What is crack a Lack and fellow thermonuclear a Eppers. I am Dana Valley
coming at you with my certified fantabuloust co host Grant Hugs very quickly. If
you're checking us out for the first time, subscribe wherever however, YouTube,
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description. Our social handles are as well at Hardwood Knox on Twitter and TikTok
at Hardwood Underscore Knox on Instagram. Grant hughes, how the hell are you,
man? I'm doing great. I'm really enjoying the All Star break.
I don't know how you feel about that, but like, not every year
has this been the case, but this year particularly, I've like the like
the breath we got to take. Maybe you didn't take one, but I've
enjoyed the handful of days off to sort of like and we'll talk about this,
like sort of recalibrate the season, like t take a beat and sort
of think about where we are, like what the angles are going to be
going forward? That's like, that's kind of rare to get in the course
of a year. So I feel like I feel like this is this has
been well timed. This, this little handful of days off, Yeah,
I needed it. And I think as we've been in this business longer and
longer, and this isn't oh woe. Always look at these sports writers and
podcasters complaining what was me? But like I viewed the All Star break rather
than a chance to immerse myself in the All Star break as a chance to
like catch a breather. I watched All Star Saturday night. I barely watched
the All Star Game, like it was just on in the background and I
was paying like semi attentions. I just didn't give a fuck and I just
needed the time. And I think players hut the same way. They need
the time to just sort of recalibrate, get ready for the stretch run.
It is funny, though, and I have zero complaints about this for the
most part. And I try to remember that I ask people to come on
this podcast, although I do try and give them advanced notice. The radio
and podcast interviews just start flooding my dms and emails and phone as soon as
the super Bowl's over, and I get overwhelmed and I try to say yes
to everyone, and I feel like shit when I can't say yes. And
so this is like that time of year of juggling that I'll get better at
being used to doing like you know, two to three guest spots a day
at some point, or just like investing so much more time in a week.
But that throws a wrench into your schedule. That again, I'm happy
to do it, especially because karmically we're asking people to come on this.
We just had the Timeline podcast on here this past week, so I but
it's just it's an adjustment because no one's talking to you, cares about you.
Well, some people do, I don't say, but there's like I'll
get hits from producers I haven't heard from in like months and just be like
we're not even like hey, how are you be? Like hey, can
you come on the show today? And it's just like the day of is
tough for me now because my schedule is so and this isn't a flex.
You're the same way. I'm sure your schedule so meticulously planned that it's just
the day of re questions don't fly for me anymore. I'm not trying to
be an asshole by saying that. I think I've probably inadvertently screwed you because
a couple of years ago I started saying no, like all the time to
radio interviews except for like one or two, and so now they've they've left
me alone, and I think probably what it turned to you too. I'm
sure you already you said yes more often than I did. But that's one
of the things I've just when I say no, I just give them your
information that Grant is never doing anything. Yeah, go ahead, Yeah,
no, he'd really love to talk for like seven minutes, and the longer
the better. Yeah right, Yeah, I've phased those out. Shout out
to Tapeito. By the way, hot guys watching from Italy, probably a
reasonable hour to be watching us, because we just continue to go live at
two o'clock in the afternoon on a weekday Eastern time, when no one's gonna
be watching us. So shout out to him, and shout out to Brent
already said hello, So I wanted to ask you before we dig into We've
got a lot of mail, bad questions. I wanted to ask you about
the Hawks firing date millan and just what do you make of that entire situation
in Atlanta right now? I mean it's bad, Like should we start there?
That's what I make of it. Well, so, I mean it's
the second level that they could pull, right because they shook up management already
that you know, Travish Link has gone, Landry Fields is in charge,
and there's just like, you know, the whole thing reeks of just nepotism
and cronyism because Nick Wrestler is fun and just like you know, he seems
to have a pretty firm hand and personnel decisions already, and you know,
that's that's an issue that wold the whole structure, the management structure that was
changed. And now McMillan's gone, and now your only other option after this
unless there's like another you know, twenty twenty one esque Final East Finals run
in this team, which I doubt is. You start looking at the roster,
and that's tricky because like where do you start. I mean, John
Collins could not be traded again. DeAndre Hunter his contract looks bad already,
Trey Young Supermax is kicked in. He was not an All Star for what
the second time in the last three years. So that's the next phase,
is tinkering with the roster. And I think the last you know, few
months and really all of this year have suggested that like that's not I mean,
that's the last resort for a reason. It's you go management, you
go coaching, because this is the hardest thing to fix or mess with.
So it's rough like there, you know, Atlanta's on the shortlist of teams.
I think that while the upside is still there, there's like there's significant
downside, right, I mean, like catastrophe, like tear it all down
potential. I know what you think, but that's how I've viewed it really
since the latest months months ago, Trey Young Nam McMillan strife, you know
reports. Yeah, there's just too much weirdness here at this point, and
it's the travish lank dismissal or reassignment, whatever you want to call it.
It was curious because why did you let him It happened less than halfway through
the schedule. Why did you let him take you through the entire offseason and
the draft even if he forfeited power, Because it sounds like he might not
have been in favor of the reporting of much of the dejan Day Murray trade.
So again that decision is not indefensible on its face, nor is this
one. The timing is just weird because it's like, I guess, you
give yourself a chance to start your search in earnest ahead of other teams that
are going to make this change over the off season, and the Nets have
kind of already taken themselves out of that equation by extending Jacques Vaughan. And
so if you want Quinn Snyder, if you want Kenny Atkinson, what's your
two names? Just to get to Pete those questions here, which are the
coaching candidates and the recent reports the most intriguing to you? I would immediately
Kenny Atkinson and Quinn Snyder are the ones. I think Quinn Snyder's more interesting
from a immediacy perspective if you're looking to win right now. And here's the
thing though, and it's become there's so many elephants in this room. It's
just getting overcrowded. In Atlanta. Their offense is underachieved this year. It's
been better since January first, down since February first, They've had a lot
of different absences. Their shot profile is an atrocity. From a basketball perspective,
I know that Trey Young and I know that de Jante Murray you're going
to live in the mid range. But like you need meet more three point
volume and accuracy out of this team. Still you need better. I guess
you don't need a better defensive infrastructure when Clint Capela and Dejante Murray are on
the floor. But can you flesh out those lineups properly? And what is
going on with John Collins, Like you clearly don't want him. You say
you've vee him as an asset. You don't want him. He's on the
verge of being sent to Phoenix before the Kevin Durant trade, So you have
to figure that out. Bodamdonovitch is a free agent, he has a player
option. You have to start thinking about Murray's next deal because he's not going
to sign an extension under the current rules. Going to hit free agency in
twenty and twenty four, you're about to get and are kind of already mega
expensive and not very good at the moment. You're just hovering around. You're
flitting around play in territory right now, and so I think, as you
said, you pull this lever. It's fine on its face, but what
is the next move and was it actually the coach? And that's what I'm
throwing at you is the question here to me is is this on Nate McMillan
for a lack of invention, for not getting buy in from Trey Young,
probably because look, he's played off the ball more but not in volume,
and so was another coach going to change that? Or is this on Trey
because he had issues with Lloyd Pierce he had now issues with Nate McMillan.
There was the report from Sam a mc earlier this year from the Athletic that
most players on this team would surprise would side excuse me with McMillan over Young,
over that whole discrepancy. And that's not territory of all. You needed
to trade Trey Young, But when you have executives already waiting for a Trey
Young trade request and you've just made this, it wasn't an all in play.
When you look at the pickack wouldn't be him it, but like a
you aimed for a triple or double whatever it was. They're just in this
weird, unsettling, inscrutable space and I don't even know what the primary issue
necessarily is that's the most confounding aspect of all this. To answer your question,
I don't know if it was the coach, because like now, this
is two coaches that that have just not worked out over you know, fairly
short stints with with the same core of this team. Lloyd Pierce was the
first to go. McMillan I don't think has ever had a reputation as like
an innovator or like a you know, get you'd hear in Portland for example,
that just his defensive schemes were very basic. His offen you know,
he wasn't He's not like a next generation, you know, tactical type of
head coach or at least that's the reputation. So maybe that's part of it.
But like maybe I don't know how you feel about this, but I
keep coming back to the players on this roster, Like we've seen basically this
same group minus Murray be one of the best offenses in the league more than
once, right, and so the thinking that well we have that, let's
add some defense. You know, Murray is a good defender, Capella is
a good defensive center when he's right. I mean, Hunter is basically like
a lot of that money he got was because he's been a good defensive wing.
When he's healthy, Bogdanovitch can play. There's all these just up and
down the roster. The talent seems like it should be producing more results or
better results, and it has like less a less talented version of this Hawks
team, I would argue, I guess your mileage could vary on you know,
Kevin Herder versus Dejon Tay Murray or whatever other swaps you want to make,
Like a lesser version of this team has won a lot and one playoff
series, and flukey as that run may have been, like it was better
than this, it's so like I keep kind of I get hung up on
the idea that like maybe it is just you know, a vibe change,
however short lived it is, will kind of kickstart this and the talent will
play up to its potential and we'll see like the version of the Hawks that
I'm sure Atlanta thought it was gonna get all year, But again, like
how many times can you just swap the coach out or whatever and expect a
boost like that? I think ultimately, like now the constants are young Collins.
The constants are these players, and I think Young probably certainly deserves most
of the blame because he's the best player and that's just how it works.
But yeah, I it's almost annoying, like because where is the problem?
Like how why isn't this working? What is the issue? There's enough talent,
So yeah, I don't know what the problem is, I think,
And honestly, I don't know that we're going to get a great, like
any better handle on it over these next twenty whatever games. Like you know,
maybe they'll urge, but like, I don't know how much you're really
going to learn. And there's an interim coach now, so it's like,
well, how much information are we going to get before they hire the next
guy, whoever it is, and start next year with probably like the same
personnel, right unless they go unless like we just absolutely you know, nosedive
the rest of this year and then you have to in the offseason just change
out a bunch of parts. But yeah, I don't know. I So
my final question to you is I don't I don't have any answers here either.
One. It's just interesting because they're they're preferred starting five, they're best
five men. Unit is slaughtering opponents. There are point six one hundred possessions
on the season. Who is do you is there any coach of the names
I've been mentioned or one that sticks out to you that you would like to
see for Is it just I feel like we're all at the faulting to Quinn
Snyder here feels like the very obvious answer. I think it is Snyder though,
Like, and I guess the problem for that is, you know Utah
was you know, advantage creation offense where you're running into handoffs and guys are
moving and it wasn't really it was pretty egalitarian. How's that work with Trey
Young? Like and let alone another point guard in John Say Murray that you
know, it just needs to be on the ball too. So I mean,
and really, I do think Snyder is the best pick. I think
he's the best coach that's available us ties to the team. He's been an
assistant there, but it's like the things that he wants to do, I
don't know if that is feasible with Young on the rawster. So, I
mean Atkinson, I feel like proved in Brooklyn. He's a developmental coach,
like he can you know, be a culture setter like that type of thing
that's with you know, mostly young non star players. That's not going to
be the situation he would walk into here with with Trey. Yeah, I'm
I'm probably totally with you on that front. Do you want to finally dig
into Not finally, but do you want to dig into this mail bag?
Which is h the headlining that I use for the U for this actual like
video, the full podcast everyone's watching is I'm trying to find the question right
now is basically contenders and pretenders? H So where is that question? Why
can't I find it? Which team? No? Which team of the conference
is? Did you remember? Did I make this question up myself? Was
it a not Dan fora Valley special? No, no idea, But I'll
find it. So let's let's get to this first question then from Cole uh,
how would you fix All Star Weekend? The game of garbage? And
they didn't even find enough NBA players wanted to do the dunk contest? I
mean I think I would probably just have Mac McClung participate in every event against
you know, whoever else was available, Like, Yeah, I don't know,
this is this really is the most topical question we have because I don't
know if you saw today, Uh, like the TV, insofar as they
matter or can tell us anything. The TV ratings were like, this was
the least watched All Star Game and something like thirty years, and obviously that
it's just how everything is anymore. But but that's a problem. So I
guess, like I guess, I like, I guess what. I didn't
watch the All Star Game. I watched the you know, the dunk contests
and three point competition, but not the All Star Game. To fix it,
like, I just don't, I don't know how how do you make
the players care about it? That's that's the question, right because that's you
know, it's a pickup game where there's no defense and nobody really gives a
shit who wins. I think maybe picking team you know in the winner that
they've done it the last couple of years helps, But unless you can find
ways to incentivize, like maybe that's money, I don't think it's a good
idea to do, Like, well, you get home court advantage in the
finals if your team would be disaster, you know, cats could value the
regular season too much. I think, right, well, I think I
think baseball did that. I think that for a while I don't know if
they still do, but but like so that's that's a no go. I
don't know. I don't know how you is it, Like you know,
the winning team gets twenty million dollars to split up how they want, or
like the MVP. I just I don't know what you do to make the
players care enough about it to have it resemble like a real competitive game if
I'm sure if the NBA had a good answer for that, like it would
have done it already. So so I'm of no help. FK Retro said,
But it was also in Utah with wayless big stars there as well,
so it's a combo of everything. It makes sense it wasn't watched, so
I will push back. I just don't put as much stock into general TV
ratings right now. I think when you Dug deeper Stein had it that it
was still the most watch event of the night, and it's just like the
conventional TV ratings, that audience is just different. It's more dispersed, decentralized
at this point, I do think also said that was better than I expected.
The dunk contest was a lot of fun. I thought Traymer for the
third I thought had a good run in addition to Matt McClung and the three
point Contest is always enjoyable. The Skills Challenge is a fucking nightmare. That
is just a disaster. It's too now. It was too fucking confusing.
Poor Kevin Harland trying to explain those rules in real time. I don't know
how you fix the game. I saw Stan mcguddy just saying a million dollars
per player payable immediately after the game. I'd go ahead, try it.
I you know, what Shay said was like kind of Shay kind of said,
showed me the money while he was wearing like a one hundred thousand dollars
for a coat, which was very weird because I don't I don't know what
the answer is. I will say this, and I think this might be
an old man, even though that's super old cranky person yells at Cloud's moment.
There's this tendency to immediately side with everything the players do and when it's
in, when it's relative to worrying about padding the bottom line for these billionaire
owners. I am all about that. I will not applaud teams for ducking
the luxury tax I don't care if you're setting the repeater clock, I get
the logistics. I'll acknowledge it if you ended up acquiring a good player like
what the Nuggets did with the Casey p trade, whereas like, yeah,
you shave some tax money, but like that was a really good trade for
you. However, you are also when it comes to load management, when
it comes to the All Star product, you are devaluing the fans who this
is actually all for, and that is actually pro labor, because that's working
class America. And I'm not like there are still I don't not talking about
like the racist shit heads who are screaming from the stands treat these players like
property. I don't even think Utah was And like Brent saying in the chat,
I don't think Utah was the issue. Charles Barkley had the funny quote,
like these people here going to heaven. There's there's nothing to do here.
Do I think that Utah appeals as a market to the players, Absolutely
not, absolutely not. But it's not for the players, it's for the
fans. And so if you want to have all these warm weather climates sprinkled
in on a rotating basis Miami, La Phoenix, that will draw out more
players but then like every third year, it's in these different like if you
want to try something like that, I sort of get it, but this
isn't about where media members want to go. This isn't about necessarily where players
want to go. And I don't think when they're again, these are humans,
there's humanity to them. They shouldn't play injured. I also I understand
you know you look at KCP or was it Desmond Bayane who I think was
Basically I don't want to do the three point contest this year. I get
why you don't want to work during your break, because the regular season so
damn long. It brings up a whole host of issues. I just think
we're too quick to shield the players from this. It's possible to give a
damn about this game and play competitively. But I do also recognize that the
risk profile outweighs the reward profile, because you're not going to do the contest
or play a bunch of defense in the All Star Game lest you become a
meme. What would John Morant have gained from beating mac mcclough. Nothing.
He would have lost a ship ton by not beating macmclung, at least in
terms of you know, reputation or whatever. So I get the dilemma,
and I'm not trying to oversimplify here. I will just say, like,
this is not just the league has ruined it. It's just it doesn't to
me. It shouldn't have to. We need to figure out a way to
incentivize players to do this. And again, part of the distancentive is the
way that fandom is treated, the rings culture, the meming, everyone,
So I get that element, but like, I'm also just like, we
don't need to completely inoculate the players here because they are getting paid a ship
ton of money to play basketball, and I don't think they need to have
this incredible incentive to put on a show for the real loyal fans or even
the cash. I'm talking about non detrimental fans, Like I'm not going to
pay an abroad, but they are fans that suck. We get that,
But like for them not to feel like they should want to be in the
dunk contest to put on a show for the fans like that kind of sucks.
That's just that's just sort of where I'm at at this point. Yeah,
no, I agree. I mean, maybe it's just an unbiased Pistons
fans says, I get the feeling that this is what's going to happen with
a mid season tournament. Good point like that, that, well, it
is tricky anytime these aren't regular season games account towards your record, and there
isn't a reward that is worth getting. Sorry I pulled it off of there,
but but yeah, like let's let's just go off that. Do you
think what do you think the differences might be or the similarities in a mid
season tournament as it's sort of been laid out, Like, do you think
that runs the risk of being a little All Star game ish? What is?
What are they getting? It's just a trophy bait, like your mid
season tournament. That's all I've seen. That's the only that I've seen.
I haven't seen anything that would impact sort of the you know, like the
playoff odds or like where they like do you get to pick your opponent if
you finished? So, yeah, I'm very curious because like players, if
they're injured, not again, I wouldn't expect them to, but like,
we have reached a problem where you can't buy a ticket months in advance before
the season expect to see Steph Curry as an example, playing is only msget
appearance, and it's again there's real injuries. But I do think the mid
season tournament runs the risk of becoming this all star gaming thing. I think
what helps is that the pool is just going to be so much bigger,
and so maybe there's a chance that like these like let's use the Kings as
an example, who are clearly invested not so much in winning a playoff series
but just getting there too. If you're the Hornets and you're able to win
the mid season tournament, that's gonna matter, and so perhaps that creates some
sort of entertainment. But I do think it runs the risk because I haven't
seen a benefit that would be think, well, the players are really going
to be all about this, and I don't even know if I don't know
if you're fund of like stanmon Gundy saying give the players, let's apply it
to the mid season torment. Everyone gets a million dollar bonus. I think
the mid season tournament that might work because you've got in the bottom of the
roster there really aren't making much more than that, so that would help.
But like for the All Star Game, when the what is the median salary,
even if you're factoring in rookies counted at the All Star Game in five
million probably or something crazy like that. But maybe just because it's such a
lump sum and you're getting it immediately, like, yeah, we have to
do we really have to pad the pockets and the like, let's make it
tax free and they don't have to like pay their agents a cut of it,
like and let's give it to them all in my singles or something immediately.
I don't, I honestly don't have a solution, because I do think
that it part of it is in the fabric of how the game has come
to be viewed by the players, and so I'm not a signing total blame
to them, but their approach to the All Star Game I think is definitely
a part of this. Yeah, all right, I'm gonna throw you this.
We're gonna get back to. Actually, I found the defining question of
the mail bag if okay, let's do that. Let's do that, then
before I ask you about this parody question. Uh, well, let's let's
go parody post me. Let's keep let's tease everyone, hang around. We're
getting to contenders or pretenders soon. Good job, good job by you a
tease excellent? All right, this from HP Bergye. How long will this
parody in the in the league? Last? I got to think that some
of these middling teams will start selling over the next few years, but you
never know. Hope it doesn't go away, because in eight one and seven
two upset in the playoffs. Actually feeling possible makes those series a lot more
fun. Yeah, Like, I mean, I I'll throw to you first.
I'm all about it, but I want to hear what you think.
So do I think it's temporary? I don't because we can say that some
of these middling teams will punt. But I think two things. Teams like
the Hornets and the Wizards exist like they're in the bulls. They're just going
to trick themselves in the thinking they could be competitive. I also think that
because there's less player movement in free agency at the moment, it's harder to
see these superstar talent consolidations because even if you're getting multiple stars, it's coming
at an opportunity cost that allows other teams we saw it with the Jazz,
to acquire actual talent and assets and be good right off the bat. I
also think the league is just really deep with talented players right now, and
so maybe if we eventually get to the point where we have two more expansion
teams, that that dilutes the talent pool a little bit. But I really
just believe, like when you say something like a top thirty five player,
it feels like an insult, but that's a potential All Star at this point,
and on some team probably like I think about like the Knicks or the
Bulls having two All Star candidates, like those teams are not I mean,
like the Knicks are fine, they're fun, they're not, oh, they
have two all stars, potential All Stars like Jalon Bronston could have been an
All Star. So I don't think it's going anywhere, especially because the mid
season tournament incentivizes you to chase a ten seed and back your way and say,
hey, maybe I can get to the playoffs. And so they were
gonna be two types of teams that want that. A team like the Lakers,
who are supposed to be contenders are operating on this urgent window that need
to give a damn about it, or just teams like who are vested in
playing beyond their final game of the regular season. Like a wizards, like
a bulls like the hornets, even though they're not even in that conversation right
now. So I don't think it's temporary. I'm one, I'm one.
I want to hear what you think. But I also if you agree,
what would be something that derails this parity feasibly? Yeah, I keep thinking
that it's it's pretty closely tied to the flattened lottery odds, And that might
just be me making like a you know, a conflating two things, but
it does just at a very basic level, if there are ten quote unquote
playoff spots instead of eight in each conference, it's just a lot easier for
all but the absolute very worst teams to decide we're going to remain competitive.
Now, like that's usually an end of year thing, when when you really
start getting some separation. But like I do think that, you know,
we joke about Chicago and Washington and these in Charlotte and these other teams that
are like happy in the middle, or maybe they're not happy, but they
seem to operate as if being a middling team or slightly better than that is
a goal of some kind. I kind of just think it makes more sense
to run a team that way now than it did before, Whereas, like,
you know, when the lottery odds were the way they used to be,
Like it's just even finishing eighth or seventh in a conference was like death
because you're gonna get smoked in the first round and you're not going to get
the player in the draft that might, you know, up your ceiling over
the next half decade or whatever. So you'd be more apt to start tanking
if you were ninth, or you know, anything, depending on the situation.
Like some teams just want to make the playoffs, but I just think
having more spots and an easier route to call yourself a playoff team, even
if the play in is different, has really had the effect of like discouraging
just you know, shutting it down or I was searching for it too.
Completing is the word of the day. I'm not sure use it right,
but we're gonna I was gonna say false equivalency, but I think that's more
wrong now that's the phrase of the day. But yeah, so is it
gonna change. I mean, the lottery odds stay how they are based on
the case I just laid out. Maybe not. I still think that eight
verses one or seven verses two upsets might remain as improbable as it has been.
But I but I don't know. I guess that. I guess that
could change. I mean, look, if let's say hypothetically Memphis finishes second
and the Warriors emerge from the play as a seventh seed, like that particular
matchup, I'm not feeling great about if I'm Memphis, or maybe because I'm
Memphis, I feel great about everything, but I'm They're fine. Yeah,
I don't know. Yeah, Parody may be here to stay. I guess,
and I feel like that's a good thing. And I didn't even touch
on the just the depth of talent in the league, which you did,
which I think is a huge, a huge reason behind all this too.
Thank you Jacob for the commentary on completion in the chat. Great you used
it correctly excellently. Kudos to you. Let's so here it is the long
awaited question. I hopefully it did not de highlight which team that Nikola chev
excuse me, I'm sorry, nicol Chekolov. I apologize if I'm butchering the
hall of that. Which team that legit thinks they can win a championship is
an absolute fraud, if fraud, I am thinking the East three and then
the Nuggets, grizz Clips, Sons, Dallas and the Warriors, not as
potential frauds. He was listing. They were listing who they think all the
contenders are. And so I have no qualms about answering this question. I
want to see what you're answered to. The question is, though, well,
so if I got to pick a fraud from I guess we're talking Boston,
Milwaukee, Philadelphia would be the three East teams and Nuggets, grizz Clip
Sons Man's work. Doesn't Dallas have to be the fraud just because they got
worse defensively, they added Irving. We've talked ednas even about like the combustibility
and the risk and the gamble and the downside of all that. Fraud is
tough. But of those teams, I say, Dallas is by far the
farthest from what I consider like a legit. I don't put I don't consider.
Oh boy, Jacob's not going to be happy. I don't know he's
Jacob's gonna be fine. Look, it's the Grizzlies. It's not Memphis.
They said they are finding the West. That's Jacob in the chat, it's
the Grizzlies. But I don't fancy the Mavericks contenders. I don't think they
can look at their roster and say we're a contender. I think they're looped
in that discussion because Luca don chich is very, very good and they made
the conference finals last year. I don't know how they look within themselves at
this roster and think, well, we're gonna generate enough defense to win a
playoff series, even if Maxi Kleiba comes back. It's the Grizzlies. I'm
sorry this is this might be another cranky rant, and also Grizzlies fans should
feel bad about it because this would I'm about to be wrong for the Grizzlies
for a fourth season. Running your half court offense borders on dogshit at points
you're still in the bottom ten. Too much of your model is let's generate
points off our own misses, which you can't do as efficiently. If Steven
Adams isn't in the game and they were going to be games in the playoffs
where we saw it last year that Steven Adams can't be in the game,
and I'm not gonna say he's gonna get playing off the four in every matchup,
but they're gonna be match four. It doesn't make sense. Can you
trust Jaren Jackson Junior? Not the foul he's fouling at a rate of almost
five per thirty six minutes since the Stephen Adams injury, which is up.
I think he was at four point three before end, and four point three
is still pretty high. So, yeah, you're talented, but like,
who is generating you the from scratch looks in the half court when you can't
get out in transition, when you're not cleaning up your own missus aside from
John Morant and Desmond Bane and your answer to all of this, to this
long standing flaw that was exposed in the playoffs, was to train for Luke
Kenard. I understand that Luke Konnard is probably underrated when it comes to functional
shooting and what you could do if you actually put the ball in his hands.
He's sort of like remember what we all thought Landry Shammitt might be as
a rookie with the Clippers. That's who Luke Nard actually is because there's more
more on ball depth there. Yeah, what swing piece are you trusting?
It doesn't feel like it's gonna be Zyar Williams. At this point, you're
sort of just you have like this like hyperbolic faith in yourself that doesn't make
any sense at this point because you're carrying the burden of expectations, and so
there's this like there's this bomb bass that feels like more pomp than promise for
them at this point I and I also don't like and that's would bother not
bother me. But everyone's saying, oh, what if they and Jacob mentions
it in the chat, if the Grizzlies had gotten Og or Michaal, then
that might change. But they were easily the biggest frauds is right now,
someone agrees with me that's fun Og was a terrible fit for them because he's
not giving you anything for the half court offense. Michael bridges Hell, Yes,
and there are some other suggestions on teams that are frauds. I'll throw
it up there after I hear from you, but it's it's the Grizzlies.
I know they're not second in the West by accident, but this is very
much what feels like a regular season team that you might feel when you get
to them in the playoffs. But like I'm just gonna throw this out there,
full strength Lakers versus the Grizzlies in round one. Let's say the Lakers
just get out of the play and are you are you convinced the Grizzlies are
winning that in five? Like, are you are you okay? No?
I think I mean I just gave the Warriors example. I think it's kind
of a similar thing. So I want to make two points about about Memphis,
and the first is that like it's still I guess if you're gonna go
of the top three in each conference, they have to be the fraud pick.
Although I mean his Sacramento is still third. They are, but they're
not in this conversations, so like not even including that's so mean, but
but but we're they have like the third or fourth hardest schedule the rest of
the way to the Kings anyway, So the Grizzlies, like it's still pretty
early, you know, in the arc of this team, you know,
and Marant is still young. Baine Jackson like the pieces. I feel like
it's easy to get down on them, especially since as as unbiased Pistons fan
notes, you know, John Morant says things like we're fine in the West
and sticks to it, and they're seventeen and sixteen in the conference. It's
easy to get down on the Grizzlies, and like, I definitely am feeling
down on them now, but I don't want to write them off as like,
well, this isn't gonna work in the next like two three years.
I think for right now, it's pretty it's a little fraudy. But the
other point I want to make is one of my biggest regrets of this season
is that I really thought Memphis was poised to just be the best team in
the West, like a month ago, and it's almost like to the second
I said that, they just kind of everything changed, So huge regret they're
not that team. I think there's still potential because their flaws are so obvious
that it's like there's no question about what they need to address, and they
still have some of the means to do it. There might be to them,
maybe I don't know. You can't look at your just they have cleaning
glass, right, that's the most basic publicly available I think can figure it
out. I'm sure their internal numbers also say they're halfware OFFENSI ups. But
anyway, sorry about believing in the Grizzlies. Spicy take from Peto. If
the grizz and the Wolves face off again this year, the Wolves would come
out on top. I mean that's a hot one because the Wolves, well,
the Wolves I think are fifteen and nine going into the break of their
last twenty four games, so you know, not the worst. Yeah,
Memphis is tough. I don't know, here's anything else to say about them.
What do you think about? This is from FK Retro. Nuggets are
the frauds. They always have a good regular season, but playoffs, I
don't know. Can we rely on MPJ and Murray be ready to go and
help Yokich all the way for you that, well, this isn't for you
because you've been on You've stayed true to your Nuggets title pick forever. I
mean that is the question, Like I think, I think until Yokich and
the supporting cast prove that, like this is a team that can be in
the finals, that can survive defensively, that has enough you know, reliable
guys around him to just beat the best defenses, to handle the best offenses
over series that are going to require adjustments. I just need to see it
first. Like that's the category they're in for me, like, Okay,
great season, a lot of positive signs. I think Yokis is gonna win
MVP again deservedly. But let's see like this, the playoffs are just this
other thing, and I need to see it first, because like all the
doubts are there, they're not like they're not complicated. We just haven't seen
the defense be good enough. We haven't seen the supporting casts be good enough.
Some of that because they got hurt, but like that just is what
it is. So it's it's I don't know if they're not frauds, it's
just they haven't proved it yet. That's that's kind of a different thing for
me. I have no concerns about the offense, regardless of what you think
about the durability of MPJA, and like Jamal Murray's actually been pretty good over
the past couple of months. They were good, Like they were fine offensively
without like both those guys in the playoffs last year. On the court,
the defense is a concern. They are eighth in points allowed per possession since
December first, that's a huge chunk of the season. They've also gotten lucky.
They have like a top five opponent free throw defense and news flash,
you're not, like, you know, defending opponent free. They've also gotten
lucky. They've also gotten lucky with opponent three point shooting during that span,
but the reprotection has also been awful. And so I think when you look
at their top end lineups, I'm inclined to think they're more authentic than fraudy.
But I think when Nuggets fans get mad at us that this podcast included
saying they need to prove it in the playoffs, they do. It's not
an offensive question. It's not a question in their dominance in the regular season.
But as a lot of people, smart people pointed out, playoff basketball
is never diverged more from regular season basketball, at least since I can remember.
So it's fair to just question them. And I like, they're a
team that's under a lot of pressure because if you do flame out in the
playoffs and you're relatively healthy at that point, like what do you do?
Like you have to start asking some really difficult questions. Yeah, yeah,
this is we have this comment that jobs with a question we have, So
if you want to read with Corey Elliott said, I'll find that question.
Yeah, said, I think Cleveland regret, will regret parting ways with Kevin
Love. Stevens and Wade don't bring what Kevin Love did offensively. Yeah,
so kill Hoss had also asked Cleveland buys out Kevin Love, who heads over
Miami. Do you think that move has a legit chance of haunting Cleveland in
the playoffs? So I will throw that to you. I don't. I
don't think it's gonna haunt Cleveland. I mean, it's just the cows have
decided that he wasn't gonna play, and actually after the fact, it sounded
like he was, you know, maybe not super happy about that behind the
scenes. So I think, you know, and like as a playoff piece
on that roster, I don't know. I mean, he did finish second
and six man voting last year, so it's not like he was just without
uses altogether. But I mean, I don't think it's gonna bother them.
I do think, and this is getting into a question I was gonna ask
you later, but I do think he can help the eat. But I
think it's more of a benefit for the heat than a detriments of the calves.
I guess it is how I would frame it. Yeah, I don't
see like because the Cats just weren't even using him at this point, They're
gonna be more inclined to go with like Dean Wade at the backup for than
they were Kevin Love. And so I also don't know how much he helps
Miami. Maybe they can insulate him defensively. Where does he logs him back
up five minutes? I don't know that. I even love the fit with
him and Bam in the front court, and it sounds like he has the
chance to start or at least play a lot of minutes in Miami. So
I think this was more just sort of if he was unhappy there and people
were getting fed up with him, and he also wasn't playing, send him
somewhere where he's gonna not send him, but allow him to go somewhere where
he hasn't materially impact your title chances, but he's going to play and beyond
beyond a good team. Yeah, that's fair. Did you want to pick
a question that we have? Yeah, let's do Let's just do this real
quick because it's topical demos. Cool ass. Why why does Mack mcclong not
have a proper NBA contracts somewhere? I mean, the short answer is that
he's twenty four years old and he's a small guard that has not proved he
can shoot or defend or run an offense at the NBA level, Like he's
had several you know, summer league and and you know basically you know,
camp invites that just haven't panned out. I think he had a shot at
least with the Warriors this year. He was on their summer league roster.
It's just like, that's just I don't know, is it shitty to say
he's just not quite good enough as like a full basketball player to have an
NBA contract. I don't know. I don't know if you have some something
more revealing than that to offer. I'm just like, how much are you
like he's gonna have to have the ball in his hands to dunk like he
has shown him. I guess he's shown that he can be like this microwave
scorer. But I'm with everything you said there. It's I'm glad he happened
to be on a two way contract when the dunk contest rolled around, because
I thought was a pretty bad look that they were tapping into the to the
G league. But I mean I'm all for like one of these bad teams
and the Sixers, aren't it? Like I would like to see him just
sign mac mclump for the ball in his hands and see what he could actually
do on offense. But I just can't imagine that he's going to give you
much defensively or that your offense is going to be particularly efficient. This question
from Brett Burnett, who are the dark horse teams that can play spoiler?
Is there one for you that's like sort of flying under the radar that you
think could fit that mold? It's so hard because I just I mean,
I think it's a West team probably, but that's just everybody so jumbled up.
How about this, because this feels like it will be potentially unpopular.
I think Toronto might be a team that, if it gets through the play
in, could potentially I mean, I don't know if it's it's so tough
because then you're looking at either Boston or Milwaukee probably as a first round matchup,
so I don't know what you're spoiling there. But I do think Toronto
could knock out Like say the Knicks or Miami are in the playing round,
I could see Toronto knocking one or the other out and that would be kind
of spoilery. I just still feel like, you know, Fred van Vleet
is generally looked more like himself over the last what like certainly the last month,
last six weeks. He was pretty good in January, shot it well
in January, not so hot in February, and then on the thinking that
Pearl does just sort of help solve their interior defense and rebounding issues, like
and this is still a team that won forty eight games last year. There's
a little bit of the Atlanta effect where it's like, white, isn't this
working? Like why aren't the Why isn't the talent producing what we've seen it
produced before? Basically, But I just think Toronto profiles as a pretty dangerous
team, you know, against all but the really like the very best teams
in the East. I don't know that they can spoil like they're not gonna
knock Boston out or knock Milwaukee out. I wouldn't think is it am I
off base to still say the Pelicans just like if Zion actually gets healthy with
this, what is it an open ended timeline whatever he has if they're on
the even if they're in the play in, is there anyone that you'd be
willing to say they absolutely cannot beat over the course for sevent years series.
Maybe the Sun's with Kevin Durant, but like they just feel like we saw
them hit the top of the Western Conference light per minute, and they've cratered
since then, and they should be better even without Zion than they have been,
especially since getting Brandon Ingram back. But they feel like they could be
a team that has the potential to play massive spoiler because they're gonna wind up
being with this lower seated playoff birth maybe even in the play in and like
they could you talk about like if you're Memphis, if you're Denver, that's
not a team I want to face in the first round. Well to that
point, I mean, in addition to just like what do we if you're
an opposing team, Like what do we do with Zion if he's healthy?
That's a massive if. But so I mean, the Pelicans were I think
third in the West as late as like the last week of January, and
they were first step points in December. The other the other thing is like
we have proof of concept because it's it's a tiny sample. It's like three
hundred and forty five or four hundred possessions on the year that McCallum, Ingram
and Zion have played together, so not a lot. And those lineups are
plus nineteen point five per one hundred, which is just like just the best.
You know, it's just an insane if you if you play that you
win sixty five games or seventy games in a year or whatever it's. You
know, obviously they aren't going to be on the floor for forty eight minutes
or for Zion like maybe at all for the rest of the year. But
like there is we've seen the upside, Like we've talked about it a lot
with how good this team looks, and it's always well once everybody's healthy,
or even when they weren't healthy, they were great. That's a super scary
team. I just think, like, what are the chances, what's what's
the over under on regular season games Zion plays the rest of this year.
It's like, yeah, I have no idea. And they've lost already per
man games, lost more value to injury than any other team. And that's
also kind of like ups their intrigue factor because it's well with all the time
b I missed and Zion and even herb missing some time. It's like,
well, what could like, what could they actually be at full strength?
It's just will we ever get to see it? All right, I'm gonna
find a question for you. I should have done this? Well you were
talking okay about this? This is from unbiased Pistons fans. What legit contend
or blows everything up? If they have a disappointing end of the season like
the Jazz last year. It's hard to find a team right now that would
do it. But maybe there's just one out there that kind of jumps out
to you. Oh that's tough, is it? So? I feel like
the answer that I wanted to give them too cowardly to give it. But
is it just like and maybe it's not by like by choice, but could
it be Philly? Like do you put any stake in the James Hardener Houston
rumors? Or just like maybe they don't want to give him the contract he
wants, so like, uh, it's them, or it's like is it
the Clippers, like if they if you, you know, you look like
you've sort of been I mean, you signed Russell Westbrook, which is just
a very curious decision. Curious, yeah, curious, the most charitable way
I could put it, But I could see the Clippers by choice saying well,
like, hey, it's like this is a half decade of PG and
Quaid just not cutting it like we need to. What are we doing here?
Is it pivoting into a rebuild or is it just sort of retinkering with
the raw? But I think if I had to choose between them and Philly,
because it feels like it wouldn't be Philly's choice if very much comes down,
or maybe even would it be. Let's say James Harden is willing to
stay, maybe Joel Embiid wants out, and so I'll say Philly just because
there's so much noise and discomfort there and the Clippers just don't really have it.
Seems like Kawai and PG want to be there, and so I don't
know why you get rid of them, But those are the two teams that
stand out to me. What about you? No, like we're really limiting
ourselves if we're talking legit contenders, because there are just relatively few of those.
Philly was the first team that came to mind. It has to I
think it is the Clippers, though even more so just because what is this
the fourth year now of the of Paul, George and Quiet together, and
Peter says, Philly blows it up hard into the rockets and the Pelicans give
up the treasure chest for and bad. That's that's that's what they need,
is having a zion NMB's health bill roster. But the Clippers, like other
I guess, like Kawai's unavailability and missing a year are huge factors there.
But we've got like a long time to sort of try to build the right
kind of contending roster around those two guys. And I guess they've come close,
like there was a conference finals, I think when the the I can't
even remember now. It's like ancient history of the bubble and anything around that.
But I guess it's just it's been longer, Like the hard and Embid
thing is like, you know, it's what barely a year old, and
there's every reason to believe that that is a pairing that sort of could work
with the right pieces. The Clippers have kind of messed around with a lot
of different approaches and haven't quite landed on it yet. And just the length
of time like that, four years is a long time for a core to
stay together, especially if their goals are what the Clippers are and to not
meet them. I guess maybe that that. But then again, like,
instead of blowing it up, won't they just throw more money at it and
just find more ways to go sign guys and just pay a bit five dollars
in tax I think the other thing is too is that they'll be able to
trade two first round picks this summer a twenty twenty eight and twenty thirty.
That's gonna be some team is trading at twenty thirty first round pick over the
summer and it's gonna be weird. What do you think about this? From
brand? The Warriors need to blow it up too much. Pride will hold
on to their prize pieces for way too long. I can't believe how much
Warriors are paying in the tax I mean, maybe not wrong, but how
do you blow it up? Like? Who what are you using to get
off of Clay Thompson's contracts? Yeah? I don't think you blow it up
so much as you just investigate trading for Jordan Pool at that team. You
really trade the roster with a player who not only plays defense but makes more
sense for what your core is around steath. Yeah, I think there's a
distinct possibility that happens once we're out of poison Pill territory with him. Yeah,
I just think I think the Warriors, well, there's just the two
factors that one of the practicalities of it are, like, how how do
you get off some of these contracts? And it's not like they have a
million picks to throw in there, and the picks they have should not be
used to get off of money because then what are you building? And then
it's just the whole I don't know what the not that they owe it to
the core, to the championship guys, But it's almost like I think there
is a concern that I'd say there's a preference from the Warrior's perspective probably that
like it would just be nice if Draymond were to opt out, Like if
this has to get pulled apart, it would be better if the players were
the ones deciding to do it, as opposed to ownership and management, just
because of the optics of that. I feel like fans would be more annoyed
or bothered by that. So but yeah, I don't know how they take
it apart. We have about ten minutes left here, so let's see how
many questions that we can still get to. This one's from Jake from State
Farm. Do the NBA Awards, but only for rookies, So that leaves
us with like, because we're not going to do Rookie of the Year for
the rookies. That's basically NBA leaves just with four categories. And so let's
flip PLoP here. I'll throw this one to you first six Man of the
Year. I mean, that's a lot could apply to a lot of rookies
because a lot of them are coming off the bench. It's probably Mathering though,
right, Like, I mean, he started the year out on pace
to be like one of the most efficient high volume scorers at his age of
all time and has leveled off, but is still like a no questions asked,
like top four rookie that has been mostly coming off the bench. So
I think it's just Mather and I don't know who else is even in the
running for that. Yeah, I don't. I don't really, I couldn't
come up with a big one, especially because like Walker Castler came off the
bench for a minute, but that's not going to be a thing anymore.
So most improved, I'll take this one. I have Jaylen Williams of the
Thunder just feels like he's been good all year, but there's like an increasing
feel to how his game is. But I also I think my actual pick
might be Jeremy Selling, just because Dave just put so much more on his
shoulders as the season has gone on, and like there's doing so much on
ball stuff on offense, and then he's basically all not all the time,
but he's frequently guarded just the other team's best player, and I think that
he's actually looked really good well. And also like if most improved shouldn't just
be like a guy that gets older and gradually better, it should be someone
that adds an actual skill, Like dude just started shooting free throws one handed
and made like made like none more yeah while doing that or something. Yeah,
that's and he has the best hair, as Jacob notes, Yes,
no, no dispute. Let's see, I got Defensive Player of the Year.
Although I would say for Jaleen Williams going back to most improved if you
just track like his arc from you know, eighteen months ago when he's at
Santa Clara, like in the West Coast Conference on a team that's not even
really that good against that level of competition, to like rocketing up the draft
board, to making the thunder, to you know, becoming a starter,
to becoming like the first guy you mentioned after SGA. Probably like since Sheth
Holmer is not playing like that's that's quite the trajectory for him. Uh,
Kessler's Defensive Player of the Year. He is one of the best defensive centers
rim protectors in the league as it is. He can't do anything in space
and maybe that'll change and maybe not, but like he's just you know,
we've spent a bunch of time on another pod talking about how like the comparison
between Gobert and Kessler is alarmingly similar in terms of their rim protection stuff.
So yeah, he's got to be the pick there. Who's MVP? Do
you want the easiest one on the platform, Palo Bank, Carol, he'd
be a Rookie of the Year for me. Who being your runner up for
Defensive Player of the Year Probably Dison Daniels or tari Ethan Right, Yeah,
I think Easton probably. We'll look there it as Petos as we have seen
some of him, But my opinion dis and Daniels is DPO I mentioned potentially.
I think if you said, like Eason is kind of a weird type
of player, but can't you just see Daniels like over the next like three
five years, Like, that's the type of defender you want, because he
can move, he can be point of attack, he can help, he's
long enough to switch. Like, I think Daniels has about as much defensive
potential as you know, anybody in their first couple of years in the league
right now, exclude rookies. I think he just could be like a total
game record. Peto asked, are the Orlando Magic the next team coming like
Memphis did? That is a lofty coming unless you think that Memphis Grizzies are
frauds, like like Grant, Yeah, I've really flip fluffed on them.
I mean Orlando and Okay, see right, those are the two. Those
are the two teams that have been really hot and had just like played winning
basketball for you know, the better part of the last couple of months.
Yeah, Orlando has probably a really good bulls pit come in this summer too,
in addition to its own. In addition to Bank, Harrow and Wagner
and Wendell Carter and Markel Foltz has been good, Like, that's that's a
thing. So yeah, that Orlando's You'd be hard pressed to find a team
that has like a what a higher floor over the next few years than Orlando.
I don't know what the ceiling is, but I just there's no way
to me that Orlando is not challenging for a playoff birth like next year,
right, I mean I think that's totally realistic. And then just the arrows
up from there? What else you got? You got one you like while
I scroll through here? Yeah, let's you want to do the one from
Darkwing Duck. I like this one? Which team in each conference right one
to six will fall into the plane and which team replaces them? I mean,
the East is easy, right, Brooklyn falls out, don't you think?
And Miami jumps in? Like that? Another good one that feels that
feels like the although like is that short changing Brooklyn? Are we are we
overlooking the nets since they have like seventy five have like kind of a defensive
healthfire build going on, So what's possible if they just stick there? Yeah?
Yeah, no, I think that's that's the first one that jumps to
mind for me there in the and like I said Miami could jump in there.
Toronto is a little too far back to make that realistic, I think.
And additionally, so that was the East, What did you have for
the West or no that, Yeah, the West would be I feel like
if you say the Kings do it, no, no, no, I
would probably say the Mavericks, I could just and I would put the Pelicans
are the Warriors? Is the team that kind of replaces them? Just there's
a lot of combustibility in Dallas with the addition of Kyrie iring as they try
and figure it out. Yeah, yeah, there's real downside there. Kings
though, I mean three back from seventh, like that's not and there are
like okay, how about this? Oh boy, just come I know we're
trying to get out of here fast, but just take the Kings and compare
them to New Orleans, Minnesota, Golden State, and Oklahoma City right now,
those are seven through ten, Like are you sure? Like, what
are how many of those teams finished this season from this point on with better
records than the King's Post From this point on, It's gotta be two or
three of them, don't you think? Maybe? Yeah, I mean it's
a schedule thing partly the King's schedule is really hard. And look there their
differential as plus two point three just looking at ESPN standings. That's not you
know, a world beating number. You've got Oklahoma City at one point seven,
so right there and have just been better over the last month. You've
got the Pelicans at one point four if they get Zion back at all,
like I just man, and then the fun I mean, I mean the
Warriors. That's that's tough. That's real tough. Good luck Kings. What
is the second part of this question is which seven to ten team in each
conference is most likely to fall out and who's replacing them. I'll take let
me take the East this time. I think the Wizards are most likely in
the East to fall out, and I would say that I guess the Bulls
are most likely to replace them. I would probably argue that the ten teams
we see right now in the East, like those are the ten teams that
make the plan. I could also maybe see the Pacers just a Miles Turner
and Tyrese Halibert and they're both going to be healthy. I could see them
sort of leap frogging the Also the excuse me, the Wizards, I guess
we could say the Raptors, but I just feel like they have Yaka Peartle.
You mentioned Fred van Fleet's been playing better, Seakam has been in the
All NBA discussion. That's just Scottie Barness been better with the way they've been
using him. I think that they'll probably make it. Yeah, I think.
I think the ten teams in the East are how they look now is
how it's going to finish, more or less like those will be the ten.
I don't know what the order is going to be for the West.
I hate doing this, but I feel like the Lakers are the most likely
team to climb in, even though they're They're only two games out of tenth
right now as we're recording this on Wednesday. I think the Lakers are They
have to be my pick to get into it if I have to choose one.
And even though I just pumped them up the Thunder just unless the Pelicans
get no Zion all year, I think New Orleans and Oklahoma City are the
two candidates to fall out because I don't think the Warriors and Wolves, just
like this season, it matters more to them, especially Minnesota. Like if
Minnesota fell out of the plane after what it did in the offseason. Can
you imagine like that's just unbelievable chaotic. Yeah, did you have a question
highlighted that you wanted to get to next or do you want me to pick
it? Just pick it? If you have one, Let's do this one
from t Bloom one one seven. The Nets are in a very interesting spot
this summer. They can't tank because Houston owns their picks, but they aren't
contenders without a one A superstar that you have draft afsets now along with some
young interesting players. How do you expect the team to operate this summer and
how would you operate if you were Sean Marks. I mean, I kind
of feel like we're back at whatever at the Kenny Atkinson phase of development,
which I think I had Spencer Dinwitty involved in that too, where you're just
kind of back now to operating like a normal NBA team, and so far
as you can do that with Ben Simmons on the roster, like I don't
you know most of the contracts that they have, You know, Seth Curry
is going to be an understakered free agent, Cam Johnson, they'll have that
restricted free agency presumably they'll bring him back, you know, meeting or beating
whatever the market rates are, and then otherwise, like the roster's kind of
locked in, So I wouldn't expect a bunch of trades, although like I
would definitely explore what I could get for some of my three and D wings.
I don't think you can trade Ben Simmons without giving up some of the
assets you have that you would you would you trade him just to if a
team is giving you an expiring contract or even said we'll take him into cap
space. Would you do that deal? And I don't have to give up
picks, it's just you're taken back and expire, Like let's just Goordon ay
Ord for Ben Simmons or something. I would I would do that if I'm
the Hornets, by the way, I would take if I'm the Spirds,
I'd take Ben Simmons too. Trying to rehabilitate his value. I suppose that,
like it's a it's a possibility that you could get a pick from the
right team for him. I don't know if it would be a good one.
You mentioned the Spurs, like or just something like that. But if
I could just trade him for someone else's bad money, that was going to
come off a year earlier. I would absolutely do it. I just you'll
you'll be fucking wild. I think there need to be more money involved,
but like Nurkic plus money for Ben Simmons and then you do what play him
at center? Well no, but just like you can go sign a set
like Bismoc biambo is on a mini moment, he's the best room protector in
the league statistically, you go do something that you go sign Neurlands. No,
well yeah, it's crappy. Yeah, I mean I find if you're
is it crazy for an NBA team to think that we can like we'll be
the place that it works out with Ben Simmons. Like, so compare you
just mentioned Mark el Foltz. This is a great an out Like he kind
of went to a granted it was on the first try, but like going
to a market where the expectations are lower and the exposure is just not as
high might do him. Like if you went to Charlotte or San Antonio and
maybe even Portland. I know Dame is there, but like it's the coverage
just isn't the same. I think it can't hurt. I'll say that I
still think like the difference with Simmons is he's gonna make thirty eight million next
year and forty after that, and it's just like, you can't have a
guy that you that you can't play at the end of games that's making that
much money. It's just like poison. You can't construct a real roster that
way. It's crazy. I'm laughing, not at Ben Simms. I'm laughing
and I'm bias Pistons saying the most obvious thing is the Pistons getting another big
that flamed out Simmons, Bailey and Wiseman. The Ben Simmons stuff is sad
because he was so good and so I'm not laughing at Ben Simmons. I
would like to see him somewhere where he's not gonna have such a quick hook
like the Nets have given him, and they've just clearly decided that, like
his utility is limited. And I get it in terms of how they're going
to operate, because I feel like I threw us off on a tangent here.
I don't think they're gonna consolidate, but I also I think they're gonna
try and straddle this in between line to where I would expect Michael Bridges to
be there. I would expect Nick Claxton to be there, but maybe you're
kind of shopping almost anyone else, like if someone really wants Royce O'Neill.
We've seen though, that they're not going to be afraid to operate as if
they do have picks, because when they didn't have picks after the KG Paul
Pierce trade, when Sean Marks came in, they just they obliterated it.
I think it was different because the talent here is clearly better that they have
in place. I think they'll probably tow a line in between, and so
if I had to guess, Michael Bridges will not get traded over the summer.
We see these reports of four first round picks, but those four first
round picks might suck. They're just like these low twenties offers or these picks
that aren't guaranteed to convey. So I think that what they'll be most aggressive
in doing is maybe looking to reroute Ben Simmons to try and open up the
rest of the roster. But I wouldn't if I had to pick one.
Are they more likely to rebuild or are they more likely to kind of consolidate
some of these assets into a let's say a B plus superstar or one B
Superstar and they're like, oh, well, mchaal Bridges can be like our
second best player on a really good team. I think they're actually more likely
to do that. I just don't know that. I think Joe SI would
still push to go that route knowing that so much of their draft is owed
to Houston over the next four years. Yeah, that's fair. Do you
want to get to one more here from JC Alexander before we go? This
one's kind of jumped out to me absolutely so. Just the second half basically
which which players are you hoping has the biggest post All Star leap? Like
Anthony Edwards last year is the example. We've got, like who who do
you I get? And I guess it's it's you're hoping has the best,
not who do you predict will? But like what would be the most fun
to see player X you know really start to like pop and get you know,
sort of start the path that Edwards has continued this year where he's like
he's an All Star now and the whole like franchise cornerstone thing is like pretty
clearly in place, Like is there someone else out there that you would say
if they had a run in him, you know, down this stretch of
the season, that would profile is like an Edwards type I would want.
I want to say Devin Missell, but I have no clue when he's returning
from Jacobs's Ben Simmons, So this is fucked up. So I feel like
Michael Bridges is probably a cop out answer here, but I could see it
being Michael Bridges just because the opportunity he's going to have in Brooklyn, it's
going to resemble what was happening in Phoenix when they were kind of shorthanded,
but it's going to be like tenfold different where there's just going to be so
much like volume, and he's going to have more agency than ever over the
offense. And so I think he's an interesting pick. I don't know if
we're talking about getting to the level of an at the Edwards that seems mega
difficult. I might be like more inclined to even say, could we just
see that from Lamello over the second half of the year, If the Hornets
put together just some sort of stretch, they're gonna have that new starting five
that can't defend anybody with PJ. Washington and Mark Williams and Gordon Hayward and
Terry Rozier, but also makes a ton of sense offensively. I think he
would just be my pick when kind of looking at the top end name that
I would expect to play really and he hasn't been when he's been healthy.
By the way, he hasn't been bad this season and since since February first,
like he's shooting almost thirty nine percent on ten three point attempts per game,
averaging twenty four points, So like maybe it's kind of already started,
like he's just gonna what if he would just shock you if he's just gonna
continue average twenty four and nine and at thirty nine percent of his three is
the rest of the way, So I think that would be That's just my
pick because he's kind of already a Markey name, but like Edwards was already
a Markie name when he sort of made that job. I mean, what
if could it just be Edwards again? Could he just be Could he just
say like now I'm on all, I'm a permanent all NBA fixed Ye,
that would be fun. I think for me, it's Evan Mobley, which
is even the Edwards vein of like everyone sort of agrees that he's gonna be
great, but like, let's really see it. Let's see the scoring go
up. Let's see, you know, let's see like a forty point night,
Like let's see just one of these, you know he hits like three
or four threes even or he you know, is just dominating on the offensive
glass and just really kind of looks more like the version of him we think
we'll get all the time in like twenty twenty five, just like give us
the little glimpses now, and then next year, year three, just you
know, becoming like a no questions asked all star, even to the level
even above whatever is at this year. That would be for someone that has
used invoked Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan's names a little too much when talking about
Evan Mobley, I would personally really I also invoked him Kevin Durrett and LaMarcus
Aldridge and Janness when talking about even Bobwis. So he's just like this,
would you do you think Scottie Barnes as a chance. I think he needs
it right just for the public perception side. I think I just don't think
they're going to give him like the same control, because it seems like they're
trying to really make that and like they've sort of used him as it feels
like more we've seem like a bunch of point center stuff. But it feels
like they could try to like how does Yako Peartle's arrival impact that? What
does the Scottie Barnes like post break you know, breakout even look like is
it playing like point guard all the time or is it, oh, look
he's making a bunch of shots now, like from outside seven feet like that.
I just you know it would it would he would have to look like
a completely different player to really hit that level. But what he needs it.
It's been like the year of everyone shit on Scotty Barnes, Right,
that's tough first time. I'm still pretty bullish, but I think I might
have had him ranked above Evan Mobley last year and that's just not I do
think he still deserved to be Rookie of the Year. I want to make
that clear, but right now it's just like I probably assigned too much value
to that rookie season. Yeah, you weren't alone if you bought if you
bought himTo Scottie Barnes last this was fantastic. We apologize to any questions we
did not get to. But Grant, did you want to take us out?
And be sure everyone to join us next week? I think we'll still
you know, throw this up there at this time, even though it's not
generating a ton of views, it's you're here, you're asking questions. We
appreciate it. Yeah, market on your calendars, everybody. Just the most
inopportune time to live stream way is a two pm easter even Hey, if
you're in Italy like Peto, it seems like so that's that's about eight pm.
That's like fair. So we're doing it for like, you know,
our European brethren, for sure, spread the word in the European markets.
There's a lot of growth potential out there for us. But yes, as
always, thanks everybody. Make sure if you have not already, to subscribe
to us literally everywhere that it is possible, you know, YouTube, follow
us on our socials, join our discord. The ways to do that and
the links are all in the podcast description. Go to iTunes, give us
five stars, rate and review us, Tell your friends, tell your enemies,
and keep showing up to these things so it makes more sense for us
to do them, and yes, as always, we close with a shout
out to the one and only bring Milking and apologies to Evan Mobley's uh,
not quite as good teammate jeried Alli.