Trying to Understand the Luka Doncic Trade Three Days Later | Real Ones

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ringer NBA Show – "Trying to Understand the Luka Doncic Trade Three Days Later | Real Ones"

Release Date: February 4, 2025

In this episode of The Ringer NBA Show, the Real Ones team—comprising Logan Murdoch, Raja Bell, and Howard Beck—delves deep into the seismic NBA trade that saw superstar Luka Doncic transferred from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. Released just three days post-trade, the episode provides comprehensive analysis, insider insights, and heartfelt reactions from the hosts as they attempt to unravel the complexities behind one of the league's most unexpected moves.

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1. Initial Reactions to the Doncic Trade

Logan Murdoch kicks off the discussion by expressing his astonishment over the trade, emphasizing its unprecedented nature. He recalls the moment the trade was announced:

Logan Murdoch [01:11]: "There's like, there are some stories that come out over the weekend that I'm just like, I can't wait to get into the lab and talk, right? And this was one of those rare stories."

Raja Bell shares his bewilderment, highlighting the suddenness of the trade:

Raja Bell [02:21]: "I thought it was a joke at first. I was like, there's no way. There's no way this is possible."

Howard Beck echoes the shock, admitting that even after extensive analysis, the trade remains baffling:

Howard Beck [02:45]: "It's Tuesday afternoon and I'm still in shock... Something's missing. There's just something missing."

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2. Origins of the Trade: A Casual Meeting Gone Awry

The hosts explore how a seemingly innocuous meeting between Los Angeles Lakers' GM Nico Harrison and Maverick's Rob Pelinka led to this blockbuster trade. Logan Murdoch outlines the initial rapport between the two GMs, suggesting that the trade emerged organically from their relationship:

Logan Murdoch [06:07]: "Nico Harrison represented Kobe, and Nico Harrison was on Kobe's account. So they definitely had a rapport."

Howard Beck underscores the trade's uniqueness, comparing it to past Lakers' trades, notably emphasizing that unlike the Lakers never trading Kobe Bryant:

Howard Beck [11:06]: "It's unprecedented... There's never been a trade like this."

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3. Evaluating the Mavericks' Decision-Making

Howard Beck provides a critical analysis of the Mavericks' front office decisions, particularly pointing out the absence of veteran executive Dennis Lindsay from the current Mavericks' front office. He suggests that Lindsay's experience might have prevented such a drastic move:

Howard Beck [08:20]: "Dennis Lindsay was part of that front office... Don’t underestimate the absence of Dennis Lindsay."

Raja Bell adds to the speculation, indicating that internal issues within Dallas likely played a significant role:

Raja Bell [05:09]: "We clearly don't understand the scope of the problems that they were dealing with."

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4. Impact on the Lakers: Building Around LeBron and Doncic

The addition of Luka Doncic to the Lakers' roster introduces a new dynamic, especially in conjunction with LeBron James. Howard Beck assesses the Lakers' immediate and long-term prospects, highlighting concerns about roster cohesion and depth:

Howard Beck [28:04]: "Anthony Davis may well be top 10 right now, but he's also about to be 32 with a long injury history... there's no version of this that makes sense."

Logan Murdoch raises a poignant point about the strategic fit of Doncic with the Lakers, questioning how they plan to integrate him alongside LeBron:

Logan Murdoch [31:30]: "They need to incorporate Luka, they need to get him healthy first. They have no center... I don't see some massive run coming from the Lakers."

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5. The Mavericks' New Era: Challenges with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving

Transitioning to the Mavericks, the hosts discuss the challenges of integrating Anthony Davis into a team already centered around Kyrie Irving. Howard Beck critiques the Mavericks' roster construction post-trade:

Howard Beck [28:10]: "Anthony Davis has been a perpetual number two."

Raja Bell concurs, emphasizing the difficulty of having two star players without a clear number one:

Raja Bell [28:11]: "All of that is facts... They have two number twos."

Logan Murdoch speculates on the potential collapse of the Mavericks' chemistry and performance:

Logan Murdoch [36:00]: "I think Dallas could really implode."

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6. Press Conference Fallout: Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd's Responses

The episode scrutinizes the awkward press conference held by Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd, interpreting their demeanor as reflective of underlying tensions within the Lakers' organization. Howard Beck remarks on Nico Harrison's lack of composure:

Howard Beck [23:52]: "Nico sounded awkward. He sounded unsure of himself... it's just weird."

Raja Bell further suggests that Jason Kidd may have harbored reservations about Doncic, contributing to the uneasy atmosphere:

Raja Bell [23:57]: "Jason Kidd was not exactly thrilled with Luca."

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7. Long-Term Implications: LeBron's Role and Team Dynamics

The integration of Doncic into the Lakers raises questions about LeBron James' role in the team. Howard Beck contemplates the psychological and functional adjustments LeBron might face:

Howard Beck [42:43]: "LeBron is 40. Maybe he is ready to take at least a little bit of a Step."

Logan Murdoch adds that LeBron's mythology and legacy may be affected by sharing the spotlight with Doncic:

Logan Murdoch [41:28]: "This also puts a wrench in, like, LeBron's plans and his mythology of what he was going to be for the next few years of the Laker."

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8. Rob Pelinka Under Scrutiny: Front Office Pressures and Future Moves

Rob Pelinka's handling of the trade comes under intense scrutiny. Howard Beck analyzes Pelinka's track record of building teams around superstars, expressing skepticism about future acquisitions:

Howard Beck [49:14]: "Rob Pelinka's overall record a championship notwithstanding, I don't think his overall record of roster building around the stars that he's had has been all that smooth."

Logan Murdoch questions Pelinka's ability to navigate the Lakers through this transitional phase:

Logan Murdoch [51:17]: "He has to navigate, as we've discussed, this slightly delicate Luka LeBron overlap."

Raja Bell emphasizes the need for effective communication within the front office to align visions and strategies:

Raja Bell [62:35]: "Communication, man. Honest communication is the only way you can find out whether your visions are aligned."

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9. Mailbag Segment: Behind the Scenes of a Trade

The hosts address listener questions about the logistical and emotional aspects of being traded. Raja Bell shares personal experiences, detailing the abruptness and challenges players face during trades:

Raja Bell [66:07]: "Once you get traded, you're literally like, without the pj, you're putting together like two big bags of luggage... helping tie up whatever loose ends you have."

Cliff, another host, poses questions regarding the physical and familial impacts of trades, which Raja Bell answers with insightful anecdotes.

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10. Conclusion: Assessing the Trade's Short-Term and Long-Term Effects

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on the immediate downturn for both the Lakers and Mavericks. Howard Beck posits that both teams might be worse off in the short term despite the star power Doncic brings:

Howard Beck [36:00]: "In the short term both teams might actually be worse off."

Raja Bell reiterates the central mystery—what exactly transpired within the Mavericks' front office to facilitate such a monumental trade:

Raja Bell [30:39]: "The most fascinating piece to me is what the fuck was going on in Dallas."

Logan Murdoch concludes with a somber note on the uncertainty surrounding the trade's impact, underscoring the complexity and unforeseen consequences of front office decisions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Logan Murdoch [01:11]: "There's like, there are some stories that come out over the weekend that I'm just like, I can't wait to get into the lab and talk, right?"

• Raja Bell [02:21]: "I thought it was a joke at first. I was like, there's no way. There's no way this is possible."

• Howard Beck [08:20]: "Dennis Lindsay was part of that front office... Don’t underestimate the absence of Dennis Lindsay."

• Howard Beck [11:06]: "It's unprecedented... There's never been a trade like this."

• Howard Beck [36:00]: "In the short term both teams might actually be worse off."

• Raja Bell [62:35]: "Communication, man. Honest communication is the only way you can find out whether your visions are aligned."

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This episode provides listeners with a thorough examination of the Luka Doncic trade, blending immediate reactions with in-depth analysis. The Real Ones effectively dissect the strategic missteps, front office dynamics, and potential ramifications for both the Lakers and Mavericks, offering a nuanced perspective on one of the NBA's most talked-about trades.

Transcript

[Logan Murdoch]

What's poppin, everybody? Logan Murdoch here from Real Ones on the Ringer NBA show. And I wanted to invite you to pull up and kick it with Raja Bell, Howard Beck and myself during All Star Weekend for our live podcast. We're going to be at the Stork Punchline Comedy Club in San Francisco on Saturday, February 15th at 2pm Pregaming all the All Star festivities. And you never know who might stop by. Get your tickets now by heading over to ringer.com events. That's ringer.com events. Hope to see you there.

[Howard Beck]

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[Logan Murdoch]

What's poppin Real Ones. Logan Murdoch here, Roger Bell there. Howard Beckham, the cut Cliff on the boards, man. There's like, there are some stories that come out over the weekend that I'm just like, I can't wait to get into the lab and talk, right? And this was one of those rare stories. I'm talking about the Luka Donches trade to the Lakers. I'm trying to build this up, but like, let's just get to the shits, right? Like, but there it was a build up. I remember putting it in the chat and you know it's a big deal when Raja is like, yo, what the fuck is going on? Raja woke up and was like, I woke up to this shit. What the hell is going on? This was crazy, right?

[Raja Bell]

Crazy.

[Logan Murdoch]

We'll get to the press conference that happened today. Full transparency. We're recording this a little later than we usually do so we can accommodate the. The Luca Donches press conference. Going to talk a little Luca, I'll talk a little warriors, and we're going to get a little mailbag. Then we're going to get to the shits. But first off, before we get to anything, the streets want to know. I'm gonna start with Raja. Then we get to Howard. Then we get to myself. What were your reactions to the trade? What the hell? What were you thinking? Did you think with is there a hack Raja? What were your. Where were you? Take us through the journey of seeing this.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah, I think. Yeah, I know. I don't really remember it. Was it Saturday morning? Was that Sunday or Saturday? Sunday or Saturday?

[Logan Murdoch]

It Was Saturday night. I don't know. When was it? It was Saturday night because that was when the Knicks were playing the Lakers.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah. Yeah. So I didn't get up. My younger boy had a. Had like a 8am damn game on Sunday morning, which is ridiculous for like, travel basketball.

[Logan Murdoch]

Are you serious?

[Raja Bell]

Ridiculous.

[Logan Murdoch]

Dude, how far from your place, bro?

[Raja Bell]

Ridiculous. 30 minutes away. Just absurd.

[Logan Murdoch]

Jesus.

[Raja Bell]

So. So I slept in because I had taken him the day before. So I slept in with. With our. With our daughter and. And. And Sin took him. So I got the late start that morning, flipped on the TV and. And there it was. And that's how I got my day started. And what was going through my head? I don't know that I could articulate it. I was all over the place. I thought it was. Excuse me. At first I thought it was a joke. I was like, there's no way. There's no way this is possible. Then. Then I went down all the rabbit holes of what that meant for. For the organizations, what it meant for the players involved. You know, all the different avenues that everyone has been down over the last few days. Like, that's where my head was. But honestly, I thought. I thought it was a. I thought it was a joke at first. And then, you know, upon sitting around during the day, I just kept saying, like, this is the. This is the craziest trade I think I've ever seen in. In probably in my. In my lifetime. Like. And not, not, not. I don't mean crazy in terms of good or bad. I mean, just something I did not see coming.

[Logan Murdoch]

I.

[Howard Beck]

It's Tuesday afternoon and I'm still in shock. So let's just start there. I mean, I woke up Sunday morning. I was out when this happened. Like, passed out, like, asleep. So. But I woke up with like a zillion texts, including, like, from my daughter who's off at college going, what the hell? And guys, it's been like three days. I still. I've reported on this, I've made calls about this, I've texted people about this. I've had a gazillion conversations, as I'm sure we all have, about this. Still doesn't make sense, still shocking, still bizarre, still might be years, if ever, that we fully understand what the hell just happened. And frankly, and I'm gonna say this throughout the show today probably, and I'll be saying this possibly for days, weeks, months, years to come. Something's missing. There's just something missing. Like, maybe it's just versions of the stuff we already know. Maybe she's a more extreme version of the stuff. We already hear the rumblings out of Dallas about Luca and conditioning, commitment, all this other stuff. But, like, I'm sorry, it still doesn't make a damn lick of sense. So there. There's that.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah, there. I mean, clearly. Clearly that you don't know the tip of the iceberg or we don't know the tip of the iceberg of what was taking place in Dallas. We clearly don't understand the scope of the beefs, disappointments, whatever verbiage you want to use to describe what was going on there. We have no idea the depths of which it was taking place like that. That is clear, you know, for the. Yeah, that is clear for that. For them to initiate the talks, for Nico to initiate the talks. I don't know Luca and I don't know anyone there, so let me start by saying all of that. But when an organization decides to do that, we have no understanding. We don't understand the scope of the problems that they were dealing with or they thought they were dealing with.

[Logan Murdoch]

There are so many, like, layers to this. I want to. I'm glad you brought up the origin, at least for what we know of the trade. I'm glad you brought that up, Roger. We'll get to all the other things that are. But let's start with the origin of the trade, which was the Lakers were in town. Nico Harrison goes to the Lakers team hotel, and they just have coffee, right? Like, they're. They are friends. They were both. Nico was a Nike rep. That's why Raja knows him, is good with him. Rob Pelinka represented Kobe, and Nico Harrison was on Kobe's account. So they definitely, like, they. They. They had a rapport. They let them tell that they were friends. So, like, it was. I'm assuming this started off as, like, a very innocent, like, yo, let's. We're two GMs, but we know each other. Let's just get some coffee. You're in town, right? And then all of a sudden, like, they're, you know, they're. They're talking. They're. They're doing the dance of a talk. And then all of a sudden, Nico just says, yeah, I'm a trade. I'm willing to trade Luca Johncic. And let's. Let's just stop there. Like, Howard, how unprecedented is that? Like, from one side, right? You don't just say that. That's.

[Howard Beck]

That's.

[Logan Murdoch]

That's the top three player in the league. And I feel like I've had this conversation with so Many different people, like just trying to make sense of it myself. Right. I think that's just going to be an exercise that we do throughout this podcast. It's just like figuring out like how the hell this got here. It's still being confused, but so can you. Howard, can you peel back the layers from this on a Dallas point of view where, okay, they have the, they have a new ownership group. Mark Cuban is, doesn't own the team because if he did own the team, Luca would still be a Dallas Maverick at this point. Can you peel back the layers of like how a deal like this gets done? Because this has never, I don't feel like this. I can't imagine this has happened before ever. And I don't think it's ever going to happen again. At least I don't think so. But like, how does this, how do we get from a coffee to like we're trading Luka Doncic, a top three player in the league that was either.

[Howard Beck]

Some really, really great coffee or some really, really fucked up coffee. I don't know what was in that coffee or both. I want to find out where they had this coffee. I don't ever want to go there, lest I, you know, walk out of there having given away my wife, daughter, two cats in our condo. Like, I, I mean, I. Logan, I don't even know where to begin with this, but let's start with Cuban for a second because when I was making calls over the on on Sunday to write a story about how the rest of the league was reacting to this and what, you know, the premise of the piece, which is on the ringer.com right now, was basically just like what other GMs thought of this, but also what they thought the Mavs could have gotten if they'd actually shop Luka instead of having a one way conversation with only one team about a 32 year old star, one of the things that people kept telling me was, listen, for sure this does not happen if Cuban still owns the team. But on top of that, there was an extra layer that I don't think has been talked about much. And I put this out there as lightly and respectfully as I can because I don't mean to impugn Nico or the rest of that front office. There's a lot of smart people there. But Dennis Lindsay was part of that front office during the period of time when they made a lot of the moves that helped get them to the finals last year. I'm not saying that Dennis Lindsay is solely responsible for that, but other People in the league, other front office people are telling me, listen, don't underestimate the absence of Dennis Lindsay, who's now in the Pistons front office. You know, Nico's been doing this for a few years, but this is still the first GM job he's ever had. And you know, like I say, far be it from me to say that one person. And, you know, Dennis Lindsay's a vet better in the league a long time, worked in multiple front offices. So take that for what it's worth. But that is, that is something that other people around the league mentioned from other. In terms of the actual, like, deal. Logan. Yes. Unprecedented. Yes. Again, shocking beyond belief. No, there is no comparison for this. And the thing is, when you have a Luka in his prime, 25 years old, when Giannis was at a similar age, LeBron's at a similar age. Kobe, Shaq, anybody you could think of in the last 25, 30, 40 years, however long you want to go back, players of that caliber at that age, if healthy, are just not available. Like, those are the kind of things where you spitball something where it's like, hey, listen, I know you wouldn't, probably wouldn't do this, but any chance we could get Luka, Any chance we get. No hang up. Like, those are the kinds of, like, spitball conversations that sometimes happen between GMs or between GMs and even media when we're talking about, like, do you think they would do this? And, you know, like 999,000 times out.

[Logan Murdoch]

Of the Lakers offered Kobe for LeBron and the Cavs said, no, listen, there was a lot.

[Howard Beck]

Kobe's a weird outlier in this, partially. Logan, because there's a. There was a lot of weird Kobe shit back in the day where, you know, various times when the Lakers kicked around, do we need to break up Shaq and Kobe? Then when they shipped out Shaq and kept Kobe, then Kobe had his meltdown a few years later because things were not going well and Raja forearmed him and all that stuff. But it was just during, during that period of time, it was the, you know, whatever. Get buying them out of here. All this. Like, there were various versions of this, but the Lakers, the fact is they never did trade Kobe. The point of any of those.

[Logan Murdoch]

All I'm saying is, though, like, it did work out, right? That that's what should normally happen, is what I'm saying.

[Howard Beck]

Right, Right. And listen, if you wanted to make the case at various stages that Kobe was too big of a, of a pain in the butt, you could have made that case. You could have justified, rationalized setting him out for. I think there was a proposal like Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd at one point, that version of the Suns. There were, there were various things kicked around at various stages and you could have rationalized it. But the smart thing to do was to say no. We have a generational talent and for all of the problems and concerns or challenges that come with them, fuck it, we'll deal with it and bet on the talent. We have a top five player in the league and a top whatever, you know, talent of all time. And that's where Luca is. Luca doesn't have the rings. I'm not putting Luke on Kobe's level, but you don't get players of that caliber very often. They are precious, precious, precious commodities. And I've seen some weird rationalizations in the last 24 hours, starting from various corners of the Internet and some Mavs fans about, well, we traded him for another top 10 player, right? Anthony Davis may well be top 10 right now, but he's also about to be 32 with a long injury history, never plays 70 games in a season and he cannot manufacture offense or just single handedly win you a game the way that Luka Doncic can. So yes. Is he a really valuable player? Sure. He is more than a half decade older, has a lot of mileage and a lot of injuries. Like you just. There is no version of this that makes sense. And if you were going to trade Luka, you have to get the best possible hole. And again, as another front office person put it to me in the story that is up on the ringer right now, it would have been like the biggest hole of all time if you had actually shopped him around instead of concentrating on one team. It doesn't go this way. And when it does, it would be at a much lower level. If you're going to only involve one team, it's because you're trading like you're, you're, you're seventh man. It's. And you had something specific you wanted to get for him. It's more like maybe the, the Quentin Grimes for Caleb Martin swap that we just saw before we started recording right between the Sixers and Mavs. Like okay on that one. Hey, you guys need. Okay, cool, let's do this. But not when you're trading one of the greatest players on the planet. And Luka, not just. He's not just great by today's standards. He's a guy that people talk about as potentially one of the greats of all time. By the time all is said and done, which is going to be at least 10 years from now. It's just, it's completely irrational and it's completely indefensible.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah. I mean, so they're, I mean, they're separate parts of the conversation, right? Like, I agree 100% about not really exploring all options available to you if you've decided you have to move a piece like that. And if you, if you did that in a more open, hey, we're shopping him type of way, he would have commanded much more. It's hard for me. I mean, clearly, Luka. Look, we've, I'm a Luka fan, but I've also said this before. Like, I don't know that I'd like to play with Luka. I don't know how many people like to play with Luka. We've said this on the pod. Like Howard has wrote about it. Okay, well, I didn't know that. But like, like, that's, that's a thing. And look, I'm not, I'm not saying that like that. I wouldn't. I just don't know, like, I don't know what type of person he is there. And so like when you're, when you as an organization are trying to like, figure out whether we're going to be, make the long term investment in that and you've got that part of it. And then the other part of being the franchise star is the intangibles, the leadership qualities off the court. There have been plenty of cases made and we've seen him with the meltdowns and stuff where you might not even say he's a full champion of that on the court. But if, if, if he's not setting the tone culture wise and doing the type of things that you need to see, that Kobe did, that Kobe might have had a whole lot of shit going on and, and didn't want this guy here and didn't want that guy there because usually it was because those guys couldn't keep up with Kobe's insane appetite for the work. You know, Like, I don't think anyone's saying that Luca has a problem with somebody's work ethic. Right? And so, and I'm not excusing it, like, I'm not, not weighing in on the deal. I'm just trying to give like, I don't know what was going on there. I agree with you 100% in terms of, like, I mean, that that should have commanded way more than you got in return. I Am trying to some degree and I've been trying all weekend to see it from both sides because he is, he is so talented with the ball in his hands. He is so incredible in terms of crunch time. Get a bucket. Like, he's just built for every moment out there with the ball in his hands offensively. And I do want to make the distinction there, like with the ball in his hands offensively. Right. Because the rest of it, no, not like leaves a lot to desire in those other areas. And so, you know, if we're being fair, that that all has to be pointed out. I'm not there making the decisions. I, you know, Nico and Mike Finley and them dudes, I ain't, I ain't talk to them in regards to that. That's a tough call. And so I imagine that's why I said what I said. If, if they figured there is no excuse for, I mean, I would love to hear the, the reasoning behind why that had to be a quiet, sealed, like case type of negotiation. Like why you felt like you couldn't explore all options to get, you know, the most value, but just without that being a part of the conversation. Like the converse, the conversations that must have been had with ownership in regards to the, to the human and the, and the, and the leader. To get to the point where you're deciding you gotta, you have to start reaching out to people. Had to be incredible.

[Logan Murdoch]

Howard, we talk about, like I want to do, I want to get to the press conference a little bit. But first, before I get to Howard, actually I wanted to follow up on something that Roger said just in terms of like the player element of this, right, where you're weighing this as the front office, you're always weighing culture, you're always weighing these things, right? But on the one hand, yeah, like, Luka didn't work out. Like, I have seen it. We have joked on this pod about like, I've seen him in person. His warmup is, and Howard has probably seen this too. His warmup is like four half court shots and then he's going back into the locker room. That's literally all it is. And I get that. But on the other hand, this dude is dragged, like rosters to the conference finals, right? Like rosters that you wouldn't think would make it to the conference finals. I mean, I don't think without a Luka Donches level talent that this Mavericks roster last year gets to the finals, right? Like, he is that singular, singularly great. Right. We also know this about superstars. They come with a Lot of baggage. There's a lot of stuff that we know and don't know about superstars, but we put up with the. Because it. It. Because titles are there and legacies and all those things. There was what a. They didn't think he was going to sign the extension. All these things. But my question to you, Raj, is, couldn't they have, like, tried to figure this out? It's Luka Doncic, man. Like, I get it, and I get being fed up, and I get all these things, but there's one thing to, like, say, oh, he's a piece of shit. Like, I'm so tired of this and put up with it.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah.

[Logan Murdoch]

As opposed to, like, we're gonna just, like, let him go out of the door for an aging star and all of the. And we'll get to this when I ask Howard this, but, like, all of the explanations just don't add up. Like, how do we. How do you not try to figure this out?

[Raja Bell]

As a star player, I agree with you 100%. Like, I'm not. I, Like, I want to make sure that everyone listening understands. Like, I'm not supporting or condemning the deal. And either way, I'm simply saying, you don't think they tried to do that? Like, so my point is, what is going on behind closed doors? There has to be so damning, and it had to be going on for so long, because I imagine anybody that runs a company would absolutely do that with a generational talent. Hey, man, we got to fix this. Hey, man, we're going to have our 17th meeting in regards to this. I need you to do this. Hey, dude, we're going to have our 25th meeting in regards to this, because you're that fucking good. Hey, man. Going to need you to fix this. So once we've gotten to the point that we're not talking about that shit anymore, and this is executional, like, we are. We are out there looking to pull a trigger. All I'm saying is we don't. We clearly don't know what was going on fully the full scope of what was going on behind the closed doors. That's all I'm saying.

[Logan Murdoch]

Howard, how is. I do want to get to the Lakers point at. At some point, we will get back to the Lakers point of view on this. But me and you talked about this yesterday in our, like, little pre pod meeting just about, like, Nico Harrison, and, like, this was a crazy trade on its face. But, like, the press run from Nico Harrison has been diabolical. Like, he's giving anecdotes about how this deal happened. He has a press conference with Jason Kidd to where he answers three questions and leaves Jason Kidd to like, answer questions about what's going on. He went from being this guy that, and I want to give credit, built a championship roster or built a championship contending roster around Luka Doncic, right. In a short amount of time. And now he's fallen from grace like this. What is can. What if. What could you say about Nico Harrison's performance? Not trade aside, but like in the aftermath of the trade.

[Howard Beck]

You know, it's tough when you get one of these jobs, GM or president of a team, and you're now the face of the franchise in a lot of ways. You're not the face of the franchise the way a star player is, but you are the voice of the franchise's authority. And people are built differently. Right. Like we've seen in New York, Leon Rose has not met with the, with the local media or any media at all, aside from in house media for like five years. When Leon has, when he did a press conference very early on, you saw like Leon not all that comfortable in front of the cameras. Like, just because you're in this role doesn't mean you're a great message person. Right? You don't, you're not necessarily the best voice of, of the team. I'm not. I, I only say that to say it felt to me like Nico was really nervous in the moment or unsure in the moment. His, his just his composure in that presser with Jason Kidd. You know, it's a pregame press conference, right. So normally that's when the coach is meeting with the media. Right. So what they did was, well, the, the trade happened last night. This is the first opportunity for us to address it. Let's put Nico next to Jason. Kidding. Which is I guess, presumably why also Nico left and left Jason Kidd there by himself after like eight, nine minutes. It, it came off awkward though. Nico sounded awkward. He sounded unsure of himself in terms of how to present this, how to message this and, and then leaving when he did. Especially on the note he left on when he was talking about like, yeah, they may be burying us in 10 years anyway or whatever. Weird, this weird offhand joke like, okay, I think reputationally you're getting buried in real time. But then he, then he stands up and walks away. And now Jason Kidd is as the coach who did not make this deal, who was by Nico's own account, kid was left out of this until it was already also Jason Kidd hired to.

[Logan Murdoch]

Coach Luka Doncic, like literally handpicked by Luka Doncic to coach him.

[Howard Beck]

I will say, I will say something else that. And again, I'm not reporting this as fact, don't aggregate this. But it was suggested to me by somebody from another front office in the wake of this on Sunday that maybe Jason Kidd wasn't all that thrilled with the way that Luca had comported himself there either. Right. So if, if basically you got to this conclusion, like when, when. When Nico says, I didn't need to tell Jason. I know, we know, you know, how each other feel about this stuff, basically. Oh, yeah. But there's not the exact words. It was more or less that, though that's what Nico was conveying. He knows. And Jason was like, yeah, Nico knows. That kind of underscores or helps support this premise, like I say, from somebody, a source with another team who told me, like, Jason Kidd was not exactly thrilled with, with Luca. And that would stand a reason too, right? Like, Jason Kidd, incredibly meticulous. We know what, what his focus and work ethic was throughout his career. And it goes along with this general theme, this, this kind of, you know, burbling below the surface theme, which is they won't say it out loud, but the Mavericks clearly had reservations about Luca, about his conditioning, his commitment, his work ethic, whatever.

[Logan Murdoch]

I've heard consumption after, you know, potentially big games.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah, I mean, you know, as somebody else was saying, like, this is a guy who, you know, plays for the Slovenian national team because he only wants to, like, it's a way to stay in shape without having to, like, work out and practice. He does not want to work out and practice summer base. He wants to play ball. That's all. He, that's the only way he wants to stay in shape is actually by playing basketball. He doesn't want to have to do the others. Gonna be really interesting when he, you know, starts talking to LeBron James on a daily basis about, you know, how to keep yourself in tip top condition for a 22 year career. But the Mavericks clearly had concerns like, like, like we are not here. Like, guys, we are not having this discussion. The whole league isn't still in shock three days later if the Mavericks didn't conclude for some reason that Luca was not their best long term bet. And especially with the potential $350 million supermax on the table this summer. And so, yeah, I think ultimately Jason Kidd, probably, whether he knew or not, he's clearly in agreement with the move. But my feeling is this, if you were worried that he wasn't going to sign. It's like, I don't think that was the case. And Luca denied it today when he was asked by la. It seemed to me it was more about the other stuff, right? Is he the right investment? Especially with the price of superstars in today's NBA because the max keeps going up, because revenue keeps going up. If you're afraid of making that commitment, I get it. So the first step is do everything possible to get Luka to reform himself to be a better professional. If you conclude at the end of that that he's beyond redemption, we can't get this guy to. And we're going to end up paying for it down the road. He's going to keep breaking down. He's going to look like Joel Embiid in a couple of years where you just can't stay on the court and we're going to be, you know, paying him 80 million a year and it's going to screw us. Okay, fine. That's when you take the step back and decide what is the best way of parlaying him into the next era then? Because what they did instead with the, with the Anthony Davis thing, I'll wrap up here. But it's not only that you didn't get the best possible return, it's that you got a very, very short term return. And Kyrie's already in his early 30s. Kyrie never placed full seasons either. So now you're built around two stars who 10 years ago, if you'd paired them up, you would have said, man, core of a potential title team in today's NBA. Not. And they are, they're, they're, they have a short window now built around two guys whose health you cannot rely on. And frankly, Kyrie has always been best when he's been paired with another ball handling superstar. Like he got his, he got his championship next to LeBron, he got to the finals again next to Luka. A team that is completely Kyrie focused offensively with no other creators out there is a team that's now got a much lower seat.

[Logan Murdoch]

I mean, nad too. Speaking at Roger's language here, Anthony Davis has been a perpetual number two.

[Raja Bell]

Oh yeah.

[Howard Beck]

But no, they're two number twos. You have no number one.

[Raja Bell]

All of that is facts. All of that is facts and shit. I wouldn't argue against any of that. And that's been the fascinating part of this though, because like I, while I agree with all of that, I don't think two things. I don't think you can discount Nico's relationship with Kobe in this, like, and what Kobe was about in terms of his work and the way he comported himself, like, as. As a pro. And whether he, you know, whether he, like, identified that within himself having that bias that Kobe set for him as a standard or not. Like, it's there because he watched that. And let's just be frank. Like, that's not. That's not a. That's not a Nico move, like, ownership. That's not him. I've been in those front offices. That's not something Griff is like, hey, man, let's take a flyer and float. We're going to trade LeBron to Dan Snyder. Like, you know what I mean? It doesn't come up like that. Like that. Those are. Those are things that are. That are hashed out over meals, over the course of time, over drinks, over, you know, summer league dinners. Like, those are things that. That's not something that just, like, pops up. So that's why. That's why I kind of said, like, you know, to your point, Howard, about. And the one you made earlier, Logan, about, you know, let's see if we can reform this. But. Well, I mean, how old's Luca? 25.

[Logan Murdoch]

25. Yep.

[Raja Bell]

Been a pro since he was, what, 15?

[Logan Murdoch]

Yep.

[Raja Bell]

This. None of this is new. None of this is new. And I just don't think that that was like a knee jerk reaction to a recent set of circumstances where they were just like, oh, my God, like, this. This has been going on. This has been something that was.

[Logan Murdoch]

They've been stuck with him.

[Raja Bell]

Yes, correct. And so, like, again, I'm not. I'm not weighing in on, like, Luca's phenomenal as a. As a. As an offensive talent in this league. It's undeniable. It's not even debatable. Like, the Lakers have their next great Laker for years to come. And I agree with everything Howard just said in terms of the Mavs with a shorter Runway now with two players that are ideally best as twos instead of ones. All of that is true. And I'm still sitting here saying the most fascinating piece to me is what the fuck was going on in Dallas.

[Logan Murdoch]

Here's another thing, though. Roger. That I thought of, like, I understand all of the things that you like that the front office feels about Luka. I wholeheartedly understand it. But what you just did is you traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. You basically took $100 million out of his pocket with the extension because he can no longer sign the supermax and you just motivated a guy to that plays the. Some of the best basketball we've ever seen when you have him fucked up. We have seen it on a postseason scale. I understand all those things. Well, then you need to trade him to Siberia. You do not trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers, who are in your conference and in your division and you play them four times a year.

[Raja Bell]

But I'm not disagreeing with any of that.

[Logan Murdoch]

No, I had to. I just had to put that on record.

[Howard Beck]

Well, he wasn't.

[Logan Murdoch]

I know he was on the same accord. I just had to put that on record in this podcast.

[Howard Beck]

So Logan, great point about the contract because, yeah, there's, there's maybe some stick it to you motivation there, like you guys cost me a hundred million, but.

[Logan Murdoch]

Beyond that, so we got Texas taxes to California taxes. You really got him messed up.

[Howard Beck]

He got asked today in the press conference, Luca did, about, hey, you know, there's some reports out there that there was concerns about your conditioning and stuff. And he. And Luca's response was quote, it's a motive. I know it's not true, but it's a motive. I mean, it is true, but. Okay, fine, but like, it'll like look like no one knows better than three shots.

[Logan Murdoch]

Every priest, every pregame thing, bro.

[Howard Beck]

No one knows better than Tequila. Luke is not in great shape.

[Logan Murdoch]

And shots.

[Raja Bell]

Oh, shots of basketball shots.

[Logan Murdoch]

Basketball shots.

[Raja Bell]

Oh, all right.

[Logan Murdoch]

It still drops 40.

[Raja Bell]

You could probably just take three shots at Tequila and still drop 40. He probably could.

[Logan Murdoch]

No, no, he probably could.

[Howard Beck]

No doubt about that. I just, I mean, it is interesting. Like there had been concerns, you know, for the last few years about Luca. The story that Logan was alluding to, story I wrote last spring was about how like Luca's got like, he's amazing to watch. He's an incredibly talented player. Everybody around the game agrees he's. He's going to be an all time great. But the difference between his box score stats or his production or what you see on the court versus some advanced stats that were suggesting that for most of his career. And this changed in the latter half of last season. Right. So when the time I'm reporting the story, the stats for like a four or five year run, there were the impact stats, the. The advanced stats, kind of the advanced on, off stuff wasn't matching up with what we were seeing, which was this fascinating conundrum. So I was writing mostly about the conundrum, but along the way I was asking people around the league, including some people with very close ties to the Mavs who know Luka and that staff and everybody there well, so what are we missing? Like, why is. What's the disconnect? Why aren't they winning at a higher level? Why isn't this translating more? And the things that came up, his conditioning came up, his defense or lack thereof, of course, came up. Also the heliocentric style. Right. Raja was just saying a little while ago, like, he wouldn't be fun to play with. That came up. Somebody told me that there's a lot of the role players who have played there over time. You know, there's this sense, like, when Luka goes to the bench, like, there's a sigh of relief almost because, like, okay, I get to handle the ball a little more now. I get more shots now. And it's not. That's not a shot at Luca. Like, that's a shot at that style, which has been popularized for the last 10 years by Harden and Westbrook and Giannis. Like, there's a lot of super high usage guys. If you're a role player, if you're Raja Bell, if you're, you know, Chandler, Parsons, who weighed in on this, and you're just like this, yeah, Parsons played with Harden.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, you're 30 minutes ago.

[Howard Beck]

Yeah. You're just standing there with your hands up. So it, like, it's not easy to play with and it, like, it does. You can't dismiss that. Mavs fans were apoplectic about this story. But all these things were things that were well known in Dallas, they were well known across the league, and they're the kinds of things that people are now citing now. And like, oh, maybe we should just trade Luka because there are some built in, you know, challenges here that maybe we can't overcome. All that said, I'm the first to say, as the person who wrote that story and reported that story, I still think it's insane to have traded him and to have traded him for what they did. And I, I don't think they're winning a championship anytime soon. They were in the finals last June. I don't know if they weren't going to make it again this year. Right. I don't think they were built to make it again this year. Lucas still banged up, but how about this, guys? Let me throw it back to you. I think. I think both teams, as of right now, just for right now, between now and the end of this season, are worse off for this deal. The Lakers will ultimately be better off because they have a successor to LeBron, but they have no center right Now Rob Pelink in that press conference basically said the market's dry for centers that which is by the way just flatly untrue. There are a bunch of centers available right now. Maybe not the one he wants, maybe not one he can afford with their assets, but there are shit ton of centers on the market right now between now and Thursday. If they don't get a center and they're just stuck with Jackson, Hayes and small ball with Dorian, Finney, Smith like and Lucas still working his way back like I, I, I don't see some massive run coming from the Lakers, you know this, this spring. And on the, the mav side of it, like Anthony Davis is on the shelf to start his, his Mavs career. Kyrie ad an older Klay Thompson.

[Logan Murdoch]

I think Dallas could really implode. I really think they could implode.

[Howard Beck]

I don't think they're gonna implode, guys. I just look at where those teams are in the standings right now. I don't think I neither of them are in great shape. Like the Lakers are wins wise right now in the standings but I just, I don't. They've also got one of the hardest remaining schedules, the Lakers, I think they've got one of the top five hardest remaining schedules. They need to incorporate Luka, they need to get him healthy first. They have no center. I just, I think in the short term both teams might actually be worse off. And that's saying something considering the blockbuster nature of this.

[Logan Murdoch]

I think that, I mean I agree with you on, on the Lakers like although there's a part of me that is like well shit, you got Luka and LeBron on the same team like that. You never know. And we just talked about how, how we, we also just talked about how Luka can like bring garbage rosters up to like really good, at least serviceable, right? Just how that's how good he is. That being said on paper, it's not going to be good for the Lakers. But on the mav side like there's so much against him. Just what you just talked about in terms of aids, right? But then you have to incorporate a large piece in Anthony Davis into what a two month stretch, right? Like and that's really hard. That doesn't any trade that you make mid season, like even when I remember when Durant got traded two years a few years ago to Phoenix, they were just talk there was an adjustment period between him and Booker that was just so, that was glaring even though that they would score high numbers. It's going to be really hard to incorporate. And on top of the fact, like I saw Charles Barkley said that there's a second best team in the west, you know, a lot more than me, Charles. But like, nah, the Mavericks. He said the Mavericks. Yeah. And I'm just like, I just, I just can't see it with all the things going up against them. On top of the fact that there's two number twos leading this team, I just don't see it.

[Raja Bell]

I actually, I mean, I wouldn't go as far as to say they're the second best team in the west, but I think if you're talking about immediately, I think the Mavericks are better immediately than, than. Than the Lakers are.

[Howard Beck]

Can I ask you a question, Raj, about that? Go ahead. They're definitely going to improve immediately defensively. Right. But Lively still out for probably another couple months, I think. So. So, so maybe you're starting Gafford and Anthony Davis together. So the first question is spacing. Because while Anthony Davis loves saying I'm a four, not a five and they won a championship in LA when he was the four.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah.

[Howard Beck]

He shot a career high from three then and he's never approached it since. So the. So one, spacing. Two, my concern for the Mavs and the reason I'm downgrading them in this short term here is my thought that like no Kyrie centered team. First of all, there's, we mentioned that earlier. There's that part, right. Kyrie doesn't, doesn't lead teams anywhere without having a Luke or a. But also, he's their only guy. So like, where's shot creation coming? When Kyrie goes to the bench, Are you running your offense through Spence, Spencer Dinwiddie, carrying it like. I don't, I just don't know where else their shot like they were. So Luca and Kyrie focused in terms of shot creation and scoring.

[Raja Bell]

Well, you have to be. You have to be. When you have Luka, you have to be.

[Howard Beck]

So now he's gone. So what do you. So how did.

[Raja Bell]

So. Well, I'm not, I'm not saying that any of them are going to be able to do that to the degree Luka does that. Well, yeah, but, but, but I think that there are people that, you know, this might not be purely in an ISO situation, but they're, they're. If you know what you're doing as a coach, Jason Kidd, you can get people in positions to maximize their ability to create plays. And I think, I think that a lot of people on NBA rosters today, the way Guys are trained the way they're brought up to play, have the ability to create a shot. Me, I would not have had the ability to create a shot, right? Like, so, like, in my day of the specialist that we were, you know, you didn't have as much skill level. So you take a piece like that out, we're just kind of left out there, like, oh, shit, what do we do? But I think you do have guys on that roster. Again, you know, not. We're not talking about Lucas or even Kyries, but, like, I think that there are guys that they could be able to be productive offensively. And the only reason I think that they are, they are better in the short term. Again, I don't. I don't see them as like a number two team in the west or anything like that is because of the. And I saw people debating this, this weekend about the LeBron with like D. Wade. When people said, hey, LeBron and Luka can't coexist, right? And then people were saying, well, LeBron and D. Wade did it. Did they forget about that? And they were like, well, LeBron and Kyrie did it and then they forget about that. Well, in both of those scenarios, the ball was LeBron's because those two had the ability, Kyrie and D. Wade to a certain degree, to either become a spot shooter in. In. In. In Kyrie's case, and then a sometimes dancer on the ball and. And finisher. While LeBron did most of the orchestrating and. And D. Wade became more of a slasher type of finisher with. With. With LeBron on the ball. LeBron doesn't do that. LeBron isn't the one that you're going to say, hey, man, need you to get off of the ball and be the slasher or the finisher, right? And so at this stage in his career and to get what you got Luca for, you would need him to do that. And I really have to see how that works, because they can't take turns. You're not going to take turns. You go, I go. You go. I go. Your ball, my ball, your ball, my ball. Like, someone has to take the back seat there. And I'm just fascinated to see how that plays out.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah, that's another thing. Like I talked about this on the Ringer NBA show and the reaction with Justin Berry over the weekend, just about like LeBron potentially having to be a number two in this role and like how that's going to be for him. Just psychologically, I was just psychoanalyzing just like how that's going to be for him, too, because he's always said he wanted to do that with Anthony Davis and pass up a time, but me and Raj have had these discussions of why that didn't happen. But, like, Luka at this stage is a better player than LeBron James. He just is. Can he actually take a backseat to a guy like this? Can he actually do it? That's a huge question. Whether it's this year and beyond. If he signs an extension, can he literally do that? Because, let's be real, this also takes. This also puts a wrench in, like, LeBron's plans and his mythology of what he was going to be for the next few years of the Laker. Right. Like he was going to retire a Laker. He was. He probably still is, but it's just a different. It's going to be a different way he does it now. Right now, he has to kind of share stuff with him, with Luca. And they're also. The Lakers are also now trying to build a title contender as opposed to a farewell tour team. So it's. That. That's going to be an interesting dynamic to look at.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah, the LeBron of it all is fascinating too. Like the. That's. That's just a whole nother that. That's going to be like, how many.

[Howard Beck]

Years running did LeBron say, like, oh, we're gonna move this. We're shifting this toward Anthony. It's. It's AD's team and I'm just gonna facilitate whatever. At the time of this trade, you know, obviously the end of the LeBron ad era, they had an exactly equal usage rate this season of 30.4. So, yeah, AD was pretty empowered, but, like, it was. It was not like the AD show. It was still very much LeBron, Anthony Davis. So both at about 30% on usage rate. Here are Luka's usage rates for the last. Starting with this second season. 36.8, 36, 37.4, 37, 36, and then 32.8 before he got hurt this season. Like, Luka's going to have the ball a shit ton. And who knows, maybe JJ Redick finds a way and he and LeBron and Luka work together to find a way to make this maybe a little bit more of a partnership in the short term. And who knows? Guys, listen, LeBron, I do not mean this facetiously, and I do not mean to say something that is going to cause listeners to groan. LeBron is 40. Maybe he is ready to take at least a little bit of a Step. I don't think that that's crazy. The guy knows himself, he knows the stage of his career he's at. He knows they're in a transitional stage now, having just brought in a 25 year old who does a lot of the things that he does. Not at the same level, but. And not the same level of accomplishment, but it makes sense. I did think it was noteworthy and I don't want to make too much of it, but like I watched the press conference today with Pelinka and Luca. LeBron's name did not come up much. It did from a couple of questions, but other than that, like Pelinka, when asked about like roster construction from here, he's like, oh well, that'll be a lot about, you know, what JJ's philosophy is and how we're going to maximize what JJ wants to do and what we need for Luca and blah blah. Like, like did not involve LeBron in that answer at all. So that was fascinating. But the, the tr. We are, we are fully in the transition here, guys. Like starting with the hiring of J.J. redick, which people attributed as a LeBron thing. They, they hired J.J. redick, a rookie head coach on a team with LeBron. You don't hire rookie head coach if you think you're going to try to win a championship, by the way. And they gave him a six year deal and talked about all, all of his development emphasis that was about the young guys. So like starting with JJ Redick, moving to this trade, like the Lakers are fully in planning for the next era mode. I don't think this is about trying to win a title now in what's left of the LeBron era.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah. I also thought it was interesting when they asked Luka about LeBron, reached out to him. He said, he reached out right after it happened. He said we didn't talk long, but I thought it was really cool that he reached out to me. Like, yeah, by three days now, dude. Like, like you probably. I thought. And now he could have not been giving us the full story of how many times they've spoken whatnot. But I did find that interesting.

[Howard Beck]

And I don't think we haven't heard from LeBron yet. That's like, it's going to be fascinating when he finally.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah, that's going to be very interesting. And I think you, you kind of, you hit on something that I do agree is true, Howard. Like, I think that LeBron probably is more accepting than ever of, of being like the, the number two, if you will, like just kind of The. The thing is, you kind of have to have a skill set to do that, though. Like, as you. As you try to be a. You know, as you. You know, as you try to become a two, and maybe there is enough meat on the bone for them to. To. To kind of go. You go, I go. And JJ can figure that out. But, like, he doesn't have a true. Like, this is a credit to LeBron. Like, he doesn't have a true number two skill set, right? Like, he's more of a. Hey, man. Like, I. I am the. The. The. The. The, you know, puppeteer. I make all these pieces on this chessboard kind of move around and. And Luca does the exact same thing. And for someone who's doing that, that's fine, but all the pieces on the board that are doing the movie, like, you have to settle into being able to do that, right? And now he's brilliant. So maybe LeBron, when he puts his mind to it and actually gets a number one. See, part of it was that. That ad to support the point you were making about him in Dallas with Kyrie. Like, he was never really able to be the real number one. So LeBron almost had to stay as the CO. Number one. Like, maybe LeBron puts his mind to it. He's like, yeah, Luke was fully capable. He can handle this. Now I can really dive in to, like, what this could look like as the next version of myself. Maybe. He figures that out very easily. I mean, he's a savant, but I'm going to have to see it.

[Logan Murdoch]

We'll see. One other thing that I would like to note is we talked, and I want to end it here real quick. At least this segment. Damn, this is going long. Rob Pelinka of it all. I just want to say he had a strut in that press conference that I hadn't seen in a while. You know, he was feeling good because he had the Eddie Murphy leather on with the infinite amount of zippers and.

[Raja Bell]

The Ry on half zipped on the top and bottom.

[Logan Murdoch]

What? Had the Rollie on. Had to. Had to. Had the real nice wedding ring on that night, that day. He was. He was feeling himself. That's one question that I do have, though, for you. Howard is like. I mean, he did get Lucas, so, like, he does have that struggle, but he's had a bit of a mixed bag in building championship teams. How much pressure is on him to write the. Some of the wrongs that he made in the first go around when he had LeBron in building a championship team like what does he have to prove?

[Howard Beck]

Yeah, I mean, listen, without boring everybody with, you know, six years of transactions or whatever, going chapter and verse, but like, Polinka and Magic together had some misfires right out of the gate. They eventually construct the team that, that wins the 2020 championship. They immediately announces just Palink at this point, immediately disband that entire supporting cast within about a year and have spent every season since then trying to make up for that. And the, and the Westbrook deal and all this other stuff like they've, they. Pelinka has not been able to construct another viable contender around LeBron. I don't care that they were in the conference finals a couple years ago against the Nuggets. They had no chance. They, they have not done a great job of building around LeBron in these latter stages. This Luca thing, it's, it's funny, at one point toward the end of the press conference today, Pelinka was asked about having Luka as your centerpiece to build around for the next 10 years. And he said, oh, you know, it's a gift. And I thought, oh, my God, what a choice of words. Because he was just gifted. Luka, he didn't mean it that way. But yeah, it's a gift. You were gifted. A generational talent.

[Logan Murdoch]

Pelinka was in his bag.

[Howard Beck]

I'm not, and I'm not. And by the way, credit to Rob Pelinka for not having to give up their 2031 pick or any swaps or Dalton Connect or Austin Reaves or anything else. I don't know how, how he got away with not putting in everything that they had. Nobody around the league can quite, you know, comprehend this, but he did. So credit to Polinka for that part. But, dude, Luka was gifted to them. It was a one team negotiation and just incredible. Absolutely incredible. This happens sometimes. Not discrediting Polinka or the Lakers. They're the Lakers. Great things happen for the Lakers. But yeah, the pressure's now on, as you point out, Logan, first he has to navigate, as we've discussed, this slightly delicate Luca lebron overlap, right? However long that lasts, another couple months, another couple years, whatever it's going to be. And then while you're doing that and trying to figure out how to build a contender, now you are. You need to look at the long term. What kind of team should you be building around Luca? What kind of players fit him best? You're not on LeBron's timeline anymore, but he's still there, and you have to respect that and you have to figure out how to navigate that, both in terms of ego and pride, but also functionally. So I think it's a huge challenge. And like I say, I don't think Rob Pelinka's overall record a championship notwithstanding, I don't think his overall record of roster building around the stars that he's had has been all that smooth. So I'll be very curious to see how they operate from here. And by the way, we still have two days till the trade deadline. Anything I'm saying about the Lakers short term prospects is on the assumption that they don't do anything between now and Thursday. But. But they might. And if they do, you know, we'll.

[Logan Murdoch]

Reuse, see what happens, take a quick break and do a little preemptive trade deadline talk and then get to a couple mailbag Questions if you're in need.

[Howard Beck]

Of a midweek boost, FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, has you covered with the NBA Hump Day Parlay Profit boost. Now, every Wednesday you can get a parlay profit boost on everything from spreads to over unders and even player props. Look at the Wednesday night slate Giannis. I would think I'd probably hit the over Giannis against the Charlotte Hornets. They're not stopping anybody. Might even also look at that Wizards Nets game for for the over on just about everything because neither of those two teams are stopping anybody anytime soon. So don't let the weekend have all the fun. Take advantage of the Hump Day Parlays Rewards stack. Who knows, it might just become your favorite day. Look for the Hump Day parlay in the FanDuel app to find your profit boosts or visit FanDuel.com ringernba that's FanDuel.com ringernBA make every moment more with FanDuel an official sportsbook partner of the NBA must be 21 and over and present in select states or 18 and over and present in DC. Opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit Boost Tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration. See [e-mail] Gambling problem. Call 1-800- Gambler or visit RG Help. This episode is brought to you by Meundies. While meundies can't totally help your love life, this Valentine's Day, they can offer you insanely comfy undies and loungewear to buy or gift. Meundies has so many awesome Valentine's Day prints and styles. Plus you can match with your partner, friends or even your pets. This Valentine's Day, give the gift That'll keep them thinking of you and score huge site wide [e-mail] Spotify that's meundies.com Spotify Meundies comfort from the outside in. And we're back. We are two days out from the trade deadline. A lot of stuff still floating around out there. A lot of teams, a lot of needs, a lot of names still in the rumor mill. And still, still Steph Curry and the warriors are sitting there trying to figure out are they contenders again, are they a play in team, they a lottery team. Logan, you had a great story this morning. Headline. Steph Curry and the warriors face an almost impossible situation because they're navigating the headline noting this, they're navigating this, this tough late stage dynasty conundrum where you don't want to waste what's left of Steph's greatness. And he's still great. But as we've discussed on this pod before, Steph, Draymond, Kerr, they all say don't, don't do anything rash, don't do anything hasty. You talked to Steph, you talked to Steve Kerr, you talked to Kevin Durant for this piece. How, how is Steph handling all of this? And do you think that anything changes in terms of his or Steve Kerr or anybody else's approach there in the next couple of days? Like, like where, where do we think they are, 48 hours from the trade?

[Logan Murdoch]

I think it's so first of all, I think Steph is handling, I guess, as good as he can, but he's handling within the parameters of who he is. Right? Like, he is not somebody that is going to shit on the media or shit on the front office to the media. He's not somebody that's going to give ultimatums if this doesn't happen. He's kind of just going to go with the flow and give his input on what should happen. Now, there's a lot of Warrior fans that don't like that. There's a lot of media pundits that are probably like, what are you doing? Myself, Howard, and I'm sure Raja included in that. Like, yo, this is the last few years of your, of your, of your career. You should take advantage of it, especially when we know how competitive you are. So I feel like he's going through a, a bit of an about face with his mortality right now. And we're seeing it all firsthand. As far as the Warriors, I mean, for what it is, honestly, the market just isn't there for the type of star that they Want to pair alongside Steph, right? The guy that they want is Giannis Adeta Kumbo. That's literally. That's who they are going to trade the farm for. That's who are they going to do this? That's who they're going to, you know, trade half their roster for. They don't want to do it for Jimmy Butler or Zach Lavine or Busevich or whoever that is. But like the urgency is, is kicking in because Steph turns 37 in a month, right? So we can keep doing this waiting game and all these things, but it's not like Steph's even 32 or 33. There's not a lot of time. So you're the, the frustration within the fan base is you're waiting on a hope and a prayer for Giannis. But like you see other teams at least trying, other front office teams at least being savvy right now, right? Like getting a piece maybe, you know, maybe trading coming of or Cam Johnson, you know, and sending him to Brooklyn or maybe like just at least trying. You don't have to get the, the, the big time piece. Get an ancillary piece right now. Maybe try to get something in the summer. Maybe if Giannis for the umpteenth summer, you know, plays double, that's just says maybe I want to go to another team, you know, maybe, maybe that they have a chance at him. But they are looking for like the Giannis Jokic types and those big fish are just not available. I mean, at least we don't know they're available because I mean, I'm saying this is. Luca Donches just got traded for in the, in the thick of the night, right?

[Raja Bell]

Who knows?

[Logan Murdoch]

But at least right now it's not known that those guys are available right now. So they're in a rock and a hard place because they don't want the Levines and give them an extension. They don't want the, the, the, the Jimmy Butlers and give them a massive extension to just compete for a plan. But they're racing against time right now.

[Howard Beck]

I get all that. I feel like they have to do something. Like I don't know what the something is. I know it sounds like the, like the emptiest like most like reactionary thing do something. What were they gonna do? I don't know. But you know, like they have to feel that urgency and I sympathize with the fans there or just fans of the game. Like nobody wants to see Steph or LeBron or KD for that matter, stuck right like these guys, Wait, we watch those guys on a nightly basis, right? Like we know they're not what they were five or ten years ago. Fine. Those dudes are still fucking killers. And they're still teams that everybody are still players that every team fears. And watching, like, I know there's like this, these fantasy notions out there now of like, oh, the warriors could try to get LeBron and KD. I mean, that's never gonna happen, but I mean, we'd all love to see. It'd be fun.

[Logan Murdoch]

I don't think that the Katie, I think the Katie thing is just like, it's so far fetched. I don't think. Howard, like, what do you think? I don't, I don't think that that's gonna happen, bro. Like, that's, that LeBron's definitely not gonna happen. It's funny that that report came out like after LeBron doubled down through like intermediaries that he's gonna stay with the Lakers and that report came out, oh, we're gonna chase, we're gonna chase LeBron like they are. That is a, that is a sign that the front lawyers, front office is flailing at this point. If those reports are starting to come out that they're like through hell or high water, we're going to try to get an All Star. After you have lost out on these All Stars, like, that's just, you know, they're flailing.

[Howard Beck]

I think at a minimum, what you have to do between now and the deadline is, you know, you have to at least shore things up to assure that you're going to make the playoffs. Like, like the, like the warriors need to not, they should not be a play in team and they should, as of right now, they're, they're, you know, flirting with missing the play in itself too. Like the only thing worst because like people think of this as like championship or bust all the time. I, I'm not saying like you need to make only the move that gets you into contention. There are other moves you could make that at least just make you relevant. Like what did, what did Steph say at the beginning of the season in training camp? We, we have the potential to be a relevant team. And, and that's like, that has to be the, like the minimal goal right now is like get in the playoffs, have a puncher's chance, have a, you have a Steph Curry's worth chance against anybody. And after Oklahoma, like, it really is kind of a mishmash, guys. Like, I don't think there's a clear number 2, 3, 4, 5. Pecking order in the west right now. I don't think the, the Luca Anthony Davis swap changes that. And the Kings just weaken themselves by trading Deer and Fox. They could fall out. The spurs got stronger by getting to Aaron Fox. They could leapfrog the warriors and the Suns and the Kings. Warriors at least just got to get back in the mix.

[Logan Murdoch]

I'll say this though, real quick before I'm sure. Roger, I just want to say this and I would be curious to see like from a front office standpoint what you feel about this, Roger. So I'm going to just give you the scenario. The warriors are especially their front office and where they are right now. Like, I want to give this caveat that dynasties end, right? Like that just all runs, great runs come to an end. That's just what it is. I want to give that caveat. But in this particular run and how it's coming to an end is there's just a web of politics within the warriors front office. Right. First off, you have a relatively new general manager and Mike Dunleavy. Now he was an assistant manager, assistant general manager under Bob Myers, but he has to deal with Joe Laka breathing down his neck and saying, hey, we can't. I don't want you to trade Kaminga. Like I don't every other time. I don't want you to trade Kaminga. I don't want you to trade coming. I think he's going to be really, really good. Then you have the Draymond Green of it all who despite his on court production or lack of on court production, holds real influence in that front office. Right. And by his relationships with both Steph and Joe Lake of. So you have a guy that is in the, in these talks. I mean, if there was, if this was any other team, Draymond would. A Draymond Green type character would not be in. You wouldn't be asking his opinion on deals. But he has that kind of cachet within the front office. And then you have, you have Steph Curry, who was a bit indifferent. Now he is pissed he's not winning, but he's bit indifferent of all of these things. And he just kind of lets that. There's a quote in the, in my story about from Kevin Durant saying this is the type of guy he is. Like, he kind of. He's not a guy that is just going to be boisterous and all these things. He's a lead by example type of guy. You put all that together and you just have so Many agendas within the front office trying to. Who think they're right, trying to build a championship roster on the fly. Like, it doesn't seem like everybody is on the same page, and everybody seems like they're trying to get theirs and get their agenda going off within this front office. That's what is the most disappointing part right now.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah. You were asking me a question.

[Logan Murdoch]

How do you manage that?

[Raja Bell]

Oh, yeah, I don't. I don't know. That's that. So there's a lot. There are a lot of moving parts there, you know, for anybody trying to do their job. Like, if you're. If you're done, Levy. Like, you know, it's about communication, man. Like, hey, listen, Joe, I got to do my job. You. You brought me in to do it. If you trust me to do it, and you really trust me to do it, trust me when I tell you that I think if we got rid of Kaminga, we could do X, Y and Z. You don't trust me to do it, and you don't let me execute my vision, then I gotta. Then, you know, as any professional, you gotta weigh whether that's the place for you or not. Right? Like, you know, like, I don't know what kind of relationships Draymond has in there. Like, I'm sure Draymond's a. He's got a great basketball brain. I don't know to what degree he was involved in other pickups that either bore or didn't bear fruit for them. So, like, if he's got a track record of being really savvy and being able to identify talent and bring it in and it fits, then you give him. You continue to trust him. If he doesn't have a track record of that, then, you know, the hard conversations have to be had all the time. But it's all about communication, you know? And then from Steph, like, you know, I just say, like, you. You can. You can be somebody for a long time, and it can work out because you were that guy. And it could also be true that as you get older and you get to a certain, you know, point in life or in profession that you got to hop out and be somebody else, because circumstances aren't the same. And sometimes people got to know that you have the ability to hop out and be somebody else. And so I can't tell him when the time's right to do that. But sometimes there's situations where you could be a good dude, a good soldier, quiet lead by example, all of that. And that could, to some degree get taken for granted. Now, clearly they don't take him for granted as what he's meant to the. To the. To the. To the. To the city and the franchise. And they paid him and all of that type of shit. But at some point you might. You might have to be like, hey, man, what. What the f. Like not happy with this. What? You know, you might have to have those conversations. So. Communication, dude, Frank. Communication. Honest communication. Like. And just. Because that's the only way you can find out whether your visions are aligned, whether your timelines are aligned, whether your thought processes are aligned, and if they're not, you know, to the point you were making before. I'm at 37. I ain't got a. I ain't got a lot of time.

[Logan Murdoch]

That was beautifully put, Roger.

[Raja Bell]

Thanks, buddy.

[Logan Murdoch]

Good shit, buddy. I think we're ready. That dog, I just threw it on the fly. You're like, what? Was that a question? Oh, I'm just gonna drop. I'm just gonna drop. I'm just gonna drop a light. 35 and 18 with. With my response. Don't even trip. Okay, let's get to. Let's get to mailbags. Let's get to mailbags because I don't want to get too early. I mean, like, the warriors are who they are, man. Like, they need to figure their out or like do something. I don't know. I just. It's. It's. It's just really sad to go to Chase Center. I mean, Howard's gonna see it next week. It's just gonna. It's just. It's just gloomy. It's sad. It's raining for eight days straight out here. It's just yuck. And not the. And not the good. Like Miami rain where you know there's gonna be sunny in 15 minutes. No, we gonn all day gray.

[Raja Bell]

Huh?

[Logan Murdoch]

All day Gray. Hello, Cliff.

[Cliff]

You. First of all, y'all didn't talk about the biggest trade of the day, man. Quinn Grimes to the Sixers. What's going on? Not. Not a word. Not a mention.

[Howard Beck]

I mentioned it.

[Logan Murdoch]

I mentioned it, Cliff.

[Cliff]

I mean, a slight two second mention.

[Logan Murdoch]

That was it, Cliff. Worry about your Super Bowl. When are you going to New Orleans, bro? Aren't you about to dip? Aren't you about to have like. Aren't you about to see Kendrick in the flats?

[Cliff]

Yeah, I wish. Nah, man. But you know, I'm a remain here. Had to stay back. You know, some. Some budgeting reasons here. You know. We're not going to go too deep into that. But I just came back from vacation, so, you know, I'm good here anyway, you know what I mean? But let me get to the. Let me get to the first question here. Behind the scenes of a player getting traded. Hey guys, been an avid listener since the slightly awkward first episode, I've been loving the swagger of this Logan NBA experience of Rajon Howard's insightfulness in light of recent.

[Logan Murdoch]

Luka was hella awkward.

[Raja Bell]

R. That's it. I gotta go back and listen to that.

[Logan Murdoch]

No, please don't.

[Cliff]

In light of the recent Luca AD trade, I would love for you guys, maybe mainly Raja, to discuss what goes on behind the scenes of a trade like this. From the players finding out to packing their bags and getting on a plane. Some questions I have are what do they bring on the pj? Who pays for the pj? Do all players who get traded go via PJ or only the All Star NBA? All NBA players, caliber players? How do you handle it with a family like AD and Luka Both have families and children. What does finding a school and accommodation look like? I know that over the course of the podcast, similar to the exact same discussions have popped up, but I thought as the trade just happened, it would be an appropriate discussion to revisit how these blockbuster trades impact and disrupt the lives of the players and their families. Oh yeah, and big congratulations to Logan on his job. Logan, Victor Wong from Sweden.

[Logan Murdoch]

Get in your bag. Thank you, bro. Victor. Appreciate you, brother. Get in your bag. Roger, get in your bag.

[Raja Bell]

Wow. Yeah, there's a lot, I mean, there's a lot that goes into the trade. You know, like the first thing you hope for as a player is that you have, you know, an ownership group and a general manager that thinks enough of you to give you like a heads up so you don't have to find out in some kind of, you know, jacked up way as it goes across the ticker. You know, like I've alluded to Darren Williams finding out that he was traded. When we were in where we were in Dallas, we were playing for Utah, but we were in a hotel room in Dallas. So that's the first thing, like you just like to know. Great question about pj. Yeah, I think for a certain, certain level of player, PJs are warranted. Like, I certainly was not one of them. So, like, I'll just go through my trade in LA real quick. Like, I was with the Suns, was eating my pregame meal and I got a call from a friend of mine who had grown up with Jason Richardson's Wife and this friend of mine, Carlos Daniel, I played with in the cba was like, hey, man, I think you just got traded. And I was like, definitely did not. Been sitting here watching SportsCenter all day, about to go to the Staples Center. And he was like, yeah, well, I mean, I'm pretty sure you did because you got traded for Jason Richardson. And he gave me the background. So I called my agent and they're like, yep, you just got traded. Steve Kerr or whoever is going to be calling you. So they called me. So what that looks like then, right, is I get back on a plane that night, the team is going to go play the Lakers because business don't stop. So me, Boris, Sean Singleton, we all get on a, we go to LAX and we hop on a plane like a, like just a regular commercial airline flight to Phoenix. You get to Phoenix and then like my wife had just had my second boy, so I had a 2 year old or one 18 months and, and like a 3 month old. So, you know, I'm telling her, then you get the call like, you got 72 hours, 48 hours to report to Charlotte. So you're literally like, without the pj. You're putting together like two big bags of luggage, whatever you can, whatever you think you're going to need over the course of however long it's going to take for your family to get there. And then you're, you know, helping tie up whatever loose ends you have that you can help her with over the course of the next 48. And then you're on a flight to Charlotte. Once you get there, you're in a hotel, you. That's picked up by the team, you got a rental car, and then there's somebody with the team will be in charge of like helping you logistically plan out what life's going to look like there, right? So like, you know, you're going to get a real, a realtor that's going to take you around town, explain the areas, talk to you about where most guys live, where, where what, what your family life looks like. Are you a bachelor? Do you have kids? Do they need to be in school? Is it elementary? Is it high school? Like, boom. So they're going to get you set up there, you know, and then, and then the meantime, like your, your significant other or whoever your team is, is at home. Like, we had just opened a, a boutique. So like, you know, my wife was kind of in a spot with two, the two babies and then she had to close up, you know, and tie up all those Loose ends, business wise in the. In the Scottsdale area before she could meet. So I don't remember when I got traded, but they didn't come out until probably around Christmas of that year just because she had some stuff to take care of. So I rode Dolo and Charlotte until she could get out there with the boy.

[Logan Murdoch]

Boys. That's fascinating. I've heard you've told this story on the pod and before, years ago.

[Raja Bell]

Mine's not even bad.

[Logan Murdoch]

I know, but I'm just. It's so fascinating, bro. It is just.

[Raja Bell]

No, it's, it's. It. Listen, it. It is. It's a. I mean, that was a really superficial look of what happens on a trade, but, like, you know what? Your head is spinning, dude. Like, you live like you've made a life here. Like you, your. Your kids are in school or preschool or whatever we, Whatever you have going on. Like, you know, it's like any other place where you live, you probably have friends that you do shit with. You have, you know, routines that you get involved with. Like your. Your kids have friends that. That you've become friends with their parents. Like, you have a life. So when that's ripped, when that's ripped, you know, kind of from you, and now you got to go start another one. It's part of what you sign up for, but it's not an easy. It's not an easy part of it.

[Howard Beck]

Absolutely.

[Logan Murdoch]

We have time for one more. Let's get one more, Cliff.

[Cliff]

All right, let's just do this quick one. Roger, I don't need you to name any names here, but it says, hey, guys, with all the Lucas conditioning issues being the justification for the trade, I was wondering one, what the hell do they mean by conditioning issues? And how did they determine enforce these issues? And number two, did Raja ever have conditioning issues or play with others who did cheers? Dan Johnson, that's how I said don't name no names because you don't want.

[Howard Beck]

You don't want name names, Roger.

[Logan Murdoch]

Name them.

[Howard Beck]

I want weight. I want body fat percentage. I want to know what they ate pre game.

[Raja Bell]

Oh, shoot. Yeah, man. Listen, the NFL is more the only team that really operated like this at the time. I can't speak for everybody now. I've been in the league in a long time. Was the Miami Heat, where they had a body mass index that they were taking into account every day when you came in there. NFL teams, college football teams, they regularly do it, right? Like Howard Beckham for his frame needs to be, I don't know, 185. And we're looking for, like, 7% body fat, and they're measuring that every day. And if you don't make.

[Howard Beck]

I'll need to eat a lot more to get there.

[Raja Bell]

But you're getting. You're getting penalized for not making that by way of a fine or something like that. That wasn't commonplace in the NBA when I played, like, the Heat did it, but nobody else that I really remember did that. Trying to think of, like, yeah, for sure. Guys that had. I. I mean, look. Trying to think of off the top. Like. Like, you know, he was a friend of mine. I played with him. Like, I'm. God rest his soul. I think he's passed now. But, like, Robert Traylor used to have a hard time staying in shape. Like, he was a bigger person. Yeah, he was just. Just organically a big person. Do you know what I mean? Like, you know, like, Boris. You know, Boris. Boris was someone.

[Howard Beck]

Charlotte. Boris.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah, yeah. Boo's my guy. But like, like, no, no.

[Logan Murdoch]

Boris has said on this podcast that he didn't give a shit at points of his career. So it's.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah, but like, some people, like, so here's the deal, right? Like, this is just genetics. Some people cannot give a shit. Like, I could not give a shit. And I wasn't going to look out of shape. I wasn't going to have a problem. I was going to be able to hop on a court regardless of how much I work and run up and down it for 35 minutes. You wouldn't be able to tell. Like, you. You just wouldn't. Because that. Those were. You know, I wasn't. Like, my parents weren't big, bigger people. Like, you know what I mean? So I wasn't predisposed to be a. A. A 6, 9 body, right. Like, certain people just, you know, like, have to work at it a little bit more to stay in that kind of shape. Basketball is. That is going up and down the whole game. So I play with a bunch of. I play with a bunch of people that.

[Logan Murdoch]

To add to that real quick while you think of another one. If you have another one, we would love to hear.

[Raja Bell]

I'm trying to think. Yeah, go ahead.

[Howard Beck]

While he's thinking. Logan, quick trivia question for the. Or just trivia. No trivia note. Actually, no, I'm gonna make this trivia question. Let's go for Logan. I was gonna say for the younger listeners, but you're the younger listener. Logan, do you know the significance of tractor trailer?

[Logan Murdoch]

It's a great nickname.

[Raja Bell]

Oh, I know.

[Logan Murdoch]

It.

[Howard Beck]

Who? He was traded for somebody on draft night. On the night of his draft.

[Logan Murdoch]

What year was his draft?

[Howard Beck]

You're not looking this up.

[Cliff]

Is it 96?

[Logan Murdoch]

I'm not.

[Howard Beck]

No. It was 1998.

[Logan Murdoch]

Oh, was he?

[Howard Beck]

Cliff, you got it?

[Logan Murdoch]

Got it, Cliff.

[Cliff]

No, I'm trying to think here. He was traded draft night. Nah, I don't think I got it.

[Logan Murdoch]

I don't have it. We're 12 years old. Go ahead.

[Raja Bell]

Oh, that's right. They were babies. Yeah.

[Howard Beck]

Robert. Robert Traylor was taken with the sixth pick of the 98 draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Now, do you know who he was?

[Logan Murdoch]

Dirk Nisky. Dirk Nisk.

[Howard Beck]

Dirk Naviti, a Bucks draft pick.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yikes. Ooh. Him and Ray Allen would've been sick. Um, but no, one other thing I wanted to add to that was, like, it depends on the team, like, in terms of conditioning. Cause some teams be lax. They'll let you. They'll let you play your way into. Into shape. I mean, during training camp. Howard knows that very well. Covering Shaquille O'Neal. Um, some are, like, really stringent in, like, the Miami Heat. It would just be like, you need to come to camp, like, on time or whatever. Like, the Warriors, I know, they were just. They're like a mix between the two. Like, you gotta, like, get it. Just be a professional. Like, we're vibes. We'll just be a professional. And some are just, like, don't give a shit. But that's just more of a function of, like, you know, team dynamics and what their goals are and ownership. A lot of different factors.

[Raja Bell]

Ennis Cantor early in his career, and it's why one of my favorite things to do used to be to ask Enes, and he's a great dude, like, and wound up being a really good player. But I used to ask him, like, because we didn't have meals. I've talked about this before. Like, you know, Utah was still in. In the. In the. Like, hey, we're not going to provide you guys meals after the game. Like, you gotta figure out what you're gonna eat. And honestly, Salt Lake closed down so early that, like, there weren't many options. So I'd ask that dude, like, what he ate. And it was like, my fit. It was one of my favorite things to do. Be like, Yo, Enes, what'd you eat? And he'd give me, like, like, five burgers. And like, holy.

[Howard Beck]

That's the thing, though. Like, guys of his size, whether they're in shape or out of shape, the Amount of food a 7 foot, like, 200 calories can put away. Oh, my God.

[Logan Murdoch]

How many calories, bro? Because y'all burn a lot of calories, man.

[Raja Bell]

Like, hey, Ray Ray Felton, like, another one of my favorite teammates, but, like, Ray Ray could go in and out of shape, like, you know what I mean? He wasn't a seven footer, like, but, like, no, just. Just, you know, body type, you got to keep. You got to stay on it.

[Logan Murdoch]

Yeah. All right. Gave him hour 15 ra in a bag, bro. Gave the streets an hour 15, by the way. I think they were all good.

[Howard Beck]

Link, his jacket's getting clowned in Ringer Slack right now.

[Logan Murdoch]

Oh, is it? Hold on. Let me look real quick. Let me see if there's a good joke, bro.

[Howard Beck]

Don't.

[Raja Bell]

You know what's crazy?

[Howard Beck]

Just don't out anybody. The last one I saw is the best one.

[Raja Bell]

I don't even know what it's like.

[Howard Beck]

Can I read it?

[Raja Bell]

Go ahead.

[Logan Murdoch]

Oh, when. When you have a knife, when you get. This is. This is in ringer Slack. This is very inside baseball. So y'all can guess in the comments who said this. You're not gonna get it, though, when you get Luca. But you also have a knife fight in Michael Jackson's Beat it video later.

[Howard Beck]

But then the next one was. This was probably marked down five times on the TJ Maxx clearance rack.

[Logan Murdoch]

No, I think. I think he. It's just like, an extra medium. Like, it's extra, extra small, but it's. It's gotta be like, five racks. It has to be like this. He spent real money on this. He spent some real money on this.

[Raja Bell]

Yeah, that's a piece. That's a piece.

[Logan Murdoch]

That is a piece. But, like, also, bro, like, the. Them sleeves don't go, bro. Them sleeves. Them sleeves barely feel like Roger's youngest kid, bro. Like, give, like, stop. All right, romans [e-mail] [e-mail] realmback@ Gmail.com. make sure you guys go get tickets for the real ones live show February 15th. Also, another thing for the Ruins live show, it's on the same day as Lunar New Year, so make sure y'all get there early, bro. It's gonna be popping, like, 1.5 million people are gonna be in San Francisco for the Lunar Day Parade, so make sure you guys, you know, take public transportation, get there a little early, you feel me? And another housekeeping. We'll see you guys on Thursday for the trade deadline special. Me, Howard, Raja in the building. Roger, don't give me that look. You committed. You soft. You soft. Committed. Pre pod. I don't want to hear this. We will see you guys on Thursday. Ah, all the shits. I'm too tired, but I'm gonna go by.

[Raja Bell]

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