Eleven months ago, the Detroit Pistons accomplished the most arduous task of any rebuild: They got the dude. Not a dude, the dude, in the form of Cade Cunningham, one of the most tremendous prospects from the past half-decade.

Yet because Detroit was only in the second year of a new era and its 2020 lottery pick, Killian Hayes, continued to struggle, the surrounding context for Cunningham didn’t extend him much leeway. Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes, the other two finalists for Rookie of the Year alongside Cunningham, are imminent superstars and incredible players, but the disparity in contexts between those two and Cunningham last year was startling. That, of course, is not the fault of Mobley or Barnes by any stretch, though these types of details must be accounted for as we analyze young players and their development.

Ideally, the bedrock of Cunningham’s offensive game is a methodical, slashing nature amplified by a threatening jumper. At 6’6, 220 pounds with the guile to ram defenders into screens and a rocking chair cadence to burrow his way downhill, Cunningham can reliably generate paint touches. The aim is to lure defenders his way and invite his versatile, virtuoso playmaking to shine, finding shooters/secondary creators on the perimeter or play-finishers around the basket.

Last season, though, the Pistons, well, didn’t really roster any of those archetypes to capitalize on how often Cunningham compromises defenses. They ranked 29th in three-point percentage (32.9 percent) and were below average in three-point rate (17th). Among the nine players to log at least 800 minutes, only Cory Joseph (41.4 percent) shot better than 36 percent beyond the arc. The shooting was dire and vertical spacing didn’t offer a reprieve either.

Isaiah Stewart, who started 71 games at center for Detroit, is a 6’8, vertically limited big man with 65 dunks in 139 career contests. During the second half of the season, when Marvin Bagley III (acquired via trade) and Kelly Olynyk (returned from injury) were in the rotation, the Pistons’ offense ran much smoother. That uptick was directly tied to Bagley providing a lob presence and Olynyk spacing the floor on pick-and-pops.

Following Bagley’s move to Detroit (26 games, he played 18 of them), he averaged 15 points on 59 percent true shooting, while the Pistons ranked 24th in offensive rating (111.4), a notable bump from 28th and 105.6 prior to his arrival. That was by no means a coincidence. Legitimate release valves for Cunningham in Bagley and Olynyk brought the offense to passably poor levels rather than dastardly worrisome.

Entering Thursday’s 2022 NBA Draft, Detroit evidently recognized the constraints of its roster around the franchise cornerstone and immediately addressed those shortcomings. They are properly building around Cunningham and progressing toward a future where the ancillary personnel amplifies him and is suited for him to amplify it.

That is how you maximize lottery-bound seasons and do not squander someone like Cunningham, who is destined for years of superstardom. These downtrodden campaigns are not merely a bridge to wait on Cunningham’s full-fledged arrival. They are a conduit to accelerate his full-fledged arrival that elevates everyone around him.

With the No. 5 pick, the Pistons selected Jaden Ivey, a speed demon of a guard who projects to best toggle between a 1B and 2A creation role. Both horizontally and vertically, he’s a jetpack-powered athlete touting a manipulative handle, creativity as a driver, and uncanny contortion as a finisher (73rd percentile at the rim in the half-court, per Synergy). Grant him a pocket of space and he can spin that into a grave error. Cunningham’s orbit will help pry open those pockets of space.

Detroit did not sport a viable complementary ball-handler next to Cunningham last season. Ideally, Hayes assumed that responsibility, but his poor burst and shooting have proven to be too large of hurdles to overcome. Although Ivey’s jumper resides in the incubator, his explosion and ability to wiggle through congested quarters will let him maintain and expand the advantages crafted by Cunningham.

Separate from spot-up threes, there are absolutely ways to serve as a devastating off-ball outlet and Ivey will outline that concept alongside Cunningham in the coming years. Stunts, rotations, and attention diverted toward Cunningham and away from Ivey lay the groundwork for the 6’4 guard to teleport into points.

As a rookie, Cunningham was a rather adept advantage creator. Perfect would not be an apt label, but the far more pressing issue for the Pistons’ offense was a lack of options to multiply those advantages into points or dependable opportunities for points. Ivey doesn’t alleviate every flaw of the roster, but a secondary handler, at least in due time, checks off a glaring issue from the to-do list. Further, eschewing primary creation needs for Ivey and slotting him in a less daunting job ensures he will not be straddled by a sink-or-swim mantra, nor will all of the burden rest on Cunningham.

This partnership should be symbiotic; Ivey can commandeer the offense at times and Cunningham holsters off-ball savvy. The dichotomy between Cunningham’s meticulous, think-then-act approach and Ivey’s roadrunner, act-then-think approach is a suitable contrast upon which to establish an offense.

Not even an hour after drafting Ivey, Detroit traded back into the lottery, this time with a fixation on center Jalen Duren. Stewart delivered commendable contributions in his first two seasons. But some sophomore stagnation and his scoring hangups make him a precarious fit next to Cunningham and as a general NBA starter. Duren, a top-10 recruit in the class of 2021, projects as the successor in the middle.

The 18-year-old from Memphis touts pogo-stick bounce, a 7’5 wingspan and the catch radius to turn Elastigirl green with envy. According to Synergy, he shot 70.9 percent at the rim last season in the half-court, landing him in the 93rd percentile, and jammed home 70 dunks in 29 games, per Barttorvik. Given Cunningham’s accolades as a lob and laydown facilitator, a potentially elite play-finishing 5 instead of last season’s carousel inside should augment him individually and the collective offense.

Duren’s short-roll playmaking and the rate at which he processes chances substantially progressed over the past couple years, too. Passing on the move are not traits brandished by Stewart or Bagley, so a vertical spacer who doubles as a distributor, albeit in a limited capacity, embeds another novel dimension into Detroit’s offense.

What’s more is his presence should also ease Cunningham’s own finishing complications (30th percentile at the rim in the half-court, per Synergy). Defenses were comfortable flooding his drives and attempts around the basket because whoever the outlet was didn’t provoke much concern from them. Such a shift in dynamic will require time to transpire, but the Pistons own the luxury of time for a little while. These sorts of moves are all about fashioning the ideal vision long-term with Cunningham piloting things. Undoubtedly, Thursday advanced those goals.

After these additions, Cunningham’s life is easier and the extent of his greatness now radiates wider. Once you uncover the dude, your aim should always be to operate through a lens of magnifying him and letting him magnify everyone else. Detroit and Cunningham may not yet be ready for greatness, but the likelihood of actualizing that intention grew a whole lot on Thursday.

As The Boys continues to roll out its third season to rave reviews, Israeli actor Tomer Capone, who plays Frenchie on the hit series, has opened up about what it’s like filming the wild show. More specifically, how The Boys completely ruined his ability to enjoy superhero movies thanks to the series’ brutal, unflinching, and at times, orgasmic look at what costumed heroes would really be like if they existed in the modern world.

During a lengthy interview on how he ended up on the raunchy streaming series, Capone revealed that he used to love a good comic book movie, but that’s completely out the window after diving into The Boys‘ source material. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

I think it ruined the whole superhero experience for me. I used to think that men in Spandex who have special powers are cool. But this show just wiped that away. When I see superheroes on screen, I don’t buy it anymore. In the last 10 years, everybody was into the whole superhero thing, trying to run away from reality. And then I read The Boys and I’m like, ‘They took the genre and f*cking flipped it.” They said, ‘Let’s see how superheroes act in front of the mirror when they’re finishing their day. What are they really about when they’re taking the Spandex off?’

While Capone clearly picked up what The Boys has been throwing down, the same can’t be said for some fans of the show who are only just now realizing that Antony Starr’s Homelander is the bad guy. Following the release of Season 3 Episode 5, disgruntled fans started raging on Reddit that the show was somehow doing Homelander dirty by highlighting his similarities to Trump. We’re talking about a character who’s a known rapist, let an entire plane full of people die, dated a literal Nazi, and forced a teenager to commit suicide. What part of that screams good guy?

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

A few years ago, I ran a marathon (don’t worry, this is going somewhere). It was a cold, rainy, windy day, and before the race started, I — and everyone else there — was having a miserable time waiting in line to use one of the portable restrooms. Then, out of nowhere, one of the toilets tipped over from the punishing wind. There was a concerned silence from the crowd over whether some poor bastard was in the toilet when it crashed to the ground. A brave soul went to check on the possibility of a Steve-O situation, and upon alerting everyone that the bathroom was vacant, the tension released and everyone started laughing. The pre-race jitters were gone.

I thought about this moment when I saw the following Variety headline: “Speedboat Crash During My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Filming Leaves One Injured.” I wasn’t sure whether it was OK to think this was a ridiculous collection of words.

Then I read:

One of the boats capsized, and its passengers, including actors and crew members, were rescued at sea, Greece’s Coast Guard reported. The injured actor was transported to a hospital, but was not seriously injured. Reports indicated the actor was trapped under the boat and rescued by a diver.

No one was seriously hurt from a speedboat crash on the set of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, although it does beg the question: there was a My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2?

(Via Variety)

Currently, two movie soundtracks are the talk of the music world: Minions: The Rise Of Gru and Elvis, since both have esteemed rosters of stars contributing to them. Something the two projects have in common is that Tame Impala is involved with both: They teamed up with Diana Ross for Minions cut “Turn Up The Sunshine” last month, and now that the Elvis soundtrack is out today, Tame Impala has shared a new remix of Elvis Presley’s “Edge Of Reality.”

The original song comes from the 1968 Presley movie Live A Little, Love A Little. (The film is perhaps most notable now for introducing the song “A Little Less Conversation,” which, while we’re on the topic of remixes, became an international hit in 2002 thanks to the Junkie XL remix.) As for what Kevin Parker did to the song with his new version of it, it goes in a predictably psychedelic rock direction, with Parker even offering new vocals for the track.

Beyond Tame Impala, the soundtrack also features contributions from artists like Kacey Musgraves (who covered “Can’t Help Falling In Love“), Eminem (who teamed with CeeLo Green for an original tune called “The King And I“), and others.

Listen to “Edge Of Reality (Tame Impala Remix)” above.

Justin Jefferson genuinely loves Madden. Whenever the Minnesota Vikings’ star wide receiver gets the opportunity to get on the sticks, there aren’t many people out there who can beat him. He was one of the winners of the Madden 22 Virtual Pro Bowl, alongside Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons, and is one of those guys that makes sure to comment on his rating every year.

When you’re that vocal about your love of Madden, EA takes notice. The Madden publisher recently had Jefferson in their studio to work with him, and while he was there, Jefferson sat down with Uproxx to talk about his love for the franchise, how excited he was to finally see himself in the game, and of course, his overall rating.

What was the first Madden you played?

The first one I played was Madden 05. That was the first time I really started to take the game seriously while playing with my brothers. Playing that, I learned a lot about both football and the game itself.

Looking at how it’s changed today with FieldSENSE, WR-DB battles, and comparing it to Madden 05 when the hit stick was first introduced, how wild is it to see how much the technology has changed?

It just goes to show how technology has really changed over the years and advanced, and with Madden in particular, it’s giving them a chance to make the game more realistic than it’s ever been before. It’s really cool seeing that growth.

Do you like to play as yourself?

Absolutely. When I use myself, I know all the catches I can make, what kind of balls I like to have thrown my way, and what adjustments I need to do to get them.

And because nobody knows yourself better than you, that means that if there’s ever a ball you can’t get that you know you can grab, you can always go talk to the devs about it.

Yes, exactly. I’m always in their ear giving them my thoughts on how I’m shown in the game.

You’re one of those guys that gives your thoughts on your rating every year, right?

Yeah, I think it was after my rookie year I told them that my speed wasn’t good enough or my catching, but it’s been going up since then. I think it would be awesome to get up to a 99 someday. I need those gold cleats!

How cool was it the first time you ended up in the game?

The first time I saw myself in the game was really unbelievable. I got up and ran around my house screaming.

What was a more “wow, I can’t believe it” moment for you: When you first saw yourself in Madden, the day you got drafted, or the first time you stepped on the field as an NFL player?

Honestly, I think it was the first time I was in Madden. Cause this was a game I grew up playing, and when I saw myself, it just became real. Like, I didn’t have to make some fantasy character using a guy who didn’t even look like me. That was actually me and that moment was really special.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, songs, and videos from Lil Durk, French Montana, Lupe Fiasco, and more.

We’re a little over a month into my running this column, and I hope you guys have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed putting it together. These are my final days as a 26-year-old and so I wanted to kick my 27th year off right by blessing you all with 20+ entries this week because who would ever complain about more music?

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending June 24, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Lil Durk — 7220 (Deluxe)

Lil Durk teased the 7220 deluxe for months, and it has finally arrived, adding 14 new songs to the mix. EST Gee, Moneybagg Yo, Ella Mai and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie are tapped to harmonize or spit alongside “The Voice.”

French Montana x Harry Fraud — Montega

These days French Montana is usually the least interesting part of his songs, so he looked to take it back to the days people didn’t feel that way alongside Harry Fraud for Montega. Quavo, EST Gee, Rick Ross and more aid in this endeavor.

Lupe Fiasco — Drill Music In Zion

Lupe Fiasco challenged himself to make a 10-song project within a day in 2021. Obviously, Drill Music In Zion arrived a year later, but it’s always nice to get new Lupe music and a shorter runtime.

Cochise — The Inspection

Cochise’s full-length is here. The Inspection features Chief Keef, Young Nudy, Mally and more. Cochise has shown he’s a solid song maker, so it makes sense he enlists this roster of talent to join the magic.

J.I. The Prince Of NY — Young & Restless Vol. 1 Baby Don

J.I. The Prince Of NY is a charismatic young man, so it makes sense he labels himself Young & Restless. The 12-track project is energetic mixed with melodic vocals and heavy flexes.

Money Man — Big Money

Having Big Money sometimes means multiple streams of income. Money Man opts for multiple streams of bars, bringing talents like Benny The Butcher and Nardo Wick into his world for the cash talk.

DeeYounginn — Next To Blow

DeeYounginn is predicting his greatness on his latest project Next to Blow. With the sole feature coming from 2x, he gives listeners a full project to be convinced of that too. It doesn’t matter though, he’s got the vision.

Phocuz x J-Mac — Vibes R Eternal 2

Phocuz and J-Mac are here to let you know the Vibes R Eternal for a second time. They tap The Game, Chris Millz, GQ and more to contribute to the aura.

Singles/Videos

The Game — “Violence”

If you only paid attention to headlines, or haven’t been following his career since its inception, you may not know how talented a rapper The Game is. Ahead of his next album with Hit-Boy, he offers a heat check with “Violence.” Even if you have to question many things he says in life, he sure makes the potentially true, potentially false statements sound good. Not to mention, there’s a fun interpolation of Jeezy’s classic “Go Crazy” hook.

Coast Contra– “Never Freestyle”

The four men in Coast Contra are stars in the making and they don’t need any gimmicks to prove it — just the energetic, in-depth, face-scrunching bars that many of the greats have also gotten famous for. Though the “Never Freestyle” went viral months again in its in-studio iteration, the rap squad is fresh off of their national TV debut this week on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and immediately uploaded the track in audio format on the DSPs. So you’ve got multiple versions you can enjoy, but the one consistent theme is Ras Austin, Taj Austin, Rio Loz, and Eric Jamal are some real spitters.

Buckshot — “Hey”

Buckshot stands confidently in front of a white BMW in the “Hey” video, though the video also flashes to scenes of him struggling with VR goggles. The classic TV set is a nice touch along with some of the special effects. Overall, a solid effort from Buckshot. One could say the shot went in.

Russ — “Yes Sir”

Russ has no problem talking about himself. “Yes Sir” is a boss anthem, acknowledging how well he is doing to the point where people quite literally say the title of the song to him when he makes an order. He makes a lot of fun sports references here too.

Kalan.Frfr ft. Blxst — “No Stoppin”

Kalan.Frfr and Blxst are the upcoming entrants into the melodic avengers. “No Stoppin” captures their California energy and insistence on singing the songs women like to hear. They nail it again.

Kateel — “Don’t Be A Hero”

Kateel offers some solid advice in the “Don’t Be A Hero” video if you’re into that whole pessimistic thing. Agree or not, he’s got a very composed and sharp flow on top of simply looking like he’s having fun rapping.

BlueBucksClan — “Just Hit Me”

BlueBucksClan comes to terms with being dope in the “Just Hit Me” video. I get it, imposter syndrome is real. It’s nice to see them own their confidence in that way.

Denzel Curry — “LA Leakers Freestyle”

Denzel Curry stops by LA Leakers to set the microphone on fire. The Florida lyricist brings his fierce lyricism to Lil Durk’s “Ahhh Ha” beat and Jeezy’s “I’m Just Sayin.”

Bino Rideaux ft. Ty Dolla Sign — “Outta Line”

A pool party with beautiful women and West coast sounds means one thing — you need Ty Dolla Sign. Bino Rideaux understands the assignment in the “Outta Line” video, joining Ty on the roof to survey the area and get their verses off. “Outta Line” is summer music through and through.

DCG Brothers — “Buss It”

While the DCG Brothers’ new video for “Buss It” doesn’t quite mirror the viral sensation of last year’s #BussIt challenge, they are certainly strapped up with something. Shun and Bsavv mix in confident flexes with firm threats over the course of this two-minute, 56-second visual.

Papoose — “Cap”

“It’s too hot to be cappin’!” I’ve never thought of the weather in relation to truth-telling, but Papoose has changed that in his new record “Cap.” The Bangladesh-produced cut is pretty simple production-wise, allowing the New York rapper to ascend above the beat and look down at all liars in shame.

22Gz ft. Kodak Black — “Up And Stuck (Remix)”

Who doesn’t love a record where a popular colloquial phrase gets used? Between the menacing drill beat, and 22Gz lyrical barrage, this song could very well be “Up And Stuck.” Adding Kodak Black to the remix is certainly a choice in terms of optics, but musically he makes it a worthwhile choice.

Currensy x Fuse — “Too Late”

Currensy loves his cars, his weed, and his ability to still rap at a high level. The “Too Late” video puts that all on display. He doesn’t have time for the nonsense either, closing the record with the line “That’s why I’m on some leave me on my lonely with my weed” because sometimes a spliff is the best companion.

Tobe Nwigwe — “Round Here (Part One)”

Tobe Nwigwe raps with a purpose on “Round Here (Part One).” The urgency is reminiscent of a driver trying to beat a red light or a college student trying to beat a midnight deadline for an essay. The white ensembles and marching trumpet players circling him are a very nice touch. Things eventually descend into madness with more white-dressed dancers sprinting across the field, but who doesn’t love a little madness?

Huey Briss — “Living Off The Land”

“A player got to play on / Let’s give ’em something to hate on / You know the love never lasts unless your name is Faizon.” Huey Briss opens “Living Off The Land” with some fun bars as we take a tour through his neighborhood in the video. He addresses the internal envy within the Black community as well, making this a layered thought experience in alignment with the record’s title.

Young Devyn — “Decisions”

Young Devyn might just be a siren because her voice on “Decisions” is extremely endearing and if you don’t listen hard enough due to the trance you’re put in, you may not catch just how aggressive she can be. The flex is uninhibited and the beat selection here seamlessly matches her approach. She may be posted outside of a corner store where danger has often been present, but you’d be a fool to try and mess with Young Devyn.

Icewear Vezzo ft. Payroll Giovanni & Peezy — “The Commission”

Gucci Mane once said to “Keep it light but excessive; clean but opulent” and Icewear Vezzo, Payroll Giovanni, and Peezy certainly take that advice to heart in their video for “The Commission.” The visual finds the rappers at an elegant table adorned with fine dinnerware, but the hood party doesn’t stop due to the environment. Bosses do what they want, right? Video aside, the rapping is high level and I love a good interweaving performance between multiple lyricists. There’s real chemistry here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

As you’re no doubt aware by now, the Supreme Court’s majority has decided to roll the U.S. back several decades on abortion access. That is to say, it’s about to become extremely difficult for millions of women to access the medical procedure, should they choose to do so. And it’s pretty wild that this was made possible by Trump-appointed justices when Trump himself has flip-flopped on the issue for decades. At this point, though, there’s little to do but react as the states feel their way through this issue.

Danny DeVito wasted no time (and few words) in tweeting how he feels on Roe v. Wade essentially being vanquished. He went short and not-so-sweet while staying on brand: “Supreme Court my ass.”

Yep, he’s got a record with this approach, as reflected by his 2013 message to the now-late Antonin Scalia:

And there’s zero harm in sounding off like this because there’s little recourse to do otherwise. The highest court in the land decided to shut down reproductive rights for women, and there will be plenty of fallout. Kansas, for example, could become an unexpected travel hotspot as their clinics are prepping to accommodate women from Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana, all of which had already mostly stripped access (or they did so today) to the procedure. Not only that, but it remains difficult for women to find doctors willing to sterilize them. Let’s just say that Nick Cannon won’t be the only guy who will soon be prepping for an impending vasectomy.

Starting with 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, arguably one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s canon, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have been working side-by-side with Chris Evans for the better part of a decade now. After the Russo Brothers and Evans wrapped up Cap’s journey in Avengers: Endgame, they re-teamed for Netflix’s adaptation of The Gray Man, which arrives next month.

While promoting the upcoming espionage thriller, the Russos fielded a question about which Marvel character they’d love to see Evans play besides Captain America. Thanks to the presence of the multiverse, which opened up endless possibilities in the recent Doctor Strange sequel, the sky is the limit. However, Joe Russo already had an answer ready to go: Wolverine. His brother Anthony was immediately on board.

Via Comic Book:

“Evans has incredible range and great physicality, and he’s real good at body control,” Joe Russo continued. “He’s an incredible actor. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but he’s nothing like Captain America. Steve Rogers is very controlled and quiet, understated. Chris is energetic and funny and charismatic, and he brings a lot of energy to set. I’d love to see him do something like Wolverine.”

The choice of Marvel’s most popular mutant is sure to raise eyebrows considering years-long rumors that Marvel wants the Russos to tackle the MCU’s version of the X-Men. The brothers have an extremely strong track record with the studio starting with Winter Soldier and capping things off with the two-part finale to The Infinity Saga.

Could this be a hint that the Russo Brother’s Marvel return is in the works? Possibly. Should fans hope to see Evans popping claws as Wolverine? Maybe don’t hold your breath on that one.

(Via Comic Book)

Severance star and prospective Emmy nominee Adam Scott didn’t really feel like he was established until a triangle of notable comedic roles came his way nearly 15 years into his career with Step Brothers, Party Down, and Parks And Rec. As he told us earlier this week, he was able to endure the ups and downs of a struggling actor’s life prior to those roles due to one very powerful thing: self-delusion and the idea that everything was going fine even when it wasn’t.

So, what do you do when the Hollywood fantasy starts to become undeniably real? For Scott, the last decade and change has been about building on his successes while chasing new challenges. After Parks ended, he sought more dramatic roles while still making space to play a douchebag on The Good Place or talk REM, U2, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers with his friend Scott Aukerman and guests (including the bands themselves) for Earwolf. He started a production company with his wife, Naomi Scott, producing, among other things, three Adult Swim specials that meticulously re-created ’80s TV openings. Up-next, a collaboration with Don Cheadle’s production company on a voter impression drama.

With Severance, though, Scott has taken his biggest on-screen swing. Teaming with series creator Dan Erickson, producer/director Ben Stiller, and an amazing cast and crew, the show isn’t afraid to challenge its audience as it takes them through a twisty and complex story about grief, memory, big tech overreach, and our fraying sense of a true work/life balance. It’s the perfect weekly addiction for this post-quarantine era of ever-shifting work-from-home dynamics. A show near-universally beloved by critics and discerning viewers, with Scott’s heartbreaking dual performance atop the list of remarked upon elements.

In the following conversation, Scott tells us about whether he knew from the start if Severance (or the infamous dance scene) would hit, the importance of delivering a season finale that offered a few answers, the charm of Ben and Leslie on Parks And Rec, getting through those early years, and, naturally, his favorite R.E.M. song.

When did you start to feel like, “Okay, this is going to work. I don’t have to go home and sell insurance. This is real?”

The answer is a little complicated because there’s a certain amount of self-delusion that you have to maintain in order to stay in Los Angeles or New York or Chicago, wherever you’ve kind of started your acting or entertainment career. I think there’s a certain amount of self-delusion that needs to be cultivated and maintained, in order to not just throw your hands up in the air and go home.

And that delusion is, “Everything’s going great. I’m doing great.” I remember in like 1996, looking around at my studio apartment and being like, “Okay. I’m supporting myself. I’ve got enough money to buy a round of beers with my friends. I can put gas in my car. This is actually pretty great.” Whereas if you really examined it, I was hanging on by a piece of floss, right?

And so it wasn’t until around 2010, when sort of the trifecta of Party Down, Step Brothers, and then getting the Parks And Rec job sort of all culminated and it started to come together for real for the first time, that I was able to look back and be like, “Oh man, I have been, to various degrees, deluding myself since 1993.” There were several times before then, where things had been kind of coalescing a bit and coming together, and then it would sort of dissipate or break apart and then come back together again. That was when I was finally like, “Okay, okay. I now have some solid footing to actually stand on, and let’s see where we can take it from here.” But up until then, as I discovered, I was standing on jello.

Were there ever pops of panic in that period where you really questioned it?

Sure. I remember in 1999 or 2000 I hadn’t worked in a while, six months or something. And then I auditioned for Six Feet Under, tested for it, and it was me and Michael C. Hall. And [I] went through the wringer, so many auditions, and obviously didn’t get it. And that was a real heartbreaker, where I was sort of like, “Maybe I just can’t do this. Maybe I can’t. I don’t know if I can take this brick wall I keep running into.” And that was a real tough time, where I remember my girlfriend, now wife, came to me and kind of asked me about, “have you ever thought of anything else?” And just someone asking you that sort of puts it into stark contrast. I’m so glad that Michael Hall got that job because he’s so much better than I would’ve been. I was not ready to have that big and complex a role on my back. I wouldn’t have been able to do what he did. He’s extraordinary.

Were there plan B options in your mind, things that you could have fallen back on?

No, I don’t know how to do anything else, truly.

You’ve done drama, you’ve done comedy. You’ve really established kind of a parallel path, which is so impressive. Is being able to do something with Severance that helps to reinforce that, is that extra satisfying?

Yeah, totally. I mean, after Parks And Rec ended in 2014, 2015, I really wanted to try and find something a little more dramatic, for lack of a better word, just because it had been a while. I’d been focusing on comedy. And so, I really sought out Big Little Lies and auditioned for it and was lucky enough to get the role in that. And that was a really fun, satisfying experience, working with Jean-Marc Vallée and all those incredible actors. And so, that really sort of reinvigorated me to try and stretch out a little bit because it had been a while. I’d kind of forgotten. Before Step Brothers, I primarily thought of myself as more of a dramatic actor, whatever that means. Because it’s all sort of the same. It more has to do with the circumstances and the writing and stuff. But anyway, having veered into comedy for a while, it was something I was looking to do a bit more of.

I don’t really like the idea of entertainment that’s dumbed down, and this certainly is the exact opposite of that. It’s a twisty, cerebral show with a lot of nuances. Is there ever a concern, though, about that and if it’s going to hit?

I mean, you never know if something’s going to work or not. No matter how good the material is, it may not come together and really work. So we were making the show, having no idea if it was going to end up working, and would kind of stop every couple of days and look at each other and just be like, “This is really just so weird. How are people going to find a way into this?” And didn’t know and worked hard at figuring it out. We started with just sort of a blank slate and had to world build. And Ben [Stiller, who produces the show and directed six episodes] and Dan Erickson who created the show, were always chipping away, trying to figure out the tone and the world and all of that stuff.

And it was hard. It was really challenging for everybody, but it was really, really fun. We weren’t ever not tired at the end of the day, because you’re spending everything you have, mentally, emotionally, physically, trying to figure this puzzle out.

Are there ever specific moments like the dance sequence — which obviously has a little bit of a second life having been meme-ified or gif-ified — when you think, “Okay, this might be quirky enough. This might hit?”

I mean when were shooting that, it was like, “Okay, well, if the entire thing works, this’ll be so fun and this’ll be a blast for people to watch, because it’ll be a respite from the tension, perhaps.” I mean, what it ended up being is even more tension, as a result of what happens there. But yeah, it’s all about everything around it, if the whole thing is working. Like when we were shooting the finale, and we were shooting it kind of in the middle of the entire shoot, because we shot the whole show at once. But when we were shooting those scenes, it was the moment when I call Patricia’s [Arquette] character Ms. Cobel, and because of that slip-up, she figures out what’s going on. When we were shooting that specific moment, we were all kind of looking at each other like, “If this works, if we have the audience with us, this moment’s going to be incredible. This is going to be so much fun.”

But you have to meticulously build to that moment in order for that moment to pay off and be fun for the audience. So, we were hoping that we would have them at that point, but you ultimately don’t know.

Why was it important to answer so many questions in the finale? Obviously, you create more questions when you do that, but I’m curious why it was important to go that way.

Well, I think we didn’t want it to be a show that just asks the questions and puts them out there for the sake of asking them and mystery for mystery’s sake. We wanted it to all fit together and make sense and give some answers for the audience, for some satisfaction. But of course, like you said, [we wanted to] ask some new ones and leave some things out there yet to be answered.

What was it about the Ben and Leslie relationship on Parks that you think still resonates with people? Because that part of the show specifically I think still connects so well.

Well, that’s 99.9 or a 100% due to Mike Schur. He wrote that relationship, he and the writers really came up with that stuff, and Amy [Poehler] and I played it. And Amy was a writer as well and had a huge hand creatively in the show. So, anything with Parks And Rec I think is due to Mike and Amy, and then we actors got to go in and play around and absorb credit for a lot of the great stuff on that show.

But yeah, I love that relationship, too, and I love Ben and Leslie. I think that these two, once they were together, they just had each other’s back and were dedicated to one another. And I think Ben was comfortable being in the shadow of his wife and would do anything for her and wanted her to rule the world. He just wanted to kind of bask in the happiness of being married to the greatest lady in the world, you know? And I think that was something that was really fun to watch. They were just two crazy kids who loved each other so much and weren’t afraid to show it. And I think that’s nice to see on a show.

Before we close, I’m curious, what’s the most important R.E.M. song to you?

That’s a good question. I think my favorite is “I Believe,” that was on Life’s Rich Pageant because it sounds the most R.E.M.-y and it sounds like a band playing outside at a 4th of July music festival or something, like playing in the sun. It sounds like American music being played in the sunshine, which sounds stupid and maybe a little antithetical to who R.E.M. are. But that’s part of what I loved about them, is they were a huge mainstream band who played interesting music that meant a lot to people and that challenged their audience. And I think that “I Believe” is a great example of all the different components that made them special. It’s not what I think is their best song or even on their best or my favorite album of theirs. But that song for me is impossible to tire of.

What’s the best song?

The best song might be “Try Not To Breathe,” maybe. It’s just kind of perfect. And Hrishikesh Hirway did that podcast where he got the guys and kind of asked them about how they made it and all the different components that went into it, and you get to kind of walk through the making of the song and get to listen to all the different isolated pieces of the song and what kind of built it. And that makes you appreciate that song even more. Song Exploder is that podcast.

But it’s always been a favorite of mine. It’s a perfect piece of music, when they were at their most confident and their kind of creative peak. Even though they made lots of great albums after that, it was sort of their apex, kind of culturally.

The first season of ‘Severance’ is available to stream on Apple TV+

Kyrie Irving’s tenure with the Brooklyn Nets seems like it could be coming to an end. After things hit a snag in talks on a contract extension between Irving and the Nets, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the expectation is Irving — who apparently has a list of teams he’d like to join in a sign-and-trade — will start looking for a new team.

Now, this is Kyrie Irving, so who knows what will actually happen, but one team that has some amount of interest in bringing him on board has been rumored to be the Los Angeles Lakers. While it would require a pretty substantial pay cut for Irving, who would have to give up about $30 million to team up with LeBron James again, Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the buzz linking him to a change in coasts has legs.

“The Lakers noise — again, really tough to pull off, but it’s somewhat substantive there,” Amick said. “You’ve got people within the league actually thinking, like, ‘Man, I think he might find a way to get back with LeBron,’ and I do get the sense that … LeBron would open that door, and we’ll see if they can pull it off.”

Irving and James were, of course, teammates in Cleveland and won a championship in 2016.