On this episode of the Heat check The NBA season is almost here, so it is time to preview that season. We will start today talking about teams that will start out by tanking, ones that will surprise, and later on ones that will contend. It's Victor and Hoop for Scoot time. Good Lord, I love hoops. I am going to be here all day, every day breaking this down for the
Heat Checkers. Also, as a special bonus, I am going to be featured part of this will be featured on a roundtable preview of the NBA season on the Locked On Basketball Network, available wherever you get your podcasts, along with the YouTube Ultimate Pro Basketball Preview twenty twenty two on the Odyssey app. So fun stuff here. Can't wait to do it. Let's drop that beat. With the NBA
season two weeks away. What I thought that I would do is break down the upcoming season in a different way, looking at groups of teams from tankers to contenders to everyone in between. There's gonna be six groups of five teams each covering every NBA team, starting with contending to tanking first and foremost, the big question on everyone's mind is who should be the title favorite going into the NBA season and what other teams might be a contender.
The odds right now sit like this Boston Celtics plus five hundred Golden State plus six hundred Milwaukee Bucks plus six fifty Brooklyn Nets plus seven hundred LA Clippers lost seven hundred. I hate to say this, I really do. It's Golden State and that's pretty much it for me. Like it's not close like Steph For some reason, it's almost like, no matter what happens, Age just doesn't affect him.
Every single year, it feels like he's more and more unstoppable, and like all those defensive issues that he had gone. Now he's a real deal defensive player. Clay I don't really care about all of this drama that has surrounded him, about that mental block, about that scrimmage that he got injured in that was three years ago. I can't imagine that this is something that really is going to be
an issue going forward moving in the long term. And then top of just the core, like this is one of the best cores in the NBA, but also if not the best, I think they've got the best young group as well. Right, it's actually disgusting. They've got not only just Pool, Wiggins Looney, but they've got Wiseman. Wiseman if he can stay healthy, I mean that's been an issue for a long time now. But you've got Moses Moody,
who is an absolute beast in the summer league. If Kaminga can get his head right, I know matured he's been an issue for him. And then the biggest factor for me on top of that is Patrick Baldwin Junior. This is a kid if he would have gone to Duke, Golden State would have no chance to have gotten them right. So long athletic, he shoots the three really well. I don't think he's gonna get a ton of run right away, but I think he's one of those guys that you
see in the postseason really becoming a factor. And then another a sneaky piece for me that could step in for Gary Payton. The second is gonna be Dante DiVincenzo. Very athletic, a very bouncy six to four player. He can do all the same things that that Gary Payton could do, and I really like him in the system. He's already won a title, He's got that championship DNA, and on top of Golden State, I think you have
to really say La Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks. They're the only teams that I think really can match up with Golden State. Obviously with Giannis as long as Middleton's healthy, I think that this team from the East is the best. And you know, the Clippers are probably the deepest team in the NBA with Kawhi, Paul George, if Paul George has that mentality that we want him to take another step. But on top of that, they've got Norm Powell, They've
got you know, Robert Covington. They've got just a plethora of riches right batoon, Reggie Jackson and the addition of John wall If John Wallace healthy, oh my god, this team could be scary. Maybe the most fascinating team on this list is the Brooklyn Nets, who have the fourth best odds to win the title? What do I think of the nets chances? Also probably sounds a little differently
than than normally on he checked these little answers. Just know how to keep it a little more professional, no cusswords, a little bit more knowing my audience. Shall we say? Man, this team is so confusing. I don't really know if anyone knows what to make of them. Right, gms around the league don't know what to make of them. So you can tell that this team is going to be
a conundrum for everyone moving forward. But this is probably the most amount of depth that the Nets have had since Katie and Kyrie got there, since they gutted their team when they got rid of all those guys to get James Harden, which obviously was a terrible issue. Right, but they actually have guys. They have dudes. We make fun of Steve Nash and his rotations all the time, but he didn't have a lot to work with either, right, and now he has dudes that he can incorporate in
the rotation during important moments. Right, You've got TJ. Warren, who was an absolute bucket in the bubble. Is he gonna be healthy? I have no idea. Could he be really dangerous if he is healthy? Yeah? Has he been on ice because he didn't want to be in Indiana and Indiana What didn't want to break him? I don't know. But he averaged almost twenty seven points per game, six rebounds, two and a half assists in those ten games in the Bubble. He's capable of being very, very valuable. The
biggest thing is Ben Simmons. Of course, what is his role going to be right within the Nets organization? He said, you know they've planned to basically use him on the ball. Right, He's gonna have the ball in his hands a lot in the half court sets. He's not gonna probably have it long. He's gonna be able to pass a ton, very quick passer, very underrated passer right, and has insane quest vision, has the ability to cut off the ball after the pass. I can't even believe that I'm giving
Ben Simmons this much shine. But how he's going to be used in this net system, I think has a lot of potential. Right, He's going to be able to bring the ball up under pressure effectively. That opens things up for Kyrie and KD as well in order to be able to make shots. That makes Nick Claxton a real deal lob threat as well. The question is also like,
how does Ben Simmons stay healthy and engaged? Things look very good in the short sample size that we have, but we know Ben Simmons, when the lights get bright, tend to dim his own light. Right defensively, the nets are a mess. I don't know what they're going to be able to do. It's all about will for them.
They have a bunch of guys that can defend. Kyrie can KD can Ben obviously can so will they try to turn that on a little bit too late or are they going to be able to really put their mentality in and gel defensively, be able to rotate and help for one another. Optimism level though very high, very high.
Moving on to teams that are seeking revenge this year, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Philadelphia's seventy six ers, and the Dallas Mavericks all playoff teams last year who feel like their seasons were ended prematurely and they were. Which of these five teams do I think have the most to overcome in order to get to the finals? What team do I think is really in here for revenge? Well, I think there's a couple, right, I think Number one,
you can't count Miami out. It's always very ugly watching Miami in the postseason, even during the regular season, right, but they've been in the mix now multiple years in a row, where they've got that pedigree. They always add these guys that you've never heard of before. Somehow these undrafted players turn into key rotation guys that end up either able to get money on the heat or able
to get money somewhere else. They lost PJ. Tucker, and you think to yourself, well, they didn't really add anyone else. And then you look and see dig a little deeper. Darius days Baby out of LSU. He could be very interesting, one of very West's favorite young players. He goes undrafted. If Kyle Lowry ends up being himself, which he wasn't really all last year, if you know he is, I think that's a matchup problem. Are they good enough to beat a healthy Bucks team? No, of course not almost
no one is. But look what happened last year. Sometimes your imaginary matchup never ends up happening, right. And then in the West, I think Denver is one of those teams that's being slept on. Right. It's really easy to forget how close Denver ended up playing Golden State. Jokic was carrying the load. Three out of the five games were very tight, even game two halftime, very tight, right. Jokic was making it a sweat. And then you add back in Jamal Murray, who's a bubble god like he
went down to an ACL injury. I think he's gonna be really good. Obviously. Michael Porter Junior coming back from injury probably even more important, very versatile two way wing. He can shoot the leather off the ball. If they get him in the mix and he's healthy, that really helps you. Add Christian Brawn and Peyton Watson super super intriguing with Bruce b with KCP, I think this team's really interesting. I think they're going to be a matchup problem.
And on top of that, you've got Jokic, who's, you know, one of the best, if not the best centers in the world. Lots of things have to go right for each of these teams to make a deep run. What are they? Oh boy, I tell you what. First and foremost, let's talk about the Suns. The Suns are one of those teams that could really be derailed by locker room issues, right Like, they got to get rid of that drama.
They have to shake that off. Aighton either needs to be moved in January to a place that he wants to go, or there needs to be a peace treaty with the teammates. CP three grinds his guys down to dust, Like I think that's annoying to his teammates that needs to be fixed. Aighton has to be a very consistent force. I think Cam Johnson needs to be better on defense now that he's a starter and has alienated Jay Crowder
to the point where he's not even showing up. Right, you need to be that guy that ends up pushing Jake Crowder out. You need to deserve that CP three. Of course, it's an issue. He's never healthy when it comes down to right. I know that there was COVID concerns, but on top of that, CB three hasn't been healthy multiple playoffs. And Booker needs to be an MVP. He just needs to have that type of a season. And
Monty Williams, I can't forget about him. He needs to be better at making in game adjustments in order for them to go back to the finals again. In terms of Philly, Philly's a very intriguing team. James and Embiid, though, I think the number one thing for them is that
they have to become one person. Like the number one thing that Doc Rivers has said is that James, you need to figure out when to be aggressive, when to end up feeding Embiid, and when to facilitate to your other teammates and get them involved, right, and if James can be some meshing between Houston James and Brooklyn James and that balance is really right, I think that they could be very dangerous and they need to figure out
a way to become a better rebounding team. They were one of the worst in the NBA at that and that's why they got PJ. Tucker. I think that should help. And then Dallas, let's be honest, they're not contending this year. They need to acquire someone. That's just what it is like. You can't just lose Jalen Brunson and not pick anybody up. Sorry, Christian Wood, you're a nice piece, but I don't think that's gonna be enough. And do you trust Spencer Dinwiddie to put up forty one if Luke is on the
bench with an ankle injury? Hell no? Can I say, hell no? Hell no? I do not trust Spencer dinwiy to be the guy. I've seen him in Washington right here in the DMV, I've seen him in Brooklyn like it's just not it's just not for me. And then you know, JaVale McGee, Christian Wood, nice piece, they're gonna need to be the best versions of themselves right, get easy buckets. Prediction. To me, they fall very far in
the standings, potentially a play in team. Really disappointing, and you know, I think they do need to add another piece in order to really contend. Teams on the rise. There's a great group of teams out there that I consider to be on the rise. I'm talking about Cleveland, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans, and Toronto. The big question is which of
these teams had the most interesting additions. It's a tough one, right because you look at Gobert, you look at Mitchell, and you look at Zion Returning, and they all have their own unique little wrinkles. To me, the go Beart ad is the most fascinating because that shows really that Minnesota's committed to Karl Anthony Towns being himself, not doing
something that he's not good at. Right, be a three point machine, do your week side blocking, allowing him to be the offensive threat that we know that he can be at all times without having to be the sole rim protector. And then Rudy, no doubt, is going to
be able to anchor this defense. Hopefully, Aunt and Di lo are gonna get him some loobs, because we know Donovan Mitchell never did when he was in Utah Well teams, though, The question for me is will teams look to go small and run Rudy Gobert off the floor like the Clippers did when they went five out in the playoffs two years ago. Minnesota, to me is so close to being so good as long as they remain flexible with their roster depending on who the matchup is, i e.
Maybe Benching Rudy Bear if you have to in the playoffs. Zion, of course very interesting for the same sort of reasons. Right, how do Bi and Zion work together on the court at the same time, We know that BEI had issues with Zion, not like from a personal standpoint, but just from a basketball standpoint. They both need the ball, same sort of situation as Karl Anthony Townsend Rudy in terms of like how does it fit. I'm very intrigued about that.
That's been an issue. He definitely looks dominant. I know offensively, Zion's gonna be great, but we know another issue for him was does he get back on defense. This team was anchored by its defensive prowess last year. Why they gave the Phoenix Suns fits. How does Zion change that if he's maybe a little lazy getting back right, how does that change the identity of New Orleans and what they built with while he was gone in Oregon and
back with the team and rehabbing. Like that's something really interesting moving forward and something that I think is a real sort of potential hiccup. The other question is who among this group breaks through first and actually gets to the final difficult question to answer. I've been racking my brain. I have an answer. I've vacillated over this one. I really did. It just has to be and I know they're taking a step this year, but this is a
long term question, right, It's gotta be the Grizz. They're so deep. They took Golden State to the absolute brink, right, jaw gets hurt and they still end up winning a game. Many of those playoff moments were very much fifty to fifty. I think John Morant getting injured obviously hurt them a lot. They've got a ton of picks already. They have a very deep team that they can trade assets and if
they wanted to go out and get a star. Obviously, Jaron Jackson being out this year hurts them, But I really do think that they are that team, like a very deep, very athletic team that has built organically for an identity that they have. Much like the Pelicans as well, but I think that they're just maybe a step forward from the Pelicans, maybe a little bit early in terms of real contention. Cleveland, of course is super interesting as
well because they've got a lot of versatility. But I don't know ness necessarily how the two small guard lineup, two guards that don't play defense really works. I saw that. I'm a Portland Trailblazer fan. Dame CJ ask me how the heartbreak was. How does that work in Cleveland. I know they have defensive reinforcements right, and I think that
really helps. But if you're a mid range jump shooter, you're gonna be able to get by and cook Darius Garland and cook Donovan Mitchell, even though he says he can play defense, we'll see and be able to get into that middle zone before the reinforcements really get there. So I don't know necessarily how far they can go, but I do think they're a super interesting team that's gonna be able to compete night tonight, big names, big questions. The next group of teams all have huge question marks
hanging over their heads. I'm talking about the Lakers, the Hawks, the Knicks, the Bulls in Portland, my Portland Trailblazers. Of these, the teams with the biggest question heading into the season is obviously the Los Angeles Lakers. Also the New York Knicks. What do we have to say about them? To me? The biggest, biggest question marks are surrounding two teams right, one on the East coast, one on the West coast, both with fan bases that are delusional as all get out.
Number one is the LA Lakers, Purple and gold, just a cloud of controversies surrounding them. When you asked me off camera, you said what the Lakers' biggest question? I said, all of them? All of them, so many pressing questions. They all center around the point guard position, right Like, what's happening with Russell Westbrook. It's very strange. Is he gonna get moved? Is he gonna be a six man? Is he gonna buy into this new role? I feel like this has kind of been what we've been asking
about Russell Westbrook for years now. How is he going to adapt? Is he ever gonna cut off ball? Is he ever going to be able to shoot jump shots? I know that these are the same old questions, but we haven't gotten any new answers, so the questions remain. They didn't have spacing and shooting do they now? Big question mark? Is Anthony Davis playing eighty two games? Absolutely not?
How many will you play? Big time question mark? So many questions on a team as I don't know, the best player of my generation trying to win another title and Rob Polinkett doing absolutely nothing to surround him with people who will make him better, And then I think, for me, I think you have to take it to the East coast in the Knicks, right Like the biggest question for them is you now have a point guard who can get you a bucket, But how does that
actually influence the guy who loves to have the ball in his hand Julius Randall. Are you gonna get most improved player Julius Randall, or you're gonna get what we saw him last year, which is him dribbling a million times and then stepping back at the very end of a shot clock just a random contested jumper. Right He doesn't need to play point guard anymore. That's good. He can play a much more natural position for his size.
But he likes to have the ball in his hand, and he makes a lot of money, So you're gonna need to figure out how to use him, and he's gonna need to figure out how to buy in. Is that gonna happen? I have no idea. Is he gonna be a post up shooter now? Is spot up shooter? That's something I'm very curious about. I also think another big curiosity is how is Tim tom Thibodeau going to coach? Because we know he loves those veterans, but it's a youth movement now, baby, and he needs to get on
board or get on out. Another good question is what team will be the most different moving forward? I like, how really quickly, I'm just like doing what I did for the Jerry West interview and the Nick Nurse But it's just me that I'm teeing up from another recording. So it's just like very weird. It's like, what did Trista have to say? We tune in the team that's gonna be the most different going in from last year to this year is very very obvious. If you look
at this grouping right, it's the Blazers. They have a healthy Damian Lillard. Now hopefully they don't shut him down for the year again. That would be a big surprise. I hope that they're not tanking again intentionally. That was probably the most I don't know, embarrassing, obvious, blatantly disrespectful, whatever you want to call it tank we might have ever seen in the NBA, Like they just shut every went down for broken toenails. It was like from the
OKC level to a whole another stratosphere. Right, And I guess the question is how different does Dame look with Anthony Simons. That's gonna be very different. How different I have no idea. You've got a very happy Nurkic now that he got paid thanks to Clutch Sports. You've got a Jeremy Grant who is one of the better defenders in the league when he's been healthy. You've got a
very long Rangy Neiceer, little a Josh Hart. Guys that really fit in with what I think Chauncey Billups wants to do, which is have heart, have intensity, be able to like defend, and hopefully Danmian Lillard doesn't defending too, because that's been his major major weakness and something that's held them back in the postseason and in the regular season because they were the bottom of the barrel defensively
for a very long time. So I think this team's a very ways away, but there's still like another level up from disrespectfully tanking playing hopefuls. There are five teams with playing aspirations Sacramento, Charlotte, UUGH, Washington, OOH, Detroit, and Indiana. The question is which of these teams could be a playing team first and foremost. I think you have to kind of look to the West because I think there's
a lot of competitive sort of versatility there. You saw the Pelicans make it to the play in and they started off like one and twenty. So I would start first and foremost and take it to the West coast. This is gonna sound really gross, and it's gonna sound like I'm pandering because I'm very I'm very connected and beloved within the Sacramento Kings fan base, and I might be insane. I might be insane, say test me for some sort of LSD or drugs, But it feels like
it's the Kings. It does no it does. If Keegan Murray can be who we know he has the potential to be this year, which is Rookie of the Year, right, a guy who can get you twenty five points on any given night, be a really good defender, a really
good sneaky rebounder. If Mike Brown can get this team to actually buy into defense, and they should be able to gel and find some level of mediocrity on defense, right cause they're gonna get a lot of very easy games because you've got san Antonio, and you've got Utah blatantly aggressively and disrespectfully tanking for Victor Wambayama. So you're gonna get a lot of those games from them that they're just going to hand over to you. That's gonna
happen in the East as well. And I don't think Sacramento is interested in the least in disappointing their fan base. I think they're trying to compete, right. I think that they have a lot of young guys who can score. They're gonna be able to put up buckets. Cavon Hurder, right, we know he can score. Sabonis, Keegan Molik Monk off
the bench, we know he's a little microwave. So if they can figure out a way to defend on any level and they can pick up easy games from teams that are very obviously trying to tank, I think they could sneak in like ten seed. I don't think that's I don't think that's too crazy. And which of these teams is one step away from becoming a playing team and what will that step be to make it to
the next level. Well, I think it's tough, right because you could easily just say Charlotte, because Charlotte's been a playing team, But boy, are they a disaster. We have no idea what's going on with Miles Bridges, whether he's ever gonna play basketball again, whether Gordon Hayward's ever gonna be healthy, how that whole thing is going to work
with you know, Steve Clifford coming back again. So I'm just gonna table all expectations for them, even though they've been in the play in not not that long ago, right, I think you have to say, Okay, what were the Indiana Pacers, who are very clearly rebuilding, trying to do this offseason? They were trying to get DeAndre Ayton. Can they still get DeAndre Ayton. Absolutely. Did it look like Ayton wanted to go to Indiana? Absolutely? Is it possible
in January for them to make that move? DeAndre Ayton wants it to happen. Yes, So I think that's the move. Like you look at Ben Mathern, you look at I know, Chris Dwarte. I know he's not gonna be like a starter necessarily, but this is a guy who can get you some buckets as well. You've got Hallie who's in the mix. Obviously Myles Turner probably not gonna be their long term, but you've got some pieces here, and I
think that they're really interesting. If you added them with Jalen Smith already to play for and then a guy like DeAndre Ayton who they have played together for Phoenix, I think then they're actually a team that could very easily get into the plan. But Ayden's not somebody that you can just pick up off the street. That's gonna be a big move that they'll have to make. But that's the move. That's the move that they were very clearly trying to do, and that's the move that I
think is still on the table for him. The last five teams Orlando Sacramento, ok See, Utah and Houston are all playing the same the game of the decade, Brick for Vic, Poot for Scoot, the specter of Victor wembin Yama is over all five of these teams' heads. What's the path out for this group? It's different for each team. Yeah, I think tanking absolutely still works and it's still going
to continue to persist. Right the lottery system changes it, of course, it makes it a little bit harder to just blatantly tank and get the guy that you want. But as long as there are these perennial or sort of like transcendent generational talents out there, which they will exist, Victor Wambanyama being one of them, Scoot Henderson being one of them. Like, if you can get him and you're not contending, then what are you doing with your life
if not tanking? Right, Like, that's the only option. You're either contending or you're tanking, And it's very difficult to be one of those in between teams. As a Portland Trailblazer fan, I know how that feels. It feels like going absolutely nowhere. Right, the team that gets Victor Wambanyama is going to change their franchise for fifteen years. Right, if he works out to be who we think he is going to be, that's gonna That's enough of a reward to take the risk of sort of destroying your
franchise for the short term. Right. And then in terms of like what the path out is, there really isn't one, right, Like, as long as Victor's on the board, there's no pathout, especially for teams like Utah Utah stacking up picks into perpetuity, just like Oklahoma Oklahoma City Thunder, Like that's Sam Presty's mindset is like all take picks till two thousand and ninety nine until my son's son is running this team, right, and Oklahoma City Thunder only the only real I guess
group that could potentially be out of the tanking conversation this year. But again, like if you could imagine a scenario with Victor, Wambanyama and chet on it, I don't even know how you could guard them. The reward, again, is still enough to take the risk, especially considering Shay seems very committed to being on this team. He's not going to ask out. Josh Getty's still very young. You're
shutting check down for the year. You've got some other young guns in the two Jalens, right, you don't know what they are gonna be, but I think that the only group you could say is very close to being a playing team. But they can always decide to tank at the very last minute, like they did last year, and that's proven to be very successful, fruitful and sort of flexible for for Oklahoma City. So I don't see
a path out for really any of them. Finally, who is the one player this year from this group that everyone needs to keep their eyes on? Hint, hint, it's not Palo ban Caro. To me, in this group, it's not close. And you could say, oh, you know, it's Paalo, right, and Pallo's Pallo's the easy answer, Let's be honest, Like, if you've never seen Paalo in person, which I'm sure all of you folks on the roundtable have, but it's like he was magnified one point eight size the times
the size of a normal human being. Right, He's not like a stretched out Victor Womyon. He's, of course a talent, that's someone you have to watch. But someone that's under the radar for me has got to be Josh Giddy, just a kid who's absolutely dazzled. He got shut down due to tanking. Of course, I believe it was a hip injury. But he's a star like He's got court vision that's impossible to replicate. He's a really elite scorer.
He's working on his jump shot now from deep with the San Antonio shot Doctor, which I think could really help him and SGA. Now that chat is out, I think all eyes are gonna be on him to have the ball. I think Giddy's gonna have a much larger role now that we know what he can do. And before he got injured, from November till February, he was the Western Rookie of the Month every single month. What's he gonna do in year two? You saw what he did in the Summer League. He's ready to absolutely ball.
He's my number one player out of this group to watch and keep my eyes peeled on. Just got time for a quick little story around the league. First and foremost, there is drama a brewing in Golden State. Jordan Poole has apparently been changing. He's been changing ever since he found out he was gonna make two hundred million dollars. Shocking could that be I got a Naudi Naudi Q five. I've been treating everybody different ever since. No, you can't
get in my audi. Take your shoes off. I knew it was gonna happen, he said to Wiggins right after they won it. All you're getting the bag. I am getting the bag. It's like, dude, you just want a title. You're talking about getting paid. And dra may not be getting the bag right because Pool is and Draymond's getting older, and he may be a little salty about it. But they were chirping back and forth. It escalates and then all of a sudden, Draymond says one of the five fingers,
say the face punch. Apparently there's some history between these two. You have to imagine that it's the Michigan and Michigan State rivalry. You know, these two teams hate each other right in college basketball. Pool is a Wolverine, Drey is a Spartan. There's hate there. And also, let's be honest, I hate to say it, but Jordan Poole, as much as I love him, is annoying. He's very very annoying when he wants to be. Does this matter in the
grand scheme of things? Will this affect their titles? Chances is Golden State on the brink of crumbling their dynasty. No, I would be shocked if it impacts them in any given way. But it is an interesting story, and I do love the tea, And in prior years I might have just bit on and held on to this and chewed on it and made something like a mountain out of it in order to try to find a way to hold on to the belief that Golden State wasn't who we thought that they were. But no, it's not
going to happen. As long as Steph has both hands and both ankles, and Clay is healthy and Draymond is healthy. Don't worry, Dubs fans, The Evil Empire will just keep on rolling, keep on winning titles. Moving forward, Lebron James, he is very interested in owning an NBA franchise. We know that. We know he's all about finding the right time. Cairos is his greatest strength. This is no secret, not even a little bit. However, news broke today in a
fascinating way. During a routine preseason news conference in Vegas, Lebron used a simple question about and expanding a team in Vegas to strong arm Adam Silver into giving Lebron the Vegas expansion team. Are you serious he said this? I would quote love to bring a team here at some point. That would be amazing. I know Adam Silver is in Abu Dhabi right now, but he probably sees every interview in transcript that comes through from NBA players.
So I want the team here, Adam. Thank you. Oh on the heels of Putin almost getting assassinated today, Uh, Lebron's a little to Putiny right now for his own good, Like right now how he's making demands of the commissioner saying he's going to own a team. You still are an NBA player that is active right now, Braun. You can't be overtly dictatorial to the commissioner of the NBA in your twentieth season. You have to be a little
more sneaky and sly than that. You can't just be over here invading the Ukraine and drafting two hundred thousand people into your army. You can't do that. You end up getting a potential assassination attempt while you're in your limo. That's how these things can escalate, Braun. You can't start immediate blitz to try to force Adam Silver into giving
you a franchise in Las Vegas. Of interest is immediately after Broun's presser, WOJ dropped a bomb that said the NBA wants to put its new TV rights deal and collective bargaining agreement behind them before any talk of an expansion expansion team, presumably in Vegas and Seattle happens, which probably means twenty twenty five is the earliest Wille new teams in the NBA. That'll give Lebron a whole lot of time playing with his two sons and doing more
putinesque strong arming. That's all the time that we have for the Heat Check. We'll be back Thursday, whatever it is for a new episode. Check out the feed for past episodes of the offseason. Please do not forget to download subscribe. Please tell your friends and follow us on social ad at this heat check and actress to Criick on TikTok, because the Heat Check, like you TikTok fans, never sleeps.