It's a oh one on a Saturday morning, and you are in the zone.

I'm the fan on Super Bowl weekend.

I am Dave Sinecon.

He is the professor of hoopology.

He's a Gopher legend, He's an NBA champion.

He is my partner of low these decades.

Double T.

Trent Tucker in the house.

Good morning, sir, Good morning, David.

How are you.

I'm good, good, good, good.

All is well.

I officially have a employed child, so I'm excited.

Jackson got a big job in Chicago.

So a's congratulations to him.

Happy happy week in the Sinecon household.

He'll be heading down next month to start a career down there.

So that's that was the highlight of our week in our household.

Well, you know, that's a big highlight.

That's a big highlight.

Thought we'd celebrate by watching the Wolves last night at you know that was not too big of a highlight.

No, it was not.

This will be a a extremely NBA heavy program today with all the trades and all the moves, particularly what the Wolves did.

So we'll dive into plenty of NBA stuff today.

Obviously, we'll dive into the super Bowl and the Gophers and some other stuff too, but just another one of those head shaking games double t where seeing the script so many times, get a big lead over a bad team and just sort of stopped playing.

And that's what happened last night.

Eighteen point lead in the third quarter and then defense became optional for this squad.

And I don't know if you saw after the game, Rudy Gobert went off no on the team and it was so nice to hear.

Well.

I was watching the game and then I saw him to get the big lead.

I said, you know, this one's pretty much in the bag.

Now go in channel surf.

All of a sudden, somebody called and said the Wolves lost.

I said, no, the Wolves didn't lose.

So I go run to listen to the postgame comments.

I'm like, I didn't lose this game.

Yeah, I was the same boat.

I was watching my wife's next to me kind of on her phone, and when it was a sixteen eighteen point lead, I said, you want to watch something, and she was like, I think my eyes are closing.

Go ahead and keep watching your game.

And so I was forced to endure Trey Murphy and Sadiq Bay getting open looks and Zion Williamson finding no distractions as he went to the basket.

Gobert went off after the game and talked about, you know, how they relax, and you know, there needs to be some accountability when guys start trying when the effort's not there that you know, if I'm not trying, pull me out of the game, if our best players aren't trying, pull them out of the game.

The only way, and you said this forever, the only way guys really get the point is when they're playing time is taken away and the coaches have to I don't know that, but look, the team's a little short handed after the tray.

They didn't have as many bodies.

You had Johnny Juzang out there playing and actually had the play of the game on the block.

I don't know if you saw that early in the game, but you got guys getting minutes that probably won't you know, as the season boils down with the big games at the end of the year.

But man double teed to just watch this team take its foot off the gas and just look disinterested.

How many times have we talked about that this year?

You know, it's it's but it was good to hear Rudy stand up and say it whether the coaches have to get tougher and take away guys playing time.

It was one of those nights where McDaniels was disinterested.

He got foul trouble early, only played twenty minutes, six points.

He was not a factor, and you know, Aunt couldn't hit a shot down the stretch.

Dante was called all night too for ted Nas didn't have a good game, you know, if not for really Bones.

I thought Bones was really good last night.

Throughout the game, he's you know, probably looking at the new guy coming in and going where are my minutes?

Is going to go?

Let me show that they can't just throw me on the bench.

He was.

He kind of saved them.

There was at one point where the lead was frittering away and it got I only cut down to three, and he comes down and just shoots a three at the very beginning of the possession, or maybe the league is four, gets it up to six or seven.

Kind of thought, Okay, that might settle everybody down, but it did not.

It's infuriating as a fan.

You know, a team like the Pelicans are on the fourth game of a road trip, Wolves are starting a six game homestand with some excitement that you know, they made some changes.

They got rid of a guy, but maybe he's coming back, and they brought in a nice key rotational piece and they couldn't start off the road trip or the homestand rather the way they should and then just put away a team that has nowhere to go this year and they don't even want a tank because they don't have their own pick.

But kudos to them, man, they didn't give up and they stole a game last night.

Yeah, it's a hard scratch.

I mean, you and I have had this conversation throughout the year, and I mean, you know, it's nice to see that that Rudy stands up and says what he has to say, and you're hoping that the players and the coaches, you know, hear his message and you do at some point in time as a head coach.

You can't continue to have these things take place on your team without you know, saying something.

But also the players have to be accountable as well.

You have to know the situation that you're in now.

You have to come and be prepared to go to work every single night because this is your profession.

It's a team that has talent and enough talent you know, to win and to win.

So at some point in time, along with the head coach and this best player, you know, they're going to have to maybe get into a room and have a real serious conversation about their mental approach on how they do things on a nightly basis, and he has to lay down some rules and say, hey, if you guys are not going to play hard, if you guys are not going to play the right way, I'm going to sit you.

And because this can't continue to happen.

You see, it happen too too much.

And as you get toward you know, the end of the year and getting ready for a playoff run, you want to make sure that everybody is clicking on the same cylinder.

Yeah, I mean earlier in the week, you know, they had those two games with Memphis, right, and they they win the first one and then the second game, Jared Jackson's back for his swan song as it turned on in Memphis was right there or too later.

But you lose that game to Memphis, and I didn't sweated too much because I do think there's challenges when the schedule plays out where you're in a city and playing a team twice in a row that you know you're going to get a focused effort from any team the second time you play him.

So while it was disappointing and they shouldn't lose to a Memphis Grizzlies team that was missing you know again, Jackson was back, but they were still missing a number of key parts and they're not going anywhere there.

They signaled with the trade deadline that they're basically starting over.

They tried to give Jah away for a you know, basket of peaches, and they couldn't find a deal, so they're breaking it down.

And when those kind of teams beat you, it's just it frustrates you because you look at the schedule and there are so many winnable games over.

The next month.

This is a time where the Wolves could make some gains in the Western Conference.

But when you just drop the the opening of a homestand like this, it's just it bugs you.

Especially when you're up eighteen and it just looked like.

Okay, yeah, when you you know, now you're you're you're looking for that that mentality that playoff you know, battle tested, and it's a team that has playoff battle tested.

You know mentality they go into the Western Conference finds for the last two years and they they should understand by now what it takes from a mental standpoint on a nightly basis to win games.

Is it's not a new team.

It's pretty much the same core that came back from a year ago.

And and you began to wonder, you know, is that is that championship mentality there?

And to win a championship or to be consistent at playoff time in terms of having success, It's hard.

It's hard.

You have to be really committed.

And what are you willing to cycle on a daily basis to get this done, not just on the court, but off the court as well.

And what are you doing away from the game?

You know, has taken your focus away so that we can't come together as a team on the floor.

Frequent Texter Mike from New Richmond asked if I could play Rudy's whole quote for you so you could hear what Rudy had to say.

It's long, and there's a couple of things he talked about.

Well, when when day Moore pushed him about when you talk about accountability, what do you what do you mean by that?

Where does it come from Rudy said quote, It starts with ourselves, But it seems like we don't have that, So I think at some point from the coaches.

Yeah, from the coaches.

It's not an easy position for a coach to take guys out of the game.

It's not something you want to do.

But I think if the players don't show any effort at some point, no matter how talented we are as a team, if you don't have that, we just can't be a winning team.

It starts with me.

If I'm not showing effort, take me out of the game, and everybody else got to follow.

Our best players are leaders.

If you don't show any effort, don't matter if you score fifty, we're just not going to win.

So at some point we're not mature enough to have that accountability ourselves.

That might be the solution, And I guarantee if that happens when we come back on the court, we'd show effort.

Well, you know, I've always said, you know, the quickest way to get somebody's attention is a takeaway to playing time.

But listen to what you just read and what was said by Gobert, is the head coach prepared to do that.

You know, is he really ready to step into that situation and make those tough decisions, Because at the end of the day, I would say, yes, he should.

It's because he's the leader of the team.

I know that you're going to have star players and guys make a lot of money, and some of these guys can be the face of the league.

But at the end of the day, the buck stops with the head coach.

Yeah, And I don't know.

I mean, we've seen Finchy go absolutely nuclear sometimes, but I just he feels like a player's coach to me, doesn't he feels like you.

Can be a players coach?

Yeah, just because I'm a player's coach doesn't mean I'm not in charge.

I mean, you still have to come to work and approach your job in a certain way so that we can have success.

And if you're not willing to do your part, well, then I have to.

I have to make sure that you understand on what we're trying to get you to accomplish.

And that's what the head coach is all about.

You have to make tough decisions.

Leadership is hard.

It's a hard thing to do.

And I've always said, you know, I talked to a lot of kids and all the parents that say, you know, sometime the hardest thing in life to do is what's right.

And when you are a leader of a group of people, you have to make the decisions that's going to be right for the entire group.

Yeah, I think.

I'm sure the coaches when they're in their room privately talking about what is going on, how do we get through these guys that it's a forty eight minute game, and no matter what the record is of the team we're playing against, it doesn't matter what your lead is, You've got to keep playing the way that played to get to eighteen.

It felt like the offense just bogged down.

It was all isoball once they got the lead.

They weren't pushing pace, they weren't trying to get easy baskets.

It's just like they were.

I understand, when you have a big lead, you'd like to run some clock if you can and just get the game over with.

But on the other hand, you got to keep doing what gave me the eighteen point lead, which is being aggressive, and they just offensively everything just you know, there was an ant holding the ball for fifteen sixteen seconds and then stepping back and taking a shot, and yeah, he made a bunch of them down the stretch.

Though when when the game got tight, he was not effective offensively.

I just think sometimes there's just too much of an alliance on just put the ball in ant's hands and everybody get out of the way.

And well, I mean, but you have to have a plan on how you're going to close out games.

And that goes back to the coaching step and no Western plan.

You know, when we get up by eighteen, you know, a team might make a little mini run here and you call the time out, and then when you leave that time out, you know, west to play car and we's the design what type of shot we're going to get in the sequence if we allow you know, if we allow bad basketball to continue to happen.

You know, once we go from eighteen to twelve or eighteen to ten and we've come out of a timeout and we're still playing the same way, But then that falls into the guy who's in charge, and falls into the guy who's in charge at some point in time, you know, you guys just say, hey, okay, enough is enough, because you just can't sit in the room and say, how do I get through to these guys because you've seen this movie before.

Yeah, what's so it's so frustrating as early in the week, you know, it was last weekend whenever.

When they played Toronto.

That was a stirring come from behind win.

They were down.

You know, it's the fifth time this year they were down at least fifteen points and came back to win the game.

That's tied for most of the NBA, and over the last four years they've actually been the best team.

They've won the most games when trailing by fifteen points.

So they they dig in.

They don't sunk when they're down big.

They dig in.

And was spectacular that five minute stretch the end of Toronto after he shot the I don't know if you're watching it, After he shoots the airball and the crowd starts giving him the airball chant.

He immediately locks in, gets a steal and a fast break in a jam, then he knocks down a three, and then I think he had three steals in five minutes and a block shot and suddenly, you know, Ant just took over.

You know, in a game where they were down big and willed his team to victory.

And you see a win like that, and you go to mephicson win and you think, Okay, this is now, We're starting to round into form.

And then they come back and lose, and then they come home and lose.

And with the kind of effort we saw in the second half, he just go well, what is this team and why do we keep running around in circles?

We know how good they can be, and we've seen them against the best teams, look like they belong on the same plateau.

But man, oh man, what a thing.

It is something mentally missing with this team.

And who's going to be the guy that can flip that switch and get this team on mentally consistently every night to play, to play the same way.

And you know, if you have a championship type mentality, you approach every game the same way.

You prepare yourself every single day.

You know, you do your habits off the court stat of same, so that your habits on the courts can be consistent.

And somehow, some way, we have a lot of peaks and valleys from a mental standpoint, and if the head coach sees that these players are not doing the things they need to do, especially to close out games, you know, at some point in time, he's going to have to send a strong message.

Well, Tim Connolly sent us strong message this week as the trade deadline.

That trade deadline came in, pasted a couple of moves that will impact this team when we come back.

Mike Conley left, he may return.

They got the big bench scoring wing slash point guard slash off guard that we all hope they might find.

We'll dive into the wolves moves around the trade deadline and look at all the other big moves around the NBA twenty seven twenty eight trades made over the last seven days that the most ever.

Will dive into the big ones when we come back in the zone.

Hey twenty one, we're back in the zone.

Tucker and synecon with Brett Blakemore hanging out till ten.

As usual, we will hand the puck off to be on the pond at ten o'clock today as the wild entry the All Star break riding high.

They will talk all things puck from ten to noon.

We've got a.

Basketball doubleheader on the fan College Oregon Purdue Big Ten Style than Duke North Carolina this afternoon on the fan.

Yes, sir, tomorrow we'll have Gophers Maryland, more on the Gophers as we go along, and of course the Super Bowl on this station as well.

All Right, we have so much to dive into on the trade deadline.

Do we have enough time today?

My sheet is so packed with notes double Tea that I might just Wavehfallless when he gets just wave and say we're good.

Yes, yeah, we might want to come at six in the morning.

We've been wringing our hands the last couple of weeks.

What will Tim Connelly and his staff do?

We know they were at least reportedly very much in the Yanna sweepstakes, which turned out to be a bust.

Jannis is still in Milwaukee, which felt all along like the likely scenario that the Bucks are best served by waiting to do it in the summer, when there's clarity on the draft lottery where they stand, where Tea stand and you know how teams feel after the season differently than they might feel right now.

Though the reporting led us to believe that Man, Minnesota, Miami were very active and looking to make something happen, and it got and I you know, you wonder that lost in Memphis.

How much of that was guys like Randall and Nas and Jade McDaniels hearing their names bandied about.

You know, McDaniels even talked about it, like it does affect you.

You can't just block it out.

You go look at your phone and it's everywhere.

And then then the relief when the deadline passes that you're still there.

And I don't know if that leaks into the game last night night.

It can mess with your hand for sure.

But even if like, okay, I'm here, all is good, it still can affect you the next day like just you're just not quite yourself.

Is that what you're saying.

Well, that shouldn't.

But doing that tame before the trade dayline can pass.

Okay, Yeah, it can affect you for sure.

The first move that the Wolves made, of course, was releasing Mike Conley, which opened up the cap room that will them to make subsequent moves.

It was a financial move, and Mike was actually traded twice.

He goes to the Bulls initially, then he goes to Charlotte, and then Charlotte cuts him, so he will be a buyout candidate.

All reports say he'll be back on the Wolve soon, which I think we can all applaud.

We all love to have Minnesota Mike back.

I think we can also agree that, you know, we'd like to see as little of Mike Court as possible if everyone's healthy.

I think Mike is a huge factor on the bench, in the locker room, you know, and he's been a fantastic wolf.

And Finch said it after the trade.

What happened here the last two and a half years does not happen without Mike Conley.

I think we all know that.

But you also know that when guys get to be thirty eight, thirty nine, a lot of times, unless they're Lebron James, their game suffers.

And Mike has not been the same guy, and so I don't know that he's going to give you a lot when, if, and when he's back on this team in a postseason run, if everyone's healthy.

But I think we can agree that having that almost coach in the uniform, on the sideline, in practice, on the road, and as much as he meant to these players will be great.

It sounds like double t.

Financially, they might wait a little while because his the money they will pay him on a minimum salary.

The rest of the way will be pro rated by how many games are left so if they wait a few games, they can pay him less, which might open up the door to add one other person.

They have two roster spots available, they can add two guys on the buyout market, and if they wait a bit longer the pool of players, they might choose from gross because they'll have a few more.

Dollars to spend.

But your thoughts on Conley leaving and Conley soon to come.

Back, Well, I mean, like I said, you know everything you just talked about.

You know, having a veteran guy on the on the bench and in the locker room who has gone through the you know, through the pressure or what it takes to win a playoff time is valuable.

You know, to have someone like that on your on your on your team.

He's the guy that he knows the coaching staff, he knows the players, and you know he brings me spec from the guys that you know he would be playing with.

So that's that's a huge factor.

Yeah, I think I think I speak for every Wolves fan.

They'll be thrilled to have Mike Conley back on the Timberwolves as that calming presence on the bench, and.

If he has to play a few minutes here and there.

It's not the end of the world, but I think we we'd love to not have to rely on him at his age, So that opens up the door.

And you know, we've been talking about Kobe White for a while from the Bulls as it might be a nice fit, appending free agent who could certainly give you those that scoring punch and be that sort of combo guard.

Kobe White gets shipped, I think to Charlotte and I read last night they had to amend the trade.

Did you see this?

The doctors checked him out and found he had a calf strain, so he's gonna be sidelined for a while.

So instead of I think three number twos, the Bulls only gave him two number twos.

Or they only got back two number twos for Kobe White, so he's off the board.

But Conley and his staff zeroed in on another Bulls backcourt guy, and that's Io Desumu, another guy we talked about along with Trey Jones.

We said, you know, the Bulls have three guys that all could be on the move.

They've got a glut of guards.

And you know they traded for Jade and Ivy from the Pistons, so they had a surplus of backcourt guys, and de Soon was another guy who will be a free agent, and the Wolves pounced and they brought him in.

As we all know, for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and not one, not two, not three, but four second round picks, and so the Dillingham projects over, the Leonard Miller projects over.

Let's just start quickly before we talk about the big news, and that's to assume we're joining this team saying goodbye to those two young players who were unable to crack the rotation.

You know, Miller, obviously, an early second round pick from a few years ago, has been terrific in the G League was great.

I think it was the rising stars of the whatever that All Star pregame game is.

He was great last year.

I still think, you know, in the right situation, he might be a nice player.

And then Rob, you know, it's ultimately it's kind of a cut your losses situation, right.

I mean you can look at man, you gave up an unprotected twenty thirty one first round pick to move up to eight, and now less than two years later, you're cutting bait.

But I just think for a lot of reasons, double Ta.

It wasn't a great fit.

He wasn't ready at all to help a team that's looking to try to chase a ring.

So thoughts initially on the Wolves giving up those two.

Guys, well, I felt like when they drafted Rob Dillingham and get into understand the type of game that he played, asking him.

To be your prototypical point guard.

Was was not the right thing to ask him to do or to put him in that situation.

I think he has the ability to play at this level, but you have to put him in a system and put him in a situation where he can function with the game that he brings to the table.

And a lot of kids sometimes just don't pan out is because they may not be in the right place at the right time.

And I thought, you know the Wolves were they were trying to trying to fit him into a situation.

You know that his game could not just could not deliver, and you've got to give him a chance to learn how to play.

The Wolves were not going to give him fifteen twenty minutes and try to figure out how to be an NBA player.

That's not where they are right now.

There.

ARC is serious Western Conference contender.

He's best off going to a team that's trying to figure themselves out and give him some role, a chance to play, you know, legitimately every night, fifteen twenty minutes and gain some confidence.

I thought that I thought the plan that they had for him was wrong.

Now, if they were going to just use him to come in off the bench and be a guy that see if he had a high hand to night, because that's what he did at Kentucky.

See, he didn't play point guard at Kentucky.

He came off the bench as a score at Kentucky.

So if this is what you drafted, but then you have to understand, we have to put a game plan together where he can be successful.

Asking him to play, you know, at that point guard position, run the team, set up guys, do this, and do that.

In terms of putting the offense in the right position to function, that was not his game.

So yeah, I mean you could have given him fifteen or twenty minutes to develop if you were willing to let him do the things that he does best.

But no, you ask him to do something that you needed and he was just not that guy.

So the Wolves bring in Io Desumu, the former ALIGNI star who's turned into a really, really nice player.

I'm I'm really excited about what he's going to bring to this team.

It's being obviously the parallels to Naw.

You know that the guy the Wolves lost in their rotation, he's a similar type of player.

I think leading into the season, I would have say he's a better offensive player, but the way Na's played in Atlanta this year now looks like a different guy.

But you know, there's interesting stat that came out after the trade.

There are two players in the NBA that are averaging fifteen a game and shooting forty five plus from three.

That's great.

They're both on the Wolves, Jade McDaniels and Io Desumu.

He is going to bring exactly what what Gknob brought.

He's a he's a dog.

Defensively, he's gonna work really hard.

He pushes pace, he can knock down threes and get to the basket.

He's fearless.

I think he fits right in and I think that, you know, because they made the trade for him, at this point, they'll maintain his bird rights, which means, you know, they can't pay him more than anybody else, right, yeah, and more than the cap they can go over the cap to pay him if they choose to keep him.

And I'm sure if they see, if they like what they see over the rest of the season, that's gonna be a priority because I think, you know, he's not a you know, your prototypical point guard, but he can.

He's a guy who can coming out the bench and provide some offensive punchway.

You big time, okay, And he can certainly lead an offense with the ball in his hands, you know, for stretches.

I mean, you know, now there's a guy out there.

I don't know if he's healthy or if he has been picked up or not that I believe that could come in that would be a good at that point guard position.

You understand the trade deadline has passed.

I know, yeah, but he could be a free agency he could be talking about after the season this year.

Oh, he could get cut.

He could be out in the free agent market.

Talk to me, Lonzo Ball, Oh, Alonzo, like Jackson's in the same boat.

He's always hoped that that might be.

If I think if the Wolves are looking for a guy that can run that point guard position right now, if he's healthy, I don't know.

If I wonder if he's still out there.

Alonzo Ball to me, would be the perfectest guy to start alongside Anthony Edwards.

Interesting, So it's a point guard.

He can he is a he is a point guard.

He knows how to run an offense.

He's the guy that can play.

He's a good defender, he's a good spot up shooter.

He's a guy that understands how to play.

I you know we're talking about Lonzo, not LaMelo.

Correct, Lonzo Okay, I'm talking about Lonzo.

Because there are ports the Wolves were in to try to look maybe Sae if they could pry LaMelo Ball from Charlotte.

I don't think that was gonna happen.

Butlazo Ball to me, would be would be the perfect would be the perfect fit, you know, to run this point guard opposition.

For the Wolves.

If he's healthy.

Interesting.

I don't know if they're looking at him, but from a basketball standpoint, he is a he is he's a point guard.

Well, he's been injured.

I mean, stay healthy, I said, if he's healthy.

If he's healthy, to me, he would be the right guy to start alongside Anthony Ewas.

You know, you made the big trade for the guy coming in from Chicago, and all of a sudden, now your bitch becomes even more explosive.

But you need somebody who can run this team, and I think that Alonzo Ball to me, if he's healthy and if you're willing to look at him, to me, he would be the right fit to play alongside Anthony Edwards.

That's really interesting, and I think he is a biol candidate with Utah, I don't think they have any interest in playing him where they're you know, sitting right now.

And they made some interesting moves.

We'll get to that.

He's twenty eight.

He was playing with Cleveland this year and just averaging like four points, four rebounds, four assists.

It's only shooting thirty percent.

But you know they are going to be I'm sure looking at the buyout market beyond Mike Conley, and I don't know if that's if they're going to look backward again after you know, bringing in Disumo, and they also brought in Julian Phillips.

They don't want to just ignore the second kid that got brought over, who's also a defensive kind of a Jalen Clark, a little couple of inches taller.

I think he's six y six.

Former Tennessee volunteer.

I don't know how much run he'll get here, but don't want to just ignore the second player project.

You still need that point guard.

You still need somebody that can run.

Alaza Ball to me, would I think right now, you know, would be would be the right fit for the Wolves because they will allow you know, Dante and the other guy you brought in from Chicago.

Now they can go and play their roles and play their position and do the things that they do best.

You're not going to force them into a situation where you're trying to make them do something that is not their real game.

But Alaza Ball to me is a point guard.

When he got to the Lake Beers, they were asking him to be the franchise and the leader.

That's not who that's that's that's not who he is.

Yeah, but you plug him in beside along with Julius Randall and Anthony v was in Godbert and the guys Jay McDaniel, I think he's the point guy right now that that the Wolves I believe could go out and.

Get I love that.

I will keep an eye on Matt Jackson on the same page.

Yeah, he's been talking about it ever since all these moves went down.

That's the guy he has his eye on as well.

Maybe maybe he should be working in Chicago.

He's working in the frost for the Wolves.

He would do that in one second, of course, if he's given that opportunity and just a cap around the trade.

The four second round picks, which does seem like a lot of capital, a lot of draft equity to give away, they're really they're not great picks.

It's like the this year's second round pick that's worse between Denver and Golden State.

So it's a low fifty mid fifty second round pick, next year's Calves pick in the second round, and then a thirty one and thirty two, one of which could be Minnesota's or Golden States, one of which could be Phoenixes or Houston's.

So those second round picks mean virtually nothing.

We understand you can find players like Iodasummu in the second round, Kola Jokic, et cetera, et cetera.

But I think I'm very much in favor of this move.

I think the Wolves did as well as they could do to bring in the ideal kind of player that this team needs right now.

And you know, after watching what happened last night, getting that injection of energy on hearing how excited do soon Wu appears to be to be playing here and the opportunity to play deep in the playoffs with these guys can't wait.

He obviously didn't play last night.

Hopefully tomorrow when the Clippers are in town, the new look Clippers will have now number thirteen Io dessum Wu in uniform and get to see his first game as a Timberwolf.

Well, and now you got to figure out how to you know, how to fit him in and where's he going to play, and where's this minute is going to come from?

And what opportunities are you going to provide defensively because now you have to change how you approach things from an offensive standpoint, because now you bring it in a guy who can put the ball in the basket, who has shown that he can be successful offensively coming from Chicago.

So now as a head coach along with your staff, you know you're going to have to change some things that you do off offensively to fit him in and you know, just to throw him out there when Anthony at was or Julius random may not be the right thing or the right fit for what he can bring to the table, so you may have to use him in a different way.

So anytime you begin to shake up your team and you bring in your new parts and new pieces, you have to make sure you've got a game plan for him.

Yeah, I would go back to last year's script.

You know what was Na's role.

That's kind of what I think the sooner Mows role will be.

You know, twenty twenty five minutes.

And does it come with the expense of Bones, who last night, as I said, was the only guy off the bench to do anything.

Na's had a bad night three for no.

Bones had twenty points off the bench and looked really comfortable and attacked the basket and then hit open threes and to his minutes get chopped with the sumer back.

Maybe and maybe and maybe not.

I've been thinking about this team as looking ahead of the playoffs, thinking, you know, who do I trust in a in a playoff series.

I don't know that I want Bones getting major minutes in a deep playoff runt.

He's been a playoffs before.

He has just the the streakiness, the inconsistency.

We've seen three four games in a row where he just can't find it, but start the bench.

I mean you you need a starter at that point guard position, whoever it may be.

You need a starter at that point guard position so that these other guys can do what they do well.

Because when if you keep asking me to do something that I'm not really good at, yeah, I'm going to struggle.

So if you can find someone you know before before you get to a point where you can't sign anybody to make the playoff roster, you need somebody that can stabilize that point guard position.

Because the other guys you're talking about, they bring a certain value to the table.

They can really make your bench strong.

These guys, they can be really good for you at playoff time because they're going to give you something that other teams may not be able to match up with.

But if you take them out of their significant role of what they're very good at, also now you limit their production from helping your team be successful at playoff time.

So you've got to make sure you got the right pieces, and the right pieces may not be the most explosive guy offensively, but they are the right fit at that time to make sure this team can move forward.

We'll pause here, we'll dive into some of the big moves, who help themselves, who hurt themselves?

What stood out the double t We'll talk some of the big trades that went down in the NBA.

When we come back, get in the zone.

Follow back eight forty five.

You're in the zone, Tucker and Sinecon.

The Olympics are underway.

Double tea fan has learned over the next couple of weeks a lot of Minnesotans competing in Italy.

Trying to break bring home the gold.

One of the most highly decorated of those Minnesotans is Jesse Diggins, the former Stillwater High graduate, one of the great cross country skiers in American history.

She unfortunately didn't didn't have the greatest day in the skiathalon, which I did not know as an event.

Until this morning.

I'd never heard of it.

The skiathlon Apparently, you like ten kilometers in you changed your ski to a different kind of skiing.

Okay, so the how quickly you change your skis is part of the.

Deal, you know.

It's it's kind of like the biathlon, right where you go from what shooting to running.

It gets your right your rifle up whatever.

She crashed on her first lap in the scathlon early early this morning.

Finished in eighth place, so did not medal.

She's a three time medalist, but not a good start for her.

How about Lindsay Vaughan another we claim her as one of us, although she didn't grow up here, I don't believe, but I think she was born here.

You talking about some toughness, now you're talking about some mental toughness.

How do you.

Skied down a hill where your speeds can get up to seventy miles per hour on a torn acl I don't I don't really understand.

Yeah, she's I have a hard time watching her knowing that her knees are being held together by rubber bands.

Right now, where she says she's been through this before.

She said, is not as bad as as a previous injury.

So the one the ones about a great athlete like she is they understand their body, They know what you know they can endure.

And to have that mindset to be in this situation, knowing that you're that you're now one hundred percent, and to go out there and compete at this level, it's remarkable.

It is.

I mean, those are forty one year old ligaments.

You know, if you're twenty six and you're dealing with it.

Yeah, you're young, you know, put.

Some dirt on it, you'll be She's forty one and she's been hurt before.

But she like she said, I know, I listened to her talking and she said, you know, I've been down this road before.

I understand exactly what my body can and cannot do.

I'm in tune with my body, and I can do this.

I can brace it up.

I know that is it's a serious injury that I'm dealing with.

But she says, I'm prepared for this.

Yeah, it's amazing.

It'll be fun to watch and follow her.

I know she has started some of the competition, at least the training.

She had some training runs and by all accounts she survived those.

Okay, so she's still in the game.

But I just feel like at any moment, I could see her tumbling down and going that's it.

And for a mindset of that nature, you know, is it's going to be easier for her to accept the fact that her body did not hold up.

And she gave everything that she could, more so than just sitting at home trying to hope that it heels and have another shot at this It's just a total different mindset from a person who has reached that type of success in the game that she's been around for a very long time.

And it's very hard for a lot of people to understand that mindset because you have to live in that moment and she has been in those moments for a very long time.

Well, this is it, right, I mean, she's forty one.

She knows that if she couldn't go this time, that her Olympic career was over.

So she's saying, what do I have to lose to lose?

Right, I might as well go for it.

You know, what's the worst that happen that I fall?

Well fallen before it, but you know what, But also I've gotten up to yeah, and so now she has a chance to stand tall once again.

Brett Blake Moore.

When do the men's hockey competition begin?

Does it start this week or is it a second week thing?

I think it's a second week thing.

I think the first game for the US off the top of my head is the twelfth.

I took a picture of it because I knew this was gonna be a thing yet Thursday the twelfth against Latvia's This.

Thursday that's this Thursday.

That is correct.

Yeah, I watched the Miracle documentary on Netflix and it's spectacular.

I mean, I don't know how can movie you watching that.

It's just it's just so cool to see all the guys and they bring him back to Lake Placid and they have him watched the game, They have them watched him, have him watched the videos of them being interviewed forty five years ago.

It's very it's emotional to see them.

You see Jim Craig standing there with his dad next to him, who is no longer with us, and he's here.

It is seeing his dad's expressions while he's talking.

It it hits he in the fields, is what it does.

Getting more Herb Brooks was very interesting because you get a lot of them in the movie.

I can't believe how accurate the movie is though, Like some of the scenes are just straight out of They explain the story and it's beat for beats.

When McClanahan got hurt in the first game and Herb goes in there and calls him a candy ass for not playing, which was he was just trying to get him going because he needed him.

Yeah, and it was word for word what happened in real life to where?

And then obviously you have the Scannie ties for you and me with Mark Johnson, who was their best player scored two goals against the Soviets.

So yeah, it was a brilliant doc and.

Obviously the Minnesota field I'll me with from to half the team.

Yeah, I highly recommended if you're a Netflix subscriber.

It's an hour and forty minutes.

It's worth every second and also just reminds you what the world was like back then.

I mean it was more than just Cinderella story.

It was you know, the big bad Soviets in the middle of the Cold War.

This just machine of a team against these you know, college kids that were thrown together.

You know, we we talked about a Indiana made their big rise in college football.

What can you equate that to?

And then the miracle was the one thing that comes up, and nothing's going to ever compete with the miracle because of what that was.

But in the modern world, I think Indiana's rise in college football is the closest thing because it's just the most unexpected group of kids that you just don't see in that sport and in the Olympic hockey.

You just you know, there is no belief at all that the US is going to compete for a metal.

Are you kidding me that these twenty year old kids just thrown together a few months ago.

So I do see the parallels with Indiana football, but to me, the miracle's on a different level.

That's true for so many reasons.

Nothing that gigantic went down in the NBA trade deadline.

The biggest name, of course, was Giannis and he he stays put, and after the trade deadline passes, you know, he goes off on social media like you know.

I don't want you say.

Legends don't leave, they attract, and he used the Wolf from Wall Street line from Leonard to Leonardo DiCaprio, I'm not leaving.

I'm not leaving.

He's probably leaving in a few months.

But we couldn't get enough of the Yannis speculation.

After the fact, a number of front office people are wondering how serious the Bucks really were about doing anything up into the deadline.

I mean, I suppose that they were blown away with an offer.

Something could have happened.

And we don't know how active Minnesota was, but man, by every report.

They were, they were active that very active.

And we'll see if they revisit that.

It's probably going to come down to how this season plays out and how this team looks down the stretch, and then they'll decide if.

But there'll be other players by then too, you know, it'll be a much wider net that the Bucks can cast and we'll see uh if and where Yannis lands.

I'm a little disturbed by the news I've read this morning.

Have you heard of this betting prediction company called Calshi, Yeah, I've heard of it.

So's it's all about it's a betting market, but they're calling it a prediction market.

Yeah.

And the advertisement for it so you can you can predict things.

And there was a huge market over the last week about predict where Gianics is going to land, and twenty three million dollars was wagered unware where Yannis would land.

And then we get loose loose today that Janis is now a partner of Calshi.

Uh, he's a shareholder.

They've signed him.

And that does not good.

That doesn't sound that kolsure to me.

No, that's not, especially in light of the fact that the company just got paid by Jana's not going anywhere, not that Yanis had any say in the matter, but maybe he did, maybe knew that the team wasn't going to do anything.

I just don't think it smells right.

No, do you make a phone call.

Yeah, I'm not leaving.

I don't think athletes, anybody connected with sports should be legally a part of these kind of businesses.

It's just it's doesn't smell good.

That's what I said.

When you when you bring legalized gambling to the sporting world or to the front door the sporting world, you set yourself up for something to go wrong.

Yeah, you do, so that that's something we'll keep an eye on if that continues, how that plays out.

I don't think there were any earth making moves that made a contender, you know rise up.

In fact, none of the top teams brought in any really key players.

The only one that did was Okay, see brought and Jared McKay and the Cavaliers.

Well, yeah, I will get to that's the biggest one.

But as far as you know, bringing in you know, title content, I don't necessarily consider Cleveland a title contender this year.

I think it's a small list.

I think it's Detroit, maybe Boston in the East, and it's the what about the Knicks, top three team?

The Knicks they lost by forty last night where they had an eight game win stread for them they did, and they didn't have cat or og last year.

Yeah, you know, they didn't do anything uh major either.

You're right.

The biggest move was James Harden going from the Clippers to Cleveland to pair with Donovan Mitchell.

Cleveland parts with All star point guard Darius Garland, a guy that I've always coveted and enjoyed his game.

He goes to the Clippers.

Uh, but James Harden once the game he was again.

So now you've got two guys and he and Mitchell, who have not had a lot of postseason success, now teamed up in Cleveland.

Do you like the move for the Cavaliers to add James Harden.

That's a big time personality, but not only a scorer, obviously a really good passer.

You don't.

I don't.

Now.

It may work out, but I think that you have two guys who dominate the basketball, and I just it may work out, but I I just I think it's a bad fit.

I don't know why Cleveland would would be willing to do that, but maybe they see something in James Harden that it's going to get them over the hump.

I just think it's a bad fit.

James Harden likes to dominate the ball.

He would dribble the shot clock out, but donovd Mitchell needs the ball for his offense to work.

So now you're just going to have Okay, it's your turn, is my turn?

And how does the rest of the guys function in the system.

But Harden's a willing passer like he's He's very good at finding open guys.

He's not a guy that says, I need to shoot thirty times tonight.

That's who James Harden is.

James Harden is not he can here, he'll make the pass, but he's but he's a guy that dominates the ball.

He has to have the ball in his hands for the offense to work.

Dona Mitchell needs the ball in his hands for his game to work.

It may work out, but I just to me is an I didn't understand why would you bring in another guy that plays just like your best player.

And we've seen the history of James Harden the playoff time.

That's the thing.

Both of those guys right, So.

I don't get it, but maybe they saw something or they've seen something that that works for them that we haven't seen.

But I know that when it gets down to the time where I need for my guys to deliver, I've seen James Harden go the other way time and time again.

To me, I didn't understand the move, but maybe the Cavaliers know something that we don't know well.

And the obviously got older because Garland's twenty six and Harden's thirty six.

Garland's been injured, you know, he's been banged up.

He hasn't had a good season, and it's a it's an all in move for Cleveland.

We've talked about how the East is at the start of the season.

It's going to be wide open with the injuries to Tatum and Halliburton, and suddenly who's who's the team?

And Detroit has grabbed that mantle and looks by far right now, although Boston's coming, Detroita.

May come back.

What's that Tatum may come back.

He may, I don't think it's likely from what I've been reading of late, I don't think he'll be back.

But Cleveland sees an opportunity you know with Mobley and Jared Allen.

You know they had another score there, and yeah, it's very fascinating.

You very well might be right.

It doesn't feel like a great fac.

They want to push the pace.

James Harden is a guy that's not going to push the pace.

And you know you have athletic guys who can run.

Yeah, he's going to start a pace down.

You know, he has to probe and dance and go between his legs and step back and then make the pass.

I said, hey, maybe they saw something that we haven't seen.

But I if you look at you know, the history of these two players, they're very similar.

Because we know that James Harden has to dominate the basketball domind Mitchell is not somebody you can pass the ball to it.

He's gonna beat you off one or two.

He's going to have to catch the ball.

He wants to go between his legs.

He wants to get a high volume a number of shots.

And so both of these guys are putting up you know, high volume number of shots.

What's that's going to do for the other guys?

No, Cleveland, Cleveland already had a good basketball team, you know, Like I said, Daris Garland couldn't stay healthy.

But we've seen James Harden just.

Kind of fade away, you know, at the most critical times of the year, and they are hoping that he doesn't do that this time.

Kind of take our top of the hour pause when we come back.

I thought there were two moves that could have a big time impact on two teams, one this year, one moving forward starting next year.

I'll share those with you, get your thoughts on see are there any moves that you thought made a lot of sense.

We'll continue to look at the aftermath of the NBA trade deadline as we move into our number two in the zone.

Power back nine oh five hour, number two in the zone.

This this tweet by Diana Russini in the last half hour caught my eye or in the break.

It's not breaking news or anything, but it's it's interesting.

She She tweeted.

The Vikings will be bringing in a veteran quarterback to compete with JJ McCarthy.

In twenty twenty six, one league source I spoke with pondered the possibility of a Kirk Cousins reunion.

I can't even get through it with a straight face.

In Minnesota.

I just I would love to know what Viking fans think when they read a tweet like that, like do you want Kirk back?

And I think I think every Viking fan, maybe that isn't named thorn Eistrom, would say, yes, I want a veteran to compete with JJ McCarthy.

On this team.

I think that's obvious.

But as Kirk, I don't even know.

Again, we're gonna we'll have months to dive into this, obviously, but it's not like there's this long list of potential veteran quarterbacks that you can bring in.

I how far down the list would Kirk be?

You don't It might be at the top of the list.

He you know, he actually had a game or two there down the stretch where he looked healthier and he was throwing with some zip.

Atlanta actually could keep him.

The money is crazy, But you know, Michael Pennix is coming off in a c L.

They may need a quarterback.

Flaka wants to come back.

Yeah, and you want him here?

Is he not a Pro Bowl quarterback?

He reached the Pro Bowl this season.

I still don't get that.

How did you Sheder Sanders and Joe Flack will make the Pro Bowl and Trevor Lawrence does not.

I mean I unless he said no thanks.

He probably said no thing.

Maybe that wasn't reported anywhere that I saw.

He probably except with that wraps right.

Cleveland Brown's had two Pro Bowl quarterbacks.

I can't make it up a question of my talent.

Then I'm all pro.

How would you feel about Kirk Cousins back here competing with JJ for the starting job?

Uh No, that's not interested.

Now I'm gonna be interested.

He might be one of the better options.

You know, he's not going to call at this point.

I know he's been aid is Matt Jones.

Matt Jones.

He's not a free agent.

You'd have to trade for him.

And I've read recent reports where san Fran has every interest in keeping him, that they want him as the backup brought Perty hasn't been able to stay healthy.

But he'd be the right kind of guy.

And then there's you can go the other way, like you try to get Tua, or you try to go after a Malik Willis or something where it's going to cost you a little bit more.

Said, well, we don't want to give up another guy because we should have kept Sam Donald.

But now he's playing for a championship.

He is indeed going to take that chance.

He is indeed.

We'll talk about that maybe next segment.

All right, I thought two teams in the East made moves that could really pay dividends, one more this year and one more next year.

For me, the team that did the most to improve their chances at winning a title this season this season is the Boston Celtics, who bring in Voushevich from Chicago to anchor the middle.

It was a gaping hole for Boston, who obviously moved on from Harford and Porzingis in the off season, knowing that they were maybe gonna have to take a step back with Tatum out this year, had to reset Drew Holliday goes out, They reset their their salary cap and everything.

But lo and behold, they are right on the heels of Detroit, second in the East without Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown playing at all world level, Derek White, Peyton Pritchard.

But they had a real hole.

I mean, no offense to Luca Garza, but he was getting some solid rotational minutes For a Boston team that looks to compete for a title.

That's probably not ideal.

They bring in Vucevic, who forget who he just passed in.

I mean, he's he's up there now.

I think he's in his mid thirties, but I think he's going to fit seamlessly into what Boston wants to do.

It fills a massive hole for them, and for a team that's just a few games behind Detroit in the Eastern Conference to add a legit starting center who maybe not be the greatest defensive player at his age, but can you shoot the three?

Can shoot the three?

Kim playoffensively?

I just I love that move for them.

They trained Anfrety Simons, you know, and guy, they weren't going to resign, giving Chicago just another guard to add to their mix.

So Corga has two mini guards.

Yes they do, right, Yeah they do.

I love that move for Frost.

If he can shoot the three within he's a good ffferent Celtics.

Yeah, I think they really made a move that could pay off in the playoffs.

The other team that I think made a move that could really turn them right back into contenders next season is uh the Indiana Pacers getting Zubots from the Clippers.

Clippers move on from from Harden and Zubots, which makes the Thunder happy because they've got the Clippers pick and they did not get any better, certainly at the trade deadline they got worse.

So it gives the Thunder even a better chance at a lottery pick, just what they need.

But man, they give up Benedic Matherin and two number ones to bring in Zubots.

Who mean you add him to that core when you get Halliburton back.

They gave up you know, they lost Miles Turner and free agency, so they were lacking a time center.

I think Zubat is a great player.

I have always liked his game.

Man.

I think Indiana next season they could end up with a top three or four pick, depending on how the lottery plays out.

They're certainly in the mix.

Yeah, I think I think that's a great move, Okay for Indiana.

He's a really good basketball player.

It's an interesting side plot to that trade too.

I'm going to see if I can find my notes here if if the Pacers end up with so they traded a number one of the Clippers, right, but that number one is conditional.

If if the Pacers end up getting a top four pick when the lottery odds come out, they get to keep the pick.

If they end up drafting five through nine, it goes to the Clippers, and if they end up ten or lower, they keep the pick.

So there's a real reason for them to tank.

Although even as we know, even if you tank, there's no guarantee you're going to get a top four pick.

Now they picked fourteenth that they tank, they could and keep the pick.

That's how it's been of late.

Yeah, I think that's gonna be really interesting to watch because that, I mean, this is.

A they're not playing hard in Indiana though, even though it's a team that's lost the best player.

Yes, well Rick Carlile Steel has those guys playing.

Hard, but they've won like fifteen games.

I mean, they are at the bottom of the.

Just because you just if you're not good enough, that's why you lose it.

You're not losing because you're not playing hard.

You lose because you're not.

Good I remember saying before the season one of my great cold takes of the season was I thought Indiana would still be a playoff team this year without Haliburton, because I love Carlisle, I love the depth of that team, and I thought, you know, they're going to figure out away kind of like Boston has done without Tatum.

I thought Indiana would.

Be able to compete, and that clearly losing Turner and Haliburton too much to give up or to lose.

But this is a draft where it looks really good, really talented, especially at the top.

And if Indiana looks into a top four pick to add to that core, that changed everything.

Whereas I'm reading the next two drafts, twenty seven and twenty eight as we look ahead, look to be weak.

As we sit here today, it look to be weaker drafts.

So this is the year to have a pick, and I should mention we didn't mention this as part of the Conly trade to get under the dollar amount they needed to add a guy like Tsumu.

The Wolves did do a pickswap with Detroit, so now Detroit owns Minnesota's draft position.

This year's draft in the first run in Minnesota has Detroit's pick, so likely as it sits right now, I think Minnesota would pick like twenty second and Detroit would pick twenty ninth.

So Minnesota will likely have that twenty ninth pick, but there's a really good chance that the Wolves will look to move that pick.

Things are too complicated here.

I know.

I just look at ahead, looking ahead.

They basically right now the Wolves are about eight million bucks under the luxury tax.

That's good, right, yes, But if they trade the number one pick, that spot will open up to thirteen point seven million, which they can use on adding a player using the mid level exception and still sign guys like dissoum Wu and Clark on top of that.

So it gives them a chance to add a mid tier, mid tier twelve thirteen million dollar player along with signing dis sou Wu and Jalen Clark if they choose to do so.

So they can add another potential rotation piece by giving up their draft pick, which I think is something they would certainly look to do.

All right, let's pause here.

I want to dive a bid into the super Bowl and to your golden Gophers men and women who had huge, huge games this week.

We'll dive into that little big ten talk.

There are still a number of NBA trades I want to get your thoughts on as well as we roll on in the zone.

Power back nine to nineteen on a Saturday morning.

You're in the zone.

Trent Tucker, Dave Sinnecon and Brett Blake Moore hanging out till ten.

Beyond the Pond follows us today as usual from ten to noon, and then we'll have a college basketball double header Oregon Purdue, Duke, North Carolina Golden Gophers return to action at the Barn tomorrow afternoon.

You'll hear that I'm the fan Maryland against the Gophers at one o'clock.

One of the best things I saw this week, including the Miracle documentary on Netflix.

One of the best things I saw this week was the video of the Gophers locker room moments after they're stunning hang onto your seats, hold on to your lead win over Michigan State was I don't know.

You probably haven't seen it, Trent.

I encourage you, maybe I'll show it to you.

During the next break.

You get a scene of all the players sitting in the locker room, just sitting there, and in runs Nico like hands up in the air, ready to celebrate, and they're all just sitting there for about three seconds.

Nobody moved.

I totally pranked him, and then they go nuts and they envelop him and everybody's screaming and going crazy.

I just thought it was the funniest way to prank the coach because it just made him look so silly.

Oh my god, what's going on?

Why is nobody with me?

And then suddenly they erupt.

What a win, A big win for him over tenth ranked Michigan State.

It looked like it was going to follow a script that we've seen far too often this year.

They were up like fifteen to five.

I mean, they were in control of this game the entire way until the Spartans go on a twenty to six run late and now it's a one possession game.

But this time, but Jalen Crocker Johnson hitting threes and then the team went ten for twenty one from deep, so they were knocking down threes and they were It was a march to the foul line.

I think they shot twenty eight free throws in the second half, made nineteen of them.

First win over a top ten team in five years.

They are now three and three this year, this Gophers team against ranked teams and just a much much needed shot in the arm to take down Tom Mizzou's squad at home and after a seven game losing streak which saw them miss out on opportunities with big leads, finally get one done.

I feel very good for those It's a great win for them.

It's a really really good win for them.

And you're hoping that now they can they can can ride that, you know, that wave of emotion knowing that hey, we can win games, you know at the end, and to knock off you know, a top ten team like Michigan State, that's a that's that's that's a big deal.

Here's the incredible statistic that comes out of this game.

They're the first team in Division one basketball in thirty years to win a game after getting zero bench points for the game, zero bench points, they were out rebounded by double digits, and they gave up fifty points or more in a half of the game.

Michigan State scored over fifty in the second one first team to win a game with those three things in thirty years, teams had gone oh to twenty five in that situation, losing by an average of twenty one point seven points.

And they come around and win it.

And one of the talkers coming out was the dirty play by Jeremy Fears.

Have you seen this play?

So this was on the heels of what he did against Michigan earlier in the week.

He channeled his inner Grayson Allen and just lifted his leg up to trip a Michigan player, and Dusty May, the Michigan coach, basically lost.

It wasn't the first time Jeremy Fears has done this kind of thing.

And then the other night at Williams Arena even dirtier.

He's got legs and Reynolds on his back, you know, right behind him, and you know.

I don't know what preceded it.

There's some pushing, some shoving, but he just he kicks his leg up between Reynolds's legs and kicks him in the groin, just out of nowhere.

It was the most egregious thing.

And he got teed up, and Izzo after the game said, you know, didn't really see blah blah blah.

But uh, the Big Ten has tell me what this means.

They have suspended Jeremy Fears for pregame warm ups today.

What was that before their game against Illinois?

What that means?

I don't know, you can't warm up, that's nothing.

Nozel has said that he may you know, bench him to start the game.

Where you know, I don't understand, you know, suspend a guy for a pregame warm ups.

Can't get you can't warm up, you can't get that shot.

They said, you know, they you know, they said, not have me even come.

Up with that.

Yeah, that is suspend him for the first half of the movie.

For the game.

Yeah, don't don't.

Don't know that.

For them to come up with something of that nature, that is that's pretty lame.

Yeah, but you know, for a guy like that in the league, and I you know, I don't promote violence, but you got to run him though.

Oh yeah, see, somebody got sending message him.

It's clearly a pattern of behavior.

That's the message to him.

He's a junior.

It's not like this is new to him.

He's been around a bit.

It's his brother was playing for the Pelicans last night.

He's number one pick for the Pelicans.

No, I mean, somebody got to send a message to him.

I don't know who it is, but you can't allow a player to believe that he can continue to do these types of things.

And if Iszoe says, I'm not going to start you.

So what does that mean the first time out he comes in?

Yeah, you know, because Michigan State seem like they're not going to take any responsibility for his actions.

The Big ten is not going to do anything about it.

But now you're going to put somebody else in the position where they're going to have to make a stance, and that may not end up pretty.

But he's the type of guy that I know.

The guys that I played with, they would say, you know what, and let him drive the ball to the basket.

Let he beat you off the dribble.

When he get up, you know he's going to feel it.

He's going to feel the pain.

And every time he comes down is laying.

We're going to teach him a lesson until he stopped this behavior.

I mean, Grace and Allen was the same way.

I mean, you know you you know when he was that dude, coach K was his coach.

He did nothing to stop you know, disbehavior.

I mean, that's unacceptable.

I mean, because you can really injure a player in their career.

And as a head coach, you're supposed to, yeah, win games, put your team in the best situation to be successful, but also you have to protect the game as well.

And if you've got a player who's bored a lot of doing these types of things and you're not willing to take responsibility.

Shame on you tell me is though, it seems like the one coach in the Big Ten that would take a stance against this.

This is not who we are, This is not how we represent ourselves.

He said.

Maybe, you know, maybe if they're playing Maryland today or Penn State, you know, the hat Rutgers, they said fierce today.

But when the hottest team in the Big ten's come into town, it's the hottest ticket of the year, Illinois, it looks like a Final four team.

He's not gonna sit here take what's it gonna take to end somebody's career.

Yeah, but you didn't make a decision, no, man, you you know, you know you you you're supposed to be a steward of the game.

You have to take care of the game.

And if, now, if somebody decided to take responsibility into their own hands and do something that do something that's not a part of the game, then how are you going to respond to that?

You're gonna say, well, that shouldn't have happened.

Well, you could have stopped this thing before it got to this point.

Because tom Izzo is you know, he's uh, he's the king of the Big ten.

You know he you know, he's the loudest voice in the room.

And and if he knows that one of his players is doing something that is not good for the game, he said, step in and correct.

Uh, that is a great game today, Illinois Michigan State, two top ten teams going at it.

A chance for Michigan State to rebound.

We'll see if Fears gets a full compliment of minutes.

Meanwhile, wasn't just the Gophers men that had a top ten win.

The Gophers women did as well, up setting tenth right to Iowa on the road this week, their first ranked win on the road since twenty nine.

Hello, on, soy, do you ever were you were in twenty oh nine?

Were you even a dad in twenty oh nine?

In November twenty oh nine, but if anything happened before.

That, no, I think this is probably probably early nine, before you were even a dad.

This is the last time the Gophers women have beat a ranked team on the road.

To go down to Iowa City and knock off the Hawkeyes for their fifth straight win.

And suddenly I was working at the University of Minnesota, I think at that time, Yeah, I was that probably was that era for you so congrats to the lady Gophers as well.

That's a huge win.

What a big win for that program and the fact that team is now won five straight.

Tory McKinney healthy out there, playing big week for Gopher basketball.

We'll see if they can keep that going.

As I said, the Gophers played Maryland tomorrow.

That is the worst team in the Big Ten.

I mean, Penn State's given them a run for the money.

But for El Payne, the former Gopher, was their big ad in the transfer portal.

He went to A and M I think last season and transferred to Maryland.

The former Cottage Grove kid and had a gruesome injury early in the season has not been able to play.

He was their leading i think score and rebounder.

And their season with Buzz Williams, the new coach at Maryland, has been a complete disaster.

So a very good opportunity for the Gophers to stack a couple wins in the Big Ten and see how they rebound from a huge win over Michigan State.

But they're getting the right team because I watched Maryland the other night when they played Indiana and they're just a terrible team.

So nice chance for Nico's boys to strain up and wins together.

That'll be tomorrow afternoon one o'clock on the fan leading into the Super Bowl, which is tomorrow, by the way, the Seahawks and the Patriots.

We'll get to that outside of the next break, but I just wanted to quickly touch on the awards.

The other night.

Matthew Stafford gets his first MVP and man, you think back to August.

Remember he had the back issues.

He wasn't playing.

People were, you know, teeth gnashing.

Is it over for Stafford?

What are the rams going to be if he can't play?

And here we are.

He wins an MVP and not at all a surprise, but man, what a cool story.

He's up there with his four little.

Girls, and he announced he's back for twenty twenty six, which was not a sure thing, knowing how his body's been dealing with all kinds of issues.

He gets the big hardware as the MVP, which was I think again not unexpected.

Drake may was another guy in the mix right there, but he gets that, and the Hall of Fame class is announced and our own Larry Fitzgerald, first ballot wide receiver from the Cardinals who played his whole career.

There, former Vikings ball boy gets his just due, and what a great moment for him to doubt about it, to crash the party in his first year, joining Drew Brees, also a first year entrant into the Hall of Fame, Luke Keigley, Adam Niterian, Roger Craig gets in after all those years.

I saw you only do the doorknock where the Hall of Fame member will tell you got in.

I saw the video where it was Ronnie Lott and I forget the other it was a defensive player.

I think for the forty nine ers back in that era that came to Roger Craig's house.

I mean, if you don't tear up when you see something like that, I don't know.

I mean just the relief and the excitement on Roger Craig's face, because when you're one of the senior members where you just feel like your time has passed to get that call.

You hope you're stood around and people remember you like it's been a long time, and there are it's the third straight year that no coaches got in.

You know.

The big news, of course, was Belichick getting snubbed.

Mike Holmgren, another guy who many thought might have a chance.

And obviously the owner, Robert Craft, didn't get in either.

So no no coaches or front office people.

It was just a five man class.

And maybe the only question is Luke Keikley because he only played eight years.

With the concussion issues, he had to retire early.

But I'm glad to see him get the I mean, five time All Pro in eight seasons, and we know what a dominant force he was as a linebacker for Carolina when he was out there.

It's kind of like Terrell Davis, you know, there was all that Ye did he play enough?

Yeah?

They won a couple of Super Bowls, but played seven years.

Is that a Hall of Fame career?

Yeah?

When you take your you know, your guy to the top.

Man, did you take your team to the top?

I don't you know?

To me?

Injuries you know, you can't control that if you're a dominant player like Terrell Davis was and like Luke Heickley was.

I'm glad that they don't, you know, knock them off because they didn't play enough years.

That's true.

I think that's a that's a really good thing.

So those guys all get in on the Honors on Thursday night.

I pretty much turned off the show when the Play of the Year was announced and I was Caleb Williams touchdown pass the DJ Moore against the Packers.

I was out.

I tapped out at that Play of the year.

I couldn't watch the celebration, had no interest.

So it once that was more than enough for me.

Well, I mean the Player of the Year should have been in the playoffs, but they probably couldn't add that.

Yeah, it's a regular season.

I mean, of course that that play he made against the who they lose to in the playoffs they lost to MS Rams I play he made.

I mean, it's a tidy game all the time.

Yeah, unbelievable.

And he did the fourth and eight play against the Packers too, not in the touchdown, but the fourth and eight play that would have ended the game.

Yeah, he's these very adeptive, big time plays when the team needs it most.

There's no question.

All right, final pause, quick thoughts on the Super Bowl and a few more NBA trades.

I want to talk to Trent about some of the moves that were made.

We will finish things up.

Final segment in the zone.

Right after these.

Fucking shot out to night.

I know I'll be looking time no longer to catch my eye and then we are back.

Final segment today's edition of End the Zone Trent Talker Dave sinnekon along with Brett Blake Moore, the Super Bowls tomorrow afternoon.

You'll hear it right here on the fan pregame I think around three whenever the Gopher game is over.

Game will kick off shortly after five thirty.

Uh.

The Seattle Seahawks are four and a half point favorites over the New England Patriots.

Double t.

Will you be watching or will you be in a race?

For sure?

No hockey during the Super Bowl?

Oh no, no Sunday, No, no hockey doing so very good?

Yeah, a big game?

Are you cheering?

Do you have any stake in the game?

Is there?

Do you want to see Darnoble of the Seahawks?

Do?

Would you love to see?

Uh?

The Patriots for that poor fan base that just doesn't get to see their team wins.

You know, I'm putting for Sam Donald for one, just because of you know where how he started to where he is now.

But also you know, you know what Drake may have been able to do as well, So I really don't have a favorite.

You know, who's going to win.

I mean, if if New England wins, is okay.

But I like to see both of these quarterbacks play.

Well, yeah, I would too.

I want to see a competitive, close game.

I'm not sure that we're going to be.

I just I think Seattle's on a different level than New England.

And what has given me a little bit of hope that it might be closer than I think it's going to be is the fact that it sounds like Drake May's shoulder is not going to be a problem.

You know, last week it didn't really sound like he was anywhere near one hundred percent and he still might not be, but he carries no injury designation into the Super Bowl.

And my thing is, this is a really, really good Seattle defense and the New England's offense.

While they're fairly good at some explosive plays, I mean, the difference is pretty good too.

Yes it is, but I'm thinking of when Seattle's got their defense on the field.

To me, the only way I see New England having some long, extended drives is if they really rely on Drake May's legs.

I think he needs to run for at least forty or fifty yards in this game for New England to stay close.

And I was worried that the shoulder injury might cause the game plan to be looked.

We can't allow him to fall on that shoulder and get hurt.

We have to be careful.

I hope that he's healthy enough for they're not going to put the reins on him because that defense is so aggressive that there are going to be some running lanes for Drake May And if he's got a the ability to move the chains a couple times with his legs, I think that's going to be a recipe.

To keep them close and no pay, no gain, Right, that's what they say.

Could this be?

Could this be the Giants against the Patriots kind of feels although it's not as big because because nobody because if you layer a few people like New England.

If you look at New England was was going for a perfect season.

They blew out the Giants in the last regular season game at Giants Stadium, right and all of a sudden, Now, who would have thought that the Giants would be in a situation where, you know, a miraculous catch would keep the drive alive that would put Eli Manning in a situation to make a touchdown pass the knockoff Tom Brady and Randy Moss and the undefeated New England Patriots.

Maybe Stefan Diggs makes that spectacular catch tomorrow.

Yeah, So, I mean, you know, this could be one of those moments.

I know, Seattle, I believe they probably are a huge favorite, you know, to win this game.

But so one game situation, and we've seen stranger things happen in situations like this.

I think it's low scoring too, I do.

I think I don't think that Seattle's going to be able to run the ball very well.

On New England.

They're very good defensively against the run.

I think it's going to be on Sam Darnold to.

Move the ball.

And they all know that JSM the offensive player of the year in the NFL, is ninety percent of their offense.

So how good is he?

He's He's great.

I mean, I don't want to talk about it because I was cheering with my pom Poms for the Packers to draft him that year and they took Lucas fan Nests instead, who you know, Okay, maybe becomes a player, but man, JSN was so obvious that that year that that game was gonna be a complete receiver.

It took a few years, right.

They had Metcalf and Locket, and he didn't get a real opportunity until this season.

But he's like a video game.

Put a quarterback in there.

They can get on the ball and show what he can do.

It's like a video game.

Please, he's all over the place.

But who else is there?

That's the thing.

If if New England says, all right, we're gonna put Gunzales our best corner and have him travel with JSM, We're gonna let anybody else for a couple you know, ready to do it?

Is Rashid Shaheed more of a return guy?

Is he gonna make a couple of big plays?

Barner run the ball?

If if they can run the ball get bounced at the offense.

But now Sam Donald is in a situation where he has to win the game by himself.

Yeah, that puts Sel in a good situation because you want to have a balance of what you do offensively.

If New Inna somehow, some way can make them one dimensional.

Wow, Now all of a sudden, that that puts Drake made a situation and wins super Bowl.

Very just so interested to see how the two quarterbacks perform.

Right, You've got the second year kid looking to make some history.

You've got Donald the reclamation project, looking to finally cement himself.

It's and I think both two rations have already won.

They've already won.

I mean, Drake made a second year, he's playing for a championship.

As you mentioned, Sam Darnald off to a very tough start in the first part of his career, and now he finds himself, you know, a plan for the biggest prize that the NFL has to offer.

They both have already won.

Now this is just an icing on the cake.

There is this icing on the cake.

So for them, I know it, it's pressure to win a championship, but both of these guys to march, to just go out and just play football and just play I mean because what No, Yeah, you can have a bad game, throw four interception to five interceptions and maybe turn the ball over and lose the game.

Yeah, that's a that's a bare narrative to have said about you.

But at the end of the day, to me, these both of these guys have already won.

Yeah, hard to argue that.

I just think Seattle's more battle tested.

They their path to get to where they are has been difficult.

They were in the toughest division in football.

We talked about New England historically easy schedule, the way things worked out, just the teams they played and the situations playing backup quarterbacks so often, no offense.

I mean, you got to win the games and they get you know, but they're not as battle scarred as Seattle is.

And yeah, they they faced a couple of tough defenses here in the postseason, but they got to play a backup quarterback, you know, on the road in Denver, and you know, you got to have a little luck.

I think more than a little luck.

Yes, that was part of it as well.

All right, that'll be fun to watch the season comes to a close.

And the watch the game tomorrow.

Of course I will, Bunny, Jamie's got a party every year.

We're gonna have a big day.

I don't know, if you're in Brett would take the day off.

No, No, I'm watching football.

Be whipping up a double batch of my world famous s guacamole, and we'll be I'll be tuned in with about fifteen other people.

Can't wait.

Of course, of where Brett watched the game tomorrow.

I mean.

No, of course, I mean I'll be watching the big game, that's for sure.

I'm just not, as you know, emotionally, once once Green Bay is out, I kind of emotionally check out.

I still keep up, obviously because it's my job and I enjoy football, but emotionally I'm not.

As an investor, you're more interested in the commercials at this point, you'll be game.

Yeah, I'm curious what they're going to be.

You've told me there's some good ones.

I've watched a number of the commercials.

I think it's a pretty good batch.

Yeah, I like them all right, double tea.

I want to quickly, for our final few minutes, swing back to the NBA.

A couple of trades I want to get your thoughts on that we haven't talked about.

Beginning with Anthony Davis, who goes to Washington.

They're going to shut him down for the rest of the year, okay, because he's hurt and it doesn't serve serve Washington any good to try to win at this point.

They're gonna start over next year with Trey Young and Anthony Davis and Saw and some nice young pieces.

And you know, I don't know what Anthony Davis has left, but I mean, ultimately, the return Dallas got for Luca now looks.

I mean, they got Chris Middleton in this deal and a bunch of expiring contracts and some low draft picks.

It looks.

But I mean the move for Luca now is the dust clear as as Davis has gone, looks even more disastrous.

Well only if only if the Lakers win the championship.

If the Lakers don't win the championship, it's not it doesn't look that bad.

Are you saying this year or with Luca at some point?

And with Luca at some point, okay, he's hurt now, got a hamstring straight, there you go.

And the Lakers are not even with him and le Bron plan.

They're not.

They're not one of the top four teams in the Western Conference.

And the only move they made was to add Luke Canard as a shooter up.

If you're the Dallas Mavericks, if the Lakers don't win the champion if Luca cannot win a championship, let's say the next couple of years, okay, because.

Lebron's gonna be gone probably after this year.

Yes.

So if they don't win this year, where the Lakers going, I mean without Lebron James, do they all of a sudden now move into the into the top three or four in the Western Conference over the next couple of years.

I don't think so.

No.

I mean, they'll have the opportunity to add people want to play for the Luca and play for that team.

They'll be able to add some players, but they're gonna have to really hit it correct, right.

So if they don't win and the and the Dallas Mavericks can start to rebuild and get some of these you know, new and young players that go around Cooper Flag, all of a sudden, now they may pass up the Lakers in the next two or three years, and they know what, this trade would not look so bad.

Yeah?

Maybe.

I mean, they obviously got extremely fortunate to win the lottery with a one percent chance and land a guy like Cooper Flag who appears to be a generational type.

The guy is is that if if the Lakers don't win a championship, getting rid of Luca and Dallas does not look that bad.

I don't know if I still think.

I know in LA it's all about winning titles.

But you you added a player, a top three player in the game, and you win, well, you got ten years of Lucas prime and they still couldn't feel I said, if you don't win ultimately in ten years, yeah, maybe Luca, Luca could be hurt.

Look at how much how much time is he going to miss this year?

Doesn't it doesn't sound like the hamstring strains too serious that he dodged a major and he may missed a week or two.

Yeah, he's probably out through the all Maybe he'll miss the All Star break just like and the Nagers could be in the play in.

Suddenly Team World in the All Star Game doesn't look so good without Lucas.

So I said, the legs in the play in this year, Yeah, okay, Dallas don't look that bad.

The only thing that I think the Dallas married fans is gonna be really upset with if Luca can win a championship in LA because he took Dallas to the finals.

He took him to the Western Conference finals.

But if they don't win a championship in LA, like, okay, see.

I'm gonna I'm gonna push back back on that because I know you're coming at it as a player, I'm coming at it as a fan.

And for me, it's like you've robbed me of the opportunity to watch this guy Luca play for my team eighty times a year.

I got to enjoy watching him play, And yes, I want to win a title, but getting to watch him perform his art for my team eighty times a game is something you deprive me of.

And yeah, I want to win a title, But at the end of the day, if I've gotten incredible entertainment watching this guy do what he does for my team, and now I can't do that, that I lose that.

Well, you got one, you say, you guys got a generational talent and Cooper Flag.

So you so you got rid of Luca and you got the number one pick.

Okay, yeah, so now you still get you still have a chance over eighty some games for the next ten years to watch the generational talent growl.

You're right, they got lucky in the draft, had a guy.

But hey, make your guaclamo and then go watch Coop of Flag.

He call the day.

See if Cooper becomes level of Luca.

He's not anywhere near there.

Just yeah, I think he's only Rooking has put him with three straight thirty point games.

Yeah, how about that?

How about Konka Nipple and the Charlotte Hornets.

Oh, they've won eight in a row.

They're the hottest team in the NBA.

They told you last week they beat Utah by fifty.

They're going in and beating good teams right now.

That team.

I think Michael sold too soon.

He's not the right time, did he Yeah, he made it, but he's still he's still have ownership.

Does he have a piece?

Well yeah, okay, yeah, he's a good business man.

You know, it's you know, made a few billion and then you'll keep a little piece here, and then they turned things around, you might make a few more billion.

It's a nice story.

What's going on in Charlotte.

It's their first eight game winning streak in twenty five years.

I don't know if that's when Larry Johnson was on the team was.

Bugs.

He had a nice little stretch there, But it's been a long time since.

Uh.

The Warriors finally moved on from Jonathan Cominga.

They had Christops perzingis uh to the mix.

Obviously we know with the Jimmy Butler out, their ceiling has lowered dramatically feels kind of like a desperation play.

Per Zingis has not been healthy.

Certainly could use a guy in the middle like that, but doesn't seem to really move the needle in Golden Years.

Right, He's just you can't stay healthy.

I mean, you know there's guys you trade for it, guys you depend on.

If they're not available, it's a bad thing for your team.

The mentioned earlier Memphis trader Jared Jackson junior two time Defensive Player of the Year to Utah, who now looking ahead has a core of Jared Jackson, Laurie market And Walker Kessler, Kiante George, Ace Bailey, and they still like Isaiah Collier, the young guard had twenty two assists the other night, and Nurki.

Just Utah quietly has a nice little core going for about it.

I mean, you a is doing something.

Yeah.

I don't know if they'll keep Kessler, but Marketing and and Jaren Jackson together, that seems Jared Jackson seems like the perfect fit for that team.

I just think that quietly, Kante George looks like a potential star.

Utah is not going to be a doormat much longer.

It's a time to beat them right mentioned SGA's out with an abdominal strain through the All Star break, and they've been losing some games.

Their lead I think is down to three or four games in the West.

Jalen Williams still isn't playing.

I mean, they played the other night against the Spurs.

I think with all five of their starters out, it's time now to make some hay and pick up some ground on the thunder because No, they know they'll be healthy by the time that works out.

No, they can win on the road.

They know that.

We opened the show with the Wolves disastrous second half performance last night and a loss to the Pelicans at home, opening up a six game homestand that will continue with the Clippers tomorrow.

Gnaw and the Hawks come to town Monday, and then Portland Wednesday, and then it's the All Star break, so they need to figure things out.

We talked about Rudy going very nuclear after the game, stressing lack of effort, a need for accountability from the stars in the team all the way down, pointing to himself, pointing to everybody and saying, you know, we've got to take this seriously, you know, and I'm really curious to see how this team rebounds.

They will add a really nice piece now in ioud assume o the big trade that the front office made to add maybe a Naw replacement.

It's go time.

They are thirty two and twenty one.

That means they have twenty nine games left replace are we right now?

It's time?

Six or seven?

Sixth basically tied yeah, six seven, tie with Phoenix at seven, but a game out of third, Like if they win last night, they're right in third, so it's it's very much bunched together.

They can't let games like this get away.

They have the Clippers coming in.

It's almost like a new team they're facing.

Yeah, but the Clippers could be dangerous.

Well, Garland play tomorrow for the credit Clippers.

Yeah, I don't know.

I don't know what he is.

Oh yeah, I don't know.

I think we'll have to assume we're playing, and certainly Monday.

Seeing Naw back here the tribute video should be nice.

But that's a tough team too.

They gotta let's see if this game woke up last night, because it's if it didn't, we got bigger issues.

Yeah, I know, you got hockey today, so enjoy that my friend.

Enjoy the game tomorrow.

Thanks Damie.

We'll see you next week for double te for Brens Lakemore.

I'm Dave Simmikin.

Thanks for spending part of your Saturday with us.

Beyond the Pond is next.

I have a wonderful weekend.

Enjoy the game tomorrow.

We'll see you next Saturday.