← Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
10 Names That Will Define The NBA Season
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Hoop Collective: 10 Names That Will Define The NBA Season
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- [00:01]
A
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- [00:36]
B
Welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA which we're doing after midnight east coast time on Tuesday morning. I've just come in from Europe, Bon Temps has just come in from the West coast and McMahon was at a game tonight. All right, Tim Bontemps just in from the west coast joining us from New York City. What's up?
- [00:57]
C
Hello. Everybody walked in the house at about 1am There was a cockroach on the floor. K Bomb was not happy.
- [01:03]
B
Welcome home.
- [01:04]
C
That's the way my day has gone. Yes.
- [01:05]
B
Welcome home. Joining us from Dallas, but not there all night. He was over in Fort Worth to watch the Mavericks play their first preseason game against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and band McMahon. It seems like the Thunder brought their A game, their A team for this one.
- [01:22]
D
That's good. Didn't bring their a game or 18 top six or so guys. Six, seven stayed home in Oklahoma City for the probably I'm going to say the first Charleston Fort Worth back to back in NBA history. I would feel pretty confident in saying that. Maybe not in old old D league history, but yeah. Hey, do want to give a quick shout out five and oh mean Green baby got south.
- [01:50]
C
People are watching on the YouTube. North Texas is McMahon's alma mater and he's wearing a North Texas sweatshirt.
- [01:57]
D
Hey, Five Zero for the first time since 59 have the ranked South Florida Bulls coming in Friday night. It'll be on the Deuce, baby.
- [02:07]
C
My school is undefeated since 1954 so it is, it is ahead. It is ahead on the, on the rankings.
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B
Congrats. All right. How's what Ohio State, Kent State. Oh, Kent State. Well, they got, they lost 44 to nothing to Oklahoma over the weekend. Ohio State, I don't know if you heard, is doing pretty well.
- [02:26]
C
Kent State someone had a better weekend than Pen so we got that.
- [02:29]
B
That's true. All right. So Cooper flag played mostly in the first three quarters of this one.
- [02:37]
D
Only the first half.
- [02:38]
B
Only the first half. He had like a, a flurry there where he scored like 10 points in one setting. He hit a couple of threes, was handling the ball a little bit. Did not start at point Guard, though d' Angelo Russell started a point guard.
- [02:52]
C
I was thoroughly amusement. Before the game. Our friend Mark D. Mark Dagnol coach, the Thunder got asked about his thoughts on Cooper Flag, and in very classic Thunder fashion, basically said he had no idea who Cooper Flagg was and it was going to be his first time watching him play. And he'd tell you later what he thought of him, which I thought was very classic, classic Thunder language. On one of the biggest prospects coming to the NBA in the last 20 years, we have no thoughts on what he could possibly be as a player at all. It was great.
- [03:20]
B
Good job, Mark McMahon. There was a possibility, I think, that Cooper Flagg might have started at point guard, but at the end of the day, d' Angelo Russell started. And what did you learn from Cooper Flag's first NBA game today?
- [03:35]
D
I don't necessarily know that we learned a lot, but we saw, you know, the player that he's supposed to be, and that's somebody who impacts the game in a lot of different ways. You know, we've talked about how he might make a bigger impact defensively than offensively as a rookie. And like, I think his most spectacular play of the game is he's low man. He comes swooping in when Isaiah Joe gets to the basket and just swats the thing off the glass. Starts fast break that ends with a.
- [04:04]
B
That's a lot. Isaiah Joe didn't know who he was either. You know, none of the Thunder. He does nowhere. This guy's like this elite shot blocking, you know, what is he, six, 10, six, eight?
- [04:16]
D
Yeah, they list him at six, nine.
- [04:19]
B
Okay.
- [04:20]
D
But I mean, you know, he. This morning he said he. He just wants to focus on competing hard. He said, playing hard, playing physically, playing at a good pace and making the right reads. He certainly accomplished all those things. And honestly. So I knew he was only going to play the first half, and, you know, midway through the second quarter, he hadn't scored. And I'm just thinking, like.
- [04:47]
B
I hope.
- [04:47]
D
He at least gets a bucket because frankly, selfishly, because I'm like, I don't want.
- [04:51]
B
Yeah, you don't need a story. Yeah. Because it wouldn't have to do a story on that.
- [04:55]
D
Yeah. I didn't. I didn't want. Oh, my gosh, Cooper Flagg, scorelessness, preseason debut, you know, just like the silly. Is he a bust? Blah, blah, blah, all that crap.
- [05:04]
B
Because he.
- [05:04]
D
That he played well.
- [05:05]
C
He. He was.
- [05:06]
D
He was defending well. He was rebounding, you know, he was passing the ball well. He just, you know, I think at that Point. He only had a couple of shots. One was a grenade, three at the end of the shot clock. And I'm just thinking, if this guy goes scoreless, it's going to be a thing. It's going to be silly. And then comes off the pick and roll. Oh, I'm sorry. Grabbed a rebound, went coast to coast, finished in traffic. I'm like, all right, you got a bucket. Next possession, off the pick and roll.
- [05:32]
C
Boom.
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D
Hits a three, you know, couple minutes later, minute and a half later or so, drives, makes a nice spin move, gets foul, his free throws, another three off the pick and roll. And the threes off the pick and roll to me was. Was pretty intriguing because, yeah, that's something that he hadn't done a lot in his very young basketball life. It is something that he said he really spent a lot of time working on this summer. And, you know, I don't know if Cooper Flag is ever going to be an offensive superstar. I'm not saying he can't be. I'm just saying I think he can be a superstar without being like a, you know, 25, 30 point per game scorer. But if he's going to become a 2530 point per game scorer, knocking down the three and operating off the pick and roll is going to be a huge part of that.
- [06:22]
C
Well, and it's funny that's how his first game went, because I think if you talk to people who, you know, talk to you with the Mavs, you talk to people who have followed Cooper's career, I think that might be a lot of how his rookie ear goes, right? Not that he's going to be scoreless for 18 minutes in a lot of games, but he's a guy that is going to play super hard. He's going to rebound, he's going to play defense. He's a terrific passer. He might be the best passer on the team. So, like, he's going to impact the game in a lot of ways. And that might take some pressure off the fact that he might not be a guy that's going to walk in and immediately score 16, 18, 20 points a game, particularly on a team on this Dallas team where, especially if d' Angelo Russell is starting, you've got Klay Thompson, d' Angelo Russell, Anthony Davis. There's a lot of mouse to feed on offense and a lot of guys who are going to shoot the ball. So he may have a lot of games where he has eight points, nine rebounds, seven assists, you know, couple steals and a block or something like that, right? And he does a lot of different stuff. It helps the team out. And I, I mean, look, we've talked a lot about the starting lineup. The question of is Cooper going to be the starting point guard? Are they going to start d' Angelo Russell, Are they going to start Klay Thompson? Are they going to start PJ Washington? Especially till Kyrie Irving gets back if he does. Like who doesn't start of that group? I thought it was at least an interesting way to start that P.J. washington, who I think is pretty clear one of the Maverick's five best players did not start this opening game of the preseason.
- [07:49]
D
Yeah. And obviously they went dangerous Russell at the guard. And it is, if they, if they go that super size starting lineup, then it, there's not a lot of shooting and there's less playmaking. So I understand going with, with Russell, but I 100 agree with you on, on the flag impact. I don't think he's going to average a ton of points this year. I mean I, I think I'll average 14 or 16. But you know, he's not a guy who's going to force shots that aren't good shots. And you know that. I think that's a, that is a good thing. But like his, his aggression as a scorer especially this season will be interesting.
- [08:36]
B
To monitor and we will monitor it. I also want to point out that on Monday night, Victor Wembanyama played his first game in many months as he comes back from the blood clot for the Spurs. He had an incredibly productive 16 minutes the first half of that game. He had nine points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in just 16.
- [09:03]
C
Minutes and six turnovers. So just looking at the box.
- [09:06]
B
Six turnovers. Yeah, I didn't notice that. I'd like to examine how that went.
- [09:10]
D
By the way. Cooper flag, no turnovers.
- [09:13]
B
Okay.
- [09:13]
D
You know, like for a guy who had the ball hands a lot as an 18 year old. Oh, by the way, though, probably the best player that Oklahoma City had in Fort Worth tonight in uniform was Case and Wallace. And there were multiple times that Cooper flag brought the ball up to court while being hounded by Case and Wallace and did not commit any turnovers.
- [09:35]
B
Well, that's terrific. That's, that's actually probably one of the most interesting things I've heard about, about, about him early on here.
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C
By the way, the Thunder. Did you guys see this? Nicole Topic injury.
- [09:46]
B
This is a very upsetting interest. So Nikola Topic is the Serbian guard who they drafted in the lottery in 2024. He had torn his ACL. He. He was at one time regarded as a potential top five pick. Slipped. Was he in the lottery Bond temps or was it.
- [10:01]
C
Yeah, 12.
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B
Yeah, okay, 12th. He set out all last year, came out in their first preseason game on. Over the weekend on Sunday and had a good game, didn't he? Bon Dempsey put up 10 points and.
- [10:15]
C
Seven assists, 31 minutes. And then had a testicular procedure on Monday. Well, for four to six weeks.
- [10:23]
B
He got hit and suffered a pretty bad injury, clearly to the point where he had to have quasi emergency surgery.
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C
Yeah.
- [10:32]
B
And I actually should say he's really.
- [10:34]
C
Going to be reevaluated in approximately four to six weeks. Not Alpha.
- [10:37]
B
I remember when this happened to manu Ginobly about 10 years ago. Yeah, Ginobly got hit. I remember this unfortunately because Ginobly got hit obviously in the groin and then had to leave was. It was an incredible pain and had to leave the game like, you know, go to the locker room and didn't come back. And the media came into the locker room afterwards. And you know what happens when that happens? You know, it's. It's obviously painful and you know, everybody else, you know, cringes and then they laugh about it. And I remember in that situation that like, I remember Tony Parker, you know, the media wanted to like laugh about it. Oh, poor Genobly, huh? That really stinks. And Parker's like, I don't think it's a laughing matter. And that's because they knew that Manu was seriously injured in this case, like the set of circumstances. That's crazy that he. I mean, I don't. I haven't seen the play, how it happened and I don't want to see it, quite frankly. But yeah, he had to have pretty quick surgery and so I hope. Hope he's okay. So that's.
- [11:46]
C
And Manu missed. Manu missed a month back then. And so I mean it's. Well, it's done cycle be a super long absence probably, but still, for a guy who missed all last year and had a chance to be a rotation player for. But you know, it's a bummer on a Friday levels for him going into what was. What's his rookie season. We had a chance to get some playing time right away.
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B
Right. So yes, that. That was a. Yeah, the. By the way, Memphis Grizzlies medical update.
- [12:13]
D
I mean, first freaking week couldn't make the preseason opener. They're down three starters now potentially for the season opener. 100%.
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B
Yeah. All right. So Zach Heaty had surgery. Jaron Jackson Jr. Had surgery. They're both out. And John Morant with a spray ankle to one of these. You know, they. I don't think they announced the grade, but they said it's week to week. So that sounds like. I don't know for sure. That sounds like a grade two and.
- [12:50]
D
It sounds like his status for the season opener is in jeopardy. Jaren Jackson Jr. They announced before training camp would return to play in four to six weeks, coming off turf toe surgery that he had in July. That puts his status for the Open the first couple weeks of the season very much in jeopardy. And then they, at the same time he had ankle.
- [13:10]
B
Yeah, they announced he had ankle surgery right.
- [13:12]
D
In June. And they announced again going into training camp that he would return to play in six to nine weeks, which means he's going to miss at least the first couple weeks, if not the first month or so.
- [13:23]
B
Yeah. God, I, if I was a Grizzlies fan, I don't even know what I would say. All right, so Wembanyama, however, did have a very productive and turnover failed apparently, but a very productive 16 minutes. I just want to. Before we move on, I just want to shout out something that happened that game. The spurs were hosted in the Guangzhou Long Lions from the Chinese Basketball association and they have a handful of Americans on the team, including Frank the Tank Kaminsky and Tim Frazier, who he played with the Nets.
- [14:02]
C
He played a bunch of places, Rockets, a lot of places.
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B
But anyway, Victor Oladipo making a career comeback attempt is on the Guangzhou Long line.
- [14:15]
D
Wow. Really? I did not know that.
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B
And yes, you were busy at Fort Worth tonight. He came out and basically tried to put on a showcase of like I can still play. He hasn't played in almost three years in the NBA. Still not in the NBA. I know that he was working out all last year trying to hook on with the team and I know that over the off season he had at least one or two workouts. He had 20 points in 29 minutes in this game. He was one of eight on threes and eight of 19 overall.
- [14:49]
D
We're number 52. How does he get number 52?
- [14:53]
B
I'm sure there's a story there, but anyway that I think there are then playing maybe the Clippers in San Diego area later this week. So he has another opportunity to show.
- [15:08]
D
But by the way, did you see from the spurs inner squad scrimmage, the clip that went viral of Wimby coming off the dribble? Was that Cornet who was. Who's guard him? Yes, gave Cornet A bump where like knocked him back a few feet and then went up and just ripped the rim off. Basically like Victor when Minyama showing major power off the dribble before going into a dunk. It was like some combination of kd Giannis and Shaq.
- [15:46]
C
What? What? Okay, let's, let's just, let's just ease off a little bit. Let's ease off a little bit.
- [15:53]
B
I will say when you look at, when you look at Wembanyama's shoulders, arms and shoulders and you compare him to where he was when he came into the league, I mean, he's not going to threaten Dwight Howard in terms of the size of his upper torso, but there's no doubt that his strength has really improved.
- [16:14]
D
Well, so listen, look at Giannis as a rookie and look at Giannis now. And I'm just going to tell you, when Benyama attacks the weight room like Giannis does, that's all I'm going to say about that.
- [16:27]
B
Yeah, well, I think Victor said, I remember the exact quote, but he basically said I don't think anybody worked harder in the, in the off season than I did. So that was, you know, he certainly is putting the time in. There was a bunch of games on Monday night. The Rockets played their first game but Kevin Durant did not play in that one. So we'll wait a little while longer. The Bucks played their first game, but yes, 10 Akumpo did not play in that one. Thanasis got five minutes however, and did not score. Okay, so all that as a. As a side bon temps. You had a interesting story post on Monday. Your I guess is this the second time you've done this?
- [17:18]
C
Ran Friday but yes, it was the second year overseas.
- [17:21]
B
You'll have to excuse.
- [17:23]
C
No, it's all good.
- [17:24]
D
He's hanging out with rich folks like he doesn't have time to read your stuff when he's.
- [17:29]
C
Listen, he's traveling.
- [17:31]
B
We're always hanging out with rich travel.
- [17:33]
C
Through the Middle East. He's hanging out with our. Our friend of the pod, Nick Nurse over in Abu Dhabi hanging out with his. Our other friend of the pod, Mike Brown, seeing the Knicks seeing the Sixers doing his thing in Worldwide Window.
- [17:46]
B
My what I was doing in Abu Dhabi will publish later this week so I don't want to get too much ahead of it but I did have a terrific experience again in Abu Dhabi and had a crazy weekend where I went to the Knicks 76ers game on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi and then took a flight through the middle of the night because there's flights all throughout the middle of the night out of the Middle east because it's sort of in the center of the aviation world. So, you know, you can take a red eye east or west or south to Africa or north to Europe.
- [18:25]
C
So anyway.
- [18:26]
B
Yes. Well, anyway, the Dubai airport is bustling like crazy at midnight, which is unusual. Anyway, so I flew overnight to London, and then on Sunday afternoon, I went to the Cleveland Browns Minnesota Vikings game.
- [18:40]
C
What happened in the Browns Vikings game? McMahon.
- [18:43]
D
I mean, the Browns choked it up.
- [18:47]
C
Browns did what the Browns do.
- [18:48]
D
By the way, I thought that the Charleston Fort Worth back to back was rare and unique. And here Wendy is pulling Abu Dhabi. London, basketball, football, that's. It's impressive worldwide, baby.
- [19:02]
B
Yeah. I, I enjoyed the experience of going to the NFL game in London, and Carson went through a touchdown pass with like 20 seconds left to win the game. But it was still a really good experience. Anyway, I would say that my takeaway, the Sixers were missing, like, six guys. I. My takeaway from the Sixers is that Vijay Edgecombe is going to create a ton of highlights. This guy is an absolutely electric athlete. And I know that if you study college basketball or you were a fan of Baylor, you would probably say, yeah, no, duh, you just now. But this is the first time I saw him play live. And he made a series of plays offensively and defensively. He had a. He had a driving dunk that was probably the highlight of both games altogether. He also had a block shot where he just exploded from behind the play and swatted it like 30ft. So I think he is going to be just very, very interesting to just. Just physically watch play.
- [20:12]
C
He reminds me. He reminds me of a young Victor Oladipo to bring up.
- [20:16]
B
Yeah.
- [20:17]
C
Familiar in the pod. Like, I don't know if that's exactly who is. Maybe he's more of a Donovan Mitchell type or Victor. I mean, he's got a chance to be that kind of a dynamic athlete.
- [20:26]
B
I think he's taller than both Victor and Donovan.
- [20:29]
D
I think he's definitely taller than Donovan. He's. He's.
- [20:31]
C
Yeah.
- [20:32]
B
Yeah. Again, I. And this, this is. This is just reality for me. I don't watch college basketball and during the draft process were, you know, covering the playoffs. So I really do learn about these guys when I see them in the NBA. And so when I got to. I got to meet Vijay and. And watch him up close, I was surprised at how big he is. He's bigger than. Than I thought he was. I actually got.
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D
I, I saw him play more for Bahamas when they played in that Olympic qualifying tournament. I was watching that, I was very interested in that. And they didn't end up making him, but they got really close. And again, that was a team that had Deandre Ayton, Buddy Heald, Eric Gordon Gordon. And there were a lot of times he was the best player on the floor for the Bahamas and when he.
- [21:24]
C
Was a lot of praise going into college.
- [21:26]
D
18 years old.
- [21:28]
C
More Hoop Collective podcast after this as.
- [21:32]
B
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- [22:03]
A
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- [23:05]
B
As for the Knicks, I they didn't they they were playing like 17 or 18 players Mike Brown was and they didn't play any of their starters in the second half of those games. So I didn't get as much of a look at them. But I what I will say is obviously if you've even been loosely following them, they are determined to play more uptempo as a team this year. And I will just tell you that the player that I can identify I would say my biggest takeaway from the Knicks is that Mikhail Bridges is going to benefit if they stick to this uptempo offense because Bridges is dedicating himself to get out ahead of the play and in two halves, basically, that he played, he probably had four or five runouts where he got thrown ahead, where he either got an easy basket or got a foul. And you could understand it. You know, Bridges, his role is to work really hard on the defensive end and then basically space the floor offensively. When he was in Brooklyn, he played more of a slasher role. It wasn't super effective. He would put up higher scoring nights. But that really isn't his. His game on a high level. And this is obviously introducing them where they're like, Mikhail, if you are willing to run the floor, which, you know, he's in tremendous condition, you can get some easy baskets. He's embracing that. And Brunson's looking for him. You know, Brunson gets the ball. He's looking for him. So I would say Bridges, I think it fits him. The other thing is Mitch Robinson, who I would say is got an edge right now to be the Knicks fifth starter, he was rebounding like a maniac one game. He had 16 boards in 18 minutes. So anyway, that's my takeaways from. From the basketball Knobu Dhabi. A lot else was going on.
- [24:53]
D
Hey, we've all covered a lot of. Of training camps, preseasons. Either of you guys ever remember a coach saying, hey, we really want to slow down the pace this season?
- [25:03]
B
That would be amazing. Wouldn't.
- [25:04]
C
It would be a first.
- [25:05]
B
Slow down. No, I, obviously, you know, that's the thing like. And I, you know, I, I talked to Mike Brown about this. You know, he wants to play. This is a Greg Popovich thing. It's obviously something that's. Yeah, but. And something that he did in Sacramento, but he wants to play 0.5 offense, which is when you get the ball, you decide in 0.5 seconds whether you're going to pass or shoot or drive or drive. You do basically do something.
- [25:32]
C
Don't do something immediately. Don't hold the ball.
- [25:36]
B
I joked with him. I go, well, your point guards a 20.5 player. You know, Jalen Brunson led the league in dribbles last year. But, you know, for now, everybody's on the same page. Everybody wants to play 0.5 offense. So we'll see.
- [25:52]
C
And this what is why Mike Brown was on my list of. To go back to because we got distracted by Worldwide Window stories. But he's on my list of the 10 people who will define the upcoming season, which is the story that I wrote.
- [26:09]
B
Yes. So you did this last year. Is this correct? Bon Temps.
- [26:15]
C
Yep.
- [26:16]
B
Did you go back and check your work and whether those 10 players age.
- [26:20]
C
I can go back. I will tell you the list. I felt pretty good about it going back and looking at it. I mean again, it's like some of this isn't. Some of this isn't exactly, you know, earth shattering stuff. But don't sell yourself short. So last year's list was Embiid, who obviously I would say that, yeah, certainly the season was defined in part by him. Carl Towns just getting traded to the Knicks.
- [26:51]
B
Yeah, that just happened.
- [26:52]
C
Victor put him on the list every year if you want.
- [26:56]
D
Yeah.
- [26:56]
C
J.J. redick say it was pretty.
- [26:59]
B
Rob Pelinka thought so he gave him an extension.
- [27:01]
C
It's true. Cooper flag a stand in for Cooper. And also pretty interesting draft class tanking went on Barkley. That's part of the inside the NBA crew. Certainly it was a big storyline throughout last season.
- [27:15]
D
Our new colleague.
- [27:17]
C
That's our new colleague Wick Grusbeck part of the Celtics sale story. This is one of the bigger stories of the season. John Morant kind of fell off, but that was sort of the point. Like is Ja gonna actually be able to get back to being John Moran or not? And now he's hurt again. As you said McMahon, they're already down three starters. Then the final two guys were Calvin Booth, GM at Denver, who went in all in on this youth movement to build a championship contender with Jokic and had all these comments about how they could build a dynasty and well, that didn't work out great and he got fired. And Mike Dunleavy who was sitting on some draft capital and some, some players potentially try to upgrade. And the warriors were in the mix for Jimmy Butler most of the year.
- [28:01]
B
So you've done worse stories.
- [28:03]
D
Yeah, didn't hear any.
- [28:04]
C
It was a decent, it was a decent. It was a decent start. Well, no, again, and as I said in the lead of the this story, it is not a list of the 10 best players in the league. So like Nicole Jokic.
- [28:18]
B
Yeah, I don't think Bark is a top 10 player.
- [28:20]
C
No, he's not. But Jokic isn't on the list. Shea isn't on the list. Luca isn't on the list. Certainly they could all be on the list every year. But the idea, the conceit behind the list is to try to come up with the people that are going to shape sort of how the season plays out and the stories of the season in terms of like what are the interesting things that are happening around the league. Some of them on the court, some of them off the court, some of them Reflecting things that are happening off the court, player wise. So that's what I try to capture.
- [28:51]
B
All right, so Mike Brown is on the list. You don't rank them, you just sort of list them.
- [28:54]
C
I just did it in alphabetical order.
- [28:56]
B
Yeah.
- [28:56]
C
No ranking.
- [28:58]
B
Mike Brown is on the list, as you said. I'm going to tell you something. If you were a Knicks fan and you watched how they played offense and you know that they're a good defensive team, you probably got excited. You had to get. You had to be looking sort of at odd times. These games.
- [29:12]
C
The Knicks fans find ways to get excited when the team is bad, let alone when the team is good and the east is wide open. So the Knicks fans are excited, excited and angry. Well, they're New Yorkers. There's always an edge of anger all the time.
- [29:26]
B
I. I can see it like you, if you watch them play, you know, especially since they added some to their bench, like cast corner.
- [29:35]
C
A little concerned man should be the.
- [29:39]
D
Playoffs last year concern.
- [29:41]
B
It was interesting because when I was in. When I went to the. There was a whole bunch of Browns fans that I attended the. The Browns game went on Sunday.
- [29:51]
C
Wait a minute. Yeah, I forgot a story that I needed to tell on the podcast. No, no, no. This is a story that happened at the game. You're not aware of the story.
- [29:59]
D
McMahon was this. So did Wendy sit with the dog pound?
- [30:03]
C
Wendy was in, kind of. So Brian had great seats for people on Follow him on ig. So posted a picture a couple rows off the field in end zone. Oh, pretty great seats. He's with a mutual friend of Brian and mine who flew in for the game. And I was told McMahon that during the game, Brian got asked to take a picture with some Cleveland fans.
- [30:31]
D
Okay.
- [30:31]
C
Graciously did so. And when that, when he took the picture, what happened, Brian?
- [30:38]
B
They dumped beer all over me. It was, it was actually. It was actually worse than.
- [30:44]
C
I don't believe it was an intentional thing. I think it was an accidental thing. While they were taking a picture with.
- [30:49]
B
It was actually worse than that. The NFL, who was, you know, potential partners with us here at espn, you know, we would never, yes. Say anything bad about it.
- [31:00]
C
Our company men, after all, bosses very dedicated to the job.
- [31:05]
B
They. The NFL launched a new ticketing app for the London. I don't know, probably for all their games. But, you know, I had never used it before and the app crashed, oh about 45 minutes before the game. And myself and several thousand other fans couldn't access their tickets. If you didn't Put your tickets in your wallet, you couldn't get in. And so there was escalating drama outside the stadium. At the end of the day I got in, other people got in, it was okay. But there was like a half hour there where there was like 5,000 people in line and allegedly they were all going to have to get their tickets printed out which was obviously not going to work. So.
- [31:42]
D
And you fresh off an all night flight probably.
- [31:45]
B
Yes, I flew all night and I, I, at that point I wasn't sure I was getting in the game.
- [31:49]
C
The tough windy sleep update and these.
- [31:51]
B
And these Browns fans come up and ask for a photo and then just absolutely douse me in beer, just dump beer all over.
- [31:59]
D
I mean what was their response to this dousing?
- [32:02]
B
They felt terrible. But that didn't make any, that didn't.
- [32:06]
C
Take the beer away.
- [32:07]
D
Because the beer was expensive or because they felt bad about getting you wet?
- [32:11]
B
Good question. They did probably that.
- [32:12]
D
I would guess what kind of beer was it?
- [32:14]
B
I don't know. Probably one that you would have drank.
- [32:19]
D
Hair went down that much.
- [32:22]
B
It was not Guinness, I can tell you that. I could tell you that.
- [32:26]
C
Anyway, I think that was a worthy diversion, McMahon, because yes, that did happen that story up and I forgot.
- [32:32]
B
Yeah, well, it was like this is going to be great. We're not going to be, you know, we flew, you know, eight hours and we're going to, you know, all this stuff and you know, it's not easy to, to get to the stadium where they're having. It's a beautiful stadium, Tottenham Hotspur stadium. It's an American stadium. It's a beautiful stadium but it's not a, it's not a British stadium. But that's, it's not a proper football stadium. It's not, it's not a proper football stad. Also I'm a, I'm a Tottenham Hotspur fan, okay. And I'd never seen them, I'd never been to their stadium. I've seen them play in other stadiums. They won on Saturday by the way against Larry Nance's leads team. They won 2 to 1. But anyway, it's sometimes hard to get Hotspur gear because of the London teams. They're like below Arsenal, below Chelsea, you know, in their fan base, below some of the other English powers like Man City and like I've even gone to like these big giant stores in London which sell you know, proper football gear and like there'll be like racks and racks and racks of Manu and Man City gear and then like one little corner of Spurs Gear. And so, as you can imagine, they have a team store at this new stadium. The stadium is, like, four years old. They have a team store that's the size of a warehouse. Okay. I mean, you know, the capital of Tottenham merchandise planet.
- [34:01]
C
Door close.
- [34:03]
B
Completely replaced by NFL gear.
- [34:06]
C
Oh, literally.
- [34:08]
B
They literally wiped it all out.
- [34:10]
C
Wow.
- [34:10]
B
And, I mean, it's great merchandising. I mean, you can buy team gear from any of the 30 teams. It's really smart.
- [34:18]
D
32.
- [34:18]
B
But I go in there afterwards, and it's like, seriously, the size of a. Of a small battleship. This. This. This team store, it's completely been rebranded and all that stuff. And I go up to one of the workers and I go, are you telling me there isn't a stitch of Tottenham gear in this entire store right now? And he goes. He starts laughing at me. He goes, nope. I go, well, can you. Can you just let me into the back? I mean, I go into the back and be. Have by myself. I could have had a field day, but. Nope, couldn't do that. But I don't want to complain. It was a lovely. It was a lovely day. Even though the Browns lost, I had fun.
- [34:55]
D
If you didn't smell like such a drunk, you probably could have.
- [34:58]
B
They were skeptical of me. They were like, we're not letting you in the storeroom.
- [35:03]
C
No, no, no.
- [35:04]
B
So, anyway, okay, the influential list. Yes, Mike Brown is on it.
- [35:11]
C
Yes. Cavs corner was originally going to be on the list.
- [35:16]
D
Oh, and Donovan Mitchell was going to.
- [35:19]
C
Be on the list because it's a huge year for Donovan Mitchell.
- [35:22]
B
Like the Knicks, the Browns fans who wanted to distract themselves from the Browns 1 and 4 record were all asking me about Evan Mobley. Evan Mobley didn't make the list either. McMahon.
- [35:33]
C
Well, Donovan Mitchell was going to make it as the leading figure of the Cavs, as this is a massive opportunity for both the Knicks and the Cavs. But then last week, media day happens. Yesetokounmpo zooms in from Athens with COVID and declares he can't remember a conversation with the owner.
- [35:57]
D
To be clear, he appeared via zoom from Athens. He didn't zoom in.
- [36:03]
B
Well, I think it's the same thing he. He did. He has joined the team in. He. You know, he was. He joined the team in Miami. They were in. They spent a long weekend in Miami because they were playing the Heat there. So he is in the U.S. he.
- [36:18]
C
Is in the U.S. now, but he was added to the list after that because clearly the idea that the Giannis situation is settled and he is just going to be in Milwaukee and everything's hunky dory. And I'm not saying he's getting traded.
- [36:33]
B
But, yeah, if we revisit this a year from now, if, if we're a year from now, it'd be interesting to see, you know, if we do this in 2026, we look back and go, boy, you the point.
- [36:47]
C
The point is the idea of. Is this Giannis's final season in Milwaukee? Oh, yeah, it's going to be coming up throughout the season, regardless of whether he gets traded in February or not.
- [36:58]
D
It's an annual tradition at this point, but Giannis continues to make sure that flame is still flickering, and he gave it some oxygen when it would have been very easy to say, hey, you know, I pondered things this summer. I decided I want to stay in Milwaukee, looking forward to the season. Let's focus on. On hoop. And he did. That's not what he did.
- [37:23]
B
All right, so that will be interesting. The. We talked about that last week. The West Edens.
- [37:30]
C
Yes, we did.
- [37:31]
B
All right. You have an interesting name, a guy who you've had, I wouldn't say hot takes in the past about, but strong takes in the past about Von Thames. And that's the brand new Max player from the Magic. They're. They're paid him because they believe that this guy can be the best player on a contender because that's, that's, you.
- [37:54]
D
Know, he's number one overall eligible. Palo Ben Caro.
- [38:00]
C
Yeah, that's true. He is. He is supermax eligible. He could get a much bigger payday if he makes an all B18 this year, and he certainly is capable of doing that. And yeah, look like it's. It's a similar story for Orlando like it is for the Knicks and the Cavs. Like the east is wide open. Orlando trades for Desmond Bain. They, you know, we'll see what happens with Jalen Suggs. This. We haven't really talked about the Magic a lot. This, this knee injury. This knee injury that he has where he still isn't practicing and he had surgery, I think eight months ago. It's very concerning. It's like a knee. It's like. It's hard to even describe the injury. It's a really unique one. So hopefully he's back soon because he's critically important to them. But Paolo, Ben Caron, to a lesser extent, Franz Wagner are two terrific big wing players, the kind of players that every team is hoping to build their teams around. And both those guys have really struggled to shoot from the outside. And have been very inefficient. And it's part of why Orlando's offense has really struggled. And this is a huge opportunity for those guys to take real steps forward as players and to lead this team to a top two or three seed in the Eastern Conference and potentially making a deep playoff run for the first time since Dwight Howard was there. Like there, there's a huge opportunity in front of Paolo and the Magic and like you said McMahon, I mean part of this is like if Paolo has a huge year and makes Olympia, he's going to get I think an extra $50 million in money. So like on a lot of levels for him. This is a massive year coming up. And I'm curious to see if he can really take a big step forward from an efficiency standpoint and really be a guy that you can be the hub of an efficient high level offense or is he continue going to continue to be a guy who's a high volume, low efficiency guy and their offense struggles and you know, the Magic remain a team that's somewhere in the low to mid-40s and wins and does it become a real factor at the top of the east like they seem like they have a chance to this year.
- [40:05]
B
All right, last year you had Cooper flag on your list of Are you brand this most influential. Is that what you're branding it?
- [40:15]
C
The people. The defining people of the season.
- [40:17]
B
Defining people. All right, this year you've got a BYU forward AJ Debanza, who second highest.
- [40:26]
D
Paid player on Ryan Smith's basketball payroll.
- [40:28]
C
That's right. Another window discovery.
- [40:31]
B
Oh, is that right?
- [40:33]
D
What did you discovered him?
- [40:35]
C
No windows. Definitely discovered.
- [40:37]
B
I mean I I's had a chance. Second eyes paid.
- [40:40]
D
No, that's a joke.
- [40:41]
B
I met him in France last year and I've gotten to know people.
- [40:44]
C
It's not that far off though.
- [40:46]
D
Hey, Nerkich is on the payroll.
- [40:49]
C
That's true. I think he's technically sixth.
- [40:53]
B
Well, are you, are we sure that Ryan. It's a joke.
- [40:56]
D
It's a joke. Okay. I just want to be sold.
- [41:00]
C
Right? No.
- [41:01]
D
Yeah.
- [41:02]
C
A.J. deBance is getting, I believe $7 million to play basketball at BYU this year and Ryan Smith is a very notable. BYU will love. That's all.
- [41:09]
D
Yeah, that's it. It's a joke.
- [41:10]
C
It's all we're all we're saying.
- [41:13]
B
However, the point is we love the Jazz. There's more people on the Jazz making less than 7 million than there are. That's correct.
- [41:20]
C
There are five players making over $7 million this year, including he's one of.
- [41:23]
B
The top six highest paid basketball players in Utah.
- [41:26]
D
There you go.
- [41:27]
B
How about that?
- [41:29]
C
Sure.
- [41:30]
D
All that to lose to Alex Jensen's Utah Utes this year.
- [41:37]
C
So we're in a future right now there isn't.
- [41:40]
B
Cooper Flag was the, was a pretty definitive number one pick a year ago right now. Yeah, I would say that's not necessarily the case.
- [41:48]
C
Definitely not this year.
- [41:49]
B
Although Debance has and he played well enough. He played in FIBA U19 and I believe won the MVP this year. I will say that I saw an interview that and I'm, look, I'm gonna, I'm very interested in Darren Peterson because he's from Northeast Ohio. The best Northeast Ohio prospects since LeBron James.
- [42:11]
C
Is that true?
- [42:13]
B
I believe so. And so I have a special interest in him. But Bill Self, his coach at Kansas, Darren Peterson said this week that he's the best freshman he's ever coached. And you know, Self has had some players.
- [42:31]
C
He's probably right now the number one pick though. We'll see where this ultimately lands. The Bancer, Darren Peterson.
- [42:40]
B
Okay.
- [42:41]
C
The Bance certainly could be the number one pick. Aaron Peterson probably right now would be the number one pick. Nate Event who is playing at Tennessee is a super interesting guy. He could potentially be up there. Cameron Boozer, son of Carlos Boozer, going to Duke, he's probably going to be in the mix. Maybe not for the number one pick but like those four guys are all big time prospects. Mikel Brown's another big time prospect. The top four, five, six picks in this draft are loaded. And it's going to be another year where like last year with Cooper Flag and at the time we thought Ace Bailey was going to be seen as a little bit of a higher level player than he turned out to be the way his season at Rutgers went. But still this year's draft had between.
- [43:25]
B
VJ has got to be one of the highest paid players in Utah.
- [43:28]
C
He is, he's, he's, he, he is one of the top five guys. So between Ace Bailey, Vijay Edgecomb, Dylan Harper, obviously Cooper Flagg, the top of this year's draft was very strong. Next year's draft probably even stronger overall between Peterson, Debancer, Loser, Amend, some of these other guys that potentially jump up and again we're going to be looking at ping pong balls all year for several of these teams. Utah, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Washington, obviously they're all going to be hoping to have better luck this year and jump up some of these guys.
- [44:03]
D
The, the old, the Tankathon had a Rough inning for those teams last year, boy.
- [44:10]
C
Certainly did.
- [44:11]
B
Yeah. They had to keep a stiff upper lip like the Wizards and the Jazz. Keep a stiff upper lip.
- [44:16]
C
What about the Nets?
- [44:17]
D
Yeah, all of them really. The, the worst, the worst tankers. None of them.
- [44:21]
C
They all fell. That's right.
- [44:23]
D
And income, the MAVs, 1.8%.
- [44:26]
C
Here it is. All part of the plan, baby.
- [44:29]
D
Fortune.
- [44:30]
B
This is an interesting one. Your next guy on the list of all the guards in the NBA. I'm kind of surprised, but I'll let you explain why. De' Aaron Fox, brand new max player of the well, he's not brand new player for them, but you know, freshly off a max contract extension.
- [44:51]
C
We've, we've talked about this before. I. Victor, I mean McMahon said it before when he had him as a combination of four inner circle hall of Famers. Right. Like he is a. What is your line, Brian? Don't put a ceiling in Victor Wembanyama. Is that the correct line? We don't, we don't put a ceiling. Okay.
- [45:07]
B
Yeah.
- [45:08]
C
So he's obviously, he's, he's back and he's obviously back healthy, which is great. He's put on weight. Certainly looks like he's going to have an amazing season. No reason to think otherwise. Right. Are the spurs ready to come along with them? I think it's a very open question. I, We've talked about it a lot. Is the Aaron Fox the right fit with Victor Wembanyama? Victor Wembanyama long term, it's 2:00 in the morning. Is he a good fit with Dylan Harper and Stefan Castle? I would say no. I don't like that fit going forward. I don't really like a lot of the fit of the roster around Victor Wembanyama right now. And obviously Darren Fox is the biggest name and obviously the highest paid name on the roster. So I think how this fit goes this year, obviously de' Aaron's out dealing with his hamstring injury. Let's see how long he's going to be out. But if the spurs don't make the playoffs this year and struggle again, like, let's see where things start to go with Victor, with the spurs, with where they're at in the west. And you know, I mean, look the way they're going, they'll end up with Darren Peterson or AJ DeBancer if they don't do that and they'll jump up in the lottery again for the fourth year in a row. But I, that's why Darren's on the List is I think the story of are the spurs ready to make a jump and is the spurs supporting cast both the right fit and ready to start being a playoff caliber team around Victor Womenyama I think is going to be a story that people are talking about a lot this season.
- [46:44]
B
Hey McMahon. In this story, Bon Temps makes a case for a new nickname.
- [46:52]
D
Yeah, the USWB just needs to worry about his own nick name.
- [46:58]
C
The anomaly names first of all. And second of all, I like the Anomaly. I like it a lot better than calling an alien.
- [47:06]
D
I mean leave the bond timps to come up with some nerdy vocabulary word.
- [47:10]
C
For nickname for something. Well, first of all, you know who would like a nerdy vocabulary word? The guy who the nickname is for. He's all about nerdy vocabulary.
- [47:18]
D
Right? I, I don't think Nike's going to swoop in and use that for their next market.
- [47:22]
C
I don't care about Nike. I'm not calling a guy, I'm not calling the guy an alien. That's all.
- [47:29]
D
All right, I'm gonna say this.
- [47:31]
C
I get, I'll call him Victor either way.
- [47:33]
D
I get what you're saying about like.
- [47:36]
B
It'S, it's his nickname is Wemby.
- [47:38]
D
Yes. It's time for the Spurs. Okay, enough nickname talk. It is time for the spurs to make a significantly leap forward. It's time for them to at minimum be a playing team, to be on the right side of 500 and all those kind of things in terms of like if not, then what? I think that the real stuff, there's were years down the road for that being like a real thing.
- [48:04]
C
Are we? Because.
- [48:06]
B
Well, are we.
- [48:06]
D
Because I'll tell you, I'm going to go ahead and go out on a limb and say, you know what's going to happen next summer? Victor Wimanyama is going to sign a supermax extension of his rookie contract. Like is he.
- [48:18]
C
I mean that's a safe bet given no one has ever turned down a supermax extension of a rookie contract. But yeah, and if we're sitting here, let, but hold on. Let's just play the game, right? Let's say we're sitting here a year from now, say The spurs finish 10th or 11th in the West. Let's say dear and Fox plays 50 games at this hamstring issue. Even 60 games maybe in the fit still isn't great. Let's say he, Dylan Harper and Stefan Castle do not work well in the court, which I think we all agree is very possible because of the shooting issues. Yeah, let's say Devin Vsell plays 50 games again and has more injuries. Like you can paint a scenario pretty nickname.
- [49:02]
D
Go on.
- [49:02]
C
I'm just, I'm just saying like you're like hey we could talk about this way down the road. That's fine. Like Jeremy Sohan pick doesn't look great at the moment. Yeah right. Like I I really like Dylan Harper. I think he's got a chance to be a monster player. Like I don't think the spurs are cooked I by any means obviously. I also do think though we could be sitting here in a year if the spurs missed the playoffs for a third straight year with Victor and especially if they don't make the play in which I think in the west is plausible and we're not really sure about any of his supporting cast as he approaches the end of his rookie deal. That I think that would be a pretty significant concern. You could also look the other way and Dylan Harper could be rookie of the year. Carter Bryant could be awesome this year.
- [49:47]
B
As a Carter Bryant did have I didn't mention him. He had a nice preseason first game. I don't, I didn't watch the game so I don't know if he did it against backup Chinese players. But I'm just, just saying I think.
- [49:59]
C
The other way though is like dear Fox fits well Victor. Dylan Harper is right there with Cooper flag for rookie of the Year. Those three guards do play well. Dylan Devin Vassella is healthy and like you know, is out there making threes and making plays like and they're in the, they're in the plane and maybe they make the playoffs. Like I don't think that's impossible either. But either way we're now in Victor's third year if he misses the playoffs again. If you go back and look at all the big time players, I'm pretty sure most of them made the playoffs by the third year in the league. So not a scientific thing. I could be very wrong on that, but I know LeBron did after missing the playoffs first two years.
- [50:38]
B
Yeah, if you see guys in their third year often take big leaps.
- [50:44]
C
More Hoop Collective podcast after this.
- [50:47]
E
Tron is back.
- [50:49]
C
Are you serious?
- [50:52]
E
And it must be seen on the biggest screen possible. Experience. Mind blowing visuals and one of the best film scores of all time.
- [51:02]
B
I just can't get enough.
- [51:03]
E
It's the game changing.
- [51:05]
B
Hang on.
- [51:05]
E
Cinematic spectacle.
- [51:07]
B
Oh my God.
- [51:08]
E
You've been waiting for.
- [51:10]
C
How cool is that?
- [51:11]
E
John Aries rated PG13. May be inappropriate for children under 13. Only in theaters this Friday. Get tickets now.
- [51:18]
C
Talk about stepping up.
- [51:21]
B
It's time to level up your game. Introducing the all new ESPN app. All of ESPN all in one place. Your home for the most live sports and the best championship moments. The electricity is palpable. Step up your game.
- [51:35]
A
With no annual contract required.
- [51:37]
B
It's the ultimate fan experience.
- [51:40]
C
Level up.
- [51:40]
B
For More on the ESPN app or at stream.espn.com Sign up now.
- [51:47]
E
TRON Ares has arrived.
- [51:50]
B
Hostiles. Repeat, we have hostiles.
- [51:53]
C
Mating. Mating.
- [51:54]
B
Oh my God.
- [51:54]
D
There's hundreds of them.
- [51:55]
E
On October 10, we came here from the digital world. The war for our world begins.
- [52:01]
B
What in God's name is that?
- [52:04]
E
You and I, Max.
- [52:05]
A
This is the end to this world.
- [52:07]
D
No, it's not.
- [52:09]
B
But I can help you.
- [52:11]
E
Tron Ares treated PG13 may be inappropriate for children under 13. Only in theaters October 10th. Get tickets now.
- [52:22]
B
All right, next on the list, here's one that our editors like that you had on there. LeBron James.
- [52:28]
C
Who.
- [52:28]
B
Assuming that he doesn't retire on Tuesday. I don't. I'm gonna be honest with you. Maybe you've all heard what the. His. I don't know. I. I don't. I do not know for sure what this second decision thing is.
- [52:43]
C
I don't either, which I assume it's not. I assume he's not retiring. Yeah, I hope he is retiring though, because it'd be pretty funny. And we'll be back doing another pod Tuesday at about.
- [52:53]
B
Well, that's true.
- [52:54]
C
One o'. Clock. I hope he's got two pods on Tuesday.
- [52:58]
B
I hope he's not retiring. His future is uncertain though. That is true whether it's retiring, playing, continue to play in LA or playing elsewhere. So I can certainly see why you have him on the list. Bon Temps. Yeah.
- [53:12]
C
Is he going to retire? Is he going to be a Laker? Is he going to play for another NBA team? Is he going to go do something else? As we talked about last week, is.
- [53:20]
D
He going to continue to be an all NBA talent in his 40s?
- [53:25]
C
That, I mean that. Right. And that's the SEC. That's almost the secondary part. Right. Like the. The current season with the Lakers is almost secondary to all this talk about what is this the end? If it's not the end, where is it going? All that stuff is interesting. By the way, watch the Lakers play against the Suns Friday night. Suns, another team talking about playing fast with a new coach, Jordan Knott, big surprise. But Lakers, they didn't have Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent. I'll, I'll. I will readily say that LeBron didn't play. Luca didn't play. Obviously wasn't their full complement of guys but they had a decent amount of the rotation guys and they look pretty slow from an athletic standpoint. And I do think something to monitor.
- [54:14]
B
Luca gets in there telling you Luke.
- [54:16]
D
Will fix those transition defense issues.
- [54:18]
C
He definitely fix the transition defense. But I. Perimeter defense in particular I do think is going to be a problem for the Lakers. And yes, like maybe Gabe Vincent and Marcus Smart will be able to rectify that. But the market smart question is a really big one and Gabe Vincent's missed a bunch of time with injuries. So that I think is something to monitor from a Lakers standpoint going forward is how is their defense gonna hold up?
- [54:45]
D
I mean they got Jake Larabia. That fixes everything.
- [54:48]
C
He was out there the other night.
- [54:51]
B
Well, again I think the Lakers have eight expiring contracts. They, they still are holding future first round pick that they can trade and I believe a pick and a swap. Whatever they gave up for Mark Williams, they haven't traded that stuff yet. They got it back.
- [55:05]
C
Yeah.
- [55:05]
B
So they are a team that in theory could upgrade. But one thing that they've clear clearly made apparent is that that upgrade is going to be to fit Luca's window, not to fit LeBron, which is a no brainer but that's an important thing to do. They, they may not look at this season as the go for it season. They may still, you know, wait for opportunities and I think that's a thing. But also if LeBron is playing great and Luca comes off this summer and he is playing great and the Lakers feel like they have a window, you know, they'll, they'll be incumbent to them to just to you know, say listen, if we're going to have two, if, if you've got Luca playing MVP level and you got LeBron playing at all NBA level and you know that is definitionally, I mean, and Austin Reeves continues to look good.
- [56:03]
D
Well, and Austin Reeves also continues to be a very attractive potential trade piece. You know, I.
- [56:11]
B
The standard for them to trade Austin Reeves I think is extraordinarily high.
- [56:14]
D
Right.
- [56:15]
B
But if we're talking not an untouchable.
- [56:16]
D
If we're talking about the kind of trade that really moves the needle, you know that's going to be hard to do without Austin Reaves being involved.
- [56:23]
B
Right. The thing about Austin Reaves is is that he's going to be a free agent and you're not going to be able to extend him off that contract. So.
- [56:30]
C
And I don't know if I'm going to want to pay him that contract either.
- [56:34]
B
Well, that's a whole nother topic.
- [56:35]
C
I know, but I'm saying it's. He's a very. He's a. He's both a good player and I think a very complicated trade piece on a variety of levels for the Lakers.
- [56:44]
B
All right, next on your list is another legacy player with titles and Finals MVP awards. That's Kawhi Leonard. I have a pretty good idea why you have him on here Bon Temps, but you can explain.
- [56:57]
C
Yeah, there's just this little thing going on about potential caps or convention and, you know, whether he's getting paid by other places and, you know, definitely getting.
- [57:06]
B
Paid by their places.
- [57:07]
C
The question is whether it's right. Well, that's also true best efforts. Yeah. I mean, there's another guy related to this who's on the list later, too. But. Yes, I mean, I could have. But I could have put Steve Ballmer here for the same reason. But obviously I thought the Clippers had a very good summer. I think they have a very good team. Like, they could really be a factor in the West. Kawhi at the end of last year looked sort of like old Kawhi again, was very good down the stretch. Can he actually stay on the court? If he can, I think the Clippers have a chance to be a top four team in the, in the west this year. And then you've also got all of this chaos with this. You know, what's going to happen with this. Aspiration is aspiration. I can't. I can't even remember the name of the company.
- [57:53]
B
Aspiration. Never heard of the company.
- [57:57]
C
It is. It is. It's been a long day. But yes, like, we'll see what happens with that case. And if the Clippers get nailed for that and what the punishments are, if they do and all that, I will.
- [58:07]
B
Just say I know this is not what people want to hear.
- [58:12]
C
Oh.
- [58:12]
B
And I also know that it's. It's, you know, especially people who are angry at them.
- [58:23]
C
We got a windy soapbox moment coming.
- [58:25]
B
They're. They're gonna let the. I know this. It sounds so lame. I'm sorry that it sounds so lame. They're gonna let the investigation play out. And I know that there's smoking. There's smoke around this all over. I know that, you know, there's a lot. Because, you know there is. Adam Silver was at an event on Monday and he was quoted as saying that the. The All Star Game is not going to move from the Clippers into a Dome. And there were people who, you know, thought that that should be a penalty they should get, strip them of that. Even if the league finds the worst salary cap circumvention in the history of American professional sports and wants to throw 11 books at them, they have to let the investigation play out. And the investigation is going to take them way too close to the All Star Game. Because I see, I see so much. And I'm not even blaming people for the overreaction. It's the nature of our society in 2025. But the Pablo podcast come out and it's like, they're going to lose 35 draft picks. They're going to put Kawhi in jail. Steve Ballmer is going to be put out to see, like, you know, the Clippers will have to play with three players for the rest of the season. Just chill. And the same thing. It's like, you know, everybody freeze. Adam Silver says they're going to play the, the All Star Game in la and it's, oh, they're sweeping under the rug. They're not going to do anything with it. You know, okay, just. I know it's boring. I know it involves lawyers and everything like that. You're just going to have to let the investigation go and, and everything will still be on the table. But that's, it's just, that's what I'm going to say. And I know the league feels the same.
- [60:13]
C
And all of this is why Kawhi is on the list for sure.
- [60:17]
B
Also on the list. Next up, Adam Silver.
- [60:22]
C
Adam Silver on the list, obviously, for this aspiration. Kawhi case. Where does this land? What punishment does he levy? How do people react to it? It's obviously going to be a huge story. The NBA Europe story is a very big story within the league. It's going to be very. I'm not, I, I see your face, McMahon.
- [60:43]
D
No, I just wonder, like, I get it. It's a big story in Europe.
- [60:47]
C
No, it's a big story for the NBA.
- [60:51]
D
Do NBA fans care?
- [60:53]
B
Probably not.
- [60:54]
C
I don't. I'm not, I'm not saying NBA fans should care, but the NBA cares and the NBA owners care, and they're going to be getting a lot of money out of the creation of this league. Which also goes back to the other thing that he's in here for, which is domestic expansion and wherever that goes over the course of the year. Because I will go back to the press conference he gave here in New York City about a month ago when I asked him is seems Like European expansion is ahead of domestic expansion. Is that fair and why? And he got his backup very quickly and said, no, it's not. They're on parallel tracks and they're both moving forward, and we just don't have things to report right now on domestic expansion. Well, what's going to happen with a domestic expansion between now and the spring or next summer? And is it going to move at the same pace as Europe? Because all I keep seeing from Adam Silver and everybody else with the NBA is, oh, this is coming in a couple of years, 20, 27, probably going to be playing this league in Europe. That's all fine. They're on parallel tracks. Does that mean we're going to be hearing about the expansion process getting underway in the NBA? If not, when's it going to get underway? All these things, I think, are very important things for where the league is headed over the next few years. And that is why Adam is also.
- [62:28]
B
Going to say that in Abu Dhabi last week, Adam Silver and Mark Tatum.
- [62:34]
C
Were there and they may have talked to somebody.
- [62:38]
B
I had an opportunity to talk.
- [62:39]
C
Foreshadowing.
- [62:41]
B
Yeah. Three power brokers, an opportunity to talk to them.
- [62:44]
C
That's right.
- [62:44]
B
See what happens.
- [62:45]
C
Yeah.
- [62:45]
B
Also, typically during the season, unless you're at the All Star Game or the finals, you don't see Mark and Adam together. I guess, you know, at the league office, you know, you could see them.
- [62:56]
C
Together, but see him at the press conferences.
- [62:57]
B
That's usually typically when you're far flung at far corners of the world, you don't see them together. But they were in Abu Dhabi and they were also in Paris last year during the spurs visit with Victor because what they're doing is important. They also went on a separate trip to Europe together over the summer to.
- [63:18]
C
Talk to people, which, again, I agree with you, McMahon. I don't think fans should be like, living and dying with the creation of NBA Europe. But the NBA throwing its weight behind this thing the way they are.
- [63:29]
B
It.
- [63:29]
C
It's going to be relevant for a variety of reasons.
- [63:32]
B
McMahon, you knew that this guy was going to be on Bon Temp's list after he. I don't think it's a super hot take, but certainly a bold prediction. Amen. Thompson, who Bon Temps has predicted will be an all Star this year.
- [63:48]
C
On the list, he's the favorites when most approved players. So I'm not gonna get.
- [63:53]
D
Well, that's because of your influence.
- [63:55]
C
Yes, that's right. I have.
- [63:56]
D
I have.
- [63:57]
C
You know, I moved the. I move the lines on one award. Yeah. This One's easy. The Rockets obviously hope to be a contending team. They lose. Fred Van Vliet sucks that he's out, but like we've talked about a bunch, amen Thompson is going to step into the the gap as if not the number one primary ball handler. He's certainly had the ball in his hands a ton of. He's going to be a huge part of what the Rockets are doing. He's an incredible defensive player. If he has growth on the offensive end, he's got a chance to be a really special player. And a lot of their success this season could hinge on how much of a leap he can make. Again, same draft class as Victor Wembanyama that third year. We see a lot of guys in that third year really take off. A man showed a ton of flashes last year, took on a much bigger role. Now he's going to clearly be a starter to mainstay with the Rockets this season going forward. So one way or the other, I think he's going to have a big part to play in how the season.
- [64:59]
D
Shakes out, you know, and I'm just going to say growth on the offensive end does not necessarily need to mean an improved jump shot or, you know, knocking down more threes, taking more. That's not it. It would be nice, but it's not necessary for there to be growth on the offensive end for him. When I was down there in the spring and, you know, I'm working on a story about, hey, do you got to go outside to find a superstar to vault this thing, the contender status, the answer ended up being yes, obviously, and they went out and got kd. But in the course of those conversations, I was asked, and it was kind of a rhetorical question, what could Russell Westbrook do at his peak that Amin Thompson doesn't have a chance to be.
- [65:54]
C
Able to do well, being several inches bigger.
- [65:58]
D
Yeah. In other words, like, dude, why can't this guy be a dude who has the ball in his hands a ton and is running the offense and just crack, creating havoc and overpowering people and overwhelming people with his athleticism and spraying the ball out to shooters, you know, while playing at breakneck speed? And then, by the way, Russ was never a dominant defensive player, despite what he wants to tell people.
- [66:26]
B
This guy, I always loved when Russell.
- [66:30]
D
Defensive team, because you don't play good defense, dude.
- [66:33]
B
Well, I like when he. What did he say about Beverly? Like, he's like, he's just faking it out there.
- [66:38]
D
I was actually, I was. In response to my question that was Pat Bev be tricking y', all, man. He'd just be running around out there, you know, I don't remember the exact. Be tricking y'. All.
- [66:51]
C
Speaking, speaking of the Rockets, though, very interesting starting lineup in this game Monday night. No Kevin Durant, as you said, Brian, but The man Thompson, O' Faron Shangoon, Jabari Smith Jr. Tar Eason, I would guess, starting for Kevin Durant and Reed shepherd starting also.
- [67:08]
B
By the way, I just want to point something out that a whole bunch of the players who were played heavy minutes in Euro basket, especially the teams who went deep, have natural, including Luca.
- [67:18]
D
Yeah.
- [67:19]
B
Have naturally taken some time off. Alpi Shingoon was like, no, no, I'm ready to play. And he, he played 17 minutes in this game, scored 19 points at five rebounds and six assists, two blocks.
- [67:32]
D
How old?
- [67:32]
C
Plus 18 and 17 minutes.
- [67:36]
B
He's very young. But, you know, it's not like Lucas 35. I mean, there's. They're, they're, you know, I'm just saying Shengoon is like, let's turn 23.
- [67:44]
C
To answer your question.
- [67:45]
B
Yeah, yeah. So Ahmed Thompson did hit a three.
- [67:52]
D
And he'll hit some, but like, he's not gonna turn into a average 3 point shooter this year, much less a good one. But he doesn't need to to become potentially an all star and even a superstar.
- [68:06]
B
All right, last guy on the list, and this is a good name, played in the game or did he play in this game tonight? He was certain.
- [68:13]
C
I believe so.
- [68:14]
D
Who that is?
- [68:15]
C
Yeah, he played.
- [68:16]
B
He played in this game tonight.
- [68:17]
C
Eight assists. Yeah. Treya.
- [68:22]
B
Trey Young of the Atlanta Hawks.
- [68:23]
C
Trey Young on the list for a couple of reasons. One, obviously we've talked a ton about Atlanta summer and they're going to be very interesting team in the Eastern Conference this year. But really more than that, it's for the reason. It's. He's a stand in for the thing we have talked about a lot over the past few months, which is sort of the new paradigm of contract negotiations in the NBA and specifically for these guys going into their third contracts and sort of what is the new reality for these stars going into their third deals? We saw Brandon Ingram eventually get traded and sign a deal with the Raptors. We saw Julius Randle. You know, he ends up extending last year for a little over 30 million a year with, with the Wolves after getting traded there from the Knicks. You know, there's been talk about is Tyler Hero going to get extended? He's not going to get extended, but like what is the next contract for him? Just talked about Austin Reeves before. He hasn't made a lot of money but like what number is Austin Reeves going to get to? And Trey Young is sort of in that same group of player, a really good player, has had a great career in Atlanta, Still a tremendous point guard, setting up guys lead to league, led the league in assists last year. Can still do a lot of things to help a team win. But as a smaller guard coming off a year where he had Achilles issues most of the year, is he going to, you know, I'm sure he's going to want something at or close to the max, which is going to be up around $50 million a year, maybe higher. If I'm Atlanta, I don't want to pay Trae Young a max. I don't think they have a real way to build a team that can be a contending team if they're paying Trae Young at the max. But if they could pay him say 35 a year over a few years then with Jalen Johnson and you know, see what happens with Dyson Daniels on an extension and maybe they bring Chris Esports Ingis back and they've got Zachary Richache, last year's number one pick. They've got potentially a super high pick in next year's draft coming from this Pelicans trade just that they made this summer. Walker just signed to Kalexander Walker, tremendous.
- [70:32]
B
Fit for them in his first game. I believe it was his first game. Yeah, first game as a Hawk tonight. 13 points in 11 minutes at three threes.
- [70:43]
D
He's coming become a really, really good three and D plus guy. And the plus is because like he can put the ball on the floor, he can facilitate. He's not just a three and D guy.
- [70:58]
C
Yeah, so.
- [70:59]
D
But he's like a really, really good role player earlier. But look, yes, I hear you putting Trey Young in the same sentence as those guys. I'm just going to point out from a production and accomplishment standpoint, he's a cut above all of those guys. Like he just is. Now is he a perfect player? No, he's not a perfect player.
- [71:20]
C
There are very. I wouldn't say he's a cut above all those guys.
- [71:23]
D
Who of those guys you mentioned, who's he not a cut above?
- [71:27]
C
I think the perfect analog for him, honestly is Julius Randle. I think he and Julius Randall are very similar players. They're both. They both made deep playoff runs. Julius is Julius. I've submitted the conference finals this year playoff run.
- [71:43]
D
There's A big difference.
- [71:44]
C
Yeah, one, one time. That's true. Did four years ago.
- [71:48]
D
That's true.
- [71:49]
C
And Trey has made one all NBA team. I think Julius has made two. And they're both players that are very good but have to have a very certain kind of ecosystem around them to be at their best. And it's unclear if that is a formula that can lead you to be a team that can get really deep in the playoffs. I know the Wolves just got to the conference finals, but like listen, it's an awkward fit.
- [72:16]
D
Trey Young offensively is absolutely good enough.
- [72:19]
B
To make the player his average double figure assists the last three.
- [72:24]
C
Three years. He's a tremendous, he's a tremendous offensive point guard who's a huge liability on defense. Right.
- [72:30]
D
And so that, that's the question. And I'm not saying the guy should like he's not a no brainer Max in, in this world. It is an interesting thing though where they find themselves in this situation where you know the decision's going to be made over the next year. Do they move forward with Trae Young or not? That's basically where, where we're heading here, right?
- [72:52]
C
Well, I, I mean I think it's. I, I don't even know if it's that simple because like if you look around the NBA and it's kind of what happened with Julius, right? Julius had another really good season this year and I know there wasn't a lot of cap space out there, but like where are the obvious fits for Julius Randle to go? Yeah, it's not an obvious fit a lot of places, right. If you look around the league, who needs a point guard? Like there's not a lot of teams where you just go, hey, they're gonna go pay $50 million to sign Trey Young even if you have cap space. Right. Like it's, it's just not. And that's not a knock on Trey. I think Trey's awesome. Well, he's a really, really good player.
- [73:34]
D
Put Lamello ball in for Trey. Like it's the same thing.
- [73:37]
C
Like there's not like or John Moran. What do you mean? It's just, it's. If you want to like try to construct a John Morant trade again, set aside anything else other than like who's going to give up a bunch of stuff for a point guard. The one team everybody sort of always talked about, well, they could use a point guard was San Antonio. They just traded for. Now they got three, right. But like they made their trade, they traded for dear Fox.
- [74:00]
D
But so my point is the Hawks have constructed a roster that protects Trey Young on the defensive end extremely well. From getting Dyson Daniels to, you know, the length and athleticism in the, in the.
- [74:17]
C
Alexander Walker.
- [74:18]
D
Yeah, yeah. So they've got these big on ball defenders. They've got lengthened athleticism and, and rim protection in the front court. So you know, and they've been doing so they've positioned themselves where they are a threat in a water down Eastern Conference. Like it won't shock anybody if the Hawks won the east this year. And he's never been like I see.
- [74:46]
C
Brian making that face but they got votes to win the east in the.
- [74:49]
D
It would shock you. It would shock you.
- [74:52]
B
I don't know. I don't want to. It's almost three in the morning Eastern. I'm not going to.
- [75:00]
C
Consensus. They're seen as a consensus. They're seen as. They're seen as a consensus top four team in the east going into the season. So that's all you.
- [75:08]
D
And the year they went to the Eastern Conference finals was an upset run. He's never been in a position since he's been in the NBA where he was on a team that had legitimate expectations like this entering a season. This is the best roster he's had.
- [75:27]
B
Yeah, that's true.
- [75:28]
C
So all why he's going to be super interesting.
- [75:31]
B
If they were comfortable giving him the max, he would have it.
- [75:36]
D
Oh yeah, no question about that. And if he was comfortable taking less, he'd have taken it probably.
- [75:41]
B
Well, look, the reason Bontemps has them on this list is not just for what the Hawks do this year and where they end up and whether they can contend for the east or whatever. But what happens, you know, if they can't come to an agreement on a contract? What happened?
- [75:57]
C
It's just, it's these conversations I think are just going to be more and more prevalent around the league. There's going to be a lot more converse. There should be at least a lot more conversations like this.
- [76:07]
B
Nobody ever got 85% of the max. Okay.
- [76:11]
C
Right.
- [76:11]
B
If you got, if you were anywhere close because, because teams it's kind of like the supermax.
- [76:19]
C
Rudy's the only guy who's taken less than super like the entire supermax on any of these deals. Any of these guys have been eligible.
- [76:27]
B
Right? Well, he got, he, he went above his allotted percentage but not all the way to the line basically is what.
- [76:32]
C
Well no, he didn't get the full supermax. He got like most of it.
- [76:35]
B
He got above what he could have gotten without qualifying but yes, it was. It's almost like, in golf terms, it's almost like, you know, having a very generous partner who gives you a five footer. You within five feet, they knock it back and say, here's your max. Now they're making it. They're. Now they're just making you putt everything out. So that's just, that's just the way that it goes.
- [76:58]
D
Do you get the five footers?
- [77:01]
B
It depends who hit the putt. All right, thank you for sticking with us. Very long day for some of us, for all of us. Because McMahon had to pull double duty.
- [77:16]
C
Yes.
- [77:17]
B
Also McMahon with a very aggressive a hike, dude. Yeah.
- [77:22]
D
Okay, listen, I want.
- [77:23]
B
I was at my training camp. I was in the air conditioning the whole time.
- [77:26]
D
Clarify something. Okay, I, I, on my little ig, I posted a thing of the gondola right on the way down. I'm getting a lot of, like, DM inquiries. Yeah, I hiked up Grouse Mountain. All right, I did. Now, was I huffing? Was I huffing and puffing? Oh, yeah, yeah. But I hiked up that bleepity bleep and then took a little stroll and saw a couple grizzlies. Big country and Sharif. I named them.
- [78:00]
C
He did. He did send us a picture. Big country at Sharif on the, on the old group chat. You did see it.
- [78:04]
D
They're lean. They're leaned up right now. Weighed about 775 and 850.
- [78:10]
C
Didn't look too leaned up to me for.
- [78:12]
D
Yeah, no, apparently they get to like.
- [78:13]
C
It didn't look. It also didn't look like a very big fence. I was looking at the fence. Looks like a little bit of a barbed wire fence.
- [78:19]
D
It was sturdy.
- [78:20]
C
I don't know about this.
- [78:21]
D
It was sturdy, but, yeah, I'm glad I hiked up. And according to my little, you know, the thing of a bobber on your phone, it was 234flights of stairs, so.
- [78:32]
C
Yeah, it's a lot of flights.
- [78:34]
D
Yeah.
- [78:37]
B
Love it.
- [78:37]
D
Now, Christian Clark with the athletic. He hiked up with me. I ain't gonna lie. I held him back. I took about four or five rests.
- [78:47]
B
Well, he's younger than you.
- [78:48]
C
Significantly, he is a young fella.
- [78:51]
B
All right, well, thank you very much to Jackson for staying up late early in the season. Thank you for listening and watching the hoop collective Akwin, Commander Pontos. And we will talk to you later this week.
- [79:01]
D
Adios, amigos.
- [79:13]
E
Eight years ago, I blew my football career.
- [79:15]
B
He dropped it at the one yard line.
- [79:16]
E
Chad Powers has arrived on Hulu.
- [79:19]
C
If I can't play as Russ.
- [79:20]
B
I'll play as someone else.
- [79:21]
C
My name's Chad.
- [79:22]
B
And last name legit.
- [79:24]
C
From executive producers Eli and Peyton Manning. Remember, you're wearing a prosthetic mask.
- [79:28]
B
This is acting and starring Glen Powell. He thinks you're a rubber Cheeto.
- [79:33]
C
Not.
- [79:33]
B
Not rubber. I'm a man made of flesh.
- [79:35]
E
The Hulu original series Chad Powers is now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers.
- [79:41]
C
Terms apply.
- [79:41]
E
New episodes Tuesdays.