What is krack lacking fellow thermonuclear a efforts. I am Dampa Valley coming at
you with my certified fantabulous no longer needs caffeine to have high energy. Co
host Grant Hughes. He is hacked life, the fountain of youth, d
aging the He's hacked the d aging process. That doesn't even make sense.
I'm all over the place. We have another offseason lookhead for you. We
are doing the Southwest Division before we get started. Please remember if you subscribe
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Hardward Underscore Knox on Instagram. Grant, I last spoke with you about thirty
seconds ago. How are you doing? I'm terrible a lot of No,
I'm doing great, doing just as well. And I'm energized by the preview
we just did, which is separate from this and doesn't exist potentially if you're
only listening to this one. And I am further energized by and talk about
the Southwest Division because there's some interesting teams here, and they run the gamut
of really bad potentially to really good to really exciting. I've said exciting several
times. So maybe I should stop drinking coffee from my Hardwood Knox mug,
but I'm doing it anyway. You want to use the cold plunge really quickly,
we could bring No, I don't want to overdo it. No,
I don't want to overdo it. I want to preserve the effectiveness. I
can start us off here unless you want to get to anything else. With
the Dallas Mavericks, which alphabetically are the first team in the Southwest Division,
we're going to hit. We remain great at the alphabet I just want to
warn anyone who's listening and can hear it, we're setting ten minute timers.
Music might play in the background when it goes off because we're trying to paste
this, but yes, please take us through the Dallas Mavericks. I just
want to start with a man, nay, a legend close to your heart.
He's the first free agent, not alphabetically, but in our hearts in
all other ways you could rank things. The one only Frank Millikina, who
gets shouted out every episode that I'm on. I don't know if you you
know just and for years has been shouted out. He's a somehow the Dallas
Mavericks did not max except when last eligible, so he is a free agent,
along with Dwight pal Christian Wood, Kyrie Irving. Maybe you've heard of
that guy, Josh Green is eligible for an extension. Basically, the MAVs,
well, they kind of put themselves in this position. When they made
the Irving trade, they dealt away a lot of potentially valuable mid tier salaries
and useful players to essentially have one star under contract in Luca don Chich and
the desperate need to retain the other one despite little competition relative relatively speaking in
the market, and so they can have the mini mid level available if Kyrie
comes back on a new deal. They can also clear twenty five ish million
if he leaves and they renounce everybody else that's a free agent and cut Reggie
Bullock, who has a ten point four ten point five million dollars salary,
only about half of which is guaranteed, although at see six six eight twenty
three as his guarantee date. So I don't know that, Reggie ball I
guarantee you're looking at sub twenty million in cap space, then it yeah,
they're looking at under that. So a couple paths to go. They need
a bunch of players to just fill out this roster support their two stars,
ideally defensively. So I will throw it to you. What are your main
thoughts on the MAVs. What should their goals be this offseason, what should
they not do and what can they use to do it. Well, if
we have to start with Kyrie Irving, what we both expect him to be
back, right, we would be pretty surprised if he wasn't, just because
the whole reason he wanted a trade was so that his next team could have
his bird rights. What is the deal? Like? How many years do
you think he is up with it? Is he getting the full max?
I mean when you get into like what his his full full full max would
be, what is he at he would be at five years and two hundred
and fifty eight million dollars roughly based off Yeah, one hundred thirty four million
dollars cap. I don't think he's going to get that. If my prediction,
do you think I'm gonna set the over under on guaranteed years no,
no, no team options or non guarantees at three years? Would you take
the over the under on that? I'm and like just predicting or what I
would feel comfortable with no predicting. I think it's well, I think it's
probably over. I wouldn't go more than like two plus one personally, but
that might not be realistic given like the levers he has over the MAVs.
Who would just lose a ton if he walks. Yeah, it's the number.
I don't know about you, but if for me it's more the years
than the dollars, because I would be okay with like a max for two
or even three potentially years. But if you get into the fourth and certainly
the fifth, which just seems ridiculous, like unfathomable to me to commit five
years to him, that's the problem. I think, just you cannot Nothing
in Kyrie Irving's track record suggests you can commit to him and expect a reciprocal
commitment over like more than a year, honestly, So getting into the four
and five is just like it's a non starter for me, and I don't
I don't think the MAVs will have to go that far. But there are
teams that you know that are interested. It's just some of the mechanics of
getting Irving anywhere else get kind of thorny. A three year, one hundred
forty seven point seven million dollars deal for Kyrie Irving would be the max.
I wondered, like, that doesn't seem unpalatable for anyone, does it?
Like it's short term risk for the Mavericks And if you're Kyrie, you still
guarantee yourself almost one hundred fifty million. Maybe if it's a two plus one
two and that plus one's a player option, is that making more likely to
do it? It's I'd be shocked if he gets five years, just because
I'll just be floored. Do you expect him to get max money? I
think I think it's I could see it if it were a three year deal
because like the number you just threw out, three four one forty seven like
doesn't trigger you know, nausea for me, Like I it's like that's okay,
fine, Like it's a little three years is a while. But that's
if it was a two plus one at the max, Like zero problem with
that. I think that's just a good it's a good, if risky investment.
I think, well, let me let me put it to you.
Put it to you what reason other than we're scared he'll leave? Like do
the MAVs have to go into like the danger zone of whether it's years or
dollars on him, because like it's just not that easy to for him to
go someplace and get everything that he wants, Like that's just not there are
not good options for that. So his leverage other than I'm gonna leave and
you guys are screwed. It's the Rockets exist and have caps based and or
desperate. That's what seems like his leverage would be. Because look, I
think the middle grounds here. Kyriver is a good basketball player. The Mavericks.
One the minutes that him and Lukod Dodgers play together, the defense was
not good. There were concerns during crunch time. There's real concerns about this
roster. But I think you can make it work between them. The middle
ground seems three years, one hundred forty eight million whatever. That was no
no options for anybody. So Kyrie Evering gets some longer term security. The
Mavericks don't have to deal with the dance of Okay, we go through one
year and then all of a sudden he's on. He could be on an
expiring contract again. That also leaves you outs with a trade. There might
be teams that are more willing to trade for him if he has too guaranteed
years left on his deal after the after the first one. That seems like
the nice middle ground for everybody. I do wonder, because of all the
reasons that you just outlaid though, is this a four year max situation where
it's you know, four years. I don't even know what the exact numbers
on a four year max be about, so like that would that would make
me if I'm if I'm Kyrie. No, it's not gonna make me pause
at all, Like I'm absolutely, Oh it's four years. Two hundred and
one point seven million dollars. Actually have a column for the four year maps
and I just wasn't looking at it. So that would make me if there
was a team option at the end of it, Like, is that the
way you sort of win the like the reporting if you're Kyrie and like his
his agent, which I believe is his stepmother, still so like, oh,
he signed a four year max deal, but there's a team option at
the end of it, so the MAVs, you've only committed to the three
end, Like that could increase his trade value down the line as well.
So maybe that's actually the middle ground, But I think the real middle ground
is three year flat max, no options. If you can get a team
option for the MAVs, you absolutely do it if you're Kyrie, Like,
this is why you want to get yourself the longest term guaranteed money and if
they're throwing you know, if you want to get into the Kyrie business for
four guaranteed years level and five, I can't do it at the max money.
And what I will also say is, I do wonder if this is
regardless of how you feel about Kyrie Irving the person and the distraction that he
can be, even Kyrie Irving the basketball player, I'm wondering, if you
know, impended consequence for players of this new CBA is okay? Kyrie turns
thirty two next year. As a team, we're looking at how punitive and
limited it is to build around not just a player on one max, but
two maxes, both of which are thirty percent or above, in Kyrie's case
to be thirty five percent. Are we going to see teams be more hesitant
to max out guys at that level later into their career where throw aside everything
we know about Kyrie Irving's history off the quarter, behind the scenes, or
on social media, and would he just be a no brainer max this summer
in a normal climate. Yes, In this new climate, I'm just not
so sure because I think teams are gonna analyze the back end of these deals
a lot more critically than they were in the past. I think not only
that, but I think now don't tell the Suns this. I think teams
are gonna have to look more closely at not just we gotta get as many
Max guys as we can. Like obviously those days among rational teams are over,
but I think you would if this were a year from now and you
somehow the same circumstances that led to the original Irving trade to Dallas in place,
I think the MAS would have to say, he's kind of duplicative like
we already have. Like, if we're going to pay another you know,
Max or supermax level guy, he's gonna need to be someone who will get
the full value out of Whereas like Bill, as the example, is going
to go be a third option for fifty million dollars and he's not going to
help in like all the other ways that the Suns need help. He's just
more of kind of the same thing that they have, which has its benefits.
But like I think the other effects again to reiterate, is that you're
not just going to throw Max guys together like a hardened Durant Kyrie thing or
now you know, feel Durant Booker and Luca and Kyriek caught him are in
a similar boat. You might just need to balance your skill sets a little
bit better because it's gonna cost you so much and be so limiting to have
a bunch of max guys. You just can't have them overlap, I think
would be You know so again that that doesn't help the Mavericks this offseason.
They already have Kyrie and we should probably transition to some of the roster needs.
Yea, the timer has gone off, so that's okay. What do
they need? What do the MAVs need? It's perimeter defense and interior defense.
Like they just need defense and so names I'm looking in the mini mL
E territory Dolan Brooks, matist side ball, Bismac Behombo. If you're trying
to go minimums, Danny Green, josh A Kogi how Home that though,
can give you some point of attack defense. Javon Carter would have to be
a mini m E guy if he declines his player option. Jella McDaniel is
probably minimally guy. Daddy is Young could be a minimum guy if he gets
waved by by Toronto. If they want higher end swings, and I'll let
you add any names to this list thereafter, like do they have they can
trade two first round picks this summer and salary to connect get you in the
og out an Obi sweep stakes, Like he would be the guy two first
and I mean you could offer Josh Green or Jade and Hardy. I don't
know why you want to offer everyone, but like two first in salary for
o G. I'm doing that if I'm the Mavericks. I think that gets
you in the conversation with Toronto. Yeah, I think so too. And
you've got Hardaway and Davis Burton's as your matching salary, and mostly with that
number ten pick, even that even one of those might be enough, maybe
not for og but to kind of get in, you know, get in
some conversations that way. I don't have a lot else to add here,
and we're already over time, so we should probably go to the Rockets because
that's another pretty interesting team that will probably force us over the time limit as
well. Here's hoping, not because we are we're trying to be We're trying
to be swift here, but let's get to the the Houston Rockets. Key
free agents none really kJ Martin has a team option I'm assuming they'll pick up
no key extension eligible candidates. Their cap situation best spending tool is just going
to be actual cap space. They have a quessfied as a ship ton can
get to over sixty two million dollars if they announced everyone except for kJ Martin
and their first round holds. They do have one notable trade exception three point
nine million from the Christian wood trade that expires on June twenty sixth. Though,
their biggest needs, and I think this is where we start, are
kind of all over the place because they owe okay see a protected first round
or twenty four and twenty six and okay se has swap rights in twenty twenty
five that is top ten protected on that, I like, their needs are
all over the place. They need top end talent, They need defensive talent.
You could argue that they need They definitely need shooting. Do they need
a point guard? Do they need a big or do you trust Shangoon and
Jabari Smith Junior to develop into your front line of the future. They pretty
much need everything. The question is how aggressive are you when it comes to
accelerating this process? Are you? We've talked about this enough and we don't
want to blow through the time. I think we're both of the mind that
even if you're going to accelerate at your timeline, it doesn't make much sense
to go and max out or pay James Harden really for any number of years
if he's giving you a discount Shore. But he's not going to do that.
I don't see like you can even tell me, well, they could
trade turn around and trade for another star James Harden plus whom is making you
a contender? And I just I don't know the answer to that. And
I think Harden. We have to talk about Harden because it's just been rumored
forever. And is it a leverage play to get more from Philly? Is
it real? I think all of the above. Maybe, Like I don't,
I don't know, but I agree with you that Lake Houston has so
much money it could just it's getting Harden is not a problem. I think
he's the wrong kind of guy. If you add Harden, you better be
sure that you're young guys are not lead ball handler first option, uh,
you know, potential type guys. Because I think he's gonna be on the
ball a ton. It sounds like maybe Jadac Rivers interviewed fairly recently, and
it seemed like he was saying that Harden still just wanted to be ball dominant
Harden and Philly and that was a real struggle. So, like, I
think he's gonna stunt the growth of some of the younger guys potentially just in
terms of they're just touches. The touches them won't be there for them.
So if you don't think Jalen Green and you know he deserves more of an
offensive sheriff, you don't think he has that potential. If you don't think
Alpern Sangoon is going to be a playmaking center, then yeah, Like I
guess Harden whatever is not going to do that much damage, but somebody else
makes more sense. So like, if it's Van Vleet, if you want
to want to swoop in on the Kyrie thing, I guess you could.
I don't know that I would go for that, but they have Coming up
with options for them is tricky because I think a lot hinges on Hardened as
far as like what kind of team are you going to be this year?
It's clear they want to get better, but they still have a lot of
avenues to do that, and like you said, it doesn't have to be
a max guy. You could, you know, throw twenty million bucks at
three differents if you wanted to and just kind of build a mid tier veteran
roster that way. I don't know. I don't know. You could get
in Jeremy Grant territory. You could go get Harris and Barns. You could,
Like, it's kind of limitless as far as what they could do.
And I think it just depends on who that first domino is, Like who's
the guy they sign where it signals a direction? You know, I would
it would almost be like and I don't know if they could afford this,
but let's say they could, and I'm sure they, Like if you end
up with Fred van Fleet and Christops Porzingis that feels less wildly indicative of one
direction where you'd be able to Those are guys who will streamline the development of
everybody else they fit, but they won't cannibalize reps for the number four pick
for Jail and Green for Jabari Smith Junior. That feels like the most palatable
outcome. But they've also been mentioned and you alluded to this where it's like
to the non star names of just paying a bunch of like Dylan Brooks.
Everyone affects in them to sign Dylan Brooks, and it's like, all right,
you have the money, so you have to pay him above the mL
E. Not the end of the world, but you could Brooks like eighteen
million dollars. I don't know what that That doesn't commit you to one direction,
but I don't know if that's how much better that's actually making you.
And I think, yes, okay, the defensive mentality getting that in there,
I just that's not I don't want to see them. I'm all for
them towing the middle ground more than skewing all the way towards James Harden,
but I don't want to see them kind of hover around the sub middle and
going, you know, the Dylan Brooks route. Feels like that would be
very much it even going the I guess I wouldn't mind if they paid Trey
Jones like that, you know, brook Lopez is even fines like those are
the type like a Dylan Brooks. Or let's go and pay Io dasun move
or should we be the team that goes in poison pills Austin Reeves. I'm
not really about that for them, but they're also an interesting because it's so
hard to pick a direction for them. And I think both of us,
if we were in charge, would still kind of slow play this. Fred
van Fleet or Chris stops for me, Let's see, how do you feel
it's probably like the extent to which that would really accelerate this process. Yeah,
I think I think that's right. And I think as you're talking,
it made me realize, like, I'm not that high on really any of
their young guys, Like I'm not sold on Green. I think Jabari Smith
Junior had a really uneven first year. Sangun I like, but he has
flaws. I wonder if, like, it seems pretty clear that their coaching
situation was suboptimal for most of those guys tenure, and I would be curious
to see what they look like with Emmyodoka running things, And like maybe it's
just a case where natural maturation and a new coach suddenly all these young guys
they have looked better, and you don't feel as motivated or compelled to like
go make a big splash signing because because oh this the trajectory is angling up
and we can just organically build this, like that's not totally off the table,
especially if they keep this number four pick and do something with it to
add to that core. But yeah, if I'm spending porzingis van Vleet,
Like, I don't think I'm gonna go into the into the absolute upper tier
of MAX guys just because I don't see one out there that makes sense from
a risk standpoint and as young enough that you work with some of these guys
developmentally. So yeah, that's all I got on on on Houston. Unless
you have anything else, we can move on. Uh, did you have
any trade targets that you want to mention for them? I mean they don't
need to trade anything. They could just sign whoever they want. Like,
would you go after a Siakam if you're them or you know the Jaalen Brown
link to email Udoka. Do you look at Jared Allen or you a team
that gets into Zion Williamson. Yeah, that's one we've talked about that.
I think if you throw number four out there, I forget the package.
We did a live stream the last week and we both talked ourselves into Houston
as a great Zion destination built around number four. And like Jabari Smith and
I don't know Tara Eason or something like that. So you wouldn't make that
type of a even though it's Zion, it's a team that he kind of
gets. It's a player that kind of fits your timeline. You wouldn't.
You're not making the star trade unless you're also getting player in free agency that
I don't want to say necessitate, but would incentivize you to make sense star
trades as well. The Zions. I mean, come, Zion obviously has
a bunch of questions about like fitness and health and everything. But like someone
like him makes more sense to me than Harden or or even like van Fleet
and Porzingis, who would you know? They're good players and but they would
be sort of stop gaps like this isn't unless you're just blowing the core up,
you know. I think you still have this earlier timeline that you're kind
of trying to nurture. So but Zion, you know, Zion risks and
all our brandon ingram I guess if if you want to put four on the
table and the Pelicans bite, there, I think is another decent candidate.
I would skew Young if I'm making trades for the Rockets, I think that's
fair. Do you want to take us through the Memphis Grizzlies yep, key
free agents here, Xavier Tillman can hit restrict your free agency if they decline
his team option. Other than that, pretty locked in roster. Desmond Bayin
is extension eligible. His max is five years for two oh seven quick fired
in? Are you paying Desmond bain five two one hundred and seven million dollars
for five years? Right now? Today? Done? Done? I think
Do you think they will? Do you think that's gonna happen? I'm gonna
say yeah, I think he's gonna get the max if he hits restricted free
agency next year, maybe they make him wait I think, but I think
they saw him to an extension. Yeah, I'm with you, all right.
So they do have the full MLI, they can get about twenty million
in cap space or sorry, beneath the tax unless they give Tilman more money,
which seems unlikely. I mean, he was a good player, but
he's a third or fourth big I think no trade exceptions. This is a
team that we have harped on forever, has the assets to go get your
you know three and d Wing du jour. It was a lot easier before
all these extensions kicked in for some of their younger guys, but they still
have the ability to go do that. I think they just needed an upgrade
of that three spot. Someone that can do a little bit with the ball,
can make open threes, and can guard. I don't know what order
I would put those skills in in terms of their importance. But you know,
Memphis, it's gonna not have John Ran for twenty five games. There's
rumors now about potentially trading Tias Jones, which I don't know. How do
you do not understand? How do you do that with John missing twenty five
games? And also we even discussed that, so let's maybe just spend a
quick note on that. I will say I made a joke and someone was
trolling me on Twitter. I ended I'm muting them because they were pissing me
off about how I said, while'd you announce, you're not going to announce
it because that's a distraction in itself. It really wasn't a distraction during the
NBA Finals. So I was wrong about that, but I think it was.
I don't like, I don't know, like I just I feel like
the suspension was inevitable and this was them yea kind of saying this is the
middle ground, and I don't I don't really have an issue with it.
And I saw people saying, well, you know, Kyrie Irving lost sponsorships
because of what he tweeted on social media, and it's just like all right,
like totally different. Like everything John Morant was doing proved to be not
actively harmful at least when you're looking at the Strip Club incident and then the
IG Live incident, and you can talk about his behavior off the court,
that the that the Grizzlies and NBA guess were complicit and I don't want to
say covering up, but or even I would say enabling. I just I'm
fine with the suspension and I'm not rooting against him. I hope that this
actually inflicts some sort of change of behavior and mentality, because clearly the first
incident did not. And that's what was just so regardless why you think it
was a toy gun in the IG Live or whatever I think twenty five games
was, you know, is the NBA inconsistent with his rulings Where you want
to get into Miles Bridges and the domestic violence case, he really gets a
ten game suspension. You could say he was ousted for the entire tiree of
last season. That's not what happened. A team just didn't sign him,
and that just like that, that's beyond the scope of like the actual punishment,
so you can get into that. But I think I don't think this
was two harsh, is what I'm getting at. I'm not sure how I
feel on that point. I am surprised. I was surprised it was only
twenty five games. I thought I thought the number was going to be closer
to fifty. Not because I think that's fair or just or whatever, but
just I thought that Adam Silver was gonna view merant we I mean, I've
anyone who heard me talk about this this knows this is my take. But
like I thought the league was gonna say, we told you not to do
a thing because it's bad. You did the thing again, like right away
after expressing like false remorse and like kind of bullshit. I'm gonna work on
myself, like from from a very simple perspective of like don't do the thing,
and then you did the thing, and also the thing happens to be
something the league is hyper conscious about in terms of its image. I thought
that the suspension would be longer, but it is what it is. The
Grizzlies, you're not going to have too harsh, though, was your stance
that you wouldn't have gone to twenty five? I don't, I don't know
what something like this because you said it like no harm done, super risky
and dangerous and stupid and bad from a role model perspective. But nothing,
nothing happened, like he didn't hurt anybody. So I don't, I don't
know how to weigh that against like you get a year for performance enhancing drugs
or like drugs of abuse you get bridges. Basically did get a year and
whatever you want to say, his reputation incurred and like the acted costs of
all that stuff all fair, all deserved, like he deserved this to not
play. But there's all these like ancillary things like Marant's gonna you know,
he did he lost money because he wasn't all NBA eligible. He's gonna lose
potentially award money, uh because because he's gonna miss you know, probably more
than the twenty five games, and he'll fall under the threshold for consideration on
for those So like there's a bunch of costs here. I just thought I
didn't mean to make you focus on it. No, no, no,
it's like the main thing affecting the team, Like, yeah, they need
a small forward. Let can talk about that too. What did you change
though? So too? I hate Segueens. Does it him missing a quarter
plus of the season change your approach to the offsee where if you the Grizzlies,
especially this organization has never been the under this regime all in type,
it's we're gonna bank on our internal development. Are you now less likely to
go out and make the move because Miranda is missing time? Are you more
likely because it's hey, our window is still now? And yes, we've
been very good without John Moranda over the past couple of seasons. But it's
just a little it's twenty five games. It just feels a little bit different,
even though he's missed extended time in the past. Do you think this
like changes their offseason approach at all? I think the only thing it definitely
does for me is make me way less likely to trade Thias Jones. Like
that's that's the only for sure thing. I don't know that it and you
know, honestly, I don't know that it should change their approach to filling
out the roster holes they have. I think the assumption should be Tias Jones
has proved he can hold it down for you know, much more than twenty
five games in the past. We'll be okay, we still have the needs
we have. Like the idea I think should be like in January or just
call it Christmas or whatever, we need to know we have these needs addressed,
and we should just assume that Morant will be back and you know,
as good as he was last year or better, assuming he stays healthy.
So it doesn't change anything like fundamental about what the Grizzly, what I think
the Grizzly should go. Do any targets that you want to get to for
them. I mean, you can dream pretty big, like I think Ogann
and Obi is obvious there. If you go a little smaller, you can
get into free agency and think about like Harrison Barnes, which would have to
be a sign in trade. You throw Boyam Bogdanovich in there too, like
Kyle Kuzman is another sign and trade guy, you know. I think o
g We've talked about this plenty is the one that I like there. I
know you're not in love with that because he just can't do enough with the
ball. But if I'm just trying to fill, you know, that three
spot in the lineup, and I can get some versatility there, maybe he
insulates me against moving Steven Adams eventually because he can guard centers if you need
him too. I like him as a four. With Jaren Jackson at the
five potentially would be hilacious. Jared Jackson, Well, who's your who's your
small forward? In that look, I think you've just kind of like moved
the problem arounds in vain Jah Moran and then it's like who just throw whoever
in there? What about if they were just to make they can make the
Godfather offer because they have all their own picks. They have some nice young
players, Like if you went after mcal Bridges would be I think the ideal
get and better than OG for sure. What about and I'm trying to go
a little bit off the beaten path here, I think brandon Ingram's an obvious
one. What about you call the jazz about Larry marketing? Or is he
too deplicative with Jaren Jackson Junior Because you don't want to make triple j exclusively
a five. I just we've seen Lowry played the three in Utah and Cleveland,
and this could be a team that tries that out as well. Don't
you think eventually Jackson just needs to be the five all the time? Are
you okay with him playing with a conventional center going forward? I think I'm
okay with him playing with anybody, to be honest with Yeah, yeah,
I think the conventional center is kind of inoculate you against any of his rebounding
droughts. So that's why Steven Adams is such a great hit or why vow
and Chews worked so well. But I'm fine with him be I mean,
like he just want defensive player of the year, right, I'm fine with
him being your five. Yeah. Do you think the defensive player of the
year is gonna be okay as the center? Full time? Dan? Hard
hitting question? And Market is actually a good rebounder too, So I think
that would be like my off the beat and we're not talking a lot about
him cause he just had such a great year. But if the Jazz are
really and I know they have enough picks, but like he's a quintessential sell
high candidate, you could take a shout at John Collins too, if you
didn't want to go, you know, really try to tend John Collins everywhere
everywhere, somebody's got to do it. Dan, the Hawks have been trying
and if lower end like they could try and rehabilitate like t J. Warren,
just get Tory Craig. And I just don't know that that's a ton
of upgrades your rotation a little bit and there's a flyer, but at that
point it's just you were kind of saying, well, we really believe that
David Roddy or santi All Damo is going to be the answer for us,
or Jake bl Rabia, and I just don't you know. The Luke nar
trade was good. It helped their shooting because I'd like to see him get
shooting, and it really did open up their half court offense. They just
that wing, that guy with size who can also put the ball on before
it's been in needs since like the grit and grond Era. Right, how
is Tayshaun Prince available? Can we although he probably doesn't shoot it enough to
matter anymore in the modern NBA? Are you willing to take us through the
New Orleans Pelicans so I can set up the timer in the timestamp. Absolutely.
Their key free agents include Josh Richardson and Jackson Hayes, who is restricted
some extension old will candidates Herb Jones up to four years and seventy five million.
I would pay him twice that much, probably maybe not quite that much.
I just wanted to get your reaction. Or for seventy five Herb Jones
seems prettyweet, though I would. I would do that. I'm pretty sure
that's what his extension will end up at, but it's like that's fluid because
of the cap stuff. Yeah, Jose Alvarado Brandon Ingram is eligible for AMAX
extension of up to three more years. Seems unlikely. So they have the
mini MLI about six million under the tax if if they renounced free agent rights
to Josh Richardson and Jackson has to take their cap holds off the book,
no trade exceptions. So I will just throw the need out there that we've
talked about forever. I think you still need a rim protector who can spread
the floor at center, which is hard to find, but it ain't Jonas
Valentinis. So if you're gonna build this team around Zion, which maybe is
if you're now then it has been in years past because he's bubbled up in
some trade talks. You still just need that guy that will offer you shooting
to clear the lane for him on offense and defend the rim because the Pelicans
just don't have other than Jones and maybe Dyson Daniels enough you know, shutdown
guys out there. So anything I missed there needs wise that you would target
for New Orleans And if there's anyone you'd like to throw out there, we
could get to that. Let's just move on. So they're gonna be unless
they dump salary and maybe they'll use part of the mini MLI like as of
right now, you're already getting rid of talent to stay beneath the tax line
and Jackson Hayes and Josh Richardson and so I just don't know when you're looking
at perspective free agents that they could go after Danny Green, Trey Lyles.
Do they take a flyer on Mobamba if he gets waved by the Lakers?
Seth Curry and so I think if they make any big changes, it'll be
on the trade market. And I agree with all your needs, or maybe
they because I don't think they're even gonna believe like, oh, you know,
Kyra Lewis Junior really gonna lean on him this year at the point spot,
and that's how we're going to vary up our attacks. I think we
haven't talked about on this podcast. I don't think the Zion Williams in like
reports of the Pelicans are open to moving him apparently, I do not.
I want to make this clear. We discussed like the idea for Bleach report
and a live stream. I do not expect them to move him, but
I do think it makes sense that they're probably more open to it now based
off his and I don't want to get into that off court stuff just because
as far as we like, as far as we know everything was, we
don't need to get into the off court stuff. The circumstances just do not
warrant it. But there were reports that the Pelicans are concerned about it.
But there's also been reports that he's never been more committed to New Orleans or
the organization. But then they get rid of Teresa Witherspoon, who was apparently
instrumental in building the relationship with him, and then you also hear reports that,
oh, he's not as close with his teammates or CJ. McCollum might
have hinted at that. It's just all over the place. I think it's
smart to be open to it, but I just keep coming back to the
fact. I don't think you need to trade brandon Ingram or z Lion.
I want to make that clear. I just think Zion is the transcendent talent
of the two, even if brandon Ingram is more reliable. And I'm a
little bit surprised. I guess the availability if you're tired of it or and
aggrieved by it, and we don't know about everything behind the scenes, I
understand it, so I get being open to it. I would be firmly
against trading Zion or brandon Ingram. I want to just make that app really
clear. If the team's gonna make meaningful changes to me, it should be
aggressively work to trade market in search of the upgrades and better fitting players that
you need. Yeah, I I generally agree, but I would trade him
for number three if Scoot was there, I would just do it. You
would just trades Ion for Scoot, straight up? I think, yeah,
I think like I mean, obviously that isn't how it works. But just
if you're talking just purely, this is the asset. I would rather have
Scoot starting his rookie deal than Zion where he is right now with all this
stuff. We know that we've learned the health wise, you know, I
take your point that you've we've just gotten so many conflicting reports about you know,
his commitment and just like how in is he and all that other stuff,
Like it does feel like for virtually his whole career there have been questions
about whether it's like he's rehabbing in Portland all you know, of country away
from the team, He's not staying in shape, There's all this other stuff
that there's been enough of that where I have like legitimate doubts as to whether
you know, he's ever going to be as valuable as he was well healthy
this past season. Like that just we just that's on the table that that
may be there. So I just rather have Scoop. But I don't know
that's that's a realistic possibility for the Pelicans. So yeah, And if you're
if you're trading him, I know that's stupid because it's cool. But if
you're if that's the trade for Zion Wims and you're almost trading him at the
nader of his value, right, that's the other for you absolutely are like
that, there's no wild to say because it's the number three pick, and
then you're consigning yourself to still a longer. I know you have CJ and
Brandon Ingram and other players whore gonna win. Trey Murphy is amazing right now,
but I'm just like, how much does this team Let's just say Gary
Trent Junior ops in, or you're able to get Miles Turner and using the
salary filler so you're not giving up any of your core and picks like and
you're able to get one of those guys and Gary tren Junior. I don't
think the cost would be all that much, But the Raptors don't need another
big but it's a player like that. How much if Zion Williams in his
health like this team is. They were at the top of the West for
a minute, so I'm even saying like they might not even need anyone just
because of how good Trey Murphy is. I do worry about I need the
shooting because I'm probably lower on Herb Jones's offense and a lot of other people
congratulations on him like nudging up his three point clip on virtually very not virtually
on very little volume towards the end of the year. I still don't think
he's made enough progress as sort of like the catching drive guy. So I
would like to see better spacing and Zion's gonna be on the floor. That's
kind of one non shooter and you don't have in brandon Ingramaci mcoum. Yeah,
they can kind of stress the floor. They like to work on ball,
don't put a ton of pressure on the basket. So either getting that
floor spacing, rim protector or someone who's just gonna fly around and chuck a
bunch of threes like Gary Trent Junior is a name of it. And we
can get into other trade targets if you have any like those are the types
of moves. I don't think it needs to be this massive star trade.
I think it could even be. I want you to. You can throw
on names like if you're able to get like even a Zach Collins from San
Antonio or Kelly Olenick. I think that makes a huge difference for this team.
Yeah, I think I do think there's a path forward where you just
keep this team together essentially and some combination of Dyson Daniels, Herb Jones,
Nagi Marshall, Trey Murphy just like just get better. And then you know,
Trey Murphy suddenly is, you know, making four threes a game at
you know, forty four percent or something, and we're like looking at each
other laughing at we thought the Pelicans needed shooting, you know, like there's
there's ways forward for sure. You mentioned Zach Hollins analynic Maxi Kleiba is someone
that makes a lot of sense. The problem is like he also makes ridiculous
amounts of sense for Dallas, and they just can't afford to be giving up
a guy like that without getting like two plus rotation players back because they just
need them. Yeah, I don't know, like Roco give you enough shooting
to play with Zion and the Front Corp poly not. I wonder if Roco
can play anymore. Doesn't it feel like maybe like Roko can play, the
Clippers just decided that he couldn't, And I don't understand it. It's a
real Frank Millikina situation there. Would you take a like I don't even know
if he's a distressed asset and being the same like Tim Hardaway Junior. Like
the Mavericks do still need a center. He could build something around balance Judas
and Tim Hardaway Junior. What if Jamichael Green actually gets minutes and makes thirty
six percent of his threes like that, that'd be a kind of your lower
end stretch center. Are you trusting him to defend fives? Like? That's
what the problem is is when you go to stretch center out there's very few
of them that you want to defend five like brook Lopez side and trade would
be ideal for this thing, Like that's the if you want to fuck around
with your books, Milwaukee's look gonna cut caution you get third and fourth teams
involved. Brook Lopez is the guy because Christos for thing, it just makes
too much money trading TJ mccollumn in that point, the Wizards have no need
for him. You're opening up to three and four team trades. That gets
weird. Plus, we can't suggest brook Lopez here because he's my I'm gonna
use him later and I feel great about it. There's very quick. The
two notes is they could do nothing to this team and still be like one
of the two or three best teams in the West. If they stay healthy
and yeah, so like, but Jackson Hayes or Josh Richardson, who's more
likely to be back? Oh, I'm gonna guess Richardson, even though Hayes
is restricted. It just feels like we're done with Jackson Hayes and New Orleans.
Right. He needs to go somewhere where he can be like the four
on defense and the five on offense, and that's just not New Orleans.
Yeah, they're both probably gone though, really yeah, most likely next team.
Let's hit it, San Antonio Spurs. I'll read it while you're setting
the timer. They're key free agents, Trey Jones, Romeo Langford restricted,
Zach Collins is eligible for an extension. He's I mean, it's too bad
they're gonna draft Onemen Yama because he was promised the starting center spot next year.
So I don't know what they're gonna do. They have a bunch of
cap space thirty three million if they renounced Langford and keep this thirty three if
they keep Collins and trade Jones holds on the books, no trade exceptions.
Their biggest needs seven foot four shop blocking shock, creating center. I don't
know where they're going to find one. Of those, they're kind of a
blank slate though right like you can do well. They look they don't need
uh the next great three? And d Wing who can create shots because they
have Devin Vassel already. You could talk yourself into any position because it's like
Wemby, is he a future five? Not right away, that's the thing.
But you could also get a four and just play them alongside Wemby.
Do you get a center who doesn't close because Wemby's gonna close at the five
and you have all these other in Devin Vassel, Jeremy Sown, even Kelvin
Johnson, you can kind of move around. I view him as more of
just like a six foot five inch four. But yeah, if you could
get anyone, I would say, if you were to pick a need,
though I skew more towards let's try and make life easier on Devin Vassell,
Wemby. Don't show saddle them with too much creation. And I like Trey
Jones, He's probably back, but you would like to see them upgrade their
advantage creation. I think I think making it easier on Wemban Yama specifically,
and Vassel still matters too obviously, But though and you should be priority one
and you can get there a couple of ways. I think One you need
like a like an not an enforcer like these exists anymore, but just like
another big to play center and like Pylot Hansboro. Yeah yeah sure, just
get yeah, get all the Handsborough brothers. Just someone So this is my
brook Lopez spot. Just whatever you gotta pay him just to come in and
like beat up bigger centers and also anchor and incredible. How good is this
defense if when Bonyama is anything close to his advertised plus brook Lopez as your
anchor, like what happens? Are they automatically a top five defense? I
don't know. So that's one way to do it. You just get like
some bulk so when Bonyama doesn't always have to play center if that's not what
you want him to do. And the other thing is you know trade you
like you said, Trey Jones might be this guy, but just someone who
is going to get when Banyama like four easy buckets a night that just in
whether it's pick and roll or just just someone to be the adult that's in
charge of this offense that makes sure it's not when Binyama going into his bag
thirty feet from the bucket, like Jalen greening it, we don't. We
don't need a Jalen green developmental curve for when Binyama offensively. So those are
the priorities for me. I would agree with you, and like they they
can do it in free agency, like if they could be a Fred van
Fleet destination, I don't know if he's a good enough pastor. He probably
is, I think, And when you have wembm to sell and even Jeremy
sewn that that would be fine. I think there when you're looking at like
free agents are traditionally like will just go after all these young guys? I'm
okay if they went like you mentioned Brook Lopez, I mentioned Fev, if
they went like the like all these guys are still young with the names that
I put down, but like if they went like the huge here young players,
Like are there any on the market that you would be like, hey,
why do you try throwing a bunch of money at them to see if
it? To see? Like would you do that for a PJ. Washington,
a Grant Williams, a cam John Onsen, uh any any of those
types of guys or even Iota soon move Austin Reeves, the early burgerstricted free
agent crew. Austin Reeves, I would poison pill so fast, I would
like would I would sounds like a threat the Lakers. Uh no, what
don't you? I mean? He he is? Uh he? I mean
I don't think. I don't think anyone's gonna get him away from LA,
but I would. And you don't want to just tie up your money on
an offer sheet that you know is getting matched. Like that's dumb, and
that may prevent Reeves from getting offer sheets he would otherwise get. He's still
the guy that stands out most to me of all the players you listed of,
like, just get me that guy, because I I'm not I'm not
convinced he couldn't be just a full time point guard potentially because I mean he
was in college. Like I think he is more of a combo type player
in the NBA. But you might be able to like him and Trey Jones
in a backcourt. I kind of like, because you can split the playmaking
a little bit. I just like Reeves full stop. I like Grant Williams.
I think he might be of the restricted guys you mentioned among them more
gettable because like I think Cam Johnson's getting matched. I think PJ Washington.
P J. Washington might be gettable too if you overbid. But yeah,
Williams, and I mean him and Grant Williams specifically, I think would be
better fits next to well Cam Johnson shooting, but you get that in Williams
and some of it from Washington because you want shooting next to one you know
what the you know what the name is, and he's actually young naz Reid,
someone who like you need Wemby to kind of be your five on offense
at least as a ring protector that works with naz Reid. Do you worry
about their collective heft or the lack thereof of how do they match up against
like like against if they had to like guard like bigger burly or fives.
I don't know if they're best suited to do that, But like, naz
Reid can move around the perimeter, and I think you could get him if
you, however, you're facing these like mega post up brutes anyway, you
could probably get away with that. I actually think he might be like a
sneaky good get for them where you don't have to lean into Wemby at the
five, but he's kind of your five, he's not really your five.
You get enough rebounding. That's a fair question. But that's a name I
circled for them. Is there a reason they shouldn't just beat the market on
Bruce Brown? Like we keep talking about him as an m L E guy,
But what like, if you're the Spurs, screw it, Like we'll
just you know, fifteen sixteen million. The thing that I could see giving
the Spurs pause is they want to see First of all, by the way,
Bruce Brown's only twenty six, he turns twenty seven. That's not old.
So what's interesting about them is I would get I would just bet against
them making any major moves because it's the Spurs and they're gonna see Wemby.
But we just mentioned this. I don't know if it was on this podcast,
the previous one. I think it was the previous one. Leasing out
cap space. If not this summer, I would assume next season is going
to get a lot more valuable. And yeah, you have to worry about
the salary floors, so maybe you make those moves in the off season,
like you could just you know, this could be a Clink Capella team.
If the Hawks are that desperate to cut money, Like he's somebody who makes
sense? You wontas valan Tunis team like that? Like if the Pelicans are
just looking at the tax that way, it could be ah, you know,
they could also just like, oh, can we buy on like distressed
assets or players that are like in Isaiah Hartenstein, who's not a distressed asset.
But are the Knicks willing to give him up because like they need a
different type of five, or they trust Jericho SAMs so they're looking to increase
their flexibility under the tax. They could be more aggressive like what's used to
doing without bren shangun Like what's the cost to get him out? They can
go any number of different routes. But I am wondering, This is my
long winded point of saying, like, yeah, they could go and absorb
like more expensive players who actually target them, But will they just maybe go
the route of let's take on like a Tobias Harris, what's the conversation for
him? I don't think the Sixers have enough or wouldn't give up a first
round pip, Like is there a team gonna give you first round equity to
take on lesson savory money and the Spurs are like the team when you're talking
about patients and process right now, that might be most likely to do that.
Yeah, could you get Gordon Hayward and like all of Charlotte's picks except
for number two obviously, for just to just take him into space basically like
it there's there's definitely Harris was actually the first name I came up with.
I just couldn't think. I couldn't imagine that, Philly. You probably have
to send like Kelton Johnson back or something and get a bunch of picks with
that, Like I don't know, but yeah, totally totally valid point.
I think we especially since they have all this runway with wemen Yama, because
no San Antonio fans gonna be pissed off for like five years. You can
just take on bad money and deal with it, you know, for a
while. I think I did. I left it off, so it's not
your fault. But Devin Missel is extension eligible and we talked about this.
I had a Spurs podcast after they got Wemby with uh Noah Magaro George from
Project Spurs, but uh, what are you paying him? His max extension
is the is the Desmond Bane extension, which would be like five years and
almost two hundred million dollars. I think there's a scenario where he's worth close
to that, and we might think so after this season. I can't.
I'm not going all the way there right now. I would say like four
one fifty, so he's making under forty a year, I would do it.
Yeah, are you actually be above two hundred and seven? I was
looking at the wrong year. Above two hundred million dollars on five years.
I don't know that I would go for the max, but I think he's
very clearly going to be worth more than thirty million dollars a year at his
peak. I think if he were playing on a team that more people saw,
like nationally, he would be regarded as like ball skills have improved,
like coming around screens, and he's like he has more. I don't.
I wouldn't call him an every level score, but he can certainly trend towards
that. You need him to put more pressure on the basket, but he
can trend towards that direction, and he works without the ball. Yeah,
is super important. Yeah, he's I think he's someone that he's not anywhere
close defensively to where like Mkal Bridges is. But he's someone that's making the
offensive like skill expansion moves sooner than Bridges did. So if he gets anywhere
close to where Bridges is now offensively in terms of like just individual shock creation,
then yeah, I mean there that is a two hundred million dollar player
probable And that was my last thought. So we nailed the timing on that
one. You're ready for me to take us out here? Yes, everybody,
thanks for listening to our Southwest division preview. Here we'll continue. We've
got a couple more divisions to do. Although off top of my head because
I never remember divisions, I can't say what they are, West and Central
Central. There you go. Yeah, we worked towards the middle basically,
so we'll finish there. What else, So everyone, please, wherever you
listen to your podcast, especially Apple on Spotify review. You know, positive
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at Hardwood Underscore Knox on Instagram, Tell your friends and enemies and enjoy the
Draft, which is coming up pretty soon. I don't know when you're posting
this, but we're gonna pivot to some of that content eventually. I guess
well, I'm gonna have to learn about the draft because I still don't know
anything. But yeah, thanks again, and we will close with day shout
out to the wonder only Frank Millikina, who had just more discussion today than
he's had in a long time. And I will apologize to Jared out