1
00:00:15,599 --> 00:00:19,920
What is krack A lack in hardware
knocks. So listeners, I am Damna

2
00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,600
Valley coming at you with another solo
podcast. Here, figure it out,

3
00:00:24,719 --> 00:00:29,000
go through some stuff, deep dives
into fields and NBA free agency that I'd

4
00:00:29,039 --> 00:00:35,359
already done ranking the best twenty twenty
two NBA free agency signings so far.

5
00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:37,759
I'm gonna start there. We will
do the worst as well. I don't

6
00:00:37,759 --> 00:00:40,479
want people to get ticked off at
that. I'll try and explain my criteria

7
00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,039
very quickly before we get started.
If you're watching this stumbled upon this,

8
00:00:44,119 --> 00:00:47,520
please throw us that permanent subscription,
whether it's on YouTube or you're listening to

9
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,399
this on the podcast. It helps
us out a ton trying to grow the

10
00:00:50,439 --> 00:00:53,840
community. And if you're on YouTube, smash that like button in addition to

11
00:00:54,039 --> 00:00:59,039
subscribing, and also comments so we
can break the algorithm and just and I'll

12
00:00:59,079 --> 00:01:03,479
reiterate this every time we do something. I appreciate every single person who watches

13
00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,079
listens, returns, subscribes, part
you all times, Infinity. Let's get

14
00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,799
into this though. So my criteria
for this was from the perspective of the

15
00:01:11,799 --> 00:01:17,640
team, and I feel like it's
important to note that I'm not trying to

16
00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:22,560
be like anti labor here. I
think every player is either worth exactly what

17
00:01:22,599 --> 00:01:26,760
they're paid or underpaid. The market
for them is what was offered. So

18
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:32,040
that being said, there are when
the market either maybe they accepted less on

19
00:01:32,079 --> 00:01:34,920
their own accord, maybe I think
that the market undervalued them in general.

20
00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,079
That's why I'm viewing this. I'm
all. I'm looking at it through which

21
00:01:38,079 --> 00:01:42,719
team's got the best value for the
money that they've spent, and I factored

22
00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,239
sometimes in length of it whether this
team and player options to help with the

23
00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,040
tiebreakers. I feel like I'm gonna
have to get into the criteria a little

24
00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,120
bit more when we do the worst
contract one. But that's just from where

25
00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,480
I'm coming to give you a sense
of where I'm coming from. The other

26
00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,359
thing to note here as we go
through this is that I'm not gonna include

27
00:02:01,319 --> 00:02:07,960
just minimum signings because it's really difficult
to miss on those unless you're signing DeAndre

28
00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,159
Jordan and you're the Nuggets. I
thought that was bad. Or the Miami

29
00:02:10,159 --> 00:02:14,800
Heat sending a delegation to go recruit
you're doing as has them, I thought

30
00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,400
that was pretty funny. So like
the Bulls getting going on draw gets just

31
00:02:17,439 --> 00:02:22,599
an example, or even getting Andre
Drummond with an unspecified exception. I don't

32
00:02:22,599 --> 00:02:24,120
know whether they use the bi annual
their mid level yet. It hasn't been

33
00:02:24,439 --> 00:02:29,000
to the best of my knowledge.
I left those out and tried to leave

34
00:02:29,039 --> 00:02:32,439
for the most part out one year
deals in general as well. With that

35
00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,159
in mind, though, there are
eight of them that I came up with,

36
00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,800
and I ranked them because rankings are
fun. Let's do this. Number

37
00:02:39,879 --> 00:02:46,560
eight Isaiah Hartenstein New York Nicks contracts
was for two years and sixteen million dollars.

38
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:52,439
I really hope Nick Sands watched this
because the worst contracts slot, you

39
00:02:52,439 --> 00:02:55,840
know, video is not slash podcast, whatever it is, is not going

40
00:02:55,879 --> 00:03:00,400
to be kind to them. Unfortunately, I don't know that enough people know

41
00:03:00,439 --> 00:03:04,319
how good Isaiah Hartenstein was last year. He's a very solid rim protector.

42
00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,960
His footwork on defense could be a
little bit quicker, but he was one

43
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,400
of the best statistically rim protectors in
the NBA. Opponent shot forty seven point

44
00:03:12,479 --> 00:03:15,360
five percent against him at the basket. That was the best mark a one

45
00:03:15,439 --> 00:03:19,639
among one hundred and sixty three players
who contested at least one hundred and fifty

46
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,400
rim times. That's a big deal. I really like him though for what

47
00:03:23,479 --> 00:03:27,639
he brings on offense. He's one
of the better passing bigs on the move.

48
00:03:27,719 --> 00:03:30,599
He's not super and I've received pushback
from this. He's not super explosive.

49
00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:36,719
He's not going to have these these
highlight dunks. But he can finish

50
00:03:36,759 --> 00:03:39,280
above the rim like it's catch and
finishes right there. So he is a

51
00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:44,479
threat when he's getting into the lane. But there's also some variability to his

52
00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,000
offensive game if you're going to use
him as the screener or just look for

53
00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:52,439
him on dives like he has a
nice little push shot or floater, whatever

54
00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:53,919
you want to call those. He
had almost fifty nine percent of them on

55
00:03:54,039 --> 00:03:59,360
nearly one hundred pertemps with the Clippers
last year. He also did explore three

56
00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:01,719
point range. Canned fourteen of his
thirty three pointers last year. That's forty

57
00:04:01,719 --> 00:04:05,840
six point seven percent. And I
think when you look at him what he

58
00:04:05,879 --> 00:04:10,080
does for New York, the big
man rotation could get a little bit crowded.

59
00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,879
They did wave Tosh Gibson. I
don't think that Tips is ever gonna

60
00:04:13,879 --> 00:04:15,639
want to play Randall on toping together, but it's something that Nick should explore.

61
00:04:16,439 --> 00:04:19,439
This is the pathway to them,
not you know, going with the

62
00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:24,879
traditional center or rim prodector I guess, while then spacing the floor around everybody,

63
00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,759
because I think he has more three
point volume to explore. To get

64
00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,519
him in two years and sixteen million, I think was a steel. I

65
00:04:30,519 --> 00:04:33,079
thought he was going to get probably
like nine or ten a year on average.

66
00:04:33,079 --> 00:04:35,480
So to get him for less than
that was a good job by the

67
00:04:35,519 --> 00:04:40,519
Knicks. I honestly would have him
higher if I could guess what playing time

68
00:04:40,879 --> 00:04:44,120
he was going to get. Even
with Toash Gibson gone, you have Jericho

69
00:04:44,199 --> 00:04:46,759
Sam's, Julius Randall, Mitchell Robinson
and Obi Toppin, so I could see

70
00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,560
him playing more of just this like
spot role. Let's get in at number

71
00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:55,800
seven. Dante DiVincenzo the Golden State
Warriors. This was not one I saw

72
00:04:55,879 --> 00:05:00,680
coming. You talk about someone whose
value is just plummeted two years, nine

73
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,519
point three million dollars. There's a
player option on that final that second season

74
00:05:03,519 --> 00:05:08,079
they called final like, it's not
super short term, there's Probabe just reflects

75
00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:13,839
an extended decline from Dante DiVincenzo that's
been fueled, I think predominantly by the

76
00:05:13,879 --> 00:05:17,319
left ankle injury he suffered in during
the twenty twenty one playoffs. We're not

77
00:05:17,399 --> 00:05:21,000
that far removed though, from him
just capably filling all these gaps for the

78
00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,639
Milwaukee Bucks, who went on to
win the title without him. But still

79
00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,600
I like the idea of someone who
can do a bunch of different things,

80
00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,720
even if he's not a master of
anything. And we've seen the Golden State

81
00:05:33,759 --> 00:05:40,120
Warriors kind of optimize I don't want
to say downtron stocks, but just like

82
00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:43,720
Otto Porter Junior's stock was on the
decline when he signed a Golden State,

83
00:05:43,759 --> 00:05:46,759
Gary payton Is second was more of
sort of this unknown, so they have

84
00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:51,480
experienced sort of rebooting these perimeter players, and I like that for Donte DiVincenzo.

85
00:05:51,519 --> 00:05:55,439
If he can stay healthy and when
you're looking at him in his peak,

86
00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,920
this is someone who would just sort
of shape shift depending on his role.

87
00:06:00,519 --> 00:06:03,720
He can spearhead fast breaks after grabbing
defensive rebounds, dart in for passes

88
00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:08,800
from the corners, and scaddle around
longer defenders when he's attacking the basket.

89
00:06:09,199 --> 00:06:12,480
He is best served playing off others, but he does have some some like

90
00:06:12,519 --> 00:06:16,879
pick and roll orchestration ingrained into his
game. Certainly more so than GP two.

91
00:06:17,319 --> 00:06:20,240
The Bucks did at one time use
him as like backup point guard,

92
00:06:20,639 --> 00:06:25,439
and that and he the offense was
fine during those minutes even without Attenta Kompo

93
00:06:25,639 --> 00:06:29,480
that year. Anyway, Golden State's
defense I think is going to suffer a

94
00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:33,680
little bit without GP two still,
but Devincenzo, he's less of an eclipse,

95
00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:38,920
but he provides plenty of functional optionality
his hands or agents of disorder.

96
00:06:39,199 --> 00:06:43,079
He can test routine passes and bust
up possessions from behind while while shuttling between

97
00:06:43,079 --> 00:06:46,800
both guard spots and some wing assignments
hanging within the Warriors rotation will ply demand

98
00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:51,040
that he handles the ball less and
is more taking more of those off ball

99
00:06:51,079 --> 00:06:55,800
shooting reps or cuts. I think
that's fine for him. He was always

100
00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,759
an opportunistic or has always been an
opportunistic slasher, and he down forty two

101
00:06:59,759 --> 00:07:03,160
point two percent of his spot up
triples on real volume after he was traded

102
00:07:03,199 --> 00:07:06,639
to Sacramento last year. He also
shot thirty eight point seven percent on catching

103
00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:11,560
shoot threes in twenty twenty twenty one. So if that efficiency's gonna hold,

104
00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:15,759
this is someone who might see a
lot of court time. Maybe if Moses

105
00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,399
Moody really busts out, or the
Warriors make another addition after recording this,

106
00:07:19,639 --> 00:07:23,720
or if Jonathan Comingo really busts out. I don't think there's a ton of

107
00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:27,879
overlap though with Devencenzo and Comingo,
unless you're trying to play position list.

108
00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,879
I think he get minutes from DV
at the two and the three though,

109
00:07:30,079 --> 00:07:33,360
and that look, that's a big
deal without GP two there, and they

110
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:38,480
even lost Damien Lee, they lost
Wancescono Anderson. Their wing options are just

111
00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,920
a little bit shallower than they were
last year. We don't know what's going

112
00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:45,399
on with Andre Goodal. I think
the assumption is that he's going to retire,

113
00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,439
so this is this is huge.
And you can argue that Deven Chnzo's

114
00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:50,480
more of a wing than GP two, which is why it might be a

115
00:07:50,519 --> 00:07:54,240
better fit. He was a better
fit for the Warriors because they were cheaper.

116
00:07:54,319 --> 00:07:58,319
I thought to get him for this
isn't even like bi annual exception money.

117
00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,920
Basically that's basically what they got him
when the first year was the bi

118
00:08:00,959 --> 00:08:05,240
annual exception, which they couldn't spend
like for less than the taxpayers mid level,

119
00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:07,519
even if it's for one year,
even if you can't afford to keep

120
00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:13,040
him after that season, that's just
a really good signing for them. If

121
00:08:13,079 --> 00:08:15,199
he's going to stay healthy is the
big one, which is why he's at

122
00:08:15,319 --> 00:08:20,199
number seven, number six. John
Wall with the Los Angeles Clippers, I

123
00:08:20,199 --> 00:08:24,279
think some people in two years,
sorry, thirteen point three million dollars,

124
00:08:24,319 --> 00:08:30,360
that's the taxpayers mid level deal throwing
the entire mini mL at Wall is not

125
00:08:30,399 --> 00:08:33,200
without risk for the Clippers. He
has knee and it kills injuries in his

126
00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:37,240
rearview and is only playing one hundred
and thirteen games over the past four seasons.

127
00:08:37,279 --> 00:08:41,720
That being said, Wall's availability or
lack thereof, isn't as damning I

128
00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:46,679
think as it initially seems. Last
year's absence had everything to do with a

129
00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,080
player and team unable to find common
ground on his role and nothing to do

130
00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,200
with his physical health. So there's
that. And if you flash forward or

131
00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:58,759
if you flash back to twenty twenty
one, Wall was pretty effective through his

132
00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,559
forty one games with these With the
Houston Rockets, his efficiency from the floor

133
00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:07,080
dipped from beyond the arc. Onto's
finishing around the rim wasn't great, but

134
00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:11,840
the physical tools were still there.
He maintained his overall on ball acceleration for

135
00:09:11,879 --> 00:09:15,600
which he became famous, and he
leveraged that speed into his usual dose of

136
00:09:16,159 --> 00:09:18,399
playmaking trips to the foul line.
I think he was averaging like almost six

137
00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,240
three throws per game there and then
his rim frequency was up. It was

138
00:09:22,279 --> 00:09:26,000
like one of his three highest marks, and it might have helped the lineups

139
00:09:26,039 --> 00:09:28,879
that he was playing playing in with
Houston. But the fact that he was

140
00:09:28,879 --> 00:09:33,000
getting there. Go back and watch
just some John Wall with the Rockets.

141
00:09:33,039 --> 00:09:37,480
That dude was still really fast.
Stepping into this more specialized role with the

142
00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:41,639
Clippers should only help. They don't
need Wall to play thirty five plus minutes

143
00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:45,159
or appear in every game they need. They need rim pressure, which he

144
00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,799
provides, and an offensive steward for
the half court possessions that bogged down or

145
00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:54,360
when they want to get out in
transition more which was not It's not necessarily

146
00:09:54,399 --> 00:09:56,440
their forte when you're running an offense
through Kawai Leonard. That's not a bad

147
00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:00,960
thing, but it just makes them
more dynamic. Wall can help fill all

148
00:10:01,039 --> 00:10:05,120
those gaps. I do wonder how
he's gonna fare when he has to work

149
00:10:05,159 --> 00:10:07,960
away from the ball more often,
but he did play with Bradley Beal.

150
00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:11,840
Let's not remember it's a little bit
different when both Kawai and Paul George are

151
00:10:11,879 --> 00:10:16,279
on the court. There could be
some like real, real heavy stationary duty

152
00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,360
for him, even if they're staggering
minutes, which they probably should. I

153
00:10:20,399 --> 00:10:22,679
expect Reggie Jackson's still the start and
then wall to kind of oversee a bunch

154
00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,279
of units where it only has one
of, if not none, of the

155
00:10:26,279 --> 00:10:30,399
Clippers superstars. But then I went
back and looked, I'm not really concerned

156
00:10:30,399 --> 00:10:33,200
about his off ball shooting anymore.
He shot thirty eight point four percent on

157
00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:37,200
one hundred and twenty five stand still
threes in twenty twenty one, and he

158
00:10:37,279 --> 00:10:41,759
knocked down He's knocking down a combined
thirty eight point four percent of these looks

159
00:10:41,799 --> 00:10:46,960
overall since twenty fifteen, twenty and
sixteen on six hundred and twenty eight attempts.

160
00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,159
Like that's not the highest because we're
talking about, you know, more

161
00:10:50,159 --> 00:10:52,559
than a half decade now, and
he missed a bunch of time. But

162
00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:56,440
six and twenty eight shots is just
not nothing. So I actually am higher

163
00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:01,080
on this signing than I was to
begin with. It's just really the health

164
00:11:01,159 --> 00:11:05,600
questions and could there be some awkward
offensive fits. I don't even have to

165
00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:07,879
worry about what he's gonna look like
defensively because of how good the Clippers are

166
00:11:07,879 --> 00:11:11,679
going to be there food for thought. I considered putting him higher, but

167
00:11:11,879 --> 00:11:16,279
six feels when we're looking at the
rest of these deals like the right spot

168
00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:22,519
for him. Number five Otto Porter
Junior Toronto Raptors two years, twelve point

169
00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:26,840
four million dollars, twenty three twenty
four player options. So the second year

170
00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:31,840
has that player option. We know
Otto really wanted to be in Toronto,

171
00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:35,679
and he ended up getting less than
what amounts to the non tax payers midlevel

172
00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:39,360
exception, so the Warriors could have
technically paid him more by about a million

173
00:11:39,399 --> 00:11:45,399
bucks over the life of this contract. I can't believe he signed for this

174
00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:50,159
little. I know that he's someone
who probably can't, you know, play

175
00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,879
more than twenty twenty five minutes anymore, but like he shot thirty seven percent

176
00:11:54,919 --> 00:12:00,200
on threes last year and five point
six attempts per thirty six minutes, And

177
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,080
while he doesn't, I think there
was this thought when he was traded to

178
00:12:03,159 --> 00:12:05,600
Chicago during that first fifteen whatever game
stretched that he had some real on ball

179
00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:09,039
juice to offer It's also something this
podcast talked about when he was on Washington.

180
00:12:09,039 --> 00:12:13,919
I thought it might be there.
It's clearly not there. That's fine.

181
00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,519
The Raptors don't need that. And
that's in part why I love this

182
00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,240
signing for them is he's another dude
who stands between six seven and six nine

183
00:12:20,279 --> 00:12:24,679
with that seven plus foot wingspan.
But they have enough creators now with Siakam,

184
00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:28,840
Fred Van Fleet and even Scotty Barnes, and then you have I don't

185
00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:31,440
think people realize how much o Ganna
nob and Gary Trent Junior can sort of

186
00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:39,000
cover as these secondary creators. That
just makes this an even better fit for

187
00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:43,159
me from my perspective, And I
like, you know, when you're trying

188
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:48,600
to stay with this positionless model,
I like that he can really spell anybody

189
00:12:48,879 --> 00:12:52,440
on the defensive end, knowing the
lineups that the Raptors like to run out

190
00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,159
now under head coach Nick Nurse,
where there will probably be moments where Otto

191
00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,519
Porter Junior is like the shortest guy
on the court or the second shortest guy,

192
00:12:58,639 --> 00:13:01,559
or he's just their de facto two
guard. But defensively, like if

193
00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:05,799
you're trying to look at this more
from a conventional perspective, whether it's an

194
00:13:05,799 --> 00:13:09,120
Anobe Barnes or Siakam's assignment, like, he can take them. And so

195
00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,240
that's basically me saying he can span
the two, three, four pretty comfortably,

196
00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:16,720
and he's probably grothy enough to hold
up against certain fives if you're going

197
00:13:16,759 --> 00:13:20,519
to switch a ton. So I
do think when you're going up against quicker

198
00:13:20,279 --> 00:13:24,399
ball handling twos and threes, it
can be problematic for him, but he's

199
00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,840
just so long that it'll do in
a pinch. I think the only thing

200
00:13:28,919 --> 00:13:33,200
to dislike about this deal is and
look, the Raptors needed floor spacing and

201
00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:37,360
Otto Porter Junior qual absolutely qualifies.
You probably want to see him take up

202
00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:41,360
that volume a little bit on a
per minute basis. He still absolutely works

203
00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:46,879
for what they need on offense.
I think the only you know, sticklers

204
00:13:46,919 --> 00:13:50,120
are only going to harp on the
fact that there's that player option at the

205
00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,720
end, so they're only going to
have his non bird rights that prevents them

206
00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:58,480
from resigning him essentially. But like, if he plays really well and opts

207
00:13:58,519 --> 00:14:01,240
out and we know, I already
know that he really wanted to be in

208
00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,080
Toronto because I think his I can't
remember if it's his wife or his girlfriends

209
00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:07,600
from Toronto. They can use their
nontax player mid level exception to try and

210
00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:09,840
bring him back. So I don't
think this is the end of the world

211
00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:13,799
there, but it could be a
one year rental either way. I really

212
00:14:13,879 --> 00:14:18,080
just love to fit here. Number
four is a mere coffee of the La

213
00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:20,840
Clippers, someone else who I don't
outside of Clippers fans. I don't think

214
00:14:20,919 --> 00:14:24,679
I understand nationally how good he is. I was surprised he only got three

215
00:14:24,759 --> 00:14:28,879
years eleven million dollars. Looks like
it's all guaranteed. That's perfectly fine.

216
00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,200
I How did no one try poaching
him from the Clippers is beyond me.

217
00:14:33,279 --> 00:14:37,200
Everybody wants wings. They have a
surplus of wing types, and you could

218
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,600
have offered him the bi annual exception, which was like four million bucks a

219
00:14:39,679 --> 00:14:41,679
year, and that would have been
more than this. Do they would they

220
00:14:41,679 --> 00:14:45,440
have matched that they could have because
he was a restricted free agent. I

221
00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:52,080
don't know, but I just look
some people might sort of glue to what

222
00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:56,080
his role will be this season,
which is going to be pretty small when

223
00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,320
you look at their wing base.
Now they have a healthy Kawai and Paul

224
00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:03,240
George Norman Powell, Marcus Morris Senior, Terrence Mann, and Nick Batoumar all

225
00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:07,080
ahead of him in the wing hierarchy. Let's not forget about Robert Covington either,

226
00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,639
and then Head and then Tyler is
gonna give ample core time to Reggie

227
00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:15,799
Jackson. John wall I think that's
important because we saw me your coffee do

228
00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:18,840
some ball handling last year when the
Clippers were decimated by injuries. He ran

229
00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:24,279
some spot pick and rolls. That's
in part why I was so high on

230
00:15:24,519 --> 00:15:30,240
him. His defensive workload was decidedly
above average during that time. He switched

231
00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,000
across the two, three and four
spots and guarded plenty of just primary pick

232
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:37,960
and roll creators. Again, his
offensive role was sort of limited, but

233
00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,919
that is that's appealing when you're at
full strength and you're the Clippers. They

234
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,519
gave him a license to attack.
Though he shot fifty three point three percent

235
00:15:46,639 --> 00:15:50,360
on drives, hit fifty four point
two percent of his two's overall, but

236
00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,799
he also shot nearly thirty eight excuse
me percent from three. This is someone

237
00:15:54,879 --> 00:15:58,320
who to me is extremely plug in
play, infinitely scalable to any team.

238
00:15:58,399 --> 00:16:02,120
But there might just be like a
little bit more of his to offer.

239
00:16:02,679 --> 00:16:04,519
Can he play a heavier on a
really good team. I don't know if

240
00:16:04,519 --> 00:16:07,360
we're gonna find out because of how
deep the Clippers are, if they trade

241
00:16:07,399 --> 00:16:14,679
Marcus Morris Senior, I could see, which is something that's been bandying around

242
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,000
the NBA ether at the moment.
I could see that opening up some time

243
00:16:18,399 --> 00:16:22,679
for him. But even then,
like just having so many really good like

244
00:16:22,759 --> 00:16:26,440
two, three, four types,
that might limit how much he's going to

245
00:16:26,519 --> 00:16:30,720
play. This is still a steal
of a deal for the Clippers, and

246
00:16:30,799 --> 00:16:33,720
I he's twenty five. I still
just can't believe someone didn't take a bigger

247
00:16:33,799 --> 00:16:37,960
flyer. Maybe he really wanted to
stay in Los Angeles, but good for

248
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:41,000
them. I broke my exception for
number three because I had to break my

249
00:16:41,559 --> 00:16:45,879
rule whatever it is, for number
three with a minimum contract on one year.

250
00:16:45,279 --> 00:16:48,320
T J. Warren of the Brooklyn
Nets. Look, we don't know

251
00:16:48,519 --> 00:16:52,480
his medicals. He's played in just
four games over the past two seasons while

252
00:16:52,519 --> 00:16:56,759
dealing with a left foot injury.
I honestly don't care. This is just

253
00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,240
like someone who was a legitimate twenty
points per game score last time that he

254
00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:04,920
played, and he did so efficiently, and this is Look when you're looking

255
00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:08,279
at it from the nets perspective,
which we are. This is a zero

256
00:17:08,519 --> 00:17:12,440
risk, all reward flyer, is
what I wrote when I was you know,

257
00:17:12,559 --> 00:17:15,319
in the article that I had on
this. It's not because the nets

258
00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:19,240
are imploding painfully and slowly right before
our eyes of my dad. But this

259
00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:25,119
is like like bubble t J.
Warren was a thing he like, and

260
00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:30,839
that wasn't even that was the best
stretch of his career. But his performance

261
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:34,759
at Disney World wasn't just completely out
of left field. He averaged nineteen point

262
00:17:34,799 --> 00:17:40,279
eight points per game while downing fifty
seven point five percent of his twos and

263
00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:45,839
forty point four percent of his triples
through that entire season sixty seven appearances.

264
00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:49,160
That efficiency, when you're looking at
the benchmarks and scoring, was unmasked by

265
00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:53,400
anyone else in the league. No
one was basically averaging twenty points while shooting

266
00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:57,640
fifty seven percent on twos and forty
percent on threes. That is mind melting.

267
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:02,480
He also, which probably doesn't receive
enough credit now because it feels like

268
00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:06,799
it was forever ago, he routinely
guarded some of the toughest on ball assignments

269
00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:11,319
per b Ball Index. Malcolm Brogden
of that Pacers team was the only other

270
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:17,599
player to spend more possessions going up
against number one options from the other team,

271
00:18:18,079 --> 00:18:21,799
and he was like doing it.
Well. I get that career years

272
00:18:21,839 --> 00:18:26,319
don't always hint at new normals,
and again, Warren has missed a lot

273
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,920
of time, but the scoring in
twenty nineteen twenty twenty is hardly an outlier,

274
00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,279
and both his three point stroke and
defense approved immediately upon a coming to

275
00:18:36,319 --> 00:18:38,759
Indian two eighteen twenty nineteen, so
I think you could argue that that's not

276
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:45,920
really an outlier either. His best
case outcome it I don't care how unlikely

277
00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,519
it is for him to meet it. That it's even on the table for

278
00:18:48,839 --> 00:18:52,799
a one year, one point eight
million dollar deal is pretty wild. And

279
00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:56,720
this is someone who's gonna give the
Nets, whatever version of them, that

280
00:18:56,839 --> 00:19:00,839
they are either a plugin play shooter
because he turned himself into just a forty

281
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,559
plus percent guy from beyond the arc. There's also like the hint of self

282
00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,480
creation abilities. We'll have to see
how his quickness is and just how his

283
00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:15,039
own ball creativity is post injury.
Missing so much time, there's no downside

284
00:19:15,039 --> 00:19:18,799
here for Brooklyn, But really the
only downside is if he returns to anything

285
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,200
resembling his previous form, it'll be
impossible for them to keep him. They

286
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,599
won't have his bird rights. And
that player, that player that TJ.

287
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,920
Warren was the last time he was
on the court, is more than a

288
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,799
mid level guy. Like that's someone
who's probably getting between fifteen and twenty five

289
00:19:33,839 --> 00:19:36,960
million dollars a year on the open
market. And he's still sort of young

290
00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:40,960
enough to where if he remains healthy
all year, I wouldn't be shocked if

291
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,599
he got it. I wouldn't predict
it, but if his best case outcome

292
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,039
is actualized and he stays healthy,
it's absolutely on the table. Number two

293
00:19:49,039 --> 00:19:55,359
Cavan Ludi of the Golden State Warriors. Three year contract, twenty two point

294
00:19:55,440 --> 00:20:00,440
five million guaranteed, twenty five point
five million overall. I was flabbergasted that

295
00:20:00,519 --> 00:20:06,440
he was this cheap big man.
Markets are always wonky, unknowable entering the

296
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:11,440
summer. Just even by those standards. This is I termed at highway robbery

297
00:20:11,839 --> 00:20:14,720
by the Warriors. You can see
it on the screen if you're watching this,

298
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,200
but I'll read it here as well. Mitchell Robinson got fifteen million annually

299
00:20:18,279 --> 00:20:22,920
from the Knicks. Javal McGee received
almost as much guaranteed money from the Mavericks

300
00:20:23,279 --> 00:20:27,759
and a player option on the third
year at the age of thirty four,

301
00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:33,400
which he is right now. Mo
Bamba is also getting about as much guaranteed

302
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:41,079
money over the next two years as
Kavan Looney's getting over three. How I'm

303
00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,440
not sure who needs to hear this, but Looney is more valuable than all

304
00:20:44,519 --> 00:20:48,799
the bigs that I just listed off. And you could cling to the potential

305
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,720
of Robinson and the stretchingess of Bomba
if it makes you feel superior. Looney's

306
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,880
still twenty six, and he was
just no worse. Think about this,

307
00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:03,119
no worse than the Dubs. Is
fourth most valuable player during the NBA freaking

308
00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,799
Finals. If you think that's an
overstatement, I almost went third, but

309
00:21:06,839 --> 00:21:11,319
you would Steph Curry, you had
Andrew Wiggins. Name me the player with

310
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:15,000
absolute certainty who was more valuable to
Golden State during that series. I don't

311
00:21:15,079 --> 00:21:18,440
think that there is one, but
I'll leave some wiggle room. If you

312
00:21:18,519 --> 00:21:22,559
really thought Draymond's defense picked up at
the end, or you really valued what

313
00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:26,079
you saw from from Kway Thompson during
those moments he had I think probably an

314
00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:30,160
understated series defensively at points, even
though he looked hobble a bunch that.

315
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,279
Like. I get that the big
band market is just sort of unknowable all

316
00:21:33,279 --> 00:21:37,119
the time, but that's wild to
me, and I think a lot of

317
00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:41,839
people believe Luney's like the product of
the Warriors. This isn't Warriors culture at

318
00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:48,599
work. Everything he does translates to
any situation. He's ubiquitous on the glass.

319
00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,960
He knows how to navigate tight spaces
on offense because of when he plays

320
00:21:52,039 --> 00:21:56,519
with with Draymond and other non shooters. And he really doesn't get enough credit

321
00:21:56,559 --> 00:22:02,240
for his ability to hold up on
switches eon away from the basket. I've

322
00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,480
seen people comment about how slow he
can be, and that's why you wouldn't

323
00:22:04,519 --> 00:22:07,680
give him money. Yes, he's
more of a traditional big he doesn't have

324
00:22:07,759 --> 00:22:11,880
all this range, but he holds
up really well on switches, and the

325
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:17,039
data is going to back that up
too. Maybe this is a personal choice

326
00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,680
by Looney. He won three wings
with the Dubs and he's guaranteed a spot

327
00:22:21,759 --> 00:22:26,759
in their starting lineup. But the
partial guarantee on year three that suggests this

328
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,440
deal is at least somewhat the byproduct
of the market. And if that's the

329
00:22:30,559 --> 00:22:37,599
case truly inarguably shame on the damn
market. I can't believe the Warriors were

330
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:44,799
able to keep Kavan Looney at this
price. My best contract of twenty twenty

331
00:22:44,839 --> 00:22:48,839
two NBA free agency so far,
though, is Bruce Brown of the Denver

332
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,759
Nuggets. Two years, thirteen point
three million amounts to the non amounts to

333
00:22:53,799 --> 00:22:57,440
the taxpayers, made level exception.
There were some people that were quibbling,

334
00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,079
Oh, they didn't get three years
out of Bruce Brown. Look after two

335
00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:03,200
you have early bird rights. If
you really want to keep them, it

336
00:23:03,279 --> 00:23:07,200
gets a lot easier to do.
So this is like the perfect signing.

337
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,559
And one thing. Some YouTube commenters
will be mad about this, by the

338
00:23:10,599 --> 00:23:11,920
way, because they didn't like that
I answered a mail back question about the

339
00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:15,440
Nuggets and the tax I liked this
because it showed the Nuggets were willing to

340
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,920
spend while they were already not already
they had basically exited the tax with the

341
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,799
will Barton Monte Morris trade, and
they go back in with this. There's

342
00:23:23,799 --> 00:23:26,839
still time for them to duck it, but the fact that it seems like

343
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,160
they're willing to continue paying it that
matters to me. And just so we're

344
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,240
clear, I don't think the I
never viewed the Monte Morris Will Barton trade

345
00:23:33,279 --> 00:23:38,359
as an actual salary dump. It
was like it dumped salary, but KCP

346
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:47,039
was I think to the Nuggets probably
just as valuable as Barton and Morris combined.

347
00:23:47,079 --> 00:23:49,160
I think people undersell what Morris can
do is sort of a game managing

348
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,200
shot creator. You look at his
mid range game and Nuggets fans hate Will

349
00:23:53,279 --> 00:23:56,319
Barton. I think a healthy Will
Barton still has levels to what he can

350
00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:00,680
do on offense. They didn't need
the offense, especially if you believe in

351
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:06,240
Bones Highland, so that trade they
did exit the attacks for a moment.

352
00:24:06,759 --> 00:24:08,799
That clearly wasn't the only reason they
made that trade. It was probably just

353
00:24:08,839 --> 00:24:14,720
an incentive. I digress here.
Bruce Brown, my god, the Nuggets

354
00:24:14,799 --> 00:24:18,759
really needed just more defenders. They
had Aaron Gordon last year guarding all these

355
00:24:18,799 --> 00:24:22,559
smaller players, overworking him into oblivion
is what I wrote. He was on

356
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,000
the point of attack way too often. Getting KCP helped that immediately. And

357
00:24:26,079 --> 00:24:33,279
now you add Bruce Brown to that
equation. I don't care about his offensive

358
00:24:33,279 --> 00:24:36,519
fit. He's a career twenty nine
point eight percent shooter from deep, but

359
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:41,000
last year he shot forty plus percent
on threes, and I don't I also

360
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:45,599
don't care that seventy percent of those
looks were basically wide open. That those

361
00:24:45,759 --> 00:24:48,759
looks he's gonna get in Denver.
Nicoleokis is a great passer, so it

362
00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,440
was a healthy Jamal Murray, so
it is. I think Bones Highlands a

363
00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,759
fantastic passer. Two. Also,
defenses aren't going to guard him like he's

364
00:24:55,759 --> 00:24:59,000
Steph Curry just because we saw him
shoot forty percent from last year. They

365
00:24:59,039 --> 00:25:03,039
want to see if it's real.
So he's going to get those same standalone

366
00:25:03,039 --> 00:25:07,440
opportunities in Denver even if it's not
real. I'm still sort of enthralled or

367
00:25:07,519 --> 00:25:11,839
intrigued is the word, with what
Denver could do with him as a screener.

368
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,880
If they want to look, they
could run a picking like an inverted

369
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,839
pick and roll where Nicole Yoka just
handling the ball, Bruce Brown is setting

370
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,640
the screen for him. We've seen
Brown make nice passes and shots out of

371
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,839
the short roll. There's even some
slow it down. I wouldn't try this,

372
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:27,839
but maybe that's also why you felt
a little comfortable giving up a Barton,

373
00:25:30,039 --> 00:25:32,599
even if you thought that he was
a net negative for your team,

374
00:25:33,039 --> 00:25:34,839
like he can slow things down and
kind of work in the half court and

375
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:40,480
make passes that way, which is
that tertiary creation is something a peak Will

376
00:25:40,519 --> 00:25:44,960
Barton provides. Maybe that's why you
also felt comfortable making the Barton Morris trade

377
00:25:45,079 --> 00:25:48,480
sending them to Washington. I don't
want to see Brown doing that. If

378
00:25:48,759 --> 00:25:51,559
it's happening a bunch, something has
gone terribly wrong, and in Denver,

379
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,480
even if it's strictly during the non
Yokis minutes. But he's also like he

380
00:25:56,559 --> 00:25:57,880
can hang out in the dunker spot. He's a fine cutter. And since

381
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,519
because you have Yoki who is a
five, but on offense, he is

382
00:26:02,559 --> 00:26:06,839
whatever you want him to be.
Brown can be missing his threes or not

383
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,079
shooting well from three, or be
a non threat from me on the arc,

384
00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:11,319
and everything's gonna be just fine.
On offense. I think there's still

385
00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:17,000
ways that he can contribute there.
It's just more important the defensive returns they're

386
00:26:17,039 --> 00:26:22,599
going to be massive. He Brown
logged almost equal times against point guards,

387
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:26,079
shooting guards, and small forwards last
season just defending those three positions, like

388
00:26:26,319 --> 00:26:30,079
on a full time basis, all
of them qualify. And we saw him

389
00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:36,079
like dabble in these reps against fours
and some fives. That's not I mean,

390
00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,079
Dever might want to explore it,
like when they're running bench units.

391
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:42,119
Throw Gordon, Jeff Green, Bruce
Brown up. I don't know how much

392
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,960
that's like terrible shooting. But if
if DeAndre Jordan's really a bust, then

393
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:48,640
you can have all these different guys
sort of switching off of fives. They

394
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,079
don't trust Zeke Nag. It feels
like to defend fives too often. But

395
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,839
you could throw those four guys Knag, Jeff Green, Bruce Brown, Aaron

396
00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:57,960
Gord just on the court at the
same time. Include Michael Porter Junior for

397
00:26:59,039 --> 00:27:00,799
like, and Zeke Naji's shooter,
but include another good shooter, whether it's

398
00:27:00,799 --> 00:27:04,279
a Murray or Bones Highland, and
see like what happens there. I just

399
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,400
don't hit. I don't. I'm
not sure people understand how malluable outside of

400
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:14,559
I think Denver and then Brooklyn fans
understand what Bruce Brown's gonna do defensively his

401
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:21,599
malluability. Bruce Brown dramatically increases the
variety with which head coach Michael Malone cobble

402
00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,440
us together lineups, so there's a
chance that he's gonna go down as the

403
00:27:25,559 --> 00:27:29,559
most valuable defender on what ends up
being the Western Commerson's best team. Two

404
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,599
years, thirteen point three million dollars. That's a fucking steal in my book.

405
00:27:33,599 --> 00:27:37,200
I hope you enjoyed sort of this
quick podcast video on YouTube. Please,

406
00:27:37,279 --> 00:27:40,720
if this is your first time checking
us out, throw us the permanent

407
00:27:40,759 --> 00:27:44,279
subscription, comments and likes and subscriptions
on YouTube. Help us out a ton

408
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,240
reviews, ratings, and just subscriptions
and downloads. Help us out a ton

409
00:27:48,319 --> 00:27:51,720
wherever you get your podcast. I
heart every single one of you, and

410
00:27:51,839 --> 00:27:55,160
until next time, and like always, just kissing around these parts. Not

411
00:27:55,319 --> 00:27:57,240
no, I leave it to shout
out the one, the only, the

412
00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:07,440
indelible income horrible, incomprehensibly amazing,
Frank your h
