 He is back Kenny Beachham co-founder of enjoy basketball hosted the Kenny Beachham podcast with the background that I'm obsessed with and look I know it's Friday, but this is our first time getting to catch up with you Kenny And we've talked a lot about the all-star weekend It's something we're trying to put behind us But not until we get your your opinion quickly on it. Did you love it because we're just trying to find the one person that did No, no, I didn't Completely okay With getting rid of talking about it. It's been a week. We got basketball back, you know It wasn't a great time. I'm the honest with you. I enjoyed the Sabrina versus Steph Curry That was the highlight of the weekend for me But the game the dunk contest everything else wasn't very good cancel it for three years. Am I right? Is that not the best idea that we've had? I don't think I don't think you cancel it We but but the the Steph and Sabrina thing that gave us a that was a bright spot I would even enjoy seeing if Caitlyn Clark comes out I would like to see Caitlyn Clark in it brings Sabrina back a Kelsey Plum. Definitely more Yeah, put the women put the women inside it and let them all shoot put four guys four women best shooter wins So Kenny, what do you think we can add or change to make this a better weekend? What do you think about a two-on-two tournament who and who do you think would be the best duo who could put Together the best duo and then be it. Oh, so I I got a chance to talk to Tatum about like improving the All-Star weekend and the two-on-two tournament is very interesting The reason he didn't like that idea is because some teams are gonna have like two guards some teams I have two forwards like if you get Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum together to go against a Team like Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland like the size is gonna win all I like the idea of an individual 101 tournament three dribbles and let the best Hooper come out on top guards wings Sinners three champions, and I think the fans will love it. I like this idea. I just think it'll take all night Yeah, you got to put a dribble limit on it you got to give them a shot clock everything Okay, but we're gonna be in there I don't mind if it takes all night because think about how many hours we gave up this past weekend as consumers between if you Watch the celebrity game Skills game the the the teams all of that stuff we gave hours of our lives. Yeah, if it's a better product I don't mind it'd be more entertaining. Yeah, it'll be it'll be much more entertaining Well, Danny on the other hand somehow real good. I don't know if I don't know if we get entertained We're having a hard time for them playing hard in the All-Star game You think they don't play on two-on-two. I cancel it. We're back to canceling. Am I right? I just don't know that the dunk contest Dan Danny was shocked to that Jalen Brown made it to the finals and so was everyone else And I get that they sort of wanted the star to make it through but Mac McClung took it seriously as he did last year as well and he won as a result, but again Is it broken? It is Jacob Toppin had a crazy dunk that didn't get a great score. I think he should have been in the final I think he would have had some better dunks than Jalen Brown Look, look there are two players in the NBA that I think can help resolve the dunk contest. Oh It's the Thompson twins Those dudes have a crazy amount of bounce and when they ran over time elite They did a dunk contest and they tore the the ceiling off of the house We just need them to commit to it in year number two and I think that can save now against each other Or do they form a super team? Oh No, the last time we did dunk contest teams. It was awesome. Yeah, I remember it was John Wall So let's let them go against each other the sibling rivalry We'll have them take it to the next level. We got to get guys like Jaws Ion. Jaws has to do it They get those guys in the event for it to change. We need some guys to take their there's four there's four right there Yeah, if I'm his PR person, he's already signed up Jaws already signed up The problem is we just want to see more of the guys we want to see In all of these competitions, which is okay simple enough Kenny a lot of people have been uttering some things about the past of how certain people have ruined the dunk contest For example LeBron James people have been talking about LeBron and how he's ruined it. I know a couple people don't know it was it KG me Shaq Charles. I don't know who else has mentioned it. What do you think about that? What is what's your take on it? Do you think LeBron is a part of the reason for reason or was he the main reason why the dunk contest is the way it is No, I mean he definitely played a part right LeBron. It's like this the model NBA player, especially for a superstar I think a lot of players don't really like the idea of maybe getting embarrassed and Jalen Brown is very candid about it He'll do it again. Even though he got mean to that I Think some of the younger people like the Jamarrents design Williams is they're looking at Bronn and say well Bronn is one of the most ferocious dunkers we've ever really seen and he's never done it So maybe I shouldn't either so LeBron plays a little part of it, but I can't put all of the blame on LeBron I know where the blame is a wild take to put this on LeBron Where the stems from but it's a real stretch to go back that far. It's like a ten-year-old thing though Like yeah, this is this is 39 years old now What do you have way past gone? By the way, there is there is someone to blame for the dunk contest this year this shit Okay, speaking of do you think Jalen Brown should have made the finals? No, no, he said Does Jalen Brown think Jalen Brown should have made the finals? He's doing the the D Brown cover your face after the ball was already is crazy I don't know how we can get that to the finals. I just don't Tyson that is shorter than I am Oh my god, we're like let's sit him in the chair first before We saw taco fall get dunked over before but the five three guy got a sit in the chair So what do we think so obviously we have an issue with the judging But what do you think about the judging mad McClellan did a dunk that we we all never seen before Mr.. Hillman gave him a kind 46 and It was just all over the place They were docking points for guys missing the first dunk even though the second attempts were still amazing What what do we do about the judging do we do we have current players judge or robots? We get current players or go completely in on it being an entertainment thing get some celebrities get some Social media personalities. I'm available if they want me there you know I'm saying But no I think that we cry all day about seeing the same dunks There's no innovation and when a guy drops the ball mid Aaron catches it back and gets a 46 I don't know how we get better than that So I think that we should just go all in on entertainment go get some of the top celebrities in the world and say have fun I will go to my grave Telling you that I think that the bobble thing was viewed by some of the judges is either a mistake Or they didn't even see it like one or the other and that's why the score was low Because there's no way watching it on TV where you get to see it perfectly and then it didn't correlate with the numbers I'm telling you. I don't think they saw it right. It was so fast. Mr. Hillman. Mr. Hillman We were being respectful to mr. Hillman by the way We had Vince Carter on a couple days ago Kenny and he was telling us how back in the day the league came to him T Mack Kobe and LeBron and there was a million dollar pot that was being offered for them to all do the slam dunk contest They didn't obviously who would have won that I Gotta go with Vince Carter. Okay. He's the best dunker. I've ever seen in my lifetime Shout out cold because he he was in it before I got a lot of love for the players that actually do it But there's there's no beat of it's Carter. It's just not I don't I don't care What players you put it in history in a contest? I'm taking Vince Carter Kenny I was gonna change my pain about you if you said anything different Like you listen, I like your opinions. You're a really smart guy You understand basketball a lot if you say it anybody Right there. I'd have to look at you I Can you don't go anywhere? We're gonna take quick break. We come back. We got more with Kenny Beach. Um Don't worry. We'll get past the officer break. I promise We're running back returns We are back with Kenny Beach um and there's so many quotes by the way, okay I'm so glad you're on today because we it's it's been just a treasure chest of amazing words But LeBron recently said he's 50 50 on doing a retirement tour Or you know, does he go out like Kobe? Does he go out like Tim Duncan? Please is there a brah? Thank you. We know LeBron. We know he wants the farewell tour He deserves the farewell tour in my opinion When he does it because there's no 50 50. It's 100% farewell tour I will be here in the United Center when he's back in Chicago no matter the price I'm there because I need to see the last game at the UC But it is there's no 50 50. We notice now Do you think he retires or finishes up as a Laker or is there gonna be some sort of trickery at the end here? I'm still if I had to put my chips on it. I'm still saying he'll be a Laker I think that the pressure is gonna be on this offseason with the three first round picks They have to go get some more talent to really compete But from rich Paul from brah and he wants to end his career here and I think that's true What if they don't get brahny? I don't I don't know what's real in that I don't know I don't know Not NBA ready. No, there's a lot of people's stats weren't at the time when they were drafted But you can get drafted without NBA stats. Oh, yeah Payton Watson average like four points per game at UCLA and now he's a critical rotation of peace for the different nuggets right now So The best for rain, but you got the stats for you. I don't even know who you're talking about Brutal fine fair enough, but yeah, it's gonna be a weird PR circus and back to LeBron speaking of his retiring as a Laker This season the odds are that him the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors are not likely to make the playoffs this year Do you see both of them missing? What are your odds of seeing at least one of those teams making it or both of them missing? One of those teams will make it and I think the team will be the Warriors, okay? So you don't think the warriors interesting. I think that's the word both of them make it But if I had to bet one way or another I'm going Warriors, I think they have the easier schedule going forward I think they've looked the better look best over the the last month or so. I'm during my green coming back surprise surprise Matters a lot. I know you guys talked about Clay Thompson moving to the bench and how he struggled But they have a lot of people that are really stepping up right now Steph Curry's playing some of his best basketball of his career, which is crazy to say because he's a unanimous MVP I think they have a better chance But the Lakers still do have AD and LeBron too and we saw it in the n-season tournament one game elimination type situation It's hard to take that team out. Well, you know what since we're on the Warriors thing and you mentioned clay real quick Were you were you surprised by this move? Do you think they stick with it for the remaining 20-something games? I was definitely surprised just given a pedigree of clay Thompson I mean he's been around for a decade. He's been an all-star multiple multiple times I thought the timing was right though Brandon Pajemski has been playing his best basketball of his young career and Because we haven't seen clay Thompson do enough to warrant him getting back in the starting lineup I think we stick here and he's gonna have a few games whether it be during an End of the season run or something where he looks amazing I mean his first game coming off the bench was one of his best games of his season so far So I think it sticks and I don't know how he'll Feel about it cuz he's on the last year of his deal and he wants to get paid, but we'll see Writing that I don't think it's turning down the two-year extension situation right about now You've got to be regretting it a little bit, right? Maybe I don't I just don't think it sticks I think that he's gonna play well enough to get back in the starting lineup and I think he'll deserve Yeah, I hope so I think we're all rooting for that But yeah, so I'm not gonna torture you by reliving all of the dock rivers quotes that we got over the course of last weekend, but Given what they have looked like and the way that the transition occurred with the coaching and all of that Does it feel like he's maybe doing a little too much? Yeah, but I'm not in a position to have a real opinion about this right when JJ goes on and he talks about it or Danny or Lou when you guys talk about it I respect that opinion because you guys have been there you guys have played on the dock, right? Both you guys have played on the dock before correct? Yes, that's correct So so you your opinion weighs a lot more than mine all I can do is watch the interviews and kind of take a way and say hey I can see that there might be a lack of accountability, but I don't know doc as a person to say that that's who he is Yeah, my opinion was I think some of the it's a few I think some were sitting just and obviously when you don't have the context of video or audio and you're just looking at a quote Some of these things can come off the wrong way But knowing doc he's saying some of these things in jests and they can come off the wrong way if they're not put in the right context Same same I think a lot of the things that people found especially on Twitter and social media It's all from past interviews when he sat down with KG and Paul Pierce They're just asking no questions now. They're pulling those things out as if he's blaming people He's just talking about conversations that he's had with people and not necessarily brain blaming anybody But it's a JJ had his take, you know Kendrick had his take man Austin chimed in I'm just sitting back and watching and I keep my comments to myself and you know watch the show and I told I told Danny Off-camera today your relationship with doc is one or one thing or other either it's hot or it's cold If you really love them or you really hate them as a former player is no gray area I'm one of the guys that love them. I had my best years at the end of my career with doc It's hard for me to say anything negative about them We've had our ups and downs. We've had our disagreements But through and through he's one of the better coaches that I've had in my career and that that is definitely fair Luca and the Joker the bromance that keeps on giving it seemed look they may not care about the game itself But the actual weekend they nobody had more fun than these two did if they were to team up and the and the league allowed Us this treasure. Would it be the greatest duo of all time? The greatest of all time all time Shat kovie. I'm just trying I'm trying to make a viral moment That's tough. I mean, I'm gonna I'm gonna say no just based on yeah, Shat kovie exists. Okay fine in the league then Yeah If they were teaming up right now, I would say that's the best duo in current basketball But all time is kind of a stretch both of those players are MVP caliber players year and year out, but all time I can't get that. I like it The numbers are averaging now together than they could be that's one saying the numbers Luca's numbers stay the same and yokich's numbers stay the same and they're on the same team Then they possibly could be the best duo hold on it seems shocking to say given the names you guys are mentioning But there's one basketball So one of those guys just got to turn into an absolute score and one has to turn into a passer They're not going to average 23 24 sits between the two of them. Yeah, and you don't want one to sort of give up the other Yeah, but it'd be fun to watch sounds fun though Yesterday we had sort of a conversation about teams that legitimately have a shot at the title And there was some disagreement. How many teams right now? Do you believe have a real shot at winning this year? So out east I got the Boston Celtics as the heavy favorite If the Celtics aren't in the finals this year something went really wrong if you ask me I think that the Bucks still have a chance. I'm giving them another month under doc before I changed that opinion That's kind of it out east no disrespect to the nicks or the calves who play a really good basketball Out west I still had Denver I still have the Clippers even though they lost last night to okc Um, I think the Suns are going to be a tougher team to eliminate. They're not on the same tier as the first two teams I mentioned They're probably four teams out west and two teams out east that I have confidence could win a championship So that's yeah a six total and he's leaving out the top two teams in the west I think and that opinion is because I think they're still youthful Still very inexperienced when it comes to wins and the playoffs and playoff runs and but those teams are dead serious I think we got a star factor in them in Yeah, the reason I didn't put the timbles in there. Um, it's not really on their youth honestly It's like fourth quarter offense late games get kind of Stagnant for them And I worry about that in the playoff series against some of the top teams and then for okc It's really just the youth they have every other thing to tell me they're contender But the fact that their average age is like 23 and a half makes me think that they just they need some Some playoff experience before they go on that championship run That's it is funny. They're very different teams as far as I think why people have the expectations they do I don't know if it's disrespectful towards minnesota. I've seen more and more Timberwolves fans on the old internet getting a little bit riled up as we get closer. Go ahead. I'll leave it alone What? No Yesterday I said the pressure was on chris finch the second half of the season He has to coach he has to he has to make sure that we understand that that team is real And so for kenny to say, you know, fourth quarter execution is a problem for him. That's a coaching thing You know what I'm saying? And so for them to be like if they're going to finish the season third place I think this is a this is a bad run, you know, you're 50 some you're 55 games in you're number one You've been number one and if you surrender that I think that's going to be that's going to be a four is all It is by half a game, right? Yeah, so a game or two so they could easily drop quickly But in the playoffs they do have to at least get out of the first round Yeah, these final weeks are going to be very very interesting. This can be a good or bad But what has been the biggest surprise to you so far this season team wise? Um, it might just be the okc thunder to go from a play-in team to like one seed And it's not like they made any significant moves. They didn't go get a superstar They got a second year rookie in chen home grand and then we see jaylon williams every month of his nba career So far his numbers have got better and better and better Where he's getting to the point where you can argue him being a top 40-ish player in basketball. So that's my biggest surprise. We knew that she had this He he did a lot of it last season, but now he's got the pieces around them I think that coach mark Dayton all has felt comfortable enough to say like I know we use a top pick on josh giddy But isiah joe is playing better basketball right now So he's gonna close out this game or we're gonna see gordon hayward probably get some opportunities to close out A game so I think they're well coached and again with them being like the third youngest team of basketball It makes no sense for them to be as high as they are in the standards I agree. I mean nobody saw this coming at the beginning of the year Okc being the one you would think some of you if somebody told you that you think they're on heavy drugs Shea has been shea has been my favorite for mvp for quite a quite a while now So i'm not as surprised I had the opportunity to play with him So I knew what he brought to the table is it's just fun to see it come to fruition I mean look this was the long game. Okc was been playing and now it's starting to do what they wanted it to do this entire time It's kind of the process as they say is is is working kenny Love having you on appreciate the time sir. We will talk to you soon And uh, we will take a break when we come back and wrap things up