And then the other thing that happened last night, before I give you an opinion, let me at least say, I understand why you want to laugh.

And you should. We already are. Because I get the full irony that in June of 2019, while I was ecstatic as all hell asking you people who's laughing now because Kevin Duran and

Kyrie Irving chose the Brooklyn Nets your booby prize was Julius Randall and here we are

seven years later Duran and Kyrie are nowhere to be seen the New York Knicks are NBA champions

and the big move made by the big Australian, who still has a job, is for the nets to acquire Julius Randall.

I understand the humor. I understand the story arc. And I understand any Nick fan that wants to have a belly laugh.

Well, it's not a belly laugh. I don't want to say you feel sorry because Julius Randall is still a good player. He's not going to be a superstar that everybody thought he was going to be at one point, but he's a very good player for a team that is going to have a ton of young kids on it and you need a veteran presence. I almost feel like for Julius Randall, he's like, yeah, give me back to New York. I know the Knicks aren't going to take me, but I like New York.

So I'm going to New York.

I know the Knicks aren't going to take me, but I like New York. So I'm going to go back to

Brooklyn. But it almost in some ways feels bizarre because it doesn't fit. How does he fit

with the Brooklyn net? Well, a couple of things. Before I even tell you if I like the trade or not, because I haven't even said that. All I said is I understand the irony and I understand laughing about it because everything I laid out is true. What happened in 2019, the Julius Randall Odyssey with the New York Knicks, what the Nets thought they were going to do and where we are now, I understand that if I could tap on the shoulder of Evan Roberts seven years ago and say, I got a story for you. Julius is going to be the most popular guy in New York. Then he's going to be hated. Then he's going to be popular again. And oh, by the way, he's going to be traded for what turns out to be the final piece of a championship puzzle for the New York Knicks. And oh, by the way, the Nets are going to suck and flame out, I would have said, you're on crack. Like, I wouldn't have believed that. So I understand that aspect of it. From a basketball standpoint, the Brooklyn Nets got better last night. Now, I have never been a huge fan of Julius Randall. I'm not going to hide that. There was a time in which I was very high on Nicholas Claxton. I thought he had a chance to be a star. But I think after Durant and Kyrie were traded away, Nicholas Claxton was exposed for a myriad of reasons. And so he isn't a guy. I'm building around and he isn't a guy that needed to be on this roster. Julius Randall, even at 31-32, is better than Nick Laxton.

The Brooklyn Nets became a better team last night.

And they moved up five slots in the NBA draft, and they still have cap space.

So from a basketball standpoint, I'm not hating it.

I just understand the awkwardness of it.

Like, for example.

But why is it awkward?

Well, I just laid out eight reasons.

You want a ninth reason?

Because Nick fans are going to mock you? I don't care people mock. I just understand the irony of all of it. I don't think Nick fans care right now. I don't think it's on their radar to think about Julius Randall being with the Nets. Right? so it is mockable but I don don't think Nick fans are going to mock you. Okay, then screw them. Here's the awkward conversation. I spent four years teaching my kids that Julius Randall sucks and that he's lazy and that Kevin Duran is so much better. That's your problem. And I had to have the awkward conversation this morning. I was like, remember that Julius Randall guy? And Jets's like, yeah, kind of remember he sucks, right? It's one year.

He's one year. Maybe they'll be so bad. Your kids won't want to pay attention and they don't remember. Well, that's not the goal. The goal is actually to be good. The days of tanking is over. The Nets had two years of tanking. Unfortunately, Yeah, tanking's done in the NBA. Tanking's done for the net since they don't own their own pick.

The rockets have a right to swap, and certainly based on the new tanking rules, tanking's done, which is why the Nets got better. Now, did they get better enough to compete with the New York Knicks? No. Did they get better enough to be a top four seed in the Eastern Conference? No. Did they get better enough to hopefully play competitive basketball games that leads them to a play in tournament? I hope so. There's still a lot of work to be done. But I think if you take the emotion out or the comedy out of Julius Randall and who he is and his legacy with the Knicks, I think the Nets clearly made a trade that made him better. They moved up five slots in the NBA draft. They go from 33 to 28. They rid themselves of a player. It's unfortunate that I have to describe it as ridding themselves because, again, I really like Nick Claxson. It just didn't work. And they got a guy who you expect to be hungry and a guy who, for the most part, plays. I am curious about the fit next to Michael Porter Jr., but they're very different. Michael Porter Jr. is a great spot-up shooter. The Nets could surround Julius with shooters and maybe the double teams that he gets could lead to open shots for Igor Jomon and whoever they draft tonight at 6. So from basketball standpoint, it's fine. It's just weird. Two things can be true at the same time. It's weird. And when I first heard it, yeah, my reaction was, oh my God, Julius, I got a root for Julius Randall. But at the end of the day, and it's a very simple question, and I think you're an honest guy, Teak. I am. Are the Brooklyn Nets a better team today than they were yesterday?

...