What is up, fellow thermonuclear A efforts. I am Davin Valley coming at
you with Bleacher reports and Hardwood knoxes Grant's hughes. We are back with more
offseason report cards, this time for the Southwest Division. Before we canon ball
into them, though, we have to ask, we need to ask,
Grant, how are you doing since the five minutes ago that we last just
spoke. I'm really terrible. I just had an awful conversation for an hour.
The host was a dick, and I don't want to borrow you with
it, but it just I really feel like a lesser person. No,
I feel great. I'm excited we are doing a new division, and I'm
excited to hear you go in on at least one two of these teams.
So that that's that's got my day looking really good right now. Yes,
and before we go there as a brief reminder, we laid it out on
the Central Division podcast, the full criteria, but a C is passing here,
so that's not an insult. And even like a C minus those are
passing. So if you see cs like, we're not being overly critical.
And as Grant and I've mentioned time and time again, we are grading teams
relative to the tools that were at their disposal and what they could have done
with. That said, though, let's get to the offseason vitals of the
Dallas Mavericks. To kick off the Southwest Division. Notable moves, they acquired
Christian Wood for Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquis Chris Boban Marjanovitch, and
the number twenty six pick, which turned into Wendell Moore Junior. They signed
theo Pins into a one year deal. They signed Jayden Harvey Hardy the number
thirty seven pick, to a three year, four point eight million dollars deal
that was part of their MINIMLI. They used the rest of the MINIMLI on
JaVale McGee for a three year I have this is a four point eight million
dollars deal in my notes, that is clearly wrong. A three year,
oh my god, nineteen million dollars deal with two twenty five player option.
And they also signed Tyler Dorsey to a two May contract. Notable exits and
I would say this is a pretty damn big notable exit. Dalen Brunton left
for the Knicks on a four year, one hundred four million dollars contract.
Grant what grade did you give the Dallas Mavericks for their off season? And
wait, I need to correct myself again. It was a three year,
seventeen point two million dollars contract for JaVale McGee. If anyone doesn't believe me,
there's a Google doc with twelve hundred words in it that I sent to
Grant and I have javal McGee listened as three years and four point eight million.
Please explain that one for me, Grant, that would be a pretty
good deal. My grade would be higher, I think, oh, marginally.
So I gave Dallas a C minus, which is going to seem high
based on consensus and based on what I know about you. I'll start with
us. I'll start with the good. The good is I think the Christian
Wood trade makes sense. I think they're It feels like the kind of move
that you're getting a very talented player that has mostly been on bad teams,
who I think probably has a has had no small part in building a reputation
as a guy that's kind of out for his numbers and maybe is not super
helpful to a winner. I think playing in Dallas is really the first chance
he's going to have with a few years under his belt to really like matter,
and so I think there's a scenario, maybe it's just being optimistic,
there's a scenario where he really helps them, Like he becomes a second option
that's like at least as good as Brunson, potentially, like a guy that
just really scores it, really stretches the defense, really matters, takes the
load off of Luca, which has been the issue forever there in kind of
a different way than getting like a true point guard or whatever. So I
think there's upside there, and I think the price was totally reasonable to pay
to get a player as talented as him. Maybe he kills their defense,
maybe it doesn't work. I just like I like the gamble. So that's
the good. The bad is kind of everything else except another reason in that
the C minus is in there for me and not something worse is I don't
feel like I have a handle yet on what exactly the circumstances were of Brunson's
free agency. Now you can certainly penalize the maps for the low ball the
extension stuff earlier, not getting it done sooner, maybe pissing him off,
But at the same time, you know they had it. They had the
opportunity to offer the fifth year and more money. I guess that didn't happen.
I don't know if they got a real shot to make that offer.
I heard reports either way. I think I think if that were the situation,
if they just decided that we're not going over one hundred and four million
or whatever over any number of years, then that's a mistake in their great
needs to be in the d range. I just don't know that to be
true. Maybe you can correct me. I don't know if you know that
either. But so it's a C minus now because I think losing Brunson hurts.
If they lost him for the worst kind of reasons, which is just
cheapness or whatever, that's bad. But I do think it's you know,
Spencer Dinwiddie, I think has played a bigger role in the past. He
was actually pretty good, really good for stretches for Dallas last year except for
no matter most but please continue. The loss of Brunson can sort of be
backfilled, especially if wood works you know better than most think, or as
well as maybe I think, as possible, just to sort of canvas the
whole rest of the thing. The McGee signing. I just he's not going
to close games. I don't feel apparently, well, yeah, he'll be
the ceremonial starter. That's that's fine. I just I just feel like that
was a reaction to, man, we really can't defend the room against the
Warriors and the conference semi or conference final what was the conference finals? I
can't even remember now, this was so long ago. Conference finals. So
they had stretches where with Clebo as the lone big like it just didn't work,
and they're like, let's get a tall range you guy to block shots.
Like he's not going to be on the court at the end of games.
So you kind of just I don't know, maybe you want to preserve
Cleband dur in the year because he tends to break down, But like McGee
doesn't make sense on this team, especially with Wood on the roster. So
it's a C minus for me. Knowing the particulars of the Brunson situation could
move that down substantially. So let me get to what I liked about Dallas
is offseason and we're done. No. I like the Christian Wood trade overall.
I think people are too low on him, and I think we'll probably
se him play better defense. On a team that matters. I also,
I like the Jadeen Hardy pick. I don't the people and the contract.
If he pans out that's gonna look really good for the Mavericks, then you're
gonna get mad at Jaden Hardy's agent, Like that's how this whole thing works.
I just the people that think he's gonna play like a role as a
ball handlering year one. That's a if that needs to happen. First of
all, trade Frank neil a Keena to a team. I'll actually use him
then, But in all, Ash Valley's just that's not a situation that you
want to be in. So I like both the Jayden Hardy pick seems like
a good one, and the Christian Wood trade actually was supportve of that.
I don't like the idea of him and Javal McGee starting together, but one
that can change in two as you noted, like that's something that could be
ceremonial and that you just stagger moving forward. I hate the Javal McGee contract.
I would have preferred, like, just like, why not Hassan Whiteside
at the minimum. Honestly, why did his number? What's that? Why
not Drummond his number drumming. Did his number h DeAndre Jordan? Definitely?
Why not de Wayne Deadman even at the number you gave to Javal McGee.
So I hated that. And then a player option entering his age thirty seventh
season what and this is someone mentioned this, I can't remember who it was.
I was this a circumstance where this deal was already done and then they
didn't know they were going to have be able to get Christian Wood for the
you know, the song that they acquired him for, and that's still ding
them for like you can't even tamper correctly. That doesn't make it better.
So there's I didn't I don't love the strug if it was even if it
was a two like a team option, like I just I'd feel a little
bit better about that. I also just don't love the player fit because now
you have would and White Powell and you also have Maxi Kleiba. So and
it's also just like every minute that you're playing with two bigs, like where
Kleiba's your four, Dorian Phinney Smith is not your four, and I think
he unlocks you unlock some of your best lineups where Phinney Smith and block around
the court at the same time. But the big one here for me is
the jail and Brunson signing. So we know Perl mark Stein that the Maverick
could have had him on that four year, fifty five point six million dollars
extension twice, he was willing to sign it twice. They elected to keep
their flexibility open for trades, which to me was always stupid because a player
who is entering free agency who also isn't making a ship ton of money isn't
going to help you a lot in trades because teams have to one factor in
that they're going to pay him, and then two, he doesn't even work
as like a salary matching tool because he was so cheap. He would have
been inextricably more valuable on his next deal leading into or during next season.
And the other thing was just that if you thought that wasn't overpay, did
you not consider what is going to happen to the cap climate as we're moving
forward and you were uncomfortable with paying Jalen Brunson an average annual value of what
that would have been like seventeen million a year at four years and fifty five
that's a terrible math was that fourteen million a year, let's say, but
you were totally comfortable giving Javal McGee like six what no like? Explain that
to me the other thing, and I think it's fair to ding them for
that. Even though the extension talks didn't happen over the off season, and
there were reports and my reports, we know that Mark Cuban said that Dallas
didn't really have a chance to present their deal to Brunson. Well, the
reports were also that they were willing to go five years, one hundred and
ten million dollars, So they were basically willing to give Jalen Brunson about as
much as over five as the Knicks gave him over four. Yeah, and
you're a team that can justify paying more because you have Luca Donchez already and
Brunson was really good. And when you look at this exact contract he signed,
I don't think the Knicks should have signed him, but I think that's
more about their organizational direction, the fit of the players around him. Where
I think is going to be their inability to create enough space so that he
is as lethal inside the arc. But you could have paid him, and
he is also as of right now projects the fifteenth highest paid point guard in
the league last year. I know you have up next year. I know
you have Luka Doncic. You were good enough, having just made a conference
finals appearance. That was not a fluke. This was not the Blazers making
the conference finals because of all those injuries. Yes, the Clippers weren't involved,
the Nuggets weren't healthy, but you beat the fucking Suns and you embarrass
them in Game seven to not even have an offer that would have come close
or I don't want to say close, but like relatively respectable offer in comparison
to what the Knicks were prepared to give him. Why did you value this
player so lowly and you have Luka done? What is just what is the
plan here to get better? You don't you like you don't have any blue
chip prospects to trade at this point. This to me was an instance of
you signed Jalen Brunson and then if you want to move him, figure that
out later. Because his number where he would have been the yo, he's
the fourteen highest paid point guard. Excuse me. If he was like the
around that number as well for Dallas, like you would have been able to
move him eventually if you needed to. So I think that they deserve to
be absolutely crucified for the way that they handled Jalen Brunson from the middle of
the year right on through this situation. And if they didn't get a chance
to present their deal, I guess that's like a feather in their cap.
But what does that say that your own player, who enjoyed the best beastball
of his career this past season en route to the conference finals wouldn't even give
you the time of day to present your deal. It says too much about
how you handled him in the past or about what your offer was going to
be. So I think it's fair. I said, I liked the jail
the Christian would trade. Excuse me, that's like really the only bright spot
for me of them this offseason. Yeah, I think. So, I'm
not going to penalize him. Obviously, not signing him for four or fifty
five is acidine, Like that's a huge mistake. I'm just not gonna I'm
not gonna penalize him for that because it's not technically the off season maybe,
and which is kind of like disingenuous because like obviously it affected how he felt
about lawyer in the off season. I'm just saying, but from the rule,
if it right, I'm just I'm just a rule follower. I'm just
trying to follow from rules. If Dallas had the ability to go five for
what could what was the most could they have gone like one twenty somethings him
out if they wanted to. I'm not saying like that was the right if
they have the ability to pay him, because he's getting what twenty six a
year now the front loaded it. But yeah, his average is out to
about twenty six million dollars a year, average annual value of twenty six if
like if the maps had the ability to do five years at twenty nine per
just averaging it all out, or even thirty like, I think it is
a huge, horrible mistake and they deserve to have their grade for me lowered
down probably to where you're at, which I don't know. Did you say
what you gave them? I gave him a D minus. I don't know
if I gave him. I gave him. I gave them as a D
minus. It was implied based on just you know, so I would I
could get that low. I just still feel like it was just done the
whole NIXT thing was just done, and it may have been done the second
that they didn't extend him earlier. But I just I just don't I don't
know, there's too many even though I know you laid it out. I
feel like, if if it's the case that they could have given him five
for you know, twenty nine million a year, I don't know what,
So what is your like reticence that they couldn't have there? His max salary
was like thirty seven and a half million, right, twenty five percent of
the one fifty cap. So I just feel like there's well, I don't
think they would have gone that. I just I feel like there's just a
bunch of bullshit on both sides. And I feel like the CIA and NIXT
stuff makes it makes it plausible that the four one oh four has been done
for a long time and they hired his dad. I know he's Rick Bruns.
I know he's like worked in the league a bunch of times, especial
the under Tom Thibeau before, But first of all, the audacity to not
wait to hire him until like like after this is all over. It's just
my notthing. No, I'm sticking with my number. Uh, because I
have a sense that anything the MAVs could have done it was like too late
once the offseason hit. And I guess just because I'm just gonna follow the
rule that I don't know, why then why not win the press conference by
saying by throwing it if it was done by going five just even including the
fifth year at the same average annual value, So five years and one million,
right, Yeah, it's it's almost it's like unforgivable if that was a
real option and that could have and he wasn't. Just I'm already gone.
I don't care what you offer. But it doesn't even Yeah, Like so
they didn't even like win. They want nothing. Yeah, they want they
want no aspect of breast. Agree that moves us to the Houston Rockets.
Uh. Their notable moves include they draft Jabari Smith junior at number three.
They drafted Terry Easton at number seventeen. They traded Christian Wood to the Mavericks
for Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marky's Chris bobad Marianovic, and the number
twenty six pick, which became one toe More junior. They also created a
three point nine million dollars traded player exception as part of that grant. Fun
fact, did you know that? As a right now? Unless I'm completely
wrong, which is possible, there's not a traded player exception in the league
worth ten million dollars or more at the moment. Wow, right, amazing,
But I'm going to make about that all year exactly so. They also
the Rockets, sorry for that little detour. They acquired ty Ty Washington the
number twenty nine pick, Mini's twenty twenty five and twenty twenty seven seconds,
both unprotected for the number twenty seven pick, which was Wendell Moore junior that
they had gotten in the Mavericks trade. They signed Jay Shawn Tait to a
three year, twenty two point one million dollar deal with a team option on
the final season. They did that after declining his initial team option. They
agreed to a buyout with John Wall. He gave back six and a half
million dollars. They resigned from Fernando to an exhibiten deal, and they signed
Trevor Hudgins to a two way contract. Their notable exits include Trevelin, MVP
of the Jail and Brunton League Queen. He signed a two year deal with
the Sixers and then Dennis Shrewder. As of this recording remains unsigned. What
did you give the Rockets? And I bet the thing that I'm going to
harp on is the move that you cannot guess that I'm going to harp on.
Oh, I've now, I'm intrigued. I gave the Rockets an A.
This is one of my only flat a's and just working big to small
again, he could talk me into an A minus. So working big to
small. I think their draft, like again, there's some some component of
luck. I think I think Smith was just the right guy for them had
they been at sort of anywhere in the top five, just like I think
he's the fit. So I like that. I like Eason and Washington.
I think both of those guys make sense. Eason especially, I think is
pretty interesting getting the first for Wood, getting the wall buyout. That's just
I just love a little about me. I'm a big fan of just like
getting rid of stuff, like so I'll go out in my garage and just
like therapeutically, it's like this has got to go and it doesn't even matter
like I might I might need it in six months. I just wanted on
because I feel like it complicates my life. I don't want a bunch of
stuff and moving on John Walls like you have cleaned the garage out, like
because I'm still there, but there's still time to trade him. Uh,
you've just removed like this, this thing that doesn't fit that that's gotta go.
Eventually you've done it. It sucks, you got to buy him out
whatever, and then then Jason Field. I think that's I think everyone's comparing
it to the contract that Lou Dort got. Not fair, but just like
if the sticker shock of being like total value worth a quarter of what Dort
is getting is very appealing to me and for a sort of similar player.
So just in terms of draft like it free agency, I don't know that
you know, it didn't really do anything, but getting rid of John Wall
kind of counts trades like the Wood trade, signings like the Tate signing.
So just like as I go down the list, there's not really anything other
than not getting something great for Eric Gordon, which they can do at the
deadline or whatever. I just kind of like everything they did. There aren't
necessarily any home runs here unless you're really big on Smith, but everything just
kind of worked and based on the assets they had, the flexibility they had,
the flexibility they created. I think they did about as well as they
could realistically do. And I would love to hear what this move is that
you hate so much? No, no love, oh love so much?
Great, let's hear it. So the only thing I really didn't like about
their off season was there's just like a lack of a pure properly sized wing.
Terry Easton is it? I would say, Jay Shawn Tate a little
smaller at six four. I know we can guard up, but I'm talking
more of like the three in D caliber. Easton is like, is either
only option there? I mean, do you Jalen Green not a wing?
Josh Christopher not really away? I guess Eric Gordon afies. They still have
Sterling Brown and David Nawaba, but I would have liked to have seen them
sort of reallocate some of their Like they have these you know, they're like
combo forwards or bigs where you're looking at at kJ Martin uh, and then
like they just make the signing of Willie cauley Stein was weird where it's like,
well why not, I'd rather you take a flyer on Utah wants an
abe at this point, something along those lines. So I dung them a
little for that. This is all to say I gave them an a minus.
Okay, good, I just thought you were getting way down there.
It's like, who cares if they don't have a wing. This team is
trying to win like fourteen games this year. Well, still like just balance
to the roster a little bit as it is, though, like they're gonna
have a hard time carving out playing time for all these guys. kJ Martin
already requested a trade. Oh wild, Yeah, you gotta have some reels.
I envy the level of self confidence that he has to ask for a
trade off the team. My spicy take would be like, if I were
the Heat, I would trade my first round pick this year for him.
Oh interesting, Yeah, do you think that's what his value is around the
league? Or you just like no, not even, not even. I
think he probably would have been traded already if that was his value around the
league. Also, one of the things that the Christian would trade, I
wasn't super impressed with the value, and people took that to mean, well,
you didn't watch Christian would play this season, And I was like,
no, I just thought that they were going to be able to get like
a little bit more than a bottom five. First for him, I think
the untold value in that it's just you open up a ton of minutes in
your front court. Alpren Shanggun Jabari Smith Junior, Usman Garubus should hopefully get
him run this year. I also think I came away from Summer League lower
than I was on Jabari Smith's offense and way higher on his defense. That's
the thing. He's not the kind of player he was necessarily billed as.
I mean, the defense was part of the package, but I think that's
his path to like mattering as a rookie is defensively. First, I was
asked for one of the mailbags that we did, I don't know at this
point, like a month ago, to give the hyperbolic like player comparison,
And so I did hybrid melds and I said, Jabari Smith Junior's apex reminds
me of like if Kevin Garnett had sex with Chris Middleton. Think about that,
come the spawn. Why do you have to get to your hybrid that
way? Like can we just do it in a lab or something like?
Okay, the spawn of like crossing the DNA of Kevin Garnett and Chris Middleton.
That sounds like a pretty good player. I feel like he'll turn out
all right, Yeah, he might be good. I think there were a
couple of rocket Stons that were mad. I used Chris Middleton's said of Kevin
Durant. But what do you so the move that I loved because I don't
really have anything to add to what you said other than I think this was
just a I like Eason, I even like ty Ty Washington. I think
if they're willing to not invest so much equity and I'm not as hot and
Kevin Porter Junior as everybody, I'd like to see what ty Ty Washington could
do in some of the floor general minutes, or even as the microwave guy
off the bench, but not as the microwave guy, more as the Tias
Jones of the bench than the Kevin Porter Jr. But like they when you
look at that deal they made with the Timberwolves, and I triple check this,
so unless I still have something wrong, you traded number twenty six for
twenty nine and then two Minnesota second that are unprotected in twenty five and twenty
seven when we're not even sure that Minnesota is going to be really good.
What a trade? I'm sorry, I've an incredible trade by by the Rockets,
Like I think ty tight Washington. Yeah he's small, but he plays
so much bigger to me on the defensive end. I was like, going
through the details of that trade, I was just in awe and so I
liked pretty much everything about their off season. I would have liked to have
seen like more of a wing emphasis where it's not who is the best pure
wing on this team? Yeah, I don't like it's probably eacent. I
probably want someone a little bit more better than that. Who's not Eric Gordon,
who's bigger than Eric Gordon, who's bigger than Jay Shawn Tait, who's
not Sterling Brown, who's not David Nwaba. It's just it's just it's too
Hodgepodge is all. But I gave them an a minus. Yeah, that's
fair. I mean really worst case on that. I love that you've got
so deep in the weeds. You're praising a trade that brought back two seconds,
but at worst that's two three seconds, because the difference between twenty six
and twenty nine is just like, I mean, who cares right, Like,
it just doesn't make there's there's nothing you're getting. Maybe those picture in
the fifties if everything were, but maybe they're in the thirties. I thought
it was like a really good Probably at the time it looked better because the
Gobert trade had not happened at that point. I believe, right that happened
post draft, Yes, it happened right before. Yeah, it happened in
July. What is time anyway, So like it probably looked a lot better,
but like just who's just the track record suggests that Minnesota might not be
elite, And so that twenty twenty seven second we're talking about an older Rudy
Gobert, is that that might be his free agent, like after he's a
free agent in when he picks up his player option. He will be a
free agent in twenty six, so it's the year after that. So I
just thought that was just this small trade that was made a lot of sense.
So a minus for me on the Rockets, all right, that's what
the people come for that level of detail. The Memphis Grizzlies notable moves include
they signed Tire Showings to a two year, twenty nine million dollars deal.
They sign John Morant to a five year designated rookie extension one ninety two point
nine million. It will be thirty percent of the cap. If he makes
all MBA that could escalate two. Then two hundred and thirty one million,
I believe is the number we settled on. Yeah, two hundred thirty one
million as of now with the cat projections. They acquired point guard Kennedy Chandler
number thirty eight from the Spurs for the Lakers is twenty twenty four second round
pick and one million dollars in cash. They then signed. They then signed
Kennedy Chanler to a two year contract. They signed coach Taylor Jenkins to a
two year contract extension. They acquired Jake Lerabia the number nineteen pick for Walker
Kessler the number twenty two pick and ty Ty Washington number twenty nine, So
they traded twenty two and twenty nine for number nineteen. They acquired David Roddy
number twenty three and Danny Green from the Sixers for Danthony Melton, who had
two years, sixteen point three million dollars left on his deal. They signed
John Contardo a three year, nineteen point million dollars extension fully guaranteed. They
drafted Vincent Williams junior at number forty seven and then signed him to a two
way contract, and they signed Kenny Lofton to a two way contract. Notable
exits. Jared Culver remains unsigned. They waved Tyrol Arry and Kyle Anderson signed
with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Grant, what did you give the Memphis Grizzlies?
So I gave him a flat sea and I think a lot of that again
going big to small, like there was, there was never really any doubt.
But getting Morant lockdown great, I think. And normally you'd say,
well, that's awesome because they did a straight five. There's no player option.
I'm pretty sure I think you said that, so like you've got your
cornerstone. Of course, like there aren't a lot of guys his age that
are as accomplished as him that are scarier to be committed to long term just
because of the injury risk and what's already happened injury wise, the style of
play obviously contributing to that, but whatever, that's that's all hypothetical. The
other thing I really loved that they did was getting back I feel like,
we spent a lot of this season talking about how, like, man,
somebody is gonna pay Tis Jones because there just aren't any point guards, Like
you know, the Knicks are going to give him twenty million a year or
what you know, Just it seemed like there was a chance where he was
going to be among the most sought after players like full stop and certainly among
the most thought after point guards. So getting him back for two years at
like reasonable money, especially since, like if last year's indication, he's going
to start a whole bunch of games for them, So like that, that's
that works for me. Then to the stuff, I'm not as much of
a fan of losing Melton. I think hurts and you sort of I think
I assume when we get there, we're going to look at what the Sixers
did in the offseason and say, like, God, they got Melton for
what, like he's gonna maybe close games for them or at least be a
for sure rotation guy. So if you're gonna think that way, you have
to look at what the Grizzlies did and giving him up for Danny Green,
who I assume is not going to play for the vast majority of the season
if at all ever, I just you know, and that twenty three pick,
I you know, I don't know, that doesn't really do it for
me. Losing Kyle Anderson for nothing reasonable minds could disagree on how useful he
is, especially going forward. But now that Jaren Jackson's gonna miss a bunch
of time, maybe Kyle Anderson was gonna matter a little more in your rotation.
I don't know, I just it evens out for me. The thing
that I I think maybe some people will fault the Grizzlies for that I don't
necessarily is we came into this offseason with like, watch out because Memphis has
potential to do something with cap space and they're gonna need to do it now
because Morant's big number will hit down the line and your cap space won't be
there. They've got all these picks they've got, They're just like watch out
for them as a big and they just didn't. They didn't do anything consequential,
which I think looking at how far they advanced last year and the uncertainty
surrounding Morant, like staying healthy kind of might have been time to do something
if you're really aggressive minded about like we gotta jump through this window because it's
open a crack, and that might be all the wider it ever is open.
I'm still not going to penalize them because they just still have a ton
of talent. Like I think it's okay to be a little more deliberate.
It does suck to lose two guys that you know, we're helpful for a
return that I didn't like a ton for talking about Melton and Anderson. So
it's just an average grade. It's kind of a cop out. I am
receptive to people being lower than that, though. Yeah, so I gave
them a C minus so I was riding locks up with you. The bulk
of this grade is because they signed John Morant to that extension and there's no
player options, so that gives them the ultimate control over his future and their
own. Really there then too, I did not like and I liked the
Tias Jones deal. Just it's a two year deal. If you think it's
a slight overpay at almost fifteen million dollars a year, just whatever, that's
the cap is going up, and he was incredibly doesn't turn the ball over
if he's hitting enough of his threes. And then just the defensive peskiness he
gives you. There's just that's quality game managing from him, and just based
off some of the time Urant has missed over the past few years, you're
gonna need to use him, which is also why I was kind of like,
oh, you just gave the anty melting the way I like, you
could still fold Danny Green's salary into a different trade. He would help you
if he was going to be healthy, but we don't know if he would
be ready at all this season. So I think what makes me most uncomfortable
about their off season. It's not even that they didn't take a big swing,
because who are they taking him big swing on? Who would you have
liked them to sign him free agency? That's part of all this. But
they are banking, to me way too much on not just internal development,
but some of the new like the new rookies making an impact right away,
Like I enjoy the idea of, oh, could David Roddy be Like sort
of this undersize big for them. Who's stretching the floor based off how many
of his threes he hit during his final season at Colorado State? I mean,
maybe, but he's also six five and he had shot under twenty eight
percent from three through his first two seasons at Colorado State. His freed row
percentage actually dipped below seventy percent in his third season at Colorado State while he
was hitting forty three point eight percent of his threes. This is all sort
of happening on not negligible volume, but it wasn't super high volume either.
So were you banking on him in the ravea to make these impacts right away?
Or are you banking on that does been made to be only as good
as he was last year even better? And now I became very high on
Zeyer Williams, but you've kind of decided with what you did this obviously that
he's just ready to be. And that's also this is happening with Jaren Jackson
Junior is probably gonna miss some time to start the season based off the timeline
for his return, and so to not diversify the front court rotation a little
bit more, especially knowing Look, I know Steven Adams wasn't played off the
floor the entire playoffs, but like knowing the issue it became against the Timberwolves,
it probably would have made more It made more sense to me to go
after someone who wasn't like just more diverse than Adams or Xavier Tilmann or Brandon
Clark. And knowing that Jaren Jackson Junior is dealt with injuries now in the
past and is currently dealing with one, I feel like last season was not
a flash in the pan. And I've also been lower on the Grizzlies for
three years running than consensus, and they've just made me look like a fucking
idiot each and every time. So maybe this will happen for a fourth year
running. But they're not. I don't look at them and say, well,
they're a team that's going to contend for the second best record in the
NBA in you have the Clippers, who are going to be healthier, The
Nuggets should be healthier, the Pelicans should be healthier. The Wolves got better.
What if the Lakers just don't suck? Portland should be healthier and they
have an interesting team. I see a scenario where Memphis is not guaranteed one
of those top six spots in the West. I'm not even sure if we
went through it right now off the cuff, and I don't want to do
it because I'll piss people off. I don't know that I would have them
in my top six just yet. And I'm not saying that they should have
been more aggressive than in trying to make a win now trade, but like
something along the lines of getting rid of the Anthony Melton was that one hundred
percent necessary or even safe? And could you also have done something like like
it's very much hypocritical for me to say all this and then not have names
that are standing out, but like you couldn't have been the team that because
you had your mid level like couldn't have taken a look at Isaiah Hartenstein to
diverse, diverse how your front comtrotation. I know you have a lot invested
in Jared Jackson Junior and Steven Adams Adams during an expiring contract and if not
that, like, you're definitely a team that I think could have stepped on
the toes of some of these, you know, wing debates, like why
weren't you? I would have loved to have seen them attached to either of
the Martin twins. Would have worked for them. They weren't even like they
weren't linked to Otto Porter Junior might maybe he's more four than wing. That's
fine too, uh, you know, like even when bringing back Kyle Anderson
have made some sense, especially with this Jaren Jackson junior Andreyels and space or
floor, but he gives you some ball handling in the front court as well.
I'm just not like, I'm not on board with them being this trusting
or having this much faith in their ability to I guess, not even just
develop, but like it seems like have at least one of their rookies primary
rookies make an impact. I mean even just like something like why weren't you
even like, couldn't you combine youth and flyer and inexperience with some entrenched like
a mere coffee? Is just my example here he signed a three year,
eleven million dollars deal with the Clippers. Not terrible experience, but just like
having a secondary wing type guy that you know can already play, rather than
hedging so many of your I guess so much of your immediacy to like what
are still bets because Desmond Bane is only in his third year, Ziah Williams
is a sophomore, John Morand is really good, But how many games might
John Morand miss? And yet you still get rid of Melton. I think
there's a chance this team could be just as good, if not a little
better, and maybe they wind up winning fewer games. I just feel like
the likelihood of them actually being better than they were last season throw win loss
record, standing in the West out the window. I just feel like it's
lower than it should be after going through this offseason. I agree with that.
I think there's a there's two guys that I think a ton is riding
on and at Williams you mentioned because even if even if it does feel like
they're pretty comfortable with him being ready, but like ready in this case means
like not just now, but this is the guy that when when Jackson is
back and were talking maybe even two three years from now, like Baine and
Williams, like it's a conversation between who is like our third most important player
assuming Jackson continue is healthy and continues on, you know some at some point,
Mary's like a high three point percentage with all the shop blocking and defense,
like he hasn't quite put that full season together. I don't know if
Williams is that good. I think it's a possibility. I don't think he's
gonna be better than like a solid starter this year, right Like that would
be very impressive and then Brandon Clark's the other guy because now Noe Anderson Jackson's
out, he's kind of the only guy that I mean, I don't know,
maybe Roddy is going to be that trustworthy. But like even if Jackson
is getting major minutes, like you're losing the stretch that Jackson gave you at
least in theory, like you're it's a hard combination with with Steven Adams,
and there are just I think maybe there's gonna be a lot of minutes there,
maybe you play, maybe Clark plays a lot more center and they I
don't know, there's so he's got a suddenly much more important role. And
this is someone that like has never really felt like a core like you know,
I think he's extension eligible and it doesn't seem like anything is in a
rush to get done on that front. So those two guys, Williams and
Clark are in like maybe a little more important roles than they ought to be.
So I don't know, I just think it might not even be their
fault, but that that that the rest of the West got better. Uh.
But I agree that like there's a scenario where Memphis is like a fifty
win team, Uh, and they're fighting for you know, the seventh spot
or something like that, or you know the sixth spot. But also,
like the downsides are real because for sure, because think of like how they've
handled Jackson injuries in the past, like the tormeniscus kept them out for like
longer than anyone's ever been out with the tormeniscus, and just add that injury,
add this injury to the pile, like that's the more you get,
the worst it is. And what are the odds they win as many games
they do as they did last year when Morant missus twenty games or however many,
It is like they're not going to do that. They're not going to
do the eighteen and two or whatever. It ended up being at its high
point as good as Jones is. So yeah, the downside risk is very
real, and moving Melton does not mitigate that risk. That exacerbates the risk
because you're just thinner at a position that it was already tough. So yeah,
it's I still go and see. But yeah, I feel the C
minus for sure. I can respect that the John Moran contract really saved them,
and I do like the idea of Roddy and even la Ravia a little
bit too just it feels like maybe one of them can't be brought along as
slowly as maybe they need to be. But this could be a flex by
the Grizzlies that works out. We'll have to see the next team. This
is a really easy team because they didn't do much. The New Orleans Pelicans.
Their notable moves include drafting Tyson Daniels at number eight. They drafted EJ.
Liddell at number forty one. He did tear his ACL though. Then
they signed Zion Wings into a five year designated rookie extension one hundred ninety two
point nine million dollars. It can be as much as one hundred thirty one
million dollars if he makes an All NBA team. There are protections on a
year to year basis. I have yet to see here read about what the
specific like dollar amount protections are. But there apparently is a cause in his
contract that his weight and body fat percentage must total under two hundred and ninety
five. I don't know what how often that's going to be checked. I
don't know if there's an injury forgiveness there to where is it realistic to expect
him to keep his weight in body fat percentage down if he's injured and can't
work out at full bore. But that is they signs Im Williamson and he
is h There's no player option in that either, by the way, so
that's that's huge for them. And then they're only notable exit and i'll put
exit in air quotes. Is that Tony Snell remains unsigned at the moment,
So grant, what did you give the Pelicans? So this, if I
could give an incomplete I would just because I want to know everything about the
language in Zionce contract. I'm giving him a B and if you want to
give if someone gave him a flat A, because like, hey, the
biggest question mark hanging over this franchise, which was is Zion going to stay
even though we've seen players ask out with years left on their contracts. That's
a thing. You've got him under contract, so so that's big, Like
you've eliminated the big uncertainty, the big like speculation, you know, the
point of speculation that has been hanging around for like two years now, that's
big. I don't have a strong opinion on Dyson Daniels yet, I think
he's someone who because EJ. Liddell's hurt, but Daniels is someone who I
think could swing the grade like a full letter, depending on what you think
about him. I like the idea of him. I just you know,
maybe maybe he'll be the latest to get get a shot fixed up and then
suddenly he's like a versatile defender who has great court sense and can move the
ball and he's a wing and that's super valuable. I don't know yet,
We'll see. I guess i'd say if Williamson meets that two ninety five weight
plus body fat percentage, like if if he because that's like I mean,
I don't know what he was walking around at for even in his healthy year,
but it can't have been much less than like two eighty five. I
don't think he's gonna be pretty like he's gonna be a monster if if he
meets that criteria, which feels like a tough bar to meet for him not
knowing exactly what he weighed, but just kind of eyeballing it. I think
the upsides massive. This could just be an a if Zion is fully healthy
and meets all the criteria and is great, because he would look ridiculous because
they lock down a guy who suddenly is like maybe a top ten player,
you know, as soon as next year. I don't know, But I
just don't know enough to go any higher than a B right now. Yeah,
you're a Debbie Downer here, man. I want a minus, so
not terribly higher than yours. I think I'll start with the only thing that
you can really quibble over, and I think I'm in the minority with this.
I would have been more proactive in diversifying the front court around Zion already.
I don't want to see Jackson, Hayes, Joan his Valanciunist get a
ton of minutes. And I don't think that they're going to trust the Larry
nanc Junior, zie On Williamson lineups up front enough. And I definitely don't
think they're gonna trust like Herb Jones, Trey Murphy's eye on front line with
maybe Ingram and McCullum go point guardless, I want to see them. I
don't know how much of a staple they're gonna be. I would have been
more proactive addressing that. At the same time, they didn't use their mid
level I don't know who they were going to spend it on. When you
look at how deep this roster is right now, and even knowing like,
hey, they're gonna get Kyra Lewis back, and I think Dyson Daniels should
actually play. I'm in love with that pick, by the way, everything
you mentioned, plus I'm going to cake in his potential getting to work with
fred Vincent, where it's like, if you have Fred Vincent and Chip England,
like as you're shooting coaches, one of those two they could be a
shot doctor. And so I think that he has the potential to hit more
of his jumpers than he did while he was at school. And I liked
the fact that they have Zion under team control for five years, And even
if it's loosely protected sort of like the Joel Embia contract where his career would
have essentially needed to end for the Pelicans to be washed of his money,
like that doesn't really actually matter because even if you like, what changes if
you take Zion wims In off this team because of injuries, they suck,
So you're not gonna need the like the money anyway. And so if the
fact that you just have him under teams control for that long, we know
what he is at his peak as a sophomore that was an All NBA player,
Like that was just the way he was playing. He was an All
NBA player. So I think that's a home run for them, like I
said, and I think Tyson Daniels was the right pick. I was very
intrigued by EJ. Liddell and I thought that, oh, is this like
another sort of just value they found. This is a team for me that
I've said it, And I don't think I'm getting ready to say some pretty
recklessly optimistic things about the Pelt because I think I've said them already, so
I might just be a lot higher on them. It was just an a
minus for me, and I would have been more aggressive in I'm not saying
they needed to go out and get Miles Turner, but was there a way
to just make different moves And like, even if it was a Chris Bouchet
instead of having Jackson Hayes on this roster, I'm not saying that exact player,
that scale of a move I think is gonna better serve them to me
long term than trying to get Zion to work with either Jackson Hayes or Jonah
valent Show and yes, Pelicans fans, I know that Jonis vound Junis takes
threes. I'm very much aware that that is a thing. Yeah, you
can't bring up. I wish they just had a little more stretched without or
without that. Oh no, no, no, no. The greatest upfaker
in the world currently does take what two three a game, something like that.
I don't know. I think my favorite offseason trade that I used a
million times, which in hindsight now seems ridiculous, was like Jackson Hayes and
DeVante Graham and eight to the Pistons for Jeremy Grant, which would have blown
away the offer that Pistons got for Grant ultimately, because I just liked the
idea of Jeremy Grant and the closing five on this team that doesn't that sort
of moves the log jam or clears the log jam by getting rid of Hayes.
But that turned out that would have been a significant overpay giving up eight.
I just so back just on Zion real quick, because I do feel
like an asshole for just looking at the downside of this. I think I
am anchored to the idea of I remember seeing him at Duke like before.
I think he'd already had one knee injury, but just and then athletically thinking
like, this guy is the greatest athlete like we've ever seen. This is
like Lawrence Taylor. That's just like he's a different level. And then even
before you know, well, then he missed a chunk of his rookie year
and coming back, it just never was there. And I just decided then
that like with the weight issues and the conditioning issues and the injuries piling up,
we've already seen like the best of this guy. Now that looked real
bad when he was putting up twenty seven on sixty one percent shooting, but
then he got hurt again, and so I'm still anchored. I'm just the
pessimistic side of this, to me is like there is a legit world where
two years from now the worst happens, and we're thinking, like, can
you fucking believe they gave a five year deal to this guy and now the
protections could change that we just don't really know what the dollar amounts are.
There's just a scenario where I can imagine us talking like, man, that
was really one of the worst kind of max contracts given out considering all of
the time he's missed and the way the unique weight issues for a player this
athletic too. It's like it's it's just there's a lot of uncertainty. What
makes this so different from the Joel and Beat stuff? Then though not not
a lot, Like that's the thing that's the upside. But like you said,
like there was a way that the Sixers were just going to get out
from under, like all of that. If I knew that about this deal,
then great, Like then I would feel much. I would imagine it
has to be the same. But you're basically only getting out from under if
his career is over. And my point was though, is do you even
doesn't matter how much money you're paying him if whether you're saving that yes financially
sure, Like yeah, I get it. But if you have Zion Williamson
as a MAX number that's not contributing or less than a MAX player, if
you just removed him from the books and then removed his money, you're in
the same spot functionally. See, I feel differently because I think what the
Pelicans started to do last year suggest that, like, you know, bring
that team back. It says Zion doesn't play. I'm still looking at them
as like they might be a top sixty like they I'd give them nearly as
good a shot as Memphis to to like be in the mix for one of
the you know five to six, seven eight range of a play. Are
they trying to be the Kings though, Like, well that's not the Kings
are trying to finish well. By the way, if the Kings can't get
in the play in this year, because there's there's like four other teams in
the West that have that are not going to try and I have them as
one of them, but it we'll get you. No. I think Zion
is the piece that you add it to the roster they had last year and
it's like, well shit, like this team is a threat to anybody,
like they could really their their ceiling is super high, so I think there's
still I think that makes it more dangerous because you're taking that ceiling down.
They're still pretty good and you're like just regretting. I don't know, I'm
talking to myself, way way too far down. Zion deal. It's a
small market team that locked up on number one pick that wasn't a lock to
want to stay. So we should just I should shut up and just look.
The other thing is just my whole point is that, yes, presumably
if everything goes disastrous with Zion and you're still paying him, you're tearing it
down whether you're paying him or not, because of everything you just said that
you're seeing is what is you without Zion Williamson being twenty and twenty two,
twenty one, Zion Williamson? What is your pathway to title contention? It's
stripping it down and starting over, right, Yeah, you don't have it
unless like, yeah, there there is no unless you don't have it.
You don't have it. Ingram Ingram's not the guy. Even if I'm gonna
put you for an A plus plus plus plus, you have believe as I
just can't. I can't get away from my Zion fears. The final team
in the Southwest Division, the San Antonio Spurs. Notable moves include they traded
to Jean Day Murray and Jacques Landale to the Hawks for Danilo Gallinari, who
they waived Charlotte twenty and twenty three. First, it's top sixteen protected next
year, then lottery protected the following two seasons before does that just extinguish or
does it become two seconds? I really looked that up, but that's the
sections on it. They also acquired in Atlanta's two thousand and twenty five first
round pick unprotected. They have a swap rights with Atlanta and twenty six unprotected,
and then Atlanta's twenty twenty seven first round pick unprotected. They drafted Jeremy
Son at number nine, drafted Malachi Brandim at number twenty, drafted Blake Wesley
at number twenty five. They signed Kelton Johnson to a four year, seventy
four million dollars extension. There's one point five million dollars per year and unlikely
incentives that could bring that up to a four year, eighty million dollars deal.
They claimed Isaiah Roby off waivers, and they traded the number thirty eight
pick, which was Kennedy Chandler to the Grizzlies for the Lakers twenty twenty four
second round pick and one million dollars in cash. Should I go in depth
and why I like that Kennedy Chandler trade because who knows what the Lakers look
like in twenty and twenty four that could be at number thirty one pig?
No, we agree on that the and then they are notable. Oh,
they signed Dominic Barlow to a two way contract and signed Jordan Hall to a
two way contract. Notable exits aside from Murray obviously, Lonnie Walker, the
fourth signed with the Lakers. Grant, what did you give the Spurs?
This is a flat A. I've not given a pluses. This is as
high as I go. The only way I could imagine someone maybe and maybe
you'll prove me wrong thinking this is anything less than like an A minus is
if you're just really can't get over not having Lonnie Walker back for another year,
to like tantalize for a minute and then be bad for three weeks.
The Murray trade, Like, I get it. It sucks if you're a
Spurs fan on some fronts because like, this is your best player. He's
coming off just a ridiculous season. Probably if you're only a fantasy player,
you're like, how could they possibly trade? But to do it at the
right time, because they the logic of an extension didn't make sense, so
we was going to get to unrestricted free agency, and then you're facing this
is granted, like this is down the road a little bit two years,
but you're talking about maxing him out. I like him a lot. I
don't know if that would have made sense. So to get this haul of
picks awesome to get Kelton Johnson locked down to that number, especially like I
mean with the cap going even if cap we're saying flat, that's just like
a absolute phenomenal, phenomenal signing or phenomenal extension. Uh with it. I
couldn't believe it's a joke. I just don't understand how you were able to
keep him for so little. And like the biggest big picture thing, I
like, I like Sohan a lot. The big picture thing is now like
you're in the Victor Wimmen Yama pole position or you have the ability whole position
Like that is like you have you are in position to suck worse than any
other team, or at least you're in the mix. You can be.
They gotta be one of those bottom three teams I think, or bottom four,
And like that's just how you flip this around. So and credit to
the Spurs, because the Spurs historically, I'm not done this, like and
the last time they really did it, it yielded Tim Duncan and it required
some luck, but like that's this is the time to do it. I'm
glad they finally did it. It hurts to lose Murray, but like this,
like macro micro micro, anyway you want to look at this. I
think they just did the right stuff. Yeah, they got a for me
too. I don't know what you would dislike about their off season, like
I said, unless you think so they've taken someone else at twenty and twenty
five or even at number nine. I really like the Jeremy Swan pick.
I do think it looks a little bit worse now that Chip Angland's not there
anymore. I was counting on him to help with the jump shop. But
just as someone who's a ball mover connective tissue on offense and can defend a
whole bunch of different spots on defense, I love the theory of him.
And there's just even let's say the Hawks it works out for Atlanta, and
it might because Jeans Murray and Trey Young and clink Upell and John Collins,
and that's a ship ton of talent. But you have all those pick commitments
scaling past to Jeante Murray's current contract. That is big. And the other
thing is just like they will be valuable in subsequent trades just as a concept
before that, even convey and I think the bigger value here is you clarified
your direction and you're not in that submiddle middle part of the NBA anymore.
And to me, I understand that teams are run as a business and that
it's not championship or bust for everybody. But if I'm a fan, this
is how I would root for teams. Is how I do root for my
teams. That is my goal. I don't care what market I'm in,
like, I want to see them building towards something. And this is why
as a Knicks fan, as a Belieguer Nicks fan, I would rather see
them take the long, not circuitous path, but like a long semidirect route
where it's like, oh, they're trying to build something. The Spurs are
now clearly doing that. And even if you don't think that their next poll
star is on this team, and let's be honest of Devin Vassell, Kelvin
Johnson, Jeremy Sowen or Josh Primo or probably the top candidates for that,
they're best chance at acquiring a poll star is probably in the future with one
of their draft picks. That's fine because now your draft stock is going to
be high enough. Now you're in the cornerstone territory and you're not constantly relying
on these mid to late lottery picks or just mid to late first rounders in
general. And the other thing here is just like, maybe you feel differently
if Dejante Murray was willing to sign an extension, but he wasn't, as
you had him on a steal of a deal in the first place, that
one hundred and twenty percent raise in advance of what his max salary would have
been, there was no chance he was going to sign a deal. And
then you get yourself you have to start thinking, oh, well, we're
gonna pay him all this money, you're kind of capping your ceiling. If
you weren't able to find that actual like you, what you needed was Dejante
Murray's functional superior, not even his equal. I think when you get into
a conversation about the Wizards with Beal or maybe even the Balls with zach Lavine,
you're not necessarily looking or whatever team winds up with Donovan Mitchell, You're
not necessarily looking for a player better better than any of them. You want
their equal. In the Spurs case, with de Jeante Murray, they needed
someone who was better than to really chart that championship course. And so I
like everything that they did here. And though they have not played all the
arrows in their quiver just yet, they could be a sneaky Russell Westbrook destination
if they have cap space. They have Josh Richardson Doug McDermott. If you're
the Lakers, look about how much money you save. Would you give up
two first round picks for that type of a deal and you're still conserving your
cap space for twenty twenty three for the most part, even though Doug McDermott
would be on the books. But I like that the Spurs finally chose a
direction. I think the one thing you could look at and say, well,
it really feels like this is gonna be Greg Popovich's last year. Now
he though he's not going to be feeling a competitive team, there's like some
uh, you know, regret there. At the same time, he appears
reinvigorated by coaching orcers. He seems to be loving it. And two,
unless you were gonna go all in for Mitchell or be the team that went
after Durant, you weren't going to have this team that was worthy of Greg
Popovich's last year necessarily no, and it's his decision, right, like he
you know, he must have signed off on all this and that's fine.
The other thing is too like the goal, the goal, and I think
the way they've set themselves up is to be bad, right, But I
think, like you've still got just not that this is necessarily a factor in
the grade. It's just something I would be concerned about if my team did
this. I'm still gonna watch because I really want to see what Josh Primo
does with a chance to kind of explore the space. I want to see
if kel Johnson takes another step. I want to see if the cell looks
like a real three and d like this is going to be a guy,
you know on the next really great Spurs team. There's so many good so
many how what kind of a defender is so I'm going to be against NBA
players like, is he gonna be as good as that? Is he another
piece that's gonna be there when when ban Yama is your number one guy and
you've you've got all these guys around him, is he gonna so? Like
there's tons of reasons to stay invested, which is like almost never the case
in a rebuild that's as thorough as this one looks like it's gonna be,
or it looks like it already sort of is, because they just like they're
they're set now, like they even if they don't do anything with all that
cap space, which I assume they will, like this is a solid if
we started grading like foundations or like paths forward or like five years away,
power rankings or asset pools, like the Spurs are right there there. This
is this is a sweet position to be in. So even one of the
worst aspects of this situation, which is normally like an unwatchable product, is
not is just not play right now. So yeah, I think it's an
A, and like I would love to hear the case for less than an
A if somebody had one. Maybe like it ain't minus because oh they didn't
trade Yacca peurtle or something, but like they could still do that and probably
will, although maybe he ends up being really cheap and they just keep him.
But I'm I'm enamored with wherever they go from here, and I think
to your point, they're gonna be fun to watch. They were last year
they had the fastest average offensive possession time in the league. I will say
it wasn't always pretty, but like they're kind of built to play with more
speed. Now. I don't think Jean day Murray slowed them down by any
stretch, but they're like complete anarchy when you look at their pecking order,
like it's Josh Primo they threw. They gave more ball screens to Devin Vessel
after the Derek White trade. They really might try and plumb him as a
half court creator. Now, Jeremy Sowin, I'm assuming gets a lot of
playing time, and he also I think Malachi Brandham should wind up getting more
playing time than Blake Wesley. I don't know between them, but Malakai Branham's
like sort of that swing prospect where everything could go wrong and he'll look awful,
but that someone who could probably put up points and tough shots in a
hurry. I'm just fascinated by by what they're doing now. I think it
was I think it was probably the overdue call to make, but they made
it, and it's important that they did. And maybe it's timed right because
maybe when Yama really is that is what is as advertising. Maybe this is
the year to take your shot. The last thing is I think two with
Marie, like he was good enough to where you did have to make considerations
about the pieces you put around him because of his shooting limitations, and just
like he's a different he's an unusually uncommon player, like a primary ball handler
that's still just the suspect shooter off the catch and off the bounce especially,
but he's an all star. So to sort of clean the slate by saying,
like we are no longer having to consider, well, do all these
other positions have enough shooting to compensate for our primary ball handler being sketchy in
that area, Like now you're just best player available all the time. Like
that's just you can just get away with that. So I also like that
freedom grant. This was great. Can you tell our listeners where they can
find you if they're not watching and can't see your handle or haven't already seen
your work. Yeah, work on your reading comprehension guys. If you can't,
it's GT Underscore Hughes on Twitter. And we'll be doing I don't know
what order you're going to release these in, but we'll be doing a few
more of these and keep it going on Hardwood Knox throughout the obstacle. Grant,
thank you so much. As always, if no one has rated,
review or subscribe to us and their podcast players who subscribe on YouTube, please
hurry off to go do that immediately. Until next time, and as always,
Grant and I leave you with a shout out the one, the only,
the real corner stone in Dallas, Frank nil Keenan