Takes

LeBron James no longer controls the NBA like he used to

The immediate reaction that I had was LeBron James does not control this league like he used to.

The Brooklyn Nets will be the most combustible team in the East because Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving won't get along

This team [the Nets] is going to be one of the best teams in the East and also one of the most combustible teams in the East because I do not think these guys will get along.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are the two NBA personalities least likely to get along long-term

Having Kyrie and KD together, those are the two personalities I think are least likely to get along. It's going to be great.

Every team in the NBA would have offered Kevin Durant a max contract except for the Knicks

If every team in the NBA had the ability to offer a max contract to Kevin Durant, every single team would give him a max contract. And the Knicks. They're the last team.

The Lakers are going to win the title next year

Hank, I told you this, the minute that Klay Thompson tore his ACL, you told me to chill. The Lakers are going to win the title. Chill. Okay. All right. I'll chill. I'll keep chilling.

The NBA will never actually shorten the 82-game season because everyone loses money

You just have to remember, if they shorten the season, all the players are going to get paid less. So there's no way they're ever going to shorten the season, and all the owners are going to make less money. So it's never going to get shortened.

The NBA holding their awards show in late June is a stupid move

I don't want a fucking award show on a random Monday in June. Mentally, we do as fans [care about the postseason results]. I'm thinking, of course James Harden didn't win it because the Rockets flamed out again. It's so stupid that they do it this way. They should just do it right before the playoffs.

Kyrie Irving is clearly the common denominator for the locker room dysfunction at his various stops

There was this tweet that was the quotes from Kyrie Irving's basically last four or five years where essentially he said that he hated all his teammates and all his coaches at every stop. Like, hey, man, eventually you are the asshole, right?

I was 6'4" and dunking in a basketball game by the 8th grade

I was 6'4 in eighth grade. I dunked in a basketball game in eighth grade. You're Magic Johnson. You're playing all five positions. I was like, dude, this is the greatest thing ever. I'm going to the league.

Skip Bayless will be the first person to publicly hate on Zion Williamson

I think it's going to be Skip that starts the train with it. He's going to test the waters early in the season and be like, I think Zion's going to have trouble staying under 300 pounds.

James Harden and Chris Paul hate each other because the Warriors drove them insane

These two guys are very outstanding basketball players... but they develop these little nitpicky things that they have to go at each other by because they're just not good enough to beat the Warriors. So now all of a sudden they fucking hate each other because the Warriors have just driven them insane.

Kawhi Leonard is definitely leaving the Toronto Raptors

Doing a parade which looked awesome... and then continually answering questions when people say like what does this mean to Toronto and he's like 'well they it's something they can build on'... doesn't feel like he's staying.

Being on LeBron James's team guarantees you will eventually be traded

If you are part of LeBron's team, this is since July 2010... there's been 42 trades if you were on LeBron's team. ... essentially, if you're on LeBron's team, it's not a if, it's just a when. LeBron will decide to trade you.

The Kawhi Leonard trade is the most perfect one-year rental in NBA history

The best trade ever for a one year guy... going all in for one year and being like, let's just do it. Let's have Kawhi come to Toronto. He might not stay... and just throw all of our chips in the middle, and it worked out.

Teams will still give Kevin Durant a max contract despite his Achilles injury

Teams are, I think it was Skip Bayless actually that was saying, are teams really going to want to pay for Kevin Durant? Let me stop you right now, Skip. Yeah, they're going to. Shut up, Knicks fans. You're still going to pay for Kevin Durant. He's still going to be awesome when he comes back.

The Raptors will beat the Warriors in Game 6

I think the Raptors are going to win it. I think Kawhi loves the road games. I think all this drama, as great as Game 5 was, I just have a feeling the Raptors are going to come out and just fucking kill the Warriors on Thursday night.

Kevin Durant will play in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals

I think [Durant] will play on Monday night. I really do. And it will be chaos. And it's perfect because this is like the Warriors' entire season in a microcosm.

Kevin Durant's 'calf' injury is actually a secret Achilles injury

I'm definitely an Achilles Cav truther now at this point. Because I think that if the injury was as minimal as they made it seem at first, he would have at least tried to play by now.

Klay Thompson's hamstring injury is a huge concern for the Warriors

Klay Thompson going out with the hamstring, which, by the way, that wasn't talked about after, but that's a huge, huge injury because he went out and he looked really pissed. Hamstrings are weird, man.

The NBA Finals between the Raptors and Warriors will go at least six games

I'm just excited that it's going to at least go five. And we at least push that bet, Hank, of how many more NBA games are there going to be. I think it will go six at least.

The Lakers are in a classic rats-on-a-sinking-ship scenario

What this tells me is that this is a classic rats on a sinking ship scenario with the Lakers. Because you're right. Nobody was spared. Everybody got a little taste of some vengeance from somebody else. So everyone inside that front office is talking.

My goal was never to play college basketball; I just wanted to be a pro

Ultimately, my dream was never to play college basketball. That was not my main goal. My main goal was always to play in the NBA.

Kawhi Leonard probably won't stay in Toronto after this season

Kawhi probably will not stay in Toronto. But I love when teams go all in on a trade and they're like, fuck it. We're going to go all in. We're going to put all of our chips in the middle here.

I want Steph Curry to not win the Finals MVP just to keep that narrative alive

In order of things I want to happen, I want Steph [Curry] to not win the MVP no matter what just so that we can keep that narrative going. It's got to go to somebody crazy.

Kawhi Leonard is gone from Toronto no matter what happens in the Finals

I think he's gone no matter what. I think he's made up his mind already no matter what. There could be a world where he's like, I really love it in Toronto, but losing or winning the finals won't change that.

The speed at which a city's NFL players chug beer is directly correlated to the success of their local NBA/NHL teams

I said at the start of the playoffs, I was like, the speed in which your football players chug beers is directly correlated to your basketball team's success in the playoffs. And we've seen it time and again in the NHL, in the NBA. And guess what? [Aaron] Rodgers absolutely cursed [the Bucks].

Kawhi Leonard is such an efficient, robotic player that you don't even realize he has 35 points until the game is over

Kawhi [Leonard] is the fucking guy who... You can just watch a game and not realize that he's got 35 points. You know what I mean? Because it's so efficient and it's so robotic and steady throughout where it just happens.

Jrue Holiday is arguably the best defensive guard in the NBA

Drew [Jrue] Holiday... Drew might be known as maybe as the best defensive guard in the NBA. I'm glad you're on. No, I agree with that. Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. Shut down Lillard in the playoffs last year.

Steph Curry can be more of himself when the offense runs through him instead of Kevin Durant

Steph Curry, the Warriors are not better without Kevin Durant because a superstar gives you more flexibility and injuries and all that shit. But Steph Curry is certainly better and can be more Steph Curry without Kevin Durant. When the offense runs through him and basically he shoots the lights out and he gets into these rhythms that you can't stop him.

Magic Johnson is a master of the media and spinning narratives

Can we just for a second note that Magic Johnson is a master of the media? Like, I know he's been getting dragged for a lot of things... but the guy can spin any spin zone. He went on First Take. He basically gets Stephen A. Smith on his side all like two hours before Rob Pelinka has to announce Frank Vogel as the new head coach and basically bringing up the fact that Frank Vogel was their sixth option. So Magic Johnson, hats off to you.

The Warriors vs. Blazers Western Conference Finals series is already over

This series is O-V-E-R. Over. Sorry, Blazers.

Kevin Durant will leave the Warriors because it's always 'Steph Curry's team'

I just think if there was anything that kind of maybe – maybe not – I wouldn't even say bother him, but just kind of I want to do it on my own type situation... they win three in a row. They win four. They win five. This is Steph Curry's team, and, you know, they were fortunate enough to get KD.

Tanking is officially dead in the NBA

The NBA draft lottery... Tanking is over. Turns out Nate Silver is full of shit. Pelicans had the ninth best odds, they get the number one pick. Grizzlies had the eighth best odds, they get the two pick. The Knicks had the first best odds, they get the three pick. And the Lakers had the 11th best odds, they get the four pick. Tanking is over.

Kawhi Leonard is a killer

Kawhi Leonard is a motherfuckin' killer. He is. He's a killer.

Brett Brown is not the right coach for the 76ers

I don't think Brett Brown is the guy because, like I said, three shot clock violations. I think one of them might have been a block on Jimmy Butler... He did a good job with a young team bringing him along. But when you lose like they did last year and then lose this year, I feel like you have to change at least something.

The mid-range jump shot still has a place in the modern NBA

Turns out Manalytics going one-on-one with a guy and hitting a step-back 14-footer still has a place in this game... The nerds, though, have been put on their heels a little bit. They're updating their stat sheets, their spreadsheets, saying, well, actually, that was actually a great shot.

James Harden definitively lacks the clutch gene

Now we finally have a guy who we can say lacks the clutch gene. Definitively. He and Chris Paul. No clutch gene between the two of them.

The Warriors winning the Rockets series without Kevin Durant will be viewed as an indictment of Kevin Durant's impact.

If the Warriors win this series, it will be an indictment on Kevin Durant by everyone else. Are the Warriors better without Kevin Durant? People are going to ask that. I'm already asking it.

James Harden has consistently disappeared in the fourth quarters of the 2019 playoffs.

James Harden on Wednesday night with 10:47 left, he hits a bucket. He shot one more shot until there's 18 seconds left in the game... He shot one shot in that entire fourth quarter... That's two straight fourth quarters where James Harden, Jimmy Harden has kind of been nowhere to be seen.

The Celtics should not re-sign Kyrie Irving and instead let the asset walk.

I feel like I don't care what's going on with the team during the year. Lose that asset. It's all about the assets... for [Kyrie Irving] to do what he did in the playoffs it's like Brad Stevens' problem.

The Sixers will win Game 6 against the Raptors and force a Game 7

I think the Sixers probably will win game six, will go seven. But this is a beat. Whenever a team loses like this in a series, you're like, how the hell? I know we're just doing knee-jerk reactions, but how the hell are the Sixers going to come back from that.

If the Nuggets or Trail Blazers win the NBA title, I will swim in a sewage pipe

If the Nuggets or the Blazers win an NBA championship, I will eat Portland or Denver's asshole, meaning I will swim in one of their sewage pipes.

The Rockets will win at least one game in Houston against the Warriors

Are we thinking sweep? No. No. No chance. They're going to take at least one. I just wanted to throw it out there. At least one in Houston.

The Warriors' biggest opponent this year is themselves

The Warriors every year, it's been like no one can beat the Warriors. This year, there finally is a team that can beat the Warriors, and it's the Warriors. So I'm excited to watch the Warriors try to beat the Warriors because this is what happens at the late dynasties... I truly think they all hate each other.

The Bucks are a wagon and will roll through the Celtics in the NBA Playoffs

But I think the Bucks, they're a wagon. They're going to roll through the Celtics.

Kevin Durant is leaving the Warriors the second the season is over

I'm of the mindset that Kevin Durant's gone the second the season's over.

The Celtics won't make it past the second round of the NBA playoffs

The panic button is pressed. If they make it past, like, the second round, I'll be surprised. I mean, it's like you would say [Marcus Smart] is the heart and soul of the team. They are already kind on a rocky road going into it.

Magic Johnson resigned because he wants to spend more time tampering

Magic Johnson... announces that he is stepping down as president of basketball operations from the Lakers... We all thought when he did it, we're like, oh, he is upset because he can't tamper as president. And so he wants to retire to spend more time with his tampering.

Paul Pierce is making himself look overrated by actively claiming he's better than Dwyane Wade

Paul Pierce made the ultimate error where Paul Pierce is the perfect guy that if he just kind of stays under the radar, everyone will say, hey, you know who's better than people give him credit for? Paul Pierce. But when he says he's like actively says he's better than someone, people will roast him... now you've done the reverse. And everyone's like, Paul Pierce was overrated.

Gar Foreman and John Paxson are the idiots in the room now that Ernie Grunfeld is fired

Gar Foreman and John Paxson because now they are the idiots in the room. So it's like you never want to be the last to leave a party. They are the dum-dums. And you could always say, well, it's not Ernie Grunfeld. Well, guess what? Now Ernie Grunfeld's gone, so you are on the hot seat.