Up next on this edition of this League Uncut, Chris Haynes and me Mark Stein, we will provide you an in depth look ahead at the NBA's inaugural in season tournament. Will weave in some transactional news out of Philadelphia in the midst of some ranting from yours truly, and we'll go just as deep on the All Star Game, which this season in Indianapolis will revert to an East versus West format, no more player draft, and we'll look at what's ahead for the future of the NBA All Star
Game and the next possible format change. All that to come here on this League uncut.
Welcome to this league uncut.
Rule of twenty four hour NBA News. This you, Chris Hans.
It's time, work's time, it's some time.
This league is underway, in fire. This should be a good one. Let's do it. Welcome in everyone to another edition of this League uncut. Mark Stein here with Chris Haynes of Turner Sports, the same Chris Haynes, who can hardly contain his excitement because the in season tournament. We
are recording this on a Thursday night. Of course, TNT games they're on Tuesday nights during the early part of the season, so TNT Thursdays don't start until after the calendar flips and don't have to go head to head with the NFL. So Chris Haynes safely operating from Sacramento as we speak, and he half of this podcast very intrigued and excited by the n season Tournament. The crotchety old man not so much say that. I'm I mean, I guess I'm intrigued to see how it is received,
because that's really the mystery. How will fans react to this thing. You know, we've seen all week long. You know, they've unveiled the new courts that teams are gonna use and the special jerseys that teams are gonna use. And of course, cynical people like myself would say the reason they have to introduce all these different things is because the actual games themselves are very much not different, which
a in season cup stickler like myself cannot overlook. But and I'm just really, I'm really just giving Chris a hard time. But he said on a recent podcast that this was something he was looking forward to, So I'm never gonna let him forget it now and keep keep giving him a hard time, Chris Haynes.
Yes, well, start, I'm looking forward to it just to see how is going to be received. That's it, that's it. I don't know what to expect. Yes, you talk about the changing of the jerseys, new jerseys, new floor designs on the court, that's all good. But is the play going to is the play going uh? Is the play going to display desperation? Because ultimately that's what you're looking for.
You're looking for that n CUAA tournament feel. You're looking for that, that's the kind of atmosphere that you want, you know, for those do you know do you know the rules? Not the rules, but do you know the breakdown of this? Do you want to explain that? Stile the breakdown of this play?
In turn?
Excuse me later today, later today. I also have a TV essay coming out, so I have been studying it intently because I've got a TV say looking at it. I knew we were going to get into it on this pod. I know we're going to get into it as well on the radio show that I do Saturdays in Dallas. Because you know, the big national televised game late Friday night, Mavericks at Nuggets, that is the N
season tournament debut for both teams, Luca versus Jokic. So you know, that is the you know, the big first or one of the first two marquee games from an ESPN perspective. But here's the thing and the reason that I've been such a naysayer about it, and I can criticize myself too. I'm even a snob about it.
You know.
You know, I'm a huge soccer fan, so I've been going. I've had the great privilege of going to Cup games in England for almost thirty years, so I'm really familiar with what this is supposed to look like. And my biggest quarrel with it is you can do the fanciest court designs you want, you can come up with the sweetest new uniforms you want, but this thing isn't a tournament until the quarter finals at best, and for my money, it's not really a tournament until the Semis, when two
teams go to Vegas. If my math is correct, it takes sixty seven games to stage this in season tournament. Sixty of them are gonna be group stage games that are basically regular season games that are counted twice. The games that are played on this Friday night and basically every Tuesday and Friday through November, four games each for all thirty teams. They're regular season games that they're counting twice, and the four quarter final games same thing, will be
regular season games counted twice. It's really only going to be those last three games in Vegas when teams go to the desert for the Semis and Finals. That's going to have a tournament feel, and it's really just that extra. The final is the eighty third game for the two teams that reach the final. I do think when we get to that portion, when we get to sending four teams to Vegas to contest the Semis and the Finals, at that point there will be a novelty factor and
it will be a tournament feel. But you again, I you know, I'm just being mister negative here and you know, old man yelling at clouds and get off my lawn. But you know, the NBA came out with this hype film this week, the Heist, and it's it's very well done. It's a play on the Whole Ocean's eleven franchise. And you know, Michael imperiole e outstanding actor who does the narration, and you know it's got the version we've seen. I think it comes in installment, so I think there's more
versions to come. But you know A d is in it, and Draymond Green is in it and a few other stars, so you know they've got Kawhi's in it. I think. So they got some high wattage players to participate. But very early on, I want you to take a listen here to the first four sentences of this short film.
I got something something that's never been done before. All thirty teams, single elimination one NBA Cup, all leading right here, the most unpredictable city in the world.
The movie talks about something that's never been done, a tournament for all thirty teams. But it says single elimination tournament. And that's the thing. If it was a single elimination tournament, I think people would be hyped. But it is not a single elimination tournament. It is not. It does not until the quarterfinals. When we get to the final eight, it becomes single elimination. But it isn't single elimination for sixty of the sixty seven games that comprise the NBA tournament.
For the whole month of November. It's going to be regular season games that count twice, four for each team, two at home, two away, and the results of all those will give us six group winners and then two wild cards, and that's how we're gonna get down to a quarterfinals. And like I said, that is as a as a champion of cup competitions, as someone who loves cup competitions, and like I said, I've been going to
them myself for almost thirty years. There's just there are very few soccer elements to the NBA's version of an nd season tournament. And that is my quarrel. And look, hopefully everybody's gonna come back and say that I was just overly negative naysayer, old man didn't want to give this thing a chance, and it was great. And if that's the way it is and people end up loving it, I'll be the first to say I'm glad I was wrong, because it would be great if this thing became something new,
a new tradition that livened up the regular season. Because all of this is designed to try to make the regular season more interesting. That is what the end NBA is constantly working on. That's what the player participation policy is about. And that's what this is about. You know what, mister Haynes, it's your you really should I've rambled on long enough here. You please react to my old man rantings because you are not a Soccer Cup snob like I am. So just all you've heard, you've heard you.
I think you've got the gist of my various complaints, and like, give me your perspective now after hearing me run through all that.
Well, yeah, I mean you have some valid you made some valid points, you know, particularly about particularly about wanting to get the NBA season a little bit more interesting
throughout the course of season. That's definitely been a complaint by fans is that, you know, the saying is the NBA doesn't get serious until after the All Star break and so and then also when you're talking and with talking about league partners, you're talking about TV partners here where where guys are sitting and they're resting, you know,
T N T and ESPN uh. You know, they've always had a problem with that, you know, and then fans have complained even more so this is something that not only can get the interests of the fans or get the you know, get fans intrigued, but also with your TV partners, you can tell them, hey, we have some important games that we now can associate with the regular season that will hopefully help with ratings and revenue and things of that nature. Then you add in the player
the new player available availability protocol in there. You know, this is all you know, All this, one way or another is geared towards incentivizing the existing TV part and the new partners where that's going to be a stream a streaming company coming on board the next TV rights deal. So again, I don't always like some of the ideas the NBA throws at at the league. The All Star game. I didn't like the mixing up the different players off of East and West because then it was never East
and West anymore. And then the you know, so going putting the All Star back in this traditional format. I love it. But what I was going to say is that I kind of like that they at least try new things, and then they're not afraid to go back to the way it was. You know, we tried it for three or four years, didn't work, Let's go back. That's fine. I think they I think they had to try something for the regular season. I think everybody was kind of fed up with the way it was.
And see, I think you you raise a great point there, because you know, for years there were you know, it wasn't even whispers. We would hear suggestions from Adam Silver that hey, maybe we're going to call this thing the Stern Cup. There is still nothing at this point that is named after David Stern, who not only was Adam Silver's mentor, but is widely recognized as the greatest commissioner
this league has ever had. Whether you're a fan or not a fan of David Stern, and certainly David Stern had his detractors, but when you look at the overall resume, you know he is regarded not just for the NBA, I think he is regarded as the signature commissioner of major league team sports in North America. He certainly had
the longest reign thirty years. And there's you know, the NBA has There's been all kinds of trophies named and renamed for greats in this league, and there's still nothing that bears the name of David J. Stern, the commissioner from nineteen eighty four through twenty fourteen. But so that this is called the This is all it is. It is only called the n Season Tournament. That is the official name of the event, and the teams are playing
for the NBA Cup. That's all it's called. Now. My take is the reason that is you can't name this thing the Stern Cup in the event that it doesn't work, and that and that in two years, three years, five years, one year, whatever it is, they have to scrap it. And I agree with your other point here. It doesn't do any harm to try this. I can list all the things about it that I personally question and find very unsoccer like, but there's no harm in trying this.
Maybe this clicks, I know one league source told me during the summer. You know, you can never be sure what resonates with younger fans. Maybe they're gonna love it. And if and if people love it, I'll be the first one to put my hand up and say I'm glad I was wrong. And it's you know, it's here, and none of the complaints I'm voicing are gonna land.
And the league office is new, they've heard my take on this for months and they're well aware of my stance on the whole thing, and the messaging I always get back is you're too impatient. You got to give the NBA a chance to see if it can make this thing work. And Adam Silver publicly always says traditions are not built overnight, and that's fine, and so give it a whirl, give it a try. There's no harm. And look, I understand why the NBA did it this way. Basically,
my complaint is, this is not a tournament. It's not a separate tournament from the NBA schedule, and that's what
I wanted. I wanted a separate tournament. And the league is saying, with all the problems we have with our schedule now playing eighty two games and players not playing eighty two games anymore, and with the league feeling it needed to institute a player participate a patient policy to try to get more players and more stars to play more often, they didn't want to create a separate tournament for a secondary trophy that teams and fans might not
consider important. Because the fear then is, if this is completely separate from the NBA standings, would the LA Clippers be playing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George all out to win a separate secondary championship and potentially risking their availability for the Larry O'Brien Trophy. No, they wouldn't, and to be honest, that is something that happens in England as well,
with both the FA Cup and the League Cup. The best teams in England don't always play their best guys in those competitions because they're focused more on winning the league championship and the Champions League. So that was a valid concern. That's why the NBA didn't do this. The NBA said, we're going to make these regular season games that count twice to make sure that teams take it seriously, because if you don't take it seriously, you end up
hurting your playoff chances. But I guess all of this ranting is meant to say, I think for this thing to succeed ultimately, it's going to have to overtime work in some of the elements that we see in soccer competitions, in in season tournaments abroad. Because we just saw it this week in Germany and England. In the German Pocal the German Cup, Sarbruken from the third Division upset Mighty Bayern Munich and that is Soccer's version of the fifteen seed that knocks off the number two seed in the
NCAA tournament. And that's what this thing doesn't have. In the League Cup in England, they are moving now to the quarterfinals Arsenal and both teams from Manchester are out. They those three huge teams have already been knocked out and Chelsea and Newcastle play in the next round, so one of them won't even advance to the semifinals. And there's still a team in the English League Cup, port Vale from the third division, And so that's really where
you get the romance and the intrigue. And in this version, the NBA's version, it's the same thirty teams we already see in the standings. It's East and West separated until the championship game, just like we see in the NBA finals. So there are no new teams participating, no one else come. It's the same thirty teams we always see. I just think down the road for real success in this thing, to really generate interest, there's going to have to be other teams, whether that's you know, is it. Do two
Euro League teams somehow get thrown in the mix? Do teams from elsewhere. Come in. Do you have a G League all starts team that gets to participate? You need some other teams just to give we need something different. And then another idea would be, if you really want to make this thing a tournament, take all thirty teams, time out. Chris Haynes is tweeting during our podcast, unbelievable, unbelievable. I'm like, I'm really in a rant. I'm getting all
wild up. I'm toggling between. I'm toggling between. I'm toggling between soccer and the NBA and what the NBA needs to do to make its n season tournament better and what happens and what happens while we're taping. Chris Haynes has the temerity to tweet be our sources cold. While Danny Green was disappointed by how the final days of his tenure in Philadelphia unfolded, there remains an affinity between the three time NBA champion and the seventy six ers organization.
Neither side has ruled out a return should a roster spot become available. You so happy, you loved you loved breaking my flow there with that news.
Hey, I was looking at you. I was gonna see let me see if Stott is gonna break. Let me see if he just knowing you, you can't focus, You couldn't just finish your rant. You had to stop mid sentence. Don't let this stop.
Okay, okay, So so I'm you've heard me, now go on. I don't know. I don't know how long we've been going, fifteen minutes, twenty minutes, whatever it is? So am I am? I?
Just?
Am I wrong? Am I? Am I being too like? I don't think I am like We I want this thing to be good.
I would love but Stein. What you have to remember is Stein. Also, the NBA can still tweak it after that's this.
That's true, that's true. But here here was the point I was getting at before your before your Danny Green news. If we want to make this thing more of a tournament, and it's only gonna be the thirty NBA teams we already see, then why don't we just carve two weeks out of the season and take everybody to Vegas and play a thirty team, single elimination tournament in Vegas. So it's part of the schedule, but it can be done in two weeks so it doesn't drag out over six weeks.
But I'll tell you why that's not gonna happen. Cause the teams that make a lot of money with their home dates, your Warriors, your Lakers, the teams that really make big bank on a home game, they're not giving up multiple home dates to go play a tournament in Vegas. So I don't think that version's gonna happen either. Teams will fight that, and so that's what I'm saying. Somehow, someway, this is year one. Try it any way you want it. Let's see how it goes. Let's see if court surfaces
and New Jersey's really hook fans. I don't think so. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you know, maybe I'm not the demographic that they're targeting. Maybe these floor designs are just gonna wow people and mesmerize them.
But that it's not. It's not a maybe you're not the demographic. You are not the demographic.
I'm gonna ask you then, have you how many games have you watched in your life because the floor was so cool?
No, it's not my it's not I don't think it's my demographic either. It's not out of one of us.
For the twenty year old twenty one year olds.
I think, yeah, it's for the teenagers, you know, to the twenty year olds, you know, who are fascinated by just different colors. Like with me, Stein like, I'm a stickler for tradition. I'm like all these before you had two different jerseys you at home, and you had a way maybe here and there there was alternative, maybe there's a third jersey. You know, growing up in the nineties, alternative. Now it's like how many jerseys teams have. It's like, damn,
they got six, about six of them. So like, I feel you in that regard, But you know, these kids, you got to think about the shoes, and I know we're going off a little bit. Think about shoestn remember when players had their own signature shoes. Those signature shoes were the same colors as their uniforms. Think of the Penny Hardaways back in the day, the Jason kids, Michael Jordan's red and black, red, black and white. Those are
pretty much his colors. Now with color ways, they would you know, there's all these different colors and players, the prop the NBA players, they wear shoe colors that are mismatched from their uniforms from their jerseys. So it's just a different era that we're in. And it's not my demographic their targeting. It's the demographic that's coming up, the demographic that consume NBA content and other content in different ways.
You know, I still I watched most NBA games on my phone, but I still feel much more comfortable watching it on TV. I think that's probably the opposite for the younger generation. So you know, hey, it's worth a try. I think you have to try.
I'm about fifteen years older than you, but if that means your mindset is closer to mine than the kids of today, I'm worried for you.
I'm an old soul Stein. I'm an old So.
You talk about shoes are religion, and shoes always have been religion, Like I mean, I just had such a I mean, you know, I've talked about this about ten times. I had such a good time recently interviewing George Gervin, like he has a new book out with our friend Scoop Jackson, and I just I mean, I could have talked to George Gervin for two hours. And I remember the last time I went to the Hall of Fame,
going through the exhibit Hall, and they got it. They've got a pair of nineteen seventy seven Nike high top blazer.
That's cold.
I mean they like, I wanted to crack the glass and take those shoes. Liked.
H It's it's just different, stun. It's a different time man, different time man, and it's you know usually you know, listen, I'm not complaining because again that they're trying to reach an audience that's not us, and so for that, I will have to say, let's give it some time. Let's
give it a few years. Remember, they'll continue to tweak it, you know, from year to year before finally saying, hey, this is something we're doing permanent, or hey we're going to scratch it like they did the All Star for Matt. So I have to PLoud them for trying, because you they did have to do something to make the regular season much more compelling, especially the early part of the regular season.
Okay, fair enough, Like I said, I want I want your perspective.
I don't.
I don't want this to just be Mark Stein's traditionalist rantings because he's so set and stuff and doesn't like change and wants everything to be like it was in the eighties. But I do you know, we'll see, We'll see how it evolves over time. I do think one way or the other somehow, it's got to become more like a tournament for people to get excited about an nd season tournament. When Michael Imperioli is doing the video and saying, you know, thirty teams, single elimination, this has
never been done before. Yeah, if it was thirty teams in single elimination, that would get I think that would get much more attention because the NBA definitely does not have that. I'm so glad though, you brought up the All Star Game, because we didn't talk about that in our last pod. When the week started, I had a piece about that. Okay, back to an East versus West format in Indianapolis in February. The target score in the
fourth quarter is gone, The player draft is gone. And I think players really, they really didn't enjoy the draft as much as we wanted it. On the outside, I told everybody, I told Stein from the moment.
They introduced that format, introduced the player draft, ninety percent of America was on board, ninety percent of media was on board. I was one of the long people was saying I don't think this is a good idea. I said it, and this is back when I because it started when I was at ESPN. I said it when I was at ESPN, when I was on Sports Center, when I was on the other show, NBA show back
in the day. And this is why, this is why I said it, Stein, I said, these are all All Stars, all twenty four players that are selected, they're All Stars. But with this draft, now you're putting them in tiers. They already know there are tiers to it, but now you're publicly put them in tears where you know, there's Lebron, there's Gianni's but now it's like nobody wants to be picked last. Nobody wants to be picked second to last.
These are players with egos, So it goes from being you're being happy that you're one of twenty four that you're All Star to now having to stress about like where I'm going to get picked at I saw it from day one. It was not It was not a comfortable situation for the guys, for the All Stars who are probably the on the you know, the bottom portion of the All Star tality. Lebron doesn't have to worry about that. Giannis doesn't have to worry about that, you know,
Steph doesn't have to worry about that. You know, it's the it's the French players who probably don't make it every single year. And I just knew. I'm like, yes, it's good for fans because they want to see it. You want to see what the players expression from being picked last and all that. But I just I just knew it was not going to be a good idea. I was against it from day one.
Well you have been proven right, And I was definitely on the other side saying, you know, a player draft is going to be awesome, It's going to be so great to see these guys. Let's let's please do it
playground style with reversible jerseys. But it was clear last I mean last year's All Star draft in Salt Lake City is going to go down as a very newsy and memorable one because a Jannis with his first pick selected Damian Lillard, and in retrospect, that became a hint that we all kind of missed at the time of just how much, you know, how fond Jannis was of Dame and it has now led to them being real life full time twenty four to seven three sixty five teammates,
and so that was a very handy hint that didn't get it was not described that way when it happened at the time. And then at the end of the player draft, we saw a chagrin Nikola Jokicic clearly feeling that discomfort that you just described, assigning himself to Lebron James's team before Lebron could even make the last pick and sticking Lowry market In with dreaded last pick in
the draft status because Jokic didn't like it. And the man then went out and led his team in Denver to a championship and showed how laughable it is that he lasted that long in that player draft. But yeah, I think that that really will that will be remembered as the illustration of just how uncomfortable it actually was for the players involved.
But why O by listen to me? Listen? First of all, it was nobody. Nobody listened to me Stein. I was saying it from day one, and largely I was saying it because that's what I thought. Anyways, Because remember, guys don't participate in the dunk contest because of social media today, because of the criticism. They would take the FLAC, they would take the means that would come about, you know, if they were to lose, if they're missing all these dunks.
Social media has just created this. It's created this worrisome, toxic feeling, you know, amongst not not just professional players, people in general, you know, And that's something that wasn't around back in age and ninety. So if people are uncomfortable with social media, handling social media and what comes with that, come on now being picked last, Like that's just I just saw that. And then secondly, Stein, I
talked to players. They didn't like it. And I'm not talking about Lebron's and stuff I'm talking about I'm talking about your players fifteen to thirty ranking. They didn't like it, you know. So I seen this coming. I didn't know that I thought the league was going to reverse its decision this soon, but I just seen it coming. And one more things starin about the All Star Hopefully people will listen to me because I was saying it from
day one. Listen hear me out about this starn. This goes back to something I told Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum back when I was covering the Portland Troublizz back in my beat days. Hear me out, Stein, tell me if I'm being an old man, tell me if this is dumb or not.
I hope I'm not a bad influence on you.
I and see, I'm kind of I'm going to kind of contradict myself because I like the East West format. But check this out. I was of the I was a proponent of let's just pick the top twenty four. The reason I say that because Stein, Dame and CJ. CJ hasn't made an All Star game at all. You could make the case that if CJ McCollum was in the East his whole career, he might have had a couple of All Star appearances, right, and Dame he believed
he's an eight time All Star. He would definitely be ten time All Star if he was in the East his whole career. East just wasn't that strong in the Guard the guard area for most of their career. Because Stein, at the end end of their career, take somebody like who would you say, Let me give you an example, Kimba Walker. Compare Kimba Walker to CJ McCollum, Who would you say has had the better career.
I see the point you're making here. Should Kimba Walker have four career All Star appearances and CJ. McCollum have none? Is that fair?
That exactly, That's that's the question I'm raising that. But because at the end of the day, style hall of Fame not to say that these are Hall of Fame players, but when you're looking for looking at Hall of Fame credentials, what is going to take People are gonna look even if it's not Hall of Fame credentials. You could just spout out, hey, I was a four time, five time All Star.
Look, all Star snubs have always happened and will always happen. I mean another I mean, if we're gonna go down this road, this is a thirty team league now, I mean, shouldn't all star teams be expanded in a thirty teen league? You know, a twelve twelve man All Star roster that worked fine in the eighties when I was a kid and it was a twenty three team league. But you've added seven teams and the all Star rosters have gotten
no larger. So I mean that that argument has been made now for a while that should it be expanded to fifteen. But would that be fit? You know, I remember in the eighties. You know that the seventies is when I fell in love with the NBA. But the eighties is what I mean. I was in high school and it was just the league was erupting with you know, Magic and Larry and then the arrival of Michael Jordan.
But I remember two of my favorite players, and then two guys I ended up covering pretty closely and share the same last name, Derek Harper and Ron Harper. Zero All Star appearances between them. That's happened because competition for All Star spots is so tough.
Snubs old, but it happened because the All Star competition is tough, or because of the conference they were in at the time.
Well, I mean in those days they were you know, Ron Harper was was all East in those in the eighties, and Derek Harper was in the West. So I mean, it really wasn't it. It really wasn't a conference thing. I guess it's just the point when there's only twelve spots a year, there are always gonna be at least two or three deserving guys who get left off, and it's very unfortunate. Okay, that's very unfortunate.
But that's fine, that's fine. Stop But okay, say you add three right, Still there's still going to be a scenario where a player in another conference who is not the calibery player of somebody else, they're going to get in.
They can they can expand they can expand the rosters to fifteen in the East and fifteen in the West. And we're still going to be screaming about who is number thirty one and thirty two. It's just and that's the way it is.
Well why don't we, well, why don't we just pick the top twenty four regardless of idle comf.
Because even if even if we do that, we're still gonna have snubs. We're still gonna be screaming about who is twenty fifth, twenty sixth, twenty seventh, and twenty eighth.
So you don't think, you don't think CJ. McCollum zero All Star appearances. I'm just using them as example because that's what I was talking about with them back in my Portland days. It matters, It matters, like it matters on your resume. Even if you're not Hall of Fame, it matters on your resume. That you're a fourth. Nobody's gonna look at Stein when their career is done. Nobody's gonna say, oh, he's a four time All Star in
the East. They're gonna say in the East when it was a weaker tier compared to the West, nobody's gonna say that. Nobody's gonna give context. It's just this person your time.
On two or three or ten guys who got snubbed. I mean, I don't think that.
I just think it's more fair that that way, if you pick the top twenty four regardless of conference.
Well, the reason I even wanted to bring this up once, I mean, I'm so glad you're the one who kind of brought All Star the All Star Game into the discussion, and you reminded me that because I wrote about this Monday, and this has been such a crazy week in the NBA that Monday feels like two three weeks ago now
because so much has happened with the Harden trade. But look, yes, they're going back to East West for this season, but it's becoming increasingly clear that we are very likely in the near future, and you know, put near in air quotes. I don't know exactly how long but USA versus the rest of the world, that is a format that is going to get a tryout too, And I think this might surprise you. And you know, I think people who've
read me for a long time know that. You know, international basketball is what started my career as an NBA writer. The first NBA story I ever did was a summer league story about the Lakers drafting Vlade divots. The so, you know, covering international players coming to the NBA has always been one of my favorite aspects of this job. I think I'm gonna surprise people here. I would I
would argue against it. Even though the NBA and now opening Night rosters there were one hundred and twenty five international players, a record most in league history, but that's still only ten percent. If you're gonna give twelve All Star spots to one hundred and twenty five players and then the other three hundred plus players have to fight
over twelve roster spots, it's just not fair. So even though yes, the international team continue, the theoretical international All Star team gets stronger and stronger and stronger every year, and we probably could come up with a list of twelve very good international players who would be All Star worthy, but that's not fair either, Like you can't if there's only one hundred and twenty five players from abroad and three hundred plus American born players, it just wouldn't be
equitable to split up the All Star spots that way either. So I but again, I do think we are gonna see that format tried here in the in the near future. I had a chat recently with Mark Tatum, the NBA's deputy commissioner, and his quote was very very possible. So that's not an ultimate promise that it's happening, but it's a pretty strong indication that down the road, at some point, and maybe not too far down the road, the league's
gonna try USA versus the rest of the world. And I think some people will love it because obviously, look, we haven't had an American born MVP since James Harden in twenty eighteen. Jokic, Jannis, and Bede have won the last five MVPs, Luca hasn't even won one yet, Shay Gil just Alexander. I mean, these are like all the MVP favorites are international players, but there's a difference between four or five international players dominating MVP voting and twelve
international players getting an All Star spot. So I wonder what the uproar is going to be like when that happens.
I've never thought about that. I don't know. I might. I might be in favor of that stun definitely for the trial period. Yeah, I might be definitely for a trial period. And that is a game that I would think everybody would get up.
For, no question.
That's Look, what if we're talking watchability, Yeah, if we're talking watchability and interest and an All Star game, that would get people fired up, no question. That would be incredible to see a team of American stars against the twelve best international stars, no question.
That's the That's like the second coming of the Olympics.
Right, what do you say again, what do you say to you know, what do you say to the CJ McCollums if CJ McCollum can't make an All Star team as it is, you know, when there's only twelve spots for Americans. Now, now you have to say, I mean, the math is the math fair here?
Yeah? I mean I don't. I don't think there's a right, right or wrong answer. I was throwing out a suggestion years ago, and but I'm listen, I'm happy that East and West is back, because it just didn't make sense that you pulled twelve from the East and twelve from the West and then you mix them all up and let players pick, and it was it really wasn't East or West, you know. So I was like, That's why
I came to that conclusion. I was like, if they're just mixing up the players anyway, let's just pick the top twenty four regardless of conference. That way, the proper players, well well well more so, the proper players will be selected for the game.
Will you be an Indie? Are you going?
Yes, I'll be there. I'll be there. That will be the last cold We went through what we what do we do? We went to what were were first cold cities? Chicago first? Or were we at a cold city before that?
Caago was twenty twenty twenty.
There was Cleveland.
He wasn't Atlanta in the COVID year was COVID? That was twenty one the COVID The season after COVID when arenas had to be empty. I think that was Atlanta in twenty one, mm hmmm.
I then Cleveland was after Cleveland.
Cleveland twenty two and Salt no, Salt Lake. Yeah, salt Lake was twenty three, so Cleveland was twenty two.
Yeah. Yeah, So this is the last cold city before my area, the Bay area. So yes, I'll be there. I made it this far. I went to all.
Those cold love Indianapolis. I haven't been there in ages.
I can't wait to go there now to indian One thing about Indiana, people might not be you know, they might not be excited to go. But Indiana they know how to host big events. That's one thing about them. They know how to hold big events. So I'm looking forward to seeing how they do.
I am excited to go. It's been way too long since I made a visit to Saint Elmos. Please tell me you've had the fame shrimp cocktail at Saint Elmos.
Never heard of it. I don't eat shrimp either, so yeah, not more Forte.
That's like NBA. That is NBA religion right there, having a shrimp cocktail with incredibly spicy cocktail sauce.
I'll have a sprite cocktail. How about that, Stan? You know what you said that that's NBA religion. What about this podcast religion? This league uncut whoever tweeted at us and was talking about my fire alarm going off. I'm gonna tell you right now, you did not hear one fire alarm going off on this episode this podcast. I made sure it was taking care of.
It was good. That was actually fantastic that one of our loyal listeners said, hold on, I'm looking up exactly what he said, Carlos Scarcia on Twitter. Such a devoted listener to This League Uncut that Carlos tweeted, quote, the sound of the NBA truly being back is the beep going off on Chris Haynes smoke detector during the podcast. Truer word about this League uncut have never been spoken. But you fixed it. You got the ladder out and you fixed it.
Oh no, I just went upstairs.
So so if you were downstairs, it would still be going off. Yes, Oh my goodness, so when we were So when we record our next pod, you're gonna go downstairs and we might hear it together.
On what type of mood I'd be, But honestly, it depends on who's in the house.
Well this, I mean, look this podcast. I had to do so much ranting and naysaying about the nd season tournament, and then you got us going on the All Star Game that we're gonna leave it there for now and there there are. We're gonna be back again together soon. I'm sure we're gonna record something on Sunday night or Monday night at the latest. But we've gone We did too much ranting in this episode and we haven't left
enough time because we need time. We need time. We've got to talk about the Milwaukee Bucks who got routed in Toronto. As we're recording this thing. I see Phoenix is making a fourth quarter run. So the Spurs were a big in Phoenix going for a sweep, but you know that game hangs in the balance. Who knows, maybe Phoenix comes back and wins it. They've cut a twenty point deficit in half. Miami could have easily started oh and five if they didn't squeeze out an opening night
win over Detroit. The Heat have been a mess. The Memphis Grizzlies are a mess oh and five with no John Morant and having lost Steven Adams and Brandon Clark still rehabbing from an achilles injury. So there are several high profile teams that haven't started well. Then. Entering Friday's play, we had just two unbeatens left, both Boston and Dallas at four and oh, so we are going to get into all of that as well as set up James Harden's debut, which is expected Monday, his Clippers debut which
is expected Monday. So we will get back to all those team specific issues on the hardwood. We're gonna get into all that next time. But we did so much ranting here that we we consumed more. We consumed more airspace than we expected.
That's what old people do, they rent.
So I found out tonight that you. I found out tonight that there's two old men on this show. It's not just me that you can that you consider yourself old now until I start asking you about your game and how you know, you know, can you still dunk? And you're getting getting enough shots up?
And yeah?
Then suddenly how many games a week you playing? These days? Now that the season is starting? Can you can you even play?
I play about five five days a week. Really, yeah, I have a league. So the only day I don't play is on a Friday. Because I have a league. I have league game on Saturday and Sunday, So Friday is for rest rest of my body.
And when you travel, they just they just deal with it.
Travel, No, I just I don't. Yeah, well I try. Usually I'm not going on the weekends. It's only during the week for TNT, so I make all my league games on the weekend. But uh yeah, when I'm on the road, obviously I can't play play my pickup that I like to play. But yeah, I'm in Cuche.
Somehow, We're gonna have to get some footage and do some analysis on this pod. Put your game under the microscope. Put Chris Haynes twenty twenty three under the microscope.
I don't run from the spotlight. You let me know.
I know you don't. You want it, You want to do a whole pod on it.
All right, everybody that is gonna do it before we before we go deep in the weeds here on Chris Haynes' stat line in the Sacramento Pro Am League.
Before we before we end up doing that, We're gonna We're gonna all of a show. Please, if you haven't already, rate, review and subscribe to this league uncut wherever you get your podcasts. And as I said, Sunday night or Monday night at the latest, we will have a new pod recorded for you. Maybe we should wait till Monday night so we can see James Harden's first game as a Clipper and really break that down. That decision TBD, but enjoy this one. Stick with us, stay with us, and
we will be back with you very very soon. And that'll do it for us. See you next time. This league uncut is and iHeartRadio production Chris Haynes and Mark Stein. I didn't