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What is krak Alakin fellow Thermo lupire
A efforts. I am Dan Develly coming

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at you without my certified fantabulous co
host, mister Grant News. But I

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am joined by a certified fantabulous co
worker slash friend, Brian to Porek.

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Please follow him on Twitter or blue
Sky or whatever other social media thing is

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out there at b to Porek.
That's at bt O p o r e

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K. He covers the NBA for
Forbes. He's the co host of another

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friend of the podcast moret the podcast, the NBA Podcast, The NBA Pod.

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Try to remember that name. Go
follow them there, listen to their

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stuff. It's always fun. I
very much enjoyed your pod where you guys

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just basically went I felt like an
hour on the Dejante Murray extension. I

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appreciate minutia like that. So yes, Brian, welcome back, Thank you

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for coming on. How are you
doing while we're all in the dog days

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of being held hostage by exactly two
NBA players. As someone who has the

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privilege of covering one of those teams, I'm doing great. Mental health has

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never been better. Love writing the
same story fifteen times and finding a slightly

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different spin. But thank you for
having me. You and I actually met

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in person a couple of weeks ago, which was lovely, so I'm glad

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to see you again. It's good
to see a friendly face. And now

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we've met in person, which by
the way, aside, so we're at

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the b our offices is where we
were where we met up first. There's

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like this huge mural and I was
the only one who took a picture in

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the empty seat. No one else
put a picture this huge moro and like

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that mock nbcat. I saw no
one else doing it, and I was

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like, I'm gonna do it anyway, so I would have expected like a

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cool seated pose. I took a
picture of the random Donovan mcnet a poster

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that was up there. It was
like Donovan McNabb and Troy Vincent, I

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believe, like old school Philadelphia Eagles. That would basically my teenage years.

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So that that was the highlight of
the office for me, and all the

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incredible food there within like a two
block radius upset office the highlight for me

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and the br offices for listeners who
just probably don't know, have like a

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half court like basketball court inside I
have not played inside in forever, and

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so like when I start to shoot
like twelve to fifteen percent on jumpers,

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like and so like every like,
I haven't played inside in years, and

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so my my jumpers were going in
more often than they normally do it,

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so it maybe feel really good.
But then I actually went and played outside

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the following weekend and it was just
uglier than it was in the br offices.

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You just saved your game to show
off and cry to co workers.

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I respected my twelve to fifteen percent
clip from like the three point line.

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I was just I was very proud
of it. Yeah, it was the

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mark Elle fault so much. So
we're gonna talk about James Harden the Sixers

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just because I have you on and
Joel Embiat and everything that gets into it.

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There's nothing like really new since we
last talked about it on this podcast.

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I guess, you know, there
are a few different ways that it

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could technically end. And by end, I mean like we head into the

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regular season and James Harden is on
the Clippers, James Harden is on the

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Sixers, or James Harden is on
a different team, and I'm just like

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looking at the regular season specifically the
start of the regular training camp. How

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do you expect this to end?
Right now? I think he's going to

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be on the Sixers heading into training
camp. I think the fat suit is

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coming out again. I think we've
seen this playbook before. I mean we

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have, We've seen like we know, we know what's coming from both sides.

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Daryl Morey might be the most stubborn
team president general manager at any front

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office executive in the league. He
gave a radio appearance last week where he

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outrights it like I'm either getting a
really good player in return, or I'm

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getting the assets that can get me
a good player in return down the line,

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or James Harden or not going to
trade him. And we've seen James

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Harden both in Houston and in Brooklyn
when he wants out, he is going

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to absolutely dog it. So that's
like, I think it's just going to

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get ugly, and I know,
you know, Jake Fisher of Yahoo Sports

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reported, No, he's not going
to do the Ben Simmons thing where he's

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like doesn't report or reports late and
then you know, says he has some

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sort of injury and you can't play
Like he's going to make life miserable on

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the Sixers until they trade him now, so is his reporting the worst case

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scenario or I guess still being on
the team the worst case scenario for the

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Sixers because I get everything you just
said, but I'm also gonna get this

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from the perspective of this isn't the
James Harden of three years ago in Houston,

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and he has cost himself double digit
millions of dollars in each of the

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past two seasons looking at what he
could have made, and he's arguably cost

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himself even more than that just because
he didn't sign a loft term contract when

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he had the chance. And now
that you are the age that you are

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and you're coming on like the insofar
as there was even something to debate,

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the postseason discussion is over. You
are not a postseason basketball player. You

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are not. You had some,
you've had some You've had some really good

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games, but you've had some mostly
non descript to really bad games. Can

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you really break out? You'll come
in out of shape and loaf through an

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entire games Again, like everyone was
that twenty twenty or nineteen whatever it was,

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lives in infamy of like going against
the Kings and just like it was

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one of the worst basketball performances anyone's
ever seen from a player actively on the

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floor. Can you actually afford to
do that? And I guess if you

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only have the one destination being the
Clippers in mind, okay, sure,

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but like you you're at this point, like you do have a next contract

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to play for sure in fury.
I mean that that would be the pragmatic

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logical approach here, But the pragmatic
logical approach typically doesn't apply to superstars.

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And I you know, I'm guessing
his theory is the more miserable I make

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life on everyone around me, the
more likely Darryl Moorey eventually just has to

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cave and be like, get this
dude out of here, because now we

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also have to worry about Joel Embiid, who you know, is starting to

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publicly flirt with maybe I won't end
my career in Philly or spend my whole

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career in Philly. And is that
I know that's part of this calculus.

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But if James Harden gets moved,
is there a scenario on which they get

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the assets, let's say, assets
that they want, but they're unable to

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flip them for an immediately good player, and the Joel Embiid trade request timeline

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is accelerated to before this upcoming trade
deadline, or you very much just see,

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given what's left on his contract,
given the status of everything right now,

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there's no chance that this comes to
a head this year, this season

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whatever. I don't want to say, there's no chance. There's always a

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chance with any superstar to get disgruntled. And if you know, especially if

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Harden is miserable and he's n MB's
ear about how mean the Sixers front offices

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being to him because they don't want
to pay him two hundred million dollars,

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even though no one else wanted to
pay him two hundred million dollars, and

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even though they legally talk to him
about that, right right, I mean,

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that's that is the Sixers going story
that they you know, got hit

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with the tampering penalty last year,
so they didn't want to negotiate before free

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agency began in fear of another tampering
penalty, and Harden in his camp wanted

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clarity on what they were going to
offer, and they opt out. Deadline

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was June twenty nine, and they
couldn't begin negotiating a team if so,

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you know, it would be funny. It would honestly be funny if it

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was really just like a miscommunication or
a lack of communication that was just not

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technically possible. And like, you
know, what if the Sixers were willing

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to offer him a two plus one
deal or you know, a three or

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one hundred million plus deal, and
he just got a patient and was like,

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no, screw this. I mean, worst case scenario, I feel

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like they would have likely offered him
the same amount of money, maybe with

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a second year team option instead of
a player option, or like you know,

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partially guaranteed instead of fully guaranteed.
But you're still technically getting more money

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in that scenario. So it just
felt like, you know, I don't

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know, I don't know what communication
or non communication was happening then. So

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maybe the Sixers were sending signals like, hey, man, if you opped

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out of this, we're only offering
like twenty million instead of thirty five point

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six. I can't imagine that was
the approach because because then you know,

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he's gonna come and be pissed off
or he's just gonna try to leave.

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But I think he's mad because he
spent six months trying to drum up this

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Houston Houston, Houston stuff as leverage
against the Sixers Houston Highers. He may

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Adoka, and he may Adoka's like, yeah, I don't think so,

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guys. We we're gonna go for
Fred VanVleet, like it's max him for

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two years. Yeah, And you
would think that series of events would be

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slightly humbling to James Harden, knowing
what he gave to that Rocket's franchise over

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the years, knowing his familiarity with
the ownership group in particular, knowing that

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they pivoted away from him and maxed
someone else. Maybe that's the wake up

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call of like, hey, no
one's giving you this money. It's just

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not going to happen. Like,
I haven't looked closely enough at next summer,

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and it's frankly like too early to
realistically project which teams are going to

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have a ton of cap space next
summer, because who knows what's going to

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happen with player options and trades and
all that stuff between now and then.

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But who's given him this money next
summer? Either? I think you know

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he opted in great he secured himself
thirty five million this year. Are we

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sure that he's gonna get a nine
figure contract next offseason. So it all

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goes back to this earlier question of
like, what does he have to lose

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by acting out? I don't know
that he has all that much to lose

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because I don't think the big pay
day is coming. I think that window

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has passed. Unless, you know, if the Clippers do trade for him

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and he is the catalyst to a
deep playoff run, then sure they'll probably

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pay to resign him and resigned Kawaii
and resigned Paul George. Everyone's hunky dory.

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But like, if he becomes a
free agent again and is trying to

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force his way to another team,
cap space is just not a thing as

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much as it used to be.
Like I wrote about this for Forbes and

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it's gonna go live Friday morning.
You know, twenty nineteen is really the

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last time like superstars trick change teams
via free agency? Yeah, it was

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you know Kauai KD, Jimmy Butler
back then, even Kemba was still in

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that tier back then, like all
NBA players. We haven't had a single

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all NBA player changed teams via free
agency in the last four years combined.

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And I think that's just a byproduct
of you know a lot of the changes

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that we've seen in the news the
last two cbas where you know, they

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expanded how much you can give in
extensions. It went from one hundred and

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seven point five twenty eleven two hundred
and twenty percent. Now it's up to

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one hundred and forty percent. So
I think teams are realizing we can just

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extend these guys and trade them for
late, trade them later, or even

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they ask out, at least we're
getting something in return for them instead of

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losing them as free agents. And
now there just aren't that many teams,

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especially really good teams that have a
ton of cap space. So I just

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don't know what James Harden's endgame here
is outside of throw a tantrum and hope

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it's bad enough that the Sixers trade
him to the Clippers at some point.

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But going back you're gonna be a
question. I think he gives it this

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year, regardless of what happens with
Harden, because the Sixers have you know

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it more even said this on the
radio. But if you look at all

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of their offseason moves or all lack
thereof, it's pretty clear they are angling

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to be one of the rare teams
one of the rare potential contenders with cap

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space next summer. So I think, much like Damian Lillard with the Blazers

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this passed off season, I imagine
even if mbiad is disgruntled, he says,

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all right, Darren moy, let's
see what you're cooking. If come

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July first, July second, July
three, it's just being Tyrese Maxie and

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you know, Harden's gone Kawai and
Paul George resigned in La, Pascal Siakam

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doesn't come here, Ogna Nobi doesn't
come here, Lebron and a d are

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still in La. All right,
then it might be time to ask for

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the trade. But I think he
waits to see what this calf space plan

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entails. So this is a weird
situation when which it feels like no one's

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even close to a winner, because
I just don't see the order of operations

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that gets the sixer through some like
machination of either James Harden that's them a

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star, or they get the assets
necessary to get a star. And then

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even if you get those assets,
are you still trading Tyrese Maxie as part

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of that star package? In which
case, whatever you're giving up is James

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Harden and Tyrese Maxie for that star, which is quite a bit more than

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just James Harden. And then with
hardness, Okay, he kind of has

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nothing to lose, but like I
know, he has an agent. Now,

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this decision reeked of someone who didn't
have an agent but just impulsively opt

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the end or it's on his agent
for not having a better lay of the

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free agency land, specifically with regards
to what Houston was feeling. I do

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find a touch on your last point
is so you just and you wrote about

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it. First of all, when
is the OKAC thunder piece on Forbes dropping?

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We're all waiting, Oh, the
draft is written. I'm just I'm

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waiting. I've got something on draft
Picks that's got to publish first, which

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is now scheduled for August first.
So okay, see probably like middle end

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of next week, but it's coming. For anyone who Brian and I are

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officially thunder fans. We're gonna board
that bandwagon. We were going to start

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00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,399
in Oklahoma City Thunder podcast. Let
us know if you were subscribe to it

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00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:54,039
and make it more popular than both
of our podcasts combined. Yeah, the

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Thunderbuddies. That's what it's coming.
I feel like we can come with a

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better name. But no, that's
so good under buddies. All right,

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there it is. We're gonna talk
a lot about SGA fashion, how Josh

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Giddy looks like not just Timothy Shallowmay, but I don't know his name.

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I think it's right or strong from
boy Meat's World. You everything about that

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or I just blow your mind.
Yeah, we talk a lot about Turku.

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Yeah, Sean Hunt exactly. Go
look that up if anyone is not

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checked that out. So, yeah, we're ready to depart league wide coverage

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and rooting for our current team so
that we can board the thunderband wagon that

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we've been We've been on for quite
some time. But my honeymoon, this

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is a big detour. My honeymoon
with thunder fans is unfortunately over because I

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wanted them to do more with their
cap space this summer, and that's like

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that's a no no among many of
them. I get it, I get

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what the franchise says and what they
plan to do. I will not move

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off my steadfast belief that they were
good enough to do more with their cap

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space this summer than they did.
That is not what this podcast is about.

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You mentioned the Sixers going the cap
space route. You just talked about

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how free agency doesn't matter anymore,
and so Dalalen Brown off the board already

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next summer, or Pascal Siaka might
be off the board and doesn't really fit

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in Philly anyway? Do you want
Kawhi or Paul George and Philly? What

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is the like, why should we
feel differently about the Sixers prioritizing this flexibility

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that no longer matters on the free
agency market, Like why is that a

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selling point? To Joel Embiid,
that is the question that Sixers fans have

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been wrestling with for the last month. I can't tell you how many people

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on Twitter, Blue Sky or whatever
are like, Okay, well, what

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is who is the guy? Who
were who were you going after? Or

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is it just your prioritizing flexibility for
you know, whoever shakes loose, like

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maybe you don't have maybe have a
plan, A plan, B plans in

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place, but now there are dominoes
that will inevitably fall this year. You

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know that potentially set the stage for
who knows asking out or you know,

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someone becomes a free agent unexpectedly like, what if Drew Holiday, you know

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who said he's going to retire in
two years. What if he all of

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a sudden declines his player option next
offseason, becomes a free agent. We

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can bring the processed full circle Withdrew
coming back to the Sixers to leave.

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Yeah, yeah, I think my
guess, and this is not reported.

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This is purely a guess aggregator.
Yeah, that's right, that's right.

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Come at me, NBA Central.
Uh hey, look I think you laugh.

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But I get aggregated all the time
with what I write, and I'm

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writing opinion stuff, and I it's
all right, this is pure opinions are

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aggregate away. My guess is Ogan
and Nobi is the target, because I

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would be very surprised if he's going
to sign an extension in Toronto. Maybe

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he's willing to reunite with Nick Nurse. I know he's pretty complimentary of Nurse

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after is dismissal in Toronto. I
think you know Siakam has the Cameroon connection

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with MBID, but by all accounts, Siam and Nick Nurse were not seeing

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that. We need to. I
can't wait for someone to write the tell

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all of what actually happened. At
least not just last season, but probably

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the past two years specifically. Yeah, so I don't think it's siakam like,

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it wouldn't shock me if they're trying
to emulate kind of what the Rockets

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did where it's no depending on where
the cap falls and if they can move

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off PJ. Tucker in a hardened
deal, and if it take back any

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long term salary, like if they're
taking back Norman Powell or Terrence Mann or

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whoever. Know, if they really
clear the books, they genuinely could have

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upboard of sixty million dollars in cap
says next summer, So you know,

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maybe you throw which by the way, and I know you know this is

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not the way it's been phrases.
Is two match slots That is not with

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sixty five plus million dollars get you
anymore. It is even if we're going

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twenty five percent maxes at that point, like you have max money and then

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some that's how this needs to be
praised, right. I think maybe it's

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like two max slots in that you
can then resign Tyrese Maxie to a MAX

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after you spend all of that cap
space, because he's going to be about

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thirteen million instead of like you know, he's probably his new deal I imagine

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starts in the thirty million dollars range
somewhere around there. You have to max,

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you know, and all you'll eventually
be on for the look ahead,

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which I wanted to start them earlier
this year, like at the beginning of

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August. The Sixers are not going
to be a team that I'm allowed to

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do at the beginning of the change. I have to sit there and kind

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of identify, like I have some
teams. I don't think you're going to

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change much, but like you're gonna
make him wait, he's going to not

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just like he probably would have gotten
a MAX extension or that's what he wants

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anyway, Like now you have no
choice but to give him the MAX.

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If you make him wait, yeah, I would imagine or close to it,

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or even maybe give him like yeah, yeah, yeah. But I

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mean, you know, I think
it makes sense for the Sixers to wait

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in the sense of that, you
know, if they are going this cap

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space route again, his cap holds
thirteen million. If he gets thirty plus

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in free agency, okay, you've
just like manufactured you know, seventeen maybe

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upward of twenty million dollars. That
you wouldn't have otherwise had And also,

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like if you do trade Harden at
some point, you know, if you'd

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seen a half season where Embiid was, where Maxie was the lead guard before

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the hardened trade. But you know, can we see tyrase Maxie, you

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know, in a full season as
the lead guard, Like is he ready

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to absorb that level of playmaking responsibility
and if not, that should frankly inform

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your decision making heading into free agency
next offseason, because you know, I'm

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00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:48,200
I've like poured through the list of
basically all of the possible options, so

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I I you know, I named
a bunch of them, like DeMar De

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Rosen is another one. I want
to hold my nose when I say this,

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but like it wouldn't totally shock me
if Daryl is trying to do a

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Bilow on Miles Bridges and it doesn't
make me feel good. But yeah,

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you know, maybe you pursue a
restricted free agent like Emmanuel quickly do we

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do we get a Kentucky reunion with
Maxi? And quickly? I imagine Jaden

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00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,359
McDaniels is signing an extension with Minnesota
is going to take him off the market,

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but he would be another option you've
got, you know, Mike Conley

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is going to be a free agent, Like maybe if you aren't sold on

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00:21:26,839 --> 00:21:32,000
MAXI get you know, swing for
Og as the big piece and then like

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a veteran like Mike Conley as the
you know, your veteran point guard next

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to Maxie. Like they're gonna have
options. It's just how much confidence do

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you have in them executing this strategy
when again, we just haven't seen stars

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change hands in free agency over the
past few years. Like maybe that's a

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00:21:53,960 --> 00:22:00,400
byproduct of you know, strong teams
not having cap space. But you know,

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00:22:00,839 --> 00:22:04,640
are the Sixers going to prove to
be the outliers next year? Again?

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I think Embiid will give them that
opportunity. But if you get to

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mid July twenty twenty four and that
door is closed and he's, you know,

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now turning thirty one the following March, he's like, you know,

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is my championship window closed here?
And I know I wrote about this back

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in May, like as soon as
the Sixers season was over, basically I

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said, you know, whatever happens
with James Harden, whether he opts in,

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opts out, they trade him,
whatever, that's going to determine and

304
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be its future in Philadelphia, and
I think there is a real argument that

305
00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:53,599
their window is closed. You know, it's possible that they somehow successfully navigate

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this Harden trade or this caps placed
plan works, you know, as as

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in ten did, and maybe they
get a third Star with Embied or Maxie.

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But I'd say it's probably more likely
than not that they just messed up

309
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:14,400
too many times in the Colandulo era. And you know, Sam Hanke built

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up this giant ward chest, but
that word chest is gone. They have

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Maxie and they could trade a twenty
twenty nine first round pick. That's it.

312
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Like they don't. They can't get
into the bidding for superstars anymore unless

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you're trading Maxie, in which case, no, it's gonna be Embid and

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00:23:29,839 --> 00:23:33,519
the Star and that's it. There's
just not a ton left here. So

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like I you know, I don't
think the Sixers are going too seriously entertain

316
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:44,920
moving Embid and all the reporting has
been they won't entertain it until he asks

317
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:49,160
out. But I think there's an
argument that, like it might be in

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both parties best interest to at least
consider it, especially next summer, depending

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00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,480
on how this cap space pudding goes. Are you ready to talk about some

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other teams please God, yes,
very quickly, because I haven't mentioned in

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the podcast yet the Brownie James situation. He was Schaum's tweeted that he was

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successfully treated for a sudden cardiac arrest. He arrived at Cedars Sinai Medical Center

323
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fully conscious, neurologically intact, and
stable. Mister James was cared for promptly

324
00:24:19,519 --> 00:24:23,359
by highly trained staff and has been
discharged home where he is resting, although

325
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his work up will be ongoing.
We are hopeful for his continued progress and

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00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:30,480
are encouraged by his response, resilience, and his family and community support.

327
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:34,039
That's just excellent news to hear.
That was just really so young, and

328
00:24:34,039 --> 00:24:37,160
it's anytime an athlete is gonna have
like a sudden cardiac right, just so

329
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young and so terrible. So good
to know that he's on the end and

330
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hopefully he's able to make a full
recovery. That doesn't, you know,

331
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mean that he's at risk from anything
in the in the future. I did

332
00:24:48,079 --> 00:24:55,599
do a Teams No One's Talking About
Enough podcast with s Barraheny. Go check

333
00:24:55,599 --> 00:24:59,720
out basically part one on that one. We covered the We did the Pelicans,

334
00:24:59,759 --> 00:25:02,480
we the Knicks, the Magic,
the Grizzlies, and the Pistons.

335
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:04,599
I wanted to cover the balance of
the teams with you because I know that

336
00:25:04,599 --> 00:25:08,440
you are also a sicko when it
comes to this stuff, and I'm curious,

337
00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,920
I'm curious as to whether you agreed
with all the inclusions of teams no

338
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:17,160
one's really talking about. We will
begin with the Charlotte Hornets, which I

339
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:18,599
think is probably just safe to say
that no one is really ever talking about

340
00:25:18,599 --> 00:25:23,319
the Charlotte Hornets. They were just
sold for What did they get so for?

341
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,319
Was it three point three billion?
What were two point seven? What

342
00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:30,200
was the final number? I didn't
even see I looked it up really quickly,

343
00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,119
but it was it was a lot
of money. It was a you

344
00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:37,200
know, Michael Jordan's initial investment.
It was it was about three billion,

345
00:25:37,319 --> 00:25:40,720
apparently. So I split the difference
like each way. So we'll go to

346
00:25:40,839 --> 00:25:42,960
I want two points seven and three
point three. So the Hornets, I

347
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,559
want to just start here, like, what are just kind of your I'm

348
00:25:48,599 --> 00:25:51,200
not even sure about the impressions of
the road because it's still ongoing. We

349
00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:55,200
don't have a resolution to Kelly Bridge
Junior's free agency. PG Washington is still

350
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,400
floating around restricted free agency. Miles
Bridges signed his qualifying offer, so he

351
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:03,000
will serve the balance of that ten
game suspension after pleading no contest to thirty

352
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:07,759
game suspension. It'll be ten games
left after repleating. He was assessed that

353
00:26:07,759 --> 00:26:11,680
after pleading no contest if held me
domestic violence charges. But now he's playing

354
00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:15,400
for his next contract. He's going
to be an unrestricted free agency LaMelo should

355
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,599
be healthier. You get Brandon Miller, Cody Martin's going to be healthy.

356
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,440
Mark Williams showed a whole bunch towards
the end of last season. What do

357
00:26:22,519 --> 00:26:30,759
you sort of make of this team's
overarching direction right now? Depressing would be

358
00:26:30,839 --> 00:26:33,480
the best word for it. I
mean, you know, the Miles Bridges

359
00:26:33,559 --> 00:26:38,000
thing is really through no fault of
their own. That like that was just

360
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:45,759
really bad luck because you know,
like five days before free agency began last

361
00:26:45,799 --> 00:26:48,920
year, it seemed like he was
heading for, if not a MAX extension,

362
00:26:49,039 --> 00:26:53,079
pretty close to it. I mean, he had a very good season

363
00:26:53,640 --> 00:27:00,400
in twenty twenty one twenty two.
You know, was their leading scorer on

364
00:27:00,559 --> 00:27:03,680
almost fifty percent shooting average, seven
rebounds, almost four assists per game,

365
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:08,079
almost one stealing a block per game, almost two threes as well, And

366
00:27:08,279 --> 00:27:15,279
that just really when you're like as
bereft of young, high upside talent as

367
00:27:15,319 --> 00:27:22,079
the Hornets are, it just really
complicated their future. So I don't blame

368
00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:26,000
them for, you know, he
takes the qualifying offer because they are miles

369
00:27:26,039 --> 00:27:30,119
apart on an extension, And I
don't blame the Hornets for being reluctant to

370
00:27:30,559 --> 00:27:34,359
sign him to a monster extension coming
off a year that he didn't play,

371
00:27:34,599 --> 00:27:37,720
you know, knowing he's got this
ten game suspension, knowing the severity of

372
00:27:37,759 --> 00:27:44,440
the allegations against him, like you
just simply cannot give him that same level

373
00:27:44,559 --> 00:27:49,119
of a deal. So we'll see
how he looks next year. I mean

374
00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:53,400
again, I hinted that maybe he
is a target buy low target for the

375
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:59,240
Sixers or for some other team in
free agency that's willing to overlook those charges.

376
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:06,640
But and you know, maybe that
also informed the Brandon Miller selection over

377
00:28:06,759 --> 00:28:11,880
Scoot Henderson, knowing that, hey, negotiations with Miles Bridges are not going

378
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,920
well, and like he is probably
going to take his qualifying offer and leave

379
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,279
after next year, because you'll have
to correct me if I'm wrong here,

380
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:26,440
but I think since he took the
qualifying offer, he has to consent to

381
00:28:26,599 --> 00:28:30,920
a trade since he's now only on
a one year deal, so it's not

382
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:37,119
like they can even trade him because
and if they do trade him, I

383
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,559
don't think his bird rights go with
him. So there's really no incentive for

384
00:28:41,599 --> 00:28:45,599
another team to trade for him unless
they're going to have cap space next summer.

385
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,640
Anyway, it's not like you can
trade for him and then resign him

386
00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:52,559
to this monster deal. You can
use non bird rights so you can sign

387
00:28:52,599 --> 00:28:56,599
him to making eight million dollars this
year, so cool. You can sign

388
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:57,519
him to like ten million, Like, you know, it's going to be

389
00:28:59,599 --> 00:29:04,960
effect actively pointless to trade for him, so they have that overhanging them,

390
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:07,279
you know, Brandon Miller, like
you don't want to read too much in

391
00:29:07,319 --> 00:29:14,680
the summer league, but like was
inconsistent to put it generously in summer league.

392
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:17,200
And you know, Scoop, we
didn't see a ton of but when

393
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:22,200
we did look really good. So
that is going to be you know it

394
00:29:22,359 --> 00:29:26,359
just that's how these things work.
Anytime there's a controversial decision at the top

395
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,359
of the draft, if the guy
you picked is worse than the guy who

396
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,160
could have picked. It's not going
to reflect well in your franchise. And

397
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:38,720
then the PJ Washington thing again,
it's just like, I don't know,

398
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,480
Charlotte, just doesn't Young Town.
Imagine if he signs his qualifying offer,

399
00:29:45,599 --> 00:29:48,640
I don't think that's how this ends. Would imagine if they have both Bridges

400
00:29:48,839 --> 00:29:52,079
and Washington signing their quest and then
it's like, how does that fit into

401
00:29:52,119 --> 00:29:56,839
the larger dynamic of the team,
where both these guys are clearly either playing

402
00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:00,359
for their next contract end or next
team. And I think, look,

403
00:30:00,839 --> 00:30:03,279
there are some what I believe or
misconceptions about the Hornets. I'm I would

404
00:30:03,279 --> 00:30:07,559
have picked Scoot Henderson, but I'm
open minded about Brandon Miller. He closed

405
00:30:07,559 --> 00:30:14,440
Summer League fairly strong, and I
think Lamello is probably skewed towards underrated based

406
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:17,720
off the reaction to his extension,
which I do think part of it was

407
00:30:17,799 --> 00:30:19,920
with the reporting where everyone said he
was guaranteed two hundred and sixty million,

408
00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,680
and it's no, that's not how
that's actually gonna work. If he if

409
00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,640
he qualifies, if the All NBA
qualifier works out, they will gladly pay

410
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:32,200
him the supermax. So he's really
good. I don't like he is transcendent.

411
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:33,799
I know that he shot a lot
last year, but he was also

412
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:37,279
injured, and they're like the team
was kind of shifting around him. They

413
00:30:37,279 --> 00:30:40,960
were they weren't ever at full strength. Really. I love Lamello, I

414
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:42,559
love Mark Williams. I think we
all just kind of forgot like, oh,

415
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:47,559
Cody Martin was the consummate gap filler
like a year and change ago.

416
00:30:48,319 --> 00:30:49,960
I can't quit JT. Thor not
a core piece of this team, but

417
00:30:51,079 --> 00:30:53,720
like Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball,
Mark Williams, and then like I think

418
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:59,440
they're gonna keep PJ. Washington,
you're working with something like an actual baseline.

419
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,400
There. My biggest concern with this
team you outlaid that with Miles Bridges

420
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:06,640
and is are they just sort of
like this lay over for him at this

421
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:10,720
point this year before he leaves,
and how do you juggle that? But

422
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:15,039
like your bite at the getting better
Apple a lot better Apple is now,

423
00:31:15,039 --> 00:31:19,680
Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball and Mark
Williams really in your own draft picks because

424
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:23,440
you don't have all this built up
equity of other teams as draft picks.

425
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,839
And you're also not let's say Miles
Bridges leaves, assuming you keep PJ.

426
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,759
Washington on any sort of number,
or that you have PJ. Washington and

427
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:37,240
or Miles Bridges on your roster next
summer, you don't have cap space either,

428
00:31:37,319 --> 00:31:38,359
and where is what is cap things
going to do for you? As

429
00:31:38,359 --> 00:31:44,039
we've already talked about in free agency. So I do worry that they're going

430
00:31:44,079 --> 00:31:47,920
to be more of a slow burn
than I think people will be ready for,

431
00:31:48,119 --> 00:31:52,119
just because all of their best cracks
at getting significantly better are going to

432
00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:56,839
come through their own draft picks and
internal development. And I think, look,

433
00:31:56,319 --> 00:32:00,960
the best case outcome for Mark Williams
is probably not the second past player

434
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:05,119
on a championship team. You have
Lamello there, Brandon Miller's a rookie,

435
00:32:05,319 --> 00:32:08,480
and like that's sort of the really
youthful baseline that you're working with. And

436
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:13,960
maybe that's not an actual big deal. But when you have that first Max

437
00:32:14,039 --> 00:32:16,640
deal kicking that first really big extension, which will not be this season,

438
00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:21,880
it will be next season, the
clock unofficially just starts ticking on. We

439
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:27,039
have to see progress, and I
don't know how much progress, if any,

440
00:32:27,519 --> 00:32:30,920
next season they're built to make.
When what they should be doing is

441
00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:37,839
prioritizing Miller Lamello and Mark Williams,
and then like again PJ. Washington as

442
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:43,039
of now, and then Miles Bridges
and definitely occupy this weird space. I

443
00:32:43,079 --> 00:32:45,279
do have faith that Steve Clifford will
extract the most amount of defense from this

444
00:32:45,319 --> 00:32:50,079
team. They were six and points
allowed per possession after the trade deadline or

445
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:52,200
eighth or something, and it was
all the stuff that Steve Clifford team does.

446
00:32:52,519 --> 00:32:54,960
So I do like a lot of
the pieces that are here. I

447
00:32:55,079 --> 00:33:02,200
just have yet to see it formulate
a coherent direction or even this discernible obvious

448
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:07,279
path forward from where they are right
now. Yeah, I mean, like

449
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:09,599
I don't even want to call them
aggressively mediocre. I think that's probably the

450
00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:14,200
next game we're gonna cover. This
is just depressing. It's just like,

451
00:33:14,559 --> 00:33:17,400
you know, you have the Gordon
Hayward thirty one point five million dollar experiment

452
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:23,559
contract, Like if I was Charlotte, I would be more than willing to

453
00:33:23,599 --> 00:33:28,039
take on long term bad money if
such a thing exists. You know,

454
00:33:28,079 --> 00:33:31,559
if some team, especially with the
second apron like the full array of penalties

455
00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:36,359
kicking in in twenty four twenty five, if some team is just desperate to

456
00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:38,640
dump long term money, like if
they're willing to do that and include a

457
00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:42,640
draft pick, but I'll mean in
stay Cordon Hayward, great, yeah,

458
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:49,759
first stops trade eligible again. I
mean Ben Simmons is out there, We'll

459
00:33:49,759 --> 00:33:53,119
see. I know it's July,
so there's optimism about him, but uh,

460
00:33:53,319 --> 00:33:55,880
you know, I don't know,
like they might have missed that window

461
00:33:55,920 --> 00:34:00,759
already with you know, Jordan Pool
getting dumped for Chris Paul. But I

462
00:34:00,759 --> 00:34:06,440
would imagine some other team, you
know, I'm still eyeing Atlanta, like,

463
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,280
I just do not believe. We'll
see what happens with the Kongu and

464
00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:14,400
with Sadipe Bay whether they sign extensions, but like something has to give in

465
00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:16,440
Atlanta. So if they're trying to
get off in some long term money,

466
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:21,519
like that's I think that's the Hornet's
best path forward frankly, is you know,

467
00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:25,440
use the hayword contract to get extra
bytes at the Apple if you can

468
00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:30,480
maybe take on a rehab project,
Like if you do get Ben Simmons,

469
00:34:30,519 --> 00:34:34,079
all jokes aside, like cool,
no one's going to be paying attention to

470
00:34:34,119 --> 00:34:37,719
him. Maybe that's actually the best
place for him to resuscitate his career.

471
00:34:37,079 --> 00:34:40,880
I actually floated that last year in
my mega trade deadline piece, and no

472
00:34:42,039 --> 00:34:47,400
dunks like the guys on no dunks
like absolutely destroyed the idea that visit Charlotte.

473
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,400
I mean he wouldn't be thrilled,
but I mean less pressure there for

474
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:54,400
now, though I don't really know
if I love the fit. I mean,

475
00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:59,159
like him Brandon Miller in the mel
could theoretically work. But yeah,

476
00:34:59,199 --> 00:35:01,440
that's where I'm at with the Hornets
as well the next team, and I

477
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:05,480
do. But the other thing with
the Hornets is I imagine some sort of

478
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,960
like c suite overhaul is coming,
Like just with new ownership, you're gonna

479
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:13,639
see changes in the front office.
How much do they how long do they

480
00:35:13,679 --> 00:35:16,119
want to keep Steve Clifford around,
who I think is a really good coach,

481
00:35:16,199 --> 00:35:20,599
Like I think that this is just
like especially when they're in this sort

482
00:35:20,639 --> 00:35:23,400
of weird abyss, He's like,
honestly the perfect coach for it. I'm

483
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:27,320
just curious whether there's going to be
more changes on the horizon. Also,

484
00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,280
it could apply to the roster.
Is this new you know, this is

485
00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:32,559
not matt Ishpia taking over a team
that's ready to contend in the Suns,

486
00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:37,360
but is this new regime going to
come in and decide, like we need

487
00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:42,519
to make our splash. And I'm
assuming that splash would be like something in

488
00:35:42,559 --> 00:35:45,480
the realm of a buy now play, But they're not. If you're putting

489
00:35:45,519 --> 00:35:51,199
Lamello and Brandon Miller off limits,
your trade packages are just sort of blah

490
00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:54,920
relative to some other teams because of
the way that your pick is protected to

491
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:59,280
san Antonio or who was their first
round pick? Now is it still san

492
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:04,000
Antonio? Uh? Their future first
two thousand, it's to san Antonio.

493
00:36:04,039 --> 00:36:07,880
It's like protected for the next three
years or two years, so like you

494
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,880
can't it's lottery protected. I think
did twenty four and twenty five, so

495
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:15,320
you can't guarantee a pick until twenty
seven. Technically, it's like that just

496
00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:20,719
dilutes your your best offers, which
just gets really awkward. I'm not Bob,

497
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:22,239
I'm not advocating they should not be
trading their own picks. I want

498
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:27,199
to I want to make that.
I'm just curious whether that you know,

499
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,599
the new ownership group comes in and
I think who were they led by again?

500
00:36:30,639 --> 00:36:36,119
It was he sold the two?
Was it Gabe Plotkin and Rick Snail?

501
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:38,480
I think it is so they come
in, they take over as majority

502
00:36:38,519 --> 00:36:43,079
owners. Do they want to make
just sort of this glamorous big move.

503
00:36:43,079 --> 00:36:45,800
I don't. I honestly don't know. I'll have to wait and find out.

504
00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:49,880
But that is part of the ambiguity
here as well. M Yeah,

505
00:36:50,039 --> 00:36:55,760
new owner, the new owners splash
never fails. Next team, the Chicago

506
00:36:55,800 --> 00:37:00,519
Bulls. Morts Chicago Bulls. We
ascribe ownership of the Bulls from more what

507
00:37:00,599 --> 00:37:07,119
do you just there? I think
everyone wanted them to burn it down this

508
00:37:07,199 --> 00:37:09,320
hawseason, which is probably what they
should have done. Nothing they did,

509
00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:15,880
though, was actually unreasonable. I
liked the Devon Carter addition, Tory Craig

510
00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:19,639
is going to help them. The
Voots deal is fine. I saw it.

511
00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:22,400
I thought it said three years and
like eighty million at first, not

512
00:37:22,519 --> 00:37:23,960
sixty and it I was like,
oh, like why did they do that?

513
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:28,199
But I was I misread it.
The Kobe White deal, he had

514
00:37:28,199 --> 00:37:30,719
a really good, like good part
of last year, developed a lot as

515
00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:34,960
a score. That deal is good. They stole I mean, I don't

516
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,440
assume were still got like three years, twenty one million, whatever it is.

517
00:37:37,199 --> 00:37:43,360
They did not address really some of
their biggest needs, which was additional

518
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:46,360
three point volume, additional playmaking,
which is not something that Javon Carter really

519
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:50,519
brings, so'll help you more with
your three point volume than anything. I

520
00:37:50,679 --> 00:37:54,719
just they have been and I think
bulls are for the most part, Bill's

521
00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:59,400
fans are resigned to knowing they're not
looking forward to this season. They're kind

522
00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:01,280
of confused. Two, they would
have blown it up, which I know

523
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:05,360
we used blow it up, and
that's easier said than done. In this

524
00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,440
case, it's just you could have
gotten value for Zach Lavine, You could

525
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:10,400
have gotten something for Demarda Rosen an
ounce crew, So there was a path

526
00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:15,360
to starting over. You just chose
not to do it while also conveniently ducking

527
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:20,800
attacks. Just I'm sure that was
a pure accident. And so I just

528
00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:24,440
look at this team and so much
of what they done. They were like

529
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,679
they were worse than middling on offense
last year. And this is with two

530
00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:36,280
years running of Damarda Rosen just being
thermonuclear af in these high stakes moments.

531
00:38:36,519 --> 00:38:39,719
He's gonna be thirty four when next
season ticks off. What does Vocha's learning

532
00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:44,760
curve look like? Are we sure
that this team, even when getting better

533
00:38:45,159 --> 00:38:49,199
on paper, doesn't actually get worse
because let's just say it, you can't

534
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:53,159
count on DeMar Demarda Rosen to be
as good or as lights out on offense

535
00:38:53,599 --> 00:38:57,519
as he has been over the past
couple of years. And I think you

536
00:38:57,559 --> 00:39:01,039
can point to, Okay, there's
the Kobe White and development Ioda soud as

537
00:39:01,079 --> 00:39:05,559
well, and then of course Patrick
Williams is a swing piece. What type

538
00:39:05,599 --> 00:39:09,559
of offensive agency usage volume whatever does
he ever get up to given the current

539
00:39:09,599 --> 00:39:15,320
makeup of this team. And this
is another one where I think their path

540
00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:19,679
forward is clearer than Charlotte's because you
still have those If you start mentioning,

541
00:39:19,679 --> 00:39:21,960
oh, you need to trade Lamello, I think it's too soon for that.

542
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:23,239
I just think he's too good.
You don't put out a talent like

543
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:28,320
that. Chicago's path forward is just
clearer in the sense of, yeah,

544
00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:31,639
trades ac Levine and demard rozen like
actually start rebuilding, like that's where you're

545
00:39:31,639 --> 00:39:37,320
at now. And their appetite for
doing the exact opposite, I think it's

546
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:39,679
trapped them just to where yeah,
they could, I guess, get out

547
00:39:39,719 --> 00:39:45,800
of it whatever they want. But
I just I don't understand what's happening in

548
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:51,000
Chicago other than we want to be
seventh. Yeah, I mean Chicago and

549
00:39:51,039 --> 00:39:54,320
Toronto are basically the Spider Man meme
right now, Like, what is the

550
00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:59,079
long term plan here? I think
Chicago is not giving away good players for

551
00:39:59,119 --> 00:40:02,880
free just yet. That's that hasn't
happened yet. But like Debarton Rosen is

552
00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:06,800
gonna be a free agent next summer, I mean, are they going to

553
00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:10,199
resign him? Is that the plan? And then the Angel Russell on the

554
00:40:10,199 --> 00:40:15,400
Bulls and Demarta Rosen, like,
la, what's happening here? I mean,

555
00:40:15,519 --> 00:40:17,599
you know, Lonzo Ball has a
twenty one point four million dollar player

556
00:40:17,599 --> 00:40:21,280
option next summer. I imagine he's
going to pick that up because he hasn't

557
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,840
played basketball in two years. Like, who's gonna get it him? I'm

558
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:30,039
sorry, what percentage chance do you
give the Bulls actually using the disabled player

559
00:40:30,079 --> 00:40:35,360
exception? Yeah? Me too,
negative fifty. What they're like three million

560
00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:37,000
below this hack line right now?
There's no way. I mean, and

561
00:40:37,079 --> 00:40:42,079
like to be fair, why would
they because you're not whoever you're gonna sign

562
00:40:42,079 --> 00:40:45,079
at this point is not going to
make the difference, Like you just don't

563
00:40:45,119 --> 00:40:49,199
have the high end talent to compete
in the East with some of these other

564
00:40:49,239 --> 00:40:52,400
teams. But like if Detroit at
like the trade, I was like,

565
00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:54,039
here's Monte Morris. That wouldn't interest
you even look like, you know,

566
00:40:54,199 --> 00:40:58,320
like they're you're a team that if
you if you want to be the team

567
00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:00,039
you're claiming to be because the Foots
trade was such a home run for your

568
00:41:00,119 --> 00:41:05,719
organization, like you should be willing
to spend that. It's just they don't.

569
00:41:06,119 --> 00:41:09,960
They're just like unique combination of incapable
because they don't even have a pathway

570
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:14,480
as currently constructive if everything goes right
to being excellent, not so long as

571
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:19,119
Lonzo Ball is not going to play. But like they also won't spend like

572
00:41:19,159 --> 00:41:23,679
a flagship market organization either, and
so it's just like they needed to make

573
00:41:23,679 --> 00:41:28,639
the tough call. This is very
like Wizards esque. This would feel like

574
00:41:28,679 --> 00:41:31,280
it's going to be a deterioration here. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I

575
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:37,119
mean it does feel like their front
office is just in like save face moment

576
00:41:37,159 --> 00:41:40,679
as you brought up with them trying
to justify the boot trade, which even

577
00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:45,519
right now, like remove the two
picks, one of which became Franz Wagner,

578
00:41:45,719 --> 00:41:50,159
Like I think you would rather just
have Wendel Carter Junior on his contract

579
00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,800
than you would Booch on his even
though bouches deal is perfectly fine, Like

580
00:41:54,440 --> 00:42:00,039
you could argue Wendel Carter is has
you have to play his best basketball and

581
00:42:00,159 --> 00:42:02,599
is already better? Right, Yeah, Okay, I was gonna go there.

582
00:42:02,599 --> 00:42:05,400
I wasn't sure if we're on the
same page. Okay, yep,

583
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:10,320
yes, if not better, at
least like the trajectories are going the opposite

584
00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:17,079
direction. You'd much rather have Wendell
Carter's trajectory than Vooch is no similar to

585
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:22,920
Charlotte in some sense. I feel
bad for the Bulls because the Alonzo injury.

586
00:42:22,039 --> 00:42:27,800
He was the connective piece and like
that team was really really good that

587
00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,519
first half of the season was he
was healthy, and then he got hurt

588
00:42:30,519 --> 00:42:32,679
and Caruso got hurt and it just
all went to hell. And they,

589
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:37,719
you know, that's the problem is
that they've had a season and a half

590
00:42:37,199 --> 00:42:43,360
to figure this out and realize like, okay, this a Lonzo thing still

591
00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:45,960
isn't getting better. They know he's
you know, not likely to play in

592
00:42:46,039 --> 00:42:51,079
next year as well, So I
think, you know, they're clinging to

593
00:42:51,239 --> 00:42:54,320
this idea. They're they're like a
poor man's version of the Clippers. We're

594
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:57,840
like, oh, well, if
just Kawai and Paul George would stay healthy.

595
00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,719
We love our upsides, like well, Alonzo comes back at twenty four

596
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:06,639
twenty five and we resigned Rosen and
Patrick Williams has this breakout like you could

597
00:43:07,119 --> 00:43:13,159
sort of maybe see a road where
the Bulls get into the top four or

598
00:43:13,239 --> 00:43:15,480
five six in the East, but
it would just take so many things breaking

599
00:43:15,559 --> 00:43:19,480
right for them. Do Rosen play
four games last year? Leaving played seventy

600
00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:22,280
seven, Booch played Lady two,
Patrick Williams played Lady two, Io played

601
00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:29,000
eighty. They were pretty fortunate in
the health department last year and still only

602
00:43:29,039 --> 00:43:32,039
scuffled their way to forty and forty
two. So what happens this year?

603
00:43:32,639 --> 00:43:37,559
If Lavigne misses fifteen games, if
de Rosen miss is fifteen games, I

604
00:43:37,599 --> 00:43:42,599
agree with you. All of the
offseason moves are good and made them better.

605
00:43:42,880 --> 00:43:45,280
It's just I'm not sure what better
gets them. I still don't see

606
00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:49,559
them making it out. No,
all right, cool, Maybe they should

607
00:43:49,599 --> 00:43:52,679
be in the play in tournament,
maybe they're top sixteen. I still don't

608
00:43:52,719 --> 00:43:57,280
see them getting out of the first
round though. Odd be with you,

609
00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:00,760
where do you land on Patrick Williams
specifically, and would you expect them to

610
00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:04,199
try to lock him or would you
expect them to lock him down on an

611
00:44:04,199 --> 00:44:08,760
extension. He's a player whose value
is so rooted in concept for much of

612
00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:14,119
it, and it just makes it
impossible to evaluate not just what the Bulls

613
00:44:14,159 --> 00:44:15,760
should or would give him, but
what he might get on the open market

614
00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:21,639
next summer or the restricted free agent
market next summer. Yeah. I mean,

615
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:24,360
it's hard to imagine that they would
sign him to anything other than like

616
00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:30,119
a pretty team friendly structure, Like
I can't imagine they're giving him four years

617
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:35,639
one hundred million or anything in that
ballpark. Like sure, if he does

618
00:44:35,719 --> 00:44:39,559
like four years seventy, I bet
they would do that because at that point,

619
00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:43,800
when if the CAP's gonna be one
hundred and fifty million next year,

620
00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:50,360
like yeah, cool, that's fine. But other than that, I'm guessing

621
00:44:51,039 --> 00:44:53,800
they probably try to low ball him. He bets on himself, and we'll

622
00:44:53,840 --> 00:45:00,800
see, we'll see what happens.
So I think all they had a good

623
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:07,280
offseason that really just doesn't move their
needle or clarify their future, which is

624
00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:12,719
just such a weird space to occupy. Yeah, yeah, I think that's

625
00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:17,639
the exact right read on them.
And you know, hopefully this season forces

626
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:21,480
their hand one way or the other. But again, we said that about

627
00:45:21,519 --> 00:45:28,119
Toronto last year and it didn't.
So you know, you just like what's

628
00:45:28,239 --> 00:45:32,920
clear from the outside isn't always clear
to the people inside the organization, especially

629
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:37,719
when their jobs are on the line. If you do, you have to

630
00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:44,440
hit the blowtup button at some point. The Milwaukee Bucks generating really just no

631
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:46,599
buzz this summer. I think that, you know, they kept Chris middle

632
00:45:46,639 --> 00:45:52,800
did and Brook Lopez. Lopez's salaries
probably inflated, but it's only two years

633
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:54,360
and he just finished runner up to
Defensive Player of the Year's game. Is

634
00:45:54,400 --> 00:45:59,480
age exceptionally well Middleton, They're they're
effectively when you look at Middleton's deal when

635
00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:02,239
you honesty is currently expired and the
Drew Holiday timeline, they're very much operating

636
00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:06,880
on this like two maybe three year
window, and everything they did fits perfectly

637
00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:09,599
with that. They made two of
the more not under the radar, but

638
00:46:09,599 --> 00:46:13,639
probably like two of the best signings
of the off season, regardless of what

639
00:46:13,639 --> 00:46:15,760
you think about Jay Crowd or getting
him back at the minimum while knowing that

640
00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:20,079
he also has a clearer path two
minutes this year is big and then Malik

641
00:46:20,119 --> 00:46:22,440
Beasley. I still believe when he
gets going, he could really sling it

642
00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:28,039
and is not a very good facilitator, has the tools to be better on

643
00:46:28,079 --> 00:46:30,760
defense than he is. Milwaukee doesn't
need him do any of that stuff.

644
00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:32,599
Like if he can get in there
and just give them functional three point volume

645
00:46:32,599 --> 00:46:36,559
on a reasonable percentage, that ends
up being huge for them. And I

646
00:46:36,599 --> 00:46:38,639
could see him being you know,
we ask ourselves like who is the fifth

647
00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:42,880
to their most used closing lineup,
and like Malik Beasley has a chance,

648
00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:45,559
Jake Crowder has a chance, bat
Conaton has a chance. So to get

649
00:46:45,599 --> 00:46:49,639
two guys in the minimum who have
a chance and to not feel bad about

650
00:46:49,679 --> 00:46:52,639
them having that chance, I think
it's really big time. And the other

651
00:46:52,679 --> 00:46:54,920
thing I think that we're not And
when I say we, I just mean

652
00:46:55,159 --> 00:47:00,000
in general that hasn't been talked about
enough. Chris Middleton is so much time

653
00:47:00,480 --> 00:47:04,920
last year, comes back, doesn't
look right for most of his appearances and

654
00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:07,760
really kind of turns a corner by
the time the playoffs roll around. I

655
00:47:07,840 --> 00:47:12,639
know that there's this conception it feels
like he's been around forever, he's thirty

656
00:47:12,719 --> 00:47:17,000
two, and like he's going you
can just you know, with some of

657
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:21,559
these players, you can't just assume. We can't assume at this point that

658
00:47:21,599 --> 00:47:24,360
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard play in
more than thirty eight games together. We

659
00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:29,519
have years worth of evidence to the
contrary. With Chris Middleton, it's just

660
00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:34,800
he's going to be better and more
available ergo. Unless you're really concerned about

661
00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:38,159
this Yannest knee procedure or the back
stuff he dealt with in the playoffs,

662
00:47:38,239 --> 00:47:42,840
they're going to be better. And
so I feel like the question I want

663
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:45,880
to throw to you is, even
if you don't think that the Bucks on

664
00:47:45,039 --> 00:47:51,760
court product got a lot better,
did their relative steadiness in an Eastern Conference

665
00:47:52,199 --> 00:47:54,880
that is really going through it when
you kind of look at around them,

666
00:47:55,800 --> 00:48:01,760
like, is that relative steadiness a
boom for their championship stock? I think

667
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:05,559
so. I mean, I guess
they have a new coach so that you

668
00:48:05,559 --> 00:48:07,800
know, they've got the same roster
in place, but they'll have a new

669
00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:10,480
system and we have to see what
that looks like. I know some people

670
00:48:10,519 --> 00:48:15,119
were just like totally out on Mike
Budenholzer by the end of his tenure.

671
00:48:15,199 --> 00:48:20,440
There tell even like halfway through the
second round series where they won and then

672
00:48:20,599 --> 00:48:22,360
eventually won his title. Like,
had they not won that series, Mike

673
00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:27,119
Budenholser probably would have gotten fired two
years ago. So you know, there's

674
00:48:27,440 --> 00:48:35,760
potential upside in the coaching change.
I don't know. I agree with you

675
00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:38,960
that the Bucks just feel overlooked,
which is weird to say for a team

676
00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:44,239
that won fifty eight game last year
and has one of the two best players

677
00:48:44,239 --> 00:48:49,880
in the world and jannisant Dakumpo.
Like, it's just like Jannis got hurt,

678
00:48:50,199 --> 00:48:52,480
they lose that first round series,
and everyone's just out on the Bucks

679
00:48:52,519 --> 00:48:55,840
again, even though we saw them
win a championship with this core two years

680
00:48:55,840 --> 00:49:01,760
ago. I don't get it,
Like, I'm not convinced if Yannis doesn't

681
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:06,639
get hurt, like if Yanna stays
healthy in that first round series, I'm

682
00:49:06,679 --> 00:49:09,840
not convinced. We don't see Milwaukee
in the finals, right, they win,

683
00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:14,639
they win that series, certainly at
least, and then what they played

684
00:49:14,679 --> 00:49:16,559
the Knicks in the second round,
that's, with all due respect, that's

685
00:49:16,559 --> 00:49:20,880
probably a sweep or gentleman sweep.
At worst, with all due respect,

686
00:49:20,920 --> 00:49:23,920
they don't even get a game,
is what you just said. Proceeds to

687
00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:30,159
disrespect right correctly? Well, I
mean what Drew Holiday is gonna lock up

688
00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:34,719
Jalen Brunton. I mean, Julius
Randol is gonna shoot thirty two percent from

689
00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:37,760
the field with the honest rape ball
over him the entire series like it just

690
00:49:37,960 --> 00:49:43,920
a schematically terrible matchup for the Knicks. And then you know, Boston Milwaukee

691
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:46,639
would have been fun. But Boston
routinely tried to shoot itself in the foot

692
00:49:46,719 --> 00:49:50,719
last year. I imagine that would
have happened again, and frankly, like

693
00:49:50,760 --> 00:49:57,320
Milwaukee Denver finals would have been fascinating. I think Milwaukee very easily could have

694
00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:00,360
won last year's championship. I yanas
just stayed healthy in the play offs.

695
00:50:00,719 --> 00:50:05,440
So you know, everyone is like
rushing to crown Boston as the new title

696
00:50:05,480 --> 00:50:08,000
favorite in the East because of the
Porzingis trade, and I'm just still like

697
00:50:08,079 --> 00:50:13,760
over here on Milwaukee Island, just
like, if they stay healthy, why

698
00:50:13,840 --> 00:50:17,920
not them? There's I mean,
yeah, it's them to me, It's

699
00:50:17,920 --> 00:50:20,760
just they would be my path find
out the East. Right now, I

700
00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:28,760
feel like people conflate inactivity or low
profile moves as just regression, or they

701
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:31,920
at least conflate. Well look at
that with they got better, and I'm

702
00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:36,480
talking about Boston, where it's just
like there should be a litany concerns there

703
00:50:36,760 --> 00:50:39,960
where let's not even get to the
cultural impact of trading Marcus Smart. And

704
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:45,679
if you can hear the massive rolling
thunder behind me, I apologize. It's

705
00:50:45,719 --> 00:50:50,960
just that you gave up playmaking,
which you already needed by trading Marcus Smart.

706
00:50:51,239 --> 00:50:55,000
And you also you forfeited some defensive
versatility because Porzingis is not going to

707
00:50:55,039 --> 00:51:00,440
have the same positional plasticity that Marcus
Smart did and no one else on the

708
00:51:00,519 --> 00:51:05,760
roster does, and in his absence, you know, you've kind of committed

709
00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:09,679
to a more rigid defensive approach or
you've just you've really amped up the responsibility

710
00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:15,079
at both ends. For Jaylen Brown
and Derek White specifically, are the two

711
00:51:15,159 --> 00:51:19,440
names that I look at there,
and whatever you mentioned, whatever's going on

712
00:51:19,480 --> 00:51:22,280
with the Sixers. I think the
Knicks are, you know, probably mostly

713
00:51:22,360 --> 00:51:24,960
lateral unless you get a bunch of
improvement from RJ or Quentin Grimes. I

714
00:51:25,039 --> 00:51:29,960
like the DDV acquisition, but it's
not someone who's going to crack their closing

715
00:51:30,039 --> 00:51:32,840
units, so they're not materially different. The calves, I think, are

716
00:51:32,880 --> 00:51:37,199
like when you're talking about who is
most intriguing to come out of the East

717
00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:40,519
right now, at this moment,
knowing where Dame is not, which is

718
00:51:40,920 --> 00:51:45,480
not in Miami. I gotta be
like Cleveland and Milwaukee or like the teams

719
00:51:45,480 --> 00:51:49,559
I gravitate towards the most here.
Yeah, I would quick Cleveland in my

720
00:51:49,599 --> 00:51:52,440
top three of the East right now. Miami will push them out if and

721
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:57,559
when they get Dame. But I
mean, I just don't think you can

722
00:51:57,599 --> 00:52:01,079
put the Sixers in that conversation because
even if Harden stays again, what version

723
00:52:01,119 --> 00:52:07,239
of hardon are you getting? And
yeah, I mean there's yeah, I

724
00:52:07,280 --> 00:52:09,000
know that, like Knicks fans are
going to be furious, like we just

725
00:52:09,039 --> 00:52:12,800
beat the cops. How can you
say that? I just think the additions

726
00:52:12,880 --> 00:52:16,440
of Strus and the Yang really address
what they were missing last year, and

727
00:52:16,440 --> 00:52:21,400
now you've got another year with this
group together that they can build on.

728
00:52:22,119 --> 00:52:28,280
So yeah, I mean I think
I would still have Cleveland behind Boston just

729
00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:34,480
because I mean Boston definitely had Wow. Yeah, Yeah, I love I

730
00:52:34,519 --> 00:52:37,840
love the Boston Celtics, my favorite
team. You know, bosses as the

731
00:52:37,840 --> 00:52:44,719
best player in that series, and
I think the way they would match up

732
00:52:45,400 --> 00:52:47,920
like Milwaukee, I think presents some
matchup challenges for Boston. And I think

733
00:52:49,079 --> 00:52:52,679
you could honestly make the case that
switching from Smart to port Zingis makes it

734
00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:59,360
easier for Milwaukee to defend Boston than
now, because yeah, you could play

735
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:02,480
I think regardless of whether Boston is
kind of going with one big or two

736
00:53:02,480 --> 00:53:05,719
bigs. If they're going with two
bigs, I would argue they get a

737
00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:08,000
lot easier to defend, Like maybe
they could defend Milwaukee a little better.

738
00:53:08,039 --> 00:53:10,440
But even I don't know, I'm
with you on that is my point.

739
00:53:12,119 --> 00:53:16,639
Yeah, I mean I still don't
know who's defending Jannest like thirty eight year

740
00:53:16,639 --> 00:53:21,079
old. Now Horford's not doing it
anymore. Robert Williams maybe, but can

741
00:53:21,119 --> 00:53:24,000
you trust him to stay health feed
porzingis No, No, He's probably all

742
00:53:24,119 --> 00:53:30,400
the three, he's the least equipped
to defend right right, So there's no

743
00:53:30,599 --> 00:53:35,039
really good option there. And now
Middleton I think is the big swing piece.

744
00:53:35,079 --> 00:53:37,320
As you said, like missed so
much time last year, and even

745
00:53:37,360 --> 00:53:42,639
when he was back, like guys
were driving right at him in ways we

746
00:53:42,719 --> 00:53:46,000
hadn't seen that, especially in that
playoff series, Like Jimmy Butler is going

747
00:53:46,159 --> 00:53:50,840
right at Chris Middleton in ways we
have not seen in past years. So

748
00:53:50,920 --> 00:53:54,159
if that's if that's just the new
version of Chris Middleton, then yeah,

749
00:53:54,199 --> 00:53:57,880
it's fair to be a little skeptical
of the Buck style chances. But if

750
00:53:57,880 --> 00:54:00,880
you're you know, you're thinking,
Okay, he came off the knee injury.

751
00:54:00,079 --> 00:54:05,119
Now he's you know, got a
full a few months to recover,

752
00:54:05,320 --> 00:54:08,639
like maybe he'll get back to something
closer to his old self this year.

753
00:54:09,639 --> 00:54:14,800
Yeah, I think I'm on Milwaukee
being the East favorites right now as well.

754
00:54:14,880 --> 00:54:19,159
Let's talk about their moves. Are
not headlining moves that they made this

755
00:54:19,280 --> 00:54:22,239
offseason, but they add Shake Milton
to deepen the bench ropatient. They keep

756
00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:27,320
Quiel Alexander Walker, They got Ripetorian
Prince, which I think absolutely matters.

757
00:54:27,400 --> 00:54:30,360
They extended Anthony Edwards, I think, and they paid Nasri. They bring

758
00:54:30,360 --> 00:54:34,039
in Troy Brown, which I just
he doesn't even begin to replace Torrian Prince

759
00:54:34,119 --> 00:54:37,320
quite frankly, but Nah played a
bunch of three last year, and I

760
00:54:37,360 --> 00:54:44,400
think their biggest audition is going to
be time and reps. Part of it

761
00:54:44,440 --> 00:54:45,480
is, look they don't have when
you look at their top four players,

762
00:54:45,519 --> 00:54:49,480
they didn't have a lot of time
together because of the Cat injury. Now

763
00:54:49,519 --> 00:54:53,119
you factor Mike Conley into this,
and then also the ill timed injury of

764
00:54:53,159 --> 00:54:59,400
like a Jade McDaniels, and they've
played a whopping seven games. They're projected

765
00:54:59,440 --> 00:55:02,480
starting five and closing five together through
the playoffs in regular season. And so

766
00:55:02,519 --> 00:55:07,519
I look at the Timberwolves, the
moves they make again on paper or marginal

767
00:55:07,559 --> 00:55:09,199
I I like Shake Milton, I
thought, now I played really well for

768
00:55:09,239 --> 00:55:13,159
them, especially in some of those
wing minutes. I think they will miss

769
00:55:13,199 --> 00:55:17,400
Torrey and Prince. I just feel
like they've been written off because of how

770
00:55:17,440 --> 00:55:22,480
the narrative took hold of their team
early last season, what it is surrounding

771
00:55:22,599 --> 00:55:24,239
Cat of course, and then they
didn't really help themselves in the playoffs.

772
00:55:24,239 --> 00:55:28,800
They put up a real fight against
Denver, but just like with the Rudy

773
00:55:28,840 --> 00:55:30,679
Gobert, Kyle Anderson stuff, that
took on a life of its own,

774
00:55:30,840 --> 00:55:37,360
Jade McDaniels injuring himself. When you
look at that team, and we can

775
00:55:37,400 --> 00:55:39,400
focus on a lot of what they
didn't do. But like I was wrong

776
00:55:39,440 --> 00:55:43,440
about the D'Angelo Russell trade, I
think Mike Conley ended up being great connected

777
00:55:43,440 --> 00:55:45,159
tissue for them, and I missed
on that I think I destroyed them not

778
00:55:45,199 --> 00:55:50,920
only on this podcast but also in
the br response that I didn't. And

779
00:55:50,920 --> 00:55:53,679
then Andy Edwards is just that guy, like he is tracking towards all NBA

780
00:55:54,599 --> 00:55:58,760
bids And I think if we were
you were to build, like you have

781
00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:00,880
to take this player for the next
five years to build your team around.

782
00:56:01,239 --> 00:56:06,760
There are maybe three to four to
five guys at most you take over him

783
00:56:06,880 --> 00:56:08,519
right now, maybe a little bit
more. So he's in that conversation and

784
00:56:08,559 --> 00:56:13,440
he just I know what he can
do as a disruptor on defense, but

785
00:56:13,480 --> 00:56:15,639
his just as a shop maker.
He shot like thirty eight percent on step

786
00:56:15,679 --> 00:56:20,000
back threes and as a passer,
he's come such a long way. On

787
00:56:20,119 --> 00:56:23,719
offense, Jade McDaniels improved on offense
last year, as does as did nas

788
00:56:23,760 --> 00:56:29,599
read the data when he plays alongside
another big is not good. It's also

789
00:56:29,639 --> 00:56:31,360
not enough data to say, oh, we can't work. So he his

790
00:56:31,440 --> 00:56:36,880
four game was budding. Did over
what Jade McDaniels was able to do an

791
00:56:36,880 --> 00:56:39,360
addition to propping up strong, you
know, three point clip on his volume.

792
00:56:39,639 --> 00:56:43,440
And I just look at this team
and I'm like, we need to

793
00:56:43,440 --> 00:56:46,000
talk about the timber Wolves because I
don't think that, you know, do

794
00:56:46,079 --> 00:56:52,119
you believe in the three big set
up moving forward at the price point.

795
00:56:52,159 --> 00:56:54,480
I think it's fair to say no. But I also don't think that you

796
00:56:54,840 --> 00:56:59,840
can say that we've seen enough to
know it definitively does not work. And

797
00:57:00,039 --> 00:57:05,440
given the trajectories of Anthy Edwards and
Jade McDaniels and even sort of nas Read

798
00:57:05,599 --> 00:57:08,000
and then just making the nice little
okay we thought naw was sort of this

799
00:57:08,079 --> 00:57:09,920
throw in at the trade dead,
I'm like, no, this worked.

800
00:57:09,920 --> 00:57:14,159
And the impact that Mike Commi has
in the locker room and the offense,

801
00:57:14,239 --> 00:57:16,840
and just having a capable backup point
guard and Shake Milton, who you know,

802
00:57:16,920 --> 00:57:21,599
does more for you than Jelen Noel, there's like a chance. And

803
00:57:21,639 --> 00:57:22,880
this is with the caveat that I
was very high on the timber was leading

804
00:57:22,880 --> 00:57:25,800
into last season. Yeah, I
feel like I'm somehow even higher on them

805
00:57:25,800 --> 00:57:30,840
now than I was last summer after
what we watched. And I'm just curious

806
00:57:30,840 --> 00:57:35,400
as to where you land on these
these Timberwolves. I was bullish on them

807
00:57:35,440 --> 00:57:38,000
as well last summer. I thought
they'd be at least a very good regular

808
00:57:38,039 --> 00:57:43,360
season team. I had some questions
about their playoff upside, but just figured

809
00:57:43,480 --> 00:57:45,920
Gobert would be such a flow raiser. And as you said, you know

810
00:57:45,000 --> 00:57:49,519
Cattle I plays twenty nine games,
so it's you almost just have to throw

811
00:57:49,559 --> 00:57:53,320
out last season. I think the
two big questions for the Timberwolves. One

812
00:57:53,920 --> 00:57:59,440
they have to extend Jaden McDaniels,
right like, how much did they do

813
00:57:59,480 --> 00:58:05,760
it for? But you just over
under twenty five million dollars per year in

814
00:58:05,800 --> 00:58:12,159
his next contract. Oh, I
mean that's probably like right in that range.

815
00:58:12,559 --> 00:58:22,000
I'm m I'm guessing slightly under if
they can get him to agree,

816
00:58:22,159 --> 00:58:25,639
but they might not be able to
if they try to. You know,

817
00:58:25,880 --> 00:58:31,039
if you go much lower than that, he's probably gonna say no. Again.

818
00:58:31,199 --> 00:58:36,440
I think it comes down to him
and his agent looking at the landscape

819
00:58:36,480 --> 00:58:40,039
next summer. But heck, like, if the Sixers are having sixty million

820
00:58:40,039 --> 00:58:44,039
dollars to throw around and they strike
out on all the free agents, you

821
00:58:44,199 --> 00:58:46,679
know they strike out on the top
tier guys. Jay McDaniels is going to

822
00:58:46,719 --> 00:58:51,360
look pretty attractive to them, So
you know, I think he will have

823
00:58:51,440 --> 00:58:55,000
suitors. And he's young enough that, you know, young teams that have

824
00:58:55,079 --> 00:58:59,760
a lot of cap space, like
if the Spurs are projected to have a

825
00:58:59,760 --> 00:59:02,599
ton of cash space next time they're
like they they should be taking swings on

826
00:59:02,800 --> 00:59:07,039
restricted free agents. So also,
who is shown more ball skills to date,

827
00:59:07,400 --> 00:59:15,440
Jaden McDaniels or Ognaobi I started discussion. No, I think it's just

828
00:59:15,480 --> 00:59:22,639
the right answer to that question.
If anyone is watching, my power is

829
00:59:22,679 --> 00:59:27,480
literally flickering other monster thunderstorm that is
happening around me, so hopefully you can't

830
00:59:27,519 --> 00:59:30,360
hear it. I think the Wolves
are gonna be good. As my point,

831
00:59:30,360 --> 00:59:31,400
I don't know if I would take
it them for a top sport spot

832
00:59:31,440 --> 00:59:35,280
in the West, but I think
it's very foolish to write them off,

833
00:59:35,320 --> 00:59:37,639
and maybe they go belly up to
start the year, and we're talking about

834
00:59:37,719 --> 00:59:45,199
some massive overhaul situations, mostly involving
cat But I think they are there.

835
00:59:45,280 --> 00:59:49,519
They have a strong chance to just
be exceptional to where if you told me

836
00:59:49,559 --> 00:59:52,559
they finished like third or fourth in
the West. I mean, aside from

837
00:59:52,559 --> 00:59:55,119
Denver and Phoenix. I don't think
the West is founded around any sort of

838
00:59:55,159 --> 00:59:59,880
certainties, and I think even people
would argue that Phoenix isn't considered a certainty,

839
01:00:00,119 --> 01:00:02,039
and so you have to I think
you can put the Timberwolves. Yeah,

840
01:00:02,039 --> 01:00:05,440
there's the burden of proof. It's
like, do you want to loop

841
01:00:05,480 --> 01:00:07,639
them in with the Warriors and the
Lakers and the Clippers if they're healthy,

842
01:00:07,679 --> 01:00:09,840
But you kind of have to.
I feel like, and I think I'm

843
01:00:09,880 --> 01:00:13,440
that much of a believer in one
cat, who, by the way,

844
01:00:13,519 --> 01:00:15,760
is just like a transcendent offensive player
who has his defensive laws, and I

845
01:00:15,760 --> 01:00:19,880
don't think you necessarily should have paired
him with Rudy Gobert. He's an offense

846
01:00:19,920 --> 01:00:24,039
like, he's offensive transcendence. He
is a singularity at his position offensively.

847
01:00:24,280 --> 01:00:28,239
And then that being that high on
Jane McDaniels dan at the Edwards being that

848
01:00:28,280 --> 01:00:31,400
wrong on my part about the Mike
Conley addition, this Wolves team is it's

849
01:00:31,440 --> 01:00:34,880
ready to make some noise, and
if they don't, I'll eat crow,

850
01:00:34,960 --> 01:00:37,719
and I think the front office is
gonna eat Crow. And there there's gonna

851
01:00:37,760 --> 01:00:42,440
be some heads that will roll before
the trade deadline if we if we're twenty

852
01:00:42,440 --> 01:00:45,800
games into the season or twenty five
whatever, and they're just sort of like

853
01:00:45,599 --> 01:00:51,159
floating around a whole bunch of nothing. Maybe they're maybe they're even playing really

854
01:00:51,199 --> 01:00:53,599
poorly. There are gonna be some
wholesale changes that are made. I just

855
01:00:53,679 --> 01:00:55,920
honestly, my partition would be,
I don't think they need them, because

856
01:00:55,920 --> 01:01:00,719
I think they're going to be really
good. Yeah, I think big concern

857
01:01:00,800 --> 01:01:04,559
for them is a lot of teams
in the West, on paper, got

858
01:01:04,599 --> 01:01:10,519
better this offseason. You know,
Phoenix obviously, the Lakers made very good

859
01:01:10,559 --> 01:01:15,199
moves that should make them better,
and they are already after the trade deadline

860
01:01:15,199 --> 01:01:19,239
ain't much better team than they were
prior to the trade deadline. No health,

861
01:01:19,559 --> 01:01:22,599
if the Pelicans can stay healthy,
if Zion stays healthy in particular,

862
01:01:22,719 --> 01:01:28,159
like they Timberwolves and Pelicans at the
same record last year, and that's what

863
01:01:28,280 --> 01:01:31,679
Zion thing as sparingly as he did. You know, Dallas also had a

864
01:01:31,760 --> 01:01:39,760
very good off season, so you
know they just ye chet coming back,

865
01:01:40,119 --> 01:01:44,039
and like even Houston, I mean, I don't know if Houston's going to

866
01:01:44,159 --> 01:01:46,519
jump up into like the forty five
wind range right away, but you know

867
01:01:46,559 --> 01:01:52,280
they're going to be better. Like
really, the Trailblazers and the Spurs are

868
01:01:52,320 --> 01:01:57,440
probably the only two teams in the
West that don't have at least realistic playing

869
01:01:57,880 --> 01:02:01,639
aspirations this year, which means three
teams are gonna miss out that I think

870
01:02:01,679 --> 01:02:06,960
they shouldn't, or at least have
realistic hope that they shouldn't. You know,

871
01:02:07,079 --> 01:02:10,079
Utah probably falls out of that mix
at some point just to protect their

872
01:02:10,079 --> 01:02:15,599
own draft pick. So like,
I think that's the concern from the Timberwolves

873
01:02:15,599 --> 01:02:20,920
perspective is like did the West?
Did the rest of the West get better

874
01:02:21,000 --> 01:02:24,199
around them? And you know,
injuries will inevitably happen, and one or

875
01:02:24,199 --> 01:02:29,440
two teams that we think is gonna
be good will fall down the standings.

876
01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:35,760
But it's tentatively tough for me to
see the Timberwolves in like the top four

877
01:02:35,840 --> 01:02:38,239
or five, like maybe top six. But I feel like they're probably still

878
01:02:38,239 --> 01:02:42,360
a playing team this year. I'm
gonna predict they finished in the top six.

879
01:02:42,400 --> 01:02:44,440
I'm not gonna go through the world. I think the only teams on

880
01:02:44,519 --> 01:02:46,199
prepared to say that are definitively better
or that I would say will be better

881
01:02:46,519 --> 01:02:52,679
are the Warriors, the Suns,
the Nuggets, and I might throw the

882
01:02:52,679 --> 01:02:55,280
Pelicans. I'm a big believer in
the Pelicans, So I'm gonna say they

883
01:02:55,280 --> 01:02:58,679
finished in the top six. I
don't even know who would like the fifth

884
01:02:58,719 --> 01:03:00,679
team that I would pick. It
wouldn't be Alice. I guess the Lakers

885
01:03:00,679 --> 01:03:05,519
deserve to be there. There's just
age thirty nine, Lebron Anthony Davis's health.

886
01:03:05,519 --> 01:03:08,320
I honestly just don't know. I
guess the Lakers would be my pick,

887
01:03:08,719 --> 01:03:12,159
like to put like, those are
the six teams then, and so

888
01:03:12,199 --> 01:03:17,360
then I'm leaving off Dallas at that
point, I'm leaving a Sacramento y hater.

889
01:03:19,280 --> 01:03:22,079
I'd probably go Sacramento or LA Like, well, I think we'll fall

890
01:03:22,079 --> 01:03:27,000
out of that top six, I'd
probably let's I'm gonna predict that the Timberwls

891
01:03:27,000 --> 01:03:30,079
going in the top six. I'm
not I don't feel the least bit remorseful

892
01:03:30,159 --> 01:03:37,280
for saying that Dallas or the Clippers
won't to be honest or Memphis won't quite

893
01:03:37,280 --> 01:03:40,639
fastly so like it's brutal, but
I think that I think Minnesota is legit

894
01:03:42,440 --> 01:03:45,159
before we scedaddle. Are there any
other teams or something that we didn't touch

895
01:03:45,199 --> 01:03:51,519
upon that you really wanted to talk
about during these mega interesting active days of

896
01:03:52,119 --> 01:03:57,639
MBA fandom? Sure? Yeah,
So I wanted to get your opinion on

897
01:03:57,679 --> 01:04:00,840
this because I feel like we've been
having you know, we talks earlier about

898
01:04:00,840 --> 01:04:04,559
hardened and the Lillard thing is still
ongoing as well. Do you think it's

899
01:04:04,559 --> 01:04:12,480
a problem for the NBA that we're
seeing these trade requests where a guy specifically

900
01:04:12,559 --> 01:04:18,519
demands to go to one team.
I do, and I understand the both

901
01:04:18,519 --> 01:04:23,400
sides is ms of it, where
the players should do whatever they want to

902
01:04:23,440 --> 01:04:30,719
do. But my issue comes into
play when these actual one team trade requests

903
01:04:30,320 --> 01:04:36,559
wind up like really dictating the market
to where other teams are scared out of

904
01:04:36,559 --> 01:04:42,880
bidding altogether. And so it's just
what happened with OKAC just going after Paul

905
01:04:42,920 --> 01:04:45,159
George anyway, even though everyone knew
we wanted the Lakers or the Raptors going

906
01:04:45,199 --> 01:04:50,840
after Kauai. I don't think teams
are as emboldened to make those risks anymore.

907
01:04:51,320 --> 01:04:54,599
And that's what sucks about this,
because I think it's well within a

908
01:04:54,639 --> 01:05:00,679
player's right to request a trade to
try and dissuade teams from rating for them.

909
01:05:00,039 --> 01:05:03,480
But if it's now reached a point
where because they're doing this, and

910
01:05:03,519 --> 01:05:08,320
we think these players wield so much
power that even when they have four years

911
01:05:08,400 --> 01:05:12,920
left on their contract, you're not
actually going to fork over value to make

912
01:05:12,960 --> 01:05:17,079
a realistic bidit them. Now you're
not just dictating where you're dictating for how

913
01:05:17,159 --> 01:05:21,239
much as well, And I think
that's really problematic in large part. And

914
01:05:21,239 --> 01:05:26,400
again I understand the player empowerment of
it. I can't bring myself to care

915
01:05:26,400 --> 01:05:30,320
about that side as much when we're
talking about the five percent of the NBA,

916
01:05:30,360 --> 01:05:33,559
when when we're speaking about player empowerment. And two, I think it's

917
01:05:33,599 --> 01:05:40,000
more important that teams in these non
glamor markets, however you want to say

918
01:05:40,000 --> 01:05:43,800
it. I think it's important that
the Thunder, that the Pelicans, that

919
01:05:43,920 --> 01:05:49,440
the Raptors, that the Hornets,
that these teams view themselves as being able

920
01:05:49,480 --> 01:05:53,239
to go out and trade for these
players because they know they're not. I

921
01:05:53,239 --> 01:05:55,760
mean, no one's going to sign
them into agency anymore, but you're not

922
01:05:55,800 --> 01:05:59,920
going to let these preference who is
dissuade you actually going after them and trying

923
01:06:00,320 --> 01:06:02,599
to keep them again, especially when
they're under a contract. Now, is

924
01:06:02,599 --> 01:06:06,800
it different because Damian Lillard is so
old and the number on his contract four

925
01:06:06,880 --> 01:06:11,639
years, two hundred eight plus million, is borderline prohibitive where teams might not

926
01:06:11,719 --> 01:06:14,880
view that as an asset. That's
sort of an interesting wrinkle here. But

927
01:06:14,920 --> 01:06:18,519
it even comes back to the Pascal
Siakam stuff, where he's on an expiring

928
01:06:18,519 --> 01:06:25,199
contract, so it's different, But
I want teams who operate outside the lexicon

929
01:06:25,400 --> 01:06:28,880
of player X wants to go to
the Lakers, Clippers, Nix or Heat,

930
01:06:28,960 --> 01:06:30,119
and it's really the Lakers, Clippers
or Heat. At this point.

931
01:06:30,239 --> 01:06:33,840
It feels like maybe Celtics you could
throw in there, or one of the

932
01:06:33,880 --> 01:06:38,800
New York teams. I want those
teams to get involved on these sweepstakes and

933
01:06:38,840 --> 01:06:42,199
the fact that it feels like they're
not, and maybe the Damian Lillard stuff

934
01:06:42,360 --> 01:06:45,480
smacks me in the face with it
where he gets sent to New Orleans or

935
01:06:45,519 --> 01:06:48,599
something, But just like I think
that's the biggest problem for me. I

936
01:06:48,639 --> 01:06:53,519
don't know where you land on that. And by the way, trade requests,

937
01:06:53,719 --> 01:06:55,880
I don't want to say they're inherently
a good thing, but they do

938
01:06:56,079 --> 01:07:01,360
drive interest around a league that has
built a lot of the intrigue around player

939
01:07:01,480 --> 01:07:04,440
movement, and so there is value
in having these trade requests. It's again,

940
01:07:04,480 --> 01:07:11,159
when they're so limited is when it
feels very problematic. Yeah, I'm

941
01:07:11,639 --> 01:07:16,760
exactly in your camp. I ask
because I have a please going live Forbes

942
01:07:16,760 --> 01:07:20,639
about this tomorrow where I say it's
like kind of a big problem. I

943
01:07:20,679 --> 01:07:26,239
would say probably one of the bigger
problems in the NBA right now, because

944
01:07:26,320 --> 01:07:30,679
you know, for the team's going
through this, like Blazers fans and Sixers

945
01:07:30,719 --> 01:07:34,880
fans just want to pluck their eyeballs
out right now, especially Sixers fans having

946
01:07:34,880 --> 01:07:39,559
now gone through this twice in the
last three years. You know, Ben

947
01:07:39,559 --> 01:07:43,480
Simmons did not try to dictate his
team. In fact, I believe at

948
01:07:43,480 --> 01:07:45,840
one point he was like, I
will play for any of the other twenty

949
01:07:45,920 --> 01:07:49,119
nine teams, just not the Sixers. So it's slightly different there. We

950
01:07:49,159 --> 01:07:55,559
need those trade requests more. I
know. Another point here I agree with

951
01:07:55,599 --> 01:07:59,320
you, like having the agents.
You know, Dame's agent has come out

952
01:07:59,320 --> 01:08:03,480
and said I'm telling teams not to
trade for him, and it's clear that

953
01:08:03,559 --> 01:08:11,039
Miami's offer as currently constructed is not
good enough. Otherwise Portland would have already

954
01:08:11,079 --> 01:08:14,599
said yes, And so they're trying
to find a third team or fourth team

955
01:08:14,639 --> 01:08:19,479
for Hero, which makes sense.
But I'm with you, like I think

956
01:08:19,479 --> 01:08:24,560
the happy medium is yeah, totally, you can request a trade. That's

957
01:08:24,600 --> 01:08:27,039
great. I mean, there's something
in the CBA that says you can get

958
01:08:27,039 --> 01:08:30,199
fined if you, you know,
publicly address it, even suspended, which

959
01:08:30,239 --> 01:08:33,159
I think would be very funny to
see, Like, we'll see how serious

960
01:08:33,199 --> 01:08:38,520
the NBA gets about this, Like
I don't think they're gonna suspend Damian Lillard

961
01:08:38,600 --> 01:08:45,079
for this, but we'll see.
But I think the problem of we're only

962
01:08:45,399 --> 01:08:49,239
I only want to play for this
one team. Great, you should have

963
01:08:49,319 --> 01:08:54,000
just become a free agent. Like
no one forced Damian Lillard to sign that

964
01:08:54,079 --> 01:08:58,680
extension. No one forced James Harden
to pick up the player option, but

965
01:08:58,760 --> 01:09:02,000
again basically forced the Blazers to give
him the extension. I won't I don't

966
01:09:02,000 --> 01:09:04,840
feel bad for the Blazers are about
that, but he actively sought it out

967
01:09:05,399 --> 01:09:09,000
at least. And I'm sorry even
interject, but I know where you sort

968
01:09:09,000 --> 01:09:13,960
of land on a lot of the
the morality issues outside of basketball. And

969
01:09:14,000 --> 01:09:15,800
I'm curious how you feel when people
say, well, like if this was

970
01:09:15,840 --> 01:09:19,640
someone else who is in the workforce, they're going to try and maximize their

971
01:09:19,680 --> 01:09:24,520
earning potential and still look for other
jobs. I know how I feel about

972
01:09:24,560 --> 01:09:27,680
it, where I just think it's
insulting to compare what these players are making

973
01:09:27,720 --> 01:09:30,279
to the middle class. But I'm
just curious, how do you reckon like

974
01:09:30,319 --> 01:09:34,960
the Devil's Advocate argument of well,
why shouldn't players be allowed to do this?

975
01:09:35,119 --> 01:09:40,680
And it's it's kind of just like
one is the is the argument just

976
01:09:40,720 --> 01:09:44,359
well, it's you can't compare the
two. Or is it just because now

977
01:09:44,760 --> 01:09:48,479
it's prohibiting teams from throwing their hats
into the ring to actually get these players

978
01:09:48,520 --> 01:09:53,840
anyway, that's when it's become problematic. Yeah, I mean, if NBA

979
01:09:53,920 --> 01:09:57,520
players were at will employees, it
could be fired and you know, given

980
01:09:57,520 --> 01:10:00,520
two weeks notice and laid off and
sure by all being go search for whatever

981
01:10:00,640 --> 01:10:02,720
team you want to go to.
But that's not the case. Like,

982
01:10:02,800 --> 01:10:10,159
I worry that, especially with these
one team trade requests, that these superstars

983
01:10:10,159 --> 01:10:14,760
are basically just like negating the value
of contracts, And I think it has

984
01:10:14,760 --> 01:10:20,199
trickle down effects, you know that
affect front offices and people like other players

985
01:10:20,319 --> 01:10:25,760
on their teams, Like would Portland
have traded for Jeremy Grant knowing that Dame

986
01:10:25,880 --> 01:10:28,880
was going to ask out? Would
they have resigned Jeremy Grant knowing that Dame

987
01:10:28,960 --> 01:10:31,000
was going to ask out twelve hours
later? You know, the Sixers right

988
01:10:31,039 --> 01:10:36,000
now are in this weird limbo where
they're like ten million under the second apron.

989
01:10:36,279 --> 01:10:40,760
They have their full five million dollars
tax perramid level exception. If they

990
01:10:40,760 --> 01:10:44,199
didn't have to worry about what's going
to happen with James Harden and how much

991
01:10:44,239 --> 01:10:47,920
money are we taking out or taking
back and sending out, they could theoretically

992
01:10:48,119 --> 01:10:51,640
like maybe they signed Kelly Bray Junior
or Christian Wood do a five million dollar

993
01:10:51,720 --> 01:10:57,000
contract right now, But because they're
in this limbo, they can't do that.

994
01:10:57,239 --> 01:11:00,439
So, you know, like Superstars
drive the league. I get it,

995
01:11:00,520 --> 01:11:03,119
like they are you know, underpaid
relative to their production, and I

996
01:11:03,119 --> 01:11:06,680
am sympathetic to all of that,
but like, this is the system you

997
01:11:06,800 --> 01:11:12,239
agreed to. The CBA dictates the
team can trade you. It's like why,

998
01:11:12,359 --> 01:11:15,279
whoa what? What is it fair
that they could be traded and they

999
01:11:15,319 --> 01:11:18,199
can't ask for a trade because they
agreed to it. If they like the

1000
01:11:18,319 --> 01:11:25,479
system, it's right the fight or
you know, fight for the right to

1001
01:11:25,520 --> 01:11:29,039
be able to do that. But
no, then I think, like my

1002
01:11:29,119 --> 01:11:33,319
bigger concern is just if Stars continue
to do this one team thing, Like

1003
01:11:33,399 --> 01:11:38,199
at what point do owners start to
get fed up and like do you start

1004
01:11:38,520 --> 01:11:41,479
running into you know, are they
going to start trying to like go after

1005
01:11:41,560 --> 01:11:45,479
guaranteed contracts? Like are they gonna
stop fully guaranteeing all contracts. Is like

1006
01:11:45,920 --> 01:11:50,079
the players bend over again like they
did this past year in negotiation. But

1007
01:11:50,199 --> 01:11:54,000
you know that, like, what's
the point You're you're you've got four years

1008
01:11:54,079 --> 01:11:56,399
left on your deal and you're telling
me you want out, you only want

1009
01:11:56,399 --> 01:11:59,000
to go to this one team.
Why am I even signing into the contract

1010
01:11:59,000 --> 01:12:02,680
in the first place. Yeah,
And it's and again, I'm never someone

1011
01:12:02,720 --> 01:12:09,039
who's gonna side with necessarily the people
who are owning the teams. But this

1012
01:12:09,079 --> 01:12:14,079
isn't just about the Blazers. It's
about this idea that there's a more of

1013
01:12:14,079 --> 01:12:17,960
a competitive equilibrium in the league where
you want. You want a team like

1014
01:12:18,000 --> 01:12:23,119
the Nuggets to exist. And they
were unique because they gave their core time

1015
01:12:23,479 --> 01:12:26,399
and they never made like the ultra
big swing. Aaron Gordon was like the

1016
01:12:26,399 --> 01:12:30,239
biggest trade acquisition they made. But
like you want teams like, what if

1017
01:12:30,279 --> 01:12:31,600
teams starts stepping back from that where
they don't even want to go after the

1018
01:12:31,600 --> 01:12:34,640
Aaron Gordon's of the world. You
would want a team like the Nuggets who's

1019
01:12:34,680 --> 01:12:40,079
really good to feel emboldened to go
after an A plus name if they have

1020
01:12:40,159 --> 01:12:43,000
the assets, if they feel or
maybe it's an Okay, see, it

1021
01:12:43,000 --> 01:12:45,399
would be a perfect example if they
feel like they're ready to compete. We

1022
01:12:45,439 --> 01:12:48,199
know that they don't feel that way, and so that's what I take issue

1023
01:12:48,239 --> 01:12:53,239
with is because the league at large, you want all these teams to have

1024
01:12:53,279 --> 01:12:57,680
the belief that they are operating on
a somewhat equal playing field, because that's

1025
01:12:57,680 --> 01:13:01,319
what drives this entire fucking thing.
And I believe the only path for them

1026
01:13:01,359 --> 01:13:06,079
to win a title or to compete
with the heavyweights is to draft and develop

1027
01:13:06,199 --> 01:13:11,199
and then win within a very specific
window before their own players start to request

1028
01:13:11,239 --> 01:13:15,800
out because they haven't won. Like
it's just what are we doing here at

1029
01:13:15,840 --> 01:13:18,199
that point? And that's why I
take personally take exception to this whole thing.

1030
01:13:19,039 --> 01:13:24,880
Yeah, okay, I'm glad when
I get flamed tomorrow, I'm going

1031
01:13:24,960 --> 01:13:27,760
to refer people to this podcast as
well so we can I can't ready to

1032
01:13:27,800 --> 01:13:30,680
retweet that before. I'm gonna blindly
retweet it too. I'm gonna read it,

1033
01:13:31,279 --> 01:13:34,960
uh, and but I'm gonna retweet
it first. You're gonna re exit

1034
01:13:35,039 --> 01:13:41,399
I think you mean or what is
on Blue Sky resket? Yeah? Fuck

1035
01:13:41,479 --> 01:13:44,439
that? Oh my god, that
just made me sad. I was,

1036
01:13:44,760 --> 01:13:45,680
I don't really want to go into
this. Do you think though, based

1037
01:13:45,720 --> 01:13:50,520
off what's kind of happened with the
new CBA and like these luxury tax aprons

1038
01:13:50,520 --> 01:13:54,359
in place, and this is sort
of in response to the jail and Brown

1039
01:13:54,920 --> 01:13:59,359
Supermax, are we going to reach
a point where the standard to give out

1040
01:13:59,399 --> 01:14:03,319
the superman is even higher internally?
Because I think we're gonna see more situations

1041
01:14:03,359 --> 01:14:09,000
where the thirty fifth or fortieth best
player in the NBA qualifies for supermax is

1042
01:14:09,039 --> 01:14:15,439
because of the all NBA eligibility requirements. So like these aprons teams are gonna

1043
01:14:15,439 --> 01:14:17,199
make, they are prohibitive, especially
the second one, but teams are gonna

1044
01:14:17,239 --> 01:14:23,760
act like their taboo and so it's
you forget these three star models. It

1045
01:14:23,960 --> 01:14:29,640
becomes almost prohibitive to have two players
on thirty five percent maxes. And so

1046
01:14:29,680 --> 01:14:32,079
I'm just curious, is that like
sort of the next unintended or maybe it

1047
01:14:32,119 --> 01:14:35,680
wasn't intended consequence by the owners of
this CBA where it's you know, we

1048
01:14:35,760 --> 01:14:39,199
talk a lot. I do think
the middle class is gonna get screwed kind

1049
01:14:39,199 --> 01:14:43,000
of like what Austin Rivers said,
Like we saw like even a mid level

1050
01:14:43,039 --> 01:14:45,840
guy like Bruce Brown, he got
paid for one guaranteed year. They're not

1051
01:14:45,880 --> 01:14:49,479
like Dylan Brooks getting the long term
deal is just this anomaly. It's a

1052
01:14:49,520 --> 01:14:54,960
singularity, and so I do think
middle class guys are gonna feel the ramifications

1053
01:14:55,000 --> 01:14:58,479
of this, But like, I
also think we're gonna start to see like

1054
01:14:58,520 --> 01:15:01,840
the second year of Stars or whatever
you want to call them, are gonna

1055
01:15:01,920 --> 01:15:05,359
eventually feel this squeeze. And I'm
just curious as to whether you've given that

1056
01:15:05,479 --> 01:15:11,840
any thought. I didn't intend to
ask. You talk about unintended consequence made

1057
01:15:11,840 --> 01:15:15,039
me think of that. Yeah,
I mean, I thought Jalen Brown was

1058
01:15:15,079 --> 01:15:17,800
going to be an interesting test case
for that, and I understand why Boston,

1059
01:15:18,399 --> 01:15:21,359
you know, gave him the full
bag because of where they are in

1060
01:15:21,439 --> 01:15:27,520
terms of their championship window. But
I'm sure, as you said, especially

1061
01:15:27,520 --> 01:15:30,279
with this all NBA, you know, the sixty five game requirement, like,

1062
01:15:30,439 --> 01:15:35,239
there are going to be some very
funny names that qualify for Supermax's in

1063
01:15:35,359 --> 01:15:39,840
future years, and I can't wait
to see what those negotiations are like,

1064
01:15:40,399 --> 01:15:44,239
because yeah, I don't think it
should be automatic. I think max Is

1065
01:15:44,279 --> 01:15:48,680
in general were handed out to too
many guys, which you know is just

1066
01:15:48,720 --> 01:15:51,800
the default expectation. If you're an
All Star All NBA player, you're a

1067
01:15:51,880 --> 01:15:56,479
max player. You know. I
think guys in recent years, like James

1068
01:15:56,520 --> 01:16:00,439
Harden's a perfect example, like,
sorry, dude, you're just not as

1069
01:16:01,560 --> 01:16:06,760
you used to be, but you're
not anymore. Do we see the older

1070
01:16:06,800 --> 01:16:11,520
stars get the big paid days that
they used to under this new structure.

1071
01:16:11,600 --> 01:16:14,600
James Hardon feels like the perfect example
where no, we're not going to pay

1072
01:16:14,640 --> 01:16:16,560
you that much into your mid thirties
anymore because of how much it sort of

1073
01:16:16,560 --> 01:16:23,000
represses our flexibility underneath these aprons.
Yeah, and like I'm wondering, I

1074
01:16:23,079 --> 01:16:26,880
thought that John Say Murray was an
interesting test case because like the new extension

1075
01:16:26,960 --> 01:16:30,199
rules allowed him to sign for what
he did, and you know, maybe

1076
01:16:30,199 --> 01:16:33,920
he could have made more in free
agency next summer. There's no guarantee of

1077
01:16:33,960 --> 01:16:36,880
that, or maybe you know,
Atlanta would have given him more just to

1078
01:16:36,920 --> 01:16:43,720
resign him next summer. But like, at what point is the money just

1079
01:16:43,880 --> 01:16:47,239
so big that guys are like,
you know what, I don't need the

1080
01:16:47,279 --> 01:16:54,239
full three hundred million or next year
when it's like three hundred and fifty million

1081
01:16:54,399 --> 01:16:59,640
or however much it might be,
Like I'm good with two eighty What I'm

1082
01:16:59,720 --> 01:17:01,880
like, am I really going to
miss that extra seventy million? And you

1083
01:17:01,920 --> 01:17:06,439
know, like if someone offered me
seventy and that an extra seventy billion dollars

1084
01:17:06,479 --> 01:17:09,479
to do the same amount of work, of course I would take it.

1085
01:17:09,560 --> 01:17:15,960
But when you know when taking less
is going to positively impact your team and

1086
01:17:15,039 --> 01:17:19,199
its ability to build a championship contender
around you, I mean, we saw

1087
01:17:19,199 --> 01:17:24,000
it like back in the day with
you know, the Tim Duncan Spurs with

1088
01:17:24,079 --> 01:17:27,600
the Heatles, when Lebron and Boss
signed there, they signed for less than

1089
01:17:27,640 --> 01:17:31,079
the max even back then, and
the money is astronomically higher than it is

1090
01:17:31,119 --> 01:17:34,279
now. I just I feel like
we are going to reach an inflection point,

1091
01:17:34,359 --> 01:17:39,520
especially if the cap keeps going up
ten percent every year, like you

1092
01:17:39,560 --> 01:17:43,560
know, some people are estimating,
the money is just going to get so

1093
01:17:44,039 --> 01:17:48,600
ridiculous at some point that the first
team that can successfully talk it starts into

1094
01:17:48,640 --> 01:17:54,680
taking now slightly less than the max, maybe thirty two percent instead of thirty

1095
01:17:54,680 --> 01:17:58,880
five, even thirty instead of thirty
five. I think it's gonna be a

1096
01:17:58,960 --> 01:18:05,000
huge competitive and we're so next summer
should be when we get our projected first

1097
01:18:05,000 --> 01:18:09,680
seventy million dollar player on the books
right because Jalen Brown's final deal is projected

1098
01:18:10,079 --> 01:18:14,119
if the cap rises to be sixty
nine million, I think, and like,

1099
01:18:14,159 --> 01:18:15,560
we don't know, like his deal
could actually be two eighty eight instead

1100
01:18:15,560 --> 01:18:18,640
of three oh four based off the
current projections. But if it's gonna rise,

1101
01:18:19,600 --> 01:18:21,960
like by the percentage or the scale
which we think it will to the

1102
01:18:23,000 --> 01:18:26,600
next couple of years, I think
our first seventy million dollars NBA players should

1103
01:18:26,600 --> 01:18:30,359
be on the books if he's already
projected to be at sixty nine in the

1104
01:18:30,399 --> 01:18:35,960
final year of his current deal.
Yeah, let me see, not only

1105
01:18:36,239 --> 01:18:41,680
will it be the first seventy million, it would be seventy million in the

1106
01:18:41,720 --> 01:18:45,079
fourth year, seventy one point four
if the cap goes up by a full

1107
01:18:45,119 --> 01:18:48,640
ten percent each of the next two
years, and then seventy six million dollars

1108
01:18:48,760 --> 01:18:53,199
and the final year. By the
way, I know, people want us

1109
01:18:53,239 --> 01:18:56,079
to talk about it being a percentage
of the cap, and Jalen Brown's deal

1110
01:18:56,119 --> 01:18:59,279
will never be worth more than thirty
five percent of the cap. I think

1111
01:18:59,319 --> 01:19:01,880
that's important context. But you can't
go about talking about it purely in those

1112
01:19:01,960 --> 01:19:06,439
terms because every team is spending differently, they're not just spending on if it

1113
01:19:06,520 --> 01:19:10,840
was if we had you can't go
over the salary cap like if we had

1114
01:19:10,880 --> 01:19:13,880
that, okay, fine, But
because Boston is going to have like a

1115
01:19:13,880 --> 01:19:16,439
two hundred million dollars payroll at some
point or whatever, you know, sans

1116
01:19:16,479 --> 01:19:19,520
taxes, like you have to talk
about it differently than you know, a

1117
01:19:19,520 --> 01:19:23,960
team that's below the salary cap floor
giving out a third like you know what

1118
01:19:23,960 --> 01:19:27,279
I mean, Like that's why the
raw dollar and the number of players who

1119
01:19:27,279 --> 01:19:30,760
are just making that money. So
I don't think we're ever gonna shift entirely

1120
01:19:30,800 --> 01:19:34,199
towards Oh it's you know, the
final year of Jalen Brown's deal right now,

1121
01:19:34,239 --> 01:19:38,600
it projects to be worth thirty three
point two five percent of the cap,

1122
01:19:38,960 --> 01:19:41,640
and it's like, yeah, we
could talk about that. I just

1123
01:19:41,680 --> 01:19:45,720
don't think. I think because of
again, how do you frame that with

1124
01:19:45,800 --> 01:19:48,960
players who are not making maxes?
And my team's payrolls in the summers are

1125
01:19:48,960 --> 01:19:53,479
constantly changing anyway, So even if
you wanted to report it as Jalen Brown

1126
01:19:53,560 --> 01:19:58,000
is making x percent of Boston's payroll, that news might be outdated within thirty

1127
01:19:58,000 --> 01:20:01,199
seconds. Because they decided to signal
shape or set or something. Yeah,

1128
01:20:01,279 --> 01:20:05,000
yeah, I mean you're totally right, and that's why you know we're gonna

1129
01:20:05,039 --> 01:20:10,680
we're gonna keep getting sticker shock every
year moving forward. And it's important to

1130
01:20:10,680 --> 01:20:14,920
put that into perspective. I think, like the cap percentage is important to

1131
01:20:14,960 --> 01:20:17,279
be like, all right, this
is what it is this year. That

1132
01:20:17,399 --> 01:20:20,800
same percentage two years ago would have
been X, to like kind of give

1133
01:20:20,840 --> 01:20:26,039
the context of you know, if
you're horrified by how much money this is,

1134
01:20:26,079 --> 01:20:29,560
well two years ago it would have
been this. So I think that

1135
01:20:29,680 --> 01:20:32,079
is valuable context in that regard.
But yeah, I mean it's still just

1136
01:20:32,279 --> 01:20:35,600
raw money. And at the end, then like again, if the cap

1137
01:20:35,640 --> 01:20:42,079
goes up ten percent, you know
next so twenty four, twenty five and

1138
01:20:42,079 --> 01:20:46,039
then twenty five twenty six, you're
starting at fifty seven point six million dollars

1139
01:20:46,039 --> 01:20:49,359
on this ten year supermacs and then
you go up to sixty two point two,

1140
01:20:49,600 --> 01:20:53,560
sixty six point eight, seventy one
point four, seventy six flat.

1141
01:20:53,600 --> 01:20:59,039
Like that's just I don't know,
I like, what what do you even

1142
01:20:59,039 --> 01:21:02,159
do with that amount of money?
I have no idea buy some board apes?

1143
01:21:04,560 --> 01:21:10,039
Oh please don't, that's terrible.
You can do look I don't want

1144
01:21:10,039 --> 01:21:12,520
the money to go to the owners. I'm just saying, like it's natural

1145
01:21:12,560 --> 01:21:14,680
to get sticker shock in these situation, and I agree with you that we're

1146
01:21:14,680 --> 01:21:16,119
going to reach a point where players
might decide. You know, we don't

1147
01:21:16,119 --> 01:21:20,199
always see billionaires operate this way,
but the players, because like so much

1148
01:21:20,199 --> 01:21:24,439
of their legacy is tied to winning, they're just be like, well,

1149
01:21:24,479 --> 01:21:27,720
if I made sixty five instead of
seventy five, like I could, I

1150
01:21:27,720 --> 01:21:30,359
could live with that. Like,
yeah, we're absolutely going to reach that

1151
01:21:30,399 --> 01:21:34,479
point. Yeah, I'm curious when
and who the first team is that gets

1152
01:21:34,520 --> 01:21:39,399
their team starts to buy into that, because it's I think that team is

1153
01:21:39,439 --> 01:21:43,079
just going to be set up so
much better than these teams that are handing

1154
01:21:43,079 --> 01:21:46,960
out these three hundred plus million dollar
contracts to guys who like probably shouldn't get

1155
01:21:46,960 --> 01:21:50,119
that much money, but they just
don't have any other choice. Who is

1156
01:21:50,159 --> 01:21:55,840
so irreversibly loyal, Like Jannie would
he be the first guy to do it?

1157
01:21:56,039 --> 01:21:59,199
Or yok I bet Yoki would.
Yeah, Yoki doesn't get well,

1158
01:21:59,279 --> 01:22:01,560
Yoka is gonna be like they're an
offer them a whatever's next, Connors be

1159
01:22:01,560 --> 01:22:03,960
a five year deals, Like I'd
rather sign like you know, one plus

1160
01:22:04,000 --> 01:22:06,439
one. I'm not sure if I
still want to be doing this. That's

1161
01:22:06,520 --> 01:22:12,560
right, that's right, Brian.
This was great. We were gonna be

1162
01:22:12,600 --> 01:22:15,119
on Pace for under an eighty minute
podcast, but I don't think we've yet

1163
01:22:15,119 --> 01:22:17,800
to record a podcast under ninety though. This might be our first sub ninety

1164
01:22:17,800 --> 01:22:21,159
podcast. Thank you so much for
coming on. Can you tell our listeners

1165
01:22:21,199 --> 01:22:26,000
where they can find you and all
the work that you're putting out at these

1166
01:22:26,079 --> 01:22:30,319
vast amounts of mediums. Sure,
you can find me on Twitter for now,

1167
01:22:30,479 --> 01:22:34,840
at least at Beach Quark and Blue
Sky. I think I'm like hopefully

1168
01:22:34,960 --> 01:22:39,399
going to just make the transition there
full time at some point, and on

1169
01:22:39,439 --> 01:22:43,199
threads if anyone uses that. Still, I'm there. I'm not posting anything

1170
01:22:43,239 --> 01:22:46,479
because I don't get it, but
I'm there as well. You can find

1171
01:22:46,520 --> 01:22:51,760
me as Dan mentioned the NBA podcast
Wherever Podcasts of Founds. I'm at Forbes

1172
01:22:51,840 --> 01:22:57,720
writing about the Sixers and salary cap
stuff, and at Liberty Fallers on Espnation

1173
01:22:58,479 --> 01:23:02,640
writing the Drip Drip, a steady
Drip Drip Drip of James Harden trade non

1174
01:23:02,760 --> 01:23:06,840
updates. So if you like water
torture, following me there as well.

1175
01:23:08,560 --> 01:23:10,920
I would like to say I want
to be pesturing you once more in the

1176
01:23:10,920 --> 01:23:14,159
near future when we do the Sixers
outlook, but depending on what happens with

1177
01:23:14,159 --> 01:23:15,640
the James Harden cycle, that could
be a lot, so I won't say

1178
01:23:15,680 --> 01:23:18,720
it, so just rest it short. I'll be pesturing you again, thanks

1179
01:23:18,760 --> 01:23:21,479
so much, and I'll talk to
you soon, of course, any time