NBC Sports’ Jamal Crawford Talks Wemby, LeBron, Giannis & Knicks with Rich

NBC Sports' Jamal Crawford joined Rich for the full NBA tour. Wembanyama and the elbow. The Spurs-Timberwolves pivotal Game 5. The rolling Thunder. LeBron James' destination. And the secret weapon Crawford keeps shouting about on the OKC sideline.

The opening was Wembanyama. Game 5 is tonight. The flagrant from Game 4 is still ringing.

"If the refs and everybody else is paying attention to everything else in the world, hearing Coach Miss Johnson's press conference after last game and saying, I don't condone what he did, but he has to take matters in his own hand, he's been getting beat up on," Crawford said.

The Crawford broadcast take on the moment was real-time.

"Reg and I were kind of grabbing each other's arms like, what? Like, oh my gosh," Crawford said. "Wemby's always so cool, calm, and collected. For that moment, he had had one too many jersey tugs."

The advice Crawford had for Wembanyama as the playoffs continue is the protector model.

"You might see that one or two guys who comes off the bench and is like, no, no, no, we're not going for that," Crawford said. "Almost like the protector, the buffer. Jordan had it with Charles Oakley. The Bad Boy Pistons had everybody that was there for Isiah."

The Wembanyama-specific advice was to stay on the floor.

"For him, I'd tell him to keep his cool because that's what they want you to do," Crawford said. "There's no other way to deal with him. He can literally do everything on the court."

The OKC piece was where Crawford got most animated. Rich asked what impresses him most about the Thunder.

"They're winning the present, they're winning the middle and they're winning the future," Crawford said.

The middle is the runway he kept emphasizing.

"All these guys are in the age where they can have this run," Crawford said. "They have a clear-cut runway. Nobody's too old. They all like each other. They all want to play together."

The future is built on picks.

"I give Sam Presti so much credit because he's done this more than once," Crawford said. "When he had Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, he had all those guys."

The unsung name Crawford kept lifting up was Mark Daigneault.

"I feel like they have a true superstar on the sidelines," Crawford said. "Coach Daigneault is unbelievable. He's one of the only coaches that puts himself in the game that I've seen."

He explained what he meant.

"He coaches and he puts himself literally in the game," Crawford said. "It's almost like he's playing with a remote control on the sideline, an invisible one. He's subbing how he wants to sub, and he's putting people in position."

The macro framing was the Spurs comp.

"They're not going to beat themselves either," Crawford said. "If they were a fighter, they can fight left hand, right hand, unorthodox. They can press you. They have the jab of skill work. They are heavyweight knockout artists. They're doing this without an All-NBA guy."

The horror scenario Rich brought up was that Yaxel Lindenborg could fall to OKC at 12 in the draft.

"I warn the rest of the association not to let that happen," Crawford said. "If that happens, it's gonna take an alien to beat these guys, because they literally have everything."

The closing exchange was LeBron. Crawford does not think LeBron is done.

"He's such a big icon that I think he'll say it early enough where he can really enjoy going in every city knowing it's his last time," Crawford said.

The LA piece is the variable.

"If it's his last year in LA, that's a little bit different," Crawford said. "I'm not sure he's on board with that."

Rich asked the destination question. Crawford did not hesitate.

"Golden State," Crawford said.

The fit is the same Jimmy Butler unlocked.

"I think for him, he staggers what they do well," Crawford said. "I think that's what Jimmy Butler made what made them dangerous with Jimmy Butler in the playoffs because he had all this shooting."

The Warriors' IQ floor would be no problem for LeBron.

"You can't play in Golden State if you don't have a high basketball IQ," Crawford said. "I think LeBron can give a version of that."

He invited Rich to keep his Golden State prediction on tape.

"If I'm right, you got to play it all the time, Rich," Crawford said. "Like all the time."

Rich's dart was different.

"He stays put," Rich said. "If he leaves LA, Cleveland."

Crawford liked the call.

"Full circle going home again," Crawford said.

The handshake on the dart.

"I'll take the Eastern Conference," Crawford said. "You took the West. We got this thing covered."