What you talkin' 'bout (Malik) Willis?!

Which NBA player could you beat in a fist fight? - Don't be quiet now Malik Willis supporters - March Madness begins - Waddle to the Broncos and more with Lashawn Brown - Like, share, and smash the 5 star reviews 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Did you know that sloss can breathe underwater for up to 40 minutes at a time? Did not know that. I learned something every day from the internet. I swear, man, like the only thing that I ever get whenever I'm doing like word association with sloss, it's always something from like Zotopia. It's never anything of like real importance. It's just they look creepy as hell. And now I know they can basically scuba dive, and I don't know if I'm okay with that. What's good, everybody? Welcome back to the playbook podcast. My name is Prescott Kelly. Today is Thursday, March 19th. Glad to have you back with us. We got March Madness underway. Um, Jalen Waddell has been traded to the Broncos. Should the NBA extend to 32 teams instead of 30, so on and so forth, and a whole lot more. LaShawn Bryan Sierra Miguel joining me live. What's good with you, fellas? Good to have you back with me.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Good to be here. Glad to be here. Uh can't wait to get into this because I got a couple. Well, I'll say I have one hot take.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Well, when it comes to so when it comes to the well, we'll start with March Madness because that's kind of the big talking point. People who don't even watch Call of Troops seem to pretend like they're experts in it. And all I know is that uh senior guard play is supposed to be the big thing that helps propel you to a championship. And uh I had Duke win the whole thing because I liked Grant Hill when I was seven years old, back in like 1991-92. And I'm picking them this year, even though I call this the annual Duke Hate Invitational Tournament. Um, if they lose the Siena, I'm gonna have an aneurysm, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

They're about to uh Duke is about to with like three minutes left. I mean, you you say a senior guard play. They lost their senior guard.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

I was just doing like a hyper, I was just doing this, this like that's the thing that anybody who doesn't watch college hoops has that has that analyst, like that analysis, like, well, senior guard playing that leads of championships. I'm like, well, that's all that's all I had in my back pocket, and I don't know anything else.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

I mean, you gotta have that and an outstanding freshman at the same time. So Duke has that going for him. Uh Arkansas, who's who has pretty much, in my opinion, the best guard in the country. And he's only a freshman, so yo, them boozer boys. Man, did you see the white?

SPEAKER_02 2:45

Did we see the what? Go ahead, Pete. No, I was gonna say the video.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

I was gonna say it was a noz. Yeah, that's what's gonna help him. I didn't see that.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

No, that was on that was some yeah, you're gonna need a guard, like he's a combo guard, and he he can defend. That's pretty good. So, in my opinion, I think he's gonna probably be top four in the NBA draft. He can shoot, that's the one thing he really has going for him. He can shoot the shoot the lights out, and you got boozer, Wilson, and uh AJ down at BYU. Those three are gonna go, and then you're gonna have A Cov going next.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Who do y'all have actually won the channel? I I didn't watch one look at college hoops. I know that Cohen Carr dude and Michigan State's dope, but that's about all I know.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

I got Houston. I believe in defense, man. I mean, we saw with Seattle, Seahawks won it all with defense. I'm gonna go with Houston. Their defense matters.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

So they finally get it done because if I remember, I I remember seeing some of that, they're the most winningest program in college hoops since like 2017 without a ring. So this is the year they finally kind of put it all together, it feels like it's either them or uh I can see like Arizona.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

I I can't see um Michigan or or Duke, so they got too many injuries, so couldn't go with them.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

I mean, that's fair. I just like I said I'm I'm just I I bring it up because it's a fun talking point. I don't know anything about this thing.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

You know, you had some people like me that that took off for the day, just so you know, so I can go ahead and watch some of these games. I mean, I'm I'm kind I'm not even upset that Ohio State lost their first round game. I had them losing anyway. Oh, that's right, they lost by one, didn't they? They yeah, lost by two or two. I I thought the guy, I thought they would have probably caught like three seconds in the key. The dude was like camping down there hard, and they never caught it.

SPEAKER_02 5:11

We will have more updates later on in the program. Well, you know, next week and so on and so forth. I want to get to this thing because CR CR brought this up into the group chat, and I'm so glad that he did because I'm gonna throw my own twist into it later on. But he asked, which NBA player do you feel like you could legitimately fight in the streets? And if you win, you take their contract. Now I don't know what Luca. I don't know what CR was gonna say, but you were gonna say Luca. And when you said Luca, I'm like, I'm I'm all hands on deck, but I have another one. Oh, CR had to leave the building for a minute. So I'm with you on Luca, but I had a backup one, and I also have an NFL one. Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Like, who pick you gotta pick like a kicker or a punter. Nope. Nope. I weren't quarterback.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Oh, so my my backup NBA one is Carl Anthony Towns. Okay, understandable. My quarterback, Daniel Jones. I absolutely feel like I can book that man in the streets. Like, go ahead, kick him in his fucking leg. It's not even that. It's weird because I don't like doing this, but you know how sometimes either you hear a name or you see a face when it comes to professional quarterbacks, and you just go, that guy ain't it. When I saw when I saw Mac Jones walk down the aisle, and when I saw Daniel Jones, I'm like, those dudes aren't quarterbacks, and I know I'm I I never say that I'm better than a professional athlete or anything, but as far as just spitting the ball, I feel like I'm probably better than those two dudes. Just go ahead and take them out, huh? Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But I I feel like I can beat up Carl Anthony Towns, and I feel like I beat up Daniel Jones.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Carl Anthony Towns, I think that's like like a lot of fans would take take him out. I think that's a giving. Because the way that he comes across, it's it's so crazy.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

Bro, Z, it's wild because like I know that he's a professional athlete, but I just can't deal with at least six times a game. That oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

It's it's wild to me. Like a lot of fans like look at him sideways and just like hold up, man.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

There's a lot of there's a lot of allegations that I don't feel like that man can be with all of the hand gestures and and that yes, we in MSG. I'm like, bro, like, and there's nothing wrong with it, but man, like you are not beating those allegations on my end.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Like, I just don't feel like you can. I mean, he is dating a beautiful woman, but at the same time, it's just like I'm still looking at you sideways, my guy.

SPEAKER_02 7:59

It's like so. I know they're not the same person, but there there were times I thought the same thing about Al Horford because them eyelashes are just too luxurious, dog.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Like, I can't no, from what I heard, like he him being down there in Atlanta, like he he was that change him, yeah. He he he was squabbling. He's a he's an undercover tough guy. Like he's Al Horford is yeah, he's a quiet assassin.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

Huh. Actually, I can see that too, because like he does, like he doesn't say anything, but again, like it's weird because it's it's a feature that you shouldn't pay that much attention to as a dude, but like I see them it's weird, they just pop so much on my damn lashes. There's something about him, but he's probably had to deal with that his entire life, and that probably said you probably gotta swap squabble up at some point in time because you gotta defend your own honor.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Oh yeah, oh yeah. Like there's a few stories that I don't heard about a few NBA players. Like, I'll say this there were before LeBron came back, there was a squabble between Kyrie and Dion Waders. And this is like those guys, they wanted their numbers, so they got up there in the locker room and fight it out. Dion got the best of Kyrie. Really?

SPEAKER_02 9:28

I didn't realize that that Kyrie doesn't seem as the kind of person who would want to just just stroll down that road. He doesn't feel like that kind of confrontational person who would even invite that into his own home if you know.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

That's how I was, but then at the same time, it was like you gotta stand up for yourself, you just can't get get bitched out up there in a locker room. So I mean, we don't have to do the whole Crittington thing, but I don't know if you've ever seen the Netflix series about that, man. No, I haven't, but I should.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

I've I'm intrigued by that whole like that Gilbert Arenas timeline in Washington. They weren't an interesting franchise, but they had an interesting roster.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Yeah. You had guys that Gil Gil was the guy that you know, you gotta keep him in check. That's how I'll put it. Because if you don't keep him in check, he's gonna get reckless with it. And technically he got reckless with it.

SPEAKER_02 10:30

I will say this, like I watch a lot of like I don't I don't spend a whole lot of time on TikTok, but when I do, it seems like the podcast with Jeff T, I forget what it's called, it's like 520 something like that, and it pops up. And him talking about Gilbert Arenas is still one of the funniest moments where he's like, I was I just got in the league, and Gilbert Arenas was wearing number zero, and I was gonna ask him for his jersey, and he came out wearing a number nine, and he was like, I don't want that. Get that shit up out of here. I don't know, I don't know, you kid. I love Jeff T to me is so he's a great storyteller, he's a great storyteller.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

I'll say he really is. I think you need more of that. I say in all sports, you need that. You need like that veteran guy that that was in the league for like 10-15 years. Come on and tell us some stories about what was really going on.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

Well, because you know that the people who are like elite, elite, they're not gonna give you anything. And the people who exactly the people who are cheeks, you won't believe what they say, anyways. You gotta have somebody like Jeff Teague is like the perfect barometer of somebody who is really good, stay in the league for a number of years, and can tell you him and Vernon Maxwell to me are the two best storytellers. Like when it comes, there's nobody better.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Uncle Vernon, that's what I call him. Uncle Vernon, because he's that he's the uncle up there at the family reunion that's gonna tell you a story that's gonna have you laughing like for like a half hour. It's the voice, too, because he got one of them raspy voices like this. Oh my goodness, like when he told his story about him fighting up there in San Antonio and how he used to go out all the time, and Popovich had a security team following him everywhere, and he he pretty much put Vernon to the test. Like, listen, you go out tonight, I'm gonna trade your ass. And what Vernon do went out, got in a fight. He ain't even try to he lie about it. He's like, Yeah, that was me. And I guess he thought Popovich was up there playing him, and he traded him within 24 hours.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

That's it's his story about Hakeem Elajawan when he smacked the hell out of the locker room.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

Listen, man. There, that is one guy I don't think I would want to test. Hakeem Elajawan.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

No, because Hakeem, like we talked about like Gentle Giants and Silent Giants earlier. He seemed like somebody who would just be so diplomatic, but would absolutely like he's seen some stuff from the country that he's from. He is not here for your bullshit at all.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

At all, man. Smack Vern in the back of the head. Vernon started playing well after that. Hey, that's how it gotta be sometimes. I mean, I don't know if it's gonna be like that these days, but back then you can get away with that. But these days, like I'm sorry, like Christian Christian Wilkins, he was with the Raiders, he did some girls sit up there in the locker room. They can't they paid him to go away.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

That that is a thing that I was like nowadays, and it's we we talked about this a little bit off stage. It's like we're not trying to be the old heads, but it's like you just everything is just so at your fingertips immediately. Like it, you don't get it, you don't even get a chance to handle it internally. No, the moment that something happens, there's somebody filming it or tweeting about it like immediately. So, whatever goes on, like it's all public information the moment that it happens.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Yep. And as soon as it gets out there, you know it's gonna spread like a wildfire.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

The other person that I wish we could get more of is KD. I I love internet KD. I can't I can't wait for him to retire because I feel like all of his burner accounts are just gonna come out and full fall.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

I think he's gonna spill everything when he retires. He, yep. Yep, yep, yep. And I can't wait for it. Yeah, I can see that being like a uh ESPN 30 for 30.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

But see, I would actually watch that one. Yeah, because I feel I feel like he's got some interesting things to say, but he's kept most of it internal for a long time.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Yep, like you got to, because you don't want to turn off like you know, your endorsements, advertising, and everything. You don't want to turn those off.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

Well, because he's not the same kind of player that some of the other NBA players are, right? Like some of them are very they're in the spotlight, like you got your LeBrons and your uh Steph Curry's and stuff like that. Like they're they're like they're in commercials all the time. KD isn't one of those dudes. He just he wants to go to work, he wants to hoop, he wants to go home, and he wants to make fun of you on the internet. And I feel like once he doesn't have one of those things in his arsenal, every the other one, the internet, is gonna be his only outlet, and he is going to unleash all the demons.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

I want him to be like Charles, Charles Barkley and Shaq. I want him to be like just coming out, just eviscerating everybody. Like, don't don't you don't have to take sides, but go ahead, do your thing, man.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

I think he's gonna take a very progressive stroll through it, too. I don't think he's just gonna when he does hang it up. I don't think he's just gonna start putting everybody on blast. I because I feel like he's very calculated, not calculated, but he seems like he's a very considerate person. Yeah. Um, I feel like he's when he first gets into it, he may say, Well, this player, and it's gonna be anonymous, and then once he gets more comfortable, when he's like two or three years into it, that's when he's gonna start putting names and belt to ass. And that's when we're gonna really find out who he's talking about.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

It's gonna be hilarious. I'm gonna die laughing at it. So he's gonna be a good time. It is gonna be a good time.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

But speaking of Kevin Durant, NBA expansion, um the biggest thing over the last couple years has been Vegas and Seattle and Seattle getting their squad back. Regardless if it happens or not, it does seem almost completely eminent. But do you think the NBA should expand? Because what I've been told is like the NBA doesn't have enough talent, and I think the complete opposite. There's always there's always talent. Well, one, there's always there's always talent, but I think that NIL is the whole reason why they need to expand because we were getting 19-year-olds going from college to professional basketball, and they weren't quite developed enough to be great right away. But with kids staying, and it I think that we got what we want when it comes to collegiate sports. I think we got what we wanted. We just didn't get there the way that we thought we wanted it to get there, right? We wanted kids to stay there longer because we want to have an attachment to the program or the kids, we want to know who they are. We want them to get to at least their junior year and try to get developed, right? We're getting that way now, but we're doing it through transfer portals and then being at two different schools before they finally leave. So are they staying in school longer because that's what we wanted? Yes, but we're also not getting the nostalgic representation of this kid's at my school for three years.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Yep. Because now, even as if you're a freshman, you can leave after that freshman year, go to another school if you don't want to go to the NBA draft. You can double up with the new. I mean, it can happen, it's a lot that can happen, man. It's a dirty game now, and it just all comes down to money.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

For sure, and I think that that's one of the reasons why some are saying that we shouldn't expand, is because, well, let them be because you can be in college now for six years, you know, you can just sit there, hang around, and play until you're 25. But I I think that it's the NIL stuff is, and that that's actually one of the reasons why I think the NBA has to expand, is that if you don't put at least two more roster or two more squads together, is that you're just gonna have the talent stay in college longer. And if you're an NBA product, you want to have that those players be in a market, regardless of where it is, sooner. And that that because like the NIL is really for the players who are like the second round picks, right? Like you know, your top 15 guys are gonna make their money, but the guys who are on the fence, they they sit back and they play for another year or two because why not make$500,000 to 1.5 a year and play against college kids again?

SPEAKER_01 18:57

And get your numbers, and who's not to say you can expand your game and your draft stock?

SPEAKER_02 19:02

Yeah, exactly. Like I might as well just stay here, make more money than I would in the pros, get more run, and then boost the draft stock. And that's the thing that we're seeing now is like this, from what I understand, again, as somebody who's I'm not trying to be some draftologist on this, but from what I've been told, is like this is supposed to be a pretty loaded-up draft, and maybe it's because we're getting more sophomores and juniors because they're actually learning the game of basketball at a better level at the at the college ranks and not just getting thrusted into NBA. The other thing, too, is I've always felt this way, I'm not sure how you feel about it, but the NBA to me always felt like one of those high school clicks where you get the run because of your name, and like if you get injured, right? Like, let's say, like Steph is obviously a very much a wild example, but we got to see Pod play. Yeah, pod can play, pod can hoop. He's not Steph, but it's like if you get the run, if you get to it to the professional level, especially in basketball, I feel like you can hoop if you're in the right circumstance, but because of the name recognition, once you're back, it's like you're not supposed to lose your job to due to injury at the quarterback position. I don't know, man. Like, I feel like there's so much talent, but the name recognition is once somebody who's the the self-proclaimed starter comes back, you just go back to the bench by the wayside, and you you don't you're you're you're an afterthought basically.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

That's that's the nature of the game. I mean, I agree with you, yeah. And again, that's where the the team element comes in at, you know. Um I'm all for the expansion. I I agree. I think more players should be in the league. Like there's a few players that's up there in the G League that can use being up there at the end of the bench who can come in, play about like five or ten minutes a night. It ain't much, but at the same time, who's not to say that you know, making a flash play here and there if they're on ESPN now you got eyes from like these kids, you just never know, man.

SPEAKER_02 21:10

I just I I feel like the the talent pool really for all sports, when you think about it, because there's so many people in this country that there's more people who are great at something that they're just not being recognized for it. But once you get to the professional level, it it's weird because I I also think that coaching matters, I think that your environment matters, but the ego is always gonna be part of the equation, and that's kind of the problem, is that always, always like you got egos now that's up out of hand, you know?

SPEAKER_01 21:51

Some of these guys, like I look at I'll look at LeBron. Like now he was supposed to be the you know the second best player up there. Now I'm looking like for like the past two, three weeks, he's becoming the third best player, but at the same time, he's accepting that role. And which at first I didn't think saying he wanted to go for that. But for the betterment of the team, for them to get where they want to go, he has to be the third best player. Like, even though he went off last night, him being the third best player, it can I'll say it might be better than like 65% of other NBA teams.

SPEAKER_02 22:30

Yeah, and that's the thing with Braun, is like it feels like he I know he comes across as corny, the way that he kind of delivers certain things, and I get that, but and I know he's got his own ego. I'm not here to say like that that man has no ego because he certainly does. Yeah, but they they all do, man. They all do, but it feels like and we kind of knew that that was the the trajectory of this team, anyways, that he was supposed to be the third best player on this team, regardless. We just didn't think it was gonna be when he was damn near 42. Yeah, like it's but I feel I feel like what he's doing is is is is the responsible thing from what we know about him is he's always been kind of the the facilitator, and that's what he's like with the ball in his hands. That's what we self-identified. We identified LeBron James as a facilitator, but now he's doing it with the roster and like the mental stuff, like with well, with all the other players, as far as I'm facilitating to the guys like Luca and AR and letting them handle stuff as opposed to just me being so ball dominant and team dominant now.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

True, and which that's the reason why I say that they're like the sixth seed, and now they're the third seed in the West, and it's a fucking gauntlet in the West. Uh the West is stupid, it is top to bottom, except for if you play OKC. I'm sorry, they're they're pretty much the best team in the West. We're the best team in the league. And it's scary, but San Antonio, they're right there behind them, and then and that's even scarier.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

It's crazy too because San Antonio has I think that they've got no players with any playoff experience, only Harrison Barnes. Oh, that's right, Harrison Barnes. That's right. De'Aaron Fox don't count. Like his numbers don't count. Those like the beam, those numbers don't count. But yeah, they got Harrison Barnes. I forgot about him.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

But man, who I won't want to play San Antonio, like they're young, and Wemby right now is on a generational run that we never seen before. That dude's a he's an alien.

SPEAKER_02 24:49

He's I was gonna say, like, I know that alien is the name or it's it's the it's the adjective that gets thrown around a lot with him, but I honestly can't think of anything better to describe Victor Webinama than alien, dude.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Like, I've seen I was watching the Clippers game the other night, and Darius Garland, who's an outstanding dribbler, he locked him up, he had him up one on one had him beat. He goes up for a left-handed layup, and the bottom out of nowhere, somehow Wimby recovered and blocked it, and I'm like, there's no way how are you supposed to beat that?

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Well, it's wild because that to me is almost the it's not the exact same, but to me, it's the equivalent of having like Antonio Cromartie back in like 2008, where you can get beat, and he's gonna get beat because Antonio Cromartie got beat all the time, but he had great ball skills. He was gambling, he was a gambler, but he had the he had the makeup speed, right? He's gonna get beat, but he's gonna catch up to you. And Wemby kind of has that with the height because he's not he's not the for his height, he's super agile, but he's not as athletic or as agile as these point guards are. But his height is basically the makeup speed of like a 99 speed overall and Madden as a corner. Like you have the ability to cheat or just lay off people and still close out because your wingspan is 73 feet long. It's it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

Exactly. Like he somehow, somehow, still blocked that shot. I'm like, there's no that's cheating, in my opinion. That's cheating.

SPEAKER_02 26:29

It's wild because he looks like Sean Bradley, but but like he's like, he moves like he's a shooting guard. Yeah, he moves like he moves like Giannis to a degree, but he looks like Sean Bradley. Like if you put them together, well, that's not even fair because he can shoot 3-2. Like, that's not even that's not fair comp, honestly.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

But to be honest, I'll say next year, because he's not gonna win MVP this year. I think Shea's gonna win it again. Somehow, somebody the media is gonna give it to him. But it'll it'll be it's gonna be close, I'll say that. But next year and going into the future, fully if he's fully healthy, Wendy might win three of the next five. I was gonna say, Yeah, because they're I say like after the first two, then it's when here he's gonna start getting that that that voter fatigue. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

Well, and I and I've said this before, and I've I I I always try to get ahead of the curve because there is going to be a point in time, and I don't think that we're too far off because we talk about Victor the way that we talk about him, is that if the Spurs don't if the Spurs don't win a title this year, I think that most people would consider that, like, yeah, we we weren't expecting you to anyways. Like, you got arguably like a top three player in Wemby, but you're still young, like we kind of get it. But if they go another year or two without even getting to an NBA finals, we are not that close to or not that far away from people starting to say, is Victor really even that good? Because that's just what we do as well. You know exactly how that's gonna happen. That's exactly how it's gonna go. Is that they don't win anything in two years. It's like, well, can you win with Wemby? Is he too ball dominant? Does everything run through him? We're that's going to be the talking point at some point in time because people are morons.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

It they did it with KD, man. When it was KD, Russ, and Hardin, they did it with Holman. I hate that. I hate that.

SPEAKER_02 28:25

It just doesn't matter who you are. Once and it's it's just rinse and repeat because I tell you what, Minnesota, and I think it's because it's Minnesota, because San Antonio has like the the heritage and the lineage of with the Robinsons and Duncans. Yeah, they have they have like the pedigree of this team is supposed to win, so there's gonna be something there, but like Minnesota doesn't have any of that, and that's why I think that Anthony Edwards is kind of slanting on the radar, and it's also because like he's he personally is fun and he's he's engaging. Why are we not talking about Minnesota the exact same way? They went to two Western Conference finals in a row, and we don't think about them as he we don't think about him as an underachiever. But if Wemby is gonna not yet, not yet, I don't know, but the thing is, I don't know if we're ever gonna do that, and I I don't think it's fair to use the economic system of, or not the economic system, but like the the the actual geographical location as a crutch for it, but that's what we do because he plays in Minnesota, he's gonna slide under the radar forever. It's like, well, what do you expect him to do in Minnesota? I'm like, I don't know. I thought he was supposed to be dope. Like Luca in Dallas was getting all the praise in the world, and now that he's in LA, you see how much the slander's coming through. It's it's just it's so obvious and it's also so ridiculous at the exact same time.

SPEAKER_01 29:47

It's it's gonna come. I'll say, let's just say if they lose in the first round, Minnesota, Minnesota, they lose in the first round. They're gonna like it was at first, it was up there in the coach. Now it's gonna go from the coach to the organization, then from the organization, it'll go to the player. Like, but I'm thinking, like, he was the number one pick. You being the number one pick, you gotta be like he's as close as to being generational, but at the same time, people was comparing him to MJ, right? Yeah, so if we're gonna do that, why not? You know, we can criticize him because he's coming up short now. We need to see something. Like here's what's confusing finals not is gonna is not gonna cut it.

SPEAKER_02 30:31

Here's what I think is going to happen when it comes to Anthony Edwards specifically is that let's say again that they with the with the predicament that you brought up, let's say they get bounced in the first round, and he balls out of his mind. You and I both know who's going to get the first treatment of get out of here, and it's Rudy Gobert.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

I hate that. And he says the uh innocent bystander, man.

SPEAKER_02 31:03

He's gonna get all the smoke. It doesn't matter how it doesn't matter how well or poor Anthony Edwards plays. If they get bounced, Rudy Gobert is gonna be the guy who is gonna catch all the strays.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

Oh man, it ain't because of Ant, it's because of Gro Gobert. What? How y'all gonna do this? Like, he ant man could have 40 points a game in a series. No, he gotta get it done. You gotta find a way, you gotta get it done somehow, somehow.

SPEAKER_02 31:31

I feel like that's the way that like you and I have a similar thought process on that, is because like even like with quarterbacks, we they get all the glory and all of the hatred. And it's like to me, I'd rather have a quarterback who I'd rather you convert on third down. If you know what your deficiencies are on defense and on offense, I don't need you maybe to get the 60-yard bomb just for the flashy. Just keep your deep if your defense is the thing that's holding you back, don't have them be on the field. Exactly. Keep them up down the sideline. Let yeah, limit the possibility of there being the thing for you to lose. Like it's Anthony Edwards' exact same way. Sometimes you got to go out and drop 40. Sometimes you might just have to be the defender and just lock it up. But the thing is that Anthony Edwards, again, I I feel like he's awesome. I I love his attitude. I think he's engaging and fun. I love the way he plays, but he's not gonna get the same smoke that Wemby's gonna get. If, again, if if these two teams the next, let's just say the next three years, these two teams don't win or even get to an NBA finals, Wemby's gonna get so much more smoke than Anthony Edwards is.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

In which Edwards has done more, I'll say more because he he has led Minnesota to the to the Western Congress Finals.

SPEAKER_02 32:49

Right.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

My thing is get get your team to the finals, will them there, somehow, some way. Like, that's what great players do, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:58

They do, and it's also like I I remember on my timeline, you actually you commented on it and you didn't tag me, but it was when the Mavs went to uh the NBA finals, and like somebody else commented and I was like, I told y'all like this this is a flash in the pan year. Like it's or no, it was the Bengals. It was the Bengals going to the Super Bowl when it went. Like, they're not gonna make the playoffs next year. Watch it.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

Like, sometimes those seasons just happen. Like you said, it's a flash in the pan. Like, but you gotta make the most of the situation when you get there. You I hate because I look at the Patriots right now. Everybody thinks, you know, the Patriots are back, they got Drake May, they're gonna be a wide receiver, and they're gonna be like a Tom Brady again. They're gonna go up on another run for the next 10-15 years. I'm like, no, because in my opinion, the league is it's so wishy-washy as I call it. So one year you can make it, and then the league catches up to you somehow, some way, and you get exposed. And I don't even know if Seattle makes the playoffs next year. What's that? I don't even know if Seattle makes the playoffs next year. Yeah, because that division is so tough. Well, it is.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Like in the thing for Seattle, and I unfortunately I've only got about 10-15 minutes before I gotta hang it up because I gotta go pick up kiddo from school soon. But um uh, but no, like with Seattle, it's one of those things where it may be by design on why you lost your players, but that sometimes like with Kansas City, they intentionally let people go so they could keep the guy, Mahomes, in in red, white, and yellow. Sometimes you gotta make those decisions, and you just because you don't win three Super Bowls in five years doesn't mean your team's a failure. So I don't feel like Seattle is good enough to be able to go, even if they would have ran it back with everybody. It doesn't mean you can repeat just because you did it once, doesn't mean you can do it again.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

No, because you still gotta you're gonna need some breaks. You're gonna need some breaks, man. It ain't easy, man.

SPEAKER_02 35:08

It's never easy. Well, that's but like what you mentioned with with New England, and people think that they can just automatically run it back because they did it last year and because Drake made still on his rookie deal, you're not gonna get the easiest schedule in NFL history back-to-back years.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

Yeah, that's not how that works. And already, like I said, man, those defense, those opposing defensive coordinators, they're breaking down that's that Super Bowl tape, man. They're gonna take that weakness and they're gonna make sure they they're gonna keep exposing it to see if you can overcome it.

SPEAKER_00 35:41

Oh, what easy, man?

SPEAKER_02 35:42

100%. We had two more talking points. I don't have enough time to get to both of them. Which one would you rather go on to? Uh, the uh the Jalen Waddle trade to Denver, or should Malik Willis pull a Baltimore Ravens and want to get out of there?

SPEAKER_01 35:57

I I mean I'll I'll I'll do this real fast for you. Waddle getting traded to the Broncos is just the ways. I don't know why they did it and they gave up a first round pick for him, along with the that contract that he has. I get it. They're trying to believe it in Bo Nicks. I am not buying it. I don't I don't buy Bo Nicks at all. I do not buy it, but I get it. They're trying to see if they can you know stay ahead of the curve because they still gotta play against the Chiefs and they've got to play against the Chargers. So good luck. Let's hope that Bo Nicks don't overthrow this guy. Well, I I don't even think Stanin got the arm to get it to him anyway.

SPEAKER_02 36:36

So well that's like when it with when this trade happened, it's one of the weird, it's one of the the the very few trades where I go, I think that both teams lost. It because like I think that Jalen Waddle is a fine, I think he's fine, he's a good wide receiver. Is he a number one to to lose sleep over? That's how I'll say it. Well, the thing is like his his best year was when he had like still what we would consider prime Tyreek. Yep. So is he a number one wide receiver? We don't really know. We saw him as the number one wide receiver this year for most of the year, but you add two up, right? But I don't think that Bo Nicks is really that much of an upgrade, though. So, but this this feels a little bit more like when when Buffalo got Stephon Diggs, it feels like everybody's kind of getting slided into their appropriate positions, where like Waddle can be the one, Sutton can be the two, and like people aren't playing out of position. Plus, he's gonna be good for about 20 to 25 carries a year, I would imagine, with the jet sweeps and things like that. He's gonna make the defenses have to be honest about when he goes in motion, if as long as they use him that particular way. But I just it's a first round pick, but it's also basically a second round pick because it's such it's such a late first rounder where I don't hate the move, but it's just it feels like I equate it almost to like when Anthony Davis and Luka Don just got traded. I'm like, you're only mad because you know the names, like these moves don't matter to any team. Like it doesn't, it doesn't really matter.

SPEAKER_01 38:13

You have to wait to see what that draft pick turns into. Who does Dolphins get a franchise player with that that pick, in which the Dolphins I read 175 million? That is half of the salary cap. 175 million dollars in debt money, in debt money. You are a billionaire. You giving away 155 million dollars? I mean, billions a lot.

SPEAKER_02 38:40

I it is, but to just go away. But the thing is, like, it's not like it's his money, it's salary cap money.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

So it's not his salary cap and everything. I'm just like, man, like if I'm Tua, I'm happy. I got paid to go away, I'm not being blamed anymore.

SPEAKER_02 38:57

So I think that Tua is going to do you think he's a starter week one in Atlanta or is it still pendics? Yes, you think Tua's number one?

SPEAKER_01 39:05

Okay, Tua's gonna be starting. And with this whole Malik Willis situation, bro, I felt so bad for him. If I'm him, I'll be like, man, I'm gonna just go ahead and retire, man. I feel like because you you want to know something, this is gonna be his only season for him starting as the starting quarterback.

SPEAKER_02 39:25

Thank you, thank you, and the reason. So, what's wild to me is like, do you remember? Okay, so when when we posted this into the sports Avengers page, there were so many people that were championing for Malik Willis to be a starter because of what he did in Green Bay. If you if you didn't think that Jalen Waddle was that good, you should still have the same expectation that Malik Willis is still a savior from Miami, right? Like, that's that's the way I look at it.

SPEAKER_01 39:52

You know that you know that's not they're not gonna go for it, man.

SPEAKER_02 39:55

No, no, no, no, no. Because no, because no, because now they have an excuse because Waddle's gone. But like, if you were to go through the top 20 wide receivers, Jalen Waddle's name does not come up anywhere. But while he was still on the Dolphins, you thought it was a great move to sign Malik Willis, and now all of a sudden it's well, what'd you want him to do? I don't know. You thought that you if you didn't think that that that Waddle was that good, you still think that Malik Willis is that dude. And I that man has thrown six touchdown passes in his entire career.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Exactly. He did he all he did was just parlayed it into like one contract extension. Congratulations, kid. Good luck to you because this is your only season of you starting. Bro, he is they're gonna go two, they're gonna go two and fifteen, and we all know what's gonna happen. They're gonna go to the city.

SPEAKER_02 40:42

They're gonna draft arch. They're gonna draft arch and then get rid of him. Because like the the the money that they gave him is I don't have a problem with the contract because it is slightly above backup money and exponentially below starter money. Yeah, so like the the contract itself is not the problem. The problem is what you have around him, and at this point in time, you might as well trade a chain as well.

SPEAKER_01 41:08

I was just about to say they're gonna build around a chain, and I'm just like, man, he's about to get like 350 touches if he survives it. If he survives it, man, but 350 for that little small guy, give up, man.

SPEAKER_02 41:22

He's gonna be non-smoking Ricky Williams. 350 touches, man. Get the hell out of duty. Get out of here, man. I just don't I don't see it because like the whole Malik Willis thing is everybody was so high on him based off of like a one-month stretch in Green Bay. Because I don't know if you remember, but I certainly do. The way that people were clowning him in Tennessee, and then Green Bay signs him, and they're still clowning him, and all that happened, all that needed to happen was three quarters of football.

SPEAKER_01 41:54

Playing against the Baltimore Ravens who didn't have a defense. But that's enough to give that man the starting job, apparently. Yeah, that it pays, man, to be a quarterback, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02 42:06

It certainly, it's certainly it certainly does. And I do think that honestly, I think that Malik Willis is going to find himself in now for him being a starting quarterback down the line, I feel like this is going to hinder it because Miami, over the past five or six years, has been notorious for basically just sabotaging players' careers because what you put on tape is what teams are looking for down the line. Like it Dominique Foxworth had said, you know, it's unethical the way that the the the Dolphins were kind of treating things with when Brian Flores was the head coach. And maybe that's a little bit of a stretch, but you are playing with everybody's money when you are intentionally losing, and Miami is just recycling and get this time. It just feels like at least they're owning it. Like it feels like they're trying to be bad on purpose.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

Now, back then, when when it was all happening, when they traded Thompson and Fitzpatrick. Now, this time, like they did they did that like within a few weeks after the preseason. But now, into the offseason, like they're they're just pushing all their chips in, like, this is a full tank season. We want to be bad and we want you guys to know it.

SPEAKER_02 43:18

And I think that fan, honestly, I think that fans appreciate that more. It sounds weird to say, but we'd almost rather know that we're supposed to be bad and you know we're supposed to be bad, as opposed to like masking this behind we're we're we're gonna do our best.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Listen, there's gonna be listen. I'm just gonna I'm gonna tell you this right now. There's gonna be an early matchup between your Buffalo Bills and Miami, right? And we're gonna lose one of those games. No, no, no, no. Listen, somehow, somehow, your bills is gonna start slowing, and somehow Miami's gonna be at like 24 0 or something like that. And we're gonna see so many hot takes from people saying, like, oh my goodness, the The the Dolphins are gonna win this game, but yet still at the end of the game, the Bills pull it out, and people are gonna be like, This is the worst team that we ever seen.

SPEAKER_02 44:10

Well, because what they're what they're gonna do is they're gonna suit up current Dan Marino, current Aronde Gadston, and current like Jason Taylor.

SPEAKER_01 44:21

Like, you know, we're supposed to be losing this game, right?

SPEAKER_02 44:25

You know, win this game. All they gotta do, and then the Bills will bring in Lovey Smith, and they're like, hey, we need we need you to take care of business real quick. Go ahead, win this game for you, bro. That is crazy, man. I just I I've never really believed that it just it what it does is it bugs me when people are just so disingenuous with their own takes. Like when it comes, like the Malik Willis thing is a prime example of before he even set foot in Green Bay, like before he actually played a snap. You thought he was cheeks in Tennessee, you thought the signing was cheeks in Green Bay, and then he looked good against a bad defense when there was no tape on him, and all of a sudden you think he's a starting quarterback. It doesn't fly with me, man. Like again, like the sal I'm not mad. When you talk about things like this, people think, oh, you're here because he got X amount of money. No, I think the money makes sense based on the position and where he's gonna be at. But if you thought that he was supposed to be the dude, Jalen Waddell exiting stage right shouldn't diminish him that much because you didn't think that he was that good. They had the worst wide receiver core in the league, man. They are basically I would equate them to the Jets of like five or six years ago and the Cam Newton Pats with how bad that wide receiving core is. That's bad. Like I was the Browns last season was bad. Or you can even you could even lump them in with the Buffalo Bills when they had Tyrod Taylor. Oh my goodness. That was bad. That was bad that that was horrible, man.

SPEAKER_01 46:04

Because it was like, who's who is he supposed to throw to? A broken Charles Clay and an old LaShawn McCoy. That was it. If it wasn't to Clay, it was just a check down to McCoy, and if it wasn't that then, Tyrod just got to make something out of nothing.

SPEAKER_02 46:18

Or it was that play action post of Scott Chandler the year beforehand. Those are classics, man. All at once, man. I would rinse and repeat that on Madden with those trash bills teams back in the day. Because it was so easy, it was so cheese and so easy, man. Yeah, and I I made Scott Chandler a 98 overall in two seasons, dog.

SPEAKER_01 46:40

Like can't beat it, man. Miss those.

SPEAKER_02 46:45

But no, I'm uh yeah, not I'm it's not that I'm not a fan of Blake Willis. I just feel like people are being disingenuous with how they actually feel about him as a quarterback, and I feel like this is gonna blow up in his face. And but but again, maybe this is one of those perfect storms where, like you said, like being a quarterback, once you get to the NFL and you are a quarterback and you are designated as such, and you're not like you're you don't come in as a backup, but you have like the backup qualifications and tendencies, if you will. Yep, man, you can you can camp there forever and maybe on average play three or four games a year, maybe, and still make twenty million dollars a year. I feel like Malik Willis is on that trajectory, and I'm happy for the man on that one. And that pension is not bad. No Cerebob. No, it is not well, I gotta scoot out of here soon.

SPEAKER_01 47:39

Is there anything that you wanted to bring up before we hang it up for the day? No, no. I mean, let's go ahead and let's see if any more upsets happen, and we might see somebody you know snap up here on social media because they bracket got busted. So, are you watching the Duke? Is the Duke game's over by now? Duke Duke won 7165. That is that is way too close for a round one getting Duke for an overall number one seed, way too close.

SPEAKER_02 48:08

I don't what I'm hoping for is like you know how when a team loses, like, oh, this is a good loss for us because it it refocuses us. I hope that's what it is for Duke because I had them win the whole thing. And this you got a wake-up call with this first game. That that is embarrassing to almost lose to the 16 seed, and the team that you faced is named after a Toyota minivan. Oh my god, like you can't lose to the Toyota Sienas, dog.

SPEAKER_01 48:36

Like, that is so bad, just awful.

SPEAKER_02 48:42

Anyway, Sean, I appreciate you uh chopping with me today. Um, you can find the audio podcast where if you get your podcast for free. Like, share, subscribe, smash the five star reviews. You guys know the drill. Stay up, stay blessed, and we'll catch you guys on the next one.