What is krack Alakin Fellow thermonuclear a Eppers. I am Dan FAVALLEI coming at
you with my certified fantabulous co host, Cold Plunge Extraordinaire, mister Grant Hughes.
We have another offseason look ahead for you the Southeast Division, which nothing's
happening in this division at all. It's not like a team just began to
impromptu, long overdue teardown. Before we get started, the usual reminder and
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most at the moment. The link to that is in the podcast and YouTube
descriptions. Grant, how the heck are you doing? I'm doing great.
My dopamine levels are at all time highs and should sustain for at least another
hour, so that should be good for this podcast. I am cold plunging
now. I got a cold punchtub for Father's Day. I'm three days in,
first thing in the morning, two minutes in the cold water. I
would like to be I would like some free products, so any sponsors that
are out there. I'm not married to My current the ice pod cold plunge
tub. If anybody wants to send me the really nice ones you can put
outside that have refrigerants in them and are super posh, I would take it.
So you know, that's that's the kind of life I'm living right now,
just really doing the most uncomfortable thing you can do, first thing in
the morning, and then going from there. Clearly our target audience use cold
plunges, so a company should get at you. I don't know, or
is our target audience a masochists or like people with the They listen to us,
so they must be masochists. Yeah, to put that on the tee
for you. Yeah, I'm doing great. Uh. I am excited to
talk about the Atlantic Division to our Southeast division because, as you said,
pretty boring right now, What's what's been going on in that divisi? So
coincidentally, that's we picked this. We scheduled this before all the all the
exciting stuff happened, So we're kind of on a roll between that and our
TikTok breakout, right, and we're still going to go into alphabetical order.
We did release an emergency podcast on the trade before we knew that there are
other players included Jordan Goodwind and Isaiah Tobba will get to the Wizards. This
will be timestamped as always, so if you need to skip ahead, don't
listen to the entire damn thing. Please. We begin with the Atlanta Hawks,
and I will start us off here. They're key free agents. Everybody,
brace yourself. Aaron Holiday key extension eligible candidates. De Jeante Murray,
he won't sign one. And then on Yuko Kongu is up for his rookie
extension, as is Sadique bay. I left him off our dock for some
reason. I don't know why I did that. Their tap situation basically,
as currently constructed, they're They're about ten million dollars into the tax. They
should still have the mini mL. I think all of us expect them to
duck the tax though this summer. They do have a notable trade exception justin
Holidays deal six point three million dollars expires on February ninth. So I have
my biggest need for them. The biggest needs shooting at the three and the
four, and then an answer or an upgrade to the John Collins, Clint
Capello and Yeka a Congou triangle and so Grant. Let's just start here.
What's your over biggest, overarching thought leading in the offseason for the Atlanta Offs.
Yeah. I think it starts with with the, as you said,
the unfortunate sort of reality that this is a team that wasn't good enough to
meet expectations last season, would like to meet those expectations this season. But
also has this thorny issue of we need to cut money, which and those
two things don't often work very well together. So it's a tricky needle to
thread shaving that ten plus million dollars off. And remember, like they denied
it up and down, I think the ownership did. But the Kevin Hurder
trade last summer was the same thing. You know, they they got a
first round pick, but that was designed to duct the tax, and so
that's where we are again. So yeah, overarching thought is just how's that
going to happen? Probably John Collins, maybe Clint Capella, DeAndre Hunter.
I think two could be someone that they look to move mostly because and this
ties into your other need, which I agree with. They kind of need
a combo forward that can be what DeAndre Hunter was supposed to be, which
is the best you know, a high end defense piece that can guard multiple
positions and a guy that cannot just make open threes but do a little bit
with the ball if he gets closed out on. Hunter has shown flashes that,
but due to health and just general like ball handling concerns, just hasn't
delivered that consistently. So that's a tricky thing. They need to improve that
position, they need to cut money. So it's hard to do both of
those things. And so I think what you're hoping for for them is that
transactionally, you accomplish what you want. That the boost from a full training
camp in season of Quinn Snyder running the show just makes things work better.
But yeah, so they're in an interesting spot. I think they need to
be aggressive in free agency, but they may not have a lot of tools
to do it. So that's kind of where I'm at. Do you have
anything different? I mean, we're pasting the idea of trading Tree young.
It seems like for a while, you know, even though you might want
to think about that. Yeah, I was gonna say that if something like
that props up, it'll probably be closer to next offseason to where maybe you're
hoping you can work out at John than Murray sign and trade or maybe evaluate
it to deadline because I was going to throw that. Few would be where
the odds at the front office has been fully you know, the regime change
is complete. What are the odds that they do look to pivot and leave
their mark and kind of start over. And I would say, at least
this summer, it feels very slim like we might hear the once the Bradley
Beale has been traded Damian Lillard. I think is we'll talk about that more
like that situation is just the weird game of chicken happening in Portland. It
feels like like once those names are moved and then Trey Young, everyone shifts
their attention to the next logical batch of candidates, which will include Trey Young.
Karl Anthy Towns is probably already there, Zion might already be there.
I would be like, if we had a peg a percentage chance of it
happening, I would say like sub seven percent about Trey Young getting traded right
now. There's there's always like the chance someone comes in with a monster offer,
but this isn't a team. I think they're more likely to go to
the opposite route, which is they can trade up to I think three first
round picks this summer. They have the Kings in twenty twenty four, They
can trade number fifteen in this year's draft, and then they have their own
twenty twenty nine available to them if they really wanted to go that route.
They owe twenty five and twenty seven too to San Antonio, so like they
could, like there's some stuff that they could theoretically do, but when,
as you mentioned, this is the challenge. How do you improve your roster
while also cutting payroll? And I think, at least from my perspective,
it's you move John Collins or Clint Cappela attached to draft equity, and that's
how you would make the upgrade. I just don't know if that's also how
you would slash your payroll in the process. Who would you rather move,
assuming it's got to be Collins or Capella, because I think there are compelling
arguments for either of those guys to be the one to go. If you're
trimming salary, I want to say I'd rather move Capella because you haven't Congu
right there, but you do get a lot smaller because the Congu is smaller
than him. How does that impact you on the glass. It might depend
on Like, look, if you were moving Clint Capella and you were getting
back O g N and Obie. Let's say, because this isn't a team
that needs whoever they get to necessarily have ball skills. That would make me
feel more confident because you know, he can rumble with a bunch of centers.
But it would need to be like a very specific set. I think
it's I think I would rather move Collins because but I do think the reality
is, if you're looking to make an upgrade while checking all of these boxes,
is Capella the easier one to move just because his contract is shorter,
even if you're not crazy about paying him, you know, two years and
twenty plus million per It's that's the thing. I don't know. That's why
I posed it to you. I think my concern with I lean Capella just
knee jerk reaction as the guy I would want to move, which flies in
the face of the fact that the Hawks have been trying to trade John Collins
for a couple of years, just because I would be worried that another year
potentially, you know, at an age for Capella could potentially reduce his value.
You know, he's a conventional center. Those guys are already really fungible.
I think he's probably pretty substantially overpaid, even though you know, I
don't know is he a top Is he a top fifteen starting center? Probably
like somewhere in the neighborhood of that. So I think he's a little overpaid
for that. And as as he ages, that's that looks worse. So
it might be the type of thing where you move him just asap because that
thing is that asset is depreciating. Collins is a little bit different because I
think he's about as low in terms of value as he can be right now.
So that's another factor to consider. I just there's certain you know,
you start trying to talk yourself into destinations for Collins, and it gets difficult
just because that's a player type that unless he's really going to be the defender
he was in that conference finals, run consistently and even maybe hold up against
like some bigger wings, it's just it's hard, even if he is back
to shooting forty percent from three, just because of like, he's not a
center. So yeah, I just they're both they're both tricky to move.
But I would say the odds are much higher than fifty percent that one or
the other has gone before the season starts. I'll be four if all three
of them, Fungou, Capella, and Collins are there to start the season.
Some free agent targets for them again, they can use the mini MLA.
I just don't know some of these might prove too ambitious because even if
they cut salary, is it enough? Like are they just hovering kind of
right below the tacks and don't want to go into it. But if you're
gonna move let's say Collins, Trey Lyles or Kevin Love should absolutely be on
your radar. These guys are probably all just plane fits. Ifleek Beasley's team
option is declined and they want to get some just pure volume shooting in there.
Jay Crowder, Tory Craig Utah wants an Abby and t J Warren?
Are those still minimum guys? Joe Ingles is old, but like he can
give you some combo forward minutes. Any other names bring to mind for you
for them? No? I was thinking more along the trade front, where
if if if you're moving Collins or Capella, I think you're looking for expiring
guys, you know, like it could be you know, I don't think
you can go as crazy as well. I was gonna say, like I
was trying to think of a how do we get John Collins someplace where his
route value will immediately be rehabilitated to its fullest potential, and that's obviously Miami.
So if we get him to Miami, can we just throw some extra
money and make it Kyle Lowry to get you know, something like that,
just to try to save some money down the line. But yeah, no,
I think your list is good. I just think like, looking at
someone like Joe Ingles, I feel like he would weirdly kind of insulate you
against the stretches where DeAndre Hunter just can't do anything with the ball and like
he's not gonna guard anybody, But just having another guy that could force a
clothes out and then take a dribble and make a pass or run a quick
second side pick and roll something like that would be would be useful. But
really, this is still a team whose defense needs to improve, and Joe
Ingles isn't going to help you there? Would you if let's just say,
the Thunderer willing to give you a protected first round pick straight up for Clint
Cappela, Like is it Are you at the form where you would consider that
a win? Like if you could trade Clinck Cappella into their cap space,
and is that and you're getting a first round pick, is that enough for
you to pull the trigger? I think maybe. And that's because a kong
Wu is the I think everyone agrees, he's kind of just the air apparent
at center, and by the time he's ready to take the job over,
he's going to be due for a raise. So like, you can't just
have Capella sitting there and then another guy that you're either going to let go
because he's gonna get too expensive or pay a second center basically a bunch of
money. So just to clear that issue down, you know, down the
road, a little bit might be worth it to just remove the salary from
your books and get an asset. Because look, the other thing is I
mean, you mentioned they can trade first, but they're still a little bit
hard up for picks because of the Murray trade. You know, I think
it's it's you know, it's another thing where they they should probably be looking
to make this roster better now, which means trading picks, but they also
aren't in a position. It's they're all there, all of their incentives kind
of like work both ways. You know, they gotta cut money, but
they want to be better. They got to add talent, but they don't
have the picks to do it. You know, they should be trying to
get picks to replenish, but what are you giving up to get those.
It's it's kind of a weird mess. And it's also the teams that are
most likely to be interested in any of Cappella or John Collins specifically, they're
not going to be the teams that can save you a boatload of money.
They think about if you think John Collins a good fit for the Clippers,
it's like, all right, well you could get they have the salaries to
get there. But like Robert Covington and Marcus Morris, who were both probably
really good fits for this roster, that's like dollar for I think you might
be taking on money and that scenario and so you get into like it would
have to be three team scenarios very quickly before for anyone. We forgot to
mention this. We need to keep ourselves within a good time frame so there
will be alarms going off at the end of each team I've said it to
a point one eighty two remix too. I miss you. It's an eed
M blink on eighty two remix. You're welcome. We'll get dinged for a
copyright is what's gonna happen. But do you expect any of these guys to
get extensions? And I think specifically we know Murray's not going to sign his,
but Sadique Bay or Okongu, Uh well, I think Bay seems unlikely
because part of the reason the Pistons traded him is because he had pretty exorbitant
extension demands for his production. I think he wanted something like fifty millions,
so I think he's likely to just they'll I would let him go to restricted
free agency if I could lock up a kong Wu a little earlier, with
like gosh, figuring out his number is really tricky. I don't know.
Twelve to fifteen million a year. I would extend him, but I don't
know if he's going to take that. And then it's he would he bet
on himself if you move one of the other bigs, because he thinks he's
gonna have a bigger role and we'll be able to drive up his value.
I think, I think, well, yeah, that's what I mean.
Like you'd have to almost overpay him probably to get an extension done right now.
And the Hawks have done that enough that they should probably be a little
leery of that. Let's beat the alarm and move on to our next team.
Do you want to take us through them? Yes, we have the
three billion dollars valuated Charlotte Hornets, which I laughed in the dock. You
had three billion with several question marks next to it. Kind of wild.
Buy an NBA you know what, Dan, I'm thinking about buying an NBA
team. It seems like a good can't we can't get in now. The
bubble's gonna burst, Like this is like buying high on a meme stock like
game Stop. It was at like five hundred bucks a share. If the
if the Hornets are worth three billion dollars, there's no such thing as a
bad NBA team investment. So besides that, so ownership change, I think
it's pretty much done now. Right. Michael Jordan, as a majority owner,
is going to sell his steak, will stay on as a minority owner.
Who knows what that's gonna do to how Charlotte operates and spends, but
based on the level of success they had with Michael Jordan as the principal owner
say, which is to say none, some success would constitute an improvement,
so good odds. There other key free agents. PJ. Washington is restricted,
Dennis Smith Junior, they have non bird rights on him, Kelly Ubre,
Miles Bridges extension eligible candidates. LaMelo Ball eligible for his max Rookie Scale
extension. We could talk about whether he should get that or not. Momentarily,
their their cap situation. They have about twenty eight million in space or
can get there if they renounced. Basically, everybody can be over the cap
and open up the bigger MLI if they carry hold the cap holds for PJ,
PJ. Tucker, PJ. Washington, and Kelly Hubre no trade exceptions
their biggest needs, Like everybody could use some wings depending on who they bring
back. That might be mitigated a little bit because you do have Kelly Ubrand
Bridges just kind of sitting there. They could use another advantage creator lead guard
who could play with LaMelo or off the ball, on the ball or on
the off the ball. Either way would work because LaMelo is like a forty
plus percent catch and shoot three point shooter, another big veteran five, maybe
to back up Mark Williams, who think I'd feel okay about going forward with
as my starting center, but I think you wouldn't. You wouldn't want him
to be the only guy there. So Dan, any other needs that I
did not get to, or would you want to touch the LaMelo ball extension
situation, anywhere you'd like to start with the Hornets big big picture stuff,
I think we need to. So one of the places to start would actually
be with Miles Bridges, who has to serve the balance of a thirty game
suspension after felony domestic violence charges. He already apparently he was out all of
last season, but for most of that he remained unsigned, and if they
very much is tacked off on like where they pro rated like his however you
want to his suspension was thirty games and they were like, well, twenty
of eight from last season then ten from this season. I'm assuming he's going
to be back the the whole. The circumstances are absolutely horrific, and that
it needs to be said. It goes without saying, but also needs to
be said. I don't know what they're gonna do with him now that ownership
has changed. I know that you're selling to a minority owner that was in
there to begin with. And I don't know what team is going to think
they have the you know, even if you believe in redemption and we know
that you know, his girlfriend has come out and like it's spoken on his
behalf, and I think that makes it maybe a little bit more difficult to
grapple with the situation. But in so if you believe in you know,
redemptive arts, I don't know which team is going to come in pay him
and think that they can survive the you know, public relations blowback. I
would say there, I expect him to be back in Charlotte, and I
expect this team to operate over the cap. Is basically what I'm getting at.
And I hate having to talk about like transitioning to stuff like the actual
basketball, but that's just that's just what's going to happen. Is so his
money's gonna be on the books. I'm curious to see what PJ. Washington
catches. I think a lot of people are lower on PJ. Washington than
I am, and I don't so they're gonna have the bigger mL E and
I'm wondering how much appeal that is, like how appealing are they to free
agents in this market? And then what direction are they going in which the
metal ball stuff. My prediction would be that he just gets the max.
Maybe it's five years with no player options. Maybe there's a player options at
the end of it, but I think that would be the biggest haggle point.
Would you agree that he'll get the five year max. Yeah, I
don't think there's any question that he's just going to get the full boat.
And like, honestly, it's funny. I always I say, we like
everyone's thinking the same way, but I sort of think about him as one
of the rare rookies or guys on their rookie scale deals that might not I
mean, everybody signs that second deal if the max is on the table,
well, but he feels like one of the ones where if he didn't because
he wanted to be in a different market, it wouldn't be it would be
less stunning for him than it would be for a lot of basically everybody else,
right, Like do you have just that little inkling of like maybe maybe
ownership change, you know, alters that. But he feels like someone that
you probably aren't as the Hornets in a position to say no player option on
the fifth year, Like he's just you get what he's gonna get what he
wants. I think, yeah, language that could elevate it to you know,
the thirty percent max he makes a MBA, I might. I would
probably have agreed with you before that is not the alarm that is just my
phone's going off. I would agree with you before he dealt with all the
ankle stuff this match year, and so it's kind of just like you understand
how how fragile your window might be. He could be someone This isn't an
indictment necessarily on the Charlotte market, but if the Hornets aren't materially better or
headed in a distinct direction, because I would say that they feel kind of
almost formless right now where there's talent on this roster, but I just don't
know what they are and what their primary aims will be. Is he someone
who signs the extension and then it's a year later, like he's trying to
agitate his way out with you know, four or five years left on his
contract. Maybe zat Kennedy, but I would expect him to to sign it,
that he will get you know whatever, and he will end up signing
it, and there will be language in there that can elevate it to a
all MBA matt or excuse me, a thirty percent max if he makes all
MBA You brought up kind of the direction I think looking at I feel like
I'm a little crazy for looking at this roster and like who they could bring
back and potentially have the ability to add and imagine the Hornets as like a
real bounce back team. I think, like, is that is that off?
Is that off off base? Just because the case would be LaMelo's back
stays healthy, you bring back PJ. Washington, and I think you're probably
a little higher on him than I am, But I feel like he's a
low end like a start. He's a starting NBA player and would be like
a really luxury six man somewhere maybe bridges, like if we just skip over
all this stuff, we don't want to talk about. It was a borderline
All Star the last time you played. And if he's back, then suddenly
you've got a guy who was really on you know, not a breakout track,
had really sort of already broken out and had room to get better.
I mean, they have enough young talent, like none of their you know,
and I think is probably a lost cause Kai Jones and nobody knows if
he's ever gonna be anything. So they've missed a little bit. But I
don't know. I mean, Rosier's okay, if if Gordon Hayward's healthy,
he's you know, more than just bad money. Like you know, I'm
not saying they're gonna win fifty, but like this is absolutely a team that
should be in the play in mix or maybe like seven eight in the East.
Don't you think if they go that way? And I don't know if
they're going to go that way, I I guess yes, it's just because
you look at the talent drain between injuries to LaMelo Hey where misses some time
again, he had a very good closing kick to the season. Not having
Miles Bridges, I guess maybe there's the potential for and look, they're gonna
have the number two. We haven't talked about that, the number two pick
in this year's draft, which that changes. I can't believe it took us
this long to get there, and I would have taken like I don't want
to date this, but like you're gonna have Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson unless
you move the pick. And so that infusion of talent, which you know,
we talked about that meeting Wings and you mentioned, yeah they have they
have Cody Martin, they have if he's going to be healthy. He was
also injured this year. They could bring back kellyoo Bridge Junior. I just
don't view him or Bridges or Washington as really Wings, even though a lot
of their defensive assignments profile is them. Brandon Miller checks that box. Or
you have Scoot Henderson, who's just another We talked about them meeting another Alpha
creator who can work with LaMelo, and LaMelo could pretty much work with any
Alpha creator because he's able to shoot off the ball. And I think,
as Zach Low was pointing out, LaMelo felt like he was a little of
a chucker last year anyway, and so maybe displacing him helps. So I
almost feel like he can't go wrong even if you have a preference, unless
you believe there's this huge gap between Scoot and Miller. I think it's probably
I don't know that I would peg them as a candidate to go be seventh
or eith in the East though, just there's going to be you're assuming a
rookie, a high profile rookie in here that's going to play a ton of
minutes. Further development, for Mark Williams, what does the center position look
like in the minutes that he's not on the court. What does it kind
of look like? Do you just get back you didn't have Miles Bridges for
the entire year. If he comes back, what does the Miles Bridges PJ
Washington dynamic look like? What does he look like? This team just has
too many variables for me to trust that they would be in the play in
the play in mix. Fair enough? Fair enough? Do you want to
talk about some of their some of their targets something you're thinking of for well,
actually, let's back up, we'll date this even more. We both
agree that you just take Scoot right and you stop messing around with fit with
Brandon Miller or Yeah, we're there, it's just you take Scoot and I
think him and LaMelo could work anyway. But I also think you're not at
the point you're rebuild where or your timeline where you can realistically prioritize fit over
the best player available. Yeah, targets for them looking again, I focused
on the bigger mL E Matisse thybal restricted free agent, taking a flyer on
him just to get someone in here. Like the defense of the Hornet's improved
a lot as the year went on. But let's throw just another just like
all defense guy in there. Dwight Powell, just a sort of a backup
veteran five can help you on the glass. Maybe if you give him enough
spacing, he'll do some damage as a finisher at the basket. Josh Richardson,
Tory Craig, they would be a good Bruce Brown destination too, Like
as a team to offer the bigger m L E. Yeah, And I
think if you do that, then you maybe start looking at trading Terry Rozier
because you could play Brown with Ball, or he could be your backup point
guard. He's proved he could handle that job with the Nuggets. I think
another guy. So anytime we're gonna throw Tieball in there, I just think,
well, what about Dylan Brooks, Like if the mL is gonna get
you Dylan Brooks, you might have to think about it, you know,
like just as honestly, like for the money, Tyble might be the better
pick, but Brooks is just such a good defender, and I don't know.
I would hope that we'll probably talk about him several other times, but
I would hope that like he would be on better behavior here they I don't
know how much of this was. You know, Terry Rosier had this little
start MMO missus time, but like they were one of the worst three point
shooting teams in the league last year. And especially if you're going from you
know, if Scoot Henderson's gonna play a bunch of minutes or just kicking in
Brandon Miller's rookie season. We just named a few very like players who were
going to shrink the court. I mean Devild Brooks is gonna take a miss
a lot of threes. Yeah, I think just losing ball for so much
of the season, who's arguably your best shooter and the guy that creates the
most good threes, it's just like you can't you can't recover from that,
and they just didn't have the talent. I want to talk about some trade,
uh, potential guys, just decent fits if if things shake out how
we'd like them to, or you want to hit any other free agents?
No, very quickly on the trade since our alarm went off for anyone who
could hear it, just I don't like you could look all over the place,
you could skew like, do we go big time like we have the
number two pick, or do we look at Karl Anthony Towns or brandon ingram
Slash Zion Williamson or do you just try and thread the needle. Can you
get in on the og and a Noby sweepstakes? I think he'd be great
fit for this roster, Drew Holiday if the Bucks were going to cut money
or change things up. Or do you just target someone like a Jay Shawn
Tate where say let's get in here, like that's someone who might be a
truer wing defender or point of attack guy for us than we currently have.
I don't know if anyone else brings to mind for you. I mean,
if we're gonna get thorough, I think you just throw in guys like Pascal
Siakam would be someone else, just again depending on which direction we're going here,
because they do have the ability to create not enough cap space to just
take somebody on with the massive salary, but if you've got number two and
the ability to package a little more salary you could take on a big number.
So you know, there's no there's almost nobody that is like cost prohibitive
for them if they really are motivated to do that. But anytime I see
Og thrown out there, I'm just ye, maybe Sam just add him too,
because if Toronto's willing to think about moving one, they ought to be
open and moving the other. Let's move on to the Miami Heat. Their
key free agents include Max Struce, Gabe Vincent, Kevin Love, and Cody
Zeller. Both of them are non bird free agents key extension eligible candidates.
I think baym might be eligible for a two year extension sometime in November.
He's not gonna sign that. I just don't think that's like that. That's
like not adding enough length, and so the number just won't be quires signed.
He's young enough to where he'll want to play this contract out, either
get more years or actually hit the free agent market. Their cap situation is
they're over the second apron basically before even paying Strews or Vincent, So like
you can throw their cap holds in there. They're a proably ways to be
a little bit beneath the second apron before then, but you're just if you
resign either one of those guys, you're blowing past it. They have a
Dwayne Deadman trade exception that expos it's four point seven million dollars and expires on
February seventh. Their biggest needs for me, and this is I think where
we should start, because I'm curious where you land on what you think They're
single biggest need is. I go back and forth between, let's just upgrade
the front court spot next to man Caleb Martin's nice and you can downsize and
play small, but like we need like you need someone who was even better
than PJ. Tucker was for you a year ago, or because we hear
a lot about the Damian Lillard's stuff, they were heavily linked to Bradley Beale.
Is it they need another half court creator aside from Jimmy Butler and Tyler
Hero because Kyle Lowry's aging curves sort of made him inconsistent in that regard,
and because Jimmy Butler, like his jump shot is just it's inefficient until you
get to the postseason, it's often not. Basically, yeah, I think
it's hard to watch the heat in the postseason and really during the year and
not conclude that just whoever is playing the four. You know, they use
Caleb Martin to great effect in certain matchups, and Kevin Love really mattered against
other matchups, particularly against Denver where Aaron Gordon couldn't just bully him, which
look like the whole series was just gonna be Aaron Gordon Duckins until the Heat
started playing Kevin Love at the four. You'd like somebody that you don't have
to sort of like pick and choose, like who's gonna work against this matchup
at that position. Obviously they missed PJ. Tucker let him go this past
season, but like, if you're really trying to level up, I don't
I feel like that's almost thinking too small. It does need to be we
gotta have a third dar and like, really, we got to have somebody
making Kyle Lowry's money that is more than a guy that gives us like fifteen
good minutes in like two finals games, you know, something like that.
They do have three picks they can trade, which would have to include three
first I should say this season's on draft night. I think to make it
work. They do not run a foul of the Steppian rule. That's how
they'd have to do it. So like, for example, it's gonna be
impossible not to invoke Bradley Beal at some point before we get to Washington.
But just like, the package that the Heat could have put together I think
is better than what the Suns could have offered. And had Beal wanted to
go to Miami instead of Phoenix, you could have offered you know, Lowry
or Hero and those three first and just you know, I don't know that
that's Beal's value necessarily, but it's just to illustrate that the Heat do have
the ability to put a competitive offer out there, maybe the best offer for
a big name, you know, should one come available, or should one
of the ones that are already available want to go there. I think that's
how I have That's how you have to look at this Heat team. It's
not so much like let's make a moderate upgrade at the four whether with that's
whether that means signing someone for the minimum or whatever you gotta I think you
gotta aim a little higher if you're really trying to change things. If I
set the bar Adam, I have him listed as a trade target at Boyan
Magdanovich higher or lower, the Heat have to aim higher than that. Well,
if you're gonna use it's hard because clearly he would be better than both
guys they've played it. They played at the four during the playoffs. I
think I think he's probably better than Caleb Martin as a shot creator and like
shot maker. Yeah, I wonder if you run into some of the same
defensive problems and being undersized you have there with Martin. So I guess if
you're talking about trading like Hero and or Picks, you may need to aim
higher than Bogdanovich, even though I'm not trading. It would be Duncan Robinson
and like Pick. Yeah, Robinson is another guy I neglected to mention as
as salary filler for a trade candidate. Yeah, it's sort of like,
well, then it comes down to how ambitious do you want to be and
we just know and all except that the Heat's ambition is basically limitless. So
I feel like that's that sort of suggests the path that they're going to go
is, if it's not Lillard, I think they're going to try to just
get, you know, a forty fifty million dollar guy and squeeze him in
there somehow. I'd be with you which is why and look this is it's
also because that's the move they're built to make. They're not really built to
make a small trade. You could trade Kayla Martin, like, how are
you going to get an upgrade using only Kayla Martin from Kayla Martin who was
really good for you? And that complicates their situation. Then you look at
their salary filler Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robbins, and even Tyler Hero those are
all really expensive guys. Yeah, and so free agents before we get to
trade targets, which I think are the meat and potatoes of this team's offseason.
Guys like Utah wants an hobby Day. I thought they were a teaching
warrant team last year, to like try to rehabilitate a guy who's been injury
prone, wants Oscano Anderson. Maybe Joe Ingles could be a minimum guy.
Jamichael Green Javonte Green, one of my I think is one of the most
underrated free agents. I don't know if you know the ladder of that.
I mean, all of those guys that are named, quite frankly, might
be stretches. Maybe not Wants, Oscano Anderson, but all those names might
be ambitious when you're only working with the minimum. Maybe not for Joe Ingles
as he reached like the three plus a million dollars like minimum, so he
could look at it that way. But you know, I don't know.
And Jamichael Green just played for the minimum, so maybe he's not too much
of a of a stretch. But any other names stand out to you for
them? Yeah, I mean you're dealing with minimum, so I think you're
hoping for like a second or third draft guy or a veteran that has like
a little bit left. So you know, I bring just a Winslow back
potentially even he might make more than the minimum. Cam Reddish, he's restricted.
I don't know what's gonna happen with him. Trying to think who else
might make some sense there, Yeah, I don't know. I was gonna
say Kevin Knox maybe like something like that. He's like a fourth draft guy.
Yeah, that's the thing. Like, now we're getting way down the
line. I think Watson Abby's a great one. But yeah, I think
I think you're banking on heat culture and then really it's it may not be
free agency. It's just like, well we've found some other guy in the
G League that everybody gave up on and we're gonna turn him into a twenty
five minute agame player. But yeah, that I think the trades, as
you said, are really where you start. We can cross Bradley Beale off
the list there, even though I think that would have been a better package
than the Phoenix one. Zach Lavine, Dame Willard Collins. I love the
Collins fit here. I was thinking the other day about obviously, because if
you've got a guy that has underperformed seemingly, or you know it's been injury,
I think, or whatever, just get him to Miami and like it'll
he'll just immediately be forty percent better. So I love Collins there. Do
you think if you're if you're the Hawks and you're offered Duncan Robinson as like
the main asset for John Collins, are you hanging up immediately? What else
do you need? Does that salary not come off the books quick enough for
you? Because the shooting he would offer, I think makes it just a
little easier because the Hawks did not make threes last year. I think it
makes it easier to play Capella and or a Kong Wu. I think,
yeah, and Murray for that matter. So I just just just spitballing like
Duncan Robinson as a quote unquote headliner in a John Collins deal? What do
we think I think I would need? Like, what is it You're either
going to trade OLDEPO or Kayla Martin in that deal to make the money work.
And that's where it's weird. So Oldiepo actually increases Atlanta's payroll. Kayla
Martin makes it like a dollar for dollar swap. And maybe if you're giving
me Kayla Martin, I'd consider it. But are you giving up Caleb Martin
for John Collins? Especially? Look, let's be honest, who had the
better clothes to their year, Duncan Robinson or John Collins. Oh, Duncan
Robinson for sure. I'm just I would just be banking as the heat entirely
on John Collins turns back into a twenty from any here you acquire him without
giving up a pick. And in Atlanta you could look at as if its
Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin. Kayla Martin really helps you, and then Duncan
Robinson's cheaper, so maybe it's easier to move. And I think there might
be teams that are willing to acquire him now after the you know, the
moments he had in the postseason. I like, if I'm the Heat,
would you trade Caitlin Martin for John Collins? Though no, I don't think
I would. I'm trying to see if I could get there with Duncan,
Robinson and Jovich. But I think you fall short of salary wise because that
only gets you a little over twenty millions. Could even get a third geam
involved, Like, is there a way to compensate someone minimally to take on
Oladipo who has like the expiring contract or you can step out of your way
there with a bunch of different contracts. But even I didn't mention him.
But Omer your seven is a restricted free agent, so you're not moving him.
You can move Hey with Highsmith once you guarantee a salary. But that's
such a small number. Yeah, they're not built. It's only the mega
trade for basically what they're built for, or at least they're not. They're
not built to satisfy or check the boxes of a team like the Hawks that
is going to be looking to save money. Basically, it's part of that
deal they make it and this must just this is how the Heat want it.
They're like their hands are tied, except they can only make a blockbuster
trade for a superstar. That's pretty much it kind of a nice position.
Would you do? And I don't think I would you put every pick on
the table? So three plus three swaps or how Tyler hero plus? What
would you give up for Michael Bridges if you're the heat mhmm, I think
you Well, here two picks and swaps. That feels like a lot your
own two first? Doesn't that feel like too much? I'm not the biggest
hero guy. That doesn't feel like too much to you for Bridges. High
on Bridges, but so you would like Tyler hero on two first is like
do you give that up for Dame? Then like you'd have to go up
other stuff too. Would I rather have Bridges or Dame might be the question?
I don't know. That's my point though, is because Bridges contract is
better. He also Damian Lillard fills a need, don't get me wrong,
and does it better than mcaal Bridges on the offensive end, But like Bridges
also gives you like defensively value and then you can use him pretty much like
you could use him at the four, use him at the three use him
at the two, so there's more positional malleability there. All right, I've
come around. I would do hero In two first because the heat are gonna
be good and those first aren't going to be anything. You know that you
can give up picks in the twenties and feel feel okay? I think the
nets are more likely to say no. But is it because of the name
recognition or maybe the the existing variability? Okay? Is there a chance that
mcale bridges his numbers and performance were just inflated a little bit last year.
I was just gonna say, do you think maybe we need to walk it
back on bridges just a little bit, because like your thought, you bite
your tough. Okay, that's fine if they wanted to go, let's just
you know. In the I would say in the Collins Vein I mentioned Boya
Bardanovitch, how would you feel about Keldon Johnson for this team? Look at
that going off? It doesn't matter how I feel. The alarm went off.
We can't talk about him. Would I would love Kelvin Johnson for this
team. I like Kelvin Johnson a lot, especially if you knock him down
the pecking order from where he's been in San Antonio. It's like a fourth
option. I think that's that's a that would be great. I have no
problem with that. I think I might rather have Keldon than Bogdanovits just because
of the age. Yeah, and he's gonna give you more defensively. Still,
he's just he's tiny, but he'll probably rebound better than macdonovich at this
point. And his contract, it's a steel if he can get back to
hitting set threes and he did from the corners last year. I think not
so much above the break its contracts, with the declining scale, I don't
know what you need to go up to get him, though. It's it's
probably picks. I bet you san Antonio has no desire to look at Hero
would be my guess. No, it does not seem like a Spurs player.
Okay, I'm gonna take us to the Orlando Magic. Here key free
agents, Moe Wagner, it's pretty much it. Mark el Faults and Cole
Anthony are both extension eligible. I wouldn't imagine either of them are going to
get new deals anytime soon. Basically, they have twenty two million ish in
cap space, and they can get more based on some of their non guaranteed
guys, which includes faults John Isaac and Gary Harris no trade exceptions. I
know what I've been harping on as Orlando as biggest needs, Like people are
mad at you for it on TikTok on YouTube. They're mad, and I
think that they're that I have a bone to pick with Magic fans, and
can I actually, can I just hijack that? Go go you need a
point guard? You it's not this is not Mark Hill Folts first of all,
can play next to Fred van Fleet. Doesn't name that gets thrown out
there. And a lot of Magic fans, not all of them, have
said that they don't need a point guard. They don't need Fred van Fleet.
Yeah, if you don't want Fred van Fleet at thirty plus million dollars
a year, I get it. But you're when you went through the stretch,
you started five and twenty and then you lost your last four games in
between, you were over five hundred. You had an elite defense and you
still had a bottom five offense. And so there were some lineups of course
that were able to work, including you know, especially at the beginning of
the year, like their top end lineups was just absolutely slaughtering teams like Gang
Bucks Busters at both ends of the floor. But you can't look at this
team and just because mark ef Foltz is is good, he's not just he's
not playing good for him relative to what he was. He's good and he's
really learned how to do stuff inside the arc. He's a quality playmaker and
can be in the half court. But if you view him as your point
guard of the future, you need to surround him with all sorts of spacing.
And that lineup that performed by Gangbusters to start the season, it ended
up only being plus one per one hundred on the year, So I'm talking
about faults. Harris Wagner Bank Carol wind o'carter Jr. Had an offensive rating
in the fortieth percentile, and their half court rating was it was actually better.
It was in the fifty sixth percentile. But when you're starting to look
at all their most used lineups from last year, they ended up in the
twenty second percentile, in the second most used one of half court offense,
the forty second percentile, the thirty second percentile, the tenth percentile, the
fifth percentile. This team needs a half court creator. I'm not saying you
need to trade Mark l Folks. I was a little bit lower on him.
Clearly I was wrong there. He gives you defensive value, like I
said, he's really learned and expanded his offensive armory. But he is not
going to be even if you believe in his mid range game, someone who
expands the floor for you, and you will be inherently limited unless you believe
that pallow Bank Carrol is going to turn into this exceptional pull up three point
shooter. Same for Friends Wagner, who is certainly hinted at that. And
I do believe in Palo Bank Carol's jumper. You need other options on this
team. It's not and I keep seeing all they have Jalen Suggs, they
have Colanthy. I'm a believer in Jalen Suggs. I don't view him as
a cap stock point guard. I think you need more of a floor general
who ideally you can play with Faults and Suggs. This is not a matter
of yeah, if you go after Damian Lillard, yeah, he's gonna cost
your jail and Suggs probably maybe even Mark cal Faults. I'm not saying you
need to move those guys, but you need an upgrade offensively shooting, but
also just as a creator type. And I'm saying is namely in defense of
you, because people have been angry that that's what you're harping on for the
Magic. But it's just unless you think they're gonna draft one season and they're
gonna develop like Marquel, Foltz is not going to be the point guard of
the next great title contending like iteration of the Orlander, he could be on
the team. I want to make that clear. He could be on the
team. He could be starting for the team. That's just that's not it's
too limited, but he's too limited for your offense in certain ways. Yeah,
I obviously agree with what you're saying. I think, like, I
don't know though, if I think the things that faults is best at matter
less on this particular team. Because if the theory of Orlando is we have
Paula ben Carro, he's the number one overall pick as a shot creator,
as a rookie from a premium position, like a big forward that can do
all this stuff for you. If the theory of the team is that he
runs the show, he gets the most touches. He's you know, a
guy that's going to average six seven assists a game potentially down the line and
get you twenty five thirty. Then, like Folts is just an ill fitting
piece. And so I'm not saying he isn't good at several NBA skills that
matter. It's just that the theory of this team has your point guard and
probably your off guard off the ball a lot. Because in addition to bank
Caro, you have Wagner that can do a bunch with the ball. Should
also have a pretty heavy creation burden. Like that's a good thing. It
opens up possibilities to build this backcourt in a number of different ways. And
if that's get a facilitator, get a guy who can take some of the
playmaking load off your forwards. Cool, he's got to be able to shoot.
Folk shot thirty or time from three last year. That's a career high
by a mile. He doesn't take threes. He shot one and a half
a game. Like that's just away from the ball. You can be as
great a cutter as there is in the world. You can, you know,
run a pick and roll. There are ways to use guys like Folks
that just don't scare the defense from the perimeter. But it's always going to
be a hindrance to the like the optimal version of this magic team. So
like if it yeah, so just in a lot of ways, I think
it makes this roster easier to build because you're smaller players, you're guards.
They don't even have to be smaller. You can get some big guards as
long as they can shoot. They just don't have to make the lion's share
of the plays. They can be decent at that. But if it's if
Bankro is the guy, and I think you have to view him that way,
then you've got options, Like you can have a Marcus Smart type be
your nominal point guard, right because nobody's nobody's ever confused Marcus Smart with a
guy that is going to run an elite offense. Like he's passable. He
can run a pick and roll if you need him to, but he's out
there to do other stuff. And like, granted, Smart's not even a
great three point shooter. That's been like a knock for him historically. He's
way better than Faults, Like it's not even a comparison. He'll actually take
him, I mean, maybe too many. I'd say Celtics fans would probably
wish that he had faults as shot selection, but that's all I'm saying.
Like, and if you're just big picture Magic fans, sorry, Like,
if you're looking at ways to improve this roster, if I'm doing that,
I'm not starting with Franz and Banco at the forwards. That looks good to
me. I love Wendell Carter. I would be ecstatic to have him as
my starting center at that salary, So it's got to be the backcourt.
Sorry, Like and full test his warts and sugs. Can't throw the ball
in the basket from anywhere, is a terrible entry passer, can't dribble like
he's an awesome defender. Chris Dunn's an awesome defender. Where's he like that?
That's all I'm saying. If you're starting to look at this team and
how to make it better, you look at the guards. That's all.
That's it, because it's by default. I think Jalen sugs. The dribbling
is noted, but he had a very strong offensive clothes and so I've still
holding out hope that, Like, I don't think he's going to be the
creator type they need. It does sound like we're dumping on the magic we're
in a very good spot. They played above five hundred basketball with a top
tennish defense for most of the year last season. When you get into free
agency targets, though, they have like, all right, you don't like
Fred van Fleet, Like, do you just look at maybe even a Trey
Jones or an Iota tuone move both are restricted free agents? Or look,
if they're gonna show the playmaker route, then you just need this I think
skew towards shooting. And so there's Max Drew's Gary Trent Jr. He's yet
to decline his player option. Though, do you think about like, they
don't really have a ton of like wing wings on this team. It's Franz
Wagner, and so could you look at Harrison Barnes, What if Chris Middleton
declines his player option. I don't know if there's anyone else that stands out
to you. I guess the challenge for them would be that if you're looking
to address the needs in a really meaningful way that we've outlaid, it's probably
not happening in free agency this year. I always need to happen via trade.
I think that's fair. I mean, I would look at Josh Richardson,
I would definitely look at Seth Curry if you just need someone in your
backcourt that's going to stand there and make threes and pull the defense out of
the lane. I think, I mean, you could be hard pressed to
do much better than him for what it might cost, which I would have
to assume is less than the mid level, you know, somewhere between the
mini and the full mid level. I would guess, Yeah, I mean,
Dante de Vincenzo shot it really well and would defend, but I don't.
I'm not sure the shooting that he showed with the Warriors is yeah,
it's like it's not enough, Like you need someone who's probably gonna give you
higher volume. And even when we're some of the names or all the names
we basically listen aside from Fred Van Fleet and I guess Chris Middleton, you
went there out like they're not names that are most like gonna guarantee or guaranteed
to crack your closing lineup, Like Seth Curry isn't gonna do that. Don't
Deevin Genzo is not gonna crack your closing lineup. And that's the challenge here,
which is why I feel like and they're by the way they're bringing in
the number six and eleven selections this year, you would think at least one
of whom is going to play a pretty prominent role for them, And so
their window gets a little fuzzy. But if they wanted to do make material
upgrades on the trade market, they could And so they're like any guys that
you know, I don't know that the Magic have to be all in.
I think they have the gazintite for anyone who couldn't see on air Grammars and
easing. But I muted it effectively, Yeah, you effectively muted it.
So like, are there any trade targets that stand out to where Okay,
the Magic don't need to give up everything. Where we're starting to talk,
we'll do you trade friends Wagner because him and Ban Carrow, I just view
his no, and I would even say, like I'd be shocked, it
would be out of character for them to trade any of these lottery picks,
Like I don't even view number six necessarily is as gettable from the Magic.
Yeah, I don't really either, although I don't know those picks are going
to be a really interesting thing. I mean, so if you're not moving
the full boat or you know, really going all in, which, by
the way, it just as an aside. I don't think they should be
in the certainly not the signing van Vleet business for what it's going to cost.
And I don't think they should be in the market to trade for Dame.
It just it doesn't It doesn't make sense for Dame. I would you
you can get to the salary without giving up any of your like capslock Core
players because you have the Jonathan Isaac number. You have Gary Harris's number,
like in that deal. I guess it gets weird, Okay, our Magic
fans gonna push back against or the Magic themselves gonna push back against giving up
faults because his number. It could be pretty important for that deal, Like
you don't need to trade if you don't need to trade number six Bank Carrow
or Franz Wagner. I don't know why you wouldn't know he's consider entering the
Damian Lillards peep SA if you were just building it on future draft equity and
Jalen Suggs. And I'm not saying that you would be getting Damian Lillard for
pennies on the dollar. Jalen sugs. I think it's gonna be legitimately good
at both ends. NBA player and you can give out these future picks,
and they have number eleven as well. If you had to give up Franz
Wagner, though, I wouldn't do it, And if you had to give
up I probably wouldn't do it. If you had to give up number six,
I'm having a conversation. I don't know if I'm ultimately Damian Lillard.
His age runs counter to the rest of your court, so I understand the
trepidation. That's that's where mine is. It's the age and the money.
Like the aide, the timelines don't really make a lot of sense, even
though I think we've seen some of that debunked. Like if you have good
young players, get a star in there and kind of see what happens,
I get it. I just I wouldn't want to be paying him for the
downside. Malcolm Brogden, buddy healed some you know playmakers and shooters that wouldn't
cost you the whole you know, asset Chester, I think decent trade candidates
to look at. I don't think i'd be in the lavine business just again,
costs all the age thing is is less significant, and he played a
ton of games last year, so kudos to him. Yeah, that's that's
about all I got there. Uh, Chris Paul, do you think he
wants to be in Orlando as opposed to la which seems like clearly where he's
going. Yeah. I just think the Magic are probably gonna mostly run it
back. Maybe they'll make some fuses and fiddles on the margins, but I
think they're set up to accelerate their timeline without blowing up their current core.
And I think that's something. I think they can be good enough. It's
a compliment, really, I think they can be good enough to make the
call there and to close before I think you have Washington. We're both high
on the Magic. We think the Magic are gonna be good. Just to
just to end it there. Since I dumped on their guards, let's get
to the Washington Wizards. Who this is. It's they're all sorts of all
over the place, but their key free agencies of now, Kristas Porzingis is
a player option. He has until June twenty first, So the Wednesday,
which is the day after this will be released, Kyle to pick it up
or decide not to Kyle Kuzma as a player option that he will certainly decline.
Denny Ada is their only key extension eligible candidate. Their cap situation is
basically all over the place right now. They've shed some money and so I
think that their tax concerns for this year are fairly low. If they want
to access the bigger mL though, they're going to need to let people walk
or cut salary via trade. There's still many MLI team though in my book
no notable trade exceptions. Their biggest need I had it when I filled it
out before the trade a direction, a full on reset. They it is
underway, and so now it's just draft equity talent accumulation because there's and I
focused a lot on the Phoenix end of the trade on the solo pod.
So it's probably good that, like the Wizards, are ending up here,
but like the Hey, their starting point is almost zero because as Denny Abby
is not the future, he could be good, but I don't know if
they're gonna want to pay his next deal, and he's not Michael Winger's guy,
Johnny Davis, Corey Kissbert. You don't have any extra first at the
moment, you have swaps from Phoenix. Excuse me, maybe maybe twenty six
one can convey you have the number eight pick, because basically, if that's
what you're starting from, is now you have the number eight pick and the
promise of flexibility moving forward. So I think it becomes mission critical to figure
out how to capitalize on the inevitable departures of Porzingis and Kuzma. And how
do you do that with porzingis Is? I feel like it could be an
opt in in trade just because he can extend immediately for one hundred and five
percent of his number, and like, I don't even think he's gonna get
a raise off of his current number, so that makes him in a candidate.
And then Kuzma was trickier, and so I'm just curious reading on to
that because he could just leave and sign and trades are harder to broker.
Would you consider bringing him back with the intention of moving him later or is
that risk what it is to keep him? You're probably paying him a little
too much for that to be a net positive asset. Yeah, I think
having beal off the books, and presumably Chris Paul will never like he'll be
off the books too, one way or the other, before the season starts
makes me feel better about just as long as it's not I don't know what
the number needs to be, but preserving the asset by resigning Kuzma after he
opts out, I think you highlighted it is dangerous because it seems like,
well I don't know if that's fair. It seems like he may want to
leave, and so you're gonna have to pay a little extra to beat the
market and bring a guy back who I think, if he has any sense,
would know that he's being brought back to be traded, most likely because
there's just no place for a you know, mid career forward making twenty seven
million a year twenty five, Like, is that what it would take to
bring him back? I wouldn't pay that, but twenty plus, I would
think, right sure, Like I mean at twenty million dollars, I think
there's a chance you could trade Kuzma for positive value. So yeah, I
think I'd feel okay about that because, like you said, there just aren't
a lot of other ways for them to add talent other than just like waiting
for the draft to roll around and losing enough games where your picks are valuable.
So that's I want to talk about Porzingis too, because thinking about like
what he should do just from his standpoint. I wrote something on this earlier
this offseason. I think opting in is really dangerous because you open yourself up
to just getting traded someplace that you don't want to be, you know.
So I guess there are upsides to that, and that theoretically the team trading
for him would have an eye towards resigning him, and you might even know
like what that dollar figure would be. But I thought it made more sense
for him to just enter free agency and just see what's out there, because
he's not going to have a lot of control over the process if he comes
back on his player option. So I don't know how you feel about Porzingis
specifically, but he's someone I think on an expiring deal that you could.
I mean, there are more and more teams. He makes sense for more
and more teams after putting together a pretty healthy season that was basically the best
of his career to this point. Yeah, he was hitting falloways and I'm
doing stuff off the dribble in addition, who was three point shooting and rim
protection. But he still has control over the process if it's an opt in
in trade. You just like that's just something that through the grape vine because
there's no such thing as tampering. But like you, it's tough because the
guaranteed date is it's gonna maybe by the time people are listening to this,
it will have come and passed, and so maybe he opts out. I
think opting out is the bigger risk because you control the process, who's paying
him, who's giving him four let's say four years and one hundred and twenty
million, So you're lowering your average annual rate and you're just guaranteeing yourself more
than Long Hall. Maybe Houston, Utah is not going to be in that
business. I don't think I'm looking at caspased teams. I saw Bobby Marks
float Christops Porzingis in Indiana. I don't love that idea. Collectively though,
Miles Turner and Kristops Porzingis would be fourteen plus feats worth of a below average
bounding, which is kind of impressive. Yeah, get the cap space then,
though, so you're you're getting into the sign and trade scenarios. It's
actually easier I would argue to just work with this thirty six million dollars number
the team that acquires you, if they're gonna give up stuff, they're gonna
want to extend you, and you can. You could sign the same deal
you could go So you can only do three years. You can't sign a
full four one. But if you get an extension or you get traded,
you could sign a three year, ninety million dollar contract extension. So if
you're Washington and knowing what you need or what you want in terms of your
your targets, where does it make the most sense to trade Porzingis following an
opt in? Like? Is there? Because I mean he fits like every
team wants the floor stretching shop blocker at center, Like that's that's a universal
fit. Are we talking about assigning trade to New Orleans? Are we talking
about uh gosh, where else would he make sense? I don't know,
Portland? Maybe I don't know who they're I guess are they giving up Nurkitch?
And yeah, I don't know, I don't know. You made my
Porzingis should should opt out? But but you could also like can you use
Porzingis to move up? And like what would is this enough to get the
Blazers to drop from number three to eight, you take back Nurkitch. You
would take back Matisse Tibel or Camraddish and assign and trade you take back.
That's how you get to the number four Porzingis. And look, as we're
recording this, Kyle Kuzma has the cline is thirteen million dollar player option.
That is totally predictable. So you send nurkicch tible number three and I'm assuming
that gets to the salary needed and if it doesn't, you have to hear
a little that you can move. You send that to Washington for number eight.
Porzingis and Denny Avdia. Oh, Avdia got my interest up because I
know you said he's not going to be the guy you built around, but
I think we both really like or I really I still really like abdia is
getting off of Nerk's money while getting Porzingis Avdia and number eight. Is that
enough to move? I think that might that might be pretty close. If
I'm Portland, I don't think I do that. If Scoot is there,
that was my thought. I'm like, no, out of Scoots there,
which which he like he probably will be. Unless this is all, I
guess we've skipped the Charlotte part already, but they had both him and Miller
back to work out again and apparently Scoot was just better, which no shit,
So I don't know, I don't think I think Scoot might be there
and so, uh, I don't know if that would that would give me
the most pause of all the variables in that transaction, which is a good
one because that, I mean, Porzingis would really make Portland's offense interesting if
if he's healthy, and I think he'd probably be a defensive upgrade two over
Grant on the front line too, that's legit. I mean, that's also
what frontline that's not going to rebound too much? Though, No, what
else you want to hit with Washington here, Like I you know, their
targets are all just like don't you want to win zero games this year?
Isn't that like isn't that the plan? So right? I just like I'm
like, can you look at you know, I don't mean like it's draft
equity, draft equity, draft equity, and so it's can you get like
it's Porzingius or excuse me, Kyle Kuzma in a perspective, sign and trade.
Can they get you, like any young players from like other teams,
and it's I don't know, you know, India has made the number seven
pick available, but you're not getting that for Kyle Kuzma. Sign and trade
and they can sign Kyle Kuzma outright. A lot of people have mentioned Porzingius
as like someone for the Knicks. Knicks fans are very high on the idea,
which surprised me a little bit. Can you get Quentin Grimes out of
that deal? Like that's the kind of and like even the Portland thing,
like you got draft equity, and so it's can you send Porzingis somewhere where
even if you're taking back bad money, Let's you San Antonio with Wemby,
Like, would they give you anything a lower end first in addition to Kelton
Johnson to that? Is that too much for Porzingius? I'd be very curious
to see, but they don't have. Which interesting is that you can move
Monte Morris and Delane right both of them were going in the final year of
their deals. None of those guys are worth a first round pick. I
think the player with the most interesting trade value because when it's Kyle Kuzma signed
in trade, he has leverage. I think even with Porzingis. There's just
the numbers so big that you're kind of just at the end his position.
It's like he's a center. I don't want to see him playing with another
big because you can try and get away with him with BAM if you wanted
to in Miami, but just I don't want to see him play with another
big. Denny Avdia is what can you get? You could look at extending
him. I don't know what the number is, but like, what is
a team want to give you a first round pick to have the right to
extend or resigned any Abdia and restricted free agency? That's your needs. And
I don't even think we don't need to focus on names. I would just
say, and we haven't really gotten your thoughts on the Biel trades, maybe
we can give us that quickly. I would just say that the trade was
bad, like just objectively, the value and the process that led the Wizards
there was catastrophic them making this call, because it's not on this front office
that it's on tennyans Is that they got here. It's not on Michael Winger
and co. Making this decision has actual value. It's overdue, but it's
finally been made, and yes, the process is going to be longer and
probably more arduous, but you're beginning it and I think that's what matters most
here and it also proves and now I'll throw it to you. I swear
that this front office has autonomy to make these decisions. Yeah, I don't
think my thoughts will diverge much from yours or be surprising about the Beal trade.
I think it's frustrating that I don't think the Phoenix package was the best
that was on the table that they could have gotten, but the no trade
closet and you said it, like the Wizards just put themselves in this position,
so you just you don't. They just didn't have any power, any
agency, any control over this process. So the best thing they did was
just doing it right, like it almost doesn't matter. And they didn't take
on any crippling money, which is hard to do when you're trading the worst
contract and the player on guaranteed money after next season. Right, So I
mean, if it's just let's undo this decision we made success, right,
Like, that's that's fine, and it does give me confidence that this now
is a franchise that's going to operate rationally. And just build like so many
other success you know, the thunder of the Jazz whatever have done, and
that's just the right thing to do. It's just like, this is gonna
be a long road because you didn't get the four first rounders or whatever for
bal or even the two or three you could have gotten had you traded him
two three years ago. So it's gonna suck. But I think I wonder
how Washington fans feel about it. I suspect that generally there they get it
like this needed to happen and it's okay. They're probably just exasperated that it
reached this point and it was just evidently predictable. Yeah, we saw this
three or four years ago. The thing that they have going for them,
and then you could take us out. I think when they have a bunch
of cap space next year unless they do something in their books that's funky this
year, the value of that, with more of the penalties kicking in for
these teams that are going to be not just crossing the second apron but the
first apron, there might be real compensation available if you're leasing out cap space.
That's a great point the cap so cap space I feel I had sort
of become less valuable generally speaking lately, I think that's gonna change. It's
filters. In free agency, I would are you it's really not that valuable.
But on the trade market, I think it became more value the teams
that can take on bad money with picks attached. So that's how you fast
track this. If you're Washington, is you just you eat a couple really
bad deals for a couple of years, hopefully they don't extend, you know,
too far, and you're you're back flush with picks. Although I think
picks are probably going to be viewed as more valuable now too, because that's
a way to have cost controlled players on the team. So we'll see.
That covers the Southeast Division, which you know, kind of kind of good
spot to be news wise with Beal and the Wizards. So everybody, thanks
for listening, Thanks for watching. If you have enjoyed this or want to
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high energy and excellent points that I've made. And yeah, we close as
always with a shout out to the one and only Frank Milikeena and I would
like to apologize to Jared out