What is crack a lacing fellow thermonuclear A efforts. I am Dana Valley,
coming at you Capslock Live with my certified fantabulous thermonuclear AF co host mister Grant
Hughes. It is post NBA trade deadline talk. People are mad, big
mad that there wasn't more action. There was no action. We're gonna get
into all of it, talk about the teams, winners, losers, just
impressions of whatever. It's gonna be a good time. It was still.
Look, it was hectic on my end, Grant though, how did you
do? Did you? Did you survive the deadline? Are you? Are
you mad? Are you angry? In range? I'm not mad. I'm
not I'm certainly not big mad. I don't think I'm mad of any size.
I feel pretty good about it. I've for for br I was working
on buyout Camp. It's so sort of having to look ahead at post trade
deadline world. I will say I thought about this this morning. There was
a weird, like a little like preemptive sense of relief because we're here finally
and now we're past the deadline, and like, I don't know, this
is probably giving away too much about myself. But I really love when things
get simplified and I can like check things off that I don't have to worry
about or think about anymore. And the trade deadline very much like it's a
big part of the league. We enjoy covering it, but it like once
we're past it, now we just have thirty teams. I mean, the
buyout thing is you know, never it ends up mattering that much, but
buyout stuff excluded. Like now we just have teams and we get to talk
about them and how they stack up against each other and where they're good,
where they're not. Like it just clarifies the rest of the season for me
once we're past the deadline because we're not thinking about, Okay, what if
you tweaked this or what if this guy's available, like where should he?
We just like wipe we just like I don't know, clear all that clutter
off our desks and we just can focus on like a few things that are
simpler and like I kind of to be frank, like enjoy a little bit
more about basketball analysis. So that's exciting to me. And also, like
I think sometimes when you don't get a blockbuster trade, which we really didn't
other than like the you know, the actual block moves, get a deadline
blockbuster. I think it's just kind of more interesting to look at some of
these smaller moves and it's not like there's not a no brainer, Oh this
team crushed it, or this team was terrible, like there sometimes is with
marquee names. But we'll get into that, we'll get into winners and losers
and stuff. But I felt pretty good about the deadline. I'm I'm interested
in talking about it, and I'm also interested to move past it. What
about you? How do you feel about it? So it's disappointing in a
sense that I'm never a big like rumors person. I like the idea of
figuring out which players team should target, but then I really like analyzing how
they fit and the fact that we don't have like bigger names that we have
to figure out the fits. But we did get these bigger deals, and
so there's like a little bit I'm not as I'm not as invested in the
rumor mill as others, so it's not as big of a disappointment. I
do understand that people wanted just more activity and that there's that rush of reaction
to where when you get a James Harden deal at the trade deadline. I
do think and I normally I don't feel this way. I don't fall into
the trap of this deadline's gonna suck. Look we had, I wrote,
I was grading every deal. They were like at least nine deals, maybe
ten, depending on how you feel about Xavier Tillman that are worth going like,
oh in on if you really wanted to. But I think the the
I normally don't fall into the trap of, oh, this deadline's gonna suck.
Everyone's saying it's gonna be quiet. But as soon as Miami traded that
first round pick so early, I was like, oh, like this deadline
day just might be a little bit different, and it was. I still
think like a lot of meaningful stuff happened, and now we get to focus
on the games, and that's just a little bit easier to tackle. It
doesn't feel like my opinions are less inclined to change every five seconds now,
So that's that's super exciting. I'll throw it to you first, though,
just which team or if it's a specific trade, like both ends of it
do you want to start with? I mean, I think you know,
in the absence of de Jontay Murray going somewhere, and we we kind of
knew that the Bulls probably were going to sit it out, so I didn't
realize that three deadlines, no moves in a row. Yeah, well,
when the last deadline trade you made was the trade little hesitating going forward because
we still never I still never shut up about how bad that trade was.
I think it's probably the Knicks. I think, I like, you know,
you get Bogdanovich, you get Alec Burks, you use that Fournier salary
slot finally, so we can stop talking about that. Although I don't.
I don't think the Pistons are going to buy him out, do you.
I think you rolled out. He's a team option. Might as well just
let him like that. Yeah, So to get like two really significant offensive
boosts Bogdanovic, who you can keep under contract next year for nineteen million or
just not you know, pay him two million to go away on that partial
guarantee. Burks is expiring, so there's no major salary implications. Guys that
really can help you, especially with Julius Randall out, Guys that can juice
the offense veterans like and to give up like Grimes is the main outgoing asset.
To do all that without a first going out pretty solid, Like I
think they they jumped to mind for me as the biggest winner just because I
mean, you know, we'll get into it more in depth. But like,
did they get two of the best players that change teams? I mean,
certainly, I don't know the two of the five, two of the
three, two of the four, like some of the best players that change
hands, didn't give up a first got the kind of help they needed,
Like it's a that's just a clear win to me, right like that that's
almost too obvious. I feel like, yeah, they're so fred katz On
he clarified the pick, So they are giving up twenty eight and twenty nine
seconds, Like those are twenty nine seconds, and we do tend to over
romanticize second round picks. I got into this, well, I didn't get
in this. People reyelling at me on Twitter when Detroit got Simoni Fontecio,
and I was like, they just up the number thirty two pick or whatever,
thirty one pick. That's like, eh, Like that's not great for
someone who's twenty eight and gonna be a restricted free agent. In the Knix's
case, I think there's I wonder if and I'm not sure this is probly
calculus like Grimes in those seconds, could that have gotten you Malcolm Brogden And
then you made the active decision to well, we need two guys instead of
like, instead of like kind of rolling it into Malcolm Brogden alone. And
I will say the one concern is Boyan Bardonovich turns thirty five in April,
and so yes, his salary next year nineteen million, that partially guaranteed,
but you fully guarantee it, and you can move it. He's just not
gonna have as much standalone value as a He still will be viewed more so
by his next team as a unless there's a third team involved, maybe they
give you something for Boyon but he's gonna be viewed as a salary matcher rather
than a Broggeden or a Colin Sexton like someone along those or Dejonte Murray of
course could have been viewed as an actual asset. But that's like, that's
super nitpicking. And you look at the Knicks and you mentioned it just juicing
up the offense. Boya Badonovich over forty percent from three again on eight plus
attempts per thirty six minutes. He's not doing his good into isolation as he
was last year, and he doesn't grab any rebounds, but like he can
create some of his own stuff in a pinch. And because of the way
the Knicks are built, and you can thank oj Annobe if he's gonna be
healthy and that elbow thing isn't something that'll linger, you can actually play him
og Randall in a big together and then whoever you want Jalen Brunson at the
one that can work thanks to og Anobi and because you're two bigs our Mitchell
Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein, should Robinson ever get healthy, and even Randall,
look, his defense is infuriating because of how up and down it is,
but the breadth of assignments that he covers is actually valuable to the team,
and so that allows you to do things with Boyan Bagdanovic. That's a home
run acquisition. I don't I like Burkes. He's shooting like forty or thirty
eight percent on off the dribble threes this year. That's an element they could
use outside of Jalen Brunson. I don't love him as a passer, and
I still think you needed that a little bit. However, I think you
do have enough of those secondary ball movers in Dante DiVincenzo, in Josh Hard
even the minutes you've gotten for Miles McBride. That one didn't concede any ball
movement here when it was four y eight grimes. And so I would be
curious as to what the argument necessarily is against this deal unless it was,
well, did they choose between I would have rather have them consolidated into Malcolm
Brogden then sort of you know, splitting it. They didn't split it down
the middle because the money they wind up giving up, but rather than getting
these these two players. But I think it was Yeah. To me,
I think they are the biggest and especially when you look at their moves in
some when it's like okay og and these like, they feel like the maybe
biggest winners of trade season, although the Clippers they're just up there right now
because of the way that they've they've played by and large, Yeah, I
think the the only the only other team. I think it's pretty clearly the
Knicks as the biggest winner. I mean, we probably should talk about the
Sixers, uh, you know, no, no Marquee moves seemingly setting themselves
up for a couple of buyout guys. Maybe Kyle Lowry seems like the most
you know, obvious guy out there, but like so they they flip.
I have this is this is a symptom of recording this live, Like I
have to look at all the Sixers trades that well, they traded. They
traded Patrick Beverly for Campaign in a twenty twenty seven second, which is hilarious
because we get Patrick Beverly on Damian Lillard's team now, and like, I
mean, I'm sure nothing will come of it, but it's always funny when
guys that like, well, also Patrick Beverly like has this relationship with seventy
five percent of the league where he's like talked shit about them or like made
fun of them on the sidelines and all the other stuff. He already called
to apologize on his podcast live or I really can't. I can't stand that
man. So they have they traded Beverly for campaign in a twenty twenty seven
second. By the way, campaign, and we'll get into some Bucks and
Pacers stuff like and other, like we should get into the Pistons. They
did the most of any team, but campaytrooon, like fifty five percent on
floaters close to it. He's shooting very interesting. It's very low volume,
but he's at like twelve of eighteen on step back jumpers, like that's not
a nothing get, especially without Joel Embiid. So there's that trade. He
traded Jaden Springer for a second round pick, and then the big deal,
which was three seconds and Marcus Morris's money effectively to bring in Buddy Healed,
and the seconds were for anyone who cares about by the way, that's uh,
I didn't mention this at the top the reporting on these things, Woj
and Schamps don't give a fuck anymore. They're sometimes not even mentioning the players
that are in the deal. And then the second round pick protections like we
still don't even have all of them for some of these trades. But the
Sixers gave up fer Conkrk Mars, Marcus Moore senior, Toronto's twenty four second,
Portland's twenty twenty nine second, and the Clippers is twenty twenty nine second
to get Buddy Healed. So you may take it from there. Those Yeah,
no, Heald is the big one. But I think if you view
all of their I guess it's three trades. Technically, you're you're clearing roster
spots for buyout stuff. And look, they essentially can go into this summer
with if I have it right, five first that they can trade and upwards
of sixty million in cap space, and we definitely need to have Paul Reid
thing if they don't want to play a round, then they can get to
over sixty. Otherwise I think it's like fifty five or fifty eight, so
he probably should have a conversation. Like I think these were all opportunistic moves,
although like I really, I know, I irrationally like Jaden Springer.
He can't shoot, but he's he is a hillacious defender, really good athlete.
I really love Boston adding Springer as like an end of the roster type
of guy. But you're you're getting they got a second forum, which I
think probably is never going to convey. I think was that one of those
like top fifty five protected there were a couple of those that changed hands today.
I don't know if that's one for sure. All Right, So very
breaking news on the podcast per woj not a trade. Oj Anobi had surgery
to remove a loose bone fragment in his right elbow, and we'll miss a
minimum of three weeks according to sources. Okay, so look three weeks March
first, that's a week and a half after the All Star break. Not
having Julius Randall either is kinda is kind of big. So that's Look,
that's not nothing as part of all this. And like the Knicks go for,
I mean, their injuries are part of the game. But like the
Julius Randall shoulder, og Anobe elbow, Mitch Robinson out until like we he
started on court works or whatever whatever that means. That's just something to monitor
because at full strength, they're one of the most lethal teams in the East.
But you have to ask or they ever going to approach full strength.
Well, that makes this trade better for them, That makes it makes it
even more important because now Bogdanovic is just going to be in a significant role,
right, He's going to get a lot of minutes at the three,
a lot of minutes at the four, because otherwise you're just so it'll be
really I mean, Boganovitch is not like a sturdy defender, but they'll be
so small if they if it's going to be like Heart and Devincenzo soaking up
minutes at the three and the four. Potentially that's not what you want.
So I think that if anything, that makes the Knicks look better based on
the trade they make, because like they really needed to get a forward that
could score because they lost their best small forward and their best power forward is
already out. Nope. But so for the Sixers, like, where do
you come down on because a lot of like how well they did, I
think depends on what you think their next big move is. And all this
cap space gives them the option to do something in free agency. Everybody talks
about how there are no free agents. Things can change, like you never
know what space might allow you to do. Would you put them as a
winner and does that depend on sort of what they do? Like is that
is their winner status contingent on sort of the All right, so what are
we doing with all these assets? Right? Because it's kind of incomplete?
I guess if you really wanted to be sort of precise about it, No,
you're not even that's not even like nitpicking, it's just, yeah,
it's a lot of TVD because what does that cap space roll into? But
I think we'll get into this with the magic is they surveyed the landscape and
said it makes more sense for us to open more first round equity to trade
this summer than to trade any of it now, and the NBAT injury simplified
that for them, I'm sure. But they're a winner. That was the
There are two big discrepancies I think based off sort of just fans. Maybe
even our discord members haven't really checked. That's the other thing at all.
This too many tangents here. But if I have not answered your message on
Twitter or in Discord or Instagram or like, it's not happening today, so
like I'm just not I'm not gonna get to everyone. I saw people tagging
me, DM and me on Twitter all over the place. They didn't get
to all of them. It was hectic. So I've I viewed him as
a winner though, and it seems like I diverged from like public consensus on
that. But like this is a team that need won, like get to
the raw bones of it. They didn't. If you care about the finances,
they did nothing to sacrifice their spending power this year. And there's a
chance, by the way, that what you're able to do now is resigned,
Buddy held while still having one max slot open like that's a like and
having the maxie cap like that's a really big deal to be in. And
then as friend of the podcast slash our editor at Pleacher Report, Brian Dapoora
pointed out, let's just get to the raw, simplified bones of this.
This is per bt. The Sixers are twenty six and three point ten to
eight and twenty seventh and made three pointers this season, Like Buddy hild is
gonna shoot over forty percent. And when he's not shooting, guess what,
whether he's moving off the ball, whether he's running downhill. That dude has
fucking gravity. Yeah, gravity, And so I like that, And you
gave up who Marcus Moore Senior and Ferkhon Korkmas, who's requested trade once a
week for the past three and a half years. So it's just like,
I'm just confused. And I saw people were upset about them trading Beverly,
mostly six Ers fans, and so I get like the emotional bell Weather aspect
of that. I just don't not like I can't bring myself to care like
I actually think that campaign probably feels more of a need, right now with
him beat out. And I will say, though, and you brought this
up with your cap space, we need to see what happens over the off
season. But you then need to tell me even if they don't get Paul
George, which Chris Haynes said they're gonna target him, They're probably not gonna
get him, but like, they can still make trades with that cap space.
If they don't trade for anybody over the off season or something goes right,
well, then tell me what the move is that they missed out on
at this deadline that would have made you feel better. And finally, I
am operating under the assumption a little bit that it's just I get that they
didn't trade for You can't even call them an emergency big at this point.
It's like, well, it beads out. We need someone other than Paul
Read and Mobam, but a soak cup minutes Kelly Olynik would have been nice.
But like, I'm just assuming, well, there's gonna be a big
that falls to the buyout market who's not Robin Lopez. And I'm just assuming
I'm penciling in Kyle Lowry for Philadelphia at this point. And so it's just
like there's your defensive makeup from Patrick Beverley, who, look, he's a
defensive try hard. He's also performative on that end of a lot of time,
it's like this chaotic energy without a purpose on it. And I'm not
saying that Lowry is like some lockdown guy. But if you go from here's
a question for the rest of the season, would you rather have Kyle Lowry
and campaign or Patrick Beverley? Easy Lowry. I would just rather have Lowry
than Beverly. I mean, I know Lowry is not what he used to
be, but like you don't even need to include campaign in that. It's
pretty easy for me. Yeah. So it's just I like, I'm just
what is the argument? Like, and maybe you're just you could you're removed
from it better than I am saying, well, what is the argument?
What did they do wrong at this DEVN? I think the only thing that
really you could quibble about right now is well, you didn't really do anything
to address like the shallowness on the front line. And it's okay, what
did you want? Like, look, look what the cost ended up being
for Kelly Olinik was like, were you gonna beat that? So it's just
you know. I just I'm I'm surprised that so many people were down on
their deadline because to me, it wasn't strictly a money saving getting at like
keeping yourself out of the tax so we can go buy out market hunting move.
It was We're gonna prioritize for the future, but we just got better
in the short term too. Yeah, I agree. So those are my
two big winners. I don't know, Oh can we can you let me?
Can I pick the Can I pick where we go next? Oh?
Yes, please? Uh? What is going on in Dallas? Okay?
So that was gonna go there because like that was the that was no,
no, no, And I wasn't I was just gonna say, like basically
that, like what do we make of this? Because to me, and
look we were talking off air before, like I saw like condemnations of this,
of this deadline for Dallas, and I saw like celebrations of it.
I won't say who did what because obviously, like when we give our opinions,
it will suggest who we disagree with. Uh, But so PJ.
Washington in essentially Grant Williams Seth Curry A twenty seven first with top two protection
and a couple seconds go out right. That's that's that's that's got They got
two back in that deal. They got two back, two seconds coming back.
Yeah, Charlotte gave them two seconds in that deal. All right.
So I had my notes based on the original reporting. I think maybe had
that backwards. So again, they don't give a fuck anymore about reporting.
We do. We're going to get it right. So before they probably got
it wrong, but please we get it right eventually. That's our that's our
motto. So if you love this for Dallas, you're convinced PJ. Washington
is significantly better than Grant Williams, and like Washington's contract does decline, so
that's you know, that's a factor pretty similar numbers ultimately, and you really,
if you like this for Dallas, are just over the moon because you
didn't give up Josh Green or Jayden Hardy or omax. I guess right,
Like that's the defense of it, to give up the only first you could
trade at this point and put like almost no meaningful protection on it. Uh,
is like that's kind of that really like knocks me back. I was
really surprised I'm giving up Josh Green. I think before I give up that
first, especially considering how few Dallas has to trade at the moment. They'll
get more uh after the draft, but like moneymore, they won't. Oh
that's right, So how does let's talk about that? How does that encumber
their other picks. It's so they can't trade one they saw they could a
twenty thirty one slop slop swap. But what they've also done, and this
is not just the one move, is they've now so Luca has that player
option for twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven, they don't control any of
their own first like from that point forward, right now they'll have twenty thirty
one. We'll be back in their control. This I mean, Exechny,
they still have that, but you couldn't trade it anyway. Twenty twenty seven
is going to Charlotte. The twenty twenty eight swap is going to Okac because
that's how they opened. That was the other reporting that annoyed is that we
found out how they got the first right, So twenty twenty eight is headed
to Okay. See twenty twenty nine, the pick itself is headed to Brooklyn,
and then you gave up a twenty thirty swap. That's the san Antonio,
which I think before I throw it back to you really ook. You
think that's an important way to view this deal is Gafford is sort of a
separate thing, and you can't hold on to a mistake. But you ended
up what you ended up doing is hard tapping yourself. You ended up giving
up a twenty thirty pick swap, and you now ended up giving that twenty
twenty seven first round pick. And because of the seconds going in and out
there, they also give up a twenty thirty, but they have some coming
in, so's just forget the seconds for a minute. You turned all of
that into PJ. Washington. You really gotta believe PJ. Washington is the
missing piece, right Like you have to believe that his last year thirty four
point eight percent from three this year thirty two point four percent. You have
to believe that improves. Although there's some I don't have them in front of
you, but there's some numbers out there that like his catch and shoot is
just bad. So it's like if you're saying once, once you play with
Luca, you get all the clean looks you can you can handle, Like,
I don't know that we're suddenly going to see peg Washington colon forty three
point shooter because of the quality of his looks going up. Maybe that happens
and the quality of his looks will go up, But like I think he's
over sold as this multi position defender. I just that that has not been
true. Again, Like you get someone out of Charlotte, or you get
someone out of a team that's not playing for anything, and like things can
change. That happens all the time, right, Like anyone that got traded
from Washington, from Detroit, from you know wherever, throw in Charlotte,
Like we it's not unfair to to suspect like they might just be like fifteen
percent better, like the second thing about to become all. That's how it's
like, yeah, right, that's another one. We got to talking about
the homeless Killian Hayes or a teamless sorry I mean it's teamless. He'll find
somewhere. But so you just have to believe PJ. Washington is worth like
all of the opportunity costs that you paid, right, And like I'm just
kind of not convinced. I don't think you know, if you're giving,
if you're Dallas and you are as limited as they are, and you laid
it out in the assets you can trade going forward. We talked about like,
okay, would you trade that first if it was Jeremy Grant, Like
that was the cutoff line of doing it now versus waiting for the off season.
And it's just like we said, Yeah, PJ. Washington is not
Jeremy Grant, So we fallen short of our own threshold here. Yeah,
as Jacob Wiley says, Luca better stay for the next ten years. I
mean, it's moves like this that kind of make you wonder, make you
wonder if he's interested in that. So he is. And to your point,
PJ. Washington shooting a little bit over thirty eight percent on wide open
threes, that's good enough. It's not exceptionally high. And you can't just
say he's gonna shoot forty four now in Dallas. He might. I do
think what he brings, and I saw people throwing around his forty three point
performance highlights he is. There's versatility there. He could do stuff with his
paint touches. I think're shooting over seventy percent or whatever on paint touches.
He can especially they're gonna give him more space to work with than he had
in Charlotte on the ball, that will be like he is an upgrade.
I want to make clear. So the Mavericks are, and I like Daniel
Gafford for them, you're shooting under fifty nine percent against him at the rim.
He's the type of player. He's not what Rashawn Holmes used to be
on offense, I should say, but like he could screen and roll and
finish, but he can also get shots up before the restricted area. He's
only taken ten mid range jumpers this year, but he's hit six of them.
He can kind of throw up stuff from that float to range. And
you know the paint twos that aren't in their stricted area shooting about fifty percent
on like that's at least something that's semi serviceable for a big and the Derek
Lively the second nasal fracture, I don't know how much that factored into their
thinking as well. I want to make clear the Mavericks today are better than
the Mavericks were yesterday. Are the Mavericks of tomorrow better off for what they
did today? That's that's the question. And I don't I feel very uneasy
and it's just stepping on the toes of what you said of giving up your
only tradable first round pick, and that's to get PJ. Washington. And
that's on top of, by the way, now giving up that swap right
to Okay season that you had a tangible first round pick to send to I
mean, and you can look at it this way, is just do you
think that pick right now of that swap might be just because of how good
OKC and LAC the Clippers are, that big is probably gonna I'll say bottom
seven to give myself a cushion. Yeah, you think the Dallas is big
is going to be better than bottom Like maybe OKAYC will be so good it
doesn't matter. So that's part of the calculus. I just don't think the
reward was worth the risk. And I get that Luca infers urgency and any
needs to but like what the Sixers there even I'm not going to compliment the
Lakers, and we'll get into teams very quickly that should have made moves and
didn't. Maybe, but like, if you're Dallas and you have the ability
to kind of wait, this is a team that I think could have afforded
to wait, given what ended up happening here. I agree. I agree,
like across the board and just looking at it laid out, so Holmes
was not in the rotation and just made never be in one again. And
I get it. And he's got your on the hook for twelve point nine
million dollars for him for next year because he's got a player option that he
will exercise. Is a twenty four is a first? So really because you
paid to swap and you lost that swap to get that twenty four first to
send to Washington, which, by the way, good job Washington to get
a first out out of Dallas by way of Okay, See, I don't
think Gafford is like he's a backup. He's going to be a backup,
right, So he's not I assume because the coming back, yeah for sure,
but but ultimately he's a backup. So like, is he that much
better than a replacement player at that level? Like whether that's we go back
to the Dwight Powell, Well, we go back to what for a first?
Like I know, yeah, Amrica, I think the cost is too
high to go from homes slash replacement center to Gafford because he's not going to
be a starter, you know, unless there's injury, and I don't imagine
him playing like closing minutes in a playoff series or whatever, like you know,
you know me, I always default to that. But like, I
just this seems super aggressive by Dallas, like like you know, marginal,
it's a significant overpays on both of these trades for like dubious grades and I
will eat a steaming bowlful of crow if they make a deep playoff run or
PJ. Washington turns out to be a fringe all start. Just I just
they were not they were a team that needed to be urgent, but if
this was the best course out there, and it seems like they were just
done with Grant Williams, which did you not do your research about his personality
because that's the stuff that's floating around out there right now. I just have
questions about because they've proven they can evaluate talent like Josh green Good, Derek
Lively the second fantastic I loved Omas coming into this season. So again,
we're wrong all the time. But it's just like the mode of operations here
is weird. I'm wondering if very quickly we could tackle kind of the other
ends of these deals that we've already talked about, so maybe we start with
let's go to Charlotte really quickly. They did great work on on this front.
I don't know. I haven't seen the seconds that are being sent out
to Dallas, but to get a distant first for PJ. Washington, and
like Grant Williams is someone who is going to play for them, and like
he's he could play alongside Mark Williams. His best role is probably hey next
to a big to begin with. And if he's not going to great on
your personality, he's young enough. I know that deal isn't great, but
it's just he is at least switchable on the defensive end. Will he take
enough threes? Will he grabs grab enough rebounds? Will he will he shut
the hell up on the court talking to refs and complaining. I don't know.
Those are all fair questions, but I like it as a flyer for
them. And here's what it proves to me overall, So they've moved Terry
Rozier. They get in the first round pick for that. So a team
that was technically a net negative in the first round pick department because of that
fake one going to San Antonio, you're not a net positive even if you
want to say that one's out the door, and it won't be because they're
gonna be a lot of team the next two years. I and then the
Gordon Hayward deal that and that might lead into OKC. So you trade Gordon
Hayward for Vassili Michic uh Damas Berton's and trey Man with LaMelo injured. I
kind of like the flyer on trey Man. By the way, Yamelo dealing
with more ankle stuff. Mesich is like he's not he's thirty, but like
he's making under eight million dollars this year and next season. He is shooting
secondary ball, handling him passing, and he's kind of got like that pinball
element to him on offense, and he can even screen. And so you're
getting and like, if you're gonna have older players on a rebuilding squad,
aside from making sure they're high character, I love the idea of just shooters
and ball movers because they make everything easier on the players you're trying to develop.
And so there's all of that that they did. I don't think I
missed anything, but then it just shows you, oh my god, they're
actually I don't even I'm not getting into Miles Bridges. They didn't move them,
they never should have even brought them back. That's where I stand.
But as an organizational direction, it proves that they're gonna take a more gradual,
level headed approach, and that's something that has been missing them for like
right ever, and so I love it. So I also love the thunderside
of that, getting Gordon Hayward, we can you don't love that? Did
you go? Could you go on your horness thoughts first? And then we
can we can know. I think my first thought was, yeah, I
like, I like what Charlotte did. It was like a very sane man
measured, you know, operation. But I also it made me think,
like it's so much easier to be in that position as a friend and just
in terms of like making trades, because it's like everybody knows that you'll get
good reviews from dummies like us if you you know, get draft equity,
you know, take on some bad money, get some young guys. It's
all just speculative. Like the hard the hard spots are like being the Knicks
or being the Sixers, or being these other teams that like we need something
and it matters because we're pretty good, and we you know, we're trying
to preserve that, and we've got all these different you know, irons in
the fire, like for the for the Hornets and for other bad teams.
It's just like it should be really easy to like quote unquote do well at
the trade deadline all the time. So that was my thought, is like
the bar is just so low for our approval and it's so easy to execute
because you're always like, you know, they were they could have traded Gordon
Hayward lots of places, but they you know, they so they sort of
had their pick I guess of what they got back. So it's just easy
to transact from that position. You know, I think I don't have a
lot else to say on Charlotte. I think, like, you know,
I think Grant Williams will help there. I think he's you were you were
referring to mechic. I think, but like Williams is gonna make open shots
and defend hard and move the like he's just gonna be another guy that maybe
helps Brandon Miller's life get a little easier. And you know, when LaMelo's
back, like he kind of fits in as a as just a supple a
complimentary piece, like maybe he'll great on Charlotte like he has on his last
two teams. I guess, like that's that's a concern, But like I
don't think Grant Williams is gonna be unmovable at his salary going forward, Like
there's always gonna be interest in you know, a sort of maybe can guard
fives but can shoot threes and you know, defense hard like that guy's that
guy's movable. So yeah, I like that. I like everything Charlotte did,
even though it's easy to do what Charlotte did on to the thunder you,
I basically reacted with the the Kumbatra girl reaction. So I saw the
trade when it was just doabas Barton's and trade Man, which would have worked
under the new salary matching rules. And then I saw meat just was included.
Yeah, and I was like uh. And then I was like,
well, isaya Joe is there? And like Casan Wallace, maybe he needs
more volume, but like that's someone who plays off the ball a lot and
can play him on the ball. And then I talk myself into like Gordon
Hayward hasn't played since the end of December, but I talk myself into Gordon
Hayward being the what have I been calling for? On this pod? Everyone's
focusing on size, size, size, rebounding. I've been calling for.
Get Josh Giddy all the way away from my high leverage like crunch time lineups,
which they've done, and just get me someone who can defense as well
respect away from the ball and give you some of the jiggle and joggle on
it. And guess what Gordon Hayward at his peak, even now when he's
like what I was he forty five years old or whatever, Now he's like
what thirty three? Age thirty three season? Yeah, age thirty three,
that's where he does. And to have his bird rights gives you a couple
of options if he fits okay, like we bring him back and he guess
what his number is gonna not be thirty one and a half million dollars next
year. And even if he's not, like if he's fringe, you get
a role that salary slot into like some someone else, or maybe you resigned
Gordon Heyward to a smaller deal that you think could be moved, and his
role in Okayc's gonna be so much more tertiary than it was in Charlotte to
where he'll have to play a few more minutes. When he's healthy, he'll
not have to do as much because you know his pro like LaMelo Ball,
won't be injured every five seconds. You have. SGA and Jyl Williams were
both kind of like SGA has had some injury issues, but they both buy
in large bit available and he was shut down a few times anyway, So
I ended up liking the deal. But it went from like an A plus
plus plus plus plus to me like, all right, this is a solid
like B B plus move, and I understand the theory, but there's a
little bit of just like it. There's there's it's not risk, but there's
a little bit of underwhelmingness to it, even by the standards of we all
knew, okayc he wasn't gonna do nothing. I honestly thought they were gonna
roll Damas Breton's into somebody who was guaranteed to be on the books next year,
even if they didn't help them as much this year. I think that's
all fair. I just kind of looked at it. I think maybe we've
just been talking too much. But I immediately thought, like, what exactly
does Josh Giddy do better than Gordon Hayward right now today, like not a
better defender. And that's not saying Hayward's a great defender, like he's got
mobility issues now, but like I think Giddy's probably worse. You could say
Giddy's a better passer. He's a better passer than a lot of players in
the league, but like he's the third most important facilitator in their starting lineup
behind SGA and and Jada probably, Like I just you know, we've talked
about the space and concerns, Like Hayward's a better shooter. Hayward's just you
know, a more functional, movable around the lineup piece. Like Hayward is
going to be the fourth or sometimes fifth option, Like he's way overqualified for
that job. And Giddy is someone that you just have to make all these
accommodations for on the floor. You don't have to do that with Hayward.
Like he will command defensive attention as a spot up guy, and he will
command attention if he gets to the elbow, Like Giddy doesn't see two defenders
like ever, because why like why would you ever do that as a defense.
I think Hayward might as like a pass, shoot, dribble threat,
like in the upper paint, like Mike collapse the defense, and like Giddy
just doesn't do that. So I think Hayward is better than Josh Getty,
assuming he's healthy, assuming he can play, Like that's always going to be
the thing with Hayward. But then you said, you said the thing I
love the most is like, I don't feel like this has to be a
rental. I feel like Hayward could just be someone that they bring back at
you know, they Clay Thompson him, They're like, what are you making
this year cool? Half of that next year and going forward to do that,
and and like, I think Hayward is someone that probably is like itching
to play winning basketball because it's been a minute, so I could see him,
I could see him fitting perfectly. I just I love getting him onto
this team specifically because I think if you just view him as, like we
don't believe Josh Getty's a long term piece at least for this year, Hayward
can eat into some of his minutes and just give us more all around play
than we're getting from from Giddy. So like and like the Meetchich piece of
it. Yeah, like we both like him by the way, he was
like really galvanizing some bench units with j Dubb. So it's Heyward. Hayward
can be a guy that functions as a facilitator like that is in his his
average I'm looking, you know, he's a he's like been a four or
five assist guy once. He's you know, three point six for his career.
But he's a smart passer. I think, you know, you lose
some facilitation with Mechic and probably that forces Jaylen Williams back into some a little
bit more second unit like run the show minutes than like maybe he should have.
But like I'm not gonna sit here and say, Jaalen Williams can't do
something that's not my brand. So I feel like Hayward that was is a
good enough facilitator to make the Mechicic departure like, yeah, not not my
favorite, but like I'm not gonna get home. And also working within OKAC
spacing will be fascinating because it's just like Cat changes the dynamics there. So
even look, they're gonna be super small if they're gonna run chet at the
five and then it's early that's what they've been. Yeah, so it's I'm
all for it in that sense. The move I actually liked better from them,
I don't. I really don't think there's a strong argument against it.
By the way I just it made it. It's a little bit like it's
the word's not riskier. It just doesn't feel very thundery, right, That's
just what's weird about it. But maybe look, maybe this is now Horford
situation. I don't just don't know what his lower body is like, He's
had ankle and calf issues and all this stuff. So I loved that they
took advantage of the Dallas Mavericks because they send out a pick that's gonna convey
in the bottom seven, the bottom five for the rights to swap in twenty
twenty eight. And so I understand windows aren't forever, and so okayse could
be appreciably worse in twenty twenty eight than they aren't twenty twenty four. At
the same time, you could tell me that their top two players on this
team are not on that team in twenty twenty eight, and the thunder is
still gonna be better than the Mavericks in twenty twenty eight. That's how much
optionality they have. And so it was just like the wording on Stein's report.
Funny Funnily enough is that Brian to Port and I ended up having a
discussion about he just say like they just already agreed to swap without the rights,
and I'm like, I understand the thunder can be confident, but there's
no way you agree to just swap right now because that would be batshit bonkers.
I want more trades like that, just a huge flexes like yeah,
we'll just we'll be better than eight. So I liked I liked that piece
of it to like get because a lot of other teams can't. But okay,
see has reached the point. And it's not that they just reached it,
they've been there. Yeah, where they have more picks inbound imminent pigs
than roster spots, Like I'm honestly available, so you can do something like
that. I loved that, And they've already done a move like that,
But I loved this one in particular because I'm just looking at the Mavericks and
I'm like, yo, even if they kind of fortified themselves for this year
and next year, like they're kind of fucked long term. So I liked
that. The Washington Element and you got into them a little bit. Getting
a first round pick here just for a team that didn't have like a ton
of extra first round equity was good. I think it's smart. Kyle Kuzma
seems happy there, so you can only get a one also ran first round
pick. Kind of it's funny they got a first round pick for the Mavericks
and it wasn't for the player. Everyone wanted the Mavericks to require. I
just the only thing that I'm wondering this is the I'll stand by, is
maybe they're gonna resign him, Like why not move Tigas Jones? And when
Minnesota made that deal for Monte Morris, I was like, oh, I
guess Tis Jones really isn't gonna go anywhere. It seemed like they were going
to move him for seconds too, and so I'm surprised that they didn't do
that. And then if he leaves for nothing, not the end of the
world. Like they're bad enough, they don't need to tank Harter. That
surprised me a little bit. But and Daniel Gafford is good, but you
got a first round pick for Daniel Gafford, And look, I'm not We
both know how I felt about Rashawn Holmes once upon a time, Right,
they're just like a chance. If he's held like that, the floater comes
back and he's just like so and he's making basically the same money as Daniel
Gafford. You're not trying to be good next season anyway. I thought they
handled this deadline mostly shrewdly. If anything, you could probably quibble over what
were they aggressive enough? Yeah? How many firsts changed him? There's this
one. There's the one we talked about with the maps twenty twenty seven,
was there? There was there another one. I guess the didn't Toronto got
one for in the the least favorable that was once upon a time, the
like of those picks that's headed to Toronto or me that's headed to Utah.
Yeah, to Utah for in the Olymtic deal. So to see that few
first rounders move and to see one of them go for Daniel Gafford, like,
that's pretty good from mid range. Daniel Gafford, come on, Like
he's a backup center in this in this in this economy, Dan, we're
getting first rounders for backup centers. That's amazing. What a get by the
Wizard's good job. I like I mean, because yeah, I don't think
Holmes is getting back to that level, but like the best version of Holmes
was better than the current version of Gafford, right, or at least like
really comparable. Different type of player. Yeah, like for the and for
the Wizards, like who cares how good are center? Like there's just I
mean to get first. It's with like three first changing hands. That's unbelievable.
The thing I will quibble over, and it is different because there's there's
a new coach there now, but like they didn't do anything to kind of
ensure that bla cool bali' uses will be through the roof for the rest of
the year. Yeah, they were never gonna get rid of Jordan Poole,
but just even having Kuzma there, and when you look at some of the
shots these guys take whenever in the shot clock, I don't blame them.
Like this team was not built to be anything other than a meme on most
nights, even though they have ties. That's like, this is the anti
Tias Jones team, who's just like this very measured offensive organizer. And the
Wizards are just like anarchic and play sometimes like they don't give an f h.
But I thought it was a solid deadline from them. Might be tempt
They got a first round pick, and you can say that they didn't move
Tias Jones or Kyle Kuzma and they still got a first round pick. Yeah,
I have to assume they're gonna try to re sign Tias Jones because otherwise
gets brought out, which would be you know that that there are a lot
of teams that be interested in him. But yeah, I would be with
you on that. You did mention the Raptors should we go to the Jazz
Raptors stuff? Yeah, so, uh, you can correct me if I'm
if I'm wrong here, but the Jazz get Auto Porter Junior kyra lewis uh
the worst of Okay, see the Clippers Houston and their own twenty twenty four
first, do I have that right for Kelly O Linok and o chaiag Baji,
which, like you know, I think that's how you understand it from
the Raptor side, is there like we're getting the number fourteen pick in a
recent draft who has shown some flashes, uh, but you know is not
the type of player Utah needs because he's just not big enough to be that
big wing that they need for like a really bad twenty four first, right,
like so that like that made me like, all right, Toronto,
we're kind of I could see. I get it like a linic helps now
and you probably want to resign him if you could get him back at first,
so you better well yeah, that's well, yeah, you know when
Toronto get somebody and they gave up a first, they re signed that guy,
especially via the Center because that's the girdle treatment, that's where that's their
mo. Who do you? I guess I I think I liked that better
for Toronto, so did I and a lot of people did not. I
saw John Hollinger, really smart guy, did not like it. There are
a lot of other people like what are they doing giving up a first?
So I have a few different ways to frame it. And if you're not
gonna resign Kelly olinok, I will admit this change is the calculus of the
deal. Sure quite a bit. But everyone's one up in arms about this
draft not being good. I don't know nearly enough about it to buy into
it or not. You gave up a bottom five pick for o chaiak Baji,
where Utah knows more about him than you do. That also wasn't Utah's
pick. They got him in the Donovan Mitchell deal, which was just kind
of like, ooh, a number fourteen pick. Last year he showed glimpses
of shot making and like try hard defense, like at the wingspots, So
maybe you can get some of that back as Toronto, and like between him
and Grady Dick, just have the flyers on shooting. Kelly Olinick is having
it like Kelly Olinok has probably being one of Utah's too, Like there's lowry
marketing in and then you could probably argue over who is UTA's second most valuable
player after that, between Jordan Clarks and Walker Kessler collin zext like it goes
a bunch of different spots. But his passing, like I'm not that about
just facilitating from a standstill. This is like dude has thrown live dribbled dimes
this year and he stretches the floor. So if you wanted to, I'm
not necessarily advocating, you could play him in Yaka pertl together. And also
if you're Toronto, like let's not forget and I'm not, I honestly don't
understand why there's an argument against this. So there has to be differences of
opinion you want your pick to convey this year. If the draft is supposed
to be that bad, hey, guess what, you also own the number
thirty one pick right now or whatever it ends up being. So what's the
difference between having number twenty seven and number thirty one or thirty three in this
draft? Look at it that way. I can't imagine it's that big of
a difference. So let the pick convey you've gotten better. And you know
the Bulls and Hawks don't really make any moves, So does that Does that
hurt your chances of reaching the plane? Okay, fine, but like you
at least ensure the pick conveys you get someone who's easy to fit a flyer
on a BAJI and it just costs you a pick that I don't think was
super valuable. So I definitely liked this better for them. And the other
thing you did is we could tell like, so you get Spencer Dinwiddy from
the nets, And when I started analyzing this, I said, look,
the peak version of Spencer Dinwoody is a much better perimeter shot creater than Den
Dennis Shruder. And I don't know if Toronto will ever get that. They're
not gonna get that because they waved them. So they're gonna wave him because
of his contract incentives. But since you got Dennis Shruter was not a bad
deal you sent out him and that young for Spencer Dinwiddie, he was not
a bad deal. But by clearing his money from the books, you now
have a pathway to carrying a manual quickly's cap hold and if you really want
to, you can have forty plus million dollars in cap space. Now this
doesn't include the Olytic cap hole. But if you resign a Linux to a
deal that is comparable to what he's making now, which is what is he
at twelve million about? Too? Yeah, yeah, twelve two, you're
still working with twenty five plus million in cap space, which I don't know
who that gets you in this market, but it certainly helps you for trades.
So I don't know that I'm in love with their deadline, but for
a team that like they tore it, they like they're doing, I guess
a soft reset because they've We've seen them first round picks, We've seen them
prioritize players over picks, we've seen them accept purely draft equity basically for Pascal
Siakam, there's still the element of Okay, well what direction are we going
in here? But I do think they've just made themselves more pliable and able
to react on the fly. Yeah, I think that's right. It's so
also because this is the jazz and I think because we regard them and really
Danny Ainge as like these guys know what they're doing. It makes me always
think, like I wonder what Utah is up to, Like what why did
Utah do? Like is it because can they really value that twenty four first
that, like you said, is gonna be bottom five? That highly Oh
you have a you have a thought? Well what if they think? I
mean, I don't think they believe this, but a few people have made
this point. Where aside from Larry market In, who's the guy you could
rip from the Utah rotation that's actually going to crater it, I think you
can make a case that maybe it's Kelly Olnik, but it's but like when
you see Simoni Fontacio Kelly leaving, it's all right, well is that inking
argument? Is this what I'm saying? They owe their pick to Okac?
It could it's top ten protected, it could convey and so now you you
ad don't have a twenty twenty four first round pick, now you do.
Maybe they're looking at it from that perspective. Yeah, that's interesting. I
still even trying to be charitable to the Jazz. I still just like this
for Toronto because I think it were you surprised that, like there wasn't more
on the Jazzes, But what did you think of I thought the return on
Simonne Fontacio was fine. Yeah, picked in the thirties. I mean I
think so you take the Jazz and uh, I think you look at I
just was just thinking of another team that didn't do anything. I mean,
the bulls are the bulls are a separate issue. Well, the King's helping
facilitate the Robin Lopez do well take Washington too, like there are there are
just certain teams that like, huh, that's all because you know you look
at youd think like Utah could move, Like you said, there's nobody that
you're going to take off of there really and crater it so like you could
have looked to trade Clarkson Sexton even like Chris Done although I would just want
to keep Chris Done around just because he's maybe the best defensive guard in the
league. To watch him the other night against the Thunder that was unbelievable,
and like Washington still, Kuzma still there, Tyas Jones still there. I
think that probably just means like nobody was thrown first around, and like we
just talked about, like only three changed hands, and none of them are
like great other than that twenty twenty seven Dallas one. So like I think
I think it just suggests to me that and then we kind of suspected this
that like nobody's really eager to just like kick first round picks out the door
anymore, and so these middling guys were in the past, like you might
have been able to get a first for Sexton, right given his youth,
given his scoring, given how he's played the last like you know, however
many weeks it's been now that he's played really well, and that's just not
the case anymore. So I think that if you're looking for, like what
are the themes of this deadline, I think it might be as we look
back on it, like it's just not that easy to probably like real firsts
out of teams anymore when the teams that are willing to trade them can't.
Yeah, that helps too, Like, well, they're just looking at I
mean the restrictions. Really, you know, we haven't even got fully into
the new CBA environment yet, but like there's seven contenders that can't sign anybody
out on the buyout market that made more than the mid level. So like
there, what's the point of them in, you know, finagling on the
margins to try to clear buyout money. Is there's just like and the restrictions
going forward, just general team building stuff. I think first rounders might become
more valuable because as it gets harder and harder to you know, swing big
trades and aggregate salaries for certain teams and take in more than you send out
and all this other stuff. Like maybe the value of just let's draft this
guy with a first round pick that we own and develop him and then pay
him to scale, Like maybe that just becomes a more valuable roster building tool
as we get into the new CBA. I don't know, that's just speculation
based on the dearth of first that we saw move this this deadline, Well,
this would reinforce your pointot too, is that and the decision might have
been made for the sixers. But look at the Mavericks and the Lakers is
kind of the good parallels where it's the MAVs move their only chip, this
is what they get. The Lakers probably could have had de Jonte Murray,
and it seems like they've decided, no, we're gonna I mean, Dangel
Russell's playing better the past few weeks, so that helps. But they might
have actively decided, well, we get to trade three first round picks on
top of three swaps this summer, so maybe teams are also their valuing first
round picks and that the Sixers two. Again, the Mbat injury complicates that,
but it's, oh, we can trade five now instead of like three,
and like one of them is all one of the five or the three
is gonna be like super complicated. Anyway, I'm wondering if that adds to
the value. I will start moving us along a little bit quicker, since
it feels like there's a bunch of teams just gonna need to hit the Pacers
and we had a comment about them. Pacers got me scratching my head from
from PDPT. I I'm kind of with him. My whole thing was,
okay, if Buddy Field was gonna leave, I get it, but like
he was so like the gravity and you're pulling, and like Doug McDermott doesn't
do that, like not what Buddy Heal did, and and the other thing
I was gonna say, yes, if he's gonna leave, capitalize him on
what you could you had three seconds? Those are you know, those are
sweeteners or those are players you could take stabs at. You have Ben mcmather,
and you have Ben Sheppard, you have Andrew Nemhard, who we should
see just his minutes tick up in general now I would imagine, but it
is sort of weird just because they're a team that just traded three first round
picks in theory, well not in theory, but they trade three first round
picks to get Pascal Siakam, so you would expect them to be more invested
in the now where it's just look at this in a vacuum, like if
you could, do you prefer to have Buddy Heel for the rest of this
season knowing he just leaves, but also maybe we could have worked to signing
trade from them, but knowing he just leaves, or would you rather have
these three seconds? And I guess Doug McDermott is how I'm viewing this and
I might prefer to have but I don't think they're a loser. I kind
of understand it, and it's not like this team will want for offense,
but I actually kind of found myself wondering they just not. I think it's
smart to say they definitely treat this as like, well, this is not
our year, even though we traded for Siakam integrating him mid season. But
I was almost wondering, like, Okay, is it just is it part
of the Well, it's hard to integrate these guys mid season. Also,
do we not trust the Tyrese Halburton hamstring stuff? That's almost my read on
it. But there's also this is their their biggest defense of all. But
he'll requested a trade over the offseason, and so it's like if he was
just gonna leave, I understand trying to capitalize on his value while you could.
Yeah, and they didn't. They failed in extension negotiations. So like
whatever Buddy Heal's camp wants, I think it's pretty clear that Pacers don't want
to pay, so, like I do think it's a fair assumption to say
they were gonna lose him for nothing. That doesn't like that doesn't excuse this
idea that you're like talking about of Like, the Pacers are good, and
Buddy Held plays a lot and he matters. He's like he's a great shooter.
I will say, like his numbers are down. He's getting up fewer
attempts for thirty six minutes from deep than he has since like eighteen nineteen.
He's not at forty percent from deep, He's averaging twelve a game. Those
are all like you know, lows for quite a while. And I just
wonder if, like the six the Pacers, sorry, kind of look at
the makeup of the roster and say, because all these moves happen in conjunction
with each other, we think we get we can get Doug McDermott cheap.
We think the drop off exists from Buddy Heel to Doug McDermott as far as
what we need, It's not gonna be enormous given Buddy Heeld's giving him twelve
a game and whatever, And like you can make the case that McDermott still
is like more valuable as an off ball cutter and a guy that can kind
of like move around inside the arc a little better than Heal does and we
get these three seconds. And then also, Doug McDermott's a very good cutter.
Listen, I'm not saying no, I'm gonna say he's a bad cutter.
I'm just saying the like he's maybe he hasn't played enough in San Antonio
fore t like watching what Buddy Heal kind of does to defenses. I just
Doug mcdermot's having to do that. Here's the bigger point, though, if
you're the Pacers moving Healed for McDermott, I assu McDermott's gonna play less than
Heal did, even though Healed I don't have the pull up. Is I
have his minutes here? You don't think Dougy dermots gonna get some run at
the two under just under twenty six minutes a game for Healed. I think
maybe if this opens up more for the more Kneesmith Nimhard minutes, both of
them are just better defenders than Healed. This is still the Pacers are still
a team. Even posts Siakam that like, if there's a problem, it's
on defense, it's not offense. I think if Halliburton is healthy, this
offense is gonna be awesome. I don't really care who else is around him
on the floor. And so like, if moving Healed for value now because
you know you're gonna lose him, means you get a little better in terms
of like apportioning minutes the guys that are gonna be more defense focused than Healed,
which is like literally everybody. I think, like the drop off is
not massive, and so you should maybe just get the meager assets you can,
Like three seconds, I mean two of them in twenty twenty nine,
not so bad, Like that's that's fine. I just think it. I
think it's probably as much as anything. The Pacers decided they could offset the
loss of Healed to some degree with McDermott, and they're gonna give more minutes
to guys that defend and so like, and that's just what the team needs,
is more guys on the floor who can defend around Haliburton. So I
don't know. I it does seem weird though, because Healed mattered to a
team that is trying to win, you know, this year. I guess
like the Pacers are kind of gonna have it both ways because they're young.
But like, on its face, it's weird. It doesn't really bother me
that much if you sort of look at the holistic view of their deadline activity.
Another one of my siren songs, the Phoenix Suns getting Royce O'Neill without
giving up either one of their two I guess you could say three best if
you want to include Nurkicen there, but any one of their best salary matching
tools. They just step ladder their way with minimums to Royce O'Neill cost you
three seconds. I still don't have clarification on those. I'm assuming at least
one of them they have those two Memphis seconds in twenty eight and twenty nine,
those are gonna be going out. I can't bring myself to care about
those. I know that we kind of belabor we do need to get to
the Pistons after this. I promise Piston's fans, if you're still listening,
I apologize you did so much. Uh. I know he just belabored kind
of the Pistons giving me up one for Simony fun tak yell. But like
the Suns are in this now, and there's a chance I wouldn't necessarily predict
it. Royce O'Neil, he's smaller, he's slower than he was a couple
of years ago, but like, this is someone who will hit threes and
he can't guard like the startiest point of attack guards anymore, but like he
can be moved around the two, the three, the four against a lot
of matchups just based off him being a player that you can say, we
know what we're gonna get from him, and there's a chance that he's a
net positive on both ends of the floor. It's not unreasonable to say that
he could become their fifth most important player for the rest of the year.
I think he's like the logical choice to close now, like we thought it
was gonna be KBD. People thought maybe Gordon Watson Abby, Like there's a
lot of options, I guess, but like like Allen, the guy,
Grayson Allen's been playing so well that I know they can't shoot in fourth quarters.
I just wonder, like that's just where I go, because we know
Beal and Durant are going to close, and then if you want to play
O'Neill and Allen, then you're saying KD at the five, which I guess
is fine. And like Phoenix didn't do anything to address the backup big situation
of anything they're they got rid of Metu, so they're like sort of less
equipped to handle it. Drew Eubanks has been not great this season. He's
been a little bit better lately, but he's been not great overall. I
love like And by the way, this is a guy that they could just
keep beyond this year too, because they have his bird rights and now you
have a number. We talk a lot about, well, if you sign
Grace and Allen, if you extend him, you can move him at a
higher number. It's like, as long as you don't give Royce O'Neill like
an absurd amount of money, that's still the archetype of player that team's like,
yeah, we don't have him on out our books for like another year
or two. We don't care. Sure, yeah, absolutely, he's just
like the ideal I mean, the ideal role playing fit for Phoenix would be
like twenty six year old Royce O'Neill and not thirty year old Royce O'Neil.
But like, given what they had to trade and what they didn't trade to
get this done, which is kind of amazing, Like that's that's a huge
win for them. I don't know what value that has. By the way,
moving forward, to where it's like do you just view that no,
sole because you can't agg this season, they can't aggregate, so like this
was taking advantage of that rule where it's one hundred and ten percent of the
money could come back, we can aggregate, and like you can't do that.
So the nas little does in theory as an expiring contract making what is
he at like seven million next year or whatever it is as contract pays him,
he's at uh six point eight, Like just as a standalone number,
that's that's more valuable because you can't step out of your way like you just
did. So I have no notes. I thought it was an eleven to
ten move for them. Okay, yeah, I like it. I mean
I guess yeah, it's a great move. I don't know if it's my
favorite, but considering yeah, we would just I'm just we found out it's
like they only I think they only had four seconds to trade, and if
it's just the three of the best four seconds, then it's like, what
is salary matching matter when you fucking trade anything. I want to see a
team get to a point where they have no draft picks to trade whatsoever.
It will be the as Zach Low says the horcucks it. They'll start swapping
the swaps that they've already swapped with three other swaps twice removed from that last
swap. Right, you get you get a you get a you get if
it falls between forty one and forty six in the second round of twenty twenty
twenty nine, you get it. Otherwise it goes to these five yeah.
People in the Chatapornty out to the Pacers also traded seconds. I do not
care. One of them was definitely fakes like we're not gonna cover like that
stuff as we don't need to cover like that. That's for the one of
the top fifty five protected picks for the Corey Joseph one. They didn't give
up actual value for Corey Joseph just to wave them. The Warriors just paid.
I think I saw the Warriors paid five point eight million in cash to
get them. That much cash is the most they could give, and but
it's gonna save them like twelve So it's just like, of course you do
that. It's just because well, the tax implications for them. They're probably
a team we need to get to as to should they have made moves or
could they have? But I think is there we got to do some other
teams before we get to the Wood. It should is like we got to
talk Chicago. We should probably talk Warriors. I'm trying to think who else,
but like so the Wood would a teams I'm talking about, do we
have any the Piston Let's talk pistons. We know we gotta talk pistons.
Yeah, let's just I mean moves all they got some they have like all
even when you factor in like the Marvin Bagley trade. They just made all
these moves and it was an admission. And James Edwards, the third uh
over the Athletic, wrote a great piece about this, like they basically admitted,
oh fuck, we screwed up over the summer. We should have done
more, rather than basically yeah, So what did you kind of make of
their Like they finally moved by On Bardonovich that was actually and Alec Burks,
the two players they didn't want to move at Monte Morris, who everyone thought
they weren't gonna move. I don't know how to feel about any of this
in a vacuum, but like I think that it was like, I mean,
you got Grimes, who's a great fit. I think if he's if
he's gonna take enough threes, he's gonna give you someone who will defend ND
space the floor around Kate Cunningham and Jade and Ivy. You took out some
of the roadblocks to ensuring that Jade and Ivy gets then like Killian Hayes gone,
Alec Burks gone, Monte Morris who didn't really play for them a bunch
of season because of injuries. He's now gone. So like you're in full
on development and you surrounded them with Simoni von Techio is a great shooter.
I just questioned the value, and you know, you go through the history
of number thirty two or thirty three picks, I understand what the track record
is there. And now he has this small cap hole and you don't have
boy and Madonovich's again fully guaranteeing his seal around the book, so you still
have these cops caps based options. He's a fit. I just it was
there wasn't anything necessarily inconsistent. It was refreshing, But in the long run,
I don't necessarily know what they've advanced. I think that now they are
more committed to developing their young talent, and they have enough complimentary shooting around
them to where it makes you know, some of these guys were complimentary shooting,
like Montay Morris super low volume, prefers to operate with the ball in
his hands. Alec Burks wants to be on ball boy and Madonovich he doesn't
really care so like, but Simoni Fontekio is like this pure I'm gonna come
in here, I'm gonna fly around, I don't need the ball in my
hands, and I'm gonna give you more defensively than Alec Burks or Boy and
mcdonovich would. So I think, I like their deadline is my roundabout way
of getting there. I was just curio where you landed on Detroit's deepline.
I gotta say, I'm you know, I think you can only give them
so much credit for sort of doing the clean up that they should have done
a long time ago. And I mean, you know, like sometimes this
roster building plan works. Like Houston, I think is the counter example of
what like how you can sort of mix in the veterans with your you know,
with with a bunch of young guys and it sort of have it succeed.
You know, you add Fred van Vliet and Dylan Brooks and you still
you're not taking anything away really from Jalen Green or from Jabari Smith or certainly
not shan Gun. Detroit just sort of did it wrong with like Bogdanovic.
That's probably defensible. I guess it made sense to have him on that roster,
but like you know, guys like Morris got even guys like like Burks
and Hayes, like you just said it, like they they kind of got
things out of the way for the players that should have been getting big developmental
minutes all along. And so like, yeah, the right thing, did
the right thing, And if you really like Quinton Grimes, then then this
is even or even more you know, enthused about this. I'm not sure.
Like I think my knee jerk reaction was. I'm a little disappointed that
they didn't get a first in giving up Agdanovic and Burks, but like maybe
that just wasn't out there. You also just spoke about how hard it was
to get first, and I think I could argue, of all the type
of young players that were dealt, is quite in Grihymes more likely to have
first round value than o Chaik Baji. I don't tell ye, I don't
know Yeah, maybe maybe I do think like there there would have been some
justifiable thinking behind let's keep Agdanovic and guarantee him and we go into next year
with a nineteen million dollars salur. Like a whole problem with that plan.
I know people were up in arms about it, but I think it's because
they wanted their teams to track the off. Yeah, maybe that's it.
You gotta consider the source. Yeah, I don't. I don't. I
don't. I don't feel like super excited about it, just because it's kind
of like you should have done this a long time ago, like, you
know, get get all these guys out of the way for Jade and Ivy,
getting you know, Killian Hayes was just like we should probably talk about
that specifically. It's it's hard. Where's that compet in the chat? I'll
find it. A number seven pick that was starting most of this year started
like thir you know, three out of four games that he played. Yeah,
because Monti Williams, Jacob Wiley Money Williams will leave Detroit and move to
whatever city killing goes to. Perhaps the guy's last defender. Uh in literally
doing it right now, Griffin. Sorry, I think he put that up
before we started talking about him and Fair Okay, but the Hayes thing is
kind of wild, Like I think I think like the Spurs should be all
over, just buy the buyout market for him Washington Charlotte, like yeah,
any anybody, But I like san Antonio there just because Trey Jones is still
the point guard there, like no Tias Jones. That might as well see
if see if Hayes has anything. I guess what I appreciate about the Troy's
deadline I'm wondering if you would agree, is that I don't love it,
but they I don't feel like they made any moves just for the sake of
making moves, Like because even the and the smart is like so they get
new and again it's the second round pick. It's coming from the Knicks.
But like they were able to take on Daniel House and just get an extra
second round pick. Those were moves that they weren't doing before. I think
it's also like I just keep finding ways to not give the Pistons credit.
I think like part of the reason that we feel I agree. I think
I generally agree with you. I think part of the reason maybe Detroit didn't
do a bunch of dumb stuff. Is like the option was off the table
because Zach Lavine had surgery, and apparently Tobias Harris just wasn't going to be
traded, like because they were in on a lot of these guys, and
I think if they traded for either of them, we would be speaking very
differently, certainly Levine about the Pistons. So I guess I agree, like
you probably have to view this deadline as a positive for them. It's just
like you needed almost you know, you needed seventy percent of the season or
sixty percent of the season to determine like this is what needed to happen,
Like you had this information in you know, September, in July of twenty
twenty three. So it's hard to get too excited for me. Three teams
I'd like to hit super quickly. Let's start with Milwaukee. I think people
wanted them to make a bigger move than getting Patrick Beverley and getting rid of
Robin Lopez. They just weren't set up for it. And maybe they could
have attached Bobby Portis and the Portland pick and Pat Content and done something,
but I don't know what that something. You know, they were they were
never gonna get PJ. Washington. They weren't gonna get Dorian Phinie Smith or
anyone like that. I don't Patrick Beverley, We're very talking about like he
makes sense on this roster actually more than a campaign does. It's just do
you think he was worth giving up a twenty twenty seven second round pick one
of your last remaining assets that you could realistically trade. I'm not sure he
is in a vacuum, but I think for a Bucks team that like both
externally like people like us saying like they gotta get they gotta get a guy
in there and they need somebody, and probably internally where it's like, you
know, just I'll just say, like Jannis probably is like what are we
doing? You know we pulled the coach lever, Like it's just just a
little bit of Internally, I feel like they probably all understood, like we
got to do something because you know, we're we're the lowest regarded like thirty
and fourteen team or whatever they are in NBA history. Nobody totally believes in
them. So like just from a stylistic perspective, Beverly has his flaws.
He's overrated as a defender because he fouls so much and because of his size,
but like just as an attitude adjustment of like he's gonna go hard when
he's out there, and maybe that, along with changing from Griffin to Rivers
as the head coach, kind of coaxes better consistent defensive effort out of these
guys. Like I totally understand that. Like it's underwhelming, but like the
Bucks did not have the ability to make a whelming move let alone is as
whelmed as they could as they could get. Like there just wasn't they as
much as almost any other team just didn't have the assets or the ability to
like, like I remember seeing like Andrew Wiggins as a Bucks target. It's
just like, how like Robby Murray and yeah, stop, but we need
the Jill. I will just say, even when he's not good, Patrick
Beverley still defends the guys that they need to defend. It might not always
be well, but like to have a body where it's okay, it doesn't
have to be Malie Beasley and you're still sparing Dame from it. I'm just
they could they should have done more. I just don't think they could have.
They would have been nice, Like if that Portland pick could have gotten
them Chris Dunn somehow. Yes, I would have been all over that,
but I'm guessing that it couldn't have, right, I agree, So what
else? We got two more quick ones to hit Minnesota getting Monte Morris.
So I don't dislike it. I want to make that clear, but it's
I thought people were kind of viewing it as like too much of a home
run to where it's well, they also needed someone who would give you some
shot volume or higher end three point volume, and that's not Monte Morris's game.
And I just I would rather have seen them been like if you would
have And I don't know if this was on the table. I'm assuming it's
not because they're worried about what's gonna happen to them in the future. Like
I would have traded nas Reed for Malcolm Brogden. That's how invested in the
now I am. I a sued way too, and it would have been
nas Reed and Anderson for Brogden basically, which I would have done. But
like, even why couldn't you get Tias Jones, Like you couldn't figure out
a way to do that with the seconds that you had. I would imagine
you could you had the twenty thirty that you shipped out for Montey Morris.
It felt like they aired too much on the side of caution and thinking that
they're there and that they're ready, and their offense not just when Anthony Edwards
is off the court, not just when you're not playing Mike Conley. Like
their offense needs help, Like there's turnovers, there's there's like wonky clumpiness.
Sometimes there's Karl Anthony Towns doesn't want to be in the corner for some reason
I don't like, I don't know, or they don't have him in the
corner enough for some reason. I don't get it. I'm not saying trading
for Malcolm Brogden would have fixed that, like you needed it all of a
sudden, feels like they're they could, They're they're one of the best teams
in the league right now. We've been pretty high on them all year,
but just lately it feels like they need it, like that monte Morris wasn't
the move. It just felt like it needed to be bit like even and
he doesn't bring as much playmaking, but he's and he's definitely an injury risk,
but he has a higher ceiling you couldn't have gotten Luke Nar from them.
Supply no one got Lukenard from the Grip. They would have burned it
down at the deadline. I think it's interesting that Morris simultaneously is a I
think a good value for what they gave up to get him, and is
also the type of player that you would say they needed, like an adult
in the room, backup point guard Mike calmly insurance that kind of like doesn't
play like Commley, but kind of a similar Like he's out here to make
open shots and facilitate, and Morris has done that throughout his career, really
like since taking over a meaningful size role I don't know, four or five
years ago, and you can still criticize him for like that's it, like
you couldn't which is what you're saying, Like you couldn't have gotten a couple
more seconds out there and and and scaled up to Jones, for example,
it would be the name that I think made the most sense. But I
think Morris is a good get. And I think they're not gonna miss Shake
Milton or Troy Brown, and that's a distant second, and like I'm just
I'm not gonna I think to be really critical of I would have to feel
confident that, like there was a way for them to get Tias Jones with
what they had, and they just chose not to. And I don't know
that you know, and and like same with Canard, same with a lot
of other options. It's always hard for me to judge what I think is
a pretty good acquisition against like hypothetical better ones. But you would think that
you would think that they could have figured out a way to get someone better
than Morris. I just think he makes sense as a fit to me.
I can't get too upset about it. Well, I mean the low turnover
stuff for sure, just like Gay low key big turnover problems for the Wolves,
Uh, not so low key. And if it came off this way,
I'm not criticizing the move which is a good fit. I think it
was just over sold, is the answer. But yeah, yeah, to
your point, because I was just guilty of that. Teams are not and
we lose sight of this. I try and keep it in mind when I'm
grading these things live and it gets a little hard. You're off the cuff
reaction. Teams are not actively taking or making worse offers like They're like,
they're if for the return like this this was probably the best that the Wolves
felt they could do. It wasn't well, we could have given up this
same deal and gotten tyas Jones and just included a little bit more salary.
And it's like, I have to remember that. I just think it was
being over sold as an answer. But maybe I'm under selling the extent to
which turnovers of undermined, not just like the offensive issues, but like the
blown leads for them this season. That's been a big issue the other team.
I think that we need to talk about Boston, which I respected Boston
saying it was and they ended up getting Jaden Springer too, But they came
out today and said they were done after getting Exavier tillmant and I was like,
you know what, you didn't lie to us, and I respect that.
I really do appreciate that. I like Exavier Tillman. It's a fit.
I know he's dabbled in three point volume of this huar because my first
thought was this is like a big man who's not really a good playmaker and
doesn't stretch the floor. That's not a Boston big even under you know,
whether it's Ema Rudoka or Joe Mazzula or Brad Stevens. And then I'm like,
well, like he does. He has been dabbling at three point volume
this year, so maybe he'll chuck more of those in Boston. But I'm
just like they needed a girthy, just brute force. Opponents are shooting like
fifty eight or whatever percent against him at the rim. It's super low this
year, so that helps you with a reserve. He will battle on the
glass. He's a physical body to throw at some of the stronger bodies,
which I think one you're never going to want to do that with KP and
al Horfer's getting older so he don't have to do that. So I liked
that move. And you already mentioned this at the top, so you get
rid of Delano Banton and it doesn't actually look like that didn't cost you anything.
Maybe it was cash so you were able to open up the roster spot
to get Jayden Springer, who is you mentioned, just like, let's get
this other defensive wing in here. Yeah, it was an understated trade deadline,
but I actually really liked it. And look, Xavier Tilman is in
theory. I know there's going to be second aproned out six ways, seven
day like all over the place, but you keep him, like yeah with
bird rights and these reserve bigs don't rermally cost too much money, so I
thought they had just like a really solid deadline. Take it with a grain
of salt because like some of the names up at the top of this list
are, you know, it makes you suspicious of it, but I think
it's I think it's the best catch all metric estimated plus minus from dunksan threes.
He's every Tieman's third in defensive EPM this year, so like I mean
above, you know, number one is Isaiah your your your boy, Isaiah
Hartenstein number one in defensive estimated because he's the defensive player of the year.
So that's that checked out, followed by Jonathan Isaac, which means this list
is valid if we're ranking defensive awesomeness. Alex Cruzos fifth, Joel embiid,
Evan Mobley, my guy, Nikhil, Alexander Walker. But Tillman's third,
so like it's a premium skill whatever it like, even even if he's your
third big, I guess like you might even play cornette over him sometimes,
like I think, to get a guy that might eat up some minutes and
just really defend hard for a little while and maybe bring him back. Maybe
you don't totally good with that, and Springer is the same way. Like
I think Alexander Walker, it sounds like you might be. I just think
that the Celtics sort of gave themselves like another look. Maybe like you,
you know, I don't know when you're gonna use this your your best players
are going to be on the floor in the games you care about the most.
But like, I don't know, maybe there's a game in the middle
of March where like everybody's hurt, and Springer and Tillman and you know,
Peyton Pritchard and whoever else do you want to throw out there just like win
him a game because they hold the opponent to like ninety one points, or
just like you know, there's a there's there's ways for these guys to contribute,
and given Boston's kind of restrictions, like that trade exception they took Springer
into was kind of like the only real way they could do anything. They
at least caught some guys that are interesting that could help them in ways that
players currently on the roster maybe would not have been able to so like given
the constraints of of like just their lack of flexibility, I guess I should
say pretty good to get two guys that you can look at and say,
I could he might help. He really might help at some point. And
because he's really good at this one thing, you know that's hard, that's
hard to do, so very very quickly, I'm so fascinated, boy,
what the Grizzlies are going to do this offseason? Because you get rid of
Steven Adams, I know I wasn't playing. You get rid of Xavior Chill,
when you get rid of David Roddy, you've just blown up your front
court. And so it's your either just big believer in Brendon Clark coming back
from this Achilles injury and looking fantastic, or they're a team that's like kind
of fixing to do something interesting over the off season. I leaned towards the
ladder. So they's just a team that I don't know that we need to
spend much time. This is what they should be doing, where yeah,
let's just recoup some of these picks. And they definitely made mistakes. I
don't think they've undid any of them. When it comes to roster building,
but they've kept they put themselves in a position where they can still be aggressive
over the off season for the most part, though getting rid of Tillman because
of his next deal, and then the stuff that they did with the the
Steven Adams trace specifically was well, we don't want to pay the attacks next
year and we want to make sure that Marcus Smart is in the cap casualty.
That's how I read it. But they've basically blown aside from Jaron Jackson
Junior, they just like blew up their future front court. Yeah, can
I ask you, like a macro question that we don't really haven't really done
done this yet. So in the wake of the deadline, has your view
on like the contender tier versus like the tier below that, like, has
anybody moved around in a meaningful way? So I'm not gonna lie. I
am less confident than I was not because of the deadline, but post deadline,
I'm less confident in the Timberwolves being as legit as I thought they were.
I thought that they might just get some if it was Tias Jones,
someone who I could envision just playing more minutes than Monte Morris. I like
it maybe incrementally better, which I think makes a big difference when you're as
good as the Wolves. I would have liked to have seen them get I
mean like a Luke Canar I mentioned. I would have liked to see them
been more at least have them tied. If we've even heard a report like,
oh, they tried to get so and so and even the thunder a
little bit, because like you didn't add any like half the rebounding or bounce
up front. But I still feel really good about what we just mentioned With
Gordon Hayward, I will say what's changed for me? I am I don't
know, And this might have to do more with their recent play. I'm
I'm like in on the Suns again, like they are full strength, having
real O'Neil there, They've consolidated their options a little bit. Look, options
can also be the enemy of success. Sometimes it feels like you need to
try and pull so many of these different levers, consolidating some of that into
roy O'Neil. Yes, there's big man questions, there's rotation questions up and
down the court. I don't want to hear about the point guard stuff anymore.
I was doing something the other day, Devin Booker the percentage of his
passes that lead to in a like a direct shot, a free throw,
or a secondary assist. He ranks not as he ran in the top five
to the league this year. He's ranked in the top five of the league
among high volume passers in every single season for the past half decade. Trey
Young's the only other player who has done the same. So I said it
a thousand passes per year as my minimum. That's nothing like these guys are
passing like thousands and thousands of times. So that's a real sample. So
I find myself. I think my biggest change is that I'm probably the same
as I was on OKAC. Nothing has really changed about the Clippers. For
me, I'm still the Nuggets are my title pick. I'm a little bit
more easy about the Timberwolves. With the bigger thing is is like I'm not
kind of in on the Suns. Yeah. Yeah, I think if you
look down the list of like who's gonna be an impact player on teams that
matter, you get Healed in Philly, You maybe get Hayward in Okay see,
depending on how healthy he is. Bogdanovic and Burke's in New York.
I think you probably go PJ. Washington in Dallas, like impact, meaning
I don't know which way that's gonna go. And then you know in Phoenix,
right, like those are That's what we're dealing with in terms of like
needle movers. I guess, like which of those guys I mentioned or maybe
you have someone else? Do you think maybe it is O'Neill, But like,
who do you think is gonna matter the most in the sort of grand
scheme of like the league hierarchy at this point, like who, oh,
I misunderstood your question, then I'm sorry, Oh no, no, no,
I'm changing the question. I was just looking at the names, like
because because I kind of feel the same way about teams themselves. But like,
of those none of those names are huge, But like, of those,
who do you think has the ability or is in position to like make
the most meaningful difference? I feel like it might be Gordon Hayward, which
is a wild thing to say, but you you kind of laid it out.
So much of this is inextricably tied to health and is he gonna be
available? But then in New York, I would pick what the Knicks did
if you told me that og Annobie and Julius Randall Mitchell Rott if two of
those guys are gonna be back and fine, but like we don't know.
And then in Philly, that's the other thing we didn't kind of talk about
is going after healed. Does it kind of imply that you are expecting Joell
Ebie to come back this season, which is a good thing. So like
that's the I don't know if he has a big enough difference on them.
If Joell Embid is coming back, it could be him, I would say
right now, if we just had to guess based off how these guys are
gonna play, I honestly think I think it's Gordon Hayward. Who I mean,
look at it this way, PJ. Washington, of anyone who is
traded if their teams are at full strength, maybe the answer is Buddy heeled.
I don't think it's anybody the Knick's just acquired. He has the best
chance to be a part of a closing unit of a playoff team, right,
Yeah, that's an interesting way to frame it. I mean O'Neil is
in that conversation too, but I think Hayward just does more on is a
better player than O'Neill probably, although like for what the Sons need, Like
if you had Hayward on the Suns instead of O'Neil, you might not feel
as good about them as as you do now with them having O'Neill. So
it's very situational. But like, yeah, I think there's a case for
Hayward. I think, I mean, I know, maybe you don't want
to say it, but I think that that Bogdanovic and Burkes, and this
assumes health for the rest of the roster, like, those guys will both
be in the rotation, like however deep the Knicks go in the playoffs,
Like, I think both of those guys are going to be on the floor
a lot. So I think that they're like but the injury questions the rest
of the roster make that tricky to sort of figure out how much they're gonna
matter. Although I think to be on the team next year too, right
would you wouldn't you? That's another question. You think they gets moved over
the offseason, like because of his they guarantee his contract. I will say
so if it's just in a vacuum. Actually think it's the Knicks by a
comfortable margin because we're kind of looking at the realities of the question marks.
I think it's Gordon Hayward and okay seor O'Neil even in Phoenix. I'm definitely
most interested to see what Hayward looks like with the Thunder, because I like,
you know what he's gonna do in Philly, like you know what Royce
O'Neil is gonna do in Phoenix, like you you Hayward is just kind of
like it's an interesting fit, and he's been hurt for so long that we
don't really know what level he's at. So I mean, I think I'm
excited for that one for sure. Plus I just like watching the Thunder,
so any any extra excuse to watch Okay see is a positive. We have
a few minutes left, so let's get to some teams that didn't do much
or anything. This comment comes from Ruby'scals being a team that didn't do anything.
Dunleavy Junior perfected his trade deadline philosophy under the tutelage of our tourist Carnacibus
Uh that what did you just make of the Dubs doing nothing? I don't
think this shocked anybody. I guess I'm not saying rubik'scaut was shocked, but
I just don't think that this their inactivity was a surprise. Yeah, and
I would I would distinguish it from the Bulls in activity by saying the Warriors
probably shouldn't have done something, whereas I think we all agree the Bulls should
have, even being hamstrung by that by the Levigne injury, Like you should
have traded de Rosen. You probably should have traded Caruso if like that would
have been an interesting test in this like depressed market for first rounders. I
wonder if Caruso would have got you, like a good first because you know,
the Bulls we're talking about, we want to or whatever the ridiculous reporting
was on that. I don't think the Warriors were in a position where there
was a trade out there. This I'm just rehashing this like cut and paste
this. There was not a trade out there to get the Warriors into the
contender tier. Their best, if highly unlikely path to reassuming that form is
for the guys currently on the roster to play better, and like that's kind
of been happening. Kminga's on a heater. Andrew Wiggins has been a lot
better lately. Their Their win against a depleted Sixers team the other night was
the best team ball they played literally all year. It feels like Kaminga's emergence
has the veterans like believing a little bit or like and trusting a little bit.
And I think they also realized that like Kminga draws so much attention now
with the ball that like, oh my god, like suddenly there's a little
bit of room for Klay Thompson to get open or for you know, Wiggins
to duck in or curry like I think. So that's not to say that
they're gonna get anywhere this year, but it is to say that like trading
Wiggins for a version of like of another Wiggins type and giving up capital to
do it would have been stupid and like, you're not trading Klay Thompson.
Nobody wants that forty plus million expiring. Like, I don't think there was
a good trade for the Warriors, and so I think it was right not
to do anything, not so for the Bulls. That that's the contrast,
is the Bulls should have done something, but they're gonna compete for the playoffs,
I guess is the mandate now according to the latest comments out of there,
is there anybody besides the Bulls that you thought, like really missed opportunities
or or just should have done something consequential so very quickly to wrap up on
the Warriors, I was a little bit sad, and I actually have a
question for you. I was hoping they were gonna free Moses Moody, to
be honest with you, Yeah, do you think this makes it? Or
are they just so concerned about costs they did pay to get Corey Joseph off
their books. Is there a chance now that they guarantee Chris Paul Sally or
like to then make the bigger move over the offseason, or do you think
that this is more of an submit of actually saying maybe they bring him back
in a smaller number, but we're more about this exact core and hoping that
it's better next year and that it's you know, does the needle or the
barometer for judgment on Klay Thompson moves when he's playing a smaller role like he
is now, but he won't be making forty plus million dollars. Yeah,
I think Clay coming back next year at like twenty is probably the likeliest outcome.
I don't know how long that deal goes, but I would I would
guess on Paul because that's I neglected to mention him as like that's a chip
they could have moved with, say Moody, and you know first for something.
I would bet I think the least likely outcome is they bring him,
they pick up the guarantee and bring him back at thirty, just because I
don't feel like there's again it's all tied to like, well, how much
cheaper can you bring Thompson back for? And you know that kind of thing.
But like I would guess he's either back at a reduced salary or they
just kind of you know, we got off the Jordan Pool deal. We're
good. You know. The cowards just let him go, their financial cowards.
So to answer your question, the team that I feel like, I'm
actually genuinely shocked, and this again must be prefaced with well, what was
out there for them? Can I guess? I guess? Well, I
already said their name would go ahead. I didn't hear you say it,
so I swear I'm not. Is it Orlando? No? Uh? First
of all, I saw a Lando saying they didn't have interest in Kevin Herder
because didn't play enough defense. If that was accurate reporting, Fuck that front
office does not know what it needs or like this just doesn't like that would
be I don't even want to talk about them because if that's the logic they
had heading into this deadline after seeing their offense for the entire season, Yeah,
I don't care. Also, that's what feeling sucks is for he go
he can go guard that guy. You can have Kevin, Like we're not
asking you to acquire Like I don't. I don't even know what do they
Who do they think Kevin Hurder is? I don't know. I'm just like
just so the King's not doing anything. Feels like a major major miss here.
Like you've had some struggles of late. The offense has not been as
good as you need to. You already mentioned like the Sabonus without Fox minutes
or a little bit iffy, and there were just clear spots like you have
three big needs on this team, and I'll say this perimeter defense is one
of them. But I do think that the Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray have
allowed you to now prioritize well, we either needed like additional shop creation on
this roster that came in the form of someone who's bigger than Maligue Monker has
more of like the perimeter, not just getting downhill, or we needed rim
protection that could fit next to Dolmas Sabonis. So those are three things that
I just named and maybe you would come up with more. And you did
nothing. You didn't do anything on the margins. Maybe you're a team that'll
be linked to buyout candidates. And this is also I respect that they were
kind of like only ankle deep in the ogn Andobi and Pascal Siakam stuff where
it shows, well, we don't want to short circuit our future, like
it's just not now for us looking at the lay of the land in the
west, But like, how do you do nothing at this deadline when there
are so many clear areas that you need, not just it's like, oh,
this guy needs to be like a cap Like you didn't need to get
another top forty player over, like you just needed to get a rotational upgrade.
And yes, PDPTE this is the other thing. Yes, Malik Bunk
could walk this summer because they have early bird rights on him. But if
a team comes over the top, or if they don't want to pay him
like more than he's making right now. That's the other part of this is
so you don't even have like Malague Monk insurance at this point if he does
leave. Yeah, I agree. I think the Devil's Advocate position would be
kind of like what I just said about the Warriors, which is like,
what was the move that was gonna bump them up like a tier in terms
of you know, cause they're I mean, it may have been there,
it may have not like it may have they may have missed the boat,
like if they could have just overpaid for siakam Ran Andobi or whatever. I
don't think they were beating anybody's offers for those guys. But if you're not
gonna trade Kegan Murray and that's just like the the line in the sand,
it seems like there's just they will not do it, then it's like you're
trading Harrison Barnes and what you know. Like that that's the way the way
forward. I agree, like they need they were one of the teams that's
like kind of in the middle and not in the middle middle, not like
the Bulls middle or what we used to call like the Orlando middle. But
like, yeah, you're not a top four team. You're probably better than
the like nine ten spot in the play in, but you're in the you're
in that middle, and I don't know what they could have done to like
climb out of that. But yeah, they got perimeter defense issues the offense.
You said it all like it is. It is kind of disappointing,
slash surprising that they didn't do like literally anything. And to your point,
if it took a twenty twenty seven first to get PJ Washington, granted you're
not send I mean Barnes and Williams's salary if that was the stuff going out,
I don't even know if First of all, I don't know how much
upgrade pe Washington is an upgrade over Harrison Barnes minutes. Maybe you're not trying
to give up Harrison. But also, and I'm step, I'm like negating
my own point here, Like Kevin Hurder' is still kind of too valuable than
be like, well let's just move him for for X. But it took
again, it wasn't well you need to move one of your Like you couldn't
even trade Davey on Mitchell for like second round flyers or something. Apparently not
like that, he's back in the rotation a little bit, by the way,
But yeah, that's that's a good nomination. I don't really have any
other. I did mention Orlando just because we spent you know, the last
several months thinking about which different guards or offensive players they could add, and
they just they didn't. I think if we give anybody a pass, it's
probably them, just because of the youth of the roster and stock. Come
on, we're not we're in the business of hot takes here, but this
is they should have done something. No, like, let's just put shooting
on it, especially because so much of their talent feels makeshift where it's Gary
Harris is expiring, MARKL. Folks is expiring, Jonathan Isaac is fully guaranteed
next year, go Gooba Toadze is going to be a free agent. So
it's not like you're just locked down in the sule future. I guess,
like, well, what's the move. I mean, we've talked about a
million of them, Like Brogden would have made some sense there, I guess,
like trying to think who we all are would have made sense. Yeah,
Brooks was an option. Yeah, they definitely could have had so some
improvement, But like again, like I wonder if teams are just like you
want Tyas Jones. It's a first deal and then he's a free agent,
so deal with that's your problem now, you know. Here's here's an interesting
question though, if it would have cost you to first to get Jeremy Grant,
would you have done it for this team? For Orlando? No?
Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were still talking about the Kings for
a second. No, no, not that if it but like, why
couldn't they have gone out? I guess if they didn't want Kevin Hurder,
they wouldn't have wanted Luke Canard. But like even for like Luke Canard wasn't
gonna cost you a first round pick. The Grizzlies are out here trying to
They're only gonna duct the tax next year, probably if they decline in this
steam option. So like I just them and the Kings felt like they could
have just made the move of Okay, this isn't a caps lock like improvement,
but like we got better or we got a little bit deeper, and
they did nothing. How about this? You look at what it took to
get Bogdanovic and Burk's for the Knicks, you're telling me the Kings couldn't get
matching salary and just put more seconds on the table, Like is Quentin Grimes
like they really the gem like that? You know, I think they're just
so viewed through that lens, Like the Kings should have been able to if
they put a first on the table, like they should have beaten they should
have beaten the offer for Bogdanovitch, for example, like they could not that
he's what they need. But it's like right, it does. It does
go to your point of like it feels like the inactivity was more like,
you know, an unwillingness as opposed to an inability to do something. This
is I mean, we're back to the Kings, but can you would you
Well, let's get to from Rubus Galas. This is the ceiling for the
Kings. What's the difference between this team and the one that lit the beam
and the league? I do think I'll answer that one. It just feels
like some of their offensive ceiling has fallen apart. Even though they've gotten progression
from dearon Fox, the bonus is still just as good and Keegan Murray,
I just feel like Barnes Lyles, who who's the main we were just talking
about him, Barnes, Oh, Kevin Hurder like they've been, Kevin Heurder
still hitting his threes, like they've all been a little bit worse. And
when it's compounded over, they didn't really have the personnelity get much better defensively.
That's just why. And and the bigger thing to me is I think
this King's team is just as good as it was last year, might even
be a little bit better if you want a cake in the Keegan Murray development.
The West overall is just a lot more dangerous when you're factoring in not
just the Nuggets. But it's okay, the Sun's got healthy, the Clippers
are now, or the Clippers are healthy, the Sons are getting healthy,
Denver is still walking around there, and then you have like the Timberwolves and
the Thunder on the rise. So I think that's the bigger difference. And
my question to you is like if you would have had I wouldn't have done
two first round picks for Cloud Kuzma. I don't even think I would have
given up the same value. Like if it was just a first round pick
for PJ Washington, I probably would have said pass. But if it was
like a two picks for Jeremy Grant. I mean, even if it was
Hurder and a pick Herder might have some value to Portland maybe, like maybe
they didn't want to get rid of Jeremy Grant. It seems they didn't want
to get rid of anybody. But like, if you could have gotten a
player of Jeremy Grant, because you wouldn't have gotten I'm curious what was their
best offer for og An Andobi? Because if it was two first round picks,
I guess Toronto wanted players. Were they aggressive enough with him? But
if you would have, would you've given up two first for Jeremy Grant if
you're this team, I'm genuinely curious. I'm not giving an opinion there or
anything. I like, depending on how good they were, Like if there's
one real one in there and then one like I think I probably would just
because that he does give you. I mean, we don't love the contract.
It's not like a crippler, but it's not great, but he does
give you the defense, the versatility, the like on the margin stuff,
and he can get you twenty, which is you know, Barnes can't do
that anymore either. I think I probably would do that. I think I
can also imagine a world where we're criticizing them for doing that after it doesn't
fair neutle enough, you know, I would say too to your point one
nineteen point seven offensive rating for them last year, number one greatest ever all
this stuff, that'd be seventh this year. So it's just like the thing
they were great at, like six other teams are now just as good at
and there it's just like the league. It didn't catch because it's not like
the Kings were innovating in any real sense offensively, but just they were a
year ahead of the offensive explosion maybe or something like that, and they're just
they're just not They're not like world beaters on offense anymore, and the defense
isn't good enough to offset that, which we knew was going to be the
case. I have one more team I would like to hit, because I
know you have to go in five minutes because they did nothing and everyone thought
they were gonna do everything. The Atlanta Hawks. Oh yeah, I mean,
like again, it's gotta be that the offers weren't there for Murray and
they when we talked to Keith Smith about this, I mean, the great
point of like, there's not really urgency. You've got them under contract,
you just sign them to an extension. If there's no you know, multiple
first round pick off er out there, you don't have to do anything.
But it did feel like they pulled the change of the coach lever last year
and nothing's really changed. And so the next move is let's move guys that
are not named Trey Young. And then the next next move is let's move
Trey Young. And they they didn't even take that middle step yet. So
I'm I'm surprised, Like DeAndre Hunter would have been one of the best players
to move if he'd gone anywhere. Clint Capella I think, probably does Clin
Capella get you more than Daniel Gafford? Probably not right, but no,
which is probably fair. He's got hurt the other day too, I think.
But yeah, surprising. Can I want to nominate? We could talk
the Hawks two, but Portland, like Brogden's still there, Jeremy Grant's still
there, Like how I thought I thought for sure we'd get something. I
actually think that keeping Grant was the bigger risk because I don't know if his
value will be any higher than it is now. However, I will say,
if you couldn't get a real first for Brogden, or if it was
because Grimes has I know, Shadon Sharp got injured and is out for the
year now. Like if Grimes was the offer in New York, wasn't giving
you a pick. I get why you're not trading him to New York Brogden
specifically, So you couldn't get a first round pick for Brogden and he wants
to stay there. But that's that's smart. You should never when you're not
a star, You shouldn't say you don't want to be anywhere, right,
But if you could have gotten to first for Jeremy Grant, and I'm not
saying they could have, So that's why I really don't have a problem,
you should have moved it. Like we agree there. I think that is
the well we would have moved him, for one, if it was from
Dallas for but we were talking Dallas's perspective. I guess yeah. So no
multiple first round offers out there. Those those are dead apparently. I think
as the closest we came with, the Knicks gave up just because of those
two distant seconds and grinds, and it wasn't even a true first round pick.
I'm to a first round pick changing hands. I mean it's that Dallas
pick that twenty I met, like to multiple first changing hands. Oh yeah,
I guess like nothing else for you really even like bumps up against it
kind of amazing. To the Hawks's point, I think I'm like, kind
of okay, not because they won a few good games lately. I just
by the way I thought when I saw Young got traded, I didn't see
the initial tweets, so they were talking about fattyus. I was like,
Trey Young got traded the net. So, but I would have I understand
not keeping Murray if the offers are really because I think Murray's become vastly underrated.
I just the offers that were maybe it was just counter reporting. I
was surprised, but like this could fall under the line of the Kings is
like, so you couldn't have done something where it's like given them Barns and
then sweetened it just enough. Like I would have probably done Barnes in a
first for DeAndre Hunter, and that would have been a better for you to
protect the pick, but that would have been a better fit for your roster
in my opinion, I think it's different for the Hawks than the Kings though,
because the Hawks are well, I don't know, they're not that far
apart really relative to the competition in their conferences. The Hawks are below,
you know that, just to say that, like the Kings should have felt
more urgency just as an example to do something than the Hawks, because the
Hawks season is in the shit are basically betterment was selling versus buying, which
is a little bit different. I just like it's weird that the Hawks didn't
like even get a rid of some deep bay at this point. Are you
gonna pays a deep Bay? I guess did they just look at it and
say, you know, we're only two games out of ninth place and the
Raptors aren't going to catch us. Yeah. I wonder, like just I
guess to wrap it on the Hawks, like they might have just looked at
things and said, like, there's really no difference to us in a positive
way between doing something now and waiting until the summer, because you're still gonna
have I mean, Bay is gonna be restricted. Trying to think who else
they're just gonna like, hell, the might get more valuable as in expiring
ah Kungu isn't poison pilled anymore. So there's I Actually, they were just
so out there I expected them to do something. Yeah, they I mean
hard to think if someone talked more about than than Murray that I mean once
Levigne was hurt, like Murray was just the guy. And before you take
us out of here, I'm just gonna we didn't really talk about the Bulls.
But they're an unserious team. They wanted to first for everybody, They
wanted eight second rounders for Andre Drummond. They are just such an unserious organization
and those fans should revolt that. It's shameful what they're They want to remain
competitive. They're gonna be the billboard of the play in for the next like
eighty years, and it's I'm honestly, I want like Demarta Rosen to escape
this summer just to like kind of reinforce the point of but they might pay
him. It's probably gona get a three ye hundred million dollar deal or something.
So that's why we didn't cover them, because we didn't. I didn't
expect them to do anything because they're that fucking stupid. They started to telegraph
it both directly as the deadline got really close, and then like indirectly by
just putting out these asks for guys that we're just never gonna get met.
So yeah, we don't. We don't need to discuss the bulls. We
understand the bulls completely. Everybody listening to this does. There's not a lot.
Are you ready to take us out of here? And I know you
are because you have to go, Oh yeah, I do. Thanks everybody
for checking in on this live broadcast, Thanks for the comments, Thanks for
just enjoying the trade deadline with us. It's over, guys. We get
to talk about non trades for a little while until we start talking about off
season trades, which will happen in like a week probably. You know the
drill rate review, Subscribe, comment on YouTube, Shareyl Cheryl of all of
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Of course we'll get there. There's an order to these things, even though
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guest descriptions. Thank you Dan, Thank everybody else. Shout out to the
one and only Frank Milakina and an apology to Jared Allen