Ben Simmons attempting NBA return

We had a lot of talk about with NBA free agencies starting this week, starting off with my report that Anthony Davis and LeBron James are targets Golden State wararriors. Dave Defor joins me from the athletic to discuss that and a whole lot else happening around the NBA and what could be a very Terry Crazy week of trades and signings. All that's coming up now with me and Dave D before All right, baby, we got some crazy NBA free agency news already to talk about it all, Dave four from the athletic, Dave. What's up man Yeah, I am okay. This is an interesting time of year and I was expecting to have a really nice quiet week. So I'm great, man. Life is really good. We've got a lot to talk about It is not nice and quiet. It is loud and crazy right now. We'll start off with my report on Sunday night over at Yahoo Sports that the warriors want Both LeBron James An Anthony Davis. I wrote that on Yahoo Sports on Sunday night as well as some other things we'll get into later, but this morning, the first domino really fell Draymond Green opted out of his contract, Sham Shwni reported and he reiterated my report that the warriors would like to pursue both LeBron James and Anthony Davis. So we are potentially moving towards a reality in which we see LeBron Unite with his Olympics buddy, Stehan Curry with his BFF Draymond Green and his former co star with the Lakers winning a championship together and Anthony Davis from moving from Los Angeles up to the Bay Area Dave I think it would be one of the funnest possible combination of players we have ever seen in NBA history. Yes, it might go Sour. It might be like Carl Malone joining the Lakers or Steve Nash and White Howard joining the Lakers or the Kevin Arnett Paul Pierce Brooklyn. It's possible it would go that route But I still think this team would be awesome and fun to watch and really competitive and have an outside shot and winning the championship. and I hope it happens. But what were your first thoughts when you saw the news last night It's funny. Okay. This would be the funniest team that they could possibly put together. And it would be amazing for thirty games. The thirty games that they all played together in the regular season would be amazing. But the truth is man, this The NBA just doesn't work like this. I know you said they'd have an outside chance of winning a title. if they got there. you know, what are the odds that all these guys could get through the season? with a high enough seed to make this you know, a playoff run feasible for them. I just feel like it's pretty slim from a from a nerdy basketball fan perspective. this would be awesome. It would be a lot of fun And I think that offensively We would see some it would feel like an all star game when they actually played together especially Stephan LeBron Um I just I just don't see how this is a realistic basketball team in twenty twenty six. like it just doesn't make any sense onn paper doesn't make any sense. and that paper is birth certificates. That's why it doesn't make any sense. I mean, look, Dave yes, they would not be the favorites that would still be the hunger or the sppurs, theseese younger teams with B stars That's for sure. But buts buts This wouldood raise their ceiling undeniably, I think to to be able to flip Uh bigid level exception into LeBron James, who's still one of the twenty, twenty five best players the league who had stretches last year where he was still one of the ten best players in the league and then to turn Jimmy Butler who's out until January, February, with the Trn ACL in his late thirties and Anthony Davis, who, yes, has his own durability concerns. He's only played over seventy games once the last seven years, played only twenty games last year. That's all True. All of it's true but it would raise their ceiling around Stephan Curry in ways that they haven't in recent years since twenty twenty two, when they did see a good fortune on their way to the NBA finals where they did win it with a nice path on the way there. So you never know what can happen. And I just think for a The warriors, I have ripped them for years now saying that they were just taking for granted the end of this Stehen Curry era The end of the Steph Draymont era in which Steph is still a top five to ten player in the league And finally They could be actually cashing in. Is it too late Probably. They probably should have traded Jonathan Caminga two years ago for one of the many other guys. They pursued Lary Markin and Paul, George, like you name it. They've pursued that star player and they were unwilling to deal Kaminga of all people But the fact is that this opportunity is here now. I think LeBron to the warriors. has a real chance of happening The eighty part we'll talk about in a second, but fact Draymond Green actually opted out this morning of his contracts. That is something that in recent days, so on Sunday night when I wrote that on Yahoo, I had heard some rumblings that Drreaymon Green might actually be opting out I didn't put it in the story because I didn't have it solid enough to do it from speaking to enough sources on it There was rumblings about it. It actually happened and this happens, I think after two or three days after S trusted local warriors reporter said it sounds like the warriors were expecting him to opt in his deal. So there's been an about face here This could be a signal that Draymond who is very close to LeBron, who is a clutch client knows that LeBron could very well be going to golden state in LeBron alone, forget about the eighties side of things LeBron alone going to Golden State would just send Waves. through the whole basketball world What would your take be of that? deccision by LeBron Dave does happen And what would it mean for the warriors from a pure basketball standpoint as well I mean, LeBron James still an all NBA level player. I mean, he's an all star. I mean, this is undeniably true And what we watched him do, I mean, it listen, he had such a great little playoff run where we all got to feel like, wow, LeBron's the man again. I think it showed that you can still run large portions of your offense through LeBron. And when you if you paired him with a guy like Draymond Green and Steph Curry, right guys that are great at operating without the ball in their hands creating things with, you know, without a lot of just driribl think LeBron would fit right in there. you know, what he needs to do is to be able to coast through the regular season. You want him to play I don't know, fifty five games mayaybe just Ke in shape and then have them ready for the playoff run I think that on the court, it's a great fit. I mean, we've seen it in the Olympics and I know that that's not really a perfect sample compared to the NBA. But I do think that offensively if you paired one of the greatest basketball minds to ever play. with Stehen Curry, who's one of the, I mean, he is the greatest shooter to ever play, but also one of the best players ever play I think that you're going to, again, the ceiling wide open once you get to the playoffs. It's how do you defend? It's all these other questions that they would have to answer. And I think it it's actually a better fit for him then maybe going to Cleveland or going to Miami becausecause at least in Golden State, you kind of understand LeBron is going to be treated a certain way, and I don't think that the internal politics of a basketball team That happens. you know, he goes to Cleveland. He's got to share the ball with Donovan Mitchell, James Harden. very similar to what he would just be leaving in L.A. If he goes to Miami, you know, obviously there's the Jonest thing. Yianis wants to be the man there. I don't know if that's a good fit from just a, you know, again, personality standpoint. I think Golden State makes a lot of sense for a lot of different reasons. It's just The stuff on the court just makes me nervous Yeah, I think the injury aspect is would be the most nerve wracking part, but ultimately The basketball fit could be pretty beautiful. It'd be bond. I mean would be. That Olympic run was amazing and it really wasn't that long ago. You know, we just saw these guys play together. I think that Steve Kerr is also a genius coach. I think that he would figure out ways to use LeBron probably more in the post, you know, have him running Maybe he's the guy that you're running split cuts off of And now all of a sudden that's a more dangerous weapon. I just I think that the hardest part when I envision LeBron joining them is how you get to the playoffs especially in the loaded West. And I think that's where like getting Anthony Davis and hoping that he has one of his sixty plus sixty five plus game seasons would be of the utmost benefit. And that's why I think. So look, Jimmy Butler last week We did event with the Warriors for their New Jersey sponsor and He spoke to some local reporters after that event about him Anthony Slater, the Great Warriors Beat Rider had a quote in the story where Butler, you know pretty much said If I'm traded, I'm traded. likeike it's happened before, right? Like it's happened to me before and if they want somebody who can them out sooner. I like they got to go and do that. I get it. I thought that was a pretty illuminating quote from Butler because I'm not reporting this aspect, but I would imagine the warriors have been transparent with Butler like, Hey, We have talked to the box about Janis. We have talked to the clippers aboutb Kauwai We have talked to the wizards about Anthony Davis.'d imagined those conversations have been there rather than doing it behind his back because He knows that they talked in February after his tour as ACL like he knows, he's not stupid. He's been through this before. He's a professional So I think him saying that was an indication that he knows that these conversations are being had and understandably so Be to your point, Dave, when it comes to How loaded the Western conference is If you don't have let's say the warriors get LeBron and but they keep Butler. They don't get Davis. R. If you don't have Butler until February or March You might be the eleven seed, the ten se, the twelve seed. I don't know where you're going to be but you're probably not a top six seed in the Western conference without one of your best players. And so If you're able to get a guy who can play in October And Anthony Davis and turned Butler who's out with a twentyorny CL at thirty eight years old plus One first, two first. I mean, I think of like for the wizard side of things, they would need draft capital back de The warriors can only trade up to two first round draft picks. they can trade four swaps in a deal. So My understanding is that the wizards aren't They're not a big in a big rush here to deal Ly. They would need some draft capital back in return for him. So I'd say like a twenty, twenty eight first Maybe A future first to twenty thirty three I wouldn't necessarily go that far a far with the warriors, but if it means getting eighty Anne LeBron Andreaymond back on a discount and Chris Aspor Zinggus back or something along those lines Maybe it is worth it just to go totally all in around Staff and Draymond and this old core, this big four Andess they screw it. Let's go for it despite what the draft capital is for injury prone Anthony Davis. Would you do this deal that you see on screen eighty for Jimmy Butler plus two future first in twenty eight and thirty three Absolutely Uh, you you already said, you've got Steph Curry. Why not They should have done this years ago. I mean, this is actually the culmination of failures by the warriors frront office. For the last, I don't know, seven, eight years. It's not just the last couple. And so Is this perfect? No. This is a swing though And it's one that if it doesn't pan out, yes, we're going to we're going to hammer them and say, wow, of course You can't just have an old team anymore. But if you do nothing, go back into the season. your big signing was you bring back Al Horford I mean, I just I don't think that's a good way to do it either. So, you know, when you look at the landscape that is around in free agency There aren't a lot of players out there that they can go and get anyway They don't really have the money like this is one way to do it is is by trading Jimmy Butler Seal. Now, would it be better if they got Kaai Maybe. I don't know. I think what Anthony Davis can do when he's healthy for a defense, that's what these guys would need But it's that when healthy, if healthy and, you know, how many games can he play? If he can give them sixty five games and be ready for a playoff run G. But is that sixty five games enough to not be in the play in? That's the thing that that worries me. You're going to have to You're going have to win a lot of games in the West to be in the top six and I just don't know if they'll have the availability. But I would do this deal in a heartbeat. likeike you said You've got to have a player in that slot that that fifty plus million dollar contract. You can't just have a guy who sitting around until February. and then he's going to have to ramp up, like It's not like it's guaranteed Jimy Butler comes back in day one, he's Jimmy Butler. So Yeah, I'm with you. I think youve probably got to do it I go for it. I just say screw it, let's go for it. Let's try to go for ring number five, right? Let's just try to do this miraculous run and try to make it happen. I think, you know, the wizard side of things here in my story, I mentioned how All indications are that the wizards are signaling they're happy to keep Anthony Davis. And I think that's true. They just resigned Trey Young. They traded for eighty for a reason earlier in the year. Now that said I am intrigued by thing their general manager Will Dawkins said. He said on the ESBN live draft show that They're going to wait until August. Talk extxtension with Anthony Davis. Wait till August. like wait till August for what So he can sign for two hundred seventy five million dollars. They're not giving him that money What are we wait until August really for Like if you're not going to give him that money on august sixth when he's eligible for four years, two hundred seventy five million dollars, what are we waiting for? My gut feeling is and this is not me reporting this feeling is that the wizards were more excited about keeping Trey young than they are about Anthony Davis and that Trey was more excited about staying in Washington that Anthony Davis would be. That's in Park as eighty is older. He's in his thirties, already traingng, still in his twenties. He still us years down the road whereas eighty, there's more urgency to win now and try to go get that ring, try to have a parade as he said himself after the season concluded with the wizards I think that the wizards are more open to dealing ADE. then perhaps they might be signaling. to other teams going to be very fascinating here though is to see are more teams than the wararriors because could the Portland Triilblazers be interested as others have reported. Is there some surprise teams out there that could be interested in Anthony Davis, especially if he's willing to sign for a lower amount of money to be in a winning situation and Why wait until August for an extension? I think the wizards are open to dealing now. It's just a matter of getting something back in return that makes sense for them, which is why Draft Capital would have to be out there. But I don't think it's a guarantee that we see the warriors get AD. I don't think that's a guarantee, but they're definitely trying for it Yeah, I mean, they should, they should definitely try. and look, the twenty twenty eight first I don't even know what kind of value that'll have. And by the time you get to twenty thirty three, we may be under completely draft you know, different draft rules. So who knows what the value of these picks are? And I think that you could live a little bit in that mystery box zone. those picks and just say, hey, we'llnd them out. take a swing and if it works it it's great. you know, But if it doesn't, are we really going to miss those picks anyway? you know, I think that yes, you got to play for now And we'll be right back after this break I mentioned Cai Leon earlier,'s a lot of Ca Leard stuff in the news right now. and it seems like there's a real chance he's on the move. Saan Shaani has said on ESBN this morning that the Raptors are the only team Kaui has signaled that he'd be willing to extend with if he's traded away from the clippers That's pretty newsworthy considering the fact that we know. Dallas, according to Sam Ammet, Christian Clark and some of your other coworkers over there at the athletic, reported, Dallas has interests And Kwi Leonard, we know from last week, Brian Windhorst over to ESBN said that the pistons would have interest Kwi Leonard were willing to extend. There's been another reporting that he is not willing to extend there. I believe that's the stineline. The reported of that but was C Wh why Leonard We very well could have a Raptor's reunion there for Brandon Ingrham and other assets in return going to the Clippers To me, Dave The clippers should be jumping at an opportunity to be K why Leard thirty four years old justust had the best regular season of his career. twenty eight points per game or nearly fivety forty nine. He played sixty five games This is your chance to end it. No more silence, no more injuries, no more Uncle Dennis, no more load management, no more playoff absences, no more aspiration Move on Move on. There's an opportunity. There's an escape hatch that has opened up for the clippers And they should jump through it before it closes. Get rid of them Get something back from her have a nice fun team You said thirty four actually today is his thirty fifth birthday. So this is his age thirty five season coming birthday. And he just had one of the healthiest years in recent memory. and I think you're right You're selling at the highest his value is ever going to be for the rest of his career actually, you know, all NBA season guy would have been if they were a better team if, you know, that he's in the MVP mix with the numbers that he put up And with the dominance that he that he played with. I mean, this was this was an old school Kwi Leonard season. It feel I felt a lot like that twenty nineteen season where, you know, oftentimes I was wondering, wow, was C Wh why Leonard You know, a top five player again Is that is that where we're at? And I think it, you know, and I think that Toronto, if he goes there, that's a really nice fit that he gives them, you know, quite a bit of creation on the wing. a guy who can get you a bucket, which is, you know, one of the things that they need, but also the ball doesn't stick with him like it does with Brandon Ingram. I think he could work in the flow of their offense quite quite well Personally, I thought the best fit was going to be goingo back to San Antonio He could slide into that four spot right next to Wimby They all of a sudden just become this overwhelming team from a talent perspective But I don't know if that one's going to actually happen. Toronto, you know, he had one of the healthiest years of his career since his injury When he was up there with Alex McKckney And maybe maybe going back is something, you know, a place that he can trust with his body Maybe that's part of this, but yeah, the clippers Wow, they should feel very lucky today They should be very lucky be feeling very lucky today, especially at least if Balmer is willing to trade Kawai and I think he's crazy if he's not willing to. Well the plan was to be out of the Kawai business next season anyway. you know, I don't think that they had any intention of of assigning him to an extension So if you can if you can actually get something for them You got to do it. Now whether they want to take Brandon Ingram back or find a third team or however they make the mechanics work, I think That's going to be the telling part about the clippers Are they desperate to move on from Ki versus are they just trying to make the best deal themselves up to the future ' it's definitely an interesting challenge there for them. And I think one aspect to note in regards to the cllippers is that Vinnyoodwell, my old coworker, yeah who who's now at ESB and he said this morning, I think I was on get up and he said that he heard that the clippers really want Chaylen Brown And so I don't know if Boston's a team for Kawui. I have not heard of that at all. I can't imagine Boston would be doing, you know, cartwheels for to get Brandon Inram either. but If the clippers could get draft capital plus Beran Ingram and then flip draft capital and whatever salary to Boston for Jayen Brown I could see something like that making some sense for sure. I think for both sides because Boston wants four first round draft picks for Jayen Brown. The clippers could get to four first round draft picks after acquiring after getting rid of C Whi Leonard for whatever picks they get. They have three free eachure first already. They could have five tradeable plus swaps We don't know the exact number yet, but the clippers could get there to a number where it's like, Oh, you could turn Now thirty five year old Koi Leonard into, you know, a guy who's six five, six years younger, Jalen Brown Yeah, Yes, please. If you're the clippers because then you're young And you're still good, you're still competitive rather than losing your best player in Kawai. So I think That's an intriguing subplot here when it comes to Ki Lard trrases the potentially them pivoting it into Jayalen Brown Yeah if they wind up with Jail and Brown out of this and they keep, you know, they're Keaton Wagler and they've got Darus Scarland. That's a pretty good reboot. by the clippers to go from this old team the last couple of seasons to a much younger team, a team that actually is set up from an age perspective to compete in the NBA. It's all about, you know, how do they fill out the rest of that roster as far as how competitive they can be in the West But Jaylen Brown, the the The conversation around Jalen Brown is very funny We watched him be, you know, he was sixth in the MVP vote this past season and we watched him be what I thought was pretty dominant. during the regular season. He had the best season of his career And it seems like he's He's being viewed as this distressed asset When the truth is, this is one of the more valuable players who's become available, doesn't have an injury history. can give you, you know, seventy plus games every single year has won a finals MVP won a title, you know, has always been in the mix in the playoffs. I mean he and Jason Tatum. one of the sad things about seeing them break up is how successful they've been think that u, you know, the clippers can wind up with Jalen Brown, they've they've maybe had a better summer. than anybody else because moving on from Kawai, getting something for him and then winding up with another franchise superstar that's five years younger, I think that that's a pretty successful summer. If you're listening to this podcast and you're like, why is Dave Duford defending Jayalen Brown. O of course Jaylen Brown's a good player.. And you're not you must not be on social media because what happened was Bobby Marks from ESBN was on Sirius XM last week and he was talking about Jalen Brown, what the market could look like for him and how it's not exactly clear what the return could be for Jayalen Brown. and he quoted an analytics guy from an NBA team who said that They view Jalen Brown as the seventh best player on a team and Bobby in this serious SXM interview immediately was like, this is outrageous. L that' that's a bit too strong. like you could be a little down on Jayin because some of the effi inefficiencies as a permanenter score, some of the turnovers and all that, but seventh best player is outrageous is what Boby Mark said. However, Yeah the clip clip That's an good clip. the I had an in this guy tell me we view Jayalen Brun as a seven those player on a team individual quotes. went super, super, super viile. It caused a Analytics versus I test discourse. and most of all, it caused Jalen Brown to crash out. on social media. He was quoting quoting stuff about it, going wild and saying, you know, analyics have and are ruining the game we play. We playing AI hoops He said, among other things, he shared videos on his Instagram stories, Y yada yada, yada, yadda, yadda. like a lot happened Anyway U The fact is is that with Jayen Brown, The discourse is outrageous as you said, Dave. He is a highigh level basketball player, onene of the fifteen best players in the league last year, one of the fifteen to twenty best period when you look at would you stack them all up? when healthy, And he is somebody who just too me, when I think about Jayalen Brown, I think of a guy that just plays with no fear constantly brings energy and toughness and physicality to the floor. and he did that all game long for a Boston Selfix team that many people thought was going to be right down there the bottom of the standings next to the Indiana Pacers who were also without their star player, Tyes Halliburton justust like Jason Tatum was out, and yet he dragged them to a two seed winning over fifty games. Jaylen Brown was unbelievable last year against all odds And so this is the guy who's w of finals MBP made the playoffs every year has his flaws without a doubt as a perimeter sure, as a playmaker. All that's true that doesn't take away from what he does on the floor. And how it's gotten better every year and continues to improve even despite having all the success. I think Crazy time That what we've seen against Jayalen Brown and any team that gets him as getting a really high level basketball player Well number one, there's no there's no analytical model that's going to call Jayalen Brown, the seventh best player on a team. It just doesn't exist Because if it did, you wouldn't have a job Because that's nowhere close to the eye test And obviously nowhere close to the results that you see on the court That being said, like Jalen Brown, again, a guy who can be your number one. I think that analytics have a hard time encapsulating what that player does for a team. You know, if you think about what Jalen Brunson did in the finals in the first you know, four games that series awful shooting. You know, you look they had a seven for twenty five. The numbers are not looking great. But you can't go back and watch those games and tell me that he wasn't the best player on the Nicks team on the offense event. just one hundred percent was super important to them winning the title. And obviously he had that great game five. but That's really what the difference is. It's the divide in explaining that a number one guy's job different than a number seven guysy job. And so those num it's easier to be the number seven guy. You always come in, you're playing against the bench guys. you're playing against two way guys. Jayen Brown's playing against the best competition every single night and the best defender is oftentimes guarding him That's his job. His job is to sometimes shoot. thirty percent on a given night. It's got it. someomeone's going to do it And it's his job to do it. So I don't know, man. It's This is a little bit of Bobby being taken out of context, obviously, like where he, you know, refuted that statement But also I just think players are not necessarily treated fairly when we get into the analytics conversation because I mean, I understand taking it personally. I mean, I don't know if you know you want to crash out on the internet over it. But yeah, we're back to analytics guys being called nerds. We've got hoopers versus nerds again. we're back The world is healing, Dave. That's the power of it. The world the world is healing Now I will say Jalen coming out with receipts and saying nobody's won more games than me in the regular season and playo. That's my kind of analytics. I do, I do like that. Hey, I win. and he's right. I mean he does win. He's been a part of winner. So I think that that stuff that matters a little bit more I mean, look, Jalen Jalen has in a way gone from like overated to underrated all in a matter of, I don't know. It's the Twitch stream. It's the Twitch stream It's oververexposure, right? Like if if you never knew what Jayalen Brown was doing, you would be like, wow Jaman Brown so good. I mean, it's like Kawai mystery about him actually adds to his player mystique kindind of funny if the clippers do go from C Whine Leonter this mysterious player to Jayalen Brown who is he's doing co post on Instagram collaboration post for with Jayalen Brown clips, which is definitely run by somebody on his team To be clear. He's doing speed runs on Mario, I think next week. I think that's his plan Oh boy, watch it live on Twitch, FCH WPO, whatever it is that acronym. But regarding Jalen Brown potential trade destinations, Sam Amk at the athletics said that the Portland Trailblazers are considered the front runner Jalen Brown. And so I got a fake trade to put together here for you, Dave, where the Celtics send Jayen Brown and Sam Hauser to Portland Boston gets back Scoot Henderson Jeremy Grant Shade and Sharp in the four first round draft picks that they desire in return for Jaylob Brown From Boston side of things like this would they want. They get four first, they get Scoot Henderson in the final year of his rookie scale Dale, Jeremy Grant, a veteran on a short term deal. He can fill some of the minutes by Jayalen Brown and Shade and sharp. bit of a wild card guy to add to your rotation and four first round base from the Portland side of it Would you do this? Are you willing to give all of this? For Jayen Brown, given your existing roster, giving Denny Avda, Donnaman Kling and everything else you already have there. wouldould you do this I think it puts you into playoff contention. So yeah, I think you go ahead and do it.. You know, Jayalen Brown being the best player in the trade. That's the thing I look at first. Who's getting the best player in the trade And I think Portland being able to add Jalen Brown to what they've already got And you're really not Shaden Sharp, I think is going to be a good player. He's not a playoff like starter right now Jayen Brown is Sam Hauser, I think can start for you in the playoffs Scoot, he' still a project to a certain degree. Jeremy Grant has a bad contract And the four first look, if you're going to field a competitive team You're going to be trading your first round picks anyway. That's how it works. So I actually don't hate this deal for Portland. I don't know if I love it for the Celtics. The Jeremy Grant contract is in albatross that you're going to have to try to move U and again, the nebulous value of these future first round picks. I don't know you know, what are they going to be worth in twenty twenty nine, twenty thirty if the leeague changes the draft lottery rules again. So I would say, yeah, you take that draft capital just because that's how this works But I don't love the Celtic side of this. Anybody getting Jalen Brown. I'm pretty much happy with. I think that they're going to be happy with the trade This is it It's not a great one for the Celtics. I do think Scoot getting a chance to develop there probably be better than Portland. I just think what we've seen out of the Celtics development staff has been pretty remarkable And Satansark would play right away, obviously, but you know, would he benefit like more than anyone by being able to play with Jason Tatum. I think so., you know, a guy that draws that much attention. So, you know, maybe its it's a good deal, but I don't think its it's such a step back for Boston fromrom a competitive standpoint that I don't love it. I'd be all over it if I Boston personally. I'd be all over it. I know San and Chharp has has flaws as a player sure. Yeah. Jeremy Grant only two years left. I'm not I'm not stressing too hard about that. He's got this year at thirty four million and then thirty six million a player option next year. To me, that that's not as big of a deal as as you feel it is personally. And then with Scoed Henderson, I mean, look, He had eighteen points in game one against his firstur thirty one in game two, twenty one in game three And then zero And then five, right. So like you really really sunk it up in game four and five, but we saw the flashes and games one, two and three and we saw the flashes of Stardom in the lead up to the playoffs as well when he was really shooting the ball well for Portland. And so with Scoot entering year four at twenty two years old, a guy who was a number three pick in the draft Why not? And with Shade and Sharp, he's in year one of a four year deal worth ninety million dollars. It's not like This outrageous deal for a guy who's twenty three years old and elite athlete. If the Celtics could turn him into a more consistent three point shooter. I think it would open up Re everything for him because we know he's a great athlete a downhill attacker and so I think that gives you two young guys to build with today that have a potential, you know ceiling to build towards. and then Jeremy Grana you know, a fhill or older guy with four first round draft picks I can't's see a team do better. It is Yeah, it's a haul. I just don't, you know, if I'm Boston, I don't love it personally. you know, I think that you you could probably get better young player and maybe you get first from a team that's not going to be very good. I mean, what's Portland's ceiling going to be when they have Jayen Brown? You know, I think that that makes them a lot better than they are currently But that being said, I think that this might be the best deal that they can get as far as just the overall total package. I just don't like these players as much. I think that's fair. And like I think in terms of other packages, Michael Scotto at Hoopsype floated out there that the hornets could be a team for Jayen Brown as well And Sott Scotto wrote in his column last weekend that the Celtics like Naz Read and their conversations with Minnesota involving Jayen Brown prior to the Lameello Ball deal. And so You put all the pieces together here like Charlotte They trade for Lamelloall or they trade away LamMello Ball to the Minnesota Tim Wolves. as we talked about in my podcast last Thursday. then this weekend, they tradeed away Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Ss. They trade away Bridges, a twenty nine first, a twenty seven second and the Hornets got back Graysason Allen, Royce O'Neill in a thirty three first round draft pick unprotected from the Phoenix Suns. We'll talk about the sun side in a minute. but like on the hornet side of things The conversations I've had with people around the NBA have been Is there something bigger coming Is there another move they're building towards or they just saying we're taking a step back We're going to take a step back this year. We are White. where we seem to be with our great second half on last year think I think there's a real possibility that they are in on Jalen Brown or somebody else You think Jayen Brown the connection with Charles Lee. The Charlotte head coach, a former assistant in Boston you think about the team needs for Charlotte as well. they have a lot of perimeter oriented players. They need more guys who get to the basket who can get downhill. Jayalen Brown can help you there I think he makes sense from a roster standpoint in terms of elevating this team but also it makes sense from a fit standpoint in terms of Boston being able to get a guy who can help like Nas Reed And draft capapital Pors have a lot of it to give up. They can give up a lot to get Jalen Brown and still have a lot left over And so I think it makes some mutual sense for both sides, both Boston and for Charlotte to find a deal here that could make some sense. This might be the deal I like best because I think N adding Nas reid to the Celtics. And then those hornets picks I think that that's a pretty good deal for for getting Jalen Brown. That being said, it's the lack of young player in the deal. I think could be a sticking point again, Boston like that they need a, I think to add a prospect in this deal You don't move again, your second best player or best player and not get anything thinking about the future But the fit for Jailin in Charlotte perfect. It's perfect He's exactly the guy that they could need that they could use And Con Konnipple and Brandon Miller are the guys that would benefit the most from Jalen Brown's consistency you know, the their their ability to stretch the floor around a guy who can attack and get downhill the way Jalen does It opens up a world of possibilities. And as sad as I am to see the Lomeello Ball era in Charlotte end I think that one of the big issues that they had you know, during even that winning streak that they had is that it was so dependent on Lameello and how much he touched the ball. And so they're going to have to find a way to replace that Jalen Brown could do it. He can step in. He could be that high usage guy And I think everyone else's efficiency goes up because he's so consistent last season in Charlotte out of pick and rolls in isolations. acccording to Synergy Sports. Lamello Ball took nineteen percent of his shots at the rim Bernon Miller took nineteen percent of his shots at the rim. So they they're getting rid of Lameello touches Kobe White last season with both Chicago and Charlotte took forty four percent of his shots at the room out of the pick and rolls and isolations. Conipple thirty percent. You're going to see him get more touches too. Jayen Brown was thirty two percent. And so I think you look at everything Charlotte's done this off season or even this full calendar year, getting Kobe White in February, trading Lameello Ball now Drafting Hannna Steinbeck with the fourteenth pick as well, a guy who can face up or play back to the basket. just a vacuum rebounder inside as well They're adding more layers to their offense. I almost felt like last season there was They were a high volume and a high efficiency shooting team, but it was almost so reliant on the perimeter jumper that it felt like a miracle. when Lameello Ball hit that game winning layup and the playing tournament opener I was like, oh my God He actually got from the rom. He't jack a jumper And so I think they're adding layers to this team And that's why like I feel When they first traded away Lamela Ball It felt like they were like taking a step back this year, but Maybe they're actually just shuffling the pieces in a way where they' They could actually be, you know, better next year. I don't I wouldn't rule that out. We'll like they would have to get Jalen Brown or or some other star out of this for them to be better than having L Mello. But at the same time, I think there's a possibility we see Charlotte take a They step forward this season, depending on what happens depending on what happens. Do you think that's possible? or Do do you see them just being worse regardless of what happened than we saw at the end of the year No, I mean, listen, if they add a player that's better than Lameello, right? If they if they add Jayalen Brown, I think they'll be better If they let could they kick the tires on Kaui You know, they'd be better. I just, you know, do they sign LeBron James? They're better You know, Lameelo, he's a he's a very talented player There's a certain amount of, you know, just foolishness that that you deal with that I think takes away from your marginal or is right? Like again, the some of the turnover stuff four shot selection And if you just add a better, more consistent player into that spot, I think you're going to look at a better team. their issues are are more like I think, like I worry about their big man situation. You know, what we saw I think that Mus Dia Bat is a good player. He can't be your starting five U We'll see about Hannas Steinbeck and whether or not he could develop into that. Brenner's not quite a starter in my opinion And I think that that is something that they're like. It's the base defense How do you raise the floor so everyone has an easier job? Like you mentioned relying on the outside jumper. They had a lot of wins coming back from being down because they were hot and cold sometimes from three. And they were hot more often than not, which is why they they won so many games. but I do think just not having a good Hey, this is our drop defensive scheme. that's going to, we're going to use this seventy percent of our defensive possessions and get through the regular season. I think that that's something that they need to focus on oututside of adding, you know, Jayen Brown or whoever. The sun side of that deal just to reiterate the trade details. The sunonss are getting Miles Bridges a twenty twenty nine first round pick, which is the least favorable favorable from Utah Cleveland or Minnesota and they're also getting a twenty twenty seven second and they're sending back Graysason Allen, Royce O'Neill and a twenty thirty three unprotected first round drop pick for Phoenix. to me, this feels veryer much just like Madish via meddling Michigan state connection They got the coach They got the player. they they got they got Michigan state all over the play get the GM. they get Michigan state all over the place now That's what this feels like to me more than anything else is that they just wanted to get Miles Bridgees ex Michigan State Spartan Give up a twenty thirty three unpotected first round pick for Miles Vges Dave W man. Yeah, it's a bad deal. I not love it. I don't love it for Charlotte. for Phoenix at all, man No, it's a bad deal And I mean, listen, he's he's not a good enough player for an unprotected first like that. I just think that that that's a huge overpay. Are they going to hire Sparty to be the mascot. you know, like where do we where does it stop? You know, at what point does this stop even being like cute The owner is just obsessed with the college that he went to We saw this with the previous owner with Robert Sarver and that's why they drafted De Andre Ayon number one in Luactes just draft, right? I don't know. I feel like this is kind of a silly way to build a team U the sons, in my opinion, they took a step back, especially looking forward. And I mean, frankly, look, if Grason Allen and Royce O'Neal are still in Charlotte start of the regular season, that's another way at which Charlotte got better because having some role player depth like that coming off the bench, guys who can shoot it like this That's going to be huge for them. I mean, you know, maybe we do need to watch out for what Charlotte's doing because They are putting together it looks like a deeper basketball team, if nothing else. But yeah, I just I don't like this for Phoenix Yeah. hate I hate it for Phoenix. It doesn't make much sense to me. It especially doesn't make much sense after trading up in the draft to go get coaete Another, you know, non shooter and Miles Bridges is not a non shoot, but he's a shaky shooter You are you are really, really banking on C on Malawatch their lottery pick last year to be an effective shooter from the center spot And we'll see. mayaybe that works out. Maybe we see him in Smmer League next week in Las Vegas and he's splashing threes and looks like a star.. So if you want to see C on Malawatch, splash three pointers in Las Vegas, be sure to check out the gameime app. You can find summer League tickets on there to do just that. if you want to watch the C on Malaatch show and every other all your other favorite rookies and young players in the NBA. And we'll be right back after this break Regarding something else I wrote last night, Dave on Yahoo spports, was the heat. So there was a report from the sideline their priority targets our thirty four year old streaky shooter Tim Hardaway Jior and thirty eight year old. Vveeran point guard, Mike Conley, priority targets for those guys and it's like, who, boy God, if those are your priority targets to round out the guard rotation around Dav Mitchell. God, I'm a little bit concerned there. However, However My leag sources have said that the Miami Heat are trying to dump Nikola Yovich and his four year deals that starts at sixteen point two million dollars is there. They're trying to attach Draft capital to other teams to try to dump him. Right now, the heat are in a situation that the reason why they do that is because they need to open up cap space in order to be able to resign Norman Powell. They are hard capped at the first apron, which is two hundred nine million dollars. The heat are roughly nineteen million dollars below that right now today. Norman Powell could sign with Detroit or Chicago or somebody else for more money than what the heat are able to offer. If they dump Yovich They could get well over thirty million dollars in space to be able to resign Nan Powell. And I'll tell you what. If they're able to pull that off and get Powell back and then there're Priority bench depth targets are Tim Hardaway, Junior. and Mike Conneley. That sureue sounds way better to me than back court with Daveidy Mitchell Mike Conley and Tim Hardaway and that's it. They need to get Norm Powell back U they need a lot. They look, they need, they need to figure out how they're going to keep Andrew Wiggins because I don't think they can lose him Um If Mike Connlly and Tim Hardaway Juni. are your targets I mean, is this where you landed or is this where you started I understand that free agency is just not really a thing anymore. and you don't they don't really have a lot of assets to trade. It's part of the reason why I'm not totally in on the Miami part of the Yonest trade is they gave up everything. They have an empty cupboard at this point. And they don't even have a full basketball team Did they take a step back? I don't know because they got the best player. They got Yanis probably still a play in team this is, but you just have nothing to improve with If they can if they can somehow wind up getting Norm Powell back, I think that that's a big step in the right direction They will have shooters, I think line up to come play there because They're going to be able to get paid and I think that they're going to have open looks because of Janis. That being said quality shooters are available in free agencies. How are you going to manufacture assets to get these guys. I don't see it. I The Tim Hardaway Move makes a lot of sense to me just because he might be the best shooter available U But if you don't bring back Norm, I mean, it's going to be dark very fast if you're starting Tim Hardaway junirors for some reason. thing I think is very intriguing is that There's three teams with traded player exceptions bigger than Yovich's sixteen point two million dollars deal Dallas Memphis in Chicago So I wonder if Chicago coming out of nowhere as a team that could sign Norm Powell is their way to say betteretter give us that extra draft capital with Yovich Or else we'll sign Pollo I have not heard that. I'm just speculating there. But if you're going to dump Yovich and get nothing in return back, Memphis, Dallas and Chicago have traded Boston to have traded player exceptions, but Boston would not be a team that would take take Yov. They not they're not even worth mentioning. I could see Dallas doing it to. I could see Memphis their younger teams. Wh not take a take a roll with the dice on Yovich and maybe at his size, he turns into something for you. But I think Chicago I could see them. as well. they like I don't know about this. I don't know about Chicago. I think ment does make a lot of sense. Yeah, there's too many guys in Chicago but also six foot nine players on the bulls if they also the way they operate. This is this would be a smart move, you know what I mean? I don't, I don't expect grizzly ownership. They just they just drafted Camboozer and Karina Lopez as well. They get they get a lot of guys whichich means they don't need Yovich Right? Like it means that they could just take those draft paps and they could figure it out Dallas, I think could make some sense. This is if you think he is going to develop. like do you think he just needs an opportunity or Maybe he's just not going to be that good.. You know, I don't know You know, I don't really have a high evaluation of him. L I don't think he's necessarily someone I need to clear room to develop. And if I can get a couple of draft picks and take them into my books And if I'm Memphis, I think that's a team that it tracks for, right? They don't need him to play. He wouldn't be a part of their future, but you would get some high value draft picks, especially as Janis gets older down there in Miami. I don't, you know, I don't know what that's going to look like in a couple years. So yeah, I think you just take them and it's not about the player. It's about to picks I think it's definitely about the picks. it hs it dumps and Yeah, it is a dump. Unfortunately for a guy twenty three years old, but by role player standards, he's on an albatross contract four years, sixty two million dollars when he hasn't developed at all And four years. he's basically plateaued since he was a teenager. Yes, like it is a Rle player Alvatross contract and u I think for Miami, you know, just a couple other names. The Miami Herald reported Buddy healed and Chris Middleton as well. Th those names don't. Make you too much more excited either just S a Middleton was still a winning player with the wizards. I mean, like he somehow is just going to be a winning basketball player the whole time he's in the league Is it great that you're thinking about starting Chris Middleton in twenty twenty six? I don't know. I don't know. It's not it's not great. It's not great at all. We had Treay Murphy as well. I reported on Yahoo Sports on Sunday night that the Peligans have multiple offers on the table that include two first round draft picks for Trade Murphy. Joe Dumars, the Pelicans' generenal manager has wanted three I'm skeptical he's going to get there. From what I understand, it seems like these other teams are holding firm. I'm not even sure those offers are all real. first Some of it might be like one first plus a protected first or a swap. but for you know, just for the discussion. it seems like too first ish as on the table for the Pelicans from multiple teams and The intriguing part to me reggarding New Orleans is something I've had these conversations with a handful of different executives around the league is how Th Bottom of the barrel teams like New Orleans with the new draft lottery rules. they not only have to worry about what assets they get in return for a good player alsoso can't be too bad. becausecause with the draft relegations on. bottom three teams now in the NBA have one lottery ball removed from their odds. And so The Pelicans can't just trade Tay Murphy into like the Celtics traded player exception and get no player back because then you're then you're then you're losing your best, you know, three point shooter, one of your best wing defenders, a versatile guy who can play in any line up configuration on the roster. and your margin for error becomes even slimmer If like Zion misses T or whoever Herb Jones misses time Yeah if you don't have Tray Murphy. Yeah when when When do I have this right It's like you need to be really careful here because you might feel like, oh, we got that extra swap But we didn't get a good player back. Suddenly the floor in your team is worst in the league and you're trying to dig your way out in March and April to get back your lottery onds. You don't want that to happen. And so That's a new variable that the pelicans have to think about when it comes to Treay Murphy deals that is new. L this is a new thing. with the draft relegation zone. I just wonder how much they're actually weighing that when it comes to this right now I look, I had heard that they were potentially a Jalen Brown landing spot and that actuallyually made a little bit of sense becausees, shouldn't the Pelicans be trying to compete? I mean, you have players for like there they're somehow worse than the Sacramento Kings when it comes to Hving good players on the roster and being able to win. I mean, Sacramento doesn't have that many good players But the Pelicans do. I mean, the Pelicans always have guys that you hear about in trade rumors because they do have so much talent I think if you add Jalen Brown to that mix, I mean, it gives you in my opinion, a clear direction to winning R? Like it's a path to winning, not just being not a loser Tay Murphy, I mean I don't know if he can I don't know if they can get three draft picks for him, but probably should draft picks for him. if that's what they're asking for. That guy immediately adds to any winning team and potentially puts him over the top. I mean, you know, you talked about Boston if he could go there. I think that's a great fit. If somehow Denver could wind up with Trey Murphy. It would be fantastic. I don't know that they can do it financially Uh it's What are the Pelicans are the Pelicans going to be willing to go for the two first round picks Or would it be, you know, two picks in a player or is it is it holding firm and going into next season with with Treay Murphy and maybe hoping you're doing this at the deadline This is the thing that always the problem I have with the pepublicans front office is I don't know which direction they're trying to go Like are they are they trying to go this development route? We're going to build up our young guys and fears and Derek Queen or are we going to try to remain competitive In which case, why trade Why trade at all any of your good players. It just unless you're going to bring back a guy like Jayalen Brown. So I'm a little bit confused in just their process much less you know, what they're asking. I think the three first round picks is about right for him. Yeah I mean Two plus maybe like one fake one. sureure. I think there' a bit more swap or two, you know Yeah swap. Yeah. I mean, but like three unprotected it seems a little rich me for Tray Murphy. I mean, he's's no des don wrong Yeah. Yeah, we're not going to give up five for Tray Murphy. I mean, he could become Desmond Bane U and years, you know, he's still getting better. He's still on the upward trajectory here. But that is it's an interesting thing for New Orleans. and I do think Jayalen Brown should be on their radar as well. I'd be happy to trade for Brown If I were the Pelicans. And I think another team, you know that is in this similar type of position right now is the Sacramento Kings. They're currently over the luxury tax. They are working to try to get under the tax. There's very strong possibility they just wave Dar wave and extend Dar Rosen Mara Rosen has ten million guaranteed on his contract next season. that would effectively get them under the tax but they wouldn't have much wiggle room to really add to the roster at all. And I've been told that They've made trade offers to teams attaching future draft capital. to players currently under contract to try to get off more money to create more flexibility for more moves, but the same thing that we just talked about with New Orleans also applies to Sacramento You can't give up too much of your proven talent you can't get too much worse because then you might be hurting your own position in the standings, especially in the loaded Western conference. and like suddenly you might be looking at the second worst record in the league entering April and you' like, oh my God. we shouldn't have waveed Dar. He was good for three more wins and we have our full draft on. So It's a it's a real challenge for teams now when it comes to Getting rid of good players, it's not as simple as, o, we'll just suck you can't suck too much anymore. I mean, it's cble. We're going to get some weird stuff, right? Like Is there a team that in March is going to call up Joe Johnson and say, Hey, We need to right? Are we going to see some very weird ten data contreacts? You know, hey, Mike James, can you take a break from Turkey and come back? We need We just need a hot bench scorer right now. I do look, it is a fascinating, I think development here where you think about this relegation thing. I don't know if it's good or bad I don't know, because we haven't seen it yet But I think that when it comes to the front offices and the desperation that we're going to see out of them February, March when they are potentially in the bottom three We're going to see some weird, weird stuff, but If you're the kings, I mean, I don't know, man. like you might just have to eat this year I don't know how you can justify Zach Levine opting into his forty nine million dollars contract. I don't I can't justify attaching a pick to try to get him off my books when he's going to fall off my books in a year anyway. sometimes you just got to take your medicine They they did this to themselves, right? Like no one, you know, made them do any of the moves that they've done I think waving Damar just makes a lot of sense mostly for Damar. Like he can go somewhere where he can maybe compete And it's kind of like the right thing to do for a guy at this stage of his career. but I just can't justify it giving up any future assets to move off my bad money, pereriod. I think that's We got a little piece of news related to the Miami Heat. Som Sharania says that Andrew Wiggins intends to sign a three year sixty four million dollars contract to stay with the Miami heat. So that's the a little over twenty million annually for Wiggins. That feels like a good deal for the Miami Heat to retain wigans for that amount. and the deal will kick off So he's opting in this year according to Sans and that then it starts the following year. So he's staying at thirty million this year That does not open up any capap space to tie back to our earlier conversation regarding the hopes of signing Norm Powell. So he's not opting out in and then sign the three year extension And so that does not help their salary cap situation this year, but that's a pretty good value contract for the next three years afterwards, though, I'd say Yeah, I mean, I think yeah, Wiggins is definitely that's a that's a great price for Wiggins. I wonder if this makes them a more attractive trade asset. at some point this year just because of that, like that money is so good. if they wind up figuring out that they need more stuff. like they may have to turn them into a couple of players I just again, him not taking a haircut on this upcoming season Doesn't bode well for them at all. And I think the path to keeping Norm Powell just got a little bit tougher We have really big breaking news here, Dave to end the podcast. Ben Simmondons is trying to make a return to the NBA The fisherman, the professional the angler prorofessionally Yes. Ben Simmons is trying to make her returny. He is interviewed by men's health And and he said, I don't have a plan on where. Maybe I'll go back to Philly Miami would be nice and not because it's Miami. I like Ericolstra. I like the heat. I like their organization. I like the culture You can't teach six, ten and IQ. That's what Ben Simmons said Maybe Ben Simmons we can add him to the to the to pile of priority targets for the. What do you think? Yeah, spepeaking of weird signings in March, I mean,'s that kind of Let's do it now. Let's just go ahead and do it now. Look, if there's one thing that the Miami Heat need, it's another six ten guy who can't shoot I mean, let's just go ahead and like this is exactly an A one target for them look, I kind of I hope Ben Simmondons, if he wants to come back that he gets a chance. if he's healthy. I mean this guy this guy was a supremely talented player. One of the most unique defensive players I think to ever play in the NBA It's just we've seen this, we've seen this so many times. I mean, let's see what happens. I'm I hope he gets a camp invite from someone And maybe he surprises us. is he willing to play in summer League mean, it's coming up, you know G play in summer league, showow us yourre healthy That's a great idea playaying Summer League if you're Ben Simmons, go dominate these go shoot a bunch of three twenty. W. you know you don't want to do that. He shoots with the wrong hand. You can't E Simmons cllank clankking the ball of the backboard in Summer League unless he's shooting right handed Yeah that then that Event simit shows us that And he's shooting with the correct hand, his strong right hand I'll give him a max justust for him having the courage to finally do it Bangs. The thing is if he's healthy, if he's healthy, he could be a backup big man Um, it's just I don't know if he can be healthy and you know, listen, it This is kind of it's kind of a sad story with Ben Simmons and so I would love to see him get a little redemption some sort. It would be amazing. It is crazy Just how it all went downhill after that pass under the basket in Atlanta That's really where it all changed. That's the last time he looked Great. W that we don't here see We don't see the basketball yips nearly as as often as like a sport like baseball, you know, like Chuck Noblock famously not being able to throw from second base This is the worst case of the Yips I've ever seen a player get and That includes Draymond Green, who stopped shooting lay upps for a couple years You know, Drreaymon eventually it came back But with Ben it just he wouldn't even look at the rim. I mean, it' I mean,, like you said, he was one of the more unique defensive players we've seen in recent NBA history. He was awesome in Philly. He really was a great defensive player. It's just offensively never, never could figure out beyond playmaking and just wasn't the right fit for him. It wasn't the right fit in the prime of his career and it's a shame the injuries have taken over and whatever iss going on mentally as well. So I'm rooting for Ben Sims to get an opportunity in the league. I thinkd be a great comeback story. if he's able to F a role on a winning team is a connective piece surrounded by shooters off the bench. that'd be really nice to see happen. but I don't know. We'll see. Maybe Miami, maybe Philly, I doubt it with either Rster Um Maybe maybe he needs to prove himself on the Sacramento Kings Summer League roster Maybe that's what it's going to be. Anything else anything else we miss? Any else sticking out to you, Dave and for agency starting this week that we didn't talk about No, I mean, I think that the big the biggest thing is just the overwhelming number of trades that feel like they're on the precipice of happening as we're about to open free agency. This feels like a whole new world. I mean, we obviously we get trades every year, but there's a lot of micr transansactions happening via trade that used to be, it would be free agency moves and now This whole landscape has gotten so weird and the second apron is really forcing teams to make hard choices Whether that's good for the league or not, I'm not sure. I' not I don't know where you stand on this. I happen to think parody is pretty fun It gives A lot of hope to, you know, half the league essentially when you go into a season now, you don't know who the champps going to be. I mean, we didn't know the Kicks were going to do this in April you know, much less in October. So I think that that's the only thing that's on my mind right now as I'm watching the rumors kind of roll in and I'm hearing about some of the deals that might be happening. is so much of free agency now is conducted because of and through the trade market. Yep and we'll see what happens there. We already know the mix Mitchell Robinson could walk because of the second apron, the unwillingness to pay it and We'll see. We'll see. what happens. I think guys, you know, like eight opting in with the Lakers despite not making much money. That's because there's not a lot of money out there. D comes at you fast. right? Yeah sure does, right? for eight and like Dayon Shar re ups with the nets. He didn't test the market because There's not much money out there. so just going to resign. And I think free agency feels like it's kind of dead in some ways. and yet the trade market feels incredibly vibrant and beautiful and fun And we'll see how this week transpires. There could be a lot of fireworks. I'm hoping for a lot of fireworks. I hope we get LeBron, James and Anthony Davis and Goldenstay with Stephan Carryy and Draym Mond Green. It would just be so fun If that happens, it'd be amazing I hope I get it Dave, thank you so much for joining me today. People can always check you out on the Athletic NBA daily. and yeah, man. haveave a good day, dude. Thanks for having me Thank you so much to Dave Duour for joining me on today's episode. Thank you to Brad, Sarah, and the whole team for producing today's episode. We'll be back again, definitely on Thursday, but who knows? could get some breaking news, could be back earlier in the week as well with an emergency podcast. Have a good week, everybody