Who Won NBA Free Agency (Hour 3)

It is! The JR Sport Brief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America. I hope you're safe. I hope you're well. I hope you are absolutely amazing. And if you're not, Man, that sucks. Who who do I need to beat up? Just call me. Tell me who I need to beat up. Do I need to curse out your boss? Let me know. Do I need to have a chat with the people in your household? Let me know.

Anyway. You can call me if you want to. I'll do that. 888-710-4ISN is the number. That's 888-710-48. for ISN. This show gets started every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern. Three Pacific. I'm in Atlanta. Our producer Ryan Botcher is holding things down in New York City.

Yeah, we got two more hours before they tell me to shut up. And leave. We're almost there, folks, okay? We talked about Damian Lillard being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks. Miles Turner on his way into the Bucks, now leaving the Pacers behind. Shea Gilgas Alexander getting this massive extension, four years, two hundred eighty five million dollars.

Darren Waller, Returning To the NFL, not to the New York Giants or the Raiders. Darren Roller on his way to the Miami Dolphins, being traded from the Giants. Thank you so much to Matt Moore for joining us from the Action Network to break down all the moves in the NBA.

We just talked about the fact that the Knicks still don't have a head coach. It's the most nixed thing ever. And then how about this? In about twenty minutes we're going to have a chat. With Danielle Lerner from the From the Houston Chronicle.

Yeah, that's a team that's done a great job here. in this offseason. The Rockets are championship contenders. And of course we have more to get into as the show continues on. We'll get into a few things that took place this day in sports history.

We'll talk about a very special day In New York Mets land, And then we even have a A boxer? I think that's a celebrity boxer. We got a celebrity boxer who's ranked? Yeah, we'll talk about Jake Paul. in a little while.

Hey, if you missed a minute or a second of the show, you can go ahead and hit Rewind on the free Odyssey app. Thank you for listening live on your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. You got SiriusXM at Channel 375.

And if you got a smart speaker, Ask the speaker to play the infinity Sports. Network What a day Still waiting on the New York Knicks to get themselves a head coach. Maybe it'll be Mike Brown. Had his second meeting with the Knicks. I I guess that's good news if you're a A Nicks fan.

Knicks got to put somebody out there, right? To coach the team. They just can't pull a fan out of the stands. Well, the way they hire and fire guys, I mean, maybe they they might be able to do so.

Hey, Botcher, that'd be a good idea, right? Instead of hiring a full-time coach, The New York Knicks can just have a fan contest and have a different fan in every game, right? Well You gotta have some at least some recognized faces, right? It's gotta be like the celebrity row.

So you bring in like Ben Stiller. Spike Lee. Timothy Charlemagne, just rotate the coaches. Oh my God. Wow. Don't don't don't give the New York Knicks any ideas. They might take you up on that one.

I mean, James Dolan is so damn close to the bench, I don't think he ever wants that smoke. He might as well go over there and coach the team. We know he's not going to go out there and fire himself.

I I assume the Knicks will hire a coach. In the next week, two weeks like you have to. This is just This is why it's comical. Here we are in free agency, if you ever wanted to know. Just how, uh Just how valued or unvalued, not valued, Head coaches are in the NBA.

Look at what's going on right now with the Knicks. This is a team with no head coach. And they're still labeled to get a guy like Jordan Clarkson. It's like, hey, it doesn't matter who's going to coach the team. I can look at what they did. I can contribute. I get to live in New York City.

Jordan Clarkson is a fashion staple, one of the big fashion staples in the league. He's like, I'm sure he didn't even ask who the coach is. Doesn't matter. He can read and see everything going on in the news. Just like the rest of us, the New York Knicks just uh A joke.

Even when things work out they still end up. looking silly. And speaking of looking silly, man, I know I'm not going to look silly here. And I'm a realist. I'm not going to say I'm a pessimist. I'm not going to say I'm an optimist.

I will look at things the way they are. and just call a spade a spade. I'm not emotionally invested. I do not care. Yeah. But when it comes down to the Atlanta Hawks... My local hometown basketball team.

There's a lot of optimism. As well, there should be because for the past several years, I didn't care when they went to the Eastern Conference Finals. Nobody even thought that they were going to win a championship. Uh but the Hawks have been as Mediocre as possible.

They are the epitome of mediocre. They're like, hey, let's go out there and almost compete for an NBA. Mid-season tournament, but let's not even Make the playoffs. Let's fight for a play-in spot, but let's not do anything.

There's nothing to be excited about. I can't tell you how many times. And if the Hawks are playing, and I'm not sitting right here in this chair, in this seat, in this studio. I'm going to the game. I'm watching the Hawks, man.

Okay, I've seen everybody come through here in Atlanta. I've seen so much of the Hawks, and the fact is, man. Sometimes they put dudes out on that basketball court and I'm going, who's that guy? Like where'd they get him from? But now the Atlanta Hawks actually have brand names back on the roster.

They used to have brand names on the roster years ago, but they let go of Travis Schlenck, who was a part of the executive group, with the Golden State warriors, and then they pretty much went into the toilet.

Okay, they brought in Landry Fields as their executive. He came over. You might remember Landry played for the Knicks and the Raptors and was an executive with the San Antonio Spurs.

They bring in Landry to run the team. And then they just fired him like uh a month ago. Once is now running the team. Okay, he was the number two right behind Landry.

And since last week, They've traded for Christap's Porzingis. They drafted Aeson Newell, who went to Georgia. He was a bulldog out in Athens. was born here as well.

They just signed Nikhil Alexander Walker. What does he do? He shoots and he plays defense. They have Dyson Daniels, who's one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire game.

They got shooting. They added Luke Kennard. Trae Young to Luke Kennard just sounds like water. Jalen Johnson, man, he could have been an all-star last year, maybe not, but he was close to playing at an all-star level before his shoulder went to the toilet.

Zachary Reesaugh. showed flashes of being a solid contributor at the NBA. Nobody will look at him and say, hey man, this is the number one overall pick. He's going to lead us to the promised land, but he looks like he will be a solid and great rotational player.

And so when you look at the team and what they have, The hawks have made some moves that make people excited. But if Christophe Porzingis ain't playin', I'm not excited about squat.

I don't think the team has enough depth. I don't think they have a certified go-get-it scorer after Trey Young. And Porzingis hasn't shown me enough over the past, I don't know, his entire career to make me say Yeah, he he's gonna be healthy enough to go on a run.

The Boston Celtics won a tight over Christoph Porzingis. and he basically popped up at the end. They didn't necessarily need him. but he had enough games, good games here or there, where they ultimately won the championship.

I'm happy for the Atlanta Hawks. I'm happy for their potential. But this isn't a video game. This is not 2K. It's no guarantee that Christophe Porzingis is going to be out there.

And if he's not, This is a good team. But not a great one. This is a Hawks team that did improve. But didn't improve enough to be considered a championship contender, and with Chris stapped poor Zingis On the final year of his contract, What are the Hawks goin' to look like next year?

I get it, you gotta get through this one. I am optimistic that this team will be better. I'm optimistic that they have good pieces. I like what they've surrounded with Trey Young. They actually have to work.

You know, I'm not making injuries up. out of thin air. And someone, and I want you to hear what Tim Bonsamps from ESPN had to say. He takes a look at the Hawks. He's taken a look at everything else going on in the Eastern Conference, and let's just say he has some thoughts where the hawks lay. On the pecking order.

Listen. Atlanta getting Mikaya Alexander Walker, as I mentioned before, in free agency yesterday. You see him right here. Guy who can play on and off the ball, terrific defender, also a near 40% three-point shooter, a perfect fit next to Trey Young for Atlanta.

They go get Chris Asprzingis last week. They make a tremendous draft night trade to get potentially a top five, if not the number one overall pick in next year's draft from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Pelicans who go spend $16 million over two years on Kavan Looney yesterday. That is only going to help Atlanta in their quest to get a very high pick next year.

The Hawks have gotten a bunch of guys who want to be there, who have shooting perimeter defense. This is a team I think is now top four in the East, better than the Celtics, who we see in these highlights, better than the Milwaukee Bucks.

And Atlanta is on the rise in the East under new head of basketball operations, Ansi Sala, and Coach Quinn Snyder. Wow Yeah, I don't disagree with him there.

The Milwaukee Bucks, they just got a bunch of players slapped together. I don't give a damn if Miles Turner's on the team now. And then you think about the Boston Celtics, we know that they are basically. taken this year off.

This is like your kid who decided to uh exit high school. and doesn't know what they want to do right after. You going to college no? You going to work? No. Uh what are you gonna do? I'm I'm just gonna sit in your house and and run the electric uh electricity all day.

That's called a gap year. You know, sit around and do nothing. The Boston Celtics will spend this year sitting around doing nothing. because they don't wanna pay the bills.

But ultimately when you take a look at the East, I would agree with him. You know some of the top teams? Cavaliers aren't necessarily going anywhere.

We'll see what happens with Darius Garland. Can't see him being moved right now with his foot. New York next will see still be there Celtics, Pacers, Bucs take a back seat.

Pistons get better, magic get better, hawks get better. 76ers could be better if their talent is healthy. And so, yeah, the anything lower. then a number five seed for the Atlanta Hawks will be a disappointment.

But I'll still say this They have to be healthy. have to be. And that's what it comes down to at the end of the season. Who is healthy We saw so many guys go down in injuries throughout the course of the postseason.

Damien Lillard, Down Tate em Down. I mean, even Drown had to have his knee cleaned up, but he went down. Darius Garland running around busted up for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It it was just Halliburton going down at the worst possible time. Game seven of the NBA Finals. These seasons come down to help. And so I give the Hawks credit. for improving the roster as it stands today.

Onsisala is not stupid. He knows that they still have work to do. He knows that they're not overwhelmingly championship favorites. But I'll give the hawks credit. The roster that they have on paper right now. is better than the crap that they threw out on the floor last year.

where I had to look around and go Who the hell is that guy? I think we have a whole lot less of that coming up.

888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710.

And speaking of actually making moves, The hawks are not here yet. may not get here. The Houston Rockets, they are the team that's set up to all of a sudden compete for a championship.

They won fifty games last year and had Jalen Green. Now they're adding Kevin Durant. We talked about them pulling in Dorie and Finney Smith. Alpren Sangoon is still there.

They've basically given contract extensions out to all their key players. And we're going to have this chat with Danielle Lerner. in about five to ten minutes from the Houston Chronicle.

But the rockets have turned things around. We talked about Shake Ilgis Alexander and his new massive extension. Two hundred eighty five million dollars over the next four years.

Well, he has two more years left on his contract, and then he'll get to two eighty five. Must be nice. The rockets are their biggest competition. in the West.

And yes, that also hinges on the health of Kevin Durant. That's the entire NBA at this point. The Rockets have taken things to another level. Sign me up.

This past season had just concluded. I wanted nothing more. than to watch the Boston Celtics. and the thunder. This upcoming season? I'm more interested in the Western Conference finals. Give me the thunder. And give me the rockets.

David Dennis Junior from right here in Atlanta, Georgia. He was on ESPN and he had some thoughts on what the Rockets have done this offseason. Big things.

The Dorian Finney Smith move was an absolute heist to make up for Dylan Brooks. The depth that they have, the coaching that they have, they have all the things that a lot of these teams seem to be lacking when they're going into a season.

The depth, the size, the defense, the dynamic score in Kevin Durant, who's a 50, 40, 90 guy. And they have maybe one of the, well, not maybe, definitely one of the best coaches in the league.

And they have versatility in the way that they can move forward. Things, you know, get off a little rocky. There's an injury in October, November. They can make some moves.

And I'm with Tim here. This team, when they got Kevin Durant, I thought their ceiling was a competitive, fun series against OKC in the conference finals. They are now real actual competitors with OKC.

They have a shot here against this team in a conference finals, especially as the season goes on, if people get nicked up, if OKC is not 100%, if things fall Houston's way in some sort of way, Kevin Durant can go out there and be the most dynamic scorer in a series against this squad.

They can bully some of those bigs with the guys that they have down low. Their depth is right there with them. I think that this has been an absolute just masterclass in how to work an offseason and get it ready to be prepared to be a championship contender.

Yeah, I mean, if you're a fan of the Houston Rockets You've hit the jackpot. You are already a contender, a play off contender. Now you're a championship contender.

How long is this window open for the rockets? How much longer is Durant going to be sticking around? Are we just going to go ahead and tack two years on to this? Emay Udoka, how has he changed the culture? What can we expect from this team? that is now elevating itself to championship contention.

We're going to have this chat with Danielle Lerner on the other side of the break. She comes to us courtesy of the Houston Chronicle.

We're going to talk to Rockets. It's the JR Sport Re Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity. A sports network. Man, we've taken a look at so many teams. Just over the past several days in the NBA, who've improved and made trades.

I don't think there's been a team that's done a better job improving their roster, elevating from just being a playoff contender to a championship contender than the Houston Rockets.

Of course, adding Kevin Durant, filling out some of the French engines, if you dare want to say that, by adding guys like Dorian Finney Smith and Clint Capella, re-signing some of the guys who are already on the team.

They are an excellent mix of veterans and. Just superstars, especially if you take a look at Kevin Durant. To talk about these Rockets, how they got here, what we can expect going forward.

Joining us right now is someone who covers the team for the Houston Chronicle. It's Danielle Lerner. Danielle, how are you? I'm great. I'm a little tired, but happy to be here.

I'm sure. I know it's been a busy, busy time. We always knew that Kevin Durant was a possibility. for the Houston Rockets. But when it actually took place, this team is now going to a different place with different expectations.

What is the fan response? They everybody has to be chomping at the bit to see what they do next year. Absolutely. I mean, I think after they what they did last year, even though it was a disappointingly early finish, crashing out as the number two seed in the first round of the playoffs, there were already really heightened expectations just based on the leap That they took from the prior season to that one with the same roster.

So you look at adding an elite scorer like Kevin Durant. To that mix, there was already going to be another leap taking place. And then now you saw after the Durant trade, that kind of incentivized the Rockets to get even more aggressive in their roster upgrades during free agency, you know, made a splashy pair of moves. On day one yesterday, and now all of a sudden it's looking like they are really, really title contenders.

Now, the the guys who exited out, Dylan Brooks, we certainly know he plays hard. Teams look at him as an irritant. And then you have Jalen Green, who we know started off in the in the G League, still young.

Why didn't things connect with Jalen? Is it just the s the shot selection? Is he never going to break out of it? W what was the deal with him? Um I mean I think That there definitely were consistent issistency issues over his first several years.

And part of that was just the responsibility that he was given from such a young age. Obviously, that's what comes with being drafted as the number two pick at the start of a rebuild. He was just going through growing pains, and I think it was more obvious than it is for some players who might have. More experienced personnel around them at the start of their careers.

I do think that he improved significantly in this past season, both offensively and defensively. Defensively, you know, he really used to be a liability, and he's not that anymore.

But yeah, I think the offensive issues, it was a little bit of Just streakiness. I don't think the shot selection itself was the problem. But in the playoffs, what happened was he was really able to be game planned out. Of the game. The Warriors just sent traps at him. He didn't know how to deal with them.

And I think that that's something that he is capable of improving upon later in his career. But, you know, it's going to take some work. And The Rockets at this point just felt like they were in win-now mode and They didn't think that they could do it with him.

Daniel Lerner is here with us, covers the Rockets for the Houston Chronicle. If there's going to be one constant from last season to this season as things have changed, it's Ime Udoka. I mean, this is someone who was basically an NBA pariah. after his issues uh wi with the Boston Celtics.

And now all of a sudden he gets a contract extension. He's pretty much the stalwart to help turn things around. What has he meant to the organization and whole? I mean, he's been a huge deal.

He has been a major, major factor in this. And that's a reason that Rafael Stone and the Fertita family brought Yme in here to begin with is he's kind of a no BS. Very blunt kind of coach.

And he's really brought this culture of accountability to the Rockets. And that's something that. The young guys, the young core didn't really have in the first three years.

Stephen Silas just had a very different approach. And also came in not expecting necessarily to have to deal with a rebuild situation. So Emay kind of came in and said, look, like, I don't care who you are, what you've done in the past.

If you're not playing well, I'm going to bench you. You know, if you don't play defense, I'm going to bench you. That was his modus operandi, and bringing in the complimentary veterans like Dylan Brooks, like Fred Famly, like Stephen Adams, like Jeff Green.

Who could kind of lead by example and show these young guys, like, hey, this is a good thing. That he's being so hard on you. I think that, you know, that kind of helped get his message across.

No, Danielle, you all the veterans you basically mentioned just ended up with new deals from Van Vliet, and you're bringing in Green for an additional year.

They all got contracts. Stephen Adams got an extension. And we know Kevin Durant, he's going to be on his way to the Houston Rockets. We know we have to wait for the new league year to start and what have you.

Is it just a formality that he just gets two more years tacked on? I think so, but I'm interested to see at what price. I think the Rockets, because they were a little bit more aggressive in free agency than they had intended to be, they're now hard capped the first apron for this year.

That's not going to affect Grant extension kicking in later, but the long term deals that they've given some of these guys, you know, depends on those exact deal structures.

But I think they they still have plenty of room to give Durant an extension. They have plenty of room to give Tariis and his rookie extension. It just, you know, they're gonna maybe have to do some cap gymnastics to determine The best price for them.

But what really paved the way for Durant to come to Houston in the first place was all those bets that I mentioned. Their new deals, they took pay cuts.

Fred Van Vliet declined his option. knocked about nineteen, twenty million dollars off what the Rockets would have paid him this season to take a two year deal for fifty million instead.

Stephen Adams' extension is pretty team friendly. Um and declines uh in value after this season.

So Danielle? I think I think we may have lost uh Danielle. They botched her. Do we still have Danielle? She fall off? Okay, well, we'll see what the deal is with Danielle.

Try to get her back on. eight eight eight seven ten four I S N That's 888-710-48. for ISN.

And the the cool thing before we lost Danielle about these Houston Rockets, it is the mix. Like we can take a look at all the veterans that they've added and guys taking pay cuts, but the Houston Rockets still have some great young talent.

Who I don't even think has, I think most of us would agree, they haven't reached their peak. Amen Thompson, God only knows what he is. I think he has All Star potential.

Opren Sengoon has already been to an All Star game. He's a double-double guy. And how he continues to develop, he's only twenty two years old. That's T B D, that's to be determined, that's to be seen.

And so this Houston Rockets team They just have a a great mix. Uh Danielle, we got your back? Yes, so sorry about that.

Must be these Houston storms. Hey, listen, I've they've storming all over the place. I'm looking out the studio window here and it looks like uh Georgia got hit by uh God only knows what we have out here.

But before you went. You you talked about these extensions to the vets and and some of the contracts that they took saving some cash, but I had mentioned some of the younger guys, the Amen Thompsons of the world.

Jabari Smith just got his. Alpren Sengoon It's like these guys, they haven't even peaked as to what they're exactly gonna be, and that also has to be good for the Rockets, not just for today or however long they have Durant, but into the future too.

Yeah, I mean, I think such a key part of the Durant trade was that the Rockets were able to keep the bulk of their young core intact. Yes, they gave up Jalen Green. Yes, they gave up a really great defender in Dylan Brooks, but you have Shingoon, who's coming off his first all-star season.

You have a Men Thompson, who maybe has the most upside and is just the best athlete of anybody. on this Rockets roster, including their new additions.

And then you have guys like Tari Eason and Jabari Smith who kind of typify the philosophy that Ymeodoka wants. You know, they're those two-way versatile players.

So I do think that, you know. being able to keep all of those guys is going to be really, really key. When you go forward, You think about all the talent that they have, it just seems it seems too perfect, too good to be true.

What do the Rockets still need help with? If they can plug a hole or fix one, is it adding another guard? Where can they get some help? I don't think they necessarily need to add anything else to the roster.

You know, they've got a roster crunch as it is at the moment. But I think You know, it's one thing to add all these guys who on paper can fix the scoring issues and the shooting issues.

But I think it's going to be up to Emei Odoka and his coaching staff to kind of revamp their playbook and make sure that they can. put all of these guys in p positions to maximize Their skills.

You know, we need a different team now. They can't run the same plays that they were running last year.

Obviously you can just give the ball to Kevin Durant and tell him to go hoop, but that's only going to get you so far. So it's kind of finding ways, I think, to involve everybody and piece this team together.

Well Danielle, are we looking at a situation where it's championship robust here from the fan base? Perhaps.

I I think certainly in this this window In which they'll have Durant, you know, just it might not be this year, might be another couple years after that.

But I would say that. If They are not competing in the finals while Kevin Durant is a rocket, that's going to be seen as a failure.

No, without a shadow of a doubt. He's also expressed a desire, I think we've heard publicly, to kind of finish his career up with the Houston Rockets and not put up another jersey, put on another jersey.

What's the worst case scenario? Because it seems that if things don't work with Durant, That they still have, they still have pieces to still grow.

So, is there a bad thing that could happen here outside of injury? Not really, I don't think.

I think the worst thing would be one of their young stars getting dissatisfied for some reason and trying to force their way out.

But I really don't see that happening. I think they have a really good mesh of personalities here and everyone who's on the current roster. buys into what Emo Doka and Raphael Stone are selling and and they want to be in Houston.

Man, without a shadow of a doubt, this is looking real good. A lot of anticipation for the Houston Rockets this upcoming season.

Danielle, thank you so much for the time. Please tell everybody where they can follow you and your work with the Houston Chronicle.

Of course, you can find all of my stories on houstonchronicle.com. You can also find me on X at Danielle underscore learn.

Hey, Danielle, thank you so much. You get some rest, okay? All right. Thanks, JR. No doubt about it.

It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you, coast to coast, on the Infiniti Sports Network. This is a. Crazy. I I want to hit the fast forward button.

You know, the last time that I had this much anticipation to take a look at the Rockets was when James Harden. was finally moved to Houston, And it was just like go time.

He had the ball. There was no more Westbrook. There was no more Durant. James Harden had the rock and he's just like, I'm just gonna get 30 to 35 every single night.

Of course, that didn't amount to anything. It didn't amount to winning, it didn't amount to a championship, but to see him be unleashed to his own team was certainly a lot of fun.

I haven't had that much anticipation or this much since then.

So looking forward to seeing what the Rockets can do this year. as championship contenders. A big, big deal.

eight eight eight seven ten four I SN is the number. That's eight eight eight seven ten four I SN.

Do you think the Rockets can go ahead and push OKC? I think the answer is yes. I am hoping for it.

My fingers are crossed. But we just know that the NBA is so volatile. We could be here in June, July.

It is July 1st. And man, by the time we get to October and February things could be very very different.

We're going to take a break when we come back.

Speaking of championships. I I don't know what to make of this guy. We got a celebrity boxer. Who has moved himself into championship rankings?

We got Jake Paul who can actually move himself into competing for a title. I mean, I don't know if it'll happen.

Yeah. The world, I don't know if it'll be better for it if it is to take place.

We're going to get into that on the other side.

But right now it's time to get into a news flash.

Here he is. It's Rich Ackerman. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.

It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infiniti. Sports Network.

Thank you much to Danielle Lerner for joining us from the Houston Chronicle in the last break to take a look at these these Houston Rockets and all the pieces that they've added, extended, brought in.

Certainly, it looks great if Kevin Durant, if they can go out there and stay healthy.

I think when you take a look at roster construction. This is what you want out of a basketball team.

You want to be able to have a lead scorer. You want to have other guys who can pick up the slack and knock down big shots.

You want veterans. You want young guys who can contribute and grow.

The Houston Rockets, I think there's a lot of teams in the NBA who would certainly be envious of them.

I think all things considered if we have to look at things on paper. I would look at the Houston Rockets as being contenders in the West right there alongside the reigning champion, Oklahoma City Thunder.

It'd be a great matchup to see these two go at it next year.

But we got a ways to go. As we know, things can always change in the blink of an eye in the NBA.

We got the Denver Nuggets who have certainly improved.

Minnesota will still be around. God only knows what happens with the Lakers.

The Clippers actually look like they have a more well-rounded roster as it stands right now in Los Angeles, even.

So still a lot to be done.

888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN.

Speaking of championships, we got a YouTube celebrity boxer who is now ranked. Ineligible eventually, maybe possibly for a championship.

Not the biggest deal in the world. But we'll get into that in a bit.

Let's go ahead and hit the phone lines.

Kevin is calling from Toronto. You're on the JR Sport Reshow.

What's up, Kevin? What's on your mind?

Hi, Kevin. I was just chilling on Happy Canada, by the way.

Well, hold on, Kevin. I'm J.R. You're Kevin.

Today is happy what? Happy Canada Day. July 3rd.

Yeah. Now, help me out. Help, help me out.

The American here. What the heck is Canada today?

It's not in what is that? You ask a valid question, but it's essentially a holiday.

We celebrate our patriotism and It's more or less a national holiday on Canada on Tuesdays.

And I I don't know if it If it relates to any of the monarchy with the British, but you you asked us a valid question.

Yes, this is a national holiday. Similar to July 4th, but okay, I figured that.

Something related to that in the end.

Amen. So, what the heck do you do today?

Do you sit around, eat? You eat? What do you do?

Some of us go golfing, some of us have a cold beer or beverage, depending how you celebrate it.

But we're just chilling. It's thirty degrees today.

It's finally weather comparable to that, what you experienced in Atlanta.

So we're we're chilling.

A good good old good old uh sensor grade.

What what else you got, Kevin?

I ha I was just, you know, literally having dinner in the Ellison Year show often.

I just had to pump the brakes uh on the rocket. you know I have a colleague that I work with that I you know, and he's from.

He's from Houston and he loves his rockets. he couldn't stop talking about how good that trade was.

And I said, you're giving up, whatever was it, five seconds and this and that, not so worried about what they gave up.

But the upside of KD is obviously there, but his numbers If you look at them on a deeper level, which not everybody does obviously, but He's not driving as much.

He's very relying on that midrange His three-point attempts are down.

And I don't like that they gave up Jalen Green because every time the Rockets had a good game. Galen Greene was playing well.

That was a big piece of their Puzzle, so to speak.

I love the upset of K D, but I I for Ed Van Fleet, Yeah.

You know, aging, I am a Raptors fan, and he was great in the finals.

But he's kind of a liability on defense.

I'm very curious to see KD on the floor. Go ahead.

Well, there's no such thing as a perfect team.

I mean, we just saw a team in the not the Toronto Rappers.

You got me thinking Toronto. We just saw a team in Oklahoma City. that just won a championship.

And when they lost or or Shea Gilgas had a bad game, it was they don't move the ball enough, or Jalen Williams isn't a reliable scorer, and then he drops forty points and Shea Gilgas bounces back.

So we know that there's no such thing as a perfect team.

And we can't do that.

Well, hold on, Kevin, hold on, hold on.

Hold on, Kevin, hold on.

I'm sure. We're good.

Thank you. Thank you.

You did a lot of talking, I did a lot of listening.

Specifically as it relates to Kevin Durant.

No, he's not the same player.

No, he's not jumping out of the gym like he did when he was, you know, 20 years old coming out of Texas.

And he doesn't need to. even still as it stands to day.

He is one of the most efficient basketball players. Yep.

Period. 100%. Okay?

And he's smart.

He's smarter than the majority of the guys out there on the court.

He still has a physical advantage due to his height, size, and skill set.

He is a seven foot tall shooting guard.

Okay, if I was Kevin Durant And I could shoot And have 50% from the field and 40% from three and 90% from the line.

And I was almost 37 years old and I could still give you 25 to 30 if I wanted to, I wouldn't be driving to the basket either.

That's how efficient he is.

And so to say, hey, he doesn't go to the basket or he's not the same player, far be it from being a truth.

Now, I'm not going to be somebody who sits here and tells you that I'm an expert on Kevin Durant, but with my own two eyes, But I I I will tell you with my own two eyes, over the course of the past 15 years, I have seen this man play on an NBA basketball court multiple times.

I have seen him play live and in person in multiple Olympics with my own two eyes.

I have seen Kevin Durant up close and personal playing in the street in Harlem, New York, and in the Bronx, New York with my own two eyes.

I have seen him play in different places in multiple levels.

This is how long this guy has been out there.

He is in rarefied air.

When it comes to having a basketball in his hands.

And so he's the last guy that I'm going to nitpick now that he's 37.

I still think he's great.

Now, can he be healthy throughout the course of the season? Maybe not.

Can he get hurt before the playoffs? Quite possibly so.

But when you look at this roster, I think you'd be hard pressed to look at a team in the NBA. That has this mix of players, Talent. experience an upside.

I don't think there's a team like this.

I don't think there's another one outside of what you may have in OKC.

Yeah.

My call was less about KD, because I agree with you.

He's adapted his game. He's still very efficient, top five efficient player in the game.

But when it goes to say the Jalen Williams example, if SGA wasn't playing well, the sum of us parts were that much better than the Pacers.

Yeah, I know Halliburton went out and That that might have been a completely different game.

But the some of its parts I just don't know who they go to Because Jalen Green was kind of that guy.

Who do they go to if KD is not having a great time?

Well, this is why Kevin, Ahmed Thompson, in another three years, maybe sooner than that, will be an all-star.

Alpren Sengoon has been through a little bit of a fire up until now.

He was a first-time all-star this past season.

And so, no, Kevin Durant isn't going to be tasked with having a world on his shoulders.

Is he going to be looked upon as the guy? Yes, good, which is great.

There aren't too many other guys in the league that, if I need a bucket or a crunch time, who do I want to have the ball?

Everybody knows it's him.

And he's a f he's a freak of nature that we've never seen.

And so if we want to harp on Jalen Green, if the name of the game is to go ahead and try to win a championship, you are in a better position to strike gold and strike rich right now.

With someone who's a more proven commodity versus someone who hasn't reached their peak.

And let's be real.

C could Jalen Green wake up and be a couple time All Star? Yeah.

Is he ever going to get close to anywhere that Kevin Durant has or is? I wouldn't bank on that one.

Yeah, I mean OKC one, large part SGA's inefficient player two.

But he has the Jalen Williams. He has You know, the Chet Holmbrins of the world, and I would love to see Houston. make I don't know if they could make another move, but I don't think well, Kevin.

The point guard Van Flipper.

Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, they don't need to make another move.

Let's see them play.

I don't know if you've watched them, and thank you for calling from Toronto.

I got to hit the break soon.

I I don't know if Kevin's been wa have you seen Oprien Sangoon play?

Do you see him holding down being the more efficient scorer between him and Jalen Green?

Have you seen a man Thompson?

I've watched up I've watched him and his brother play here in Atlanta, Georgia at the overtime elite.

And I'm looking at these guys going, well, these dudes are athletic freaks.

But what's the big deal about them?

They have grown leaps and bounds just over the past couple of years.

They're in the NBA.

People are looking at our men and going. Whoa, this is where he can go.

And so we can nitpick out the Houston Rockets roster.

I can say Fred Van Vlied is older and Kevin Durant may pop his ankle, and yeah, it could be done real fast.

But the potential of the roster The mix of the veterans, And the young guys Are things that most teams would die for?

Okay?

Teams want. this.

They want the opportunity They want the flexibility.

And a rocket's They have it right now.

Let's see what they can do.

Ain't no guarantees that they're going to be healthy, no guarantees or nothing.

But what they have. It is a damn good start to competing for a championship.

What you want are assets.

What you want is talent.

And the Rockets. They got a lot of it, okay?

It's the JR Sport Re Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.

eight eight eight seven ten four I S N That's eight eight eight seven ten.

For ISN.

What do you think about the Rockets? Am I right? Is he wrong? And is it somewhere in the middle?

We'll get into it on the Infinity Sports Network.

Don't move.

Mm-hmm.