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Mychal Thompson, Lakers broadcaster and Klay's dad, joins Willard and Dibs to talk about Yaxel Lendeborg vs. Luka Doncic Pt. 2 tonight and more.
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00:00Let's talk it out with one of our good friends. It's been a minute since we've gotten to catch up
00:05here on the River Islands guest line with my good friend, Michael Thompson, joining us as part of the Laker
00:11broadcast as well. Hey, Mike, what's going on?
00:14Can't wait to a rematch of Yax the Axe versus Luka.
00:18I knew you'd have something for him. Five games in and he's nickname worthy, huh?
00:24That's right. Oh, yeah, man. He should definitely just call him Yax the Axe because he chops people up, man.
00:28He's a tough little guy.
00:30I should have said little guy, tough big guy. I like his game.
00:32What was your take on what went down in L.A. between these two last week, especially since it was
00:39the kid's first ever game?
00:42That's right. How dare he talk back to Luka. Doesn't he know his place? Doesn't he know he has to
00:46be subservient to all these veterans?
00:48No, man. Are you kidding me? I love exactly what Draymond Green said about that interaction.
00:53Draymond loved it and so did I. I mean, the Axe spoke up for himself. He's a grown man.
00:57He's almost, what, 24 years of age, so he might be a rookie, but he's a man.
01:01And he's not going to let anybody, if he feels disrespect to him, he's going to talk back and he's
01:05good enough to back it up.
01:06So I say go for it. Of course, Luka loves to talk trash, but Luka does it with a smile
01:11on his face.
01:13He doesn't really do it in a mean-spirited way. He just likes to talk trash, like you can't guard
01:17me or I got you that time.
01:18But then Yaks don't want to hear that, so he comes back at him. And that's fine. That's basketball.
01:23We've all been on the playground playing with our buddies and talking trash or talking to the opponent teams.
01:28You can't guard me or you too small or you too little and stuff like that. It's all part of
01:31basketball.
01:32So hopefully, when you see all this conversation going on, refs, get out of the way.
01:36As long as nobody's going to throw any punches, that's not going to happen.
01:40So let these guys talk and talk trash to each other.
01:42Believe me, the fans sitting close enough to hear it and see it, they love that kind of interaction.
01:47So that's all part of the entertainment.
01:49Beyond just the trash talk nature of it, I'm not sure how much you've seen of Yaksil Endeborg,
01:54but how impressed are you by his first five games in the league?
01:58Oh, he can play, man. He's the real dealer.
02:00The Warriors have found a new face in the franchise.
02:03When Steph and Draymond and everybody leaves, he's going to be the main guy.
02:07He's going to be an all-star player for the Warriors.
02:09He's got all the talent, all the confidence, obviously.
02:13He's as big as he is. He's out there guarding guards.
02:15That's how agile and athletic he is.
02:17And he can finish at the rim. He can shoot.
02:19He's a complete player.
02:21And the fact that he lasted until the 11th pick,
02:23talk about some horrible scouting by the draft people.
02:28It's amazing.
02:28And we get it, right?
02:30Like, he played a lot in college.
02:32It's almost now held against him that he's 24 years old.
02:37But, look, it was a great draft, Michael.
02:39How many teams do you think in the top 10, though, are going to truly end up regretting it?
02:45The best is going to be good.
02:47Looks like Peterson in Utah is going to be decent.
02:50Cam Booth, he started off well.
02:52Caleb Wilson in Chicago looks good.
02:54Aikos in Sacramento puts up 50 shots a game.
02:57All those guys are going to be good players.
02:59But I'm going to think three or four teams in the top 10 are going to regret passing up on
03:04him, man.
03:05He's the real deal.
03:06Does this maybe change front offices and the way they approach the draft in that, you know,
03:11most teams ahead of the Yaxle pick drafted 19, if not 20-year-olds.
03:15Is it more now wise, I think, for people to look at older players as the way they want to
03:21go in the draft?
03:22Yeah, isn't that stupid?
03:23A guy's 22, 23 years of age, and they hold that against him like he's 33 or 34.
03:29He's 23, 24.
03:30He's not even close to his prime yet.
03:32Just because he's an older guy, a senior, or a 22- or 23-year-old senior,
03:36you're not going to draft him because of that.
03:38You're going to hold that against him and just appreciate the skills and the talent he can bring with you
03:42and the fact that he can help you win now.
03:45He's not a guy who's got to wait two or three years to develop.
03:47But Yaxle looks like he's been a three- or four-year pro already.
03:51So that should be working to his advantage, to his benefit in the draft, as opposed to being a negative.
03:57Michael Thompson with us here.
03:59Laker broadcast there in town for tonight.
04:01The Warriors and Lakers right here on 95.7 The Game.
04:04Willard and Dibs here with you all afternoon long.
04:07Michael, you know this.
04:09Now you watch him every game.
04:10And last week's performance brought a lot of this up in the Bay Area.
04:15If you're not a Laker fan, you find watching Luka Doncic frustrating.
04:20And that's what Yaxle was talking about after the game when he said he lost all respect for him.
04:26What is your take on the way Luka plays, on the way he talks to the refs, etc.?
04:33Smart.
04:34You know, sometimes he talks to the refs too much, but he's cut down on that.
04:37But he does lobby the officials for calls, but he's a smart player, man.
04:40He knows how to draw fouls.
04:41So I watch him play, and I'm thinking, why doesn't everybody play like him?
04:44The way he can con the refs into blowing the whistle.
04:48The way he creates contact and gets himself to the line.
04:51He's just a smart player.
04:53Just knows how to use the rules and manipulate the rules in his favor.
04:56There's nothing wrong.
04:57We all do that.
04:58We all go through life doing that.
04:59Sometimes we look through loopholes in the tax code, so we don't have to pay as much taxes.
05:04So he's just out there doing the same thing, looking for loopholes to his advantage on the NBA floor.
05:08So that's smart of him to do.
05:10Has it gone too far, though, Michael?
05:12You're from the old school.
05:13Back when, if you did that, you probably would wind up underneath the stanchion on the next trip.
05:17Have we gotten to a point where the league needs to find a way to curtail this?
05:22No, because nobody's going to end up under the stanchion.
05:25Nobody's going to throw punches because the fine is too great to get suspended these days.
05:30So nobody's going to fight you like they did 30, 40 years ago when fights would happen.
05:34And there'll just be a tactical foul you play on.
05:36But now if you get into any kind of fisticuffs or physical play, you're going to get suspended.
05:42And depending on what you make as a player, that could cost you millions of dollars if you get a
05:46suspended game.
05:49But they call a lot of tactical fouls on Luke Alashio.
05:51He got suspended a game up to 16.
05:53So they do call tax on him for complaining too much.
05:56But he says he's going to cut back on that this year and be more selective in his complaining.
06:01Hey, Michael, circle back to Yaxo.
06:04With all your experience both as a player and a broadcaster, does he remind you of anybody?
06:11Yeah, he's a combination of Scottie Pippen and Xavier McDaniel, those type of forwards.
06:19You know, just very versatile to play.
06:22Doesn't really have a set position.
06:24Just a basketball player.
06:25That's what he is.
06:26He's forward, guard, center.
06:28He's like another version of Draymond.
06:30You can just, with a little bit more offensive skills, with more offensive skills, you can put him anywhere.
06:35Yaxo is, Lendenborg is just a basketball player.
06:39You know, just put him anywhere on the floor.
06:40He'll be guarding Luka tonight.
06:42He'll be guarding other guys on the front line.
06:45Sometimes Walker, Kessler.
06:46So it doesn't matter where he is.
06:48Just put him out there.
06:48He's just a basketball player.
06:49A lot like LeBron is.
06:51Does he have that upside, you think, Michael, to where he could be the number one top dog on a
06:56team
06:56that's actually a really good team and goes deep in the playoffs?
07:00Oh, yeah.
07:00He's going to be there in a couple of years when Steph retires.
07:02You know, he'll be 27 or 26, 27 the time Steph retires.
07:07If Steph retires in a couple of more years, that'll be Yaxo's franchise.
07:11It'll be his team to take over.
07:13And he could be the face of this franchise.
07:14And you put the right players around him.
07:16And Yaxo's going to average.
07:18He's going to be a 20 and 10 guy.
07:19No question about it.
07:20So you're already convinced, Tom.
07:22Oh, yeah.
07:23I mean, come on.
07:24I can look at a guy – listen, the first few minutes I saw Kobe Bryant,
07:28I said, that's the next one right there.
07:30You can tell.
07:31If you play this game, even you, Willard, you didn't play, but you're smart.
07:35You understand basketball.
07:36You can see Yaxo's going to be a star.
07:38He's going to be an all-star.
07:39You don't think he's going to be an all-star in this league, an all-NBA type player?
07:41I mean, it has that look, but we're five games in.
07:45And what's fascinating to me, Michael, is that usually when somebody, you know,
07:51knocks on the door of the fraternity, and especially when they do it in a rude way,
07:55right, like they just walk in and they're like, this Luka guy, I got no respect for him,
07:59usually there's like this pushback of like, hold on, young fella, let's see it a little bit first.
08:05But all I keep hearing is people that are just completely – A, they love it,
08:09and B, they're completely convinced that this guy's a future all-star.
08:13Yeah, because after the – you know, it's not like he's disappeared.
08:16After the Laker game, he's been putting up numbers.
08:19And after all that publicity came out about him and Luka and the feud,
08:24whether it's negatively or positively, he didn't let that shrink his performances.
08:28He says he's been playing great ever since then with all that attention now focused on him
08:31and all the attention is going to be on him tonight that he knows that.
08:34But he's a confident young man with a lot of talent.
08:37So I love the confidence and the chutzpah that he plays with.
08:40I like your use of chutzpah right there.
08:42It's Michael Thompson here on 95.7 The Game.
08:44How much does his development and his emergence help Steph Curry
08:48and maybe even prolong his ability to be a top dog in this league?
08:52Oh, it definitely helps Steph.
08:54He takes a lot of load and pressure off Steph.
08:56Steph, he had 30-something the other night.
08:57So Steph doesn't have to carry the team every night by himself.
09:00He knows he's got a co-star there, a co-scorer in Yaxo.
09:04And then when Jimmy Butler comes back in the second half of the season,
09:08Jimmy's going to come back and beat Jimmy Butler.
09:10That's going to make the Warriors even better.
09:12Yeah, Michael, what do you think Steph's career should look like for the remaining three seasons?
09:17And what I mean by that is with all we know, his age, the runner's knee,
09:22but also when he's at his best, he's still really good.
09:25Like, what's the right way to manage that the rest of the way?
09:30Well, just manage his minutes, obviously, and make sure he gets his rest between games.
09:35And even 82-game schedule, you know, he's got a great Rick Celebrini and him, Steve.
09:41They've got some smart people around him and know what's best for him.
09:44But just make sure they don't overtax him with minutes going forward.
09:48And Steph, with his shooting ability and the way he takes care of himself, he's always in shape.
09:53He lives a clean life.
09:55Steph can play another three years at a high level in this league as long as he doesn't have to
09:59play high minutes.
10:00Even if he has to take a little step back to let Yaxo and Moses Moody
10:05and some other guys continue to raise their game up, that's going to help prolong his career even more.
10:09We all have Walker Kessler PTSD after the first game where he went 12-for-12 with 10 dunks and
10:15two layups.
10:16Has he been that good, or is it just the Warriors and their lack of a center?
10:21Yeah, Walker's really been good.
10:22Obviously, lack of a center has hurt the Warriors against him.
10:25Draymond, you know, is only 6'5", Walker's 7'2",
10:28and Luka and Austin do a good job setting him up on those lob screens behind the basket
10:33when Luka and Austin draw so much attention to themselves.
10:36That frees up Walker Kessler around the rim for those lob dunks.
10:39And Kessler's got good footwork.
10:40He's quick.
10:41He's an intelligent young man.
10:43He's got a good work ethic.
10:44So he is everything the Lakers have hoped he'd be so far.
10:47And he's going to hopefully have another one of those big kind of games tonight.
10:50He should because the Warriors don't have anybody that can match up with him lengthwise inside.
10:55Michael Thompson with us on Withered and Dibbs.
10:58Hey, Mike, can I read you a text from a listener that just came in?
11:02This is from Ralph in San Rafael.
11:03He says, hey, can we slow down and evaluate Yaxel after the All-Star break?
11:09Everyone wants to be a genius and crown the new king after five games.
11:14What do you say, Michael?
11:16Nah, he can play, man.
11:17I mean, five games in, you've seen the real thing.
11:20Like I say, he is an 18- or 19-year-old guy.
11:22He's a mature young man, won a championship in Michigan.
11:26He has the ability.
11:27You see the skills he has.
11:29He has good high basketball IQ.
11:31He's being well-coached, being around Steve Kerr and his coaching staff.
11:34And, of course, playing with Steph and Draymond, too, Hall of Fame champions like that.
11:38He's in the right place, and he's got great mentors around him to teach him.
11:41Plus, from what I've seen in him, the skills that he possesses on the floor,
11:44put the ball on the floor, can shoot, can get to the basket, can defend.
11:48He's the real deal.
11:49You don't have to wait until 50 games in to see that.
11:52Is being 23 or 24 years old really helpful when it comes to what we all call the rookie wall?
11:58In other words, is he going to be more apt to be able to withstand playing more games
12:03than he's ever played before?
12:04Oh, yeah.
12:05Yeah, he's 23.
12:06His body is a lot more mature than the 18, 19-year-olds who are in the league right now.
12:10So, that'll help him.
12:11And being around guys like a great coaching staff like Steve Kerr and the great pros and Steph and Draymond,
12:18they'll continue to advise him and teach him how to take care of his body
12:23and not stress himself out too much.
12:25So, he's in a great place because he's got great veterans around him who can help him.
12:29Michael, how's Clay doing in Miami?
12:32He's doing okay.
12:33They're struggling right now.
12:33They're 1-4.
12:35His shots have been a little off, but they'll come around.
12:37And I don't have to worry about Clay.
12:39He seems to always start the year off a little slow, but his shot will start falling.
12:43And then Van wasn't playing up to his standards, but he had a great game in Atlanta.
12:47Giannis is playing like he's in the seventh game of the NBA Finals every night,
12:50putting up huge numbers, but it hasn't turned into wins.
12:53But the Heat, well, they'll be okay.
12:56They're not the championship teams in the East up to that level yet,
12:59but by Christmas time, I expect they'll be there up in the echelons in the East.
13:04Hey, what went into his decision when the whole Dallas thing kind of fell the way that it fell?
13:10What was on his mind in terms of where he wanted to go?
13:13Well, once Giannis chose, then once they worked out the deal for Giannis to go to Miami,
13:17he thought playing off of Giannis and Bam, who command so much attention in the paint
13:22and below the three-point line, it would be a good, they needed outside shooters.
13:25That's why they signed him and Tim Hardaway Jr.
13:28They thought that would be a good fit there because of how much attention
13:31that Miami's big men draw to themselves.
13:33Was there ever even a conversation with the Warriors?
13:37I don't know.
13:38I sure wish there were.
13:39I always wish he could have.
13:41My dream always was when he was here for him, Draymond, and staff to retire together.
13:47And it still breaks my heart that he's not a Warrior and not going to do that.
13:50I don't care if he wins the championship in Miami,
13:53I still regret that him and staff and Draymond couldn't retire together.
13:57I mean, and would you say that you're echoing the way he feels about it too?
14:02No, I don't think so.
14:03I mean, Clay loves Draymond and staff and loves his time with the Warriors
14:06and the fans and Steve Kerr and everything.
14:08But, you know, he has accepted that he's moved on
14:10and he's not just hoping to get that beat.
14:12He's hoping to beat Draymond and staff to that fifth ring.
14:15And he thinks he has a good chance to do that in Miami over the next couple of years.
14:18Do you think the Warriors are going to be on a three-game win streak
14:21when you go to bed tonight?
14:24You know, I mean, I'm not going to – the Lakers are playing well.
14:28You've got the rematch with Yaxel and Luka.
14:31The place is going to be electric tonight, all pumped up tonight,
14:33and we're getting ready for the Valkyries tomorrow, right?
14:36The Valkyries play tomorrow.
14:37Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
14:39The Lakers are in town.
14:40The Valkyries are going for the championship tomorrow.
14:42So there's a lot of excitement in the city.
14:45So I expect this to be a very tough competitive game.
14:47If the Warriors win, it wouldn't shock me at all.
14:49Yeah, you know, actually, since you brought that up, I'd love to –
14:52I know that you're locked in on what's going on in the W.
14:56What do you think of the Valkyries' chances tomorrow night?
14:59The Valkyries, they should win it.
15:01I mean, obviously, they didn't compete like I thought they would in game six.
15:05But Chase Center is going to be so electric tomorrow.
15:08I mean, the dream – the only way the dream can win is Angel Reese
15:12has to have one of those – like, if they let Angel get, like, 25 points, 15 rebounds,
15:18then I think the dream could possibly win.
15:22But as long as they don't let Angel Reese dominate them in the paint,
15:25the Valkyries should win.
15:26I love that take.
15:27And I just can't help but notice that Miami's coming to L.A.
15:30not for just one game but two, three days in L.A.
15:34You got any plans for you and Clay and a little homecoming?
15:37Oh, yeah, I hope so, man.
15:38I hope he comes down to the house and visits his mother and me
15:41and his niece and nephew, Roman and Maya.
15:44So he better come down and see us
15:45and at least offer to take us out on his boat.
15:48He's got up, like, three or four days there.
15:49So got to take advantage of that.
15:51Yeah.
15:51I mean, he returns your calls, doesn't he, Mike?
15:54Yeah, yeah, man.
15:55Clay's gotten a lot – he's gotten a lot better as he's gotten older.
15:57I remember when he was a young player, he would just ignore my calls.
16:01I mean, I always wondered.
16:02I always asked other parents, do your kids in their 20s,
16:05they have their phone in their hands all day.
16:07You know they do.
16:08And they see their parents pop up and they don't answer.
16:11But he's been a lot better in the last couple of years.
16:13That's my favorite when kids are like, I didn't see your text.
16:16I'm like, Bullschmidt, you didn't see my – what are you talking about?
16:20Exactly.
16:20That's all you're saying.
16:22They look at their phones all day, you know, and they don't answer.
16:25You know it.
16:27I hope I'm not the only parent who's gone through that.
16:31What are you going to be for Halloween this year?
16:34I am going to be – let's see.
16:37I've got so many choices.
16:39I'm going to be Mark Willard and always be in a good mood.
16:42There you go.
16:43Doesn't it drive you crazy, Michael?
16:45I'm more than five years in working with this guy,
16:47and sometimes I just want to see him mad.
16:50Yeah.
16:50He's always in a good mood every time you see him.
16:52Yeah.
16:53Yeah, it pisses me off, I'll be honest.
16:54I'll work on it.
16:55I'm sorry, guys.
16:56It's great to hear your voice, buddy.
16:59It's always good to talk to you guys too, man.
17:00I love coming up here.
17:02I just miss Clay not being there when they come up here.
17:04Yeah, you know, the fan base does too, man.
17:06I tell you, we have what's called a summit, and actually,
17:11we should have told you this a while ago.
17:13So we get all the hosts from the whole station together for one show
17:17at the beginning of the season, and we're doing it next week.
17:19And one of the things we're giving away is this huge, oversized poster board
17:25that just hundreds upon hundreds of Warriors fans signed for Clay
17:31back when his first game back at Chase Center as a Maverick.
17:36Everybody was kind of welcoming him back and giving him all kinds of well wishes,
17:40and I think the thought process at the time was to give it to Clay,
17:43but no one over here has ever figured out how to get it to him.
17:47So now we're giving it away to a listener, Michael.
17:51Oh, man.
17:51What are you going to give it to him when he come up here
17:53and have the heat ship it back to Miami for him or to L.A. for him to his house?
17:56I mean, at minimum, I'm going to take a picture of it,
17:58and I'm going to send it to you so you can at least show it to him.
18:01All right.
18:02Yeah, I'll definitely do that.
18:02He'd love to see that.
18:03Okay.
18:04Okay, Michael, be good, brother, and have a great call tonight.
18:08Okay, guys.
18:09Talk to you later.
18:09Okay.
18:10That was Michael Thompson.
18:11Love it.
18:12Always good to talk to him.
18:13He's the best.
18:13Yep.