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- [00:01]
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- [03:18]
Dave DeFore
Back to the Athletic MBA Show. I'm Dave DeFore here with Motor Keel. Coming up, a major retirement has sent shockwaves through this podcast. We take a look at the NBA GM survey and see what they got right and we talk about all the things that we're watching this preseason. Welcome back to the Athletic MBA Show. Sadly, we start today's show with some retirement news.
- [04:00]
Mo Takil
Hold on. Dave.
- [04:00]
Dave DeFore
Are you okay?
- [04:02]
Mo Takil
I don't. I know you're going to break the news here in a second to everybody, but are you okay? Can you. Do you need me to do it? Are you okay?
- [04:09]
Dave DeFore
It's been a long morning. After 15 incredible seasons in the NBA, the greatest transition defender in NBA history has chosen to retire. Three time NBA champion, one time All NBA Defensive Team member, Danny Green, former UNC Tar Heel, San Antonio Spur, Cleveland Cavalier, Toronto, Raptor, LA, La Laker, Memphis Grizzly, Philadelphia 76er. Also, there was another Cleveland stint in there. Again, he's retiring. Mo. Now we've, this is not really news, but Danny Green is, has been sort of my avatar the entire time I've been doing this job and it is sad to see him go. He is the ultimate winner in the NBA in my opinion, the ultimate role player. And he was one of the early G League success stories. A guy who was drafted, highly touted, washed out, had to go to the G League fight and claw to get his way back and then was a key starter on multiple championship teams, including that trip to Toronto he took with Kawhi and brought them their only success in franchise history. So Mo, this is, this is actually kind of a, a changing of the guard moment for me with the NBA. I said I was going to retire with Danny, but I, you know, obviously I can't do that.
- [05:43]
Mo Takil
Well, Pop said he was going to retire with Tim. It doesn't, it didn't.
- [05:47]
Dave DeFore
I'm also sticking around for Victor Wimad Yama.
- [05:49]
Mo Takil
Yeah, exactly. Look, I got to be with Danny a little bit when I was with the spurs, be around him. I, I mean, unbelievable. Dude. He's great. He's going to do great wherever he decides to do, you know, more the Green room or whatever media venture he chooses to or things like that. Highly intelligent, but I mean, like, he just produced on the floor. Dave, at the end of the day, like, he was the quintessential three and D guy. And. And, you know, after kind of clawing his way back into the league, it's like you said, man, he was a key piece on championship team for the spurs, championship team for the Raptors, championship for the Lakers. Like, it's pretty damn impressive. And that's an impressive career for everything that he has done, you know, But I honestly, though, I am worried about you. I saw the news, and my first thought was, man, how's Dave going to take this? Do we need to push the podcast back? Like, does he need some time? I was concerned for you.
- [06:51]
Dave DeFore
I'll say. You know. You know, your life is good when you have a bunch of people reach out to you via text message. Dm. I mean, I will say this. It is. It is kind of like bittersweet to see Danny Green retire, but feel pretty good about myself in the world because really, a lot of people did reach out and text me. It's very funny. Yeah. So they just don't really make them like Danny Green anymore. And part of that is because most guards can just dribble better. But the guy. The guy was a winner. And I'm gonna be really sad not to. Not to have the Danny Green crutch to lean on as we go forward. So, Mo, I guess I think that's it on Danny Green. The NBA does a GM survey every single year, and John Schumann kind of organizes this thing for the NBA. And it's an interesting way to take a look at what the league thinks. You know, who do the GMs, the smartest guys in the room. Who do they think is, you know, going to win mvp? Who's going to win Rookie of the Year? And Mo, you know, I got to say, I went through this list, and as much as I want to disagree with these guys, they kind of nailed it as far as I'm concerned. I mean, you know, their first prediction is which team's going to win the 2025 NBA Finals. Now, the. The obvious choices. Oh, yeah, the champs, the Boston Celtics. And. And they got 83% of the vote. But I think the more telling thing is that Oklahoma City is second in the survey, which is. I mean, that's how I feel. I. That that's probably going to wind up being my Finals pick when. When I get there. But more.
- [08:31]
Mo Takil
More interesting than that is the Nuggets weren't in the top three. So you understand. So the people who haven't seen the survey. Celtics 83% of the vote.
- [08:42]
Dave DeFore
Pretty fair.
- [08:43]
Mo Takil
Oklahoma City 13 of the vote. The Dallas Mavericks with 3% of the vote. So I mean, it's pretty interesting in the fact that nobody is looking at the Nuggets as a team that can win a championship. This at least the front offices we should say, the way they are currently built. And I think some, that's almost more telling than the GM's thinking. Boston, OKC and even Dallas have better chance.
- [09:07]
Dave DeFore
And then, you know, part of the survey again, if you haven't looked, it is worth looking, especially as sort of a preseason exercise because if you're not, if you're a more casual watcher or someone who just picks up in the playoffs or something like that, it could be a nice guide for regular season watching because you, you set the table of expectations. But if you go and look their Western Conference rankings, which they also voted on, they had Denver third, but it's really close. They have Dallas right behind them. And, and I actually think that this sort of makes sense because Nicole Jokic can win you 50 games as long as he's got three or four guys around him. The problem is they only have four.
- [09:47]
Mo Takil
Guys and one's Jamal Murray, who's often injured. All right, like we're, we, let's just be honest now. It's, it's, you know, when we're looking at those things. So it's, it's kind of concerning the attrition. We've done this show too many.
- [10:03]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, I'm not doing this show too many times.
- [10:05]
Mo Takil
I'm more interested, I'm more surprised at. When you look at the conference rankings is in the, the, the gm. So they rank them, right? First, second, third and fourth. Like where you think all these teams go, Denver, Dallas and Phoenix each got 7% first place votes thinking that they could finish. Phoenix is getting a, a lot of love in that regard to be a team that from some GMs, you know, and you could do the Math.
- [10:35]
Dave DeFore
Is maybe 1, maybe 2 GMS or.
- [10:38]
Mo Takil
Something like that the same amount as Dallas? The same amount as Denver? Like it's pretty interesting with, with all of that. I, I, I'm fascinated by that. It's gonna be wild.
- [10:52]
Dave DeFore
Dave the MVP, Shay Gilgis Alexander gets 40% of the vote. I mean he does, he is the favorite. He feels like the favorite. He's on what is not a super team. Mo. This is the thing about this, this is what I love about the Oklahoma City Thunders. This is, this is like a real basketball team. They just put together all the right pieces and they have up and coming star players. But right now, Shea is the bright shining star. You, you don't feel like he's going to get knocked for how good that team is around him with voters.
- [11:25]
Mo Takil
He's not. And I think he's not going to get the Jason Tatum effect. Let's just call it what it is, the, the Tatum effect. Because those other guys are not at the level of Jaylen Brown, Drew Holiday, Derek White, Porzingis, por. Like, it's like they're great. And, and, and really, Dave, as you were saying, they're not a super team. I'm like, they're a baby super team, right? They're like in the early stages. You know, Chet's going to be coming along and he's going to be awesome. You know, Jalen Williams is going to have a big, I think is going to have a breakout season. I think he's going to have a, a big run. I, you know, I like the pieces they have, Caruso, Hartenstein, all the guys that they got. But it's just funny to me. It's, it's there a baby super team. But I don't think he will feel the effect of the. Because they're just, they're not overwhelmingly talent right now in the way where, listen, I've said this before. Boston could win a first round playoff series without Jason Tatum playing. And it assumes everybody else is healthy. That's not a shot at Tatum. That's just how good Boston is. Oklahoma City is not winning a playoff series and maybe not a playoff game if Shea Gilgis Alexander is not there. And I think that's the difference now.
- [12:41]
Dave DeFore
Second in MVP Luka Doncic.
- [12:45]
Mo Takil
He's always there.
- [12:46]
Dave DeFore
He's always in the top three. I think it's, it's too tough for him to get there because, you know, you get the Kyrie thing now. They added Klay Thompson, which, you know, again, Klay Thompson is at this point, he's not a star player, but has a star name. I, I just don't know. I mean, I guess the one thing going for these guys especially is they've never won it before. So you don't have some of the voter fatigue that, that you get with, you know, maybe Jokic or even at this point, sadly, like Joel Embiid. There's probably just because he's been in the mix for so long, so.
- [13:20]
Mo Takil
Well, the 65 games. Let's just, let's just stop right there. He's not going to make the limit of games would be my guess. The, the thing with Luca, he can win it if he turns Clay into an unbelievable shooter. And that means by creating all these wide open looks for him with just what he does in the way he drives and attacks.
- [13:42]
Dave DeFore
He's.
- [13:43]
Mo Takil
We know he's going to have the lob threats with Lively and Gafford. Obviously he has Kyrie to attack the second side, but if he kicks it out to Clay, and Clay is knocking down threes at a pretty high clip that we're used to. Again, Klay Thompson doesn't have to be the Golden State Warriors. Klay Thompson, he has to reinvent himself into a role player with Dallas that Klay Thompson may not be washed. And I think that guy, if he's knocking down threes, that's three or four more assists a game for, For Luca right there. Makes his life a lot easier. I think it, it opens up the opportunity for him to have an mvp. But they got to have a top two finish in the conference.
- [14:21]
Dave DeFore
If you could start a franchise today with any player Mo, who would you say?
- [14:26]
Mo Takil
First off, I just want to tell you, 33% of the voters got it wrong. The fact Victor Wembanyama is not a hundred percent, is not 100% vote on this makes me question what the other 33% of the NBA are looking at. Is that 23? Or is that 23?
- [14:45]
Dave DeFore
23. But I will say this, and this is math. Yeah. Shay Gildas Alexander and Nikola jokic both get 10% each. Nicola jokic is the best player in the world. Shay Gildis Alexander is the GM's choice to win MVP this year. So that tells you about his status in the league. And then everyone chose Victor.
- [15:06]
Mo Takil
Women.
- [15:07]
Dave DeFore
Yama.
- [15:08]
Mo Takil
Not everyone, Dave. That's the problem.
- [15:10]
Dave DeFore
I. I know. And everyone. Well, 77 of GMs now the 1. Luka Doncic. 3% of the vote shout out to Nico Harrison on that one. You gotta pick your own guy. But Victor Womenyama has broken my brain four times already in one preseason game with Chris Paul. I mean, we'll, we'll kind of get. Yeah, we'll talk about that later. But this guy is just an absolute cheat code. And any answer that's not him is wrong. So yeah, 23% of the NBA GMs just completely wrong. Now to follow that up. This, I love this question. Which player forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments? Because with Victor Wyama, who's not on the list, how do you adjust?
- [15:58]
Mo Takil
Well, no, you. The thing is, in the future, he will be on this list. But just you go based off last season.
- [16:04]
Dave DeFore
Like, like, yeah, I know, but luka docic, number one, 33% which just makes sense. I mean he is an impossible guard. So you think, okay, right handed guy, you, you want to take away the right hand drive. No, because him going left, he can get to that step back. He also is an incredible passer when you push him. Right. Like, I mean, he just, I don't, I, you can't really guard him in the pick and roll. And when you have Kyrie out there, this is, this is the thing about them in their playoff run. Those guys being able to go back and forth even when Kyrie wasn't really making shots, just the threat. Now all of a sudden the switches are harder. I, I agree with this.
- [16:50]
Mo Takil
No, I, I agree. To be honest, I think the list is pretty solid with the top three being Luka, Stephen and, and Jokic all kind of forcing a lot of adjustments in how you're going to defend and the way you're going to attack because they all provide such different challenges in, in what you said. But I just think Luka is so skilled in so many different ways. It's like you said, takeaways, right? Cool. He's gonna kill you with step backs. Like you're, you're kind of playing a, a cat and mouse game with him in that regard. In terms of the adjustments you have to make, Curry's just Curry, you know, and, and that's just challenging in its own right. And then we know, listen, joking about the, the who you should start your franchise with. Although I'm not. Jokic is the best player on, in basketball right now. And I think that's kind of a challenge because he just has so much he can do in terms of his passing and then when he wants to, he's just going to score.
- [17:48]
Dave DeFore
Some of the offseason move questions, the answers are, I mean, pretty obvious like which one player acquisition will make the biggest impact and Paul George overwhelming 60% of the vote. I did think that Alex Caruso with 7% of the vote and also Alex Caruso got 23% of the vote on most underrated player acquisition. These guys are on to something. This guy, what I've seen out of him so far in the preseason, he just fits right in. Like we've, we've talked about Caruso for years as this ultimate connector and obviously he's a great defender. I actually think the thing with Caruso that people aren't maybe paying enough attention to, they now have three Guys that can credibly guard Anthony Edwards. That's huge. You know, if we, if we're saying Minnesota's right behind them, that's massive.
- [18:42]
Mo Takil
Well, some of us aren't saying Minnesota is right behind them anymore. Alex Caruso though is, is the ultimate plug and play guy anywhere. He's the kind of guy every team needs to have. Every team wants. It's, you know, lockdown defender. He's gonna him on the weak side wreaking havoc in terms of coming over for timing with steals and whatnot. It's, it's very impressive his ability to knock down threes. He does a good job offensively keeping the offense. He just gets the plan. What I loved about the most underrated player acquisition question is the Thunder came up there twice because Isaiah Hartenstein came up, you know, and tied for third with Tyus Jones, which is also another great acquisition. Like I, I think this just shows how good the Thunders off season was just in the pure fact of they have two of the sneakiest great signings or, or, or trades or whatnot in, in what they did. Like, I mean this just goes to show why teams are, why everybody's so high on them.
- [19:42]
Dave DeFore
Can we figure out what happened with the Bulls to make them just give Oklahoma City the perfect player to plug into their system?
- [19:52]
Mo Takil
They absolutely have to be very high on giddy because they passed up on draft picks and at the trade deadline, you know, for, for Caruso. So this is the guy they want in Josh Giddey. Like this is the guy they think is going to help them kind of bridge the gap. And if they have him and Lonzo Ball healthy, like the passing on that team would be freaking amazing. So I could kind of see it. I still don't necessarily like the trade. I think they should have to get no draft compensation is pretty surprising for me for a team that I think could has a good chance to be stealth tanking like I, I'm a bit surprised.
- [20:28]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, this one to me is a little bit controversial. I, I'm going to disagree with them number one just on the premise but question is who's the most versatile defender in the NBA. Now versatile is a term. I don't know, it's very nebulous. But Giannis wins at with 17% of the vote. OG Anunoby, 13% right behind him tied with Victor Wyama. I mean I think OG fits the, the versatile sort of heading a little bit better than Giannis does. Giannis is a, is a big man and he's not great in A switch anymore. He was, he was always just kind of holding up in a switch. Who would you say is the most versatile defender in the NBA?
- [21:13]
Mo Takil
Only 7% of GMs got this correct. His name is Drew Holiday. Put some damn respect on his name day for his defense. It is absolutely ridiculous that this dude has never won a defensive player at the year award. It's, it's, it's disrespectful that only 7% of the GMs understand the, the, the question. Most versatile. This is a dude that guards one through five. Literally. They ran a zone last year and he was the center of the zone. I mean, the guy is unbelievable. Put some damn respect on his name. Dave. Defensively, I will say this, it.
- [21:51]
Dave DeFore
You know, amongst big men. Jonathan Isaac. 7%. I actually, Jonathan Isaac is a legit one through five guy. Now, he's not Drew Holiday, but Jonathan Isaac. I mean, Herb Jones would have been.
- [22:05]
Mo Takil
A good choice, but for Jonathan Isaacs, it's minutes.
- [22:08]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [22:08]
Mo Takil
If you're literally just saying I can only play you 15 to 20 minutes because of injury risks and things like that, that's a problem, man. You can't be considered a versatile defender. Jrue Holiday should have been number one on this list. I am very upset with. Let me do the math real quick. 93% of the GMs in the NBA.
- [22:26]
Dave DeFore
Now, okay, so let's get to some of the random fun ones that they put at the end. They. It's under the miscellaneous subheading, which team is the most fun to watch and the number one choice for NBA gms. And this is infuriating to me, Mo. The Indiana Pacers with 37% of the vote. Why don't NBA GMS like defense? I. I just.
- [22:48]
Mo Takil
Well, this lets you know what their focus is.
- [22:50]
Dave DeFore
I will say this. The Pacers. Look, the Pacers, you know, watch the preseason game the other night against the Hawks. They are fun because they are going to give. They're going to score 130 and in that game, they're going to give up a Seth Lundy game winner for points.131 for the Atlanta Hawks. I mean, anytime you can watch a team and it looks like it's, you know, 1975 rules out there, there's just no shot clock. They're just running. Just out there getting like sprinting cardio.
- [23:19]
Mo Takil
It's, it's. But I'll say this for me, it's Oklahoma City. And they're going to bring the defense that you want, Dave. Like, they're going to be the team I think everybody's going to be glued to this year. I'm going to put a sneaky team in there. They didn't get votes or anything like that. The Memphis Grizzlies are going to be the most fun to watch this year. If jaws flying, flying around. I like what Desmond Bain does. We have to, they have to get a little bit healthy. We know Jaren Jackson's out. We know Gigi Jackson and, and, and Williams is out. But Zach Edie, I can't take my eyes off of him when I, he, he looks pretty good, Dave. Like I'm, I, I think this is going to be a fun team to watch.
- [23:59]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. We're going to talk some preseason stuff and I'll get to my Zach Edie notes because I have also been interested in him. But I want to, I want to end the GM survey part with this one. Which team's level of success this season is the toughest to predict? And this is a really good question because range of outcomes can be fascinating. This is where all the debate stuff comes from. And coming in first with 17% of the vote, the Lakers. I think this could be right. If the Lakers, if everything hits for them and you look at the west and everything's going to be close, man, they could be four seed but there's also a world where they could be 11th. It's at least close. Maybe, maybe it's not the right answer, but I think it's pretty close. Who do you have as having the, the largest range of outcomes?
- [24:54]
Mo Takil
Honestly, I think I have it more, to be honest. All the answers are really good. You know, with, with that stuff. I think it's more of a question of like what are our expectations for all of these teams. And I think that's kind of where you're looking at it. Like I cringed when you said, oh, if everything goes right, the Lakers could be a four seat. I, I, I don't think they can.
- [25:14]
Dave DeFore
I mean that's way right?
- [25:16]
Mo Takil
No, no, I, I, I get what you're saying because if everything's right for them, some things have gone wrong for other teams and other teams have dropped off. But like I, I just can't see it. I can't get there with that for the range of outcomes. I think that it's all these teams that have like injury guys, you know, Philadelphia with Embiid and Paul George. Let's not forget the fact that Paul George misses a lot of games. You know, New Orleans and what's the story with Zion? They have a Lot of question marks with their center position. What are they going to do with Brandon Ingram? Like, there's just. That's what makes it so hard to kind of figure, like, the stability of some of these teams. We don't really feel like we have that. And I think there's a wide range of. Of different ways this can go. If I had to give the answer, I probably go Pelicans, but I don't have a problem with anybody they put up there.
- [26:06]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, so much of this is going to be about injuries that it's just. I think the. It's hard to predict, but I. I think the Lakers, the Warriors also, who aren't on this list, who knows what they could be. I think that, you know, when you look at that team might be better than last year. All right, so as we close up the show, I wanted to take a few minutes, talk about some of the stuff we've seen in preseason, some of the stuff that we still would like to see in preseason. And this is a great time for us to talk. Zach Edie, who is extremely interesting. He is huge, Mo. Just undeniably huge. He made Daniel Gafford look like he was my height.
- [26:49]
Mo Takil
He threw Gaffer to the ground like it was nothing, and it was not, like, malicious. Even saw him, like, apologizing to Gafford on the way down afterwards. But, like, he is just so big and he's slimmed down. Dave.
- [27:05]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, he looks good physically. I think he's moving pretty well. He's slow. He's often behind guys on drives, and he's going to play a ton of center field and probably just mainly drop, if we're being honest, because when he. When he's come up to the level so far, he just hasn't been able to stay in front. And you can see that if you guys go back and watch the tape, you can see that he kind of reaches guys up around the over the shoulder, going for blocks, going for steals, going for strips. But I think if he can just drop, stay in front, man, this guy, just by being big, by being there, they're going to rebound better. They're going to have even better rim protection if Jaren can come back healthy. I mean, I. Am I too high on Zach Edie already?
- [27:52]
Mo Takil
No, I think it's. I. I also kind of disagree a little bit. Like, there have been possessions where I thought he did well, staying in front of the guards and holding up. Like, I don't think he's going to be. Listen, there's going to be some guards that are just way too light and quick for him. Right. And, you know, lucky for him, he plays with one of them. It's. It's. I think it's going to be a long season of up and down for him in that regard. But, like, his size is so big. You. I mean, like, he's just so hard. It's. There is a possession where he gave a good contest on a drive, sprinted down the floor, got depos position on Gafford, and drew the foul. Like that's all it is. And he can make his free throws. Like that's something that helps the Grizzlies in that area. And he's so big, like, he can just throw it up. Like, the lob from Ja to Edie was nice, and it was kind of beautiful off the double pick. And then he throws it up just over Gaffer's hands, and there's Edie crashing in. Like he's going to benefit from some of that. And then the Grizzlies are going to benefit from this dude setting screens. He's so damn big, it's hard to get around.
- [28:55]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. Jock coming off those screens where it's just like someone opening a door for him. Yeah, it's going to be pretty incredible. Another guy that stood out to me mo I watched the spurs last night, Stephen Castle is. I think he's a player. Chris Paul, obviously a player, but I think Stefan Castle is going to be pretty good for them right away. Like, with his size, I could see him playing a lot with Chris Paul, which I think will be huge. And that's. That's a big deal for the spurs because, number one, last year, we kind of hammered them. They. They didn't really have players out there around Victor women. Yama. The roles were very weird, you know, doing the point Sohan experiment to start the season, which in my opinion, caused them to sputter out of the gate and. And not sputter like they were going to be good, but they weren't growing at all. The first, like 15, 20 games of the season. Like they needed to Stephen Castle, I mean, this is a guy that theoretically can be their point guard of the future.
- [29:54]
Mo Takil
I love him. I thought, you know, one of my favorite plays was actually a possession where he pressed up on Cole Anthony and then, I mean, had him pretty about 3/4 court. And then when Anthony drove by him, reached around, poked it away. Steel goes to Wembanyama. Wembanyama kicks it ahead to Castle, and he makes a tough finish. Getting rewarded for his work. I. I think he's going to have a pretty interesting season. I think he's going to do well for the Spurs. Kind of the perfect guy for the spurs to have drafted. I think this works really well, but we're burying the lead. Man. This Chris Paul, Victor Weapon Yama team up and I get it, they only had two assists, you know, with all that but like there is going to be a lot of fun. The lob straight away to Wemby off the pick and roll on the side was pretty tough to guard. I my suggestion to teams is go under and just make Chris shoot. But you know we'll, we'll see how they kind of adjust with all of that. But and Victor Webignyama is amazing. You saw that other dunk.
- [30:55]
Dave DeFore
I mean listen, he back in the day on like basketball video games, you could hack them to make a guy who was 75 and could shoot threes and could dunk from the free throw line and could dribble and block every shot. And then they made him in real life this guy. There was a play in the game yesterday. He pulls up for three. For some reason the fly out contest from the defense happened and Victor women. Yama just drives to the basket. There's no reason to jump and contest a Victor Womenyama 3. He's too tall. You're not bothering him at all. And he's also, it's not like he's this is not Klay Thompson shooting threes. Right. Like you would rather him shoot than drive. You don't want him going to the basket. But yeah, they're, they're, they're going to be fun. I don't think they're going to be good, but they're going to be fun. Anything else that you've seen so far in preseason or, or what are you looking forward to?
- [31:57]
Mo Takil
I mean, I'm actually really excited to see the Clay debut for the Mavs tonight. I think that's going to be a fun one there. You know him, Kyrie and Luca on the oh, Luca won't be playing. He's injured. But I'm still excited to see what Clay is going to look like. I mean, is it possible we get a Clay revenge tour?
- [32:19]
Dave DeFore
I mean, I'll say this, when you look at what he did last year, you think he'll have an easier time this year? I mean, 40% from 3 is that's my bar for him. I think he's going to do that. It's, it's going to be shot volume. He is the shooter that's going to get guarded so we'll, we'll see what happens. I think PJ Washington stands to have a great year because of Klay Thompson, but Clay is probably going to score 18, 20 a game, 40% from three. I mean, I think he's going to have a pretty good year. The issue is defense, Mo. I mean, you know, he, he's down in the bottom of the league. When you look at his minutes played in deflection rate, in steel rate, I mean he just doesn't really guard anymore. And maybe their plan is to have him guard up and PJ Washington guards more on the perimeter and you know, you use Clay more to guard fours. It's not like he has to guard a bunch of post up guys or anything like that. What do you think?
- [33:15]
Mo Takil
I think the, I think the plan was always PJ Washington was going to be their main defender and don't sleep on Naji Marshall coming in as well as a, another perimeter defender for them. They didn't listen, they did not get Klay Thompson for his defense. Let's just be honest. Like they didn't, that wasn't the point. Like they understood what they're getting in him, you know, and I think that's kind of the deal. It's, if, if he's not making shots, then it becomes very hard for them to keep him on the floor.
- [33:47]
Dave DeFore
Right.
- [33:47]
Mo Takil
And I think that's the important thing to weigh and you know, and I think, right, he's going to guard up. I think you could see him playing more, you know, guarding more fours and things like that. I don't think there's going to be a issue with that. But I think we're harping too much on the defense of Klay Thompson and not what he brings to the table for them. Because if he's making shots, gonna be fine.
- [34:09]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, Zachary Recesse kind of showed me some stuff the other night. Hit a bunch of threes, kind of shot variety, had some nice passes. I think Atlanta is going to be a pretty fun league pass team. I, I, again, they're probably in that play in range, but they've got some guys that do stuff. I mean, Jalen Johnson might be a 20 and 10 guy this year.
- [34:34]
Mo Takil
I mean, I, I think it's certainly possible. It's, it's, Atlanta is such a weird team for me because it's like, do they, at what point do we just say, okay, Trey's not the face of the franchise and let's move on? And part of it could be like, but this team might have just enough to make A little bit of a push. And if a couple of things go right for them in the east, they might be a, A seven seat. And then they just have to win one playing game. Like, I, I, I don't know. Like, that's, go back to the GM survey. That might be a team with varying success. That's tough to predict. It's, it's hard to figure on that one.
- [35:08]
Dave DeFore
And I, I mean, and frankly, I love everything I've seen from the Oklahoma City Thunder so far. The fit of the new guys has just been seamless, right down to Hartenstein and Caruso playing well off of each other. You know, they ran some split cuts off off Hartenstein. I mean, it's just the two of.
- [35:29]
Mo Takil
Them, man, paired is gonna be so much fun too. Just watching those. Just because they're smart enough to. How they play off of each other, I think is going to be like a very underrated part of that bench shooting.
- [35:40]
Dave DeFore
And we keep going back to the GM survey, but Mark Dagnault was chosen as the second best coach in the league. I, I think when you, I mean, this guy's, he's got some pieces.
- [35:51]
Mo Takil
Well, I, I, There's a chance by.
- [35:53]
Dave DeFore
The end of the year we're gonna, we're gonna feel like he really is the best coach.
- [35:56]
Mo Takil
Yeah. And it's going to be in the playoffs. Like, we have to see it in the playoffs. Like, if he's going to be the best coach, it's going to be something in the playoffs. By the way, two out of 30.
- [36:04]
Dave DeFore
Pretty freaking great. That's pretty good.
- [36:06]
Mo Takil
Again, man.
- [36:07]
Dave DeFore
Oklahoma City. I, you tip your cap. That organization is, they are, they are on their way. I mean, if they don't win a title this year, there's one coming here in the next few years. They're just, they're just too good and they've got.
- [36:19]
Mo Takil
Don't do that. Don't.
- [36:20]
Dave DeFore
They're too solid.
- [36:21]
Mo Takil
No, no, no, no. We can't say there's one coming in a few years or anything like that. The one thing I'd say about, the one thing I say about the NBA just in general, it changes so damn quick. I mean, it could be as quickly as a trade deadline where all of a sudden we're like, whoa. Or whatnot. Like, there's, it changes so quick. So that's also why. And this is my disclaimer. And this is what I'm gonna leave you with, Dave. And this is, this is changes so quickly. We never know what's gonna happen. It's kind of amazing with the way the NBA sort of reinvents itself every season. The teams we always think are going to be the ones that are going to win the championships are going to be guaranteed or whatnot. There's always some sort of struggle with everything. It's, everything changes. We just thought at the beginning of last year it was Denver, Boston Finals. Denver doesn't even get out of the second round. You know, there's, there's all sorts of different storylines and weaves that we're going to have to figure out as we go through this season. I mean, Dave, I'll be honest with you, it's going to be a hell of a season and I hope for OKC it's great as I do for every team. I hope it's a fun ass season for all of us to watch, but I just don't put the predictions out there that they're going to. It changes so damn quickly. Same for Web and Yama. Same for, you know, across the board, every team we're looking at. But it's going to be exciting.
- [37:42]
Dave DeFore
Could not have said it better myself. I think that's going to do it for this week folks. So one last time from Motakil. I'm Dave defore and this has been the Athletic NBA Show. Thanks for listening.
- [38:13]
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- [39:32]
Mo Takil
ACAST powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.
- [39:40]
Dave DeFore
Remember blowing into a video game cartridge.
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- [39:44]
Dave DeFore
How about Saturday morning cartoons?
- [39:47]
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- [39:49]
Dave DeFore
Did we just age ourselves? Yep. We're Mike Fenoya and Charles McBee, two.
- [39:53]
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Comedians getting nostalgic and asking that nagging question, Are we old?
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Dave DeFore
Relive the laughs, the cringes, and the nostalgia.
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Mo Takil
Foreign.
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- [40:21]
Mo Takil
Acast.com.