Statement Game from Wemby + Did Mitchell Save Cavs Season? & Big Changes Coming for 76ers & Lakers

Summary

Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective

Episode: Statement Game from Wemby + Did Mitchell Save Cavs Season? & Big Changes Coming for 76ers & Lakers
Date: May 13, 2026
Host: Brian Windhorst, with Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon

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Episode Overview

This week’s episode dives deep into pivotal NBA playoff storylines and franchise-altering front office moves. Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to break down Victor Wembanyama’s dominant playoff performance, Donovan Mitchell’s electric half to save the Cavs’ season, the continued rise of the Thunder, and the sweeping organizational changes facing the 76ers and Lakers. The panel analyzes player developments, coaching adjustments, roster construction dilemmas, and the future for some of the league’s most high-profile franchises.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Victor Wembanyama’s Statement Game & Spurs vs. Wolves Series

• Spurs Respond to Adversity
  • Brian Windhorst praises San Antonio’s force and aggression in a crucial playoff win. Wembanyama tallied 27 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists in just 32 minutes.
  • Bontemps (03:10): “I love the demeanor the Spurs came out with in this game. Victor had 18 points in the first quarter… he felt he had some making up to do.”
  • Spurs dominated the paint, scoring 68 points (04:32).
• Minnesota’s Resilience
  • Wolves erased a double-digit deficit to tie it in the third, only for the Spurs to answer with a decisive run.
  • Bontemps (04:32): “From there to the end of the game, it was Spurs 65, Wolves 36. Just absolute demolition.”
• Athletic Depth of Spurs
  • MacMahon highlights the backcourt trio: Dylan Harper, Steph Castle, and Carter Bryant. Noted Dylan Harper’s “superstar potential” and Castle’s “trampoline” hops (06:23).
• Wemby’s Minutes and Playoff Test
  • Discussion if Spurs can close on the road in Minnesota; Wemby may need more minutes against OKC (09:12).
  • Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards is playing heavy minutes despite knee issues, with possible impact in Game 6 (11:43).

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2. Donovan Mitchell’s Historic Second Half & Cavs–Pistons Series

• Mitchell’s Second-Half Eruption
  • Mitchell’s 39-point second half tied for most in playoff history (with Sleepy Floyd). He sparked a massive Cavs run after a silent first half.
  • Bontemps (13:05): “I don’t know if I would say it’s iconic, but it was unbelievable. The Cavs were losing at halftime… their season looked like it could be on the ropes and he came out… completely turned the game on its head.”
• Comparisons to LeBron’s “48 Special”
  • Panel reminisces about LeBron’s 2007 epic game, paralleling it to Mitchell’s heroics.
  • Bontemps (23:58): “If you ever wanted to create memorabilia, you should get Donovan to sign a second half box score… 12 of 18, 39 points.”
• Pistons Collapse & Individual Struggles
  • Asar Thompson and Jalen Duren benches and poor statistical showings analyzed, with Bontemps noting, “The Pistons just commit horrific turnovers… Cade’s gotta be way more secure with the ball in a playoff game” (27:48).
• Series Outlook
  • If Cade Cunningham does not lead, Detroit’s at risk of losing both the next game and the series.
  • Bontemps (29:33): “If the Pistons lose game 5, I think they'd lose the series in 6. Cade's going to think all summer about those three turnovers.”

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3. Thunder Dominate, Lakers Face Uncertain Offseason

• OKC’s Depth and Breakout Performers
  • Thunder sweep the Lakers, largely behind A.J. Mitchell’s breakout (24 points, 10 assists in Game 3, even more in Game 4).
  • MacMahon (34:42): “A.J. Mitchell… this was a breakout series. Did they get a star in the middle of the second round a couple drafts ago?”
  • Chet Holmgren highlighted for shooting 97.1% in the restricted area during playoffs (36:49).
• Thunder Roster Construction
  • Emphasizes OKC’s blend of high picks, shrewd trades, and second-round gems.
  • Bontemps notes only Chet Holmgren was a top-10 pick among rotation members; six second-rounders and one undrafted (42:22).
• Lakers’ Limited Path Forward
  • Debates LeBron’s future, Austin Reaves’ role, and the myth of Lakers cap space. Cap gymnastics explained; Lakers’ need for major upgrades outlined (46:32–51:33).
  • Bontemps (51:33): “I think the Lakers’ cap space is kind of a myth… And there’s nothing to really spend it on.”

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4. Daryl Morey Fired & The 76ers’ Next Chapter

• Daryl Morey’s Tenure Dissected
  • Morey’s tenure marked by bold risks, analytics revolution, and a “bet” on Embiid & George that didn’t pan out.
  • MacMahon on Morey’s approach: “He’s never been a guy who valued or even frankly considered the human element. He does not believe in basketball chemistry.” (60:57)
• Jared McCain Trade and Fallout
  • Trade analyzed as organizationally motivated—tax avoidance, future flexibility, and targeted free agents like Quentin Grimes.
  • Bontemps (59:41): “They also did get a first back for Jared McCain… At the end of the day, we’re six years in and the Sixers never broke through, and somebody was going to pay the price for that, and it was Daryl.”
• Future Outlook
  • Panel underscores Sixers’ tricky situation: Young backcourt (Maxey, BJ Edge) but heavy investments in aging, injury-prone stars.

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5. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Wemby’s Response:
  • “Whatever he may say about what happened in Game 4, I know that he felt that he had some making up to do because I saw the way he came out in this game.” – Windhorst, 03:10
• About the Spurs Youth Movement:
  • “Dylan Harper… already so good. He’s going to be… superstar potential. Steph Castle… it’s just like there’s a trampoline that he finds in the hardwood.” – MacMahon, 06:23
• Donovan Mitchell’s Fire:
  • “He hits that three from the left wing in Cade’s face… and the camera catches him… I will paraphrase, saying, ‘Get that gentleman off me.’” – MacMahon, 15:34
• Thunder Culture:
  • “The Thunder have 13 guys on the roster who would be top eight of pretty much anybody’s rotation. Their depth is ridiculous.” – MacMahon, 37:42
• On Daryl Morey:
  • “Darrell maybe has the highest IQ of any of the NBA executives and one of the lowest EQs.” – Windhorst, 61:02

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6. Notable Timestamps

• [03:10] – Spurs’ demeanor and Wemby’s first quarter explosion
• [04:32] – Tim Bontemps on Spurs’ Game 5 force
• [06:23] – Spurs’ young core athleticism breakdown
• [13:05] – Bontemps on Donovan Mitchell’s “unbelievable” second half
• [15:34] – Iconic trash talk: “Get that gentleman off me.”
• [23:58] – Second-half box score for the ages: Mitchell’s 39
• [27:48] – Pistons’ turnover issues and Cade’s playoff struggles
• [34:42] – Thunder’s breakout performance and depth
• [42:22] – OKC’s roster: only 1 top 10 pick, many second-rounders/undrafted
• [46:32–51:33] – Lakers cap situation and summer outlook
• [53:29] – Sixers/McCain trade and Daryl Morey’s firing
• [60:57] – “He’s never been a guy who valued… the human element.”
• [64:24] – Somber close: Remembering Brandon Clark & Jason Collins

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Tone and Style

The conversation is informative but casual, with occasional humor and friendly ribbing among the hosts. Deep historical context is woven in, especially in player comparison segments. There’s clear respect for the gravity of off-court tragedies, lending a somber, humane close to an otherwise analytics-driven episode.

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Conclusion

This episode provides deep analysis on the postseason’s most important games, player performances, and some of the NBA’s biggest organizational questions. Listeners will come away with a richer understanding of the playoff landscape, the crossroads facing the Lakers and Sixers, and the pivotal players and executives shaping the league’s direction. The panel’s mix of stats, storytelling, and personal perspective makes for an engaging and insightful listen—whether you watched the games or not.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hello and welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Tuesday evening. Joining me from Chicago, where he's at the draft combine because the playoff series he was covering between Philly and New York is over, is Tim Bontemps.

[C]

Hello, everybody. Though there's still news out of Philly.

[B]

That's true. Joining us from Dallas, Texas, back home because the playoff series he was covering is over as the Thunder finished off the Lakers last night, is Ben McMahon.

[D]

Howdy, partners. How sweep it was at least five more nights at home. I appreciate Shay and the Thunder for giving me a little siesta.

[C]

Really tough life for McMahon. Really tough.

[B]

So Bon temps. You have a special assignment before we talk about the games, you have a special assignment.

[D]

Okay, so at the draft combine.

[B]

Yes, at the draft combine.

[C]

Oh, I have to find more discoveries for Window. We're already up to 2. McMahon.

[B]

At the draft combine, there's a Cameron boozer. You're stepping all over me. Just chill. At the draft combine, all of the teams interview the players on the same floor of this hotel. Okay. And over the years, and as an indication of the NBA just having more money than is probably good for it, over the years, what they do is they come in early and they clear out all of the. And I think they're just kind of. They might be bigger rooms, but because they're all in one room and there's 30 teams, they've got to mostly be regular rooms. They don't have 30 suites on one floor. I think they're regular rooms. And they come out and they clear out all the furniture, the bed and everything like that. And more and more, it's become like an arms race of teams that bring stuff in for their meetings with the prospects and they decorate the door and they bring in like wall size pictures of greatness of their franchise and they have games like, I heard the wizards have connect four in there. I don't know if they only have 20 minutes for each meeting. And at 20 minutes, the NBA comes and they sound like a tone and everybody switch. It's like speed dating.

[D]

I can't have Monopoly.

[B]

Bontemps, I want you to do some reporting and find out who's got the craziest ass setup, who's most insane in what their. What their conference room does.

[C]

Might leave that to you to discover that, too.

[B]

All right, fine. I'll discover it. Fine. I think I can't do reporting. I'll do some freaking reporting.

[C]

I mean, listen, you have discoveries left and right. You're discovering things all across the league. Massively important things. Let's go.

[B]

All right, so tonight in San Antonio, the Spurs take a 32 lead repeatedly this postseason. I have been impressed with the spurs answering to adversity, even though I know that they were not able to get it done down the stretch of game four the other night in Minnesota. I love the demeanor that the spurs came out with in this game. Obviously, Victor had 18 points in the first quarter, 16, like sort of right away. He obviously, whatever he may say, he hasn't given his post game interview yet as we're doing this. Whatever he may say about what happened in Game 4, I know that he felt that he had some making up to do because I saw the way he came out in this game. I saw the emotion that he played with, and he was playing for his team. And. And regardless of what he might say, remember the actions that he had in this first quarter. And then what I really liked, guys, was how San Antonio played with such force, particularly attacking the basket, especially in transition. When they would get in transition, they would go to attack the basket. I thought it made a world of difference. And frankly, I actually felt Minnesota did a decent job of hanging in there tonight. Several times coming back, the force that the spurs played with, how about 68 points in the paint in a game 5, 22 series, they took 50 shots in the paint. That is the way to play when you need it. And so extremely impressed with them.

[C]

Yeah. And how about the fact that, you know, obviously Victor gets suspended in game or throwing out a game for two, two coming back home. Game five. We talked about the playing a Minnesota team that is battle tested and is one on the road, is already one in San Antonio in the series. And the wolves make this 14 to 2 run right out of the gate in the third quarter. They tie the game. I hits a layup about five minutes into the third quarter, makes it 61. All from there to the end of the game, it was Spurs 65, Wolves 36. Like just absolute demolition are by San Antonio of Minnesota. They win the game by 29. They just completely run them out of the gym. And like, that is an extraordinarily mature and professional response from a young team in a big spot where they very easily could have got sideways when Minnesota made that run. And instead, they completely flipped the game on its head immediately and slammed the door and put themselves back in the driver's seat like that. That's exactly the kind of response you want to see from a team that thinks it can win a title. And, you know, now they got to see if they can close the game series out in Game 6. But that was awfully impressive stuff in the second half of this game.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, Wimby came out and threw a haymaker in the first quarter. 18 points in the first quarter. And you're like, okay, like, this guy's going to be completely unstoppable, unstoppable tonight. The Wolves ate that punch, and they got within striking distance by halftime. You know, they got. They came out strong after the half, got right on their heels. And then, you know, like you guys said, the spurs just. It was a flurry of punches, and it wasn't. I mean, Wimby was part of it, but offensively, it was Kelton Johnson scoring 21 points in 22 minutes, going 7

[B]

of 8 the basket in transition.

[D]

Yeah, 7 of 8 on two pointers. And he is, you know, he just. He's. He's not like an explosive athlete, but he's. He's a strong, physical guy who's got craft and skill. And like, I'm watching the game with my boys, I'm like, look, dude, look. Look at the pivot, pump fake. Look at the way he uses his shoulder to get separation. Like. And Dylan Harper as a rookie, Dylan Harper's combination of. He is a great athlete, but athleticism, size for a guard, strength and finesse. Like, Dylan Harper is already so good. He's going to be. He has superstar potential. And then Steph Castle, like, there's so many times where Steph Castle's in the pain, and it's just like there's a trampoline that he finds in the hardwood.

[B]

Two feet, just like.

[D]

I mean, seriously, like, just off two feet and just up and throwing the thing down with two hands over and over and over again. They have. This is a team that has athletic depth in the back court and on the wings. You know, Carter Bryant is, you know, not that much of an offensive threat yet, but he's a super athletic wing player. You Know, Champagne and Vesel aren't like crazy athletes, but they're not slouches. But when you, when you talk about Harper, Fox and castle like that's three insane athletes that are playing a combined 96 minutes out of the backcourt.

[B]

So to break down what you were talking about, Bon Temps, It's a tie. Seven minutes to go, 7:51 to go. In the third quarter, the spurs turn the ball over. Three out of four possessions miss. On the other, the, the old Wolves run. So it's tied, 7:50 to go in the third quarter. Over the next four minutes, they push the lead to 11. They, they respond, go up 11. Then they take Victor out of the game. Three and a half minutes left. And in those three and a half minutes, they extend the lead by seven points from 11 to 18. That is a check on where this spurs team is. And by the way, the other day we talked about it. Even though Wembanyama got tossed and that was a difference making moment in that game. The spurs guards played extraordinarily well in that game. They did answer the bell. They just didn't have enough against Ann Edwards down the stretch of that game. And I'll also point out that one of the things we talked about as the season was winding down was how would Victor play when he got more minutes? Well, he had 24 points, 17 rebounds, five assists tonight. And there was a little bit of garbage time at the end of the game.

[D]

27.

[B]

What do you say? 20, 20. He was plus 24. Sorry, 27 points. It was a little bit of garbage time, but he still only played 32 minutes.

[D]

Yeah, his minutes didn't get ramped up. He has had some games where his minutes got ramped up. More than that, I would assume. Should they be able to finish this series off, he's going to have to play more than 32, 33 minutes against the Thunder. But you know, I really, I thought the biggest test was going to be in this round with his minutes being increased as he's banging with Nicole Jokic and playing in the Mile High air. But that ain't, that ain't the opponent. So you know, that test of, in terms of, you know, fatigue and all that kind of stuff, that, that test didn't, you know, he didn't have to pass that one.

[B]

So, you know, now I think the question is, so Minnesota has been such a resilient team. I thought they were resilient in this game. Even in the, you know, after they, they came back in the first quarter after taking the early Punch. They, they made the run in the third quarter, even in the fourth quarter. They, I mean, it didn't make it over the hump, but they took it from like 20 down to 12 at one point. Minnesota has defined itself by its ability to bounce back and be resilient. So, you know, they get to play game six at home. This, you know, if you are San Antonio this, the, the Thunder are sitting there.

[D]

Yeah. By the way. Yeah, you, and you've got to finish it off. You can't. First of all, you can't play with fire with a game seven. Second of all, obviously, the longer this series lasts, the more of a rest advantage the Thunder will have. Getting back to Wimy's minutes, he's only played more than 34 twice in the playoffs and both been in this series. The first one was a triple double he had in game one when he did not have a good offensive game and he wasn't able to finish strong on the offensive end. The second one was game three in Minnesota when he was breathtaking down the stretch of that game on the offensive end. So, you know, make it out what you will.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So I, I, I don't know what I'm going to think that, you know, I think that the Wolves still, they still showed me enough tonight to know to, to believe that they can, they can force a game seven. But I'm just going to say the spurs playing with this level of force is what they are going to need against Oklahoma City and also probably trying to avoid turning the ball over. They had some couple of, they did get in some little turnover binges tonight, which Oklahoma City will kill them on, but just loved, loved, loved that mindset.

[D]

Well, and look, if we're going to talk about minutes like Anthony Edwards, remember, it was like, I'm not going to say miraculous, but pretty medically impressive that he was able to play in game one and he had to come off the bench because of the minutes limit. And I think it was 25 in game one. They were going to, they were going to bump it up in Game 2, but it was a blowout. So it was 24 he has played. He's averaged 40 minutes per game since then.

[B]

Yeah, he played the most minutes of anybody in the game tonight.

[D]

Yeah, tonight was 39 and that's the lowest it's been in the last three games on two bad knees.

[C]

Yeah. The two days off between now and game six will probably be very beneficial to Ant I would expect.

[B]

Okay. Monday night in Cleveland, the Cavs even that series with a pretty we call it iconic. Second half by. By Donovan Mitchell, Bon Tempson.

[C]

I don't know if it was iconic, but it was spectacular.

[B]

It was tied for the most points and a half in playoff history.

[C]

Who. No, it was. I. I just saw.

[B]

Did you see who it was tied with, by the way? If you didn't see it, you'll never get it.

[C]

Yeah, I did see.

[D]

I did.

[B]

It's a Texan. Well, he's not a Texan, but it happened with the Rockets.

[D]

How about that happened with the Rockets.

[C]

You're not going to. You're not going to.

[D]

Okay. Was it like, Vernon Maxwell or something?

[B]

Same class of player.

[C]

Yeah, it's the right. No, it's the right. The right sort of time period. It was Sleepy Floyd.

[D]

Sleepy Floyd. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. So anyway, I just would.

[C]

I just. I don't know if I would say it's iconic just because, like, the. The 48 Special from LeBron is iconic, but it was. It was unbelievable. It was an unbelievable performance from Donovan Mitchell in a moment when he did not have a good first half. The Cavs were losing at halftime. Their season looked like it could be on the ropes, and he came out and what Was the run? 23 or 24? Nothing to start.

[B]

22 0, I think, to start something like that.

[C]

I mean, they scored over 20 points in a row to start the second half. Donovan scored most of them and completely turned the game on its head in the first six minutes of the third round.

[B]

Mention the 48 special. That's LeBron James in 2007. Game five, 48 points in double overtime in Detroit. I need to mention that because I don't want to assume all of our listeners were even alive back then, because I met Darren Peterson in Chicago a couple of days ago, and I asked him what year he was born and said 2007. And I was like, oh, now I've got to just recenter myself here.

[C]

The discoveries are making a mold.

[B]

McMahon.

[C]

It's tough. It's a tough hit.

[D]

Listen, no, I'm. I'm with them. Like, last year, I told you Cooper Flag was the first kid I've covered who's younger than one of my own. And that was a. That was a blow. And now this, like, most of this class is going to be younger than one of my own kids.

[B]

Well, anyway, so Danny Cunningham, who covers the Cavs, has a substack and does a great job, and he does lockdown Cavs. I can't remember if I read this from him or if he said it on his podcast, but he Said it was he. He was thinking about, you know, the Cavs were wearing their 2007 throwback navy jerseys last night, and the Pistons were wearing their whites. Back in 2007, the home team revolutionarily wore white. And so it was the same uniforms, basically. And he said he was having a flashback to that from when he was a kid, and I didn't think of that, but that is the uniforms that they were wearing back in 2007. The way Donovan did it was quite different than the way LeBron did it. LeBron's game was, you know, it made your eyes bleed the way that game was played. But still, the Cavs season was on the line. Donovan had four points, I believe, in the first half. I don't think he scored until he's made a free throw with like three minutes left in the first half.

[C]

He'd had a rough series and he had a rough first half, and it wasn't, you know, or I shouldn't say a rough series. He's had a sub substandard playoffs for his. What you'd expect from him. And then he delivered in the biggest spot. And now, you know, it's the best of three series going back to Detroit for this Game 5 on Wednesday, and it'll be very interesting to see how both these teams respond to it.

[D]

Well, there was a potentially iconic moment when he hits that three from the left wing in Cade's face. And obviously Donald has just been going bonkers for a while. Then the camera catches him and I will paraphrase saying, get that gentleman off me.

[B]

Well, by the way, Victor said that tonight when early in the game, the Wolves were like kind of putting their hands on him and he was saying, don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me. Oh, he was in.

[C]

He touched me. I'm like, I'll put you on the head.

[D]

He was a little sensitive. A little sensitive.

[B]

Well, you know, it's funny. Naz Reed got a technical foul for hitting Victor above the shoulders. He thought it was a light call. And then later in the game, there was actually an offensive foul on Victor on the perimeter where he like swatted

[D]

McDaniels in the face.

[B]

Yeah, in the face. And they called the offensive foul. And Naz Reed pummeled Victor. A much, in my view, more intense hit than when he got called for the technical.

[D]

And by the way, I guess Wimby's ribs, remember that was an issue late in the season. I guess Wemby's ribs are okay because he hit him right on the left side in the rib cage.

[B]

Well, they, they didn't have any penalty for that. The announcer said it was because they was because Nas couldn't hear the whistle.

[D]

I mean, I don't know which whistle you have to hear to know that you can't put a forearm shiver in a guy's ribs when he's in the air.

[B]

But okay, let me compare the box scores from the 2007 game. LeBron James and Donovan Mitchell. So in 2007 now gotta frame this. It's 22 on the road. Cavs are the underdog. Pistons were the number one seed. Cavs were playing there in the conference

[C]

final, by the way, playing against the Detroit Pistons, who are in their fifth of six consecutive Eastern Conference finals or farther, including winning a title. A slightly different caliber level of team and than the one that we're seeing

[B]

this year, but no Ben Wallace.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

Should we do story time here? Jackson Presented by Sofi yes, it's a good story time.

[D]

More Hoop Collective podcast after this.

[B]

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[B]

It was so hot. So it was June 1st. It was either May 31st or June 1st and it was the first like really hot night of the summer in Detroit and I just the Palace Auburn Hills did not have the it was not a place where they had problems with, with climate. Unlike, you know, Miami or San Antonio. Miami was too cold. San Antonio too warm. Anyway, like, Boston is famously too cold. But the building was not ready for 90 degrees outside. It was so hot in there. And there's a point where, like, during the timeouts, because LeBron played 50 minutes. Okay, during the timeouts, they were. Excess was just one. No, it says it was double overtime. They would, when LeBron would come to the sideline and they, during the timeouts, they would deploy, like the guys who weren't playing would come over and fan him with towels. There would be like three of them fanning him with towels and they would put like a, A wet wash, a wet, like, towel over. Like he was like a boxer coming to the sideline after every time out because it was so hot in there. And. And so after the game, he, before he did media, he got an iv. But a huge factor in that game was no Ben Wallace. And by the way, if you go back and watch it, which it's periodically on NBA TV, I'm sure it's on YouTube. You probably just need to watch the fourth quarter and on, like, there's a ton of horrible possessions by both teams in there.

[C]

That was sort of the standard way to play in 2007, which is partly why the rules have dramatically changed since then, because the aesthetics were not exactly high.

[B]

But by the way, the Cavs had a super hot three point shooting night that night. Do you want. How many three pointers do you think they took in that game?

[D]

22.

[C]

I'm going to guess 18.

[B]

They were 7 of 15 for the game. It was 1, oh 9, 107 in double overtime.

[D]

So that's a good quarter these days.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, anyway, I mean, yeah, The Knicks went 12 for 14 in the first quarter of Game 4 the other day, and that's in one quarter. My story time about that game is I've never actually watched it because I was my. I was my. Right after my senior year of college and I graduated, we didn't have cable at my house. The game was on espn, I believe, and I was listening to it on the radio and I was freaking out.

[B]

Gotta be Jim Durham and Jack Ramsey.

[C]

I think it was Jim Durham and Dr. Jack. Dr. Jack Ramsey. And I was freaking out to the point where my mom was like, what are you doing? Like, why are you yelling about whatever the hell you're listening to? Like, shut up. I said, Mom, LeBron James has just scored like 97 points in a row.

[B]

The Bon Temps has gathered around the radio in those days, McMahon. That's what they did.

[C]

And everybody else in the house was like, shut. Shut the hell up. It's a common refrain for me to tell Bontemps to shut the hell up.

[B]

All right, well, Wendy, Storytime was brought to you by Sofi get yout Money Right? Bon Temps Storytime was brought to you by ESPN Radio 2007.

[D]

That's right.

[B]

All right, so here was the Bontime Radio Shack. Did you have to wind it? Did you have to wind that radio? He was out in the barn.

[C]

My dad actually set up this wild AM radio setup where I. I mean, I could listen. I listened to radio calls from like half the country in my.

[B]

Well, maybe it was Joe Tate on 1100. Come or no, it was.

[C]

It was Dr. Jack and it was the ESPN radio calls.

[B]

Jim or George Blaha and 760, the great voice of the Great Lakes. That's right. Anyway, so LeBron in that game, 50 minutes, 18 of 33 from the field, 2 of 3 from three point range, 10 of 14 from the line, number, nine rebounds, seven assists, two turnovers, two steals.

[D]

I'm a little surprised. Only 14 free throws, to be honest with you.

[C]

It was a different kind of game then, bro.

[B]

And he won the game with a driving, like, underhand layup. The leading scorer for Detroit was Chauncey. Actually, Richard Hamilton. Richard.

[C]

Riff Hamilton.

[B]

I was gonna say Riff Hamilton, 26, big shot. Chauncey Billups, 21 points in that game. Okay. The only other Cav to have over 10 points in the game for the Cavs was Adrina Zolgauskas with 16. And I think the only guy to score a basket in the second half of the fourth quarter in overtime, other than LeBron was Drew Gooden, as I recall. So cadets, LeBron, 18 of 33, 10 of 14 at the line, nine and seven. Donovan last night, or I should say Monday night, 13 of 26, four of 12 on threes. The Cavs took 15 as a theme. Donovan took 12, 13 of 15 at the line, five rebounds, two assists in 37 minutes. So 43 points. So more points in 12 less minutes. So way higher efficiency, I guess. Although he missed eight threes. But let's look at the second half because. What's that?

[D]

More points?

[B]

LeBron had 40.

[C]

I'm saying LeBron had more points in more minutes.

[B]

I'm sorry, LeBron had 40.

[D]

Whatever.

[B]

We'll move on in the second half, which is really the. If you ever wanted to create some memorabilia, you should get Donovan to sign a second half boxer. Do People still do that, or is that passe? Second half box score, Donovan, 12 of 18, 3 of 7 on threes, 12 of 13 at the line, 39 points.

[D]

Pretty good for a guy who famously does not flop.

[B]

Well, thank God I was. I thought that the universe was out of line, but thank God JB Bickerstaff came out after the game and complained about the officiating.

[D]

Jb, that's very rare for him. I know sometimes I say JB stands for just business. A lot of times it stands for can we say just bitching? I don't know. But that's what it stands for sometimes.

[B]

So. All right, so that was the story from the Cav side, let me just say from the Pistons side, because the Pistons have now lost two games in a row. A couple of things. Number one, Asar Thompson had definitely his worst game of the postseason. He tweaked his ankle. I don't know how much of a factor that was, but he was out on the court at the end of the game. And when it comes to the playoffs, you know, outside of OG Anunoby's game two years ago at the Garden where he's dragging his leg, I have been taught by Mr. LeBron James, if you're on the court in the playoffs, if you're available, you're available. That's not really meant to attack Kassar, but like, you know, there might have been something with his ankle, but if he's out there, you're out there. He was benched at certain points in this game. Jalen Duran continues to really sort of evaporate in this postseason. He was not good against the Magic in the second half of this game. He had zero rebounds. If we're going to get on Evan Mobley for having one rebound in game two, this is a vital half that could have really lopsided this game. He has no rebounds. He also gets Benched.

[C]

Jalen Duran, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 26 minutes.

[D]

His negotiations last summer were complicated. I don't. It's going to be very complicated this summer.

[B]

Well, where are you at on. Where are you at on Duran?

[D]

That's who I'm talking about.

[B]

I mean, about Sar Thompson.

[D]

Sorry, different because Duran is supposed to be the co star. Like Duran's supposed to be a guy who's a driving force on both ends of the floor. The two rebound, those are the second

[C]

and third guys for Detroit going forward as of right now. And that's. I mean, they have both been disappointing and, you know, in different ways. And I mean at one point, I don't know what Asar. Asara, I guess. Let me see what he finished in this game. Asar in this game finished minus 27 in 18 minutes. He was minus 31 in 12 and a half minutes, which is almost impossible to do to be. To be 31 points worse in a quarter, which is basically what he was. You know, there was one play when Cade drove down the middle, kicked the ball to Asar who had nobody within a hundred feet of him on the one side of the court because the casters weren't guarding him. But because he won't shoot it, he tried to drive to the rim. He was met there by both Cleveland bigs shot got blocked, led to a run out the other way. I mean the other thing that stood out for this game to me, the Pistons just commit horrific turnovers and are just Cade. And look, I've sung Cade's praises all year. He's had a phenomenal year. He's on my MVP ballot, first team, all NBA. Like great player, great season. But he has been way too careless with the ball at times in these playoffs. And he had those three turnovers in that stretch with three minutes to go in game three that completely cost Detroit the game. And in this game he just like. Especially in that third quarter, he was just throwing the ball all over the place and like he's gotta be way more secure with the ball in a playoff game against the Cavs team that, you know, they get out and transition to get easy buckets, they start to feel good and you know, saw what happened in the second half of that game, they turned into a complete track.

[B]

Yeah. So also Duncan Robinson, who's been red hot, he came into this game shooting 58% on threes in the series. This was a game that the Cavs were able to attack him on defense, which, you know, you're going to attack him on defense every game, but normally he's not normally. But when he's able to beat you at the other end, the balance gets better. The balance didn't get the Cavs lopsided. Basically the Pistons front court, you know, B ball. Paul. Paul Reed played brilliantly and he helped keep the Pistons in the game for certain stretches.

[C]

Who also had a great game.

[B]

Charis Levert had his best game as a Piston. I believe he was 10 of 16. So those guys helped. But the Pistons starting front court was eviscerated in this game. They didn't play great in the. In game three. And so while you're not going to see Donovan Mitchell have a 39. You know, basically what happened. You know what, you know, Mitchell and Harden were subpar, unacceptably poor in games one and two. Mitchell has, you know, jaw dropping. Game four, Harden carries the Cavs home with several key baskets down the stretch of game three. So their stars have come back. The big thing to me going into game five, regardless of who may try to complain with the officiating and get whatever, is that Detroit front car going to come back alive because Tobias Harris, who has been one of the best players in the playoffs so far, he finally started missing some shots. He went 0 of 8 in the second half as the, as the Pistons were fading, couldn't make anything. They were going to. Tobias, who had scored over 20 points in like eight or nine straight games, and he finally hit a skid. So is that just in Cleveland or. Or is that just now the way that business are going to have to fight through?

[C]

Well, they put Evan Mobley on him sometimes and that, that certainly didn't help either. And look, Cade Cunningham's gotta be the best player on the court. Like, he was the best player on the court the first two games and he got outplayed by the two guards for the Cavs and the two games in Cleveland. So, you know, even more than all this other stuff, if Cade Cunningham is the best player on the court in Game 5, Detroit will feel pretty good about their chances of winning. If he struggles, there's a good chance it'll be 3, 2. And if the Pistons lose game 5, I think they'll lose a series and 6. And if they do lose this series, the Cade's going to think all summer about those three turnovers with three and a half minutes to go in game three because they had a chance to put the series away, and those were three of the worst turnovers you'll see. And you know, they, they had a chance to put the Cavs on the ropes. They didn't. Harden hit those shots at the end of game three. Donovan was credible in the second half of game four and sets up a very interesting Game five Cavs corner.

[B]

This happened last round when The Cavs were 22 against the Raptors. They had that game at home. The Cavs have not won on the road in the playoffs yet. And I went and looked at Harden's numbers and he had played in like 13 situations where it was 22 and his record was spotty.

[D]

I mean, that's his whole playoff track.

[B]

I know. So, you know, like, keep that in

[D]

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[B]

Okay McMahon, you were in LA on Monday night. You watched a very spirited game where the Lakers and Thunder went down the stretch when you get into clutch time. The Lakers are one of the best teams in the league, but without Luka and against the Clutch Time Masters. Clutch time Player of the year Shake Jose Alexander over there. It went the way that you would probably expect, but I felt that that was a impressive performance from the Lakers, all things considered. Did not lay down. Fought till the bitter end.

[D]

Do they get another one of those bronze brooms for this sweep? I know you rewarded them one for their spirited effort getting swept by the Nuggets a few years back.

[B]

Yeah, well the Nuggets I believe won the title that year. I think it was a, you know,

[D]

well the center got a pretty good chance to win this title.

[C]

I did think that was very silly when we did that with the Nuggets series because people acted like, you know, Lakers were on the verge of winning it when they got swept. I do think the Lakers did impress me in this series despite getting swept. I do think it was more competitive.

[B]

Sounds like that's what he's doing.

[D]

McMahon's broom, baby.

[C]

I love a good bronze broom.

[D]

I looked up there. I found the the in season tournament, the NBA cup ribbon. I couldn't find the bronze broom though.

[C]

I do.

[D]

I did.

[C]

I was impressed with the way the Lakers played and it was more competitive than I expected. But I picked the Thunder to win in four and the Thunder much to McMahon's delight, as he gets more time to just chill at home and not work.

[D]

Chill at home, yes. Not work, no. Go on.

[C]

Yeah, listen, we know your deal. It's all right. The Thunder did what they do and took care of business, including in the fourth quarter when it looked like there was a chance for a minute it might go five. And then all of a sudden, Jake Ellis Alexander closed the door, as he tends to do.

[D]

Bon Temps nailed this sweep. What about the one in the Eastern Conference?

[C]

That one I did not nail. Did not come close.

[B]

No.

[C]

I'm like you. I make predictions. So you've now joined Windhors. I don't make predictions camp.

[D]

So I'm just. I'm just confused. I'm. I just, I cannot. I couldn't figure out what I was watching because the Lakers shot more free throws in this series than the Thunder did. The Thunder shot the fewest free throws of any team in the conference semifinals, and somehow they still managed to pull out wins.

[C]

How'd they do that?

[D]

I don't know. And, but in all seriousness, the Lakers did a very good job of their primary goal in the first three games of the series, and that was don't let Shay get in a rhythm. And they did it with, you know, different. Different tactics, different strategies. You know, the aggressive very early double teaming, Marcus smart, hugging him 94ft up and down the floor, whether you had the ball or not, you know, mixing things up. And as Shay said last night, hats off to his teammates that the Lakers basically said, you know, we dare the rest of the Thunder to be able to, you know, to beat us. And they did it. And especially A.J. mitchell, who. This was a look. A.J. mitchell had a great year this year, don't get me wrong. This didn't come out of nowhere, but this was a breakout series. And like, did they get a star in the middle of the second round A couple drafts ago, he, he played like a star, especially in LA. I mean, had 24 and 10 in game three and just dominated the stretch of the fourth quarter when Shea was. Was resting up. That's when they really put that game away. And then he finished with 28. I forgot how many assists he had last night. But like, he, he just thoroughly outplayed Austin Reeves in their head to head matchup. He also was very good on Austin Reeves defensively. I'm not saying he shut him down. Reeves had a couple last night. He had a good game offensively and what was a game two, but he did. He more than held his own on the defensive end and was pretty dominant on the offensive end. Chad Holmgren has been great all playoff series long or all postseason long, I should say. You know, four. Four from the floor in the fourth quarter last night. All right. Around the bucket. You know, Michael Martin, who is a Oklahoma media feller, pretty good pickup basketball player, too, tends to win a lot when we're paired together. But anyways, you know, he asked Chet last night, and I didn't realize this. Do you know what Chet is shooting in the restricted area during the playoffs?

[B]

I do.

[D]

80%, 97.1%.

[B]

Well, he made a big one last night in the final minute.

[D]

Yeah. And. And Hartenstein had five assists in the fourth quarter, including the one that was to Chet for the bucket. That put him ahead for good. Hartenstein does a great job of being able to find in there. You know, Shea has done a great. You know, they pointed out to Shea after Game 3 in Phoenix when he was like, he had 40, whatever, and was just ridiculously awesome. But they pointed out to him in film, like, hey, there's times where you got chat for. For dunks or layups, and, you know, you got to find them there. And that's why, if you'll see, every time Chet find. Or Shea finds Chet for a dunk or layup, he points at the Thunder bench. He's pointing to the coaches in the second row saying, I got it. I got it. But, man, I mean, this is a juggernaut. And, like, Aaron Wiggins barely played in the series. Aaron Wiggins would play 25 minutes for the Lakers. Like, that's not me guessing. I asked somebody on the Lakers staff, like, how many minutes would he play? They said at least 25. Kenwich Williams barely touched the floor. You know, JJ Redick said himself, the Lakers have 13 guys on the roster. I'm sorry, the Thunder have 13 guys on the roster who would be top eight of pretty much anybody's rotation. Their depth is ridiculous.

[B]

Aaron Wiggins salary goes down the next two years.

[D]

Yeah, I believe Isaiah Jones does as well. And by the way, A.J. mitchell, 3 mil this year. I think it's 2.8 the next two years. The third year is a team option.

[B]

I was talking to somebody with the Thunder, and they were like, yeah, AJ Was great, but, you know, he was upset that he wasn't shooting that three pointer better. He was 3 of 16 or 4 of 16 on three threes. He was getting whatever he wanted, 70%

[D]

on twos, whatever he wanted off the dribble. And, I mean, he. He's got Such good touch, such good feel like, dude, he's a big time player. And this was a, he's a guy who wasn't even in their playoff rotation last year. I mean their circumstances, you know, had the mid season toe surgery and just never got back in the rotation. But as a fill in starter for Jalen Williams, he, Chase had himself. He was the Thunder's best player in that series. This is a guy who started his career. This is a crazy thing. I didn't realize this until I was talking to Todd Ramasar, his agent. He started his career on a two way contract, but he never played a second in the G League because he got to Thunder training camp and Daganal's like, yeah, that guy is an NBA player now. And Dagenault was talking about uh, you know, on one of the off days, you know, obviously people are asking about A.J. it's like, yeah, he's making me look bad for not playing them during the playoffs last year.

[B]

All right, how about this? How about these stats in that series? 23 points, six assists. He had seven steals in the four games. He had 24 assists to four turnovers.

[D]

He's a second year player who was a second round pick and started his career in a two way.

[B]

Hey, you know, else is a second year player. Jared McCain, he was 12 of 19 on threes.

[D]

I meant to, I meant to look this up. I don't know the answer. Maybe you guys do. Did he outscore the Sixers bench by himself in the second round?

[B]

Well, hold on. He had 46 points in the, in the target.

[C]

I don't think so. Well, I could check, but I don't think so.

[B]

That doesn't sound like that's going to get whatever.

[D]

Probably not too far away. No, and I mean, and look, I

[C]

mean we talk a lot about like

[D]

these are for, for the new villains of the NBA, you know, with the OKC whistle crisis and all that. These are. And, and Lou does, you know, Lou does some villainous type stuff on occasion for sure, but what a bunch of boy scouts. So game two when Jared McCain is just lighting it on fire in the second half, Dagenham decide, okay, I'm sticking with him. I'm skipping Isaiah Joe's rotation. So Isaiah Joe, quality player, significant contributor to championship run last year. Been a good, you know, great program guy for them. He, he basically, I'm not gonna say he got benched, but he got his rotation skipped. You know, he didn't get to, to play in the second half of that game and he's over there on the bench, and he's yelling at Dagonalt, but he's yelling, run this play for McCain. You know, run this play for him. He's hot. You know, this is a play. I love to get a 3. Run that for him. And that's just. That, to me, kind of just epitomizes the kind of vibes that they have. I mean, they are as connected as any group that you're going to find in the NBA.

[B]

Well, he's. He. He's been adopted right into that OKC media right there. He spent so much time there.

[D]

I've got OKC propaganda. This is straight. I used to call him chief propaganda, but I forgot that's Tomilson's job. Royce Young pointed six conference finals now during the OKC era, which is only 18 years, which, honestly, considering it was a rebuild when they started and they just went through a rebuild, you know, hitting.333 is pretty impressive.

[C]

It's also worth pointing out, since I'm in Chicago for the combine, that of the 11 guys who played in Game 4, obviously Jalen Williams is out. Only one, Chet Holmgren, was drafted in the top 10. He went second. Casen Wallace, he was a lottery pick.

[B]

12th.

[C]

He was the 10th pick.

[B]

10th pick. Okay.

[C]

Yeah. Che was 11th. Jared McCain was 16th. And then six of the guys were drafted in the second round, and the other one was Lou Dort, who was undrafted.

[D]

Undrafted, I mean, and Caruso was undrafted,

[C]

and Caruso was undrafted. So of their 11 guys, it's not like they're a team for all the draft picks that Thunder have. It's not like they're a team that's created from, you know, like, five picks inside.

[B]

In fairness, they did have a lottery pick, Josh Giddey, like a seventh pick that they traded for Caruso. So I'm going to put it.

[C]

I mean, they went out and acquired some. Like, they. Isaiah Ardenstein wasn't on their team. They went and signed him later. It's not like they drafted.

[B]

But, I mean, they did have Giddy, which they turned into Caruso. Just a. Just a footnote.

[C]

The point is that it's a team that's. It's a team that's been constructed from all over the place, through free agency, through trades, through. It's a reminder that while everybody obviously was very focused on the lottery on Sunday and getting top players is obviously the most direct path to competing for championships. Like, if you have Victor Wembanyama and Stefan Castle and Dylan Harper. But. But it. There's. There are Other ways to do it also. And the Thunder are an example.

[B]

Yeah, there's a whole bunch of number one picks still playing. So the Lakers went out. LeBron said he's not sure what he's going to do, which is what he's been saying all year. Rob Pelinka and J.J. redick had their exit interview on Tuesday. Pelinka said he wants to honor LeBron and give him the opportunity to decide how he wants to go, and we want to honor that. He's basically said that a number of times over the season. Here's the thing about LeBron, and we're going to talk about this a lot more when there's some space here. LeBron does have the right to take as much time as he wants and consider all of his options. However, the Lakers need to know what he wants to do relatively quickly. If LeBron is going to want to get paid significant money because the Lakers have cap space and they may re sign their own free agents, they may go out and do another free agent, but they're going to need to know by the draft whether LeBron wants to come back and probably have a pretty good idea of what they're willing to offer LeBron and what LeBron's willing to play for.

[D]

Well, and that, to me, is what it's going to come down to midway through the season. I didn't think there was any way that LeBron was coming back to LA because I just didn't think the fit was there. You know, all the numbers that we went over at the time were pretty glaring. And then he accepted that third role. You know, the less is more third option role. Austin Reaves took off. Luca played at an MVP level. They had the. What was it, 15 and 2, 16 and 2, whatever it was in month of March. Now, do I think that that tells us that they're a championship contender? No, because the game where Luke and Austin Reaves got hurt, they were down 31 at the half in OKC. Like, they weren't beating the Thunder with Luka healthy, so. But all along you knew there was a lot of work to do on the roster. And that's why to me, it's not hate like I thought. It was lip service on them being wanting LeBron back. I don't think it's lip service anymore, but it can't be anything near the number he's at now, because this is their one swing at using cap space to upgrade the supporting cast around Luca and around Austin Reeves. And it's very clear that Austin Reeves is going to be Luca's long term co star unless things completely fall apart and you know, turn the opposite direction.

[C]

Well, it's going to be a fascinating summer for the Lakers because you saw in this series said, as you said, you could put Luka Doncic out there. The Lakers are miles away from the Thunder and I think they're just about as far away from the spurs. And those two teams are not going anywhere. And it's going to be extraordinarily difficult without really any draft capital and with hardly anybody. You really look at long term on the roster outside of those two guys, you say these are guys we definitely want to have around as part of a team that can really compete at the top of the Western Conference to build a team essentially through free agency that's got to be good enough to compete with those teams. And it's that, that's a challenge starts this summer. And it also, like you said, Brian, LeBron James, it's not that the Lakers don't want him back, but if for the first time maybe in his career, truly it is not. He is not the number one priority going into the summer when he's up for a contract.

[B]

I don't think they really have cap space. Here's why. Austin Reaves makes $14 million. He's obviously opting out of that. So.

[D]

But he'll, he'll be the last piece of business. So.

[B]

That's right. His, his cap, his cap hold is 20 million. So just, you know, so LeBron makes 50 this year and Austin Reaves made 14. So between the two of them it's 64. Do you think you can get the two of them for less than 64 combined next year?

[D]

But I don't care because what you need is LeBron to take a significant pay cut and pay a bunch of tax.

[B]

What's significant? What's significant?

[D]

Honestly, like in like to 20ish.

[B]

Okay, who's a better player right now, Austin Reaves or LeBron James?

[C]

This is, this is the problem the Lakers have.

[D]

Austin Reeves was their number two option when they were really.

[B]

So you like I was going to say, if LeBron, if LeBron takes a 40% pay cut, which is like he's an all NBA player even at 41.

[C]

Yeah, let's say he takes an all star.

[B]

Whatever.

[C]

He's a top 25.

[B]

Fine. Let's just say he takes a 40% pay cut. 40. That's. Go find me somebody is who's still an all star who's going to take a 40% pay cut. Let's say he goes from 50 to 30. Okay.

[D]

Then they don't have a lot of cap space.

[B]

Okay, now fine. Good. Rui Hachimura, you know, he averaged 18 points and shot 50% in the playoffs.

[D]

Oh, and I tell you, like he has developed into an absolute laser of a three point shooter.

[B]

Okay, he's making 17 million. Is he making more or less next season?

[D]

Probably going to get a raise from that.

[B]

And if the Lakers. And if the Lakers say maybe less,

[C]

but not a lot less, let's just

[B]

say he makes the same amount, which I don't think he will, but let's just say he makes the same amount. That's not cap space. And if the late. And let's just say the Lakers want to spend it on somebody else and they say thank you, Roy, goodbye. They now have to replace it.

[D]

Yeah. And if they want to spend it like, is it Peyton Watson who you know, hey, you're paying for.

[B]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[D]

You're paying for it.

[B]

Cannot spend money on a wink. They got to get a big.

[D]

Well, who. Because.

[B]

Well, just let me go through this shenanigans here.

[D]

Go through the shenanigans.

[B]

Marcus smart's got a $6 million player option. You think he's picking that up?

[C]

I would say no.

[B]

No sir.

[D]

And even if you say he'll pick

[B]

his up, okay, so I think Aiden's got 6 million. He's probably gonna pick his up.

[C]

Marcus might pick his up, but I would guess he probably won't.

[D]

Aiden's is eight, I believe.

[B]

Well, is it eight? Yeah, you're right, it is eight. Yeah. He's not opt. I mean, unless he just wants out of there, he won't get 8 million elsewhere.

[D]

He didn't play in the fourth quarter.

[B]

Yeah, JJ was clearly like, you can't,

[C]

you can't play the game of war. And they'll also clearly be resigning Jackson Hayes for probably either the minimum or more than that, given he is.

[B]

Forget about that. I mean.

[C]

Well, I'm just saying it's. But it's money to account for because

[B]

are they going to re sign Luke Canard?

[C]

Maybe. I mean this is, this is the point. I mean we've making this point for months. The Lakers aren't good enough and they don't have a lot of flexibility to get better. And so that is the way that

[B]

they have the responsibility to get better is. Is, is to get LeBron to take like next to nothing and get all.

[C]

But even then, but even then they still. There's not very Many free agents to sign this summer and they need to improve like five rotation spots to have a.

[B]

Two of the best free agents are theirs.

[D]

Well and then some of the others are restricted. Like Walker Kessler would be a good fit in la. The Jazz aren't trying to let him get away.

[C]

But that's what I'm saying. Like if. If the goal. The goal for the Lakers is to compete for championships. Right. It's not to. The Lakers aren't trying to like be a try hard team that loses in the second round of the playoffs. The goal is to. To add banners right up there with the. What do you call it? The postage stamp for the NBA Cup. What do you call it McMahon?

[B]

The ribbon.

[C]

The ribbon. So no more banners, more bronze brooms to put banners up there next to the ribbon. You need to improve probably five to six rotation spots to actually be a credible threat to the team you just got smoked by in the park.

[B]

Let's just say you need to improve on three because this team did have some stuff going for it. I don't. I think they were.

[C]

They were demolished every time they played the Thunder all season and they were. While they. They showed out somewhat in this series they got some team in the league

[B]

is improving on six rotation spots in an.

[C]

That's what I'm saying.

[D]

I think the problem is how wide the gap is.

[C]

The gap is. The gap is extraordinarily wide.

[B]

I agree. But Luca didn't play. But let me just say that even

[C]

if you by 32 the last time he played and by the way Jake

[D]

Laravia who's one of their additions last year got the plug pulled on him. He played every single game right up until game three and they didn't play the rest of the series. I mean every single game all season long.

[B]

Right?

[D]

82.

[B]

I'm just saying this. Just say for the sake of argument they need three rotation improvements big and two wings. I think it's going to be very hard to get three without deducting players that you are counting on. That's my point. I think the Lakers cap space even though you can get the whiteboard out and say it's 100 million. I think it's kind of a myth.

[C]

Well it's also a myth because there's nothing to really spend it on.

[B]

Well, I don't believe that players can force their way to la. They have draft some draft capital.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

Like I don't.

[C]

I agree that again if you want. I mean you're like saying you're now talking out of both Sides where you're like, the Lakers have all these paths to get players, but they don't really have money. They don't, they don't have pass to get players or money.

[B]

Well, you don't have to use cap space on free agents. So don't. I mean, the free agent class is less the point than the flexibility there's going to be. There's going to be good players that get traded this year because teams are trying to dump money. The Lakers are in position to take

[D]

that, maybe the Thunder included.

[B]

I agree. I agree. Especially with A.J. mitchell playing this way. Okay. Darrell Morey and the 76ers after six seasons parted ways. They had a surprising run at the end, getting to the second round, but were completely outclassed by the Knicks. Nick Nurse will return. Nick Nurse, I thought, did a admirable job stitching this team together and had them playing their best basketball in that series against the second Celtics.

[C]

So especially in light of his brother passed away in the middle of the series. I don't know if we ever talked about in the pod, but condolences, family on that.

[B]

So really, when Daryl Morey invested 400 million in Joel Embiid and Paul George before the 2024, 25 season, that and I mean, I know ownership signed off on it and whatnot, but that decision to enter in with those two guys with long injury histories who are, who, you know, are up. I mean, Paul George is in his 30s. Joel is, you know, sometimes looks like he's in his 40s and not in

[D]

a LeBron kind of way.

[B]

He staked his tenure basically on that and it hasn't worked out. And I mean, the Jared McCain trade is what he's been getting, you know, ripped for recently. And with every three pointer that McCain hit and the Sixers bench issues. But.

[C]

And even more than the trade, which Darrell did fine on the trade, the thing that Darrell got R for, which I think Darrell would admit was a mistake, was saying that he sold high on Jared McCain in the presser after.

[D]

Arrogance.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, he, he got asked a gotcha question and he answered it and got got and that has stuck with him over the last couple months. And look, Daryl Morey obviously built some great teams in Houston. I think if you go through the six years in Philly, by and large, when he made the moves he made, he generally did a pretty good job. And it was a lot of people agreed with most of the moves he made. I certainly thought it was a good deal to go get Paul George at the time. Obviously it has not worked out in hindsight but it's not like people were saying that was a bad thing for them to sign him at the time when they got him.

[B]

I think the 4 year max was the issue with.

[C]

Well, sure, but there's a reason the

[D]

Clippers weren't willing to go there.

[C]

I, I understand but it's not like the Clipper. It's not like the Sixers were panned in the moment for signing it. Like they signed the best player available. They put him with Joel Emi. They were trying to win right then with Joel em and it didn't work. Right. Like that's the point. Like I it the bets didn't work and it was a risky bet but like you can see why the moves were made when they were made. Ultimately though, he's paying the price for, you know, a continuation of what's been a decade of disappointment for the Sixers and them falling short time and again. And you know, they went into last season again like essentially talking about load managing their way to win in the east and they never got out of the starter's block and that was always going to be a hard thing to come.

[B]

And they load manage their way to the lottery.

[D]

Well I was going to say. And that ended up actually being a great thing for them because they at least now have another guy in BJ Edge coming who's an absolute monster. Yeah. Who can be a long term building block alongside Tyrese Maxey. But they're just stuck in this weird situation where it's like, okay, you've got this great young backcourt but man, you've got so much money invested in two guys who you don't know when or if they're going to be on the floor.

[B]

Well, I was just going to say Joel in his, in his exit interview the other day said, boy, when I was coming into this season I thought my knee might have been cooked. And coming into this season he had four years and 230 million on his contract. I mean that's not good. And it is fascinating that Daryl Morey, regardless of we're not going to enter the politics side of the retweet in Houston, but that retweet in Houston was devastating to your Rockets business, much less the NBA's business. Regardless of anything, he survived that. Then when he came to Philly, he survived sticking his neck out and going and getting James Harden a trade that didn't work out. Then he survived Harden, you know, declaring war on him.

[C]

I mean he declared he that the

[B]

acquisition of Harden and the Trade of Harden was a mess, and I'm going

[C]

to push back on that. I'm going to push back on that. Ben Simmons was an absolute disaster when he left the Sixers, and Darrell sold on him at the right time.

[D]

Sold high.

[C]

What's that?

[D]

He sold high.

[C]

He did sell high on Ben Simmons, and I think it was a messy exit, but I think he did fine on the back end. Getting out Harden when he did also.

[D]

Well, I, I would say I'll give

[C]

him a pass on that.

[B]

I'm just saying that that was. The whole thing was messy.

[D]

Well, the whole thing was messy. I would say the trade to get Harden wasn't a bad move, but the result and the mess and all that was was a really bad move.

[B]

It's the hardened thing. The acquisition didn't work. The exit didn't work. He goes into last year with the. With that huge investment. Didn't work. He survives all of those things. Then this year, Embiid is a mess again. Paul George is suspended. They're stitching the team together, and they pull off one of the biggest series victories in Philly history. And that's when he gets run out. It's a. I'm just saying. It's amazing.

[D]

And then there was something. What happened after that? They got swept and just humiliated on their home floor in game four.

[C]

I don't think this was because they got swept by the Knicks.

[D]

Oh, that helped his cause.

[C]

I don't. I. I don't. I think if they'd lost in six games, it. I, I don't think it.

[B]

I agree. It has been in the NBA chatter that Daryl was. Was. Might not be.

[D]

Byers got hired to basically oversee things.

[B]

That's correct.

[C]

I mean, well. But I, I'm just saying. I don't. I don't think the last two weeks. I don't think the last two weeks are why Daryl Morey doesn't have a job.

[D]

If they make you look smart, which is very hard to do, and win that series, is he still getting run out?

[C]

Probably not. But then they're in the conference finals and they've broken through. I mean, listen, I. Josh Harris. The other thing that's worth pointing out, remember two things. One, Brian and I were at that game in 20, 23, in game six, when they're up in the fourth quarter of that game, James Harden, Joel, Abe the year, Joel Embiid, one mvp. And if Ben Simmons doesn't pass out of the Trey Young shot at the rim in 21, or if the Sixers close out Game 6 at home in 23, this whole thing could look different.

[B]

But they didn't.

[C]

No, I. I'm not. I'm just saying there was. They were. Again, this is. It almost goes back to a continuation of the decade of disappointment in Philly. The other thing I would say is it's not like the Sixers are paying into the tax every year. And part of the Jared McCain trade

[D]

was getting out of the tax.

[C]

Well, but that's my point. Part of the Jared McCain trade was an ownership mandate to get out of the tax.

[B]

Well, internally, what the Jared McCain trade was, was it was in addition to getting out of the tax this year and for a team that they thought was going nowhere, also was that in theory, this is what they said internally. Now, whether or not they would have done it, I don't know, was that they were clearing money to sign Quentin Grimes this year. Now, it's not like McCain's making $12 million.

[C]

He's a fir. They also did get a first back for Jared McCain. And like, they. I mean, I think that trade in a vacuum was fine, but it. It. Again, Darrell was brought in to push the team past the failures they'd had before. And ultimately, again, where you can go through in the individual moves, you can justify most of them when they were made, and they all look pretty good at the moment they were made. At the end of the day, we're six years in and the Sixers never broke through, and somebody was going to pay the price for that, and it was Darrell.

[D]

Well, and look, the sell. The sell high thing, you know, what, whatever he said, I'm very confident we sold high. Like, Daryl's arrogance has backfired on him repeatedly over the years. He rubs people the wrong way. And I would say his biggest failings as a basketball decision maker is he's never been a guy who valued or even frankly considered the human element. He does not believe in basketball chemistry.

[B]

He wouldn't maybe say it that bluntly, but he would sort of say that,

[D]

yeah, like, he is a spreadsheet.

[B]

Look, I had an agent. I had an agent tell me one time. Darrell maybe has the highest IQ of any of the NBA executives and one of the lowest eqs.

[D]

Yeah, that's fair.

[B]

And that was an agent who went many rounds with him on things.

[C]

I mean, it's a fascinating tenure. Like, there were a lot of highs and lows. There were a lot of big swings. Like, you know, like, again, I. I would disagree. Like, I think it. It was messy at the time, but the outcome of the Ben Simmons mess was getting James Harden and selling high on Ben Simmons at the right time. If they hadn't traded Ben Simmons, then most of this other stuff would have never happened. That's fair, you know, but it didn't work. At the end of the day, all these different things didn't work. And the Sixers continue to disappoint. And like you said, when he signed Paul George, that deal, and he signed Joel Embiid to that extension, it locked this team in to this team, and it was a bet on this team winning. And last year, they were an unmitigated disaster. And this year, Joel Embiid missed more than half the season again, though he looked more like himself, at least. Paul George got suspended for 25 games and came back looking fresh for the playoffs as a result. And yes, they beat Boston, but they were outclassed by the Knicks, and Joel was hurt again.

[B]

So I remember. I remember like, eight or nine years ago, they had just redone the locker room in Houston, and Darrell was giving me a tour of it, and he was showing me that above every player's locker, there was, like, an LED screen. And the point of it was that the players could have all these stats, including, you know, they're individualized for them for that game, and they would be on their thing and they could get like, a little teeny stat package for them to, you know, about their opposition or whatever. And. And then it would. It would rotate through and then it would turn off the stats and it would put the player's name and picture above it. And I said, darrell, this is perfect for you, these screens. And he goes, oh, yeah, we can put the stats up. And I go, no, it's much easier to change the players out. You just hit it. Just change the screen. I was making a. I was, you know, I was just ribbing him a little bit because I think that year he had had like, 17 different players. The year before, he had 17 different players because he made like, he traded like, eight of them during the year.

[C]

Look, and Darrell, I mean, Darrell's got a fascinating tenure, too. Like, I mean, he was the one guy that really went after the warriors, got came close to getting the warriors at their peak in the Western Conference.

[B]

Like, Darrell has made huge. Has had a huge effect on the NBA, not just with analytics, but they have changed the way con. They've been at the cutting edge of contracts. He has a tree of executives who have left him and gone out to other places. His, His. His conference every year at MIT has become one of the cornerstone events on the NBA calendar. He's had. He has had a fascinating 20 years as the league executive of teams, so. But. But today was fire.

[D]

Darrell is a revolutionary, especially though, in terms of the analytics. And he's changed the league so much that what was always one of his biggest advantages is no longer maybe not an advantage at all. If not, it's not the major advantage because in large part because of Daryl Morey. Every franchise has an analytics department, and in a lot of cases, an analytics army.

[B]

It's actually not analytics anymore. It's now called strategy.

[D]

Okay, Same difference. Nerds.

[B]

All right. It's never easy to lose anybody in the NBA family, to lose two in the same day, including an active player. It's one of the more somber days that we've ever had in the NBA, quite frankly. Brandon Clark passing away of Memphis Grizzlies. You covered him quite a bit, McMahon. His last couple seasons have just been ruined by injuries, but this is very upsetting and devastating to the Grizzlies. He was their longest tenured player, and

[D]

he was loved in Memphis. You see the outpouring of love from all his teammates, just like the joy and the energy that he played with. You know, he really connected with the Memphis community. You know, unfortunately, he tore his Achilles that night in Denver when, you know, there was other unfortunate things that happened for that franchise. And it's been a. It was a very difficult road for him since then. You know, we don't know all the circumstances of his death. Frankly, I don't know that all the circumstances are important just in this, you know, it's just a tragic situation for, like, forget about what was in his NBA future for a guy this young in life who had accomplished so many things, you know, you would think would have most of his life in front

[C]

of him, had given back a bunch in Memphis.

[D]

Yeah. And for it to be cut short, however, you know, the. It happened at the end is just an absolute tragedy.

[B]

And then, unfortunately, the NBA also lost Jason Collins, who between his playing career and coaching career, touched so many different organizations, so many different people, died of brain cancer. He announced it last year. Prognosis was terrible. He was able to have some time with some experimental treatment that he did. He did some interviews with our Ramona Shelburne talking about it. He actually did several interviews.

[C]

Yeah. I went to college with Ramona at Stanford, and I covered Jason Collins when he came out as the first active gay athlete in our exact and male professional sports, at least in the states. And yeah, I mean, that was a huge deal. Like when he came, when he played for his former teammate with the, with the Nets, Jason Kidd, who played on the those NBA Finals teams with J. Kidd. And like, that was a, that was a wild thing to be part of and to see. And obviously there was a ton of attention on him for that. And he handled it all with grace. And he and his brother Jaren, who had been a, you know, played in the NBA for a long time. We all know Jaren from being an assistant, great dude, you know, But I mean, Jason had a massive impact on the league and, you know, a lot of, lot of different parts of society in light of doing that. So that was, it was definitely a somber day for sure having both of those things happen a few hours apart.

[B]

All right. So our condolences to those who are feeling this loss the most. Thank you very much to our producers who are staying up late and putting this together, Mark, Miles and Jackson. Thank you to McMahon and Bontems. Thank you for listening and watching the Hoop Collective. We'll talk to you later this week.

[D]

Adios, amigos.

[E]

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