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Speaker 1: see dkang dot co. Slash All right, Aldrin hoops tonight

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Speaker 1: you're at the volume heavy Thursday. Everybody. I'll valve you

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Speaker 1: guys are having a great end to your week. We

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Speaker 1: got a jampackshow for you guys today. Deandreton has signed

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Speaker 1: with the Los Angeles Lakers. Talked a little bit on

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Speaker 1: Monday about just some of the realities surrounding the circumstance

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Speaker 1: and why it made sense for both of these teams.

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Speaker 1: But today I want to do a much deeper dive

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Speaker 1: into DeAndre Ayton's game and how it's going to fit

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Speaker 1: with the Lakers on both ends of the floor. So

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Speaker 1: a full scouting report on DeAndre Ayton as a basketball

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Speaker 1: player on both ends of the floor. Lots of detail there,

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Speaker 1: give you Lakers fans a good idea of what you

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Speaker 1: can expect from him this year. After that, for our

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Speaker 1: course correction segment this week, we're going to be covering

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Speaker 1: the biggest winners in free agency. I have four teams

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Speaker 1: that we're going to be shouting out in that segment.

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Speaker 1: After that, I'm going to do just a short mail

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Speaker 1: bag as we go into the holiday weekend, going to

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Speaker 1: be talking about Damian Lillard and where he could potentially

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Speaker 1: end up, Mike Brown as the new head coach of

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Speaker 1: the New York Knicks, talk a little bit about Luke

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Speaker 1: Cornette and the San Antonio Spurs, and then we have

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Speaker 1: a Lebron Lakers question at the tailing. You guys are

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Speaker 1: the job. Before we started to subscribe to Hoops and

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Speaker 1: Not YouTube channels, you don't miss any more of our videos.

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Speaker 1: Follow me on Twitter a underscore so you guys don't

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Speaker 1: misch announcement. Don't forget about podcast feed where you get

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Speaker 1: your podcast orner hoops tonight. It's also super helpful if

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Speaker 1: leave a rating and a review on that front. Jackson's

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Speaker 1: doing great work on our social media feeds Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok.

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Speaker 1: Make sure you guys follow us there. The last, but

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Speaker 1: not least, if you want to get into these mail

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Speaker 1: bags at the end of each week, drop your questions

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Speaker 1: in the full episodes in the comments put mail bag

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Speaker 1: and then Colin. That helps me sort through them quickly.

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Speaker 1: Drop your question and we'll get to them at the

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Speaker 1: end of each week until we get into next season.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's talk some basketball. So we talked on

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Speaker 1: Monday about how I thought this made sense for both

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Speaker 1: sides in the eight and Los Angeles Lakers deal. The

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Speaker 1: Lakers were in desperate need of a center. They don't

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Speaker 1: have one that they trusted in the playoffs last year,

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Speaker 1: and obviously there's some emergencies surrounding Luca and Lebron. The

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Speaker 1: free agency options were all decent backups, but none of

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Speaker 1: them were going to do well in a real starting role.

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Speaker 1: Deandreton has had two franchises at this point. Say good

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Speaker 1: riddance to him, and he's in desperate need of a

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Speaker 1: very public and successful season to give himself any chance

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Speaker 1: at another long term deal. As crazy as it sounds,

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Speaker 1: even though he's had his two NBA contracts, he's only

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Speaker 1: twenty six years old, and he's way too talented of

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Speaker 1: a guy to have this week of a market in

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Speaker 1: free agency, and so he needs to rehab his image.

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Speaker 1: Lakers desperately need a center, even when it comes to

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Speaker 1: eight And in some of his off court stuff, which

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Speaker 1: we'll talk about in a little bit, This in theory,

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Speaker 1: should be the year where you get eight And on

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Speaker 1: his best behavior, because he's effectively in what amounts to

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Speaker 1: a contract year that there's that player option for next

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Speaker 1: year that's basically just a safety net in case this

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Speaker 1: goes really poorly for eight and in the Lakers. But

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Speaker 1: if he has a great season this year, he could

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Speaker 1: potentially go into next year. And we've seen what the

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Speaker 1: starting caliber center market is. Guys, Deandreton has a great year,

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Speaker 1: he could easily look at over one hundred million on

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Speaker 1: a four year deal somewhere else. That is like absolutely

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Speaker 1: one hundred percent achievable for Deandreton. If he goes into

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Speaker 1: La and has a great season. So it's a perfect match.

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Speaker 1: The Lakers get a legitimate starting level talent to anchor

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Speaker 1: the center position for them this year, and Deandreyton gets

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Speaker 1: to play with Luka Doncic who has the potential to

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Speaker 1: help Ayton put together one of those career years on

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Speaker 1: the offensive end of the floor. Now, obviously the Lakers

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Speaker 1: and Aten's camp agreed with that assessment. Now he's a Laker,

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Speaker 1: So let's dig into some more of the basketball specifics

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Speaker 1: about his fit on that team. We're gonna start with offense,

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Speaker 1: and we're gonna start with the good. He is just

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Speaker 1: a absolute monster pick and role player. There is no

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Speaker 1: other way to characterize it. As we went over on Monday,

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Speaker 1: he's statistically been one of the highest volume and efficiency

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Speaker 1: role men in the NBA for the entire twenty twenties.

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Speaker 1: If you want to hear those numbers again, I went

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Speaker 1: over them in detail on Monday's show, So head over

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Speaker 1: to our show from Monday and you'll get to see

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Speaker 1: those specific numbers. But it starts with screening. He doesn't

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Speaker 1: necessarily set the most physical screens the world, but he's

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Speaker 1: very good at the timing and getting in and out

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Speaker 1: of screens quickly, reversing angles when the situation calls for it,

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Speaker 1: running up and getting set like he's gonna screen, and

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Speaker 1: then just jetting out like he'll it's it's hilarious because

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Speaker 1: he lacks the same verve in his pick and roll

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Speaker 1: coverages on defense, which we'll talk about in a minute.

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Speaker 1: But on the offensive end, he gets in and out

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Speaker 1: of screens quickly, and he will often get behind the

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Speaker 1: screen defender simply just because he sprints out of screens

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Speaker 1: and it like pops off the screen when you're watching film.

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Speaker 1: He is a very very good pick and roll roll

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Speaker 1: man in the NBA. He creates a very large vertical

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Speaker 1: spacing window, and he has great hands. He averaged almost

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Speaker 1: two dunks per game last year. That is going to

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Speaker 1: be a great fit alongside Luka Doncic. He's a legitimately

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Speaker 1: good mid range jump shooter. As a jump shooter at large,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't look good because he took a lot of

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Speaker 1: threes last not a lot, but he took almost forty

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Speaker 1: threes last year and he shot poorly on them. But

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Speaker 1: he was fifty five percent last year on two point

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Speaker 1: jump shots on almost seventy four attempts. So almost two

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Speaker 1: attempts per game. By the way, that does not include

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Speaker 1: post up fadeaway jump shots, which we'll talk about in

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Speaker 1: a minute. He's not very good at those, but off

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Speaker 1: the catch in ball screens or in short range spacing

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Speaker 1: situations around the elbows, he is a very good mid

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Speaker 1: range jump shooter. He also does a good job of

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Speaker 1: reading the back line, so he'll roll hard if there's

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Speaker 1: a lane, but then he'll short roll to the foul

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Speaker 1: line win there's traffic. And even on those short rolls,

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Speaker 1: there are some of them where he's very well set

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Speaker 1: and it's just an easy pocket pass and he rises up.

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Speaker 1: There are some of these where he's on the move,

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Speaker 1: he's rolling to the basket and he's like popping like

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Speaker 1: left right with his footwork like a movement shooter and

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Speaker 1: rising up from the elbow. And it's kind of a

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Speaker 1: legitimately feathery touch that he has on that little mid

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Speaker 1: range jump shot. It's a little flat, which is why

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Speaker 1: it doesn't go in when he shoots threes, but when

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Speaker 1: he's in that mid range it goes in at a

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Speaker 1: high rate. He's going to score a million points playing

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Speaker 1: off of Luka Doncic in pick and roll like there's

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Speaker 1: no way around it. The only thing I'm a little

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Speaker 1: bit worried about with pick and roll is when Luca

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Speaker 1: gets blitzed. He's not a great decision maker and he's

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Speaker 1: a little bit turnover prone, So that will probably be

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Speaker 1: the biggest issue that the Lakers have to deal with

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Speaker 1: in ball screens throughout the season is just if they

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Speaker 1: look to start blitzing Luka. I'd be curious to see

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Speaker 1: if the Lakers pivoted to situations like that where, oh,

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Speaker 1: you're blitzing Luca, Well, we're just gonna use Lebron as

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Speaker 1: the screener and then put Deandreton in the dunker spot

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Speaker 1: and see if you can work off of that. They're

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Speaker 1: gonna have to work out some stuff, but specifically in

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Speaker 1: ball screens outside of blitzes where Ayton has to make decisions.

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Speaker 1: I just think he's still one of the very best

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Speaker 1: role men in the league and it's just gonna be

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Speaker 1: a very, very impactful option alongside Luka. Doncic the bat

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Speaker 1: on offense mentioned the turnover prone short role stuff on blitzes,

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Speaker 1: He's never been able to put it together as a

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Speaker 1: post player. There are times when it looks great like

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Speaker 1: he has really good physical tools obviously, and then he's

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Speaker 1: got a nice jump pook. We talked about it yesterday.

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Speaker 1: He was a very efficient jump hoook shooter over the

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Speaker 1: course of his career. But like on occasion, you'll see him,

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Speaker 1: you know, post up Brook Lopez and just like bump

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Speaker 1: him off with that left shoulder and get to that

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Speaker 1: hook off of like a nice little spin move, and

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Speaker 1: you'll be like, man, Like, he's got the potential to

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Speaker 1: be such a monster down there, but he's constantly settling

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Speaker 1: for super difficult like turnaround fade away jump shots out

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Speaker 1: of the post, or like face up jumpers out of

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Speaker 1: the post. And while he's a good jump shooter off

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Speaker 1: the catch, he's pretty bad on these post up jump

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Speaker 1: shots and so he it craters his efficiency. And then

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Speaker 1: you add in the turnovers. He's extremely turnover prone on

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Speaker 1: post ups compared to some of his some of his peers.

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Speaker 1: He doesn't see the floor well, a little spastic you'll

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Speaker 1: like freak out a little bit when he gets into traffic.

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Speaker 1: So as a matter of fact, Ayton was actually the

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Speaker 1: least efficient post player in the entire NBA last year,

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Speaker 1: out of the fifty four players that attempted at least

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Speaker 1: fifty post ups. Now, he was especially bad last year.

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Speaker 1: He was like just over seven tenths of a point

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Speaker 1: per possession, and in previous years he was better, like

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Speaker 1: in the point nine and change kind of range. But

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Speaker 1: he's still below a point per possession for those same reasons,

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Speaker 1: turnovers and taking a lot of those tough turnaround jump shots.

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Speaker 1: The post is not going to be an area where

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Speaker 1: I think he's impactful for the Lakers as like a

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Speaker 1: legitimate high volume threat. He is going to have some

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Speaker 1: success attacking against switches, against smaller players. That's gonna be key.

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Speaker 1: It's I'm not saying you don't post up eight, and

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Speaker 1: I'm just saying you don't post up eight and unless

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Speaker 1: he does it, unless he has an advantage, right, So

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Speaker 1: he's going to significantly raise the ceiling of this Lakers offense.

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Speaker 1: The key, you will just be trimming the fat, keeping

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Speaker 1: his post ups down to just quick ducans against pick

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Speaker 1: and roll switches, keeping that volume down. And by the way,

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Speaker 1: it shouldn't be a problem. He posted up last year

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Speaker 1: for Portland six Excuse me, I should reverse this. In

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty three with the Suns, he posted up six

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Speaker 1: times as many times as he did last year with

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Speaker 1: the Blazers, so his post up volume has already been

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Speaker 1: I don't think that will be an issue. I think

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Speaker 1: there will be issues with Ayton. I just don't necessarily

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Speaker 1: think it'll be like, oh, he's demanding the ball in

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Speaker 1: the post too much, like he's prime Dwight Howard or

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Speaker 1: something like that. So on the offensive end, I view

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Speaker 1: it as nothing other than a substantial upgrade on defense.

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Speaker 1: The defensive tape with Ayton from last year is mostly

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Speaker 1: useless in the context of the Lakers because the Blazers

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Speaker 1: almost exclusively used him in a very deep drop coverage,

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Speaker 1: so he was primarily just sitting back very upright, like

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Speaker 1: not even really down in a defensive stance and just

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Speaker 1: kind of like backpedaling and keeping the roller. Is classic

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Speaker 1: no roller behind coverage, so he's keeping an eye on

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Speaker 1: the roller. He generally would ignore the ball handler and

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Speaker 1: just kind of get back to the roller as part

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Speaker 1: of Portland's defensive scheme, so he gave up a lot

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Speaker 1: of drop coverage shots, pull up threes floaters, things along

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Speaker 1: those lines. He even gives up some stuff at the rim,

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Speaker 1: which is what you don't want to give up as

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Speaker 1: a drop coverage big. That's the entire point of drop

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Speaker 1: coverage is to not give up stuff at the rim.

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Speaker 1: But he'll give up like layups to mediocre guards around

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Speaker 1: the league in ball screens, just simply because he's so

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Speaker 1: passive and so back on his heels in ball screens.

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Speaker 1: There are a lot of examples of frustrating effort. I

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Speaker 1: saw a play today against We've watched a ton of

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Speaker 1: film this morning on it, and he had a ball

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Speaker 1: screen against the Nuggets where Jokich was the screener, and

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Speaker 1: he just like hugged up on Jokic and like grabbed

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Speaker 1: his hips, and Strawther drove off the shoulder and ate

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Speaker 1: and just literally pointed at the rim and yelled out

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Speaker 1: help him. As Strawther just went down the lane and

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Speaker 1: laid it in, and everyone else is like, what are

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Speaker 1: you doing. You're supposed to be defending the ball screen

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Speaker 1: two on two, and you know how it is with Yokich.

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Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, he can shoot pick and pop jumpers,

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Speaker 1: but you want to take away the layup before you

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Speaker 1: deal with Yokich on a pick and pop. It's just

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Speaker 1: lazy defense. Right. There was a Jaden McDaniels play where

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Speaker 1: he drove right at Ayton's chest and Aydon did a

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Speaker 1: good job going vertical with the size and forced to

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Speaker 1: miss and then ate and hit the ground and just

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Speaker 1: immediately entered chill mode. And Jada McDaniels hit the ground

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Speaker 1: and just went back up and got the offensive rebound

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Speaker 1: and laid it in. There is upside, but there's going

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Speaker 1: to be a lot of frustration with Ayton and just

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Speaker 1: random little bits of laziness. Like obviously, it's hard for

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Speaker 1: me to tell exactly what it'll look like with the

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Speaker 1: Lakers because I just don't think JJ Reddick is gonna

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Speaker 1: view Deandreton as a deep drop big which we'll talk

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Speaker 1: about in a minute, but a lot of ugly stuff

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Speaker 1: on tape last year with Portland. Just to put it

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Speaker 1: very simply, Portland's defense was five points better per one

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Speaker 1: hundred possessions last year when Deandrayton was off the floor.

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Speaker 1: He was a weak point in their defense last year,

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Speaker 1: even though that team had some legitimate defensive upside at

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Speaker 1: times throughout the season. Again, there is upside. He'll make

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Speaker 1: a big block and pick and roll where you're like, man,

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Speaker 1: this dude's got crazy physical tools, or he'll make some

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Speaker 1: recovery move where his foot speed shows, or he'll slide

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Speaker 1: his feet on the perimeter. You'll think he can do this,

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Speaker 1: but it's just few and far between, at least in

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Speaker 1: the Portland tape. So this is gonna be a massive

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Speaker 1: project for JJ Reddick. The first step will be finding

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Speaker 1: a scheme that worked. I'm a little worried about him

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Speaker 1: switching because he's so passive just naturally as a basketball

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Speaker 1: player on that end of the floor. There was a

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Speaker 1: couple of plays in a game against Minnesota this year

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Speaker 1: in crunch time, late game in the fourth quarter where

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Speaker 1: he gave up a couple of threes to nas Reed,

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Speaker 1: one on a switch where he kind of came out

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Speaker 1: passively and nas Reed was just like okay and just

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Speaker 1: hit like a little in and out dribble, got a

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Speaker 1: god separation, hit a three. And then after he hit

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Speaker 1: that shot and the game is now tied in crunch time,

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Speaker 1: big possession, they go back to the same action. They

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Speaker 1: switch eight and onto nas Reed, but he just hit

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Speaker 1: a three and he just kind of passively switched out

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Speaker 1: where he's like standing there but he's not getting out

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Speaker 1: to contest and Naz burned him again and hit a

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Speaker 1: three over the top, and you're like, what are you doing, man, Like,

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Speaker 1: you gotta be paying attention. This is nas Reed. He's

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Speaker 1: on a roll. He just hit a jumper in your face.

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Speaker 1: You got to be pushing out a little bit further now.

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Speaker 1: To his credit, again, in that same game, there was

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Speaker 1: another sequence late in the game where he switched, defended

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Speaker 1: nas well and got to stop. But it's like that

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Speaker 1: needs to be the attend the level of attention to

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Speaker 1: detail that's earlier in that sequence, not later in that sequence.

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Speaker 1: Everyone knows what Nasried wants to do. He's got that

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Speaker 1: quick release, he wants to take that above the break three.

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Speaker 1: You gotta be out there. So like switching, I'm a

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Speaker 1: little nervous about just because if you have passive switches,

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Speaker 1: he's gonna get burned over the top quite a bit.

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Speaker 1: I think he could be a good high drop coverage player.

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Speaker 1: What that means again is coming up to the level

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Speaker 1: and then recovering back after the action and getting up

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Speaker 1: to the level and then recovering back after the action.

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Speaker 1: And I look at that as a potential scheme that

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Speaker 1: could work for him because of what I was talking

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Speaker 1: to talking about earlier involving his offensive work in ball screens.

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Speaker 1: This dude gets in and out of ball screens quickly

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Speaker 1: on offense. He is a good athlete who's twenty six

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Speaker 1: years old. He is absolutely capable of riding that yo

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Speaker 1: yo in ball screens on defense, getting up to the

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Speaker 1: level showing, getting back, waiting for the next action, getting

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Speaker 1: up to the level show and getting back. I think

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Speaker 1: that's something that could work. But now that's requiring JJ

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Speaker 1: Reddick to get Ayton to embrace a certain level of

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Speaker 1: defensive motor that he just hasn't shown in recent years.

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Speaker 1: So it's kind of like a big question mark there

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Speaker 1: for me. But Aydan has a lot of natural talent,

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Speaker 1: and he has shown a high level of defensive competitiveness

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Speaker 1: in some big playoff spots before, like we've talked about

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Speaker 1: over the course of this week. So I don't want

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Speaker 1: to say he'll be useless here. It's just going to

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Speaker 1: be an adventure on that side of the four. It's

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Speaker 1: gonna be a lot of ups and a lot of downs.

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Speaker 1: And then of course there's the off court stuff with Ayton.

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Speaker 1: He's a bit injury prone. He hasn't played over seventy

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Speaker 1: games since his rookie year. He hasn't played over sixty

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Speaker 1: games since he had a Sun's jersey on. He's super flaky.

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Speaker 1: He'll show up late or miss team events, just generally

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Speaker 1: shows a lack of unprofessionalism. The one potential upside there

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Speaker 1: is this kind of feels like a fork in the

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Speaker 1: road for DeAndre Ayton's career. If he fucks this up

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Speaker 1: in LA, he's staring down the barrel of veteran minimum

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Speaker 1: contracts for the rest of his career and obviously substantially

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Speaker 1: hurting his earnings potential, and he could be out of

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Speaker 1: the league within a few years. If he locks in,

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Speaker 1: shows professionalism, puts up monster numbers alongside Luka Doncic, then

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Speaker 1: this could be I'm signing a four year, one hundred

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Speaker 1: and twenty five million dollar deal or one hundred and

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Speaker 1: twenty million dollar deal like some of the starting caliber

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Speaker 1: centers that we have in the NBA. That's the fork

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Speaker 1: in the road here for Deandrayton, and it's going to

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Speaker 1: come down to what he does with his professionalism and

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Speaker 1: with his on court play in this season, So insummation,

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Speaker 1: it's going to be a lot of good offset by

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Speaker 1: some bad that mitigates his value. I think he's going

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Speaker 1: to be an offensive monster with Luca. I'm calling it

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Speaker 1: right now. As long as he's relatively healthy, my guess

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Speaker 1: is he logs at least twenty games next year with

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Speaker 1: at least twenty points, just because he's going to have

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Speaker 1: so many opportunities on the role playing alongside Luka Doncic.

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Speaker 1: You will have games this year where Deandrayton has like

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Speaker 1: thirty two points and fifteen rebounds and he looks like

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Speaker 1: an All Star. But he's going to be a mess

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Speaker 1: on defense that will undercut his value. There will probably

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Speaker 1: be some off court unprofessionalism even if he's on his

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Speaker 1: better behavior, that's going to undercut his value. But to

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Speaker 1: be very clear, that still nets out as substantially better

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Speaker 1: than any center the Lakers have had in the last

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Speaker 1: few years other than Anthony Davis. So all in all,

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Speaker 1: I think it's a win for the Lakers, and I'm

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Speaker 1: at least excited to watch what DeAndre Ayton looks like

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Speaker 1: as a pick and roll partner with Luca. I think

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Speaker 1: it could be very scary. I like view it, to

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Speaker 1: be very clear, like with Ayton as a roleman, I

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Speaker 1: view it as like a substantial ceiling razor for the

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Speaker 1: Lakers offense. This is just a huge part of a

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Speaker 1: pick and roll attack. If you look at a pick

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Speaker 1: and roll attack as three pronged, meaning there's the on

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Speaker 1: ball guy who has to bring a certain amount of

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Speaker 1: scoring threat, and then you have the weak side guys

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Speaker 1: that all have to bring a certain amount of scoring threat.

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Speaker 1: The guy in the middle, the guy that makes it

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Speaker 1: all work, is the scoring threat on the role. If

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Speaker 1: that guy is in a substantial scoring threat, they don't

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Speaker 1: need to really tag rollers with that much intensity. If

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Speaker 1: they don't need to tag rollers with that much intensity,

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Speaker 1: all the weak side scoring guys are not going to

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Speaker 1: get nearly as many advantages off the catch. But if

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Speaker 1: that guy's a monster, now the defense has to make

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Speaker 1: a very difficult decision. Okay, we're going to get the

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Speaker 1: ball out of Luka Doncic's hands, So that means we

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Speaker 1: can choose one of two things. We can either play

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Speaker 1: the weak side or we can play the roller and

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Speaker 1: having Luke, having Austin Reeves on the weak side, having

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Speaker 1: Lebron on the weak side, having Dalton connect on the

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Speaker 1: week side, having Ruy Hachimura on the weak side. If

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Speaker 1: you give those guys awesome opportunities. They're going to score,

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Speaker 1: and if you stay glued to those guys, DeAndre Ayton

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Speaker 1: is going to dunk everything and make a bunch of

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Speaker 1: these wide open fifteen footers at well over fifty percent.

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Speaker 1: So this is the missing cog in a deadly pick

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Speaker 1: and roll attack. Last year because of some of the

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Speaker 1: difficulties that Jackson and Hayes had finishing in traffic and

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Speaker 1: all of his issues on the defensive end of the floor,

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Speaker 1: they had to bail on that and basically get rid

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Speaker 1: of that middle piece and play straight up five out

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Speaker 1: drive and kick, which basically only has two threats, right

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Speaker 1: the on ball guy and the people you're spraying it

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Speaker 1: out to on the perimeter. There's a much more layered

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Speaker 1: approach to this offense now, with the ability to have

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Speaker 1: a legitimate superstar level shot creator and pick and roll

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Speaker 1: one of the best scoring role men in the NBA,

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Speaker 1: and then all sorts of offensive talent on the weak side.

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Speaker 1: I would be surprised if this Laker offense isn't top

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Speaker 1: five in the NBA next season. All right, welcome to

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Speaker 1: course correction, brought to you by Microsoft. Just like the

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Speaker 1: star players and teams navigating performance hurdles. Business decision makers

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Speaker 1: today are under immense pressure to get things right. It

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00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,920
Speaker 1: must rise to the occasion, turning challenges into opportunities. Microsoft

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Speaker 1: empowers these visionaries with AI solutions, simplified cloud and data

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Speaker 1: management and trustworthy responsible AI. And when you're in the NBA,

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00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:02,720
Speaker 1: you have your own hurdles to face. In this segment,

429
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,879
Speaker 1: we will highlight the teams this week that have risen

430
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,440
Speaker 1: to the occasion when they are needed. Whatever challenge you're facing,

431
00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,600
Speaker 1: Microsoft empowers you with the expertise to say bring it.

432
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,000
Speaker 1: On this week's course correction segment, we're covering the biggest

433
00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:20,760
Speaker 1: winners of NBA free agency. We originally think of biggest

434
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,120
Speaker 1: winners and losers, but here's the thing, if you really

435
00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:26,600
Speaker 1: look at the biggest losers conversation, it's complicated. Because I

436
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,359
Speaker 1: saw a report yesterday that the Kevin Durant trade could

437
00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:33,479
Speaker 1: potentially be expanded to include five additional teams. The Warriors

438
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:35,240
Speaker 1: are probably going to do something in the trade market,

439
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:36,760
Speaker 1: the Lakers are probably going to do something in the

440
00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:38,960
Speaker 1: trade market. There's so many teams that still have things

441
00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,000
Speaker 1: that they can do. This is so far from over

442
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:43,639
Speaker 1: that I don't want to necessarily focus on the losers.

443
00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:45,640
Speaker 1: Yet we will do that at some point in the postseason,

444
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:47,240
Speaker 1: but today we're just going to focus on the winners.

445
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,440
Speaker 1: The Denver Nuggets. After a couple of years of slippage

446
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,920
Speaker 1: in the Western Conference, the Nuggets have completely reloaded, trading

447
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,119
Speaker 1: Michael Porter Junior for Cam Johnson, significantly upgrading their starting

448
00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:01,080
Speaker 1: three spot and saving some salary. Trading Darios Harts for

449
00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:04,240
Speaker 1: Yonas Valentiunis, turning a useless backup center into a guy

450
00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,320
Speaker 1: that gives them a better chance to win when Nikole

451
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:08,399
Speaker 1: Jokic is off the floor. It also will help them

452
00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:14,680
Speaker 1: maintain some schemes consistency. Yonas Valentiunas is obviously a substantially

453
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,879
Speaker 1: lower level player than Nikola jokicch but there are some

454
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,560
Speaker 1: similarities in their play style which I think will actually help.

455
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:22,359
Speaker 1: You know, the bench units for Denver over the years,

456
00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,399
Speaker 1: we remember it was they generally went small, and it

457
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,280
Speaker 1: usually turned into like the opponent would just switch against

458
00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,080
Speaker 1: that group, and in those units, it'd be a lot

459
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,000
Speaker 1: of like we're hunting mismatches with Aaron Gordon for post

460
00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,359
Speaker 1: ups and Jamal Murray is picking on bigs or a

461
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,359
Speaker 1: weaker perimeter defender and getting into his bag for like

462
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:43,600
Speaker 1: a mid range pull up. I think that having a

463
00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:45,679
Speaker 1: yonas valentunis will allow them to run some of the

464
00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,159
Speaker 1: similar offensive concepts that they run when Yokic is on

465
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,800
Speaker 1: the floor, and that scheme consistency could help them be

466
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,399
Speaker 1: more reliable in their bench groups. Signing Bruce Brown and

467
00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,879
Speaker 1: Tim Hardaway Junior that gives them two substantial bench upgrades,

468
00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,440
Speaker 1: a guy in Bruce Brown who has proven to fit

469
00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,600
Speaker 1: with Yokich a championship context, and a guy in Tim

470
00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:05,320
Speaker 1: Hardwa Junior who should theoretically fit really well as a

471
00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:09,320
Speaker 1: movement shooter and a super aggressive spot up player as well.

472
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,200
Speaker 1: Defense was also an issue for them in the regular

473
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,640
Speaker 1: season last year. Cam Johnson and Bruce Brown are legitimately

474
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,080
Speaker 1: upgrades on the defensive end of the four, and like

475
00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:21,720
Speaker 1: as we discussed on Tuesday, they both represent options on

476
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,000
Speaker 1: the perimeter. And this matters because over the years, Denver's

477
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,760
Speaker 1: had to deploy Aaron Gordon in a lot of those situations,

478
00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,639
Speaker 1: and every time you deploy a big forward out on

479
00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,920
Speaker 1: the perimeter, it limits your back line defensively in terms

480
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:38,080
Speaker 1: of rim protection and defensive rebounding. Having Bruce Brown and

481
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:42,000
Speaker 1: Cam Johnson as like substantially better perimeter defenders than anybody

482
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,600
Speaker 1: that was on the roster last year not named Christian Brown.

483
00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:48,520
Speaker 1: That gives them a better opportunity to keep Aaron Gordon

484
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,080
Speaker 1: in a more realistic not realistic, but in a better

485
00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,520
Speaker 1: fit role for him as a back line defender. It's

486
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,000
Speaker 1: also be easier on Aaron Gordon's body throughout the season,

487
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,240
Speaker 1: which may allow him to hold up better physically throughout

488
00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,960
Speaker 1: the season. I was already a big believer in Denver's

489
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:05,000
Speaker 1: Corps four, and with these substantial upgrades, I'm now seriously

490
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,199
Speaker 1: considering the Denver Nuggets as my favorite to win the

491
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,200
Speaker 1: title next year. By the way, I view this as

492
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:11,840
Speaker 1: a value right now, all of our odds are provided

493
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,280
Speaker 1: by DraftKings. The Denver Nuggets right now are plus eleven

494
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,359
Speaker 1: hundred to win the title. That is the fifth best

495
00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,680
Speaker 1: odds in the NBA. I would like that to me,

496
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,080
Speaker 1: looks like a great value at this point because you're

497
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:27,760
Speaker 1: getting the best player in the world, a team that

498
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,440
Speaker 1: last year already pushed Oklahoma City to the brink. There

499
00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,800
Speaker 1: are great matchups specifically with Oklahoma City, and they significantly

500
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,600
Speaker 1: addressed some of their biggest needs backup, center, bench depth,

501
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:43,040
Speaker 1: upgraded that fifth starter I would have if I was

502
00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,080
Speaker 1: placing odds like right at this point in time, I

503
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:49,040
Speaker 1: don't see any reason why they should be anywhere lower

504
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:51,960
Speaker 1: than two behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. They seem to

505
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,000
Speaker 1: me like such a safe bet compared to some of

506
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:57,800
Speaker 1: these more volatile teams that we haven't actually seen them

507
00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,920
Speaker 1: play yet. Secondly, four teams today in our biggest winners,

508
00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 1: the Dallas Mavericks. Hard to imagine a scenario where a

509
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,239
Speaker 1: team can pivot off of a superstar trade faster than

510
00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,440
Speaker 1: the MAVs have. Obviously, you get a superstar talent back

511
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:14,720
Speaker 1: in the trade in Anthony Davis. You get a starting

512
00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,840
Speaker 1: caliber two guard and Max Christi in the deal. You

513
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:19,520
Speaker 1: also get a first round pick from the Lakers. In

514
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:21,720
Speaker 1: the deal, you fortunately get the number one pick in

515
00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,240
Speaker 1: the draft out of the lottery, which turns into Cooper Flagg,

516
00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:26,960
Speaker 1: who has the potential to be a monster defensive player

517
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,600
Speaker 1: next to Anthony Davis, and who knows what he's gonna

518
00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,399
Speaker 1: be on the offensive end, but chances are he'll be

519
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,440
Speaker 1: a very very good player there as well. And you

520
00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:37,240
Speaker 1: make a very savvy signing of di'angelo Russell, you needed

521
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,520
Speaker 1: ball handling, and you got a guy who fits perfectly

522
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,800
Speaker 1: alongside Ad and the rest of the I think you

523
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,280
Speaker 1: just fits that roster really well at a team friendly number.

524
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:48,560
Speaker 1: I don't really know what the MAVs are yet, and

525
00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:50,399
Speaker 1: I would imagine they'll make a trade still at this

526
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:54,919
Speaker 1: point with their glut of forward talent, but just simply

527
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,120
Speaker 1: an aggregate talent, Like if I was just saying which

528
00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,520
Speaker 1: team has the most on paper talent in the league.

529
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,760
Speaker 1: Have one of the more talented rosters in the NBA

530
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,119
Speaker 1: right now if you really zoom out. So I'm super

531
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:09,880
Speaker 1: excited to watch them next season. Three the Atlanta Hawks

532
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 1: in an Eastern Conference that's there for the taking. They went

533
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:15,959
Speaker 1: for it. They made a couple of substantial upgrades. We've

534
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:20,440
Speaker 1: seen teams not do that. Cleveland has basically stood pat

535
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,800
Speaker 1: that made a swap from Ty Jerome to Lonzo Ball.

536
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,640
Speaker 1: You get Larry and Junior as a good big man

537
00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,679
Speaker 1: in their rotation on a discounted deal. But Cleveland is

538
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,120
Speaker 1: more or less talent wise where they were last year.

539
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:36,680
Speaker 1: The Knicks have made some upgrades on their bench, which

540
00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:38,360
Speaker 1: we'll talk about in a minute, but they're not exactly

541
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,520
Speaker 1: loading up. The Hawks are like, we're going for this thing.

542
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:43,760
Speaker 1: We're gonna try to make this happen. They you know,

543
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,640
Speaker 1: Kristaps Porzingis had health issues in Boston and that obviously

544
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,600
Speaker 1: will be the wild card here. But he's a substantially

545
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,120
Speaker 1: more talented player than Clinton Pella, and I still view

546
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,400
Speaker 1: him as a massive upgrade at the starting center spot.

547
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,639
Speaker 1: They won the Nakhil Alexander Walker sweepstakes. He's one of

548
00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:00,639
Speaker 1: my favorite three and D guards in the lead. I

549
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,800
Speaker 1: think he's like, I don't think ideally he's not starting

550
00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,480
Speaker 1: for you, but he is a quality playoff rotation piece.

551
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,440
Speaker 1: Get Jalen Johnson back, another year of improvement for Zachary Risachet,

552
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:15,359
Speaker 1: another year of improvement for Dyson Daniels. The Hawks are

553
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,359
Speaker 1: going to be a ton of fun this year. I

554
00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:19,239
Speaker 1: mentioned this on the show on Tuesday. I think it's

555
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,720
Speaker 1: a legitimate goal for them. They should be shooting for

556
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:24,639
Speaker 1: home court advantage in the first round of playoffs. I

557
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:26,240
Speaker 1: think they should be looking for a top four seed.

558
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:31,359
Speaker 1: And then lastly, the Houston Rockets getting Kevin Durant, adding

559
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:35,560
Speaker 1: Clint Capella, adding Dorian Finney Smith for signing many of

560
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:39,720
Speaker 1: their young players, including Jabari Smith Junior, maintaining their trove

561
00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,680
Speaker 1: of draft compensation for future flexibility. They ended free agency

562
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,159
Speaker 1: according to DraftKings as the second favorite to win the

563
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:51,760
Speaker 1: title at plus seven hundred, getting KD increasing your depth

564
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,800
Speaker 1: re signing your young talent. Hard to not consider the

565
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,400
Speaker 1: Houston Rockets as one of the big winners in free agency.

566
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,320
Speaker 1: That's it for this week's course correction. Remember Microsoft's AI

567
00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:07,240
Speaker 1: solutions empower you take bold steps and make informed decisions,

568
00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:09,960
Speaker 1: sparking new ideas to help drive your business forward. With

569
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 1: Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey

570
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:17,080
Speaker 1: with confidence, finding innovative solutions and reaching new possibilities. Visit

571
00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:22,159
Speaker 1: Microsoft dot com Slash Challengers to learn more. All right, guys,

572
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:24,879
Speaker 1: as promised. Mini mailbag as we head into the weekend.

573
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:29,159
Speaker 1: First question with the Dame Wave, could a team like

574
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:34,000
Speaker 1: the Nuggets sign him just for postseason help? So, obviously,

575
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,240
Speaker 1: with the Achilles terror, there's no way of knowing what

576
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,680
Speaker 1: it's going to look like in terms of his recovery.

577
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,680
Speaker 1: There is a chance, we've seen it before that he

578
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,440
Speaker 1: could come back in less than a year. I would

579
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:49,120
Speaker 1: imagine that unless he's feeling great, he would take the

580
00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,040
Speaker 1: time he needs to get one hundred percent healthy. But

581
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:57,680
Speaker 1: let's evaluate just this theoretical scenario. Damian Lillard races through,

582
00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:02,800
Speaker 1: heab does a great job, his body heals quickly, and

583
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:08,280
Speaker 1: right around, like right around the stretch run like early April,

584
00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,120
Speaker 1: he's just ready to go okay, So that's eleven months

585
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:17,480
Speaker 1: post surgery. Theoretically, this would be a situation where it's

586
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,320
Speaker 1: not like he's coming back to take on a starting

587
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:24,720
Speaker 1: point guard role in a dead serious, like massive usage context.

588
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,520
Speaker 1: There's no way he's doing that this year. But a

589
00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,560
Speaker 1: guy who could come off the bench for you in

590
00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:34,640
Speaker 1: a playoff series and provides some better shot creation than

591
00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:37,080
Speaker 1: many of the backup guards that are around the NBA,

592
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:42,280
Speaker 1: even on an surgically repaired achilles. That's an interesting content concept, right,

593
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,400
Speaker 1: So let's talk about some teams that would make sense

594
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:49,440
Speaker 1: for Damian Lillard. I don't actually love the Nuggets fit.

595
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,680
Speaker 1: I think that that Nuggets team is kind of like

596
00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:56,200
Speaker 1: geared in a way where they have ways to run

597
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,560
Speaker 1: offense in various groups. I think you see Jamal Murray

598
00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,120
Speaker 1: in cases lead the bench group when Nikole Jokic is

599
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,320
Speaker 1: off the floor. I'm not saying it's a bad fit

600
00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:07,400
Speaker 1: for Dame, but I just see some less value there

601
00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 1: compared to some other potential units around the league. So

602
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:13,840
Speaker 1: I put together six teams. These are the six teams

603
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,960
Speaker 1: that I think would be fun fits for Damian Lillard

604
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,080
Speaker 1: as like a just oh, I'm here for the playoffs

605
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:22,440
Speaker 1: as a backup guard who's going to play fifteen minutes

606
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:26,680
Speaker 1: a night. The Dallas Mavericks, a team that's desperately in

607
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,000
Speaker 1: need of ball handling, and like if they're in a

608
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,520
Speaker 1: situation where Kyrie Irving is just not ready to come

609
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,160
Speaker 1: back this season, Damian Lillard would be a guy who

610
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,960
Speaker 1: steps in and plays some bench ball handling role for

611
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,960
Speaker 1: the Dallas Mavericks in a postseason context. The Golden State Warriors.

612
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,479
Speaker 1: This is a team that Jimmy Butler has come in

613
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,000
Speaker 1: and helped a lot in terms of secondary shock creation.

614
00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,360
Speaker 1: It has certainly allowed them to have some more flexibility

615
00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,000
Speaker 1: when Steph is off the floor and obviously a great

616
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,680
Speaker 1: defensive playmaker Jimmy. I think the Jimmy fit with Golden

617
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,600
Speaker 1: State has been a resounding success so far, but they

618
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,960
Speaker 1: still struggle a little bit with creating shots outside of

619
00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,600
Speaker 1: the context of Steph Curry. Damian Lillard would be a

620
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,160
Speaker 1: really interesting fit to come into Golden State and play

621
00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:11,000
Speaker 1: a small role off the bench for them in a

622
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,320
Speaker 1: postseason context. Cleveland Cavaliers. This is a team once again

623
00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:15,760
Speaker 1: that we talked about when we were talking about the

624
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,480
Speaker 1: Lebron trade. In the postseason, Darius Garland has just really

625
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,560
Speaker 1: struggled to create shots, and so Donovan Mitchell has had

626
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,160
Speaker 1: to basically revert back to helio centric ball to keep

627
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,720
Speaker 1: the offensive float. At times you lose ty. Jerome Lonzo

628
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,280
Speaker 1: Ball is a good backup guard. He's just a very

629
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,320
Speaker 1: different backup guard, and what he's not is like some

630
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,560
Speaker 1: supreme shot creator. Damian Lillard could fit a role there

631
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,120
Speaker 1: as a bench guard for them. The Detroit Pistons, they

632
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:44,560
Speaker 1: signed Karris Lavert as a replacement for Dennis Schroeder, and

633
00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,400
Speaker 1: Karris is a good player, but similarly, they're a team

634
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,960
Speaker 1: that could use some shot creation beyond KD Cunningham. Damien

635
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,720
Speaker 1: would be a nice fit there. Houston Rockets. They're still

636
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:59,520
Speaker 1: light on ball handling on that roster. They're obviously they

637
00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:01,800
Speaker 1: Britain Fred van Vliet. You bring in Kevin Durant that

638
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:04,239
Speaker 1: really helps. Shangoon can help, but they don't really have

639
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,920
Speaker 1: a guy off the bench unless Reed Shepherd can develop

640
00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:08,600
Speaker 1: into it. They don't really have a guy off the

641
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,400
Speaker 1: bench that can come in and consistently provide high level

642
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:13,680
Speaker 1: ball handling for them. Dame would be a great fit

643
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:18,280
Speaker 1: in Houston. Last the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is a team that,

644
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:20,640
Speaker 1: once they go to their bench, similarly has a little

645
00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:22,800
Speaker 1: bit of a lack of depth in ball handling. You

646
00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,400
Speaker 1: lose Nikhil Alexander Walker used to run some second side

647
00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,320
Speaker 1: action for them. I like the idea of a high

648
00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,080
Speaker 1: level skill guard playing alongside Anthony Edwards that can set

649
00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:33,120
Speaker 1: him up with some more off ball opportunities as well.

650
00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:36,560
Speaker 1: Minnesota would be a fun destination for Dame. Again, I

651
00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,200
Speaker 1: think the far more likely scenarios that Dame doesn't play

652
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:40,760
Speaker 1: a minute in the NBA this year and that he

653
00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:42,640
Speaker 1: ends up coming back next year, and that's going to

654
00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:45,240
Speaker 1: be a completely different discussion, because now we're talking about

655
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:49,160
Speaker 1: a healthy Dame that's had eighteen months to recover and

656
00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:51,520
Speaker 1: that's got a full training camp to join a team,

657
00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:54,440
Speaker 1: probably in a starting role. But in the short term,

658
00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:56,320
Speaker 1: those are the teams that I think would be fun

659
00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,320
Speaker 1: for like a late postseason addition, Jason, what can Mike

660
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:02,800
Speaker 1: Brown do to help the Knicks? So, as we heard yesterday,

661
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 1: Mike Brown will be the new head coach of the

662
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,880
Speaker 1: New York Knicks, a well respected defensive coach who keeps

663
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,200
Speaker 1: getting opportunities in the NBA based on that respect. Now,

664
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:14,680
Speaker 1: it's worth mentioning that Sacramento for the most part, was

665
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:18,360
Speaker 1: not a very good defense underneath Mike Brown. But it's complicated.

666
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 1: They didn't just lack talent defensively at the center position.

667
00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,960
Speaker 1: Their entire front court was weak in defensive talent. Wasn't

668
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,760
Speaker 1: just Sibonis. And by the way, I'd argue Sabonis as

669
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:31,320
Speaker 1: still a better defender than someone like Karl Anthony Towns,

670
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:33,600
Speaker 1: but he has some similarities in terms of some foot

671
00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:37,120
Speaker 1: speed weaknesses and some verticality, like he just doesn't have

672
00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:39,800
Speaker 1: as much of a vertical deterrent as some other centers

673
00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,200
Speaker 1: around the league. But it wasn't just Sabonis, Like the

674
00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,640
Speaker 1: Kings just did not have a legit athlete at the

675
00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:50,600
Speaker 1: ford position to cover Sibonis as a back line defender.

676
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:54,120
Speaker 1: The Knicks present similar roster issues at the center position,

677
00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:58,520
Speaker 1: but they have legitimate size and athleticism and length at

678
00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:01,600
Speaker 1: the forward position, WHI should give them a stronger foundation

679
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 1: to work with. Essentially, when we talk about like ballscreen coverages,

680
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,520
Speaker 1: there's like a bracket on the backside as well. We

681
00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:10,640
Speaker 1: talked about the bracket in the form of the ball handler,

682
00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:12,840
Speaker 1: the guy guarding the ball, and the guy coming up

683
00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:14,799
Speaker 1: to the level as the big, But on the back

684
00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:16,840
Speaker 1: line there's a similar bracket. The more ground that this

685
00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:20,080
Speaker 1: big can cover, the less that the back line defender

686
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,439
Speaker 1: needs to do. The less ground that the big can cover,

687
00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,319
Speaker 1: the more that the back line defender needs to do. Right. So,

688
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,680
Speaker 1: like if Karl Anthony Towns is that at the level big,

689
00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:31,680
Speaker 1: it's easier to build a back line with an og

690
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:35,640
Speaker 1: An Andobi with the Michale bridges as like athleticism on

691
00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:38,479
Speaker 1: the off the ball Josh Hart as well to help

692
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:41,600
Speaker 1: structure a more resilient defense. So I do think Mike

693
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:43,799
Speaker 1: has a little bit more to work with in New

694
00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:47,160
Speaker 1: York in terms of defensive talent relative to what he

695
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,040
Speaker 1: had in Sacramento. But what I talked about after the

696
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:51,319
Speaker 1: season in terms of whether or not Mike Brown's gonna

697
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,360
Speaker 1: work out with the Knicks, it's all about cleaning up

698
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,520
Speaker 1: their fundamentals. There are certain realities, right like Cat and

699
00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,920
Speaker 1: Brunson have their defensive weaknesses, and they will make mista

700
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:02,520
Speaker 1: and they will compromise their defense. There's no way around that.

701
00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,360
Speaker 1: But there are some pieces of low hanging fruit, some

702
00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:09,640
Speaker 1: fixable mistakes that can raise the level of this defense,

703
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,279
Speaker 1: mainly getting rid of those easy transition opportunities that we

704
00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:16,560
Speaker 1: saw in the Pacer series because of bad floor balance,

705
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,520
Speaker 1: Like doesn't matter if you have bad defensive talent or

706
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:21,480
Speaker 1: if you have good defensive talent, if you have five

707
00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:23,319
Speaker 1: dudes below the foul line when the shot goes up,

708
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,080
Speaker 1: you're probably gonna give up a transition opportunity the other way.

709
00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:29,480
Speaker 1: So having basic floor spacing principles to where there's always

710
00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:31,200
Speaker 1: two guys above the break so that you're set up

711
00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:33,680
Speaker 1: for transition defense, that'll go a long way. Some of

712
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:36,880
Speaker 1: the avoidable errors like Cat showing way too high on

713
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,839
Speaker 1: ball screens or committing to one side of a ball

714
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:42,640
Speaker 1: screen before the ball handler even has like he gets

715
00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:44,759
Speaker 1: rejected more than any other big I've seen in the league,

716
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:46,319
Speaker 1: where he'll sprint up to the right side of the

717
00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,080
Speaker 1: screen and the ball handlers like, all right, I'm just

718
00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:49,480
Speaker 1: going to go the other way and then when he

719
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:51,560
Speaker 1: crosses over, there's nobody there and he'll go all the

720
00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,560
Speaker 1: way downhill. Cleaning up some of the like basic fundamental

721
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:57,960
Speaker 1: stuff with cat and ball screens that is avoidable, Deepening

722
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,600
Speaker 1: the rotation so that you can keep your star minutes

723
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:04,320
Speaker 1: down so that fatigue doesn't cause laziness within that roster.

724
00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:09,759
Speaker 1: Jordan Clarkson is an upgrade over campaigns On. Yabuseli is

725
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:12,439
Speaker 1: a guy that will provide some front court depth. They've

726
00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:15,160
Speaker 1: added some of those pieces, Mike Brown just needs to

727
00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:16,799
Speaker 1: actually make use of them in a way that Tom

728
00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:20,240
Speaker 1: Thabodau did not. And then adding aggression for defense to transition.

729
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,440
Speaker 1: A couple of things. One, I thought the Knicks were

730
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,080
Speaker 1: at their best last year when they were forcing turnovers

731
00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:28,439
Speaker 1: and getting out in transition. We saw that a lot,

732
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:30,279
Speaker 1: even in some of their big runs that they had

733
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,240
Speaker 1: in the in the Celtics series. If you guys remember,

734
00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:35,560
Speaker 1: just like Og and McHale flying around in passing lanes,

735
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:39,800
Speaker 1: forcing turnovers, getting out in transition. The second piece of

736
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,360
Speaker 1: it is that when you have weaker defensive players like

737
00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:46,600
Speaker 1: Pat and Jalen Brunson, sometimes like just running traditional coverages

738
00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,880
Speaker 1: that concede openings will just lead to really comfortable basketball

739
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:52,000
Speaker 1: for the opponent. So, like, if I know, all I

740
00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:53,880
Speaker 1: gotta do is bring Brunson into the action, he's going

741
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 1: to hedge. So once he hedges, that effectively leaves two

742
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:58,080
Speaker 1: on the ball for a minute. I just pitch it

743
00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,920
Speaker 1: over to his defender who's or his offensive his assignment.

744
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:03,640
Speaker 1: Excuse me as he's slipping out, and then he's gonna

745
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:05,399
Speaker 1: have a four on three and he's gonna drive. That's

746
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,560
Speaker 1: really comfortable offense, right, But like, if you attack the

747
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:10,560
Speaker 1: ball at least, like it's like we're putting two on

748
00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:13,680
Speaker 1: the ball anyway, we're bringing cat in this high drop anyway,

749
00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:17,160
Speaker 1: they're already leaving all these openings. Why not attack the

750
00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:20,680
Speaker 1: ball and try to force some more looping passes, some deflections,

751
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:22,760
Speaker 1: some of that kind of stuff to try to breed

752
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,200
Speaker 1: more of those transition opportunities. Try to add a little

753
00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:27,399
Speaker 1: bit more of a defense to transition element for this team.

754
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,120
Speaker 1: The Knicks just need to get more of the low

755
00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:32,880
Speaker 1: hanging fruit in basketball, and Mike Brown is certainly a

756
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:37,840
Speaker 1: capable coach to improve the team in that regard. What

757
00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:40,279
Speaker 1: do you think of Luke Cornett to the Spurs to

758
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:43,040
Speaker 1: help Wemby. Is his contract too risky for a thirty

759
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:45,840
Speaker 1: year old forty one million at four years? So I

760
00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,520
Speaker 1: didn't think of it as that risky considering. I view

761
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:52,240
Speaker 1: Cornett as like if you were looking at like different

762
00:37:52,239 --> 00:37:56,640
Speaker 1: tiers of players around the league. There's like your starting

763
00:37:56,680 --> 00:38:00,200
Speaker 1: caliber players, and then there's like your backups. But then

764
00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:02,359
Speaker 1: there's always like a middle tier, which is like, this

765
00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:06,359
Speaker 1: guy could start, and if he started for us, we'd

766
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:09,680
Speaker 1: be fine, but like, ideally he's not our like day

767
00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:12,279
Speaker 1: one starter for eighty two games, right, And to me,

768
00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:14,839
Speaker 1: Luke Cornette fits into that mold. And when you really

769
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,040
Speaker 1: start to look at it from an expense standpoint, and

770
00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:20,840
Speaker 1: it's like, okay, we have backup centers back like legitimate

771
00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:24,440
Speaker 1: just backup centers going for like mid level exception money

772
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:28,040
Speaker 1: or veteran minimum money. Ten million a year, Really isn't

773
00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:31,600
Speaker 1: that crazy for a guy that could spots start for

774
00:38:31,719 --> 00:38:34,400
Speaker 1: you at times? And then also if you look at

775
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:36,200
Speaker 1: the way that the salary cap is going to continue

776
00:38:36,239 --> 00:38:38,000
Speaker 1: to go up in future years, like ten million is

777
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,120
Speaker 1: just not that big of a number. I don't view

778
00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:44,839
Speaker 1: that as a problematic contract at all for san Antonio.

779
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:46,239
Speaker 1: I look at it as kind of a hedge on

780
00:38:46,239 --> 00:38:49,800
Speaker 1: Wemby's availability because Cornett can start for them at times,

781
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:53,319
Speaker 1: an opportunity for them to explore Victor wemen Yama more

782
00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:56,959
Speaker 1: as a forward alongside a like a two big type

783
00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:59,640
Speaker 1: of look. I look at Luke Cornette as a really

784
00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:03,600
Speaker 1: really useful player on a cost controlled deal. He's thirty

785
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,520
Speaker 1: years old, that's right in the heart of his prime.

786
00:39:05,719 --> 00:39:06,960
Speaker 1: I think it was a good move. I think it's

787
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:08,640
Speaker 1: a move that makes the Spurs a better basketball team,

788
00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:12,720
Speaker 1: and I'm excited to watch him in that fit. Last question, Jason,

789
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,719
Speaker 1: huge fan of your work if you're a lebron in.

790
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:16,920
Speaker 1: The best outcome this year roster wise for the Lakers

791
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:19,279
Speaker 1: is signing Ayighton while losing Dori and Finney Smith. This

792
00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:22,280
Speaker 1: was in the Monday video, by the way, but Ayton

793
00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:24,480
Speaker 1: did end up signing with the Lakers, so it's still relevant.

794
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:26,759
Speaker 1: And then a couple of moves on the margins. Would

795
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:28,920
Speaker 1: you prefer to stay on the Lakers or swap with

796
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,040
Speaker 1: Jimmy and go to Golden State? Who is going to

797
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,600
Speaker 1: defend slash dude the dirty work on a Luca Austin

798
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,640
Speaker 1: Reeves Ruy Lebron, DeAndre Ayton's starting five. Conversely, you can't

799
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:38,799
Speaker 1: tell if Golden State's roster offers a higher ceiling for

800
00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:41,719
Speaker 1: Lebron next season. It's the cleanest trade by far for LBJ,

801
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:44,239
Speaker 1: but it's also messy for Lebron's legacy. But I think

802
00:39:44,239 --> 00:39:46,319
Speaker 1: the last couple games of the Minnesota Series last year,

803
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:48,480
Speaker 1: Lebron knew the Lakers had no shot, and I'm not

804
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:50,120
Speaker 1: sure if they can improve much at all this year.

805
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:52,799
Speaker 1: So maybe he thinks him in step with Kerr in

806
00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:55,520
Speaker 1: the movement offense, offers a better ceiling. They would have

807
00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:57,480
Speaker 1: something to do at center. Though. Can Ayton go to

808
00:39:57,520 --> 00:39:59,520
Speaker 1: Golden State? Obviously, Aidan's not going to Golden State. He's

809
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:01,879
Speaker 1: going to the Lakers, all right, So let's zoom out

810
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:06,120
Speaker 1: from this for a second couple of things. I agree

811
00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:09,520
Speaker 1: with you that the Luca Austin Reeves, Ruey Hachimura, Lebron,

812
00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:13,640
Speaker 1: James DeAndre and starting five is at this point there's

813
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:17,080
Speaker 1: not a single professional defender in that group, and I

814
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:20,400
Speaker 1: will not take the Lakers seriously as a championship contender

815
00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:23,719
Speaker 1: unless they can turn Ruby Hatchimura into a player that

816
00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:27,960
Speaker 1: is of the ilk of like An Andrew Wiggins, A

817
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:32,040
Speaker 1: freaky athlete, primary point of attack defender that's also a

818
00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:34,640
Speaker 1: useful offensive player with what they do. So I do

819
00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:37,359
Speaker 1: think that there are some serious limitations there, but it's

820
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:39,600
Speaker 1: worth mentioning as we look around the league, those same

821
00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:43,560
Speaker 1: limitations exist elsewhere. I view the Lakers right now as

822
00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:47,279
Speaker 1: like a second tier contender. I viewed the Warriors right

823
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,840
Speaker 1: now as a second tier contender. If Lebron were to

824
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:54,120
Speaker 1: swap with Jimmy Butler, I think it makes the Warriors better,

825
00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:57,000
Speaker 1: but I don't think it makes the Warriors a top

826
00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:01,000
Speaker 1: tier contender. They still have issues on the roster. Don't

827
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,120
Speaker 1: get me wrong, I'd love to watch it. As a

828
00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:06,080
Speaker 1: basketball fan. I can't think of a more fun basketball

829
00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:08,799
Speaker 1: fit than Lebron, and Steph would love to watch it.

830
00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:11,120
Speaker 1: I just don't think it makes sense for Lebron to

831
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:15,759
Speaker 1: go anywhere unless it's like this obvious dead series. We're

832
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:18,440
Speaker 1: favored to win the title if we go there, and

833
00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:22,760
Speaker 1: even some of the options out East, like Cleveland, for instance,

834
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:26,640
Speaker 1: or New York, they are options that are more appealing

835
00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:29,319
Speaker 1: in the sense that the Eastern Conference is so weak

836
00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:31,480
Speaker 1: that Lebron would just have a better chance to make

837
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:33,960
Speaker 1: it to the finals. But I don't view any of

838
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:36,040
Speaker 1: them as like he gets there and they're just like

839
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:39,240
Speaker 1: automatically right there with Oklahoma City gonna win the title.

840
00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 1: Lebron's only chance to do that was to opt out

841
00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:43,800
Speaker 1: and to go sign somewhere on the mid level exception,

842
00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:46,080
Speaker 1: and he just wasn't going to do that for all

843
00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,360
Speaker 1: of the reasons that he's given over the years involving

844
00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:52,120
Speaker 1: him not taking a discount. But ultimately, as I look

845
00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:55,759
Speaker 1: at the situation, for all those things you talked about

846
00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:58,600
Speaker 1: with Luca and Austin and Ruie and Lebron and DeAndre

847
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:01,520
Speaker 1: Ayton and some of their defensive shortcomings, for all of

848
00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:05,480
Speaker 1: those issues, I still think that group has just about

849
00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:09,000
Speaker 1: the same chance to win the title as a Golden

850
00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:12,440
Speaker 1: State if Lebron went there as some of these maybe

851
00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:14,600
Speaker 1: a little better in the East, just simply because they

852
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:16,759
Speaker 1: could get out of the conference easier, but they're still

853
00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:19,000
Speaker 1: gonna have to face somebody from the West, probably a

854
00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:21,640
Speaker 1: Denver or a OKC or a Houston, And those three

855
00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:26,960
Speaker 1: teams are still gonna be better than those teams out

856
00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:29,359
Speaker 1: in the Eastern Conference would be with Lebron on them.

857
00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:31,319
Speaker 1: So would that be in the case he lives in

858
00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:35,520
Speaker 1: Los Angeles. His family's here. I just don't see Lebron

859
00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:39,200
Speaker 1: uprooting his family unless it's just such a uprooting himself,

860
00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:42,640
Speaker 1: I should say, his whole routine, unless there's just this

861
00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,319
Speaker 1: shoe in obvious fit. And like, look we went over

862
00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:49,560
Speaker 1: I went over what four Lebron options in the Monday Show,

863
00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:51,840
Speaker 1: and they'd be fun. I'm not gonna sit here and

864
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:55,280
Speaker 1: pretend like I wouldn't enjoy covering a Lebron Warrior season

865
00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:57,800
Speaker 1: or a Lebron Cavs season or a Lebron nixt season.

866
00:42:58,520 --> 00:43:00,719
Speaker 1: But I just the reason why I never saw it

867
00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:03,040
Speaker 1: as that likely, and the reason why I said in

868
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,160
Speaker 1: that video that I would just be surprised if Lebron

869
00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:08,600
Speaker 1: wasn't a Laker again, is because the Lakers situation is

870
00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:12,480
Speaker 1: nearly as good still even with the flaws, and he

871
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,040
Speaker 1: gets to stay home and kind of ride things out

872
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,960
Speaker 1: in his current comfort and routine. And again, I do

873
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:22,680
Speaker 1: think the Lakers have an outside chance of entering into

874
00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:24,919
Speaker 1: a higher level of contention if they can flip ruy

875
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:29,280
Speaker 1: Hacha Mura into a starting caliber, legitimate upgrade at the three,

876
00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:32,520
Speaker 1: like if Andrew Wiggins get in there, and it's Luka Doncic,

877
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:35,839
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves, Andrew Wiggins, Lebron, James Deandreen. That's a lot

878
00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:38,000
Speaker 1: of talent. And now I kind of view them as

879
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:40,520
Speaker 1: more like in the in between tier one and Tier two,

880
00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:42,400
Speaker 1: like either at the very bottom of Tier one or

881
00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:45,560
Speaker 1: at the very top of Tier two. So I think

882
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:47,840
Speaker 1: for Lebron, it still makes sense to stick with the Lakers,

883
00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:51,239
Speaker 1: even though it's been frustrating. And Polinka's you know, just

884
00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:53,919
Speaker 1: fucked around for the last several years and just kind

885
00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,960
Speaker 1: of prevented any sort of like substantial commitment to trying

886
00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,319
Speaker 1: to win in Lebron's tail end of his prime. And

887
00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:02,400
Speaker 1: here we are, and now the situation is entirely different

888
00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:04,440
Speaker 1: because of Luca, and now they can't go all in.

889
00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:07,719
Speaker 1: I know, I'll say this is the last thing before

890
00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:10,440
Speaker 1: we leave in terms of the Lakers and strategy, Like,

891
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:14,720
Speaker 1: I don't think the Lakers should be mortgaging their future

892
00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:17,640
Speaker 1: to try to win around Lebron James. That would be stupid.

893
00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:20,359
Speaker 1: You got, Luka Doncic, He's gonna be twenty seven next year.

894
00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:23,319
Speaker 1: You've got to be more prudent with your approach. But

895
00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:27,759
Speaker 1: I still think you owe it to Lebron and Luka

896
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:31,680
Speaker 1: Doncic in his competitiveness to try to maximize the short

897
00:44:31,760 --> 00:44:34,320
Speaker 1: term as well. So Jason, how do you do that? Well,

898
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:37,080
Speaker 1: you just need to go for assets that don't lose

899
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:40,040
Speaker 1: as much value. So, for instance, trading a bunch of

900
00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:43,960
Speaker 1: second round draft picks for Dorian Phinney Smith, obviously that

901
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,920
Speaker 1: trade was made before the Luka Doncic trade. You're trading

902
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:49,560
Speaker 1: for an older role player on the tail end of

903
00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:54,719
Speaker 1: his prime. That's going to lead to a massive downturn

904
00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:57,120
Speaker 1: in assets, right, And by the way, the Lakers ended

905
00:44:57,160 --> 00:44:59,520
Speaker 1: up losing Dorian Phinney Smith for nothing, But even if

906
00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:02,520
Speaker 1: they kept Dorriane Finney Smith, he would have declined quickly

907
00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:04,160
Speaker 1: over the course of the next few years and it

908
00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:07,960
Speaker 1: would have been a depreciating asset. It would have led

909
00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:10,680
Speaker 1: to an eventual decline in talent on the roster. Right

910
00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:14,640
Speaker 1: with the Lakers moving forward, I do think you should

911
00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:19,600
Speaker 1: consider trading Dalton connect trading that first round pick if

912
00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:25,520
Speaker 1: it brings back a player who is a legitimate core

913
00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:30,000
Speaker 1: piece alongside Luka Doncic who's in his mid to late twenties,

914
00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:33,160
Speaker 1: Because then it's like, Okay, we gave up a first

915
00:45:33,239 --> 00:45:36,400
Speaker 1: round pick. We gave up a first round talent in Dalton,

916
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:39,560
Speaker 1: but what we got back is a player that we

917
00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:43,640
Speaker 1: can use for four to five years and he's gonna

918
00:45:43,680 --> 00:45:46,160
Speaker 1: still be in his prime during all that time, and

919
00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:49,640
Speaker 1: then still at age thirty one, he'll be that generation's

920
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:52,600
Speaker 1: Dorian Phinney Smith. He can be the guy that they

921
00:45:52,640 --> 00:45:55,440
Speaker 1: look to move for some sort of asset return at

922
00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:57,880
Speaker 1: that point in time. If they can get a starting

923
00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:02,759
Speaker 1: caliber talent that's no older than like thirty, then that

924
00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:05,920
Speaker 1: makes sense because there's still some long term value in

925
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:08,960
Speaker 1: the asset. You just can't trade the first round pick

926
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:12,520
Speaker 1: in Dalton connect for like Paul George from the seventy

927
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,520
Speaker 1: six ers. That would be stupid because now you're giving

928
00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:19,239
Speaker 1: up assets for a player that's gonna quickly depreciate and

929
00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:21,480
Speaker 1: you're gonna have such a huge net negative in your

930
00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:25,319
Speaker 1: total roster talent available. Right, But if you can move

931
00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:30,000
Speaker 1: assets for other assets that will retain their value, that

932
00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:32,400
Speaker 1: is something you can do that helps capitalize on the

933
00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:37,080
Speaker 1: Lebron James era while still allowing for long term flexibility

934
00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:39,680
Speaker 1: surrounding Luka Doncic. All right, guys, it's all have for

935
00:46:39,719 --> 00:46:41,840
Speaker 1: today is always a sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting

936
00:46:41,920 --> 00:46:43,640
Speaker 1: us and supporting the show. We're gonna take the holiday

937
00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:45,800
Speaker 1: weekend off so all you all spend some time with

938
00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:48,960
Speaker 1: your family and relax, and we will be back on Monday.

939
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:50,760
Speaker 1: We have a very busy week next week for Summer

940
00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:52,759
Speaker 1: League and headed out to Vegas with Jackson. We're going

941
00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:55,080
Speaker 1: Thursday through Sundays, so hopefully you guys will stop by

942
00:46:55,680 --> 00:46:57,800
Speaker 1: and see us at some point while we're in Vegas.

943
00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:00,680
Speaker 1: I'll keep you know show announcements and stuff on Twitter

944
00:47:00,719 --> 00:47:02,480
Speaker 1: in terms of just letting you know, letting you guys

945
00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:04,480
Speaker 1: know where we're at during the week and when we're

946
00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:07,560
Speaker 1: releasing content. Busy week next week. We'll see you guys

947
00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:09,920
Speaker 1: on Monday. What's up guys? As always, I appreciate you

948
00:47:09,960 --> 00:47:12,840
Speaker 1: for listening to and supporting OOPS tonight. They would actually

949
00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:14,839
Speaker 1: be really helpful for us if you guys would take

950
00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:18,000
Speaker 1: a second and leave a rating and a review. As always,

951
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:19,680
Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if you could

952
00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:24,080
Speaker 1: take a minute to do that, I really appreciate it.

953
00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:24,880
Speaker 1: The volume