The Sound of Thunder: Breaking Down OKC's Dominance, NBA Trades, and Surprising Team Resurgence"

  It's Friday. You know what time it is? Front runner podcast. Collective is back on air. I am your humble host Vince and today's. Friday is going to be chock full of information. From around the league, but remember. We are going to go around the art. With the Pacific division. With all that being said we're changing up the format. We're going to get into things a little bit quicker. But before we do, I w I do want to talk about a couple of little changes that are happening. It's low peak behind the curtain a little bit. I just got a Mac book. And. And so that's where I. You boys making the leap to apple. And so officially this podcast will be. Like apple presented. I can't wait to get into everything. So it seems like it's going to streamline a lot of stuff and the credential quality is going to go up when there's a certain individual. That sometimes wants to remain silent. What. On this one. Actually has some thoughts. So Sariah, go ahead. Slow eighties clap for you Vince! This is the news I’ve been waiting for! Streamlined editing, faster uploads, no more fighting with outdated software. Trust me, this will save us hours of frustration and make your producer's life way easier. Welcome to the bright side. I got to say, switching over to Mac. At this stage of my life, it feels weird. It's almost like. Writing or learning how to ride it, like a human cycle of something. But I'm excited to see the improvements. I've been told from. Our trusted producer. That is going to make. A world of difference. So I can't wait to. See how that is going to be. So with that being said, let's get into the podcast and. Let's say our mantra before we get into the podcast, be a friend and tell a friend. So you be a friend. Bye. Subscribing to the podcast to follow the podcast. That is how. You are being a friend now tell on a friend. That's the ultimate being a friend. Saying, so what you're doing there. Is you're letting somebody else in on the fun. So if we can continue that will be great. Now. We have so much to get it to what the first thing that we're going to get into is our new segment. And we've been throwing around the idea of calling it a front running thoughts. And it leads us to the OKC thunder. And I watched that game last night. And This is. Some of my thoughts on what's corn on. Okay. See. There are a bunch of dogs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said it best. This team is full of cockroaches in hyenas. They're relentless, crappy and just downright annoying. For the opponents. And basically, if you look at their numbers, They're forcing 16.2 turnovers. Ah, Upon his possessions. It's the highest rate. It's the highest rate since in the NBA, since 20 19, 20 20. They are. They get a bunch of deflections in the In the possessions there, they're just handsy. And if you hold the wall for more than two seconds with them, It is guaranteed that you're going to have two guys and one of them going to be slapping, trying to slop the ball away. Is pretty much incredible and it's not just S.G.A.. It's Jaylen Williams is lewd Dort. Two even second round or second year guard case and Wallace. Everyone is buying into the defensive intensity that is going on. And The hands are everywhere. And you can feel the frustration from their opponents. They had a 32 to run. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last night. A 30 to two run. This is the type of dominance that we were used to seeing with. The golden state warriors. When in their heyday, when they had Durant and Steph and drain Mon and clay. But. It was interesting to me to see. Without heart. And should I. So without re a real big, a real legitimate big in near. Seeing how they decided to go hit and play that game. And the defensive intensity from one through nine. Is so impressive. You have to give so much credit. To mark dagnall and his staff. It always has reminded me of. Kind of a AAU team or a really good like college. Team or whatever the case may be. They seem so connected. They do their interviews, their post game interviews together. And. The scary part while this team. Is there without their best defender. Now. You can talk about Caruso. And you could talk about whatever Crusoe's whack. But Chet homerun is still out. With the hip. And now we're in January. Remember, we had talked to well, That. The early estimations that he was going to be back in January. I'm not disputing that. I just thought that it was a kind of our early. Prognosis for him to come back. Leslie for what the injury was. Now we're in this situation where they're playing at this level. Let him be. If it takes till February, that's fine too. Let them convalesce. He let them get as, let him get 100% healthy. Because. They're still on a 70 Wayne Pace. And when they have all those, when they had their whole team together and one is completely whole. Oklahoma City is Terrorifying on defense! And one group gets winded, and the fresh rotation with active hands comes in! If you are TRUE CONTENDER go out and get a smooth ball handler! It is necessary accessory heading into the Playoffs! This could be one of the greatest defensive teams that will ever seen. It's a It's an incredible performance. Bye. The OKC thunder. Now the other thing with them is this is that S.G.A. is calling up the MVP numbers. 32.4 points a game. He shooting 51% from the field. And. What now is important to understand is that he's able to. Impulses wheel on certain parts of the game. He can. Be an inflection point onto himself. Those are the special players. Those are the ones that we're talking about. And it's funny. He's the one that's breaking through like this. Not because we didn't think that he could. We. Had on second, I think, or third in the MV MVP balancing. Through F RPC. I. We just think that. He gives you on the defensive in and what he gives you on the offensive man. Nobody can stand in front of this guy. He is absolutely going to get to the free throw line six to eight times a game. He is going to be there in the clutch situations in the four quarter. When you need a bucket to stop a run. He is there. And it is so impressive to watch. And he's pretty soft Welkin. He has some swag to him. No doubt. But. He's still pretty much a mystery and just the game. The game is so impressive. And I just wanted to. Talk about what was going on? Because this was the second meeting we saw the first one, it was impressive. We went late. Because we wanted to talk about that game and instant reaction. What this one I want to sit on and especially because of the outcome. Now here's the other thing with this, you can say What does this say? Cleveland. It doesn't say too much, or you can say, Hey. They run, they ran into a bus all. Could this be something. That would cause them problems. In a seven game series. I would think that adjustments would be made now that you have a game like this. In, you have the video on it. You can break down the tape. You can see where you made your mistakes, and then you can go ahead and make adjustment. These type of situations are. Mitigated the next time you play. So the next time these two teams would play. Is the NBA finals. And the way they're both gone right now. It doesn't seem too far-fetched anymore. A. I have been. As far as OKC is concerned, I thought they were still young. I thought that they still had. To deal with some of the playoff rigors that basically Boston had to deal with. And they might've been able to have solved their problem. And I think being able to empower some of the depth guys that they have now. Being able to incorporate them into what they do on a daily basis. And then you're going to be able to implement Chet hungering at some point. Within the season. It's just going to not just lengthen your line up. What is also going to give these guys real time in real opportunity. So then when they are in a situation, That is. Pressure field. You can go back and rely on. What you done repetitions reps. Experience. While black on what, whatever the offensive defensive principles are. They're playing on a strain. They seem to trust one another. And then for Cleveland. You can sit there and go. Is this the situation where. A. Wing with some play-making ability, a wing that has the ability to get into the lane. Does it make sense for Cleveland? I think it will be an overreaction to take one game sample. And say, Hey. There's got to be major changes with Cleveland. We saw them play. OKC almost what? 10 days ago. And they won it wasn't as inclusive, but they did win. Now. You got some information. What do you do with this information? Do you need to augment the team or is there something within your. Your playbook or within your principles that you can augment sold in this type of situation doesn't happen. It's all up for conjecture. I am really curious to see how both these teams play out the rest of the year. And also will they make a change? And speaking change. Let's talk while Philadelphia. Now. The Sixers are now 15 and 24. And Joel Embiid is sideline again. With a neat with knee swelling and here's the kicker. They owe their first round pick. To guess home. Those same Oklahoma city thunder. Imagine that remember all the picks that we've been talking about. Sam Presti gathering. Over the years stockpiling this war chest of pics. He might not necessarily need to make a trade. Because the, just the. Whatever you want to call this just the. Bad. Bad. Decision-making. If this goes wrong. And we. Ooh, it is goes wrong. This is really going to set Philly fans on fire. And. It could, because. They're old, this create. And it's only top six protected. Now we know there are going to be teams at the bottom. So Philly is not going to catch those teams. There's some teams that Philly has a better. Or worst record then now. And there are bilby teams that will find their way. Trying to settle down towards the bottom as well. But Philly, if they're light 10th. That means that pig goes to OKC. You'll imagine a team that is a championship contender. Could end up with something. Like a top eight pick. AMEA is feasible at this point. Because Joel is bead is going to be out for seven to 10 days. And their next 11. Milwaukee. Denver. And Boston are all included in those match-ups. And there's not enough time now. There's not enough time to sit there and say, okay. We can rail him back up. We need, he's going to stay on this. We don't played back to backs. And. I just. This is where we are now. And the funny party wild it is. It's a complete disaster. And Tyrese Maxey deserves better. What the Kroll loan that I have always not understood about this whole deal. Is that back in April. Last April. We asked a question. This particular podcast. We say, Hey. Should Julia shut Joel Embiid down for the rest of the season. Go in. You got the, caspace make the magic Hackman, how Joelle and be fully healthy going into training camp. The 20 24, 20 25 season. We all know what happened. We all know that he came back. We all know that he got hurt before the playoffs. Again. Same knee. Now we've had nothing but knee issues. And even the low management situation is not working because the knee is a chronic issue. And it's never going to get better. That's the point there. That's the part they're not telling you. Is, it is never going to get better. So if you were going to trade him or if you were going to. Make some sort of move or make some sort of decision is, should have been this all season. WE have been right about this since the beginning! Unfortunately Jo Elle M Bead has had brilliant peaks and Spectacular performances. But when you had to have it, Jo Elle M Bead has had injuries and some suspect performances. So all in all! It has been a mixed bag for his entire career! But now we're here. And now we're stuck. And. You got a hope. To either fall. So far. Which you're not going to be able to do. Because the Washington wizards, the Brooklyn nets, the Toronto Raptors, Utah jazz. Portland trailblazers. You're not going to catch those seams as far as. Bottom six record. So you get a hope for some lottery balls to fall your way. I can't thank God for the Philadelphia Eagles. Who are playing my Los Angeles Rams. In the next Raul. We'll see how that goes. We will see how that goes. So now we're going to shift gears gon go into our baseline buzz. And we're going to talk about. What else? Some Jimmy Butler talk. Why. Because. What else is there to talk about? You say Vince, there's a lot going on in the NBA. What about the Celtics while the wool we talking about them on Monday. What about, okay. See why just talk to about them. We got to talk about the Jimmy Butler thing, because he is now, this is grand. The suspension has been lifted. And things are about to get real spicy in Miami. Because Jimmy Butler wants out. He told pat Riley to his face. He wants out. So he culture is on life support. Ramona Shelburne article and on espn.com. Painted a pretty grim picture. The teammates are fed up. It seems like there has been some rumblings out of the actual locker room about the whole. Situation between Jimmy Butler and pat Riley. Riley's patients obviously has run thin. And it's at the point where it's boiling or over. And is wild because Jimmy Butler. Was the embodiment of he culture. He wasn't even that long ago. He was grit. He was tenacity. He was. I'm going to expand. Just. Inhuman. Amount of energy. To win this basketball game. And now. He's basically a pariah. And the relationship was show fractured now that the heat or stuck. Zach Lowe even mentioned that the Kings as a potential Craig partner. But finding a deal that works with both sides, won't be easy. And here's the question. How long can Miami hold on to them. If they don't move Butler soon. This thing he's going to get louder and louder. He is going to continue to cry. Riley. And again, Jimmy, you play in a real dangerous gang. Because. You want to go to Phoenix? And they're throwing out. Teams like Sacramento. No shade to the light to being fan base up there on just, I'm just saying, as far as Jimmy desire. Situation. You guys weren't high on the list. I like the move for. Butler to Sacramento. I think he would give them a level of toughness that they deep, desperately need. Now, depending on who you have to give up to get. Jimmie Weller. If Keegan Murray has to be part of that package, I don't know if I want to do it. Sorry, heat fans. If that was your. Babile that you were looking for back in this This acquisition situation. But. It's going to get ugly. And I hope for Riley sake, that he can go ahead and pull this rip cord. And find something that is halfway decent or is able to give him some sort of flexibility in the near future where. He can go ahead and move on and start to do the restructure of his roster that he so desperately needs to do. But right now. What does the Miami he have other than Butler? And you'll say Tyler hero. Okay, good player. Bam out of bile, heart and soul of the team. No Dell. What if I was sitting there and saying to myself, okay. These are the two light quilters of my team. I need to. Upgrade the hot, the top end talent. To meet those guys more feasible. Even more deadly. I don't think you're definitely not going to be able to do it with the Butler trait. Again, the whole is to get some sort of financial flexibility going into. This off season coming up. And then make a move on, maybe somebody or see if there's a trade out there. That is giving you the high-end talent that you're looking for because Miami is still a great spot to go to. The Jimmy Butler thing, like we said, in the past, it was going to end badly IR regardless of what was going on. Because Jimmy. Has a certain way of being. And fortunately, because he was a self built superstar. It's hard for him to take. Losses on any level. Whether it's financial. Whether he feels like there's a sense of loyalty that he is earned. And he doesn't seem like he is getting it. It was always going to end badly because Jimmy Butler has a chip on his shoulder and he needs that chip on his shoulder. To be special. Good luck in Miami. How fun would that? I can't wait. I can't wait to see where he ends up. And of course. If Jimmy Butler ends up getting traded, there is any emergency pot. Coming up. Or urgent PI, we need to come up with a real name for that. Call it like a. What. Like a front runner bomb. Or missile. Sundae. We want the workshop that. We're workshopping it on the air for you because. Trying to make it personable, as Friday we just chilling, we just hanging out just doing our thing now. Anyway. Jimmy Weiler, definitely going to get traded before the deadline. I. I don't see this. Marriage. Making it until June. I ju I just can't see it. I don't know what Riley is going to stomach back. As far as green able to, I don't think he'll acquiesce completely to Jimmy. Now if there is some sort of three teen Cray where Jimmy ends up, where he wants to be, which is supposedly Phoenix. Who is the other dance parser partner and what do they get wag and return to help this. This little monogamy trois go off without a hitch. These are the questions that we are going to have to get answered. And these are the answers that we are going to get for you. I promise you. So keep it locked. With front runner. Podcast collective now. We move on to one of my most favorite segments. Other choir CAS, which is around. The arc. And we are in the Pacific division. Now, normally. When we hit this. They say, ah, this is where Vince. Is going to wax poetically. About the Lakers? No. I have no more words, wood Lakers at this point. They put me through the ringer. I pun. Not. Intended. Pun not intended cell. Excuse me for that. But who are we? Who what we're going to focus on? Is we're going to focus on the Sacramento Kings. And their resurgence under. Doug Christie's impact. Doug Christie. Who is a former Sacramento king. I played briefly for the Lakers, never was able to put it together, but had really great seasons with the Sacramento Kings. And what's part of that. Legacy between the rivalry between the Lakers. The early Shaq and Kobe years. And then that was crucial. Where we're at. Doug Christie. Mike Bibby and a whole gang of dare. Now. Doug Christie came into a real grass situation. Mike Brown got fired. A lot of people wrote really upset about that. How he got fired a lot of. Coaches came to Mike Browns defense. We even say it on this podcast are the Kings just being the Kings again. And they want a six game losing street. Ever since then. They have won seven games in a row. Christie's focus on defense and energy. Has going to gain changer and also implementing Keon. Ellis has emerged as an unsung hero for the Sacramento Kings. Here's some stats for Ellis. He second in the NBA in deflections per 36. He averages. 2.4 steals per game as a starter. And he is the kind of player who changes the tone of the gang. With his hustle instincts. Plus Christie's given him the freedom. To learn from his mistakes or to boost his confidence. Cause remember, Keon Ellis started like late last year. Because they were, there was a malaise with the Kings last year. And he was implemented into the lineup because Kevin heard her got hurt and they wanted a little more size cause. Malique monk is small. He's six foot one deer and Fox is like six, three. Maybe. So they needed somebody with a little more size and also somebody who's gone. We are. Dog. On defense. And enter Keon Ellis, who was this guy who. Came out of nowhere. And then. For some reason, he goes back to the bench this year. Now, obviously DeMar DeRozen enters the equation a little bit. Which is obviously going to affect your defense in a poor way. Right? When Christy gets a job. He. Makes it a point that Keon Ellis is going to be in the starting lineup. And it made all the difference in the world. And. With. Ellis square here, heading the defense Dematlus wellness, continuing to dominate insight. And then Malik, Mullock, thriving as a score. Teen ranked eighth in all offense and is firing on all cylinders. And Sacramento is proving. That. That little change. And getting their energy. Because I was. A big proponent. Mike Brown. Now. I wasn't in locker room. So I don't know if he lost the team, but if. If you're telling me this seven game winning streak. And not just because they're winning. It's this, the effort that is being given the energy that you see now is completely different. Then when my ground was coaching that team. And. It just happens sometimes. Coaches. Message. Or a player is. No long and trust in the process. It can just start a chain reaction. And you just lost your team and that's it. And people say Is there anything you can do to get it back? Somehow. In the NBA culture. There's not a lot of room for grace. I never understood why. But it seems like once. The music stops. That's it. You don't have a choice. So we'll see. Now let's talk. Phoenix. Phoenix made a move. Which kind of irked me, but. They acquired Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets. To shore up their front court needs. And to me, it was a real smart trade because NERC. was benched. He was not providing the rim protection that they needed. Obviously we know Phoenix has some real. Issues on the defensive side of the wall. And getting Nick Richard's will. I wouldn't say it will solve it. What it will help. It will definitely help with cause he can move his feet. He's a really good rebounder. He has a lot of energy and he does provide some scoring punch. He's not just a complete okay. We can stick our worst defender on him and. We can just hide out or we can put our best. Player on him. Two. To give our best player a little bit arrest. No, you don't want to do that with Nick Richards at all. Because he's the type of guy that. He'll joke McQueen by Jane kitchen, 18 to 19 points. He's very active on the boards. So check it second chance opportunities might be coming the Phoenix suns way. We can only hope right. And. My whole thing with this team is that. Even though they've had really limited resources. You can't say they're not trying. You cannot say. That James Jones and that front office in Phoenix. Is not trying because there are, they are turning over every rock. Too. Assemble enough talent. To surround. Kevin Duran. And. Devin Booker at this point. And made the hard decision of putting Bradley bill on the bench, because maybe he can go ahead and be more productive in that form where he's getting the bulk of the opportunities. The Phoenix Suns are seventeen and six when Durant and Booker both play but a comically bad two and thirteen when only one is missing from the lineup. That’s not sustainable. And with Nurkich struggling and Beal coming off the bench, this team has more questions than answers! Let's see a dah. Now here's the thing. Does this elevate Phoenix enough? Was this marginal move? Was this. Was this Phoenix's answer to the PJ Washington. Daniel Gafford move of the Dallas Mavericks last year. You guys sound off on this, right? Hit me A one X. At front runner, PC. Or hit our producer up at Raya underscore. Fudge F RPC. So hit us up on, on T on Twitter or on X for that situation. Let us know what we think. Is this the piece? Was he the piece that unlocks everything for the Phoenix suns? Or do you see that they still are missing something? And can you put your finger on it? On what they need. Let us know. Now. And this section, we're going to combine some teams because the theme. Between these three teams. Are pretty similar and we're going to start off with the golden state warriors. And I want to. I want to preface this by saying that. It is really hard to run. An NBA franchise. And when you have some success. And you tasted. The highest level of success for a period of time. When you start to go down. When you start to see slippage. It more, it must be one of the most difficult things to go through. As a franchise because it's like either. Roading because of age, it can be eroding because of. Uh, depletion of roster because salaries are getting out of control of like your. You're like your support group, right? Your bench, things of that nature. Your debt that you might've built up over clear at a time. Whatever the case may be. These things tend to happen. Now. There's never been anything that's going to full-proof right. People can stock up draft picks. Like we love what Oklahoma city is doing. But until it bears fruit until they win a championship. Even though conceptually, I love what they're doing. We can't completely call it a success until they want to check with ship. Sam Presti is the best Executive in the Association right now, Period! The ABSOLUTE SCARY part is Presti has so much draft asset weapontry at his disposal to shore up any holes or even more diabolical is that Presti can continue to run the draft if he deides to push back his compensation, which Sam Presti did similarly in the last trade dead line! Getting back to the warriors. This is the flip side. You had all this. Extreme success. And you started to see age Roster. You saw the brain drain. Losing critical pieces to your front office and. Parts of your coaching staff. Then you start to see it actually on the court where it, clay Thompson is not the same. He's no longer there. Some of the other pieces have now retired, Andre Eagle Dolla. Things of that nature and it's just not the same team anymore. Now, even though stale Curry. And Draymond green who are two constant. And. They're just there. And a seal give you. Hope it bill, give you a glimmer. What he could be. Because the talent is so immense. And these are just two great players to feed for hall of Famers. No doubt. But they just can't get it to the level every single night. So they need more help. The problem is. Is that. Your debt or your. Your draft assets that you have. Manicured. The problem is that you sat there. And you. Chase success for so long. These guys have had their development stymied. So we talked about James Wiseman in the past while how that situation ended up. Now, I don't, we don't know if he was. Ever going to be a really great player or not. And the injuries. Really. Short circuited his career. But Jonathan Kamenga is still a case study that we are. Getting information on. And we can talk a well, how the first couple years were really up and down. Steve Kerr. His ma mentioned that, if. Jonathan wanted more minutes. He was going to have to rebound more and have a dedication to what the offense is doing and how he can see. Himself moving within this offense and in creating little pockets of successful. Now. John to Kamenga has had his own thoughts. On that situation. He is thought out loud. And in a sense where it has ended up in print. That he wondered if he was being developed in the correct way. He was, he wondered if he was given enough opportunities to. Learn from the mistakes. On the job training type of situation, and he wondered. At that will be a better situation for him. That caused a firestorm. It seemed to quell down. Now we get to this year. They did not extend him. He's looking for and B payday. His name is going out on all kinds of rumors. He was part of the Jimmy Butler trade, supposedly. That didn't happen. There were rumors about. Coming up, going to Brooklyn. There were rumors about Camika going to maybe new Orleans for Brandon Ingram. With all of this going on. What a stele, current thinking. Let's get. To it a little bit. He is said out loud and he said it to the press that. To make a tray, to just make a trade. Is not what we actually need. We need to really be. Very smart in what we do. If we're going to do anything. He was preaching patience, which is something that we wouldn't expect anything less from Steph Curry. He's always been. A really good. Franchise face of the franchise guy. He's always put the franchise first. The real surprise was wind Draymond green. Said it. Because Dre wan usually is a guy who's oh no, our team is trash. This. This dude as a play defense. And even dream on green fell in line and said, Hey, Sometimes the best deal that you can make is not making a deal. Because they don't want to be put in a situation where they give least, or, or God forbid you make a trait. And the guy that you get Barrack. He doesn't fit. The vision that you had in store for him? So I understand where golden state is, what is a tough. Situation for. Two of our. If you think about it, the 2010s. Steph Curry and Draymond green and the finals. It was. That was all the time. So to see these guys play out the rest of the string. Without even a real just a puncher's chance of. Doing something in the playoffs. It's hard to watch. And I still wonder if there is a. Deb trade that they can make with the cases that they have available to them. They have couple salaries to me. That make it very easy if they can. Go ahead and either. Put them together. Or even if you did it individually, The Andrew Wiggins contract and the Jonathan Kamenga contract to me. R two. I don't know what you have to add to Andrew Wiggins. Cause I don't know what his tray value is. I'll have to check that out in the next couple of days. But. The money. The actual money range that they're in. Is a really advantageous. Situation. We in. 'cause there's like the exact number. Of players that we hear every single day. The cam Johnsons of the world. And we'll have you. I wonder if there's still something out there even though. The rhetoric coming out of San Francisco. It is preaching patients. We're not just going to do a deal for the sake of doing one. We shall see. Is Joe Lacob still spreading that "Light Years Ahead", Propaganda Dub Nation? A brilliant point by you Vince, Steph Curry has been an amazing partner for the Warriors. Even if Mike Dunleavy Junior and Kirk Lacob are cooking up a deal to get Curry real help, Curry at least front facing towards the media preaching patience really helps especially at this juncture of the season! Now. The Clippers on the other hand. hallelujah. He's actually playing actual basketball games. And then they absolutely annihilated the Brooklyn nets. By 59 points. I'll say it again. They beat the Brooklyn nets by 50. Nine points. Now Kauai. Played. 24 minutes. Score 23 points pretty efficiently. The Clippers. Our fourth ranked. And defense. Which is legit. And Ty Lue has found ways. To optimize the roster. But is this situation sustainable? Even with the impressive wind that they've had. And now COAG we in back. I guess the question is how long Kwai is going to stay healthy. Because if you're telling me he's going to stay healthy. Through the remainder of the year. Then I tell you that the Clippers are probably going to be. Pretty good. If you're going to tell me that it's going to be a lot of in and out. And there's going to be weeks. Where we don't know. Why is going to play. Then I'm going to tell you they're going to struggle and probably be in a plan type situation. Even though I think. And they are playing so impressively hard. Shouts out to a mere coffee. Shouts out to Avita zoo Watts. Shots out to Norman Powell. Northern pile going from like a 14 point again, score to a 23, 24 point per game score. I mean is absolutely out of this world. Those types of developments do not happen unless. A guy like that goes to a really shitty team. And they say, Hey, do. We're not trying to win games. Go ahead and maximize your dollars. Get Joel shots up. No. He is a efficient. He is aggressive. And Ty Lue has unleashed him. To be this like just scoring bunches weapon. And Northern pal is playing out. Out of this world. So shout out to him as well. So the Clippers are playing well. They got COAG bag. They blew out Brooklyn. This worked out for everybody. Brooklyn wants to be terrible. Um, they're trying to get into the Cougar flag situation. Or the ACE Bailey. Dylan Harper. Whoever else I'm telling you, this drought class is stacked. This drought class is so stacked. So excited about it. Which brings me to a point. And I'm glad that it just literally reminded me out the blue. We have a website. And on that website, we have 45. Of the best. Prospect evaluations. On the internet today, I put up my evaluations against anybody. And, let's go here and do I hate to say it, the Pepsi challenge, you know what I'm saying? We can go ahead and do that. I ain't going to problem. So go to F RPC. DY podcast, page dot I O. Then go to the blog section. And you will see. 45. Beautiful. Very awesome. Prospect evaluation. Instead, it took me a long time to do a lot of hard work went into that. Go check those out. It's a must read. And you are welcome. Before we now we're going to get to the Lakers. And I told you, we're not going to spend a lot of time on them, but we are going to talk about them a little bit. Now Dornier Finney Smith is hurt now. But he should be back shortly and he has made a difference. He shot 43. And a half percent from three since he's come. He's bringing toughness, he's bringing he's also bringing. Physicality. To the defensive side of the wall. He's able to. Press his body up against a offensive player and kind of scoot trail. Towards the boundary. Those types of things are just little minor things that you can do. To help your team in a sense when your foot speed might not be up to par. And he seems to do that at a real high level. So now that he's been out, we missed him. And I shouldn't say we, because I'm trying to be an analyst here. Let me take off my fan hat real quick. The Lakers, miss him. They miss that defensive intensity that he brings. And there've been a lot of thoughts of weather. Dorian Finny Smith should start for the Lakers. Ahead of Tamora. And I understand that situation. I think it all kind of work itself out, depending on who's trading, whatever the case may be. Because I think the actual. Alchemists of this team. Audit. It actually ends up being. Is going to be completely different. Now. I don't know. If they are going to make a huge trade or whatever the case may be. I would suggest. That the Lakers do dip to dip their toe into this market a little bit. I think there are some market corrections. That they could take advantage of. I want to do a little more research before I give out the whole deal, but. I think. Knowing what Dorian Anthony Smith went for and knowing what. Dennis shrewder went for. And okay. Yeah. Camera Johnson is a different type of prospect as far as. Trade asset to get back. And some of the other names that might be out there. Obviously Jeremy Butler is a completely different animal. Then. Even Cameron Johnson, but. If you're sticking in the stratosphere of Cameron Johnson. As the type of prototype player that you're looking for to add to your team. And knowing that Dorian Finney Smith. Who is only a couple years older. Then Cameron Johnson. Do You REALLY THINK that Sean Marks is getting two legitimate first round picks for Cam Johnson? I don't think the price is going to be as high as what people think is going to be. So if Pelinka can't find a way to get aggressive. And we imagined to on his end. I think there might be some situations that he can. In a sense. Make out better. Dan what we would ever in. Ever imagine for Pelinka to come out, making in a trade. So we'll see how it all goes, but I am liking. How. The trade deadline has gone so far. We seen a couple of trays shoot out there. And the prices weren't super high. And then Nick Richards went and that price wasn't really high either. So I think a lot of people are starting to value these picks and starting to value these situations a little bit better. And I think we are at that point where. We can get to some normalcy when it comes to, instead of giving out like five and six first round draft picks. I E the Minnesota Timberwolves. Stop doing stuff like that. But with that being said, What do you think the Laker should do? My first reaction. Is to. Make a phone call. Make a phone call to new Orleans. And. Poke around and see what it will take to get Marie. Out of new Orleans. If you're going to swing bag. Swing way. Then my second phone call will be to. The Indiana Pacers. And I would check in on miles Turner. And I will try to see if I could find a way. To do something where. I got Hey Marie for a first. And I got miles Turner for a first. And see if just because I hear how valuable the 20, 29 first round pick of the Lakers is. And I'll also hear about this vaunted 2031 pick. And I'm thinking if people are so enamored with these pigs. Is there any way to maybe split the baby? And see if we can acquire a couple more second round picks, maybe throwing these deals or contingencies closer protections on these first rounders. Or whatever, but I know if you. Put the protections on the first rounders. It negates being able to do. Anything with the 20, 30 pigs. If you do these deals in individual situations, it frees up picks for you. So if you trade the 2029 pig and you add a second round draft pick to it. Is that enough to get Dante Marie. Probably not. Now, if you do Dalton connect in that deal. Do you get Hey, Marie. Probably not. I'm not going to throw in Austin Reeves Laker fans. Hold on. I'm trying to keep Austin for you. All of Lakers Nation would RAIN DOWN upon us like the arrows from the movie with Gerard Butler Three Hundred! Maybe Not trade Los Angeles Favorite Son! If you throw really hot, you're more in that deal. And. I don't know. Maybe a Jalen hood Shafina because he's expiring contract because. Oh, the fact that this is what you guys wanted to do with him. Could that get it done. I don't know. When I would call and find out at least call both teams and find out. Because as you end up with either one of them, it drastically changes your team. It elevates your team a little bit. It gives you a little more defensive conch that wasn't there. It helps your scoring. It helps your spacing. So those are the two. That I would look at if I was Lakers. Now I know about the other things that are out there. The Bruce Brown's of the world. And what have you, I think Bruce Brown would help the team. I don't think it will help the team to the point where we're sitting here going okay, We can now play with the OKC thunder we can play with. Whom ever. These other, The Memphis Grilley Grizzlies of the world. And what have you. If you're really trying to get into that. Rarefied air. You got to think outside the walks and you might have to go back to the Wells that you were drinking from. And try to see if you can navigate even a, another train, especially with what's going on in new Orleans right now. Knowing that Gayle Benson wants to get underneath that luxury tax situation. Also, it's not going 100% great in Indiana as well. They made some. Things have changed and they played better. But I don't know if they feel long-term. That connected to miles Turner. It's worth a damn call just to see. With that being said, This is your Friday podcast. I want to thank Sarayah for all her help. I want to thank her for getting some of these stats that we got. Some of the other quotes that we got. Thank you, Ceria for everything. That you have done this week. Yeoman's work as usual. And that is a wrap for us. Remember? To subscribe to the channel. Get your front runner podcast, collective three times a week. I also make sure that you are connected to us through. Blue sky and Twitter. Okay. So that's front runner PC on both. And blue sky is dark blue, sky.social. And Ann for Sarayah. It is. FRP C hyphen Raya dot B, sky.social. Make sure you hit up the YouTube page. We will be putting up poles. And the more I know about this Mac book. We are closer and closer to video folks, which is amazing. So super cool. So we're excited about that now. If he just wanted to go one stop shop. If you wanted to get all of those things in one deal. You used to go to the website. If you go to F RPC. Dot. Pod kit pack podcast. The littler course, I need to know moxa. We gotta take all this out, which is great. Okay. Let's do it again. If you just want one stop shop. If you would just want to get all the information all in one place. So you just go to F rpc.hot CAS page dot I O. And that will get you. Not only our Twitter and our blue sky accounts, it will get you connected to the YouTube channel. You can listen to all the archives pods. On the website, which is pretty cool. Cause it popped right up. And then you can also get into the blog, which will get you the prospects and everything that we've been talking about. So we're really excited about it. And that is L. R P C. Dot pod cat. Podcast page.io. It's a lot to say your boy gets tired. So that's what that is. So with that being said, the best part of you is you surround yourself with people who are just going to do. Nothing, but writing your light and provide a positive support for you. And then hopefully with that, you go out and do some good in this world. And we'll see you back on this feed. On Monday. Only less Jimmy Butler gets traded and the whole world goes to shit. Either way. But we'll see you hopefully on Monday. Deuce.