Can the Magic win the East next year with Desmond Bane? | The Domonique Foxworth Show

Can the Magic win the East next year with Desmond Bane? | The Domonique Foxworth Show

off top the world record for the fastest 100 meter time on all fours is held by Kenichiito 1571 play music this is the Dominique Foxworth Show [Music] welcome to the Dominique Foxworth Show i’m Dominic Foxworth that’s Charlie Kravitz just us bros you know what’s really funny i was actually just googling whether or not Usain Bolt held the 100 meter record for longer than any person in world history and the answer is yes really it was 15 years uh it’s not 16 years the previous record is 15 years that’s funny because it’s only because I guess it happened while I was like he took the record while I was like alive and paying attention that it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago 2009 it changes hands pretty frequently but yeah you you think if he focused he could beat the all four record 15 no no i think it’s a totally different skill set i actually watched the video and it’s it’s very animallike like it’s it’s not what you would expect he kind of turned himself into like a galloping dog but it’s not full extension it’s weird that’s exactly what I would have expected have you seen the Have you seen the videos of people who train themselves to run like horses yes I’ve heard of the I mean I’ve I’ve seen and they jump over the gates this is not where I expected do you want to know why I Googled USA bowls cuz I saw Tyreek Hill running a 1015 and running winning that race and I was like damn a 1015 as a part-time track person is ridiculous cuz I was like oh maybe he could be a 98 guy if he had been like track only and the fact I mean I I guess the Usain Boltz made me think that like the stride length is a lot more important than it’s been historically but Tyreek he don’t got no stride length like that’s incredible power yeah i mean it and I looked at the Tyreek Hill race after I watched the streamer I show speed dust Ashton Hall the uh the morning routine guy when he tumbled in the background that was amazing and then we got the the post race routine when he was fake crying his speed i mean he’s obviously like I’ve seen him do these athletic like feats before he’s obviously a good athlete but like does anybody like what’s his athletic history was he like a great high school athlete did he do anything in college like he’s I have no idea i don’t even know how old he is i just have seen him do like 500 consecutive back flips and I know he’s a world class athlete all Yeah all I know is that and like he’s really into like Ronaldo right that’s it i think I think we’re we’re showing our age really badly let’s let’s talk about sports that we actually know something about um yeah let’s do that um so we have a loaded NBA day um I mean I want to start with the Desmond Bane trade but we also have Kevin Durant’s impending uh new team we have the NBA finals we have talk about game four and preview game five you’re going to be listening to this on Monday morning uh before game five but I want to start with the Desmond Bane trade because I think that there are just so many factors that I want to discuss so this news came across our timeline today on Sunday when we’re recording this and it was sort of a whoa Desmond Bane got traded for four first round picks contavius Caldwell Pope and Cole Anthony is a nice bench guy and the the crown jewel is the Phoenix pick next year um that’s unprotected and is going to Memphis in this me Desmond Bane uh uh trade desmond Bane’s making $36 million next year by the end of his contract gets up to 44 but it’s a pretty good contract when you saw this trade what was your first reaction cuz I think there are a million splinter points we can go after so I was surprised that my attention because I feel like it’s it’s first which team is more interesting and I was surprised that even though like it feels like the Grizzlies have been in our like zeitgeist for a longer time like I was more interested in Orlando obviously seeing the East as winnable like that’s what this trade tells me is like they see the East as winnable and they see like Desmond Bane addresses their biggest issue and like which holds them back from being a modern NBA team is their inability to shoot he’s a great catch and shoot player also a solid defender and like he can create too like I only think Paulo Beno when I think that team and a healthy Jaylen Suggs as people who can create them is really good france Wagner I don’t Yeah okay so I mean maybe you can educate me because I I’m going to feel pretty silly when you tell me how great France Vagner is like I know lots of people really like him but when I watch them play I feel as though like Suggs obviously was injured but it just feels like Apollo team not so I don’t want Yeah that’s that’s the point I’m making it’s like there’s a Yeah okay i thought you were going to make the argument that Vagner was someone that I should respect on the level of um like a real number two he’s he’s certainly not Paulo Banker like this to me is you’re right it’s a bet on Paulo who I think honestly at this point is it’s he’s still underrated for a number one pick like he’s he’s exceeded my expectations offensively and like you you hit the the nail on the head they were the worst three-point shooting team by percentage of the of the last decade since the 15-16 Lakers and Desmond Bane since he’s been in the league is the second best catch and shoot player in the entire NBA the numbers are awesome and they don’t really dip in the postseason stuff um so it’s a perfect fit on paper and so my reaction when I first looked at this was I was like whoa four first round picks for Desmond Bane that’s a lot and I took took took a step back and I was like wait a second those picks with the exception of the Phoenix one and of course the Phoenix one yeah it’s a disaster if that turns into AJ Deansa in a year like of course I think we can all say that i don’t think Phoenix is going to be that bad and the percentages aren’t aren’t aren’t going to be that crazy and you look at the Eastern Conference where there’s two and a half good teams where you’re looking at Indiana you’re looking at New York you’re looking at Cleveland going into next season and if you’re Orlando you’re like this is a bet on the fact that we have an emerging player we have France Vagner who is an awesome playmaking wing like I’m not saying he’s like a championship number two i’m not comparing him to the guys at the best guys in the league but he’s a fantastic playmaking number two um Suggs who is the Michael Jordan of Alex Carusos who I think is just built to be in a playoff series if he could stay healthy at the right time and now your team has has an identity you are a tough physical team you look at Suggs you look at Paulo you look at Bane and they are the archetype of we are the the thickest most versatile team team in the league like you know to me it’s like I I actually think that they didn’t overpay at assuming that that Phoenix pick doesn’t go crazy next year i don’t think they actually overpaid for this team cuz I think it’s going to be a lot of picks outside the lottery i know you can never bet you can never be sure about that but I feel like we’ve looked at some of these at some of these other like role player trades whether it’s the the deal for Male Bridges um and quite frankly I think Bane’s a better offensive player than someone like Bridges and I think it’s it’s a great bet for Orlando yeah i mean I think the the you were kind of half joking about being like this big thick physical team but the way that they call really i mean but it was kind of a it was funny to hear because yeah we both talk about how Bane and Ben Carroll like don’t have the traditional like basketball bills they look so like in the playoffs there’s a we’ve been kind of driven home this season more than I think in previous even in pre previous seasons how different the playoffs are and that’s something that matters so that’s like one little throwaway but you mentioned something that I thought was a place that I wanted to go and you the way that you described it was that they made this trade for this team which is probably the right way to think about it and I think that’s the way that we thought about the Paul George trade and the way that we thought about the Bridges trade and when you think like you’re overpaying for a specific player you’re not paying for that player you’re paying to complete your team and I’m not sure that that the Magic are completed quite yet but it doesn’t seem like as bad a trade or as risky a trade if it ends you if it ends you up in a position where you are competing for the Eastern Conference which I think is a realistic thing to consider right now for that this is blood in the water this is blood in the This is why Giannis is talking about want not wanting to leave Milwaukee this is why everyone who has a decent roster in the east like they realize this conference is so much weaker than the West and the gap is going to be enormous next year like this is like you look at the West the these teams are going to get better like like Dallas is going to get better san Antonio is going to get better oklahoma City is going to get better and you look at the East and it’s like Boston the king is dead right now um and like obviously that’s not permanent because Tatum will come back and you have to assume that it’s going to be a Durant like recovery where he seems like himself like I just he’s such a professional i I am I’m I’m not ready to give up on that being the outcome cuz that seems to me more likely than him being a really diminished version but I don’t see Boston competing next year cleveland has all of these playoff questions indiana’s in a great position and they have this identity but you know we’ve seen five months of them being an elite basketball team it’s not in and I don’t think anyone seeing Indiana and being like I’m scared off of going allin right now and I think that I think Orlando knows what they have in the building and they know that if they put a real team around Paulo like that he could be the A1 on a team that goes deep in the playoffs that’s my feeling coming out of this and I think I mean we’ve there’s been so much talk about this being like one of the craziest summers since 2016 and I would not be shocked if any of the other teams try and make moves like that i mean a lot of them are hamstrung but this is the time where it’s like oh if you have a shot to get one of these guys go for it because it might be your best chance to win the East over the next decade yeah i mean I I intimated that that the Magic had more moves to make but like there really is no room to make any more like significant moves like they can add around the edges going forward but I don’t know that they need to make any like considering what we discussed about the East so I I think it’s probably fair to go on and talk about the Grizz now and from that perspective I guess the first thing comes to mind is do you think that the Grizzlies were shopping Desmond Bane or the Magic were like “Hey we have this hole that we need to fill and we’re going to call the Grizzlies and and and give them whatever they want to give us Desmond Bang.” Cuz I think that that determines whether they were acting on an opportunity or they are giving up on this core right i I I don’t know i don’t know but my my gut is that they just know they’re completely screwed in the West and um to me it’s like we should go through all of this but what’s what’s crazy to me is like I don’t know if you feel this way it feels like yesterday that this team was the Thunder that this team was the future of the Western Conference that they were I know I know people have laughed at their two seed and being like “Oh sweet you were a two seed one time but we were like Job was the most exciting player in the league jiren Jackson who since won a defensive player of the year is like this nice fit as a pick and pop big and I know his foul stuff and how incomplete he is as a rebounder and stuff drives people nuts but they were that team they were the team that was trying that was playing whoop that trick against the Warriors and we were like like they’re they’re the new grit and grind Grizzlies and quite frankly the fact that it has fallen apart now I my my gut is even if it wasn’t them giving up on on their core it’s going to be now now it’s going to be like the first of several moves well I mean I guess so like they were a two seed not too long ago they went on that skid fired their coach and then got swept in the playoffs and it got really ugly really fast and that I guess all that stuff in succession would feel like this is just the next move and them after firing their coach kind of accepting that it was over but I mean they still have the two most important pieces like I unless they plan on doing something which the fact that that I don’t think it’s absurd that they can move John Moran at some point like it’s not completely out of the question tells me I guess all I need to know about how they feel about this roster i mean by the way this all comes back to John Moran is instability yeah like straight up like the opportunity in their window to build something passed because one John’s second year in the league when he was able when he was a real jump shooter turned out to be an aberration not a trend and two his instability and injuries I know Jackson’s had injuries too um but that’s why this team hasn’t built into anything he’s not on the court that much and it’s for injuries and other stuff and he’s just not the player that we thought he was going to be his second year in the league and that’s like yeah you could trade him i don’t I mean I’m sure teams would love to have him he’s an incredibly rare asset as someone who can get his own shot whenever he wants but I don’t think the market for him is what we think it would be for a traditional superstar cuz it’s you’re acquiring a ton of risk for him the Jackson piece is like that’s one who I think a lot of teams he has one year left on his deal for $26 million in this in the second apron era even though you’re going to have to pay him um he’s someone who I think a lot of teams like I’m sure there were eyebrows raised after this Bane trade today when they’re like “Oh let’s call out Jiren Jackson let’s figure out just because he’s so unique where he’s an away from the basket big man who is also elite defensively elite defensively like he would be on the floor in the finals and it would be like he would fe he would be awesome he’d be awesome in this series.” Yeah and I mean and J obviously is far from elite defensively but I think if there was someone you notice I went to Ja before I went to Jiren Jackson because if there was one that I thought they would be willing to move from it would not be Jiren Jack Jiren Jackson like I would think so like to your point about the I mean I guess it depends on what the the obviously the goal is to win a championship with everyone i think it’s not in this West right but I’m saying the piece that I think could play on any roster is Jiren Jackson like he is a championship caliber player i think the um You mean you don’t want to trade everything for a ball dominant point guard who doesn’t defend or shoot threes yeah uh and I know how ridiculous it sounds but like I they’re far enough away from the championship that maybe that’s not something that you could consider but it reminds me a little bit of like the Knicks current situation and is where it’s like all right yeah if he plays out of his mind he can get you far but like it’s going to be really hard it requires a uniquely built roster yeah right and and team whereas Jiren Jackson like you if you hold on to Jiren Jackson and try to accumulate a lot of pieces and draft picks and try to build around Jiren Jackson you maintain a level of roster flexibility that I don’t know that you get if you have John I I mean it’s we might be going too far down this road because it’s probably unrealistic that they move on from either i do think despite the fact that John Moran is probably more like thought of and is considered more of the Yeah the better player I think Jiren Jackson might be the better championship asset if those things can coexist yeah i mean Jared Jackson’s like a superstar role player like you see a lot of the stuff that Chad’s doing in the NBA finals and you’re like “Oh I could see Jared Jackson he’s not as good of a rebounder um and he’s also not as like um tactful of defender with the Val stuff but he’s really a lot of the same stuff.” I don’t know i I kind of feel like I I might have talked myself into something crazy cuz you got a guy who can get a shot at any point and that’s I was about to say I kind of I kind of disagree with it just that like I don’t think that for because the thing is right now and I know you like I know you hate tanking but I would ask like if you were running the Grizzlies you’d be listening to offers for everyone right yeah absolutely i think that’s the that’s where the Grizzlies are right now i’d be listening to offers for everyone and I even though I talk myself into a a rebuild around Jiren Jackson I don’t know like John needs guns we go have to figure this out he’s too damn talented and the thing is like the the rebuild around Jiren Jackson is like he’s a superstar role player yeah he’s not like I hate saying that about someone who’s been an allNBA player and who’s made he’s won defensive player of the year but like that’s what he is like you can’t build around him you can build he’s someone who builds around your superstar right it’s essentially I talk myself into trading away the quarterback and trying to build around an awesome receiver which is I mean the thing is though like if if someone did come in and was like I will pay overpay for John Morant right it’s like yeah like of course he puts butts in seats he’s so popular but I think you still have to consider it like I’m not like at this point like it’s for what for why we’re we’re in Ricky Waters territory it’s like for what for why with John Rant um and it’s not I don’t even think that’s loser mentality i just think that’s like an actual look at the timeline and like you had a window and you know job blew out the glass sadly but yeah no I mean I think those those decisions are like you have to be in the building because it’s it’s like how how are the vibes around here as silly as it sounds is like I think totally yeah it’s like how how does he feel how do how do the players how does the organization feel about him it’s hard to just like on the court make a projection like that because if you have a superstar that’s happy to be there and everyone is happy to have him there and you keep them and you try to figure it out around him yeah definitely i um I mean I I’m now like really excited for I mean I it’s so funny this is so NBA it’s like we’re having one of the most competitive most fun finals we’ve had in a really long time i I was about to say I’m now really excited to see who else gets traded where’s Cat going to be where’s Kevin Durant going to be well we should put a button in we’ll we’ll put a button in that we’ll come back to the Durant stuff because I think there’s a lot of interesting stuff there i do want to pivot to the NBA Finals because we’re on the eve of game five the series is going back to Oklahoma City and I I thought game four was a banger uh it was so good um I really thought there was a chance that uh the Pacers were going to step on on OKC’s throat and then that fourth quarter there um you know I listen to what Zach Low said about it and he of course pointed out that they use Shay as a screener and that opened up things offensively for the switch to get him on Nesmith they pointed out the way that they’re actually able to get into Seakkum for the first time in the series um but more than anything that game felt like a true gut punch game to the Pacers where they had the the thunder on the ropes and watching that I couldn’t help but wonder do you think that the Pacers missed their opportunity to win the championship in game four i mean if I’m being honest with you my answer is yes but I also feel like we have to show the Pacers a little more respect this team that’s kind of bounced back at every possible moment i think they will continue to bounce back obviously if they go up 3-1 we’re looking at pretty much series over so this is it was definitely a must-win as much as a must-win can be when it’s not an elimination game for the Thunder but it did feel like the Pacers kind of had their best shot and we saw at the end of the game you can learn so much about NBA teams in those final me minutes and SGA was just closing them out and they were attacking N Smith it seemed like whoever was on N Smith like it was Jaylen at first and then SGA and you saw on the other end of the floor Hallebertton was he was making some shots but he was struggling to get good clean looks he’s getting threes blocked he was getting turned away and and passing it back out like it just felt like uh one team was running like offense that they were comfortable in and the other team was kind of in a little desperation mode so I don’t know i think a lot of it might be based on some like preconceived notions about this but we expected this defense to suffocate and they did when it mattered the craziest thing about that game and we’ll I I I want to look forward a tiny bit is that three for 17 from three for Oklahoma City jeez like I know that everyone’s everyone’s seen these stats by now we’re a couple days late on this but not winning an NBA Finals game when you hold your opponents to three made threes is that’s a true gut punch and that’s like a that’s an opportunity missed when I asked that question you know I thought I thought Oklahoma City was going to win the series in five i think Oklahoma City is the better team i don’t I actually don’t think that I don’t think the Pacers are going to roll over at all like they just keep playing because of the because of how great Carle is as a coach and um how good they are how physical they are defensively and how how they get the ball pinging around like there are points in that game where their offense just looked fantastic and like that the that Oklahoma City there was a point in the second quarter of that game where I actually wondered if if Shay was and this it’s this is how funny NBA games are cuz at the end Shay closed it where I thought Shay was saying no Moss he was jogging back on defense he wasn’t like totally engaged offensively and then he ended up taking over uh down the stretch and Jaylen Williams was also fantastic in that game his straight line drives were incredible but like to me Indiana has such a like a personality in a way that they play that’s so relentless i would be stunned if they didn’t go into that game and just try and like throw a haymaker in Oklahoma City to start yeah i mean I I agree with you and I want to be careful because like I I wrote down when I was watching the game about how it felt like SGA’s example of leadership and like him setting a tone and he’s like has the identity of the team like that calm relaxed SGA nature of it like I want to be careful not to be like creating a narrative around the outcome but it it did feel like that it did feel like like this unflapable kind of guy and had they lost I would have been like he was lethargic and like was not it you know like I’m I’m concerned about using the result to say something about him but he does seem calm and confident in these moments and it does feel like it it like permeates the team because that was a really high pressure situation they’re down 2-1 and trailing with a few minutes left in the fourth and he took the damn game over offensively at least and I mean he got a block on he’s awesome he’s a two-way player yeah and that I mean that and it and the entire time it wasn’t the way that we have been conditioned to expect those like it’s like loud reactions and stuff like he’s just the same guy all the time i mean it feels like in the um Denver series and in this series it feel like it felt like the whole team kind of got behind him in that way what do you think about all the talk about Scott Foster and the refs i ain’t pay any attention to it man like it’s that was so stupid the refs didn’t change the outcome of that game sga did do one griff late in that game though it It just stuck out in my mind because he had been doing I mean I guess he did like the the swing through where you catch a guy’s arm he did it one time it didn’t bother me it was only once but that’s the only thing that as far as fouls are concerned that jumped out and got my attention but yeah I don’t know i don’t really care about the refs too much if there’s some big conspiracy y’all could come i need somebody to do some real investigative reporting and tell me about it but I’m not going to spend any of my time watching these games like “Oo what do you think?” Scott Foster calls just wait until Scott Foster is dating a 24y old then we’ll get the investigation that’s the only way to get a real investigative reporter’s attention no other way we’re getting an investigation on on what’s actually going on with NBA refereeing gosh Scott Foster would never i don’t know about that Jim um uh no I mean I thought it was I thought it was silly but yeah no I’m I’m pretty excited i I I have convinced myself the series is going seven now because I’ve just convinced myself that no matter what the Pacers are a no die team like it’s the thing is I’m with you but those those final couple minutes look like uh it just looks so it look I mean I I’m being a prisoner of the moment no they’ve had this is the craziest thing about the Pacers team about their relentlessness and why I can’t write them off is like they’ve had stretches of the last two series where they’ve gotten blown off the floor the end of that game the beginning of game one which they ended up winning the beginning of game two the first three Knicks games like all of those games they had moments where it looked like that they were like “Oh it’s time it’s it’s struck midnight.” And every single time they’re able to come back from it and start engineering offense and chipping away at teams and being incredibly physical and like yeah like they have less talent than Oklahoma City of course but like as long they they can keep N Smith and Nemh hard in these games and stay disciplined cuz a huge part of the end of that game was uh Nith fouling out even though of course Shay was attacking him it just led to Matan being on him at the end of the game and then he was he crashed out even worse than than Nith where it’s like you know they’re getting nothing for Miles Turner they had their first down part from Seakum and like to me it’s like I don’t know this this team is nothing if if not incredibly resilient i’ I’ve started drinking the Kool-Aid and I still think Oklahoma City is the best team you’re right but when you said Mathan crashed out I just remembered how he dove into um SJA’s back on an inbiome pass like Matan had some wild plays at the end of that game the funniest part about all the Matan ones is he was shocked that he got called for a foul when he every time like I I rewound it to watch because the way that he fell into um SCA’s back and then looked confused i was like “Oh somebody must have pushed him.” There was nobody around he just dove he just decided to dive into I’ll send you to play in case you don’t know what I’m talking about it’s a round i know exactly what you do it was before the ball was inbounded yeah and what he grabbed Jaylen on another inbound pass he had two like pre-inbound pass fouls and was apoplelectic at both like no you you cannot spear somebody just kidding it was also he had the foul on SGA where he hit him on the arm and then was like pretending it was a flop it was like no dude that was as clear as it was like the definition where oh you actually didn’t let him hit like have his full shooting motion that’s not even a flop that’s just a foul yeah he slapped him on the forearm and that was Huh it’s uh it’s one of my favorite things there’s some there are some players who I think are doing it just cuz they think they’re like owed the call of superstars and then there’s people like Benedict Mathan where I think he might have he he has convinced himself he’s never convinced he’s never committed a foul in his life he knocked out he I think he got so and it probably got an even bigger confidence boost when he knocked out two Cleveland Cavaliers with plays that should have been maybe flagrant fouls and they got reviewed and were nothing um that reminds me you’ve come a long way on the way you feel about the Pacers i’m proud of you yeah that that Cleveland series you really weren’t a big Pacers guy i um you know they’re two games away from winning the NBA championship jeff if I can’t give them respect at this point no but you were like mad at him before and it seems like you kind of you kind of like him now i still I still like it’s unbecoming of a lottery pick that you become that that you’re just like an all-time hack in an NBA final series oh man unbecoming is great like you I just go I just like tisk tisk tisk like I thought you were supposed to be like a super sub you’re just out out there hacking so prediction you have you have you have OKC in game five yeah I do too oh okay but then you still got us scoring seven though yeah I have a close game and I have I think I have Indiana winning game six subject to change on how game five looks i can’t predict two games in a row um okay let’s talk about your man’s my man’s DMV the greatest yeah so we have an update on the Kevin Durant Durant um I I don’t know if it can be sweep stakes i guess it’s just his next his next team and we know more about the the obstacles that exist and what’s going on and he’s he from his perspective it’s been reported he wants to go to Miami Houston or San Antonio um there’s a lot going in here into this but I I think it’s interesting he gave multiple teams he’s not doing the thing we did with Phoenix being like I don’t want there to be a market i want to be able to go i want to go where I want to go and that was fulfilled by Brooklyn um the first thing I’d ask is do you think that this Kevin Durant trade request do you think it benefits Kevin Durant more or the Phoenix Suns more i mean I guess it depends on the result like uh yeah it depends on where he ends up but I think it honestly I think it it benefits Kevin Durant more like this Phoenix team as it currently constructed is not going anywhere there is a chance that Kevin Durant can go somewhere that has success whatever they get back for Kevin Durant is not going to turn them into a championship contender and it doesn’t seem clear that they’re ready to go into full tank and rebuild mode they’re going to keep Deon Booker and try to build a winner around Devin Booker and they’re not going to get back from a 37year-old Kevin Durant they’re not going to get back the pieces to win a championship in the next three or four years and whatever is left of Devin Booker’s window so I think there’s really no chance that this turns out like or there’s limited chance that this turns out great for Phoenix there’s a chance that if Kevin Durant goes to one of these contenders that we all will benefit but Kevin Durant mostly will benefit from being on a contender in important m moments and really helping teams out put a pin in the Durant stuff i agree i want to tell that I this is the definition of a win-win trade request and I I I think that nothing was going to happen with this team in Phoenix like we just saw them healthy win 36 games they’re not even close this core like the the trading for Durant and gutting the roster the way it did he’s one of the best players in the history of basketball this what’s happened with the be trade since and everything this is has gone as poorly as as possible um we’ve gone through a bunch of coaches we’ve gone through X Y and Z and it just has not worked um with that said this is an all-time favorite for for Phoenix to be able to trade him and not demand a single spot where I know there he makes a ton of money he can sign a four-year extension where take him into his 40s and he’s going to be making $60 million a year phoenix was DOA before this no options no picks for the rest of the decade in hell and at least they have something where there are two teams in this and I’m taking Miami out of this he keep Mafia you can be very upset i that one just does not make sense to me even though maybe it’s a bam trade because he’s made comments similar to Jimmy Butler about Pat Riley in the past year um or maybe if that’s the case great call it in feel great about yourself that doesn’t really make sense to me for Kevin Durant um of why you wanna why you’d want to end your career not going you know for championships when you’ve been this great and you have you know not have thing had things work out post Golden State the way that you imagined um I mean that would be the second worst decision of his post Golden State tenure after you know tying all of his future to Kyrie Irving um so that just doesn’t make sense but to me what was interesting is when he put Houston and San Antonio on that list he put two people two teams in Texas bidding against each other that both think they’re going to take take a leap and potentially compete for the championship next year and that’s the favor for Phoenix that’s the He set up a bidding war where Phoenix is going to be able to get back more because he has picked these two suitors that are in direct competition that have the same needs not the exact same needs but a lot of the same needs of needing a you know a primary scorer and and shot creator and to me that’s a huge favor for the organization to get as much return as possible yeah the so to me at least and I know this sounds a little bit absurd but like to me because the Rockets actually made the playoffs and didn’t embarrass themselves but like it seems like the Rockets timeline because their team is so young is and I know it doesn’t sound consistent because Vic is only 20 Victor is only 21 but like Victor is ready now guys like that team is ready now Fox is healthy yeah Fox and I mean I assume Castle I I mean I assume Castle would be in a deal right castle in the second round pick what no no way they’re giving up the number two overall pick and and Stefan Castle for 37y old Kevin Durant no way i mean what is Dylan Harper right is that’s the projected the 66 guard is the second round pick you think they keep Castle you think they keep either you don’t think i think there’s a world where they keep both in a Kevin Durant trade so what do what are the Spurs giving up a bunch of future first round picks bunch of future pick first round picks so that’s I mean I guess Harrison Barnes that’s the part where I’m I’m confused is because everything that I’ve read about the Suns is that they intend to they still Matt Ishbia still intends to win in the near term like and a bunch of a stockpile of picks isn’t what he wants let me put this which is why the the the Rockets would be attractive let me put it this way minnesota Yeah wouldn’t include Jade McDaniels in an offer right yeah so he’s 37 okay i mean is it because Minnesota wouldn’t include it doesn’t mean that the Spurs wouldn’t include uh Stephen Castle in the number two pick or one or the other i don’t know i think wishful thinking i think you think you’re going to keep both of those things your best two assets you’re going to keep both of them for Kevin Durant they’re not the best two assets the best two I mean come on that best the best best two assets that are reasonable to move like no one’s going to Vick’s not going anywhere they just have so many picks um but you probably get two years with this Durant at this level i mean I don’t know you projecting anyone into their 40s i know that there’s like LeBron and Brady and Ronaldo like you don’t know like Durant Durant misses 30 games every single year it’s just different because like he I mean he kept the front of his hairline and his jump shot still looks good we don’t like for some reason he’s too tall for us to to recognize the aging but like genuinely cuz it’s like it’s so smooth like it’s like when you watch the old Durant clips and like he’s much more of a statue now than he was in 2014 when he was freakishly athletic like I don’t know he’s been more injured than LeBron over the last half decade by a lot by a lot and it’s like he’s 30 he’s 37 and we look at LeBron and we’re like “Oh we’re we expect him to miss a quarter of the season every year and maybe get dinged up in the playoffs.” And it’s like really that’s true for Durant it’s just that every time he comes back from an injury he looks the exact same that we just somehow like we just like memoryhole it every time i’ve never followed up on on any of the like the untouchable guys in trades because like some of that has to be like negotiating when teams like leak that there are certain guys that are untouchable i don’t know i guess I should look and see because I find it hard to believe that everybody that everyone says because like the the right now the Rockets are saying that they won’t come off of anybody from their young core like please stop it we don’t believe you you Yeah um well obviously Green they’d be happy to move on from Green but I guess uh Thompson twin they might hold on to him to me I was about to say with the exception of the Thompson with exception of Thompson I don’t think that those assets are close to the number two pick or what what Castle could be i mean Shenun’s a really good player shenun is is There’s significant question marks about him as a as a playoff guy um and Castle exceeded X i mean it’s a really weak draft he was the best rookie there’s a lot of things that he’s like a perfect guy to play with those guys i would be I would be surprised i Let me put it this way i would be considerably more surprised if both of those assets were in the trade than none of them yeah okay it felt like you were saying that neither but I kind of think neither would be my guess what yeah okay all right well mark it down put a Put a pin in it not a button like you said earlier because buttons are put button you put a pin in it button is on that where did I come with button it doesn’t even make sense no button is like to when you end something you put a button on it you said put a button on it but you wanted to put a pin in it and it’s been bothering me the whole time it’s 11:40 at night give me a break all right all right well you give me a break too because I’m sure I said something dumb along the way um but no I just uh I to me that’s I just when I look at the Spurs like they have they accumulated all this draft capital my guess is that that’s what’s going to go into this and I I don’t know i don’t I Phoenix is in a really interesting spot without their picks um and all of you know you trade Durant and if he stays healthy you’re giving up a team i guess here’s a question if Durant’s in Houston or in San Antonio do you think either one of those are title contenders next year san Antonio um Houston I don’t know i had to I had to see it in action i don’t know i I feel less confident in the Houston situation than I do which sounds absurd i know but No no i mean there’s a chance next year if Victor is healthy then I was about to say there’s a chance next year that that Victor is one of the three best players in the NBA like genuinely by the end of the season he’s the best defensive player I’ve ever seen ever fox yeah fox can play and you add Durant to in some with Castle i mean the Durant wyama yeah with Castle and Harour with the Durant Wim Wimbeyama pick and roll was going to be tough um I This has been bothering me for a little while when you brought up Victor it made me think of how he’s doing this monk thing i love it yama i I love it too i love Vic also but does any of it feel like with the playing chess with the playing soccer and the now he’s a monk it kind of feels like the NBA knows he’s going to be great and they’re just trying to make sure we hit every market we got to make him putting side quests on him we was like “Hey let’s make him let’s let’s keep him in the news let’s make him more likable to every demographic we can find let’s make him a monk.” And I I mean I don’t know it just kind of has been in the back of my mind i don’t expect you to when he was he shaved his head and was running barefoot if you saw a 7 foot five guy uh doing anything but just dressed as a Shaolin monk with the shaved head running it’s so ridiculous but I just want to see him block shots and shoot crossover i you know I will say like it really assuaged all my concerns about the blood clot stuff just why you think I know because it was like he’s done blood thinners before and he wasn’t supposed to be doing exercise and then running with monks and playing soccer okay okay well the soccer Yeah yeah the soccer was post clots you’re right yeah in Costa Rica in the offseason this man is having a hell of an off season good for him i um He’s so likable it’s awesome the monk thing is awesome yeah I cannot wait until he’s meditating on the bench in a close playoff game and then he just comes out and just just ices a 40 foot three in someone’s face oh man what a trip to Miami by the way it’s great trip to Miami i mean the travel back was a pain but everything else was great which is why we’re recording at 11:40 at night and I got half a Charlie on and I mean I full Charlie or I full Charlie full Charlie i just It’s just I’m holding back for bringing up golf well you don’t got to hold it back the golf was interesting it’s interesting uh interpersonal psychological golf stories that’s that was interesting to me like the golf itself not so much the individual sports I mean golf isn’t tennis tennis is great but individual sports watching guys struggle with the mentality and be honest about like Rory talking about after the Masters he kind of hit a law yeah was interesting to me and and essentially said he demands that he may not want to make the cut or he he said that at the point he asked himself do I really want to spend two more days here I don’t know finding that confidence to be able to say that for like guy like Roy was pretty awesome we can talk we can we should mention JJ Span in a second who won the US Open um after and hit a 64 ft putt to to seal it which was sick he put it like five feet out wide and had it swing in the swing in the front door he has tennis to thank for that i know um but the the Rory quote and we’ll we’ll I’ll put a pin in JJ Spond and come back to it um if I can’t get motivated to get up for the Open which is the British Open but now they just call it the Open Championship at home then I don’t know what can motivate me i climbed my Mount Everest in in April and I think after you do something like that you got to make your way back down you’ve got to look for another mountain to climb that is interesting honesty from someone who I I think after he won the masters we thought Rory was going to rip off a bunch a bunch cuz it felt like five was not enough majors for him and he could he just really wanted to uh complete the grand slam I guess but like you’ve talked about like the next frontier of sports analysis and scouting is psychological testing to me this is like it’s I’m not judging him he’s an amazing competitor he’s an incredibly talented golfer but like this is like a genuine separator from him and someone like Tiger like he is showing that he bleeds in a way that I am shocked in an individual sport that you would come out and say yeah you I mean you said honesty which is the part that’s actually shocking and interesting the fact that someone’s actually feeling this way is not the part that’s shocking and interesting to me it’s that someone would be willing to let people in and say it openly and I think that also I brought up independent or individual sports that’s also something that’s unique to individual sports if you’re representing if other people are depending on you and you’re representing a city or something like that it feels entirely different someone says something like that you know and I mean it’s we’re even not used to it because we have all this mythology around the intensity and the mindset of of athletes but I think it’s great like I I don’t know i find it interesting that players are willing to be honest rather than pretend and it is kind of unique cuz you’re right it feels like because it’s it’s juxtaposed with the winner of the open who was saying that he played better when he felt like he didn’t have um this burden weighing on him this pressure and Rory’s like the pressure is finally off now I can stink i mean he didn’t play poorly but now he played I mean Rory threw his club like five times he split a team marker he played what he was like plus seven at the end right yeah i mean he played two rounds i mean I guess I’m not a golf guy like you are but like from what I understand US Open is a place where you can have a terrible score even though you aren’t terrible right yeah oh no the course is Oakmont was like it’s insane and that was one of the coolest things i mean this is the pivot to to the JJ Spawn stuff that was so cool was golf is also about luck and he opened up with five B five bogeies and six holes he was felt was tumbling down the leaderboard they had this break because of rain and like some of the breaks he the breaks he got before the rain were terrible like he had a ball that hit the flag stick and rolled I don’t know 40 yards off the green leading to a bogey and his round just started unraveling and he gets this this rain delay the courses adam Scott called it borderline unplayable and like he was right like these guys were hacking it around through mud and water and stuff and after that after that rain delay he just came out and was nails and he had a 40 on the front nine and shooting a a 32 on the back n to win the US Open when you’re not the longest hitter when you can’t take certain things out of play like these other guys it was just relentless and that sort of like to me it was it was like incredible how competitive he was down the stretch to win that to win that tournament it wasn’t like a last minute standing he he just won that so yeah I don’t mind golf when when that’s the the circumstance is like when it’s when that’s what I’m watching and I I guess since I’m not a golfer it’s harder for me to appreciate the golf in those situations but because like it’s about toughness it’s about mentality it’s about concentration it’s about um blocking out the noise like when I can get latch on to a story line like that like then it’s interesting then each shot matters i care about each shot in a way that it’s easier when it’s team sports because like I know the history of the Pacers and I know the story of SGA those things are a lot easier for me to latch on to but when I get and yeah with the Alcarez um and center match like those are people characters I know and even if I didn’t know them through the course of that match you felt like you’ve got to know whatever demons they were struggling with in their personality so I don’t know I I don’t know what I want for Rory but I want him to keep golfing so I can watch and keep talking more than anything i uh I I want him to figure something out i don’t like this version of Rory that’s uh like surirly with the press and upset with like I I don’t know i don’t I don’t know i want him to be good again i want you to win oh go win the the open won the Masters what do you mean he’d be good again he just won the Masters yeah well he’s in a funk he skipped the memorial he skipped Jack’s tournament didn’t tell Jack your luminary and you know he came out and he was spiking clubs breaking T markers not playing like Rory Maroy after after he didn’t make the cut at the PGA he’s in a weird funk and I want him to I want my Rory back well if he can’t get up for for um the open then I hope I hope he can’t and he just is honest like yeah you know what i don’t feel like it i’m good if he just hits you with I’m good i would appreciate that from Rory just uh brutal honesty just get a We need Coward to say “Rory we got JJ Spawn we’re good here now.” Classic yeah it’s one of your go-tos i haven’t heard that one in a while that’s one of my favorites hey hey LeBron we’re good here now because Oh it was about Ben Simmons i know i know i It was Yeah no better place to leave it than there i think it was just so funny and that’s not even a shot this is an alltime great podcasting moment oh bad if you say so all right Charlie I appreciate you sorry that my travel um made it so you had to stay up late but happy Father’s Day to you and Fred and Dobby look at him cheers all right Charlie thank you thanks all the great producers and we out this is the Dominique Foxworth Show [Music]

Welcome back to The Domonique Foxworth Show.
0:00 Introductions
2:50 Who won the Desmond Bane trade?
18:28 Looking ahead to Game 5 of the NBA Finals
28:50 KD’s preferred trade destinations
41:34 Rory McIlroy’s comments and J.J. Spaun’s major win

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