What is krack Alac and fellow thermonuclear a efforts. I am Dan FAVALLEI coming
at you with my one and only, fantabulous, gloriously fantabulous co host,
mister Grant Hughes. We are here to react to everything or as much of
NBA Free Agency two twenty three as we can. Full disclosure, there's a
risk, since we both covered the league full time, that one of us
could eventually be pulled away for something depending on what happened, So we will,
you know, just a fair warning. We don't anticipate it, but
it is possibility. We will get into it all. But as we're waiting
for some people to straggle in here, Grant, how the heck are you
doing? I'm doing very well. Damn this is I'm doing better than I
was like two hours ago, when I was just kind of sitting around refreshing
Twitter and like angry at myself because that is that's like prime slop period,
you know, it's just like oh, this, this and that. I
had to stop and say, none of this matters in two hours when the
real thing starts. And so here we're here now. So I'm happy.
I'm happy that we're here now because I had run out of patients for the
lead up to free agency, which is maybe is my least favorite part of
the year. You said free agency, the lead up is your LEAs faite
party, or free agency's your least favorite party of the year. The lead
up I hate the I hate all the like the deliberate leaks and all all
that stuff. I like when we crossed the deadline, which we did five
minutes ago, and now the reports are like actual deals, you know,
agreed to like that that then we can start talking about those and what that
means as opposed to hypotheticals. I like getting out of hypothetical season. I'm
with you too, so that's that is among my favorite things to do.
Is like, I like, trades can be fun, but I like analyzing
this stuff that actually happens. And if there's like breaking new like the James
Hard stuff, which we will get into of course, I like, I'm
all for talking about that, but speculation gets exhausting. The I think we
need to start and you can drop in the comments if you want us to
talk about something specific or if you see something we don't. I'm sure we'll
both be monitoring Twitter as best as possible. We already have a bunch of
signings. It's amazing how all this stuff happens within the first six minutes of
free agency. It's it's just very, very impressive. So kudos to teams,
players and agents for not talking and the negotiating so quickly. I actually
want to start before there's the Draymond news he's at four years, one hundred
million dollars. I actually wanted to start with Ruth Brown is gone. So
for all the Nuggets fans who weren't insisting, and I'm not taking a victory
lap here, I want him to go back to the Nuggets because he was
such a good fit. For all the people who just thought that he was
going to take the pay cut and then resign a bigger deal later on.
It turns out he apparently won't. I'm seeing a lot of people say that
he's going to the Pacers. I have not seen if you seen a number
on that at all, No, I have not. I'm I'm furiously refreshing
Twitter right now, and I'm still I'm not. I can't digest it all
because it all is happening too fast right now. I just saw Dario Starch
now I'm looking up Dario Starts stats too. H Well, Draymond, I
think the big one. So Draymond four years one hundred million dollars with the
Warriors and a player option on year four. Initial Wow, Kyle Kuzma four
years one hundred and two million dollars to stay with the Wizards. So you
were right. You picked over twenty five million on average. You just made
it just barely, Okay, Yeah, so Draymond, because we're gonna have
to jump around, I'm sure here, So four sorry, go ahead,
No, No, four for one hundred twenty five million dollars. Average figure
is rough, but we would have expected, right. I think the length
of the deal is a little concerning. But I do believe Mark Spears said
there's a player option in the fourth year, which makes it worse like I
was hoping ideally. I think he wanted three and ann t or three and
a team option. This This suggests that Draymond had maybe some more leverage or
like the outside interest from other teams was legit, right, because the Warriors,
I don't I didn't expect them to have to go. We did.
We lose Grant, We might have lost Grant Grant is I see Grant moving,
can't Grant hear me, I can hear you. I think it's just
really laggy right now. There's too much internet happening. So the last thing
I heard you say on Draymond is that there's that he must have had,
I like leverage to get this deal from other teams. I'd be curious.
I guess I would agree with you. I guess i'd just be curious,
Like it clearly wasn't the Kings because they use some of their cap space before
free but some of their caps space they obliterated some of it before free agency
on Harrison Barnes. But I would tend to agree with you that to get
the fourth year with a player option is you know, different front office running
things now. But that's a pretty when you look at his age, and
just like the progression of not just the core's age, but the luxury tax
bills in Golden State. I'm the I guess like the fourth guaranteed year basically
because the player option, so I view that as guaranteed is a little unnerving,
if not slightly surprising. Yeah, I think you mentioned this off off
on just just a few minutes ago, But maybe it's a declining structure,
so it's not just a straight twenty five or it doesn't you know, or
if it is four for a hundred, like that first year number is pretty
low. But I think it's got to be declining. If I had to
guess, I'll just probably be proven wrong in a matter or a minutes here.
But that's kind of the only way that that makes more sense to me,
because that just like you said, the King's money wasn't gonna be there,
and that always seemed like the real boogeyman. Like if there even was
one that you could sort of like you could buy that the Kings would do
that would say Draymond three years ninety or you know, something like that,
and the Warriors would have to beat that. But that that went away with
the Harrison Barnes deal, So I don't know. That's that's an interesting one.
I will say, would you rather have Draymond Green four for a hundred
at his age or Kyle Kuzma four for one h two? Oh so Kuzma
getting four for one h two from the Wizards of all teams, I would
have thought that was I think it was just they viewed it as the way
you phrase it is asset asset preservation and the other front office didn't move from
Tommy Shepherd and crew didn't movement the deadline, and so now you know you
have Michael Winger and co. Were gonna want to make sure they don't lose
them for nothing. They were able to get Porzingis with the player option,
made it easier Beal obviously was already under contract. I think I'd rather have
the next four years of Kyle Kuzma. I'm not gonna lie he is.
I feel like he's probably overrated defensively now because everyone including I think us,
have talked about how underrated defensively he's become. The shooting is definitely a concern,
but he's a better shooter than Draymond, that's not even. And then
just the stuff he's able to do inside the arc, like he had fall
aways going and just like it was lights out on like almost everything inside the
Arc this year, and I think that's a deal. By the way,
kudos to you. I don't know if you've heard me say this before,
but you said when we did the over under on contracts and I said twenty
five million a year for Kuzma, you said he's getting over you just made
it on average twenty five, twenty five and a half. Shout out to
you, Ky Rinker. The chat says, Kyle Rinker, excuse me,
The cuz deal is great. Honestly, I don't know if it's great to
me at least, but like I do think this is a deal that you
can move and we do have to adjust. I think even me right now,
not so much with the dray Draymond deal, but even with Kyle Kuzma.
Are we seeing one hundred and two million dollars over four years and just
getting sticker shock when you know twenty five million dollars in the new salary cap
climate. I mean, if it's the flat twenty five next year, just
uses as projections, that's like, what is that twenty percent of the cap
at this point, it's eighteen percent of the cap. That's not really there's
nothing. Yeah, it's a little there's always an adjustment period because it used
to be. I mean, it wasn't that long ago where the throwaway wasn't
you know, an average starters a fifteen million dollar player, and that's just
that's just outdated, you know, to an extreme degree by now. So
yeah, I still I think the money isn't as as surprising to me as
just none of nothing about resigning Kuzma at a big you know, I sang
big number, but at that number squares with what the Wizards have done the
rest of this offseason, unless like, like you're alluding to, this is
just we have the ability to trade him and get you know, get get
picks or get young guys or whatever, and if we let him or just
let someone beat our offer, then you know, we don't get anything.
So it's the initial reaction was, what are they Why are they spending money
on a like mid prime starter when they're just gutting the rest of the roster
as part of a rebuild. But you know, you can kind of do
two things at once. Who's trading Grim in February? I think he's the
real question? Yeah, right, Like it has to be they're keeping him
around a trade, right, That's the only only possible conclusion I would think.
So this is per Alex Golden, who who hosts the Setting the Pace
podcast, and he is plugged in with the Pacers, saying, pera source,
Bruce Brown has headed to the Pacers. That's we don't have an I
don't see a number I don't know if I see anyone else with that news
on here, because my Twitter thing is just like fucking absurd right now.
Katob j kadabach jop excuse me, two year five million a year with the
Suns, who also, by the way, renouncing or not extending a qualifying
offer to Jacque Jacque Landale felt. I don't want to say bone headed,
but it was surprising Bruce Brown though. That's a monster loss for Denver,
and it's a great fit in Indie and large part because I love Indie spacing.
I do wonder if Brown can defend enough threes to make it really work
there, just because with Mathin and Haliburton, if you want to play those
two together, but the defense he brings their spacing. But also he's just
a fit for all three teams in the NBA at this point. And yeah,
oh go ahead, I want to know what that number is, because
presumably that they he must have been twelve and a half, right, yeah,
way more than the mid level, because he could have got the mid
level from you know, let's way better teams. We set the over under
at fifteen when we did, Bruce Brown and you we both took the under
do we go over now knowing that I think we're both gonna be wrong,
and we would have to be I mean, the Pacers are a good situation.
I think it'd be You'd love to play with Haliburton. You'd love to
you know, Rick Carlisle is a good coach. You have Miles Turner to
space the floor like it just you know, it's it's an up and coming
team that plays a fun style. They run a lot, but it's just
like, you know, he could have taken the mid level from the Lakers,
for example. You would think that all things being equal, you'd want
to be in LA I don't I don't know. There's a couple of I
don't know. Jacob Wiley, I saw a report the Pacers would be wanting
to get up twenty million per season. I did not see such a report.
I'm not saying it doesn't exist. If you want to tell me who
had it, that's that is. I look, look, if it was
one year, twenty million, it's nothing. But if you were the Pacers,
you could probably do worse things with your money to be like, hey,
Bruce Year's two years and forty million dollars or something. A couple others
I'm gonna throw at you that are coming across here. Wait, can we
do this deep cut from Tracy Julian Champenny Season in San Antonio with Kata Page
job gone. Yo, shout out, Trace T. I love I love
that you're just in here in comment think about Julian Shampenny. We're not even
twenty minutes into free agency and that's what's come up. I love you,
Tracy. I don't even know if I've seen your comment before, but I
love you. I'm sure then that Tracey has an opinion on or has some
feelings about KAA Bates Diap being gone because low key he was one of those
guys that you'd hear smart people mentioned is like look out, he might he
might be a really high value signing for like the Sons or somewhere else.
You know. Then then there you go. So, Tracey T, if
you're still here, please let us know what you think about KBD being gone.
Hold on though here. So we got a couple others that I want
to get your opinion on. You can pick which one you want to talk
about. Kobe White Back to the Bulls three years thirty three. According to
Scham's three for forty according to I think woes, I just must be some
partial guarantees or sent him or something there if we can respond to them until
big one comes in. I think, like quick and well, I think
that's if there's gonna be incentives to bring that up. I think that's fine.
I do. My My reaction would be twofold Kobe Bite quietly had and
I call him Colby all the time. In our docks. You get so
not mad, but you're like, why are you putting an l Like where's
this rogue olt coming from? I think that's fine. And he had quietly
had a good year last year, and he's probably their best well not their
best shooter after Zack Levine. Is he their best shooter? I mean,
he's in the conversation. I gotta pull up the bulls. But like I
mean, I did a thing on Kobe White earlier before the off season,
just kind of I think it was trying to predict where what would happen with
restrictive free agents, and he like, he's younger than you think, and
he hasn't been like this disappointment that I think. I don't know, maybe
depending on what you expected out of him, considering where he was drafted.
Maybe, but that's a smart signing. I think he's someone that you know,
if it were if you flash forward to like two years from now,
he what if he's averaging like eighteen and eight or something like that with decent
percentages, Like that's not out of the question at all for someone like him.
What do you think about Dario Sarich Apparently to the Warriors, according to
Monty Pool and Mark Stein, that's a home run. I think he can
play some small ball five. He can play the four next to Draymond or
Kavan Looney. I mean, I was about to say that. I was
about to say that the spacing would be weird with Looney and Arch, but
the spacing is weird with Draymond and b Louoney. So it's just they would
make it work. Defensively, there's definitely questions. He was a lot better
before he had the ACL injury, at least while he was in Phoenix,
but when he was in Okay See, and even by the end of his
time in Phoenix last year, he was hitting his threes again. He can
give you those like physical shouldery moves around the basket, and in Okay See,
he really had like the little flip shot push shot going And so I
love that for the world because it's someone who I think him play and to
get someone who can play for the league minimum, which is all they can
offer as a big deal. And it also would suggest, I mean to
me that one of the big needs I thought the Warriors had, especially with
Chris Paul, is a lob catcher. And it seems like, sorry,
is gonna be your third string center now, I mean most likely that maybe
because otherwise you're gonna have another big That's just not something the Warriors have done
the last couple of years. There are you know, we do go back
to the days where they had a few, but you know, Enters and
very Giles not walking through that door. Do you can Jonathan Kaminga be that
guy if they're going to like him? Is that maybe what they could be
thinking, like do you run let's say in the second units, like do
you run cominga with Schartch Maybe if you're gonna rest both your other bigs at
the same time, I say Biggs in Draymond. I think there's a theory
of cominga as more of like the off ball slasher while someone else is the
role guy. With Chris paul As and a cutter like all the Warriors ever
talk about. Is he's just got to become a better score off cuts and
you know, using his athleticism for that. But actually, like what you're
saying, I think I think as a role guy where he just catches the
ball and like dives into people and tries to outjump everybody and finish. I
don't think he's gonna make a lot of great passes as a role guy on
the short roll, but I do think there is a scenario where he is
just a pretty good roller. Your face has changed. What has happened?
I didn't see it on Twitter. Two years forty five million for Bruce Brown.
Shout out Jacob Wiley and Alice Golden. Of course we're actually having it
for two years forty five million. Good for Bruce Brown. That is,
he is making almost as much, Like he's making way more in two years
than the Nuggets could have paid him over I don't even know where were they
limited to go out to two years still, and you would have included the
player option anyway because you want him to sign off for early bird rights.
I wow, that Look, it's two years, It's just two years,
like it's it's an overpay, but at the same time, it's okay,
Bruce Brown at fifteen percent of the salary cap, even if he's your sixth
best player, you're a confortable at two years and forty five million. And
I think this is something where he can get back into free agency in two
years, he'll still be in his late twenties. And the problem was I've
left open the possibility he could go back to the Nuggets. I wasn't rooting
for him to leave the Nuggets, but for everyone who was reading a lot
into Michael Malone's comments, who's just like, oh, he's gonna take less,
comeback and then get paid. He has not been like cap slock paid
before, so this was his first chance to do that, which is why
I don't think I predicted this, But I always kind of leaned in my
head that he was probably leaving just because the find the like unless the money
just dried up and teams weren't going to use their mid level like full Bigger
Emily at the very least. This was just like, I mean, now,
look, he's twenty six, so I think he'll get back into freeingg
when he's twenty eight, like, this is his this is more money in
the two years and he's made over the course of entire NBA career. Yeah.
Also, any comments about who's staying and who's going made within like seventy
two hours of winning a championship should be dismissed out of hand, like especially
if they're made out of parade by a coach that's like definitely been celebrating over,
you know, for the better part of a couple of days. Let's
see Damien Lee back to the back to the Suns. That makes sense.
He's probably gonna I mean, Damien Lee is someone that I feel like fits
almost anywhere, and I imagine he had at least minimum or something more from
a lot of teams. But I manage is gonna play a fair amount this
year, even it was minutes were sporadic last season, tore and Prince of
the Lakers four and a half million on one year deal after getting waived by
the Timberwolves. Interesting. I think that's I like that fit. I was
surprised that I know the Timberwolves were trying to preserve flexibility, but I was
really surprised. I don't know how you felt when they when they didn't guarantee
his contract because he was at seven and a half, which isn't really like
you know a lot, Oh we got Jeremy Grant. You want don't look?
Do you want to guess what Jeremy Grant got. I'm gonna say he
got thirty two million a year. I can't do math. That's pretty close
though. I think, uh, five years, won sixty to go back
to Portland. Holy shit, they had to give up the fifth year.
Five years Jeremy Grant. What is that team doing? That's thirty two and
a half? I was close, So what are they doing? It's well,
I guess what this is is the clearest proof ever that this talk from
Joe Cronin and the rest of the Blazers about trying to build a contender is
legit and not just will say this and hope that Dame asked for a trade,
because you I mean, that's a lot of them. That's a long
time and a lot of money for a guy. I feel like I've I
feel like I've talked Jeremy Grant down too much on this podcast because my go
to thought on him. As you know, he was the third, second
or third best player on a lottery team last year and oh yeah, let's
absolutely give that guy thirty million a year, Like that's that's a little unfair,
but that's a lot of money. Like who was who was beating that?
Like why did they have to go that high for him? Where?
Where was the cap space and the team that was going to come close to
that, especially if the Pacers gave their cap space to uh to Bruce Brown
like most of it. So that's I don't even look if this was just
a four year deal, I would have been like, okay, whatever,
like, but it's I guess, Look, he's twenty eight, right,
so this is gonna take him through his early thirties, would be the theory
there. Do you think this? Do you think this? So if you
had to guess now just based off this Jeremy Grant contract and I hate the
frame like this he said, Look, he's a good fit for what Portland
needs. He's their best perimeter defender aside fromatist thigh bill, which I'll be
very interested to see what his number ends up me uh, Like, do
you think this makes it way more likely that baby and Lillard starts next season
in Portland? Right? It has to because I was of the opinion that
this that like if you'd asked me up till like four minutes ago when we
saw this contract come through, like will Dame beyond? Will Dan be traded
this offseason? I you know, you have to pick yes or no.
I would say yes just because, no matter what everybody's saying, it just
seemed like what the Blazers have done and the roster they have is just they
don't have a path unless they're going to trade Scoot and Shade and Sharp and
whatever else. They don't have a path to jump from thirteenth to like whatever
you'd consider a contender in the West, fourth or fifth. I guess,
so this is okay. I don't want to We gotta be careful because we're
just reacting in the moment, But like, does does the Grant deal not
have potential to be like one of the bigger mistakes of what we've seen so
far? Yes, I'd be very interested to see. Is that fifth year
a team option of like how much of this is unlikely incentives? Like what
if it's really five years one hundred and I don't know, like thirty,
I don't know if that would change You're the way you feel at all about
it, but just I mean, there was talk about four years and one
twenty, which I was comfortable with, and so I feel like I should
just be comfortable with five and one sixty just that the length of that deal.
I don't because of the nature of what his role can be if he's
willing to be more complimentary on the offensive end, Like I think, there's
always a chance that it won't be a strong like it'll never be even close
to the worst contract in the league. But it's a lot for Jeremy Grant,
and it's a lot for a team where it's not okay to have Jeremy
Grant at that number, Like you know what I mean, Like if you
were the I'm just throwing a team, Like if you were the Nuggets,
you can pay Jeremy Grant this money because you're good enough to where it makes
sense. But when you're the Blazers and you're so far away from where you're
trying to be, that's a lot. That's a lot. And to your
point, so the report I saw that Jeremy Grant heil come from was Ramona
Shelburn and and in it, she says Rich Paul of Clutch Sports is telling
ESPN this, so you in that's in that case, you must assume that
he is giving Ramona the absolute highest possible number, which because when it comes
from the agent or the player, it definitely is always the higher number.
Oh, Kyle Rinker an a w back in Minnesota on a two year deal.
What's that number? I haven't seen it on Twitter yet, but my
favorite number? But I like that. People know you're you were sending Nikki
Alexander Walker everywhere. That's how you know. That's how you know Kyle's listening
to this podcast before. Yeah, thank you guy. And not because I
don't. It's it's because I like him so much and I won't if if
if it were my team, I would have wanted someone. I would have
wanted a flyer on him, not even a flyer that under. That undersells
him. Troy Brown to Minnesota as well, that's coming. We don't have
terms on that one. Porzingis want to get porzingis this two year extension?
What does he make? What was his player option for thirty six? Yeah,
I'll say he got thirty two. You're very good at this. Two
for sixty that's I think that's fine. There's still just a functional risk there,
like just with what they did getting rid of Marcus Smart and they lose
so much passing you sacrificed the events of versatility. But I think that number
based off the season he had is fine. Cleveland did not get their wing
yet as far as I could tell. But two years and thirty two million
for Carson Vurd I see people that are mad, and I'm just like,
he was not great during the playoffs. But another creator who shot well enough
from three last year, who actually defended a lot better than I've ever seen
him defend. Like that's I don't like, it doesn't solve anything, but
that's you know, if you want salary ballast for a trade that's sixteen million
dollars a year is I'm gonna there's a compiment from cot Dan is great at
math. I'll take it. As a Blazers fan, that's atrocious. I'm
glad that we're not alone in this u as as and as Bryant Singleton says,
that's got to be a partial, non guaranteed fifth year on grant.
That'd be my guest at this point, right, I mean, we're like
we're jumping all over the place. That's the nature of this show. Baby,
that's like, yeah, buckle up, that's how this is gonna go,
because that's lame. That needs to be exercised immediately. If that's I
didn't see the team option reporting, that's and that doesn't make it more surprising
than he left. But like lame. I wish I wish it were a
player option so we could go full conspiracy theory and say he's just gonna get
his twenty two and a half million dollars payday and then go back to Denvers
next to the following season. But that ain't happening. Now what like what,
I don't know what would have to go wrong? I guess that's what
a what a phenomenal deal for the Pacers now, I mean, like it's
a big it's a big number, but there's almost no such thing as a
bad two year contract, and there's definitely such a thing as a bad one
year contract, which is really all they're on the hook for here. Like
that's I mean, that's a that's that maybe is my favorite deal so far.
Yeah, that's a the Pacers. I can't wow. But I mean,
look, he got he got paid in one year more than the Nuggets
could offer him. It would have taken them three years to get to that
number. And so like you consolidated your paiday, that's a home run and
a half for the Pacers. I have not seen have you seen the Strewce
deal? No, Tracey, are you an insider who had Struce at the
caps of four sixty four? Is that's actually it's mildly more than the mid
level. So the mid level was twelve and a half you factor in raises,
like getting to sixteen is not that egregious over the mid level to me
anyway. And I just said they didn't get their wing if they got Max
Struce, I didn't see that one. That's a that's a perfect fit.
Like this is someone who I know? Oh what is Denver doing? They
just replaced Bruce Brown with two years of Reggie Jackson. It looks like,
what on purpose do you think Sean's Sean's is gonna string the tweet together and
say just kidding, this was this was an accident. They mistakenly signed him.
Well, what is like are they're they're using the Mini They're using their
Mini MLI on Reggie Jackson. So they decided they're using them Minimli, which
they can It's oh uh, yeah, I'm gonna retract my shrew statements.
I don't trust Evan Massey had it seven minutes ago. But I don't trust
that is no, we're not But if if Max Streuss, if Cleveland gets
the wing right at the exact moment Dan says they didn't yet hashtag podcasting,
let's see if they actually got that, he would be a great fit.
If that's the number. Uh, and Evan Massey had it one good for
him, My apologies. Volume shooters make shots though, and look, I
look Compa on purpose, that's your mini. I guess who else are you
gonna get? But like that's your big mini. And Reggie Jackson seems like
a genuinely good dude. But like Grant, come on, that's not what
you He didn't that's what he didn't even play well for them. Yeah,
sixteen games for him last year, shot under forty percent from the field,
under thirty percent from three he's thirty two, thirty three now sorry, last
year was his age thirty two seasons option A player option? Are we kidding?
Okay, so now we know what you're what your least favorite side of
kids so far? Because I don't know if you're gonna of accidentally signing anybody
as we go forward. They brought back DeAndre Jordan. Fine, good locker
room presence. I don't know, like I would like to see him get
another backup big, but like maybe they really trust what they have in tow
already. I just this, that might be the worst deal free agency.
So, I mean, Jeremy Grant, all right, it's got to be
up there. But why does Reggie Jackson in the year twenty and twenty four
at that point have a player option and cost you your full mini mL He
I get he's import market, man. I just I'm also brought back DeAndre
Jordan. How do you feel about that? That's fine, I mean it's
on the minimum. I would like to see him get another backup big,
but I don't you know, that's not a big deal to me, and
they gave Reggie Jackson their entire minimil I just, I can't. We should
probably move on to another sign I'm all I'm upset. Now, will you
sorry, I'm gonna pick it this wind a little bit. Will you pick
the Nuggets to win the title. Now that they've made the worst signing of
free agents, let's take the Blazers to win the title because the Jeremy Grant
contract makes more sense than this Reggie Jackson contract. Oh man, I think
we've hit all the Oh, Jake Fisher's talking about er is a key option
quote unquote, that's not that's not concrete enough to hit yet. Should we
talk about Harden while we're kind of waiting for more actual signings to trickling?
Do you have I'm sure you've given your thoughts on either here or several other
places on on where we're at. Yeah, I still just believe the Reggie
Jackson got the full mL E. That's just That's where I'm at. Uh
So for so for the hard and stuff is what does this guy want?
And I will say it's clearly not about the money because he just cost himself
another like twelve or thirteen million off his what is Well, we don't know
that. And by the way, I will think super relatable if James Harden
thought he could just get a better job only to find out that he couldn't,
that's like super relatable. Like just had a hot thing, because where
was he going if the Rockets didn't want him? Yeah? I just what
I'm so curious to see this return because opt in in trades. We saw
this just with porzingis the returns are normally nothing. But it's also James Harden
and so I don't know where you land. I fully expect him to wind
up with the Clippers at some point, but some have floated that, like,
this is just like a matter of kind of hurt feelings and poor communication,
even though it was technically illegal since he was an extension knowledgeable for them
to for them to talk. But h like, I just where do you?
What do you make of this entire situation? So I guess I should
I should have asked you a more pointed question so that I could get a
chance to answer my own question, which is what I'll do now? Uh
like, which is what were your like, what was your first emotional reaction
to it? Because mine was it's it's not like not frustration per se,
but almost just like my first thought was kind of like, man, it's
it's you. It's not the it's not the team, it's you, because
it keeps you keep having a problem with every team you wind up on.
It's like you have to change the way you play or realize that you don't
get to be you know, a forty nine percent usage guy. Again,
like that's just not how it's gonna work, and like that's unfair and a
player should get to kind of, you know, chart a career path however
he wants to. And you know, if Hard wants to live somewhere else,
that's cool. But it's just like, well, was it Doc Rivers?
Was it? The style? Was it? The money? Was it
Darryl Moorey the exact that's gone to bat and like afforded him more opportunities and
more leeway than virtually any star has ever been given by an executive. Like
it's just it's so to wrap a sort of more coherent thought around all of
that, I'm I want to be in the James Harden business because he's gonna
find a problem with wherever he is. It's sort of Kyrie ish where it's
just like now you're just signing a guy, or you're trading for him,
I guess in this case, and you must assume that this is a very
short term arrangement, and not just because of his age and where he is
in his career. But it's just like he's found reasons to leave everywhere lately.
And so I mean, I don't know about how you integrate him into
like a functional offense anymore, if if he's not happy playing with the MVP
and you know, being on a contender, I don't know how you decide
what he's worth financially in terms of years and dollars. I don't know how
you build a certain team around him. Like I just I think now I've
been out of the Kyrie business for a couple of year. I think I'm
fully out on being in the James Harden business now too. I just it's
frustrating. Yeah, and there is so well. I mean, Harden's gonna
take We could spend all day on Harden probably, But Javon Carter signed with
the Bulls. I think he got three and twenty. This is like,
like that's that's a fine deal. By the way, Oh, three years,
nineteen million, so that's even better. Uh, Alex Cruso and javan
Carter in the same back court. Fully, crap, that's a lot of
defense. I will say, free Io Dassoon move now, someone get him
immediately. Yeah, throw thrown off her sheet his way because now I mean,
in addition to Carter, now Caruso, you've got Kobe White is back,
you also have zach Lavine. Does this mean I mean you wouldn't have
zach Lavine trade speculation question to Javon Carter signing. But that's a lot of
guards that the Bulls have, So I don't know yet. Assume it's got
to be gone. I would think you can't, well unless Leavin is on
the move and then and then that would make more sense to have him back.
But otherwise you got a little bit of a log jam going here.
Yeah, and it's like what does it take if like, what would it
actually take to to get him at this point because his qualifying offer was five
and he's an early bird restricted, so like if you know, the Bulls
could match, and they can. He can only get up to the full
mL in his first year. Clearly that's not freaking happening because I misunder like
I underestimated his market a great deal, but I'm just very curious to see,
like what do we, like does it does he just get out on
like the five million dollars, like if you or do they if he plays
out I guess the year and his qualifying offer. I suppose that they could
still keep him because he can defend one through four that's why he's so intriguing
to me. But like I'm just I'm like, I want some teams.
I think he could be really good. I know the shooting fell off last
year and I'm seeing the strups. So the strups did go to Cleveland,
apparently. I don't know what the have you seen that deal anywhere? I
can see it popping up on my phone, But look, whatever the number
unless it's something I don't know how Cleveland, by the way, and the
Cleveland I should have said this before and didn't, Like they can't even give
him four and sixty four because they don't have tap space. So like,
I don't know why I was entertaining that deal in the first place. They
can get up to like the minil the mL E, Oh it is four
sixty four. That's what the mL E is now, starting at twelve and
a half and ascending by what is it eight percent? Can you eight percent?
It'd be four and a half or five percent, So that's like if
it was flat it would be fifty five percent. Isn't getting you to sixty
four? It must be a sign and trade then that could be that.
You know, there were taught, there were discussions. I forget sorry where
I saw this, but someone was saying, well, the Heat aren't going
to sign and trade anyone like Strus to send out because that'll hardcap them.
It's like, no, you you get hardcapped if you bring in a sign
and traded player, So that that could be what it is. I wonder
what the work It's gonna be a while before we get the rest of that
deal flushed out. I bet, but I think you're right that that is
the only way they could because you can't get there with the mL E money
and Cleveland. That was the only way Cleveland could sign someone outright. This
is an interesting deal, and we will everyone rest of shore. We'll get
back to James Harden at some point. By the way this you wanna know
why you don't give I'm not gonna let this go. You wonder why you
don't give Reggie Jackson the Mini m League because maybe I will do soon.
Move can come in and fill that role for the Mini mL LEA My god,
Denver, I'm so mad. You were my twenty twenty four title pick.
You will probably still be my twenty twenty four title pick. You are
my sirens song? What are you doing? You went from they had My
favorite signing last year was Bruce Brown, so they immediately we're only forty minutes
in, they have my least favorite signing so far. I'm really I can't
believe how, just like ridiculously angry I am at them right now. So
the Sun signed to Mese met two in addition to keeping Josha Kogie. I
think those are two nifty signings. And like Mettwo is gonna give you probably
if you play him a little bit more floor spacing than Landale, and I
would say he's there's like a FD mobility to Landale and Metto feels like more
mobile, like more purely mobile. On the defensive end. I don't know
if he'll be as good in as many minutes like we saw Landale play at
times like where Monty Williams was just cycling through his weird backup center rotation.
But he can also play with another big We've seen a little bit of that
too. I also will say he does not look like either of the Paul
brothers, and I think that's a plus two. What is it? It's
Jake Paul and is it Jason Paul? Who's the other? I hate that
I know that it's Logan, Paul, Logan, Paul, I mean you
have kids, so I mean hopefully they're not watching. They're not old enough,
nor will they ever be allowed, however old they are, to consume
that. I think mainly they go on from Landale just because that's the dude
that was playing over DeAndre and then some critical playoff minutes and you need to
kind of wipe that off of the ledger. Yeah, I'm trying. Looking,
I'm trying to say, oh, so it is a sign and trade
for Max Drew's Look at me, I really do know some stuff. So
he was only getting four to sixty four and assign and trade, which is
like, what are they sending back? Jenny Osman and Isaaca Coro? Would
you give I guess I'd give that up for Max drews Oh yeah, I
would. I mean it could just be with the heat, you have to
assume that like, well, this is part of a much grander set of
plans, right, or maybe they Yeah, I don't know. I could
imagine it being I could imagine us finding out the return package and saying like,
well that doesn't make sense, and then two days from now, in
the heat, somehow finingle their way into a third star. He say,
well that I now I get it that this was all part of the plan,
But yeah, what do you think just independent of the way that they
got it done? Four so sixteen a year for Struce guy to be that
theore at right fifth starter? You assume he's starting at the small forward spot.
Is one? Is he good enough defensively? Is he big enough?
Certainly good enough? Well, we've we talked about this before. If we
think he's a good enough shooter, but those percentages have not been as high
as you might think over the years. I still think it's a good fit.
Do you like, is he is he a big enough improvement on Lavert
or slash a Koro slash Lamar Stevens slash Dean Wade slash the five Headed Monster
to justify I mean getting hardcapped one and the salary that he's getting. I
kind of think so, But I'm curious on your thoughts. Yeah, I
mean, look, he was at basically nine attempts per thirty six minutes last
year. That's a lot of three pointers. And so it's like, and
the shots he was taking, he can fire some off the dribble, he
can score off motion, we even saw him like he can kind of put
the ball on the floor like in a I would say, mostly a straight
line. Not Duncan Robinson, who's like a great playmaker and all this has
all this directionality to his to his floor game. Now, so I will
the percentages come up in Cleveland, which you can very easily argue had or
has worse spacing when you look at their front court compared to Miami, just
because you can play bam with going to Cale Martin or having love route.
I do think do you think it made it more palatable? What do you
like this for Cleveland? Are you fine with four sixty four and them taking
the shot on Shrews? I think I'm I think I'm good with it.
I think I'm good with it. I mean, he shot thirty five percent
last year. That's better than I thought. He was forty one percent the
year before that. I think the main thing is too in the playoffs,
right, That's probably what's sticking in my mind. I think the main thing
is you're gonna run at him as a defense, and you're gonna stay attached
to him as a defense, like because he just he will get him up
and he's not shy about it, and he can do a little bit with
the ball if you do close it out too aggressively. So I think if
the niche certainly offensively, I think he's a pretty big, pretty big improvement
over what they had. And he did he end well enough to start for
a team that made the Finals basically on the strength of his defense. So
so I'm I think I'm good with it overall. Are you good with three
years and twenty six million dollars for George and Nyang? Nine? The calves
ninety million for three years from Max Drus and George Niang is quite a bit
of money. I know they needed another backup big, but I man,
that's like another shooter that's more shooting and good for Minivan. Is he a
good enough rebounder to be like help those line ups where you're just gonna go
with only Mobile or only Jared Allen? I he just seems very and again
this might be me overreacting to steaker shock in the moment, unless it's the
Reggie Jackson contract, which was one of the worst deals I've ever seen in
my entire life. Like, I guess we should evaluate it in the new
cap like it's put it's eight million bucks a year basically like for for George
and the egg is that I don't know, isn't it doesn't that seem high
even relative to the cap climbing. I think one Woges report on that comes
from the agent. So knock off whatever percentage you would like up from that
total or the years. Maybe it's two plus one, maybe it's actually like
three for twenty two. I don't know if that changes your But like you
know, we're talking about or I wrongly was talking about stru says like is
he a good enough shooter? Niang's been over forty percent every single year since
twenty eighteen nineteen from deep So like, I don't know, he doesn't fill
that small forward spot. He's that's that's not the position he can defend adequately.
But like I guess the theory that the Calves are going with is we've
got these two bigs, we've got these small guards. We just need shooting
around it, which is like not a novel concept in the modern NBA.
But I think if you're gonna overpay, maybe overpay for a guy that's a
career forty point three percent three point shooter on how many attempts does he have
for his career, Like, there's no there's no mistaking yet, fourteen hundred
attempts for his career, like Niang is a legit forty percent three point shooter.
So you know, if I'm if I'm spending a little too much,
if that's the case here, I'm not sure it is, especially if I'm
the Calves. I think I think I'm okay with it. I don't.
I don't really have a problem with that. It is fully guaranteed, though.
Okay, Jake Fisher just just got that. Okay, does that thoughts
at all? You're just looking. I think Georgia is the greatest player alive.
Okay, Yes, Yeah, any other deals that we have not reacted
to that you want to hit on? Oh, Irving five three years,
one hundred and twenty six million dollars. That is basically what we predicted.
We said he would get three years and maybe the third year or a fourth
year wouldn't be guaranteed. I think that for three years. Let's let's go
look three years. No. One hundred fifty four point two was this?
Wow, there's a there's a great piece of negotiating by the MAVs. Well,
is it or is it a great leverage play by that's hard to say.
I mean, yeah, it's he's still got but one twenty six point
two that's I mean at forty two million, forty two point one million a
year, so I shouldn't but like so a shorter term, you didn't pay
his max. I'm wondering if this was forty two point one, seems so
exact, I would have to do the math very quickly. I'm wondering if
this allows them to use their bigger mL E or if they have another move
set up that will allow them to use it, although they haven't used it
yet, which would maybe beg uh and suggest no that they're not able to
use it. So that's like a forty two point one just a very exact
number on average, is it not? Yeah, it is, And it's
got to be calculated because, as we've talked about, basically since the initial
trade happened, the MAVs need more than just bringing Kyrie back, right.
They have to build out a defense, they have to find a center.
There's a lot more to do. Yep. So it makes it sorry there
Keith Smith said, it opens up the bigger mL E and so that was
the number. That's I mean, that's that's big. So what do they
do with the mL E? Now? What what Stallas's best move with that?
With that? Dylan Brooks, you are Maverick, there you go.
I don't know, Like, who would you throw if you were Dallas and
it was two years, twenty five million whatever it ends up being, would
you do that two years? I'm okay with I could do it for two
years. I guess Memphis might beg to differ. I don't. I'm trying
to think of who's left on the board. I should pull up the I'll
pull up some free agents. Now they're still remaining, like in the mid
level range. That is, So are you the Kyrie deal? Insofar as
you're gonna be in the Kyrie Irving business? This seems like a fairly ideal
outcome. Kyrie has the player option. I think it also allows you,
like it makes him tradeable if Kyrie Irving is there and he's playing Kyrie Irving
on a submax contract is movable with multi years left it Again, his max
was forty seven or whatever it was, so like, it's not like so
far below it's max. But I also wonder if it bodes well. I
swear I'm not trying to like Galaxy brain this shit, but the fact that
he clearly worked with the organization on the number that would allow them to then
go and pay other talent with the bigger m l E like, that's at
least semi encouraging, is it not? Well, I guess, uh yeah,
just like no bucket, no, no, I take your point.
I just wonder how he managed to get all those meetings in with all those
teams in like forty minutes before before he got this deal done with the MAVs.
That Phoenix meeting must have been pretty short, and the Houston one too.
How did he how did he fit it all in? Yeah? I
mean, like, I just yeah, it is hysterical that, oh yeah,
he would consider taking a twenty five million dollars pay cut off his max.
He'll accept let's say, twenty two million from Phoenix, but he ends
up with like twenty million more from the MAVs. I just I think I
really thought, I think part of me we did predict and I but I
thought I was basing it more on what we would do if we were running
the team. We said it was going to be a three year deal,
and that at most would be three guarantee years, so we were like,
maybe there's a fourth year with a like a partial guarantee. I kind of
really thought that he was gonna get four. It was gonna be like four
and one sixty one seventy or something, And so maybe my expectations were so
low that I'm just incredibly impressed that this was the end result for the Mavers.
Look, I hope it. I don't look flat out k I Rememberen
doesn't really seem like a good person, but he's a very talented basketball player.
And the minutes with him and Donche, which as poor as they were
defensively like they were winning a lot of wanted. Yeah. Now you go
through a training camp and you know, hopefully you'll be able to kind of
even out the crunch time issues, which is where it's felt like they sort
of struggled to find balance. I think this is a I think it's a
I think it makes sense for both sides, is the way I'll frame it.
And it makes efinitely more sense for the MAVs, knowing that they have
that twelve point four mid level to throw around. Still, have you changing
gears? Have you seen the Chris Middleton deal yet, No, would you
like to guess years and dollars? This is my favorite new game, all
right? Chris Middleton, God forty one points something? Right? He got
thirty six million for five years, three for one oho two. That's a
really nifty deal for Milwaukee. Holy, pretty good, pretty good? Wow.
I gotta look. I wonder if that lines up with with Janie's deal.
When does his his DEALIX run out? Jannis will be up. He's
extension ele of him now to attack on two years, so I think he
has three years left on his He will reach free agency in twenty twenty.
Sit five is a player option, so he has three years technically if that
last year, if that latter year is a player option for Middleton, which
my guests would be yes, because if he's signing for that much less than
his player option, I'm assuming his previous player option. I'm assuming they gave
him another one yes player option on the third year for Middleton. So the
Bucks are kind of lining things up here for potentially a hard reset if Jannis
and Middleton and whatever else. So now I mean that leaves brook Lopez.
You you got to assume although brook Lopez was always to me the bigger flight risk