EPISODE 12: KD is back, LeBron is out ... and that's only the beginning for a jam-packed show

Phoenix Suns tonight. Nice little twenty three points in twenty seven minutes. Kadie always does this. This is the third time he's come back from this kind of knee brain injury, and you know, he always he seems to make these things look like they didn't even slow him down when he when he gets back on the court so quickly. And look, I don't I don't think we want to read too much into it when they're playing a Charlotte team, even though Charlotte had won a few games in a row. Here,

no LaMelo Ball, Obviously, LaMelo ball season is over. After the ankle injury he just sustained and had to undergo surgery. So I don't I don't want to make too much of it. But for a first look at the Phoenix Suns, Durant looked great, Devin Booker looked great, and I think they gave us a glimpse of why everybody is not everybody. But so many people think that the Suns can win the West now because I mean, their two main guys are just absolutely dangerous. What were you looking for tonight

out of Kady? Oh? What was I looking for from Kady? I don't think I was looking anything related to Kady. I was looking at how the other guys were going to play and how they were going to mess with him. That's what I was looking forward to. I think you saw early on guys were kind of deferring to KD, trying to get him acclimated and get on some shots early on, and they did a good job. But you know, I'm not surprised by anything. KD was the last person I was looking at to try to see if he

was going to be into form or not. He was going to be ready. Like you said, this is not the this is not the first time he's gone through something like this. But you know, I think that you know, they showed again it is Charlotte Hornets, but you know, they they're still trying to get a field for one another. And I think, you just they just have really smart guys. I'm talking about the star players, Chris Paul, Devin Booker and KD. These guys are too smart not to figure

it out. And I think once they figure it, figure it out, man, And I think the only thing that's going to be able to stop them is an injury. So you know, so far, so good. It looks good. Chris Paul didn't have that a good game offensively, but he still had eleven assists and so he's still going to be effective. And you know, they're just still getting comfortable. Man, They're right now. I still I feel like they're going

to be the team to be for sure. Yeah. Well, I remember we had Jamal Crawford on not that long ago, and Jamal was saying that he thinks KD will get acclimated here in record time because these guys are all so skilled. But I mean, it is it is a pretty fascinating contrast that the Suns are really gonna get not even twenty games, because I'm sure there's going to be a game here too down the stretch where you know, they don't have all three, they don't have Chris, Paul

and Book and Kad. I'm sure one of them is going to miss at least one game here for down the stretch, So they're not even gonna get twenty games together until the playoffs. And the other three teams that I think are recognized as the best in the league Denver in the West, Boston and Milwaukee in the East, and even if you want to throw Philly in there,

all these teams have a lot more continuity. So it is such a contrast to see how the Sons can they you know, can they mesh super quick and become an instant factor and they're going to have to overcome top contenders who have so much more time together. But I mean, you know, I live in Dallas. Obviously, the Kyrie Irving trade has not worked anywhere close to what

the MAVs had hoped coming off the bat. They're you know, one and four when Kyrie and Luca both play, and you know that win was the only win was against San Antonio. But the anticipation for Sunday's game here in Dallas. I'm actually surprised I'm going to be at a big game and you are not, unless you're planning on making a surprise trip here Sunday. That I don't know about that Suns MAVs game. The Sons and MAVs already hate

each other after last season seven game playoff series. But now to see k d in here with all those familiar Sons faces and taking on Luca and Kyrie, that that that is going to be a wild Sunday afternoon Sunday. So that's not going to be a nationally televised game there, huh. I think it is. No, it's I mean, it's a noon start, so it has to be. I think it has to be on national TV. It's a great question. I haven't I haven't looked. I just assumed at noon

that it is a national TV game. I'm actually gonna check now, but I think it's got to be if it's that, because a noon tip off in Dallas is really early. You know, you say, you know the Lakers MAVs last Sunday was two thirty. Yeah, it's ABC. It's an ABC game. Okay, that's going to be a real You know what, Stein, if I didn't have to fly to Minnesota the next day, I probably would be at that game. I probably would be at the game. That's

going to be a very interesting game. But you talk about Steyn, you talk about guys still mashing and teams, you know, still trying to figure things out, trying to implement these new guys. I just I'm covering the Clippers this week. So I had the Clippers Timberwolves Tuesday for TNT, and now I have the Clippers Warriors Thursday, which is tonight for T and T as well. And Russ is not to blame for sure, but they have yet to

get a win since Russ has been on board. They're O and three, so they're still trying to figure things out. Kyrie still trying to figure things out with Dallas. Who else? This seems like somebody else is going through a bit of a process here since being DEALT dropped the Clippers up because we were talking before we started what else we did we want to get into, and I forgot I did want to bring up the Clippers since you you you are seeing them, So do you think are

they you know? I think you summed it up well, they're oh and three since since Russ joined them. But you know, Russ has played well and he's done what they want him to do. I mean it's not just him. I mean he had seven turnovers in his Clipper debut, but he also add what I think seventeen seven, seventeen, fourteen and five, and I mean they are a high turnover team. That's not just on him. How do you think they're kind of coping with the slow start because

they were playing well before they got him. They were, um, look, they're a high turn I'm glad you mentioned that they are a high turnover team. And last night for Tuesday Night, Paul George will turning the ball over. They all were. I think they had twenty five turnovers in that loss to the Temples. And Russ looks good. Russ looks good with them. I don't know what it is with this

spadum ty Lou. You know, I spoke to him at the end of the third quarter and he was talking about guys playing with heart and effort, and you know, talking like that this late in the season, that's not really encouraging. You know, if you're a team that's trying, if you're a team that has aspirations of winning the championship.

So they got some things to figure out. Man. That definitely did some twitter noise that that in game interview you had with ty Lu because basically he I mean, he said they weren't playing hard enough, right, I mean that's basically what he said. Yeah, you don't You don't hear that. Again, you don't hear that this late in the season from a team that we expect, or we we think has a legitimate shot to be amongst the final two. But I don't know. This is not a

rust thing. It's not a rust thing for sure. But God, they gotta figure they gotta figure something out. You know, they got the Warriors. You know, here tonight in Golden State. I'm here. The water is beautiful, by the way, beautiful weather, beautiful weather. Oh loo. I love the bay. I love the base. I don't know if I told you that. No, it's not in the come on now, well we don't get much snow in the base time. It's beautiful, man, beautiful. So you know, they got their work cut out. They

definitely have they work cut out. The Clippers that is. And look, let's not forget that the Warriors here with no Steph. Draymond's been banged up a little bit recently, they've actually managed to win a few without these guys, and they've creeped back up into the top six. And it's really what they did the first time Steph got hurt with a long term absence this season. I remember talking about it with him when I caught up with the Warriors on the road and had a chance to

visit with him in January. And this is now the second time this season that the Warriors have managed to string some wins together in the face of injury, and it sounds like Steph's coming back next week and suddenly, finally we've been waiting for them to, you know, turn it on and look like some semblance of the defending champions. But I'm sure that there's I mean, they have to

be feeling good right now too. I mean, a three game winning streak normally wouldn't be caused for celebration when you won four championship in eight years, but in this season's West, you win three in a row and you go skyrocketing up the standings, which is what's happened. Yeah, that's what that's the situation. A lot of teams in the West, you know, see themselves in right now. Three game losing streak could really put you down. Three game

winning streak could really take you up. There's still a lot of time, and that's why this race is gonna be really it's gonna be really good, you know, as we get you know, towards the latter part of this regular season. I think it's gonna make it for a a great TV. There's gonna be a lot of teams in, a lot of teams out. The play in is gonna be that much more I wasn't a fan of play

in implementation a few years ago. I think it's going to be that much more compelling now, you know, with how tight the race is with these teams, and so they go to State Wars. You're looking at st I'm looking at the schedule for to go to State Wars, and you know, they got the Clippers Thursday, they got New Orleans Friday, then they're at Lakers Sunday and at Okac Tuesday. I'm thinking about I don't have any intil on this right now, but if I'm Steph and the

word is he could come back next week. Uh, that March seventh game against Okac. OKC looks pretty good. You know you think about like when when when star players like to come back from long hiatus, is from an injury. You know, you look at you look at some of those games, look at the schedule, you look at the UH. You just look at the UH the competition of what that team presents. And I think OKAYC makes a lot of sense. Again, don't have any intail, but I just

see OKAYC on the March seventh Tuesday. Then after that they got Memphis, Milwaukee, Phoenix. It's it's tough. They gotta the Warriors got a tough schedule. Okay. Oh they well, they're they're gonna they're they're gonna cut They're gonna cut off right before you said that, so they're not gonna get that warning. One more thing about the clip. Since again you just saw them with your own eyes, I have not seen them yet since Russ joined them. Does

Russ look comfortable to you? He's looking good, man, He looks good stuff. He looks really good. He's not he's more in control right now. And I think he's probably more in control now because they have a lot of guys who hand to the ball with Lakers. It was pretty much him and Lebron. You know, here you got Paul George handles the ball a lot, Kawhi handles the ball a lot. Ye Terence Man who comes off the bench and handles the ball a lot, so he doesn't

have to do as much. But he's looked he's looked

really good. You know. I overheard him, you know, as as a sideline reporter, you're allowed to, you know, go behind the team's bench during the time out huddles, and at one point, and I said it on the air, at one point he was like the real vocal guy telling everybody to get back in transition and explain to him to how, you know, I half court defenses is great, but Minnesota is getting their their points because we're not getting back in transition and we're not finding a guy.

So he was really vocal. And if you look at that Clippers roster, they don't have a lot of vocal guys on that roster, and so that that that's a void right there that I think, you know, he takes care of and I think it's a good addition. I definitely think it's a better fit for him with the Clippers. I do got a question. Play started as I looked this up. It's pertained to rush total. Me. Let me look up this stat real quick. Okay, this season Russ

has started, damn that's it. He started a total of six games total, and he's played in a total of fifty five fifty two with the Lakers, three for the Clippers, and it looks like he's going to be the starter from here on album Does this eliminate him from the six men a year? Candacy? The rule is, the official rule is as if he plays as long as you've as long as you've come off the bench one more

game than you start, you're eligible. So even if he starts every game he plays for the Clips, he's going to be way under fifty percent. And so he's good. But I guess the biggest way to explain is if he had if he had played seventy games, if he's played thirty six off the bench and thirty four as a starter, he's eligible. All right with you saying that? And I'm not trying to start something here, but what

you saying that, Stime? You know, I spoke to somebody from the Clippers yesterday and I was asking, you know, how teams start to towards the end of the year, they start to send out these packets or these gifts to media members to get you to vote for whatever candidate that they're trying to promote, whether that's MVP or whatever.

And so I asked about what the Clippers, will you guys be trying to advocate for run to get six man a year even though he's not going to be a six man prospect for you guys, And what I was told was no, they would likely only do it for Norm Powe. Well, look, I mean the reality is he's not going to come off the bench for them, so I guess I could see it to a degree.

But on the flip side, yeah, like he is their player now, and if that's the award Russ is eligible for, I mean it would be I think it would be weird if the Clippers are sending out all this And like you said, you know so many teams send us paraphernalia to try to get us to vote a certain way. I have not been an active voter since twenty seventeen. I still make my picks public, but they're not official picks. It's just the ballot that I do for publishing purposes.

So I haven't. I haven't actually voted on anything since since twenty seventeen, which was the year that Russ won MVP. And yes I did vote for Russ. And no, I'm not taking that one back. I think he deserved the MVP that year. But we'll get into that one. We'll get into that one another for Russ that year as well. Um, the Rockets were mad at me. The Rockets were mad at me that year about because I told him, No, I told him because Russ wanted the last few weeks

of that season. You know, I had hardened, Like I was telling people, you know, look like Harden is gonna get it. That's where my vote is gonna go. And and Russ just had a crazy two weeks span. Has has some game winners in that last two weeks. You know, that's a that's a different topic for the day. But yeah, no, same thing. I thought that that was the season that Kevin Durant went to the Warriors, and I thought Oklahoma City was going to fall off the face of the

NBA map. They I think, won forty seven games, and Russ average the first triple double since uh since Oscar And for me, forty seven wins with that team after losing in k D and the Oscar Feet. To me, it was close enough to fifty wins that Russ got my vote. And that's always been the standards, you know, since since I've been covering the league. You got to go all the way back to Moses Malone in the early eighties with Houston for the last MVP from a

non fifty win team except the two exceptions. I'm doing this off the top of my head, so if if I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me. But I think the only two MVPs we've seen since Moses with less than fifty wins were Russ and Yokich last year, So I do I'm with you. I thought he deserved it. But again that I'm sure now we're gonna get a We're gonna get a lot of a lot of a lot of people who don't like either one of us after we can rebrought We brought that back up. But look,

it's a tough six man field. Powell certainly in it, Malcolm Brogden certainly in there, Tyrese Maxie certainly in there. But that was a great question that you asked the Clippers, because that's kind of a that is kind of uncomfortable for them, Like Norman Powell is he's been a Clipper all year, but Russ is a Clipper now, so it's like, do they just not promote him? And that was you know,

I didn't get the chance to talk to Russ. We you know, we said what's up before the game, but I didn't get the chance to talk to him about I'm curious to see how he feels about it, Like, is that an award? He really wants it because it took a lot for him to buy into that role and then he bought into it and he excelled. So you know, I'm interest in the scene and how how

he feels about it. Does he feel like that that's an award that he should still be in the running for it, even though he's like he's going to be a starter. Maybe you'll get that chance to ask him before Thursday's game to work at India, to work at India coverage. I'm sure he's gonna be glad to see you, Russ. You know, Russ's hitting this man. You never know what, Russ. I'm absolutely furious. I can't believe you're doing that game

instead of the game that's in my city. You could have been you know, you could have been on you could have been on Sixers, MAVs six things. What day? What day is that? That's that's the first game of the doubleheader. Wow, Sixers, Sixers, MAVs than Clippers, Warriors. They I mean, you're a West Coast guy. Let's face it, you're they sent me. They're sent to me to Minnesota Monday, Minnesota Sixers. I love Minnesota. Minnesota for a visit. Now. I don't know if I could live in Mines in Minneapolis,

but I love visiting Minneapolis. Yeah, it's I've gravitated to it more of the last few years. But no, typically I prefer to get away from the snow. Start. I got a snow story, Can I say it? Now? Start? Yeah, yeah, we got we all we're always ready for a story. You know. It's like an old bad I got a story to tell. So when I I'm from California, born and raised Fresno, California. Never really lived outside of California until I took the Cleveland Cavalier. No excuse me when

I moved to Portland. Moved to Portland when I was like twenty seven. But then When I moved to Cleveland to cover Lebron, I was what thirty and this was twenty fourteen, So that was my first time really outside the West Coast. Spent about three to four years in Portland before that, but California my whole life. So so I don't know if you noticed, but in California, if you if you come up in the hood, right, we

tend to have beat up cars. You know, we tend to buy cars for around five hundred a thousand dollars and you know it's not the best of shape, but they get you from point A to point B. And for a lot of our cars, we ten to fill the radiator up with water opposed to something else that I will talk about later. But so you know a lot of times you know your car may be leaking, and you know with with uh maybe leaking in you know, we put water in your your car's over heating, we

put water in it. Put water in it. Pull up to pull up to your homeboys porch, get the water holes, put water in the radiator to take you where ever you need, wherever you need to go. All right, So that's always been my philosophy. So now I'm in Cleveland Star. And I just moved to Cleveland and I'm there for a few days and I had to go to Brazil. The Calves were playing the Miami Heat. Uh preseason. Did you go to that too, Star, No, you didn't go to that? Okay, all right, So win Horse was there.

Win Horse was there. So anyways, I leave my car, which I drove from Portland to Cleveland. Leave my car to the airport. From Portland to Cleveland. No problems. Yes, car made it all the way from Portland to Cleveland. It's a little it's hoopedie. I have made it all the way from Portland to Cleveland. So I'm at the I'm at I'm in Brazil. And while I'm gone for that week's time, a snowstorm happened in Cleveland. It's like one of the coldest periods and in a while. So

I get back to Cleveland snow. I've never really seen snow like that, never been in snow like that. So I get to my car in the parking lot of the airport. Try to start it. It wouldn't start. It's making a noise I've never heard it make before. You know, I've been in lots of cars where it wouldn't start up. But I've never heard a sound like this before. Never

ever could have explained the sound to you if I tried. So, get the car towed from the airport to the mechanic, and a mechanic evaluates it and said, bro, I've never seen anything like this. And I'm like, what are you talking about? He said, your engine it's frozen. I'm like, what you mean, my engine is frozen. I said, well, you know it's snowing out here, like the snow can freeze the engine. It was like, no, your engine is frozen because you've been putting water all throughout your system

and it froze everything and it cracked your engine. He was like, you have to put Annie freeze in here. You're supposed to put Addie freeze. And I'm like, hold on, I said, so Addie freeze don't freeze. He said, yes, that's why it's called Antie freeze. Start. I'm from California. I had no clue how Annie freeze works. Man, I had no clue. I messed up a perfectly good vehicle because I was doing my California regiment in Cleveland, and so you had to get a new car. I had

to get a new car. What was the car? What kind of car was it that you lost? This was a god are you familiar? Oh? This car was only around, I want to say, for like a five year window. And I'm ashamed to say it, but a brother was struggling back there. I wasn't on my feet financially back then. But do you remember the cars they called a Sterling? Do you remember those? I don't. It was a it's

a foreign car. They were probably around for Oh, they're probably around for seven years, probably seven years if that. They started having a whole bunch of problems and they stopped. They stopped making them. It's called a Sterling. Are you looking? You looking at up Stein, You see it. It's a Sterling old in North America from nineteen eighty seven to nineteen ninety one, So I had to have the latest version of ninety one in twenty fourteen. The car was done.

It was really the car was Uh, it was as savable. I mean, you could probably could argued the car was done even before that incident. But it got me from point A to point B. Yeah. I got you all the way from the five O three all the way to Cleveland. Yeah, man, yeah, that so that's my story. So Anna freeze doesn't freeze everybody. So that's how you know. But again in California, we don't know. We don't. We didn't have to do that. We didn't have to use that.

Throw some water in there, your car run, your car runs five. That is not the story I thought you. I don't even know how weega. Now we haven't even talked about Lebron yet and the most serious derail the Lakers season. And I'm supposed to come up with a clever segue after that story. Well, okay, well let's let's let's go. Let's get to Lebron. You know, my car's not running. Lebron's not running right now, so let's go. I know they're saying two to three weeks and they'll

be reevaluated. I mean, so what I can say on Lebron is that sources didn't inform me that you will not require surgery. That's good news. And so that's that's good news for the Lakers. So right now, it's all about time in the rehabbing process. And this this is this is why it's the crucial period. You know, the Lakers have to really do what they can to buy him some time. And what I mean by that is

they gotta win. They gotta win. They gotta win. They gotta win a chuck of games, move up these standings to keep buying Lebron some time. That's what it's gonna take during this process. Could Lebron get out there and play right now? You know, it'll be a risk, but I think he probably could, you know, if he if he just necessarily had to. But it's too much of a risk, it's too much pain right now. The plan right now is to give him as much time to heal, um,

you know, for this rehab process. But the Lakers gotta win. They gotta win. They gotta keep winning. They gotta buy on time. But the good I mean they manufactured to win. They manufactured a big win tonight. Yeah nod with no Lebron,

no AD, no DeAngelo Russell. I mean, look, everybody now is pointing at a D and saying, you know, he's the one who's gotta you know, be the savior and all that, and and I do get that, but I don't know, I just I feel like a D. I mean, look, the numbers are the numbers, and the past three seasons since the bubble. He's he's basically missed half the games. There's no getting around that. But you can also say,

I mean the reality is Lebron. If if Lebron misses two three weeks and then comes back, I mean, this is gonna be the third successive season that Lebron has lost thirty thirty percent of the season or more to injury too. So it's it's not all just a d And I don't know, I just I just I you know, it's it's easy to go after him and you know every you know, street clothes and day to day Davis and all that stuff, and I just think it's too much. I think it's gone too far. He is still such

a good player. I mean, you saw what he did in Dallas on Sunday. The guy is still a monster, great player, great player. He's one of my favorite players to watch, you know, just the versatility of his game, you know, And I told him that, But yeah, I mean, Wronka, right, He's going to get a bulk of the credit and a bulk of the blame that the Lakers fall short because this is such a pivotal period right now, because again they have to hold down the fort not even

hold down the fourth. They got to move up the fort. You know, they got to move up in the fort while Lebron James is out, which is not an easy task. But I think they still have the depth to do it. They just have to. Ad has to play like a monster. He has to get the most out of his guys. And you know, look, man, nobody's gonna feel sorry for him. You know, this is the Los Ange Lakers. Nobody's feeling sorry for. Everybody outside the Laker Land is you know,

hoping they don't make it. I mean, here's the thing. A month ago, they didn't have that. They did not have the depth. I mean, now they really do. When you bring in Russell and Vanderbilt and Hatchet, Mura and Bomba, you know they've they've made all these editions, so they are, you know, Malik Beasley, They're a much deeper team than they were, There's no question about it. So there is

more firepower there for them to get through. I mean, it sounds like D'Angelo Russell should be back soon, so I mean it'll be he and he and a D leading the way. But then then the other thing is, you know, I I don't know it's just some of the some of the discourse to me is just crazy because before this injury, when Lebron missed three games, Lebron pass Kareen to get the all time scoring lead. But then the left foot issue, he missed three games in

a row. You came on this podcast and talked about how he's been playing through way more pain than people realize. But there were there. You know, you still see that chatter out there that Lebron's had he just wanted the record and he's he's good with the record. No, he's not just good with the record, because I think he's going to get the most blamed if the Lakers missed the playoffs, whatever the circumstances, no matter how many games ad misses, no matter no matter how many other injuries

there are, Lebron's resume will take the hardest hit. It will be three non playoffs seasons out of five, and if he's on the team, he's the one who's gonna bear the brunt of it. That's all. That's the way it is. He is the face of that franchise, and so you know he's the one, I think who really is going to take the brunt of it. If the

Lakers missed the playoffs again. So, um, I'm sure if he can get back out there, he's gonna find a way because you know, to just to to to miss the rest of the season and and and this thing and badly again. I mean, I don't even know where the Lakers go from here if that happens. Yeah, and that's that, that's that same foot stein And again, you know I said it back whenever I said that a few weeks ago. You know, Lakers were not putting that

injury on the on the injury list it was. They were saying it was his ankle, and I was hearing it was that right foot. So I don't hear it was the same foot. Not mean I guess what it was that same foot, Yes, that same foot. And I don't know, you know, I don't want to, you know, I don't want to jump to conclusions and say that that injury or what was bothering him led to ultimately, you know, this injury. But you know it's hard not

to try to connect the dots right there. Yeah. Look, you know they're not publicly, they're not saying very we have very few specifics about what this injury that has Lebron sideline now actually is. But it's obviously severe enough for him to have a boot covering his whole lower leg, and it's severe enough for him to be not be playing when the Lakers are in an absolutely desperate situation, because again, Lebron knows how this works better than anybody

in today's NBA. You could talk about all the games that Anthony Davis has missed, you can talk about how long it took the Lakers to make moves to upgrade the roster, but it ain't gonna be a d or Darvin Ham or Rob Pelinka or Genie Buss. The blame, the blame will be foisted first on number six. You know. That's you know, Charles Barkley always says it. That's the NBA. The stars get the credit, the stars get to blame. And he is. He is the foremost star on that team,

and he knows it. So I'm sure if he can't play, he can't play. It's not because he wants to go watch the super Bowl. He can't play. I mean, this is a legit issue. Will Stein. I wouldn't call this an issue, but I'm a little before we get out of here, Stein, you're wearing a brand a hat that I haven't seen really since I was probably in high school. And I don't know if this is a tennis thing, but you have a FeelA hat on it is is that brand is that prominent of tennis thing? And you

are you are not wrong. I was. I've been there this time of year. I have been known to sneak away and get in a little tennis, which is um really my first sporting love. So I actually spent four days at a tournament in Waco, Texas. I missed MAVs Lakers, I missed MAVs Pacers. I had to sacrifice two pretty important home games to see some live tennis, but I did.

And yes, I am. I mean, I'm glad that we don't have video on this podcast because I'm literally wearing tennis gear head to toe and I'm sure you would get a good laugh if you saw me, and a great laugh, I'm pretty sure I would. Sources may or may not say that there is further tennis in my future, because you know, March is always March is a month that features the two best tennis tournaments in the United States, besides the US Open, ones in Indian Wells in the

desert near Palm Springs, and then there's Miami. So is there potentially more tennis in my life and more clothes that would make you laugh harder than you did it your anti free story. Yes there are, but now now that you're onto me, I will never wear this gear again on the I'm just curious. I'm just curious. Fila was held a big place in my high school years. Gret Hill brought you know, basketball hoops. Who's oh yeah, Gret Hills, Jerry Stackhouse. This is gonna hurt you then,

like I literally have in the garage eight ten. I don't know why Phila brought all those shoes back from the Stackhouse, the Grant Hill. They brought them all back, and they just kept sending me these pairs. But I know you said you were you're like a size fifteen. I'm not size fifteen. So like, yes, I have all these shoes that I would happily hand to you, but they're way too small for you. I was only I'm

only a ten and a half. Yeah, yeah, I couldn't do nothing with that, but they still they still got Grant Hill. Yeah, these are all remakes, but it's like the Stackhouse, the Grant Hill. I mean they're mm hmmm yeah. Hold hold, hold, hold the deep place in my heart up. No, I didn't. I didn't play in them. I would wear them. I wouldn't play in them. Not not that I didn't like, you know, playing in them, but it's just shoes like that, signature shoes unless they were our team shoes back in

the day, but signature shoes. I would just wear them with with my clothes. I'm gonna have to take I didn't watch some of these boxes in my garage, and you're gonna gonna, yeah, you gotta do that because they're not not just me. I think everybody else listening will be shocked. Oh I'm no. Look, I'm a closet sneakerhead, but it's I have a very narrow, a very narrow lane of the of the sneakers that I love. But

I think you would be surprised. MAVs general manager Nico Harrison, who of course spent many many years at Nike before he moved into the mass front office even he's been surprised at at at some of my like I said, of course, because I'm a I'm a nerd and a weirdo. So like I said, my yeah, I think the bar is kind of low. I think that's why it surprise. You'll be surprised I got I got some I got

some interesting ones in my collection. But like I said, I don't know Jordan's zero Jordan's for me, but you know, gave me the vintage Georgetown hoy isshoes from the eighties I got. I got some stuff that would surprise you. Hm. Well, but before we go, Before we go, I do want to just intribute and kind of dedicate this episode in

the NBA. On Wednesday, we lost someone in our world, David Benner, who was the long time pr man for the Indiana Pacers, and I know you worked with him, and he worked with so many of us in the media, and I really just wanted to sing his praises and just just at least give a mention of how respected and how loved he was in our community. You know, we had Dame on recently, and you heard me say, I'm a basketball romantic. I love that Dame stays with

the Blazers. I love that Reggie Miller spent his whole career with the Pacers. Okay, Reggie Miller didn't win a championship. But Reggie Miller is synonymous with the Indiana Pacers, David

Benner was also synonymous with the Indiana Pacers. For me, David Benner used to actually be a sportswriter in the eighties and for into the nineties, and then the year that I started covering the league ninety four, right around that time, he made the jump from our side of the fence to become the Pacers PR guy, which is it's very rare, it doesn't happen too often that a sportswriter becomes the PR man. But basically, for my whole, my whole thirty years covering the league, David Benner was

synonymous with the Pacers, just like Reggie Miller. And of course they're great friends. And I'm sure you've seen, you know, Reggie used to make it part of his pregame Richel to get in David's face and you know, chew him out, even though it was all fake and for show, but

it was great scenes. And I'm sure the next I don't know if you're working with Reggie at this Clipper Warrior game, but I you know, I know Reggie is devastated and and David Benner was just he's just an absolute NBA all teimer and I loved him, and a lot of us loved him, and he's just going to be deeply, deeply missed. No, don't doubt I didn't know. David Bennet was such a joy one, a true rare, great pr gentlemen that we have left in this field.

Really took his job seriously. I didn't know that he was ascribed before he went over to pr for the pacers. I saw David Aldgets write something eloquently on his Facebook page about it, so that, yeah, so that's that's where

I learned it and learned about it. But now he was a pleasure man, and I just want to get my condulecens out to his family, his loved ones, all of his friends who were closer to him than we were, and uh, you know, my thoughts and prayers are with them and that they will be able to grieve and and just know that they got support if they needed. So now that's that's a tragic loss in the NBA community, for sure. There is no good way to sign off

on a show after that. But um, I'm glad we did talk about mister Benner, because, like I said, he is an absolute legend and an absolute fixture in this league and someone that we both worked with and all of us worked with. So beautiful words from you there. Everybody thanks them ill for being with us. Chris and I back Monday with another edition of This League Uncut. You guys know what to do. Please rate, review, subscribe and we'll be back with you very racy and that'll

do it for us. See you next time. This League Uncut is an iHeartRadio production