Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios in the Western Conference | Real Ones

What's poppin' brilliance, Logan Murdoch here with my esteemed colleagues, Tyler Parker, and Howard Motherfucking Back. We are here to talk about the Western Conference and give the best case scenario for the Western Conference. And the worst case scenario for the Western Conference, this is going to be a doozy because we're going to start off with the Denver Nuggets, which is, I think this is the category where it's kind of like both worst case scenarios are in play right now, right? What's your read on this? They didn't do anything this off season. In fact, they got worse because Peyton Watson walked and went to the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is such a disservice to yokets going into the season. They didn't do one thing. They drafted some guys who they are excited about. But this looks like it's going to be really, really depressing, Howard Beck, what are your thoughts? Best case, worst case scenario. You don't think the draft capital that they brought back for Peyton Watson is going to pay dividends in April and May? Look, this is still a great team because of yokets in Jamal Murray and the hope of an Aaron Gordon healthy season, right? Like so much depends on Aaron Gordon's hamstrings. Best case scenario though, I'm putting a ceiling on them that I did not think I would, but I'm going to say Western Conference Finals. But with an outside chance to beat whoever it is they're playing in the Western Conference Finals this birds are thunder, like it's not impossible. It's on the table. But if I'm saying best case scenario realistically, I still believe it's probably the brick wall that they cannot quite smash through. And yeah, they're worse off than they were a few months ago because they lost a really good young player in Peyton Watson willingly. He didn't just lose him. He didn't just wander away. They fucking let him go. So that's it. That's their best case scenario. Worst case if we want to talk both ends right off the top. It's always on the table that Aaron Gordon's going to get hurt again. Jamal Murray's had his own injury history too. And so in any scenario where their second and third best players have any issues whatsoever, this is a team that could easily fall to sixth and maybe even lose in the first round just because of the wealth of talent at the top of the West. And adding to that, they're a team that fucks around a lot, right? They're good when they go into the playoffs and they're formidable and they are scary when they go to the playoffs. But you know, when they get to the dog days of March and this year, it had to do with injuries. But in previous seasons, it's just like, I always look up at league pass. I'm like, why the fuck are the nuggets? It's March. Why are they not caring about this Tuesday game that they need for standings? Like why do they not give a fuck about this game? In a year like this, when you need to stay afloat, I think that that's going to be a detriment for them. My best case scenario, I think Western Conference Finals is a good best case scenario. I think worst case scenario, they get to a sixth seat and they're still formidable just because of Yokech. But Tyler, you saw this. I think that last year was probably the nuggets best chance at a title because, and you could sense this from I think the rest of the league. I made this analogy last year, but it's like when 50 cent was on his mixtape run and everybody was like, "Yo, man, when he drops an album, it's all fucked up for everybody." Right? I feel that way for Victor Womanyama right now, where it's like, "That was a mixtape last year." That wasn't mixtape last year. That wasn't mixtape last year. I don't like that dog. I thought that was a debut album, kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, so it's, but I think you saw that with the nuggets that like, "Yo, they could get this dude, but they need to do it right now because it's not going to be another chance to combine with the fact that Victor's only going to get better and you guys are only going to get older." Right? I think it's going to be a tough year for Denver this year and the beginning of a transition to be honest. This episode is presented by Sam's Club during the holidays, everyone's in a club. The last minute gift givers club, the cool aunts club, the food coma club, whatever holiday club you're in, Sam's club is the club that helps you pull it off. You need to get a meal on the table in under two hours, done. Shopping for the brands they want, like Dyson and LEGO, without blowing your budget, check and check. Sam's Club helps you make the most of the holidays. Come join us, Sam's Club. I'm with you all. I had Western Conference Finals as kind of the best-case scenario. If you told me Yokech just went Hulk smash on everything, it's maybe the outside possibility that they could get back to the finals, I get super worried about the shooting with these guys. Cam Johnson really struggled for the better part of last year and didn't seem to fit in the ways that they were expecting him to. I think the derosen addition is not nothing, but it doesn't do what you need it. He just doesn't play the way that they need somebody on the perimeter of the team playing right now. Oh my God, I'm playing it right now. We need to get somebody. Yeah. I mean, Christian Brown, for me, left a lot to be desired last year. I was sort of wanting to see him take a little bit more of a leap after the playoffs that he had the year before that. There's just a lack of pop on the perimeter across the board. Spencer Jones comes back, but the jumper looks broken. It goes in sometimes, and he plays super duper hard. He's a great defender. He's a good player for them, but I don't see enough dynamism from them like up top to where they're going to be able to make enough waves in this particular conference. They've got, if Aaron Gordon's healthy, then that always changes their defense, but you always do have, if you have two dudes that can go get their own that are quick, that can give you some problems and get paint touches and stuff like that. The nuggets can struggle with this stuff, because I mean, Jamal Murray's not really going to stay in front of a lot of people. You've got Christian Brown who can do some things, but he can only be asked to do so much. So I worry about, I don't think there's athletic as they were last year now, and Lord knows the West is only getting more athletic. Yeah, I had them like worst case scenario is like an eight seed, which I realized that's like the biggest range that I've got. I don't think that will happen, but I do think that this is the kind of roster that shit could go south in a hurry. Yokech covers up a lot of papers over a lot of stuff, and I don't think it'll happen, but I could see a world where it's the season from hell. Yeah, and that leads to the ultimate worst case scenario, which is that Yokech looks around and goes, "What the hell am I doing here?" And you know, we don't have to start talking like Michael Pino already floated trade proposals for involving Yokech. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm going to put his trade proposals. That's how I like him. And he loves Yokech. So like, listen, I just think it's a problem when you pull up the ESPN depth chart for the nuggets and the backup that they list, instances ESPN's depth chart. So like the old caveats, but like backup shooting guard, DeMar de Rosen, backup small forward, DeMar de Rosen, backup power forward, DeMar de Rosen. No, this is shade at the nuggets, not at the ESPN. I'm just saying, like, if you're looking at where their depth is, Marvin Bagley, DeMar de Rosen, like, they signed Liney Walker the fourth, brought him back, like, to back to the NBA. Like, they just grabbed a bunch of pieces and said, "We got to fill some roster spots and I don't know how any of these guys fit or move the ball forward." I mean, I know they're excited about Brazil. Like, and he, like, looked good in the summer league and, I mean, he gives them, like, athleticism that they desperately need. But there's just, Strother hasn't been what they needed to be, Najee, Lorde Nose hadn't been what they need him to be. Like, they just, like, none of these guys have stepped up to Ron Holmes. Same sort of thing. Like, it, I don't know, I worry about, I worry about, I worry about big Yokech. A little bit. I think he's going to be a heavy lift this year. There's a lot of dynamism. Was that the word? Dynamism. Dynamism. It was a lot of dynamism in your performance turn now. Thank you. And speaking of dynamism, the Minnesota Chamber of Wolves, it's going to be, I think this is a rare team where they might fuck up and it's still the best case scenario because we got to watch it. Sure. Okay. But Melo Ball is in town, he is the new writing mate to Anthony Edwards. That has been a talk of the off season, one of the many talks of the off season. I'm dubious of the partnership. We'll get to that in a second. But I want to hear you guys's thoughts. Minnesota Chamber of Wolves, best case scenario, worst case scenario. For the wall, or for the walls, my best case is, I really wanted to say my best case was going to be the finals. I'm putting it just because like, you got to understand, I have so much love in my heart for Jaden McDaniels. And I had to assume it like I was now one of my other guys like this is like I really like watching that guy play They really have dudes though. They do they do have dudes even chins. Oh, I mean Like is a dude probably out for the season. Oh, yeah, that's where we're most of it. Yeah Dude Still a dude Undeniably a dude a hurt dude. But like I They they are such a bear to play against always especially in the playoffs and I Edwards is still at the stage in his career where like he's getting better every year That's a lot of pressure to put on him It's it's so much pressure to put on him But he's he's he's been up to the task during every single sort of playoffs that he's participated in thus far. Yeah, I Don't have a ton of faith that the Lamello fit is going to Work in the ways that they needed to because I think he's just a terrible terrible defender and I think that that's going to I don't think they're always gonna have somebody to hide him on and he has zero playoff experience Yeah, and so it I he is um he is so exciting I think that they are gonna be one of the most fun teams in transition to watch this year. Maybe the most fun but Lamello's fit defensively is Concerning enough for me. I mean you saw it like we saw it went with Conley last year like sometimes they get to where they are Play in these point guards in situations against these lead ball handlers that are just coming downhill and they can't do anything with my thing is like Yo, man, they play the thunder in the fight and the playoffs Shed yoga's Alexander's gonna be like I want him come here about come here you I think every time I think every I think every I think every team will and they'll try and they'll try to Pre-switch it They'll try to do everything that they can but yeah, I mean like teams nowadays like it's just They're it's everyone is a headhunter now and like it. Yeah Yeah, I the worst case scenarios are easier to entertain right now than than the best case ones because you could totally see a scenario here Where Lamello and I do not click at all or where they're they're having a lot of fun But they're just not winning games are being particularly responsible with the ball You could absolutely see a scenario here where Chris Finch wants to Do terrible things to Lamello or is just like Chris Finch is like passing out on the sideline because it's like I play Bixby skid on Chappelle so where Neil Brennan's head exploded. Yeah When is that gonna happen to Chris? Also, by the way, Jonathan Kominga is on this team John Kominga Lamello when he went there to go here winning organized a prayers for Chris Which he actually went there for good purposes? Okay, I hope there's a great mental health Program at the Minnesota Timberwolves organization This is a team that absolutely could finish top six in the Western Conference Maybe even went around it's hard to see them winning more than one round as currently constructed They went from having this wonderful front court to like and no back court to having like a you know a very potent But combustible back court and no front court, right? Like you've downgraded from cat and read to Randall and read to Jonathan Kominga Like I I see the upside and I see what the wolves are doing. I understand this right like you're you're betting big on upside Both in different ways Daniel's is like as an offensive player is much improved like I sure like I think that that changes Maybe he's there starting for right maybe he's there starting for but then that's that's limiting them in other ways. Yeah But yeah, I don't know what to make of this team definitely High league pass team Not so confident in their in their their their ability to win But I understand what they're doing and I get the bet on Lamello. Hey Different atmosphere with us different different frame work different coaching whatever Every team in the NBA at all times when you have flawed young stars alike Lamello Every team thinks I'm we're gonna be the ones to harness it and get the most best case scenario is like you said 5 or 6 seed worst case scenario worse worse than this case scenario This is the beginning of the end of Anthony Edwards and Minnesota That's that's the bet that they've made basically. Yeah, this either works or or it fails miserably and everything's on the table. I would Know when the option is to also do nothing people forget that that's an option too. Sure I think the Minnesota temperals that a few years might be like oh we could have just did nothing Hey, Pomello was on the table. I like that That Lamello and Rudy Gobert like have found their exact opposite Just like they sure one could not be further from the other Yeah, yeah, all right. Let's go. Let's let's Have some level optums or maybe not that much optimism. I know where you go I'm gonna throw you in the spot here Tyler Parker best case scenario Oklahoma City Thunder or worst case scenario Oklahoma City Thunder. How are you feeling right now? Are you having heart proposations? Are you The ticker the ticker's feeling fine the I mean the best case is the championship like I don't think that's crazy to say The hope right is that the uptick in minutes for AJ and Kason like they can handle that load and it's that there's there's not a discernible difference between Like you know how they're prefer well, hopefully there's I think AJ is really good. I think Kason's really good I Think that it only stands to be good for the team that they Play more minutes that said like they You know, they had not been with the team for as long as the Isaiah Joe's the Wiggins is the Lew dorks, right? but It came to a point where especially last year during the playoffs like It was a struggle out there with Lew and he did go cold into times where you couldn't have him And as hard as he plays and as much of the teams sort of like defensive identity was kind of found in him You know, I think it was kind of time to move on there. I think AJ with more minutes with more Possessions like I think it's gonna be able to Like let's say work off the ball a little bit more which takes some of the pressure off of him Let's him do some stuff where he's not having defenses load up to the other time zone AJ Like kind of gets a little too freaky with the basketball right like that that game against um his first play I'll start against Phoenix he was just all over like when like six of 24 wild like that But then it was great after that. It was great after that But he's I'm just saying he's susceptible to that is he he's one of those guys that I think they're trying to let him kind of explore The space a little bit in a way and like try there They need to figure out what his ceiling is too and the only way to do that is to get him some shots and stuff And so I think they want him to be aggressive. I think the the biggest question To me is like Where is Chet sort of mentally after the Western conference finals and what Wimbee did to him like can he come can he bounce back from that I mean Chet was having an incredible playoff sub until that point Chet ever I think he's 13 13 all NBA last year. He was an all-star last year. He was a he got a great season last year It ended terrible. Yeah, and I think a check could use though I think check it just do sell. Yeah, I don't fuck with it Wimbee and I don't like him man I wish there would be more a reason why I think that is because in like I've interviewed Chet a lot of people have interviewed Chet about this particular thing And he shives away from it like all this just you know It's just media fodder. It's just me and him on there I think like and I think that puts a weight on the shoulders I do think he has those feelings inside that he doesn't put out like he should be like or if he doesn't that might be a problem Yeah, I think yeah, if nothing else, he's probably a little bit like dude what the hell what? But like he puts you like I've seen you through Oklahoma City runs and it's something to be said The heartbreak that you have when Wimbee puts Chet through the basket and I don't want that for you I don't know. I mean, I think I'm pretty tough. I think I'm pretty strong. It's you know, okay We are I can act and handle it. All right. I think the best case scenario on this one You know, they want a championship the worst case scenario is That's there's not a lot of variance like an on-court production because I think that they're gonna do a deep Run regardless, right? But the worst case scenario. I think is she Has has a high uses rate J. Dub who we haven't talked about yet doesn't come back into form after all of those hamstring injuries, right and then Chet doesn't Take it personal when he gets put through the basket and playoffs and they lose in the conference finals to this spurs I think unless Jalen Williams has another really terrible injury year and even if he did the depth there even after all of your Beloved friends Lou Dorte Isaiah Joe Aaron Wiggins went out the door Which of those hurts you the most by the way I was curious probably Lou Yeah, that's because he's been because he's been the he was the he was the he was the longest 10-year dude He was there before she or now say me or she say you're she Plus that was one of those diamonds in the rough. They found and build him up everything I think that was probably why he stayed with the team as long as he did is because they were there was a Developmental win Yeah, those are hard to give up But like if Jalen Williams is like yes, sealing obviously championship Worst case scenario. I think they're losing the spurs again and whatever round they meet probably in the conference finals Depending on how the standings work out, but like The worst worst case scenario is yeah a repeat of some of the injury concerns they had But I still think there's so much there against the spurs last year, you know, Jay the Williams goes down during that series and AJ Mitchell does like you're not going to beat the Spurs without, you know, two of your like top four offensive players like it just that's your no team in the league is going to do that as deep as the Thunder were like they don't have the horses to withstand losing two of those dudes who are also both two of their best shooters and guys that can get into the lane and actually like draw when being make him make some kind of decision and stuff like that I'm not so sold on like the Spurs have the Thunder's number for sure for sure because of those injuries that being said like I would not begrudge anyone and they probably should take the Spurs over the Thunder going into next year. Yeah. Well, let's get sad again. Portland Trail Blazers who traded for one John Morant, the team owner is what you feel sad about the Portland Trail Blazers? Well, we'll get to it. We're clearly going to get to it now. My owner Tom Dundin has had a lot of aggressive cost-cutting measures in the fight to get arena financing from the city. They did. That aside the the John Morant experience is going to be a doozy. I'll just do my best case for his case. I think the best case scenario they're a 14 in the Western Conference but John Morant shows some contrition and he you know takes on the leadership mantle and he's mentored by Dame Lillard to you know be a better version of himself. There's no evidence of that by the way thus far. You know the the only time that we've seen John Morant this summer he didn't seem like a changed person. He seemed very defiant amongst the cameras and the cameras don't lie but the worst case scenario is John Morant is defiant and his behavior follows him to Portland and it just it undercuts which should be a great story down there especially when you add the edition of this team went to the playoffs last year and then you add the addition to Damian Lillard who was a franchise icon and you undercut all of that because of you know John Morant's hubris and then you know the snowball goes down from there. They were in the upper part of the playing bracket last year and that was a breakthrough season for them. They make the playoffs you know they they get you know some some you know take their lumps and like it was like oh the nice breakthrough whatever you know this just first time with you know this this group and and that should have been a feel good moment it was already overshadowed in the moment by all of the stuff that Dundin was doing his owner and then the offseason I feel like got even worse not only all the layoffs and everything else that they did but like I I will say this until proven otherwise I think the John Morant trade was the worst trade of the summer worse than Jalen Brown I at least understand what the Celtics were doing with Jalen Brown I do not understand what the Blazers are doing with John Morant and yeah they didn't give up anything to get him cool but there's still like some opportunity cost here because you're jamming John Morant into a back court with Dame Lillard coming back from his Achilles and a young Scoot Henderson and Drew Holiday and I was a Scoot stock doing you know where's that we were still holding we're all the same same yeah um and then he obviously I just had like the best season of his career as a primary ball handler playmaker type you got too many of these guys again the office there was an option to do nothing on it there was an option to do nothing you did yeah you did not have to acquire John Morant I believe absolutely positively that was an owner decision not the front office so best case scenario we'll let's play fantasy land for a second year John Morant has a renaissance and I think by the way there's some physical concerns with him in addition to attitudinal concern I'm here's a here's a thing man this is a thing and I've said this on the podcast before this is not a this is not John Morant going to the Portland Trail Blazers is not him going to the Trail Blazers it is an avenue for Nike to sell sneakers and have one of their their highest pitchman and most high profile pitchman stay out of trouble let's just that this is let's just call a spade a spade this is literally what this trade was was if there's a John Morant renaissance to be had and if it happens and Dame looks some semblance of Dame again and Mike and Nory new head coach he unlocked Scoot and Shaden Sharp and maybe they make a run like could they make a run at the six seed maybe like maybe and then their first round lost like that to me that's that's their their ceiling but the worst case scenario is job proves every bit is bad of a fit there as I fear he will and he still can't shoot or defend by the way worst case scenario Dame looks old and does not come back well from the Achilles they fall the law to the lottery again and London fires everybody the I imagine they're thinking like look we will bring John and we will sort of have him just constantly bookended by Dame and Drew holiday and these are two of the most sort of you know professional point guards that we've had in the league over the last you know 15 years in the league right I I imagine that that's the hope I don't know about the fit with jaw less less of because of personality issues or the ego and more just like he started to protect himself a little bit more on some of these drives some of these like sort of forays to the rim that he used to kind of just go like balls to the wall head down like I'm getting there you can't do anything about it I think he's because of the injuries I think he's just like not quite as fearless as he used to be and yeah the shot has just always been a concern and it's it's more of a concern now than ever say do you believe you know I know you're on the socials do you believe I know you're on the socials yeah um there's been this like very I hate you guys yeah what's all there's 50 right there's no I got to talk to my camera there's been a very deliberate campaign on the internet from jaw and the people around him that this this is like the summer that he's always had like jaw is off in the cut he's out here working his ass off do you believe that or not do you believe the propaganda that's on the I mean I don't do you believe you sound like you have a better idea of how jaw operate I'm not gonna pretend like I have a sense for how jaw it just feels like he's doing like the bin sims thing where he's like yeah don't believe anything that ever happens in the summer don't whatever anybody tells you does whatever you see on Instagram just okay I'm sure I'm interested in what you said the so you you think that the jaw thing like it pure dungeon like you think you think the front office didn't want anything to do with it it was only done I think it's bigger than the front off the front office I don't think would I'm not as conspiratorial and this is Logan and some companies and everything but I don't rule it out I I do I do not think this was a basketball decision we got it yeah put it down let's go to the Utah Jazz who's like everybody's sneaky favorite team right now you know they're getting the preseason buzz they got triple J last trade deadline they flipped Cody Kessler got a bunch of picks Darren Peterson they drafted who was like the summer league MVP and they are you know he just like Cody Kessler that's a Cody Kessler walk away sorry I was thinking about no I played at a at a football camp with Cody Kessler play for USC okay he is like stamped in my mind so I want to wait whenever I see Walker Kessler I always say Cody Kessler shout out Cody Kessler beggars field but this is like the the the the the the the the trendy team like oh man they could actually do something sure in large part because Darren Peterson balled in summer league and that's pretty much what we got them to let you put them around these dudes and Laurie Marken is on the team yeah has a bit more free reign with the Kessler trade to play his game are they might actually let him play during the back half of yeah they actually might actually might see a full team from the jazz like this is the first time in a while that like when the jazz are in town like I'm gonna shake them out yeah let's go fucking let's go watch them live I get why people are pumped I mean like De Kionte George Darren Peterson Markin and Jackson and then whoever else you want to throw out there like that's fun yes Bailey whatever like that that is that's a team that can do a lot of things it's got a lot of offensive firepower I my best case was sick seed for them yeah that's a good one I I struggled between that and you know the upper echelon of the play in because sometimes I do think it's this there's this is like a largely unproven group right like the pieces there are nice Jackson's done some stuff in Memphis Markin has been a part of good teams before but in terms of like as currently constructed right like we are taking some leaps and thinking like okay they're just gonna be ready to go so I worry about hitting the gas too hard with them but it all these pieces work and I really like Kessler George is the real deal young talented teams that play hard tend to do great in record seasons and over achieve so I think that that's really also on your I think this is having your argument I think there's a best situation that Jerry Jackson Jr has ever been in he has the the the the the fewest amount of expectations he's not going to have to be like the But, you know, main number two dude, like there will be less, why aren't you going and getting rebounds, you know? Like I think there's, that will still happen probably, but I don't think it's going to be as catastrophic as it was whenever he was in Memphis and didn't show up. Like there's enough other pieces here where he's not as important. And I think that's probably good for where he's at. - I would feel better about this team and might even get to the place that you're at with the whole run at the six seed thing if Walker Kessler were still there. - Sure. - Or even Cody Kessler for that matter. - Any Kessler. But I don't, I'm sorry, Logan. I just, I couldn't, I can't quite get there because the downgrade from Walker Kessler to Yusuf Nurkic and his in season, season ending knows job. I don't know, I just don't, there's just a little bit missing there now, right? You're just missing a little bit of rebounding and toughness and rim protection that they would have had if they had kept him. I understand like, okay, the cap aspects of it all and a haul that they got from the Lakers and Picks and all that, I understood it from an organizational level, from a basketball level, it's a downgrade. And Jared Jackson Jr., we've seen is better off with a, you know, physical center next to him who's gonna do the rebounding. So I'm a little bit softer on them than you guys, I think. All the pieces are fun and offensively, they could be amazing. I just think it's hard to leapfrog them over too many teams in the Western Conference when they've been as down there. And we still have to see it all mesh, right? None of these guys have played together really, but the amount of upside, Ace Bailey, Darren Peterson himself obviously, but again, always caveat on these rookies, no matter how much hype they have coming in, most rookies are not going to contribute to winning immediately. They may put up numbers, they may look awesome, but they don't necessarily contribute to winning. - I'm not sure, Darren Peterson has a lot to prove, like a lot, like availability, everything that happened last year, like he had a really good few months stretch, but like he has to prove that he can be a viable and a reliable person. - So all of that, yes. And on top of that, now look, Markin and finally is on a team that can win, right? Jared Jackson Jr., we know likes to score. Kianta George likes to score. So you also have a, it's amazing to have this from a team that's been in the lottery for several years, but you may have too many mouths to feed all of a sudden. Ace Bailey's out there too, saying like, hey man, he got free reign last season with the losing team, he could just do whatever he wanted. Now he's got a slot into a role. And so like, there's a lot for Will Hardy to figure out here, and like it's a good problem to have. - He's a real real test of his, right? Like where he has always been a guy that's like, oh, whenever you go to Utah, that team plays hard and he's a good coach, but he hasn't really been tested, right? - At all. - At all. - And I want him mic'd up the whole season. And I want the unedited version. - We'll see, we'll see how that works out. Okay, let's go to the Golden State Optionalities. I mean, the Golden State Warriors, I'm not bad, excuse me. Did I? - Oh, just shit. - I'm not bad. The Golden State Warriors who did absolutely nothing this season. - Did nothing. Did I have actual disrespect right there? - Yakswater for a good summer league. - Anybody with an exodus name? - Automatically cool. - Yeah, absolutely. - There's a lot of lying going on in that organization right now, just about how this off season is going. We're not gonna get too specific. But, best case and worst case for the Warriors, I guess I'll go first. But the best case, they're like a 12C. Worst case, just the bottom finally just falls from underneath them. Like, it's been coming in the last few years, but damn. Like, and this was the off season where it was like over, they're we as the Warriors, if the Warriors are we in this argument. We are going to, we're gonna get LeBron. We're gonna finally get all this optionality. Everything that we say, we're gonna finally do it. Something that we said, you know, on the team a few pods ago, they should have did have moved three, four years ago to even going into this off season. And now, they've done nothing. Steph, I mean, you see him in Chinese, walking with a little bit of a Pimp Limp. He's gonna be walking with a big Pimp Limp throughout this season. Jimmy Butler's coming back and maybe, I don't know when he's coming back. And also, there's a chance he doesn't come back this season. - I'm gonna say, is it for sure, it's not for sure that he's going back. - There's been some stuff coming out about his rehab that is like, oh, is he, you know, maybe he won't come back in time. But also, say the Warriors are like last in the Western conference. - Why would he? - Why would you come back, you know, January or February, anyway. This team is just depressing, you know? The focus is on the nighters in the Bay Area right now. It just, it sucks. This is very, it's gonna be a really sad season to go in the state. There is no real best case scenario, it's just all sad. - Yeah, we know, before you go to him, let's go to the Warriors Optimist over here. Powered back. - Let's see, let's get some propaganda. - No, listen, we've got Jimmy Butler is already out for a minimum what half the season. Or I get, look, he got hurt in January, right? So if you do the, come back at 10 or-- - The most optimistic timeline is he's back. - But 10, 11 month mark is not unheard of for an ACL. You may not be 100% of yourself, but you are functional. And also, he's not exactly a guy who was getting by on like his hops and athleticism in any way. So, maybe his best case scenario for Jimmy Butler is coming back in, let's say, even December, late December or something, right? You're not completely out of it by then. You're not probably 0 and 25. So like, if he's back and Steph was still awesome last year. Drainmon, for most part, had a pretty solid season. Like, you've got the basis of a core group there that when they were all together after they first got Jimmy, they won a ton of games, they won a playoff series. Like, they're clinging to that memory from a year and a half ago. It's not that far ago, but it's also like forever ago. They're clinging to that as the reason for optimism, right? And then, oh, maybe Pajemski makes another, you know, leap, whatever, in Porzinga stays healthy and, you know, Gisanto does something. - There's something. Hey, George Miang is there too. - Also, Yaxl. I'm just gonna say Yaxl a lot. Like, there's a version of this where they're respectable and they're competitive. And Jimmy comes back soon enough that the season doesn't go off the rails. But it's so easy to conceive of a season where Porzingus misses half the season and Steph gets banged up and Dremont misses a bunch of games. And Jimmy doesn't come back until, if at all, you know, March, in which case, then you've got nothing. Like, at that point, it is. - If Dremont is the only one on the court, there's not gonna be a lot of games. He might, he might. - We've seen it. - We've seen it. He's been honest with it. Like, this has a lot of 19, 2019, 2020 vibes where Dremont just says, like, ah, fuck this game. I'm like, I'm not gonna try. I always say in the off season, unless somebody has, like, if they're still coming back from like an Achilles or something, or somebody who's just like, just injury prone in general, I'm usually gonna assume health, right? So as of right now, I'm gonna assume Steph is healthy, Dremont's healthy, and that Jimmy Butler comes back in some semblance of time. And that core group we've seen, there's proof of concept there. So like, I'm not gonna write them off entirely and say this is going to be quite as depressing and awful as Logan is painting the picture of. But that's on the table. - Yeah. - And that's the problem for the warriors. And, you know, I don't know what else they could have done this summer. They put all their eggs in the LeBron basket. They didn't get him, and they didn't have much else they can do, because who are you going to portray? You're not trading Steph. You probably can't trade Dremont, and you can't trade an injured Jimmy Butler. Like, what were they supposed to do? Like, package, Pajemski and Gees Santos for Demar to Rosen? Like, I don't know where this was going. - Dremont. - Yo-kits, right? I don't know. Yo-kits will come next year. - I'm just saying. - They're gonna be in the same scenarios they were last year. Just everybody's gonna be sad over again. - What was your best case? - Best case, everybody stays upright. Jimmy returns ahead of schedule. Maybe they make a run at the sixth seed. - Maybe. - Got it. - Yeah. - And I was in the first round. - I split the difference between y'all. Basically, my best case was like a ten seed. I think there's a world where they could sneak into the play and if Steph just goes supernova, like he can and if, you know, the defense was okay. When Dremont's out there, like, it's not a disaster. It's not good, but it's not a disaster. The, I do not think that offensively, this is going to be a team that can do very much. Maybe there's a world where Porzingus has the pop back and he's like, you know. - You've got a pods guy. - I don't think he's going to carry the offensive load. - I don't know. I mean, look, pods plays hard. I don't want to shit on pods. But like he's, he has what, obvious limitations. And so I don't think that there's going to be enough firepower for them to be able to stick with some of these other teams. I think that, and I think that you're going to be asking so much of Steph that you do run like a serious risk of if not tiring him out, you know, something bad happens and he gets injured. I think he is not at a place in his career. Yes, he can go nuts every night still. He still has the goods, but I don't think that he wants to. And I don't think that if you have him on your team, you should be wanting that. Like it's just, there's a, like we trick ourselves with Steph because like the conditioning is so out of this world still. Like when he plays, he still is so good, but dude is getting up there in age. And you're getting to a place where like, you're asking for a lot from Steph like mentally. You're asking for him to cope with a like basically coming into a season where, Even the biggest optimist in the world isn't going to think that they have any real shot to go through any sort of world, so maybe a six, or whatever. So, but he like the best case scenario, that's the best case scenario. I think, yeah, I just, I think this is, I don't think it's as depressing of a situation as you maybe, but I don't think this is a good one, yeah. Two quick things before we leave the Warriors. One is, I would feel a hell of a lot better if they had found at least one guy that they could have signed from somewhere who could do something with the ball in his hands to take some of that pressure off stuff. The second thing I'll say, though, is the reason that there's a best case scenario in concept with the most optimistic version of this getting running at the 60s is because we only have five teams at the top that we all are certain, I think we haven't talked about a couple of them yet, but I think there's like five really solid teams that are probably still top five. The wolves are kind of like on the bubble there, can they still hang on as a top six team, but then everybody after that, Phoenix has all kinds of concerns. Portland's going out all kinds of concerns were already covered. The Clippers, the Warriors, the Pelicans, the West and the East. Kind of. There's just a drop off in terms of like, like there's a bunch of these teams that there's an upside potential there, but like, you could get between the Western covers in Eastern comments, the Western conference has two certified powers that you can just write in. And three other really, really good teams. And then there's a drop off. Everybody else has got asterisk. It's also like there's, there has been a lot of seasons over, you know, pre seasons over the course of the last decade plus where people are like, I don't know, maybe the East is better than the West and that winds up never being the case. I don't like, I think you're probably right this year. More good teams in the East and the West probably, but we get pumped up to say that the East is finally better than the West a lot. And that never ends up being the case. Maybe this year it is. I don't know. That is fair. I just think the Warriors are just giving out checks. Just handing out this right and check. Do you think, do you think Steph would ever ask out? Would he ever just no chance? I wrote it. He could posture behind the scenes all he wants, but he could never, it will never fulfill him to win a title anywhere else. Or do or have that level of success anywhere else. Not even Charlotte. He goes on. I think it's a bit overblown, but, um, you think, wait, how's it ever blown if Dell? It's like the announcer. How is that ever blown? All right. Let's talk about it. I get no answer. Let's go from a team. Let's go from a team that is giving out checks to a team where the check is bouncing the LA Clippers. Yes. They have lots of checks. When they run out of checks, they have friends who have checks. Yeah. So this is the worst. What's the best? I'm asking. What's the best case scenario for the Clippers? Have you planted a tree yet today? Fuck shit. I was in a rush coming from the hotel. We're talking a bunch of shit. You're not even playing tree. I've had enough of time. Fuck. Oh, man. Um, best case scenario. Keaton Wagler. Like burst out as a star on day one. Dearest Garland stays healthy. The two of them click. They make a run at the six feet. A lot of teams that can make a run at the six feet of every single thing goes right. Worst case scenario Wagler struggles like most rookies do. Garland, you know, Malinger's through the season with injuries again because he tends to do that. Plus bad vibes up the freaking wazoo with this team. Like there's just starting from a deficit. Carmo wise here. Hey, hold on real quick. If you're anybody, look, it was my camera right here. Trade everyone. Just trade everyone. Trade bread and ingram trade like the eye on the end to a dome trade everything. Get some picks. Do you think the vibes are bad? Obviously the vibes are bad in the organization. Obviously. Do you think that the vibes are bad on the team, though? You think in the locker room. The vibes are that bad. It's I'm glad you asked a talk. Cause like it's funny. We sometimes conflate these things, right? Like what's happening at the ownership level? Like do the blazers care about what Tom Dundin is doing? Whatever. But some of this stuff does see pin because like you have some uncertainty about is the organization actually solid right now. Sure. And like Lawrence Frank signed or traded or drafted a lot of these guys or all of them. And suddenly he suspended for six months. And now there's speculation about like, well, is he long for the organization? Cause he's the one who took all the copious notes that walked out of the side. I advise for you. I'll take notes in a criminal fucking conspiracy. Yeah. Yeah. No fucking do it. So like I think there's a possibility of a trickling down and besides that you have these koai our teammate or not. And if he does get traded, you also just have the vibes of, well, shit, the guy that we were all leaning on. Like if you're a role player, it's like, I only function if that guy's at the center of it all. So, you know, it's, it can't not affect you. Like I think it has some effect. And yeah, there's a part of me just leaves, maybe believes in karma a little too much that just like the shit that's hanging over the clippers. Like they don't deserve to be anything more than like a lottery team at this stage. I will say this has nothing to do with what we're talking about here. I do think there has been a general disregard for clippers fans. Oh, in all of this. And I know we like to joke like, aha, clippers have fans, blah, blah, blah. If you go to the end to a dome, like they have good fans, like go into a dome during a playoff game. It's a great environment. I think that them taking away these five picks in a vacuum makes sense because that's what they did initially with Glen Taylor and the wolves. I honestly wish they would have just made ballmer sell the fucking team because you are putting all these fans in a terrible position. Whereas like so what for the next decade, like we're just shit fair except that we could have a similar argument where like what were your fan of an incompetent team. Like there were decades where the clippers were just incompetent and you're suffering through it or the wizards were competent. No, I hear you, but that's that but that is that is at their own hands. You're saying you've already I've chosen to buy into this this hapless team and I'll take what comes with it versus fate has taken away now of the whole. What what I think is that if this had happened to another team that wasn't the clippers or the nets say and we accept that there is this like strong connection between the city and this franchise. I think that there would be more consideration given to those fans and then in another situation. I gotta add to that real quick say they do if bomber does sell the team the way ownership is going in the churn of ownership. There's no guarantee that they're going to get a better owner than what see bomber is good and that even the fans are even going to be fucked over even more after that. There's a chance of that as well and by and large man like I'll say what you want and everything that's usually just you need to say about bomber is probably true but like to be fair. All the people that work for him by and large we talked to their staffers fucking loved him. Yeah, got him but they got he got the end do it. Don't done. He spent the most money. Now he spent money stupidly. Yeah, but he spent money nonetheless and he was trying to win. You cannot say that for every it's a first class organization they pay their people well people like working there. They do a lot of things right. Yeah, including finding other creative means to pay their players. I just I wish there had been a little there was a little bit more thought given to some because there's just been such a pile on from people with the clippers and it's very easy to do right like the bits are all very easy. I fucking did one with the tree planting. There's so many easy jokes to make about this like front office and Balmer in particular that everybody gets pumped up to pile on and I think there is a little bit of callusness when it comes to how this is actually affecting the people that watch this. Fans have no rights fans have never had any. It's nice for us to talk about it and that's not that I don't feel any sympathy for them but like fine choose a different team at this point. I'm sorry like I just I need to have their whole lives to choose a different team. But do you think you but would you have that energy if we're talking about the Nick yes. The Lakers. Yes, dude. I wrote an entire story when the nets moved to Brooklyn. I was at the New York Times at the time. I wrote an entire story about Nick's fans who had said screw this. They let Jeremy Lin walk. He was the only thing the only happiness we had and they let him go. I'm tired of all the losing. I'm tired of Dolan whatever I'm becoming a net fan. I just more mean like if it's a one of the sexy organizations in the league right that one of these name teams that's in a big big market. I don't know. Fandom fandom involves. I like lip response because they've had to deal with a bunch of shit for forever and they've stuck by their team. Okay. All right. All right. Let's let's let's fucking go down. Also. Neater house or rules. All right. I feel good. We're going to talk about the Lakers. Now best case scenario worst case scenario. Howard mother fucking back. Best case scenario 50 plus wins. Luke is a 50 plus win machine. He could do it. Just falling out of bed. But I think they top out of the Western conference finals. It's not bad. Which is not bad at all. I think they can get there. But I don't like no team. I don't think is beating both the thunder and the spurs. And I don't I'm still I'm not entirely so the Lakers. But there's a version of them that could make it to the Western comments finals. They're my right side of the bracket team. Right. You catch them on the right side of the bracket. They avoid to maybe San Antonio or Oklahoma have like injuries and they find themselves on one side of the bracket. I'm getting to the finals and you see this is this team with Luca that's built around him is like the perfect Luca type of team. Right. Like where you have a lot of dudes. And then you have Luca just taking you home. Right. And the other thing that I like is the team chemistry vibes seem immaculate Tyler Parker. And you want to talk about the propaganda I was talking about with y'all earlier. The Laker the propaganda coming at least from the team perspective is being pretty good them going to Slovenia playing. golf everybody have it a good time it seems like they they kind of love each other and I think you if you go look back you tend to see that with Luca teams like and you tend to see that with teammates of Luca and former teammates at Luca they love playing with them and they all love like seeing him in traffic right like he has he doesn't quite have the handshakes that like the baron has with his former teammates but that's that same type of energy I think that's going to go a long way this year I'm not as high on them as y'all are I think I could I could I think you're exactly right about Luca being typically if he's fully healthy like he's an automatic 50 wins I think that's that is totally true and I think he's like one of the most sort of consistent elite performers that we have right like I think just numbers wise you can kind of set your watch by him I don't know if this is a team that is um perfectly constructed around him I think they do lack shooting I think that the Kessler edition is nice but I'm not just I like Mammu but I'm not like pumped up about the front court really I don't I think that they are still going to struggle to contain super athletic teams particularly a lot of the types of lead ball handlers they're gonna have to deal with in the west I um I'm concerned that it's just going to be another situation where everything is on Lucas shoulders with some Reeves sprinkled in yeah and it's gonna and you're just not gonna have enough news that can make shots in the playoffs like you're gonna I like Quentin Grimes but you're gonna be asking probably a lot from him is also a team that can as the candidate to regroup and trade deadline for sure for sure but yeah I mean like they they they they just use some of their pieces to get Kessler like I don't like are you gonna get a bunch of stuff for Mammu do you think like you know do you think that Kessler has the potential to remember that Timothy Mosgoth mean from back in the day where it's him holding the ball and it's like all the great centers of all the great later centers around you and the Timothy Mosgoth actually just happened and it didn't work out you think there's a potential there I don't know Kessler offensively has never like made me pumped up in the way like Mosgoth could kind of score a little bit like like I don't know Kessler it he doesn't he's a tall white dude he's a tall white little speaking of white like I as a white as a white man I'm concerned about the number of white dudes on this team listen no snow time yeah it is snow time yeah I did look man I've watched a lot of basketball my life and there's a automatic correlation between if you have more white guys the worse you are yeah yeah yeah especially like especially post integration um I I I like obviously like Luke a lot I like Reeves a lot I think that defensively they're gonna have some issues and they're gonna be asking a lot of Kessler these gonna be having to clean up a bunch of shit every game all the time this was the 20th ranked defense last season and and you can't walk her Kessler alone is not changing that and I don't think anybody else they picked up this summer like Grimes is a good three and D guy but again like this this is not like you got some like lock down defender who's gonna change the step castle and Dylan Harper are going to treat this defense I'm this is what I'm this is what I'm saying with the utmost disrespects they are going to get wherever they want at any point and I think that's going to be a case with a lot of guards Luca took the 22 maps to the western conference finals and he was coached by Jason kid and I hear you yeah Jalen Brunson I will say he had Jalen Brunson that is that age very well and then you got to the finals with Kyrie and you know like and so I'm saying you they I think they have the requisite amount of dudes and you know how much we love dudes on this program they have the requisite amount of dudes on this team who who are the dudes Cavanloony dude old dude no Cavanloony dude Cavanloony is not doing a nut come on he's okay you're right but okay how many dudes were on the on the Mavericks team that's a I mean PJ washing PJ washing sitting was talking about 22 oh the 22 team there was comparing to the team they'll make the conference finals instead of the finals because that was our that was our best case scenario for them was the conference finals oh my see what you're saying you're saying that they are the they are the 22 maps and not the 24 maps yeah that's what I'm saying I mean my my best case for them was it was like a five-seed Luca MVP Reeves is an all-star pair that's a good that's kind of where I am if you I mean Lucas a monster and he can take you to he can take you to the promised land I think it's I just think it's going to be a heavier lift than some people are acknowledging okay it's a fair point worst case scenario they lose in the first round right yeah they're making the playoffs I think that they're going to be their their floor is 60 that's a fair point Phoenix Suns I think it's just all bad vibes just all bad vibes um because I would say best case scenario you know they're like a what that's well-seed or something like that they got Miles bridges Luke canard who did help win a playoffs series last year let's not forget that that's right that's right how could we have the greatest shooter in the history of the game according to Rob Polenka Sam I mean hey hey let's wrap the liquid with the tall tales maybe still have Dylan Brooks there you know Mark Williams he was going to be out what four months for he's he's already out several he's not yeah lots of months yeah um they got go less they resign to Lesby this is good win this is I think the worst case scenario be like Devon Booker calling for a trade but I don't think he's going to do that necessarily um it's just bad in Phoenix he has like James Terrell pieces like in that house that he's built for himself I don't think he's trying to leave ever yeah leave the house or leave Phoenix maybe both I don't know that's good point yeah I don't like anything about this team I don't like the Miles Bridges acquisition you've got a bunch of guys who want the ball to like Miles Bridges wants to score Devon Booker needs to score Dylan Brooks became a very good score last year and then Jalen Green like this is just a bunch of guys who I don't think mesh easily with with others I did like this Jalen Green revenge game against the Warriors last year in the plan that was pretty cool all right when Green gets hot he's so fun to watch I mean the problem is he's just not hot enough I'll say there's enough fire power here that that a best case scenario is high plan team that then makes it as a seven or eight seed and then gets just destroyed in the first round that's that's they're they're seeing me that was mine was seven seed I the Dylan Brooks thing like he was great last year I do sometimes the one thing with him is is last year the new rule yeah or is it or was last year the exception to the rule because he was a certain type of player for his career up until last year and then now all of a sudden he's getting shots and they're going in right he still would shoot them not if not out of some games he would shoot them into some hairy predicaments as a like and almost happened to play in last year two they lost the game for them and so the so I I uh I have my eye on that with with Brooks um yeah Malwalk I don't know what to think about Malwalk I like want to be excited about him but he hasn't shown quite enough yet I want to give co-opita shout out for having maybe the cool name in the league now um and he look good and you are a resident expert on NBA player name thank you so much that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me thank you um okay let's go to depressing to just I don't even know what you want to call this the Sacramento Kings best case scenario they are the worst team in the league worst case scenario they're the worst king listen if everything goes right they could be the 14th place team in the in the west wait let's just get to a real one to talk about the bits of its acquisition you flip you pump no I think that's for you I think you got to bring Simmons and just like do you believe you got to give a cuff somebody a mentor that he can look up to they can you know really I'm just my think is this for all of the the back have a bit simmages career if you want to call it that has been summer videos of how or summer stories about oh he's turned the corner he's turned the corner why did this one stick why all of a sudden did this one stick because because they offered Russ and Russ was like nah man I'm done with this and then what's what I think Russ I think Russ with this group is actually like the leadership you can't would actually provide actually I'm going to defend the Kings on signing him on this grounds they are nowhere yeah and you might as well just take some swings sure so fine I'm not expecting much out of the Ben Simmons experience for the Kings but fine the real thing for them is like can you get anything like if you're trying to win games which I presume they are can you get anything out of like Levine and subonus those are your two most accomplished guys that are still in their most tradable assets and most tradable assets in theory Levine the contract is still an issue like I don't know what they're building toward this is only I think you're two of the new administration right so they're still trying to like take stuff apart so they're in this in between phase so yeah make a you know see what you can get out of Ben Simmons you hope the Darius A Cuff pops and and and you're hoping for better in the year 2032 amazing Maxine right not Maxine uh right now right not how ever you say it like he was a good player he's a he he was in terms of rookies especially last year like he did some stuff and I like I think that that's somebody to keep an eye on for them because I think he was he was good and it was hard to pay attention to that among all the yuck that was going on there, but I'm excited to see a cuff. Like I think that at least now they've got last year was flat out depressing because I just wouldn't even like there wasn't even enough young dudes to get excited about or anything like that. At least they've got like, a player who fans can get kind of excited about now, which is something that said, yeah, probably the worst year in the world. Do you feel sorry for King Span's Tyler Parker? You were so, you were trying for the Clipper fans. Oh my god, they got to deal with fucking Vivek. I know that this is what I'm saying. Every shitty team we could have sympathy for their fans. But the NBA didn't come in and take away. But, but that's just what happens. Like sometimes it's injury, sometimes it's malfeasance. Like something is something is incompetence. This is what I was saying to you about when the Steve bomber point that you were making, right? Where, you know, he might sort of just sell the team. There were, I mean, Vivek couldn't afford an NBA team at this particular point. It would happen, but that opens the door for Vivek like figures to own teams. And this is why owners should have a 10-year contract at the end of which they have to reapply Justice Parker. Thank you, counselor. I agree. You got anything else, man? I don't want to. We should move on. Let's go to the Dallas Mavericks. Who are doing, you know, they're doing a major reall and renovations to their roster. Kyrie Erwin is still on the roster. Is it theory or trade piece, but they tried to trade him over the summer and he did not want to be traded. And we'll see how this goes. They're still with Kyrie on the roster. They still have a smaller version of this problem, but a problem nonetheless that they had last year, which was we're trying to serve two agendas here. One, where you have Anthony Davis and Kyrie Erwin, we want to win a title and then you have Cooper Flag where you should just like build around him. I think the best case scenario here is a Cooper flag just takes another leap. And you know, maybe they get into the plan, they trade Kyrie Erwin, get some more pieces in their future. And you know, they continue to build around Cooper Flag worst case scenario. I mean, I guess Cooper Flag gets injured. But like, there's really no expectations here. It's we want us, we want to see young guys growing together. I think they're in a great position right now that Mavericks are considering the circumstances. And I think they'll be fine this year relative to the expectation. It's been 18 months since we last Kyrie Erwin on a basketball court and he's in his mid 30s. So I'm not expecting a ton. But if Kyrie looks like Kyrie, Kyrie and Cooper Flag together could be phenomenal. Derek Lively returns to form healthy. You know, the rest of those guys, Gafford, Washington, all stay healthy. Like there's the core of a team that made the finals around Luca. Like there's a best case scenario here where they're I'll put them in the category of teams that have everything breaks right? They can make a run at the six seed and lose in the first round. I'm not expecting that. I think that's a lot to ask Cooper Flag. It's a lot to ask of mid 30s Kyrie coming back from ACL. But there's a semblance of like there's there's talent there. And there's plenty of upside there. But yeah, the better option, I think is Kyrie plays just well enough to trade him for stuff to keep building around Cooper and on his timeline. Yeah. It's gonna be I think this next team has a has bad case scenario written all over it. The Houston Rockets. I think let's go with the how's that for a set of my God best case scenario. I'm in Thompson takes the leap that we've all been waiting for. Katie plays just out of his mind and defies all expectations. And then also we have one of those MAU Doka coaching seasons where it's like how the fuck is this team even in the position that they're in because it just coaches his ass off. He's resigned to Reese and and I think the worst case scenario is you know, you know, get off my dickers and just like get off my dickers and just just just just just just just finds out that get pissed off about it just like he's posting more than ever. He's just he's just Trump shit posting. He's just and then the team just tanks with from within right. I think that that's definitely played this season. Howard it is your best worst case scenario. Did not see the get off my dickers and coming. Look Fred Van Vliet is back and I think he's super important for them fundamentally spiritually and otherwise leadership wise. Like I think he's super important for them. So if Fred Van Vliet and Stephen Adams come back and I take I don't know if he's like I know that he's going to be good and I think that I think that we overrate Fred Van Vliet's addition to this team. I think that he's definitely going to be a great leader for this team. I don't think he makes them I don't think he makes them a champion which is what they're which is what they're sealing and what they want there's his first season with them. They won like 52 games, whatever. I think the same number of wins they had last season without without him, but they had to rant like and he and Durant haven't played together yet. Like he is a galvanizing force. He is important I think for the young players and considering how much time we spent last time you're talking about how this team would just melt down in the final couple minutes of a game and in fourth quarters and in playoff games. I think that less of that happens with Fred Van Vliet they're actually getting that offense organized and humming. So there's a best case scenario here where I think the rockets and Durant had a great season last year. Best case scenario I think they can make the conference finals and then lose to the spurs or thunder same same outcome as I thought for the Lakers. I don't think that there's that much difference between the what the Lakers are right now versus the rockets in a best case scenario. I think I think to make that happen I think that K.D. really has to reinvent himself as a leader. You cannot do what you did last year. You can not also underestimate just on one side of it. I've written about this on one side of this. He gives you the great stats, the gaudy stats. He defies expectations. He defies his age for that matter. He's a Hall of Fame player, one of the greatest to ever do it. But he undermines that from a team perspective with the stuff behind the scenes that we saw last year. And they still won 52 games. Yeah. And without Fred Van Vliet and without Steven Adams with that. But that season was doing embarrassment. They lost it. The way they lost kind of undermines all of that. I'm not worried about Durant in this scenario. I'm not like they've already overcome that or dealt with it and he had an outstanding season on the court. The other stuff is whatever. They still won 52 games. And they get Fred Van Vliet back. They get Steven Adams back. They added Marcus Smart. Maybe we'll see if there's another development coming from Shengoon, a man Thompson making the leap, whatever it may be. But they're still upside there. So they can make the conference finals. But there's a worst case scenario where K.D. starts to look old or gets on the burner again. Whatever else happens. A man doesn't take the leap. I think they still probably finish no worse than six and lose in the first round. But that was I like you could tell me they got they get to the foreseed and I could buy that like I I I I kind of agree with both of y'all to an extent where it's like if if we are counting on Fred Van Vliet to make us a championship team, then I do get a little worried about that. And and that Stephen Adams was so important to how things went for them offensively last year. I worry about that. That said Fred looked great the last time that we saw him. Yeah he did. And and he's the type of guy that Durant will respect and will not I don't think do that type of shit with in the same way that he did it last year. Shingoon like I'm interested to see where he's at this year because like the way the season ended for him, it wasn't a great look. And having LeBron sort of you know, maimum out in front of everyone. He basically do the like with the rest of the league felt about. Oh totally. I forgot. Yeah, not you. Anyone else on y'all's team. Everybody who wants that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's so like I think that that is that's something that's something to watch because I like it. I don't think those types of guys are that fun to play with. And I think that it kind of I think that it can because like when it's more like you stick your chest out throughout the whole game until it matters most. That's that's what frustrates everyone about Shingoon. And it's like you can get shit done on one in theoretically but like you're leaving so much on the table in the end. I know we got a little bit. They didn't even pretend to hide their disdain for him when he would do that shit. And there there was a lot of like Durant sort of loudly saying shit to Shingoon. I was there at the Warriors game when he did that when everybody in the building was like oh shit, they hate each other. And they were up like going to halftime. So that's I like I have my eye on that. I think it'll I think that that stuff will probably all work out fine in terms of Shingoon. Like offensively he's a monster. And I do think that like just by virtue of a Fred getting back they're going to be better. But yeah, I could I could see him. It wouldn't surprise me all to see them losing the first round. And if you told me that they were the seven seed because of some injuries. Durant's only getting older like it they can't afford for him to go down. No, they can't. What helps all of this though is a men Thompson taking the leap and being that too. That helps all of this that and like taking ownership of like this is my team y'all can follow me. He's he's one of my favorite players to watch in the league. I love him. I the shot is just I yeah it's Well, they're it's funny. We were just talking about this team three years ago is like this is the team of the future this you watch out for this What all of these young dudes and they might still be man like it's they these these dudes are all still young shingun still He's super young same thing with a man like these these that they have They they they they have reasons to believe that this shit's gonna get better, you know what I mean like I so I don't I don't I don't want to be I will save it down on I say you're right, but you know that the pessimist that I am it's like They are a good young team, but then as the years go by those losses and those playoffs losses and like, you know The type of coach that in the Udoca is that grinds on you right you look up You are 24, but you have like eight NBA years in you and I fear that this run is going to end up being bad for Everyone involved because of just that combustion of just every like That teams it seems like a hard team to play for because there's just so much going on around you as a player That's why I don't I'm not optimistic about them. They they're also not mentally tough We saw what happened last year in the playoffs like yes, they're a really good regular season team But dude if you can get punk like that in the in the postseason with like LeBron is great amazing, but if you're second best player who's like Luke Connard and you get punked at home Consistently that's not a good recipe for success and that's why I'm down on them all right Let's go to another team go really quickly on this one the Memphis Grizzlies. They got Cam Booser. Yeah They did get Cam Booser. I'm excited. Can confirm Sad about you. Yeah, yeah Cedric Howard. Look. Cedric Howard. Okay. Booser. Coward. Edie is a really nice new foundation to replace the old foundation of Morant, Bane, James Jackson, Jr. Like I always been a really solid and good to really good front office. Yeah, for sure But they're really young. It's incomplete. I love the Isaiah Stewart pickup to sneaky sneaky pickup over the summer A spiritual grizzly before he was ever oh for sure. Yes. Yeah, absolutely So I like what they're building that's the best case thing you can say about them right now But there there's no expectations there. So like everything goes great like they make you know Could they get to the 10th seed and lose in the play in like maybe if Booser's the real deal like sure Why not like there's such a a mishmash of teams at the bottom there why not But yeah, most likely they're in the lottery again, and they're fine with that the New Orleans Pelicans best case scenario For the New Orleans Pelicans like this is the team that like you talk about sympathy for fans Like New Orleans fans glipper fans King's I feel sorry for all of them equally. It doesn't matter circus dance For this long. I don't it's a disaster I feel so bad for both bad bro at least in LA and sack if you're gonna go see a shitty team You get to go to a nice little arena, you know golden once a great arena you get to go to Hindu and you get to like be comfortable New Orleans man Still call smoothie King it is and by the way, I love a smoothie. I love smoothie King smoothies Smoothie King arena like I mean that place should have been demolished yesterday. It's freezing How was it? How was it like 85 degrees 20 percent humidity indexes that and then you go into the arena It's fucking the reason I've never been to you you ask about like how organizations affect you and like there's various versions of this When you play for an organization that is known to be like Far from first class and in the worst building in the league easily All of that like there's just bad vibes hanging over the pelicans in general like every time I do this for the last Have her many years running and I look at the roster. I'm like I like all these players And then they're never better than the some of their parts. They're worse than the some of their parts They're worse than the some of anybody's but they they're just you don't believe in two phones Joe Do you believe in two phones Joe? Joey two phones? Joey two balls. Maybe look to do Mars I love do mars. He's like generally great dude. I've known him for a long time What they're doing the last couple years. I'm not going to try to rationalize But yeah, like there's their best case scenario is like okay. Well Zion stays healthy and like you know Derek queen and Jeremiah fears take leaps and like Dejante Murray's back. Hey cool Like try me for try Murphy the thirds like somehow an all star right, but we like try Murphy We like her Jones like we like these players and like it just it doesn't all fit. They just need to scrap the whole thing and start over And even then it's like I know oh god. I know. I'm I expect nothing of the pelicans. I think that they'll be I mean Okay, who will have a better record the kings of the pelicans? Well, I think it's like you will you got to go kings Pelicans and grizzlies to me are kind of all down there like kind of duking it out for The worst record in the West I I think the pelicans will be the worst team in the West And that's like and I'd like Derek queen and I will and I love trainer every the third Herb Jones who doesn't like him. He's missing who doesn't like him. I think the math or an ad is fun Like there's they like during polls there like how would say and like they got they they're not uh You know, they're not baron of talent. He's list. Yeah, they got stuff. Yeah, but it's just it just doesn't work It's bad to do there in New Orleans Yeah, I would like to just fold the franchise and and redistribute those guys throughout the To happier places Yeah, who okay, speaking of happier places the San Antonio Spurs the last team on the list ladies of gentlemen Best case scenario they won the championship first of many They kicked the shit out of his team on the way to that Championship Where's case scenario that gets to the final seven game series with two of our top four dudes out. That is you know, I wanted to fuck with I know you know, I wanted to fuck with um, I mean This team's it's great. Well the best case for them is championship and winby goes finals MVP regular season MVP defensive player of the year Yeah, and then Dylan Harper becomes that dude and like he's like you know what I was tired of coming off the bench last year Fuck all of you guys. I'm gonna I'm gonna etch my name into the top uh guards in the first day Dylan Harper displaced deer and fox that's what I was gonna buy by midseason It should be earlier than that. Yeah It should be early and then also it's funny your take is actually gonna be real. They should trade uh deer and fox Right you're taking like two years ago. I think it was maybe was your year Again, once again, just like your job prediction. Uh, it was not a prediction. It was just reporting He had two shots at the keel and let that out got aggregated and got the pod on track Was it only two shots maybe three shots at the keel? I know it's the morning, but it's fucked up There's no tequila here for me for this party. Maybe next maybe maybe um all start break. Do you think that they'll is there any chance that they start Harper at the beginning of the year for fox or they worry that they're going to lose fox Yeah, I think I think you don't do it yet because you know This is this is the franchise that had monogenobly and now that's different He was a different stage of his career and if and a different guy fell in it, but the right the the value of having a super good Talented dynamic guard playmaker score do everything who can come off the bench and income that second unit And who's young enough that he might still be like all right I can do this for one more year and deer and fox is like he's a really accomplished guy and he's still super talented And I don't think people should place too much on what happened against the nicks and all that in the finals like I would keep deer and fox there For as long as I could and they also by the way they're not facing like the cap issues yet that would eventually force you to flip fox like that's coming Eventually because all the young guys got to get paid, but they're not there yet So they'd luxury of being able to say fuck it. We'll keep off three of these guys The garage four guards if you want to count the selling there too, but you made though about manual if I am spurs brass I'm just like hey Deer and fox coming this room. I gotta show you something I'm gonna show you something maybe it's a room. Well, he's the mono in this scenario. Yeah. Yeah. Let me show you something Yeah, you see that right there. You see this highlight tape. I'm about to show you see what he did You see how many rings he got. Yeah, this could all be you Yeah, this could all be you and I know you probably want more of a responsibility Which you're never wherever you go. You're never gonna get an opportunity like this. Yeah fair Yeah, that's what that's what happens with that's what great front offices do Well, the thing is at the beginning of the season they're doing that sales job that that speech to Dylan Harper And then eventually like shit. We got to put this guy to starting light up Deer and Let me bring you back here for a second. They give him the same. You know, I meant to actually bring you into this room a year ago But you don't tell either of them that you gave the other guy the speech. Yeah, you just hope they don't compare notes Yeah, would that be bad, wouldn't it? Yeah, but the PowerPoint is there. It's like waiting on your laptop And you just got to say when you're deploying it into which guy exactly exactly how do you feel about this person? Are you scared to do that? Oh, of course I mean they're terrifying like what I will win b is is Also, you make me too they've also had like a great great chemistry summer as well Going to Paris this bar has yeah, but sometimes I'm like we get pumped up to say these Teams are gonna have team chemistry because I went on a fucking trip together I've got on trips with people and I have terrible chemistry with them. I like You're trying to go on a trip. Yeah, where do you want to go? Wherever let's go You didn't you didn't come with us to Stockholm. Logan. I had a great time. I know. I should have Who'd had a good bro trip in Stockholm. I would have had fun with y'all You know, it's my loss. No good. Yeah, I was you would have been the most pit with me and um power for Travis Scott Were you No, the funniest part is he was mashing And I was the one that was like y'all trying to go back to I'm like, no, we're good. I'm like we can stand on the floor. He's like, no, let's go wash He's like we got to get out of here. He was like, fuck wait see the disappointment on his base Because I was trying to beat the rush. I hope you showed up with like so much cactus jack gear And I don't even know if you can get that reference. I do not Well, okay, fuck it. We try, we try. Oh the any last words on the spurs Now they're so good and uh, you know, I really, I'm sure they'll sweep us this year I'm sure they'll go 72 and uh and whatever 72 and nine. I'm sure that'll be fine 72 and nine No, 72 and 10 excuse me. Okay. There we go. They have one game canceled due to the snow in San Antonio. There we go. Right. No, I mean they're the other unbelievable. The rest of the league should quit. You know, why are we even having this season? Okay. It's been a pleasure. It's been a pleasure hanging with you. Thank you for having me. This was so fun. You're just very periodically an extended person in the ringer universe and the real ones universe at large, Tyler mother fucking Parker. And that is Howard mother fucking back. This is going to be a wild season and we cannot wait to watch this alongside you guys talk to you soon. Real ones out. Bye. [Music]