I have

this big book.

Oh, wow.

I played charts from last year.

I keep it all in a book, and I've got a book for every year.

I'll take one of the pages out of here.

So the last one in here is the most recent game, playoff game against San Antonio, April 28th.

What was it like for you? What was last season like? I'm sure it's very unlike any other season I've seen in the NBA of a team, what they had to go through.

How do you see this all working with John Morant now in the fold?

Yeah, it's fascinating because this was shocking.

You know, in 20 plus years of being around and covering this organization, I don't know that I've been more shocked about a deal coming through.

If you would have looked at this team in December, January, early February, nobody would have said they had too many guards, right? They played for 30 plus games without a point guard.

Yeah.

So that's important, right? You got to have enough guys to play the position.

Obviously, injuries matter.

I mean, is this the first move? Is this the pawn being moved into the middle of the chessboard, the opening move, and that there is going to be something that's going to be bigger coming up for the Blazers, in your opinion?

You know, obviously the on-court fit is a huge question, but for a guy who has also had his career marred in controversy and all of the off-court issues that he's had, what can you share with us about what the Trailblazers room is like and having a personality like his then injected into it?

Last year's Trailblazers team, and I don't say this just to be, you know, cliche, because a lot of people say this about their team and their culture.

I've been around the Trailblazers since 2003.

That was the best locker room I've ever been around.

The players all bought in.

They cared.

They were all good guys.

Assuming that this is the iteration of Portland, what would be your expectations for this team if we're talking about win totals, a group that made it to the postseason, got some action against the San Antonio Spurs, had some good defensive upside, and now with Mike and Norrie at the helm, what are your expectations for this team if this is indeed the roster they go to war with?

You know, obviously the, the on-court fit is a huge question, but for a guy who has also had his career kind of marred in controversy in all the off-court issues that he's had, what can you share with us about what the Trail Blazers room is like and having a personality like his then injected into it?

Last year's Trail Blazers team, and I don't, I don't say this just to be, you know, cliche because a, a lot of people say this about their team and their culture, um, I've been around the Trail Blazers since 2003.

That was the best locker room I've, I've ever been around.

Um, the, the players all bought in.

They cared.

They were all good guys.

You never heard a single peep, a single negative anything.

What do you think Nori brings to the table that Thiago Splitter did not?

So what does Mike Inori have to work with? If the Blazers kind of stay pat, I mean, does this fit into – I know you haven't had a lot of time, but does it kind of fit into his style? I mean, can he work with these ingredients?

Yeah, I think he can work with anything.

You know, the type of guy that he is, his style, sure, he's worked with a number of different head coaches.

He's been in a number of different situations.

I don't know if you've seen any of those videos where he has this layout of what it takes to stop every single star in the NBA.

That's good.

You need that.

I mean, is he that good? I mean, do you think he's a franchise-type centerpiece type of player?

So I have to ask, in your opinion, because you're a great analyst of the game as well, where did this come from from New York, this incredible run that they've made through the postseason?

To your point, I did not think the Knicks were going to be in this position.

I did not think the Knicks were going to be in the NBA Finals.

It helped that, and again, no disrespect to what they've done.

They went on a 13-game win streak.

It's remarkable.

But they didn't have to play the top two teams in the East.

of

You give the Knicks, uh, a fighting chance at this thing?

Oh, I do.

Absolutely do.

I think there's a good chance that they can win it, and I, I understand why the, the Spurs are the favorite, and, you know, they should be the favorite.

They've got home court advantage.

You know, they just knocked off the Thunder.

Um, but for the Knicks, I mean, they're, they have a lot of things going their way, and there's the old question of, you know, rest versus rust, but they had that in the last series, and it m- was no problem at all in game one against Cleveland.

Mm-hmm

do that.

But Anthony Davis's injury history is very concerning.

Um, the fact that he, when it healthy is still really good, it's really appealing, but there's no secret his injury history.

And that that's where the concern would be for me.

Like on paper, if you're looking at a healthy Anthony Davis, yeah, go get him.

But he just hasn't been that guy in a while.

Um, Giannis, again, it, it depends on, on what you're giving up.

So I guess how does all of this and there's all this discussion about the free agency market kind of fly in the face of the way Joe Cronin has kind of talked about how he wants to build this team?

Right

...

when, when Clingan is defending a guard on the three-point line in drop coverage, that's, that's tough, right? It's, it's real tough.

Um, and having switchable defenders around him really helps.

But offensively, um, the, the way that San Antonio defends, I think a lot of it is, is experience and game plan.

Because Clingan has, has taken some threes.

Yeah, he, he's not shooting well from beyond the arc.

So do you think that there are such things as playoff risers and fallers?