Takes
Arturas Karnisovas was definitively the worst General Manager in the NBA during his Bulls tenure.
AK [Arturas Karnisovas] was one of, if not no, he was definitely the worst GM right now in the NBA. That's, I think that's actually, you can't dispute that fact. The moves that were made... absolute disaster of a front office. Terrible at scouting, terrible at trades, terrible at timing.
The Chicago Bulls should offer Sam Presti ownership stakes to get him to run the team.
The Bulls should go out and try to say, Sam Presti, here's any amount of money. You name the number. Give him ownership. Just spend it and make a team good. I just cannot understand if I owned a team, I would spend all my money in hiring the smartest guys to do everything.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks need to break up
The difference this time is Giannis just outright said it... he's basically saying, I don't know what's gonna happen with me and the organization. They just need to break up. He's the best player in Bucks franchise history... I think it's time. You gotta just do it. Get draft picks and move on.
Referee Roger Ayers is one of the greatest officials of all time
Roger's like very playful. I mean, listen, the guy is, he's one of the greatest refs ever. You know, like the guy don't, he don't mess up a lot of calls.
I would take Darius Acuff as a top five pick in the NBA Draft
I would take him top five personally. If you watch him play basketball and you don't think that he can't just own a franchise, be like, 'Hey, here you go, it's your franchise, you're gonna have fun.' He's that good.
Joel Embiid is the only athlete who gets clowned for being injured
Is Joel Embiid the only athlete in the history of sports that like gets clowned for being [injured]... For some reason Joelle em Bead always gets hurt and it's like, ha ha ha ha. What a great athlete that's can't stay healthy. Let's laugh in his face. I don't, he's the only athlete ever that, that anyone does that.
The Celtics are completely back with Jayson Tatum returning to form
He looks so good. The Celtics looks so good. They're, they're so back. Missoula is such a good coach. And he's not forcing it and like trying to take over. 'cause when your team's already second on the east, you don't need to come back and be a superstar.
Dennis Rodman is a role player because anyone who isn't a 30-point-per-game scorer is a role player
I would say [Dennis Rodman] is. But like, it's like, I think anybody who's not a 30 point a game scorer, you know, like the 20 to 30 like takes most of the shots is pretty much a role player.
The NBA Cup would be better if the higher-seeded teams hosted home games throughout the bracket instead of playing at a neutral site in Vegas
I think it would be much better if they just did it like playoff series where they just had whatever the tiebreakers are and just have the better team, whatever team is ranked higher, host the game all the way. Maybe the championship you do neutral site... but like leading up to it, the best games in the cup are the games that lead up to Vegas.
If an NBA player knows they are getting ejected, they should go all in and get their money's worth of shouting at the ref
Lou [Dort] would've, but he thought he wasn't gonna get ejected and then he got ejected so he didn't get his money's worth. That's like, that's like NBA rule number one. Like if you know you're gonna get ejected or you know you're gonna get like a second tech, you just, yeah, you go all in. You make it worth it.
The Sixers are a bad team that loses every game Joel Embiid doesn't play
The Sixers suck. The Sixers are a bad team. Embiid's not playing. They lose—the Sixers are back to losing every game that Embiid doesn't play.
Triple Double Cocaine Bear is the greatest nickname in sports history
The best part, in my opinion, was the nickname that [Kevin Durant] gave to Westbrook. Called him Triple Double Cocaine Bear, which is the best nickname that I've ever heard.
NBA owners should be forced to sell their team if they win fewer than 20 games for three straight years
What they need to do for all sports is if you don't reach a certain level of win percentage in consecutive years, you have to sell the team. Which that would be awesome too. If you win less than 20 games in the NBA for three years straight, you should have to sell the team.
Basketball should be moved to the Winter Olympics to give fans something to care about
I feel like the basketball should be a winter Olympic sport. It should just to get us another gold. It should give us something to care about during the Winter Olympics.
LeBron James is the face of the NBA until the day he retires
As long as LeBron's in the league, LeBron is not only the face of the league, but definitely has a weighted opinion on basketball... LeBron is the face of the league until he is no longer in the league.
The Indiana Pacers won the trade deadline by adding Ivica Zubac while maintaining a path to a top-four pick
I look at the Pacers, you know, like you add a top five center in [Zubac]... you clean up some of your cap stuff, you bring in a top center who's gonna make you a little different... and then you have a chance at the top four pick here... I like what they did because they were doing something long-term while also making sure that they're tanking.
The Clippers made a smart pivot trading James Harden for Darius Garland
I like what the Clippers did... I don't think Darius Garland is this bad. He's a two-time all star. He's 26 years old... when he was right, he was terrific. And Harden... fourth trade request in six years. So the Clippers very quickly on the fly... you'll look at the Garland thing and go, man, they were able to land a player like that for Harden.
The Knicks' usage of Karl-Anthony Towns is becoming a real issue
The Knicks, as much fun as they are... the imperfections with them. The cat [KAT] stuff here... He's now sixth in minutes in the fourth quarter for the Knicks... since January 1st. So you're seeing his minutes decline... Mitchell Robinson's so good... I wonder if [Thibodeau] like bails on Kat in specific matchups? 'Cause he's already starting to do it in the regular season.
The Phoenix Suns' inability to execute in clutch time is a fatal flaw for their playoff hopes
When you watch [the Suns] close games that are tight, it's awful. They're 21st in clutch offense... that is the most like truthful number of a team when I watch them play because they get stuck... it feels like a fatal flaw for them.
Getting mad at the NBA All-Star Game is as boring as the game itself
I hate the All Star game a lot... It's just, I don't get mad at it though. Like, it's for kids, it's kind of fun... Why would you get mad about I wish the Allstar game were competitive... I actually think getting mad at the Allstar game is, is as boring as the game itself.
The Bulls mistimed every single trade during their rebuild
The Bulls traded everyone when the players were at their worst value. Like they, they mistimed every single trade. And this is going back to [Alex] Caruso, [Zach] LaVine, [Nikola] Vucevic... They basically were like, Hey, what would be the smartest time to trade 'em? Let's wait a year and then trade 'em.
The Wizards fleeced the Mavericks in the Anthony Davis trade
I think that this is a great trade for the Wizards. I do. I think this was an absolute fleecing of the Dallas Mavericks... The two first round picks aren't really two first round picks. We didn't give up two first round picks. We gave out one that's protected that we're gonna keep. And then there's another one that could end up being like the 30th pick.
James Harden is a first-ballot 'I gotta take care of me first' Hall of Famer.
James Harden is, I'll say this about James Harden. He is maybe first ballot hall of fame. I gotta take care of me first guy, wouldn't you say? He's always like, Hey, what can I do for James Harden?
Matthew Dellavedova stinks and has zero athleticism
I have a ton of respect for Deli. 'cause he's so, so hard-nosed, but like both things can be true. Like I can have a ton of respect for him and he stink... The man was like guarding the hell outta Steph Curry... He has zero athleticism.
There will never be another player in NBA history who is guarded as heavily or uniquely as Steph Curry.
There will never be a player guarded like that again. The NBA has never seen it and will never see it again. That's why when everybody's complaining about yo, like why are they grabbing him like that? ... But this is the first time they've ever seen that. It's not as easy to referee as people think it is.
Steve Kerr's offensive system, not just the individual talent, is primarily responsible for changing how the game is played.
He's the one that brought the offensive style that changed the way the game is played... he then came in and brought a system that created that. No one speaks about that. It's always like, oh man, like Steph's the greatest shooter ever... but how did Steph end up in that offense? So who, who, who did that?
The 'know-how' of winning a championship is the most underrated factor in NBA success, and it's why the Warriors won in 2022.
One of the most underrated things about winning a championship... is the knowhow. In 2022 We won because we just knew how. We knew how to do it. That is one of the most underrated things... it is the most underrated thing when coming to winning a championship.
LeBron James should go back to Cleveland to finish his career
I do think he should go back to Cleveland. I think he should finish it there. They still love him. The tribute videos, it's still home. He should go back to Cleveland.
The best basketball game plan for a team that can't shoot is to stop shooting and hunt for the double bonus
The point of me saying to the guys don't shoot is we needed to get in the double bonus because we suck at shooting. Nicki Smokes just decided to take the game into his own hands... If we had double bonus, we probably would've won the game. We'd had two shots at every single one of them.
Anthony Edwards is already the face of the NBA, not just the 'future' face
Anthony Edwards is awesome. At what point is Anthony Edwards—can we just say he's the face of the league? I mean, he dropped a 55 piece... dropping 26 in the fourth. Future face, future face—no, at what point is he just it?
The Trae Young trade to the Wizards is the most 'NBA trade' ever because it's only about spreadsheets
It was the most NBA trade of all time. Oh yeah. Because neither team is doing this trade to win a title. No, they're not even really doing it to get better at basketball. They're just shuffling guys... because your spreadsheet could use a guy with that number next to it.
The Trae Young trade to the Wizards is the ultimate 'NBA trade' because it has nothing to do with winning basketball games
It was the most NBA trade of all time. Oh yeah. Because neither team is doing this trade to win a title. No, they're not even really doing it to get better at basketball. They're just shuffling guys. They're like, here you take this guy because your spreadsheet could use a guy with that number next to it... nothing happens the whole time.
Jalen Brown was snubbed from Eastern Conference Player of the Month
My who's back is Jalen Brown. He was snubbed from Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December. He was statistically better than Jalen Brunson. We don't need to get into [it]... but what I loved about it is that he was vocal about it. He was like, 'this is bullshit.'
Steve Kerr is failing to properly develop young Warriors talent like Quentin Post and Quinten Post
I really don't know even that much about the Warriors, but I'm a big fan... I would understand that developing young talent is the thing... Quentin Post is a really good center and he's beginning to show it. I hope he's showing it enough that we don't just put him out for a trade.
The Warriors should trade for Domantas Sabonis because his 'nasty' style would benefit the team
We could get [Domantas] Sabonis. And Sabonis would be, he would be a nasty piece of business because I hate watching that guy play basketball. I can't stand it. He's always just poking and picking at people. I want him poking and picking on our team.
The NBA Cup means nothing to me
I'm excited to watch the game. I just don't care who the NBA cup means nothing to me. ... There's no way you'll be able to be like, oh yeah, 2025. That was the year the Spurs won the NBA cup.
Cooper Flagg is fully activated after his 40-point game
Cooper Flagg may have fully been activated. He has reached full activation. 18 years old. 40 piece in regulation. ... If we're talking just highlight tapes, he's looking good.
The future of the NBA is in Victor Wembanyama and Sam Presti's hands
I would say the future of basketball's in [Wembanyama] and Sam Presti's hands. ... The Thunder are also in Dodger land. They are in Dodger land. ... Which is insane 'cause they're doing it with a cat.
Victor Wembanyama is an unsolvable problem because you cannot design a system to stop him
Wemby is a problem. You can't design a system to keep the ball away from Wemby. You can't design a system to effectively attack the paint when Wemby's standing there. He's so, so fun to watch.
LeBron James robbed fans of a hater moment by making the correct basketball play
I feel so robbed by it because [LeBron James] actually made a very selfless play. A game-winning assist for a buzzer beater. I was really hoping that the situation had occurred where he was trying to force it and he cost him the game. He robbed that from us.
Chris Paul being a dickhead in his 20th season is actually a credit to his accountability
In his 20th year in the league at his age, he was still being like, 'Hey guys, we gotta be accountable.' Because I would think that if you're doing a farewell tour... I'm gonna chill with the boys. He was still being dickhead Chris Paul. It's more of a credit to Chris Paul.
I do not believe Giannis Antetokounmpo faked his calf injury to force a trade.
I don't think that [Giannis Antetokounmpo] faked the injury. ... I think he actually hurt himself. I do too. I don't think that he looked bummed when he got hurt. ... It's unfortunate timing, but yeah, the report came out yesterday that he was actively exploring other options.
LeBron James is officially in his stat-padding era
My Cool Throne is LeBron because congratulations to LeBron. He kept his streak alive of scoring 10 games, which is a totally made up streak... Can we just admit that LeBron's in his stat padding time, like it's fine. It's fine.
Alperen Sengun is a problem and I really like this Rockets team.
I really like the Rockets. I think that guy [Sengun] is a motherfucker. He's a problem.
Chemistry is the most underrated aspect of sports
Something very underrated about sports in general. People always underestimate chemistry. You know, we could talk about stats and the star player and this and that, but when you enjoy playing with somebody, I think those guys look, there's eight guys scoring 10 points on the bulls.
The rest of the NBA is in big trouble because of what Victor Wembanyama is doing.
We're seeing something that we've never seen before. And we better appreciate what this is... Big, big trouble for the rest of the league.
Ja Morant has lost his joy for basketball and is beefing with his coaches
My Hot Seat is Ja Morant... lost his joy. He's beefing with his coaches. This was like a week or so ago, but he was, you know, getting pushed in a press conference... and then last night he just said he's lost his joy.
The Bucks leaked the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors to attract teams with better draft assets
I think the Bucks leaked this because they wanna move on from Giannis so they could rebuild. The Knicks don't have any first round picks. So they want a team that has first round picks to be like, oh, he is available for trade, let me come in. ... and there was also a report that his wife's moving to Greece, so he might go play in Greece.
Zion Williamson looks fantastic after completing the 'Luca diet' and losing significant weight
Zion Williamson has completed the Luca diet and looks like he lost an entire Zion. He looks fantastic.
Ben Simmons' career is over now that his agent has dropped him
My Hot Seat is Ben Simmons... He got dropped by his agent... if you're getting dropped, you're, you're, you must be bad, bad. You just not care. Yeah. At all. He just literally doesn't care even enough to like take a contract, bad sign. So he's just not, he's he's not represented currently.