Beal to Phoenix, Draymond Opts Out & All-In or Fold

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Diora is not here today, still doing graduation related revelry. So she is out today. It is me solo once again. But we have a ton to get to, so let's get right to it. Here is what did not make the cut for today's show. Wimby signing a Spurs jersey even though he's yet to be drafted. That didn't make the show. Jokic makes it back to Serbia in time for to see his horse race. And I don't know what this last thing is. It just says on the screen two normal guys doing normal stuff. I assume, Oh,

I didn't know that's what it was gonna be. It's Kevin Durant and Aaron Rodgers hanging out, working out together. So I have a theory on this, and then we'll get to the actual show, should I. Yeah, I'll say it. There used to be our younger listeners or viewers might not know this, but Jim Rome when I was a teenager and into my early twenties, certainly when I was a teen, when I was driving around door to door selling stakes, Jim Rome was the biggest sports radio guy

in the world. Made tens of millions of dollars, was on three hundred plus stations. It kind of reinvented the format took what Mike and the Mad Dog created and turned it into the Jungle and the Clones and live shows. So many of us oh so much to Jim Rome, and when he was off, typically his fill ins were just objectively bad. Now I say this as someone that

once filled in for Jim Room. Okay, so I'm not throwing stones, and I don't know if this is the truth or not, but it was a I just remember it being a theory growing up that Rome would have those people fill in because it made him look even better in comparison, and it made the audience miss him more when he was gone. So why am I telling

that twenty year old twenty five year old anecdote. My theory to Kevin Durant, who's a little odd choosing to hang out with Aaron Rodgers is that he then becomes far and away the most sane, normal guy in the crew. It's like, oh, you guys think I'm a little weird, Well, why don't I bring my Kim Trails anti vax ayahuasca drinken. You gotta FaceTime me buddy to come hang out, And then you might be like, oh, kd little odd social media stuff. But aside from that pretty chill guy. Okay,

now to the actual show. Diora normally would read these questions, I will Bradley Beal's going to Phoenix, and the producer's right. Everyone's clowning on the Suns forgetting Beal, But they got an All Star for a sandwich. Who cares about cap space if it nets them a title? All right? That is right and wrong there, It is correct, who cares about cap space if it nets them a title? The problem is this, I do know. I feel this makes the I know this doesn't make the Suns the favorites.

I don't feel it puts them in the top four contenders going into next season. I think the Nuggets, the Bucks, the Celtics, the Lakers all have to be ahead of them. We'll see what the Heat do. We'll see what the Sixers do. The Sixers I'm more skeptical of. At best. I think this puts them fifth or sixth. So you're right, who cares about cap space if it nets them a title? But if it doesn't, they are as locked in and

as handcuffed as any team in recent memory. And it was not, in my opinion, the best use of the asset of chrisp contract what they needed. So let me talk about what I think they needed. Then I'll discuss why this locks them in, because I don't think a lot of the audience understandably is fully versed on the new CBA that kicks in in eleven days. So why I What I think they needed was versatile, durable players. They needed depth. Your scoring is taken care of with

KD and Booker. What you need is guys who can play playoff minutes, So those guys aren't to play forty five minutes a night, switch defensively, and play a lot in the regular season. I don't apologize for my voice. I'll try to fix it instead. You got a poor man's version of Devin Booker when you already have a rich man's Devin Booker, the actual Devin Booker, who the last few years has not been as efficient and has started to become injury prone for a team that cannot

handle more injury issues. Durant post Achilles has played thirty five games fifty five games forty seven games. Booker had been very durable throughout his career, but well pretty durable throughout his career. Booker last year fifty three games, and then Bradley Beal had back to back eighty two game seasons since then, fifty seven sixty, forty fifty. So that is a concern. Durant turning thirty five, Beal being what I would consider an old thirty having been in the

league since nineteen, that's a bit of a concern. The salary stuff is kind of outrageous. And so let me give you what I mean by that. Next year, Kevin Durant is the second highest paid guy in the league, Bradley Beal is the sixth highest paid guy in the league. The year after that. In so the season after next, Durant is number two, Beal is number six, Booker is number seven. The year after that, Durant is number three, Booker is number six, Beal is number eight. So this

is your team. You are going to have no flexibility whatsoever. And here is where the now listen. You can trade Aighton and try to get some of those pieces for him, But with the Nuggets winning the title, if you are trying to win the title, certainly if you are trying to win the West, you have to do everything with an eye on what are we going to be able to do against the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic specifically. You then add to it the new CBA. So here is the

very cursory version of it. So you have your salary cap. You then have the luxury tax number. You then have and this is the phrase you keep hearing on podcasts and on smart NBA shows, the second apron. If you go above the second apron, your ability to build out a roster is kneecapped. The Suns, by definition, with these three guys on the roster are going to be above the second apron. So what does that mean? Among other things,

you cannot combine salaries in a trade. So let's say in a year, Durant is like, you know what, I actually don't want to be here. I'm making fifty million bucks and I want to go play somewhere else. In the past, you could trade Durant for a twenty million dollar player, a twenty million dollar player, a ten million dollar player. What the Sun and some draft picks, what the Sons did to get him will send you McHale Bridges and Cam Johnson, et cetera. If you are a

second apron team, you can't you cannot do that. You want to trade Kevin Durant. You gotta trade him for someone making his money, which makes him untradeable because who is making his money next year? The following people they're you know, within his money. Staph embiid Lebron Joker Beale, who's on his team, Karl Anthony Towns, Booker who's on his team, Jimmy Butler, Paul George Giannis, Dame Kawhi. That's

the list. Those are either guys you that their teams wouldn't trade, or you wouldn't think it's a good enough return for Durant. But that is not the biggest issue. The biggest issue is what it does to you as far as future flexibility. If you are a second Apron team, you cannot trade a first round pick seven years out. That's noteworthy because the Sons have already traded away all of their picks for the next six years as is, so they can include a first round pick in any trade.

You can't use cash to buy draft picks. Here is the real penalizing part. If you are a second Apron team in three of five years, so the Sons will be a second Apron team this year seven years now is the twenty thirty one drafts or whatever it is. If they are a second Apron team two more of the next four years after this year, their pick in that draft is the last pick of the draft. The thirtieth pick doesn't matter if they you know, at that point Durant's out of the league. If everyone's moved on

worse than it does not matter. Your pick goes to thirty. You can't pick up players that were bought out to fill out your roster. All of this stuff. So the Suns, the Windorst article said. The Sun's logic was, we might be a second Apron team as is, we might as well blast through it because the penalties are the same whether you're a dollar over or thirty million over. I actually understand that. I just don't think it's intelligent deployment of assets. I think they need more death. I think

they need more defense. And you know, Bill Simmons fifteen years ago coined the phrase new owner syndrome. Has there ever been a more glaring example of new owner syndrome than a guy who took over a team five months ago, in his first week on the job, traded four first round picks and a couple players for Kevin Durant. A couple months later, somehow got in a physical altercation with

Nikola Jokic. A couple weeks after that, fired his head coach, seemingly has installed Isaiah Thomas as a shadow GM and now has traded every other remaining asset aside from Ayton for Chris Paul. I'm sorry for Bradley Beal and lockedown him into this. So, and I'm gonna say one other thing about the Suns. So, I just got rid of my car and got a new car. I got rid of my car because it kept breaking down, kept having issues. If before I got rid of it, I had said

I'm driving cross country. If halfway along the trip the car breaks down, that is not bad luck. Okay, that is poor planning. If you buy a brand new car and it breaks down, that's bad luck. The Bucks two years ago, when they were defending their title, having Chris Middleton get hurt right at the beginning of the playoff run is bad luck. He had been durable, he had been healthy, couldn't see that coming. That's bad luck. This past year, having Chris Paul go down is bad planning.

The Suns next year. If Durant or Beal missed time, that is not bad luck that is very foreseeable, and that would be poor planning. So I I just I don't think this works for Phoenix, and if it doesn't work immediately, it is a barren desert in Phoenix. No pun intended for the remainder of the decade. By the way, to our producers, Diora is in the chat, she says, so people watching on YouTube can chat with Diora and if she has any interesting comments or questions, let's use

some of those in the sea blocks. Let's keep an eye out on those, all right. There were some follow ups here. The producer's right, is Katie's legacy sealed that he could never win a ring, never win anything alone. Well, very very very few guys ever win anything alone. I do think, and I don't think Katie made them do this, But it is an odd spot where once again KD finds himself at the EPI center of the team with the you know, the only big three or the most

stacked big three in the league. I think this got him further from a ring than what they could have done last one, with CP three likely not staying a wizard for long. Where do you think he'll go ring chasing? So here's the thing on Chris Paul. Maybe they buy him out and he just goes and signs somewhere this offseason. I do not think that is what Washington should do.

Washington gets no cap really for buying him out. I think Washington should hold on to Chris Paul and see if near the deadline someone wants him and will trade for him. I do not think they should play him, and I think that would be better for Chris Paul. I think the best thing possible for Chris Paul would be for a season to start in February. So he goes to Washington. They tell him, you don't have to come in or we're gonna see if anyone wants to trade for you. If not, we'll buy you out after

the deadline. But we're not going. Maybe we'll get a little something for you and for Chris. I actually think that's better. Brew on TV yesterday brought up Boston. I think Boston makes sense. I think the Lakers make sense. I don't think the Clippers make sense because I think that is a doa team with a bat with a toxic call, and I don't think you know, Denver has

their point guard, Milwaukee has their point guard Miami. Maybe, but I would Obviously, I personally like seeing with the Lakers, but I think that could happen, but I don't think it's the overwhelmingly likely outcome. All right, Next rumors are the Pelicans want to trade Zion to draft Scoop. Zion's the top ten player when healthy, but he never is. If you were genius sports owner Michael Jordan, would you give Zion a second chance? I love Scoop, but yeah,

I would do that now. The latest rumors are in his you know, in his final master stroke of ownership that Michael Jordan well that the Charlotte Hornets prefer Brandon Ingram to Zion Williamson in that trade. You cannot trade the number two pick for Brandon Ingram. I know he was the number two pick once upon a time you cannot. But now on a max contract and with Scoot Henderson being the being available there, I wouldn't trade that now.

I would trade it for Zion. I still think we've got a better than a fifty to fifty chance that Zion gets right, and if he gets right, he's one of the six or seven best offensive players in the entire sport. If he gets right. We have never This is not an exaggeration. We have never seen this volume of scoring on sixty percent. No player in league history has averaged fifteen points per game for their career on better than sixty percent shooting. Zion is twenty six points

per game at better than sixty percent shooting. So I would try to if I could buy low on Zion, I would try to do that. Next. Draymond ops out producers Right, your best friend opted out of his deal with the Warriors, Draymond Greens noow, a free agent was caught hanging with Lebron and France. Do you think he should move in with de Monse in La? So listen on the France thing. H Draymond, Lebron, Maverick and others every summer rent a yacht and go on vacation around Europe.

I assume that's what's going on right now. I don't know for a fact, but I assume that's what's going on right now. So that's not new. I do not. Draymond and Lebron might be teammates one day, depending on how long Lebron plays, But Draymond I knows this is his last chance at a real payday. I think that's why he opted out. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean he's gonna make more than the twenty eight million this year, but get a long term deal. Now it's more total money.

Draymond and I you know, I say only in quotes, has only made one hundred and fifty five million in his career, and by NBA star status, that's nothing. I mean, it's nothing compared to some of his contemporaries. For some context, Clay, who you can argue Draymond has been the more important Warrior throughout his tenure. Clay has made two hundred and twenty million. Guys like you know What's a guy that Draymond does not have a lot of respect or admiration for.

Rudy Gobert has made one hundred and seventy two million and has another one hundred and thirty million on the books. So I don't think Draymond's taking a discount. The Lakers could only get him with a significant discount. I think Draymond likely is back with the Warriors next season. I think that is the most likely outcome. All right, last, John Moran officially spend a twenty five games. Seems like the league's making example out of Jah, even though he

technically did nothing illegal. Is it fair to expect Joah to be a role model for younger players when that is not what he signed up for. Is this expectation implied when players choose to go pro. I don't think the expectation is be a role model. I think it's

don't be a dumbass. And there are things that you get in trouble at work for that aren't illegal in every workplace all the time, particularly if you get in trouble for something once your workplace makes it very clear this is unacceptable, and then you apologize, say you'll do better, and then do the exact same thing again. I have massive sympathy for Jah in that it seems like he is going through a lot. I do not have sympathy in that it's like, oh, what did he do? We

all know what he did. He was a dumbass, That's what he did. Like it just spilled my delicious Starbucks coffee all over myself, That's what he did. And so here is my concern for Jah. And we've spent a lot of time on in the past. We don't spend too much more time on it's here. I do not think the amount of games is gonna have any impact on whether or not he changes his behavior. I think even five games, twenty five games, fifty five games, he lost forty million because of the first thing, he did

the exact same thing a month later. I think the question is whether or not he thinks what he's doing is actually a problem and wants to change his behavior. I have concerns on both of those fronts. There was a report yesterday that John people close to him feel like think the NBA is out to get him and singling him out. Uh, that to me is is problematic.

If John thinks he's being Yes, you are being singled out because you're the only guy in the league of four hundred and fifty guys that keeps showing up on Instagram showing off pistols. Yes, you are being singled out in that regard. And I know this is an uncomfortable analogy, but I will use it again for the people that just beat the drum on he's not breaking any laws. Guys.

If John Morant in March posted an you know, totally two consenting adults a sex tape of himself to Instagram and the league called him in and said, buddy, you can't do that. You gotta sit down for a bit. He then said, guys, I'm gonna go into some treatment. I'm dealing with some stress. I have some issues making some boar decisions. After the year, said I'm gonna do better. I'm gonna work on myself, and a month later posted a new sex tape to Instagram. He would be in

a lot of trouble. It would not be illegal. It would show horrific decision making, and you would wonder what is he going through that is making him do these types of things. Put it in that bucket. If we want to have an actual debate about guns in America, the either correct or incorrect interpretation of the Second Amendment, the unequal application of laws, about who is and who isn't penalized by the state or perceived as a threat when they're carrying a gun. We can have all of

those discussions. None of them have anything to do if you're being intellectually honest with the Ja Morant situation. Doora just texted me that she's laughing out loud because I spilled my coffee all over myself. Well, thanks, sweetheart, I appreciate that. Michael Jordan's selling his basketball team. He was the worst owner in the league for fifteen years. I say that matters. Everybody says I'm a wild hater. We discuss that and play a game of All in Her

Fold before we get to your question. So next we'll try.

Bobby Canavali. Watch Unstoppable now exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

caramel like this one, and coffee. I like to start my day with a coffee, especially when I'm recording a new episode of What's Right. My go to is Starbucks ready to Drink coffee for that uplifting boost I need to conquer the day. Gotta love the range of the Starbucks ready to Drink coffee. Whether you want to grab a Starbucks Frappuccino chilled coffee drink or in Nitro cold brew,

there's so many good choices for whatever you're feeling. Starbucks Coffee ready for write now shop the full lineup online or in stores wherever you buy your groceries. Okay, So, Michael Jordan sold his steak in the Charlotte Hornets this week, and the rest of the media decided to just in more Jordan deification. They're like, oh my god, can you believe a guy bought a pro sports franchise decade plus ago, sold it and turned a profit. What a brilliant businessman.

Oh only the goat. We see all these stories about people. They're like, yeah, what happened? Why are you applying for unemployment? They're like, oh, I just took a bath on owning the Toronto maple Leafs. You gotta believe it, you know. I used to be a rich man and then I sold the Arizona Cardinals and now I'm out on the streets. But MJ only MJ to all of a sudden, he's got a billion? Can you belie? Leave it? That was

the other media's interpretation. Mine was a little different, which was and I want to be crystal clear on this. I believe when we are discussing who the greatest player of all time is, I have this crazy belief that the clock should start from the moment they're drafted, and the clock should end the moment they play their final game. That should be our landscape for the debate their NBA careers. But I have been told for years that's not how

this works. And with Jordan it has been the ultimate game of three card money, because just when it comes to the playing career, it's not the playing career, it's six for six, which would mean six four six, So you had six opportunities and won all. They got all six. So the greatest player of all time had a six year career. Well no, no, no, he played fifteen. Oh okay, so he had a fifteen year career. So are we counting all of that? Well not really. Well what do

you mean, Well, the last two years don't count. Why don't they count? Well, they just don't count. Oh okay, that's fine. So when you say six for six, he had six straight years of championships, is what you're saying. No, no, no, well how what were there? Well there were eight, So then why is it not six for eight? Well he was retired the two years in the middle. Oh, he was retired for two full years in the middle. Well no, actually he came back one year. He came back one year. Oh,

but he came back. But his team was so bad without him. They missed the playoffs. No, no, no, they made the playoffs. Oh they did. Was he any good? Yeah? Well he got MVP votes that season. He did. But in the playoffs, did he like get hurt? No? No, no, he averaged like almost forty a game in the series they lost. They lost? Oh yeah in round two? Oh, that team then winning won the title. No, that team got swept. Wait, but he would have won the title.

But we don't count that year. No, no, no, it's not fair to count that year. By the way, if I told you about the double Nickolay dropped in Madison Square Garden that year, that's still part of his legend. Let me tell you about it. So that part the you know that the entirety of his career, other than the six years where they won rings, we don't count. Oddly, it's a weird thing we do. I don't quite get it. It's never made sense. But whatever. Here's the other part,

And this is where the ownership stuff comes in. And everyone watching knows either if they are on the Jordan's side of the argument, they have made this argument. If they are on the opposite side of this argument, they have heard people make this argument that when you are arguing with someone who, like a religious zealot, believes Michael Jordan is clearly an unequivocally the greatest player of all time.

You have heard the shoes brought up. You have heard I mean, come on, if he's not the goat, then how come his shoes are still the most popular saved Nike reinvented shorts, commercialism. You have heard. I've heard about the suits after the game, the shaved head, the mystique, the aura, all of it has been part of the giant stew that people used argue, Michael Jordan's the greatest player ever, the whole story. It is under that pretense that Michael Jordan being as far as on court performance,

not off, not Malfe's. It's not racism, not the things we've had owners kicked out for. How good is your team? The fact that the team he ran for fifteen years was the worst team in basketball has to matter. You want now, if you again, you want only the on court stuff to matter, all sign up for that. But all the folks who have argued, oh man, but the threes are just an iconic shoot. All of that, and

you know you've heard these arguments. Well, then the fact that you owned the team for fifteen years they won three playoff games, zero series. Jordan's ownership tenure of the Hornets is much like his playing career pre Pippin. Zero series wins, three playoff game, no one playoff game win before Pippin got there, zero series wins. That was it. It's just longer. And lastly, again, if you want to have an earnest, honest discussion, I ask you this. You

don't have to answer it right now. Just think about it. If when Jordan took over the Hornets they turned into a juggernaut, If he took over the team ran basketball ops and and they ripped off a dynasty. Do you honestly think folks would not be using that as part of the argument as to more evidence that he's the goat. Of course they would, of course they would. So I'm just asking what's good for the goose, and if we want to make it just about a basketball career, so

be it. I'd like that as I am sitting here right now wearing Jordan's they are a dope sneaker, I gotta tell you. But that's never been the rules. It's never been how it's been argued. The producers follow up with why are you holding him? Jay's bad for an office decisions against him, but fine with Lebron forcing the Westbrook trade. Well, that's another example of how insane this stuff has become. Michael Jordan actually ran a team, owned it and ran it and has skated for fifteen years

on them being the worst in basketball. Lebron plays for a team and has gotten Lebron has gotten more criticism as a shadow GM, then Jordan has gotten as the actual GM. It's betch if everything matters the producers right, shouldn't the fact that Space Jam one is way better than Space Jam two be part of the conversation? Sure

for the folks that have that want to do that. I, by the way, that was when if everyone is just trying to wreckcon what actually happened when Space Jam two came out and people can now say they were joking. We all saw the tweets, saw the comments seemingly joking on television about Space Jam one being so much better than Space Jam two being further evidence we all saw it. So that's it. Once again. I'm just the only fair and honest, you know, media member left on this stuff.

It would it would appear no agenda, just an accurate telling of the story. That's what you guys come to me for all interfold Portland seems like they're sigma with Dame for better or worse? Are you buying that? All interfold of Portland's keeping Dame? You know what I'm folding. I need to break them on the Dame stuff. He is allowed to do whatever he wants, but it's become a little tiresome at this point. There's seemingly some reporters very close to him that keep saying he just wants

to be a Blazer, but maybe would do this. He said, he wants to be a Blazer, but I'd go to Miami or Brooklyn. I I like Dame a lot. I think he's a great player, and he has to make the choice. Do I want to be the man in Portland, stay there for my entire career and not play in a single relevant playoff game for the rest of it, or go do something else. I won't judge him for either, but there is I know there's a lot of people that will kill James Harden if he chooses to go

to Houston. I'm not sure how big of a difference this is at this point. Next, the Nuggets parade got pretty wild for some reason. The Lakers with the butt of the jokes all in her fold. Michael Malone is a sore winner. Michael Malone. I Michael Malone getting drunk and having fun. More power to him going on McAfee and say, you know, make him taking a shot at

Lebron saying, you know, I might retire. When eight years ago, when no one gave a damn about Michael Malone and he got fired by the Kings, Lebron went out and said at his media avail, Lebron at this point was a four time MVP, two time NBA champion, and said, hey, by the way, the King screwed up and firing my guy, Michael Malone. They had a great coach and didn't know it. And it's not like during that series Lebron was taking any shots whatsoever. He was nothing but complimentary of the Nuggets.

I don't get that. Next toe faon Diggs miss started mentoring Mini Camp, rumors are swirling. There's tension between Digs and the organization all in her fold. Digs agrees with Nick on Josh Allen, Oh, I'm all in on that. I don't think it's the organization. The organization paid him. He got an issue with that quarterback, and their head coach botched that. Their head coach said, I'm very very concerned. After Diggs, you know, left the facility on day one

of Mini camp. He then was back on day two and that coach was like, no, no, you guys blew it out of proportion. They then canceled the third day of mini camp. They got a real problem there. Next, Packers depends it back to Ayi. Alexander called Jordan loved the best quarterback in the league and love wish Bears fans happy Father's Day. All in her fold. Rogers left ayahuasca in the water in Green Bay. I'm gonna fold on that specific thing. Uh. Oh wait, did I skip one? No,

I didn't skip one. The producer screwed up. Take that. Producers. Oh that's the wrong thing on the screen. Uh, but you're fine, Sorry about that. Uh. You guys are actually doing a great job. But the here's what I will say, Folks need to learn how to how to make compliments believable. So I don't know if Diora is still watching, if you are responding the comments, babe. Uh, But if after Diora's fifth show, I looked to her and I said,

I got to tell you something. I think you are the best podcaster in the world, it would so clearly, on its face be ridiculous that any other compliment I ever gave her would ring hollow. So Jayi Alexander saying Jordan Love is the best quarterback in the league now makes anything he ever says about Jordan Love for the the the rest of the year just meaningless. So here's all you gotta say. If you're a Gyere Alexander, I gotta tell you Jordan Love's gonna surprise some people. He's

going to be very good this season. And I true and if you really want to go over the top, I truly believe one day he will be in a discussion as the best quarterback in football. You guys might think that's ridiculous. People would have thought it was ridiculous with Aaron Just wait, give him time. He's gonna immediately he's better than you think. Right now he's gonna say that. But to say right now he's the best quarterback in the league's outrageous. All right, last one, Chiefs finally got

their super Bowl rings. They are well, let's just call them big all unfold. Super Bowl rings have gone too far. Oh I'm folding on that. I love the super Bowl ring. It's awesome. I do like the new thing with super Bowl rings is the detachable like face that then has more stuff on the inside. I think that's awesome. I would just be terrified I would lose it, like lose a piece of the ring. But and here's the part that we can clip off, not necessarily for social but

just for me to send via text to the Kansity chiefs. Guys,

I kind of I kind of want to ring. It doesn't have to be like the diamonds, don't have to be real, but I I do feel like when you know your quarterback and Hall of Fame tight end Bear hug me and lift me off the ground at the parade and both say you were the only one who believed in us, Like if we're if we're doing credit for the Super Bowl, like the players are at seventy five percent, Andy Reid and the front office are at twenty four percent, The doubters and haters collectively are at

half a percent, The fans and supporters are at point four ninety nine percent, and then me dropping banners, trolling the bills, unwavering support. I think it's like point one percent. And I think that you know, at least deserves consideration for a ring. So all I'm saying, and I don't know if Brett's watching, but I know mister Veach, Brett's father is a die hard viewer of at least the TV show, maybe the podcast. Yeah, maybe just consider it.

Just consider it. I'd wear it proudly. Quick break right back, answer your questions. We'll try, all right, welcome back in what's try to think? Right? Diora has texted in are you taking shots at my podcasting skills while I'm not there to defend myself? Baby, No, I am not taking shots. What I'm saying is if I'd have called you the best podcaster in the world, you would have known that I was lying. People just need to understand how to compliment in a way that feels good but also believable.

Just rush. She also wrote in evidently you don't deserve a ring. That's not nice, by the way, speaking of someone deserving something I had forgotten we even did this, but we did before the playoffs. Another edition of out Pick Nick where it was a confidence ranking. So you ranked every team one through sixteen, and sixteen was your most confident, one was your least confident, and you got a point accordingly with every team game that team won.

So if the team that you picked number three won one two games, you would get six points for them, And if the team you picked at number sixteen won ten games, you would get one hundred and sixty points for them. We have the results. Third place was at the kid Shim ninety. Second place was show Off and and In something I simply did not believe and then checked the archival data to make sure it was correct. In first place in the out Picnic NBA contest Demonse.

Of all our entries, first place was Demonse. We had one hundred and forty entries. Demanse won the whole thing, just maddening. Congrats to him. And here's the deal. I am deciding right now he gets a two hundred dollars bonus for that if within twenty four hours of this podcast happening, So by eleven thirty Eastern tomorrow he texts me or calls me and says, where's my bonus? I want to see if he's watching now. I did realize,

gosh darn it, I'm screwed here. His sister's watching. And Deora is a tricky one, which is she likely now will tell her brother give him a heads up, but then make him cut her in on it. Uh. Deora also yeah, just because she's texting me and trolling me right now. So I'm gonna she's not here to defend herself. Deora pulled a heck of a move yesterday. Keep in

mind it's late June. She calls me yesterday. She's like Padre For those you know, remember on Christmas, some of my gifts were, you know, money for some of my clothes, websites that I go to that you didn't actually give me the money, but you said I can spend one hundred bucks here, two hundred bucks here. Do you remember which ones I didn't use fully? Because I know I didn't use all of them. And she knew damn well that there was a zero percent chance I would possibly

remember that. And she knew damn well that my answer would be just get just I trust you, Just get yourself some nice And she just instantly texts me three pairs of brand new new balances and said which one do you like best, to which I did leave her on red on. I just didn't respond. But she's a tricky one all right. Time for fan questions, Von Tadium, says DeAndre eight and to Boston for Robert Williams and Mark is smart. I mean, that's that's a great deal

for Phoenix Boston. You can't do that deal. Can't trade Robert Williams and Mark Smart for DeAndre and just can't Joe s says, Lol, Nick, you used Kareem's college career to say it was better than Jordan. Not quite. I used Kareem's college career as evidence of two things. One that if you wanted to make the argument who has had the greatest basketball life, Kareem wins that hands down. The guy went I think, undefeated in high school when seventy nine into in college and then went and did

that win and did that in the NBA. So I also, though, used Kareem's college career as evidence of if you think it's the seventies, you don't remember how good is the company.

This guy was a thoroughly dominant guy from word go And where I did use the non NBA profile on Kareem and Lebron versus Jordan was I just asked people logically, in the three guys for the goat debate, one guy was the greatest amateur player ever, a no doubt number one pick, one guy was the most hyped prospect ever, a no doubt number one pick, and the other guy

went third in the draft. That's the point I made Jonathan Kwame asked, what's your view on no trade calls and NBA contracts and what should a player do to deserve one. I think you've got to be a generational player of your era. The reason the Wizard's got nothing for Bradley Beals because they wanted to move on from him, but he could veto every trade, so he picked his team and then also basically made it the trade that smartly made that team as good as possible, where they

sell the eight and trade asset. I mean that's on the Wizards, not on Beal. They didn't have to give him one. Barf asked Nick, what's sense of pride in

watching your kids graduate? I'm I'm incredibly proud. I was incredibly proud of Diora for what she did over the course of high school, the person she's become, the trials and tribulation she's overcome, how she's matured the fact that she, unlike me, unlike her big brother, unlike her mom, unlike anybody I know, made it through high school, all of

it without having one. You know, almost everyone has at least one thing that happens in high school that you look back on a decade later and You're like, uh, that that could have been that either could have been really bad or was really bad scary, you know, big trouble at school, caught up with the cops, something bad. I had. It happened twice in high school. You know. You know, I'm not taking a shot at her brother. Her brother got in some trouble in high school. Almost

everyone does it. The fact that Diora made it through all of high school and it never happened, I told her I thought was remarkable and really impressive. So I'm proud of all of that, proud of her for graduating high school. I mean, at this if she hadn't graduated high school, it's a calamity, Like graduating high school is a is a is in today's day and age, kind of like a bare minimum. So I'm incredibly proud of

her a lot of things. And I was very emotional watching her walk across the stage because it means she's about to leave the house and become a real adult all that stuff. But it's like, how proud of It's kind of like the teenage version of like are you proud of your kid for taking their first steps? Or just like well, this will be a disaster. If they never do, I think that makes sense. Doora asks question for Nick, how do you still get views without Door on the show. I guess we'll find out. I will

see how the views are. Oh no, Diora says, I can't stand you. I was paying for those with my own money. About the shoes, and she thought I had taken pictures of the what her Christmas presents were. Sorry, baby, I love you. I hope you're back Thursday. See you guys. One more thirty minute show today. I'm on with Colin today around one fifteen. My show is then two to two thirty and then we're back on regular times starting tomorrow because the UEFA the soccer stuff is over for

a bit. All right, talk to you guys later today two o'clock on FS one. We'll try