The Doug Gottlieb ShowOn the Friday edition of The Best Of The Doug Gottlieb Show: Doug gets into the NBA Finals as he breaks down what happened in the last two games leading up to game four is Friday night.
Doug talks about the big news of the week as the PGA and LIV golf tours merged. Dan Beyer and Doug give their final thoughts on how it all went down.
NBA insider Marc Stein joins Doug to give his insight into some of the major NBA headlines off the court, and to weigh in on the NBA Finals
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug Gottlieb Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday three to five Eastern twelve two Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for The Doug Gottlieb Show at Foxsports Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR boom. What Up America Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox Sports Radio broadcast live from the tyrat dot Com studios tyrag dot com. Well you get there on matched selection pass, free shipping, free road aster protection up for ten thousand recommended sallars tyrat dot com. The way tied buying should be quick. Shout out to our good friends at am fourteen ten kgso in Wichita, we are the number one show in Wichita. My guy Doug down set us up and after four work days off, Daddy's back. What I miss? What I miss? Oh, PJ and Liv combined. Yeah, I'm sure Dan Byer had a field days. We're going out to the US Open next week. I don't know if you guys saw the head of NBC Sports just left for the Notre Dame Athletic Director job. Continue to talk about college sports conference expansion. I got some stuff for you on that. Of course, we have Dalvin Cook, who you just heard from. Dan Byer got released, and you got asinine statements from analysts who are former players, acting like running backs are somehow done wrong. What else you got? Oh, well, you got the Zion Williamson. You know it's only three undefeated teams, seventy two Dolphins, Father Time and yep that one too. And then we got the NBA Finals, which will get back underway tonight. If you follow me on IG at Gottlieb Show, it's so interesting, Chase. Do you didn't know I was in Montana until yesterday?
No?
I didn't know you were in Montana until you sent out a picture of you and your son on horseback. So what was that Tuesday?
That was Tuesday? That was Wednesday? What days? What days? To day's Fridays? That was Wednesday?
Just to give the listeners a little looxie and what Doug Gottlieb's like. Like most people would be like, hey man, can't wait for this, I'm going to Montana a week out. But the only way we found out as a crew was when you text or tweeted out a picture of you on horseback.
Well, okay, so full disclosure, full disclosure, Okay, I was we were my son and I were set to take to spend a week together and we were going to we played in the tournament this past weekend, and we were going to head to Oklahoma. He was going to see his grandparents and being a basketball camp and then we're going to play this weekend in Wichita with my college roommate teammate Rodney Sooters team the the Oklahoma Pacers. So anyway, and I have a really close friend of mine who's got a place in Montana, and we were supposed to, like, we were supposed to do a camp in Oklahoma and it's not gonna be until next week because my Buddyho's running the camp, Sun is playing for Team USA in Mexico. So I was like, hey, let's call it audible. We've been talking about going and doing some doing a bro trip for a while. So we flew into Montana on Monday and we just hung out and we did We went on a trail ride, we did whitewater rafting, we did ziplining. The place where we stayed has this cool like actual basketball gym and like workout, So we lifted every day and worked on his game a little bit every day. We watched movies every night. It was just it was an awesome kind of father's son sort of turn off our phones for a little bit and hang out together trip, right. I mean, he's going in eighth grade, like these things, he's going away to summer camp. These these times don't happen that off. And I wasn't going to take as much time as I took off. But our boss, the benevolent dictator that he is, kind of mandate, is like, no, dude, take that extra time and have some time with your kids. So I appreciate that because it was awesome. I wanted to talk sports, but I did. I mean, if you'll notice the volume of tweets that I was without my phone for huge portions of the day. It was so free. It's really free. But it is one of those things. And I don't know if you guys have ever been to a place where you're you're it's my friend has a house up there, and he's like, man, I could live up there, and you're, you know, after a couple of days, like I could live up here too. On the other hand, you start to like, Okay, this is kind of fantasy land. It's not like that really living somewhere. I do think Montana is awesome, awesome in every sense of way. It is beautiful. The weather wasn't great when we were there, but that made it even better because it just gave us an excuse to sit around. And then at night we were out stargazing and looking up and like you, you forget how beautiful the stars are when you live in southern California and where I live, you can see some of the stars, but I mean they are e're up where we were. We were up like seven to eight thousand feet. You can see everything completely bright, bold, clear. It's amazing, amazing. So next week the US So what I mean, what we miss we missed. I mean Game two didn't get a chance to react. Game three we did. Here's the thing, Game two and I this is why I hate picking number of games in a series. I think the Nuggets are better. I thought it's five. From the standpoint of I thought the Heat could win a game. I thought it would be one at home. And the way in which a team the reason that the reason that the Princeton style of the Princeton offense was created right, was so that inferior teams or inferior athletically talented teams couldn't Pete with superior athletically talented teams Like that's the the working model of Pete Carill is not just in terms of teaching you how to play basketball and spacing whatever, but it's a style design to where you don't have to dribble much if you get pressured and overplayed. Their set back doors and back cuts which takes some of the pressure off you. And it's designed around a three point shot, which is the Okman equalizer. Well, look back at how Miami won Game two, and again I'm not being critical. I know Buyer, I know you guest hosted. I appreciate, I know Mike Harmon and those guys. I know that we had several different people in and I know yesterday I think you guys had olden poloniesin Who's Who's Awesome? And so I don't I'm I really did disconnect. I'm not going to go over old topics. I will point out though, that in Game two, that's the classic underdog team finding a way to win. How do you find a way to win when you when you're not as good, you want to play at a slower pace or a different pace than the more talented team wants to play at. Right, what happened. That's why Syracuse, when they've been good, why at times they get upset in the tournament because teams, when you play against the zone, you can the offense can set the pace and it's usually slower. That game was played, Denver had eighty six possessions. They liked ninety five to one hundred possessions in a game. And howd Miami score? They made seventeen to thirty five three point shots. And then you factor in the ultimate outlier the fourth quarter. They scored thirty six points on nineteen possessions. That's the best quarter either team's had in over two years. Then unbelievable start to the fourth quarter. They had a ton of threes, and they slowed the pace of the game, which frustrated, frustrated the Nuggets, and they end up pulling off the upset, and the Nuggets still nearly tied the game on a step back three from Jamal Murray. Right, you get back to the normal pace and the Nuggets figure out the zone, and I mean the only thing keeping that game from being a twenty five point game is Nuggets got a little tight late and a little lazy late and allowed Miami to kind of hang around and hang around and actually make it somewhat of a game late in the fourth quarter. That leads us up to tonight. You got Game four, which if the Nuggets win, it feels like the death knell. Here's Jimmy Butler on his prediction and anything.
I continue to be who I am.
We will continue to be who we are as a group, as a team. We're gonna compete together, We're gonna win together.
We're gonna be who we are. Here's Eric Spolstra on his team's challenges in the series.
The more experience you have, the more perspective you have about how difficult this really is. These are extremely difficult challenges, and you know, you end up being even more grateful when you get to this level. It should be what it is. It's the highest level of competition, and our guys thrive in that they love it now, even after games like last night, our guys love to compete and put it all out there.
Here's Mike Malone on his defense of Jokic's defense.
When you look at Nicole as so many people just use an eye test to debate whether he's a good defender or not, and that is just almost unjust if you will, because you have to get past the eye test, you have to look at all the things that he does. He has great awareness, great IQ, great anticipation, tremendous hands. So he's doing a lot for us to get to this stage in the finals and then for us to have a great defensive performance. Last night, his fingerprints were all over that game. So is he going to go above the rim and block a shout or pin something to the backboard. He's not going to do that, and stop expecting to do that. But if you really know what you're looking at, which a lot of people don't, you take a real sense of Okay, this guy is a good defensive player, and he's doing it with an IQ and an awareness that a lot of people just don't have.
Well, I would agree with that. He's got unbelievable hands. He's not knack for shot blocking. He is not the classic any thing. But man is he fun to watch? Man is he fun to watch? Buyer? If you don't mind, I know you're working really hard and you've been filling in, and of course we're getting ready for the US Open, and you are our golf guy. But I'm just I'm just wondering, like, did you did you say it was over after game three? What was your kind of takeaway watching three?
I thought that the heat looked like an eight seed, And that's kind of what you have to remember in all of this. For as great as the run has been for Miami with really just Jimmy Butler and bam Adebayo providing anything for that team. I know Caleb Martin Spenhill, but it was more of the heat sort of aspect from it, like Djokovic is going to get his numbers and Murray was going to get his numbers. And I was more impressed with Christian Brown's performance because that is that's all that Denver just needs. They needed him, they need Ksep, they need they haven't gotten it from Michael porterg and your but just those guys. Somebody to step up. Aaron Gordon was solid and they should be all right. As long as Miami doesn't play out of their minds, the Denver should be all right. And that's the sense that I got. I know, like the numbers were historic. In game three, I just I just looked at what Brown did and really what Miami didn't do that maybe this Cinderella run has come to an end.
I think there's a lot of truth, a lot of truth in that one, a lot of truth in it. Jay stew was your takeaway after game three?
Game three? What was my takeaway that Braun is pronounced brown? Yes, that was my takeaway. And then I was told by Aaron Torres that, oh man, that's something they've been talking about. The college, the college guys, the inner circle college guys knew that years ago.
So this guy under yeah, Jason's yeah, was that was that you're annoying?
Did you guys do it? You're annoying yesterday? No? No, I just kind of why why do we not do that in the pod? Why why are we doing your annoying? And you didn't bring up that Braun is brown.
That's a good point.
I think is his dad or is one side of the family is all Mazou people all went to Miszoo like crazy Missou alums. And then obviously he went to Kansas, and I think half his family went to Kure. There are tribals. And then his mom was the one that Bill self was like super friendly towards Them's there's nothing there or whatever. But his mom is very attractive, and I think the dad's a surgeon. I want to say, like, but that dude, he was awesome in game three. Was he was out of his mind. But that's what he does, like he's just a rim attacker, and he was. He went right at Jimmy Butler a couple times. Anyway, what else were you getting to?
I'm sorry, no, that was it. I didn't have any distinct reads on the game. But I did look at the schedule for the first time. Why are these games so spread out? If we get to game seven, it's going to end sometime in July. They have three days between today's game and Monday's game, right, and then they don't again until Thursday. Do you remember it being this this drawn out? Yes, I don't recall this anyways. That annoys me.
It's already set up. I mean, it's set up for TV. It's interesting that they play Monday and not Sunday. I would thought Sunday was the big ratings day by any you want a hypotheses on any of that. Why it's Monday not Sunday.
I know they used to try to avoid Fridays, and so you would have this weird schedule where you would go Thursday to day Sunday, Yeah, then Sunday Tuesday Thursday, and then you would then they would jump to a Sunday again.
That's how it would set up.
I don't know if they just kind of have said, like who cares, or if there is a Game seven they wanted to fall on that Sunday, but it would normally anyway. I think it's just to give the teams two days rest instead of just one, which between games three and four are the only times that we're going to get this short rest. So I think it's I think it's just to try to give them the maximum amount of rest and still have it end on a Game seven on a Sunday night.
Did you watch the whole thing or did you turn it off when it was When it was twenty.
I headed on, you know, so I just let it play out to the end. I can't say that I was locked in, but I mean it was a game the Nuggets. Here's the thing with Denver, and I'll say this there. Their ability to separate in the third quarter was like, Okay, there's something here, but we saw how many times have they blown fourth quarter leads. So you're sitting there getting locked in. Even if Miami hits a couple of shots with five minutes to go, three minutes to go, you were like, Okay, Denver could blow this. Yeah, absolutely, And then there was you know, like turnover under the basket. So yeah, so they tried.
They tried to make it sort of close there, and you're like, oh, they gonna They're gonna let this thing be a game. Miss some free throws as well. Yeah, I was. I was watching for the same thing. They will. They'll make it hard and your heart if you're a Nuggets fan. I'm not sure how many hardcore Nuggets fans there are. There's lots of other funny stuff in terms of people's coverage of Jokic not understanding what they're seeing and how special it is what they're seeing. We'll get to some of that.
This is the best of the Dog Dot Leaf Show on Fox Sports Radio.
What Up with You? Doug gott Leap Show, Fox Sports Radio. I'm always interesting in the Ti Ti Ti Ti Ti timing Man. We had lots to talk about with the Ti TI timing. We're broadcast a love from the tyright dot com studios tyriight dot com. We'll we get there. Unmatch selection, fast free shipping, free road as protection. Over ten thousand recommend stallars direct dot com the way tire buying should be. Boy, there's been a lot in the world of golf, a lot. And uh, I'm I just I Every day that I work and we have Dan with us, my respect for him grows because, in addition to being having his own show, doing his own podcast, I Want Your Flex, he is at at his core, like his favorite personal recreational sport is golf, and the dude knows a ton about it. Matter of fact, for people who don't know, we're going to the US Open next Thursday, right, and all of that is all that is Dan, Right, Dan just knows everybody, Hey, getting it all set up, getting it all lined up. And so immediately when I turned and looked at my phone, was it two days ago?
Right?
Two days ago? When I saw I woke up and live in the PGA were merging, I was like, waits excuse me? The half fields of the McCoy's. This is Romeo and Juliet instead of both perishing with suicide. They're actually getting married out in the open. That's what it felt like. And we're doing this thing, which I understand because I lived through it, and those of us who truly lived through it. If you were I think you had to be probably over the age of eighteen. If you're over the age of eighteen in two thousand and one, your perspective on this is completely different than anybody who did not. Nine to eleven is, without any question, the scariest moment as an American in regards to the safety of and future of our country. We were under attack and we were I mean, look, we went to a war on what I think anyone would deem false pretenses, But the reality was we went to work because we were pissed, and anybody who we thought was against us, we were just gonna We're just we're just pissed. And we didn't necessarily get all of the right people, but we got a lot of the right people. And of course the Saudis for the most part escaped any sortstitution or prostitution right, and so when the Saudis are behind the live tour, we trot out the idea of the nine to eleven families, and that was the PGA's you know, that's the PGA sweet spot over the past year, where hey, this is what you're this is what you're saying to these families that you don't care about them. Instead you care about golfing about money. Here's PGA policy member policy board member Jimmy Dunn, who is one of the architects of the merger. He said this about the live PGA merger and how the nine to eleven families have reacted.
And let's be specific, Okay, I'm not in love every day. The first thing I think about is that. Several times during the day, I think about it, and the last thing I think about at night is that that has not changed since that day. And I'm not alone in that. I would guarantee that every one of those family members has that same condition. It is just a reality of how unbelievably sad and awful that day was. I understand that, and I am quite certain, and I have had conversations with a lot of very knowledgeable people that the people I'm dealing with had nothing to do with it. And if someone can find someone that unequivocally was involved with it, I'll kill them myself. We don't have to wait.
A round.
Byron Again, I apologize I spent time away from the radio and didn't listen. What are your thoughts on the merger and how it relates to the nine to eleven family.
I felt that the PGA A Tour used the families to strengthen their argument when really they only just cared about their bottom line in keeping the competition away from them. I do believe that there are people out there. You know Brandal Chamblie, who I think is a great analyst, there are people that don't like his opinions.
That's fine.
I believe he has bothered where this money is coming from. I think that is a real deal. I believe that people are bothered that there's any connection to the Saudis with this money. I don't think that the PGA Tour had ever felt that way, and I felt that they used the nine to eleven families and you know, the families of those victims to try to dissuade people and slander the players that left because of their bottom line, not because they cared about the victims of the families.
And I think that's fair. I think a little bit of this is like the we do this with the start time of sporting events. We always do what about the kids? You know, what about the kids? When no one's actually ever really cared about the kids, right, they just care about the bottom line. Obviously, this is a this is a far uh uh, far more troubling thing in regards to the Saudist. But like, again, this is what we This is the excuses that we make to make more money. Right, the excuses that we make to make more money. It's no different, right obviously nine to eleven and the effect it had on those families and on our country are gigantic and far wider reaching and more important than conference affiliation. But to say, we hear the exactly the same thing with conferences, like well, like USC and UCLA. Really you're gonna leave the Pac ten to go play in the Big Ten? Like dude, what about cal? What about your rivalry with Arizona? What about like these schools? You can be Oklahoma doing it, you know, leaving Oklahoma State, your sister, your school, and like wow, but we make a lot more money. Like that doesn't mean it's the right thing, But that's where we are in sports, and and virtue was supposed to still exist. And maybe this is me having a romantic view of it of it, but on some level, virtue was supposed to still exist and it just does not. Right, It absolutely does not still exist in sports, and this is the perfect example of it. And to me, it's far that's that's a far greater crime. If you will then uh, then you know the fact that Rory or Tiger didn't make one hundreds of millions more dollars, that's just that that's just business, right, that's the you had a chance to collect a big paycheck and you did not. And but that's also something that we're teaching, is that loyalty means nothing. Now I I I truly believe that one of the reasons this happened, And Dan, you can tell me if I'm way off. I don't think golf was in especially good shape. And I think that the Saudis and Live I think that was you know, it's a money loser in that they but they just wanted to kind of shake up, shake up the sport if they could, and it was a good one to shake up and a good time to shake it up, and they caught it at the right moment. But I actually think this probably really helps golf, reinvigorates golf, because look, golf post Tiger is not going to be great. I'm just warning you. And how do I know this because I have twenty years of post Michael Jordan and like Lebron and Steph kind of resurrected it, but it still has never really been the same, and especially those ten years after Michael Jordan first walked away, that was when it was really really bad. So I'm just gonna be completely candid. I think it helps golf, but golf is not in some stirling great place. Is that Dan? Is that fair?
Or I actually think we've been in the post Tiger era for a while just because of how limited we've seen him, And I think that golf is okay and for people to realize that it's never going to reach the heights that it did with Tiger, at least in the near future, it's understandable, like he is, you know, to talk about generational least more than generational the effect that we've had. We've talked about this on the show. But I will also say this what the film Michelson, I think comes out looking the best in all of this in saying see I told you the problem that the PGA Tour had, and I think part of this is well, obviously a lot of it's doe to Live is they had a tough time figuring out how they were going to pay everybody with these higher purses, with these designated events, and the sponsorship maybe wasn't there, while Live at the same troubles of their stuff didn't take off, maybe as much as they thought that they were going to, and maybe the PIA wanted more of a return, So that marriage happened because the PGA Tour was forced to try to compete with Live and now they may have been out of their pockets. Also, Saudas didn't want to testify because some court rulings went against them. Honestly, Doug, right now we don't know what the new PGA Tour is going to look like. We find out new stuff every single day. The reason why the PGA Tour, though, I think, did this deal is because now there is no competition, Live is likely to go away and this solves some of their financial problems that they may have had that were brought on by the creation of Lives. It's very very strange, and not a lot of people really know what the future of golf is even going to look like we just know that the PGA Tour will be around now with the backing of this financial partnership.
That's fair.
That is fair sounds like a lot of word mumble jumble, like I'm myself talking, But.
Honestly it doesn't, Dan, I I actually agree with you. There's there's a lot of unknown and I think that Monahan came out looking a lot better when you see that he's in charge of both. But it's what he does with that power that's going to be interesting, right, Because if he's in charge of the live tour and the PGA Tour and he really wants to make it up to the guys that stayed loyal to the tour, well then he's gonna have to figure out some way to do so. Yes, right, And and is he gonna find those players or is he gonna make this out he's pay those those guys that they made offers too. How is he going to do that? Because like, look, there's a world where those guys are like, hey, I'm not playing, I'll just play and I'll just I'll do my own kind of live thing. And there's there's a couple of them that do have that power. I'm just I'm fascinated by what he does because it does feel like a better deal for the PGA then you first felt. You first felt like, well, they're just trying to hide any sort of documents and disclosures and just they're just selling out. It does feel like a really good financial deal and a power move by Monahan where he's going to be. But what does he do with that? That's my that's my question.
I think that you know, the initial reaction was that, you know, Rory McElroy got screwed and that uh, J Monahan was tiger as well. J Monahan was an absolute backstabber. Hearing Rory's comments on Wednesday, he you know, felt like a scapegoat. Sure, but it didn't seem like there was an end all relationship with Jay Monaghan, despite the tensions in the player meeting that they had on Tuesday when this was all announced. And again, this is so new. There are going to be casualties in the golf world of this, and it may be the lesser players. But you know, the argument is is the PGA Tour isn't you know, built on the shoulders of the lesser players. As much as you want to believe that it is. It's built on the best and the stars, and now it's able to continue because you're getting a couple of those guys back. It's not everyone. I didn't think it was tons of guys that you know, left for Live that really moved the needle. But Cam's Smith and Brooks kept could do and it looks like that they're going to be heading back.
Okay, so I guess here's the question is is there a statute of limitations on nine to eleven with the Saudia's Like, well, you know, these people aren't direct and it's fair to say nobody had direct connections, but we can also be honest and that you can probably make one or two degrees of separation between it and find a way. Right, there's the thought that this is where money came money and support came from. Or they can act like they're Switzerland but they're really not. Like to you, is there a statute of limitations on hey, we can take Saudi money now, because there's been enough time between nine to eleven and twenty twenty.
Three, it's difficult for me to say, so I would say probably no, because I just feel like, if you feel that way twenty years, thirty years, forty years, doesn't doesn't change your feelings. You either feel like you should do business or you should And so that's where we are twenty you know, approaching twenty two years after the fact. So I don't think that there is because I just think that you either accept it or you never will accept it.
What do you think they're chase two? Oh?
Man, this is so nuanced and complicated. You know me, I don't really get into the weeds of this stuff, but I did like the theater that played out this week. I liked that very uncomfortable exchange with the Golf Channel and the PGA commissioner where I think Monahan is at his name or yes, he was just stumbling to come up with an answer for the nine to eleven families. And then you know, just seeing how it's played out with the players. People players step in in it, not really trained in pr I mean, this is a very sensitive thing, and maybe less is more in this situation. I keep your mouth shut until we get through this, But I do agree that once we get through this, an initial fog of you know, everybody calling everyone a hypocrite and everyone's a jerk. And then I think after everything subsides, it seems like the sport will be healthier. I know that's kind of the lazy take, but that's that's mine.
No, I think so too. We'll we'll all kind of quickly forgets. There's a lot of conference expansion to it. The one thing about it that's interesting is, you know, nine to eleven obviously has direct connections not just to our country history and our safety, et cetera, but there's also like, look, a good portion of the number of people who died died in the world trade. It was a financial hub and headquarters, and the financial sector where is a gigantic supporter of golf. Right, it just is like there's there are direct It's not out of left field as much as most connections to the Saudis and to nine to eleven would be more out of left field and more searching. Right, Like, there's there's so many different financial entities that were affected and still affected to this day, so there's more of a connection. But I also think that I'm only going to disagree with Dan from this perspective is that the numbers are just not good without Tiger involved it and maybe this is more feelings than facts, okay, because Dan will have more facts I do. It is a feeling like you're still we're kind of searching for is there any reason to watch on a Sunday right and not liking Brooks the guy, but appreciating how good he was or has been at times in Masters or in majors. Is I guess sort of something? But there hasn't been a guy or a couple of guys or rivalry to bring us to TV sets with Tiger kind of writing off some sort into the sunset and that's going to be really interesting that this does provide the financial stability for several years to come, but it doesn't necessarily change the fact that golf is not as mainstream as it was. It seems to be going back to being the elitist sport. It always used to be, all right that those are my thoughts. Give me yours at Gottlieb Show Twitter, at Gottlieb Show Instagram, Doug Gottlieb Show fan page on Facebook.
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Draft Kings Sportsbook is the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook at today used to go gotlib for special offer when you sign up. Let's go gottlib only a DraftKings sportsbook. Let's keep the discussion going about the NBA. A lot of stuff going on off of the court, but there's also the NBA Finals. Mark Stein is the NBA correspondent for Substack. Check out the newest podcast available on the iHeartRadio app wherever you download podcast Chris Haynes Mark Stein is called This League Uncut. It dishes on the biggest NBA topics, rumblings beyond just what Mark and Chris Haynes report on social media, with candor and opinions. Again, it's called This League Uncut. Mark Stein joins us now on the Doug Gotlib Show on Fox Sports Radio. Give me your biggest takeaway from Game three.
Mark, you just got to tip your hat I think to how good Jokich and Murray were. You know, we have to really consider is this the best duo in the league. You wouldn't have said that during the regular season, but Jamal Murray, he's just he hates When we discussed it he hates when we frame it like this, but you know, he's averaging twenty seven a game in these playoffs and his career scoring averages is only seventeen in the regular season. Now, obviously some of that is the injury that cost him a whole season, knocked him out for a whole year, and the recovery from that, but I mean, he has gone to a different stratusphere in these playoffs. And look, Denver was facing the first reality it had faced in this postseason, because if you go down to one, it just reignites all the doubts that the Nuggets faced going into the playoffs. So just that was to me just a really you know, we talked so much about Miami's toughness, and that was just a very feely Game three performance from a team that you know, this is their first time on this stage and they continue to impress.
Help me out with this, And I don't know if people have heard this. The Nuggets are making a trade with the Oklahoma City thunder Wall. The finals are going on, but to help position them for the future. How is this all working?
Well?
How does it all work together?
The reason it can work because you're you know, you're you're typically not allowed to make trades until the off season starts, and obviously Denver's off season hasn't started. But this is a shuffling of draft picks. It doesn't involve any current players. So that's why the Nuggets are. The Nuggets are able to agree to it now. And look, it's a it's a deal that in the short term brings them draft picks. Quicker, they're giving up a twenty twenty nine first that obviously Oklahoma City's valuing that for it's down the line future. But when you have an expensive team, and you know, especially you know, I think every time I visit with you now we talk about the new CBA, just the challenges that it's going to put on. You really got to get your main two guys absolutely right. You have to lock in a duo that you really believe in because the expenses that the salaries that a top two usually commands, it's going to take up so much of your salary caps. A. Denver still has Michael Porter Junior on the books as well at a significant number. So the idea of getting multiple swings in this draft, in the draft and possibly finding more players, I mean a Christian Brown is huge for them to have a rookie on a rookie scale deal who can contribute in the finals the way Brown played in Game three. That's priceless. When you're a good team, when you're a team that's spending a lot of money on your main pieces, you really have to nail the draft and the minimum signing, you know, finding a guy like Bruce Brown. I mean, Denver's going to have a heck of a time trying to keep Bruce Brown, but he might well be a key piece to a championship before he departs. I mean, he's to get more in free agency than they can afford to pay him to stay most likely.
Okay, that lends me to a couple questions I gain. The first thing is it feels like again and you know a lot more about this. By the ways, the podcast is called This League Downloaded, A must listen. It's awesome Chris Haynes and Mark Stein. Mark Stein joined us right now in the Doug Gatleib Show on Fox Sports Radio. So it feels like the philosophy is kind of like the Kansas City Chiefs right where you load up on mahomes and a couple of the pieces, and then you just got to hit in the draft because draft guys don't make nearly the same amount of money, right, so you have instead of doing the getting the old guys that everybody has tried to do with championship teams, right where you fill out your you get a couple of stars, You fill out your roster with guys just trying to win a championship. They're gonna try and do it by getting a bunch of young guys maybe to get them through the regular season, hoping one can hit for them in the postseason. Is that fair?
Yeah? Well, I think really what it is is for so long the conversation in the NBA has been can you put a big three together? Can we get three stars together? But now really, because the penalties for teams that spend the most are going to be so restrictive. If you cross into second apron territory, which means if you go seventeen point five million past the luxury line, you just lose the ability to, you know, make trades the same way you can't do buyout signings. You're gonna your draft picks get locked like it just all your roster building tools get taken away and So that's why it's not even just the draft is hugely important. Your minimum signings are hugely important, but I think just as important, you have to have a twosome that really works and that you know can work. And that's why it seemed like Boston, for example, has to ask itself some hard questions because Jalen Brown this summer is going to be eligible for a five year deal worth nearly three hundred million, and the summer after that paid them eligible for the same thing. And if you go with those two guys, if you give them those max deals, Boston's not going to be able to have the depth around those two that they had this year, and they didn't win when they were deep. So that's why I think in the short term Boston ends up keeping both to give them more time, because again, two way wings are so valuable in today's NBA. I think they're going to give that duo more chances to try to finally breakthrough and win that first championship. But you know, it is a question that Boston does have to ask itself this offseason. Is that the road we really want to go down, or is it better to trade Dalen Brown and break What would be a massive contract into two or three pieces that maybe give Jason Tatum more help around them.
Chris Haynes, he was on with Dan Patrick and obviously being a northern California guy having a great relationship with Dame, he laid out the potential draft places that if Dame got Damian Lillard got to the point where he wanted to be traded, where he would go. Whenever you get to potential places and hyper you know, and hypotheticals, especially with the guy as connected to a player as Chris is to Damian Lillard, should we read that this is going to happen or is it still in the hypothetical stages?
Yeah, I actually didn't read it that way at all. And when you know, Dame, I think yesterday kind of went on and did his own live stream. He did an interview earlier this week with Showtime that got everybody talking and it lasered in on the heat and the nets. But I think when Dame elaborated on it, he said that, you know, that's the key parts of that interview were not shown and his whole answer was not given because Dame himself continues to say he said it again yesterday that he thinks he will still be in Portland when next season starts, and where we are now basically approaching mid June, I would still agree with that. Now it's what happens on draft night may change that scenario because you games made it clear that you know he wants more win now talent around him. So Portland just makes the picket number three and drafts a young player, drafts the fast food Henderson. Then that might signal that, Okay, now they really are going to start looking game trade. But I know, I think it's just too I think people are getting ahead of themselves. Really, we it's still not clear what ass Portland's going to go down.
The Wizards are going to go through what we're told is a complete rebuild. Does that mean brad Beale can be at Well?
The tricky part there is, remember Bradley Beal has the only no trade clause in the NBA, the only full no trade clause in the whole league. So he's not going anywhere unless he can sent to a trade. But I think the mess thing. I think what you're hearing is Michael Winger, who's their new president of asketball operations. By all accounts, he's been kind of given the clearance to if that's the past, he chooses, if he thinks that's the best direction for the Wizards to go, that he can look at trading Beal. You know, Chris Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma could be free agents, and it's just you know, under the previous regime, all the thought was that Porzingis and le Kuzma we're going to get contract extensions. And now I think everything's on the table. They're looking at all the options and who knows, maybe Beal, maybe they find a deal that they like. You know, Bradley Beal has a massive contract. It's two hundred and fifty mills. He's only one only completed one, you know, one year of a five year, two hundred and fifty million dollar deal. So you know they're going to have, I if trading deal is their preferred option, they're going to have to find a team that Beal wants to go to. But yeah, I mean, I think I think we at least have to monitor that monitor that possibility now. Whereas before, I think the indication or I think around the league, most people would have felt that Washington was going to kind of keep their core together.
Chris Paul is being released, right, but there's there's a lot of speculation about his future. What's what's the most likely fit for him?
Well, that getting released is the most likely out come. First, the Suns will probably try to trade him because Chris as a really.
Okay, don't worry. We got a little bad connection there with with with Mark Steinwer to call him back. So Doug Gottlieb show here on Fox Sports Radio, this is the It always happens right right in the in the in the meat of the like the biggest name, most important, probably should have led with Chris lets should have led with Chris Paul. Okay, you were saying, Chris Paul has a I think you were going to say, a contract that is uh is pretty easy to take on.
Is that what you're going to say, Well, it's just the way it's structured. If they waive him by June twenty eighth, the Suns are only on the hook for fifteen point eight millions of the thirty point eight million that they would owe him next season if they let that date pass and picked up the contract, So that theoretically that kind of contract structure could appeal to another team. They could try to trade Chris Paul to a team that would send the Suns multiple pieces, and then that team waves Chris Paul. But I think the expectation is and the you know, the guts of what Chris reported are, if the Sun do not find a trade for Chris Paul between now in June twenty eighth, They're going to wave him, and that to take one of two forms. They could wave and stretch him, which means the money they owe him is spread out over years and it gives them the full mid level to go out this summer and you know, try to find replacement. But in that scenario, the Suns cannot resign Chris Paul. If they just wave him outright, they have less free agent money to spend, but they could theoretically resign Chris Paul on a minimum deal. My feeling, my read is, if you know, if they wave him, I just think Chris Paul is going to play the field. I think he's more likely to look around see what's out there than re sign with the Suns who just waived him. I can't imagine, knowing as competitive as Chris is, I can't imagine he would love that scenario.
Listen, I agree with you. I guess the question is does the league think or do those top teams think he can be a starter on the championship team. I know he wants to win a championship, but can he realistically be a starter encountered on on a championship team.
I would put it like this, if he paid his full thirty twenty eight million next season, you would have doubts because he's thirty eight and he keeps sustaining injuries. But if you go to the free agent market and you're only paying him a mid level deal or left, he's going to have multiple suitors, and you start with the two teams in LA. I'm sure the Lakers and the Clippers would have interest in Chris Paul if he's suddenly a free agent.
So it's.
Based, you know, based on we'll be able to make that judgment easier when we see if he's a free agent or if he were still on that more expensive deal.
Last thing, some of the Zion Williamson's personal situation has been aired on social media. There's been a lot of talk about John Morant, but is there what's the level of concern for Zion Williamson in New Orleans?
Look, I gotta be POSSI I've all the way I've always approached it is. I don't touch that kind of stuff with a thousand foot poles until it affects someone's on court situation. And right now, it's just a bunch of social media noise. And I understand that people want to talk about it or pay attention to it or whatever.
But but but listen, respectfully, I agree with you, right, is his personal stuff. I gotta get nothing to do with it. But when you factor it in with the weight issues and the inability to stay healthy, it paints the picture differently than job, but of a guy who he's got to mature, right, he's got to get his in order, like he. I agree with you, But isn't it potentially taken away from him instead of being hyper focused on his body and on getting back on the floor.
All that would be true whether or not this social media stuff was out there, which again, is all this social media noise even true? I mean, that's that's another reason why, like, I just don't think it's right to really get into it. I mean, is it real? You know? I mean again, it's it's certainly I'm sure the Pelicans are monitoring it, paying attention to it. But the discussion about getting in better conditions, you know, that's a priority, no matter what. I mean, you know, he he, you know, the injuries have been such that I mean, you know, Charles Barkley says it as loudly as anyone, And I think Charles has a platform to say it as loudly and as credibly as anyone because he faced similar issues when he played. So when when he says it, I mean, I think that, you know, the ion really should be listening. But the other stuff like it's to me, it's it's just you know, I don't think it's not even verified yet, So that's why I'm just saying it's not it's not something I'm focused on covering at this point.
Totally fair. That's Mark Stein, of course, he's an NBA correspondent for Substack. And by the way, if you're gonna download an NBA podcast, this is the one. It's called This League uncutt He and Chris Haynes. Everything going on inside the NBA that you wish you knew more about, they got for you. Mark, Thanks so much for joining us. We'll talk to you very soon.
All right, there'd be good,
