Denver Nuggets and Clippers Reboot

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They know the game inside and out and look at every angle to help set you up with a plan that fits your life and budget. Get the coverage that's right for you. L a good neighbor, State Farm is there. coverage options are selected by the customer, availability and eligibility vary by state Coming up on the Zach Low show. Well, that was a day in the National basasketball Association. Kawi Leonard. is a Toronto Raptor again for Brandon Ingrams some draft picks. and Grady Dick going back to the cllippers The Kawai PG era is officially over in Los Angeles. Who won the trade? How good are the Raptors? How good is this roster in Toronto? What holes they need to fill? Is this Kawai's last stop in the NBA. How will we remember the clippers? How big of a failure Was this era in Los Angeles? And how did they do in this trade? Have they pivoted well enough with Zubots Harden, Kawi PG all gone otherther places in a totally new era blank slate Clipper team. How do they look? Hello Keat and Wagler. Another era, LeBron James era in Los Angeles. That's over. He's not going to be a laker. He might be a warrior. He might be a cab. There's a Dean Wade signing that happens in the middle of this podcast that we react to. He might be a heat, He might be something else Was his tenure in Los Angeles a success, a failure, either or neither Where is he going to go? Where should he go? And then we get into everything going on in the NBA. John Moran, Jalen Duran, Jayalen Brown, Domonas Sabonas the Blazers The grizzlies tons into the thunder, the heat made a couple signings. The nuggets have been idle so far. The pistons have been semiidle status quo. Just a ton of stuff going on. Rob Mahoney is here to help sort it all out of big, big forty eight hours in the NBA in the books all coming up on the Zach Low Show Welcome to the Zach Low Show. It's Tuesday night. Free agency just started air quotes three hours ago and it has already been a monumental twenty four hours in NBA history Tw separate but interconnected eras of Los Angeles basketball are over LeBron James told the Lakers. It's not you. It's me. It's us. I'm leaving. I'm going to play for another team TBD next season. Is it the wararriors? Is it the cads? Is it the heat? Is it other? We will see and the Los Angeles cllippers After seven Star Cross years trraded Kawi Leonard. Back to the Toronto Raptors for Brandon Ingram To unprotected first round picks, Grady Dick a pick swap and two second round picks Toronto We're in one season, Kawi Leonard won more playoff series than he did in seven with the Los Angeles Clippers, continontuing one of the strangest careers in modern NBA history. U Rob Mahoney, I want to start with Kawai because it's a trade. It's done. We know where he is. we can react to it Um This was a tough situation for the clippers Um ever since that Zubots trade and the hardarden trade It's been a look in the mirror and say, we don't really have it anymore. This is over. Kawi has one year left on his deal. He had a certain amount of leverage in this situation. He made it known that there were places he would go, places he wouldn't go, places he would extend, places he would not Toronto famamiliarity. Success. Alex McKckney, the medical director there is probably the secret MVP of all of this. was one of the places that he said he would extend and I believe the only one in the end that was actually interested in trading for him The raptors were bidding against mostly the clippers willingness to keep a Laner to just say, okay, if you don't meet our price We'll keep them. in the end, this is where they settled Where would you like to start on this, Mr. Mahoney? I would like to start, I think with the Raptor side, honestly, because they were already quite good And I would say Kauwaii gives them exactly what they need in a way that is frankly a little bit terrifying to me. And so I'm very eager to see them in action with Kwai back in the fold, back in the city, a cult hero in Toronto to say the least. And I'm eager to see him back in a raaptor's uniform. Um I mean, obviously, when he was healthy last year and he was healthy for the last, you know, whatever games of the season. he played sixty five games last year He's one of the seven or eight best players in the NBA, a legitate first team all NBA player, a massive upgrade over Band Brandon Ingram. By the way, there's some wonderful symmetry here between the championship team Cwi Leard played for and this one U, if you trace the lineage of how we got from point A to point B It traces from Pascalciacum and the stuff that they got back for Pascalciacum, including Bruce Brown and this and a first round pick that became Keen Waggler of all things. They just then they traded that for Brand Ingram and then they traded Ingram and more stuff to I The clippers today. So there's some nice symmetry there between the old raaptors and the new raaptors The starting five presumably will be Emmanuel uickly, RJ Barrett whose extension now becomes a very interesting piece of business for our Raptorss team That is much more wind now than they were eight hours ago. Kawai Scottty Barnes. Probably Yaka Purle, but why when it comes time, maybe Culenberry Boyles. and boy Kawai Scotty Barnes, the Scottie Barnes we saw in the playoffs in particular. And by the way This this does not happen If the Raptors don't have a successful season, and a successful ish post season. When Scottty Barnes with kind of everything in shambles around him other than Colin Murry Boyles not only rises to the occasion on both ss of the floor, but proves to the world You want forty five minutes of play to exhaustion two way play at an elite level You want me to try to carry you by myself over a really good team. I'll do it. None of this happens. This Kawet deal doesn't happen If those things don't happen U Kaai Scottty Barnes and CMB defensively together. Oh my go. of ball shed in there too in some lineups. like they're going to be hllacious just grinding teams to dust. the bench, we have Jamal shed Jacobbe Walter still here? I'm a believer. I'm a Jacobbe Walter guy Me too. CMB U That's the top eight after that. we're talking Jameson Battle, the Graves kid they get just drafted and some Some fill in the blanks so as they approach the first apron here. I think this is a really good team U Fanual upgraded them to like fifth in championship odds, but in a big tie with like Cleveland, Denver, Minnesota, a bunch of other teams The East is going to be really good next year. That's one of the stories thats but we're going to see what happens with Boston uh and Jalen Brown and some other things, but there's a lot of good teams in the East, but They have, um They have announced themselves as like look Kawi is like one of those guys who there's no there's never any fit issues. He's elevates everything around him. He has no weaknesses. He could shoot. He took way more threes last season. He's purely additive in every possible sense Is it worth Ingram And most notably, I think the haggling ended up being how many unprotected picks And when And the clippers forced them as far out as possible. twenty thirty one and twenty thirty three Kw will probably be out certainly be out of the NBA. byy then Scottty Barnes will still be in the NBA, But they they forced them way out there to get the worst case scenario in play Rob Mahoney Assuming the Raptors extend Kawi. He's only eligible for a two year extension, which by the way, great for the Raptors. So only two years. pererfect. We can't even sorry, man, we can't give you three. We can't give you fourry our hands are t. Asuming there's like a two year, one hundred million dollars extension coming here Is this a fair price? Is it worth it? Is this team good enough? You know, it's more than I thought any team would give up for Kawi, justust because he is an elite player as we describe, an elite player whose availability just looms over everything, causes a lot of problems I think it makes total sense for the Rapors though. and it makes total sense with that extension. If you're talking about yet another term lease Ci Leonard situation That's that's a different return. That's a different package that you're putting together. But for three years of Ki potentially with this team. obbviously up and rearing and ready to go in so many ways. Scottty Barnes being ahead of schedule as a star, CMB being ahead of schedule as a real disruptor and a two way player, frankly I don't see a reason why the Raptors shouldn't have been emboldded. whyy they shouldn't have been trying to push and if not with Kawi, then with something else. So why not swing big with a player who is beloved in the city, who clearly works alongside this supporting cast? replacing I'm going to say you're least engaged defender in the starting lineup at Brandon Ingram with an absolute hellcat, someone who can create so many problems and exactly the sort of half court offensive weapon they needed. It just he fits he fits this team in so many ways Can you recreate on the spot? I actually think the Raptor should do this. I think at the introductory press conference They should ask Kawai to do the laugh again. canan you do the laugh? G He's almost painful the way he does it. It's coming from a really dark and tortured place Um I think it's I think it's Fair. I mean, I understand why the Raptors did it. They still have plenty of draft picks to work from and even swaps to work from. By the way, I expect them to be aggressive If not this summer then toward the trade deadline, if the team is good. I think they will look to upgrade more Phaps it's the center position, but that's down the line I do think It's obvious, but it must be acknowledged that here are Kawi' games played since his last year with the Spurs sixty five, thirty seven, sixty eight. fififty two, fifty two fifty seven, sixty, zero. I mustisted zero in there. and nine. U And Even more so, I mentioned that the Clippers won three playoff series in seven seasons. They have not won any. since twenty twenty one, zero And in that time When you look at why they haven't won any Um In twenty twenty two, they missed the playoffs because Kai was injured. In twenty twenty three, they lost to the Sunons in the first round. Kai missed part of that series. in twenty twenty four, they lost to the Mavericks in the first round. Kai missed part of that series. in twenty twenty five he was healthy. They lost to a very good Denver team. Last year they're in the plan because Kai was not healthy in part because Ki was unhealthy at the beginning of the year This This is great on paper for all the reasons that we've already discussed I just is he ever going to get through four playoff series? Was that one? Do's year. the shot that hit the rim four times against Philly, the championship, the finals NVP the second of his career It looks more and more like an anomaly with time. and yeah, Alex McKcney is there. They know how to manage them. They're going to get them through the regular season the way they did back then If we're talking championship equity and playoff equity Like, it just feels It'st hard for me to believe that he's ever going to get through a playoffs healthy again because we just haven't seen it in a while. And I just feel like I have to throw that caveat out there So big caveat. it's not just the games played. it's the grind of the playoffs That takes its toll E even so, I think the price is is worth it for the Raptors. Even if I'm skeptical that this team is going to win the championship with C Leonard or maybe even make the finals. They certainly have the ability to do it I think the Pryice and Ingram who is basically a fungible semi expiring player and two draft picks and some other stuff and Grady Dick is nothing here. Grady Dicks a good reclamation project for the cllippers I think the price is worth it and this team has a chance to be very good. I think no matter what the Raptors did, even if they made some other aggressive move They were going to be a long shot to make it through the East. And so why not if you're going to be the lower probability team that has to have some things click right for you to win This one is proven. likeike you know who Kauai is, you know how good he can be. You're not rolling the dice with the stress star on another team and hoping they can be better for you. No, you're just hoping to get the version of Kawi who played last year and hoping you can import them into this team. and yeah He needs to be healthy, but I just don't see that as being likeike dramatically less likely than any other path they would have taken with this team at this point I think it's totally worth it. By way, I mentioned the pacers first round pick. sometimes it's fun to retrace the journey of these draft pickics. Would you like to retrace this one for me? I would love it Um The Raptors acquire it among many other things, but they acquire this particular pick that becomes Keat and Waggler They acquired for Pascal Sacum They tradadeed to New Orleans for Brandon Ingram New Orleans trades it back to Indiana to get back into the first round and then Tyrees Halliburton gets injured to like two days later Indiana then trains it to the cllippers, top five protected, boom, it's or whatever, topop four protected, boom, it's five And it becomes Keat and Waggler, quite a journey for that draft fick By Here's a question I posed to you. I mentioned that I thought the rators were bidding at the end basically against the clippers' willingness to just not do a deal I do think there is truth to the reports that Ci made it known that Dallas and San Antonio were two other teams that he would at least consider signing an extension with neeither team appears to have haveig have have pursued it really, just, you know, not on their timeline. whatever And so the question I asked you was, Give me a team or two that you think could have, would have should have Just said, forget it. We'll do exactly what the Raptors did all those years ago and just take them on a rental, come what M. Did you find any teams that were in position to do that? I honestly think that the teams that make the most spent sense in that way are teams you've already sort of discussed. likeike I'm with the Celtics Jail and Brown conversation as that stuff goes. likeike why not Kauwi in those circumstances He's just such a particular kind of player given the injury risk to talk yourself into that even if like LeBron, you could put almost anywhere and he can fit and make sense for a lot of different teams, even with all of the LeBron size considerations that come with his reputation and his history and all that. but I don't know like I don't know that Kai If you're the sixer, sure, like you should take a swing on a conversation like this, but how do you make it worth the clipper' time That would be a whole lot of draft picks or returning the picks that the clippers traded you for James Harden. the clipp by the way still do not control their first round pick, I believe for the next three seasons, which U Is another boon perhaps for Oklahoma City. They get to swap picks with the clippers in twenty twenty seven? I think I which I should probably check to make sure that that's right, but yeah yeah in Oklahoma City Um And also makes the clippers immune from caring about the relegation zone. if their pick is relegated and they certainly are a major total rebuild work in progress at this point. They don't really care. Um Boston was at the top of my rental teams list Obviously Jalen Brown would have been the piece. I mentioned it with Pina even. two days ago kind of your problem for my problem. And I could see I said then I could see both teams arguing over whoo should send who draft compensation, what picks? how many picks? The cllippers, I think clearly wanted picks more than a present day player although they can flip They could flip branded Ingram for picks now. they could have flipped Jailam, but whatever Um I don't think that was ever seriously discussed between the two teams. I think it it's just too messy. Th things it's a monumental, you know It's a monumental thing to contemplate. The only other ones I could think of were The Cleveland Cavaliers Um who can only trade one future first right now But have Jared Allen and can put together the salary. It's interesting There also have some apron issues that they'd have to deal with The Denver nuggets who, I think right now at ten Eastern time are to me maybe the most intriguing team remaining in the offseason including At least in my theoretical dreams we will talk about later as a LeBron James destination. again, theoretical dreams B. They've got a lot of big salaries. they can move around I don't think that was ever discussed What about Houston Houston could have done a Durant Kawi deal. Yeah H. Fred Van Vleit plus Jabari Smith is almost an exact salary match. plus some draft compensation. I don't think that was ever seriously contemplated by the Rockets either. Those were my only hey. shouldh you dip your toe into this one maybe? Is it worth the short term upgrade to do it? I think some of this is also like you will hear people around the league ask I mean, they asked me, I' Do we know what's happening with the Aspiration investigation? or like are we sure that This would be a good idea for us. Obviously Toronto thinks it's a good idea for them and I'm sure that they did their due diligence with the league office. but those were my only rental teams Uh, the clippers. Um I don't know. any reflections on this era of clippers basketball, Rob. I mean, obviously, it's like Darius Garland, Brandon Ingram, a bunch like it's tempting to say Maybe they held out too long and should regret losing Paul George for nothing. But I thought they did great in the hardard in trade. I thought they I said this before they even got the pick. I thought they hit the Zubbotraight out of the park Even though I think Zubots willope Indiana And I think they did pretty well with this trade too Obviously the era did not turn into what they wanted it to be. It turned into exactly what Oklahoma City could have wanted it to be It should and will go down as a failure a worthy attempt and yet a failure U, But I think they've done pretty well pivoting away from it here I think that's the way to classify it. And I mean, the grizzlies are kind of in this conversation too where there's there's an original sin that is maybe like slightly delayed versus what would have been optimal. And then from that point getting off of the right guys at the right time to get pretty substantial halts for the Harden types and the Evza Zubbots types. Yeah, it puts the clippers into a different sort of holding patterns as they figure out what kind of team they want to be which of these core pieces are actually core pieces or not. I think Brandon Ingram with all due respect has proven he's not really usually that guy. likeike he is the guy who is on your team when you're not really playing for anything serious. And then when you start to get serious, you trade him for Kohi Leonard I see it though more as like garland and waggler and this like a young core that is interesting enough and most importantly, those refresh picks that they desperately needed. They did well pick wise. they did well in this trade I think Toronto paid about the max it was going to pay and I think it's worth it. the only team Toronto is maybe worried about in this rental conversation in the back of their heads was Boston But I don't think they had anything to be worried about. And the Jail and Brown situation I've done to death already, it remains as of the suit. unresolved and we will come back to it U Toronto is going to be super fun. Yeah They got to round out their team a little bit. They have to You know, figure out if Graves can play if Jackson Davis can give them meaningful minutes. Th those are now important death pieces for them Do you think I mean, you mentioned the RJ extension kind of in the air here Yeah. Do you feel like he is as important to this version of the team as he was to the previous version? because he was quite good for them. as a slasher, connecting dots as a facilitator, but he is more ball handler than he is Spacer. And I could see them having the conversation of like Do you try to move off of Barret not just because of the extension But because you want someone who's a little bit more of a pure off ball presence of the two now with this being the construction of your team. Yeah I think again, they will be pretty active at the trade deadline ahead of the trade deadline next year and it could be with that piece Um I will say And I've always thought this about RJ He's an easy player to take for granted because of the things that he doesn't do well. He doesn't shoot to three as well as you' hed although that's he's had times where it's like choice is he nailed Is he mastered it and then it'll dip off He doesn't defend nearly as consistently as you'd hope And yet He's always just helping out. likeike he always he's a very adaptable player. He can get off the ball a little bit. He can do it you can cut a little bit. He can be a second side driver instead of a primary driver. likeike he finds ways to contribute And to me, I just think it's all about the price point. Like he's making thirty billion dollars this year You know, you know what his agents will do. D'll go in and say, hey, he was one of the most consistent all around players on the team, his plus minus his X, Y and Z, he's making thirty now. he should make forty on his next contract. And to me, that's like a no go. But if it's a fair deal He's a good player easy to take for granted. and I think with an upgrade in shooting from Brandon Ingram to Kai. I mean Kawai's like an all time shooter, an all time shooter who now is just launching threes I think he actually fits better. with this group And he's also like Emmanuel quickly is not exactly barreling to the rim over and over again as a point guard. So they need kind of a head down driver He's really the best on their team at it in a lot ofays is it that's where I'm with you. like it' kind of reintroducing to the raaptors all of these philosophical questions that come with Kawai of Do you try to find players who fit the Kawi version of the team perfectly? Do you try to find players who fit if he misses thirty games that help you get by in those moments even more effectively? And I mean, RJ might be kind of straddling that line as best as you can find under the circumstances I think this is going to be a really good team. Really fun. I think it's absolutely worth the risk Toronto fans should be over the moon. It's a cool story. like off all the places Not that many people have chosen Toronto And Kawai not only went there unwillingly and now wants to go back and maybe end his career as a rator. Yeah And like, and I'm not even In the theoretical haall of Fame where you have to pick a hat Is this hat a raptor's hat now? Is it a clipper's hat? Is it an aspiration hat? Like what's got an aspiration hat? Like let's be real about it. Wh's signing the checks, you know? It's an interesting question Speaking of hats, I don't have any thought more. Let's move on. I will say Someone posed this to me today If Zubots were still on the clippers Would there have been some sort of Jail and Brown Zoobots and other stuff plus Picks trade package? But alas, that ship has sailed U goodood try clliippers It didn't really work out Well done street lightights versus spotlights. We never even got to see the Lakers in the clippers play No in the playoff d in the street lightights versus spotlights era. Speaking of the spotlight era, LeBron James is not going to be a laker anymore raaising a frenzy of interest U in where he's going to play And for how much you will be going be be playing for And boy Just the quotes from people familiar with LeBron's mindset today It's just like It's warm and fuzzy. it's like we're it's like from the therapist's couch. He's going to choose happiness. He's choosing he's gotten to the end of the RM comp and he's choosing himself. He's choosing him. He's choosing happiness. He's going to be I'm just reading. He's going to be patient and open minded about it He's going to choose happiness, happiness. I should note Very, very much a synonym for joy, which has been the watchword in Golden state since Steve Kerr Yeah. Maybe they're using it tongue in cheek, like we can't say joy and make it obvious, but we can say happiness. these days though, happiness, I think is well over the second apron. like there's some real financial worries trying to sign with happiness right now I really want people to find happiness and joy. And apparently he decided he could not find it with the Lakers and he will find it somewhere else. Question one, Rob Mahoney. Eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers one championship. A couple of absolutely seismic trades seeven playoff series wins in eight years compompared to three for the clippers in the seven years when Kawai was there U Is this Is this a success for the Los Angeles Lakers and for LeBron James Yeah L unquestionably yes for me I think Look, win a title? Absolutely. Eight years in a city in which You have six playoff appearances, you have the title, you have the West Western confonference finals run. You have six all NBA teams during that time All successes Also, I think some of it is just about context. like Yes, LeBron James is an all time great player and you may think eight years with an all time greatade. you have certain expectations that come with that He's an all time great who is thirty three to forty one. And I think if you look at Even the greatest to ever play from thirty three to forty one I would put this up there as, I mean, maybe it's not quite Karem level. that might be the gold standard for this particular age bracket, but as good and as productive as you could possibly expect from someone under these circumstances, And frankly Some of this as a recent transplant to Los Angeles I just do not understand the Laker fan relationship with LeBron James. It is like deeply strange the way that like how how Clearly and easily he's disregarded. L the way people talk about him as a legend and it's like, I don't know, man, he won a title. He did really well during his time here. He is the reason Anthony Davis was traded to Los Angeles, which is thus the reason Lua Donchich was traded to Los Angeles I just really don't see the hesitation to call this anything other than a success because You won it all while he was here I think it's a success I'm a little less enthusiastic about it Uh than you are, but it's it's clearly a success Here's what I would reject. Okay. I would reject calling it a failure because if you win a championship, it's not a failure I would reject the notion that I've seen elsewhere that Oh, well, I mean, this just shows trading all the young guys they traded for Anthony Davis. That was a mistake That was not a mistake. First of all, like the young guys in that trade were Lonzo Ball M Josh Hart Brandon Ingram Julus Randall went separately. They just renounced his rights. He wasn't in that trade A draft pick that became Deandre Huntter and another draft pick that I believe became Dyson Daniels. O balance, fine That's before You remember that Anthony Davis got them Luka Donrich, which as insane as that is, it's a thing that happened and set them up a long time Um I also would reject it as a failure just based on success period. They won a championship. Um And if you go through if you go through the years, they missed the playoffs his first year there then they win the championship twenty twenty one, The Suns eliminate them in the first round. That's the Jay Crowder salsa dance series. I'll never forget that. Anthony Davis was hurt in that series Yeah. And then the crossroads moment. And I think how you regard LeBron's tenure is at least a little bit touched by How much blame you lay at his feet at Clutch's feet at Rich Paul's feet for the Russell Westbrook trade And we can relitigate that forever and ever and ever. But combined with the players they lost off that championship team in twenty twenty, the Dany Greens and Alex Carusos and on and on with that trade, which completely fucked up their whole team and their asset base and has had ripple effects ever since. They were kind of drawing dead as a championship contender from almost that moment on. And yet they still make the Western confference finals in twenty twenty three. thenen the nuggets sweep them the Minnesota Timper Wolves after Lua gets there beat them for one people are hurt in that series. And then LeBron kind of goes out with a bang in his final season with the Lakers upsetting the Rockets in the first round, Durant hurt obviously, but everyone on the Lakers hurt for a lot or all of that series in some cases U, I think it's a success. I get why it feels weird. Like it just kind of feels it feels weird. It feels a little weird to Lakers fans. You can't la in his career That's the The championship was the Bubble Championship Lakers fans know. I've always been a pro Bubble Championship is a legit real championship. Nothing's wrong with it. no asterks, no nothing but it' still felt Weird. It just was weird. The people were in their Zoom windows, cheering you on. it was just weird Um I think it does count as a success. I'm with you Yeah, I mean, he's Wildly successful given where he was in his career as the second oldest finals inVP of all time. This is what happens when you have an aging star on your team, even if it is an aging legend. I think I don't know, just like we would never have this conversation about like what did Kobe Bryant do from his thirty age thirty four season on and some of that is because there is the built in goodwill of a star who spent his prime with this team and in this city. It's different for someone like LeBron who's jumping in late in the game, but from the moment he did I think he pretty much paid off, if not the wild expectations that follow him everywhere he goes, certainly any reasonable ones U And now this this divorce raises some questions. Number one The Lakers now have a lot of cab space and how they use it is going to be very interesting And Luka Dantrich is going to be watching it very carefully Um Ruy Hotamura is a free agent. I think he's going to be on another team next year. Austin Reeves is obviously back U They're going to meet with a lot of centers. Jayal and Duran is reportedly taking a meeting with with them. We'll get to his situation later. And Walker Kessler is reportedly likely to take a meeting. with them U a boon for the free agent centers in the NBA. the Lakers have in Capspace. We'll see how they use it Uh, and then The more fun conversation is where is LeBron going to play Golden state Without Anthony Davis, it looks like, just just LeBron, you got to go on your own. There's no package deal. It's just you, man Uh Miami And Cleveland for nostalgia's sake. Golden State for the, hey, this will be fun. Let's all old guys team up and use our IQ and our genius and our synergy together to try to topple these young guys the throne that should belong to us And then there's other and a whole host of others the athletics, John Krzinsky, my guy repeporting that Minnesota, just like Tim Conolly did when he was in Denver is like, hey If I can get a meeting, man, why not Why not? We need a power forward. We don't have a lot of money to spend. We got a lot of young guys who just upended our front line. Wh not Um, Is there a team just take the Mm All all constraints away, Rob. Is there just a team that you think he would fit best on or you would like to see him go to just for fun. There are two But one of them you just nameed and it's the Minnesota Tamber Wolves. The idea of Who would you want around the mellow ball to get his head screwed on exactly straight? LeBron James is a great place to start. What kind of young stars or great young players would you want to route LeBron to take the load off of him? Okay, Anthony Edwards offensively, Jade McDaniels defensively Plugging LeBron into that group with Rudy Gobert at the five as well. I mean, holy shit. likeike that has all bases covered. It's super exciting. solves all of Minnesota's off like off ball play making issues and facilitation issues One fell swoop kind of one size fits all silver bullet solution for a lot of their problems The other team and this is, I mean, we're getting pretty high in the sky on this one But if you want to slot LeBron into the Eron Nee Smith role. for the Indiana Pacers. Wow I mean, that's that's a team that really speaks to me. This is what I want for LeBron is like who are the elite ball movers who he can draft energy off of and turn into Just like the supercharged, forget like the Draymond roll, like supercharged late stage magic Johnson version of himself. and a version that has Tyrees Halliburn and Andrew Demhard, Pascal Sacum, Nvita Zubba to who weve barely seen with the pacers M, that would be super exciting to see So it's funny I mentioned Kai rental teams that I went through, Houston, Cleveland, Denver and Boston. Indiana was also on my initial list and I looked at their cap sheet and I called around a little bit. It's just they would have to have combined like four guys to get to Kawai salary. It would have been pretty impractical for them but I but the the infusion of that level in size of player is super interesting for a pacer st teeam that is very deep. That's a fun one. Mine is I like the the Minnesota one is great, although it does give rise to The Danny Glover lethal weapon. I'm getting too old for this shit, meme. L of just like LMelo did what? L would LeBron even understand Lameello's text messages or would he just be like I need I need Bronny here to translate this man because I don't understand what these messages say. Speaking of Bronnie Bronnie and Luke Kennard both just Bronnie's left behind and in LA. and Luke Genard just signed with the Ss, which surprised me a little bit. I thought Luke Cenard kind of found a home with the Lakers two years thirteen with the Phoenix Suns But who at all has a home with the Lakers right now? Like it is Lukea and Austin Reeves, obviously, De Andre Aiden picked up his option Jake La Ravia, congratulations. You're now like a full time maybe starter on this team. L they're just short on bodies right now. Well, I mean, I talked about this earlier in the week when we discussed the Reeves Max contract, which is a contract you have to do and Austin Re you were I heard you talking about it is just like a phenomenal offensive player. Yeah And what he did when one of Luca LeBron was out was like, oh, he just averaged like thirty and eight on super efficient shooting. defensively, it's going be a challenge but Look, if you have Luca and Reeves making a hundred million dollars combined. Filling out the rest of the team is not going to be easy. They have draft assets assets to work with, but this center position thing Aiten is clearly not it and not the answer I'm interested to see how serious they get with some of these restricted free agents and if they at least make one of these teams eat it with an offer sheet. Like I think what do you think of Walker Kessler You know, when when there was a report in the athletic that thingsings were a little strained with Utah. I said I can't remember who I had as my guess, but I said like I think people would be I had the number, but I didn't have to go ahead to like say the number. But I knew the number was like twenty seven, twenty eight million dollars a year, average annual value. And I said, I think people would be surprised that like Walker Kessler was turning his nose up at the amount of money's being offered And Tony Jones in the athletic reported today. that he's expecting deals in the thirties, like the mid thirties, maybe even high thirties I like Walker Kessler. I think there's some offensive potential that is untapped there the three point shooting. I think whoever, whatever team he's on will continue to say, hey, can you try it Defensively he's a beast, but like That seems like a lot of money for Walker Kessler to me For someone who is still so hypothetical, right? Guys like us will come out here and say like, oh, who he could be is a Rim protector, who he already is as an offensive reboundounder. He certainly had like the high watermarks offensively in terms of just converting easy stuff He also doesn't really expand his offensive game at all other than those occasional threes. likeike he's not someone who is even come up into the high paint and been a threat with a floater or any kind of short roll game at all. He's had stretches of his career where he's had like total crises of confidence in terms of his ability to finish around the rom, which is a crazy thing to say when you look at, oh, he's a sixty fivecent to seventy percent field goal percentage finisher But he's had stretches where like he will shy away from even trying some of those attempts That's a problem, and it's also the kind of thing when you're on a Luka Donich team. you straight up can't do. So I both fully believe best version of Lalker Kessler could be unlocked by someone like Luca and by a team like the Lakers But that price point, that's It's a little aggressive for someone who has basically no proof of concept playing actually competitive basketball. G Got a very important text right now from my sister in law, Paula. I'm going to shout out Paula on the podcast. She's a Toronto Raptor season ticket holder. She texted me the trade You know Just FYPal a new next. She says, For real, not sure what I think of this. Interesting I think maybe, you know goes back to It was a little acrimonious when he left and Uncle Dennis was making demands left and right. I don't know like what do you do if you're Toronto? If Uncle Dennis strolls up and he's like, Hey, where's my credential like I remember how I roam the back of the halls and get to go wherever I want I'm actually kind of being serious is like is he like I don't, I don't know what to do with him. I don't know I don't know. Is it not part of the package? I thought it was a two for two, you know, Kawi for Kawai andichkle Dennis for brand for You what Like I just assume he's part of the trade ultimately Um, I guess, but but that's why the San Antonio one was was quite interesting to me because there was if you think it was acrimonious in Toronto, it was way more acrimonious in San Antonio U Yeah, Lakers going to have an issue building a team But that's fine. They have Lukadach,s like that solves a lot of problems. It's still all gravy for them to have been able to been gifted this. My dream here my here were my dream LeBron teams. I had Indiana on my list too Um Let's just go through some of the ones that are already out there. Sure. Miami Am I wrong to just be like Lebron Bam Yonis is like a little clunky? Is anything clunky with those guys? is clunky is probably the wrong word, but it's it's not It doesn't strike me I'm even going to say it's it's not what Miami needs, but Miami needs everything. Miami needs all the talent it can get It's clunky but clunky in the way like. Whing someone smash a whack a moole game with a hammer until it dissolves would be kind of clunky. You like, yeah, is this the best use of everyone's time? Is this exactly how you're supposed to play this game? Maybe not. But do I want to see those three guys together? Absolutely. Okay, you know what? Yeah, that's a good one Um We'll get back to my emulator. I Cleveland James Harden, Donovan and Mitchell. Evan Moby, Jared Allen. I don't know exactly who's still on the team here, but It's just there's always a lot of James Harden happening in any James Harden team and I'm not sure I want I'm not sure I love that one either I don't either. And I also don't love like, I guess Evan Mobbley, you're now defending Thes full time. That just doesn't seem great for anybody San Antonio, Bill mentioned, I like that one. I don't necessarily see that happening The Golden State one, I mean, it really all depends on how they fill out the rest of their roster. Like I really As great as LeBron and Steph Curry still are and as synergistic as we've seen them be in their brief like super Nova appearances together for Tam USA their two man game, all of that I mean, the Steph Durant two man game was unstoppable and like barely tapped into really by the wararriors. LeBron By some measures was the most efficient pick and roll screener in the league last year, according to the tracking data that I'm looking at now Um there's just, you know, like a lot of questions Is Jimmy Butler ever going to be healthy in time for the season for this particular season U you know, Draymond Green spacing, all that stuff, depth. I mean, they just resigned Por Zinggas two years forty million with a player option. I kind of like that deal for them It's a bit for I don't know, Chris thatwors this makes me very nervous Moody's going to be out for a lot, if not all the season. I don't think There's I don't think that team is a title contender. againgain for four playoff series at that age is very, very hard, but it would certainly be fun Mine was Denver. And just plop them in Denver U and just, oh, you just want two of the all time genius passers in history to play off of each other. and you know LeBron respects Yokic as a peer, basically. Definitely. And Denver again looms to me as The most interesting team remaining on the board in the offseason for just an out of left field. We got to change something And it's got to be a big change kind of thing But I don't think those are those are I thought about Houston. I don't know how they could make it work, but just plop them in there Um, for some decision making, whatever veteran veteran Gile. Um Boston, you can make the argument. but if it's if it's warriors Hves She This was a heated debate today on NBA Twitter Like what's the appropriate best, most literary, most fitting way to cap his career of those three goingo back to Miami Bending fences with Pat Riley Heetles again going back to Cleveland for a third time where he's from and brought the ended the fifty year title streak, fifty whatever year title streak or new adventure with the rival that he crossed with over and over again in the finals and and It was canankerous there for a little while between Steph and LeBron Is any of those more apt for you I think so I appreciate the narrative closure of the other two But this is where like I'm treating this more as an epilogue, I guess, than as the actual final note And some of that is like I just want the new adventure I just want the lizard part of my brain to get to watch Steph Curry and LeBron play together on an ongoing basis in the regular season think Obviously teams like Cleveland and like Miami would be in the hunt in a way that Golden State is not I'm kind of down for chasing joy. I'm kind of down for embracing that part of this experience for him, for Steph, for all of us There's a magic to them playing together that I think would always be a shame if we never got more of it. I want to see it even if some of them get hurt along the way. I want to see it even if they peter out before they can go on their full playoff run. I just want to see more of it. I get the appeal of the other two, but There's just a part of me that cannot deny wanting that specific combination on the floor as much as we could possibly get it I'm going to say this up frront. I'll live in Cleveland I never lived I've never lived in any of these places. So I have no I have no sort of hometown tug of nostalgia for any of them If you're just asking me as a basketball fan Which of these seems the most fun to me to watch and mix that with Could you realistically win at some interesting level I think I would rank them Golden State one Miami to Cleveland three. I just don't Something about the Cleveland and all the dribbling and all the guards. it doesn't it doesn't quite feel as fitting to me, and I'm with you like These two guys have circled each other, Stehan LeBron and played opposite each other, played with each other in the Olympics. Um I said this with Billy the other day. I don't know if you remember this, Robin, the twenty sixteen finals. I mean, remember it got like a heated like the Halloween party where the Cavs Halloween partarty where they made fun of the wararriors and the three one lead being a grave zone and all that I think it was game six in Cleveland There's a LeBron block on Steph at the Rom. It's an all timer where he flexes in a with a with a nastiness and a cruelty And just like it it his body language is just Just remember I'm fucking way bigger than you and it's still my league and I'm kind of offended that people have a little guard. as my equal or perhaps my even superior in some corners and I will not accept it. And to see them come full circle and use their gifts to lift each other up would be kind of fun. Well, especially how clearly LeBron has wanted this even before the Olympics. likeike they started this flirtation years ago in terms of floating it or like, oh, what if we' pired together on these All star teams of various constructions to go from that like Not only was it a flex but a shrug and you're right, the energy of that moment is like This fucking guy like are you kidding me? This this is the point of It felt like a message to everybody Yeah the NBA media to the unanimous MVP voters to all it felt like just a message like still my league And that that is one dot And that the dial we experience now could be. these guys are so eager to team up together that LeBron is going to take a massive pay cut to make it happen ostensibly Like that's a journey, right? Like that is a narrative that I think is worth telling and worth exploring and understanding the before and after of how we got to that point. That's compelling to me. We have breaking news, Rob, before we take a break. Are you ready? Yeah, what do we have Free agent forward, speaking of the cabs, Dean Wade Dean Waade for all your accounting needs has agreed to a four year thirty nine million dollars deal with the Philadelphia seventy sixers. Mike Ganzy's first order of business coming from Cleveland to Philly. Ieen Wade. I need Dean Wade on that wall. Give me Dean Wade. That opens up a little bit of flexibility for the cabves. I'm not sure how much we're doing this on the fly He's been a really important three and D player for them. I'm just going to raise my fingers. like, okay, like anytime the calf shed a little money and open up a position that like the three four and LeBronze available, I'm just going to like, I'm just noticing. That's all It's worth noticing What is it that he's bringing to the Sixers exactly? I'm with you, especially on the the rest of Mike Ganzy's luggage, maybe. Well, I mean, that's important. Look reallyally honestly a genuinely good hard wororking competitive defensive player. The three comes and goes can be kind of a zero offensively at times, but I guess they're gonna to kind of reshuffle their kind of wing and forward rotation around there and try to get a little bit more size I gott toa be honest with you, I spend The sixers are in like the bottom ten percent of teams I spend thinking about just because they're in this MB George prison for of their own making for so long Uh and so I mean, he fits there. He fits a need He fits the need anywhere but to your point, like The time that the three point shot always seems to go is the playoffs and his minutes often go with it. Okay, that was breaking news. We got Dean Wade taken care of. Let's take a quick break. There's much more to talk about with Rob Mahoney This episode is brought to you by service Now. Look, I have my dream job. I get to watch basketball, think about basketball, talk about basketball, but even dream jobs have the stuff that nobody dreamed about, the busy work that gets in the way of the actual work Serviceens, AI specialists tackle that work, requests handled, cases closed, the whole thing done So you have more time for the work you actually want to do. For me, that's breaking down SGA film whenever I want and then talking about it into a microphone To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit serviceNow. com This episode is brought to you by Netflix. The World Cup is finally here and the coolest thing right now, FIFA World Cup launch edition on Netflix, a fast and fluid game where your phone is the controller and your TV is the stadium. Play as as any of the forty eight teams in sixteen real world stadiums andents included in your membership. Yeah Go to the games tab in your TV and play Fefld World Cup, launch ition now on Netflix All right, the other big piece of news from the last thirty six hours that I have not yet uh waited on The long John Morant saga in Memphis is over. Joh Morant has been traded from the Grizzlies to the Portland Trailblazers for Jeremy Grant and Chris Marie The Blazers now have the following guards on their team John Morant and Damiian Lillard, who acccording to Chris Hayaines, the plan is to start them together. I would say any plan for next season that exists on june thirtieth is not really a plan at all, but it's not a good plan either way Scot Henderson and Andrew Holiday are all still here. Denny Abda is still here An interesting fit to say the least and the end to an era in Memphis, the final sort of player from that court to be traded away. that started with such promise from like the very first game John Morant played in the NBA one of the very first where he blocked a Kye rving buzzer beater and just From that point on for the next twenty four months It was just pure electricity and it seemed like Not only were they a sure thing to be a sure thing for a long time but that he was exactly the kind of franchise building block that you wanted. He seemed to care about his teammates. He didn't play selfishly played hard. he cut hard, he enabled and lifted up his teammates And then it all went sideways. They won a grand total of one playoff series in the Jama Rant era And now there were injuries to all the time. then when they lost to the warriors in the second round, people were injured including Job when they lost to the Lakers in the first round the following year, their whole big man rotation was pretty much injured, but still One playoff series and it's over. Um Let's start with Portland. Be obviously Memphis was going to dump John Morant Yeah. They didn't have a lot of homes for John Morant. And I think It's of win for them to not have to attach any assets to get John Morant because they took back a contract that Portland was trying to dump in Jeremy Grant It could also find no other homes for. But I think it's a win in that sense, for the grizzlies. A lot of scrutiny on Portland in this deal both for a basketball fit, for cultures fit, for the people who remember the jailblazers fit For what is this new owner doing? Why is he doing this fit Um Before I share what I think, what's your reaction to this from the Blazers's perspective? I'm just kind of bummed out Like for all the momentum that Portalland established last season, this fun up and coming team, this incredible defense. All of everything we saw with Danny Avdia's development Even Scoot Henderson like popping at moments in the regular season in the playoffs. like I was really energized by what they were doing and eager to see, you know, add a couple pieces, add some supporting casts, like round out your rotation in a way that makes sense. All of that on board. Jh Man They already have, as you alluded to, a Dame, like their high profile guard that they're trying to fit into this puzzle and make it work Putting another one in just because you can doesn't strike me as like good prorective team building. and frankly withith a player like Joh like I understand that talent play But there is a tilting, there's like a tipping point between Oh, look how little it took us to get him Oh my God, look how little this team was willing to accept to get off of him because they were so desperate to do it. As you laid out the grizzly story with Ja He was but like a hero in that city and for that franchise And he himself caght like cast such a dark shadow over the grizzlies that they had to move on. They were forced to move on because of his actions and his decision making and frankly, the deterioration of his game And so like why would you be signing up for that when so many of the indicators within this young roster you have are pointing forward and pointing towards guys putting things together in their career they never have before. And here comes John Morant to take up oxygen in the room, to cast a similar dark shadow, to be an impossible fit with Dame It just strikes me as like welcoming a huge problem into your team when you had absolutely no reason to do it The words that I want to focus on that you said were the deterioration of his game and of his health. Yeah twenty games last year, fifty games the year before, nine games the year before that. Obviously there's some off court circumstances that cause that number to be so low sixty one, fifty seven and on and on. The availability issue number one Issue number two is in twenty games last year you shot forty one percent and forty seven percent on Ts. His rim frequency dropped a little bit in the last couple years, but not as much as people think. free throws down. all the stuff that made Jha Rant Jama Rant, the explosion, the ferocity Not quite there the same way. And of course the other parts of his game did not round out at all. In fact, they got worse his three point shooting has plummeted thirty percent, twenty three percent, thirty one for his career His defense is a disaster partly due to effort, partly due to his being slight of frame Um And so that's That's the more important point for me because for me like Is it wrong that I I get what everyone is fretting about. All the guard overlap This team the Blazers built their feel good season on defense. He does not add to that They suffered on offense because they had nobody that could shoot. He only exacerbates that problem. He creates a gu guard at Gut The departure of Grant creates a glut not a glut, a guard at glut, I think I said, aut a guard U Jeremy Grant's departure creates a void at power for. There's not really a traditional power forward on the team. Tani Kamara is closesting. in the rotation So it's a little bit of an imbalance rouster U Denny Avdia needs the ball and needs shooting around him. John Morant is like the opposite of that. Uh Scoot Henderson's development is going to be hindered by this. So I I mean, I get all the basketball reasons. I guess I'm mean otherther than that, misses. Lincoln, how was the play? Well, here's what I'm going to say twoo years ago, John Morant in fifty games, albeit averaged twenty three points and seven assists on forty five percent of shooting and fifty two percent on Tuesday. he's twenty six years old Here's what I'm gonna do for the bllazers You got six months I think the blazers in doing this trade just said to themselves He has two years left on his contract. so it's not a marathon contract. It's not an albatrross. Yeah It's it's too enticing an upside bet for us to pass up Let me give you six months to figure out the rest of your roster because clearly this can't be the end game with all these guards You're not like last year was a feel good season after your coach got removed in a gambling probe and all of that. Yeah I think much in a less rational, more disturbing way than the hornets. they looked at themselves in the mirror and said, Ohh, this feel good season. What is it ultimately leading to? We're not going to worry too, too much about the present build of this team if we can get a talent like this in the door and just see what the hell happens. And to me, I think I'm focused more on the see what the hell happens part of this than the here are all the downstream effects that could be bad for our team because I can make changes. I can pivot out of this if it goes badly to me. It's an up like there's if there's still anything like this borderline all NBA player who has made an all NBA team before in there. I just think you do this trade and figure out the rest later U The off court stuff is also problematic. so I get it. I get all the freing. I just I can't get I can't get that mad at it. I'm sorry, I can't I think if he were a normal basketball player, I would understand where you're coming from. If he were just a run of the mill, this is a star guard who can help a team or hurt a team and you can move on depending on what the contract situation is in time, abbsolutely But the electricity that he gave the grizzlies and then the electricity he spped out of the entire operation there with his decision making. I get it Like it just feels different to me. L to me, Jh Morant is the sort of radioactive that he cans it's not like, oh, we're going to either build a team that makes sense or not. like He could blow this whole thing up. Like he is showing me the ability toide why' sour I guess I don't agree with that. If it's going badly, I just banish him and I eat the money and it's fine. L it's not great Yeah, that sucks Um But I'm going to give them six months to figure out their roster, figure out if Mike Gori can reach Joh Morant and maybe hope that like some of The shitty defense, the non effort, the attitude issues, the lack of like all out ferocity on offense was part of just like, I don't want to play for this coach. I don't want to play for this team. This team doesn't want me anymore And this is the end game though and some injuries. and it maybe it ends up being a disaster, but I'm I think it's worth the risk for a Blazers team that is still kind of figuring out what they are. And given what the price was, like I don't like Jeremy Grant is a solid player. I think he's actually become a little bit underrated, but I just I'm not that mad at it. But the guy that I am most interested in in all of this is Scoot Henderson because that was an interesting last two and a half months of the season and an interesting start to a playoff series against a team that was wildly better than them than San Antonio Spurs What was interesting about Scoot season to me was that he wasn't really playing point guard anymore. I think he averaged like two assists down the stretch of the season and less than that in the playoffs He was very much playing off Adia, off holiday and now would probably play off Damian Lillard who again, part of the reason I'm not freting about the John Mrant thing is that I can't make too many decisions about my team centered around Damien Lillard at age thirty six coming off at Achilles Terar. Like I don't really care that he's coming back and what does John Maria do about that scoots development into some sort of like hybrid attacking semi off ballgard with a decent three point shot was kind of interesting to me and seemed to make his life a little easier as he's learning the NBA amid all his injuries. What did you think about his like last couple months? I went from really wondering how much of a future he would have in the league as a full time rotation player to being pretty bought in on the idea of what he could be. And I think some of it is not just playing off ball and the improvement in his shooting alone. likeike the high watermarks for him shooting the three during last season. I think really won me over and made me a believer in what he could become Be in the Drew holiday school of like, this is how you kind of handle the ball, kind of play off of it. This is how you use your strength to your advantage for the first time in your career. L I felt you could see some of the influence of having a guy like Drew around We just have to recontextualize them a little bit from O ball pick and roll heavy prospect as he was slated to be coming into the league into maybe this is more of a hybrid guy. Maybe this is someone who really benefits from having other supplementary ball handlers around him. whether it's Denny driving offense and him drafting off of it, whether it's him attacking from the second side and being really good at it, like kind of shockingly good at it in certain ways, given how he grew up playing the game I'm pretty in on Scoot Henderson at this point in a way that if you had told me that a year ago I simply wouldn't have believed you I guess what I'm saying is the way he played the last couple of months of the season makes me less worried about integrating another ball dominant player into the Blazers because Scoot Henderson became much less of a ball dominant player. In fact, he became a different kind of player than I think anyone envisioned him being. Yeah. And I'm curious about him because I'm not sure if that was him just hewing to what the team needed him to do and what he needed to do to get minutes on the team And whether it was like he enjoyed it or whether he still envisions himself is no, I'm I am the guy that runs forty pick and rolles a game and that's going to be me and I'm going to force my way into that role To me, the Moran thing is worth the risk. I don't really mind it. I think it's Memphis clearly just turns the page, moves on and that's Um, That's fine too. I can't believe I've become the guy that's caping for Joh Morant and this trade. That's like it's not a disaster for the bllazers. When when he was good I mean, he he is the kind of guy who makes you believe crazy things about basketball of what a player is capable of, of what he can do. to rally a team around him that might be flawed or might not have this or might not have that. You could talk yourself into the grizzlies like winning some of those series where they were like horribly outmatched in some cases, just based on his his moxie, his savvy, who he was as a playmaker. I think it's always been a really underrated part of his game I just think so much of that for me has turned in seeing how bad it gets when it gets bad And just like the way that it took the wind out of the sails of the grizzlies. L I don't know that I'm getting over that so soon. and a lot of it to me too is For everything we've said about, you know, giving the bllazers six months or giving them that kind of time frrame to regroup and change the structure of their team John Morant is a player you have to go through great lengths to build a r. He is not someone who accommodates others very easily. like he does need the ball in his hands. He doesn't have a variety of uses. He will make the Scoot Henderson types bend around him. All of that works fine when he is a superstar. and it does not work fine when he's just like a guy who is pretty athletic and not getting to the rim as often as you want Maybe like this whole idea that they're going to start him and Dame together is completely untenable. Like there's just no way to survive defensively. Are you trying to kill Tumani Kamara like a genuinely? So I don't know what gives there Um neither of those guys seems willing to raise their seems like a likely candidate to be like no, six man, I'm cool. Like he like D Dame is oldld enough that it's not crazy coming off the injury to suggest that. Maybe also like Jh just needs to play twenty five minutes a game for a little while as he gets his body back under him and that's another solution here I would I mean, to me, Drew Holiday has to start one way or another and someone else has to come off the bench and Kamara has to start and obviously Klingon has to start Good good business brringing Robert Williams back at three years forty four. I thought he was like he outplayed Klingon against the spurs of the playoffs and it was generally really good in the regular season. How many players do we just say have to start? Like that's too mon That's I said five five. I'm just saying it's difficult. That's all. And then Shade and Sharp is like, Anyway is the new coach going to play me at all in the playoffs if we get there again? And I I make twenty something million dollars a year for the next four years. I hope I'm part of this too. It's a it is a weird mix, but I'm okay with I mean, Portland iss a good place to be weird Let's take another quick break and we'll wrap up with some u someome other business This summer, fandoo is the best place to bet on goals. Including equalizers. Uhuh Volleies? Y headters. Every goal is worth more on fandool. So let there be goals. New customers get up to a thousand dollars in bet reset tokens when you bet five dollars five daily. Tta one plus and present in select states, often required, Refund issueed non withrawal bonus bets that expire seven days after receivt. minimum five dollar wage are required for five consecutive days. Max refund two hundred dollars per day. restestrictions apply including token expiration seaful ts at fand dou dot com slash sports book gambling problem call one eight hundred gambler or one eight hundred My reset All right, I know you wanted to talk Boston a little bit. Um Portland has been rumored as a potential Jal and Brown destination for a while I think most of that was theoretical. theoretically pitched the three team trade where Boston would get Janis, Portland would get Jailen Brown and Milwaukee would get assets from both of them, including the picks, the bucks picks that Portland still owns now Um The reporting on Portland and Jailen Brown has been all over the place My best reporting has been that they're not really involved, but I'm not one hundred percent sure of that and this is lying season, But that's where I would lean. I discussed Boston at length with a Michael Pina two days ago that I think they're kind of stuck with a bunch of offers that they don't consider good enough Um I just know you wanted to talk a little bit about Jayalen Brown. So say your peace. Honestly, it was less Jayen Brown and you raised I thought some interesting Celtics hypothetical, some what ifs about there some history that I wanted to dig into. Can we go? Yeah, sure, we can do that So you put two what ifs to me that I've been kind of stewing on and I haveven' been able to knock out of my brain and this is related to to be clear. I forgot that I'd say yes, but this is related to the Jayalen Brown situation which very clearly gone sideways on the Celtics since he was out there and honest. they didn't get the honest deal done And I have spent a lot of time thinking about like, What like why has this gone so sideways And these are two what ifs that I proposeed to you. So go ahead I will say one of them, I think leads us to a pretty similar place to where we are now and that's what if Boston just won game seven against Philly? Like that one, I don't think changes a ton. likeike where do you see the division point if they had won that series Do you think that men's enough fences? Do you think that Sue's enough egos where Jayalen Brown is still a Celtic A couple of things about that I pitched that as a what if only because it was so dispiriting how they collapsed against Philadelphia. Yeah. And they were so exposed as a team that was too thin, small talent deficient on the front line that it raised a bunch of emergency level questions. questions that were always hovering in the background that became like embarrassing emergencies. And one of the remedies was let's try to go get Yanis. and this is the only really way we can do it If they squeak that series out and lose to the Nixon six games Does this feel different? Does it feel like less of an emergency? Now, I think your counter is going to be All evidence suggests that the Kicks are not going to beat D Celtics in six games. They're going to blow the shit out of them in four games. five at best. spepecifically I think we had seen enough evidence and enough like forward progress with Cats role development already to that point in the Atlanta series that I think he would have created real problems for Boston if if they were to meet. and I do think F might have been likely and really it just might have been similarly dispiriting in a way to just get wiped off the floor by a Nick team that had so much going for it already. We also don't know like does Tatum play at all in that series? hard to play game seven, That's the other one. And the other what if I gave you was What if Tatum just never gets hurt And they lose the Nick series in twenty twenty five. in which they looked like they were going to do. They were about to go down three one. So Tatum stays healthy. They lose the series in six games I just wonder like what is the Jalen Brown never gets the taste of being the guy indisputably But they still lose the series. They still come into this season with some apron issues with some question marks, all the same all the same sort of salary trimming moves might happen What is like where are we now? I don't that's a fascinating one. I don't know the answer that. That one kind of broke my brain because yeah, I think So many of their financial decisions were rooted in. Jason Tatum is not going to play anyway. so we can trade your holiday and cut bait with Chrisp Sworzengas and lose Al Horford. and we're just going to try to turn the page. The way I remember it was so much of that apron conversation was about, okay, they're probably going to have to make a choice between either Drew or Chris Eporzinggus, but they might have the opportunity to keep one of them pre injury pre pre Tatum injury and then in this hypothetical of Jason Tatum doesn't get injred and it's like If they keep Let's say Chris Hapsporzingis if he stays healthy or they're able to convince Al Horford to come back either one, then it's like Namashh Kada doesn't have a big breakout year. If they keep Drew holiday, does Derek White not get overexposed offensively in the way that he did over the course of that season? So there's always these like downstream effects of little successes like Peyton Pritchard is more of a sixth man in a traditional sense than he ended up being for that Celtics team. Like that's the thing you can't quite put back in the box either. There were so many younger guys who ended up having like You know, like the honest trade conversations pivoting on whether Baylor Shireman was available is predicated on Baylor Shireermman playing enough to be important enough to the Celtics to prove something in the first place. And so it's like, I don't even know where we are if Jason Tatum doesn't get hurt in that series Where we are now is a very uncomfortable position for Boston and U everyone has already discussed this to death of are they going to just have to get everyone in a room and hash it all out and bring them back But because by the way, this is a proven championship caliber duo and we know that it works despite the fact that it's gotten a little uncomfortable right now. U And I just have reached the point where I legitimately don't know what's going to happen because I don't know what the Jail and Brown team is. Teams keep teams keep falling away because they've moved on and pivoted to other things Deals keep falling away, like the Janest deeal escapes Boston I know some teams that were interested, that are no longer interested for various reasons I know some teams that I thought could theoretically be interested, had the assets to be interested that for various reasons like Houston, for instance, appear to not be and never have really been. So I just like don't even know what the team is right now for Jalen Brown. We mentioned Portland before Weindy was on TV today on ESPN mentioning Cleveland, which has been something that's been mentioned over and over again, including by me And he was thinking about he was he was saying You know, Moby has been the piece that would have to move just there's no real other realistic way to do it. I've said over and over like Cleveland is not doing that Cleveland is aware that that possibility exists and haven't done it. Wendy's point was If Moby for Jail and Brown entices LeBron and that's why the Dean Wade thing made me just, you know takeake note. Okay. mayaybe I spin it that I'm trading mobly for both of those guys, but then I have Jonathan Mitchell, James Hard and LeBron James Jayen Brown. And it just that that feels almost like fantasy land to me. Yeah. Is there a Jalen Brown angle that you like or you've seen or a team that's out there that you don't think has gotten its doue. like Denver hass been the wild card and I've talked about them already. I don't know what that deal looks like quite yet, but I don't know, Any strike or fancy? I like the Denver conversation because I think that that team does have to do something really radical. I think they had such like a wake up call in the playoffs that just rolling it back and presuming everything can be okay if Pyton Watson is healthy is like not nearly enough to rectify what's going on there. So I would love to see them getting interested in that conversation I still like Atlanta as a possibility and The trade package would have to be a little more elaborate and frankly, it might be impossible now that Jonathan Comingo's salary is off the books, but that was one I was always daydreaming about Yeah, without coming And obviously, it's not going to be Jayalen Johnson. It's got to be Dyson Daniels sls a lot of stuff plus picks and the Celtics are probably going to want the a lot of stuff to include Zacharyisae because he's in a former number one overall pick and that's sexy. But they're also probably going to be like, but he's also been kind of a busust. So we need Nkil Alexander Walker two and it just like it just gets a little Funky. u But this is the problem as you're alluding to, like teams are dropping out not just because they've started to move on, but because some of these options have swung one way or another with teams and players. and now the salary math doesn't really make sense in the way that it did a week or two ago. It's hard to trade guys who make sixty million dollars a year and are not one of the five best players in the league. It's it's just hard to do One deal that has been mentioned, another piece of news today The Jail and Durance situation in Detroit has gotten interesting in a way that was entirely predictable after he kind of crapped the bed in the playoffs. I don't think we've ever seen a player eligible for a Rose rule thirty percent max extension on a team that was like, we're like that's we're not going near that. And it was very predictable to see this happen. And now the games are afoot. Jel and Durn is taking meetings with teams with Cap sppace, he wants to meet the kings. The kings are like, someomeone wants to meet with us What a delight Me, really? U And the Lakers who have Cap space as well for potential sign and trade U situations, it was floated that Domonas Sibonos would be going back to Detroit. I don't think anyone Pistans are interested in that. Yeah. Here's my read on this I think Detroit is So far re pretty unruffled about this. I think they're like, this is cool. like you guys are doing all the leverage stuff. This is just like restricted for agency one on one. Y Guess what? You want to have a sign and trade Guess who has to cooperate in the side of trade? We do. We're not going to. So you can go get all the deals you want. We're not going to participate in them The wild card is the offer sheet And I'm not sure who the offer sheet team would be. the Nets still have a ton of cap space Sure. The Lakers are obviously the team that has a lot of cap space that could make it hurt. The bulls still have like thirty million in caps space. That's not enough to make it hurt I think Detroit is just sitting back here and being like We're cool. And that's like I mentioned Jal and Brown because there's been this idea Could we solve all these problems with the Jail and Duran Jail and Brown sign and trade, mega trade I don't see that happening either. I don't think I don't think the pistons are ready to just upend what they've got going on and Kate and Jel and Durn are very close My assumption is This is all going to be sound in sound sound in fury signifying nothing and he's going to go back to the Pistons on a deal that he's probably not psyched about They're probably not psyched about That's the way it goes. But the offer sheet lurking You know, teams don't really do this to other teams as much as they used to where they're just like, oh, Here hereere, poison pill, everything bad, you know, trade kicker every shortest possible contract. Here you go Match that Um but it's still it could happen It could. I just I mean, yeah, the playbook is all of those things. like what like a three year deal with a player option at the end. So it barely guarantees anything is probably the structure with like as much money as you can throw into that thing I Gordon Gordon Hayward to Charlotte. Exactly In this case, I will believe it when I see it. I just like I think the math is tough for a lot of these teams The resign and trade is almost a necessary mechanic for some of the candidates we've talked about And for Jayal and Duran, like I think it's okay to come off of an absolute disaster of a playoff run and be squeezed a little bit. Like that feels like a reasonable exchange of Yeah, you end you end up in some kind of sweet spot where Detroit isn't thrilled as you said, but It would be so much worse to come out of this with over dramatically overpaying Jail and Duran based off of what we just saw in the post season that have some hurt feelings on both sides And so far You know, Detroit was on my list with Minnesota and Denver as sort of the most interesting wild cards of the offseason. Minnesota certainly went wild. Yeah. and Denver still could Detroit is really the sum total of what they've done so far as salary dump Isaiah Stewart. draft a Corey and then resign Kevin Herder and add Isaiah Joe as shooters, which obviously I think puts a little bit of question where Duncan Robinson's fit on this team is and he has a very lightly guaranteed contract for next year Um I think the Hder one in particular felt like And granted, Kevin Hardder shooting has not been no ex Roberts is another level completely level as a shooter and was like essential for them the entire season and doubly so in the playoffs. Yes. But does a team have room for all three of those guys? I don't know. But the big move hasn't happened. And by the way, Tobias Harris is still a free agent. They have his bird rights. I think they I have some interest at some price point in bringing him back Yeah. I would be a little Dappointed is the wrong word, J a little surprised if Detroit came out of this offseason looking like more or less the same as they did after last season. Would you or am I just like they're young enough It doesn't matter I would be too. I mean, that was the argument we're having all throughout last season. It was this is a team that is winning a ton of games that feels rock solid in certain ways, but also has clear definable needs Will they preempt those needs or will they go through the process of kind of exposing them in the postseason as many young teams do They got exposed. like all the needs are laid very bare for not just them to feel and experience and chase after, but for the rest of the league to see and acknowledge. So If not now, it would have to happen at some point in the season. likeike you got to start pushing chips and picks and you know, Ron Hollands off your bench if you can find takers for him or people who are excited about his future. There has to be something to string together here to get a wing or a forward that actually makes the team feel more cohesive. TVD. I'll give him some time obviously free agency just started I do think it's interesting that it's been not a bang for them so far despite this duran thing getting kind of spicy Okay, I'm assuming you don't have much to say about Julian Champnei, three years forty five million to the Spurs thumbs up Absolute thumbs up We pop forks or champagne around here Bonone Highland going back to Minnesota P probablyb I don't know if it's a minimum, but it's not gonna to be much. fine Usman Jenang three years seventeen point five to Milwaukee. I like the way he finished the season. Same He hasn't been mentioned in the like Aaron Wagginanss, Isaiah Joe salary casualties of the Thunder, but he was quite good for the bucks last year Speaking of that, I haven't spent much time at all on Isaiah Hardenstein coming back three years seventy five. and Lou Dort's option being picked up for this coming season, which feels both interesting, maybe ominous, maybe not. It does and then they I think they releaseed Kendick Kendrich Williams, but there's a possibility they can bring him back on the minimum. All of this was like exactly the playbook I outlined others outlined for how can Oklahoma City sniff the second apron, maybe dodge it eventually, certainly cut hundreds of millions of dollars from its tax bill and remain competitive. Joe out Wiggins out, Ken Rich out at least at this number Isaiah Hartenstein back, Dord back No notes. I think I think it's exactly what I expected. It's expensive. Guess what? Be a championship team is expensive. Mitchell Robinson is Mitchell Robinson He's the second apron piece for the next. They're either going to have to decide we're going over it this year and trying to get back under it next year, which is going to be really hard unless Kat takes a pay cut, but Boy Ohh boy, Mitchell Robinson. can feel like a luxury sometimes the minutes he plays and all that. He's really, really good. It's interesting though that Portland was the team that was in on him time Lord they're out now Um But he'll still have suitors for sure. As he should Yeah, I think this one is vital, not just in a the good like the good energy going and bring back the championship team. but you're right, likeike They are kind of compromised without him structurally. likeike he's so important to them in terms of his rebounding.'s so important to them in terms of like the way the specific way he spells cat while challenging teams in totally different ways That's not something I ever turn my nose up at. and If all it's going to take you is more money and decreaseed flexibility You just keep Mitchell Robinson and you figure out the rest later I agree. And that just brings us to the last sort of major item of the day. and I'm not talking about the Mets giving up it inside the park home run on the first batter of the game of other day, just the most embarrassing thing. Um This is a little one, but It's interesting. Tim Hardaway Juni. signing with the Heat tonight. One year six and a half million dollars, so they dipped into their mid level exception They brought back our guysy Simonee Fonteechio a big tech Um, off the bench They are now like, I don't know, I'll just ballpark it like ten million under the first apron in that they are hard capped there because of the honest trade. whichich means Norman Powell iss definitely out. There's no Norman Powell return that's happening And so he becomes an interesting play. I don't know what his home is. I think he has a home. I just don't know what it is. I mean, could is there still room for him to be a piston potentially? Sure, I guess. the Pisons have a ton of flexibility. And so This is where we are then with the heat. We need to redo the heat depth chart postonest Strait and all this because Norman Powell was sort of wrongly, I think, penned in as a starter and now he's like not there I would put their starting lineup as Dav Oon Mitchell Pella Larson Andrew Wiggins, Janis Bam M s whichich leaves me off the bench. Drew Smith Tim Hardaway junior. Fanttechio Yovich ortis. Obviously I can stagger minutes And Wiggins, by the way, came back on a opted in and then signed a two year deal for much less money, it appears than he was making Um And then I've got Myron Gardner and Kashad Johnson, possibly and some other pieces to play with And they'll fill out there's other minimum guys coming in ring Jing guys coming in and Bio guys coming. Is that team good enough No Honestly, weirdly enough, one of the spots that makes me Oddly nervous is the Drew Smith spot where Davi and Mitchell's been really solid for them Drew Smith is coming off of really the only healthy season he's ever had as a professional basketball player. and even then I think he's okay And this is a team that I think could really use a little bit of guard flexibility Pellell Larson, a great connector, a really good fluid player for their system makes a ton of sense, but like I would feel better about them if they had one more guard option I felt really solid about and they just do not have that right now. Tim Hargway Jr. doesn' do it for you coming off a borderline six minute of the year campaign. He was quite good, but I think I'm speaking more in like a ball handling capacity than just a pure kind of like gunner or shooter I think he's a good get for them. Yeah. There's more coming. To me like Drew Smith. Simone Fantechio as much as we loveem Rob. Edyovich were rendered by Ericpolstra unplayable in games that mattered and the play in games and all that. He just decided you guys are good enough to be on the floor. So that's three of the five guys that we just said werere coming off the bench for the heat were very recently rendered unplayable. I can I push back on that point given the change in circumstance. Like is that is that any different? in a world where Janis is going downhill twenty times at game. where a Simone Fonttechio was like, okay, this is a different thing than you know, putting putting him around the blender system we already had. That's a very fair point I just like penciling them in as rock solid bench contributors on like a team with championship aspirations is I kind of and I've always been high on Yovich clearly higher on Yovch than Spolstra is because he doesn't play them Um, and Portis The defensive decline has been pretty real. He's still a really good shooter on long two s and threes I'm interested to see if they play him with Bam and Yanis together, which is a kind of look that Milwaukee did not do much of, but their version involved Brooke Lopez who's obviously much slower afoot and less switchable than Bam and Yanis are. So I think that's worth looking at U and I think they'll still obviously u do some things, but it's it's a team that you know, you make the straight for you honest. you're trying to win the championship. I'm not really sure I see it U yet, but especially like the East is every playoff series in the East is going to be hard. likeike being a top six team in the East is going to be hard. Yeah I don't see it yet either, but I do think they are close enough that you can see the gaps in the rotation and think, okay, if they could just swing a trade for this kind of player, if they can just get it was wing shooting honestly. And I think Tim Hartaway Juni. certainly helps with that. Sone Fontteacchio if he plays bring him back helps with that. God knows they needed to keep Andrew Wiggins who just as a two way guy is really critical for them. If they can get one more big, they trust in big time games and one more ball handler, they trust to be a real rotation player I think it's coming together in a pretty compelling way I stick by what I said right after the honest trade. Despite my concerns about their viability as a real true blue title contender, yet, anyway I still think the risk was worth it because the present day situation was going nowhere. And I'm not sure what other star was going to become available in the near future who was younger than Janis as good as Janis, fit them better than Janis So I get I think the opportunity cost was a little bit less painful for them given that One potential path, just staying the course was not going to lead to anything real. until they found another star down the line. So I think it ultimately is worth it. I think they'll be a good team It's just hard for me to see like four playoff series worth of greatreatness I think it might be tough. One thing I do want to hit though, because I feel like when we talk about the fit with Yonis, a lot of the focus is on, okay, what are the ways this is going to be difficult or challenging or spatially complicated That's all going to be there. him and Bam in particular like they're going to have to figure it out. Bam is going to have to be probably an even better shooter in some ways or else they're going to have to put him in different spots on the floor It's also been a minute since Bam has had A real non Tyler hero style star that makes his life easier. And his job for the heat has been make everyone else's life easier. Like right move around the floor, facilitate these guys. We're going to put you here. We're going to move you up. We're going to make you a handoff guy. Now you're not. Now you're a spacer I'm I can't wait to see a version of Bam that gets to play off of someone like Yanis, even with all those considerations, even with the challenges just Yanis attracts so much attention And Bam is a guy who, if you give him any space, if you give him any floor or momentum can do so much with it I think that part of his game is really going to thrive even if he's going to have to figure out how to navigate some tight spaces along the way. Well As you know, I am the driver of the band wagon. So any anytime I'm tired of people coming in this podcast, Rob and telling me about when's Bam going to average twenty five points a game. Bam can't be a guy that you just throw the ball to and score like Charles Barley and Bam can't do this. I'm glad to finally have someone who comes on and says, Hey, here's all the things that Bam can do pretty well How about everything? How about every single thing? He's like pretty good at. He might not be as great at the scoring part as you want him to be Yeah, but the heat of asked him to basically play Point center jump shooting guy, do everything on offense with this weird personnel around you and we're going to change the system every year and now we don't run any pick and rolls, but now we run a ton of pick and rolls. Now we run none. Now we play turbo fast. And by the way, one thing We have to stop doing this In the wake of the Yonistraade, I saw in real places, not fantasy land like Vlogs abouta. Let's love We know what I mean. We are of blogs. Well, the blog, I think the blogosphere has changed that is quite greatly I saw it written and said on airwaves. that the heat had the best offense in franchise history and the number one scoring offense in the NBA and they were adding Yanis and thus we're going to just blow the doors off everybody. How are we still how is any segment of speaking written verbal basketball media St so dumb. As to not just say the heat were an average offense last year. their pace was obscuring the fact that they were thirteens an offensive thisually. likeike there people talk about this heat team, especially locally like they're this offensive juggernaut. They were an average offensive team. They'll be better with Yanest, but like they're not adding Yanest to the twenty seventeen warriors and just like come on Um I don't know where Oh, bam Thank you for extooling the virtuesZ bam. How about you you're the fulcrum of our entire offense and please guard everybody on defense on every single possession and then score eighty three points against the Hpless Washington Wizards. Super easy stuff to do. But yeah, I think especially with the honest teammates, there's such a focus on like shooting, shooting, shooting. likeike, how do we space the floor for this guy It's clearly a critical component. I just think if you are, as you alluded to B plus or A minus at basically every other part of the game. you do so many things to make winning around Yonis possible that I'm not worried about that part of the shooting. I just want to see it from the Tim Hardaay and Simonee Fontechio types The last thing on hardardaway is it's like It's not a meaningless loss for Denver, not at all who also declined a team option on Jail and picket over the weekend and so have Late Almost no guards on the team other than Jamal Murray and kind of Christian Brown and maybe Julian Strawther Christian Brown, who was Bad Like just really bad last season They don't, they didn't draft anyone Like literally no one They have Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson among their free agents They just don't like have a lot of players on their team and they have this Yokage thing which, you know, he's not signing his extension yet. I said the other day I think it's mostly nothing, but not like a hundred percent nothing. Um It's it has it's It can't just be dismissed as completely nothing. I think he's going to be a nugget for life. He said he's going to be a nugget for life. But this is not one of those situations where everyone knows it makes more sense for him to wait a year for whatever financial reason I just can't wait to see what they're going to do because they have to do something And it has to be a meaningful shake upp to their team. And it may also have to involve cutting money because that's just how they operate.. And it may also have to involve the assumption that, hey, I know Aaron Gordon is a critical component of our team and I am like Aaron Gordon, Fanboy number one I'm not sure I can count on him to be healthy for a full playoffs like ever again. How do I deal with that? It's just Like losing Tim Hardaway Junior is not nothing for this team I Al also I understand why you're saying they may also have to cut money as part of that process because that's how they operate I just don't want to excuse it. L that is a realist perspective on what the Denver Nuggets do, but it also doesn't have to be that way. Like they could pay more, they could invest more in the team. They could not cut corners That's just what they do. And it sucks that that is a part of the calculus, but Welcome to Denver Nuggets basketb I mean, their roster right now is Yokach Muray Gordon, Cam Johnson, presumed salary Dumpy. Yes. Still a good player by the way. like disappointing last year in Denver, but like I'd like to see it again. I'd like to get a year of comfort. Even his moments in the playoffs too Christian Brown Yonus Valentunus non guaranteed contract may play in Europe next season, according to some reports. Probably cut. Zek Nji somehow still not traded Julian Strother, Dayon Holmes, That's it. That's their whole roster right now Time to build out a team around, you know One of the best players of his generation, three time MVP, fininals MVP But they did win a championship and it's good that you got one They got the one and it hadn't gone great since then, but I agree with you on Yokich and frankly, like this is something you should do if you're a player in his position. There are a couple ways that you can really leverage your power to put pressure on an organization to build around you in the ways that you might like I don't know if you're if you're a Coa Yogkage, how could you look at the dead forer nuggets and say This is good enough for me to just sign up, site unseen on a version of the team that is not going to look like this in a year or two years. You want to see movement, you want to see growth, you want to see Not only the Peyton Watsons brought back, but some creative like management of the cap and creative management of the roster in terms of turning these into players that make sense for whatever the next version of the team is going to be They're just not there right now. likeike this can't be enough Let's wrap real quickly We gave the clippers President and future a little bit of short shrift because it's really A total startover for them. Like I don't think Brandon Ingram is going to be a long term clipper. He might play the year out, but I would assume no sniff aroundound offers for him. And we're down to Darius Garland. Derek Jones Jr. Brook Lopez is still here. Chris Dunn is still here They just resigned Kobe Sanders on a four year twelveh billion dollar deal, which I like. Grady Dick they just acquired I mean, Lopez and Derek Jones are, you know, whatever not part of the next great cllippers team, let's say Uh and Keat and Waggler, they just drafted number five., I don't and obviously, they're going to have all the cap flexibility in the world to chase star free agents going forward with the Inuit Dome in Los Angeles everything that they stand for all that. I'm waiting for one more name that I don't know what his injury status is, but to me is a core part of their team. Jk Yonic Conan Ner has are like That awesome. goodood, Really good And they're going to have infinite caps space. The thing about cap space is We haven't seen teams just like lure the two star free agents together kind of thing in quite a while and you need to have good players in the door to do it. They don't control their picks in either the next three years. The twenty seven is swapped with Oklahoma City. twenty eight goes to Philadelphia via hardarden trade. twenty nine is a swap with Philadelphia via the same trade Now they have all these extra picks that are very valuable. It's really a stunning level of like blank slate at this point. I mean, I know Garland has made it all Star team, but he really has to rehab his value Janic Kon and Neerhauser is a very, very good prospect. and so is Keaton Waggler And other than that, I'm like, okay, we'll see what great to Dick brings you Kobe Sanders, looks like an interesting role player. It's kind of a stunning like O It's all cleared out now I think And we talked about the KQi part of that return To me, the James Harden one is really the crown jewel of this sort of like reboot is the way that he was able to come to the cllippers, rehabilitate his own career, to be fair. playlay some really good basketball for them during his stint. and turn into the kind of player who they could actually get things for on the wayout. gave them an exit ramp that I did't know existed for the Paul George Cowi Leonard era. Like the fact that that turned into something that was a real mechanism for forward momentum and improvement They needed that. They need that really desperately. And to get this full haul of picks that gives you so much to work with as you try to figure out what to do with all these pieces. It's really all you can ask for to be in this situation, given Aspiration, given the injuries, given Paul George's just like general whole state. Avit' Zoobox is really like the one piece that they elected to move that they probably didn't need to to refresh. but Even then they ended up getting an incredible return for him It feels really like not that long ago pre COVID We all woke up at three in the morning to this just earth shattering earthquake of news. Wh why I'maul George goo the clippers and now It's all over and the Raptors are back is illegit, you know Threat to win the East. threat to really go on a deep playoff run. We'll see. goodood deal for that. And Rob Mahoney, you got group chat coming up this week before the holiday weekend. What else? We got the prerestige C pod humming along covering Cape Fear right now, but I'm going to be honest, my eye is on the NBA. It's so active right now. It's so insane. We got Qi Leard trades just kind of manifesting out of thin air I have no TV shows to talk about with you. I'm out of TV shows right now. But yeah, it's NBA time. Are you going will I see you in Las Vegas I think I'm actually going to skip this year and it is Heartbreaking to me, But I am one of the few remaining summer League devotees that actually does love being out there in the desert for as long as it'll have me, but just wasn't meant to be it for will you will prry my Vegas trip for my cold dead actually my sweaty gross hands out in Las Vegas. I love Vegas. I love Vegas in the summer. I might even hit top golf this year R twentyoney Thanks, Bud. I'll see you soon. Listen to Raban Group chat, prerestige TV talking about Art and whatever is going on television. seeverven season three coming in twenty thirty one.' do one of these days when it com out. Thanks, Rob. Thanks. All right, that's it for this edition of the Zack Loe Show. Thank you to Rob Mahoney. Thank you to Jonathan, Billy, Mike, and Mike on production. As always, thank you to you all for listening to and for watching the Zack Loow Show right now as we approach Wednesday morning on the East Coast The plan is probably to come back next week after the holiday weekend. You just never know if something bizarrero happens in the NBA. We might be back, but that's the plan. Everyone have a safe and fun fourourth of July weekend. If that's the case, we'll see you next time on the Zach Low Show. twenty one over in President select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or eighteen and over in Prididenton in DC, Kentucky, O Wyoming, gambling problem. Call one eight hundred gambler or one eight hundred My reset. Call one eight eighty eight seven hundred eighty nine seven seven seven seven or visit ccpG dot org slash chat in Connecticut or isisit MD gamblinghelp dot orga in Maryland. 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