← Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Luka Doncic's Laker Debut. And the struggles of the Dallas Mavericks.
00:52:01
The Hoop Collective: Luka Doncic's debut with the Los Angeles Lakers. Alex Rodriguez becoming an NBA owner and Jimmy Butler shinning in Golden State
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- [00:01]
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- [00:36]
Zach Lowe
Hello and welcome to who Collected podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Tuesday afternoon. Joining us from New York City, where he's getting ready to go to the all star weekend this week in the bay, it's Tim Bonteps.
- [00:49]
Tim MacMahon
Hello, everybody.
- [00:51]
Zach Lowe
Are you looking forward to Kevin Hart MCing the event and providing commentary over the top of the game?
- [01:01]
Tim MacMahon
I'm looking forward to Monday morning.
- [01:03]
Zach Lowe
Joining us from Dallas, Texas. Dallas, Texas, what a town. It's Ban McMahon.
- [01:11]
Brian Windhorst
Howdy, partners. Tell you what, man, it is just always good to be home and, you know, around all my friends and neighbors and feeling the love from the people of Texas. The Friendship State, as Donnie Nelson called it during Luca Doncic's intro presser way.
- [01:29]
Tim MacMahon
Back Texas called the Friendship State. Is that a thing?
- [01:32]
Brian Windhorst
It actually is an obscure nickname that Donnie did indeed use during Lucas and show presser. As you can read in the Wonder Boy.
- [01:42]
Zach Lowe
The Wonder Boy.
- [01:43]
Tim MacMahon
Look at that. There we go.
- [01:46]
Zach Lowe
Pre order it now. Yeah, so what, by the way, what was the reaction, and maybe you don't know about, like, I assume that Dirk Nowitzki going out to Luca's first game as a Laker on Monday was. Was well received by the Mass fans. I. I think. I don't know. I'm not.
- [02:05]
Brian Windhorst
No, I think it was very well received by the mass fans because quite frankly, I think that 99 of Mass fans wish they could have made the same trip. Dude, I'm not. I'm not. I'm not like, even joking when I say this. There are a lot of mass fans right now. They're struggling with a lot of emotions. One emotion they're struggling with is, damn, am I rooting for the Lakers now? You know, I like, Luke is the kind of star there are like, with LeBron, right? There are people who. Now there are people who are pissed at LeBron when he left Cleveland, but obviously that's not. No one's mad at Luca, you know, in this case, I mean, I guess, right? Some of those. But like, no fans are mad at Luca, but there are people. When LeBron left Cleveland, there was someone decided my ride with him in Miami okay, then back to Cleveland. Okay, to la. Whereas with Luca, I think all Mavericks fans, as much as it pains them, like, they want to see this guy fulfill his potential and be one of the all time greats. And there are definitely people like, you know what? I guess I'm a Lakers fan now because I'm riding with Luca. And so Dirk being at that game was, you know, and he did his little tweet, hey, I'm a map for life. I'm here to support my guy Luke, or whatever he said. But it was a pretty strong statement the, The Dallas Mayor was next to Patrick Dumont. But if. If Dumont didn't want to get booed, he was gonna have to have somebody like Dirk next to him because. Let me.
- [03:31]
Zach Lowe
So is the Dallas Mayor is. Is it. Was the Dallas Mayor sending a message that. I'm not sure if it's a man or woman. I'm sorry, he. He or she supports the. The decision?
- [03:43]
Brian Windhorst
No, I think it's more. It's. It's Eric Johnson. It's a fella, he's a fellow. And I think it was more of Patrick Dumont sending the message, hey, this absolutely insane conspiracy theory that was spreading around the Internet about. There has to be something else beside the reasons that have been reported why this trade's being made. Oh, they're trying to take the team to Vegas. No, no, no. That. Look at me and my pal, the Dallas Mayor. It's been, it's been a. The, the messaging and the, you know, the PR approach has been a challenging obstacle. By the way, you know who was right next to Dirk in LA enjoying the Luca debut last night? Old Scooter Scott Tomlin, friend of the pod, longtime VP of communications for the Dallas Mavericks. Did a hell of a job in that role for years and years and left before last season to be the executive director of the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation. And you know, but still like a guy who players loved and certainly had a great relationship with Luca. And so he was also there to support Luca in the. The first game in that gold and purple Bon Temps.
- [04:57]
Zach Lowe
I've been a little bit transported back to the 90s this week because when I was a teenager, it's not comparable on the, on the size scale, but Bernie Kar, Bill Belichick. Cut Bernie Kar, who, you know, he never led the Browns to the super bowl, but was like, you know, the kind of the Luca of Cleveland at the time.
- [05:21]
Tim MacMahon
Best quarterback they've had since Otto Graham. Right? Pretty clearly.
- [05:24]
Zach Lowe
And the best. Best quarterback they've had ever since. That's what I mean.
- [05:28]
Tim MacMahon
I mean, in the whole time since.
- [05:30]
Zach Lowe
Yes, yes. And. And he became a Dallas Cowboy, like, that week. I don't. I think Aikman was hurt, interestingly. And people in Cleveland were wearing, you know, there was a run on Kar Cowboy jerseys. People were wearing the star in Cleveland. And, you know, there's not hate.
- [05:49]
Brian Windhorst
Is that how LeBron became a Cowboys fan? That's when LeBron started loving the Cowboys?
- [05:54]
Zach Lowe
No, I don't think LeBron cared about Brady Kozer. I've never heard LeBron speak Bernie Kozar's name. But anyway, I can. I can. I was probably about 14 or 15 when that happened, and a Kar fan. So I can kind of. Kind of relate to it where people were, like, rooting for the Cowboys. The Cowboys won the super bowl that year, by the way. So, anyway, I have to say, I. I never thought I would say the words I'm about to say. I'm very appreciative of the balanced, rational, and calming viewpoint of Kyrie Irving throughout this process because he seems to be repeatedly able to both make a, you know, a coalition attempt at forming and, you know, and showing empathy with the fans and also support for Luca and support for his teammates. Like, I actually think it might be a good idea if the Mavericks organization would reach out to Kyrie to let them. To let him guide them in this time of strike, because everything he is saying is actually calming.
- [07:02]
Brian Windhorst
Yes. And Kyrie last night, you know, was like, the fans getting booted for, you know, fire Nico Chance and for T shirts with Mary Madison's face on it with a clown nose and, you know, like, what are you doing? I mean, why are you, like, amplifying this to where it is a massive international story? That's exactly what you're doing. You've got security. Like, look at. Oh, what did you say? You're getting, you know, get out of here. Oh, that poster board doesn't. You know, it's not the postcard that it's supposed to be. You know, that's bigger than a placard. You can't have that derogatory term, you know, fire. That's. I mean, what are you doing? You're making this a massive story when, like, of course the fans are upset. Let them boo. Let them chant. If they're not cussing and fussing and whatever, like, throwing crap, who cares? But Kyrie, like you said, he's calm. He's like, hey, I get it. I understand. Kyrie was like, you know, different. He's like, it's a different deal. But like, man, you know how mad I was when J Kid forced a trade from the. From my new. My New Jersey Nets when I was a kid? You know, he brought that up. Klay Thompson. You know, Klay's basically like, hey, we all understand how much these fans love Clay.
- [08:13]
Zach Lowe
Being a calming influence is not a surprise. Yes, in the past, hasn't exactly been unifying, but that's fair argument.
- [08:23]
Tim MacMahon
Nobody benefits more from this trade than Kyrie Irving on many fronts.
- [08:27]
Brian Windhorst
And Kyrie has been the leader of the team since he's been.
- [08:31]
Zach Lowe
Well, I think Lucas benefited from this trade. He's. He's. Now he's law. He's like a martyr. He's a conquering hero in la.
- [08:39]
Tim MacMahon
People left. I'm talking about the people left behind. There's one winner in Dallas right now. It's Kyrie Irving, who now has maximum leverage to get a gigantic contract this summer. And it's quite clearly the guy totally running the ship with the. With the mass. I mean, yeah, you're right, McMahon, he's been a big presence in the locker room since he got there. But I mean, it's. It's his show now. Like, there ain't anybody else. And you know, like, it's he and Anthony Davis going forward. And you could say, yeah, well, it was he and Luca, but it wasn't he and Luca. It was Luca's team. And Kyrie was there as a secondary guy. And, you know, his free agency this summer was going to be rather interesting to see how it was handled. Well, now it shouldn't be very interesting, like he should be getting the bag. So it is nice to calm and relax. Why wouldn't he be?
- [09:32]
Brian Windhorst
I've never had a whole lot of doubt about Kyrie's free agency this time around. Certainly after his first year when Blockbuster traded into a tank, which is an.
- [09:40]
Tim MacMahon
Interesting pathway anyways, could be repeating itself.
- [09:46]
Brian Windhorst
You know, certainly his first year, there was a lot in question of free agency. And frankly, if the Lakers would have made a run at him, like, who knows what would have happened if they could have, because they could have gotten the neighborhood of Dallas's offer. Not to the number, but just saying that.
- [10:01]
Zach Lowe
Yeah, well, they would have had to say goodbye to just about all these guys who led him to the conference finals that year.
- [10:06]
Brian Windhorst
Oh, it would have been tough to let D'Angelo Russell go for sure.
- [10:09]
Tim MacMahon
D'Angelo Russell, Ray Hachimura. Okay, sure.
- [10:12]
Zach Lowe
Don't forget about Jared Vanderbilt.
- [10:14]
Brian Windhorst
Oh, man. I'll tell you what. Hey, the Lakers have Been hot since he came back from that injury. Just like Mac 10 and all them fellers are telling us.
- [10:22]
Zach Lowe
Well, anyway, let me just ask this. I mean, so we're recording this Tuesday afternoon. We don't know what the Anthony Davis update will be.
- [10:29]
Tim MacMahon
Maybe there'll be another pod later today with a further update on Anthony Davis. The last one went so great.
- [10:35]
Zach Lowe
Man, can't do it. Things would have been so much better off if we had just not done it, which was what I suggested.
- [10:42]
Tim MacMahon
I disagree. I think they might not have been. They might have been worse off. It might have been better off for you but for the listeners. The listeners still enjoyed the podcast.
- [10:51]
Brian Windhorst
The other day, I will admit I flapped my gums in that with, with a couple words and you know, unnecessary little jab that got me in a little bit of hot water with some folks already had their pitchforks after me. So, you know, sometimes I flap my gums and stuff comes out my bad quasi apology.
- [11:10]
Tim MacMahon
That's a lot more of an apology than I'm gonna ever get for anything that's ever said about me.
- [11:17]
Brian Windhorst
I can get petty sometimes and I just need to limit my pettiness to Bon Temps. And those little fellows, little fellow reps.
- [11:26]
Tim MacMahon
Are the only target that's safe. Those are your safe spaces.
- [11:30]
Zach Lowe
We don't know what the Anthony Davis official update will be as of right now in the late afternoon on Tuesday. Well, they.
- [11:40]
Tim MacMahon
By the way, we've gotten this far. We should mention that the Dallas Mavericks played the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. If I remember correctly, McMahon, they were up 12 points in the fourth quarter after Daniel Gafford got hurt. Look like, all right, at least the Mavs are going to come out of this with a win. And what's a pretty massive couple of games like we talked about going into this week playing against the Kings and the warriors teams right behind them in this battle to stay in the playing mix in the West. And then DeMar DeRozan comes back, hits a game tied bucket with three seconds to go, makes a crazy game winner with two seconds to go in overtime after messing up and giving Klay Thompson a chance. Was that.
- [12:19]
Zach Lowe
By the way, I haven't seen the two minute report. Was that ruled a illegal maneuver with his feet?
- [12:25]
Tim MacMahon
I also have not looked legal at the time, but I, I will check and see if the last report is up.
- [12:30]
Brian Windhorst
Listen, you tell me all these details. I definitely remember the DeRozan step through. Like doesn't point lead all I was so busy looking at what the hell is going on in those Sections behind.
- [12:41]
Tim MacMahon
Well, I know. That's why I'm telling you what happened. So DeRozan wins the game.
- [12:44]
Brian Windhorst
Given a statement on why people are getting booted.
- [12:48]
Tim MacMahon
Well, I know. So the point is DeRozan wins the game. And, and then you guys were waiting for Jason Kidd and to talk about what happened in the game and Daniel Gafford getting hurt and everything else. And it's now almost 24 hours later and we're still waiting for Jason Kid to talk about it. And I don't, I guess he's not going to talk about it till pregame on Wednesday against Golden State. Maybe he won't do that availability either. Maybe he'll just go on strike. I guess we'll find out.
- [13:15]
Brian Windhorst
We're, we're, we're throwing like PR norms out the window because it's also like, yes, a coach, post game press conference. It pretty like just run the mill type thing. Sometimes like two or three minutes. I don't get it. I don't get it.
- [13:30]
Zach Lowe
That's the part of the job of the coach is to be the face of the franchise in good times and in bad. That's part of what he gets paid for. Let me just say this. Anthony Davis is going to be out for a while. I believe, as if we sit here right now that he has avoided surgery. I believe that's the current point. And. But I also believe that is going to be a significant period. What does significant mean? Weeks. Weeks and weeks. So let me ask you this, McMahon. Assuming that Kyrie can keep this back issue at bay, what is the real prognosis? You know, you made a joke about them making a blockbuster trade and then ending up in the lottery.
- [14:12]
Brian Windhorst
Talk about that. I was talking about two years ago. What happened? Are you suggesting history to repeat itself?
- [14:20]
Zach Lowe
I'm just saying let's, let's talk turkey. What, what's the prognosis here if AD is out?
- [14:24]
Tim MacMahon
Let's do it. Let's do it this way. Their schedule, we, we've already reported he's going to be out for up to a month, right? Yeah, at espn. I mean, let's, let's just sit at a month right now. Well, let's just sit it a month right now. All right, here's their upcoming schedule. They play Golden State tomorrow, Wednesday. I think at this point I would call that a loss. I don't know what you guys would say. They played Miami on the second night of a back to back for both teams will give them a win for that. So they're one and one. They play the Pelicans coming out of the break. I would say that's a win. They're 2 and 1. They play the warriors in Golden State, the Lakers in Los Angeles. Gonna be kind of a interesting game on the 25th of February. I would say.
- [15:16]
Zach Lowe
I, I suspect Mr. Mr. McMahon will be there. I'll be there too, Mr. McMahon. I look forward to.
- [15:22]
Tim MacMahon
I will be watching from home, unfortunately. But I would say those are probably both.
- [15:26]
Brian Windhorst
Hold on, I gotta negotiate.
- [15:28]
Tim MacMahon
All right.
- [15:28]
Brian Windhorst
An LA tradition. Dinner on Wendy. Go on.
- [15:34]
Tim MacMahon
You might, you might have earned that over the last few days. We think the warriors and Lakers games are losses, probably right. Road, road losses, we're just doing the percentages. Then they come home and play the Hornets. Then they come home, play the Hornets. That's probably a win.
- [15:53]
Brian Windhorst
Never assume the Hornets win because the last time that the Mavericks were in a blockbuster trade wake and the Hornets came in a little while later was the night that Luca wore that all I need is Suvo Meso and rakia T shirt and said he's never been.
- [16:06]
Tim MacMahon
More frustrated in his life. Melissa, they're three. So they're three and three. We've got them there through the end of February, right? This is then the schedule in March. Home for Milwaukee, home for Sacramento, at Milwaukee, home for. Home for Memphis, home for Phoenix, at San Antonio, at San Antonio, at Houston. That's through the stretch that Anthony.
- [16:31]
Zach Lowe
They would do. They would do a lot of loss. We would. They would do really, really well to do go.500 in that stretch.
- [16:38]
Brian Windhorst
Well, and, and like, you know, ad is going to be out for a while. Lively is going to be out through that stretch. Kyrie, let me just tell you. And again, Luca wasn't playing before, but especially since, since they made the trade. Kyrie was one of the several guys who sat during the, you know, post trade blowout in Cleveland, right. When this I out there in a days look up, it was like 50 to 19. So he sat that game 42 minutes in Philly, 40 minutes in Boston, 39, 51. That's the one time didn't crack 40, 42 against Houston. And J.K. was asked about this last time we talked to the pregame and he's like, yeah, you know, we'd love to trim his minutes, but I can't promise we're not going to play him 40 again tonight. Well, it went in overtime 44 last night and Kyrie, he's playing with a.
- [17:32]
Tim MacMahon
Bulging disc in his back and by the way, he's probably going to get doubled every time down the court because he's the only guy on the team that can really dribble the ball. So you know, I mean it's, it's just a, it's a, it's a heck of a load to put on him. And you know it's a, it's a really potentially rough situation that's without still knowing the status. Again, Daniel Gafford, I mean, you know, at least if they had him, they'd have one starter quality big. If they don't have him, you know they're down him. Derek, Derek Lively and Anthony Davis. Now you're talking about trying to play Dwight Powell.
- [18:09]
Zach Lowe
Buddy hasn't played in weeks.
- [18:13]
Tim MacMahon
He's been banged up too. That's right.
- [18:15]
Zach Lowe
And, and Maxi Cleaver before he got traded, broke his foot. Don't be a center on the Mavs. Geez.
- [18:22]
Brian Windhorst
Well, the one center on the map, the one center of the Mavs is a gentleman named Kyler Kelly who I'll.
- [18:30]
Zach Lowe
Be honest with you, learning of him.
- [18:32]
Brian Windhorst
I had never heard of him until they picked him up in the. I think it was right. Yeah, it was right after Maxis. He was on the Lakers G league team and, and they signed him to a two way. He played one minute last night, you know, transaction. And I don't, I don't have specifics on Gaffer but from what I'm hearing it's probably not going to be like a long term deal. But you know I would be surprised if we see him before the all Star break.
- [19:04]
Tim MacMahon
Certain.
- [19:04]
Brian Windhorst
But if Gaffer can't go, I think Omax Prosper is probably going to be your starting center. He's the guy who plays, not the second. He's not a sinner. Well, you know what, we'll see if PJ can play. PJ Washington was out last night with an ankle sprain.
- [19:21]
Zach Lowe
Also not a center.
- [19:23]
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, I mean you're talking about playing extraordinarily small then and that, I mean we talked about how the Thunder we're struggling to play extraordinarily small and let's just say the Thunder are a little bit deeper of a roster than the mass at this point especially if you're trying to play small. So I mean trying to play one guy that you reliably can candle on ball handle in the ball and unfortunately.
- [19:46]
Brian Windhorst
You'Re trying to play small when one of the whole ideas of this trade was you were going to be huge. Like when they had the first half against the Rockets when they put Gafford out there, they put AD at the 4 they put PJ Washington at the 3. You're like, Holy smokes. This is a massive athletic smothering front court. And you know if you put lively in there instead of Gafford, you get even bigger and more athletic. That's the team they built, that's the team they want. And to have none of those guys available and you're playing like 6, 7 and under. You know, I maybe JK was back in the back trying to figure out lineup combinations. He just didn't have time to chit chat.
- [20:30]
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- [22:11]
Zach Lowe
All right, let me ask you something. You ever feel like you're juggling at all work, family responsibilities and still trying to keep your eye on the ball. Yeah, you're an ander. And National University gets the hustle. That's why they've got flexible online classes and support services for folks who are balancing jobs and kids and everything in between. If you're ready to take the next step, National University can help you level up your education and score your goals. Check them out at Nu Edu to learn more. And McMahon, you're going to be at the warriors game when they play in Dallas at the American Airline center on Wednesday night. They're 2 and 2 on the seven game road trip. They gotta vacate their building for 10 days or whatever, 12 days for the all Star festivity. So they're on the seven game road trip, they're two and two. They're coming to Texas, play Dallas on Wednesday at Houston on Thursday. They're 20 since Jimmy Butler went into the starting lineup. And in those two games that Jimmy has played, he has 28 free throws, including 15 that he had in Milwaukee on Monday night. That is the most free throws that any warriors had in a two game span since Durant in 2018. So already you are seeing smart. Yeah, well, I've done seven hours of TV today. If I don't have some of this stuff memorized, I'm in trouble. If right there you can see the impact that Jimmy Butler is already making. He is saying that he is nowhere near basketball shape. He is saying that he's really upset with how out of condition he is, but still he has made a difference. Bon temps. This is exactly what they've been looking for. Maybe not specifically somebody with this skill set that Butler has, but somebody to balance Steph, who by the way is hot right now. I think he's averaged like I think he scored over 30 in four straight games. Bontabs. This is what the warriors have been been looking for. I don't know if it lasts but, but I can certainly understand why it is something that they needed.
- [24:12]
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, I mean I'm not surprised that Steph and Jimmy are fitting well. I sort of assumed they would when the trade happened. Jimmy's one of the smartest players in the league. He, his skill set I think meshes very nicely with Stephs because they operate in different parts of the court. They can run some pick and roll stuff together with him as a big which they've done a little bit of and I think will help. And like you said, this is a team that historically has never gotten to the foul line and has never really put pressure on the referees in that manner. And Jimmy Butler is a super physical guy who is going to give them a different element in that respect. So from that standpoint, I think it is going to be a really nice fit. Now, how are the warriors going to defend? That's going to be an interesting thing to see. Andrew Wiggins would take on a lot of the elite perimeter assignments. Jimmy at this point in his career can do that, I think, in spurts. He certainly shouldn't be doing that every night. So that's going to be a bit of a challenge. And again, like we've talked about a bunch, if you're playing him and Draymond Green together, you're not going to have a lot of space on the court. And you know, that is something that Steph Curry and Steve Kerr, well, you have underestimated.
- [25:19]
Zach Lowe
Mr. Mr. Quentin Post, sir.
- [25:22]
Tim MacMahon
No, no, no, no. It's been a really nice, it's been a really nice story for them. Guy out of B.C. who's been really nice, he's had a very nice season for them. As a lady, he's Dutch.
- [25:37]
Zach Lowe
I didn't know the name Quentin was, was popular in the Netherlands, but now.
- [25:41]
Tim MacMahon
I know, I mean, he's had it. He's had a very nice season for them this year. But ultimately, you know, this team is built around the combination of the three old guys, right? Steph, Draymond and Jimmy. And if you've got Draymond and Jimmy out there, even though both of them can hit a three, neither one of them is really a shooter. You know, it puts a lot of pressure on Steph and defenses can load up on him. And that's where Jimmy's ability to handle the ball, to make plays, to run two man action with Steph I think will help a lot. But you know, that's going to be the thing to test and see as this next couple months plays out is how the offense looks for these guys. And then again when they're going up against these elite players on the other team, how are they going to match up and who's going to guard them. But certainly Jimmy's giving him a nice boost. And you know, I think, you know, going into the break he gets a chance to get his legs under him and work on his conditioning. Jimmy, for all of his other everything else anybody's ever said about him, no one's ever accused him of not working on his game and on his body. So I suspect he's going to be ready to go and he's certainly motivated to show the warriors made the right decision in trading form. So you know, it's going to be a very interesting stretch run and it's a very interesting game. Like we talked about earlier, this game on Wednesday is really critical for both teams for playoff positioning and it's a real two game swing on both sides. They play at both sides of the break and it would be huge. They could win this one and go home, maybe get another one.
- [27:04]
Zach Lowe
Steve Kerr has set the standard. He believes that this team can with Jimmy Butler powering it, powering it, helping power it. He thinks he set the, he set the standard to succeed. He's like, the goal is to succeed. As we sit here Today, there are three games in the lost column out McMahon but they believe they can avoid the playing altogether.
- [27:25]
Brian Windhorst
You know, and Bon, Tim Saw told us it wasn't going to be a problem fit wise. I had questions about the shooting, but I know you like my early a.m. we hours in the morning Sports center comp that thunder and lightning backfield, baby. But it really is like you mentioned Jimmy's free throws, right? Because he is, he's a battering ram. Like he is a downhill attacking big, strong. He's like that fullback who just, you know, pounds in between the tackles. And Steph is obviously the best perimeter shooter that has ever graced the face of this earth. 28 free throws for Jimmy Butler in the last two games. 32 threes attempted for Steph Curry. If they're coming close to that kind of volume just in attempts, then you know, that's a really nice winning formula for the Warriors. Hey, I have a question, a Quinton related question. When he heats up, could we call him the Dutch Oven?
- [28:23]
Zach Lowe
Bon Temps this morning at like 6:30am Central, like probably more like 6:20. Ryan Smith, the Sports center anchor was, was name checking you, you know, and McMahon and I were like we did not get up this early to have you praised on time.
- [28:39]
Tim MacMahon
Smart fella. That's all I'll say very smartly.
- [28:44]
Brian Windhorst
Don't make billions to buy the Utah Jazz without having some brains in you.
- [28:48]
Zach Lowe
Yeah, well, the warriors, they are the beneficiary or one of the beneficiaries of the Mavericks hitting this turbulent zone of the season because they are a team that's in front of them. The Kings go through a massive change in front of them as well. I mean, we'll see. DeRozan had an incredible game and win in Dallas the other night. I don't. It's hard for me to forecast what's going to happen with the Kings, but.
- [29:15]
Tim MacMahon
I mean, I don't think they got worse at the trade deadline.
- [29:18]
Zach Lowe
They might be better either, but I'm not sure they got better.
- [29:24]
Tim MacMahon
So, I mean, look, I think, I mean we talked about it last week. I don't think if you had Zach Levine for Demar DeRozan I or for Darren Fox. I don't think that's a huge difference. I like Jake Larvae on the wing. It's a small piece, but he's had a nice year in Memphis. He gives them some size as a combo forward. They didn't really have that kind of player. What'd you say, McMahon?
- [29:44]
Brian Windhorst
I, I did like that pickup. You know, he's a guy the Realsies gave up on in terms of not picking up the fourth year option, but he's had a nice year and you know, they're limited in what they can offer next year, but he's a, you know, he's, he's a nice six, eight kind of versatile wing four, you know, like depth.
- [30:02]
Zach Lowe
The other, the other two teams in front of them are Minnesota, who's been playing well. They won 8 out of 10 ant I think has 3 or 440 point games like in the last two weeks. Yeah, they got steamrolled by the Cavs corners on Monday, but still they've been playing well. And then the other team's the Clippers, which they're right now in the six seed, which is going to be the spot everybody wants. That's a lot of teams to crawl over. But, but you know, the warriors, you know, have, you know, if they're healthy, they, they have a, they have a fighting chance at it. So. All right.
- [30:45]
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, it's a lot of teams to go over, but they're all tied in the lost column right now, really. So, you know, it's doable.
- [30:51]
Zach Lowe
Well, they're, the warriors are three games back of the Clippers in the lost column.
- [30:55]
Brian Windhorst
Yeah, same bottom.
- [30:56]
Tim MacMahon
Mitch, I just went from. I meant from 11 to 8. 11 to 8. Like with the two teams that are playing Wednesday night. Like those two teams, Phoenix and Sacramento are all tied. So, you know, it's one thing to say you're in 11th, it's another thing to say you're tied for eighth and you got to get ahead of two.
- [31:14]
Zach Lowe
Teams team at seven games ahead of them in the Los Colos LA Lakers who haven't lost in a couple of weeks.
- [31:18]
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- [31:49]
Tim MacMahon
Since you're new to HR block, we'll look at your returns from the last.
- [31:52]
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- [31:54]
Tim MacMahon
Guy might have missed for free.
- [31:55]
Brian Windhorst
I could get money back from last year. You could.
- [31:58]
Tim MacMahon
We'll find any mistakes.
- [31:59]
Zach Lowe
Could have really used that two years.
- [32:01]
Brian Windhorst
Ago when I dated that mistake for five months.
- [32:04]
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- [32:19]
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- [32:50]
Zach Lowe
In a row, by the way. So have the Nuggets who they can't gain any ground on. But those two teams have basically separated themselves a little BIT in the 23 spot. The Rockets have been been sliding so Luca couldn't have had a softer landing. You know, Anthony Davis came back, had to play against the Rockets rivalry game, had to go up against an all star and Luca comes out to play the Jazz. No offense to a friend of the pod, Will Hardy, but he couldn't have picked a better spot for them. It was a very comfortable way for him to to ease back into it. I you know, there's been so much attention on how LeBron and Luca will play together. I was not really paying attention to that on the first night. Obviously there'll be something to keep an eye on, but I'm more to see the effect on Austin Reeves who's been having the best stretch of his career and gets the ball in his hands. That's how he plays. I don't know if you saw this McMahon. Now granted he played only 23 minutes Luca did because it was a blowout and they were bringing him back from the injury, but he brought the ball up only nine times, which I think was the lowest of his career. It was. It was the lowest of his career or lowest in a number of years. So I don't know if that's the JJ Redick strategy, but. Or if that was just easing him in. But Austin Reeves had another big game at 22 points, he's got a streak.
- [34:24]
Tim MacMahon
I'm not taking much away from anything. From a game where Luca hasn't played in weeks and they're playing the courts of the Utah Jazz, that's fine.
- [34:32]
Zach Lowe
I'm just saying Austin Reeves was bringing the ball up to court a lot.
- [34:36]
Tim MacMahon
I understand. But he hasn't played in six weeks. And to me, it's like what mattered was he got through the game healthy. Like, I don't. We're not going to learn anything from these games against Utah.
- [34:49]
Brian Windhorst
It's basically a preseason, right? Like. Like, since Christmas, brand new team. You know, it's like the most pomp and circumstance around a preseason game in the history of the world, other than, you know, maybe some of these, like, overseas specials type of thing, by the.
- [35:09]
Zach Lowe
Way, so you can oversee specials. It wasn't that long ago that the.
- [35:12]
Skims Voice
Mavericks made a special stop in Madrid.
- [35:14]
Zach Lowe
Remember, they were in Abu Dhabi and they were like, we're gonna stop in Madrid just to chill for Luca, where.
- [35:21]
Brian Windhorst
By the way, those are good days. No, they played in Madrid. Lucas strained his calf. They played against Real Madrid, and he went out there and kind of hopped around for five minutes just because he didn't want to disappoint the Madrid crowd. But listen. Yeah, right.
- [35:34]
Zach Lowe
That's what's so crazy.
- [35:35]
Brian Windhorst
Like, the Mavericks. There's a whole book written about how much they catered and coddled this guy and, you know, tried to build a contender around him and the wonder boys and. But seriously, like, Lupa's happiness was Mark Cuban's top priority when Cuban was running that franchise. You know, from the time they drafted Luca until the time Cuban sold the franchise, Luca's happiness was Cuban's top priority. Cuban had zero power. The heads up was like, literally a matter of minutes that this trade was happening. There's a 0% chance it would ever have happened under Cuban's watch. But, you know, I call him the world's richest mascot for reasons. Because he doesn't have any juice in the organization anymore. He gave that up. Was hoping to cling on.
- [36:23]
Zach Lowe
What happened to that proprietor nickname?
- [36:29]
Brian Windhorst
I don't know, he's a boy. Cuban though, he was, he was giving it back to some of these fans he doesn't like. If you want a champ, fire Nico. You can't do it with the Mavericks or shooting free throws because Cuban will stand up and tell you to shut the and up. Sit the down.
- [36:43]
Tim MacMahon
Well, listen here, here's what I'd say on this. I look, the Jazz are who they are. I'm not taking a lot out of this game or the game Wednesday to McMahon's point. I think we look at this preseason, they come back after the break, they played the rescheduled game against Charlotte, which is interesting because of the, the Mark Williams trade hanging over it. And then they play Portland the following night in Portland. But after that they're in Denver. Home for Dallas, home for Minnesota, home for the Clippers. Home for the Clippers again. Then they've got the Pelicans, the Knicks, the Celtics, the Nets, the Bucks, the Nuggets, the Suns, the Spurs, like, and then the Nuggets and Bucks again. So they've got a pretty healthy stretch with a couple softies in there against a bunch of playoff teams for about a month. That's when I think we're going to really learn about what the overall dynamic of this Laker team is. And look, the, the fact that they've ripped off some wins here against teams like the Knicks and the Celtics and some of these teams while they're banged up. I mean, right now the lakers have won six in a row. They've won nine of their last 10. They're five wit, they're five losses up on Minnesota for seventh and they got a real shot to have home court in the Western Conference playoffs with a healthy Luka Doncic, which is probably the craziest part of that entire sentence.
- [38:02]
Brian Windhorst
So, yeah, and I'll wager, I'll wager.
- [38:04]
Tim MacMahon
Right now put themselves in a great situation.
- [38:07]
Brian Windhorst
I'll wager right now that Luke is not going to have another game this year where he only brings the ball up the floor nine times. Like, you don't make a blockbuster trade to get a guy who just averaged 34, 10 and 9.
- [38:19]
Tim MacMahon
We might have another one, you might have another one Wednesday. So you might want to say after.
- [38:22]
Brian Windhorst
The break, but I, I think they'll be ramping them up. My point is you don't trade for that guy not to put the ball in his hands. I do think you'll see a lot of like when he made that three quarter court pass to LeBron for the layup. I think you'll see a lot of that. He was, he, he was the best look at passer in the league, like statistically by far last year. If guys will run with Luca, he's as good as there is at grabbing a rebound, whipping his head around and he's looking to just, you know, let that thing fly and he can put it on the money from 80ft out. It's like he told me last year, he could have been, he could have been the quarterback for the Cowboys.
- [38:57]
Tim MacMahon
Well, the other thing that's funny about.
- [39:00]
Brian Windhorst
Maybe if staffer retires, a cool takeover there. So I was hanging out with last night.
- [39:06]
Tim MacMahon
Could be. I mean the, the funny thing, the funny thing about where the Lakers are at now after the failed physical on the trade with Mark Williams is that they're going to have to play fast despite having LeBron and Luke on the team if they're going to want to be successful in theory because they're going to have to play super small all the time. You know, even if they get, you know, they've got Jackson Hayes, maybe they get Alex lan as a buyout guy, but like they're not. These guys aren't going to be guys that are playing crazy minutes for them in the playoffs. They're going to have to win. Playing Dorian Finney smith at the 5. Playing Ruihachimur at the 5. Playing Super Small space on the floor, picking and popping like they did against the Knicks at the Garden here a couple of Saturdays ago before the trade. And it's going to be interesting to see how 40 year old LeBron and, and Luca respond and react to that because like you said, if you have Luca triggering fast break offense, it could look pretty damn good.
- [39:57]
Brian Windhorst
Maxi Kleba was salary filler in his deal for the most part, but I'm just telling you, and obviously it's going to be a while. He's got a broken foot. Maxi Cleveland has been very, a very useful player for the Mavericks over the years in particularly in playoffs because, and you look at his numbers like what are you talking about? Like the guy's got three points and three rebounds but he can space the floor and he can play the five and switch everything, you know, you can play a five out style and switch everything style with Max Cleaver playing the five. And this is a team that could really use that sort of guy because like you just laid out their options at the 5 right now are so limited. We heard a few months when he broke it, which was back in, it's like January.
- [40:46]
Zach Lowe
January.
- [40:48]
Brian Windhorst
Yeah, yeah. So it was like, maybe he can get back by the end of the regular season. You know, so. But especially if they make a little.
- [40:55]
Zach Lowe
Bit of a. I hadn't even considered it, to be honest with you.
- [40:59]
Brian Windhorst
It'd be a really tough situation if. Let's just say hypothetically, all right, you're back. You're cleared to go on April 15th, by the way. You've been living in a. In a hotel for a few months. You've not been able to practice with his team at all. You, you know, you know two guys on the team because you play with Dodo. I guess he knows Christian Wood. Oh, wait, Christian Wood can come back and save this whole thing.
- [41:24]
Zach Lowe
But, you know, it'll just be interesting to see Cleveland ready to go for Game 1 of the Finals when LeBron goes back to Cleveland.
- [41:30]
Tim MacMahon
If Maxi Kleba. If Maxi Kleba can play playoffs, he is unquestionably the best big on the roster and will be a massive factor in. Yeah, I heard you.
- [41:40]
Brian Windhorst
You just really walk. You walked all over. Wendy's prediction.
- [41:51]
Zach Lowe
Say that to me today. I said somebody we have.
- [41:54]
Tim MacMahon
We had a Bernie Kar reference and a. And a Cavs finals reference on the pod. We got.
- [41:59]
Zach Lowe
We got some LeBron back to Cleveland for the Finals. I tell a storyline sure would be.
- [42:08]
Brian Windhorst
For the land, not the witness, baby.
- [42:10]
Zach Lowe
We have an interesting situation developing. It's sort of, you know, front office, back of house stuff. But certainly you care if you're a Wolves fan. On Monday, an arbitration panel and this gets in the weeds. An arbitration panel ruled in favor of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lori in their dispute with the current owner of the Wolves, Glenn Taylor. Long story short, it's going to come down to a vote of the owners. Lori and Rodriguez have the money. That's right. Lauren Rodriguez have the money in escrow. They're ready to buy the team. The arbitrator said that Glenn Taylor voided the. Violated the contract when he took the team off the market. And so a Rod and Lori need 23 of the 30 votes, which I would assume that Mr. Taylor will be voting against it. They need 23 of the 29 votes, actually. I shouldn't assume that. I don't know what Glenn Taylor's going to do, but there's a.
- [43:11]
Tim MacMahon
You know, they need three quarters of the owners to vote for him one way or the other.
- [43:14]
Zach Lowe
Right. And so we've never really seen anything like this. My. I would be surprised if it actually came to a roll call where they're calling out the votes. I would think Adam Silver would try to negotiate some sort of settlement. The issue is this. Glenn Taylor can say whatever he wants. I'm not going to say anything he has said is not true. I'm just going to say that he made this deal in 2021 when the Timberwolves were in their playoff drought and Edwards was just a prospect and we were coming out the team sold for 1.5 billion. Since then, four teams have sold, all of them for over 3 billion. Most recently, we saw the Mavericks sell for 3 1/2. We saw the Hornets and the Bucks controlling shares sell for over 3 billion in value, which is, you know, at least double or more than the Timberwolves. And Aunt Edwards has turned into a superstar, and they are looking very up. And so they also are an extremely expensive team. So I'm not going to predict what's going to happen. I will just tell you that we are in an unprecedented situation where the owners. There's going to be lobbying within there. I'm not even going to tell you. I know which is better for the Wolves organization, but we are in an interesting situation. Bontemps.
- [44:37]
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, it's going to be very interesting to see how this goes because it goes back to sort of what are the motivations of the other owners involved here? Right. And certainly I think the most likely outcome is one way or the other. There is some sort of a settlement between the two parties and this gets resolved that way. But, you know, look, you're talking about having to win a room. And, you know, on the one hand, you could say the arbitrators ruled in favor of Mark Laurie and Alex Rodriguez and therefore they should get the votes and have control of the team. On the other hand, you could have a motivated group of people in that room say, you know what we don't want to do be in a situation where our peers are telling us what to do with our teams. And if there's a situation like this and we don't want to have to sell our team if something like this comes up, we don't want to set a precedent where that is going to happen. You know, there's a lot of different ways you could evaluate how this is going to play out. It's why I think to your point, it would be pretty surprising if it got to a, quote, unquote, roll call vote, because I think that could be fraught for the league on a few levels. But it is going to be fascinating to see how it plays out because these teams don't come available very often. And like, we've talked about a lot both. This Minnesota situation in the Boston situation. I think both have to get resolved before the league is going to turn its attention to the expansion process, which obviously is something a lot of people have interest in. And we're waiting to see what the next steps on that are.
- [46:05]
Zach Lowe
Oh, it's interesting that. Sorry. Let's say it's interesting. Mark Laurie is on the COVID of Forbes this week where he is being declared by Forbes, America's newest billionaire. Which I don't want to, I don't want to assume why he did that story, but my guess is to send a message to his potential new peers. Well, he is a already a part owner of the league, his peers that he can fund and pay for this team. But if you're Glenn Taylor and you're like, wow, he's been doing very well over the last few years since I sold the team to him for 1 5, maybe you like, well, you can afford more. So if you don't want me to make an issue of this vote, how about we renegotiate the sale? Which, you know, I'm sure Mark Laura is gonna be like, no, we signed one five. I'm gonna give you one five. Have a nice day. So, yeah, Billionaire Games. McMahon.
- [47:08]
Brian Windhorst
Yeah. No, I feel for him. It's, it's a tough deal. I just wish we paid them all these, all these billions that our company paid them. We should have been able to get the rights to like these kind of meetings and these kind of votes. That'd be, that'd be good tv. I'm talking about like the, you know, put all these up, put all these billionaires. Okay, roll call. Let's do, let's do a vote. You know, that, that'd be good tv.
- [47:35]
Tim MacMahon
That would be amazing tv. Hey, let's, let's roll call. Who's going to get the team. Talk about a. Talk about a. Talk about a made for TV special.
- [47:43]
Zach Lowe
Hey, late breaking news. Brandon Ingram, three years, 120 million from the Toronto Raptors. God bless America. I mean, Canada. And how about a player option on the end of that? He wanted 40 million a year. The Pelicans weren't willing to go there. He got traded and he's getting his 40 million a year Bondemps.
- [48:02]
Tim MacMahon
Brandon Ingram was maybe the biggest winner of the whole trade deadline week. I mean, he did not have a huge market. He spent a year trying to get traded out in New Orleans. He gets to a place that really wanted him. Not only, to your point, paid him the number he was hoping to get even more so maybe also gave him a player option. So it's a huge bet by the Raptors on the fit of he, Scotty Barnes and Emmanuel Quickley. Very curious to see how it plays out. Also curious to see when Brandon Ingram plays because he's still, he's still out with this ankle sprain. I don't think he's playing through the All Star breaks. We'll see when he actually makes his debut with the Raptors.
- [48:34]
Zach Lowe
Hey, coming up on on Friday's pod. Sorry to stamp on you, McMahon. I believe we've got straw poll coming.
- [48:45]
Brian Windhorst
See, I know I voted as McMahon.
- [48:47]
Zach Lowe
Has McMahon sent you his vote yet?
- [48:49]
Tim MacMahon
Oh, yeah, he has. Amazingly, both you and McMahon. Well, not amazingly because McMahon always votes quickly. You actually sent your vote right away. For once I didn't have to chase you down. So thank you for that.
- [48:59]
Zach Lowe
Can't wait. All right, thank you to our producer Rafa. Thank you to McMahon. Thank you to Bontemps. Thank you to all the fans of the Dallas Mavericks. We will talk to you later this week.
- [49:10]
Brian Windhorst
Adios, amigos.
- [49:16]
Tim MacMahon
Foreign.
- [49:27]
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