Did you see you know that Rest in Peace Boso the James Worthy meme?
Yeah?
Yeah, did you know what that clip is from?
Uh?
Isn't it from they beat the Celtics and he lit up a cigar?
The common misconception?
That's what Javari said. You know how sad this one is. It's from February fourth, twenty eighteen where twenty one and thirty one Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder one O eight one oh four.
Yeah that's right. Yeah, so yeah, we're smoking on that loud pack because.
Man, but I totally thought that there was when you said it was Satdur, I thought it was going to be like a red hourback died and he was doing a tribute to him on air crip and people are like, oh, like, yeah, let's put rest in Peace Boso. Yeah, you know that is probably the energy James would bring to that tribute.
But you know, but it's even funnier because they're like, you're saying, recipe because we beat the thirty and twenty fourth Thunder at the time.
They were only thirty twenty four. Then yeah, what a time? But time you guys want me to record locally? Right?
Yes?
Please Okay, should I just start that now or okay if you wire?
I think I think we can prolong the show. If we don't turn this show in, we don't wait Yeah, it's like it's like yeah, no.
Guys, we're still recording it, just problem as we go. Don't even trying it. We're trying to get it done.
Steve, I know you're gonna have to render my Yeah, yeah one more time, guys. Yeah we still we got edits and stuff on this. Is that really like Philibus Spring or like yeahs our yeah yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah exactly ship Alex Caruso.
He was a minus three on the night.
M James is like, the guy's a bum. Guy's a boom rest of piece, bozone. I'm out of here, resting peace bow So Tucker better tucking into some Tim Wharton's. That's been my time. That's been my time. We're honor.
This isn't a comedy club, sir, you're the defendant. Okay, sorry, all right, that's been my time.
All right, that's been my time. You're honor. Tipperators on the well.
Well well well, well well.
Well and finally, well well well, episode one seventy one. If I met a lot of people who make it to one seventy one. No, no, A lot of people wouldn't think we would make it to two. Do you know how Parson? You know how old Elvis was when he died. Don't look it up. Don't look it up.
Fifty I was.
Gonna say, fifty five.
Who's forty two?
He looked bad.
I don't know fourth too, it's so ye. But look at us, look at early. Some of us are over that age. And yet we made it to one hundreds every one episodes and lot's right.
Nobody said we could do it.
Nobody said so. But at the end of the season, we do have a champion. It's the Oklahoma City Thunder.
They took care of business in Game seven, although.
It was a kind of a downer Game seven. I must say sad game seven. Normally I don't expect my Game seven is to be sad.
It was no games.
It was definitely I think, overshadowed by the Halberd injury. But also we've got Katie trade news if that interests you, and maybe talking about the future of the Lakers.
I don't know who knows her this.
Is going because baby, this is the last episode.
Of I'm Miles Great and I'm Jack O'Brien and this.
Is Miles and Jack got bad Boostingtory get it.
Look at the East Okay, be driving Spinny.
Fatter numbers, p G.
That's good show something short, champion over the double team time.
What you got guys?
Wow, we got it, We got it and luckily did it.
And you know who we got on the guest chair, The associate director of Pro Basketball for ASBI Nation, Harrison Bacon.
Finishing things off on Boost. He's like Kobe dropping sixty, taking another fingers journey taking a.
Lot of people have been calling me washed all year, but I think I got one laugh good performance than me.
You got now we believe you. We didn't call you in for nothing, Harrison. I called you in to tell me that the Lakers will win next season. That's actually what I repeatedly called the final for himself on the show.
Yeah. And then it'll be Lakers six or right in the finals next season. Yeah, yeah, that's what we said. I mean, So this is this is why so the people a lot of people are asking why is the show ending? Miles and I did make a promise to each other. Yep, if by the third season of the show, it's not the Lakers and the seventy six ers in the finals, then we would end it yeah and get married yeah instead, And so thanks didn't happen, I don't think.
But Harrison will be the efficient, so we do. We do appreciate that.
But I guess, yeah, the finals, just touching up on that game seven.
Game seven, baby, yeah.
I mean at this point, I'm sure no one's tuning into this episode.
So here what happened seven and six? What if somebody just the only way they found out about NBA basketball was listening to this podcast.
Are something, no, legit, there are probably one person at least, there's all other one or something yeah no, and other listeners from other shows we do are like, yeah, I like the basketball one too, Like I get to learn stuff about it. Brian the editor says, you're editor, perhaps, oh yeah, yeah.
Brian didn't know the NBA was the thing. He was like, so this show is being this show's ended because the NBA stopped having a league, right, And we're.
Like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, that's not how that works at all, my dear sweet child.
Yeah, basketball shutting down everyone.
We did it it was a good one. Yeah, yeah, I do like this clip the super producer Jabbari and once again we shouted him out last week. But Super the man, the show run man who makes it good, uh, who makes it coherent? Coherent? Yes, he found a great clip of Sam Presty that I wanted to play real quick. If we do, we are we able to play it?
Do?
We got this clip real quick, We got that clipt this clip here we go.
Here is by the way, we were able to like play NBA clips this whole time, and we just like didn't, as I said, because we couldn't, because we couldn't shut ourselves up. So well, you know, I remember when when we were trying, we're.
Like, oh, We're like, this is not outbad so sick?
Oh John, No, yeah no.
And that's that's That's kind of how the running commentary was. But here's Sam Presty in twenty twenty one, just given a long view into the future.
As I said earlier, we can't be reactionary or emotional about it. We just have to keep chipping away every single day, knowing that over time will achieve our goals. If we have the ployse the patients and the willingness to adjust to the setbacks that we know will inevitably encounter. As they say, shortcuts cut long, run short, and we're going to do everything in our power not to allow
that to happen. And when we do get back to the postseason, we want it to be an arrival and not an appearance and arrival meaning that we can return, we can be there, we can take some you know, some chance or bad fortune and not have it sink us in completely.
We've seen the benefit of that, and you.
Know, during our our earlier years, we don't want a position where we get there but we have no way to get back. And that's the focus and the precision with which we're working. We understand the ecosystem of the NBA, I think very very well. We understand how that works. We understand what we have to work with, and I feel extremely confident and optimistic about the future that we have here. We just have to continue to stick with it.
Okay. So that's him. So, by the way, the architect of the Oklahoma City Thunder who just won the title, speaking in uh at the end of the twenty twenty twenty twenty one season, this is my impression of me after he said that, okay, Boso whatever.
Fifty one.
Yeah, okay, so a little contact. They were twenty two and fifty one. Yep, that's every year.
That was year that Shae missed like the whole second half of the season or some big chunk of it, right, and the year that they, you know, sort of took in al Horford and then shut him down because he was playing too well before flipping him to the Celtics.
So yeah, I found an article where they were summarizing that that's like his final media appearance of the twenty twenty twenty one season. And there's like this article in USA Today where they're like, so he like doesn't want like there's so many great players on the market and
like they're not even gonna do anything. Quote with Bradley Beal, Kemba Walker, Christaph's Porzingis and even Damian Lillard floating in the rumor mill the Oklahoma City Thunder have started to pop up around social media and think pieces, but it's highly unlikely the Thunder trade for one of these players and then summarizing like he's you know, he spoke to the mediaan was like we're good over here, and yeah, he talks to.
The media for like like three hours at the end of every season. He'll just take like every single possible question they have.
Yeah, well I would have been I would have been one of the people being like really, here's from later in that article about bial Bal has averaged more than thirty points per game for two seasons in a row. He did this while shooting forty eight point five percent this season despite defenders draped around him, which was like, the thing about bial is like, you gotta get Bal because his team is so bad and yet he's scoring all these points. That must mean that it is extra hard.
But yeah, stuck to his vision truly, just I don't know, and everybody in the organization was willing to have the patience Like it's it's tough, I understand it. It's easy to be like everybody should have patience and just like let the vision play out. The problem with that is like, what if the person you're having patience with is an idiot, you know, then you've wasted five years. So that's the problem with patience. But they got up to the bulls, you know, they stuck with it.
You know, they've they've been really patient, and it seems like it's with the wrong.
Guy patient, you know, going nowhere.
Yeah, KD.
I feel like the KD Russ hardened Core made it easy on them because like they were like, all right, this guy might know what he's talking about, so we'll let him not go after Damian Lillard, Kemba Walker, Bradley Beale and Porzingis.
I mean it's sild that that is, like that's like the Grim Reaper knocking at the door meme of names. You know, it's like every literally any of those guys would have destroyed this title run. I think because of how much they're making and like how many you know, how much flexibility. The Thunder wouldn't have had to go get guys like Alex caruso Isa Heart and seen all
that stuff. Like it just would have made them a totally different team with any of those guys and probably torpedoed this run before it began.
Yeah, I'm just so impressed, you know, like because in the era of impatient front offices, impatient owners, impatient fans that just this truly like this is the philosophy we're sticking to and see it pay off just like in this spectacular way.
Where does this like even rank.
With other executives who are like, here's my thing. We're gonna try this, and I think it's gonna work, and I think this is actually gonna bring sustainable you know, performances to this club, this franchise.
I feel like it's pretty similar to like Brad Stevens, like in that, you know, having a singular vision that they stuck with for for a period of time in Boston and like them winning the title last year, but even they are not like it feels like he's the only person who has them, Like who was talking about aprons, because like he, they just seem so well set up and the rest of the league is like now being like, oh no, oh, we're gonna have to trade some of
our guys who like are good all right, and they just seem like they've got it, like just a nesting doll of like you know, people coming of age at the right time in contracts like feeding into one another.
It sort of reminds me of where Presty came from the Spurs. It's you know, when they had their dynasty going on and they were just like they were drafting guys and just bring them in and developing them and sort of cost controlling them and again different CBA to you know, you could pay to keep a man Whu and you know Tony Parker and a Tim Duncan and you know, uh and a Kawai and all these guys.
But it does it's reminiscent of that of like, hey, we're not going to get necessarily get stars to come here in free agency or demand a trade to end up here, and so we just need to take all the bets on young talent that we can and figure out who works.
Yeah, and it sounds like I was just like having really dedicating the like the culture of the players too, because this isn't like a team with a like stars in that sense, like with egos like that. And I feel like, yeah, it's yeah, it's hard to have that kind of thing.
Especially they all talk like Coach Carter, like Friday Night Lights character, just like it's an entire team of just like coach speak. It's like they all talk exactly like Presty from the coach down to the players and all that stuff. So you know, really it's really culture of saying absolutely nothing interesting ever, and so maybe that's the lesson.
Not a lot of familiar names on that roster from that year when he's given that speech. But Shay Gilles, Alexander, Louguentz, Dort, Lugats, lou Dort and the coach were all there. And you know, despite the fact that their offensive raiding was thirtieth of thirty, their overall rating was like thirtieth of thirty, defensive rating was twenty fourth, net rating thirtieth of thirty in the league, like the worst in the league.
They were real bad that year. There were a lot of guys playing that are I'm guessing or not in the league anymore?
Four years ago, five years ago, like four years ago, they were the worst in the league. They didn't land Jannis, They didn't like just suddenly pull one of the great players. They had the best player that currently was on their team when they won the title a few days ago. He was on their team that year. He was hurt, but like he was, he was there and nobody was saying anything except like, man, he's actually like developing into
a nice little player. But nobody was like, this is the core that right, and.
Maybe he could make an All Star team one day, you know, in the right year.
SG and lou Dort were not Nobody was like, that's the core. That there's your core. The core is in place, and yeah, you know, it's pretty impressive what they just pulled off. So shout out to the Thunder Shout out to the Thunder fans, Shout out to Sonic fans going back, anybody who's stuck with them.
A crossover.
Yeah, yeah, a lot of angry SONI shout Sonic fans who are because mainly that's what I identify with is a spite as an NBA fan.
Not only did your team move, but they moved with like maybe the best NBA GM ever running the team and like apparently patient owners and like all that, like everything that you would want from your team, and they're just like, you know, we're just gonna take this and move it to Oklahoma City. But you can watch from afar. It's fine, you know. That's I I can't even imagine how I would feel as a Sonics fan today.
Yeah, should we should we move to the other side of the ball because I can't remember a runner up that is as memorable as this Pacers team? Yeah for real? Maybe yeah, no one remembers the second place, but I don't know. Yes, I feel like, yeah, let's say, we'll be right, and we're back. We're back. I do feel like more than football, I do remember the NBA runners up. Is that just because I like basketball better than football?
I think so, But probably all the like.
I remember all the teams that Jordan beat to win the title. You know, those were all like fairly iconic in my guys, in your.
Guys, yeah, the bad guys in the documentary, you know, these are the guys that are trying to kill Michael Jordan midair and then the yeah, and then they cut back and he's like, you know, I just popped my leg back into place. I ate some food, poison pizza, and just got back back out there.
You know, the Pacers were so memorable, Like I can't remember a team having a run like this that felt this out of nowhere, like heading into the playoffs. I don't like, they just like had a magic about them that like started coming out in the playoffs. I know they were playing well. I don't think anybody saw this, Like where does this rank on like second place like teams that lost in the finals for you in terms of like how memorable they are?
Harrison, you know, honestly, the team that comes to mind as a memorable second place finisher is actually the thunder from when they lost to the Heat, because it was like, hey, look at these young guys. It's clear that the you know, they have something cooking here. They're going to be back a bunch more times, right, And then they never were, and but it that was a fairly memorable team. They upset the Spurs. You know, they had again it was
like young KD, Young Russ. It's like the teams don't win when they're this young, and they ended up not winning, but they were really good. And I do remember that team from that year quite a bit. I'm trying to. I mean, I guess maybe either the Spurs or the Heat from their finals battles, you know, those were both sort of like, you know, like the year the Spurs came up short in Game seven. They were obviously a memorable runner up, but.
It's always like iconic teams that like you had a sense we're going to be there coming into the playoffs. So this was like such a weird like almost like NC double a tournament esque like Cinderella run that just like came up.
It felt like they were actually a great comp They were primed for a DVD basically, you know, really season, They're like when.
TJ McConnell scored like five times in a row, it's like, what is it?
Like?
What is I'm gonna love watching this scene in the documentary that's in never able about this run.
But yeah, just another achilles injury. Miles. As you pointed out to an All Star who wears the number zero the third one of these playoffs.
I was just being like, what's with the number zero this year? I mean, I Kyrie doesn't wear zero. But I think maybe, look in my mind, maybe it's the one weird note thing I noticed and as it happened, But maybe it's the low top sneakers.
I don't know, man, I don't know. This is so weird. It's yeah, it was where do you land with the Achilles of it all?
Yeah, I just think that it's you know this has been said before, but it's that the sport is so different than it ever was in you know, the years when sort of like we were talking about like the Jordan year stuff like that, there wasn't this amount of running around on defense, stop start, you know, rotations and all of that stuff. And I do wonder if it's
just taking a toll on guy's bodies. And I also remember reading like an ESPN story from Baxter Holmes a number of years ago where it was like where it was talking about how youth sports specialization is actually making guys knees worse. This is like a documented thing because kids aren't playing multiple sports and like working out multiple different muscles anymore. It's like, you know, you're just using those run and jump muscles playing basketball and you know
you're wearing out. There's more guys coming into the league with knee issues, and I think it's like a combination of all of that stuff. Is bodies this big weren't meant to be discordinated and moving around and stopping and starting all the time. And you know, it's just players are bigger and more skilled than they've ever been, and it's a more frenetic game than it's ever been. And I do think that there is probably something to that.
Well, especially with the way these teams played like off like the Pacers offense and the Thunder defense.
If someone from like thirty years will be like, what are they doing out there? Yeah, you just bring in like one of the bad Boys Pistons. He's like a legal defense.
YEA, what do you.
Oh so we can oh so the screen we can move? Now?
Okay, yeah, okay, I got something for that, although I would have led to see that.
Yeah, to your point, like Michael Jordan stunk at basketball when he was a sophomore in high school, as we all know, got cut and only liked baseball. As the story goes, that's not true. He just like didn't make his varsity team. I think his freshman year or sophomore year. He was still good. But yeah, it does seem like specialization is more a thing everybody's like, Okay, now I'm going to going from basketball practice to my one on
one basketball training session with my basketball coach. Yeah, it's a don't I don't know exactly what it is. It definitely just seems like it's a harder on the body, and we're probably gonna see a world where like people get shut down in the finals regardless of what, you know, how close it is, because they have a strained calf. Like the strained calf feels like it's got to be like, yeah, a red line. Now.
I mean I remember last week Sarah Todd was on and we're talking about like it sounds like he's gonna play with that calf.
Injury, and everyone was like, of course he's gonna play with that, is it?
Yeah? And if we were joking like that.
Thing is going to be fall off the bone tender by the time he's done playing that and it went a little bit too literally, But that just completely changed how I like, just for me, it was such a blow to the enjoyment of that game, and it felt like that's kind of how it even felt in the arena too, Like it felt very subdued, like it was kind of like, yeah, we won.
That was kind of.
A grim way to end it all though that felt a little bit rough. I don't know if that was the same for everyone else, but at a certain point, like I had to actively just like kind of walk away for like long stretches because like, oh, this is tough.
No.
It almost looked like the Thunder players were going through it too, of like yeah, thing of like did we just watch this guy's entire career change and then now it's you know, we got to go play do or die basketball. It just seemed like, again, it takes nothing away from Thunder. They were obviously totally deserving and legitimate Champiel.
It was just a really weird vibe for a game seven of you had all these guys just clearly processing it in the moment, and even like you said in the arena, like, I think the Thunder players probably feel bad to some degree. You know, they're professional athletes. These guys are all human. Like, nobody wants to see that.
And they probably also want to win that like, and just as competitors like I want to beat the best version of my opponent. You know, I don't ever want to feel like we only won because this happened, although we were.
Playing very well.
But even like even the locker room felt very even with those michelobe.
Joints michel ultrue joints.
Yeah, our man, Chet, even did you hear that?
No, I saw the one of Alex Cruzo teaching them how to open champagne. Yeah remember where you learned that, Alex? Yeah?
No, this is right after they were talking about to Chet about like the you know, champagne showers of locker room.
What's going on?
And then he hits us with a brand new pronunciation for michelob ultra.
But for now, I got my michelob ultra joints, My Michel.
Chet Chet is my favorite, like arks on rec side character.
You know, it's just truly he has written like a we were trying to figure out what it wasn't like extras maybe like he's like Ricky Gervais, the Ricky Gervais Show, you know, like just a heightened version of like what a comedy writer would think was funny if he had that personality. And uh, yeah, whoever's writing him, they're nailing it because it's very funny.
You could see him in parks and rec like at those city council meetings.
That's what I was going to say. He's at the city council meeting like complaining about like fluoride in the water.
No, no, he's complaining about the varietals at the library.
There's not varieties of picture book. Yeah. We were obsessed with his clip Harrison where he takes you through his favorite books and he's, uh, he can't live without.
Yeah.
Yeah, he says, these are a type of book with pictures that I like to call coffee table books. And then and then is like, shows you one that's about jewelry, and he's like, but I've got all sorts of varieties of these and then shows you another just like coffee table book, the books or varieties. I've got different varieties of books. Yeah, baby, Yeah. His car he needs to be wearing, uh, snowboarding goggles on. Like I feel like that's forever still yet to come for him and needs
to happen. That's the Definitely, he's like he feels like he'd be John Ralphiel's bodyguard or something.
We're gonna get photos of him like celebrating in like overseas somewhere. He's like on his like you know, like post championship European vacation and he's going to be surfing on like two surfboards that they had to weld together or something. You know, it's just.
Duct tape them together. Man, coming down the way. Yeah yeah, whoa easy, baby, easy.
I will say, shout out to him though he gave He gave me the idea for my best bet, which was betting on Oklahoma City last year in the off season. Unfortunately a year too early. But man, just seeing him in Summer League, I was like, he looks good. Maybe they'll be good this year and uh, and they were just not quite good enough.
What do you think, Harrison?
This like this sort of finals run kind of says for a lot of people who were like, yeah, I don't see the Pacers. It's gonna be the It's gonna be thunder and four, five, maybe five probably at most. Do you think they're like because I was talking to one of my friends who was basically disrespecting the Pacers the whole time, despite like performance after performance, and it wasn't until game seven.
That he was like, all right, maybe like fine, I was like, really, it.
Took you that long? It just feels I don't know, I mean, like this, where where do where? How should people be really be looking at this team? Because I feel like some people might just go back to I don't know, like without with knowing how halliburton injuries, Halliburton's injury is gonna pan out and just all of it, you know, surrounding this the end of the season, does this seem like, you know, are they gonna be right back in it?
Yeah? I mean what sucks with the injuries. It's a year long one and he literally had it in the last possible basketball game that you could play, and so he's like all of next year is probably wiped out for them, you know, like bar again, they are a team out of a sports movie, and so they could prove us wrong. And it's like, oh, TJ McConnell's an All Star next year.
TJ McConnell's sister is now on the team, and you're like, okay, great, I love this, dude, that's the sports movie plotline.
It's like, Hey, I got to invite my sister to come play because we had an injury. You know, my dad's a coach.
Yeah, there's a weird old by law that says if I have the same last name as the person, they're allowed to suit up.
Or than saying my sister can't play basketball. He's like, they're like, no, airbud rules don't work in real life. Wow, you know we actually do have a rule against that.
Yeah, there are there are courts where people would adjudicate this decision.
Yeah, she has the same initials TJ McConnell, I broke my ankle, but she can come in and play for.
It on paper the exact same thing.
Does the NBA not do trial by combat?
Yeah, exactly.
So I think they're probably done for next year, which does suck. But I think that I've never felt more like one of the pundits that they show in the montage in a sports movie when like after games that the Pacers played, where I'm like, you know, I was down at my parents' house, you know, I'm I'm associate director of Pro Basketball. They're asking me for my opinion on the finals. I'm like, oh, I got it. Sound smart.
I'm like, you know, PACER's cute. Sorry, I just like, I don't even know if they can get a game. This Thunder team, this Thunder defense is so good, and then they win Game one and I just look like an idiot. And you know, it's like I can see the clips of you know, all the first take you know, talking heads, the you know, you're the people on Fox Sports, the whatever, you know, it's it's the montage of like
this team has no chance. And then TJ McConnell is like showing a video of it in the locker room to all of his guys and he's like, Thomas Bran, are you gonna let them talk about you like that? And he's like, no, I'm not. I'm gonna score nine.
Yeah, I did see. Your parents were in the comments of our episode talking a lot of trash about your team.
I mean deservedly. So yeah, you know, they got three other kids, so they'll be fine. But it's just, you know, I feel bad for embarrassing them on a national stage like this.
That's right, all right? Should we move beyond the finals matchup? Sure? Look to the future. How long do we have with this? Like, yes, the thunderlook set for the future. The West also looks very competitive and there's a lot of intriguing people who might jump up, such as Victor Webbing Yama. How long
do we think until the Spurs are a contender? Because I think some people were like, I don't know, maybe maybe this year, and that didn't end up being the case because of an injury, but also prior to the injury also didn't seem to be the case. What do we think is it this year?
They just don't seem to be in a rush. I think it's two more. I think it's another year after this before they start to enter that conversation. I think Wenby will have to keep developing obvious, although he's obviously incredible already, but they're probably gonna lose something with Chris Paul going out. I mean, I know they have to Aaron Fox now, but it doesn't seem like they're rushing to make an all and move this summer, Like they didn't seem to get seriously involved in the KD sweepstakes.
Maybe they would have if Yannis was actually available, but it doesn't seem like he's going to be and so maybe that is what would have actually led to them making an all in swing. But for right now, it seems like they're sort of happy to patiently slow play it, you know, draft Harper second and sort of go like
into next year. Is hey, we're going to continue to figure out like which of these young guys are actually good and try and you know, the Thunder honestly just made a case for them to be patient and say, you know, hey, let's figure out, you know, sort of if any of these drafts, how good these draft picks are, and then where we actually need veteran help.
Right man, It's just everything went right for the Thunder, like all those players developed like the best case scenario. But yeah, I don't it'll be it'll be interesting to see. And like you said, I mean, maybe the Spurs were like the people who gave Presty the playbook, since that's where he hails from. But I don't know. I would have liked to see them get Durant KD to the Rockets. What do we think? I feel like the Rockets won
that trade. I think they're gonna be pretty interesting. It's a lot of pressure on KD to be like a bucket down the stretch, but that is like the thing that he's maybe the best of all time at Do we think the Rockets are a contender right away?
I think so. I mean, they were already so good on defense last year that this was you know, it's rare that you see a team plug their only hole in one trade and just like immediately address all the concerns about that. And it's just like that was there. One thing that they could not do last year was you know, they didn't have a go to guy down
the stretch of games. They could stay in games, but teams continually out executed them down the stretch because offense generally beats defense in those moments, and because of how good offenses in the NBA are and how tough it can be to play defense, And so I think KD
just sort of, you know, solves that problem. You know, you're you're not gonna be able to guard him with the game on the line, and so as long as he can sort of contribute enough and they don't lose too much in the Dylan Rooks sort of absence on defense or you know whatever sort of ephemeral like culture stuff. I think they should be probably right into the contention conversation.
But then they're in the Western Conference, Harrison, and now would mean if they're in this.
I didn't say they're gonna win the title. I think they're gonna be in the Yeah.
Yeah, but then but then that means that means the Lakers can't be in the finals.
Well and and I and I can't.
I'm just much too fragile right now to even handle that. I mean, obviously seeing them keep like Aman Thompson and shanng.
Gun and all that, and I'm like, yeah, this is trouble for sure. Yeah, how how did the Sons? I'm not I'm going to stop asking myself hypothetical questions about why the Sons do things?
If I if I'm a good GM, I'm calling the Suns every day. I just want to see what they offer me.
You know, what do you got?
Can you said anything? What do you got over there? What do you have for me yeaheah. They're like they're like, hey, well we'll give you Grayson Allen for a second round pick. Oh right, sure, man collecting seconds now, we don't nobody knows why he thinks he's going for Giannis, but he's gonna make the trade before just set you got to set yourself up.
You know, who's the ideal player to match with Luca for the next five five years or so? If you could choose any player from the.
League, Oh that's interesting. I mean, if I could choose any player, it would be probably Wimby, just because like, yeah, he's just such a cheat code on the lobs and stuff like that, and like so clearly addresses a lot of the defensive stuff, and just I think sort of gives you a, you know, a version of what the Lakers had, honestly in the Lebron ad tandem in the bubble, where you have like the big that is incredible defensively, still a problem on offense, and then you have the
incredibly talented wing scorer playmaker guy, and you just sort of have to fill in defenders around that, but they sort of have the offense taken care of as long as you have enough credible shooting around them, and so yeah, it would be Wemby. I mean the Lakers were obviously not getting him, but if I could choose any player in the league, it would be him.
Okay, of the people in the Mark Walter era that we're entering, who do you think is like a realistic sort of you know, people are like they'll maybe they'll try and get Gafford, Like they're not gonna do that, don't be silly, But like, what what do you think is realistic in terms of if we're not gonna be we'll be a little bit more reckless with the spending perhaps, uh enough here with what you know, the financials of it all.
Well, I think that the way that that's going to affect things more is going to be in the Lakers like sort of building out their organization, you know that, hiring more scouts, hiring pro personnel scouts which they don't have.
Yeah, we didn't have scouts.
I was like, what, No, No, no, they have scouts, they just didn't have like out scouting the NBA.
Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean, Like like other teams did. I'm like, oh, we're truly like kind of resting on our Laurels to be like, you.
Know, yeah, yeah, a little bit, uh yeah yeah.
But when I read that, I was like, come on, baby, you can't.
They're like sort of they were like, you know, Rob watches all the Laker games, so he'll see the guys when they play against us. I guess, like that's it's fine. Yeah, And so you know, they're just gonna have a lot of re sources like that. You've seen the Dodgers. It's not just that they spent on payroll. It's that they have like a best in class organization in terms of you know, and that's what that guy did there, and he sort of slow built that up. He found the
right gm, he built around him. He you know, like fleshed out the front office with as many smart people that he could hire. And like that's really the area where your money can have more impact than on player salaries, because especially in this second Apron era, you know, there's so many basketball penalties to exceeding that that you're almost better off. Like everybody's gonna spend essentially the same amount.
Very few teams are going to go like ware. I mean, some teams may go under the first apron you know, but very few teams are going to go over the second apron for a long time, and so you almost can get more bang for your buck. I think in just like trying to build out your other advantages in terms of scouting, in terms of getting the best coaches possible on not just your main coach, but your assistant coaches, all of that kind of stuff.
But Harrison, you're talking about I found it sounds like the concept you're talking about things like long term sustainability, stability, bruh. The question is how am I getting to the finals next year?
You know I need that.
Let's go.
Well, so I think the Bucks are really going to want the Lakers twenty thirty one first round pick, you know you'd think, And so I think that's enough to get Giannis.
Twenty thirty one.
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a gale.
I think I want to hear. Yeah, you know that's what I want to hear. Thank you, Thank you. Tell me about the Rabbits, George.
I think you know, if you just if you throw in Dalton connect yeah, I think it's like back. I think you'll want to be a bar yeah, to.
Build around for the future Lakers. Then I think, yeah, but no, no no, no, no no no no no no no. I think I think side connect No maybe yeah, yeah, just super producer Jabari is pointing out, like maybe we're talking pick swap here.
I don't know, You're right negotiating against myself if I'm going to them, I'm calling up Milwaukee and I'm saying, you can have one second round pick swap for Giannis.
Yeah. By the end of the day, Lakers, the balls in your court, sir, yeah, good night.
Do you want the number one draft pick next year? I'm just saying, Baltimore court hangs.
Up one last thing on the off season, moves Drew Holliday going back to the Blazers, Anthony Simon's going to the Celtics. Sits so badly with me.
Such a weird trade, such.
A weird trade that just feel it feels like it's being written by the Celtics, Like the Celtics just needed this and so they got it, Like I don't know, like they got they got the Blazers, Like, here's Drew Holliday for the two years where you need him and can win the championship, and then you give him back to us for our young prospect who we currently say is like completely untouchable. And I know he wasn't like great last season, but still just feels like, I don't know, man.
They did, like what those the European soccer teams did. They sent Drew Holliday to the Celtics on loan, you know, and they're getting him back now and yeah.
You guys done? Are you sure? Okay?
Yeah?
Yeah, you just send him back? And do you guys want Anthony Simons? Maybe? I don't know.
Joe Cronin saw he's like the last team to show. The last two teams to trade for Drew Holiday won a title the first year. I gotta go get this guy.
That's right?
What's his contract even worth? Like this, isn't it something wacky too? Like he's not he's on He's on big money, isn't he.
Yeah, it's thirty to forty million, I think if I'm remembering correctly, I mean, yeah, he's.
From a salary perspective. Again, why the Celtics did it?
Right?
Right?
But I'm like, what, Okay, Well, good luck to you in Portland, good luck to you all.
Right, let's uh should we take a break and come back and do the final rapid fire round of questions.
Oh sure, I guess we have to. Okay, okay, we'll be right back.
Man, we're back back one last one, last evil laugh. Why, okay, I'm fine. I'm fine.
Here's a thing, and you've just made it to the full quarter of before the questions the christ this podcast history in the podcast it's on iheard, co produced with the NBA, co hosted by people named Johns and Jack.
Giles and Mac.
We're gonna ask you a question of those words.
Just it's very important from a legal yeah, from from legally you have to know.
But we're gonna ask you a question.
You just respond your chest passed it right back, just right back to us. Okay, don't think about it, just answer.
I'm happy to I know how this works.
Okay, you are you are, my sweet sweet boosties child, Brian.
If you want to.
Go first, Jackers, I'd.
Love for you to go first.
Oh my goodness.
Okay, Harrison, we're gonna do this player pairing or that player pairing that you would prefer to see where you could get with that.
Mm hmm.
I think you should get with this. This is where it's at the first one.
Okay, this or that Luca and Yannie or Wenby.
Wenby and Yannis.
I think, whoa, that would be crazy. Those guys are both so tall.
How does that work? I just think, is it not rapid fire? But I think, uh, your defense is just impossible to score on with.
Those defense is actually also important.
It turns out guys named Harrison love defense and think of the championships, so you know they do say that.
All right, Luca and Joker where Joker and Wemby. I feel like, we we know you're Wemby over Luca. Is that correct? Ah?
I think I'd go Luca and Joker just because that would be you know, yeah, yeah, I think I think their offense would be so unstoppable that playing that Balkin ball oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah, sign me up. Wemby Jokic just feels like a weird fit to me. I'm not sure, like they they're both great, they'd make it work, but it's just like it's a strange fit.
It feels like somehow they would get in each other's way physically.
Yeah, no, you can't have that, not at the same time on the same team.
Oh my god, get out of my way? What are you doing?
Although Wemby would be thrilled. He's like, I don't have to guard Yokic anymore.
I love this Luca and Wemby or Joker and Yannis.
I think we maybe know this Luca and Wemby or Joker and Yannis. I would go. I think probably Joker and yannism.
Yeah, I'm just I'm just imagining both of those.
I just know.
Actually I'm going Luca Wenby.
Yeah, I just like Giannis, I hasn't shown me enough off the ball to be like that. It's like, oh, he's immediately going to go sort of run off if you get like you would want him to. Yeah, I think I think it's Luca and.
That you will notice that we just go silent when you do the wrong the wrong answer and until answer. I'm not that one, Okay, Luca Shay, You'll just Alexander or Luca and Ant And these are being presented by jabari as just like these are options here because all of these guys are gonna come home eventually.
I'm going Luca and Ant because I just think Aunt was born to be a Laker like many great players from the history of Minnesota, and you know, I think he could be the city's latest greatest Minneapolis import.
Mm hmm, absolutely, absolutely, it's just a pipeline something from there's a there's a long tradition of Minneapolis handing things to Los Angeles so that they can flourish.
We just drink their milkshake as it were. Okay, So, Harrison, we just talked about the KD trade. Uh And we had the Desmond Baine news last week where he said I was in a chamber.
Of darkness like Baine.
It was so dark in that windowless facility.
Can you give us your predictions on where these players are gonna end up next season?
And get getting silly with it? That cool?
Well, you had to do that or else it falls apart.
It really falls apart.
It really falls apart, to be honest, To.
Be honest, Harrison, where's Gianni's going to be next season?
Okay? And now and now do a silly one?
I just a Toronto?
Wow? Why Toronto?
I don't know. It just seems like the type of thing that they do, like where you know, they swine on the wildly talented wing that is available to them for some reason, for lower than it would be for other teams, and you know, just go win a title. That's what miss I does.
All right, joh and Triple J. Where are they going?
They're they're both going to the same team. They're getting sent out in like a sure. No, I think I think as good as you are, you can always get better, you know, use some some more bench weapons. Yeah, Jos six Man of the Year, you know, it's perfect role. What about Lebron James, I mean really the only answer Actually, you know what I'm gonna say. He wants to he wants to go rejoin with a d and he's wanted
to play with Kyrie. Uh, you know, he's just like, yeah, it seems like they get things done for their players over there as long as they're not Luca. You know, he wanted a center, he got, he got seven centers, So you know, Lebron, Lebron's gonna get nine point guards to take the load off of him until he gets tired of them and takes over at point guard.
All right.
And finally, Jalen Brown, I would have said the Rockets until they made the Katie trade, because that seemed like it was something that was, you know, maybe gonna happen. Yeah, the Hawks, they want to make some noise m hm from Atlanta, bringing them home. Yeah, from Atlanta. Yeah, and Harrison, all the right answers.
Yeah, well that's no. We got to bring it home now, Oh, yeah, to bring Those were the right answers. But I can't. Oh, this could be the wrong answer answer in that section. Those are all the right answers.
This next section, this could be a wrong answer, and there is a wrong answer one last time, Harrison Fagan for everybody in the back.
Jacker, Miles, Miles, Uh, you know la receptionalism.
Oh, the right answer.
Look, I do it. I can't. I can't pick some East Coaster come on.
Thank you.
I needed that.
I needed that.
Jack's fine, He's fine, He's gonna be fine. He's gonna jack about him. Jack, you're my second favorite host, you know. Yeah, You're means a lot. That's pretty good.
You know, it's huge top two Miles and Jack, it's okay. I believe I was three and one hundred and sixty eight according to Ryan, So that's that all makes sense for the hundred and seventy one episodes.
Or he asked that, Well, we stopped asking for a while because it was getting a little silly.
No, So what happened is we we stopped leaving it in the episode. We we asked every time, and it was like whenever they'd say Miles, I'd be like, caught it, Yeah, caught it.
You broke a lot of desks. I remember we did you seriously used to ask every guest. Yeah, we know that's insane.
Oh insanely good, right, good content.
I feel worse for Jack. I'm sorry.
Oh yeah, man, no, sorry, it's been a hard road, you know, and me and taking some solace from Sam Press. You just keep doing it. Keep wait, the show's ending.
Yeahs can cut a long run short, as they say, you know, and we took no shortcuts.
And this was a long and storied ride.
So, Harrison Fagan, thank you so much for joining us on the final episode of Miles and.
Jack Got Mad Boosties.
Where the where did the people find you?
Because you continue on to cover the league.
Miles and I disappear at the end of this episode like obibi just a pile of clothes.
Yeah, oh my god, Jack just went in a force go he really just he just disappeared. It's just closed, just dropped to the ground and he's blue. Yeah, I uh you know. You can follow me on Twitter at at h M Fagan. Uh and then obviously all of our work over at sp nation dot com. And guys, thanks for having me for the last one. It's an it's been an honor. And uh yeah I was. I was not excited to get the call because it means the show's ending, but you know, I appreciate the invite.
Oh man, well, you can find me everywhere at Miles of Gray if you still if you still want, if you still wish, And.
Obviously on other show, the Daily Zeitegist that guys still going on on that Jack Underscore Obrian on Twitter, Jack obi the number one on Blue Sky a reference to Obi Wan and my ability to just turn into a pile of clothes.
Yep, oh my god, you came back.
Yeah, there he is there we are. Uh, that's it.
That's it.
Don't search hashtag mat boosties for links and updates because it's can be it. But we will be talking NBA on uh.
Dailey's Eitgeist and of course, yeah, the the chattering still goes on again. Thank you to everybody who played a pivotal role in this show. Obviously Jabari Davis, Brian the editor, our two biggest day ones Literal day Ones on this show. This show would not be where it is without your work, your dedication, lending me your basketball intelligence to pretend I'm not just a totally out of my mind Laker fan, and I do know some things about the other teams from time to time.
So I do owe you a debt of gratitude forever. Jabari. Also, just you know, the iHeart family, Sean Peter Race, you know, day one and the NBA people, Steven Channing, Meredith, love to you all.
Thank you for taking a chance on two.
Just Adam is over, Yeah, Silver Adam was a big fan Lebron Jamee. Come on. We were like, let's not mix business and pleasure at him. But you know, always fun and you know these past three years as a Sixers fan a lot of times, but I'm looking back at that beach and I only see one set of footsteps, yep, And I say, Miles, why did you abandon me? You say, Jack, it was it was during those seasons that I carried you, and so I have to thank you as well.
Oh man, Well Jack, I'll.
See you tomorrow anyway, it doesn't matter.
Hope listen, but thank you all for listening, and we'll see you soon.
Later bribe