Well, well, well, welcome back to the NBA's only podcast.
Don't fact check us on that one.
Uh, Calves and Thunder still leading their respective conferences, but several teams are kind of making some moves behind them. We'll touch on the latest from around the league, discuss what teams need to make moves ahead of the February sixth deadline. We'll get into all of that with SB Nations Harrison Fagan on today's episode. I'm Jack O'Brien and I'm producer JABORI in for months.
And this is Miles jacksontime.
Dot chitch.
Sorry guy, it looka donch hitch ta.
Okay, there you go.
NB driving Spinny Fatter number eighteen that's been secured the Suffolks or NBA Champions over the couplet.
Wow, that was like spoken word you were giving me. William Shatner Jabari on that one.
Paris and Fagan, what's going on? Man? Welcome back, returning champion.
Always happy to be here, guys up top.
I'm in Los Angeles.
I do just want to give a shout out to all the people who are being affected by the fire and acknowledge that Miles and his family did lose their home in the fire last week. Uh So we will be linking off to their GoFundMe in the show notes of this episode and some fundraiser from one of the Zeke Daily Zeke's listeners, so that you can go contribute there and or if you have.
Something to give.
If not, you know, just let him know you're thinking about him.
But the NBA has pressed on.
The Lakers took took a week and are back to being fairly mediocre, got the ranks beat off them by the San Antonio Spurs. But well we'll get into that, but first we do want to check in with the two teams that I don't think. I guess people knew okay See was going to be one of the best teams in the league, but I don't know that the Calves were necessarily there.
Harrison.
Before we get into any of this, I do just I like to ask all of our smart people who know stuff about basketball, how are you feeling. Is this the Calves Eastern Conference to lose? Or is are we all just waiting to see if the Celtics decide to give it to them?
What do you think?
Is it the.
Calves in no disrespect to the Calves, who have obviously been incredible this year. They're just like a buzz saw every single night. They just it Like, I don't I have not looked this up, but I feel like they have to have the highest point differential in the league and if it's not, I guess if it's not them, it's maybe okay. See, but it just feels like they
blow everyone out just with their consistency. But for me, it's still the Celtics just because of what we saw them do last year and we know that teams are it's sort of prone to these title hangovers. It's hard to keep up that level of intensity that you have when going after your first ring for that whole next year when it's like, okay, wait, we got to do the whole eighty two games again before we get to
the playoffs and defend the title. So I do think that there's some natural like we've seen that throughout NBA history, and I think now that the league is as deep as it is that you just feel that more on a night to night basis because there are more talented teams that you know, if you're only bring your BEEP minus game, like, they can beat you. And the Celtics. They have a target on their back because of the defending championship thing and because they sort of ran through
the playoffs last year. So I still think they're really good, and as much as it pains me to say, like, but I do think that they should still be considered the favorites to come out of the East, despite how good Cleveland has been.
I guess part of me is like in those times in the past when it's like we're just waiting for Shack to play himself into shape and then like the Lakers are gonna do it, or you know, teams. I think the second year that the Rockets won the title, they were like not good during the regular season and then turned it on they were like, yeah they were, they were sick, so I think they were six. But those were years when I think people were looking around
being like yeah, but like they's not a team. There's not a team that's like stormed in and been like, Okay, this is actually our league. Whereas the Calves are like on pace to win seventy one games. Whether that happens, I don't know, but like they definitely seem capable of it. Like there's nothing about what they're doing to this point
that seems fluky. So it is intriguing. Like I'm as somebody who's like a pessimistic Celtic hater, I'm always loath to like have any hope that they're not going to win the title, but like, this is more hopeful than I was at this.
Stage last year.
I'll say, as somebody who just roots for the field against the Celtics.
As as your partner in crime in that regard, No, like, seriously, the deeper we get, I think.
It's all three of us. I think it's no one. There's no podcast in the NBA sphere that wants the Celtics to be bad more than this these three.
Yeah, this is we're all pulling in the same direction here.
But but I genuinely do believe in these caves, like the deeper we get the first ten games, I said, Okay, you know what, that's cute, that's cool. You know, then we you know, we get to twenty games, and you
get to thirty games, you get to forty games. End of the year, it's like, no, unless something catastrophic takes place, this is going to be the one of the Okay, maybe not the team, but one of the teams to be in a very difficult out and when it comes, you know, from the Boston side of things, just to kind of you know, uh, touching on what you know, what you reference, it's a lot more you know, it's
that old boxing addage. It's a lot more difficult to get up and run those miles when you're getting up in silk pajamas, you know what I mean, Like every everybody's got the grind that first time before.
That's incredible.
Oh no, but it's Muhammad Ali said it. Uh uh.
The late marvelous Marvin Hagler, one of my favorite boxes in the eighties, showing my age, he used to say it as well. But yeah, you said, basically, the initial grind. Everybody has that within them. But once you know, once you reach the top, it's like all of a sudden, you know, you went to bend and silk pajamas or do you really feel like getting up at three am?
You know, to run those minds? And I'm not saying that Boston is taking it easy, but you know, kind of to your point, Jack, everyone is going after them because now you know, now you're the tight, now you're the you know, the defending champs. And you're not going to get a night off in this league.
Donovan Mitchell wakes up every morning in a hair suit and exactly Isonna's grind right away, Yeah, all right, I do. I'm just checking in. We're not going to make everything about the Caves versus the Celtics. Uh, and we do. So. The Calves did beat okay see in their head to have matchup ok see, then promptly beat the Brakes off the Knicks and our game of the week one twenty six to one oh one. Shay put up thirty nine
on twenty one shots. Jalen Williams was solid. The story of the game was Isaiah Joe going eight for eleven from three off the bench on the way to I think he had thirty one. He's apparently the best player in the league based on what I saw in this game.
I was gonna say, is that the story of the game or just the story of like your sadness because the Sixers cut him in training camp? Yeah two years ago.
No, it's it's not great. And thank you Harrison for bringing that up, because.
Did you even remember that?
Yeah?
Oh yeah, yeah, I remember drafting him and.
This is this is like core sixers trauma over the couple years.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's just guys who come off the bench in the league are better at basketball then I can even possibly imagine, Like so many of them are just waiting for their opportunity to be like I have superpowers too. And yeah, he was just so good in this in this game, just a lot of back cuts and then just knocking down every.
Open three that he got. Did you guys watch this game?
What were your thoughts on h on this one?
I did?
I mean, like, and it's kind of where I think you're going to go with Shaye, Like I look at Shae and you know, we mentioned it in the you know, ahead of the show, like he's got like the perfect old man's game, but like not slow. I'm not saying, you know, but he's just everything is deliberate everything, you know, there's no wasted energy. It just looks so easy out there.
Yeah, it's like what if the old man was also
the fastest guy in the gym. You know, he has all his trickery, but he's still in his complete athletic prime and able to stop on a dime and has all these turkey jerky moves and it is just like that, you know, start stop, sort of like it's a little bit like hardened during those MVP years where he just was like he wasn't the fastest guy in the league, but he was the quickest at hitting the brakes, and very few guys Luca does this as well, and like Shaye has mastered sort of the dark arts of that
mid range, you know, the sort of area where he is able to get in there and he's able to go back forth, back forth, back forth, and then before you know, eventually his defenders was running off in the other direction and he's getting a shot off and yeah, it's just yeah, he's He's incredible, And it's the remarkable thing about Okay, see is at least with the Calves are like, Okay, they've had their whole team for the most part droughoup most of the year, and so of
course you know they're they're playing firing on all cylinders. The thunder are missing a guy or two like almost every single night, and they're still managing this. It's just incredible how deep they are.
Yeah, Shay makes buckets look easier than anyone. He's as good at getting buckets and makes them look easier than anyone.
It is really like.
Something to behold. I can't think of somebody who ever like made it look that easy in my time where it's just like it really like it if you're trying. You know, people like to like cross someone up and have them like fall over as they hit a three on them. But like making it look this easy as you score on someone has to be also like a new kind of dispiriting where you're just like maybe.
From a guard. But I would say that there have been I would say there have been big men who make it look like if you watch them for the first time, you would just set like Anthony Davis, you know, like uh yeah in Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembin Yama, like
these guys. Like sometimes if you were to just show someone who had never watched basketball before, just like Anthony Davis getting thirty points, they'd be like, Okay, that guy's getting lucky, right, that's falling all over the plate, like throwing stuff up, like it doesn't look like he's played before.
And it's like, now, that's just sort of what his game looks like at his height, and you know, that's what a tall person with that level of coordination looks like they still look not that coordinated, and so you know it's but yeah, among guards that he's truly unique with how effortless he can make it look. I guess Steph during his prime it was different, but you know, he would just sort of come off of a screen and just like like toss up a prayer and it was just going in every time.
That one shot from right before the break where he was like running to the left and like did a spin move and then threw it up like and just kept running was one of the coolest things.
There's got to be nobody more demoralizing the guard in NBA history. It's just like, yeah, he's just like taking the shots you want him to take and they're going in. It's just yeah, but he looked.
It's like he I always bring back Like during that one game against Okay, see that was like I think kind of his big call. It was a regular season game, but he was just going off and then he hit the game winner from half court and somebody tweeted, Steph's got a demon.
That's all there is to it.
Steph's just got a and like that's always he he seems like he has some manner of like uh yeah, yeah yeah, it's just like yeah yeah, whereas uh Sha just looks like he's moving a different like speed or it's like it it kind of boggles the mind, like
how he's doing that real quick. Going back to the Isaiah Joe thing, because I'm just curious if you guys have ever had an experience with us where you played against or witnessed a guy who like came off the bench in the league in person, and like I once, I went to the Kentucky Basketball camp a lot as a kid. My dad was an assistant coach there, and you know this is probably like as good as I got.
Was like my sophomore year and Tony Delk was there, and you know he knew me from my dad, and he was like handed me the ball was like let me see, Like what what have you been working on? Let me see you like dribble it. And the ease with which to so Tony Delk, for people who don't know,
like not a consistent starter ever in the league. He did have one game where he put up fifty great three point shooter in college, won the championship in college, but the ease with which he took the ball every time, like like I was in slow motion or let like it was almost like having the magician do the like pull a coin from behind your ear where you're just like wait, how did that get How did the ball
get in his hand? Like every single time was just like I was like, Oh, we're playing like different games. This person who is going to be like scoffed at by an NBA fans. Yeah, he's so incredibly good at basketball. It's like again like it, yeah, it's like watching a magic show.
It's like I can't wrap my mind around that.
I mean it for me, it really boils down to the worst player in the league, the guy that everybody will say like, oh that guy sninks.
Will dog you.
It doesn't.
It does not matter who you are.
Brian Scalabrini actually did that. He hosted like a tournament for guys to come and play against him who had like trash talked him on Twitter and just like destroyed them. Yeah.
Yeah. The Scalabrini anecdote is a is a really good one for anybody. I think you can still find that.
I'm sure it's on YouTube somewhere. Yeah, I'd never I was not a good basketball player, so I was not in like high level games against future NBA players, But I played like pick up a couple times with like guys that had played overseas in Europe or something, and we're still in the area and like that kind and it's just like even those level guys like they're not they weren't anywhere near the NBA, and they're just like
it's just like a different level of human being. You know, it's not it's not fair.
Yeah, this guy I played against an eighth grade who would like put it between his legs with one hand, like he would do right hand in and out, dribble through his legs and then like dunk on you. I was like, well, clearly this guy is going to be the best player of all time. And he ended up like playing mid mid division one.
You know.
It's just yeah, yeah, you have to be an alien to make it.
It's truly unbelievable. Yeah, all right, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll talk about our two teams. You know, both struggling. But I think we're in the same boat here, guys, And I know that makes you feel good, feeling like you're in the same boat as the seventy six Ers this season.
Let's take a break, we'll.
Be right back, and we're back. So the Lakers took a week off following the start of the Southern California Fires, return to action on Monday versus the Spurs, and it didn't go so well. I was pulling for them. I mean, I was pulled for the Lakers when it's not the Sixers. But yeah, the addition of Shake DFS, it's not it's not quite what we needed at least thus far.
Well, how are you guys, as unrealistic Lakers fans feeling right now?
Yeah? I first of all, I love that you led with shake there instead off. That was to a former Sixers fan, that's trade.
Yeah. Yeah, as a fan of cool names, that's the ship it is.
It is incredible, just basketball player name, Like it's I wish he was better because it would be really exciting, it would be really fun, you know. Yeah. Yeah, No, from what I've been told from the people who followed his career, like he's gonna have some games in March where you're going to be like, this guy is ready to go playoff rotation. You know, he just dropped thirty because just like two, there's two starters out, you know,
Shake Milton is ready to go cook. Yeah again, speaking of like how deep the league is, is like he's a guy that can go out and you know, get some buckets and is probably not really going to be a consistent rotation player for the Lakers. But yeah, I think the team is the biggest issue to me and Jabaria, I don't know, you can weigh in here as well.
Has been that I think that how much they want to switch ever since it was pointed out to me by Darius Soriano, longtime form Blue and Gold, longtime silver screen role as well. Yeah, one of the best like Lakers pundits, Like he pointed out like the ease with which they're giving up switching, And once you have that in your head, you can't unsee it. It's just like it is effortless switching. You know, they are not you know, they'll just sort of hand you Austin Reeves on a
platter to go and hunt. It's like, I'm not saying Austin Reeves, you know, I expect him to do really well on defense and stuff, but you should so if that's true, you should be trying harder to not give up that matchup. You should have plans in place to help Austin, you know, but they're just letting teams sort of pick on him. And you know, again, I'm not saying that he's like some defensive stopper that I think, you know, I think he's got to step it up whatever.
It's like, no, if you're the Lakers, used to come help him, Like you can't just allow for this to be happening, you know, and just like there's like a simple brush screen and you're just sort of like, okay, well all right, I guess you get often now, and that it sort of plays into I think some of the lazier tendencies of this team, where they're very much you know, there are a lot of vets on this team,
most primarily Lebron and ad Are. They're sort of like veteran core, and they're two guys who are happy to sort of, you know, coast through a night on the regular season, like they want to see if they can put the foot down for one quarter and sort of eliminate it. And I think that all the switching that the Lakers do sort of plays into some of those tendencies like ah, you know, Austin's got it. We'll let really make that back line rotation.
It's fine, Yeah, Darius is exactly right. But the one thing that I'll say, it's just straight out Offensively, they have looked better at times. Defensively, they still look every bit as lost as what Ad described in the you know, like a down the stretch of the season last year when they were laying for him. I'm no longer the type person he just goes like, okay, get him out of here. Look you can't. You can't keep going getting rid of coaches. You know what you shout out to Frank.
Still I still feel strd for you.
No.
Look, man, I think we've all seen now that the Sons got rid of Frank and solved all their problems.
Everything's better now.
I think, Yeah, clearly the guy you want clearly the problem. Same with the Lakers. When you guys got rid of him, you went from winning a.
Title, uh, to.
Forget Oh yeah yeah the plan, that's right.
But yeah, no, I think of the playoffs. So the year he got fired, but that was the fault.
Nah, I think it was.
I think we got that uh the vocal effect.
But what it feels like to me is, look, we know what Lebron is at this stage. He can still you know, wrapped it up offensively in a lot of games. Defensively, it's hit or miss, and it's going to be hit or miss even you know, like from one, you know, from one time down to the Knicks. That's fine, you're forty something years old, Like I get it. You know, a d when he's properly utilized, you know he can.
He still looks great. Reeves has been good for them, but beyond that, look, they got a few style of players left, but it's not enough, like you know, and I'm sorry, I'm gonna do shameless Kendrick drops no matter what,
even if it fits into the conversation or not. But I feel like, you know, the debate about like whether this team can turn it on or you'll figure it out, like we need to stop having net and it's either go ahead and sell out for the field, you know, sell out your future, or stop lying and just acknowledge, Okay, we're just gonna play this, you know, play this out.
Where do you think they're gonna go with?
You know, I've been saying sort of a similar thing and that like you know, if you're just trying to sell tickets around Lebron and ad and you know that that's that's sort of the goal for this team, and you don't want to mortgage anymore of the future, Like that's fine, but you also well, actually, no, it's not fine, Like you should be trading off pieces and trying to
rebuild for the future, like no, no half measures. You know, it's the breaking badism, like you should either be going all in and use some of these picks to go get better at the trade deadline or you or you're
just continuing to waste every one's time. And so I also think that you know not to commit like the I'm not saying the Lakers are better without Lebron, but I will say that there were moments when he was out emissively where it looked like they were not lazily switching as often and they were a little bit more intact.
And I still think, you know, obviously, this team is not going to be able to reach like its highest heights without Lebron on the roster, Like there's just a level of like athletic dynamism and playmaking that he gives them that no one else on the roster has, Like this team would be bad if Lebron just sat out
the rest of the season. This is not what I'm trying to say, but I think that someone needs to let him know that it's like, you know, even if you have to take ten percent of your offense, you know, a ratchet down your offensive effort a little bit, like you've got to give a little bit more on defense than you're giving. Because we've seen this year after year, roster after roster, that it trickles down to the rest
of the guys. When you know, when he is sort of yelling at you for getting that cut, well he was just standing there.
You know.
It's like that is going to sap morale a little bit, and it's good. You're not gonna see guys sell out as hard to you know, stop their own man. And you can't just have like someone just sort of getting you know, just allowing players to you know, get loose on the weak side. And so I do think that there's a little bit of he's going to lock in more once they get closer to the playoffs, like that's
what we've seen him do. And so I think that to some degree, they just got to get through this right now, and I expect that like that effort will ratchet up once it gets closer to you know, the Promised Land. But yeah, it's kind of rough right now, and it's it's not helping, you know, the rest of the guys sort of find their footing.
I don't think I think we just solve each other's problems. You take mb, we take Lebron and be for Lebron.
Who says that straight up?
Teams say no to that, say both both teams cuss each other out and then yeah, screaming it one another.
Like maybe that would have been anyway. I do just want to raise is it too late to just all out tank for both franchises because Cooper Flag put up forty two points in a game.
I'm gonna say yes because the Sixers, isn't the Sixers pick only top six protected?
Yeah?
Yeah, Yet I don't know that they're going to out tank some of the other teams that are down there at this point. It's good enough odds and the Lakers straight up don't have their pick, so there's no benefit for them in louzed like unless they unless they just really want to do Atlanta favor and just send Cooper Flag to Atlanta and help out Tray Young then yeah, there's no incentive for them to tank this year.
Yeah, we need to be bottom six to get there. I mean, Embiid has been hurt. Now, Maxi's hurt. And we were just talking about the Paul George draft before you got on Harrison. Paul George, the other people in that draft are long gone from the league.
Like he was fourteen, right, Yeah.
No, Paul Dredge is twenty ten, twenty ten. Yeah, John Walla, DeMarcus Cousins, Gordon Hayward is like the most recent person who was like still playing excuse me, Jack.
That's education reform, as we.
Will always know.
Yeah, Like I didn't think Paul Paul George is like one of the elder states man. I was like, yeah, he's on the older side of his career. He is all like he is up there, man.
I mean we should have guessed when he tried to sort of like come for our jobs as a podcaster. You know. Yeah, he is like like he's preparing for that to be his primary source of income after the Sixers contract.
You know, so next Lakers coach after JJ, is that what you're saying?
Look, the podcaster to a Lakers coach pipeline is it's it's it bore stronger results earlier in the year, I would say, but I think JJ solid. So yeah, maybe Paul George was that. That's that's what's next for him. He's gonna he's gonna be the next great podcaster turn coach.
So you're gonna let JJ stay. You're gonna trade Lebron.
One team should have to hire a podcaster every offseason, every.
And then they keep their show going though.
It's like the NFL has the has the show that goes around a training camp that rotates around the league. It's like, okay, we spun the wheel, and like this year it's okay, see sorry, you got to hire a podcaster.
Coach Bill Simmons taking over the Celtics.
He wouldn't be like he know, like he'd actually be an okay, maybe GM. He does like tend to have a good sense of when the Celtics are good.
That's what.
Compared to other like basketball talking heads. As much as we like to make fun of him, he does seem.
To like have a pretty good eye for the NBA.
Yeah, I think there would be worst podcasters to hire as a head coach.
Yeah, yeah, not me. Though I'm number one.
I think I would lose the locker rip like I would make Adrian Griffin look like he was like in the running for Coach of the Year early on with the Bucks last year. Well, he kind of was, really, he kind of was.
He was twenty twenty plus games over five up dred and.
They said, then, what's it like if they've been matched that pool?
Once again? It was another team that changed the coach and fixed all their problems, you know, as he solved it as he has in all of his uh, all the places he's gone.
I'd come in and inspire them with a tale of Tony Delk picking my pocket repeatedly, and they'd be like, this guy, here's what believe.
Me that I was meant to be a coach.
Right there you go.
Elsewhere around the league, the Pacers ended the Cavs winning streak at twelve, find themselves up in the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. If everybody stays kind of where they're at right now, that four or five six with the you know, Pacers Orlando Milwaukee fighting it out, UH, could be could be interesting. What are you feeling about? Just is the East basically Boston and Cleveland. Is there anybody else there who has got your eye a glimmering?
I mean, I would say the Knicks their result against the Thunder notwithstanding, you know, I know that they've they've had sort of like a rougher you know, last couple of weeks. I know they haven't been as good. But
I do still believe largely in that core. And I also think that again, like that's a team that if they can get to the playoffs healthy, which has been a big if for Tibbs teams, you know, but he is a guy that has them ready to go all out for those playoff level minutes over the course of a playoff series because he's already playing the playoff level minutes the entire regular season. And so you know, guys like Josh Hart, Guy's like whoever, Like they're in shape
for that. They're ready. They're not getting winded, you know at the beginning at the start of playoff games. They're ready for that intensity. So I do I like the Knicks. And also, you know, like their top six is just like incredible. So the Knicks in the East, I think that's probably the only one other than the Cavs or self, that like I don't know that I could see any teams coming out of the East to the other than those three.
Not Milwaukee.
You're not believe I'm not in on Yeah, I don't. I mean they're okay, you know, respect to the NBA Cup winners, but yeah, I don't. I don't see it. Winning three rounds to get to the finals is a tough It's just tough to see with that roster.
Or Land is intriguing to me because they have like such an incredible weapon and their defense, but you have to make so many shots to make it to like win the title like that, the ball has to go in so many times.
The Rtlantos is a team that theoretically could get better at the deadline because not only have they been like really like really really banged up for the first half of this year, but they have basically all of their own draft picks, if not all of their own draft picks, And so if there was a team that was like, hey, poised to be a buyer and had a real reason to because they have a really solid cores already and they're like, hey, we're one super ball handling point guard
away from you know, being able to really compete here, then you know, the magic could justify making an all in push.
All right, here's here's my one crazy thing that I say in each episode.
Jabari is one crazy thing, one crazy thing by some medication.
Yeah, let's say something that you can you just drop a sponsor name just for the what about Jimmy to world and just go all in on being the guttiest just filthiest team that like like like an inn a series.
You watch them play, you go, I feel sick to my stomach watching that team play. I don't know, I like it. It would just be I actually don't like.
It, to be honest, So you can be real, that's okay.
Yeah.
I feel like every time we're like yeah, what if they just like steer into their identity. What if they're like, yeah, we'll get even bigger and everyone's.
A big guy. I feel like it like doesn't always work out that well.
You know what if we had another guy who wants the ball and can't shoot, you know, yeah, and then it's gonna yell at all of our good vibes players if things are going well yeah.
So yeah, meh, what if the vibes were bad?
We're really bad on this team that has really good vibes.
If the Kings were not streaking right now, I would say, like the you know, Vespiana. We wrote a story for Espionation about how dearon Fox would be a great target for them, and you know, obviously it seems unlikely that that's going to happen.
Now.
It seems like the Kings have sort of righted the ship and probably.
Want to be like I have won seven in a row, since they're not going to blow it up at the deadline anymore.
But you know, someone like that, if they could get like a quick point guard or someone at some shooting, you know, I think that would help them a lot.
Doug Christie Also, this is the Jacks Don't Look Now segment of the Week. We're adding a bunch of sponsored segments right now just because, yeah, just because, well why not. Jacks Don't Look Now of the Week brought to you by Super There. It is so easy to drive, you don't even have to look while you're driving.
Don't look now.
The Pistons are now above five hundred at twenty one and nineteen after going eight and two over the last ten games.
That's incredible for them.
Like I'm sad to say, I'm incredibly jealous of the Pistons, And I don't know, do we think they should be buyers or do we think they should just be like this is so fun, let's just like see where we take it.
What do you think?
If I were them, I would stick with what they have because I don't think that you're gonna I don't think that whatever you add at this deadline is going to be enough to sort of like push you towards any meaningful playoff run this year. Like I would continue
to evaluate. I would actually see, you know, if not necessarily be sellers, but see if you can you know, because they they're one of the teams that they're They're part of the reason why the trade deadline probably is not going to be like that crazy active is because they were originally a team with cap space that you would have pinpointed is like, Okay, they're that third team that's gonna help facilitate some of these deals between contenders.
They'll take on some draft picks, take on some money,
you know, sort of make the financial stuff work. But I don't know, like they could still do something like that, but they may not be as inclined to just like sort of take dead salary and so that might mess up the trade deadline for know a number of other teams, which you know isn't the Pistons prerogative, but you know it sort of does sort of throw a wrench in some of these scenarios because of the new Apron rules around like first second Apron and you know how much
teams can take back in the trade. You a lot of times need that third facilitating partner, and you know, they can run it back or I guess continue to run it with this roster. Yeah, because it's not running
it back. They're still in this season, but they can continue to sort of run with this roster and then potentially they're going to be like good players available, you know, this off season in sort of salary dumps because teams are going to be dealing with these like honorous tax penalties and onerous honorous So I think that they should I would say the course if I was them, I think that you know, you're in the middle of a
fun season. You're you're in the most fun type of NBA season, arguably like a team that wasn't expected to be that good and it's now like really fun for their fans if they can like chase a play in birth playoff birth, Like, I think that's enough, and then you continue to build on that strong young core.
So say they do this, Say they go that route and shout out to j B Biggest for the job that he's done there.
Yeah, say say they go.
That route and you know, they get a play in you know situation where they lose, and you know, but they was it was a good experience. What type of player would you like to pair with Kate?
That's a good question, you know. I think you probably need like like another guard that can handle a little bit and can also like relieve some of the pressure
on him by being able to shoot. You know. I think that's probably what they need the money, because he's like he's a point guard but sort of you know, like he's a guy that could probably he's a little bit combo GUARDI and I don't mean that it's like the insult that a lot of people mean it as when they're like basically saying you're a bench guard a combo guard. That just means you're a bench guard. You know, you're not good enough to start at shooting guard or
point guard. No, like he's clearly above that level. He's a playmaker. But I think that they could use like, probably you know, a point guard that can, you know it, take a little bit more gravity off of him and pull some of those defenders away, like Jade and Ivy's good, but he's just not that level of shooter yet, and so I think the like adding like a point guard with a little bit more shooting ability would probably be the ideal backcourt partner for him.
I can see it.
I like it.
Listen up, just gonna try and trade him to every team everyone, even though they're good.
A trade between our two don't look now teams. And finally, don't look now. Zion's finally back. And he did a sick windmill three sixty that I don't know, seemed like he was inadvertently revealing that he has superpowers. Like it's just incredible. It's just like, oh, yeah, I was I was hurt in quotes, but watch me do this. But anyways, very excited about that. I think he was suspended like a game, but uh from missing a team flight. But all right, let's take a quick break and we'll be
right back. And we're back, and it is the rapid fire out of questioning, Harrison, you're gonna want to give us first answer that comes to mind. We're gonna be firing shots at you and you just gotta come back bounce them back right at us.
As longtime listeners know, I always do really great at the segment to giving you a break.
One of the best, one of the best world. All right, Jabari, you want to start?
Yeah, because I did throw that silly one in there, and I will probably proudly.
Ask Brian start the clock.
Yeah, Brian, start the clock? All right?
This or that scenario, which would be the more dominant player?
You got fun?
You got three of them coming out, Shack with free throw touch or Kobe with Curry's shot.
Oh, Pat, I'm going Shock with free throw touch. Yeah, I'll do respect to Kobe. You see, Shack with free throw touch is an unstoppable player that wins like eight titles in a row.
Yes, what are we talking? Free throw percenter is like we're talking MBID.
Seventy five to eighty, you know, not like ninety, but you know a good I thought we were giving him like Steve Nash level free throws, you know, I mean, you can get likenight perc.
Let's say eighty, let's say.
Eight Eightyes, MB, that would be nice.
Yeah, Embi, it is still going.
It's so nice having somebody who's that big and can get to the line in his area.
Definitely going shot in today's era. I think you can make an argument for Kobe with Curry's shot, just because shooting is so valuable now and just being able to get up that number threes is huge. But I also don't know if that like takes away from what made Kobe great, which is like sort of a lot of the mid range footwork stuff, you know whatever, Like are you taking him out of some of the positions that sort of made him special.
Well, the thing with that is that you would need Kobe to like actually take those shots, and like I don't know that he'd want to get you know, always take the shots if he had that kind of stroke.
Oh actually told Kobe, They're like, you have the green light, launch as soon as you cross half court.
Twenty a game, twenty a game, twenty three is a game he would be.
Shooting twenty a game.
Do you think it would average like thirty shots a game?
Yes, Oh, probably would be unprecedent. It would be will Emberlain, like it would be just like nobody touches this thing.
He actually he finally would crack the one hundred, you know he would he would get you know, just on shooting variants one night.
Like cracked it with not a great three point shot close Like imagine.
Magic with Jordan's athleticism or Wimby with Shack strength while maintaining his flexibility.
I gotta got I'm shack pilled. I guess is what we're finding out. I gotta go Wemby with Shack. I'm sorry that that that is an unstoppable player to me.
I mean is checked strength. But does he have Shack's body.
Like that's current body.
Wemby's current body, but somehow like he would just be like exploding off of his body.
How does he hit so hard?
He's like, yeah, man, Magic with Jordan's athleticism would be pretty interesting. I mean it's not like Magic was a bad athlete or anything, but.
Oh no, he wasn't great by NBA standards. Posted Yeah, like if you.
Were taking off from the free throw line and it's like this is a different conversation.
Yeah, and he's right, yeah, and still has the same playmaking vision and whatever.
So not probably, he's probably like Lebron, right, just Lebron.
It's funny you mentioned that Lebron. Yeah, because the.
Last one I got here for you is Kareem with AIS handle or Lebron.
It's seven foot.
I can't believe that we're debating whether or not a I would enhance Kareem at this point. Is there's nothing that this that it's not that, it's not going to touch. There's no industry a slap Lebron aka Jokic.
Come on, man, that's not Joic. What are you talking about.
I mean, look, it's Lebron. He stills Lebron's speed and yeah, no, it's got to be Lebron. I'm sorry.
Oh so Lebron's speed like Jokic got it?
Just like it exactly. Yeah, the guy that was beating my guy, Anthony Davis down the court.
Sometimes when I'm watching Lebron highlights and Yokic highlights, I get the mixed up. Yeah, it's just I got I'm like, hold on rewinding.
Was that that was light skin Lebron? That was light skin.
Labrun And finally you have to help us pick the game of the week. Our last guest did a bad job. I'm just gonna say it. They they picked Thunder at the Knicks and it was a snoozefest.
The Thunder destroyed them.
Uh, you can't let that happen, Harrison. Are our fans, our listeners are counting on you. The NBA is counting on you. All right, here are your candidates coming up Thursday tonight. For many of the people listening to this, you got the Calves of the Thunder.
That's gonna be a tough one to compete with.
That. What I was gonna pick very quickly Friday Magic at Celtics on ESPN or Grizzlies at Spurs also on ESPN. Calves at Wolves on Saturday or Sunday, And this one's gonna be not that hard to compete with Lakers at Clippers or Nuggets at Magic, both local games.
Gets the magic? All right?
Which one are you picking?
I Calves Thunder I think is the obvious case.
You know that way, let's not get let's just do the right one.
Yeah, we'll say that. Second up, though, I think pretty clearly is Spurs Grizzlies, because that is one of those games where it's like you have an opportunity to see two of like the sort of one of one athletes in today's game, like that that that game I'm willing to predict will be maybe Calf's Thunder will be a better game, but that game will probably produce the most TikTok highlights.
Yeah, you know, fun God, just still so fun to watch.
It's like John Wemby trying to just like out TikTok each other, you know, just like with the like we're we're not playing for the winner of the game. We're playing for who is going to be the Sports Center Top ten play tonight?
You know.
Yeah, yeah, it's two people who appear to be Marvel characters in most highlights. Like it doesn't make sense, all right, Harrison Fagan, you have u successfully completed the gauntlet. You've made it through the rabbit fire round of questions, you got all the answers correct somehow. Congratulations. Where can people find you? Follow you all that good stuff?
So you can find me on Twitter at hm Fagan h M F A I G E n on Blue Sky at fake News f A I g N E w f at that. I wish I had been clever enough to grab when I started my Twitter account, but only thought of like later on in college, so I use it for other platforms, but unfortunately it was already claimed on Twitter, so that's messed up. I use it.
Should we follow them anyways? No?
No, it was like it was. I'm pretty sure it was somebody who was a listener of our old podcast who did it as a rank and then forgot they made the account. It's just like they're and dead now. Yeah. You know, good bit though, and uh yeah, you can check me out on spnation dot com. You know, I oversee all of our men's and women's basketball coverage we've been doing. Yeah, we're gonna be having some fun stuff on unrivaled coming up, you know, the women new women's
three on three off season league. And then in addition to of course, like all the NBA trade deadline coverage that you'd expect from SB Nation and our wide range of nerds across the team site universe.
One big prediction, who do you think gets moved? If you had to think like, okay, there is going to be I'm telling you now, there's gonna be a trade that everybody's gonna be like wow about uh what what is it?
I mean? Okay, if I was gonna produce joke.
When I said, you made it through the rapid fire around a questioning you still have one.
Like apparently we did it earlier this seventh it's Jimmy Butler to the Magic, you know, Yeah, Jimmy Butler, Sam Bacon with all those picks, you know. Yeah, that's the Jimmy Butler sixth Man of the Year campaign with Okay, see, do.
We ever get your ans are on Jimmy Butler, Zach Levine or KD? Which would you pull for the Lakers?
Who's b for you? In eriting?
Oh, it's KD, KD?
Yeah, okay, that's that's the right answer, although Jimmy might be interesting. Yeah, Katy, Katy's Jimmy is like it's it's.
It's just doubling down on the type of player of the Lakers already happened, just like that can't shoot that well. Oh you know, it's like KD. At least it's like would all of a sudden, you know, instead of like Cam Reddish spacing the four for Lebron It's KD.
Okay, okay, you know what you sold me?
Yeah, that's always like by the way, Jabari was saying, it was Zach Levine said final answer before we start. Before Zach Levine's final answer. All right, Harris and Pagan, thank you so much for joining us. Jabari, where can people find you?
I'm easy on Twitter at Jabari A Davis and on Blue Sky where I spend most of my time JABORI Davis, NBA.
All right, I'm at Jack Underscore O'Brien on Twitter, Jack ob one on Blue Sky the number one, and you can.
Follow Miles that Miles of Gray. Again. We will link off to the gofund me.
In the show notes and until then we will be back next week.
Until then, bye bye, enjoy the idea. Stay safe out there,