philadelphia media. I'm telling you, I

grew up there. It ain't sweet like it's going to be different. But as far as his and everything, like again, I knew where this was headed or possibly headed, and I knew the playoffs were going to be the big variable. If Kawhi was healthy and playing and doing what Kawhi basically was able to do all season. Maybe we're having different conversations. Maybe the Clippers get out of that first round series and look at the West. The West was not as good, not as airtight as you thought it was.

of the season. Wherehere he got the playoff standings set in stone, and then when the playoffs actually start, they will be vulnerable the whole way through.

it to him. But do you believe the stuff he said in this podcast regarding you know you felt disrespected because Kawhi was offered this. He said, just give me what Kawhi got. But then two seconds later he said, then they offered me the one fifty. And I was like, all right, we're in the ballpark. It's like, wait, you just said give you what Kawhi got. They offered it, you didn't take it. You wanted more money or you

wanted to know trade clause. Do you think it was always about the money and he was always gonna end up in Philly because they telegraphed this. We saw they didn't make a move of the trade deadline. We saw they were going to keep that max slot open. To me, the writing was on the wall.

James Harden signed. James Harden signed the contract that probably was offered to Paul at some point. I don't think that's ironic. Now, look, Paul has to me, Paul has the right to feel disrespected, because the reality is, Paul has never saved money on a contract. Any contract that he's ever signed has been the one that he was slotted for or the one that like he's never like. His previous contract was an extension that was signed after

the bubble. What happened in the bubble, Paul played really you know, even Paul knows, like Paul played the kind of basketball that really concerns you in the bubble. And then he signed the deal that he extended for and Kawhi matched that deal this season after after Kawhi towards ACL. So like Paul has always been driven to make the most that he can when he can, and I think Paul did that. I think the difference is there might have been a chance to re sign with the Clippers

if it just made sense. And because Kawhi got hurt, because the team flamed out, because it's James, because Russ went from the guy who was running training camp to the guy who basically was, you know, kind of phased out over as the year went on, and obviously Paul had a big voice in supporting Russ, and that's what

wound up happening with Russ. I just feel like all the things that could have went into, you know, the off season with things being compatible with the Clippers and Paul didn't work out.

to the playoffs versus the four years. I don't think that that is, you know, I think the Clippers are looking at like, listen, Paul was great, but y'all have to understand this is a business and Paul, you know, Paul understands this a business too. That's why Paul is playing for the contract that he's playing for at a place that if you also listen to what Paul has been saying over the past few months, it's clear that Paul wanted to stay as close to la as possible.

He wanted to have the comfort of being here with the price that he knew he could command. He wasn't going to get that from the Clippers. He really orally wanted that from the Clippers. Well, it's not like you're getting that from the Lakers. Not that you'd want to play there. He would have wanted to play in Golden State. I think he was very clear about, you know, please

send me to Golden State. But to go to Golden State requires the Golden State Warriors getting to dump the remains of a team that didn't even survived the playing tournament on to the Clippers, Like that doesn't improve the Clippers in the short term, and it really don't improve them in the long term because of some of those salaries.

So Paul, a guy who would have preferred to stay as close to the West Coast as possible, winds up taking the money out of place that geographically, you know, that's not where I don't think he would have wanted to go there. But it is a great money situation. It's a great basketball situation. Yeah, So the other stuff, you'll be like, all right, we'll figure it out.

do a lot of the same shit. Screen, protect the rim, rebound, be mean, that's it. You ain't asking a whole lot. There's not a lot of variants in that position. We're getting to that point with the point guard position, where if you're a small guard, we're just asking dudes to run, pick and rolls, hit some pull up, hit your shots. Don't be a complete liability. On the other end of the floor, Tyres does that a little bit more consistently and better than a lot of other guards. That's why

he's doing the contract that he's on. That's why he is an All Star. But let me be real about it, there's a whole lot of dudes like that. You know why Jamal Murray's never been an All Star. It ain't just because he plays with nicolea. Jokicch It's because Jamal Murray does a lot of stuff that a lot of the dudes who wind up being All Stars wind up

doing okay. And so for every time you get Jamal Murray running dudes crazy in the playoffs, you get what you saw from Jamal Murray in this past postseason where he just kind of flamed out against the Timberwlves at the end, Like there's so much there's so many of these small guards that do a lot of the same things, and so what do the Clippers have. The Clippers are

actually an anti small guard team. They realize that. They're like, if we're gonna have a guard that needs the ball in your hands all the time, you want that guard to be, you know, either great size or great skill. And with James Harden, you got a big guard, so that actually helps you defensively, because hiding James Harden is different than hiding tre Young. Okay, that's just what it is.

give you as a high guy defensively? He gives you rebounds, He gives you an opportunity to force turnovers, and he gives you an opportunity where guys try and post them up and they turn and their post game is inadequate, the balls on the ground. Like, there aren't a lot of small guards who do that on a consistent basis. So even as a liability defensively, James is a guy that gives you a little bit more than some of

these other weak ass guards out here. So there are a lot of guards who do great ship, but at the end of the day. There's a reason the Philadelphia seventy six ers were like, let's get Paul georgan pay him two hundred Let's get Paul George and pay him max money in his age thirty seven season. You know, because Tyree Maxy and Joel Embiid ain't enough. You need Paul George to be able to give you a little bit more. You need him to give you a year

or two more of all star production. Because having a small guard and even one of the most dominant bigs in the league that ain't that ain't enough. You You need something more to, you know, rise above what the other teams in the East can present to you.

I'm always gonna like Joe too. But Joel indeed is one of the least reliable players in the postseason, you know, even when he's on the floor. So if you're gonna put that on Kawhi because Kawhi can't get through the playoff series, well, getting Joel to play through a playoff series, even win multiple playoff series, we haven't seen that yet. So that's Paul's got to look at it like this, Joel is your new Kawhi. Okay, he's big, maybe he's more durable, but he's also a guy who still has

a lot to prove even as an MVP. Tyressee is your new Russell Westbrook. Tyrese is younger and able to play the kind of style of basketball that you wanted to play. James does not fit either one of those. And James, obviously, you know, people were thinking last year that James and Paul were going to commiserate over Darryl Moury. Well, now Joel and Paul are going to commiserate over the

James Harden experience. But you know what, I bet you James is going to feel empowered by that, and I bet you, going into this next year, Paul doesn't have to worry about having to fit in with James, but he is. That's his new situation. It's like, I know Paul loved playing with Kawhi, loved playing with Russ. I don't know if he'd say the same about playing with James, not on a personal level, just on a play style level,

Like the ball was out of his hands. The last time Paul George complained about the ball being out of his hands, it was Doc Rivers team, and Doc Rivers obviously wound up up getting replaced by t Lou. It's the same situation. That's who he's looking at playing with.

Law they weren't given Kaminga. I mean, if they gave the right package, I think they would have sent Paul Georgia Golden State.

power forward. Okay, he's not a comfortable shooter. He's not a bad shooter, but he's not a comfortable shooter. He's a little bit too much like Andrew Wiggins. But he also shares the same team as Draymond Green. If the Warriors want to defend at a high level, they put Draymond at power for it and start someone like Trace Jackson Davis. You know why the Worriors can't do that, it's because their offense would be terrible because there's not

enough guys who can shoot, and that includes Jonathan Kaminga. Again, I'm not saying Cominga can't shoot. I'm saying Jonathan Kaminga is is a bucket getter more than he is a guy who is comfortable standing in the corner waiting for his shots to come. Yeah, okay, so you have a dilemma there, how do you get the most out of Jonathan Kaminga individually as a player, which they had to lean into more because you know, Draymond suspended, Clay's having

his issues. Like it's like, okay, you need someone to help help out and score points, but how do you do that in the context of what kind of team you have. I think the Warriors would love a team to take that issue off their hands, and they haven't found the team to do that yet.

gonna see plenty of the Warriors. We're gonna see plenty of the dynamic between those teams and what their adjustments are. We're gonna see teams look at Paul George leaving the Clippers as like, we don't want to talk about the Clippers anymore, and Klay Thompson leave the Warriors and you know, make the Warriors great again, talk like we we know

how the sausages made. We know that one team made the playoffs and has like nine national TV games the entire season, whereas the Warriors damn near lead the entire NBA in national TV games. And again they didn't even earn a seven game series last year. So like, anything you hear about Jonathan Kuminga's value coming from coming from that team needs to be Actually, you need to see

it before you believe it. That's all I'm saying now, No, the Clippers should not have been excited about getting Jonathan Kuminga. We've seen Jonathan Kaminga play basketball. He's a talented player individually. If you're trying to get the best out of your team circumstances, how the heck do you fit that player into what you're trying to build. That's the concern with with with with cominga.

talent in a vacuum. It's like, oh my god, it's a it's a wing who can put the ball in the basket. He can run pick and rolls like, he can make plays. Of course you'd want that guy on the team. Okay, cool, what's his value from one year to your team? And what are you paying that dude? And that you get carried.

You are going up against the one seed. You mentioned yourself after you eliminated the Kings, that that Oklahoma City thunder team ended your season in the playing turn of the year before next thing, you know, Willie Green is benching b I to spark his team like that, and so it's like, what are you doing with that player in the short term and the long term? I think with every player in the NBA, there's a reasonable level of talent where you don't want to disrespect these guys.

They're all talented, they're all good, they all provide some level of value. But you're building a team. It's a team game. It's not hey, let's have that guy on our team, or let's get the most out of this guy from an individual level, despite my guy's playing fantasy basketball and preparing for their drafts. It's what does your team look like in this short term and what are

you doing from a team building standpoint. That's why the Clippers are complicated because they're like, we're so used to teams saying trade this guy, you're gonna get value for him, because that's what makes sense in the short term, because none of these people give a damn about what happens in the long term. With these teams. We love to talk about the light years of the Golden State Warriors and not thinking about, oh shoot, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson

might not be back next year. We're going to be the worst team in the NBA for a year. No one talks about that, So I got to bring that up.

it every year. The Clippers were dead in the warter when Paul George swore the ligament in his elbow in Christmas and had that daunting January of twenty twenty two ahead of them, while Covid was dripping through the whole league, minds you. Okay, I saw Winn and Gabriel and and this dude, James Ennis played for one team on a Tuesday, and by Saturday they were playing for the damn Clippers in Brooklyn.

They had this emotional game winner against the Lakers. You know, I'm pretty sure that was the Reggie Jackson skipping game. You know, that dude was like Austin Reeves, I got a bucket and so like Aaron Bledze never played another NBA game in his career, okay, like never again. Justice Winsbrow, I thought Justin Winslow was like, oh, there's no way

they break this team up. Justin Winslow had them all on a boat in Miami, that dude wound up playing getting included in the trade, like Keon Johnson got included in that trade. Somebody's son got included in that trade that brought Norman Powell and Robert Covington to DLA Clippers.

And why did they make that trade? Because they looked at their team survived that January, even with Paul George contemplating season ending surgery, even with Kawhi Leonard doing nothing more than jumping over a damn box and getting it reported on national TV, and they were like, this team has a chance, this team has a chance. Let's go get Norm Powell just so Norm pal can break a bone in his foot a weekend later. So like, we know that that front office and I know the CBA

is different, We know that circumstances are different. But the whole point of not paying Paul George and not going to make a stupid trade with a division rival just to say you got something for Paul George was to maintain in some level of flexibility in case you do want to make a trade, in case you do exceed expectations, and then you can make some lose if they make sense. So, yes, the Clippers have a track record of doing stuff rather

than a track record of not doing stuff. That's how James Harden winds up on your damn team, even when you have a whole training camp that might as well have been called We're not training for James Harden. So you know, yes, answer your question.

I think a huge barrier to signing a deal for a player like that is when you know that he's facing a four game suspension on site. So and all Pat bever did was throw the damn bal to some ignorant stands in Indiana. Apologies if they actually weren't ignorant and they were saying nice things to Pat Bev, I just doubt that was the case. So I think that the tough thing, you know, and again Pat's a veteran, he's played is he played his beast basketball. I think,

you know, go and do your thing. But I think a factor in him going to the overseas wasn't just the money or the fact that he's been in the league. I think he got suspended. Man. So, like, like, what team is like going crazy over adding a player that they are going into the season trying to establish something and they can't even have that guy ready to play.

So you know, it's different than an injury. So with Kevin Porter, a guy who not only might be suspended to start the year, but didn't play in the NBA for a year. I don't care what level of basketball you played, not playing on that level is still going to put you in a position where there's an adjustment period, an acclimation period to play in high level basketball again. And so to begin the year, I don't think he'll

be in the rotation now. He's talented enough and the Clippers aren't talented enough to where that has a likelihood of changing over the course of the you know, over the course of November going into December. But when I've put my initial rotations together, Kevin's been excluded in that. I actually I got to see Kevin last week, so, you know, and we had a good conversation about about basketball, about life stuff.

Like you you can't bring a player like Kevin Porter on the team, be like figure it the fuck out. Like everyone in the league knows Kevin Porter's, you know, dealt with some things, and Kevin Porter's putting himself in situations that are unacceptable. So you have to have that player be in a position where you can support him so that beyond the basketball, you can make sure that he doesn't do stuff that puts him in a bad place. And so I think the Clippers have the I think

Kevin knows that. I think Kevin knows the responsibility that is ahead of him. I think he knows that there's a lot more scrutiny that's going to come his way between now and the end of this calendar year on and off the floor, and so he's got to adjust toy off the floor stuff before you can get to be on the floor stuff. So I get everyone looking at Kevin Porter and what he's done in the league. He put fifty on Drew's head three years ago. He's been a starting point guard. He earned a big contract

from the Rockets. I get all that. I have respect for that. I also know that Kevin Porter Junior, him being on the basketball port goes beyond the basketball. Everyone knows that he's on a zero tolerance situation right now, Like that's a pressure that a reasonable citizen is like, Oh, that's easy, I'll just behave not everyone's like that, So we'll see where it goes. So I get people want

to talk about basketball player Kevin Porter. I feel like we're some steps away from basketball player Kevin Porter.

There was no time to do that. Kai Jones went and signed a ten day contract with the Philadelphia seventy six Ers, And it's crazy that there is a seventy six Ers Clippers pipeline. He's in it. But like this, you know, he was under that deal. His deal expired right around the time the Sixers came to LA and I knew I was going to ask people about Kai. The reality was Kai signed a ten year deal, played a couple games in the g mess his hamstring up.

So Kai signed a deal with the Clippers and was and it was like he was never going to put a uniform on. They just wanted to get him in the system. That's another part of me talking about how basketball.

You see all these highlights, you see all these oh he was drafted in the first round, and it's like, you gotta get a dude to be able to simply be professional, you know, get relationships built so that you know what works and what doesn't work as part of a treatment plan, a preparation plan so that eventually he can get on the floor. So I had to spend, Like I was telling dudes this time last year, when Kyle was tripping, I was like yo, Ky ain't contributing

to nobody playing basketball this year. Kyle got some things he got to deal with and the Hornets knew that, and the Hornets were like, we can't even have you in training camp. And the Hornets let him go, and the NBA PA they stepped up. They put him in position to where he can get the help that he needed. And then he had to go to AMERICAUP play for Bahamas, and then the Sixers were like, okay, you're ready to play, let's put you in our get. Unfortunately, from there he

had the injury issues. He heard his hand string, he hurts his foot ankle before a summer league, so he missed a ton of time there. Fortunately now Kai is healthy. So like it's the same thing with Kevin Porter. It's like basketball is complicated and it's easy for us to get excited about, you know, guys playing basketball, putting up numbers,

the things that we like basketball for. But when you were around the team, you realize it's so much more that goes into getting guys minutes than the actual basketball.

your QB one and Bones is your QB two. And all of a sudden, in the middle of the year, not the middle of the year, but it's in season, you have this trade with James and at first tlu Is trying to make it work for everybody. That doesn't just mean starting all of Russ, James, PG, and Kawhi. It also means continue to play norm off the bench, continue to play Bones off the bench. Oh, Terrence is going to come back in the middle of the road

trip in New York. We're gonna introduce Terrence and he's going to play, And I'm just foxing on Bones right now. Eventually it gets to the point where it's like there's too many small guards in the rotation, so we need to consolidate that right away. And then it got to the point where it's like, we need to put Russell Westbrook in the second unit so that James we don't need to like bully James into being James Harden. That's what needed to happen. Like, it's not that Rusted anything

wrong to have to go to the second unit. It's that James was not performing like the player that the front off is traded for, and the only way to fix that was to stop pretending like James Harden was a shooting guard. So like like they wanted to have Russell continue to be the point guard because that's the team that they had training camp for. And that's and as a coaching staff, you don't go into a year saying, oh, the front office is going to do this, so we're

going to prepare for that. No, as a coaching staff, you're like, the front office could fire our ass, so we need to get done with what we have now.

all of that. But the difference between them and a lot of front offices is even if there's some conflict or some disagreements, they keep the door open. The door was open for Paul, for Kawhi, for Tilu to go to Lawrence and be like, I saw what you did. We need Russ and guess what. Russ exceeded everyone's expectations, Like Russell Westbrook came in and you saw it when they didn't have Kawhi and Paul to finish the Sun series and Russ took off and was doing things that

we hadn't seen Russ do in a while. You know why, going back to that Tyrese Snaxy point, tyre Snasey drops forty in a playoff game with the balls in his hands because tyres is really good. Well, it turns out if you give Russell Westbrook the ball and let him do Russell Westbrook stuff, you're probably going to get some volume out of it.

with that happening. Now, just be fine. He built the whole training camp out of getting the most out of putting Russell's position to succeed, and that was going to happen. And what Blue team up is that, you know, they try to maintain as much as that as possible. When you lose six games in a row, it forces your hand.

It means that Russ has to go to the second unit, not because Russell was playing poorly, but because you need James to play like James Harden and the only way that was going to happen at the balls in James hands. It means that you're gonna have a second unit where okay, Russ is going to be in the second unit, but that also meant that Bones was not going to see the light of a day as long as the following

four guys were healthy. James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Norman Powell, Terrence Man and guess what, for the most part, all four of those guys, they pretty much didn't miss any time Bones. I don't think Bones handled that particular adversity well. And he checked out. I thought he checked out behind the scenes, and I thought that as.

were happy. They were disgruntled. I think that's an objective way to put it.

same page. That's where frustration comes in. But in the off season, when things calm down, when you can see your family, when you can do the things that you need to do, when you can hoop in whatever league that you hooping in, when you got some fresh air, when you took a vacation, you know, you can have some conversations, you can settle down, and you can have

a better sense of where your expectations are. And that released to PJ Tucker too, because PJ Tucker, while all this shit was going down with James Harden, PJ was thinking, Nick Nurse is going to start me, you know what I'm saying, And he did. PJ was in training camp, PJ was participating every day. PJ started the first week of the season for the Philadelphia Sydney Sixers, and that whole time, Pj's like, man, that shit going on with James,

that's crazy. Well, PJ got roped into the trade and PJ PJ didn't want to be traded to the LA And then.

so he had to get through the season. And I think that the reality is this, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Clippers were like, you are so untenable to be here that we need to stretch and wave you. But I don't think we're dealing with that. I think now we're dealing with a situation where all those people mad that the Clippers let Eric Gordon go because they knew that there's a possibility that, you know, they could have the flexibility with their roster to bring someone else in,

and the someone else being James Harden. Well, now you're gonna keep PJ. Tucker around more than likely because unless the team is like, we really need PJ. Tucker between now and the end of October, you're more than likely gonna be like, well, PJ, you're gonna compete, and more than likely other guys are probably gonna play above you. Like I expect Nigo between Kobe Brown to play more than PJ. Tucker reasonably speaking, But you know, I think

he's going to get his Jordan Miller, I guess. But Jordan's Jordan's biggest concern is can he do the stuff that he's done on respectably lower levels on a level where he's competing with you know, let's just the name is Amir Coffee, Like Amir is my second string small forward. Going into the year, there's five guys hunting for Amir Coffee's job, and a Mere Coffee. This greatest land leg that he has a stand on is the fact that he's done it in games that matter the most for

the Clippers, you know, regular season games. These other dudes might have higher ceilings and they might have longer roads to get to where a mir is. But Amir's a pretty good incumbent, a pretty good guy to say, you want his job, go and beat that guy out. And so I think Jordan might get a fair shot to beat that guy out. But that guy it's his job until someone takes it from him, right, Yeah, PJ. Tucker, it was his job until someone took it from him. Well,

Kobe Brown took that job. But guess who wound up getting an opportunity and staying with it. Amir Coffee. Mere Coffee was nowhere close to the rotation again last year, and even with PJ. Tucker falling out the rotation, Amir Coffee wasn't a consideration to play. But Amir got his opportunity when Paul missed his first game and a Mirror played so well that when it came down to someone's not going to be in a rotation between a mirror

and Kobe. Well, Kobe looked like a guy who needed to be in the G League and a guy who needed some more seasoning, a guy who wasn't quite ready yet to play at that level. And there's a Mirror who is literally a five year NBA veteran, and I was a guy a mir Yeah, And it's like it made it easy on the coaching staff. It's like, well, Amr is ready to play in Kobe's and PJ. We're trying to trade PJ and we're gonna keep PJ on

ice and Amir is playing. Next thing, you know, Amir is a rotation player for a team literally winning twenty six out of thirty one games, and then started playoff games for a while, started playoff games, and you know what had happened to Amir in the playoffs is as simple as Amir just wasn't getting He just didn't make the most of his opportunities, and there weren't a lot of opportunities to make the most of. It was a role that there's a reason Derek Jones Junior is on

this team. It's not like you lose PG and it's like, hey, mere Coffee's ready to start. It's like, oh, we're gonna lose p We need a guy. We're getting Dereck Jones Junior right away. Derek Jones Junon is gonna start. Like he's of all the guys the Clippers brought in that was new to the team, he's the one who got the biggest commitment from a financial and a year standpoint like that, Dude's going to be playing and starting and fulfilling a role where the Clippers are hoping Derek leads

a team in something very specific next year. So but yeah, if you talk about Bones, you're talking about PJ. The vibes were shitty as far as those guys go last year, but I think the off season allows for guys to be in a different place and to be in a different situation. I still think those guys would prefer to move on. But again, Bones is what Adam say it with me a small guard and those guys are a dime a dozen. There's no team falling over backwards to

acquire a player like that. Like the Minnesota Timber was a great example. Minnesota needed another guard. Tim Connolly drafted Bones when Tim was in his last year with Denver, there was an admiration there. Minnesota wound up trading for Monte Morrison instead. Okay, and not even Monte got a lot of burn with Minnesota. Monte had a very uneven season.

conference bone siland. And that's who Rob Dillingham is, same size, same GM, drafting that kind of player for his for his Northwest Division team to fulfill a similar kind of role for that Minnesota Timberwolves team.

It's like, PJ has a tradable contract. Any team that's horrible next by February, excuse me, Like, let's get PJ Tucker. We can buy out the last year of his deal, and PJ will go and play for whoever wants to play with after that, and that is going to be a key factor in the Clippers team building. Maybe there's not a team in October that makes sense for PJ Tucker.

We see what the roster spots look like. But in February, after some of these teams been punched in the damn mouth, they're like, yeah, we'll take on whoever's contract to make some moves, get some assets out of it, and say that we have an open contract spot going into the next offseason. That is how you have to look at it.

I think PJ is gonna I haven't talked to PJ, I haven't seen PJ, but I think PJ is going to be in a better place going into training camp than perhaps he was, you know, going into last year's trade deadline. Bones. I'm pretty sure Bones would like to be on a team where he's not staring at the

third string point guard role. But I don't think there's any chairs left looking at the state of the small guard position in the NBA where it's like, what is a team that obviously, now again, injuries might change something.

There might be a team with a biblical you know, you know, basically you're Memphis Grizzlies of last year, a biblical tie of good guys who you just run out of guys like I feel like this happens to the Cleveland Cavaliers every year and then then all of a sudden you're like, oh my god, we have nobody who can dribble the basketball.

is not even in San Diego. It's ocean side power forward Kawhi Leonard, Nicholas Patoom and pretty much want more likely Kobe Brown and center. It's if it's a Zoobots Mobamba and insert insert player here, Like I'm for now saying Kobe Brown's your third string center, but Kobe's going to play a lot And obviously I think Kai Jones has the lead on a two aay contract spot. He's

on an exhibit ten right now. There's two two way contracts on the Clippers, Jordan Miller, who is going into his second year on that contract, and Trenton Flowers, an undrafted rookie who is already on a two way. He's got a long way to go in every single regard, but it's a good sign for him that he's already on that contract. Kai is there's an open two way contract spot. I would consider kai Jones the front runner

for that spot. I think everyone wants to see kai Jones get that get that spot, get that contract if the Clippers can't complete any trades before the beginning of the regular season, and I think that is your expectation. I think you have fifteen contract spots already accounted for to two eight contract spots already accounted for, and Kai's the front run runner over guys like Elijah Harkless or you know, ray J. Dennis or anybody like that.

we're talking six weeks ago. So if someone saw it because Keith got way more followers than me, then I understand that. But I'm just telling y'all like that was a that was a deal that was already done six weeks ago, so I'm glad you saw it today, But like that was a that was a contract that's not new today. Like we know the Elijah was going to be with the Clippers in camp like more than a month ago.

Basketball game, you blink for five minutes a team down by ten.