 Run it up, do run it back, yeah. Run it up, do run it back, run it back, run it up, run it back. Happy Halloween, we don't have any spirit. We have no costume because you know why we were busy all night trying to get the up-to-date latest information on what was going on with the NBA and it just so happens there was a lot going on. Welcome to run it back. Shayla Parsons on my left, Lou Williams on the end there and stadium insider Shyam Sharadi is coming to us live from his home in different parts. Shyam, I don't know if you've been to sleep. That was the weirdest time that I think I've seen such a huge chunk of breaking news but it finally happened. James Harden got his way. He's headed out here to the West Coast, to the Clippers, Nicholas Batum, Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, draft picks, one pick swap. That's all heading to the Sixers and PJ Tucker. And as I said, James Harden heading out here. Look, I am fascinated with not just how this went down when it started to really trickle but the timing of it all. Take us through your night. Yeah, so this really started to develop over the course of Monday. This is the Sixers off day that they had. They have three days before their game on Thursday. And so that included the off day on Monday. That included Tuesday, Wednesday, which was supposed to be practice days. And so for the Sixers, they got to work. And I think there was for sure level of pressure from James Harden. We saw he reappeared around the organization. He was there. But that never was going to work. And I think there was a level of pressure that he was putting on the organization. There was a level of pressure that Daryl Morey was getting as well throughout the organization from ownership. And once that became apparent, the Clippers stepped in and we've talked about it. They've offered a first round pick. They've offered a pick swap. Now they come in with two more second round picks. They come with another first round pick that they got from Oklahoma City. So you package all that together and that's the deal that you get. And so if you're the Sixers, now you have two firsts. And the way that they're looking at this is they can use their one first round pick. They get two firsts. So you have three first round picks. You can use it in trade at any point this season, going into the off season to go get a star because they want to go pair another star with Joellen Bied with Tyrese Maxi. But I think Tyrese Maxi, the star he had, the Sixers, the star that they got off to, that gave them the confidence that they can go and pull this deal off now and essentially cut their losses with this James Harden situation. And if you're the Clippers, now you get James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, you have Russell Westbrook, you keep Terrence Mann, you have Norman Powell. This is a team that is going all in to try to win a championship this season. They have not extended Paul George or Kawhi Leonard. This is their window this year to keep this group together. The first 40 minutes of this show are going to have to be about this. So what do we make of this? Do we like this? That's the easiest question. Do we like the move? As it stands right now, I don't like it for Philly now. If you touch on what Shyam just said, if they can package these picks, if you can package and get a Zac Levin, a DeMar DeRozan, a Siakam, if you can eventually go down the road and you can stay afloat until Darryl Morris somehow pulls that off, then yes, I like it. And like Shyam said again, I think the hot start from Tyrese Maxi, the progress he's shown this offseason and how it's transitioned in the first couple of games, that gave them the confidence that they can do this. And he can be that number two guy right now until they kind of turn these picks and these players into something bigger and something better to now have one of these trios that can compete with these other ones. But right now, and on the flip side with the Clippers, it's win now, right? It's who knows? Are they gonna fit? Are they gonna mesh? I'll tell you this, James Harden is at the point of his career where all he needs is a championship. And I just don't know if this gives him a better championship odds than just staying in Philly with Maxi, with Joellen B. But you know what? But he just didn't wanna be there. It had to get done. So I think it's not like the Ben Simmons thing. It's not gonna linger all season. It's done. So I think that is the positive thing for both sides. I agree. As this deal stands, I don't like it for either side. I thought the Sixers started the season off pretty well. I thought the Clippers started off pretty well. I thought the chemistry was being built. A lot of guys that weren't sure about their positions on those teams were finding their grooves. Russell Westbrook was finding their groove. Terrence Mann, so much stock put into him. Now we don't know what happens. Does he go to the bench? Does those four guys start with Zubat? And so it's a lot of uncertainty with this deal being done. So I don't know. It feels like we just don't have an opinion yet because we have no idea what to expect. It's weird because it was one of those things, Sean, where we've been talking about it since July. Like we've known that that's where he wants to go. He wants to be a Clipper. We knew Terrence Mann was the sticking point. That they didn't want to budge on that. For this to happen at two o'clock in the morning, your time is crazy to me. Thank goodness for bathroom wakeups because that's the only way we would have found out about this. That's on the Clippers side of things. Like Lou said, everyone seems to be starting out fine. I know we're only three games in, but for them to make this move, is it, does it have anything to do with the new building? Is there any possibility that James Harden... It has everything to do with that new building. Everything? Star power. Yeah. You open up a $2 billion arena. Oh dang. You need fans in that building and you need guys that are gonna bring them in there. Lot of star power, lot of names on paper. If they can translate that into a lot of wins, a great basketball team, I think it's a great start for that arena. And here's the thing, that big three outside of Russ, they have player options. So it does give them the flexibility. And at least like Lou just said, it gives the city, it gives the team, this new building, it's a project, but now they have buzz, they have hope. They have a bunch of talent. And like you said, Michelle, they didn't even have to move the guy, Terrence Mann, that apparently was the reason that they were hitting a snag. They kept Norman Powell, they kept Bones Highland. So they still have these guys too that can come off the bench. Lou brings up a great point. James Harden's not coming off the bench. At all. So maybe it's Russ is the guy outside, maybe it's Terrence Mann, but it'll be interesting to see how that dynamic works and what the rotations are gonna be because they're loaded with scoring wings. And not to make too many predictions, but how that team, yeah, give it to us. How that team is built. They're gonna play a lot of small ball, they're guard heavy, a lot of guys that can play from one through four, switch a lot on a defensive end. And so I'm curious to see what they get from having some guys underneath that rim with the exception of Zubac and Mason Plumley. Shoms, was there ever a point where you thought or you were hearing that the Clippers were out or has this just really been behind the scenes the goal the entire time? It just took a little bit longer than maybe people expected. There's always a game of chicken negotiations. I think there's always a point where either side feels like, oh, this is the most we're gonna do. But the Clippers, they've been going back and forth with the Sixers since late June, early July. This is something that's been on their radar. This is something that they've been working on. They never really gave up pursuit. Even when Malcolm Brogdon has been on the table multiple times for them, they always kept their eye on James Harden. They did go after Drew Holiday. He ends up in Boston. But once that comes off the board, they've been every single day. It's how can we get James Harden in? They feel like if we have James Harden with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, we have a legitimate chance to win the championship. Without getting James Harden, they did not feel they were there. And so you go and get James Harden. And yeah, he's going in there to start. And so you have those three guys to start. We'll see what happens with Russell Westbrook. Do you play them together? It didn't go as well as Houston thought it would come playoff time. So do they bring Russ off the bench? What do they do with Russ? I think it's definitely going to be a question. Terence, man, you've got to believe is going to start once he's fully healthy from his ankle sprain. So there are some questions, but this is a Clippers team that's going all in to try to win a championship this season. They want to keep those three guys together. They want to sign them all the long-term extensions. That's the plan. Now we'll see how this season goes and how those three guys gel. All Southern California guys. Fourth time that Harden's been trading in his career, and that's a lot. He's tied for the most by former MVPs in history. That's the thing, right? I mean, Russ is waking up this morning like, now what happened? Like, how does he fit with this group of dudes? Well, if you remember last year, he was in these six men of the year talks, like, I think he's got to go back to that. I don't see a way where he starts. I think he's got to be that, I know, but he's got to be that Chris Paul in the Warriors. But he was so happy then. By him, when he was the guy that we saw that smile on his face again, bro. We saw him talking trash again, running in the crowd, being engaged in. It was like, it was a blast from the, not to say the past, you know, but it was. It was a blast from the past, and he looked good. So why is he the odd man out from the forego? Why is he being funny? The timing is tough, right? Because we were just talking about it this week, how he does look happy. Right. He does look confident, and he's playing. I just don't see a world with James Harden and all these demands. By the way, don't ever think he's not a player's league either. This guy wanted to go to the Clippers, and eventually he got traded to the Clippers. He's not doing that to come off the bench. Neither is Kauai Leonard, and neither is Paul George. But I don't think Russell Westbrook re-signs with the Clippers to come off the bench either. I think they're willing to risk that and lose him to have this big three, this star card going in. I think you lose them. I'm with you, but I think you lose them mentally, bro, by putting him back on the bench and asking him to do that role because James Harden comes in. And, you know, off-season, the first three games that they've played is, yeah, Russ is back, Russ is back, Russ looks healthy, Russ is ready, and James come in and is like, yeah, about that. I know it's only three games, but is there a world in which James comes in, and I'm sure he gets there at some point today, and you say, look, we got you here. Took a minute. We want to try this out because right now everybody's gelling, and we like what we see. Try what happened. We need you to come off the bench for a sheet of cake. Hell no. God, what? This is so... No way. And by the way, what if there's bombs right away? And now you don't know what you've got to have. It might, it might. This could be a classic, they swung for the fence, they went and got the headlines, they got the names, and this could absolutely backfire. There's no doubt about it. But on the flip side, these guys, if they do happen to gel and they do stay healthy, I don't want to play this team in the playoffs because they still can defend, they still have a good bench, they still have good bigs. And if these guys happen to find a rotation where they're all happy, they're all getting theirs, I can see this really, really working too. So it's too early to tell now, I can't wait to watch it. I know. But my God, I don't think the drama is necessarily done because someone's coming off the bench, someone's going to be unhappy, someone's touches are going to get less and less, and not everybody's going to be happy. There's one way this works. If there's a total buy-in, and everybody's fully committed to winning a championship opposed to being former MVP's or whatever accolades that you have, everybody has to completely buy-in. And you would think that's all these guys are missing outside of Kauai, right? Right. But it's a lot of alpha dogs in that yard, man. So many. Okay, you mentioned it, the players league thing. He got his way. I mean, at the end of the day, no matter how he did it with the signs and the liar and the this and the that, I guess what I'm asking is, I think people are good with guys having a say in their destiny and where they end up. Do you like the way this particular one played out though? No, I don't think so. I think you have a commitment. You have a, you're assigned to a contract. You should fulfill that contract. You should play. And as far as the relationship with James and Daryl Morey, obviously that got ugly, but he really put Daryl Morey in a box here. He went from having a really good team and a contending team to basically, you know, I know there was some lies, there was some, you know, things said between the two, but this is a tough situation for Daryl Morey because now how long was he gonna let this linger and how long was he gonna wait? And then now that he made the trade, does it work? Is Joel and Bede happy? I assume he's had multiple conversations with Joel and Bede because the big winner of this trade couldn't be the New York Knicks because they could be the one that's just sitting there and just reap all the benefits. Once this implodes even more in Philly, Joel's next. And so I hope it works out for him. I hope, I love Joel. I hope it works out for Daryl Morey in this situation. I think it's gonna be, you know, a cleaner slate. There's no more drama. But again, now it's like, all right, moving on to the big fella. Is he happy? That's sad. We're three games in. And CP, have we seen any success come out of any of these four straights? No. We hadn't seen any success come out of these four straights. And so I would just like to see some order in the court. As a former player, I like the fact that you have so much leverage in the game right now, but it's just gotta start making sense. It's gonna be fun. Another fun thing to watch as the season unfolds. Saying goodbye to Shoms right now, we'll see, he's gonna have a long, long day. Shoms, sir, I know you have a lot going ahead. I'll talk to you in a little bit. Coming up, Vince Carter. What a day for Vince Carter to join the show. We can get his take on all of this plus the season so far when Run It Back returns. Legend. Run it back, yeah, yeah, run it back, run it back. Must be so surreal to have videos like that of yourself exist. Forever, Vince Carter. He's an eight-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, played for eight teams over 22 years, finally retired. Was wondering when that was gonna happen. Finally. Just went on forever. Vince Carter joining us today, super stoked. We have a gazillion questions for you, but we have to start with the obvious one. The breaking news overnight that James Harden is now a clipper. He got his way. What was your take? I woke up this morning to that, a couple of my friends texting. I was like, wait, what? And I agree with both of you guys, what you're saying, you know, it's no way Harden, you know, comes off the bench, but Russ has been playing great basketball and that's what you want. You don't, I mean, why rock the boat when you don't have to? And I thought the Clippers were playing great basketball. I mean, Russ is averaging 11.7 rebounds, seven assists. That's like, oh, Russ, he's in attack mode. He's figuring out when he can be in attack mode, when to kind of lay out and allow the other guys to do it. Everything is going well. So I'm interested to see who goes to the bench and do you want to start those four? You know, when you already talking about keeping guys as healthy as possible, one of those guys have to play the four. One of those guys have to guard the bigger guys, take a little of a beating, banging with the big guys. Like, I mean, yes, I get it, small ball exists and it's a big thing, but I'm trying to keep those guys happy and healthy. That's my concern this year for the Clippers. Man, we, maybe we do a petition, like a petition to say we want to let this play out. And if it starts to fail, okay, no one will advise on that. Fine, go ahead, Chandler. I tried. Well, wait, I don't know what question I'm on here, but so guys, Here, I'll do it for you. Yeah, come on over here. Oh, one of the, You're talking Wenbenyama. We got to talk Wenbenyama. Okay, yeah, obviously BC. First of all, I miss you. I love you. Good to see you, brother. But obviously one of the biggest stories this year is the rookie, Victor Wenbenyama. He's had some incredible highlights. What is your take on him so far? What do you think his ceiling in is how impressive has he been? Well, I'm going to go back and let you know, I've been watching the show and I agree with something that Lou said. You know, he said, you know, as a rookie, you're going to have bumps and downs and you're going to have bumps in a row, but this kid is going to be good, man. And you can see his confidence and like he cares already and that's something you said as well. You know, I've been watching, I've been listening, but... I think for him is just, he's in the perfect spot. He's going to learn the game and yes, he's going to be like, ooh, he's not doing this. His number's not going to look gaudy and great, but at the same time, he's going to be consistent. He's going to be consistent once he triggers this game up because the European game is a little different than the NBA game. And you know, one thing he said, he's like, oh, this is a little easier. And you know, some people took it as, you know, a slight, it's more physical overseas. Like, look at the lipids, it's just more physical there. So he has to adjust to that more than anything and then the speed and so on and so forth. But man, he can do everything. It's nothing he can't do. You know, his frame is small. He'll naturally get stronger with his build, but man, right now, he's good, man. I like him. And now prime Vince Carter, one-on-one against this kid. What's the outcome? Oh, I'm going at his chest now. Come on, man, you know that. We're going to see what happens. Because you know, at the end of the day, young Vince and, you know, maybe not old Vince, but I always felt you win something, you lose something. And I felt that I was going to come out on top more times than not. But like, you know, he, this is a different breed of seven footer. Like there was like the Matumbo seven footer. This is no slight, but you talk about seven to stiff, you know, slow feet. This kid's more athletic and can do everything. So like going after these guys, trying to duck on them is a little different. VC, he played 22 seasons. LeBron James is going in his, is in his 21st season. 29 points on Sunday and 39 minutes played another 19 points last night. More than anybody, I feel like you can appreciate things that he's accomplishing right now. How impressive is that to you? It's extremely impressive. I think he's going to surpass 22 seasons easily. First and foremost, I mean, we hear the rumors that now, not only do you want to play with one of his sons, he wants to play with Bryce as well. So you would have played both. So, you know, you got to go to 23, maybe 24 seasons, which, you know, he can do. Now for that to happen, in my opinion, and we're kind of getting more into basketball, it all boils down to Anthony Davis and what he brings to the table because, you know, you have LeBron James there, you can break glass in case of emergency to play big minutes for him. But how can you sustain his minutes to keep him playing this type of basketball? Like, they were the first game, I think he played only 29 minutes, but like, that's where he should live until the playoffs. I think he's controlling that, though. I think he's saying, look, I want to kind of weather this storm right now and get us off to a great start in the season. And so we'll play this game by game and I'll play the minutes that I think I should in order for us to try to rack up some wins early in this season. But Lou, you guys, maybe you know that. Sometimes organizations and coaches have to save us from ourselves because the most important, at the beginning of the season is obviously we're fresh and we're ready to go. You know, you're seeing, you know, young guys, you're seeing the old guys dunk, you're seeing CP, dunking early, you know, you see it all that. And then you kind of wear down throughout the course of the season because it's a grind. So I just feel like, yes, at some point you just want to, you know, keep him managing, like you said, whenever you need him for bigger minutes, bigger games to go ahead and do it, whatever. But I feel like Anthony Davis, this is his time in my opinion. This is his time to be the alpha dog. This is my team. We have LeBron James. And when we need it, we're going to use you. But let me, let me be that guy until further notice. Absolutely. Let me ask you this. If you played 39 minutes tonight, how many points are you scoring? Tonight? Tonight? And then you walk tomorrow. And then you walk tomorrow. I mean, I don't know about how many drives. I mean, I'll still shoot. I can still shoot it. You know what I'm saying? We play zone and no Taylor Parsons. Actually, I am getting on the board. Absolutely. I am getting on the board. Taylor Parsons, you are correct. I don't know if I'll be able to walk tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day. No one's worried about that. Yeah, we'll work about tomorrow. We'll work about tomorrow. I'm glad we're going from one extreme. We've got LeBron who clearly wants to play the minutes at the beginning of the season. We're not, you know, a week into this thing. And we've already seen some relatively big names resting, general soreness, whatever you want to call it. It's really a disservice, I think, to the players as well. But is it too much? I mean, we're three games in for most teams. Is this too early? I think it's too early. I mean, why not? Yep, you want to see what you have. And the one thing, guys, that frustrates me as a player when I watch and then you get to the end of the season is that, okay, you sit the guys and you play them but you don't utilize your bench and you don't give them the opportunity all the time. But I'm like, you're at the beginning of the season. You're trying to establish yourself and then you have to fight like hell in the end of the season to get in the position you want. And then you shorten your bench, I get that. But when you get no situations, let's use the clippers. When some of your guys go down and then you're coached and you look down the bench and you're afraid to use the guys that you have. You have to utilize these guys. So this is opportunity for other guys as well. I just don't like managing guys three games into the season. I just don't like it. What was your philosophy or how often do you remember sitting with general soreness? Well, you remember me, I came to the league. I mean, just try to remember. Right, no, no, no. You played it before and didn't hurt us for God's sake. And that's the thing, back in that time that wasn't really a thing. And even in my older years in CP, you know, and like when we played together, I wasn't trying to say, I didn't care about things. Like, you know what to do. You know, if you're gonna play these minutes, you have the things that you need to do to get ready for the next game or whatever. So, you know, we were sitting on tables together, icing, cold tub, hot tubs, you know, the boot, everything we needed. But I just, you know, I just didn't believe in it, but that's what I came from. I was trying to play and I'll recover later. I'll do what I need to do. Yeah. Vince, another off-season trade was Dame Lila going to the Milwaukee Bucks. With that move being made, do you feel like the Bucks are the favorite coming out of the East? I mean, I think naturally the Bucks are the favorite. I was interested in watching the game last night to see what they look like with Middleton on the floor as well. And man, the paint was wide open and you said something that I agreed when I heard you say, it's like Dame struggled, but for one, his pride, he's gonna have a bounce back game. And then I hear Middleton's gonna be back out playing. He had 25 last night. He was short of the 30, I said, but he had 25. He had 25. And that's what I said. I was like, you know, when Middleton gets back, the lane is open. You have a decision to make. And, you know, you gotta shrink the floor, all that things you say, but guess who's on the help side, on the weak side? Exactly. Brooke Lopez, Middleton, or Yannis Slison, you know? So, they're gonna be tough out. And they're already a proven champion. They're already a proven champion. Yes. And you add Dame Lila to that. I need that. BC, earlier this week, I said that I personally not trying to hate, I think the days of the Ben Simmons All-Star, you know, selection, I think that ship has sailed. You're calling Nets games this year. You've seen him more than I have. What's your take on him and how, how does he look so far? CP, you're right. 2010, I heard you say it, 2010 is out the door, but a confident Ben Simmons believing in himself, pain-free is what they need. Okay, I mean, you saw him in high school. I saw him in high school. He was in, even in college. He was aggressive. Okay, maybe that ship can sail, but you just want to kind of progressively get back to something. The one thing I saw and I liked about him last night is he's getting the ball. He's pushing the pace, getting into the paint, creating shots for their shooters and scores. You know, more than anything, that's what you want. Or do you have like 11, 10 and eight or something? You almost had a triple double. You know, if he's on triple double watch, that's the Ben Simmons, you know, that's the best version of himself to date. You know, so I think if he continues to play, that is showing he's confident and he believes in himself in his game. Yeah, yeah, I agree. And now moving on to Luca, he's obviously, he's been incredible. I mean, it's been insane what he's been doing. Kairi, not so much struggling, averaging under 20 points per game. Do you think it's just put that on a slow start? Do you think these guys are gonna coexist throughout the season? I put it on a slow start. I think at any point, Kairi can kind of turn it up. I like the kid lively. I think he's gonna open up things for them. A live threat, something you said. And I agree with you. I just think for Luca, he's gonna always get his points. You know, what he has to kind of make his team and his guys on the floor, whoever's out there better, create opportunities early to get those guys going because the game is easy for him. You know, fourth quarter will be his oyster if he chooses and if he can get guys going early or guys are hitting shots and becoming a threat. Because I think sometimes he just, he pounds the ball a little too much and not getting guys involved early. And then later on in the second half, late in the fourth quarter, you can do whatever you want and be, you know, the all superstar MVP candidate that he is. And Kenya Martin said earlier that Kairi Irving was the best player on this Dallas Mavericks team. Raro. What are your thoughts on that? Deep breath. Because I fully disagree. Before you answer, I fully disagree. Full disclosure. Luca's the best player. I think Kairi Irving is one of the best finishers and gifted scores in the game. And I think they can compliment each other if, you know, and I'm going to put this on Luca, if Luca allows it to happen, meaning playing off the ball sometime. Like the world is great playing off the ball because one, you get a live dribble and two, like you can do whatever you want. He could do anything he wants. So yeah, I think Luca is that guy's first performer. I feel like we failed Halloween here today. This is the first time in my television career that I had done no costume. That's on me. You're not wearing a costume. There will be a lot of... They're scary enough. There you go. I mean, there are going to be a lot of dudes in costumes tonight. Did you ever? I just, I'm having a hard time picturing this with Vince Carter. I don't think I did. Like, not where to... Not that I recall. I mean, I'm sure you could go back. No, I don't think so. I don't know if there was footage back then. Wow, that's very rude and... There was footage. It's this, can you actually pull the film? I put it together. Literally. The VHS tapes. You're trying to look like this. I kind of love that. All right, we got to get to the backstory. You guys have mentioned it. You and Chandler were teammates in Memphis. Please share what you can. Any story about Chandler Parsons. Tread lightly. Tread lightly. Tread lightly. You said that I can't. You said that I can't. I got it. See, it's a small window. Yeah. How long do I have here? I'll be right. You know, I mean... Oh, dear. Chandler, what should I say, bro? You know what? Put the fifth on this. I'll tell you this, I was a huge Vince Carter fan. Obviously growing up in Orlando, I loved him. And so I asked him to sign a jersey for me at the end of our time. And he signs a jersey and he writes on it, like, too, Chandler, you're one of a kind. And I still to this day don't know if it was offensive, if it was a compliment. How many, okay, watch this. How many on that set agree with that? One of a kind. Yeah, he's the only living powerball winner I've ever known who didn't actually win the real powerball. He's living his best life every single day. The funny thing about that, guys, you know, I watched Chandler play in high school. You can collect this. I used to go watch you. I used to sneak into the gym and watch you guys play. I used to hear about you guys, like, my guy's tearing up Orlando like this. Oh, I'm going to see this in that day we're doing. Yeah. I used to catch the train and go watch VC play. Really? Actually, I was actually a kid in the crowd during the- Well, it's kind of the office. Mutombo dunk. Yeah, when you guys were playing at- Oh, at Georgia Tech. When you guys were at Georgia Tech. I used to take the Marta. My mom would drop me off at the Marta. I would take the train down to Georgia Tech, watch the game, and take the train back and she would pick me up from the station that was halfway to my house. And I was actually at that game. Well, now I feel bad because you guys didn't play together. But Vince, you did something to Lou that we have video. So now I feel bad. No. Oh. We're not too bad. We're not too bad. I thought he was getting bodied when it said the video. Oh my God, you're so young. Well, I worked with the Hawks while Lou was there and had great conversations because he was now the vet. And anytime that I get a chance to talk to the older guy of the team, with the young guys, we've had some good conversations. So yeah, I got a chance to watch Lou do his thing. Appreciate it. They could have went to bed. I know, what's that about? They could have went to bed. But I'm honored to be a part of a Vince Carter dunk montage. Unfortunately, his montage is so good that was probably not gonna make it. That's not going to make it. And I go back a long time with Beetle as well, man. I know. We don't have any. Well, you did have me win the media slam dunk contest when I was with the Nets. Yes. There you go. Can we beat Chris Broussard? I'm just saying, just throw that out there. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's an honor, maybe. I don't know. Vince, we'll be talking to you again during the season. Appreciate it. It was a big day to me. I love that you came on and we'll talk soon. All right, good. See you soon, guys. All right, thanks, man. I have a good CP story. Yeah, he's got it. He's got to go think about it. Tweet it. Coming up, the latest edition of You Buying That, including a surprise nominee for best duo in the league when we come back. Welcome back. There were games last night, I believe, Warriors defeating the Pelicans, 131-02. Steph Curry, 42.7 of 13 from three. Look, what can I say here? Steph Curry having 42 last night and doing what he's doing, he's starting the season like he is. Is there any shock whatsoever in either one of you? Not for me. It's really magical just to watch the way he plays at the clip, at the range that he shoots from. And this, honestly, when you look at their roster, for them to be really good, they're going to have to defend. They're going to have to stay healthy. They're going to have to continue to have progress in these young guys. But they're going to need Steph Curry, not to say he's going to average 42 points, but they're going to need explosive games like this for them to continue to be in the hunt and to be a real contender. And I have no reason why not to believe that he's going to continue to do this. He's healthy. He can still get a shot off anywhere. His conditioning and his cardio still looks top of his game. So, I mean, it really is. He's probably my favorite player I've ever watched, played basketball. I could do everything. I'll double down on that. Fair enough. I'll double down on that. I like Steph with a scoring title this year. Yeah, why not? Yeah, I think he's playing. He looks just, he looks like himself. You know, these big games and he's shooting it. He's having fun. He's tying the crowd. He's into the games. I think we're going to see a rare year from Steph. It's kind of interesting too because he's got a different dynamic behind him now. In 23 minutes, Chris Paul was plus 17, coming off the bench. How much more leeway freedom space does that give Steph Curry to when he's out there to do what he's doing? Yeah, CP is going to anchor that second group. You know, he's going to give them that veteran leadership that's going to be needed. I think one of the things that's going to be an adjustment for him, he doesn't have that three, four minute window where he can warm up and get into the game. So I think so coming off that bench, he's going to be ready to go immediately. And that gives him an opportunity to kind of get a groove and see what's needed on the floor, whether he needs to be aggressive offensively or whether he needs to be a facilitator, whether they need to pick the pace up. Him being the type of player that he is, he gives him that balance coming off the bench. And also what a treat for guys like Kaminga and Moody and these guys to have Chris Paul as your point guard on that second string who's still capable of playing at an elite level, who can still contribute. I think it's a perfect fit. And that was the only, the success Chris Paul has had early off the bench is why I think Russell Westbrook can kind of go back to that. I know we're getting off topic here, but I feel like maybe he can too, but I feel like seeing Chris Paul do it here, if Chris Paul can do it, Westbrook can do it too. But I'm happy to see Chris Paul healthy and kind of carrying that second string on this team because they're going to need that as well. You know what? Don't go back. Wait, are you going to change something? I'm not going to go back. Well, what I would say is if CP had Kawhi, PG and James Hart, I don't think he's coming off the bench. I think he fights like hell to be in that starting line. You're right, right. It's a sexy starting lineup to be a part of if you can. Lou, talk to me about coming off the bench as being a starter, then coming off the bench. It was such a big deal in the off season because Chris Paul, you know, they kept saying we don't know who was starting. We knew who was starting. Is it a weird adjustment? Is it a quick adjustment? What does it take? I think for him, it's a weird adjustment. For me, it was something that was presented to me early on in my career. And so I just wanted to be on the floor. I wanted to play and I wanted to earn my minutes. He's a proven all-star, a perennial all-star, had so much success in his career. So this is going to be an adjustment for him, but so far, so good. I think he's adjusted well to it. And I think the main thing about coming off the bench when you're a Chris Paul caliber guy is just being comfortable with it and embracing it. This Pelican squad last year was, they were fun to watch at the beginning. We got a nice taste of what they can be. They had Zion Williamson out there, then he got hurt. Do you see a place, a future where we can see them be the best version of themselves? I hope so, because like you said, last year I was super high on this team. We were talking about Willie Green, coach of the year, earlier on in the year. It's all dependent on Zion and him being healthy and him playing 30 plus minutes for 90% of the season. Is that ever going to happen? TBD. But when you look at their roster and they got size, they got CJ McComb that can score the ball. They got Brandon Ingram who can kind of do it all. And I love their bench. I love Herb Jones. I love Murphy. I love Alvarado. These guys can never get healthy and on the same page. I do think they're a threat. I don't think they're enough to contend this year, but they do have the roster and the talent to contend and be a tough matchup for people. Selfishly, we want that to happen. Heatbugs, we got a little playoff rematch last night. That's always fun early on in the season. The Bucks beat the heat, 122, 114. Yannish finished with 33 and 7. Dame had 25, so closely on 7 of 14 shooting. Tyler Hero with 35 in this one and Butler, 13, 4 and 4. I bring Butler up because before the game there was a moment when Dame and Jimmy Butler said hello. It was all smiles, very professional. But let's be honest, it feels like the one that got away. Is there a part of Jimmy Butler that just looks at him in that uniform and thinks what could have been? I mean, yeah, but it is what it is. And that's all in the past now and you have your team. And you can't be disrespectful to the Tyler heroes and your current teammates that were possibly gonna be in those trade talks. So I think definitely he's watching and he's making light of it, which I think is good, he's talking about. They need to get in trouble for tampering. And I think he's just kind of having a personality about it, but yeah, who wouldn't want to have Dame Lillard on your team? Do you think Dame Lillard went into this one with a little bit of a different mentality? No. Really? It's no emotional connection there. But it's the difference between, no offense Milwaukee, but living in Milwaukee and living in Miami, two very different vibes. I can see that, but I think basketball wise, only thing happened was they followed each other on Twitter. It didn't work out and they unfollowed each other and they kept moving. So I don't think Dame put too much into this game. I think he was more focused on just having a bounce back game, getting back on track opposed to playing in Miami Heat. The Tyler here a thing of it all. I do find it interesting that he had 35 points. As we all know, he was the part of this that kept fluctuating. He had Instagram posts. He might have. He might have. Now he took this personally. Well, you never want to hear your name and trade talks and then it not happened. You got to go back. It's like your girl wants to break up with you and you end up staying with her. And everyone knows, your family knows, your friends knows, they're all on your ear chirping and how dang, they would have traded you in a second if Portland would have gave. And I'll tell you this, Tyler here is an absolute bucket. He's a bona fide scorer. The Heat have something with him. And if he played like this against Milwaukee, I'm circling the game against Portland as well because whatever that over under is, I'm taking Tyler hero going over in that Portland game. But this is what he does. He's a scorer and he's going to continue to do that. And definitely should have a chip on his shoulder. You know, no matter the team, he's been brought up in those trade talks. On one side of the coin, it can be somewhat of a compliment that, you know, teams want to involve you. But on the other side, it's like, damn, y'all giving up on me, you know? So I think this is a breakout season for him. Last night was a great start of that. And just go bless everybody else. When people say it's a business, I fully get the business. But he's a human at the end of the day. And he's definitely annoyed. He's definitely a little butt hurt. And he's like, damn, I was drafted by these guys. I live here. I've had my kids here. Can I say one thing though? As a mere mortal, a civilian, if you will, it is hard for me to muster too much when the post is from a private plane and you're looking out the window like, what's going to happen to me? It could be worse, I suppose. I'm like, dude, you got to do that on a Southwest flight. And then we're like, oh, that's difficult. Oh, that's too much. Yanis, pregame, he had an outfit on. It's different. And how are we feeling? Not a lot of effort. No, you got to do the actual, I mean, I know. This is the bare minimum. He's wearing the jumpsuit from the team that was given to him with the gloves and a mask. You know he likes his free stuff. He does like his free stuff. His mask doesn't fit. I know, his mask doesn't fit. It's his son's mask that he grabbed out of the car. It was in the back seat of the car. No doubt. But he doubled down after the game. His whole mouth is out. Which is weird, he did it after the game as well. Now I want to see after the game because he had to talk with the mask on. Let me see. I'd like to see if they lost if he would have done this after the game. Okay, the hand. Oh, he did. Okay. Fair enough. What do we got? Where did he find the T-shirt? He didn't have the T-shirt walking in. No, he didn't. Somebody was like, that's not what he wanted. Don't be scared to come home. Don't be scared to come home. I don't think those are Hulk lines. That's more like Michael Myers-ish. I don't think he's seen the movie. Yeah. Bless his heart. He's got to watch the movie. No, and the paint is partly why we love the Hulk. I would like to see what everybody else shows up with tonight. Are we doing Magic Lakers? We're doing Magic Lakers. Let's do Magic Lakers. This was a close one. Closest of the evening, I think. 106, 103. L.A. wins Anthony Davis. We're going to always keep a watch on this. 26 and 19 LeBron. He had the 33 minutes through in 19 points. D'Angelo. All right, 12 in the fourth quarter of his 28 total points and Paolo Bencaro. Ooh, nine points, 4-14. They've been in Los Angeles for a few days. You can't put these young guys in L.A. for that long. It's a long time in L.A. Look, A.D., there was that one crazy game. With zero points, what was it? The second half. But then things are looking up for A.D. Do we criticize him too much? Is that possible? Yes and no, but again, there's responsibility with being the franchise player and he's going to continue to get criticized when things again like last night happened. The magic should have and could have won this game and at no point in that fourth quarter, the last four or five minutes, did Anthony Davis demand the ball? Did they get him a touch? Did they give him the ball, let him go rock and get a buck or get to the free-thline? It didn't happen again. Thank goodness for them that D'Angelo Russell was hitting big shots, but this is the guy that you want to be your closer. You've given him the keys. LeBron's even kind of taken the back seat and say this is his team. The best players show up at the end of the game and he just hasn't done that for whatever reason. Look, look at his numbers. He's having a great year. Yeah. He's having all NBA stats and they won this game, but they barely won this game to a young Orlando Magic team and he didn't take over again later in the game and I think that's why people would get frustrated. Is he having a bad year? No, he's having an awesome year, but when you have this kind of talent and this much experience, guys want to see you take over. Guys want to see you close the game for your team and he hasn't done that yet. Talk to me about D'Angelo Russell. It's kind of nice to say his name followed by 28 points. How big a key is he for this team to keep going? He's going to be major. I've played with D'Lo and he can be hot, he can be cold. I think he's the type of player he likes to take chances. You know, he likes to play a little flashy, likes to shoot tough shots and give himself the opportunity to score the basketball. If he can be consistent and kind of level those things out as his career progresses. Like I'm looking at these highlights now. He's not forcing anything. He's playing on balance. He's getting in the lanes. He just got to be solid for this basketball team and I think that'll do a lot for the Lakers coming down the stretch. That was a fun shot right there. On the other side of things, the magic. You know, they started out the season and won the first two games of the year. Maybe they heard Pat Beverly, maybe they didn't, I don't know, but your expectations for them are what? I think anything close to the play-in and the post-season is a huge win for this team. And watching them last night, shout out Jamal Moseley because he's got these dudes playing hard. He's got these guys defended. When I'm watching them play, they fly around. They look like a college AAU team that is just playing harder and they have to do that at this stage of their career. They're young. They have some great pieces going forward. I love the Wagner kid. I love Palo. They have pieces. They have good guards. They have solid depth and they have something here. Obviously, there's still a ways away, but I wouldn't be surprised if the magic snuck in that 9-10 play-in and had an opportunity to get in there. It's not this. It's not. You don't think so? That's, wait, you don't look impressed. It's a sneak in and 9-10. Sneak in? I'm just saying, that's a, I would say that is a huge success if the Orlando Magic can somehow get in that play-in. I'm not optimistic about the Orlando Magic. At all. I'm just, listen, they don't have any wiggle room for injuries. They don't have any wiggle room for bad stretchers during the season. Still super young. A lot of talent and a great coach in Jamal, but I don't see it. I'm looking. I think they're better than the Raptors. Oh, here we go. The Wizards. The Hornets. Really? The Nets. I like the Wizards. Yeah, the Wizards? Stop. I do. You don't like the Wizards. All right. I think they're right there. You know, looking at that and obviously the two-in-one, they could have been three-in-oh last night. I like Charlotte. And the good thing is, they are young. Like, I know they play again tonight, then they have their first nicks. The nicks will wake up at some point. Yeah, they're not better than the Nicks. They're not better than the Nicks. I think that's what I'm saying. So, you like them 9-10. Yeah. And they can sneak in and maybe beat them. I like the plan. It's just, it's too much. I don't like counting the play-in either as post-season. I don't like it. Didn't we decide we're gonna get rid of the plan and keep the format thing? Let's go back to old school. Because I hate it. If I'm a 7-seat and I've played consistently all year, I have to fight for my life at the end of the year against a 10-to-has-a-great-week. I don't like it. I do agree with that. It's gonna be the Orlando Magic that the 7-seat is gonna lose to. Are we writing all this down? Yes. Like, months from now, we need to look back on this. Mavs played the Grizzlies last night. They did win as well. They did not have Kairi Irving won this one by 15. Luca, Luca, 35-12 and 12. Good lord. Jerren Jackson Jr., 30-9. Desmond Bain had 30 as well. Luca with a 30-point triple-double and no Kairi. Where, what's the dynamic? With Kairi, without Kairi, tell me the difference between the teams when he's there and when he's not. I think he just frees people up a little bit more. Gives other guys more confidence when Kairi's out. You look at the box score last night. Derek Jones, 22. Tim Hardaway, 21. Grant Williams, 15. So you get a little bit more contributions from other people. But the idea that this is a better team without Kairi Irving is ludicrous. They're a much better team with Kairi Irving. They're just gonna have to continue to fill him in to get their rotations down. Those guys are two of the best scoring guards in the NBA. And if you can get them both cooking and getting those other guys involved and continue the growth of Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, this is a team to look out for. But they're a much better team with Kairi Irving. And Chandler can attest to this. When a star player isn't playing and you know he isn't playing, that just does something to role players. Like I get in, there's 15 or 20 shots that just opened up and I want at least half of them and I get an opportunity to really do my thing. And so I think that's what you're seeing. But once Kairi gets back in the fold, everything goes back into place. And there's zero pressure when he's out, right? Like I'm gunning, I'm scoring because he's coming back eventually. And I'm not coming out of the game. Exactly. But what about the defense? Like when you have, you said the two scorers, but what about defense-wise and trying to be taken seriously as a contender? I think that's why they plug in Derek Jones to the starting lineup. That's why they go and get a Grant Williams. They go and get these pieces that can help protect Kairi and Lucas. Cause they're obviously not the, they're not some of the best defenders that the league has. But that's why you gotta get these other guys that can kind of take the owners off them, let them not waste energy in their time on the defensive end. Obviously they're still gonna have to guard. And other teams they play are gonna make a point to go at these guys, get them in foul travel, exhaust them on both ends of the floor. But that's why you go and get, you know, Grant Williams and those versatile defenders. And even still, I don't think they jump off the page. It's a great defensive team. So if I'm them, I'm focused on trying to put 125, 130 on the board. Right. I'll score the other team to win cause they're not getting many stops. That will do it. Yeah. We're on the team. It's the game of the show. They get more points, they win. That's what I heard. I'm doing research. Take it a quick break right now. When we come back, we're getting Taki and Eragon up here. Prop party. Turns out we're good at this. When run it back, returns. Run it back, yeah, run it up. Run it back, yeah, yeah, run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back. Oh yes. Prop party time. This is where we use our expertise and knowledge. And we try to make you a little money, if you will. What do we do? We went five for six last night. Which is really good. Geniuses. Chandler, kick it off. So tonight, I know the magic played last night. We just talked about how they're young. They have fresh legs. Last night's probably the only night they didn't go out in LA, because they didn't have the game. I like the magic plus seven. Possibly even to win this game, the Clippers obviously shorthanded. God knows who's gonna play for them tonight. Great point. They just traded half their team. I love the magic plus seven. Donovan Mitchell, it says he's game time decision. He missed last game. He's a little banged up. 30 and a half points against a good defensive Knicks team. I like the under on that in his first game back. And that might get scratched if he doesn't play. No, if he doesn't play, then I should get the credit. That's not. He's definitely going under. I mean, he doesn't play as zero points. It's under 30 now. That is under 30 technically, Lou. A ridiculous rule. I'm gonna stay on that wave. I like Cavs money line. Home game, hopefully Donovan Mitchell was back on the back in the lineup versus the Knicks. So I like Cavs money line and do that one. And unless it's more, it's plenty of us. I like the Clippers plus 11 tonight against the magic. I think they get it done. Well, this is awkward. You and I are going head to head because I have the Knicks money line, especially no Garland. I feel like we have a side bet. This is for pride and ego. And I have Clippers. No, I don't have Clippers. I have Paulo Bencaro over 18 and a half. He had nine yesterday. I mean, I should just say I'm going on visions and vibes, but I also think having nine last night, I'm just hoping that you're right, that everyone's rested and. So unfortunately, we can't be perfect tonight because we have different. No, one of us has to at least miss one. This determines who knows more about basketball. That's the one. This is it. These games tonight determine everything. Do we feel like visions and vibes is a good enough way to go off this? You sort of look at it and feel it. Yeah, by the way, we haven't talked about the Cavs very much because they've been a little hanged up, but like it's a little playoff rematch tonight. Hopefully down in Mitchell plays, we can get a game. They both need it. They're both one and two. If Donnie the Mitchell doesn't play and the Knicks lose that game. Oh, chaos. So we start the show with that tomorrow. Yeah, probably. Well, there's also only three games here too. So I don't know what else we're talking about. We're talking about. We're talking about. Yeah, that's pretty much all we got. We have a good week in store for everyone. We will be back tomorrow. We have John Wall on the show on Thursday. Best of luck. Be safe out there with the Halloween festivities. See y'all tomorrow. Run it back, run it back. Run it up, run it back, yeah. Run it up, run it back, yeah, yeah. Run it up, run it back, run it back, run it up, run it back.