Thunder title sparks asterisk debate; Presti eyes a spot in Top 10 in the Draft | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Thunder title sparks asterisk debate; Presti eyes a spot in Top 10 in the Draft | FIRST THINGS FIRST

DANNY PARKINS: All right, Brou,
our resident NBA historian. Sorry, Nick.
NICK WRIGHT: Whoa! Whoa! CHRIS BROUSSARD: Thank you. DANNY PARKINS: Do you
agree that some champions deserve an asterisk? CHRIS BROUSSARD: Recognize!
NICK WRIGHT: Resident historian? I mean, come on! Go ahead. No, I am staunchly against
asterisks for NBA champions. And the reason I am is because,
if you go back in the history of the league, and since
I’ve been watching it, since the ’70s, many years,
injuries play a role. Like, Magic’s last
championship, Isiah Thomas had the ankle injury, where
he scored 25, in Game 6, in the third quarter,
on a bad ankle, couldn’t hardly play in Game 7. He tried. But, like, so, injuries– And you could go on and on. And Isiah’s first one, Magic
tears his hamstring, I mean, during the series.
– Yes. The Lakers had a
lot of injuries. Yeah, so, like– You’re not gonna
out-history me, buddy. We’ll go back and
forth the whole time. Come on. It was all just to needle you. But, yeah, there’s
always, you know, injuries. In his list, there
were years where, obviously, he kind
of, tongue in cheek, threw something out there. DANNY PARKINS: It was a
lot of sarcasm, I noticed. But there were
also a lot of years where there was legit stuff
that you could point to. And, so, for that
reason, I’m like, look, a championship is
a championship. It’s hard to do. So, no, no asterisk. That said– NICK WRIGHT: Here we go. –all championships
are not created equal. Absolutely. All championships
are not created equal. Like, LeBron’s championship
in Cleveland, number one, it’s your home town, first
championship in 52 years for the city, and
you came back from a 3-1 deficit against the
greatest regular season team– Like, that means more than
any of his other rings. But some people still
try to do an asterisk– CHRIS BROUSSARD:
Because of Draymond. Because Draymond
got suspended. Like, so, don’t you think– I’ll let you finish. I’m sorry. No, I was just going to
point out, like, I mean, the Spurs in 2014,
that championship, when they ran over Miami, was
more impressive than the ’07– NICK WRIGHT: Beating
him young in Cleveland. –when they beat Cleveland,
which was young, and just LeBron dragged guys there. So, it’s fair for us to
point out the differences in in-season championships– DANNY PARKINS: Yes. –while still respecting,
hey, you got a ring, but there are differences. It’s like, every platinum
album, they’re all great, but they’re different degrees. There’s different levels. And that’s what this is. So, yeah, I mean,
listen, I think people– The reason the
asterisk thing exists is because they literally put
one in the baseball record book on Roger Maris’ home run record. CHRIS BROUSSARD: Right. Like, there is a literal,
you open up the record book, there’s an asterisk, and it’s
like, season was too long, and we liked Babe Ruth more. What we’re talking
about with these, whether you use
the word “asterisk” or not, is a mental note. DANNY PARKINS: Yes. Yes. Do I think that
was the best team? That’s what, to me, this is– So, there are– The best team that season? Yeah. I think there’s, again,
different degrees of it. So, the one that I think
everyone points out, they’re like, they’re
champions, they should be proud, they definitively were
not the best team, is the 2019 Raptors,
where, like– No, you know what I mean? The best team, they
played them in the Finals. That team’s best or second-best
player played 11 minutes, and its third-best player blew
out his knee during the Finals. And so you don’t take away
from the accomplishment, but you acknowledge it. And there’s another version of
the mental asterisk, or note, for players’
championships, which is Gary Payton with the Miami
Heat does not feel the same– Right. It doesn’t change his legacy. Right, as if he had
won it with the Sonics by beating Jordan. And a lot of people
regularly do it to Durant. Like, yeah, he’s a
two-time champion, but– I do it to him. I do it to him. Yes. And, so, I don’t
think, by the way, OKC would qualify for
any of those things, even though Haliburton got,
hurt because Haliburton played six full games. They also were the better
team, you know what I mean? They were the
favorite, all of that. But I do think people take
their own stock of, like– CHRIS BROUSSARD: Absolutely. –what each
championship weighs, so to speak, and the
players’ contributions to it. Listen, I loved the article. It was just dripping with
so much snark and sarcasm. And with the
asterisks, I did like, for Houston, sorry
to the Rockets, but first one doesn’t count,
because Jordan was playing– People do that all the time. Jordan playing baseball,
and then, for the second one, he was like, Jordan
was playing golf. Love that.
– They do. But, again, there’s degrees. It’s not treated like
Durant’s championships. No. Well, so, Durant’s
championships, and I know he hates
this, and I think that no one should have a
bigger beef with ring culture than Kevin Durant–
CHRIS BROUSSARD: Yeah. Agreed. Because when he was with
the Sonics and the Thunder, everyone was like,
all-time great player who doesn’t have a
ring, is he on his way to being Charles Barkley? The cap explodes, every team
can afford a max player, and he’s like, I’ll go
join the 73-win Warriors. And then we move
the goalposts on him immediately, like, sorry, those
two rings and two Finals MVPs don’t count. And, yeah, I don’t
know what to tell him. Like, you got them. It’s on your resume. You’re an all-time great. But Giannis’ one in Milwaukee
is more impressive than Kevin Durant’s two in Golden State. Jokic’s one in Denver is
more impressive than KD’s two in Golden State. Call it my own
personal record book. That’s how it works. But there are no asterisks. And the only thing with the
article that I didn’t understand the premise of is,
like, is anyone actually putting an asterisk
on this Thunder team? NICK WRIGHT: No. This one, no. They were the
second-youngest champion ever, who had the best
point differential in the history of the NBA, that
won 68 games, with the MVP. Like, this is as legit of a
title as we’ve seen in a while. But I do think, and I said
this yesterday, if they don’t win another one, this team,
they won’t be looked at as, like, that great of a team. See, to me, and I’ve heard
you say that, this is just the– As a single-season entity, I do
think they’re a historic team. No, but the thing on
that is there are no– Their numbers are,
but do you really– I mean–
– Well, and their total wins? 68 wins. No, but there are no– In this league, there
are no single-season all-time great teams. Like, when we talk about– Well, I would throw the
’83 Sixers, but that’s it. I do too, but I
don’t consider that a single season, just because
they made the Finals a bunch. But, sure, you know
I think that might be the greatest team of all time. Yeah, they were
always getting close. It’s not– There are– The NFL is very different– DANNY PARKINS: Of course. And I’m not– Like, a lot of the– When we talk about the
best teams in NFL history, we very often are
talking about one year. The ’85 Bears, the ’07 Pats, who
lost, but you know what I mean, single– When we talk about the
best teams in NBA history, we say, player, team,
era, you know what I mean? CHRIS BROUSSARD: Yep.
Yep. Yep. And so that’s, I think,
where they have to qualify. But don’t– I do– I understood– Haberstroh’s
article was a knock at the idea that we don’t– You know, that we would ever– That every champion
shouldn’t get respect. And everyone deserves respect. But we also should not put
our fingers in our ears and act like the context of
a championship didn’t happen. CHRIS BROUSSARD: Right. For this Thunder team, I
think it is as close to as clean of a title as one can
get, even with Haliburton going down in Game 7. These are the three
things, I think, where championships
are the most respected. Flat-out dominance, right? Yep. They have it. A stunner, or an upset,
like the ’04 Pistons. And iconic players. Like, I think every LeBron,
Jordan, Steph championship is respected. Now, maybe Durant, who is
iconic, is an exception to that. I think he’s an exception to
a lot of these conversations. It was such an
exceptional situation. DANNY PARKINS: Jonathan Givony
reporting that the Thunder are trying to move into a top-10
pick in tomorrow night’s draft. No rest for Sam Presti. OKC, of course, the
favorites to win the title next year by a
considerable margin, seemingly wouldn’t
need a top pick. But, Nick, they’re
trying to get one. Your reaction? Yeah, this is almost a
necessity, not because they have to add an impact player, but
they can’t add as many players as they’re slated to. Like, their roster already is
at 15, which is the maximum, and that’s without two-ways. And right now, they have
the 15, 24th, and 44th pick of the upcoming draft. And this is what’s unique,
Brou, about the upcoming draft picks the Thunder have
in the first round over the next few years. They have a bunch of them, but
none of them are great picks. CHRIS BROUSSARD: Right. Right. So, they have 15
and 24 this year. Next year, they
have Philly’s pick. We don’t expect–
I don’t expect– And it’s top-four protected. Could be some
injuries, though. It could be injuries, but
it is top-four protected. So, the best that
could be is five, and I think Philly expects
to be in the playoffs. They have Utah’s pick,
which sounds great, but they won’t have it, because
that’s top-eight protected, and Utah will be
in the top eight, because they’re going to
be bad, and their own. And then they have two Nuggets
picks over the next three years after that, a swap with Dallas,
and a swap with the Clippers. The point is what they are
probably going to have to do, Brou, is package a bunch
of these types of picks for one player or one pick. I think that’s smart, and
I think that’s the only way they can make the roster work. Look, in Sam Presti I trust. DANNY PARKINS: Amen. Amen! That’s right. And this is why he’s been able
to build this championship team and build great teams, you know,
several times during his tenure there. And here’s the thing to
remember, because I assume, and I’m sure we
all assume, they’re going to build around
their big three, right, Jalen Williams, Shai, and Chet. But, remember, the first
big three they had there, they did not offer
James Harden the max. Now, it was close,
but it wasn’t the max. And that’s why he
left to Houston. He said he’d have stayed had
they offered him the max. And that was a less
punitive CBA than today. Of course. Right. So, they could be, you
know, just, hey, let’s just get some great players. Like, Cason Wallace
is a lottery pick. He was the 10th
pick in the draft. So, let’s see what he– He might become a Jalen
Williams type player. So I just think the more players
you can get who are really good, the better,
because we don’t know if they’re automatically
keeping all three of those guys. And to Nick’s
point, they won’t. And to your point,
Sam Presti is the best drafter of the last 25 years. They also have Nikola Topic, a
6’6” point guard from Serbia, who’s been playing pro
ball since he was 16, who tore his ACL. He’s 19 years old now. He was a top-five talent
in last year’s draft. They got him with the 12th pick. He’s already on the squad. So, Sam Presti can
do whatever he wants. He wants Knueppel? Want to trade into
to the top 10? Being 10th in 3-pointers
wasn’t enough for him? He’d be a good–
He’d be good for them. He’d be a perfect
fit for that. I don’t think– I mean, I think Knueppel
might go top five– He’ll probably be gone. But I got you. But if he wants to, trade all
of your first-round picks from next year and move
up with 15 and 20. The point is, Presti can
basically do anything he wants in this draft. But I consume a lot of your
content, my good friend. Thanks, buddy. I appreciate it. Yeah, it’s a great show. It’s an honor to share
it with you guys. And I just want to say that
I want to issue a little bit of a challenge to you. – Wow!
– That’s right. This is like old– If people don’t know, Danny and
I went to college together– That’s right.
That’s right. –gambled in
college together, made a lot of long-term NBA bets over
the course of people’s careers. – That’s right.
– Go ahead. Call this, like,
a high-stake take, put your money where your
mouth is sort of thing, because he is selling Thunder
stock, they won’t be a dynasty– I’m not selling Thunder stock. You are. You’re dismissing– I’m just not buying
it up, like you. He already picked
Houston, yeah. All right, so,
here’s the proposition, Mr. Luka, your large,
adult, Slovenian son. Oh, OK, good. All right. SGA, career titles and MVPs– So, right now, he’s got
two and Luka has zero. SGA -1.5. OK. I get Shai. You get Luka. So, basically, it’s Luka
has to win more titles and MVPs combined than
Shai does moving forward? Correct. Correct. Yeah, sure. CHRIS BROUSSARD: Moving forward? So it’s not already? Those two don’t count? Well, that’s why he said -1.5. So, it’s like, but if
they finish moving forward with the same amount, he wins. Right. If Shai gets to four and
Luka gets to two, I win. If it’s 2-0, 3-1, I win. That’s fine, because
Luka is going to win, I’d say two MVPs and two
titles, so he’ll be at four, and I don’t think Shai
will win another MVP, and maybe win another title. So, yes, 100%. I might have done the
bet without the -1.5. What are the stakes? I was going to say, you didn’t
even have to throw that in. A “Breakfast Ball” check
against a “First Things First” check? That doesn’t seem
like it’s even odds. [LAUGHTER] But, sure. It’s just an idea. We can hammer out the
actual financial details. CHRIS BROUSSARD: And
you know I love Luka. Oh, but you’re out on Luka? No, I’m not out on him. But it’s time to start
winning some of these things– DANNY PARKINS: Thank you!
Thank you! Some MVPs and
some championships! Well, luckily, he will. It’s time. Now, reportedly,
he’s really taking his conditioning seriously. Oh, yeah, Skinny Luka. Skinny Luka.

Nick Wright, Danny Parkins, and Chris Broussard dive into the asterisk debate surrounding the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA title and discuss Sam Presti’s strategy as he eyes a spot in the Top 10 in the draft.

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Thunder title sparks asterisk debate; Presti eyes a spot in Top 10 in the Draft | FIRST THINGS FIRST
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