Latest Trade Buzz with NBA Insider Michael Scotto

Summary

No Dunks – Latest Trade Buzz with NBA Insider Michael Scotto

Release Date: January 13, 2026
Host(s): J. Skeets, Tas Melas, Trey Kirby, JD
Guest: Michael Scotto (Hoops Hype Senior NBA Insider)

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Episode Overview

The “No Dunks” crew dives into the heart of NBA trade season—“Slop Season”—with veteran insider Michael Scotto. The conversation covers real-time rumors, team strategies ahead of the deadline, player valuations, and potential seismic moves across the league. Key players like Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Giannis, Michael Porter Jr., and teams such as the Mavericks, Warriors, Bucks, Celtics, and Cavaliers are discussed in detail, with Scotto providing up-to-the-minute insights from 15 years covering the league.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Anthony Davis’ Situation & Mavericks’ Strategy

• Injury Impact: Anthony Davis (Dallas Mavericks) is getting a second opinion on a hand injury, which dramatically affects his trade market as the deadline approaches.

  • “It definitely hurts his market... There was a limited number of teams interested, and the injury is not helping.” (Michael Scotto, 01:27)

• Potential Trade Partners: Atlanta and Toronto showed interest, but Atlanta was the most serious due to expiring contracts and desired assets.

• Mavs' Outlook: With AD sidelined and Kyrie also injured, Dallas might focus on developing rookie Cooper Flag and aiming for another high lottery pick to pair with him.

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Ja Morant’s Uncertain Future in Memphis

• Trade Talks: For the first time, the Grizzlies are listening to offers on Ja Morant.

  • “They had always been resistant on moving him, and now that’s going to be another domino...the vultures are always swarming.” (Scotto, 03:40)

• Suitors & Value Comparison:

  • Milwaukee and Minnesota are monitoring Morant, though the Wolves’ interest has cooled.
  • The trade market is comparing Morant’s value to Trae Young’s recent deal, but Scotto notes Ja may draw more suitors and a better package.

• Morant’s Play & Fit:

  • Diminished drives and field goal % at the rim; some execs believe a new situation could rejuvenate him.
  • After off-court friction with the Grizzlies’ coach, happiness has dipped, fueling trade speculation.

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Market Impact of the Trae Young Trade

• Prez for “Buy Low” Opportunities: Teams are measuring Ja Morant’s value against the “pretty low” price Trae Young fetched, but the Grizzlies have more leverage due to broader interest.

  • “Teams are obviously looking at the Trae Young trade saying, okay, we can get Ja to buy low.” (Scotto, 05:54)

• Desmond Bane Trade Context: Noted as a recent substantial deal for the Grizzlies (four first-round picks), setting expectations.

• Bucks as Buyers: Milwaukee is “always trying to make this team better,” possibly targeting Morant to reinforce around Giannis this summer.

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Golden State Warriors’ Deadline Dilemma

• Go For It or Stand Pat?: Caught around .500 but still led by Steph Curry, fan sentiment wants another contending move.

  • “Fans are like...one last push for Steph Curry.” (Skeets, 07:58)

• Trade Targets:

  • Trey Murphy (a longtime favorite for the Warriors): Price would rival the Desmond Bane package.
  • Giannis remains the “empty the clip” type of star Golden State would move serious picks for.
  • Exploring centers: Nick Claxton (Brooklyn), Robert Williams (injury concerns), Daniel Gafford (Dallas), and Ivica Zubac (Clippers; “at least two first-round picks” asking price).
  • “Buy-low” options also include Yves Missi (New Orleans).

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Jonathan Kuminga’s Market

• Kings Lead Suitors: Sacramento previously offered a protected first but that’s now off the table.

• Market Value: Cooler market than expected; seems like a marriage that's destined to split, but not a robust market.

  • “This has always seemed like it was going to end up in a split one way or the other.” (Scotto, 10:42)

• Fallback Scenario: If moved, Sacramento’s Malik Monk could be involved, but a splashier deal is preferred by Golden State.

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Michael Porter Jr.’s Value Surge

• Brooklyn Content: Nets happy with his All-Star-caliber performance; unlikely to move MPJ unless the return is “asset-driven.”

  • “No one’s helped their trade value more than Michael Porter Jr.” (Scotto, 12:50)

• Warriors/Bucks: Both have considered him as a trade target internally, but the Nets want to build, not sell.

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Giannis and the Bucks at the Deadline

• Giannis’ Availability: Not on the block—only way he’s moved is if he specifically requests it.

• Milwaukee’s Approach: Relentless buyers; linked to Zach LaVine, Jeremy Grant, Michael Porter Jr., Anfernee Simons, Ja Morant.

  • “The Bucks are operating as a team trying to be a buyer... John Horst is always trying to make this team better and maximize the prime of Giannis.” (Scotto, 15:10)

• Upcoming Extension: Can offer Giannis $275 million in October; that’s their true focus.

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Under-the-Radar & Buy-Low Candidates

• Names to Watch:
  • Kobe White (Bulls)
  • Zion Williamson (“worth a buy low pitch,” though New Orleans values Herb Jones more)
  • Herb Jones (would require “at least two first-round picks and a young player”)

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Trade Deadline Preview & Market Trends

• A Quiet Deadline:

  • “It’s one of the quieter ones in terms of chatter...even big names aren’t going for what you thought.”* (Scotto, 18:17)
  • Lowered trade packages compared to the “Rudy Gobert-era” blockbuster deals.

• Summertime Splash: Expect more league-shaping trades this summer, when cap restrictions loosen and more draft assets are in play.

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Miami Heat: In or Out?

• Approach: Always in the mix, but rarely all-in at the deadline—looking for value or waiting for a true superstar.
• Trade Chips: Khalil Ware, Tyler Herro (salary purposes), Simone Fontecchio, Norman Powell.
• Summary: They’ll watch for a superstar to shake loose, hold out for Giannis or similarly seismic names.
  • “The Miami Heat are always that team that is in the bidding but they don’t seem to go all in.” (Scotto, 20:19)

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Celtics: Will They Duck the Tax or Bolster the Roster?

• Financial Outlook: $12.1 million over the luxury tax line—potential repeater tax a concern.

• Trade Options:

  • Considered dumping Anfernee Simons' contract and assets to duck the tax (Brooklyn as a potential partner, wanting a first-round pick)
  • Explored upgrading at center with Ivica Zubac.
  • Direction depends on Jayson Tatum’s health prognosis.

• Scotto on Boston’s Deliberation:

  • “They’ve looked at both options...If they buy, there’s at least a chance Tatum is coming back.” (24:11)

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Cavaliers’ Future Core

• Jared Allen, Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell:
  • Teams called about all three, but Cleveland is “rebuffing” interest.
  • Situation could change after the postseason: if they disappoint again, Garland or Allen could move this summer.
  • “If they have another early playoff exit, teams around the league are definitely looking at Garland and Jared Allen...it would probably be towards the summer as of now.” (Scotto, 25:57)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Mavericks’ Direction:

  • “If you get another high lottery pick, put that player with Cooper [Flag], and then see what it looks like with AD and Kyrie next summer.” – Michael Scotto (02:00)

• On Trade Market Vibe:

  • “It’s one of the quieter ones in terms of chatter… the market’s a little weird, going to be honest.” – Michael Scotto (19:02)

• On Heat Fantasy Parallels:

  • “The Miami Heat are that team in the auction draft always in the bidding, but stop at $40 and the guy goes for $60.” – Michael Scotto (20:19)

• On Celtics’ Deadline Dilemma:

  • “Which way they go will give the league an indication on how they feel about Tatum’s health.” – Michael Scotto (24:11)

• On Cleveland’s Core:

  • “They wanted to build around this core. The proof is going to be in the pudding in a couple of months.” – Michael Scotto (26:26)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Anthony Davis Mavericks Trade Talks: 00:55–03:01
• Ja Morant Trade Rumors: 03:01–05:21
• Impact of Trae Young Trade Market: 05:30–07:58
• Golden State Warriors Deadline Strategy: 07:58–10:24
• Jonathan Kuminga Suitors: 10:24–12:27
• Michael Porter Jr. Buzz: 12:27–14:41
• Milwaukee Bucks & Giannis’ Status: 14:41–16:41
• Under-the-Radar Names for Deadline: 17:08–17:52
• Trade Deadline Activity Outlook: 18:01–19:52
• Miami Heat Strategy: 19:52–21:59
• Celtics’ Luxury Tax Dilemma: 21:59–25:26
• Cavaliers’ Core Players: 25:26–27:27

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Final Thoughts

Michael Scotto offered a comprehensive, realistic pulse of the NBA trade market, noting less sizzle than past years but significant groundwork for larger moves in the offseason. He emphasized the league’s evolving asset valuation, cap machinations, and how injuries and timing can dramatically shift team directions.

Memorable closing:

• “This is one of the quieter ones in terms of chatter around. Execs would tell you that... But it sets up a bigger summer in theory.” (Scotto, 18:17)

Hosts’ take: Appreciative of Scotto’s candor and deep-sourced intel, the No Dunks crew closed by noting the shifting dynamics of trade deadlines and looking ahead to both deadline day and the fireworks waiting for the summer.

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Transcript

[J. Skeets]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Michael Scotto]

Guaranteed Human.

[J. Skeets]

Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast, presented by FanDuel. It's Tuesday, January 13, 2026. I'm J. Skeets here in the classic factory and alongside me, as always, Tas Melas.

[Tas Melas]

Basketball fans. This is definitely for you.

[J. Skeets]

Next to him, it's my top shot, hot boy Trey Kirby.

[Trey Kirby]

Ayo.

[Tas Melas]

Ayo.

[J. Skeets]

And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer JD Hello. There he is. Here we are. Hello to everybody on YouTube. Hello, podcast listeners. Slop season is upon us. So now is the perfect time for our next guest. You've read his words at Hoops Hype. You heard his voice on the Hoops Hype podcast. He's a senior NBA insider who's covered the league for a very long time. It's Michael Scotto. What's up, Michael?

[Michael Scotto]

Hey, good morning, fellas. First time, long time on my end. How's everything going?

[J. Skeets]

I couldn't believe that this is the first time we've had Michael Scotto on no Dunks. It's great. We're excited to have you. I don't want to waste any of your time because you could get a call and a trade happens here live this morning for all we know. So let's jump into it. I want to start with Anthony Davis because I got to know now that he has this hand injury. What's his status with the Mavericks possibly trying to move Anthony Davis? Is that off the table for now as we get closer to the deadline?

[Michael Scotto]

Well, he's supposed to be going for a second opinion now, so sometime today, so we'll see. But I mean, big picture, it definitely hurts his market. You know, already there was a limited number of teams that were really interested in trying to get him. The injury is not helping. I thought their best shot at getting something done would have been with Atlanta. You know, Toronto had also called and whatnot. But you know, Atlanta had the expiring contracts that they're looking for and guys like Christoph Sporzingis and Luke Canard, you know, Dallas would have liked to get Zachary Reese Sachet and the New Orleans first round pick that Atlanta has, but they're not giving that away. I'll tell you that. As far as Reese's Shay goes, they had been resistant from what I had heard, to include him in the talk. So, you know, at this point now with AD Being out, most executives I talk to around the league think that this is going to go now into the off season. And for Dallas, it makes things interesting because if you're to have AD out for a prolonged period of time. And you've got Kyrie Irving also coming back from a major injury might not be the worst thing in the world to focus on Cooper Flag and, you know, developing him. And if you get another high lottery pick, putting that player with Cooper and then seeing what it looks like with AD and Kyrie looking ahead towards the summer.

[Tas Melas]

Let's get to John Morant, since he is so hot in all the circles. In fact, he's going to Berlin right now with the Memphis Grizzlies, who've got two games. He just practiced.

[Michael Scotto]

Okay. Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

And the word is that he's actually going to play in Berlin. Then they got to go to London. Very, very interesting run. Actually, I should ask you, are you going to Europe for hoop site to cover these games?

[Michael Scotto]

No, I'm here in Brooklyn. I'm freezing.

[J. Skeets]

It looked cold in Berlin, too, for whatever it's worth.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. Well, let's get to John Morant. What are the talks around John Morant moving this coming few weeks here before the trade deadline?

[Michael Scotto]

Yeah, I mean, look, the thing with John Morant right now is teams are looking at a guy as a talent play, whether it's anyone from, you know, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Timberwolves have kind of lessened their appetite for him a little bit from what I've heard. I just think overall for Jon and Memphis, it's really the first time they've been listening for a guy of his caliber. They had always been resistant on moving him, and now that's going to be another domino that teams are monitoring in terms of if he goes, then what could happen down the line with Jaren Jackson Jr. Not saying anything imminent now, but the vultures are always swarming and looking for the next star that could be available. You know, when it comes to ja, his drives have been down, his field goal percentage at the rim have been down. Some teams think that he could be kind of rejuvenated if he goes to a new situation. You know, he had the incident earlier this season with Memphis head coach. Never really seemed like since then it got to the place where it was a few years ago in terms of his happiness level. So there's definitely teams checking in. I'm curious if they're going to get more than what the Hawks got for Trae Young. I think that's what the league is trying to figure out right now. And time will tell there, but we've got a few weeks to go before the deadline, so we're going to see if anything Shakes. But there's a few more teams interested than what I had just said. But as of this moment in Berlin, nothing is quote unquote imminent yet. But Zach Kleiman's phone is on and.

[J. Skeets]

He'S got the international package. Does he?

[Trey Kirby]

He's got the point.

[Michael Scotto]

He's probably got. He's probably got WhatsApp, facet time audio. Yeah, Everything working.

[Trey Kirby]

How did the Trey Young trade affect the market for Jaws? This going to be a thing that's kind of like setting the price for him going forward because, I mean, the price for Trey was pretty low. And as we saw, it seemed like there was only one suitor for the trade for the Hawks. But it sounds like there's more teams for J. Moran. Once the Trey Young trade went through, were teams thinking, wow, we could really get a great deal here on ja?

[Michael Scotto]

Yeah, look, I think teams put it this way. So Zach Kleiman's coming off getting four first round picks for Desmond Bain. Now, part of that was one of those picks was to take on Kentavius Caldwell Pope's contract, which I always try to remind people. But Big picture was still a noteworthy trade. And so for John Morant, is he going to command that? No, probably not. But with that said, teams are obviously looking at the Trey Young trade saying, okay, we can get JA to buy low. And obviously the Grizzlies are trying to push back against that to level the playing field a little bit because they seem to have more teams interested than Atlanta did with Trey Young. And truthfully, Washington was the most aggressive and looking at Trae Young as a guy that they can keep, you know, going into the future. I personally think it's going to be interesting to see if they end up with the number one pick and they get Darren Peterson. And let's revisit this conversation if that happens, regarding Trey, even though they probably would still want to keep him in some form, but it would change the dynamic certainly for the teams looking at John Morant. If you're trading for this guy and you're giving up at least a first, you know, I would say that you're trying to get him to either get a buy low talent or a guy that you think can move the needle for you. For example, like if you're Milwaukee and you've been looking for a guy to help Giannis, is this something in your price range where you haven't been able to get the elite stars elsewhere? Do you take a chance here and try to go for it, you know, with an important summer looking ahead for Giannis, when in October, they can offer the guy $275 million and ultimately, you know, you're going to know where this guy stands one way or the other. You know, nobody's going to have to ask him where he stands or, you know, what his agents are saying behind the scenes, blah, blah, blah. Now you're the onus is going to be on him squarely at that point.

[J. Skeets]

Let's talk about the Golden State warriors, because they're an interesting team here. Obviously, sort of around 500. You got Steph Curry still playing at an elite level. It feels like fans and a lot of even just casual NBA fans are like, come on, they does. They should go for it like Giannis. I guess with Milwaukee, you should sort of one last push for Steph Curry to try and maybe win another championship. What are you hearing from Golden State and what they're looking at trying to acquire? Are they aggressive or are they going to stand pat? What are you hearing, Michael?

[Michael Scotto]

Yeah, look, I mean, obviously they felt they tried to help Steph a little bit with the acquisition of Jimmy Butler. They only gave up a first. So I think for them, Trey Murphy's been a guy that they've been linked to for a while. They've always been high on him since the NBA draft when he came into the league during his class. But with that said, you know, a price tag for Trey Murphy essentially would be similar to the Desmond Bain package, and I don't know if Golden State has the appetite for that. They've always looked more at a guy like Giannis. If they were really going to empty the clip and get rid of a bunch of of those draft picks that they had. And they've got the younger guys and Jonathan Kaminga, Moses Moody, you know, whether it was Pajemski a little bit or some of their other guys as well. If they're ever going to make a big splash like that, it would probably be more for Giannis, but they've definitely looked at Trey Murphy as well. They've also looked at the center market. You know, Brooklyn's Nick Claxton. They've looked at guys like Robert Williams more on a buy lower, but obviously he has some injury concerns. And there's other centers out there that are, you know, being talked about. Certainly Daniel Gafford with the Dallas Mavericks has come up, but I mean, they're walking wounded right now without Derek Lively and Anthony Davis. So I think that price tag would be a little higher. Then you even got some other guys, like people were shooting their shot For Avitza Zubots from the Los Angeles Clippers. Now they've been on a roll. So the Clippers have been less shown less of an appetite to move him. But even then when they were listening, it was at least two first round picks from what I had heard that they would have wanted, plus maybe another young player. It's a lot for a guy in his prime. And then you got some bi low guys also, like even Yves Missi with the New Orleans Pelicans, who's had a reduced role, but a guy that teams around the league think can help.

[J. Skeets]

And one thing we know about the Warriors, I mean, at least we feel like we do, is that they are going to move off of Jonathan Kaminga, who wants him. Are you hearing any other team besides the second Sacramento Kings that possibly have an interest in trying to acquire Kaminga? As you know, we'll get closer to that January 15th date where he could be moved.

[Michael Scotto]

I mean, I've heard some teams that say they like them, but the reality of the situation is the team that's had put some action behind their interest has been the Sacramento Kings. Now over the summer they were willing, from what I had heard, to offer a protected first round pick. That does not seem to be on the table as of now. We'll see if that change is coming up in the next few weeks, but given the situation, doesn't seem likely. You know, this was, this has been a marriage that has always seemed like it was going to end up in a split one way or the other. You know, obviously the warriors front office and ownership has valued Jonathan Kaminga one way, Coach Steve Kerr has played him another. And Jonathan Kamin thinks highly of himself and so does his camp. So you've got those three factors culminating and right now with the way the market's been, it's been a little bit drier in general. So I, you know, the market for him isn't as robust for and for a lot of guys. So for jk, I think ideally Golden State would put him in a package for a bigger player. But if it was something with Sacramento, that would be more of a fallback kind of option for them ultimately because then you're talking about a guy like Malik Monk and you know, Sacramento's been trying to get off Devin Carter. Not saying Golden State has wanted to do that, but just given some context to the situation. So we'll see what shakes for jk, but certainly a name that executives are looking hard at as a guy that could be moved by the trade deadline.

[Tas Melas]

Speaking of big Players. Michael Porter Jr's name has been buzzing the last couple weeks. He's coming off first few months here with the Brooklyn Nets. Are the warriors linked to him? Is there an actual possibility of the Nets getting off of a guy that they just traded for who is excelling in Brooklyn, where it's obviously cold for you, as you said?

[Michael Scotto]

Yeah, I mean, look for first of all, Michael Porter Jr. I don't think anybody has helped his trade value more than Michael Porter Jr. Given the deal that he just came off of in the trade for Cam Johnson and Denver giving up an unprotected future first round pick. Nobody's ever questioned Michael Porter Jr's talent. It was always good his back hold up. This was one of the top recruits in his class, actually the number one recruit at the time in terms of Golden State. They've definitely had internal discussions about him. Some guys in that front office are higher on him than others. So he is a guy that they've looked at. But I've said this on YES network and I'll reiterate it here with you guys. Brooklyn wants to take a step forward. Now how far that step is I'm not sure yet, but there's a real shot that Michael Porter Jr. Is still a part of this team. At some point you have to have talent on the roster. I think if Brooklyn is going to move Michael Porter Jr. It has to be asset driven where it's something that would make so much sense for them, like for example, a draft pick that you really couldn't say no to. And either you're going to use it or you're going to flip it for a guy that's even better than Michael Porter Jr. Or who by the way, has been an All Star candidate this year, as you guys kind of alluded to. So you know, the Bucks also have had internal dialogue about a guy like him. I had heard previously even the Los Angeles Clippers, but again, they've been hot as of late. So Michael Porter Jr. Has gotten a lot of interest around the league and well deserved. But again, we've got a couple of weeks until we're going to find out if the actions meet the words.

[Trey Kirby]

You mentioned that the warriors are kind of trying to keep their powder dry to maybe chase after Giannis, but also that the Bucks are looking at Michael Porter Jr. To help around Giannis. Where do things stand with Milwaukee right now? Are they going to be a buyer or a seller at the deadline? Is Giannis available at all? Have things changed in any sort of way or is this Giannis style, staying locked in for this team and letting the backroom machinations happen.

[Michael Scotto]

Okay, so as far as Giannis goes, look, unless Giannis Antenna Kumpo asked for a trade, he was never going anywhere. He's been the face of the franchise for the Bucks, and as I alluded to earlier on the show with you guys, in October, they have the opportunity to offer him a $275 million extension. Ultimately, that's what the Milwaukee Bucks would like to do. So for now, again, there hasn't been any trade request from him. And the Milwaukee Bucks are operating as a team that is trying to be a buyer. Going into the trade deadline, they've been linked to, respectfully, everybody and their mother. I mean, you got Zach Levine, Jeremy Grant, Michael Porter Jr. Anthony Simons. I mean, you name it. Anybody that's remotely available. John Morant, obviously, who I touched on earlier, don't want to forget him. They have. They've been linked to everybody. John Horst is always trying to make this team better and maximize the prime of Giannis, and he's just doubled down on it. And I guess you got to give him credit for that in one way. They made the move to get Miles Turner to replace Brook Lopez. They've always tried to add, as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo is on this team, that's going to be their plan going forward. And as I touched on in October, in an ideal world, get him to sign that extension.

[J. Skeets]

We've talked a lot about a lot of the popular names. Let's be honest. John moran, Michael Porter Jr. Kaminga. Whether or not, you know, Giannis is available or not, sounds like he's not, doesn't demand a trade. Are there any other names we're missing here, Michael? That, or at least, you know, people that are casually watching this that you're hearing like, oh, this player, even if it's like not a superstar level or all star level player that we should be looking into more that could possibly be moved before the deadline.

[Michael Scotto]

I could tell you teams have, like, looked at Kobe White on the Chicago Bulls. I think he's a good player.

[J. Skeets]

Yep.

[Michael Scotto]

You know, obviously some teams have wondered, somewhat similarly to John Morant, is Zion Williamson worth a buy? Low pitch to the New Orleans Pelicans. Herb Jones is a guy a lot of teams like, but that would require probably at least two first round picks and a young player, like, they really value him and the contract that he's on elsewhere around the league. I feel like those are. Those are some good names. I'd have to think more, but I'm kind of looking at my cheat sheet in the background.

[Trey Kirby]

Zion's a good one.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. Look at that Cavs logo.

[Michael Scotto]

I think more or less we kind of hit on it for now at least.

[J. Skeets]

Well, my follow up question then is you've done this for a very long time. You've gone through a lot of NBA trade deadlines. Do you expect this to be a very active trade deadline, a quiet one? Pretty average. And things will be kicked down into the summer. What's your gut say, having talked to all these executives and teams?

[Michael Scotto]

Well, I could tell you from talking to executives, this is my 15th year doing this. Overall, it's one of the quieter ones in terms of chatter around. I think any executive would tell you that. Obviously. Sure, some big names always come up. We saw with Trey, we're seeing it now with John Morant, Anthony Davis before the injury. So, I mean, there's always chatter and whatnot. But I don't think these guys are going for what you thought, like the days of the Rudy Gobert trade packages, Mikhail Bridges, Desmond Bain, it's almost like. And those guys weren't even, with all due respect, like, they're not superstars.

[J. Skeets]

No.

[Michael Scotto]

And then you look at what's funny with some of these execs say to me is like, so look at the packages that Trey Young and Luka Doncic got. Like the market's a little weird, going to be honest, from talking to executives. So what I will say is if this does come to fruition, that there's not going to be as much trade chatter and, and trades coming to fruition. It sets up a bigger summer in theory.

[J. Skeets]

Right. I mean, it feels like at this point, with the second apron and all the aprons, like trades are just easier in the off season. Right. You got roster limits are bigger and you've got more financial wiggle room. These teams do. And you know, where you're drafting, I think is a huge part of it as well.

[Tas Melas]

And you get more draft capital.

[J. Skeets]

Yes. So, yeah, maybe it's become just this thing where it's like, yeah, that's what it is.

[Michael Scotto]

Just hit the nail on the head about having more draft capital. Look at a team like the Miami Heat, for example.

[J. Skeets]

It's a good point. And you can put more into a potential deal. Do you think? And as we start wrapping up here, let's talk about the Heat, because are they one of these teams that are waiting for like the big super duper superstar, like maybe a Giannis or maybe someone else and Less likely to move, you know, to a smaller sort of tear down type of all star.

[Michael Scotto]

If you've ever played NFL fantasy football in an auction draft, the Miami Heat are always that team that, like, is in the bidding, but they don't seem to go.

[Trey Kirby]

They just don't seem to put all.

[Michael Scotto]

In and put like, I don't know.

[Trey Kirby]

Too rich for my blood.

[Michael Scotto]

Yeah, yeah, exactly like. But you always have that guy that kind of like, oh, I'm in there. I was in the bidding. It's like, well, you stop bidding at like $40. The guy went for $60 in the fantasy draft, so. Okay. But I mean, for the Heat, like, Khalil Ware is obviously a guy that's gotten interested around the league. You know, if they were going to do anything big, obviously you got to look at Tyler Herro because of his salary, Simone Fontecchio, shout out to the paisan. He's got a nice contract as well. So, I mean, they obviously like Norman Powell, they like Bam Adebayo. You know, I just think for now, obviously, if there was a guy, like, if they could get John Moran on the cheap, that would be intriguing. And if you could put Terry Rozier's contract and put it to use.

[J. Skeets]

You.

[Michael Scotto]

Know, amid all the legal stuff that he's going through at the moment, that'd be a pretty good use of the asset. So, you know, again, if it's like a buy low kind of guy, sure. If they're going to do anything like going for Giannis, you kind of got to wait till the summer when you have more draft capital available in future years, and really look to move the needle. You know, everybody says they're going to make that big splash for Giannis. They would do it. They'd put all the chips in the center of the table. All right, we're going to see who's about that action.

[J. Skeets]

Boss, before we let you go, one more team I am curious about because you've written about them, Michael. The Celtics, I believe, are like $12.1 million above the luxury tax heading into the trade deadline. And like, teams across the league are wondering if they're going to try and duck the tax and get out of the potential repeater tax, or are they going to look to actually bolster this roster because they've been pretty good with Jaylen Brown leading the way and maybe Tatum comes back. What's your read on the direction Brad Stevens and and the Celtics organization are going to go here? Are they going to try and add to this team or try and duck the tax?

[Michael Scotto]

Well, what's interesting is they've looked at both options. So what I mean by that is, for one, they've looked at different scenarios where they could move off of Anthony Simons contract and duck the luxury tax. The Brooklyn Nets had come up, you know, even dating back. They've had conversations dating back to the summer. And this was before the Nets drafted the Flatbush Five. And they got a bunch of rookies and a lot of guards. But in terms of the Nets, they valued Dayron Sharp. They tried to sign him in the summer and offer him a chance to compete for their starting center spot, but they only had a minimum. The Nets had $6.25 million on the table, and obviously he took that. Good for him. But also if you included, along with Dayron Sharpe, Zaire Williams or Cam Thomas, that would allow financially, Boston to duck the tax. Brooklyn would want a first round pick. Boston's been resistant. We'll see who wins in the game of chicken leading up to the trade deadline, if they go that direction or if they try to move them elsewhere. They've also had conversations looking at a guy like Avitza Zubac and trying to upgrade at center, which is a player that they would need, whether it's not only now, but in the future to kind of fortify that position. Now, what I would say ultimately in the next couple of weeks as they learn more information on the market and I think more importantly on Jayson Tatum, if they're buyers, one would logically think there's at least a chance that Tatum is coming back.

[J. Skeets]

Right? Right.

[Michael Scotto]

Because why would you make that move to bolster the team when you could really set yourself up for better flexibility long term and get out of the repeater tax. Unless you think Tatum's coming back, I mean, they could say to themselves, hey, the east is wide open even without him now. And they would have a valid case for that. They have certainly outperformed expectations, I think, from the media and some executives around the league, quite frankly, not within themselves. I mean, Peyton Pritchard and Joe Mazzulla have always talked about, you know, the championship standard, but which way they go. To me, the bigger story here, guys, is that would give me and I think the rest of the league an indication on how they feel about Jayson Tatum's health, his potential availability, looking ahead. And again, let's not ask this guy to be the guy that's an Olympian, a guy that's been a perennial All Star, like just coming back off of a devastating injury. But I mean, if you get that guy back for any amount of time. That would be a huge step forward to their aspirations to win another championship.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, absolutely. Especially in an open Eastern Conference, like you said.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, this is supposed to be an open Eastern Conference, but the Cavs have disappointed. So. Last question before we let you go, Michael. Are Jared Allen or Darius Garland available for the rest of the league? Because this is a team that's got a lot of salary tied up next season and the following season. And being that they're at this point here where they are underwhelming, is there a position for them where they say we're getting off Garland or we're getting off Jared Allen?

[Michael Scotto]

Well, Tas, I mean, look, certainly teams have been shooting this shot for Darius Garland, Jared Allen. They've also called on Donovan Mitchell because, heck, Luka Doncic got traded. You might as well Cleveland, everything's on the table. Yeah, I mean, Cleveland's rebuffed all of this talk. I would say, look, certainly they're well above the second apron. They're limited. If they're going to try to do something, you know, you got to look more at a guy like DeAndre Hunter. Can they do something with like Lonzo Ball's contract? Can they. Do you know what's going to happen with Max Stru? But right now, as far as their core guys, it doesn't seem like anything is likely. As of now, I would say that you. Look, you brought up a good point. They've underwhelmed. There's no secret about that. If they have another early playoff exit, teams around the league are definitely looking at Garland and Jared Allen as guys. One of those two potentially could get moved because what are you going to have a team that far over the second apron if you're not moving the needle in terms of the production on the court? So it's a big year for Cleveland, but again, this is. They wanted to build around this core. They believe in this core. And ultimately the proof is going to be in the pudding in a couple of months here as we get closer towards the playoffs and we'll see. But I think as of now, to overall answer your question, if Garland and or Allen is going to be moved, it would probably be towards the summer as of now.

[J. Skeets]

Well, Michael, this is your first time on no dunks, but let's not make it your last. Good luck with the trade deadline. We'll be following you on hoops and hope to have you back on soon to maybe talk about some of the moves that do or do not happen here as we get closer to February 5th. Stay warm there in Brooklyn.

[Michael Scotto]

All right, thanks, fellas. Sure thing. My pleasure. Happy to do it. And look forward to the next time as well. Have a great rest of the day.

[J. Skeets]

Awesome.

[Trey Kirby]

Thanks, Michael.

[J. Skeets]

All right, thumbs up in the chat from Michael Scotto From Hoops Hype. NBA Insider for a long time. 15 years. Oh, man. Yeah, Always ages. Ourselves too.

[Tas Melas]

Michael mentioned he was 36. Going back to 21.

[J. Skeets]

Jesus.

[Tas Melas]

Doing this thing.

[J. Skeets]

Great stuff there. Sort of going around the league and getting his insight into some of these trade rumors. We got lots more to talk about here. We're going to get into some of last night's games and some other things in the up down report. But first, a quick break to hear from our sponsor. When I say NBA, what's the first thing you think of? Buckets.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes.

[J. Skeets]

Buzzer beaters.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes. I mean, basketball is high on the list.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, absolutely. Well, fanduel is putting you in control right from from tip off. Because today you get to choose your reward, take your shot with a profit boost, play it cool with a no sweat bet or get a little backup with the bet back token. It's all about finding what fits your game. The way you like to play, the way you like to win. We all play differently. Trey, he's a profit boost champion. Likes a little oomph under his ass. I do Tas, Come on. He's a classic. No sweat Batman. We call him money Melis for a reason.

[Tas Melas]

Right?

[J. Skeets]

He's a strategist. He plays it smart. Me, I'm bet back Token. I wrote Lord of the rings. Thank you, J.D. i got Gandalf winning MVP plus 500 bet back token. Sounds like J.R. colkin.

[Trey Kirby]

Gandalf definitely won comeback player of the year one year.

[J. Skeets]

Good call. I like Legolas in the three point contest in LA. No matter how you play fandom duels giving you the power to choose your reward and own your game this NBA season. So make your pick, get in the game and play it your way. All right, thanks again to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype for coming on. Hit the like button. Subscribe. Five star ratings and reviews from everybody out there. But let's get into the up down report. Oh man, There you go. Filling in for the up down report music. Was that because we had a guest on JD and you know the audio channels get all mixed channels.

[Trey Kirby]

That's crazy. Doing that with Michael Scotto and not hearing the names Nicola Vuchevic, Miles Turner or John Collins once. 15 years. He's probably said one of those names every Single trade deadline. Those guys are always in rumors.

[J. Skeets]

That's a good point.

[Trey Kirby]

Not this year.

[J. Skeets]

Okay, so the up down report. Here's what we're doing because I want to touch on a few of last night's games. But we're putting them into the up down report because we had some upsets last night. We had the Jazz bouncing back after a 55 point loss to the Hornets to beat the Cavaliers to beat the underwhelming Cavaliers. 123, 112. We had Siakam and the Pacers getting by the Celtics in a close one. 98 96. That's the first three game win streak of the season for Indy. And then Malik Monk hit seven three pointers, scored 26 points as the Kings beat the Lakers 124. 112. I think that's a big upset. So I asked you guys up or down on the Kings topping the Lakers as the biggest upset of the night. You agree or disagree and think it was one of the other ones task, what do you got?

[Tas Melas]

The Lakers was the biggest one because it was super disappointing against Sacramento Kings. Malik Monk splashing as you said, he's ready to be traded. Bang, bang, bang. But the problem was the Lakers just kept missing. And you could see the Kings pushing it a little bit, taking a lot of shots early in the shot clock because they were receiving those long rebounds and the Lakers just weren't getting back fast enough. I saw this stat in the first half 40 of Sacramento. 61 points were early in shot clock areas. The shot clock was quick and they were firing because they were able to just run because those long threes were missing. As we know, the Lakers are the now the worst three point shooting team in the NBA. Even though they're moving the ball very well, they're moving it super well. But they were just clanking. The only guy who was hitting threes was Gabe off the bench. Really. He was the man, you know, the starting market smart. He keeps clanking. Obviously Austin Reeves isn't playing right now. Rui didn't play last night, will play tonight. But it just felt like this was a three point contest and the Kings won 17 of 26 shooting 65%. So that was the disappointing part for the Lakers. And this was literally felt like a blow up.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. Ziller wrote in his newsletter this morning that the Lakers earned a reputation as a mediocre team with a good record is finally catching up to them. LA's 4 and 6 in their last 10. They're only a half game out of the Play in area. They're 26th defensively in the league. It's bad, TK.

[Trey Kirby]

It's quite bad.

[J. Skeets]

But was that the biggest upset to you last night?

[Trey Kirby]

Well, I mean, you got to give a shout out to the Jazz. A plus 65 point turnaround. Going from losing by 55, I guess 66, actually winning by 11. That was cool for them, but it's got to be be the Kings beating the Lakers. That's pretty disappointing for LA to see Sacramento shoot 65% from three. That's crazy. 17 of 26. Unbelievable.

[J. Skeets]

That is amazing.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. The Lakers though are 28th in defense since December 1st down the stretch. It wasn't really three pointers. It was like mid range jumpers and easy buckets. And there's no way for the Lakers to fight this because it was just put Luka and LeBron into action every single time. Eventually they had to start double teaming and then the rotations were too, too slow for la. A Luka team needs to have defense. The Lakers don't have that. A LUCA team needs to have shooting. They're the worst shooting team in the league. It makes sense that it actually isn't working here unless Luka has a great game, which he did last night. But he needs somebody else to have a great game alongside him. So this Lakers team, they need to make some sort of a move or they just need to kind of understand that this is a gap year for them and take your chances in the playoffs. Because they do have this good clutch game record though it's a little fraudulent as we've just discussed with the minutes. And they finally did take their first loss. But it just seems easy to score on the Lakers. They've had a guard score 25 or more 20 times against them this season. And that's just from the perimeter. Anybody can beat anybody on the perimeter for the Lakers. So I just don't really see how this team is a serious playoff threat. They do have three really great players, three really great offensive players at least. But once Reeves is back, assuming they don't trade him like LeBron James's agent slash podcast host wants to be. Wants him to be traded. That's crazy, man. It is honestly crazy that Rich Paul is going on a podcast and saying the team needs to trade one of LeBron's teammates. Yeah, Lakers are under.500 since that podcast started. I wonder if that has any sort of effect on the way the team sees each other in the locker room because they don't feel like they're connected together. And it doesn't even seem to me like they understand what the problem is post game. They're like yeah, we just missed shots. You miss shots all the time. They don't play defense either. So which is it, the offense or the defense? Kind of both.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, kind of both for sure. As I said, the worst three pointed shooting team and then as you shoot those the other team runs a little bit and gets into an early shot clock. And that's where you saw Malik Monk hit the first couple of his seven threes and then he had a couple big ones at the end when JJ Redick in the fourth quarter and he said this post game press conference, he said we got a double now because we're down 8, down 10, we need the ball. And they're hitting open threes after they splash after they start excuse they make that pass out of the doubles. So yeah, you got a good, good flow going. Malik Monk can obviously score after those couple threes after those rebounds and they run and it kept up. I mean him and Russ, Those guys hit 11 threes combined.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, Westbrook revenge game. He's got a lot of teams to pick from. But I love saying I think he.

[Trey Kirby]

I think he hates the Lakers the most of all.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, they shot on him the most. Absolutely.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I wonder how the Jazz factor in there. He's been a two time Jazz man.

[J. Skeets]

But never actually played. Did you see Dave McMenamon like the.

[Tas Melas]

Actually playing in Utah?

[J. Skeets]

Did you see Dave McMenamon's report about this game?

[Trey Kirby]

Oh, that they were like watching Aaron Rodgers get bounced from the playoffs and have his career ended.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah. So McMenamin wrote this morning on ESPN LA had the NFL playoff game between the Texans and the Steelers playing on the TV in the locker room rather than clips from the Lakers Kings Most recent matchup. December 28th. I assume McMenamin knows that the Lakers probably generally do that. I guess like the team you're playing. Maybe there's clips going. More than half of the 13 players in uniform for the Lakers were not on the court for the national anthem and pre game lineup introductions, leaving the bench players who were out there to mimic as if they were the starters being announced. So the Lakers are just chilling in the locker room really caught up in this Texan Steelers game.

[Trey Kirby]

Not a good game either.

[J. Skeets]

No, that's what I'm saying. What the hell's going on here? I find this fascinating. Yeah, but yeah, I guess, I mean.

[Trey Kirby]

That'S not a serious approach to this game. I think they were going to be Able to roll over the Kings. And like Tas said, the Kings came out and were like getting easy back cuts. The Lakers were missing and it was turning into points on the other end. But it would be fun to, like, do a LeBron James impersonation before a game. If you're Jared Vanderbilt, do the chalk toss.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, if you're going to have to be LeBron, be LeBron.

[J. Skeets]

Right, right, right, right.

[Tas Melas]

And there was a reason that JJ Redick, post game said, we watched that in film today. That's how they score. So he was mad. He was mad. I guess he was mad about guys watching football. I mean, they weren't into it, that's for sure.

[Michael Scotto]

No.

[J. Skeets]

And as for the Celtics losing, I don't think that was a huge, huge upset. Even though, you know, Pacers are one of the worst teams in the league, but everybody knows they're a little bit better maybe than the record after the game from this one. Joe Missoula was asked six questions after that defeat in Indy, and to each one, crazy Joe Missoula, his answer was the exact same. Illegal screen. What was he talking about? Well, he was talking about what he thought was an illegal screen set by Siakam at the top of the three point arc into the closing seconds of this game that he sat, that he set, I guess, on Derek White, who lost his balance and then Siakam eventually went on to score. It was a hell of a shot by Siakam as he spun away his way into the lane. The banker. Yeah, but floater, banker, Missoula, illegal screen six times.

[Trey Kirby]

Celtics obviously feel some type of way about the officiating because Jaylen Brown had his piece to say. He's going to get fined, surely.

[J. Skeets]

He got fined 35, doll.

[Trey Kirby]

Jo Missoula going to get fined as well for this. And maybe he's got a little bit of a beef if it's not in the last 10 seconds. That call happens all the time.

[J. Skeets]

It was.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. The way that Derek White flops going around it like that's the Lou Dort flop that earns a call a lot. But also a great move by Siakam and, you know, smart to fudge the rules in the final 10 seconds. They'll let you get away with a lot.

[Tas Melas]

D. White. Derrick White did get back in front of Pasco.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

This is the funny part of it.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, they were chilling.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

It was like, okay, I'm, I'm burning clock here. So Derek White had a lot of time to get back. I mean, he took a shoulder and He. To the chest and he flopped. And so I guess he was worn down. I mean, he had to run a lot before he.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Had to guard a lot, I guess. Yeah, that's. It was an odd one. It's like, when are you gonna call that? It was called at the end of the women's NCAA tournament a moving screen. Oh, that was. That was a key one. This one could have been called.

[Trey Kirby]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Tas Melas]

It was a deal.

[J. Skeets]

It was a lot of, like, Siakam getting ready to, like, put the screen and he was flipping it and like, what angle he was going to come, and then he finally decides to go, and it's like it's completely being moved. It was illegal. There's no doubt. But then you're right.

[Tas Melas]

I mean, he got back, white got.

[J. Skeets]

Back, and then Siakam, you know, scored an incredible basket. Yeah, it was a nice one. Anyway, you're right. Celtics are pissed right now with these whistles.

[Tas Melas]

I thought the Jayhoff dunks were the funnest part of this game. The Pacers Jayhoff.

[Trey Kirby]

This is ridiculous.

[Tas Melas]

That guy is a reverse dunk master. He's so good at it. He doesn't do frontward dunks. I mean, I have to go to the stats, but it's like 90% reverse dunk.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I imagine this one. He's always throwing them in at the very last second. He's like a skateboarder who's just going to do. I'm doing my move and yeah, I'll throw in a kickflip here.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Right at the end. J. Huff do a kickflip. But for him, it's reverses. He had the ball, like, above the rim.

[J. Skeets]

He's.

[Tas Melas]

Why not?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, just turn around backwards. Ridiculous.

[J. Skeets]

But he played well. I'm aging myself here, but do you remember the NES game, double dribble.

[Michael Scotto]

Oh, yeah.

[J. Skeets]

I mean, we're old enough. Everybody here is old enough. A lot of younger people have no idea what I'm talking about, but they like. It was like an awesome basketball game at the time, but when you would dunk in the game, it would go. Remember, it would go to like the like. Like interstitial or whatever. Yeah. And there was the one guy that would always do the reverse. That's J. Huff double dribble guy. Hell of a dunk. All right, moving on here. Tyrese Maxey scored 33. Dwell Embiid 27 as a 76ers. Used an 8, 80 point first half to get revenge on the Raptors. 115. 102. Last night the win improved Philly to 22 and 16, fifth in the East. But FanDuel. JD I think you have this graphic has the Sixers at plus 1200 to win the conference. So below the Cavs, below the Magic. Knicks still the favorites, as you see. Pistons, Celtics, Cavs, Magic, then Philly. I want to ask you guys, up or down? Trey, get us started here on the Sixers chances to legit win the East.

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, I gotta be down on this.

[J. Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

It's the Sixers.

[Tas Melas]

Okay. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

They haven't made a conference finals with Joel Embiid, but I would say I'm more up than I've ever been on Philadelphia, and I would definitely have them above the Cavs and the Magic.

[J. Skeets]

Maybe that's how I should have asked.

[Trey Kirby]

I would have had him probably fourth after that because Celtics have caught the league by storm a little bit. I think they're kind of a curveball team for teams like Michael Scott, I was telling us. Kind of feels like Jason Tatum might be coming back. We will see. But the Sixers have been really good this season. Joel Embiid is playing. He's played in 11 of the last 15 Sixers games. He scored 20 or more in all 11 of those games. His minutes per game is going up month by month by month. The team is 5 points per 100 possessions better when he's on the court. When him and Maxi are on the court, Maxi's even better. It does feel like they could be buyers at the trade deadline if they can convince themselves that they're actually getting a run of health from Joel Embiid. They had the Clippers 20, 28 pick in their pockets of trade. They had their own future picks in either 31 or 32. They've got some Lego kind of contracts that they could throw into the mix here. I think they would kind of need more size, maybe some more consistency on the wing, but it's a big risk. Yeah, I mean, it's like how Embiid has been great. He literally looks awesome.

[J. Skeets]

He's Duncan.

[Trey Kirby]

He' Duncan right now. He's having fun. Like, he's starting to be the Joellen beat of old. It feels like there's a nice blend of the youth and the aging Paul George is just being like, good Tobias Harris. But apparently that's fine now. Like when it was Tobias Harris on a gigantic contract doing Tobias Harris stuff. Now that's Paul George. You're like, okay, that's kind of fine. I don't think the Sixers are going to win it, but I Think this has been like the most encouraging season they've had in five years where they're like exceeding expectations and a fun team rather than a complete bummer that doesn't live up to expectations. Good year already. I think for Philadelphia.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. We like to live in the moment when it comes to anything in the world, that's for sure. So maybe after we saw Joel Embiid with a fancy, fancy dunk, we get all excited. This is, yeah, the best time for the Philadelphia 76ers. But you said five years ago, I mean, we can go back literally seven years to the 2019 playoffs when Joel Embiid was sick, hurt, sick, hurt. And we're talking seven years later. And so, yes, it seems like the Sixers have played the Joel Embiid health card pretty well in that they've slow played it to start this season. They've never done that before where he's playing half the games, essentially. But how can you bet on this? Besides Maxi, who is having an incredible.

[J. Skeets]

Season, this guy is the ultimate Raptor Killer.

[Tas Melas]

He's the Raptor Killer. Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Crap. He kills the Raptors every game.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. And he's talking trash to the fans, trash to the bench.

[J. Skeets]

Elijah Martin specifically.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Because of last game.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Yes. But this was a back to back in Toronto and you could hear Scotty Barnes in his post game interview after the win, he was asked about playing Philadelphia the next night and he said, well, the big guy's going to play. It's going to be a very different game.

[J. Skeets]

Right.

[Tas Melas]

But that's who the Philadelphia 76ers are. We don't know if he's going to play. We're talking about a conference champ here. We're talking about three series for Joel Embiid to be really, really good in a. In a conference where you're going to go up against Mitchell Robinson probably like they have. There's some good matchups. Even though, you know, Embiid kicked his ass a couple of years ago. That is totally true. But beyond Maxi, who are you depending on? Rookie and Edgecomb, an injured Kelly Oubrey, Jared McCain who hasn't been fantastic this year. A lot of trendered in Watford or Paul George. I mean, yeah, playoff p. Yeah, I can't.

[Trey Kirby]

They don't know him in Philadelphia yet.

[Tas Melas]

He's gotta come to play a series where they win because that would be a Paul George move. But they ain't gonna win three. I think that's just asking. A lot of this team should be.

[J. Skeets]

Better or higher than the Cavs, than The Cavs, or they should. Maybe the Magic.

[Tas Melas]

I'm just so down on the Cavs. I'm watching them last night when the Jazz get out to. What was that, 214 start? Okay, whatever the Cavs make up for in the second quarter, then they come out of their own locker room and allow the Jazz to score seven straight possessions. And then, oh yeah, the Jazz are back in this game and they win it. They literally could have put their, their foot on the throat of the Jazz in that third quarter, but they don't have it. So that's, that's the strange part. When are they going to just turn it on? This is a good team. We saw the Pacers turn it on last year after a bad start. This is mid Jan. I mean, the Pacers started on a little. Turned it on a little earlier than this. So I don't know, it's. It's hard to believe in that team. But that's a, That's a good question. I think I'd put the Sixers odds at a little better than the Cavs, which. I don't know, maybe that's stupid. Maybe that's recency bias right there.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, maybe. Fun moment from this game. Not, you know, Raptors fans, they got waxed. I mean, this game said 115, 102. It was not even nearly that close. It was basically a 30 point drubbing. But Kyle Lowry got a rousing standing ovation when he checked in to the final, what, about two minutes of this game in Toronto? We had the, we want Lowry chance going. Nick Nurse obliged and got him in there and he had 18,000 plus going nuts for the, for the Groat, the greatest Raptor of all time. And Lowry, you know, he was there for these two games and obviously there was a lot of media attention. And I saw a clip going around. You know, they had cool Lowry sort of photos and stuff in the hallway and he's recording them all. I mean, he reiterated his plan that he eventually wants to sign a one day contract and retire with the Toronto Raptors like it's happening. And tell you what, Tess, I don't know about you, but I'll be looking into flights home for a Lowry Jersey retirement when that happens. I'd love to be there. But yeah, this was cool. This was fun and like he was living it up. Oh, yeah, his Sixers teammates were loving. I mean, he's a beloved guy. I mean, obviously the Raptors fans were going nuts because what else were they going to cheer about last night? Yeah, that was a Good moment. Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

He came out and fired away.

[Trey Kirby]

He took three shots in two minutes. I love the we want Lowry chat. Chance are going. And you can hear Devil on the broadcast. They're like, oh, yeah. Lowry hears him. He's warming up. And his warming up was like blowing on his face.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I'm sitting here for a while. He's not stretching. He's like, I'm not gonna stretch. He gets in, he checks. He's like, I'm guarding Garrett Temple.

[J. Skeets]

That guy's old, too.

[Trey Kirby]

He's not doing anything either.

[J. Skeets]

He's golfing, buddy.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, it was perfect.

[Michael Scotto]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

I was watching him stand up. I'm like, does he have a jersey on under that jacket? Like, is he planning on playing?

[J. Skeets]

He hadn't played since, like, before Christmas maybe, or very long time. He barely plays, of course.

[Tas Melas]

But Nick Nurse, their head coach, has to pull him off the the bench. Want a freaking title with him here in Toronto. You got to pull them off the bench for that moment. The hallway going into the Philadelphia's locker room, as you said, photos of Kyle Lowry. They're all digital photos. They switch them up kind of cool. I think I'd rather have put up some photos. Put up some actual photos, some hard copy.

[Trey Kirby]

That guy.

[Tas Melas]

He is the groat. Yeah, I don't know. Digital photos are cool.

[J. Skeets]

Well, I heard from Will Lou, so shout out to Will Lou. And the hello and welcome podcast the night before the game prior. The Raptors do this for everybody that returns, right? Like, if you had a say in the franchise, an assistant coach, a former player, whatever ties, they put your name up. Like, it's like a welcome back and your photos up. And like, they did everybody for game one. Like, Nick Nurse was up there. A couple other ties with Philadelphia to the Raptors, but this one was just all Lowry for the second game, which was sort of cool. Okay, I get it. They were digital photos.

[Tas Melas]

I don't know why. I don't know why that disappointed me.

[Trey Kirby]

Go analog.

[J. Skeets]

You want to go to Kinko's? Do you?

[Trey Kirby]

The Raptors got blown out so that Kyle Lowry could get this nice moment.

[J. Skeets]

Yes.

[Trey Kirby]

Well, that was very kind.

[J. Skeets]

You're welcome.

[Tas Melas]

One thing I will say about the Raptors, I know there's nothing to be excited about, but Brandon Ingram came back.

[Trey Kirby]

He did.

[Tas Melas]

And everybody does talk smack about him not playing a lot of games or just him in general. He has played 39 of the 41 games. He missed these two previous games. So he's played 39. That's a good number they're 24 and 17 midway through the season. That's all right.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. Raptors weren't on that fanduel list to win the East. What the hell? Didn't even see them.

[Trey Kirby]

Is that, Is that a more view More.

[J. Skeets]

Maybe they could have had the same record with Philly for all I know. I didn't click the more drop down menu. All right, next one here. The Heat Bulls game that was postponed last week due to condensation on the court has been rescheduled for January 29, this time in Miami. It will start a stretch of playing four games in five days for both squads and we're going to see them play three consecutive games against one another. What is this? Baseball up or down TK on the Bulls Heat playing four games in five days due to the slippery court from last week.

[Trey Kirby]

Well, I mean ultimately I'm down because this sounds like four losses for the Bulls, but I'm up for this happening because there's just like a mini mid season play in tournament here.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Whoever wins two out of these three gets the ninth seed. They got to brand this.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

In season tournament part two, this one's not brought to you by the Emirates. This one's brought to you by.

[Tas Melas]

I.

[Trey Kirby]

Don'T know, the Dutch royal family.

[J. Skeets]

All right.

[Trey Kirby]

Sorry. I just saw Victor and Rolf exhibit and they had some beautiful dresses that the princess of the Netherlands wore for Nice. For her wedding.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, really, really beautiful. Okay, well, they're sponsoring. This is so weird. It's weird.

[Trey Kirby]

This is really weird. I guess there's no other way to squeeze it in with regards to travel and this kind of stuff. There is only a game and a half between the 18 seed heat and the 10th seed bulls right now. So these games are actually going to matter these three games. It's hard to beat a team three times, period. Playing three times in four days, basically. That's nuts.

[J. Skeets]

And the, you know, the weather in Chicago and the ice under the, under the floor costing the Bulls a home game here. Yeah. Too. I mean I, I don't want to gloss over that like this was in Chicago. It won't be now. It'll be in Miami. But are you up or down here on the four and five nights and, and the three straight, I guess, baseball series.

[Tas Melas]

Well, I'm up on it being that this is something different exciting for us. Second thing, they did reduce the amount of flight just because they are back to backs in the same city. But I'm down on not having found the sponsor quite yet. I mean the, the. The princess from Netherlands and her dress. Maybe we got.

[J. Skeets]

We can work on that.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, we got to. Got to. I like the international angle for sure. This is a global game.

[Trey Kirby]

Which cruise line does Mickey Arison own?

[J. Skeets]

Like carnival.

[Trey Kirby]

He's a carnival guy.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Okay, maybe that could be as well because you know, this is getting to be like spring break almost time. A little early for spring break, but sure. Get a sponsor.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, we're saying.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, get a three game tournament.

[J. Skeets]

Well, well, Kelly Dwyer, I saw he thinks this is lame. So I guess he would be down in the up down report here. He said should have rescheduled this, but after the season, before the play in April 13, these two teams will end up there anyway. Why not extend the intrigue? Bulls are going to need all 82 anyway. I like it. I don't mind that idea too. Just put it right at the end. Get us ready for the play in by having them basically play a play in for the play in.

[Tas Melas]

I hear what Kelly is saying. The argument against it is one of those teams going to be really warmed for the play in because they play. I think one of the crappy parts about the end of the season is you get these four, four days off. Five, hold on. It's Monday to Friday that teams have off that are just going directly to the playoffs. Right. They play the last regular season game on Sunday and then they play their first playoff game either Saturday or Sunday. So they have five or six days off. That stinks. If you play the Bulls or the Miami Heat play, they get warm, baby. So that. I think that's a, that's. That would be a huge advantage for them.

[J. Skeets]

Okay. Huge. And then I did say because of Hollinger. I thought it was going to be rescheduled right before the All Star break. But then we learned they would have to get the clearance the union, because it'd be cutting into their holiday break. So maybe they couldn't for all we know.

[Tas Melas]

I mean, that's players union.

[J. Skeets]

They definitely could have said, nah, we're not doing that.

[Tas Melas]

We got to get Fred on the call. Fred is the president of the players union.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, Fred Van Vliet.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

I didn't know Fred Katz was who.

[Tas Melas]

You were talking about. No cats.

[J. Skeets]

How many friends do you know?

[Tas Melas]

Six to seven hundred, I'd say.

[Trey Kirby]

No, how many Fred Famous friends.

[J. Skeets]

How many friends do you have in your phone?

[Tas Melas]

The name Fred, it's, it's reducing.

[J. Skeets]

You don't see a lot of baby Freds.

[Trey Kirby]

You don't see a lot of baby Freds.

[Michael Scotto]

No.

[J. Skeets]

It's just a shame. You got two Freds in your phone. Who do you have? Cats, of course.

[Trey Kirby]

And then a guy whose name is Fred Leslie. I don't think he's watching right now, but we stayed in his Airbnb in 2014.

[J. Skeets]

Okay. I want to check how many friends he had.

[Trey Kirby]

A cat named Grandpa Chili Pepper is the biggest cat I ever saw. It was so friendly. Fred Leslie, he played, played in the softball league in San Francisco.

[J. Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

He had a horny calendar.

[J. Skeets]

We're learning a lot about.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I'm doing as much Fred tap.

[J. Skeets]

Dancing as I possibly got. No Fred. I have no friends. But I do have a friend in my family.

[Trey Kirby]

I got no friends to hold me down.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, you got friends.

[Tas Melas]

I got a cat. My brother in law is named Frederick. Does that count? He does today. Now I've got this one. Now I get my emails attached to this, so I got plenty of Fred email addresses. Not going to show them here, but I'm going to get Fred Van Vliet's phone number and get him on the show.

[J. Skeets]

All right.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, we got to get Fred on.

[J. Skeets]

Love it. Can't wait to talk to Fred. Final one here in the up down report. LeBron James started wearing a special edition 23rd season jersey patch last night in Sacramento, the city where he began his legendary career back in 03. The patches will be removed from his jersey after each game and then some will be placed into ultra rare Topps trading cards. So there's a look at the patch for everybody on YouTube. It's a silhouette of LeBron's pregame chalk toss. And you got, you got four colored stripes representing the franchises he's played for. I saw people saying three, but you can see there, those are two Reds guys obviously played for Cleveland, Miami and la. So it goes Cleveland, Miami, back to Cleveland is the other red and then LA, obviously the yellow up or down. On LeBron's special edition 23rd season jersey.

[Tas Melas]

Patch, I am both up and down. I am up on celebrating this man who has played the most seasons in the NBA's history. Of course I'm up on that. I know people are angry about that just because they're LeBron haters, I suppose. But if somebody is friggin old and doing well, like somebody gets to 100 years old, we celebrate them. We should admire them, we should celebrate them. That being said, I'm kind of down on this going on for the rest of the season. Like it starts now.

[J. Skeets]

Why did it start now is the weirdest part.

[Tas Melas]

I mean, the one game in Sacramento. Okay, that's that. Just retire it. That's it. Just make it one moment, one game, one patch that they stick in a pack of cards.

[J. Skeets]

How you gonna sell all those boxes of Tops trading cards if there's only one? Well, I think that's how they want.

[Tas Melas]

That's the way.

[J. Skeets]

Or whatever is left.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, but that's the way you make it a little more prestigious. It's just one.

[J. Skeets]

Sure, yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

101.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tas Melas]

It's a limited edition. You started now for the rest of the season. I mean, that's. That's kind of lame. I just didn't really like that part of it.

[J. Skeets]

But is this LeBron's last season? It's where my mind immediately went.

[Trey Kirby]

That's a big question, right?

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, it's definitely changing.

[J. Skeets]

Anything to do with that? This could just be a tops move. And LeBron's like, yeah, I'll do it. How much? I'll throw these on.

[Trey Kirby]

That's what it is.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Why else would this start halfway through the season? They're putting a LeBron patch on a LeBron jersey just so they can take it off and sell it.

[J. Skeets]

Yep, yep.

[Trey Kirby]

So I'm down.

[J. Skeets]

You're down.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

What do you think of the patch itself, too?

[Trey Kirby]

That's fine.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, it's okay.

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, I like the silhouette.

[Michael Scotto]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Okay. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I like the chalk toss.

[Tas Melas]

Are we supportive of the Sacramento Kings tweet after they beat them? They tweeted, bad day to be a jersey patch debut with that. With a little smiley face and the. The two arrows. I don't know why the two arrows? I don't really get it. I mean, the double arrow going left and right. I don't. I don't really get that. But anyway.

[Trey Kirby]

You mean the eyes?

[Tas Melas]

No, this. This arrow. This arrow. What's up with that?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, interesting.

[Tas Melas]

I don't know.

[Trey Kirby]

Maybe that means patch. LeBron is 30 games from passing Robert Parrish for most games played of all time.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

You think they'll do a patch for him?

[J. Skeets]

I mean. Yeah, I do, too.

[Trey Kirby]

He's got to deal with fanatics. Who owns Tops?

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, that's right. That's right. Poor, poor Lakers equipment manager, though. I guess he is. He or she is tasked with taking off the patch and then shipping it to the Topps production facility in Dallas for them to then put in the.

[Trey Kirby]

Cards and to be authentic.

[J. Skeets]

So somebody just got something added to their, what, I assume already very busy schedule after a game, getting the jerseys, cleaning the jerseys, getting everything in order for the Next game. Are we traveling? Are we not? Now you gotta like. I gotta sit down. Take this patch off.

[Michael Scotto]

Take this patch off.

[J. Skeets]

Otherwise it's all crumbly up.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. Washing machine. It's like you leave a napkin in your pocket, it's all over the place.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, it's rough. Yeah. Always check your pockets.

[Trey Kirby]

Always check your pockets.

[J. Skeets]

You know, pull them out.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Get the pockets cleaner.

[Tas Melas]

I had a piece of Lego in my pocket this morning when I was working out.

[J. Skeets]

It's like, where did that come from? You just picked it up when you saw it in the house. Probably.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, exactly. But then it stuck in there after.

[J. Skeets]

A wash. What piece?

[Tas Melas]

I couldn't even. I couldn't even describe it. It sort of looked like a little sombrero. Kind of like that piece. I don't know. It wasn't a hat. No, it's just like it looked. It kind of jetted out a little bit anyways. Okay, but the one I didn't realize that they had. The rookies had a debut patch on the uniforms for the first game.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, that was pretty cool. They were like one game. No, it was for. Oh, the rookies. Yeah, rookies maybe had thing. And then the award winners did too, like SGA as mvp, Mobley as defensive player of the year. And I think Castle is rookie of the year. They had like gold. I guess it was the NBA logo, like on the back of your jersey. But they only did that once, I think. So That's a one on one.

[Tas Melas]

That's what they should have done with Bron.

[Michael Scotto]

Bron.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, but they're making bucks. Bucks. Yeah, I guess.

[J. Skeets]

But I am with you. It's almost like you should have just waited until he passes Robert Parrish for most games played. Put that patch up.

[Tas Melas]

Sure.

[J. Skeets]

Put that in a card. Okay, now we're talking. Let's hear whether or not you're up or down.

[Trey Kirby]

Do you think he's retiring?

[J. Skeets]

I do. I have him on record saying he is.

[Trey Kirby]

You think this is his last season?

[Tas Melas]

I don't. I'm giving him another.

[Michael Scotto]

He's.

[Tas Melas]

He's too good when he plays. I think he's. I think he's holding on.

[J. Skeets]

I think the biggest reason for him probably playing another season is more patches. More patches, more fanfare. Love me, shower me in praise. I mean, that's fair. That's a good counter. Argue to me thinking that this maybe is done.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. It would be surprising if LeBron doesn't celebrate every one of his 82 games.

[J. Skeets]

Or like every road game at the very exact.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Doesn't he want gifts? You don't want any gifts? Maybe he doesn't want to deal with them. What am I gonna do with this? I don't want a rocking chair.

[Trey Kirby]

I literally can't imagine LeBron sitting in a rocking chair. It seems incongruous to me.

[J. Skeets]

Okay, that's the updated report. Let's get to the night sponsored by frequent stream teamer John Horn. In fact, in honor of John, let's check the temperature in Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, today. Ooh, cloudy, chance of rain. Maybe a little drizzle later. About 10 degrees Celsius, though sort of mild. It's like 50 Fahrenheit for you Americans. So not too, too bad. But John Horn, thank you for sponsoring mo boy. So it's hornboy of the night goes to Luka Doncic in a loss. Doesn't matter with Woboy or hornboy. He scored a game high 42 points. Luca did shooting 16 of 24, five from the field, 8 of 8 at the line, seven boards, eight assists, four steals in 37 minutes. John Horn, you ever been to. You have. I've been there with you. Have you ever been to Victoria, British Columbia? Trey Kirby?

[Trey Kirby]

No, I've only been to Vancouver, British Columbia.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, you're close.

[Trey Kirby]

Beautiful though.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, geez. Victoria.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Gorgeous city. I was there with you for Thoady's bachelor party like a million years ago. Right.

[Tas Melas]

What's the thing you remember about Victoria bc?

[J. Skeets]

I mean, I remember just getting on the boat.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

I mean, that was the coolest part. The actual city. I remember walking like it wasn't huge. We were down by the water. I remember that. It was amazing.

[Tas Melas]

Oh, it's beautiful. I remember the disc golf course.

[J. Skeets]

That was.

[Tas Melas]

Of course. Yeah, but that was.

[J. Skeets]

That wasn't in Victoria. We were on some island because we were island hopping on the boat. I'm pretty sure we may have been on Salt Spring Island. Don't quote me on that. Don't quote me on that. But I don't think we were. Yeah, yeah. We were on some island because we.

[Tas Melas]

Stayed in the lake. It up.

[J. Skeets]

Beautiful.

[Trey Kirby]

This is like a boating city.

[J. Skeets]

Yes.

[Trey Kirby]

You know what I'm saying? Like people go there for the outdoorsy ness of it.

[Tas Melas]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Love it.

[Tas Melas]

But Victoria is on Vancouver Island.

[J. Skeets]

It's. Yeah, but didn't we took the boat to another island. Yeah, I think that.

[Tas Melas]

Where they just have a disc golf course.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Tbd.

[J. Skeets]

We need a sodium. Let us know. Paul, I know you're listening. Let us know. He was there. Who else was there? Gris doesn't remember.

[Tas Melas]

I think I'm done with disc golf. I think that's the best course I'll ever play on. I mean, we're in treat. We're living.

[J. Skeets]

This was a forest. This was amazing.

[Tas Melas]

It was spectacular. Our friend Ken was literally walking around a forest barefoot, playing disc golf because he's a crazy man. Tosses off his flip flops and just walks around and bare feet.

[J. Skeets]

But we were losing discs because this is how forested it was. Oh, yeah. Like, this isn't like you're seeing in a park here in Atlanta or other places. This is the forest. T.K. you love this, man.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. Like I said, my one experience is being in Vancouver. My one British Columbia experience. It was great. Great city.

[J. Skeets]

Oh.

[Trey Kirby]

Love walking around it.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, it's gorgeous. It is really gorgeous. Except it rains a lot. I guess that's the one downfall.

[Trey Kirby]

Pacific Northwest. They'll get you. We've had the bone boy and the horn boy so far this week. You think I should call my guy Fred Leslie and see if he wants to get the sexy boy?

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, sure.

[Trey Kirby]

Sure.

[J. Skeets]

For the right price.

[Tas Melas]

Next. Next endorser is going to be Sandra Tan, one of our. Our fans. Because he's been asking literally for two years and 10 months and now three days of not having a disc golf podcast started.

[J. Skeets]

God, I just remembered that he comments every day.

[Michael Scotto]

Every single.

[Tas Melas]

That was the most.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. Like minutes. About disc golf.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

What?

[J. Skeets]

No. What's he want to call it too? He always says no chains, no scoobs. No scoobs. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You haven't played disc golf since time we played in the forest.

[Tas Melas]

That's a one of one as well.

[J. Skeets]

How many years ago are we talking? Like 18. Oh, my God.

[Tas Melas]

Hold on. Wow.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Wow. Wow. Yeah. I don't Just don't want to. I don't know.

[J. Skeets]

It won't live up to it. You're right. We were spoiled. We played the greatest. I'm convinced we played the greatest disc golf course in the world. First time ever. Then you can't play after that.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Imagine golfing your first 18 on Augusta.

[J. Skeets]

That's exactly right. That's exactly right. Okay. Pick them tonight. It's Tuesday night here. We got a good one tasks because these two teams do not like each other.

[Tas Melas]

There okc hosting the San Antonio Spurs. They are favored by eight and a half. Saw that big number of eight added a little 0.5 because we can never push. I thought that was huge considering the spurs are freaking 30 against the OKC Thunder. So it's a little surprised. Keats, you took OKC along with me. Trey comfortable riding with the spurs to lose by eight or less. Points still cover.

[Michael Scotto]

Chunky.

[Tas Melas]

Very chunky.

[J. Skeets]

Bit of a weird line.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, because I just feel like this is OKC's NBA Finals right now. I mean, they gotta. They gotta make up for those three losses. Yeah. But they have not been playing anywhere close to themselves. But that's why they haven't been playing well, because this is their finals. They've been waiting for this moment. We'll see.

[J. Skeets]

What do you got? Chad Holmgren. Let's see how chat bounces back or doesn't. Versus Wemby and the spurs here tonight. Eight and a half. Trey's got a lot of points to play with as the road dog there, but we need the Thunder to win by nine or more. Nice poll you had going there. How many Freds in your phone?

[Trey Kirby]

How many Freds are in your phone?

[J. Skeets]

Share the results.

[Trey Kirby]

Let me scroll back here. I mean, no surprise, 83% of people have zero Freds in their phone.

[J. Skeets]

That's a shame.

[Trey Kirby]

Also, zero percent of people have two friends in their.

[J. Skeets]

One friend or a whole lot of friends in your life. No, in between 13 for 1 and.

[Trey Kirby]

4% of people have three or more friends. And that's got to be like a family name. Family, friends. Family of friends.

[J. Skeets]

What do you call a flock of friends?

[Trey Kirby]

Fred heads. Those are the fans of Freds.

[Tas Melas]

Actually, the ironic part about the Fred that's in all of our phones is that he's not even a Fred. His actual name is Matthew.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, he's a fake Fred.

[Tas Melas]

Big friend.

[J. Skeets]

Cat's name is not Fred. Matthew.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Spoiler.

[J. Skeets]

He's a Fred to me. I think he really owns being a Fred. Like I think he feels like a Fred to me. Big Fred more than a math. Maybe because we. There's too many Matthews in our lives.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes.

[Michael Scotto]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

How many.

[Trey Kirby]

How many mats you got in your phone? You could be 10 plus.

[J. Skeets]

I have a second phone just for mat. All right, guys, thank you so much for joining us. We're back tomorrow at 10am Eastern live from the Classic Factory. Hope to see you in the stream team. If not, hope to see you watching later or listening to the podcast. Hit the like button. Subscribe five star ratings and reviews. Big thanks to Michael Scotto of hoops hype for coming on and going through the latest NBA buzz trade rumors. The intel that he's hearing. Thanks to Michael for that. Hope to have him on as we move forward here. Till tomorrow, Clipper bros. You heard it here first.

[Michael Scotto]

Have a great time. Turn up. Love you guys.

[Trey Kirby]

Awesome.

[Tas Melas]

Thanks for joining us. And remember, Michael Scotto has a Scotto tatto following. Apparently, in our stream team, people are saying they are Scotto tados. I don't know. I don't know what I what I define a toto as, but still with the here in the stream team, said, I'm one of Scotto's tottos. Where's my computer?

[J. Skeets]

I don't know what you're saying.

[Trey Kirby]

Scott's tots.

[Tas Melas]

Oh, Scott's tots.

[J. Skeets]

You think it was good for Michael Scotto's career? The American version of the Office? Yeah, I do, too. I should have asked him.

[Trey Kirby]

Rising tide lifts all boats.

[J. Skeets]

Embrace the day, people table. This is an iHeart podcast.

[Michael Scotto]

Guaranteed Human.