Speaker 1: Hi, Welcome to the NBA podcast. This is part two
of my conversation with Keith Smith. We were discussing the
New York Knicks winning the championship and the hiring of
Chicago Splitter by the Chicago Bulls in the last podcast. Today,
because it is Keith Smith who is a cap space
officionado and expert, obviously we're going to go into the
twenty twenty six free agency field. Keith, First and foremost,
how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 2: I'm doing good. I'm excited. This is a this is
it man, This is my time to shine at least
right so.
Speaker 1: High expectations. So first and foremost, I want to get
into just the players. We can see her and talk
all day long about teams having cap space, but you
and I Dan Well know often more often than not,
teams that are projected to be under the cap they
will act as being over the cab to make a
lot of decisions. So cap space in many ways isn't
necessarily I put this in quotation marks real uh. There
are so many different ways you can spin it. And also,
even if you have cap space, you don't necessarily have
to sign someone. You can just trade guys into that
cap space. So like, there are different a million different
ways to apply this, but I want to get into
the players here, and first and foremost, let's let's just
start with the biggest name, Lebron James. Is he going
to be returning to the Los Angeles Lakers? And like,
in lieu of that that, let's just kind of loop
in Austin Reeves because they have two of the best
free agents on the market, Like the Lakers are in
a weird potential summer here, Like what is your read
on the Lakers so far?
Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, And if you yeah, if you just
started ranking free agents, those two guys are probably gonna
be somewhere in the top five. I would imagine. It's
you know, as I tell people all the time, even
this version of Lebron is still better than ninety percent
of the NBA, like, which it doesn't make sense, Like
I'm done trying to even rationalize it. It is what
it is. We all talk about Webbin Yama being an alien,
it's Lebron. Who's the real alien cyborg that was delivered here?
Like I you know, like I like, let's forget all
the rest of it, but yeah, I Lebron, I you know,
if we were having this conversation a month ago, probably
would have said he's gone, Like he's it's all the
stuff from earlier in the year and all the things
that kind of came out and all the things that
have happened throughout the course of the season. It's about
like it's just leading to Lebron's going somewhere else. But
now as we get closer to it and I look
at it, it's like, it's gonna be really hard for
him to go to the Calves, and it's gonna be
really hard for him to go to the Warriors. None
of those teams are gonna be able to give him
a lot of money. Like it just feels like what
we may be here for is I run it back
for another year with Lebron and maybe it's another one
of those like one or two year type of contracts,
and that's that's where we're at with it, and and
we go and then you know, with Austin Reeves, I
think the Lakers have clearly made it a priority that
they're gonna do everything they can to keep him. I
think the big question there becomes what does the number
land at? If the number lands north of forty million,
which can only go a little bit over because he's
only eligible for twenty five percent of.
Speaker 1: The cap max.
Speaker 2: But if it comes a little over forty million, or
even to a full max, I think the Lakers might
have a little bit of pause there and just saying
I don't know, like that's a lot. If it's thirty
five to thirty seven million, I realize that's almost the max.
But if it was just that much less, I think
they're like done, signed, get them, get them in, and
we'll just go forward. So I've now kind of changed
my tune a little where I think it's Lebron's much
more fifty to fifty where I was probably like seventy
five twenty five leaves, and then I think Reeves is there.
And now I've changed my tune enough on Lebron too
that I'm like, I don't know, we're having the conversation
enough about what if Luca and Lebron's stay and Reeves
is the one who goes, Like then, but what do
the Lakers do? Like like like I know, I haven't
really had that conversation.
Speaker 1: Very much, right, It's overall, I think this is such
an interesting the gear for the Lakers because of the
fact that all three of them, Luca, Austin, and Lebron
are you know ball handlers, Like not a lot of them,
are you know, off ball gravity type of guys, So
like there are a lot of mouths to feed, and
I think occasionally there was a certain level of overlap.
And what I'm wondering is whether they are interested in
resigning Reeves with the mindset of flipping him later to
get someone that's more appealing as a long term Luka
Doncic sidekick.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's certainly possible. I think, you know,
the idea of all three of them together, it's been
talked dead nauseum. Yeah, it's hard. You're gonna have enough
shooting in defense around those guys. You still have to
put a center on the floor. It just gets tough.
If it's Luke and Reeves. It's like, can you build
a good, good enough defense. I think you can, Like
we talked in the episode we did earlier, but like
the Knicks made it work with Townsend Brunson, and some
of that was Towns like going to a whole different level.
But you can make it work as long as the
other guys are really good and really committed, you can
make it work. But yeah, it's it's it's getting harder
and harder to find those three and D players, whether
they're wings or guards or even a handful of three
in D bigs we've had over the years, because when
teams get them, they just don't let them go. Yeah,
because it's such a you know, coveted archetype. So I yeah,
it's it's it's certainly an interesting offseason for them, and
it and it does start with those two guys, because
you know, and I just there's part of me that
also says, hey, if we run it back with better health,
we probably want to handful more games and maybe we're
like the three seed in the conference, so the you know,
where we're you know, pushing, maybe if the Spurs are thunder,
don't push quite as hard or have an injury, like,
let's see, you know how we figure that out. So I,
you know, I think there is a war where they
do some version of run it back with more tweaks
around the edges, versus this idea of like, all right,
Lebron's gone, we have almost fifty million in cap space
and where you know, building an entire new team around
Reeves and Doncic.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's also the decision of DeAndre Aiden. That's
his decision to make like an eight point one million
player option, which is going to be interesting to see
like what happens there. Like, there are a lot of
components in play for the Lakers, which I think like
flies a little bit under the radar, Like Lebron having
been there for eight years, by the way, I was
kind of surprised when I saw that. It's just like
kind of crazy, right, yeah, like eight years, He's he
has over twelve thousand points for the Lakers, like that,
what like, what are we doing? This is this is wild?
But but yeah, no, so the Lakers are in possibly
the most potentially game changing type of situation because like,
let's assume they actually do lose Reeves and Lebron, maybe
even Aid and two, Like who do they even pivot to,
like if that happens, Like that would be worst case
scenario obviously, but it just feels like the Lakers to me,
like that that's the team to monitor the most in
this free agency period.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's it's hard to pick anybody else, right,
It's it's the it's they are arguably the biggest team
in the sport, and they are in a position where
they have can have a ton of cap space. If
they don't, they've still got super interesting players. They've got
maybe the all time best player. It's it's it's hard
for me to not pick MJ. But that's just the
era I grew up in, right, But it's you know,
one one A there. Then you've got Luca, who on
any given year can be the best player in the league.
So it's yeah, I mean, of course they're they're gonna
be interesting. We take a lot of golf over on
our show NBA for Ant Office show. It's like, you
guys talk too much Lakers. They stop talking so much Lakers,
and the reality is it's like, you're right, because this
isn't just Lakers Nation Part two, which is Trevor's other show.
But the reality is they're just super interesting this summer.
So of course we're gonna spend a lot of time
talking Lakers.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Another team that has my interest a fair bit
after they lost the finals, the San Antonio Spurs, And
not for the reason that everyone assuming all trying to
get back to the finals. No, it's because they're in
a very interesting situation salary cap wise, because they are
obviously going to hand to women Yama Max extensions. He's
going to get that and that is going to trigger
in twenty twenty seven, meaning that the season we're looking
ahead to will be the last year of his rookie
scale contract. And that allows them this year, this off
season to go out and swing big for another piece
if they want to. Now, Daron Fox's extension thirty percent
max kicks in starts at forty nine and a half million.
Now I'm gonna give you free ring, sir, Like, if
you're the Spurs, how do you play this? Do you
try to pivot off Fox and see if you can
pivot or at least squeeze some more funds out of this,
or do you try to make him, you know, a
piece of something bigger in a trade port example, like
how do you use Wemby's last rookie scale year to
get better?
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's so important because he's gonna be making
forty plus million next year, not next year is And
let me just so anybody knows, when I say next year,
that's twenty seven to twenty eight, I'm already it's twenty six,
twenty seven, in my world and the NBA terms, like
we're that's already the year. We're working with it. Right,
we get about fifteen more days or so to go
of this league year, but I'm already there for this year.
So twenty seven to twenty eight Oneby's gonna be on
forty million dollars plus and that is just assuming basic
cap growth. So you're it's either this year or next
year that you're moving Fox. I think Dylan Harper is
ready to start. Yeah, you know, no problem if they
start next year with him and Castle. I don't think
he can start all three of them. I think that's
just too I think you're too small, they ain't or
too You're shooting is to Wax and Wayne with that group,
like it's gonna come and go because Wemby's not a
consistent shooter, get himself. So when I think about Fox,
I I don't want to overreact to the finals because
very clearly he was hurt. Yeah, and I think it's
gone way too far now that like people are acting
like he stinks and has the worst contract in the NBA.
Like if you were okay with him on the Max
Steel two months ago, nothing should have changed, Like he's still,
you know, a really good player and one of the
better point guards in the league. Like he was an
All Star last year. I know some people feel like
he shouldn't have been, but he was, so I think
for for him it's I don't want to go too crazy,
but on the flip side, like I want Harper to play,
so you gotta, yeah, he just something has to give somewhere,
and for me, if it is right, well by trading
Fox we can get I think they need a couple
more bigger forwards. Are guys who can be like four
or fives alongside one Be just they I love Champagne,
but he's not a power forward like they played with
essentially a wing and three guards next to one bigiana
and I really one Be's massive, but get one more
big guy, especially somebody could play a little more bulk
and a little more strength next and without having to
be like a true center. So I think, yeah, if
you could turn Fox into that and in a way
like kind of fill your final holes. I guess knowing
you're not creating too big of a hole at point
guard because you're you've got heart ready to step in. Yeah,
I'm okay with exploring the deal.
Speaker 1: This offseason, right, So, Dan fa Valley of the Hardwoodknox
and Eye, we have just gone into this biblical mantra
of trade Trey Murphy that he's the guy because he's
just what he would fit. That seems so well, especially
coming in as an off ball shooter, just playing off
of the attention given to the jumpbo guards and Wemby,
And I think he sort of fits your mold a
little bit. Like he's not a four to five, but
he is a legit wing right, Like he can play
the four, he can play the three, he can play
both of those positions. He defensively, you know, he's not
a world beater, but he's good. He's you know, he
does have good moments defensively, but he like even if
you get him in and you use the Fox contract
to get out of or just as a salary matching component,
like Murphy earns so much less and the Spurs would
also have to give up additional assets to make the
value alignment. But that might even allow you to have
more flexibility financially to go out and actually get that
four or five guy, Like I'm not sure who it is.
Like a year ago, I would have said I say
a Steward, but the Pistons are just too good now.
I don't think they're going to give him up. But
and it's tough to say, and I say a Stuart
type of guy, because like, let's be real, there's only
one Beef stew in the league, Like there isn't anyone
exactly like him. But then I would have to go
look for a lesser version because I do agree with you,
Like they played Luke Cornett like eight minutes in the finals.
He wasn't playable. He was also he was sick I
think in the last two games or something along those lines.
But they do need someone else who's a little bit
more bulky, who's a little bit more just physical at
the four and the five. So like, is it even
a realistic outcome to go out and get someone, you know,
off the ilk of a Trey Murphy while also upgrading
the four or five spot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think it's certainly possible because because
of the flexibility, they're miles from the luxury tax line,
and with Fox's contract, it's going to be very hard
to take on a lot more money right in a deal.
So yeah, I think you could certainly move him I
think would be really good for them. It's John Collins. Like,
I'm a huge John Collins fan, so I like, I'll
start with that. Like, there's very few teams I don't
think he'd be really good on, but just another guy
can rebound, doesn't need to be this super rim protector
because you already have that. He can be fairly physical
on that end of the floor, and he can space
the floor. Yeah, it's really good. It's funny I find
all the time I mentioned his name, people like, yeah,
I don't know about and then they're like, oh, John
Collins shoots better than I thought like, and it's like, yeah,
this guy is really really good. I think I think
we all mentioned this kind of team up and it
takes it to the national team, Like that would be
a super you know, cost effective edition. I think that's
somebody they could go with. I think Ruiyama would be
really good for them. Again, another guy can really shoot
the ball, excuse you, a little bit of bulk at
the forward position. Then if they wanted to go with
a center who gives you a little bit of a
different like let's say they were like, we're gonna move
Wenby more towards the foe line. This would be a
team where I think like Nick Vucovich would fit pretty good.
And after the way he finished with Boston, probably gonna
put you in a better like situation salary wise, it's
not gonna be twenty million dollars a year. Might be
a mid level type guy. And I think because Wemby
is so good at oh Wemby, like we're gonna isolate Vucevic,
We're gonna go at him inside. Wemby was at the
ARC a second ago, but now here he is in
weak side help position, like you know, so good and
is such a good shooter that he can again space
the floor. Good rebounder guy. You could just when you're
playing Joel Embiid, you throw him on Joel Embiid, you
throw him on Nikola Jokic because he's not gonna shut
those guys down. But he's also not gonna get bodied
into oblivion by those guys when they would just want
to play super physical. So those are some of the
guys I think, just kind of more off the top
of my head, that I think could fit.
Speaker 1: We'll take a quick commercial break and then we'll be
back with another portion of free agents. All right, Keith
the Tray Young conundrum. He's got a player option with
the Washington Wizards for forty nine million, and he's extension eligible.
Is there a way for the Wizards to offer him
something that makes sense for him in order for him
to turn down the player option and just go straight
into an extension.
Speaker 2: Well, what I think is probably gonna happen is the
Wizards are gonna have him pick up that player option.
Let's just call it fifty million, just for the sake
of my simple brain. Yes, I realize I'm a cap guy,
but I like to keep math simple when I can.
And then I think, what you do if you're the Wizards,
is you get your fifty million on your final year
of your current deal, then a two year, seventy million
dollars extension, so roughly thirty five million a pop. One
hundred and twenty million total one hundred and forty or
forty million average annual value. But your numbers in years
two and three are a lot more reasonable with that, Like,
that's what makes sense to me if I'm the Wizards,
Because one, we don't even know how this is really
gonna work. What do we see them ten minutes with
the Wizards, like we like, I think it's gonna be okay,
but like, hey, you don't have to commit to us
super long term. We don't need to commit to you
super long term. If it's gonna be anything beyond that
stretches beyond the upcoming season and then the next two
I want that fourth year to be team protected, either
it's a team option or it's very lightly guaranteed something
like that, where then all right, if it's let's say,
was we're gonna do one more year at another thirty
five million, all right, we'll out of that thirty five million,
let's only guarantee ten or fifteen million of it. So
that way, if everything goes sideways, we can get out
of it and ideally just be let's make it a
team option straight up and just go. So that's where
I think think you go with with Treyon.
Speaker 1: I look, I agree with that that that's also been
the number, the forty five million a year number that
I've been throwing around because it just I don't know why,
Like I don't think I can I can contextualize this.
It just feels fitting in a way. I think that's
the right number for him because of the injury this year.
The fact that you know, we just know that him
as a heliocentric point guard has just not worked forty
five million seems like a fair compromise as someone who
is going to be playing a large part for your
team but just cannot in any way, shape or form,
be your primary superstar.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I think that's fair. I think we've
also seen his teams have had ceilings, right but before
where it's been if he is your guy, like that
is your ceiling? Is there now? If on this Wizard's team,
if it's him and Anthony Davis whoever they draft, then
you've got like galax sar there. I think there's a
world where it starts to turn into all right, Yeah,
Trey Young is really good playmaker, good scorer, but he
is he's like really kind of our third best player.
By the time a couple of those guys age up,
all of a sudden, I'm like, ar, let's go. I'm
a lot more interested than the team where it is like,
let's build everything around him. That's where it gets a
little sideways.
Speaker 1: Right right, and changing gears a little bit because we're
still gonna stay in like the league guard market James
Harden player option for forty two point three million. I
think his situation is a little bit more tough because
you know, he's he's almost ten years older than Trey Young.
Like now h is becoming a real factor here. Like
if you're going to try to extend James hard what
is the number there? Or do you just let him
pick up the player option, play out that one year
and then go into his what h thirty eight season
and kind of decided off of that year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I would much rather he pick up the player
option then get stupid with a contract, if I can
put it that way, because then at least it's just
just let it play out, right, Like we don't need
to get crazy with it. But I think it's in
a position with Harden where I think I think what
you're gonna see is again ops out him and the
Cavs probably and he's probably known for months now, and
everybody can scream and cry about tampering, but I don't
really care. We're all grown ups in adult series already
on the team. What difference does it make where since
he was traded there? I think think it's probably in
a situation where it is they know what the number
needs to be and again, if you could take if
you're James Harden, he picks up his option and I
know it. Then it becomes only partially guaranteed. But that's
forty two million bucks, right if I'm James Harden, and
I'm like, all right, I opt out and I can
and I can get sixty million guaranteed over the next
two seasons. Okay, Like that works for me. Like Dan,
I'm in a better place. And if I'm the Cavs,
I'm like, that's much better because they need to start
relieving pressure on those aprons for themselves because they've you know,
especially if they want to make other moves in additions.
And that's where where yeah, I think it's it's kind
of similar to Trey Young, but slightly different in that
it happens right now that the player off so but
he's also a decade older than Trey Young is. So
like we're we're in a spall where it's like we
don't need to take it quite as you know far,
I'm in that position.
Speaker 1: And of course the big piece and we're gonna spend
the rest of the episode on this Keith Yannis. It's
believed that he prefers the Miami Heat, and they are interested.
Of course they like the Heat. I feel like have
just been waiting for years, years and years and years
to like get that Tier one guy. Like they've just
kind of gone through the motions waiting for some guide
to look at land in their lap. Now they have
some of the young guys as assets. Giannis is available.
Prime win Horse of ESPN reports that the offer from
Miami is believed to be built around Stylo Hero He'll
whar Haimi Hakis Junior and the thirteenth overall selection in
this month's draft. Like, what do you think about, like
the value alignment of that trade.
Speaker 2: It's it's interesting because we have a couple of components
at play here. Is Jannis has as far as we know,
not done the whole superstar thing of this is where
I want to be right Like it certainly hasn't done
it in any kind of public way. Also, the fact
that you talk to people around the league right now
and they'll tell you the value of draft picks has
never been a more uncertain than ever. I had a
team tell me last week, we're good with trading our
picks because there's never going to be a point where
we can bought them out for multiple years and try
to rebuild that way under the new lottery refour rules.
So why not trade some picks? If you're close now,
you know it to yourselves, go for it. I had
another team say I have no problem taking a bunch
of picks in trade, but I don't necessarily want them
all from one team, and if I do, I want
them kind of more spread out. I don't want the
next three years four years of picks and swaps all
in a row because that team gets really bad, we
may not benefit from it the way we want to,
so that that also factors in. I don't know. I
don't know that a Gyiannis trade needs to be four
first round picks and swaps in the inter intervening years
and all that anymore. I think Tyler Hero's contract is
far more palatable now. It's an expiring contract, so if
nothing else, you're out of it in a year. If
you're the Bucks and you're creating your own cap space.
I like Hakes. I like where. I don't know that
I love them as much as like, oh my god,
what you know our new franchise centerpieces. I think they're
good players. And I think they're good rotation players on
a good team. But the problem if you're the Bucks trade,
be honest, you're not gonna be a good team. So
I don't know that. I just want just guys who
are just good players, especially knowing that they're not that
far from needing new contracts too, So then that's where
we're going with that. So I think it's a good package.
I think it's better than anything that it was when
they were trying to get Dame a couple of years ago.
I think it's more law. The fits make a lot
more sense for the Bucks than any of the stuff
they were trying to send to Portland did. Portland already
had a ton of young shooting guards and I didn't
need Tyler Hero So that made sense to me why
Portland was like no, like, we don't want any part
of having him for the next three or four seasons.
So I think that is that part is good. Do
I think other teams can beat that? Yeah? I do.
I think there's multiple other teams that, if they wanted
to get involved, could say, hey, we can offer you
better players now, better package of draft picks, better package
of young talent, whatever it is, you're looking for. I
still haven't ruled out to that Miami. Everybody assumes, right
if excuse me, Milwaukee, but he assumes if Milwaukee gets
Hero and Hakes and where keep the young guys, and
they'll try to flip Hero and move them along. I'm
not sold that Milwaukee doesn't look at it and say,
you know what, like, why shouldn't we try to be okay,
like we can be all right, maybe called well together
a playoff team, because there's still some good talent on
this team and maybe maybe it does all come together.
So yeah, well we'll we'll see. You know, I'm very
very curious. I have no doubt in my mind. I
I get asked, as I'm sure you do every day,
where's Gianni's going? And I continue to say, think it's
probably gonna be Miami, Like you, just everything seems to
be lining up for this to finally be the time.
But I'm not gonna be shocked if we get the
tweet and that's not.
Speaker 1: Miami right that way, right, and and honestly it's I
think the Bucks sat on this a little too long,
because I would I would have been surprised if this
had been like the primary package a year ago. Perhaps
I think that the ship has just sailed a little
bit too long, like if it felt like everyone was
just kind of waiting for this breaking point like last year.
I wonder if they had traded him, I don't want
to say preemptively, but close to it, whether that would
have cashed in more than what they can get now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think there's definitely something to that. You know,
I am very like with the Yanni stuff. I just
I think we're We're just in a world where it
is like it this is the first superstar trade in
our new world, if you will, where we have both
the combination of the aprons, which are as much as
they pushed down on the super expensive teams, they forced
the bottom teams to come up you can't get the
Bucks can't trade them, and then sit on fifty million
in cap space just be like, well, we'll eat contracts
for picks and everything else you can't through the end
of free agency, but once season starts, that's over and
done with, and then new factor in this new lottery
reform world where it's like there, I think the Bucks
probably should have traded him a year ago, right, and
you you could have probably done even better. Then it's
just now it's like, I don't know, you know, where
are we going? So it's it's just you know. But
the reality is they didn't trade him a year ago.
So now now we're here and let's let's see. I mean,
there's there's an awful lot of reporting in buzz that
Boston's involved. I totally worlds where it makes sense to
me and I if you start following the bread comes
maybe they were leading everybody to the s Brad Stevens
was very direct multiple different times in his end of
season press conference. We need to be able to pressure
the room more. We did want more dunks and layups
and free throws. Well, even this version of the honest
nobody does it better than he does as far as
getting to the basket area over and over and over
again in a game. So maybe they do get involved.
We'll see.
Speaker 1: One final question before I let you go. It's kind
of a big one. So I'm gonna challenge you to
see if you can sum it up somewhat quickly.
Speaker 2: And good luck.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, that's why. That's what it's called a challenge, sir.
So with the lottery reform and the fact that free
agency has in its traditional sense kind of died and
with the Aprons making trades all that more difficult if
you're above the first and second Apron. You know, those
are the three main pillars of roster construction that has
been tingered with quite substantially over the past. I want
to say, four to five years. What is your rate
on this like going forward? Like? Because I'm getting the
sense and I've also heard a few rumblings that there
are league sects who are very tired of getting handcuffed
in terns just in terms of their flexibility. Could this
be a problem for the league moving forward, just in
terms of like limiting the flexibility of these three roster pillars.
Speaker 2: Yes, and no hum, And I'll try to be quick
on this. I think the Aprons have done their jobs.
The Aprons came in because they did not want teams
spending five hundred million dollars in combined roster plus tax penalties.
Like they just that's not where the league wanted to be. Now,
they made it extremely restrictive to be very expensive. There's
now I believe it's ten different things that trigger a
hard cap. There used to be like three, so now
and there's a whole other layer to get hard cap at.
I do think they have made it restrictive. That said,
one of my favorite quotes from a movie, life will
find a way from Park Like where everybody was like,
trades will never happen again, There's never going to be
any more big trades. Well, there's still just as many
big trades because teams are smart. They hire really smart
people and they pay them a lot of money to
figure these things out, and they do. So what I
do think has changed is the cap is not growing
the way they thought it was going to. There was
a point there where, especially after the new TV deal,
where it's like, man, we're going to grow to the
capped ten percent growth and then that's going to spill
over and spill over and spill over and we won't
even catch up at the time the end of the
YO CBA is done, like this is gonna be great.
We're gonna all be swimming in money. That doesn't happened.
It's not going to happen. And part of that is
that the fiasco death of local TV. So I think
we're in a spot where that's where I think teams
are maybe feeling the squeeze a little bit more of like,
it's just that much harder to get some things done,
especially if we also want to factor in the fourth
part of like the Rusterbil the extension. It's like, now
it's guys are like, all right, the money's there, I'll
just extend. And we've seen a handful of teams like
the Magic they great, they extended all their guys. Well,
now they're like, and maybe we probably shouldn't extended this
guy or this guy. Right, So those are all the
things you got a kind of factor and it's a
I'll say this, it's never been more complicated to put
together your roster than it is right now because you
no longer have the out of just I just pay
everybody and we'll trade them later.
Speaker 1: It doesn't work that way anymore, right, And the fans too,
are so much more confused now than there were just
three or four years ago. It's extremely difficult for them
to Like, if you're a casual fan, by the way,
nothing wrong with that. It's that's completely fair to follow
the league and not have like a complicated understanding of
the intricacies of the salary cap. Completely fair. But for
a lot of people who are just like, so, what's
going on with the league, and then you know, the
experts have to say, oh yeah, so in order to
understand this, you need to understand this and this and
this' it's extremely difficult I think for fans to relate
to roster construction at the NBA level with this and more.
Speaker 2: You made me laugh and unintentionally something we both also
share a passion for. It's become like like Marvel or
it's like if you don't watch these five TV shows
and all the movies, you're not gonna understand what's going
on and who is this guy? Where did he come from?
And it's like, yeah, so just made me laugh because
I was like, I'd never really kind of put those
two things together before.
Speaker 1: Right, No, you're right, it's absolutely true, and it's something
I've just been thinking about a lot, and I know
every single off season, I just get so many questions
from from NBA fans just wondering how does this work now?
Do like what do we need to be aware of?
And it's the answers aren't short, like they are so multifaceted,
like you have to really dig into it for people
to understand. So I think the league, it would behoove
the league overall to simplify certain processes moving forward. But yeah,
could you let our listeners know where they can find
your work, sir?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So if you like all this stuff and it
would not move for me because I like it being
complicated because then I get paid to explain all of it.
But you can follow my workover at spot track dot
com in the middle of off season previews. Oh over
there where you get those coming fast and furious. Heres,
the off season is fifteen days away. I mean it's here,
but the true opening of free agencies only fifteen days away.
So as we record this, so we're you know, cranking
those along. We've got all kinds of stuff coming out.
And with that, we've got free agent previews and breakdowns
and everything. I'll be breaking down all the major moves
that happen and all that. And then NBA Front Office
Show Trevor Lane and I. If you like conversations that
really revolve almost solely around roster construction and trade rumors
and all that stuff, that's what we do over there.
We have a lot of fun out with dead Every
friday's a live show Front Office Friday for the fans.
It's your show. You program it by asking us whatever
questions you have. We have a lot of fun with that.
So again, NBA Front Office Show on YouTube or anywhere
you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 1: Sounds good. Ben, thank you for for coming on for
two episodes, and thank you for everyone listening in until
we talk again, have a good one and stay safe everyone,