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What is krack alakin our knocks listeners, I am Dan Valley coming at you

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with what is not NBA Finals content. Hopefully you enjoyed Game one. I

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know I did, super frenetic.
We will get deeper into that as the

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series goes on. I know that
information and reactions those are gonna be wildly

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available. So, like I said, we like to change things up and

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do some bigger picture stuff here.
I will have a piece that's scheduled to

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go live on Bleacher Reports Sunday where
I'm talking about adjustments for each team to

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consider going into Game two. So
check that out if you would like.

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But I've brought on Justin Rowan from
the Chase Down podcast to talk about the

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Cavaliers off season just because they're such
a fascinating team given how much that they

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exceeded expectations. They dealt with a
bunch of injuries, they have a key

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free agent and Colin Sexton carousel verts
extension eligible. There's a lot going on

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there, and so I figured it'd
be a good time to bring him on

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speak with him about the Calves offseason, their outlook, There lots of Evan

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MOBILEI talk. It's a great conversation
remember follow Justin on Twitter one of the

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best NBA files out there at calves
a Nada. That's at c A V

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s A n A d A again
a fantastic follow, highly recommended. Conversation

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was a blast before we can and
ball into it. I just want to

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remind, implore, beg even plead
with you all to help us continue growing

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this podcast. Ratings and reviews help
us out a ton, whether or not

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you use Apple, so head over
there if you have access to it,

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throw us a five star rating writer
review. I can't tell you how much

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of those help us. Subscribe to
our YouTube channel, YouTube dot com s

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or Darbor Knox. We will come
up. The link is in the podcast

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description as well. Also help us
promote this podcast. Retweet it, tell

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your friends, family members, people
who you know like NBA basketball at large

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and are looking for some higher level
doesn't take itself too seriously league wide coverage,

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which is what I think this podcast
provides in droves. If I can

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be less than humble for a second
there, also be sure to join our

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discord. More people have been hopping
in there. Hopefully the conversation get more

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heated or not heated, but more
fervent. Would be the word as we

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get deeper into the finals and also
the offseason coming up, and follow us

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on the socials at Hardwood Knox for
Twitter, at Hardwood Knox is on TikTok

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at Hardwood Underscore Knox on Instagram.
The links and handles to all of these

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things are in our podcast subscription.
So if you've done all that stuff,

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we ask that you keep doing it, especially when it comes to helping us

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promote the podcast. It means a
great deal. And finally, if this

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is your first time checking Hardwood Knocks
out, consider just throwing us that permanent

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subscription. Really do try and do
a great job, a thorough job of

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covering the entire MBA. That is
enough out of me, though, Let's

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talk Cleveland Cavaliers. They're off season
to come their long term future with Justin

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Rowan. Justin, welcome back to
the Hardwine Knocks podcast. Is your fifth

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appearance of all time, which means
that it's officially your fault. All the

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four times can be on me or
they can be out of pay for you,

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but the fifth time is is your
fault. How are you doing I'm

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doing really well. I am happy
to be back. It is an honor.

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I didn't realize it was five times. But you know what, you're

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one of my favorite people to shoot
the ship with, So this is fun.

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That means a lot. I always
love picking your brains about the Calves

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who did not win the lottery.
I was a little bit surprised by that.

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I don't know if you were christ
following well, but I was expecting

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I was expecting them to just win
it. At this point, they are

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headed towards like a fascinating off season, which why I wanted to have you

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come on. And I think I
wanted to start with when I saw the

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season was over or was coming to
a close, there was this subset of

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Calves Twitter that was like unhappy or
thought they should have done better, and

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I just wanted to I want to
make sure not being like a zillion miles

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away from this. This year was
an unmitigated success relative to injuries and initial

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expectations, right. I mean,
this is the fun thing about when you

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start to become relevant again, is
you get casual fans that tuned in.

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You probably have Browns fans that were
expecting a great season. There was the

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victory lapse between different parts of Cleveland
Twitter, where the Browns kind of didn't

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live up to expectations, and then
all of a sudden you have the Calves

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exceeding expectations. So maybe that played
into it. I do think so there's

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two parts, from a proof of
concept standpoint and from just like a lay

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of the land standpoint. Obviously,
the Calves exceed their expectations by a ton

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there their vaguest win total was twenty
seven. That was the easiest overbet I've

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ever had, and they exceeded my
expectations. I'll only predicted thirty seven wins

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and they were on pace to be
a fifty win team. I mean,

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the last third of a season after
the All Star break really fell apart an

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injury standpoint, but the fact that
the young guys fit together as well as

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they did had the success that they
did. Sure, they didn't live up

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to the expectations that they moved themselves
by their play earlier in the year,

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but I think it was pretty understandable
given the injuries that they had. Yeah,

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for sure, And you you smashed
the over. I remember on the

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look Ahead Pod, I did not. I took the under, as did

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my costid promos. So they and
they destroyed it. I was wrong about

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so many things this year, the
Calves among them. I'm curious as to

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whether you view it as that.
I thought nationally the Carousel Vert trade was

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like panned because it was like,
oh, they like, look at the

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way at the pick equity works out. I was fine with it. I

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thought it was a good deal for
the Cavs. Is there an element of

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making sure though, when you're projecting
ahead that you don't want to overreact to

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the success of this season and try
And I don't even know what that looks

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like because the Cavs don't have a
ton of cap space, but you don't

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want to try and over accelerate this
process, maybe go only on a bigger

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trade or make more aggressive moves just
because there is Evan Mobley's going into year

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two, Like you kind of want
to see this thing marinate a little bit.

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Yeah, I think that's really important
and I've been big on saying this

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on the podcast as well, that
I mean, really, there is no

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precedent to players winning before like twenty
six, Like, there just isn't an

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example of that, and if they
do, it's usually because they have a

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veteran teammate, like when Guy re
won it's because they had Lebron. Yeah,

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Evan Mobley, even though he wasn't
their best player last season, he

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certainly projects to be their best player
or at least the highest ceiling player on

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the team, which is exciting when
you have two other All Stars that were

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twenty three and twenty one years old
in Darius Garland, like that is just

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such a great place to be in. And I do think that you're right.

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I think you want to supplement the
talent and you want to make moves

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to make sure that there isn't too
much of a burden on those guys,

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but you also have to have an
understanding that the best path to getting better

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is through internal improvement and whether that
is just the growth directly leading to wins,

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or also growth of some of these
other players that might increase their value

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if you are going to do a
consolidation trade at some point, Because I

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think when you look at this Gas
roster, even though there are glaring needs,

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there also is log jams when it
comes to a talent standpoint, Like

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it's going to get a little bit
tricky because yes, Caris Laverte got brought

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in, but now you're likely bringing
Colin Sexton back into the mix. You

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still have Isaac Okoro, you have
the fourteenth pick, which is likely going

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to be used on a perimeter player. If I had to guess, it's

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going to get tricky. Even Dean
Wade and Lamar Stevens took strides last season

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as guys that you don't feel bad
about being your tenth and eleventh men,

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and you can give minutes to those
guys. So it's going to be really

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really interesting to see how the minute
crunch plays out. But I definitely agree,

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like I think you want to make
some moves, but you have to

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have an understanding that there is still
growing pains ahead of them. I mean,

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look at the Memphis Grizzlies, Like, even if you have regular season

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success, I would expect for the
next couple of years, they're probably going

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to take some lumps and have some
lessons along the way in the playoffs and

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their team. The Cavs seem more
open to risk than the Grizzlies, is

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just based off the way they both
handle those at the trade deadline, and

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so I'll jump to this just because
it's more topical the lottery they land at

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number fourteen. Are there any players
you particularly like or you even just mentioned

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like the need is the perimeter player. I mean if they, I would

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you know, be cackling my ass
off if they end up drafting like Jalen

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Durhan because he's just still on the
board and it's all another center, they're

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going to play five of them the
lines. Yeah, I'm really hoping that

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that's not the direction it goes.
There's some teams ahead of them that could

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use the center, so I'm hopeful
for that. I'm not expecting Charlotte to

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take a center at thirteen because I
think with them having picks thirteen and fifteen,

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they can probably do the math and
say, if we like a center

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there, we can just take a
perimeter player first. Because the Cave probably

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aren't going to draft a center,
even from an asset standpoint, that would

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be a bit of a surprise to
me. There's quite a few players I

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like at this point. Obviously you're
you're not getting like a real finished product.

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You're you're getting guys that have some
glaring holes. But there are players

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that Phil needs, whether it is
a Maliki Brandham, Dyson Daniels, I'm

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really excited about. I don't think
he's going to be there, but if

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he is, I think that that's
a guy you run to the podium for

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Jeremy Soahan, Tari Easton. There's
just a lot of interesting ways that they

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can go with this, and I
think one of the benefits of last season

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is you can get a little weird
from a roster construction standpoint when you are

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building around Garland, Mowbley and Allen. Like Lowry Markenen is not a three,

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but he can play the three because
of the defensive versatility of those two.

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Darius Garland can play with other point
guards. We saw how well it

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worked with Ricky Rubio. So if
the best player available is a big guard,

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and you can feel pretty good that
Garland can play on and off ball.

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He's malleable in so many different lineups. If the best player available is

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maybe a bit more of a four, but he has some ability to stretch

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the floor, you might draft him
because you know you can flex him over

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there to the three with MOBILEI Allen
lineups, and then when you do go

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small, he can play at the
natural position for the four. So I

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think that there's a lot of interesting
options in this draft, and as long

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as they're bringing in someone that has
at least one NBA skill. I feel

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pretty good about it because it's going
to be difficult to develop a player with

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all the options that they have available. I didn't even mention o Chayabaji.

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I think that might be a direction
that they go just to fill a need

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in that kind of Cam Johnson like
mold. But I am excited about the

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possibilities at fourteen because even though they
didn't jump in the lottery, it does

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seem like picking fourteen for a roster
this good is already a bit of a

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lottery win, Like they shouldn't not
have a pick this high, right,

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And my guests would be like,
this is the perfect situation to where whoever

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they draft is gonna be brought along
slowly, Like you don't. I guess

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it could depend on who they wind
up with, But would it be mildly

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surprising to you if whoever they draft
is like a prominent part of their rotation

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next season, it would be a
little bit surprising. I don't expect anybody

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that they draft to be a starter, but if they were to draft someone

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like Abaji, I could see them
him being ahead in the rotation, like

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in almost like the Jetty Osman role
last year, where still getting a good

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amount of minutes off the bench.
But there's just so many X factors when

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it comes to that, like is
Carris Laverte going to be back? What's

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the deal with Colin Sexton? Like
how many minutes of Isaaco chorl going to

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merit? Like, there's so many
questions, and a lot of that's going

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to be just based on who develops
over the offseason and who earns those minutes

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and what trades are possible. So
there are a lot of factors that go

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into it. But I can definitely
see some of these guys at least getting

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you know that, like eighteen twenty
minutes off the bench. Everything I ask

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you such a loaded question before we
go through the offseason. It's just gonna

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depend on what the makeup of their
roster looks like. But I think we

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can assume the super ultra big lineups
are going to remain a staple of THEIRS,

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And I was just curious where you
think that they could improve, like

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the setup of those I went back
before this podcast and watched a bunch of

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minutes of them because they're they're rebounding
rate, like on the defensive end,

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concern me during those times I'm watching
and I'm like, Levin Mobley is just

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doing everything all over and Larry Market
is actually holding his own on the perimeter.

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You know, I don't want them
to rank in the fifth percent file

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defensive rebounding with those lineups, but
I'm watching it. I'm like, I

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don't think I care, Like this
is just like absolute defensive anarchy, and

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so I assume they're going to remain
a staple. But is there anything further

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you're looking to see from those types
of combinations. Yeah, I think the

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one thing that I'd really like is
to have a little bit more versatility in

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the types of lineups they play.
Like even Lamar Stevens and Dean Wade they

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00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:03,559
played minutes at the three, and
Lamar even played some minutes at the two.

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But those guys are fours right,
like, And the issue with Lamar

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Stevens is I think he defends forwards
well, but when it gets to guards

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anyone that's shifty, he tends to
start fouling quite a bit. I would

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like to see a legitimate wing come
in so just so that they have a

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little more defensive versatility, Like you
look at that playing game against Atlanta and

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yeah, Jared Allen's playing with one
handy, he can't really grab the ball,

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and it was the first time they
had ever played together with Garland Coro

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laver Mobile Allen, like those guys
didn't get a single game together after the

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All Star break. So I would
like to see just the ability to throw

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different looks defensively, because when you
had Trade Young getting Lowry marking in on

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the switch, there wasn't an option
you could really go to off the bench

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at the three. And maybe it's
a little easier if you do have Dean

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Wade, but even just bringing in
a rookie or using the middle level exception

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to bring in someone like Kyle Anderson
or you know, just like and even

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Joe Ingles, Like let's take a
chance on Joe Ingles that maybe he comes

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back midway through the season and can
kind of provide some playmaking. I just

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feel like they had a lot of
guys that help them replicate the same style

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when they would go to the bench, and I would like to see the

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personnel that enables JB. Bickerstaff to
make adjustments. And I think that that

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is one of the things that I'm
really looking forward to this offseason, is

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can they add some versatility to the
lineup on both ends. I'm curious to

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know what you think of Evan Mobley's
offensive ceiling specifically and how that then impacts

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their philosophy to flush out this roster
moving forward, because you watch him on

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offense last year and there's just so
much more there to explore and he's not

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there's a different cadence to his game
than bam Adebayo. He's not throwing the

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same pass as as Yo kich,
but there's like a real command there finding

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weak side cutters of just like knowing
where the help is come from and finding

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those guys, and some of just
the passes that he even made on the

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move at times, like I know
he did a lot of his damage,

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like as a pass from the standstill
positions. This feels like someone who almost

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doesn't have a pinnacle on offense in
the best possible way when you're watching him.

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I'm curious whether you think the calves
are going to give him some extra

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runway or responsibility however you want to
frame it on the offensive end next year.

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Yeah, I definitely hope that he
is empowered to do more playmaking.

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I think last year is a figuring
out of Okay, what all can he

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do and how can we help his
transition to the NBA. Now that we

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have a sense that he's ahead of
schedule, that he can do so many

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different things, now it becomes about
refining those skills. And I think it's

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really important that you look at how
much effort the Cavs put into getting Darris

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Garland off ball looks. I believe
only Steph Curry and Duncan Robinson had more

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like off screen off ball action run
for them on the season, and that

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is so important when you're talking about
either bringing in another ball handler or having

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offense run through Mobili like the two
men game that he and Garland can run

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together, it's just really exciting the
possibilities there. So I would definitely like

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to see more action run through him
in the high post, like let's get

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him up to the nail, Let's
see what he can do as a playmaker.

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He can obviously get by a lot
of slower defenders or overpower guys.

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You hope that he adds some strengths. So while I don't expect him to

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be like a Yokich level hub,
just because you do have Darius Garland and

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you do have other options that can
run the offense. I would like to

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see offense run through him, and
especially when you talk about him essentially being

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the backup center, where his minutes
were staggered with Jared Allen, where they

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might start and finish together. But
he did play as the backup center.

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So when the Calves do go to
that second unit and he is that center,

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I would love to see, like
an up Temple look, whether they

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bring in a backup point guard.
Callin Sexton likely would be playing in those

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second unit minute get out and run, get out in transition and kind of

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run some offense through Mobley if you
don't necessarily have a true point guard in

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those lineups. Yet another thing I
was wrong about this season, whether it

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was Evan Mobley, I didn't.
I was not in love with to pick

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for the Caps. I would just
man dead ass wrong on him. Mentioned

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Colin Sexton, though last time we
spoke we were both pretty sure that he

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was going to end up getting an
extension instead season ending injury, entering restricted

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free agency. How should we expect
this entire thing to play out? Is

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anything on the table or do you
think it's just overwhelmingly likely that, especially

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given the nature of for sure,
diffree agency, how little cap space is

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out there, the uncertainty surrounding his
health. Do we just expect him to

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be back in Cleveland next year?
I expect him to be back. All

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the beat reporting seems to suggest that
you initial talks aren't that far apart,

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that there was a desire on both
sides to be together. This isn't a

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Kyrie Dion Waiter situation where it's two
personalities that butt heads. Garland and Sexton

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are really close. And when you
let into the comments of Kobe Altman,

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like he credits Sexton first starting the
turnaround of their culture. He's just such

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a hard worker. And even though
the start of the season wasn't the best

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for him offensively, the three point
shooting wasn't there, he still was at

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a career high in two point field
goal percentage, and he was playing off

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ball like he was still even though
he was kind of the primary play finisher,

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the ball wasn't stopping with him.
He was playing as a cutter.

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His defensive metrics were a lot better. You look at a defensive EPM in

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the small sample size and it was
much much improved. And I think that's

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what you would hope for calling Sexton
next season is once he gets his legs

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under him, that he's able to
take on a little less responsibility offensively,

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be primarily that play finisher, but
contribute in some of the other ways where

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in coming into the NBA, it
was thought that he was going to be

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a good defensive prospect. He's got
basically a six ten wings fan. He's

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got a high motor. You can
see the on ball effort from him.

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Off ball is a totally different story. I have a lot of concerns on

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that end of the floor, but
I do think that he's someone that would

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bring that playmaking juice that that's scoring
punched, the ability to get and make

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a good shot or a tough shot
when the shot clock runs down. And

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when you look at the Cavs last
season, that was one thing that they

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00:19:18,519 --> 00:19:21,839
sorely missed. That was something that
they were really hoping that Karris Lavert can

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00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:26,000
bring to the table. And while
Leavert might be a better playmaker than Sexon,

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he's not a better score And I
don't think it's it's not easy to

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just write off someone that efficiently averaged
twenty four and four. Like I it's

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that I don't get the sentiment that
all of a sudden, when there's more

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talent around a player, that all
of a sudden, it's going to be

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harder for them to score. That's
usually not how this works. Especially and

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even during that season, which I
always go back to, I think Zach

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will call it the most disrespected twenty
four points per game season NBA history,

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because it was he came on like
it was like thirty eight percent from three,

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better on fifty percent on twos,
and he was doing there was a

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00:20:00,799 --> 00:20:03,119
lot more on ball work for him, but he didn't feel like overly ball

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00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:07,200
dominant during that season either, And
so I'd be with you that you think

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his game would scale eventually to having
better talent around him. How do you

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00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:15,079
view though, that collective of Garland, Sexton, Lavert? Is this something

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that we should expect to be more
of a placeholder with? You know,

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Sexton new deal coming up, Garland's
extension Algeable and Lavert. I think he's

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00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,519
extension Alange well now, but he
his free agency after next season. Yeah,

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00:20:26,279 --> 00:20:29,200
do you one think that it's not
even a matter of do you have

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00:20:29,279 --> 00:20:30,599
to play them together on the floor? You could try it, but do

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00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,359
you think it's like a triumvirate that
works long term, or do you view

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00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:38,519
it as more of just like this
stop gap. I feel Garland and Sexton

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00:20:38,599 --> 00:20:44,440
can work long term, whether they're
starting together or not. I don't have

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real strong feelings on that. I
know it's funny. I feel like one

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00:20:48,759 --> 00:20:52,400
of the ways that people can signal
that hey, I'm not just a casual

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00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,480
basketball fan. I understand it at
a higher level is saying that an efficient

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00:20:56,519 --> 00:21:00,559
scorer on a bad team is better
coming off the bench. Like no,

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00:21:00,559 --> 00:21:03,960
no, no, I understand that
there's more to it, Like I get

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00:21:04,039 --> 00:21:07,319
this sex and as a bench off
the bench and as a six man kind

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00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:11,720
of thing, But at the same
time, someone needs to earn that spot

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00:21:11,759 --> 00:21:15,920
from him and Isaac Corral got a
lot of opportunities last season, and assuming

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00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:21,000
that Sexton is Sexton again, there
wasn't enough from a choro to make me

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00:21:21,039 --> 00:21:26,279
think, Okay, he has to
start over Sexton like Sexton in that starting

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00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,519
role and then being the first subout
and running with the second unit and staggering

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00:21:30,519 --> 00:21:33,960
the minutes with Garland. Like to
me, I think that works really well.

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It gives you really dynamic bowl handlers
at all times. When it comes

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00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:41,559
to cares Leavert. That's a little
more tricky because, as you mentioned,

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he is extension eligible. If Sexton
is getting a new deal, you have

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00:21:45,039 --> 00:21:51,319
to kind of start to think about
resource allocation there. And I think he's

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00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,160
interesting because, well, one,
he is extension eligible. He is an

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00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:59,240
expiring contract, so teams can kind
of if they value him long term,

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00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,279
they can eat assign them to an
extension, or they can kind of play

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00:22:02,319 --> 00:22:07,680
out the season and maintain some flexibility. I think that might create interesting opportunities.

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00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,559
So like when you look at the
trade market, Chris Feedoor put it

329
00:22:10,559 --> 00:22:15,480
out there that hey, maybe Calvs
and Jazz might talk about a LeVert for

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00:22:15,559 --> 00:22:19,799
Mike Conley deal where you talk and
get kind of a more dynamic ball handler.

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Some of that can help the offense
and make things a little easier for

332
00:22:23,079 --> 00:22:29,920
Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley can step
into that Ricky Rubio deal or role where

333
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,680
yeah he's a little overpaid and he's
a little over the hill, but in

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00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,440
a reserve role off the bench and
as a mentor to Darius Garland, there

335
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,599
could be some appeal to that.
Maybe Duncan Robinson, you have a similar

336
00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:42,759
situation where the Cavs just say,
we need to get some shooting in here.

337
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:47,200
My goodness, even though we got
better, the spacing got worse last

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00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,720
season. Let's figure out something there, right, Like, there are going

339
00:22:49,759 --> 00:22:55,799
to be options available, but I
do see. I think the most likely

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00:22:55,799 --> 00:22:57,799
outcome is that LeVert starts the season. I just don't know if he's going

341
00:22:57,839 --> 00:23:02,839
to finish the season with the ass
and you have to start like two of

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00:23:02,839 --> 00:23:07,119
those guys because I think the over
there's I'm more concerned about the Sexton Lavert

343
00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:11,000
minutes together without Garland because Garland is
just like infinitely scalable. I think Sexton

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00:23:11,079 --> 00:23:15,839
is super important in making the partnership
with Lavert work because Lavert just doesn't have

345
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,240
the same like it's it's not even
just experience, but it's even skill off

346
00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,279
the ball, dating back to his
time in Brooklyn, And so that could

347
00:23:22,279 --> 00:23:26,160
be sort of a tenuous fit.
If you're gonna make Sexton that first Yank

348
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,960
Allen lineup, and then I guess, is Lavert the first sub coming off

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00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:30,799
the bench. If it's a cool, at that point, you're gonna be

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00:23:30,839 --> 00:23:34,480
relying on a lot of Sexton and
Lavert, which could get iffy. And

351
00:23:34,519 --> 00:23:37,400
so I don't even know what to
think. We didn't get to see it,

352
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,000
which sucked. I don't even know
what to think about this fit.

353
00:23:40,079 --> 00:23:45,920
It's it feels like a little bit
of an an overlap oddity and not something

354
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:47,880
that I'm you know, you look
at Lavert Sage, You're like, Oh,

355
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:48,680
could you maybe play all three of
them at once? I don't even

356
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,799
know if I would ever want to
try that if I'm Cleveland, Yeah,

357
00:23:52,839 --> 00:23:56,160
like I could see Garland, Oh, Cora, LeVert, Mobili Allen working,

358
00:23:56,319 --> 00:24:00,519
but like Garland, Sexton, Lavert, I just that that gets tricky,

359
00:24:00,559 --> 00:24:03,400
and like if they do go out
in the draft, Maliki, Brandham

360
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,519
and fourteen all of a sudden,
like there is a lot of redundancies between

361
00:24:07,599 --> 00:24:11,079
Brandon and Laverte, right, Like
they are very very similar offensive players,

362
00:24:11,079 --> 00:24:15,200
even though Brandam has a little bit
more outside shooting. There's deficiencies on the

363
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,359
defensive end. There's questions about their
playmaking and getting other guys involved. Like,

364
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:25,240
there's just so many questions, and
there are good problems to have,

365
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:27,559
Like you want to have talent,
and I think they're prime for a consolidation

366
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:32,519
type move. But at the same
time, if they're all in the mix

367
00:24:32,799 --> 00:24:36,400
starting next season, I do think
that that could be a little bit tricky.

368
00:24:36,839 --> 00:24:38,279
I love Mike Conley to the calf. People are too down on Mike

369
00:24:38,319 --> 00:24:41,839
Conley and always had a couple of
rough playoff when with the past two season,

370
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:45,480
but he's also just been really bankable
during the past three regular seasons.

371
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,759
I love that fit and had not
thought of it until you mentioned I would

372
00:24:48,799 --> 00:24:52,559
really like it. We've discussed it
in the Chasedown discord, and like it's

373
00:24:52,599 --> 00:24:56,359
been something that I've debated with other
people that cover the team, and there's

374
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,079
a split, like there's a lot
of people concerned about him being washed and

375
00:24:59,279 --> 00:25:02,279
concerned about the contract and all that. But to me, like you look

376
00:25:02,279 --> 00:25:04,720
at what happened with Kevin Love,
where all of a sudden he's in a

377
00:25:06,279 --> 00:25:11,079
more kind of the minutes are reduced, he's in a better role for where

378
00:25:11,079 --> 00:25:12,720
he is at that stage of the
career. And like over the regular season,

379
00:25:12,799 --> 00:25:17,079
Conley's numbers like he's still shooting the
ball at a good pace, he

380
00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:19,559
doesn't turn the ball over too much, Like he's a steady hand. He's

381
00:25:19,559 --> 00:25:22,519
a veteran and someone, as I
said, that can be a mentor to

382
00:25:22,559 --> 00:25:27,920
Garland. Like I do think that
that's a really really interesting possibility. You

383
00:25:29,039 --> 00:25:33,000
So you've mentioned already that their biggest
need is just on the perimeter, Like

384
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,359
that's where you want to see a
draft a focus on free agency. Is

385
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:40,720
it what would you view as like
the bigger need finding that Ricky Rubio replacement

386
00:25:40,799 --> 00:25:45,480
or actual ul be a free agent
at connective tissue on offense or is it

387
00:25:45,599 --> 00:25:55,079
getting more lethal just perimeter shooting.
I do think getting wing help is probably

388
00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:57,440
the biggest need. But when it
comes to the draft pick and using that

389
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,240
pick to address the need, like
I feel pretty strongly that this is your

390
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:07,240
best chance to take a swing and
like get some talent in there, because

391
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,160
they are going to have the middle
level exception. You do have trade assets

392
00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:12,480
that you can use as well to
address other needs. And if it's about

393
00:26:12,559 --> 00:26:15,599
getting a steady hand in it at
the backup point guard position, you can

394
00:26:15,599 --> 00:26:19,359
address that in other ways. Like
we haven't even mentioned Jetty Osman, who

395
00:26:19,519 --> 00:26:25,599
has a non guaranteed year after this
next year, so maybe he's going to

396
00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,279
be a trade asset. Maybe you
can use him to bring in either a

397
00:26:29,519 --> 00:26:32,960
backup center so that you have a
little bit of insurance if you have injuries,

398
00:26:33,039 --> 00:26:36,079
kind of learning some lessons from last
season, or using him to bring

399
00:26:36,079 --> 00:26:38,039
in a backup point guard. So
when it comes to the fourteenth pick,

400
00:26:38,519 --> 00:26:41,799
I would like to see them take
a swing and then based on whoever was

401
00:26:41,839 --> 00:26:48,039
available and whoever they pick, there's
going to be ripple effect. If let's

402
00:26:48,079 --> 00:26:52,039
say Tie Tie falls to the Calves
and they feel very strongly about him being

403
00:26:52,039 --> 00:26:55,000
the best talent available and they pick
him, that'd be a surprise to me.

404
00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,480
But at the same time, you
know, take your swings. It's

405
00:26:57,519 --> 00:27:00,519
kind of like a quarterback in the
end fell if if you don't have one,

406
00:27:00,599 --> 00:27:06,599
keep taking swings until you get that
guy. So it would be a

407
00:27:06,599 --> 00:27:10,599
little bit of a surprise, But
obviously then you start allocating those resources,

408
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,920
the trade chips, cares Laver,
Jeddie Osman, future picks, whatever it

409
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:18,759
takes to bring in more wing helps. So I don't think that there is

410
00:27:18,839 --> 00:27:22,160
necessarily like any set path where I
would say, Okay, you have to

411
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,599
use the pick on this guy,
you have to use the mid level exception

412
00:27:25,599 --> 00:27:27,759
on another guy, like I would
like to see the pick go towards a

413
00:27:27,799 --> 00:27:34,400
wing because realistically three indie wings or
dynamic playmaking wings like those are guys that

414
00:27:34,559 --> 00:27:38,480
just don't come available, and when
they do, they're usually really expensive.

415
00:27:38,519 --> 00:27:42,039
So that's my hope. But I
do think that there is a lot of

416
00:27:42,039 --> 00:27:47,960
different ways that they can go without
obviously knowing who they drafted, and I

417
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,039
know you mentioned Kyle Anderson already.
They should have the full mid level exception

418
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:56,160
non taxpayers of vision even after resigning
Sexton. Are there any names that you've

419
00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:00,000
sort of had circle that you would
like to see them target again? Obviously

420
00:28:00,039 --> 00:28:03,480
he can be impacted based on who
they draft. I think one of my

421
00:28:03,519 --> 00:28:07,960
favorite names right now is Delon Right. I would really like to see them

422
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,000
bring him in as a backup point
guard, just because if you are bringing

423
00:28:11,039 --> 00:28:14,839
Colin Sexton back right as somebody that
can play with Garland, and he can

424
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,359
play with Sexton, and even though
he doesn't necessarily bring the same playmaking chops

425
00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:22,359
that Ricky Rubio had, if you're
talking about a second unit where you're going

426
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:26,920
to have Mobile in an empowered role
where he's provided more playmaking, you have

427
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:30,680
Colin Sexon, who you know he
can make the simple reads as a passer,

428
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:33,039
and he can run some pick and
roll, but he's not the best

429
00:28:33,039 --> 00:28:37,559
playmaker. If you have Right,
you have sex and you have Mobile providing

430
00:28:37,599 --> 00:28:41,960
some playmaking. You probably have Kevin
Love who can act as a bit of

431
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,920
a hub still like and maybe a
rookie if let's say they get lucky and

432
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:48,720
Dyson Daniels falls to him and all
of a sudden, you have like a

433
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:53,920
point forward type player with them.
I do think you can get enough playmaking

434
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,799
within that lineup to make it work. So Delon Wright is definitely a name

435
00:28:57,839 --> 00:29:03,279
that I kind of have circle Tyler
Anderson. As I mentioned, it would

436
00:29:03,319 --> 00:29:07,039
be a really interesting option depending on
who they draft. Shame Robert Covington came

437
00:29:07,079 --> 00:29:11,480
off the board because I had some
interest in him, But you know,

438
00:29:11,599 --> 00:29:15,000
guys in that mold, even Nick
Betum I believe is a free agent like

439
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:19,000
that would be interesting monitor Portland's situation. Are they going to waive Josh Hart

440
00:29:19,079 --> 00:29:25,920
to clear up max cap space to
go after Zach Lavine or DeAndre Aiden or

441
00:29:26,039 --> 00:29:29,400
something along those idea? What is
going on in Portland? They that team

442
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:33,759
is they're They're weird. They're weird, but look, I'm not The quick

443
00:29:33,759 --> 00:29:37,079
tangent would be if you're gonna trade
Robert Covington, Larry Nass, Norma Pow

444
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:40,839
and CJ. McCollum in the same
season. You better get a first round

445
00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,039
pick that year, and they did
not. And that's just where I land

446
00:29:44,119 --> 00:29:49,200
on this. Yeah, yeah,
it's they're a very, very weird team.

447
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,640
I'm sure they're going to try to
take some swings. I would not

448
00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,839
be surprised if that's where DeAndre and
ended up, whether it's like a NURK

449
00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,359
and seven sign and trade type situation. But they're definitely a team to monitor.

450
00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:06,559
I do like the fact that there
does seem to be some movement already

451
00:30:06,599 --> 00:30:10,240
starting. There's some trade talks across
the NBA, because the one thing that's

452
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:15,039
worked out for the Cavs is just
how easily Kobe Altman works with other front

453
00:30:15,079 --> 00:30:18,839
offices. I forget which general manager
it was, but it was in the

454
00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,119
Hardened to Brooklyn trade where they said
basically that they called up Kobe last minute

455
00:30:22,119 --> 00:30:25,880
because they need a third team and
they knew he wasn't going to screw around.

456
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:27,920
He wasn't going to all of a
sudden Daryl Moriot where he's asking for

457
00:30:29,359 --> 00:30:32,200
the moon and the stars. In
addition to it, Kobe was ready,

458
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,640
he was motivated, and he's able
to get in there as the third team

459
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,200
same thing happened with the Juel holiday
trades. So if the Cavs, if

460
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,400
there's movement around the NBA, I
feel better about the caves likelihood of maybe

461
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:47,960
not getting a star within the deal, but helping to facilitate a trade because

462
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,039
they do have a lot of expiring
contracts. Kris Lavert, Kevin Love,

463
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:56,839
Jetty Osman, Like there's sixty million
basically in expiring contracts that they can use

464
00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:02,200
to help facilitate these trades or help
other teams achieve goals in other ways.

465
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:04,599
Like even if the New York Knicks, like, let's say the Calves really

466
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,200
like someone that's available eleven, they
don't feel confident he is going to fall

467
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:12,799
to fourteen? Do the Knicks do
like eleven and Fournier to get off that

468
00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:18,160
money for Karros Laverte in fourteen?
Like, there's so many interesting possibilities for

469
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:22,160
them where I don't like Evan Fournier, but if you can add one more

470
00:31:22,279 --> 00:31:26,920
rookie that that fits with this core, I think you need to be aggressive

471
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:32,960
and exploring those options. The Knicks
should be forward thinking enough and innovative enough

472
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:34,359
to think that way. They definitely
do not. That would be an interesting

473
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,279
scenario. Hey, they need to
get cap space, because the one thing

474
00:31:37,279 --> 00:31:41,480
we know about the New York Knicks
is they land free agents. They land

475
00:31:41,519 --> 00:31:45,160
all the big names year after year, decade after decade, sometimes decades after

476
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:49,920
they were in their prime. But
I think that's the Lakers lane now,

477
00:31:51,559 --> 00:31:56,160
oh Man. For the Cavs,
it's and you mentioned I think trades are

478
00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:59,519
going to be important this summer.
And I voted this idea to a bunch

479
00:31:59,519 --> 00:32:02,400
of people. Normally the feedback is
you're an idiot. But because there's no

480
00:32:02,799 --> 00:32:07,240
like real cap space around the league, I was like, are signing trades

481
00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:12,400
and trades in general going to be
like this hot button occurrence that we see

482
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,119
coming out of nowhere in a lot
of instances, And it was met with

483
00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:20,279
less disdain than normal. So embracing
myself for like wacky or summer. The

484
00:32:20,319 --> 00:32:23,240
signing trades are back, Like when
you look at like Malcolm Brogden, like

485
00:32:23,279 --> 00:32:28,599
all all these deals seem to be
signing trades now, So that's it definitely

486
00:32:28,599 --> 00:32:30,440
feels like they're they're back in vogue. And I think that's part of the

487
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:35,000
reason why the Cavs, like you
talked about how the Carros Lavert trade didn't

488
00:32:35,039 --> 00:32:37,160
work out. But the Cavs understand
they're not going to be a cap space

489
00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,880
team. They're not a team that
can really use cap space. They're not

490
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:44,839
going to sign a marquee free agents. So one of the things you see

491
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:49,079
is they keep rolling over contracts where
they trade an expiring guy for someone that

492
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,839
might be overpaid, but it's going
to be an expiring the following year and

493
00:32:52,039 --> 00:32:55,400
helps address a need now. So
I think that's what they did with Kris

494
00:32:55,440 --> 00:33:00,839
Lavert. I think Lavert for Conley
that concept follows kind of that same trend

495
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:05,720
where maybe Conley has a good season
and all of a sudden, you can

496
00:33:05,759 --> 00:33:09,359
combine him with whoever you picked at
fourteen to go in for a player that

497
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:15,200
is available for a consolidation trade next
off season. So that definitely seems to

498
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:20,240
be something that is becoming more and
more in vogue around the NBA. I

499
00:33:20,359 --> 00:33:23,400
had so that I have three free
agents that I've been insured that I like

500
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,440
for them. One of them has
just mentioned all the time. I know

501
00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:30,240
he's smaller, but he quietly had
a bounce back year with Gary Harris over

502
00:33:30,279 --> 00:33:34,359
fifty percent on drives and his shooting
was back, just all of a sudden.

503
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:37,559
The shooting was back for most of
the year. The other two I

504
00:33:37,559 --> 00:33:39,000
don't know if they bring you enough
hardcore shooting, but I think they would

505
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:44,000
be fantastic fits is Pat Connaton has
a player option that I think he absolutely

506
00:33:44,039 --> 00:33:46,680
needs to the decline given how thin
the wing market is in free agency,

507
00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:51,319
and he is He will work on
defense, he will work off the ball,

508
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:53,640
and he shot the ball better.
Really the past two seasons it felt

509
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:58,880
like the other one. And I'm
if he ends up sucking, I'm gonna

510
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:00,640
look like an idiots. I've been
trumpeting him for a few months now.

511
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:06,279
A smart team is going to scoop
up a mere coffee, non Burt restricted

512
00:34:06,319 --> 00:34:10,480
free agent from the Clippers. They
really saddled him with like some creation responsibilities

513
00:34:10,559 --> 00:34:15,719
last year. He shot the three
pretty well and he defends like four positions

514
00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,239
and that seems to fit defensively,
like the Calves motif and what they might

515
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:22,079
be be looking for. And he
feels like the perfect complimentary guy. I

516
00:34:22,119 --> 00:34:25,360
don't know the three point volume.
It's the same thing with content. I

517
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:30,079
don't know if they're going to get
off enough outside looks to impact the Calves

518
00:34:30,079 --> 00:34:32,760
shooting enough. That is the issue. You just run into which is why

519
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:36,400
I think you mentioned in trades was
so important. You start to look at

520
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:38,320
this free agency market, and the
Calves are a better situation than most because

521
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:43,280
I think the non taxpayer's mid level
it means something when there's so little cap

522
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:45,320
space. But then he started to
look at the names of the album and

523
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:47,920
it's like, all right, well, what they need specifically, they're probably

524
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:51,320
not going to solve in free Enzy
den Right, That's the what I felt

525
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:52,960
about. That would be a fantastic
fit for them, for sure, and

526
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:57,800
they seem like right in his price
range. I think was that a pun?

527
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,280
Right right in his price race?
Yeah, I didn't even realize I

528
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:04,320
did that, but I know some
mini mid level teams are going to think

529
00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:06,840
that they have a shot at him, But I think he's more of a

530
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,119
a full like a bigger mL E
guy, So I love that. I'm

531
00:35:10,199 --> 00:35:15,599
just when you look at this team
and you mentioned all of their expiring contracts,

532
00:35:15,639 --> 00:35:19,559
who do you view as sort of
the player that's most likely to get

533
00:35:19,599 --> 00:35:22,559
dealt from them if they make them
move over the off season. This is

534
00:35:22,559 --> 00:35:24,679
going to be the least sexy answer, And I'm sorry to do this to

535
00:35:24,679 --> 00:35:28,480
you, but I think it's Jetty
Osman like, Hey, based on how

536
00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:31,840
we played this past season, that's
like he had moments. So Jetty's interesting

537
00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:37,360
because I think Jetty played so much
better when he was with Ricky because Jetty

538
00:35:37,599 --> 00:35:40,000
can have a little bit of Yolo
in his game, and that's shot creation

539
00:35:40,039 --> 00:35:44,880
and like just the willingness to take
shots. I think really benefit of them.

540
00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:47,480
But after Ricky was out of the
mix and they bring in Rondo,

541
00:35:47,679 --> 00:35:52,719
Rondo isn't healthy either, and then
Garland goes down to and you're playing with

542
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:57,119
out point guards and Sexton's already out, like it just fell apart for Jetty.

543
00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:00,480
And I think a consistent thing that
you've seen over the last couple seasons

544
00:36:00,639 --> 00:36:04,320
is it doesn't feel like he's had
the confidence of the coaching staff, like

545
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:07,360
he will fall out of the rotation
at times. I compared him to an

546
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:12,719
old clock where the longer you go
without a reset, the further off it

547
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,480
gets. And sometimes Jenny just needs
a reset where you need to pull him

548
00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:19,559
out of the lineup for a couple
of games get him back. And and

549
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:23,280
I know everyone thinks of JB.
Bickerstaff as a defense first coach, but

550
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:28,480
I think what his bias is really
is just play hard. Like Lowry Market

551
00:36:28,679 --> 00:36:31,519
isn't a good defender, but he
played hard within what they were asking him

552
00:36:31,559 --> 00:36:35,599
to do, which is really what
they're asking and bringing the table, and

553
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:39,079
Jenny's effort kind of would come and
go. So I do think, especially

554
00:36:39,119 --> 00:36:44,360
if they are bringing in another perimeter
player through the draft, like there just

555
00:36:44,559 --> 00:36:47,039
isn't a spot for Jenny, and
I feel like some team is going to

556
00:36:47,079 --> 00:36:51,519
at least have a use for him, like he is a helpful rotation player,

557
00:36:51,519 --> 00:36:53,960
and I think if you're bringing him
into a situation where there is a

558
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:58,880
backup point guard that can generate shots
for him, He's going to knock those

559
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,159
down at a decent and rate.
So he would probably be my pick.

560
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:07,159
After that, I would see Caris
Lavert just because I think despite him not

561
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:10,119
playing that well with the Calves,
I think there's still value both in what

562
00:37:10,159 --> 00:37:15,119
he can bring on the court and
as an expiring contract. One of my

563
00:37:15,119 --> 00:37:20,519
favorite scenarios that I was pitching was
Caris Lavert and and fourteen for Jeremy Grant.

564
00:37:20,679 --> 00:37:23,599
If they feel like that could work
and work on an extension there,

565
00:37:23,639 --> 00:37:28,199
I don't think that's likely. It
seems like Detroit's probably asking for the moon

566
00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:31,159
and the stars with him. But
I do Thinkiston's nation thinks that they're going

567
00:37:31,239 --> 00:37:36,800
to get number seven from the Blazers
for Jeremy Grant, and if they probably

568
00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:43,559
seven in Simon's if they get that
fantastic for Detroit. Again, we already

569
00:37:43,559 --> 00:37:45,840
we touched upon the wild. Is
that important? But yeah, I would

570
00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:49,159
be Jeremy Grant would be great.
I just it does feel like you're right,

571
00:37:49,239 --> 00:37:52,360
the Pistons are expecting a lot more. Yeah, which is why I've

572
00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:55,719
kind of become enamored with Tarry Easton. Like I know he's raw, but

573
00:37:55,800 --> 00:38:00,760
I also like watch him in college
and I'm like, oh, that's young

574
00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:06,000
Jeremy Grant. That that is like
a lot of the same flaws. You

575
00:38:06,039 --> 00:38:08,159
know is going to need some time. But I feel like that's someone that

576
00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:12,960
is just such an athlete that is
so disruptive on the defensive end. Like

577
00:38:13,639 --> 00:38:17,400
Jeremy Grant isn't a perfect player.
I understand that, but when you think

578
00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:22,719
about like a Grant mobili Allen where
Grant shot basically the same percentage from three

579
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,840
at the same volume as Lowry markin
in the last couple of years, Like

580
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:30,039
I think the defensive versatility that you
would have with that lineup. You'd be

581
00:38:30,079 --> 00:38:34,719
asking him to do less on defense
than he has ever been asked to do,

582
00:38:35,199 --> 00:38:38,679
and keeping him in that kind of
confined role and keeping him as a

583
00:38:38,679 --> 00:38:43,280
play finisher. I think that's really
really exciting possibility. I just don't think

584
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:49,880
it's a very likely one. Where
does Isaaca Coro fit into the larger context

585
00:38:50,119 --> 00:38:52,880
of this team. It's like he's
he's fantastic on defense for the most part.

586
00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:54,679
Some of the stuff he does off
the ball, it's just, you

587
00:38:54,679 --> 00:38:58,920
know, incredible. I don't know
what he is on offense. He's hit

588
00:38:59,159 --> 00:39:01,400
he had he shot well after you
All Star break from three, and he's

589
00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:05,880
hit more of his corner threes or
his career than I think people realize.

590
00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:09,159
I just don't know whether it's an
issue of they haven't optimized them yet,

591
00:39:09,199 --> 00:39:15,000
they're not built to optimize them,
or is this just an incredibly finite skilled

592
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:19,159
player on the offensive side. And
then if you have the lineups you're running

593
00:39:19,239 --> 00:39:24,400
right now, how he fits into
the Calv's longer term A man A Coro

594
00:39:24,679 --> 00:39:29,119
is a tough guy for me to
get a read on, because you watch

595
00:39:29,559 --> 00:39:34,519
like his highlights, like the eye. It's Cavalier podcast did a really good

596
00:39:34,599 --> 00:39:38,480
job of like kind of putting together
his season highlights in chronological order, and

597
00:39:38,519 --> 00:39:42,039
you watch it and you're like,
my god, this is like one of

598
00:39:42,079 --> 00:39:45,840
the most dynamic offensive players I've seen. But then you notice the opposing jerseys

599
00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:49,840
change a little more frequently than you'd
like, and you're like, oh,

600
00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:52,840
that was only like two or three
good plays and flashes within one game,

601
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:57,960
and then it's the next game.
And that's really the issue with Acro And

602
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,880
I think Kobe Allman actually phrase it
perfectly in kind of the exit interview where

603
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:06,320
he said, we need to work
on unlocking isaacle Coro. And to me,

604
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:08,639
I think the biggest thing for him
is he needs to improve his handle

605
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:12,719
because he is not able to get
where he wants you on the court.

606
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,480
But when you see him get the
ball off a cut, like, he

607
00:40:15,559 --> 00:40:20,360
will make really smart reads. He
plays very good team basketball. His skill

608
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,719
set just isn't at the level where
he can take advantage of his IQ at

609
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:28,079
this moment. And he's a very
good finisher at the rim, like you

610
00:40:28,119 --> 00:40:30,320
will see creative finishes, and there's
the touch and as you mentioned, the

611
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:34,960
three point shooting got better, Like
he improved his field goal percentage by six

612
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:38,480
percent, he increases three point percentage
by six percent, his free throw shooting

613
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:43,760
went up by five percent. Like
across the board, he did get better.

614
00:40:44,239 --> 00:40:46,880
He just didn't scale up the volume. And I think that's the biggest

615
00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:52,239
thing. And I don't know where
he fits into this because as we mentioned,

616
00:40:52,239 --> 00:40:54,800
like there's the questions about who they
draft, what Colin Sexton looks like?

617
00:40:55,119 --> 00:41:00,639
Is Sexton all the way back?
He probably benefits from having that injury

618
00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:04,800
so early in the season where he's
probably going to get a good portion of

619
00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:08,519
an off season here to actually get
back up to game speed. It's going

620
00:41:08,599 --> 00:41:12,400
to come down to development. And
on the one hand, I think it's

621
00:41:12,519 --> 00:41:15,599
really good to have that internal competition. These are all really hard working guys

622
00:41:15,679 --> 00:41:20,960
that get along really well, that
they have relationships even before they came to

623
00:41:21,039 --> 00:41:24,000
the Cavs, and I think that's
really beneficial. But it's going to be

624
00:41:24,039 --> 00:41:27,360
a crunch for those minutes, Like
you're going to have to really go out

625
00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:30,639
there and compete and provide something reliable. So for a coro, I know

626
00:41:30,719 --> 00:41:35,679
everyone focuses on the three point shooting
and I know it got better, but

627
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,320
if I could pick one skill set
for him to add, it's improving that

628
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:44,199
handle, because if he could be
kind of like a smaller version of Egodala

629
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:47,039
for them, I think that that's
a player that's really helpful within a rotation

630
00:41:47,079 --> 00:41:52,480
because as good as his defense is, he's not a high event defender like

631
00:41:52,559 --> 00:41:58,760
he is in position and he's contesting
shots and he's not giving up easy opportunities

632
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:01,679
on or off ball, and that's
very valuable. But when you put him

633
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:06,920
on a very good shot maker,
like guys hit shots over good defense all

634
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:10,480
the time. So I think he
needs to add to his box score in

635
00:42:10,599 --> 00:42:15,639
order to help justify him getting minutes. He's in sort of a weird spot

636
00:42:15,679 --> 00:42:21,440
where I think he's still intriguing enough
to where you can't sell low on him,

637
00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:23,079
but he also feels like if there
is maybe a larger deal and I

638
00:42:23,079 --> 00:42:25,960
don't know how aggressive the casual going
to be on a trademarket, that's no

639
00:42:27,039 --> 00:42:30,960
longer someone who feels like he's mentioned
in the same breath as the no brain

640
00:42:30,039 --> 00:42:34,360
or core of this team. So
here's one for you. This came up

641
00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:38,079
yesterday because we now have both Chris
Feodore and Evan dam All mentioned Gary Harris

642
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:44,079
or sorry, Gary Trench Junior as
a realistic trade target, and there seems

643
00:42:44,079 --> 00:42:47,559
to be some buzz that Toronto is
at least listening to offers there. Would

644
00:42:47,559 --> 00:42:52,960
you do Lavert and a core for
Gary Trench Junior knowing that you probably are

645
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:55,320
going to have to pay him a
fair bit in the near future. I

646
00:42:55,320 --> 00:43:00,920
would not because I think you're gonna
need to pay Carraslavert fair bit and you've

647
00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:06,800
made your offense, which is already
pretty fragile when it comes to shooting a

648
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:10,440
lot worse like Gary Trent Junior's outside
shooting I think is super important to that

649
00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:16,000
team. You get more playmaking from
Lavert of course, and Okoro fits with

650
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:20,199
whatever they're doing there where it's like, oh, if you're under six five

651
00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:22,320
or over six ten, like we're
not going to play you. But from

652
00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:27,159
a cast perspective, you absolutely do
that right Oh with Garry Tren Junior is

653
00:43:27,159 --> 00:43:30,199
a perfect fit for this team.
Yeah, he's even an Ohio guy,

654
00:43:30,199 --> 00:43:34,199
He's from Columbus. It's perfect.
You know. It's writings on the wall.

655
00:43:34,239 --> 00:43:37,119
And in that scenario, I guess
you are keeping the fourteenth pick as

656
00:43:37,119 --> 00:43:40,719
well. I would imagine that there'd
be more compensation in there, but to

657
00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:45,480
me, that would be a really
interesting possibility. It's funny that you mentioned

658
00:43:45,519 --> 00:43:49,360
the Raptors, and I'm pretty sure
it's sacrilegious to do this, especially to

659
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:52,119
someone who lives in Canada. But
I've given a lot of thought and I

660
00:43:52,199 --> 00:43:55,000
think he's a fantastic player and I
absolutely would not move him. But I'm

661
00:43:55,000 --> 00:44:00,000
looking at Scottie Barnes. The season, Siakam just had something felt a little

662
00:44:00,079 --> 00:44:02,559
weird with Ogan and Nobi on offense. He want to drop up the way

663
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,199
he was supposed to. I think
part of that is just I mean,

664
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:09,760
there was the stop and start of
his season was definitely hurtful. But now

665
00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:13,840
you look at just the functional makeup
of that team and I'm like, is

666
00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:15,440
he just someone who might be a
little bit more gettable than we think?

667
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:21,679
Because the Raptors seem primed to make
like a like a capslock move, it

668
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:25,320
doesn't feel like Massa is gonna sit
in this mid rung territory forever. And

669
00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:29,199
when you start to get into their
contracts, it's like, Okay, well

670
00:44:29,199 --> 00:44:31,519
they don't have like the blue chip
cornerstone Aside from Scotty Barnes, you don't

671
00:44:31,519 --> 00:44:35,639
trade, and so you get into
like what their salary fillers would be,

672
00:44:35,679 --> 00:44:37,079
and it's no, it's not gonna
be Siakam anymore. It's not gonna be

673
00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:40,400
like Van Fleet. And then you
get to Garret Trench Junior like you mentioned,

674
00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:45,920
or I've just wondered if Oganna Nobi's
all of a sudden more gettable than

675
00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:49,320
he's ever been. So here's my
thinking on this, and I'm on the

676
00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:52,840
same page, because you could definitely
tell like there was times where Og was

677
00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:55,519
a little frustrated, like when Scotty
and see akhamore healthy, like he went

678
00:44:55,800 --> 00:45:00,199
way down in the pecking mortar,
and this is someone that's got up to

679
00:45:00,199 --> 00:45:02,480
to twenty points per game. I
think that would probably be put Some of

680
00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:06,800
the thinking if they were to move
on from Gary tren Jr. Is Okay,

681
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:09,280
we need to get Siaka or we
need to get Og more touches to

682
00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:14,119
help keep him happy, and that
sort of thing. My thinking is,

683
00:45:14,159 --> 00:45:16,719
like, I agree, I think
Og would be the perfect fit. I

684
00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:21,280
don't see a world where Messiah Jerry, even if the Cats had the best

685
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:24,920
offer, would send Og to play
with Evan Mobley and Jared Allen, Like,

686
00:45:25,159 --> 00:45:29,239
especially when you're talking about like two
young teams in the Eastern Conference that

687
00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:30,960
are probably going to play in the
playoffs at some point. Given the history

688
00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:35,880
of these teams have had, he
is not ever going to allow that front

689
00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:38,639
court to exist because that front court
would ruin lies like that, that's a

690
00:45:38,679 --> 00:45:43,000
front court where you see it.
You walk into a gym plane pick up

691
00:45:43,039 --> 00:45:45,800
in those three years standing there together, and you take your ball and you

692
00:45:45,840 --> 00:45:49,280
go home, Like, I do
not know what you would do against those

693
00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:52,519
guys, but I definitely agree,
like I think that that's a really interesting

694
00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:59,760
situation a monitor like maybe maybe Portland
takes a swing and offers up seven and

695
00:46:00,159 --> 00:46:02,559
some players to go get Og or
something like that. If we can circle

696
00:46:02,599 --> 00:46:07,199
back to to the Blazers talk like, I think that would be a savvy

697
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:10,239
move and can correct the wrong of
them passing on Og in the draft years

698
00:46:10,280 --> 00:46:16,679
ago. But I do think like
that's just that would be a dream scenario

699
00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:21,199
and I would love to add a
player like that. It just when you

700
00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:25,840
get to reality. I can't see
Massi ever ever ever doing that, and

701
00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:30,800
if he did, I would question
what the Cavs gave up at that point,

702
00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:32,199
because it's I think, and I
don't even think this is enough.

703
00:46:32,239 --> 00:46:37,239
But like you start with Okoro and
fourteen and then you're building out the package

704
00:46:37,239 --> 00:46:39,039
from there and I don't even know, like if you get him to say,

705
00:46:39,119 --> 00:46:42,519
yes, that that was a great
I don't give that enough thought.

706
00:46:42,559 --> 00:46:45,239
I think that's one of the dangers
of covering the entire league because I'm not

707
00:46:45,280 --> 00:46:50,199
really thinking about which teams won't like
if it's you know, division rivals or

708
00:46:50,199 --> 00:46:52,039
something, or you might face them
in the playoffs. But I'm not thinking

709
00:46:52,079 --> 00:46:54,840
like that, And I could totally
see Massi being that type of guy.

710
00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:58,679
That's no, I'm not I'm not
sending in Cleveland. I'm not like,

711
00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:01,719
well, especially because they are young
teams like you have the Scotty Barnes have

712
00:47:01,719 --> 00:47:06,360
a mobile head to head and who
knows, like maybe that dynamics going to

713
00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:09,440
get a little different in Toronto next
season where they don't need to force feed

714
00:47:09,719 --> 00:47:14,000
Scotty Barnes point guard possessions because they're
no longer trying to get him Murky of

715
00:47:14,079 --> 00:47:17,000
the Year, Like you know that
a little bit of a shot I had

716
00:47:17,039 --> 00:47:21,159
to get in, but you know, uh, the offense might just you

717
00:47:21,159 --> 00:47:23,159
know, look a little bit different
and there's probably going to be more opportunities

718
00:47:23,159 --> 00:47:27,320
for OG. So uh, well, well, we'll see how that plays

719
00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:32,400
out. I think like I could
see the Trend Junior possibility more so then

720
00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:37,920
the OG, just because, like
you look at how much Toronto invested in

721
00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:42,679
developing OG and what a success story
that is, and just how good of

722
00:47:42,679 --> 00:47:45,599
a fitty would be with the Cavs. I just feel like Trent, it's

723
00:47:45,719 --> 00:47:49,519
it's a different caliber. You're You're
in a rung where it's probably a little

724
00:47:49,519 --> 00:47:53,480
easier for Toronto swallow and not as
worried about playing against him in a playoff

725
00:47:53,519 --> 00:47:57,719
series. You're also you know,
if you're bringing back Arry Tren Junior,

726
00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:00,119
and or if you're bringing in excuse
me, Garry Trench Jui, you know

727
00:48:00,239 --> 00:48:04,800
that you're probably going to resign him
if he declines his player option. I

728
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:07,679
would go say, you'd be doing
you know, clutch of solid just before

729
00:48:07,760 --> 00:48:09,760
Lebron's own free agency. But I
think OG is with clutch as well.

730
00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:15,480
I'm not as up here, so
yes either or bos Well for that reunion.

731
00:48:15,239 --> 00:48:19,519
Is there anyone or anything about this
off season for the Calves? I

732
00:48:19,519 --> 00:48:22,039
did not ask you about that.
You think it needs to be discussed.

733
00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:28,840
So the thing I'm kind of trying
to figure out is especially if they are

734
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,400
adding help on the perimeter, Like
let's say they draft someone on the perimeter

735
00:48:31,440 --> 00:48:37,639
and they sign a free agent that
can give them some minutes there. I'm

736
00:48:37,679 --> 00:48:42,199
really starting to wonder can Lowry Marketing
and Kevin Love be on the same team,

737
00:48:42,199 --> 00:48:45,880
because when Lowry was signed during the
sign and trade another example of signing

738
00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:51,480
trades being back in vogue, I
think the thinking was, Okay, Kevin

739
00:48:51,519 --> 00:48:54,480
Love was not healthy enough to play
last season, and Lowry is someone that

740
00:48:54,519 --> 00:48:58,199
can split time with Mobley and Allen. He's going to play in that backup

741
00:48:58,199 --> 00:49:00,480
for role, and I think the
idea was to keep him in the role

742
00:49:00,559 --> 00:49:04,719
that Kevin Love was in. But
Kevin Love was so healthy and so good

743
00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:07,360
and so bought in that they had
to find ways to make it work,

744
00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:13,000
and playing Lowry at the three,
given their need for spacing with that lineup,

745
00:49:13,119 --> 00:49:16,280
ended up working out pretty damn well. Long term, I still have

746
00:49:16,320 --> 00:49:21,239
a lot of questions because if you're
drafting someone to be your long term three,

747
00:49:22,039 --> 00:49:24,920
or even if you're just giving serious
minutes to someone at the three,

748
00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:29,679
and Kris Lavert might need to make
play some minutes there because o'koro and sex

749
00:49:29,760 --> 00:49:34,239
In are eating garden minutes, Like
the minute crunch gets weird, and I

750
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:37,920
wonder if Lowry marketing might be available, or if they look to move Kevin

751
00:49:37,960 --> 00:49:42,480
Love or something along those lines,
because just with the minute crunch it gets

752
00:49:42,639 --> 00:49:45,000
really, really tricky, Like one
of the reasons they had to let Isaiah

753
00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:50,840
Hardenstein go last season was the fact
that there just wasn't minutes to offer,

754
00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:54,360
Like when Ed Davis signed at media
Day, he said, I'm not here

755
00:49:54,400 --> 00:49:59,719
to play minutes like Evian Mumble's playing
the backup center minutes. And even if

756
00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:02,400
they they bring in a center like, there's just fewer and fewer minutes available

757
00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:06,800
at the four or five positions.
So I'm really interested to see how that

758
00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:09,400
plays out. I think it can
work for another year. But just given

759
00:50:09,519 --> 00:50:15,280
Lowry rehabbing some of his trade value, given Love being an expiring contract and

760
00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:20,119
showing that he's willing to accept a
smaller role, I do wonder if there's

761
00:50:20,159 --> 00:50:23,719
going to be trade interest in an
ability for the Calves to address some needs

762
00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:29,000
given those guys. So I was
actually having this discussion was one of my

763
00:50:29,039 --> 00:50:30,519
co workers the other day about Kevin
Love, who it was really cool to

764
00:50:30,519 --> 00:50:34,480
see him have a bounce backseason and
Lowry as well, obviously, but it

765
00:50:34,519 --> 00:50:37,800
was just with Kevin Love staying in
Cleveland, everything that's happened since he signed

766
00:50:37,840 --> 00:50:40,679
that extension, it was just fun
to watch. I feel like the team

767
00:50:40,679 --> 00:50:43,880
I'm gonna mention would only do this
because they're trying to get out of the

768
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,840
contract they'd be sending to Cleveland.
I'd just be curious what the framework of

769
00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:52,199
a Love for Gordon Hayward deal would
look like, because you mentioned Cleveland talking

770
00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:55,599
like turning these You're rolling these contracts
into different contracts that maybe they reboot or

771
00:50:55,639 --> 00:51:00,519
just super useful to them. He's
like the quintessential example. He has two

772
00:51:00,599 --> 00:51:04,800
years left. Love has the one
Charlotte cash base doesn't mean much, but

773
00:51:04,840 --> 00:51:08,000
they've they started paying players. They
paid Terry Rosier. They have to.

774
00:51:08,039 --> 00:51:13,079
They have no choice but to pay
Miles Bridges now make a run at Aiden

775
00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:15,920
like you never know, right,
So, and Love is not gonna He

776
00:51:15,960 --> 00:51:19,440
does not fix anything they need from
the center position. But just if they

777
00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:22,559
were. People mentioned Russell Westbrook because
he's an expiring contract. Kevin Loves like

778
00:51:22,639 --> 00:51:30,119
an actual digestible expiring contract where it's
not a trillion dollars. I mean ignoring

779
00:51:30,159 --> 00:51:35,519
the injury history, ignoring everything that
comes with Gordon Hayward. What he brings

780
00:51:35,519 --> 00:51:38,559
from a skill set perspective is very
good for the Cavs. Like that that

781
00:51:38,599 --> 00:51:43,000
would be a really really helpful player
to have, Like that allows you to

782
00:51:43,039 --> 00:51:46,639
play Garland off ball, Like he
just makes so much sense that that's something

783
00:51:46,679 --> 00:51:50,840
that I definitely would find interesting.
I would make a lot of sense.

784
00:51:51,880 --> 00:51:55,400
Again, you'd probably be moving Lowry
into that kind of six man or third

785
00:51:55,519 --> 00:52:00,519
big role where he's still getting like
twenty eight minutes aggered with Mobley and Allen.

786
00:52:01,480 --> 00:52:06,119
I think that would be a really
really interesting possibility, Like if you

787
00:52:06,199 --> 00:52:12,760
were to like swap Lavert for Conley
and Love for Hayward, and then you

788
00:52:12,880 --> 00:52:17,719
have all these young guys coming off
the bench. I think that's like there's

789
00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:22,559
so many kind of mix and match
possibilities with the lineup, and I think

790
00:52:22,559 --> 00:52:24,840
that that, like that that's the
type of versatility that I want to see

791
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:30,039
from the Calf next season because I
feel like we are still at a point

792
00:52:30,079 --> 00:52:34,039
where JB. Bickerstaff did a really
great job, but we're learning about what

793
00:52:34,079 --> 00:52:37,000
he is and isn't as a coach
right, and I think people too often

794
00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:43,239
treats coaches as a static commodity rather
than someone that, like players can have

795
00:52:43,280 --> 00:52:46,400
good and bad games and good bad
years. And JB, I think when

796
00:52:46,440 --> 00:52:51,559
you look at the extension he signed
and the extension Kobe signed becoming president of

797
00:52:51,559 --> 00:52:55,760
the team, it feels like they're
laying out a five year plan and I'm

798
00:52:55,800 --> 00:53:01,559
interested in seeing over the next four
years what kind of adjustments, what development

799
00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:07,360
they make, and whether or not
JB can grow alongside this team. I'm

800
00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:09,559
really high on him. I think
you look at the level of buy and

801
00:53:09,639 --> 00:53:14,480
he was getting from the players,
and the creative ways that he made the

802
00:53:14,519 --> 00:53:20,079
lineup work despite a lot of very
clear deficiencies. I'm really excited about that.

803
00:53:20,280 --> 00:53:22,320
I just want to see what does
it look like when there is more

804
00:53:22,440 --> 00:53:28,159
versatile personnel around them. I'm just
I'm so endlessly fascinating. I feel like

805
00:53:28,159 --> 00:53:30,280
I'm endlessly fascinated with every team,
but the Calves are going into this offseason

806
00:53:30,320 --> 00:53:34,880
all of sudden with expectations because of
what happened this past year, and that's

807
00:53:34,920 --> 00:53:38,559
just super intriguing. The Calves with
those expectations, separated from Lebron for the

808
00:53:38,599 --> 00:53:43,079
first time and forever. Is just
feels like it could be just a very

809
00:53:43,079 --> 00:53:45,760
pivotal and even like sort of wacky, wild offseason for them. So I'm

810
00:53:45,800 --> 00:53:50,440
just absolutely here for it. Yeah, And the funny thing is we talk

811
00:53:50,480 --> 00:53:54,320
all these scenarios, I don't expect
like mass mass with shakeups this offseason.

812
00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:57,880
Like I think for the most part, it's going to be running it back.

813
00:53:57,920 --> 00:54:01,800
There's going to be some moves along
the margin because Karros Lavert, as

814
00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:05,119
we said, it didn't work out. But when you look at it,

815
00:54:05,159 --> 00:54:07,920
what's Karis Lavert's greatest strength? Pick
and roll ball handling From a points per

816
00:54:07,960 --> 00:54:13,559
possession standpoint, he had more points
per possession in those situations than even Darius

817
00:54:13,639 --> 00:54:16,000
Garland. But he did not get
to play a single game with Jared Allen

818
00:54:16,039 --> 00:54:19,920
after the All Star break, who
was basically their only player that could set

819
00:54:19,960 --> 00:54:22,159
us screen. Because Kevin Love is
going to pop every single time he doesn't

820
00:54:22,159 --> 00:54:27,280
give that vertical spacing, He's got
a chance to rehab his value. Collin

821
00:54:27,320 --> 00:54:30,000
Sexton very effective pick and roll score. You hope that Evan Mobley is going

822
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:35,119
to get better in those situations setting
screens. Isaac O Coral Like I feel

823
00:54:35,119 --> 00:54:38,079
like Sexton, O, col and
Lavert's value could not be lower than it

824
00:54:38,119 --> 00:54:40,679
is right now. They may still
have value, but I feel like they

825
00:54:40,679 --> 00:54:46,880
have an opportunity to really play better
next season in defined roles or in Colin

826
00:54:46,960 --> 00:54:50,960
Sexton's case, prove that he can
get back on a basketball court. Right.

827
00:54:51,039 --> 00:54:55,280
So, I think the smartest move
for them might be minor tweaks on

828
00:54:55,320 --> 00:55:00,079
the margins, bring addressing the backup
point guard p bring in someone like the

829
00:55:00,159 --> 00:55:06,199
Lawn right would be great. And
there's reports that there's a mutual interest between

830
00:55:06,280 --> 00:55:09,599
Ricky Ruby and the Calves of getting
back together. So if you bring in

831
00:55:09,760 --> 00:55:14,519
Ricky as kind of coach Ricky,
he's not going to play until January,

832
00:55:14,559 --> 00:55:16,960
but you know he's on the bench
and maybe gives them an option after the

833
00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:22,000
trade deadline if they were to make
a consolidation move. I think there's a

834
00:55:22,039 --> 00:55:24,599
lot of interesting ways that the Calves
can get better throughout the course of the

835
00:55:24,639 --> 00:55:30,280
season and not just focus on making
the moves this offseason because they feel like

836
00:55:30,280 --> 00:55:32,039
they have to. I do think
that's important to keep in mind. Is

837
00:55:32,079 --> 00:55:35,760
one. I'm also a firm believer
and like, let's get Carra Slavert a

838
00:55:35,840 --> 00:55:38,679
training camp and practice time, a
more practice time with the team. And

839
00:55:38,679 --> 00:55:45,239
then also is in the Cavs situation
specifically because they overachieved most pretty much none

840
00:55:45,280 --> 00:55:50,119
of their best players are in their
prime. Garen Allen comes closest, I

841
00:55:50,119 --> 00:55:52,559
guess, And so there's that potential
you could do nothing or just like you

842
00:55:52,599 --> 00:55:57,760
said, the minor tweaks and there
is that runway for growth from within.

843
00:55:58,079 --> 00:56:00,960
And I could see reactions being,
oh, if the Calves want to get

844
00:56:00,960 --> 00:56:02,199
back to the playoffs in the East, like actually get out of the play

845
00:56:02,280 --> 00:56:06,599
in or escape that territory and tire
like they needed to make a bigger swing.

846
00:56:07,239 --> 00:56:08,880
It's like no, like we saw
Darius Garland just turned into an All

847
00:56:08,920 --> 00:56:12,840
Star. He made like a trillion
percent on floaters like that, dude is

848
00:56:12,840 --> 00:56:16,840
so good. There's the potential for
them to do very little. And actually,

849
00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:20,840
I know progress isn't linear, but
they could just wind up being much

850
00:56:20,880 --> 00:56:23,920
better by virtue of letting their the
word I said before, letting this talent,

851
00:56:24,039 --> 00:56:28,440
letting this core marinate a little bit. Yeah, I mean, Ricky

852
00:56:28,519 --> 00:56:31,639
Rubia went down in December and the
end of December, and then the Cavs

853
00:56:31,679 --> 00:56:37,119
went through January with an eleven and
four record. Even without him, they

854
00:56:37,119 --> 00:56:40,400
managed to actually improve their winning percentage
and they were half game out of the

855
00:56:40,400 --> 00:56:45,440
one seat in the Eastern Conference.
After that point, Lowry got hurt,

856
00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:49,400
Garland got hurt. By the time
they came back, Alan was hurt,

857
00:56:49,800 --> 00:56:53,800
Lavert was out, like it just
it was so brutal, and Garland mobile

858
00:56:53,880 --> 00:56:59,039
and Allen only played forty games together
last season and they still had that level

859
00:56:59,079 --> 00:57:04,480
of success that to me is really
really exciting, and you just hope,

860
00:57:04,480 --> 00:57:07,239
you know, you get a little
more support around them. And I really

861
00:57:07,320 --> 00:57:12,480
feel like there was kind of a
cascading effect of the injuries, right like

862
00:57:13,159 --> 00:57:15,400
when Sexton goes down in Game eleven, all of a sudden, there's more

863
00:57:15,400 --> 00:57:19,079
of a load of Ricky Rubio,
and then he goes down, and then

864
00:57:19,239 --> 00:57:22,480
there's more of a load on Daris
Garland, and then he gets the back

865
00:57:22,519 --> 00:57:25,320
issues that flare up. And when
you add in some freak injuries like Jared

866
00:57:25,360 --> 00:57:30,079
Allen just happening to hit his finger
on the rim and breaking it and missing

867
00:57:30,159 --> 00:57:35,159
a month and a half, like
you just you keep decreasing your room for

868
00:57:35,239 --> 00:57:37,880
air throughout the course of the season. So I'm hoping that a full off

869
00:57:37,920 --> 00:57:44,239
season a little more support around them, even having like a full off season

870
00:57:44,239 --> 00:57:47,199
with Karris Laverne in a training camp, like I feel what he can bring

871
00:57:47,480 --> 00:57:52,599
in kind of that reserve rule or
twenty eight minutes a night can really add

872
00:57:52,719 --> 00:57:59,039
some dynamic looks to their offense.
So I'm excited about what this offseason can

873
00:57:59,079 --> 00:58:02,159
be even without an imajor shakeup,
because they're primed to do one at some

874
00:58:02,280 --> 00:58:06,920
point, but there needs to be
the name available that justifies it, Like

875
00:58:07,239 --> 00:58:09,039
I don't think dejan Day Murray is
going to be on the trademarket. I

876
00:58:09,079 --> 00:58:14,719
would love to make a massive run
at Dejant and consolidate some assets and just

877
00:58:14,760 --> 00:58:19,719
have these two dynamic guards playing together
alongside Mobile and Allen, but that just

878
00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:22,599
doesn't feel realistic. Yeah, I
fancy myself pretty good at spotting, like

879
00:58:22,679 --> 00:58:27,039
what could be that next player,
like the player that becomes available right now,

880
00:58:27,079 --> 00:58:30,519
it feels like there's a dearth of
those candidates, which makes it difficult

881
00:58:30,559 --> 00:58:34,480
and again why you shouldn't expect major
changes. Justin this was great as always.

882
00:58:34,519 --> 00:58:37,400
Are you able to tell our listeners
where they can find you and all

883
00:58:37,440 --> 00:58:39,599
the great work that you do.
Absolutely, you can find me on Twitter

884
00:58:39,679 --> 00:58:44,119
at Cavsenna. Just slap the Calves
into the Canada and you'll find me there.

885
00:58:44,119 --> 00:58:46,599
I apologize for everything you see after
that fact. You can also find

886
00:58:46,599 --> 00:58:51,199
me at the Chase Down podcast wherever
you get your podcast, wherever you listen

887
00:58:51,239 --> 00:58:52,440
to this podcast, if you're listening
to it, you can find the Chase

888
00:58:52,480 --> 00:58:55,519
Down there. You can also find
us on the Calves YouTube channel. We

889
00:58:55,679 --> 00:59:01,039
usually go live for most of our
podcasts there, so that's basically uh where

890
00:59:01,039 --> 00:59:04,840
I'm confined to these days. Dan, Thank you so much for having no

891
00:59:04,880 --> 00:59:06,880
problem, Thank you for jumping on. As you know by now, I'll

892
00:59:06,880 --> 00:59:09,039
be fustinate you again in the future, once this off season is all said

893
00:59:09,079 --> 00:59:14,079
and done, and hopefully everything goes
well for the Calves and they continue to

894
00:59:14,119 --> 00:59:15,760
stay relevant and people actually want to
talk to me as a result.