Dueling Dysfunction & Bad All-Star Voting

my man book starting All Star forward Andrew Wiggins. House Way, how has that.

deal with the Sixers for Ben Simmons. Okay, Woljes report is that the Kinks have quote unquote, ended their pursuit of a deal with the seventy six ers and turned elsewhere in trade talks, sources told ESPN on Friday, inside of two weeks until the February tenth trade deadlin, the Kings believe that the asking price for Simmons is too steep.

You guys are just hearing that. You guys are just getting that, and that the pathway to a trade agreement with the Sixers does not exist, sources said, shocking the Daryl Moury is still trying to fleece other teams to the point that even the Sacramento Kings are like, no, no, even we even we know this is not a good trade. Like the team that's the most dysfunctional, easy to fleece, like completely non organized, the worst franchise. Even they're like,

you know what, I think we're good. You go ahead and test the waters out for yourself. Embat is playing his bets basketball and that you would think would lead to a deal getting done. That's how you know you're asking price is way too fucking high. When the farm team laughs at you in the face, what we are

They're not doing that deal? You are straight tripping. And remember the Kings have lost five straight games and are desperate to move about everyone on their roster not named deer in Fox, and they still do not They're like, I do not care. Woach further notes the King's roster represented one of the Sixers' best options for a Simmons deal ahead of the trade deadline. Losing them in the marketplace somewhat diminishes the chance of an nd season trade.

Although the Sixers believe that there are potential avenues to find a deal in the next two weeks, they believe a lot of things. They do. They believe things that don't make any sense. I have been saying this for I don't even know how long now. This deal's not getting done. Like this is not happening. I don't know why we even consistently put news out. It's like it's like, uh, fodder for us. It's just like a little more so for us to chew on like a little baby sour

patch kids like, oh, it's like this is tasty. But this is not anything substantive. Nothing substantive is coming. What exactly is the path forward? Darryl Woach says his sources are saying that the Nets will quote unquote not engage with the Sixers in any way, shape or form on a deal for Harden. Uh okay, who's left. Well not an All Star, that's for sure. So if you're not getting Hardened and you're not getting Foxy, then who the

fuck you think you're getting. Mark Stein reports that NBA execs just don't even believe Daryl Moury is bluffing about keeping Ben Simmons. I can't find a team out here these days that believes Daryl Moury is bluffing about keeping Simmons past the deadline to a first, make what it sounds to outsiders as a rather hopeless attempt to convince

Simmons to rejoin the team for a playoff drive. Ah, that's not happening, and b more importantly, retain Simmons to offer him as the centerpiece of offseason trade pitch for the likes of Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Jalen Brown, and of course Brooklyn's James Harden in free agency. That would of course mean that those teams are actually interested in trading for Ben Simmons in the first place, let alone

trade their superstar forgetting him. They have shown less than zero interest in this so far, all of this means two things. The Ben Simmons drama is going to drag out into the off season and priction time, this Ben Simmons drama is going to drag out into February twenty twenty three. We are we have a whole more twelve months of this to go. The Kings are going to Also Also, what this means is that the Kings need to get very creative because they need to move Buddy

Healed for sure. He's been on the trade block for thirty six months now. It feels like we've been talking about them moving Buddy Heeled for as long as I remember. Harrison Barnes probably needs to go. Rashaun Holmes he seems like he's a likely candidate to go. But one thing I promise is if the Sixers ride Joel Embiid, the MVP of the league right now, into the playoffs and come up short because Daryl Mourray is too stubborn to

make the right deal. His ego is too big to go out of the trade line and get someone who can actually help you win games in key moments. I don't know. Maybe it's at this point one of those situations where you trade for Jalen Brunson. I mean, he's a good point guard. He's gonna get twenty million dollars Ben Simmons for Jalen Brunson and Alfred Peyton. No, what's his name? Reggie Bullock? Reggie Bullock and a first who says no, Ben simmons career will last longer in Philadelphia

than Darryl Morriy's. That's what's going to happen if he won't get a deal done and they end up losing some random fucking playoff series because they.

and they say it's real. Potentially that James Hardens hasn't had a great go since he arrived in Brooklyn thinks haven't exactly gone gone. How his mind's eye believe that they might be. What I do know, though, is this Chris Haynes broke some nose on his podcast that makes this entire scenario even more complicated. This is what he said. There's another player we're going to add to this dynamic

with James Harden. His name is Michael Rubin. For those who don't know, Michael Rubin, the Sixers co owner, is quote very very very good friends. All three of those varies are written with James Harden. Three varies very very very good friends with James Harden, which means they probably exchange texts all the time, probably talk on FaceTime video

all the time. And he says furthermore, I've been talking to a rival owner, talking to a rival front office executive who believes that there can be some talk right now going on between both sides. Rut Row. That's that's what we call dampering. That's dampering. Sh that's Dan Bring. That's against the rules. That's not okay, that's no, No, you don't do that. That's not what we do until February. No, No,

because what guess what that means, big trouble. It's like when my dog eats some random chicken bono the street. You know you're not supposed to do that, Emma, don't do that. That's a no. That's a no. That's a no. Rubin, that's a big no. You know, you're not supposed to talk to James about free agency decisions until July. And it's made it even worse because James Harden doesn't have an agent right now, which is bizarre on its own front.

So why is this a problem. Some front office executives, according to Chris Haynes, are prepared to, quote, when the time comes, if a deal does look like it's about to transpire where there could be a potential sign and trade in the off season, they are prepared to get the league involved on a potential collusion case dating back to what they think and believe it could be going on right now. You know why we're talking and hearing

a lot of people Philadelphia James Harden talk. I was told that there will be complaints issued to the league to try to investigate to see if there was any collusion. Yikes, last time this happened. Bulls Heat second round picks forfeited. Yup. So here's the bottom line. I don't think they're gonna get Michael Rubin's phone, first of all, I don't know how they're gonna prove this. Yes, Harden has a friendship

with Michael Rubin, one of the Sixers owners. Yes, James Harden has a pre existing relationship with Daryl Morey, who is his former GM in Houston. Yes, Harden does seem to be frustrated with the NETS organization. Can you blame him? Kyrie's never there, Kevin Durantz now out like he's fat. I don't know, But none of that means that James Harden is going a place I've been. Think to yourself, if you're an adult right now, and you're not a little kid listening to this podcast, how often have you

been frustrated with your employer? How often you're like, I'm gonna get the fuck up out of here, and then two, three, four years later you're like, fuck, I don't have a better place to go. That's the case here with my man, James Harden. So by definition, Wal's reported also that the NETS aren't even entertaining any offers for James Harden, despite the fact that Chris is convinced that there's a Simmons and Maxie plus picks deal for Harden on the table

that the Nets have said no to. So by definition, this means that Morey's only way to get what he perceives as the appropriate value for Ben aka a James or Dame or Beale or Jaylen Brown, it's gonna have to be in the summer. It's not gonna be in the next two weeks. But then Daryl Moury says that he thinks he has a deal on the table in the next two weeks, which means it's not James. So

it's very confusing. It's all very astounding, it's all very intriguing, and it's all smoke and mirrors, and that means Ben Simmons is probably not gonna play basketball for the foreseeable future. As we said about the Kings pulling out of any deal with Daryl, the Sixers are ten games over five hundred in an injury played east. There are two games

at a first place, which is fucking wild. Joe l Embiid is averaging over thirty a game the last ten games and single handedly is rescuing a dog shit season. I really do want to say this for for Sixer fans like I feel for you. I really would hate to see the Sixers get to a Game seven in the playoffs and you guys lose because you have a GM who is so arrogant and so egotistical, he just keeps spend Simmons on the roster for no fucking reason. Would hate to see it, would hate to.

thinks should be an All Star. I'm sorry to say, but it's just you don't even know what you're watching, you know what I mean? Clay is being voted for right now, like Kyrie is being voted for right now. Ben Simmons sitting out home wherever he is is being voted for right now. So how do I know that the system is broken? We live in a world in an era of positionalists basketball where Andrew Jehovah's witness, Wiggins can't get a starting spot on the All Star team

over Devin Booker. Let me say that again. We live in a world where when positions don't matter because you're gonna say, oh, well, Trista, Andrew Wiggins is a forward, Devin Booker is a guard. I don't give a fuck. We live in an era where there is positionalists basketball. You can roll out three guards. We already know Sacramento Kings do that shit all the time. We live in an era where Andrew Wiggins is getting a starting All Star spot over the best player on the best team

in the NBA. That's where we're at. Just pause, pause and think. Let that shit soak in. The best player on the best team in the NBA gets beaten out by the fourth best player on the second best team in the West. What are we talking about here? And Drew Wiggins and Drew Wiggins, the same Andrew Wiggins who carried the pressure for his entire career of being the number one pick in the draft, all those years in

Minnesota being dog shit. The same Wiggins who was traded at Golden State and everybody last year wanted to trade him when he was out here bricking shots in the play in game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Everyone hated Andrew Wiggins. People are like, this guy doesn't make any sense on this team. That guy right now is getting a starting spot over Devin Booker. Last year, when Steph was going nuclear, people were like, oh yeah, Wiggins, trade bait, trade bait, Yeah, yeah, yeah,

we can get a real wing. That guy who people don't even think is a real legitimate wing. Less than six months ago, that guy is starting over Devin Booker. I'm not saying he's not an All Star this year. E'X plained, well, but he's a starter. I'm happy for Andrew Wiggins, I am, but this is a gregious I'm saying there is no universe that Andrew Wiggins on any team,

on any place in any universe. I don't care if it's Mars, I don't care if it's somewhere where they only only suit up Jehovah's witnesses on their team, Like there is no place where Andrew Wiggins should get the start over Devin Booker. Let's talk stats or Luca or Chris Paul, Like there are multiple players who are better than Andrew Wiggins. Andrew Wiggins is like the twenty fifth best scorer in the West, twenty fifth. Let's talk about the stats. Eighteen four and two fine, defensive rating one

hundred and five to six. That's not anything crazy. Second lowest points per game he's averaged in his eight year career. If he wasn't an All Star, then why the fuck is he an All Star? Now? He's shooting forty one percent for three. That's respectable. Plus minus two forty seven for the year, pretty fucking good. But is he just because he's a forward quote unquote forward? Should he get

a starting spot over Devin Booker? Devin Booker. Devin Booker is averaging twenty five six and four and a half up in every statistical category he is again, let me say it again, folks, for the people in the back who didn't hear me. He's the number one option on the number one team in the entire league. And he's not a starter because Jaw Jaw is ballin' and because the world can't has their rose colored Steph Curry glasses on, and there's only two starting guard spots. That's where we go.

That's what we do. Come on now, all that to say, I'm fucking tired of this shit. Oh, Devin Booker, he is a good man. What a good man. There is no scenario in life where I get disrespected as much as Devin Brooker. And I don't say a thing. I don't start a riot like I would create a press conference, I would get a mob. I would be talking about this shit. He has been slandered his entire eight year career. People have been saying, oh, yeah, he plays up a

lot of stats, but his team doesn't win. Okay, and now it's like his team wins, but his stats, like his stats are kind of just the same.

a crime. I'm so mad about this. Luca, Luca is just like an afterthought because Devin Booker is so agreed, so egregious, because Luca's been injured. But Luca is averaging twenty five nine and eight, twenty five nine and eight. You don't think that big ass, six foot five dude could be a starting forward, he could be a wing. What are we talking about. There's no more disrespected star in the league than Devin Booker. They're just not It's not close. And you can tell it's outlandish because even

Monny Williams is out here cracking jokes about it. His quote says, I laugh every time I look at the All Star voting and I see guys ahead of Devin Booker on the ticker. It's a joke. It's ridiculous. You might say, oh, well, Dame Lillard, he was disrespect he was disrespected two years before he got in two it was it took Devin Booker seven years to get into the All Star and he had to be a reserve. It's what are we saying? And people are chirping him

to make my man. Tim McMahon tweeted, congrats to the twenty fourth leading scorer in the Western Conference. Yes, I get it, I get it. This is a weird voting system. Players voted Rudy and Draymond over him, media voted Draymond and Karl Anthony Towns over him. Only the fan voted him third. But hey, but hey, what's done is done. Wiggins is over the moon. Ha ha ha. Good for Wiggins. He cashed out on his points prop because I knew

he would the day he ended up getting announced. He said, I thought I was dreaming for a second.

out there. I just want to see him get the fruits of his labor. He's averaging less than he did in minutes. Stop. Maybe I should look at this differently. Maybe this is just a victory for lunch pale players like Andrew Wiggins, not stars. Andrew Wiggins is durable. He is put up with the lot. He's missed four games all year only for health and safety, which is hilarious because he didn't want to be vaccinated in the first place.

His career, he's only missed eighteen games, amazing. Klay Thompson says he's an iron man, which, to be honest, is not a stretch coming from a man who has missed two straight years. So Wiggins is now in forever a starter on the All Star Game. Congratulations to him. No one's gonna be able to take it away. But the only question that remains is when will Devin Booker get Andrew Wiggins level respect I am waiting, make it make sense, respectfully.

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