The Big Suey: The 2019 NBA Draft Class (feat. Peanut Pete)

Summary

Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Episode: The Big Suey: The 2019 NBA Draft Class (feat. Peanut Pete)
Date: November 3, 2025
Setting: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Main Theme:
An unfiltered deep dive into the chaos surrounding the NBA’s 2019 Draft Class—especially the current spiral of Ja Morant—mixed with the show’s signature humor, cultural riffs, and irreverent takes.

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Episode Overview

The crew dives into the Memphis Grizzlies’ meltdown with Ja Morant, analyzing team leadership chaos, the implications of star-player discord, and the potential for a blockbuster trade. The conversation then expands into a lively reappraisal of the 2019 NBA Draft class, big-picture NBA coaching dynamics, and even veers toward Miami Heat trade hypotheticals. Throughout, the episode keeps the show's trademark balance of insightful basketball talk and off-the-wall comedic asides, including the introduction of Peanut Pete and the ongoing “nuttiest fan” competition.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ja Morant’s Decline and Memphis’s Dysfunction

• Ja Morant’s Current Situation (02:12–06:10)

  • Zaslow summarizes Morant’s tumultuous relationship with new coach Tomas Isalo and his career-low stats six games into the season (03:30).
  • Quote: "He's 100% going to get traded. That's the first thing I’m going to tell you." — Tony (02:36)
  • The group analyzes Morant’s postgame conduct, lack of accountability, and tensions with both staff and teammates.

• Coaching & Player Dynamics (06:10–09:43)

  • Discusses the crucial need for coaches to connect with their stars from Day 1, especially when those stars haven't “done any winning.”
  • Zaslow critiques Isalo’s lack of NBA resume and the skepticism players have for new, outsider coaches, drawing parallels with the David Blatt Cavaliers era.
  • Quote: "Your number one ability as a head coach is... for people to listen to you. If they don't do that, you're kind of screwed." — Jonathan Zaslow (10:31)

• Accountability and Team Leadership (11:04–19:57)

  • Discusses the absence of "adults in the room" in Memphis, lack of veteran leadership, and the importance of inner circles keeping young stars grounded.
  • Zaslow recounts how Ja Morant’s father went from strictest critic to ultimate cheerleader and the consequences of organizational leniency.

2. Trade Rumors: Ja Morant and the Miami Heat

• Should the Heat Go After Morant? (12:06–23:25)

  • Stugotz and Tony speculate on whether Miami, known for its strict culture, should chase a high-risk, high-talent player like Morant.
  • Le Batard points out Miami’s new offense was designed by the same consultant who helped Memphis, potentially a red flag for Morant’s fit (20:51).
  • Quote: “The Heat are 1000% going to try and trade for [Ja Morant].” — Tony (12:14)
  • The panel debates the risk of acquiring another potential malcontent after last season's locker-room issues.

• The NBA’s Cycle of "Whale Hunting" (22:38–23:25)

  • Stugotz describes Heat fans as “a living embodiment of a meme” for always expecting superstar trades.

3. 2019 NBA Draft Class Retrospective

• Top 10 Breakdown (30:04–35:03)

  • The panel reviews how the 2019 class has fared:
    • Zion Williamson: Still a lottery-level talent, but questions of fitness, diet, and team management.
    • Ja Morant: Still ultra-talented but plagued by off-court and leadership issues.
    • RJ Barrett: Some growth post-Knicks, but best as a secondary player.
    • Garland, Hunter, Culver, White, Hayes, Hachimura, Reddish: A mix of late-bloomers, disappointments, and flashes of promise.
  • Quote: “Whenever Zion plays, he is legitimately a Hall of Famer.” — Jonathan Zaslow (34:50)

• Redrafting the Top Picks (34:06–35:52)

  • The group debates who would go first overall today, weighing talent, injury risk, and off-court baggage.
  • Discussion moves to differences between Garland and Hero for #3/4.

4. Miami Heat Roster Maneuvers & Trade Machine Fun

• Fantasy Trades and Salary Cap Talk (35:52–39:09)

  • MIke Ryan and Tony play with the trade machine, concocting possible packages for Morant, highlighting the complexities of matching contracts and Heat’s rumored commitment to cap flexibility.

• The "Mystery Box" Analogy (39:09–39:34)

  • Quote: “A boat’s a boat, but the mystery box could be anything. It could be a boat, right?” — Jonathan Zaslow (39:18)
  • Used to illustrate the logic (or illogic) of passing on real current stars for the hope of landing a future superstar.

5. Nuttiest Fan & Comic Relief (23:26–29:29)

• Peanut Pete Segment & Fan Antics
  • Peanut Pete introduces the "nuttiest fan" nominees (six-pack guy with shaved belly, Andy Reid doppelganger, and a crowd mocking a college basketball player).
  • Laughter over crowd chants: “You can hear it on the broadcast–they’re all yelling, 'My leg! My leg!'" — Jonathan Zaslow (25:27)
  • The crew riffs on fandom, appropriate trash talk, and the essence of sports community.

6. NBA Oddities & Luka Doncic Love

• Luka Doncic Stat of the Day (41:32–42:37)

  • Mike Ryan marvels at Doncic's record-breaking shooting:
    • “He’s averaging 41 points a game through four games... shooting 78% on two point field goals—that’s insane.” — Jonathan Zaslow (42:16)

• LeBron’s Sciatica "Conspiracy" (42:51–43:25)

  • Tony jokes about LeBron’s alleged sciatica “holdout”: “No one believes that LeBron doesn’t have sciatica. Your grandma has sciatica. LeBron doesn’t have sciatica.” — Tony (43:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ja Morant’s future in Memphis:
  "He's 100% going to get traded. That's the first thing I’m going to tell you." — Tony (02:36)
• On the importance of coaching relationships:
  "Your number one ability as a head coach is... for people to listen to you. If they don't do that, you're kind of screwed." — Jonathan Zaslow (10:31)
• On NFL-worthy Heat culture for Morant:
  “The Heat are 1000% going to try and trade for [Ja Morant].” — Tony (12:14)
• On the redraft debate (Zion vs. Ja):
  “Whenever Zion plays, he is legitimately a Hall of Famer.” — Jonathan Zaslow (34:50)
• The ‘Mystery Box’ trade logic:
  “A boat’s a boat, but the mystery box could be anything. It could be a boat, right?” — Jonathan Zaslow (39:18)
• On LeBron’s injury narrative:
  “No one believes that LeBron doesn’t have sciatica. Your grandma has sciatica. LeBron doesn’t have sciatica.” — Tony (43:05)
• On fans mocking a limping player:
  "They're all yelling, 'My leg! My leg!' It's... so good. That's what being a good fan is, folks. Not obscenities... Just ridiculing a guy for what he just did." — Jonathan Zaslow (25:27)

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Important Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:12–06:10] Ja Morant’s press conflict, playing/leadership concerns, visceral reactions to ongoing drama.
• [06:10–09:43] Coaches and star player relations, issues with non-player resumes, and NBA coaching turnover.
• [11:04–19:57] Leadership (or lack thereof) in Memphis, Morant's inner circle, and broader NBA culture.
• [20:51–23:25] Miami offense connection to Memphis, why Morant might not fit, Heat “whale hunting.”
• [30:04–35:03] 2019 NBA Draft class breakdown, “where are they now,” hypothetical redraft order.
• [35:52–39:09] Trade machine banter, Miami’s flexibility obsession, how front offices scheme.
• [23:26–29:29] Nuttiest Fan segment: Peanut Pete’s entrance, crowd jokes, “my leg” mockery.
• [41:32–42:37] Luka Doncic’s absurd stats.
• [42:51–43:25] The LeBron “sciatica” theory.

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Episode Tone & Style

The conversation is frenetic, funny, and only semi-structured, mixing expert-level NBA analysis with gleefully chaotic banter. Speakers rotate quickly, keeping the pace lively; the tone blends sarcasm, skepticism, and genuine sports passion.

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Takeaways for Non-Listeners

• The Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant saga is a case study in leadership failure and young star autonomy gone unchecked—both by a new coach and the organization.
• NBA superstars’ value is always tied to off-court baggage; Miami’s culture is both a lure and a filter.
• The 2019 draft was top-heavy—Zion and Ja would still headline today, but their careers raise tough “talent versus risk” questions.
• The Heat’s perpetual “big fish” ambitions make for endless trade chatter, though “flexibility” sometimes means passing on available stars for illusory future ones.
• The show’s sports analysis is as much about the joy of riffing and the culture of fandom as about taking anything too seriously.

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If you missed this episode, you got a masterclass in NBA team-building dysfunction, heard compelling debate about the NBA’s next generation, and—true to show form—were reminded not to take yourself, or your fandom, too seriously.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Tony]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Tony]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Tony]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's your favorite game day drink. What's your favorite game day food?

[Tony]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, here's the deal. Game day is everything. The noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip again.

[Tony]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

Smirnoff belongs in that mix. Because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smirnoff. Otherwise, it's not a real game day. They've been doing it since 1864, which is. I don't even want to do the math. It's a long time. It's like when Greg Cody was born. They're award winning, they make cocktails super easy, and they're all about bringing fans together. So, yeah, we do game days. That's their thing. And if you're over 21, you. You should too. Why, Chris Smirnoff. Grab a bottle of Smirnoff at your local retailer and head to smirnoff.com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game day.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff, number 21 vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Welcome to the Big Sui presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBatard podcast?

[Tony]

I'm sorry. I'm not going to apologize for that.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries that if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys. I've done it. And now here's the marching man to Nowhere Fat Face and the habitual Liar.

[Peanut Pete]

This episode of the Dan Lebatard show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, yeah.

[Stugats]

Little play action there.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, is that what he did?

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, I think this is gonna run. No, he's throwing it. The crown is yours, Zaz. Yeah, I don't know if you saw this over the weekend. Also.

[Tony]

I see everything.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

John Morant. Yeah, you see this whole John Morant.

[Tony]

Of course I saw what's going on with John Morant.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

So if, if you could for the audience, summarize what's happening with John Morant in Memphis, by the way, a mere months after their GM came out and very strongly said any talk about him being on the block is irresponsible and, well, he's our guy. 10 toes down and all that shit.

[Tony]

Well, I'll start out by Tony. He's 100% going to get traded. That, that, that's the first thing I'm going to tell you.

[Mike Ryan]

100%.

[Tony]

100%.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Not 95. For.

[Tony]

For this to happen. What are we talking? Six games into the season and we're already doing the bullshit. All right. And if you don't know what the bullshit is. So let's, let's play the clip for you. This is John Morant, post game a couple nights ago. It was, it was a loss, right? It was a loss. He only played like. He's averaging a season low in minutes. Excuse me, career loan minutes. Right now he's averaging 28 minutes per game. It was a game he really struggled. He was like 3 for 14 from the floor. I don't think he played down the stretch. And apparently there was a, an, A discourse between the coach, Tomas Isalo, and John Morant. And then shortly after that, here's Ja with the reporters.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

What went wrong to you today? Go ask the question. Style. Do you feel like. I mean, it was anything you could do differently? I guess you guys. Yeah, they had a whole spill in here. So. From the outside. And the outside may be wrong, but from the outside, it didn't look like you had your usual energy tonight. Go ask the coach. Stop. What? Okay. You feel like you should play more? No, I asked the coaching staff, should I play more or not? What had been done, what could have been done different?

[Tony]

Get a different outcome other than asking the coaches?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, according to them, probably don't play me. Honestly, that's what basically the message was after. So it's cool. The coaching staff makes us with us. Cool. We good. You didn't have anything physically wrong from.

[Stugats]

His illness or anything?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I'm. We're under the weather. Okay. I'm fine. All right.

[Stugats]

All right.

[Tony]

So, like, I mean, this is a child.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah. Let me. Let me clean up a few things. Number one, I think this is one of those instances a lot of times when you hear these terse answers. People think the player hates the media. The media have been jerks, whatever. This is not about the media. This is him trying to, in his mind, I think give sanitized answers to cover the incendiary remarks that he really wants to make and he ends up getting suspended. I don't believe he got suspended for those remarks. I think he got suspended because for.

[Tony]

What took place right before that, the.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Unsanitized version of the remarks that he delivered directly to the coaching staff.

[Tony]

And well, and by the way, the remarks he delivered to the coach staff was apparently because new head coach Tomas Isallo, who apparently challenged him in the locker room about A his leadership and B his efforts. And then John Moran's response was deemed inappropriate. And let me also add on Amazon on, on the prime games that night, their postgame show, which is like Blake Griffin and Udonis Haslam and Blake Griffin went at John Moran with video evidence and everything how his effort was really, really poor in this game.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Just want to point out not only career loads in minutes, but also in field goal percentage, in assists, this and, and 3 point percentage. This is. He's having the worst year of his career right now.

[Tony]

I mean, I mean this is a player who like leadership wise, has been a disaster off the courts, has done zero winnings, been out the first round one time in his career last year, was out for a lot of the season. Team played well when he came back, didn't like the style of play that they were playing, got the coach fired. All right. And now six games into this year, we're doing the bullshit.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Come on. I don't know if he got the coach fired. I'm not going to go that far. The coach got fired, sure. But I think one of the things that's really important in the league, I'm not this everything you say about Ja, yes, he bears responsibility for it, but for the best player in this franchise, right. For him six games in to have this kind of loggerheads with the coaching staff, it's ridiculous. It's a two way street though, right? I think one of the big things for an NBA coach is you have to connect with your star player and it has to happen pretty much the moment you got the job for sure. But day one of the off season where it's officially mine and now I get to shape it the way I want to. He should have been with Jon every day. Because if you haven't sold your vision to your best player, I don't give a damn how good of a coach you are, your X's and O's, your brilliance. If your best player, it's not just the best player because we have a bad team and he just happens to be best. He's a really good player. If he's not bought in, then none of it matters after that. And so I got to put some of it on the coaching stat because clearly y' all hadn't sold Division 6 games. Now if 40 games in, he's like, I don't think this is working. That's different. But six games in, you haven't tried. I don't think it feels like the.

[Mike Ryan]

Distinction was made that it's like Jaren Jackson Jr's team more so than it is John Morant's team.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right.

[Mike Ryan]

Like, it feels like the, the vision was sold to Jaren Jackson Jr. And they want to start building around what he does more than what Ja Morant is doing. And like you can't give a half ass piss poor effort and expect everything to be okay. Like, he knew what he was doing. He knew the repercussions of what was going to happen.

[Tony]

And what kind of buster coach is it to not confront what's supposed to be the best?

[Mike Ryan]

If you don't do it, you're a sucker.

[Tony]

Yeah, a total buster if you don't call him out after that kind of effort.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

No, of course, of course. I guess my thing is six games in and that's the reaction you're getting from them. Clearly there was no sell job earlier.

[Tony]

But you know what, let me ask you this, all right?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Tony]

Why does there have to be this all out sell job by the new coach to John Morant when they've done no winning? Like imagine, imagine the Florida Panthers and you know, I'll give a local example. Imagine the Panthers coming off of the most points in the regular season and they bring in a new coach who completely changes the style of play. And guess what? For most of that regular season, they were mediocre. Like, why didn't any of the Panther leaders or best players come out challenging their new head coach who changed everything? Like, why can't the coach coach the team?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

There's a couple.

[Stugats]

Matthew Kachuk's dad did.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

There's, there's a couple of the. Number one.

[Tony]

But at least Matthew Kachuk's dad did. After game like 75.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

This is what I would say number one is the coach came in with a resume.

[Tony]

The Panthers.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, the Panthers coach came in with a resume. In professional sports, in the NBA specifically, like, there is a level of like, who the hell are you? Right. It's a reason why people say, oh, why do these former players keep getting jobs? Because players will listen to former players at least when the door opens and you walk in and you're a former player, they'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Now, you might lose the benefit of the doubt when you start opening your mouth, but they'll give you that. If you're not a former player, then the stakes get a lot higher. So you have to have been probably an assistant a lot of places for a long time, because what ends up happening is, guys, your new coach is Jonathan Zaslow. And then they call, yo, man, who the hell is John? You were in Miami. Was he that. Yeah, man, he good. He's really good.

[Dan Le Batard]

A word.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Okay, now, I'll give you the benefit of that.

[Tony]

They would say that about me.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Now, Coach Isolo, he's very experienced, but he coached over there in Europe and so. And by the way, in Finland. So it's not like it's. Oh, he was in Spain and. Yeah, I remember so and so played with me in Chicago. He played for him in Spain. You don't have a lot of people who vouch for you. So you come in and this goes. I go back to your X's and O's might be salient. It might be right, yeah. Build it around Darren Jackson. We're gonna play this way, but if you don't come in with the. The stamp of approval, we're not going to listen to you. David Blatt was one of the winningest coaches internationally, anywhere, objectively, a great coach on every level. He came here and like, these guys are like, who the hell are you? And he didn't take the time to build that reputation or that rapport with players. And so they ended up running him out. And he was successful. He was 30 and 11 when they fired him. So, like, it sounds unfair, but, man, this happens every year in the NBA. I keep saying it. Your number one ability as a head coach is. Is for people to listen to you. If they don't do that, you're kind of screwed. Now, if the organization is like, yeah, we kind of been trying to move off a Ja anyway, that's a different story for coach. But if that's not the situation, like, these are our cornerstones, and one of your cornerstones says, to hell with this, then you haven't done a good enough job selling your vision.

[Tony]

In this specific instance with this specific team and this specific player, when has it ever been ja's fault? When has JA ever taken any kind of responsibility?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I mean, I think the gun thing, yeah, he did.

[Stugats]

I mean, it didn't reach satisfactory levels for certain folks.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

The second time he did. Yeah, the first time. No, the second time, then he was like, yeah, that's kind of where I.

[Stugats]

Want to go with the conversation. Because John Morant had the world by the balls. Like he was christened as he was the next guy. It had been a while since you had an American basketball player be that kind of star. So likable he was. He had a rocket ship attached to his back. And now several years later, it seems like a bygone era. He had a real opportunity there to be a face of the league, if not the face. And now this is going down a weird, like Stephon Marbury type of path where you wonder what could have been. Is this guy going to be a journeyman? Are a bunch of teams going to try their hand and seeing if this guy can be that kind of pro?

[Tony]

There are going to be teams that line up for.

[Stugats]

Well, you got one on your shirt. The Internet likes to think this a perfect fit.

[Tony]

I'm glad you said that because I, I wouldn't go in that direction. Me personally. But the heat are 1000% going to try and trade for.

[Stugats]

Really? Yeah, I mean they're, they're culture fit. What do you think of that?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I think Pat Riley is going to try and hold and hold, but eventually.

[Peanut Pete]

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[Stugats]

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[Don LeBatard]

Don LeBatard.

[Tony]

Jon, can you rate my Al Pacino from that billiard scene in Carlito's Way? If I do it for you? I think it's pretty good.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Okay.

[Stugats]

Stugats.

[Tony]

You think you're big time when you're gonna die big time.

[Dan Le Batard]

That is on my infamous scale of 1 to 10.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

That's a.

[Tony]

That's a 7.6 solid.

[Stugats]

We nominate right there.

[Don LeBatard]

This is the D. Levatar show with the St. Gods.

[Stugats]

Is the other issue, too, is.

[Mike Ryan]

Like there's no adults in the room in Memphis, right? You look around like Desmond Bane was kind of that guy. Jaren Jackson Jr. Not really that guy. John Moran, not that guy.

[Tony]

Like, they pay you to be the leader of it. Why can't he be the adult?

[Mike Ryan]

But you need. I mean, you need good vets in your locker room, guys that are going to make sure that you're on the up and up and doing things the right way. And it feels like Memphis doesn't have that or any, at least anybody of note or repute that would actually be worth listening to.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I would say. I would say absolutely. Going back to the original gun thing, like there were warning signs leading up to that, notably the incident with the Indiana Pacers and their bus claiming that loading dock.

[Peanut Pete]

Yep.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Stugats]

Oh, damn, I forgot about that one. That was a bad scene.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Like, those are all things I like. I get it. Again, I'm very much for personal responsibility and Jod has not behaved the way he should have. And I don't think his supporting circle, I think his father at some point, which is ironic because I remember interviewing John Morant before the draft and we asked him, why do you think you're gonna be successful in the league? You know, you came from a small school and all that. He said, because my father is my biggest hater. And I said, what? He said, my father, all my life, everything I've done, he's like, that's not good enough. You think so? And like, basically keeping him grounded. And I was like, wow, that's a really cool, interesting dynamic.

[Stugats]

He's got kushlash.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

And then it just flipped. The kid makes a draft, makes a league, and now the father is like a cheerleader, just like, yeah, let the good times roll. And that was one of those things where I'm like, yo, if your inner circle doesn't have people who check you, that's an issue. Beyond that, every NBA organization, when you get a star player who, who is a rookie, I say the same thing every single time. No matter how entitled that kid is, the reality is they don't know what the NBA is. They have no idea. Whatever you do, they're gonna assume that this is the NBA. So if you come in and act like he's a savior and do and give him every concession, let you take the third bus, which I didn't even know existed until recently, do all these kind of concessions that they can do whatever they want. You can't then come back later and be like, hey, okay, enough of this. It's my shit right here. You on my plane, I'll fly it right. The only thing that seems to reset that for guys is getting traded. Cuz you go somewhere else and the new team is like, this is how we do it here. And like, what? But then. But in Memphis. No, we didn't say Memphis no more, man. And so when you have the kind of precipitous fall that Ja's had in terms of reputation, like you guys said, the guy thought he was going to be the face of the league. He's exciting. And Zaz, I would argue with you, yeah, they have been winning. Winning in our league should not be just. Did they win a title? No. Shut the hell up.

[Tony]

Oh, they've been in that first round.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

One time, I mean, but they've had injuries and all that, but they've been winning, right? Like years and years ago. People got upset. I made a de' Aaron Fox comparison to John Morant. And my thing was like, yeah. Cause de' Aaron Fox doesn't win shit. You want to talk about a guy who's never won? Like, there it is. Like, John Moran objectively makes his team better. Objectively, they win games objectively. He's gotten him to a point, and then from there, like I said, he's let himself down and let everybody else down with some of his behaviors and his actions. But the reality is he gets to a new situation, they're not going to. Unless it's someone more desperate than Memphis, they're not going to put up with that shit. And here is one of those places where they don't put up with that shit. And the beauty of Miami is that the word is out already. It's not like you got traded to, let's say, Charlotte no more Mr. Nice Guy. Like, oh, shit. But like, wait a second. I played you guys.

[Mike Ryan]

I know who you guys are. Metal balls are your best guy.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

What? You can't act that way now with me. Like Miami, however good or bad they are as a program winning, you know, when you step in the horror stories, oh, they do the body fat thing. Oh, da, da, da. Like, oh, man, Coach Spo don't play well.

[Tony]

Look, the first thing Blake Griffin said on that Amazon prime broadcast was he looked right to his left to UD and said, you wouldn't allow this if you were still in that locker room.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Right, but that's why I go back to Memphis, allowing, right, whether it's teammates, whether it's front office, whether it's the coaching staff, they allow that shit to happen. He's messing up like that. Nobody put him in check. No one in his inner circle, no one in the locker room, no one upstairs, no one in the coaching staff. Right. Again, I get it. It's his responsibility first, before we point any fingers at all these other people. But even as he's messing up, when everybody else just kind of wants job, what are you going to do? Like, as that's your attitude, you have contributed. You're not the main contributor, he is, but you have absolutely contributed.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, the Miami thing is really interesting from multiple perspectives, right? Because you look at that locker room, you look at that organization, it's the perfect place to sort of check him where he is and get him to buy in. But their open offense right now was just implemented by a consultant, Noah LaRouche.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

That name sounds familiar.

[Dan Le Batard]

Noah is the guy who implemented this offense in Memphis. So you can look at it one of two ways.

[Tony]

The offense while Ja was out, right? Like it was more so when he wasn't playing.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I mean, look, it's the offense that they're still playing they made.

[Tony]

And he's clearly not happy.

[Mike Ryan]

Correct.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

They made a decision to go to a more motion based offense last year. I might have had. Taylor Jenkins was not the reason they did that. And then Taylor Jenkins ends up getting fired. Him and Noah LaRoche, they were the only two that got fired from the staff because of an offense that they didn't like. For some reason, they end up going to more pick and roll stuff to end the season. And that's what got them into the play, playing in the playoffs. But the point remains. The guy who was kind of the brains behind the, the architect, I should say behind that system advise was a consultant here in Miami and for this offense that they're really excited about. And it seems to be working, which regardless of who the Architect is, seems to be antithetical from the way that Ja wants to play.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's exactly right. And so you can look at it one of two ways, right? Either you get him to buy in. He already knows how this offense works because it's been implemented at his previous spot and it works perfectly because he does seem like the type of athlete and basketball player who can really benefit from this type of offense. Or you're trading for a guy who is, out loud said, I don't like the style of basketball that you play. And he becomes a malcontent in the locker room that is getting along in a incredible way right now after dealing with a malcontent last year.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, it's tough because you found something that's successful and you found great chemistry. And at the same time, you know that this incarnation of the EAT has a ceiling. And that ceiling is not championship and it's probably not even conference finals.

[Stugats]

Heat fans are a living embodiment, though, of a meme. Anytime a superstar is available in this situation, Heat will naturally. Heat fans will naturally think that it's their time to go whale hunting. But they do make a lot of sense. You look at the teams and the lay of the land, they probably make the most sense in terms of a team that could use his services in a place with a culture that might be strong enough to absorb him at this stage in his development. But I. It does seem a little Risky. And you did just have a superstar nuke your season last year, despite all the we'd point to. Hey, we have Bam to be a good leader. I know Jimmy's at a different stage in his career, but they weren't able to corral Jimmy at the end.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, look, it's Peanut Pete.

[Stugats]

Man, look at that guy.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Hampton Farms own Peanut Pete.

[Peanut Pete]

Just hanging out in the office is very exciting. He wants to come in.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Does he?

[Peanut Pete]

He wants to take part in our nominees today for nuttiest fan.

[Tony]

Yo, what up, though?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

A celebrity in our midst. It's Peanut Pete.

[Mike Ryan]

We've been chopping these sweet honey peanuts. My God.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I dapped him up. My bad. I said a high five.

[Peanut Pete]

Let me tell the people. The nuttiest fan is brought to you by Hampton Farms. Get nutty with Hampton Farms, the official peanut of bowl season. Vote for your favorite nutty fan at lebatar show on Instagram. We have two nominees today, both coming from the Colorado Boulders.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I like that team. The Buffalo.

[Mike Ryan]

The Buffaloes.

[Peanut Pete]

That's my bad.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Peanut Pete]

There's two nominees.

[Dan Le Batard]

We have two.

[Mike Ryan]

We have.

[Tony]

We have a fan with.

[Peanut Pete]

With a six pack.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

A fan with a six pack.

[Dan Le Batard]

It should be the.

[Stugats]

It should be the Boulders.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

It should be the Boulders. Right.

[Peanut Pete]

So we have a fan here with a six pack. Classic. He shaved his belly hair.

[Dan Le Batard]

Looks like.

[Peanut Pete]

And then we have Andy Reid.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Wow.

[Peanut Pete]

And then we have Andy Reid.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Wow.

[Peanut Pete]

Shirtless.

[Mike Ryan]

Whoa.

[Peanut Pete]

At the Boulder.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

At the Boulders game. Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

In Boulder.

[Tony]

Is that Andy Reid?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I think it's Andy Reid. I don't think. I don't think. I don't think he would have missed a Colorado Boulders game. I think he would have been there.

[Stugats]

Big quarterback change for the Boulders.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Peanut Pete]

I'm telling you, it's a good name.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Can I. Can I throw in a third nominee? I know this is supposed to be a football thing, but I got one for college basketball. Let's see any of you guys.

[Stugats]

Season starts today. I'm so ready.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do we got here?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Lemoine against Dillard. Guy goes up, misses the dunk, lands. And then I'm assuming he feigns an injury because he just happens to grab his leg a second later, then limps on the wrong leg, then like, has to kind of call out. Then he's limping on the other leg now. And as he's going. The crowd is going nuts, including one guy grabbing his knee.

[Tony]

They're on the ground grabbing their leg.

[Mike Ryan]

That's a good crowd right there.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

We don't have the audio. Zaz.

[Stugats]

Crowd going On.

[Tony]

Oh, that guy with the lip.

[Dan Le Batard]

Look at me.

[Tony]

He's limping.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Zaz is Zaz. We don't have. Have the audio.

[Tony]

I don't know what.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

What they're saying. I swear to God, you can hear it on the broadcast. They're all yelling, my leg. My leg. It's. Oh, here we go.

[Stugats]

Injury.

[Tony]

He faked the injury.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Lord. All over. Yeah. No, it's so good. It is. It is so good. That's what being a good fan is, folks. Not obscenities. Not talking about someone's mama or personal stuff. Just ridiculing a guy for what he just did.

[Mike Ryan]

Throwing yourself on the floor and pretending you also have the same injury.

[Dan Le Batard]

He faked.

[Stugats]

Not storming the field, throwing. Used upside down.

[Tony]

He's. He's limping on the wrong leg.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

You hear him?

[Stugats]

He's wearing different color shoes, too.

[Mike Ryan]

That's the thing. When you wear the Kobe Grinches and then the reverse Grinches, you got to make that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Look at that.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

What do we think, Peanut Pete?

[Tony]

You like a hot crowd?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Like all those, huh? All of them. Look at that. He's very emotive.

[Peanut Pete]

Great to finally meet you.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, thanks. With all the peanuts. Ah, Love that guy. Wow. We got. I got. Oh, I got salted and roasted. He's kind of like that guy. He got salted and roasted.

[Peanut Pete]

The Colorado Boulders.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

The Colorado Boulders. Thanks a lot, Peanut Pete.

[Stugats]

We appreciate you just loiter around.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah. Hang out again. Partake. We got breakfast, we got coffee. We got some Coke cans that are always hot. Somehow by lunchtime, you already had some. How does that happen?

[Tony]

See ya.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Why is it soda always warm at lunchtime?

[Mike Ryan]

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[Peanut Pete]

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[Stugats]

Don Lebatard, you're getting started on the breakfast flan.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh man, I've been singing a song to myself all morning long. Breakfast Flan stewgats. Have you never heard the breakfast flan song?

[Peanut Pete]

No.

[Stugats]

Hit me with it.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Okay. I wish I had some breakfast flan. Breakfast flan. Where can I find a breakfast like that?

[Don LeBatard]

This is the Dan Levitar show with the Stugach.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean I was looking at the at the 2019 NBA Draft.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, yikes. Yeah, that was.

[Tony]

Oh, that's The John Morant.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

That's the one. That's the day I interviewed him and he said my dad was my. Is my biggest hater.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm gonna give you guys the top ten real quick. Zion went one.

[Stugats]

Okay.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Tony]

John Morant went to exciting Pelicans row in seven, by the way, but Pelicans.

[Mike Ryan]

We need to talk about them later.

[Tony]

We do.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, we do.

[Mike Ryan]

We got to talk about them.

[Stugats]

I don't think we do.

[Mike Ryan]

RJ Barrett went three.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

He's having a little bit of revival.

[Mike Ryan]

DeAndre Hunter, four.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Solid.

[Mike Ryan]

Solid. Not bad. Darius Garland, five.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah. Good. All star.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Tony]

Never plays.

[Mike Ryan]

Jarrett Culver. Not in the league anymore.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, my. You went six.

[Stugats]

I like that.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, he went six.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Kobe White injured, but also has had.

[Mike Ryan]

A revival of late Jackson Hayes.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I guess playing for the Lakers sure.

[Tony]

Hurt the Heat last night.

[Stugats]

Rui Hachimura, was he one of the white guys?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

No. Oh, that's in Weekend Observations. Please hold on to that.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, please hold. And to round it out, a 10km reddish.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Nah, he's in. He's in Turkey. Oh, I think he's in Turkey.

[Mike Ryan]

Who's in the picks after PJ Washington.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

There you go.

[Stugats]

And after that, Jeremy Who?

[Mike Ryan]

Tyler, Hero.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right after Tyler here.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, I was gonna say Nick Claxton. Nick Claxton. Second round pick, Daniel Gafford. Second round pick Ty Jerome. Ty Jerome. Late first round pick, Jordan Poole. First round pick Jordan Poole. Late, late first round pick.

[Mike Ryan]

Speaking of the Pelicans, it just owned.

[Dan Le Batard]

The Heat last year in that postseason series.

[Mike Ryan]

The thing is that you think about these massive drafts, and it's like, next year, a big draft for the NBA, and then you kind of do the math. Five years later and it's like, kind of sucked.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Look, I've got a draft, by the.

[Tony]

Way, only means, like, it's got two, three guys at the top who are really good. That's all it means.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

This is what I'll do. I've got the picks in front of me, and I'll tell you, Zion went one, and we all thought he was going to go one. And I guess people would argue he would still go on. I would say that I wish his career had been managed better again. I know it sounds like I'm absolving the kid and putting it all on the system, whatever, but when a dude comes to the team dinner and orders a pitcher of Coke, not like a.

[Tony]

Coke, let me do it just for himself.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Just from. You know how, like, restaurants when they want to do refills instead of just keep coming back, they Just put a picture of Coke.

[Tony]

A Pizza Hut. A pitcher of Coke.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

A pitcher of Coke. Yeah. Like, when you see that, like, that's ultimately, like, there's a sign that there's some control issues there. John Morant, still a great player. RJ Barrett struggled with the Knicks, but has had a lot more success in Toronto. Kind of growing into who he should have been, which is a guy who should never have the ball in his hands. Should be coming off of down screens and playing like A. Yeah.

[Tony]

R.J. barrett's a worthy top five pick in a draft.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

DeAndre.

[Mike Ryan]

I'd probably put Garland in front of him.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I would put Garland in front, in.

[Mike Ryan]

Front of RJ Barrett.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Absolutely. Hunter, solid player. But even on draft day, I was like, he's an upperclassman. He's okay, but he's not just won the national title. Yeah, but it was just. He was just a solid player. Culver, I was like, what? Kobe White was, you know, again, has found himself recently. I don't know if we would consider him a top 10 talent even now, but who. He played for Chicago.

[Tony]

He's still in Chicago.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, he's just hurt.

[Stugats]

He's a 5 and O. Chicago Bulls.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, they lost.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Jackson Hayes, Flame.

[Stugats]

Oh, they did?

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, they lost to the Knicks. Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Big one for the Knicks.

[Stugats]

Didn't catch that one. Josh Giddy's playing well.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yes, he is playing really well.

[Mike Ryan]

He played really well in the season last year. Yes, he did.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

They went 15:5 to end the season last year. Yeah. Then it's like you get to Jackson, Hayes, Ruachamura, Cam Reddish. Like, there were question marks on all of those guys on draft day. Jackson Hayes was like, yo. Very, very, very raw. Rui Otimura, he's kind of old and undersized a little bit and not a good shooter. At the time, Cam Reddish was like, he's talented, but a kind of a space cadet. Cam Johnson, he's old, but he's reliable. He's actually had a much better career than I thought he would have. PJ Washington has really turned out really well like, since. Especially since coming to Dallas.

[Tony]

Tyler Hero.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Tyler Hero's okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

We're going through the 2019 draft class instead of talking about game seven of the world Series.

[Tony]

It is pretty wild. Would look good.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, we were 29 NBA draft class.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

We're talking about John Moran.

[Stugats]

Talk about Joe Mah. Oh, okay.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

So if we have to redraft this, right? Who goes one?

[Tony]

It's still Zion one. And John, really?

[Mike Ryan]

You think Zion still goes one? Knowing What? You know.

[Tony]

Well, so you're saying Ja would be one.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't even know if Job would be one.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Who would it be, then?

[Stugats]

It would be Jaw.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

It'd be Jaw, man.

[Stugats]

It would be Ja.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Ja. Ja.

[Mike Ryan]

Hero's.

[Tony]

Hero's got it.

[Peanut Pete]

Number one overall.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Okay, who's one? Don't give me some.

[Stugats]

Who's the best player today? Who's the best at basketball today?

[Peanut Pete]

Player for your life.

[Stugats]

And we know who the most talented player on that list is.

[Mike Ryan]

I'd probably go Jaw one.

[Stugats]

Jaw is the most talented player on that list. What's going on with Jaws between the years and his approach to the game?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Well, I mean, you could argue the same thing about Zion. You could argue the same thing.

[Stugats]

Right. But I've seen. I mean, I like Jaws steeling higher than Zion.

[Tony]

Ceiling.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

This is what I would say. Whenever Zion plays, he is legitimately a Hall of Famer.

[Mike Ryan]

It could be 2020. If he played and had his head on straight.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Ceiling, he would never be 2020 because he doesn't grab 20 re.

[Tony]

He doesn't. He doesn't rebound.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

He doesn't rebound well, which he didn't do in college either, by the way.

[Mike Ryan]

If he.

[Dan Le Batard]

If he applied himself, he could grab.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

If he applied himself, he wouldn't look like the Goodyear blimp.

[Mike Ryan]

But that's what I'm saying.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Mike Ryan]

Himself.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

He's in better shape now. But, yeah, I still. I think Zion ultimately, because if we're doing caveats about between the ears, and I got to go Ja number one still. But Zion, I mean, Zion, number one still. Ja is right there with him, which is ironic because it's kind of how people felt a little bit on the draft day. But then it's like, Darius Garland would.

[Tony]

Be three and Hero four.

[Mike Ryan]

I think Garland and Hero, like, that's a toss up.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, I don't think it'll be three or four. I don't think so. I think I'd rather have Garland than Hero. Really? Yeah. Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Even with the injuries. Both obviously having. Both.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

They both have injuries. I go with Garland.

[Tony]

Are the Heat about to trade Hero for Durant?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I don't think so.

[Mike Ryan]

The trade works, by the way I put in the machine.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, it works.

[Tony]

Oh, you got that trade machine cooking.

[Mike Ryan]

Let me pull it up real quick.

[Tony]

I mean, you know about a trade machine?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I mean, tell me about it.

[Tony]

Do. Do. Let me ask him. We hear, you know, Andy Ellsberg, the Heat, salary cap, all that stuff. He's amazing at it. Do MBA executives pull up the ESPN chamish.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

No, they have their own in house proprietary thing that is way more complex and sophisticated. Now real gm, which was the first to have the trade machine, they are one of the proprietary software. So they have a souped up version that they license to teams.

[Tony]

Gotcha.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

But yeah, everyone kind of uses something more sophisticated than what we have a.

[Mike Ryan]

Good business model for them. We get this, we sell it to you.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Great business model, you know. You know who else had a great business model like that little outfit called Draft Express? Yes, we do scouting and then we sell you scouting reports too. And then they turn around and sell it back to the like Australian teams and stuff like that. It's a very, very, very sophisticated hustle that Draft Express was going with.

[Tony]

You got that NBA trademark.

[Mike Ryan]

I got the trade machine rolling, Zaz. There we go. Grizzlies acquired Tyler Herro and Kashad Johnson.

[Tony]

Do we have to give up any picks?

[Mike Ryan]

No picks for John Moran. Straight up. And it passes.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, it passes.

[Mike Ryan]

The trade machine passes the trade machine in money.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah. This is one of those ones where it's like you're holding and holding and holding and she's already gone. She's left. She's like, wait, I'm still holding you guys there.

[Stugats]

Hello?

[Tony]

Yeah, by myself, I mean, the quizzes would never do that trade without at least a pick or two being involved.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know that the Heat would. Would in this scenario move hero for Morant simply because of. Well, a. They know that Tyler is like bought into what they're doing. And that does matter at the moment. But be all we've heard from all of the at least national reporters and even the local reporters is, oh, the Heat are really interested in having flexibility this offseason.

[Tony]

Tyler with the flexibility.

[Mike Ryan]

Flexibility, don't worry about it.

[Tony]

The worry about whether or not that flexibility mattered.

[Mike Ryan]

Never.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm just talking about whether or not you think that committing 42 million and 44 million over the next couple of years to John Moran, who presently is all of the things that you just described.

[Tony]

You don't have to. I mean, look, I'm not in on John Morant. I. I think the Heat are going to be. But me personally, I'm not in on this.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

This is when people say this, I always fire back with this. How many times, Mike, you back me up on this? Are people like, oh, we don't want him? And then he goes somewhere, it's like, damn, he's pretty good, man. I wish we had kind of gone.

[Stugats]

After him like, yeah, Pascal, Siakam.

[Tony]

One of those James Harden where he.

[Stugats]

Thought that they were too good for Pascal Siakam.

[Mike Ryan]

No, no, no.

[Stugats]

Like, we. We need something bigger than that.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm just talking about from what we've heard in terms of what the Heat's approach is to plan to be this Aussie now. They might not have considered.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Right.

[Dan Le Batard]

That jaw would be available now, and that could change what the thought process would be. I'm not saying it's impossible. I'm saying based off of what we know today, it would surprise me if a hero for Morant move was made. I don't know about the future.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

The rebuttal is basically this. You get the flexibility because you hope to add a talent that's as good as John Moran.

[Dan Le Batard]

Exactly.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

It's the old Family Guy bed. Like, a boat's a boat, but the mystery box could be anything. It could be a boat, right? Like, if. If we're trying to have this flexibility because we're going big game hunting, and here comes big game in the room, and we're like, no, no, no. I need this for when I go big game hunting later. Like, I'm big game.

[Mike Ryan]

No. But not that big game.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Not that. Yet another big game or not begin right now or whatever. And like, again, the thing that I always remind people, you almost never get a superstar who's happy with the situation. Like, you're always getting someone where things have flamed out a little bit and their prior stop.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is there a collective package that exists that does not include Tyler Hero? Like, I just wonder. I have the question as to whether or not you can do that. Right. Because Norman Powell is here and he has not been offered an extension either. Right. So do you make this move with the idea of, hey, some of those younger guys, Andrew Wiggins, who we all know that he'd at least came in.

[Tony]

Better not mention Jaime Hawkes, because I'll tell you what we're gonna have a conversation about.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

How many Hawkes are you bought in?

[Tony]

We're gonna have a conversation six games.

[Mike Ryan]

We have a conversation about him.

[Tony]

Cody, I think we're gonna have a conversation right now.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Of the day.

[Tony]

I'm a Tony. If we're gonna talk mvp, I care about you guys, we better have a conversation about Jame Hawkez Jr. He better be in the conversation for MVP. Do you understand what he's. Last night, Jaime Hawkez, 31 points, eight rebounds off the bench. He was 11 of 16 from the floor. He went to the free throw in 13 times.

[Stugats]

We don't need Ja Morant. We got John Morant.

[Tony]

If we're going to talk about MVP, I mean, better have a conversation about Jaime Hawkez Jr. Got a great plus.

[Mike Ryan]

Minus on the season, too.

[Tony]

Of course he does.

[Stugats]

Those stats are crazy.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

A win would have been nice.

[Stugats]

That's a tough time.

[Mike Ryan]

Come on. You care about wins and losses right now.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

What's wrong with you, dude? How crazy is Luca?

[Mike Ryan]

That's why he's my mvp.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Dude, I'm going tell you something, you know, of the day. All right, Luca, I got a stat of the day. You know what? Pull up the stat of the day music. This is. This is the insane thing.

[Don LeBatard]

Start of the day, start of the day it is your start of the day. Start of the day. Start of the day it is the start of the day. Start of the day. Start of the day it is the start of the day. Start of the day. Start of the day. It is the start of the day.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Shout out to outkast. Oh, really? Yeah. No.

[Mike Ryan]

They produced that big boy.

[Peanut Pete]

Thanks.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

You know, Luka Dynasty is averaging 41 points a game through four games, right?

[Tony]

What's he ever done?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

This is the craziest part of this. That's somehow. That's not crazy to me. What's crazy to me is he's shooting 78% on two point field goals. Everything inside the. Inside the three point arc, he's shooting 78%. That's insane.

[Mike Ryan]

That's crazy.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

That's insane. And let's just say how many attempts, 13 attempts a game, he's not missing. Like your best hope as a defender right now is that he says, I'm going to try this three pointer.

[Mike Ryan]

A step back, one at that.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

A step back, one at that.

[Tony]

Can I tell you something?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Tony]

LeBron James.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, man.

[Tony]

His plan has backfired.

[Mike Ryan]

Go on.

[Tony]

His plan has backfired in a big way. Sciatica. No one believes that lebron doesn't have sciatica. All right? Your grandma has sciatica. Lebron doesn't have sciatica.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I have sciatica.

[Tony]

He's sitting there on the bench like a gargoyle, expecting this Laker team to stink with his phony sciatica holdout. So he returns. Oh, thank God. You see how important I am? The Lakers are 5 and 2 while LeBron is sitting back and watching.

[Stugats]

Look at this.

[Tony]

This has backfired on LeBron.

[Stugats]

All it took was getting rid of Rozier. I told you. Now we got to choose between LeBron and John Moran.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, what's crazy is that now also you can't use Rozier as part of the salary filler in any of these.

[Tony]

Meetings, the Heater being punished.

[Dan Le Batard]

They're being absolutely, absolutely screwed.

[Tony]

I'm glad you by the NBA, because I heard, oh, this is so good for the Heat. Now I'm like, no, this is bad for the Heat.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is a nightmare. This is the worst case scenario. You're not only not getting any of the picks back, you're not getting anything. You're stuck. You can't move him. And that was kind of the only reason I think you hold on to Rosier going into this season was to.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Be able to make a move at.

[Dan Le Batard]

The deadline where you can use that salary. And now that's gone.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Barry Jackson asked all the relevant questions, which is how much did everyone know? Did the league know? Did the Hornets know this is at the time of the trade? Did they know?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes, they knew.

[Mike Ryan]

Seems like everybody knew except the Heat.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

And if they knew, then there's kind of gross negligence by the NBA to not have the Heat informed on that. Because not only, like you said, the giving up of the picks, but, like, the insolvency. I can't cut him because he's just gonna sit on my books.

[Tony]

Yep.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

And I can't trade him because he's just off the table. Now. What am I supposed to do?

[Tony]

You just have to put money in an escrow account. That's all you're allowed to do.

[Mike Ryan]

Got another trade machine.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Drama rant.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Dramat.

[Mike Ryan]

Draw. Drama, draw. Drama rant. Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Who?

[Peanut Pete]

Who again?

[Mike Ryan]

Four for John Morant.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Okay, Andrew Wiggins and Yovich.

[Mike Ryan]

Wiggins and Yovich.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Jeremy. You know what Jeremy just did? He tried to hold. He tried to hold, but you gave him that one. And this is exactly. Yeah, it happens.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm intrigued.

[Stugats]

I want drum.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Mike. Get on that notepad, people.

[Peanut Pete]

Colorado Boulders.

[Stugats]

Oh, the football season. Cruel beast. Sometimes it gives, sometimes it rips away. Sometimes you got good times, sometimes you got bad times. But one thing that'll always lift your spirit is making it Miller time. Because game day just hits different with Miller Lite in your hand. 50 years of great taste, simple ingredients, and that iconic golden color that you can spot from across the room. It's a real eye catcher, folks. And here's the kicker. Just 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later. So whatever your game day looks like, remember, Miller time is always a good time. Miller light, great taste, 96 calories. Go to millerlight. Com Dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.