Power Shifts, Pressure, And Proof: Who Owns The League Now?

Summary:

The league didn’t ease into opening night—it kicked the door down. We start where the heat is highest: a title defense in Oklahoma City, a new edge in Minnesota, and a recalibrated Denver built to outlast the minutes math that sunk them. Then we pivot to New York, where Mike Brown swaps attrition for oxygen: 40 threes, real bench usage, and a wing trio of Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart that guards like razors while Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns keep the offense humming.

From there, we scan the pressure points that will shape the season. The Warriors double down on short-burst veteran IQ with Al Horford joining Steph and Draymond, while Atlanta finally changes geometry for Trae Young by adding Kristaps Porzingis, defensive juice with Dyson Daniels, and shared creation through Jalen Johnson. Orlando fixes its biggest flaw by importing Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones to space the floor for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Cleveland remains a regular-season machine, but May still asks for nastier answers from Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The Clippers face a noise index that could scramble cohesion. And in San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama gets a clutch closer in De’Aaron Fox plus a promising rookie mix that could make “future” arrive early.

We don’t just list teams—we show the levers. Where spacing flips matchups. Where minutes management buys playoff legs. Where one defender changes who gets hidden and who gets hunted. And we plant flags: Anthony Edwards as MVP, Wemby as Defensive Player of the Year, a restored Nuggets balance under David Adelman, and the Knicks as a top-two threat with real postseason bite.

If you’re here for receipts, strategy, and a little friendly smoke, you’re in the right feed. Tap follow, share with a hoops friend who loves the chess under the highlights, and drop your Finals prediction in a review. Who owns the league now?

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Transcript

Season Tipoff And OKC’s Target

SPEAKER_00 0:13

What's good everybody? Welcome to Frontrunner Podcast Collective and welcome to the opening of the NBA season. Here at FRPC, we are here to talk like friends, argue like cousins, and somehow still leave a little bit smarter. I'm Vince, your humble host, your occasional therapist, and your favorite bad influence. We unpack wins, the mess, and the middle ground with jokes, receipts, and maybe a hot take or two that will age badly. Saraya is aboard with us today. She will be producing this show, also bringing us some well-placed needed notes to button up some things that we are talking about here today. And she's here to keep us honest and maybe make us better people in the process. So let's get this thing going, shall we? And you know where we're starting. It literally is the start of a brand new season today. It is the start of the Oklahoma City Thunder defending their Larry O'Brien trophy. They'll get their rings tonight and they will go ahead and open up the season. Now, with all that being said, the West, as we have talked about throughout the summer, occasionally, sometimes it's been hit or miss here, but we have always said throughout the summer that the West is absolutely deep and there are perils everywhere you turn around the corner. So with that being said, let's get into this whole deal. Tonight we're launching like a reunion episode and breaking news hit share in the same stage. The confetti has been vacuumed and the Larry O'Brien has been packed in his flight case, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are still wiping champagne off their hardware. Every other franchise, they're strapping up their metaphor metaphorical helmets and pretending this is a friendly hike, but it's not. It's an arduous journey to the top. This season is alliances, dares, eliminations, and the house favorites starts in Oklahoma City. Yes, we start in the Plains again, where Shea Gilders Alexander, not only the league's MVP, the NBA Finals MVP. And the receipts say dynasty whispers are fair. Because we will get into them in a second. But a dynasty is not made with one and is not made with two. Seven straight champs have not made it back to the top. Seven straight receipts beat vibes. Parody, what Adam Silver has been looking for this whole time as commissioner is the plot twist. Every team in the house thinks they have a good got the storyline that can lead them to the top. The Hawks walk in like rookies, they think they're vets, the Clippers rebuilt like Ocean's 11 with a bench that prints point differential. The Knicks, the league's functional soap opera, steady, messy, undefeated in commitment, and then there are the Warriors still running and antique power tools, but still cutting clean. Oaken and Knights double feature features the upstart Rockets and those defending Oklahoma City Thunders in the early game, but in the late window, we get Steph versus Luca Warriors Lakers late night. Gotta love it. Every substitution, every stagger, every timeout is the first diary roll. Will the champs repeat or does parody hunk them again? Tip-offs, rotations, early usage tells, and who still guards on Tuesday. Let's get into it. And again, we start in Oklahoma City. You can't start anywhere else. It is the defending champions. And also, here's the thing that I want to press upon people. The champs walk in to like they never left. They're young but moving with dynasty energy. Shea Gilgis Alexander, the league's most efficient problem, along with his cohorts Jalen Williams and Chet Hungren. Your second act basically. They act like it's old news. Here is the kind of the disappointing part. As they start the 25-26 NBA season, a major piece is gonna fall. Jalen Williams is recovering from wrist surgery. He will not make the opening night start. If there was a team built to absorb loss, it's the Oklahoma City Thunder. Keep this in mind. Scholars will study this roster build for decades. From now, Sam Christy Dane will sit in the entrance scrolls, known as today's blocks. The Thunder had a historical net rating of plus twelve point eight. And that was without Chet Hunger for half the season. So do you think for one second that they can you think they will blink an eye because Jalen Williams is going to miss some time? Nah. Their depth that we have spoken about for the last couple years is gonna definitely come to fruition. Caseen Wallace will stretch his minutes. Alex Caruso will do Alex Caruso things, which is bring the grit, the hustle, and the chaos that the championship team secretly needs. Their structure, their culture, their accountability from top to bottom will galvanize them. I'm not worried about Oklahoma City Thunder in the regular season. The only opponent that matters is the complacency. Mark Dagnall, the biggest job is convincing his young team, his locker room, that maturity doesn't mean boredom. It means repeating is the standard. But this team is far beyond its years, and it showed itself in its championship medal when they went on to slay the jack dragon that is Nikola Jokic, and then also just just get rid of the Indiana Pacers. Now, it was seven-game series, and that is why we think that this is not going to be as easy of a road of terrain for the Oklahoma City Thunder. I am looking at this team and going, well, two things. One, you have the MVP, Shea Gilders Alexander, he can just basically up his production. But the key factor to this whole deal is one Chet Homegrin. I believe that Chet was on the trajectory before he got injured, that he was on the trajectory to challenge Jalen Williams as that number two. Not in a combative way, but in a way of competition. It's really hard to look at somebody who is seven foot one, who handles the ball pretty adeptly, makes the right passes, very quick decision maker, and also can stroke it from deep and punish the little guy once he's in that position where he can go ahead and post up. And also, Chet Homegren plays with an edge. He plays with the chip on his shoulder. Remember, the other guy that we're going to talk about a little bit later, Victor Wenbayama, these two guys went up against each other in the world games, the under 19 games, and Chet, with his grit and his tenacity, slayed that beast too. So if there's somebody who can step into the production role of Jalen Williams, Chet Homgren put his hand up first, and he put his hand up often when Mark Dagnall asks, who's next? Who will step up and take care of our fallen brother? So Oklahoma City defended champions, do I think they have a chance to compete? Or could a repeat? Yes, 100%. Do I think that this Jalen Williams thing will be a big deal? No, I don't. Do I think that Casey Wallace can carry and shoulder some of that load that Jalen Williams on the perimeter would have had if he was in the starting rotation? Yes, I do. So I don't look for the Oklahoma City Thunder to be threatened in any way during the regular season whatsoever. It's when we become postseason animals. I still have thoughts. As far as the first game is concerned, as far as how this team is going to look, I expect this team to win somewhere in the in the middle of the mid-60s. I think this team is loaded for bear. I think they also have picks that they need to go ahead and augment their uh their rotation at any point. And I think that Mark Dagnall and Sam Chrestie are the right dudes, the right type of tenor and tone setters to lead this organization. And remember, Oklahoma City acts like an AAU team anyway. It's all for one and one for all. You know what I'm saying? So they, as far as regular season Giants, they will continue to be those those guys. They will continue to be the nightmare and the monsters that you dream about before you step into Oklahoma City or when they come into your gym. It's the postseason that I'm more concerned with. That leads us to our next team that I want to talk about. And we're not going to hit every team, but we're going to hit the teams that matter, and we're going to hit the players that matter. And there is no one that matters more to Front Runner Podcast Collective than one Anthony Edwards. Anthony Edwards starts this season. He walks in like a headliner and stares stares like a debt collector. The disrespect that is going on is the lighter fluid to Anthony Edwards' competitiveness. Two straight screens of Western Conference relevance. He's made it to the Western Conference twice in a row. And folks still hand bouquets to Denver and teams like Houston and the Clippers. And hears like a snare. He hits sharp. And right on the two and the four. Here's the truth. A cave can't fit spacing. Rudy Gobert controls the paint in Minnesota still. Conley Old Man River controls the clock. And also getting his Minnesota Timberwolves into good offensive sets. And the offense still treats the corner three like folklore. If Minnesota wants to parade, they need a plan. And that plan comes in the form of one Julius Randle. Bully ball with Randall, movement shooting with Dante DiVincenzo, surprise cop for Terrence Shannon Jr. Expect that guy to take over the minutes and also the the production of one Nikil Alexander Walker who left for Green Pastures and went down to Atlanta. And choosing quick decisions over hero sequences, reacher cruel reacher rules apply, simple steps, no speeches, win the fight in under 30 seconds. Coronations require choreography, especially in a crunch. And that is where Anthony Edwards superpower begins. Ants usage 32%. His true shooting percentage 60%. And he was like, you know what? What can I do to up my game? What can I do to bring more relevance and make my team harder to guard? Well, if you shoot the three ball with more consistent consistency, you put yourself in a situation where they have to honor the three, and because of your quicks and your explosivity, the blow buy is even nastier than it was before. So you know what Anthony Elworth said? He said, Alright, bet. I'm on that. I'm gonna shoot more threes and I'm gonna make them and I'm gonna become a legitimate threat from three. To the tune of he made the most threes in the NBA. That's what kind of cat we talking about. So they tell us that Anthony Edwards worked on his close game. I honestly think that this dude has now graduated to four-dimensional chess. I think he put that out there. I'm not saying he didn't work on it. I think it is part of his game, but I think he put that out there because I think he is trying to hide the true thing that he worked on this summer. And his new toys, his new things that he tinkered and shot with, quicker decision making, and anticipation uh steals. Post the counter, no diet. I'm gonna tell you right now. This is what this this is what he is thinking about doing, and I'll tell you exactly why in one second, but Soraya did drop this note. Scorched Earth is smarter when it's paved. And you say, Well, what does that mean? What is Soraya trying to say there? I'll tell you exactly what he's what she's trying to say there. Keep Gobert's gravity useful, deep seals, dunker spot, short rolls, uh only if cutters are available. No double big stalls, pair with shooters or sit. Basically, that's what we're talking about. Screens are verbs, not statues. And here's the thing Conley has to only play a certain amount of minutes a game. You gotta keep him preserved for the postseason. He's the wily vet that you need. Conley's value is organizing the offense, invert, invert, escape, dribbles, threes, late clock, calm, getting you into really good sets. You stagger him from for the second unit, sanity, and the Metro Dome breaks. The song does too. Now, the other person that you can augment with on ball responsibilities is Julius Randle. He is a blunt instrument of destruction. Randall, like Reacher, like Jack Reacher, downhill, no speeches, two dribbles into the reels, boom. Oh, that's gonna hurt. Pair with Nas Reed, whose pick and pop status is literally immaculate. To unstack the lane, to keep it fresh, keep it open for our guy, Anthony Edwards. The wings Dante DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels, Terrence Shannon Jr. Now DiVincenzo, he's a relocation three monster. Screen screen the screeners type deal. Jaden McDaniels, he upped his game last year. The cut behind the ball watches, he defends with mean angles and elbows, and now steps in Terrence Channel Jr. Runways, knock puzzles, early offense only. Hit your shot, think confidently, let it fly when you need to let it fly. Also, you are a second-side initiator. You are not an on-ball type dude all the time. If you're on the ball and you have not made a decision within two seconds, get off the ball as quickly as you possibly can. Terrence Sander Jr. Get the ball into more capable hands in hands that have been in playoff crucibles. Soraya also has another note. Shooters earn and single coverage. Cutters punish disbelief. 100%. That's love. Now the secret weapon for this team could be Jalen Clark. Now, Jalen Clark, when he was at UCLA towards the end of his career there, he had an Achilles injury. He had struggled his first couple years in the league, but when he was at UCLA, he was known as a dogged, defensive-minded dude who could shoot threes. So take not taking all this time off, he's been in the lab. He's just been working on his game, working on his physicality, working on his shot. And I hope that this is this year that it emerges and it shows its fruit from the tree of his work. Now the second unit identity that is going to fall to Nas Reed. And that's basically it. Point blank simple Nas Reed is the dude. He is a six-man of the year candidate all the time. He is going to hit threes, early drag screens, zero pump, fake purgatory. This dude is a also a unit. He is six foot nine and a half, six foot ten. He's 245 to 250 pounds. And he will make you feel him, or he will take you into those deep waters where only only the loftiest people can survive. Can you survive on the perimeter with Nas Reed? Well, a lot of people have tried and a lot of people have failed. Now they do have Bones Highland, they do have Joe Ingalls, but the person that they are looking for, the person that Tim Conley drafted, and remember it was the same draft as Terrence Shannon Jr. who's going to have a role on this team. The future success of the Minnesota Timberwolves lies in the hands of one Rob Dillingham. Rob Dillingham came out of Kentucky. He is a 6'1 to 6'2 guard. He is thin as a rail. He was 160 something pounds when he was in college. I am sure he put on weight last season. I hope that he put on more weight this season because they are going to need some sort of role for him as the season goes on. If he's not able to get if he's able, if he's not able to not get swallowed up by picking roles and being switched on to bigger wings and things of that nature, what the Timberwolves are going to look like down the road, this year they're fine. They're fine this year. And in a pinch, you got Terrence Shannon Jr. But it is when they want to turn the reins over and Mike Conley goes riding off into the sunset. Rob Dillingham has to show something this year. It's a guarantee. Now I talked to you about what Ant Edwards is trying to do. I told you that he wants to quicken the pace of his decision-making skills. Remember, when he got blitzed or they double-teeded him with a real hard blitz, he was real stagnant with the basketball in the postseason last year. He didn't know which move to make, which is something that he had to work on and he had to get better at. And I think that's what he did. I think that's when what he did to go into the lab and start making quicker decisions. Now, defensively. You know how you can help your your Halcourt offense by getting in transition more. And you know how you can get in transition more? You become an absolute demon on the defensive end. And I think that is where Anthony Edwards has found some juicy morsels in the margins. This is where you go from averaging 27-28 points a game to 33-34 points a game. Those two or three steals or deflections that lead to you leaking out and getting sports center top 10 types of dunks. That is where it lies. It doesn't lie in the three ball, it doesn't lie in the half court when you're posting up and doing that 17-foot fadeaway jump shot. It lies in you getting easy buckets. Easy leak out buckets lead to possible MVP situations. Just saying. Now, in the half court, empty corner for ant. Spain into a flare when top locked, that's something they have to work on. Corner three mandate, you have to shoot ten of those again. Somebody's gonna have to stand in that corner. Dante DiVincenzo is probably saying you can't put baby in the corner, but guess what? You're gonna have to go in the corner, my man. You're gonna have to shoot some threes. Those top of the circle break threes that you be shooting sometimes from like 27 to 30 feet away. We need less of those, and we need some corner threes. Corner threes are the shortest three-point shots in the game. Somebody needs to hit those. Like he's a free safety. I can definitely see that coming. And also with Anthony Edwards' physicality and also his athletic exclud explosivity that he has, if he learns to blitz selectively and basically throw barrages towards on ball facilitators, again, easy points. We're trying to get easy points for the Timberwolves. What's at stake? The ceiling for the Timberwolves is this a two or three seed. I live big. I dream big and I dream of a day that Anthony Edwards leads his team to uh a number two or number three seed. Now, if for some reason some of these things do not come to fruition, they're a four or five seed. Preferably they want to be a four seed. Now, if injury befalls them, if Julius Randle starts to pout, the the floor for them is the sixth or seventh seed. And that is it. Anthony Edwards is too good of a player to have them fall any further than that. So I believe in what the Minnesota Timberwolves are doing. Again, the disrespect is gonna fuel Ant. Let them cheer for the neighbors, we'll settle the power bill. And I will say one other thing in closing. Prince will tell you, RP Prince, the groove matters more than solo. If Ant keeps the groove, quick reads, ruthless defense, and the band hits its corner on cue, this stops being a darling and starts being being a drive. And all from our intricate producer, Reacher doesn't doesn't monologue, he finishes scenes. Do that in May, and the coronation writes itself. No confetti debt, no geometry lies. This team is ready to get down. Anthony Edwards is not waiting. A couple years ago, we threw out a name for Anthony Edwards. We threw out we we invoked the name of one Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Does he have his Scotty Pippen and Jaden McDaniels? Do we see all inspiring performances from Ant Edwards all season long? And does it rain purple in Minnesota all year long with Anthony Edwards leading the charge? Cause I'm gonna tell you right now, if he's gonna play defense at that level, he's gonna put a lot of people in a raspberry beret. And y'all gonna look real crazy. Cause Anthony Edwards is the monster that is coming. Best believe that. Now another team that did some augmentation to themselves this offseason. Stand up mile high city. Stand up mile high basketball. The Denver Nuggets are back. And they're back in a big, big way. So the Nuggets are back at the grown man's table. Why? They're not reinventing themselves. They went back to the future a little bit. Kinda. Jokic is still the man, by the way, until Ant or someone else takes this title away from him. Nikola Jokic is still the best basketball player on the planet. I'll say it here and I'll say it again and again, and I'll say it loud and proud. Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player on the face of the planet, bar none. He's still the league's ultimate algorithm breaker. Offense, you know what's gonna happen. His defense, people sit there and say, oh, well, he doesn't block shots. He doesn't do a lot of this. You know what he does do? He rebounds the ball at an expert rate. Another thing he does, he steals the ball. He's handsy. And the other thing that he does is just be big. There's no substitution for just being big. He's 6'11. He's 280 pounds. Sometimes pushes something more. But he's like a big boulder. You're trying to push uphill. Probably not the greatest thing on the face of the planet. The concern is this defense. It'll always be there. But when you're the best player in the game, the system just works. They got hungled last year, Denver did. And humbling is fuel. Now, what they did. The Nuggets are gonna set sale on the 25-26 season with David Adelman at the helm. He replaces Michael Malone with they replaced him with just a few games to go last spring. Malone's frustration with the depth, or more accurately with the lack of it, and his holy war that he was having with Calvin Booth finally did them both in. They were like two kids arguing or whispering in the classroom, and then the teachers had to separate them. And then what happened was is that when they separated them, they built clicks with inside the classroom, and it completely disrupted the whole teaching acumen that was going on. So you know what you had to do? You had to expel them. And that's exactly what Denver did. They expelled Michael Malone and Calvin Booth. They let both of them go. Now, what came of that? I'm glad you asked that question. They course corrected. They jettisoned Michael Porter Jr. off to the Brooklyn Nets. They brought in Cam Johnson. Now, people will say, well, you lose shooting when you lose Michael Porter Jr. And albeit that is somewhat true because of reputation-wise, but do you know that Michael Porter Jr. shot 47% from three in the corner threes? And you also know that Cam Johnson shot 44% in corner threes? Not that big of a difference. And then you move, with that move, you open up more cap space, more room, more money to bring in Bruce Brown Jr., by the way. He was on the championship team that did everybody dirty a couple years back. And you didn't stop there. For the first time in a long time. No, it won't be DeAndre Jordan. No, it will not be the ghost of Zeke Najee, who we've been waiting on for years. They brought in Jonas Valchunis. That adds a real backup five presence to the Nuggets. They got somebody with physicality, and he could do some of the similar things that Jokic does, just not on Jokic level. And they still wasn't done. They brought in Tim Hardaway Jr. He gives them bench shooting and sudden, suddenly the rotation looks adult again. Around the three-time MVP in Jokic, just in time for Jokic to have a bunch of weapons and pieces around him. And oh, by the way, they still got Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray. Jamal Murray, who is Jokic's Robin to the Joker's Batman. But now they don't have to play 40 plus minutes a game just to survive. Remember that when Jokic was playing last year, right? When he was on the court, his uh net rating was plus 10.8, which would have placed him, if I'm not mistaken, it would have placed him fourth in the league last year. Just his net rating. But do you remember what it was what his what the what the net rating was was without him? It was minus 8.2. So it was the 18 point swing difference when Jokic was not on the court. It was crazy. So now that you got some help, and don't forget Denver and Indiana, they dragged the eventual champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to seven games in the postseason. So through the chaos of the losing the coach, through the chaos of getting rid of uh Calvin Booth and what have you, knowing that they were not a deep team, knowing that they were struggling with injury, they were struggling with health, this team still drugged the eventual defending reigning OKC OKC Thunder, the champions, to seven games. The Nuggets didn't collapse, they just ran out of help. Now they've reloaded and the mission this season isn't revenge, it's balance. And can they restore the balance that was once in the union? The Nuggets don't chase don't chase uh dominance. They're just elite all on to themselves. As long as you have Yelkic, you're an elite basketball team. You just need to have some some vital pieces around him, and as you have those vital pieces around him, he is gonna get you to where you want to go. This dude has a chance to be a four-time MVP this year. Think about that. There's only like a few, like a chosen few who have that. Like Michael Jeffrey Jordan has that. Kareem Mount Douja Bar has that. Will Chamberlain has that. Like these are these are dignitaries and these are legends of our game that we are talking about. And Jokic could be in that group if he wins another MVP. So hopefully that'll go ahead and rattle around your dome piece for a while. But you know where we need to get to now? We need to get to Gotham. We've done a little of the Western Conference, but you know another team that we need to talk about? The New York Knicks. Now, the New York Knicks are that team. And I'm gonna say right now, New York City, stand up. The city smells like opportunity and pressure. Tibbs is gone. Mike Brown walks in the door, he left Sacramento and basically upgraded. It's like he had a wife, divorced a wife, got a hotter wife. Now people will say, man, you can't say that, Vince, you can't say that anymore. Because you know that's not that's not that's not politically correct. For real? For real? Have y'all seen what's been going on? I say what I whatever I want to say now. I'm out here in these streets. Brunson, bridges, oginobi, and cat, and also our guy Josh Hart. Let's not forget Josh Hart. No one can forget Josh Hart. Those are the dudes that our guy Mike Brown has to deal with. They are stalking the East. This ain't glossy. This is the Bronx River Cold. Concrete under the sneakers. Josh Hart got Brun's back like in that song Eye for an Eye. We in this together. So your beef is my. We will hey, we'll light up, we'll light up the skies if we got to. From MobD as well. There's a war going on outside. No man is safe from. You know what I'm saying? The Knicks ain't scared of it. They are built for it. And why do I say that? The setup is this. Mike Brown is in, Tibbs is out, so you know what that means? That means the bench will be utilized. Why is that important? We'll get to that momentarily. The East. The Eastern Conference is littered. I mean, absolutely. The streets are littered with blood. Jason Tatum, Achilles, I don't care what you've seen in the videos, I don't care what he's posted on social media, that dude is not playing. Not playing. Look at what that team is like. Look at what they're doing. And that should tell you everything you need to know. Now Damian Lillard is not in the East anymore. He's actually in Portland. But what he did for the Milwaukee Bucks, he he went out late with an Achilles injury. To the point where Milwaukee was so damn desperate, they bought Damian Lillard out to bring in Miles Turner. We'll talk about that later. But I mean Damian Lillard compared to Miles Turner, even at Dame's advanced age. That's a big drop. Now Miles Turner provides some other stuff, and we'll get to that, but I'm just saying. And then the boogeyman for the New York Knicks, Tyrese Halliburton. Tyrese Halliburton is also out with an Achilles injury. And he had his in game seven of the NBA final. So these are all people, all killers, all teams that were probably going to push the Knicks in the postseason, and they're all going into postseason play if they get there without their left hand. They just basically, if you think about it, think about, you know, you as a person that we just chopped off your left hand. Probably not gonna be great. So Brown's philosophy is sustainable minutes, heavy threes, and positional fluidity. He's got the perfect setup for that. Look at the wing depth that the New York Knicks currently offer. No more martyrs, just moves. In this city, a depth ain't luxury, it's survival. Now you want to know what they're gonna do offensively? Double drags, Spain, flare exit. The target is 40 plus threes a night. Does this sound familiar? There's a team in Boston that's coached by Joe Mazzula, who said the standard is the standard. Actually, actually, that's not who said that. Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers said that. But you know what I'm talking about. The standard is the standard. We shooting threes out here. Okay? We getting them up. Top 10's offense by January. If the pace holds, Brunson, cat, DHO equal core package. Ain't no ISO heroes except for Jalen Brunson's heroics. Just clean rotation and killers in rhythm. If you should, don't shoot. Let's get to our guy, Jalen Brunson. Compact, lethal, relentless, and his usage rate is gonna be turned up. He don't turn the ball over very much. He's a very cerebral young man. Now, he gives Mike Brown that controlled consistency that he wants. The assist equity he can feed the shooters. And now, top five, dead or alive. It's not just one off-one contract. This dude is out here making it happen. He's making believers out of the entire New York City. That place was electric last year when the playoffs was going on, and Jalen Brunson was out here killing people. He was out here just shaking people, just hitting them with the shoulder. The footwork was just saucy. I mean, it looked it looked um ballroom-like-esque. When Brunson touches the ball, everyone in the barbershop pauses. Also, he he makes the defense frantic when he does any jab stuff. Anytime he gets close to the paint. Anytime that man is, you know, like I said, the footwork is saucy, bro. As soon as he's getting into his little bag and everything like that, defenses get worried. They get shook. Now that wing that we were talking about, you got OG Ananobi, you got Mikel Bridges, and you also got Josh Hart. OG is kind of like the enforcer. Bridges is like bucket elasticity, and Hart is the optimized glue. Brown staggering the 2-3 per unit keeps the defense intact. This trio is built like Jadakus bars, compact, efficient, with no filler whatsoever. Shout out to my man Jadakus. Kat is the guy, though. He's the uptown stretch. 72 games last year, 0.630 true shooting percentage with a user rate of 27%. Efficiency certified. Needs to shoot 5 plus 3 point attempts a game. Use as a handoff hub, pick and pop elbow. Is he a center? Soraya says he's not a center. He's Wi-Fi. He just needs connection. Talk slick about Kat if you won't. The net still is whispering. Now, we talked about the bench. We talked about the with Tibbs. It was starters and trusted people, trusted lieutenants, and y'all was gonna play until you almost died. This year a little bit different. Mitchell Robinson could be back the whole season. That good that dude doesn't he doesn't stay healthy all he doesn't stay healthy all season normally, but hopefully with uh a defined role saying, hey man, we need you for a good 16 minutes a game. We need four-minute stretches of you unless somebody is in um foul trouble or whatever the case would be. Now, there's been talk about him starting. I don't know. That doesn't sound like a Mike Brown team to me, but you do have that optionality of that. They also picked up uh Jordan Clarkson from Utah. I think the sneaky pickup for the New York Knicks was our guy Yabucelli from the Philadelphia 76ers. I love Yabuselli. I thought the big man, the dancing bear, he looked good for the Philadelphia 76ers. I think he's gonna bring some juice to the Knicks. And I think the Knicks faithful in Madison Square Garden are going to love Yahoo Sele. They also got um Shireman in the draft. So they got enough dudes to really do it up. Tibbs had soldiers and Brown wants survivors. That means he wants to make sure that his team is ready and fresh for the postseason. So you will not be seeing a bunch of 42, 44-minute game game logs for Hart, for Brunson, for Kat, for um OG Ananobi or Mikhail Bridges. Sleep is the cousin of death. Stay woke. You know what I'm saying? Because New York is on alert. Now the defense is still the thing that needs to be a calling card. Mitchell Robertson's vertical uh presence that he gives them, the shot blocking that they need. Bridges and OG and Anobi are two of the best Gensu knives that you can possibly have in your rotation. OG and Anobi, physical but also handsy when it talks about deflections. And our guy, Mikhail Bridges, can be a point of attack defender if he needs to be, or also he can slide up and down the roster to go ahead and deal with bigger uh wings or smaller guards, however, he needs to play it. But with OG Ananobi, he don't have to play the bigs too much. OG Ananobi can do that 3-4-5 situation when Mikhail Bridges can do that 3-2-1 situation, and then you got Josh Hart to come in and just wreck shop all the way around. Defense in New York ain't pretty, it's personal. Sneakers squeak like gunfire in the garden. You know I'm talking about the bridges extension. That just lets my man know, like, listen, you a made man here in New York, you take it care of, don't worry about it. It's a leveraged move, it's everything's cool. Leon Rhodes has built a monster in New York City. He should be giving a lot of credit. For the longest time, everybody was sitting there like, man, when are the Knicks gonna do something? When are they gonna do something? It started with Brunson, they had a vision. Now, do I think Kat was actually a part of the original vision? No, I think it was probably Giannis. But when they pivoted and got Carl Anthony Towns, now we could talk about all we want about Carl Anthony Towns' quirkiness and some of the weird situations and just just some of the dumbfounding fouls out 35, 40 feet away from the basket. But the proof is there. My man gives you spacing. My man is one of the best shooting big men of all times, and guess what? He is player-proof. He's sucker free. Now the Knicks as a top two in the East. That's a lock. Lock that up. Unless something absolutely catastrophic ha happens in MSG. The Knicks are going to be a top two C. It's only a matter if Cleveland will slay them. Will they win mid-50s? 100%. They ain't chasing the East. They're gonna own it. The Garden lights up, the Garden Lights don't blind this group. They sharpen them. The East is leaking oil, and the Knicks got the keys to the tow truck. Brunson is unbothered and unmoved by the bright lights of the city, and also he is not as afraid of the big moment whatsoever. My man knocked down shot after shot after shot in big moments last year. Bridges is built for the conflict, and OG Ananobi is guarding ghosts, and he's guarding guards alike. This dude is out here being super physical. He showed up and he put on a lunch pail type atmosphere every time he stepped into the garden. This dude played a bunch of games last year, which was one thing that I was worried about. Because OG and Nobi is a guy who had always missed somewhere between 16 to 20 games a year. Nah, he showed up. He punched that ticket a lot and often for his team. So love that dude. Love what he's uh become. And guess what? We looking for the Knicks. We looking for them. I believe that this is a team that could come out of the Eastern Conference. I don't miss words. I know what else is out there, but I like this team. I like what they built, and I think with the proper use of the bench and not just absolutely destroying OG Ananovi, Mikhail Bridges, Josh Hart, or Jalen Brunson, I think they could easily get to the finals. Easily. Now a team that's looking to get back to the finals. That is one Golden State Warriors. The geriatric assassins are back. The core is aging like vinyl, still crisp, still classic. Curry, Butler, Draymond, and now Al Horford. A lineup that looks like the Hall of Fame panel, not in starting five. Is there a window crack is their window cracked? Not closed? And they still make analytics blush when they're locked in. Soraya said it. Antique power tools still slicing through analytic models. Let me tell you something. The if they can get if they can get what Boston got from Al Horford the last couple years. And we'll get into it as we go along. You've been waiting since the days of Oracle. This roster feels like nostalgia with a jump shot. For sure. Steph is still that dude. He's still getting it in. Still was that movie. Does anybody remember this movie with uh Helen Marin, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich? All retired spies. Uh they were called back to the action. It was called Red. That's what the Warriors are trying to do this year, the NBA version of it. Horford is 40, Steph Curry is 37, Jimmy Butler is 36, and Draymond Green is 34. That's not a lineup. That's a mentorship summit. It's like how we gonna how we gonna mold the youth of America. This group probably could teach a masterclass on pick and roll, geometry, emotional intelligence, and post-game wine parents. They'll lead the league in whirlpool visits, pregame tape jobs, post-game ice baths, but when they're healthy, they're dangerous. And what I mean by that is the 22 and five record this core put together take minus Al Horford. Just Steph, Jimmy, and Draymond. The 22-5 record is no joke. That's what they put together when Jimmy came to the Golden State Warriors. Now the challenge time. The Warriors can game plan everything except that. Time is still up against them. That's their op this year. It's time. And Father Time, he's undefeated, bro. I don't care what you say. The Western Conference is faster, meaner, younger than ever, hungrier than ever. They'll win enough to make the playoffs, no doubt. But can they make it through 82-game gauntlet without snapping a hamstring? Or is this just an illusion? Time is always undefeated, but the team playing, this team is playing like it's in overtime with time. You know what I'm saying? They just they out here like, listen, Steph Curry's like, I can shoot the ball until I'm 50 years old. I can stand out here from 30 feet and just knock down shot after shot. And Jimmy Butler is like, listen, my pump fake is so effective that people are scared of it. Coaches call it out every single game. Don't fall for the paint for the pump fake. And guess what? Some dumbass young 24-year-old wing is up in the air. I lean my shoulder in, and then I dip out and shoot the ball, and then I'm at the free throw line for two free throws. And you know what I'm gonna do when I get to the free throw line. I'm gonna knock those bad boys down. And then there's Draymond Green. For the first time in a while, Draymond Green's offense is not really necessary. With the emergence of Brandon Prozinski, with the emergence of you got Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, which is kind of like the equivalent of having Klay Thompson, but not really, you know what I'm saying? You understand what I'm talking about right there, right? So you got enough offensive weapons where Draymond can just be that maestro, that conductor, and be out there like, okay, I'm gonna throw this pass, I'm gonna set this screen, I'm gonna do all the things, and then I'm also gonna be the bodyguard of Steph, right? So he's set, he's ready to go, and if he can shoot the three-ball like he did last year, Draymond Green, that is, that's a plus. But you also got Al Horford. And Al Horford for short birth situations is going to be monumentally important. How is it that a 40-year-old is so damn important? That's because if they didn't have Al Horford, they would have Quentin Post in the ball game. And I'm no shade against Quentin Post. That dude can shoot it, he's 7'2, he looked like he looked like a good old boy from West Virginia with a mullet and the mustache and everything like that. But that dude can stroke it, he got a mean streak, he ain't he ain't scared of the the violence. I love that about him. And our guy, Trace Jackson Davis, he out here trying to body people with dunks off the oops that he gonna be getting from Krasinski or Draymond Green. So they got enough. If you can hold like Al Horfer's minutes down to like 20 a game, that dude can be very effective. We saw it when uh Christoph Karzingis was healthy. When he's up into that 28 to 30 range of minutes that he has to play, that's when the effectiveness loses its luster. So it really depends on how Golden State can monitor his minutes. But Steve Kerr also has to get on the same page with Jonathan Kaminga, or somebody needs to lock those two in a UFC cage, and then whoever comes out alive wins. Because remember, Jonathan Kaminga had a bunch of do not uh did not play coaches' decisions last season when Jimmy Butler got there. Because that was the option that Steve Kerr had underneath his belt once Jimmy got there. It's like, oh shit, we got Jimmy Butler. I do not have to play this kid. I understand that Jonathan Kaminga signed a contract for two years,$48.5 million, which usually would state, hey, I'm gonna get minutes. If you don't rebound the basketball, if you don't value the basketball once again is your in your hands, ISO killer, Jonathan Cominga, you're gonna be planted on the bench, and you're gonna be sitting there because remember, they also got D'Anthony Melton, he came aboard, GP2 is back, and they are expecting a big year from Grant Brandon Krasinski. So we shall see now speaking of Al Horford's running mate. Does anybody know where Christoph Porzingis is this year? My man is in the ATL. He is now a Atlanta Hawk. Kaka! Atlanta finally stopped rearranging chairs and changed the table. Christoph Porzingis walks in the door. He is now the de facto five. That gives Trey Young a floor spacing big he has never had. I know Trey Young is like a kid at Christmas, opening up his Christmas present, going, oh my god, this is all I've ever wanted in my whole entire life. That means that the lane is open. That means I will be able to throw oops to Jalen Johnson, and I'll be able to throw oops to uh Dyson Daniel. And uh oh, also our guy, Zachary Risachet, the French kid, rookie last year. He's gonna be able to throw oops to a lot of these dudes, and then it's gonna be lethal. Now the bench is stocked because we also talked about Nikhil Alexander Walker, who came over from Minnesota. That's such an uh important piece. They also picked up Luke Connard. If Luke Connard is given like a niche role as, hey, we want you to shoot the ball. Want you to shoot it, you know, four to five times from three-point range a game, just to give us that spacing in the non-trade minutes, the vibe is high. Okay? But this season isn't just about wins, it's about appraisal. Trey's timeline, Porzinga's durability, and Quinn Snyder finally, finally having the system that he wants to run. And will Zachary Risachet year two truth all get graded in real time? Hope is back in the ATL, so say Saraya, but so is the invoice. Meaning like, yo, rent is due, my guy. Trey Young's extension is upon us, and the day of reckoning is here. Now, what they did to get Christoph Porzingis, they flipped a late first round pick of unwanted money of Times Man and also George Deang, and they got Porzingis. They also fleeced the New Orleans Pelicans for a likely 2026 lottery pick. So guess what? They're gonna be able to restock the coffers, and I'll tell you why that's important a little bit later. They also, we talked about it, they also added uh Nikhil Alexander Walker and Kennard to stabilize the bench. Jalen Johnson returns from injury, and our guy Aneka Okongu is still out there doing things like blocking shots, being at the rim, dunking on people, and everything like that. Throw your air horns in the sky right now, ATL. So when you look at the Atlanta Hawks, it's guns. Lots of guns. Well, they got all the ammunition you're gonna need, my guy. You got a lot of you got a lot of choices who can score the basketball for you. Now, the trake the Trey and KP geometry chapter, let's get into it. Corzingis will not play 82 games. So, ATL. I don't know if you're uh familiar with Christoph Corzingis. Uh last year he had some sort of undisclosed injury or not injury um illness that nobody could figure out. It was like, does this dude got long COVID? Does this dude got leukemia? And listen, I'm kidding when I say that. I know we shouldn't kid about leukemia. I understand it's bad cancer. We understand that. But what I'm trying to say is that this dude missed games because he had some sort of kind of like extended like bad cold. Nobody knew why this dude was sick, they couldn't figure it out. Think about that. We got some of the finest doctors in America in Boston, right? Mass General Hospital is one of the best hospitals in the face of the planet. We also got Harvard. Okay, we got MIT. They could not figure this dude out. Why is he sick? Now, what you do get when Christoph Porzingis is in the game, you get a five out high pick and roll, unlock, deeper pull-ups, and pocket lobs. Now KP's picking pile gravity, easier weak size skiffs for Trey. It's gonna be tic-tac-toe for this dude. It's gonna be like shooting fish in a barrel. Now, Trey, the 24.2, the true shooting percentage of 56.7, the assist percentages of 46.4, the usage rate, which was only 29.6. That's very important. Very important. His offensive box plus minus was uh positive 3.3, but that defensive box plus minus was negative 2.7, but they have put enough around Trey with the wings, because remember, and we'll get to them in a second, Dyson Daniels is out here, Jalen Johnson is out here, okay? They got they got wings on top of wings, and I'm not talking about the Lemon Pepper Wings at Magic City. I'm not talking about those. I'm talking about Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson. This defense, this offense, I'm sorry, this offense could be top 10. The defensive tack persist, but when you got Christoph Karzingas at 7 foot four, who can guard the rim? You got Aneka Kongru who can guard the rim. It's a little bit better. Now, also piece together that you have Dyson Daniels and Nikhil Alexander Walker to help your defense, to help be pest on ball, to be in the passing lanes. This is going to help your team immensely. A congu is now a bench hammer. Think about that. A congu is now on the bench. If you want to play a certain way, you have a congu. Now, Alexander Walker's secondary creation in his defense, super important. Kennard's movement shooting, also very important. It also allows Dyson Daniels to continue to improve as a shooter. He's not the greatest shooter on the face of the planet, but when you have guys, it takes a lot of pressure off of him, and he can do all the things that he's very good at doing. Now, Dyson Daniels was an absolute phenomenon last year. He came out of nowhere. This was my God. What Atlanta has done to New Orleans in the last two years has been criminal. It has been absolutely criminal. So they sent DeJounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans, and they got Dyson Daniels and a couple other pieces, right? But Dyson Daniels was the centerpiece. This dude averaged 14.1 points a game, 5.9 assists, or 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists. His true shooting percentage was the best of his career at uh 54.5. He averaged three steals a game. He had 220, what was it? He had 226 steals total last year. 224? 224 steals total last year. In over 70 games. He was second in defensive player of the year. And he also made the first team all defensive team. No duh. This coin of attack with rising offensive floor is ideal Trey partner, bro. Like Trey was probably sitting there going, you get to tell me I had DeJounte Murray here for the last couple years, and all I had to do was get Dyson Daniels, and then I become not as relevant on the defensive end. I can get hidden by whoever the weaker guard is or whoever's out there. Oh, sign me up. Guards one through three primaries, 45 cuts, short roll reads. This dude is electric. Then Jalen Johnson, as a point forward, keeps the ball hot. That's the reason why Trey's usage rate went down underneath 30-30%. Jalen Johnson's emergence as an on-ball facilitator at 6'9 really is what Quinn Snyder envisioned his team looking like. Not saying that he wanted Trey off the ball completely. That's not what he wanted. But what he did want is an augmentation of those duties being shared. And with Jalen Johnson being able to control the offense with his on-ball prowess, it just makes it so much easier around for the Atlanta Hawks. Offense doesn't get stagnant. You're not watching Trey Young just pound the ball for 22 seconds and then either get into a shot or shoot or suddenly pass the ball to a shooter in the corner. Those days are over. The ball finds energy. The ball has energy, and then you move, and then the ball will find you. So Atlanta? Are y'all about to be bombed over Baghdad? Pace pause when the second unit runs. We haven't even gotten to resichet, which we're about to. This is what my man did in his first year. Okay? First year, off the bat. Remember, this was a draft that everybody was down on. This dude was the number one overall pick. They were snickering. Oh yeah, this is crazy. What we're doing with this, blah blah blah. Year one. True shooting percentage. 55.8. Almost 25 minutes a game. 12.6 points per game. 3.6 rebounds per game. 1.2 assists. He shot from 3 at a 35.5% clip off 4.6 attempts. By the way, his turnover percentage was 9.8. So again, clean mechanics in the corners. Simple pin down, smart relocations, transition in lanes, creative finishing, and team defensive range on both wing spots. Improvement what we're looking for this year from our guy Zachary Russian strength. He's got to get stronger. Physicality that has to that has to come with the strength. The handle needs to be tightened. The first step, the two foot pop, decision making, that all comes with time and repetition and comes with experience. But he's gonna get it. Who's on the squad? Jalen Johnson, Trey Young. I don't have to handle the ball. I am a second side initiator. When the ball swings to me and I have a defender crashing down on me in the corner, that's when I can go ahead and shoot the ball at them. Put it on the deck for three dribbles. If I draw the defense towards me, I kick it out to another shooter, and we start putting everybody in the spin cycle. Five out is gonna help him. Spang pick and rolls, back actions, that's where you get the dunks. And again, thirty-five point five percent three-point shooting on four point six attempts. That is awesome for a rookie. And here's the best part. Here's the best part. Zachary Rishay came into the league at about six foot eight. I have had I've heard rumors, I've heard from people who say he is closer to 6'11 now. So he's grown. So when you say archetype Franz Wagner or Rashad Lewis blend, as far as that's concerned, that's that's not exactly not accurate. That's I mean that that seems pretty on the nose. He's an NBA ready floor spacer with leaping ability and turning out closeouts into paint touches. He's light footed. He's a defender with range, and his frame and his wingspan allow him to get to balls and deflect balls. Now you put him with Dyson Daniels in the kill Alexander Walker. What do you have? You have a suffocating defense. You have guys who are young, who have a youth on their side, who are gonna want to meddle, who are gonna want to uh protect who's going to just be a uh a protagonist. This is what Atlanta is building. They are kind of like a new age version of bully on the block. Try to get it past half court, I dare you. So here's the other thing. If you got Jalen Johnson, Christopher Corzingis, a congru, and oh, remember they also have Asa Nuell. Ace Nuell is a rookie who's six foot ten, six foot eleven, jump off the building, and also another energizer, and he can kind of fall into the role and kind of be a mentored by our guy Aneka Kongw. Jalen Johnson's skill is stacking is compounding with all these cats that he's gonna be able to throw lives to. Just saying. Now we get to the part where people don't want to talk about. We've talked about we celebrated Atlanta so tough right now, but now we gotta roll up our sleeves and we gotta talk big ticket items. Trey Young, extension is coming. It is actually they could have done it, but they refused to do so because guess what? They want more proof of concept of what this team is going to be. Porzingis is also expiring, so we have a window here. Now Dyson Daniels did get paid, he got his money like uh yesterday, so he's good to go. But keep in mind, keep in mind. The New Orleans Pelicans and the Atlanta Hawks made a trade this last draft cycle. Now, what the Pelicans did is they moved up 10 squats, they moved up, I believe, from 23 to 13. Now, in that move up, they got Derrick Queen out of Maryland, who's a big, who's nice. I like Derek Queen a lot. But everybody, everybody who either does what I do, podcasts, by the way, if you're new here to Front Runner Podcast Collective, welcome. We're glad you're here. The other thing is this other people who do this and people in the industry, people who are either former GMs or talent evaluators, scouts, alike, were scratching their head because the Pelicans gave up a unprotected 2026 first round pick. Man, they got a lot of faith in Zion staying healthy. Now I'm gonna say that again. For those who are new, who those who are casual, the New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of faith of Zion Williamson staying healthy. For people who have been around for a while who aren't new, Zion Williamson has played like 40% of the game since he's been in the league. Okay? 40%. There's been now he's in great shape right now. Really great shape. This is the first time we've ever seen Zion Williamson. He's in better shape than he was when he was in college. This is the best shape we've ever seen him in. Does that equate to staying on the court? I hope so. Because Zion Williamson is box office. We love what he's able to do on the court is sometimes it's not even describable what he's able to do. But the gamble that New Orleans took and Atlanta gladly gave up. Like, hey man, you you're gonna give us an unprotected first next year? And you got a lot of, you don't have a center, you got a lot of upheaval going on. There's people moving in and out. DeJounte Murray is still coming back from Oh, he tore his Achilles too. We had a lot of Achilles injuries. He's coming back from Achilles uh surgery and um getting healed up or whatever case may be. So you have all that to as a backdrop. So when you are talking about Trey Young and his contract, could you imagine for one second that the Atlanta Hawks get an actual lottery pick? It could happen. New Orleans in the West. They're not in the East. Even though they're in New Orleans, they're in the Western Conference. And being in the Western Conference knowing that OKC is there, Houston's there, supposedly, Denver, I talked about Minnesota, we talked about Golden State, right? The Clippers, we haven't even got to. You know, the Lakers out here. Dallas, San Antonio, we haven't gotten to yet. You imagine. New Orleans could easily not make the playoffs. Easily. Atlanta's sitting here with a lottery pick. That is why they did not sign Trey Young. We could have something. We could either, hey, trade that pick for a coin guard that fits the culture and what we're actually trying to do if we don't feel that Trey Young is doing what we really need him to do. He's not, you know, whatever. And I don't think that is the case, but they do have an ace up their sleeve. So Trey Young is in a prove it year. Now, Porzingis is just in a year of like, hey man, can I stay healthy? Do the things that I did in Boston when I was healthy, and then maybe I can get a contract. But but our guy, Trey Young, he's looking for redemption. He's looking for his um his Q rating to go up. He's looking for more respect around the league, and most importantly, more respect from his coaching staff. There's a lot going on in Atlanta that a lot of people aren't talking about, and how that guy ran through three or four coaches before Quinn Snyder got there, how the front office has changed over a couple times, and who has been the leader of the pack? Trey Young. So it is time to shut up and prove it for our guy, Trey Young. Now, we talked about some of the risk Porzinga's uh availability really kind of holds together the five out plan. Risache's development curve, we talk about it here all the time. Development is not linear, but they do have enough depth behind Risachet, but they really would love to use this dude's 6'11 height, his wingspan that is super crazy, and his energy. And if this dude's gonna shoot 35.5% from three in his rookie year, you imagine what he's gonna do with like another floor spreader like Christoph Porzingis in the lineup. It's like Travis Scott, highest in the room. Ceiling talk is cheap, execution ain't. The non-Tray offensive rating is going to be something to monitor, but okay. I think this team is loaded. I think this team is ready. I mean, they're making a real move. It is will still will Trey stay engaged, and can Christoph Karzingas stay healthy enough? If he stays healthy enough, and Risa Shea is able to stay on the court, Atlanta is going to be absolutely a monster to deal with. And that all-state arena is gonna be rocking and rolling. I can't wait. I don't know who's gonna be doing the halftime, um, you know, entertainment. I don't know if it's gonna be Red Panda, rest in peace, she fell. Dog, she fell, broke, broke stuff. Would it be ludicrous? I don't know. Y'all tell me down at ATL, who's gonna be doing the halftime shows if ATL is gonna be lit like this and the basketball is gonna be spicy. Y'all hit me up on Twitter at frontrunnerpc or at Raya underscore funchfrpc. That is the tagline y'all get to us. If you don't want to use Twitter or X.com, however you want to put it, you can also hit us up on email. FRPC Vince at gmail.com. Now we move along to a team that was in the news all offseason and not in a good way. That is your Los Angeles Clippers. Alright, so the Clippers. We can't sugarcoat it. They're under the microscope from the NBA. Uh some of the stuff that is surrounding them is really not for them. But you know the feds are involved in this. The FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, has a probe out, and the Clippers are in the middle of this. Since load management became a verb. The irony, the roster might actually be too deep to manage cleanly, and Harden is 36 years of age. One year removed from his renaissance year, can he do it again? Or was that the final encore before he fades out? And the reason why I asked that is because what's the one thing that we've been talking about with James Harden over the years? Fat James Harden, out of shape James Harden, Hartin not taking his um nutrition seriously, a lot of strip clubs, a lot of drinking, a lot of trail burgers. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is factual stuff that's been on James Harden. And this is like within the last five years. Just saying. They're very talented. They're very talented, they got a lot of pieces, and if this was 2017, these pieces will look a lot more valuable than they do right now. Just saying. But this is what you got if you're the Clippers. I wonder if every time there's a tough stretch during this season. So follow me here. We got an 82 game season that's just about to start in about an hour and a half. Will the Clippers get annoyed or frustrated or flat out just disengage from answering questions about the ongoing investigation? Cause you I can imagine it right now. Chris Paul or Jane Harden is in the locker room and our guy, Law Murray, comes up from the athletic and says, Hey, um, you know, quick question for you. Do you think that your your lull in game 36 through 40 has anything to do with the ongoing investigation by the NBA about salary circumvention with Kawhi Leonard and that uh company aspiration? And you can just see James Harden's eyes just kind of flip back into the back of his head. He's like, Man, where's the nearest strip club? I need lap dances right now. That's how I relax. Chris Paul is sitting there talking about he's gonna be just like our guy um in uh damn lethal weapon. Murdoch, right? He's gonna be like, I'm too old for this shit. I can see it now. Chris Paul is definitely gonna be saying that. And Bradley Bill, he just new to the squad. He's gonna be like, damn, what's going on? Now, you'd hope that the focus would stay on basketball, but let's be honest, it won't. Now, Kawhi is a sideboard. He'll give you the most generic, uninspiring, boring answers as possible. Leonard will be unmoved by the scrutiny, but his teammates might not be so lucky. This thing is a pressure cooker. You got a billion dollar owner, and when I say billion, I mean multiple billion. Steve Balmer, do y'all know that Steve Balmer makes ninety, what is it, nine hundred and ninety-nine million nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand dollars off his dividends off Microsoft every year? This dude ain't worried about cash at all. Okay. This is why we have the CBA with the second acrons and stuff like that. Because we got owners like Balmer involved. A superstar duo aging under the harshest lights and a roster that reads like a free agency wish list from five years too late. It is going to be a long season. And every time a microphone lands in that locker room, we'll be waiting for the next Pablo Torrey podcast episode Follow the Money. Clipper the Clippers Balmer and Uncle Dennis Improv Comedy Show Part 45. Soraya offers this. That's their problem. And everybody knows better better. But they just they still don't. Now the pundits and the people who are like at the ringer. Yahoo scores NBA. Shouts out to Yahoo Scores NBA. Shouts out to my guy Kevin O'Connor doing it real big over there. Everybody loved the Clippers offseason. Bradley Bill, Brooke Lopez, John Collins, in a vacuum, all smart ads. But none of these players are coming off trophy field campaigns or elite playoff form. Bradley Bill, y'all remember why Bradley Bill is in Los Angeles right now? Phoenix wanted to trade him last year. He was like, nah, I'm cool. I'm making this money. I got a no-trade clause. I'm cool in Phoenix. Now, people are sitting there going, hey man, we want to buy you out. He's like, nah, I want my money. I don't care what y'all say. And then he got word that Los Angeles was calling. My man was bought out immediately. He was like, I'm going to the La La. I'm going to play in the Intuit Dome. Where the wall is. It's going to be great. I'm going to eat at Nobu. You know what I'm saying? I'm a little big. I'm probably going to be at the um I'm going to be at the golf course. You know what I'm saying? Rubbing elbows with billionaires. Hit hit Steve Walmer. So here's what the here's what the Clippers got. They got depth all at all five positions. Top five half half court creation potential. And real rim protection with Brooke Lopez and Avicha Zubats as a toggle. Weak spots. Cohesion under scrutiny. Transition defense because we are super old. Immediate noise fatigue. Now, this is like that song Run the Jewels, Close Your Eyes, and Count 2 F. You know what I'm saying? They're trying to outlast the chaos. But you know what? Kawhi is unmoved by this whole situation. Now the Clippers can sit here and live in the stew if they want to. Hold dear is just basketball. Can Harden repeat the performance that he had last year? Can Kawhi stay healthy? That seems like a question that nobody's asked. Can Kawhi stay healthy? And when he does, and oh by the way, we talked about the scrutiny, right? We talked about the the the microphones and everything like that. Who's to say that Kawhi don't come up with some dis undisclosed injury and then Uncle Dennis sends him off to parts unknown like he's done time and time again? And where the Clippers have no idea where he is and when he's coming back. Because that's a real thing that has happened under the Clippers when Kawhi has been there. So you're telling me that this is just gonna be smooth sailing and that this is not a house of cards? I gotta hey, I got some beachfront property in Phoenix, Arizona, if y'all want it. If that's how y'all think it. You know what? You know what brings positive vibes? The happiest place on earth? Orlando, Florida. That's where we're going. But we're not going to Disney World. We're going to the Anway Center and we're gonna talk about the Orlando Magic. Do you believe? Do you believe Orlando and Magic fans? Do y'all believe? Last year, 500, that wasn't who they were. It was oblique season in Orlando. Paulo Gancarrol had an oblique injury, Franz Wagner had an oblique injury, so they're two best players, had long injury situation with obliques because those things suck and they hurt, and it takes a while for them to heal. Not only did you have that, Jalen Suggs went out and then he was out for the year with a knee injury. Right? Oh, KCP, Contavius Caldwell Pope, he lasted one year. One year in Orlando. He was supposed to be the point of attack defender, he was supposed to help with all of like the communication, and then this dude was supposed to stand in a corner and shoot 36% from three. None of those things happened. And guess what? He was traded and inwalks oxygen. He inwalks a floor spacer of the highest level. FRPC, front runner podcast collectives, one of our favorite sons in the NBA. Desmond Bain walks into Orlando. So not only do you got Paulo Gancaro, not only do you got Franz Wagner, you got Desmond Bain now. You just got some floor spacing. Congratulations to the Orlando Magic. Do you have enough floor spacing? Probably not. But it's better than what you had last year, which was absolutely none. He arrives in a pig heavy, heist. They also got Tyus Jones, who's one of the best backup point guards that this league has ever seen. He will also help steady a second unit. Remember Cole Anthony used to do it? Now you get a real like a real floor of real floor general in Tyus Jones. Now the East looks crackable, and the Magic finally look like they have some intents on really attacking the top three of the Eastern Conference right now. So it's not a it's not delusion, it's by design. You add shooting, you reduce blame, and you watch the stars look smarter. I love it. Harder, better, faster, stronger. Bain's Jones layer is the system upgrade. They're not the headline. Shooting plus structure turns Polo and Franz from daggers to drivers. I like it. And by the way, Bain on ball, not the worst thing on the face of the planet. Not the greatest point guard, but he's not gonna just turn the ball over. He's not just gonna be like, here you go. He's not gonna spend money like a drunken sailor with the basketball. He's gonna be out here doing things. Desert Bain is a real professional. And again, he is an absolute weapon from the outside of the highest order. 41 and 41 was a in the it was an injury warp season for the Orlando Magic. They were a league worse, 31.8% from three. And they got their doors blown off by a Boston team before the Jason Tatum injury that looked like they were disinterested. This summer, you get the bane trade. Now, what goes out for Orlando? That's very important because you gotta understand some stuff went out. So the 2026 pick, which should be a late first round pick, right? Because of the talent that you have currently on the magic, the 2028 pick, the 2030 pick, and there's a pick swap in 2029 that they also gave up. So three first round picks 26, 28, and 30. KCP, Cole Anthony, gone, Tyus Jones, Desmond Bain in. Now, what do you get with Desmond Bain? First of all, he's 27 years old, so he's entering what? His crime. Now on a team that was having their own struggles last year, staying healthy and things of that nature, our guy Desmond Bain, 19.2 points a game. His true shooting percentage was six was uh.600. He sought he shot 39.2% from three, and that's a bad year for him. Think about that. He shot 39.2%, and it was a bad year because the spacing wasn't good because everybody was injured. His usage percentage was 23.3, his assist percentages was 23.6, he had low turnover uh percentages, which is great. This is a great move, and you're gonna see a lot of Spain pick and rolls, you're gonna see some double drags as early offense, you're gonna see some wide pin downs into DHOs. I'm telling you right now, this is gonna be great for Orlando, and you know who the beneficiaries are? Well, that'll be one, Paulo Gancaro. Oh, and that's Paulo Gancaro who averaged 24 25.9 points a game. His true shooting percentage was 55.1. Usage was 33.6, so coin guard usage, very important. Assist percentage 26%, he only shot 32% from three on 5.9 three-point attempts. This dude is on an all NBA trajectory, he is a shot creator, he creates paint touches, and they are purposeful. Versus loaded gaps. Remember, he went into a basically the Amazon Wayne Forest with a machete every time he entered to paint. Because the paint was bloated with defenders because nobody respected the three-point line when Orlando Magic players were standing beyond it last year. Now with Bain and Terrence and Tyus Jones spacing might be like I said, it will be better. It's not gonna be perfect, but it'll be better. And how they run Desmbain off some uh some pin downs and things of that nature, and some some much needed cuts through the lane and then out the other side above the break threes. That's gonna be very important because then Paulo's gonna have to make a quick decision, get the ball to Desmond Bain, and that quick trigger is gonna have to go up. Another guy where this is gonna help is Franz Wagner. 24.2 points a game. He had a true shooting percentage of 0.558, he had a usage rate of 31%, and his three-point shooting was an abysmal 29.5%. He is close to being an all-star too. But this dude needs a jump shot, just like Paulo. They need to hit at least league average from three. It is not a question, it is a demand. If this team wants to get to go to where it wants to, you gotta shoot 36% from three. If Paulo wants to be not just an all-star, but a top echelon all NBA player, he's gotta shoot 36% from three. At least be getting close to those numbers. Now what else is the what else is the effect of the Bane Tyus effect? Bane shoots on career 41% from three. Okay. Tyus Jones again is a low mistake table setter who also shoots 41% from three the last two seasons. The goal is positive six plus net rating with one of Bain or Jones on the court. Now here's the here's the other thing. You get Jalen Suggs back, who is the heart and soul of that team, because that team cratered as soon as Suggs was out for the season. It was like they ripped out the heart of the Orlando Magic and they just held it in front of them as it still continued to beat. So, Jalen Suggs, pretty good three-point shooter. He'll get even better with Desmond Bain. That is your backcourt. Bain and Suggs. So, your on-ball defender, Suggs, who's an absolute animal on defense, also can knock down a shot, and he can provide a tip dunk here and there that will absolutely devastate and emasculate another NBA team. So that's fantastic. We love all of this. Now, Orlando is about to get very, very expensive soon with all these little extras and nuances and accoutrements that they have set up, right? But if you got Jalen Suggs, who is a 16 point per game scorer, who he had a bad year last year, shooting 31 point 31.4%, but he shot 39.7% the the previous year. He's a top 10 defensive player of the year caliber player, all defensive, second team type dude. This is again the heartbeat of this squad. If we can get him back to where he was two years ago, this will help out the Orlando Magic immensely. Doesn't solve all the issues of spacing, but if you got two of the four pieces figured out, which remember last year you had none figured out. Now, does Orlando have depth? You bet your ass they do. Mo Wagner, which is Franz Wagner's brother, Tristan Da Silva, coming off Eurobasket confidence, also a spacing NBA spacing adult. Oh, by the way, they might have some other spacing, some low-key spacing, because Jace Richardson, the son of Jason Richardson, out of Michigan State, is a flamethrower from deep. The real question is, are we ever gonna get what we thought we were gonna get from Anthony Black? Anthony Black is slowly but surely becoming Matisse Steible. And what I mean by that, you're a really good defender. Now you have some on ball juice as far as initiation on ball and as far as that's concerned, but your catch and shoot competency, that's gonna unlock your minutes, my guy. Because I'm gonna tell you right now, with what they got in these trades and some of these upgrades, your minutes are gonna diminish if you can't shoot the ball. Okay, prediction time. Orlando could be a top three team if for some reason they stay healthy and the shooting from Suggs and Bain and Tyus Jones is uh what it could and should be. If for some reason they don't shoot it as well as they need to be, or if there's some sort of injury that we are unforeseen, this team is still good enough to be top five in the Eastern Conference just because of how broken the Eastern Conference is. Can they get to the second round? You bet your ass they can they can get to the second round. Because the one thing that Jamal Mosley gets this team to do is play hard. They play defense, they play hard, and they do it all the time. They do not take plays off. Now, if you want to be like a real top contender, you're gonna have to shoot the three-ball better. That means Carlos is gonna have to shoot the ball better, and Franz is gonna shoot the ball better. And like how they say in succession, if you don't shoot the ball better, you are not serious people. And we don't need to take we don't need to really take heed to you. Now, Jamal Mosley's mantra is probably every day I'm hustling. Like on that defensive side. We want loose balls, we want deflection, we want Rick Ross to be like every day I'm hustling. We want that. But you don't get that unless we shoot better. That's for sure. Belief is not magic, it's math. Orlando traded mystery for makes. And that's how young cores become problems. If the defense stays mean and the spacing lets Paulo and Franz breathe, this team can skip the play-in and break into the bracket, and that's what we want for Orlando. The trick isn't revealed, it's a setup. And this team is ready to roll if the shooting comes along with them. The team that they're chasing, other than Knicks, is the team in Cleveland, and that is where we go next. We gotta talk about Cleveland. First of all, they were the East best team last year, on paper last year, and also, you know, because of record. Until the Garland injury and the postseason PTSD hit, Donovan Mitchell's doing everything right, but the question is still timely. Can this core last long enough to cash in its potential? Team is built from March but haunted by May. God have they just been absolutely destroyed in these last two playoffs. Cleveland's beautiful problem is that they can dominate a Tuesday in February but still lose their compass in May. That's for sure. And I wonder if in their quiet times are they just listening to Kid Cuddy on repeat day and night, you know, just lonely stands in Cleveland waiting for the spring and redemption. Here's the thing. We're gonna just sum this up in a nutshell. There's still optimism in Cleveland and they should have that. But it should come with a little side eye energy. And what I mean by that is are the Cavaliers talented? Absolutely. Do they have the depth to withstand injuries and matchup chaos and disruption to their team with certain injuries? Yes. Yes they do emphatically. The problem isn't the roster, it's the rhythm. The regular season doesn't scare this group. It's the crucible of the playoffs and the basketball that is played that has humbled them. That second layer of game planning, that mid-series adjustment, that's where the Cavs keep getting lost in translation. Now Kenny Atkinson did do something awesome last year. He unlocked Evan Mowgli, finally giving him definition as a two-way anchor instead of just a floating piece. I expect that to continue. And matter of fact, I expect that to be even more pronounced this year. Evan Mowgli has all the tools to become a second option behind Donovan Mitchell. If the usage and the confidence stay in sync, you can see Mowgli ascending to that second spot. And you say, well, what about Darius Garland? He's a bucket waiting to happen. That's what he is. But he also becomes a regular on the injury report. Three straight years of wear and tear has blunted his rhythm, and just when you think they need it most, he's out with an injury. That brings me to the most important piece of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and that's Jared Allen. He's got the best afro in the league, and he's has an elite Lego connect collection. But at some point, we need to see some aggression out of our guy, Jared Allen, in high-leverage moments. His defense has been fine. His presence, not always. The Cavs can win plus 55 games, and people will still shrug. Remember, they won 64 last year and then went out with a whimper. That's the curse. When you become the team that is a contender, it's not like, oh, well, we did all these great things all year. It's what you do in the playoffs, it's what you put on film in the playoffs that matters the most. Are you up to the task? Because everybody else is playing hard. Like, yeah, just because you gave great effort in the regular season doesn't mean that when you get to the postseason, your great effort is going to carry the day. No. You gotta be a little nastier. You gotta want it a little bit harder than the next guy. You gotta be willing to push and pull to get to the where you need to go. Because the other team is going to do it. They are gonna know some of the tricks of the trade. They're gonna pull you by the back of the jersey to hold you back so then somebody else can get the ball. They're gonna do these things. And Jared Allen, albeit a great rim protector, albeit an outstanding rebounder, we need more from you in the playoffs. We need a little attitude. Think about it like this. You just completed the Death Star, or you just completed like the Andor thing on your Lego collection, and then somebody comes in and like steps on it or takes some of the pieces off and you can't find them anymore. How mad are you about to get? That's the same verocity we're gonna need to see out of you come playoff time this next year. Because here's the other thing that people need to talk about. Cleveland spent money. They're over the the all the luxury taxes. They in the second apron, they chilling. That means guess what? Uh we can't make a trade and aggregate salaries. We can't take more money back than we send out. That means when the buyouts come in uh February after the trade deadline, we're not gonna be able to get any of those guys. You're stuck in purgatory. The team that you have right now is the team that you have. Now, Lonzo Gall will help the loss of Ty uh Jerome, but he comes with his own set of injury mysteries and history. We already know that Darius Garland is a man down. He's down now. But again, they can survive the regular season with this. It is when they get to the postseason. Are they whole and are they nasty? Are you grimy enough to deal with what you're gonna have to deal with in New York City, you my guy? Or are you gonna be sitting there with your with your sweater wrapped around your shoulder reading um Tolstoy or palms or whatever the hell you're doing? No, dog. Y'all need to come and bite some ankles. Y'all gonna have to get after it. This is the best chance that Cleveland has had to win the East in this core's lifetime. They are deep, they are mature, they're led by a star in Donovan Mitchell who actually wants the moment. But the air in the land still feels heavy. Like everyone's waiting for the other shoe to drop or the hamstring to pop. Belief isn't blind, it's bruised. Cleveland, which is believing, doesn't need a leap. They just need to finish that matches their roster. The lands got the map. Time to see if they can follow it past April. Because here's the other thing that you need to know. If you don't get it done this year, there's some people who need to have their realtor on standby. One of those people is not Evan Mobley. But the rest of you are not safe. Not safe at all. Now we're gonna squeeze through some of these because this is kind of a long ass podcast and stuff like that. It's almost a two-hour podcast. So let's talk about the Spurs. I got big, big, big energy with the Spurs right now. Everybody was tripping off Victor Wangbayama last year. Listen, the deep vein thrombosis was a real deal. The blood clot was a real deal. It is now cleared up, it is ready to go, and he's ready to go. He trained with Chinese monks. He was out here doing like some Shaolin type stuff. He was out here getting it in. Okay. He was steadying his mind for what's to come. And I'm gonna tell you right now, Victor Weng Banyama is ready. He is ready to go. And you go, well, Vince, what else does he have? Well, De'Aaron Fox. He has him. He also has the rookie of the year last year, Stefan Castle. Oh, by the way, if that's not good enough, they also have the number two overall pick, Dylan Harper, who also looks like a stud. He looks like an absolute G on the basketball court, and we can't wait to see him throw lobs to Victor Win by Nama. So Victor was cleared after the deep vein thrombosis. He is full go to open year three, ready to cause nothing but disruption and calamity for everybody. Fox, who was picked up during the trade deadline, he extended through twenty twenty nine, twenty thirty. That's just to lock up that asset. We don't know if he's gonna stay that long. But we ain't worried about that right now. But what Fox gives them is a late innings killer. He's a closer. Okay? And what I mean by that is that his clutch numbers over the last three years has been absolutely amazing. He's hitting jump shots, he's getting fouled, he's making stuff happen, and he is a go-to guy if you just need a bucket. Now, Castle is the rookie of the year, reigning rookie of the year. He is a guy who still wants primary guard reps to continue. But his role might have to change altogether. And it's not just because of De'Aaron Fox, it's because of Dylan Harper. Dylan Harper is a quintessential point guard. He's the number two overall pick. His own ball creation is ridiculous. His live throwing is immense. He will be able to get an entry pass into Victor Wang Banyamo, which was a problem before De'Aaron Fox showed up on the scene last year, but they only played five games together before you know tragedy stuck. Now, why does it all this work and why am I big on the San Antonio Squares? It's real easy. Fox pressures the paint. Victor can space the floor or feast on lobs. Remember, he is a short roll demon. So he can kick passes out to guys. He can hit guys who are cutting off the baseline for just dunks and things of that nature. He's great with that. Castle stabilized the point of attack defense. Harker targets as an on ball to second side and initiation creator. He can do both. Now uh Devin Vazel slots into his more comfortable role as a third scorer, maybe sometimes even a fourth scorer, sitting in the corner, off ball threes, and he don't have to dribble a lot. Fantastic. We talked about Fox's clutch rating, and then you got Victor. Okay, Victor is just an anomaly wrapped up in just this immense physical talent. I mean, he's 7'5. That's what they say. He's probably 7'7. He can handle the ball, he can shoot the ball. Uh, I can't wait to see him get in the paint this year and destroy people. Fox Castle Wendy, and who's the fifth starter? Who knows? Is that gonna be uh Soha? I don't know. Uh our guy, Harrison Barnes, maybe like Harrison at that world. That gives you kind of like a five out look. Now the real battle is gonna be between Castle and Harper. And what I mean by that is the one thing that I've been told by like NBA scouts and people who who really do this for a living in the sense of like they're in NBA front offices or whatever, is the difference between 87 to 89% and 91 to 94%. Now that you you it doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's a big deal to people who are coaching the team, the people who are doing like the analytics, the efficiency monsters, and things of that nature, because everything is one and the margins. Stephon Castle grades out like at a at a 86 or 88 percent percent type of on ball initiator, and Dylan Harper rates out as like a 92 to 94. Guess who's gonna get those reps? Dylan Harper. That's who's gonna get those reps. And it's no shade to Stefan Castle, it's just this is what we're gonna do. Now that slides you over to a second side type guy, we're gonna stick you in the corner. Now, Stephon Castle might not like that. But he might have to accept it for the greater good of what this team is trying to do. And remember, Stefan Castle cannot like it all he wants. But at the end of the day, this is Victor win by Yama's team. It is not Stefan Castle's team, is sure the hell it's not Darren Fox's team. This is Victor's team. Victor's Uward Mobility as far as growth and development is still the most important thing to the San Antonio Spurs because Victor is a absolute like cheat code when it comes to the game of basketball. And whatever it is to make him the best version of what he's gonna end up being, you might have to hurt some feelings of some people who might have aspirations of being an on-ball facilitator. I remember his people during the draft process at Stephon Castle is a point guard. Period, end of story. Well, that's all well and good until you got De'ron Fox and Dylan Harper. Now you're not a point guard. You're a wing. Congratulations on the new job title. It's a harsh reality in the NBA, but it is the reality. Sometimes you have to face it head on, and sometimes you have to embrace whatever the change is going to be to you. Because uh, like Draymond says and others have said, hey man, there's only a chosen few that are like the guy. There's only a chosen few who are gonna get 22 shots a game. There's only a chosen few who are gonna get the ball in the last like 30 seconds of the game, and it's probably not gonna be you. So you need to figure out how you can help the basketball team in the best way possible. So if DeFron Castle can help his team by being a second-side initiator, shooting a three at a better rate and playing outstanding defense and things of that nature, that's what he's gonna have to do. And like it. When Wimby's off the court, usually there was a black hole. Now they got Luke Cornet. Luke Cornet comes over from Boston, he's 7'2, he can block shots, he can score a little bit, he can offensive initiate a little bit, he can do a lot of things. But now it's at least when Wimby is gone, there's not a complete hole in the middle where people just run into the lane as fast as they possibly can. You st you're you're gonna think about it a little bit. Now, Fox provides something for Wingby that he hasn't had since he's been there. And also, Wing provides something for Fox that he's never had. Fox is now the number two option in San Antonio. And you go, well, duh, because Wingby's here. Well, you gotta also understand where De'Aaron Fox came from. He was a Sacramento King, and everything rolled through him. Now he is the number two, so he gets a couple less opportunities a game, less decisions that he has to make, and he knows at the end of the day, if the big man calls for the ball, I gotta get it to him. Dems the breaks. Welcome to San Antonio. We really hope that you like the Mexican food and the Alamo. But we also wish that you understand your role as a Robin to Victor Winbayama's Batman. And understand that these shot opportunities, you're the number two priority. Anything else that we need to get to when it comes to like pushback on what San Antonio could be. Well, if Castle doesn't accept his role, this could be not. I still think San Antonio is going to make the playoffs, personally. I think they actually have the they have a ceiling of being top three. But everything has to go right. Everything has to go right for them to be a top three team in the playoffs. Remember, it's a gauntlet. It is a gauntlet. But I love Winway. I love the skill set, and I think that he's on a mission this year. Now, will they make the playoffs ultimately? I believe so. I think they their medium is basically a five or six seed that really is going to be determined on their clutch offense and their rebounding and what they're able to get on defense other than Victor Wingbayama. Now, Victor Wingbayama is going to win Defensive Player of the Year Award for show. We got some awards coming up momentarily. The truth is that this isn't a science fair anymore. The product is on the shelves. When we has been cleared, Fox is committed and got his money, and also Dylan Harper could be the real deal. So the test is in talent, it's translation under playoff lights. If the defense doesn't drown when one is on the bench, which is Victor, you're looking at home court math for this team. We plant the flag. I plant the flag and dare the West to dislodge it. Because if San Antonio saws the spacing, they're going to sit there and be a third seed. And Victor is going to challenge for an MVP. Not just a defensive player of the year, but actual for MVP. Now Houston is good, but Van Vliet really Stymies what I think they could be this year. LeBron is sitting out here at Syatica. Luca is going to score 30 points a game this year. But I am, I'm going to tell you right now, Marcus Smart as a point of attack defender is not what I think is going to solve all the problems. Remember, when Marcus Smart left Boston, there was whispers that he had lost a step there. And now you put two injury marked seasons together and you think, oh, we just plug and play this dude and he's going to end up being like this stout defender for us? I'm sorry. I don't see it. DeAndre Ayton is the number one overall pick when Luca came out. Incredibly athletic? Is he incredibly talented? Yes. Does he have a heart of a lion? No, he doesn't. So, when I see him call up work and say, Oh, I can't come in today because there's too much ice on my driveway in Portland. Remember, it's Portland. This is not Portland, Maine. This is Portland, Oregon. This isn't Vermont. This isn't New Hampshire. This isn't Buffalo, New York. This is Portland, Oregon. And my man was like, I can't come to work because it's too icy on my driveway. Well, we saw that problem for him, right? He's in Los Angeles, California. I'm gonna tell you right now. DeAndre Aiden is obviously in a contract year. He is accustomed to making like max money. I don't think he'll ever get that ever again. But what he does this year, what he this is a proven year, and he's in the best situation possibly be. Luca wants to throw him lops. Luca wants to get him to dunk the basketball. That mid-range BS that you were doing in Phoenix, and you were crying because oh, Kevin Durant and um oh no, this is before Kevin Durant. Chris Call, who's also a mid-range demon, and Devin Booker, who's a mid-range demon himself, you crying like Trey Songs or something like that, talking about, oh, I should get touches in the mid-range because I'm really good at it. Bro, are you kidding me right now? You try to bring that same energy to Los Angeles, you're gonna get your you're gonna get your cranium cracked. Cause I'm gonna tell you right now, JJ Reddick ain't having that. Now, the real thing that people need to wrap their head around is Austin Reeves. Austin Reeves is a uh 25, 5, and 5 tight dude. Okay, probably gonna average somewhere between 20 to 23 points a game this year. Okay, we just wrap your head around that. He's also going to get you four to five rebounds, he's gonna get you more than five assists. I'm gonna tell you right now, if this dude becomes a decent defender, and the numbers stay as far as the production of offensive ends stays exactly where it is, Austin Reeves could be looking at 33 million dollars annual average value as far as salary is concerned. That is what is in play for Austin Reeves this year. So a lot for the Lakers to prove, a lot for the Lakers to do, they're doing it in a Western conference where there's a bunch of killers out here. Their best scenario is a four seed, they're probably gonna be a five or six seed, and they're probably gonna struggle, Maya Leo, whatever the case may be. But if this team makes a playoffs, and LeBron is completely healthy, and you can get an angry DeAndre Aiden, they got a shot to make some noise in the playoffs. So I could talk, I could talk saucy, I could talk violently versus the Lakers for sure. There's a lot of questions to be answered. I think Rui's miscast terribly. I think he should be a six man. I think they do need a point of attack defender, they kind of need more than one, to be honest with you. But that's neither here nor there right now. But if they make the playoffs, and when they will, they will make the playoffs. Luca is a floor raiser just by himself. And Luca is going to be going after an MVP. So you know. Alright. This dude averaged 28 points a game on a sore calf, and he looked like he was 40 pounds out of shape. You think that now that he's in shape, looking spry as hell, looking sexy as hell, you don't think he gon' average like 33 points a game? You crazy, man. You out here out here with nonsense. So the Lakers are a dangerous team once in the playoffs. The Hollywood honesty is this star sell the trailer. The fourth quarter sells the season. LeBron calendar is coming to an end. We gotta conserve LeBron as much as possible. Luca is the pulp pulse of this team, and he's ruthless, and he will be looking to take the heads off anybody who snickered at him last year, who sighed out of him at all last year. Trust and believe this dude is looking to take scalps when it comes to the regular season. So you want to talk about some some just off the wall stuff? Let's do it. Let's do it. I got my MVP for this year, and it's not Luka Doncic, it's not Nicola Jokic, it is not Shea Gilgis Alexander. My MVP for this year is one Anthony Edwards. Y'all heard it here first. I think this dude is in the lab. I think this dude is box office, and I think this dude is the closest thing to Michael Jordan. Am I putting a lot of pressure on him? 100%. Do I think he can do it? 100%. Do I think he is the most competitive dude that I've seen in a long time? Yes. And I'm gonna tell you right now, when y'all sat there and disrespected Anthony Edwards when he has made two consecutive Western Conference Finals, and now you have other teams like Houston and Denver and the Clippers, and you hear other people talk about Golden State and all this other stuff. Y'all just let his fire. So good luck. Good luck. Anthony Edwards is coming after those dumb pieces. NBA rookie of the year, the great white American, the great hope of the NBA, Adam Silver's Cash Cow, Cooper Flag. Why? Because he's on a good team, he's gonna put up pretty good numbers, and like I said, like I said, I said this, I think, in a pod a couple weeks ago. I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I don't care what Anthony Davis does, I don't care when Kyrie comes back, I'm gonna tell you right now, if D'Angelo Russell shoots the ball with 19 seconds on the shot clock, and Cooper Flag did not touch that basketball. By the way, you know you in Dallas, D'Angelo, right? You know you in Texas. And there's a white American on the court with you, who people believe is the second coming of Larry Burke. You better get that man to basketball. You better get that man to basketball. Cooper Flag is gonna be our rookie of the year this year. Now, there's no surprise about our defensive player of the year is gonna be Victor Wingwayama. He was gonna win it last year if the injury didn't come up. But our defensive player of the year from Front Runner Podcast Collective is Victor Wingwayama. I don't think I need to make a big case about this or anything like that. Now, the sixth man of the year award, I got two choices. I'm gonna tell you right now, if Josh Hart of the New York Knicks gets anywhere between six to eight triple doubles this year, that's gonna be the sixth man of the year. If he doesn't, Casey Wallace is gonna win this award of the Oklahoma City Thunder. First of all, he's gonna play a bigger role this year early in the season because of Jalen Williams' injury. The second thing is, is that Caruso, they're gonna want to save him. They're gonna want to massage his minutes, and we can let the young lion loose. We can let him eat on the Serengeti all day long because Casey Wallace is 21 years of age. And this dude can shoot the ball, this dude can uh be a point guard when Shay is off the court. Oh, when he's on the court, oh guess what? I can play off ball, no problem whatsoever. I'll stand in this corner and shoot threes. I'm cool, but you know what I'm else gonna do? I'm gonna play defense like it's nobody's business, and I'm gonna get loose balls, and then I'm gonna be in transition and I'm gonna be off to the races. It's gonna be great, it's gonna be glorious. Now, the most improved player in the NBA. A lot of people will want everybody to say I'm in Thompson. They want to say that. I'm gonna give you a dark horse. I'm gonna give you, I'm not gonna give you something that all of the sheep are giving you. The most improved player of the year, my guy, is Jarrus Walker of the Indiana Pacers. And you'll say, Vince, Jarrett Walker, he ain't played in two years. That's the reason why he's gonna win. He being in the lab, bro, and they're gonna need everything they can possibly get in Indiana. Rick Carlisle does not know how to tank. He doesn't know how to do it. It's beneath him to do that. So Jarrus Walker is gonna get playing time, he's gonna get opportunity, and I think he's gonna show up and show out. I think Jarrus Walker is gonna be the most improved player, the MRP in the NBA. Now, my coach of the year award goes to one David Adelman. Why? Well, David Adleman coaches Nikola Jokic. And as much as I love Ant, and as much as I love the Minnesota Timberwolves, I do believe that Denver could play for the one seed or the two seed. Doesn't mean necessarily that our guy Anthony Edwards is not gonna win this MVP, because he is, he's gonna win it. But Jokic is a offense, a good offensive production every single time he touches basketball. He can get you a good shot every single time. And if he's gonna get you a good shot and you got Cameron Johnson, you got Jamal Murray, you got Aaron Gordon, and you got Christian Brown, and then you got off the bench Bruce Brown Jr. Man, let me tell you something. David Alleman, just by through osmosis, he's gonna win this Coach of the Year award. So that's what I gotta say about that. And now the last award is the executive of the year. And that's gonna go to Ante Sala of the Atlanta of the Atlanta Falcons. The Atlanta Hawks. I think just what they did this offseason was uh incredible. I think Nikhil Alexander Walker was a good pickup. I think Christoph Porzinga, if healthy, that dude is going to push them over the top. That's gonna push them towards the top of the Eastern Conference. And I think that Atlanta's executive crew is going to reap the benefits of that and win the executive of the year. So, those are my predictions going into the year. Now we can start basketball. Now let the NBA begin. Your boy is on record with stuff. It's going to be crazy. I believe that we're going to have an incredible season. And you know who's going to be here the whole time giving it to you? Frontrunner Podcast Collective. So, without further ado, the best part of you is you. Surround yourself with people who give you light, insight, joy, and accountability. If you have people like that, appreciate them out loud. That's your real wealth. And if you still are finding your tribe, know this. You got one here with us at FRPC. Until next time, keep your mind sharp, your heart open, and your circle tight. I'm Vince for Saraya, Deuces Oosis, we uploaded here.