On this episode of This League, we discuss the shocking news, as Marty would say, one of the worst hot seats ever. We talk about how the Clippers are basically like a fine piece of china. We detail this year's most surprising team, which is the New York Knicks. I just like calling the Clippers fine China, and we get back to answering
some more. Listener DMS Meyers Leonard saga. As everyone knows, he got suspended during a Call of duty live stream for saying an anti Semitic slur, leading him to get fined and suspended by the league. He just was never going to go back to the Heat after that, no way. Miami traded him and a second round pick to OKC for Trevor Ariza, and that brings immediate help to the Heat, but it also got rid of a nightmare PR situation for the team, and Miami does not like PR issues.
Does not solve an issue for Meyers Leonard because OKC made it very clear as soon as he got traded, we are not bringing him to the team. He will never suit up in an Okay see jersey. He's not even coming to the city. Like it's just we just needed to match salaries and sorry, Meyers Leonard, you go out of a job now. They said. Leonard will not be an active part of the Thunder moving forward and will not report to oka See. How toxic are you that in a trade that amounts to an Aresa's salary dump.
Okay See immediately issued a press release that said that the guy that you just traded for will never ever ever suit up for your team. Hey, folks, fan base, I know that you want to know why we trade for Meyers Leonard. It was just a formality. And the craziest part was that Leonard had to wave his no trade clause in his contract just to be traded to a team that declared, no, we don't want him, not now, not never, no way, no way. What does that mean?
That means that the Heat had too strong arm Meyers Leonard into doing that, because if I was Meyers Leonard be like, no, I'm not true, I'm not waving my no trade clause. Who does that? And they were like, we don't want you. Either we do this the easy way or we do this the hard way. Kid in the draft pick that the Heat sent to OKC, this is great. A twenty twenty seven second rounder, which means that they just took Meyer's letter contract in exchange for
a mediocre eighth grader. That's crazy. The only funny thing about this whole trade is that the OKC thunder now have nineteen first round picks or swaps and sixteen second round picks in the next seven years. Rumors are flying around, dirty, nasty, unadulterated rumors. A team that's fifth in the West way out performing their circumstances. They probably should be eleventh in the West based on what's going on, and now they're
getting players back healthy. And on the eve of CJ's return, we had a bombshell story dropping that Yes, Terry Stotts is rumored to be on the hot seat.
Say what, Yeah, I mean, like you said, I don't really agree with it too much. I understand there's definitely some issues with his defensive coaching and stuff like that. I just think there's so few coaches in the league that can win despite their circumstances, and he's proven to be one. And I do think were he to were he to be let go, he would be swooped up insanely fast.
Yeah, I think that that's right. That I think the Western Conference Finals appearance speaks volumes about Terry Stott's ability to use scrubs and turn them into something. But the reason is simple. The Blazers currently are scoring one hundred and fifteen points per game, and they're giving up more consistently. They ranked twenty ninth in the league in team defense. I would say that's not good. How bad is that The Blazers one hundred and sixteen point three rating is
the third worst in the history of the NBA. I don't know why that's so funny, but it's terrible, only trailing the twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen Calves at one hundred and seventeen point six and this year's Sacramento Kings at a hundred eighteen point eight. And if you think that this is an anomaly, this is just a one off in a pandemic year. They were twenty seventh in the
league last year. In Statt's career, he's ranked in the bottom half in seven out of the nine years, and the bottom quarter four times out of the nine years. But what's really interesting is this article. Jason Quick talks about that the Blazers spend eighty five percent of their film study and practice on just defense. Besides Tom Thibodeau,
I've never heard of such a thing. Never. All of this to say, Quick points out that there are rumblings the ownership is unhappy and there is a tense backdrop to his future in Portland. He's got one year left on his deal, and it should be noted that the Blazers did not pick up in extend Terry Stotts in this last offseason. So yes, things are a little tense.
Despite his team outperforming in the bubble this year. If he doesn't fix the defense, there is a rumor that there is a quote unquote really good chance that he gets the boot. I like Terry Stotts. I do, so does everybody else, Dame CJ. Nurk cancer all Rave reviews. But the question is, does Terry Stotts know anything about defense? Does he know how to teach defense? Does he know
how to implement defense? If you spend eighty five percent of your time on anything and you're still second worst in the league at that thing, maybe you're not any good at that thing. That's something to evaluate. Let's talk about Scotts's defensive ratings over time. He was twenty fifth in the league and twenty twelve, sixteenth in the league
and twenty thirteenth. He's only had two good years in twenty fourteen and twenty seventeen, twenty second in the league, sixteenth in the league, seven twenty seventh in the league, twenty ninth in the league. Yikes. So the Blazers defense is just trash as we know. But the good news is what the Blazers can fucking score a lot of points a ton. We are not just good at offense. This is great and it's about to get even better
with CJ coming back. Harry Giles is coming back and he can also play some defense, and within a couple of weeks, Useuf Nurkic is coming back. If that man can play tough, we will be a tough out. This team is exciting. Marty Carmelo Anthony, Can we talk about Carmelo Anthony for a second? Jesus Christ, can we.
Talk about him? Yeah? I want to talk about him.
On that game that I bet, I bet on the Hornets and that was just a terrible, terrible bet. In that game, he had twenty nine points, five steals, two blocks in thirty minutes of action. Here's where I remind you that he was left for dead, picked up for table scraps, no one wanted him, and now he's averaging fourteen, three and two and can give you twenty on any night. Eleven times he scored twenty or more points this year.
Do you think Marty Carmelo Anthony could be our league sixth Man of the Year.
I think he'll be in the conversation. I think Clarkson is playing too well and that team is playing two well. I think he's probably the one that's gonna get it. But yeah, I mean, Mellow is doing what a lot of people thought he would never be able or willing to do. He adjusted to a role and he's adjusted
to it awesomely. And you know, maybe he needed, you know, the entire league to call himselfish and criticize him like that so that he realized that he needed to, you know, kind of change the way he plays, and I think he had. He doesn't look like Nix Carmelo at all.
Right now. You know, Carmelo reminds me a little bit of Tiger Woods Elite. At one point in time, massive egos thought that they were a certain kind of player. Father time got to them. Injuries obviously got to Tiger and then all of a sudden, the game gets snatched away from them. And then when they're allowed to come back, they come back a different, happier, more grateful player, just outperforming what anybody would possibly think that they could end
up doing. And he's thirty seven and we got him. Portland got him for two point six million dollars a year. Do you know Luke Canard, La Clippers wing guard combo Esque is making almost ten times that amount Luke Cannard, who's averaging six point seven points per game. What a steal. Melo has played for four different teams in four years. This crazy Nick's OKC Houston, Portland and the world. Like you said, Marty said, he would not be able to
accept a smaller role. Nbagm said, Carmelo, you can't have him on your bench because he's going to want to play more than you can play him for your team's success. And it's just not a good look. And now what we're seeing is Mellow committed to this role that is one of the biggest, I would say, the biggest keys to the Blazers winning games, especially when Dame goes cold. Yeah, when Dame has an off night, Melo just picks up the slack. He is still a bucket at any given time,
a bucket five steals in a game. When did we ever see Carmelo play defense like that? That was his knock, right? He does not play defense?
Oh yet? No, totally. I didn't watch that game. I don't know how he came in those five steals, but that's definitely a statue head scratcher for sure.
Who would have ever thought that the Blazers would have a plethora of capable wings? Not me, not me. When we had Evan Turner, I was like, can we just get one wing? I was happy to have Trevor Ariza last year. I was like, yeah, I mean he can do something, he can defend. Now we've got Covey mellow Hood, Derek Jones Junior, and now there's a rumor that the Blazers might go and get Aaron Gorton. What do you think about that?
I guess that improves the defensive problem quite a bit. I would like it. I kind of like that fit. I kind of like that fit with good guard play like that would open him up a little bit more and he's he's shooting better this year, I believe. Yeah, if y'all could pull him. Yeah, that'd be great.
I think that makes us immediately in the mix. Right. I don't know if that's gonna happen, because the Timberwolves are trying to get everyone. They've got a plethora of assets and picks to trade. But all of that to say the Blazers are gonna score. We've got problems on the defensive end, and unless they play so some sort of defensive scheme, the only path forward for them is
just to be the Western Conference Brooklyn Nuts. Just shoot from everywhere, never miss, go fifty eight percent from three and sixty nine percent from the field, score one hundred and forty in hoping your opponent doesn'tcore one hundred and
forty one, which is exactly what happened Tuesday. Did you see that game where the Blazers beat your your boys Pelicans down seventeen five minutes and fifty seconds left in the game, and the best clutch player in the NBA just took over, did not miss from two, did not miss at all from two, did not miss a free throw. It's insane. Three for five from three, three for three from two, five or five from the free throw line to assist three rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.
Those also the fourth quarter Pelicans attacking their known to blileaves like that.
Yeah, Pelicans game, though, does underscore what I would consider the biggest problem going forward. The Blazers in the last five games have given up one hundred and twenty one points per game during that same stretch, Nets have given up one hundred and nine, So Nets defense shoring up Blazer's defense becoming a sieve. So I'm worried. I'm not just worried for the Blazers, Marty. I'm worried that if
this doesn't get fixed, it might be time for a change. Sorry, Terry might have to go expensive, beautiful and highly fragile. I'm talking about the Clippers. Yes, I am. A lot of news coming out that the Clippers having lost four of seven, they got lit up by a bad loss to the Pelicans, and Kawhi Leonard was very concerned. The news is that he went on a rampage on his team, which is just kind of impossible to imagine. Yeah, uh,
Kawhi lnt As. I like to call him the guy that has the least energy in the NBA, the guy that they literally make commercials about being a Cyborg is telling teammates, listen up, guys, it's time. The time is now. I don't know what he said. I don't know what a motivational speech looks like from Kawhi Leonard, but I imagine it's like very monotone. It's like being lectured by a tax accountant because you're just spending a little too free. I just don't think.
I mean, his merch is in time. It's new Romans, So that tells.
You everything exactly. So what did he say, Marty, What was Kawhi's quote?
Yeah, okay, the quote was, I'm very concerned. Do you want to have it checks at anything. You've gotta be consistent nights where energy is not there. It's all about consistency. That is what makes a team great.
That monotone, even if it was monotone and oppressor. I mean, that's facts. When you don't feel like competing, you still need to do what compete. Fucking compete every single night. That's what your job is, and that's what Kawhi Leonard does so well. I think that's the difference between mediocre players and really really great players. Players that do not want to play still show up and compete. Unlike Paul
George just gets cooked, cooked by Luca cooked. He fell on his ass two nights ago, three times fell to the ground anyway, just a pandemic. Pe became a trending topic again last night. So I just felt like I would bring that up. Clipper's very Clipper's very inconsistent, and I would say I am concerned. But the world says, trist Everything's gonna be okay. This team has an amazing roster. They can d up when they want to. They've got Paul George and Nebaka and Kawhi Leonard, and when they're great,
they're really really great. When Kuhi and PG are clicking, this is crazy. They have a net rating of plus sixteen and a half, which is the best in the league among duos who have played five hundred or more minutes together. That's crazy. When they're clicking, they're clicking. So yeah, you think, oh, they're gonna figure it out. But that's what we said last year. We just assumed that just because you have these pieces, that everything's just gonna work
out on its own. That's not how it works, just facts. That's just not how it happened. Remember what ended up happening was like, Oh, yeah, it's fine, it's fine, They're gonna be the Western Conference. Who knows, whoever comes out of the West is gonna win it all. Blah blah blah blah blah. And then you had pandemic pe hitting off the sideboard, blowing a three to win lead, not scoring at all in the fourth quarter. That's what happened. So you just can't say that things are gonna be fine.
I don't know. I think I'm just a little bit cynical, Marty, because the world and the media tells me I'm gonna be fine, when everything that I see and read tells me things are not gonna be fine. I'm sorry. I'd rather be a pessimist and be wrong than being optimist and be disappointed, because there are real problems. Lou Williams one of the great six men in the league's thirty four, and his production just fell off a cliff. He went from eighteen three and six to twelve two and four. Yikes.
And then they decided they were gonna pay this guy, Luke Canard casual fans do not know him, do not know him. He was on the Detroit Pistons had half of a good year and then the Clipper said, yeah, we'll pay a twenty million a.
Year come to la which was so weird because they traded for him and he had one more year left on his deal and they decided to just extend him.
Why would they do That's it?
They figured he was going to outperform it and be worth more. But that was wrong.
That was very wrong. Here's the thing. You're on the Detroit Pistons. Your production should be fucking high. Yeah, you go to a contender, your production is going to fall off of a cliff. Why would you pay that man twenty plus million dollars a year. That's gotta be one of the dumbest decisions that Jerry West has ever made in his fucking life. He's a very very smart guy.
That was very very dumb uncharacteristic by Jerry.
Nobody thought it was a good idea when it happened either. And now Patrick Beverley has banged up Reggie Jackson. Is Reggie Jackson also another former Piston And you know no wonder that the Clippers are in the market for a new point guard. The problem is the guy that they want, Kyle Lowry, makes thirty mili a year, and the other guy is Terry Rosier, who's locked in for next year
and is like making very very little money. So what are the Clippers going to get or what are they gonna be able to get and what are they gonna be able to give? I don't think they have any assets or any picks since they mortgage their entire future for Paul George.
Yeah, they certainly don't have any draft backs too.
No, how can you possibly make a trade enticing for the Charlotte Hornets to give you Terry Rozier? I'm what are you? What are you gonna do? Like you're gonna give Terrence Man, Jay Scrubb and a twenty eight twenty twenty eight twenty twenty ninth first round pick, Like you're just never gonna have draft picks until like two administrations from now. Get the fuck out of here. They also are targeting George Hill, but George Hill's production is exactly the same as Lou Williams. So I don't know why
you would do that. No easy answers when you've already emptied the cupboard. So it appears that the roster is going to go into the playoffs exactly the same way as it is right now, and the West is a gunfight. Everybody's better. Portland, Utah, Phoenix, New Orleans, all of those teams are much better.
Would you say, oh, yeah, certainly, Yeah.
Portland, Utah, Phoenix, New Orleans all could beat the Clippers in a seven game series. I would say it's possible. Not saying it's going to happen, but it's possible.
New Orleans is the one team out of those that I wouldn't bet on at.
All, but yeah, the one thing. But they did blow out the Clippers. That's a matchup problem, matchup problem. The one thing that's different though from last year is that they have a Baca instead of Montrez Harrel and Abaka is the only guy that makes Kawhi Leonard laugh. He's the only guy now. Apparently there's a new ESPN story
out that Sergia Bacha's presence on the Clippers. Now Kawhi Leonard is smiling and laughing in front of everyone, and a team that was embroiled in controversy over chemistry issues, when you've got Kawhi Leonard being the vocal leader, standing on top of a bench and being like the time is now or whatever he said, and you've got him laughing and smiling and joking and joking about trading Abaca and putting him on the trade block when he ends up elbowing him in the face, and like we're seeing
a new version of the claw, maybe like comic sans version and sometimes do Roman right. I like that. I like that. Chemistry is big, and you've got ty Lu another chemistry guy. I would be if I was a Clipper fan, That's the only reason I would be encouraged. And of course because you got Kawhi Leonard. So the world is going to say, Trista, why are you so negative? The Clippers are gonna be fine? What if they're not? It's not like a conclusion that Kawhi Leonard is going
to resign there, It's just not. I hear rumblings from Kendrick Perkins that if Kawhi doesn't win a title this year, he isn't re signing. The Knicks are hard rock, they really are. I am so proud of what Tom Thibodeau has done with this team. It's crazy. It's crazy, is it? Is it? It sounds impossible to say, but are the New York Knicks not just a playoff team? But a dangerous out. Are they dangerous? They seem a little dangerous to me here and there with Derrick Rose, I just I think.
They're in that category now where it's they're the team that no what he wants to play, which when you look at what the Knicks have been, that's an insane upgrade.
So yeah, insane. You saw the Knicks without Derrick Rose take the Nets and then the Sixers to the brink. Yes, I know, folks that the Nets were missing pieces and also the Sixers were missing mbeat. That's fine, but still this is a team that should have been in prior years, probably blown out by twenty five. So along with the Charlotte Hornets, this is a team that would, if I was them, scare the shit out of me. They have exciting young players, they've got veteran leadership and Tibbs at
the helm. You know that they're just this team defensively as hard as nils. Did you see Marty Julius Randall try to fight the entire Brooklyn Nets team at all at the same time and a referee?
Yeah I did see clips of that. Yeah I love Randall me too.
So I think this all goes back to Tibbs and the trade for Derrick Rose. Who would have thought that reuniting the Timber Bowls in Madison Square Garden would pay dividends?
Yeah, yeah, No, it seems like d Rose only gets up to play for Thibodeau. You know, that's where he's had his only good years in the league, is being coached by him. Even in Minnesota, he actually played pretty well, and since his addition, they've been consistently I think a more cohesive unit for sure.
Yeah, And I think the young guys are getting something out of them right yeah quickly and RJ. Barrett both have credited their production increases to the d Rose arrival. I didn't see this coming, and I don't think anyone saw this coming except for Nate Robinson. He told me if anyone could fix the Knicks culture, it's Tibbs, and I laughed, Yes, I did. I thought it was hilarious. I actually rolled my eyes. Like I said, I am a cynic. I don't believe that anything is gonna change
until you show me it's gonna change. Because everybody wants to make moves. Then they tell you that that's the panacea for whatever. The team, the organization, the business, moving forward. And you know what, I just don't believe people when they tell me lies. I've been lied to enough. And of course you've got James Dolan. So as long as you have James Dolan, I do not trust anything. But this team is gritty as fuck. They are wearing teams
down Tibbs's m O, which is very true. Whenever you watch a Knixt game, it's like this beautifully ugly, Like we're just afraid of running suicides tomorrow, so we're gonna everyone up, even if we're so gas that we break every shot on the other side. Like that's that's Tom Thibodeau's team right there. And this roster does all of that. Julius Randall having a breakout season, but Emmanuel Quickly is probably one of the big reasons, besides Derrick Rose, that
things have turned around. He's when he's starting, He's averaging thirteen two and two as a rookie, and his production is just increasing every single week, averaging eighteen three and two in the last eight games. Wow. But they're also making moves. Did you see that they're looking to get either Victor Oladipo, Lonzo Ball or JJ Ruddick.
I really like the idea of Ola depot. I don't think Lonzo's going anywhere, but yeah, I mean jj'd be good. Yeah, I mean they definitely need shooters like that. I think if they could somehow pull any of those guys that be sick.
I tell you what, this is a fascinating, fascinating team. Even if they stay pat and of course they're not trading Randall, They're gonna be a heart out for anyone. Barrett's playing some of the best ball of his career. De Rose rejuvenated, as I said, And if the Knicks can find a way to just keep James Dolan in his idiot MSG staff from fucking up the vibe the Knicks. The Knicks nets is the ultimate for the first round Knicks Nets, MSG and Barclays. Holy fuck, would we be in for a rye?
What do you think of the PJ. Tucker trade?
Oh? Man, I'll tell you what. There is nothing I like more than the world telling me I'm wrong and me being right. Every One in the NBA. Seventy percent of the NBA was calling about PJ. Tucker. So if he was washed, why would twenty out of the thirty teams won him on the team I don't know, so I am excited for PJ. He has a new fresh start. The big move is that PJ. Tucker is now to the Bucks. I told you he was in big demand.
The Bucks gave up DJ Augustine, DJ Wilson, a bunch of DJs and their twenty twenty three number ones for PJ and Rodion Kuruz and a twenty twenty two first round pick. I mean, I knew he was out, he was on his way out when he just stopped playing. He told Steven Silas, Yeah, I know you thought I was gonna suit up, but I'm not gonna suit up. So yeah, that is a that's a thing. I think PJ. Tucker is a player that provides you. Like I said before, toughness, corner,
three point shooting, he is valuable. He's three and D undersized hard rock, which is also very very valuable. Not a lot of hert rocks in the league. Yes, he's only shooting thirty one point four percent from three, which is his worse since twenty twelve, but it might just be because he's playing on the Rockets. That's probably that are probably gonna lose twenty five games in a row. So Celtics fans went insane when I suggested that PJ.
Tucker should come to the Celtics and then they should move Marcus Smart out and get somebody like Harrison Barnes and maybe a pick in. And everybody's like, oh, you don't know anything about basketball. You know what. The Bucks and the Celtics are in the same boat. And now the Bucks did what the Celtics didn't have the furtitude to do. Get another dangerous piece to get you over the hump, get you another hard rock piece. And one of those teams just got a lot tougher, a lot
more dangerous, and the other is Boston. So let me tell you this. If the Celtics don't go as far as the Bucks in the playoffs, do not come at me. Blame Danny Ainge, Blame Brad Stevens, and put some respect on PJ. Tucker's name. All right?
Up next, next up, we have what do you think about the rumors of Lonzo Ball going to the New York Knicks.
Woh, we talked about this a little earlier, right, I don't think it's possible. Romelo is the bellow of the ball in the NBA. It's easy to overlook Lonzo after all, I mean, and most of the time that you hear about him is always in trade discussions. The latest is that the New York Knicks are hot on the Lonzo ball trail, if not before the deadline, then during free agency. But here's the thing. The Pelicans don't want to trade
Lonzo right now. Their offense is number one in the NBA in the past month, and Lonzo, now in this new system, is finally playing to the level that people thought he could under Van Gundy. The Pelicans' role in the Pelicans style is to limit We talked about this a couple of shows ago. Limit turnovers, offensive rebound, push the pace and then move the ball quickly. And then you give point zion getting Lonzo off the ball. And
he is shooting tremendously thirty nine percent from three. He has more made threes than Trey Young, Luca Jason Tatum, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Lebron James and a higher three point percentage than those players. That is insane. So Lonzo's a restricted free agent. The Pels wouldn't sign him on a contract extension. Maybe his upt play means that he'll get an extension now, but Leon Rose is very very high on him. I like that move. I don't know what that means for Derick Rose, but I like
that move. Bobby Marks of ESPN wrote that the New Orleans would not match any offer that goes above eighteen million, and that's likely what the Knicks will offer him, but for this year, I don't see it happening. All right. That's all the time that we have for This League podcast. Please subscribe, please rate, please review on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify. Makes a huge difference for us. Please also follow us on at This League and at Trista Underscore
Crick at TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Please subscribe to our YouTube. That makes a huge difference too. Thank you for listening. We will be back Monday afternoon, where Marty is still remote from Colorado, hopefully with better WiFi.