The 2026 Take-athon, Part 1 | Real Ones

Summary

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The Ringer NBA Show: "The 2026 Take-athon, Part 1 | Real Ones"

Date: February 13, 2026
Hosts: Logan Murdoch, Howard Beck, Tyler Parker
(“Real Ones” edition, live from Spotify Studios LA)

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Overview

In this bold, tongue-in-cheek "Take-athon" edition, Logan, Howard, and Tyler go through the NBA All-Stars and unleash outrageous, creative, and occasionally fiery takes—each panelist offering a unique perspective and sometimes engaging in friendly debate. The guest judge, Jeremy Ardenaron, is set to crown the "Take Champion" in the episode’s second part. The objective? Fun, wild opinions, and a fresh look at the league’s biggest names.

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Notable Themes & Format

• Each host draws names and shares a hot take about the selected All-Star
• Emphasis on fun and creative perspectives rather than strictly analytical discussion
• Frequent references to basketball culture (accessories, media narratives, legacies)
• Tones shift between playful, irreverent, and occasionally reflective
• Judge Jeremy will declare the boldest “champion take” next episode

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Key Discussion Points & Segments

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Introduction & Rules (01:29–04:08)

• Hosts introduce the concept:
  “The first ever Take-athon presented by Real Ones where we give the boldest take possible on all of your favorite All Stars.” (Logan, 01:34)
• Joking camaraderie: hosts riff on being together in the same studio, shoutouts to the Ringer team, establish that the takes are for fun.

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Anthony Edwards: Best NBA Accessory (04:08–06:55)

• Tyler Parker’s take:
  • Edwards has the best accessory in the league: “The number five sweatband on the left calf. … It’s not too loud, but it’s unique. It says, ‘Look, this is who I am. This is what I’m about.’” (Tyler, 04:29)
  • Hosts reminisce about the evolution of player accessories, from Iverson’s iconic arm sleeve to Edwards’ methodical “science” of accessorizing.
  • Old-school to modern shift: hosts note the increased freedom and individuality with uniform/gear styling.
  • “If the NBA is going to allow for like 72 different fucking uniforms… you got no standing as a league to tell guys you can’t wear various accoutrement.” (Howard, 06:42)

Memorable Moment:

• Logan and Tyler agree to “normalize getting swaggy for a pickup game” as part of playground hoops culture. (08:27)

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Giannis Antetokounmpo: Greatest Buck Ever? (08:38–16:32)

• Howard Beck’s take:
  • “No matter what happens next… I think he’s already the greatest Buck of all time—over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.” (Howard, 09:21)
• Panel discusses:
  • The credentials: Championships, MVPs, and team tenure.
  • Debate about legacy:
    “He’s not the most moral Buck. The best ladies and gentlemen, just the best Buck.” (Logan, 09:52)
  • Kareem vs. Giannis eras: Kareem’s stats “bananas,” but Giannis’ impact in the modern NBA, his roots in Milwaukee, and the meaning of “imprint” on a franchise drive Howard’s argument.
  • Panel considers what constitutes “greatest”: story, impact, stats, longevity, and manner of leaving the franchise.

Notable Quote:

• “This is basically a—what did you mean to that team during your time with that franchise?” (Howard, 14:09)

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Jalen Johnson: Most Complete Offensive Player in the East? (19:25–20:41)

• Tyler’s hot take:
  • “I think Jalen Johnson’s the most complete offensive player in the East right now. … He’s averaging 23, 11 and 8. … He can do more… than anybody else in the East.” (Tyler, 19:30)
• Logan and Howard press on the omission of Jayson Tatum and other top players; Tyler hedges: “Tatum’s definitely got an argument… but he’s hurt right now.” (20:08)
• Debate ends with laughter—one of the episode’s bolder, more questionable takes.

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Jalen Brown: Approaching a Boston Impasse (20:48–23:41)

• Logan’s take:
  • “We’re about to have another impasse between Jalen Brown, Boston Celtics going forward...” (20:48)
  • Jalen Brown’s recent comments signal that he relishes being “the lead guy” and has long sacrificed for the team.
• Internal tension: Despite team success and past awards (Finals/Conference Finals MVP), Brown’s role as “Batman or Robin” resurfaces.

Memorable Quote:

• Jalen Brown (to Logan in 2023, referencing partnership with Tatum):
  “If it’s your whole career, it’s your whole career. If it’s not, it’s not. … You see where life takes you. … All you really have to focus on is what’s in front of you.” (Logan, 23:41)

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Luka Dončić: “The Greatest Threat to Luka is Luka” (24:25–27:55)

• Howard’s take:
  • “The greatest threat to Luka’s overall legacy… is Luka.” (Howard, 25:12)
• Deep dive into Luka’s career arc:
  • Usage rate: highest ever (35%), over Jordan, Iverson, Kobe.
  • Persistent issues: conditioning, defense, constant complaining (“the biggest whiner among stars I’ve seen in 30 years…” — Howard, 25:50).
• Debate about where blame lies—Lakers’ roster construction vs. Luka’s self-imposed limitations.

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Karl-Anthony Towns: Should’ve Stayed in Minnesota? (28:09–30:28)

• Logan’s take:
  • “I think Karl Towns would have been better served staying in Minnesota.” (Logan, 28:09)
• Reflection on Towns’ fit as a #2 option in New York:
  “…from a game standpoint and being able to help a team, I think he’s kind of miscast in his role.” (29:12)
• Panel notes the “curse” of homecoming stress, relentless NY media, and Towns’ roots in Minnesota vs. current struggles.

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Tyrese Maxey: Most Exciting Offensive Player Over Steph or Wemby? (32:49–34:43)

• Tyler’s take (extra spicy):
  • “This is the most exciting offensive player in the league now. Even above Steph.” (Tyler, 32:57)
• Logan bristles, citing Victor Wembanyama’s jaw-dropping play.
• Tyler counters with Maxey’s speed and deep range, but the panel reacts with disbelief.

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Pascal Siakam: The Ideal #2 (34:52–35:59)

• Howard’s take:
  • “He’s the best prototypical number two in the NBA right now, possibly.” (35:19)
• Group agrees:
  “He doesn’t need… [to] say, I need to be the guy.” (Howard, 35:21)
  Siakam is perfect as a co-star but “they’re cooked” if forced into a #1 role (Logan/Howard, 35:45–35:47).

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Brandon Ingram: Outlasted Everyone (36:02–36:28)

• Logan’s mini-take:
  • “Shout out to Brandon Ingram for outlasting Ben Simmons and proving… that he was the better player all along.” (36:17)
• Short, celebratory, and a nod to his perseverance after the AD trade.

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Scottie Barnes: “Scott Bones” and the Ultimate Glue Guy (36:38–37:46)

• Tyler’s quirky take:
  • “When Scottie Barnes plays well, people should call him Scott Bones.” (36:43)
• Logan adds:
  “I think he’s the ideal number two. … If Scottie Barnes is your number two, you’re cooking.” (36:14)

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Jamal Murray: The Properly Rated All-Star (37:51–39:44)

• Howard’s take:
  • “Great that he’s [finally] there. We can stop calling him underrated now. … He was properly rated.” (37:58)
• Lists the Western point guard competition that kept him out; asserts All-Star rating fits his play, not a real slight.

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Norman Powell: The Power of “Solid” and the Lament of Letting Good Guys Go (39:45–41:13)

• Logan’s take:
  • “Don’t disparage solid as a means of a compliment… we need a lot more solids in this world.” (39:49)
• Howard’s add-on:
  Every team that’s traded Powell has regretted it:
  “Every single one of these, the team trading Norman Powell was worse off for it.” (Howard, 41:09)

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Cade Cunningham: The Best (Non-Giannis) in the East? (41:24–43:20)

• Tyler’s take:
  • “When Giannis is hurt, he’s [Cade] the best player in the East now.” (Tyler, 41:24)
• Discussion about Cade’s rise, clutch play, and excellent hair (“When’s the last time we had a superstar with a good fro?” – Logan, 42:03).
• Praise for his culture-setting leadership in Detroit with new GM Trajan Langdon.

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Kevin Durant: The Most Underappreciated Star? (43:27–47:41)

• Howard’s nuanced take:
  • “Kevin Durant is the most underappreciated star of this era or maybe of any era. … It has to do with the decisions he made.” (43:27)
• Panel dives into Durant’s career:
  • Movement between teams has left him without a single, loyal fan base.
  • Despite all-time stats and career accolades, recognition is muted compared to LeBron (Howard: “LeBron is still loved in all these places that he was at… KD…[isn’t]”, 47:13).
• Heated discussion about “ring-chasing,” the NBA’s climate of player mobility, and why KD is strangely tragic in legacy terms.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Accessories:
  “Let’s normalize again just getting swaggy for a pickup game that doesn’t matter at all and that you’re probably going to be trash in.” (Logan, 08:27)
• On Giannis’ Milwaukee legacy:
  “He embraced Milwaukee and he for all of what’s happening now in what is eventually going to be a divorce…he gave them a lot of really great years.” (Howard, 10:39)
• On Luka’s fate:
  “The greatest threat to Luka’s overall legacy … is Luka.” (Howard, 25:12)
• On being “Solid”:
  “Don’t disparage solid as a means of a compliment, because one day, solid can be great.” (Logan, 39:49)
• On KD’s appreciation:
  “He is…way underappreciated. … But I think it’s inarguable that he’s, like, way underappreciated.” (Tyler, 47:49)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction/Setup: 01:29–04:08
• Anthony Edwards: 04:08–06:55
• Giannis Antetokounmpo: 08:38–16:32
• Jalen Johnson: 19:25–20:41
• Jalen Brown: 20:48–23:41
• Luka Dončić: 24:25–27:55
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 28:09–30:28
• Tyrese Maxey: 32:49–34:43
• Pascal Siakam: 34:52–35:59
• Brandon Ingram: 36:02–36:28
• Scottie Barnes: 36:38–37:46
• Jamal Murray: 37:51–39:44
• Norm Powell: 39:45–41:13
• Cade Cunningham: 41:24–43:20
• Kevin Durant: 43:27–47:41

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Tone & Style

• Playful, irreverent, and with a deep reservoir of NBA knowledge
• Takes are intentionally spicy, sometimes verging on absurdity
• Frequent jokes and laughter punctuate more serious moments of analysis
• Hosts keep things light, with an emphasis on personality and fun

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Closing

The episode ends with the promise that the takes will be judged by Jeremy Ardenaron in Part 2, with the most outlandish or insightful crowned as the “Take Champion.”

Logan Signs Off:
“We will see you [tomorrow] for part two where we crown our champion of the take. That’s next. Thanks for watching.” (Logan, 47:59)

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This summary captures the best/wildest takes and the entertaining, basketball-obsessed spirit of the “Take-athon.” Great for anyone who missed the episode and wants the full flavor of the panel’s debates!

Transcript

[Howard Beck]

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[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Logan Murdoch]

What's poppin? Logan Murdoch here live from Spotify studios here in Los Angeles. Here for the first ever takeathon with myself, Howard motherfucking Beck and Tyler Parker, where we each have a take about every single All Star. And we have our buddy Jeremy Adenaron give the best take and make bestow the best champion. We're about to do that next on Real Ones. Up next, Victoria. Play the theme music. What's poppin? Hello, everyone. I'm Logan Murdoch and I would like to welcome you to the first ever Take a thon presented by Real Ones where we give the boldest take possible on all of your favorite All Stars. I am your host, obviously, and I am joined by my distinguished panel, Howard motherfucking Beck. And you know an honorary real one of the day, Mr. Tyler Parker. How you guys doing, man?

[Howard Beck]

Doing great. I'm just. You and I are in the same room, which is a rarity in itself. Yeah, we're in the same room with the great Tyler Parker, which is just raising this whole thing to a whole other level.

[Logan Murdoch]

Very excited about this.

[Howard Beck]

Tyler's made some turns on the Real Ones when I was subbing for you. You know, I like, I like, I. I freelance a little bit when you're gone. I just, like, I just start bringing on random people. Oh, I get Tyler Parker.

[Logan Murdoch]

Cool.

[Howard Beck]

We had fun with. Without you, but it's. It's good to have us all here.

[Logan Murdoch]

It's fine.

[Tyler Parker]

No, it's an honor to join one of my favorite shows. Always happy to talk ball and. Yeah, let's get some takes off.

[Howard Beck]

I. I am a little intimidated by the fact that we are in this hallowed studio space where the.

[Tyler Parker]

The.

[Howard Beck]

The house of R take. So shout out to Mal and Joe. Like, this is like. I almost put on the. The knight's helmet out there.

[Logan Murdoch]

That would have been cool if you would have came in with the knight's helmet. That would have kind of taken the show.

[Howard Beck]

It takes. Hit harder when you got a knife. Yeah.

[Tyler Parker]

Battle ready in that.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah. Yeah. All right, so just little ground rules. We've been tasked to analyze a group of players based on the separate teams. The Team Stars, the Team stripes, and team World. Each pick will be heavily scrutinized by a resident take expert, Jeremy Ardenaron, who is going to be in here at some point, and he will, at the end of all this, give out the prestigious take champion award for the best takes.

[Tyler Parker]

I had no idea there was a championship on the line.

[Logan Murdoch]

It might be. It might be. I'm taking a lot of stuff back home. As you can see, we have a lot of players and not a lot of time. But the biggest thing out of all of this is we're just here to have fun. Howard. Becky. We're just here to have fun.

[Howard Beck]

I'm all about fun.

[Logan Murdoch]

Don't take the take too seriously or do it just make it entertaining. Without further ado, take a look at the first player, and it is Anthony Edwards.

[Tyler Parker]

This is your take, man. I get to break the glass here. Okay. All right. Anthony Edwards. Anthony Edwards has the best accessory in the league.

[Logan Murdoch]

Okay.

[Tyler Parker]

The number five sweatband on the left calf.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yes.

[Tyler Parker]

This is the mo. This is the best accessory to me. It's not too loud, but it's unique. It says, look, this is who I am. This is what I'm about.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah.

[Tyler Parker]

I, I, I there the other. I'm a big fan of Aaron Gordon's headband. Whenever he's in the mix, obviously, there's a lot of sleeves, a lot of tights going around.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah.

[Tyler Parker]

Which are you all fine and good, but when it. I, I really appreciate a leg band, and I like how committed he's been to it for such a long time.

[Logan Murdoch]

You know, that is a throwback back to back in, like, the mid 2000 where a lot of guys would wear that. We got away from that as a basketball culture with the sweatband on the leg. But what I love about it is he has a sweatband on one leg, but he has the Flo Jo tight on the other leg to keep that leg warm. And then he has the armband here. Yeah, we got away from armbands for a long time and we got the, we had the, the Wrist Iverson band for a long time. And I'm glad that we're getting back to sweat bands because they're vital.

[Tyler Parker]

I feel like the armband especially is. It's a very brave choice to do it on the outside of the elbow because it, to me it's going to, it's going to restrict, it's going to, I'm going to feel it here when I'm going up for a jumper, you.

[Logan Murdoch]

Know what I mean?

[Tyler Parker]

It's going to, it's going to constrict and I don't like that. But I, I appreciate Edwards because there's clearly a science.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah.

[Tyler Parker]

To what he's doing.

[Logan Murdoch]

Or maybe not. Which makes it actually even more.

[Tyler Parker]

If it's all aesthetics, honestly, even better. But like.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah, the league got weird about it though in the early 2000s. That's what happened. Like Iverson did his arm sleeve which shout out to Ty Lou for then emulating the arm sleeve in practices when they were getting ready for the finals in 2001. He like not only was playing the part of Iverson at practice, he did the sleeve to emulate. But then like people started doing like full on leg sleeves and arm sleeves. And the next thing you know, instead of wearing like the standard NBA uniform which is like, you know, shorts and jersey, it looked like you were just wearing full body armor. And the league would got all weird about it like no, this is not regulation or whatever. But that was back during the day too where like everybody had to wear the same colored shoes. You had to be coordinated. Now it gets so much more interesting now right.

[Logan Murdoch]

Where everybody's got like just go to full Todd's Gibson.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah.

[Logan Murdoch]

You know, Right. Just the sleeves right here, the Pat Ewing sleeves, the Iverson sleeves just cover the whole body.

[Howard Beck]

Listen, if the NBA is going to like allow for like 72 different fucking uniforms in the course of a season for every team anyway. You got no standing as a league to tell guys you can't wear like various accoutrement, you know.

[Tyler Parker]

Absolutely.

[Logan Murdoch]

What's your favorite wristbands and headbands? Like what do you, what do you guys like, you haven't played pickup in a while. But what did you wear? The headband. Like, what did you wear?

[Howard Beck]

I liked. I liked the wristbands. I like to, you know, like, wipe the screen.

[Logan Murdoch]

I love. Back in the day, because wristbands were actually utility. Right? Like, it was actually like, this is why we use them now. We just put them everywhere.

[Tyler Parker]

They started because they actually helped, I think.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah.

[Tyler Parker]

I didn't have. I didn't have one. I tried to experiment with a wristband here every now and again. My dad had an old Air Jordan one that he get from, like, late 80s, like, with the flight logo with or with the wing logo, you know?

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah.

[Tyler Parker]

And I was like, all about it, but every time I would wear it, like, early in the first quarter, I would start to feel like it was bothering me, and then I'd always take it off.

[Logan Murdoch]

I had the. I had the Iverson headband, like, the Reebok Iverson headband, and I would wear it over the ears. But then Derek Fisher used to wear it, like, covering the ears, and he.

[Tyler Parker]

Really pinned them back with that.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, yeah. And then I would wear them around my neck a la Suggs. NBA is hating on that, too, because that was a good one.

[Tyler Parker]

NBA, let Suggs. Let Suggs eat.

[Logan Murdoch]

Let them cook.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah.

[Logan Murdoch]

What the are we doing?

[Tyler Parker]

We don't want to. We don't want to hinder bravery and invention and the. The.

[Logan Murdoch]

The hurt nobody. Arenas are cold, bro. Arenas are really cold places. Let's put the. Let's war with the. The neck.

[Tyler Parker]

Yeah. I tried to do a leg sleeve for a little bit, too. Or like a leg sweatband on the leg. Like, same kind of. Honestly, similar to what Edwards did, but it just never, never felt like me, you know what I mean? And, man, I'm a boring boy.

[Logan Murdoch]

Let's normalize again. Just getting swaggy for a pickup game that doesn't matter at all and that you're probably going to be trashing. Let's just normalize.

[Tyler Parker]

I mean, I'm into that.

[Logan Murdoch]

Okay. That was a good first player. Great first take, buddy.

[Tyler Parker]

Hey, thank you so much.

[Logan Murdoch]

Next player, please. Oh, we're getting spicy. Giannis, Adeta, Kumbo. That's a Howard take.

[Howard Beck]

I got a lot of. A lot of thoughts about Giannis. We have emptied out a lot of that.

[Logan Murdoch]

I didn't know we had any more thoughts about Yanis. I didn't know it was possible.

[Howard Beck]

I had to. I had to get a little more creative here because we have talked so much about him, about trade demands and non Trade demands and his passive aggressiveness and all this stuff. And I stepped back for a second, I thought about it and this is where, where I landed for our NBA all star take a thon which is no matter what happens next, trade, not trade, more drama. Whatever it is. I think he's already the greatest buck of all time over Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

[Logan Murdoch]

Than Lou El Cinder the greatest, greatest person to ever place a bucks with the betting company. Maybe not the most ethical, but the best.

[Tyler Parker]

I just said the new Calci swerve by him. Does it say it's, it's coloring some things.

[Howard Beck]

I can't distinguish Kalshi from like Kashi, like the little rice cereal stuff.

[Logan Murdoch]

I don't know.

[Howard Beck]

One is probably better than the other greatest buck. I'm not, this is not about ethics or morals or anything else, Logan. This is not even about whatever.

[Logan Murdoch]

He's not the most moral buck. The best ladies and gentlemen, just the best buck.

[Howard Beck]

Listen, Kareem, of course all time legend should be in every goat conversation. But Kareem spent six seasons with the Bucks. He won one championship, two finals appearances, Giannis one championship, only one finals appearance. And Kareem did have three of his MVPs in that span. Giannis two. But Giannis has already been there for 13 seasons. Giannis is the longest tenured all time great to play for that franchise and it had been a very long time, half century since they'd won a championship until Giannis brought them back to that. And I think what's happening now is as we all start getting into the weeds of the know with Giannis's trade sl non trade demand, it's, it's kind of coloring our, our views of him right now because he's kind of annoying a lot of people. He's pissing people off. But I think we need to take a step back and recall what he has done and where he has come from. Kareem got there almost as like a fully formed star. Giannis got there as like this skinny teenager with no promise of, of anything. And he's delivered way beyond what anybody could have expected. He embraced Milwaukee and he for all of what's happening now in what is eventually going to be a divorce sometime this off season almost certainly he gave them a lot of really great years of really great basketball and put a small market cold weather city back on the NBA map. There's no small thing.

[Logan Murdoch]

I, I, I, it's tough on this one, right? He did, Kareem did have better individual circumstances and that better, better individual career in Milwaukee. But we got to have a little bit more nuance as to why he left Milwaukee. Right. I mean, it was. He had gotten up into some politics at that point, and it didn't necessarily jive well with the community in Milwaukee. He also had a few of his own trade demands to get out of Milwaukee as well. Right, right.

[Howard Beck]

So they're even on that score, too.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah. And, you know, who knows where Milwaukee goes? I mean, who knows where Giannis ends up being? He might, I don't know if he's going to be a Laker. I don't think so. But, like, it's, it's weird how those two, they're connected even more than we give credit for. But I don't.

[Howard Beck]

And I'm not saying he's better than Kareem.

[Logan Murdoch]

No, no, no, no. He had a better career. But how much of that. I, I, I gotta admit, I gotta take Howard's word on this, because, I mean, I wasn't alive.

[Howard Beck]

Stop it.

[Logan Murdoch]

I tried to have something profound. That was what happens when I, when I, when I try to go into a profound rebuttal. I just, I couldn't do it because I really don't have anything to stand on. He actually watched Kareem in Milwaukee play. No, No, I did not.

[Tyler Parker]

Who would be. Who would be is. The only other player that would even be in the conversation would be Oscar, right? Yeah, that's gotta be it.

[Logan Murdoch]

Why isn't he better? Why is he better than Oscar as a Milwaukee buck?

[Howard Beck]

I didn't even have to consider Oscar within this because I. Oscar's going to be the notch below Kareem, isn't he?

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, he is. No, he is.

[Howard Beck]

Like, we got, like a reverse.

[Logan Murdoch]

Who's going to need something? Do you? Do you. Is your argument. And I'm not going, I can go back and forth. I don't really have a rebuttal because, again, I was, I'm 12.

[Howard Beck]

Still right now.

[Logan Murdoch]

But how much are you considering the story of both players as a means to talking about their impact on that community? Right. Because I feel like you're, you're, you're, you're conflating also the story of Giannis in Milwaukee as a part of his story of being the best. Right. Because right out of the gate, if you look at Kareem stats going into, they were bananas. And that also speaks to the time in which he played. Right. His, his, his, his stats rival Will Chamberlain of that time. And in a way that Giannis's stats just, even at his peak don't even touch Kareem's. So that would, I guess, be my rebuttal during that time is like, what is. Are you saying it because of the relationship that Milwaukee has with Giannis, based on how long he's been there or the play in which that those two played for each other, like, played in that community? This is.

[Howard Beck]

This is basically a. What did you mean to that team during your time with that franchise?

[Logan Murdoch]

Okay, so that there's a difference between most loved and best, right?

[Howard Beck]

Yeah, but I just said the greatest buck, and that is. That doesn't mean he was better than him overall. It doesn't mean he's got more hardware, because he doesn't. It doesn't mean he's got more of the other accolades. He doesn't. And, and when all is said and done, Giannis is not going to touch Kareem on. In.

[Logan Murdoch]

In.

[Howard Beck]

In the pantheon, in the all time. In. In. In Bill's pyramid. Like, Giannis will be really high, but he's not going to be in Kareem's tier. That's fine for the period of time that each of these guys anchored this franchise? What did they each mean to it? What did they. And what did they leave behind at the moment that Giannis leaves? There will be a lot of those same bad feelings that we see every time we. We see a version of this. LeBron, KD, everybody. And.

[Logan Murdoch]

But those time will heal that, though. I mean, like, last time the Bucks were. Were in the finals, Kareem was there.

[Howard Beck]

Important at a time like this, when we're about to see the backlash because of the parting, to remember what he has meant to them.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, I think he would be, based on what you're saying right now, because I think when you look at the stats and I don't have them right in front of me at this very moment, but, like, it doesn't even compare the stats. It's apples and oranges from Giannis to what Kareem was at that time. Right. But I would say what you're trying to say, it feels like one is the more beloved figure than the other.

[Howard Beck]

I don't even mean beloved. I just mean imprint.

[Logan Murdoch]

Okay. Okay. And that's. And that's the time argument. So. Yeah. Okay.

[Tyler Parker]

One of the points that you made that. That strikes me as significant is how much of a, like, doormat the Bucks were whenever he got there. Like, you know, they were far removed from.

[Logan Murdoch]

Similar to Kareem from.

[Tyler Parker]

Yeah, well, that's. Yeah, they were far. But. But, like, it's. It's harder to be competitive in the league now, I think, than it was then back, like, there's just more teams and I think it's harder to be competitive in Milwaukee now than it would have been then. Whenever there's just like, like we say fewer teams on the board and players maybe haven't like, embraced free agency in the way that they have now and been able to move in the way that they can now.

[Logan Murdoch]

The.

[Tyler Parker]

So bringing them from, you know, the bottom to what he did in the current modern NBA, it has to count for something.

[Howard Beck]

Also, you know, there were 17 teams in the league when the Bucks win the championship with Kareem, there's 30 now, obviously. So it's a different landscape. You only had to win two rounds to get to the finals back then, too. So there's like the, you know, everything is different and it's always hard to compare eras because of those, like, just fundamental differences. But also back then, though, Kareem, you know, and maybe was the first to do this. I want out, and I wanted to go to New York or la. I want a big market. That's like the norm now. Right. Which is why it's even all the more important and impactful that giannis has spent 13 seasons with a small market, cold weather team at a time when superstars do not go to these places. And if they do go because they get drafted there, they're getting out the first chance they get most of the time. Right. He has been, you know, loyalty is overdone, but he's been more loyal the most. And everything has limits. And his limit is, you know, I'm 31 and I need to win more championships, and it's not going to happen here, which is reasonable, to be fair.

[Logan Murdoch]

He was saying that, like 26, 25, as soon as he became Giannis, he was like, okay, if we're not winning a championship, what are we doing? What are we doing? And like, even he said that with Tanya Ganguly, you know, he said that behind the scenes after his first conference finals flame out. You know, he kind of has all. I feel like with Giannis, it's a. There's two things pulling at him. It's the loyalty aspect. You know, this community of Milwaukee embraced me. I owe this to them because they embraced me. A young kid from Greece, a young Nigerian kid from Greece who had to figure out how to just live a life and grow up in a certain place. And then also what is expected of a star and a talent of his caliber. And I think those have always kind of out pointed at each other. And it's going to be interesting for a guy who moves on, if he does win a championship somewhere, how much that is going to fulfill him because Milwaukee means so much to him as both a player and a person. So we'll see what happens.

[Tyler Parker]

I think one thing that is pretty inarguable is that if we're looking at most important bucks, I think Thanasis is in the top five.

[Logan Murdoch]

I mean, he is.

[Tyler Parker]

I think you have to consider. I think. I think he.

[Logan Murdoch]

He.

[Tyler Parker]

He deserves his day.

[Logan Murdoch]

Is he behind Michael Redd?

[Tyler Parker]

Michael Red, Big Dog Thanassis, they're kind of all the same, you know, so it.

[Logan Murdoch]

It's.

[Tyler Parker]

It's. It's hard. But, you know, I just. I want to make sure we give him a shout out because, you know, his contributions have been enormous.

[Logan Murdoch]

I think that is a sign that we need to go to the next player. What is the next player? Okay. Jalen Johnson. This should be fast. Tyler Parker, what's your Jalen Johnson?

[Tyler Parker]

I think Jalen Johnson's the most complete offensive player in the east right now.

[Logan Murdoch]

Oh, wow.

[Howard Beck]

Most complete.

[Tyler Parker]

I think He's. He's averaging 23, 11 and 8. He's shooting 50% from the field. He's shooting 35% from threes on, like, almost five attempts a game as a big. I mean, he's like, taken off from a step inside the free throw line and dunking on Nick Claxton like, this is. I think that he can do more on the offensive end sort of across the spectrum than anybody else in the East.

[Logan Murdoch]

Are you taking into account injuries right now? Well, Tatum is. Tatum.

[Tyler Parker]

I think Tatum would be more. Would. Would.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Tyler Parker]

Tatum's definitely got an argument to be more complete, but he's hurt right now.

[Howard Beck]

Are you. Wait, does this mean you're also. Like, if you had to build a team from scratch. Exercise. You're taking Jalen Johnson over Jalen Brown or.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, Cade. Or.

[Tyler Parker]

I'm not taking Jalen Johnson over Jay. I'm definitely not taking him over Cade, which. That will come up later. But the. And I'm not taking him over Jalen Brown, But I'm just talking about as an offensive engine, somebody checking all these boxes, somebody who can do a whole lot with the ball in his hands. I think he's the most complete offensive player.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah. Let's see what Jeremy thinks about that. Let's get to the next.

[Tyler Parker]

That's crazy.

[Logan Murdoch]

That's just wild.

[Howard Beck]

I like that, though. That's bold.

[Logan Murdoch]

That was bold. I mean, it's saucy.

[Tyler Parker]

Let's do it, Logan. Let's take some chances.

[Logan Murdoch]

Oh, while you say that, Jalen Brown, I think we're going to come. I think we're about to have another impasse between Jalen Brown, Boston Celtics coming. Going forward. There's a little, like, there's little sprinkles and tea leaves that, um, he is really, really excited about being the lead guy. And I know there's always been stuff behind the scenes of him having some level of frustrations, not necessarily with, with Tatum, but the. What the partnership means for him individually. And he's kind of like, he's kind of said some quotes over the last couple of months where it's like, huh, Is he going to be okay when Tatum comes back?

[Tyler Parker]

Well, he had that quote right where he's like, I mean, now you got it right here.

[Logan Murdoch]

He says, I feel like I've sacrificed over the years in order for us to be a championship caliber team. And I now we're getting to see a little bit what exactly I was capable of and what I was sacrificing. I think before maybe it wasn't so obvious, but I think now being at the helm of things, thus being in the second seed in the east, he kind of likes this, you know, But I, I do believe this has always been a friction of Jaylen Brown in Boston that he isn't thought of in the way that he thinks of he is. And I think this great season he has is validating. And once you get the taste of being a number one option and having the success, it's really hard to come back.

[Howard Beck]

And.

[Logan Murdoch]

And Tatum has been the chosen son in Boston from the moment he got into the city. And Jaylen has had to work for it to get to this point there. I feel like there's going to be a friction and I don't think the saga's over.

[Howard Beck]

I mean, Jalen did win finals MVP when they won the championship and conference finals mvp. So it's not like he hasn't had his moment to shine and to get recognition for his abilities to be kind of the lead guy. And it was, you know, maybe by a couple percentage points within a couple of series. Right. But yeah, you're right. I mean, it's always still been about like, it's Tatum's team. And then we also have this guy, Jaylen Brown, who's this amazing co star and like nobody wants to be the Robin to the Batman, right? And that was always the tension behind the scenes anyway was like, well, are these guys going to stay together. And it wasn't because everybody's saying they don't get along or don't like each other. It was more just like Jaylen Brown thinks he can do more and he's just shown us to his credit, the, the, the guy has, has walked the walk. He has proven everything that he projected about himself. He can be a number one. So now it's just a matter of like can they be co number ones but also like I don't think we have to worry about that or they don't have to worry about that in the near term because when Tatum comes back, if assuming he is coming back in the next days to weeks here, he's coming back as a guy coming off an Achilles after less than a year and he's going to need to lean on Jalen Brown. So for the duration of at least this season and this postseason, I don't think there's any, there's no reason for there to be tension because they need Jaylen Brown to be the guy carrying the load for next season. Maybe, maybe Logan's going to have a point. Who knows?

[Logan Murdoch]

We'll see. I'll just end this segment on a quote that Jalen gave me in 2023 when I asked him point blank how long he wants to play with Tatum. I just enjoy the time that you have now. If it's your whole career, it's your whole career. If it's not, it's not. Obviously some of the greatest people, greatest players of all time finished their career with their organization, didn't finish their career with the organization. Michael Jordan retired a Wizard. As much as we like to like it here and enjoy being here, you see where life takes you. You see how the process goes. All you really have to focus on is what's in front of you.

[Howard Beck]

Jaylen Brown to the Wizard's done.

[Logan Murdoch]

That's what they want. Next player, Luka Doncic. Oh yeah.

[Howard Beck]

My favorite topics. So been kind of a jagged ride so far in la. Right. So this is not necessarily about Luka as a Laker, the totality of his career so far with the Mavericks. Right. One Finals appearance, not so much. So not so great of a Finals performance. And then we're in this really interesting moment here where the Lakers have a lot of major decisions this summer and all of them need to revolve around Luka. Right. Right. And I keep thinking about like what this is going to mean, what this next phase of his career is going to mean. And I, and I keep coming back to aside from all the things that the Lakers need to do for him and around him that the greatest threat to Luca's overall legacy. When we start getting to leg he's like, you know, mid career now, right. Seven, eight years in. The greatest threat to Luca is Luca.

[Logan Murdoch]

It's a great take.

[Howard Beck]

He, he's, he. Every year there's some little like, you know, Luca's really trying to reign himself in and coaches start praising him for doing a good job of not chewing out the rest all the time. Dude is still complaining about every single call on every single position he went.

[Logan Murdoch]

On a whole media run about how he lost weight and is going to play defense. Yeah, I don't know.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah. So that. But there you go, still chewing out the refs all the time for every call and every non call and everything else. Still too, too consumed with that. He's the biggest whiner in the league by far. The biggest whiner among stars by far. And maybe the biggest whiner among stars that I've seen in 30 years of covering this league.

[Logan Murdoch]

Right.

[Howard Beck]

I think he has surpassed Tim Duncan at this stage.

[Logan Murdoch]

I think that he is going to be ma. Shielded by all of that because the fact is he has the leverage over the Lakers right now and he has the built in excuse that hey man, you guys, you at least at this point you haven't built a team to my liking and enough for me to win a title at this point. And they continue to not do that. All the stuff you say is kind of irrelevant in the narrative space.

[Howard Beck]

Well, he'll, he. He can shield himself from it in the short term if that's the case. And especially if they screw up this summer which like they, they cannot afford to screw up this summer because he won't stay. I think if that's. That's the case, contract or no contract, as we've seen, you can always force your way out. But the, the, the things that have been the major knocks on him are for throughout his career, mid career are still the major knocks on him. Defense, whining, conditioning. And by the way, he has the highest usage rate career usage rate in the history of the NBA at 35. Higher usage rate than Michael Jordan for his entire career. Higher usage rate than Iverson, Kobe, anyone. And that comes with a. With responsibility and also comes with a hmm, maybe you do too much.

[Tyler Parker]

And so he's not shown an ability to change.

[Logan Murdoch]

Nope.

[Tyler Parker]

And he's, he's really shown kind of an unwillingness to. And there's is always a red flag when a player does have glaring weaknesses like he does on defense. And you don't even see a ton of effort put forward on that end to try to mask some of the, you know, lateral quickness issues that he's got. Right. Like there are some, some things are, you know, physical limitations. But it, there's a lot of matador out there from him and it's, that has always been my biggest thing with him is because he does. He will talk about how, yes, I do say too much to the refs. I got to get better at that, I got to come in in better shape, that sort of thing. But when it the same things are issues every single year, there is a problem. Yeah, he's incredible. But there is.

[Howard Beck]

He's, he's incredible. Yeah, but, and any. And, but in that the way he carries himself on the court, really greats on people.

[Logan Murdoch]

People. All right, who's next? Carl Towns. That is, it says Howard, but that is actually me.

[Howard Beck]

We made a trade.

[Logan Murdoch]

We made a trade. A few of these after the game you had last night. I don't, it's, this is, this is, I don't know how good of a take this is going to be, but I'm just going to roll with it. I think Carl Towns would have been better served staying in Minnesota. And I'm talking about, no, I'm not talking about the contract situation. I'm not talking about the apron. I'm talking about sheer his responsibility of what he was asked to do. He is asked to be a lot of times a number two on a Knicks team on given nights, especially from a scoring perspective. And I don't think that should be his role. I think that he should be Maybe a number three or number four option and when you need 50 points, he can provide it. But sometimes he kind of fouls out of games and you need a Nas Reed to kind of hold down the fort. I think he might have been better served staying in Minnesota. I, I, I know all the cap situations. I know everything. But I think that his career he had obviously was great for him to go home. It was great for all the, all of the. From a personal standpoint, but I think from a game standpoint and being able to help a team, I think he's kind of miscast in his role.

[Tyler Parker]

Wouldn't he have still been the second best player on the Wolves, though?

[Logan Murdoch]

Yes, in theory, sure. But I'm saying, like if he did the things that he does late in stretches of games, he has a little bit more of a buffer maybe.

[Tyler Parker]

I mean, that marriage with Gobert did not inspire a ton of confidence in me, but I hear what you mean.

[Logan Murdoch]

It was a take that I needed to have, you know what I mean?

[Howard Beck]

Also, you know, it wasn't quite the.

[Logan Murdoch]

Armband take, but he was just like, you know, hey, that's what I thought when I watched at 11, I was like, huh. He didn't. At 11 o' clock at night. Huh. It.

[Tyler Parker]

The, the next thing is not going smooth.

[Logan Murdoch]

It's not going great.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah, he didn't choose to go there. He got trained.

[Logan Murdoch]

He wasn't mad at it.

[Howard Beck]

He wasn't mad at it. No, it was, it was very much like a homecoming he embraced, but he also, like, like we were talking about with, with Giannis, where there might be mixed feelings because Giannis really did embrace Milwaukee. Carl Anthony Towns really put in some deep roots in Minneapolis to his credit. And then John Krasinski at the Athletic wrote really beautifully about this at the time of the trade and since then.

[Tyler Parker]

And so great piece he wrote. After the trade. Right after the trade.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah. And I think the town's very much loved the homecoming. Everybody, all the New York area guys love the idea of the homecoming, and it almost never works out quite the way you hope.

[Logan Murdoch]

Well, on one hand, he's excited about it, he's happy about the homecoming, but like, the homecoming to New York also brings a crazy amount of stress from a press standpoint that he has been on the bad end of. And I think that's another reason why I think it would be cool, because I think a lot of his struggles right now in New York is the fact that he is reading about himself every day in the paper and they are relentless. In Minnesota, if he was doing this, which he was, that's Carl Towns.

[Tyler Parker]

Sure. I mean, he has had a little Jalen Brown in him where he talks about how much he is sacrificing. And I don't think that's ever a good thing for any.

[Logan Murdoch]

No, you gotta do the thing and not brag about doing the thing.

[Tyler Parker]

If a player is feeling the need to be like, hey, yeah, but look at how selfless I'm being. Right? Like, that's not what you.

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[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah. All right, who's next? Tyrese and Maxie. Okay.

[Tyler Parker]

All right. This is the most exciting offensive player in the league now.

[Logan Murdoch]

Now behind Step even.

[Tyler Parker]

Even above Steph.

[Logan Murdoch]

Above Steph, huh?

[Tyler Parker]

He's faster than Steph is.

[Logan Murdoch]

Now.

[Tyler Parker]

Tyrese has also started to incorporate these deep, deep threes.

[Logan Murdoch]

Way more exciting than Wimy, I think so.

[Howard Beck]

That was. That was my first.

[Logan Murdoch]

Oh, I saw Wimby last night and he was crazy. You are out of your mind.

[Tyler Parker]

Nighties. Last night.

[Logan Murdoch]

You are out of your mind.

[Tyler Parker]

Last night was.

[Logan Murdoch]

You are out of your mind. I think Tyrese Maxey is balling. And I know Cliff is going to watch this and say, tyler's right, but he is the biggest fucking Philly homer that we have on this program. I think you're out of.

[Tyler Parker]

Cliff, what's up, man? I agree with you, Chris Ryan, I.

[Logan Murdoch]

Know you agree with him as well.

[Tyler Parker]

Yes, Wimby is amazing, but Wimby, there's. There is a. There is some element with Wimby of like, well, yeah, you better be amazing. You're 77. You better be doing this wild shit. You're 7, 7, 7.

[Howard Beck]

You. You. You have a. Someone just says, like, Tyler, we're giving you a ticket to one game the entire season.

[Logan Murdoch]

You're going to say Tyrese Max.

[Howard Beck]

One player you get to see or one team you get to see. And you're going to pick Maxi over Wimy?

[Tyler Parker]

Well, No, I mean, look, defense was championships. I think Nico taught us that.

[Howard Beck]

So, I mean, for entertainment purposes, right?

[Tyler Parker]

No, I, I, I would rather watch. I would want to watch Maxi play against a great defensive team like the Spurs. I'd rather watch him play against the Thunder because I'm a homer. But, like, I think that Maxi now has the full end to end stuff. The hyperspeed, like, all the acrobatics around the rim, and he's starting to take these shots from, like, New Jersey and this.

[Logan Murdoch]

You know who else is taking shots in Philly? Womenyama. Okay, I can't do this.

[Tyler Parker]

Not like Maxi.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, yeah. Joey will give us a score at the end. That's a wild take. Can we Next. Next. He does next player. Jesus. Pascal Siakam. Howard.

[Tyler Parker]

Pascal, you're great.

[Howard Beck]

He's great.

[Logan Murdoch]

Great player.

[Howard Beck]

This is, this, like, I don't mean, I don't mean for our lack of collective enthusiasm here to be any reflection upon Pascal Siakam. He's a really, really, really good co star. He might be the ideal co star. And I think if I have a take on Pascal Siakam, that is, that is about as strong as I can get. He is, he is the best prototypical number two in the NBA right now. Possibly.

[Logan Murdoch]

The question is he does.

[Howard Beck]

He doesn't need. He's not a Jalen Brown who's going.

[Tyler Parker]

To say, I need to.

[Howard Beck]

He's not going to be crawling town saying, look how much I sacrificed. He helped Kawhi win a championship.

[Logan Murdoch]

He got.

[Howard Beck]

He helped Tyrese get to the finals.

[Logan Murdoch]

My thing is this, though. The question is, when Tyrese comes back, he's fine. No, I'm not. No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying. If Tyrese doesn't come back as the number one that they need and Pascal has to be put into that number one spot.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah, they're done.

[Logan Murdoch]

That's when they're done. That's when they're cooked.

[Tyler Parker]

They're cooked.

[Logan Murdoch]

No, but he is.

[Howard Beck]

He is the ideal. If, If Tyrese is Tyrese again, when he comes back, we all hope he is. Pascal goes right back. This incredible number two who can just do a lot of everything. Guard, multiple positions. He's wonderful.

[Logan Murdoch]

All right, who's next? Brandon Ingram. Shout out Glorilla.

[Howard Beck]

He was a late ad. It's.

[Logan Murdoch]

He was a lady. Blame Adam Silver, Brandon Ingram. He finally gets to live up to the promise that we, you know, thought that Jomy thought he was going to be when he got drafted.

[Howard Beck]

You know, I'm just happy to See him healthy.

[Logan Murdoch]

I'm happy to see him shout out.

[Howard Beck]

To Alex McKechn for getting him healthy.

[Logan Murdoch]

Also shout out to. I don't even have a take, but shout out to Brandon Ingram for outlasting Ben Simmons and proving to everyone and himself that he was the better player all along.

[Howard Beck]

Outlasted everybody in that AD trade, right?

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, he did. Including AD somehow. All right, next player. Scotty Barnes. Oh, this is going to be fun.

[Tyler Parker]

All right. When. When Scotty Barnes plays well, people should call him Scott Bones.

[Logan Murdoch]

Why?

[Tyler Parker]

I think it's a. It's. It's a better, more elevated name for a guy who's starting to play a mature, physical brand of ball. I think that he should. I think because right now, if you go to basketball reference, his one nickname he's got is Scotty B. That's a snooze to me.

[Logan Murdoch]

It is. That is.

[Tyler Parker]

I think, Scott Bones. There's something like, hey, did you guys watch Scott Bones play the other night?

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah.

[Tyler Parker]

Logan, did you watch Scott Bones the other night? I was killing.

[Logan Murdoch]

He was good against the Cavs.

[Tyler Parker]

Yeah, I know.

[Logan Murdoch]

Also, I think he's the ideal number two. I think he's. No, I swear, I don't think he's a number one, but I think if Johnny Barnes, you're number two, you're cooking.

[Howard Beck]

He'd be amazing. He'd be an amazing Pascal Siakam.

[Logan Murdoch]

It'd be amazing. Hey, let's just. You know what? Let's just trade Pascal C. Let's just do a reverse trade.

[Tyler Parker]

I like Scotty Barnes a lot, and I think he. I'm glad that. I think he's the type of player that when the people around him are better, he.

[Logan Murdoch]

You.

[Tyler Parker]

You get to appreciate the gifts that he's got more. He fills in a lot of blanks that a team can have in fun ways.

[Logan Murdoch]

All right, who's next? Jamal Murray. Howard.

[Howard Beck]

Ah, so, Jamal Murray, Congrats. Finally, an All Star. The longest tenured, like, rhetorical, best player to not be an All Star.

[Logan Murdoch]

He took the Damen Lillard Award for the most tenured guy who didn't get All Stars.

[Howard Beck]

Great that he's there. We can stop calling him underrated now. And by the way, honestly, if we're being honest, he never really was underrated.

[Logan Murdoch]

He was properly rated.

[Howard Beck]

He was properly.

[Logan Murdoch]

Here's the other thing, man.

[Howard Beck]

In fact, we. We veered so far to the other side because, oh, he didn't get it. He got snubbed again, or he got injured again, whatever the. That he became almost like I don't want to say overrated, but, like, we got, too.

[Logan Murdoch]

I hate the rating system. You are who the hell you are at any given moment. Okay? You are who you are here.

[Howard Beck]

Here's the thing. This is not a knock on Jamal Murray, who's a. A very, very good player and a worthy All Star this year. But, like, he's never been among the top scorers at point guard or the top assist guys at point guard or the top defenders at point guard. He's having a fantastic season this year.

[Logan Murdoch]

He's. He's the All Star of. Man, politics got in the way. Yeah, it was playing. You know how politics are.

[Howard Beck]

But, like, here's the guys who were always ahead of him in the All Star pecking order in the Western Conference over, like, since 2020. Steph Curry, James Harden, Luca Chris, Paul, Westbrook, Lillard, Donovan, Mitchell.

[Logan Murdoch]

Say that list, Howard. I think Murray should have got in.

[Tyler Parker]

I disagree.

[Howard Beck]

Like, there's like. Like Mike Conley in 2021. I think that was the year Murray's ACL was somewhere in that range. Actually, that might have been the year before he got hurt, but still. John Morant. Dejounte. Murray gets in after Jamal has the acl, but, like, SGA Darren Fox, like. Like, who among these guys was he, like, clearly better than. Even if he stayed healthy in a season. So forget it. Just stop the underrated thing. It's. He finally got All Star. He's worthy.

[Logan Murdoch]

He got a ring, you know, stamped. He got. He got way more money than all of us, except for maybe Joe.

[Howard Beck]

The rest of it.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, you're properly rated, bro.

[Howard Beck]

There you go.

[Logan Murdoch]

Next, Norm Powell. Damn. Okay, my Norm Powell take is more of a generalized take, which is. Don't disparage solid as a. As a means of a compliment, because one day, solid can be great. Okay? We need a lot more solids in this world. Okay. All right. We need him on more. Like, the fact that the Clippers just let him go for. For nothing was just a travesty. And that's another thing that we talked about and we ranted on the last podcast of real ones of, like, if you have good dudes in your building, don't let them go for nothing.

[Howard Beck]

Can I just add on this? Because it's funny. Somebody hit me on Blue Sky a couple weeks ago. I think it was because of the Clippers having given up, right? And it's like, oh, man, maybe they should have just held onto him. Especially when early in the season when they were really struggling. They're, you know, they're okay now with. With Collins. And it got. And it got me thinking and I pulled up his basketball reference page. Do you realize that every team that has traded Norm Powell was worse off for it? 2015, traded by the Bucks with a first that became OG Anunoby to the Raptors for Gravis Vasquez.

[Tyler Parker]

Horrific trade by The Milwaukee Bucks.

[Howard Beck]

2021, traded by the Raptors to the Trailblazers for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr 2022, traded by the Blazers with Robert Covington to the Clippers for Eric Blitzo, Keon Johnson, Justice Winslow and a second round pick. Like they're.

[Tyler Parker]

That's really.

[Howard Beck]

Every single one of these. The team trading Norman Powell was worse off for it. So shout out to Norm Powell and.

[Logan Murdoch]

You put Norman Powell in Miami, which is like the perfect place for Norman Powell. Just be a be solid, not salad. Next one. Oh, Cade Cunningham. All right.

[Tyler Parker]

When Giannis is hurt, he's the best player in the East. Now.

[Logan Murdoch]

That'S not even. That's a.

[Howard Beck]

That's Jalen Johnson, the most complete.

[Logan Murdoch]

But you mean the guy that is leading the best. The best team in the east is the. Is that.

[Tyler Parker]

Is that not hot enough? I mean, not piping hot enough?

[Logan Murdoch]

It's him and Jalen Brown.

[Tyler Parker]

Yes.

[Logan Murdoch]

I don't know. I don't know. Maybe Jalen Johnson's in there too.

[Tyler Parker]

I mean, he might be, let's say. But no, I mean, to me, it's like either it's, it's, it's. It's the two. The two other Jalens. It's either Jalen Brunson or Jalen Brown right now, if it's not him in terms of like, non Giannis dudes in the East. Yeah, but I think what he's done this year, I mean, he's been nuts in fourth quarters, nuts in the clutch.

[Logan Murdoch]

When's the last time we had a. A superstar with a good fro? Like, just like unapologetically good fro?

[Tyler Parker]

I feel like it's fantastic.

[Logan Murdoch]

Has it been, I don't know, Stretch from NBA street, maybe that's it.

[Tyler Parker]

Stretch looked great.

[Logan Murdoch]

He looked great, man. I mean, it's hard to maintain a. A lot of hair, but shout out to Cunningham for doing it, bro. He's out here moisturized, you know. Shout out, bro. You know, we need a star with a lot of haters. Ben Wallace was the last one.

[Tyler Parker]

Yeah, maybe so. K's established a culture, though. Like, there's like, he's got, like, a way of being that is permeated throughout the whole Team also.

[Logan Murdoch]

That's also an argument too. When you do have a culture setting player that you have to also have the culture setting people around him. Yeah. Like the GM Langdon is Trajan. Langdon's been amazing and you need that if you're, you need to do right by your star player by putting the pieces around him. And Kay got a lot of early in his career because he did a lot of losing, but now that he is, has the, the infrastructure around him, it's been great.

[Tyler Parker]

Yeah. You gotta have serious bona fides if you're gonna like come out of those Monty Williams years with your unscathed, with like your soul still intact and bag.

[Logan Murdoch]

Though, you know, shout out to him. Somebody got to do it.

[Howard Beck]

72 million, wasn't it?

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, man. To do nothing.

[Tyler Parker]

I think that's bags.

[Logan Murdoch]

Let me do that, let me get that, that money to just sit, sit down. Next, next player, Kevin Durant.

[Howard Beck]

I don't, I don't know that this is a particularly hot trade. Maybe it's just more just an observation. I just think it's fundamentally true. I think Kevin Durant is the most underappreciated star of this era or maybe of any era. And, and it has to do with the decisions he made.

[Logan Murdoch]

Right. Okay, thank you.

[Howard Beck]

He is, we, we have the Oklahoma City representative sitting next to me. So the fact that he left OKC to go to Golden State, the fact that he decided to leave Golden State to go to Brooklyn and force his way from Brooklyn to Phoenix and then you know, was that Phoenix or, or KD or both that, that are responsible for him landing in Houston. When Katie moves to six on the all time scoring list a week or so ago passing Dirk Nitzky, I felt like this wasn't as, as celebrated or as, it wasn't as, as big of a moment as it should have been. And there's a lot of different things that go into that and some of this is self made by, by kd. But I, I, to me it's a little bit of a tragic aspect of his career that because you don't have one place that you firmly planted, you don't have any, one fan base that's going to seriously like cheer for you and, and, and give you all the adulation for like, oh my God, this is a major career milestone. Like the only guys ahead of him now in all time career scoring are LeBron, Kareem, Karl Malone, Kobe and MJ.

[Logan Murdoch]

Crazy.

[Howard Beck]

Incredible. And we've always known this, right? We've known for years. He is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, like pure scorer of all time. However you want to define that. He's been incredible, obviously. Two time MVP of the finals, two time champion, regular season mvp. But it still feels like people do not embrace or, or respect him enough. And I think it is because he bounced around and that's a consequence of doing that. But nevertheless, I feel like his standing.

[Logan Murdoch]

Should be because LeBron bounced around and he's considered the greatest.

[Tyler Parker]

He didn't bounce around like Duran.

[Logan Murdoch]

No, but he bounced around with a plan is what it was.

[Howard Beck]

The difference is this one. LeBron's got four rings instead of two. So like the, the like you can, you can.

[Logan Murdoch]

There's a lot more nuance with KB's career.

[Howard Beck]

You could, you could.

[Tyler Parker]

LeBron won rings at multiple places.

[Howard Beck]

You can paper over a lot of stuff. If you win a ring everywhere you go, it's that KD like LeBron's choices. LeBron said, I got to go to Miami to win championships. And he. And he won two. And then he's like, I got to leave Miami to go to Cleveland because I can't win anymore here. And again, he won. And then he went to LA and he won. And I think, yeah, winning in each of those spots helps. But also he left pretty cleanly every time. He never like, except for the first time.

[Logan Murdoch]

But it was, it was a little dirty.

[Howard Beck]

It. He left as a free agent. He didn't force a trade. He didn't promise anything.

[Logan Murdoch]

No. But he left. The decision was, was, was pretty dirty.

[Howard Beck]

There was a lot about it that did not go over well.

[Logan Murdoch]

It wasn't. It was also dirty from the Cleveland side, bro. Because again, listen, you ain't burnt. That's was weird to burn someone's jersey. It's just even okc. Sorry, buddy. To burn Katie's jersey and burn.

[Tyler Parker]

That was very stupid. I think more often than not that stuff is done by performative dorks that are hungry for clicks. It doesn't really represent the entirety of the fan base, like I don't think.

[Logan Murdoch]

But Cleveland. No, I think it did for Cleveland because they were. That was before the clout chasing era. They were just out here.

[Tyler Parker]

I, I wrote something about like the, the anniversary of the decision earlier this year and I went back and looked to see how many jersey burning videos there actually were. And there were, there was like the one that always gets played all the time that they did in the parking lot outside of a Cleveland bar like right after it happened and they start throwing the witness shirts on top of the burning jersey. And everything like that.

[Logan Murdoch]

It has some weird like racial undertones too.

[Tyler Parker]

Oh, big time. I mean these dudes are wearing like aostal polos like a frat house. Vomited them out their ass. You know what I mean?

[Logan Murdoch]

Like it just doesn't cuz somebody left to go to anyways.

[Howard Beck]

It was, it was horrific. But I will just say this to just put a pin on this one. LeBron goes back to Cleveland and all is forgotten, all is forgiven. And now he goes back as a conquering hero. The Lakers will always love him for putting them back on the map. And Miami will always love him for the two championships there. Whereas with kd, there are the warriors championships, which he will always be celebrated for. But everywhere else that he left, they do not have the same adulation for him as like, LeBron is still loved in all these places that he was at and has had been.

[Logan Murdoch]

I think also LeBron actually made an effort to be loved in a way. KD has it. But we're, we're pushing, we're pushing time right now. But I'll end on this.

[Tyler Parker]

I think he is super underappreciated. I think he. I agree that he hasn't done himself any favors, but I think it's. I think it's inarguable that he's like way underappreciated. Yeah.

[Logan Murdoch]

The ultimate NBA ringer, Kevin Durant. All right, and that is part one of this series. We will see you guys tomorrow for part two where we crown our champion of the take. That's next. Thanks for watching.

[Tyler Parker]

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[Logan Murdoch]

And they all bring the Monster Energy punch.

[Tyler Parker]

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[Logan Murdoch]

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