Six Burning Questions | 2025-26 NBA Season Preview

Summary

No Dunks – Six Burning Questions: 2025–26 NBA Season Preview

Podcast: No Dunks (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: JD Skeets, Tas Melas, Trey Kirby, JD (Super Producer)
Date: October 17, 2025
Episode Theme:
A wide-ranging, fun, and insightful season preview built around six “burning questions” for the 2025–26 NBA season. The hosts debate which players and teams have the most to prove, the stars most likely to be traded, breakout “under the radar” contributors, bold statistical forecasts, potential disappointments, and, ultimately, their Finals picks—with plenty of laughs and authentic No Dunks camaraderie.

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Episode Overview

The crew uses its annual "burning questions" format to preview the new season, looking at pressure points across the NBA. This year, there are six burning questions, focusing on:

• Players with the most to prove
• Under-the-radar X-factors
• First player to hit 50 points in a game
• Most likely team to disappoint
• First key player traded
• Finals predictions

The episode also dives into Malcolm Brogdon's surprise retirement, Russell Westbrook's next stop, notable contract extensions, and wraps with a classic, off-the-rails rapid-fire segment.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Which Player Has the Most to Prove This Season?

Trey Kirby (06:39):

• Trae Young is in the ultimate "put up or shut up" year:
  • “It’s now or never… This is the best team we’ve seen built around him.”
  • Atlanta has not offered a pre-season extension; the team will "see how it goes."
  • Young enters with a player option for next season and could hit free agency.
  • “They should be a top four team in the East… This is a team that thinks they’ve got a chance at the conference finals. So a lot of that is on Trae Young’s shoulders.”
  • If it doesn’t work, “this is the end of the Trae Young experience with the Hawks.”
• Miles Turner (Taz, 12:40) as critical in Milwaukee:
  • “His play is important to Giannis' future in Milwaukee… If the Bucks don’t win a playoff series, this could be it.”
  • He must lighten Giannis’ offensive and defensive load, “be a great locker room guy,” and help keep the team together.
• Joel Embiid (JD, 15:25):
  • “What can he prove? That he can play—I guess that would be awesome, 2/3 of the season.”
• Donovan Mitchell (16:04):
  • “Only one on the 60+ playoff games, 28+ PPG list to not make the conference finals… he needs a playoff run.”
  • “He’s the leader of the team and he’s kind of ducked the allegations… This has to happen this season.”

Other Big Names:

• Ja Morant: Needs to bounce back after a down year and drama.
• Zion Williamson (19:35): “If they’re going to be any good, he has to play games. It feels like this is it.”

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2. Under the Radar Player With Big Impact Potential

Framing: Not an All-Star or league-wide star—the guys that could swing a season as X-factors.

Taz (22:42): Reed Sheppard (Houston Rockets)

• Stepping into the Fred VanVleet void as main PG
• “He was in the shadows last season, and now he’s going to be starting. They need him to make threes and just be like a league-average starting point guard.”

Trey (25:07): DeAndre Ayton (Lakers)

• “The nicest thing anyone said about Ayton this offseason is ‘he’s better than Jackson Hayes.’”
• On a team that needs defense and rebounding: “He’s their main defensive anchor… It’s kind of a last chance saloon for DeAndre Ayton.”
• Wild stat: “He averaged 0.13 free throw attempts per FGA last season… Only Al Horford was lower among centers.”

JD (31:04): Terrence Shannon Jr. (Wolves)

• “With Nikhil Alexander-Walker gone, Minnesota’s hoping Shannon can take that leap… He’s shown flashes of brilliance.”

Expanded Bucks X-Factor Group (JD, 31:04):

• Kevin Porter Jr., AJ Green, Ryan Rollins, Cole Anthony—“They need at least two of these perimeter guys to pop for the Bucks to have success.”

Other Mentions:

• Rob Dillingham (Wolves), D’Angelo Russell (Dallas)

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3. First Player to Score 50 Points in a Game

Historical Recap:

• Last year's first 50-point game: Paolo Banchero (Oct 28, vs Pacers, 22 FTA).
• 13 different players dropped 50+ last season.

Predictions:

• Trey (36:42): Giannis Antetokounmpo, early mark vs Wizards
  • “Wizards stink on defense… He’s got a chip on his shoulder… Give me Giannis very early.”
• Taz (37:32): Luka Doncic
  • “He didn’t have a 50-point game last season. He’s going to lead the league in scoring.”
• JD (38:17): Victor Wembanyama
  • “Why not be the first this year?… I like the bet for him to hit 55+ at +500.”

Fun Wemby Stat-Odds Segment (39:03):

• Wemby to get a five-by-five: +290, “seems like too good of odds.”
• Would a “six by five” (incl. 3s): “+1200, I’m putting cheddar on that!”

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4. Most Likely to Disappoint

Trey (42:54): Detroit Pistons

• “I don’t like the start of the season—Jaden Ivey missing time, they’re counting on a lot of young guys to step up, like Ron Holland.”
• General Western/Eastern disappointment candidates:
  • Magic, Hawks, Pistons, Raptors (Tas: “Is it the same old Raps one more time?”).
  • JD muses about the Lakers: “What if 30 games in, Dallas has the same or better record as the Lakers? Could LA disappoint?”

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5. First Key Player Traded

Taz (49:50):

• A Miami Heat trade is looming—could be Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, but “Pat Riley knows, if it’s not going well, he has to shake it up.”

Trey (50:13):

• Jonathan Kuminga: “They basically signed him to trade him; I think he’ll be gone.”
• Lauri Markkanen: Fits don’t align with Jazz timeline; several contenders interested.

JD (51:00):

• Sacramento’s Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan—“Their on-court stats are brutal, especially defensively. Do the Kings move one or both?”

Bonus: RJ Barrett (Raptors)—contract/fit issues.

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6. Finals Prediction, MVP Pick

Consensus:

• Thunder, Nuggets, Knicks, Cavs are the consensus “tier” for the season.
• Taz: “Denver over New York Knicks; Jokic Finals MVP.” (52:47)
• Trey & JD: “Thunder over Knicks” (53:35, 53:58).
  • “We’re in the greatest run of parity in league history… Could the streak continue? Maybe—Wolves, Rockets, or an eastern team.”
  • “Would you take Thunder or the field in the West? Cavs/Knicks or field in the East?” (56:56)

Noted: No one picks an east team to win (“Is anyone in the media?”), although Kevin Pelton's 620th simulation spat out Magic over Warriors (55:02).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trae Young’s pressure (Trey, 06:39):

  "If Trae Young goes down with an injury or shoots 33% from three, the Hawks aren’t really going to do anything… But they should be a top four team in the East. There’s a lot of hope, a lot of optimism for the Hawks right now—before the season actually starts."

• On DeAndre Ayton as a “last chance” (Trey, 25:07):

  “It’s kind of a last chance saloon for DeAndre Ayton. Prove to us why you were the number one draft pick over your teammate Luka Doncic.”

• On playoff pressure for Donovan Mitchell (JD, 16:07):

  “The only one on the LeBron, Jordan, KD, Allen Iverson… Donovan Mitchell list to never make a conference finals.”

• Odds Talk—Wemby’s Quadruple Double Potential (JD, 39:57):

  “Wemby to record a six by five in any game—points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, threes made—plus 1200. I’m putting a little cheddar on that!”

• Rapid Fire, NBA White Boy of the Year (80:59):

  JD: “Off the court—my man Rob Mahoney. White Boy of the Year. He’s the NBA pundit I most listen to.”

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Key NBA News (61:44–76:34)

Malcolm Brogdon Retires

• Surprise retirement after nine NBA seasons.
  • “He only had two seasons of 65+ games. I was shocked how banged up EVERY year he was.” (JD, 64:54)
  • “Future answer to trivia: He and Mike Miller are the only Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year winners.” (JD, 63:51)

Russell Westbrook Signs with Kings

• 18th season, joining Sacramento on a 1-year deal.
  • “The Kings don’t need Russell Westbrook at all. This is a want, not a need… He’ll help on the boards, play fast, but he’s been semi-unplayable in the playoffs.” (Trey, 67:35–69:05)

Contract Extensions & Roster Moves

• Keegan Murray (Kings): 5 years, $140 million—“He needs to show he can do more than just shoot threes and be the best defender on a bad defensive team.” (Trey, 72:15)
• AJ Green (Bucks): 4 years, $45 million—“Being a good shooter is like being a seven-footer in the ‘80s. Make 40% of your threes, play 10 years, make $10M/year.” (Trey, 74:41)

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Rapid Fire: Highlights & Fun Moments (78:54–end)

• NBA’s “White Boy of the Year” (Timothée Chalamet got Ant Edwards’s real one online):

  • Taz: T.J. McConnell (Pacers) for his energy and close-up appeal.
  • Trey: Cooper Flagg, “He’s bringing goatees back.”
  • JD: Rob Mahoney, for NBA punditry and prestige TV takes.

• Cringiest Thing Lately:

  • Taz: “Eating boiled peanuts—texture, lack of salt, never again.”
  • JD: “Accidentally ended up at a frat house tailgate supporting my son. Pure cringe being the oldest there.”
  • Trey: Adults referencing “6-7” or mimicking “skibidi”—“Leave that stuff to kids!”

• Hand Signals & Gen Z Lingo:

  • Trey: Struggles with hand signs like “heart hands” and the changing meaning of the three-finger sign.
  • Taz: “It took me a while to get used to saying ‘dope.’ But dope is, well, dope.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [06:13] Six Burning Questions Format Begins
• [06:39] Player With Most to Prove
• [22:20] Under-the-Radar, X-Factor Players
• [34:48] First to 50-Point Game Segment
• [42:45] Which Team Will Disappoint
• [49:41] First Key Player to be Traded
• [52:47] Finals Picks & Parity Discussion
• [61:44] NBA News: Brogdon, Westbrook, Contract Extensions
• [78:54] Rapid Fire (NBA White Boy, Cringiest Thing, Gen Z Trends)

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Tone & Style

Vibrant, conversational, playful. Hosts mix candid basketball analysis with running in-jokes, pop culture references, rapid-fire debates, and authentic banter.

“Is anyone in the media picking an east team to win the title?”
“That’s simulation #620 right there—Magic over Warriors.”
“We’re in the greatest run of parity in league history. It’s awesome.”

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In Summary: Must-Know Season Storylines from No Dunks

• The stakes for Trae Young and the Hawks have never been higher.
• Under-the-radar role players could tip the balance on true contenders.
• Parity reigns—but the Thunder and Nuggets are a cut above.
• Big personalities like Westbrook and Ayton have reputations (and careers) on the line.
• Contract extensions for shooters keep the paydays rolling.
• The NBA’s fun is in its unpredictability—and the No Dunks crew is here for the ride.

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For more, catch all the inside jokes and spontaneous laughter on YouTube or your favorite podcast app.

Transcript

[Taz Melas]

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[JD Skeets]

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[JD Skeets]

Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast. It's Friday, October 17, 2025. This is the drop. Sure, let's call it the Drop. I'm JD Skeets here in the classic factory and alongside me as always, Taz Melas.

[Taz Melas]

Podcast listeners, the drop is for you.

[JD Skeets]

Next to me, him. Sorry my mic got hit earlier.

[Taz Melas]

Discombobulated me.

[JD Skeets]

My top shot hot boy, Trey Kirby Ayo. Hey. And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer JD oh yeah, yeah, there I am. Hello, hello, yeah.

[Taz Melas]

Podcast listeners, this is for you on today's show.

[JD Skeets]

It definitely is for you this one. On today's show, we're going to touch on the latest NBA news. Brogdon Westbrook, some extension talk. We're going to continue our season preview series by answering some burning questions. And we'll end with some rapid fire fun. That's why we're calling it the Drop.

[Taz Melas]

Okay, yes, absolutely.

[JD Skeets]

It's been a while since we've had some rapid fire fun. But first, I guess it's official. We're now on Substack. That's right. As many of you know, no Dunks has gone independent this season. So we're sort of on our own that we have some big news coming on Monday's pod. But because we're independent, we've decided to start a no Dunks substack page for the first time ever to have like a home base for a bunch of weird and random ideas that we've always wanted to try. We already have Tas sharing his Blue Jays thoughts on the Substack page. We're going to have a weekly what we like recommendations post. First one goes live today. TK that's right. We're going to plan on dissecting old content that we've done over the last 20 years. We'll scour the chat for beach stepping questions, things of that nature. Figured this was a great way for us to sort of spitball test run, I guess, new ideas. And if you want a way for you, the viewer, the listener to support us as a brand right now, five bucks a month. That's it. And even better than that, $50 a year for a subscription. Save a couple months there. And for the absolute sicko of sickos, we got the tier called Founding members. That's a one time $250 purchase which is going to unlock exclusive thank you videos and the ability to have your names in the show credits and merch and stuff like that. That's again, that's for the Sickos and there are sickos out there. Thank you so much to everybody that's already done that or subscribed to the monthly or yearly subscription. You can also just sign up and you'll see the free content that we share as well. Link is in the show notes, so hit it.

[Trey Kirby]

Do it.

[JD Skeets]

Anything to add?

[Taz Melas]

Do it. I've loved how people are already jumping in, chiming in already. It's been great for the first couple days. Although I will have one little complaint about Substack. I recorded that Blue Jays take after them tying the ALCS and they cut off the first 10, 15, 20 seconds of my video. Maybe it was 30 seconds. I had three questions to start that video. I was doing the whips like the Blue jays for like 20 seconds. I was asking if Max Scherzer is the coolest, coolest 41 year old in the world if the Blue Jays are going to the World Series, if cooler temperatures mean baseball players spit less.

[JD Skeets]

But it got cut off.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, it got cut off.

[Taz Melas]

It just chopped it. Anyway, Blue Jays are great and I'm enjoying Substack. So I talk About Blue Jays JD's got a blue Jays hat on right now.

[Trey Kirby]

Just one hat, though.

[Taz Melas]

What do you mean, just one hat?

[Trey Kirby]

Well, you were wearing two hats in your.

[JD Skeets]

What was that about?

[Taz Melas]

I came, I finished a workout, I had a backwards hat on, and I just didn't want to take it out. So. With the Blue Jays hat on top of it.

[JD Skeets]

See, this is the type of crazy contact you're getting on our crazy page.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, I was gonna walk around the gym and just record myself handheld with a double hat.

[JD Skeets]

Recording in the gym?

[Taz Melas]

Too loud? No, it was outside the gym. But anyway, because I was. I was talking about the beautiful conditions of the ALCs. It was beautiful outside. I thought it was all tying in. Anyway, moving on.

[JD Skeets]

Why don't you set up the camera? Show us what you're squatting. Nowadays, I don't squat a lot. Oh, okay.

[Trey Kirby]

Oh, I'm not a player.

[Taz Melas]

Nice.

[JD Skeets]

Anyways, sincerely, thank you to everybody that's already either just signed up for the free subscription on Substack or the paid subscription or these founding members, which we're obviously going to start to incorporate into the end of the show moving forward. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We've had a lot of people over the years like, hey, how can I support you guys? This is a good way. Yep. If you want to after. What are we at year 20 here of a whole bunch of content. And let's continue it with six burning questions. Jd. Oh, yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Do you wanna rock? We're rocking hard.

[JD Skeets]

Okay, Six burning questions. I know what you're thinking. Wasn't it seven last year? We got a lot to talk about. All right, first one here, though. Which player has the most to prove this season? Who wants to get us started with this one? You got a good.

[Taz Melas]

I do, I do. But I just babbled about baseball and spitting.

[JD Skeets]

Spitting. All right, tku. Spit.

[Trey Kirby]

All right, nice. Let's talk about Trey Young. It's now or never. Big shout out to my guy, Elvis. Year eight for Trey Young. He's won two playoff series. They came in the same year, 20, 21. Nothing since. No extension. They've kind of agreed on that with the Atlanta Hawks. He's got a player option for next season or he can become an unrestricted free agent. This is the best team we've seen from a construction standpoint, at least around Trey Young. They put shooters around him. They've got length on defense. They've got a lot of depth. They got big guys. You know, Porzingis as a starter. Anaka Kongwu could be a starter on a lot of different teams. Even Luke Canard is like a decent rotation player that they brought in towards the end of the season. So the team has beefed up. We've talked about them for years being a 41 and 41 team. They had that crazy stretch where they were never a game or below.500. And if they get to.500 this year, that's a disappointing season for the Hawks. So I think it's all on Trae Young. The guy is an all NBA level talent. He's one of the best offensive players in the league. He's going to be at the top of the assist board this season. Even though there's a lot more scoring talent around in Atlanta. So he's got the opportunity to play his best style of basketball. He has to give a little bit of an effort on the defensive end. I thought he did that last year. I thought he was more unselfish last year. It was the best team version of Trae Young that we've seen. Now they need him to be the number one guy and a great teammate. And even if he's the weak link on defense, don't be that weak of a link. So there's a lot of hope, a lot of optimism for the Hawks. Great time to be a Hawks fan right now. Before the season has actually started, they just got to perform. And it comes down to Trey Young most realistically because the other guys are good. But if Trey Young goes down with an injury, if he has a down season, if he shoots 33% from three, the Hawks aren't really going to do anything. But they should be a top four team in the East. They should at least be thinking they're going to win a playoff series. And I know that they have hope for something more than just getting into the playoffs, winning one series and then getting bounced. This is a team that certainly thinks they've got a chance at the conference finals. So a lot of that is on Trey Young's shoulders. If he's able to play and play well this season, he gets a big time contract.

[JD Skeets]

Right. Were you shocked at all that they have basically, like Trey said, that Trey, our Trey, that the Hawks and Ice Trey are not going to agree here to a contract extension before the start of this regular season and sort of play it out and see how it goes. Were you shocked that they didn't do it?

[Taz Melas]

I think from Auntie Saleh's seat in the front office of the Atlanta Hawks, it makes sense just to see not only what Trey is going to do, just and the entire roster is going to do. And so I think it's important that they, they play it for a year. I don't think, I don't think it's a shock. I think it's smart. Right. To see what they can do. Yes. Depending. It sort of depends on the chemistry that everybody has. But yeah, I think Aniselle is being smart. Even with all these transactions like Kristaps Porzingis is just signed for one more deal. I don't think they have really committed for a long term period. So I think giving Trey a ton of money would just. Just kind of cripple you a little bit. So that's, that's a smart thing. I'm looking forward to Trey just passing to everybody. The good thing about Trey is even if he isn't having super efficient numbers out there like last year, not a super efficient season. But now with all this talent around him and hopefully a healthy Jalen Johnson, he doesn't have to be all that efficient, really. It's about him assisting and being an average defensive player because the defense is so good around him.

[JD Skeets]

It's important to note that Trey Young will still be eligible to extend with the Hawks just because it's not going to happen before the start of the regular season. He is set to make $46 million this season. He has a $49 million player option in 2627. So if he declines that option, Young would become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. But yeah, they're going to play it out. I'm already on record here. I'm agreeing with you, Trey, like Trey Young, this has to work. And if it doesn't, I think this is the end of the Trae Young experience with the Atlanta Hawks. And what does making it work mean? Yeah, probably at least top five. You'd love to see home court advantage, a playoff series win or two. A stepping stone here to like being a competent franchise again. Because if they're 500 or below, then it's, then it's over. And then you, I think, have at least determined here in Atlanta. He can never be sort of the lead guy to take a sort of far and then you maybe move off of him. But that's, you know, depending on how they play.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. And I think the rest of the contract situations are kind of interesting because Porzingis is playing for a contract. Dyson Daniels, it doesn't look like they're going to come to a rookie extension before the season. He's coming up close to the deadline. They say he wants $30 million a year. He had a great year last year. That is his first real good season in the NBA. I mean, if you care about Luke Canard, he's playing for a contract as well. So there are guys who are motivated, but they're all getting thrown together for the first time. They have to build chemistry on the fly and they have to like play to their potential. So there's a lot of pressure I think on a lot of the Hawks here. Cuz they could look like a totally different team next year or they could look like a team on the rise heading into next season as well. All right.

[Taz Melas]

I think they're being smart and not putting all these pieces together now. They don't want to be the Toronto Raptors really paying to be an average team and paying this guy 30 and this guy 35 and this guy 40. Jalen Johnson's the only guy that they really signed for a long term deal at a good amount, good high amount. So I'm, I'm optimistic to watch them. I know people ridiculed, especially me, after we did the tier maker and that the Atlanta Hawks were not a lock for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. If they are going to do anything, it's going to be this season. They should, they absolutely should be a lock because of what the Eastern Conference is and how much talent this, this Landhawks team has.

[JD Skeets]

Okay, so Trey Young on basically everybody's list here, who else do you have as a player that needs to prove something this season?

[Taz Melas]

I have Miles Turner because I do think his play and what he does in the locker room and on the floor is important to Yenstede Kupos future in Milwaukee. I think there will be an end to Yannis in Milwaukee if this team just falls apart. And I know it's a lot on Miles Turner, who's not a number one scorer or anything like that, but when Giannis does not play, which will happen this season, Miles Turner just has to score a good amount also. He just has to take a lot of pressure off Yanis De Kubo defensively and be out there. And he also just has to be a great locker room guy to bring this team together. Like he was able to bring the Indiana Pacers together. He was really good at that. So there's just a lot on his shoulders. I do think if the Milwaukee Bucks don't win a playoff series, this could be it. We are seeing giannis enter his 30s here, a guy who misses 20%, let's say about 20 games a season or so. That's high. But that much, it's not going to be the 30s when he's just going to play more. So I think as loyal as he is, as difficult it is for John Horse and Milwaukee Bucks to make other moves because they are kind of limited to do things around Miles Turner. And yes, Nkubo, this is sort of it. You know, he's tried multiple times with the Drew Holiday and then the Dame and now Miles Turner. It just feels like we're getting close to it. They got to win a playoff series because what else are they going to do? And they just have to get there again. The Pacers. And what was so good about them was that fricking locker room. They're playing for each other. Even though they started off poorly last year, they got it together and that's what the Bucks have to do. And I think Miles Turner can do that, you know, defensively, offensively, but also just locker room. So a lot on his shoulders. Yaddy's future is on Miles Turner shoulders. Yes and no. You know, it's a little much. Yeah. Why? Because he can't. He's not that.

[Trey Kirby]

He's not that guy.

[Taz Melas]

He's not that guy.

[Trey Kirby]

No, he's, he's, he's topped out at 18 points per game.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, yeah, it's not so much. I mean, that's why I'm short of lumping it all together. Cause we know Miles Turner ain't gonna score 20 per game, but somehow he's gotta be that guy just to bring this team together and then get a healthy team to round one of the playoffs where they win. So I think Giannis has to go into the playoffs super duper healthy. He doesn't want to, you know, try and shoot 25 times a game, 28 times a game. It should not be him that should come down. And yeah, Giannis is. I mean, things kind of have to work out perfectly. Like Ryan Rollins has to come in and beat him. Kevin Porter Jr. Has to come in and be him as a defensive offensive mix up. So there's just a lot of bodies here. But Turner, I think in multiple types of ways is important.

[JD Skeets]

I got two more star names to add to this list. Get your reaction to Joel Embiid. It'd be nice. I mean, I mean, I know it feels like everybody's just completely given up on him. He played 39 games two seasons ago, just 19 games last season. They're saying he's looking okay, saying he's looking healthy here coming into camp. But yeah, expectations are at the bottom sort of around him, around the team. We just learned Paul George is not going to be ready for the opener. But it'd be nice to get Joel Embiid back on the floor for six or six. Oh yeah. And so what can you prove that he's still good?

[Trey Kirby]

What can he prove to you this year?

[JD Skeets]

That he can play? I guess. That would be awesome 2/3 of the season.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Prove you can play.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, yeah. And then how about Donovan Mitchell?

[Trey Kirby]

Big time.

[JD Skeets]

And I'm looking ahead really to the playoffs because we think the Cavs will be a great regular season team. But this guy is squarely in his prime. He's 29 years old. The conference, as we've talked about endlessly, has never looked weaker at the top especially it feels like a two team race for the potential chance to play in the finals in the Eastern Conference. Feels like it's the Cavs or the Knicks. I mean then you maybe talk yourself into a Magic or Hawks team or the Bucks or the Celtics if Tatum comes back, whatever. But he needs to like get over that hump because this stat blew my mind. Six players in NBA history to have played 60 plus playoff games and averaged at least 28 points per game in the postseason. LeBron Jordan, Jerry West, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson and Donovan Mitchell. And he's the only one on that list to not make the conference finals. You know, Iverson only made it once as well, but he had that miraculous finals run. So Mitchell, he sort of needs to get that. He needs to have that playoff moment where there's a run in him.

[Trey Kirby]

I 100% agree. He's been the lead guy on a number one seed in the conference twice already. It could be a third time this year. He's won four playoff series in his career. And it doesn't always feel like it's his fault. Performs in the playoffs, but he is the leader of the team and he's kind of ducked the allegations. I think like Joel Embiid gets dragged for never making a conference finals. Donovan Mitchell's teams have been much more successful than Joel Embiid's have. And he still hasn't even sniffed the conference finals.

[JD Skeets]

It's interesting. That's a good point. And there's excuses and like it's not just because of him and all that. We all get that. But it sort of has to happen this season task. It's lined up for it to happen for him too.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, yeah. We're just talking about the Atlanta Hawks and how they haven't put all these pieces together for A long time the Cavs have and this is seems like they will disassemble if Donovan can't do it. Donovan has to rely on the other guys more. I think that's very important. I know he did that a little bit, you know, from his first year in Cleveland where he was the guy when everybody got injured and he took it upon himself last year in the second round. He did put it on his back when Evan Mobley was out, Darius Garland was out. But I think to get to that next level, those guys have to be more involved, specifically Evan Mobley, which we talked about. We have talked about. But Even our man, DeAndre Hunter, anybody from the wing can help out a little bit more and do more. And so it's not a predictable team where they're relying on Donovan Mitchell.

[JD Skeets]

Any other names to add to this list?

[Trey Kirby]

John Morant, I think is a huge one. Coming off probably his worst season since he really became a star. 23 points per game last year, lowest since his second season. 7.3 assist, second lowest of his career. 3.7 turnovers, most of his career shot the second lowest percentage of his career, 31% from three while taking the most threes he ever has. He's won one playoff series in six seasons. A lot of that has been injuries and suspensions that were took him out. But like the. The spotlight, I think is on John Moran and they need him to be back to, you know, all NBA level. I think for Memphis to make any sort of noise in the Western Conference and the way things went down with Taylor Jenkins last year and the way he was kind of unleashed right at the end of the season when Thomas Isolo took over, you have to be a little bit optimistic. You go to summer league and you see more drama rant jerseys than basically anybody. The guy is still a superstar, but he didn't play like a superstar last year.

[Taz Melas]

You walk around and you see his shoes on.

[Trey Kirby]

On some of the best shoes.

[Taz Melas]

They're awesome. Yeah, Yeah. I see him on grown men everywhere button for my daughter. They're. They're cool. Yes. People. People love him. I will put a little pressure on Zion Williamson as well. Just because that team is Zion Williamson. It really is. If they're going to be any good, he has to play games. And it seems like he found his way last season physically, you know, towards the end of the season. So this is it, is it not? I mean, if it. Sure. It sure feels like. I know they basically have the same team going forward after this coming season. So I shouldn't say this is it, like they are going to break it down. But there comes a point, whether it's 12 months from now, next offseason where he has to just play basketball.

[JD Skeets]

Yep.

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[JD Skeets]

All right, which under the radar player will have a big impact this season? Put another way from our friends at the Athletic name one player who's relatively just under the radar. Maybe someone that's not an all star, Someone who's not a league wide star, who's an important X factor going to play a huge role in the team's success or even failure this season. Who do you have pegged here, Reed.

[Taz Melas]

Shepherd of the Houston Rockets. This is really important. When we start talking about the guards and who are going to have to replace Fred Van Vliet, we start talking about Amend Thompson, we start talking about Kevin Durant, we start talking about Alpern Shen Goon as a play creator. We forget about the point guards on this team. And Fred Van Vliet is literally was everything to that team. And Reed shepherd was in the shadows last season and he. Now he's going to be starting. It sure feels like, I mean you think about a team that's got to run 100 possessions and get into 100 plays, he's going to be running the majority of them. I would think he's going to start them. Whether it's like 30, 35 and Aaron Holiday comes in for a 20 and a man. Thompson is also 20. I mean we're getting up to 75. You know, there's Shangun is going to run 10 because he's freaking good. Maybe more than that because he was that he was that good. He can start on the three point line and just make things happen. I think he's going to do it more than Kevin Durant. But this team is really good at slow playing their young guys. It happened for Amend Thompson, it's happened for Tari Eason. Jalen Green happened, you know, a little bit. Maybe plunged in a little bit too early, but it also did. They, they are really good at just trying to get the most out of them. Now some, some of his play this preseason makes you think, whoa, that guy that we saw in summer league two years ago is this guy. I mean there's pretty cool.

[JD Skeets]

Great game last night against the Hawks.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

29 and 6.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. Here's his hesi. Here's his mid ra jumper. He burned Luke Canard who you just talked about earlier. Like he just got him. He was comfortable. Yeah, yeah, I know that's.

[JD Skeets]

He was helped out last night by going at Luke Canard for sure.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, yeah, he was, he was being smart. Yeah. And then. But, but I bring that up and I bring out like the, the relocation threes because the attention will be on those other guys I mentioned. So he will have that opportunity. Is he going to flashback to when we were in summer league and we thought, whoa, this guy is great in this, in this instance, in this situation, is it going to be can he be that guy and not just the guy who drops 40 in G League game. Can he be that guy on the big stage? Big question. But they need him Obviously it's a.

[JD Skeets]

Good pick for sure.

[Trey Kirby]

They needed him to make threes and just be like a league average starting point guard. They don't need much from Reed Shepherd.

[Taz Melas]

No, they don't.

[Trey Kirby]

Be better than Aaron Holiday is basically what he has to do.

[JD Skeets]

Anything else would be just a bonus for sure. Who else you got on your list?

[Trey Kirby]

Deandre Ayton, to me is like the hugest impact guy here for just a random dude. The nicest thing anybody said about deandre Ayton this, this off season is he's better than Jackson Hayes. Like you're, you're talking about the upgrades. The Lakers made it like, well, they couldn't do worse. They had Jackson Hayes. Apparently now he's trying to get his Slovenian citizenship so he can play on the Slovenian national team with Luka Doncic. Jackson Hayes, okay, interesting. But yeah, Ayton, like, he's skilled. You think Ayton sucks? He had 14 points per game, 10 rebounds per game last season. Never takes a free throw. It's never gonna ever. Doesn't matter. He's got great touch. You never hear people say anything. Well, they're, I mean, the Lakers are going to be at the top of the league in free throws. I'm not super worried about if he takes two free throws a game because Luke is going to take 10 and LeBron's going to take eight. Austin Reeves gets to the line. This is not a place that 8 needs to be worrying about getting to the line. They need him mostly on the glass. They finished 19th in defensive rebounding last season. Ayton can rebound. He's got to be a deterrent at the rim because the Lakers are going to get cooked on the perimeter. He's going to have a lot of responsibility on the interior for the Lakers because he's going to be their main defensive anchor. We've seen him be good in that role when he was on the Suns and we saw him not care about it at all playing with the Blazers. So it's kind of a last chance saloon for DeAndre Ayton. Prove to us why you were the number one draft pick over your teammate Luka Doncic. And I don't know, I'm a little, I'm a little optimistic for it. Like, I'm not expecting an all star level season for DeAndre Ayton, but I think by the end of the year people should be saying, oh, he's a decent starting center.

[JD Skeets]

It definitely helps when the bar is Jackson Hayes. That's all you need to clear who's one of my least favorite players in the league. But yeah, I saw that stat, I guess about Ayton and his lack of free throw shooting. You're right, TK it may not really matter on that Lakers team, but it is wild for a guy that is a seven footer athletic freak. I mean the guy is built like a Mack truck. He averaged 0.13, so 0.13 free throw attempts per field goal attempts last season. For context, only one other center in the entire league trailed him in that statistic. 38 year old Al Horford. That makes sense. Al Horford not going to the line at all. Less sense. A guy like built like deandre Ayton is inside, stuff like that. But anyway, I had him on my list too, was my point. He is very important to the Lakers success, I think defensively for sure and on the boards.

[Taz Melas]

We'll see him in the last chance saloon. It's a fun.

[Trey Kirby]

Prediction. DeAndre Ayton's free throw attempts double this year.

[JD Skeets]

Okay, okay, I like it.

[Trey Kirby]

Just playing on the Lakers. He'll get the benefit of the whistle.

[JD Skeets]

Lakers whistle.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes, he will.

[JD Skeets]

He probably will.

[Taz Melas]

27 years old, he always feels like he's older to me, even though, you know, he hasn't been around a long time. It's just the older looking face. But also, you know, he's just been, as you said, he's playing with his number one, the number one draft of that 2018 draft class. He's just kind of been thrown under the carpet. Like we don't talk about him and I understand why.

[JD Skeets]

Well, that was his doing. That was his, not us.

[Taz Melas]

Yep.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, he's lived like three NBA lives already, is what I think you're getting at. To me at least why he feels so old. He's the number one pick, comes in with high expectations, but you know, on a crappy team. But then that team, the Suns, turn into this great team, go to the finals, he plays an important role there, but then, you know, finds his way to the Blazers and that was a complete mess to the point where they literally just gave up on him. Yeah, like you said, he's 27 years old. Like he's the number one pick. They like get out of here. We don't even want you around. And now he gets this other chance here on the Lakers.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, I guess we just haven't talked about him a lot, frankly, since Monte Williams and him didn't see eye to eye in the NBA Finals in that season in 2021, just a long time ago. And we haven't had to discuss him, other than him not having a bed when he got to Portland. Literally just didn't have furniture in his room.

[JD Skeets]

Couldn't make it to a game once because of bad weather. It was icy on the roads. I remember that.

[Taz Melas]

Oh, right. It couldn't be a dry.

[Trey Kirby]

We've done a lot of excuses for him on that one. Yeah, we've talked thousands of people at the game.

[JD Skeets]

We've talked a lot. Or I mean, in the past. Like, he had the infamous quote, right. Wasn't it Ayton about, like, basically, he got his paych, the big payday, and he was like, sort of, I'm set. I'm paraphrasing, of course. But the idea that he just got the money and then it was like, yeah, he's been a bag my game.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, he's been all about the bag.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. Yeah. There's going to be a lot of misinformation. A lot of misinformation. And via tweets, I think just randomly, we've seen LeBron sitting on the bench beside him in the preseason and LeBron sort of looking his way. And here come the tweets. Oh, he hates him already because there's, you know, he's kind of looking that direction. There was the DeAndre Ayton comment about Luke and LeBron saying, I haven't played with either of them. And he kind of just mumbles some stuff so you don't really hear what he says. And so why does he hate him? There's so many hairstyles that he's gone through, I think in the last, like three months. I don't know. I mean, I haven't been keeping track.

[Trey Kirby]

Got dyed hair now.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, he goes blonde, but then he does the. The braids a little bit. Anyway, that's not misinformation. That's information. But either way, looking forward to it. Yeah, he is. He does have the opportunity. He will have space on the floor because of the guys he's playing with.

[Trey Kirby]

I take issue with one thing. I think he has a young face.

[Taz Melas]

Huh?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[Taz Melas]

Really?

[Trey Kirby]

He's very cherubic to me. He's like.

[JD Skeets]

I see that.

[Trey Kirby]

Got high cheek, cheekbones. Yeah, he kind of looks like. I think I've said it before. He looks like the Coca Cola Santa Claus in the face.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

But I mean, that's not a young.

[JD Skeets]

Man get much older than Santa. Has a young hook as well.

[Taz Melas]

I say his face is a cherub face. Wow. I think they kind of sag. I think those kind of sag.

[JD Skeets]

Let me Give you another under the radar player that I think could have a big impact on his team. Success or failure? Terrence Shannon Jr.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes.

[JD Skeets]

With the Wolves is on my list. Right. With Nikhil Alexander Walker gone, I think Minnesota and maybe Wisely so hoping that Shannon Jr. Can take that leap. Perfectly fit in that role. You've talked a lot about the bench tasks and you got divincenzo as your sixth man and all that. Yep. But there's a spot here, there's an opportunity and he's shown flashes of brilliance and I think they're just hoping that's a little. You can get a little steady contribution from him. So I'm excited to see him, which I think is going to be on a good Wolves team. They obviously have plans to get back to the conference finals, get over that hump and all that. So I have him. And then I'll throw in one more because I lumped together a bunch of guys for this one. You talk about Miles Turner, something to prove, I guess, and keeping Giannis happy. How about Kevin Porter Jr. AJ Green, Ryan Rollins and Cole Anthony as sort of important pieces to the Bucks? Success or failure here? Lillard ran a ton of pick and rolls. Lillard still scored a lot. I mean, it was sort of a weird forgotten season in a way because he gets injured at the end and all that. But like he runs a ton like 4th most in the NBA last year in terms of picking rules. So that gets handed over to again. All these guys I just listed, mainly Porter Jr. AJ Green, he'll be involved in those as well. But they need. I don't know how many of those guys I just listed need to be like above average and better for the Bucks to like have some success. At least two of them. I'm guessing that's important.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. When I was going through the rosters in the preseason, these guys stuck out to me as the tweet that says I've become too important in my job and it's killing me. That's like Kevin Porter Jr. Kyle Kuzma, Cole Anthony. They are overtaxed where they are in the hierarchy for the Milwaukee Bucks. All those guys should be like sixth and seventh men and they are the main perimeter options for the Bucks. If they all hit, then Milwaukee is going to be way better than I'm anticipating. But if they play like they have in their NBA careers, then it might be a struggle on the offensive end for the Bucks.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, I am looking forward to seeing who stands out from that group. They do need one ball handler to really Stand out.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah. They're hoping It's Kevin Porter Jr.

[Taz Melas]

They are, I would think. They keep pushing him. It feels like he's going to be starting, but it was kind of tough to watch him against the Pacers in the playoffs when he was thrown into that role because Damian Lillard was out. I don't know. Giannis has a ton of faith in Ryan Rollins just starting possessions, I think, and being a very good defender. I don't know if he's just looking at Ryan Rollins offensively and being like, okay, get us through into the. Rotate into the, the movements here and then give me and Miles turn of the ball and then we'll figure it out. But there is a lot on them because I don't know if Kevin Port Jr. Can do it. Cole Anthony is going to get a shot. Yeah. Mir Coffee is going to get a shot, you know, off the, off the ball a little bit more. So yes, there's pressure on them.

[JD Skeets]

Any other under the radar guys want to show some love to.

[Trey Kirby]

I had Rob Dillingham in the mix with Terrence Shannon as well and then d' Angelo Russell. I mean he is a one time all star.

[JD Skeets]

Right.

[Trey Kirby]

You know, so like. But I still think he's an under the radar player. He actually has to be good this season for Dallas to do anything.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, it's true. I'm looking forward to that. To the Wolves, like we just mentioned a bunch of bucks. There are a bunch of wolves coming off the bench and, and Rob Dillingham. Jalen Clark is sort of their, their defensive guy. But what is Terence Shannon Jr. Gonna have to do? I mean, they took him off the floor in summer league because he was awesome. They don't usually do that with a guy who's not a number 10 draft pick. Like, they don't.

[Trey Kirby]

You know, Shannon, he's like 25 years old though.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, yeah, he's old.

[Trey Kirby]

He's old.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. But I don't know. Possessions are, I don't know. I thought they just want to see more possessions of this guy running the offense.

[Trey Kirby]

He was good in the playoffs. He doesn't need to be good in some.

[JD Skeets]

All right, let's get to a staple when it comes to burning questions here in no dunks land first player to score 50 points in a game. We always do this. Oh yeah. I don't know why it's fun to us. Let me go over last year for you guys just really quickly. Do you remember the first player to score 50 last season?

[Taz Melas]

No.

[Trey Kirby]

Joel Embiid?

[JD Skeets]

No. It happened October 28th versus the Pacers. Paolo Banchero.

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[JD Skeets]

Remember he started the season on fire.

[Taz Melas]

And then played five games and one of them was the 50s.

[JD Skeets]

He had 22 free throw attempts in that game against the Pacers. That's a hell of a lot of free throws. Anyway, Paolo was the first to hit 50. Then we had Wemby and Giannis eclipsing 50 next. That was both on the same night. Fox with the first to hit 60 points on the season. Two nights after those guys. Lamelo Ball did it. Jokic did it. He ended up doing it twice. Remember he had 61 on April 1st.

[Trey Kirby]

I do remember. You said LaMelo had a 50 point game.

[JD Skeets]

LaMelo Ball had a 50 point game last year. Let me keep going. Jalen Brunson did it. C.J. mcCollum did it. Anthony Edwards did it. MVP Shay Gildrich Alexander. He did it four times. There was a stretch there, I think it was like over a month where he did it four times. Jamal Murray did it once. I know he usually saves it for the playoffs, but he did in the regular season. Steph Curry did it twice.

[Trey Kirby]

Once.

[JD Skeets]

Jimmy Butler was in town and James harden had a 50 burger. So there's the guys that did it last year. 13 guys hit 50 plus points in a game for a total of 18 times.

[Taz Melas]

I do remember the Bank Arrow doing against the Pacers because that's when everyone says, oh, the Pacers defense stinks.

[JD Skeets]

This is done. They will never get to the finals.

[Taz Melas]

I remember the Fox 60. I don't remember the LaMelo 56.

[JD Skeets]

Is that the one that's everyone forgetting the most? I don't really remember the Jamal Murray one if I'm being honest. But okay, so let's get to this season. Prediction time. Who's the first trey to hit 15 a game?

[Trey Kirby]

It's going to happen on night two of the NBA season. October 22nd. Bucks at Wizards. Giannis Antetokounmpo Wizards stink on defense.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

Giannis has to carry this team.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

He's got a chip on his shoulder. Said, I'm staying in Milwaukee for the next six to seven months. Guaranteed. I am locked in. He's also sixth all time, or sixth of them on active players in 50 point games. He can get there easily. I assume the Wizards are going to be poor defensively once again. Maybe he sees his old teammate Chris Middleton and says remember this. And then he goes nuts. Give me Giannis very early on, very.

[JD Skeets]

Early on, very early.

[Taz Melas]

I hope he gets it going early in that game because it's probably not going to have to be on the court in the fourth quarter, so hopefully do it fast.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, if he has 50, that should be a good game for the Bucks.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

All right. Where are you going?

[Taz Melas]

I'm going. Luka Doncic.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah. I knew somebody was going to take him.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, he's going to lead the league in scoring. That's going to happen. He didn't have a 50 point game last season. Didn't have an MVP vote last season. I think the guy is ready for this, especially without LeBron James. I think he's going to just have so many opportunities. He's motivated. It's got to be Luca. He's gonna have every shot on that team. It sure feels like, you know, Austin Ruse, you can have the ball a bit, but without LeBron, how many times, how many shots is he gonna average per game? Probably the most of his career. I mean, 23 and a half is the highest of his career. He led the league for three straight seasons with the most field goals attempted per game. But that was a couple years ago, so he'll be back.

[JD Skeets]

Okay. I had Luka on my short list. I mean, especially with no LeBron to start the season. Skinny Luka and all that. I like it. I also had Steph in the running. I think obviously a guy that can hit 10 to 13 threes on any given night helps your chances to get to 50. Anthony Edwards. But I'm going to go with Victor Weminyama. Yeah, he got it, like I said last year, pretty early. He was the second guy on the same night as Giannis, like I said. So why not be the first here in maybe one of these first matchups in the first couple of weeks. I'll go. Wembanyama. I got some fun stats or odds or bets I guess from FanDuel. Interesting player. Special odds on Wembanyama. Guys, wemby to score 50 plus points in any game during the regular season is just plus 105.

[Trey Kirby]

They're like coin flip.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah. So they're pretty confident. Wemby to score 55 plus points in any regular season game, plus 500 on FanDuel. I like that bet.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, if he's getting to 50.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Why not go for the extra five?

[JD Skeets]

I really like that bet.

[Taz Melas]

They're not blowing out teams too. So I think he will play. Oh, the NFL.

[JD Skeets]

Maybe an overtime situation, something like that. He had 50 last year and he had two 42 point games last year as well. Two more for you, Wendy, to record a five by five in any game, points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Plus 290. For him to do that just once, that seems.

[Trey Kirby]

It's a yes to me.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, that seems like too good of odds. I did it last year.

[JD Skeets]

And then how about this one? Wemby to record a six by five in any game. Points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, three pointers made, plus 1200. I'm putting a little cheddar on that.

[Trey Kirby]

A little cheddar cheese.

[JD Skeets]

Come on, give me a mess.

[Trey Kirby]

Can't have ever happened, right?

[JD Skeets]

I don't think so. No. No. I don't think Hakeem Olajuwon was hitting. No.

[Trey Kirby]

He might not have hit five threes in his entire career.

[JD Skeets]

No, I think he'd be the first.

[Taz Melas]

First. Yeah. That's.

[JD Skeets]

Don't quote me on.

[Trey Kirby]

Wow, that's. That's interesting.

[JD Skeets]

I like that. I really like that. Anyway, I thought that was pretty fun.

[Trey Kirby]

The Garth videos back in our life. That's great. Like, you can tell me Wemby will do anything, and I'm like, yeah, that'll probably happen, right? Quadruple. Quadruple double. There have been what, five in NBA history? And everybody's like, yeah, he's gonna do it.

[JD Skeets]

There's odds on that one, too. You can bet on that one, too.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. I think he would be the fifth. I think if I'm right.

[JD Skeets]

Quadruple double. Yeah.

[Taz Melas]

Why wouldn't. Why wouldn't he get there there? You didn't like those odds?

[JD Skeets]

He didn't mention, I don't love quadruple as much as just the fives.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

Like five blocks, the guy can do in his sleep. Points, rebounds, and assists. At this point with Wemby, that feels like a given almost. On most nights, obviously, points and rebounds assess. Okay. And then you just get into the. To me, it's always like the steals or the, like the super wild card. Just like registering them in the box score. And then he's going to have a game or two where he's hits over five, three. So, like, that's why I like that weird. That weird six by five all coming together on one night at plus 1200. So we'll see. Anyway, Wendy's.

[Trey Kirby]

My special night.

[JD Skeets]

One special night.

[Trey Kirby]

Wemby has had five steals in a game or more. How many times? He's only played, what, 100 and something games so far? 117 games.

[JD Skeets]

Six.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, four times.

[JD Skeets]

Okay. Yeah. So that's the tough one. It feels like. I mean, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, well, there's. That's the point, I guess.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. He's done the five by five twice. I forget about the other one. Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

Geez. All right, next question here.

[Trey Kirby]

That's crazy. He's. He's done the five by five three times. Is that right? Is that what I'm seeing here?

[Taz Melas]

He did it twice in his first 76 games that he played, but I don't have the third one. I don't have the five by five list.

[Trey Kirby]

I'm looking at it right now, but, I mean, there's so many things on this basketball reference page, but I think he's done it three times. And like I said, he's gotten five steals in a game four times. So if he gets the five steals, it happens.

[JD Skeets]

Pretty much, yeah. That's the category to watch.

[Trey Kirby]

The other game, he had six steals and four blocks.

[JD Skeets]

So do you think we'll be on Wemby Steel watch on any given night here during the regular season? Like, we'll start texting each other or getting in the. In the slack.

[Trey Kirby]

Hey, man, three steals through a half, right?

[JD Skeets]

Right. Hey, Wemby's at four steals, man. There's 12 minutes to go maybe. So it's possible the best five by five ever is still to me, Jamal Tinsley, big time. I'll never be beat.

[Taz Melas]

So funny.

[JD Skeets]

How the hell did he get five blocks? Have we ever seen the footage of the blocks?

[Trey Kirby]

That's the Wilt Chamberlain game.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, we gotta. We gotta find that tape. Okay. A little.

[Taz Melas]

Little nod to Yusuf Nurkic, too.

[JD Skeets]

Just didn't expect he got one. Five by five.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

Weird. Yeah, That's a weird one. Yeah. Which team is most likely to disappoint? Trey, let's start with you on this one. Where are you going?

[Trey Kirby]

For me, I'm choosing between the Magic, the Hawks, and the Pistons. All three teams that I think are, like, right in the same realm. They are anticipated to be better than last season. You know, the Magic, I think, upgrading with Bane, assuming better health for Paolo and Franz. They seem to be on the uptick. The Hawks, we have talked about, made a ton of moves to get better. So it kind of leaves the Pistons to me. And I don't like the start of the season. Jaden Ivey's going to be missing time. That's kind of a huge part of Detroit's team build going into this season and into the future. Like, they were fine letting Dennis Schroeder walk in free agency. Ended up going to the Kings because they thought we got Ivy. He's going to be our secondary ball handler. He's going to take those Possessions from Schroeder. And that's better for the Pistons long term because they need to see if Cade and Ivy can fit together. We've seen little spurts here. They look like a nice pairing together, but Ivy hasn't been able to stay on the court, especially last year when Cade really took a leap forward. They've got a bunch of other question marks, I think, as well, like how are their replacements for Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. Gonna fare in Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert? Like, Caris LeVert's probably going to get a lot of ball handling opportunities right now with Ivy going down. And look, Carol is fine, but he's a bench guard and he's kind of like Cleveland had him. They're like, yeah, we could do better. Hawks had him, like, we could do better. Detroit's going to have him be like, maybe we could do better.

[JD Skeets]

Right, Right.

[Trey Kirby]

You know, so not a great start to the beginning of the year for the Pistons. After they had a really huge season last year, adding 30 wins, being competitive in the playoffs, Kate established himself as an all NBA player. I just don't like the way things are starting. They seem like a oddly shallow team and they're counting on a lot of young guys to take a step forward. Like, they need Ron Holland to be pretty good, I think, to have a successful season this year. So it wouldn't surprise me if the Pistons disappoint. But I'm always hating on the Pistons.

[Matt Rogers or Bowen Yang]

So I don't know.

[Trey Kirby]

They made me look foolish in the past before. Except for that year when they lost.

[JD Skeets]

All those games when they set the record.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

Futility.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

I mean, I get it, though, because there are now expectations with this Pistons.

[Trey Kirby]

Exactly.

[JD Skeets]

So they have to meet those, exceed those. And yeah, I don't love the Ivy news. Like, oh, it's deflating to see that. Right, right. And it's not like, oh, he's missing a week, like, he's going to miss at least 15 to 20 games. Right. Like, probably a quarter of the season by the time he's back out there, hopefully into the swing.

[Taz Melas]

I think I hear what you're saying.

[JD Skeets]

Okay, well, do you have another team?

[Taz Melas]

Well, it's easy to stay, I find, in the Eastern Conference because, like, you just lump those teams together. Their Trey, there's so many expectations for these teams, but obviously those teams can disappoint. I'm lumping in the Toronto Raptors with that team. They literally have the same over under number as last year. It's very, very close it's now 38 and a half. Last year's 39 and a half.

[JD Skeets]

500.

[Taz Melas]

Is it the same old Raps one more time? Disappointing. And Scotty Barnes obviously hasn't started very well. I'm not going to go into his preseason numbers, but he hasn't looked good when getting out there. It's so odd that their starters all play just one game together this preseason, the last one where Yakapuro finally got healthy, because they were supposed to be this team that's been working together and unfortunately the offense just looked like it hasn't been working together. So fun to look at these Eastern Conference teams because you know there's going to be one of those in that. In that group of Indiana could be Atlanta. Detroit is too good, I think, to be in this.

[JD Skeets]

Boston.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

Maybe Milwaukee.

[Taz Melas]

We'll see what Orlando can do. They're fricking awesome. But yeah, there's. There's a ton of them.

[JD Skeets]

What's a disappointing season to you as a Raptors fan? Like, what's going to be. Oh, this was bad. What's the record?

[Trey Kirby]

It's.

[Taz Melas]

If it's not a four to begin their win total, then it's disappointing.

[JD Skeets]

Okay. Yeah. So you at close? I'm hoping 500. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Taz Melas]

At the very least. And if Brandon Ingram does look awesome in the preseason, that guy does look good. I just gotta say that at least there's guys playing for this team. Unlike last year when there's so many injured. Yeah, I think they got to be that good. If we're talking about a guy getting 40 per. It was a three year, $120 million deal. Right. For. For Brandon Ingram, we're talking about. Yeah. 500 team. It's not a lot.

[JD Skeets]

I definitely think Darko Rajkovic is one of the coaches on the hot seat. If the Raptors are having another disappointing year or it's bad, it's not working. Like, I think he's on the hot seat. Willie Green, A lot of people ring up with the Pelicans. Nick Nurse with the Sixers. He just. He's probably just going to ask to leave at some point. But to answer the question about team most likely to disappoint, I don't know about most likely, but I want to. To throw this question at you guys. What happens if 30 games into the season, the Dallas Mavericks have the same or better record than the Los Angeles Lakers? I'm just throwing it out there, you know, early in the season, 30 games, 40 games, like, I'm just like, you can See the headlines now and the leading topics on your debate shows on espn. And I don't know.

[Trey Kirby]

This is good for or bad for.

[JD Skeets]

For the Lakers.

[Trey Kirby]

It would be bad for.

[JD Skeets]

Bad for the Lakers.

[Trey Kirby]

Well, what if the Mavericks are just really good?

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, okay. That'd be great. But I'm. I'm more leaning into this to the answer. The question is like, could the Lakers disappoint here? And I just, again, have all these questions about their defense and DeAndre as sort of the backbone of that.

[Trey Kirby]

Dominated.

[JD Skeets]

Dominated.

[Taz Melas]

That will be disappointing for them, but it would be optimal for all those shows that you just said.

[JD Skeets]

Oh, God, yeah, they're gonna love it.

[Taz Melas]

First things first. Here it comes. You know.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah. Nico Harrison was right. Question number one. Was he right? All right. Which key player will be traded first? That's our fifth burning question.

[Taz Melas]

Wow. I don't want to say. I don't want to say Giannis. I don't want to just it. I don't want to say it. I don't. He doesn't want to be traded other than that, because I don't. I don't see that happening.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, you said you didn't think that will happen this.

[Taz Melas]

Not this season. Not this season. He is a man of his word in that. He shows up for training camp, he doesn't think about it. Done. See you next year in Greece. And then he'll tell. Talk like he talked with John Horst at a dinner in Greece. I guess it was by the water. I'm sure he had a Saganaki. And that's what he'll talk about. He won't talk about for the next 12 months. I don't think so.

[JD Skeets]

There should be a key player traded at some point this season.

[Taz Melas]

No. No, I won't. I wonder if it's somebody from the Miami Heat, whether they just say, we gotta. We gotta move here. We have to move. It's unlikely. Tyler Hero. It's unlikely. Bam. Out by. But I feel like one of. One of them could be dealt. I know it's. It's an odd way of thinking about it, but it just feels like Pat Riley knows at some point this. This season, if it's not going well, that he has to tear it down, shake it up. Yeah, I think so.

[JD Skeets]

And they're always like big game hunting, too. I mean, there's that part of the equation as well. I don't know who the player would be, but. Okay.

[Taz Melas]

They have a lot of tradable contracts moving on from those two guys. It's Powell. It's Wiggins has. They have good numbers to package together, you know, along with their young guys, like, so it could be more of a package type thing, but I think that he could be looking to move.

[JD Skeets]

What about you, Trey?

[Trey Kirby]

Jonathan Kaminga Market opens January 15th and they're basically like, yeah, we signed him to be able to trade him, so I think he is absolutely going to be gone. The other guy that I think think is one of the favorites here is Lowry Markkanen, just because the timelines don't necessarily line up with the Jazz basically saying that this year is year one of their rebuild. Even though they've been pretty stinky for the past two seasons. They had a decent run in Markkanen's first year there. But, you know, he's 29 years old, he's on a gigantic contract now and he can help some teams. He would be a nice fit next to Victor Wembanyama. He would be good. The warriors have been chasing after him previously, though it's kind of hard for them to do a deal for him now. So those are the two guys that I'm mostly looking at, Kaminga and Markkanen.

[JD Skeets]

We've talked about the Sacramento Kings and the possibility of them trading one, if not both of their guys moving forward. So Zach LaVine and DeRozan. Now, they both have two years left on their contract, but the second season for DeRozan is partially guaranteed, so he's probably the more likely of the two. I think you brought this up before TK to maybe move because what we've seen of those two guys on the court together playing, it hasn't translated well. The stats are brutal, especially defensively. Defensively, they give up a ton of points when they're both out there. So will the Kings pivot and try and get something back? Draft prospects, young player, whatever. You know, they're obviously in the Kaminga sort of hunt. Maybe there's something there, but I'll go with the Kings as probably DeMar DeRozan.

[Trey Kirby]

If I had to guess or get.

[Taz Melas]

A big wing to help them out because they're already missing one RJ Barrett.

[Trey Kirby]

That guy's getting. Yeah, Darko said. Or Bobby Webster said. Our team is not going to look the same at the trade deadline as it does at the start of the season. You saw the clips going around from their preseason game when all their starters played. They're not guarding RJ Barrett. They're not guarding most of the Raptors, if we're being honest. There's five guys in the lane from the defense and RJ just doesn't fit in the starting lineup. And then what? You're going to be paying him $30 million to come off the bench? Doesn't make much sense. So I think he is going to be headed out.

[Taz Melas]

Okay, that's a fair one. Bobby Webster, seeing all these contracts be put together, and he was part of the front office that did it. He sees them and I'm sure as this new role for him, I'm sure he doesn't want to just stick with it. The same.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah.

[Taz Melas]

Same roster year after year after year. Because essentially that's what Messiah got fired for in. In doing that.

[JD Skeets]

Final question. Who wins the 2026 NBA Finals? You want to give me both teams and who comes out victorious and Finals mvp? If you really want to. How about it?

[Taz Melas]

I'm taking the Denver Nuggets to get there, and they'll beat the New York Knicks.

[JD Skeets]

Wow. Knicks going to the Finals.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. I feel. I feel actually a little bit more reluctant to say that the Knicks will get there rather than the Nuggets will get there, because we'll see what the Cavs can do. But I do believe in the Knicks and I do believe that Nikola Jokic has to win another title. And here he is entering age 31, the other guys around him getting older. Jamal Murray is pretty important. So I will say that they get there. I think this team is good enough. Nikola Jokic, obviously the MVP if we're going to include that. Finals mvp. Finals mvp.

[JD Skeets]

You're not going Bruce Brown.

[Taz Melas]

Bruce.

[Trey Kirby]

Okay, that's some big Finals games against the Heat.

[JD Skeets]

Nuggets over Knicks says tas. Where are you going, Trey?

[Trey Kirby]

Well, that's what I had in my notes.

[JD Skeets]

Wow.

[Trey Kirby]

The exact same. Yeah, but I'm not changing.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I'll go Thunder over Knicks.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. Actually, maybe a repeat champion is a bigger upset than the Thunder getting knocked off by the Denver Nuggets, but those are the top two teams for sure. Thunder, then Nuggets. So, yeah, I'll go Thunder over Knicks. I originally had, like I said, Nuggets over next the Mellow bowl, but Thunder over next is also the Mellow bowl, so.

[JD Skeets]

That's right. That's right.

[Trey Kirby]

Thunder over Next.

[JD Skeets]

Official, you changing your pick to that changed it to my pick. It's Thunder over Nicks. There you go. I think we're going back to back with the Thunder because they're just so deep. They're so versatile. They can play against Jokic and slow the big man down. They can play against the, you know, the Minnesota Timberwolves and contain Anthony Edwards enough like, they're. They're awesome. And I think for the first time in a very long time, we're going to have a repeat champion. So I will go Thunder, and I have the Knicks as a representative from the east as well. But we right now are in the middle of the greatest run of parody in league history. Since 2019, the Raps, the Lakers, the Bucks, the Warriors, the Nuggets, the Celtics, and the Thunder have each raised the title banner. So can that streak extend another year? We're saying no, because it's either the Nuggets or the Thunder winning. But maybe it. Maybe it is the Wolves or the Rockets or of course, the Eastern Conference team. That would have to be the Knicks or the Cavaliers to keep the streak going.

[Taz Melas]

Crazy.

[JD Skeets]

Crazier things have happened.

[Trey Kirby]

Is anybody going to pick an east team to win the championship, like, anybody in media?

[JD Skeets]

Well, Kevin Pelton's simulation did. That's Magic over Warriors.

[Trey Kirby]

Magic over warriors simulation number 620, I believe.

[Taz Melas]

Wow. Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

Okay. No, the answer is.

[Trey Kirby]

That was so funny to me. I thought that was an interesting article at first, and then I read through the first couple of paragraphs again, and he's literally like, this was number 620, and we picked it because it was weird.

[JD Skeets]

Oh.

[Trey Kirby]

It wasn't like a combination of all of the simulations. It was just like, this is the weirdest one. And that is the weirdest one.

[JD Skeets]

Probably the Magic winning the title. Yeah, probably. So all the other ones were Thunder winning, Nuggets winning. Yeah. Okay, that makes a little more sense.

[Taz Melas]

Like the lottery numbers, you know, they popped out for Cooper Flag, but the other ones were a little bit more likely, I guess, but not. Not that unlikely. 619. Wow. Wow. So the 618 first. 618 just sucked. They're just. They're just too predictable.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, look, we had. We had the same picks or we had the same picks.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

That's not as exciting to talk about as the Magic beating the warriors, unfortunately.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. Yeah. And that's what, like. Like you just said, Skeets, that would last. Seven NBA champs have been all different. That's what they want with a new cba. They want some parity. But it's hard. Yeah, it's hard. It's difficult to say that about the OKC Thunder, that they won't be the first repeat champion since the warriors in 1718 because they're so fricking young, full stop.

[JD Skeets]

Right.

[Taz Melas]

And they're just that good.

[JD Skeets]

Tough to go. How are they going to get worse. Yeah. But you know, maybe unfortunate injury to sga, let's say. I mean, I don't want to talk that into existence, but like something like that, it feels like would have to happen. Could happen for one of these really good teams like the Nuggets or the Wolves or the Rockets or. Or maybe one of the LA teams or maybe Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green got one more in them. Like it's not. I guess I was going to ask you guys, like would you take the Thunder or the field in the Western Conference to get to the Finals?

[Trey Kirby]

Okay.

[JD Skeets]

And then I was going to say would you take the Cavs and Knicks or the field in the Eastern Conference to get to the Finals? Like, are you just going with the Thunder and then either the Cavs or the Knicks or you like can talk yourself into the field being better?

[Trey Kirby]

I would be more likely to take the field in the Western Conference.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Because I think the Cavs and the Knicks are pretty far ahead in the east, but the Thunder I think are ahead of the Nuggets. But look, they had two seven game series. The Thunder could have got bounced at any time. Like if Aaron Gordon has two legs, Michael Porter Jr. Has two arms. Maybe game seven against Denver goes differently.

[Taz Melas]

I think 12 months ago after the Celtics won the title, there were more people thinking that the Celtics would repeat than there are saying the Thunder would will repeat. I think that was more interesting. Maybe, maybe I'm. Maybe I'm off. But a lot of people were saying the Celtics were. They were just destined because they are a fairly young team.

[JD Skeets]

Right now though, picking a repeat champion feels like a sucker's bet because it never happens, right? Has not happened in a very, very long time.

[Taz Melas]

But anyway, that's true.

[JD Skeets]

Let's hear from you guys out there with all of your answers to those burning questions as you are right now in the stream team on YouTube. Love to see that, but let us know in the YouTube comments you can tweet at us. No Dunks Inc. As well. Quick break here and then we'll get into some NBA news and rapid fire. So Peloton is shaping the future of fitness with the brand new Peloton Cross Training Tread plus powered by Peloton iq. How many times will I say peloton in this ad read? Let's find out. Count them out. The new Peloton Cross Training Tread plus is Peloton's most elevated equipment with real time guidance and endless ways to move alone or with your favorite instructors. These guys love the instructors. It's cross training reimagined with features designed to make your workout more personal. Peloton IQ plans your workouts, tracks your progress, corrects your form, and offers insights and guidance that help you unlock new breakthroughs. And that Swivel screen. Swoon. That Swivel screen offers endless ways to train and level up. Go from running on the Tread plus to strength training or yoga off of it with just one little smooth spin. That was brilliant. Whoever came up with that, just turn it around. You know you're on the treadmill and then just turn around so you have all this space to do all this other stuff.

[Trey Kirby]

I'll admit it, I'm impressed by screens that can swivel right? Like it shouldn't work. I can't do it on my computer, can't do it on my phone. But I mean, some phones you can.

[JD Skeets]

I get every time.

[Trey Kirby]

Like, wow, that's neat.

[JD Skeets]

That's neat.

[Trey Kirby]

How'd you do that?

[JD Skeets]

That's neat. It feels like it shouldn't work. Peloton is built for breakthroughs, so let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push and go. Maybe swivel your body as well. Explore the new peloton cross training tread.

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[JD Skeets]

I think we can move with some pace through these Malcolm Brogdon has decided to retire from basketball after nine NBA seasons. The former Rookie of the Year winner was on track to make the Knicks final roster, but he had been contemplating retirement and he informed New York officials on Wednesday of his decision. How shocked were you by this news? Bron? Just saying, I'm going to hang him up for sure.

[Taz Melas]

I thought he would be willing to give it a shot with the Knicks. We're talking about a team that literally could make the NBA Finals, but his body can't be holding up. When I was a big Malcolm Brogdon backer and he had a 50, 40, 90 year in year number three with the Milwaukee Bucks, he was playing in those conference finals against the Toronto Raptors. He looked like he could evolve and be a great player. And that's why the Indian Pacers said all right, right, we're paying you a ton of money. A guy who made 133 mil over his nine year career and then his body just didn't hold up. He was much better than he ended up showing in his career just because he couldn't be on the floor. But as a, if he was a secondary playmaker, as I thought he could be, a guy that got to a championship as a secondary playmaker, he was good at that. It just didn't happen enough. So yeah, I was definitely, definitely shocked that he couldn't. I mean, I guess he's a little bit of an older nine year player, you want to put it that way.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, he was 24 when he came into the league because he was an injury guy back to college. So you know, it's not super surprising when an almost 33 year old retires, but nine seasons seems like very few, especially for a guy that won two awards in nine seasons incredible. Pretty crazy.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah. And the 50, 40, 90 season and.

[Trey Kirby]

The 50, 40, 90, like he did a lot.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, you know.

[Trey Kirby]

You know, and he was talked about as a Giannis guy. He was like an important part of those Pacers teams, like you're saying, like it. He was kind of a notable character for just a dude. All things considered for the Knicks when they signed him, I was like, I think they should give Tyler Colic a chance over Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon didn't really do much for the Knicks in the preseason. He was like three points a game, three assists. Just didn't look right. Obviously his body's not right. So I think this works out okay for New York.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, he's going to be. Malcolm Brogdon is the future answer to two great trivia questions. One being, hey, who's won Rookie of the Year and sixth man of the Year awards? It's Malcolm Brogdon and Mike Miller. That's it. So that'll come up in the future. And I also read that he's the first player drafted outside the first round to win Rookie of the Year. He was when he did it, since Willis Reed in 1965. So that was very rare too to be a second round guy. When Willis Reed was getting drafted, I mean it was like 10 picks in the first round. So it's very different. But point is he will be the answer to a few trivia questions. People were shocked that he didn't just like stay on the Knicks roster or stay on an NBA roster, hit that 10th season because I think you're then warranted the pension from the NBA Players Association. So he didn't hit that, which is a little, a little shocking. But yeah, this guy just could never stay healthy. And I think he's probably thinking like also like I want to be a human after basketball around my kids and walking around and stuff like that. He's only had two seasons of 65 or more games. That sort of blew my mind too. I knew he was banged up always, but I think I was shocked at how banged up every single year he was.

[Taz Melas]

Right. And I guess he knew he wasn't going to be contributing to this team and being a, a, a prominent player because I guess when he signed the contract, he thought I was literally going to play and be good on a good team. But when you're scoring three points per game, that ain't going to happen. And I guess the pension doesn't matter to him. When he made 133 million, he's doing all right. And he's taking, taking care of that money.

[Trey Kirby]

You don't think he'll come back? You don't think he'll come back? Some team convince themselves, hey, Malcolm Brogdon can help us out.

[Taz Melas]

You say the word retired.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, I, I, I don't think he will.

[Trey Kirby]

I've seen guys come back from retirement.

[JD Skeets]

I know, I know they're not, they're not as bad as wrestlers, but you're right. I don't think he will.

[Taz Melas]

I think he's different. I think he's a different breed.

[JD Skeets]

When he makes a decision, he sticks with it.

[Trey Kirby]

How will you.

[JD Skeets]

Which team will you remember most for Malcolm Brogdon? Like, is it the Pacers, the Bucks, the Celtics? Oddly, definitely not the Wizards, but Blazers. I don't really know which. The Blazers.

[Taz Melas]

He was good, man. Yeah. Yeah, he was solid.

[JD Skeets]

What will you pick or remember?

[Trey Kirby]

I don't want to answer.

[JD Skeets]

Answer.

[Taz Melas]

You won't.

[Trey Kirby]

I'm not gonna remember Malcolm Brogdon.

[JD Skeets]

Oh, you will. So what, are you kidding me?

[Trey Kirby]

No, tell me. Tell me his best game you ever saw in the NBA. Well, you're the best. The thing you remember about Malcolm Brogdon is that he won rookie of the Year when Joel Embiid played 31 games.

[JD Skeets]

Yes.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, that's why I didn't want to answer.

[JD Skeets]

Okay, so I guess you'd go with, with that team if you had to pick. You're going Milwaukee, I guess. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Looked up which team he was playing for when that happened.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah, sure.

[Taz Melas]

That was a great year with the bucks. 50, 40, 90. So that's the one I would remember just because that was, that was almost the peak.

[JD Skeets]

Okay, so you're going Bucks.

[Taz Melas]

Like he, he was ascending there in that year. 3, 50, 40, 90. And that's when Indiana said, okay, we believe in you. I don't know how much they did in terms of the doctor work, checking the knees, because that's, that's what held him back in the NBA.

[JD Skeets]

All right, next piece of news here. Let's get to the Kings. News of it all. Nine time all star Russell Westbrook has agreed on a deal to sign with the Kings. Now, Shams reported that Westbrook and the Kings have maintained communication all off season. Russ remained patient in free agency, but he lands a deal for his 18th season. As expected, one year, 3.6 million. That's minimum. So Westbrook joining another team here. Trey, a team that you will probably 20 years from now will not remember Westbrook played for. But anyway, what do you think about this signing here?

[Trey Kirby]

I literally just Got why He's wearing number 18.

[JD Skeets]

18.

[Trey Kirby]

18Th season. Yeah, I saw a lot of people on Twitter saying it. But a Russell Westbrook Number 18 Kings Jersey, just add him to the washed montage already. We're talking about Kevin Garnett playing for the Nets, Paul Pierce playing for the Clippers, stints. You don't remember, right? The Kings don't need Russell Westbrook at all. This is a want, not a need. They need some guys who have size. Westbrook has actually gotten sixth man of the Year votes the last couple of seasons. He was good on the Nuggets during the regular season. He helped them beat the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, and then he wasn't very good in the second round of the playoffs against the Thunder. He's going to be one of the King's best rebounders, which is kind of what I think is going to be the biggest impact he has for Sacramento. They're not a great rebounding team outside of Demonta Sabonis, who is one of the best rebounders in the league, but he's an intense guy. He's going to play with effort, he's going to play fast. Like all of those things will probably actually help Sacramento. But I think they should have went for Ben Simmons. I can't believe it, but that's who I think they should have went for over Westbrook. But now he's on the Kings because they've wanted him. And, you know, DeRozan, Sabonis and Levine all said, yeah, we want Russell Westbrook. Players always say they want Russell Westbrook.

[JD Skeets]

He's beloved for sure by players and in the locker room and stuff like that. And he gives the effort. No one will ever say Westbrook does not give effort, but he's been semi unplayable in some playoff series for the last little while because of the lack of shooting. That hurts him. But.

[Taz Melas]

But he did help them win games against the clubs.

[JD Skeets]

He was great against clubs.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. And that was only last year. Big difference playing with Nikola Jokic, obviously. So I don't think anyone's coming into this signing and thinking, oh, that's going to make a difference for the Sacramento Kings and who they are.

[JD Skeets]

Right. You're not adding wins, probably.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

To your progressive. What's the word? I'm trying to say prognostication.

[Taz Melas]

Right. For the Kings, I will. They move the ball like Jokic was able to do with Westbrook. Random. Like just cut after cut after cut because they are a really good team. Running through demonte Sabonis as Their guy like, will he, will he find Russell Westbrook on Pat on cuts like that. But I think we'll see some of that. I think he'll be comfortable coming off the bench. You know, when you signed and shooter to that big contract, I mean, I think you're only playing one of Schroeder and him, but now you've got Malik Monk as well. So I say that at the same time, it's like, is he the backup point guard? I mean, I know they'll just throw guys out there together, but yeah, I've.

[JD Skeets]

Seen some people worrying, like, you add Westbrook, you sort of dilute some of these other younger guys, opportunities, playing time, growth and stuff like that. But noted Kings fan Ghostface Ziller, he said Westbrook's presence will not be the difference between whether Devin Carter or Nate Clifford become real NBA players. That's on them. If they can't clearly beat year 18 Westbrook into the rotation, then again, that's on them. I thought that was a good point from Ziller. But you know, you do have to give these young guys an opportunity to make mistakes and grow too.

[Taz Melas]

So. Yeah, or Keon Ellis too. I mean, they're sort of similar.

[Trey Kirby]

Some teams should chase Keon Ellis because they're clearly burying him. They don't believe in him. If they're signing all of these guards to play ahead of them, it seems to me he would be available for a team and he's going to be a guy like, I don't know if he would have the same impact, but like a Caruso who leaves a bad team and like looks good playing a smaller role on a better team. So if he's available, some team should steal him from.

[JD Skeets]

I definitely agree that I don't think Doug Christie loves Keon. I think Mike, he was more of a Mike Brown guy when he was there. But yeah, that's a good point. Sticking with the Kings. Wednesday, busy day in countdown. Kings and fourth year forward Keegan Murray have agreed to a five year, $140 million extension. And as we previously talked, Murray will miss the start of the season with a torn UCL in his left thumb. But task here, here he gets this signed and you know, pretty good extension here for the fourth pick overall way back in the day. Five years, 140. What do you think?

[Taz Melas]

Absolutely. A good contract for him. I would love to see him. We just talked about a guy who gets moved into a less prominent role. We were talking about Kean El Salis, Caruso, that kind of thing. I would Love to see the same role for Keegan Murray where he doesn't have to be as much because I think he dropped off the last two years after his really, really good rookie year because he was just asked to be a little too much percentage wise, efficiency wise, trying to create for himself. So is he worth that much money? I think so on the right team. And I think he whole purse his percentages should go up if he isn't more. If he doesn't have that big of a role.

[Trey Kirby]

Really, he doesn't have hardly any role. I think that's one of my problems with Keegan Murray is that he doesn't really do anything besides shoot threes. And he wasn't a great three point shooter last season. 34%, 36% is league average the year before. He did have a hot shooting season his rookie year, but his usage rate is 15%. That's guys like Royce O', Neill, Drew Eubanks, Dalen Terry, Jonathan Mobo. Guys who were nothing on offense. We're talking about DeAndre Ayton's free throw rate. How many free throws per game last season do you think Keegan Murray took?

[JD Skeets]

It must be low if you're asking.

[Trey Kirby]

0.9 free throw attempts, 1.4 assists. All he does is shoot threes. But he's the most promising young player on the Kings. This is $28 million average annual value. That's like 15% of the cap. He's 25 years old. They're signing him basically through his prime. Makes sense for Sacramento to do it, but it would be nice to see him be able to do, do anything else besides be a three and D guy. Because being the best defender on the Kings isn't super impressive.

[JD Skeets]

No, it's not.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, I think they're envisioning a team, the, the beam team really where he was their defensive guy and a shooter on a team that contribute or distributed to him. Like I don't. He's never gonna, I don't think he's ever gonna be a guy who scores 20 per game. I think if they just, they just envision in their front office Scott Perry says we should be better and he could be that guy. Now I think they're thinking a little too far ahead.

[JD Skeets]

Would you rather have Jabari Smith Jr or Keegan Murray? Because they both signed extensions, five year extensions and Jabari Smith Juniors was five year 122 million. Keegan Murray got more, but he didn't get Jalen Johnson. 5 year 150 million which is probably correct.

[Taz Melas]

I'm I think I'm taking Keegan Murray. I think his, his defense is a little underrated.

[JD Skeets]

Okay, well then it sounds like the deal, like you said, 15%, let's say, of the salary cap as it moves forward. That is fine like that. It's not crazy for a guy that's like a low end starter or should be at the very least. And you hope he gets better and improves. But yeah, yeah. Jalen Johnson, Keegan Murray, Jabari Smith Jr. I think some people would disagree. I think maybe some people put Jabari over Keegan Murray.

[Trey Kirby]

I would.

[JD Skeets]

Okay. Yeah, I'd rather have. But they're all in the same ballpark here and young talent that you're going to lock up. Final extension news. AJ Green back to him and the Bucs. 4 years, $45 million extension. TK Any thoughts on AJ Green signing this 4 years, $45 million deal?

[Trey Kirby]

Being a good shooter is the equivalent to being a seven footer in the 1980s. If you can make 40% of your threes, you're going to play 10 years in the NBA and make $10 million per season. A.J. green averages seven points per game and this deal comes through and you're like, nice. This is perfect. He has to be there around Giannis. He's a guy that will be able to fit around a lot of different players, you know, just because he shoots threes. He shoots a lot of them. He knocks him down and he tries on defense. Like, I don't think he's a lockdown defender or anything like that, but he's not a zero on the defensive end as well. So $10 million per season, that's hardly anything in today's NBA.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, all guaranteed every single year. No options for a guy. We went and watched him in the NBA Cup. He gets after it defensively. I mean, he plays in the right position and I think he can grow a little bit with his put it on the floor skill. I think he's decent at that. So, yes, it feels like it's perfect around United States. It's a guy who can score. 10 mil is not a lot, but they, they are handcuffing themselves. Not, not that this $10 million is the be all and end all, but this is their team, really what we're seeing here. So I hope he helps Giannis because that means they're doing well. But he is a skilled guy, there's no doubt.

[JD Skeets]

Nice little success story here from AJ Green, undrafted in 2022, then a two way player, then a standard deal, and then now this. You Know, nice little payday here. Basically 10 mil plus per year. It's impressive. Iowa boy. Iowa boy.

[Taz Melas]

Derry bird.

[JD Skeets]

They grow shooters out there in Iowa. All right, so that's the news. And we already did sort of touch on the unfortunate news about Ivy. Gonna miss some time. I brought up the Paul George. Gonna miss some time. This is the thing. This is the time of the season. You're gonna start hearing these, you know, like, oh, not ready for the opener next week. Yeah, bummer. But it is what it is. It's a long season.

[Trey Kirby]

It's a long season.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. So hopefully.

[JD Skeets]

It'S gonna be a real long season this year. At least the first couple. Couple weeks. Figuring out what channels and streaming platforms these games are on, man. Get ready for next week.

[Taz Melas]

Oh, yeah.

[JD Skeets]

I mean, the first four nights, I think the main games, like the nationally, let's call them televised games, they're all on different platforms. You got to learn the cadence here.

[Taz Melas]

Totally.

[JD Skeets]

Right. We're on Peacock, and then we're on espn and then we're on prime, and then you're bouncing around.

[Taz Melas]

You got to download those apps. I think I mentioned First Things first as one of the talk shows.

[Trey Kirby]

Sure.

[Taz Melas]

I don't really watch First Things First a lot, but I had it yesterday because I was watching the Toronto Blue Jays on Fox Sports. First Things First.

[JD Skeets]

It was on Fox. Okay.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. So I'm going to get to know shows on Peacock a little bit more. There's no doubt. I'm not a huge Peacock, man.

[JD Skeets]

That's the other thing. If you ask me right now, you're like, hey, Skeets, which streaming platform is Jamal Crawford working for? I'm like, no, I don't know, like Steve Nash. Like, I. I have an idea, but I don't really know. I'm not confident yet. So I got to see them. I got to see them on the desk. I see them on the call, right?

[Taz Melas]

Oh, yeah, that's a great.

[JD Skeets]

There's just so much movie.

[Trey Kirby]

Who are you for?

[JD Skeets]

Yeah. Who he worked for. Oh, yeah. We should do that next week. Who he worked for or she worked for. For sure. That's right. All right, before we go, here it is, the drop. Let's do some rapid fire questions for the guys. JD included. First one. I'll ask the questions this week. The Believe that Awards debuted Wednesday night with Anthony Edwards and his friends handing out hilarious awards during a live stream on YouTube. Timothee Chalamet took home the award for White Boy of the Year and joined the stream from Hungary, where he's Filming Dune Part 3. This clip or him on the stream. Legit. Hilarious. Chalamet talking with Ant and his buddies about the award. It's very funny. Go watch it. But let's tweak Ant's award here for rapid fire. Guys, who do you see winning the NBA's White Boy of the Year award this season? And it can be a player, a coach, somebody in the media, anybody you want. Who you got?

[Taz Melas]

Pacers? T.J. mcConnell.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Taz Melas]

He's gonna be prominent. No, Tyrese Halliburton. He's going to be sort of the energy, the spark for this team, this squad. And camera's gonna love him.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Taz Melas]

Especially because he is such a vocal guy. Peacock, get ready for your close ups of T.J. mcConnell. Everybody will be watching T.J. mcConnell.

[JD Skeets]

Oh, my God. That's how you're selling Peacock.

[Taz Melas]

I wasn't ready to say peacock during this white boy question. However, I did go to a farm and saw a white peacock recently.

[JD Skeets]

Wow. Yes.

[Taz Melas]

I didn't never seen one.

[JD Skeets]

Which this week, which white NBA player most deserving of the nickname Albino Peacock? There's a question to chew on. Tk, though. Who's getting the NBA White Boy of the year award?

[Trey Kirby]

FanDuel actually has odds on this.

[JD Skeets]

Cool.

[Trey Kirby]

Luka Doncic, plus 160. Jokic. Plus 250. Cooper flag. Plus 300.

[JD Skeets]

Oh, Cooper.

[Trey Kirby]

Timothy Chalamet, plus 450. What? I mean, he showed up to a lot of NBA games last year, sat courtside. He was wearing, like, cool sunglasses a lot. You know, he loves the New York Knicks, so I wasn't surprised to see him on the list, but pretty high up. Brian Windhorse, plus 600.

[JD Skeets]

Windy.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, really good.

[JD Skeets]

What about the Timmies? I mean, it is called the.

[Trey Kirby]

The Brian Windhorse and the who collective. You know, Mr. Beast. Plus 750.

[JD Skeets]

No, thank you.

[Trey Kirby]

I know. Look, I'm not picking him either, but he's got a lot of backers out there. Matus Buzellis, plus 800. He's up there.

[JD Skeets]

You put some money on that.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

The +1000 category, you got Dirk, Steve Nash, Zach Low and Alerin Shenun. And then in the long shots, plus 10,000, JJ Redic, Chet Holmgren, Franz Vagner, Tristan Jass, Noah, E, Eagle and R, I, Z, G, O, D. The man, the myth, the legend, the Rizz God.

[JD Skeets]

I'll put a little coin on the Riz. God.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, those are good odds.

[JD Skeets]

Wow.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. Really good odds for Chat Holmes.

[JD Skeets]

So who are you going with?

[Trey Kirby]

Cooper Flag.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

It'll be him. He's bringing goatees back.

[JD Skeets]

Okay, jd. NBA White Boy of the Year.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Yeah, I'm going off the court for this. It's my man Rob Mahoney, White Boy of the Year.

[JD Skeets]

All right.

[JD (Super Producer)]

He's the NBA pundit, I guess, that I listen to most. Okay. Never talking about basketball on the, you know, Prestige tv. And he did a turn on the House of R for a while, but yeah, Rob Mahoney. Love that guy.

[JD Skeets]

We love Mahoney. He is legit. So damn good at talking about basketball. Yes. But even better, I think television.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Better at TV and movies and stuff.

[JD Skeets]

So good at it.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Yeah. It's crazy.

[JD Skeets]

I mean, Joanne Robinson, like, that pair. Absolutely is dynamite. Okay, good. Good pick. Rob Mahoney, congratulations on winning JD's NBA white boy. All right, next one here. After a pair of dramatic tweets indicating Trae Young might request a trade out of Atlanta, the Hawkstar instead announced an underwhelming sponsorship with Crooked T. Yep. He pulled a LeBron Henny. What's the cringey thing you've seen recently? Is the question up? It was not great. We love Lefkoe. We love Trey Young. Bad timing, too. After the Henny LeBron thing. The thing was three minutes long. I definitely gave up halfway through. It is what it is. But anyway, cringiest thing.

[Taz Melas]

Why was it three minutes long?

[JD Skeets]

I don't know how long, Austin, to come in there and edit the hell out of that.

[Trey Kirby]

LeBron's like 30 seconds quick.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. It's a commercial.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah.

[Taz Melas]

Length. And give me a commercial length for a commercial. I know. Confused.

[JD Skeets]

Crooked tea, though, not sugary, is the only thing I really took away from that.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[Taz Melas]

Not sugary at all.

[JD Skeets]

So there you go. Pre plug for crooked tea. Get at us. You know what? Get at us. We'll put crooked tea all over this cable.

[Trey Kirby]

90 minutes on it.

[JD Skeets]

Watch this. All right. Cringiest thing you recently did.

[Taz Melas]

Oh, man. It might happen. We might do 90 minutes. I've already mentioned how I cringed eating boiled peanuts. I thought it would be a thing that I wanted to eat. I love a good nut, but there's just too many things that didn't go well during that. So I'll leave that to side. But I really. I'm having flashbacks. The texture, softness, the lack of salt. Too many negatives, and I don't want to spread this. But something also that was. Was cringy was somebody telling me, as we get into the colder months here, not, not just me, other people as well. Big group of people. That flu season Is not a season. I said, okay, what does that mean? He went on to say that, sure, our immune system is weaker when it's cold and we are more susceptible to getting illness, but flu season is not a season. I said, okay, maybe you're just joking around. Maybe you don't want to want the word season being sort of categorized in the same category as spring, fall, winter.

[JD Skeets]

We get that part. There's not five seasons.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, yeah, I know, but that's the only. That's the only explanation here. I'm just making people dumber by saying this. I mean, people just literally can get sick in the winter, so it's called a season. When we talk about the regular season.

[JD Skeets]

Anyway, I interpret that as that person is saying, you can get sick anytime you can get the flu.

[Taz Melas]

But he also went on to say, logically, the scientific explanation of our immune system saying it can be colder. When it's colder, we are more susceptible.

[JD Skeets]

I would agree with that. Okay.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, well, flu season. Flus don't happen in the summer.

[JD Skeets]

Flu period.

[Taz Melas]

Flu, likely Flu era. It's all about the word.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Taz Melas]

Anyway, I just made everyone dumber, and that's the problem with our world today. Moving on.

[Trey Kirby]

Still a season to me.

[Taz Melas]

Thank you.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I. With you.

[JD Skeets]

I do believe it's a season as well.

[Taz Melas]

I. I don't think I'm getting my shot this year, though. I didn't get it last year. Good.

[Trey Kirby]

It's not a season. Why do you need it? What about you, TK adults doing 67. It's not for us. I'll give a pass to, like, teachers out there. They're inundated with children. Doing it all the time. Anytime you're counting and you hit 6 and 7 in the same way, but you just shouldn't be doing it.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

No other way to do it.

[JD Skeets]

Just leave it to the kids. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

It's like we didn't start saying skibidi, so we shouldn't start saying six' seven, right? J.D.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah.

[JD (Super Producer)]

I found myself at a frat house last weekend for a tailgate. Caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. Pure cringe, man. I was, like, the oldest person there by a lot, and I was invited there. My son is a. Is a member of said fraternity, and he was playing in a band for the tailgate. So, you know, I was there to support him. Support.

[JD Skeets]

Yep.

[JD (Super Producer)]

But, yeah, didn't feel good about it.

[JD Skeets]

Maybe you stuck around a little too long.

[JD (Super Producer)]

I made my exit. I just. Being there was just. I was making. I could feel the cringe around me so it was me. I was.

[JD Skeets]

Next time, try a little six, seven, see what.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah, I'll try that.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

Just make sure not to go to like a baby oil wrestling match. Went poorly for a friend of mine.

[JD Skeets]

Back in the day. Really?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, my boy Blue. Yeah, he went to one.

[JD Skeets]

Happy for a second Tommy Pearl story or something. Freaking old school. Okay, final one here. I alluded to it. Next week, the 80th NBA season tips Tuesday on NBC and Peacock in the same place. It ended last season, Oklahoma City, because the Thunder raised the championship banner before hosting the Rockets Wednesday. Then we got the national games on ESPN Thursday. Guys, they're on prime. It's gonna be a little difficult to follow as we move forward. So the question is, what else? Took some time for you to get.

[Taz Melas]

Used to the term 6 7? No. Well, actually, I will say one thing about 67 before I get to my turn. Oh, sounds like somebody does six, seven. I don't really do this. The good thing that happened was that six foot, seven foot got played. People remembered Lil Wayne, six foot, seven foot.

[Trey Kirby]

I'm like, okay, great.

[Taz Melas]

Great to hear that. Instead of 6 7. It took me a while to get used to using the word dope, but it's a dope word. I always use cool as the coolest thing, but I think dope is. Hasn't taken over cool, but dope is, it's. It's gaining some traction, as in terms of the number one word being associated with cool things, Dope.

[JD Skeets]

All right.

[Taz Melas]

It's fun to say.

[JD Skeets]

What about you, Trey?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I think Gen Z hand signals are tough to pick up when you're a millennial like I am. Like, I've talked about the change from three pointer being like, you know, pinky ring, middle. And now it's right, right, right. German style, Dirk style. But the biggest one for me that I think is impossible to learn is like heart hands.

[JD Skeets]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Taz Melas]

For me.

[Trey Kirby]

I love you. I love you is always going to be pinky, index thumb, near rock and roll. But we're talking about love too much. Yeah, I prefer a one hander.

[JD Skeets]

I. I think that's.

[Trey Kirby]

I like a one hander.

[JD Skeets]

The fact that it takes two. Oh, it's not good. Oh, what?

[Taz Melas]

Two hands? Stop using two hands.

[JD Skeets]

Come on.

[Trey Kirby]

Like, can you line them up?

[JD Skeets]

JD what's something that you know is taking some time or took some time for you to get used to?

[JD (Super Producer)]

Yeah, this, this new setup. Keep going to TAs when I mean to go to me.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah. Off the top. That's happening frequently. So that's just.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Well, we've switched cameras.

[Taz Melas]

You're.

[JD (Super Producer)]

You. You're on Tass's old camera. Trey's where he was. He's. He's five.

[JD Skeets]

Trey's good.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Yeah. But, yeah, I was four.

[JD Skeets]

Do you have them labeled?

[Taz Melas]

No.

[JD Skeets]

Why not?

[JD (Super Producer)]

No. Because I'm gonna get used to it. The thing is, it didn't make sense before. Now it kind of makes sense. The layout. Oh, right. So on camera one, this is the wide shot. Camera two.

[JD Skeets]

Okay.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Three is you. Four is task.

[JD Skeets]

Yeah.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Five is Trey. And then we got our split screen here. It makes sense now. But it was so convoluted before. But now it's just. I'll get used to it.

[Taz Melas]

Okay.

[JD (Super Producer)]

I'm not gonna write names down here.

[JD Skeets]

Why not?

[JD (Super Producer)]

Because I barely look at it.

[JD Skeets]

Okay? It's all muscle memory.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Yeah, exactly.

[Taz Melas]

Yeah. I saw when you were making the decision, when we started moving stuff around here. Here. Here goes the desk. Here go the cameras. You are so, so confident. Think about it for a second. I think you'll be fine. Yeah, I think you'll be.

[JD (Super Producer)]

Thanks.

[Taz Melas]

And you get to see your Blue Jays hat. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[JD Skeets]

I do like this quad box here.

[Taz Melas]

For. It doesn't cool. For rapid fire.

[JD Skeets]

Good stuff. All right. That's rapid fire. Not so rapid, is it? No, never is. And that's the drop. That's today's podcast. Thank you for joining us. Hit the like button. Subscribe podcast listeners, five star ratings and reviews. Do want to see your answers to those six burning questions as well, so drop them in the comments below. I'll remind you what I said off the top. Up substack. We got it. So if you want to join and support the show, $5 a month, $50 a year. If you want to do it that way, get. The subscription link is in the show notes. Podcast listeners as well. It'll be in the show notes if you want to click that and help your boys out. If you're a Survivor fan. We did no buffs yesterday. Nora was here in studio with Trey and JD and myself talking about a fun episode, how to tribe swap. That's what they're doing there in that photo. They're taking their new new buffs. So we broke it all down. We have a blast talking about Survivor. Lots of laughs. So go check that out if you're a Survivor fan. It's got its own podcast feeds on YouTube feed. We're back on Monday, a day before the NBA season starts. And I guess Monday means five days per week. Back in your lives are back here during the the build up to the start of the season, we're doing three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. But next week at least we're gonna be five days a week starting on Monday, getting you ready and then Tuesday night tips and. And we're off and running. Are you pumped for real basketball? I've definitely reached the point where, like I'm, I don't care anymore at all about preseason. So and so did well, so and so. I don't care anymore. I'm like, all right, let's play the real games. So it's good.

[Taz Melas]

Agreed.

[JD Skeets]

It's good. They're almost here. So hopefully we will see you Monday here in the classic factory at 10am Eastern. Until then, Clipper Bros. You heard it here first.

[Trey Kirby]

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

[Taz Melas]

Thanks for joining us. And remember, Trey's literally working on the.

[Trey Kirby]

There's a new heart hand.

[JD Skeets]

Oh, new hard hand. Just dropped.

[Trey Kirby]

It's just heart fingers.

[Taz Melas]

Oh, that's even harder.

[Trey Kirby]

That's harder.

[JD Skeets]

I liked your other one.

[Trey Kirby]

More easy. I mean, I long for the days of the heart hands. Now it's just heart fingers. You gotta go straight, straight middles with curvy indexes. That's tough, man.

[Taz Melas]

Not doing that.

[JD Skeets]

We love you.

[Trey Kirby]

Like the video. Put a heart fingers on it, please.

[Taz Melas]

I mean, I saw Isaiah Finder Khalifa do it yesterday and I thought, well, that's easy to do a heart. But you know what? It ain't that easy.

[JD Skeets]

I literally thought you were going to say Isaiah Hartenstein was going to be the pun to end this with.

[Taz Melas]

All right.

[JD Skeets]

Embrace the weekend people.

[Taz Melas]

Go Jays.

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[JD Skeets]

Inspired by shocking action sexual events, I'm.

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Working on a story about the Murdochs.

[Taz Melas]

Their abuses of power are playing out in real time.

[JD Skeets]

Starring Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette and Jason Clark.

[Taz Melas]

It's only cheating if you get caught.

[JD Skeets]

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