Hottest Takes With Jason Concepcion | Real Ones

0:00What's popping? Real ones here. Live in Los Angeles. I am Logan Murdoch. That is Howard Motherfucking Beck. This is Jason. You want Motherfucking? Sure, yeah. What is it? Jason Motherfucking Conception. I think I deserve it. You do call yourself whatever you want. That's right. You do. We are here for the hottest takes, preseason version. I'm very glad that we have Jason here because I'm not sure we're going to get out of Howard. Maybe more measured takes. We're here to fuck around. So let's see how we can do this. Are you excited about that? I can't wait. How are your takes? Are you? I hope they're pushing the envelope. We'll see. We will find out. We will discover what they are. So Beck on the way here from New York. I'm going to tell

1:02the story again. This is a new audience. Beck on the way here from New York was texted me on the plane asking me what kind of takes you should get. So I don't know what to expect. I'm pretty scared about what's going on. So we'll see what happens. First team on the docket. The Boston Celtics Jason. Oh Boston Celtics. Oh my shit. Boston Celtics. Very exciting. Of course, big afraid. Big news. You know what? Boston Celtics finish above the Philadelphia. Oh, that's all right. Okay, explain the take, please. I just think Jason Tatum hasn't been this inspired or angry since you realize the savings he could have. When he moved his money over from a checking account to a two natural savings account. And I think that that the the site of Jalen Brown and

2:07another Jersey talking shit to him is going to awaken. You can finally like show us true feelings on the situation. It's finally going to come out that anger that that real like. Fuck this guy kind of feeling. And I think everybody's going to fall in line behind him. Not to mention, I think I think Philly, I think Philly, there's I think there's certain structural and emotional obstacles. And I think this is a all the moves they made are trades for next year, not this year. I think it's going to take time to gel. And I think if you look at the history of LeBron changing teams in big ways. It's always kind of disappointing that first year. So I think it's going to be on the over index on the disappointment. Boston Celtics. You're banking on the fact that because Jason Tatum is finally going to be interesting. Yes, and he's going to have a feel finally show some feeling on the basketball court. Are we sure Tatum is going to be capable of anger and vengeance? Is that going to be that's

3:09going to be the reason why the Celtics have a better record than the 70s and Paul George is going to play is going to play 63. Oh, shit. That might be the hard. That might be harder than the first take the scorching in here in this cold. It's somehow scorching this cold ass studio. I'm very scared right now because now it's his turn to have a take. And I don't know what's going to happen. It might be very lukewarm. It could be the hottest thing ever. For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tremphaya offers self injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tremphaya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tremphaya proper training is required. Tremphaya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions increased risk of

4:11infections or lower ability to fight them and liver problems may occur before treatment get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection flu like symptoms or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tremphaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremphayaRadio.com. Every game day you show up for your team. Now it's your time. Ask your prescriber about Wigovie, some Maglatide injection 2.4 milligrams, a GLP one. Call 1-833-4Wigovie or visit Wigovie.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Wigovie. Why wait? You know, it could be Fresno and July. I would at least warm us up a little bit because it's freezing in here. This is a great segue actually off of Jason's take because it is a Paul

5:12George take, which is that Paul George is going to be a seamless fit so much so that Celtic fans are going to claim victory in the trade. Okay. Okay. Okay. In fact, on top of that, let's just get geeky here and please. Let's just let's beer in a Bobby Mark's territory. Paul George is going to have better on off stats than Jalen Brown, the advanced stats. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. Kinniak. It's in relaxed. Jesus Christ. I think that that's probably going to be the case. And I'm excited for that discreet because I think Jalen love that. Yeah. No, yeah. I think that I have no I don't have I don't have expectations for this team. I don't take it all right. Okay. So this team, I think it's it's just really hard at this particular moment to convince me that it's Jason Tatum. I'm going to play a full season is Mitchell Robinson who I know has given you nightmares as much as he's given you very great dreams.

6:16Are you looking forward to Mike Brown and take the Falling Mitchell Robinson to put him at the line. It's going to be it's going to be cute. It's going to be funny. And I think Mitchell Robinson for the very first time in his entire career is going to be mostly kind of healthy this season. That's a hot take. I think that's a hot take. Okay. I think. Okay. At the at the risk of getting fired from this. This is a great place. I think that's healing for this team is a six seat. Let's move on. Let's move on. Oh, damn to the New York Knicks. Coming in hot. You thought you had time. Didn't you? You thought you had time. Do you want Howard to go first? I should go first anyway, because I think this may set Jason up. Okay. Um, the next will not repeat. Okay. And it won't fucking matter because Jason and all the other Knicks fans are like, we're good. We're set for life. It's fine. We would like them to repeat. It would be nice to repeat. But if they don't, we're good. We're good forever. We have OG and I know we're tipping for the rest of time. We have Jalen Brunson being the most popular New Yorker of all time.

7:22Everything is fine. Like there's not like the subways are just beautiful now. Everything is beautiful. Yeah, because it's just it's Nick's colored glasses. Everything is orange and blue. Everything is fine. It doesn't matter. I don't quite believe that, but I will give that to the expert on these matters. I do think. Okay. So if you guys are like 500 and teeter and 500 in January, are you guys going to still be happy? No, here's I just say 500. I just don't repeat. Let's be clear. We say that we will be, but we won't. Yeah. Yes. It's very easy to say now. Wait, I have a question following up to that one. Right. Sure. So you guys have celebrated a lot. There's been weddings. There's been. There's been a lot going on. Yeah. You guys have turned a little Hollywood. Right? Like a like a tiny bit Hollywood. I don't think Jalen Brunson's cable of full Hollywood. Is this you guys had a fucking Malibu wedding that you guys all went to. It's it's very much Hollywood. That's it. Wasn't that always happening? Wasn't that happening every off?

8:27The question I'm going to ask you before I get to your take was in the back of your mind and the cynical Nick Spanier. Are you a but like what the fuck are they doing? We got a lock in for next season. What would be what? Under what circumstances will Fadjale take back the tarot squad chain off of the neck of Mike Brown? What is it? What has to happen? It would have to be a complete and total collapse with multiple seemingly personal feuds bursting into the open with. You know, uh, disagreements about role disagreements about. Defense and offensive systems. All of that stuff that seemed like it was bubbling underneath even even throughout a lot of last season. Would have to burst open and they'd have to be shitty. Yeah. I don't see that. I don't see that part happening. I don't see that happening. I did it. Now my original hot take was. Isn't that but I did toy with the idea that I think they will be better have a stronger regular season this year.

9:30And then not win the final. That's actually not that's pretty Luke. That's pretty lukewarm. Fuck it. We repeating. Let's go. Come on. What's this camera? Is your camera right ahead? Stay it right now. Go right now. Two for two. Let's go. First repeat of the parody era. There we go. Adam silver. You can't stop us. You can't keep us down like this. Martino. You can't stop us. Okay. Okay. So what about when the cat is a throw? What about what cat is defensively? He's like, I think it's someone just sees him on the on the pick and roll and they just see him and they see him as food because which a rabbit is no longer there. He is the only one. Right. You're talking about the foul issue. It's going to be a problem. Yeah. It's going to be a problem. But that was good defensively minus the fouls. Can we see that? Is that? Take away the fouls. I think he was a very solid defensive player, especially in a playoff. He was good. Just flat out. And I think with a proof of concept in the bank, we understand this works.

10:34And with the captain as hungry as ever, we can't bridge is going viral. I just think let's do it again. Okay. Four seed. Okay. Four seed. That's okay. Let's go over the bridge. Let's go to Brooklyn. The Brooklyn nets right in your backyard. Brooklyn nets. How does take Howard mother fucking back? Julius Randall is going to post career best in scoring and usage and still won't make the all-star game because the nets are going to be so horrid and no one in New York is going to see it. No one's even going to know because nobody really covers them. That's not true. They are covered, but they are not, let's just say that they're not exactly stealing back page headlines for good or bad from the nicks or the Yankees or anybody else anytime soon. But like, what a bittersweet thing for Julius Randall, right? Probably didn't want to leave New York in the first place. Guest to come back, but it's on the other side of the river at a time that his old team just won the championship without him for the guy with the guy who he was traded for. Yeah, this is like purgatory at this point.

11:41And it's like a wrestling match between him and Michael Porter Jr. for like who's going to jack up the most shots. That'll be fun. Jack and my heart take is Michael Porter Jr. will average 25. 25 podcasts a week or 25 points for games. 25. 25. 25 points and 25 podcasts. And by mid-December, you will be openly discussing, should I quit and just be a podcast or yeah, I think Jordi Fernandez is going to be like, you know what, go do your podcast. By January. I think my heart take is that Jordi Fernandez is going to get minutes to season. He's actually going to see that. I think he's going to see it for one game. And he's going to score like five, seven points, something like that because they're going to need him. I think that's my heart take. I think that's going to happen. He's going to be the first player coach since Bill Russell. And he's going to lead, you know, Bill Russell led them to a championship. He's going to lead them into the lottery. They need somebody to pass the ball. I will say because

12:41even their, I mean, you know, they're legendary five rookie draft. Five rookies who all need the ball none of them want to pass. I just think it's, he should think about it. Jordi should think about not the worst option. Not the worst option. Just, god damn, there are money pit, man. You see how great their facilities look with nothing to show for it. It's really nice, a really nice great view from the top of their training center. Amazing view. That's not only that, but my, my friends who have kids in school, in New York City School, have been sending me texts that are like some variation of my child told me that when they called on this one kid in class today, no matter what the question was, he just answered Jalen Brunson. I thought I was just going to say Nixon five. That's what's happening in New York City schools right now. This is what I'm saying. They don't have to ever, the Dix don't have to ever win again. It's that Nixon five will be the answer to every question. We say that. And I say that now, but it would be nice to get a dollar still the owner.

13:48Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Mm-hmm. You try to forget that. Don't you, Jason? I do. Although I will say some other owners have been making it. He's fallen down the list a little bit. We'll get to that in a second. Philadelphia 76ers hottest take. Who wants to take this on? You want to go first, Jason? I might have a hot take. I'm here. LeBron James, but should you go off the bench? Six man of the year, LeBron James, right? Think about it. Think about it. Hear me out. It's not going to happen. Think about it though. Boom. You put LeBron James. You play him 25 minutes a game. You play him with the second unit. He is a six man of the year. You add that to the trophy collection. You keep him fresh until the postseason. And if he buys into this role, it allows him to be great in his role against second unit teams. And then it helps out with all the plethora of scoring options in the starting line. So Dean Wade is starting in LeBron's place?

14:49Why not? Let's get freaky. This is the hottest takes, right? Is this not the hottest takes? That was hot. I guess my hot take would be LeBron and Mbede share the court for less than 500 which is not a lot in the course of my head of like how many games is that? That's not that's not great. And I think over the course of that season, just LeBron like playing with Mbede will be a thing that he will be. Is that going to be manufactured by LeBron or is it all manufacturing? I don't know. I'm saying is it going to be like manufacturing? Is that going to be the storyline midseason through back channels of what LeBron wants? Is that do you think that one is? Is that your prediction? Yes. In fact, it's going to be so manufactured that to cover the tracks, they'll get max to ask it. All right. See you later. Oh, shit. So before we get to, before we get to our

16:01trick, I actually, before we get to our trick, I didn't go from I did 500 divided by 82 and that is six minutes per game together. At average, six minutes to game together with Mbede and LeBron. It might be a little low. It's going to be concentrated in most 40 games. Howard, I don't know how are you going to add on that one, baby. You might need to look warm take after these last two. I'm not recovering for that anytime soon. My take is LeBron oriented though. Okay. LeBron is going to average double digit assists for the second time in his career. Last time was 2019, 20 with the Lakers. Why would he do anything but this? He might lead the league in a system this season. He doesn't need to score. He could roll out of bed and score it into 20 without even trying. He doesn't need to try to score at age 42. He's got Maxi and Edgecom and Jalen Brown and Joelle and Bede and apparently starter Dean Wade.

17:02So he's like he entered the league with the quote. He was going to be not his quote. Other people were saying he will be more magic than Michael. Turns out he was both those guys rolled into one in the body of Carl Malone. But he's shown already like first of all early in his career. He was going to be all about the team. He showed last season. I can set up Luke in Austin Reeves. I can play off them at this stage of my career. I don't need all the you know the wear and tear and all the effort to try to do everything in every possession. He'll be fine with doing that. And so he'll want to conserve himself and he almost has to too. Like if this shit's going to work with so many mouths to feed. Yes. Someone has to be the one to decide. I want all these guys to thrive. And he's the most likely candidate, the best candidate to do it. I like it. I like that as well. I like it. That was that was very much. We have a very good. I think we're going to be good. I think we're going to be okay. You think we're going to be okay. Equal to the paper fine now. Everybody doing all right. All right. Cool. The Toronto Raptors towered back. Oh man. And also

18:04as of recording now, Kawaii Leonard is officially a Toronto Raptor. So go ahead. We've that trade. We've that trick. We've didn't not by choice. Had to, according to Bobby Marksford to fit under the aprons because they were hard caps. So it wasn't like some magnanimous gesture by him. Let's be clear. No one's out to Nolo Gellinara that he didn't. He'll find a few trees to be fine. You know, he'll make up the difference. Cool. Here's here. Here's the take and it is about Kawaii. Kawaii's return to Toronto is going to be the weirdest, least satisfying homecoming we've ever seen. I like it. Toronto happy to have him back and they should be. But let's remember, he was the first player in our lifetimes. Maybe the history of sports to lead a team to a championship. Be the finals MVP and then see that I'm good. See you all later. Goodbye. He spurned them. And he's coming back seven years later, seven years older, all the way around. And also now with the cloud of this scandal hanging over him. Toronto doesn't care because that's on the good. That's a whole other country. But for them, it's okay. But for all the rest of the world, we're all looking at him

19:10a little differently. You brought all this on that other organization. The rappers don't care. I kind of push back on that. Also, by the way, not the warmest fuzzies personality in the first place, right? So this is not some warm fuzzy homecoming. I know that's a hot take. I know I'm out of a limb. It's going to be spined. They will win a lot of games. It's just not going to be all that like because it was cool. We saw the wrong go back. So other other homecoming we've seen have been kind of like homecoming. There's nothing fun about this. I think homecoming's are defined by the reaction of the home. And I think the reaction of the home in this case, Toronto, they're going to love them. But we're going to see that on TV. And they're like, you don't think they're going to be a little bit like, oh, we're happy to have you for the talent. And you're going to elevate us again. But like, they want to, but like, you're just you like you seven years, they talk to people in Toronto. They don't give a fuck about that. Oh, they care about us. They got a ring. He was good. He was probably going to get his jersey retired no matter what. But if he came back or not, I think that they're going to they're going to love it. I think we're going to probably, well, you are going to be weirded out about it. I'm going to be like, well, I'm just saying

20:12it's not going to be that emotionally resonant. I don't know. I think Drake is going to cry in the court side seats on opening night scene. Do we care what Drake does? It's not about we. It's about them. It is about Toronto. What's your what's your after Uncle Dennis's mid season arrest at the border crossing? Why Leonard renounces his American citizenship? Goes full Mark Carney pro Canada anti USA and honestly power to him. Wait, how does he? How does he? He comes a Canadian hero. He does what he's already a Canadian hero. But yes, but like for the full Canada for the entire from sea to shying sea, whatever they say up there. Yeah, from like Alberta to a fucking. From British Columbia to the other one on the other one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. Okay, I get that.

21:16So I'm going to get arrested. That's that's what I got as the hottest day. I think he's either going to seize him at the board. That's, you know what? That's fair. That's what you have. That's, that's, that's the NBA did. The NBA like left like, oh, they banned for life a guy who has no representation of anybody. My question. Wait, wait, excuse me. A five year ban five years only for a guy who has no other representation. Also, also, he's like cool. Yeah, look at what I did. Did my job. Let me just say there's a ban uncle then. Is everybody shooting on uncle then? Is he asked? He asked for that. Why wouldn't you? Of course, you don't have to give it to him. Yeah. First of all, like, of course, you asked for stuff. I can ask for this building. Yeah. It's not about it's going to be like, fuck off. Don't give it to him. And then second of all, and this is the thing that really gets in my crawl that people don't talk about enough. The NBA looked all over that. Uncle Dennis asking this and that from the raptors from the late from everybody. Spurs and everybody. And they found nothing to it. They found nothing there until Pablo Tory found. And now all of a sudden, they're like, whoa, holy shit. So one thing that I would love

22:23Pablo or anybody else to look into is how exactly the NBA looked at all the stuff that Uncle Dennis was doing and said, it's fine. Let him keep going. And now it's a problem. The NBA has a habit of reacting when other entities report out this stuff, right? Like Robert Sarvers fine until backstreet homes exposes him for being a complete creep. And then we got to chase him out of the league. Like, nothing happens until somebody else figures it out. The NBA knows what's going on. And they're just kind of like as long as nobody finds out. Yeah, sounds like a professional sports. Yeah, that sounds like the going right for a professional sports league. I don't know if I take what I'm sorry guys. Nobody else you want to have arrested at the board. I didn't want him arrested. I don't want a black man to be arrested at any border or anything. I'm not saying that. I'm just I that was his take. That was not mine. Oh, I think this I think that this goes the Raptor thing has a great variance in that they can go to the finals. They can also be a playing team of shit goes bad. You know, that's my they're going to miss Grady day. It's what you're saying.

23:26There. They're going to miss the Jersey swaps. Sure. We all are. All right, the Chicago Bulls. I'd take for you. Josh Gidey averages a triple double. Whoa. The Chicago Bulls end up having their fourth front office by next off. Okay. Clear house again. Why are you firing Bryson Graham? What did he do? What's wrong? It just didn't work out. It's unusual. Okay. Why are we, you know, why are we just, you know, why are we still suck? Why is it going this badly? But then the Reinsource after you have to pay him not to work and they don't really like spending money. Yeah. But I still think they'll do it. All right. Also, it is also the so I still think really he he researched it went hard for that one. That

24:27take it's hard. The Bulls are boring. He's this is this is not even that hot of a take. It's just the only thing I like the bulls are so uninteresting in general. This is about the best I can come up with. I'm sorry. This is the Bulls fault. Not mine. They're going to flip Norm Powell by the deadline. Yeah. Possibly back to Miami because Miami needs them more than they do. And like what what is he even doing here? You've got you've got you got you got your 44 million. You got to what's not the light. Yeah. But no, it's a very movable contract. Second year's team option. It was made to be moved basically. But like what's he doing here? Nice little condo, you know, in Chicago for three months, you know, not bad. I got another one. They're going to open 10 and three. And then one of those fake good starts. Tiago splitter. Coach of the month. Oh, all right. Is he going to get the average odds and special? They win less than 35 games. Okay. That's I'm going to add to that. Okay. I said they go 11 and two. Okay. You want to surprise me and they win and they win and they win 27 days.

25:32That would be incredible. I could see it. Oh, man. Okay. Let's go to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Oh my God. I think this is my take. I think in order to optimize James Hardin and get the best out of him, they were going to build a club in the middle of the middle of the middle of the quick and arena. That's going to be the greatest. Honestly, they're going to build a new forum club specifically for James Hardin. Just optimize performance. You know how people need cold tub? No, they're going to just have a club for him with all the accoutrements that he looked. He's going to have a career. Why not? Why not? It smells like a cover. What's your hot take? Cavs have already peaked. Yeah. It's done. This is it, man. This is the least convincing on paper contender. And it's always an on paper contender, right? They're the least convincing on paper contender in recent memory. Two years ago, they won 64 games out in the second round. Last season, we finally made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. And we can't hold like a 38,

26:3440, 50 point, whatever the hell that lead was against the next. They get absolutely smoked. Hardin is 37. I don't really want to have an annual date. What was that like for you? Does this see James Hardin turn into a human cone? I mean, it's not anything we haven't seen before. I honestly, I will say I knew that we were good on a level that I have not experienced before my life because I was actually like, we kind of got I think we got even down 23 or whatever it was. I don't think I've ever seen a quicker or more dramatic atmosphere change. I was in the building that night. And the crowd was done. They were just like, well, I guess we're losing game one of the series. That's fine. We'll come at whatever. Like it was and then it was like, oh, a little bit louder, a little bit louder. And all of a sudden, the place is fucking exploding. And the Cavaliers are just wilting. I don't I've never seen anything like it. But yeah, they're they're done. They've already the calves have already peaked. This is the worst kind of done Howard because they're still going to have massive contracts from people and they're just going to they're not going to have to say they're not going to have expectations.

27:37But they're going to be a team in purgatory with old guys that are getting older and getting paid a lot. Three years 96 million for James Hardin. Hey, man, a promise. 37. A promise is a promise. Okay. A promise is a fucking promise. A former GM somewhere. Oh, no, he mad at me right now. That's true. I don't know. Yeah. When the Cavaliers returned to you, Madison Square Garden, November 11th, any act can send will explode when the local beat writers in and date him with multiple analytically, we won the series. To the point that he has to be. Mark Berman has retired. So he will come out of retirement from the cat skills. Wherever the fuck he's at. He's in Florida. He will fly up head shining. This is a struggle. Hey, struggle. All right. Yeah. All of stress was a perfect Mark Berman couple couple couple. Die cousin. Unretired just for this. Just to ask this. No, no, you know, it's going to happen.

28:41He's there's going to be at the end of the pregame presser. There's going to be a Nick Staff for Adam nowhere. Said, okay, we have one one last one in the zoom league. Where's the zoom for Mark? And atkinson will need to be restrained. I love this. Oh, my god. This is too good. Okay. All right. All right. We still have the rest of the league to talk about. Let's go with the Detroit pistons. Scott said. Scott's. Um, I struggled with this one and all I could come up with is, if it's hold on, is jalen duren going to sign with the pistons only to get traded for the bonus like see this. If you look at the line, this is the last thing we're waiting for, right? As we record this, we should moat once again, note because we don't know, like by the time this comes out, we don't know where jalen duren will be. But as of now, I don't have much on the pistons other than this. If a sartonson makes the leap and we're like getting like the Instagram videos of like, oh, the jump shot looks better, whatever. The bin sim and special. Look at that. The mish robins and special. If us a sartonson already

29:41an outstanding defensive player, if he makes the leap offensively, they win the used. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Um, this is, is this even that hot jalen duren will sign a contract. He's not going to take the qualifying stop. Oh, yeah. No, that's yeah. Come on. Stop. Yeah. That's. You're not going to fucking do that. Don't do that. Yeah. Don't. Don't. Hey, yo, yo, listen, man. Don't do that. That's absurd. Don't do that. Don't bet it. Okay. All right. All right. That's the Indiana Paisers. Oh, man. We're just done with it. Let's go to the nix fan here about the Indiana Paisers. I don't know. Ready for this. No. High-res Haliburton MVP. Whoa. Whoa. From the nix fan. He's going to win MVP. They're going to have a great season MVP MVP of the MIP basketball. And not you don't mean on the ballot. He's finished. He's not going to make some boats. He's not going to get boats. Oh, go shit.

30:42You know how you know how fickle these riders are. Or I worked like it's like, oh, it's you're talking to the president of the P.B.W. right here. And yo, kitches, they were going to do this again. And like, Wembee, of course, he's going to win a million of them. And then he's going to come out hot. They're going to be good. It's the chemistry is just waiting for the addition of him back into the mix. And he is going to be the straw that stirs the drink, no health issues. And the thought is going to be we're going to get a second chance to give high-res Haliburton MVP. And he's going to I'm going to add to that. He's going to win the MVP. And he's going to eliminate the nix. I mean, might happen. Listen again. Paisers. And the fans will say it's fine because we already won the championship. They will. And it's true. Are you going to are you guys going to clap and be like, God, I mean, I would, I mean this completely sincerely. I mean, I don't think it would be cool if the Paisers won our champion. Yo, man, I can't

31:43be cool. Listen, man, I can't believe this shift from New Yorkers right now. Man, I can't believe how nice you guys are now. I can't believe how nice you got. I can believe it with you because you've got you've been in California for a while since whenever New Yorkers come to California, they get a little, they get a little easier around the edges, right? But like New Yorkers who used to just be assholes in a loving way, you guys are so nice now and just so accommodating. I don't know what to feel. Jalen Brunson changed the world on its axis. When I see Tyree's Halberton doing the doing the, you know, it was a little bit like he could have come up with his own, but it was cool. I feel no pain in my body. It's crazy. You know, I feel like I've been reborn. I feel nothing. Okay. I don't think Tyree's Halberton's ever received a single vote on an MVP ballot. I was just trying to check real quick. Howard, don't be a killjoy. Don't be a killjoy. You're not being killed. We do love. Listen to Jason's point while overstated. We do love a good feel, good story. It's going to feel real. But MVP is also to put up like gaudy numbers and he's not really a

32:45gaudy numbers kind of guy. So, okay. So, so what it has to be though, it has to be like, has to be like 15, 15 and like, you know, you know, you got a 19 19 10 to 11. He has to be like oh, five Nash. I was going to say Nash. Yeah. He's got to be like Nash. And it's and it's and one of those things where he misses six games. They lose all. But also they got a win like 60 or something. I think they got to have the best record in the East for him to even get into this. You win like 61 games and he will win the MVP. That's a hot take. That's good. It's a very hot. I like that one. Okay. Um, I'm calling the Pacers the sleepiest sleeper that ever slept or that was slept on, I guess, because Jason's take on on Haliburton is aside. They're never talked about right now. It's like we're all fixated on LeBron and Jay LeBron and Philly and are the Nick's going to repeat and are the Celtics going to be back in the mix with Jason Tatum healthy again and the pistons 160 games last year and the Cavaliers or whatever the Cavaliers are. But everybody's talking about everybody except the Pacer. We completely forget to put them back in

33:48this conversation. And we absolutely should be because they made the finals a year and a half ago. Um, the Miles Turner is gone, but Zubach is in his place. Everybody else is still there. Neymar and Neesmith and TJ McConnell and like Rick Carlyle is still a freaking genius of a coach. Like they, they really didn't lose anybody of note. I mean, all due respect to Benedict Mathram, they brought in Kelly Ubrei. Like we're not giving them enough respect. They need to be talked about in the mix to win these. I fully respect. Okay. Salaburn. Okay. Um, they had Lana Hawks. I'll go first. I think that little boozee is going to finally like tear his hamstring. I think this is the year he does it. I think this is the year he finally does it. That's all I have for you. I think he's going to do it. See, they're going to be what he does. The, the, the timeout thing where he jumps. I think he's going to, I think he's going to tear I think his whole right leg is just going to just shatter. And for half the season is going to be the cast. Okay. Because that all I got. Um, you want to do one? Even though who low boozee is?

34:51He's the guy who did the thing in the video and the, yeah. Um, no, I saw something happened during the playoffs and I went, I don't know why the camera is on this guy. So there you go. There's your answer. Um, is this even, is this hot? Like, Dylan Johnson, the best player in the division in the division in the division. We got now, wait, you're making a hot tape. You're making us think about NBA divisions. Sorry. It's, it's, you say this between him and Janice. I think he'll be better than you. I think you will put up better numbers than Janice. That is a hot. Yeah. That is. I can see that. I can see that. Does that make them, does that take them next step into the upper echelon of the recent cameras? Because I don't think so. No, I don't think so. No. I think it like in the, I think they're in the, uh, the six seed ish rain six five seed brains. Six last year. I think they're probably six again. Like that's, I mean, that's where my take was in this anyway with his like of all of my lukewarm takes. This will be the lukewarm. I just, like, I love what they're doing and I don't know where it leads. Like, I love them going to get, getting a, uh, Lou Dort. I love the Nikkei Alexander Walker pickup. I love the CJ McCollum pickup

35:55last season. Like, it's all good. Like they're making good fundamentally sound moves here to build this team. But unless Jalen Johnson turns into a true number one, like, like, I, like, I, and by that, I mean, he's not just put him great numbers. Right. He can win a playoffs series for you. And, and we saw this against your nicks, right? He just wasn't ready for the moment. And so until he either becomes that guy or they find that guy elsewhere, I'm just not sure where all this go. Okay. Let's go with the Milwaukee Bucks. Oh, boy. Just to be sad for a minute. Um, yeah. Um, you asking me? I hate to do this. This will be as downer as I get. Uh, they're going to set a new franchise record for months. That record being held by the 2013, 14 bucks who went 15 and 67. A record that landed them. Who? And a lottery that year? Jabari Parker. Look, this starting five, I think this is

36:59actually the worst starting five in the NBA. It depends on who you're plugging in here. Like, as it Ryan Rollins or Kevin Porter, Jr. Tyler hero, Hakez, who I like, Kuzma, Miles Turner. Like, I don't know how any of these guys fit together. I don't know what this team actually is going to accomplish on the court. I don't know how these guys are going to even like be there the whole season. Like, this is a team that is primed. Just be like, oh, somebody else could use Miles Turner, like a three point shooting big hook and block shots. Boom. Um, Tyler hero, you know, some, some team needs a shot creator. Boom. Like, they should be trading these guys as soon as they can because they're going nowhere fast with this group anyway. And yeah, I think they break the franchise record of 67 losses in 2013. Um, it's very tough. Really tough. Um, yeah, I don't know. Yeah. Mine is that when the start of the season and the stock rivers will be

38:0123 podcasts and television appearances in which he was he going to break uh, Michael Porter Jr's record. Yeah. He's going to go on Michael Porter Jr's podcast. Various podcasts appearances. Um, and TV spots in which he in a chagrin manner talks about the bucks while also clearly being delighted at how bad they are. And that 23 appearances could be more wins than the Bucks will not. That's a good one. That's a good one. I like what you did there. How many of those appearances are on the Ringer podcast network? 21 at least eight. All right, hottest take. Charlotte Hornets. Oh. Okay, I think this little military is going to backfire. Really? Okay. The reason why I think that is they have, he, his departure really takes down the ceiling.

39:07I am not like I get conknick will had a really good rookie season bread and Miller is a guy, but I think he pushes their ceiling up. He also pushes their floor down. Let me finish. Yeah, but I do think that I think that this is going to come back to Hauntden because they're just a purgatory thing. There's a team that's going to perpetually be in purgatory with this roster. I don't have any belief in this. It looks like a flash in the pan. And I think they're going to somehow just kind of regret leaving all that scoring on the day. Okay, interesting. It's a hot take. It's what it is. It's a hot take. I will. My hottest, my hot take is like a haircut on your day. I think they will start hot. 15 and eight. And then I think they end up looking at found out. I think that we'll get found out and end up 500, but that the stuff that they're seeing and that we are seeing are so positive overall and the team is so young that it will be a good story overall. So I don't think they've committed themselves to mediocrity because that happens when you

40:11over invest in like a la mellow ball like somebody who is like you've already learned all like the highs and the lows and you pay him just because he's your star. You do it reflexively. You do it because you think you're supposed to. And the next thing you know, you are capped out and you're stuck in the middle. Instead, they're pivoting to their younger guys to Brandon Miller and Conniple and whoever else may come along. They brought a Nasrida great character guy. So my take on them was almost like the inverse of yours, which is like I thought the La mellow trade was gutsy as hell and the right move. They moved him out. They moved Miles Bridges out. They are obviously concentrating on character and guys that they truly believe in. In the couple of years like since Rick Schnoll and that group bought the team. They've changed GM. They brought Jeff Peterson. He brought in Charles Lee. They've turned over effectively the entire roster. So like this is a team like I like a team with conviction. Yeah. No, listen, listen, you're right. Also at Charlottes, really hard to get a hot take there. You're right. But I will say this, which you are them trading

41:13away. La mellow after they've seen him this whole time and getting what they got from him is, you know, they got a Nasrida got a rotation player out of it. You know, they got him off of the payroll. It's a good move. You know, but in the interim, I just I know there are a little less interest. They're a lot less interesting. Yeah. Yes. That's that they are a little less interesting. But more so like I think the bigger point that I wanted to make was I'm just not as impressed with the blue ship guys that they think. Yeah. I have to see it in this new context. Sealing on Brandon Miller. Can it be like that? You're like, yeah, I don't know. Like I don't know if they're the guys that bet on necessarily. Right. And I get La mellow isn't necessarily, listen, as Howard knows, I have not been a LeMelo ball. I've been to say that I'm a skeptic would be very, very nice. But I'm just not I'm not convinced by those two guys. It's like the guys are going to lead you into the next iteration. I don't disagree. I think they end up being very, very solid players that are capable of contributing very, very good teams. Yeah. And that we will be talking about

42:16next few seasons that all they need is that one. Yeah. But I think that those young guys are good. Just not like top of the mountain. That's a fair point. But then it's like that's the thing about the NBA, right? You have to pivot so much, right? If your guys aren't guys and you identify that early enough, you have to move up off of them before you have to pay them. That is the new NBA. Yes. And they only have a finite amount of time. And I think it's clear at this point that these at least to me, it's clear. And this is my opinion that these two guys just aren't the guys that I feel like you can build sustaining like franchise cornerstone. And I couldn't shoot. They could probably prove me wrong at this point. But like to get to the upper echelon of the Eastern conference when you're competing against a sixers team or you're trying to compete against the next, I just don't think that they these are the guys to be able to do that. They're giving them room, selves room to keep adding. Maybe I should have just said that. You know what? The Lamellaball thing was a little too much. Maybe I should I'm a I'm a still a hot take. But I don't believe in Brandon Miller and Kaka Nipple as the franchise cornerstouch. That is my take.

43:21Okay. The Miami Heat. I have one. Can I go first? I go first. And this will also kind of contradict the best case and worst case scenario. I'll go. How take though, man? And it's I'm just gonna say it. I think they go to the finals. Whoa. I think they can go to I think they can go to the finals. Wait. Did you just go from real to can? I think they can. I think they can go to the final. Now this is as constituted or do they bring stuff in? They bring stuff in. They have a they they they have a good trade deadline and they figure some things out. They get some pieces involved. But I just really trust Eric's Bolster, your Filipino brother in Christ. Yeah. I mean, listen. I think I'm putting a lot on Eric's Bolster to figure this out. Can I see this? And the Heat infrastructure to play to get the most out of them and get the most out of players that you wouldn't otherwise see that in this scenario to what degree do they punt the regular. They're like when 50 games. Yeah. And they figure their shit out. Right. And then and then you get a

44:21reincarnative Andrew Wiggins like 2022 because this is the infrastructure that just allows for that to happen. It's like cocoon him and clay like it's like holy shit. And like the slice teaming in the water. There's no other plausible explanation that I could even have other than bives for them to get to the finals. Okay. You know, bives in great coaching and infrastructure. That is what's leading me to think that I'll say this like plays never had water like this for a boat. No, he hasn't. And he historically does great when he is in water. I said this and I said this on on the last part of the season. I got straight. It's a landlocked place. He's going to be miserable. Yeah. Listen, he was cold as shit in the Bay area on that on that boat and had great times. Middle of you know, middle of January. Yeah. And that San Francisco Bay, it might as well be Antarctica. And he was having a blast. Yeah. This is other type of water. Yeah. This has a real healing properties. Yeah. Um, what you're on to take for the heat. I think I might

45:23have burned the studio. That is a. I had to take for the heat is um, the Nassos coast is in Alex cancel their contracts with I believe it's Aris Thessaloniki in Greece. To join what will be a march to the finals. Wait, no, no, no, no, no, no. As just members of the organization, but you just said you just so just just fried me for even even saying that they can go to the finals. Now you're agreeing with me that they're going to stretch around. You're buying what I'm selling. I'm buying into this alternate reality. Okay. I kind of like it. Okay. When that be so fun, wouldn't that be so fun if this wound up happening? I think it would be my environment. The finals is always fun. It will be. And you know, Pat Riley is going to be in fucking himself. The bro, his Pat Riley's Denzel walk. The Denzel walk going into the fucking arena, bro. Are you serious? He's going to be fucking it's stuffable. If that happens.

46:23What's going to be better? The Denzel walk in man on fire or the Pat Riley walk into the finals in 2027. It's going to be it's going to be insane if that happens. They're going to do something to like take that, you know, that the thing that they shoot the wings of the airplane with like to cool it down. Yeah. They're going to need to do that to him as he comes off like the presser like table. They're going to steal the University of Miami's like, fucking the smoke from that. And every game with the finals, Pat Riley is going to come out alone just walking out to his seat, talking so much bullshit. If that happens, it will be insane. Beck, are you okay? Are you going to are you still going to be here for the rest of the show? We break you finally. I am trying to recover. I had like this great optimistic team. I was a lot of people. I think the I think the consensus opinion is that the heat are not even a solid playoff team like they may have to be a play a team and you just put them in the fucking

47:24final. There's I got no worse. I somehow convinced him. I'm in on it. I'm in on it. You know, how is Clay? By the way, he probably hired somebody to like take the boat down from the bay through the Panama Canal. Some out. Yeah. No, they just put it on a trailer. Really? Just drive it across the country. We don't have money. We don't have that. We don't have that not a whole experience like that. It's not that big of a boat. Okay. Okay. He's gonna just read also we're under us. He could buy another fucking boat. That is an option. That is an option. What is your I can't top that. So I'm just gonna I'm going off. I'm going off the top by dome now. Final. Final. Fucking as long as they're going to the finals, Clay Thompson hits more three than Steph Curry. Oh, that was somehow a hot or take. That was somehow a hot or take. Just let you do that. I got to go somewhere else with it. Steph, I know you want to smoke a show. Take that personally. Take it personally right now. Hey,

48:28it also Beck said it. Beck said it. So next time don't give him shit. What do you see? He said, they said that. Um, are we going to get through this show? I don't know. All right. The Orlando magic. This is on you. I don't even know. I know. I got this. Thank you. Please. This isn't even that hard. I don't even think this should be considered a hot take, but it will be in some corners. They need to trade one of their two best players period. Right now. Pallower Wagner. One of those guys is out the door. This is not working. It hasn't been working. Stop doing this thing Orlando every year where you're just like, I will just run it back and we'll change coaches and maybe we'll get a different outcome. Your personnel don't fit. It's time to wake up and recognize what you got and what you don't have. They're suffering more than anything else from institutional complacency and a lack of vision. They could learn something from Charlotte and Minnesota who were partners in that very gutsy swap of Lamello and Nazareed. I think they're, I think a prominent player on that team is going to quit. Just quit. Just walk off the court game. It's a Tuesday at December. It's

49:32somebody's good. But you know what? Jalen Suggs has just gone. Done. I mean, I think it's Frank Harris. 31% or something. 30% free. Not happening and it's unclear role he plays. The word Josh Smith has been thrown around in other circles. I haven't done that. But that's been, you've heard that and I do think it is well past time. Especially with how unhappy he really did seem the way thing was going and his role in the mediocrity that is the Orlando Mandra. I think I don't even it's hard to come up with a hot. They're just they're a frustrating team like the talent is there again on paper. You look at it. They play really hard. They play defense. But then they quit at the end of the season.

50:33They just can't generate often. Period at all. Ever. Yeah. At all. Yeah. Maybe go find a playmaker. Go go like swap. This is what you have two stars. Yeah. Swap one of them for somebody who can do something with the ball on their hands and set up other guys. Let's go with the Washington. Playing. Let's go. Playing for the Washington Wizards. I put the are they in the top half of the play. I don't have the plan. There are 910. Okay. DeBonza averages 19. For a young and Anthony Davis here in 30 games together. Back to doing the math. How many minutes did that work out to? But I think I think DeBonza will be a revelation and Washington Wizards fans will have something to hear about the first time in a little bit. I love that take. It's wrong. But I love it.

51:33Because my take is that the reality check after everybody's getting so giddy about the Wizards is there's still a bad team. There's still a bad team. Let me tell you who they're not better than in the Eastern Conference. They're not better than the Nix, the Celtics, the Pistons, the calves, the Sixers, the Pasters, the Hawks, the Raptors, the Magic, the Hornets or the Heat. They're not better than any of those teams. They definitely are not better than the news team. You know what that makes them? A lottery team. Still. Tray young, not an all-store anymore. Still doesn't play D. It doesn't make us teammates better. Anthony Davis, the last five years, is average 49 games. I'm not sure if he and Alex are even fit together. They don't. But that's okay. A.G. DeBance is not gonna average 19 points of game. He's gonna average 19 for road looks per game when Tray doesn't pass him the ball. Tray is gonna be on his best behavior because of all the shit that people have been talking about him since the Atlanta Hawks were clearly and markedly better without him on the floor. That was tough. And so he's going to be like, watch this, you jerks. I'm gonna be everything that

52:37that people have wanted me to be. He's gonna be moving the ball, especially with these young guys. He's been saying all the right things. He's really been saying like, I can't wait to get these guys the best shots they've ever gotten in their lives. And Anthony Davis is good when he plays. When he plays. And I would presuppose what if he plays a lot? It is contract year. It is time to get that last contract. Last bag. Gotta get that last bag. So some of those aches and pains are gonna have to get I'd be profaned over. I'm gonna forget that money. Plus he's being pressed from behind by DeAndre Aiton. So that'll put a lot of pressure on. Oh gosh. I think that might lead to my heart take. Yeah, okay. DeAndre Aiton takes Anthony Davis's block into the seat. Wait, a healthy Anthony Davis takes a healthy Anthony Davis's block. What's the last time he's been healthy? I know, but I'm saying if he's not on the, if he's not available, of course like

53:41Aiton's gonna be playing more. And I think Aiton takes a John Wall's spot at the Rose at the Rose Bar lounge. Interesting. Okay, what about this? That's where he takes it. He's like he's gonna take it on the mantle of John Wall in DC Nightlife. More dunks. Okay, what is what is going to be larger? AJ season turnover, versus dunks from DeAndre Aiton. I'm gonna go with Aiton. Okay. I'm gonna go with Aiton. I'm just really annoyed by this team right now, man, because the clear thing that you need to do is just put the build a team around the bands approach. Trade everybody. Why the fuck did you trade for tray young and Anthony Davis in the first place? What an extent tray young and extent tray young. I don't know. The bands that could have DC by his fingertips. And he can't even do that because it's sheer the spotlight with, you know,

54:42two older guys that are just barely gonna get them to the playing. I kind of see the vision squinting. Is that true? That's a hot take right there. My wife, my wife is a wizard's fan. So I watch a lot of wizard. I think the idea is we got this incredible young team. And we need some older guys to show them how to. Now, I think there were other things in there like we also have to tank. If you're gonna tank though, this is the best way to tank it. You make the appear you trade for two guys that are like kind of over the hill like and that for cover. And then they don't play. No, but that one doesn't play. And then the other one like just takes up the salad. No cover. It's immediately mothball. Hey, man, I'm trying. I'm trying really hard. I'm trying really hard. But I think it's gonna, I think it's kind of going to cook a little bit. I think it's going to come together in some weird way. DeBonza, I like everything I've seen. Listen, I would love to see it happen.

55:43I'm not, I'm not hating on it would be wonderful to see it. I just don't believe. I'm a believer. I'm a believer in those Washington wizards wolf blitzer were here we come. Maybe the whole season here we come. Do you know he's on the scoreboard there at timeouts? I know. It is coming from the situation room and then like giving wizards. There is nobody more dedicated than him. They're literally a more dedication. If we had more dedication in DC and BC would be a better place. It's him and like Timothy Shalame and Homeland. Remember that? Never mind. Didn't see that one. Okay, you want to go, it was you like to go to the Western conference. Let's go. I would love to. The Denver Nuggets Howard mother fucking back. I hate that we have to begin here. I hate that I have to say this. We are witnessing a historic squandering of an all-time grade. We just are. Since winning the championship in 2023, the Nuggets have lost or traded

56:47four key pieces of that team. Including Michael Porter Jr. and Katapy's called Well Pope. We're both starters on that team. Lost one of their most promising young prospects. Peyton Watson. Bye-bye. See you in Cleveland. Done nothing to replenish any of this. VF free agency or trade. They experimented with Westbrook before. Now it's derosen. Also by the way, Marvin Bagley and Lonnie Walker. The fourth yes. Oh yeah. Hell yeah. Yo, that's a wild 2k team. It is really. You just said you got to look. I mean, they might know when the championship in real life, but a 2k they would go hard. Needless to say, Nicola Yokech deserves better than this. And it is kind of sad to see this just like slow erosion around him. And every year that goes by thinking like the windows not closed yet, but I'm not sure how they're going to get out of this spiral. And how they're going to overcome the thunder for the spurs. Like it's just it ain't looking great. I so I have a really hot. I think it's going to be like a week,

57:48but like a week and a half 10 days straight for DeMar de Rosen just like on like a random heater. And we're going to get the DeMar de Rosen like blog boy post that is like, oh he's back. And then he's going to trail off. And he's going to hit a game winner in one playoff game. Just one. All right. It could be a play in game. It's just in the it's aft. Any game after the actual regular season. He's going to he's going to have a he's going to have a moment. Yochich will average near career highs. He will refuse to discuss his contracts. And in fact, discouraged, frustrated, even infuriated by the historic bag fumbling that has gone on around him. He will completely shut down interacting with anyone. Is he going to be getting the right? He's just it's going to be not quite as like, depressed as that. But he's just going to be like, his English will fall off.

58:53He's going to stop. He complained recently that people ask him for photographs. He's going to walk on by now. Does he going to retire after the season? He's going back to the horse. He's going to give single word responses in press conferences. Wow. He's going to hear it in English and then talk in his native language. He's dying. And he will come as close as he could come to forcing a trade. And in fact, I believe his brothers will will be the ones to really be allowed. But it won't happen. All right. Damn. I thought I was... You went around this studio through that door and did all the come wave right back here. It's going to be like, everything's going to be fine. I mean, it's not going to be fine because they're just going to be in this same kind of... He's going to be in a water situation. He's going to be like Steph. That's going to be the trajectory of the press. I don't see. I don't think so. Like, Steph can be Steph because it's like, I've won four. I'm good.

59:54But one in Denver is like... Yeah, but I don't... I think... Yokech has like this kind of quiet, burning competitive fire that he doesn't get enough credit for because it looks so casual out there. But like, at some point, he is going to get fed up. And maybe it's coming sooner than later, and maybe he has put a sending word through his brothers who are just going to go like rough up ownership. Well, it's... Basically, rough up though. While demanding a trade. But... I'm going to go full sugar in my life. At some point, he'll lose... his... his patience. Okay. Um... Oh, god. This is what this... This next team is what dreams are made of and also the reason why we're doing this particular podcast. The Minnesota Timberwolves. This is why you clicked it. This is going to be on the... The whole hashtag... Not the hashtag. This is going to be on the... What's the thing that we have... Tyrone? No, no, no. The thing that we have the clip art or whatever the hell we have to promote this episode. It's going to be... Lamello and Anthony Edwin. Did you know that psoriatic arthritis may progress over time

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1:02:57By a lot. By three assists. Is going to have her 15? Yes. Wow. How many turnovers? 14. Like five points, something. And almost 300. I think the Minnesota temples are from half-court. They're at least not that many really, but like 15% of them are from half-court. And 35% on our own one foot, falling out of bounds. I think in the Minnesota temple was my take. They're going to just be like, you know what? Around February, they're going to be like, you know what? Nazari, we're just going to trade you guys back straight back up. Maybe guys go show up. We'll figure it out. I alluded to this earlier. So this is more of an organizational take. I think the wolves are the boldest team in the NBA and they should be praised for it. No matter what happens next, I have no idea if this Lamella thing is going to work out for them. I don't know what's going to happen when you've like dumped your entire front court rotation

1:03:57aside from Rudy Gober. But look at what they've done the last few years. Like they traded a zillion picks for Rudy Gober. Everybody thought they were bonkers. I thought they were, I thought that was stupid. And maybe they overpaid, but the results, back to back conference finals for the first time in franchise history, you got what you want to. 2024, they make the Western Conference Finals and then they traded Carl Anthony Towns. Now it was cap driven, apron driven, all that shit, but they still, they did it. And now they've traded the guy that they got for him in Randall. They've had their best consecutive seasons of franchise history and they're still like, we think what as constituted, we're still not going to get where we need to go. So we're just going to keep fucking moving shit around until we get it. And we're like, the, the, the strength of their convictions, the clarity is, I think, admirable. It may not work, but at least they're trying unlike certain franchises we've already covered who were just sitting around hoping for something better. I think by the end of this run, whatever it is, advancing Edwards is on the team in five years or not. I think it's going to be the equivalent of that Clay Thompson meme where he's on the bench

1:04:59and he went like, oh, for 11 and he's smiling like, yeah. Yeah, I mean, what a run. This is, this was, this was it, you know? This has been the best period of Minnesota Terrible was basketball. Yeah. And I think you could argue health, like they came within a bulky knee and some other things from really like, making a run to the final. I have, I have a, I have a hot take. I think that we, when we don't do this, is actually my real hot take. Nothing's great. This is, I don't always do this. But I think that we need to start looking at Anthony Edwards in the same way that we look at Luca and the same way that we look at Yokeh in the same way that we look at stars that are one man type of stars that are the top five players that can galvanize the team. It's kind of like Denzel and bad movies, you know? Where he can always make a bad movie look really, really good. And he can raise your ceiling. We don't look at Anthony Edwards in that way. We're not holding the countable enough you're saying? No, no, no, no, no. We're not holding him to, we're not seeing him in the way

1:05:59that like, oh, because he's on the team, they are earmarked to go this far. Because no matter, we talked about this over the last few years where no matter how the roster has been, the only constant of it is Anthony Edwards and him getting better. And his team's overachieving in a way that other team, in a way that they're not supposed to because he is strictly on the team and he is that good. And I know that that does come with the caveat that like, if you look at his playoff numbers, they're probably, you know, not as good as they should be when you look at them from a game to game basis. But his presence alone, I think he raises the floor of a team. I don't think he's looked at it that way. All they've been meeting is consistent playmate, not from a elderly player. Not from Mike Conley. Yeah, like, and much respect to him could not, you know, they just couldn't give them everything they needed. And I think this is a mellow thing. It's high risk I reward. Yeah. But I love the rewards. I really do. I think I'm gonna be watching everyone. Yeah, yeah. When they're on, I'm just gonna, I think they are, they are the,

1:07:00they are the league past team of this season, right? And what I mean by that, now we talked about last year, me Howard and Roger about with Wimby, where he's one of those guys where it's like, man, whenever he's on a heater, you have to put on, because you have to see it for yourself. I think it's a team Minnesota when they're on a heater, better, good. You have to see what happens, because you literally are not gonna know on a game to game basis what identity they are going to have. Who is going to go off? They have two players that can now go off and in more entertaining fashion. And when they come to your city, you have to be there. I think they're, they're gonna be one of the most exciting. And I think I say all that, you know, I don't know how good they are going to be, but it's good for the league that these two guys are on the same team as each other. Yeah. Yeah. Bar none. Okay, the next team that we have, Zealchba Homa City Thunder, hottest take. Jason. You know, their greatness is so boring at this point. I don't know who he is. But I think they, I think they go to the conference finals again

1:08:03against the first. I'll just say this, Chad Homegren bounce back here. I think Chad Homegren approaches too often in this era where like that guy had a bad playoffs get rid of. Chad had a nightmare playoffs against the San Antonio. But I think he's, I think he's a dog. And I think he will come back. I think the way the next handled Wembee just like, forget blocks, forget getting blocked by him. He's a big in his shit. He just run it him. Run it him. Run it him. Run it him. Chad has better endurance. I think then Wembee right now, like in play more minutes can just, if you just run at him, he will get tired and he will make the state. And the other thing is, Chad doesn't have to do it on the other end. He doesn't have to do that. Whenever he plays, Wembee, he could just focus. I'm gonna kick this shit out. Just beat the shit out of him. You know what is also it reminds me of that point.

1:09:04I think it's gonna bounce back here. Feels like Oh, nine pal vibes. Yeah. Oh, nine pal vibes where he just got put through the basket on every play. And he said, you know what? I'm just not gonna be a problem. I just fucked that. I didn't like that. I didn't like how cage you just took my lunch every game. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna defend myself. I hope that that's the case. How are you? What's your hardest take? It's really hard to come up with a hot take about a team that we feel like we know so well and it's already so accomplished in their championship team. And we expect them to be in the running for many years to come here. So I think as much as I've, as all of that is true, this is the year we're actually gonna learn something about them. Yeah. Because of Chad, because of Jalen Williams missing most of a season due to injury, because of them losing to the spurs, they're kind of co-favorites. But still like, they just lost like, oh, they're so deep. They're so deep. Well, now Dorets gone and Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, okay, cool backfill with Kason Wallace and AJ Mitchell and all these guys like, all these guys that they just like out different places that are good. It's ridiculous. It's incredible. But still, but like those guys, those guys are a new roles.

1:10:06So now we're gonna see was the depth really all we all cracked it up to be like, we're just, we are about to learn a bunch about them for a team that we feel like we've already had a ton of exposure to. That's about as hot as I can get. I have a hoter take. And it's gonna build on your take. This team has the chance to be America's team. America's team. That's the season. Okay, hear me out, hear me out. Shit and like, say, okay, this is the scenario in which they become America's team. Shit, all four matchups against the San Diego, San Antonio Spurs, he just fucking bodies would be. He just says, fuck it and they just beat the shit out of the Spurs, right? J. Dubbs at the top of his game, balls out, shows some personality, right? Shay says, fuck this league, fuck all of you guys, right? He actually gonna say something to microphone. To be the most interesting thing he's ever said. Yes, yes. Then they just, they said, it's the revenge year. Then they just go pile on throughout the, the post season, the Western conference, and they win the fucking title in a sweep.

1:11:06Okay. Then they become America's team. Okay. Because they swept the heat. Huh? They swept the heat. They swept the heat. I said the heat were going to the finals. I didn't say. I didn't say. I. I'm just checking. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. But they're gonna become America's team. That'd be a nice payback for when the heat beat up the Thunderbird. Exactly. And when they do go to Miami, no one's gonna go to the club. See, the thing that happened last time is, you know, they, some of the, the Thunder were out and about in Miami. And it kind of messed up their flow. These guys are going to be, they're gonna be fucking playing Pokemon, you know, they're gonna, whatever they all they do, they're gonna be playing what PC game is out. They're gonna be in the hotel, you know? They figured out. They're gonna become Oklahoma City Thunder, America's team. Okay. Um, next, the next, uh, next team is the Portland Trailblazers Howard Beck. I know you got one here. I know you have one. Blazers just make me sad. That's my take. They make me sad.

1:12:06Damien Lillard and Portland fans deserve better than what's going on right now. And this is not just about Tom Dungeons slashing and burning and alienating of various city officials and implied threats to possibly move the team and all of us. He's a very quiet. Almost too cool. Yeah. Um, they just seem directionless, right? Like, Dame is on this like pseudo farewell tour post Achilles, like, oh, I got to come home and it's great. Like I love that he's back there and like we're gonna finally see him on the court again in the blazer uniform. That's cool. But like, that's overshadowed now by them acquiring John Morant for some reason. So now, Jaa and Dame Lillard have to share a back court and like Drew and Holliday and Scoot Henderson have to fit in this somewhere and like Danny Avdieu, we just had this like breakout season as the primary ball handler and offensive creators now going to have how does all the this all fit together? None of this makes any sense to me. I think they are, they're less than the sum of their parts now because they got too many of the same, of either same guys or guys who are going to bump into each other. Um, yeah, I just they just, they just, they make me sad all

1:13:07around. Jamie, Lillard, six man. That is. Wow. How long does it take? How does it take? Tell me how this happens. He comes back Decemberish. Huge ovation's crowds going crazy. So wait, he gets it, he gets it when he was, he should wait. Hold on, he gets it. 42% from three for six weeks. He has to be on an eight or seven weeks. So in 55 games of work, he can't, I don't even know if he could get any, any, any with it with the games. How many legends have we relegated to six man today? LeBron, on a Dame. Yeah. Yeah. Right wins them like six game. Okay. Straight up like at the bus. He makes the NBA change the rules for him. Yeah. Because he's so good. Portland wins 40 games and it's an incredible feel good story. Okay. The only maybe feel good story around the Portland. And it ends by it's the last game in Portland history. It's the last game at the bonus center ever. Yes. LeBron.

1:14:08LeBron. That's the, that's the Alonzo morning meme. I'm going to miss you right there. I was going to top that by saying how John might celebrate the moment, but I'm not going to go there. Oh god. Move it on. Move it on. The Utah Jazz. Ooh. Ooh. You got one? I got something. I did, you go, you go, you go ahead. Oh you, I'm like LeBron. I'm just saying. The Utah Jazz top 10 defense. Top 10. Top 10 defense. Go into the, I got a, I got a try Jay. Try Jay gives them a lot and it comes together and they, they give you a top 10 defense in the league. They were 29's less. I think they make a leap. Okay. How about this one versus probably not going to happen. But we'll see them. So they get so good. They're the exceed expectation to the point where Carl Malone and John Stockton sit court side and it completely fucked up the season.

1:15:09And they sit, they sit across from each other, and we discover they actually hate each other. This destroyed. It destroys basketball and even Darren Peterson's rookie of the year campaign does not put pieces together. Wow. It's pretty good. That's on. I can't, I can't top that. Do you guys remember Logan won't remember this Jason might on the David Letterman show? They used to have this thing where people would come out and do, this is not stupid pet tricks or stupid human tricks. This was another bit where we just people would come out and just do random weird things. Yeah. And the, the, the title of this particular bit was, is this anything? Yeah. That's the Utah Jazz this year. I think is this in it? I don't know if this is anything. Are they, are they a dark horse playoff team? Are they a lottery team? Are they talented? They're talented and good. But are they, are they talented and, and just maybe not fitting? Like we don't know how Larry Markin and, and Jared Jackson Jr. actually fit together. We know that Walker Kessler's gone and use of Nurgut and his wonderful new nose that

1:16:13he got mid season last year are going to be plugged in there. Des Deren Peterson, who's going to come in with all the hype and all the expectations of the world. How is he fitting with Kianta George who had just had this big breakthrough and Larry Markin and who's their most accomplished star? Isaiah Collier is their best passer, but it's kind of hard to figure out where he's going to actually fit in with the rest of these guys who all want the ball. Like where is a ace Bailey and all of this? I'm kind of like, I love everything that they have now assembled. I'm not sure what they are. I'm just sitting here going, is this anything? That was a lot. That was way more measured. We kind of needed that. We needed that for this one. We did need that. I mean, I think that they, I think that that's probably. It's a bunch of unproven stuff. I mean, to your point, Larry Markin and being their, their most accomplished player can you hang the banner for that one? I think no one hears it. I think that does matter. I'm like, you know, I've got the point with Larry and the huge ad where I'm like, does this guy like love losing? Does he just like love it? Yeah, because he never asked out. He was just like, and he's like, oh, you want to shut me down?

1:17:14Oh, you want to make up injuries for me? That's fine. I'm good. I just love scoring like 26 a game and losing all the time. I'm doing it for years and years and years. Whatever. My name included in various trade proposals to good teams. Who wants that? I love losing. Yeah. And so I just wonder like, does he love losing? That's the thing that Raja used to say last year, right? Where it was like why he doesn't like the tanking that's going on in Utah because it builds the habits like that. And those are hard to undo, you know, and that's something that is going to, oh, wait, I can play the fourth quarter. Wait, I can keep the light. Larry Markin is like this. Like six minutes left and it will hard. He's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you're back in there. You're staying in there. No. So we'll see. Let's move on. I think the goal is to say warriors. I'll start. I think the, I think the Bay Area is going to revolve on them by about December. I think it's going to be a full out revolt. I think it's teetering. I think warriors, sweaters are already there.

1:18:16I see you guys. I see it. I think Steph's going to, hopefully, it's not going to be an injury or anything, but they're just not going to be playing up to snuff. It's going to be like, it's going to be like Marvin Gaye on his last tour. He's a legend, but it's just not quite, it's not, it's not hidden right. You know what I mean? It's going to be a full out revolt by the Bay Area. And that's, that's not going to do well for the bottom line of Joe Lake. I think there's going to be an implosion all around because fan sentiment is now going to eat into front office sentiment. And everyone's getting paid. It's a blank check for everyone, but that's not going to be enough because these are all competitors. And I think the floor is finally going to, I don't know what it's going to look like. But I think the floor is going to fall from underneath them and it's not going to be pretty. I agree with everything you said plus this. Steph Curry's text messages to Yoke. They're going to get leaked. They're going to get leaked on Dreymon show. On Dreymon show where, and in them, Steph is like, you fuck, fuck, go ask, like, don't

1:19:18come here. Don't come here. Maybe I'll go there. And this will have many effects. One of them will be Mike Dunlavy and Joe Lake are coming to blows on the sideline. The other thing that's the blow out to the Sacramento Kings. And we're going to have a bins. That's going to be a bin simmits legacy game. That's a city. That's not going to crazy now. You know, the other thing that isn't really talked about is that Mike Dunlavy isn't very well-elected. The Bay Area already coming into this GM role and this isn't GM role because he wasn't very liked as a player. So you have that coming into what it's going on now. It's really not a good time for him and Bay right now. It's going to be better. It does seem as if he has very little use in his own. They could have used Bob. Bob Myers could have really helped. Yeah. Bob Myers has too much hair for that. Now he does.

1:20:19His hair's black now. He's like, how long is that? He's not going to. How'd it go? How would it be? I have to go here. I have to go here for no other reason than to just balance out. Oh, God. It's just, it's too soon for Requiem's and Steph trade proposals and fake trades and all the shit. He's not going anywhere. He's going to feel this pain. Even even the franchise, oh, bits and everything, like just slow down. We can at least see where this season goes. Like Steph is still doing Steph things. He can't do it night in night out at this age or it's too much to expect and it's too much to put on him. Yes. But like Steph and Dremond, still pretty fucking good when they're at their peak. It's just everything around them, right? But there's a version of this team where like, hey, Porzingis is the perfect center for this team. He just has to stay in the course. I was, of course, I think it's experienced. As a Nick, you mean? How was it? I enjoyed him. I was sad that they let him. I thought it was a, I thought it was a sadly trademark way for a good player to exit the

1:21:22New York Knicks at that real time. And I really enjoyed his time with the Nick. I thought he was at least a piece you could have built on if, you know, obviously not the top level guy, but I think if you got two other guys around him who are really good better than him or in that range, he makes some noise. At the time, all I wanted. Um, but he fits, he fits with what the Warriors are trying to do. What does that mean? Is that mean like, does that mean four seed? No, I'm not, I'm making no predictions about where they actually finished this season that they're going to like storm the West. I just think like it's too soon to write it off when we have to at least see, can they get through this season long enough for Jimmy Butler to get back? They were great before he went down. There is some semblance of a solid team there still. They do have all these picks that they either are reluctant to part with because Joe Lakek is still doing that thing where it's like I'm trying to protect our post. Definitely double that. She's like him. But like if, if they truly have the freedom to move any of those picks to supplement what

1:22:25they have now to try to maximize the last couple of years of this, then let's see. But I, it's too soon for us. Let's keep the picks like he's has a prestige or after I can. I mean, I have one more. You know what? I'm going to build off yours. Oh, you sell. Yeah. I thought you might believe it will be fired in the form of the, the fisticuffs on the sideline of the game with between him and your Lakek. And Joe will feel confident doing this because he has been developing with anthropic a GM AI that is fully ready to take over. Why? It's going to be close. I think they're jersey badges are in the eye. I go, but he saw I think that might, that might be a thing. It's going to be called Cludge M. They're going to put it inside of a little robot that walks around. Okay. So I have a question for you. I'm looking at the schedule right now. We've seen more. I'm looking at, I'm looking at it right now. So you said like this Kings game is going to be. It's going to be very. So they play the Kings October 10.

1:23:26I think it's a little too early. Then they play the Kings. Hold on. Then they play the Kings November 25th. They're going to identify which Kings game this is. But I think this is the Kings game. Honestly, I think this is the King game. They play them January 12th on NBC. Yeah. I think that might be the game. That's going to be the game. Is that the game? Okay. All right. All right. Let's go to the Los Angeles Lakers. Now I am the minority on this. One of the few minorities in the building. I think that I think that they could go to the conference finals, man. I think they can make a run. I really do. I think they're the perfect wrongs right side of the bracket team. And I think that this team is built around Luca. It's Luca and a bunch of dudes. And I think that Luca's fit Luca. Fat Luca got the the bad. It's incredible. He looks incredible. He looks amazing. He looks better than when he first came in the lead. And he looked great then. Didn't we say this a year ago when he's doing like the men's health? Nobody looks different. He looks different. He looks the men's health, first of all, if you really like AB him live walking around

1:24:32and the men's health, the men's health, they were using like a wide lens and shooting him at this weird angle. No, no, no, no. And then Jim is so venia. He looks great. Like they're straight on to him. He's looking great. He looks, I haven't seen him look like this. He looks good. He looks really good. Also to be fair, when he was a rookie, he was like 19 year old fat. Right. You know what I mean? Like you look skinny on the arms, but you got a little chub chub. Now he's like, dude, he's like six pack. He looks like miles Garrett. He looks really good. All right. I'll say. Is that your heartache? No, my heartache is Luca will average 35, but lose the MVP. The Irish out. Who average 18 points? It's 12. It'll be like Kobe versus National. Yeah. Okay. All right. I'm going right off of this because it's about Luca, but like he's about to face the most pressure he's ever had in the NBA. He gets to Dallas. Oh, he's like just Dirk's understudy for a little while.

1:25:34And then like they're winning a bunch of games. He's putting up, you know, just ridiculous numbers. He's hitting game winning shots from all over the place. Everything was just a joy right in Dallas. He gets them to the finals when they're not even expecting to any of their stumbles could be forgiven. Anything that he doesn't do defense could be forgiven. Like it nothing matter. But the Lakers are a championship or bust organization with championship or bust fans. And guess who's not there to absorb all that anymore? LeBron James. Guess who else may not be there to absorb all that anymore? The bus family, all of them. They're gone through ownership changes. They got weird vibes going on. They might have another ownership change. We don't know. We don't know. Yeah. Yeah. And when the championship, who's putting up the trophy? Who's the one that's going to get various people fighting for it? Jeannie bus is going to come out of the States without a governor's. It's like, move. So this is it. This is the most pressure that's ever been on Luca. It's firmly his franchise now and that's different than co-sharing with LeBron for a while. That's right. And so everything is going to be enhanced.

1:26:37Everything is going to be amplified, good or bad. And again, I just, I do think like because nobody really cares about who owns a team, except when it's been one family for like fucking 50 years and they've won all these championships under them, it matters that they've been in. And they help that family now for nothing. Help change the league as we see it right now. This league isn't what it is without that thing. LeBron fans need to feel good about things again. They need to feel some stability. And so everything is is riding on Luca now. I completely agree with that. But I really think he shapes it. He appears. And the fact that he's like, I never, I never do this. But let's work out in the summer. Wait a little crash on Luca right now. I'm saying when he's like, let's go to everybody, all the whites in LA, Lakers, uniforms, come slowly. Everybody's very on the list. Everybody in Huntington Beach just come on over. You're going to be very comfortable around all the white people in Slovenia. Okay. I'm in great shape. And I think he understands. I think also this might be a career for Bronie too.

1:27:38We didn't really talk about this. He's still there. He's having a good, he had a good summer too. Did you see Bronie on the soccer pitch? Yeah. He looked decent. Like not you know it's playing, man. He seemed like he understood. I was talking to one of my like, one of my prefer, he used to play Marcus Peters. I was talking to my homie Marcus Peters. He was playing, he used to play for a corner for the Ravens, the Rams, he used to play a corner back. And we were talking about like, man, if he would have played another sport, right? What other sport would have been great for him? This is what I think was swimming. I think about that with some athletes, I don't necessarily work out in one sport, what they could do on another sport. I think Bronie probably missed his calling because of all this pressure. He looks really good. He looks really fucking good. Yeah. Looks really fucking good. I'm scared of this when the LA Clippers. Ooh. I got one. I got one. In a Bobby Valentine type incident. Yes. Steve Valmer will be videoed wearing a full like fake silicon mask and beard inside the

1:28:44arena. And it will be a problem. And I'm silver will want to do something about it. But ultimately we'll decide like, let's just make this go away. And we'll not do anything about it. NBA will cover it up, but the pictures will linger. I like that. Publicory will find out. And we'll, you know, we'll discover perhaps he will discover. But I think Steve Valmer will. How many games before he gets caught? I think it'll be a number of games before he gets caught because I think like he's going to do that though. Security system. He could just like, but I don't think that he could control himself. And what I mean by that, no matter what the sky is, he's still Steve Valmer when he's excited. The most high tech beta blockers ever seen any human being take. And so he's going to have very little first Steve Valmer actual physical reaction to what's going on in the court. And again, he's going to look like a complete. And he's also going to somehow hack the Amazon prime cameras. Yeah, right. So they look at everybody else, but they don't look at it. He will never appear on a camera.

1:29:46And it will only be a blurry. I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, is that Steve Valmer? You know what I think? I think that's a good one. I think that they're going to at the end of the season, they're going to retire Bradley Bill's number three Jersey out of spite. They're going to put it on top of the end to it. Oh, that's going to be the first. Another returns retired Jersey in in Clippers history. It would be okay. Yeah, it's going to be Bradley Bill. Um, I got three words about the Clippers free tie. Lou. Freedom. He's put up with enough six seasons with the Clippers. They've been the playoffs four times. I made the Western Conference finals once, uh, they won 50 plus twice. Like, even in the seasons, we're like, co-Is out for like three months. And now Paul George's Paul George is there. I'm going to take for you on that one. What if he turns like Bernan Ingram into like, why like, Brian, why? I mean, crap. He's a hell of a fucking coach. He's he has done like, Matt, like James Hardin came and went. Russell Westbrook came and went. Paul, George and and co-I Leonard, like they're here. They're not here.

1:30:47They're they're ones in ones out. They have printably overachieved. Like, I know that they've underachieved to the extent that this era was supposed to be about more. But in the regular season, they're constantly like doing better than we think they should given who's available to any given time. Now they're screwed for the next decade. Tyler is one of the best coaches in the NBA. He just deserves better. Like let him out of his contract. Let him go take over, you know, when I don't want to speculate on who's getting fired next, but there will be some good jobs open within the next, say, six to 12 months. Okay. All right. Let's go. That was fun. Um, planted seeds in that one. Yeah. Well, I want to see it's on that one. Phoenix Sons. This is depressing. Really just depressing. We could skip this if you want. I think that one. You have one. Do you have one? Do you have one? I really struggled with this one, to be honest with you. Are they going to be the first team in the NBA history relegated? We have other teams, but I'm just saying, you know, no. I'll just start. They're heading for an implosion.

1:31:47Let's be clear. This is going nowhere good. Mark Williams is already out. Oh, they are surgery for the what a shocker. The center that another team failed on his physical and negated a trade rescinded a trade is now out for months. Miles Bridges, empty calorie score who wants to shoot all the time. Jalen Green wants to shoot all the time. Dylan Brooks wants to shoot all the time. Devon Booker needs to shoot all the time. Could they be fun? Could they be fun? Like a fun 2021 team? No, probably 35. It's going to be depressing 35. There's no elite playmaker here to kind of like galvanize this. There's no way they would. There's the center positions of mess, whatever. You've got Miles Bridges has passed bringing bad vibes. Madish, Mia's off court financial picture bringing bad vibes. Like I just, all the signs here, I think are just very bad. How's that for Dauer? I think that that's probably right. And the worst part about it is Booker can't even ask for a trade. He's making so much money. They gave him so much money. They gave him so much money to basically just not ask for a trade. What's his comp career career comp?

1:32:53Like for a guy who's been as good as he's been and made a finals and made a finals. Yeah. Let me check. Let me see. I was going to say like rip Hamilton. He's better than rip Hamilton. He's better than rip. The rip also want to champion. I'm not a real rip. Yeah, rip out of that. I was going to say Clyde, but I'll Clyde Drexler. Clyde wanted championship too. Wait, no one just won. He won the one. The one. Shit. And the blazers were really good during that period when he was there. Yeah. Yeah. And the thing with the sons is they had really one great season. It was and it was because Chris Paul came in. Yeah. Like it is not to disrespect Booker who was very important and an integral of that team. But like they were nothing before Chris Paul got there and they haven't really been that much since he left. So. I mean, it might be more fun to wonder if it should be a has money. And watch the sun. I think Pablo is going to find out about that one. Sacramento Kings. This is what this is what dreams are made of again.

1:33:53Now, Jason conception. What is your heart take about the Sacramento King? I think it's time. Finally time for a phone to be traded. So we'll be traded this season. Don't ask me to wear. But it is. And. Funnily enough, the Sacramento Kings will believe that this is the one answer to all of their problems. This trade of the onto bonus and it will it will not be the highlight of their season. Will however be a blow out of the Golden State Warriors in which Joe Lakek and Mike Dunley have come to blows on the sideline. And as a triple as Ben Simmons. Oh, that's you know what? Ben Simmons will play center this season for the Sacramento Kings. You know what I'm going to add on your heart take. I have a heart take. So my heart take is after this blow out when at Chase Center in which a fight happens. And some another suspension probably for a year or something, you know, for Joe Lakek for punching his GM and fire. I want on national television somehow Ben Simmons is going to have like an injury made

1:34:59ankle injury. Give him out two weeks. And he's going to sit next to Vivek and he is going to orchestrate the trade to get some bonus out of town. What do you think about that one? I really like that one is Ben Simmons better or worse as a GM than the Claude virtual AI GM. I think Claude virtual AI GM is probably better. But that's just because I had I haven't seen his work though. I've seen either of the AI GM is that all AI is just scraping everything else that's ever happened. It scrapes like David Khan and like, no, but I know that that didn't work. Will it? I don't know. I don't know, dude. It comes up with some like crazy ass stuff. What I like ask every so often, like, you know, Gemini is telling me like the blonde James was not drafted by the Cavaliers. I don't. It'll be interesting. I like that. I like that move. I also was like the the the brain power behind the scammer for the Niners. It's right. That also happened.

1:35:59So. What were you saying? I'm sorry. Oh, that's it. I was just I like the idea of a Beck being like in a resputant like situation cast under the charm of Ben Simmons who orchestrates various moves through the back. Are we sure he's charming? Um, yeah, I also had some bonus out. I said, I said, this is the year that he has to demand a trade and they should grant it. Like they have no other path forward. It's not. I mean, I'm not saying this for years. Like there is really no clear path out of this because in another era, you would be like, Oh, you know what, um, trade Levine, somebody will take a look. Nobody's taking Zach Levine in this contract now. Like we're in two. The NBA economy is like too suffocated by the they've been trying. They've been trying. There's you can't even give a guy away now. So you're just stuck. You just have to wait for everybody to just come off the books and the one guy you have who's got some value is the bonus and like you, you, you have to start unpacking this thing at some point if you're going to start building up again.

1:37:00So, um, he's a great number two or number three. He's not a number one. So send him somewhere where he can be that great complimentary. Okay. That's good. That's sensible after we talked about Ben Simmons, but a one here minimum contract. I wouldn't say that Ben Simmons wants to be a trade and G. I mean, for the team. Why not? The King, the King's have seen crazy. I do think he will play some center like maybe a significant. I just, I can't, I can't get over the fact that Ben Simmons has been in the NBA over four minutes now, right? Every summer of his career, he is either put out a story or put out an Instagram post talking about how this is the best he's ever felt. He's shooting three pointers. Why in the hell did it work this time at this stage of his career while he was out of the league? Is it strictly the King's? I mean, I've apparently had other interests somewhere including your nicks, which, yeah. I mean, if you, if you're the King's, why not? Right. Why not? Why not?

1:38:01Like legitimately, why not? That's actually their slogan this season, the King's. Why not? Oh, after they, oh, that's, that's poetic after Russell Westbrook said, no, I'm good. I'm good. Actually, I don't want to do this anymore. Yeah. Okay. The Dallas Mavericks hot take. Oh, you, you, you, you, um. Cooper flag all starting. That's not that out of eight. That's really all I got. I don't think there's going to be that good. But I think it's going to be a very middling flash bubble team, but I think flag. It's going to be awesome. Like undeniably awesome. Yeah. Um, like 29 points game. 10. Five. Third and MVP voting behind Tyrese and Luca. Yes. Right up there. All right. I like it. Um, he's going to need to do that because my take is they need to trade Kyrie.

1:39:03The second you see like a couple of good weeks of Kyrie where the value is up and it's proven he's like he's overcome the ACL. He's fine. Like what are we doing? He's turning 35 next spring. Uh, he's 18 months removed from this ACL tear. Like, like, I don't know what his lifespan is left in the NBA as a high level player, but whatever it is, it should be somewhere else. Hey, what if it, what if, what if that trade is and just this is my not happy. We're just fucking around here. But what if that trade it like to Minnesota? Right. At the end, we're like Minnesota. Minnesota is like this is the bell of things isn't working and they wanted to get Kyrie over the summer and they're like doing just enough like ants doing great, but it's like this little Melo thing just isn't working. That would be unbelievable. But also I could see the vision, honestly. I mean, if the Lamello thing is so bad, so bad. And then the underlying like advanced numbers are like, Jesus Christ and Kyrie is there. Why not? Wait, but Masayou's year he's going to acquire Lamello.

1:40:04See that's where it gets rolled block. It's not going to happen. Absolutely not. I like Kyrie to like like Miami like Miami needs a ball handling guard at a high level. That's what I was saying. That's how they're going to get to the finals. There you go. All right. The Houston Rockets. How are you go first? I'm going to immediately infuriate Logan because we've already had one discussion today about this person and Logan's already like completely underplayed him. Fred Van Vliet not an MVP, but the Rockets MVP. For sure. For sure. The talent is there to contend and like somebody has to stabilize this group. Somebody has to prevent the stupid fourth quarter and last two minute meltdowns and throw on the ball off people's heads when they're not looking on an inbound's play. Like they haven't had Fred Van Vliet and Kevin Durant together yet. Durant arrived Van Vliet out with the injury. Is he good enough to not have get off my dickers and reactivate the burn? Like is that is he that good enough of a leader? Yeah. I think he is.

1:41:05I think listen, Fred Van Vliet had the respect of you know, Kauai and Kyle Lowry, Pascal Cassiacom these guys. He had the respect of the young guys in Houston, from the moment he arrived, I think they overachieved his first season there and then he got hurt just as Katie was arriving. So I think Katie respects other guys who have a high basketball IQ and love the game and Fred Van Vliet is that and he's also like great communicator. Like there's a reason he's present to the players association for sure. So like he's the grown up in the room that that team needs. I want to add on to that and I think this is my heart. I think Katie is going to have a moment. A good moment. I think he's going to have one that is befitting of his leg. Right. Where I don't know if it's a big scoring game, but I just think that when you see your basketball mortality in front of your face, it makes you make decisions good. In his case, positive decisions that you wouldn't otherwise make.

1:42:07And I think that that's going to happen. I think I think he's going to have a moment. He hasn't had a playoff moment in a really long time, just 2021. I think that's on the table here. And I think I think that someone of his caliber, I think that they he deserves. Right. And I don't want I don't want Katie to go out in the way that it's I think that's bad for the game for him to go out in the way that he did. Like the last play. League the Ames and then getting embarrassed in the postseason like that. You know, like that's that's not befitting of a star. And also just not a star of his caliber, but also like a figure of his caliber. I don't want to see him go out. That one 52 games last season. Yeah. Eliminated by Luke Connard and LeBron James. Just trying to cobble together playmaking from various sources. I think that they're I think they finished third in the West. Okay. Thunder. No, sorry. Spurs thunder rockets.

1:43:08That's not it's not crazy. It's not crazy because like that that whole like Denver rockets, Lakers, Loves clusters. I mean, it's going to be like one. It's going to be a one gave separating them. So it's not crazy. But yes, I think they're going to be. Yeah. I think they're going to be. Three to four wins better to see five wins. I hope so, man. Be good for the game. Like, you know, I love them. Never makes for sure. And a guy that can win you games and postseason like as a singular person. Now I just I really want to amend to take the leap. Like I think that that's good. What does that mean? I think what it means is and we're in our real ones. We talked about this with with Roger after the first game of the season. And when he was just when it felt like he was just in the corner, he just gave up on possessions. Taking the next step for him is being a willing participant when the ball is not in your hands and not being afraid of the moment and not being afraid to shoot.

1:44:11Be shoot confidently and also just beat you are paid like a franchise star. Take that on the chin and be that right? Like this is all set up for you to be a star. Go be that. And that's what I would like to see out of omit. And I think all of the the the reservations we have subside if he is the man. And I think that that that's there for him for the taking. But we'll see what happens. Memphis Grizzlies. I don't know. Caden Booser and Cameron switch places for one game. When Caden expresses his desire to find out what the NBA life's done. Cameron let's. They're immediately caught because they don't look that much alike. They don't. Isn't there also like a five inch difference there? They do it with lifts. And the other one just kind of punches. And it only burnishes the Booser brand.

1:45:15Hold that as guys who are like do everything that they want to share the wealth. They want to make their team better. It's going to be portrayed as Cameron Booser just wanted his brother to understand. Like this is what the next level is like. And it's going to be a marketing bananza for the boosters. Well, Adam Silver notice this or will you have to wait until Pablo is reported? He will notice it. And he he will build an entire marketing campaign around. It's going to be like the Jordan band sneaker. Yes. Fix up Adam Silver's doing it. Yeah. It's going to be a state farm cover. So Adam Silver appears. Shout out Jake. I don't have you have any hot take. I don't remember building. I was very creative. This is just going to be a very nice take. I think they are quietly building something. Here we go. You know, who's not this next team on that? The New Orleans Pelican.

1:46:15Not building anything special. Not quietly anything. What's hotter? You're taker the humidity and the New Orleans around this time around this team. I mean, I'm going to I'm going to choose to believe the best in the palette. That Zion Williamson will play a career high. 67 games. I don't know why I'm already laughing. Zion is going to play a career high. And I'm just like I see in the mid 60s. That's a high 60s. And that's it. And then they will look good when he is on the court. But that no one will care. No, no one will care. He played 70 games in 2023. 24. Oh, did he? Oh, shit. Oh, wait. Okay. So he will play 70. You will play 71 games. Excuse me. About 70. 5. 70. 5. Jesus.

1:47:16He's not going to do that because my heart take is that they should trade Zion, but they should have traded it last year, the year before the year before that. Just trade him. Just like I'm done being an optimist about this. Is that is that the is that the Sacramento King's music? But I hear yes, it is. Is he going to get traded for some bonds? I mean, I mean, who trades for Zion at this point? I think it's very you'd have to have a immense appetite for risk. No. With at least a kind of. Okay. Okay. What about the stuff? Maybe you just need a distraction. LA Clippers. Maybe you just need something. It's something is this though. What if you call this a conspiracy? I think this is there's something to this. Like I just said in the previous episode about the Nike influence in Portland. What if they're just like, you know, hey, man, Zion's wiling. Let's just bring him to Portland. It's going to be okay. Right. He lives at the Nike offices. Yes. We'll watch him 24 hours a day.

1:48:17Feed him salads. Yes. Keep him out of trouble. I just I'm just done trying to talk myself into this team. Like you look at them on paper and it's like, oh, I like Tramurfie. I like her. I like. Do you like them on other teams? Yeah. I would like them scattered about the league in better places. Okay. Where does Tramurfie end up this season? After we've traded every single member of the Pelicans and they've been disbanded. Tramurfie. Where do we send Tramurfie? I mean, he's the guy the warrior should have gotten one out of it. So drafted. Well, that's two. But maybe they still can do it with all that draft capital that Joe Lakem doesn't want to give away. I like it. I don't want that for Tramur. Denver. Denver would be good. Yeah. Denver, we great. San Antonio Spurs are around this out. How does take our back? It's not even hot. It's impossible to have a hot take about a team that is this good. They're going to win it all this season. This is their year. They're winning the championship.

1:49:18That five game series against the the next was the I think the closest five game series finals or otherwise I've ever seen where no, like they they won the one game and the four games that they lost. It's one game. They they lead in every single one of them. But and they and they. But if I but if I'm but if I'm I'll say this. Nobody does have the stint of the show. I just every single one of these games was decided in the last two minutes. I get it. But if they were young and they were they were like they were doing like a five K race and I have the lead two K into the race every single time. You know, it's like I still lost and the next winning the exact same way. I think it was not as close as people put it, but I do agree that. This is the exact thing that they needed to become like a Death Star type. Yeah. Healing machine. Yeah. You need that early scar. How do you what how much stock do you take in because because Tyler Parker your co-host did not believe in this.

1:50:19But how much talk do you take into the Paris off season trip for team camaraderie? I don't I don't put much into it. No air conditioning and just the smell of keys. Like what's that doing for you? Oh, wedding in Malibu does way better than for team camaraderie than right. No, but I think, you know, I think this is going to be I think I kind of agree with Howard though. I think they're going to be just like they yeah, like I would you would agree. However, you want to see the five games here. But like they lost due to their own mistakes. So are they sure the ones that are going to beat the heat? Hold on, hold on. They lost due to Jalen Brunson being awesome. Yeah. But they there was so much of just like when he's missing free throws, when he is is committing stupid files in an opportune times. There was a fatigue factor. They weren't ready for this moment. And they're going to be ready the next time and when he's only getting better and Dylan Harper is going to be a freaking star, they added to bias Harris and lost like nobody. Yeah. Um, they're going to be really good. They're going to be like they're going to win the championship. That's like that where we're we we're not doing a predictions episode. We will get to that at some point. But like I it just what do we say?

1:51:20What do we say if in the Western conference finals, when we miss is another two crucial free throws? Hmm. Is this going to become a thing? Yeah. At what point? What do we say then if that happens? I wonder that said, I can you know what's here's my take. Here's my hat. Wembee will be cited backstage at a James Tallerico event before the midterms. It will be called major story in Texas. He will try to say that's not me. That's not me. I love how you say cited like he's not seven. Well, that's what I mean. He'll be wearing a guy. Yeah, he's going to be in the Steve Palmer disguise. Right. He'll have a hoodie and he'll be clutching a some fantasy paperback. They won't get a clear shot at him, but he will be seven foot three. Hey, he's going to leave a shoe behind a big Nike alien shoe and it will become a major major story in the state.

1:52:21And what is the result of that? What happens after that? I have nothing to say. It's all going to be fine because Tallerico is winning the race and then everything. There's nothing to be mad about it. Well, it's Texas man. It's still Texas man. Um, I don't know. I don't think they can win the title. Here's the thing the victor has a lot to prove steel, man. I think that that's that. I think we've guessed him up too much. We have. And I think there was a little even after the finals race. He's going to be back. It's not a guarantee. I think he's believing the gas. I don't know. We'll see. Here, I will say this to your point, or to my point about just him messing up when it, when it counts the most, we now have a bit of a track record. That's right. Like, you know, didn't be team, the Avengers team USA, right? Then comes back doesn't messes up when it, when it, when it matters most and key playoff possessions. When you know lost that game to check. Lost. Under 20. Right. Right. And he's been, and he's been paying his ass back ever since. Listen, Michael Jordan got his ass kicked for how many years?

1:53:23Seven years, seven years. Seven years. Kobe had the earballs against Utah. Like this is just the stuff that these guys go through. No, no, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Listen, man, we're, we're, we're, we're looking, finding flaws in the Mona Lisa. Yeah, okay. We're, we're doing our best here. It's, we're trying to do great for the show. I mean, honestly, the Mona Lisa is kind of overrated. I've never been, I can't, I can't say. Senior couple times. It's fine. Look at these flexes. It's shitting on paris. It's a point on paris. Not very beautiful, see. Like, what are the best things? What are the best things? No, no, you said the air conditioning and any of Europe. That is a true thing. Oh my God, bro. And with global warming, it's fucked up. That's really good. It's like, but that is a fact. That is a fact. It's a fact. All right. That's been it. This been dope, man. We'll see you, we'll see you next year for, for hottest takes. That has been, you know, the first edition of hottest takes real ones edition. That's a lot of additions. I am Logan Murdock. That is Howard Motherfucking Beck. That is Jason Motherfucking Concept. She own. We'll see you guys soon. All the shits. Bye. This is US Banks, cozy cash formations.

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