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00:00She's got to go to SportsCenter soon, so we better get to it.
00:04Ramona Shelburne joins us live.
00:06Hey, Momo, how are we doing today?
00:08What's up?
00:08I'm actually, I'm getting, you know exactly where I am.
00:11I'm getting off the freeway here, right by LAX.
00:13I'm driving over to Into a Dome right now, early for this game,
00:17but that's how we do it with those 3 o'clock SportsCenter hits.
00:21Getting off the freeway is a beautiful phrase when you're in LA.
00:25That means I made it.
00:26You made it.
00:27Survive the 405.
00:28Survive.
00:29Congratulations.
00:31All right, that kind of journey, that's kind of what the Warriors season has been as well,
00:35and we'll see if they get off the freeway tonight.
00:38You tell me, though.
00:39We know the question everyone's playing with today.
00:42In your mind, is it better for the Warriors to win or lose this game?
00:48I'm a big basketball gods person, so I don't tempt them.
00:52I mean, I know all the reasons why it's better for them to lose,
00:55but I believe in the basketball gods, and so I will always say it's better to win.
00:59And the basketball gods, would they be shining upon Steph Curry tonight,
01:04coming back with this runner's knee?
01:06If there is a basketball god, is he going to be able to be healthy and have a good game?
01:11I don't think so.
01:12Listen, let me see and set for you.
01:14I was here a couple nights ago with, like, Game 82, which was, like, the third game in a row
01:18that meant absolutely nothing for the Warriors, right?
01:21And I was like, I don't know how you guys keep doing this.
01:25You're locked into the 10 spot.
01:26That's it, right?
01:28But it was bad, poignant, whatever you want to call it.
01:34Like, Steph Curry's on the court, and he's getting his pregame warm-up in.
01:38And, like, for as long as I've covered these Warriors,
01:40I always make sure I'm on the court for Steph's pregame warm-up
01:43because it's, you know, if you're a basketball person, you just got to be there for that, right?
01:47He's so joyful, and he has so much fun out there, and it's just a show to see, right?
01:52So he's going through, and I noticed something I've never seen before.
01:56He looked like he was winded, and I'm like, I don't think I've ever seen Steph winded.
02:02I mean, yeah, obviously in the heat of battle or something, but, like, he's still getting into shape.
02:07Like, he's not all the way back yet, and he was pushing himself.
02:10And then Jimmy Butler, like, hobbles onto the court, and there's this part,
02:14you probably saw some videos of this, where Steph kind of starts dancing near the key, you know,
02:18and he's like, maybe it was like, I would call it the sprinkler, kind of something like that, right?
02:24Like, it's a dance, and he finds Jimmy kind of by the three-point line.
02:29He tosses him a pass, and then he gets up a shot, you know, and, you know,
02:33he's trying not to re-injure his knee, you know?
02:35And it was kind of like, I always watch Steph trying to find the basketball joy
02:41because that's all he plays, you know, that's the essence of Steph Curry.
02:44And, like, you could see he was enjoying it, you know, and Jimmy kind of laughed,
02:48and he made a little bet with their Warrior staffer, like, oh, if you have me shooting threes, I can
02:52hit him, you know?
02:54And I was like, I don't know if they're laughing to keep from crying, you know?
02:59Like, this didn't seem like basketball joy.
03:01This is just like, oh, man, this is our life, you know?
03:04Like, this is what we're doing right now.
03:06And he was torn, surgically repaired me, and Steph out here huffing and puffing to get back.
03:11And, like, after the game, Steph did, like, another – I mean, he must have done – it must have
03:16been an hour.
03:16He did another, like, hour workout.
03:19And he came into the locker room.
03:20We're all standing there waiting because it was that early start on Sunday night.
03:23And we're waiting.
03:24All right, come on, let's go home, Steph.
03:26We're waiting for it.
03:27And he comes back in, and he's like, you know, he has to – he's got a whole other workout
03:31in.
03:32And then he had to go get some more treatment afterwards.
03:34And I'm like, oh, this guy is doing every single thing possible for the next three days to get his
03:39wind back,
03:40to get his legs back, to do whatever.
03:42And, like, I admire it.
03:43You know, you're playing for the right to go lose to the fender in the first round.
03:48You know?
03:49Yep, yep.
03:50I mean, Ramona, what you're talking about, which kind of sounds like an NBA old folks home,
03:57is I think what Warrior fans are grappling with.
04:00Because people get the whole, like, everything for Steph thing that the Warriors trumpet.
04:05But how much longer does it, in your mind, make sense for them?
04:10Or how do they navigate those clear realities that you're talking about,
04:16but also the desire, maybe even the need, to kind of do right by Steph?
04:23I just think you have to do right by Steph.
04:25That's just – it's not even a – it's not even a question for me.
04:28Like, he's just so important to your franchise.
04:30You've got to give him a chance to win.
04:31You've got to play all the way out.
04:33You've got to play it all the way out.
04:34That doesn't mean you should do stupid things, okay?
04:38But I do think that you should – you've just got to keep giving him chances.
04:41Like, I love that they traded for Zingas.
04:43Good.
04:44Get him some talent.
04:45I don't know if it'll work, but it's an easy swing, you know?
04:48You just – you've got him a guy who's one of the best ceiling raisers in the NBA.
04:53I don't know if he can stay healthy, but if he can, he gives him a better chance,
04:57you know, than the two guys.
04:59I mean, they weren't playing Kaminga, so there's no reason to keep him
05:02if you're not going to play him.
05:03And then, you know, Buddy Heald's a nice, you know, culture guy,
05:07but poor Zingas is a more important player.
05:09So just keep – just keep giving him chances.
05:12I think that – you know, look, I came from the –
05:15where I got to know each other down in L.A. when Kobe was here his last few years.
05:19I'm totally fine with him giving that last contract because he's the show.
05:23You know, like, that's a reward.
05:25He was out with an Achilles injury.
05:26They gave him a two-year extension.
05:28It sounds silly by our definition.
05:30Now it was – I think it was $24.8 million a year.
05:34I remember it being a – and everybody ripped him for it.
05:37Remember that?
05:37I'm like, God, I can't believe you gave him that deal.
05:41It was literally, like, less than $25 million a year.
05:44It was ridiculous.
05:45But it was totally worth it.
05:47What are we talking about here?
05:48This is Steph Curry.
05:49It's a house that Curry builds.
05:50You should give him a piece of Chase Center.
05:52That's how important he is, you know?
05:53They won't, okay?
05:54I'm not – you know, I have to retire, okay?
05:57But, like, that's how important Steph is.
06:00And I don't – like, what are you going to do, trade him to Charlotte?
06:02Come on.
06:03Like, this is – not unless he wants that.
06:07You know, and I don't think he does.
06:09I think he wants to retire a Warrior.
06:11Yeah, we all hope that that's the case.
06:13And we – Mark and I both believe that, too.
06:15Ramona Shelburne, ESPN, here on 95.7 The Game.
06:18So, you talked about doing it for Steph and the big swings.
06:21What do you think about the possibility of LeBron James in the summer deciding, A, to leave,
06:27and, B, deciding to come here on the relatively cheap?
06:32I mean, to quote Russell Westbrook, why not?
06:37Okay, okay.
06:39I mean, I think they're going to get right back in the mix, Riannis.
06:41I think they're going to get right back in the mix with Kawhi Leonard, the member that made a call
06:44back then.
06:45I think they'll get right in the mix.
06:46I think they're – like, name an aging star out there who might be available.
06:51I think the Warriors will try.
06:53And now, name a young star out there who might be available.
06:56I think the Warriors will try there, too.
06:57Like, they're just – I think they're relatively predictable.
07:02They're just going to keep taking swings.
07:04And the thing I have to give them credit for is they haven't really done anything demonstrably stupid.
07:12They're in pretty good shape cap-wise.
07:14They're in pretty good shape draft pick-wise.
07:16I don't think there's much you can argue with in terms of how they've continued to try to take these
07:20swings for Steph.
07:22Do you think LeBron is definitely playing next year?
07:27Oh, I keep saying yes because he's playing so well.
07:31And he doesn't feel like a guy who's about to retire.
07:34But just – I don't know.
07:36Like, literally anything could happen.
07:38You could tell me in a month that he just says I'm done.
07:42But I don't see that.
07:43Yeah, everything I'm around, everything I see with him, he seems like a guy who wants to keep playing.
07:49You know, he certainly can.
07:52He's still really good.
07:53You know, I was saying this on TV the other day.
07:55Like, you know, you could not have written a better hero moment for him right now.
08:00But, you know, it's all eyes on LeBron.
08:05This is all you got.
08:06You know, I don't think they're going to beat Houston without – there's no Austin and Luka.
08:09But, you know, there's a chance Luka could come back if he could extend the series to five or six,
08:15seven games.
08:16There's a chance.
08:17I don't know if it's even a good idea with that hamstring.
08:20But you guys lived through that with Seth Hamstring last year in that Minnesota series, right?
08:24Yeah.
08:25You know, well, they could extend it, maybe a seven, maybe a seven.
08:28And it's like, no, just what are you doing?
08:30But there's a chance.
08:31I don't think there's any chance Austin Reeves can come back.
08:35Maybe wait, like, conference finals or something.
08:38But if LeBron could get them to a game six or a seven and then Luka comes in for some
08:44Willis Reid moment, like, it's a heck of a Hollywood ending.
08:48Yeah.
08:49You know, when you ask him at the end, like, I don't know that LeBron cares that much about scripting
08:54the final ending or whatever it is.
08:55Because he hasn't done any of the things you would expect.
08:58He hasn't done the farewell tour.
09:00He hasn't dropped – his rhetoric doesn't sound like a guy who's about to retire.
09:04The way he's working doesn't sound like that.
09:07But we don't know all his options yet.
09:09We don't know what, you know, what he's thinking.
09:12My sense from him is always – he really is settled here in Los Angeles.
09:16So, he's had several opportunities to join the Warriors before.
09:20If he would have wanted that, he could have pushed – all he had to do was say yes.
09:23And I think they would have put the rules in motion.
09:25But he has not done that yet.
09:27So, that's – how many more times are the Warriors going to put themselves out there?
09:33I don't know.
09:34I don't know that I would unless you had a firm yes from him.
09:37Yeah, I mean, you've got to just keep putting yourself out, I guess, if that's something you're looking for.
09:41My question, Ramona, is what's the level of dysfunctionality in the Lakers?
09:46And is it so bad that that's going to be what drives LeBron out?
09:51I think they're good now.
09:53They had a real come-to-Jesus kind of march, you know?
09:57Like, they – there was this – LeBron was out for a long time.
10:00Luca and Austin were really good together.
10:02It took a little – I don't know.
10:06It took a little doing to get him to see things a certain way and to buy into the role
10:11they had for him.
10:12But I think he got there, and he was magnificent in that role.
10:16Like, he led the NBA in fast break points, you guys.
10:19That's unbelievable for a 41 –
10:2141.
10:21For a 41-year-old player, led the NBA in fast break points.
10:25And it's because he was just – he was just running out on the break all the time.
10:29And Luca signed him, and he was still dunking all the time.
10:31And getting open in the corner, and I think he just saw the appeal of that.
10:36And he bought into it.
10:37He was flying all over the court defensively.
10:39If you – you know, before that stretch, I would have said, I don't know if either side is a
10:44good idea.
10:44But if they can play like that and get a real center, you know, and get a really marquee center,
10:52you know?
10:53I mean, I don't have to say DeAndre is not a real center.
10:55He's a center, okay?
10:56He's just not consistent, and he's not – you know, like a – can they get an all-star?
11:00I don't know.
11:01But can they get somebody who's more consistent or a better fit with Luca?
11:03Probably.
11:04Can they get a defensive guy like a Lou Dort?
11:08They certainly have the cap space this year.
11:09Just – you've got to answer a few more questions about how much is Austin really going to get?
11:14How much – if LeBron stays, how much do you give him?
11:17Those are important questions before you get to filling out the roster.
11:20But, I don't know, I think this season for the Lakers, because of the two injuries and the way they
11:25happened,
11:25it feels very incomplete to me.
11:27And it's – yeah.
11:28Oh, I'm sorry.
11:29Finish it.
11:29Go ahead.
11:30No, I guess that's for LeBron, for where he is in his career.
11:33That's for Luca, you know, for the year he was having, for Austin Reeves, who –
11:37I don't think this actually affects his free agency.
11:39I think there's plenty of teams that want to give him money.
11:41But, you know, just – you know, injuries are part of the game.
11:46But this is, for an all-time great, to have an ending like this.
11:49I don't see it.
11:51Ramona Shelburne, ESPN.
11:52We know you've got to run.
11:53I want to get two quick things from you before you go.
11:55Number one, what kind of chances do you give the Warriors tonight?
11:59When they have Steph, there is always a chance.
12:02So, you know, I'm fully prepared for them to win or lose.
12:07I think the Clippers should be favored just because of how good they've been.
12:10And they will have Kawhi Leonard tonight.
12:13He didn't play the other night because he got to his 65 games and he can take a night off.
12:17But they should be favored based on their record and based on how good they've been.
12:21But it's Steph Curry, man.
12:23I don't bet against guys like that.
12:25Even a winded Steph Curry, right?
12:27And then here's the other one.
12:30And that is let's say the Warriors either lose tonight or Friday.
12:34Let's say the math falls their way.
12:37Let's say they move up in this loaded draft into the top four.
12:43Is that pick available for an aging veteran in the offseason?
12:53Well, do you consider Giannis an aging veteran?
12:56I do.
12:57I do.
12:59I think it should be, you know, for him.
13:02It's not any aging veteran.
13:04That's Giannis on DeCumpo.
13:06But I think it should be.
13:09Look, the top ten picks in this draft are amazing.
13:13But we've played that movie before.
13:15It didn't work out well, right?
13:17It's just...
13:19I saw that movie, you know?
13:21I mean, James Wiseman.
13:22Too soon, Romana.
13:24Too soon.
13:24Sorry.
13:25Sorry.
13:27It's been, like, five or six months.
13:28No, but after what Denny Optia did last night, you know?
13:31Denny goes off, and it's like...
13:33I know.
13:34The Warriors could have had a bunch of those types of guys.
13:36What a perfect warrior, too.
13:37Denny Optia would be a perfect warrior.
13:39Oh, boy.
13:40Yeah.
13:40Like, his skill set is just, like...
13:43I mean, Steve Kerr...
13:44Like, you know, you think Kersingas is a great skill set for the Steve Kerr offense.
13:48God, look at Denny Optia, man.
13:50Oh, my God.
13:51That'd be an amazing fit.
13:53That's the fit of all fits.
13:54By the way, Ramona, I lied.
13:56Wait, Steve Kerr, he's coaching again next year, right?
14:00I think so.
14:02I think so, you know?
14:05But what happens when you get...
14:07Listen, this is my answer.
14:09I think so.
14:10But what happens when they all get in a room together and start talking?
14:15You don't know what's going to happen when they all get in that room together.
14:17You know?
14:18I think the Warriors are very respectful of Steve Kerr.
14:21I think it doesn't matter anyone else's opinion.
14:25Steve Kerr's feel for his own, you know, role here and legacy is going to be, in my opinion,
14:32the most important thing.
14:33But you just don't know what happens when people get in a room.
14:35Sometimes things go weird.
14:37You know?
14:38And you don't know what Steve's going to feel.
14:41I think I know him really well.
14:42I don't know how he's going to feel, like, four days from now, a week from now.
14:47I don't know.
14:50Ramona, thank you so much.
14:51Thank you so much.
14:52Enjoy the game, and we appreciate today.
14:55Thanks, buddy.
14:56Okay.
14:57Ramona Shelburne right here on Willing and Dib.
14:58Yeah.
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