Off Season - July 11, 2023

Intro:
Are you ready? Let's go. From AMI Central. Now start playing in The Neutral Zone. Here's the pitch on the way. 36 yards for the win. This ... Here comes a big chance. The shot ... Is this the tiger? The Neutral Zone. Score. Scored. Home run. Scored. This is as good as it gets. Now here's your host, two-time Paralympian, Brock Richardson.

Cam Jenkins:
Hello and welcome to another edition of The Neutral Zone. I am your host this week, Cam Jenkins, and I'm filling in for Brock as he is away on his honeymoon. So we wish Brock a happy honeymoon and he'll be back on August the first. And coming up on today's program, we release another interview from the Canadian Paralympic Committee Summit, and today we're featuring sitting volleyball athlete Heidi Peters and swimming athlete Danielle Dorris. And of course, as always, we talked a little about mainstream sports. I'm joined by Joshua Watson and Clara Buchanan. So let's get into this week's headlines.

Intro:
Neutral Zone headlines. Headlines.

Joshua Watson:
As this week is the MLB All-Star game, we send out a big congratulations to the four Toronto Blue Jays that will be represented, pitcher Kevin Gausman, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr, shortstop Bo Bichette and second baseman, Whit Merrifield. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will also participate in the Home Run Derby.

Cam Jenkins:
For the first time ever, there will be a World Youth Games in Boccia. And Boccia Canada will be sending athletes for the first-ever Youth World Championship in Povoa, Portugal from July 8th to the 13th. The athletes that will be represented by Canada are Carter Plumb from Brampton, Ontario; Olivier Roy from Montreal; and Nico Iemma from Oshawa, Ontario.

Claire Buchanan:
Katherine Henderson has been hired as President and Chief Executive Officer of Hockey Canada. Henderson received an International Olympic Committee diploma last year for her achievements to attain gender equity in sport when she was with Curling Canada. Henderson also received an international ... Sorry. CBC reports that Henderson helped deliver an international symposium to the curling community to advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This is huge going into Hockey Canada to help shift the sport in the right direction for equality in sport.

Cam Jenkins:
And those are your headlines for this week. For today's chat topic, we'll be discussing the All-Star game in Major League Baseball and the Home Run Derby. This is the second time that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been a part of the Home Run Derby. Now ladies and gentlemen, do you like the idea of the Home Run Derby and do you think that it does damage people's mechanics as it relates to their swing? Let's start off with Claire.

Claire Buchanan:
I have the same opinion about the All-Star break with baseball and any sport is that I don't like it. I think it's there put in place as another money-making opportunity and I don't think it benefits the players in a positive way. I think that in baseball specifically, I think it does impact the mechanics that they're going through. And especially superstars like Vladi, they are always perfecting their swing and right now they're trying to get in a hot streak coming out of the All-Star break. And I don't think something like the Home Run Derby adds to that in a positive way.

Joshua Watson:
I can understand your point Claire, but I got to disagree. The All-Star games in any sport are for the fans. And we want to drive as many fans to the games as possible. You're right, it is a moneymaking venture. Unfortunately, everything about professional sport is.
In terms of does it mess with a player's mechanics? I think it depends on the player. There are some players who have to alter their swings in order to be a productive Home Run Derby hitter, but those are the kind of players that really shouldn't be in the Derby in the first place in my opinion. I think a player like Vladi who has been struggling might actually benefit from this because he gets to get in the box and just have fun. He doesn't have to worry about, do I have to move this guy over? Do I have to hit the ball here, hit the ball there? He just has to see the ball and hit the ball. So I think it's going to be good for him.

Cam Jenkins:
Yeah, I think that when you're getting paid to be a baseball player and you're that good at hitting, it should not affect you moving forward. You know you're there to just hit home runs and that's what you're concentrating on. Just like in practice they would concentrate on maybe doing bunts or maybe hitting it to left field or hitting it to right field. And I'm sure maybe they practiced their home run swing too. So I don't see how this is any different and how it would totally disrupt when they get out of the All-Star game to be able to ... Yeah, how it's going to mess up their swing, personally I don't see how that would happen.

Claire Buchanan:
Well, at the same time, yes, at the Home Run Derby they're not facing a variety of different pitches either. Everyone's getting the same pitch all day long. And yeah, Josh, that's a good point, it's a time you can just quote-unquote turn your brain off and just swing the bat and go back to the feeling of just loving the game and being at the plate. Yeah, I am a fan of it. I have watched it in the past. And it'd be cool to see if Vladi can make history this year and go in the books with his dad. So it's going to be an exciting one I think for sure.

Joshua Watson:
I think it'll definitely be cool to watch. I watch it every year. To be honest I watch the Home Run Derby more than I watch the actual All-Star game itself, that's a whole other topic that we could discuss here. But yeah, for me it's all about the fans, it's the ooh and the ah when those bombs start dropping into the outfield seats. And it's fun for the young kids, the young ball players who get to shag the fly balls that don't get over the fences. I don't know. I have seen players who do get affected by being in a Home Run Derby, but again, I'm not sure those players should have been there in the first place. So we'll see what happens. I'm looking forward to it tonight after I get a workout in. And we'll just see whether Pete Alonso can repeat or whether it's going to be somebody else this year

Cam Jenkins:
Yeah. And I just really enjoy them trying to get the home runs. And when they get a hold of one then it's great to see. And speaking of getting a hold of one, if you want to get a hold of us on social media, here's how you can do that.

Intro:
And welcome back to The Neutral Zone AMI broadcast booth. Play ball. And we are set to get this ballgame underway. The first pitch brought to you by Brock Richardson's Twitter account @neutralzonebr. First pitch strike. And hey gang, why not strike up a Twitter chat with Claire Buchanan from The Neutral Zone, find her at neutralzonecb. And there's a swing and a chopper out to second base. Right at Claire, she picks up the ball, throws it over to first base for a routine out. And fans, there is nothing routine about connecting with Cam and Josh from The Neutral Zone @neutralzonecamj and @jwatson200. Now that's a winning combination. And this organ interlude is brought to you by AMI Audio on Twitter, get in touch with The Neutral Zone, type in @amiaudio.

Cam Jenkins:
Today we are going to release another Canadian Paralympic Summit interview. We hear from sitting volleyball athlete Heidi Peters and of course, our own Brock Richardson did the interview.

Brock Richardson:
Let's start with the fact that you have been recently elected to the World Para Volley Athletes Commission. First can you tell us about that.

Heidi Peters:
Kind of, I'm not exactly sure exactly when it started, but it's an extension of the World Para Volley Board and they wanted to have some athlete representation on the board. So the Athletes Commission is five athletes, one from every zone of the world, so North and South America being one, Europe being one, Asia Oceania being one, and Africa being one. So there's an elected representative from each zone. And then there's a fifth representative that's a global rep, which is the position that I got. So there's an election for that. So for my spot being elected, all the athletes in over the world voted for me. There were I think six candidates. And I won that election, which was exciting.
So yeah, me and five other athletes meet throughout the year to just discuss the athlete perspective on our schedule, on our events, on the setup of events, things relative to the athlete experience. And then the president and the vice president, I'm neither of those, but more experienced members are the president and vice and they sit on the World Para Valley board and they vote.

Brock Richardson:
And how did you decide, "Listen, I want to get involved in this, I want to throw my name in the ring, I want to be voted for." How did that come to be?

Heidi Peters:
We just got a general email first of all making us aware of it and that there were spots opening up. So Jose Rebelo is a Canadian sitting volleyball men's athlete and he was on the board and I believe was the president for the previous term or two. So I know him as we're both Canadian. And I just heard about it through him and I knew that he was retiring and why one of the spots was opening up. So that's how I initially got interested in it.
I'm also taking ... political science is one of my double majors in university right now, so hopefully in my life will do my master's in policy studies. So I'm kind of entering the political realm and I think there's a lot of opportunity relative to sport and politics. And I'm really interested in how things get done and I think being in the places where decisions are made is important for change.

Brock Richardson:
Of course. And for you, is it a two-year term, a four-year term, can you tell us a little bit about that?

Heidi Peters:
Yeah, that's a great question. And I should know the answer off the top of my head. I believe it is a four-year term relative to or aligned with the quads of the Paralympics.

Brock Richardson:
Okay. And what are the issues at hand that you foresee, "Listen, we have to tackle X to get this done on behalf of the athletes"?

Heidi Peters:
It's not an issue that I brought forth, but the North-South America, the Pan-American representative is, her name is Nicky Nieves, I believe I said that correctly. She's a female sitting volleyball player from the United States. She is the president of the Athletes Commission and she brought forth the idea of having more of a season of our schedule. So we compete all year, our competition schedule is probably primarily April through September, which is a large chunk of the year. And it's really overwhelming to try to train at a full-time level and have a job and have a life and for those that are married and have kids and have a lot of other things and school to consider. So having more of a six-month window where tournaments are scheduled, that would really just help us plan our lives and I think create a better culture for the sport and make it more manageable.
It's a bit of an issue as para-sport looks different in every country. For example, in Iran and in Brazil and some places in Europe they have club teams. So sitting volleyball and lots of para-sports, they play all year round. Sitting volleyball is literally their job, that's what they do all the time. So it's not an issue for them to travel or to have a national team competition schedule all year.
But for myself, I'm a student and I work and I also train, so it would be more helpful for my schedule if there was a specific set of months where I knew that, oh, these are the only months that I'd be competing in. So that's an issue from some athlete perspective that's come about.
Other than that, it's just really input on uniforms. And there used to be quite stringent rules on what we could wear, but I think a main element of para-sport is ultimately what we're comfortable in. So, having more leniency in if we want to wear shorts or we want to wear tights underneath our shorts, how far away certain things are from the core, where events are held, how far away washrooms are, time allotments for warmups, different things that are important consideration for para-sport.

Brock Richardson:
I think it's easy for people on the outside who can say, "Well, this is what I think." Until you live in this situation and you're living, you're breathing, you're doing, it's hard. And I think we often say we preach athletes first, athletes first, but you need to recognize, listen, if you don't have the athletes on support, they're not going to perform for you as your country. And to speak about the year-round and doing this, everybody says, "Oh, it's so cool to be an athlete and it's like you get paid, you're blessed to be carded." And some people aren't carded and it's like, "Yeah, but I still have to pay the bills. I still have to do this and I have to do that." It's very hard for those that aren't involved, even if they're involved from an outside perspective, unless you're living and breathing it, it's very, very difficult to handle.
I understand that you started sitting volleyball in high school, or not sitting volleyball, let me do that again. I understand you started volleyball in high school. What did you translate and learn from that that you carried over to sitting volleyball?

Heidi Peters:
I think there's comfortability with the basic touches of the game having played volleyball, it's a very technical sport. So learning how to pass, learning how to set, learning how to tack, those are all very technical skills. So those skills automatically transferred into the game. Sitting volleyball, being on a smaller court, a lower net, the game is automatically a lot faster than it is in indoor. So the speed was definitely tricky to get used to and a bit overwhelming. And in sitting volleyball there's a lot more contacts with our hands. We set a lot more balls than use our platform because when you're standing, your ability to for and pass a ball is different than versus sitting on the ground and having that limitation in a range of motion. So there are a few differences in preference of skill, but the general concept of the game was obviously transferred over, like the positioning, the general strategy.

Brock Richardson:
What was the hardest thing, you spoke about the easiest transition, what was the hardest thing where you're like, "Oh my goodness, this is going to take me a while to learn and master quite frankly"?

Heidi Peters:
First of all, yeah, I'd say the speed, it was definitely hard, it's such a fast game. So the speed and the defence, the ball is just coming so fast and so close to you. That's overwhelming. Defense is definitely an area for growth.

Brock Richardson:
Now, one of the rules in sitting volleyball that I have seen, and I think to myself that's got to be hard, there's one rule where you have to keep one buttock on the ground at all times. Can you talk about how difficult that really is or is it that difficult?

Heidi Peters:
It is difficult. It's really difficult for people to even imagine sitting volleyball. People think we play in wheelchairs or we play on sliders or something on the ground. But we're literally just sitting on the ground, no prosthetic legs, just sliding around with whatever body parts you have. So automatically if you're sliding forwards, your butt's going to come off the ground. If you have two legs and they're sideways and you're blocking at the net, it's really easy to rock up on your knees and have your butt come off the ground. So it's really ... if you're going to block, just the rocking forward, it's easy to come up off your butt. So it actually is a little bit, especially at the net, I think more difficult than you would think to stay on your butt.
It's a little more lenient in the back row, like if you're digging a ball and you pop up, they're not going to call that. It's more specific to the front row, not cheating on your height. But yeah, you can't just ... you used to be able to and they took it away, you couldn't get up and crawl or hop and go get a ball if it was dug so high and then sit back down and play. You have to, in all your movement of playing, stay on the ground.

Brock Richardson:
Now, let's pretend that there's no official listening to this interview, let's just put that aside. Are there tricks to the trade where you can get an advantage, and I'm not putting you on the spot to say this is what I do, but are there tricks to the trade that you can say, "Maybe I can get an extra little inch without the referee calling it on me"?

Heidi Peters:
It's a very if not the most controversial area of calls in sitting volleyball because it can be quite inconsistent throughout matches. The down ref is supposed to watch the lifts and the upper ref is watching the attacks or the, yeah, so the down ref is watching the blockers to see if they lift, but people can also lift on their attacks. So it's dependent also what skill that you're doing.
They just changed the rules, so for example, if I was blocking and I came off the ground but I didn't touch the ball, they would not call me on a lift. So you could, to your advantage, rock up and give yourself quite a bit of extra height and then take your hands away. If you don't touch the ball, they won't call on it.

Brock Richardson:
It all has to happen very quickly I'm sure.

Heidi Peters:
Very.

Brock Richardson:
To get that advantage and to make sure that the referee and you are on the same page. And there's that human element where it's like, "Listen, you're human, I'm human, we all make mistakes." Can you talk about your team, they're second in the world, what has gone in to your success as a team to keep you at such that level where it's like, "We're here and we're contenders"?

Heidi Peters:
That's a great and huge question. I think the primary thing with our team is just such drive to be so good and win. We just want to win. And I say that, we even chirp ourselves in practices and games, we're like we don't think we want to win enough, we have to edge competition out of each other.
But I think as a whole culture, we really in the last I would say last cycle for sure have done just, maybe to a year before Tokyo to now, excuse me, have done a lot of really intense culture work with our program and really just deciding what values we want such as excellence and integrity are things integral to us. So I think our dedication has really improved. And the more dedication with the athletes that we've had, the performance has automatically gotten better and that just translates into more funding every year and more awareness. So the more resources also that we've gotten have really helped our performance.
I think at the core, we just all really love volleyball and we hang out off the court, we have a really strong bond, we go for team dinners. I genuinely like my teammates and want to hang out with them also. So having that bond on court is really special to be able to be friends in life and off court. But also have that relationship on court where my teammates could say anything to me and push me and it's just because they believe in me. We've developed such trust amongst us.

Brock Richardson:
Sport's like a family, you just said it. And families argue, families fight. How do you manage the, "Hey, this is not good enough, this is to our standard," without damaging the bond you just spoke about?

Heidi Peters:
I think there's a time and place, if ever an apology was needed for something said on court, there literally is no time during the game to be concerned about feelings per se or be apologizing for tone or things like that. Those are conversations in between games. That all comes with pushing each other I think extra hard in practices. I think we have a lot of room for growth in that.
But it's a really fine line. Accountability is really just how we're going to get better. We have to be uncomfortable. We talk a lot about growth mindset on our team. It's a check mark, you have to go down to get better. It has to get harder before you're going to do it. And we're changing a lot of things about, or not a lot of things, we're really trying to improve a lot of things about especially our offensive system right now.
So you have to try different shots and different attacks and they're not going to work. And you have to be able to push each other in games and say like, "That was the wrong shot. You hit the wrong shot." It's just a fact. It's not like, "You're bad at volleyball." It's like, "We have to be able to do this." And to be able to take that personal element out but have such a foundation of trust under it I think is a really beautiful also thing about sport. We just believe in each other so much. But like I said, are just trying to demand the excellence out of each other.

Brock Richardson:
What's left for you to accomplish in your career as we sit here?

Heidi Peters:
My biggest goal right now is a Paralympic gold medal, that would be ... I get chills just saying that, goosebumps.

Brock Richardson:
I get it. And I've been retired for 10 years.

Heidi Peters:
It's really funny because I never ... Obviously, I grew up able-bodied. Being a Paralympian was never on my radar. Even acquiring a disability, I never thought, "Well, I want to be a Paralympian." That was a goal for me. Yes, I played volleyball in high school, I played club, I played a little bit competitively. But I never had desire to per se play at a national level or a belief that I ever could or anything like that. So it's funny to now look back and be like, "I want to be a Paralympic gold medalist." And to think about how much work I've put in. Yeah, it feels surreal, even saying it, that would be the cherry on top. And I mean a Paralympic gold medal in Paris would be dope, that would be awesome. A Paralympic gold medal in LA would be even more sweet to beat the US on home soil, that would be just like-

Brock Richardson:
There's still that rivalry, it does not matter what sport it is.

Heidi Peters:
But yeah, that's it.

Brock Richardson:
People do not like losing to the United States and vice versa.

Heidi Peters:
No. I mean you got to beat the best to be the best or play the best to be the best.

Brock Richardson:
What's the one thing in your bag, besides the obvious of the equipment, what's the one thing in your bag where you're like, "Man, I got to have it"?

Heidi Peters:
For me, it's, I mean, not just one thing, I always have tiger balm on me, so hardcore Chinese A535 for my traps mostly. And, that's funny, and always a massage lacrosse ball.

Brock Richardson:
Love it.

Heidi Peters:
Always. Yeah.

Brock Richardson:
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview, we greatly appreciate it.

Heidi Peters:
Thank you.

Cam Jenkins:
So that was the interviews with Heidi Peters sitting volleyball from the Canadian Paralympic Committee Summit. And if you'd like what you heard and you want to leave us a voicemail, here's how you can do it.

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Cam Jenkins:
Welcome back to The Neutral Zone, I am your host this week, Cam Jenkins and I'm along with Claire Buchanan and Josh Watson. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I figured that we'd talk about hockey and let's concentrate this week on the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's always a whirlwind of action that's going on the end of June up until July 1st because of Free Agent Day. What are your thoughts on what the Leafs have done since they've hired Brad Treliving and yeah, just some of the changes that he's made? Josh, let's start with you.

Joshua Watson:
Sure. I think the biggest one that surprised me was the signing of Ryan Reaves to a three-year contract. That I'm all for having a tough guy on the team, but that one did surprise me a little bit because he's known for his toughness and not a lot else. There have been other moves. John Klingberg, the defenseman from Anaheim did sign a one-year deal with the Leafs as well. I think he's going to help our back end, there's some work that needs to be done there to get that up to speed. And then it's neat to see Max Domi in effect coming home, even though he's never actually played for the Leafs. But his dad, Tie played for the Leafs for many years. So all in all an interesting off-season so far. I think we all agree that there's still work to be done, but interesting start.

Claire Buchanan:
Yeah, I agree with you Josh. I can remember back when they signed John Tavares and the city of Toronto just had that warm fuzzy feeling of one of their own coming home and putting on that jersey. So I think that the signing of Max Domi is bringing in that same feeling to Toronto of someone who is just really hyped to put on that jersey and be a Leaf. And he produced really well last year; in 80 games, he came away with 20 goals and 36 assists. And he's a Canadian boy. So I think it's going to be fun watching him and seeing if he does have the same kind of grit and style of play that his dad did.
And yeah, I do like the signing of Ryan Reaves as well. I didn't expect it to be a three-year contract. And yes, I've been one to say that we do need some more physical play on the ice and that's what's going to be the difference-maker in the playoffs.
Which it is, that's the big thing in the playoffs is who's going to sell their body out to win a championship? And Ryan Reaves, hopefully, he can do that for us without spending too much time in the penalty box because we do that enough as it is.
And I think the big, yeah, I mean, the big question mark is what will Nylander and Matthews get? And it's come to a point of how much money do you want or do you want a championship? And you see guys not getting as much money to spread that out and have a more deeper lineup. But it seems that Nylander and Matthews want to get paid. And it'll be interesting to see what happens with that.
And yeah, it's another year for the Leafs to see how far we can go and what we can do. And I'm excited that we've been focusing more on our forward lines. We have put a lot of focus on our defence over the last couple of years in the trade deadlines. And we have our foot in our mouth right now with Matt Murray still with us. And that's another question mark that will be interesting to see what happens because if he doesn't get traded, the other option is to buy him out. But that again kicks us in the gut for next year with the salary cap.
And yeah, the one thing I'm really excited about that we saw just a glimpse of in the playoffs last year was Matthew Knies. I love him as a player and I am excited to see him back. And hopefully, he's feeling good after his concussion and hopefully he's doing well.

Joshua Watson:
Absolutely. I think the Nylander situation is going to be the interesting one. I don't think they're going to let Matthews go anywhere. They're just basically going to say how much do you want and write the check. But I think Nylander is going to be the challenge because Treliving of course was in Calgary for many years. And so he went through the whole Matthew Gaudreau and ... I got that wrong. Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk situations, where Gaudreau especially opted not to sign in Calgary and dragged it out, dragged it out, dragged it out, and then they didn't get anything for him in the end. I don't think Treliving's going to let that happen again with a guy like Nylander. I think if Nylander decides by the time the season's ready to start that he's not prepared to sign, then I think we'll see him dealt before the season starts. But I could be wrong. We'll see what happens.

Cam Jenkins:
I don't think you are wrong Josh. I think he will be dealt. I even posted on Twitter, I think he's at most a $10 million player and that might be taking it too much. But on an eight-year deal, considering how the cap's going to rise, I wouldn't object to Nylander getting 10 million a season as long as he signs for eight years. Because I think that at that point in time, by the time year three, four or five rolls around, it's going to be inconsequential because of how much the cap's going to rise.
In regards to the other things that have been going on with the Leafs, Ryan Reaves, it's good to have some tough and gritness, but this guy, he's already 35 years old I believe, and for three years he's going to be 38. He can't really skate too well from my understanding of looking into things.

Claire Buchanan:
He's not a goalscorer.

Cam Jenkins:
He's not a goalscorer.

Joshua Watson:
He's there's.

Cam Jenkins:
And he's not going to be on the line with Matthews and Marner. He is not going to be on the line with Nylander and Tavares if those are the first two lines. So if somebody takes a run at them, he's not going to just come over the boards because if you come over the boards when it happens, then you're going to get penalized anyway and a game misconduct I believe for coming over the boards. So I don't really see, and I don't play hockey at the NHL level, but I don't see how that's going to work. But you can bury his 1.3 or whatever it is in the minors and be done with it. And so that's not a big deal in my estimation.
Klingberg, it's only a one-year deal and he's got it at 4.1 million approximately. He was atrocious with the Ducks, he was the worst defenseman last year. For a defenseman, he does not know how to play defence, he just knows his offence and he can get it out of the D-zone and get it up to the forwards. And I guess that's what they're looking for. So if you pair him with the right defensive partner that actually plays defence, then that might be okay because ...
And [inaudible 00:32:12] Klingberg wanted a long-term deal a couple of years ago and he wanted 8 million a season for eight years. And now he's down to a one-year deal at 4 million. His stock has plummeted. So you got to take some chances and I don't blame the Leafs for taking a chance because they do need to get more offense.
And then, what's the other, oh, Domi, he's not Tie, so Leaf Nation don't put him in that where he should wear number 28 or that he's going to fight like his dad. He is a completely different player, so do not box him into that because you're going to be disappointed. Take him for who he is.
And I really like the signing of Bertuzzi, to get him for one year to show him what he can do. I think he will go to the hard areas, which is really good because too many times in the playoffs, I always said, the Leafs, they have this rectangular box that they stay outside of rather than go right in by where the goalie is. And Bertuzzi is one of those guys who'll go right in front of the net and isn't worried about getting hit. So I really like that Bertuzzi signing for a year.
And hopefully that flourishes into an eight-year deal because, as you may or may not know, the cap is going to start to go up next year. And that's why you see so many NHL UFAs signing just one-year deals because they're like, "Okay, I don't want to sign a long-term deal because I know the cap's going up and if I show what I can do then I can sign for eight years starting next year" so it's really smart on behalf of the players. But as far as management goes, they would prefer to know what they can do long-term to be able to fit everybody under the cap.
And then finally, yes, you have Matthews, you have Nylander needing long-term contracts, those two should just go in a room and talk to one another and realize, "Okay, we took as much money as we could last time and look where it got us." It only was like, could get $900,000 players or fringe people. If we take a million or $2 less each per year, that's another $4 million you can put into the pot and potentially get a really good defenseman because they're going to need more defensemen.

Claire Buchanan:
Or a goalie, I mean-

Cam Jenkins:
Well, yeah, the goalie, absolutely.

Claire Buchanan:
That's a horrendous situation in Matt Murray.

Cam Jenkins:
And Matt Murray, well, and if you buy him out-

Claire Buchanan:
These guys are going to get that money in sponsorship deals. You know what I mean?

Cam Jenkins:
Absolutely.

Claire Buchanan:
This is what drives me nuts about these big deals and these players asking for so much money. You're a superstar. It's like LeBron James asking for too much money. You know what I mean? Why do that to essentially the rest of your team when you could be helping them out bringing in better teammates.

Cam Jenkins:
But on the other ... I do see it from the player's point of view because for a player, the average of staying in the league is five years, six years maybe, and I'll say maybe 10, there's not too many that end up being 15, 20 years, those are only your really good players. So you only have a certain amount of time to make money. So I'm not opposed to them getting everything they want. But they also have to realize if they get what they're absolutely worth under a cap system, they're not going to leave any money for anyone else to join the team so they can potentially win the Stanley Cup. And who's to say if you give Treliving an extra $4 million or $5 million, who's to say that he's going to get the right defenseman?

Joshua Watson:
Yeah, that's a good point. I don't know. I think we've got to see where the cap goes. I think we've got to see what happens with the Nylander situation because ultimately those things are what's going to either handcuff us or give us the opportunity to improve. So we'll see what happens.

Cam Jenkins:
Yeah. So let's switch it a little bit here and let's go over to the NBA to the hard court. And let's talk about Denver. They're a great team. I think they've got a great bench. And do you ladies and gentlemen think that they can repeat next year?

Claire Buchanan:
I absolutely think they can. I mean, Murray is healthy and to have him have a season like he did after an injury is just remarkable. And him and Jokic are the best two-man offense in the league right now. And it's going to be exciting because, I mean, they're in the prime of their game right now, I just see them getting better as a duo. And I personally don't know what their trade situation was like, but whoever they have around them I think is just going to be like the cherry on top because their whole system runs through the pick and roll with them two. And they're good from every spot. It's not a pick and roll inside outside game, they can both shoot threes, they can both have range from wherever they want to and they both can go to the hoop as well. So I see them very much being in the finals again.

Joshua Watson:
Yeah, I would agree with that. It's very hard for me to imagine a situation where they don't at least get back to the final. I suppose it does depend on what a team like Golden State or maybe the Lakers do, can they put enough pieces together to challenge? But when you've got Jokic and Murray and DeAndre Jordan and Aaron Gordon, this is a powerhouse of a team. And it'll be really interesting to see what they can do and see what the rest of the league can throw at them. Because I mean they moved through the league pretty well this year, so why couldn't they do it?

Cam Jenkins:
Now, what do you think, because a lot of the times to repeat as champions, you do have to have some changeable pieces or even to add to keep that passion there in order to be able to get through the season because it's a long season, a lot of games. What do you think, if anything, that they need to add in order to repeat? Claire, let's start with you.

Claire Buchanan:
I guess just a deeper bench. They already do have a pretty good bench right now. Like you said, it's a long season, so having players that you can spread that time on the court out between and not put people in situations where they're overworking their body and they're risking injury, I think that's the most important piece, especially in the NBA. You see a lot more injuries than other sports in the NBA and just a lot more players taking longer times to get back. And I think that's going to be the most important piece, especially with their superstars. You need a deeper bench so that you can rest a Jamal Murray and you can rest your superstars around them as well.
And I think that's what championship teams are made of is that you can utilize every single person that you have and giving those moments to the rookies that don't get a lot of time on the court of giving them when they do have those moments to learn and get on the court and get those touches in is important.
And I think the Toronto Raptors right now are in a rebuilding situation right now. We only have two or three guys that were on the 2019 championship team. And that's going to be important for Toronto specifically as well is really finding the situations where they can use different people at different times so that everyone's growing at the same pace and peaking at the right time.

Joshua Watson:
Yeah, it's always a fine balance between having your veterans on the floor and getting your new guys the reps that they need in order to learn and to grow. I do know that they've signed their draft pick Julian Strawther to his rookie scale contract, so he's there. They've also added Justin Holiday, which should be a nice piece for them. But it doesn't seem like they've lost a lot of players from their team. So if you're an NBA champion once and you're rowing it back with the same team, I still think you got a pretty good shot.

Cam Jenkins:
And that's fair. I just know sometimes you need that extra couple of pieces of people that have never won an NBA championship and that have the fire and the passion inside them. And you need that because sometimes people, I don't want to say become lackadaisical, that's definitely the wrong word to use, but-

Joshua Watson:
You get complacent.

Cam Jenkins:
Complacent, thank you. That's probably the best word is complacent. So you need those other vets that have not won before that really want it to be able to push the other people. Because it's easy to say, yeah, okay, I'm making $40 million or $50 million a season and that should be enough motivation to be able to do well. But sometimes it's not just about the money. Sometimes you do need some other people to kick in the donkey butt to be able to get going.
Why don't we talk a little bit about the Raptors since we are talking about the NBA and the hard courts. And what did you think of the signing of Gradey Dick? Josh, let's start with you.

Joshua Watson:
I think when you look at his shooting numbers, you can't argue with that. That is something that this team has lacked last year in losing Fred VanVleet. I think we have to have something that we can plug into that spot. I'm not sure that Dennis Schroder or Jalen McDaniels is going to be that guy. But I'm also not the biggest basketball fan so maybe I don't know their game as well as I should. But it was very interesting to me that as soon as Fred's move to Houston was announced, they immediately had the news that they were signing Dennis Schroder. So we'll see what happens.

Cam Jenkins:
Yeah, for a couple of years.

Joshua Watson:
Yeah, I still am interested in the team. I want to see what Darko Rajakovic has in store for the team considering that he's a new voice in a locker room that's been the same for a long time. Even when Nick Nurse was hired, he was a holdover from the previous regime, he was an assistant who was promoted. So this is a completely different person, he is from a different organization. I want to see what he can bring to the team.

Claire Buchanan:
Yeah, one of the things that Toronto has done is not only completely change what the team looks like on the court but also in the office and in the coaching positions as well. It's a completely different organization than it was last year.
And I'm happy about the signing of Dick, he is a sharpshooter. And to come in as that young of a guy and already have that shooting potential in his pocket is huge. And I think the biggest thing that he'll be tested is can he have the same effort and consistency on the defensive end? That's I think the most exciting part about the Raptors team recently is that we win games when we're chasing for balls and we're just not giving up on plays. And that's what Freddie gave us as an organization. And I think Gary Trent Jr also gives us a lot of shooting opportunities and a lot of defensive, I guess, responsibility as well. He's very very good on both ends.
And just like Nylander, there's this whole up-in-the-air situation with Pascal of where is he going to go and where is he going to end up and will he still be a Raptor soon? And yeah, I'm looking forward to this season because it's completely different and it's a very different-looking team. But I mean Gary Trent Jr has become one of my favorite players. And I've liked how deep our bench has become as well. So I'm excited for this upcoming season.

Joshua Watson:
Yeah, for me, maybe I don't watch enough Raptors, but Trent seems to be one of those guys kind of like Morris-

Cam Jenkins:
Morris Peterson.

Joshua Watson:
Is it Morris Peterson or did I go too far back? I think I went too far back. We traded somebody to Portland to get Gary and they remind me of the same kind of guy where they have to keep putting up shots in order to find their range. And when you get-

Cam Jenkins:
Norman Powell I believe is who you are speaking of?

Joshua Watson:
Yes, Norman Powell, thank you.

Claire Buchanan:
Okay. Yes.

Joshua Watson:
So that scares me a bit because if you start the game and you go through the first quarter ice-cold, I don't know that you get that back and we end up trying to feed you the ball, feed you the ball, feed you the ball and have you throw up bricks. I need a guy who can shoot and get his shot fairly quickly so that we don't get buried in games. I feel like that happened a lot last year where we're trying to get guys hot and they just don't find their range. Again, I'm not a basketball player, maybe that's just how shooting goes. But to me it felt like we spent a lot of time trying to get guys going. You're an NBA basketball player, know how to shoot. Sorry.

Claire Buchanan:
Yes. Yeah, well, there's got to be that self-awareness of like, "Okay, this just isn't a night for me." You know what I mean? "Let me help get other guys open and get other guys hot."

Joshua Watson:
Yeah, facilitate.

Claire Buchanan:
Yeah. And I'm excited, another player of mine that I like that, I mean, some other people have different opinions on him, is Malachi Flynn. I like him. I've liked him since he's come into the league. And he's been patient and he's sat on the bench and I think he's done his due time. And he is one of those players that I think coming off the bench, I don't see him being a starting player, but coming off the bench, he has produced for us very well.
And yeah, you hit it right on the nose Josh, there's got to be that, okay, this isn't working, why beat a dead horse? You know what I mean?

Joshua Watson:
Well, exactly.

Claire Buchanan:
You got to change something, especially ... and that's where the coaching comes in and I hope to see that that's where more coaches are taking risks but also recognizing that, hey, we need to actually scale this back and try something different.

Cam Jenkins:
That's why I think it's good for Nick Nurse and now that he's gone, I think they needed a new coach and a new voice and that's why I'm so glad they got a new coach. Because like all coaches eventually they just want to go with their veteran players or who they like. But you have to remember the other end of it where you've got to develop players and get them on the floor and playing some meaningful minutes too. And I think Nick Nurse didn't do that. And I think this new coach is really going to be able to do that. So I'm really happy that they do have the new coach.
And as far as Siakam goes, man, if they're not going to keep him, do not let them walk away like you did with Fred VanVleet. You've got to get something. Fred VanVleet just walked away for nothing. And you can't do that. You need assets in some way, shape or form. And with the comments that Fred VanVleet's been doing on podcasts and so on and so forth, he was never coming back. And good for him, he got paid, he got paid what? 40 to 45 million a year for three years, 130 million, get paid, good for you. But yeah, we should have got assets for him.

Joshua Watson:
He's always been one to bet on himself. And so that's what he's done here again. And good on him. Like you said, free agency is there for the players to get what they feel they deserve. And so I really hope it works out for him. I don't know that Houston is a great spot for him, however, we'll see what happens.
I like the fact that you brought up Malachi Flynn, Claire, because I'm really hoping that he's a guy who benefits from a coaching change. Because sometimes there are just guys they get in the coach's dog house and they can't get their way back out. The coach goes, a new guy comes in and all of a sudden, "Hey, I can actually play basketball." What a concept.

Claire Buchanan:
Yeah, you get a chance at a new first impression.

Joshua Watson:
Exactly. And I don't think he's a bad player, I just don't think he fit in the system that Nurse wanted to run. And so Nick just passed over him and said-

Cam Jenkins:
Nurse never let him play.

Joshua Watson:
"We'll use you when we're ready for you, just go sit on the bench." And that's unfortunate, especially for a young player. So I'm excited to see what happens too. I'm one of these people, I try to watch basketball, I enjoy some games, but every once in a while it gets too much and I turn it off. So I'm really hoping that this year the team is more consistent so that I can get excited. I want to support my hometown team.

Cam Jenkins:
Absolutely. And I'd love to be able to support them as well, but I can't get over the last trade deadline of the people that they kept that they should have traded and they didn't. And the biggest one being Fred VanVleet because now he's gone for nothing. And I need to get over it. I'll go see my therapist and have a chat with them and try to get over it, but it's hard.
So I want to do our way too early picks, who are going to win the NBA championships for next year. Who do you think is going to win the NBA championship for next year and why? Claire, let's start with you.

Claire Buchanan:
I'm going for a repeat. I would love to see Murray get two in a row. I've really enjoyed watching his journey throughout the NBA. And to see a Canadian boy win a championship is always nice. And the Canadians aren't hugely represented in the NBA, there's not a lot of us, so it's nice when one of us gets a ring. And yeah, I just think that they're definitely going to get back to the NBA finals and it'll just be interesting to see who's up against them.

Joshua Watson:
Absolutely. I do agree. I think Denver has a very strong chance of repeating. I know that's not great radio, Cam, but I do believe that.

Cam Jenkins:
That's okay.

Joshua Watson:
Having said that, what I will give you is I'm interested to see what will happen in a few places. One of them being Philadelphia with Nick Nurse.

Cam Jenkins:
You took mine.

Joshua Watson:
Sorry. I want to see what'll happen in Philadelphia. I want to see if the Nick Nurse show plays well there or if the fans are throwing things at him by game five. We'll see what happens.
I'm curious to see if the Bucks can make any kind of run because they've been one of those teams with Giannis that everybody expects great things out of and it just never seems to come together. So we'll see what happens.
And we haven't even really touched on, and we're running short on time I'm sure, we haven't even touched on the fact that Damien Lillard wants out of Portland. And so what's Portland going to do? Are they going to be able to get enough back to field a team? So lots of intrigue. But I do think Denver is going to repeat.

Cam Jenkins:
So, going with two Denvers to repeat. For my count, so I'm going the 76ers. I think with Nick Nurse there, he's a new voice, and I think he's going to be able to get that team firing on all cylinders. I wonder about James Harden, I've lost track of where he goes.

Joshua Watson:
Will he stay or will he go?

Cam Jenkins:
Where he is?

Claire Buchanan:
Who knows where and when that guy is going to end up anywhere.

Cam Jenkins:
Because I thought he was still with the 76ers, but I think-

Joshua Watson:
He is.

Cam Jenkins:
Oh, is he, okay, I thought so. So, it'd be interesting to see whether or not he stays. And if he does, how Nick Nurse can utilize him. But if he gets traded, like I think he wants to, and I've heard rumblings that he wants to go back to Houston. And he got traded from Houston to 76ers, so he's just a sideshow Bob at the end of the day. So yeah, we will wait and see.
But my way too early pick for the NBA championships is going to be the Philadelphia 76ers. So with that, this is the end of our show for this week. I would like to thank Claire Buchanan, Josh Watson, our technical producer for this week is Jordan and our producer for this program and regular host is Brock Richardson. And I'm Cam Jenkins. And until we meet again.