NBA Insider on Betting Scandal, Chauncey Billups Poker Games, & Next Star Traded

Summary

Flagrant with Andrew Schulz & Akaash Singh: NBA Insider on NBA Betting Scandal, Poker Ring, & Next Star Traded (Oct 30, 2025)

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Overview

This episode dives deep into the recent NBA gambling and illegal poker scandals, featuring a top NBA insider (“NBA Insider”), who brings fresh details, inside perspective, and plenty of humor. The hosts Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh (with frequent contributions from AlexxMedia and Mark Gagnon) explore allegations connecting NBA players and staffers to betting rings, mafia-run poker games, and the NBA’s response. They also discuss the ever-growing intersection of gambling and professional sports, player information leaks, salary freezes for implicated stars, and which NBA superstar is likely to be traded next.

The conversation is raw, comedic, and sometimes irreverent, with plenty of memorable asides about NBA culture, media, and NBA insider life.

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Key Discussion Points, Insights & Timestamps

1. Jontay Porter & NBA Gambling Scandal Unpacked

[00:28–10:32]

• Allegations/Revelations:
  • Jontay Porter (Toronto Raptors, 2024) banned & charged for gambling-related infractions, including betting on his own games and giving insider info.
• Scheme Details:
  • Porter and a close network coordinated bets based on whether he would sub himself out, leading to huge "unders" bets. Suspicious betting volumes flagged both by sportsbooks and the NBA, triggering investigations.
• Quote:
  • NBA Insider: “You look back on it and you’re like, if the sportsbooks...saw three, four people are going hundreds of thousands of dollars in, doesn’t it make it so obvious?” ([01:07])
• Authorities’ Response:
  • Once arrested, accused associates cooperated, leading to 34 new arrests and exposure of larger criminal operations.

2. The Poker Ring & Mob Connections

[03:17–05:21, 24:47–29:38]

• Poker Case Overview:
  • Key figures: Damon Jones, Chauncey Billups, mafia members fronting the games.
  • Damon Jones and Billups used as “face cards” to legitimize games and lure wealthy targets (“fish”), with the actual games allegedly rigged using cheating tech (e.g., x-ray sunglasses).
• Mob Involvement:
  • “Four of the five big Italian mob families” implicated per government statements.
• Player-Poker World Crossover:
  • Famous athletes were invited—sometimes unwittingly as victims, sometimes suspected as knowing participants.
• Quote:
  • NBA Insider: “Face cards is what they called it... thrown and flaunted to the fish… there’s these different sunglasses where you can see the cards.” ([05:15])

3. NBA Salary Freezes & Ongoing Investigations

[07:35–08:13]

• Financial Fallout:
  • NBA Insider reveals: the NBA froze Chauncey Billups & Terry Rozier’s salaries ($33M total), payable only if exonerated.
• Investigations Ongoing:
  • Rozier, like Jontay, accused of giving advance info for “under” bets (e.g., informing friends he would play minimal minutes).
  • "The FBI is fully alleging that Terry Rozier was in on it... getting the proceeds." ([18:16])

4. Gambling Legalization & Prop Bet Problems

[09:04–24:37]

• Adam Silver’s NBA embraces sports betting partners, unlike Stern.
• The Growth of Prop Bets:
  • Easier than fixing games: manipulating personal stats or sitting out is more subtle and “victimless.” “Now you just gotta make sure you get less than eight rebounds... sub yourself out because your toe hurts.” —Akaash ([10:03])
• Industry Struggle:
  • Volume & patterns of weird bets still can trigger detection, but smaller bets may slide.
• Potential Remedies:
  • Reducing prop bets, banning certain players, more stringent injury reporting.

5. Gray Zones: Information Leaks, Player Roles, and NBA Culture

[16:28–20:04, 31:09–32:30]

• Discussion of how players innocently or not-so-innocently share inside info with friends or associates.
• NBA Insider Perspective:
  • “A lot of guys give information to people around them.” ([16:28])
• Regulating Player Behavior:
  • The infeasibility—players telling friends or family about injuries, and those people gambling—is “not realistic” to police.

6. The NBA Insider Life: Sourcing, Ethics & Breaking News

[30:05–42:00]

• Protecting Sources vs. Doing the Job:
  • NBA Insider stresses factual, balanced reporting: “My job is information, period.” ([30:20])
• Breaking Big News:
  • The insider describes confirming and tweeting the massive Luka Doncic–Anthony Davis trade (110M views, [69:06]), recapping confirmation process and emotional intensity.
  • “My hands are literally shaking. I’m, like, sweating… this is unbelievable.” ([70:02])

7. Scandals, Media, and NBA Information Economics

[55:49–58:11, 80:32–83:32]

• How he got started:
  • Obsession with NBA news, early career, and the “currency” of insider relationships.
• Scoop Sourcing:
  • NBA teams sometimes pressure for leaker IDs, but “they know I’ll never say.” ([53:20])
• Responding to Pressure:
  • “Those types of trade-offs... tit-for-tat, that happens all the time. But if I feel like I need to report it... I’m reporting it.” ([36:36])
• Hard Conversations:
  • “Threats of physical violence are always up there. But I haven’t been, you know, assaulted yet.” —NBA Insider ([39:21])

8. Impact, Fallout, and League Concerns

[94:11–97:28]

• The integrity threat is “dire” (NBA’s own words).
• Magnitude may grow:
  • “The fact that it’s already gone up six, I mean, multiplied by six times… now you have 30 more people. How many more are going to cooperate?” ([97:28])

9. Other Notable NBA Rumors & Discussion

[78:31–83:32]

• Next Star Traded:
  • Giannis, Trae Young, LeBron’s free agency status discussed.
  • “Trey Young didn’t extend his contract... keep an eye on him.” ([107:01])
• Kawhi Leonard's Contracts (and Uncle’s Demands):
  • Allegations about under-the-table demands in free agency; tricky to prove, NBA investigating circumventions like side sponsorship deals ([86:40–91:22]).
• NBA Insider’s Workaholic Lifestyle:
  • 17+ hour screen time days in breaking news cycles.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Player Gambling:
  • "If your boy wants money, just give him. If he wants to make 100 grand. But... he didn’t know he was taking that information to sell it to network of gamblers." — NBA Insider ([16:12])
• On the NBA’s Fix:
  • “I don’t know the solution, but I know for sure the NBA’s got somewhat of, of. I mean they’re, they’re in their own words, this is a dire problem.” —NBA Insider ([24:00])
• On the Luka/AD Trade Scoop:
  • “It’s the probably my most perfect tweet because I made sure this is the one tweet you can’t have a typo in.” —NBA Insider ([71:16])
• On Media Ethics:
  • “If I have the truth of a story and the other side is like, no, no, no, that’s not what it is. But I know that’s what it is. I’m gonna stand on it.” ([32:30])
• On the Scandal’s Scale:
  • “We’ve had a couple bad apples. I think the NBA’s had a couple bad apples. And now… what more can be unearthed? It’s already multiplied by six.” ([18:35])
• Comedic Take:
  • “You got to have on your clutch…” [joking about being arrested in a clutch-branded hoodie] ([08:18])
• Classic Flagrant Banter:
  • “You missed a scoop? That’s not what I thought you were gonna say, I thought you were gonna talk about the family part.” ([101:47])

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Segment Timestamps (Selected)

• 00:28–10:32: NBA player gambling: Jontay Porter case and how prop bets enabled insider scams.
• 03:17–05:21 & 24:47–29:38: Mafia-run poker scandal, player involvement, and cheating tech.
• 07:35–08:13: NBA salary freezes for Billups/Rozier, breaking news on investigation updates.
• 09:04–24:37: NBA’s love/hate with gambling, prop bet dangers, injury reporting gray areas.
• 16:28–20:04 & 31:09–32:30: Player leaks, ethics, and the NBA insider’s process.
• 55:49–58:11: How NBA “insiders” get started, build sources, and handle information politics.
• 69:06–73:01: Inside the Luka Doncic–Anthony Davis trade scoop: verifying, tweeting, aftermath.
• 94:11–97:28: Will the scandal snowball? Integrity risk, media reaction, and league fears.
• 107:01–108:44: Next stars on the move: Giannis, Trae Young, and LeBron’s uncertain future.

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Tone & Style

The tone is fast-paced, irreverent, and unfiltered—true to the Flagrant brand. Insightful details and tough NBA realities are sandwiched between wild hypotheticals, trash talk, and classic locker-room comedic tangents. The NBA Insider notably balances professional discretion with candor, clearly drawing lines between what can and can’t be shared, but always with a conversational openness that fits the show’s vibe.

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Summary for New Listeners

If you’re interested in the collision of the NBA, organized crime, sports gambling, and media in 2025—and how modern prop betting and easy access to player info have transformed both opportunities and risks—this is an essential listen. Expect real details, darkly hilarious asides, and the inside track on the next big star moves, plus an all-access look at how the NBA’s top newsbreakers actually work.

Transcript

[Akash Singh]

Hello everybody and welcome to Flagrant. Today we're joined by the leak legends.

[NBA Insider]

Okay.

[Akash Singh]

More scoops than a basket. Robbins jobs is in the building.

[NBA Insider]

Let's get it. Let's get it. My brother, thank you so much for being here.

[Akash Singh]

We're excited. Now tell us how the mob is infiltrating the NBA.

[NBA Insider]

I don't want to go there yet.

[Akash Singh]

Not ready.

[NBA Insider]

Too soon, too soon, too soon.

[Akash Singh]

No, no.

[NBA Insider]

But like let's get it. We'll get there slowly but surely.

[Akash Singh]

I more just want to understand like.

[NBA Insider]

Since it's an insane story.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. Like can you at least break down people are saying what, what the idea is. Obviously I've done some research too, whatever. But like I'm curious, what is the allegation?

[NBA Insider]

So let's go back 20, 24, Jonte Porter.

[Akash Singh]

Yes.

[NBA Insider]

Two way contract on the Toronto Raptors.

[Akash Singh]

Yes.

[NBA Insider]

He essentially gets charged first. He gets, he was on investigation.

[Akash Singh]

Yes.

[NBA Insider]

Then he gets banned.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And then he gets formally charged. Yeah. With essentially gambling. But you know, it's different names in the, in the, in the FBI world, it's like wire fraud, laundering.

[Akash Singh]

It's like shaving points.

[NBA Insider]

It's, it's, it's. Yeah, exactly. It's that.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

But basically there was a group of like a handful of people. Essentially it's a network of people with him. They were basically getting information when. Whether he was going to sub himself out. So then they just go all in on the unders and they're putting like hundreds of thousands of dollars, like you look back on it and you're like, if the sports books or people saw like three, four people are going like hundreds of thousands of dollars in. Doesn't it make it so obvious? But these people did it.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Obviously once it happened, the sports books, they pick it up like this.

[Akash Singh]

They flag it immediately.

[NBA Insider]

They flag it immediately.

[Akash Singh]

So.

[NBA Insider]

And the league flags it. So the moment that happens, the league basically at the time, I'll never forget it, they listed him out as personal reasons. Yeah. And at the time everyone started to hear it was because he's being investigated for, for gambling essentially on his games or giving insider information. And that was the first of its kind that had never happened before. Those same people there, they get charged everything with the FBI, with the feds.

[Akash Singh]

Those are the mob guys, you're saying.

[NBA Insider]

No, these are, these are, these are the betters. Oh, these are the betters.

[Akash Singh]

And are they his buddies or are they. Because I thought at that time he.

[NBA Insider]

Was kind of like he was texting with them. There were threads on it I think. I think it was like discord channels. Like, they did it in a way that, like, it ended up getting out there and people would see the messages. And it's like, you could have done that smarter if you're going to do it. But basically it's a group of these four or five people. And once they get charged, what happens when these people get charged by the Feds?

[Interviewer 1]

Someone snitches.

[NBA Insider]

Eastern District of New York. So those four or five people lead to, after a year and a half later last week, 34 new arrests. Wow. But it's all from that origin.

[Akash Singh]

Obvious. They start snitching on other people involved.

[NBA Insider]

I'm not saying. I'm not saying the S word. I'm saying you're cooperating. See, the last week I'm doing tv, I'm just like, you know, the feds are waiting to see who these 34 people are going to cooperate.

[Akash Singh]

Right on. Right.

[NBA Insider]

What are they going to cooperate with? So off those handful of people, you multiply it by six, you end up with what we got last week, which is 30 plus. But that also includes what we saw with the poker, the illegal poker scan. So it's two different scandals right now.

[Akash Singh]

And those people are not connected. The poker people and the gambling people.

[NBA Insider]

There's three or four people that are connected with both. They're involved on both.

[Akash Singh]

And that's why the FBI is going. Is there like a whole rico, including.

[NBA Insider]

Damon Jones, which we'll get there. So basically there's two separate cases.

[Akash Singh]

Coach of the Lakers for anybody.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. Damon Jones, former NBA player.

[Akash Singh]

Yes.

[Interviewer 2]

He made a LeBron.

[NBA Insider]

He made of LeBron, famously. I mean, they played several years together in Cleveland. That was the most time he'd spent on one team. Other than that, he was a journeyman player, but he spent a lot of time in Cleveland. He was really close to LeBron with Shaquille O'. Neal. Like, the list goes on and on and on. And then he was a coach in Cleveland, unofficially on the Lakers. 22, 20, 23.

[Akash Singh]

Filed bankruptcy a few times.

[NBA Insider]

A few times, yeah.

[Akash Singh]

He's sent a couple text messages.

[NBA Insider]

Essentially, he's been living in Vegas for the last several years, as someone who.

[Akash Singh]

Doesn'T gamble would do.

[NBA Insider]

Doesn't gamble. Doesn't gamble at all. Good foods, Good food. The aria, you know, win, go back and forth. So basically, there's two different scandals right now. So one is this illegal poker rigging scandal that includes Damon Jones, that includes Chauncey Billups, but it also is being led and fronted by Mafia Mafia members and mob members. And that is the Tyler mob. I think what Kash Patel, Cash Patel said on in his press conference was essentially like four. Four of the five big Italian, you know, mob families. Mafia families, I assume Italian are involved here.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. So racist. So racist.

[NBA Insider]

And so that is the backdrop. So those individuals are basically Damon Jones. Chauncey are the face cards is what they called it. So they're the celebrities that are being essentially thrown and flaunted to the fish is what they call it. The people that are supposed to go there and then lose their money because they're being played. Because there's these X rays, there's these. There's these different sunglasses. Sunglasses where you can see the cards.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

That's sick, by the way.

[Akash Singh]

That's.

[NBA Insider]

That's insane.

[Akash Singh]

Clever.

[NBA Insider]

Insane.

[Akash Singh]

So. So now that we've like, that's one.

[NBA Insider]

Part of the scandal.

[Akash Singh]

We're just wetting everybody's beak right now.

[NBA Insider]

We're not even. We're not even at the terror zero, but go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're just wetting beaks.

[Akash Singh]

We're just wet beaks right now. Because I want people to understand who you are and why you have perspective on all this stuff. Okay, so you are the top insider in the NBA right now, which means that you have access to probably the most information that nobody else has access to. You get paid the big bucks. Okay.

[Interviewer 2]

The big retired Woj.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. You had to put enough. And he had a little salty ass message when he retired. Did you see that?

[NBA Insider]

No, I didn't see that. He said, I love for him.

[Akash Singh]

I have a love for him.

[NBA Insider]

I hope he can have a career.

[Akash Singh]

I had or something like that.

[NBA Insider]

We worked together for two plus years. Nothing but respect.

[Akash Singh]

He gave you the trump. I wish him well.

[NBA Insider]

I hope I can have the career he had. This guy's a politician.

[Interviewer 2]

You were together at Yahoo Sports.

[NBA Insider]

We went from talking every five minutes.

[Akash Singh]

Damn.

[NBA Insider]

To competitors. So every, you know, that's competition, baby. That's how I view it. That's what happens.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. Okay. Okay. But you are. And I think. I don't know if people know this, but like you guys are the insiders. Are the highest paid people in entertainment. Maybe outside of like a Stephen A. Smith or something like that. But what you have is incredibly valuable and the networks understand that. So these relationships you have are incredibly valuable. So even talking about something like this, probably terrifying for a guy like you, for sure.

[NBA Insider]

But it's like I just stick to the facts. As long as I stick to the facts. Yeah. And I Stick to like every side. Every, every side of the, of the, of the. Of the equation is being accounted for. I mean, that's my job. That's how I go to sleep at night and not feel like I handled the worst. When you feel like you handle things the wrong way or didn't show someone's side or you treated someone, you know, unfairly because that's not the job. The job is there's a lot of hard conversations I have every day. I mean, half the job is just deciding when is the time to report something. Am I. Have I, you know, reached out to as many people as I can on this? Do I have enough sources on this?

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

That's like literally all the job is. Like right now I'm sitting on four or five different things. I'm just deciding when is the right time.

[Akash Singh]

Drop that this episode up right now.

[NBA Insider]

Give us one. I actually dropped something today earlier, before I got here. The NBA pulling Chauncey Bell's and Terry Rozier salaries. Terry Rozier is making $26.6 million. Chauncey Bills is making $7 million this season. $33 million being pulled, frozen. They're not going to see the money. The only way Terry Rosier sees the money is if he's innocent after a year of this or two years or three, however long this goes. Chauncey Billups, if this goes the full year, he's not going to see any of his money.

[Akash Singh]

And the investigation is going to go a while. It's going to go wild and serious. That's why he showed up in the clutch hoodie. I think I would be surprised if that's.

[NBA Insider]

If that's because you think about it, you're getting picked up at 6 in the morning, right?

[Akash Singh]

You got to have on your clutch.

[NBA Insider]

Six in the morning, first thing you grab.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, he's walking. That's what I would grab.

[NBA Insider]

That's what I'm.

[Akash Singh]

Grandpa showing. I ain't going down alone, bro.

[NBA Insider]

Rich.

[Akash Singh]

I ain't going down alone. I know where the bodies are buried.

[Interviewer 3]

That's what I was.

[NBA Insider]

Or he knows who to call. Or he knows a nice hoodie when he sees it.

[Akash Singh]

It's a great hoodie. It's a great quality.

[NBA Insider]

High quality.

[Akash Singh]

I do have stuff. Not yet. I'm not in enough trouble in the gambling ring. Hope not. I hope not. I think there's an interesting thing though, about. About what has happened with gambling that has made this more possible for players like David Stern. I think never wanted gambling involved in the NBA. As far as I Was my understanding.

[NBA Insider]

Initial initially that was his take in the once Adam Silver started. You know, I think speaking about how can we regulate it.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

Legalized gambling is good for the game.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

And then now the NBA, I think they've been at the forefront of this. Right. As far as partnering with legalized gambling. But let's partnerships. No, no, no.

[Akash Singh]

I'm not being critical. I think that the reason why. And there is like you know, some wisdom that would say like not not being associated with the gambling creates a little bit of separation from things like this happening.

[NBA Insider]

Well JB Bickerstaff, the Pistons coach, he said not all money is good money. So there is that. That school.

[Akash Singh]

So. So there.

[NBA Insider]

So some of these people.

[Akash Singh]

Now the other argument is people are going to do it anyway. So like they're either going to do with some guy that's wearing a leather jacket in the back of an alley or they're going to do it, you know, online, some professional thing, whatever. The point that I is the game has changed in a way. The game of gambling in that you can do all these like prop bets.

[NBA Insider]

Those are the killers. And those are the killers because before.

[Akash Singh]

You had to actively throw a game, you had to make sure your team lost.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Now you just got to make sure you get less than eight rebounds. And it's easy to get less than eight rebounds or less than six assists when you just sub yourself out because your toe hurts. So you get your little four assists. Your team might be up by 10. You go, okay, my team's not going to lose. I'm not going to have negatively impact my teammates. And I know that I haven't gotten. I'm not going to cover the spread. And then my boys or the mafia, whoever it is can make a bunch of money and nobody gets hurt. At least imagine that under on points.

[Interviewer 2]

I just pass. It's like the most charitable way to do it. Well I'm getting you the open book.

[Akash Singh]

But what I would. What I would say is that certain people are like paid to score. So you really need to remove yourself from the game in order to not hit those problems. Would that be a fair description?

[NBA Insider]

100 but that's why you think about the Terry Rosier situation in 2023, how it goes. So we already talked about Chauncey Billups. His the FBI alleges that he knowingly participated in rigging illegal mafia led poker games. That's one situation. The other situation is Terry Rozier that started in 2023. Same characters as the Jontay Porter situation in 2024. That allegation is that he told his friend, a guy named De Niro, which means money, right?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, yeah, he does.

[NBA Insider]

I, I didn't. I failed out of Spanish.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

I think senior year. So De Niro, white people, De Niro over here. He. I guess as. As the allegation goes, he gets the information from Terry Rosier that, hey, like, you know the Charlotte Hornets at this point in the season, March, I think it was March 23rd, 2023, they're. We all know where the Charlotte Hornets are at at that point of the year. They're probably ending up shutting it down.

[Interviewer 3]

They're.

[NBA Insider]

They're playing for a lottery. Lottery, how? Story goes, he tells his boy, tanking is what? Tanking. Tanking is the two word. Actually. Tanking is the word they use in the indictment. So actually I'm gonna say tanking, yes. He tells his boy, De Niro, I'm shutting it down tonight. I'm just gonna play a couple minutes and I'm out.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

The story goes, then his boy tells, like other members of this same network of a handful of people, they all bet hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Unders. They all win. But again, when this happens, it gets flagged immediately. And when it happens, the NBA launches its own investigation. The NBA can do one thing, few things. They can take his phone, which they did. They can interview him, which they did. Then they can ask to talk to other relevant people on the team, get medical records, see if. Was he really hurt? Whatever they find out, he was. There's nothing on his phone that implicates him. All right, cool. They let him play. The FBI, meanwhile, is investigating the hell out of this. They're talking to his boy, Dinero, probably. They're talking to all those other friends.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And they come up with the assertion that Terror Zero was in on it. That these guys. Dinero. These other guys allegedly went to his house with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from the winnings and gave it to him. That's in the allegations.

[Interviewer 3]

Woof.

[Akash Singh]

So.

[Interviewer 2]

But you're making 26 million.

[NBA Insider]

Like he's making $26 million. He had just signed a four year, $97 million.

[Akash Singh]

I think what a lot of people don't realize is how many NBA players are degenerate gamblers. Degenerate gamblers, like constantly gambling nonstop.

[Interviewer 2]

You hear this about golf too, a lot. Phil Mickelson.

[Akash Singh]

There's rumors they're on the flights. It's gambling nonsense.

[NBA Insider]

Like games on flights.

[Akash Singh]

It's.

[NBA Insider]

That happens.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, right.

[Interviewer 3]

You're not gambling for the money. You're gambling for the thrill of gambling through the competition.

[NBA Insider]

Competition.

[Akash Singh]

I mean, I heard with Terry, they didn't actually catch him because they waited for him to do it a second time. So with Jonte, they. They flagged the first one because these, like, crazy bets that came in on something that's kind of obscure, and they're like, oh, we think it's. There's something up here. And then he did it again.

[NBA Insider]

Jontey. Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. So the second time, they're like, it's confirmed. So I heard with Terry, they did it the first time, and they were essentially waiting for him to do it again, but it never came.

[NBA Insider]

And that's why there's only one example.

[Akash Singh]

Exactly.

[NBA Insider]

There's only one example. Now, how did they get to the point of, like, and a half years of, like, investigating him, and then we're putting him in cuffs? It's because of all they. They clearly feel like they have enough evidence from his friend, from those other people in the network. So there's a group of. Of guys. If you go back and read the. If you read the indictment, it's dozens of pages. This guy named Eric, there's a guy named Shane. There's all these guys that allegedly are the network. So this guy Dairo tells Eric, Eric tells Shane, then Shane tells Marvis or whoever. Like, they're just going around and they're sharing this information, this inside information, and they're gambling it away. Now, Terry Rozier's perspective is, I'm just. And this is the other issue that the NBA has. Yeah. And I know. I think you might know where I'm going with this. Players in the league, this is, like, not abnormal. They tell their boys and these people around them all the time. So the idea that they're. I don't think I'm playing tomorrow exactly like LeBron. So the other part is LeBron James. So Damon Jones is another guy, but he was involved in both. He was doing the poker and he was doing. And his was more flagrant. They have Damon messages. Just broke.

[Akash Singh]

And he said it.

[NBA Insider]

He's hanging around.

[Akash Singh]

He's broke around rich people, and that shit got to be painful.

[NBA Insider]

You said it. I didn't say anything.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, so what if you.

[NBA Insider]

I can deny that.

[Akash Singh]

What if you knew the big man wasn't playing because he told you in the shooter.

[NBA Insider]

So there were texts where Damon Jones is telling these same network of people like, yo, put that. You know, put the house on Milwaukee. Make sure your guy D. Jones eats, too, essentially, is what he said. Yeah, but he, again, how is he.

[Akash Singh]

Giving that information or a big player isn't playing for the Lakers put the house on Milwaukee. So he doesn't explicitly say, but we.

[NBA Insider]

But then later that day, LeBron James gets declared out with an ankle injury. And that's who the player he was referring. And that's the guy who he was with in la.

[Akash Singh]

So the question, the question is, is, and I'm not trying to like it.

[NBA Insider]

Is a problem for the league, but again, like how do you, how do you jurisdict that? How do you legislate that?

[Akash Singh]

It's going to seem like I'm running defense for LeBron here, and I'm really not. But like the point I'm trying to say is, like, is LeBron gonna risk a billion dollar empire? So Damon Jones, right, Like it's, it's cheaper for him to just give Damon Jones money. We gave him an assistant coaching job.

[NBA Insider]

See, that's what I've asked about this Terry Rosier thing. Like, if your boy wants money, just give him. If he wants to make 100 grand. But it's like then, then what I get response with is he didn't know he was taking that information to sell it to network of gamblers.

[Akash Singh]

Exactly.

[NBA Insider]

So how many players in the league today do that? I think a lot. A lot of guys give information to people around them.

[Akash Singh]

So real quick before question. So it's like it's, it's not. The idea is are they giving information so their boys can make money or are they simply having a conversation about what happens in their life, which is innocently.

[NBA Insider]

And then that guy takes that information, which is inside information.

[Akash Singh]

Think about this, think about like this alone. You just. Okay, go, go.

[Interviewer 1]

So I can see that point of view. But how do you know ahead of time that you're going to get injured because they're going out with injuries.

[Akash Singh]

No, no, there is no, no, no. It's.

[NBA Insider]

That's different than LeBron's there. No, no, no. LeBron James situation. He's right though. Like LeBron James essentially. Like in this example, as it's alleged before the public knew that he was gonna be out with an ankle injury, Damon Jones tells a group of betters, yo, LeBron's out. Bet on Milwaukee for this game. He's out. And then six hours later it comes out. But rosier, it has happened where players are going into the game and like they're gonna play this game and they're out. You know, like, this is the game. I know of at least a few Examples of top my head where I'm like, this guy's gonna play this game and he's gonna have to have surgery. You know, I'm not, you know, there's nothing I'm doing with that information. I'm a reporter. So if they tell their. Their camp that it's like, you now, it's like, are players gonna program themselves differently? Like, do I not tell my best friend? Do I just leave it to just telling my trainer and my agent?

[Akash Singh]

And are you going to impose punitive damages on players for sharing information, like, with your. Even your trainer? Can you tell your trainer ankle hurts? Because your trainer could tell his boy, yo, put everything on. I.

[Interviewer 2]

Look, you have to tell your trainer.

[NBA Insider]

It is different, though. It is different. And it does look a little different. And again, the FBI is alleging that Terry Rozier was in on it. Like, let's be clear here. The FBI is fully alleging that he was in on it.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

That he was getting the proceeds of the. Of the. Of the winnings.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Terry Rozier's like, yo, I just said it to him just as a friend, what he did with the information that's on him.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Which again, that does happen all the time. If all these players had people around them that were just betting with the information, we'd be seeing this all over the league.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

But I think a lot of. I think we've had a couple bad apples. I think the NBA's had a couple bad apples. And now from here, what more can be unearthed? I think the fact that it gone from like a handful of these guys in 2024. Now we're at over 30. It's already multiplied by six.

[Akash Singh]

Also check it. We're talking about, like, mob guys who put crazy money on these prop bets. How many of, like, your friends just put 5k down?

[NBA Insider]

50. 50 bucks.

[Akash Singh]

You 50 bucks, and you just made some quick money. How many of your friends, like, you knew LeBron is going to be out because he was hobbling around. So it's the janitor who's cleaning up the floor all of a sudden goes, hey, I bet you 100 that the Lakers lose today. Like, this information has always swirled around. There's just a way to make crazy amounts of money on it.

[Interviewer 2]

So now you're doing illegal things within legal parameters also. Before, it was all illegal.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

Now gambling is legal. We're just doing illegal things with it. And it's just a little bit murkier.

[Akash Singh]

And it's like, who's doing the illegal thing? Like, it's not illegal. For a player to say how they feel to their friends, or do you make that illegal?

[NBA Insider]

But if the friend takes that information and then puts the house down in the words of, I guess the text of that. And then. And then you also tell a network of gamblers.

[Akash Singh]

That's fucked up. Yeah, I'm saying that's fucked up. But I'm like, how much can we blame the players? Like, Terry's getting this. If Terry's getting a scrape. Like, do we literally tell the players, you're not allowed to talk to anybody during the season. You're not allowed to have conversations with people.

[NBA Insider]

That's not realistic.

[Akash Singh]

It's exactly so. It's like if LeBron's, LeBron's kids know, if his fucking ankle's fucked up, all it takes is one of them being like, man, did you see dad hobbling around? Then his tell somebody.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

His friend comes over, sees LeBron hobbling around, says, you know what?

[NBA Insider]

So do you just get rid of prop bets again? I. I will say this. I didn't really start getting the nitty gritty of betting until last week when I knew I had to talk on TV about this. I know what the under. I don't know what any of this meant, but it seems to me like you didn't.

[Interviewer 2]

Where'd you get that nice ass jacket?

[NBA Insider]

It's the big bucks my guy was talking about earlier.

[Akash Singh]

What was paying for.

[NBA Insider]

Could you explain? I don't. I don't gamble at all.

[Akash Singh]

What is a prop. We just. We were explaining before it was basically.

[NBA Insider]

Betting like, it's the Saunders. Unders, over, six assists. So they're like specified minors.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, it's not like winner, losing the game.

[NBA Insider]

Got it.

[Akash Singh]

Like, if you. And that's where, like, a lot of guys will go. You know, that's where, like, if a guy's purposely missing shots or in baseball, they're like, purposely, I don't know, like creating errors or something like that.

[Interviewer 2]

You strike it.

[Akash Singh]

This is weird. Striking out is almost understandable because it's so hard to hit a fucking baseball. But with basketball, these prop bets, like, anybody can go, okay, what am I at? 7 rebounds. Watch me get 6 rebounds and nobody will even notice. And the second I get six, I can pull myself out of the game. That's the thing. We can't force players to play. So at any point in time, they can just say, I'm hurt. And then they're $100 million investment from a franchise. They go, well, don't play them, because we don't want to hurt them.

[Interviewer 3]

Well, the fact that it's regulated through the sports books. If someone places a crazy bet on.

[NBA Insider]

A super niche weird thing, it's going to get flag to pick it up.

[Interviewer 1]

What if you, what is that amount?

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, exactly. What if it's a thousand bucks?

[Interviewer 3]

Well, I just, they just have to have a threshold.

[NBA Insider]

They, they probably, but, but this is the other thing.

[Akash Singh]

The NBA would pay my side bitches.

[Interviewer 1]

Just, just know the number that gets flagged and just bet $1 just a little.

[NBA Insider]

I mean the NBA, that's the thing that the NBA and these sports books are, are. I know they're having conversations right now. They have to figure out how do you better regulate and deal with these. I think specifically the prop bets is the big issue. Like I've heard some people say just eliminate them, like take it off the, you know. But they need to figure out how do you do that and how do you do it in a way that it's really regulating this process because these sports groups are picking it up. Like if a group of like six people are going like, you know, I, I don't know the number but if they're going all in on one specific thing and it's like very niche and it's weird.

[Akash Singh]

And I think the 1 on 3 on assists, the one thing that they.

[NBA Insider]

Have done, I think they've, they've removed like two ways. I think they're either in the process they're going to remove the two way, two way players. So it's not like standard contracts but two way players. I think that might be a first step because you're thinking about it. Who's really betting on two way player. That's what johntay Porter was, a two way player.

[Akash Singh]

That's a great. Because also there the idea is you're making so much money as an NBA player that you wouldn't risk it. Terry Rosier on making a couple bucks.

[NBA Insider]

A quarter, but a two way player, 500k, they need that, that might be a thing, but they need to figure that part out. And the other thing that I know the league is trying to figure out is injury reporting. So injury reporting, essentially guys will be listed doubtful, then questionable, then they'll, then they'll play or some guys might be listed doubtful or out and then they'll suddenly play or, or the reverse, they'll be out and then they'll play and that'll, you know, mess everything up. Bless you.

[Interviewer 2]

What's tricky for the gambling companies, you make so much on profits. So I'm cutting a Huge revenue stream because some people fix it.

[Interviewer 3]

That's.

[Interviewer 2]

I got to lose all this money because some bad actors and then the NBA, you know what I mean? How do you. What is the dollar amount? If we let that leak, then you're going to see a bunch of bets right under that threshold. Now do we flag that? You have to keep that number internal as well. You can't tell anybody what the threshold is. Got to keep that quiet. And then we just watch.

[Interviewer 1]

And the prop bets are fun. Like it makes you very fun to watch throughout the game because before when you just bet on the outcome, then it's like, ah, whatever. I'll just wait and see who like wins.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, dude, in the super bowl. What color is the Gatorade? What's the color? How long is the national anthem gonna go? These are bets that everybody gets in on.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

So again, I don't know the solution, but I know for sure the NBA's got somewhat of, of. I mean they're, they're in their own words, this is a dire problem. There's a dire risk that comes with the gambling. And so they're, they're really trying to get on the same page with the sports books and trying to figure out how do they come up with the right measures. Because that's what this is, is like. Because people were able to bet on these two way players with the John Tay Porter thing. That's why that popped off. And so is there like a threshold of player you just eliminate from, from those prop bets? Do you just leave it to the upper class of players? I don't, I don't know what the solution is, but that's on. You know, the league's got to figure that out.

[Interviewer 2]

Sorry. And you might not know this. I would love if you'd even just speculate. How does the Mafia get involved? Like, how does the mafia get to Chauncey Billups? How does that whole thing happen? I.

[NBA Insider]

So that's the illegal poker games. So and those games are like in. I think it was like. I think what Cash Patel said was 11. 11 states. It was. Stuff was moving around. So talk about there are games in New York, games in Vegas, games in LA games. I mean, all these different states. And yeah, I mean I think what they did is they made a connection with Chauncey Billups. Damon Jones and Chauncey Billups. They have a relationship like going back to their playing days coaching Tyloo too. Like, oh, there's, there's a network of bullpiers.

[Interviewer 2]

Ty Tyler too religious to get Caught up in this.

[NBA Insider]

Essentially, there's a face card. They call it. There's a, they call it a face card, Right?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Yikes. Where. See, but there's difference between showing up and playing and knowing. But if you show up, the FBI is saying you could be the mark. The FBI is alleged. See, think about it from this perspective. Chauncey Biller shows up and plays, but has no idea that this game is being run by the Mafia.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And that he's being used as a face card. What if he just got presented a deal, appearance fee of $50,000. Show up, play this poker with these bunch of random people.

[Interviewer 2]

Bring your friends. I need $10,000 for your friend. You bring, they don't know and you leave.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, but. And he has no idea it was he winning every Go Go.

[NBA Insider]

But what the FBI is alleging.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Is that he was in on it, that he knew everything was going on and that he was purposefully going about cheating the game and cheating, you know, the fish, as they called it. Yeah. That's the allegations. Now the FBI is going to have to prove that in court. Chauncey Bose's camp and Rosier's camp for that, that they made it clear they're innocent.

[Akash Singh]

You saw that professional poker player that came out.

[NBA Insider]

He came out two years prior.

[Akash Singh]

So was it one of those things?

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. So let's say, let's say in the world Chauncey Billups is innocent. Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

So every professional poker player said real.

[NBA Insider]

Quick, he said that he was told essentially. I'm paraphrasing. Yeah, paraphrasing here. He was told about these poker games.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Free for multiple times. But he knew that it was a rigged game, that it was a cheap game.

[Interviewer 3]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And he bypassed participating multiple times. Here it is.

[Akash Singh]

Watch it.

[NBA Insider]

And then he went on McAfee show too, and basically gave the whole breakdown.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, no way.

[NBA Insider]

Recently, but like two years prior. So, so everyone, the poker world knew that these games were fixed. I mean, who wants to play poker.

[Akash Singh]

With Chauncey Billups that bad?

[Interviewer 2]

I love John C. Billups too. I love Johnson.

[Akash Singh]

He's a Hall of Famer.

[NBA Insider]

I love him. Hall of Famer.

[Akash Singh]

They about to strip that. That's gone.

[NBA Insider]

It was all built around Chauncey Billups. But I, I had some friends who went and played it both in LA and in Vegas. And it obviously like was for sure confirmed to be cheated. Like people who clearly didn't even understand the rules of no Limit hold' Em are just like jamming hundreds of big blinds in with like, what are Big blinds. Only the pros are losing. What's tough too, whenever you're dealing with somebody like high profile like that, because.

[Akash Singh]

There'S a little bond, they carry a.

[NBA Insider]

Lot of weight and hold a lot of power. So all you can do is, is like kind of unite together and threaten to publicly out him or extort him in some sort of capacity.

[Akash Singh]

So there's a big blind and little blind in no Limit poker and Holden poker. So basically it's two players have to put money out on the table before.

[Interviewer 2]

Cards, even before cards drop.

[Akash Singh]

And then what you can do is other people can match the big blind if they want to see the cards that come out later. Remember on the river, you ever watch poker where you see them fold the three cards out and everybody shares those cards in the middle. So if you see your cards and you see everybody else's cards, because that's how the glasses work, basically, you know, the hand that everybody has, not the full hand, but you know, at that point. So what you would do is like bet tons of money on the blind. Like you would match the blind and then you would maybe raise it because you know that you have pocket aces and everybody else has.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

So you have a lot of confidence. And what he's going all in, but not even all in, but he's, what he's saying is like they were betting in ways that you don't really understand the game because like if you did have a great hand, you would probably slow play it to make you think you were gonna win.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

You know what I mean? But like the guys were so bad that it actually convinced the good poker players to be like, nah, that was pure luck. There's no way.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, great. Oh my God. So again, there's two different. You know, the FBI's got to prove it, but they're alleging that Chauncey Phillips was in on it, that he knew that this game was being cheat. And I mean, what is the. How he gets connected to the Mafia and how the mafia is involved in all this? I mean, obviously they're, they're fronting this. They're, they're the leaders in this. They're, I assume, profiting, gaining some profit from all of this, taking money from all these people and then paying up front to Damon Jones and Chauncey Billups to. Now again, why are these people coming to. I, I can't answer that. Why are these people coming to play with Damian Jones, Chauncey Bills? I don't know.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, well, I guess there's some people that are like they love playing poker and I guess you can, you know, play with an NBA player.

[NBA Insider]

Like, but then there are a group of people that did show up and would just be there, stand there. Like Kevin Garnett was, to my understanding, he showed up to a game thinking it was a, a party that he was invited to, but it was poker and I guess he doesn't play poker, so he just left. So how many of those guys did that? But like, are you involved in that?

[Interviewer 1]

You get a lot of insider information. Do you ever have to protect certain people because they tend to give you a lot of insider information?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, be honest, bro.

[Interviewer 1]

Players that maybe know how to play poker.

[Akash Singh]

Clutch, bro. Clutch, bro.

[NBA Insider]

Where's your hoodie?

[Akash Singh]

No, yeah, I know you got a hoodie, bro.

[NBA Insider]

So, so for me, I, I, my job is information, period. So like whether it's about this person or that person, I think at this point I think I've built a reputation that I'm gonna have to do my job. Now the one thing I try to always do with any type of information that I have, whether it's league related, player related, team related, like I'm going to reach out, I'm gonna do all the reach outs necessary. Like I'm not just gonna put it out without you knowing that it's coming out. Unless, I mean, I really have to. Like, if it's bang, bang, the guy's getting arrested and I know it and I don't have the time to reach out to whoever it is from whatever team or player representative. Like I'm gonna do my job, I gotta do it. But no, I mean, I think I have a job to do. I'm always gonna do it to the best of my ability. I don't look at it as protecting or not protecting. I think about it, how do I do it responsibly, how do I do it fairly and at the end of.

[Interviewer 2]

The day, accurately, that's like the biggest thing. I give you information with the, like over and over again with the idea implied or said explicitly that like you are, if some shit comes bad about my guy, maybe keep that quiet because we keep feeding you information.

[NBA Insider]

Well, I think the relationship allows for context and for me to like listen to that side, that other side. But I think at this point I've reported on so much positive, negative and in between that I think everyone has just realized that like, I'm going to do my job and I'm going to.

[Interviewer 2]

Have situations where you burned a bridge or somebody got pissed off at you or whatever.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, there's hard conversations every day that I have to have. You know, if there's something I'm reporting that someone doesn't want report, I mean, that's a hard conversation. If there's something that, you know, if I have the truth of a story and the other side is like, no, no, no, that's not what it is. But I know that's what it is. I'm gonna stand on it. I mean, it happened last year with Jimmy Butler. I don't know how much you guys followed the Jimmy Butler situation. Yeah, the one when he was trying to get out of Miami, when he did eventually get out of Miami. So there was a period of weeks where I reported he was open in trade talks. Yeah, he was open to leaving. These are teams he wants to go to. Pat Riley came out with a statement, said, we're not trading Jimmy Butler.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, like.

[NBA Insider]

But again, that's his perspective. So if I called the Heat and they said, we're not trading it, but I know where this is at. I know the truth on this.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Either I'm going to trust my sourcing, which I did. I take their. Their position into context. I'm sure in our ESPN News story, we put just what Pat Riley said.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

But I'm standing on the truth. So to answer your question, long story short, like, there's always going to be those conversations to make sure I get the perspective and the context. But I don't look at it as protecting, as not protecting. I think I'm protecting someone if I'm giving. Like, if I'm writing a bad. Let's say I'm writing a story that I know is bad toward you. Right. Let's say, like, I'm gonna call you before that story comes out. I'll get your perspective. But, like. And then it's on me to figure out how do I want to handle it, you know, do I. Do I want to add the perspective?

[Akash Singh]

Do you ever have people like, what I would do is, if I was in the league, is I would call you and I would feed you information to shape a narrative before another one could take hold. You know, I'd be like, oh, this is. This is what happened. I'm going to give this to you right now. And now we're getting ahead of the narrative. So how do you defend against that?

[NBA Insider]

I. I mean, I feel like that. Does that has to happen eventually. Whether it's at any level of this, whether you're reporting on a player, a team, whatever, what I try to do to combat situations like that or deal with situations like that is like, I have to get every perspective. So if I'm getting a perspective about a certain team or a player or a situation, you know, like, league issues are different though. Right? Like, if you're. If. Can we pause here? Yeah, go. Yo, I'm in a podcast taping something urgent. Yeah, yeah, they just texted me, too.

[Akash Singh]

What is it?

[NBA Insider]

It's just the appeal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's fine. Okay. All right, bye.

[Akash Singh]

Bye.

[Interviewer 3]

Okay.

[Interviewer 1]

Wow.

[Akash Singh]

So I heard, right?

[Interviewer 1]

So LeBron is retiring after this year.

[Akash Singh]

I just heard that. So what was that?

[Interviewer 2]

He's locked in. Give him a second.

[NBA Insider]

All right, tweeted.

[Akash Singh]

We're back.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, we're back. What was the question? I don't even remember the question.

[Akash Singh]

I forget what the question is, but.

[NBA Insider]

So basically, the nbpa, the players union, is. Is going to appeal and challenge the NBA's decision to take Terry Rozier's pay while he's on this unleaveable obligation to do that.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, they got to fight for the players, naturally.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Okay. All right, so here's the thing. We've learned so far that people with access to information close to players can our targets of corrupt individuals trying to make money. Have you ever been targeted by the mafia?

[NBA Insider]

Never.

[Akash Singh]

Never. They never tried to, like, cozy up or. Not even the Mafia, like, degenerate gamblers. They're never like, yo, give me something. Give me a. Never.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, you'll have the occasional person be like, yo, man, it's this guy playing. Yo, where's this guy going?

[Akash Singh]

I feel like you must get that every day. Jokingly at least. Like, I always.

[NBA Insider]

The one I really get a lot is, where's this guy going? Yeah, is this guy going to ask for a trade?

[Interviewer 2]

Oh, because we're going to ask you that.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, we'll get there. Yeah, like, where's this guy going? Or like, I usually. The thing that I get most is, like, trades, signings, like, if. If, like, LeBron, like, LeBron next year is a free agent with the question. I'll get in the lead up, where's LeBron going? Where's the Bronco? Like, that's what I get. People don't necessarily ask me, is this guy sitting or is information. Yeah, like, maybe that, you know, that's a good thing. Hopefully this podcast doesn't start that. Yeah, I feel like I am pretty good, though, at, like, just smiling and, like, laughing and, like, moving on about my day.

[Akash Singh]

I don't.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, like, because I. My job, like, you'll read it on my Twitter. If I have something, you'll read on my Twitter, like, I'm not gonna give you my information now. Like, that's not gonna happen.

[Akash Singh]

Well, that's a good question. Has there ever been something that was like, so potentially destructive to a player or the league where you couldn't release it.

[NBA Insider]

That I haven't. That I never did? No. Because everything that I've got that, like, if I felt like it rose to the level of, like, yo, this is a big deal. I have to do the job. I mean, I'm doing the job. So I'm. It's 10 times out of 10, I'm doing the job.

[Akash Singh]

Have you ever had people pressure you, though? Like agents and come.

[NBA Insider]

Don't do this.

[Akash Singh]

Hey, please don't do. We'll give you another piece of information or we'll give you another leak over here if you don't release this.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, those types of trade offs, I feel like the tit for tat that happens all the time. But at the end of the day, if I feel like I need to report it, like, whether I'm reporting it in an hour or I'm reporting it in a day, like, I'm reporting it.

[Akash Singh]

So you might give them 24 hours.

[NBA Insider]

You might give them time. Like, I'll give you a great example. Yes. Rudy Gobert testing positive for Covid. Now think about that. Yeah. Think about the impact that had on the league. Think about the impact that had in real time what occurred after that. And like, I sat on that for like an hour and a half, you know, like, because not only internally. Who told you? I can't say that. At the Athletic, we had. I was working at the Athletic at the time. We had a group of lawyers and like, this is the first time Covid had been reported on in sports.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Like an hour or two later, like, I think Tom Hanks tested positive with his wife. Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And. And like it had just started trickling and then Rudy Gobert hit and it was like, boom.

[Akash Singh]

Shut down.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. Like, I was on CNN that next night. That night, the next day. I was on TN like a dozen times that year. Just because the intersection of, like, social justice, health. But, like, I had to sit on that not only internally for lawyers, but like, it was such a sensitive thing with player, team, league, like all of that combined.

[Interviewer 2]

Dude. The US Economy crashed the next day. Those two Tom Hanks and then Rudy Gobert, it went from. I dropped.

[NBA Insider]

Because everything shut down. Yeah, because everything shut down. But at the end of the day, this is how I Look at it. They're not always gonna like it, but they're gonna respect it.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

And that's how I move. And I feel like at the end of the day, like, relationships are the biggest form of currency for me. Like, that's the biggest thing.

[Akash Singh]

Well, have you ever been threatened with a relationship or they ever, like, if you release this, then don't ever come to us for a leak. We're going to somebody else, we're going to some young new kid.

[NBA Insider]

You get that? But at the end of day, you got to stand on business. But then those same people you still interact with, have you ever gotten a.

[Interviewer 3]

Negative response where, like, you call someone up, you're like, hey, I need to get your side, and they just cuss you out?

[NBA Insider]

That's happened plenty of times. Really? That's happened plenty. But again, it's. I view it as part of it.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

If you're not willing to have hard conversations, like, the one thing about me, I feel like I'm very accessible. Like, you can always reach me. I'm always going to answer, like, I'm here for the, for the hard conversations. Now the people that I reach out to that don't want to have those hard conversations, I'm a report, I'm going to do the job. They don't want those hard conversations. I do.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

So, I mean, I feel like if, if you're doing this job at a high, high level and you're not having those hard conversations, I think you're, you're not either you're not doing the job at a high level or you're not doing the job the right way.

[Interviewer 3]

Without specific names, what's the craziest thing someone said to you on the phone?

[NBA Insider]

That's fun. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Say that one.

[Interviewer 2]

That's fine.

[Akash Singh]

Whatever one just came to your head right there.

[NBA Insider]

Say that one right there. I'll just say, you know, threats of physical violence are always up there. But I've, I haven't been, you know, assaulted yet.

[Akash Singh]

So for you, someone's like, if you release this, I'm gonna beat the out of you.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, but like, again, people in the state of where they're at, anything can come out of their mouth.

[Akash Singh]

Got it, Got it. So they're just acting emotionally.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, but like, again, I'm someone that. I feel like people who know me who are gonna end up watching this, I, I think of myself as a pretty, like, easy going, like, I'm not an emotional state of mind person that, like, everything you say, I'm gonna like, take to heart. And then I'm gonna, like, come on the defensive and I'm gonna like, yeah, I know how it is. Especially with news that's, like, negative. If.

[Akash Singh]

If you're.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. If you're a team person, I'm reporting about a coach or something happened or if I'm talking to an agent and something happens with the player, like, and if it's negative and you don't want it out there, like, I understand. Like, I. I'm putting myself in their shoes, and I'm here for the conversations. I. I understand any sense of emotion people are feeling.

[Interviewer 1]

Are there any topics you stay away from? Because we had Stephen A. Here, and he was like, he'll get scoops about personal stuff, but he never takes any personal information to the air.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, basketball. Yeah. I feel like I keep it. Basketball. Like, if it impacts basketball. Like, if a player having a birth of a child or if a player, like, you know, having a. You know, like, having a scandal like that, I know I'm gonna have to report on. That's gonna, like, if a guy misses a game or misses on court stuff because of that, that's when I have to touch on it. But for me, I. I stay away.

[Interviewer 2]

From, like, a cheating scandal is not.

[NBA Insider]

Something you're interested in. Yeah, no. The most TMZ I've gone is the IME Udoka situation. When that was going on, that was wild.

[Interviewer 2]

Unbelievable. Nia long.

[NBA Insider]

And, you know, I got the proper confirmations to report about the relationship he had internally with the staffer, the improper relationship that he had and that, you know, ended up leading to his alster in Boston. Now he's in Houston, by the way. Amazing. Doing amazing job.

[Interviewer 2]

Great coach, dude.

[NBA Insider]

He's one of the top. Just got a massive new extension this offseason.

[Akash Singh]

Keep your wife away.

[NBA Insider]

He's beloved.

[Akash Singh]

Keep your wife away, though.

[NBA Insider]

He's a beloved.

[Akash Singh]

Cracking someone's wife, right? It was somebody's wife. He was cracking a player's wife, allegedly.

[NBA Insider]

I don't think it was a player's wife.

[Akash Singh]

It wasn't a player's wife.

[NBA Insider]

No. No. Staff member.

[Akash Singh]

But that was staff member's wife.

[NBA Insider]

Yes.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, he was using his staff member. Also, guys, show dates again. Chicago theater. I'm coming April 24th. Also, we have a possibly huge announcement coming soon for the east Coast. But coming up soon, I got Orlando Funny Bone, November 7th and 8th. Those tickets are almost sold out. Also, tickets are already almost sold out for cobs in San Francisco. November 21st through 23rd, December 4th through 6th, Irvine, California Tickets are also almost sold out. Get your tickets those shows and every other show day for the generational trauma tour. Akash Singh.com. do not buy your tickets from a third party site. Go to Akash Singh.com. people keep telling me they're getting scammed. I'm so sorry. Please buy your tickets from Akash Singh.com in the links on that page. I love you guys. Thank you.

[Interviewer 3]

Good afternoon, people. My name is Mark Agnar and I'm going to be coming to your city. Yes, I'm going to be in New York City, actually, Novemb 11th. We got two shows, part of the New York comedy fest. You can check that out on my website. Also we got Denver, Colorado, Hoboken, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Fort Wayne, Detroit, Chicago. I can't wait to meet you and shake your hand. All right, come on, hang out with your boy.

[Interviewer 2]

Shake his hand. Suck his dick.

[Interviewer 3]

Peace out.

[Akash Singh]

The bubble, like, man, the bubble was wild.

[NBA Insider]

There were shorties in there.

[Akash Singh]

How they sneak the shorties in there? Like, that's what we need to know. Were they making them work? Did they have to clean the rooms or something?

[NBA Insider]

I, I, I, I didn't see any, didn't see any girls.

[Akash Singh]

There was no shorties in the bubble.

[NBA Insider]

I saw none.

[Akash Singh]

You saw none? Oh, wow.

[NBA Insider]

The only thing I saw were meals being delivered outside my room when I was in quarantine. Female or male? I couldn't even tell. You can't leave the room until the food is already there. You hear the, you know, you hear it fall.

[Akash Singh]

I mean, these are, these are alpha, alpha, alpha males full of testosterone. You can't have balls that inflated, inflated, you know, for real. They need to let it out. They need to let loose. They didn't just have some come in for like a week or two extent just to drain them.

[Interviewer 2]

They need a deflate game.

[Akash Singh]

They must have sent a few in there just to deflate them. They must have.

[NBA Insider]

There must have been two. I don't know about that one. About that one. I not, I didn't see any. Now, they might not have wanted to wander where I was at the hotel area I was at.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, yeah.

[NBA Insider]

It's probably the stay away zone.

[Akash Singh]

Fair enough.

[NBA Insider]

The only thing I saw with the players was there, there was a restaurant a lot of guys would go to. Yeah. The center of like a lake. And then you would see guys like Anthony Davis and LeBron, like riding bikes.

[Akash Singh]

Okay. Across to the restaurant by the lake.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, to the restaurant by the lake. So maybe the restaurant by the lake was the big date spot.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

The media couldn't go in.

[Akash Singh]

Was it even a lake? Or just women dripping on the ground?

[NBA Insider]

Alligators.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, there was alligators in there, too.

[NBA Insider]

Wow. Wide jaws.

[Akash Singh]

You ever seen the alligator chomped down on something, man. They never let go.

[Interviewer 2]

Never let go.

[Akash Singh]

That's true. It's crazy. In the bubble.

[NBA Insider]

You see, I'm just feeding cold over here.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, that's it. We're just. We're just guys hanging.

[Interviewer 2]

He didn't see anything. He won't tell us what he heard.

[Akash Singh]

He won't tell us what he knows.

[NBA Insider]

I heard a lot of stuff in the bubble.

[Akash Singh]

Sound.

[NBA Insider]

I heard a lot of stuff in the bubble.

[Akash Singh]

What you hear?

[NBA Insider]

I mean, my first week there, the players boycotted. There's a boycott. Remember when the players boycotted the games?

[Interviewer 2]

Talking about.

[Akash Singh]

No, no, no, no. But why you think that was boycotted? Okay. Sent in the only fans, and all of a sudden they wanted to play bas.

[NBA Insider]

No, they were the only.

[Akash Singh]

At that point.

[NBA Insider]

You gotta leave. You gotta leave. You gotta leave.

[Akash Singh]

What do you mean?

[NBA Insider]

No, I'm saying if. If they actually did bring them in, you know, you give them a little excursion.

[Akash Singh]

Wait, how? You could take them out.

[NBA Insider]

You could. You could get out of the bubble.

[Akash Singh]

I thought. You can't get out of the bubble.

[NBA Insider]

You can't get out of the bubble. No one got out of the bubble.

[Akash Singh]

But they had. There had to be people that got into the bubble. You sneak them in as, like, a cafeteria.

[NBA Insider]

I didn't see that happen.

[Akash Singh]

No, I know you didn't.

[Interviewer 2]

Did you notice that the staff was, like, inordinately hot?

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, like the cleaning lady. Barely. There's barely any people there.

[Akash Singh]

Just some dogs in there.

[NBA Insider]

So if they did it. If they did it, it was.

[Akash Singh]

They went back. That was vintage.

[NBA Insider]

I didn't see anything.

[Akash Singh]

When they used to have to work for it.

[Interviewer 2]

What happened to reporting the facts?

[Akash Singh]

Chance, you're reporting. I stick to the facts. If I don't see it, I don't see it.

[NBA Insider]

If I don't see it, I don't see it.

[Akash Singh]

You see, most of the stories you.

[Interviewer 2]

Report on, you hear from sources.

[NBA Insider]

I don't get any sources on that, but maybe they know I'm not seeking that.

[Akash Singh]

That's. That's. Listen, that's.

[NBA Insider]

Now listen.

[Akash Singh]

It's like jail in there. Were the gay players popular?

[NBA Insider]

It's a great question. That's a great question. I mean, you got to think about it.

[Akash Singh]

I mean, where they gotta think about it? Throwing that thing in a circle. You got him drinking water. Come on, man.

[NBA Insider]

These Are. These are some hot topics. Topics, right?

[Akash Singh]

I mean, how many are your DMs? Just constantly. I saw this person here. Like, are there people trying.

[NBA Insider]

People trying to give me tips on stories?

[Akash Singh]

Is that.

[NBA Insider]

Is that common? I mean, I would say sometimes. Fun fact. My brother actually runs my. My public Instagram.

[Interviewer 2]

No, I love that.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. Keeping the family. That's the only guy I trust.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Was that who we met just out there?

[NBA Insider]

No, no, no, My little brother.

[Akash Singh]

No, that was that guy.

[Interviewer 2]

That was an Indian dude.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, my Lord.

[Interviewer 2]

No, I'm just telling you they're not related at all.

[Akash Singh]

But I know. I didn't know that he was Indian and you know. Yeah, but okay, so you're not related to that guy at all?

[NBA Insider]

No, I'm not related to him, but my brother monitors my Instagram.

[Akash Singh]

I was about to say handles that.

[NBA Insider]

I don't see any dms because you absorb the.

[Akash Singh]

Out of the good looking jeans. If that was the case. Come on, bro.

[NBA Insider]

I got his handsome.

[Akash Singh]

Beautiful beard. He's very handsome. Come on in here, curly hair. Get your ass in here. We in the bubble, baby got.

[NBA Insider]

Sneak him in. Sneak them in here.

[Akash Singh]

No, that's your PR guy.

[NBA Insider]

That's the ESPN PR guy. Oh, that's ESPN pr, yes.

[Akash Singh]

What's his name?

[NBA Insider]

Ron.

[Akash Singh]

Ron.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. He's getting a shout out.

[Akash Singh]

Yo, Ronce. Shout out. You Ron.

[NBA Insider]

Ron is a legend.

[Akash Singh]

I heard you was cleaning up in a bubble, my boy. Oh, my God. Was he down in the bubble?

[NBA Insider]

I didn't see him down there.

[Akash Singh]

You didn't see much. You didn't see much of nothing down there.

[NBA Insider]

I saw what I needed to see. I like, I saw the games.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

Guys, we gotta take a break real quick because we need to talk about a natural way to relieve aches and discomfort. And that's where these beautiful little CBD gummies and seltzer from Cornbread Hemp can come in very handy. This right here, this is a sleeping one. I'm gonna take this at night. It's got cbd, it's got valerian root, chamomile flower. All natural things to help you sleep. Beautiful product, beautiful people. Cornbread hemp. Look, I'm 41, you know I have trouble sleeping. You know, I get fatter every single day. There's nothing I could do about it, but. But I'm down to try some herbal shit that would help me. This right here. Perfect. Gives you everything you need. Gives you peace of mind. You're not worried about side effects, you're not worried about any of that. Stuff, it's just CBD and natural ingredients. Cornbread, CBD gummies and seltzers are made to help you feel better, whether it's stress and anxiety, discomfort, or just helping yourself sleep better. That's why you got to use it. And they use the best part of the hemp plant, the flower. So it's the purest, most potent cbd. All products are also third party tested and USDA organic to ensure safety and purity. And right now, flagrant listeners can save 30% on their first order. Just sent to cornbread hemp.com flagrant and use the code FLAGRANT at checkout. That is cornbread hemp. C O R-N-B-R-E-A-H-E-M-P.com flagrant and use the code flagrant. I can't help but notice there is not a teleprompter up there like Miles says there is every week. Let's get back to the show.

[Akash Singh]

All right, guys, let's take a break for a second. Listen, when it comes to supplements, there's a lot of misinformation, fake claims, and that's why you need grooms. Honestly, the reason why you need grooms is because they're just the most delicious. It's literally gummy bears. Bears. We didn't think gummy bears could be good for you and, like, give you the things that you actually need. It turns out they can. This is not just like a multivitam, okay? This is multivitamin, greens, powder and a prebiotic. This is all them together in a delicious little snack. It's fantastic. They should give them out on airplanes. I'm telling you, they send us a box of these. They probably send us two at a time. They're done in the day because everybody at the office just devours them. And look, being healthy has never been more convenient and tasted better. So if you actually want to be healthy and feed your body the nutrients it needs, then why wouldn't you do in the most delicious way possible? Also, who doesn't want to have a little snack? Okay? That's literally what it feels like, a snack. It's low sugar, gut healthy, has immunity and cognitive benefits. You wanted a supplement that you could enjoy. This right here isn't a chore. It's something that you look forward to. So go to www.groons.co. that's G R U N S CO. You get up to 52% off, use the code flagrant. Let's get back to the show. I heard you. I did Back in the day. I did. Back in the day.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. Yeah. You got some NBA ties.

[Akash Singh]

You know, I do have some NBA ties. And you know that I beat Jay Williamson in a one on one game.

[NBA Insider]

Wow.

[Akash Singh]

Did you not know this?

[NBA Insider]

I saw some footage.

[Akash Singh]

This is a thing of.

[NBA Insider]

Of legends. This is. This is OG stuff.

[Akash Singh]

This. I live. I let him think that the game was going to be close.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

And then when it came down to.

[Interviewer 2]

It, it was one on one to seven or something. You got spotted six.

[Akash Singh]

I didn't ask for six.

[NBA Insider]

But they spotted you six.

[Akash Singh]

He said, I'll give you six points. I was like, that's the dumbest thing you've ever done outside of getting on a motorcycle.

[NBA Insider]

Oh, I think I remember this.

[Akash Singh]

I remember this.

[NBA Insider]

I do remember this.

[Akash Singh]

So. But you just gotta go to the end.

[NBA Insider]

Oh, that's a young Schultze. Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Look at my boy, man.

[NBA Insider]

Let's go.

[Akash Singh]

Okay, look, he bounced the ball off my head. Tries to pull up on me. Not gonna happen.

[NBA Insider]

Got the rebound.

[Akash Singh]

Okay. So I pull up. Obviously missed on purpose. Rebounds, rebounds.

[Interviewer 2]

I'm amazed you got that rebound out of.

[Interviewer 1]

Come on, bro.

[Akash Singh]

He's not gonna box me out. Okay. Look at me go right at the ankle. I'm going right at the ankle.

[NBA Insider]

I said, oh, my God.

[Interviewer 2]

You put the move on him for real.

[NBA Insider]

And then he recovered.

[Akash Singh]

To be honest, he's amazing.

[NBA Insider]

Did you make this?

[Akash Singh]

Of course I made it.

[Interviewer 2]

Oh, it was.

[NBA Insider]

But that was your only point.

[Akash Singh]

You only needed one point that I need.

[Interviewer 2]

It was six. He got six in a row. He tried to beat you on that. That.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

That's disres.

[Interviewer 2]

Respectful.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. He tries to embarrass me.

[Interviewer 2]

That's what he gets.

[Akash Singh]

But I don't lose. I've never lost a game one on one.

[NBA Insider]

We gotta play next time.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, do you.

[NBA Insider]

I can hoop. I can hoop. There's some footage of me shooting. He looks like you want to find.

[Akash Singh]

Did you ever play with the NBA team in the city? No, not like an actual NBA team. Like the. The league team plays in like the.

[NBA Insider]

What's it called? Suburb. Suburb.

[Akash Singh]

I played, I played.

[NBA Insider]

I played middle school, high school. No, no, no.

[Akash Singh]

I'm saying, like, the NBA association plays in a league in the city. But you live in Chicago. I'm in the suburbs of Chicago.

[NBA Insider]

But I never. No, I didn'.

[Akash Singh]

That.

[NBA Insider]

Okay, yeah. No. All right, all right. But there's, there's. There's footage of my jumper.

[Akash Singh]

Hold on, hold on. Let's. Let's get. Let's get some footage.

[NBA Insider]

I want you to rate this jumper, there's got to be some footage.

[Akash Singh]

All right.

[Interviewer 1]

While you pulling it up, what's the hierarchy of, like, where you get most of your scoops? Is it coming from players, execs, friends of players? Like, who's really giving you the majority?

[NBA Insider]

Everyone, like, anyone you can think of that's associated with the league? Like, sometimes my favorite is when people guess. Like, when I break something, people are going to guess, where did you get this from? Because they have no idea. Okay. I mean, it could be anywhere. You think about the areas, right? League team players, anyone else around any of those areas. Basically, what it could be a security guard.

[Akash Singh]

You ever caused problems on a team? Yeah, because, like, you leaked information and people are like, who the.

[NBA Insider]

Is the leak?

[Akash Singh]

And do they come to you like, yo, you need to tell us who the leak is? Because you shouldn't know this.

[NBA Insider]

I have been asked that. That. But it's always hypothetically because they know I'll never say.

[Akash Singh]

So what is the way that they ask? How do they.

[NBA Insider]

I know you won't say, but. But. And it's like you answered that. I won't say.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. What do they think?

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 3]

You ever get wind and dine? Does anyone ever take you out and, like, maybe give you a little gift for Christmas or something? Just.

[Akash Singh]

You got the clutch hoodie. That's your jumper right there.

[NBA Insider]

That's my jumper. But there's more footage, man. There's way more. Truly the worst in Google. Oh, here's one. Here's one. One.

[Akash Singh]

Okay.

[Interviewer 2]

No, it's a night. Look at that.

[Akash Singh]

Hey, that's not bad.

[Interviewer 3]

With wide shoulders, too.

[NBA Insider]

Damn.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

No, no. Come on. Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

You little transformer. There's more.

[NBA Insider]

There's gotta be more. Oh, no, this ain't it. What's this one? Oh, actually, there is.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, that was with Amanda Nassar Thompson.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, wow. What. What? WNBA player you think you'd be? 101?

[NBA Insider]

I think it was all. I think. I think I would get cooked by.

[Akash Singh]

Any professional athlete after seeing me beat a professional athlete.

[NBA Insider]

I think I could beat you, though.

[Akash Singh]

Though. But I beat an NBA player I beat.

[NBA Insider]

How did you. Six point.

[Akash Singh]

He was the number. But he. He wants to do that.

[NBA Insider]

He was the number one pick. He was the number one pick.

[Akash Singh]

He was maybe one.

[Interviewer 2]

He's 41. It's over. He's almost 42. His ankles are.

[Akash Singh]

It's over, but I. I feel like.

[NBA Insider]

You still got it, though.

[Akash Singh]

No, we were not late.

[Interviewer 2]

I played him. He was nice. He was nice.

[Akash Singh]

If I needed. If I needed What I didn't do on Jay, cuz I feel like it would be too disrespectful, is I didn't want to dunk on him, but if it was. No, I didn't want to dunk.

[NBA Insider]

You dunk back in the day. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

I saw him dunk on a kid. Five, three. Left hand, though, on him.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, on is different than just having a clear lane.

[NBA Insider]

It's different.

[Akash Singh]

That's what I'm saying. So, Jay, if I. What am I gonna do, humiliate him? I kept the game close out of respect for him. This is a person that I like and respects. A good guy.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, yeah.

[Akash Singh]

So I keep.

[Interviewer 1]

Never talk.

[NBA Insider]

He never shut up. Oh, there's footage of you dunking now.

[Akash Singh]

This is me old, guys. This is me old. Oh, with the left. Oh, it's light.

[NBA Insider]

It's just easy. Oh, and you got post video looking at the camera.

[Akash Singh]

You see this?

[Interviewer 3]

Got the towel around his neck.

[NBA Insider]

This is me dunking on a Saturday. Oh, look at this. Come on, man.

[Akash Singh]

What did you think?

[NBA Insider]

You had a different flow back then.

[Akash Singh]

Back in the day, it was crazy. Propecia did wonders for me. Okay, so did you always think that you were going to be the insider? You thought you were going to be like a. Just like a. What is it called? Like an op ed journalist talking about the game? When does this happen? Where you go, I'm the information dude. People like talking to me.

[NBA Insider]

And yeah, I mean, I think it came kind of on accident, but it also came like, I love, like, news, so I love, like, the trades, signings, free agency, like, all that stuff. I grew up, like, being obsessed with, you know, at the time. You know, growing up in Chicago, you're like, who are the Bulls going to trade for? Who are they going to sign?

[Akash Singh]

What's going to happen here?

[NBA Insider]

What's going to happen there? What's going on in this locker room? When is this coach getting fired? When is this coach getting hired?

[Interviewer 2]

Like, the decision when LeBron almost went to Chicago. I'm doing the math. You were like 18 at the time.

[Akash Singh]

That was.

[NBA Insider]

That was a big time for me, though, because I think that's when I think I started a Twitter. Then, like, I started to, like, really get involved with, like, trying to pay attention to what's going on with these teams and where's this player going? And I think player movement, team decisions, things like that, I started getting obsessed with. And so I played. Then once I got cut in high school, it's like, all right, I have to. If I'M going to stay around the NBA. I have to do something. Whether it's being an agent, whether it's being on the team side, whether it's writing, whether it was, you know, anything I wanted to do. Because as Akash knows. Yeah. Or Akash knows. You know, for me it's like lawyer, doctor, accountant. Like that's what I think. My mom really wanted me to. My mom really wanted me to get healthcare.

[Akash Singh]

I haven't heard this one since like high school. No, I know.

[Interviewer 2]

This is actually from a video. This is not a 911 joke. This is. He's your pilot.

[Akash Singh]

Great. Oh my God. To bring this up. I haven't heard this since school. So much less racist once you see the video.

[NBA Insider]

This is a Pakistani school.

[Akash Singh]

It's a Pakistani school and it's. It's. The kids are coming up and saying what they want to be when they're older. So each kid has their own.

[NBA Insider]

I always wanted to be an NBA player.

[Akash Singh]

Right?

[NBA Insider]

So for me that was like my number one thing. Then once I realized I couldn't do it. Yeah, it's figuring out how can I stay close to the game?

[Akash Singh]

How can you be around the game?

[NBA Insider]

So my sophomore year of high school, my English teacher goes, you should just write. You're really good at writing and you love basketball. Combine both passions. That's what I did.

[Akash Singh]

Oh wow.

[NBA Insider]

Then you write for the school newspaper. Then you write for the. For a Bulls blog. Then you write for another website, realgm.com I don't. You have to be like no real.

[Interviewer 2]

Gm.Com youm have to be like nitty.

[NBA Insider]

Gritty NBA basketball fan. You know what real gm.com is like, it's a rumor site. I used to be obsessed with it and I would just like refresh all day. That and hoops hype and just follow everything. And like I was obsessed with that. And so these are the years before.

[Akash Singh]

Twitter when we actually had to go to like websites to get like 20.

[NBA Insider]

This is between 2008 to like 2014.

[Akash Singh]

All right, here we go. Go back to the beginning.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, I haven't seen this.

[Akash Singh]

I cannot believe as a Pakistani man, you haven't seen this.

[NBA Insider]

My plan is that I will be pilot.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, he's a pilot.

[Interviewer 3]

Great.

[Akash Singh]

When I will grow up, I will.

[NBA Insider]

Be army and save Pakistan and destroy. How many times have you seen Brown?

[Interviewer 2]

People love this one. My wife and I quote this all the time.

[NBA Insider]

I haven't seen this.

[Akash Singh]

So that's what I want to be pilot is. Oh, you've never heard that? No.

[NBA Insider]

See, I'm like, we're beyond racism.

[Akash Singh]

Okay. I'm NBA.

[NBA Insider]

I'm like, NBA, folks.

[Interviewer 2]

All NBA memes.

[Akash Singh]

God. Okay. All right.

[Interviewer 2]

Let me ask you another Brown question. I love Brown love. I do. But I have to ask. What's up with you and Kay Adams?

[NBA Insider]

Great friend.

[Interviewer 2]

Oh, great friend.

[NBA Insider]

I think. I think we're great on tv. I worked with her.

[Interviewer 2]

Great chemistry.

[NBA Insider]

She'd be giving you rhythm on tv.

[Akash Singh]

She does throw you some rhythm, bro. I ain't gonna lie.

[Interviewer 2]

I don't blame her.

[NBA Insider]

You know, I. I've been. I've really enjoyed working with, like, you know, her on tv. It's been fun.

[Interviewer 3]

I mean, you powered through that. Unbelievable.

[Akash Singh]

That was. Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, that was phenomenal.

[Akash Singh]

That was amazing. Political answer right there. That's professional. Because you both work, you know, but.

[NBA Insider]

Like, we work together.

[Akash Singh]

Exactly.

[NBA Insider]

We had to do. No. There's no such thing as workplace romances.

[Interviewer 2]

Ever in the history.

[NBA Insider]

But she's actually like, like, genuinely a good friend.

[Akash Singh]

Good.

[NBA Insider]

Great friend.

[Akash Singh]

So nothing. Nothing else going on.

[NBA Insider]

No, no, no.

[Akash Singh]

But if. If there was a time in the future where you guys weren't both working at the same organization, you know?

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. I mean, for me, I. I'm so work focused.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

My whole day. I'm sorry, K. I'm sorry, K. My whole days are just absorbed by this. What I'm doing on a daily basis. And so she's a beautiful woman.

[Akash Singh]

Woman.

[Interviewer 2]

I don't mean that.

[Akash Singh]

Talented.

[NBA Insider]

Super talented. And her ability to, like, charismatic. See, for me, I'm a very. The stuff that I talk about is really serious. I feel like I could be very serious at different points. Like her, Pat McAfee. They do a great job of bringing personality. You got, like, doing this podcast brings a different personality out.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

Maybe people don't see.

[Akash Singh]

So she brings out the. The joy in you. Brings the person out of you.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, she's her. Pat McAfee. Do a great job of that.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. But also just her as well.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

You don't need to. Have really got nothing to do with it.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, you did that. Pat's actually a whole different sport. Really?

[NBA Insider]

So, like. No, but similar.

[Interviewer 2]

No, not. I can't see a similarity between K. Adams and.

[NBA Insider]

Not at all.

[Akash Singh]

I never even thought.

[NBA Insider]

It's different.

[Akash Singh]

They both don't wear sleeves.

[NBA Insider]

It's different zones, different chromosomes. You mean, it's different zones, but different sides of my personality are able to be unlocked on both. Okay, that makes sense.

[Interviewer 2]

Which side is unlocked with K. What.

[Akash Singh]

Are you trying to say?

[NBA Insider]

You got to Flip it on.

[Interviewer 3]

You got to go on the offense. You got to flip it on.

[NBA Insider]

You guys gotta like this girl a lot.

[Interviewer 3]

You guys have like a crush on her or something?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. You got a crush on this white woman.

[NBA Insider]

You got a ring on my wife.

[Interviewer 2]

I've never had milk in my life, but some of these girls is ice cream.

[Akash Singh]

He is a scoop man. I'm not involved in this. I'm not involved in ice, bro.

[NBA Insider]

You're happily married. Hot start, as far as I know.

[Akash Singh]

I don't see the ring start.

[NBA Insider]

So what's your favorite?

[Interviewer 3]

So you.

[NBA Insider]

You stick. You stick with ice.

[Interviewer 2]

Brown girls. I'm a brown. I'm a brown man. But I just objectively notice that you can't call some of them milk. They transcend that.

[Akash Singh]

They transcend it.

[NBA Insider]

Vanilla scoops.

[Akash Singh]

The vanilla scoops.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

But you turn that into a.

[Interviewer 2]

You can be the caramel topping.

[NBA Insider]

I got nothing there. But she's a great friend, great person. I think we made. We have, when we were working together, made great tea tv. Yeah, it's fun.

[Akash Singh]

But that's good, man. I look forward to more of that in the future.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, it'll be fun.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. It would definitely be.

[Interviewer 2]

Jokes aside, was that weird seeing the Internet take that whole thing into it was like a thing for like a couple of months.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, people. People love good tv. You know, I would say people love great tv.

[Akash Singh]

Gotcha. I know.

[NBA Insider]

I'm saying people love great tv.

[Interviewer 2]

I think a couple of you guys.

[Akash Singh]

Created a romantic connection that obviously was never there. What was it?

[Interviewer 2]

It was not Sham guy. It was something about his. The Sham the Riz mask or some like that.

[NBA Insider]

What was it?

[Interviewer 1]

You know what he's talking about?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. What was the nickname. What was the moniker they gave?

[NBA Insider]

What the people said?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, what do the people say?

[Interviewer 2]

Our guy's going to Google you. Just Riz God.

[Akash Singh]

Riz God.

[Interviewer 2]

People would call you that.

[NBA Insider]

That's crazy. Riz God.

[Interviewer 3]

For no reason.

[NBA Insider]

People that know me, like, I don't really have. Have, you know, I don't have game like that.

[Akash Singh]

That's what every real guy. Every real.

[NBA Insider]

Game. I'm honestly, like, I'm a shy person.

[Akash Singh]

Just shy. Big dick.

[NBA Insider]

I'm like.

[Akash Singh]

I'm like Akash, over here.

[Interviewer 2]

No, no, you're not. I ain't Big Dick. I'm married.

[NBA Insider]

We're all trying to be where you're at, man. Married. I'm trying to get you.

[Interviewer 2]

I'm trying to do your vista right now.

[NBA Insider]

Set it up with this little scoop of ice cream. You're stuck on the vanilla, man. We're talking about Sundays over here.

[Interviewer 2]

I would love if you got with the brown girl. I'll be so happy.

[NBA Insider]

Wait, what do you mean?

[Akash Singh]

Why Sundays? Because it got a banana in it.

[Interviewer 2]

I'll be very thrilled. I'll try to set you up with 1.

[Akash Singh]

1.

[Interviewer 2]

What you looking for? You want a smiley girl?

[NBA Insider]

Is that important to you, man? Listen, right now, work is important to me.

[Akash Singh]

I like that. I gotta focus on work.

[Interviewer 2]

Let me call your mom, we'll set this up real quick. Because I'm tired of your politicking.

[Akash Singh]

Don't you. Doesn't your mom want you to get, you know, meet a nice lady?

[NBA Insider]

I mean, my mom wants me to focus on. On work.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, no, she doesn't. You're 31.

[Interviewer 2]

Don't lie to me.

[NBA Insider]

No, because. Because this is the thing. When you're. When you're around your family, they see. See what this is like more than anyone. And so they know, like, how much I care for it, my passion for it. Yeah, the time. And I think, you know, growing up, it was like, all right, if, you know, doctor, lawyer, accountant. Yeah, anything in medical field, that would be amazing. But once I found this, and, you know, my mom knows how passionate I am about it, she's like, spend all the time you want on this and, like, make it your number.

[Interviewer 2]

Let me tell you why. I know you're lying. This is a personal story. My mom went to. My mom went to the hospital. She had to get, like a neuroscan or something. I'm freaking out. I'm in New York. I'm doing something, filming something. I. I can't get back to see her. I start crying on the phone with her. I'm like, I need you in my life. I can't lose you. I'm 31 years old, exactly as old as you are right now. And she goes, oh, God, get a girlfriend. That's what she said to me. She was like, I'm not.

[Akash Singh]

Shut up.

[Interviewer 2]

She was like, stop wasting everybody's time. So I know brown moms. Your mom is not like, hey, you're 31. Stay focused on your career. She's like, give me a grandbaby sometimes.

[NBA Insider]

But most of the time it's focused on the job.

[Akash Singh]

I like that. Yeah.

[Interviewer 3]

Have you ever gotten information from a wife or a girlfriend or an ex girlfriend?

[Interviewer 2]

Oh, and you, handsome, they're probably giving it up.

[Akash Singh]

A side chick upset this guy? No. A side chick is upset.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, listen, I. I'll just say I. Every. Every area, every domain you could think of.

[Interviewer 2]

That's a yes.

[NBA Insider]

You've been honey potting any domain you can think of.

[Akash Singh]

I have been.

[NBA Insider]

It probably gotten information from any domain you can think of.

[Akash Singh]

Did you stuff Dick. Jesus.

[Interviewer 3]

No.

[Akash Singh]

You can't ask what's going on?

[NBA Insider]

No, cuz he.

[Akash Singh]

That's not illegal. That's not illegal about professional. Not illegal to do that. To do that stuff. Cop. No, no, but in all seriousness, like, that's not illegal. If they were going to do that. If they were trying to bribe you with that. I apologize for hit.

[NBA Insider]

No, no, no, no. Any domain you can think of.

[Akash Singh]

You can't ask that, bro.

[NBA Insider]

What's wrong with you guys? For real?

[Akash Singh]

Did a girl try to hot pocket you?

[NBA Insider]

What does that mean? The hot pocket for what?

[Akash Singh]

What? What? Come on. You know what.

[Interviewer 2]

Pocket.

[NBA Insider]

The hot pocket in this context, I'm trying to understand.

[Akash Singh]

A girl wants you to put a story out about like a player that she like, really just doesn't like, you know, because maybe they had like an amazing few sexual intercourses.

[NBA Insider]

But why is that a story for me?

[Akash Singh]

But she's like, I want you to say that he's a bad guy.

[NBA Insider]

And you're like, yeah, you say that.

[Akash Singh]

Why is that a story for me? And then she's like, well, what? How do I make it a story for you?

[NBA Insider]

Maybe.

[Interviewer 2]

Maybe she told him or he told her. She's disgruntled. He's disgruntled with his team. He wants out. He's beefing with his teammate and she wants to give that information.

[NBA Insider]

Now that's a. That's a. That's what we call a tip to a story, potentially.

[Akash Singh]

Now, did you give her a tip? No, no, no.

[NBA Insider]

I just set him up for that.

[Interviewer 2]

Can I be honest? On the opposite end of this, there's nothing you to say that he can't flip. Yeah, he's like a jiu jitsu master of.

[Akash Singh]

But all right, what about all the Achilles injuries? Injuries?

[NBA Insider]

It's a lot. It's a lot of Achilles injuries.

[Akash Singh]

What do we think?

[NBA Insider]

I think the NBA is doing. Doing a report about that. Like really, they're looking into. So we have Jason Tatum, Damian Lillard, Tyrese Halliburton, and the Kyrie Irving is acl, but he's going to be out your.

[Akash Singh]

Your Mavericks.

[NBA Insider]

He's gonna miss some time.

[Interviewer 2]

How does Nico Harrison still have a job? Please explain this to me. And how upset, you know, the city of Dallas is.

[Akash Singh]

I mean, he broke the news.

[NBA Insider]

I'm.

[Interviewer 2]

I'm.

[NBA Insider]

I'm. Well, you broke the team.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. I. You broke the.

[NBA Insider]

I. I truly believe if have your producer. Here's a fun exercise for you guys. Have the produce up that tweet.

[Akash Singh]

Pull up that tweet.

[Interviewer 2]

He's not going to.

[NBA Insider]

That's just the exercise. See if you can pull. I want you to see. It's still jarring to me how. How much. Like, I knew it was a big deal when it happened, but how big it became.

[Interviewer 2]

Like, that's. People outside of Dallas don't understand how.

[NBA Insider]

Much we loved Luca.

[Interviewer 2]

We didn't need him to win yet. We were like, we'll take time because we. We worked out with Dirk and we felt like we got it again and it was all awesome. So trading him. Truly, they would have lost the team if they didn't get Cooper flag. I truly believe the lottery was rigged for that reason because the Mavs would.

[Akash Singh]

Have left 110.7 million. Holy views.

[NBA Insider]

Damn.

[Akash Singh]

How long did you have this information before you.

[NBA Insider]

Seven minutes.

[Akash Singh]

You got seven minutes to confirm that it was truthful.

[NBA Insider]

Five different sources. So I got a heads up.

[Akash Singh]

Yep.

[NBA Insider]

First heads up, Maxi Cle. First heads up, heads up, Marke Morris is being traded to the Lakers. Second heads up, Marke Marquis Morris being traded, Lakers. Second heads up, Maxi Cleaver being traded, Lakers. I'm like, what is. What is going on? Then I get another source. Three team deal, Lakers, Mavs, Jazz. Jaylen Hufino is going to Utah. I'm like, what is this three team deal?

[Akash Singh]

This.

[NBA Insider]

These are a bunch of, you know, guys that are on contracts that are like, are they just trading small salaries for small salaries? And then the fourth person tells me, Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis. These are all the parts. Fifth person, the whole deal. I got the whole deal. And I'm like, am I being catfished right now?

[Akash Singh]

That's what I'm trying to understand is.

[NBA Insider]

This person's phone hack. I gotta call this person, call them, hear their voice. It's real. I'm like, holy. And like, my hands are literally shaking. I'm, like, sweating. Mind you, the context of this, it's like 11 central time. I'm in Chicago. The Lakers had just beaten the Knicks by a lot in New York at the Garden on a Saturday night. My hair was all down. I. My glasses on. I was getting ready to shut it down for the night and. And I'm just like, my hands are trembling. Like, I'm just like, this is unbelievable. I called the fifth person. Actually, I called someone else. The phone didn't even ring thing. It wouldn't even go. So I'm like, this person is definitely dealing with this right now. Call them. I'll call another person. The person picks up. I'm like, there's no way this is real. And the person goes, yeah, it's real. Next thing you know, that's that the seven minutes.

[Akash Singh]

Whoa.

[Interviewer 3]

The.

[Akash Singh]

The fourth person that you get on the phone and actually hear it from. Are you convinced by them in that moment?

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. Okay.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

So I know they're not the.

[Interviewer 1]

Not.

[Akash Singh]

There's none of my tail and there's no. And again, I'm not asking sources, but, like, they've never led you astray in the past.

[NBA Insider]

No.

[Akash Singh]

This is something that you can trust.

[NBA Insider]

Yes.

[Akash Singh]

Because if you go out with this and then it ends up not happening, I'm sure you're considering how that makes you look.

[Interviewer 2]

Is that why your hand is trembling?

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, about everything. It's that it's. Is this all accurate? Making sure it's all accurate. And then this is something like very minor on the, like, getting like, I have no typo in this. I just. I like, it's like the. I think it's the probably my most perfect tweet because I made sure this is the one tweet you can't have a typo in. Like, you can't get a detail wrong. Yeah. You can't have first, you know, 2029, first round pick, but it's really 2026, first round pick. Yeah. Like, every detail has to be right because you know it's going to be a big deal. And I didn't think it would be this.

[Interviewer 2]

I swear. God, I'm getting PTSD looking at this.

[NBA Insider]

Look at, look, I'm sorry for doing that.

[Akash Singh]

Look at the first reply.

[Interviewer 2]

Nico.

[Akash Singh]

Loser, bro. I had to check 10 times to see if this was a real account.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, my phone blew because everyone thought I got hacked or it was fake or that my safety was. Was under concern. So my phone was blowing up. My phone, I never had that many calls. And it's one of those things where it's like continuous calls. Right.

[Akash Singh]

So are you answering any or do you just shut it down?

[NBA Insider]

I answered like five. Five people. One was like the late night Sports center guy. Cause I'm like, I know, I know why he, you know, he wants.

[Akash Singh]

He wants to make sure it's real.

[NBA Insider]

He wants to make sure it's real so we can cover it. A couple other people. I think I picked up Stephen a's call, Pat McAfee's call, saw two other people and Then, yeah, that night was wild.

[Interviewer 1]

Do you sleep?

[Akash Singh]

Sorry. Sorry. Do you sleep at all?

[NBA Insider]

I slept like one and a half hours.

[Akash Singh]

Okay, so you stay up throughout the night?

[NBA Insider]

I stayed up till, like, I Sports center hit at like 6 in the morning, I think I slept at like 4, got up at like 5:15, did my sports center hit, and the day was on and popping. What's funny is I had a 7am flight to Bristol for the trade deadline. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna be covering Jimmy Butler, de' Aaron Fox getting traded this week. And.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, I need to know how this happened as a fan.

[Akash Singh]

Okay.

[NBA Insider]

Okay.

[Interviewer 2]

What's going on? What's with Nico? Why does he do this? It can't possibly be. He thought they made this. This made them a better team.

[NBA Insider]

He genuinely believed that Anthony Davis, who we call street clothes is a nickname, was a. Is a better championship fit, better for their culture and defense. Like, again, this is in real time. Back then, this is what he believed. Now he might still believe this. I don't think anyone's gone up and asked, do you still believe. Believe this. But as of, you know, even training camp, this is what they believed. Anthony Davis being a better fit to a championship quality team than Luka Doncic and whatever concerns they had about Luca. So you go out and make this trade now again, on face eight, you know, Anthony Davis above 30, you have Luka Doncic, who at the time of the trade, 25, all NBA for four or five straight years.

[Interviewer 2]

The worst trade in sports history.

[NBA Insider]

Anthony Davis is, Is, you know, Andy Davis is top 75 player. He's an all, all NBA, all star. He's a Hall of Fame player in his own right. Luka Dodge is obviously Luka Doncic.

[Interviewer 2]

I can barely watch sports anymore.

[NBA Insider]

I hear that broken people in Dallas. I hear that a lot from people in Dallas. But how does Nico Harrison. I think your question was, how does Nico Harrison have a job? I mean, the reality is the roster he's built when healthy, the Mavs, Nico Harrison, that ownership, Patrick Dumont, the new owner there, they believe it's a championship quality roster if they stay healthy. And if I graduate trade, See, it's not my place to say whether it was a right or wrong trade.

[Akash Singh]

I, I.

[NBA Insider]

Even when it happened, I saw why Dallas did it again. Does that justify it now? If you're asking me, do the vast majority of people I speak to.

[Interviewer 1]

No, I'm saying, do you think it's a good trade?

[NBA Insider]

I mean, for. It's not on me to decide. That's not your opinion, your opinion.

[Interviewer 1]

What do you.

[NBA Insider]

You should give a. I think on face, of course you, when you trade a guy like Luka Dynamic Doncic, I just look at it from a position of he's 25 years old. I mean you, you can, it's a bad trade for the next 10 years. You can, you can build around him. But again, time will tell on this.

[Interviewer 1]

Is that because you're a journalist, you're not really.

[NBA Insider]

You don't like to give your. It's not my place. But it's also like my job is to take perspectives and information, insight and present it in the most responsible and fair way. Like Nico Harrison and the Mavericks had their reasons. Even at an ownership level, they had their reasons to make this trade. They felt it was going to lead them to a championship. But again, the Lakers, since this trade, they lost in the first round. The Mavericks, they lost in the first round, right?

[Interviewer 2]

No, they didn't make it.

[NBA Insider]

They lost in the play in tournament. So they lost them playing tournament. So I'm not saying neither side has. We don't know what's happened, but the goal is to win a championship, right? So I'm just saying like this. Let's say the Mavericks this year, next year win a championship and the Lakers don't. So are we going to say this trade was to going success?

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, sure. We can speak in impossibilities all we want to.

[Akash Singh]

All right, guys, take a break for a second. Listen, have you ever had that craving for that favorite panini you love so much? Okay. All you can think about is that perfectly toasted breast sandwich. So you think about running out to get it, but it's too cold or you're too lazy, so you order delivery instead. And the entire time you're waiting for it, envisioning yourself, enjoying that melted cheese, that warm meat in the comfort of your home. But it never comes tragedy. A client of Morgan and Morgan has recently been awarded nearly $1 million after jurors affirmed that her injuries from slipping on ice outside of a Panera Bread were the company's fault. Their client was working as a doordash driver when she slipped and fell on an icy walkway outside of the Panera Bread in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She broke her left elbow, which led to surgery and hardware being inserted into her arm. The original settlement offer of $125,000 was there, but Morgan and Morgan fought to get her the million dollar verdict she deserved so she could be back out there on the road delivering those paninis to all of you that desire them so much. Morgan and Morgan is America's largest injury firm for a reason. They've been fighting for the people for over 35 years. Hiring the wrong firm can be disastrous. Hiring the right firm could substantially increase your settlement with Morgan and Morgan. It's easy started and their fee is free unless they win. So Visit for the people.comflagrantordial pound L A W pound law. That's pound 529 from your cell phone. That is F O R the people.com flagrant. This is a paid advertisement. Let's get back to the show. All right, guys, listen. Hiring is an incredibly difficult task, especially if you're trying to hire people to build your business. You want competence and you're going to have to weed through resume and resume and resume. It's tough to hire the right people for any team. And that's why if you're building a team and want to hire the best people for it, you need to use ZipRecruiter. Okay? Right now you can actually try it for [e-mail] flagrant telling you right now. ZipRecruiter's powerful matching technology works fast to find top talent so you don't waste time or money. You can invite top candidates for your job to apply to encourage them to apply sooner. Building a solid team is easy if you know where to go. And you're going to go to ZipRecruiter. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Go see for yourself. Go to ZipRecruiter.com Flagrant Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com FlagRant ZipRecruiter. The smartest way to hire. Now let's get back to the show.

[Interviewer 2]

Who do you think is the next NBA superstar to get traded? Because Giannis I thought would be the one, but he's at like 99 on call. She's staying in Milwaukee. So I just checked that a little bit just to see because I just want somebody to share my misery.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, I think the next guy to keep, I mean next couple guys keep an eye on probably are Giannis. Still, I think you have to monitor that situation. Big win for them against the Knicks. Your Knicks. There was like a two week period.

[Akash Singh]

What was that?

[NBA Insider]

Your Knicks. I mean your Knicks.

[Akash Singh]

But why did you say it like that?

[NBA Insider]

Because they got. Did you see the score last night?

[Akash Singh]

Well, why are we even talking about old.

[NBA Insider]

It happened 24 hours ago.

[Akash Singh]

I'm just saying the way we Take care of it. Yeah. There was other things going on. We have to give a false sense of security.

[NBA Insider]

There was a two week period where the Knicks wasn't good, knew that Jana wanted to play there.

[Akash Singh]

How did the Knicks. How did the Knicks that up?

[NBA Insider]

Wow. How we first got two week period where they knew. They had conversations, offers were made.

[Interviewer 3]

What.

[Akash Singh]

What did we have to offer? What did they want? Did they want jb? No. You probably want.

[NBA Insider]

Want the. I don't even think it got to a point. I think it's like make the best offers you have.

[Akash Singh]

And what do they offer?

[NBA Insider]

Offers were made.

[Akash Singh]

Can you tell us what they.

[NBA Insider]

Not.

[Akash Singh]

Not out there in the world.

[Interviewer 2]

Bridges.

[NBA Insider]

Can you give me an. Allegedly Bridges was not eligible to be trade at the time because it's on the extension.

[Interviewer 2]

Bridges would be. If they want to run that back. Bridges would be. That'd be a piece.

[NBA Insider]

Can you angle your mic up towards you, sir?

[Interviewer 2]

Cat. Cat was offered.

[NBA Insider]

I think you have to keep an eye on Giannis still. I think the first 20, 25 games, I mean, they're off to a great start. I think they're three and one Milwaukee. He is. We'll see how they do this year, how they do in the playoffs. His next year. He's going to be entering the last year of their deal, of his deal. And in the NBA, everyone knows that's the point. You have the most leverage. So how far they go, how far they don't go, that could impact where he's at and potentially 20, 25 games and we'll see. I mean, right now they're off to a great start as we see right there.

[Akash Singh]

Who's got.

[Interviewer 2]

You know that out of the Knicks last night.

[NBA Insider]

You. Who's got the.

[Akash Singh]

Who's got the. The best scoops. Which player, active player, player has the most information. Meaning like other players confide in them and they're just a source for everything. They really know what's going on in the league. Who is that? Who's the. You in the league?

[NBA Insider]

I don't know, man. Get out of here.

[Akash Singh]

I don't know.

[NBA Insider]

I don't.

[Interviewer 2]

You won't say.

[NBA Insider]

I don't talk to whoever that is. I need to. I need to find out. That's a good question. I gotta get on that hunt.

[Interviewer 3]

What's the craziest place you've ever had to step out of in order to post something or get some?

[NBA Insider]

Man, I've been everywhere.

[Interviewer 3]

You've been like a funeral, been at like your mom's birthday day. Something crazy like, hey, this is A bad look, but I need to take this.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, I mean, that's. Yeah. Funeral will be tough. Funeral will be tough.

[Akash Singh]

But no, you would step out. He ain't going to be more dead.

[NBA Insider]

I, I would, I would, I would step out for just about anything.

[Interviewer 3]

But have you, have you had to step.

[NBA Insider]

I think religious gatherings. I, I would say definitely birthdays, family birthdays.

[Akash Singh]

What about a date?

[NBA Insider]

All the time?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, like, but like, but like not.

[NBA Insider]

Let'S say, let's say you're, you're hanging out with family or you're hanging out with a girl you might be seeing or whatever. Like, there are always going to be moments where you might have to step out for a call or, you know, whatever. And it's. Is that person understanding, like all those different.

[Akash Singh]

Have you had a girl that's not understanding it about it?

[NBA Insider]

I think people in life, you've run into friends that aren't understanding.

[Akash Singh]

But that's why, like, maybe dating somebody that's also involved in sports might be good because they would understand your priorities and like, what you do for a living better than people outside.

[Interviewer 2]

It's something you guys could talk about later at work.

[NBA Insider]

It's possible. Never know.

[Interviewer 3]

Have you ever had to stop mid session?

[Akash Singh]

Oh, my God. You have to pull your thing out, post a tweet.

[Interviewer 3]

Because that's dedication to the game.

[Akash Singh]

That is dedication to the game.

[NBA Insider]

I'll just say this. I've had to step out of the shower plenty times. With whom I've had to, I've had to pause workouts, all kinds of workouts.

[Akash Singh]

Workouts.

[NBA Insider]

I've had to pause his biceps, triceps. Like, class was the toughest for me though. Like when I went to. That was the hardest part. You know, you. The example you gave. And the other examples I gave, like, those are, they're tough to do. Like if you're at a, your mom's birthday or sister's birthday, like, you don't want to leave. You know, during the celebration, they're blowing out the candles of the cake and you're having to step out because you have to take a call. Like about a buyout of a player.

[Akash Singh]

Right?

[NBA Insider]

You think about that in, in grand scheme, like, yeah, that's tough. But class was the worst. Like when I was, when I had to. When I was in, in college, I would literally leave classes, like 40 minute classes. And I'm leaving for like 30 minutes, 35 minutes. And I'm coming back at the end of class and the teacher's looking at me because at the time she didn't know what I was doing. They don't. No one knows. Everyone probably looked at me like I was insane. This guy doing this guy, which is weird. He must have issues or.

[Akash Singh]

Must have issues, or he's on his way to greatness. Which referee is the most corrupt? If you had to guess, which one would you point to?

[NBA Insider]

Whatever ref was doing the one. The. The game that you were playing against Jay. That's the reference. That's the ref that was he.

[Akash Singh]

Jay get away with the taunting.

[NBA Insider]

He let Jay get away with it. No, no. He let Jay follow you too much.

[Akash Singh]

I agree.

[NBA Insider]

Like, I. I think the fact that it got to six. Six was an issue. Yeah. You weren't getting the right calls. Yeah, you weren't getting. I wasn't getting any calls. You should have got on the line.

[Akash Singh]

I should have got on the line, dude. I 100% believe that. I think that you're right.

[Interviewer 3]

Do you want to play over under on his screen time?

[Akash Singh]

Yes.

[NBA Insider]

Oh, we got to do that. Did I answer your Nico question? I'm not saying it's right or wrong, because, listen, I get that from Dallas people.

[Interviewer 2]

There's a video that people were upset about where some guy saw Nico out to dinner with his family. He goes, Nico shakes his hand. He goes, everybody still hates you. And then walks off. And people were like, how could you do that to a guy who's at dinner with his. And everybody from Dallas is like, do that again, again and again.

[NBA Insider]

You can't go anywhere.

[Interviewer 2]

Apparently, that guy. Yo.

[Interviewer 1]

And what about them getting the lotto pick?

[Interviewer 2]

Well, I think that was rigged. He'll never admit it, but I. I truly think they were going to lose Dallas.

[Akash Singh]

Was that rigged?

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Was that rigged? Can we do that?

[NBA Insider]

So hard to rig. I'm. I've seen it. I. I know what. I know how. How It's.

[Akash Singh]

That doesn't mean it's impossible. Yeah, that would.

[NBA Insider]

A full sentence.

[Akash Singh]

All right. What about Kawhi? What about Kawhi? What's up with Kawhi?

[Interviewer 2]

Oh, that's fun.

[Akash Singh]

What's up with Kawhi and his uncle this last week?

[Interviewer 3]

Damn.

[Akash Singh]

God damn. How many hours?

[Interviewer 2]

12.

[Akash Singh]

And I saw. That was. That's crazy.

[Interviewer 2]

12 is my guess.

[Akash Singh]

That's crazy.

[Interviewer 2]

16 and a half of them are just on Snapchat.

[NBA Insider]

I was like, wait, is that. Hold on.

[Akash Singh]

Let's.

[NBA Insider]

Let's go to Kawhi.

[Akash Singh]

Give us the real about Kawhi.

[NBA Insider]

Hold on. I'll give you this. I'll give you this.

[Akash Singh]

All right, what do you got?

[NBA Insider]

Let's Go, let's go. The two day span of the arrests. Can you guess what the screen time was for those?

[Akash Singh]

This is over two days.

[NBA Insider]

I would Wednesday and Thursday.

[Akash Singh]

I mean I saw like, I, I think it has to be if he's.

[NBA Insider]

Pushing 16 on a regular.

[Akash Singh]

That's what I'm saying. It has to be 40 on hours.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, it's 40 hours. My guess.

[NBA Insider]

Per day.

[Akash Singh]

Per day.

[Interviewer 2]

20 hours.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, oh, 20.

[NBA Insider]

So 20. It's actually less.

[Akash Singh]

Wednesday, 17 hours and 50.

[NBA Insider]

Thursday was a wild day. So this is Thursday.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. He really might be focusing on work.

[Interviewer 2]

Eighteen and a half.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

No, but how do you focus on life? Like.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, see, see, not now. You guys understand. You guys are asking all these now we get it. Dating questions.

[Akash Singh]

It's not about with that. It's not about this. It's about the work. It's about dating.

[NBA Insider]

Hustle.

[Akash Singh]

Talking about dating. Dating.

[NBA Insider]

He's talking about mid session. Come on, man.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, you not thinking about bro.

[NBA Insider]

Okay, tell us, Kawhi Leonard. What do you guys want to know?

[Akash Singh]

I want to know if he's asking for a little extra on top. I want to know if the unk is, is saying, listen, we know what the salary cap says that you know, we can be paid but we need.

[NBA Insider]

A little more than that. So that's the, the alleg. There are allegations that that's what his, his camp has asked for. And that's been, that's been like circ. You know, there's always these things that circulate in the NBA community.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And it's on my, on my job. Can I confirm it? Is there something like that is so nebulous? Because someone could mention it to someone. Yeah, but you know, I can, you know, someone can mention, you know, like a player can mention to a team, like, hey, like we need this to sign with you, but if the team says no, we're not doing that. And if the player signs there anyway, like what's the story that this guy made the request? Sometimes it leaks, sometimes it doesn't.

[Akash Singh]

Didn't he? Go on, go on.

[NBA Insider]

So my point is there's, it's been in the nebulous for a while that like, you know, Kawhi Leonard is a free agent. 2019 is going to sign with you. There's going to be these requests. The NBA did its own investigation. They found nothing. It's never been. Never been.

[Akash Singh]

No way.

[NBA Insider]

It's never been all on, you know, the record. There's nothing been something for him. But it's been in the space for A while.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

So there's, there are, you know, there's a reporting that came out that he had a deal with Aspiration, this company called Aspiration, that was also a sponsor of the Clippers at the time. The owner had invested in, in that, that company as well. And there was a side deal with.

[Akash Singh]

Kawhi Leonard to be sponsored by the company.

[NBA Insider]

To be sponsored by the company. But that's, there's nothing like legally that's within your, like that's fine. So there are deals that happen between companies and teams and their players.

[Akash Singh]

So the owner of a team can also own, let's say Adidas and then choose to have one of their athletes or one of their players be sponsored by Adidas.

[NBA Insider]

Well, they're not choosing that company, is choosing it technically.

[Interviewer 2]

Right.

[Akash Singh]

What if the owner is invested in that company?

[NBA Insider]

Well, that's the thing. That's the line that the NBA. So now the NBA is investigating all this.

[Akash Singh]

And is it even a real company? Didn't it like file for bankruptcy?

[NBA Insider]

That's what I'm saying. Saying. So there's a lot of, I mean, I don't have to, I mean I don't have to hide it. There's a lot of shady things, a lot of corrupt things that happened with this company. Yeah. So now the league. So there's a lot of, of, of circumstantial stuff. Right. Like, you know, there was, there's going to be a money that's put into the company. Then the money might go, you know, at the same period. But again, if, if, if companies are paying and doing things by bi weekly and it just so happened they got more money, you know. But overall, Steve Ballmer put in $131 million into this company. This company put in X amount of money into the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard, I think, saw between 10 and $20 million out of a $28 million deal. So if one plus one is supposed.

[Akash Singh]

To equal two in this situation, so much money into.

[NBA Insider]

Steve ballmer put in $131 million.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

Kawhi Leonard saw 10 to 20 million of that. So are those both correlated? Like, are they both tied together? That's what the NBA has to figure out. Is there hard evidence there or circumstantial evidence or is all of this combined? Is there a lack of transparency issues or lack of moral issue? I think that's all what the league is determining right now. And that investigation started about a month ago. So they're going to be going through all these guys, email emails, text messages, all their files. That's the people that got in trouble already that are bankrupt. Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard, his uncle, his entire camp.

[Akash Singh]

Is there precedent for this of what would happen possibly, like Ballmer or Kawhi?

[NBA Insider]

So if the allegation is cap circumvention, I mean, it's suspension for ownership. You can void contracts. Whoa, you know, you can void. So this happened with Joe Smith. Yeah. Timberwolves.

[Akash Singh]

Yes, yes.

[NBA Insider]

Glenn Taylor was suspended. Kevin McKill, the GM was suspended.

[Interviewer 2]

They lost five first round draft picks.

[NBA Insider]

Right. They lost a ton of first round picks. Joe Smith's contract got voided. And so, yeah, that's all potentially on the table.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

But with that situation, there was a paper trail there. There was a, a signed sheet of, of. I think it was like a, on a, on a paper towel or something. It was like a nap napkin that they wrote the contract. Like, you know, after this, you know, we're gonna give you this max contract or whatever here. So far, there has not been proof of a paper trail. It's not like Steve Ballmer. There's proof of Steve Ballmer. Someone with the Clippers saying, hey, sign Kawhi Leonard to this deal. This is what they have to do. The Clippers are alleging that this was all in the up and up. Like, we also got defrauded. Like, Steve believed in them, he invested in them. They invested in the Clippers. They were on our jersey patch. They asked to be connected to Kawhi Leonard and we connected them to Kawhi Leonard. That happens throughout the league. Sponsors of teams ask for players all the time.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, that makes sense.

[NBA Insider]

All the time. And so we'll see if there's going to be enough of a paper trail.

[Akash Singh]

I mean, putting in a buck 30 and then just getting rents for it just seems peculiar. Like, this is a good businessman, you know, that's a big investment.

[Interviewer 2]

A lot of money to give to kawaii off 130 million.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. I mean, that's a lot of money. That's a lot of money. Do you.

[Akash Singh]

Is that, is that.

[NBA Insider]

How is that washing money? Like, I don't know what, like what is that?

[Akash Singh]

That's the thing that just seems so odd about it. Like, to give Kawhi 20, you gotta spend 110.

[NBA Insider]

But does that sound right to you?

[Akash Singh]

I don't know.

[NBA Insider]

Like, I don't.

[Akash Singh]

It doesn't. It doesn't at all. But it also. I don't feel like somebody like that would make that silly a business decision. Yeah, yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And again, he's come out and he's said like I, I got defraud, like I got frauded, like I got scammed, like I was, I was a part of getting, you know, defrauded out of my money.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, yeah, okay.

[Interviewer 1]

And you said these types of deals are common. Is this just a common way of getting around the salary cap?

[NBA Insider]

No, I mean I said in this situation it's common hearing that like, you know, people around Kawhi Leonard might have asked for this. It's been in the nebulous for a while. You know, obviously the NBA investigated. They didn't find anything. It's not like they're going to come out and say, yeah, we asked it for this from all these teams from Toronto, Lakers, the Clippers, like this type of stuff, like getting stuff on the, on the books, like we're going to pay this guy on a side deal. I think there's so much to lose. I don't hear about that as much now. The stuff that does happen a lot is like a player will get a sponsorship deal with the same sponsor of a team. Yeah, right, right. And like Mark Cuban, I, I talked to Mark Cuban all, you know.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, he was defending Bulmer and Mark.

[NBA Insider]

Cuban told me there's been a lot of moments where like when he was at his peak as an owner of popularity, like these companies would come to him and be like, hey, can we talk to this player? Can we talk to that player? And he will basically help set that up. And so is that like. But that's legal. So in this case, if this company aspiration went to the club Flipper said we want to meet with Kawhi Leonard. And all they did was give the contact information. Now again, is there paper trail where there was, there was something more nefarious going on. That's what the NBA investigations trying to find out. But that's, I mean there's so much at risk for these teams if they were to venture at that, at that realm. That's the cardinal sin of the NBA.

[Interviewer 1]

Back to the gambling scandal, do you think, Because I don't think you can, can like undo what has been done unless you just take away prop betting, which I don't think the casino companies are going to take away. Do you think people lose faith in the game and stop watching? Like do you think it can actually hurt the league?

[NBA Insider]

I mean I think the integrity of the league is very important. And if this becomes like more wide ranging, like if there's all these dots across the US map where this is all popping up with this play of Course it becomes a major issue you. But right now we've seen two examples of it. You know, one, the jury's still out. You know, he has. Terry Rosier has not gone through his trial yet. We don't know his, you know, what he's going to be charged with. But I think, I think the integrity concern is real like right now and I think the league knows it. I think they even said in the release like this is a, this is, this is a dire state, you know, like trying to get to the bottom of how can they regulate legalize gambling.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, they got to figure something out. They got to figure something out with that. Cuz it just feels so easy.

[Interviewer 1]

I just feel like you can't fix that. There's no way to fix that with.

[NBA Insider]

I mean again, unless you're getting rid of prop bets, unless you're finding a way to tier system it, unless you're trying to get more, unless you're able to get more information accessible to the fans and the betting public.

[Interviewer 3]

Do you think there's a publicity to this so that other players stop doing.

[NBA Insider]

This or just do it smarter? Yeah, I mean, I think the, I think the FBI doing it when they did it on opening week, I think that alone raised enough alarms. Yeah. To not only the league, but fans and just the sports world in general that like raising this, the awareness of, of what this is, I think the timing of when that happened, I think that alone raises the awareness. Awareness. I mean this is in the hands of the, of the, of the feds at this point. This is not this like this situation that's going on right now. This is not even in the NBA's hands per se.

[Interviewer 3]

I mean and this must be happening in other leagues too. Like, I'm sure this is a shockwave to everyone.

[NBA Insider]

The NFL. There's been multiple players that have gotten suspended. So what the NFL does is they suspend players for. I believe it's a dozen. Maybe you can pull it up. I think it's like a dozen, it's like half a dozen games players are getting suspended now in the NBA if you're caught in these activities, you're just banned. Johnte Porter was banned. Now if Rosier is found guilty in this, he's going to be banned. Obviously there's a lot of other things he, you know, with him and John Tay Porter. But the NFL has had a few of these scandals and, and it's been a suspension.

[Akash Singh]

So weird that you would just suspend.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Like maybe one player in the NFL just has a six game, two yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Minimum of six games to indefinite bands.

[Interviewer 2]

Oh, yeah, Jameson Williams.

[NBA Insider]

I forgot about that.

[Interviewer 3]

So do you think the number of people that are implicated in this at the present moment will stay that number, or do you think it'll increase in the coming weeks?

[NBA Insider]

I, I think that the fact that we already went from five people initially to now 30 plus in the span of a year and a half. Yeah. We have one more current player. We have now, again, these two situations. They're two different cases, right. One's illegal gambling. Illegal. Yeah, one's an illegal gambling insider information case. The other is an illegal poker rigging case. Now, I think we're gonna get potentially more names than both, but the fact that it's already gone up six, I mean, multiplied by six times in the span of a year and a half now you have 30 more people. How many more of these people are going to cooperate? And our boy, where are we gonna go?

[Interviewer 2]

Gotta really distract from the fact that he's not doing anything on Epstein, so he's going to drag this investigation.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cash. We're saying.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I, I, yeah, that's an interesting situation. I got a lot of tweets at me that day saying, why don't you release the list? The other list.

[Akash Singh]

Do you know who's on that?

[Interviewer 2]

I think they think you're.

[NBA Insider]

You probably figure it out, though.

[Interviewer 3]

You probably get that list.

[Akash Singh]

Do you ever get insider about not NBA stuff?

[NBA Insider]

I, I've gotten. Oh, oh, here we go. We got something.

[Akash Singh]

What do we got?

[NBA Insider]

Oh, wow. Oh.

[Akash Singh]

Did you leak that you were the first one?

[NBA Insider]

I mean, I don't know. Is that what the people say? I just know where I was when this happened. I was in the bubble.

[Akash Singh]

So you dropped that.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, it says that. Yeah.

[Interviewer 3]

Hold on.

[Akash Singh]

You don't reveal your sources with the NBA and that kind of stuff, but other rumors.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, like, I would just say that year was an interesting year because sports and politics, everything, social justice, health, it all intertwined. And like there were, there were all these boards, sports board and this commission.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And that was the most. I think I've like, like delved into, like the political world and like. Yeah. Trying to reach out and email people and reach out to people. And so the way that you sports.

[Interviewer 3]

Media and like your role in it, does it affect how you see other media, like looking at just like political news and stuff like that?

[NBA Insider]

No, I mean, I watch from afar. Like, I'll watch everything from afar. See how, like, you know, see how this person is reporting that, like, like what's their methodology when they're trying to report this story? Again, you can't. Not everything is apple, Apples, Apples. Right. It's, like, different in that. In that world, but I definitely pay attention to how they're sourcing it, how they're going about reporting it. You know, are they breaking it? Are people breaking it? Or are they just, like, you know, just doing it when these people say it. Say it publicly.

[Akash Singh]

Right.

[NBA Insider]

You know, like, if. When there's an announcement publicly.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. Then you're not breaking anything. Yeah. It's kind of retweeting, so I'm like.

[NBA Insider]

Definitely, like, just a competitor in me is like, oh, did this person break this? And I'm like, you know, as if.

[Akash Singh]

I'm gonna, like, break is where you get off. Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer 3]

Has there ever been a story that you got that you sat on because you weren't sure and then someone else broke it and you were like, oh, man, I should have pulled from trigger on it.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, that. That happens. That happens all the time. Can you.

[Akash Singh]

Specific one?

[NBA Insider]

Honestly, it's. It's probably happened so much in the past, I don't even remember it.

[Akash Singh]

Is there a big one? Like, a big one where you. You were trying to confirm it, and all of a sudden you saw it got posted.

[NBA Insider]

Think. Think about some of the biggest deals the last. Last, like, 10 years. And I'll tell you, LeBron going to.

[Interviewer 2]

Cleveland after leaving Miami.

[NBA Insider]

That was. That. That was announced. He announced that on si, but people.

[Interviewer 2]

Were saying that day he's gonna go to Cleveland.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. I mean, I feel like I've been on a lot of it. I feel like I've been on a lot of it. I'll give you an example of one that, like, you know, things that eat at me is like, if I'm on a family trip and the, like, 20 minutes I'm spending not on my phone or if I'm, you know, let's say I'm at a dinner and I'm not on my phone, or I'm in the water and I'm not on my phone, and I miss news. And that. That has happened before.

[Akash Singh]

What you miss?

[NBA Insider]

I. I don't know if I want to say it. Just say it's already out there.

[Akash Singh]

It's already.

[Interviewer 2]

It already happened.

[NBA Insider]

That's your limitation. Yeah. It's been enough time.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

So Taylor Jenkins, coach of the Grizzlies. Uhhuh.

[Akash Singh]

Okay.

[NBA Insider]

Got fired.

[Akash Singh]

Okay.

[NBA Insider]

I was on a family trip. Was away from my phone for lunch, and I think we were gone for, like, five, six days and the 20 minutes I wasn't on my phone, you.

[Interviewer 2]

Can miss that one, dude.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, it was a big deal.

[NBA Insider]

There was three weeks left in the season. A coach getting fired that late in the year, to me, it's all a big deal. If it's big news, small, like you got to treat everything with the same amount of, you know, if you're performing in Times Square.

[Akash Singh]

Yep.

[NBA Insider]

Or you're performing at the comedy club.

[Akash Singh]

Shout out Tommy Invincible, bro. Same thing. Every show is the most important.

[Interviewer 3]

Even the way he's describing really shows.

[NBA Insider]

His commitment to it.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 3]

Because that's not the way I thought you were gonna go. Sometimes you go on a family trip, man, and it eats me up that.

[NBA Insider]

I missed a scoop. I was like, that's not what I.

[Akash Singh]

Thought you're gonna say.

[Interviewer 3]

You're gonna talk about the family part.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. What's up? Why can't Ja do the gun stuff, man? What's up? Up with that celebration. Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

Like we used to be a country.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 3]

The grenade one's fire.

[Akash Singh]

I think grenade is fire.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, he's not. He's not getting control for that.

[Interviewer 3]

Okay, good.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Because I like that.

[NBA Insider]

That's about. I think they have it in the video game too. I think they have that in 2K.

[Akash Singh]

Just.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, they have that in 2K.

[Akash Singh]

That's fire.

[Interviewer 3]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

We like guns in America. Why is it such a big deal?

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, I think with him, it seems like it's the history, but it seems like he's in a great place.

[Akash Singh]

What is the history?

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. Didn't he beat up like a 14 year old play pick up with him?

[NBA Insider]

There were a couple moments he got. This is a couple years ago now. Flashing a gun.

[Interviewer 3]

Allegedly.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

Flashing a gun at the opposing team bus.

[Akash Singh]

Is that illegal to flash a gun? Is it illegal to do that? Yeah. To brandish it.

[Interviewer 3]

Yeah. That was called like garnishing.

[Akash Singh]

No, but like, you can't.

[NBA Insider]

Oh, yeah. Look, I knew that was right off the. Off the Dome, right? Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

That's great. That's where you stole it from.

[Interviewer 3]

Exactly.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Hold on. So wait a minute. He can't even just post that he has guns on Instagram?

[NBA Insider]

I. I don't think that would be something that. That he would do right now. I don't think so.

[Akash Singh]

What if he got a deal with Smith and Wessman and he was like, hey, a. A sponsored athlete by Smith and Wesson.

[NBA Insider]

Would you advise him to do that if you were.

[Akash Singh]

I mean, it depends. The bag.

[NBA Insider]

No, no.

[Interviewer 2]

250 million. He's got with the Grizzlings.

[Akash Singh]

So he's good? Yeah, so he's really good. He's real good. So then, yeah, get out there. Start bucking. I'm. I'm in defense of an American, a free American that has the right to, you know, show the. That he bought his right to flex.

[Interviewer 3]

Why can't you garnish?

[Akash Singh]

Why can't you brandish? Why can't you do all that? I don'. Understand why that. That's bad. It makes the league look bad. They're a bunch of gambling degenerates getting paid off by the Italian mob. And this guy can't point a pistol in the air when a stripper is not dancing fast enough. She was dancing slow.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, that goes. That. I don't know. Did they have it in the bubble? I don't know. Bring it all the way back.

[Interviewer 1]

Wait, Michael Jordan, did he get suspended for getting gambling?

[Akash Singh]

Oh, great.

[NBA Insider]

This story. I was one years old when he retired.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, but you're Chicago boy.

[NBA Insider]

You got 94, right? 94.

[Interviewer 2]

95, I think.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

90.

[NBA Insider]

94.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. 93. 94.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 1]

You get the scoop, man. We want to know.

[NBA Insider]

I just know the. The ver. Whatever. If there is a alternative version of the story, I don't have that.

[Akash Singh]

So. So. So David Stern wasn't trying to, you know, you know, impose some punitive measures.

[NBA Insider]

Now, listen, if I worked back then, if I was. Let's say we flipped the years, I would have. I would have given you guys.

[Akash Singh]

You would have known. Yeah. And you would have dropped it. But you think you would have got frozen out like Sports Illustrated did.

[NBA Insider]

If I had it confirmed, I would have dropped it.

[Akash Singh]

But then what if MJ never gave you anything again after that?

[NBA Insider]

I would have to do my job.

[Akash Singh]

Let me ask you a question. When Charles Bar Barkley kissed that referee on the mouth, why didn't you leak that?

[NBA Insider]

What was that? That was like 2007. Yeah, I wasn't. I wasn't doing.

[Akash Singh]

You weren't in the game.

[NBA Insider]

2020.

[Akash Singh]

But if you were in the game, would you have leaked, like, today there will be a sexual act? Would you? Would you have.

[NBA Insider]

I think that was an endearing moment. That was a hard one.

[Akash Singh]

It was adorable. Charles is the goat. Charles is the go.

[NBA Insider]

I thought Jimmy was a dream.

[Akash Singh]

He's also a dream.

[Interviewer 2]

Dream guest, probably Barack and Charles Barkley.

[Akash Singh]

For me. I'm not Charles.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

To me, it's Charles number one.

[Interviewer 1]

And Shaq.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, Charles talks that, though. That's the thing. He got opinions on Everything funny. Got that southern draw, so everything just comes out smooth.

[Interviewer 3]

What era would you want to cover in if it couldn't be right now?

[Interviewer 1]

Oh, that's a good question.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, you always think about the night 90s, but I, I'm.

[Akash Singh]

What about, what about right when they let black people in? That would have been trying.

[NBA Insider]

I feel like. Right.

[Akash Singh]

Let me tell you something.

[NBA Insider]

I feel like right now is the best time.

[Interviewer 2]

You think that'll let him cover right now?

[Akash Singh]

I probably wouldn't have given you any information, but that would have been scoops for days.

[NBA Insider]

I think right now is the best time. Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Because of access to media and like you have so much more power. Power as an individual. Whereas before as a reporter.

[NBA Insider]

They could probably leverage social media back then.

[Akash Singh]

Exactly.

[NBA Insider]

Sure. I got no notice because you would.

[Interviewer 3]

Have had a newspaper or something. That game's about to get so much better.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah. Two day wait for news. Like waiting 24 hours.

[Akash Singh]

Can't do it anyway, my boy. Can you give us one thing before you leave? Give us drop. Just one thing.

[NBA Insider]

What do you need?

[Akash Singh]

I need. I need one.

[NBA Insider]

So one scoop. Give us the look at Giannis.

[Akash Singh]

Okay.

[NBA Insider]

Trey Young, I think. Keep an eye on them.

[Akash Singh]

Trey.

[NBA Insider]

Keep an eye on him.

[Akash Singh]

Is Trey coming to New York?

[NBA Insider]

No, Trey didn't extend his contract in the, in the off season. He's got one year left. He's a free agent next summer.

[Akash Singh]

Okay.

[NBA Insider]

And he can hit free agency potentially, if he opts out.

[Akash Singh]

Where do you think Trey's going?

[NBA Insider]

I mean, he could stay in Atlanta, but he's going to have a market. Oh, yeah, you're talking about Trey Young here.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

So Giannis, Trae Young. And then as the season goes on, there's always guys that'll pop up and we still don't know where LeBron James is going to be. Is he going to finish his career with the Lakers or is he going to be somewhere else? I think it's very much up in the.

[Akash Singh]

You think he would change teams?

[NBA Insider]

I mean, I think that he, I. I'm not sure that he knows exactly how the end is going to play out. Could it be with the Lakers? Sure. But he's a free agent at the end of the season, so if he's going to continue to play there, clearly a chance he's somewhere else. Potentially.

[Akash Singh]

Move your whole family.

[NBA Insider]

I mean, but again, he could, he could stay with the lady.

[Akash Singh]

Your wife and her friends and all the activities that they do for the local radicals. Yeah. To fall off from you.

[Interviewer 2]

Move your whole family to your wife's.

[NBA Insider]

Activities.

[Akash Singh]

Pretty easy, bro.

[NBA Insider]

You can move pretty easily.

[Akash Singh]

Not going to lie.

[NBA Insider]

I'm trying to think of any other player situations to monitor.

[Akash Singh]

Is there anything that you're going to drop this week anyway so you could just tell us?

[NBA Insider]

Nothing right now.

[Akash Singh]

Nothing.

[Interviewer 3]

You would have dropped it already.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, I would. I would. I would hint to you something.

[Interviewer 1]

What's a story you're working on?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, give us something you're working on.

[NBA Insider]

I mean I'm definitely tracking this. This case. Yeah, really heavy. But I don't know. I don't know when we're going to have up updates on it necessarily because it's all on arraignments, charges, things like that. I mean this will play out over. Over the next year.

[Interviewer 3]

Will he be at the trial?

[NBA Insider]

No plans to do that right now because we don't know. Also know the dates. We know the arraignment dates though. Then late late November and early December.

[Interviewer 3]

Oh wow.

[NBA Insider]

For Billups and Rosier.

[Akash Singh]

So we're gonna see this soon.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

This is going to play out during.

[NBA Insider]

The semen, but still. So after you do the arraignment, how long until you start? I don't even really. Do we know?

[Akash Singh]

I don't know. I was acting like I knew what it was. I didn't know what it was. I thought Raymond is just a trial.

[NBA Insider]

When they. When they. I think they tell you your. What?

[Akash Singh]

Oh, when they figure out what the charges are.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

After several weeks to a year it could take between and trial.

[Interviewer 3]

I have a crazy kind of like league conspiracy. Okay, tell me if I'm crazy for this, but I've heard that Dwight Howard is actually straight. Straight.

[NBA Insider]

I have never even thought.

[Interviewer 2]

You've never heard that? I'm.

[NBA Insider]

I'm. I don't venture into that.

[Akash Singh]

No.

[Interviewer 2]

That's never even come across your radar.

[Akash Singh]

Hold on.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, what people said he's actually a straight guy this whole time.

[Akash Singh]

No way. He loves. What's his source on that dude?

[Interviewer 3]

Is this local dude?

[Akash Singh]

Very local. I mean you are from Orlando. You would know.

[Interviewer 3]

Extremely local.

[Akash Singh]

Is there any evidence to back this up?

[NBA Insider]

Any data?

[Akash Singh]

What.

[NBA Insider]

What was the question really? I don't venture into that.

[Akash Singh]

Into what?

[NBA Insider]

Personal side.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, the personal side. But it affects the game. It does affect the game. His back will be sore. There's all these different things is going to affect. He did have back surgeries when he was in Los Angeles. No, he was suffering from back injuries.

[Interviewer 1]

Chemistry in the locker room.

[Akash Singh]

Chemistry in the locker room.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, that's a. That's a. I mean if he's got the source. He's. He's the source of this. I'll tweet it.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, you got to send that out.

[NBA Insider]

There and see what's going. Get like, five retweets on that.

[Akash Singh]

Yo, post that right now. Watch that. That would be your number one tweet ever. If you posted that right now.

[NBA Insider]

I don't. I don't. I think people would unfollow.

[Akash Singh]

Dwight Howard. Breaking news. Dwight Howard. Breaking news.

[NBA Insider]

I'm gonna let the local source get.

[Akash Singh]

Fair enough. You did Dwight Howard. Breaking news. Dwight Howard confirmed straight.

[NBA Insider]

I don't know how that you would get more calls about.

[Akash Singh]

Your phone would be blowing up.

[NBA Insider]

It would be blowing up more than. More than. More than. Luca trade.

[Akash Singh]

More.

[NBA Insider]

Way more. Way more.

[Akash Singh]

The Luca trade is believable. This guy.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

We love you, D. We love you. You're Superman.

[NBA Insider]

You're Superman to me.

[Akash Singh]

Damn right. Hey, listen, Superman.

[NBA Insider]

Don't do that. Fun.

[Akash Singh]

As mature adults.

[NBA Insider]

Can we just have fun?

[Interviewer 3]

None of your business.

[Akash Singh]

Let him do whatever he does. He got. Guy got mad kids. He got to be a little. Gotta be a little straight.

[NBA Insider]

Okay.

[Interviewer 3]

Shout out to white, dude.

[Akash Singh]

Shout out to white. We love you, Dwight. Listen, guys, first of all, thank you so much for being. Appreciate you. This is awesome. Thank you for all the skills, man. Congrats. Congratulations. And everything you've achieved is a very difficult position. There's really, like, one of you.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

You know, at a time. It's kind of a crazy. The Pope. It is like.

[NBA Insider]

Yeah, it's. It's a lot of response. I feel like I'm a servant to the audience. Like, I feel like it's a responsibility to deliver.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[NBA Insider]

And so that's every day.

[Akash Singh]

You are a public servant in a lot of ways, bro.

[NBA Insider]

I feel like I'm. Because the audience are the ones that drive. They need information, and they need to know what's going on.

[Akash Singh]

Facts.

[NBA Insider]

So it's my job every day to deliver accurate, honest, first information.

[Akash Singh]

That's this guy's media training.

[Interviewer 3]

Real news.

[Akash Singh]

Masterful. Right here. That right there was. I mean.

[NBA Insider]

Yes, sir. Peace, y'.

[Akash Singh]

All.