Blowney brickshots in the biggest moments. I don't know. Look, look,
de Troy's not gonna be playing in any big moment games. That's fine,
But now now he's gonna be struggling mentally. If you're gonna point that out,
and look, if you are ever gonna think about playing Ustar Thompson with
Kay Cunningham, who's an unproven shooter, even though I think I still believe
in it, Plush Jay and Ivy, who's pull up didn't improve as last
year went on, like Joe Harrison, but like that's a like having one
of Joe Harrison Boyamdonovitch on the floor at all times is like must at and
so adib Al Burks is still there after the team option. So I'm cool
with what the Pistons have did. Was there another you want to talk about?
Harris? We like, well, there any other deals that we're missing?
Can we circle back now to the oh? So Milton agreed to two
years and ten million with the Wolves. Good for him. I think that's
fair. I want to see how they're divvying up all their money. Though,
if they said naw and Troy Brown Junior got the mid level, I'm
assuming they gave Troy Brown, like maybe a dollar more than the minim mummers
like I don't, so they give shake five, which means like I guess
they got nah on like a really cheap gamble. Then if we're if they
really did split the mid level amongst all these guys, which or I think
two year ten could be the bi annual at this point, let me see
if they even have the buy it. It's pretty close, I will say,
as you're looking, I think because we don't do this very often,
just from a player perspective, I love this for Milton because we talked on
a previous pod about like what's the biggest what are you most concerned about roster
wise for the Wolves at least among the things they can actually fix, you
know. So they do have a problem with spending a trillion dollars on three
centers, but backup point guard is huge and Milton can do that. And
Conley's age, maybe, you know, is one way that Milton could massive
minutes. And it's just if they load manage him a little bit. If
Conley declines a little bit, totally foreseeable given where he is in his career,
Milton might have like a real opportunity here to you know, make two
for two years for ten million dollars look like like a springboard, you know,
to the next time he hits free agency. So I think he's that's
you know, we have you see the newsbreakers shouting out agents, shout out
shake Milton's agent, whoever that is on this one, because he got his
client someplace where he could really pump up his value of things break right.
And look, I will say, I don't know who would be coming back
in a how's this for a forced Well, let's see from Ryan Minnesota doing
well, building a young, cheapish bench with players that are gonna be hungry
for playing time. Yeah, I mean just combined the flyer on or a
continued flyer on Nicki Alexander Walker, who I loved coming out of the draft.
I was a little out on him after watching like the stints, like
towards the end of his time in New Orleans. Yeah, he played really
well in Minnesota, So I like that. But with Philly to circle this
back to Harden and hopefully we get like I really want to know what Brook
Lopez like, that's the name. I don't know why I'm obsessing over right
now, like Fred van Fleet still out there, dude, I'm just like,
what the fuck is Brook Lopez gonna get? Like, so you lost
Shake Milton, who if you wanted to compete and just have a steward with
the ball in their hands? Uh, Like if James Harden's gonna leave and
you're not getting that ball handler back and you're clearly not signing one all the
best aside from van Fleet, who you're not getting. I guess Delo is
still on the table, but like all the point like we are you gonna
sign Gorn Draga or Dennis Shrewder. I mean maybe so I'm not saying this
is a massive loss for them, but the James Harden sort of limbo and
I guess maybe weren't even gonna pay ship jail and too, well you are
fired from FK Retro. That's a true one. Uh yeah, true,
he didn't he request a trade in the middle of the season two kind of
so I'm just Philly being kind of tied to And again I don't know that
they would have paid. I doubt that they would have actually given Shake this
money, Like Philly just being they have to be a sort of this deadlock
because of the hardened situation. I don't know how much they're actually missing out
on, but this is not ideal for them either. With the Clippers,
it's a little different because it's like, well, we can only give out
the minimum anyway. Well wait, sit and see what happens with James Harden.
Well I think, I mean, we didnt haven't even talked about the
Sixers are not gonna extend Tyres Maxie this summer. They're gonna They're gonna kick
that down the road. And that's a strategic decision. You're trying to preserve
flexibility. I get it, but that in conjunction with Harden and conjunction with
you know, potentially losing out on opportunities because of the hardened stuff. How
soon are we potentially looking at Joe rumblings of Joel Embiid is unhappy, and
I like, I don't want to do like a first take thing on that,
but like that is where this goes, if you know, if if
if they don't replace Harden with equal greater talent. Choir Paul George apathetically like
this is a down and Embiid is not someone that is that a point in
his career where we need to be taking steps backwards. We need another step
forward. It's it's a potentially kind of hairy off season for the Sixers,
which Dan is ironic because they are losing the beard. And I'm apologizing to
everyone for saying that. Uh yeah, that's that's a great point too.
I just look, that's the natural progression of this though, and it's unless
and I don't know what their pathway unless you're I think it's smart. So
Tires actually is gonna get paid regardless, and I know that I guess he
could technically risk injury and does that pull his value value down? But I
feel like some teams don't use restricted free agency aggressively enough, whereas, hey,
we're going to keep you, but we want to work. Capital is
gonna be thirteen million versus thirty five and a half. That's an extra like
twenty million dollars in wiggle room basically, And so if you want to have
cap space and you're thinking you're gonna flip hard in for mostly expiring contracts,
I think that's fair to do. I don't think it informs anything about what
their plans are for Maxie. But as you pointed out, other people point
you have pointed out. As other people pointed out, it also makes Maxe
easier to trade if he wanted to. But like, I don't know who
the player out there is that you would give up Tyrese Maxi for right now
to pair with it, honestly, Like unless would you trade Tyrese Maxie for
Damian Lillard. I guess in a vacuum you'd have to. Yeah, But
like it's so young and so good. It's like unless it's like Shay Gilges
Alexander's I know, maybe I'm overvaluing Maxie. I just I don't have a
problem with them waiting to rfa ism. Well that's the problem though, I
think I get it from the Sixers perspective. But if you're Maxie, you're
looking around Jordan Pool got paid, Tyler Hero got paid, Anthony Simon's got
paid. I'm in that group that we're all like you and I have done
it, Like, well, how do you rank these guys? You know,
these offense mainly offense, you know, undersized guards that can really score,
Like I think we generally had Maxie at or near the top of that
list, Like he's he's got to be looking around thinking like you're telling me
these guys got their extensions and I'm not gonna get one. What went on?
Like just the vibes are bad with the Sixers and maybe we'll never have
to think about this again if they make a blockbuster trade and get way better
and add another superstar. But it's it's like, I don't know, I
don't I don't like the tone of things right now for Philly. I just
yeah, And so this is where do you land on this? I don't
think we got into the hardened debate, like enough of do you expect his
return, like the return to sort of be along the lines of a very
opt in in trade type scenario where it's if he got let's say, if
he gets sent to the Clippers, that it's just Roco Marcus Morris, and
then do you even get Terren's man as part, Like That's what I'm basically
asking is because normally in a situation, if he said he was gonna leave
anyway, and there are some people that have posited, well, no,
like he actually it wasn't like he didn't work this out with the Sixers.
He's the one that opted it on his own accord. That would change the
dynamic. But do you expect him to get Like, let me set the
over under on this, okay, is if or let's go buy team.
If he goes to the Knicks, which well we should have conversation about how
bad of a fit he is with the Knicks. But if he went to
the Clippers, do they get do they get Terence Mann or a first round
pick in mat So? So that's the thing. And you wrote a piece
on this, so and I read it, and I can I interject storytime
we Someone sent me a sixteen hundred word email in response to that James Harten
article. I it was so mean. I didn't read all of it.
It was so nasty, incoherent, filled with typos. But I came away
just so envious. I want the free time to sit down and write a
sixteen hundred word rage induced response to somebody. I would never do it rage
field like that. But I was just looking at like I would never write
that many words for free, and I was just really I came away just
like, man, I don't really, I won't. I even forgot their
name. It was some dude. I became aware that's called like Jimbo.
I was like, man, I kind of wish I had Jimbo's life right
now, like he was just able to sit here and write me a sixteen
hundred email. Well, first of all, your article probably wasn't sixteen hundred
words long, so jokes high end, So I this is kind of inside
baseball and but we're almost two hours in, So what the hell? Uh?
What even was incendiary about making up trade packages for James Harden, who
was like the most talked about. It's like every every every major outlet did
did something like what you did for for br We do we that's what we
do. We're going to hit the big story and give trade landing spots when
someone is potentially on the block or definitely on the block. Like what,
sorry, Kirk, I see your second comment. We will get to it.
We did already discuss it, thought we love it. So what was
I saying? Oh yeah, what was what was give me? Like?
Was it two incoherent to even like pinpoint a stream of thought or like,
because all you did was say, James Harden is probably getting traded. Here
are the packages, here's some options and of end of article. So his
premise was that he opted in to stay with the Sixers and was just so
and he was saying that this is Woads trying to make up for his faulty
reporting on Christmas. But I'm like, Whoades wasn't the only one. We
had Chris Haynes, we had Chalms, we had Mark Stein. Like,
this wasn't just one guy. So I was just I Normally I might have
responded like, oh, by the way, while you are, I mean,
you're why why o you apostrophar as you are? But I just I
deleted it. But I saw how many words it was. So I copy
and paste it into a word counter and I was like, wow, this
is over sixteen hundred words, and like what percentage of them were misspelled?
Over under half? I don't I should go back in my draft and read
the whole thing. I will never do that, but you know what,
edit it, proof it, and send it back just with some notes.
Do that. Man. Craik is getting spicy in the chat. I mean
we talked about Trey Jones for like eight minutes before Tray Jones two years,
forty million dollars is an incredible deal. I think that's a That's probably my
favorite deal was we went through our least favorite deal. What's been your favorite
deal? So far. I think I said Tray Jones was one of my
favorites. I'm trying to think because I can't remember anything that happened more than
Brown from a team perspective, is the single best one. Tray Jones might
come close. Bruce Brown's really fun. Bruce Brown's a little more consequential than
Tray Jones from a team perspective. I just scrolled past the Middleton one,
and I think I'm surprised that all it took was about thirty a year to
keep him. So that's that's a good one. Yeah, I don't know,
Maybe we should just hit some of the do some of the greatest hits
here. Yeah, Tray Jones for sure. And I think that he's so
young that he has the chance to get better, and so I just I
can't be worried about the three point shot because he's so good as a passer
and maintaining his dribble. Bruce Brown for sure. I mean, we don't
talk about minimums this way, but you to want an abby just at the
minimum. Yeah. I also can't believe I'm saying this, but the Kyrie
Irving deal is about as good as you could have expected for Dallas. Right,
is that a great You were shipping all over it. You're calling it
a great as hitting now I'm just thinking now, like you know, we're
about to hit hour too, because you're about like yah man at Kyrie irvingthing.
I know, I've like circled one hundred and eighty degrees back around so
well. I was just thinking, like, you know, we went through
what's this four year max and what's his five year max? And we're way
up into you know, two hundred plus million, and you can't commit and
this guy is unreliable. I believe all that to still be true. I
just think that they got it at three years, and they got it at
significantly less than his max, which like and they were stuck. They had
to bring him back. This was so first of all, the optimal situation
for Dallas is just having Dorian Finney Smith and Spencer dn Wading in that first
round or back like that. You'd rather have that than Kyrie Irving if I'm
running Dallas. So this is a good outcome from shitty circumstances of their own.
I guess maybe that's the way I'd frame it, because they could see
a scenario where they got spooked by the BS stuff about him meeting with all
these other teams that had no mechanism to acquire him. And you know,
okay, four years fine, or you know, four at your full max
or three even three at the full max. I think to come out with
not as many years as you needed or as you could have spent it could
have given him, and to have not spent as much as you possibly could
have even on annual basis not bad, not bad. I don't know.
Maybe it is the two hour mark though, so I don't know what.
I'm not even speaking English anymore. Yeah, Kirk one, thank you.
We I wasn't trolling you. It was just really funny that you would like
remember the comment. He it was a good signing. I'm who would you
rather? And it's not a problem anymore because he opted in James Harden versus
Kyrie Irving for three years and one hundred and twenty million dollars. Who's your
preference? God damn it? Pass who would I rather have? I think
I'd probably rather have Kyrie age, Like I think Kyrie is still very much
capable of producing, you know, at as high a level as he's ever
produced at. And that's just not true. For Harden anymore, neither of
them. Kyrie's durability issues are massive. Kyrie has been to the finals and
won a title. His playoff numbers are better than Harden's. I think if
I got to choose, I'd take Kyrie, but like I also would just
not have Kyrie on my team full stop. I think if I had a
choice to make, so you've it's a tough question. Maybe this is the
ultimate best of bad options hypothetical. Where are you if you would you rather
have Kyrie or Harden? I think I'd rather have there's I would rather have
Kyrie. I think you're so convicted you're sure. Uh. Jake Fisher reporting
that from FK Retro the deal for Lopes the Rockets could exceed two years forty
million, which grant props to you. You would have said that they needed
twenty million. By the way, I feel like I might go Harden.
To start back to that question, I just like the passing is so much
better, and he's more reliable from a durability perspective and also a what's happening
off the court the playoffs is what gets me and Kyrie Irving is a little
more plug and play. But I think just Harden between like being able to
get rebounds and then and then his playmaking is just so next level to Kyrie's.
I think that's where it really and he's also just like, I don't
know, that's I think I'd rather have Harden, So you'd rather have Kyrie,
I'd rather have Hardened At that money, I don't think either of those
are like the most astute investments. But you know what it is with Kyrie
though, is he should be the easy answer, right, And the fact
that he's not probably speaks to why we're asking the question at all. Yeah,
good point. If there shouldn't be any any given age given playoff track
record, all this other stuff. So okay, So Brook Brook Lopez has
to like, as we just mentioned, Jake Fisher is talking about it might
exceed two for forty. Is there a number that the Rockets could sign Lopez
two on a two year deal where you'd say mistake, like, and what
is that number? Look, I mean, if you're gonna spend I mean
with all their gods, do you know who their highest paid player is right
now? Is it someone that's not on the team anymore? How Like?
Is it dead money? No, it's it's not. It's not dead.
It's not. It would have been John Wall if we're talking about last season,
but though it's someone who is on the team. Okay, this is
gonna be terrible dead air and I don't want to make you have to edit
this, which you won't because it's a live stream. I don't know.
Tell me Jaalen Green. Okay, million, So he's making nine point nine
next year. So no, there's probably not a number that they could get
brook Lopez for two years? Do you have a number? And what should
should there be a level of concern of Okay, are they just out on
the Alpa and Shangun experience at this point? Yeah? Yeah, that that
would be a little disappointing for me. If it was two for fifty,
I would kind of I would be surprised. But I really do like brook
Lopez, and I think I've said more than once on this pod. Although
again I can't remember that there's almost no such thing as a bad two year
deal. So uh, you know, I I'm twenty five a year for
brook Lopez. At how old is he? Is? He thirty six?
Okay, thirty five? That's yeah, I don't know. I might still
I might still do that. This is what we're doing is making the case
for why brook Lopez may not be back in Milwaukee, because why wouldn't Houston
do that. It's just money. They got plenty of it. I just
so here's my other thing, though, is he he helped your defense.
He gives you a base defense. And I don't think it's Bucks specific,
because we saw in the minutes without Jannis, without Drew last year he was
able to hold it down. But it's also like, and he can create
for himself, but can we get an offensive organizer in there? I really
like, Yeah, I want to see Jalen Green and a Men Thompson get
touches, but you've got to turn around and get if you what's more likely?
Well, no, it's that's a dumb question. But it's like,
if you're gonna give brook Lopez that money, was Harden just traded what no
Blown said hardened to the Clippers? Where are you seeing that? I mean,
we knew they were the favorites. I'm not seeing anything on Harden.
I think that's gonna happen. We've we keep like touching on it then and
then getting diverted. I gotta stop, you know, people who are breaking
news in the comments. I gotta stop throwing it up on screen like a
confirm it. They're probably people watching like harder than quippers, like watch this,
watch this little look. I bet I can get her to talk about
this made up thing for seven minutes. We will, don't try us.
I guess at least Filly, you were like open about what it wants to
troll. I just know I hold on make it. What's your question about
the Rockets because I want to talk about hardened trade packages. That was just
like I don't think this makes you less likely to do the Lopez deal,
is what I'm getting at. But you do need some type of a point
guard in here. I mean I can't even think of one that's like,
oh, maybe they're making too much money and the Rockets just take him on.
And by the way, the Rocket team to spend like fifty million to
even get to the salary for which they have to do, so like what
are we? Who is the like are they the Austin Reeves team? Like
who there's gotta be? I don't I know you don't want to spend much
other I was like, who is the guy out there? Aside from Lopez,
that's gonna get their money if it's not Van Vleet. I mean Dylan
Brooks three for ninety right right, I keep Oh my god, No,
I don't know. I'm just kidding literally anybody, they'll just yeah, the
whole the new rule about you got to get up to that minimum number,
like that's gonna just do some wild spinning. It's it's a weird like leverage
creator for for certain free agents, just like Lopez, where you know he
can go back to the Bucks and say like, hey, these guys are
nuts, they're gonna spend They're gonna give me like twenty seven million a year.
What do you got, Bucks? And then it's just I don't know
what they say to that. I agree that Houston does need a point,
but continue before you go, before you go to Harden. I'm just laughing,
like, and this is I understand how the sausage is made. But
the rush to get out photoshops of Gabe Vincent and and Anthony like alongside every
day with a lebron the Lakers jersey is just like Gabe Vincon is maybe like
a top one hundred and fifty NBA player, like you you know how to
do that? Like, how long does that take? If you're photoshopping Gabe
Vincent onto the Lakers? Can you do that in ten minutes? I can't.
I can't do that, Okay. I just I'm because it's like it's
just funny because it's the Lakers. I understand it, but I'm just like,
all right, I want to I want to. I want to talk
about the hardened thing. Do you want to talk about Herb Jones? Get?
Yeah, I didn't. We're gonna get side tracked again. Four for
fifty four. Terrific deal. We love Herb Jones. He's one of the
best wing defenders in the league. If he learns to shoot, he's like
mcel bridge is light without the shock creation. Four fifty four okay with you?
What does that make him like Jeremy Grant that I don't know. Oh
man, that's a good deal, right, Four for fifty four for Herb
Jones. Yeah, yeah, I think. Look, I'm more concerned about
his shooting than I think and Fred Vincent's in New Orleans, so that helps.
But I'm more concerned about his shooting than a lot of Pelkins fans,
just because even his higher moments have come on such low volume, but I'd
like that four for fifty four. That's like, that's someone who could make
all defense in all four of those seasons. Yep. Agree, Okay,
real quick, before we get sidetracked again, and let's see, let's do
I'm I'm for twenty minutes or so. You wrote the hardened thing. You
so you've covered several trade packages for him, and you've asked me, and
we got sidetracked, like what actually is the market value? What? So
in going through all the package you had several for the clip, more than
one for the clippers, you had a Knicks package, you had, you
had several others. What do you think you're gonna get more than kind of
six seventh eighth men and a pick or two? Or can you get like
is the Paul George thing realistic? It's something you know, because I just
look at the spectrum of like, oh that could happen deals and it's really
broad and I feel kind of like untethered to reality on what Harden's market value
is right now, So you did the research, You've thought about this more.
You're better at coming up with trade scenarios than I am. My instinct
before I give it to you is that I think Harden's market is probably not
as the Sixers hope and as other people might expect because of his age,
because all the stuff we just shipped on him when we picked Kyrie over and
really cited. So what is your what is your best guests in terms of
like the best asset you're getting back or assets in a hardened trade package.
I think it's I think it's like Terren's man or if it's to Miami for
picks. I just I don't And I also don't see like the theory of
Tyler hero on the Sixers doesn't make sense with Tyree's Maxie there, right,
And I honestly don't know because I understand why Sixers fans want Paul George,
but I almost wonder, like, are the Sixers the team that would need
to attach assets in that deal? And if you're the Clippers, And I
swear I'm not trolling here, and this really isn't a hot take the theory.
And I don't say why I'm saying the theory so much, but this
concept of getting James Harden, it makes to me a lot less sense if
Paul George isn't there, because Kauai is just so much more like he hasn't
and I Paul George has had his injury concerns, but like Kawai's actually battling
what seems like degenerative lower body issues and so like even though he's playing,
he played like eighteen hundred minutes last year, like not being able to make
it through the postseason. If you were the Clippers and one, I think
the main appeal is your parent James Harden with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard,
and so that's why I would expect to return to be less. Maybe maybe
it ends up being more in the sense of, oh, they got Terrence
Man, and I think the Clippers can offer picks in twenty eight and thirty,
So maybe if they get Terrence Mann in a pick or both picks or
whatever. But I just I struggled to see them moving one of their stars
if they had to, though, as part of this deal, would you
prefer, as the Clippers to move Paul George or Kawhi Leonard. Well,
I know where you come down on this because I read the article. I
think if I'm the Clippers, I would still rather trade Paul George than Kawhi
Leonard. I'm not sure i'd do it for either of them. Honestly,
I think I probably would not trade either of those guys for James Harden.
I think I would rather trade George only because Kawhi Leonard's AP plus version of
himself is better than Paul George's A plus version of himself. And I don't
think we're getting high volume from either of them. So if it's only about
next year, I'm just taking the guy with the higher ceiling. And that's
quiet for me. But it is like a legit question. Yeah, and
so I'm just I expect him to kind of end up at the Clippers at
this point, But is there like, is there any dark Let's talk about
the Knicks. They're just linked whenever a star players available. I feel like,
not as aggressively as they used to be. I just I don't love
And then I was talking with a friend of the podcast, Brian to Poorrek,
the Sixers don't want Julius Randall, and so if you Julius Randall,
John Brunson, and James hard on the same team, like, that's just
that doesn't make any sense to me. And so I would be shocked if
he ended up there. And so your thoughts on you his fit with the
Knicks, and then are there any just okay, maybe not, Oh,
the Sixers just traded him anywhere. Because also while some teams might acquire a
player without his approval of James Harn's caliber, James Hard is not one of
those players, because we've seen that he will, he will slow foot his
way. He won't. It won't be that he won't player won't report,
he will show up and just be got off bul So I don't I kind
of hate the fit of Harden on the Knicks. I think there's a reasonable
case to be made that, like as soon as next year, you just
rather have Jalen Brunson in that role than Harden. And I think he is
kind of duplicative with Brunson. I think the fit with Randall, as you
said, is I hate it. I just I just don't. I don't,
I don't see it. The weirdest thing is the more we talk about
this and we all agree I think that, and it's fairly well proven out
that the Houston stuff was purely leverage, or it seems that way. Of
all the teams out there where Harden could land, we just said Houston needs
an offensive organizer and a point guard, like are we coming all there?
We galaxy brain all the way back around to it kind of makes sense for
him in Houston now, certainly not from from a financial perspective if if you
know, he plays this year and then they give him a ton of money
next offseason. But like, I don't like I don't like the Clippers fit.
First of all, I don't like the Knicks fit. I don't of
the Miami like good luck, he's not going to be in shape that like
they want guys to be in shape down there. Jimmy Butler though, would
be just that's a disaster waiting to happen behind the scenes. I feel it
would be a real test of well, how about this, do you like
the Miami fit better than the Clippers or the Knicks for Harden, We'll just
throw Houston out because that was ridiculous. But well, actually let's circle back
to the Rockets. Were like, it's this is worse than Winder would be
though, what is Houston not doing right now? Type deal? So I
thought about it. I thought about this, and it's just because they don't
really have like salary that they don't necessarily want. But like, could this
have been James Harden opstion. So you get him at a cheaper number,
which allows you to spend more money on other free agents, and then you
can still take in maybe save Philly money, but you're still sending out money.
So it's like, I'll frame it this way. James Harden at thirty
five million dollars and let's say you're sending out Jay Shawn Tate is making six
and wow, he was declining. That was pretty good deal for Houston.
Jay Shawn Tate at six and a half. And I mean, you could
send out Kevin Porter Junior if you wanted to. I don't know Ifilly wanted
him, but like, if you were sending out ten million dollars in salary,
that's really a twenty five million dollars offset. That's a lot less than
forty seven just flat out giving it to Harden. And so could the thought
process have been the reporting suggests it wasn't. They said Houston had moved one.
Could the thought process have been, we'll get hardened for cheaper, We'll
give up actual players or maybe a pick to do it, and then this
allows us to sign Brook Lopez and then maybe someone else and still get hardened
and that team is a lot more coherent, and like I don't and you
could do, You could do some fucking wild stuff. If Philly agreed to
take on Kevin Porter Junior's it could basically be an expiring contract because that's eighteen
million right there, and let's I'm assuming you would you'd be willing to include
Jay Shawn Tate. That's like twenty five million. It's like, then you
only need ten million in cap space to get James Harden. And if you're
Houston to facilitate that, I would definitely be pushing for like you need to
give us tarason or you need to get us some like first round equity.
But I'm just could that be a possibility, or like you said, if
we just fully galaxy brain this shit, it's a little bit of Galaxy brain.
But you sort of have talked me into it because the idea of Harden
there for I mean, it's not like technically correct to think of it in
this way, but for like as like a twenty five million dollar player more
or less in terms of like what he's doing to your cap versus signing him
in free agency for a massive number, like he does fill a need if
you combine him with like Brook Lopez and maybe a wing like we keep saying
Dylan Brooks like half jokingly, but you could probably make all that a lot
more sensible if you also have Lopez and Harden. There can the spacetime continuum
handle Dylan Brooks and James Harden on the same team. I mean, I
don't know. I just don't know. Are we are we really gonna just
do this? Are we gonna? First of all, if this happens and
you've called it by just you know, arriving at this crazy James Harden full
circle thing, I would be super impressed. But I will say an hour
two plus of this pod hard into the rockets makes more sense today than it
ever has in my brain. I just, man, do you how much
do you think he would infringe upon the development of amen Thompson engine or I
don't want to say in friends, that's not fair. Do you think he
would elevate it in any way? Maybe for Green, but I would Jabari
Smith Junior for someone who could just spoon feed him stuff getting going downhill.
But like it feels very much. I know not development doesn't always need to
be high volume trial by fire, but I'm just wondering, does James Harden
make the life of ament it's an easier or more difficult. And maybe it's
individually he could make it easier for everyone, But when you start putting all
those pieces together, does it make it a little too like sort of you
know, like difficult. I think I don't. I think this is the
part of my thinking on hardened to Houston that probably hasn't changed, which is
that for such a young roster, he's not going to be helpful. And
that's not just on the floor, because like it seems like part of the
reason Harden doesn't want to be in Philly anymore. There have been several reported
reasons, but one of them is that he doesn't want to He wants to
play like he used to write. I mean, that's that's oversimplifying it.
But he wants to doesn't want to be like a quote unquote point guard.
He wants he wants to be the ball dominant, leading scorer type of guy.
I think, so all these young guys are gonna have to play a
pretty specific way to fit around him. And I don't know that that's you
know, I mean, I do know that that's not probably not the best
thing for their development, and then off court happened like that's and the special
treatment and he might get there could just sort of make it a weird fit.
So I do think it's more he does more harm than good to the
young guys there. But if you're just like in Houston, may operate this
way. They're saying, screw it, let's go get you know, three
high priced veterans. I mean, they're they're already marginalizing the young guys anyway,
so so maybe that doesn't matter as much. Yeah, I'm just I
almost do you expect Brook Lopez to go there now? Based off how long
it's taken to figure and like, what does Milwaukee do? I know you
have poured us and you could downsize with Janniss the lone big if you really
wanted to. But that's a really that that's a huge loss right as of
right now, I would say the biggest loss without we haven't seen everything.
Bruce Brown leaving the Nuggets probably feels like the biggest net like negative for a
team. Yeah, that's a good one. We haven't talked about that.
I think I think it's Bruce Brown now, but Lopez would be by far
the biggest loss because like otherwise you're talking about Struce Vincent, I mean Jeremy
Grant resigned because so And to answer your original question, I think every second
that goes by that we don't see brook Lopez has agreed to resign with the
Bucks makes it way less likely that he's going to be back. Uh.
And we've also talked about just Houston has all this money, we'll get ooh
interesting Josh richardson reunion. Yes, but so I think the upside is maybe
we get Yannas at center like full time, which I think some of the
numbers have shown are is kind of iffy. But you know, if you
flash back to like four years ago, that's all any of us were clamoring
for is just like, oh, just just make them the five. This
is the way of the future. That would be interesting. But I would
also say that the Bucks are they fall out of the like top flight contender
tier. I think if brook Lopez leaves for nothing right like that's it.
That's not overstating it to me, because he is that integral to what they
do on both ends. I think, no, you're I think you're one
hundred percent right, because now it's all of a sudden Okay, you kind
of maybe you had them in the same league as Boston for sure, and
then if you lose Book Lopez, I don't know, blown said Yanna at
Centory got exposed by the Celtics in twenty and twenty two. Yeah, but
you know what, I guess they still Forford and Robert Williams a third.
But like now that Chris Stops is there, that changes a bunch of stuff
too. I think it gives them a little bit more weak points to attack
in terms of the lack of the hands of versatility. Yeah, but Boston
would very clearly have to be above Milwaukee. And then it's okay, well
they're above Philly, assume because they're presuming James Harden And then it's would you
have them above if the Josh Richardson deal from Miami by the way two years
Like, that's okay, you lost gave Benson, got Josh Richardson, but
that's gonna help you, Like defensively, I would say that's probably a upgrade.
Defensively, I what would be the teams that are better than the Bucks
in the East? For sure? If they lose Brook Lopez is it's still
only just Boston. I don't know about for sure, but you'd have to
think about Cleveland. They've gotten better and their prime for more organic growth than
almost any other team we're gonna talk about. The Heat are probably there too,
right, I mean they just made freaking finals. But as as and
and so the Richardson, yeah, I mean they fall into that mess,
right, the Bucks do. I think you might have them a little bit
above. You probably have them above the Knicks. You probably have them above
Brooklyn. You probably have above Toronto, Chicago. I'm sure I'm forgetting some,
but yeah, below, I mean that's that would be the biggest loss
so far. I think if if Lopez doesn't resign with Milwaukee, I feel
pretty good saying that. So you have a few more minutes left, and
then we do have a friend in the podcast I'm gonna get to jump on
to talk about hard into poor k is gonna come. Basically, I think,
as you leave, but I can go solo for a little bit,
so feel free to hop off whenever. But let's go through someone just to
like to put a bow on our discussion looking at the best worst deals,
Like if we want to nominate one each, So what is your best deal
of NBA free agency so far, m my best deal or even two each?
So mean Alexander Walker, No, I think, hey, well,
I'm sure I reserve the to just copy you if you mentioned something that I
forgot because the first then I think so far the best deal is like from
its Bruce Brown. It's a huge number at twenty million of pop essentially,
but it's for one guaranteed year yah to give you rim pressure of multi position
defense. He can't defend like a every single wing, but like he's going
to help you there secondary ball handling, and I think, look, his
his three point clip dropped last year, but he's shown that he can hit
set jumpers at like a fairly okay clip for long stretches. That's just a
big sort of needle moving win for the Pacers. Yeah, I agree with
that one that I think we probably are over an hour ago said said that
that was way up there. I like the Trey Jones deal two for twenty,
I think, and if we want to go slightly less consequential, I
think we both agree that obvious for the minimum is I don't know if there's
going to be a better man I'm signing this offseason. Do you have another
to add or would you like to nominate your worst? I already said Kuzma
was my most surprising. What's your worst? I'm trying. I'm trying to
think there's like another good deal though that I really liked, because I feel
like there were I feel like there's one that maybe forgetting. There's just been
so much happening and we've just like, oh, you know, what's a
really good deal. He was a free agent, to be fair, Herb
Jones four years of fifty four million to get one of the best defenders in
the NBA. And look, it's not just if his three point shot comes
along, let's say a higher volume rather than accuracy. It's also you just
made him infinitely more tradeable once he's eligible because that number is higher. So
now you could just make Herb Jones or Miles Turner straight up trade proposals eventually,
if you really wanted to standing out. Is my worst deal, the
single worst contract that will probably be given out this summer. The full mL
for Reggie Jackson from the Denver Nuggets with a player option, not one year,
two stop the rent. It's not an mL it was it was two
for ten point five. Is the bi annual, Right, well, I
don't care. It can't be the biannual because they would hard tap themselves so
to two with a player option, even if it was a team option or
just the one year two Like with the player option, what are we doing
here? My god? Yeah, that's really bad. I'll agree. I
agree with that. I also like it, I think Vukovich. I mean,
you know, three for sixty not a sticker shock situation, but just
as an indication of what Chicago's plans are. It just makes me sad.
So I think that one gets at least an honorable mention. Is the worst
deal for me or my least favorite? Maybe is a better way at Florida
eighty is a lot considering Toronto is crummy spacing to begin with as well,
so that might be up there for me. And where do we land on
the Jeremy Grant deal? Oh, it's just way too long and it's way
too much, and I can't imagine he had that kind of leverage that Those
those are the ones that you know, as we get further away, you
know, a year or two from now, we're going to look back and
say, like, who was offering four for one? Whatever? It would
have been twenty or one thirty, and I don't know how many teams there
would have been that we're doing that so that and if you know what,
if we get reporting that says like Portland had to do the fifth year to
keep him, they had to just they had to go there, then it's
probably a case where you should just cut bait well plus bigger, bigger picture,
just trade Dame. We stop, stop with this nonsense of trying to
build a contender around him. Well, so rank these four deals for me
as trade assets. Then once they're eligible this docca Peartle at four for eighty,
Nakola Vukovich at three for sixty, Jeremy Grant at five for one and
sixty, which I will know, we still don't know whether that's fully guaranteed.
And then Kyle Kuzma at four for one oh two. All right,
I think probably the most tradeable at that number. I'm sorry, who would
you have at number one? Kuzma I think is probably the most tradable at
that number. I think I think Peurtle might be the least tradable, just
because that's a lot. But I already said I didn't hate that one.
I think I'm gonna say Grant is probably the least tradable at that number.
I just I'm trying to be consistent because I have for several months now said
that that's just he's not He hasn't proved that he's worth, you know,
the kind of money that Portland is talking about paying him, and then they
paid him more than expected, and then you could I guess I'd put Peurtle
ahead of Vukovich there, but I think Kuzma stands out Kuzma. Kuzma is
someone they could definitely move at that number. So you have Kuzma one.
Yeah, I'm gonna go too. I'm gonna say I have to say Peurtles
too, because I already said that I like that better than Voochevich. So
Booch Booch three, and then Jeremy Grant four. I think I would have
Peartle four Voots three, just because of the shorter term deal, Jeremy Grant
two and Kyle Kuzma one. Jeremy Grants is so plugging play and so now
that he has his money, you don't really have to worry about him.
Maybe not. He's not gonna leave shortly, so he's not gonna maybe balk
at a role and look, by the way, if he's staying in Phoenix,
he has to understand that between Dame Shaden Sharp Scoot Henderson, like he's
being nudged down at some point option number three r than option number two and
he was optioned Afrety Simons is still there. Man. That team is getting
clunky. It's been clunky, that's the problem. And they're just bringing it
back four for seventy five, two year, seventy five million for Ubrey and
Houston if all the other deals fall through. By the way, that he
got Josh Richardson for the minimum, what that's really good? Right? Do
I need to do the hands to the head thing. Yeah, I mean,
like he's been inconsistent, but he's he's a five million plus million a
year at least. I mean, if if someone had signed him for the
xpairs mid level, we wouldn't have batted an eye full. Mid level would
have been kind of a lot. But I can't believe they got him for
the minimum. That immediately is is that's right up there is one of the
best value signings, right, that's great value we had someone. I can't
see the comment right now, or maybe I could, but said that Josh
Richardson is so washed. Oh bro, Josh Richerson is so asked man,
No, I just don't. He's not that bad. Like that's someone who
could defend close to one through four depending on who the power forward is.
And he's probably a little bit too like off the dribble happy sometimes, but
for the minimum well, plus, the best version of Josh Richardson was in
Miami, as is the case for all best versions of all players. So
he's going back. I mean, he's he's gonna play better than he did
the last couple of years. Like I feel like that's a lock. I
mean maybe that's part of this is like career rehab, right. Yeah.
They also got Kevin Love on a two year deal with a player option.
That seems like it's gonna be for the minimum man. When they get there,
when they get that third star in there, which is inevitable, it's
gonna look like a pretty good roster. To me, it's just like,
is it a little bit we already went through this. I need to see
the and that's what I wanted to mention before this will be the last thing
I promise that you can leave. Apparently the Spurs are coming in as a
third team in a Max strew sign and trade, And so I'm wondering,
if I guess the point there is they'll absorb salary so that Miami can create
a bigger trade exception and maybe then have more flexibility under whatever apron they are
going to be. That's like it's already happening. They're setting up for what
though, I jasnerd like they I don't know if you're not gonna take on
any money to send out. I guess the trade exception helps, but that
doesn't is there and there's no pick If it's pick equity, it's gonna be
seconds coming from Cleveland for Strews. I'm very curious to see what Miami is
kind of doing. Like I think, like from Miami's perspective, if it's
Jetty Osman and o'korro and we have no idea what it is yet, by
the way, I think I would prefer that to just getting anything. Well,
I mean, what could what is their scenario where they just get the
trade exception of that size or bigger like of Strews of the scau they were
just they were just dead. Max Strews to Cleveland while San Antonio. It
takes like whatever money Cleveland needs to send out, and then you just have
this what sixteen million dollars trade exception, which is ye, but I just
you know, if you're gonna be working within the apron comfines anyway, Like
how big is that sixteen million dollars trade exception anyway? Yeah? Yeah,
it needs to be bigger than that to to really matter. I don't know,
there's not a lot of players you'd call difference you know, real like
this again, this is a team that wants to win titles. You's got
to be a massive difference maker. Sixteen millions not getting you that? Maybe
a science trade destination for Van Vleet or is that just getting too many like
former raptors. If well, I mean they then they'd be hardcapped and then
they're what I'm saying, is that why they're dumping all his money? Maybe
I mean not more. If you're gonna give me thirty plus, I guess
you could wave and stretch Kyle Lowry, which I think is a terrible decision
with the one year left on his deal. Yeah that he feels like the
guy you give up with two picks attached to get a lesser player or a
guy with a longer deal at that number. Maybe yeah, I don't know.
Nothing else is happening, though, so you cans cadattle. I'm gonna
wait for Brian Tupori come out to talk James Harden for a little bit and
see if anything else happens. I'm this was great. We're not going to
take us out of here because this is like because I might put this up
in publish like eight podcasts or the people on the audio feed. What are
you surprised as you leave? Was this about as active as you expected it
to be in the first two and a half hours or a little bit less?
Or I thought we'd see a big trade announced because wasn't. Well,
I guess this is a Kevin Durant trade demand or initial trade request that kind
of ruined the dawn of free agency last year. So so I would have
liked to have had that kind of curveball thrown, but we didn't get it.
I wish I could. I'm gonna send you a meme when as you're
off air that I just giggled that with Kyle Kuzma Jordan, but this was
great. Hopefully I won't be pestering you at all as you enjoy your July
fourth weekend with any emergency trade podcast. I don't even know. If I
adn't get traded the Clippers, would I even need, Like, would we
even need to have one? I guess I would still jump on, but
just send the text and if i'm if I'm mid like, what makes us
have more to say than we already did? Well, that's it's hard.
Well, that's the thing about podcasting, Dan, You just keep talking even
when you've already said everything you have to say. That's how it works.
Well, Grant, I'll talk to you soon. Thanks for this, Thank
you the family, Thanks commenters. You guys are the best. See you
later, guys,