Warriors make the right move with Chris Paul? + Worst takes of the NBA season?! 👀 | First Take

I was shaking my head and laughing a little bit because that didn't sound very convincing out of Chris Paul's mouth. I know that. I mean, that's a level of excitement. Man, oh man. Here's the deal though. Let's look at it from the Warriors perspective. I don't understand it whatsoever. I don't, not only do I not understand the fit of Chris Paul in that style of play, a team that at their best plays fast and Chris Paul immediately slows you down with the pace that he wants to play, particularly at this stage of his career. One, two, it doesn't address the issues that the Warriors had a year ago, which was they were too slow and they were too small. You know, in the years past when they've been a championship contender, they had bigger wings, longer guys that could affect the floor defensively as well. Guys like Andre Iguodala and Sean Livingston and Kevin Durant. Last year, they got thrown around a lot. They were a small team coming in. Moody did not take that leap forward that a lot of people were expecting they would. And certainly the Warriors didn't trust them when it mattered most in the post season when they were really exposed. So I don't understand. I get moving on from Jordan Poole. That's not a surprise to any of us, but to get that in return, when you still have Steph Curry playing at this level, because to me, he hasn't shown any sort of decline to make you think that that window is over in the Steph Curry era to contend for a championship. As long as he is playing at the level he is, you still have an opportunity to do it, but you've got to be careful about the way you structure your team around him. And I just don't see how the Warriors got better in this move by adding a guard at the very end of his career. That doesn't really play the style that you are best suited to play in the open court or in the half court with movement without the basketball. So didn't make a lot of sense to me. And I just don't think it makes the Warriors any closer to being a contender again. Even I, what'd you think of it? I did not like it one bit and I love me some CP three. I think he's one of the greatest point guards who have ever played this game. Surefire first ballot, future hall of famer. I don't like this from a basketball standpoint. Let me get the business part out of the way. You got over $400 million in salary. Obviously this is a business move. It wasn't just a business move, but when you think about the numbers that they've got to deal with and the fact that next year, they'll be in a position to get as much as $25 million under, under the tax, you got to, you looking at it from a business perspective and understanding this was primarily a business move. Obviously, Chris Paul's going to get his 30.8 million next year. His salary is not guaranteed. You can do what you want with him as a very, very attractive commodity to have in terms of moving a contract down the line before the trading deadline, or dare I say, even next summer. So all of those things play the role, not to mention the fact in their mind, Chris Paul is going to be somebody that stabilizes their second unit from the standpoint of being on the court with the commingles of the world and others cutting down on some turnovers, obviously, which is played go to state. I get all of that. I just agree with Tim Legler. I don't see how this makes it better. And I don't see how it's an ideal fit. If I remember correctly, I think the Warriors were number one in pace of play this year. The Phoenix Suns was like a 22nd. If I remember correctly, I got to look at a third. Yeah. So I'm sitting there. I'm looking at them. I'm like, really, that's what you're doing. This doesn't seem to make much sense. Not to mention the fact that we know that Chris Paul has been perpetually injured. He's missed about 12 postseason games and five playoff series that he's got injured. It's impacted his team because they've lost four of the five series that playoff series that he's got injured in. And now you're talking about transferring from a team from a style of play, where it's the bottom third to going up to a team number one in pace of play. We know primarily most of those injuries were hamstring injuries. I don't even know if he'll last. I'm just looking at the go to state Warriors and I'm saying to myself, really? Now, I'm not going to get into the Jordan Poole things too much. I know that Chris Paul is 14 years older than Jordan Poole. I know that Jordan Poole definitely wanted his shine in the Washington. He's going to get that because he'll be a primary, the primary offensive option. One would argue, but I just looked at this and I just said, really, that's the move that you make. I thought they needed some more size. I didn't think that this was what they needed. I don't think it's an ideal fit. I don't think that it's going to make them better or more of a championship contender. Certainly, it's not going to make them worse because Chris Paul doesn't make teams worse. Anywhere he goes, the team is always better. We know that. Okay. I just don't see that happening in this particular situation. Not because I don't believe in his talent. It's just that in this, in this situation, I don't think it's a good one, but I understand they were willing to sit up there and trade for him. He could obviously get his money. The Clippers, by the way, wouldn't step up and give him kind of the kind of things he wanted. That's why he ended up in Golden State from what I'm hearing. I just don't like it from a basketball standpoint. I truly don't. What was the worst take of all? Damn. I got to say Brooklyn. Kyrie Irvin, MVP candidate. Brooklyn's going to the NBA finals. I mean, that's got to be it. I stand by what I said about Kawhi Leonard. I'm not budging from that one bit because it was never about his game. I know how great he is. He is the worst superstar you could possibly have in sports. He does nothing to market your franchise and he misses half his games. The combination of the two, you just don't get your money's worth. You just don't get your money's worth. You're going to stand by that one. I'm going to stand by, but I will never budge from that. He is the worst superstar you could possibly have because I'm not talking about his game. It would be blasphemous if I was talking about his game. I'm talking about his availability and I'm talking about the fact that he does nothing to market your product. Kawhi Leonard, when he plays as a superstar, no doubt, without question, two-time champion, I know this. I'm just saying, my God, for the purposes of business, the NBA and the Clippers franchise, I think if Steve Ballmer had a chance, he'd get his money back. I think if he had a chance, he'd get his money back. I really believe that. There were some bad takes in there. The Spolster take from Mad Dog was particularly egregious. Yes. No offense. Your take on Jokic as a post player, particularly egregious, but I actually think your Kawhi Leonard take was the worst take of the NBA season. No. Because in your defense, hold on a second, in your defense, Brooklyn Nets, think about before Kevin Durant got hurt. They had the best record in the NBA over a 33-game stretch. They were top-five offense, top-five defense. They looked like a championship team. They did. You were a little off on the Ben Simmons thing, but I remember that specific day. Well, remember, I was talking about the changes, right? It was early in the season and I agreed with you. I thought Ben Simmons was going to come into camp in great shape and get to an all-star. This is something I want to talk to you about. Sure, sure. And we have talked about this off-air and I want to say this on-air. We would talk about maybe doing this on your podcast. There have been two times, two times on this show where I have referenced the fact that you did not play high-level basketball. In both cases, it was when you talked about retirement for an athlete. Right. And I want to be clear on something because this is the part that people don't understand. You think about every level you go as an athlete, high school, basketball, football, whatever it is. That becomes part of your identity. That becomes part of your ego. Then you go to college and you play at a high level. Then you become a professional. Then you become a professional athlete for a long time. By the end of it, your entire identity and your entire ego is so wrapped up in what you do. It's unavoidable. And I can speak to myself. My last year, I was hurt. I had an Achilles injury. I was in New Orleans by myself. My family was in New York. And I remember on New Year's morning, my parents called me. I was in so much pain. I knew I couldn't play anymore. And my mom called me and I said to her, I want to get in my car right now. We were six games in the season. I want to get in my car right now and drive back to New York. And she said, why don't you? And in tears, I said to her, because I can't let go. Over the next five, six months, still by myself, I grieved. I grieved like I was dying. Every athlete, every professional athlete dies two deaths. They die a death when they have to retire. And thank God I got to grieve alone and my family didn't get to see that. And that's why I brought that up that day. That's why I brought that up. Because we don't get to be the gatekeepers for when athletes get to choose or not choose to retire. Because it is part of their identity. It is part of their egos. It's the thing they've worked for their entire lives. Okay. Allow me to respond. First of all, let me be very, very clear. I am not insulted by the fact that you point out that I didn't play big time basketball because it happens to be a fact. Okay. So I'm not offended by that. I will never be. And I like I told you, I want to be clear on this too, because I think when I've said that people have assumed I'm questioning your basketball knowledge, which you and I've talked about this many times. I don't question your basketball knowledge. Which team should pursue Lillard? I think it's the Heat. I think he's the perfect fit for the Heat. What do the Heat need? They need a guy to complement Jimmy Butler playing a ball screw with Bam Adebayo. It's absolutely incredible. They have shop making all around the floor. So it's going to open up the floor for him to get in the lane. I think it's a absolute perfect fit. If he wants to win a national championship, he's got to get out of Portland. He wants to get to the finals. It's called a world championship in the NBA. Oh yeah. All right. Thanks. Appreciate it. I know eventually you'd take a shot at me. Southwest Virginia. You never trust the guy from Southwest Virginia. There's no doubt about it. Did you know, by the way, because I'm going to put this, can I put it on that? Go ahead. Did you know? So my little brother's four years younger than me. And when I was in college, he was in high school and he dated Seth's daughter for about a year and a half to a year, Paige. Yeah. And then Paige came and worked for the Orlando Magic when I was there. And he used to always bail her out. He was the best. He was the best. We go back. We go back. Go back a ways. But I, I just look at world championship. If he wants to win a world championship and it really depends on like your quality of life. He's got a great quality of life. He's got his family right there. He's built an empire in Portland. That's what, there's nothing wrong with him just continuing to be who he is and trying to help raise that, that, that, that organization. But if he's going to leave and wants to win the championship, I mean, the Miami heat culture fits who he is. He is in love with the game. He's in law. He's lost in the game. He's lost with competing. I think that is the best situation. And like people say, I know, you know, Steve, I know you say, you know, Philadelphia, James Harden's going to go back to Philadelphia. I mean, he's going to, he's going to go back to, but, but I, I still think that Miami heat, he fits and he's the missing piece to give them a chance to not get to the finals, but winning championship. I don't deny that. And I would have said that as well, but I will tell you this. And I was glad that both of y'all are on here. I'm going to throw the Sixers into the mix. I'm not saying I'm not getting into the numbers and how it can work or whatever. Again, I got to look into all of that, but I'm just sort of off the top of my head, thinking about this question. First of all, Houston doesn't want them. Let's be very, very clear about the email. You don't get in this staff. They do not want James Harden. Okay. They moving in a different direction and they don't think that he's that fit. Secondly, Darren Morey would love to give him the four years that he wants ownership in the Sixers organization. That's an entirely different matter altogether. Having said all of that, I think that James Harden has had an opportunity. I still think he could play, led the league and assist. We all know that he's an all-star caliber play. He's not what he used to be, but it's people talk about him. Like he's some scrub. He is not a scrub. James Harden can ball. Okay. It's just that you expect more from him and keep pivotal moments and he hasn't delivered. And that's a problem. I think about Damian Lillard in Philadelphia for one reason and one, I shouldn't say just one reason because he's a closer. He's spectacular. He's a long range sniper. You need that. The other thing with pairing him with Maxi, but the play with Joel and Pete, if Joel and Pete had that problem, because let me tell you something right now, when we look at the dominance of Yorkage and the post game that he put on display, along with the other things in his repertoire, JJ Reddick, that are undeniable at this point in time, let me tell you something. There's one neutralizer when it comes to that. And that could be Joel and Pete. If this man is healthy enough and you've got a Maxi and you've got a Dame Lillard, Lord have mercy. I would give that a better chance that I would give Miami. I'm telling you that right now, Damian Lillard with Butler, with them out of bio, I would like, I would rather have Dame with him be healthy and beat. Of course, that's the caveat. We understand that with a healthy and be or somewhat healthy. How about 85%? Can I get 85%? Give me 85%, 85% Joel and be with a Maxi and a Damian Lillard. I'd like my chances significantly more with that trio rather than with Dame Butler and out of bio. That's where I'm at with it. Yeah. So when I saw this question this morning, those two teams are the two teams that immediately came to mind. It was the Sixers and the Heat. I don't envision a scenario. Let's just say, hypothetically, Dame was on the block and they were willing to trade him. And he was like, I want to go to a contender. I don't see a scenario where Philly could not give up Maxi in a trade. And so that's part of it. The point that coach brought up about the Heat culture and having known Dame a little bit, having watched him compete against him, talking to him. I think he fits in there. He's that, he's a, he's a Heat guy in terms of his mentality and just the no-nonsense approach, all that stuff. But on the other side, nobody on the Heat is as good as Joel and be. And that pairing together, that to me is a, is a championship level pairing if he's with Joel and be. So I think to answer the question, it's either of those teams makes the most sense. If you're Damien Lillard of the teams that could really actually acquire him, it's those two teams.