0:02

Is the crossover sports Illustrators

0:05

NBA show, bring them the

0:07

latest news, rumors and everything.

0:11

Here's your host, Chris.

0:17

This is the Crossover NBA podcast.

0:20

I'm Chris Mannix. Joined this

0:22

week by longtime NBA writer

0:25

not working over at Sports Keda, Fox Sports

0:27

Radio among several publications,

0:30

Mark Medina and Mark. Uh,

0:34

we have to join the chorus right

0:36

like sometimes I like to, you know, zig

0:39

when others are zagging. But in

0:41

the case of this podcast,

0:44

we have got to discuss what

0:47

happened on All Stars

0:49

Sunday, and really what happened on All

0:51

Star weekend. Uh, if you missed it, didn't

0:53

I don't think that's possible.

0:55

Uh. The All Star.

0:56

Game was one

0:58

of the worst that the NBA has

1:01

ever seen. After promising

1:04

that this game would be more

1:07

competitive than games in the past,

1:10

it was not. After promising

1:12

that more defense would be played,

1:14

not in so many words, but implying that

1:17

there would be a better game.

1:19

This is Adam Silver saying this. It

1:21

was not.

1:22

You had the highest scoring half in

1:25

All Star history, you had the highest scoring

1:27

game in All Star history,

1:30

and you had the first team in All Star Game history

1:33

scoring two hundred points in a game. So

1:35

not what the NBA was looking for with

1:38

its All Star Games. So I'll frame the question

1:40

this way, Mark, how bad was this for

1:43

the NBA? Because as we record

1:45

this, I don't know what the ratings were. I'd imagine

1:48

they're probably going to be right along with what they were last

1:50

year, four and a half million, five

1:52

million, five and a half million something along

1:54

those lines, which is still

1:56

a pretty big number for an NBA game.

1:58

That's probably gonna wind up out rating every

2:01

NBA regular season game that

2:03

they played to date. So you

2:05

know, in that context, how

2:07

bad was this event for the

2:10

NBA?

2:11

Yeah, Well, to answer the factual

2:14

questions here, I did receive

2:16

a notice earlier today

2:19

that the ratings were

2:21

up from twenty percent last year, so

2:24

that's good. But as far as the game itself,

2:27

it was not good whatsoever.

2:29

And that's saying a lot because I thought

2:31

last year's game was horrific, with exception

2:34

to some of those moments that Jalen

2:36

Brown and Jason Tatum with having some

2:38

of the one on one matchups. In this year's

2:41

game, you know, you had some entertaining

2:43

moments, right like Damian Lillard hitting

2:45

from the logo, hitting from half

2:48

court, one of the many reasons why he got

2:50

the All Star MVP. You saw

2:52

some entertaining moments with the two man game

2:54

with Luka Doncic and nikoley Jokic,

2:56

but those are social media moments. As

2:59

far as the game, it's elf, it was

3:01

entirely unwatchable. And Chris, I

3:03

read your column earlier today at SI dot

3:05

com, and I thought you brought a

3:07

lot of good perspective that this isn't about

3:10

bemoaning the All Star Game and hoping

3:12

it's how it was in the past, like that ship

3:15

has sailed. The NBA, to its

3:17

credit, has tried to come up with incentives,

3:19

but if this game is going to exist,

3:21

it has to change. It has to at least

3:24

be entertaining. We're not expecting Game

3:26

seven finals intensity, we're not

3:28

even expecting playoff intensity, but

3:30

it has to be entertaining. And I think even through

3:33

that lens, the game failed.

3:35

Yeah, it did fail, and I don't

3:38

know that there is anything the NBA can do to

3:41

fix it. You

3:43

know, they've tried every format

3:46

that or almost every format they possibly could. They

3:48

have gone from ditching

3:50

the East versus West traditional format,

3:53

they have installed the draft, they have named

3:55

team captains, they have changed the way

3:57

the game is scored when it comes by quarters.

3:59

They have in elam ending.

4:01

Everything they have tried has not

4:03

yielded competition, and

4:06

that's what the NBA is looking for. They're looking for a

4:08

throwback type of game, some kind of thing you saw in

4:10

the eighties and nineties where players were playing with

4:13

close to regular season like intensity,

4:15

and I don't think that's ever going to happen. I've

4:17

seen some people throw out the idea

4:19

of a US versus the World type of game.

4:22

Sure, that'd be fun, but two.

4:24

Of the biggest uh

4:27

trying to figure it what. We're not criminals at all

4:29

this, but the two biggest perpetrators of a bad

4:31

All Star game were Luka Doncic and

4:34

Nakoliokischoo. Neither one of them looked like they had

4:36

any interest in playing there. So I don't

4:38

know that making it a US versus the World competition

4:41

is going to spice it up enough to

4:44

make it a more competitive

4:47

game. And really, you know, with these

4:49

numbers, I don't know that

4:51

there's a huge incentive.

4:53

To make it that way.

4:54

Yeah, people like you and me can't stand it, and social

4:57

media largely can't stand it. Adam Silver

4:59

certainly can't stand. But there's an audience

5:01

watching it, right, Like there's an audience of five

5:03

million plus people that are

5:05

watching this game.

5:06

So I think we just have to accept it for what it

5:08

is.

5:09

It's never going to be a

5:12

intense regular season like Atmosphere

5:15

where where Where the NBA

5:17

missed or what they missed on is

5:19

having a competitive final five minutes. Like

5:21

in the past, we've seen three and a half quarters

5:24

of bad basketball, but when the game

5:26

was close, it got competitive

5:28

because guys started to get those juices.

5:30

Flowing and they wanted to win the game.

5:32

We didn't have that in this past All Star Game,

5:34

which I think made things significantly

5:36

worse.

5:36

So I don't know if you have a cure

5:40

all for this.

5:41

I don't know if you have a suggestion for Adam Silver if

5:43

he's listing right now. But in my

5:45

opinion, there's nothing the NBA can do

5:47

to make this competitive game. I don't think financial

5:49

incentive is going to work. I don't

5:51

think changing a format again is

5:54

going to work. These guys make.

5:56

Too much money. And you heard what Anthony Edwards

5:58

say after the game was over.

6:00

He said, look, I never planned

6:02

on this being a competitive game. He was

6:04

always going to treat this like a glorified

6:06

exhibition game. Players want to get in, they

6:08

want to get out, they want to play injury free,

6:11

and they want to have a good time over their All Star

6:13

break, and that's what they consider it, an All Star

6:15

break. And over a break, you are not going

6:17

to play all that hard. So I don't know if you have a

6:20

suggestion, but I'm out of them.

6:22

Yeah, I'm with you in the sense

6:24

that any idea that we

6:27

can ever have this All Star game be like

6:29

what it was in the eighties, nineties, even the early two

6:31

thousands, that's a lost cause. I've

6:33

been talked with Rick Berry, a former NBA

6:35

player who was always opinionated about things,

6:37

and he's like, that's never going to happen. Like the owners,

6:39

they don't want a super competitive game

6:41

because there's so much money on the line where guys

6:44

could get hurt. But it's hard

6:46

for me to wrestle with the idea that, oh,

6:48

there's nothing we can do to change

6:50

as this is the way it should be. If this

6:52

is the way it is, I would say

6:55

we should just scrap the game altogether and

6:57

come up with alternative events. Now

6:59

to what you were saying about, Okay, what are some proposals.

7:02

I'm with you that the financial incentives

7:04

they're already there, and I don't know if that will actually

7:07

address anything. I would hope and

7:09

I presume that Idem Silver and Joe Jumars

7:11

when they talked with the group, they reinforced this

7:13

idea that when you're looking at a

7:15

tent pole event like this is part

7:18

of the media rights deal, this is part of the total

7:20

revenue and bri that can

7:22

affect it. So I think that even

7:24

though the viewership numbers can be higher when

7:27

we're when they're in the middle of this media rights

7:29

deal, arguably, whether it's with a

7:31

streaming platform that could

7:33

be sold for an individual event or

7:36

if it's part of the total package, I

7:38

think having a better All Star Game

7:40

in terms of its quality can enhance that

7:42

number and obviously provide a trickle

7:45

down effect. Now, what are the solutions. I'm

7:47

with you that I'm running out of them. But if

7:50

the All Star Game isn't going to at least have competitive

7:53

moments guys wanting to showcase,

7:56

you know, not again regular

7:58

season intensity and let alone playoff

8:00

intense but fun competitive moments,

8:02

and that they're going to take the game somewhat seriously,

8:05

let's just make it an All Star event filled

8:08

with building off the three point contest

8:10

and building off of what Steph Curtis,

8:12

Steph Curry and Sabrina a new Escu

8:15

showed this season, and then

8:17

you know, have new events, whether it's

8:19

one on one, three on three, and

8:21

things of that sort, as opposed to just saying, you

8:23

know what, we're gonna have this game that's inevitably

8:25

good to be terrible. Let's just live with

8:27

it.

8:28

Yeah, I'm with you on All

8:31

Star Saturday being addressable. I

8:33

think that is something

8:35

that can be fixed.

8:38

I think you start by eliminating

8:40

some of the stuff that's already there. I think

8:42

the Slam Dunk Contest has seen

8:45

better days, Mark, I really do. I mean Mac McClung.

8:48

No disrespect Mac McClung, who had

8:50

some fantastic dunks this past weekend,

8:52

but he has played

8:55

a grand total of four NBA games

8:57

and he has.

8:58

Won two Slam Dunk contest. Kip toppin

9:01

rookie him hawkis junior

9:03

rookie.

9:03

Give Jalen Brown credit for participating, but we

9:06

need more guys on Jalen Brown's level

9:08

or above to make this dunk contest

9:10

interesting. And I don't think there's anyway we're gonna get that. I think

9:12

that ship has has long since

9:15

sailed. I think you can mothball

9:17

that. I also think you can mothball the skills competition,

9:19

which you know, when I saw Anthony Edwards

9:21

out there shooting left handed, that's when I knew, like this thing

9:23

had seen better days.

9:26

Like you don't need to do the skills competition anymore.

9:28

I love the step Versus

9:30

Sabrina competition like that made

9:33

that night memorable. When

9:35

the NBA put out that number that there

9:37

were ten million unique viewers,

9:40

whatever that means, I think a lot

9:42

of that was due to step Versus

9:44

Sabrina, and that is something

9:47

that can both be duplicated

9:50

and can be built on.

9:51

Right.

9:51

So you have a rematch maybe during WNBA

9:54

All Star Weekend, that's great, and then you

9:56

get to next year where All Star

9:58

Weekend is at the Chase Center, Steph's

10:01

home court. I believe Sabrina

10:04

is from the Bay Area. You expand

10:06

on that, like Caitlin Clark from Iowa. She

10:08

could be in the WNBA next year. She is

10:10

one of the most electrifying shooters that

10:13

we have seen in the women's game.

10:15

Damian Lillard just won the three point contest

10:18

from the Bay Area from Oakland.

10:20

Add him.

10:20

How about Dame and Steph

10:23

versus Sabrina and Caitlin? How about

10:25

that two on two? And then you keep

10:27

building, like as more women enter

10:30

the WNBA with this

10:32

elite level shooting skill, and that's gonna keep

10:35

happening. These are not aberrations. Sabrina's not an aberration,

10:37

Caitlin Clark's not an aberration. Like, these

10:39

women are going to continue to come into the league

10:43

with great shooting skills. Keep building it out. Maybe eventually

10:45

you have three on three, maybe you have four on four.

10:47

Maybe it's five on five WNBA versus

10:50

NBA shooting competition.

10:51

That's great. I think that.

10:53

Should become the tenth pole event of

10:55

All Stars Saturday. So I think that gets

10:57

moved up. Keep the three point contest, which is still pretty

10:59

good, think of the main three

11:01

point contest, and add something

11:04

different. I think they should add

11:06

a one on one competition. I've been saying this for years.

11:08

I've been being this drum for year after year after year.

11:11

NBA players don't care about

11:13

being the skills champion. NBA players

11:15

no longer care about being the Slam Dunk

11:18

Champion. What I think they do care about,

11:20

or will care about, is being the

11:22

best one on one player in the NBA,

11:25

the metaphorical king of the Court.

11:27

So I think if you establish a one on one competition,

11:29

however you want to do it, maybe it's a King of the Court style

11:31

contest, maybe it's a round robin type of thing, however

11:34

you want to do it, I think that would entice

11:36

some of the top.

11:37

One on one players in the NBA.

11:38

I think you could get you know, Paul

11:41

George to compete in something like that. You

11:43

could get Yannis to compete

11:46

in something like that. You could get Anthony Edwards

11:48

to compete in something like that. All the

11:50

top skill guys, you could get them

11:52

competing in a one on one competition.

11:55

So a lot of things I think

11:57

need to change with All Star Saturday. But I

11:59

think there are to that problem.

12:01

What do you think?

12:02

Yeah, I'm with you one hundred percent. The Skills competition.

12:05

Every time I see it, I get confused with the rules

12:07

and the fact that its weird to watch.

12:10

It makes me not want to watch it anymore.

12:12

The Dunk Contest. Look,

12:15

Mac McClung's great, But to your point, he's a

12:17

G League player, and it was starting to get old

12:19

that the only idea outside

12:21

of what Jalen Brown was doing, which wasn't great

12:24

anyway, was using shack

12:26

as a prop like the novelty of that's going

12:28

to quickly wear off, and it represents

12:31

what has been wrong with the dunk contest for

12:33

a while now that as entertaining as

12:35

it once was, with even seeing the top

12:37

dunkers and seeing their athleticism, there's

12:39

only so many things you can do before

12:41

dunking the basketball. Where with a three point

12:44

shot, it kind of is what it is. Either make

12:46

the shot or you don't. There's not an expectation

12:48

for style points other than you know, do you

12:50

make the moneyball or not? And so I think when

12:53

you look at the fact that that is what it

12:55

is. The game has been obviously growing

12:57

with an increasing importance of three

12:59

points shooting. There's a lot of great three

13:01

point shooters, and the WNBA has

13:03

grown in popularity and stature.

13:06

I think that this has essentially become

13:08

a cottage industry to your point

13:10

that there's not going to be any shortage of

13:13

combinations, whether it's to what you're saying, the

13:15

traditional three point contest the WNBA,

13:17

maybe even expanding it with nominating

13:20

the best shooting backcourt or the

13:22

best at least two man game of each team and

13:24

have a two on two, so to speak, of

13:26

which bust duos shoot

13:29

the best threes. And then I would also expand

13:31

to what you're saying one on one, to make a two on

13:33

two, three on three. Have whether

13:36

it's you know, the combination of fan votes,

13:38

media votes, and players

13:40

or coaches or all the above. You

13:43

know, let's see who are the best

13:45

one on one players, the best duos in the NBA.

13:47

And I think because it will be a lot

13:49

less intensity that's asked

13:52

of a traditional All Star game, I think

13:54

that there will be more of a buy in as well as

13:56

the fact that this is something new.

13:58

The greatest video game arguably in

14:00

basketball history, as NBA Jam like

14:02

that great video game, like.

14:05

The refs cannot allow the kind of fallon

14:07

that we saw in.

14:08

The correct yeah yeah, correct, but NBA

14:11

JAM one on one competition, two on

14:13

two competition.

14:14

I would love to see it.

14:15

All Right, that's enough oxygen spent on All

14:17

Star weekend. Tough for the NBA to have like

14:20

a bad night like they had this past

14:22

Sunday, on a week that followed where there was

14:24

nothing else to talk about, Like, you weren't talking NFL,

14:26

you weren't talking baseball, you weren't talking hockey,

14:28

you weren't talking college basketball. The NBA

14:31

was front center and they had a dud, and it

14:33

was on every single show, and as we're

14:35

doing right now on every single podcast.

14:37

Let's move on a couple of things I want to get to when

14:39

it comes to the second half of the

14:41

season, which really stretch run of the season. Thirty

14:43

some odd games to go in the NBA regular

14:46

season, two of the most interesting teams out there are

14:49

the Lakers and the Milwaukee

14:51

Bucks. The Lakers enter the All Star break playing

14:53

really good basketball. The Angelo Russell is

14:56

playing out of his mind since January first.

14:58

Lebron and ad are playing an All Star All

15:01

NBA level, but the Lakers

15:03

are still squarely in that

15:06

play in mix. They elected to do nothing

15:09

at the trade deadline. Their big move was to

15:11

sign Spencer Dinwiddie, and now they're crossing

15:13

their fingers hoping that guys

15:15

like Jared Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent are

15:17

going to be able to come back before.

15:19

The end of the regular season.

15:21

So I'll ask it this way, what

15:23

do you think the ceiling is of

15:26

this Lakers team? Assuming they make

15:28

no further moves with buy out guys

15:30

or anything else, what

15:33

do you think the ceiling of this team is?

15:36

Yeah, Chris, great question, assuming

15:38

that relatively speaking on paper,

15:40

there's no major injuries that affect the dynamic

15:43

across the league. I think that the ceiling

15:45

for the Lakers is to get to the second round, and

15:48

that's assuming that Lebron James Anthony

15:50

Davis are obviously healthy still playing a high level.

15:53

D'Angel Russell. I think that we've seen throughout

15:55

his career it's inevitably he's

15:57

going to play with peaks and valleys, hot shooting

15:59

nights, shooting nights. But I think, as

16:01

we saw last season, even through those ups

16:04

and downs, I've always thought

16:06

that while Dangel Russell certainly

16:08

and has never been untouchable when it comes

16:10

to what his free agents destination

16:13

would be or trade talks, I think the larger

16:15

point through the ups and downs is he was a really

16:17

key piece of that engine that made

16:20

sure that the offensive system ran

16:22

smoothly because of his shooting, because

16:24

of his playmaking, overall presence with

16:26

his floor spacing, I'm

16:29

not getting my hopes up that gave Vincent is

16:31

going to be, you know, healthier or

16:34

have substantial time. But there

16:36

certainly is a realistic window for

16:38

Jared Vanderbilt and Cam Reddish

16:40

and Max Christie to have a cleaner

16:42

bill of health. But you know, while

16:44

you don't rule anything out, especially when

16:46

you're looking at the teams like the Clippers

16:49

and the Phoenix Suns given their injury history,

16:51

I just don't think even in best case scenarios

16:54

that they can get past the Denver Nuggets

16:57

or even some of the young, up and coming teams

16:59

that are solidifying themselves as true

17:01

playoff contenders like Oklahoma

17:04

City and Minnesota. But you know what, given

17:06

where they're at, I know the Lakers aren't about

17:08

this. Lebron James certainly isn't

17:10

about this, But I think second round

17:12

is as best as realistically as they can

17:14

come, assuming again, there's no

17:16

outside extenuating circumstances

17:19

with injuries that just change the entire landscape.

17:21

Yeah, I'd like to be more bullish on the Lakers.

17:23

God knows, I was last year and right around

17:25

this time I was predicting a run.

17:27

To the court.

17:28

Let's hear the pick. I don't have

17:30

it.

17:30

I don't I don't have it in me this year,

17:32

Mark to make to believe

17:35

in this Lakers team.

17:36

I agree with what you're saying about Russell.

17:38

He's been fantastic of late, but he's

17:41

got a history of being great and then

17:43

being not so great. And the Lakers really can't afford,

17:46

you know, their third best

17:48

offensive option being as uneven

17:51

and unreliable as D'Angelo

17:54

Russell has been. And look,

17:56

I would say second round as well. But man

17:59

like, it's gonna fight for them to get out of play in

18:01

tournament if they wind up there. I mean, look at the teams

18:03

right now that are in the

18:05

play in tournament field. You've got Dallas, which

18:08

just made a bunch of moves to upgrade its

18:10

roster. You've got Sacramento, which is

18:12

still largely the team that we saw

18:14

last year in the top of the Western Conference standings.

18:17

Some of their guys have underachieved, they're still capable

18:19

of getting back to that high level. You get

18:21

the Warriors, who are eight and two

18:24

in their last ten games, starting to show some signs

18:26

of life there. So if the Lakers wind up in that mix

18:29

and have to play two of those teams, just to get into the postseason.

18:32

I mean getting in just might be

18:35

a challenge. And look, if they get in and

18:37

they wind up playing Oklahoma City in the first

18:39

round, maybe they can win

18:41

a series like that. But I

18:44

mean, Minnesota, can they beat the Timberwolves?

18:46

Like I think it's time to accept that Minnesota

18:48

is pretty good, right. I know we've been waiting and waiting and waiting

18:51

to make it draw any conclusions about Minnesota.

18:53

But they're seven to three in their last ten. They went to the

18:55

break winning four straight. They're a great defensive

18:57

team. Things are working

19:00

in Minnesota Oklahoma City. The one

19:02

thing they don't have is experience the Clippers.

19:04

They might overtake Oklahoma City in the second

19:06

half, and when they're

19:08

healthy there as good as any team in the NBA. Denver

19:11

is in that mix as well.

19:13

The ceiling is a trip

19:16

to the second round, and that is a ceiling I think

19:18

they might have a really hard time getting

19:20

to because of the challenges

19:22

they're going to face early on. This is

19:24

not a situation like last

19:26

year where they got a banged up Memphis team in the first

19:29

round. They were able to build on that and advance

19:32

deeper into the playoffs. This is

19:34

a very different type of landscape

19:37

they're facing in the Western Conference, which

19:39

brings me to the other

19:41

question.

19:41

About the Lakers. I want to ask you.

19:43

The reporting this past week by ESPN

19:46

was that Golden State made a run at

19:49

Lebron James Now, it never really reached a

19:52

level where they were discussing

19:54

specific players because it was clear

19:57

that Lebron did not want

19:59

to be traded from Los Angeles. This is something

20:01

Lebron acknowledged

20:04

during his press conference on Sunday.

20:07

But when I first.

20:08

Heard of

20:10

of talks between the Warriors and Lakers,

20:12

you know, via the reporting, my first

20:15

reaction was, it kind of makes some sense, right

20:17

Like, if you're the Lakers

20:20

and you get Lebron last year of his deal and

20:22

you're a team that's kind of going nowhere, if you could

20:25

pride Jonathan kaminga loose from the Warriors,

20:27

it's a pretty big win. I think Jonathan Kaming is going to be

20:29

a star, like I think he has all star written

20:32

all over him in the next two to three years. And if you're

20:34

the Warriors, you've kind of ditched

20:36

this whole, you know, two prong strategy

20:38

of winning now and building later with the

20:40

young guys, you're all in on winning now. Stephan

20:43

still playing at a high level. You add

20:45

Lebron to Steph and Draymond and

20:47

hopefully Clay and get his act together. You

20:49

know, over the final

20:51

thirty games of the season, you might be onto

20:54

something there.

20:55

So, I don't know.

20:56

What did you think of the the

20:58

report that the Warriors anders

21:00

at least discussed on a nominal level a

21:03

Lebron James trade.

21:05

Yeah, obviously it's always a fun

21:07

and fascinating time there's news developments

21:09

involving Lakers, Warriors, Lebron, and it

21:11

is all certainly accurate. But after

21:14

wojes broke, what was stressed to me from the

21:16

Warriors end is, yeah, of course they

21:19

made the call about Lebron, but it was under the guise

21:21

of just trying to gauge to what degree he's

21:23

available. From my understanding, it never got

21:25

to the point not you know, certainly

21:28

the Lakers shut it down immediately, but it never got

21:30

to the point with the Warriors internally

21:32

about the question is about, Okay,

21:35

what are we willing to give up

21:37

to get Lebron James? And obviously you're going

21:39

to have to give up a lot, but where is that line

21:41

of demarcation that the Warriors

21:44

would have there don't fully know the

21:46

answer to that, and so that's

21:49

I think what it has been interesting hypothetically

21:51

if the Lakers started listening

21:53

and started talking to specifics, how

21:56

all in would the Warriors have been? And

21:58

I think to what you were saying past

22:00

the two timeline approach that are about trying

22:02

to maximize Steph Curry's window, but

22:05

I think even within that, they are

22:07

wrestling with what is the best pathway

22:10

to maximize his window? And I think when

22:12

it pertains to Lebron, obviously you'd

22:14

have to give up, But would they be comfortable

22:16

giving up you know, almost

22:18

everyone across the board except for Steph

22:21

when you're including you know, Clay

22:24

kaminga Draymond draft

22:26

picks. I don't know where

22:28

the line was at with that, But fortunately

22:30

for the Warriors they didn't have to entertain that

22:32

line just yet. But it'll be fascinating

22:35

to see if they ever do that. But I think Lebron,

22:38

even before he reiterated

22:40

this point during All Star weekend, it's

22:42

been expected that he's

22:45

going to retire as a Laker.

22:48

Nothing is guarantee, and certainly he fed

22:50

speculation when he declined to

22:52

say what he would do with his player

22:55

option, but I think that's

22:57

only under the guise of there's no harm

22:59

in keeping your options open. And it's not

23:01

just about what Lebron is

23:03

looking at on how well the

23:06

Lakers are going to do in the playoffs or how

23:08

well you know they do

23:10

anything with roster moves. I mean, he would

23:12

have to make that decision anyway before free agency

23:14

starts, but it's really about also

23:17

how well can he maintain

23:20

this strong level play. Does he still

23:22

prioritize being on a place

23:24

that's going to give him that hypothetical

23:26

chance to still get his fifth ring?

23:28

Or is it.

23:28

About just enjoying

23:30

the last few years and soaking

23:33

satisfaction out of that and also being

23:36

in La close to his kids. And then the other

23:38

obvious variable is what does BRONI do? Is

23:40

he even going to declare himself draft

23:42

eligible after his freshman season, especially because

23:45

he's played with a limited workload

23:47

following his cardiac arrest. Does both

23:50

parties even want to have this

23:52

partnership. Lebron put it out there

23:54

in the atmosphere that he would love to

23:56

play with with his son, but he has

23:58

since walked it back a little

24:00

bit just saying that, hey, it might

24:03

not just be my decision. Maybe this isn't something

24:05

Browny wants. So there's a lot

24:07

of moving parts here, as you can imagine.

24:09

I think regardless of that, even

24:11

before Lebron said what he said during

24:13

an All Star weekend, there's been a feeling from

24:16

the Lakers and outside that he'll

24:18

just stay with the Lakers through however

24:21

long his NBA career will last.

24:22

Yeah, and I think for Lebron, the big opportunity

24:25

with the Lakers comes this summer, right when

24:28

they can deal as many as three first

24:30

round draft picks, And those three first round

24:32

draft picks might be enough to

24:35

get their hands on a

24:37

marquee player, whether it's Trey Young, de

24:39

Jonte Murray, somebody else that's

24:42

out there. They've got some options after

24:45

this season is over. And look,

24:47

I've said all along that the Lakers did the right thing. I

24:49

don't think it made any sense to give up like one

24:52

of their picks. Plus, you know the contract

24:54

of d' Angelo Russell for someone like Bruce Brown,

24:56

I think that moved the needle enough for

24:58

them to deal with deal that type of

25:00

capital right now. This spring

25:03

and this summer is high noon

25:05

for the Lakers. This is when they make their last

25:07

stand, and I think Lebron understands

25:10

that and sees a pathway to them

25:12

becoming a contender once again.

25:14

Last thing for you.

25:15

Before the All Star Break, spent some

25:17

time around Milwaukee, went to a couple

25:19

of games in Milwaukee, traveled with them

25:21

to Memphis for their last game for

25:24

the All Star Break, and I got to see the full Milwaukee,

25:27

right. I got to see the full breadth of the

25:29

Milwaukee Bucks where they take on Denver

25:31

and pummel them at home. The

25:33

next night, they get pummeled by

25:36

the Miami Heat. Two nights later, in

25:39

a game they absolutely positively

25:41

should have won. For the All Star Break, they get

25:43

beat by the Artist formerly

25:46

known as the Memphis Grizzlies, their B League

25:48

team, their zombie team.

25:50

They get beat by the Memphis

25:52

Grizzlies. This

25:54

is a team with a lot of pressure, right.

25:56

Damian Lillard is thirty one, Chris

25:58

Middleton is thirty two, Giannis

26:01

is twenty nine. They made the bold decision

26:03

to fire Adrian Griffin and

26:05

bring in Doc Rivers as the head coach, and

26:08

look being around that team, Mark I

26:10

understood why the decision

26:12

was made. This team was

26:14

not improving defensively. They were in the bottom

26:16

third defensively, and even though they won the

26:18

last couple of games, the Griff coach get a lot of points

26:21

in those games. So John Horst

26:24

management in Milwaukee, they

26:26

didn't see this team on

26:28

a path that would lead it to the

26:31

NBA Finals. So they bring in Doc Rivers, who guarantees

26:33

nothing. You should be pointed out like that doesn't. But he's

26:35

a new voice, and what Doc has tried to

26:37

do out there is really simplify

26:40

things, streamline things, make things

26:43

more digestible for his team, whether

26:45

it's offensively playing

26:47

more two man game with Giannis and Dame

26:50

defensively not having so many

26:52

coverages that players have to remember

26:55

and go to. So I can see what they're

26:58

trying to do. The question is

27:01

is there enough time for this team

27:03

to do it. They've got the talent. Giannis is going

27:05

to be the best player on the floor in virtually

27:07

every series Milwaukee plays it. Dame is

27:09

going to be a top four player in virtually

27:11

every series Milwaukee plays it. They've got

27:13

some guys who got a little bit of depth. Is

27:16

there enough time in your mind for

27:19

this Milwaukee team to become

27:21

a championship contender.

27:26

Yes and no, I don't think there's enough

27:28

time. In the sense that I

27:31

am bullish on the Boston Celtics and

27:33

I love their starting lineup. I love the chemistry

27:36

that Chrisofsporzingis has shown and his

27:39

durability as well as Drew Holliday.

27:41

I think also philosophically what we've

27:43

seen through this season, through

27:45

the ups and down so with Adrian Griffin, the

27:48

integration with Doc Rivers and the transition

27:51

there without a training camp is philosophically

27:55

it's impossible for them to be the same

27:57

defensive team as they were without

28:00

Drew Holliday, but with those

28:02

caveats aside, they should

28:04

have what it takes to be a substantially

28:07

much more better team with

28:10

mitigating his absence, with having

28:12

what you were saying, Doc Rivers, simplifying

28:14

defensive schemes and responsibilities.

28:17

Giannis is a great defender, so is

28:19

Brook Lopez Pat

28:21

Beverly. Sometimes it's hit

28:23

or miss, as far as sometimes he gets wrapped

28:26

up too much in the individual defensive

28:28

matchup and the trash talking than

28:30

the team's scheme, but he is a good defender.

28:33

The other thing is from the very

28:36

jump with this trade. The idea was

28:38

that when they got Damian Lillard,

28:41

the message wasn't was, oh,

28:43

we don't care about defense, but it

28:45

was about, well, we have so much offensive

28:47

depth and so much offensive potential that

28:50

that's going to be our calling card.

28:52

While both parties have shown a lot of promising

28:54

signs it can reach a

28:56

higher level. So I think it should

28:59

be enough time for to figure all those

29:01

things out to be substantially better

29:03

than they have been this season. But I

29:06

don't think there's enough time that, barring

29:08

any injuries from Boston, that's gonna be

29:10

enough to get through them and a presumed

29:13

Eastern Conference Finals matchup.

29:15

It's gonna be challenging, there's no doubt about

29:17

that.

29:17

I think the encouraging signs

29:20

of the Doc Rivers era, which look

29:22

the numbers, are the numbers.

29:23

He's three and seven in the ten games that he's coached,

29:26

they have been better defensively.

29:28

They are twelfth in defensive deficiency

29:30

efficiency over the

29:33

last ten games going into that Memphis

29:35

game.

29:35

I think they were eighth somewhere around there, So

29:38

they have.

29:39

Shown improvement over

29:41

a ten game stretch on the defensive

29:43

end, and I think the more time passes

29:47

and the more repetitions that Damon Giannis

29:49

get together, They're only

29:51

going to get better. And even though Damian

29:53

Lillard has not had deep postseason

29:56

success, I think you and I would both

29:58

agree he is a built for the postseas type of player,

30:00

Like he is not afraid of the moment, and

30:03

he is gonna make some big shots for that team in

30:06

the postseason. And look, the the guts

30:08

of that team that won a championship

30:11

in twenty twenty is still there.

30:13

I mean dam and Drew Holiday got swapped out, but Giannis,

30:15

Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaden, Chris

30:19

Middleton of course, like they are still there.

30:21

So I'm gonna say,

30:23

maybe maybe they can become a

30:26

championship protend. I need to see what this team looks like coming

30:28

out of the All Star break first couple of weeks. I think

30:30

they have a game against Boston on I

30:32

said March twentieth. I want to say, like

30:34

that's a game I'm circling on the calendar mark,

30:36

Like that's what I that's enough time

30:39

to have passed with Doc Rivers on the

30:41

sideline, with the pieces you have in place, the

30:43

system you have in place, that's enough time

30:45

to find out if this team

30:47

has what takes, I think they have to approach that game like

30:50

it's a playoff game, like at the playoff elimination game,

30:52

like you want to see what your team's

30:54

got against the very best the Eastern Conference.

30:57

Maybe the NBA has to offer. So that's

30:59

the game I'm looking at. I know

31:01

teams don't like to say, oh, it's a regular season game one to

31:03

eighty two.

31:04

That to me is not. That is a playoff

31:06

type game. They have to look good in.

31:08

Yeah, And I think if we are going to find

31:10

any potential silver lining in this All

31:13

Star weekend that you know, as we mentioned,

31:15

didn't have a great showcase game

31:17

in the Bucks' case, some of these developments

31:20

could have a positive carryover effect. The

31:22

fact that they lost to Memphis Berzlies, which was

31:24

abysmal, the fact that there's no job Moran,

31:27

Jared Jackson, Marcus Smart, Desmond

31:29

Bane. It led Giannis as you know, because

31:31

you were there and having

31:33

a lot.

31:33

Of playing Lamar Stevens long minutes

31:36

like in that game, Lamar Stevens just signed there

31:38

like that day or something.

31:39

It was close crazy,

31:42

Wow, that's wild.

31:44

But you know those postgame comments

31:46

I saw that you highlighted from me. Honest, I thought that

31:48

those were very on point, and I thought it

31:50

sent a message and with a lot of tangible things

31:53

that I'm sure that he and Dame

31:55

and the entire team is digesting

31:57

over this weekend and they're going to discuss more

32:00

once practice resumes. Look,

32:02

all Star weekends, all Star weekend, but Damian

32:05

Loward winning the three point contest, gain MVP

32:07

like those are very specific

32:09

things, so it's a stretch to say, oh, this is gonna

32:12

carry over into actual games. But I think the feeling

32:14

of having a nice weekend with feel

32:16

good moments can at least provide

32:19

some good vibes once

32:22

the team reconvenes. But it's the bigger

32:24

point that you've outlined that you

32:27

know they should have what it takes

32:29

because of the fact that Doc Rivers is simplifying

32:31

things. They have shown some relative

32:34

improvement and the offensive potential

32:36

is there and they've seen it. They just have

32:38

to put it all together on a consistent

32:40

basis, and that are not only losing

32:43

two teams that have G League

32:45

rosters, but they're actually competing consistently

32:48

like they did against the Denver Nuggets

32:50

the other night.

32:51

Maybe the most interesting team to watch in

32:53

the second half of the season Milwaukee Bucks because

32:56

they've got pressure short term and look,

32:58

I know Dames under contract for few years.

33:00

Giannis just signed the contract

33:02

extension. But as you well know, Mark, contracts are meaningless

33:05

in today's player doesn't believe

33:07

that it's working in a particular situation,

33:09

he very easily can get out of

33:11

that situation. So there's got to be that sense of urgency

33:14

in Milwaukee to win right now.

33:16

Mark Medina good stuff. Check him out over at sports

33:18

Key to listen at Fox Sports Radio. Whole

33:20

bunch of different Nowltis, thanks for joining me, Mark.

33:23

Us appreciate you just always. I'm glad

33:25

at least that this NBA segment was

33:28

a lot more substantive and hopefully

33:30

more entertaining than the All Star Game.

33:32

I certainly hope, So how can it not be