Scandals Surround Celtics and Suns

You're you're listening to the hottest, the hottest podcast out here.

I said what I said.

It's the heat Chet. It's just a crick.

Probably no bigger news in an off season that saw Kevin Durant, with four years left on his entire contract, tell the entire front office for the Nets to fuck right off and to provide an ultimatum to Josi, the owner of the Nets, to say it's either me or pretty much everybody below you. And then that standoff, and that standoff not be the biggest thing.

The biggest news.

By far was not Kevin Durant, it was not Kyrie, was not the Lakers, Boston Celtics suspending head coach e may You for the entire season for things we are not really clear about yet. To say that this news came out of nowhere would be an understatement. I saw Emi Udoka at summer League, asked him to come on the pod. He agreed to come on the pod in July, mid July, midway through this investigation, and no one knew he was walking around there, Freeman. No one knew what

Nothing. That was.

Two months ago. It was a beautiful September, full of tranquility. Boston looked great. They had pieces, Daniella Gallinari, Malcolm Brogden, They've got their entire rest of their team that they love coming back, Ema Udoka, reinvigorated, and then boo.

This is the bomb. This is the sound of the Wojes bomb. And it's just like that, he was gone, Just like that, it's over. You saw the report.

You saw the Boston Celtics come out with some random news conferences about how mad they were.

That random women were being accused of being a part of this salacious scandal.

And there are many details that have come out and rumors that I will not get into because I have no clue. I have done a little digging, but I don't know.

I have no idea. I have like three people who have kind of clued me in on the general sort of scope and.

Framework of how this went down, why it went down, why now, But I don't care to comment on that because it's a sad situation. And truthfully, I ride for my people from Portland, and I am not here to spread any dirty rumors about em Udoka because truthfully their second third hand and I don't know what is true. All I know is that Neilong is very messy going on TMZ saying that she was absolutely shocked and stunned and whatever other adjectives, going on.

And doing full on one on one interviews.

With TMZ in the middle of your husband or no, your fiance of seven years gang suspended for the year, probably his career getting just absolutely obliterated.

So the whole situation is.

Messy, but particularly Neolong getting involved very messy as well. What we do know though, is this Boston Celtics. I don't know that that many people are framing it like this, but they are on their third coach in three years.

Add that, and you add that to the fact.

Rob Williams, who probably would have won Defensive Player of the Year last year if he was completely healthy. He's now out three months at the very least before he can return to basketball activities. Rob had another knee surgery on the same knee that kept him out of some of the playoffs. He didn't like the way that his knee felt. Had to get another knee surgery, just like a couple of weeks ago, I think maybe last week. Add that to Danilo Gallinari, one of their pickups who

Hmmm, no.

Tries to get laren Naga, Jay Larenega to come back. This is how toxic things are being perceived. Brad Stevens personally reaches out to Jay Larenega, the former assistant who is the runner up to get Udoka's job, to come in be the interim head coach.

I would imagine ask them, hey, would you leave the Clippers to be the.

Interim head coach and return back to Boston to settle some of the shit down.

And his answer, I quote, I prefer to stay in La Nah. I'm good.

That's like when it really reminds me, because I would prefer to stay in La is about as classy as of an answer as you're gonna get, as gentle and and like, you know, I would prefer means that there's some sort of ambiguity about whether you have control of your decision.

Right.

It's like when the TSA agent I've got my little dog in her carrier and they want to see whether there's enough space inside the carrier for her. And they see her and they're like, she's growling at the TSA agent.

She's snapping at the.

Actual at her through the material and she's like, hey, could you open up the zipper and let her out so I could see her. I'm like, bitch, she will bite your face off. And I'm like, you know, I really prefer not to. I'd rather not. I'd honestly rather not. And for you, I think you should rather not too, Like that's the kind of I'd rather not.

That was add.

Another telling detail. Interim head coach to take em spot Joe Missoula, a Brad Stevens hold Over, one of the only ones left from his regime. Not Damon Stodemyer, not Aaron Miles, not any of Udokah's assistants that he's known his entire life, who has come over to help him build.

A championship caliber team in two seconds flat.

No, No, both were passed up in favor of a Brad Stevens Holdover. That about tells you everything, folks, that you need to know about what's about to happen to emy Udoka and the rest of his fucking crew. And I hate to say that, I don't want to make light of it. I mean, these are my guys. I am fucking heartsick over it. Just when we get some good things in Portland, just like twelve months, I could only get one season of Portland Pride. I was gonna

New I don't know thirty four year old head coach.

I mean he's he's literally younger than Al Horford. This guy, I mean, Al Horford's fucking old, but he's very young too. All a work in progress, and still with all of this drama, the Celtics are the odds on favorite to win the title.

Can you believe that plus five hundred?

Do they not know all this stuff? All the players were shocked. They heard the news when we did on social media. So to recap, top center out for the out for half the season, a guy who is critical for the defensive identity of this team. Another key rotation player out for the year, a new point guard who has a history of always being injured and kind of feeling like if he hurts a toenail, he's going to sit out a few games. A starting power forward who's just shy of forty so a lack of depth hurts

That makes all the sense in the world. Is it not.

Start getting ring sizes for Rob Williams, Like, figure it out, Malcolm Brogden, get your banner, get your championship party entourage ready. In all seriousness, I think it's gonna take a while for this team to get things together. I think that's saying a lot that they will get things together. Things couldn't have gone much worse than last year Towards the until the All Star break when they were one game shy of five hundred in January.

But boy, is there gonna.

Be tumult and a lot of questions And as more news reports come out, who knows what kind of shit continues to brew. If anyone rivals the Celtics for off season drama and organizational dysfunction, probably the Phoenix Suns, right, they set a record in the off season for a most amount of tweets by their fan base that just sent gifts of flaming dumpster fire at them. Let's face it, like you look up dumpster fire in the dictionary and Robert Sarver's.

Photo will be staring right at you.

The NBA suspends Phoenix Son's owner Robert Sarver one year after he gets accused by dozens of employees and former employees for every ism under the sun, every racial slur, every bit of sexual misconduct, every bit about Hey, how about you see my Michael Pennix junior. And he gets the same level of suspend as Eme Udoka is That does that feel weird to anyone?

Because it does every ism under the sun under the Sun's get it, And I don't know.

My first thought is shit, that's that's wild. That is not gonna fly though, folks in today's day and age, Adam Silver, what you doing, baby, what you're doing? I reached out to some friends like, hey, uh, what's going on in Phoenix? You hear anything about this Sarver suspension? How are people taking it? Had some very trusted media members, and they said, oh, and they live in Phoenix. Oh no, this is not the end. There's not even close to the end. And yet they said.

Oh, yeah, Sarvar's not gonna survive this.

And I'm like, really, it feels like he's got this audacity to stay put, even after Braun came out against him, even after Chris Paul came after it out against him, even Draymond Green, who had an amazing soliloquy about forcing the owners to take a vote.

Hey, y'all, let's see where you guys are at on it. Let's take a vote, see how you.

Guys feel about Robert Sarver continuing to be an owner of this league. But then sponsors start pulling their dollars. Then other owners of the Suns start coming forward. Then you've got the head, the new head of the NBPA, the union saying I speak for all players that this man cannot stay around this league and in a few short days could put Robert Sarver capitulates and he announces he's selling the team.

Since it's pr season.

Here is Robert Sarver's statement, and we'll decide whether it gets any comment.

As a man of faith, oh God, let me just let's start again.

As a man of faith, I believe in atonement and the path to forgiveness. I expected that the commissioner's one year suspension would provide the time for me to focus, make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love. Really, but in our current unforgiving climate, oh it's cancel culture, it has

Whatever good I have done or could still do is outweighed by the things I have said in the past.

For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the sun Sons and Mercury.

This is a man who seems.

Riddled with contrition, doesn't he He seems broken up about the whole thing. He seems ready to do the work, doesn't he. He seemed like he was ready to take the next year to really peel back the layers of why he's so racist, why he feels he can speak to women however he wants.

But he's not gonna do that now. He's just gonna sell the team. So it's us that lose.

It's us that lose because we try to cancel Robert Sarverar and instead he will not be canceled.

He's not gonna do the work. He's just gonna sell the team.

By the way, he's gonna sell team for like three billion dollars, so he'll be fine.

I'm sure he'll put all those dollars to work on.

Himself and bettering the communities that he has harmed. This is the third team in the last eight years, by the way, due to some sort of racial issues, have had to be sold.

It's almost like there's a it's like the problem, like there's a systemic thing.

It feels like maybe we should start peeling back the onion, start lifting up the hood on the rest of these guys.

See if anything else shakes out.

See if any rats come open, if you pick up those two by fours and see what starts scurrying out.

I think it's the best thing for everyone.

Honestly, you cannot tell me that this investigation didn't have a cloud over the Suns. I don't care that they were the number one seed. They started out slow, they went out with a bang to this Dallas Mavericks the beginning of their season had that cloud of Baxter Holmes's article looming over them and his problematic.

Behavior of Robert Sarver.

So turns out Sarver also still reaping the benefits or we are still reaping the benefits of him and DeAndre Ayton. Apparently Robert Sarver is the reason that DeAndre Ayden didn't get his max deal. Remember the Suns did everything but kick eight and out out the door until just snatching him back by matching the extension sheet by the NBA and Pacers. Eight, and of course was outraged, as you

I was told that it was Robert Sarver.

Who didn't want to give him that fifth year, he wanted to save money.

Oh baby.

My understanding from talking to people close to DeAndre is he thinks that this was Robert Sarver's decision as well the whole bizarre situation surrounding the team's treatment of Aton.

But it feels like it's starting to make a little more sense now.

Cheap owner who's probably gonna be forced to sell the team doesn't want to make any big.

Moves, so they decide we'll just see what everybody else wants to pay him.

Add this to the fact that Ayton has not, according to him, spoken to Monty Williams, the head coach, since Game seven. If you don't think that's weird, and I know people are trying to tell us this is the part of the gas lighting that exists. Like people are trying to tell us that's not weird. Oh yeah, it's like totally normal. As soon as you end the season, we just never speak again, not like hey, buddy, how you hold it up?

How is your summer going?

I don't know, like when summer League is happening, Hey, you want to grab dinner?

None of that.

They're trying to tell us that's not weird that I have to tell you. If that's normal, then the entire league is a little weird. Here's what Ayton said. You can just hear it for yourself. How you and Monni has kind of been have spoken?

Mooss? Have you and MONI been able to move?

Cuts him off. I haven't spoke to MONI looks at him dead in his face. Nope, continue you, No, I haven't.

Spoke him at all, never since the game. Nope, haven't spoke to him at all ever since that game.

So not even hoping that you're very good? I'm here.

Are you hoping that that changes? I'm here, You're happy to be here. I'm all right, I'm in between those lines.

And now I just works. You know, I'm not playing for myself.

You know I'm a hoping his iss across my chest.

I didn't go back and half you.

I'm just here to work.

Man. This sounds like a guy who's like, listen, I've got generational wealth come in my way.

Life's not that bad.

I grew up in Phoenix, but I can't stand these motherfuckers truthfully. And I know in January, when I get to choose whether I want to be traded or not, I can ask them to get me the fuck out of here if I want to. We'll see if Chris Paul wants to grind me down to dust between now and January, maybe I get my dipset mass out of here. You know what, I get that Sometimes you work for someplace and you get paid well, and you're like, it's they're so lucky. I get paid well because I can't

And now you've got Jay Crowder, the glue of.

This team, sitting out of training camp until he is traded because his starting role was in jeopardy. Safe to say there is a ton of murkiness about how good this Phoenix team can actually be the season, especially early on in said season. So now we have two playoff teams with serious dysfunction and serious ambiguity about what happens next.