Welcome to the first episode of Uncomfortable Questions with Scott Cooley. Consider this podcast 60 Minutes on steroids; here, we ask the tough questions pertaining to all things sports news, rumors, and gambling. On this episode, Scott speaks with Chris Sheridan. Sheridan has covered the NBA for ESPN and the Associated Press and now does so for GetMoreSports.com.
The podcast kicks off with a discussion of Kawhi Leonard’s future. What exactly is going on with Kawhi? As Sheridan explains, it’s hard to know because Kawhi “might be the toughest interview in the NBA right now.” Leonard doesn’t share much of what’s on his mind, much like his coach with the Spurs.
Kawhi has turned to his uncle, his mother’s brother, for guidance on his career. As Sheridan has learned, the uncle “is not an unintelligent man” — though their strategy at the moment is not apparent. The Spurs are not happy with Kawhi’s conduct in the past year.
“They don’t like it when you mess with their team and their culture,” Sheridan explains. “They’re not really shopping him, they’re telling teams — mostly Eastern Conference teams — ‘Tell us what you’ll give us. We’ll listen to what you want to give, and this is how we’re going to sort out the offers.'”
Scott and Sheridan also discussed DeMarcus Cousins’ future. As Sheridan sees it, the Mavericks are no longer interested in Boogie.
“That is no longer the case,” Sheridan says. “They just picked up the kid, Luka Doncic, who may be the Rookie of the Year…he’s the best player to ever come out of Slovenia, and that’s saying something.”
The Mavericks no longer believe they need to take a chance on Boogie, he explains.
Scott also asked Sheridan whether there is potential for Giannis Antetokounmpo to turn into a prima donna, as rumors have indicated he is less than thrilled with his supporting cast in Milwaukee.
“I don’t think he’s ever going to be that,” Sheridan answers. “Four years ago, he was selling bottled water on the streets of Athens. You can’t make this stuff up. He’s one of the greatest rags-to-riches stories in human history, especially when it relates to basketball, so a guy like that doesn’t become a prima donna.”
With that being said, Sheridan believes Giannis doesn’t love playing alongside Jabari Parker, who seems more interested in padding his stats than winning. Still, Sheridan foresees Giannis staying with the Bucks for the long-term.
“They’ve got to put guys around Giannis that are complementary to what he does,” he says. “Milwaukee loves Giannis, and Giannis does love Milwaukee, and Giannis wants to make it work there.”
Lastly, Scott and Sheridan discuss tanking in the NBA. Sheridan believes that next season the Atlanta Hawks will be in “full-on tank mode.” He foresees them winning 12-18 games and expects the over/under on their win total will be 15.5.
Listen to the fascinating NBA offseason discussion by pressing the play audio button above.
