Why Giannis Antetokounmpo will play for Houston Rockets | Colin Cowherd NBA Prediction

Why Giannis Antetokounmpo will play for Houston Rockets | Colin Cowherd NBA Prediction

I do think what what is interesting and we got a lot of things to talk about, but I was talking to the staff before we did this is most of the time if there’s a sort of a trend in sports, I love decoding it. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Like I’ve, you know, I I’ve got my theories and beliefs. The NBA West is now so much better than the East. It has been for 30 years. And a lot of it’s just because bad ownership in Charlotte and Chicago and Atlanta and Washington. It’s like a that’s like the all bad owner front office teams are all mostly out east. The the West Denver and Houston now are capable of winning the title. OKC just did. San Antonio is going to make a huge leap. Minnesota’s really, really good. The Lakers have Austin Reeves, LeBron, and Luca. Golden State has Butler, Draymond on, and staff, and the Clippers are viable. You could argue all of those teams, I mean, the Warriors were a playing team last year. All of them could compete for the Eastern Conference Finals. I’m not sure they could win it. I don’t I don’t think the Clippers could win it, but it it is interesting. The only thing I can account for the dominance. It’s like SEC times two. Like, the SEC had a 20-year run, but now the Big 10 feels as good or better. The West is pulling away. Some of it’s just Tatum and Hallebertton’s injuries.
My guess is its ownership stinks out east. That’s I mean the the Knicks firing Tibs. I mean any thoughts on the domination? It’s a winter league and the weather’s better out west. I mean I don’t even know.
I think I think that that’s actually a piece of it, right? I think like some of it is people want to go to LA. That’s two of the teams. Uh the Warriors became a juggernaut worldclass organization. Silicon Valley business that that’s out. All these guys now have podcast companies and media companies and all of that. Your your your ownership point out east is luck of the draw. Some of it is lottery too, right? Like the Spurs won the lottery in the Webyama year. West. Dallas wins the lottery in the Cooper flag year. West. You didn’t mention Dallas. Dallas has Kyrie Anthony Davis and Cooper flag.
No, you’re right. I forgot to put Dallas. And there’s six teams I love.
Sorry to interrupt this great video, but please remember to like and subscribe. Thank you. Now, back to the video. I think that what Milwaukee did make made sense. I know they’re getting killed for it, but they were just the five seed in the East. You are as much of an NBA fan and historian as I am. Can you think of because I have a period of time that I’m thinking of where the gap between the best player in a conference and the second best player in a conference has been larger than what it will be next year between Giannis and the second best player in the East without Jason Tatum because like second best player in the East next year, Kate Cunningham, Carol.
Ban Carol. Sure. Jaylen Brunson like Giannis is 32 and six and still a top 15 to 20 defensive player in the league and the only reason he’s not top five defensively is because he’s doing so much damn work on offense. Like they were just the five seed. They absolutely believe that they can win and they might be dead ass wrong and you know they gave up everything for Dame and Drew and then Dame got hurt and you could not like Miles Turner’s game but Milwaukee is saying Giannis gave us everything including a title and he wants to be Kobe. He wants to be Tim Duncan. He wants to be here forever. So, in the East, why can’t he grind us to 50 wins and the four seed and his third MVP, which would be there’s only nine guys in NBA history who won three or more MVPs. And like that season, even if it doesn’t end in a title, that’s a season that Bucks fans would love. Like that that’s a worthwhile exercise in professional sports entertainment. I think if the I think if the Bucks with Giannis and the dame injury and the salary cap situation and the lack of draft picks, if they were New Orleans, if they were in the West, they would trade Giannis. But they look at it and they say, “We’ve got the best player in the history of the franchise at the peak of his powers who wants to be here. He’s not looking for Miami or LA or movie stardom or anything like that.” Like, okay, fine. we’ll stretch Dame and we’re gonna just try to grind out as many wins as possible. Like I think there’s something admirable in it even if it won’t end in a championship. Yeah. So I have the opposite take which is it is so hard. First of all, dynasty dynasties mostly come in certain NBA cities or when you have a transformational player and he has a great coach like Duncan and Pop, Cerr, KD Curry, you know, Magic and Riley. uh you know LeBron Wade Spolstra and so Milwaukee has never gotten the coach right and it’s also not a desirable area and in my life and we’re seeing it now in the 70s and now we’re seeing it over the last seven years it’s just one there’s no great teams with the new CBA and aprons there won’t be you just can’t do it I I mean even a team I like next year a lot Orlando they may never win a title just have a bunch of one A player and a bunch of B plus A minus guys but in NBA history um that sometimes one is enough. Think about how good the Shaq, Penny, Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott teams were,
no titles. Think how good the Sacramento Kings were. They couldn’t get through the Lakers.
No titles.
Is that Luell Cinder got one, Joic got one. My take is OKC won’t win it next year. They’re too inconsistent offensively and Houston now and Denver and all these teams in the West, they’re just going to chip away at everybody. is that if you win one and you have Giannis and you win one and you still have a wildly productive player, but you can’t get the coach right and you get old really fast, which happened in Milwaukee three years ago, Middleton, you know, lower body injuries, you’re like, “Yeah, this is this is getting old fast.” is that and you watch the Rudy Gobear trade, I would have gone, “Oh, we can get six unprotested uncontested first round picks, an all-star and two rotational players.” But I do think smaller markets, the Orlando and the Sacramento, they hold on to stuff because it’s the big show in town. It’s it’s it’s of mice and men, Lenny squeezing. They can’t let go. And it’s like, guys, you have been so old and such a bad matchup against younger athletic teams like Boston for three years. I mean, I think people are forgetting they were favored over Indiana. Indiana destroyed them. The games were competitive. Yeah. I mean, listen, I think there is some truth to that, but there’s also like they’ve had bad injuries at bad times. Like I was at game one, Bucks Heat and it was the one seed v the eight seed and they lose to Miami. Giannis falls on his back in the playoffs. Gets hurt. Isn’t the same guy the rest of the series. Dame hurt in the playoffs. Doesn’t play this whole series. Middleton has gotten hurt in the playoffs. like they I think they like they got one and then they haven’t won playoff series since and we’re the national response is like oh well so then they haven’t been close since in Milwaukee they’re like well we’ve also had bad injury luck to go along with it and they’re you’re definitely right they want to hold on to it and it’s the big game in town but has Utah won the Rudy Gobear trade like the the team that trades the superstar for the four or five or six assets. There’s not a lot of examples of it working out. It It worked out in Oklahoma City. They traded Paul George and they get SGA and a draft pick that becomes Jaylen Williams, but they also had Sam Prey doing the trading and the drafting and there aren’t many of those guys out there. Like, what’s a trade for Giannis where you’re going to turn around and be like, “Yep, the Bucks are going to be back in the NBA finals in three years.” Okay, this is the one. So KD, Shenon, Aman, Temp Thompson don’t win. They get they don’t even get to the finals and KD’s one year older. And then Houston says Ferta says, “Okay, we’re going for it.” Okay, we’re we’re going to go for it. Shenon, an all-star for Giannis. Yeah.
Jabari Smith, who’s going to back up Katie this year.
Sure. and and and five unprotected first round picks and maybe a deep bench rotational player. Now it’s KD, Amen Thompson, Giannis, and other young guys. I get why Houston would want it,
but if I’m Milwaukee, I get I mean Shenon is going to be a 24 point a game guy for next eight years. He’s he’s really a beautiful player.
Yeah. So is Damonte Sabonis. What has he won?
Well, no. No. Okay. Okay. That’s fair. It’s fair. But then I It’s hard. It’s hard. My point My point is it’s I think you’re always going to lose on that trade. And even if your point is, okay, well, 80 cents on the dollar is better than 50 cents on the dollar. There’s something to and you I think we can be a little national, remove fandom, live in a bunch of different places. There’s something to Giannis loving Milwaukee and Milwaukee loving Giannis.
Yes,
he was he was the 15th pick in the draft. He was a skinny kid from Greece and when he came to Milwaukee, you can Google the stories. The NBA was like buying the arena back from the Bucks.
Yes.
Because they were like they’re like, “You need to get public financing for your stadium or we are going to move your team.”
And they got the financing. They opened the building. Ownership says, “This is a commitment to show that we can build around and win with Giannis.” They built a new practice facility, a beautiful new arena, and then he delivers a championship. And this is just a silly anecdote that I happen to know just from being in Chicago, but like Giannis whenever he would come and play the Bulls, he would go to you you probably know the you know AI the Greek restaurant. There’s one Yes.
Yeah. So the guy who owns it is Luke Canelis the local sports anchor on the Fox affiliate in in Chicago. He’s a restaurant tour also. It’s probably his main business by now. There’s there’s one in there’s there’s like five locations, four or five locations in and around Chicago. And there’s one in Milwaukee that Giannis everyone was like, “Oh, Giannis is going to leave Milwaukee and go to the Bulls because he wants to like have all the good Greek restaurants in Chicago.” And he’s like, “No, I’m just going to open a good Greek restaurant in Milwaukee.” Like he he brought the Greek food to Milwaukee. Like the guy it’s a throwback, man. Like we like Steph Curry is the Warriors. It would be weird if he played somewhere else. Tim Duncan was the Spurs. Kobe was the Lakers. Like there’s I am just rooting for the purity of the 15th pick in the draft who delivers the title to the small market and is like I’m happy. I’m happy. I’m not messing with happy. I don’t think it could. I don’t think I think you’re you like moving. You you you like LA. You’re like, you’re like, I like London and and LA and Europe and backpacking and biking and like you like moving around and I get it. But this guy, I think he just likes Milwaukee. I think we project we project onto Giannis what we want Giannis to play for a championship. And he’s like,
“That’s right.”
And he and I and I’m like and he’s like,
“Why can’t I play for a championship here?” And he’s probably wrong.
Yeah. But he’s probably wrong, but I think there’s something admirable in like the effort, like the the the trying.
Okay. So, you’re more of a sports um romantic. I think you have that.
I can be. I can be. Yeah. Absolutely. I can be. [Music]

Colin Cowherd is joined by Danny Parkins and they react to the latest in NBA free agency. They discuss the Milwaukee Bucks waiving Damian Lillard to sign Myles Turner and whether that will make Giannis Antetokounmpo more likely to stay or leave for a team like the Houston Rockets.

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