NBC Sports's Kurt Helin Joins to Talk the Latest in the NBA

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00:00We got Kurt Heland of NBC Sports Now to talk Pro Rack.

00:04Kurt, good to see you.

00:06You and I were talking about New Orleans.

00:08Yeah, I've been there a bunch of times.

00:10Yeah, I've been to the Super Bowl there.

00:12I saw the Bears beat the Patriots there in 85.

00:17I also saw Indiana, my alma mater,

00:20beat Syracuse in 87 on the Keith Smart shot

00:24to win the national championship Bob Knight's third.

00:26So I have been there multiple times.

00:29I've done my show there multiple times over the years.

00:32And I've rocked New Orleans hard.

00:34Believe me, you.

00:35It's good to see you.

00:36I want to start with this.

00:37What was your initial reaction when you saw

00:40the talk of a 10-minute quarter?

00:44I rolled my eyes.

00:45I'm like, I think the headline of the story I wrote

00:47was like, really, Adam?

00:48Really?

00:49Look, I genuinely believe this was him floating a trial

00:53balloon that I was told later wasn't really anything

00:58with like, with it.

00:59It's something Adam likes that wasn't terribly popular

01:01within the league office even, but Adam floated it out there.

01:05And I know I wrote something about it.

01:07A bunch of media members did, but beyond us, forget us.

01:11Michael Malone ripped it.

01:12A couple other coaches ripped it.

01:13A couple of players ripped it.

01:14Like nobody likes this idea.

01:16So hopefully that burst the trial balloon and we're dead.

01:20Cause Scott, I don't like messing,

01:23like pitch clock is one thing,

01:25but you're now changing the fundamental essence

01:28of the game.

01:28Like it's not a pitch clock.

01:30It's making it a seven inning game.

01:34Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more.

01:35I thought it was relatively ridiculous.

01:39I have to ask you this question.

01:41So today we ran a clip of Zion talking about blame them,

01:46blame the Pelicans.

01:47They're the ones that are saying I can't play back to back.

01:50I work for them.

01:51They call the shots.

01:53Now we know he's been injured a lot

01:56and we know how young he is.

01:58But I said, I threw this salvo out there.

02:01I said today that that's the beginning

02:03and the end of him in New Orleans.

02:04He now is calling out his, you know, superiors, frankly,

02:10and the management and the team, the organization,

02:13calling them out and saying,

02:14you got a problem with me not playing back to back?

02:16Talk to them.

02:17And that's like saying my bosses are idiots.

02:21And how many people get away with that?

02:26I will say this one thing in his defense.

02:29We climb on players all the time for load management.

02:3390% of the time it actually is the team that's like,

02:36hey, I don't try, you know,

02:38hey, Kawhi, you're not gonna play as much.

02:41He's still on a minute's limit.

02:42It's usually the team that comes in harder

02:45and is more protective of its investment,

02:47frankly, than the player.

02:50That said, Zion's a different case, right?

02:52Because let's just say, Scott,

02:56as a guy who has spent a bunch of time in New Orleans,

02:58and if I had to spend a week there like you're going to,

03:02I'd probably come back 15 pounds heavier.

03:04Zion is not the best conditioned athlete

03:07we've ever seen in the NBA.

03:09He's maybe even better this year,

03:10but like he's gotta take care of himself.

03:14And that's part of the reason

03:16you've got to bring him along slowly.

03:18I don't think there's anybody out there

03:19who looked at that and said,

03:20yeah, they should be limiting him.

03:22Like, is there anybody who was like,

03:23nah, he should totally play more?

03:24No, you're 12 and 36.

03:27You're not making the playoffs.

03:29Don't push this guy right now and see what happens.

03:32Try to get him right for next season

03:34and see what happens.

03:34This is why their name comes up in a Jimmy Butler trade.

03:36I'm like, why?

03:38First off, Jimmy's not gonna wanna go there, but why?

03:41What are you gonna do with Jimmy Butler

03:42the rest of the season?

03:44Well, frankly, I don't care what Jimmy Butler wants.

03:48I actually am from the side of the river that says,

03:51you know what, I don't care what you want, need,

03:53where you wanna go, all your nonsense.

03:56Not only do I not wanna hear it anymore from him,

04:02I think he was throwing games, throwing balls away,

04:05shooting air balls, acting like a tool,

04:08behaving like a child, all of his demands and nonsense

04:13and back and forth with Riley.

04:16And you know what's funny is that nothing has progressed.

04:20I've been hearing about this guy getting traded now

04:22for a month and nothing's happened.

04:24And you know what?

04:25I did a special today, an hour shoot on Elgin Baylor.

04:28And I talked about his brilliant career

04:30from high school in DC, to Idaho, to Seattle,

04:34to the Lakers in Minneapolis, to LA,

04:37and to greatness and even running the Clippers

04:41and serving in the army.

04:43And I talked about this guy not playing for two months

04:47and then playing six straight games,

04:49winning all six and averaging 38 and 22 and a real baller.

04:54And then I got to deal with these prima donnas now

04:57in this day and age that never play.

04:59They get paid $200 million.

05:02I mean, honestly, we don't recognize the greatness

05:05of the past while we sit around and deal with this bullshack.

05:10Oh, by the way, Elgin might be maybe one

05:12of the most underrated former superstars.

05:14Like he was one of the first guys to play above the rim.

05:16Like nobody was playing above the rim

05:18when Elgin was playing above the rim back in the sixties.

05:21And I think he's dramatically underrated as a,

05:25I mean, he's a hall of famer,

05:26but I think underrated as an all-time great.

05:31Look, you were spot on about Butler, by the way,

05:33in this sense, particularly this sense.

05:36There is no market for him.

05:37There is one team that wants him

05:40and they can't figure out how to get him

05:42because they got to move Bradley Beal.

05:43And Bradley Beal is the one guy

05:45who has a worse trade value than Jimmy Butler right now.

05:50The Pelicans have talked about it.

05:52The Warriors came up, but I was told by a source,

05:54like watch the Warriors to go after Zach Levine.

05:57Like they need to, they want to boost their offense.

05:59And Zach's been playing great this year.

06:01And that seems more likely

06:03and more the direction they're headed than Butler.

06:05They're just, look, it's not like Butler's agent

06:09isn't trying.

06:10There's no demand for Jimmy Butler

06:12because they're not sure what kind of disruption

06:14he might be down the line.

06:15And nobody wants to pay him a hundred million dollars

06:17for a couple of years after this one,

06:19which is what he wants.

06:21You know, I saw today, we did a story today.

06:23I always love talking to you.

06:25You tell it like it is.

06:26I'm talking today about Bogdanovich, Bogdan Bogdanovich.

06:29Now they're interested in him and I,

06:31I'm shooting 61% from the floor in my league.

06:35And I'm like, Bogdan Bogdanovich, Christ.

06:38They've gone from Jimmy Butler

06:39to wanting Bogdan Bogdanovich.

06:42Christ, I shoot the ball better than him.

06:44What is going on with these terrible trade ideas?

06:48And how unbelievable is it

06:50that more people talk about the snubs

06:53than the actual guys that make it?

06:57That's the crazy thing about the all-star snubs

07:00is that you're like, and by the way,

07:02like Alperin Shingun is deserving of an all-star spot.

07:06Of course.

07:08Who are you taking off the list?

07:09Because the problem in the West,

07:10and like I did my, I had Shingun in on my list

07:13when I did it, but there are,

07:17there were seven reserve spots

07:19and there were 12 deserving guys,

07:21maybe 13 deserving guys.

07:23Guys are just, like, you're just,

07:24there is no good option there.

07:26You are going to leave off deserving players,

07:28no matter what.

07:29So it's where you want to draw the line.

07:31So, like, I, I think-

07:34I'm so glad you got through this without coughing.

07:37You were going to cough right there

07:39and you held out.

07:40That was, that was beautiful.

07:43Hey, listen, feel better.

07:45You're amazing.

07:45You never coughed.

07:46I love you.

07:47I always love talking rag with Curt Heelan of NBC.

07:50Have a great weekend.

07:51Feel better, Curt.

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