 Good morning. It's Wednesday, which is our Friday, which means buckle up. Run it back starts now. Run it back. Run it back. Run it back. Run it back. Run it back. Yes. Happy Wednesday morning. This is Run It Back. I would like to go through the panel here before we get a Magic Mic Review very quickly from Chandler. Stadium Insider Shamsherania right next to me over here or over here. I would be a horrible weather person. Chandler, of course. They're at Eddie G on the end. Chandler, thumbs up, thumbs down. Magic Mic, the latest. Yeah, let's say it's a really bad movie, but it's an easy watch. And I'll admit it. I was wildly roused at some points of this movie. And clip that. Thank you so much. We're going to use that for the rest of our lives. I appreciate that you went. There was basketball last night. Some good, some not good, but let's start with King's Son. Beaton Sacramento, 120-109. Booker with 32, 8 and with 29. CP3 with 19 assists. KD was there. Everybody was loving it. He was on the bench. All right. Chemistry concerns. This has been a flip floppy season for this Phoenix team, Chandler. Do you think that now that KD is there, that's all settled? It's going to be a grace period where they're going to obviously have to acclimate their new best player into the lineup. And guys like Chris Paul, they're used to playing with stars. DeAndre Hayton's never really been a number one option since he's been in the league. Devin Booker, I think it's going to have to be his biggest adjustment. He's never had a player like Kevin Durant. But on the flip side, this is a relief. This is a breath of fresh air. You love this if you're Devin Booker, right? Like you want to add talent. You want to add someone that can get the ball and go get a bucket. And the Suns do have a lot to look forward to with Kevin Durant coming back to the lineup with Devin Booker healthy and starting to play really, really well with DeAndre Hayton. Kind of dominating down low. Chris Paul last night, a guy had 19. It says this is a great version of this team. And they still have guys like campaign that are out and Landry Chometh who was absolutely balling before he went out. So again, this is a time will tell kind of, you know, waiting to see KD in the lineup and give him a few games and give him some time. But this is a super dangerous lineup, especially with Hayton and Chris Paul playing the way they did last night. Because you know what you're going to get from KD. You know what you're going to get from Devin. When you start getting 19 points from Josh Akogi and you start getting Chometh or Chometh hitting three or four threes, this team is very, very dangerous. Eddie, I want to ask you this because it's and tell me if I'm crazy here. But there are certain guys, for example, when we put Kyrie on another team, I'm thinking, all right, chemistry could be weird. Let's see. I don't think that with KD. Why is that? I do not worry about chemistry no matter where he goes and there has to be a reason and I cannot put my finger on it. Tell me. Well, I mean, it's like his Twitter bio says he does him and he chills. But, you know, everybody understands his skill set. He's the most malleable superstar. Maybe we've ever had in the league. You could just slot him right into that to that team and he's going to hit open shots. He's going to occupy the correct space and he's going to play hard defense for a superstar. What more can you ask for? He's going to do that and score 30 points a game and incredible efficiency. You know, I have no chemistry concerns, personality wise. Kevin loves Chris Paul, Kevin and book bonded over the Olympics. He got a dog that's just like books dog and all this great stuff. He clearly wanted to be there. He said they pretty much everybody's just admitted that he's wanted to be there and it worked out. I think DeAndre Aten is an interesting outlier, but basketball is going to be easier for him than it's ever been in his career right now because he's going to be singled up every night. He's going to have great looks and it's going to be his oyster now. For Kevin, I do wonder a little bit about Book and Kevin occupying that same mid-range space. They can't both sit on each elbow and they'll have to figure that out, but those guys, they get it. I mean, Booker came up the bench for a mega team in Kentucky. He knows how to play amongst other talents as well. I think they're going to be fine on the offensive side. The defensive side is what intrigues me so much and when you have a guy like Josh Akogi or Jory Craig, they both started last night. Everybody's wondering who's going to be the starter when Kevin's there. It's going to help shore up their defense a ton. I'm excited to see this team in full strength. Yeah, I mean, Chris Paul, 17 points, 19 assists last night. That's the Chris Paul that they need and it's interesting to me. They went all throughout the season. We all thought that they would try to make an upgrade at some point, but as the year went on, the guy that a lot of teams and even the Suns were looking at internally was Chris Paul. In his future, next year, he's got half of his deal guaranteed. So what happens with Chris Paul long-term is something that we all have to continue to keep an eye on. They did look into Kyrie Irving this year before making the KD trade. They looked into Fred Van Vliet this year. So they've already made it kind of clear that whether it's next, in the off-season, next season, they could look to move on at the point-car position, but for right now, Chris Paul is going to man that spot. And if he plays like he did last night and if he looks like he's got that much left in the tank, he stays injury-free, he could be the best guy to lead this team moving forward. But that is definitely a position to continue to keep an eye on and how does it develop over the course of the year. Because to me, Devon Booker, Kevin Duran, I think they'll figure it out at the end of the day. It's crazy. I'm telling you, CP, I never thought he would have a chance, a real chance championship. It feels all of a sudden like a different world, Chandler. Throw away the standings. I know where everybody sits right now out west. But if you had to pick the best team, the best team that's equipped moving forward, would you pick this Suns team? Not yet. I'm going to have to see more, but they are going to be really, really hard to beat four times in the postseason. I'm still high on Denver and I'm super high on the Clippers, especially with the additions. They just made a deadline. I love the Quarters and I don't think they're done yet. I think they're going to add some other point guard and some more help. But listen, this team, like we just talked about, I think DeAndre Aten really is going to benefit from this because now there's no way he's getting double team down low. There's no way they're rotating to him. They're going to have two elite scores on the wing and they're going to have one of the best point guards of all time facilitating getting them in their offense. And DeAndre Aten is going to have his field day on the glass, one-on-one in the post. And I think his game is really going to blossom with the addition of Kevin Durant. But they still have to show us something in my eyes. Listen, this is not just going to work all of a sudden. It's going to take time. It's just going to take reps. And I'm not doubting it, but I just got to see a little bit more before I crown them as the best team. I just love that DeAndre Aten's reaction was about the same as all of ours. Like exact kind of surprise and happiness. It looks like Eddie, million-dollar question, is Katie going to finish things out in Phoenix? Good luck. I think he'll finish his contract. I don't think he really has the luxury of continuing to jump around. I don't say that because there's not a loyalty to that team where he's already looking for a way out or anything. Please don't run with that. But I think Kevin's going to have a really long career. And he could play 20 years and he could be a six-man off the bench making $15 million and just hitting open threes. Like I talk about this with him all the time. I think he's going to play a really long time and then he's going to go coach. And so I could see him playing for the Seattle team that may eventually come at 42 years old and just being a guy off the bench. That's the only reason why. But I do think he's going to sustain this run for as long as he can in Phoenix and he's bought in all the way. And for the reason I said, there's only so much jumping around he can do. I think he understands that. I think that's just the reality of this situation. Can't keep asking for trades every season. So he'll be there long term is what I'll say. Finish his career. I don't know. People do like to retire to the desert. That is a prime destination for that. On the other side of things, the Kings, we know what kind of season they've been having. And last night, look, Defox had 35 points. The bonus had 24, 15 and seven. But firepower wise, those are two guys, Chandler. Do they have enough to really, really make a push come playoff time? No, I don't think so, which is unfortunate because they're such a fun, exciting team and they're doing a lot of things right. But if you look at these standings right here, first round they can get stuck with Dallas or the Clippers or the Warriors in the first round, which that's even tough for them to even advance, let alone compete in the Western Conference. So I think they could get a good, they could end up with New Orleans or something like that that's banged up. And I think they could advance. But I don't even think that matters with them. I think they're such on the right path now. They hired a great coach. They added great pieces around these two stars and they're only going to get better. And this isn't like a one and done playoff for the Sacramento Kings. So in my opinion, regardless if they advance, if they don't, this is a hell of a year for the Sacramento Kings, they are back and they are going to be competing for the next three to five years while they keep this young core. But this year is tough. I think it's too deep. I don't think they're out good out in the West. All right. Famous word. 16 year drought. I think, I think Kings fans like Eddie G are going to take a playoff berth at the very least. But when you look at this team, they've got a lot of assets moving forward as well. There was a sense even leading up to the deadline, how active will the Kings be? They have Harrison Barnes on an expiring contract. I'm sure they're going to look to bring him back in the summer just in terms of how important he's been to their culture and the fabric of what they're building. But we should continue to look at the Kings as a team that's like Chandler said, they don't have the firepower maybe right now, but they have the ability, Monty McNair, West Wilcox, they have the assets there to go get real significant talent in the off season and moving forward. So maybe not yet, but this team is definitely building and I'm sure making Kings fans proud. Yeah, I usually say, hey, just getting there isn't enough. But I think for this particular franchise, the longest playoff drought in the four major professional sports in the US, it is. Just getting there will be just enough. And if they can win a game, it'll be incredible. It'll be a major moment for that franchise. They're first playoff games in that new arena. They're first playoff games in the Vivec, run a Divay era. And yeah, I think it's going to be great. And like Sam said, they're built for the future. They're built to continue to add to that roster. And they have a ton of pieces. So you have your cornerstones right now. De'Aaron Fox, De'Mona Sabonis, and you go from there. Even with Keegan Murray, you heard his name a little bit at the trade deadline too. Great, talented rookie, but that also confets you quite a nice haul on the open market as well. So I'm with Soms. Getting there is going to be great. And then they can focus on the future after that. Yeah, I like it because they're not just fizzling in. They're going to get there very strongly. And I think that's kind of an awesome move forward. Normally I'm agree with you, but yeah, this is a big deal. All right, Chandler, the team that you mentioned earlier, Los Clippers beating the Warriors 134-124. Kawhi 33, 7, 4, PG, 20, and 8 assists. Trade deadline came and went. How much better did they get? Yeah, I think they made the biggest jump. And obviously the trade assets were great, right? Eric Gordon is a seasoned vet. He can really shoot the ball. We know Bones Highland can really score the ball off the bench and especially in this system where they have a lot of players in the system that is catered to, you know, ISO off the block post-ups. This is exactly what these guys do. They can space the floor. They can knock them down. But the Clippers are only going to go as far as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. And those guys seem to be healthy. They seem to be happy. And this is the best I've seen Kawhi Leonard look in a really, really long time. And he looks strong and he's getting to his spots. Norman Powell to me is the sixth man of the year. This guy has really had a heck of a year score and kind of carrying that load. One of these two guys are off the court. And now they just got a lot of backup. They added size with Plumlee. They're young defensively. I think they have the capability of being the best team where they can switch. They have a legit big in Zoo Box. They don't only have many holes. And again, I would love to see them add Patrick Beverly. I'd love to see them add Russell Westbrook. Because the only thing I'm seeing missing, they don't really have a pure point guard. And neither of those two are really pure point guards. But they can at least initiate the offense. They can get everyone in their sets. They can kind of run a team. But I like them with or without those guys. But I think they definitely made the biggest jump and the biggest splash by adding two real starters on most teams to their bench. You know, Shoms, I haven't just heard Talking Heads mention the Russell Westbrook to the Clippers. Now we've got multiple players that are actually very much in full support of him joining the team. Is it a possibility? Could this actually happen? I mean, I think there are definitely players on the league that like Russell Westbrook a lot, like the Clippers guys. I have not heard any traction yet, though, with Russell Westbrook and the Clippers. Lawrence Frank, their head basketball operations official, he said that he wants defense shooting from the position. So I don't know if Russ fits that. But you know, when you look at teams around the league, there is not a spot yet for Russell Westbrook. He's still with Utah Jazz. The Jazz haven't till March 1 to decide whether they're going to buy out Russell Westbrook from his contract to make him playoff eligible. And I would expect him to take the next week or so to figure out whether he can find a home somewhere else. I do believe if he had a home by now, the Jazz would have bought him out and allowed him to go seek another team. But right now they're just, it's a slow-moving market and we'll see if Russell Westbrook will be able to find a home. You know, Eddie, some people are reading into that Lawrence Frank quote as though it was him just basically saying, we're not in the Russell Westbrook business at this moment. Do you think he'd be a good fit there? I think it would be interesting. You know, I agree with Chandler and Choms. They do need a point guard. They do need somebody to facilitate. When you watch that team, it's a ton of ISO ball. It's a ton of driving and then pulling up for jumpers instead of getting to the paint. You know, guys aren't really necessarily getting assisted, especially the two big fellas, PG and Kawai. Whether he's a perfect fit there, I don't know. I don't know that he would slot into that role and be a Michael Conley, a Ricky Rubio, and just kind of looking to get guys in their spots. Russ, to me, is always going to play Russ Ball. And on certain teams that's going to work, I don't know if this is one of those teams. I do think they need some point guard help. I did think it was fascinating that Ty Lou came out and said, Bones is a point guard on this team. They know they need point guard help. And when they get into the playoffs and it gets tougher and tougher to create shots, they're going to have to rely on somebody to set their guys up. They have a ton of wings. They have a ton of defensive wings. They're the team that worries me most for the Suns, but they're also going to have to get buckets on the other end. And that's not to say, Kawai can't. He looks amazing. PG looks amazing. But you want to make it a little bit easier on those guys wherever you can. That's one advantage I think the Suns have over the Clippers is Chris Ball is going to find shots for KD and Devin Booker. He's going to get them in their spots. He's going to get them open. He's going to break down defenses and find layups for people. And the Clippers are going to need those easy buckets when the games get tougher. And a positive too is Russ just showed that he's willing to come off the bench. And he just talked about him being sixth man of the year. And he was in that shitstorm next door with the Lakers all year long. And he still had a really good year. And he had to adjust. He's been put through the ringer. And he's had a great season. And I'll tell you this. I saw him last night at the John Legend concert. So he's still in LA. He doesn't want to leave. He would he would love to just go right next door to the Clippers on a better team, a contending team and have that same role on the bench. So I would love it. I think he's obviously he's healthy and he's went through so much that this would almost just this would be easier just to go to the Clippers and play and have not even that much pressure on a buyout. It makes perfect sense to me. I'd love to see it happen. I want to talk warriors but hold on. We started Valentine's Day Chandler with you forgetting it was Valentine's Day. How many things did y'all do yesterday? We did it all. I'm a romantic. I was going to figure it out. I just delayed it a little bit. And I figured it out. I feel like you had way more hours in your day than the rest of us. You did like 97 things in one day. That was the hell of a day. Well done. Well done, sir. All right. Look on the warrior side, it's now what? February 15th. We're all waiting for the light switch to kick back on. I don't know. Is it happening? Jordan pool 28 points. Clay, though 19. It was his first appearance on night two of a back to back. Steve Kerr, we have reinforcements coming. They got a lot to look forward to. They've lost a lot of games. They should have won, he said. And he knows that they're still quote right there. Okay. It is now playoffs Chandler. Who do you trust more Clippers or the Warriors in a series? I like the Clippers honestly. But Steve Kerr is right. He's got a lot of points and they have been in a lot of games. And it's hard to judge this team without Steph Curry in the lineup. As good as these other guys are, their team is him. And like the Clippers and Kawhi and Paul George, they're only going to go as far as Steph Curry. And again, it's February 15th and somehow some way I'm still not worried about this team. But they're going to add guys like Peyton. Steph's going to be back. Wiggins is going to be back fully. And these games are huge games for Clay Thompson. This guy went through so much stuff with his injury with his rehab. And every single game he gets out there and he plays 20 plus minutes and he's shooting five to 10 threes. Those are such valuable reps for him to get for his body, for his knees, for his confidence. And they're only obviously going to get better when they are fully loaded with, you know, Aguadala, Peyton, Steph, all these guys back. So I think this is valuable reps. I think Steve Kerr does have a good point that they have. They're right there. And let me tell you something, whoever ends up one or two, they do not want to see the Warriors in the first round. So I think they're still in a good spot, but the clock is ticking a little bit because all these other teams are getting reps, they're getting better. And the Warriors are still kind of in and out of guys and rotations and it's taken a lot longer than we expected. Eduardo. This is me crossing my fingers hoping that the Warriors make a run and we can have Clippers and Warriors in round one. I would need one of these teams eliminated before the Phoenix Suns have to play them. I don't want them to have to play both of them. Both of these teams are dangerous. I actually think the Warriors, I trust them more. They just won the title. They're missing their best player and they were neck and neck with the Clippers last night and, you know, a late run ended up deciding the game. I trust the Warriors. They've been there, they've done it. They've won four titles in nine years and they could have won more. They lost another one because their best player towards Achilles. They lost another one for the greatest comeback of all time. This is a literal dynasty where right in the middle of the year, they had the injury bug this year. If they can get healthy just in time, they're fine and they will be fine and they know they'll be fine and they know how they're going to handle that, but they have to get there. It's crazy the sounds. Look, they're the nine seed, right? Yep, nine seed. There are only three games out of the play like to get out of the play to be the sixth seed. They could absolutely be the four and five seed by the end of the season. They just need to make a run. They need to get Steph Curry back. But that's not up to them. He's got a hill up and they're going to need that. They got to tread water till then. This has been the story of their whole season. And once they get Steph back, wrap them in bubble wrap, keep them healthy because you're going to need them in these games and have to make a run. But I trust them. Absolutely. Yeah, it's weird. It doesn't feel like it's a dead end yet. And it's really late in the season. The game last night flipped on the TV Celtics box. We thought, oh, Celtics had no one playing Drew Holiday with 40 points leading his team to an overtime win with 31 125. We will talk bucks first, Chandler. When Drew is doing what he's doing in these videos right here in front of you, how dangerous is this team? Super dangerous. And again, this is a team that was super depleted. This game shouldn't have been close, but this shows Drew Holiday his value. This shows why he didn't all start him making eight threes and making those huge defensive plays at the end of the game. They have such a balanced attack that when they are getting points like this from Drew Holiday and Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis, we know what we're going to get pretty much from Giannis. And Chris Milton has been up and down, but no doubt in my mind he's going to figure it out. But when you get guys like this having 40 and still defending at that level that they defend, it's a hard team to beat. And we all know when their star guys come out, I knew that the Celtics weren't just going to lay down right here. You knew these guys, this is their chance. We made a joke about Blake Griffin having over under 11 guys. Guys when their numbers called, they want to step up, but this Bucks team they hang their head on the defensive end and they have one of the best players in the league. They're such a safe pick. They're so solid. But again, kudos to the Celtics because they were missing pretty much all their guys and they were right here and could have won this game. Yeah, this is a great game. I mean, look, I thought Gordon Hayward hit a major shot to send that game into overtime. It wasn't Gordon Hayward. It was Sam Hauser. No. Yeah, me too. I get the same thing. I said, yo, did he get bought out? But they showed their resilience. I mean, look, they shot 53s. This is the style of play the Celtics are going to play. They're going to spread out. They're going to kick it around the horn. They're going to shoot threes all night. They don't care. But missing basically their entire starting lineup and hanging with the number two team in the ease. There's no moral victories. I understand. But yo, you can hang your head a little bit on that game. All their guys stepped up, like Chandler said, Blake Griffin stepped up. These are guys are going to call for in playoff minutes. It might just be in a second quarter in a random game three, or you might need them for a series as somebody's injured, but they're going to call for these guys. But the Bucks are scary. They stepped up late. They handle business in overtime and, you know, the Sam Hauser, Gordon Hayward heroics couldn't push the Celtics over the top. But that was a really fun game. A game I dismissed when I saw the injury report peeking at and it couldn't help but stick there and finish that game. I mean, Derek White, he's Eastern Conference player the week. He had some moments too, especially towards the end as we're getting close to the overtime. I told you guys, the NBA's drunk this season just because no one's playing in a game does not mean something crazy is going to happen. If you're if you're Tatum, if you're Brown, if you're smart and you're watching this, how how much better did you sleep last night? Yeah, loss is a loss. But what did you see, Chandler? Well, it's just good. Like we said, there's not really anything in the team's loss, but there is a loss like this when when you have Tatum Brown, Horford Smart out, these guys, the coaching staff, everybody now has a little bit more confidence in Halzer's in Mike Mascala's and these guys that aren't necessarily getting the reps when they're fully loaded and it's huge to be able to know that these guys can play with the Milwaukee Bucks pretty much fully loaded without Portis. That is a huge vote of confidence. And again, like Eddie just touched on there's going to come a time later in the season. Maybe it's one possession. Maybe it's one quarter. Maybe it's one series. But one of these guys that came up big in this game last night are going to play a huge role in their postseason and it's going to be a, you know, it's going to be a breaking point where they can either come through and they can make a big play or make a big stop and games like this are such valuable, valuable experiences where again, the Celtics win in this game, we didn't think they're going to win. The team did not think they were going to win this game. But the fact that they played this hard and put themselves in the chance to win is huge and just gives them a whole their found level of respect and confidence for these guys that were ready to play where their number was called. It seems like Milwaukee's just been coasting all year, right? Like Giannis in and out of the lineup. Chris Middleton was out of the lineup for a really long time. Drew Hoddy has been in and out of the lineup at times and they're a half game back at the Celtics. They have a chance to get the number one seed this year after everything that's happened and Boston like, yeah, they competed really hard without their top guys. You can definitely take solace in that. But to me, it is very interesting that Milwaukee is suddenly in position right now to get the number one seed in the east. What does that mean for Giannis' MVP candidacy when he's been looking up at Boston pretty much all year. He leads the NBA in 30, 10 games. Drew Hoddy career high 40 last night. That's crazy 40 points career high 11 straight wins for the Bucks like they're going into the all star break riding on all cylinders. And I think they're a team to watch if they get the number one seed. Do we open up the MVP again as Giannis in play? Like I think those are all very good questions. And that's all with Middleton still with a restriction, right? I think it's like he hits 25 points. He comes out no matter what's going on. Even last night it was close and he was pulled. So to me, that's that's actually very optimistic. We're going to take a quick break when we come back shams with the latest on James Harden's new agent and a new spur officially official run it back. Welcome back to run it back time to get some scoops with shams or some hiring going on yesterday by James Harden shams. Got a new agent. Yes. So James Harden can be a free agent in July and I'm told he has changed agents. He's hired a new agent Troy Payne, the former executive at Adidas. He's going to be his agent along with a partner with Mike Silverman, Brandon Greer who are who have been NBA agents for quite some time now. So this is an interesting development because James Harden has a player option for the summertime. He could be a free agent. He's had a bounce back here this year, 22 points per game, 11 assists, league leading, six rebounds. He's shooting 39% from three as high since 2011 2012. So James Harden is starting to make moves and maneuver for the off season for post career. I'm curious Chandler, your thoughts on a player at the age of 33 right now making moves like this. Yeah, this is I think to me this is just him putting his boys on and I love this. This is exactly what I try to do my entire career with with my guys and he's obviously in a whole different level, but it's a smart move. The market kind of is going to play itself out with him in free agency. Someone's going to pay him. He doesn't really need an agent to really hammer and negotiate his value. People know who he is and his value now. So I love this. Maybe this is him starting his own agency when he's done, you know, putting his people on. But now this is a great way to get his people reps experience known. You know, doing James Harden's next big deal is going to bring attention for him to sign others younger guys. So I love it again. He hasn't had an agent since Polinka and why not hire one of your boys and maybe do this post career. Is it 3% commission Chandler on those big ones? It's it could be whatever you negotiate, but I think it's 4% the top, but none of the big guys ever pay 4%. Okay, good to know. Fair enough. So it's interesting. I know, right? I'm like, still, it's still it's a lot. Mac McClung, the G League kid, the kid that's going to be in the slam dunk contest. He got some good news yesterday. Sean, what's up? You know, interesting timing. I don't know if Eddie Chandler has any conspiracy theories here, but they announced Mac McClung officially into the dunk contest yesterday and that's the same day he agreed and signed a two way contract with the Sixers and listen, this is well reserved. He's averaged almost 20 points a game in the G League, 50% from 3%. He's had a pretty good season. Look at these moves. Like these moves, like he's going to have a couple viral moments in the dunk contest as tough as it might be for some people to hear and see. It is tough. But yeah, I mean, very, very curious timing on this deal for Mac McClung. You know, I know Eddie had some thoughts. Yeah, I mean, I guess I have to take back all my slander. I have to call Kevin and let him know he gets to take all his slander back. If he plays in the game on Thursday, my bad, Mac, you did it. You're in the dunk contest. He's going to wear 76ers jersey, I guess, and cool. Like, ring shading start back, please. Because there is a conspiracy. Like this is a little odd on the timing. Is the league worried that if this kid had won the slam dunk contest without being quote unquote an NBA player, it would poop all over the slam dunk contest? Is that how I'm reading this or the opposite? If he's absolutely horrible, they're like, why did we put this G League in the NBA? So I think it works both ways. That's interesting. Because because he would have been in the dunk contest, regardless, like he was going to be the first G League player and technically he was the first G League player to ever accept an invitation to the NBA dunk contest. I mean, the timing is interesting on the day of the announcement, but he would have been in the dunk contest regardless. The best thing is him bang on somebody and actually play on the 76ers before that would justify a little bit at least for me. Look, if it really gets the next great foreign overseas game, the Paris game or the Madrid game or whatever is the next one, just remember that this happened. Just remember they did the legal favor here. And look, that's all I'm going to say. It was interesting timing. I agree with you on that. And right here, San Antonio Spurs Shoms. I like this story. Share it with the world, will you? Your spurs are signing Charles Bassie to a four year $9.2 million deal. $5.2 million of that is guaranteed. This guy that came in on a two way contract, the Spurs waved Stanley Johnson to give him a full deal. He's been great, I think, in his minutes. But Michelle, forget what I think. I want to hear your scouting report on this kid. Is he deserving of $10 million on a new contract? I want to hear what you have to say. I mean, look, at this point, it's all monopoly money, right? I'm genuinely happy for the kid. He's been going back and forth from the Spurs to the G League. We don't have Pertle anymore. So obviously, you need a big guy. He is a big guy. And I will say he's young. They're all young. My god, I'm a grandma. But I will say this, every second that he's gotten the opportunity to play out there on the NBA court, he has tried so hard and he has hustled his butt off. And so when this, when you dropped this bomb last night, I was in my room just like, oh, like a proud mom that has no relation to anybody. It's very weird, but I'm happy for him and the kid hustles. So I'm sure I'll be nice. That's all I want to know. Shoms, it's your Friday. Who am I kidding? You're not going to go do anything. Fine. You're going to keep working. Go enjoy yourself. Do something crazy so we can hear about it on Monday. Who are we kidding, guys? Oh, but you do stay. It's time for a little are you buying that? We start things off with the wizards and the blazers. Now, hear me out. We're going to go all over the place on this. The wizards did beat the blazers by 25. Kuzma had 33 and he's coming back from Chicago. So they're big three. Kuzma Porzingis Beale. Are you buying that they are bigger and better than Chicago's DeRozan, Levine and Vucevich Chandler you first. Yeah, I am. I actually and I haven't been big on them all year long, but first of all, they're younger and I think the team around them isn't as good and these guys have really, really played well this year. Kuzma has really taken a leap and he's earned himself a huge paycheck this year. Porzingis is kind of all for these guys and he's making shots. He's playing big and Bradley Beale everything with his as he leave in as he stand. He finally got the contract. He's staying there. He did push a ref the other day, but I love Bradley Beale. He's the greatest shooters in the league. He doesn't get enough reps doesn't get talked about as like he should, but this big three is solid and it's just tough because you look around the league. Other teams are so much better. Other duos are better and for whatever reason, this Chicago trio just hasn't worked out. It's it's kind of it's clogged up in the paint to Martin Rosen is kind of the last of the mid range, you know, kind of go get a long to jump shots. And to me, the biggest thing if I'm looking now and for the future, the Wizards they're much younger than this three some as well. Yeah, I'm with Chandler for much of the same reasons. I also think the Bulls have the worst of the six players with butch of it. Not to say that there's this massive I think for Zingas is better. He's younger. He works harder on defense. That dunk that was just shown on that clip that was insane. Like that was absurd. I thought the segment was about the dunk. But yeah, I'm going with the Wizards big three by a pinch. I like the potential Kuzma as well. And look, Zach Levine hasn't been what they've wanted him to be this year. He's coming off a major knee injury, obviously. DeBarda Rosen is aging. He is what he is and he's getting to the point where he's almost overpaid with that contract. So yeah, give me the Wizards big three. But with poor Zingas and Kuz get that those deals this summer. Circle back. I might change my mind. They might be a little too expensive after that. See money changes at all every single time. And the other side of thing, Blazers right now, they're 11th in the west. They're a half game behind the jazz. Eddie, are you buying that Dame can carry his team into the playoffs? Yeah, I think they're going to make it. I think they're a little bit better than the jazz. And I think they're a little more battle tested as well. A lot of that lays with Jeremy Grant and some of the pickups they made at the deadline. Also, there's also that hanging thread that like the jazz just kind of want to lose like they just do after All-Star weekend. It's like, all right, let's get ready for the draft. But yeah, I'm buying the Blazers by just a test. Look, it's only half a game. They should be able to handle that. That's fair. Yeah, same. They're right there. They're basically neck and neck with the Thunder who I think they're a much better team. And I do think they're better than the jazz. I think they're even they can compete with the Pelicans and the Timberwolves the way these guys have guys in and out of the lineup. And Dame Lillard is playing unbelievable and Jeremy Grant had a great year. Anthony Simon just kind of thrived in this second fiddle roll. And again, if it was if it was four or five games, I would say no, but anything could happen. They are two and a half games, three games back of actually not even having to play in the play. And so yeah, I'm taking Dame and the Blazers getting in there and possibly even making some noise. Okay. All right. Magic Raptors. We got a little Raptors news. They beat Orlando Hurdle. All right. Back in Toronto uniform scores 30 siacum with 26 van Bleet with 15 assists play in spot wise. They're right now. They're sitting at 28 21 in ninth place Chandler. Are you buying their chances of keeping that spot? Yeah, same thing for the for the Blazers. I think they're good enough to kind of tread water right there. And I do think they're better than the Blazers, better than the Bulls, better than the Pacers, better than the Magic. So I don't I don't see any of those teams kind of jumping them. I did. I like the addition they made and this is a team that I thought was going to be a lot better. Maybe it's just taking them a lot longer and they hit their stride kind of like the hox did a couple years ago after after all started break. And again, they have the talent. They have the shooting. They have the defensive capability. So I think the Raptors are pretty safe bet to be in and maybe they can't sneak in there and kind of get ahead of the Knicks, get ahead of the Hawks. Yeah, I think I think they're definitely going to get ahead of the Hawks. I think they're solidified here. And I actually think they're going to win in the plan. They're going to get into the playoffs and look, unfortunately, then they got to play the Celtics or the books. But I think they're a better team than they displayed all year. They've had the looming cloud of the trade deadline hanging over them. And now everybody's here. Now everybody's locked in and and yeah, I got them in there. Like Chandler said, they're better than the teams that are behind them. I actually think they're better than a couple of teams that are ahead of them. So I look at I look at them and holding their spot and they should be able to win a do or die playing game. A little stability perhaps will help them out now that no one's going anywhere, at least for the time being. All right, Orlando as far as all the current lottery teams right now, Eddie, do you think that Orlando Magic Squad has the most upside? Yeah, because I think they have the best rookie in the league, you know, the best rookie in the league. But the lottery is so weird now, right? There's only like six teams in the lottery at the moment. I think the thunder, if they end up being in the lottery, they're the other team I would look to because they have guys like Shay who was entering his prime and is already that great. He's an all star. And then you have Josh Giddy who continues to show and Chad Holmgren. Chad Holmgren is like the American Victor Wimiano who's just sitting there waiting to look amazing in the league. Yeah, so like I would go with the thunder if they're technically in there, but if not, the magic are right behind them. Yeah, I agree. I think it's the thunder though, by far. I think the SGA is an actual star. I love Josh Giddy. They have all the both of the Jalen Williams are solid players and they do have Chad Holmgren who's sitting over there who hasn't played in one possession and if they are in the if they are in the lottery, they're going to get another good pick and continue to build. So yeah, I think it's I think it's the thunder. The magic are right there besides that there's no one really else with that good of a future. I don't really love Houston's future. It's the magic of the thunder for me. We'll see. We'll come back to that in a year up next. We've got Doug's from last night and we will give our picks in this year's amazing slam dunk contest when run it back returns. Comes for and now he's double Walker finally sees Nas now to sharpen the corner. Let's go. Let's go. Shaden Shaden sharp hammers it down Blazers trail by 20. We're on the fourth to successful three I feel like at this point these are just mean because it's what could have been it's like a tease. Is it too late Chandler for him to just throw him in the game so he'll do the slam dunk contest like what can we do here? How do we fix this? The only thing we can do is have an injury in the game and have him maybe replace someone in the rising stars game and then he's going there that weekend anyways but no I think his feelings are hurt and it's a shame because this kid he's a sure thing he flies and he's basically showing us every single night he's doing some dunk like this just reminding us that you idiots should be in the rising stars game and I would have done things like this and made the dunk contest cool. He really is winning right now. I'd like to thank Todd Gibson like he's a vet he's an OG in the game he does damn well that closeout was awful like he was almost like he was trying to give us that dunk so thank you Todd I appreciate it's really sad and it really saddens me that Shaden is not going to be in this dunk contest and if it's really as petty as they didn't put him in the rookie sophomore game he's right that's the worst part he absolutely should have been in it this this is frustrating I'm upset I'm upset I'm sorry you say petty I say completely justified why would I go all the way to Salt Lake for seven minutes of work when I can also show off everything else but I also love how he's like giving us these dunks now every night since he decided to pull himself out and it's like oh he's just playing the game I love it so much all right it is our last show before all-star weekend so why not make some picks in these exact contests that we're talking about Chandler I'm gonna start with you who's winning the dunk contest who's in it I'm gonna go with Jesus I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with Martin Jr Kenny Martin Jr why are you saying that like it's in another language just act like you've never seen that because I honestly I honestly forgot the names I didn't know they were up there yeah I like Kenny Martin Jr he's bouncy and he's left handed I like that I think if he's anything like his dad he's gonna show us something that's fair I'm going with Kmart as well I'm going Kmart this is his look I'll do Tray Murphy into Mack McClellan but like I'm not sure why they're there I've seen Tray Murphy dunk in games and it's like oh he's a tall guy with long arms he's he should be in a three-point contest if anything but yeah I think it's between Shade and Sarp and Jericho Sims and Jericho Sims actually jumps up there and like bites the rim like he can he might win it but I'm going with Kmart it's just Tray Murphy's a shooter Sims is it big and McClellan is a bluecoats jersey on I get that's why he's my pick Mack McClellan is my pick for chaos and chaos alone because then the theories will start plus it's just funny like the whole thing is funny to me alright three-point contest some bigger names in this one I guess you could argue who you picking here I'm going with Kevin Hurter and I looked at the odds yesterday he was like the biggest underdog put my bet now because I'm going with Kevin Hurter he's just a pure shooter and these are the kind of guys who live for this type of moment Kevin Hurter is never going to participate in All-Star Weekend again so Capitalize my guy Red Velvet bring it home to Sack make Pazza proud Pazza as a two-time winner I believe one of the greatest pure shooters ever I'm going with Hurter what you got Chandler Red Velvet I like Damien Lillard he's got the most experience here most threes he's going to be the most calm that's not going to get to him and I honestly think he's one of the greatest shooters of all time and we don't talk about that enough but what is he plus 470 odds yeah give me him he's the best shooter in the competition huh nobody's taking the favorite 4-point shot too they had the long shot last year right so I think Dam gets that and you know that's his money so I like that alright that's fair the skills challenge Chandler I'd like to see on your face how excited you are for that I didn't prepare myself for this I don't know who's in the skills there you go we gave you a screen this is where they dribble yes they dribble oh those are their teams yeah those are the teams so you get the not the top team not the top team I don't know who's going to make the jumper on the top team there give me the bottom I like the roots you know what the roots they're going to try the hardest Jay and Ivy's going to go the fastest they have a little bit of handling little passing I really like team rugs oh you really oh I'm sorry you went from who's in it to you really like team rugs now that I saw the field yeah I'm all in on team rugs the brothers onto jacumbo one last year if it matters you know I'm going to be taking a break while this is on I'm going to go with the onto to kumpos because nobody tries harder at meaningless things than the honest family the kumpo family I'm sorry so like the ultimate try hard all do expect to them like go get this trophy for the second time they've essentially made it a group a group of it for them so we go do it like I'll be somewhere doing something else body break no it's crazy I did that I did this one here and I it was so I did and it was so boring and it was just horrendous but I I get footage I did it it was like I did it and there was it in Houston and there was a WNBA player and there was a legend me Cheryl swoops and Kenny Smith where you had to do oh yeah which I remember when they did that configuration I don't hate that configuration did you didn't wait did you even did you even sweat did you even have to shower after did you go put your outfit on and like get back to Saturday I was sweating tequila most likely nice behind the scenes ladies and gentlemen you can only get here we got that man as a family yay yay yay alright we'll start things off with Mr. Siakam okay his family is literally on his team his family yeah I think he stepped over that's been happening is that Mo Wagner yeah I think that's Mo but the lesser Wagner brother how many times do we get them but how about this we return the favor you got him back yeah nice little rip through I like this a game that surely seven people watched but they got to see these cool rooms it is fun to watch him play when he does things like this at his size and his length it's just mesmerizing it's actually mesmerizing like my eyes don't understand anything Markel bumps on precious some highlights in this game alright yeah right yeah right was there any other games by the way Markel's been doing a lot of things like this and having a lot of highlights yeah one overall pick man he's showing the flashes yep probably uh yeah Bradley feel on drew banks well I mean that was never gonna work and he taps the head afterwards oh so that is that's hurtful we reached the we got our white guy getting dunked on quota for today we've yet to miss on this one this is now we're so woke where's the left at Brad where's the left he's no left hand like what's up oh we are gonna take a break and when we come back we will try and help you make money with our parley picks it's end of the weekend rich with the NBA's best taking the court in Salt Lake City for all star weekend why just watch well you can earn a share of ten thousand dollars in cash prizes when you enter the rising stars pick them challenge delivered with door dash on fan duel all you have to do to answer ten questions about this Friday's rising stars challenge the more you get right the more you can win enter for free on fan duel dot com today I am stoked for that game okay uh wow I hate to do this but Chandler you once again are the only one that got it right yesterday how you feeling like clockwork these days by the way I love that mine again plus eight and they lost by ten like I this is almost comical you've had some bad beads missing yeah I'm really not good at this at all but that does not mean we stop trying kids because if we can learn from this we can make it better for tonight Eddie talk to me what do you have uh look I missed mine by 25 points yesterday I'm going to Knicks with the points rest of the Hawks I think they're the better team they won't be Channing F Trae Young in Atlanta but they'll be playing like it so I'm going with the Knicks okay Knicks getting love from Eddie weird Chandler uh I like the Sixers minus two and a half over the caps I did see Joelle indeed was game time decision which that's obviously gonna hurt my pick there but yeah but you know what I took the Nuggets the other night with no Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray and they still got it done so it's my week it is your week and I don't even know why I'm bothering to do this but I picked the easiest smallest possible differential I could so I got heat plus one like that I really I don't even know why we're going to do our best for you guys oh I cannot believe it's finally all star weekend you guys are we having all star parties are we watching alone on our couches what are we doing I can't say I have anything plans why am I not surprised yeah I will not be in Utah no you'll be in Utah no uh by the way I mean to say it like that uh programming next week and the following we will be on one hour later which means 11 a.m. eastern enjoy the festivities