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00:00Only during this week would it make sense if we were about to have a conversation with a friend
00:07and it was a video conversation and the video would pop up
00:11and Jim Boeheim's face would just be like sitting there on a t-shirt looking at us
00:19and I would be like, yeah, that makes sense.
00:21Unfortunately for those who are fans of the orange, it's March sadness.
00:26Yeah.
00:29Yeah, Nick Friedel, River Island's guest line, Odyssey Sports NBA insider Nick Friedel.
00:35Insider calls brought to you by Hyundai and the all-new Hyundai-Palisade hybrid.
00:39Where's Syracuse? I filled my bracket out last night. I didn't see them.
00:43My tournament bracket and all my pools for like five years running is Syracuse should be here.
00:50And they are not there because they are not good enough.
00:54They don't have enough money. They can't find the right coach. It is bad.
00:59But as I just told Grandy and Lucas in the break, these are the moments where you have to wear
01:04the Boeheim shirt
01:05because you have to remind everybody that, yes, they still do exist.
01:09And yes, they're going to get back there at some point.
01:12So I actually, I just got back from practice like an hour ago in Detroit and I saw Steve Kerr.
01:19I was like, Steve, you want one of these? And he just laughed.
01:22I was like, ah, we need a little two-three zone action diagram maybe.
01:26But yeah, Syracuse, it's a rough time right now.
01:31Yeah, Steve's team is in the tournament. I don't know if you noticed that there, Nick.
01:34Steve's team is in.
01:36That's right. He knows it too. He knows it.
01:39I can never pick Syracuse again.
01:41I was one of those people that had them in the Final Four when they lost to the Richmond Spiders
01:46that long ago, Nick.
01:47And yeah, I'm not over it yet. I'm not over it yet.
01:51I was still a kid. I got into a pool.
01:54The whole pool back then, all you did was just pick the Final Four. That's it.
01:57You didn't have to do anything else. Pick the Final Four.
01:59And then the tournament director kind of sent a message to everybody, but it was after the tournament had already
02:05started.
02:06And I'll never forget his line.
02:07And he goes, so here's everything that we're going to do with the tournament pool.
02:10But by the way, those of you who pick Syracuse, you're basically already out.
02:16So like the opening message from this guy was you lost.
02:21Yeah, that'll stick with you.
02:23If you have a bad pool run.
02:24I remember I picked Ole Miss forever ago and they lost.
02:30It was the Ansu Cisse team and they lost at a buzzer beater.
02:36It might have been the Valpo game.
02:37I don't remember which one, but I'm with you, Mark.
02:40I can't pick him ever again.
02:41I get it.
02:42Bryce Drew and his dad, Larry Drew.
02:44Bingo.
02:44I think it was the Bryce Drew game.
02:45That little running three.
02:47Oh, that was a great buzzer beater.
02:49That was a great slob right there, too.
02:51Sideline out of bounds to win it.
02:53I've never heard it called a slob before.
02:55There's the slob and the blob.
02:57That's why they pay you the big bucks, Mr. Dibbs.
02:59That's right.
03:00Yeah.
03:00If you have a good blob, then you can get a bucket.
03:03That's the baseline out of bounds.
03:04Slob and blob, everybody.
03:06I'm into it.
03:07I'm into it.
03:07Kind of like how I'm into Detroit.
03:10So are you in a Detroit hotel room right now?
03:12Is that true, Nick?
03:14I am.
03:14Yes, sir.
03:15Okay.
03:15I had a hotel room in Detroit get robbed one time during the Super Bowl.
03:21So first and foremost, are you okay?
03:23Yeah, I can only tell you that an old colleague of mine from Chicago, there was a hotel in Detroit
03:36right by the airport.
03:37And he would specifically reference that one because he would say, that's where dreams go to die.
03:46When you check into that place.
03:48So Detroit, hey, downtown's a hell of a lot better than it's been in a long time.
03:53I'll give it that.
03:54I haven't been in a few years, but it's on the way back up.
03:59Okay.
03:59What a good transition because you sat down with Steph for a conversation recently.
04:04What exactly is he dreaming about right now?
04:07What's in his mind?
04:08Mark, he's coming back.
04:10If that knee is good, he's going to play.
04:14And I know there's been so much conversation as to whether or not he should or they should tank their
04:22way out of.
04:23They're not getting out of the play-in, but losing the play-in, have the 1% chance or whatever
04:27it is to land somebody in the lottery a la the Mavericks from last year with Cooper Flagg.
04:35I talked to Steph for a couple minutes the other night in New York City.
04:39He's going to play.
04:40If that knee responds and he continues to ramp up his progress and he got some shooting in Boston last
04:49night.
04:50We watched him run around for about 30 minutes and runs too strong, but he was getting a lot of
04:55different shots up the way he usually does.
04:59He's going to be back.
05:00Exactly when that is, that remains to be seen.
05:03But the question of, ah, there's nothing on the line in this season.
05:06Let's just sit him.
05:08No.
05:09He's playing.
05:10Steve Kerr is hopeful that he returns in, you know, whenever that knee feels right.
05:18But we can erase that they're going to just sit him because there's nothing to play for.
05:24The only reason Steph would not return this year is because that knee still isn't right.
05:30But the feeling and hope within the organization right now is that it will be and we'll see him at
05:36some point in the next couple weeks.
05:38And from what you've seen just in the amount you're able to be allowed to see, where is he in
05:43the ramp up?
05:44Is he still not yet to the three on three, four and four scrimmage part?
05:48Is that still to come?
05:49Where is he on the arc of getting all the way back?
05:51It doesn't feel like he's in the portion where he's playing with everybody else yet, Dibs.
05:59And I think that's crucial, obviously, because you need to take some physicality in practice.
06:06You need to see how that knee responds.
06:10But I don't think it feels like we're too far away from that point.
06:14So I don't think there's any chance on this trip or in the next week or so.
06:22But the other part in talking to Steph is he wants to have five or six games.
06:28You know, he wants that runway to play your 20 minutes.
06:33And I'm sure he'll be on a minutes restriction whenever he does get back.
06:37But this is also not, hey, we're going to sit him until the play-in and then we're going to
06:43run him back for the play-in game, whether it's in Portland or otherwise.
06:46And he's just going to play and he's going to be all right.
06:49That's not going to happen.
06:51If we don't see Steph here in the next few weeks, then we can start talking about, all right, there's
06:57not enough time and let's pull the plug.
06:59But I still believe he's going to be there in Dibs.
07:02I think in the next, it feels like, week, we're going to get that email that says, hey, he started
07:09to do more practice.
07:10He's going through some scrimmages and he's getting real close to being there.
07:14Nick Friedle is with us, Odyssey NBA Insider.
07:19Insider calls are brought to you by Hyundai and the all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid.
07:23Learn how it makes every day epic at HyundaiUSA.com.
07:27Nick, did you guys get into his future at all when you talked to him?
07:32Or does he not want to do that right now?
07:35He doesn't want to do that.
07:36Okay.
07:37I don't think either guy wants to do that, frankly, Mark.
07:40Steph or Steve Kerr.
07:42Because there's still so much uncertainty about all of it.
07:47I can tell you with Steph, he had a sit-down with his dad, Del, with my friend and colleague,
07:54Marcus Thompson, on The Athletic.
07:56And he said, the only thing that makes you think about the end is if health gets in the way.
08:05And I think that's why everybody's kind of taking a deep breath with all this runner's knee stuff.
08:11Because you start to go, if that's starting to pop up, are there going to be potentially more problems down
08:18the line?
08:19Again, I can only tell you, having talked to Steph and Kerr, that they don't believe that's the case.
08:26They believe that once he gets through the rehab now, that it's not something that's going to linger and linger
08:32and linger in time.
08:34Only time will tell, though, how that responds.
08:37But as we sit here today, my educated guess, Mark, is that Steph still wants to play a few more
08:43years.
08:44I've got no sense at all from him or anyone else that we're anywhere close to, the end is very
08:52near.
08:52I don't think that.
08:54I think he wants to be out there.
08:55I think he wants to do everything he can to stay out there, make sure that the product is still
09:01good.
09:02And I don't want to tell you in that conversation that he and his dad had with Marcus, it was
09:06Del Curry who said,
09:08play as long as you can and then play one more year.
09:12And in knowing Steph and how close he is to his dad, I'm sure he's thinking that's a hell of
09:18a good way to go.
09:18And he's now played more seasons than his dad.
09:21And he signed for one more.
09:23And it's not out of the question for him to extend that even more.
09:26Knowing what you do about Steph, and I'm going to ask you to take an educated guess here.
09:30But if they came to him and offered him an extension below what he's actually worth in the interest of
09:37signing other players,
09:38is he the kind of guy, in your opinion, who would take less to have more around him?
09:43I believe he is, Dibs, but that's just my opinion.
09:48I can only go off the conversations and in time and what he's kind of hinted at through the years.
09:59That's why I think the next year, guys, and this summer is so interesting.
10:05Because everybody was kind of locked in for the two years.
10:09And now it's one year and there's so much uncertainty with Jimmy.
10:12And when he returns off the knee injury, although we did talk to him the other day in D.C.
10:17And he'll be back at some point next year.
10:20It's just nobody knows when.
10:21But, Dibs, to your question, if they came to Steph and said, look, we can get player ABC here
10:30and we can try to make something happen, but we need a little more space in the cap, yeah.
10:36I can only guess that he would take a little less because he still wants to have a product that
10:44they feel can win every night.
10:47And, again, there are so many ifs in all these equations.
10:51I can only sit here and tell you, especially as I watched Porzingis the last couple weeks, that guy fits.
10:58I mean, he just fits.
11:00If he ever gets on the floor with Steph and they're both healthy at the same time, I think everybody's
11:06going to go,
11:06oh, okay, there's a lot of space all over the place.
11:10Jimmy Butler fits.
11:11Jimmy Butler hurt his knee.
11:12You know, that is a huge issue and it sets everything back.
11:16But from a broader standpoint, I understand what the Warriors were going for because if Steph is healthy
11:24and if Porzingis is healthy and if Jimmy and his knee are okay, they're pretty damn good.
11:30The problem and anybody, any naysayer out there will sit there and go, ah, well, yeah, that's a lot of
11:36ifs for a lot of old guys
11:38and who have health concerns.
11:40Yeah, I get it.
11:41But I see what they're thinking, at least heading into next year, assuming that they find a way to bring
11:47Porzingis back
11:48and they get Jimmy back and they get this knee right with Steph.
11:52Have the Warriors made up their mind about what they want to do with Chris Stops beyond this year?
11:59I don't think in any way, certainly officially, but Mark, I don't think for certain yet because they're waiting to
12:10see,
12:10like the rest of the league is waiting to see, can he stay out there?
12:14Can the health concerns and the illness and everything that has been built up the last few weeks since he
12:23arrived from Atlanta,
12:25can he be on the floor?
12:27If we're sitting here at the end of the regular season and they've gone through the play-in and they're
12:33starting for next year
12:34and Porzingis has played a large chunk of these games, then yeah, I think the answer is bring him back.
12:42Find a way for a year, maybe a player option on the second year so he feels a little freedom
12:49that they can see why it would work.
12:53They can see that it's going to work if Porzingis is out there.
12:57But I don't think any kind of decision has been made for sure because they are waiting to see,
13:02like we all are waiting to see, can Porzingis be out there night to night and can you count on
13:08him?
13:09Is D'Anthony Melton playing his way out of town?
13:12In other words, is he playing too well for the Warriors to afford to keep him?
13:17Well, in the theme of who's taking less to stay, I don't think we need to start with Steph, Dibbs.
13:24It's Melton because that's really the question.
13:26There's only so high they're going to be able to go because of the deal, not only that he's on,
13:33but the lack of room that it would appear that they're going to have,
13:37especially with whatever they decide to do with Porzingis.
13:40So that's really the question.
13:43And I know that you guys talked to him the other day.
13:46And, Mark, you asked him.
13:48And, you know, he didn't answer it.
13:50I don't necessarily blame him.
13:52So he tried again, and then he didn't answer it again.
13:55Yeah, he didn't answer that one either.
13:56So I think that the proof will be in the pudding as far as Melton goes.
14:04He really likes it here.
14:06The training staff has really helped him.
14:08He's said as much many times.
14:10He feels comfortable on the floor.
14:12Okay, are you going to take less to say?
14:15We'll see.
14:15But if we were trying to answer that question right now, I think absolutely.
14:20Will there be a team or teams that offer him more money than the Warriors can?
14:25Yes.
14:26So the question is, how much does he love it and how much does he want to be here?
14:32And time will tell us that as well.
14:35All right, Nick Friedle with us.
14:36You know the ins and outs of this team and the injuries it currently faces.
14:41So is this pie in the freaking sky to say, well, look, in that playing tournament,
14:49if Steph Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green, Al Horford, Moses Moody, Pods, GP2, Guy Santos, DeAnthony Melton,
15:04if they're all healthy at once, that's kind of a little bit of a squad.
15:11So the idea of them all being healthy in three weeks is what percentage chance?
15:20Let's go with 60.
15:24Oh, that's a big number.
15:26Yeah, just because everything, Mark, as we well know, centers around Steph.
15:32And I'm sitting here telling you I believe he'll be back at some point in the next few weeks here.
15:37So, okay, Steph's back.
15:39I just watched Moody go through a little bit more of a workout.
15:42That wrist is still bothering him.
15:44But if you're asking me do I think he's back at some point in the next couple weeks, I do.
15:49I think he'll return.
15:52Horford is gone.
15:53We haven't seen him.
15:55He's not on this trip.
15:57So who knows there.
15:59But Melton seems to be in pretty solid shape.
16:04Draymond, you know, to each their own as far as which side of that conversation you're on.
16:12But Draymond in a one-off or a two-off playoff game, I take my chances with what he can
16:19give you.
16:20Okay.
16:21So, and then it's Porzingis, really.
16:24I mean, and Mark, who knows?
16:27I don't know.
16:28I mean, Porzingis continues to say he's feeling much better.
16:33He said last night he's 60% of where he wants to be.
16:36I said, can you get to 100?
16:38He said, oh, no doubt, by the end of the year.
16:40So, yeah, like I understand where the Warriors are coming from.
16:45If you get everybody healthy, there is no reason to think they can't get out of the play-in games.
16:51You win two games.
16:52You go into a first-round series.
16:53You take your chances.
16:55There is nobody in the world that wants to see Steph in a seven-game series because they know, in
17:02theory, what could happen.
17:03But I get it the more I'm around them.
17:06This team has a standard.
17:08This team wants to play out the string as hard as they can.
17:12And there's just no way that they're going to sit there and be like, ah, forget it.
17:16It's not worth it.
17:17If they get everybody back, that's the whole point.
17:21They feel like they can still make whatever noise they're going to be able to make down the stretch there.
17:27And when you talk to Steph, what was he saying about playing with Chris Stapps?
17:31Does he automatically think it's going to be a great fit?
17:34Is he super eager to get out there with him?
17:36What were his thoughts on that matter?
17:38Dibs, I think the key is that it's one of the reasons he's pushing so hard to get back on
17:44the floor, period.
17:46Steph wants to play basketball.
17:48Steph knows what he represents to so many people, and he wants to be out there.
17:54I think what's gotten lost in this a little bit is he got hurt at the end of January.
17:58The other part, guys, is nobody who's doing any kind of craft wants to sit for six, seven, eight months
18:06and not do anything.
18:08I mean, if you're healthy, and that was Steph's whole point, if I'm healthy, I'm playing.
18:14So one of the reasons I think he's pushing in this rehab is that he wants to see how it
18:19looks with Porzingis.
18:21He knows that it can be really solid, but I think that got lost in the discourse a little bit.
18:27No one who is as competitive and as talented as Steph Curry wants to sit on the sidelines for months
18:36going into another year.
18:38There is a huge difference, guys, between sitting and icing yourself from the end of January and being done at
18:46the end of April.
18:47That's a big gap, and I think that's what he's kind of focusing on.
18:51But there's no question, Dibs, that when you look at Porzingis and you're watching him,
18:56you're seeing a guy that Steph Curry really wants to play with and thinks he can succeed with down the
19:02line.
19:02What do you know about being iced for six months in your craft, anyway?
19:06That was my question.
19:07I know a little bit about the icing of 27 months.
19:10Ah, okay.
19:13Ice, ice, ice baby, yeah.
19:15That's cold.
19:15Yeah, it was quite the experience being iced.
19:21That was something.
19:24That was well played.
19:26Well played.
19:26Hey, Nick, any chance the Warriors catch the Pistons with their pants down tomorrow because of the whole Cade Cunningham
19:33thing?
19:35I, having seen what I've seen in the league, Mark, I don't think there's any doubt that it is at
19:41least in the realm of possibilities.
19:44The reason I would hesitate with the Pistons is their identity is so solid.
19:49They're just going to try to knock you out every night.
19:51The defense is there, but when you lose your guy, everybody kind of goes, ugh, and the heads go down,
20:01and you realize, uh-oh, how does this look for the playoffs?
20:04If he doesn't come back for the playoffs, yikes, what happens?
20:08So, yeah, the Warriors play really hard.
20:11The Pistons got dealt a tough emotional blow, at least in the moment.
20:16But with the way the Warriors are playing, the only game I was sure on, anyone was sure on, was
20:24that Wizards game.
20:25The Wizards are the closest to the awful tanking Sixers, the processed Sixers, as anything I've seen in the league
20:34in the last 10 years.
20:36That is an atrocious team that doesn't want to be out there.
20:41The Pistons are one of the best teams in the league.
20:43They've got a lot of proud guys, but in the very immediate aftermath of the Cunningham news, I think it's
20:50possible.
20:50Pistons up 19 right now against the aforementioned Wizards.
20:53It's the first quarter, so there you go.
20:56It could be 49 by the time we get off this interview.
20:59True.
20:59It could be, which is not quite yet, by the way, because I want to sneak this in.
21:04Is there any chance Kristaps plays on a back-to-back?
21:08That one would surprise me.
21:10Okay.
21:10All right, so is he picking tomorrow night?
21:13Are they picking tomorrow night?
21:15Or do they want him to go head-to-head with Jonathan Kaminga on Saturday night?
21:23Yeah, I'm hopeful for what we do, Mark, that it's Saturday.
21:28I don't know for sure.
21:30They haven't made that clear yet.
21:33But, again, I can just tell you, having lived this all year, lived this the last few days, everyone is
21:41aware of Saturday.
21:42They know what it is.
21:44Really?
21:44Like, they get that the fan base is intrigued.
21:48They get that the league is intrigued.
21:51What I would say, and we've gone through the Kaminga stuff so many times over the last, you know, six
21:56months at this point,
21:57they really do, at least in my opinion, they want the best for him.
22:03They want him to be successful.
22:06And I think that is telling in that the relationship, as bad as it had gotten at various points,
22:13it had never deteriorated to a point where players, coaches didn't sit there and go,
22:18hey, we want the best for this guy wherever he may land.
22:22And as far as public divorces go in the NBA, this one was rough, but I think there was a
22:30human element here of,
22:31hey, we saw this guy when he came in when he was 18 years old, and we tried.
22:36Everybody wanted him to succeed, and he still wants to be a star.
22:40And it was just never going to happen in the framework of a team with Steph and Jimmy a year
22:46ago
22:47and Draymond and Clay when he first got here.
22:50It wasn't going to happen.
22:52But nobody's sitting there going, ah, we hope this guy never succeeds and never plays well.
22:58So that is a long way of saying when you have Saturday
23:01and you have the possibility of Kaminga versus Porzingis and Kaminga versus his old team,
23:07I think there are a lot of people, even in that Warriors locker room,
23:11they're looking forward to seeing him and looking forward to going against him in that moment.
23:16I thought his shot selection from 75 feet sucked last night.
23:20That's just my, that's, you know, I mean, what on earth are we doing?
23:24But anyway, Nick, enjoy the rest of that trip.
23:28Thank you so much.
23:30Guys, it's always good to be with you.
23:32Always, always good to have you.
23:33Indeed, there goes Odyssey Sports NBA insider Nick Friedle.
23:37Insider calls are brought to you by Hyundai and the all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid.
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