 He's back co-founder of enjoy basketball host of the Kenny Beachham podcast. It's Kenny Beachham and look we got a lot of really important basketball news Kenny and we're always happier here but the most important question I can come up with is the fact that we have Paul Shearer on Monday show and he said that Space Jam is a horrible way. You're from Chicago. Where are you on this as someone that's watched Space Jam like a hundred times in my life I can't give you hand Paul's take here I'm sorry I know I know he's a movie guy and I respect his opinion on movies more than a lot of people but just the nostalgia factor is enough for me to say it's a good movie. That's what I thought yeah I mean we'll like maybe I'll rewatch it but we were younger when it came out so as a kid you're a little more inspired by watching it. I think if we watched it tonight we'd be like wow this movie sucks. Watching it as an adult is probably the ball might have watched it as an adult. All right homework assignment rewatch it come back we'll talk about it. I can do that. I like how you said it's Michael Jordan why is he living in that two bedroom house. He's playing himself. Why is the house bigger. That was fair. Kenny obviously yesterday a lot of news around the league but especially in Milwaukee the Bucks firing Adrian Griffin Doc Rivers appears to be in line to take over what are your thoughts who do you think the Bucks should hire. It's hard to have a real good shortlist halfway through the season. Before the season started obviously they had Kenny Atkinson they had Nick Nurse who's looking amazing in Philadelphia and they opted to go with the first time head coach and a lot of that was because he had the backing of Yannis and everything of the people available I'm guessing Doc is the best. It's hard to it's hard to say man it's hard to say obviously in 2008 you know he had the good run with the Boston Celtics but since then he's failed to make it past the second round in the playoffs in most cases obviously he's also never close to talent like Yannis so maybe Doc is the right answer we just we just have to wait and see I guess. You know what they say you can tell him somebody's lying. Yeah. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. He's tall. Done! It's over. Terry Reger in the middle of the show was traded to Miami. What do you think about that deal how does that look from the heat moving forward. I love it because they've obviously struggled recently offensively like I've watched a bunch of their games and even with Jimmy Butler's back Jimmy is just such a passive guy during the regular season it's not something that I don't really understand but they just need another guy that can get a bucket and Terry Reger has a very underrated season. The only thing that I worry about a little bit this year is that he's shooting 30% on catch and shoot shots. Obviously in Miami, he won't have the ball as much as he did in Charlotte, especially when the Mellow was out. But like historically, he's been like a 40% catch and shoot guy. So maybe under Miami, he can get back to that. They just needed another bucket and Terry Rogier has had such great performances in Charlotte. He's been a big shot maker for Charlotte in the few close games they've had over the last two seasons. So I love it. I mean, I hate it for Cal Lauri, obviously, but I think he'll be fine with the bag that he got a few years back. So Kenny, everyone, Zach Levine, he's a name that we've been hearing for a very long time. He's been out with an ankle injury and the bulls kind of look good without him. Does he get traded before the deadline? And if so, do they just completely blow it up, trade to more, get rid of everybody? I've been waiting for the Psalms of fate that it's happened. But with the injury and something I'm sure everybody agrees on, when you have a player of Zach Levine's caliber, we've seen it here in Chicago, he's not gonna be your one option. And a lot of cases, he's probably not gonna be your two option on a very good team. So why should we pay him $40 million annually to be the third best player on the team? And I think that's where the hiccup is. The bulls have made the least amount of trades since 2021. So I'm assuming that that means the front office is holding on to all the assets and asking for crazy returns. I'm hoping that we get the trade done, mostly for Zach's sake, because even when he came back from the first injury, you can tell that he was very passive. He didn't want to step on any toes. Kobe White was playing very well. I think a change of scenery is necessary, but I don't know how likely it is because the contract is so big. So what is the deal you would most likely to see happen before the deadline? For the bulls? For anyone. For anyone? Wow. Oh, for anyone. I kind of want to see the 76ers buy in a little bit. I know they've preached flexibility from the off-season standpoint and I completely understand that, but I feel like there are some people on the market that you can trade for right now and maintain that flexibility come off-season. I think Jorlin Bede is playing some of the best basketball I've ever seen in my own two eyes. I understand the critics, like we got to get past the second round. We got to play all these games and the playoffs, but just looking at the regular season, he's having his best year and I think that they need another guy on the team that can create their own shot outside of just him and Taris Maxi. Again, I don't know who that guy necessarily is, but them just sitting on the expiring contracts and those two additional first round picks that the Clippers gave them would probably be a mistake in my opinion. I wonder if that answer will be the answer to my question because I wanted to ask you, give me a team that will absolutely not win a title unless they make a move. Yeah. Is that it? Is it? We're sticking with the... It is silly. It is silly. So they have to do something. It's just the way it is. Look, whoever did the Dak Prescott, Joellen Bede memes the other day, that's not cool, but also kind of funny. And I feel like that's what I'm hearing is like until they can get over that hump, we can't do much with it. So you need another piece. The man just dropped 70 and everybody was like, well, in the playoffs, he don't play well. So it's just like, he needs it for his own legacy. He needs it for his own respect factor. His nobody is gonna deny the fact that he's one of the top talents in basketball, but all the other top talents in basketball either have a conference finals appearance and NBA finals appearance or a championship. He has none of those things and he's about to be 30. So even he mentioned it in his post game, like I dropped 70, but it doesn't matter because I haven't played well in the playoffs. It's like this is such a great moment for him. But we're talking about April, May and June instead of freezing 30. It's crazy he said 30, like it's old. But to be fair, Joellen, from my come remember, he hasn't been healthy most of the playoff runs. He's broken his face. He's broken his hand. He's always had injuries. So hopefully this year, this is a playoff coming and he'll be healthy and then he can show you that he's not Dak Prescott. Kenny, sticking with Joellen, obviously we know about the big game the other night, looking like the front runner for the MVP. He has missed 10 games. So do you think the NBA is going to regret this whole threshold of, you know, the 65 game minimum for these awards? I think that the first year's trial, they're gonna keep it. They're gonna keep it for year number two because I'm looking at Joel and B's success and how dominant he is. The number two option in this, if Joel and B fails to hit the 65 game threshold, it's not like we're falling off from the best player to lead to somebody that's not that. It's the guy right under him, which is Nikoli Okic who's almost equally as valuable when it comes to this MVP award. So it's, I think that no matter what, we're gonna have an MVP that we feel very confident and good about. But I think that Joel and B right now, again, just thinking about the first 41 games of the regular season, he's been heading shoulders above everybody. I mean, he's putting up legendary stuff. And I think that the NBA also added something where you could refute some of the games missed. So maybe we get that from Joel and B where he ends up with 63 games. Well, how does that even work? Two or three games, how are you gonna refute it? I refute it. What do you think the number should be? Asking everybody. I think there should be a number. If you play 64 games and you're as dominant as Joel and B, you're the MVP. Okay, but what if you play 50 games and you're as dominant as Joel and B? And don't vote for him. Like I don't think there should be a threshold of games. Well, you know that's not gonna happen. There's people that don't deserve to be an all-star. Joel plays 64 games and Joker plays 66. He gets to win it even though Joel had a better season. You're picking literally the swimmest of more than that. That's gonna happen one of these years and we're gonna be like, damn, he got screwed. Well, let's wait till we get to there. Kenny, my next question to you is because I know my answer. Wimby, Chet, rookie of the year. I think it's... Don't note, don't lead the witness. Go on. Who was your rookie of the year and why? If the season was in right now, it would be Chet. Come on. But I think that once we get to April, it's going to be Wimby. There we go. No, Kenny, Kenny, I agree with all your takes till right now, don't do this. Well, you know, you're not watching the Wimby stuff. Yeah, I'm watching them win seven games and I'm watching Chet being the number one team in the Western Conference right now. Bless be real, Chandler. It's not Wimby that's causing them to win seven games. He's playing 25 minutes per game and he's averaging 26 points in that time frame. Like it's only so much one man can do. And we're talking about a 20-year-old. He's not Bron. He's not KD. He can't single-handedly put a team on his back yet. But he is one of the most impactful defensive players in all the basketball as a 20-year-old. And his points per minute, I know we're talking advanced stats here, but like his points per minute is on par with some of the best players in ball. And Chet has the luxury to be the third option almost nice. And that's not a knock on Chet because his efficiency is really good. He's such a good defensive player. But he's trending more like he's plateauing a little bit while Wimby's taking off. And I think that when we come to April, we're going to look at these last 40 games. But like, man, Wimby was playing out of his mind. For the individual, the rookie. Who's the better rookie? He's unbelievable. Where'd you find this guy? He's unbelievable. He knows his stuff from looking down. But I do think the only way Wimby wins as if Chet goes down like a seasoning and then getting into a knock, I think he's running away. Rookie on the best team of all year. Forget rookie of the year. Chet is an all-star this year. And he's borderline all-MBA. You don't think he's going to win rookie of the year? He's the second best player on the best team. I told a little bit they have been winning. His numbers aren't as good as Wimby's. Thank you. The points per game in the minutes are it's a nut stat from Wimby. He's, listen, he's unbelievable. Important numbers like that. He's unbelievable. But I think when you look at an award like this, you have to look at everything. And his team is one of the worst teams. And his team is one of the best teams. Are we not going to call rookie of the year anymore? Oh, I'd be pissed if he did that. It's been about 26, 27 years. Hill, Jake, it was the last one. Oh, I'd be flippin'. I wouldn't want it. Give it to him. That would be such a cop out. I also say Chet is more available. Wimby has been set out some games. Yeah, and Chet's technically it's the second year in the league. I don't want to give you a... Do you like the Spurs or no? You like the Spurs? Shut up. The true rookie hoodie? Yeah. Chet's not a true rookie. Yeah, he's not a true rookie. Neither was Blake Griffin. He still ran away with the rookie of the year. Yeah, and he could argue that as well. Oh, would Wimby playing pro since he's eight? That doesn't count for something? Well, eight. Eight. God, you're such an exaggerator. Fine, let's stick with the Thunder for one second because they played the Wolves. They beat them. And after the game, Edwards was not happy. Thought it was very hard to sort of play against them. SGA getting the calls he got. Afterwards, SGA had the post on Instagram with another classic SGA caption. Post game, post game, you know the drill. But we want a rivalry here. So let me ask you that. One, are you here for a rivalry between Anthony Edwards and SGA? 100%, our league needs more rivalries. Like this season, we just saw the Bucks and the Pacers start to brew. And if we can get two of the top young talents in basketball to dislike each other on court, it's like, this is Canada versus USA too? Like this is everything we can really ask for in a rivalry. I'm here for it. We need, and as one of those guys that's always going to talk and I need him to continue that so we can have more rivalries. Now, the tough question is, you've got to start a franchise today. Which one are you starting? That is tough. I've seen, I think I've just seen Shay do it more consistently over the last couple of seasons. So I'm proud, I mean, Shay's all NBA for the last. He's going to be all NBA again this year. He's top three, top four at MVP. Anthony Edwards still hasn't got there. Yeah, I think he has a possibility to get there. But I'm going to take the proven all NBA player in the moment. And maybe I'll look back on this and say it was the wrong decision. But I'll go with Shay. It's hard to argue that. I'm thinking in my head, how do I argue with him right now? But it's tough, man. SGA, he's done it. He's all NBA. And I think he's a better two-way player, but not SGA. So the question is, do you think? He's leading the league in scoring. He's done it all. Do you think SGA can, as he reaches full potential, you think there's more for him? But I think Ant has a lot more room for growth. I think that's why some GMs make their draft picks of the potential of who Ant-Man could be, and besides the potential of who SGA could be. I think SGA too is in a great situation where he's 25 years old, and he's the vet. He's the leader of this young AAU team that's kind of taken over the NBA, you know what I mean? So he's got the keys. Ant does as well, but he's in a different system. Last year they struggled with the whole Rudy Gobera trade. Didn't work. Now it's starting to pan. Now it's starting to work out. I do think he's one of the better two-way players, but I'm with Kenny here. SGA, he's something. Can't beat it. Kenny, All-Star Starter's coming out on Thursday tomorrow. Steph Curry, currently ahead of SGA, and then in the East. You have Trey Young over Gauzik. All right, that's stupid. Tom and Mitchell. Tyrese Maxey, you have Boy Jalen Brunson. Salsa Patrol, you almost started in the All-Star Game one year. Andrew Wiggins started one year. Should Steph and Trey be All-Star Starters? Nah. And that doesn't mean that they're bad or nothing. Like Luca and Shay are literal MVP candidates. Steph Curry's not that this season. Like I want to see those guys. I think on the guards on the Eastern Conference, I feel pretty good about Terry's Halliburton being one. He's number one in voting. And then that second guard spot, it could be Jalen Brunson. It could be Donovan Mitchell. But it's probably not going to be Trey. He doesn't have the same respect amongst his peers as we saw in previous All-Star Voting situation. So I don't think it's going to be Trey. That's crazy to me that that could happen. But you're right, we do get some weird pops and this doesn't make any sense. Well, talking about All-Star Weekend, is there anything that you would like to see change for All-Star Weekend? Something new, something added? I just want to have the good dunkers participate. You know, I was there in Cleveland and it was... I said to the GV guys. But you know what? I'll take Mack McClam because he made it happen last year. But we haven't had, other than Mack McClam last year, like a really, really good dunk contest since Aaron Gordon versus Zach Levine. And we're just waiting. I think most players just don't want to be labeled a dunker because we saw that for both of those players for years. And then Zach Levine had to make two All-Star appearances before people start to realize that he was really good at basketball. So I just want players to be in it, man. The moment that we get people dedicated to Jaws, the Zion's dedicated, that's when things come back. But I just don't think it's possible. I don't think we can get them there. So that would be your pick. That's who you'd like to see. I mean, it obviously helps to get the big player. I would like to see a one-on-one competition. That's much better than a skills challenge or a king-of-the-court situation. Yeah, I'd love to see Tatum play Devon Booker one-on-one with two dribbles. You know what I mean? Or Tatum against Jaylen Brown. Exactly. You remember that one. That is more exciting than watch Wimby go coast-to-coast and throw a ball through a hole. For the fans. Why do you hate Wimby? I was watching chat with them. Gug, I'm sick of it. As former players, do y'all think that the one-on-one thing would work? Would you be able to convince real players to do it? Yeah, I don't know. It's tough to even get them to play serious in the game, so I don't know. I said it's not for us. I think it's more for the fans. I think it's more interesting and exciting for the fans to see us play one-on-one for the players. One-on-one is not that big of a deal, nor do they take it as serious. It's a free way to get exposed, too. Like, if you don't play, would you get hurt? There's a lot of negative things that could happen. That's another reason why I don't see you guys taking it seriously. They don't want to get exposed. They don't want us... Pipe dream. I know, I love this time of year, though, because we're always trying to figure out how do we make the All-Star weekend better? I won't forget that. Well, first of all, don't put it in Indiana. I almost made it through a show, Kenny. We almost did it without insulting an entire city. Chandler's going to Indy this week. Yeah, he's going for us. I don't get knocked out enough. I gotta clean my garage. You might get jumped out there. Okay, so over the weekend, we had the Bruce Brown sound bite about talking about playing for Tibbs and the Knicks. He doesn't play for Una. And Dejonte Murray talking about playing for the Spurs. I don't want to define tampering, but maybe this could be called tampering adjacent. What are we doing with these little moments? Nothing. I want more of them. Because it shows us what a real priority is live. Bruce Brown wants to play for the Knicks. Dejonte Murray wants to play for Pop again. Like, being transparent could go a very long way. So we won't get situations where players trade to a team and he doesn't want to play there. So just be vocal, be honest, and maybe we can get you to the place you want to be at. Right, we'll have our dream job. I guess, man, but it's not like you're not employed by a certain... If this worsening goes to the Knicks, I'm gonna lose it. You can pitch yourself to another competing company. I kind of love it. Look, the Bucks brought in their next wife while the first wife is still sitting there. Like, it's the whole thing. It's dirty and it's weird and I love it. Candy, love having you on. Can't wait till we have you on again. Thank you so much. And we will take a quick break when we come back. No phone calls after 9 p.m. Wemby's my kind of guy. We'll run it back, return it.