David Pivnick on Sports 5-16-26

Summary

Becker Business Podcast — “David Pivnick on Sports”

Host: Scott Becker
Guest: David Pivnick, Partner at McGuire Woods
Date: May 16, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this special episode, Scott Becker welcomes legal expert and avid sports fan David Pivnick for an in-depth, entertaining conversation focused on the world of sports. While the Becker Business podcast traditionally zeroes in on business and private equity news, today’s episode dives into NBA and NHL playoffs, the trials and tribulations of major Chicago sports franchises, and even a few sharp jabs between Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays fans. With candid analysis, playful banter, and a dose of nostalgia, the episode offers fresh perspectives for sports and business enthusiasts alike.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of the NBA & NHL Playoffs

[01:49 – 03:17]

• NBA Playoff Excitement:

  • David Pivnick is most excited about the NBA and NHL playoffs, highlighting “compelling matchups” in both leagues.
  • Noted disappointment with the NBA draft lottery: “Didn’t do any good for teams I really care about.”
  • High praise for young NBA squads:

    “It’s fun watching Wemby and the Spurs... Also, the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be absolute juggernauts for the next decade.” (David Pivnick, [02:20])

  • Prediction: Spurs vs. Thunder likely in the Conference Finals, expecting Knicks to proceed easily to the East Finals.

• NHL Playoff Commentary:

  • Praises “fun, competitive playoffs” and specifically enjoys the Buffalo/Montreal series.
  • Notes Carolina Hurricanes’ dominance:

    “Years of having a great team on paper… now they look utterly dominant, and I’d love to see [my friends in Raleigh] finally get a title.” (David Pivnick, [02:52])

2. Lakers & Celtics — Two Teams to Root Against

[03:17 – 05:50]

• Lakers’ Demise:

  • Scott gleefully confesses he’s happy to see the Lakers struggle, wondering if this schadenfreude is a character flaw.
  • David reassures:

    “A good person, actually. I think fully that's something you should embrace and lean into.” (David Pivnick, [03:38])

• Celtics & Boston Sports Hatred:

  • David attributes his animosity less to the Celtics and more to “all things Boston,” especially the fans.

    “Boston sports teams are overly aggressive, very, very loud, and always seem to have an awful lot to say… always been that way, but in my experience, it’s more of a recent phenomenon and it can be fairly painful.” (David Pivnick, [04:24])

3. Rivalries, Regional Banter, & Sports Fan Culture

[05:50 – 06:54]

• Red Sox vs. Yankees:
  • Neither host nor guest takes a side; David wittily says:

    “I cheer for a meteor.” (David Pivnick, [06:06])

  • Discussion meanders into regional nickname humor (“Massholes” for Massachusetts natives, “FIBs” for Illinoisans from the perspective of Wisconsinites).

4. Chicago Blackhawks: Rebuild or Stuck in Mediocrity?

[06:54 – 10:52]

• Blackhawks Rebuild Analysis:
  • David is bullish: points to a stacked farm system and optimism about prospects like Roman Kantarov and possibly Alex Tuck.

    “Roman Kantarov... just lit up the KHL last year... I think has a very bright future.” (David Pivnick, [08:06])

  • Suggests retaining draft picks unless unexpectedly top talent drops.
  • Believes in the long-term careers of young defensemen (Renzel, Korchinski, Levshadov):

    “All three are going to have good long careers... Another playoff season next year? Maybe not. But a materially more competitive team? Absolutely.” (David Pivnick, [09:55])

  • Stresses asset depth and value of patience in development.

5. Chicago Bulls: Fortunate in the NBA Draft

[10:52 – 14:21]

• Bulls’ Draft Position:
  • Bulls advance to 4th pick in a draft with a clear “top four.” David urges the franchise not to “outsmart the room.”

    “Pick one of the top four when you've got pick four.” (David Pivnick, [12:46])

  • Key Advice:
    • Don't trade Josh Giddey.
    • Use cap space and draft wisely for future building.
    • Defense remains a weakness, but next year’s focus should be on development over competing for the playoffs.

    “Go lose some games next year, get some more high draft picks and focus on it as a long term build… There’s no upside to rushing.” (David Pivnick, [13:53])

6. MLB: Blue Jays Blues & Chicago’s Baseball Reality

[14:21 – 17:21]

• Blue Jays’ Gloom:

  • David laments Toronto’s injury woes and lackluster hitting:

    “Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has apparently decided he no longer wants to have extra base hits and hasn't had one in about two weeks, which is just stunning.” (David Pivnick, [14:51])

  • Contrasts “mass depression” of Blue Jays fandom with mild White Sox/Cubs optimism in Chicago.

• White Sox & Cubs Banter:

  • David rips into the White Sox:

    “The White Sox aren't even a good Triple A team... Highly offensive... that you would suggest the White Sox are a real team and the Blue Jays somehow are not.” (David Pivnick, [15:53])

  • Noting the Blue Jays’ relative postseason success:

    “Meanwhile, that minor league team has won as many World Series in your lifetime as the two Chicago teams combined.” (David Pivnick, [17:21])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• David Pivnick on Schadenfreude in Sports:

  “A good person, actually. I think fully that's something you should embrace and lean into… seeing either or both [Lakers or Celtics] fail should bring most people joy.” ([03:38])

• Ultimate Rivalry Neutrality:

  “I cheer for a meteor.” ([06:06])

• Bulls’ Draft Strategy Wisdom:

  “Pick one of the top four when you've got pick four. The second thing is don't trade Josh Giddey.” ([12:46])

• Baseball Banter:

  “The White Sox aren't even a good Triple A team… highly offensive to the entire country of Canada, if I'm being honest, that you would suggest that the White Sox are a real team and the Blue Jays somehow are not.” ([15:53])

• Historical Perspective:

  “Meanwhile, that minor league team [Blue Jays] has won as many World Series in your lifetime as the two Chicago teams combined.” ([17:21])

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:49] — NBA & NHL Playoff Thoughts (Pivnick)
• [03:17] — Lakers and Celtics: Why Root Against Them (Becker/Pivnick)
• [05:50] — Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry (“I cheer for a meteor”) and regional fan jokes
• [07:54] — Deep Dive: Chicago Blackhawks Future (Pivnick)
• [10:52] — Bulls NBA Draft Prospects, Team Building (Becker/Pivnick)
• [14:32] — Baseball: Blue Jays’ Woes and Chicago’s Status (Pivnick)
• [15:53] — Friendly Fire: White Sox, Cubs, and Blue Jays (Pivnick/Becker)

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Tone & Style

The conversation is friendly and irreverent, blending pragmatic analysis with playful jabs and cultural observations. Scott Becker and David Pivnick trade insights with banter that should resonate with die-hard fans and casual observers alike.

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Summary prepared for listeners who want the whole story, the nuance, and all the laughs — without the ads.

Transcript

[Grainger Announcer]

When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters, but when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Grainger offers millions of products in fast, dependable delivery so you can keep your facility stocked, safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Ranger for the ones who get it done.

[Scott Becker]

Great companies aren't built on average talent. In private equity backed high growth businesses, the right operator changes everything. Onward Headhunting partners with founders, operators and investors to build elite finance strategy and operations teams. From early hires to exit ready leadership, we deliver the talent that drives outcomes. If you are scaling or transacting, go onward visit onward headhunting.com or find us on LinkedIn to learn more. This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business. In the Becker Private Equity podcast, today's discussion is with brilliant commentator David Pivnick. He also happens to be a brilliant lawyer and partner, McGuire woods, one of the best lawyers I know. But today's discussion is David Pivnick on Sports. And that's the title of today's podcast. David. So David, we get a chance to talk regularly. One of the things we share in common is a great love for sports. I apologize to our audience that might dial in just for just listening for just for business issues. But today is David on Sports. David, I'll start with asking you and I've got a couple thoughts that I want to talk about, which is sort of the Lakers demise, a couple things about Chicago sports picks and drafts that are coming up, but I'd love to hear what's top of mind for yourself. What's the most interesting sports story or what are you watching currently?

[David Pivnick]

I mean, I'm pretty excited about the NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs. I think there's some good compelling matchups there. So I mean in the last week it's playoff basketball, playoff hockey, and then the NBA draft lottery results which just came out in which, you know, didn't, didn't do any good for teams I really care about, which is only the Bucks really had a dog in the fight. The Raptors were not in the lottery, but focused on that and excited about some of the developments in the playoffs generally. Like, it's fun watching Wemby and the spurs, who I think them and the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be just absolute juggernauts for the next decade, but it seems like they're almost certainly going to Meet in the conference finals and then one of them will play the Knicks, who are, I think, going to walk to the final day. I don't even think they'll have a challenge in the Eastern Conference finals. And in hockey, it's been a pretty fun competitive playoffs. I think the Buffalo Montreal series has been a lot of fun. And I think Colorado and Minnesota are stuck playing each other, but might be the two best teams. But meanwhile, you've got Carolina, who hasn't lost a single game in the playoffs, is now in the conference finals. And after years of having a great team on paper and kind of choking in the playoffs, they look utterly dominant and, you know, got a lot of friends in our rally office and in general that are Cane fans that I'd love to see get a title. So a lot of fun in the playoffs right now in both sports and pretty compelling matchups.

[Scott Becker]

Thank you. And let me ask you this question, and I am so happy to see the demise of the Los Angeles Lakers. And I guess I'll ask you a psychological or psychotherapeutical question. My enjoyment of watching the Lakers struggle. Does that make me a bad person?

[David Pivnick]

No. A good person, actually. I think fully that's something you should embrace and lean into. I don't think from a, you know, you know how quality you are as a human being. Wanting the Lakers to have a demise is not as high on the list as wanting the Celtics to fail. I think that's truly the sign of a good person is rooting against the Boston Celtics. But there's no reason not to hate both of those franchises. They both deserve it. And while I think the Lakers are slightly less loathsome than the Celtics, seeing either of both of them fail should bring most people joy. I fully agree and respect that.

[Scott Becker]

Why the hatred of the Celtics, where does that come from? What era did you watch? When did you start date the Celtics? Where did that come from?

[David Pivnick]

Yeah, it's really, I mean, to be fair and I, you know, I don't know how many of your solicitors are based in the Northeast and particularly in the Massachusetts area, but to be clear, it's less about the Celtics and more just about all things Boston, or at least all things sports related to Boston, a perfectly fine city if not for the wealth of Bostonian sports fans. So, you know, the Red Sox hatred is deep seated. The Patriots hatred is deep seated. And while the Celtics in my lifetime have had some good years, but many of them were when I was young and the title team, you know, 15 years ago with Pearson Garnett was, I'd say less, less hateable than prior iterations, but just Boston sports teams are overly aggressive, very, very loud, and always seem to have an awful lot to say about all of their teams, regardless of how they're playing. And, you know, there's a Boston New York sports rivalry. But I find New York fans, at least in my experience, tend to be less problematic to have to listen to than Boston fans. And I think it's probably the Patriots primarily and the Tom Brady, Bill Belichick era that really made Boston fans insufferable. Perhaps they've always been that way, but in my experience, it's more of a recent phenomenon and it can be fairly painful.

[Scott Becker]

Let me ask you a different question, because you mentioned the Boston. But when you look at the Red Sox Yankees rivalry, where do you land there? Because I have a very hard time, you know, being a Yankees bandwagon type of person. So what do you. Where do you land between the Yankees and the Red Sox?

[David Pivnick]

I cheer for a meteor.

[Scott Becker]

You cheer for a meteor. You got to. For them to blow up, the whole thing to blow up. Yes, I, I cheer for Boston between those two. One other thing I remember back in the day, I can't remember the phrase because I, I was at law school at Harvard Law School. That's a. I've heard.

[David Pivnick]

I've heard of it.

[Scott Becker]

That's a fine, fine academic institution. There used to be a phrase that they called people from Massachusetts. I cannot remember that phrase. Do you remember the phrase?

[David Pivnick]

I can. I can. Does it, does it have holes at the end?

[Scott Becker]

It does. It does. It's the mass holes phrase. We used to call it people from Massachusetts mass holes. And we think that's offensive, but I remember it. But people from Wisconsin used to call Illinois people fibs, and I could never remember what they meant by fibs.

[David Pivnick]

I actually don't know what that one.

[Scott Becker]

That is. Oh my God, it's. It's so. It's so hard because David is at least hails from Canada originally, so I have to go slow sometimes. No offense to our Canadian listeners, but no offense particularly to his parents who are Canadian listeners and the best of the best. But, but the point being fibs. The F stood for the F word and. And IBS was Illinois bastard. So people from Wisconsin would refer to people in Illinois as fibs. And it wasn't meant as a complimentary thing. So we've talked a little bit about the NBA, the NHL, Blackhawks. Are the Blackhawks ever going to start to see some of the promise that they should see coming. Or are we just stuck in mediocrity forever even though we got another top four traffic that should bring us a really good player? Are we stuck in mediocrity? Can we get better? Is this Roman cancer's off going to make a big difference? I love Frondell, I love Bedard. The defense seems to still be non existent. Can we get better? What do you see here?

[David Pivnick]

Yeah, I am, I am. I'm bullish on the Blackhawks. I think the fandom as a whole is pretty down on the team. I think there's a lot of pushback on Kyle Davidson for how long the rebuild is taking, etc. I don't see it that way. And maybe this is an area of my life where I'm a bit more of a wild eyed optimist than I think I am prone to be most things in my life. But the farm system is unbelievable. Roman Kantarov I think has, I mean he's a little undersized but just lit up. The KHL last year was unbelievable and I think has a very bright future. I refuse to believe they're not going to go out and sign a couple meaningful creations. And it is admittedly pretty poor free agency class but guys like Alex Tuck, I mean he would just be such a perfect fit on Bedard's wing. And I think we have the cap space. We got $40 billion in cap space to sign Bedard to a long term deal to bring in Alex Tuck. There's a lot of rumors they might look to trade the 4 pick. I'm hoping they stay put and somehow get very lucky. And Ivers Denberg, Swedish winger, ends up falling to pick four. I think there's a pathway for that to happen. Where Toronto takes McKenna one, which they almost certainly will. San Jose takes Chase Reed on defense number two, who I think they need defense and he's not the best player available at 2 but he's close enough that they could go that way and Malhotra I think could very well. Caleb Holder, go pick three. His father works in the Canucks organization, there's strong connections there and he's again pretty close in that range. Otherwise I think the Hawks will end up with Malhotra Reid at 4 but I think we can get Stenberg Tuck cancer I was already now signed is coming over and a little bit of development from our young defensemen, all of whom Renzel, Korchinski, Levshadov, all of whom I'm still a believer in. Again, I think a lot of the fan base is Skeptical. I think all three are going to have good long careers. So I don't know that I think it's a playoff season next year, but I think it will be a materially more competitive team. And if they are active in the trade and free agency markets, I, I think it could be something better than just a more competitive team. I think they could be a playoff team. And it's worth noting the wealth of assets they have. I mean, whether the picks all pan out or not, they're trade pieces. You know, we have a first this year, but we had three seconds in. So we've got four picks in the top 45 picks in the draft next year. We have three more first round picks and then two more secondary picks. So we're going to have another five picks in the first 50. And so continuing to stockpile trade shifts and young talent, many of whom are panning out pretty well on the young talent side of that equation, I think is going to bode very well for the future. And I think it hopefully will start arriving with some more wins next year.

[Scott Becker]

Thank you. Take a second. I hope that you're right. I mean we obviously scored about 10 more points this year than last year. The defense was still just absolutely atrocious. The linesmanship and how Blazil defines lines is absolutely atrocious. We need some talent to surround Rondell Bedard and some more. Hopefully it's coming. I love cont stats coming out of the khl. Just insane. And we'll see who we get this year and we'll see what happens. How how much NAR develops and some other guys develop. But I, I'm still feel like the defense has been depleted even though we've got so much young talent out there. But my God, I hope some of them start to really step up and be stoppers and closers. Right now I'm a little bit, you know, it's hard work there for our goaltenders right now. Talk for a second, David. The Chicago Bulls also jumped up to fourth in this NBA draft. Any thoughts there? They've got two pieces, Giddy and Baselis if anybody else. They're supposed to be just a deep enough draft to get the top four players to be good. Can the Bulls start to move in the right direction?

[David Pivnick]

I mean moving the right direction is an incredibly low bar that they almost by default have to do that. They'll have to really work hard to screw this up. So in the draft they got incredibly lucky to move up to pick four in a draft where there's a Clear top four. And I love Keenan Wagler and I think he'll be great where he goes. But there's a clear top four. And so whether it's Cam Boozer or Caleb Wilson who's available at 4, I think smart money's on Caleb Wilson. Peterson and Debance are going to go one and two. I think the Bulls have to first not screw it up by outthinking themselves and outsmarting the room by going off the board and taking someone other than one of those four guys. It's a clear top four. You got lucky. Now capitalize on it. And there's other players like Darius Acuff who are going to be draft risers because he's got so much offensive talent. I just, I don't think he's the same level of building block as those other guys, particularly where he's not even aware there's a defensive end of the court. Like, it's not just that he's not playing defense. I don't think it crosses his mind that that's a thing people could do as a theoretical. So the first thing is pick one of the top four when you've got pick four. The second thing is don't trade Josh Giddey. You've got two guys that I think are legitimate building blocks. Guineas contract is manageable. He's a young guy, he's got tons of talent and they're not going to replace that talent. They've already torn it down. They have cap space, they have flexibility. They don't have a lot of young pieces. And then the third thing is they need to get a playable rotation piece at pick 15. If they can manage to do that, I think this off season is a success and the next year they can be a fun team. Give the young guys opportunity to play and grow. Hope Bou Zealous develops. It will be very, very far from a playoff team. The defense is going to be bad because at least two of the guys are going to build the road, which are. The two that are currently on the roster are not great on that end of the floor. But Caleb Wilson can play some defense and I suspect at 15 they'll grab someone with some defensive ability. But the bottom line is go lose some games next year, get some more high draft picks and focus on it as a long term build. There's no upside to rushing. It won't work. So I think they're trending in the right direction. But again, that's a very qualified statement because the prior direction was just so

[Scott Becker]

atrocious thank you very, very much. Just literally fantastic. David, anything else that's top of mind for you currently? Any thoughts yet on the baseball season or not yet?

[David Pivnick]

The baseball season is fairly depressing to me right now. I mean, I was pretty bullish on the Blue Jays coming into this year. I, I recognized to some extent we caught lightning in the bottle last year in the playoffs and came up, you know, inches away from a World Series title, which was pretty excruciating to lose the World Series in game seven. But I really had high hopes for this year and it feels like half the roster is injured. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Has, has apparently decided he no longer wants to have extra base hits and hasn't had one in about two weeks, which is just stunning. And the team has been struggling, so I am hoping they will snap out of it and hopefully they'll snap out of it sooner rather than later. But for the time being, pretty sad state of affairs with the Blue Jays, which, which makes baseball for me right now a pretty sad state of affairs.

[Scott Becker]

It's amazing to be on, on this podcast with the one person in the world which makes you sort of a unicorn that cares about the Toronto Blue Jays. So I am deeply appreciative. Thank you so much for talking about that. And it's a great find to have somebody in the podcast that actually cares to talk about the Blue Jays. So thank you. In real sports news, the Cubs are playing better. The White Sox are improving.

[David Pivnick]

Are we really going to just. We're going to take the shot at the Blue Jays, the great people of Toronto, the massive fan base that the Jays have, and then you're going to pivot to the White Sox and Cubs together as if there's actually two professional baseball teams in Chicago. The Cubs are playing better. And congratulations to your White Sox fan listeners who did sweep the Blue Jays this year, again causing mass depression for people in Toronto. But I mean, the White Sox aren't even a good Triple A team. I don't care what their record says. They don't have five guys on the roster who will still be there in five years and they're not going anywhere. It is highly offensive to the entire country of Canada, if I'm being honest, that you would suggest that the White Sox are a real team and the Blue Jays somehow are not.

[Scott Becker]

Yes. Yes, 100%. Well, you are the, the very best. David, I am so thrilled to have you on today. Thank you for joining us. I remember, I remember the sadness of the Expos leaving Canada. Let's hope that never happens. To the Blue Jays. I was an Expos fan. I love the Expos. I like the Blue Jays. Love all your teams. It's nice that the, that, the, that, that, that we have this kind of minor leagues for the, for the, for baseball, for Major League Baseball. That we've got a minor league and at least we had for in Montreal, now we still got Toronto. Thank God.

[David Pivnick]

David, Meanwhile, that minor league team has won as many World Series in your lifetime as the two Chicago teams combined.

[Scott Becker]

Yeah, no, it is sad to know that. It's true and sad. In any event, here's to Rusty Staub, to Joe Carter, and some of the great ones from back in the Expos and the Blue Jays. Thank you so much for joining us, as always. You're the best, David. The widow. You the very best. Thank you, sir.

[David Pivnick]

Thanks for having me. Scott,

[Grainger Announcer]

when you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Grainger offers millions of products in fast, dependable delivery so you can keep your facility stocked, safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.