Transcript of The Big Suey: Phoenix's Roads

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Welcome to the Big Sui, presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan Lebitard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not going to apologize for that.

In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging.

I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys? I've done it.

And now, here's the marching band to nowhere, The Face and the Habitual Liar.

This episode of the Dan Lebitard Show is presented by DraftKings. Draftkings, the Crown is yours.

Wow, I think you're so cute, huh? In your glasses.

I do. I was already called cute today.

All right, very good. Mike, what's coming up with Pablo today? Pablo's got a lot going on, yeah.

So Pablo, as you know, has made news around the world over his Kauai Investigations. And today, live from MIT Sloan, which Pablo has got to be a rock star there, he's going to be doing a live edition of Pablo Torre Finds Out. I've been told that this one is going to be a spicy meatball.

Is he going to reveal something in front of a live audience?

In front of a live audience, and he's going to reveal something in front of Amin and David Samson for the first time. You're going to get a live reaction Show today at 5: 30. It is streaming on the Levitard Show YouTube page. If you're watching us right now on YouTube, that is youtube. Com/@lebitardshow, and it's also streaming live on Pablo Torre Finds Out YouTube. So that'll be live. That'll be today. And since it's in front of a live MIT Sloan audience, I assume you're going to hear gasp. Yeah, you're going to hear people going...

Thank you to the academy. Is there anything more gutless than after this NBA the season ends is when Adam Silver is then going to lay down whatever punishment on Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers? That just coincidentally, the season's over and now we could do the punishment.

Another interesting layer to this edition of Pablo Torre finds out is, I've been told Adam Silver is also at MIT Sloan.

Oh, that's awesome.

I'm not ready.

That's awesome. That's a spicy pizza ball.

Who make it a salad?

It's before Adam Silver speaks, yes?

You should lay out for Trissa, Dave.

I'm sorry, Dave.

I'm going to write that one down.

I'm sorry. I didn't see. Well, Tony's a little late there. He's all over the place this morning.

A little late. I got to keep my eyes in two places. I'm not a chameleon.

No, you don't. You have to look forward. You don't get to turn around today. Exactly right.

I can't even look over.

We can all agree it's Jeremy's fault.

Yep.

Go ahead, Trista.

I just wanted to say.

Let's go ahead, Trista.

Trista. Listen to the Football America free agency Primer with JD Bunkus, Carmen- All right, Trista, go I'm sorry.

He's not going to shut up. Anyway, has Adam Silver spoken at MIT yet? Is this a set up for Adam to have to respond?

I think Adam has a morning- Important detail. A morning speaking engagement, and then one, I think, later in the evening. I do think Adam Silver is going to be hanging around. But trust me, this word is going to get back to him. I assure you that, because this one, like I said, it promises to be explosive.

It feels like Pablo loves a good symposium.

He does. I can verify that.

It's synonymous, right? When you think of Pablo Tori, I think of symposium.

You have no idea. I've had the pleasure- Dave, you got me on that one? I've had the pleasure of going to an MIT Sloan before. They're actually like, if you like analytics, it's a little dorky, but it's fun, right? And someone like Pablo, I guarantee you, he is a total rock star. Have you been to MIT Sloan?

I haven't yet. I want to go.

So MIT Sloan is basically like, oh, my God, that's Bob Folk-Arist. Don't look at him. That's exactly What MIT? So I went, Oh, my God, that's RC Buford. Jesus Christ. Why did I wear this shirt around RC Buford? So I think Pablo is definitely- That sounds awful. No, I'm telling you.

Who's he those clear frames? That's Sam Festy.

That sounds like a dork fest, right?

Yeah. Terrible.

Do you think that that's why- I don't know that I've ever been to a proper symposium. Ethan Strauss. Kash'a is the sports fan. He would go to a sports fan symposium to learn up on cap implications and such.

That's right.

I would. Oh my God. Is that true, Unga? Do you think that's why Pablo is comfortable abandoning his family.

Happy sixth birthday to my daughter Violet.

What?

It's Tom Ammerstrow.

I got to tell you, if you're a journalist and if you're breaking stories, especially serious stories, breaking news like Pablo is, you got to have some guts, I suppose. But to me, if he's going to say things either directed toward Adam Silver or in Adam Silver's stratosphere, that being the NBA, and Adam Silver is there, that takes some guts, if you ask me. My God, Keith Law. Keith Smith. So anyway, what time is that again today? 5: 30, you said?

5: 30, live on this YouTube page. So if you subscribe to either us or Pablo, why don't you subscribe to both, you'll get an alert once that goes live. And I promise you this one's going to be very interesting. You keep asking, how much more could he possibly have on this Aspiration deal? He We saved a pretty good nugget here for you guys and for the live audience over at MIT Slum. Okay.

All right.

Mike Ryan at a symposium. Look, it's Nosferatu. No, that's just Adam Silver. Come on.

You like that one?

I do like that one. That was a look.

He said nothing. Tell him he said nothing. I like that low-hanging fruit there.

Sometimes low-hanging fruit's delicious.

Zaz doesn't know all of the other key people in analytics, Mike, to laugh at all of your deep cuts. He only knows the top of the top.

Drew Unge was deep. It was. Is he still doing it? I'm not even sure Drew is still doing it.

So Trista, last night was a big night in the NBA. All right. Well, we can get to the feature game, which is the Spurs and Pistons from last night. The Spurs sweep the season series, and it feels like the Spurs are going to win the Championship. We'll get back to that. But the Lakers lost to the Nuggets last night. Did you see what happened in this Laker game, Trista?

Well, I saw that LeBron James injured his elbow.

Oh, my God. You got to be kidding me. So LeBron last night, Nuggets won 120 to 113. Lebron, he had 16 points, eight assists. Average game. He was 7 of 11 from the floor. It's not like it was bad. But LeBron last night, there's a play. It's with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. It's a four-point game. Lebron drives the basket, makes a difficult layup, going up against Nikola Jokić, and proceeds to fall to the ground. If you look at the replay, I don't think Jokić even touched him. At most Their bodies grazed at most. And LeBron falls to the ground in a heap and is writhing in pain, shouting, My elbow, my elbow.

Did he just say my elbow or was there any other- You said F-word, my elbow.

You would think he's going to have to retire from the pain that is taking place right now. Mike, they show the replay of this.

He's going to have to retire?

Mike, they show the replay of this. Not only am I not sure that Jokić touched him, but he doesn't even know which elbow he hurt. First, he's grabbing his right elbow, and then he's grabbing his left because he realizes when he grabs the right elbow, he's got the sleeve on. So that's a protective sleeve. And then he grabs the left one, which is sleeveless, all right? So it's exposed. But you see in the replay, his elbow never even touches the ground. Matter of fact, Trista, his arm lands on the leg of a cameraman. He never even hits the ground with his elbow, and he can't get up. He cannot stand because everybody knows when you hurt your elbow, your legs don't work. I I think he actually hurt himself.

How often does he scream and rive out in pain, Zatz?

You can't be serious. I mean, you're just not a serious person right now.

Some are saying Nicole Jokić is a dirty player. Yeah, I saw it online.

I don't know.

You saw it online?

Was it Markeef Morris? Hey, you keep your eyes forward, pal.

Sorry. Was it Lou Dore?

Do not look back at me.

Did Lou Dord say that?

I mean, maybe it comes from because we've been so involved in hockey over the last few years, and we know how tough these guys are. But Dave, how can anyone take seriously LeBron hurt? Let's say he hurt his elbow, which we all know he didn't. But let's say he hurt his elbow. Why can't he stand? Why does that mean he has to lie on the ground?

It's because the climate now allows for this. It started with soccer, and we all laughed at it for at least a couple of decades. And over the last, let's say, I don't know, decade, I guess, since Tom braided hurt his knee, NFL QBs now do this thing where we all have to... And now the fans are in on it, too. When you're at a football game, the reaction from the home crowd now requires when the quarterback gets hit, and you can tell he didn't really get hit hard. All now the tens of thousands of home fans now have to pretend they're a part of the bit now with like, Oh, come on, ref, throw the flag. That was clearly a late hit. And now it's reach basketball. It ain't good. It ain't good for anybody. I'm with you, Zaz. Clearly, LeBron was faking it, but that's the world we live in now. Zaz, let's be honest.

You yourself- I'm always honest.

Cannot get your ass off of the floor if you're laying down without pushing your elbow down to the ground. Can you use your core strength to get up on your own and stand without using an arm?

Yes, but there's- I want to see it. There's then a point where his teammates come over to him to pick him up. They can't pull him up. The elbow It hurts when you pull it up. They're trying to pull him up from his right arm. The first hurt of it.

Both arms got hurt. You just established that.

He's like, Oh, my elbow. I can't get up.

What the fuck? The thing that intrigues me about NBA guys, when they wear the compression stuff, but only on one leg. What gives there? Let's talk to the high-end athletes in there. Tony, tell us about why do your fellow high-end athletes sometimes wear a compression thing only on the one leg? Doesn't that throw them off?

A four-letter word called swag, Dave. You got one. You don't need two. You got one, you pick your favorite one. You like that. You like the compression shorts, you like the ones that go all the way down, you like the tights, or do you like the mid ones to the calf, or do you like the ones that are short? It's all of swag preference. You'd know that.

Okay, I'll buy that. That's what I always have suspected, that it had no actual- It does absolutely nothing. No athletic advantage. Zero, zero, nothing. All right. That's what I thought.

They are such a tough watch, though, that Laker team. So Luka Donchik then yesterday, he picked up his 15th technical foul of the season, which means the next technical foul, he will be suspended for a game. And then every other technical foul for the remainder of the game is another suspension. Luka is going to miss some games over the rest of the way here.

And people are upset at him, Dwyane Wade. I saw this on ESPN. What does that mean? Tim McMahon. Luka is hurting this team by not getting back on defense and complaining on the other end.

I remember. That was a thing with us and Wade for the last few years.

You're right. Yeah, that was always the D Wade. You're right. But at least D Wade, once he was on the ball, was a pretty solid defender, was great at blocking shots, was great at chasing screens, and ultimately, when he was dialed in, was a good defender. We're never going to get there with Luka. So on top of that, he's not showing effort, and he's complaining about calls. But I do think it usually works for a superstar like Luca to be doing that. That's part of the game. That's part of why they're so good. That's part of why they get the calls. They ride the reps the whole game.

Luca felt that he was being treated unfairly.

I think so, too.

Again, you are not a serious person. Luca believes he was being treated unfairly last night. Here he is trying to explain what happened with the technical foul.

What was the feedback from the referees during that play? Did they explain why they teed you up in that moment? Yeah, just because I yelled it, I guess. That's what he said. But I heard three other players saying the exact same sentence, and they had a kid attacked. And that's my problem. I was trying not to talk at all. That's the first thing I said, no warning or nothing. But I heard three other players saying the exact same thing and nothing. So it's just... I don't know what to say. Obviously, this is the 15th, but you've in previous seasons, you've gotten just 15 and not gotten the one game suspension that comes with 16. I guess for you needs to happen just to avoid that or avoid it like you've done in previous seasons? Don't get another time.

Are you committing that you won't?

We'll see. Can't predict the future.

No, I could predict the future. He will pick up more technical fouls. They have 20 games left in the season. He's going to wind up getting suspended. But that explanation is rich to me because someone else said the exact same thing that I did, and they didn't get a technical foul. Luka Do you want to be treated the same as everyone else? Because that'll be an interesting world if you want to be treated the exact same as every player.

That's basically what Jeremy was trying to say yesterday about me. He was like, Tristan gets the correct in. How come I don't get the correct in?

She's Luca. What are you?

I mean, I'm probably Lou Dort.

No one gets the correct Anne.

Lakers.

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Draftkings. Com/promos. Limited time offer. Don Levatard. John, can you rate my Al Pacino from that billiard scene in Carlito's way, if I do it for you? I think it's pretty good. Yeah. Okay. Stugatz. You think you're big Tom?

Or you're going to die.

Big Tom.

That is my infamous scale of 1 to 10. That's a 7.

6.

Solid.

Good job, Dan.

That's a Sui nominate right there. That's really good.

This is the Dan Levatard show with the Stugats.

I feel bad for Larry Bird catching strays. When Luca's name comes up, I'm surprised Mike Ryan somehow avoided doing it. We're like, Well, that's just the way superstars are. Sometimes they don't play defense. Larry Bird because he was a taller, high-scoring white guy. That's enough for people to just go like, Yep, he's this generation's Larry Bird. Like, Larry Bird was a fine defender. He wasn't locked down, shut him down whenever he wanted to, but he wasn't Luca, who just straight up doesn't try. That's who my shout out goes to this morning. Larry Bird.

I don't think anyone ever compares Luca to Larry Bird. I think they compare him a lot more to James Harden.

I'd like to correct myself. I think I'm more of a Kate Vincent.

Okay, fair. Younger people.

Jeremy. I'm writing that down.

Jeremy, no.

You did not hold up the no. To you, yes. Yeah, but you could have held it up there. I said specifically, I was going to- Why are you talking like Zaz right now?

Lemon-scented bathroom. I'm very influential. I wrote that down, too.

Also last night, the San Antonio Spurs, Trista, they beat the Detroit Pistons. They sweep the season series from Detroit.

All right. So as you know, I hopped into the association this week, and the games have been interesting.

Now, when you say hopped in, did you order the League Pass?

No. Like Dave established last week that The NBA is a perfect sport to just hop in. I don't need to pay attention until after the Super Bowl. I jumped on a board of move and train. I know all the story lines. I know all the teams that are good.

The players don't pay attention. Why would we?

Exactly. So the one team that I was really interested in watching this week was, I got to see these Detroit Pistons that everybody tells me about. Bad week to watch the Pistons. I don't actually think they're good because I've just watched them this week. They're not good. They're not a good team. Bad team. Hornets way better.

Facts. Yes, exactly. You're right on schedule. Yes. I have been going up against these Pistons and Kate Cunningham all year, especially now we have a little controversy about the 65 game rule and the MVP, and we'll Shay get it. Can Can Jokuj get it? And we're just going to gift it to Kade because he's eligible and he's the best player on the team.

Trista, he's had a good season.

A good season is not.

That's not an MVP season.

But then take care of the 65 game rule and outlaw it. Because Jokuj has one more game and then he's done.

He had a triple-double last night. Adam Silver needs to step in here- He's a nothing. More than he even needs to step in on the aspiration stuff. How about the Terry Rozier thing? Which where they are right now, with any of it. How about the Terry Rozier thing, he's ass? This is a space where he needs to step in and say, You know what? 65 games? Not this year. We're going to change the rule. We're going to figure it out. But this year, look at these guys. Look who the MVP should be. Nikola Jokić for 40 games would be more valuable than what Kade is. And that's not even a knock on Kade. Look at what Nikola Jokic is doing. Look at what Shay Gildas Alexander is doing. And these guys missed it for injuries, not because they were load managing, not because they were sitting out national TV games, but because they were hurt. It's crazy to me that this is a situation where he needs to intervene.

I hate to play quiz show because I hate it when people quiz me. Do you know how many MVP winners have been below the 65 game threshold in a full season? Oh, wow.

I like that question.

I can think of one.

I don't know the answer to it.

Who is that?

Bill Walton. I wish I could think about it, but I feel attacked.

That's the answer. It's only Bill Walton. So let's just let the voters decide. Jeremy, did you look this up before?

No, it's just something that I heard within the last couple of weeks.

By me, probably.

Wow. Suned you.

Could have been. Suned. He's an alley hoop listener.

Could have been.

So last night, San Antonio beats Detroit. They take both games this season's series. San Antonio. That's good team. Good team. San Antonio is a good team. All right. Victor Wembunyama. Absolutely impossible. I like him.

He's good. You think he's good? I think he's good. He's tall.

38 points and 16 rebounds last night. San Antonio, as far as the Western Conference goes, is two back in the lost column of Oklahoma City, so they're totally in play for number one overall. I got to tell you, if it's Oklahoma City and San Antonio in a Western Conference final, and mind you, San Antonio beat them four out of five times this year, so maybe this isn't exactly a hot take. San Antonio, I think they're winning the whole thing this year, Trista.

Inject that Western Conference Finals in my veins. I need it right now. I need it the first round. I need it the second round. Just let them play 16 games, and we'll just see how it shakes out Zaz.

Has that ever... Okay, so Wemba Wemba N'Yama comes into the league with as much hype as anyone in the history league. When we're talking about number one overall picks of the most hype, we're talking about LeBron, we're talking about Wemba N'Yama. Zion.

Zion, yeah.

I know Zion was huge hype. Was he on the level, those guys?

Yeah, after he broke that shoe, it was so good for him.

Anthony Bennett.

Is there anybody else? I mean, did Magic have the type of hype? But we're going back to 1979.

Yeah, because Magic and Bird were a thing dating back to college.

Okay, so Magic as well. And granted, Magic won in his rookie year because he had a cockamamey trade where he was drafted by a Laker team number one overall. That was already a Championship contender, and so they ended up winning the Championship. How did they do that, by the way. It was some trade that was made. Obviously not good foresight by the team that made the trade with them. But putting Magic aside, because it's not exactly the same scenario because the Lakers were really good when they drafted Magic Johnson in '79, Wemba and Yama, if they win the Championship this year or make it next year, but whatever. This only is third year in the league. If they win the Championship this year, it's going to be an unprecedented fulfillment of, I guess, what's the word I'm looking for? As far as-Expectation? Yeah, expectation.

Or prophecy.

Right. Prophecy. That makes it sound so much more dramatic, all right? It's a fulfillment of a prophecy.

Yeah. And you know what it does? You know that photo of Steph Curry shooting over Wembeya I think in retrospect, we're going to look back at that photo of that gold medal game between the US and France and put that one singular image of Seth shooting over Wembe and be like, That's one of the greatest sports photos of all time. That's Ali.

Yeah, it doesn't even look like a real human.

Go ahead, Dave. Trista, the thing that I was pushing back on this side-Tecnical difference.

Jeremy. What are you doing? Honestly, no idea. We're going to fax it We're going to fax it out. Yeah. God, Jess, keep talking about property.

Trissa, you were saying. God.

Did you see that block that led to the transition dunk from Wembe and Yamma last night?

I'm going to say yes, but I can't.

I think it was K tried to lob, and Isaiah Stuart tried to get Wembe out of the way. The block was absolutely insane that he got that, and then he beat everyone back down the floor and had a monstrous dunk. It's everywhere on threads or Twitter or whatever.

Yeah, Kua-L wear light.

Kua-l wear light.

Well said. I think you guys are forgetting a very big piece of the Western Conference, which is a Denver Nuggets team that has a loaf of bread that is the MVP, what, three of the last five seasons who has better numbers than any other MVP season he had previously. And he still has to say a little something in the Western conference.

The idea that Wemby would have to go through potentially Jokić and then the Thunder just to get to the finals, that part would be It's amazing, especially if somehow the seven seed... If they end up as a two seed, if somehow the seven seed-I mean, the first round, they'd have to go do Grace and Allen. But if, say, the seven seed somehow ends up being the Warriors or something where he has to go through a legend off the top.

Have to go through Pajimski.

Name-wise. Playing against Steph... It would be so cool to see that type of path for a guy like Wembe to ultimately fulfill the prophecy.

Lebron didn't win a Championship till his seventh year, and it wasn't with the team that drafted him number one overall. For Wembe-Yamma, if they win... They're a Championship contender right now. They could totally win the whole thing. If they win right now, in his third year, he joins a team that was obviously dog shit. They earned that number one overall pick. They had several years. I think they missed the playouts five or six years in a row. They were terrible. And in year three with this guy who was hyped unlike almost any other player, to win the Championship in his third year, we've never seen anything like that.

To push back on Jeremy, the heat believer that doesn't want a team to tank. You're also talking about Wemby. That was a massive egregious tank. And then tank again, Steph Castle, rookie of the Year, tank again, Dylan Harper. Boom, boom, boom, contender. That's how it's done.

You're hearing this, Jeremy? That is how it's done. You trust a good front office to rebuild when you're in transition.

Yeah, and this one has, like over and over again. And by the way, they're doing it again right now. They have Kalele Ware, who was a first-round pick, who was set in records last night. They have the rookie in the NBA, whose name starts with a K, who leads all rookies who've played at least 30 games in three-point field goal percentage. That's Kaspare Siakachonis, not Con Knipel. He's shooting like 44% from three. He's a 19-year-old point guard.

You can't be serious. You cannot be serious. You're a rebuild to San Antonio.

You Why not? No, I'm not comparing it to San Antonio's, but it took San Antonio a lot longer. You said Yakochets Yakochets was in the final. You said they were better than.

They're going to win a title. They're going to win a title. You're shooting the three-ball better.

San Antonio may win the title.

He's shooting the three-ball better.

200 % was like 70. He shoot the three ball better. That's just a fact.

I mean, you're heat maga.

You just refuse to capitulate at any corner.

No, but I- Just once, say like, Yeah, you know what?

That other team probably had the right idea. I just want to understand. I genuinely want to understand because I have watched this franchise- You said manufacturing was coming back.

It didn't.

I have watched this franchise for two decades here, go from winning a championship to a few transient years where they were still right around the playoffs. The only season where they weren't was because somebody got hurt. They drafted a pretty terrible player, number two overall. They then went back to the finals. It was bucket getter, but not a good player. Then they went four straight years to the finals with a totally remade roster. Then they were somewhat mediocre, but they were living right around the playoffs. They could be that and then remade their roster and got back to the finals two out of five years. And now they're in another transient period where they're going to be a payoff team. You would rather be bad for a decade for the hope of being as good as the he'd are now. No, I'd rather be bad for- It just doesn't make any sense.

I'd rather be bad for three years and play in for three. I'd rather be bad for a year than play in for this year when they've got no shot.

I genuinely want to understand this. You'd rather be bad for- This year. Hold on. You'd rather be bad for three years for the hopes of remaking your roster to be a Championship contender, then be at the edge of the playoffs with a chance to watch your team win on any given night and still remake your roster to be a Championship contender. Because for 20 years, that's what the heat have been doing. They have transient years, but those transient years are still competitive, so I don't really understand.

So here's where both those teams, the team trying to lose in the Miami heat, which on a given night, you pay your money to see a ticket, and, Hey, they're not trying to lose. I actually see the superstars play and all that. Guess what? They both got the same amount of chance of winning the NBA title. Zip zero, stingy with De Niro. They're not winning. So I'd rather be the San Antonio Spurs with good ownership, a good front office. I trust them to rebuild. And guess what? They did. We're talking about them as a potential champion. I'm not even saying be bad for three years like San Antonio. I'm saying be bad just this year and give this for an office an opportunity.

Might light your wrist, but that's about it.

Might ice you, but that's about it.

Okay, Nikola, quiz Frage. Homeoffice Barstado or Fahrtkosten.

Was bringt uns mehr? Moment. Ich check das kurz. Oha, Homeoffice gewinnt. Bringt uns 150 € mehr im Jahr. Ja, richtig. Aber wieso weißt du so was? Weil wieso Steuer die Erstattung live anzeigt? Das. Yeah, and Fragen beantwortet sie auch. 247 und ohne Beamtendeutsch. Das ist einfach die App, die uns versteht. Steuern erledigt? Safe.

Mit WISO Steuer. Jetzt kostenlos ausprobieren. Dan, weeks, months even, during the regular season, I wondered, allowed, what Kevin Steenland did. And then about three weeks ago, it hit me. Stugatz. He gives him one of these, and he gives them one of those. This is the Dan Levatard show with the Stugats.

Trista, what happened Russell Westbrook last night.

Russell Westbrook has had enough. He has come for the media, Zaz, and went on a complete diatribe.

Do they have the worst record in the League, Sacramento?

They have the worst record in the League. Okay. Russell Westbrook doesn't think that the criticism coming from the bloggers and the vloggers and the inside Sacramento King's reporters and radio hosts, he decided to take to the podium and go directly out there.

How can he think the criticism is unfair?

He says, Do you know me? Do you know who I am to say what my intention is? This was six minutes that we've cut down, Zaz, that I feel like is electric content. I want to get you guys as thoughts in terms of just the dynamic between Russ and reporters and what reporters can and cannot say.

Look, I'm a ball-off me, coach type of guy. Normally, I'll take full responsibility. That was on GQ.

What? The Yo-Yo-Yo? I thought Dave was just doing the Jay-Z thing that we were doing.

No, that Yo-Yo-Yo was fully on GQ.

All right, let me hear Russell Westbrook last night. Let's get some of this.

You guys are quiet today, but you got a lot of comments when the game is going on. After the game, what we doing, what we should be doing, how we should be doing it. Yeah, but that's not the only thing you say. I've seen things you said, it's not just about our offense and our defense and what our record is. We've been in the worst record for a long time now.

What I don't like is that I've been in the league a long time, and I've been around a lot of different organizations, media, beat writers, and we have a lot of on this team, a lot of guys that don't know what's happening or what's around, whether it's from the coaching, from the players.

You guys, the job is to talk about the game, what's happening in the game, not stir up a bunch of, I don't want to cut you because I want you to find, but stir up a bunch of stuff that is not accurate. You guys are making false comments about our team and what we're doing here, and I don't appreciate that. So my ax is that you respect what we do and we respect what you do.

So it sounds like he's... By the way, they lost the Pelicans last night. It sounds like he's saying that the media or some people have been maybe saying things are happening here in the locker room. This guy said this according to anonymous source and all that. And so he's upset about that. But stop telling the media what their job is. Stop point of the figure, your job is to do this. Now, stop telling other people what their job is. 99% of professional athletes have no idea what the media's job actually is.

And I think the thing that trips me out is it is somebody's job that talks on a mic to speculate about what could be possibly going through your mind when you're doing the things that you're doing. You're not going to tell us, Russell Westbrook, so all I can do is just postulate.

Also, I've been around a lot of teams, isn't the flex that you think it is, Russ? Correct. Who could have seen this coming? Russell Westbrook in March complaining at the press in Sacramento as if things aren't going great. I mean, it boggles a mind how this didn't work out.

I mean, they're 14 and 50. Does he think it's unfair that the media is being negative surrounding his team?

He even said that five-minute clip. I've been around Sacramento a long time. I've been on Weekly for five years.

It's funny. We got here this morning. Trista says to me, she goes, Did you see Russell Westbrook last night? I go, I go, Trista, that clip was six minutes.

I did not have time for that. I watched every second. And I know the members of the media that he's talking about, specifically. Yes, Tony?

That's the feeling that I had when I saw the Skip Bayliss and his wife thing about Iran, where I was like, Iran.

Oh, you don't want to hear the thoughts on Iran? I was like, Six minutes? I was like, Come on.

I think I'm good. I don't know. My wife tells me 6 minutes is a really long time.

That's why you're taking our- C, no.

For me, for the last few years, hey, did you see what Russell Westbrook did last night? The answer has been a firm no for a good five years running.

Yeah. I think the thing, though, that I was intrigued about is he said that the media members, some of the media members in Sacramento, were anticipating some huge year, some big year out of Sacramento. And I think that part is somewhat true. There's a little dilutive quality to being in a market that's been this bad for this long and had the Beam team here. They've got Derozen, they've got Zack Levine, they've got Sabonis, they've got Malik Munk, who they couldn't ship off to try to get coming in. They're like, We should be better than 14 wins.

Okay, so this isn't a hockey town anymore, at least for this lull here as everybody gets healthy.

But we'll be a hockey town again in a few months.

But the last time I was paying attention to the association, the light the beam here. Sacramento had fixed it. They made all the right moves, and it finally came together. That's a good basketball town when that team is humming, and they looked like they were set. What happened?

A lot of things. I think the defense was never good. Mike Brown had this team humming offensively, and then he tried to tweak a bunch of things and get them to be more of a defensive first team. Keegan Murray struck lightning in a bottle, and then he had a down year. I think there were some issues between De'Eren Fox, maybe, and Sabonis. Sabonis didn't like Mike Brown. Mike Brown got fired after his extension. I think that has caused even more cultural chaos internally. Then you had to ship De'Eren Fox for Zach LaVine.

I think what really is on the short list of reasons why the Sacramento rise fell so quickly is because it was Sacramento. And I am not denouncing Sacramento. I've been there. Surprisingly fun little town for a night or two. As we go into NFL free agency and the trade deadline with the NHL, and like we talked about earlier, one guy got traded to Buffalo and said, I don't want to go to Buffalo. I want to go to the West Coast somewhere warm. Where would you guys... I think that's a factor, and we get down on that like, What's the problem, Russell Westbrook? Maybe he doesn't want to be in Sacramento. Where would you go were you a free agent? Not for... Well, this team seems like it's a player away from winning the title. For more human considerations, you can include the uniform and quality of the arena and all that, where would you go? I start with you, Trista.

So this is based on all the extracurriculars, not necessarily, Hey, I think we have a good chance to win.

I think it I think we should involve that you like ownership or something along those lines. I don't think we should completely erase that. But I also don't think it just turns it into what team seems the closest to winning the title conversation. If you turn it into Mike Evan should go to Buffalo because, man, if you give him to Josh Allen with DJ Moore, man, they're the best team in the AFC. I don't mean from that perspective, just more in the global sense. Where would you want to go? What sports town would you want to reside in?

Sports town is tough.

Are you giving us football America leftovers?

Yeah, that's right. That's exactly right. It's a fun conversation. That's exactly right.

You reheated a turd.

You got it, fella.

All right, Tristan, go ahead.

Sorry, I didn't mean to jump on that. I think maybe LA for Intuit Dome and just the beautiful weather and being on the West Coast, the Intuit West Coast bias. Or Phoenix, Great Roads in Phoenix in a pretty decent arena. Great Roads?

What do you mean by that?

Great Roads, very smooth roads. Always well kept.

So you're like, I'm a free agent, and what I'm really digging is Phoenix.

You know about them good roads?

You know about that Biden infrastructure bill? That's the reason at the introductory of- You've never seen the roads in Phoenix?

They're incredible.

It benefited red states more than blue.

The pavement here is second to none.

The asphalt.

Tony, where are you landing?

I'm not going anywhere, baby.

I'm not going anywhere.

I'm going right here. I'm going to get a nice big house in Pinecrest in Gables by the Sea. I'm going to drive my bike up down cold Cutler. I'm going to get right here. Keep it schedule beautiful. Right here. I don't need to go anywhere.

It's Miami. Easily. It's Miami or LA because the weather, the lack of media scrutiny. Not LA. No. Okay.

Media scrutiny is tough in LA, though. Yeah.

Well, I guess ideologically- We got Sedano there.

Sedano is going to say something bad about me.

No one's afraid of what Sedano is going to say. Come on, what are they?

How are the roads?

Roads in LA and in Miami, rough. Always really rough.

But you know about that smog?

I know about it. Tell about it. Do you know about geckos in mosaic form on the freeway walls? Do you know how that impacts your state of mind, Zaz?

I mean, half those words you just said, I don't know what they mean.

You know about that LA river? We don't have smog How do you have a river?

We don't have that, and we don't have sweltering heat like you do in Miami either.

Let me tell you something. If the Terminator can drive a 16-wheeler through it, it's not a river.

Touche. Also, that's where the iconic race in Greece takes place. Also, the LA River dried out. Mike Ryan is there. Would you consider, legitimately, because I would, and you can laugh if you want to, but it would be a consideration, what is the of the uniform that I will adore?

Right. So I would certainly prioritize that. But I think, are we talking, since this is a football America turd that we're reheating, we're talking about football here.

No, let's do an NBA, friend. Well, okay. If it's so If it's too much to talk about our most beloved sport, go with NBA instead.

I do think tradition, market, fan base, that would matter to me. I know they're not a great model franchise right now, but it seems cool being a Dallas Cowboy. If you're cut that way and you like having the media scrutiny- The Dallas Cowboy. America's team. I think it's cool. I think it's cool being a Laker. I think it's cool playing in Madison Square Garden. I think those would be really cool experiences. Josh Hart, tremendous player. Josh Hart's probably like, I can't believe my luck. I've been other places. I could have been in New Orleans right now. But instead, I'm doing the same stuff, but I'm doing it here in Madison Square Garden, and I become a cult hero. I would prioritize in the NHL like, I think I want to be a Mapleleaf. I think I want to be a Hab. I think that those legacy franchises and the weight of those expectations and the fan bases around them are actually appealing. But I like the pressure, Jack.

You could make... Right, I hear you. For instance, if you were sent to New York, some percentage of people would say, Put me on the Metropolitan's because less pressure. If I'm on the Yanks, if I'm wearing those pinstripes, I better I'm going to get booed and all of that. Zazlo, how say you? Where are you headed?

I think it'd be New York.

New York? Yeah. New York.

You guys are a bunch of traders. New York.

This Miami show this week has been ridiculous. The first Charlotte Hornet's craze as they play this.

I would rather be a hornet than a heat. I'm going to kill you. Heets. I'm going to kill you.

Mike, you know I have one rule to live by, right?

Don't place parlays on multiple long shots. Don't say a game is one when it hasn't hit triple zero.

Always Drink your Jägermeister ice cold. That's the rule. Everything else is merely a suggestion.

Everything else?

Everything else.

Wearing clean underwear every day?

Well, that's just a personal decision.

Brushing your teeth?

Obviously smart, but not a rule.

Never PP on an electric fence.

Okay, maybe there are two rules, but the one that is 100% that I insist on completely, Jägermeister must be drank ice cold. Or don't drink it at all. Damn, that's cold. Exactly. You're finally starting to get it.

Drink responsibly. Jägermeister L'Core, 35% alcohol by volume, imported by Mass Jägermeister US, White Plains, New York.