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- [01:31]
B
and welcome to the NBA Daily for May 14, 2026. I'm Dave Defor here with Zena Keda. Coming up, the Cavs take a 32 lead over the Pistons. And Josh Robbins is here to talk about the Wizards and who they might draft with the number one overall pick. Good morning, everybody. How's it going? Xena, what is up? Nasty game last night.
- [01:57]
C
Oh, I mean nasty. Which way? Like great way or the way it ended? Like, there's so many ways that we can interpret that.
- [02:04]
B
Of all the basketball that you've been watching in the playoffs, how many of the worst games have the Pistons or the Cavs in them?
- [02:12]
C
I mean, a lot of them. A lot of them. But they give us some exciting endings. So we appreciate the balance. You gotta balance it out.
- [02:19]
B
And a little bit of controversy as well. The Cavaliers, they win 117, 113 in Detroit in overtime and Zeno. Look, the story of this game is really, it's the last two and a half minutes and overtime the Pistons were up by nine with 237 left in the fourth quarter. They were then outscored 23 to 10 in the rest of the fourth quarter and overtime. They shot four of 17 from the field. James Harden really got it done down the stretch. You know, a few flops here and there, but he puts up 30 points, 11 of 14 from the free throw line, eight rebounds, six assists. And look, the first half of this, of this game, Xena, it looked like this was going the other way. The, The Pistons had 20 points off turnovers. They're up 12 at halftime. I mean, it just. It look, or excuse me, they're up eight at halftime. It looked like they were going to just handle the Cavs at home, you know, like no team had been able to. To break through on the road. And then, you know, the, the Cavs come out, they have another great third quarter. Just James Harden puts them on, on his back and is just creating everything. And I gotta say, like the, the Pistons really just. They fumbled the game away. Costly turnovers, couldn't hit shots and really just couldn't get anything going.
- [03:39]
C
You hit the nail on the head with the fact that there were 20 points off turnovers in comparison to Cleveland's two. But at the half, they were only up eight. That foreshadowed everything that happened in the second half. Being able to have a lead for over 20 minutes of the first half and not being able to capitalize it. Then you go into the third quarter and that kind of. I love when Chuck Charles Barkley says it, lackadaisical, like play is exactly what got Detroit in trouble. And it was the worst part about it was it was coming from the person you really don't want to see it happen to, and that is Cade Cunningham. Okay, Cunningham was. Had four turnovers in the second half, and that was huge. But the offense stalled, right? You were the one that called us out in our group chat, Dave. There were. There hadn't been a three attempted in the third.
- [04:35]
B
In the third quarter, first five minutes, the Pistons didn't get a three pointer
- [04:38]
C
up at all, which is attempted, right? Not even just shot, but attempted. And at that point when you mentioned it, they had only made one field goal. And so. So everything that was working for them in the first half, which is basically offense through defense, right? It was their physicality. It was trapping on the wings, it was getting in passing lanes. It was just being bodying up on folks and making it so hard for the Cavs to just play simple basketball. All of that went away. Their fast break points went away. Everything Just stalled. And it was really sad to see the way that that game ended. Sure. You can say, oh, well, you know, Amin Thompson, not Amen. Excuse me. Asar Thompson got fouled by Jared Allen. And he did. He did.
- [05:20]
B
Yeah, he did.
- [05:21]
C
You know, and there was time on the clock. They would have had additional time of at least 1.2 seconds to be able to get down court and get a shot up to potentially win the game. They end up going to overtime. But it wasn't just that moment that Detroit should be looking at. It was the entirety of their second half play just wasn't there. The only person I'll say who did what they were supposed to really do alongside, you know, I won't take away Kate having 19 in the second half. But Paul Reed, way to step up for Detroit. When Jalen Duran was practically a no show to the point that he was not able to get minutes in the fourth quarter. Evan Mobley was having a day with him in the first half through the. Throughout the entire game, really. And Paul Reed was a nice find for them. But outside of that, Dennis Jenkins as well. But outside of that, Detroit looks lost. We got to focus on Detroit. I mean, we got to focus on Cleveland. Cleveland. Yeah. Because Cleveland did their thing, particularly Max Dr. Where you at, baby?
- [06:21]
B
Yeah, you know, Max Stru basically seals the deal down the stretch of the game and overtime. Gets a big steal on Kate Cunningham goes 6 of 8 from 3, 20 points, 8 rebounds. I mean, just kind of a perfect complimentary role player. I mean, the way that they've decided to close games with Max Drce, I, I think that a large part of that is the defense and it's the quick trigger from three. When James Harden hits him, he gets the shot up. You know, Evan Mobley finds him out of the short roll in the pick and roll. He gets the shot up, you know, as soon as he has a clean look. And you know, Xena, this is. I, I watched what Max Druce is bringing for, for Donovan Mitchell and for James Harden and these other guys and I keep thinking, man, what if Cade had and Tobias Harris had a Max Schruse out there with them? A guy who was a two way player who could shoot and who could guard, you know. And again Max Sch instrumental in the, in the Cavs win.
- [07:17]
C
Yeah, yeah. No, I love how we've seen him throughout this series. You know, that very first game he drops 19, goes a little bit quiet in the next few and then once again comes off the bench and not only is hitting shots, but is in people's grill. Right. He's defending incredibly well. He's made really great defensive plays where, you know, he's getting steals and going up the floor by himself. And I won't lie, like, I'm not thinking that that is going to be Max Struth, but that's actually when I was thinking about Max Struth potentially being on Detroit and how Detroit would need someone like that. He had that dog in him in this game and throughout this series, I would say in that he is not backing down and not also relegating his game to just three point making. He is getting rebounds. He had eight in this game. He's shooting threes as well. He had a block, he had a steal. He's drawing fouls. Like he, he's doing all of it for them. And that's exactly what you want in terms of your, your role players. Surrounding James Harden's 30, surrounding a late start Donovan Mitchell. And at that point it is, that's what, that's his nickname, late start Donovan Mitchell, because he's always gonna be a little quiet and then all of a sudden do something in the second half. But that's. Max showed up in the best way for Cleveland in Detroit. Look, look at Duncan, you know, look at Kevin Herder. That is what you want. That's the blueprint for what you want out of those guys.
- [08:42]
B
For Cade. Look, 39 points. You know, this felt like if they were, if they were going to win, this felt like it was going to be what we would call a Cade game.
- [08:50]
C
Yeah.
- [08:50]
B
The problem is the turnovers. He commits six turnovers, but some of Cade Cunningham's turnovers, and this is the story of, of his career so far. But some of them are mindboggling it. It just again, he gets the ball ripped from him by Max. True. He's, you know, trying to accentuate contact, maybe get a foul call, wrong time for that, and just gives the ball up. You know, a couple of throwaways here and there and there. This guy right now, like the disparity between his greatness when he's playing, like, makes a great play and then some of the turnovers. I don't know if there's a player that has this, this much of a difference. Just the, the turnovers in this game. I mean, Kate Cunningham lost them the game partially on his own through bad turnovers, especially that one in overtime.
- [09:41]
C
Yeah. And it's important to note, like people will look at his volume, right. And say and excuse. Well, when you've got someone leading the team in attempts.
- [09:51]
B
Right.
- [09:52]
C
Of course you're going to get some Turnovers. He had 27 shot attempts tonight. That's true. And he's averaging 5.6 turnovers in this series. And over the course of time. Yes, of course. But it's what you're saying, the types of turnovers, the timing of these turnovers, they really, they're exasperating. They're like, what? These are moments where you're trying to take leads. These are moments where you have taken the lead. These are moments where you're the reason
- [10:18]
B
you're supposed to be locked in. You're most.
- [10:20]
C
Locked in the most. And that's where. That's why you can't just excuse the turnovers to the volume, the usage. Right, right. This is, it's, it's really about locking in and being the leader of this team and knowing this ain't the time to be doing that. This ain't. You've got to really lock and you know, people are coming after you. Yeah. Can emphasize that enough.
- [10:42]
B
And look, you mentioned, you mentioned Paul Reed. Paul Reed didn't get into the game until the fourth quarter. And then he played the fourth quarter and all of overtime. 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks. Duran, another no show game for him, essentially. And I believe Xena, it's probably overdue at this point because it's an elimination game in Game 6 and you're going to be on the road. And s reminded us that Cleveland doesn't really lose there. I wonder if we won't see B ball. Paul. Paul Reed inserted into the starting lineup. And frankly, I don't know how if you're JB Biggerstaff, you don't at least have a quick hook on Jalen Duran if he doesn't have it in game six.
- [11:29]
C
Yeah, at this point, it's, it's glaring. And it probably was glaring in, I don't know, Game two, Game three. Earlier on the series, Evan Mobley and Jalen Duran have had moments right. There was. I can't remember what quarter it was, but Evan Mobley goes, gets past Jalen Dern, ends up dunking on Asar Thompson, basically because Asar was in the help position and had to clean up the mess that Jaylen Duran allowed. And then on the other end, Jalen Duran has this like, nice spin move down low, and you're like, okay, they're about to go back and forth. You know, he finishes at the rim. And. And that is exactly what did not happen. It was. Evan Mobley continued, and he found his shot outside he was all over. He was getting the boards, he was providing exactly what, you know, Cleveland needed out of him. Whereas Jalen Duran, whether it was even the, the manner in which he was running up the court, the manner in which he was setting screen, you could even really count on him to set hard hitting screens, he did not look confident. His best quarter was the third quarter. And a lot of that wasn't necessarily him taking over. It was. He found opportunities, he put up three field goals, made two, and then he got to the free throw line. That wasn't. He had no other impact on the game.
- [12:47]
B
Right.
- [12:48]
C
Um, and that, that's tough. Every time I think of Jalen Duran, I just think of like a pile of money and just like wind sweeping off the top, like thinking about his max, like, does he not know he's. He's up for some money? Like, come. You've got to play hard. You got to play like with some confidence. Don't get me wrong, I don't know if he's not. I'm not. I wouldn't say that he's not playing hard. He's not playing with conf. Confidence right now. And Evan Mobley absolutely is. Jared Allen absolutely is. And when you've got the juxtaposition of those bigs, it makes what Jalen Duran do is not doing or is doing so glaring.
- [13:25]
B
Right. And also when beef stew comes into the game and hits back to back threes and Paul Reed's running around just being in every, like, every single play Paul Reed's involved in in one way or another. And you just think to yourself, wow, surely Jay. Jaylen Duran should have some sort of an imprint on this game again, game six? I don't know. Zena, do you think that the Pistons can pull out a win in game six in Cleveland and force game seven?
- [13:54]
C
Oh, this is tough because Cleveland doesn't lose at home. And that's what is so terrible about what Detroit allowed happen to happen, is you allowed a team to put you on the ropes on the way back home. And this particular team, Cleveland, that doesn't lose at home, I don't, I don't know. I genuinely don't know because it's going to take another Cade 39 point game. Um, and it's going to take, I mean, I mean, look at this scoring. Dana. Dana Jenkins is your next top scorer.
- [14:32]
B
Yeah.
- [14:33]
C
Like Tobias Harris is going to have to have one of them game sevens that he had in the last series. Right. Like, it's going to, it's going to require a lot out of Detroit and right now we're not seeing it out of the folks that you would expect it from.
- [14:46]
A
Jalen Durham.
- [14:47]
C
Yeah, right.
- [14:48]
B
I I think being the team that likely has to make a lineup change going into elimination game is a bad spot to be in and right the Cavs. Look, if nothing else, I do believe that when they smell blood in the water, they know how to get it. We saw James Harden just do that in the game. As soon as they started to show some weakness, he went to work. I think it's going to be really hard for the Pistons to force Game seven. Guys, stick around after the break. We got Josh Robbins here from the combine to give us a heads up on who the Wizards might take AT number one. Activecampaign is the marketing automation platform built for big swings and big dreams with intelligent suggest powered by AI and your data. Generate ideas in seconds, import your brand and create full campaigns with simple prompts. Send personalized messages backed by real time feedback, smart segmentation and effortless reporting that tracks every win. Let's redefine what's possible together. Get started for free@activecampaign.com buying a car is a big deal, so you shouldn't go in blind with the Cargurus app. The new dealership mode is like having a personal cheat sheet in your pocket. Instantly compare the car in front of you to similar options. See deal ratings and price history and estimate your final price. It's no wonder Cargurus is the number one most visited car shopping site according to SimilarWeb's estimated traffic data. Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus@CarGurus.com Go to CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal. That's C-A-R G U R U S.com
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- [17:11]
B
Over the weekend, the Washington Wizards won the number one pick in the NBA draft lottery. Our man Josh Robbins was there. He's in Chicago at the combine right now. Josh, how's it going? You know, you seem like a Chicago guy.
- [17:26]
A
Thanks, thanks.
- [17:27]
C
I'm.
- [17:28]
A
I'm flattered because I love it here. It's very nice. I had a great.
- [17:32]
B
What's the best thing you've eaten?
- [17:33]
A
Well, I haven't eaten much good stuff. But I had a very nice Saturday afternoon the day before the lottery. I went and got a cup of coffee downtown near the Hancock Tower, and then I just walked northwest and what a lovely day. What a great neighborhood. I, I had. I wouldn't say the time of my life, but I had a nice time. So thanks.
- [17:58]
B
Well, I enjoyed it.
- [17:59]
A
I don't know. Why am I a Chicago guy?
- [18:02]
B
You just, you just seem like a guy that would like Chicago. I like Chicago.
- [18:07]
A
Well, I'm glad you phrased it like
- [18:08]
C
that because it got Chicago in the summertime, especially unmatched.
- [18:12]
A
Well, I'm glad you, you both phrased it like that because otherwise millions of Chicagoans insulted.
- [18:20]
B
I think we've insulted them much worse on the show when we talk about the Bulls then complimenting the city. Look, let's swing to the, to the lottery. Look, the Wizards win. The tanking pays off. What. What are the Wizards thinking about doing with the number one pick?
- [18:37]
A
If I knew 100 for sure, I would have written it already. However, it seems to me that there are four candidates here. AJ De Bansa, Darren Peterson, Caleb Wilson, Cameron Boozer, not necessarily in that order. And how they suss this out and decide who is the best person for them. I, I can't wait to see it. Would they even consider. Consider trading down, say the two?
- [19:06]
B
I don't.
- [19:07]
A
I think that's unlikely, but I'm not prepared for to rule it out because who knows what they might possibly be offered.
- [19:16]
C
Right.
- [19:16]
A
To move down into.
- [19:18]
C
It does feel like there's possibilities that there could be not only shifts from adding a superstar and whoever you get at the number one pick, but also shifts on your current roster. Right. There's Trey Young, Anthony Davis, Alexar already there. And Davis is a pretty, pretty adamant about the fact that he wants to play for a contender. He's been talking about Washington and saying things like they instead of we in interviews. And you know, you wonder, does winning the lottery change where he stands in all of this at all? Or is Davis being an expiring contract, you know, is that there an opportunity for him to be moved if he
- [19:56]
A
were 28 years old instead of 33 years old. I think the Wizards winning the lottery would brighten his outlook. I also think it would brighten his outlook if he somehow reached a three year extension or a two year contract extension at 50 million per. I think that would alleviate a lot of his concerns. So I'm sure that you're prepared to ask me, will he be traded this summer? That's the, that's a big topic in Washington, as it should be, because his rhetoric has been fascinating. It's been complimentary of the organization but derogatory about the immediate timeline. I think it's unlikely that he gets traded before the start of the regular season. But just how, just how adamant is he, how willing is the team to extend him? His trade value is not very high. You know how I know that? Yeah, I know that? Because they hardly traded any draft capital and any critical future players to get him.
- [21:06]
B
Right?
- [21:07]
C
Right.
- [21:08]
A
And I think he needs to understand that if he's expecting a trade before the start of the regular season, perhaps he could resuscitate his value right between this October 23rd and February 8th or whenever the trade deadline is.
- [21:24]
B
That, I mean, that's my thought, is that the entire thing here was you make the trade to get him, you hope you get some lottery luck, but then you've got him to start the season. You know, he's going to rehabilitate his, his value around the league and you can get something for him which essentially is turning nothing, which they gave up, into probably, you know, a future first that maybe is a fake first that turns into a couple of seconds, but it's stuff that you didn't have before and it costs you nothing. I mean, if anything, they're going to try. Like they can't be bad next year. Bottom three bad. There's no value to that. So you've got to win games. Anthony Davis, when he's healthy and playing, has been and still was last year at times very productive. I think that there's worse ways to start next year than with Anthony Davis on your roster as a guy with something to prove, which I do think he does. I mean, he's got to prove that he could just be on the court, much less that he's still the caliber of player that we think of him as. Right.
- [22:26]
A
Cena, I don't want to talk speak for you, but I assume that the three of us agree that he does have something to prove.
- [22:32]
C
Yeah, absolutely.
- [22:35]
A
I wonder if he realizes he has something to prove because he is a top 75 all time player. And when he's healthy and he's engaged and he's eager to play, He's a top 15 player in the league still. So if he can harness his own ability and his desire, the Wizards suddenly become an even more interesting team. And oh, by the way, they're about to add the number one overall pick in what is supposed to be a loaded draft, right? Yeah, so they are. A year ago they were totally irrelevant nationally mid December. Totally irrelevant nationally. All of a sudden. Extraordinarily relevant nationally. Maybe not on the on par with the Celtics or the Lakers or the Knicks, but they sure are a fascinating team.
- [23:26]
B
It's going to be a Josh Robbins coming out party, I think next season.
- [23:30]
C
Yeah.
- [23:30]
B
Going to be all over the place.
- [23:31]
A
Thanks for, thanks for saying that. But I've only been doing this 26 years. If people don't know I'm here by now. You know, I used, I did once cover a team that had just gone to the NBA finals and if it hadn't choked away the Eastern Conference finals was going to go head back as a feder team that next year. So I'm not some ham and egger here, Dave. I'm not some total loser here. Now see, now, okay, wait. You never said anything bad, but Dave did.
- [24:04]
C
I got a lot of respect for the years that you have put in for this league and covering this league. And I have a question actually with that. With that knowing that this is the first time in the new lot, like you know, not in the new. Well, this new world lottery format. There's a new world one coming soon. But since the new lottery format was adopted in 2019, that the team with the worst record actually got the number one overall pick, right? And they get, they go 1765, they get rewarded. They make these two blockbuster trades to get Trae Young and Anthony Davis. They are both hurt. They. And so they're not hurt by the fact that they get these big pieces. It feels like the Washington front office played chess incredibly well. Like it. They kind of, you know, found a way to get all this together because sometimes when you make a trade for an older player, aka CJ McCollum, you're like, you're not expecting a ton out of him and then all of a sudden he's amazing. This actually worked out perfectly for Washington. Do you give Washington's front office a lot of credit or do you think they just got lucky at the right time in the way that all this
- [25:07]
A
laid out No, I give them a ton of credit. I give them a ton of credit. What I don't know for sure is when the whole league knew that the lottery system was going to get changed for to begin with in 2627.
- [25:22]
B
Yeah.
- [25:22]
A
But my what I do know is that they along with the whole rest of the league thought that the 2027 and 2028 drafts were not worth taking for anyway. So I suspect they knew that two or three or four years out even before they came to Washington in the new. With the new front office and of many of the scouts are still there. In retrospect, it worked out scenes pretty perfectly.
- [25:53]
C
Right.
- [25:54]
A
And so this front office now this is going to be the third draft cycle. They had been on the job in the very first one, a poor draft. They wound up drafting the person they had first on their board. Alex Saar, the recesse pick for Atlanta. Doesn't seem to have worked out for Atlanta. But Washington got its person who they wanted last year. Okay. If it second worst record dropped to six. A good player. Not Cooper flag though. Not Dylan. Dylan Harper, not Edgecomb or Nipple. And now they have the number one pick. So they're going to come out of the last three drafts. The three drafts that they been in the front office with the top player under a board twice.
- [26:41]
C
Yeah, that's big.
- [26:43]
B
And three times. Because they'll have the choice this time.
- [26:46]
A
No, I'm including that.
- [26:48]
B
Oh, okay.
- [26:49]
A
Yeah. They didn't come out with the top player on their board last year.
- [26:52]
B
Right, right, of course.
- [26:53]
A
Anyway, I, I'm still so upset about this, this Josh Robbins debut party comment that you. I can't even think straight and I can't even talk straight. Great. And I'm not really upset, but.
- [27:08]
B
Yeah, of course not. No, of course not. No. Listen, this, this front office in Washington, they. They came from Oklahoma City and what they've done here really rhymes with the way that OKC turned themselves into a contender. Right. And. And Zena, you mentioned luck. Some of that, yeah. The lottery, that's luck. But the preparation and the moves ahead of time, getting Trey Young, getting Anthony Davis, those are shrewd move. Like we'll see what, what the payoff is from those moves too because those are, those are out there. Like will Trey Young be someone that they are able to flip? I think Anthony Davis will be. I think you'll get. You're going to have a contender next season come trade deadline, come January. That's going to say, oh, we need an upgraded center. Anthony Davis. We, we is gettable and probably for not a lot. And, and he's going to be an upgrade for most teams that are. That are in that position. So, I mean, I think that they're pretty well set up. And again, it's. This draft is going to be huge for them. I mean, Josh, like, this is going to be the franchise cornerstone. This is, this is the best draft in forever, although last year was pretty good. And it's. We're not going to have a great draft for a few years, it seems. So I don't know any inclination whatsoever where they might go with this pick
- [28:25]
A
to amplify your point. They've got to get it right.
- [28:28]
B
Right.
- [28:29]
A
They have to get it right. You have to have a foundational player to really be able to accomplish something. And this is their chance. At least we think that this is their chance, that no one on the roster right now whom they've grabbed and developed will grow into that. We don't think that on the outside. What direct. Well, I think it's down to the four guys and I think that debaza is the least risky. I could argue that Peterson is the highest upside. Cam Boozer is the best winner, and Caleb Wilson might be somehow the best hybrid of the two. The best athlete and best winner, perhaps. So it's a great problem for them to have. It's not easy. And one point I didn't make again because I was upset that, you know, having Davis and Young on the roster ought to make the most. Ought to help the young guys who they have and will suddenly have come June 23rd.
- [29:38]
B
Better.
- [29:39]
A
How many open shots should Trae Young get for the likes of Alex Sar, Keyshawn George? How many lobs will Alex Sar get if Alex Sar starts rolling to the basket, as he probably should do more of Trey Johnson should get a ton of wide open threes. So he. And then Anthony Davis is Anthony Davis when he's at his best. And he should help everybody on the court. And just as important, none of the young guys on the roster, including whoever it is, whether it's Defense or Peter whomever, they don't have to be the person right away. There'll still be enormous pressure. But you have Trae Young and you have Anthony Davis there to move the scoreboard, to move the. The D. Yeah. To get stops on towards Davis. So they'll be. I think they are truly in. In an excellent position, given where they started, especially.
- [30:39]
B
Yeah, absolutely. They dug themselves out of a hole. They've got a lot of talent that I really like. I mean, for a Team this young, they. They have the skeleton of what could be a decent defense, depending on who they wind up drafting. I think. I think Sar and Anthony Davis together. Very interesting. I don't know. We'll see what happens. The draft coming up soon. You got anything? Any parting shots here before. Before I let you go?
- [31:04]
A
They got the skeleton there. A skeleton fortified with extra calcium. Milk. I don't know. I was just. I was trying to make you laugh, and I did.
- [31:13]
B
You did. You succeeded.
- [31:15]
A
Got. Thank, thank. Thank goodness. And that I made you laugh.
- [31:20]
B
Yeah. Oh, that's, you know, that's why we love to have you on the show. Everybody go and read Josh Robbins over at the Athletic again. He covers the Wizards for us. He covers the magic now. He's covering the draft. He's been doing it a long time. He's one of the best.
- [31:33]
A
Been doing it a long time. He's an old man. He's an old man now.
- [31:37]
B
Thank you, Josh.
- [31:38]
A
See you later.
- [31:40]
B
Before we get out of here, Xena, you and I, we were talking before the show, and you wanted to share a personal story about Jason Collins, who you knew?
- [31:50]
C
I did. I got a chance to meet him. We were both honored. As part of the minority in sports business. They have, like, an award I won, Rookie tastemaker. I forget what Jason's actual title was, but right before we were honored, we had, like, a little photo shoot in a hallway. This was at summer league of 2023. And, you know, I was kind of fixing my dress, and he was like, you look great. Don't worry about it. You look good. I gave him a similar compliment. And we kind of launched into a conversation about how being former athletes were always kind of thinking about, what do we look like now? Do we look as dominant and strong as it feels? And I'm not gonna lie, at this moment, I had not known in talking to him that he was dealing with cancer. And so having this conversation, having that conversation and how gracious he was with that conversation with me, not knowing he's dealing with glioblastoma, like he's dealing with something that is completely changing his body, both internally and externally. And that was just very much who he was. Selfless, a shining light. And as I watched him kind of maneuver about the room like that is exactly what he was. His brother Jaron came and joined to celebrate him as well. And it was just really special getting the opportunity to get to know him in that moment. And then from that moment, you know, he would send me texts whenever he saw me on different things. We exchanged texts and messages back and forth. And most recently, he did a story with Ramona Shelburne and about his cancer treatment and him being in the search for new treatment. And I took the time to just say thank you for everything you represent and everything that you've gone through, the struggle of coming out as a black man, as a gay black man, a gay black NBA player, a prominent NBA player as well. And then now dealing with this with such grace. And he handled it all with such grace. And, you know, he sent me a text back and was like, you know, it's kind of crazy. I'm traveling the world, getting ready for trying to find another cancer treatment, and I'm getting showered with so much love and so much adoration. I appreciate you taking the time to give me my flowers while I'm still here. And it's surreal that we got to be blessed by him. And I just appreciate you giving me the moment to say that story and to say I hope he rests in peace as well as Brendan Clark. That terrible. Both men. Folks that lit up a room, folks that lit up locker rooms, folks that really made people feel seen. And it's this really terrible news that we got yesterday for both of them.
- [34:30]
B
Yeah, it's been, it's been very bittersweet to hear people's stories about Brandon Clark and Jason Collins. And, you know, shout out to Charles Barkley, by the way, for saying the stuff that needs to be said on television that other people maybe don't have the guts to anyway, that's going to do it for the show. Thank you guys for listening. For Zena Keda and Josh Robbins, I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us. Thanks for listening. Make sure you hit the subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed it, drop a like leave a rating or let us know in the comments. Thank you guys for waking up with us.
- [35:20]
D
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- [36:24]
D
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C
You too.
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D
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