What is up, fellow thermonuclear a Eppers. I am Dan fa Valley coming
at you with the very fantabulous, the spectaculario spectaculario. Yes that is a
word. Here. Bleacher Reports Grant Hughes and also Hardware Knox is grant us
At this point, friend, colleague, been on this podcast many times.
We've worked together for like over a decade at this point is twenty eleven or
whatever it's been. Now that's been. It's been a minute. We're getting
fucking old. Yeah, offseason report card time. Who is excited? But
before we get into it, Grant, it's been a minute. How the
hell are you? I'm so happy to be back. I'm so happy to
be doing these grades. I'm so happy to see your face, and I'm
so happy to talk for forty minutes off offline about pre workout supplements and as
because we're getting old, we have to have those conversations. So I enjoyed
that. But I'm going to enjoy this conversation more because I'm I love this
part of the year in a weird way because the dust is kind of settled,
and like how you felt on July third, as all this stuff was
going down, has given way to sort of a bird's eye view, and
I feel like it's a little easier to kind of take a holistic look at
each team. So I don't know, I think this is a really good
time to be doing this, even though even though this will potentially change for
certain divisions that we'll get to later, I do feel the timelines were messed
up the past two years, and I think that you've now this is the
third year that you've done this with me, so like I don't know the
exact day that we did it, but I don't think the league has felt
more unsettled than it does now when we've done these just because of the Kevin
Durant and Donovan Mitchell ripple effects. And I guess you could look at it
as well, those are mostly just going to affect the Jazz and the nets
if anything happens, and then they'll invariably impact like one other team and each
or two other teams. But then it's like, well, are they holding
up Colin Sexton, or they holding up John Collins, or they holding up
like these other deals like a trade that Phoenix or Toronto would want to make.
So I feel not even a little bit confident about doing these right now
because I'm just like in my head have to make sure I'm not accounting for
stuff that is unsettled that has not happened yet. The good news is,
I think most of the teams we're gonna do today are pretty settled, so
we can at least like work into it that way, right, And so
I'm gonna try and this is gonna be the criteria. I'm gonna try and
clip this exact clip that we're talking right now and put it in front of
every single podcast. So the criteria is one homers don't need to listen to
this podcast like I'm just gonna I'm not gonna We're not gonna be like unduly
like unkind to your team. But if you're looking for just rosy outlooks on
everyone, it's not happening. So if you're watching on YouTube, I know
there's a lot of homers on YouTube, just feel free to click off and
go to another video. Also, remember C is like average to like above
average, so don't be insulted. Your team gets to see we went through
this last year. I went and listened back to one of them, like
that's the same criteria we used. So if your team gets to see or
a se minus they passed. This isn't like I don't really even know,
like what what do you need to be plus in for it to be viewed
as like a passing grade? Uh? And these are from like the team's
perspectives. I'm glad that every player got the money that they did. Uh.
And the other thing that and I'm sure Grant followed it the same way
as like, I'm not necessarily assuming that these teams could have gotten players for
cheaper. Uh. It's just a matter of is this the direction they should
have gone? Was the alternative going a completely different direction? Like I'm not
gonna say, oh, okay, Uh, the Bulls they should have went
out and they should have been able to sign Bradley Beal, Like, no,
that's not that's not how we're so we're trying to we're grading teams relative
to the tools they had at their disposs That's the key to that. No,
that's the key. Is is a thing that's always stuck in my head
from I forget even where I heard it, But it's success is measured by
what you accomplish a relative to what you had capacity to accomplish. So it's
like these teams all had different resources, different cap situations, different needs,
different I don't know, levels of levels of aggression is not really one of
those things because everybody should have a high one. But you know, the
reality is all these teams are operating sort of on distinct, you know,
sets of circumstances. So yeah, it's it's how did you do relative to
like what you could have done, and then that's where we get into maybe
what you should have done or what you should not have done. So yeah,
everybody's grade is kind of you know, depends on what they had the
ability to do. And I would say too, Homers, maybe come back
a little bit because as I'm looking at my grades for all these teams,
I'm pretty friendly. I think I went soft this summer. I think I
have higher grades than looking around at some other people that have done grades,
I tend to come out higher on almost everything. So I will be we
don't know what each other's grades are, so I'll be interested to see how
much meaner you are than I am, because I I think that's where we're
going. Well, I think there's a good time to note that you can
find Grant at GT Underscore, Hughes over on masturbatory Twitter, where every team
and every transaction is the greatest thing ever. I did not. I felt
like I was harsh or fair. I wasn't trying to repeutive, but there
are no with that. So let's get into the Central Division criterias out of
the way. No one failed for me in this division. I didn't give
out any failing grades. So if that's the definition of kind, maybe I
met it. But let me so let's start with the Chicago Bulls. I
can run through their most notable moves here. Look, if I miss some
orf like between the two of us, I'm sure Grant and I will catch
ninety five percent of what happened. But if we missed something major, you
could feel free to let us know. They drafted dal and Terry at number
eighteen. They picked up Tony Bradley picked up his player option. They signed
Derek Jones Junior to the two year, six point six million dollars deal player
option on year two. They signed Andre Drummond to the exact same contract with
the player option. On year two. They resigned Zach Lavine to a five
year, two hundred and fifteen point two million dollars deal player option. On
that final season in twenty six twenty seven, they signed Justin Lewis to a
two way contract, signed Javon Freeman liberty to an Exhibit ten deal, and
they signed Goran Dragas to a one year that minimum. Notable exits that were
not mentioned in what'll be the notable move section above, I have Troy Brown
Junior went to the Lakers, and then Matt Thomas and Tristan Thompson both remained
unsigned at the moment. It's probably also worth noting because when we get to
the Wizards this is gonna matter. The Bulls did not give zacklbe no trade
clause. I don't think he was eligible to one for be fair, but
just just a fun adectote there. So what do you have for these for
these guys? Do you want to list all the other players who did not
get no trade clauses on their deals? Yeah? Just the next hour ninety
minutes, about a hundred and sixty minute hour, thirty minutes will be spent
listing all the players in the league that don't have a no trade clause.
Uh. Yeah, So I just I had him at a flat B and
I feel like it was just again because the big piece of business was getting
Lavine back into the fold. They didn't have a lot of other options,
like I'm not in love with Drummond or Derek Jones or anything like that.
This team feels like a sneaky, oh, we're gonna get part way into
the season and blow it up team because this just is like Demarja Rosen's not
an MVP candidate anymore, Shocker and Buschovich's It was kind of the start of
like what I think is a kind of a bad team building plan of action
a couple of years ago with that trade from Orlando. I just you know,
they got the big thing right. They didn't do any like horrible damage.
They didn't have a ton of resources, so it's not like, you
know, they missed out on all these other opportunities. I don't feel great
about that great. I'd be more likely to lower it than raise it,
especially if I don't know how fair this is. But if Lavigne's you know,
knees continue to be issues, or if he has health problems going forward,
like that's that's an issue. But like just just to stick with Levine
because that really is sort of the main piece of business. You know,
I think I've flipped farther on him from negative depositive over the last like four
years. Then I can remember on almost any player because I just didn't think,
you know, I thought when the signed him to that offer sheet and
restricted free agency years ago, it was a perfect King signing because it was
so stupid and just misguided and this guy won't help you win. And then
Lavine is like one of a handful of guys that can be your number one
option and also scale to being a great number two because he's fine on the
ball and off it, and he's just improved, you know, incrementally every
year. So I think that's the right number for him. I think he
is that you know, reasonable minds could disagree, but I think he is
worth that money. So I guess that's really like ninety percent of my grade.
I think they just kept their best player. They did what it took
to do that. And you know, I'm ready, I'm ready. I'm
totally receptive to the other stuff on the margins knocking that grade down. So
I give him a B minus largely for the same reason and just like I
think it's also a win for them that Lavine didn't go. I know he
has health concerns in the past, but didn't go the shorter term route trying
to get into free agency at the peak of the Caps moving that's two thousand
and twenty six or two and twenty five. And this deal takes him through
if he picks up his player option his age thirty one season. If he
doesn't, it only takes him through his age thirty seasons. Let's argue even
more just of a no risk prop or low risk proposition, we should say
so they hit their big move. I also just I'm I think you can
say, okay, well why didn't they use their mid level exception? Why
do they still continue to act like a smaller market team. And I think
that's a fair criticism. I just want to know who did you want them
to spend? And I'm not saying this was your criticism. I'm not great.
Tell me who you wanted them to sign at the level? But like
idod Porter, but he wanted to go to Toronto because his girlfriend's from Toronto.
PJ. Tucker really wanted to go to Philly. And it's like,
well, could they have gotten Kyle Anderson, could they have gotten Isaiah Hartenstein
instead of Drummond? But do you want to spend the entire MLI on a
backup big Maybe you do just because Ruche is entering the final year of his
contract. So I'm I'm been willing to listen to people quibble about that,
but I just don't think that there were any opportunities missed here. The path
not taken would be well, could they have been more aggressive in any trade
proposals? And the answer is right now to me is no, because like
they don't have the asset equity to go after Donovan Mitchell, to go after
Kevin Durant and so like, yes they have Patrick Williams there, but okay,
like they can't trade a pick until twenty seven at this point. So
I'm fine with what they did. I would have liked to have seen I
want to be more confident in their front court rotation, and so I kind
of feel like they missed there. I think that, by the way,
I think the Goran Drauget signing was probably a home run, like this is
not This is someone who can kind of still probably and put the ball on
the floor. And I'm just surprised that it took more to get Andre Drummond
or even Derrick Jones Junior than I know Drugts is older, but I would
have liked to have seen them gone a route where either if it instead of
Derrick Jones junior Andre Drummond, could they have found someone who would have spaced
the floor in the front court or a better rim protector than Andre Drummond,
who's not like this true blue rim protector. I think people just and it's
fine, he's your backup five. I get it, Like, could you
have gotten like I would have preferred probably has on Whiteside to Andre Drummond's here,
Like I'm just that's where I'm not Dwight Howard maybe, And I know
Drummond was like before we went to Brooklyn was a big part of the Sixers
success and deepening that rotation. I'm still just very uninspired about the frontline rotation,
and a lot of that comes down to, well, what is Patrick
Williams. We still need to know what he is? Is he or three?
Is he or four? And I still remain very high on him.
I was in big support when they took him at number four, so I'm
not even imputing them for that. But there are still too many questions up
front after the season that Vooch had and if you look at some of the
bigs that were available, and like Hartenstein's the one that springs out to me
the most. I didn't want him beside Marvin Bagley, for instance, but
like, could they have done something like even mo Bamba would have made more
sense here? And maybe he got too much money from the Magic over two
years, but could you've scaled that to three? I'm just it wasn't an
uninspiring all season, but it was unspectacular. I think a B minus relative
to what was working, what they had working for them is like that if
you could have won as highs a B plus though, and I might have
understood it because I think that the zach Lavine contract is a pretty massive win
for the organization, right because you know, just to put a pin,
put a bow on the lavine thing. Like you know, over the past
couple of years, there were definitely periods where it was like, oh,
you know, there were it seemed like there was a chance that he might
leave, and now the cap space situation of this past off season made that
seem less and less likely as it sort of crystallized. But like we got
to work big too small, I think, and so it was not a
foregone conclusion, probably right up towards the end of last season, that Lavine
would be back, Like there was a legitimate chance that maybe he was,
you know, there was a just all the agents speak stuff, but like
he was going to test the market and he was looking forward to being an
unrestricted creator and all that stuff. So they got him back, and that
just kind of controls it for me. So I think actually we kind of
view that the same way. It just we ended up closer than I thought
we would actually. Yeah, I mean I I was prepared to be harder
on them, but when I was going through their actual off seas than everything
else that happened around the league, I don't know how much you like.
The stuff that you're going to take issue with is stuff in the more distant
past, like the rose and trade, the foods trade, and the stuff
that set them up here. Also, we might be feeling completely differently about
this team if Caruso and Lonzo Ball never get injured, then to your point,
that's why drag matters, because like all the reports about Alonzo Ball continue
to be pretty iffy. That's probably putting it kindly too. Yeah, So
I mean, and and their season completely changed when those two guys were hurt.
So and dragics will not do what those guys did defensively. But yeah,
that that, you know, position of need addressed. I would say,
even even if maybe his age makes him, you know, as as
unreliable potentially as ball is going to be, we'll see anything else on them.
That's all I got. Let's move on to the Cleveland Cavaliers. UH.
Notable moves for them include they drafted O'Shea Baji at number fourteen. They
drafted Isaiah Mobile at number forty nine and then signed him to a two way
contract. They signed r J niem Hard to a two way con track.
They signed a two way, not a two way, excuse me. They
signed Robin Lopez to a one year veteran minimum deal. They're big move so
far. Well, their second biggest move so far was they signed Rickey Rubio
to a three year deal eighteen point four million dollars the full mini MLU.
They signed Huel Netto to a one year veterans minimum deal, and then they
signed Darius Garland to a five year designated rookie extension. It's worth one ninety
two point nine that can be bumped up to I think it's two fifteen or
two nineteen, whatever it is. If he makes All NBA and it becomes
worth thirty percent of the cap, it's two actually two hundred and thirty one
million. It could be bumped up to I believe you, which that's a
number you're happy to pay if he made an All NBA team. Right,
it's just whatever it is. That's fine. Notable exits, so Colin Sexton,
Ed Davidson, Rajon Rondo will all remain unsigned, so they haven't exited,
but Colin Sexton specifically still restricted free agent as we record this, and
then Moses Brown signed an Exhibit ten deal with with the Clippers. How did
you grade the offseason from this team? Sort of knowing that I would argue
just so I won't give you my grade, but I did sort of bake
in the fact that I think they've mishandled the Colin Sexton situation at least to
date. So that was gonna be my first question to you, is how
how do you feel about how the Sexton thing has gone? I'll I guess
I'll get to that. The sex and thing actually didn't factor that much into
my grade, just because I don't know what's going to happen yet with him.
I do think that the longer this goes on, and like we're way
past the long end now in terms of offseason and stuff, the better the
chances are that they kind of retain him on a deal that makes sense for
the team, as opposed to you know, past scenarios where it's, well,
we're talking about twenty million a year or you know that that always seemed
a little if a little much to me, So I didn't really factor that
in and I gave them a B plus not to bury the lead again and
working from the big to small thing, like I think Garland people, I
could if if you think it's if you think Garland has improved enough, I
guess I could be receptive to that. But clearly he's if you're not sure
if he's a little too small or defensively we're not sure that he's a MAX
guy. I think offensively he's there and he's young enough to improve. And
I think too, just the numbers, the stat that just you know,
say what you want about on off swings, but the cows are thirteen point
nine points per hundred worse when he's not on the floor, like that's a
big deal. He is a vital piece. He's the only guy last year
for long stretches that could sort of get the offense running. He's a good
enough shooter. I think to project as someone that really stretches the defense like
a Lillard going forward. The size is an issue again, but I just
think he's vital to the team. They locked him up, and then I
think Rubio and Netto coming in as like your second and third stringers, even
if you're not going to get a full season of Rubio, Like suddenly that
point guard situation, which was a real weakness behind Garland last year, is
like you're set. I think Netto is someone we both thought made sense for
almost everybody as like a backup, and that's what he'll be until Rubio's back,
and then he's your third guard, and that's a massive luxury. So
I think they shored up the position they needed. Rubio's deals a little rich
given the injury history and the age, but I think this is a situation
where clearly he really mattered to that locker room. Like when he left,
everybody was upset, and to have him back, there's just you know,
the vibes are good. I think, you know, we don't talk too
much about that kind of thing, but I think it matters everything else.
After that, I was just kind of met about. But yeah, I
just thought they did the big thing and they hit the position they needed and
so and I'm a softy grading this offseason, so they ended up at the
B plus room. So I gave them a C and I considered giving them
every anywhere between a C plus and the C minus or not. Like huge
swings. The Darius Garland thing is big, and then he also doesn't have
a option, which is really good for the team when you're projecting forward.
I didn't love the ruby O deal because, like you said, he's not
going to be ready, and it costs you almost the entire mini mid level
exception, and I think that I most disenchanted. I was also fine with
the Akbagi pick. I know a lot of people don't think that he's gonna
end up being good enough shooter in the NBA to justify that pick. I
think it's fine, Like, you don't need him to be a really good
defender based off this team that you have, and so if he is going
to hit his threes, like you needed that from the like the two in
the wing spots more than you needed anything else. But does Colin sexts and
stuff to three year, forty million dollars offer that's apparently on the table.
You're daring this to end in him just accepting his qualifying offer, which I
don't understand. And this offer right now seems very geared towards Oh as of
right now, I have them, and there's probably give or take money here.
They're within like eleven point four million dollars the luxury tax. That is
very much an offer that says, hey, we're trying not to go into
the tax this year. Well, then there are a few things that could
have happened. Did you need to give out the ruby O deal that badly?
Honestly, he's not going to be ready until at least the middle of
the year. And then if you were concerned about paying the tacks this year,
then you shouldn't have traded for Carros Lavert. And I was an advocate
that it was fine they went after Lavert. I thought people were assigning too
much value to that first round pick that they owe, which they technically might
not even end up paying out if they finished the season in lottery. It's
going to convert into two second rounders. So I just like, what team
are you? Are you a team that wants to have this more urgent timeline,
because if you do, then you can figure out how to duct the
tax later to give Sexton what would still be an offer. I imagine he'll
sign that's cheaper than what you would have paid in him an extension last fall,
and now you're daring him to sign his QO. It feels like to
where he'll just be an unrestricted free agent and it becomes hard or easier to
lose him for nothing at that stage. And if you just didn't want to
pay Sexton, then this should have been someone that you more aggressively look to
trade even while he was injured then. And so I just don't understand that
line of thinking. The Sexton thing is still very unsettled, and so maybe
I'd be prepared to bump up their grade a little bit, but just like,
the mode of operations here just doesn't really make sense to me. And
if it's because they again, if you're gonna tell me, well, they
obviously prefer Carris Lavert to Colin Sexton, then what is Colin Sexton still doing
on this roster because like you're not, his trade value hasn't increased because in
potential sign and trade scenarios right now, unless San Antonio or Indiana really want
him, so you should have just moved him rather than go through this whole
or deal of if he signs his QO and he stays like he's going to
be someone who's playing for his next contract and he's gonna is he gonna work
within the context of the team. I also think that he's more valuable to
this team than people are giving him credit for. I think his passing I
don't want to say it's underrated, but that the criticism is exacerbated when you're
looking at someone who can make decisions in driving kicks, like, yeah,
he can do it. And if you want him to take more catch and
shoot volume, that's something you can work on. But he's a legitimately accurate
catch and shoot three point marksman. That's something that this team needs. And
he's more of a connective tissue to me than Annetto or even like you,
Okoro or even a Lavert because of what he can do off the ball.
I get Rubio's value as a playmaker, his IQ and then to the locker
room, and then even his defense. This isn't a team that needs con
Sextant to being even a B plus defender. And I think con Sexton can
be better on the ball moving forward. You need more offensive firepower, and
as we close the season and we look at the play in tournament, they
very clearly needed more offensive lethality away from the ball. On the ball whatever
Sexton. No, he's not going to hit those zach Lavine type jumpers that
you alluded to in the bulls grade, but he gives you that off ball
valve, that outside valve, and there's even someone who just puts like pressure
on the rim. And he's always been fair, or not always, but
he's become fairly decent when you look at the frequency with which he draws shooting
fouls. And so I view him as an easier squeeze on this roster long
term than I do Carros Lavert. And if you're saying you like Lavert better,
I think it's because you view him as the better passer, which is
fine, and because he's taller, I wouldn't call him a better defender.
He's certainly not a better shooter. Maybe he's a little bit better of a
self creator. So I'm just very disenchanted with the way that Cleveland has gone
about this, this whole context in situation, And I just don't know what
you look at, aside from the Garland thing this offseason and say that was
a home run, even they're cheaper deals like the Rubio, I don't.
I just don't know that that was a home run. I think the main
difference is I guess I'm viewing. So let me ask you first though,
if if they it doesn't seem likely, but if the Calves were able to
keep Sexton at that three for forty number, would that how much would that
bump your great up? Would that get you to the C plus or would
that get you to the B minus? I think you I could probably go
B minus or B what would? What would? I would refrain from going
too high on it because it's like, what did this do with the relationship
between player and team? That the only reason they got here was because they
really played their leverage and that's that's the name of the game. And restricted
free agency as supposed to Like, yeah, I could probably be talked into
a B plus. Then if he ends up signing the deal for three,
if he ends up signing a three or forty million dollar deal, I'll be
flabbergast, And yeah, I will sixnificantly train my change my grade. So
this is largely based off that I don't think he's going to sign that contract.
I don't think he should sign that contract either. Yeah, I think
so. I guess I think this is a little bit more like the Bulls
situation than I initially thought, in that, like, the problems are older
than this offseason, right, like the I can understand liking the Lavert move.
I just don't like Lavert just as a you know, it doesn't do
it for me. I don't like what he brings. And Sexton's a little
bit that way too, even though I do agree that maybe the pendulum has
swung a little too far towards the negative on Sexton, because you know,
there's that stat out there that I can't remember offhand that you know, there
aren't that many twenty point scorers that had his true shooting efficient true shooting percentage
a couple of year when he was last healthy, like he's gonna so.
But to me to answer kind of my own question, if they got him
for three for forty or like even three for forty five. I think that's
just that's what I view him as being worth because I think not just on
this team, but on most teams, almost any team that's gonna do anything
winning wise of consequence, I think he's your six man. I just think
that's just what that's the type of player that he is. It's early,
but that's just how I view him. So, like, yeah, it
would have been great to have moved him, you know, a long time
ago and maybe not done the LeVert thing, and then maybe we have a
big thing that can play both ends on this team, which is another thing
that I didn't talk about when I was saying they address their needs, like
it'd just be great if a Coorro could shoot, and then like your problems
are solved. I feel like he's going down the Joshua Kogi route of like,
man, if a Kogi could ever just shoot, the Wolves would have
their who that is, like he shot pretty well on corner. He's better
than a Kogikogi's like a super outlier case. But I just remember always thinking
that, like they have a guy if he could just make shots a Coors
better. But I'd feel instead of Leavert, instead of sex and if they
had just you know, gone down different paths with each of those guys.
Maybe you've got the six seven ready to play two way wing that just feels
like needs to be there. I guess you're kind of making me think I
should lower this to a flat beat. But how much of the difference does
that really make? After we did talk me out of a C minus for
them to a flat seat, we kind of got we got towards the middle
there. Yeah, I don't know. I just I guess maybe I'm a
sucker for Ricky Rubio and it just makes me happy when he's on a team
that's happy to have him. Yeah, I mean, good for him.
I just it's even the same thing with Joe Angles in Milwaukee. Where did
they need to command the entire Mini mL E or in most of the Mini
Emily in Rubio's case, when he's not gonna play until, like he tours
a cut at the end of December, right, So, I just is
he that important? And it's also just that you did kind of, you
know, artificially lower the offer you're willing to give the Sexton then, And
I just I guess if you think Colin Sexton is a sixth man. That's
fine as a salary cap continues to go up, Like the six man is
gonna cost you more than thirteen million dollars? Like, are you telling me
that Colin Sexton's ceiling is Jordan Clarkson. I don't know, he's that's that's
the first name that comes to mind, to be honest, It's like he's
a Clarkson type. I can't get there. He's a better he's a better
shooter, better passer, i'd say, probably even better defender. I just
I'm just I don't know, Like, if you view him as a sixth
man, that that's fine. I just still feel like this if you view
him as as a capslock sixth man, but if you find him less valuable
to your team than Rickey Rubio and Ricky Rubio as your sixth man, then
I understand the offer. But three years, forty million dollars for a sixth
man that wouldn't be Like, what do you think Tyler hero is gonna get
paid in Miami to be a sixth man? So like we and it's different
players, but like I think Collin sexton ceiling is pretty significantly higher than Pique
Jordan Clarkson right now, who's probably like his I think his biggest advantage is
just he's a better perimeter shot creator or shot maker you could say, off
the dribble, and he's not even like super efficient when he's doing that anyway,
So I'm surprised. I guess I'm just higher on Colin Sexton and the
consensus, and I did a podcast about that the offseason, so that's not
surprising anyone. I'm I don't really love the way that they've I think they've
painted themselves and to this to this weird corner where I don't even know how
they come out of it as a winner, unless again, he just signs
I guess the three or forty million dollars offer. I think, just to
argue against myself a little bit, that I sort of balk at any kind
of any team that goes with the two small guards as like, these are
our starting backcourt players. So if Sexton is that guy, but if anybody's
gonna do it, I think the team that has Jared Allen and Evan Mobileyn
can get away with it. So maybe maybe saying he's a six man for
this team is a little bit unfair, because yeah, you're gonna have like
some point of attack problems, but your back line is so good and mobile
covers up for so many mistakes, or I mean, I assume he will
continue to get better and cover up for like all the mistakes that you could
get away with it, and then you do have better shooting and shot creation
even if you're undersized. Yeah, but clearly the Cabs don't feel that way,
likely because because twenty million a year, if that's your starting shooting guard
on a team that's theoretically going to be really good, would not have been
unreasonable even with the injury. So clearly the Calves are less convinced than certainly
either of us that Sexton is like a piece for the future. So and
maybe that's a locker room thing. I don't know them. You can never
be too like too sure factoring in that type of stuff, But it is
this type of situation makes it seem like there's just something beyond the on court
stuff. I don't know, just pure speculation that's fair. And I think
the only other thing I would argue here, and it's very lightly I don't
know that I've factored in my grade. It would have been nice to see
them more try to more aggressively upgrade the wing spot where if Abaji is your
biggest addition there, I don't know if that's going to cut it. Again,
the market wasn't flushed with all these wings, and they clearly weren't willing
to spend the entire mid level exception, so that limits them there. But
they've created some of these constraints for themselves, or they had the ability,
I should say, to operate outside some of them. The Detroit Pistons are
up next. Though their most notable moves, they drafted Jay and Ivy at
number five. Corey Joseph picked up his five point two million dollars player option.
Howa Dudio picked up his five point two million dollar player option. They
signed Buddy Bohim to a two way contract. They signed Marvin Bagley the third
to a three year, thirty seven point five million dollars deal. It is
fully guaranteed. And they traded Jeremy Grant and number forty six to Portland for
number thirty six, which became Gabrielle Proseda Milwaukee two thousand and twenty five first
round pick, top four protected and a two thousand and twenty six second most
favorable of Portland or New Orleans is. They then acquired Jalen Durin the number
thirteen pick from the Knicks for Kemba Walker and that Milwaukee two twenty five first
round pick. They also acquired in a separate trade, New Rland's Noel alec
Burk's six million dollars in cash, a two and twenty three second round pick
it was Detroit's own and a two and twenty six second round pick for the
draft rights to Nikolo Raduchevich who was draft in two thousand and fifteen, and
a two thousand and twenty five second rounder. That's top fifteen protect top fifty
five protectives. It was basically they got all that stuff to take those guys
into their cap space. Norlands Nowell alc Burks two second rounders and six million
dollars in cash to lease out cap space in the Knicks. They also signed
Kevin Knox to a two year, six million dollars deal with a player with
a team option excuse me on year two, and they resigned Rod McGruder to
a one year veteran minimums deal. Notable exits they declined Luca Garza's team option,
and they declined Carson Edwards's team option. What grade did you have for
the Detroit Pistons grant? So this is gonna feel weird after the Cavs got
a B plus, which I think I'm gonna call it B just for comparison's
purposes. This was a bus put it in the dock as a B.
Now I'm sorry this year to see if we have to do make Kulpa's next
off season, that's fair. That's fair, as long as we don't have
to apologize for killing the Jared Allen signing again. The statute of limitations expired
on that. This is a B plus for me, I might have had
it in the A range if not, for which I maybe you won't agree.
I think you might. I just the Bagley signing is just like I
don't understand it on any level other than he's still kind of young, and
it's like physically athletically talented, he just has not been a positive player.
He like, I don't know where the competition was that made the number get
as high as it did for him, and the positional glut, like you've
got other more important, slash better players that need to be at the four
and the five, and so I don't understand why we're investing here. I
guess you could criticize them for not going the cap space route. They they
had a way to do that. I don't feel like that is legitimate.
So yeah, like they want. Their draft was great. I think Ivy,
I mean part of its luck. I don't think IVY could have easily
come off the board sooner. I love his fit with Kaide. I think
Duran is who knows project, but like you know, they really wanted him,
and a lot of it was one of those picks where everybody was like,
oh, I can't believe they pulled that off. So I feel good
about that. And then and then just being willing to take on bad money
I think, and even the money's not even that bad that they got,
so I'm getting a first for Grant. There's just all these little wins.
I think that add up to me. But it's just the baggy thing that
I that gives me pause and keeps me from from going much higher for them.
So you ended up? Would you say B for them? B?
Plus? I struggled what to do when looking at their transactions with the Knicks,
like do you look at them separately? Do you view it in totality
because it's they end up acquiring Jalen Duran and Kemba Walker and non zoell alc
Burke six million in cash and two second rounders for like, that's what was
the cost of their cap space plus that Milwaukee first round pick, unless I'm
forgetting anything there, So, like, is that like a sensible you like,
are they so sure Jalen Duran is that guy? And it doesn't even
sound like he's gonna be part of their starting lineup, which I guess you
can argue make sense. I'm ultimately I think fine because I don't think I
don't think they needed to go to the cap space route, and I also
don't view Alec Burks as like if you view Neuralan's noels A some costs at
this point, that's fine. Kemba Walker clearly was. But if you view
like alt Burks can play and give them shooting that they could definitely need the
stuff that I didn't. And I think the Ivy pick was just that that
spot he fell to you, like, that's a fell at number five.
But that's a no brainer. And I'm, like I said, I'm tantalized
by the Ivy Cunningham during Trio, Why did you not more aggressively target shooting
on this team? And I'm inclined to feel a little bit better about that
because Isaiah Livers healthy looks like he's really gonna sling it. And I actually
just made the case I think they should start him, that they should start
They should start Bay, Livers and either Stewart or Duran with Ivy and Cunningham.
But the Marvin Bagley contract, I just he played really well for them.
He had some nice connections with Kaide, showed some nice touch around the
basket, some some even nice fades a little bit, But like, where
does he fit in the context of this I don't ever want to see him
playing before and it only makes sense if he can't play before. The only
front court partner that it really makes sense to play him with right now is
Kelly Olynnock because Olynic can shoot, and that would be a defensive disaster.
And I also just think, when you look at the totality of this team,
is there enough? Is there enough shooting? You have Burkes, you
have Livers, Let's consider Sebek Bay a good shooter. I think Kake Kunnyham
will be better. But the I want to see Kake Cunny him surrounded by
more shooting, and I don't think that they did that enough. So I
ultimately went with a B minus because I don't think I was blown away by
the transaction thing. I think what they did with the Knicks was absolutely fine,
but I just like the Bagley deal rubs me the wrong way, like
I said, and I still think there's this weird like on like ambiguity when
you're looking at the it's more so the four spot because you're I guess you're
gonna play like two bigs or two undersize, but because Isaiah Stewart is a
kind of small and I really love Beef stew but I don't I don't necessarily
love the the log jam that they've created there. And even you can filter
out Nolan's Noel if you don't think you should play, but there's also a
chance that no One's Noel is more impactful than Marvin Bagley at this point,
and fully guaranteed. I understand having mid end contracts with the cap going up
can be valuable for trade talks, but fully guaranteed at nearly thirty eight million
for over three years, I didn't understand that they've clearly been a team that's
going to think outside of or not outside the box, but they're gonna think
to the beat of their own drum or whatever under Troy Weaver. So we
have to see how it works out. But I didn't love anything that they
did. You can. I don't know that you can hate or love the
jay Nivy pick because it was almost sort of made for like did you.
I guess if they picked Bennedick Mathern, you wouldn't have been mad. But
you really have to feel strongly that Shaden Sharp or Bennedic Mathin is better than
jay Nivy. I don't feel strong enough on either of those fronts. It
just felt like the no brainer pick. So how much credit do you give
them for that? That's why I ended up in a B minus. Yeah,
I can see that for sure. I think for me, just you
know, Ivy Ivy has like major downside risk, which actually in the top
like in the top ten, especially if you're a team like the Pistons,
I'm good with. I think you're just trying to hit hit bombs like that.
That's just that should be the approach. So yeah, my grade rests
a lot on a guy that they, like you said, lucked into that
has a huge like volatility factor in his future. And I just think,
I just think, ivy, I think it's still a guards league. I
think it's cool. And we saw a bunch of forwards and stuff go go
off the board early. That's fine, But like, if you're gonna tell
me that there's a guy with a shot, like a just a shot to
be a super athletic league guard that actually makes sense the next to the big
wing that you already have that handles the ball, Like, I don't know,
I like, I like the theoretical approach a lot there. I also
do feel like this is a grade that could be bumped up. Like I
look at these moves and I'm like, I can't see myself a year from
now if this is just how it plays out. And they let no One's
well and Berth come off the books and they like because they also and this
is what I'm getting at. They haven't even bought out Kenba officially yet,
I know that was reported, so are there other moves to follow for them
this offseason? So it's a grade that I could see immediately changing because of
something else they do. I don't look at this roster and think, well,
I'm going to be incredibly wrong about the actual moves that they've made.
I think, look, Burke's ivy great pickups, I'm the back league contract,
and I think some of the weird decisions it creates, and then the
issues that go unaddressed as sort of a byproduct of it, that's the stuff
that I can't get past for them. Yeah, that would bring us to
the Indiana Pacers had a fairly eventful offseason. They are another team that's just
like with Buddy Held and Miles Turner still on this roster, this just feels
a little futile, but so their notable moves. They signed Deandreight into a
four year, one hundred thirty three million dollars offer sheet Phoenix immediately matched it.
They drafted Bennick Mathin at number six. They drafted point guard Andrew Nimbard
at number thirty one and signed him for four years, eight point six million
million dollars deal. They acquired Kendall Brown, the number forty eight pick for
Minnesota, for a twenty twenty six second rounder, the least favorable of Indiana.
San Antonio Miami's I think it ends up being they picked up O shaber
Set's team option no brainer decision. There signed Jalon Smith to a three year,
fifteen point one million dollar contract. It includes a player option on the
final season and they also as of right now, guaranteed him a starting spot.
And then they traded Malcolm Brogden to the Boston Celtics for Daniel Tie,
who has two years and seventeen point eight million guaranteed left on his deal and
then a team option on that final year. But they acquired Daniel Tis,
Aaroni Smith, Malik Fits, Nickstowskis, Jowan Morgan, and Boston's twenty twenty
three first round pick top twelve protected. They then, when you look at
their notable exits, TJ. Warren signed with Brooklyn. They waved Dwaine Washington
Junior as a way to create money to finish up the eight and offer sheet.
He then signed with Phoenix. Ironically, Land Stevenson sil remains unsigned and
just as a footnote, they did wave Malik Fits, Nick Stowskis and Joan
Morgan who came over from that that Celtics trade. What grade did you give
the Pacers? So I had this as a b back in July when I
initially wrote up grades on the assumption that there was just more coming because the
Brogden trade had happened, the Jalen Smith deal had happened, but this was
before the DeAndre Ayden being a member was a member of the team for like
five seconds. But I'm going to drop this too. I think I'll just
go C plus. You could talk me into a C but for official purposes,
I'm going C plus. I don't hate them going into the season with
their cap space. I think actually that might be one of the better qualities
they have because it's basically them in the spurs with you know that are kind
of your buyout or not your buyout, but your your salary dumping grounds.
Maybe you're going to get some picks that way. But like I like the
Mathering pick. I think it makes sense the Brogden trade. I'm fine with
Jalen Smith. Like we joked, I think during all of our free agent
pods about how like he just tease my guy, why doesn't everybody want to
sign him? I'm okay at that number. I'm not super okay with guaranteeing
him a starting spot, but I don't think it was being on that I
just found I found it funny that I had to throw it in there that
they guaranteed him a starting spot. I mean, I would have done it,
but you know, I'm not super rational about Jalen Smith. Yeah,
I'm gonna go c. Plus, I just the whole Eighten thing felt weird
to me because it seems like, if you're gonna sign him to the offer
sheet, you had to have thought for a second that maybe the Suns weren't
gonna match, and and it seemed very clear at least the Sun's maybe smoke
screened it really well, but it seemed clear that like that was never a
possibility once they matched immediately. So I guess I just wonder what else maybe
could have been done with that cap space that I guess they were saving.
I think a Miles Turner trade would have made some sense, But then,
like, how long have we've been saying that, So it's just kind of
uninspiring. On balance, I think they did move Brogden at the right time,
and I'm okay with that return for it, just for a number of
reasons, his health being so iffy, the potential that like he's just a
really bad contract, even though the number is not huge, If he has
another season like last one or even worse in terms of availability, and it's
just give Haliburton the keys, I think is the other thing that I'm very
good with based on how he finished the season. So I don't know,
I'm just kind of talking in circles, but it just feels like average to
a little bit above average to me, because it does seem like maybe there
was some funky like miscalculations in their like overall plan of what we're going to
do with our resources this offseason. Yeah, I was close to you again,
you've been kinder to me. I gave him a c A lot of
it was. I don't have a problem with the Jaion Smith contract. I
just want to make that clear. I find it weird that Jon Smith got
a player option. Yeah, but that again, they paid him basically as
much as they could pay him to given that his team option had been declined,
and he look he played well for them. So I have zero issues
really with that contract. I don't have any problem with the Malcolm Brockton trade.
I do find it funny there are a lot of Pacers fans that were
in comments of mine and others where we were looking at we were coming up
with trades from Malcolm Brogden. There were patients says that really thought that they
were gonna get like a top ten pick for Malcolm Brogden, and they didn't.
They got a top twelve. It's like a mildly protected first from a
team that's gonna finish in the twenties anyway, and you gotta take back like
that. That's why I mentioned the value of the Daniel Tie contract is like
two years that it'll be less than it's less than mid level exception money.
Now when you kind of already have all these bigs on the roster with Isaiah
Jackson, Jackson go go, butads Miles Turner is still there, Jalen Smith
starting starter, Jalen Smith, excuse me also, and then the eighton offer
sheet. I don't have a problem that they did it, but like you
waved Dwayne Washington Junior, who was like a capslock shooter, and me,
look the rest of your roster, it's it's like not even peppered. It's
brimming with guards. So it's not a huge opportunity cost. But you didn't
put any like extras on the eight and offer sheet, like a player option,
a trade bonus, could I know, in like frontload it to make
it somehow less pal WoT for Phoenix. I know herb Sigmon typically hasn't done
business like that, but Phoenix had all the time in the world to sign
him. This feels like they were doing a favor for Ayton's agent, who
is Bill Duffy. And my other issue here is that how many times have
you just like, given the fuck you signed to Miles Turner at this point
and it's I don't know that this will absolutely factor in, but this is
someone who is going to be a free agent. He's extension eligible. I
imagine that I suppose the Pacers could bowl him over with an offer to where
he would sign it, or maybe he actually looks at this roster and says,
well, there might be an opportunity for me to do things on offense
that I couldn't and look, probably, let's be Frank shouldn't have been doing
when Domaso Bonus was on the team, and I like his fit next to
Haliburton and bennednick Mathern, who I think was a fantastic pick. I had
Benne nick Mathern higher on my board than Shadon Sharp. I would put that
with the caveat of I get like shin deep into the draft. So let's
just see how that pans out. But I don't understand why then you gave
him the offer sheet at all. It was so palatable for Phoenix to immediately
match it like that, And what was the intel you had, because we
know NBA teams are informed enough. With all of that said, I do
respect that they have decided that this is a at least from the you know,
the outside looking like this is a rebuild and all the thing I wanted
a quick correction on here. I gave Andrew Namehard to two teams, r
J Namehard to two teams. They have Andrew Niamhart is who they signed to
that four year deal. So just the quick correction there. But I just
like, I respect that they've chosen to actually rebuild, which is something that
Herb Simon has really avoided. And I'm not saying that any of the moves
that they made we were detrimental, but it just feels it's all very average.
I don't think they won any single moves that they've actually made. Like
maybe the name Hard you know, the number thirty one pick, maybe that
panned out is like this bargain contract for the team, but the eight and
offer sheet there was I failed to see what the upside was for them,
and I really thought when they offered it that they were just going to be
something attached. That made it a little bit harder to digest for Phoenix and
the fact that it didn't And then what message does that send to Miles Turner?
Have you somehow damage his trade value because you so clearly don't figure a
future with him involved At this point, I mean, it's gotten to the
point where there was like a huge I won't even call it a subset,
but a very large portion of Lakers Twitter was I had. I was having
arguments with that Miles Turner is worth more than a second round pick to trade
for. And I'm not blaming that on the Pacers. That's clearly just to
disconnect in certain fans that live in La La Land, But like, what
are you doing here? And why see I'm not going to be trade him
for the sake of trading him. I do believe that some of this business
again is being held up by Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell, but you're not
directly involved in either of those sweep stakes, although I would make the case
that if Indiana wanted to, I could support a Halberton Donovan Mitchell backcourt if
anybody cares about that. So I'm just I respect the direction. I just
think it was a very average offseason for a team that, when you look
at how much cap space they had, could have been a lot more aggressive.
And I do recognize that what really could change this is what do they
wind up doing with the cap space. Do they fold it over at the
trade deadline into something that a team that's looking to get off money in advance
a free agency or just for some reason, or do they win the move
that includes Buddy Heeled and nowhere Miles Turner in it. There's a level of
incomplete here. I also just feel like there shouldn't be given all the tools
that they were they had at their disposal this summer. Right, Yeah,
incomplete is definitely at play here. I just wonder, like I wonder what
Miles Turner's trade value is. But the only thing that's for sure is that
it's lower than it was a year ago and then two years ago, which
is about how long the trade whispers had kind of been swirling around. So
it might be the longest tenured mentioned in trades without getting traded player in the
league. I'm trying to think, is there anyone else that's like, No,
he's got the belt, because like it was him, and like you
know, dame in there for a little bit and bal for a little bit,
but a bell for sure. Pel But but this is I mean,
not only was he is he like the longest tenured guy. He's also the
guy that you could just talk yourself into fitting on every team. Remember how
often how easy that is, and how often you'd just say, like,
you know, who would really help the Hornets, Like the Hornets were always
the team, right, just get him in there. You know they still
might be the team. They might still be the team, that's right.
No, I just wonder this is another thing where I think part of like
us not feeling super great about the whole situation is due to like what Indiana
did not do eighteen months ago, right, because like they're just in this
situation that they didn't need to be in. If you're gonna trade Turner,
and clearly they've entertained the idea for a very long time, just fucking do
it, because now you're in Now he's an expiring contract, and yeah,
he's worth more than a second rounder, I think, But the longer this
goes on, the less valuable he becomes, just because he's gonna be unless
they extend him, which I don't I mean, do you, I don't
think that's that would be honestly the most us out. I think I'd rather
like if they came at a thirty million dollars a year extension. Well,
actually he can't even go that high because of how much he's being paid.
So that's the other thing. He's at what is the eighteen million this year,
so he probably doesn't even sign one because one hundred and twenty percent raise
all of that. Maybe, like if he liked the team, maybe,
but I can't imagine he's super happy, and I don't want to be.
I'm really trying not to ascribe his feelings to this. But how many times
he was basically sent to Boston at one point? Right, Well, I
can admitted that, so I'm again I like the Pacers direction. So it's
like, again a C is not super critical. And I wanted to throw
this to you, is if they wind up doing the deal where it's they
take on Russell Westbrook and they wave him and they're sending out Buddy Healed and
Turner and they're getting back how many of the Lakers picks would you need them
to get back to? Like that deal for them if they even just got
twenty seven unprotected? Is it something you consider at this point because you're like,
well, Buddy Heald's contract is I don't view it as a substantial net
negative. I get why, you know, unless you're a team like the
Lakers, who should want Buddy Heeled at that number, I can see why
it's not part of the appeal. I've like, if I'm the Lakers,
I probably would give up the two first round picks for Buddy Healed and Turner.
And if the Pacers did that move, that trade is gonna it's gonna
skyrocket for me. And again, it's not so much that Miles Turner is
still on this roster as the eighton extracurriculaus here. That just did not add
up in the end. Yeah, I'm doing if you're giving me both of
those Lakers first, I'm doing that in a heartbeat. And the Pacers get
an a because I don't think I don't think there's anything more valuable than like
a few years down the line Lakers picks right now. So the only thing
I'll say is that we probably might have felt the same way before Lebron James
just decided to sign with them, and then before Anthony Davis forced his way.
Would you here's the question, though, would you do it for the
one? There could be other maybe they include Austin Reeves or whatever, But
would you do it for the one unprotected Lakers pick? I think I would
only because it seems clear that like Turner is just not worth a first on
his own, and because that would have happened by now, I assume,
and he's not going to be on the team next year. It's this seems
like the other clear things. So you're sort of just I mean, it's
not really truly accurate to think of it this way, but I'm giving up
Healed for you know, the privilege of buying out Russell Westbrook and getting what
I think is going to be a super valuable first. So like kind of
messing with the hypo a little bit. But like if two, I'm two,
I'm like jumping up and down one of those two firsts. I think
I still do it. Here's my issue, I might I think I need
something else on the Pacers because I think you're sending out the two most valuable
players in that deal. Oh no question, So why are you getting Like
can they have to include like a twenty six swap? Then, like it
just needs to be something. But I might do it anyway if you're that
much of And look, if you're Kevin Pritchard and the front office, you
might just be like, well, this sends the message that like, hello,
job security, because we need some time to see how this stuff plays
out since we're clearly going to be so bad, and now you've set yourself
up for Okay, I still think the Pacers will be not a playoff team
this year, even if they stand pad, but now you've ensured that you'll
be even worse. Get another high pick in there have some of these future
assets built up, like predominantly that that Lakers twenty seven pick. So I
might do it if I'm very much committed to like this long term rebuild.
But it feels like they deserve to get more because maybe I'm just too high
on Miles, maybe I'm too high on Buddy Healed. Well, we were
certainly not too high on Russell Westbrook. That's we can agree on that.
It's interesting because if you just put them on a team with four shooters who
could all defend, that team might actually still be really good. But you
know how a specific a set and impossible a set of circumstances that is I'm
I'm out, I'm done. I want to take my lap on calling that
Westbrook acquisition just ridiculous last year and nothing has changed. I just like,
you can't you can't win. You can't win with them, I don't think.
But that's we're not doing the Lakers, so we're also done with the
Pacers. You're done with Russell Westbrook, and we're done with the Pacers.
Our final team in the Central Division, the Milwaukee Bucks. I have them
on the notable moves. They drafted Dan Favalley's draft day favorite Marjean Bouchamp at
number twenty four. Pat Connaton picked up his five point seven million dollar player
option, and then the Bucks signed him to a three year, twenty eight
point three million dollars extension. There's a player option on that final year.
This entire deal would take him through his age thirty three season. They resigned
Jevon Carter to a two year VET minimum deal player option. On year two,
resigned West Matthews to a one year vet minimum deal. They signed Joe
Ingles to a one year, six point five million dollars deal that was the
entire miniml. They signed Bobby Portis to a four year, forty eight point
six million dollar deal a player option. On year four, they resigned Surgebacca
to a one year deal with the Veterans minimum. They resigned Luca Veldoza to
an Exhibit ten contract, and they signed Lyndale Winnington to an Exhibit ten deal.
Notable exits the only one I have, and I was actually surprised Jordan
Wara remains on the Tide as we record this, I feel like I should
double check that because I feel like it's like or triple check it as signing
that I just could have completely have missed. But oh I did not.
I did not miss it. So yeah, what did you give the Milwaukee
Bucks? So this was a C minus a month ago, and having lived
with it now for a little while, it's a it's a D plus and
my official is a D plus. I just and like it's kind of unfair
because I don't know how we're viewing this team. If Chris Middleton. Middleton
is healthy for the balance of the playoffs. Last year, the biggest issue
might not seem as as big because so they use they use their rosterricks,
they use their exception on Joe Ingles. Right. I love Joe Ingles.
I love the idea of Joe Ingles. I have a really hard time imagining
him, uh closing games, and maybe that's not gonna happen, but he's
gonna be a significant rotation guy in what I assume is a deep playoff run
that at least to me, I would be disappointed if it didn't include the
conference finals, if not the finals. So what you're doing is saying the
West Matthews, Ingles, Conaton, I just bow Champ. I just I'm
not going to pencil him in for anything, even though I do like him,
maybe not as much as you do, but that's how much I'm smitten.
We're gonna play, We're gonna we use our biggest resource on Joe Ingles,
who's coming off a torn acl And like this, again, this is
a well, what would you have wanted them to do to me? Sign
a guy that you think might be able to stay on the floor on either
end or on defense, because offensively, I think he'll probably be fine.
The SHOT's going to be there. He's a great passer. You can use
him in pick and rolls like there are you, you will find us this
For Joe Ingles offensively, I just don't. I don't see him being playable
in the biggest minutes against the best teams. And that's all the Bucks should
care about. Now, that guy it's super hard to find. Like and
maybe the Emil wasn't going to do it, but like, in addition to
just I don't see him healthy being able to occupy that role coming off a
major injury. I definitely don't see it. So maybe that's harsh, but
like this team is at a point where when you've got such a finite number
of ways to get better, you just can't. You can't mess you can't
mess it up. Like, and they're the stakes are incredibly high because they're
gonna be great. Uh, they're a title threat. Like even now like
that having Engles, it doesn't knock them out of that class. I don't
think. It just makes it harder. It takes their odds down like a
percent or two. But that's a big deal at that echelon. Of the
league. So I'm granting them more harshly just because I think had they nailed
it, had they got the perfect guy, you know, with that,
with that Emil E, then maybe they're like prohibitive title favorites. I don't
know. I mean, it's hard to say, but I just think the
stakes were high and they and they just didn't get the right guy. And
I love Ingles. That's just not the right guy. They This might be
our biggest digression. I give him a bow. So the English signing I
was more happy with in the moment, then after I lunched on it a
little bit because you're right. I don't think he's gonna be a part of
closing lineups, but I think the shooting and passing will help them a lot
on offense, to where if you ever want to go with Janice as the
loan big, you can go Engles, Middleton, Drew Holiday, Connaton and
Jannis and that's a viable lineup at both ends. To me. Other thing,
I like Marjehan Bochamp. I don't know if his athleticism is going to
translate perfectly to the offensive end, but the way he hit looked when he
hit some corner three, he looked kind of comfortable with it in summer league,
and then what he should be able to do defensively. I'm very high
on him and I'm hoping he gets a real crack at rotation. Minutes early
on Middleton coming back from that res surgery. We have Joe Engles out,
and presumably you don't want to play Wesley Matthews a trillion minutes. Again,
he was so important to them in the playoffs in like this problem that was
a problem, wasn't surprise, but also like wildly uncomfortable at the same time.
Yeah so, but I also liked getting Javon carterback, like that,
getting West back. I like that. Here are the things that I straight
up to not like you mentioned that, and I talked to Ty Windus of
the Eurostep about this. It doesn't seem like Milwaukee wants more honest as the
loan big lineups, especially during the regular season, which I can get.
I hate the Bobby Portis contract, and I'm well aware you look at some
of the numbers he and you honest straight up the buck slid opponents when they
are on the court together. My whole thing is, I don't view that
as someone who's going to be in your best playoff lineups. And to give
a four year deal that's still going to be above the mid level exception type
money moving forward, and then the player option. You couldn't have spent that
money elsewhere. I get it. I don't love the contract. I don't
love what it says about how they want to build out their roster moving forward.
I don't it's uninspiring. It was only the minimum, but like Serge,
Ibacca didn't play well enough to be like just pencil him in for a
roster spot here. And but what I will say, and this would be
subject to change. And by the way, I love the Connton stuff for
them. I'm surprised. I thought if he declined his player option he was
going to get the full mid level just because how bare in the wing market
was and he played so well last year. This does take him into his
like early mid thirties, But I think that's fine for what the Bucks need
him to do. And it's to me it's gonna wind up being a below
vout at worst, it'll be a market value extension. So I liked that
they're spending. They're twenty seven plus million into the tax right now, and
I'm they every team, if you're good, if you're going to the tax
I'm not gonna, you know, applaud the team governors here. But the
fact that they were willing to spend where it was, oh, it wasn't
even a second guest. They just paid Bobby Portis and they locked up Pat
Connaughton long term, and the fact that they were willing to use their mini
mid level and all of it on one player. I liked that level of
aggression. I don't know that all of these moves are perfect, and I
don't know that I don't look at this team and think they're better than the
team that closed last season. I think the way that you're going to get
better is either of Marjan Bochamp explodes or just with Chris Middleton's healthy. Same
time, that's not the worst position to be in, because if Chris Milton
was healthy, we might be talking about them as the NBA champions. And
so I gave them a better than regular passing grade because this is a team
that clearly at least senses the urgency with which they need to operate, and
what nothing they did is irreversible to me, and they could still technically go
out on the trade market. You have that grace and Allen money, and
Bobby Porters is at least a solid mid end contract you can move once he's
trade eligible. So I'm not saying they were geniuses to signed Bobby Porters to
a deal that they're moved later. If I had to guess, I think
he's gonna wind up underperforming that extension. That's just projecting forward. But I
like what they did this offseason sort of signals, and I think they at
least preserved they're upside from last season if they're at full strength. Yeah,
you know, you're making a lot of good points. I think I'm gonna
go back to my original C minus from the D plus. The D plus
does feel harshly you in for a C minus. I do think so.
And actually, since I still am lower than you on it, it's weird
that I'm going to defend the Portis contract a little bit. I think it's
it's obviously like in a vacuum, it's too much. He's all all the
points you made I agree with. I just think it's like, let's preserve
the asset. You know, let's just an asset in quote marks too,
because like you said like, I don't know, I don't know that that's
like you're trading him for fair value. Maybe you are, but it's like
you maybe just losing. Otherwise I think, well, I think to your
point, and this would rebukes what I said, Like it was when you
were trying to build trades for the Bucks leading step laddering your way to salary
wasn't possible. That's a lot easier easier now once Bobby Portis is eligible to
being moved, and now you have Grayson Allen's deal. And I also say
Bobby Portis as a switch defender, not so much as a rim protector,
and by not so much I mean at all, but as a switch defender
has been a little bit or like a lot more capable than I remember him
being in Chicago. I still just and even when we're accounting for the salary
cap spike that's coming, I'm just really it's just sort of where I'm at.
But I might be too married to this idea of let's play Yannis as
the loan big and I don't view, you know, when you play those
two together, there really is no center because like they and I guess that's
like part of the appeal, and I get you don't want to wear and
tear on Jannis, But I'm even looking ahead to the playoffs, and that's
where I ding them the most. It's just what is their best lineup going
to be in the playoffs? Is Jannis, Middleton and Drew? I think
it's content after that? And their biggest failure this offseason to me is that
I can't look at that fifth spot and say that's who it is. I
think it's probably brook Lopez right at this point it is, and but like
now we don't know, but like what if that's TJ Warren? Like all
the risks are there and all of those why was he not on? Maybe
he really wanted to go to Brooklyn? But they could have actually just I
would have offered him the same contract, sure of course, I think,
I mean not just the like they could have instead of Ingles. I totally
get that. That's one of the instances where well, do you know what
else they could have done? And it's like, well, would TJ Warren
of did he really want to go to Brooklyn so bad that he would have
said no to five million more dollars for the one year? I don't know,
let's be Frank. Yeah, no again, like I think we both
still agree, like if the Bucks just won the title, like you wouldn't
bad and I so, I mean, it's fine, it's just you know,
I just I'm just re reiterating. I just wish if if it had
been t J. Warren, I would have been, like, man,
they maxed out what they could do with that slot, because they got a
guy that, in theory, if everything breaks right, is on the court
at the end of the finals. You know that that's that's that's what I
would have liked to have seen. And they didn't make that type of move.
They didn't take that because your Ingles probably isn't that player. No,
But so can we recap this very quickly, We'll go through the teams of
what our grades are. So for the Chicago Bulls off season report card,
I gave him a B minus. I already don't remember what I gave him.
You gave them a B. The Cleveland Cavaliers, I gave them a
C grant, gave them a B. The Detroit Pistons, I gave them
a B minus. Gave them a B plus. Theonana Pacers, I gave
them a C grant gave them a C plus. For the Milwaukee Bucks,
I gave them a B. Grant gave them a C minus. If you've
just skipped ahead to the end of this, go check out the entire episode
for our reasonings as to why we gave them the grades that we did.
Grant, can you tell our fine listeners where they can find you on social
media and all the fantastic work that you do. You can find me at
GT Underscore, Hughes and mostly I'm gonna retweet when you post this pod.
I don't that's if that's not an endorsements to follow Grant on Twitter. I
don't know what else could be until next time. And as always, we've
reached the shout out to the one the only dedn't end for free agency because
he's too damn valuable for them to not guarantee his contract, Frank Jokina