Boston Celtics Plan to CONQUER Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs—Why It MATTERS Now

Summary

Podcast Summary: Locked On Celtics – Boston Celtics Plan to CONQUER Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs—Why It MATTERS Now

Date: May 20, 2026
Host: John Karalis
Guest: Tom Westerholm

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Episode Overview

In this episode, John Karalis dives into the monumental impact of Victor Wembanyama on the NBA and specifically how the Boston Celtics need to plan for a future that goes through San Antonio's transcendent superstar. Joined by Tom Westerholm, the conversation reflects on Wemby's early playoff dominance, how his presence might reshape not only the Celtics’ roster-building strategies but the league's very championship dynamics, and how Boston should prepare in both the short and long term. The episode ends with a lighthearted but pointed take on the recent tension between Jaylen Brown and Stephen A. Smith, highlighting media narratives around the Celtics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Wembanyama Problem" for Boston and the NBA

• Setting the Stage ([01:11])

  • John sets out the context: “We're still trying to figure out the Victor Wembanyama problem for the Boston Celtics and the rest of the NBA. Maybe the Celtics already have their Wembanyama stopper on the team.”

• Wemby's Playoff Dominance ([02:37])

  • Wemby's performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals left both hosts astonished.
  • John recounts, “What Wemby did in game one of the Western Conference finals... it’s so insane that I think it breaks what the CBA is trying to do.” ([02:37])
  • Tom adds, “It’s really narratively nice and fitting... as LeBron is aging out... there is a guy coming in who was hyped as potentially the next greatest player of all time. Who in the early going, it’s like, this guy might be Wilt Chamberlain meets Bill Russell.” ([06:24])

• Personality and Maturity of Wemby ([04:02])

  • John admires Wemby's honest, almost blunt approach in interviews, noting he "doesn’t care," and calling it “very French of him.”

• The CBA and Wemby's Economics ([04:41])

  • John opines that no matter what Wemby is paid, “he’s going to be underpaid.”
  • “He’s so good... I’m not going to say that all you need around him is a bunch of minimum guys, but you can get away with a few more minimum guys around Wemby than you could around other players.” ([04:41])

Notable Quote:

"Remove the 'Chosen One' tattoo off of LeBron’s back. Just chisel that thing off and put it onto Wembanyama’s back." – John Karalis ([12:19])

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2. The Celtics’ Path Forward: Can Anyone Stop Wemby?

• Celtics' Roster Construction Problem ([16:57])

  • John admits, “I’ve never really had to consider... building a team and looking over to the Western Conference, being like, you gotta watch out for that guy.” ([16:57])
  • Prediction: “If you want to win a championship, it’s almost guaranteed you’re gonna have to go through Wemby more often than not.”

• Do the Celtics Have a "Wemby Stopper"? ([17:02] – [25:56])

  • The hosts consider Jason Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jalen Brown as potential options.
  • Tatum as Defensive Answer:
    • Tom: “I think one of the things that would worry me about Tatum guarding Wembanyama is... fouls.” ([19:05])
    • John: Tatum is “basically the same size as Giannis. He’s a really good defender.”
    • Concerns about foul trouble and whether it’s a viable championship strategy to put Tatum in that role.
  • Giannis as the Actual “Stopper”?
    • “Giannis is... just more physically strong... Which matters against somebody like Wimby.” – Tom ([18:08])
    • The classic Celtics philosophy: “It would be kind of funny if they went and got Giannis... Oh, don’t worry about Wembanyama. We have the Wembanyama stopper.” ([20:39])
  • Jalen Brown or a Beefy Wing?
    • John raises: “Jalen is strong... Maybe Jalen’s the answer.” ([21:42])
    • Discussion of leveraging wings with low centers of gravity, referencing other teams putting guards like Caruso on Wemby.
    • Tom is skeptical about Jalen’s effectiveness long-term as “as Wemby gets better... More outside the box options...will become less and less viable.” ([22:21])
    • The hosts joke about ancient role players like Aaron Baynes and the perennial search for “a beefy guy to throw at a superstar” ([25:56]–[26:33])

Notable Quotes:

“If Tatum’s a good option to go up against Wemby, then you still need a wing scorer. I think that puts a premium on wing scoring this summer.” – John Karalis ([24:19])

“The Celtics window isn’t exactly eight years... If you’re looking forward... how do we win that Finals? That’s the forward thinking this franchise needs to have.” – John Karalis ([25:56])

Timestamps for Roster Construction Discussion:

• [17:02] - Initiating the Wemby defender debate
• [18:08] - Giannis vs. Tatum, physical attributes
• [21:42] - Jalen Brown as a possible match
• [25:56]-[26:35] - Alternative defensive options, the “beefy guy” trope

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3. The Stephen A. Smith–Jaylen Brown Saga

• Summary of the Beef ([29:35]–[38:50])
  • John describes Jaylen Brown’s “very pointed direct NSFW comments for Stephen A. Smith,” and critiques Stephen A. for responding by “threatening journalism.”
  • John calls it “one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen. He should be embarrassed.” ([30:46])
  • Tom provides context: Both Tatum and Brown have been model professionals. "If you asked the organization about Jaylen Brown or Jason Tatum...you’re gonna get a lot of, like, 'oh, yeah, they’ve been easy to work with.'" ([32:59])
  • They explain that the Celtics’ PR machine is too buttoned up for any real dirt to leak.

Notable Quote:

“He’s not a journalist... What he is now is a professional hot take artist.” – John Karalis on Stephen A. Smith ([31:19])

“Doing journalism is not gonna reflect poorly on Jaylen Brown. I promise you that.” – Tom Westerholm ([35:14])

• Advice to Jaylen Brown
  • John urges Jaylen not to stoke the drama further: “Don’t pour gasoline on the fire... choke the fire out. Don’t give it the air to keep burning.” ([38:52])

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4. Lighthearted Moments & Notable Quotes

• "Wemby is an Alien": Numerous references to his unique build, impact, and talent.
• Historical Context: The hosts frequently compare Wemby’s early impact to LeBron’s entry into the league.
• The LeBron Passing the Torch Narrative: “As LeBron is aging out of the league... there is a guy coming in who was hyped as potentially the next greatest player of all time.” ([06:24])
• Hope and Humor: Joking repeatedly about cloning Aaron Baynes or finding “a beefy guy” as a defensive foil for superstar bigs ([26:33]).

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5. Around the League & Miscellaneous

• Cooper Flagg and Celtics Fanbase ([39:19])
  • Briefly touch on Jason Kidd's firing and its impact on the NBA draft prospects and Boston interest (e.g., Cooper Flagg).
• NBA Player Fandoms ([40:22])
  • Anecdotes about pro players’ former fandoms—Jason Tatum and Paul Pierce both grew up as Lakers fans.

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Memorable Quotes with Timestamps

• “Remove the 'Chosen One' tattoo off of LeBron’s back. Just chisel that thing off and put it onto Wembanyama’s back. Because he is like that is...”—John Karalis, ([12:19])
• “Giannis is... just more physically strong... Which matters against somebody like Wimby.”—Tom Westerholm ([18:08])
• “What are you gonna do? Who’s blocking [Wemby’s] shot?”—John Karalis ([21:42])
• “He’s not a journalist... What he is now is a professional hot take artist.”—John Karalis ([31:19])
• “Doing journalism is not gonna reflect poorly on Jaylen Brown. I promise you that.”—Tom Westerholm ([35:14])
• “Don’t pour gasoline on the fire... Don’t give it the air to keep burning. Just let him just keep on with saying what he’s gonna say because he’s not gonna find anything.”—John Karalis ([38:52])

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Conclusion

This episode weaves together real analysis, NBA history, and Celtics future-building calculus through the lens of Wembanyama’s rising dominance. John and Tom break down the existential questions Wemby poses to rival teams, debate the shape of the Celtics’ best counterattack, and deliver sharp media criticism with humor and expertise. The banter is light, but the basketball stakes—and the Celtics’ championship ambitions—feel as urgent as ever.

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Recommended Segments for Deep Dives:

• [06:20] – The LeBron-to-Wemby “passing of the torch” discussion
• [18:08] – Giannis vs. Tatum as a Wemby defender
• [24:19] – The need for extra wing scoring if Tatum or Jalen defends Wemby
• [30:46] – Stephen A. Smith vs. Jaylen Brown media drama

For Celtics fans or any NBA follower considering the “Wemby era,” this episode is a must-listen.

Transcript

[A]

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[A]

We're still trying to figure out the Victor Wembanyama problem for the Boston Celtics and the rest of the NBA. Maybe the Celtics already have their Wembanyama stopper on the team.

[C]

Brain. And Jake, how we started raising Ben

[A]

is how we finish. Locked on Celtics pod. Moment of win is. Hey there. Welcome back to the show. I'm John Corrales. Later on in the show, we'll get to Jaylen Brown versus Stephen A. Smith. Just because. It's just so goofy. Why not? Why not? But we want to start. I. I talked about at the beginning of yesterday's show. Let's continue the conversation. Victor Wembanyama is crazy. Maybe it's a little overreaction. Maybe it's. Maybe it's just a strong reaction. Either way, he's going to be a problem. He's going to be a problem for a long time. The Celtics have to consider him in their future plans and I have to consider Tom Westerholm in the future plans for this podcast for sure.

[D]

What up?

[A]

How you doing, buddy?

[D]

You know, pretty good. Pretty good. Just marvel. I. I don't think you can overreact, so I'm excited to properly react here.

[A]

It's a. It's a. It's a hard reaction. It's. It's a strong reaction.

[D]

But yeah, look, it warrants it.

[A]

What Wemby did in game one of the Western Conference finals just, it's. It's so insane that I think it breaks what the CBA is trying to do because, like, I tweeted it out. I kind of made a joke tweet that the.

[D]

The.

[A]

The spurs are now closer to catching up with the Celtics and Championships than the Lakers are with Yama. Because he. The. My favorite thing out of all of the stuff that happened yesterday was after the game where he was asked. I don't know who the reporter was, but the reporter was basically saying, like, yeah, you know. You know, Mitch Johnson was saying that it's. It's. It could be a lot for a competitor to see someone else get the MVP in front of them. And, you know, you look like you were really motivated by it. And, you know, you. It seemed like you were really going for. Your facial expressions kind of made it seem like you're really going for it. So was this, like, a little extra emotion? And Wemby was just like, yeah, for sure. All the stuff that you said, and that was his answer. And I'm like, oh, no. Like, he's. I don't know what it's like to cover Wemby, but it feels like fun because he's. He actually sits there and thinks about these answers. He. And he's like, he doesn't care. He's honest or seems honest. I love what.

[D]

He's very French of him, I think, to be.

[A]

But I. I love what he said like, a week or two ago. He's like, I'm. I'm not trying to like, something about, like, I'm. I'm not trying to contain my emotions for everybody.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Like, that's not. That's not what I'm about. So I'm like, yeah, buddy, let's go. This is great. So he's a problem.

[D]

Yeah. Many reasons. Right? Go ahead.

[A]

Yeah. No, to. Just to finish off the point that I was making before. He's gonna get paid whatever he gets paid. And no matter what he gets paid, he's gonna be underpaid. He's one of those guys.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

You can pay him $200 million and he's gonna be underpaid. It kind of almost doesn't matter. But you're going to have him. You're going to have Stefan Castle, and it's going to make. Those two guys are going to make the spurs expensive. But he's so good. I'm not going to say that all you need around him is a bunch of minimum guys, but you can get away with a few more minimum guys around Wemby than you could around other players. So he alone. Like, the spurs are not facing a four or five year window. Their window is for however long Wemby is around. And he's going to make. No matter who. You could just, at some point, you'd be like, you know, we're going to trade Stefan Castle and we're gonna do something else, and that will be acceptable. He's just so good, so different that he will break the mechanisms for whatever this CBA was trying to do.

[D]

I have, I have so many thoughts. Okay, let me start with one. It was very funny last night. I, I'm a big Stefan Castle guy. Like, I'm a, I'm a. I, you know, I wear a Yukon hat on most podcasts. I, I, I cheer for Yukon. Like, I really like Castle. It was very funny when he threw an alley oop yesterday and Wemby went up and got it, and Castle, like, turns away to the bench and it's like, yeah, yeah, like, like, it was like, I mean, dog, I could have thrown that alley oop. Any of us could be throwing these alley oops. It's a way of me going to get it. Like, what? Like, there's very few times in an NBA game that I'm like, I could probably throw that pass, but it's like a Wemby alley oop. Yeah, dude, it just, I'll just chuck it.

[A]

You think you need to throw it? Throw it three feet higher and he'll go get it.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, it'll be good. I mean, the thing that cracks me up about Wemby is like, I think I, you know, or I think the thing that actually, that makes me the happiest about Wemby, I should say, is we've had this dominant stretch where LeBron was like, the man for so long, and he lived up to that. And that was such a kind of a special. I know Celtics fans, you know, hate LeBron and all that stuff, right? But, like, but it was really. Whether you liked him or hated him, it was really special to have this, like, this, this guy, this, this kind of king of the hill that everybody had to try to topple. You know, this, this the, the superstar guy who, who lived up to all the hype coming in, who was, who was everything that you could have hoped for, right? And now, as it's, it's really narratively nice and fitting and neat that as LeBron is aging out of the league, finally after all of this time, there is a guy coming in who was hyped as potentially the next greatest player of all time. And who in the early going, it's like, this guy might be Wilt Chamberlain meets Bill Russell, that he's going to be putting up ridiculous stat lines, like 45 and 25 in his first Western Conference final appearance. And also, by the way, this guy is a dog. Like, he. He just a. He wants to win. And, like, I mean, it's pretty cool to have, like, you know, it's. And to have already his first rivalry just ready made for us. Like, he hates the Thunder, and he makes no secret about it. And it is. I, it's. It. I mean, basketball, man, I. It just makes for such good basketball. So I, I don't know, man. I was watching that game last night when he pulled up for that three, and it went in, I was just, like, giddy. I was just sitting there like, man, yeah, basketball's cool. I just rules.

[A]

I, I, I don't want to be a LeBron. I don't want to be like, you don't have to take my word for it. I don't care. I just. I just. In that moment, I'm like, oh, God. As he was dribbling up and I saw how much space he had, I'm like, oh, no. He could. Oh, no. And then, like, as soon as he launched, I'm like, this is gonna go. Oh, my God, it did go in. Like, I just. There was the moment called for that shot, and I just. As the story in my head un. Was unfolding, I'm like, there was just a brief second of, oh, boy, it would be cool if he hits this shot and he took it and hit. I was like, oh, God, that's crazy.

[D]

Well, because it changed the course of the series. If he misses that shot, that game's probably over, and that changes everything.

[A]

But, yeah. And so the David Locke tweeted out a question. I brought this up on yesterday's podcast. I'll bring it up again now real quick. Just to say, I'll ask you the question. If the Thunder. I mean, I'm sorry, if the spurs win this series, when's the next playoff series that they lose?

[D]

Well, it's the one, whatever. One where Wemby throws a bunch of elbows and gets himself ejected. And the team, you know, I mean, they'll probably. It's hard to keep winning, right? It's like, things happen in the NBA, and we always. We always do this, right? We did it with the Thunder where we're like, the Thunder will never lose again. And it's like, no, they're. They're gonna lose again. This Happens.

[A]

I, I say I didn't. I. Okay, go ahead. No, okay.

[D]

I'm gonna agree with you because I also did not with the Thunder, for the record, but people did this. I should say people did this with a Thunder, but with Wemby, it's.

[A]

I mean, Wemby is different.

[D]

Wemby is different. And Wemby makes them a contender for the foreseeable future. As long as he is healthy. To your point about the cba, as long as he is healthy and has NBA players around him, you are. You have a shot with that guy on your team.

[A]

Yeah, I never thought that the, the, the Thunder were going into this big long stretch because the reasoning why people were saying it was, oh, God, they got all these picks and that. And look, they are built to buck the trend, the CBA trend for sure. But as good as SGA is, you just don't know. These draft picks are unknowns and so you don't know how that's going to work. Some of those will be hits, some of them will be misses. The thing about Wemby that makes this conversation different and why the Celtics have to consider him in their team building, it's that he is so uniquely built. He is in his. He's not Shea, Gilders, Alexander, he's not Nikola Jokic, he's not any of these. He's not LeBron. Those guys were forces of nature. But Wemby is this. He is that. Plus he is this super freaky alien with eight foot wingspan and can be standing at the dotted lines in the lane and block a guy on the baseline out of nowhere. And he can. He can do things that no other human being, literally no other human being can do. Just because the way he's uniquely built and, and the only thing that will prevent him from a very amazing, potentially one of the best ever careers is injuries. Like, that's just. I'm sorry, that's just how it is with him. This is not an overreaction. We thought that might be the case coming in. This is his third year and it's. It's all coming to pass. The prophecies of are are true.

[D]

This.

[A]

He is take. Remove the chosen one tattoo off of LeBron's back. Just chisel that thing off and put it onto Wembanyama's back. Because he is like that is that, that sounds like.

[D]

That sounds like a scene from the movie him. If you. If anybody has seen that football horror movie.

[A]

No. Yeah, but.

[D]

But just give. Just let him get a tattoo as well. Like LeBron was the chosen one. But now Wemby must be, you know.

[A]

Yes. So the Celtics have to consider. I talked about it yesterday. I. I teased at the beginning. Let's answer this question when we come back. Do the Celtics already have a Wembanyama stopper on the roster? And how does that impact how they build for the future? A future of potentially going up against women? Yama. All of that's coming up next on the Locked On Celtics podcast. Today's show is brought to you by Indeed. You have an open spot. We'll call it an open roster spot. And for you, with workplace chaos and deadlines and inbox, just unread email after unread email after unread email, your spot has to be filled by someone. You're not just going to sit there and hope that the resume that you see in that inbox or on your desk is going to be a good one. Indeed Sponsored Jobs will find the people who fit what you're looking for. The skills, the location, the experience. They're like your advanced scout. You want this type of person. They will find you those types of people. And then you can go ahead and start interviewing candidates who check all the boxes. It saves you stress, it saves you time and has more results when you need the right person to cut through the chaos. That's a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs in this minute that I'm talking to you. Companies like yours will make 27 hires on Indeed according to Indeed Data Worldwide. So if you're, if you are hiring, go ahead and use Indeed Sponsored Jobs to cut through all of that time and just that madness. I know, I know firsthand how crazy that is. You'll get a $75 sponsored job credit to help your job get the premium status it deserves. Indeed.com podcast go to Indeed.com podcast right now. Support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com podcast terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Today's show also brought to you by Kelsey Playoffs are here. We know that that game was electric last night. And you can trade every single playoff game, every series in the conference finals and the championship. So game two San Antonio against OKC. OKC has a 67 probability to win. You can get a payout of 148 on that. You can trade a hundred. $100 trade pays out 148 there. So the way it works when I talk about trading is you buy and sell like you're in a trading against peers on a live market. There's no house and the probability changes. You can buy in and out of your position at any time, so for a limited time, download the Kalshi app. Use the code locked on. You get $10 when you trade 10 Kalshi K A L S H I Kalshi trade on anything 18 plus. Only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices, values and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information seekalshi.com regulatory thanks for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. Thank you for being with me Monday through Friday. I'll still have bonus podcasts throughout the week, one or two of them here and there, so make sure you're subscribed. Wherever you get your podcast, watch the show on YouTube, get into the comments section, share your thoughts with me with Tom thank you for, for being with me. I'm John Corrales, by the way. I'm a beat writer covering the Celtics for Sports Illustrated's Celtics on SI. I've been covering the team for 20 years doing this podcast for 10, and never have I seen a player like Victor Wembanyama. And I've never really had to consider Tom talking about building a team and looking over to the Western Conference, being like, you gotta watch out for that guy. Normally it's hey, LeBron's on the Cavs or on the Heat, and you're like, okay, you got to take LeBron into account if you want to get to the Finals. No, it's almost like you still have to worry about Detroit and Cleveland and whoever else in the East. But Wemby is there. If you want to win a championship, it's almost guaranteed now you're gonna have to go through Wemby more often than not.

[D]

Yeah. Or, or at very least, you need to think about it.

[A]

At least. You have to. You have to prepare for that.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And then be like, oh, that's, that's not gonna happen. Now all we get is like, Shay Gilexander in the Oklahoma City Thunder, you know, oh, that. Oh, that. But when you look at dealing with Wemby for the Celtics, is Jason Tatum already? Is he the guy that you're gonna have to put on Wemby? Because I see people saying, look, you need to trade for Giannis and Te Kumpo. Now, like, all of a sudden there's this sense of urgency of, oh, wait a second. If you're going to go up, if you're really, if you're really serious about Wemby, then you Got to get. You got to get Giannis in here because he's an elite defender. He's like seven feet tall himself, and he can slide and he can do all. He's like the only guy that you can say. You put him on Wemby one on one, and you deal with it. But you look at Jason Tatum, he's basically the same size as Giannis. He's a really good defender. He's got. He's got, you know, long arms and stuff. Is that a place? Let's just start with there.

[D]

Well, all right. So, I mean, if. I think. If you're comparing Giannis and Tatum, right, for one thing, Giannis is, I think, just more kind of physically strong, which I know is saying something, because Tatum is very strong, but, like, Giannis has a little bit more, I think, heft a little. A little beefier, which. Which matters against somebody like Wimby, I think, because you have to kind of take your advantages where you can find them, right? You have to take your physical advantages where you can find them, because you have so few against that guy. So if you're. If you're a guy, like, built like Giannis, and, you know, I think Giannis is taller than Tatum by a bit. I don't know how much, but, like, he's a bit taller.

[A]

Probably like an inch or two.

[D]

Couple inches, maybe. Yeah,

[A]

but. But I'm sorry, Tatum is like 610.

[D]

Tatum is 6 10. Right. We're not. We're not operating under the delusion that Jason Tatum is somehow 6 8. That's crap.

[A]

No, he's like 610 is, like, maybe an inch taller than him.

[D]

Yeah. Giannis looks like a seven footer to me. But regardless, they say my, you know, same idea. I think one of the things that would worry me about Tatum guarding Wembanyama is just the, like, fouls, right? If you're going to guard Wemby, you know, if. If you're, you know, if you're throwing Tatum at him, you know, you're kind of accepting the possibility that, okay, like, Tatum might miss some time during this game to preserve, you know, foul trouble. I also think that, you know, if. If you do that, like, you are. That's a big gamble. You know, if you are trying to build a contender and you go into the season and you're. You're just. Okay, like, we're gonna. We're gonna see if the Tatum thing works. You better be sure that that's the experiment that you want to try, right? Because if. If. If you wait And Giannis goes to another team and. And all that stuff. And, like, Giannis was the guy that you needed. I'm not saying that this is the case, but I'm saying if you wait and Giannis goes to another team and it turns out that Giannis was the guy you needed to stop Wemby, and you get to the finals and Tatum can't do it, you know, that's too, too late by that point, obviously. Right. So I would have some. I would have some concerns about that, just based on the fact that I think Tatum would pick up a lot of fouls, and it's really experimental to. To just kind of throw it out there at him. I guess the last thing that I kind of enjoy about the Giannis option of this is that the Celtics have always been the team who had that one guy for that one superstar with Al Horford, because Horford was the guy who would go. I was like, oh, no, don't worry about Embiid. We got the Embiid stop.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[D]

Oh, don't worry about Giannis. We have the Ayanna stopper. That's Al Horford. It would be kind of funny if they went and got Giannis, and then they. It was like, oh, we don't worry about women, Yama. We have the Wembanyama stopper. I just kind of enjoy that dynamic of things.

[A]

That would be fun. What about Jalen Brown? See, the. The thing about Wemby, the only thing right now that you can say this is a weakness, is that he's so skinny, and he. He does. It's. It's very easy to knock him off his spot. And now he's also good enough to be like, ah, whatever I can get, I can reclaim my spot another way.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

They're also the. You guard Wemby with wings. You guard Wemby. They put Caruso on him. You can knock him off his spot with a guy with a low center of gravity. So.

[D]

On him. And look how well it worked. He only had 45.

[A]

Right. But what. What I'm saying is, like, teams have done that, kind of have had that plan.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Knowing that it's. It's you. Even with. If you get Giannis, you're not gonna block that shot. You're not gonna. Right.

[D]

What are you gonna do?

[A]

Who's blocking? So you want somebody that. What, are you gonna make it more difficult on him? Is. Is. Is Jalen. Like, Jalen is strong. He's. I mean, he can get into foul trouble himself, but, yeah, maybe. Maybe Tatum's not the answer. Maybe Jalen's the answer. And it's. It's also not like he's going up against Embiid. It's tough to. To go get in the post against anybody. But I'm willing to bet. I don't even know what their weight is. I'm willing to bet Wemby and Jalen weigh the same.

[D]

Oh, I bet. I wouldn't be surprised if Jalen's heavier. Yeah.

[A]

I'm gonna look at this. What do you think about Jalen while I look at this? You. What do you think?

[D]

I have my doubts. I think. I think especially like, that might have worked this year or it might. Maybe it would work next year. And, you know, I mean, look, I. Couple of years is. Is realistically, probably all the Celtics can you really bet on in terms of contention. Like, you probably can't. You could hope for more than two years of contention here with this. With this group. But, like, you don't know. Things. Things are. Things happen. The NBA is fluid. But I do think that as Wemby gets better and better, guys like Jalen are going to have more, like, creative, quote, unquote, creative options. More, you know, more outside the box. Options on dealing with Wemby, I think are going to become less and less viable as he develops more and becomes more of an issue.

[A]

Well, I feel like. I feel like, like the Celtics. The Celtics window isn't exactly like eight years or anything like that.

[D]

Right.

[A]

You know, Jalen's going to be 30. And. And you. Look, I. I guess we can't close the door in a trade or anything like that. I. I do not. I truly do not believe the Celtics are even considering trading Jalen. I do not think it makes sense. Jalen for Giannis does not make sense in and of itself. I still don't think so, because I. Even though if you can get Giannis another way, it. It's. I'm still. I'm. I'm open to the idea. I'm not shutting the door on that. Getting Giannis with Jalen and Jason, now you're cooking. It's going to cost you a lot. It's going to probably cost you Derek, White and Pink, Pritchard. Like, it's going to cost you in that. That's. I'm not sure about that risk. But the. If. If Tatum's a good option to go up against Wemby, then you still need a wing scorer. I think that puts a premium on wing scoring this summer.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

You mean because. Because, like, what you Said you're gonna, you, you need somebody else to pick up some of the slack. If, if Tatum is the guy or even Jalen is the guy, right? Either way, if you're saying one of those two guys is our Wemby defender, then you say, okay, now you need. I'm gonna say Anthony Simons or Kobe White or one of those guys. You're gonna need somebody in there that's going to be able to get buckets because these guys are going to be tired and they're going to be probably double teamed and all of that stuff, and somebody else is going to have to score. Correct. If, if you say, oh, those, we're not going to risk playing those guys on there, then you need, I don't know, a Lou Dort type, somebody that's big and beefy, that, you know, hey, you know what? I don't think they're going to trade for Giannis. I really just really don't. But who knows that that could come back and bite me. I think you go with a stout wing defender that you can say, hey, Tatum will switch on to, to Wemby. Jalen will switch on to Wemby. They're gonna have their moments. But our primary guy is this player, player X. And that's gonna be who, who we throw out there. Then it, I think it does. You have to have somebody on your roster that, when you're looking forward. Okay, let's assume we're getting into a series with the spurs because we believe our team is good enough to get to the finals. How do we win that finals? Like, that's the forward thinking that this, this franchise needs to have.

[D]

So, yeah, as long as titles are their main goal. You said beefy. And listen, I know Al Horford's getting older, but there was another guy who really helped on your Joel Embiid types. Can I interest you in one? Aaron Baines? Can we see what he's up to?

[A]

Oh, Aaron Baines. He. Yeah. How old is he? He's gotta be kind of.

[D]

He's got to be kind of elderly at this point.

[A]

That's a big beefy dude. He's 39 years old, you know, so I'm always interested in an Aaron Baines.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

All of Australia.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And speaking of beefy, I mean, that's like almost literal. That dude ate like a side of beef, like he is. He was into his beefs. So. Yeah, no, but that's the type. That's the type. This. Can you clone an Aaron Bane? Is there, is there some sort of jailbreak chat GPT prompt that we can use that can give us a secret. A secret code to fix. It's a dealing with wimpy. I don't know, but that's.

[D]

I'm, I'm the. You know, anything to get an Aaron Baines on the team, we got to do it. Yeah.

[A]

All right. It's something to consider. It is something to consider. This is just a fun way to keep talking about Victor Wembanyama.

[D]

That guy's so good, man.

[A]

Okay. Jalen Brown versus Stephen A. Smith. We don't have a lot of time. That's good. We don't need a lot of time.

[D]

We don't need it.

[A]

We don't need a lot of time. We'll talk about those. Those two when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by Quo. Missed calls Slow follow up Silent killers for businesses. That's how money gets left on the table with Pete without people even realizing it. That's why today's episode is brought to you by Quo spelled Q U o the business communication system. Built so you never miss a call, Quo helps businesses keep every conversation organized by letting your entire team manage calls and text from one shared number. No drop messages, no missed opportunities or disconnected communication. It's designed for how modern businesses actually operate. Everything lives in one clean thread, which is great. Calls, texts, voicemails. The whole team sees the conversation super important because when they see everything, nothing falls through the cracks. You're keeping a consistent message with your customers. That's a way to keep the customers rather than lose them. It just makes your whole business feel more organized and responsive. Money is on the line. So always say hello with quo. Try quo for free. Plus get 20% off your first six months when you go to quo.com locked on MBA. That's quo. Q U O.com lockedon NBA.

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[A]

Thank you for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen. Every day. You are an everyday. You're with me for every show. So join the Everyday Club. Get a.D. free audio access to our members only. Discord and more at lockdown celtics supercast.com LockedOn celtics supercast.com $5 a month or $50 for the year. Tom Jalen Brown had some very pointed direct NSFW comments for Stephen A. Smith, Stephen B. Smith. And which is funny because somebody tweeted at me, was like, as a Stephen C. I'm like, sad. I'm sad by this. It's like, sorry, sorry, Stephen C. Get caught up in the, you know, catching a stray there. Yeah. Stephen A. Fired back by threatening journalism on Jaylen Brown. One of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. He should be embarrassed. I'm going to repeat that. Yes, he should be. Stephen A. Smith should be embarrassed. Embarrassed.

[D]

Given what we know about him. He probably.

[A]

For sure.

[D]

For sure. Probably is.

[A]

He probably is for sure. Right? Yeah. Right. But he should be, yes, absolutely. Embarrassed to say, oh, well, don't make me, don't make me go out there and report things now by being like, are you, are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? You. Now, I don't consider him a journalist. He's not a journalist. He may have been in the past. He may have been a reporter in the past. Right, Whatever. But what he is now is a professional hot take artist.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And he does the job extraordinarily well. Obviously gets paid.

[D]

Here we are talking, man.

[A]

We're talking about him. Right? He gets it. He gets those reactions no matter what. And now he's in a beef with one of the best players in the NBA. So more attention, more spotlight. That's what he wants. But to threaten, don't make me find out how the team really feels about you. And to be like, what Deals do you have? I have a car shield deal. What do you have? Like, buddy, what is wrong with you? So that's all I want to say about this. It's. It's stupid, but that. Tom. Yeah, please. No, I.

[D]

It's very stupid. And it's. It's. You know, I think it's interesting, right, because we. I think we tried to have a kind of a nuanced conversation about Jalen and. And, like, the. The way that he was, you know, the things that he was saying on his. On his Twitch stream and everything. And then when we got it wrong, you know, we came back on and did our. I think we. Have. We done a thousand mea culpas this season. I think we've done a thousand. Let's go.

[A]

Let's say.

[D]

Let's say we've done a thousand mea culpas this season. Yeah, we did one right when it was like, okay. By the way, like, you know, it turns out this podcast that he did was. Was months ago, and this. This TV show that he did was there, you know, was filmed months ago, yada, yada. I think one of the things that cracks me up about the way that Stephen A. Smith went at Jalen is by saying stuff like, oh, don't make me go to the organization. Right. Like, what is the organization gonna say to you?

[A]

Right.

[D]

For one thing. Right. For one thing, what are they gonna say to you? What. Because you're, like, such an accomplished journalist that somebody in the organization is going to tell you, like, that's not. That's not going to happen. Two, if you asked the organization about Jaylen Brown or Jason Tatum, I don't whether they are like, BFFs, whether Tatum goes on Jalen's stream or whatever. Like, giving. Putting all of that aside, both of those guys have been so professional their entire careers in Boston about the. About the franchise, about each other. Like, you know, Jalen has, like, you know, saying a bunch of stuff on that podcast about the 2018-19 season was one of the reasons we talked about it was because it was kind of. It sounded kind of out of character, and especially the timing seemed weird. It was just. It didn't. It didn't seem right. It didn't seem like him necessarily, because, like, what we've seen from Jalen and Jason throughout the course of their careers is, like, just very professional individuals. And I. I guarantee you that if you went to the organization, whether you had them on or off the record, you're gonna get a lot of, like, oh, yeah, like they're like, they've been easy to work with. They've been. They're stars, you know, and. And certain things are difficult when you have superstars on your team. Like, you know, there's a million media requests, everybody wants to talk to them, all that stuff. You got to try to, you know, navigate all of that. But, like, those are two guys who. Who don't get in trouble, who don't do anything bad as part of the organization. And in fact, Jalen has been a model citizen in Boston. Like, in the Boston. He's. He's been literally somebody that, you know, you should look up to. The way that he has. The way that he's interacted with his city and his community and all that stuff. So I just, you know, Stephen A. Smith, like, threatening him and then threatening to go, like, don't make me talk to the organization about you. Like, dog, what do you think the organization is going to say? The organization is gonna just, like, they're not going to give you anything satisfying any, and they're not help your case. You doing a. Journalism is not gonna reflect poorly on Jalen Brown. I promise you that.

[A]

Yeah, there's. There's no one in that organization, no one that's going to publicly or privately make any sort of comments like that about Jalen Brown. There's. Jason Tatum is not going to say anything bad about Jalen Brown. No. Not even through sources, not even through any intermediaries. No one is going to. No one's going to go down that road. You know why? Because it. It doesn't. Doesn't benefit anybody. It does not benefit even. Even if. And I don't believe this, but let's just go down this road for a second. Even if Jayson Tatum believes some of this stuff, even if some of the guys in the organization, maybe on the team are like, yeah, I don't know. I don't really like, Jalen's off on his own again. I don't believe this is true. I think he's very well liked. I've never seen a hint of anything. He's okay, but it doesn't benefit anybody except Stephen A. Smith, to give that information out. The Celtics are trying to win a championship, and all of these guys, if nothing else, are savvy media folks. They all understand. And beyond that, Celtics PR they all understand. They all get this. So the word has to be out for everybody. Okay? Like, if I'm in Celtics PR And I know them all well, I would be in the group chat with these guys, like, okay, Stephen A. Smith. If anybody calls you, remember, it doesn't serve anybody anything to say anything negative. No matter what, just decline to say and just say nothing. Just say nothing. Don't, don't even say, no, you're wrong. Don't say nothing and just let him die on the vine. Because any little bit of discord, anything that can be twisted, anything that he can, just a morsel that he can try to say, well, this person said this, but that really means this. Like, no, no, no, no. Just nothing. Say nothing. Give him zero. Because then he's just going to have to blah, blah. He will dig his own grave. So he's not going to get anything from this organization. The Celtics are the most buttoned up franchise in the league. Them and okc, they. Nothing gets out unless they want it to. So I don't understand why him. And let's throw Kendrick Perkins into this mix too, because Perk is out there. Be like, man, these former players don't like, don't whatever. Like who? Okay, who cares? Who cares? Like, okay, I'm sorry, kg, if you don't like what, what Jalen said. He also didn't like what Jason Tatum did, that he missed game seven. He went. So like, I love kg, but hey, sorry, if you don't like it, tough. And if you don't like what Jalen tough doesn't, doesn't have any impact on the locker room. So I, I just think it's, it's just stupid, silly. And I, I hope that Jalen just lets it go. Just lets it go and at most gives him like just some sort of passive aggressive. Just don't, don't, don't answer him directly. Just do the state your sources shirt, do that type of stuff and just, just because I think if you're doing who's winning, who's losing, I think Jaylen Brown is winning in this little.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

And so don't, don't give, don't give. Don't pour gasoline on the fire, you know, choke the fire out. Don't give it the air to, to keep burning. Just let him just keep on with saying what he's gonna say because he's not gonna find anything. He's not, he can dig all he wants. He's not gonna find anything. Yeah. Yep. Anyway, as you were talking, Jason Kidd is out in Dallas. I saw that.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. That's kind of nuts.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

So not that, you know, not that anybody here cares, but, you know, it's a, a Cooper flag thing. It's just anything that happens With Cooper Flag, people around this area, like, oh,

[D]

just kind of keeping an eye on it.

[A]

Yeah. Already a new coach for Cooper flag. Interesting. Interesting. I do think.

[D]

I do think that people got to be somewhat careful because it's like if. If you start asking a guy now, hey, are you coming to Boston? Hey, Cooper, come to Boston, at some point he's going to be required to say, I'm not coming to Boston.

[A]

Right.

[D]

Because, like, and then when it comes time to where he's like, deciding, am I going to go to Boston? Well, then is he going to go to Boston? He said he wasn't going to go to Boston. Everybody will be interested in him. There'll be other situations out there that could also be good. It's like.

[A]

It's like AJ Debanza, who went out there yesterday or two days ago was like, yeah, I'm not going to be a Celtics fan for much longer. You know? You know, I'm gonna get drafted somewhere else. I'm no longer gonna be a Celtics fan. Yeah. You're like, yeah, well, that's. That's kind of how it goes.

[D]

I guess that is how being a professional athlete works.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

It's. Honestly, he's. Honestly, he's been a Celtics fan longer than a lot of these guys will admit to being a fan of a team, you know?

[A]

Yeah, everybody's a fan of something else. You know, Jason Tatum grew up a Lakers fan. You know, Paul Pierce grew up a Lakers fan.

[D]

That's right.

[A]

That's right. What happens, you don't, you know, that's it. So. All right, fun one. Thanks, Tom. Appreciate you.

[D]

Appreciate you, man.

[A]

And I appreciate all of you being here. It's a wild ride here and a nice it's very off season podcast. Very off season podcast here. So thanks for listening. Hope. Hope we're just keeping you company on the ride to work or on your run or walking the dog or whatever it is. We're just here to kind of talk you through some stuff and hopefully you enjoy the conversation. Thanks for being here on a Monday through Friday basis for taking in these bonus podcasts whenever I drop those. Thank you for being an everydayer and thank you for sharing the podcast, telling everybody they should be listening to and watching the Lockdown Celtics podcast here in the Lockdown podcast network. It's your team every day

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