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The Ringer NBA Show
No More Nico in Dallas. Plus, Biggest Surprises So Far This Season. | Real Ones
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- [00:00]
A
What's poppin real ones. Logan Murdoch here AKA Logie Bu not the two Big news today with the firing of Nico Harrison by the Dallas Mavericks. Me, Rajabel and Howard Mother Beck get into it. All of the rumblings about the firing including the statement by Patrick Dumont. Where do the Mavericks go from here is the question. I have no idea. But I do think that personally that there is a path forward for the Mavericks think this was the right thing to do. I think that just build around Cooper flag especially after that game last night against the Bucks. I think the proof is in the pudding. Let me get into all of that. Just gave you my take there and then we got Cartier Cliff coming in to give us a modified version of the show we were originally going to do which is the first impressions of the first 10 games of the season. We get three questions of that. No mailbag today. I'm sorry guys. The Nico Harrison stuff kind of messed up the show a little bit but but we will get to that next week. I think that's it. Is there anything else?
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B
I don't know.
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A
Let's go.
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B
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A
Cliff, play the theme music. What's poppin? Real ones. Logan Murdoch here, Roger Bell, Derhard back in the motherfucking cut. Cartier Cliff in a bit. All right, we got a little action packed show for you guys today. We have our 10 game impressions. But first we're going to talk about the long, long path to the eventual firing that has happened today of Nico Harrison. Let's give some timeline before we get into what happened today. 2021, Nico Harrison is hired set of basketball ops succeeding Donnie Nelson who left off under some weird circumstances related to Luka Doncic and proceeds to, you know, build a contender, right? Builds a team that is primed to go to the 2024 NBA Finals. Makes a few great trades to get Daniel Gaffer, drafts Derek Lively and seems trades for Kyrie Irving. Seems that the Mavericks are on the up and up. Go to the finals and then he abruptly trades Luka Doncic ahead of the trade deadline. Last year, weeks ahead of the trade deadline, didn't tell anyone, didn't even do a bidding war. Just gives him away, right? For Anthony Davis says he wants to have a defense first mentality and that seemed to start the clock on his eventual demise. The Mavericks inexplicably get the number one pick Drake draft Cooper Flag and the fire Nico Chance still didn't subside. And that leads us to the beginning of this season where the Mavericks everything that could go wrong did go wrong last year. Kyrie Irvin tears his ACL and then Anthony Edwards, excuse me. Then Anthony Davis gets, comes into camp out of shape and Cooper Flag is thrusted into the point guard position where it does not go well. And now we are here a day after one of Cooper Flag's best games of the season. Still fire Nico chants are permeating throughout American Airlines Arena. And now Michael Finley is going to lead the organization from a basketball ops perspective. Howard, I'm gonna start with you. Where do the Mavericks go from here?
- [05:06]
B
So the interim deal is actually Mike Finley and Matt Riccardi who I just want to note here also because that front office, I don't know, they had a lot of guys once Dennis Lindsay left who have a lot of front office experience. Matt Riccardi Young came from the Brooklyn Nets. So I know Matt a little bit. Um, and so he and Finley, it sounds like it's, it's going to be kind of the, the team Approach in the interim, maybe they name one of those guys the permanent gm before we look back, I mean, you said, you know, like where, where they go from here. So yeah, let, let's look forward immediately. Give them average, I guess credit, give Patrick Dumont credit, I guess for realizing the mistake of the LUCA trade belatedly. You can't undo it. You can't fix anything. And you are where you are. And so this would be a good time for whether it's listening to Mike Finley and Matt Riccardi and you know Mike Finley, obviously great career in the league, most of it with the Mavs. And smart, really smart basketball guy Matt Riccardi, veteran of front offices. Like, listen to your front office guys who actually have a lot of NBA experience, unlike Nico, who did not before taking that job. But also, you know, Dumont's new, so he doesn't know a lot of other people around the league. The hardest thing to do as an owner when you don't know anything about the NBA is figure out who to run your team. Because you don't know anything about the NBA. And sometimes it's just the closest person who you know or you trust and have some kind of NBA ties and then you appoint them. To be clear, Mark Cuban is the one who hired Nico before Dumont and his family took over. But still you placed too much stock in his judgment in this case. So this is on you as the owner as much as it's on Nico Harrison. That's one. Two is as you move forward, you now have to figure out who do you trust, who, who do you trust who actually knows the league because the next gm, whether it's Michael Finley, whether it's Matt Ricardi, whether it's a team approach, whether they're interim and you're hiring somebody else. What, whoever it is, however you do this, you have to have a sober minded view of where your team is right now. This is not a contender. This was not a contender from the moment you made the LUCA trade. I'm sorry, I don't care about this defense wins championships. AD and Kyrie if healthy. If, if, if they were a, they were a non contender the moment they made this trade. So realize where you are. You're a rebuild. You've got an incredible young prospect to Cooper flag. You've got some really nice young talent, including guys like Derek Lively. He's got to get healthy. That's your future. It's not Anthony Davis and it's not Kyrie Irving and it may not be PGA Washington and Daniel Gafford and Whoever else and d' Angelo Russell. I would trade everybody but Cooper Flag or I'd be open to trading at least everybody but Cooper Flag and Derek Lively. You are not a contender. You are not going to be a contender anytime soon. And you have some aging, injury prone stars who if you can still get value for them, you should because you're not winning anything anytime soon. On a Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis timeline. That's where the Mavericks realistically are. And now that you've changed up your front office, fired Nico Harrison and are going to make a new hire, you have the opportunity to grapple with reality and choose a wiser path forward.
- [08:18]
D
Yeah, I mean, I'm not mad at any of that. I came up here last pod talking about that timeline saying that I would not give up on it for next year if it were Kyrie ad Coop, Derek Lively Co. I still kind of maintain that. But if you were to say to me, hey, this is a fresh start and we'd like to make it because this, this front office isn't tied to this roster any longer and we see the need, I'm good with that. I, I, I'm okay with that too. It's weird, I feel like the job itself is like a lot of these college football jobs where I, I'm, I might take a look at someone who's been there, done that, you know, a retread if you will, Howard and Logan. Somebody who just, they might not be, they might not have the top end potential as one of these young like masterminds, but I know they can get me to a certain level. Do you know what I mean? They can execute enough trades to get me viable, solid and on the right pass. And maybe he's not the guy that takes me to a championship, but he's the one that gets us back in solid good graces of the fan base playing good basketball. And then maybe the next hire wins the chip. I don't know, I was just thinking about it as you guys, as you were saying, you know, Dumont family doesn't have a great feel for the landscape of the NBA. And then who do you then trust if you don't know anybody in the league? And I'm like, man, maybe you just go out and get one of those, one of those retread guys. Ceiling might not be as high as another one, but you know, the floor is really, really high.
- [09:53]
A
I understand that it's really hard for me to go against you, Ra but I think that like if you watch last night's game against if, against The Bucks. You see everything that the Mavericks should be doing, right? Like, Anthony Davis was out, Lively was out. This was Cooper Flag show. And it was. It was every. He was everything Raja, that you love in him, right? He was. He was running the floor, he was figuring stuff out, he was getting the ball around, he was throwing ex. Making exciting plays. But more importantly, you could see him developing in real time, right? And I think that might be the best path forward here because it's going to be really hard to. To your point, and I, I see where you're coming from on this because it's going to be really hard to get off of Anthony Davis's contract. I think he has a player option. His. His contract goes until 28 as a player option for the 27, 28 season. And I think he's making something like $62 million, bro. And the Anthony. This is not Los Angeles Lakers Anthony Davis. This is Dallas Mavericks Anthony Davis coming in out of shape, looking about 10 pounds overweight, looking like in your eyes, Raja, someone who doesn't necessarily, like, care about the game and care about what he. His role on the team as the best player. And so with that being said, man, like, I'm down to just cut bait and be like, okay, ad collect your checks. This is all about the development of Cooper Flag because this is our only pathway out of this, right? Because there's so many uncertainties when you talk about Kyrie, who even at his best was felt like more of a hired gun instead of like a number one option. He's a guy that can support and get you 40 points, but he's not necessarily somebody that you want to be leading a team. Same with Anthony Davis, right? They were kind of two peas in a pod when it comes to that. But I do think that this is a. This is a. An opportunity in and out for Dallas to be like, oh, we're just going to put all our chips on the table. Cooper Flag, you can play all the point guards you want, you can develop, you can figure it out. We don't care about the win total right now. We just care about methodically building a team around you. And they do have, like, even if they get. Get rid of. In a perfect world, they get rid of Kyrie Irving, they get rid of Anthony Davis, they still have a really good roster around Cooper Flag, right? When you talk about Lively and when you talk about Gafford and you talk about pj, who had a really good game last night until, you know, he missed them free throws. But, like, what can you do, right? He's not usually the guy you wanted. The free throw line down the stretch, it just happened. But I think they do have a really good group around him. One thing that I will say though, about the Nico Harrison thing is I feel like when he got the job, there were necessary guardrails around his crazy ass ideas, like trading Luka Doncic, right? And methodically you started to see those guardrails be taken out of place. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that, like, he was the face of. Yeah, we. We drafted Lively, we traded for Kyrie. That was a really good move. But then, you know, the ownership change, then Lindsay Go is not. Is not in the picture anymore, right? And then you start have. And then you have new ownership who was. Who doesn't really know about basketball. They. This literally was a land grab. And then you start. He starts giving these ideas and they're like, okay, whatever, do what you got to do. We're trying to build a casino right now. And then you start seeing this and then they start smart. The ownership starts smartening up and being like, hey, man, how are we going to sell this casino dream when we don't have like a generational face of the franchise? And they. And then after the trade, and then it's like, oh, now we got to manage a team too. And I feel like when those. I feel like it was a confluence of things that the guardrails got taken off and the ownership got finally hip to a. We actually have to run a business. And by running a business is running a basketball team with competent people. That's where I think that's where we. We sit here. Howard, where do you stand on who they can hire right now? Right? Because it's. Do they do a search firm? Like, how do you. This is clearly an organ, an organizational structure that doesn't know basketball. How do they go. How do they get from point A to point B? Because Finley always. And Finley always seemed like somebody that supported the front office and kind of just brought that ethos similar to, I guess, Udonis Haslam, right? He's a figurehead of like, what's the pulse of what a Dallas Maverick player is? Or not necessarily going out and getting guys. What is the path forward here?
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B
I say this all the time. And the example, the best example I can always give is that when Vivek Ranadive took over the Kings, he hired Vlad Divots, right? Vlade, beloved former Sacramento King, good local ties, you know, admired in the community. And VC knew him. He was Somebody he knew who happened to have played in the NBA and had a really good career. That's not enough. And this is the problem because these people come in owners, they're, they're, they're all billionaires these days. They've had great success elsewhere. Some of them even think they know the NBA. Hello, Matt Ishbia. Most of them don't know anything about the NBA or don't know enough or, or, or just think they know way more than they do and so they make a bad hire. They might trust the wrong people or they themselves are not enough of a guardrail to use the term that you were using, Logan. So that's where Patrick Dumont and the Adelson family find themselves. Now they inherited Nico, but they over empowered Nico and didn't have enough guardrails around or the know how themselves to stop what became an absolutely catastrophic trade. And that is why they are where they are right now. How do you fix that? So there is a search firm out there, I can't remember the headhunter firm, but that does these, these, these searches for you. And they know NBA people and they will make the rounds and they will vet all these people and they'll, they'll try to find whether it's a, you know, somebody who's got experience like Raja was alluding to, maybe David Griffin, who Raja worked with in Cleveland, you know, now, now free, like I think, I think Griff would be really good for this job. If you want somebody new, you know, somebody's, you know, top lieutenant, a number two with a successful franchise, right? Oh, let's see, like the Thunder have had great success. Can we grab one of their guys or the spurs or the warriors or the Heat? You know, look to the organizations that have had great success recently. But Patrick Dumas doesn't know that and he doesn't know these people and he doesn't know how to tell them apart. So the search firm would be one way. The other way would be if you're not going to elevate Michael Finley or Matt Ricardi, then you've had enough time now to establish a relationship with them since you've been owner, talk to them, trust them, say, guys, we want to go outside the franchise. We think we need new leadership. You tell me, you guys work the phones every day. You are traveling all the time. You are Talking to other GMs, assistant GMs and personnel directors. Who out there is really sharp, you know, who's, who's the next Sam Presti, who's the next Masayu Jiri, you know, like that's how you do this. And if you're not networked as the owner yourself, you're at a disadvantage. And he won't be. There's no way Patrick Javant knows all these names, past or present or certainly anybody's number twos. He probably can't name all 30 GMs. He certainly can't name their number twos. So that's where the search firm comes in. Or that's where you do rely on the guys you do have in your front office right now to give you the landscape.
- [17:23]
A
Raja, do players know like shit is hitting the fan? What is the player dynamic right now throughout this season? I'm thinking about, I'm going to ask you two different types of questions. There's the player that is the Derek Lively and you know, the Anthony Davis who is invested in the long term success of this team. Right. And then there's also the newer guys or the younger guys that are, don't really know any better or, or other guys that are trying to just get a check and trying to, you know, provide, put us in the mind of those three different types of players at this very moment. What are they thinking, what is going on and how do they salvage this at this point?
- [18:03]
D
Yeah, well, yeah, that's a tough one. I would guess that you're older, longer in the tooth player that, you know, looking for championships, supposed to be a part of a championship contending window that Nico thought was open. That player is probably kind of nervous about what's going on right now. That player is understanding the situation that we're, that we're talking about, which is, you know, the guy that brought me here to do this, fired, fresh blood coming in and all the shakeup that could come with that. You know, timelines reset. We know we got Cooper flag. Obviously this is not, this is not played out the way anyone thought it would, would play out. And what does that mean for me moving forward? The guy just trying to provide for his family. I don't think you're affected by this at all. Like, it wouldn't have affected me as I got older and I was more of a, a real, I want to be careful with my words here. I was more of an integral piece to the winning that we were doing as an organization. I would have had more going on with the general manager. There would have been more interaction. I would have had more of a personal relationship with them. But when I was younger, just trying to feed the family, get my next contract, put some good film out There I didn't really care who the general manager was, nor did I see him or speak to him very often. It might have just been a hello in the, in passing in the offices. But like that wasn't my focus. My focus was on the things that I just, you know, kind of said that, that it was on. So for the young superstar in Cooper Flag and you know, the young pieces, the Derek Lively's and the gaffers, like that. That is an interesting question. I've never been one of those guys. I think you're stable. I think it's not affecting your day to day that much. But there are going to be questions that you want answered through your agent. When this guy takes a seat maybe at the end of this season in terms of the vision for what this is going to look like. You see this all the time with like quarterbacks in the NFL. They, they are a general manager's guy. When that general manager is no longer there, the next GM wants their guy. I don't think Coop fits into that. I think it's a little unique to quarterbacks in that way. I don't see it as a basketball coupe is a number one pick regardless of who the GM is. But there are other guys in there that you might want to know and you might want reassurances from the new guy that you're a part of the plan moving forward. Right. So like that locker room could be all over the place. But I talk about this all the time at the end of the day, no matter where I fall on that list, whether I'm an older guy of championships or I'm a young guy trying to feed the family, or I'm a focal point of the organization moving forward. We're all pros and we've all got to keep going out there every other night just about and continue to be pros and put the best product out on the floor. Not just for the organization but, but for ourselves. So, you know, they're all star games, there's all rookies, there's rookie of the year. There are things that we all want to attain outside of the team success that clearly we're not going to have this year, that we have to be focused on, you know, putting the best product out there to have the opportunity to do that. And so that's got to be your focus in the short term. Like you really got to compartmentalize it and just go about your business as a pro.
- [21:31]
A
Yeah, Howard, I think, you know, it's funny, I think that one of the things that we're not talking about enough is the influence of Mark Cuban in all of this, right? And I know that he kind of puts on a. A face of like, whoa, it's me. This shouldn't have happened. But I. All of this stuff directly goes back to Mark Cuban selling the team, right? Like, I know why he did it. I. I could. I could see, you know, you see the check right in front of you. But I feel like there's a responsibility, especially somebody who is entrench Dallas, entrenched in Dallas lore in the way that he is not only as an owner, but also as a figure there, right? I feel like there is a responsibility for him. And maybe he got assurances, but they weren't in writing, but to vet the ownership group that's coming in so, like, this doesn't happen, right? And not only did he, you know, sell it to this. This new ownership, he also, you know, put had this BS title of whatever he is, and he couldn't stop the worst decision in franchise history. And I know he's going to put a face on it, but, like, there has to be a responsibility in transferring of ownerships for shit like this not to happen, man. Right? If you're going to sell the team, at least to sell it to somebody responsible.
- [22:49]
B
I'm struggling with this one, Logan, honestly, because, like, you know, owners are just stewards of these franchises, right? You don't actually own it. You're borrowing it. You get it for a time, and then you either pass it on to your kids or you sell it or whatever. You're a steward. You. You're. You're there for a time, and your job is to do the best you can and keep faith with the fans for the time that you have that team, right? And, you know, Cuban's record is all over the map, but there's a championship in there. There's a lot of really competitive years in there. They've been a lot of fun for the most part, during his time. And when he decides the time is over and it's time to sell, like, how. How much can you account for what the person after you does with the franchise? Like, that's.
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A
Well, he seemed to be really invested in it as a person, right?
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B
No, listen, you're. You're right. This is why I said I struggle with it. Logan, I'm not dismissing your premise outright, but I'm just saying, like, you know, look, Cuban's the one who did the whole Mavs fan for life thing. Mmf mffl Hashtag mffl. T shirts. Mffl. You know, Mark Cuban was the first owner, I think, ever in the NBA and certainly of my time covering this league for the last almost three decades, to be like, almost a mascot for the franchise. Like you. Like, you may not be able to name most of the owners at any given time, but you always knew who Mark Cuban was. You knew what he looked like, what he sounded like. You knew his T shirts. You knew he wasn't going to be wearing suits on the sideline. You knew that he was going to be. Long before Steve Ballmer ever arrived, Cuban was going to be courtside in every camera shot, cheering on his team or screaming at the refs on occasion and doing other stuff. He brought that passion to it, and I think that that was largely a good thing, all other mistakes aside. And so when you do that, when you decide to identify yourself that closely with the franchise that you own, you run the risk of Logan's position, which is you have a responsibility beyond a. As a businessman to look out for the best interest of the franchise, even after it's not yours. And that's where I struggle, because I think, like, no, during the period of time that he's the majority owner, everything is on him. He is identified with the franchise, good, bad, and otherwise. The moment you decide to sell, yeah, he should have got more assurance. He should have got in writing. He should have done more to convince the league office. Cuban claims he did do all these things, but you. You lost control in a way that you were not anticipating or expecting or planning for when you made the sale. So you left the Mavericks vulnerable. Then you left them vulnerable to a new ownership group that didn't know jack about the NBA. In his defense, most new ownership groups don't know jack about the NBA. As I was saying, they just want.
- [25:21]
A
To be in the club.
- [25:22]
B
They just want to be in the club. Or they, in this case, you know, want a foothold for a casino in Dallas or whatever it may be. I just. I don't know that you can hang Patrick Dumont's mistakes on Cuban. I do think if I'm going to blame Cuban for anything, it's that he. I think it was misplaced faith in Nico Harrison as a GM who had zero experience in an NBA front office. Like, I thought it was a reach at the time. All due respect to Nico, who I've known a long time, I like Nico, but like, I thought it was a reach. There have been a lot of reaches, and sometimes they work out. Leon Rose was a reach, and it's Worked out pretty well for the Knicks. And, you know, there have been any number of unconventional GMs who've been hired in the last 10, 15 years. Some have worked out, some haven't. This one did not.
- [26:06]
D
I can appreciate where logo was coming from.
- [26:08]
E
And.
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D
And Howard, what you're saying about Cubes, I. I lived that with him. He was. He was awesome. At least for a year, I did. When I choose to downsize and all the kids are gone and I'm ready to cash out. Okay. And the new owner takes this house and paints it purple. Don't call me.
- [26:28]
A
What? If you have a 27 bank in the house.
- [26:32]
B
They will paint it purple. That's Miami.
- [26:34]
D
You never know.
- [26:35]
B
They love the pastels, though.
- [26:36]
D
I hear you, Logan. But, like, at that point, I mean, you're saying I. Yeah, I mean, I've been in this community since it was developed. What you're saying is I probably owe it to my neighbors to hold on to, like, some control, so they don't do that. But, like, I. I. How would I know they would do that?
- [26:52]
A
I appreciate what you're saying. But I'm gonna say this, though. You can't have it both ways. Where you're not you specifically, because I know what you. You wouldn't have. You wouldn't have kept. You wouldn't have, like, sold 70 something percent of the house. You would have been like, bye, I'm out. Like, so Mark Cuban didn't sell 100% of the house, is what I'm saying. Like, if either you're gonna be in it or you not. That's what I'm saying. Right. He chose. And he chose to have both his cake and eat it, too. And I think it blew up his face.
- [27:21]
D
And he's been. I mean, I think if I'm not mistaken, you guys could correct me. Like, he has had some critiques of what's going on and some frustrations about it. Right? Like. And so they're in. Yeah, I totally understand what you're saying. I'm making a joke.
- [27:37]
B
But, like, yeah, he's distanced himself from it. And he has said that if he were still in charge, basically the Luca trade would never happen. And I believe him. I don't believe. I don't think Mark's talking out of his ass on that one. I think. I think that's true. I don't think in a gazillion years, Mark Cuban would have ever traded Luka Doncic, and he would have told Nico, hell, no. I believe that irrelevant, because you sold the team. And the new guy didn't consult you on this, and he should have. But again, I'm. I'm. Yeah, I'm. I'm. I'm not holding Mark Cuban responsible for Demont painting the Mavericks arena purple.
- [28:12]
A
That's fair. Two. All right. All right. I have a two for one question before we get to Cardier Cliff. What is the lasting legacy of Nico Harrison?
- [28:21]
B
Oh, geez.
- [28:23]
A
And yeah, you, too, Raz. You got to answer this. I'm answer last. And how confident are you in this Mavericks, whatever it's situated as today going forward?
- [28:36]
D
Yeah. Nico's legacy.
- [28:40]
B
Will.
- [28:41]
D
Will always be the guy who gave away, you know, Luka Doncic and set the franchise back however many years it takes him to dig out of this hole. Which brings me to the second part of that question, which. And my answer is, I have zero. I have zero faith. And maybe that answer will change once they get someone in place, and I can go over his resume and his successes and be able to see the clearer path towards it. But until then, you've got some nice pieces. I shouldn't say zero faith. There are some nice pieces in the cupboard, but the jury is out is a better way for me to answer that. I have no idea where you're going. To the case that Howard's been making this pretty much whole pod about, you know, Dumont and the family, like, they don't know the NBA circles in that way, so I'd have to then have faith in them making the right hire. There's a lot that has to go right for me to see you guys getting out of this in a relatively quick timeframe. And so for that reason, yeah, I don't think I have a ton of faith in it until I see otherwise or that you give me reason to feel otherwise.
- [29:43]
B
The problem when you make a trade that was as ill considered and as catastrophic as the Luka trade is that it will be the only thing you're ever known for ever. And. And that's like, you know, Nico's. You know what? In his. In his maybe mid to late 40s, he's been around the league a long time, previously as a Nike executive, and he had great relationships with Kobe and a bunch of other people. And, like, that was what he was known for, if you knew his name at all. Most NBA fans probably didn't even know who he was until this job. None of that's going to matter. Like, it's unfortunate. I'm sorry. Like, you know, unless in his, you know, next iteration of his career, he, like, you Know, solves world hunger or something. It's going to be really hard to knock the Luca trade to the second line of his. Of his resume and his Wikipedia page. That's. It's. It's just. That's what he stuck with forever in NBA circles, and there's no way around that. He was the executive when they got to the NBA Finals, and he and his front office made some really great moves that got them there, but none of that's going to matter. It's the Luca trade. And it's not just that he traded Luca. It's that, you know, you shouldn't have traded him. You shouldn't have traded him only to one team or had talked only with one team. You should have got more back. It's every single piece of it. And so, yeah, that's it in terms of where they're going from here. Like, I think. I think Mavericks fans should feel good that in the near term, Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi and whoever else is remaining in that front office are there. And I think that there are some smart basketball people there. I think they'll be fine. I think you have hope in the fact that the lottery gods, for whatever reason, decided to take you from 11th to 1 and get Cooper Flag back in the spring. Like, you're not. This is not a barren situation, but it does take smart leadership to build around a Cooper Flag and to do this right. And again, in my view, I don't think this is controversial at all. That's where you should be looking right now. That's where you should be leaning. Leaning. Lean into your future. The president is toast. If you can get anything at all for Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving in their oft injured states, you do it. Trade Klay Thompson, trade whoever, and just look to the future. I'll give Patrick Dumont credit for this much. The letter he put out to his fans a short time ago, which Mark Stein put out on social media a little bit ago, I think hits the right notes. It does not mention Luka Doncic's name. It does mention that the future had been bright and it isn't anymore. And quote, I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had. Please know that I'm fully committed to the success of the Mavericks. Thank you for your support, for holding us accountable. Like, those are the right notes to hit. Says you deserve transparency, that the team that reflects your spirit. He's hitting the right notes. He's saying the right things, but, you know, actions, not words. And let's see who they hire and where they go from there.
- [32:35]
A
First bit of advice for Nico, go to the beach. Go to an island. Get far, far away from here. No Internet tan. Get some polina coladas.
- [32:46]
B
You know, no Internet, no sales service.
- [32:48]
A
Just, you know, be like Raja, how he is every spring on this podcast. You know, just beautiful beaches and just some. Some coffee. You know, just. Just get out of Dodge.
- [32:58]
B
And also not responding to text.
- [33:01]
A
Throw away your phone, throw it in the ocean. It's okay. Get a paper ticket and just hold that into your. In your. In your luggage and just have your identification. Yeah, man, he's going to be. This is what he's going to be known for forever and ever and ever and ever. And, you know, it's hard to be like, man, I can't let this define you, man. Don't let this break you. Don't let. It is going to define you no matter what. So just get out of Dodge. It just be with your family. I think I'm a little optimistic, though, about the Mavericks, though. Like, everything you saw last night should give you optimism going forward about what you should. It's very cut and paste what you should do, bro. Just build around Cooper Flag. Like, that's really all it is. Have him develop. The wins don't matter this season. Be patient, pick the right person. Really do your due diligence. This season was a wash anyway, right? Like, I think that's something that we talked about in the beginning of the season with this pot. In this podcast, which is. The only person I really had expectations was Nico Harrison. If you looked at the roster, you were like, nah, bro. Like, this is for Cooper Flag to develop. Everybody get the hell up, out of the way. And now they have the perfect opportunity to do that, right? Just start from scratch. I think the Mavericks will be okay. The. The path is right there and it's right there forward and it's clear as day. I think they will be okay if they don't try to do stupid trades to build a contender tomorrow. Just methodically build a contender around Cooper Flag because he is the dude and the gravitational pull is there. Mavericks would be okay. They finally made the move they should have been made.
- [34:36]
D
Provided. Provided they get the right person in that seat.
- [34:39]
A
Because all the.
- [34:40]
D
All you're talking about and all Howard and I are talking about like that that's not just a foregone conclusion. Like, you have to have someone that knows how to execute and, you know, maneuver in those circles so they. That that hire is going to tell you the hire is going to Tell you what you need to know.
- [34:56]
B
Yep.
- [34:56]
A
Let's take a quick break. Cartier Cliff on the other side.
- [35:00]
C
This episode is brought to you by Spectrum Business. Without Internet, you wouldn't be able to hear my beautiful voice right now and businesses wouldn't be able to stay connected the way they need. So what if I told you you can get free business Internet forever with Spectrum Business? Just add four mobile lines. Get business Internet, advanced WI fi and security shield for free for life. No contracts, no added fees. All you have to do to find out how you can get free Spectrum business Internet forever@spectrum.com free for life. That's where you go. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. This episode is brought to you by Degree Original Cool Rush, the scent that's made a legendary comeback. See, Cool Rush isn't just a scent. It's the kind of fragrance that guys remember, ask for by name and rave about online. It's bold, it's fresh. Delivers all day sweat protection with that cool, crisp vibe that made it a legend. So if you haven't tried it yet, head to your local Walmart or Target and grab Degree Cool Rush, the fan favorite scent from the world's number one antiperspirant brand. This episode is brought to you by Viori. Look, I'm not a big let's hype up workout clothes guy, but Vuori, I gotta say, total game changer. Been wearing a lot. If you see me power walking around Los Angeles, probably going to see me wearing some Viori Sunday performance joggers that they have. It's made with four way performance stretch fabric, one of the most comfortable things you own. You will wear them everywhere, I promise. All you have to do is go to viori.com Simmons and you get 20% off your first purchase with Viori. V U O-R-I.com Simmons enjoy. Free shipping on all US orders over $75 plus free returns. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions.
- [36:46]
A
And we are back. Cartier Cliff is in the building. What we got? Cartier Cliff.
- [36:51]
E
Fellas, fellas, fellas. What's good, Howard? Beck was good. Raj was good. Lolo was good, man. So far, we've seen every team play 10 games this season. Some surprises, some disappointments. Logan's MVP pick for Victor Wembayama is looking pretty good. So we got a couple categories you got to speed through here, you know, as Beck likes to do, you know what I'm saying? So let's get to the first, let's get to the first category here. Who has been the biggest surprised in the first 10 games of the season. I want to go to Raj on this. Raj, I want to hear you.
- [37:22]
D
The biggest surprise. Are we talking about player, team?
- [37:27]
A
It was open to interpretation. Okay.
- [37:31]
D
Ah, man, tough. I think player for me might be Josh Giddy. They look really, really good with a bigger role and more freedom in Chicago. He didn't play last night. They look good. I liked him. I ultimately went with the Detroit Pistons. You know, I. You know, obviously, Cade's playing great. Jalen Duran, their defense is just fantastic. Good pickups in the off season. Duncan and Caris Laver. I think, you know, them setting the pace in the Eastern Conference, although I thought it would be just kind of open at the upper tier of the Eastern Conference. Them coming out of the gates and setting the pace right now for me is the biggest surprise, I think, in a good way.
- [38:12]
E
Low. Who's your biggest surprise so far?
- [38:14]
A
I think my biggest surprise right now is it's not really a surprise, to be honest. I had the Pistons, but Roger took my shit. I had a whole thing for the Pistons, had all the Detroit basketball. I'll add on to what I think from the Pistons. I think they're doing really good. I think Cade is kind of coming into his own. But when you think about it, though, like, this is kind of what you want to see right out of a team.
- [38:36]
D
Yeah, no doubt.
- [38:37]
A
Like, so on one hand, it is a surprise that they're top of the Eastern Conference, but on the other hand, it's like, yo, if Kate is that dude and finally coming into his own, this is what you want to see. This is what the Pistons are. Is what you wanted to see out of the magic, right? Just an organic ascension into the conference. But, you know, for. I could say the Bulls, because, you know, like, they've done good and Josh Giddy has done good, but, like, I'm not gonna get into the rigamaro of what we do, because I feel what we tend to do at the ringer and we tend to do as a NBA media apparatus at this time of the season when it's about to be the dog days. But, like, anoint teams, and I feel like the Bulls are the team that is getting anointed at this point. And same with Josh Giddey. And I'm like, they're still hovering around.500 at this point, you know, especially after they lost. And Josh Giddy looks good at the contract that he's in, but do you want to give him $35 million or $45 million or whatever he could command if he continues to this happened. It's the same Austin Reeves question. So that's me doing the poo poo on the on the Chicago Bulls after watching him last night. But what I will say is what I I, I'm gonna I just want to bring this team up. The Houston Rockets and I know they're not they were season but after what we saw after the Van Vliet injury, the big question that me, Howard and Raja had after the opening week was how are they going to find offense without the point guard at the even if it's at the expense of KD playing a lot of point guard and Shangoon playing a lot of point guard. Guess what? They just did it. They're like it. We're going to play Shanguna point guard, put his back to the basket. We're going to do the same thing we did in the playoffs last year. Kd, you're going to get the ball down the stretch. You're going to play some point guard. I'm in. You're going to figure it out too. Reed shepherd, you're going to come along. You have have had some good games and some games but we're just going to figure it out and we'll see if we trade for a point guard down the stretch. But they have the best offense in the league despite not having that point guard. It speaks to how great of a coaching job Maudokian speak has Ma Udoka has done. It speaks to the buy in of Kevin Durant who's been playing really well. It speaks to Shangoon and I've been pleasantly surprised at what I've seen with the Rockets and I hope that they, you know, continue to ascend. I you know, if they get a they do get a point guard, I don't know who that is. Is that Kobe White? Do they take a trade a chance on Trey Young? Do they I hope they don't take John Morant, but what do they get John Morant? Who knows. But I think they it doesn't have to be a star point guard. It just has to be eight point guard to kind of just manage the floor. But I think they'll be fine. I've been pleasantly surprised with their offense because I thought there was going to be a lot more growing pains and they just said it. We're just going to do what we whatever the best offensive players can do. We're just going to let them be them and we'll figure out the rest. And I think that Ma's done A great job with that group.
- [41:31]
B
And Beck, my first impulse here was going to be like Bulls and Giddy, which you guys both kind of alluded to. And I do think, look, just to touch on them real quick before I give a different answer, like the Bulls have cooled off after that 5, 0 start. I think they're coming back to earth in a way that, that makes sense. I think they're settling in where we thought they'd be, which is probably going to be hovering around 500. I don't, you know, nobody, I don't think thought they were going to actually be leading the east or be, you know, top four in the east when all was said and done. But they did find something in Josh Giddey. That Caruso Giddy swap looks a lot better now than it did at the time. And the deeper that Giddy goes, being able to shoot threes at a decent rate, shooting 38.5% now, career high, it looks pretty good. He's nearly averaging a triple double, 21 points, nine and a half rebounds, 9.3 assists. Like all that bodes well for the Bulls because you can't really build a sustainable upper playoff team until you've got guys you know, you can build around. And Giddy's looking like a fundamental piece. That's great. But my answer for this one's going to be the Bucks. I like a lot of people, not that I was down on the Bucks. I didn't think they were going to like going to fall out of the playoffs or anything. As long as you've got Giannis, you're going to be a force. But you know, Ryan Rollins is, you know, has popped and some other young guys have, have kind of like shown some good signs and this is like not a great roster and Miles Turner's not even playing all that well. But Giannis is kicking everybody's ass. And they're seven and four in a three way tie. As we, as we record this in a three way tie with Cleveland and Miami for third best record in the East. Like they're right there. And I'm not, I'm not shocked. I'm not even that surprised, but a little bit because after Giannis, it's a pretty steep drop off there in talent level and there's a good reason why we were all spending the summer speculating about Giannis's future. He has, he has shoved that to the back burner with his play and his teammates are helping him out in that regard. Like Kyle Kuzma looks like an NBA player again. Hallelujah you know, AJ Green's looking good. Ryan Raw's looking great. Like, it's, It's. It's an impressive start with a. With a pretty unspectacular supporting cast.
- [43:40]
A
Hey, I gotta say this, though, real quick. This is. This roster, aside from Giannis, is kind of Doc Rivers's bag, right? Like, you think about the. The 2018, 2019 Clippers, where, like, who are these guys over here? Who. Who are these players? Why are they playing so well out of nowhere? This is what. This is kind of where Doc Rivers flourishes, where he has. Where he has to develop guys, and he overachieves. He has the. He is a great overachieving coach, I think, with some. With some championship pedigree. But, like, I think when he's in this type of predicament, this is when he thrives the most. So I just want to give Doc a shout out as well. What's the who. What's the next segment? Cliff?
- [44:18]
E
Next category is biggest Disappointment. Raj, again, gotta. Gotta toss it to you, buddy. What do you think is the biggest disappointment so far?
- [44:27]
B
His. His biggest disappointment is that Nico got fired and he had to talk.
- [44:34]
D
Yeah, like the. Nico's my guy. Shit.
- [44:36]
B
Yeah.
- [44:36]
D
Yeah. Nico used to look me out when nobody would look me out.
- [44:39]
A
So do you have friends, Howard? Do you defend those friends?
- [44:43]
D
Damn right. Let's see. Biggest disappointment, player, team. Probably the LA Clippers. Probably the Clippers. They've. They've. They. I mean, I don't know where I had them fallen in the Western Conference, but they just look. They look old. They don't look like they do, right? Like, they look old. They look. I mean, they are old. What are they. What are they in the league? They gotta be a top five.
- [45:13]
A
They're the oldest team in the league.
- [45:14]
E
Yeah, I think before the season, they were the oldest team.
- [45:17]
D
They're old. They look. They're. They look old. I mean, yeah, they're terrible defensively. That used to be what they. What they were kind of about. I mean, they had. Obviously, you know, Kawhi and Zubak and Harden that were good offensive players, but I think Norman Powell. The Norman Powell thing hurt them. Yeah, be the Clippers, dude. Like, I'm not going to get all long winded and shit. They. They just look old. They don't defend. I love T. Lou, man, but, you know, I talk about it sometimes when you're looking around and you're wondering if the messaging is still hitting the same way, you know, like, that's. I hate to say that, but they'd be my biggest disappointment.
- [45:59]
E
Lolo. Biggest disappointment so far.
- [46:03]
A
I was going to go with the Pelicans, but, I mean, we do we really. You know, I know. I thought just because I picked him to be my sleeper and Howard also picked him. Picked him to be his sleeper. I guess we kind of have to say to Pelicans, but, like, in the back of our minds, you guys act sleeper. In the back of our minds, we knew what it was, right? We kind of like, it was a.
- [46:21]
B
Little bit of wish casting.
- [46:22]
A
It was a little wishcasting.
- [46:24]
D
Right?
- [46:24]
A
Then we saw the first couple of games. We were like, what the fuck? And also the real ones. One thing I love about the room was they always call us out. They were like, are you serious about this? Pelicans pick? Every. Every time we've dropped a picture podcast, they've been saying that. But no, I'm not gonna go with the Pelicans because it's kind of expected. I'm gonna go with the Hawks, right? And more specifically, I think. And they're doing good, so we could talk. They're doing good or better now. But of all of the expectations that we had, particularly in this Western Conference, and we just talked about the Bucks and how they're overachieving and this conference, if you don't overachieve and how barren and weak this conference is, something is wrong with your team. Right? And I think that we've seen that with the Hawks. I think the Trae Young situation is kind of probably hit as zenith. And I think we. We in a good. In a good way. We know that the Hawks know who they are at this point and kind of have a. Similar to what we talked about with the Mavericks. Kind of know what the path forward is here. I think the writing is kind of on the wall with. With Trey and, you know, if you. Next year, you know, they got. They got the Pelicans pick so they could build around. They could build around what they have without Trey Young. I mean, he's probably gonna play because player option, but, like, they could either trade him, get him out, and just start fresh with a new Fred office. I think they're doing good. But in terms of this season, I think the Hawks have been a big disappointment. And, you know, this kind of is what it is. We had real high expectations. You can also. I don't know who Howard's pick is, so I'm just gonna. Not just take everything, but I would say the Hawks for me.
- [47:59]
B
Yeah. The two top teams on my list of the two you guys Just named, but just to add on both. So the Clippers, look, I. I said they were a 50 win team because they were 50 win team last year. And I thought. I thought they only got better. Like, they did trade Norm Powell. It's. Now I'm wondering how. If that was a mistake, if not even just for production purposes. Although he's been phenomenal in Miami, missed a few games, but he's been great. Is it. Was it a chemistry thing too? Right. Was there just something about Norm Powell being like a consummate kind of glue guy who can also, like, do more than just be a glue guy, Also put up some. Some points and run the offense at times, but they won 50 plus or they won 50 games with Kawhi missing almost the, you know, whatever two thirds of the season.
- [48:39]
D
Yeah, they're one game away from being Denver.
- [48:41]
B
They. Yeah, they bring back everybody except Norm Powell. They add John Collins. They had Brook Lopez, they had, you know, the ghost of Bradley Beal and, you know, Chris Paul and Chris Paul. Like, none of those guys needed to do big things for them. They just needed to, like, make them that much deeper and more versatile. I thought for sure 50 plus wins is back on the table. I had Ty Lewis, my preseason coach of the year. So, like, by far, considering my own projections, the Clippers are the biggest disappointment sitting here at 3 and 7 right now, tied with the Jazz and the Kings. But, yeah, shout out to the Pelicans in this, too, because, yeah, you look at it like they're. They're gonna end up being one of those consummate, like, look back years from now and go, like, I don't get it. I look down on paper and I'm like, Zion Williamson, that guy was super talented. Trey Murphy's really good. Herb Jones, like, there's all this, like, there's. There's decent talent there, and it's just like they're just like, lesser, less than the sum of their parts. There's just something amiss. Oh, speaking back to the Clippers, speaking of something amiss. So I talked to somebody recently who had some insights there, who basically said, like, he does think the aspiration stuff is really hanging over that team. Like, I thought that would be more of a front office thing, right? If. If the. If the Kawhi aspiration cap circumvention scandal was anything, it would be something for the front office to deal with. I didn't think that would, like, leech into the locker room, but it's been suggested to me that that is, in fact having an impact on just kind of the spirit of the team. Not to mention, like, yeah, there's been like, lawyers going through the offices, like, you know, going through whatever, I guess laptops and text. And text messages, whatever. Whatever the. The Wachtel Lipton search entails. It's involving some, you know, some, you know, guys having their stuff gone through. Not the players, obviously, the front office. But yeah, or as the person put it to me, it's not a serene place at the moment. So maybe that's all seeping in and maybe once again, this is just karma taking its course. Course.
- [50:37]
E
Interesting stuff there, Howard. As always, one with the information. I love it. Let's get to the final category here. Who would you least like to be at this point of the season? Approximately 10 games in. Who would you least like to be? Raj, would you least like to be my man?
- [50:55]
D
Yeah, I don't know, dude. I passed. Nah, I mean, there's some pretty bad records out there with to be some miserable kind of locker rooms to be in at 1 and 9 and. But ultimately I think I'm going to take the team that we talked about last pod, Logan, and say just the Memphis Grizzlies because of, because of the dissension between their head coach and their. And their franchise player and just the mess that that seems to be. Yeah, I mean, I don't. I do, I do. I need to elaborate on it. I mean, when you, when you have a role player or somebody that's less meaningful to your organization, sideways with a coach and the organization, that's one thing. When it's the face of the franchise, a guy like Ja and then this is a new hire type of situation, this is immediate and it's sideways like that already. It's fundamental. It's at its core. I just think that's messy and it makes for a bad locker room more than anything. Right? Like, you could be a bad team record wise, and it would be counterintuitive, but you might still have good vibes, right? Like, cats are playing hard. You're young, you haven't figured out how to win yet. Like, you could from the outside. You might look at that and be like, oh, that's a shit show. And if you ask guys inside, they'd be like, no, we're good. Like, we don't know how to win, but we're fine. Like, we got guys that are developing on the fly, showing promises, young players, like, but when that locker room is shitty, that's not a cool place to be. So for those reasons, I'd say Memphis.
- [52:36]
B
Okay. Only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line.
- [52:40]
A
But first there, the last one.
- [52:50]
B
Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes.
- [52:54]
E
You got.
- [52:55]
A
I mean, it's pretty simple here. Steve Ballmer, hate to be right now. That would suck. You bought this team, right? Very clearly. Like, no matter how much money you pump into it, no matter how many things that you do that you think are innovative, no matter how much you grandstand about how innovative you are, you know, just starts up for you every time, right. You get Kawhi Leonard, you get Paul George. The team that you traded with wins a title off of your. All of your picks, right? Then you know, you have the Aspire situation, right? Which I, which also Howard, I'm not really surprised that it seeped into the locker room considering the team's best player is involved. Is involved in it allegedly or is definitely somebody.
- [53:50]
B
That dude, that dude's an Android. Like, he doesn't have any. Like, when did you last see Kawhi actually have any feelings or express like concern?
- [53:56]
A
That's what he though. But here's the thing though. That's what he expresses to us. We don't know him.
- [54:03]
B
He's like, guys, I'm really worried about.
- [54:05]
A
No, no, no. We just don't know what's going on in his head. We just don't know what's going on in his head. Right. Like, and so like, I'm not surprised that it seeped into the locker room. But then you have that and then they don't own their. I mean, I know this, but they don't own their own first round pick until 2030 or no. And, and I think 2029 is top three protected, so. And their 2028 pick is to Philly. Geez. Cliff is out here just smiling so, so much right now. Right. But like on top of that, you have this, this case all over you. And then you're gonna have even more eyes on the incompetence of the organization. This in February when the All Star Game. All people are going to be talking about during the All Star Weekend is what's going on with the Clippers. And all we talk about when it comes to the Clippers is how bad things have gone for them and for all of the resources and all the things and everything that Steve Ballmer has hit us over the head with. They've only done it for to be average. And you know, I would hate to be that. That would suck. I'm surprised. Howard or in Rosa. Nobody picked The Magic. And maybe that's because Desmond Bay hit a three last night to win the game. But the Magic have been very, very disappointing. And Howard didn't go yet. No. How. No, no. That was the last one. Biggest disappointment, you know, Biggest disappointment. So the Magic should be in there. I just want to acknowledge that as such. But yeah, that's.
- [55:34]
B
That's Magic. Or most.
- [55:35]
A
I would at least like to be.
- [55:36]
B
The Magic are mostly a disappointment to our colleague Michael Pina, who overestimated Bo.
- [55:41]
A
I gotta say. Real quick, hold on real quick. I hate the fact that every time we bring up Michael Peanut on this podcast because of a take that didn't go his way. When the last time he got a take, right, because he keeps the. He keeps putting his. When Michael Pena picks something, I get scared. He picked the Clippers the last two years. I'm legitimately scared. And then this, this Clipper happens, right? He's picked them, right? Then he picks the Magic. His pick is like the kiss of death. Peanut you, bro.
- [56:07]
B
But Jesus, Pina is my guy and I like, I like to tweak him over this stuff. Shout out to Michael.
- [56:14]
A
I know I got some bad takes, but damn, Pina.
- [56:16]
B
I have always been a bit of a Magic skeptic and Pina has long been a Magic optimist. So we're just on opposite sides of how we view the build of that team. But yeah, like, they're. They've definitely been a disappointment. Who would I least like to be at this point? Other than, I don't know, anybody associated with the Mavericks or Nico Harrison himself or anybody involved in the gambling saga. Anybody involved in the cap circumvention saga. I wouldn't want to be Adam Silver, who now has to deal with two major scandals. One cap circumvention, one gambling. But team wise, I'd least like to be the Sacramento Kings.
- [56:53]
A
Let's go. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. My bad.
- [56:57]
B
You're a little too excited about that Logan hater.
- [57:05]
D
They're.
- [57:06]
B
They're three and seven. One of the. One of their only wins is against the Jazz. They did beat Milwaukee. They did beat the Warriors. 23rd and offensive rating, 27th and defensive rating 26th and net. They got this wonky ass roster of mostly like older, past their prime vets. DeRose and Levine, Westbrook. They got too many guys need the ball in their hands. Sabona, Schroeder, Monk. In addition to DeRozan, Levine and Westbrook, they're one of their more promising young players. Keegan Murray, give him a Huge extension. He gets hurt, he's not playing. They're not a playoff team, but they're also not a team with a bunch of great young prospects that you can, like, build around. There's no franchise star here. Sabonis is a good co star, but he's not a number one. They don't cap room until probably 2027. I just don't even know where you go from here if you're the Sacramento Kings. I feel bad for Kings fans. They got the tease of the one breakthrough season, and then everybody's gone who had anything to do with it. Almost everybody. Darren Fox, Mike Brown, front office. It's just. It's. It's. It's sad. Kings are depressing. I'm sorry. I've brought us all down, except for Logan, who's giddy about this.
- [58:20]
A
I went to the game on Friday, bro. No, it's just. It's. It's laughing to keep from crying, trying, because I went to the game on Friday against okc, and this was a. This was a lineup that the Kings trotted out DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook Eubanks, Zach Levine, and Dennis Schroeder, which is something that I never thought I would see in 2025, and that happened. But. But real quick, though, because I'm glad that you guys are both on the line here, because Raja on Friday, he was. He was. He was flying high, baby. It was right after that warriors game, and Russ had that triple double, and he balled out, and he was ready to gloat. I want to give you the opportunity to gloat again, Roger, But Russ, in 16 minutes, his last game against Septemberwolves two nights ago, six points, two of seven shooting, two of five from the field, one assist, zero rebounds, one steal on a block.
- [59:12]
D
Yeah. What? How many minutes?
- [59:14]
A
16 minutes.
- [59:16]
D
Yeah, bro. You want to do in 16 minutes, dog, what you like? He's 40 some years old, bro. Yes. That's what's gonna happen sometimes, right? I'm not telling you he's mvp, Russ.
- [59:26]
A
Okay. Do you want to gloat for Howard right now? Because Russ is, you know, letting Russ cook or, like.
- [59:30]
D
Nah, I'm not. This isn't a gloating campaign for me, man. I'm just. Just happy my dog's in the league right now, dog.
- [59:36]
B
Like, yeah.
- [59:36]
D
Come on, man. For a dude, like, can we. Can we agree that, like, for at least a while there, what he. What he meant to the NBA and what he was doing and the NBA was, like, riding like he should be in the league to finish his career. I am happy for Russ.
- [59:50]
A
I'm just sad that it got to be a Sacramento, but also, like, you know, hey, Sacramento did him a solid.
- [59:56]
D
That's a bet.
- [59:56]
A
Sack did him a solid.
- [59:59]
D
And, like, you know, if recent history, you know, with Russ and teams and the words coming out of those locker rooms suggest, like, anything he might have had something to do, why a team like Sacramento is where he is going to be. But, like, I'm just happy he's there.
- [60:15]
B
Rust in that King's jersey is Patrick Ewing in the Sonics jersey. It's just fucking weird.
- [60:21]
A
Like.
- [60:22]
B
And, like, Ewing had not been anywhere else before he started bouncing around after the Knicks traded him. But, like, Russ has been a bunch of places. It's just never looked as weird as Russ and the Kings. Yeah, that.
- [60:33]
A
That was like a graveyard, especially for players, bro.
- [60:36]
B
Especially. Yeah, Especially this version of the Kings, right? Like, a couple years ago, you would have. It would have been like, oh, this is like the. The fun Kings. But, like, it's. It's one of the many, many sad versions of the Kings. So of all the places to finish in that jersey at this time, this.
- [60:51]
A
Time, I feel that is just a bottle. I think it's the worst organization in the league right now.
- [60:56]
D
I'd rather be in the nursing home than not in the nursing home, if you can dig what I'm saying.
- [61:01]
A
Okay.
- [61:04]
D
Like, you know what I mean? Like, progressions of, like, going from home to the nursing home to the next stop. I'd rather be in a nursing home.
- [61:12]
A
I just feel that with Russ. Right? I just feel for Russ because in his first presser with the Kings, they asked him, like, yo, man, like. Or alluded to this probably being his last season, and he said, this ain't. I got more seasons to go, and I just want to. Oh, shoulder.
- [61:26]
B
It's still time for him to play for the Pelicans.
- [61:29]
A
That better be the only other team that will take him after this, bro. Remember, Raja? Remember when Russ declined his option and you were like, oh, yeah, there's something back on here. And I was trying to tell you, like, yo, this might be it for Russ, and if the Kings didn't show up, this probably was it for us.
- [61:48]
D
That was all the way off the mark on that. Russ. Yeah. Russ, you. Hey, in this one.
- [61:53]
E
Yeah, brother.
- [61:53]
D
Enjoy this one. And let's go out. Let's go. Let's.
- [61:56]
A
Blades of glory, baby. On our own, bro.
- [61:58]
D
Let's go out on our own.
- [61:59]
A
I'm not gonna lie, though. On Friday on Friday, though, he hit four threes and it was like. And he was just talking and I was like, there he is.
- [62:06]
B
Yes.
- [62:07]
A
There's Russia. There he is.
- [62:08]
D
Yes. Retired the next day.
- [62:10]
A
Okay, Cliff, how you feeling, man? Are you good? Are you okay?
- [62:15]
E
Yeah, everything's good.
- [62:16]
A
Everything's. Yeah, you're good. Okay.
- [62:18]
E
Big win for the Eagles last night. You know, Sixers split against Detroit or split against Detroit and Toronto. So, you know, things are going well in Philly, man.
- [62:27]
A
Okay, all right, all right. I just want to have some optimism after that Russ conversation because, God, that was sad. All right, that has been another edition of Rogans, I promise. We had a whole other show for you guys, but then the Nico Harrison news just came and we had to pivot. So, you know, maybe 20 games. Then we'll have our 20 game impressions and we'll do a full show about our impressions with all the similar categories.
- [62:48]
B
And a mailbag, which we also had to scrap today. Sorry.
- [62:51]
A
And a mailbag who.
- [62:52]
B
Who sent us thoughtful emails.
- [62:55]
A
Yeah, yeah. That only Howard reads. Okay, see you guys on Friday. Me and Raj Bell there. Thank you to Howard Beck. We will see you guys on Friday. With me, Raja, Cliff, Victoria, Big bv. I'm Logi.
- [63:10]
E
Boo.
- [63:10]
A
Not the two. See you on Friday. All the shits. Bye. Let's see. 21 years and older and present in select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit ART. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org and Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-5050. For 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York.