Building Around Victor Wembanyama + The Knicks & Pelicans Looking Strong 😤 | The Hoop Collective

Building Around Victor Wembanyama + The Knicks & Pelicans Looking Strong 😤 | The Hoop Collective

Hello welcome to the hoop Collective podcast we talk about the NBA which we are doing on Sunday evening joining us from New York City is Tim BPS hello everybody joining us from Austin Texas which is an NBA City this week um because the San Antonio Spurs

Played two games in Austin which I think they’re going to be doing going forward um on a regular basis uh is our Spurs reporter Andrew Lopez what’s up Andrew it is uh you don’t have to say evening you can go ahead and say night we are definitely recording this on a Sunday

Night yeah yeah so the so the game that the Spurs played on Sunday uh was against the Nets the game went overtime which Spurs prevailed um and so this is a like a two-year-old arena in Austin where at the on the on the campus of uh

UT Austin right right yeah and it’s uh this is a I think they they set like the indoor or the the attendance record the other night they had like 16,000 in here it is a a very very nice Arena I will not say that it is better than certain

NBA arenas that I have been in in my past but I will say that it is a very very nice Arena well the Spurs just built aund million doll practice facility in um in San Antonio they are trying to get a new Arena there’s some things being bandied around I’m I’m

Starting to get really old Andrew I’ve got gray hairs coming in but I remember when the uh Arena they play in now was brand new and um it’s kind of weird that Arenas that I watched open are like um are like trying to get closed because I’m

Like I’m not that old but I guess I’ve been around a while but uh I don’t I don’t think the Spurs are going anywhere but it’s interesting you know they have um investment in their ownership group from Austin now um and so now they’ve got uh some Austin games every year and

They got a Nuggets game the Champs came to Austin a couple days ago um and look this is really um wenyama had another terrific game on Sunday what was his final uh numbers against the Nets uh 33 points 15 rebounds seven assists seven blocks only the fourth player to hit

Those those marks in a or hit 30577 in a game it feels like you know really since his February has started there’s more games than not where it’s hasn’t done this since so and so or only Kareem and somebody else did this and tonight was just another example of that

He is playing ridiculous basketball yeah so look we could spend an hour just talking about Victor’s doing we have spent a lot of time talking about Victor since we have you here um I I think it’s important right now to talk about where the Spurs go from here um because the

Thing about the Spurs is they are sort of viewed as sort of the repository of all the wisdom in the NBA a like for 15 or 17 years now these teams are constantly hiring away their Executives hiring away their assistant coaches to try to replicate what they have you

Know they go back to the Oracle RC Buford their team president you know whenever they get into a prickley position um he’s sort of the Arbiter of wisdom and intelligence and uh and all that’s fair and true but I respectfully the Spurs are in a position they’ve never been in before

And that position is to how to build this team around Victor and I think it’s going to be hard um as hard as it is to build anything obviously it’s hard to build any team from from nothing I mean you don’t get the number one pick by by

Being good and they’re obviously still terrible and they didn’t think they were going to be this bad um and so yeah if they were anybody but the Spurs frankly they would be getting a more stick for being horrendous with this guy on their team I mean they’re a they’re a what

Under 25% winning percentage for the year even after today’s win they’re what 15 and 53 yeah today put them at 15 and 53 not they were gonna be yeah I mean and and like Victor has been everything he could have been advertised as as we’ve talked about a lot and they still suck

Like if it was like imagine if you just switch places with them in Detroit Detroit would be getting annihilated but the Spurs have basically gotten a total free pass on this yeah and so look I mean here’s the reality the reality is is that when you’re in San

Antonio you’re gonna probably have to build through the draft they can build through trade obviously but in all honesty if you look at the history of the Spurs they’ve done very very few trades and um I don’t know what they’ve got to trade they have future a lot of picks

They they have a lot to trade what is this that’s the thing got future picks to trade but like for example they have some very they have some very valuable future Atlanta Hawks picks to trade they have all of their own picks to trade they have a bunch of interesting young

Players to trade yes but when you look at the right now if you were to bring all the general managers into a room and say What’s the best way to do a rebuild they would say Oklahoma City and that is essentially kind of the model that the Spurs they Spurs haven’t announced this

But the Spurs aren’t going to rebuild through free agency they’re not going to you know be able to count on uh you know getting a player in this draft where they’re gonna very likely have a top four pick there’s not going to be a player in this draft at least as we look

At right now that like oh my gosh they’re going to draft a number two maybe they do get lucky that way but you can’t say that the way that the that the Thunder have rebuilt is kind of the path that the Spurs are going down and the

Trade that they made really what I think with Derek white was the first move but then especially with the dejonte Murray trade that’s where they fully embraced going into this route but the thing was that the trade the the the the basis of Oklahoma City’s rebuild was trading Paul

George and that’s how they got their franchise Superstar now it does look like the Spurs have their franchise Superstar but I’m not sure that there is a asset on this team that is going to be able to get necessarily A ready-made number two now you may debate

Me on that because of their picks but you know I don’t know how valuable their picks are going to be and they have not shown a willingness to really trade their picks so I think it’s going to be challenging Lopez I wonder what you’ve ped picked up talking to papovich and

Team officials throughout the year about what they want what what they’re hoping to do well you know Greg papovich is so open to talking about the rebuild process and everything that he uh will do with this team but he he did mention a couple of weeks ago or maybe it was I

Think it might have been the the first Austin press conference that we that he had where he he mentioned look we’re gonna explore all options everything is on the table he goes but but every team is doing that but I I do think that they have since they have so many they still

Have a a demard de R rozen first round pick uh potentially coming their way I think they have other assets that are going to be valuable and I think if you can put if you decide to put three first round picks on the table I don’t I don’t

Think it matters necessarily who that other player is like you’re not trigging out a Paul George at that point you’re just trading but they’ve never done theyve never ever done a trade like that so it’s just they’ve also never I mean when they when they had David Robinson when they

Drafted him they had two years to figure things out when he was doing his Navy commitment so in the time that he got there they were a 50- win team and when they drafted Tim Duncan they they the only reason they were bad the year before is because

David Robinson was dealing with back issues and you basically just ran that back fired the coach installed himself and they tanked and it paid off because you were able to put a healthy Tim Duncan and a health or healthy Dave romson ding together this is different this is not those situations you you

Appear to have your Superstar so now they may have to do some things that they are not used to doing or have not done because I I don’t know how much you can continue to tank or you know be on that side of things as Victor continues

To play as well as he does I mean the kid’s putting up 2010 three and three really three and a half three and a half in 29 minutes a game this year when he starts to play 32 33 34 those numbers are going to go up his efficiency has

Gone up throughout the year it’s you’re going to have to rethink I think how you have done things in the past because of of where he is it’s just because he is going to eventually be so good that you’re going to exactly here’s what I want to point

Out just I’m sorry bonts one second you’re good you’re good you’re good next year’s draft the 2025 draft and I can’t see 15 months into the future but next year’s draft the 2025 draft is believed to potentially have multiple franchise potential franchise players in it now I’m not going to sit

Here and quote chapter and verse I’ll bring Jonathan gavone on to do that let him do that but it is regarded as a potentially much deeper draft Yeah the next two drafts both next next two drafts between Cooper flag and Cameron boozers in the next year’s draft and uh

There’s several guys in both drafts that are very interesting high level guys that are probably considered higher level guys than in this year’s draft right and so the Spurs have their pick obviously for 2025 they have the Atlanta Hawks pick for 2025 I would assume that the Hawks

Regardless of what they do next year or this next summer I I don’t I think that they’re going to attempt to be a playoff team I don’t think they’re going to be necessarily in a rebuild mode um I don’t think you can count on that pick being

Super duper high but I believe it’s unprotected yeah um it is they have the Toronto Raptors draft pick which I believe is top six% have the Raptors protected this year yeah and if it doesn’t convert this year top next year which is it’s right on the edge but they potentially could

Have three picks in uh in next year’s draft including their own and so and and Bulls pick that his top 10 protected next year okay so they potentially could have four picks in next year’s draft maybe they maybe they well maybe the two but um if you brought in

A you know management specialist and they evaluated this whole thing and they see the way teams are built and they see that the Spurs are nowhere close to being serious contenders and they it’s hard to predict you know you can’t you know you can’t count on free agency you

You know you’re not 100% sure whether a star would want to come there you would say take your time wait like they did with David Robinson and try to get a really high pick again in 2025 because frankly that is what the Thunder did they got Shay gildas

Alexander and they were terrible for several years in a row and only after they’d sort of been down for several years did they start the upswing that’s the model the model doesn’t doesn’t include trying to improve dramatically um um and so now you’re asking the SP to do something that they’re not usually

Doing and you’re potentially because of the the nature of the player Victor is asking to do something that might be against the wisdom that they prefer and that’s where I think it’s going to be a challenge for them yeah and it’s he’s just that I think kind of transcendent as a player

That to to me it’s no question that you attempt to try to do that like you you you look at it it is going to be hard you you mentioned I mean we talked about just how stacked that 25 class is I don’t but maybe you know maybe it’s one

Of the other picks maybe it’s the Atlanta pick for some reason maybe something goes wrong there maybe it’s you know you where the Toronto pick is maybe you can make some splashes in different ways but it I I I think it’s going to be harder to to look at this

Team next year and project another you know 20 to 25 win season um and I I don’t know what they’re going to do this summer yet like I said there’s trade options on the table there’s free agency options how they have typically operated is one thing but uh

I I I I just think that how because of Victor it it may change or accelerate how they typically would operate I think this entire conversation is being had backwards this isn’t about what the Spurs can or should do or what they’re going to do or how they’re going to do

It we’re talking about a guy in Victor wanyama who has shown since he was 15 or 16 years old that he has been very willing to do things in an unconventional Manner and to do things to get where he wants to go in the manner he wants to go there we can go

Back to what he did with his final couple of years in France where he’s playing for Tony Parker’s team asell one of the biggest teams in the country didn’t like how things were going there for a variety of reasons and they basically DeCamp to a smaller team and

Just make it the Victor show and it’s just all about Victor for the whole season as Brian knows the team that he was on metropolitans 92 basically folded after the season was more or less there to just be I mean they’re still around but you know like literally everybody

Left they couldn’t be they couldn’t play in the Euro league after qualifying for it that’s how much they that’s how much they dropped off it was a team that was created essentially to be a vehicle for Victor to have a smooth Glide path into the draft process and have it be the

Best situation for him possible right you can’t obviously manufacture that in the NBA if you get drafted to a team you are then on the team you have to to deal with the market dynamics that come with being in the NBA that is now where Victor sits with the Spurs and as you

Know Andrew you’re around him every day I’ve been around him a very little bit far less than Brian much far Le much less than you he is a guy who very clearly on the court in locker rooms in the press conferences makes it very clear that he wants to be competitive

Right now and winning right now he is not a guy that to me seems like he’s going to be along with the plan to be bad for a while and if you talk about Oklahoma City when you look at any good organization right look at Golden State

For example for a long time they had Bob Meyers they had Steve Kerr they had Steph Curry they had the three of them completely aligned right and what the team was going to do and how they were going to do it they go get Kevin Durant everybody’s on board they decide how

They’re going to handle Draymond Green with his ious things that go on they’ve got everybody on board right you have to have that kind of alignment if you’re going to move things along you go look at the thunder thunder have Mark dnote who was obviously came up in their

System was their g-league coach handpicked by Sam prey to run the team s pry has run the team very successfully for a long time and throughout the entire time that they’ve had Shay Guild Alexander there has not been one word from him at any point saying we got to

Get better sooner we got to be more competitive we got to do this a different way right all he ever said he was the perfect company man and I’m sure privately he wanted to win games faster but there was never a peep from him about we got to be more competitive I

Want to win games I want to do this I want to do that it was just we’re doing the right stuff we’re going to get to the right place and Victor already in his first season is like talked openly about being frustrated with losing and

Not wanting to lose and wanting to be on a more competitive team so that I think is the real challenge to me it’s not like yes the Spurs have work to do but if they just rush out and do some dumb stuff to try to win 38 games next year

That’s not going to do anything for them all it’s going to do is further inflame the situation because this guy’s going to sit there in a couple years and go well this team is an eight seed or a nine seed or a 10 seed and I don’t want

To be on a team that’s an eigh seed or a nine seed or a 10 seed so Lopez um you you were there during this bontemps you might have been to this was during All-Star Weekend um and Victor got his media availability and the one thing

About Victor um that you know that I noticed when I first got to know him last year uh and that bontemps was really you know you called this out was the Victor’s ability to kind of make a rash sometimes even bombastic statement and do it in a way that is with sort of

Monotone and lowkey and maybe the accent has something to do with it where he doesn’t sound like he’s making a proclamation but when you go just says his brags with a smile so they don’t come off in quite the same way right and uh you said that like one of the first

Times you saw him get interviewed by tempson it’s only been further and further backed up as the times go along and so this is a quote that multiple NBA Executives have highlighted and talked to me about because I think this is a important quote this was at

Allstar Weekend WOTE I am not skipping steps I’ve been told never to skip steps my whole life but it didn’t stop me from running up the stairs honestly that is too just go up the stairs with one step so well that’s seriously in all honesty I wrote thousands of words about Victor’s

Upbringing and development to becoming the number one pick last year I probably could have just played that clip and gone out to dinner in Paris instead of doing all those interviews because yeah very succinctly that is exactly accurate about what happened to him because obviously his size and his

Talent um he was told he had to wait on the bench and he had to wait his turn because because at 16 you shouldn’t be playing with the senior team um for nant and when he came to the team that you mentioned um asille the team owned by

Tony Parker was competing in the Euro league of course you can’t put a 17-year-old out there in Euro League games it’s it’s insane look at this frail kid he has no chance and you know he was told don’t skip the steps work the process and but every time there’s

Been something put in front of him he smashed it out of the park and that’s the thing Lopez that quote right there in a lot of ways encapsulates the Victor wanyama expectation and experience it is such it’s again it’s subtle and it seems like he’s you know he’s not like taking

Aim at anything but it was it was very powerful that is I was talking to a guy who’s been on league for 25 years and he goes go find me a quote where LeBron said something like that as a rookie now I don’t recall um you know you know I mean

LeBron was frustrated as a rookie that the Cavs were were pretty bad for a long time they were not this bad by the way they were they were hunting I mean they were it was one of those years where the Eastern Conference had like a team like

Seven right games under 500 make the playoffs but the Cavs were hunting the playoffs in this time of year they were not eliminated like the Spurs the Spurs I think actually been I’ve met they are they are officially eliminated yes they were the first team to be officially eliminated so

Um did when you hear him say stuff like that what do you think the Spurs how do you think the Spurs should react to that you know the skipping steps part has been something that that pop has said over and over and over and over this year about Vic’s progression and the

Team’s progression and things like that um I know saying I’ve been hearing it my whole life pop and then the fact that he said it that right then and I think it was what what he said right after that was very he’s like when I was 12 I

Wanted to make the national team to go to the Olympics when he was like that’s the idea like in his head like I’m 12 years old than I can play in the Olympics he probably he obviously couldn’t have made it a 12 but he might

Have been able to make it when he was 16 or 17 and so like that is but it just it speaks to everything that he thinks about him self and he he had a a comment in French the other day when we got to Austin um to to one of the French

Reporters and you know that was the you know I ask him about defensive player of the year and he says well you know I think it’s Rudy’s this year but you know and he again he jokes he laughs he he he he he laughs when he said it but he goes

You know but that’s you know my my time’s coming his time is his time is over soon and saying about Mentor his countrymen right the guy who who one of the guys who probably taught him more in in terms of what to do and he laughs

When he says it but you you just know there’s just a bit of Truth there well it’s like what he said about scoot Henderson he was like if he wasn’t if he was born in a different year he might be the number one pick but he wasn’t right

It’s it’s how he handles everything and he and he he obviously has put in meticulous work across the the years and because of that all the work and time he’s invest Ed he the reason all of it doesn’t come comes off in the way it does is because he doesn’t think he’s

Bragging it’s because it’s all of the stuff that he has done and the work he’s done makes him think this is the correct thing for me to say for example we talked about this on the Pod before Lopez was with me when I asked Victor about being the next face of the league

Potentially which I asked Anthony Edwards I asked all sorts of guys and every guy including the Ant-Man who’s not exactly a shy guy everybody was like ah yeah you know like I don’t really think about that you know Victor said when I asked him do you think about

Being the next face of the NBA of course and it’s something I’ve been working on for years because being labeled as one of the faces of the league is not primarily basketball but also your image in front of everyone so in other words yeah it’s not just because I want to be

The best player on the planet but I want to be the most marketable guy and the guy in every way like LeBron which again he’s a 19-year-old kid but this to me gets back to what we were talking about before where the Spurs are going to have

To find a way to keep this guy on the program with them doesn’t mean he’s going to walk in there in June and say hey I had a year in San Antonio this isn’t really for me I want to get traded I don’t mean that but he’s not a guy

That is going to be cool with just chilling and taking directions on how things are going to go like you’re going to have to sell him on Hey listen this is the plan we’re going to take or the path we’re going to take and here’s why

We’re going to take it and you have to get him to buy in because again you look at any of the elite teams you have star player coach leite executive and often owner those four people if they’re aligned your organization’s in good shape if one or more of them are in

Different places or it’s they’re they’re not on the same page you got a lot of problems and I want I want to make this has to sit yeah I want to make something clear here because you know Ramona shelburn talked about this on the NBA today last week and she got some pretty

Strong push back because the Assumption was you know oh there you know ESPN’s talking about how Victor may you know doesn’t want to be in San Antonio that’s not what we’re talking about at all here what we’re talking about is is how the all- knowing Almighty process driven we know what

We’re doing Spurs because quite frankly that’s the way Greg poit sits up there A lot of times okay not a lot of times all the time we know better than you and their and their track record absolutely gives him the right to do that and we’re

Just saying it may not go that way the Spurs might be in territory they’ve never been in before and oh it it might go that way too but but the it’s a pivotal it’s a pivotal time for them because when you have pressure on you in a situation like this and Lopez you’re

Around it every day so I’m curious what your thoughts are in terms of this when you have pressure on you to make decisions to try to improve the team and this is obviously the there’s all this momentum now right like look how great like you said before early in the year

Victor had a lot of Duds since he’s moved to Center shockingly when they started playing a point guard with him imagine that that helped um he’s obviously now putting up astronomical stat lines almost every game so when you have pressure on you to make decisions to get better in a shorter time frame

Than you want to there’s certainly paths where you can do that but when you have pressure on your decision-making process that is potentially when you make mistakes and you panic and you rush into something you shouldn’t and that to me is what they have to guard against let me talk

About the Cleveland Cavs with LeBron okay yep Paul Silas was the head coach may he rest in peace now this was in 2003 it was a very 2003 2004 it was a very different time from a media perspective not every press conference was captured and broadcast and available

To the world there was no social media okay so but Paul would say this on the record to the media on numerous occasions this is a guy who had been in the NBA 40 years at this point and had won titles with multiple franchises okay one of his people he learned under

Was red arbach he only play with Bill Russell Paul Silas right okay from both from Oakland he would say again on the record and he would he would explain with great care not sound bite he’s like look we don’t have a chance with LeBron until we

He he the way he would say it is um another big timer that was the way he he goes he goes LeBron needs another big timer we have no chance here until we get another big Tim we got to be working every single day to get another big

Timer and guess when they got another big Tim when he came back the second time to play with Kyrie well that’s the thing is that two years in the Cavs did kind of panic a little bit the general manager had been fired there was a new owner which you know not necessarily the

Same in San Antonio and they rolled all their dice on Larry Hughes and after the Carlos Boozer Disaster by the way right but I I’m not even sure Boozer like you know S one of the reason Boozer left he left for money but one of the reasons

That Boozer left not they need to relitigate this is that Silas didn’t see him as that no but I just mean they had a really promising young player when team out the for but syus wasn’t talking about Boozer right syus was talking about Dwayne Wade Sy was talking about Kyrie

Irving syus was talking about Anthony Davis that’s what he was talking about and he wasn’t like expecting the Cavs to deliver that player in 15 minutes but he was like look this guy is the greatest young player I’ve ever seen and the only chance we have here is

If we get him another Superstar player the history of the NBA is you got to have at least two guys right now if you can imagine happy birthday Bon you can imagine forgot about the peace sign thing on the on the zooms here Victor Victor will be having

Balloons come up when he gets a second star one oh man um anyway so if Greg papovich was coming out and sitting in front of the media in front of the you know everybody and saying we got to get another big timer like it would be receiv like oh my

God you know yeah he doesn’t believe in the front office he’s you know calling them out blah blah blah like I understand he can’t say that but the truth is still the truth it was true in 2003 it’s true in 2024 and so um and the Cavs botched it

They botched it in the end of the day and I I will say this about big publicly he has said all the right things every single time this is a guy who talked about about before the in the pre-draft process about he wants not I mean we talk about him him wanting to

Win defense player of the years he wants to win rookie of the year he wants to win all these accolades and do all this he also wants to win the press conference he understands the message that he is is is putting forth every night and he has said yes I know we

Can’t skip steps and and he goes back to that all time going back to the running up the stairs but he I think it’s just I just think he’s going to be too good for them to have like that is going to I think push this more than anything else

And you’ve seen the efficiency numbers now you’ve seen all things grow up and it it’s going to come down to what are what are the other guys on this team going to be able to do next to him and how many of them are going to

Last I know you I was gonna say we haven’t he’s playing really well right now and we haven’t really seen the wins now so he’s gonna need some help yeah I’m not sure how many of these guys are future I mean I look Lopez I know you’re

In the locker room every day I’m not asking you to I don’t I’m just I’m going to say I don’t know how many of these guys are Victor wanyama teammates in two years there’s a few you know I think deel Deon Vel has proven to be an

Excellent player um he’s a three at number three at best I mean I think Devon Vel is the one guy you could say right now with the extension that the Spurs gave him they have truly committed to him as a guy that you would expect I

Mean obviously he could be in a deal but I would think given that extension and the fact that he is a very good fit with Victor based off his Play Type or player type he’s the one guy I think you can look at and say this guy in a couple of

Years should be one of their core guys with him but the question is to your point well we talk all the time about Denver’s lineup right and how they have these five guys that overtime they slowly put together to fit perfectly with Nicole yic for as good as Nico yic

Is they’ve got this team that fits perfectly around him and Victor while a phenomenal player is certainly a unique player and going to have to have certain kinds of guys around him to make that work and they’re going to have to figure out the right way to do that and you

Know is Jeremy soan one of those guys maybe you know is Kellin Johnson one of those guys maybe like they got a lot of maybe to probably not guys on their team I would say and the thing about Kellin I think and Jeremy if they are going to end up

Making a trade if that’s the route they’re going to go they they have solid numbers that you could you would have to end up moving this is obviously at some point you’re going to have to use one of these guys to to to do something just

Because of the numbers and it just the math tells you that now I’m not saying it’s because you know they don’t like they don’t like it’s the math has to work for for some of these guys and I think got to send out salary to get salary back it that’s the that’s that’s

The way the NBA works but I think you’ve seen it a little bit more as you know pop another thing that pop says all the time is these guys are still learning how to to play with Vic and I think some of what we’ve seen and it’s early in the

Year Vic would have games where he would have more Duds because he would have bad shooting nights and they was but they were just just go try go do whatever you want pop said at the beginning of the year where I just want to see him for

The first 20 games and then we’ll see what happens now that happened coincide when they moved Jeremy and did all this other stuff but he got to do with some things maybe that he wouldn’t have necessarily been able to do if they were you know in the thick of a a playin race

Or or or a play off race so some of that has kind of been I don’t want to say by Design but it has it has worked I think to his to his benefit we’ve SE I’ve seen the growing you know the growth between him and Devon to your point that the

Extension they signed him to makes it it’s another great number if you if you want to look at it that was the one who hit him for that game-winning lob in the game Sunday night right and so and that was a play where they had worked up to

That play all night where it’s and and this is this was not against any this was against Mel Bridges and Nick claxon this wasn’t you know oh we we caught cam Thomas in a switch we caught you know shter on in in a bad spot this was we

Have our two guys who we want on the on their two best guys going at it in this situation now they were doing some other things they threw finy Smith at him but it was mostly a CL CLA and FN Smith night and it was the one time that

Because Devon had been hitting some shots even though he was like one for seven from three he had been hitting his midi all night and when Deon came off the screen claxon had to step up just a bit and then it allowed the lob to Victor

One of the things that was kind of on you know big thing on Spurs Twitter and and Spurs fans they they can’t get him the ball they can’t throw him the lobs lobs aren’t there you know if it’s they’ve probably had more turnovers throwing him lobs I feel like it’s three

To four game now where it’s just mispa misplaced passes um it it all feels like that I mean it’s I learning to play with a seven4 guys is going to take a lot and I think they’re going through a lot of mistakes right now because it’s let’s try to see what we

Can do and then see which of these pieces is gonna move forward also Trey Jones I think is one of the pieces that stays just because I don’t think Tre Jones ever leaves San Anon like he just feels like he’s a Spurs lifer who’s gonna be here 13 years and then be in

The front office and you’re like oh well yeah of course that happened when LeBron was a rookie and again I know that the Cavs and the Spurs are quite different organizations yeah but this is the last time we saw a player like this you know at this

Age when LeBron was a rookie he had 20 teammates during his rookie year 20 different teammates I’m talking about 10day guys and whatever by year three one was left one the J by the way poorly they did do it poorly but I’m just illustrating the point right but by

The way by year four they were in the finals they didn’t build a sustainable team but well they were also they were also in the finals in a horrifically weak Eastern Conference absolutely no question but I’m just saying year one they started four and 15 year four they were in the finals

Okay those are true statements from year one to three one player was still there I’m just I’m just telling you it’ll it’ll be it’ll a bit of a process here say before I move on go ahead BS I just wanted to ask Lopez because we sort of talked around it what

Do you think like we’ve talked a lot about the point guard thing on the Pod I know you’ve only been on a couple times but obviously the Trey Jones move into the starting lineup has led to Victor playing a lot better what do you think forget specific players as you look at

Next season and you could say they need these couple archetypes of players or these kinds of players what do they need to add to become a team that could compete for the playing next year even it’s I they I think they need a another guy who could just shoot

In that in that group and and right now that Julian champen has kind of played that role where look pop is doing what he does where he takes a guy who is normally a starter and puts him on the bench and they they’ve tried different variations of this at different times

This year but Kellin Johnson’s that guy right now Kellin Johnson is going to finish games he is the Manu he is that six-man right now where he’s still going to get his 16 18 20 points a game but he’s just going to do it Off the Bench

Now um when they finished the game on Sunday night against the Nets it was Kellin in for Julian champany for most of that I think you need another guy who is a a a shooter on this team I think the only guy who was shooting above 40

For the team this year was Doug mcder he’s out the door now and you looked at on threes above 40 on threes oh 40 on 30s yes I’m sorry and they did a lot of tying Doug McDermot line Doug mcder to Victor um that’s I think where you have

To go and Trey Jones for all he is as a point guard is not a very good shooter at shot better as of late but I think you have to get somebody who can shoot a little bit better in that spot and keep this floor spaced out for Mr weo one

Teammate after two years so all I’m going to say there was one uh by the way before we move on as good as that play was that iced this game in overtime for the Spurs on Sunday night it was nobody was beating the gamewinner that Kyrie threw in up the

Road in Dallas which was what an asinine shot and I say that in the highest the highest levels of of respect what was it uh would you say a a a a 20 foot left handed hook shot it was it was a 20 foot Skyhook 20 foot sky with his left hand

Although with his left hand it does the other the other Texan on the Pod wrote a game story about this today uh and said it was the second longest hook shot made of the season the only one longer was also made by Kyrie who flung in some

Like I don’t remember 30 something foot hook shot on like a some sort of end clock situation against Portland earlier this year which does speak to Kyrie’s amazing abilities with the ball which by the way we’ve spent years talking about all of Kyrie everything that comes with

Kyrie Irving and my thoughts on whether you can win with Kyrie or not are very much on the record you want to know why people keep getting sucked into Kyrie Irving yeah plays like this do things few other people could do with the ball I’ve said this before and I’ll just say

It again when I covered Kyrie on a day-to-day basis when he was with the Cavs I would watch him practice especially at the end of practice and I would watch him in games and I said to him one time Kyrie I watch you practice I don’t ever see you practice some of

This stuff that you do specifically with shooting the ball putting all this weird these weird angle shots and all this English I go how do you do it and he said I’ve been doing it my whole life and I think the man just has such a Mastery manipulating the ball and by the

Way he did it over joic who knows a thing or two about throwing only way he could get the shot off there was nothing else he do yeah anyway and by the way that just real quick because it’s going to get lost in the shot the Mavericks had a horrific fourth quarter Denver

Just marched him down did all the typical Denver stuff and then Denver made five mistakes in the last 40 seconds of the game didn’t get a two for one left Luca completely wide open for the game time three Jamal Murray got an open shot but took it too early and

Missed like they did a whole bunch of stuff wrong to lose that game of Regulation after the Mavs nearly let it get away but for Dallas we’ve talked a lot about that playing situation we’re going to talk about the Pelicans I think in a bit that could prove to be a pretty

Massive win for Dallas down the stretch here to steal that one didn’t look like they were GNA win right Luka coming back from a hamstring issue even though they were playing at home you had to figure that was going to be a loss yeah and they stole it and by

The way had that shot not gone in and the game gone to overtime you’re betting on Denver even on the road even as bad Dallas Dallas could completely melted down down the stretch of the game but Lucas Luca and Kyrie they can do special special stuff so this is not something I

Thought I would be saying at this point but um the Pelicans now Mr Lopez I believe is still a property owner in the state of Louisiana is that accurate that is that is an accurate statement all right he might have moved to Texas like

Our guy but he he ain’t a Texan yeah you said you said the other texted on the podcast earlier and I’m like like McMahon’s the first who’s the other I don’t know who you’re talking about why do you think I brought it back up wearing LSU Tiger uh purple there on

That tie this is listen he’s he’s the Louisiana Louisiana boy through and through Andrew Lopez is anybody who’s ever met him knows that’s right that is very true anyway those boys from Louisiana um with their win over Portland on Saturday and the Clippers just absolutely continuing they are now under

500 over their last 15 games I believe um they lose badly at home I’m in La across the street here at crypto uh just went final as we’re recording this to the Hawks who are very depleted right now um very surprising defeat uh and went almost 10 minutes in the second

Half of this game without a field goal which I’m no expert um is not gonna win you too many games great James Harden is dealing with a shoulder injury that has Zapped his Effectiveness their their defense has collapsed at one point was one of the best in the league is totally

Collapsed in this stretch um anyway they’re now one game separated in the loss column here with basically a month to go in the season uh with the Pelicans the four five which you know for a while we saw the top four fighting for positioning and then there was a a you

Know a moat that MO is gone because the Pelicans have hit the gas and the Clippers have gone backwards and as bontemps was saying before we started the pod the Pelicans have the tie break they went three and one icing it with a victory last week uh over the Clippers

At home I think it was the second night of a back toback for the clippers but still it counts just the same and um Lopez uh the Pelicans your your area of expertise uh the Pelicans are playing great and Zion I got people in New Orleans telling me that since December

When the inseason tournament happened Zion Williamson has lost 25 or more pounds and is acting I mean his performance has been excellent he’s playing fewer minutes and I think that helps as well but I got people telling me he’s lost 25 pounds and I don’t and I

Don’t mean like you know in the past where they say oh yeah he’s added muscle and you’re like has he like I got people saying like he’s truly for the first time I’m I feel weird even saying it cuz you know counting on Zion’s been a losing

Proposition uh you’re on you watch the Pelicans you’re around them you’ll see them I think soon here what’s going on there with Zion and the pels we talked about them the Pod last week but they’ve even done better since then you can you could see it like like I I think the

Weight if you go back and look at him in the End season tournament and and you look at him now he he looks completely different and I think being I mean frankly I mean it is what it is they they were embarrassed in Las Vegas like that

That’s what that’s what happened in that game and on that stage where Zion was supposed to have his it was his first you know on the on the really on the stage moment for them he’d had games where he was you know Christmas Day games and other games where he has been

Featured in opening nights where he hasn’t been available and this was his game and this was supposed to be it and he that was him and LeBron finally everybody healthy big stage and it was it went completely the wrong way and I think since that moment and there was

There was a team meeting around that time as well things have gone on the up and up for for him and he looks like a completely different player uh like you I’ve heard a lot of great things from from multiple people in New Orleans about the the buyin that he’s had the

Transformation in his body everything just right now for him feels and looks different if you you look at him just the last month I’d say I I looks like the best he’s been in the NBA since he’s he’s come in physically he looks different he he looks completely

Different on the other end of the floor where as I was talking with Zach the other day like that’s going to be where teams are going to challenge him in the playoffs you he’s gonna have to be that much better on that end of the floor and

I think he has been that much better you’ve seen it in Blocks he’s going after things he’s getting more rebounds everything is starting to change and I think in New Orleans as a as a team they are starting to feel all right something something might be happening and if if

They’re starting to Peak I think at the right time and you mentioned the minutes going down I think part of the reason the minutes have gone down is because when they’ve started to play Bad teams one if if you’re one of the worst clutch teams in the NBA which the Pelicans are

The one way to not have more clutch games is to just beat the heck out of teams before that if you can get up by 20 you’re not you’re not gonna be in a clutch game so they’re starting to I think realize okay things are going in

The right direction the bench is playing out outstanding right now but it all starts with z and I think the weight losses is I mean you just see it in his face I mean he looks completely different the It’s Not Unusual for players to lose weight during the season

But not like that no and and I think he did it in if you look at him in December and just to now like in a two Monon span or I guess it’s three now but he looks he looks like a new player he looks like what he probably should have what they

Maybe hoped he would have come into the year looking like but he was still rehabbing he was still coming back I don’t think they were going as hard and pushing him early on just to make sure that everything was going to be right with the knee the foot and all the other

Injuries he you know you go back to him missing games this year I don’t think he’s missed back-to-back games sometimes he’s sat because okay he’s he’s you know the one thing I’m hearing he’s listening to his body more he’s like okay maybe I shouldn’t push it tonight um they did a

Couple of back-to-back things but they weren’t playing him and doing some stuff like that but I mean he’s on Pace to play most games he’s played and every everything is going I think in the right direction for for the Pelicans at the right time well look I thought we we

Obviously talked about this stretch last week about the stretch they had coming up and they play that game in Cleveland Don Mitchell comes back um by the way Don Mitchell is not a great first couple games back something to monitor him coming back from that bone bruise in his

Knee we’ll see what that looks like but they get obliterated at the three-point line in that game they lose like whatever they had a rough shooting night the other team made a trillion threes it happens but minus 48 or something in Aid yeah that happens in games it’s

Whatever it happens but it started this pretty crucial stretch for them wasn’t a great start then they go home and play the Clippers obviously a pretty important game on Friday and they come out they take care of business and we were talking about before they got Zion running point in this fasinating lineup

With Trey Murphy herb Jones Ryan Ingram and Laren an Jr I really hope that becomes a lineup that they can close games with in the playoffs and let Zion operate with the ball because I think that’s their best chance to be successful at the highest level got a

Lot of concerns about CJ in the playoffs in certain spots obviously jonun could be taken advantage of some particularly on defense but that that grouping when they’re out there you let Zion cook you got Shooters around them Larry’s a really versatile defensive big can do a

Lot of stuff handle the ball a little bit like that the way they’re able to close that came out with that group I I like that a lot and it I thought to your point about the maturation of the whole group I thought that was a mature performance and now they’ve given

Themselves a chance to have home court in this series because the Clippers have basically just given up seems like being a top three seed and it’s going to be looks like them in New Orleans in that four5 which would be a really fascinating first round series because

As we also talked about before they don’t have a great Zion Williamson matchup on the Clippers and they also I don’t think can really take advantage of some of the issues the Pelin have defensively like other teams can and to that lineup two things have worked that have

Made that lineup unlock that and and we’ll see how much they use it going forward one is Herb Jones shooting the ball like he’s a top 10 guy in in three-point percentage I think in the NBA the year I think he’s 42 43% right now and that’s after a kind of roughish

Start he has really started to hit everything and you can see his confidence building on that end shooting the corner three shooting from the like above the bre like everything has changed for him and the other is Trey Murphy starting to look like the guy that we knew Trey Murphy could be and

Have seen Trey Murphy be in the past TR mury missed the first uh he missed October and November with a uh a miniscus injury that he suffered in the in the preseason night preseason workouts I think he came back December 1st December was like okay this is what

Trey Murphy is had a little bit of KNE soreness around Christmas they sat him for about three or four games and then in January and February he just didn’t look like Trey and I think he was kind of getting in his own head with some shots and then

Recently he’s playing he’s playing for a contract he’s got a contract you know I’m I’m sure that was on his mind and he to be clear yeah I mean he know he came into the NBA at age 22 very much of a late bloomer this he’s been working towards this moment for

This contract for his whole life and it’s going to be a a nine figure deal probably and you know he get hurt I mean I’m sure that had some effect on him I don’t and I don’t blame him for that yeah when he has been on this

Year and I think three of his highest scoring games have been already in March of their their five- one in March or whatever they are um when he scores like even 16 points they’re 12-0 I mean when he is hitting it just opens up a lot of

Things and it’s you start to or does when Trey is hitting is that what unlocks the Pelicans or is when Zion is going it unlocks Trey which unlocks the Pelicans and I think they’re still trying to figure that out and what is the what is unlocking what but I know

What the numbers say and the numbers say when Trey is hitting things are going pretty good and with his confidence back the way it is and his you know the shots that he’s hitting everything is starting to go in the right direction and that’s why that lineup where you have Larry who

Can do everything you want as as a switchable five in these certain defenses and you put a you know you obviously have Brandon and Z out there with them with those two kid those two guys everything starts to open up and then you know if you know you have a

Night where one of them CJ needs to come in and boom like see against Portland CJ hits goes for 30 or you know you have a Jose night or a Naji night and it may not be one through five is is one thing but maybe one through 10 I think is

Where they’re especially six through 10 is I think where the depth of the Pelicans starts to to to kind of show and show why they’re you know in this race right now to just compete for uh they do have a harder schu they do have a harder schedule the Clippers coming

Down they have a I think a long West Coast trip they still have to make but the fact that this is even on the table is very interesting well if the Clippers are going to keep losing to teams like the Hawks it might not matter what the

Schedule is because that is as bad loss as you’re gonna have especially at home BS go I think at on the road for four Brooklyn Orlando Miami Detroit home for six away for four that that West Coast trip is Phoenix Portland sack Golden State and they they finish at home

Against the Lakers to me to me on that last game against the Lakers could could be spicy baby could be very spicy could be an interesting option for the Lakers or for the Pelicans with that draft pick with the Lakers this year too down the road because they have the option either

To take it this year or next year to me on that West on that East Coast Swing Brooklyn Orlando Miami Detroit Pelicans got to go three and one to to be in the mix with the schedule they’ve got coming up they get three of those games probably not winning both Orlando and

Miami got to get Brooklyn got to get Detroit you split those two Florida games I think that put you in solid position obviously get all four it’d be great but for them the home stand is OKC Milwaukee Boston Phoenix Orlando finish with San Antonio but so you you you need

To get the wins where you know you’re the ones you’re supposed to win which I will say has been a much better uh goal this year for for New Orleans than than it has been in the past that has been some of their problem before where they

Play up to their competition but play down to their competition see less and less of that this year all right well um to be to be continue to be watched when we come back here uh we’re going to talk about the Knicks as we try to put our

Jinx on another team you’re watching the hoop collecto on ESPN to so we are uh Infamous especially me for putting the voodoo on teams we talk about on the Pod and soay Lopez not only are we infamous on the Pod we meaning Brian for putting jinxes on teams we’re we’re we sort of

Have an idea where we like to put jinxes on teams who are around the Cavs in the standings got the Knicks Nick now have a couple wins in a row they’re catching back up to the Cavs again all of a sudden absolutely let’s have a Nick

Segment you go back to Louisiana and you ask about the curse of Lopes and you will see that I am very much a jinx as well I covered a two-lane team the year I covered two lane I think five coaches got fir the ad got replaced I go to LSU

That the day I go to LSU they lose in the Super Regional I think to to Coastal Carolina who ends up winning the college world series I showed up to LSU to cover a World Series they lose all the games I’m there I am very much I’m I’m very

Good with we be talking about college baseball on this pod B only only kids only people who cover was gonna say Mr Louisiana colle the SEC is yeah anybody who’s covered SEC baseball knows it’s it’s a real oh yeah I used to cover I used to cover College of minor league

Baseball it’s massive all right anyway so the Knicks on Monday night are playing The Warriors the Knicks have won four consecutive Road games they are playing some of the best defense we have seen in this era in the NBA holding team after team to below 80 points um they

Held the kings in Sacramento on Saturday night to 91 which you know adjusted is like holding another team to like in the 80s um I would argue as their best defensive performance in recent games cuz most of the games they were playing the team as I was at the games and the

Teams were scoring under 80 those were not great offensive performan yeah like I think they did it twice to the 76ers or at least they did to the Sixers twice it to Orlando and Orlando was just horrific on offense in that particular game so you may say to

Yourself how are we even though we are seeing slowing a little bit of a scoring slowdown in the NBA although there’s still you know there were still multiple teams that scored 80 in the first half on Sunday so right hold your horses on declaring you know the market changed

But um you know you may say well how are the Knicks doing this and they’re playing basketball from another era like their coach is known for um they play extremely slow in an era where you see the highest Pace since the 60s they play extremely slow they have the slowest

Pace I think they average like 96 possessions a game um that’s 96 per 100 well yeah that’s in the in the you’re right sorry right 96 possessions per game um yeah you can’t even you can’t even give you know you can’t even say 100 possession I had the I I was looking

At the I was looking at the advanced stats which is they’re all based on 100 that’s where I you’re right you’re right typically 100 possessions is less than a game it’s you know you know the way things are going we should probably increase the standard from 100 position to like 110 but um

When Jaylen Brunson brings the ball up the court which nobody has brought the ball up the court this year more than Jaylen Brunson going into the game against um against the Warriors He’s brought the ball up the floor almost 2,700 times uh when that happens they typically take 19 seconds before they

Take a shot it’s it’s 18 seconds or more not 7 seconds or less with with the Knicks and so they play very good defense obviously they’re excellent half court shooting team their numbers in the pick and roll are very good despite being without Mitchell Robinson who is a

Possession guy for them gets offensive rebounds challenges shots um they’re still doing this um Jaylen Brunson takes an average of 480 dribbles a game nobody dribbles more than him nobody holds the ball more than him almost nobody gets as many screens as him they basically play like a 90s team

Where the point guard brings the ball up and they defend like crazy at the other end and it also helps that they’ve had oan noi who they can use in any matchup that that suits them Y and has been terrific he’s 15 and two let’s get that Jinx in

Firmly for Monday night um they’re 15 to be clear since they tra yeah since since they traded for him he missed several weeks but when he has played they’re 15- two in the 17 games he’s played going into the Warriors game it is uh it is a completely different type of style um

Also you know they’ve got a couple of guys who are just performing really well Dante dienzo had never shot above 33% on threes in his career he’s shooting 40% this year and he’s taking eight a game um way the real the real thing there is if you go back to when they

Made the trade so the start the when they made the OG trade at the start of the Year Dante dienzo is taking 10 and a half threes a game and is shooting 37% he has been a Flatout bomber from three over the past two and a half

Months and it’s really been a game changer for them because they don’t have a ton of shooting across the roster and with him being a volume deep shooter like that it’s it’s made a massive difference for them next to Jaylen Brunson was a big part of what they what

Allowed them to go on that tear in January before everybody got hurt right well in January they were destroying I mean they their their point differential in Janu well they were 14- two in January and their point differential was 15 they were crushing they’re five- two so far in

March um their point differential is eight so still that’s excellent but um they haven’t recaptured all of it but they’re obviously playing much more like they were in January um when OG was playing well so I mean bontemps um you know with Donovan Mitchell uh probably having to shut it down for a

Little bit you know he admitted after the Cavs lost to the rockets on Saturday that his KN that he got PRP on is not right and he’s um going to have to shut it back down is likely not going to play in the next game game which I think is

In Indiana for the Cavs playing Indiana Monday yeah um you know the Cavs are two games ahead in the um in the Lost column and the Knicks have the tie break so uh this is another key thing to watch with the Knicks playing well well I mean

Especially as we look forward in the Eastern Conference everybody is going to want to be on the opposite side of the bracket of Boston and so that 34 I mean it becomes a pretty vital thing now you might say you know with with the fact that Orlando is

Looking at least okay to be in the top five you might say well you’d like to have Orlando in theory of these options in the first round if you’re trying to just win a series but if you’re trying to make the deepest run possible you know yes the Bucks scored

140 and beat the Suns on Sunday without Giannis but I they had one of the hottest three-point shooting games you’re going to see even in a hot three-point shooting here yes did they should they they went 24 for 41 from three um hit 18 in the first half so you

Know you still would rather play the Bucks than the Celtics in the seven game series if you have your choice so that that battle is going to be very interesting to watch down the stretch and and by the way Orlando is a 28 losses they’re only one back of the

Knicks the three back of the Cavs and they have a very easy schedule down the stretch so that could we could end up with Cavs Nicks part two in the first round which I’m sure the Cavs would be thrilled to see also but um you know and we’ll see what happens

With Julius Rand we’ll see what happens with Mitchell Robinson but look isah hartstein has been phenomenal stepping in for Mitchell Robinson he has been a starting quality Center his free agency this summer will be intriguing to me I’ll be curious if somebody really steps up and overpays Beyond what the Knicks

Can on the the early bird raay they can give him to keep him um but he has been fantastic oan anobi has been a perfect fit from the moment he got there and you even saw when he came back last week everything just sort of slides into

Place when he’s there no Julius Randle right now but Andrew’s guy Josh Hart can slide in at the three you have him and OG on the wing they can the two of them between the two of them you can guard basically any player throw those guys than anybody you’ve got Dante D chenzel

Like we talked about before bombing away from three you got isah hartstein running around setting screens for people grabbing offensive rebounds handling the ball at the top of the at the elbows um and you’ve got Jaylen Brunson who has been absolutely fantastic and the one thing that you didn’t mention in all those

Stats about Jaylen is if you go on court off court with him when he’s on the court the Knicks have an offensive rating of 120 when he’s off the court his offense the team’s offensive rating is 104 because he he’s the only guy who has the ball when they’re on the court I

Mean it’s well but he’s but he’s also shooting six or seven threes a game shooting 40% sent from three and has been absolutely unbelievable yeah you know he had over 40 again in that Sacramento game had this unbelievable play at the top of the key I haven’t

Really seen something like it where he had Keon Ellis on him I believe top of the key and pointed over here to an act like to seemingly to an action and Keon Ellis looked and he just blew by him like he wasn’t even there and but ke was

Like wait what and by the time he turned around Jaylen was already five feet past him and well J Jaylen can take advantage of people underestimating him it’s you know he0 back toback 40o games coming into well he’s he’s just a guy when obviously when you watch him like look

He was a second round pick for a reason the Mavericks could have as di McMahon has talked about many times could assign him to an even better deal than the one he’s on many times and didn’t he’s an easy guy to to underestimate because he’s not very quick he’s not very big

It’s all the stuff everybody’s always seen right but he his mind oper Ates at an incredibly high level and he’s able to manipulate Defenders and defenses and schemes in a way few other people are which is why he’s been so successful and why he’s the king of New York at the

Moment and again we’ll see what happens to Julius we’ll see what happens with Mitchell Robinson then get everybody healthy you know the Knicks have continually built this thing up and I hope we get to see him at full power here because it would be fun to

See them go into the playoffs with this whole crew and see what they’ve really got with still a bunch of draft picks and ammunition to go add to this team further in the future all right before we go Lopez listen to this stat ready for this I’m ready deat sabonis Nika

Yic Yan sat tenmo and Joel embiid join Josh Hart as the only players this season who average a double double plus five assists when they’re starters so Josh has made 23 starts this season he’s averaging 12 11 and five assists to get that kind of you know those guys average

More than than 12 points but still to average to average a double double plus five assists believe he’s had what four triple doubles his last 17 games Lopez your guy yeah and it’s as much as you he never had won his career before that by

The way right as much as you would like to see the team healthy I would like to see them not because I just want to see Josh play 45 minutes a night uh in the playoffs not get a break and keep up averaging I think it’s in this in this

Stretch without Julius Randle I he had two starts early it was like 13 11 rebounds five and a half assists he had already been one of the better rebounding guards in the league for a few years actually going back to his his his time in New Orleans but yeah I just

Want to see him have to play 48 minutes A Night Like just just let him just just let the Nova boys go out there and then see whatever else you could do behind that well they probably won’t be able to score enough without Julius but you watch them play with this alignment and

It does bring up the same questions that have really been floating around this team for a couple of years now which is ultimately for as good a player as Julius Randle is if he is one of your core pieces in the playoffs what is your real ceiling and they just look like a

Much different team with Josh out there in that spot because Josh is not the same kind of player he’s obviously not going to score the same way but they’re like we like I talked about before much more defensively versatile got a lot more switchability that way they’re not

Going to have Julius dominating the ball in the same manner um it it’s the Knicks have some interesting questions to answer ahead and you know Julius isn’t playing Josh will be playing 45 in the playoffs I can promise you right and Josh is absolutely type of player that

Coaches love Yeah well particularly the coach of the Knicks right but coaches love them I mean I’ve talked about the way the Team USA coaches fell in love with them last summer the Team USA coaches played him too much and the thing about it is is it’s

Easy to fall in love with a guy who works that hard in the NBA at the highest level you’ve got to have the most talented players out there so this is nothing against him but like that is the thing like Julius Randle does stuff that Josh Hart can’t with the

Ball which is you know really important so y I do think there’s a lot of diminishing returns there with Josh but he’s obviously been great and I don’t think he should be playing 45 minutes but I can see tibs absolutely doing it if he has to just do it do it tibs so

You know you’re not gonna have to tell him twice there was a pretty funny there was a pretty funny one moment along of of that from the other day when they played the Sixers the second time they won they lost the first game they won the second game by 35 and Josh had

Played over 40 minutes I think five or six games in a row I think he did nine games in a row at one point I couldn’t remember the exact number the point the point was he came out of this game they were up 35 he came out with four minutes

To go and he finished with 39 minutes played was just under 40 and somebody after the game said hey Tom what was Josh Sandy on the bench you know he has always has something to say to me so it just goes in one ear and out the other

And then tiffs did his laugh it was a it was a good good good look into their uh their relationship I think all right Lopez you got to get back on the road back to San Antonio v I’m pretty sure I’m getting kicked out of the Moody center right now there there are

Multiple people who have tried to come in this room and kick me out so overstay my welcome understood thank you Mr Lopez thank you Mr bontemps thank you to Jackson our producer thank you for watching and listening to the hoop Collective we’ll talk to you later this week

Building Around Victor Wembanyama + The Knicks & Pelicans Looking Strong 😤 | The Hoop Collective
Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Andrew Lopez to talk the challenges building around Victor Wembanyama with how good he is so early on, how Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans are flying under the radar of late, the New York Knicks’ wild record with OG Anunoby Jr. and more.

0:00 Intro
0:41 What Does The Spurs’ Future Look Like?
16:58 The Challenge Of Building Around Wemby
41:35 Zion & The Pelicans Flying Under The Radar
54:40 Knicks Wild Record With OG
1:09:58 Thanks For Watching!
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