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Messi & Ronaldo Records, Cape Verde’s Dream Run + NBA Trade Chaos
12 Plays4 days ago
Episode 82 of Who's Got The Ball? sees James and Shane continue the World Cup discussion as Cape Verde's brilliant run keeps grabbing attention. The lads look at whether Cape Verde can qualify, how Messi and Ronaldo keep rewriting the record books, which stars are stepping up, and what the last 32 games could look like. They also try to predict who will come out on top in the Golden Boot race.
In the NBA, the focus shifts to the blockbuster trades as Giannis joins the Heat and LaMelo Ball heads to the Timberwolves. The lads break down what each move means, which teams came out on top, and how the landscape of the league has changed heading into next season. Another packed episode full of World Cup debate, NBA trade talk and plenty of big opinions throughout.
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(0:00) Irish Heatwave & Leinster’s URC Win
(6:24) World Cup Round-Up
(6:50) Cape Verde Chasing History
(10:49) Bielsa’s Uruguay Stumbling
(12:45) Messi Makes History
(15:06) Mbappe & France on Fire
(17:07) Ronaldo Gets His Goals
(19:47) Ghana Frustrate England
(26:10) Scotland Crashing Out
(29:22) Golden Boot Race
(33:04) Last 32 Look Ahead
(38:19) Giannis Traded to the Heat
(48:23) LaMelo Traded to the Timberwolves
(1:04:11) Bing Bong
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Preview
00:00:09
Speaker
lads, welcome back to another episode of Who's Got the Ball. Myself and Shane here, back once again. so mad and NBA trades, some World Cup action, but how are you feeling Shane? and like The NBA, I've said it in the episode, but the NBA has decided that it's after hitting 30 degrees in Ireland, so let's just make it 37 degrees and do some absolutely mental trades.
00:00:30
Speaker
I'm not going to be the kind of person who's going to give out about the weather because i love when hot. But my God, trying to go to sleep without a fan when it's 30 degrees outside is is just not my friend at all. And waking up, to you you're showering before bed and showering when you get up before you go to work. And that's the only complaint i have about it. Everything else, it can stay.
Coping with Heat and Family Visits
00:00:49
Speaker
i think global warming isn't as bad as people say it is. All right, well, we're not a science podcast, so let's guess but just leave that bit there. But and i I think the heat is like, it's so great, like, during the day and when you can get outside and enjoy the sun. It's great. But, yeah, the nighttime part of it, like last night,
00:01:09
Speaker
my uh my mom my two sisters stayed here because they were they're going to the katie perry concert in malahide so they stayed with me in dublin and we slept on the the pullout and bed in the sitting room and there's like huge windows in the sitting room like along the whole wall so it's just absolutely boiling in there yeah and then you obviously have to pull down the blinds but that kind of traps the heat again and i was just roasted but luckily we found this like tiny fan that we had from before and it gave some sort of air but like Yeah, it's kind of hard to not sweat like an incredible amount.
Leinster Rugby Analysis
00:01:42
Speaker
like We just stopped recording the main part of this episode, came back to record the intro and like the two minutes in between, we both just talked about how sweaty we were after recording the whole podcast. So we won't leave that bit No, but let's talk about Leinster because I think you're about to forget to mention everything. I presume you were there last Friday.
00:02:00
Speaker
I was. I was at the final. Missed out on the semis because I was in Barcelona. So that was a bit annoying. But anyway, got to the final. And and it was a great performance once once again in the final of the URC back-to-back seasons against the Bulls. and Exactly. and i think...
00:02:19
Speaker
This year, last year, like the Bulls had a good few injuries. This year, they're coming in with 11 spring box in that starting lineup. No mean feat to go out and beat them the way Leinster did. And I thought, while Prendergast hasn't had a good season, he had a great game and it was a great way to go into this international series. Obviously, Crowley's injured, so he's got to grab that chance. And I think he did a nice little start for himself in that game, especially his defensive side looked much improved. And Hugo Keenan looked great too, but... a nice send off for James Lowe final game which was a sad a sad one but yeah a great way to get a victory in croat power yeah we'll just keep the shirks we're obviously not a rugby podcast but I do agree with everything you said I thought Hugo Keenan was absolutely exceptional for fullback and another man who he needed a game like this yeah I can't remember if he's in the Irish squad i this is completely around my head I just assume he's in the Irish squad yeah yeah he is it yeah so this is the perfect way for him to go into this international game
00:03:17
Speaker
these international games now, same with Sam Prendergast. And is James Lowe there or is he done now because he's... He's done. He is done, okay. I think it would be nice to bring him in for the last couple of games while he is still technically a Leinster player. I don't know why they haven't done that, but yeah. I think it's the Japanese club didn't they didn't want him to play games, I think, probably in case of an injury, given his history.
00:03:38
Speaker
Yeah, fair enough. I just thought Leinster were very good. It was complete chalk and cheese and the way they played in the European final just a couple of weeks back. And that must be the thing that is so frustrating for Leinster fans to see because you you can clearly see they can do it. Tommy O'Brien, another one who was absolutely brilliant as well, i actually, now it comes to my head. But it must be so frustrating that they can do it.
00:04:00
Speaker
in the UFC final but can't do it in the European final and I think that's something they need to sort out. I know Leo Cullen is leaving in 2027 now. Yeah. I think it was announced so I think that might be when they win the European final again but let's get the breakdown of the episode.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yeah but one final point on that i know you said we're not a rugby podcast but ah the like Cullen's contract coming to an end. I don't know why they needed to go out and say that he's leaving because I feel like it just, put like we already knew the contract is up, but just let it run down and then that's it. Whereas now it's like, oh, a lot of players might li kind of come off the gas a bit. Like a statistically,
00:04:38
Speaker
teams like perform 10 to 15, 20% worse when they know their manager leaving at the end of the season across sport.
World Cup Highlights and Key Matches
00:04:45
Speaker
So I think that's probably not a great, and a great way to do it. And I think another point is that Tommy O'Brien, you mentioned, and also Caelan Darius getting injured, to allow some other young players to come into the Ireland squad. So I think that's beneficial maybe before the next World Cup.
00:04:59
Speaker
Yeah. but the Last one on that as well, putting me on is that you're going to here now of Leinster Leo Cullen in every press conference. So have you thought about a replacement? Who's replacing you? Ronald Gara is going to get asked questions in press conference. Are you taking the Leinster job? Are you taking the Leinster job? And it's going to a year of frustration for every single person across rugby because every time it's on Premier Sports, it's going to mention Leo Cullen is going, who's coming in? Off the ball, they're going to mention every week. Everyone's just going to mention it because it's going to be a clickbait post for the whole season. And that's just what we're going to be dealing with now for the year. So I think I agree with you. They should have kept it quiet. But anyway, done now.
00:05:35
Speaker
Well, into the episode rundown, fairly straightforward, like just a lot of World Cup coverage. We talked about plenty of topics. Cape Verde's continued brilliance. Messi making history with the gold scoring record in the in the World Cup. Mbappe right on his heels. Ronaldo making a record of his own, scoring in six World Cups.
00:05:55
Speaker
England not performing very well, Scotland likely crashing out, and then a little look at the golden boot race and some of the last 32 possibilities going into next week before Michael joined us to break down the two huge trades in the NBA between Giannis going to the Heath and then LaMelo Ball out of nowhere going to the Timberwolves. So two interesting topics landed perfectly for us to chat about. So let's jump into the episode and get right into the good stuff.
00:06:24
Speaker
all right so let's dive into the world cup recap we're finished the second round now and the third round is rolling on thick and fast the knockout stage is already starting on sunday because this third round is cut a little bit short due to um teams playing at the same time as each other in groups we're getting like six games a day at the moment so a lot of football but we're gonna go back chronologically as we did last week then the first main talking point we want to get on was last sunday Cape Verde holding Uruguay to a 2-2 draw.
00:06:55
Speaker
Unbelievable stuff from them. And Saudi Arabia up next. They're on the doorstep of the last 32. If they draw that, they'll probably get in. If they win, they're definitely and and They took the lead, came back then from down 2-1. I know Muslera was awful for both goals, but still, they did it in a World Cup.
00:07:15
Speaker
They look like they're right there. And Uruguay, incredibly disappointing for two World Cups in a row now. Yeah, know what? They look like they belong there. And I don't think anyone would have said that about that both someone like Kate Verde coming into the tournament. Curacao kind of half looked like they belong there as well, but they got battered in Game 1. What Kate Verde have done back-to-back has been superb. In Game 1, they showed how strong they are defensively, so well managed.
00:07:40
Speaker
As I mentioned, one foul against that Spanish team is insane. And then last week, they showed they can be... Defensively strong, not as strong, but they can actually score goals as well. and yeah Keeper was awful on both, but they they still create the chances to get the ball in the net and I'd love to see them in the last 32.
00:07:57
Speaker
Even if that would be the end of the run, if they got to the last 32, I think it would be incredibly special for them. and it's really It's really blowing up in the Irish Premier League because Seymour Crovas are absolutely awful without Pico Lopez.
00:08:10
Speaker
Yeah, that's another point to it. And he's going to come back as like a massive like media darling across Ireland and the media from other countries are going to want to cover him. And I heard a good point made that if Cape Verde get back into the World Cup next time, he's probably going to be someone that a lot of media outlets are going to want to have like on their panel and stuff. Definitely.
00:08:33
Speaker
so again for him i know you you mentioned him there but like even this game was crazy in terms of his statistics once again this time more defensive contributions because the game was so open but 19 in total three tackles two blocks 13 clearances three recoveries and he won five out of his eight jewels he just like marshalled the team so well and he's played two very very good countries teams that have won multiple world cups in spain and uruguay and he just doesn't look out of place at all over there and i i just think for him and the whole team it's like you said they literally look like they belong in it and to get them into a knockout stage is exactly what the world cup needs and what it's about like seeing these teams get into big games
00:09:21
Speaker
Yeah, I think like I was a bit skeptical of this jump to 48 teams. I can't remember. I've mentioned it last week, but if teams like Cape Verde are going to end up in a knockout round, then I think it's it's worth every single extra game, every nonsense game of football we've watched so far.
Messi vs. Mbappe: World Cup Stars
00:09:36
Speaker
It's been a couple of them. But if we get teams like Cape Verde into knockout where their fans get another day out to get four games at the World Cup,
00:09:44
Speaker
We get to see someone like people who spent his whole career in League of Ireland playing the knockout game in the World Cup. It's absolutely incredible. And yeah, I'm all for this extended World Cup now because we've seen a lot of teams we wouldn't have seen and a lot of them have actually been quite good. I have no idea how South Africa have gotten out of their group, but they have somehow. And I'd love to see Cape Verde following into the last 32. I just think it's just such an achievement for the second smallest country to ever qualify for a World Cup.
00:10:18
Speaker
Yeah, it would be it would be huge. I like the format too. I think it's been a really good World Cup because yeah we've actually seen teams go and play football instead of all the crap we watched all season in the Premier League. Like a lot of teams are actually trying to play.
00:10:32
Speaker
um Even South Africa, like they they tried to play. They looked awful like at a lot of times, but they managed to get through, which is madness. And I just think things like that are just what makes the World Cup special and and really enjoyable once again, despite the extra games. But before we move on, like Uruguay under Bielsa, that's just not a dressing room or a team I would want to be a part of. It looks like the vibes are below the floor.
00:11:00
Speaker
Yeah, I expected so much more from them. Bielsa ball was always a joy to watch. It's not with this Uruguay team. He took Darren Nunes off after 45 minutes in game one and and then dropped him for game two. I feel like everyone, as you said, everyone's head is on the floor and Bielsa doesn't seem like a man who can lift it. He seems like the man who, when it's lifted, it's great to be there. But if it's down, you you need someone in there who can lift the spirits, make people think they're actually good at football again because, like, yeah.
00:11:26
Speaker
How is Mussolini still your starting goalkeeper in World Cup? I actually, I can't understand that for a start. And outside of that, then they just don't have much going for Valverde actually looks scared on the pitch.
00:11:37
Speaker
It's very strange. This is not the man. the only one that has gone backwards in this World Cup from what he was doing for Madrid all season. Every other player, all the stars have come out to shine and we'll talk about them in a couple of minutes. But Valverde is the one who seems to have gone into a shell of himself. And maybe it's the captain's arm and maybe it's the fact the squad is just in such low morale. But he's the only one that is unable to to just make his mark on it at all so far.
00:12:01
Speaker
Yeah, I think I heard that from a report that Jorgoi had kind of thought that Bielsa was like the players thought that he was great and they enjoyed working with him when it was for like one and two weeks at a time in international windows but then when they went to the Copa America last year they hated it and they hated him and that he
Ronaldo's Historic World Cup Moment
00:12:21
Speaker
would just like not even acknowledge them walking down the corridor and that's why Suarez said he's done and none of the players came out to say that Suarez was wrong so yeah I think Bielsa would probably be a happy exit for the players and for your going football fans after this one but yeah let's move on to Monday then denying this sorry I just don't think today denying this but let's move on
00:12:45
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. I think Monday is where your point kind of comes through, where we started to see the stars once again step up onto the big stage. And Messi, he got the record. He now has the most goals in World Cup history with 18 and counting.
00:13:02
Speaker
Five goals in his first two games. Could have well had two half-tricks after missing a penalty. he's He's a terrible penalty taker. He misses like one and four statistically across his career, which is... so it's kind of funny because how many more people are the penalty taker but yeah everything argentina does do goes through him just turned 39 the day before we record this the fact he still plays as well as he does is absolute madness and it's great to watch him probably for the last time on the world stage
00:13:34
Speaker
Yeah, the man is just... He's just the best in my eyes. um Everything he does is just magic. His touch is still so silky. We mentioned last week how... I don't know if he's lost his pace or not because he never seems to need it because his control is so it's so good and so close. And as you said, everything Argentina do goes through him.
00:13:53
Speaker
And they're going to frustrate the life out of every single team in this tournament. And then he's going to pop up and put the ball in the net. And I think that's why... they have a such a good chance of winning back to back World Cups here now because because of him.
00:14:07
Speaker
i just think I think they're they're so well kitted out. Every team in this World Cup is a flaw, but I can't really pick out Argentina's flaw at the moment. Yeah, and it it's like he he went, he was like, right I've got the I've won the Golden Ball. Then he won the World Cup on another Golden Ball. And he's like, oh, but I've never won the Golden and Boots. I better go and do that before I retire.
00:14:30
Speaker
And this time, he you know, five goals for Argentina. He scored all five. It's just, yeah, i don't I don't know. It's just mesmerizing to watch him play. And like you said, Argentina will annoy the life of the teams because they are such play actors when they're winning. It doesn't matter who they're playing. They're just rolling around, wasting time. it seems like a lot
England and Scotland's World Cup Challenges
00:14:50
Speaker
of decisions go their way, which often happens with great teams.
00:14:54
Speaker
and And then... in an instant mess he can just score two or three goals against you and that's the end of it so it's going to be interesting to watch them as as this tournament progresses and another man hot on his heels the same night kylian mbappe in a prolonged halftime where there was over two hours of a break of the storm against iraq but he did get a goal either side halftime and he now is joint with the previous record holder mirosav glosa with 16 goals so he's still two behind messi he has four in this tournament and he has a goal per game in his world cup career 16 games 16 goals yeah another crazy talent that i can't wait to watch go deep into this tournament
00:15:39
Speaker
Yeah, i saw a tweet today Vinicius and Mbappé are playing brilliantly without Mbappé and Vinicius to get in their way. And that's been their issue at their club level all season. Both of them are absolutely flying for their respective countries. But let's just focus on Mbappé for second because 16 goals in 16 World Cup games is, it's frankly ridiculous be perfectly honest. He's got a hat-trick in the last World Cup final.
00:16:03
Speaker
He just started like a man on fire and there's four goals in two games only better by Messi because Messi is a freak. It's just it's so hard to put into words how. Like you two you come into these tournaments, you think, oh, you're kind of thinking which star is going to be the one that that lets him down.
00:16:20
Speaker
Who's going be the one that doesn't show up? and they've all turned up Messi turned up Mbappe Vinicius Haaland is scoring goals for fun as well they're probably the best top four players in the world at the moment Ronaldo has obviously got his two goals well he's just not like he's he he is picking on now he's probably not in the top 10 in the world anymore maybe top five I'll give him a bit of credit but I think everyone who you would say is like this is the star of their team and they've they're all playing like the star their or team and I don't think I've ever seen a tournament like that Yeah, I agree with that. I think you've got all the best players in the world standing up and showing what they're made of.
00:16:56
Speaker
And usually there's always one or two that let you down and don't do as well. But this is just the who's who of of of talent. And they're all going head to get head to head and wanting to one-up each other. And you mentioned Ronaldo. Let's jump into Tuesday evening where he finally got off the mark and grabbed two goals against Uzbekistan.
00:17:14
Speaker
But he also made history because he's the first player ever to score in six World Cups. An incredible feat. Messi played in six. He didn't score in all six. But Ronaldo has now scored in all six.
00:17:25
Speaker
And he grabbed his second goal. He was obviously dying for a hat-trick. But it wasn't to be. Still, I think that will do a lot for Portugal. Uzbekistan are not a great side.
00:17:37
Speaker
But battering them after a draw in the first game, similarly to how Spain came out against Saudi Arabia, will do the confidence in the world of good. And I think Ronaldo getting off the mark maybe takes a little bit of pressure off.
00:17:48
Speaker
constantly having to find him to find that goal he's he's got them now and let's just focus on playing our game yeah roughly I was on my shit list now because I backed him 4-0 in Superbrew and he went and scored in the 87 minutes to make a 5-0 Great finish, yeah. that was kind of That was the Portugal that you're kind of expecting to see. Obviously, they're not going to go out and beat everyone 5-0, but they have one of the most balanced squads. I still think he needs to be able to tell Ronaldo he's not playing in Game 3 now. They're out of the group, I'm pretty sure.
00:18:19
Speaker
He's 41. Give him a rest and bring him back in for the turn of the tour. Give him 20 minutes at the end of Game 3 and see what it looks like, because... You can't play him for 90 minutes every single game over and over again, every three days. I just think at his age, he's too old. He's more likely to break down than he is to play every minute. And as you said, like he was mad to get the goal to get that scored in six World Cups. And then he was mad for the hat-tricks. They were still looking for him a lot. I think if they are able to play more as a team than 10 lads looking for Ronaldo, I think they're in a really, really good place winning this World Cup. They're up there with Argentina for me as one of two of my three or four favourites.
00:18:55
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's probably because it was Uzbekistan, in fairness, that they're like, great, we can go for a hat-trick for him here and we can find him for his goal. We're going to win this one once that first goal went in. And and i think they had a little bit of freedom then because of that.
00:19:10
Speaker
Playing Colombia in the last game, it's important for seeding. I think he probably still does start. I think there's he is like older than Messi. He shouldn't be able to continue to play as many minutes as he does, the same as Messi. But he's two years older, and but there's no one in the world of of sport that probably looks after themselves better than Ronaldo. So, I don't know, I think he could probably last it out. And look, if he does get injured... ah you don't want to wish anyone injury but i don't think it would hinder portugal too much if he did get injured anyways so um maybe martine just riding it out here and just saying look you're gonna play either way let's see what happens but the same night then we had england
00:19:49
Speaker
Really, really, really bad game from them. niil against Ghana. Ghana were exceptional, by the way like Really good, solid defensively. Very hard to break down. Physical with England.
00:20:00
Speaker
Superbly well-drilled. England looked like the Arsenal we watched all season in the Premier League. The two wingers were woeful. Gordon, 2 out of 5 successful dribbles. Matueke, 0 out of 4 successful dribbles between the two of them. They had...
00:20:15
Speaker
two out of six from accurate crosses just woeful like that's the guys that are supposed to be providing for you and provide this kind of flare and attack and the two of them are tragic and the team as a whole they just like look like they had no answers not to mention the fact that Gano are robbed of a penalty at the end and it should have been three points to the Ganoans yeah I think Thomas Tuchel has made a massive error because every backup player is pretty much the same player as the one that's starting So bringing on Saka from Madueke, he's completely left footed, can't go down the outside really, and if he does, he over hits his cross.
00:20:52
Speaker
Bringing Rashford on for Anthony Gordon, runs down blind alleys, takes on silly shots, exact same player. Same with the three midfield. Like, I just don't think they have any options. If they brought a Foden or a Palmer even, I know they had poor seasons, but at least they offer you something different to what the other winger is offering. And Morgan Rodgers not getting on until very late. Morgan Rodgers should have been the first sub, I thought.
00:21:14
Speaker
bring him on to the left wing and then you can bring on Rashford later and move Rodgers into the middle and take off Bellingham if you want to or whatever. But I think it's a really poorly balanced squad and they had no answers for Ghana and they're in the top
Golden Boot Contenders Debate
00:21:27
Speaker
four worst teams, bottom four worst teams in this tournament based on world rankings and they just made England look so ordinary.
00:21:35
Speaker
i thought it was a great watch, but I don't think any England fans will have enjoyed a second of it. Yeah, a few points off that. Rodgers came on and the first thing he did is get the ball, pick it up and make an unbelievable run past like three players. And you saw him do in the first game too against Croatia. I agree that he should have been on straight away after the season he's had and the way he played in the first game. Second thing is, if you want some kind of a different player in midfield, why you like why bring one player in Manu that is different and then not give him any minutes? Not give him a second, yeah.
00:22:10
Speaker
Like, Anderson had a bad game. He was giving the ball away. He couldn't break down... he Again, he couldn't break down and the Ghanaian defence whatsoever. Manu is quite good at that and finding the right pass and he's good at carrying the ball. I think him and Rodgers would have been great subs. And then after the game, Pickford is interviewed and he's saying, we're very conscious of the Ghanaian counterattack. counter That's what he mentioned. Like, why would you be worried about that when...
00:22:38
Speaker
you're one of the best teams in the world and they're one of the worst teams in the competition. And that's the first thing you're worrying about. Like, yeah well why aren't you worried about actually winning the game and instead of this defensive, like Arsenal mentality of, oh, what if the other team does something to us? No, go and play football.
00:22:54
Speaker
Yeah, I was watching it with, there was a couple of English lads over for, from ray from Uber and I was out watching them with them and david they were just saying the same thing. So like, how weren't they making subs? How were there no subs at halftime?
00:23:08
Speaker
it It's almost like Tuchel actually is this German spy that people were were kind of joking about it on Twitter when the squad was announced because he doesn't seem to be doing anything to help the team at any point, making the subs so late.
00:23:21
Speaker
Like, why not bring on Andy Watkins to go 4-4-2? Like, it it was a game, if you had won, you could have rested players in the third game. Now you have to go and win. I know it's Panama and whatever, you could probably rest your 11 anyway and win, but...
00:23:32
Speaker
He just seems to have no answer for the third worst team in the tournament. That doesn't bode well for them going forward. If Harry Kane isn't doing it and SAC isn't fit to start, then who's going to do it? I don't think Rice is creative enough.
00:23:47
Speaker
Elliot Anderson looks like a fish out of water. All of a sudden, 140 million is was going to be the most ridiculous transfer of the summer if it goes through with the way he's playing. And Belliam is just... Belliam, he's just so cocky for absolutely no reason. I know, okay, fair play to him. He was...
00:24:02
Speaker
He was nice in the interview for a change after the game. But other than that, he's just, he's just, he is who he is. He plays for Madrid. That's why you play for Madrid. They don't have any winners if Harry Kane isn't honest. And that miss from Harry Kane, you knew he wasn't honest.
00:24:15
Speaker
Oh, stop. Yeah, that miss is so bad What about the penalty shout, though? it's It's a penalty all day. And I don't understand how they were so quick to just knock it off and move on because there was no offside, which is, of course, the RT commentators were saying he was offside. was like, well, he wasn't. So that was not.
00:24:36
Speaker
Yeah. Did they not go and look at this and then say, he's like, did you go and look at and say, oh, he's offside, doesn't matter, let's move on. Because that's the only thing that makes sense for how it was done so quickly and they just got it wrong. I think FIFA's use of VAR has been so cloak and dagger throughout this whole tournament as well. It's been quite strange that it can take up to half an hour before you see the image of an offside or You don't see the image of the offside sometimes.
00:24:59
Speaker
Yeah, don't know. I just think it's a penalty day. He's so high as well. He's two feet off the ground. He catches him above
World Cup Knockout Stage Predictions
00:25:04
Speaker
the knee. It's not only a penalty. It's probably a right card. And yeah, I think he's gotten away with that. Very, very lucky, thought.
00:25:12
Speaker
Nowhere near the ball. And like you said, that that offside was because his shot hit Semenyo on the line after, yeah or like to the side of the goal. And that was after he got fouled because he fell and then still took a shot.
00:25:25
Speaker
And apparently the World Cup, like they came in with the idea they wanted to make the VAR checks quick in this tournament, but you can't be quick on game-defining decisions. And if that was in the other box, they would have taken their time on that and awarded that penalty because it was a penalty.
00:25:40
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. It is the big teams get away with it. The little teams get shafted. And maybe England losing isn't good for their tournament or whatever it is. I don't know. I don't want to get into Maranacos situations here now where we're kind of saying Mr. World Cup doesn't want England to get knocked out. But it was just really weird. England were so poor they deserved to lose that game.
00:26:01
Speaker
And they were very, very lucky to get away with it. Well, moving into Wednesday then, our last talking point before kind of some overall points is Scotland.
00:26:11
Speaker
They lost 3-0 to Brazil. Look, you would love to see Scotland do well as the as an Irish supporter, but they're just not a good team. like They battled against Morocco and they probably needed something out of that game given how close it was. They were bad against Haiti.
NBA Trades and Team Dynamics
00:26:30
Speaker
They could have arguably drawn or lost that one.
00:26:33
Speaker
And then they were terrible against Brazil. They're shooting themselves in the foot for those first two goals. It's just inexcusable. And when they know goal difference matters so much, to go in now with a minus three goal difference, but for me, there's no chance. They're seventh in the third place tables right now. You've still got Cape Verde, Belgium, Congo, and Senegal below them still all to play. Now, teams could swap in and out as like South Korea swapped in last night for South Africa. But then they had a positive goal difference or like one that's above Scottish.
00:27:03
Speaker
ah the Scottish one so I just I just think that they're they're fecked basically with this goal difference that they have right now yeah i agree I think they're they're done for to be honest and it's really disappointing because their fans have been superb at this tournament but the the the players just haven't And it's like everything has just kind of gone against them. Losing Robertson at half time last night made a big difference. And I'm hearing it with Goldenly came on for a bit, but he's just not Robertson. And their attacking play was so poor. They kept going down under every slight challenge instead of trying to stay on their feet, get the cross in or get a shot in. It's like they were just trying to... It was like they thought the only way they were going to score was a penalty.
00:27:43
Speaker
And if that's the kind of confidence you're getting from your manager, then you really aren't going to go anywhere. i asked Chops and Mossy last night, would they take that Scottish 26 over an Irish 26 and put them into the same group? And would you take an Irish one?
00:27:57
Speaker
Yeah, i don't I don't think there's really any difference between the two teams. Yeah, I just think both the lads thought Scotland did a bit more depth, but I think Ireland would have put on a better show against Haiti and a Morocco. They might still have gotten the same results, and who knows what Brazil would do to an Irish team. But I just think, I think if it was Ireland...
00:28:16
Speaker
which is I just think there'll be more I don't want to say hunger because I'm sure they want to be there they just haven't shown what they were showing throughout the last two years I don't know is Clark any any help as well like yeah just I think this is probably the end of him I think this might be his last couple of games now if they he could actually have done his last game they don't get through and oh yeah I agree with you I don't they're getting through either Yeah, I just think i that point of the penalties, like, seemed every time they're in the box, they're throwing themselves on the ground when there's contact near them or just regular contact. Instead of just trying to get more shots off. And then if you actually wind up to take a shot, you might be more likely to get fouled because it's a natural bit of play.
00:28:57
Speaker
I just, yeah, I just think they let themselves... down for what they could have done because yeah I just looked at that team last night as well and I thought while there is McGinn and McTominay in there outside of that I didn't think there's a whole lot of difference between that and the Ireland squad as a whole but yet they managed to get there so credit where credit is due but they they could have done better in my opinion unfortunately they didn't overall then golden boot race is absolutely heating up you mentioned the stars playing very well we've got messi on five vinnie on four and bapé on four haaland on four and then we've got some interesting ones in here undav looks great when he comes on for germany he has to be starting going forward mandambi looks superb for switzerland he's got three and then we've got konya on three who's looked very good since starting in the second game is he's jonathan david on three
00:29:51
Speaker
No, he to he so he didn't start the first one, came on and scored twice in the second. Or started the second, sorry, and scored twice, and then started the third and scored. Jonathan David got a hat-trick. Saibari for Morocco looks great. He's got three. So we've got ah we've got a good few players rocking around, but mostly the top guys are at the top, which is what you love to see.
00:30:13
Speaker
Yeah, it's very hard to pick who's going to win a golden
Impact of LaMelo Ball's Move to Timberwolves
00:30:16
Speaker
boot after three games. But I i think... I think Argentina are going to the final and I think because they're going to play every game that Messi is going to get his golden boot that he wants as well.
00:30:27
Speaker
I think Vinny Jr. is going to be probably his nearest challenger. I know Harry Kane is going to have something to say about it as well but I think Brazil are going to go deep in this as well. Haaland's problem is they aren't going to go as deep so unless he gets a hatchet in the next game he's not going to get seven or eight goals which you'll probably need to win it out this time because yeah I think I hope and pray that Messi does get his golden boot this time.
00:30:50
Speaker
Yeah, I'd like to see him get it. I just think that score five in the first two, I don't know if he can keep this up for the whole thing. Other players are going to have to contribute. And and I think Mbappe is the type of player that can keep this up.
00:31:03
Speaker
I think Mbappe could easily get double figures and I think he's going to get it. um I just think he's on that farm where France, you know, but Argentina might win the next few games 1-0 and Messi might only score in one out of the three. Whereas France might win all their games 4-5-0 or score 4-5 goals and Mbappe gets two in each one. They're just so potent in attack.
00:31:25
Speaker
I don't know. I think it's going to be really interesting in race. But I think that I agree on the Haaland point. They're not going to go far enough for it. Vinny's probably not going to get close enough. I think if Germany go far, Undav is a good shout to get six or seven goals in this. I do think it's probably going to be Messi and Mbappe are the two.
00:31:43
Speaker
Based on the way England played, it looks like they scored a good few goals in the first game. But teams kind of have a formula against them now. So maybe they'll sit in and they'll frustrate Kane. And he might not get as many as he hoped.
00:31:55
Speaker
Yeah, just one point, one question to ask you before move on to the last 32 games. Do you think we end this World Cup with Mbappe as the leading World Cup goalscorer of all time? So do you think Messi does enough to kind of hold on to that record till the next one out when obviously Mbappe is going to get it? Like Mbappe is going to get it eventually. going to be this one or the next one?
00:32:16
Speaker
It's interesting in one. he's So he's two behind. i reckon he finishes with one or two more than Messi. Let's go for a tight. Let's go. They leave this one tight.
00:32:27
Speaker
Like maybe... i just think Mbappe could get... like nine goals messi might get to eight and both of them are above 20 then in world cup um history or sorry maybe he gets to he'd have to get 10 and messi'd have to get eight so that would be 22 each in in the history of the world cup which would be mad but uh yeah i think for for the purposes of of the history books i'd like to see it end with messi at the top of it and at least for a year or for four years should i say but uh it's an interesting question to to ask me early on and leads actually into the last 32 because we have one confirmed game but a very likely one is argentina versus norway which is quite a tasty a tasty talk because i think there could be good few goals in that yeah i was um trying to
00:33:17
Speaker
put together a little who I think is going to play through here. And it feels like you actually need a degree in NASA science to be able put it together. Because Germany play A, B, C, D, E or F. Like it's just, it is all over place. But I think that Argentina and Oregon could be an absolute belter. could be 5-2 to Argentina. And Haaland gets both goals, obviously Messi gets another hat-trick. just going to be goals galore.
00:33:43
Speaker
these like both of these players have come to really show what they're about on the world stage and sorry, Holland's not going to go down without a fight. So yeah, I think that would be insane. Canada against South Africa.
00:33:55
Speaker
It's one of those you're just like, why? Like how has that ended up being one of the last 32 games? If Canada don't win that, they should be ashamed of themselves because they're after getting the best. They finished second in their group and they got the best possible draw. Like there's no reason why they shouldn't get into the last 16. And we're going to get another Jesse Marsh fist bump in festival at the SoFi Stadium after this great pass South Africa in this game.
00:34:21
Speaker
Yeah, that that was quite something to to witness and God didn't say up for that live. Although I'd love to have seen the RT panel's reaction live instead of watching back on Twitter.
00:34:31
Speaker
Yeah, I just, I think Canada will get through that, but I don't need to go too much further. They play either Morocco or, I'm going to say, Netherlands as a Group F winner.
00:34:42
Speaker
So Canada aren't going to beat either of those. I think would probably be Netherlands who beat Morocco as well. I think Netherlands are the dark horse of this tournament. and Obviously, Turkey aren't anymore. so i think and And I have Netherlands in one of my many sweepstakes as well, so I'm kind of hoping that they do do it. But yeah, outside of that, then,
00:35:03
Speaker
the second in Group J plays the Group H winner. So that's going to be Austria against Spain. So Spain spain gets through that no other result. And then they're playing Group K winner again.
Conclusion and Future NBA Strategies
00:35:20
Speaker
Sorry, Group K running up against second in Group L. yeah there's like this is this yeah Yeah, I can't wait for next week when we actually know when upon yeah what is actually going on here. But there's just...
00:35:31
Speaker
There is a couple of interesting matchups and then there is obviously with some the teams we're going to get through, we're going to have a couple of Canada, Scotland's, sorry, Canada, South Africa's. But the matches that this World Cup have been nearly all so, so good to watch.
00:35:46
Speaker
It's been very, very new core ones and in fairness to the US, they've done it the favour of putting like Jordan on at five o'clock in the morning where there's no normal person who has a job has to ah has to watch them at 11 o'clock in the afternoon in the evening. So that's the one thing I'd say about the kickoff games is they've done it a couple of favors.
00:36:04
Speaker
I just hope they put Canada, South Africa on at 5 a.m. so I don't have to deal with this. Yeah, I think that could be like 8 p.m. or something. Yeah, 100 percent. Of course is. They're one of the hosts. They're going to be one of the first games shown.
00:36:18
Speaker
It'd be like a standalone game on its own. And you're just like, well, that's my day to rest from watching the World Cup. Yeah. The only other one I had down that's looking fairly likely is Brazil versus Belgium.
00:36:31
Speaker
Yeah. I think that's kind of tasty because Belgium haven't been great, but there's still a big name and I think Brazil could put them to the sword. No, it's not Belgium. It's a but Brazil play Japan.
00:36:44
Speaker
Is it dependent on that group, though, in terms of who finishes second? Are you sure on that? I'm on whosforward.com and it has Brazil play whoever finishes second in Group F, which is looking like Japan at the moment.
00:36:59
Speaker
Okay, what have I got here? This is um some some spectacular podcasting right now. um Second in Group F. Oh, yeah. This is a foot mob thing completely.
00:37:13
Speaker
dash dash my uh my calculations here so they had group g when it should have been group f yeah so that's even better actually brazil but yes yeah it could be oh it's tasty actually because sweden are playing japan happy sweden like earlier ah you'll know the result of that as after you when you're listening to this we don't know it yet obviously because it's on uh it's on tonight on on on thursday night but Yeah, that that just shows it It's very full of this bracket, especially when you're going group by group. And then it's saying as it stands, and then you can look at confirmed. But then the confirmed ones is only South Africa and Canada, and then a bunch of like for a second and first places that we know. But we don't know who their opponents are. So next week will be nicer when we we're probably right into the round of 16 at that point, and the last 22 is done. There's some interesting games coming up for the rest of the weekend, so let's see how the rest of it goes. But we've been really enjoying this tournament and let's swing over into welcoming Michael in for some NBA talk.
00:38:19
Speaker
All right, so Michael joins us after all that World Cup chat to talk about some and NBA action. And we were planning on talking about the draft, but to be honest, last week we covered the top five and it went exactly how we said it would go. And the rest, we gave a little bit of insight there, but there's not too much to dive into in that sense of things, especially when two huge trades just went down, and that kind of shifts our focus for this week. So let's start with the one that went down first, and that was the Heat finally ending the Giannis Antetokounmpo.
00:38:52
Speaker
Saga by signing him just before the draft and so the full trade was the heat received Giannis and Bobby Portis and the books in return got Tyler Hero, Kallal Ware, Jaime Hackes Jr. Kasperis Yacuchonas, the number 13 pick in the draft which turned out to be Nate Eamont and First round picks in 2031 and 2033. Pick swap in 2030 and a second round pick in 2033. Now the only spanner I'll throw into this is that reportedly from Shams the Celtics were willing to offer Jalen Brown in two firsts.
00:39:28
Speaker
and they didn't want to give up any of their young pieces i don't know why the books didn't take that deal personally i think it was much better than what they got because they essentially just had the heat team and some extra draft picks so we'll start with you michael since you're in the janice jersey right now what did you make of it and do you think the heat would have been or do you think the celtics offer would have been a better one for the for the books to accept um Honestly, honestly i think if I'm the Bucs, I'm going with the Heat, just for the simple facts that I think the Celtics are going to be better for longer, and the picks might be worth more. Kalilware is interesting. You know, at the other player... what
00:40:13
Speaker
why I forgot his name. Kasper is. No, Kasper is Yaku Jonas. He had a couple of minutes last year. Looks like a promising prospect. They tried to keep him and give up ah Davion Mitchell instead. And the Bucks just said no.
00:40:28
Speaker
I feel bad for both sides. I feel like everyone's going to walk away from this and just be mildly disappointed with what they got back. Giannis, like, the Heat are in a very precarious situation where Norman Powell could walk away and then you have, like, Simone Fantecchio who played minutes for them, like, contributed solidly for them, also on unrestricted free agency. Like, if they...
00:40:56
Speaker
They're not known for going out and and making splashes and getting these good free agents. They're known for picking up you know undrafted players or players off the off of ah waivers and such and developing them.
00:41:10
Speaker
But if those guys that you used last season are now leaving this season... and you bring in Giannis, he could just be in Bucks 2.0 situation.
00:41:20
Speaker
and And the Bucks, at least they have Kalil where they have Tyler Hero. They can look for another trade to try and get some more picks and stuff. But yeah, i but for keep fans i mean I think to throw it to you, Shane, I think that like on the opposite argument to that, to play like the opposite side of things,
00:41:41
Speaker
Like, what the Heat did with this squad of players that they gave up was just get to the plane. And now they've made their first huge move since they went and got LeBron. And you saw how that worked out for them.
00:41:53
Speaker
Like, I'm not saying it's the same situation because of who's there, but you've still got Bam. Like, you've still got Nikola Jovic. Wiggins, you can see what he can give. Davion Mitchell, I think, is a very good player. Like, they have a little bit of space to manoeuvre. If Powell re-signs...
00:42:10
Speaker
I don't know, I think they're in a way better position than the Bucks are because I think they they may get some good use out of these draft picks in the future, but the players they actually got are not going to take them to any kind of elite level.
00:42:23
Speaker
Yeah, that's my exact thought to it as well. Giannis hasn't moved to a championship team, which I think most people expected he was going to go and sign the team that would be at least challenging for championship.
00:42:36
Speaker
I don't see at the moment this Heat team as challenging for a championship with the talent on the likes of the Spurs, obviously OKC winning it the year before. Obviously, what the Knicks just did was absolutely insane with the way they just took the Spurs apart. So I still don't think they're anywhere near that level. The Celtics are obviously still better. So at best, he's on the sixth or seventh best team in the league. And I think he was kind of hoping to be traded to a team that would be top three and he'd really be going into next season like oh my god i'm i'm in on a championship team here and that's the one that is so strange to me like
00:43:11
Speaker
I understand Miami giving giving up all these players and just like, OK, now we have our superstar. We have to we have the one of the biggest stars in league in Miami again. a bit like the LeBron thing. Can we go and make this work? And like Giannis isn't getting any younger here. So Miami are going to have to go and try and just do something, make some moves really quick off the bat and see if they can get back into championship contendership. But like, I know you think that they might be closer, but I don't think they're close enough to the teams above them.
00:43:37
Speaker
Yeah, I think they're like closer than what they were before because if you look at that old Bucs team, not old, but like a few years ago, nobody was saying that roster, the championship winning in roster, but Giannis is the one that literally grabbed that team and pulled it up to where it was. Yes, they had other players there, but they have other players now because they've got Bam, one of the best centers in the league. And the point of them being so physical right now is going to be good in this league. It's going to be something that I think you look at other teams in the East, they're going with that physicality, the likes of the Pistons, the Magic are trying to do it.
00:44:12
Speaker
And the Knicks have that physicality. And now you've got Bam, you've got Wiggins who plays physical. and You've got Giannis, Jovic is quite strong. Mitchell, he's a small guy, but he plays physically. So I think...
00:44:25
Speaker
You've got good traits and you've got a star who can literally do anything. He's like a top three player in the league if he stays healthy. And if you get Giannis going into this year and he plays to the best visibility and they don't even sign anybody else, they just re-sign Powell.
00:44:41
Speaker
I still think it's like a top four team in the East. And then in the playoffs, anything can happen. Now, I'm not going to pick them to win a championship. I just think... They're way closer and the Bucs are just like so far away because they're just the Heat 2.0 and maybe the picks down the line help them. But I don't think right now they've they've gained a whole lot.
00:45:01
Speaker
Yeah, I just feel like i feel like on the Bucks side, it's also a lot of a lot of their players are super young. And they've had kind of up and down seasons in the last year or two as well. You're banking a lot on all of these players having a good upside, which, to be fair, it's the best franchise for development. But...
00:45:22
Speaker
If it doesn't work out, like can we see Giannis just as frustrated about his team in two or three years? like it Will it repeat itself again? Probably not. Hopefully not, because I got real sick of it.
00:45:35
Speaker
But the last thing I wanted to touch on was with the Celtics, the refusal to give up one more first-round pick or one of Baylor Shireman or Hugo Gonzalez is absolutely mental.
00:45:50
Speaker
Like, I don't care how much Joe Mazzula is quoting the town and playing it on rerun in Brad Stevens' office, okay? Like, it's Giannis. It's Giannis Antetokounmpo next to Jason Tatum with all of the rest of that roster that you built. Hugo Gonzalez was, like, a nice touch in one game of the playoffs this year.
00:46:11
Speaker
Like, that was his season highlight. You do not need to be making him untouchable on this team. Yeah, Ben Beedle actually cooked him so hard in that game when he came on. He played a few games against the Sixers, but that specifically towards the end of the series, it was just good night. And yeah, I just don't get it. I think personally I would have said, give me Jalen Brown because he's got kind of that pull of somebody that you've got a star on your team can pull you so far and it's not like Tyler Hero is ever going to go above that 20 points per game and you've got Hackes nice six man but like Tyler Hero as well he might not even sign there long term they're still apparently listening to offers for him so I don't know even if they're fully fully sold on him like
00:46:59
Speaker
Do you think that the Brown deal probably would have been a better one, Shane? Are you thinking that the Heat deal was better because of the future picks? No, I think the Brown deal would have been far better because you have your star then where you can go into your your unrestricted free agency or whatever you need do and say, look, you're coming here to play with Jalen Brown. This is, you and him are going to be our starting point for building our future five, our our future six-man roster. We're basically starting from zero, but you have a star there that you can build around.
00:47:28
Speaker
Whereas are you going to now? You're going to go out and say, come here and we're going to build around you and Tyler Hero. like No one is going to take you seriously if you do that. And we don't know enough about Jack Hakunis, where Jack has absolutely butchered three names. They're really, really proud of myself. But these aren't lads that you can go out and say, this is who you want to build around.
00:47:51
Speaker
They don't have that person to build around now the way they had Deannis. I just think they have an awful lot of work to do. Whereas if they got less picks, but Jalen Brown puts them in much better position going forward.
00:48:02
Speaker
Yeah, I'd agree with that. And the last point does on there is on their pick that they used of their own in this draft. They drafted Braden Burry, who is someone I said to keep an eye out and could surprise some people as a great pick into the future. So let's see if he's the one that continues to drag this team forward. But yeah.
00:48:19
Speaker
Some interesting young players, don't know how far they'll go, but another crazy trade, one that just came out of nowhere, unlike this Giannis one, which was in the works for a long time, is Lamello Ball getting traded from the Hornets to the Timberwolves. Clearly the Hornets are like, nah, we've seen this guy in the play in enough times now, and we're kind of sick of dealing with him, so we're going to make a move. And...
00:48:43
Speaker
move a big one is what they made they went and they acquired Naz Reid 2033 unprotected first round pick three first round pick swaps in 2028 2029 and 2030 three second round picks and then in return they just gave up Lamello Ball and Josh Green the Hornets have 11 first rounders in the next seven years so they're not making moves they're gonna add some more to this team because if you're looking at their guards right now it's Ray Mann Christian Anderson, who they just drafted, Pat Connickton, Antonio Rees, Kobe White's sign, and then another two-way guard. So you've got Kobe and you need someone else.
00:49:26
Speaker
So they're probably going to make a move to go out and get another guard with all these picks that they have, which is going to be crazy. maybe maybe they Maybe they get rid of Lamello and they just bring Ja Morant in for the laugh, and then you're like, what is this team doing?
00:49:39
Speaker
yes
00:49:42
Speaker
Go ahead, Michael, and your thoughts on the same thing. No, I was in my head as you were talking, I was like, oh my God, oh my God, they need a point guard. They could do the funniest thing and just sub in Ja Morant to just perfectly fill that voice.
00:49:57
Speaker
No, I think it's a dangerous game. Like, I feel like so many times we we look at GMs and franchises and we say like, oh, they held on to that player. they They kept going with that like arc that they were going through for too long.
00:50:12
Speaker
I feel like we just saw... the positive of LaMelo ball. Okay. He didn't make it through the play-in, but those guys were rolling at the end of the season. You really saw how much he affected that offense as well. When he's on the floor without, without either of Brandon Miller or Khan Kanepu, I think their offensive rating is one 30 with all three on the floor. It's one 36.
00:50:38
Speaker
And with no LaMelo on the floor and Brandon Miller and Khan Kanepu, it is 108. So, so When you like, do you like Kobe White that much that you you give him the 74 million dollar contract and you you go looking for another point guard?
00:50:57
Speaker
I don't know. It seems I'm hoping to see Brandon Miller take a step and Khan Knoppel, obviously, maybe he takes a step like step and just starts chucking even more throughout the games. But Minnesota, Minnesota.
00:51:14
Speaker
I, like, we sent this in the group chat just before and just before we got on the pod probably a couple hours ago, and you guys said it best. They have to be doing, like, one more thing because this team is confusing at best right now.
00:51:32
Speaker
I'm not really sure how I feel about any of it. It seems like it's going to be a mess defensively a little bit. I know Rudy Gobert is still there and he'll do still do a fantastic job, but we've seen him get exposed over and over again in the playoffs and we've just taken out Nas Reid, who has played very well last year, last season.
00:51:53
Speaker
He had a little bit of a disappointing season on what people expected from him, but I'm still super high on him. I think he's going to be great for the Hornets. I just, I don't know who they're looking for now. What's what's their last piece?
00:52:10
Speaker
Because I feel like this team is still in construction. and Tyler Hero, let's go fight out. Jesus. it it is yeah What's your thoughts on this whole thing? You need to get need to get your insight because you gave some good points in the group as Michael alluded to.
00:52:29
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think I like it and I haven't really had much time to look into properly. Obviously, I was working till five and this just came out of absolutely nowhere. Like Michael put and said, we have another topic to talk about and then proceeded to wait 20 minutes for telling us what the topic was he was talking about. He was obviously sitting in his room in complete shock of what was after happening. I saw a tweet before we were coming on there and it was breaking down the the pics and it didn't save to my laptop, which is annoying. I don't want to go off the camera here to read it out, but I think it's only two picks that are actually good picks for the Hornets. The rest are pick swaps, their worst one, their best one. And like, it might look good on paper, but I really don't think they've done themselves any favors here.
00:53:11
Speaker
I don't know why they decided that LaMelo Ball had to go all of a sudden. There would be no talk of any issues with him. i Obviously, he's always an issue, but there's been no talk of any like him kicking up a faucet. He hasn't done anything stupid on Instagram or anything. So I don't know where this whole thing has come from. and Yeah, Nasrīd is good, but he's not a Le Meno ball. He's not the X Factor. The Hornets fans loved watching Le Meno ball last year. but it's a kind of When they went on that 10 or 11 game winning run, it was all about Le Meno ball.
00:53:39
Speaker
And it looked like, we were saying at one point, they were looking like they were actually going to be become a serious franchise again. And this to me, this feels like they just put themselves right back down to where they were three or four years ago. And I don't understand why they decided to do this. I just, I really don't get it.
00:53:53
Speaker
i think I think your point is right in that they didn't get a great return because it's literally just one first round pick and Maz Reid and then seconds and swaps.
00:54:04
Speaker
And the swaps might not even come to fruition because it could be a case where they're worse than the Timberwolves. So, yeah, I guess I take that point.
00:54:15
Speaker
But I also think that Lamello maybe was causing issues internally for a while. Yvonne recently got in kind of this new look to the team, new coach. and They've brought in Knipple, who's apparently brought like a high standard to the team.
00:54:30
Speaker
and And maybe it's something that they just wanted to nip it in the bud right now and get rid of him before they made it like publicly aware that they really didn't want him. And then the value tanks... Because you don't want another John Rant situation. and yeah Obviously, it probably wouldn't have got to that level. But I agree that they could have got more. But I also think that they probably did the right thing in the long term to get rid of him.
00:54:52
Speaker
<unk> I'm just looking forward to seeing what they do with all these picks that they have. Maybe not all from this this trade, but in general, they've got a lot of picks at hand. And they can definitely make a move because...
00:55:04
Speaker
You're looking at the team right now and they've they're solid across the board, but their guard room, I've already read it out and it's not great. So I think another good guard there would make a big difference. And then on the Timberwolves side, back to what Michael was saying, I just don't get this line. like You just paid Io De Somnou over... What was was it like Over $110 million? $140 million, wasn't it? Yeah. Something in between that. $112 million, maybe. Yeah. but Maybe $114 million or something. And...
00:55:32
Speaker
Now you've got Lamello. You've also got Dante DiVincenzo who is who was starting for you. And you've got Ant. So, like, are you going to start Lamello, Io, Ant, Jad McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert? Dante's going to be out for most of the season. Exactly, because the he tore the Achilles. So, like, in the long run, it looks like you've got a lot of guards. And even without Dante, you've got too many guards to start.
00:55:58
Speaker
So I don't know what else they're going to do. Surely they have to do something because their forwards and their wings outside of McDaniels is, I don't know, like not much to say about that after they get traded away Randle in a salary dump. like Ant is not a forward. Like you said, he's like down on some depth charts as a small forward, but he's a guard.
00:56:20
Speaker
So I don't know how they really... even start this team like it's almost like they had years of like this kind of Jokic stopping team that went so far but couldn't get all the way that they've gone oh let's go the opposite way let's go really small and let's see how far we can get it this way like I don't know I don't see how this works especially with LaMelo and Ant on the same team I don't know how those personalities meld together yeah I just think the whole thing is mad and these were they were both picked in 2020 weren't they one in three I think if I'm
00:56:54
Speaker
my My very limited draft knowledge doesn't let me down for a change. But i don't see it I agree with you. How did they gel? Because they're both big characters. They both want to be the main man and and has been the main man there. Now, Lomelo's going to come in and try and say, actually, no, they're after giving away all this from me. Clearly, they want me to be the main man. And someone's going to need to sit them in a room very, very quickly and say,
00:57:16
Speaker
we need to be working together. You need to be like Steph and Clay. You need to be, they need to try and form partnership that can actually deliver something. Because they were really good in the playoffs last year until they weren't. And they'll be hoping now that LaMelo is the one that can, they can be really good and they can stay good and actually maybe put up a bit more of a challenge, get to a conference finals, win it maybe, and then see from there.
00:57:37
Speaker
That's, again, a bit like you were saying, you're not going to pick the Heat to win. I'm not going to say that the Timberwolves going to win a title anytime soon, but I think they'll be hoping for just more of the same, only did a tiny, tiny bit better. And I think they'll be happy enough with that. But again, it just comes back to the Hornets for me. And i it's like they just wanted a load of numbers on a page so they could stay there after getting a load of stuff. But they really haven't gotten that much. They just wanted him out the door clearly. And i'd I'd really love to be a fly on the wall to hear the reasons behind why they wanted him out so badly.
00:58:07
Speaker
And Michael, do you think Lamello could ever be a Klay Thompson play-to-player? Like, I don't think he ever could accept that role. I mean, ah like he clearly, like LaMelo Ball could probably hit 48 points in a game off catch and shoot threes. He just doesn't want to.
00:58:24
Speaker
like Like you said, i just can't see him saying like, like I'm very excited to see how end of game scenarios go. From us seeing Ant multiple times in this season scream at his coach so saying, what why should i pass the ball?
00:58:42
Speaker
Like, Lamella might fight him on the court in the same jersey as him. Like, it might go so left. Throw Jadon McDaniels into that mix as well. Yeah. And McDaniels is going to fight Lamella because you know him and Ant are boys. But, like...
00:58:58
Speaker
the The other big thing is on the Hornets side, okay, if you really don't believe in LaMelo or you think that the ankles aren't going to hold up and that this was an aberration of the season, I think they did really well in getting a good piece with Nas Reed and they have $40 million dollar trade exception.
00:59:17
Speaker
So to be fair, like they do have a gaping hole at their point guard position and they have a $40 million dollars trade exception. So they have the flexibility to go deal with that issue.
00:59:28
Speaker
Minnesota, do you want to know who's currently on this roster behind Rudy Gobert? James, do you remember Rocco's character that we were talking about for the Sixers last year who couldn't couldn't even get G League minutes this year?
00:59:45
Speaker
I wanted to go see highlights. You couldn't find him. He's not playing. He's currently your second-string center. Time to re-sign slow-mo Kyle Anderson.
00:59:56
Speaker
Like, it's it's just a shocking turn that they went to. And I think they almost... Like, you you can almost look at the Knicks and say, like, okay, they've had one really good center.
01:00:08
Speaker
And then they have another center, Mitchell Robinson, who's... Okay, he's not that great. The guy gets hacked at the end of games. But... Mitchell Robinson in that scenario is one of the top offensive rebounders in the game.
01:00:21
Speaker
You can't just have any center in there behind because we've seen Rudy Gobert get exposed over and over and over again. Nas Reed, I thought, was the perfect complement because he can shoot. He can drive. He's fluid with the ball. He's got a handle.
01:00:38
Speaker
it's it's I'm very excited to see what this front court looks like for for Minnesota going into next season. thats but We might be overlooking it as well. Maybe they just wanted Josh Green's 4.3 points per game. they said Maybe they wanted him and they had to take Lamello as the bargaining chip. like You never know. Maybe he's the next star.
01:00:57
Speaker
He's the one that's starting every week. actuallyw I got like the lineups and projections and depth charts for the teams. And... And I don't know what maybe it's ESPN. They didn't even put Josh Green on the Timberwolves volume, but they just traded for him. That's how much they think about him.
01:01:15
Speaker
And you've got Rocco Bierski sitting here like looking at me. I don't know. I don't know. This is confusing. And I feel like we're going to see a lot more movement to make these things make sense later into the summer.
01:01:27
Speaker
Yeah, it's like the the weather hit 30 degrees in Ireland. They said, let's just make it hotter and just do some madness here at that centre. I think there's going to be another silly one coming out tomorrow or the day after.
01:01:38
Speaker
It could be any of these four teams trying to fix the mess they're having to put themselves into. And i think it's to be a fun watch for the next couple of weeks. Yeah. Michael, you have any last points?
01:01:50
Speaker
No. Of course he does. was just... well I just wanted to say, the the Pistons traded away Isaiah Stewart, okay?
01:02:01
Speaker
They are hunting for this second option. It could be Kawhi, but apparently reports come in that that man does not want to sign an extension there. ah It could be could be a couple of the other players.
01:02:14
Speaker
I'm just... I don't know why. i just have my eyes on the Pistons right now. They're hungry for a second stare. I'm intrigued to see if they decide to take the swing on Jaume Morant and put him next to K. Because somebody has to. I don't think it's the Hornets after the LaMelo, but I don't know if there's another team that really wants to. Or...
01:02:38
Speaker
Is it even possible for us to see him back at Memphis now? No, I don't think so. I don't think so. And I think if they if i don't i think if they wanted Ja, why wouldn't they just do it as part of the Stewart deal? like Why are they doing a deal with the Grizzlies and not getting Ja as part of it?
01:02:57
Speaker
i I have no idea. i didn't even think about that. I'm so confused that where in Jha is going to go this offseason, dude. That's Michael in a nutshell. He comes up with these bad ideas off the cuff and then says, oh, I didn't actually think of the truth.
01:03:13
Speaker
Clippers should still be did the Clippers should just have no end like this anyway the line. Anyway, love you Mike. All That's, I think that's Mike, Michael out for, for a week or two. Hopefully we get some big trades to get you back on as soon as possible. But and if we don't see you next week, we'll have you the following week. And yeah, pleasure chatting with you as always, sir.
01:03:36
Speaker
nice and like it was Pleasure being here. All right, Michael is heading out the door and that is the end of another episode. We won't keep any longer. We've got plenty covered for you here in this one, but appreciate you listening if you've made it this far as usual. and I'll throw it to you, Shane, to wrap it.
01:03:53
Speaker
Yeah, tense as always. So the World Cup has actually made this summer podcasting way easier than last summer where we were. literally scraping the bottle of the bar bottom of the barrel of transfers. This World Cup has been superb. We hope that you think we are superb at what we're doing as well. And just thank you as always for listening. And we'll see you next week.
01:04:12
Speaker
Big Bong!