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and I'm thrilled to introduce my new podcast, t E one. TE one
will chronicle a sixty year evolution of the tight end position from its origins as
an obscure, overlooked blocking roll to the first little superstar position that it is
today. I'll explore the evolution of the position through conversations with some of the
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sit down with on my new show, The Chevy Silverado is in a league
of its own. This truck is all about grit, strength, and dependability,
the same attribute it takes to be a tight end. Hello Hardwood Knox
family. This is Adam Fromwill here with my co host Dan Favali, coming
to you with another episode we currently have and at the risk of dating this,
I guess since this could change. As of tonight, we have seven
teams left in the NBA Playoffs following the Milwaukee Bucks's elimination in five games at
the hands of Jimmy Butler, Bam Autobio and the Miami Heat. We're gonna
be talking about that on this episode. We're going to be talking about the
Oklahoma City thunders surprising decision to part ways with head coach Billy Donovan, what
that means for not only their coaching search, but also whether they're going to
be entering a rebuild or trying to run it back. And we're going to
be going through some standout questions from our mailbag solicitations. Before we get into
any of that, they shout out to our sponsors door dash, bet Online,
dot Ag and NFL Sunday Ticket which we hope that you will definitely be
using this weekend with the NFL back in action. And also before we get
into the actual content here, Dan, how's it going today? I'm doing
well? And before I ask how you're doing, I just have to say
that I love At the top of this, you were like, I don't
want to date this, but allow me to date this by talking about the
playoff teams that are left. And yeah, I mean the Raptors could be
gone tonight, but no Raptors in seven. Baby, talk about dating.
I'm sticking with that too. I'm sticking. I am doing well, though.
How are you doing? I'm doing pretty well as well. I just
I just finished watching Serena Williams enter the semi finals again at the US Open,
which is always a joy, and it was a fun match. So
you told me that thirty nine before we started recording, and I almost almost
thirty nine. I'm I don't know like tennis player ages, and that,
honest to God, just just shocked me. That she's been around. I
know she's been around for forever, but it almost feels like she should be
younger than thirty eight. Yeah, that is roughly ancient in tennis. Terms.
Yes, absolutely, Where did you want to start before we get into
the other bed Thunder or and I guess we could end. Look, we'll
cover these more in depth because we are going to do look aheads for every
team kind of beginning soon and then like taking us through the offseason free agency
blah blah blah all that stuff. But where did you want to start with
the Thunder and Billy Donovan or the Milwaukee Bucks and the existential crisis that they
have face. Let's do the Thunder first. I think the two most important
questions are are one, who are they going to turn to in their coaching
search? And to what's going to happen with Chris Paul. It definitely with
the With the latter question, it seemed based on the Twitter video that he
said sent out, it almost felt like a good boy to fans. And
I guess I'm curious if you think that's the direction they should go. Well,
look, it's whether or not I think it's the direction they should go.
They're headed that direction because the video it felt like a goodbye. And
then you decide not to renew Billy Donovan's contract, and then even the story
comes out. Per Royce Young of ESPN that he you know, Sam Presty
and Billy Donovan like kind of who was going to happen. So when they
met, they just like had cheap ears together and reminisce about the last five
years. So that's the direction they're headed in. I don't necessarily agree with
it, just because I feel like if you brought back Gallinari added someone with
the mid level exception, you have all those picks. You have some salary
filler pieces when you look at Adams and Schroeder and they're expiring contracts that you
could really make a run at, expediting where you are in the Western Conference,
and look, you came within one win of beating the Houston Rockets,
who were considered a title contender. All that said, I do understand it
because Chris paul Is thirty five, has two years eighty five point six million
dollars left on his deal. While I think you can very easily talk yourself
into those two years either way, it's two years because like that just shortens
your window and there's a chance he drops off even before that, and you're
trying to build if you're Oklahoma City, something that's that's really more sustainable and
While some people might point to, well, what if they want to remain
competitive while rebuilding, there's still sort of position to do that because shake Gil
just Alexander show that he's not really ready to carry an offense at all,
but specifically in the playoffs, like he's already really good where he could be
a fringe All Star, and you flesh that out around him. You have
two picks, I believe in this year's draft in the in the I think
it's going to be in the twenties, so that's you know, or maybe
they only have one pick off to the double check that. But you have
the draft picks, so you can see what you can do if you want
to keep shorter. Now it's just because they're gonna come off the books.
You can look at how much it costs to retain Gallinari. But I think
it certainly seems like they're gonna let Galla walk and then they'll look to trade
Paul. And I ultimately don't think there's a right or wrong move here for
that call. Like it it felt like a matter of preference and if this
is the route they prefer to go because they have so many guys who were
just coming up on new deals. You know, I didn't We didn't know
about Billy Donovan. We didn't realize that his contract was expiring this year.
And then you have Gallinari this year, Schroeder and Adams next year, so
it maybe it feels like sort of a natural crossroads for them. Yeah,
it's I didn't mind moving on from Billy Donovan. I'm not convinced that he's
an elite head coach. They had great success this year, winning forty four
games, unexpectedly taking the Rockets to seven games in that first round playoff series,
but I wonder how much of that is just a testament to Chris Paul's
and during excellence and to the construction of this team rather than the actual coaching.
It troubled me that he seemed unable to make the necessary adjustments in that
Houston series, just like not relying on the many guard and lou Dort lineups
as much as he should. It seemed like some of the adjustments were a
little bit too late, which is an issue that we've seen since out since
he really started this job back in twenty fifteen sixteen and the last year of
the Kevin Durant era for the Thunder and Maybe this is just my anti Florida
bias kicking in, but I just never felt like he was an elite coach.
I'm not sure that there are that many better options out there. That's
always the tricky part with making these decisions. But regardless, I wish that
it wasn't like the moving on from Donovan that that inevitably has a rebuild following,
because I'm not sure that you need to like if they did choose to
run it back, if they convinced CP three to stick around, if they
did resign Gallo, if you count on more growth from Gil JUSTI Alexander,
like, this team has the pieces to be extremely competitive both now and in
the future. But it does seem like the rebuild is inevitable and it should
be fairly easy to do given the All NBA season that Paul just had.
I mean, the conversation has shifted so dramatically from the prior off season where
I was like, Wow, is this one of the worst contracts in the
NBA? Would you have to give up multiple first round picks just to move
it off to like, maybe you actually get something back in return for him.
I think it almost connects to our bucks conversation that we're going to have
because that seems like a really legitimate and possible destination for him. Yeah,
there's I'm interested to see what teams kind of crop into the CP three sweepstakes
now that they're open, because look, two years eighty five point six million
dollars is a lot of money. We already mentioned that he's thirty five at
the beginning of all this, and you have to worry or concern yourself,
Oh, is there going to be this mega drop off? But I feel
like after and then, look, we don't even know where where the cap
is going to land and how teams are really faring financially after losing all of
the at least the gate revenue and then probably other revenue as well, And
you sort of have to reconcile what's going to happen next season when you're probably
not gonna have fans either, And is there a chance that the schedules once
again then shortened so that all comes to a head at the same time after
the season, Paul had I think you could name and this will eventually be
an organic segue. I feel like into Milwaukee, but I think you could
talk yourself into like a bunch of teams for him, and just at the
off the top of my head, like, let's say someone actually this was
I wouldn't name them, but someone mentioned the Clippers because you have Patrick Beverly's
that salary anchor, and if Paul was willing to go back, that would
be incredibly interesting if you build something around Lou Williams, Rodney McGruder, Patrick
Beverly, Like, if you can do that, I that'd be interesting.
Not a team I would name front Miami would be there. I know they're
supposed to wait on Yannis, but they're in the conference finals now and I'm
not gonna say they beat Yannis to get there because he should have played more
before his ankle injury, and then we basically had would felt like a game
and a half of him playing on a bum ankle and then not playing at
all. They could certainly be in there. Milwaukee is a team that we
already mentioned. The Knicks will talk themselves into Chris Paul if they need to,
depending on what the Magic want to do. Like gambling on Chris Paul
wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Philadelp He is an obvious one,
one of my favorite ones that isn't being talked about enough would be Phoenix.
They can build something around Kellyerbridge Junior. Would they be willing to give
up Bricky Rubio in that scenario? So that's probably where I would top out.
I would normally name the Spurs there, but it does feel like they're
approaching their own crossroads. I'm curious if other teams I named, or if
there's another one. If you have a favorite fit for Chris, Paul Dallas
could be a fun mentioned too. I'm not entirely sure how feasible it is,
but that would be a really interesting look, just giving Don Chich another
primary ball handler next to him, and could take away a lot of the
defensive responsibilities too. But no other ones you mentioned. I think Phoenix is
my favorite dark horse contender for Paul's services, and Milwaukee is my favorite obvious
one. I think that the path to get Paul for Milwaukee is fairly straightforward.
You know, you're moving Eric Bledsoe, You're moving Brook Lopez and probably
some picks as well to get him, and from there you're you're looking to
make cheap better in additions around them and relying heavily on that. Paul Middleton
Jannis trio, which would be incredible and would fit together so well. I
wouldn't hesitate to make a move like that if I'm the Bucks, just because
you do need to capitalize on the window as it exists right now before Jannie's
free agency. I'm also not too concerned about Paul's contract aging poorly. There's
only two years left now, assuming that he picks up his forty four point
one million dollar player option, which we might as well just lock in now.
But he's never had a game. You know. We talk so much
about how diminutive point guards have trouble aging, how point guards in general after
they hit like thirty one one, there tends to be a steep and market
drop off, But his game has never seemed like one that's going to subscribe
to those theories, just because he doesn't rely on elite speed, elite athleticism.
It's all changes of pace, it's all trickery off the dribble, it's
getting to his shots and hitting those mid range Falloway jumpers. It's knowing exactly
how to play and where to be at all times. I just I don't
have concerns about that contract anymore, given the season that we just saw in
a new location where he was able to play more to his strength than he
could in Houston. So if I'm if I'm a team like the Bucks that
needs to win right away, like yeah, I'm going all in for it,
I would say I'm less concerned. But there is the level of he
can't, you know, cook people on switches like he used to with his
handles, and so I think he needs to get you know, he has
that pull up mid ranger. Can he do more of those from three point
range? And he's look, he's already kind of there, like we've seen
him just meandering to pull up three pointers and I call it semi transition like
his entire career, and he could probably do more of that. So I'm
definitely less concerned, but there there should still be skepticism there. Dallas is
interesting and it's funny because they could build a package of Tim Hardaway, Junior
Delon Wright, and then Justin Jackson and that's basically the exact amount that you
would need to have in a trade for for Chris Paul, which is like
a hair over or around thirty three million dollars. I just don't know that
they'd want a Torpedo. There are twenty twenty one caps Bay, which is
why a team like the Bucks or the Sixers or even the Suns might make
sense where they're not necessarily going to fancy themselves those twenty twenty one players.
I still think Milwaukee, even though it's obvious, is my favorite destination.
And as you sort of mentioned the top of this, it feels like there's
a straightforward path, but they're also it doesn't feel that way because the questions
I have are why would Oklahoma City want and Eric Bletso or a brook Lopez
guys? With Brooklopez's three guarantee years left on his deal. Eric Bletzo is
two guaranteed years for a total thirty eight point five million, and then that
goes up if you guarantee a salary for the third year, which is nineteen
point four million. I think it's only three point nine guaranteed. Even George
Hill, you know, he has one guarantee year and nine point six million
basically the midlevel next year a hair under what it's supposed to be, and
then a non guarantee year at ten million. Why would you want him?
And why would you want ilias I guess he is a non guaranteed salary,
so that helps. And then if your Milwaukee does it make sense? Like
if you had to give up Eric Bletsoe brook Lope and George Hill to get
Chris Paul, I probably still do it, but you're also giving up a
lot of rotation firepower there, and I'm not so worried. Look, Chris
Paul Molder replaces Eric Bletso for George Hill the shooting that he gave you,
and then brook Lope has made all defense this year. Is there a way
to build this where I might be more inclined to? Can you broker in
a you a third and fourth team where you're making this sort of a Hodgepodge
deal where it's you know, Eric Bletso, Orsano Lasova. Let's assume Robin
Lopez picks up his player option, you have DJ Wilson with the one year
left on his contract, and then you dangle Dante de Vincenzo, and it's
gonna have to be a distant first round pick because you've traded yours through twenty
twenty two right now, that might be the better route to go, and
will Oklahoma City look at it as well? If we can get Dante de
Vincenzo and or that first round pick for Chris Paul. Maybe we're willing to
take back some of that podge podge money, including bletso or if you can
find a team. You know what, if Atlanta are they willing to take
on Eric Bletso to go along with Trey Young for two years, maybe it's
a possibility that would be a route that I would explore. I don't know
if Oklahoma City's interested, because then you're looking at it as would you basically
accept cap relief in the form of twenty one twenty two, not even next
season necessarily, plus a first round pick or d D to get off of
Chris Paul. I think I would still because they were in the tax this
year. But I don't know. If I'm the thunder, I'm not as
concerned about taking on those salaries just because of the situation that they're in right
now. So Brook Lopez doesn't make more than fourteen million dollars for any of
the next three seasons. Eric Bledsoe does, but that twenty two twenty three
salary is only guaranteed for three point nine million, so you can move off
him if you need to. But the books for the Thunder aren't that concerning,
to the point that they can take on those mid level salaries without any
real issues because the only big assuming that Paul has moved, the only big
contracts on their books are Steven Adams for twenty seven point five million and Dennis
Street for fifteen point five million, both as expiring contracts. If brook Lopez
is coming back, you can easily move Steven Adams to another team, maybe
even if you do have to attach to a sweetener to it. You might
have to attach a sweetener, but when you have four hundred first round draft
picks in the next decade, it's not as concerning if you need to do
so. Shrewder, I think you can move as well, given the fringe
six man of the Year season he just had, and because because you're entering
this rebuild where you have so many incoming rookies over the next couple of years
on rookie scale contracts, taking up so many roster spots, I think that
you can afford to have some bad money on the books, so as long
as you're getting something for taking on those contracts, whether it is Dante de
Vincenzo or whether it is a distant first round pick or a collection of second
rounders or something from a third team that gets involved. Those contracts don't really
concern me much. If I'm the thunder, well what would be So I
think that's a fair point. I still just I don't know, like if
I guess they could reroute them, maybe they see value there, or if
they're looking to kind of just tread water not at the bottom of the Western
Conference, you might you having a Brook Lopez for the next two or three
years, George Hill for next season and maybe the season after that. Bletsoe
can obviously help you in the regular season, apparently not the playoffs though.
But if I'm the Bucks, then I'm not including if I'm giving up three
of my you know, six or seven most used players, I'm not including
Dante deven chensa wor first round pick. And that's where it gets messy.
And so if they want Donte even chenso that first round pick, I think
you're the Bucks. You have to figure out a way to to try and
broke or the Hodgepodge model, just because you're already giving up so much incumbent,
so many incumbent minutes, and you don't have the tools necessarily replace those
you're going to top out if you trade it for Chris Paul, depending on
the timing obviously, Like let's say they're willing to use the full mid level
exception and it can still be the non tax players because they can stay below
the apron. I'm not like, are they going to divvy that up between
two players? I don't know, Like, if you're the Bucks, you
probably want to spend that on one just because they'd have an higher impact impact.
I do think it might be a little bit easier to approximate brook Lopez's
value on a cheaper scale, or at least with the mid level summer,
but those are just really complicated. At the five, yeah, I mean,
look that's up, but full time that's not something you're gonna do either.
And then like who's your other five if you're keeping Eliasova? Okay,
but you know Marvin Williams is going to retire and that you can actually still
hoop, So that was that was somebody could have looked at bringing back,
and that's just complicated. The price point matters. I think from Milwaukee,
I'm not concerned about Paul's money if I'm them, but what I have to
give up to get him is certainly a concern well, and ultimately I think
it all comes down to how much pressure Yannis puts on the franchise, and
based on what he said immediately after the elimination that he's not going to ask
for a trade and that you know, some people are are met with a
wall and go in a different direction, but he wants to break through,
and he trusts his teammates and knows that it's hard to win a championship and
wants to get better. Like those are all Those are all statements that I
don't think are going to put a lot of pressure on the front office.
But he could do so behind the scenes and be like, hey, like
I am considering leaving England, Like I don't care if you throw a long
term assets, let's win right now. It's very it's very conceivable that he
could take that approach behind the scenes, and we could see them be more
more persuaded to include divin Chenzo or a distant first round pick, then they
would otherwise be Yeah, that's a that's a fair point. The thing I
wanted to ask you before we go full on bucks, is there any name
among the coaching candidates that you'd be interested to see for Oka se assuming a
rebuild. I mean if they went with like a veteran guy where Also,
I don't expect Kyler's name to be mentioned here, but if that's someone that
is mentioned, that would be surprising me because, like I said, I
don't like you said, excuse me, I don't think like Billy Donovan necessarily
elevated them. But also how many different iterations of a team did he deal
with during his half decade there. Yeah, so it does seem like they're
going to go more of the developmental route, and Kenny Atkinson would stand out
to me there. I still think he got the weird shaft in Brooklyn.
This would also be an opportunity where you can go within I don't want to
say an unproven assistant, but one of the assistants who don't have head coaching
experience. I would have been very interested if Jacque Vaughan didn't get the contract
that he did from Brooklyn, whether he would have been a candidate for a
job like this where it's sort of known that hey, they're not they don't
want to be terrible, but they're not trying to win immediately. Because he
did a heck of a job, I thought in Brooklyn following Kenny acts his
departure, particularly in the bubble, and I think the nets, you know,
the optics of him being demoted, and we're actually going to get more
into this in the podcast later on this week they're not great, but the
fact that they made him one of the highest paid assistants in the league,
I do think says something about his coaching acumen at least how they value him.
So that would have been another name that's obviously off the market now that
I still would have been keeping my eye on in this particular situation. Yeah,
I think I think two names that I want to throw out a are
Becky Hammon interviewing for the PACER's position. By the way, apparently, Yeah,
she's she's definitely going to be a big name candidate, and the Spurs
organization has shown nothing but immense respect for what she's done on Greg Popovitch's bench,
and I think that if you are truly rebuilding, then that is a
fantastic time to take a chance on her. David Vanterpool is the other name.
He has had a lot of success with the Portland Trailblazers. He and
Damian Lillard had a fantastic relationship. He really helped with the growth of C.
J. McCollum a lot. And he has also succeeded as an associate
head coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves. And he does have some connections to Sam
Presty because he was the director of player Personnel starting in twenty ten, so
he has been there before. He's going to enjoy some familiarity with the franchise,
and I think we'll see his name come up for sure, either of
those two, either of the ones you mentioned. I think there are a
lot of options here, and they are helped by the fact that they're most
likely entering a rebuilding. Can afford to take a chance son on an untested
untested I can't talk an untested coach who has not held the top role before.
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the bucks, though, shall we. So let's do it. I think
that you're talking about Jannis putting pressure on the organization, and so I think
the few things that are clear is that they're not trading him this offseason,
and the rumors already come out that the Clippers are going to try and make
an offer for him. I don't really know what are they offering, Paul
George. They're like, I don't know what they have to offer that would
they would have an easier time going after him in twenty twenty one three agency.
Now you mentioned his comments, people have sort of responded to that would
saying, well, if you're actually committed to the franchise, we've heard this
before, you need to sign the extension first. Here's what I'm absolutely doing.
If I'm Yannis is I'm signing me that extension either way, like it's
it's happening, because if I want out, I'll force my way out later
because people can say he won't have the leverage. You're not keeping a disgruntled
star no matter how many how many years he has left on his deal.
If karlinthy Town's requested out of Minnesota tomorrow, they would consider it. I
think you would have to. And maybe in that situation is different because he's
so young and you haven't had as many opportunities to win. But here faster
oward a couple of years, if he has three or four years left on
his deal, I don't think it's as big of an issue. What I'm
also doing is I'm not signing any extension now. It's going to be there,
and the monetary value isn't actually going to change. All You're gonna have
his clarity on what the salary cap looks like in twenty twenty two when that
deal kicks in. Right now, it's slated for one hundred and twenty five
million dollars, which means this is a five year, two hundred and fifty
three point eight million dollars extension. If you sign it, it's probably going
to be lower, would be my guess. And if it's substantially lower,
or if you can see that there's gonna be a huge uptick in the year
after that. Maybe that convinces you to sign a shorter term deal to increase
your flexibility. The other reason why I'm doing this, and I don't know
if players would actually think like this, but if you want to stay in
a lwakee short term, fuck with the other teams Miami, Toronto, Golden
State like they're not going to do anything seismic until they figure out what Yannis
is doing. And there are probably other teams that fall into that category as
well. But looking specifically at Miami and Toronto, two of the teams that
are in your conference, keep them in limbo and yeah, you know what,
the heat are good enough where it doesn't matter. We can say Toronto
brings everyone back on a one year deal, YadA, YadA, YadA,
Still don't sign it. That deal is gonna He could get injured next season,
it could be a catastrophic injury, and they're still giving him the Supermax
like it's still happening and that money is still going to be there. So
that's what I'm doing. If I'm Yannis. Before we even get into what
the Bucks are doing, and I'm wondering how you feel about that perspective,
particularly the latter one where it's like I love that last point. I've not
really heard that express before quite like that. So that's that's really interesting.
I wonder I wonder if players do you think about it that way? That
would be some interesting insight to get. But yeah, I mean, like
he's entering his age twenty sixth season, he has a distinct argument to be
the best player in the world. He's most likely going to be the two
time reigning MVP. Like, yeah, like we just saw how much play
Kevin Durant got in his thirties coming off and Achilles injury, which is like
the most devastating injury that you can have as a basketball player. Janice is
going to be fine no matter what happens this next season. So yes,
by all means like delay signing it if you need to, And that's not
necessarily an indication of a lack of commitment to the organization. He's said and
done all the right things to this point, and I think that even if
there's a long long track record of stars saying and doing the right things before
leaving, like he does deserve the benefit of the doubt here. Yeah,
Look, he doesn't seem like the type of player that's going to request a
trade anyway. So even if he doesn't sign the extension, and it's not
because of my idea, which might just be hair brained anyway, you roll
the dice because he's that type of a player and you are still close to
a championship that you still if you have the opportunity to sell him on staying
long term, you take that over divesting him into a hodge pods of assets
whatever they end up being. How many times I'm gonna say Hodgepodge on this
podcast, that's a mortgage board of assets. Let's try and change it up
there. So he's just that some optionality with your words. Just remember that
he's that transcendent of a player, is sort of my point. So unless
he requests for out, like you can't read too much into him not signing
the extension. If on the Bucks, it's unless he requests are out,
you're keeping him. And so now that kind of informs their off season.
I don't the Malcolm Brogden stuff has now come up and been relitigated, and
I think it's one hundred percent fair because you have I believe it was Mark
Lazary came out and said that they would pay the tax, but that keeping
Brogden was a luxury. It turns out that wasn't a luxury because they it
turned out to be too light on shock creation the playoffs. How much of
it did he add because I was never necessarily as role Milwaukee, I don't
know, but he's definitely probably a better option a lot of these scenarios,
especially against the heat, than Eric Bletso was. And we saw that Dote
DiVincenzo, who I was high on in the six manut of a year discussion,
just didn't really provide that that layer of protection and it was thin there
to begin with from him. So now, and I'm using this to frame
this as I'm using this year's salary cap for for my projections, and the
Bucks should still theoretically, even if Robin Lopez comes back and they guarantee or
Son Eliasova's seven million dollars salary, have the non taxpayers mid level exception in
full at their disposal estimated at you know, nine million in something. But
there's a chance that that takes them into the tax if they use all of
it, you absolutely go into the tax next season. If it's if you're
not making any size make Chris Paul moves. But even if you do,
like you, you have to use every chip that's on your plate right now,
because I do think you kind of I don't know that you sent the
wrong message last summer with the Brogden stuff, but it was it was weird.
And then to say like, oh, but we will pay the luxury
tax because we're going to in the future if you kind of evade it now,
even given the financial ramifications of the pandemic and the shutdown, I don't
think that sends the right message. Do I think it guarantees that Jannis will
leave? Absolutely not. But like now you lay all your cards out on
the table. It's not just a matter of try and find an all in
trade. Whether it's Chris Paul, Drew Holiday, I don't really know if
they could work themselves. In the Victor Ladipot conversation, my guests would be,
no, it has to be we're gonna spend too, and yes,
you only have the non taxpayers midlevel exception. Here's the thing that's basically the
same thing as two thirds of the league. They're working with some form more
than that of the mid level exception, there's gonna be handful of teams with
the mini mid level, and so you're already above them if you have the
non taxpayers mid level, and because you're a contender in the East, maybe
that appeals to someone. And I don't know the name to throw out.
I just feel like it's not going to get you a Marcus Morris. But
you know, if the Heat are really trying to preserve their cat flexibility,
if they're not going to give Jay Crowd or like a huge one year deal
up to stay of like thirty million, like a lot of people expect them
to do with with not Jannis Dragic, like is he an option? Does
he become an option at the mid level of the sudden the guy who would
typically be available, or we need to command more than that. I don't
know. I'm just spitballing there. So even if using the mid level takes
you into the tax now, I think you have to do it. And
I don't think that's oversimplifying the situation at all at this point, no one
half to I think that the Brogden situation was understandable to some extent as long
as they do show that they are willing to pay the tax when it matters.
Now, it's not really fair to hold a small market team to the
standard of perfection or else they deserve to lose their their marquee superstar. And
that's essentially what we'd be doing if it's like, okay, like they misfired
on Brogden and now Janis has to leave because they haven't demonstrated a commitment to
winning and don't know how to build a team around him. You know,
I think that you have to allow for the possibility of mistakes, which is
which that's what it was, that mid level exception should be valuable this summer.
I do think that someone like Drajica, an aging veteran point guard who
is still playing fantastic basketball in the playoffs, would be a really intriguing addition.
What if they get like Gallow or someone who's willing to take a pay
cut to come play for an obvious title contender. Now there there are options
out there who I think that that can add to this roster, which is
largely set in place for next season barring a seismic trade overhaul. You also
get to have like Pat Connaughton off the books, which is fantastic because that
means that Mike Budenholzer can't give him ridiculous minutes during the playoffs. So you
know, there there there are positives to this situation, and I think that
all of that plus potential improvement from Jannis, you know, That's That's one
thing that I don't think gets talked about often enough in this conversation. We
talk about the trades that they can make, the free agens they can sign,
the decisions they can make with player and team options and non guaranteed salaries.
But like Jannie is entering his age twenty sixth season and he still has
a lot to learn. Like, imagine if he comes back after a summer
of hard work following another postseason disappointment with better footwork, with an even more
reliable turnaround jumper from mid range territory. You know, there are there are
so many ways that he can continue to improve his game as dominant as he
already is. That would just make this team even more competitive. Yeah,
I'm with you there. The only pushback I'd give is I think Gallo would
be quite a reach at the mid level. It is, It is definitely
a reach. Maybe you fall into like a Joe Harris and look at the
Chris Paul stuff or even I feel like Drew Holiday is going to be a
name that we hear too for them. That's also going to instruct how you
handle free agency, because Joshers would actually be a nice fit for this roster.
But if you're going to go out and trade for CP three, your
Drew Holiday, you don't necessarily need him. And then the flip side of
that would be, well, if you're giving up George Hill and Eric Bletsoe,
then you actually kind of sort of might. But that's an interesting name
I didn't really think about for this team. The other I don't know if
this will become a topic, but Chris Middleton has received a lot of criticism
for not being a conventional, conventional number two. I kind of feel like
that should be out the window now because what we're seeing is I feel like
the limitations on Jannis's game, they kind of have these rippled down effects to
everyone. And so unless if you're saying his number two needs to be a
Damian Lillard or Stephen Curry, those are not conventional number twos because they're actually
number ones. And so I think Chris Middleton has shown even in the game
four that they won after Janice was injured, and then in parts of the
Game five that they ended up losing to Miami like he can No is he
going to be number one level and a top ten player in any given season.
Probably not, But he can be the number two on a really good
team. He's gonna be able to go out there and defend the number two
or the number three option on a team. That's also why Eric Bletzo was
so important, because he's probably gonna spend the most time on number one options
for the squad. And how does that change if you go to CP three.
It doesn't change at all if you go to Drew Holiday, who's just
built for that type of role. But Chris Middleton, to me, is
the quintessential number two on a championship team at this point. It's the people
who need to frame it as you need a second number one basically. And
I think that that view on Chris Middleton was exposed in a good way for
the Bucks. And look, he's a name that I think would probably be
He's not gonna be brought up in a rumors, at least by on the
Buck's behalf, because you know, if you want a Bradley Beale, you
would probably have to give up a Chris Middleton. I just wouldn't do it.
I think that Chris Middleton is just a better fit for this team for
what he's going to do defensively than Bradley Beal. He's just a player that
if Jannas did lead did leave after next season, like, yeah, the
three years left on his deal at that point are are quite a bit.
He would be at quick math right here, one hundred thirteen point eight million
dollars. I feel like he would become like one of the hottest trade commodities
in the league. That that's getting too far ahead of the game. I
just want to give Chris Middleton a shout out because I think even though he's
had better postseasons in the past, I'm basically looking at that seven game set
loss to Boston and that twice eighteen I think it was I feel like he
sort of validated himself in a way, and maybe part of that is because
of how the heat exposed Jannis a little bit. Yeah. No, he
is the classic number two that you want, and I think that just with
the super team stylings of the last decade that fans have been a little bit
spoiled by the idea that you could have, as you put it, two
number one options on the same team. And just because the Bucks don't have
that second number one, that's not a condemnation of Middleton's contributions. He also
played really well in the playoffs, aside from his shooting slump at the beginning.
You know, he was asked to carry a bigger load than expected and
completely deviate from the Buck's typical style of play, which relies so much on
transition and semi transition attacks, and operate in a half court with a tough,
deep defensive team throwing all sorts of options at him. And during that
Miami series he still averaged twenty five point six point six rebounds, six point
eight assists, shooting forty one point seven percent from the field, thirty three
point three percent from three point range of ninety three point one percent from free
throws. Those first two shooting numbers aren't great, but given the circumstances,
I feel like they're at least understandable because he was being asked largely to fill
a role that he isn't meant to fill, and alongside Jannis he gets to
fill a much more comfortable one. So I don't have concerns about that partnership,
and I hope that the Bucks don't either. Now my guests would be
that they don't. It's just that that felt more like a I wouldn't even
say it was a prevalent take nationally, but they've just been I don't want
I received a lot of pushback when I ranked Chris Middleton, along with one
of our BLEAE Super colleagues, the tenth best player of the season, and
this year. I don't think every year that's gonna happen, but this year,
given the sheer amount of injuries and limited be a limited availability from otherwise
top ten mainstays, that had opened the door for him to do that.
And we haven't seen the All NBA teams come out yet, but it would
shock me if he doesn't make third team All NBA, and if that's not
a number two on a title content like, I don't know who's who's supposed
to be, and I'm not trying to say that it's Jannis is a bigger
problem for this team than anything. There's more about how they've fleshed out the
supporting cast around him. I just think if you are gonna say, Chris
Middleton isn't the right number two beside him. You're saying, well, then
Jannis needs a second number one, which is just like a weird way to
frame that discussion. Yeah, especially when the first number one, Jannis is
so ridiculously good. Right, And that's the thing that needs to be remembered
throughout all this is the Bucks are not screwed. They still have Jannis,
the inside track on Yannis for another year, if not probably longer. Look,
he said he wanted to stay there, and I get once more,
I don't think he's not signing the extension, which he might do, by
the way, like that might he might sign the extension. Again, I
wouldn't because it makes life at least, I wouldn't make the decision till after
free agency, at least because he has until the first day of next season.
Like, let let the heat and Raptors specifically remain in lurch. I'm
just gonna keep coming back to that point. But the Bucks are still set
up to kind of run the East next year. Yeah, Miami's coming,
apparently they're already here. You have Boston. You have to figure Toronto's gonna
put together something competitive. I have no idea what Philly's gonna look like.
But the Trey Young Hawks, let's not forget about them. Yeah, let's
not forget about them, But let's also forget about them if you just added
an addition via the mid level exception to this team, Like there's a chance
they're marketedly better than this season. I think they need to do something more
stark than that. But like this is not a day scenario for them by
any stretch. Yeah, and I think that. And maybe this is entering
dangerous territory assuming something about players mentalities, And this is neither a positive nor
a negative. But some players seem more likely to want to go pursue opportunities
elsewhere, and some players seem more likely to want to stick around and try
to win in the original location. And for whatever reason, like Jana strikes
me as someone who falls into the latter category. Maybe it's just the way
that he said things or the way he's handled himself and you know, not
wanting to do anything but shoulder blame for losses even in the postseason, but
he just he strikes me as someone who who wants to finish what was started
Wigan. That's not a positive or a negative. It's just a statement of
belief and look at you. We could be wrong too. We've seen players
say that they want to stay only to turn around then leave. I would
just feel confidence saying I'd be shocked if he ends up requesting a trade and
I don't think he's not signing the extension to just be labor. That point
doesn't equate to a requests in this situation. Sunday Sunday Sundays are coming back
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code blue Wire. Are you ready? To dive into this mailbag, though
I am more than ready. Let's start with someone who's calling me on my
BS, which look I always appreciate. Here, Paul hi Hump says,
I know both Adam and Dan are big Nugs believers and Nicole Yokich fans,
but I could not believe you guys talking about how the Jazz ra run it
back team, but the Nuggs need to trade for Drew because their window is
now. They seem like teams in similar spots to me. Can you elaborate?
I believe I spearheaded that Nuggets take, so I'll start with this.
One part of that is because I do believe that the Jazz don't have the
assets to do anything drastic like their trade pieces. You're not. If you
want to dangle Rudy Gobert, maybe that's something worth considering, but you're not
going to get the type of return that you're going to get for Denver.
Should you dangle Michael Porter Junior? With Gary Harris? Will Barton's deal a
future first even Bull Bowl? At this point? And so I think there
are more options for the Nuggets on the trade market that to me, they
would be obligated to explore should they flame out in the second round, which
it does not seem like they're gonna do. And so that was under the
pretense of had they lost in the first round or if they just get destroyed
by the Clippers, which the games, except for Game one on the Nuggets
behalf, has been super competitive. They could they probably should have won Game
three. They should be two to one as we record this, and they're
not. And so if they take this to six or seven games, and
they want to stand pat because they believe that Michael Porter Junior is that wing,
and I think we've put it it's been pretty clearly proven at least since
the start of the Heatles, like you need that the Big three Heatles,
you need that really incredibly high end wing to win a title. And so
the Nuggets are that weird spot where they're building around Yokis and Jamal Murray,
high end guard and a high end big that is Michael Porter Junior, that
completing piece. He's gonna have to get better on defense, but he might
be. The question is how soon. It's surely he can definitely put up
numbers. Now we've seen it in his quote unquote rookie year. But if
a Bradley Beal becomes available. I'm not dangling on Michael Porter Junior. I
don't think in a draw holiday trade that would be And I think I said,
this is the baseline return that I need to get for him. But
with the way Gary Harris is defending at plus what Michael Porter Junior is playing,
I don't know if someone going into free agency next summer is who I
would target. So you're I guess I would say, aside from a bill,
if people comes available, you have to monitor at least the trade market
for Is there any other big name. I'm not talking about Chris Poal either,
that just becomes available. I'm not talking about Janis either, not even
envisioning anyone, because these names sometimes crop up that you just can't picture.
I think you have to be vigilant on that, and you're obligated to look
for that type of a move because you have the asset firepower to do it
and are in this window window. The Jazz are in the same window window,
but one. I don't think their top end talent is as good as
Denver's top end talent, which would be Nicole Yokich, who's borderline top five
definitely top ten right now, and again, just having the asset juice that
Utah doesn't have, I think opens more doors for Denver that they need to
explore. The only thing I really want to add to that is specifically with
Utah, I think that it's more reasonable to want to run it back because
we didn't get to see what this team as it was constructed was capable of
doing it. It's easy to forget, just in the wake of Donovan Mitchell's
offensive explosion during the playoffs, that boy On Bogdanovich was a huge crucial piece
to this puzzle. They very intentionally deviated from their all defense everything approach to
have more of an offensive modern style throughout this twenty nineteen twenty season. So
when Bogdanovitch, who was their second leading score averaging twenty point two points per
game in efficient fashion, had season ending surgery in May, that changed a
lot, and I felt like it was reasonable to want to see them run
it back with the same core of incumbents because of how much he alone could
elevate them. Denver also had key absences during the playoffs Will Barton, Gary
Harris for a large portion of their their playoff experience to date, but neither
of those is individually as big a loss as Bogdanovitch was to the Jazz.
So in addition to the asset juice and the possible ceiling with Yokichen Jamal Murray
together and wanting to maximize that by parlaying some of the depth into trades that
are going to help for the postseason, I think that Utah does have a
more reasonable desire to keep the core intact because of what was missing. Yeah,
I think you can argue that to them, boy and Bardanovitch is a
bigger piece than Harris and Barton was to Denver. It's tough there because Gary
Harris is so important to their wing defense just because they don't have a lot
of better options, and so maybe he's on par with that, and if
he's gonna hit his threes, then you know, that's a completely different story
as well. So I think you can make the case for both of them
throwing it back, especially now since it looks like Denver is going to be
competitive with Utah. I just think Denver's clear I'm fine with either of them
doing it. Yeah, I wasn't trying to. Maybe I came off as
just being too exaggertary in that, you know, discussion that we had.
I wouldn't, you know, go into this office and say, if I'm
Denver, I need to blow it up. But you know you're so close
and you already have if Murray's gonna play like this, the flips like that,
arguing to be well with Murray, I guess the Clipper series notwithstanding,
but Murray's gonna be that guy in the posy and that he was against Utah,
Well, then why would you go out and get someone else because you
know that you're gonna have him as the blanket. I think you could go
either way. But there's I get the concern too of if you traded a
Gary Harris for Bradley Bill, you're really weakening your defense there. If it's
a Drew Holiday again, if there's a way to construct that trade without giving
up and PJ like that becomes absolutely huge to me. It's just it's because
Denver's closer, they have to consider more on the table. Next question,
though, comes from Pete Rudkins, and his question is actually interesting, not
that all these questions aren't interesting. Bubble effects question mark is field goal percentage
better free throw percentage? Other effects? And so I just pulled up some
numbers here, and the average offensive rating before the stoppage was one ten point
seven affect the field goal percentage fifty three point one. In the end of
the regular season, which was only eight games, you had an average offensive
rating of one thirteen point two affective field goal percentage of fifty four point one.
In the playoffs, thus far average offensive rating of one to eleven point
six and affect the field goal percentage of fifty three point nine. So it's
again higher than that pre bubble regular season aspect. And I will say right
now the offensive rating average offensive rains a lot higher than it was for last
year's playoffs, which was one o nine point eight with an average effect the
field goal percentage of fifty one point three. There are still a ton of
postseason games to be played, but it does seem like offenses might have benefited
more from this. At the same time, I'm like not, I'm almost
pleasantly surprised that defenses haven't been worst in the bubble, and so I don't
know if you could say it's an outright benefit for the offenses, but there
certainly has not been a lag there, and if anything, it was an
improvement, and perhaps that's something you expect because you had, particularly at the
beginning of this guys working their way back into game shape. Yeah, I
think that the other big impact is the lack of travel and just players getting
to refresh easier and to as mentally grueling as this bubblic experience can be.
Just the lack of physical toll that comes from trying to recover after a tough
playoff game while also traveling to a new city on an airplane. Like,
I think that that that's making a big difference, and we've we've already seen.
I think it was Dennis Lindsay who said earlier today something about how the
the NBA needs to listen to the players and how much better they feel,
and how we might want to to consider like baseball styles series against teams to
to minimize travel during the regular season as well. So I think that's that's
something we're seeing as well, that that could be improving the quality of games.
But yeah, I mean it's what you said is most salient here.
I think we can say if we move on to the next question. This
comes from doctor Mantis to Toboggan at Coreboar Ask who he asked two questions,
who are some trade targets for teams that want to take the next steps for
rebuilding and then also for rebuilding teams. He also asked, what are some
other potential coaching candidates. We kind of already covered that when we were talking
about the thunder, So I'll throw this one to you. Let's start with
teams and we probably already mentioned their names at this point. Teams that are
looking to make the next step or get over the championship hump. What are
some trade targets that you could see coming around this offseason. I really like
the idea of Phoenix going out and making an upgrade at point guard. That's
that's what I keep coming back to in my head, whether it's whether it's
making a play for Chris Paul or trying to go get Drew Holiday, like
any of those level targets and would would be really intriguing just given what we
saw from that team in the bubble, especially if they bring back Kelly wee
Bray and you also have this improved version of Mkhill Bridges, Like this team
is is pretty close to not just being a playoff contender, but something more
than that. And I think that that that could push them over the hump.
That's where my head went went first. At least up great a point
guard. Think is interesting because I don't necessarily know that that needs to be
their primary target. But if you could go from Ricky Rubio to Chris Paul,
I think you should do it. I'd be more interested them going after
like a four the play alongside DeAndre Ayton. Maybe you found something with the
Cam Johnson starting lineup. I feel like Ubray is sort of an awkward fit
now because that's starting five did so well, and then Dario Saris looks like
he can really be in his bag as a sixth man. I don't know
what you would have to attach to Kelly Ubray Junior to get like an Aaron
Gordon, And I'm not sure whether you trust is shooting enough too yet.
I think I don't think that's a fit though he I think it's closer just
because he's become a better passer and he always shoots well and catch and shoot
threes towards the end of the year, but that might be a name worth
considering. I know their fans are really big on Jeremy Grant in free agency.
I think you probably have to become a cap space team to get him,
and that certainly divulges us away from from the trade targets of this.
But they're definitely a team that I think could be in play for that win
now. Piece. The name that I keep coming back to, and I'm
not sure where I think his best fit would be is Victor Oladipo in Indiana,
because it seems like something is off there and the sample we've seen before
he got to Indiana, then you know, even before he had this quad
injury, that he was dealing with the All NBA player he was in twenty
eighteen, Like, there's a larger sample that says he's not that player.
He could still be a really good player, and so he's gonna give you
someone who can compete on defense off the ball especially, and then if you
have another guy who can create from scratch on offense, that ends up being
a big deal. Imagining him as sort of a number two score is super
interesting to me. The Suns might be a candidate. I think if the
Nets are going to go the third star route, that's a name that would
look at for Brooklyn. I'm not sure I'd be fully comfortable giving up Arras
Lavert for him, just because that contract Lavert is on is such a steal,
and Lavert might be a little bit more pluck in play than a Ladipo.
It's really tough to say at this point. I wonder if you could
put something together there with Spencer didn Witty, Jared Allen and future picks without
including Lavert, and then you're just stocked on the wings. I don't know
if that's absolutely feasible. Victor Ladipo in Dallas would be absolutely spectacular. That's
a team that probably doesn't have the asset juice. I would love him in
Denver, but that's not a situation where I give up MPJ. And I'm
honestly not sure if you have to if he's heading into free agency, has
this injury, and that if it comes that he wants out. I mean,
if you're looking at Gary Harris as the starting point, Monte Morris and
a future pick, like, does that get you anywhere on that maybe even
need to expand it to include Will Barton and take back some other money from
Indy. You could certainly look there, but he's a team, you know,
even the Warriors, and this might actually lead us into our next question
after I hear from you, though, Like, that's a team that I
think Victor Ladipo would be an absolutely fantastic fit on. Maybe you can talk
yourself into Minnesota they've the number one pick, or you willing to give that
up. But he's a guy that I could see fitting on so many teams
and has a high ceiling, even if he hasn't been there and had this
really long sustained peak that makes him just this tantalizing trade option to me,
assuming he is even a trade option. Maybe Indy just refuses to move him.
One name that I'm curious about, and I don't have any good destinations
for him as Blake Griffin, especially given the recent reports that he's feeling healthier
than he hasn't along time, that he's starting to work out six times per
day that he's far enough remove or six times per week, not per day,
that would be excessive even by Jimmy Butler's standards. You know, the
contract that he has is still daunting. He's definitely not in his prime anymore,
but I feel like he has enough skill left in the tank, even
not relying on his athleticism, that he could be a really interesting addition in
a number of places, Like if there's a route for a Philadelphia or a
Brooklyn to get him as another complimentary star, that could be that could be
a really interesting move for Detroit. That's where could you see him going though,
That's what I'm struggling with. You know, those two names I just
throw out, Philadelphia and Brooklyn I think are intriguing fits. But working out
actual realistic deals is tough. Beyond that, it's it's tough to find wats
for him. I wonder if Philly, I don't know what else would have
to be involved that deal, would Philly be okay? Going from let's say
Al Horford to Blake Griffin, Right, that's just I'm that's like a move
where I like, might not like it for either team, but at the
same time, like screw it like that that would be It's an upside play.
But yeah, I just I don't want to see Blake at this stage
of his career, like be stuck in Detroit as the de facto number one
option, because that's not what he should be now. If he if he's
able to go to this more a more competitive situation where he can take on
a lesser role and preserve his health. I feel like that he could be
one of the absolute best tertiary players in the NBA, even following all these
injuries. Do you have any rebuilding team trade targets that stand out to you?
I have a couple if if you do not, but you're better at
this stuff than me, so you leave this one. So one maybe it's
I don't know if it's a buy low candidate, because I don't think this
team would trade him in that type of scenario. Would probably be part of
a bigger package. But Efremy Simon's had a ridiculously terrible year, and if
you're still kind of looking for someone who might have that pinnacle as a shot
creator, and maybe you can get more out of him as as a passer,
and he'll give you some at least motor on defense, even if there's
not a ton of discipline there, like can you scoop him up Portland's and
win now mode? And they do have some you know, aside from other
first round picks plus Simons, they don't have a ton of salary filler unless
they're going to guarantee a Rees's deal and then use him that way, which
they could certainly do. That's just a name I'm looking at if you're a
rebuilding team, another one I might be looking at. And these are no
specific teams come to mind, but a Marvin Bagley is Sacramento ready to sell
medium on him. I was very high on him after his rookie years,
just because the shooting touch that he showed towards the latter portion, even on
catch and shoot twos, but also from three. And I think, you
know, his price point really isn't that great because he's averaging essentially more than
mid level money over the next two years, assuming that his team option on
his fourth season gets picked up. He's at two years and twenty point three
million dollars. Are the Kings like kind of turned off by that? Because
they've already paid Harrison Barnes, They've paid Buddy Heal, They're gonna have to
pay by Danovich this summer, They're gonna have to extend darn Fox, so
they just willing to listen. Is it sort of a move up scenario with
the draft? I don't know how far he would actually get you up in
the draft order, but is there just like, you know, Marvin Bagley,
I feel like he would interest me if it was in Charlotte, he
would interest me. I'd rather have him as the four next to Mitchell Robinson
in New York than whatever the hell the Knicks were doing now with Julius Randall.
I don't know if you want him in a Chicago, but you definitely
don't want him in Atlanta. He's kind of intriguing to me. In Cleveland?
Would a Christian? Would Marvin Bagley front court interest you? In Detroit?
Probably can't defend worth a lick, but I actually think Wood might be
an underrated defender. What about Bagley in San Antonio? Not really the type
of player they tend to go after, I feel like, but he you
know, if they can develop his passing, maybe that's huge. That's just
a name m'd be curious about. If I'm a team that's rebuilding, not
in the rush to win now, and I can slow play this, I'm
looking at Marvin and that might be like the name I'm zeroing in on this
offseason. A couple more names I want to throw out that might be bigger
names are Kyle Kuzma, just because I think the fit continues to be a
little bit questionable with him not really having a starting role next to Lebron and
Anthony Davis, and I could see Los Angeles trying to parlay him into something
bigger. And Rudy Gay is a really interesting one to me, who has
one more year left on his contract and is definitely not going to be needed
in San Antonio as it leans more into a rebuild and it has in the
past. He looked really good during the season restart average seventeen point nine points
per game over his seven appearances, shot forty five point seven percent from three,
looked more switchable, more active on defense. He is thirty three years
old, he'll be thirty four by the time the next season starts, but
he's got some left in the tank and I could see him being a valuable
veteran moved to a contender. Okay, I thought you were talking about rebuilding
team for a second and I was like, that is incredibly interesting and please
delve further into it. But you no, I'm just jumping into rebuilding teams
who could move pieces too. That's you know, that's been a popular name
for the Warrior's trade exception that they have Rondre godaland he could probably be a
good fit there. So I do think he's and He's also if you're looking
for an encouraging sign for Grant post Achilles injury, like Rudy Gay, not
the same level of player, but he's been effective even at times at both
ends of the floor since he suffered that injury. So yeah, that's an
absolutely good name for a contender or even want to be a contender if he
might. I would like to see him in Miami. That's my that's my
dream fit for Rudy Gay. Just see the Spurs trade him into Miami's cap
space, or maybe they're willing to attach like something small to it. I
mean, they're gonna They're gonna have incredible flexibility. This summer mentioned the Warriors
briefly, so friend of the Pod friend in real life former co worker Jacob
Bourne, asked, he has two questions. I'm gonna ask you this question
first, that's not really immediately related. Peak Jared Jack or pek Kirk Condrich
one on one, Who are you taking? I'm on team Heinrich. I'm
going with Jared Jack. We apparently need to start another one on one tournament
at NBA Math and just have them play each other. Let us know what
you think, pe Kirk Heinrich was was a sneaky defender, good hands Jar
kind of like this like tiny bowling ball, and so I feel like he
could overpower him. He might be able to, but I don't know that
he could stop Kirk Heinrich. I don't know. Both both of them are
kind of reliant on their passing to set up any sort of self creating offense,
though, so it would be I think it would be a boring one
on one game. No offense to Jacob, Well, actually a lot of
offense to Jacob. This is we're probably gonna step on the toes of some
of the stuff we've already talked about. But who should the Warriors target in
a trade for their number two pick? Should they package it with Draymond Greene
or Wiggins for best return? Both are arguably damaged goods. Wiggins certainly is,
even though I feel like the Warriors have kind of trumpeted him up since
they've acquired him. My stance is that you trade the number two pick,
if i'm them, you try, like how to keep the Timberwolves pick,
which seems to be more valuable. Do any targets for you that you like
come to mind. I don't have a feel for what they're going to be
able to get back for this. That's that's the biggest issue here, is
that this is just like an unprecedentedly bad, universally viewed as bad draft class,
And I just I don't know what teams are going to be offering,
especially in this off season of uncertainty. So I think, like you,
if you can package it with Wiggins to get anything, you know, if
it's a Victor Oladipo, then great, If it's somehow a Bradley Beale,
even better. But I think that you end up moving it for whatever you
can get, because this is a team that needs no, no seriously,
because this is a team that needs to win as quickly as it can.
As Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are all are all continuing to
age and move into their thirties, what are you going to get at number
two? If you use the pick that can help you immediately? The best
fit for them is like James Wiseman, right, who is this entirely unproven
center prospect who's really raw and there's no way that you can expect him to
be a valuable positive contributor during his rookie season, which is what you need
with that number two pick. There's not a player out there who is immediately
going to come in and elevate the ceiling of this Golden State Warriors team.
So you shop at for what I have no idea. I'll throw some names
at you. Bradley Bill's at one of them. Also, one thing to
considers that if you end up with Anthony Edwards, I consider keeping it,
and then maybe along with that Minnesota pick, you hope that Edwards increases his
value as an actual player next year. And then if Jannis you know,
became available after signing an extension for some reason, or what I was actually
gonna say is if he left and then Chris Middleton's available, or you just
see if that trade package can be parlayed into the actual big star that you
want now immediately. Though, if you're dangling number two, this is one
on thorn on. Would you trade number two for Aaron Gordon for this specific
Warriors team? I would? I would. I think that he has been
forced to fit into enough weird situations in Orlando that he's developed a lot of
different parts of his game. I don't think that he's a star. I
don't think that he's even a fringe star, but I think that he can
one hundred percent be a valuable two way role player and except having fewer touches,
but also being able to serve as a secondary creator on some possessions and
fill a lot of the gaps that this Warrior's team is going to have.
So yeah, I would do that. Would you trade number two for Victor
Oladipo, knowing injury history, knowing free agency? I would not. I
really have Yeah, I don't. I don't have confidence in an Oladipo at
the moment until proven otherwise. As you mentioned earlier in this episode, at
this point, the sample of non all star level play is greater than the
sample of our all star level play. And I unfortunately, and I hate
that I have to say this, because he's such a likable player on end
off the court. I have not seen anything since he returned that gives me
an indication that he's going to resume being a star level player. He is
also most effective with the ball in his hands, which is not something that
I necessarily want on a team that has continues to have Stephen Curry and Ramon
Green. I would do it for Victor Ladipo. I'm not gonna lie.
The other pacer that I mentioned here is Miles Turner. Would you do that?
And look there there could be other permutations to this deal. Miles Turner
you can actually get with if you use the trade exception to you know,
acquire let's say, at James Johnson, then use James Johnson a number two
to get Miles Turner. Are you doing something like that? In a heartbeat?
Okay, in a heartbeat, yeah, I mean Turner with a three
point ability with the defensive rim protection like that is exactly the kind of player
that the Warriors should be targeting if they're intent on acquiring a five to go
along with the incumbents. The here's something else, I'll they write you.
Then a dual scenario where, knowing how the Pacers do with wings, what
if they were willing to do number two Andrew Wiggins Minnesota's pick next year,
and then let's say Kavan Mooney and Jordan Poole for Victor Ladipo and Miles Turner.
Are you doing that deal if you're going the state? Yeah, I
am, especially with the added benefit of getting off Wiggins contract. Is there?
If you're Indiana, can you talk yourself into that deal. If you're
Indiana. That's the tougher part. I think it depends on how how much
they're willing to commit to the Sabonis led cores, which after this season they
very well may be willing to commit to. Having Wiggins's money isn't ideal,
but getting the number two pick for a team that is like in a competitive
flux would be would be a very valuable asset. This will be my last
one for the Warriors before we get some quick hitters to finish this up.
Would you trade and I'm not even sure the Spurs would do this, but
would you trade number two for Rudy Yay? Derek White? And I think,
what do the Spurs have number fourteen this year? Number thirteen? Spurs
have number eleven. Would you number eleven Derek White and Rudy Gay for number
two? Yeah? I think so, especially because just given the weirdness of
this draft class, is there really that much of a difference between number two
and number eleven? Like you're not going to be able to control which player
you get quite as easily, but you know, there's still this feels like
one of the classes where the best player isn't going to be a top five
pick. So I think that it's more acceptable to take you know, a
veteran without as much ceiling at number eleven that at number two, and that
could be what what Golden State needs. So if you're san Antonio, you
wouldn't do that, is what you're saying. Then if I'm san Antonio,
I don't think I'm giving Derek White away just for the ability to move up
nine spots. I think that's probably fair. Actually, the real last one,
I wouldn't do this if I were the Warriors or the Knicks. But
Mitchell Robinson and number eight for number two when in a heartbeat for Golden State,
I think you and I both love Mitchell Robinson's game. He would be
an ideal fit there. But New York is not doing that. All right,
I'll try and squeeze in some last ones. So here's this one comes
from Phil Sizemore. He's asking about, how do you feel about what is
your take on the Lakers going big versus small debate? And so I'll say
this, I let you answer it. The numbers they've basically been like equitable
when you look at their net ratings in the regular season plus five point two
with per one hundred with Davis at the four plus five point when he plays
the five. In the playoffs, they are plus twelve point five points per
one hundred possessions with him at the five, and then plus fourteen with him
at the fault four. The sample sizes are incredibly small, but I want
to know how you feel about what is the best version of the Lakers.
Does it include Anthony Davis at the five? Does it include him at the
four? Does it not matter? The best version of the Lakers has Anthony
Davis at the five. You knows as important as JaVale McGee and sometimes Dwight
Howard can be to that team like that. That is where they are most
difficult to guard, that is where they are most effective on defense. It
allows everyone to continue to play in the roles that they're most comfortable out,
even if Davis is continuously pushed back at the idea of playing center for anything
more than a handful of minutes or in certain situations, especially against the Rockets,
I think that you have to because the Rockets are always going to win
the style battle and force you to adapt to them because they have no other
options. They're not going to suddenly throw out Tyson Chandler on the court and
be like, hey, we're playing a more traditional style now, We're not
going to take a lot of threes, Like it's what you have to do
in this specific series. And I think that with the two one lead that
they've already accrued, they're starting to realize just how effective they can be even
wall catering to the other team's style. So I would one hundred percent continue
to go with that smaller lineup. I am just moving forward. I think
that's his best position. We don't have to worry about him being pulled away
from the rim as much. And like, look at the end of the
day, I don't care if he doesn't want to play to five. Like
I just I'm so old. I talked with this about the athletics mode Kiel.
It's just weird when players have such aversions to certain positions nowadays. Next
question comes from Adam Broun's teating. I apologize by mispronounced your last name.
It could be Broun. Sein are either Kelly Ubrey or John Collins good defenders?
No, I would say, I would say no. I would say
that Kellyer Bridg Jr. Is gonna give you more on the ball, and
then John Collins is like weak side protection as a helper when he's playing the
forward feels like it's improved a great deal over the last year plus. I
don't know what's interesting with him is if he can be a full time forward
defender, just when you look at the direction that the four spots seems to
be headed him where they could be these glorified wings. And if they can
put the ball on the floor and you don't have a stationary shooter, maybe
to stash him alongside. I don't really know what you do then, so
that would be the bigger question with him. Kellyer brid Junior is just a
guy that feels like he should be better on defense, and he can really
do stuff on the ball, but we've seen the highlights of him falling asleep
off the ball. He's not that egregiously bad, but I also just don't
think he's he's reliable there by any stretch. I'm gonna focus on Collins here.
We've seen mixed results to this point in his NBA career, which is
why I say no to is John Collins a good defender? But I think
that he could be. We saw we saw positive returns during his rookie season,
especially when the Hawks decided to play him more at center as the biggest
player on the court and he was allowed to use his athleticism in a more
limited space. As a sophomore in twenty eighteen nineteen, he was asked to
play more on the perimeter, which was a huge adjustment and not something that
he'd really done at Wake Forest or in the NBA, and that's where he
got in trouble. But I also think that he started to pick up some
stuff by the end of the season, and then this past season, the
one that's still currently in progress for teams not named the Hawks, they kind
of messed those two together and got some mixed results. It's hard to play
interior defense on a team with an absolute seven Trey Young on the perimeter because
he's going to allow so much penetration that you have to pick up behind him.
But he has the tools athletically to make some sort of impact. It's
just a matter of gaining the aware and probably setting into settling into a more
defined role than he's been able to have during his first three seasons, as
the Hawks have moved him around and tried to figure out where he's best.
But I do think there's potential not for him to be a good defender,
but for him to at least be a passable average one. That's you've convinced
me. I'm still just not I'm not entirely sold, but that's one of
the more optimistic takes I've seen, and it does. It feels like it
makes sense. Final two questions super quick, and we've already touched on this.
And also one may culpa or clarification. Oklahoma City has one pick this
year because Philly did get its top twenty protected pick at number twenty one.
That's hysterical kind of This one comes from David stat Guy. His question.
His question is about the Suns, and since we already touched upon them,
I thought that it would be a little bit easier to cover this. What's
the Sun's best realistic off season strategy? Run it back and build on this
year's progress, or try to grab a free agent or make a trade and
try to push the process along. I will say I would juggle between running
it back and looking at the trade market, because you have to jump through
too many hoops for them to become like a real cap space player. This
summer, you probably have to get off Kelly Uber's money and then bid farewell
to Dario sarch And or Aaron Bains, perhaps both of them. And so
just I don't know who you're going to get in free agency that makes it
worth Let's say losing two of those three guys, knowing that one of them
is definitely gonna be Kelly Uber Junior. And so I think I would land
on running it back, or you know, can we if I'm the Suns,
can we attach number ten and Kelly Ubery Junior and get something interesting?
Just because Uber's money it's expiring. It's not bad, but it's fourteen point
four million dollars. You could probably do something with that. And so that's
kind of where I land with Phoenix. We already mentioned some potential trade targets
for them. I would absolutely love Victor Ladipo there, Chris Paul as well.
I'm a little higher or a lot higher on the potential Aaron Gordon fit.
If you certainly use the mid level exception, I would operate as a
capt out team and use the mid level exception. Maybe that gets you a
wing. It's probably not going to get you in the Marcus Morris or Jay
Crowder or even the Joe Harris conversations. But it should get you someone who
is helpful. I wouldn't mind seeing them trade for a veteran like Rudy Gay
as we were talking about earlier, or making a bigger move and going after
Chris Paul or Drew Holiday. But I'm also totally on board with him just
choosing to run it back. I was totally buying into the bubble experienced sons
that we saw for that eight game undefeated stretch and the improvements that Devin Booker
has made to become just this all around superperstar who's actually trying a little bit
on defense. Now. Ricky Rubio is excelling in his role. DeAndre Aiden
showed so much growth on both ends of the court. He looks like not
just a competent, but an actual good defender now that he is, he
actually is an understanding of the nuances of NBA big man defense, which is
notoriously tough to pick up on. During those first few years, mckal bridges
looked fantastic. Cam Johnson looks like a long term fit in that starting lineup.
I love all the pieces in place here, and I don't think they
need to make any moves to be as I said earlier, even more than
just this last last birth playoff edition. But they could, they could pursue
something even bigger. I don't I don't mind either direction. They don't need
to make a big splashy free agent signing or a big splashy trade just for
the sake of making any moves. But if they do find one that's going
to help them, then by all means, go for it. What would
be more preferable to you for this team become a cap space squad, knowing
the collateral damage you'd incur Kelly Uber Jr. Let's say, plus one of
Sarich or Aaron Bain's and then you signed a Neil Gallinari, or you basically
keep this roster as is. Perhaps you could look at trading ubright, but
you add Paul Millsapp in free agency, I think I would lean towards towards
the ladder. I think I would too, even though Paul Millsapps kind of
had a rocky playoffs, He's re established his value versus the Clippers and him
playing next at DeAndre and just feels like it works. And also in small
ball five lineups if you wanted to go that route. And I think that
when you have DeAndre Aiden and Devin Booker as your core pieces, that you
just naturally gravitate more towards defenders than offensive players. Final question here, and
I'm assuming it's quick just because you had notes jotted down on it comes from
Kate Sura. Are there any real trends regarding ref assignments and game results?
Yeah? I mean, there really are and there aren't, and that can
seem like a confounding answer, but you know, you see the occasional reff
who tends to have a better record for the home team or tends to have
higher scoring games, but those tend to even out over the years. There
are always fan bases who think that a ref is biased against them. The
most prominent prominent example right now is probably the Celtics fans with Tony Brothers,
who know notoriously had a one in eight stretch for the Celtics and playoff games
that he officiated. But it always feels like it's more just like reaching for
something that's going to fit a preconceived notion. You can dig into the referee
statistics and find something that's going to support your point of view, whether it's
an official calling more fouls or favoring one team over another, but those tend
to be such marginal differences over longer and larger samples that if there is any
difference, it's a very very small one. You know. I just I
just refuse to buy into the conspiracy theories, especially in the wake of the
Tim Donneghee stuff from from a decade or so back. It's it's so hard
to believe that, you know, Adam Silver is calling into, you know,
the the officials and asking them to marginally swing a game and one team's
favor because they want a certain desired outcome. You can always find stuff to
gripe about because these calls are so hard to make. I think it's really
notable to me that whenever we dispute a call, we're using slow motion video
replay to maybe find something to disagree with, and even then it can be
tough to tell. So we're talking about these referees who are trying to make
calls with the speed of an NBA game and trying to pay attention to so
much stuff Like, yeah, the officiating has been poor during the bubble,
but it's not in a way that is intended to favor one team or over
another, or the NBA's desired outcome or anything like that. So there's no
conspiracy theories that play. That's really disappointing that you don't feel that there are.
That's like not hot take. I know that's shocking. I know that's
shocking. That will do it for us though. Thank you everybody for the
questions. We did not get to all of them because we did feel like
we need to talk about the thunder and the bucks here. Maybe we'll get
to them next time. Please keep questions coming in even if we're not solicitating
them. You could get at us on Twitter, you know the handles anyway
you'd like. We'll also we'll try and make these mailbags more regular because these
are one of my favorite podcasts to do, so as long as there are
questions, we will be here to answer them. Please please, pretty please,
though, do not forget to rate, review, and subscribe to us.
If you have not done any of those things, subscribe and download all
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please just head over there, throw us a five star rating, write a
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We have so little a few reviews and ratings compared to how many people
listen to each episode, so if you could help us choose those numbers,
we would really appreciate it. Until next time, I leave you all with
a shout out two to one the only future NBA Math one on one tournament
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