How Kevin Durant Outshined Giannis Antetokounmpo at NBA Media Day; Kawhi Leonard Confronts Endorsement Scandal

Summary

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Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective

Episode: How Kevin Durant Outshined Giannis Antetokounmpo at NBA Media Day; Kawhi Leonard Confronts Endorsement Scandal

Date: September 30, 2025
Participants: Brian Windhorst (Host), Tim Bontemps, Tim McMahon (ESPN NBA Insiders)

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Overview:

This episode dives into the biggest headlines from NBA Media Day 2025:

• Kevin Durant decisively addresses his contract future in Houston, in sharp contrast to Giannis’ ambiguous comments in Milwaukee
• The Clippers and Kawhi Leonard face uncomfortable questions around an endorsement scandal
• Updates and inside discussion from Dallas, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, Denver, San Antonio, Miami, and Boston
• Analysis, notable quotes, and first impressions of rookies and changing team dynamics across the league

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Main Discussion Points & Insights:

1. Giannis’ Murky Media Day and Contract Questions (00:31 – 09:54)

• Giannis' Absence and Zoom Appearance:

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Bucks media day, quarantining in Greece after contracting Covid post-Eurobasket.
  • He spoke to media via Zoom—candid but vague.

• Owner vs. Superstar Disconnect:

  • Bucks owner Wes Edens:
    • "I had a great conversation with Giannis in June, and he made it clear that he is committed to Milwaukee. He likes having his family here." (03:00)
  • Giannis, less than an hour later:
    • "I cannot recall that meeting." (03:26)
    • Panel compares this to political obfuscation: "That's something you hear when you're watching a congressional hearing. Senator, I, I do not recall." – Windhorst (03:36)

• Ambiguity On Commitment:

  • Giannis:
    • "It's a disservice to basketball and just to the game to not want to compete at in a high level and to want your season to end in April. ... I had the same thoughts two years ago." (04:13)
  • Panel consensus: Giannis has mastered the art of leaving doors open for potential moves (05:00). Team's viability as a contender is questioned; Bucks’ supporting cast is suspect, Giannis being the lone star.

• Contrast to Kevin Durant:

  • Kevin Durant, asked about his own contract in Houston by Danielle Lerner, immediately responds:
    • "I could. I definitely see myself signing a contract here." (07:53)
  • "Durant ended all speculation in five seconds." – Windhorst

2. Houston Rockets: Durant’s Arrival, Big Lineups, and Optimism (18:51 – 24:35)

• KD’s Immediate Impact in Houston:

  • Durant’s presence energizes the team at media day; clear optimism on both sides for a contract resolution.
  • Team culture: Durant is actively mentoring, notably bonding with Jabari Smith Jr. (19:52)

• Roster Construction, Lineup Insights:

  • Coach Ime Udoka confirms intent to use one of the "tallest starting lineups ever":
    • Amen Thompson at PG (6’7”), Durant and Jabari Smith on the wings (6’10”+), Alperen Sengun, and Steven Adams or even Clint Capela rotating at center.
    • “There’s definitely been a bonding between Jabari Smith Jr. and Durant.” – Windhorst (20:41)
  • The double-big lineup, praised for offensive rebounding, remains central. (22:23–23:22)

• Amen Thompson’s Opportunity:

  • With Fred VanVleet’s ACL, Amen becomes focal as lead guard:
    • “I think Amen Thompson is going to be the most improved player in the league. I think he's got a real chance of being All-Star this year.” – McMahon (24:23)

3. Kyrie Irving Injury Update & Mavericks Outlook (11:27 – 18:17)

• Kyrie Injury Management:

  • Coach Jason Kidd and Irving offer injury update:
    • "I’m right on schedule, guys." – Kyrie (13:11)
    • Mavericks deliberately avoiding public return timetable for Kyrie post-ACL.
  • Discussion of past injury complications, cautious approach is applauded.

• Rookie Cooper Flagg:

  • Highly anticipated No. 1 pick, receiving kudos for attitude and willingness to learn, bringing renewed optimism to Dallas.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers Updates (31:33 – 34:39)

• Injury Reports:
  • Max Strus (Jones fracture, foot) and Darius Garland (turf toe surgery) both out for start of season, but progressing well.
  • "It will be only acceptable if the Cavs are playing in June this year." – Max Strus (32:16)
  • Evan Mobley expected to have more ball-handling duties.
• Positive Developments:
  • Lonzo Ball’s full rehab from wrist surgery, working out with no setbacks (34:02)

5. Kawhi Leonard & Clippers Endorsement Scandal (36:19 – 40:56)

• Clippers Executive Sidesteps Endorsement Criticism:

  • Ramona Shelburne asks if Kawhi’s uncle Dennis Robertson requested impermissible benefits.
  • Lawrence Frank repeatedly responds:
    • "Dennis knows the rules. Kawhi knows the rules. We know the rules." (37:40)
    • Avoids direct denial despite repeated questioning.

• Kawhi Responds:

  • “I understand the full contracted services I had to do. I don't deal with conspiracies or the clickbait analyst or journalism that's going on. I don't think it's accurate that no services were performed and that he didn't receive the money he was owed.” (38:27)
  • “We invite the investigation.” – Kawhi & Frank (39:20)

• Panel Analysis:

  • Panel agrees the situation “stinks,” pundits question whether enough hard evidence exists to prompt NBA discipline given Adam Silver’s “soft on crime” reputation (40:26)

6. Lakers Media Day: LeBron Handles Questions Like a Pro (42:16 – 46:14)

• LeBron’s Media Day Masterclass:
  • “He handled today’s media session like someone who’s done 22 prior…came in and acted like there was no drama this summer.” – Windhorst (42:16)
  • Asked about how Luka Doncic (now his teammate) impacts his own future:
    • “He’s not going to base his future on the fact that Luka Doncic is now on his team… He’s going to base his future on where he and his family are.” – Windhorst paraphrasing (43:05)
  • LeBron leaves all doors open but refuses to raise drama, directly contrasted with Giannis’ approach.

7. League-Wide Injury and Rookie Updates (46:26 – 51:33)

• Denver Nuggets:
  • Nikola Jokic, asked if he’ll sign a contract extension, says:
    • “My plan is to be a Nugget forever.” (46:54)
  • Panel notes excitement but cautions "He didn’t say yes."
• San Antonio Spurs:
  • De’Aaron Fox expects to miss camp and possibly season start, hamstring injury. (48:22)
  • Chemistry questions as new guards (Fox, Dylan Harper, rookie Stefan Castle) need to mesh with Wembanyama.
• Miami Heat:
  • Tyler Herro surgery included removing an “extra bone” from his foot; his timetable is 8–12 weeks, possibly shorter.

8. Additional Noteworthy Moments & Quotes

• On Giannis and Media Savvy (08:28):
  • “Giannis is savvy. He’s been around a long time. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s been doing it for years. …Either commit or ask out. No one’s gonna blame you.” – Bontemps
• On Bizarre Lake Talk (00:46, 30:51):
  • Running joke about "discovering water in Cleveland" and Midwest geography.
• Fishing Stories (29:47):
  • Stephen Adams colorfully recounts a Bahamas fishing trip with Durant:
    • “He brought in a…about a seven…say seven pound…(fish). It took him seven minutes to reel it in.”
  • “I was celebrating… like it was a championship. KD was like, yeah, whatever.” – Stephen Adams via Windhorst
• Cooper Flagg’s Maturity (18:21):
  • Praised for attitude, “very feel good Cooper Flagg story at this point in Dallas.”
• Action in Boston:
  • Bill Nye appears at Celtics media day with Jalen Brown.

9. Tribute to Heat GM Andy Elisburg (52:48):

• Warm words about Andy Elisburg’s recovery from health issues, universally respected throughout the NBA.

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Key Timestamps & Segments

• Giannis Media Day, Bucks Outlook: 00:31 – 09:54
• Durant’s Houston Statement & Rockets Optimism: 07:39 – 24:35
• Kyrie & Mavericks Injury Updates: 11:27 – 18:17
• Cavs Corner: 31:33 – 34:39
• Kawhi/Clippers Scandal: 36:19 – 40:56
• LeBron, Luka, and Lakers’ Tone: 42:16 – 46:14
• Jokic’s Nugget Statement: 46:26
• Spurs, Heat, Rookie and Injury Updates: 48:22 – 51:33
• Boston, Bill Nye, and NBA Media Day Triangulation: 51:33 – 52:48
• Andy Elisburg Tribute: 52:48 – End

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Memorable Quotes (Speaker/Time):

• “I cannot recall that meeting.” – Giannis Antetokounmpo (03:26)
• “I could. I definitely see myself signing a contract here.” – Kevin Durant (07:53)
• “Dennis knows the rules. Kawhi knows the rules. …We know the rules.” – Lawrence Frank (37:40)
• “I don’t deal with conspiracies or the clickbait analyst or journalism that’s going on.” – Kawhi Leonard (38:27)
• “Yes, Senator, we all know the rules.” – Windhorst (38:21)
• “My plan is to be a Nugget forever.” – Nikola Jokic (46:54)
• “If LeBron wants to turn the temperature up in a room, the man knows how to work a thermostat.” – Bontemps (45:04)
• “Giannis is not just giving oxygen, he’s got a little gasoline, you know, spray bottle here.” – Bontemps (08:15)
• “I discovered… [LeBron] …and Wimby, among others. Go on.” – Windhorst, joking about their media day travels (52:52)
• “If he [Reed Sheppard] can get through 75 days with you, he can get through anything.” – Bontemps on McMahon (55:01)

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Tone & Presentation

The episode is conversational, sharp, occasionally irreverent and often features playful banter among Brian, Tim, and Tim. Quotes are relayed directly or paraphrased with attribution, serious issues are analyzed without alarmism, and humor lightens heavier topics (scandal, injuries, contract uncertainty).

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Summary Takeaways

• Durant provided certainty and leadership in Houston, while Giannis stoked speculation in Milwaukee.
• The Clippers’ scandal remains mired in vague denials and non-answers.
• Injuries loom over multiple franchises, giving opportunity to young stars and raising early season questions.
• LeBron and Jokic both tamp down storylines—at least for now.
• NBA Media Day continues to serve up headline drama, optimism, and classic league intrigue.

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Transcript

[Tim Bontemps]

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[Brian Windhorst]

Hello and welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Monday afternoon. Must be that time because we're all at NBA venues. Joining us from Cleveland, Ohio, where he was at Cavaliers media day today is Tim Bontemps.

[Tim McMahon]

Hello, Brian. Were you aware that there's water in Cleveland?

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. You and your coastal elite buddy, Lonzo Ball.

[Tim McMahon]

Why am I getting. I grew up on the shores of lake.

[Brian Windhorst]

Because you're a coastal elite.

[Tim McMahon]

Okay.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. By the way, Lonzo just spent the last few years in Chicago where they have another great lake. Joining us from Dallas, Texas, where he was at Mavericks media day, just up the road from me here in Houston is Ben McMahon.

[Tim Bontemps]

Howdy, partners. I would like to correct you, Wendy. Bon Temps is not an anything elite. He's a coastal resident. He ain't elite.

[Brian Windhorst]

All right, all right. Well, we'll talk about those two spots as well as what on here in Houston in a few minutes. I think, you know, on media day, we often hear about injuries that were previously not public and surgeries and things like that. Well, we got a surprise in Milwaukee today, but it was not sort of that serious, but sort of interesting. Giannis Antennokounmpo was not there because he was in Greece because he has Covid and he doesn't. He can't travel. Contracted Covid after Eurobasket after he went back to Greece. Did speak to the media on Zoom and more. He seems like he's doing healthy, waiting for negative tests. It felt like it was throwback to 2021. Waiting for negative test. My God. That's another story for another day, but.

[Tim McMahon]

I think not for game six of the finals, though. Not for game six of the finals.

[Brian Windhorst]

Boy, you slid that in. Somebody, somebody from Phoenix just, just spit glass with you mentioning that.

[Tim McMahon]

Can I, Can I read, Can I read a quote from Bucks media day that I think sums up the Yana situation fairly perfectly? Beyond Covid?

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. I was gonna pivot to, but please pivot away.

[Tim McMahon]

So Wes Edens was the owner of the Bucks, was in Milwaukee for media day, had this to say about Giannis's future with the team. Quote, I had a great conversation with Giannis in June, and he made it clear that he is committed to Milwaukee. He likes having his family here, end quote. That's very nice sentiment, right?

[Tim Bontemps]

Yes, I like that.

[Tim McMahon]

So an hour later, Yas Tedokupo was asked about this meeting live. Yes. On Zoom from Greece. Quote, I cannot recall that meeting. Oh, seems problematic given, you know, he is only the guy cutting the checks for the team. Feels like you'd probably remember if you had that conversation or if you.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, that's something you hear when you. When you're watching a congressional hearing. Senator, I. I do not recall.

[Tim McMahon]

Senator, yes. And also further, our guy Jamal Collier on the scene in Milwaukee today, talking to Giannis from Greece on Zoom. Giannis had this to say about his belief in or his thoughts this summer on what his future may hold and how much he thought about what his future would be in Milwaukee going forward. This is part of the quote, but I think the important part, quote, it's a disservice to basketball and just to the game to not want to compete at in a high level and to want your season to end in April. It's pretty much the same. It's not the first time. I had the same thoughts last year. I had the same thoughts two years ago. So, you know, I'm a Bucks fan. I'm not feeling super hot about this being the way that the season is kicking off with Yanis in Milwaukee with two years left to go.

[Brian Windhorst]

In fairness, in fairness, he also did praise the Miles Turner edition. Said he was very excited about that. It's just.

[Tim Bontemps]

Listen, though, it has been, literally, it's been like seven years of Giannis watch, Right. And for a while, it was teams line. But I'm serious again. I go back to when the Mavericks drafted Luca and Brunson and got Costas and Kupo with the last pick of that draft because they were trying to set themselves up as a potential Giannis destination. So for the first two or three years of it, it was teams lining up, trying to put themselves in position to poach them. But Giannis repeatedly over the last several years has not only left windows open, but he's opened them. He's kicking doors open. He's, like, making sure that there's plenty of ventilation here. And at this point, look, man, if.

[Brian Windhorst]

You were going, definitely a lot of ventilation, absolutely.

[Tim Bontemps]

But at this point, it's media day. Okay. Like you. If you were going to ask Adam Milwaukee this summer, nobody would have. I. I Think blame the guy. Like, we all agree it's a very murky situation there. Like, I don't see a path for them to put a contender around him. But you had all summer, if you wanted to ask Adam Walk, you had all summer. Summer to do that. It's media day. You didn't. Why are you, like, making sure the windows open right now? Like, either commit or don't. Either ask out or don't.

[Tim McMahon]

Well, I. I think because we have just seen what the year is going to look like in Milwaukee, right? We have. We have talked about how this Milwaukee Bucks team, outside of Johnston Akupo is pretty suspect. Yes, Miles Turner is good. The third best player on the team is Bobby Portis. Kyle Kuzma.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's not Kyle Kuzma.

[Tim McMahon]

I mean, you know, Gary Trent. I mean, these are guys that are at best bit starters on teams. They didn't replace Damian Lillard at point guard. Giannis is obviously going to have the ball in his hands all the time. He's probably going to put up giant numbers assuming he can stay healthy under what's going to be a massive usage load this year. But this is not a team right now that you look at it and you think is one of the four best teams in the East. There's a world they're in the play in this year, even with Giannis. So if that's what we're talking about with the team and the Bucks are, I don't know, 20 and 25 in January, what's the chatter around Giannis going to be like? It's not going to be ask out. Giannis is fully committed to Milwaukee and that's all going to go back to this day. Went to your point, McMahon. If he'd walked in and said, hey, got Miles Turner, I feel good about where we're at. I have the ball in my hands. I'm going to put up numbers. Leaving Doc Rivers excited about where we're going. Let's give this season a go. Everybody was all right. Yeah. This is locked in for the season and that's fine.

[Brian Windhorst]

And instead, let me contrast it with what Kevin Durant said here today. Not that we're going to talk about the Rockets right now. I'm at the Toyota Center. Kevin Durant walked in. The first question was from Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle. She asked directly about his contract situation and he gave an answer three seconds in. I could. I definitely see myself signing a contract here. And he reset it again. He's not signed. There's negotiation to go on but he, you know, who knows what will happen until it's signed. It's not signed, But Durant ended all speculation in five seconds. Five seconds.

[Tim Bontemps]

Oxygen. He was not going to give any oxygen to where all. Giannis is not just doing giving oxygen. He's like, got a little gasoline, you know, spray bottle here, you know. Come on, man.

[Brian Windhorst]

And Giannis.

[Tim Bontemps]

Giannis is savvy. He's been around a long time. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's been doing it for years. And I'm just saying, like, dude, either commit or ask out. No one's gonna blame you.

[Brian Windhorst]

I don't know, like, if you're a Bucks fan, you could look at that a different way and say that he totally praised the off season move.

[Tim McMahon]

You know, that's fine. I don't recall the meeting with Wes Eden saying, I'm committed to Milwaukee. Is that. Is. That's all you got to say? Whatever else was said today, on any level, that quote is all that matters.

[Tim Bontemps]

Like how many owners speak at media day?

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, it's. I wouldn't say it's unheard of, but Wes Eden's, you know, he's New York based, so it's unusual to see Wes Edens, you know, in Milwaukee on a Bucks do that.

[Tim McMahon]

I feel like those guys have fairly regularly done that. It isn't. It isn't a normal thing either way. But regardless, whether he normally does it or not, the owner says, I talked to Giannis in June. He's locked in. He's feeling good. He's excited. Giannis, I don't remember talking to the owner.

[Tim Bontemps]

The owner comes in, tells you all.

[Tim McMahon]

You need to know. Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

His clear goal is, let's quiet all this down. Let's calm this down. We don't need this kind of speculation and drama swirling.

[Brian Windhorst]

Let's.

[Tim Bontemps]

Let's cool it. And Jana says, no, no, no. Let's crank that timber.

[Tim McMahon]

Let's heat it up, baby.

[Brian Windhorst]

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[Tim McMahon]

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[Brian Windhorst]

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[Brian Windhorst]

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[Brian Windhorst]

Tap the banner to learn more. Speaking of cooling things down, let's go to Dallas where you were today, McMahon, where Jason Kidd, among other things that happened today, wanted to cool things down on Kyrie Irving's the expectations on, on his availability.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah. And look Kyrie there. You know, there's been video clips on social media recently of Kyrie shooting, taking jumpers, you know, standstill jump shots. And J Kid took umbrage with the specific phrasing that he's ahead of schedule. Now, I don't know if I've seen that in maybe this been reported. I know I heard it somewhere. Oh, that's right. I heard it when Nico Harrison said it on a summer league broadcast.

[Brian Windhorst]

Oh, we have another, we have another disavowing.

[Tim Bontemps]

It took me a while to remember where I heard it to recall. I do recall. I recall now. We like recalling. But look, what, what J Kid was doing is saying we don't need there to be daily, weekly, like is Kai, when's Kyrie ready? What's the time table? What's the timetable, that sort of a thing, you know. And then Kyrie comes in, he was after J Kid and came in, he said, let me just hit the J. The J Kid news. And he's smiling, he says, I'm right on schedule, guys. You know, we're, there's consistency here. I'm right on schedule. And I asked him about, you know, a potential timetable. Does he ever target return date? He doesn't want to, he doesn't want to put that out there because he, you know, and I understand, he didn't want to put himself in a situation where, you know, let's say the target date. I'm pulling a date out. Just that, you know, would make sense from a ACL recovery standpoint. Let's say it's early February, you know, 11 months removed from when he tore his ACL. Well, if he's not quite ready early February, then it's. Why aren't you ready? What happened? Was there a setback? And, and he doesn't want all of that. But you know, it obviously the, the buzz about this franchise right now is about Cooper Flag and the beginning of this potential generational talents NBA career. You know, this number one overall pick out of Duke in such a unique situation where, you know there's three guaranteed future hall of Famers on the roster. They think they can win now. They expect to win now. But it took a little toy. You know, the other two number one overall picks today both had injury updates and Kyrie's update is. There's really no update. It's going to be a while. AD's update.

[Brian Windhorst]

Hold on.

[Tim McMahon]

Okay. Oh, okay.

[Brian Windhorst]

That right eye, I didn't like it.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, so ad, this is.

[Brian Windhorst]

Sorry.

[Tim Bontemps]

Anthony Davis. Yes. He had surgery to repair the retina of his right eye, which is something that he did late last season after he came back from the, the adductor injury. It was actually unfortunately friendly fire from, from Daniel Gafford. I believe it was a game against the Hawks. Ray D. Had a huge game and hit the game winner. But doing his normal, like post, you know, into season medical evaluation, they said, hey, you need to get surgery on this. So got surgery, was basically, you know, not able to do anything for a month or so. Has only recently been cleared for five on five, but he's fully cleared for camp. He says his vision is completely fine at this point. There was serious redness in that eye and he says that's caused by eye drops that he has to use. Now he did say that his doctor is mandating that he will wear protective glasses. You know, he called them Horace Grants or Kareems, whether they're goggles or just whatever. Like the newfangled protective glasses. Not just now known as the BO Outlaws. Yes, he will. He will wear those for the rest of his career. So yeah, that, that was, I would say, relatively good news for AD though. Fully cleared will be a full participant in camp.

[Brian Windhorst]

Good, good. Because they were pretty red. I didn't. Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah. And. And I just want to be clear, like the, the news on Kyrie. It's not bad news. It's just let's temper expectations. Let's.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

Not I actually think put it on this guy that's going to be back January 1st or something.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes, I think he was being responsible with that. It's not like we haven't seen ACL injuries. We know how long it takes to come back. In fact, here in Houston today, you know, a little bit of talk about Fred Van Vliet who just had ACL surgery a couple days ago. And IME Udoka said, you know, I tore my ACL twice.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah.

[Brian Windhorst]

So I know exactly what he's going through. And when you're a few days off of surgery, it's, it's a, it's a hard mental thing. So he's like.

[Tim Bontemps]

You know, Kyrie's not torn an ACL before, but he pointed out this is the fourth time that he's had knee surgery. And obviously, you know, Kyrie, when he was in Cleveland, there were very serious complications coming back from one of those knee surgeries. Matter of fact, were those. All three of the surgeries were all related to the one issue.

[Brian Windhorst]

Anyways, I don't know. I just know that he had basically an infection that developed on the hardware, I think. Right. And you know, he later on went to Brooklyn and if you remember this bontem, he had a shoulder that needed surgery that he kept putting off the surgery and putting off the surgery and he ended up having to have it. But because like he was, even though it was on his shoulder, not a knee, you know, he had had this surgery and ended up causing him a whole bunch of problems. So he was trying to avoid surgery. So. Yeah, I mean, it seems, it seems routine. There's dozens of surgeries done on dozens of NBA players every summer. But it's. For some people who've had bad experiences, it's not so simple.

[Tim McMahon]

Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

And again, it's, it's not bad news with Kyrie. It's just, hey, it's not like he's making some miraculous recovery where he's going to be back in, in nine months. Right. Like, let's not put that out there. And you know, when it happened, talking to people around the Mavericks, they basically said, hey, if he's back around the all Star break and then can be back close to himself by the end of the season, we'd feel very good about that. Kyrie was very upbeat. You know, the contract negotiations were, that's a tough deal. When he's thinking he's a 50 plus million dollar a year player. There's the ACL, now he's got to leave, you know, got to take a haircut. To make room for d' Angelo Russell on the roster. But he seemed, you know, good mental space with all that, you know, excited about the possibilities once he gets back. But once he gets back is not for a while.

[Brian Windhorst]

Okay. Any Cooper Flagg discussion today, you know.

[Tim Bontemps]

Just, I mean, happy to be here, optimistic, feels, quote, unquote, blessed to be in a situation where he's got all these vets to pick their brains to learn from. A lot of people raving about not just the talent, but how receptive he is to information, you know, to the wisdom of his veteran teammates. It's a very feel good Cooper Flag story at this point in Dallas, and I think it'll stay that way for a while.

[Brian Windhorst]

All right. All right. Down here in Houston, despite the Fred Van Vliet news, which tempered everything, there's a lot of excitement around the Rockets. You know, they're beginning a season as a team in the spotlight for the first time in four years. Last year, you know, they were sort of, they thought they were going to do well, but nobody thought they were going to be the second seed. So there's a different vibe here. There's been in a while, and obviously KD comes, you know, there's a, you know, first ballot, hall of Famer walks in the building. There's a lot of that. Just about every single player who spoke today talked about the impact that's made to work out with Kevin Durant. And so you certainly feel that here. And as I said earlier, Durant coming in and really trying to embrace being a part of this team. Obviously, if it was as simple as offering him a max contract, bond temps, I mean, McMahon, it was as simple as saying, hey, you're ready to sign. Here's two years and 120 million. This is probably getting done. I did ask.

[Tim Bontemps]

It would have been done the day after it got traded, right?

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. Rafael Stone with the media today, and I bit the bullet and was the bad guy and asked about the Durant contract and he's like. I was like, hey, can I ask about Kevin's contract? He's like, well, you can ask, but I ain't answering. And so he basically said, no, no comment. Durant did comment, obviously, so there's going to be a negotiation there. Very clearly. I've talked to the Durant camp and even beyond what what Kevin said today, there's very good optimism that they're going to have a deal, but ain't a deal till it's a deal. The other things I would say about today is there's definitely been a bonding. I think they had a previous relationship, but there's definitely been a bonding between Jabari Smith Jr. And Durant. They're definitely spending time working together. Durant was very complimentary of Jabari and his work in the off season. There's definitely been a connection there and. And frankly they're looking forward to playing together. And Bontemps, you brought this up on the pod. I think within the last week or so after Van Vliet's injury, you talked about did you say it was the tallest starting lineup maybe in NBA history?

[Tim McMahon]

I mean, I said that Amend was going to be the starting point guard and that if he is, they're going to have a huge team by default. But I mean they're going to be big. No question about that.

[Brian Windhorst]

IME Udoka, basically, I don't know if he said that. He said one of the top maybe he said one of the tallest teams ever. So he openly said that they're going to play this way, which is a men Thompson a point guard, not full time, but a men Thompson a point guard. Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith as the wings. That's 611 and 6 10. I think Kevin Durant's 7 foot, so whatever. But 611 and 610 out Baron Shingoon, who is only slightly taller than Amen Thompson, but Amen Thompson's about six, seven. Amen, by the way, was a great attitude today.

[Tim Bontemps]

He is an extremely sunny person.

[Tim McMahon]

A plus guy. Yeah, a plus guy.

[Brian Windhorst]

I. I would totally like spending time with Amen Thompson and I'm. I don't know his brother really at all. But Azor, I'm sure is the same way.

[Tim McMahon]

He's the same way too. Yep.

[Brian Windhorst]

So Alperin Shingoon as the four, I guess in that scenario. And Stephen Adams playing five.

[Tim Bontemps]

So that's a starting line.

[Brian Windhorst]

That's a starting lineup. Okay, but that he would.

[Tim Bontemps]

No, but the double big thing, you know, the double big thing is something they found midway through last day. The first time they went to. That was actually right here in Dallas. It was Anthony Davis's debut here in Dallas. Remember, AD absolutely dominated the first half and the Maps are playing him at the four. You know, with the. I don't remember if Lively was hurt at the time, but you know, at least with Gafford and the Mavs were bullying them and the Rockets went to that in the third quarter. AD unfortunately got hurt. But then it was something where the Rockets tinkered with that a lot down the stretch of the season. You know, We've talked about just the absolutely insane offensive rebounding numbers with that lineup. And then obviously, you know, they made it a series against the warriors in large part because Stephen Adams was so impactful alongside Alpechen Goon.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. So they're gonna.

[Tim Bontemps]

And then they, then they added Clint Capello to make sure that they could do it. Even on nights where they're resting Adams.

[Brian Windhorst]

Clint was here.

[Tim McMahon]

And again, the, the story there too is it's just, it's all about a man. I mean, he's one of the most important players now in the whole league this season, and he's going to have all he can eat in terms of ability to try to grow as a player and, you know, third year guys with his kind of talent. You mentioned it. I think we were on TV the other day, Brian, you were talking about it with Victor. But we've seen a lot of guys in their third year break out and take off. And like I said last week, I think, I think Amend Thompson is going to be the most improved player in the league. I think he's got a real chance of being all star this year. And again, the Fred injury is going to mean by default, he's going to be given a ton of opportunity. And you know, from everything we've seen from him over the first couple years in the league, if he could stay healthy, I expect he's going to have a really big year. And Imi Adoka clearly believes in him and is going to give him every chance to, to maximize what he can be. And I'm, I for one, although I'm super bummed about Fred, am very interested and excited to see what a man is going to look like when he's got the ball in his hands for 25 minutes a night.

[Brian Windhorst]

And to be clear, IME said that it's going to be point guard by committee, that it will be amen, that it will be Kevin Durant, that they will run offense through Shingoon, like we've all said. And the. Reed shepherd now. Reed shepherd now. I'm, I'm. I'm not going to spend this whole podcast detailing all the players who came up to the podium today and declared that they have never been better. Because I heard about it a bunch here, I watched and read about it other places. You know, for example, Victoria is only.

[Tim McMahon]

A thing that everybody says today.

[Brian Windhorst]

Victor Wembanyama had a very powerful soliloquy today about how he's like, no one has worked harder than me this off season, and I'm not disputing any of that. I'm just saying, you know, I'm not gonna, it's not gonna actions over words. But Reed shepherd was very confident meeting with the media today. He is been waiting a very long time for this. And you know, Reed shepherd as a, you know, you know, in his AAU career, you know, he was an off guard, you know, as a teenager and he went to Kentucky and played more point guard than people thought and was really good. So the thing about it is, is that in this system, what they're going to be sharing the ball. You need a guy who can both run the point guard and play off guard and that's what he does. And frankly, they're going to need three point shooting because you know, they traded away a couple of, they traded away a couple of three point shooters to get Durant. Now Durant's obviously a all time great three point shooter, but I mean, they.

[Tim Bontemps]

Trade away a couple of guys who shoot threes. I don't know if I'd call them three point shooters.

[Brian Windhorst]

Right. Okay. Some days are better than others for Dylan Brooks.

[Tim McMahon]

Well, yeah, and Jalen Green as we saw in the playoffs. But the other thing about Reed shepherd too, and it obviously is a really big year for him again, that to a lesser extent to a men, he's going to need to take on a big role as the backup point guard. He's going to have to play pretty heavy minutes. They're going to have to see what they can get out of him after he was basically a red shirt as a rookie. But while there's a lot of pressure on him this year, in his second year in the league, I do think for people that don't quite know his story, it's worth pointing out that when he was a kid coming up in the high school ranks in Kentucky, his parents are both legendary players at Kentucky and his recruiting process and whether he was going to go to Kentucky and then what it was going to look like when he got to Kentucky and how he did when he was at Kentucky was a constant storyline. And he as a high school kid, I'm not saying he was treated like LeBron or anything, but he's used to being in the fishbowl and being scrutinized pretty heavily and has been for quite some time. So if there is a guy who is equipped to step into a situation like this in his second year in the league and handle what's going to come with having to play an immediate role on a team that has really high expectations, this is a guy that has spent a lot of time having to deal with a lot of intention being paid to what he's doing on and off the court. And you know, I, I think that part of it at least you can expect him to handle pretty well.

[Tim Bontemps]

And I think the questions with him are all on the defensive end. Like, don't worry about what his stats were in the NBA last year. He never had like a reg role. Trust me, he's going to be able to shoot it. They feel like he's got some real natural playmaking ability. Nobody in Houston has any concerns about Reed Shepherd's ability to contribute offensively. You know, how well can he fare defensively for a coach that is as deep as defensive minded as any coach in the league? That, that's the question. Now, Wendy, they did add a little bit more three point shooting and defense with Dorian Finney Smith this off season. When we will see Dorian Finney Smith on the floor is another question.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, I asked both Rafael Stone and DFS sends his regards. McMahon. He loves you.

[Tim Bontemps]

Love him too.

[Brian Windhorst]

Loves to be back in Texas. He's back in Texas. It's happy to be back in Texas. No timetables were offered and so he's not playing basketball. I shouldn't say that he's not cleared for basketball activities. He's definitely playing basketball, but he's, he is, he is running, but he's not ready to play right now.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, and didn't Rafael tell you he's on schedule?

[Brian Windhorst]

And it's like, okay, yes, that's what he said. He's right on schedule. I said, what's the timetable? He's right on schedule.

[Tim Bontemps]

So not ahead of schedule.

[Brian Windhorst]

He's on schedule.

[Tim Bontemps]

This is, I think the important, a couple important things to note here. One, this is not like we weren't aware of this until very recently, but this is not a surprise to the Rockets. They understood that Finney Smith, who played hurt all last year, like could not jump at all because of that ankle. They understood that coming off of that surgery he wasn't going to be ready for training camp. There is I, I don't want to put an exact timetable on it because I don't know that for certain. But there's certainly an anticipation that he will miss some games to start the regular season.

[Brian Windhorst]

All right, before I move off the Rockets, Stephen Adams, who's one of my favorite interviews ever described his fishing trip with Kevin Durant in the Bahamas. That was a positive of their camp and other the Van Vliet got hurt there, but they went on a fishing Trip. And he said he. Ten years ago, he went fishing at Clay Bennett's. Well, he said, the thunder owner. I don't want. He didn't say Clay Bennett. So I don't. There's a couple owners. But he. What? He said he went fishing with at one of the thunder owner's houses. And he said, these. He says they got a fish out back. They got a pond out back, mate. And they fill the pond. It's like easily. He's like. And he's like. Back then, Katie was catching little fish like this big, you know, like, you know, holding his hand like 7 or 8 inches apart. He goes, he brought in a. About a seven. I think he said seven, say seven pound. I don't know. He brought in some yellow fin tuna. Oh, no. He said it took him seven minutes to reel it in and gonna say.

[Tim McMahon]

Yellowfin tuna ain't seven pounds.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, I don't. Don't get me wrong. I don't know. I don't have exactly in front of me.

[Tim Bontemps]

Anyway, those Cleveland lakes that Lonzo Ball is just figuring out not. Not the ocean.

[Brian Windhorst]

He said Durant hooked this thing and he was reeling in, reeling in, reeling it in. He had to call in Stephen Adams to hit the sub out for a while.

[Tim Bontemps]

They needed the closer, huh?

[Tim McMahon]

Yeah, sure. And then I'm sure he did.

[Brian Windhorst]

Katie came back and brought it in. He goes, because I was so excited, I don't think KD understood how great of an accomplishment was to catch a fish like that. He's like, I was celebrating with Michael's a championship. And KD was like, yeah, it's whatever. Anyway. All right, Bon Temps, you were in Cleveland today where there was unfortunately guys talking about coming off of surgeries themselves.

[Tim McMahon]

Yeah, we. I think there's a lot more interesting things to get to, so I'll run through the Cavs corner section real quick. We knew Darius Garland and Max Drews were going to miss the start of the season. Max Drew said surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot he suffered earlier this off season. I asked somebody, said he went to jump and a workout and just heard a crack, which obviously is a huge bummer for him, but he was walking around without any kind of a walking boot that he's five weeks out of surgery. He was not moving very fast, but he was walking around, which was good. Said he'll have a better sense of timeline potentially after next week when he has his six week checkup. Did say there's that it will be only acceptable if the Cavs are playing in June this year, which I think is a accurate and correct statement from him in terms of where the calves sit in the East. And then Darius Garland, who we've talked about since Ewan Chams, broke the news back in June that he was going to have surgery on this, this left big toe injury, this turf toe injury suffered during the, I think late in the regular season and hampered him certainly during the Cavs run in the playoffs. He told me he got back on the court a month ago and has been working out. He said he's doing everything, which I took to include contact. When he repeated it when he got asked if he's doing contact work on the court, I still think, you know, we're still a good ways away from him being out there in games, but again, he was walking around without a limp and, you know, was back doing basketball activities. So I think that's at least a positive development. And one thing I think to watch for early in the season is Evan Mobley handling the ball more. We just talked about where the what the Rockets are going to be doing, sharing the ball around the team, and Evan was pretty excited about having a chance to have the ball in his hands a little bit more. And with two starters out, obviously they're going to need Donovan Mitchell to pick up some slack with those guys out. But Evan Mobley sounds like he's going to be a guy who's going to have the ball in his hands more regularly than he has in the past. That's a pretty intriguing development, I think, for both he and the Cavs if that turns into a successful thing. And that was probably the extent of all the updates here from the land. Besides learning that Lake Erie exists.

[Brian Windhorst]

Beautiful, Some glorious real estate in Cleveland. Nobody gives it credit.

[Tim McMahon]

All right, I should also mention this really quick on another positive thing with the Cavs. I just thought of mentioning Lonzo. Said he's had zero setbacks all summer, obviously missed the end of the season with the wrist issue and stuff. Said he's not playing back to backs at least early on. I would guess he's never going to play it back to back again in his career, but he's been working out fully, feels good, full off season, working out on the court, which is really good news for a guy who's had a ton of injury issues. So certainly that's one very positive development, I think, for the Cavs. And if Lonzo is ready to go at the start of the year, that would be a nice boost for them, especially with these other two guys up.

[Tim Bontemps]

Who'S Cavs Corner sponsored by these days.

[Tim McMahon]

Gotta get one.

[Brian Windhorst]

Oh, we're working on it. All right.

[Tim McMahon]

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[Tim Bontemps]

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[Tim McMahon]

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[Brian Windhorst]

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[Tim McMahon]

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[Tim McMahon]

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[Brian Windhorst]

Let's go to the West Coast. So the Clippers in Kauai. Bon Thomps, I believe you were Hawaii was speaking right as we were coming on. Do you have the exact quote?

[Tim McMahon]

I was. I've got a couple quotes. I got a couple quotes pulled up here. So let's start with Lawrence Frank. Lawrence Frank.

[Tim Bontemps]

I like this one.

[Tim McMahon]

Lawrence Frank gave a long statement, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I love Lawrence. But we're going to skip past the statement. Our pal Ramona, Ramona Shelburne, who is at Media day for us. I'm going to read her tweets. I asked Lawrence Frank whether Dennis Robertson, Kawhi Leonard's uncle, has ever asked the team for any extra benefits that would not be permissible under the NBA's rules. I'm going to pause for one second because if you guys remember, and if our listeners remember, Ramona interviewed Steve Ballmer. A few weeks ago, Steve Ballmer was asked this question by Ramona. And his answer was, everybody knows the rules. It was not. No. It was, we all know the rules. Everybody. So to go back to the answer, when she asked Lawrence this today, what did Lawrence say? Quote, dennis knows the rules. Kawhi knows the rules. Mitch Frankel, Kawhi's agent, knows the rules, and we know the rules. Well, that's not saying they didn't.

[Brian Windhorst]

McMahon knew the rules. In high school.

[Tim Bontemps]

I was gonna say, do you know how many times I got grounded because I got busted doing something? If I'd have known, I could just say, I know the rules. And it would have been like, hold on. Never mind if you violated or not. No crap. You know them. Did you violate them?

[Tim McMahon]

The best part?

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, in fairness, the question was, did he ask for benefits? Which he did not answer. Not that they gave.

[Tim McMahon]

Hold on. So even if he hold on, to Ramona's credit, she then follows up with out and says the following. Is that a yes or no? To which Lawrence said, quote, yes, we all know the rules.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes, Senator, we all know the rules.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yes, I'm answering a question you didn't ask.

[Tim McMahon]

Yes. So then Kawhi later, that was obviously at the beginning. Usually the executive and the coach, if they talk today, talk first. So Lawrence gives this answer. So Kawhi later, again, I'm reading this off the Internet, was asked by Ramona, you know what? What is your take on this situation? Quote, this is a partial quote. I don't have the entire thing in front of me, but I think it sums things up. Quote, I understand the full contracted services I had to do. I don't deal with conspiracies or the clickbait analyst or journalism that's going on. He then later added, I don't think it's accurate that no services were performed and that he didn't receive the money that he was owed in the contract.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay, what services were performed? He also, nobody knew about this endorsement deal. How is it an endorsement deal if nobody knows that there's a deal?

[Brian Windhorst]

He also said, we invite the investigation, as did Lawrence.

[Tim McMahon]

To be fair, Lawrence said the same thing. The truth will come out.

[Brian Windhorst]

We invite the investigation.

[Tim McMahon]

We'll be fine. Everything will be good.

[Brian Windhorst]

Look at the bottom line of this thing is there's no doubt there was a bunch of money coming from the Clippers organization and Steve Ballmer and Dennis Wong that there was money going from them to this company. There's no doubt that there was money going back to the Clippers. There's no doubt that there was money promised to. I don't know how much he got go into Kauai. So there's a bunch of money going around. Pablo Torres has reported on all that. He has documents to back that up. Nobody has denied that there is not money that's going around. The terms and an understanding of what happened with that money as was moving around. That's what this is all about.

[Tim McMahon]

Well.

[Brian Windhorst]

And it's going to be a while before we can figure it out. Yes.

[Tim Bontemps]

There's no doubt that it stinks. It's like, hey, will the NBA find or the NBA's investigators find evidence that puts Adam Silver not exactly a commissioner known to be tough on crime. That puts him in a position where he's comfortable issuing severe punishment. It stinks. But is there the evidence that makes a soft on crime commissioner comfortable taking action?

[Brian Windhorst]

That's very well said. That is very well said. Okay. Crosstown over in El Segundo from. It's not really that far across town from Inglewood to El Segundo. The Lakers had availability today with me today. What.

[Tim McMahon]

I just. I said it's a bit of a haul to get there in traffic.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. Uber ride. What are we talking about? $48. Okay.

[Tim Bontemps]

So maybe depends on who's filling out the expense account.

[Brian Windhorst]

Tim McMahon, do you. Did you falsify this Uber receipt? I am aware. I know the rules of filling out there.

[Tim Bontemps]

We all know the rules.

[Brian Windhorst]

I am aware of the Disney Corporation's rules on expense reporting. Okay.

[Tim Bontemps]

74.99.

[Tim McMahon]

Here it is. Actually, I was thinking about Playa Playa Vista where their old. Their old place was. It's pretty close now. Right.

[Brian Windhorst]

That's what I was just saying. I was a little surprised you were taking. I was saying it's only. Not that.

[Tim McMahon]

Yeah, I was thinking about. I was thinking about which was way.

[Tim Bontemps]

Over on the other 72 uber, by my account.

[Brian Windhorst]

Stop by and stop by the water in Manhattan Beach. Okay, so they've got water in. In la, Alonzo.

[Tim McMahon]

They have water in la. That is for certain.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. And so I thought this is LeBron's 23rd media day and he handled today's media session like somebody who's done 22 prior completely came in and acted like there was no drama this summer and just shoot away everything else. Excited about the Lakers. You know, the comments that Rich Paul made to Shams. Water off a duck's back thinks that they can contend. Are you going to retire? Maybe. You know, you're going to wait for Bryce to Come to league, he's on his own timeline. You know, was great.

[Tim McMahon]

I mean, I thought that was. You know, I thought that was a fairly interesting answer, essentially saying, no, I'm not going to.

[Brian Windhorst]

I think the most interesting thing he said, and if you guys disagree with me, you say so, was that he's not going to base his future on the fact that Luka Doncic is now on his team, that he's going to base his future on where he and his family are about his career. And I don't think that's controversial. I think it's honest, but I think it's relevant. I don't know how you felt about it.

[Tim McMahon]

I would say it goes back to what you just said, that it leaves open all doors. Right. It doesn't. You know, again, he did. LeBron has always been as good at dealing with questions as he has been as a player, and he's one of the best players, if not the best player ever. And he's just as good at dealing with the media and dealing with questions. And I. I think he did do a nice job, as you said, of dismissing a lot of the speculation or deflecting it, I should say, rather than dismissing it about his future. But in saying that, like, yeah, I think that's very clearly leaving open the possibility for doing whatever he wants to do in a year. Because, like, if you were just looking at it, like, yeah, like, I know he's tight with Anthony Davis, obviously, but the Lakers are in a better situation now than they were a year ago because they traded Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic. And so they are a more attractive team moving forward because they have Luka Doncic on their team. So it would be very easy to say, yeah, man, I'm psyched to finish out my career playing with Luka Doncic. As long as I want to play, I'll. I can't wait to play next to him. He didn't say that. He said, not going to have an impact, which means, maybe I'll stay, maybe I won't. But either way, it's not going to be because of Luca, which I think, you know, again, it goes back to what you said. He did a nice job of talking around a lot of things today without really putting himself in any sort of firm situation in terms of either backing up or dismissing any possibilities for the future.

[Brian Windhorst]

But.

[Tim Bontemps]

But the future being a year from now, right? And LeBron is. If LeBron wants to turn the temperature up in a room, the man knows how to work a thermostat and he clearly had no interest in that today. You know, like Giannis clearly had interest in turning the temperature up today. LeBron complete opposite. And they're just like, okay, hey, a year from now, retirement, who knows, you know, playing elsewhere. Okay, all that stuff's on the table. But after this season, LeBron is at Lakers media day. He's in Lakers training camp. He will be on the Lakers this year. He's committed to, you know, this Lakers team this season. And so that, you know, he did take all the oxygen out of what would have been a daily saga. If he goes in there and says, look, you know, I'm not sure that this team is, I'm not sure this is a championship contender team. I'm not sure this is the right fit for me right now. Like, he could have made it a real soap opera. And he did the opposite of that today. He made sure that that was not going to be this lingering black cloud over this franchise this year.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. So for today, LeBron turned down the, the heat. Other days he may do the opposite, but we'll see.

[Tim McMahon]

Yeah, let's see where they are in January.

[Tim Bontemps]

Got it at 69 degrees, nice and comfortable.

[Brian Windhorst]

A couple of other things going on around the league. Nikola Jokic out in Denver today. He was asked about, you know, he bypassed the opportunity to sign a contract extension this off season, which was not a surprise because he can get something like $80 million more guaranteed overall if he were to wait till next summer. And he had an interesting quote. He said, my plan is to be a Nugget forever.

[Tim McMahon]

Well, that was to a direct question by Bennett Durandal from the Post of will you sign a contract extension with Denver next summer? So my plan is to be with the Nuggets forever. Now, I, I saw a lot of fans at Bennett's replies, very excited that Jokic said that. I'm not saying they shouldn't be excited because I think we all expect Nicole Jokic to be in Denver. However, he didn't say yes, so let's wait and see how it goes because.

[Brian Windhorst]

Again, I, I like the McMahon situation. Did he throw any gas on that or did he turn down. Turn it down? He turned it right down. You know, he, you know, he didn't, you know, pull out a knife and cut his finger and sign something in blood, which, you know, they probably do in Serbia sometimes. But he, you know, he toned it down. All right. In San Antonio today. We had mentioned earlier Victor talking about how his summer went. He's also talked about just how sobering it was to Go through the stuff with the blood clot and all the doctors and hospitals that he'd never been through like that before. But Bontemps, I think something interesting was it dear. And Fox said that he expects to be out for all of training camp and even missed the start of the season with a hamstring injury. Another point guard, star level point guard facing an injury to start the season.

[Tim McMahon]

Yeah, our guy, Michael Wright, Michael Corleone Wright down in San Antonio got this quote from de' Aaron Fox. I definitely won't be playing in the preseason, that's for sure. I don't think I'll be ready for opening night. We're going to play it by earning. I feel like I could play right now, but I don't have that medical expertise. I'm not gonna lie to you. I was running 15 miles an hour already on a treadmill. I think that's probably faster than most of you guys of the guys that are here. So when I say I think I'm ready, I for real think I'm ready. That is all well and good, but he ain't ready enough to play. And he says he doesn't think he'll be playing in a month, which is when the season is going to start. So as we talked about the other day, it's going to be a very interesting year for the Spurs. A lot of pressure on them. Victor Weyama's third season. A lot of different pieces try to make fit, including Harper. This pick is rookie of the year Stefan Castle. Aaron Fox, those three guys are an awkward fit. And now you're talking about not getting any time in the preseason for those guys to play together. At minimum, let alone however long after that, the Aaron's going to be out with a hamstring injury, which, as we all know, is a tricky injury, particularly for a guy like de' Aaron, who is one of the fastest players in the league. So that, that's not an ideal start for the spurs. And it's going to be very interesting to see how that one develops over time.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, there's so many. There's so many questions about how do these three guards fit together. Dylan Harper already had the thumb. He's maybe going to be back by the season open or maybe not. You know, we'll see how he progresses.

[Brian Windhorst]

He's recovering well. I think there's some optimism there on Dylan Harper. Harper.

[Tim Bontemps]

But, you know, okay, but he's gonna miss. He's gonna miss some time. Darren Fox, as you just said, is gonna miss all of preseason, probably some of the regular season. And, you know, Darren Fox has played five games with Wimby, so it's not only about, like, being able to figure out the guard rotation with those two and Stefan Castle, but, like, Darren Fox has had next to no time to create any kind of chemistry with the guy who's the face of the franchise. And, you know, it's not like a, you know, a disastrous situation, but it damn sure ain't ideal.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, that's a good point. You know, that was one of the things that LeBron talked about today, was the opportunity to play alongside Luca throughout the whole start of the season. He also said, LeBron, this is that he, knowing he was not going to have the ball in his hand as much, worked on in the off season on, you know, catch and shoot threes, for example, knowing that he's going to maybe do a little bit more of that. So that's one of those things. Down in Miami, Tyler Herro met with the media, and while he said everything is going great with his recovery from foot surgery, he put out a timeline of eight to 12 weeks. That was longer than initially thought, but he's confident it'll be on the short end. But he also said that the injury that he had in his foot was as a result of a extra bone that doctors found in his foot. An extra bone. So that was interesting in Miami. Did I forget anything? Bon temps McMahon. That should be covered.

[Tim McMahon]

I would just say. I would just say also, I would go.

[Brian Windhorst]

Bill Nye showed up at Celtics media day, and nobody asked about the Celtics. They also asked about.

[Tim McMahon]

Bill Nye was at Celtics. Bill Nye was at Celtics media day to talk about his new friend Jalen Brown. I guess they're going to be on Twitch together doing science experiments today. Jalen was at Bill Nye's Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiling last week. I think that sort of sums up the state of the Celtics and how they are going to be a afterthought in the east after many years of being one of the most important teams in the league. One of the reasons why I'm going there on Tuesday and not for media day. And I would also say, Ryan, you.

[Tim Bontemps]

Tweet out when Bontiff shows up. You know, you're a big deal.

[Tim McMahon]

Yeah, well, I just. I'm with the team that's favored to win the east this year, not the one. Hey, listen, favor to finish.

[Brian Windhorst]

I just want. I just want to say something. I know. I know what you're going to say about temps, and I'll get Out of your way. Two years ago, media day, I was in Boston.

[Tim Bontemps]

Oh, boy.

[Brian Windhorst]

I was also in Boston end of season last year.

[Tim McMahon]

Yep. There we go.

[Brian Windhorst]

Media day, Oklahoma City.

[Tim McMahon]

I was in no places for media day.

[Tim Bontemps]

The King.

[Brian Windhorst]

I just let the. I let the Rockets know I've come to Houston.

[Tim McMahon]

Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

After discovering LeBron and Wimby, among others. Go on.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah.

[Tim McMahon]

I discovered now that we've gotten Brian's PSA out of the way, I would ask everybody to go look up Iroh Enderman's Twitter feed. Ira's covered the Heat since the day they came in the league. And I would go ask everybody to look up Anthony Chang's Twitter feed. Anthony does a really good job covering the Heat for the Herald and read a couple stories about Andy Ellsberg, the GM of the Heat. We all know Andy. Brian and I have known Andy for a long time. Tim got to know him a bit last year, and he's gone through some health stuff this summer. Brian tweeted last night that he is the number one on the list of people that are universally liked and respected in the NBA. That is unequivocally true. I've gotten to know Andy really well the last few years. I got to know him actually in the bubble. People that don't know him. He's a very big guy and like 6, 8, and looks like he could have played college basketball. And I was always, frankly, fairly intimidated to go up to him because he was a legendary figure as an executive and he's a big, intimidating guy. And we spent about 75 days in the bubble together because he was in the secondary level of the bubble. And so by default, I started talking to him and came to find out he was about the nicest human being you'll ever come across. And everybody.

[Brian Windhorst]

One of the smartest.

[Tim McMahon]

And what? And the smartest. Like just. Just an awesome guy who's gone through a lot of stuff this summer. He regularly listens to the pod and will call me after and explain where we said things that we shouldn't have said. Correct us. Correct the record. Not to be clear about the Heat. He's always.

[Brian Windhorst]

No, that's fine if we're critical. His reputation of handling his business as well is well established.

[Tim McMahon]

Yes, but no. I just mean he'll. He's. He's always good about that stuff, too, but he's a wonderful guy. We all know really well. He's gone through some health stuff this summer. He's doing a lot better now. I know he's going to listen to the pod he's at training camp, which he's very happy about, and just people should go read what he's been through and know that we're all thinking of him because he's an A plus human being, and I know everybody in the league who knows him is thinking the same way.

[Tim Bontemps]

I. I agree with all of that, and I'm just gonna say, like, if he can get through 75 days with you, he can get through anything.

[Tim McMahon]

Andy's. Andy's. Andy's had to deal with a lot worse people than me over the years. I'm not saying I'm all that great.

[Tim Bontemps]

Let's not talk about Jimmy Butler last year.

[Brian Windhorst]

This is just a perfect podcast to start the season. At the beginning, McMahon's talking about how Bontemps is not elite, and at the end, he's comparing going through the bubble with him to a major health situation. Everything. Everything is going great. All right, thank you so much to Rafa, who produced our podcast while Jackson is. Is away right now. Thank you very much for getting. Getting through the summer with us. The. The leisurely days are over. We. We're back at work.

[Tim McMahon]

When are we back to. Three times a week. People keep asking me. I got asked several times today, when is the Monday pod coming back?

[Tim Bontemps]

Jackson's at Oktoberfest. And, I mean, you know, those steins that he was swigging on were some large. I mean, they were. They were some double XL. So.

[Brian Windhorst]

Jackson's 20 years younger than you, McMahon. Could you drink him under the table with beer?

[Tim Bontemps]

Nope. I'm exercising moderation. The old IT Department listens to this. Let me just tell you, I've grown up a lot over the summer.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes, yes, Senator. I know the rules for a drinking game. And thank you for telling me that my.

[Tim Bontemps]

I cannot recall.

[Brian Windhorst]

All right, all right. You cannot recall many things. All right, thank you again. We'll talk to you later this week.

[Tim Bontemps]

Adios, amigos.

[Tim McMahon]

Yo, this is important, man. My favorite Lululemon shorts, the ones he.

[Brian Windhorst]

Got me back in the day.

[Tim McMahon]

I think they're called Pace breakers, the.

[Brian Windhorst]

Ones with all the pockets.

[Tim McMahon]

I just got back from vacation, and I left them in my hotel room. And, dude, I need to replace these shorts. I wear them, like, three times a week. Could you send me the link to where you got them? Oh, also, my birthday is coming up soon, so. Anyways, thanks, bro. Talk soon. Looking for your newest. Go to's Lululemon. What's new? Gear drops on Tuesdays. Every Tuesday, head to lululemon.com to shop. What's new.