Lynx Recap, Oliva Miles Brilliance and Wolves Roster Shake-Up

A packed week at Target Center sets the stage as we break down the most recent Lynx games, spotlight the continued brilliance of Olivia Miles and relive the energy of being in the building twice in just a few days. Then we pivot to the Wolves, where the latest roster moves bring plenty to dissect- what they mean now, and what they signal for what's next. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:26

Welcome to Love and Basketball, a Timberlynx fancast. I'm Matt.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

And I'm Marissa, and we're a married couple and longtime fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.

SPEAKER_03 0:35

Every week we break down the games, spill the off-court tea, and share our takes. This is our weekly catch-up, and you're invited.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Hi friends, thanks for joining us. On today's episode, we'll break down the most recent Lynx games and continue tomorrow at Olivia Miles. We'll share the fun of being at Target Center twice this past week.

SPEAKER_03 0:57

And we'll discuss the most recent Wolves roster changes.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yeah, well, this is our 20th episode, which is I feel like it's gone fast. How about you?

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Yes, yes. It's it's been it's been a lot of fun. I don't know. It goes, I guess time flies when you're having fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Yeah. It's been a couple of weeks since our last episode, and I feel like a lot has happened. So we'll get down to it. Um, the Lynx have had some very exciting last five games.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Like Yes. I mean I I I guess a whole whole season of it, but yes, specifically the last five games.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Yeah, especially I feel like, and we'll break down the games, but we had two losses within them, but they were both very winnable games. Um, and so you know, no blowout losses, and the rest were you know mostly blowout wins. So um some fun things happened. We'll start with the uh the loss against the Las Vegas Aces. Um, this was a Commissioner's Cup game, and we lost by only three points.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Yeah, and this is a big this was kind of an annoyingly big game, and I'll I'll break it down. Yeah. So Commissioner Cup, just like the the in-tournament or in-season tournament for the NBA, you know, you you have a certain number of games that you play against a certain group of of teams, and then um in the W, what happens is there it's only two groups, and the winner of each of those groups advances. What that means is the aces were part of our group, and we were we they had one loss going through this whole deal, and we didn't, and then we ended up losing to the aces. So then we had the exact same record as them, but they beat us head to head. So that's the first tiebreaker. What's crazy at that at that moment, um, the the second tiebreaker is like the plus-minus, like how much you win the games by. And that's one reason why, not the only reason, but why, but one of the reasons why we've been running up the score on so many of the teams in the in these early stages is because the the point spread that you win or lose by really matters. Right. Because, you know, there's only one team in the W that moves on to the championship in your bracket, and um so we were below the aces, but we had a plus minus of over a hundred and twenty, like plus a hundred and twenty over our our our teams that we beat, and which is insane. Everyone else, like the aces were like ten points over in their their games, um, in the games that they won. And the accumulative, so games won and lost, but we were so much better than every other team, right? But the fact that we lost the one game to the aces and they held the tiebreaker, then we we didn't make the that is a bummer.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

I did not realize that. Um I I felt like we were losing, I mean, we were losing the entire game until the last few minutes. It was really a battle, and I was so surprised that Olivia Miles showed absolutely no fear of Asia Wilson and would just like go right at her and would draw the foul and um would just do her little sweet little layup. Just she makes it look so easy and also it looks so difficult to guard. Um, I thought we had it. I honestly did. With the last couple minutes, I'm like, well, we're gonna win the week, we're gonna come out with this one.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

But we didn't. Not so much, but then we then we you know turned things around for the next three games, you know, with wins over Portland, LA, and Golden State.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

Um, that Valkyries game, that was a tight one. It was kind of back and forth, back and forth. They played that was the first team that I feel like has figured out how to defend Olivia Miles. We saw that.

SPEAKER_03 4:49

And that was like being physical and uh, you know, really, really like guarding her right over the halfway, you know, right over center court. As soon as she crossed the line, they were on her and being really physical, double teaming.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Right. And that was the first, I guess, is kind of reported her first bad game. Um, I think she figured out how to be um influent, you know, she still was a helpful part of the team, just not um scoring as much as she normally does. And then we had a loss to the Mystics. Um, it was just a bad fourth quarter. We it was a good game up until that fourth quarter. Um, Natasha had 20 points and Olivia had 22. Um, so let's just talk a little bit more about Olivia. I feel like we did not break her down enough in our last episode. Um, I think in our last episode, two weeks ago, she had just gotten player of the week.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

And since then she's gotten Western Conference Player of the Month.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

And this isn't rookie of the month. No, like this is player of the month. It's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Yeah. Um, I read that she's being compared to Magic Johnson for her vision on the court, and I once we you know, we've seen her now in person several times, and we watch all of the games, and it is really remarkable because I'm like, when she passes it, it's just you don't see it coming. You're like, oh, I didn't even see her open. It's like, yes, good pass.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

She passes people open, it's almost like a quarterback um throwing to a wide receiver sometimes, where at the point in which she throws it, they're covered, but because of where she throws it, she throws them open. Like it's it's something to watch. It's really special.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

I've also read that she's ambidextrous.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

Well, with her layup, she sure is. I know that. It's crazy. That makes her very tough to cover.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Effective, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Um, very high basketball, IQ, um, and she's currently the front runner for Rookie of the Year.

SPEAKER_03 6:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

And also, I've maybe we talked about this last time, but in the talks of being MVP. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

I mean, it it would be a monumental, you know, like drop off.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Has that ever happened in the NBA?

SPEAKER_03 7:01

Derek Rose was the last one to do it. Wow. And then uh, was it Magic? He did one before that.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

So we would have to, we would have to win in order for her to win that, right? Or not necessarily EA. Like I feel like she's gotta move her team.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

Yeah, I mean, we're she's doing very well. She's there right now. Yeah. Um, she's leading the best team in the WNBA as a rookie. And I I don't know how I mean maybe Fee when Feed if Feed comes back, but when Fee comes back, um, I don't think she'll take the spotlight off of Olivia. I think it'll make it brighter, maybe. Yeah. Which is which is crazy to say. So it that's yeah, it's a lot of fun to be a part of. Now, you kind of like you know, skipped over a little bit, but you've been to multiple games this week.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Yes, this is this was a really fun. Actually, I went to three professional women's sporting events this week. Two Lynx games and one um Aurora game. I have to say I enjoyed the Lynx games much more.

SPEAKER_03 8:04

Yes, I was at two of those three, but not not the first game.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Um the Aurora game was fun, but the Lynx games were so so fun. Um, so we'll break down. Sorry, I'm just trying to find my ever lose your cursor. Yes, too often. Um here we go. So my first game um was against the Portland Fire. This was a blowout game, and I got to bring my friend Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was my intern. Um, gosh, back in the day a long time ago, and then um we ended up hiring her, so then she was my colleague, and now we're just friends. Yes. Um, and she used to be a big uh Lynx fan like 10 years ago when uh we would we were champions, and um it was fun for her to see the difference in the arena in terms of how sold out the arena gets now, um, and the diversity of fans. It used to be kind of you know, kind of a similar type of fan that would go to Lynx games, and now it's like there's really a diversity in gender and age and race and ethnicity and sexual orientation and everything, everything. And so that was really fun. Um, it was also Black Excellent Night, which was a very cool. I like that the Lynx has have have these specialty nights. Um, I wish and the the Timberwolves do too, but I I I do like the ones that the Lynx do specifically, and um there were some cool encore court performances, um, they uh spotlighted specific uh BIPOC founded businesses. Um, so it was it was just a really fun game. It was a blowout game, and I felt a little bit bad because um Bridget Carlton, you know, she was the number one pick for the fire, and so you know, I just kind of I always feel bad for our players like when we blow them out, um our former players. Um but she got some major love after the game and before the game, and before the game. They did the highlight before the game, and then um she get got some major love from Courtney Fee and Kayla, Kayla after the Kayla Um, which was really sweet. And then we also gave love to Sylvia Fowles, who is um a former Lynx player, MVP, who's now an assistant coach for the Portland Fire. So that was really cool.

SPEAKER_03 10:23

It's really cool to see all of the players, former Lynx players that not only are coaches for the Lynx, but across the league, and just the impact that this franchise has had, you know, you know, to the league as a whole. I mean, it's pretty special. I I always think about like coaching trees, um, like football and basketball, like NBA, they have oh, you came here from the Greg Popovich tree, or you're from like in football, it's it's you know, oh, you know, name name the we don't really care about football exactly. But my point is is like there's that sort of thing for Cheryl Reeve now and across the board, there's ways, there's so many connections, it's it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Well, and um I was telling my dad that Cheryl is special for a lot of different reasons, but maybe not everyone knows that she's the president of operations for the Lynx, so like she drafts she drafted Olivia Miles, which we were like, what's happening here? Right.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

Um and she put the team together in terms of like who she's signed, who she didn't sign, yes, you know, it it and and we're all we're sitting back just going, What's going on? Well, Cheryl knows the type of player that is successful in her program.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

And we talk about for the Timberwolves like trusting the process with Tim Connolly. And I would say we trust Cheryl even more, even though we have high trust in both. Yeah, we like both of them very much. But Cheryl, it's like I did not see this coming at all.

SPEAKER_03 11:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Um, I also want to talk about the next in-person game because we got to go together with all of our dads.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Yes, yes, yes. I got to bring my dads to their first W NBA game and the first time in the Target Center in like 20, 30 years or something like that. It's been quite a while.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Yeah. And it was my dad's first women's professional game, actually, first women's game outside of like a women's high school game. Yeah. Um, which he thought would have been many, many like 60 years ago.

SPEAKER_02 12:18

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

So it was really fun, and it was such an explosive game. It was Pride Night. Yep. That was the theme. And we all got um Lynx Pride button up shirts.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Which I was so excited about. Yeah, they're they're really nice. I mean it was it was fun to see everyone. Yeah, to see like the kids and just any type of person, you know. Everyone is. I was thinking, I I was a little bit worried. I think of button-up shirt, and I don't think of that being as inclusive because it's like gonna fit or not fit certain people, but it's like the opposite. Yeah, it's like everyone wore them open, nobody buttoned them. No, I didn't think about that. It's like duh, you just wear it over whatever you're wearing, and it looked like the little kids were gonna go paint, you know, in the in art school, you would like you know, put on your little art shirt. That's what it looked like for the little kids, and for everyone else, it just looked really cool.

SPEAKER_03 13:08

It was it was really special to see our dads like I don't know, just just witness the team, the game, and be there with them in a different way than celebrating. Like, I know I've been to a number of football games with my dads in the past, and it's like just a different vibe, you know, and um just I don't know, you don't have to be this die hard, drunk, belligerent fan in order to fit in. It's like all of these people are there to just you know enjoy really good basketball. I talked to my dad today about um the game, and he's and I was like, Man, it looked like you were really enjoying it. And he said, I really enjoy good basketball, and that was good basketball. Yeah. Um, and and you know, it thank you, Olivia Miles, for you know, showing out and doing great things, even in a loss. It was it was really fun to kind of show them show them what women's basketball can be like because that was that was pretty special.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Well, and thanks for pointing out the lack of like masculine talk toxicity because I feel that every Vikings game I go to it feels oh too much alcohol, too loud, too much aggression, and it's like the opposite at um the Lynx games, including like one of my favorite parts is when they had the senior dance line.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Oh my god, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Which I laughed. I'm like, Matt, you and I could be on the senior dance line because it's probably like people our age to age eighty. Yeah. Um, and some of them look like former dancers, where I'm like, oh, some of them like can really dance and others not as much. But um, obviously, there's no sexualizing the senior dancers, they're just dancing to have fun. And I feel like in the NBA, there's still like the sexually sexualization of women with all of the dancers. And I said to my dad, I'm like, what's interesting is the NBA dancers don't get people to clap or get into the game at all. I think they dance very well. Like, I like watching the routines, but people go like this right. Whereas for the Link senior dancers, it was like people were like, Yes, get it! Like, there's just excitement that there's people who are being vulnerable and having fun, and there's absolutely no like I don't know, like skimpy outfits of trying to like, you know. So I just appreciate all those elements um of the game.

SPEAKER_03 15:33

Um And it's not to say so when I when we say that there's like all none of this is going on, it almost sounds like it would be dull, but it's almost like it's it's like it's it's like this honest excitement, you know, that it's not manufactured through alcohol or you know, trying to one up the other team or anything. It's like everyone's there to enjoy it um rather than like I don't know, it's just a different feeling. Um not to say that I dislike, you know, like I I like the other venues and and those games to go to. Yeah, but it is it's it's something that you can kind of feel proud of bringing people to.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

And I just want to point those differences out. If you're like I know we have parents who listen, and like I would like it's I would encourage you to bring your kids, bring your parents if you have parents who are seniors. Like it's a safe, fun, yeah, but it like your dad said, it's good basketball. It doesn't have to be safe and fun and bad basketball. Yeah, it's still very good basketball. And I think we have to be close to opening up some of the other areas of the second level because it looked sold out to Oh, it was, it was.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

There was 11,000 people. Awesome. Um, and that's with a good percentage of the ends and part of the corners closed down and the uh up. I really like how they do it now though, with those really nice the the not drapes, what curtains? Yeah, um, it doesn't look bad, um, but there's still some I I remember when we first our first Lynx game, there was no like they didn't allow people to go in the upper level, and now you know it's it's loud, they're they're they're enjoying themselves up there, and you know, everyone is just having a good time.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

Absolutely. Um just wanted to say that was the first game, you know, when we were drafting Olivia Miles, you and I both were like, why aren't we drafting someone who's tall? Yes. And that was the first game where I was like, dang, we are just not quite tall enough. Um, Natasha Howard played very well, she had 20 points, but she's not that tall. She's 6'2, and they drafted the Mystics drafted Lauren Betts, and she had a good game, and they just they have a lot of very physical, very tall women on the team. In larger, like um they weigh more. Like just we just like uh Natasha Howard's very lean.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

Right. No, uh we we felt we felt the lack of center depth for sure. Um and it was it was an interesting game. I don't want to like blame it on the refs or whatever, but there's just weird calls that so many weird calls and and like the not even foul calls, just like unexplained stoppages, and you know, there was like what's going on?

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Somebody tell us.

SPEAKER_03 18:17

There was a review that took like 10 minutes, yeah. Um, and it just kind of killed any flow to the game. Like I still had a great time, don't get me wrong. Right. But that it just didn't feel like a normal Lynx game.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Um third and fourth quarter, especially the fourth. Um the most interesting, I just don't see this happen very much in the NBA, and I, you know, because I have seen so many more NBA games, my mind just immediately compares. But it was in the fourth quarter where um the Mystic were shooting free throws and they missed and their team got the rebound. And you just unless it's a really bad free throw where you're intentionally trying to get your own rebound, you just don't see that happen very much.

SPEAKER_03 19:01

Right. It happened like three times in a row. Did it not? Or got one possession or one like it was bad.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Brutal. And then another thing that was brutal, and you could see the brutal looks on their faces was um we had the ball, we uh were down by one.

SPEAKER_03 19:17

I think it was one at that point.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

I think it was two or three. I think it was two because we could either tie it or win it. And um Olivia is inbounding the ball and passes it to Kayla McBride, and Kayla, or is it vice versa? No, no, you had it, and Kayla just doesn't see her, she runs away from the ball, and we turned the ball over with like 20 less than 20 seconds left, so we can't even get possession without fouling. Um anyway, it was just weird things I haven't seen. Like it was just like the whole stadium was so loud, and then it was just like what happened?

SPEAKER_03 19:52

It was such a it's it was such a weird feeling because like it was a game that we should have won. The the Mystics are about a 500 team.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Yeah, they're they were 7-7, now they're 8-7.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Yeah, and but at the same time, I didn't walk away from it being disappointed. Like, and I don't understand why that was I know because in any other scenario, like if it were the if it were the Timberwolves, I'd be like, so you should have won that same. But I walked away being like, they played really good basketball, I still feel great about the team. I don't think that there was anything that like there weren't any like clues on how we were falling apart, or the you know, it wasn't like that. It just it just didn't even when it was close throughout the game, I felt we were way better than them.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

So except for the hype thing and like their easy layups, we just didn't have a great way to stop those.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

Um one thing when I was at the game with Elizabeth, a man behind me said, and I I'm guessing it was one of his first WNBA games, because he said, Wow, they are just not complaining after every call. And that is a big difference. It happens for sure occasionally, but um Yeah, there are certain people that still do it, you know, a lot.

SPEAKER_03 21:04

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

You know, um, I don't think our team I Olivia can get a little spicy and she calls for the challenges a lot.

SPEAKER_03 21:12

Um but she doesn't get in the face of um the refs.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

I think she'll get in the face of other players. She talks, she's a trash talker.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

Yeah, yeah. She she does flex on some people once in a while. I think I don't know if Cheryl like if it's like a mandate or if she mentions it, but she always takes the spot, the place of the players in terms of dealing with the refs.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

She got a tea.

SPEAKER_03 21:35

And she gets them. She gets a lot of them. Um but it's because she I think that there's like I'm gonna do this and and it feels intentional. Yeah, that the players aren't gonna do this.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Um and it often will change the flow of the game. Yeah, you know, not we don't know about the outcome 'cause you know, we don't know. But like it seems like it works. It works. So yeah. Um and her she has a good quote, um Because we did lose in such a wonderful environment on Pride Night. She said we should have done it for the gays and agreed. It should we should have won that one. But it was still a really fun game. So it's been really fun to be a Lynx fan. I have a friend at work who said, I want to become a friend uh a Lynx fan. Would you ever go to a game with me? And I'm like, yes, of course. She's like, Do you know the players? I'm like, well, yes, but I have still I'm I'm learning all the time, but I do have a podcast.

SPEAKER_02 22:31

She's like, what?

SPEAKER_01 22:32

She's like, then I definitely want to go with you. With that said, we're still learning. Like Matt, you and I like take every opportunity to just go over okay, where did they go to college and how many years and which colleges, you know, because in this day and age, you don't just go to one college.

SPEAKER_03 22:47

And then there's just all of a sudden, like random people, like Hemzova. Like, didn't play in the first five or six games. Right. And now it's like, oh, who's this? So like we're learning, we're getting there, trying to get little nicknames in my head, like Delaire, Delar.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Well, Lydia, we talked about Lydia. We named Lydia from Reagan's basketball team, and now she's no longer on our team. And we get we got her name down, her nickname down.

SPEAKER_03 23:12

Exactly. Exactly. Um like Tiara McCowan is the center that I can never remember her first name. Um she's not very good. She's she's she's growing into her role, I hope. Uh because we still need her. She's she's what we needed more of a better game from her, um, you know, because of our lack of size in that game.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

So she's not very agile.

SPEAKER_03 23:37

She's 6'8, though.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

She's 6'8.

SPEAKER_03 23:39

You know, that that should be good.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

So when Dorca comes back, she's 6'5.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

I know. No, I mean, yeah, we've we've got we're gonna have some hype. Exactly. Exactly. It's gonna be good. Um, so anyway, that's the links for now.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

Let's move on to the Timberwolves, but that was really fun.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

Um, this has been a very big day for the Timberwolves. Yeah, the last 24 hours. The last 24 hours. We started, I woke up. Did you wake up to some notifications?

SPEAKER_03 24:07

I was texting all last night and I took two Talon L P.m.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

and went to bed. But I got up with our puppy Juni and saw some notifications.

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Yeah, so the big the big news, um, and you know, in my opinion, about six, seven months too late, uh, Julius Randle is no longer on the squad. Um, interesting trade. It was a three-team trade. We moved Julius to the Brooklyn Nets. And we moved our number 28 pick to the Brooklyn Nets and got back a second round pick.

SPEAKER_01 24:44

Now it feels like we lost it, but we did.

SPEAKER_03 24:47

There also is a a s a center um or a a player by the name of Mo Gierre or Guy something. Guy, basically. Anyway, I've been told that he's gonna get cut like or he's not gonna be on the team for a long period of time. But anyway, um there was a third team, Chicago was in there that basically helped you know facilitate some money and everything, but they ended up getting um Nick Claxton, you know, from the Nets, which good for uh good for the Bulls. I'm a big Nick Claxton fan. DR teased me again today about how, you know, oh you're you loved Nick Claxton. I would have liked him to be coming back, but on the surface, it looks entirely like a salary dump, which it it is. You know, that the the Julia is the reason why this could happen is the Nets were so far underneath the salary cap that they could absorb 30, you know, five million or thirty-three million dollars of Julius Randle. It's crazy like that that they had that much room. Um a lot of people are asking, like, what's the deal? Why did we move back in that same trade, five spots out of the first round? It actually is many people value that second round, um, that top of the second round more valuable than the end of the first round, and here's why. First round picks are um guaranteed three-year contracts and a certain amount of money. It's more money. Whereas um once that you move to the top of those that second round, they're not guaranteed, and you can do some really creative things in terms of like the MyNot and the Nasreed and all of those contracts, but we can um sign them to longer deals at lower amounts after the first year. It's really well it's only five spots different, it's not but a lot of people are like, why would we have to do this on top of you know basically giving away Julius Randle? Um what happens when you do that is you get this thing called a trade exemption um for the value of the contract, so we can use that money or portions of that money. I tried not to. Everybody just wanted she tried to do it so quiet, but she just gave the biggest yawn in my face.

SPEAKER_01 27:02

The contract talk is so brutal after a long day.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

But those who are wondering what's going on, I'm trying to inform some of our listeners that don't know. It was really good. Yawn in my face.

SPEAKER_01 27:13

Oh my goodness. It's been a long day.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

Yeah, it has, it has.

SPEAKER_01 27:17

But anyway, Juna had got up in the middle of the night multiple times because she had upset Tum Tum. So it was a yeah, it was a bad night of sleep.

SPEAKER_03 27:24

Yeah, it wasn't just because it was boring.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

Try and do a little song and dance as you talk about I.O. now.

SPEAKER_03 27:30

Okay, so the next step this morning, we got to we had we have money to spend, um, and we signed Io to a five-year deal worth $112 million.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

I'm excited, but like, I'm like, hmm. I thought we'd like get somebody else.

SPEAKER_03 27:50

We're definitely gonna get more people. Okay. We have a lot more room now with Julius gone. Some people think that we're um we overpaid a little bit um for IO. Some people thought it would be around the mid-level exception. And sorry, contract talk, which is about $15 million a year. This is averaging more, about 22. But the the real benefit of this is locking him into a longer-term deal. So it's not two years at 17 or 18.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

And he's so young and healthy, and like we need to get him. And like, I I I think I heard not from you, but someone you probably listened to, like, said that it's market value. It wasn't like above market value.

SPEAKER_03 28:28

No, no, it's very reasonable. Some people think that it was above, but I'll I'm telling you at the end, at the five-year mark, when we're paying him only $22 million, we're gonna be extremely happy. This is gonna be a really good contract sitting at that point. So much money. Anyway, um, yeah, I mean, yeah, it's all monopoly money, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 28:44

And some of the rumors have been exciting because there was a period where you were thinking we should get John Morant.

SPEAKER_03 28:51

Or we could get John Morant.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

No, you said we should because you were like financially, people want, you know, he's gonna be dumped, and why not just like get a really good player?

SPEAKER_03 29:01

And I They've moved off of that.

SPEAKER_01 29:04

And you for the longest time were like, I don't want John Morant. I don't so I don't think you actually wanted him. I just think you saw like it's like when if there's like a big screen TV on sale at Costco, you're like, I mean, if it's like off 60%, you're like, but I'll take it's a nice, it's a TV.

SPEAKER_03 29:19

Or if they're gonna pay me to take the TV, I'll probably take the TV.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Right. I mean, it's John Morant. Like, can you take the the bad with the good? And ultimately we decided we don't want the bad.

SPEAKER_03 29:29

And I'm that's what it's that's what the rumors are right now.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

If you're gonna get a supporting cast around Anthony Edwards, I love that we're like starting with Io, who's like I mean, this guy talks about Jesus more than anybody else. Um it's like okay, I mean, good, it's good. Um, but like he's just like a very straight and narrow type of guy, has a lot of hometown pride for Chicago, went to high school and college there. He's like, you know, he was out when you know when the Obamas was had their new building in Chicago and Library. Yes, yeah, yeah, and they were there and he was there in person. Listen, and he just seems like a really good guy. The opposite of John Morant, in my opinion. So um I'm I'm happy with that, and let's see who else we could get.

SPEAKER_03 30:12

So, yeah, what who else could we get? Well, I mean, I don't know how we would do it right now, but Derek White from you know the point guard for the Celtics is is for some reason in trade options out there, and that's the type of player that you know. So now Minnesota's name has come up um for Derek White. That would be unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

He went to the Olympics. He's has he been an all-star?

SPEAKER_03 30:36

Yeah, he's all he's also defensive, one of the you know, defensive player of the year, or like he's a very large forehead, he seems very nice. He looks like he looks like it has little baby baby head with the bald the ball passing. He's looking like a little kid, but he's um he's a very good player, really good point guard, great. That would that would be amazing.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

So like the Kyrie talk is like dunzo, right? Or is that could that still be a thing?

SPEAKER_03 31:01

I think I mean I I haven't heard Kyrie's name thrown around in a couple weeks, but yeah, I mean who knows? Um we have we have room to play, we have room to um you know take on salary that we didn't before because of the Julius thing, and and so we're gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

I know you were anti-Kevin Durant. Were you ever anti-Kyrie Irving?

SPEAKER_03 31:22

I'm not pro-Kyrie Irving, but I understand it. Yeah, but I'm not anti. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 31:28

I think after experiencing Olivia Miles, I am pro-Kyrie Irving.

unknown 31:33

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 31:34

Because he's the equivalent in the NBA. Sure. He he knows how to dish the ball.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

He really does.

SPEAKER_01 31:41

Io is not a point guard in that way. So I am a little bit concerned.

SPEAKER_03 31:44

Well, Io's not really a point guard. You're right.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

That's what I asked you guys. Sorry, Bonnie. Bonnie doesn't like when I move. Just stay there, you're fine. Okay, she's sleeping. Um, I want a more traditional point guard. Yeah, so do I. And when we signed Io to a five-year, $112 million deal, in my head, I'm like, well, then is he a point guard? Or do we can we still sign somebody else? So I think that we already have a really good shooting guard.

SPEAKER_03 32:09

I think that he still plays the same role as he has been playing, which is like point guard, shooting guard, fill-in, you know, we don't have a traditional point guard.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

I love his run-in gun style.

SPEAKER_03 32:21

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

I just want a traditional point guard. So is he required a traditional point guard?

SPEAKER_03 32:26

Yes, very much so.

SPEAKER_01 32:27

Oh, he is? I thought he was shooting guard.

SPEAKER_03 32:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

So is he as good? Obviously, he's not as good as like Kyrie Irving or Olivia Miles. But is he is he like, where would you rank him point guard wise?

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Well, he was invited to be on the U.S. Olympic team.

SPEAKER_01 32:42

But he was like invited as an alternative.

SPEAKER_03 32:45

Right, but how many name the point guards that were on the team?

SPEAKER_01 32:47

Steph Curry. Is Tyrese Halliburton point guard?

SPEAKER_03 32:51

Okay. But Tyrese didn't play.

SPEAKER_01 32:53

Yeah. Is there anyone else? I can't think of anyone else.

SPEAKER_03 32:58

That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 32:59

Let's go, Derek White. Let's get Derek White.

SPEAKER_03 33:01

That would be incredible. I don't know. Again, don't know how it'll work. That'll bore that whole every listener to death if I try to explain how that would work. So thank you. All right.

SPEAKER_01 33:11

Um, let's the last sad kind of Timberwolves news. Kind of sad. Kind of sad, but we're happy. Micah Nori, the assistant coach for the Timberwolves, got a job as a head coach with the Portland Trailblazers.

SPEAKER_03 33:25

Good for Micah. He deserves it. He's an amazing coach.

SPEAKER_01 33:28

He's interviewed in the last three offseasons with different teams, and he always gets like really close. Yep. Always like the finalists. And I think Tom Tim Connolly even said, gosh, I hope Micah Norley, like, even though he wants him so bad, like he's like, it's his turn. Yeah. He needs to go get a head coaching job.

SPEAKER_03 33:47

I don't like how they structured the deal.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

It's only one year.

SPEAKER_03 33:51

With an option, a team option for the next the following two seasons. It's kind of, I don't know, it doesn't instill a lot of trust or long-term commitment to a coach when you're like, yeah, you can have a one-year deal. That's kind of I don't know. I just I think that's kind of garbage. But the Brazils have been kind of burned since the he's you think he has like some great bits that he interview bits that he does as a head coach.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

He's gonna have so many bits.

SPEAKER_03 34:20

Oh, he's gonna be on Sports Center all the time.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

He's gonna be social media gold. Yeah, he is he's hilarious, he has the best puns, the best metaphors.

SPEAKER_03 34:30

And he what's really nice as like a viewer, he always did like the pre-game stuff with breaking down what they were gonna do and how they were gonna do it. It it really helped me as a as a viewer like understand the the game more to a deeper level without you know going too technical.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

I mean, some people are getting negative and they're like, oh, we're not we're not gonna win as many games. Like a lot of people think he was very integral into our winning. But we'll see. We'll see.

SPEAKER_03 34:57

I don't know, but I don't know how that could happen, but I understand why people would be worried. Um, real quick, other stuff going on. The the biggest, the biggest move in the last 24 hours, I finally is finally Giannis has been traded.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Oh, we can just stop, be done hearing about where is he going?

SPEAKER_03 35:13

Is he going to Minnesota? Is he going to Boston?

SPEAKER_01 35:15

Is he going to Miami? He's went to Miami, he's gone.

SPEAKER_03 35:18

No, bye. And he got and and Miami gave up a whole bunch for him. So Miami is getting Giannis and Bobby Portis, just those two two people. They gave up Tyler Hero, Khalil, Khalil Weir, Jaime Hawkes, Jr., and one other Yokasana Shun something. But in addition to that, I can't pronounce it.

SPEAKER_01 35:38

You got really close. I was like, keep do it, go.

SPEAKER_03 35:41

Along with that, along with those players, they also got three first round picks.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

He's good. Giannis is gonna get injured. He's always injured. And then they just gave up everybody.

SPEAKER_03 35:54

They did give up a lot. So um I think it's always I think it's laughable that we were ever even considered when you look at.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

Because who are we gonna give up?

SPEAKER_03 36:02

Like we we didn't we don't have the first round picks to give up.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

You can have Julius. That's all we want to give up.

unknown 36:07

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:08

And and they were like, well, give us Nas and Jaden. Yeah, give us all these people, and then yeah, it wasn't gonna happen. So anyway, that's so far. Tonight's the draft.

SPEAKER_01 36:18

Yeah, that's a good idea.

SPEAKER_03 36:19

I love the draft. Um, there's some really, really great college basketball players that are gonna be joining the league. It's it's uh it starts at seven, right?

SPEAKER_01 36:27

Yep, so we'll get to watch right after this.

SPEAKER_03 36:28

So really big, really big class. Draft class. Draft class. So I'm excited to see where everyone lands. Um, and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

It's exciting, and then I just wanted to share the upcoming schedule for the Lynx. Um we uh so Wednesday the 24th, we played the Mystics again. We just lost to them.

SPEAKER_03 36:45

They're gonna get crushed. We're gonna crush the Mystics.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

We're going to Washington. I did want to share one thing that I saw the video of the Mystics locker room in Minnesota after they beat the Lynx, and it was like they won the championship. It was they were ecstatically happy. And so again, I wasn't so angry at the Lynx. I was like, it's it's a big deal when you beat the Minnesota Lynx.

SPEAKER_02 37:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

Especially at our home. It's a it doesn't happen very frequently. So I was like, good for them. But we yeah, it's we gotta beat them on Wednesday, and then on the 28th, we play Dallas again, and then um on the 3rd, July 3rd, we're gonna play the Liberty in New York, and then we have two games um, first at Target Center against the Suns, and then in Connecticut against the Suns.

SPEAKER_03 37:33

So the the Lynx get to celebrate 4th of July, our 250th year in New York. That's that seems like big today.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

That'll be fun.

SPEAKER_03 37:45

Um good for that'll be fun for them.

SPEAKER_01 37:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:47

See the ball drop and whatnot.

SPEAKER_01 37:50

Yeah, so thanks for joining us. We're excited. We'll try to do another. Um, it'll probably be every two weeks this summer, just with how busy things are, and mostly honestly, it's because we have a puppy. Yes. And she has to go outside. So we're gonna go um take care of her. Everyone, enjoy your night.