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It's Flakrant House. It's everybody's favorite Tivor-Wolf's lifestyle podcast here, Phil Mackie, Argyle-Tigy, and for one last time to recap in incredible season, Argyle-Grady and Jim Peterson jump into Flakrant House. Gentlemen, thank you for joining here. How's your last week, Ben?
I woke up one night just sweating and mummering wolves and nine to my wife. Wolves and 11, just keep bringing the games. How have you digested the season these last few days? We'll start with Grady.
It's hard to describe because on one hand, you're down about the end of the season. On the other hand, you're down and this is connected. The ride is over. I wasn't doing as much work the last two rounds as I was in the first run of during the regular season, but still that abrupt ending to the season.
You wake up that next morning and I don't know what to do with myself. I'm thinking about what's transpired with the team. I'm thinking about, okay, what's next? It's just this weird transition where I'm a little bit like a zombie walking around.
I don't really want to consume too much media. It's just a weird space and it takes a handful. I don't know that I'm completely out of that days just yet, but it takes a little bit before I snap out. I've been like, oh, okay, let's get to regular life.
Jim, what about you, man? Well, I've got a lot of experience in the end of the season coming and don't have a lot of experience with the ride that we were just on. And all that that implies too, because it's one thing making the playoffs, but when you start getting into the conference finals, you start getting into and seeing more national media. It's more of a...
Michael and I were asked to do a lot more stuff, doing interviews. So there's more of a media crush and you're talking more about your team than you ever have. Really, you're proud of it too. Like, you're proud of your team.
There's a lot of things for us to be proud of. And so it's kind of like I got to talk about my kids or something. You know what I mean? It's like, you guys know Kyle, because you do it all the time.
And so when it all comes to an end, and then you spend so much time, I mean, we spend so much time on planes and buses and hotels and games and high-level situations with the trainers and the coaches and all this support staff and the PR department and the flight attendants. And just you see them all the time. You're always... And so it's like this intense thing that just always said, and now boom, we're not going to see them for the most part, for five months, right, Michael?
It's just... And that's why I say, you know, there have been plenty of years, obviously, when we didn't make the playoffs. And when you're finished with the 82nd game, if it's on the road, and you take that last road trip, it's not goodbye. It's...
Hey, see you later. Because those five months tend to fly by. I mean, it seems like it's never going to end, but those five months fly by and all of a sudden you're back in saddle again. So I know it's...
You know, I really missed calling games with Michael. Working with Horton was just... I just love Alan Horton because we've been together and anybody that's been around the world knows how great Alan is. But working with Games of Grady is just so fun.
And I can't tell you how grateful I am. He is so magical with that camera that he has. He's got this magical camera that can take pictures every five seconds. So we have all these great shots that he shares with me.
And, you know, I just don't have any friends that like, you know, that take pictures on the road. That's one thing that like over the years, we have not had pictures taken on the road or during the game or whatever as much. And Michael's just chronicled all this stuff. So I'm grateful to him.
And we actually have dinner tonight later on. So I will see him and hopefully we make an appointment to see each other off in the summer. So we'll check in with each other. At least we'll have that part of it, you know.
So... Great, Grady's spot on though. Because, you know, May was a grind and it was way more of a grind for you too than it was for me. But I think I did 32 podcasts in 31 days.
And that's 32 podcasts more than people sometimes need. But I kept thinking like, oh man, just I can't wait maybe for the season to be done. Hopefully mid-July by just June by a break. And then to Grady's point, I woke up that Friday morning after they were eliminated.
And I was like, what do I do with my hands? Like, what do I do now? Like, I'm break is common. What do I do?
So I'm already excited for draft stuff in Summer League. But yeah, I just think it was important for Phil and I to have you on to thank you for being on these pods all year because that's a lot of extra work. But also just thanks for all you did calling the games and taking photos and everything you posted. Because to me and Jim, we've talked about this a lot.
This will go down as the best season in my 35 years of being a fan. I know there was another really successful season, but it meant more this year to me because of the community that we have with you and the fans and all that stuff. So I'm excited to see what happens after the best season in general of history. Can I add, I was texting Kyle after they won Game 4 and extended it.
And it was fun just on social media or on these podcasts, two different things that were fun. One, speculating on, can they be the first team? I mean, there was genuine belief that if anyone's going to do it, this is the type of team that might have a chance to do it. But then the other thing, Jim kind of brought this up where you're like, it's this dopamine hitman like you guys are doing national media stuff.
You're talking about your team, the arena's packed, there's block parties, and winning Game 4. I texted Kyle, I said to my wife, I just want one more hit of it. Like, I just want to walk back into Target Center one more time and hear the pregame trumpet medley and the arena rocking with 18,000 people. And if they lose Game 5, then okay, then at least we got that one last hit.
But the good news, I think, is it feels like, because Anthony Edwards is 22, it feels like the beginning of something and I don't want to take it for granted. And I don't want to wish time away as Jim Peterson has said on this podcast, but it does feel like knock on wood. This is the start of maybe more of these runs. And maybe even deeper runs.
What do you guys think of like, what is your sort of, what is the legacy of this season in your minds, Grady? It remains to be written, I think, to your point. This could certainly be the beginning of something, but time will have to tell that story. I see why you feel that way, it's why I feel that way, Jim.
We've talked about it, why we feel this way about this, why? Because you have a 22-year-old and Anthony Edwards, who is genuinely special and built different. And I saw what GetUp on ESPN was talking today about, who will have the better 10 years. Look at Doncic, Victor Winbinama, or Anthony Edwards.
And so, even on the national media, to bring the symbols into the conversation in terms of how dominant could this team be over the course of the next 10 years, says something about the season that we all just witnessed. And I think it's great to have Tim Conley back in the fold. And hopefully, eventually, that's a long-term thing. But with him making the decisions and the great staff that he has with him and the coaching staff that we have and the young pieces that we have, there's no reason not to believe that this could be something that could continue long-term.
That said, the West is a dog, right? That's the other element to this too. We could have a really successful run and still for a period of time falls short of the dream because of the quality opponents that you have in the West. Three-time MVP, Nicole Yolkich.
Look at Doncic just four wins away from his first NBA championship. There are other teams that, of course, that are gonna be in the mix and list goes on and on and we're gonna be hungry to win a championship. So, that said, you're in the mix. You're in the mix because, Jim, you have one of those guys.
Yeah, and that's what I said. When Michael, we do the block party and we were just really there as hype men for the game. And, you know, everybody get up. And Michael, you know, it was so great because he's got that.
He was the Interina host in Indiana before he was the announcer in the arena. So, he had this whole body of work of hype in the crowd. I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, he's proud of that. That's not all.
That's a free T-shirt! That's all. Everybody loves a free T-shirt, man. Oh, my God.
But anyway, it was a little bit embarrassing, but I sat there and promoted the Why Not Us concept. And that was Finchy's mantra, kind of all season, is why not us? And I kind of was saying, why not us? Come back from 0-3 and then we had the game that we had.
I'm sure a lot of people are saying, yeah, like, where's that Why Not Us? Not Jim Peep, but... It's just a big fat head of Luca, actually, yelling who is crying now, MF, or whoever was sitting behind Snoop Dogg. Yeah, but still, I really...
You know, we can't be fans and we can't believe in our team unless we're willing to put ourselves on a line like that, right? And so I was willing to do that because I had a belief of really, why not us? Like, why couldn't this team do that? I just didn't realize Luca Donchich was going to go nuclear like that.
And like, you know, start hitting four point shots. I mean, what he did was ridiculous. Going under screens the way Ant and Kyle and other people did, you know, during that barrage. And he just was hitting 31 footers like it was nothing.
It was unbelievable. But no, I really... I'm thankful that Tim's going to be signed on for another year. We got that kind of settled.
I was kind of hoping that Tim and Finche would get extended out to match up with Ant and we kind of put this whole thing to bed because this team actually isn't in place, you know, with guys signed to their contract extensions to be in pretty good shape. So you're kind of wondering, you know, articles about Kyle were kind of heartbreaking a little bit because, you know, not sure we're going to have the money to sign Kyle back again, but like, you know, the story of his son and, you know, going through the autism stuff and then finding a home here in a community for their son to flourish in. You can see how Minnesota is great, you know, from that standpoint, there's a lot of resources here in the state. And you kind of like, you kind of hear those stories and you kind of want, because I want Kyle to be, I don't know how you guys feel, but I would love for Kyle Anderson to be a part of this community still because I think he still has a lot to add.
And that's just what, that was like a sub story that made this all so much more fun, right? It's to Brit Rob's and always talks about how great the locker room was this year to be in. And that's not always been the case. Jim, you know, that dating back many years that it was just a I mean, I remember in Portland when they were here for those two games, after one night Kyle and Rudy setting up this big dinner that they were going on with their spouses and their partners.
And to think back a year ago, you know, I don't know if Kyle and Rudy were going out to dinner, especially after that one night. So for them to kind of grow in just the relationships, it was just another reason why I thought this team was so fun to cheer for. But I got to ask his Phil, it's the last day of school kind of for this group. So before everyone goes out to summer vacation, Grady, I'll start with you, but Jim Chiman as well.
A favorite memory moment from this past season, maybe something we don't know or a call or a moment on the court that will kind of stick with you, I guess, forever forever. Oh, well, I mean, forever. That was deep. I know I was going to go another direction, as far as my favorite game or at least close to a game.
What will stick with me forever, of course, will be the dunk and the block, right? And so I do have to say that. But for me, and if I give it more time, there'll be others that I'll jump out. There were so many different moments.
But given my time in New York and even in Indiana, I didn't really care for Boston either. But when I was in New York, first playoff game, I was able to call it was the last of the Celtics. My last year in Brooklyn, I was swept by the Celtics. I don't like Boston.
We had a, we had a, we had a, you remember that jump ball gym when Al Horford was doing weird stuff last year? And that was a game that we could have won and lost. And Zula came down and ran all the way in for the last. I remember you ran on the court.
It was just, it was a whole lot. And I say this one from the competitive standpoint. I don't like Boston at all. And so I've been losing to them a lot.
And that's part of the reason you have this, this like is, and good fun is that you're losing to them. So when we played them early in the season and to see the fight that we showed and to see Ant take his game to another level in that overtime. And to hit those, that flurry of shots in the OT, I think it was eight straight points. And the last one had the building going.
Bananas, our director, Dave Dibman had this, you know, great shot, caught away, he's other fans and Jordan Dylo's in his mind. That was, that was special to me, not just because Tim will be Boston, but I just felt like it was foreshadowing if you will. We all knew that Ant was special. We all knew that he takes his game to another level in the postseason.
But there was just something about battling for that loose ball with Jason Tatum, getting a little bit chippy, winning the jump ball. We had Mike Conley through and then Ant going off. It just really for me just set the stage for what we were getting ready to see the rest of the season, which ended up being another all-star year and an all-in-b-a year. And really cementing himself as one of the bright superstars in the NBA.
So that Boston game for me as far as favorites stands out the most. No, Jim? I mean, there were a lot of, you know, I'm just looking at the game log here. And, you know, the beginning of the season, losing to Toronto, and then beating Miami at home and then losing to Atlanta, and just a real head scratcher.
And so now all of a sudden you're one and two, and you're coming back home to play Denver, Utah, Boston, New Orleans, all at home, and all of those teams. I mean, it could have been a pretty tragic start of the season. And, you know, coming back and beating Miami was a pretty big deal. And we played really well in that game, held them to 90 points.
Then losing to Atlanta, like being a big, like losing was just crushing. We left Atlanta not knowing what was gonna happen, Michael, right? It was not good. It was not good.
It was not good. That felt like, in the moment, it felt like, well, this is the same team from a year ago. Yeah, it's soft at the end of games. No chemistry, no flow, right?
And then you come back home and you dismantle Denver. I mean, we beat them 110.89. And it was a complete dismantling of a fully constituted Denver team that was coming off a world championship. And it just felt super meaningful, you know, then crushing Utah.
But then like when Michael was talking about a beating Boston in Utah, and then you, I mean, I just felt like, man, this team could be really good. I felt they were gonna be good. That's why those first two losses were so, you know, they're head scratching, because there's no way you should lose to Toronto. And like, that's one of those places.
And I've had to fill Michael in on a few of the places on the road where we haven't won for decades. And Toronto was one of them for some reason. I mean, like, it's Toronto and Boston are the two teams that we just cannot beat. So for me, it was like, it was that stretch to start the season.
And then it was the six game road trip. And, you know, starting with Michael's call on the block with And and then, like I tell you said, something, Kyle, like what's gonna stick with me for the rest of my life? That's six game road trip, well, because of the block and the dunk. And, you know, the win against the Clippers, two down 22 coming back to beat the Clippers in LA.
We didn't do that game because it was on TNT. But, I mean, I was driving between Palm Springs and Salt Lake City with my wife and my brother-in-law. And I was like, I'll always remember that game because we were watching it on my phone and driving up to Utah. So anyway, that's so that road trip, I'll always remember.
Those were two big inflection points too, because they go one and two right after the loss of the Hawks. They were outscored by 34 in the second half. And Phil, it's crazy to think that was this past season. I mean, that seemed like a decade ago, but it was a lot of fire Finch.
And then they went on to a 19 of their next 22 games. And then that Indiana one, that was game one, if I'm correct after Carl's news about his injury. So you're like, oh my God, here we go. And then for them to tough it out and to have that block and to win.
And then that road trip was, I think it went four and two on the road trip really. Cleveland was the Rudy Go-bear. Yeah, that one. Go with that.
We should have won that game too. We should have won that game. And then it was the Laker loss. And then you're down 22 against the Clippers and it's not looking good.
And you don't have Carl at any towns, but then beating the Clippers. And then winning those two games in Utah weren't, because we didn't have, there were a lot of injuries in those two games, Michael, right? So Utah games? I mean, we didn't have a full strength team then either.
So I mean, those two Utah games were way more important than they should have been at the time. So those calls, by the way, Grady, were so good. And you've heard this from many people, but the block was awesome in the moment, because it was game clinching. And you see a dude hit his head on the backboard.
I feel for you, and you did it so well, but when he had the dunk, you wanted to go, like you wanted to go shirtless on the call, but you're also like, ants holding his hand, and you're like, is he okay? So to be able to be like, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen, but also I hope the kid didn't break his hand. That would have been tough, but those are fun calls. Kimberly Lipsfield tweeted out basically every good moment of the season on video.
So it's a good kind of go back through memory lane, but a lot of great calls and a lot of great moments. And again, you guys were at the forefront of all of them. So thanks for all you kid this season. Can we, since you brought up Anthony Edwards at the end, I don't know if you guys saw this, but I'd love to go down just looking at Anthony Edwards side street for a second.
So Nick Wright from Fox Sports One put out a tweet last week. And he credited the What's Right show graphics department for coming up with this great graphic for social media. Anthony Edwards is the sixth player ever to average 25 points a game, all NBA first or second team, and reach a conference finals, all in the same season before turning 23 years old. Here's the list.
So again, it's 25 points a game, all NBA first or second team, and led your team to a conference finals before your 23rd birthday. Kobe, so Kobe and O1, LeBron James in 2007, Kevin Durant in 2011, Anthony Edwards this year, and then 2011 pre-N injury Derek Rose, and 2005 pre-N injury Amari Stautomar are the only six players to check those three boxes. I guess my question to you guys, we'll start with Grady again here is, do you think what's gonna sharpen him more, sitting on this loss and watching Luca Donchich basically just out superman him? Or is it just the natural progression of getting to be 23, 24, going through the Olympic experience this summer?
Like what do you think is gonna get him to take another leap? What's your sort of pie chart of factors? I think it's a combination. I think it's really all of the above.
There is a natural progression. He's built different as we've said before because he has this competitive hunger and fire inside of him that just not every other player has. There's a lot of players out there who have talent, but that burning desire to succeed and then the willingness to put in the work to succeed. I mean, just this season alone, to see what Anthony Edwards looked like at the beginning of the season to how the year ended up and his willingness to want to read the floor and the coaching staff and kind of helping him with that in terms of making the right read and making the right play.
We saw progression in that over the course of the regular season, which was really special. So the loss itself in the conference finals is something that's going to bother him. The understanding, I had this conversation with our Steve Senior and Jason Kidd, who was saying, you know, you kind of have to go through this. You have to go this far to understand what your body needs to feel like and look like in order to go further.
And if it looked like these guys hit a wall, well, for a lot of them, they didn't even acknowledge what they did. And now there's a better understanding if they get, you know, once they get in this position, again, in terms of, okay, this is what this is what this needs to feel like. This is what Tyree's been there before. Look at Doncic, who's been to Western Conference finals before.
So they already kind of had that understanding where a lot of the Timberwolves players were experiencing that for the first time, including Anthony Edwards. So from just a conditioning physicality standpoint, we'll see a different Anthony Edwards come next post season. And I really do feel like this experience with Team USA is going to be, could be a difference maker as well. And, you know, last season, he's around Jalen Brunston, Brandon Ingram, guys like, you know, Michael Bridges, talented guys.
But he's gonna go into this training camp and go into Paris with Steph Curry, LeBron James, his idol Kevin Durant, Joellen Bead, Jason Tatum. We're talking about all time greats that he's going to be around in the workout room on the practice court day in and day out. And you really have to believe that he's gonna take, if he took some from last summer, because I do think that that Olympic experience, excuse me, that the World Cup experience wasn't talked about enough in terms of how it impacted him and got him up to a great start, beginning with training camp. I think it's gonna make a big difference for him this upcoming season being around all those greats.
So I think you take all those things in consideration, natural maturation as a player, the loss, the hunger to want to be great. And then the experience with the Olympics, I think he's gonna take his game to another level for sure. Yeah, I mean, I think that playing through the country, everybody that talks about that's done it, you know, and I, you know, obviously I've been around some of the players. I know Kevin Garnett was different when he came back after winning the gold medal.
And then being around Cheryl Reeve and all the links players that I know that have, you know, gone and played for the country and they say how meaningful it is for them. And, you know, the NBA players are a little bit different. I mean, and also the WNBA players too, that played for team, you guys say they're a little bit different because they get kind of sequestered away in sort of different sort of housing situations. I know at least the last few Olympics they have, but you know, one year, I think when they were down in Brazil, they got to stay on like a ocean liner or whatever.
They stayed on, you know, but they got to stay like these super swanky, you know, sort of instead of like Olympic village or whatever. So they do get a little bit of a different treatment. But the other thing too is that I think that Chris Finch is also the right coach for Ant. And I think because like so many times do we hear that, players that play deep into the playoffs and they have to go into the Olympics, they have to do that grind.
There's a built-in excuse for them the next season coming in that they're going to be exhausted, started to seize. Like I just don't think Ant's going to let himself go there. I don't think Chris Finch is going to feed into that either. Because I think people are going to bring that up and it'll be interesting to see how fast that can shut down next season.
Yeah. We want to respect your time and send you off on your summer vacation. I was going to ask for like who you're cheering for in the finals, but I'm pretty sure I know Grady who he's not. So anybody but Boston, it's yeah, we're good there.
But this is a lifestyle podcast. And again, you have been a big part of mine and Phil's and the fans lifestyle. So just summer plans. What's on the docket for the summer?
I know Grady, you're calling some Liberty games, but just what are you looking forward to for your summer and this offseason? Stemping passports. Get over me and get some R&R for sure. And then I love the fact that I'll be able to do some W as a just a special place in my heart.
Just like I know it does with Jim. And some of the conversations this week on National television have been driving me crazy. But I just have so much love for the W and so I'm excited to be able to call games. And also to be able to always feel like Jim mentioned the five months.
And then you come back from the five months and then you kind of have to knock the rust off a little bit as you get back in the rhythm of things. So I love the fact that I can kind of break up if I'm a little bit sneak in some games. So come preseason, I won't be as rusty. So we love the game.
And so it won't be so much that'll be overwhelming, but it'll be just enough to get my feet wet to try to stay sharp. So I'm looking forward to on one hand, I want it to be a quick five months or another hand. It's like, you know what? I want to enjoy it so I can be as sharp as possible when I get going again.
Great to bring up the conversations that have been taking place this week about the WNBA and then a siren going off in the background was perfect. It's a hey-up. It's Wednesday, man. It's Wednesday at one o'clock.
It's when the, you know, emergency. From the hot takes, I already start going off. Oh, that's what it is. Jim, what do you got going on this summer?
You know what? I'm really committed to working on my health and flexibility. And it's something that's interesting when you get older, what happens to your body. Because you know, when you play in the NBA, you think you're never going to, you know, some of that stuff doesn't apply to you, you know, in terms of getting older, but it does.
Let me tell you, it comes into play. So my wife and I, man, we've been like doing good. We've been working out every day. I told Phil, when we first jumped on here, like what you've been doing, I said, I've been working out every day, man.
I've been getting after it, getting our walk in. But mainly working out flexibility training. Because you know, when you lose mobility, like if you lose your mobility, you lose your athleticism. And when you lose your athleticism, you know, it just life is just different.
So when you want to be active like I do, it's really, I think there's all these different ways. And we're using the Peloton app right now, which is so cool. It's not just a bike. It's great.
All the workouts that you can do. So it's like a lifestyle, you know, this is a lifestyle podcast. Give us your, give us your top three power rankings. Who do you ride with?
Who are you? No, I don't really do the names. I don't really have all the names. I don't really know one instructor on Peloton by name, really.
And that's Ali Love because she was the going to read a host and influences no longer doing that. And my wife just adored riding with Ali Love because she gets shout outs, you know, all that. So I'm going to shout out. Alex, Alex, too.
So I will ruin your day if you love me. He's bad. If you threw the names at me, I probably get them. But anyway, it's just, it's just fun.
And then I'm just going to try to lower my handicap again, man. I'm going to try to, you know, so it Kyle, I'm really disappointed. I had golfers elbow when Kyle was here. We didn't get out to my country club.
But Kyle, we're going to do it, man. You got to come back to Minnesota this summer. Will you come back? I will fly back just to golf.
Like afternoon. So yeah, no, get that elbow fixed and I'll be back. All right, man. It's been a lot of fun, Phil and Kyle.
Thanks for having us on, too. Yeah. Thank you. Grady doesn't just jump on with anybody.
That's for sure. That's why. And you're the one I don't either. I would not do this with a lot of people.
And you guys have created quite the brand and Phil. You've been friends for a long time. And so, you know, we're happy to be here with you guys and happy to be chatting with everybody that's in this Terrells community, too. Yeah, I think just like Wolves fans, they obviously love hearing you guys call the games.
I think they love hearing you in this format, too, and just expressing your opinions with T-shirts on and kicking around with two idiots like me and Kyle. And by the way, in a different lifetime, it's funny, I was searching through, so Scornorff turned five years old. We built it, sort of, we sun-setted 1,500 ESPN and knew that we had to move into finding younger audiences and building something for the future. And I was, this is like back five and a half years ago.
And I was making lists with some help from other people in the industry of who should we hire to build something digital, podcast, YouTube, whatever it may be. And even like hosts who might be outside the market that could come in here. And I swear to God, last week I opened an email from, it's a person in the business who has been super helpful that a bunch of us know. And Michael Grady's name was on a list in 2018, 2019 for, hey, if you're looking outside Minneapolis market, fast-risers in media to keep an eye on.
And I think you might, maybe you took the Brooklyn job somewhere in 1920. You took that job and before even reaching out to you, we crossed you off the list. But I literally saw that in an email that I was searching for something else last week and I forgot to bring it up to you. But in a different universe, can Kyle fill in Michael Grady's slightly hot takes on podcasts?
I think Grady made the right decision. Everything works out, the way it's supposed to. Here we are together all along, Scornorff. And I think that's amazing.
Hey, you guys, thank you so much for your awesome work, your coverage and just everything you've done for Tim Rool's fans and your work on Playground Wells. We love you guys. Thank you for having me. Thank you, thanks.
I'll see you later, Michael. We'll see you later, brother. We'll send some pictures of dinner to Phil. All right, Jim Pete and Grady, we'll keep it here for just a few minutes to put a bowl on the season here.
Because you went like four days in New Orleans. In fact, you watched the end of the series in New Orleans. In what I would deem was, well, you know what, this is it. I don't really, again, I think after this, I'm going to take some time off.
I always try to do content year by year. I'm not really sure what my plan is for next season yet, but I know I don't want to do this for a couple of weeks. I got it. My house has no furniture and I closed in a month, but I will just get this short and sweet because I've ranted about it before.
But boy, does the Airbnb industry suck just the worst. We I'm currently in litigation with them, I think. What? I walked in Friday to check into an Airbnb down in the south and the pool was as green as the football field in your background.
And then it rained in New Orleans. And then multiple parts of our ceiling were leaking, including onto the bed. So accommodations were low. Everyone in the group was supposed to stay here.
Yeah, all 10 dudes for about. Did you spend out there? We spent one and a half nights there and we did move out and we're trying to get a bunch of money back. But New Orleans 10 out of 10 would recommend Cafe de Mont with the best treats and coffee on planet Earth.
The carousel bar, Bourbon Street was its own. I don't think Phil I've ever stayed up to 5 a.m. Three nights in a row in my life, even when I was at my peak in college, but paying for it now. Yeah, it was fun.
And it was a fun way, you know, it was a sad way last Thursday. I did my final part with Dane, but I just watched that game in my hotel room and it was again, not a good game. They got spanked up and down, but I was able to kind of think about all weekend how much fun it's been doing this with you and doing Dane's show and having great in Jim on. It's all sort of things that bring me back to keep saying that this was the best season in Timbal and Sissory for me because I think when the 0-4 team was doing what they were doing, you didn't have that sense of community as much.
No, you didn't interact with people. Yeah, I guess that it was my space back then, right? So this has been a really, really awesome season for me as a fan and also someone who tries to contribute content and a lot of thanks and appreciation go to you specifically for really turning up the dial on how much score covers Timbal's basketball and you know, why cover it when it was bad, like now they're good and they deserve more coverage and you really feel the void. So on behalf of a lot of fans, I thank you and Judd and everyone and artists, everyone else that's contributed to this show because it's been awesome.
Well you remain the, I call you to your face and to other people, like the Pied Piper of Timbal's fans. I mean, you are the smartest, most plugged in fan slash media member and you walk that line so perfectly on this podcast and Danes and when you decide to rifel off tweets, not during, but after game. It's been awesome, man. I mean, this podcast, Flagen Howls is less than two years old and to see wolves fans just flock to it during the playoff run and inexplicably push it and Dane's podcast into the top 10 among all basketball podcasts in the country.
It's just man, like at one point in the playoffs in the top 15 basketball podcasts in the country on Apple, not even counting like YouTube and Spotify. I think that's seven. I mean, that's crazy. It's seven, but like Dane is constantly up right there and Kevin Garnett representing.
And then I think lockdown wolves was also like, there's like four three wolves podcasts and then a legendary former wolves player. So I guess, I guess my point here is it is the state of hockey, my name, but this is a white hot basketball market and people have just been starved for a product to get behind. And when you give them a 50 win basketball team and an energizing enigmatic in a good way, superstar and Anthony Edwards to get behind people support, man, like people show up and you can take the stupid tarps off the upper deck and and you can throw block parties. So I mean what I said with Jim Pete and Michael Grady, like I do feel like as much of a buzz kill as the very end of the season was.
I do feel like this is the beginning of something long term and awesome. I don't think Anthony Edwards has eyes for other cities at this point. It's like, I don't think you have to worry about that for a long time. So I'm just, I'm excited for what this season represents going forward here.
I feel like we've entered a really fun long term era of Timmer Wolves basketball. And it's not going to get less interesting, right? Like I know Grady mentioned the Tim thing that was the news yesterday that Tim Conley essentially, they reworked the deal. So he'll be the president of basketball operations for the wolves this next season.
Kind of kicked that opt out down the road for a year. That opt out has always been described to me as kind of like a Glenn Taylor opt out. So what he probably wants to do now is just wait and see how this ownership thing settles. From my understanding, I think maybe arbitration like in September.
So I don't think it's going to be quick. But again, that's probably why Tim is like, you know what, let me just push it back a year. I got things to do. I got drafts and free agents and all this stuff to figure out.
So it's going to be a very interesting off season. It could be very exciting. There could be big moves. It could be little moves.
But yeah, I mean, Dana always talks about how it was kind of you watch wolves games in the past in your basement. And now you look back and the month of May for me, I spent as much time at breweries doing live shows as I did in my apartment out here in Portland. So I think it's OK to be a wolves fan. I think it's fun to be a Timberwolf fan.
And all the stuff you talked about with all those different pods being in the rankings. I think to me and how my brain works, it says way more about the people that listen to it and support those shows and actual shows themselves and get Timberwolves fans are, I will go to my grave saying it's like the best. When I always see I was certain people or a take or a belief. But when I think back to that Carl article that I think has since been removed online or ever.
But you come at us. I can't take it. I don't know. There's been that is I haven't gone on Twitter in a while.
But it's a weird article, man. Weird article. But you know, it was in the moment, I think back to our eight mile thing again, is like, we might all have different opinions of how much Luke and Garza should play or not play. But when you come at one of us, we all band together.
And that's what makes Wolves Twitter and in this fan base in this community so great. So it really has meant a lot to me. And I've showed my raw emotions and my real emotions all season. But it's been a great season.
I think it's a well deserved couple of weeks off here. Like Jim said, you're used to your kind of wolvesy calendar being done around mid April. And then you just kind of punt on them for six weeks. Maybe check out the role.
I think Pong Night is a good fun. Usually. That's a good night to kind of bring the crew back together. But now it's different.
You know, that's kind of been my saying about the team of years. This team is different. And now it's June 5th and a couple weeks. And it's the draft and it's fragency in that summer league.
And then it's extended team USA camp with Ant. And it's just going to take you right up until the season again next year. So enjoy a week or two off. But the Wolves content, I'm sure, will continue to flow at a rapid speed this summer.
But it's important to me and like I would say, to be with your feed art. So take a moment and thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank the fans for all the support and supporting the sponsors. Without all of that, I don't know what I'm doing. So speaking of just a shout out to our friends at EcoFon real quick here, your summertime fun headquarters. In fact, on the YouTube channel, you see a warehouse full of fun things to ride.
Scooters, motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-side golf carts. We've been threatening to get Judd in like a golf cart with spinner rims on it or something. Kind of fun. I want to buy a golf cart from my new house.
I mean, golf carts are, you know, my dad used to live in a retirement community and surprise their his own. Like, everyone had little golf carts. I was like, yeah, why don't you? He's like, I like to walk.
Like, yeah, but they have these sweet, tricked out golf carts. All sorts of fun stuff at EcoFon Motorsports. And for your summertime fun on the water, you can visit the Forest Lake location, which has 2024 Kawasaki and Yamaha Watercraft. It's at ecofunmotorsports.com, Forest Lake and Burnsville EcoFon Motorsports.com.
All right, man. Well, you're going to literally go get your house in order for the next couple of weeks. Yeah. The two rules are going to get their figurative house in order.
And there's a bunch of big conversations to be had, like later on this month, as we look toward, because free agencies in like a month. And the rules have to make some luxury tax line decisions. There is a Carl Anthony Townes discussion to be had. I mean, even he sort of felt that at his post-season press conference where he was saying, I hope I'm back.
I want to be part of this. But at the very least, if you did very little and just sort of ran it back, it's mostly intact. It's probably still a 51 team. There's a bunch of teams in the Western Conference.
Denver is not going to go away quietly with a 28-year-old three-time MVP, you know, Dallas, Phoenix. They got to figure out what they're doing here too, the Lakers with maybe J.J. Redick and the Brown James coming back. So, I mean, there's so many fun discussions Kyle to be had just looking ahead once the finals are officially wrapped.
And that's why, again, we've kind of just parsed over it multiple times now. And it did kind of just flow through the timeline last night in and out. But that Tim Conley news is might be the biggest news of the whole off season trades, no trades, whatever, because the ownership thing is not settled. And I think Tim probably prefers to work for one set of owners and not the other.
And his willingness, you know, he's getting paid really well. I'm sure he got a nice bump. But to just get that out of the way now, because if there's a trickle down effect to not just Tim Conley, it's all, you know, athletic reporter yesterday that I think Matt Lloyd, who is an integral part of what they do in that front office, kind of turned down more money to do a role in the Hornets earlier this spring. So, you know, if you have chaos at the top of your organization, then it kind of trickles down.
And I think Tim saying I'm here, I'm not, you know, I'm not looking anywhere else. That'll be a big step into, like you said, trades, transactions, signings, whatever they have to do. You know, I was down, Dane, a pity, like bad teams now, which sounds so champagne problems, but like, you know, two years ago, and you're all on the high horse looking down at the, the Hornets of the NBA. I had some, I had a Benier and all of a sudden I'm just like classy and sophisticated.
I, because you know, if you're a Hornets fan, you get excited for the draft and a lot of of stuff, but you don't really know what you have. You don't know what you have. You don't know what you have. You don't know what you don't have because you really don't learn those things until you make a run.
I mean, Grady said Jason Kidd told him you got to go through losses and you know, Western Conference finals runs before you can kind of break that bubble into the, into the finals. So the Wolves have done that. So they still have a list of questions, but the questions are more specific. Yeah.
And I think equally as important, but probably easier to also answer than rebuilding teams that, you know, the Wolves have done that for two decades. You just don't know what you have. The Wolves know what they have now, at least in a core group of their guys. And now it's on Tim Conley who's here and his staff to figure out how do they either run it back with some different sprinkles or, you know, really redo one of the rooms in the house to make it more valuable.
It's going to be a fun, fun summer. My file thought here just on the Conley ownership stuff, I'm glad and I'm sure he got some sort of, I don't know if he got the $15 million bump chance. No, but I'm sure he got a bump. So even like contractually agree to move the opt out to next year, you probably get a bump.
So he goes from like four million with the nuggets less than two years ago, yeah, to eight million that's who probably something over 10 to maybe headed his way toward like 15 next year. But my final thought on this podcast is Glen Taylor, please step aside. I know what door number one looks like. I know what 30 years of Glen Taylor looks like.
And when flip Saunders or Tim Conley don't have their hand on the wheel, this franchise is an embarrassing train wreck. And Glen Taylor has been one of the worst four major sports leagues owners in the last 30 to 35 years of NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB. And I know that there's always risk in door number two, Mark and Alex, they're coming in, they're outsiders. Do they have the money for this for that?
I don't care what those risks are. I know what door number one is and I'm sick of it. I'm done with it and I'm willing to take on whatever risk as a podcast host as a fan. Like I don't really have to take on much at all, but like I'm just ready for the Glen Taylor area to be over.
It's so ridiculous that before two of the biggest games of the season against the nuggets, we get Glen Taylor, bombshell news coming out that rocks the boat. And then during one of the biggest off seasons, last year, maybe being the last couple of years were big, but like this is maybe the biggest off season because you have to make some big decisions for a team that's ready to take the step into title contention. And we have litigation spilling over into September, overlapping the entire free agent and trade period. So I'm just doing, I'm done.
I want off the ride. I don't know if the market Alex ride is going to be smooth sailing either, but I'm just willing to take a chance on it at this point. So Glen, thank you for not moving the Tim Roles back in 1995, I guess, even though the NBA would love to have teams and all the top 15 markets in the league. So I think we probably got to go on.
I think that one always bugs me, right? Like when I mean, he kept the team here 30 years. Thank you. Thank you.
That's great. I mean, my therapist might be like, actually, that was the worst thing for you in your health, and then it was a benefit. But he did keep the team right. And then you acknowledge that and you add that to the resume or the Wikipedia, but there's just too many things.
This podcast is kind of early timed with new ownership in the Tim Conley era. This podcast, I don't think would have been the seventh best podcast if it was all Glen Taylor because again, things we've now learned that he didn't think Tim Conley would come. He didn't, you know, a big, rude to go bear trades yesterday on the scoop. Doogie, doogie reported literally, and you know, he's getting this very close source, very close to Glenn, if you want to characterize it that way, the Glen Taylor has at best a lukewarm relationship with Tim Conley.
Why? Why do you only have a lukewarm relationship with the architect of this current roster? I mean, you build a better relationship with the guy that has, I mean, it doesn't make it, none of it makes sense to me. So I'm just, I'm ready to get off the right.
I'm going to wait. If he listens to podcast, I'm going to wake up when he does glued to a chicken coop. He's going to knock me off. No, I've heard that too.
Again, that's why I've said that I'm never going to be a reporter, but it's a Glenn Taylor opt out clause in that Tim Conley contracts. So I think Tim probably got a little extra on the top, but then it was a selfless move to be like, Hey, and Tim Conley, once he's gotten here, I know his family loves it. He is just an awesome executive, but you've seen him tutoring his platform. He's behind the scenes in his relationships with everyone in that organization.
He's a guy you want to work for. So if the old establishment doesn't have a very good relationship with him, you know, and I think back to like, whatever, but you know, there's all those rumors about Game Five and Kevin Garnett coming in and stuff and then also, and he's just not there and it makes you wonder like, Glenn thing, I don't know, but just it's time for this organization that has flirted with being more modern and more sophisticated and they're doing little things behind the scenes are doing big things publicly to embrace that because that stuff, no matter what you think, it actually does affect morale. The Minnesota Chimbolds are your favorite basketball team, but they are just an organization, just like the one that you work for that has drama and politics and hierarchy and positions and people wanting more money and people having issues. And Tim Conley is the perfect man to mitigate all of those things and his staff.
So I'm glad that took place yesterday and it's been kind of cleaned up. Ownership will resolve itself probably this summer early fall and then, uh, they've got to kind of tweak the roster and figure out, is this roster able to win another series against the Mavs team with athletic front court and two really good guards or do you need to pivot a little bit? So it's going to be awesome, man. It's going to be a really, really interesting exciting summer and I'm excited to talk about it, but not this way, not next week.
Hey, man, hey, man. Uh, Judd and I will hit you guys with at least one or two episodes here and there over the next couple of weeks, just kind of diving into some of the initial off season blueprint speculation and, um, yeah. Right. The OTAs, let's go.
Like, mandatory mini camp now. Okay. Oh, okay. This is mandatory stuff here.
I'm excited. So yeah, check out Purple Daily and we'll catch you guys down the road here on your favorite Tim Wolf's lifestyle podcast, Flagren House.