It is the JR Sport Brie Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Man, we talked about a lot of deals that have taken place today. We got NFL players like TJ Watt getting contracts. We got Von Miller with a new deal with the Commanders. And we even got Damian Lullard, who's, well, damn it, he's going right back to Portland, Oregon.
Play for those Portland Trailblazers whenever he's healthy. But we've also had a lot of big moves done by the Los Angeles Clippers. I mean, they just picked up Bradley Beal, they traded for John Collins, they added a Lopez twin and Brooke to come off the bench. Flipper's got a lot of talent. Do they all fit together?
What can we expect from them? What else is going on in the league? Joining us right now is someone who covers all things basketball for the athletic. Joining us right now is some of the best. is Lawrence Murray.
Lawrence, how are you, man? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me. Absolutely appreciate the time.
Well, let's take a look at first the Los Angeles Cliffers. They add Bradley Beale, they've made all these adjustments, they look good on paper. Is anybody supposed to trust them? Is this a team just for the postseason? Are they just warming up in the regular season?
What is this? It's going to be a great look at how they want to Process through both the regular season and the playoffs. You have to get to the playoffs, right? And I think everyone has that big picture in mind of: okay, we just lost in the first round. We haven't gotten out the first round in a few years, and you're trying to react to that all the time.
There's that pressure. But when you all those dudes show up for camp You just want to have good vibes. Get guys that care about each other and get into the season and get yourself off to a good start so that you can develop the right habits.
so that when you do get to the playoffs, the best version of yourself in the playoffs can come out. That's a lot. That's a lot that needs to happen. between October and Really, February? Because if it works, you're like, okay, let's fine tune and see how high our ceiling is.
If it doesn't work, and with this group of guys that they put together, there's a lot of boom or bust here. If it doesn't work, you're reassessing in January. You know, we're talking about this in July. They're not going to play any games that matter for three months. And then for three months, they got to show that they can validate.
all this talent that we are about to you know, spend a lot of time talking about. I like what they've done from the simple fact that they got beat in a game seven, fully healthy, and understood that. There's no real incentive to quote unquote You know, see what happens, you know, like make something happen because a lot of these dudes are playing for bread. a year from now and it's going to be fascinating to watch. We know Bradley Beal with his son's buyout.
He has money coming for years. He's in essence on a one plus one contract. He can opt out and be a free agent next off season. We saw that he didn't fit in. With Booker and then also Durant when they played in Phoenix.
We know James Harden is someone more apt to get rid of the ball. Kawhi Leonard isn't necessarily a ball hog by any stretch of the imagination. How is Bradley Beal expected to fit in with this team, particularly amongst the other two future Hall of Famers?
Well, it will start with Bradley Beal actually being on the floor, I think. More than anything, the fit in Phoenix was difficult because Brad missed so much time. But also, Because I actually think that Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant. Evan Booker, offensively, you're not really tripping that much. But what hurt them when Brad first got there?
Is the fact that that Phoenix Suns team decided to trade their Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul to get Bradley Beal and his no trade clause. And basically, we're like, how about we just not have a guy who's ever been a You know, facilitator as they grow in basketball. You had stars and play finishers and guys who can make plays for others as a part of their scoring, but you never had a guy whose main task on a basketball court was getting others and keeping them involved in the flow of the offense. That's why that first Phoenix Tones team, man, they could be really good through three quarters, but they were the worst fourth-quarter team I've ever seen. You know, relative to good teams that messed up Brad's first year.
And then last year, they bring in all the small guards: Tyus Jones, Monte Morris, minimum contracts. The offense was good. Huge made shots. Brad made shots, but they were one of the softest teams I've ever seen.
Okay, so you're talking about one year Brad was playing with guys who couldn't finish games properly. And then last year, the Phoenix Suns hurt office realized they had messed a whole lot of stuff up. They benched Brad. They You know, kick the tires on Kevin Durant seeing if he wanted to get traded. Kevin was like, nah, y'all not going to do me like that.
And They pretty much blew up their whole team afterwards. The fit should be better with the Clippers simply because the Clippers aren't as dysfunctional as the Phoenix Suns are. And that means a lot.
So if it comes down to it, Brad's job is to come in, get his body right, get his mind right, find some love of the game, and make the shots that we know that he's capable of making and buy in. If he can do that, it's going to go better. But the number one thing is I don't care who's out there, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, if you're in lineups that are big, if you're in, it doesn't matter. Brad's got to get his body right. I think that's the biggest part of the fit: he's got to be able to be healthy enough to.
Be on the court in the first place. Lawrence Murray is here with us, covers all things Clippers for the athletic. When you think about the Clippers moving into the new arena with the new owner, he's been here for a while now, almost a decade, and Steve Ballmer. Their expectations that he's going to spend, spend, spend, which they've done. But knowing that these guys are older, Harden, 30s, Kawhi Leonard, 30s, we know his injury history, and Bradley Beal is no longer a spring chicken.
What is the long-term expectation? It feels like eventually. If this doesn't result in a championship, they're going to have to just restart from scratch. Am I wrong? Yeah, I don't think that's really how they're looking at it.
I mean, these guys are already year-to-year anyway. you're building two teams. And the team that you have for this season is the s team that you have for this season. Everything that the Clippers have done, and it hasn't just started this year, it started last year when Paul George left, is with an eye towards Pre-agency in 2026, 2027, having that cat space, having that flexibility so that you're not starting over. You are in the sense.
Getting the most out of the guys that you have with an eye towards making sure that you're never going to completely fall off or fall apart. And those guys are all playing at relatively high levels. James was an all-NBA performer last year, Kawhi Leonard. He had to take some time to get his body right, but once he debuted, he played well. And we all know he's an all-NBA caliber talent as well.
Yeah. Uh, they have guys who emerged if it's Zubots. He was a finalist or most improved player. He was really good last season. He's not three yet.
John Collins coming in. That's a player who I just feel like I don't think they need to start him, but the fact that he's on the team represents something they just didn't have a year ago. And so This is a team that there is pressure to your point. The pressure is. Because these guys are not Emerging players, they're established players who a lot of them could be free agents next year.
They can't take for granted that, hey, you have another chance at this. You got to get the most out of this year. But I think that's the case for every team. And the difference between this team and other teams is this team might be good enough to do something. And this team understands that you're going to have to keep an eye towards completely reimagining what your team looks like and having the flexibility to make the most of it.
That's how the Clippers have Bradley Beal in their team now. And I bet you, just looking at the Clippers' history over the last decade, They're going to continue to do the most that they can to make sure that they're competitive year over year.
Well, Lawrence, you talk about what this team is composed of and the timeline that they are on. You look at the other teams in the West. We know who just won the championship. We know Houston just went ahead and got Durant. We've seen the improvement in the Denver Nuggets as well.
Where is the ceiling for this Clippers team? Could you see this squad hoisting the Larry O'Brien at the end of next season? Right now, I can't say that because The Oklahoma City Thunder is still here. They bring their whole team back. They got the MVP, the leading scorer, a guy who was drafted and debuted with the Clippers.
I feel like it's still the Thunder versus everybody else in the West. Uh, and to be honest with you, I don't think the West was all that good last year. I think you had good teams, but you didn't have true threats, the sixth seed. Was the team that wound up making the Western Conference finals. And outside of one game, they weren't all that competitive in that Western Conference finals.
I would say the Thunder should be the clear favorites. I don't really see another team being nearly as good as them. I'm not really that high on anybody, the Clippers included. That being said, I do think the Clippers are better. I do think the Nuggets are respectable.
I think the Rockets have a lot to build off of. The Timberwolves have made back-to-back conference finals. They're going to be right there in the mixed suit. That mix is going to be more interesting to me. Anything else, like, but it's still, I think, the context of the West is who can challenge the Thunder.
I think the Thunder is still the team to be reckoned with in the West. I I would certainly agree with you on on that one.
Well, Law, thank you so much for the time. Please tell everybody where they can follow you and all of your work on The Athletic. Yeah, shout out to the athletic, and you can find me on all the socials at LawMurray the New. Just read the articles. They're way better than social media.
I'd say that much. Yeah, well we know we know what social media looks like, Law, so yeah. Anyway. We'll leave that one alone. Hey Law, thank you so much.
We'll catch you down the line, okay? All right, thank you. You're a listening to Wolf FM, all the doggy hits, all the doggy times. Heartworm disease. Six and feet.
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