On this episode of The Heat check.
Man.
The NBA season starts today. We will get into all final news coming out of training camp. We got some contracts, we have to discuss holy shit, what are the Houston Rockets doing eating up.
Into all our capspaces?
And of course we have to talk about the WNBA Game five Finals, the last Game five in w NBA Finals history.
Man, I was there, I was in the building. It was incredible. Vibes.
Anthony my man drop that motherfucking beat that should be Rhanna but obviously doesn't want to pay for the rights.
Let's go.
All right, I am talking to you when the actors blows what I think was one of the most dramatic series in basketball history. I think it was one of the most dramatic close out games in basketball history, even though the quality of the basketball was not that high. The Links versus the Liberty at Barclay Center, and do I have thoughts?
Oh yes I do.
First of all, every single game in the series, except for Game two, was just a sweat Game one will break them down one by one, Stewie blows a free throw to win the game. Link steals Game one in overtime, and there was just like all kinds of crazy stuff that happen, Like you had a violation in the jump ball, you had a trolley call that didn't get caught, which happens again. You then have Game three, Sabrina hits a game winning three.
From the logo nuts.
Last Sunday, you had the liberty taken out the Links in ot Every single.
Game though, was dramatic.
And a friend of mine, who by the way, is a huge Kaitlyn Clark fan, said he was happy that Kaitlyn Clark didn't make the finals because now we get to see all the glory of the WNBA without Caitlyn Clark being sort of hanging in the specter of it. Other players now get the spotlight, and my god, did one of them over perform while two of them fizzled in the linelight, Like isn't it FISA call you're the best player in the league. Like she was a star.
She was everything for the Links, not just in the finals, but throughout the playoffs. She had many forty piece chicken nugget meals, playing lockdown defense, unstoppable turnaround fadeaways. You had the footwork there, You had the cuteness factor for her kid who loves Sabrina just an absolute star and every metric you can measure. You have the fact that she's a former Yukon player going up against another Yukon player,
but clearly not the one that Gino loves. Watching her carry the links for long stretches was just in delight. I was a Game one, I was a Game five Bookends, and she was the best player on the floor in all five games. I don't think it was particularly close. John CuAu was also awesome, though. Breonna Stewart, though two time MVP, she was in prison.
Bro. She was in jail.
They had her locked up, Clink Clink, couldn't even make a phone call. She shot ten for forty, ten for forty when the Feasta guarded her twenty five percent from the floor, and that wasn't even the worst of it. Alana Smith, who is awesome, who's a matt walking medical wing, guarded her even better. She was not just the force that you would expect the player of her quality to.
Be in this series. Stewie was kind of wet, and.
I like Stewie and I don't want anybody sam mean shit Stewie or her wife, but like she deserves the criticism that a two time MVP would get. Then you got Sabrina Ynescu, who, by the way, I just love her, you know, as a duck, as somebody who went to Oregon.
I just I just love her. And she had a huge Game three to put the liberty into the driver's seat, hit that twenty eight foot game winner, but outside of that shot and then the three when they were tied up at seventy seven in game five, she was pedestrian. Game five historically awful, Like you need to just tell her. She knows. She even after the game said, listen, I got the A, but I didn't do anything.
On the group assignment.
She was one for nineteen from the field in a close out game one, one for nineteen, and there were people who were stumping for her before the series saying she should have been first team All WNBA over Kaylyn Clark. Let me ask you this, If Caitlyn Clark four years from now, three years from now is in the finals and goes one for nineteen, do you think that's not news on first take? Do you think that's not one
of the things that people talk about the most. Do you think that the criticism isn't louder for Caitlin Clark right now than it is for Sabrina.
I don't know. I think it is.
I think her reputation as a clutch player from the Kobe Disciple Tree has taken a hit in the series.
That kind of sucks.
She's my girl, like I want her to succeed. She had the Oregon Duck. Sabrina's on, come on, I want a roof for her. But she's been in a shooting slump since coming back from the Olympic break, and I think she's gonna need to figure out a way to cool off, rest, relax, and come back better. But the real issue, though, isn't that. Like, the real issue was the officiating, which was historically bad, some of the worst
we've ever seen. Rarely does anything unite in a Twitter timeline, but it was almost fully united that the Minnesota Lynks got fucked.
They got hosed by the refs.
They were up ten, should have been up twenty, and it was blatant. It was obvious the way that the referees not only let the Liberty come back but just gave them the game. Just giving Breonna Stewart two free throws with two seconds left to go felt like deja vu, Jesus Christ.
She was tiptoeing.
She was tapped dancing down the lane five steps before ever putting up a shot that got blocked clean by Atlanta Smith. And once you hit the ball, your downward motion can touch an arm. That's what the facts of the rules are, except for the Reughs decided they were gonna call it otherwise and give Stewie the shooting foul, which is immediately challenged because it was bullshit, And then it was upheld with the absurd proclamation that Smith was not in a legal guarding position. We don't even know
what that means. Stewie hits two free throws, shocking because she had been awful all night. She missed to in a row one time earlier that game. We go to overtime. Courtney Williams, who was atrocious in Game five, like really really bad, takes the first three shots of ot which she should not have been doing, gets benched. Minnesota shits the bed and that was that. Ooh, liberty or world chimps. They dropped the confetti. I saw camelon Aubrey Plaza going nuts.
Ellie drops it down low like her name was Cassie, right, on the court.
It's nuts.
The more you look at it, though, like you're like, man, the leaks got really fucked.
They really did caller in her career.
I saw this stat you know facts, she had never in her career shot more than eleven times in any game in college or the pros.
And not go to the line.
Game five, Nafisa Collier shot twenty three times, did not get to the line a single time, despite getting slapped in the face like her name was Chris Rock repeatedly. Liberty shot out shot, got the links from the line by a margin of six to one.
Oh my god.
You had numerous NBA WAA players coming out. You had Lebron James who said, I'm sorry, that wasn't a foul. Let the damn players dictate the outcome of the game. Damian Lillard refs called this game like they knew the assignment in the second half, boy, the assignment for those who don't really fully lock in on the w The assignment for my casual fans.
Is that the New York Liberty.
Owned by Joe Sai, co founder of Ali Baba, in a massive market in a city that is the center of the United States, in the like basically in our universe needs to win one.
The gotta have it.
We need we need the big market teams to win them.
And by the way, cute.
Little Minnesota Lynx, you're cute and all.
Small mark, but you've won enough.
You've taken the league by storm in a period where no one gave a fuck. Right now, we got a give it to the city. There was beeping cars, you had people screaming. Anyway. Tiffany Hayes Aces WNBA six Man of the Year, six Player of the Year, whatever, six Women of the Year tweeted, y'all like the travel I tell you what. The low key amazing storyline in this is how much the Aces hate the Liberties guts like they really do. They're like, you guys are a food
gaisy super team. You guys don't even like each other. Remember twelve months ago when the Aces win the whole thing. Kelsey Pum's like, yeah, they're not a real team, you know, They're just a collection of random players. They don't even fuck with each other like that. They have beef. There's real beef going on here. Thousands of others joined in. It was just unanimous choir, a chorus of anger and
frustration and this is fucking bullshit. You had people breaking down the fact that the WNBA commissioner came to the arena in it literally a scape eight eight. She had the whole skyscraper of New York on her dress. The entire dress was the skyscraper of New York City. I'm sorry. Was there also a second dress that had like the Twin Cities on it? Was that?
Was there? Saint Paul? Did you have a Saint Paul dress ready to go?
No? She didn't. She who comes with the city of New York plastered on the dress? Sidney Coulson decided she was going to put that on Instagram her also in that same dress, trolling Kathy Engelbert Cheryl reeves after the games, like, Yo, I don't care what anybody says. I don't care if I get fine. That shit was stolen from us. Have you ever heard a coach blatantly say that. They'll say, no, there was some bad calls along the way. We could have played better down the stretch. The game's not decided
by one call here or there. No, she said that shit got stolen from us. She didn't even get fined.
They're like, yeah, we did. Steal that.
It was like Debo in Friday, Like, you know, Minnesota Lynx, We'll just share this title. We'll just keep it at our house, you know what I mean. Like it was like, this is my fucking bike, this is my trophy. WNBA finals though were lit, a lot of people were talking about it. The fact that people were talking about it
and the controversy kind of makes it more exciting. And guess what, less than twelve hours after Barkley's clears out, the WNBA Players Association said, you know what, We're opting out of your collective bargaining agreements and now we have maybe a workstoppage on our hand, we have a negotiation on our hands.
Player salaries will go up. How high they will go.
Up remains to be seen. But I want max players making a million dollars.
That's what I want.
Cash that, Caitlin Clark ticket ladies, is time to make five x what you were.
Making just a year ago.
Cannot wait for next season because guess who's coming.
Page Backer's Pagebackers.
Page Becker's page backer is gonna get even fucking more exciting. All right, Before we get into the actual NBA major injuries, transactions we got a little news from around the league. Paul George, who lets face it, I did not think would be a good podcaster, and he proved me to be wrong. He just said, at least two or maybe three.
Fan base is on fire. What did he say?
He said, I've been on teams where the culture just wasn't there, and when that happens, no matter how much talent you have, it just doesn't click. Like Indiana, towards the end, I was mentally checked out. I felt like the front office wasn't doing enough to make the team competitive. So when I was told I'd be playing the four after dealing with injuries, that just added to it. I wasn't mature enough at the time to separate myself from that. It led into the locker room, and I wasn't the
vet I should have been. If everyone is in the line, it isn't gonna work real quick. I interviewed Paul George that year before he left, like maybe three months before, and he said he wanted to be a pacer for the rest of his life, For the rest of his career. He said, I want to die a pacer. I want to retire a pacer. Bro, you're talking about I was mentally checked out. Paul George lied to me. He lied to my face. What that's what I took from that quote.
I don't know about what you guys did from that quote, but I'm like, yo, I was lied to.
Just blatantly lied while he was eating skittles, chilling on a like velvet couch at the All Star.
Game in New Orleans. I want to.
Say, anyway, so obviously he named Indy, but was he also talking.
About Oklahoma City?
The Clippers? All three don't leave us hang in PG. We need receipts, we need names, we need what else was going on? We need details. There's a lot of Okase fans on Reddit right now who are seething. I assume the way that things ended with La, Clipper fans shouldn't.
Be happy either.
So like Sixers are the only team, we don't know whether the culture is there or not. And a year from now, I'm sure Philly fans will take this very rationally and very logically, very gently, considering that they're one of the more patient fans, one of the more rational fans on Earth.
I'm sure when he.
Slumps or gets hurt again, they will be supportive of him, they will come to his defense. Gross, this shit is going bad. This is gonna go left fast in Philadelphia if he doesn't stay healthy.
Anyway, let's move forward.
Anthony Edwards moving making news again, and this time it's not about basketball. He said this to CBS Sports. I told my buddies, if I win a ring in the next three to four years, I'm gonna play football. Excuse me, what, ant Man, You're a phenomenal athlete. I love the starting five on Netflix. By the way, get a bigger house. You're a max player. Now, also pack your own clothes. I've covered the NFL for twelve years. I've interviewed hundreds
of players. When I say you don't want Fred Watt Warner laser sighting your ribs as you stretch for a pass over the middle, I am saying you don't want that. Like you want contact, you want physicality. You want that in the NBA because they've got a limit. There is no limit in football. You are a superior athlete, but the NFL is another level. Levonte David, Oh my god, licking his chops. Max Crosby, the first time you get chucked by Jordan Whitehead, you will be laying out hoping
you can get back to Minnesota anyway. He said, if I was in the locker room lifting weights like y'all, you'd be toast. Dude.
They all lift like that every day. You wouldn't be unique.
You would just be ripped more ripped.
Stick to basketball. Your body's gonna thank you for it.
Moving forward, Joel Embiid and the Sixers announce that he will be undergoing load management this year, and he said, I'm never planning back to back ever again.
Wow, he said the quiet part out loud.
We knew it was kind of coming, but no one really like said an anything about it, except for Kevin Durant, who said quite a lot about it.
Fucking job calls for you're not practicing, You're not even playing a whole fucking you don't playing the summer like you see. If you're playing in the summer, you on the playground. You went to the Olympics, then his training camp, y'all do thirty days about fucking tour days. Okay, that's when you get rest. Man.
I don't want to hit that shit.
Man, I don't want to hit none of this shit.
Eighty two games, his.
Eighty two games, KG tell him tell him how you feel if you're healthy, Joel and Bid, you need to play games.
People.
The MB's at forty two.
He just tarned thirty.
It's not unrealistic to be like, hey, I want to pay money to see the player that I've come to see, which is Joel MB. I'm not here to see a broken down Andre Drummond.
That's not what I'm trying to see right now.
Also, he's making fifty one million a year to play what sixty games? Sixty games is gonna be a lot for MB to even make. MB will never win an MVP ever again. Once he got his MVP, that sixty five game rule came about, we now know he'll never be in contention for it ever again. All Right, we alla look at the final entry report. Everybody knows that Kawhi isn't going to start the season with the Clippers as he rehabs his injured knee. There's no timetable for
his return, which is danger, danger, danger danger. I feel they should trade him. A lot of people think that's a rash decision. I don't think Kawhi Leonard will ever be healthy again. We know that his injury is degenerative. You also lose your first round pick to OKC Thunder, So maybe you want to try to get a first round pick in this year to a contender. I don't know Cooper Flag though. By the way, to okay se would break the internet. But it's not all bad news.
You do open the into it Dome this week. You got a new Clippers fight song composed by Hans fucking Zimmer.
You got a new logo.
The man who scored Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Interstellar. Pretty much every dope movie in the past forty years has now been hired by Steve Balmer to write a Clippers song and it will debut on opening night. Expect a TikTok for me breaking down that shit.
In Denver.
Jamal Murray not surprisingly still not healthy. Michael Malone says that Murray's nee started to feel funny, and if there's one thing designed not to make Michael Malone laugh, it is more Jamal Murray knee information. He was spotted late last week with a big old ice back wrapped around his knee. Not a great sign. Not a great sign. Also, Michael Malone said the league has gotten so soft. Everyone's afraid to condition and run while we have to. By
the way, who is he talking about. I don't know, I need to know, but also maybe not Jamal Murray. Jamal Murray honestly will be the main catalyst for how this Denver Nuggets teams goes. I have no idea if there. If he is not healthy, they are fucked. They are so fucked. They are like Lakers when Ad and Lebron
are both out fucked. Yokic can get you a lot of wins, a ton of wins, but without that closer guard Jamal Murray, who's a big bodied guard, you are so toast compared to a team like Minnesota, compared to a team like ok See, compared to a team like the Dallas Mavericks who just added players as well, You're like, they need to sort that out right now. On the other side of the coin, Lonzo Ball returned for the first time in nearly one thousand days. God, I remember
when he went down. His basketball IQ still off the charts. He had a great slash line eleven three and three. I just love this for Lonzo. I really hope it works out. I really hope he's fully healthy. I really hope he helps the Bulls and gets the fuck out. I really really hope that he turns his career around because he deserves it. He's a nice guy, He's worked really hard. He was one of my favorite players when he ended up turning his career around.
Anyway.
Out in New York, it was announced that Mitchell Robinson will definitely not be back before the new year, which makes Precious a chewiest strained left hamstring a bigger issue. Now imagine if they didn't trade for Cat, what do they have? They don't have anybody. It would have just been Julius Randall at the five are we are you serious? Kat's back out now, get back up? Will now be
out as much as four weeks, maybe longer. And the man who said all this chaos and emotion, Isaiah Hartenstein, also small fracture in his left hand.
He will not be a reevent evaluated for six weeks.
Can you imagine if they had our Ziah Hartenstein on this team too for the next.
Like, what do you even have? Anyway?
His return might take as long as late December. Major blow for a team that everyone's going to be chasing if they're healthy.
Okay, so that's the injury news.
We got a ton of rookie extensions that all happened on one day in the week leading to tip off, because they had to do it. Decisions had to be made by I believe the twenty first.
Let's start with the most surprising signing.
All the chatter said that it was going to be unlikely to come to fruition, and boyo, boy did they need it. If they wouldn't have done this deal, Denver would have been on fire. The Denver Nuggets signed Aaron Gordon four years, one hundred and thirty three million dollar max extension, keeping a key piece on the roster alongside Yokic until nearly the end of the decade. They had to do this. You lose Ken Tavious Caldwell, pope, you
lose Bruce Brown, you lose Jeff Green. You could not afford to have this entire thing weighing over the season. Gotta keep Yoka chappy. He doesn't even want to play basketball in the NBA.
Folks. If he's not happy, nobody's happy.
Gordon is a super underrated player.
I am so happy he got his shedder.
Out in Orlando. One of the players that Jerry West hated the most. Actually, by the way, Jalen, not like as a personal standpoint, but just in terms of his game, turned his season, turned his career around. Last season, Jalen Suggs signs a massive five year, one hundred and fifty million dollar rookie contract, meaning they Orlando is locking down their core of Wagner, Paolo and Suggs for the foreseeable future. He was a really good defensive player last year, ended
up on the All Defensive Team. He was getting at least a steal a game. Now he stays at Orlando, Definitely, I think if he can improve his offense, he can turn into like a Drew Holliday type player. So I really like that for them, Hawks made a very smart move getting Jalen Johnson for the super cheap five years, one hundred and fifty million dollar rookie extension. If there's one young player I could bring to my team, and if I'm the GM, that's Jalen Johnson. He is so
freaking good defensively. I like his size, I like pause, I like his ability to score. He had a breakthrough year last year. He averaged sixteen eight and four. He had two stocks per game. And now he gets money. He gets paid by the end of the season. I think he's probably top four top ten forward in the league, and he was playing on a trash ass team. Mind you,
big things ahead for Jalen Johnson. He's probably the only real asset that the Hawks have on this team, so and probably also the only untradable chip in the Hawks basket as well. A few years ago, if you would have told me the Trey Murphy of the Pelicans would be signing a four year, one hundred and twelve million dollar rookie extension, I would have given you the side eye.
But damn, my man earned his money.
Fifteen to five and two last year under thirty minutes game. Come on second straight year of outstanding per thirty six numbers. Now the Pedals get to keep them for four more years. What are the New Orleans Pelicans?
Though?
I need to know, just a collection of players that I have no idea if they fit together. But I do know that Trey Murphy is an important piece, even if he is out in the first three weeks of the season with a tight hammy. Another deal a lot of people thought was not gonna happen ended up happening.
A lot of people were like.
Oh, they don't like him. They don't like him in Houston, and I was like, settle down, okay, relax. Alperin's Shane Goon has become a killer down in Houston. Pen to paper five years, one hundred and eighty five million dollars. A lot of people thought that was a huge number, but actually that's cheap for him.
Let me explain to you why.
Last year Shangoon posted up three hundred and seventy six times and was double teamed two hundred and eighty nine times. Seventy seven percent of the time shanng Goon was double teamed in the post. That is more than Joel Embiid, more than Julius Randall, more than Anthony Davis, more than Victor Wemenyama, more than bam Adebayo. He only trails Jannis
and Jokic. In other world words, the rest of the NBA knows this dude is a menace, and so do the Rockets, and now they get him on a much cheaper deal than they would have had to get him next off season. This one is surprising. This one is a little shocking. What are the Rockets doing with him? Rockets just made history by extending Jalen Green to a three year, one hundred and six million dollar contract. Those numbers are not what makes it particularly unique or surprising.
The fact is it's the first two plus one rookie extension ever, which means the third year for Jalen Green is a player option, which means if he's progressing the way that he thinks he is, he can opt out and test the market for that huge contract he thinks he deserves. He is the first G League Night signing. Now that makes history again, and that.
May set a precedent for rookies going forward.
I know, once I saw that I would not stop for anything short of a walkiear player option for me. Another rookie extension dimension Golden State Moses Mody three years, thirty nine million dollar extension. We've got Golden State snapping up rookie Moses Mody. Moses Moody three years, thirty nine million dollars probably gonna be the biggest bargain in the rookie class. But guess what, like that's there, that's literally what Golden State.
Was doing by keeping him.
On the bench.
You don't even know what he is.
We have no idea how good Moses Moody is because of the logjam in front of him, and so they snap him up at a discounted rate that they've created by keeping him off the floor. If I was his camp, I'd be fucking pissed. I want out of there. Boy. He has shown patience and when given a chance, he's shown upside. But I don't think I want to be there. I don't know how I'm gonna get playing time to get a bigger next contract if i'm him.
Also interesting, very interesting.
Jonathan Kaminga, the other rookie from that class in Golden State, who has even more upside than Moses Moody, is not signing his rookie extension, and I think that's probably from the Clutch camp, not from the Golden State camp. That is worth keeping an eye on because they reportedly offered him thirty million dollars, but they did not offer him the max in Memphis. Here's another thing to know about Kaminga. Kaminga thinks he should get paid like Siakam. Excuse me,
he's about of there. They This is something to monitor.
Remember when Golden.
State went big game hunting, who was the trade chip that they dangled out there? Jonathan kaminga They don't want to pay him. They don't want to pay him what he's worth. He thinks he's worth Kawhi money. This is one of those rare scenarios that we have to watch all season long because it's gonna be something that Golden State might end up making a move on. If they don't want to give him his money in the offseason,
which they don't, where could he go? He would be an awesome addition to a place like Denver, but they can't afford him. Maybe like a Michael Porter junior for kaminga kind of a thing, and Denver could give some assets alongside.
With It's it's fascinating.
Also, remember he had that little beef with Steve Kerr said Steve Kerr wasn't the right coach to develop him, and then Steve Kerr got an extension and now Kaming doesn't have his money. In Memphis, Jaron Jackson was eligible for three years, one hundred and six million dollars.
They couldn't get a deal done for him.
Corey Kispert four years, fifty four million dollars for him Woo, which is a sign is the one the Wizards like him, and two the Wizards have to spend some money to get past the salary floor. Thirteen million into Corey Kispert. Why not.
That's a lot of golf, a congressional for him. Why not?
Mavericks signed Jaden Hardy to a three year, eighteen million dollar rookie extension after his second year he was very polarizing. Another G League night guy. Now he's averaging eight points a game. He looked really good in the playoffs. He contributed. Remember he was a guy that we liked in the pre draft process and had to go to the G League because listen, you're playing.
With Luca, you gotta kind of have your mind right.
So that's fascinating, really good pick up to get him for three years, eighteen million. Another guy not getting a rookie extension, Bones Island. People don't like him. He seems to be very unpopular wherever he goes. He's going to be a restricted free agent after this year. A couple of other roster moves that I did like. The Grizzlies signed my favorite rookie is he my favorite? He's one of my favorites. He's like a pet Yuki kywer Mura two way contract. Putting him on the opening day roster
who he's literally two inches taller than me. Can you imagine me out there just throwing dimes to Zach Edy, five seven Japanese national playing alongside seven four Zach Edy, only the ninth NBA player under five to eight since nineteen seventy six. Also fan favorite Matt McClung two time NBA All Star Dunk Contest champion two way with Orlando giving him his first NBA roster He played a lot of G League minutes in order to get here. Matt mcclungo has a good story and also, let's be honest.
Let's be honest. Let's be honest.
Adam So called Orlando and said, listen, we need this boy back into the dunk context.
And he said he's not doing it unless he's on an NBA roster. Finally, my favorite NBA roster move.
Following Isaiah Hartenstein's injury, which we talked about earlier, the Thunder just signed his replacement stretched for Alex Reese. Reese played four years at Bama, went undrafted, became a bartender, then decided to try and make a career out of basketball again. Worked overseas, went to the G League, before getting caught up and getting called up from OKAC. Fascinating story. Happy he's getting a shot. Although it is not a
guaranteed deal, he will get his minutes. That is all the time that we have for this episode.
He checked.
NBA season starts today. Holy shit, that offseason came fast. Come back later this week for an all new episode. Check out the feed for past episodes and many episodes was dropped unexpectedly like the.
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