Bill Reiter, CBS Sports NBA Insider

We'll see if the NBA season comes to an end tonight, or will we have a game seven? It will be the Pacers and the Thunder coming up. At 8:30 Eastern Time, or as close as they could get it to it, as you do have the Thunder one win away from winning a championship. Let's go out to the guest line right now. You can listen to this guy.

10 a.m. to noon Eastern Time, and many of these same Infinity Sports Network affiliates each and every weekday. And he's also a CBS Sports NBA insider. That is our friend Bill Ryder. Bill, how are you?

Zach Delvin, great. Is this a soccer hit? I am I correct in is are we doing soccer or what's People Club World Cup? What's up, pal? I do like FC Barcelona because I went to Barcelona and I got a hat and a scarf.

That is the only other time, though, I've ever really pretended to like soccer. But Stu and Samter, you know, I may have to take a page out of your playbook. These producers, I may have to ask you for advice. I got to reel them in a little bit. They're so distracted.

There's a new soccer game on every day that they're watching. It's insufferable. It's all the time. Look, I'm shocked they show up for work with how much soccer there is going on. I mean, I'm just, it's like, it's nonstop.

I will say, Stu told me to bring up soccer. He told me you'd love it. Yeah, I absolutely love it. I'm thrilled. All righty.

Tonight, Tyrese Halliburton. I think he's going to give it a go. I think this could be an OG Ananobi situation from two postseasons ago where he plays and then you realize that he's going to just give you nothing on the course. Court, is that what you kind of expected out of Halliburton or do you have higher hopes than I do? No, I think we're on the same page.

Look, I think I'm the only guy in America who took the Pacers to win this series. And so there was a stretch here where I felt unreasonably smart, right? I know that wasn't a reasonable perspective. And all of my hope and all of my arrogance, and all I think the idea, and I think there was one, Zach, that the Pacers could win this series dissipated with this injury. This isn't a Kirk Gibson situation, obviously.

He can't limp out there for one shot. And I'm worried about him. I understand why he's got to play. I understand that there's an NBA championship on the line, but these sort of calf strain injuries, we saw this with Kevin Durant most recently, several years ago. They lead to injury.

And so I've got very, very small hopes for what it means tonight in a good way. And I have lingering worries that if he pushes himself too much, that the guy could hurt himself in a way that impacts him next season. Does Carlisle, the way that it happened last game, where McConnell was going off, then the game got a little bit closer, he went back to Halliburton? I know the season's on the line tonight, so someone could sit there and say, all right, you run Halliburton into the ground, but then, like we talked about, you saw what happened with Durant. Does he maybe get a little rabbit ears there, Carlisle, with the backlash that he got for going back to Halliburton and maybe he has a quick hook on him tonight?

Yeah, it's a good question. It's really interesting. By the way, I don't know where you came down on this. I actually wasn't mad at Carlisle for the last game. He has made a pattern this postseason out of going with guys who have had bad halves or bad first 40 minutes of games.

Obi Toppin had a terrible performance for a majority of a game against the Knicks. And then Obi had an amazing fourth quarter.

So I feel like Carlisle's kind of earned the benefit of the doubt. Yeah, I'm with you, though. And here's the other thing I'll add to your question. And you're right. I do think you have to sort of be leery if you're Carlisle.

You also can't beat the this isn't game seven, as we know. You're not beating the thunder in Oklahoma City if Halliburton can't be, I think, somewhat effective. And so. I don't know if this is, this is a lot easier for me to say from my studio talking to you on your national radio show than if I were in Indiana, Indiana trying to win this game. But if I'm Carlisle, I think you almost have to try to win the game without Halliburton to give him the extra rest time.

And if you get lucky and the Pacers shoot 45% from the three-point line and someone, whatever, Siakim or someone else is great, then maybe you worry about pushing Halliburton to game seven. Because if you push him here, Zach, even if somehow he's heroic and he gets the W for you, the odds he's going to be able to go out and play on Monday if there's a Monday game, game seven, I think, are really small. What do you think his percentage of health is right now? All right, it's a great question. No one's 100%, but like, let's say, you know, most guys are trying to be 85 to 95.

Based on the way that he played in that last game. Based on his injury history and based on this kind of injury being really problematic. I mean, it feels like a 7 to 11% range. I think it's really, really low. Wow, that low.

I think it is. Oh my God. I thought you were at least to say like 30%. You know, 40%. I think it's.

So he had a great conversation. Great. But he talked to the media, and one of the, somebody asked him was a good question: you know, if it were the regular season, would you be playing? Like, and I went and I found him. The look on his face is one of these, like, hey, man, don't ask me this because everything sucks here.

Right. Yeah, I think he's in rough, rough shape. Gotcha. Bill Ryder here with us. By the way, Uh like a green screen behind you, or those actual books behind you?

No, we got Leo, you're the godfather. Look. It's a book that Stu's never read in the movie that he's never seen.

Well, let me tell you. I think you have more books there than I've read in my entire life. That's a lot of books there. You have like 400 books sitting right behind you, it looks like. I like books, man.

You gotta, you gotta read. Dude, you're a smart guy. Read those books. I'll send you some books. I'll read like socks.

I got soccer books. I got soccer books over here. Stop. Whatever you need. Enough with the socks.

You know what? I may have to talk to our bosses to outlaw soccer for at least a month, like soccer-free from this network for a month.

Okay. Bill Ryder. No soccer. If the Thunder, whenever, if they win tonight or if they win on Sunday, I think they're going to win tonight. And I think they're probably going to do so by double digits.

And it'd be fitting because it'd be their 64th double-digit victory of the season for that just to be the way that their season does end in a championship and do it by double digits. What's the take on the Thunder if they win at all? I feel like a lot of people are going to go and jump right to: is this the beginning of the next San Antonio Spurs? Yeah. I think Bill muted himself.

So that is the question I was asked on every hit. It's a reasonable question. And I think it's a really hard it's a hard one to answer because the CBA and the NBA is now calibrated the way Silver wants it to not have dynasties and to allow multitudes of teams. Did you mute yourself here, Bill? I don't know.

Can Bill not even hear me? He's still talking. Yeah. It might be a earbud. 'Cause he's wearing those Air AirPods.

That might be an AirPod Bill is still talking. He is still talking. And and I can't hear him.

So this is this is fascinating to me. Bill looks like a mime right now. Do we have Bill back? How about now? Bill?

I don't know. I gotta talk the sound of my own voice. I was mesmerized by just talking to myself. I don't know where you lost me, but I do think that they can be a dynasty. I think they're set up for that with the way that Presty is.

Basically, he has a million picks. He's got next man up too deep. I mean, Lou Jordan's not going to be there forever. It'll just be Caruso. Then Caruso will go away.

It'll be Kayson Wallace. The problem becomes there's a lot of other teams waiting in the wings. The NBA, they don't want dynasties. That's not what they want. Wembinyama is going to be amazing.

Sort of go through the whole Western Conference.

So, yeah, Zach, I think they can be dynastic. I think they're good enough for that. Their core is young. Chet Holmgren hasn't gotten to the level that I think he will and he can. But the landscape's a lot different the next 10 years and maybe the last 30 years where that was more common.

Bill Ryder here with us. All right, let's get to some of the off-season stuff. Who do you think is going to be the next Knicks coach right now? Who would be your guest right now? Michael Malone is the guest that I would go.

Well, you'll know better than me. You're like friends with Leon Rose. Like, that's your guy. You guys golf together or something. That's not true.

You need to tell me. I need you to tell me what Leon's doing. I mean, look, this guy, so you know as well as I do. Leon's a great guy, but he's basically JD Salinger. He's a recluse now with the media and with all kinds of people.

So there's not a lot of great information out there. And I think you take most of it with a grain of salt. Leon did come from CIA. That is an important relationship. It's part of the reason Cat, as you know, is a Nick.

Michael Malone, CAA client, has a history there, not just with CAA, but with him. Championship, championship sort of mojo. And I think Malone, as I understand it, has been. Whatever they were humbled enough in his power struggle that got him and the GM fired in Denver that you wouldn't have a repeat of the Tibbs thing, but I've heard some heat on Taylor Jenkins. I mean, the honest answer is I don't know.

I would hire Malone. If I were, I wouldn't have fired Tibbs, right?

So it's such a weird thing to be answering. But Taylor Jenkins is getting some heat now, too. Not a CAA guy, which is kind of interesting. And I've heard Bogle thrown out there the last 36 hours as they get rejected, the Knicks again and again. And we know Mike Brown has interviewed as well.

They're still getting that lingering thought of maybe they end up going with Johnny Bryant. But is that you saying you think they should hire him or you think they will hire him? Because I've heard nothing about the Knicks and Michael Malone. Like fans have said it, but there's no real hires. I don't know who they will hire.

Everybody I have to, people have told me that they think Michael Malone can get the job. People around the NBA have told me that, but here's the thing. And who made this point to me? Jared Greenberg made this point, and I thought it was a really good one. A lot of the discourse and conversation has been around: why would you fire?

Tom Thibodeau, if you don't have a backup plan. And the point that Greenberg made is clearly they didn't have a backup plan and they didn't want one. This was more about they just didn't want to work with Tibbs. Leon, for whatever reason, there's some reporting out the last 24 hours and sort of why this happened, didn't want Tibbs. And that's that's step number one.

And so If you do have these coaches out there who either are assistants that you know will take the job or are former coaches like Malone, like Jenkins, like Mike Brown, who are just in on the sidelines, why not take every swing on the face of the earth? I actually sort of rethought this, and I don't know who's going to take it to answer your question. The name changes every time I talk to other GMs around the NBA who they're speculating on. But I think Leon's just taking his time and understanding he's got several backup options, and I think he's going to be pretty methodical about the whole process. Bill Ryder, when we get to Kevin Durant, right, you've heard about the Knicks, that the Knicks aren't interested, but he's interested in them.

Miami is a team that comes up. It seems like I read the Matt Moore article that he doesn't want to go to Minnesota. Houston and the Spurs are still lurking. It's a giant game of who's going to blink first and give a package to the Suns that they're content to. If it was up to KD and he could decide where he's playing tomorrow, what is that team for Durant where you think he wants to go to?

I think it's really interesting he doesn't want to go to Minnesota. And I understand that it's cold there. I'm from nearby in Iowa. I get the winners are awful KD, but I think that's a really interesting team. And I think that, look, I'm not sure how self-aware Kevin Durant is.

He has teamed up with a multitude of superstars and hasn't worked out. And there has been a little bit of tension on the court, at least, right? Because he needs the ball. Anthony Hamwards worships the guy, looks up to him. That is his role model in basketball.

So I'm surprised he's not more tempted by that.

So putting that aside, for me, it's the Houston Rockets. It depends what he wants. If he wants an NBA championship, I think the Rockets are good enough to make that leap. They are ahead of schedule. They were the two seed this year when they probably should not have been.

That's how good of a coach Jime Adoka is and how remarkable they are as a young squad. You plug in KD's instant offense, and not just that, the depth they have.

So he doesn't have to play a million minutes. I think if you get lucky, you can preserve him through the regular season. He can actually be durable in the playoffs, and he provides exactly what they need.

Now, I find this Spurs deck really interesting, right? If I'm KD's consigliore, because if Wemby is out there, You have DeAaron Fox, you have this big three. I actually think, with a guy like Durant, and I wouldn't trade a lot for Kevin Durant if I'm most teams, but I think if you put Durant on the Spurs from Durant's perspective, there's a world where I think they can be an actual contender. I'm not sure people realize. How remarkable Wembanyama is and how much he's going to make a leap year to year.

So I'm looking at one of the two Texas teams. If I'm KD, it's first choice Houston if I get to point him in a direction. But I think the Spurs are really interesting too.

Alrighty, I talked to two people today about Ace Bailey because he's supposed to have finally a workout and then he canceled on the Sixers. And I said, what's going on here? And everyone's getting the same line because I've seen this all over the place. They said he's getting really bad advice and he's also really immature. The first player I think of.

Is Ben Simmons. I'm not saying in terms of style and all that stuff, but Ben Simmons had a terrible attitude and it's derailed his career. Is this something that Ace Bailey could change, or is he just going to be another Ben Simmons? I mean, he can change it, but I'm with you that I I would pass on him. I will tell you that.

And I talked to a guy before all this went down who scouted him, right? A guy that's a top-level talent evaluator for an NBA team who loved him and said he's amazing. I was going back through my notes because this conversation was months ago. And also, the same person in a different part of the conversation told me: never, ever, ever, ever, ever the top pick draft somebody who has major question marks on any level, right? If their knee is a little shaky, if their character is a little shaky, if there's just, if there's something that feels off, it's too big of a decision.

And I think there's just too many red flags here and there's too much, too much smoke. I mean, he's talented, right? He's a massively talented dude, obviously, but if. Immaturity, okay, fine. These are young people sometimes.

Getting bad advice. Happens, not maybe dealing with fame and the second that are around you when you're a young person, got it. But when it impacts your ability to show up for workouts and to interact properly with NBA teams, that tells you a pattern that could follow.

So, yeah, I think he falls, and I think you would be foolish if you're any of these teams in a very, very deep draft. It's not like there's only two guys to take your risk with someone who is showcasing, at least at this point. I am not mature enough to be an NBA player. But clearly, Flag is going one. You're going to Harper go two.

Why? The Sixers are then three. Why would Bailey cancel here? That's the part that I don't get why he would cancel here. I don't get.

I mean, maybe he doesn't want to be a sixer. I don't know. I'll say this about Daryl Murray that I find really interesting. I was trying to recall his name when I was giving you my last answer, and I should know this. Maybe Stu will know, maybe you'll know.

It was the guy who was at Iowa State 15 years ago who wouldn't get on airplanes. And now he's a Republican wannabe congressman, I think. This was a massively talented guy, Royce. I can't remember his name. He didn't make it.

And Daryl Murray reached for this guy because he was so talented, but he was a total mess.

So Bailey's actually the perfect kind of pick. For the Sixers, because what diarrhea? Royce White. God, I couldn't get, and I knew that guy. Good job, Stu.

Good job, Stu. Did Stu pull it? Yeah, Stu, stop watching soccer and do my job for me while I'm on Zach's show, bro. Stu looked up. He goes, Oh, that team scored the goal.

Oh, wait, Zach needs something? And then he typed away all the Maradona stuff was up there. All the messy stuff was up there. And he goes, Oh, I'll pull Royce White out of his ass. That's what he ended up doing.

I don't know why you wouldn't want to go to Philly, especially the way that sort of these things are slotted, but Because they're going to be a young team. I think eventually, maybe not this year, but Paul George is not going to be there for forever if they can help it. And even Embiid, if they can get a. Anyway, I don't know. This young man is getting bad advice, and the decisions he's making are incredibly, incredibly foolish.

And this is one of these drafts, it almost is more like an NFL draft where you actually can fall. That doesn't usually happen in the NBA because there's tiers of talent, and normally you get to five or six or seven if you're lucky, and there's a huge drop. As I understand it from people across the nobody agrees on who the guys are, but there are seven or eight people that people think minimum this draft is that deep. Or if you draft a guy 9, 10, 11, you can get a star if you develop properly.

So this is the wrong draft to be pulling these kind of moves. Last thing I'll ask you, what do you think the immediate impact is? Cooper flag with the Mavericks. What's the immediate impact on him in the NBA? Other than saving Nico Harrison's job, other than I was in that draft room, by the way.

And when that, usually, I'm in that room and all, when the, when the, they pull out the lottery balls, usually, no, whatever team wins and gets lucky, everyone's happy for. Nobody was happy for the Mavericks. Just so you know, everybody in that room was really put out. I think it makes them a contending franchise for a very, very long time. Maybe not this next year, but that doesn't really matter with Kyrie coming back from the injury, and we'll see what AD is about.

And they got to kind of figure out how you thread that needle with AD's timeline and flags' timeline. But by all accounts, Zach, the guy is going to make the leap. He's amazing. He's mature. He's a winner.

What it does is it's a reset for the Mavs. And I don't think they'll be great this next year, but I think that they're probably going to be a very talented team with the right cornerstone. They don't deserve this, but that's what they got for a very long time. Hey, by the way, I got a $10 billion question here. The sale of the Lakers yesterday.

Oh, boy. What do you think the impact is here? On how the Lakers are going to be run. And then also, some people have had this take that now Palinka is on the hot seat. Do you think Palinka's seat now is on fire?

Yeah, well, so okay, so I so I have not confirmed this. I have seen the reporting that Jeannie has in writing, Genie Buss has in writing the right to be the governor, which is basically the person who makes the decisions at NBA ownership meetings, and to be in charge of whoever's in charge of Basco operations. If that's Rop Palinka's seat is on fire, and he is gone whenever that contract expires, would be not just my presumption, but what people in the Lakers organization told me when the news broke. If part of this deal from the group that owns the Dodgers is that Jeannie gets to be in charge for three years or five years, Jeannie is, and I think to a great fault, incredibly, incredibly loyal. And there's a reason I think she gave Polinka this extension because she knew she was negotiating this sale.

And so she took care of her guy in case she didn't get what she wanted to there in changes.

So if she is really locked in, Zach, to control for a long time or for a certain amount of time, I think Palinka's there. But after that, I think he's absolutely gone. And to answer the first part of your question, last, I think it's incredible for the Lakers. The Dodgers are remarkably well run. And this, I know that there's a cap and the CBA has sort of flattened things, but there's not a cap on how much you pay your coach, how much you pay your general manager.

I mean, look at what the Dodgers do. And I know that, like, in baseball, you can spend all the money you want, but something that gets missed on the Dodgers side is that they went out and they bought, they hired the most impressive young GM in baseball and Andrew Friedman when he was in Tampa Bay. They elevated him to president. And if you go and you look, and Farhanzati was just the GM in San Francisco, is back now after being a Dodger for a while, then they spent ungodly amounts of money. Hiring three, five, six, seven, at one point, I think it was nine former GMs to work throughout the front office.

The Dodgers have the best science. They spend the most money on the sort of science of sports. They dominate Latin American scouting because there's an edge there, because it's a different draft situation. They pour money into every avenue they can. The Lakers are going to spend all the money in the world.

They're not going to worry about the aprons. They're going to turn into a brand that prints money. And I think they're probably going to pour money into places where the CBA doesn't limit you.

So I think in the medium and long term, this is great news for the Dodgers. And you're going to, unfortunately, the rest of the NBA be up against the best brand along with the Celtics in the game. And now, because I love Jeannie, but I don't think she ran the team particularly well, a well-oiled machine, sports machine. I think in five or six years, the Lakers are as well run and as successful as the Dodgers are. He's Bill Ryder.

Great job, CBS Sports Insider. Also, you listen to him right here on the Infinity Sports Network, right-you than you, Monday through Fridays, 10 a.m. to noon Eastern Time. Bill, thank you. Enjoy the game tonight.

Thanks, buddy.