What is krack Alakin Hardware knocks Listeners. I am Dama Valley coming at you
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YouTube description. With the housekeeping ones out of the way, though we get
to the Woadge bomb. It came on two thirty one Eastern time, Sunday
night, as I was thinking about getting ready to go to sleep. But
then Woadge was like to me, and only me, because that's the only
person that matters. It was just like, fuck you. The report.
I'll read the first two lines of it. As Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant's
trade request approaches a fourth week, the Boston Celtics have emerged among teams engaged
in talks and a possible deal. Sources told the ESPN the Celtics appear no
closer to acquiring Durant than others in discussions with the Nets, but Boston's ability
to include All Star forward Jalen Brown as a centerpiece and offers does help to
make the team formidable in its pursuit. Sources said this was interpreted in many
ways as a non as an update, a non update to the non update
that was the previous non update. Since we've been at this Kevin Durant's stalemate,
a lot of other people took it as Woads setting up the ESPN TV
content for the rest of the week, setting up the content for this podcast.
The other podcast, other shows. The rest of the week is the
NBA news cycle sort of reaches its nadier. We're entering that time of year
and there's really only Kevin Durant and Donman Mitchell to talk about unless you you
know what's going on with Colin Sexton, things along low As Lines, Russell
Westbrook with the Lakers. Everything seems on hold though with you know those three,
Like I guess I'll say teams, Nets, Jazz and Lakers just because
they have players or avenues available, and some of it's intertwined and it has
like the rest of the league at the stand so but we're at a point
where executives around vacation, coaches around vacation, whatever. So regardless, that's
what some people thought. I immediately saw that it was two thirty one am
Eastern time, and I have a thought, like, you schedule that tweet
where it's almost at the exact half hour, but it's not. You want
to put it that one minute or two minutes after, so that people think
that you didn't schedule it because hashtag grind, hashtag always working, hashtag team
no sleep. That stuff is stupid. I don't recommend it, Yes,
I don't I need to take my own vice, my own advice. I
it could be like a content setup. It could just be content for the
sake of content. I don't the timing of it. I don't think he
reports it just because maybe maybe editors, producers, content smiths over at ESPN
really wanted stuff to run with to start the week and didn't have much.
So this was out there in the ether. And we know that every team
has probably been in contact with the nets to some degree about Kevin Durant.
So you leak this out there, give gives us all something to talk about.
I will say, what is odd? Why release it at this time?
It would really only be if just ESPN wanted to have it as an
anchor for its super early morning shows, But what would probably doesn't sleep anyways,
we could have released it whenever. Are you afraid someone else is going
to put it out there? Or this sort of feels like a message eb
being sent to the other teams that are involved, like hey, if you're
the Pelicans, if you're the Raptors, And we can't even really say if
you're the Suns or the Heat because we know what their best offers are and
it's for the Suns, it's Cam Johnson, Michael Bridges other salary, and
then their entire future draft from Miami, it's it pretty much has to be
Kyle Lowry, but it's gonna be Yovic hero salary, their entire future draft.
Maybe maybe Brokelyn would push for Max Struce. So this could sort of
be a message to the other teams in the sweep takes, like, hey,
the Pelicans, if you were trying to get away, and we did
a podcast and video on YouTube for this last week's to go check it out.
The Pelicans I think could probably together a very meaningful offer without brandon ingram
or CG. McCollum and obviously Zion who can't be traded at the moment,
but also the Raptors. They can compablygether an aggressive offer without Scotty Barnes.
Brolkan's gonna want both of those players and Scotty Barnes. So maybe it's a
message to team like that, teams like that, or maybe it's just a
message to teams in general, like, oh, Austin is setting the benchmark
by including Jaylen Brown in these talks. We also, we don't know what
else the Celtics would be theoretically discussing did they just do their due Excuse me,
I'm talking too fast because I'm tired and always talking too fast. Did
they just do their due diligence and say, hey, are you willing to
do Jalen Brown and would have to be another salary to make it work.
So let's I'm assuming it'd be Derek White, Derek White and Jalen Brown for
Kevin Duran straight up, like, did they think that his you know,
Kevin Duran's value is going to reach that type of bottom. We don't know,
per this report how serious the Celtics are about their pursuit of Kevin Durant.
I doubt this had anything to do with them leaking it, because you
don't. Jaylen Brown is smart, super smart and can know that his team
has probably had discussions involving him with Kevin durand you still don't want this out
there. But maybe also the Celtics are like, hey, he's extension eligible.
He didn't want to sign one. We know that he probably wants max
money when he does hit free agency, which is why he wouldn't sign one,
and financially, look, he shouldn't because he would be a player on
the open market and his extension doesn't get him to the max. Maybe they're
just like, well, we would rather pay the next two to four years
of Kevin Durant than pay Jalen Brown over the next seven whatever would work out
too on his next deal. I just have a hard time believe they would
be the ones that are letting this out there. This deal is very much
next driven, Like it doesn't feel the Celtics are trying to move talks to
the towards the goal line because they've they've stalled, and look, they just
came off a finals bid and they just got Malcolm Brogden. They're a team
that has eight really good defensive players in its rotation right now, Like there's
just not a week league defensive among their their top eight. And you're not
going to want to create this. I don't want to call it turmoil.
Everyone in the league knows it's a business, but you don't want this out
there unless it is super serious. That's the one thing that's sticking with me
is that if this is out there, that it does have to have some
material meaning in the sense that I don't think it has anything to do with
the Celtics to be honest, but it's more Nets driven and if they are
letting it out because they're trying to drive up other offers, that leads me
to believe and it's something that I would call it an educated belief or no,
and it's an uneducated belief. Let's just be real that the Nets don't
want to go into training camp with Kyrie and Katie on the roster, that
it would be an absolute shit show if they did that. They want no
part in it. They can posture or say whatever they want, and so
they want this to be done. Maybe they'll still drag it into training camp,
but like they don't want to have to go into this season with this.
And that's sort of how I'm interpreting it, that you let this out
now because you're trying to apply pressure to other teams because you don't want to
be as patient as you've put out there that you're willing to be. For
the Celtics specifically, the value of Durant would be huge. They still they
looked at this roster and I don't think they need like necessary. I mean
that every team needs Kevin Durant like he is just can fire over anyone his
bag of tricks on the offensive end, the Celtics could use him so creatively
too with his room protection and on defense. Now you have two guys in
Jason Tatum and Kevin Durand who were just A one shock creators. And that's
maybe what the two things they were missing is did they have another A one
from scratch creator because it's not Smarter Jalen Brown, They're not really at that
level. It's it's did over Marcus Smart. And then did they have another
did they have even one A plus playmaker? Kevin Durant's not that, but
he's like definitely an upgrade when it comes to secondary playmaking over a Jalen Brown.
And so now you have all of these like one B playmakers with Tatum
and Durant and brog didn't even smart there, even if you don't consider them
the one A alpha passers. So your team is better in the short term
because we know that there's that huge age gap between Kevin Durant and Jalen Brown
because I think, look, Jalen Brown has aged out of the twenty five
and under discussion, but he is still closer to a decade than not younger
than Durant. He's turning twenty six in October and Durant's entering his age thirty
four season. There's that huge gap there, and if you there's Celtics,
you have to bake into your offer. Are you really going with your best
offer of Jaylon Brown? And it would be a twenty twenty five, twenty
seven, and twenty twenty nine first round pick. You already have a swap
going out in twenty twenty eight, you traded your twenty twenty three pick.
You could include other swaps, but are you really going that all in for
the age thirty four season of Kevin Durant. I'm sure like he should want
to be in Boston. It's kind of a situation where it's set up to
where he could sort of ease into a roll down the line where he doesn't
need to be the guy. But he does come in and it's still clear
that he's the best player. Jason Tatum's there. Jayson Tatum is still sort
of their timeline, but it's not like him jockeying for a position with Steph.
It's it's just not like that, and it just gives him a chance
to instantly contend. If I'm the Celtics, I'm not going like, maybe
you include a pick and it can be a distant pick if that's what the
net wants. The Nets want, there's also sort of signals that they're really
serious about wanting players who helped them compete. Now, I have maintained all
along, I thought they would skew one way or the other where they're not
going to get both picks at an All Star that could still be right.
I just thought they'd eventually leaning towards the draft equity route, even though their
own draft is heavily mortgage to Houston. I just it seemed like a very
aggressive offer would be more accessible in that form than getting Scottie Barnes and Ingram
and I never thought Jalen Brown would actually be on the table. Now you
get into the discussion of do the Celtics have the best theoretical trade package for
Kevin Durant if they're going, I'm talking about the full monty of these,
Not that this is what teams should put on the table or are putting on
the table, but they're best offers, and so like, let's use Phoenix
as an example. It's Jay Crowder, Cam Johnson, McHale, Bridges,
four first round picks, and three first round swaps. That would be their
absolute best offer, that is their ceiling. Toronto could do basically the same
setup with Scottie Barnes and Ogann and Obi or Gary Trent Junior plus other salary
and then you're getting four first and three swaps. The heat it's it needs
to be Kyle Lowry and then probably Tyler Hero Nikola Yovic and if you can
unprotect the pick, you go to ok See you can do three first and
three swaps. So the heat clearly to me among the teams that have been
mentioned, and we know what New Orleans can do. I went over a
trade offer. If they really wanted to, they can get to the money
without brandon Ingram and just include it's Dyson Daniels and then Trey Murphy the third
and then like they can include any like they can include a fuck ton of
picks, but let's say they include like five or six first just to be
able to hold on to branding, or maybe somewhere between four and six.
Their best offer would be brandon Ingram and then more first than the Celtics are
offering with Jalen Brown like that would that would be the beat the Celtics offer,
and there's so many. There are more variations to what New Orleans can
offer than what Phoenix can offer after they resigned, a what Miami can offer
when looking at their salary matching, and even what Toronto can offer. They're
more versatile because if you're willing to trade pascals seem so that the Pelicans in
Toronto are definitely more flexible in what they can offer. They can really get
aggressive without including Scotty Barnes, without including Siakam in Toronto, or maybe you
include Siakam and then it's in New Orleans where it's sort of well ingram Need
needs to be in it in theory, but he also doesn't if the Nets
are willing to skew draft heavy or you rally third teams together to where maybe
you're getting players that the Nets want with some of that draft equity while also
sending some draft equity to Brooklyn. So I think New Orleans and Toronto are
the most fungible when it comes to the offers that they could go to.
But when you look at the ceiling versus what the Nets want, I would
say that Jalen Brown is the best immediate player that appears to be available for
Kevin Durant, I think you can quibble over whether it's him or brandon Ingram,
and I might lean brandon Ingram just because of his creativity on the ball.
He's I don't want to say, and if you're fit, he's a
tougher fit next to Ben Simmons than Jalen Brown, just because you look at
how much brand Ingram prefers to operate with the ball. I think he did
really well with CJ. McCollum, and I think he will do just fine
with Zion Williams in next season n CG. McCollum together, But that is
still something to factor in, and you do sort of value Jalen Brown is
the better defender at this point by a pretty substantial margin, and so I
think you go I would lean Jalen Brown is more well bred. I think
of brand Ingram is he's under contract for longer, so you're looking at Jalen
Brown has two years left on his deal at twenty eight point eight million and
then thirty point eight million, but brandon Ingram has three before he gets the
free agency, so that extra year might matter to Brooklyn. Maybe they're not
concerned about and their payrolls are they're within a few million dollars of each other.
Maybe Ingram does of a trade bonus. I don't know if Jalon Brown
is a trade bonus, but that is really sort of im material to this
discussion. So you have that extra year of branding or maybe that makes him
slightly more valuable. And again his on ball creativity as such that it exceeds
jan Brown. It's neck and neck. I think when it would come down
to, if you're looking at these players as the base of offers, I'm
not saying the Pelicans are offered in brandon Ingram I was an advocate of saying
I probably wouldn't do it if I'm them, but if you have the chance,
if Kevin Durant says, hey, I want to come to New Orleans,
I do think fans are being a little like, it's not even shortsighted,
but ignorant to say, well, we're gonna have a longer title window
with this corps because it's younger. The league doesn't work like that, and
also with Zion's health and his archetype of just like this anomaly of a human
being, I would be worried about my window being shorter than most because of
his athletic prom he already has those injuries in the rearview. No, don't
want to bank on him not being available. But you also can't just pencil
the Pelicans in for a seven to nine year title window. In a couple
of seasons, We've even seen teams that are healthy just fall apart because players
leave me in the Golden State. Why, I mean, they weren't healthy
at the time. But these title windows in the NBA are increasingly fleeting.
If you have the chance to open one, and Kevin Durant open one for
you, and he says I want to go to New Orleans, you have
to at least entertain and be open to moving brandon Ingram. I'm not saying
you need to make the call, but it's I'm not talking about just media.
I'm not talking about just the team, but the fans even need to
just realize, like this is Kevin fucking Durant. At the end of the
day, you would roll the dice depending on what the other parameters are,
and so you put Ingram versus Jayalen Brown, and then I'll do this too,
if you did Siakam versus Ingram versus Jalen Brown, like Let's say Toronto
was willing to trade Siakam for Durant because we know the Nets want to win.
Now, you don't want twenty eight year old Pascal Siakam if you're rebuilding.
For the most part, that being said, it doesn't appear that the
Nets want to do that. That's like three really interesting immedia pieces. They
beat out Kyle ow or E from Miami, they beat out Mchaal Bridges and
Cam Johnson from from Phoenix. There then it all of a sudden comes down
to, Okay, well, who's willing to include more picks? New Orleans
has the ability to include the most picks. But when you're looking at and
I'll say, because of their age, Boston and New Orleans are incentivized to
include fewer picks than I think Toronto would have to with Siakam. And I
also think you're looking at some of these, I mean, maybe not Boston,
I feel all that way, but like Toronto, maybe you don't them
to be bad anytime soon because you're letting them keep Scotty Barnes, Whereas even
in Boston, though, you're not going to trust them to be bad with
Jayson Tatum still there. New Orleans and if you're a proposition just because of
Zion's injury history, but you wouldn't. Those aren't teams that I would want
to bet against their future anyway. What I'm basically saying is who would be
willing to include the most picks in that I don't think I think Boston would
be committed to adding the fewest, just because I'm looking at it through this
perspective. They've already been to the finals, they added Malcolm Broad into their
rotation. They very well could be the favorites to con of the East next
year, depending on how healthy the Bucks are. I think I'm leaning towards
the Bucks at this point, but Kevin rants on the Celtics, that will
certainly change. So I just I don't think and they have fewer picks to
offer, but I don't think they're incentivize as much as a Toronto or New
Orleans to include more picks. And I'm saying this as if New Orleans is
actually involved, it means they're actually involved, like this isn't if they're having
their little cuchie quaint offer that's not really serious. Okay, fine, then
they're not going to include as many picks. But if brandon Ingram is on
the table, is my point, Then they're they're committed. That's a show
of commitment by even discussing brandon Ingram. Not to say he's untouchable, but
you're at least entertaining the possibility that, Okay, we're gonna do this,
and that's going to take more equity. I think of the three boston Is
could probably put together the package that the Nets like the most. I think
they would end up valuing Jalen Brown more than Brandon Ingram, if only because
of Ben Simmons being in Brooklyn. That's really those players are so neck and
neck when you're looking at their values. Jalen Brown more two way, but
Ingram made some strides on defensive. Again, the playmaking is just so different.
I think the Nets would prefer Jalon Brown. I hope Pelicans fans aren't
mad about that. And so if Boston came into Jaylon Brown three first round
picks, I think they would prefer that to Siakam and three first first three
to four first round picks. And then I don't know. The thing with
the Pelicans too, is that they can offer the Milwaukee pick in twenty seven,
and that Lakers pick in twenty four to twenty and twenty five in addition
to their own. But are they incentivized as much as the Raptors to include
the most picks that they can if brandon Ingram is on the table already.
I don't think that they are. I just think the Raptors they already have
Van Fleet. There's scenarios in which they don't even give up siak Ramer Barns.
Because you have o Ganna Nobi, you have Gary Trent Junior, you
can get to other salary filler, you can include those picks, and they
just feel like they would be a little bit more. We've seen them be
more aggressive in these situations than New Orleans historically, so it's not a matter
of look out right. I want to make this clear. I think the
Pelicans can offer the best package when it comes to willingness, or let's say
the Pelicans can offer the best package. I don't think they're the team that
would be willing to offer the best package when you're talking about realistic avenues.
I think the Celtics can realistically offer the best package that the Nets would want.
That they're the team that blends the disofers really attractive and we'd be maybe
willing to give it to you. And I don't even know how much I
buy that. And then I feel like the Raptors are the most incentivized to
throw everything that's not name Scotty Barnes at the nets and try and work it
that way. So that's where I'm sort of split here. I do think
this report overall, it's fine if you think that it's worthless. I won't
push back against that theory. I thought it was notable enough to record a
podcast at a little bit after four in the morning Eastern time on Monday.
We'll see if anything comes of this. I don't have the same I don't
have that inkling or that knowledge that this deal is going to come together quickly
and that this will sort of a last ditch effort to drive up the price.
I do think, because this report released, that it is more likely
that Kevin Durant now gets moved before the start of next season than it was
just a few hours before I recorded this. That's not to say that this
isn't out there because it's like the slow season, if you want to view
it that way. I just don't think you let this get out there unless
you're actually committed to moving Kevin Durant or wanting to explore the market for Kevin
Durant, And so that just to me my read on it, the Nets
aren't as oh, no, we'll let this get awkward. If we need
to have both Kyrie and Katie come back. Maybe it's different if the relationship
has soured with one of the players. The fact that it's both that this
is a pail that's been hanging over your franchise for what feels like eternity at
this point, I don't think you want to go into next season when you're
also trying to They're very clearly trying to take the organization back from the Stars
that they handed it over to a few years ago. So that's my read
on it. I don't in the end, I don't think Kevin Durant goes
to the Celtics. I think he'd be more likely to go to the Raptors
than the Pelicans, with the Celtics and then the Pelicans before the Celtics being
in the middle there. I still think, because this is what tends to
happen with Stars, that he's most likely to end up in Phoenix because that's
where he wants to go first and foremost, and their package is at least
more attractive than Miami's. But I ultimately think he ends up in Miami or
Phoenix. Still, I would love for it to be a dark horse team
just for the chaos, and then maybe that also, I don't want to
say send a message, because I'm not saying NBA players need to be taught
a lesson, but it might make the awkward trade demand set up, which
I get into in the mail bag that hopefully you all here on Tuesdays.
I don't want to put out two podcasts in one day, but we get
into this that this is going to be addressed the next CBA trade requests in
general, but something is stark is Kevin Durant. The resolution to this is
going to loom over those CBA negotiations, And if he goes to a wild
card team, I just feel like that would maybe act as sort of this
organic obstacle for players who might be considering to do the same with this many
years left on his deal. And so even if he didn't put Toronto on
a shortlist, or he didn't put New Orleans on a shortlist and the NEST
just sent him there, anyway, I root for chaos. I'm not anti
KD, I'm not anti player, I'm not pro billionaire. I root for
chaos, and so that's what I would like to see. I still think
the most likely ending is the least inventive ending, and that's megastars tend to
get where megastars want to go. He is cited, to the best of
our knowledge, that he would go to Phoenix or Miami. Maybe he'll start
opening up that list, especially now that Boston's involved. Would say this report,
though, does not mean does I'm not. I don't think it's any
more likely the Celtics Kevin Durant than I did before this report came out,
and I didn't even really have them. I thought they could offer a competitive
package. I just didn't have them in the mix. Maybe I'll be wrong,
But I also think even if I'm right, this report amounts to more
than fluff. It does it? It is at least a harbinger of not
just the state of negotiations, but sort of the state of how the nets
are thinking. Because this information isn't just out there randomly because Woade wanted first
Take to have something to talk about in ESPN. It Honestly, it doesn't
even work like that. And I know that there are conflicting agendas, but
like, it wouldn't work like that. It wouldn't come at this time of
night either, at two thirty one am Eastern time, Wodge with the with
the chaos grenade, the woage bomb, but but the chaos grenade, the
fuck you minefield or grenade or bomb, so to speak. So That's where
I'm at on this. I think the Celtics could offer one of the better
packages in the league. I just I'm not attaching that many picks to Jalen
Brown given the age gap. In the fact, this is where my team
is at. It's great thing. You think Kevin Rant put you over the
hump. You don't know that this isn't a question of you needing to get
over the hump, like you might already be there. You could have theoretically
been there this past season. I know the road to a title doesn't get
any easier with the Raptors perking up. The Bucks shouldn't go anywhere, the
Sixers shouldn't be going anywhere. The Heat are still going to be there,
and then out west you have more contenders you need to deal with whether you
know, you look at the Clippers in Denver specifically, in addition to the
Warriors, the Suns aren't going to go anywhere? Do the Pelicans or the
Timberwolves? Is the one of those teams sort of explode and enter the fringes
of the discussion. What happens with the Lakers? Do they get Miles Turner?
Do they get Buddy He'll? Do they wind up with Kyrie Iring because
that changes the complexion of the race. I get there being urgency in Boston
and maybe maybe they've gotten the sense that Jalen Brown doesn't want to be there
long term. If they've had that conversation with him, then yeah, that
changes a lot of things as well. This doesn't feel like that either,
because that information is very clearly not in there. So I think to sum
up here, the Celtics are still not the most likely Kevin rantestination, but
the fact that it's out there that Jaalen Brown is on the table very much
serves a purpose to let other teams know what baseline they're working for it toward.
And I will say I still don't think the Nets are going to be
able to get both, Like if you get Jayon Brown in a pick or
two. I don't think that counts as, oh, we got all these
picks in an All Star. You could sell it as multiple picks in an
All Star, like they're gonna either have to choose the jail and Brown or
brandon Ingram type package, or maybe the Pascal Siakam type package, or the
one that's just teaming with picks. I don't think we look back at this
and say, oh, the Pelicans moved like four firsts in addition to brandon
Ingram, where the or the Celtics did three and Brown or the Raptors did
four and Siakam. I don't think we look back on that. With Phoenix
and Miami, it's different just because the primary players they'd be trading or not.
These like could be or are fringe superstars. So yeah, you could
see them throwing all their p on the table, but that's not getting an
All Star player back in return. You don't sell Kyle Lowry as that.
I love Mchaal Bridges and Cam Johnson. They're not that either. So I'm
very just interested to see how discussions with other teams or what other reports we
might find going from here. Hopefully this podcast isn't outdated by the time you
listen to it. Thank you all for joining me for this latest Kevin Durant
update. I will have a mailbag barring something happening that's already recorded done.
It's mostly evergreen content. It'll be out on Tuesday, so look forward to
that. If this is your first time checking us out on podcast form or
on YouTube, please hit the permit subscribe button. It would mean the world.
Like comment call us on the socials those are both in the descriptions and
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the discorder in the pod descriptions as well as well be a few descriptions.
Until next time, and as always, I'll leave you all with a shout
out to the one, the only, the untouchable in Kevin Durant trade talks.
St. Frank