oh, as I said off the top,
You just can't create this, you wouldn't be able to make this
up on your own.
Truth is always better than Fiction, I'm biased, but I do
believe that and the Brooklyn Nets have backed me up with
that and Kevin Durant.
Kevin Durant, no longer seeking a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
Vinnie, Goodwill, Yahoo no longer seeking a trade. And
the language in the statement was
we're going to continue our partnership.
Continue our partnership. Oh, is that right?
So Durant? In April said hey Steve Nash deserves to keep his
job, couple months after that
he wants out a couple of
few weeks after that he wants
Josiah to pick between him
and marks and Nash and now here we are.
Late August, almost September
and Kevin Durant doesn't want to be traded. What do you make
of this entertaining franchise known as a Brooklyn Nets?
You said, he doesn't want to be traded.
I think he was told that he wasn't going to be traded and
was training camp. Being a little over a month away. He
wasn't going to go nuclear and not show up. Like there's only
a few players
who will act a plum fool when they get there
or just not show up to get what they want. Kevin Durant, loves
basketball too much for that, and you're right, this is one
of those epic sort of six-week things because it's only been
about six weeks.
A quibble with you
on one thing. Michael Holly, I don't okay, honestly think
I don't honestly think that he wanted Sean marks and Steve
Nash fire, not really.
He just wanted to let them know
how far he was willing to go
to get up out of there.
He tried to put every big Spade on the table
at every time to let them know
that he means business, you know, got a funny story.
I was in Chicago once this is one of those many anecdotes
I was in Chicago, Bring it on, Bring it on visiting
visiting,
and I was there for a pistons-bulls game, and one of
my closest friends from high school and college, he lived
like, far out in the city and he's like, yeah, we gonna hang
out after the game, you know? I'm a, I'm a drive down to
the city. And we
just gonna hang out after the game.
So I get back to my hotel. I'm like, yo, you coming where you
at? He calls me from his driveway.
And he says you know my wife doesn't think it's okay for me
to go hang out so late tonight.
You know what I mean? Like she just doesn't think it's very
smart
but he's in this driveway in his car
so I'm like okay
so what are you doing outside, right? He says he cuts the car
on. He revs the engine
and he says I'm letting her know that I really mean
business.
But you were in the car but you're still in the car, he's
in the car,
threatening to leave great going on, go on,
not going anywhere.
So after we got the phone,
he went in the house
and he went about his life. And while that was happening
I guarantee you. His wife was looking at him saying. Go ahead
and throw that temper. Tantrum
you'll be back.
Yeah, you'll be back. I would now. Let's that was Joe side.
You'll be back.
Okay, Jos. I he can say you'll be back only because maybe and
you tell me,
maybe he kind of muddied the field. So it was impossible to
trade, Kevin Durant. Like, for example, okay, if you, if we
really want to do business, you know, Benny
you're reasonable. I'm reasonable if you have
something if we have a deal to make we can make a deal. The
two of us
in our right state of mind.
We can make a deal.
But if you're saying a, what do you want for, Kevin to Kevin
Durant? And the person on the other end of the line and said,
well 16 first-round picks and
I want your top three players
and, you know, I like
Of course, Josiah knows he's going to be back if he's
instructed his front office, if he did, do that
to make it really, really difficult
to trade him.
Did that happen?
Well, I think you can connect the dots and see that for one.
Joe side wants that building for
he does not want to go through
one of those rebuilds. Where even though he said, I'd rather
have a team that plays hard and everything else. Once you have
a little bit of distance from that you
Building for you. Want to be the guy walking around New
York. That is the owner of the Brooklyn Nets. Even if
the Brooklyn Nets, don't mean a damn thing. Relative to the New
York Knicks.
You still want to be the rich guy. That owns the team
in the building that everybody wants to be a. That's the place
to be, right? So yeah, it looked like a very unserious
negotiation from the Brooklyn that standpoint it looked like
a very unserious negotiation from other teams standpoint
you're not willing to give your second-best player.
You looking to just throw some powder in there
well player who's entering year. One of a four-year deal
which means if you have some level of franchise confidence
he's going to be there
for a significant period of time or significant period of
time by NBA. You know, by the NBA calendar, which you know,
basically only operates into your intervals. And but other
teams could look at it and say, you know what, Kevin the right
if you were going to leave it for
years left. Why would you not leave with three years left?
Why would you not leave with two years left? But I'll tell
you. Biggest point of insult for me.
Kevin Durant. At worst is maybe the third best player walking
in the world. Maybe the third best player at works
and you mean to tell me
that other teams were not willing
to give up everything possible
for that works. The third best player in the world.
I think those are the franchises were crazy.
Like if you're killing me,
call me crazy. But I think they were crazy. Call me crazy.
It's
no, I can't call you crazy because it's
I kind of want to call you crazy, but then I just look at
it, I go back and forth on it on one hand, you look at those
numbers from Kevin Durant,
I mean,
and and 38 percent from three-point range. You know,
he's capable of more than that. He can give you 40 41 but no
problem.
So those numbers are great
but he is 34,
it will be 34
next me.
Even he has played about 90 games.
In the last three seasons, he missed some time last year
as well.
He's had some serious injuries to like last year's injury,
like a big deal and then obviously the the Achilles.
So
if you are certain kind of team, what are you doing? Yeah,
you're getting the second at worst. As you say third best
player and you can make an argument for the top spot. Yeah
you can that player. But how long are you getting him?
What's the position of your team after you?
Giving up so much to acquire Kevin Durant.
Are you in the same position
as a lot of these?
Contenders with a small c, not a Capital C
because you're missing a couple of elements
because you gave it all up to get Kevin Durant.
So I mean, I don't know,
not a, no, you're missing it wrong. Here's
here's what the crazy thing about the NBA is the NBA moves
faster. Probably didn't even the NFL at this point at
the NBL to me.
We're building teams,
operating three-year intervals.
NBA contenders operating to year intervals. Remember what
we thought about? Golden say, two years ago, we thought they
were done. We didn't think that stuff can lead the team to
a title looking where they're not in a champion
guilty. Exactly Milwaukee. We didn't, we didn't think
Milwaukee was going to be able to put it all the way together
with yanis as a leading man.
And if not for Chris Middleton's,
you know,
injury right before, right? Before the start, the second
round, they they put Boston out and they're playing in June,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry to her. Boston Celtics fans,
but up I want to is no excuse,
but what I'm saying is
but my larger point is that
two year intervals,
Everything Changes, the world, the NBA world move so much
faster. Not like there's no 6 or 7 year, rebuilds there's no
six or seven year Windows of contending you worry about
today
and you worry about tomorrow
and next week will come on next week comes.
So why worry about Kevin Durant three or four years from now
when a he has the type of game
that will age well
L & B you can talk all this stuff about the injuries that
you want to.
He came back from a Jones fracture and 2015 looking
better than the MVP player, he was before he came back from
the Achilles rupture looking every bit like the MVP player
that he was before then.
So you mean to tell me that an MCL injury on a player who's
not overly reliant on athleticism on a great shooter
and on the greatest non-system player in the history of
the game is going to have problems. Aging, I don't care. All Hey
listen,
Ben, please somewhere somewhere. Close to Brooklyn.
Brooklyn,
I bet you. There's a member of the last poets.
Know, that's something that poem
time is passing and running passing and running look
time, waits for no one, not even Kevin Durant at something
else. So, that Jones fracture what year was that it was he
probably
2015. Yep. Okay, we and we don't know why don't you
remember that happen? But
remember,
he was in his prime
and he's still playing at a high level, but 27. And as
you'll find out, probably have found out there's a big
difference between 27
and 34, so
yeah, that's great. He was able to overcome that
but I'm not counting on it and okay, so let's say it's two
year window. I buy that if you're a Boston you would have
traded Jalen Brown and whoever Marcus Smart.
And some first-round picks
to bring in Kevin Durant,
you would have done that
you traded 2014. I'm winning all the while
are you winning? Otherwise is the question. Did they lose
that is the yeah, shut up. The question, did they lose?
Because they didn't have they lost because they didn't have
Kevin Durant last year
or they lose because they lost you watched it, you where you
saw it up close,
why they lose the championship? Because I want the butter to
know they lost. They weren't the better team. They
What's a better clean
and they weren't the better team in the Eastern Conference
last year, they were a Jimmy Butler, put some old legs on
this three away from getting knocked out in the conference
and I can't do it Christmas. I mean, we're
not taking it away from him. But what I'm saying is, come
on, what I'm saying is hard, when I'm saying it, when you
spin it forward, you have to look at things soberly and not
emotionally and say, can the circumstances
that aided us? Ting to where we got to in the NBA finals.
Still hold true
next year. If all things are created equal
and I will say no.
So how about we move through the variance?
How about we go? Get the baddest man alive
and say meet me in June.
I like playing in June
I like consistently playing in June.
I want to take the chance of not playing in June so if I got
the chance to go get Kevin Durant for the next two years,
I'm going to do it.
Well wait a minute. Okay, so if you're filling out,
okay now since you've already
you've gone you've gone hard in on
you've bought in on Kevin Durant
since that's the case,
then you can only answer this question one way.
You think the Brooklyn Nets are the favorite with Kevin Durant?
Are they the favorites to win the East next year? Because you
got the best player you already like Kevin Durant. I know you
like Kyrie as a player
so he got Kevin, you got Kyrie.
You got Ben Simmons in theory.
All right. So
are they the favorites come out of the East? Well because
there's, there's questions
surrounding things. Besides Kevin Durant, the Kevin And
Saga obscured.
All these other issues that the Brooklyn Nets
had yet to answer to this point. He almost gave them
a little bit of a past as much as this was chaotic and frenetic
and everything else. We didn't ask the question about Steve
Nash to real right guy
to lead a championship team
or Sean marks. Not if he's the right guy for the job.
But did he do the requisite, things to build a championship
team? Because when I look at that roster, I looked at
LaMarcus Aldridge. Ridge and before that was Paul Millsap
and Blake Griffin,
they left a lot of things in the front court that a team
like, the Boston Celtics, they don't have that problem. They
have time. Lord, they have you, they have wings, they have
size. They have that lettuce is mmm.
All of those things at the Brooklyn Nets, don't have,
because they have star power
installed Park, star power, excuse me,
can't obscure everything. There's a certain franchise
stability
that the Celtics have that the Bucks. Have that the Heat have
that the Philadelphia 76ers are trying to have. That I'm not
sure the Brooklyn Nets have. Now you can also say in
the same breath,
Kevin Durant, you played a huge part in whatever this culture
is or is not absolutely right. But guess what, I know
sometimes some people tear up a house
you know what they do? They don't fix it up.
Yeah if and leave
So, tell me this,
I didn't expect you to say that,
which franchise
will regret it most in your scenario. Hey, how could you
let the baddest man on the planet? Just just sit out there
for a long time. Will it be? Miami
will be Phoenix because those two were on the list, he called
he named checked in
which franchise will say, what
Hell, were we thinking? We had a check, Kevin Durant.
We had a chance to get them and we turn it down.
Well, I think Miami wanted it
but because of the machinations of the salary cap in the rookie
scale extensions, you couldn't have bam out of bio and Ben
Simmons. On the same team. You couldn't have two guys on
roads, rookie extensions
on the same box, and you can't drive them with Trayvon. That
that's the sort of one of those tricky things. So I think Miami
was willing to do whatever was necessary. But
you know, the CBA messed that up
Phoenix, that might be the one that when it's all said and
done depending on how DeAndre 8 in that, Works out of mind. You
I'm a DeAndre Aiden fan. I think he might be
like the third best sooner in basketball.
But when you look at where Phoenix was
and if you if you're
if you're willing to write off
that Phoenix suffered an aberration and second round,
they just got caught at the wrong time by the right team.
They just ran out of gas.
Can you
realistically? See them running it back when it's an
excuse me? Want to 64 games again.
With Chris Paul being a year older, the league trying to
catch up a little bit and having the same
circumstances that helped you. I don't know if that's going to
be the case and I do believe in Monty Williams as a coach. I do
believe in Devin Booker, but if I'm, if I'm Phoenix,
I definitely especially while the Andre Aiden was out here,
trying to figure things out and you weren't willing to pay him.
Initially, I would have been exploring every nook and cranny
to get Kevin Durant in my built.
Yeah, I thought I'm proud of you. Vinnie, first of all, for
just dropping it like you did today but I'm proud of you
because I thought
you were about to go into a Chris, Paul
rant of Chris Paul take down along the way. I thought that
was coming because, you know, that just kind of rolls off
the tongue for you, but no, he's a generational training guard,
he's a generational point guard.
Yeah he's a generational point, guard
dot dot dot. There's a there's a there's a post. Nothing else
there. Generation generational point guard. He's getting older
but he's a generational point guard all time.
No, no denying that wife's no slander no shade.
Did I hear you say? Twice a point guard. Isaiah Thomas ever
was, that
did I hear you say that?
Is that what you? It's too early. It's too early. It's too
early. It's too early for your nonsense. Michael. Hollow, you
will not drag me into this Rabbit Hole, not doing that.
Missed you man. I missed you. I just missed on.
No no that's the only reason you doing this and you only try
to get under my skin because you miss me story of my life
that's I get it and love you. Very
thank you man you too bro
absolutely not