WEBVTT - |FULL POD| Pacific Division Preview & Bill Reiter! 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:10.400 On this episode of The Heat Check. Yes, sir, it's 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:15.040 a Sunday night and it is preview time, previewing every 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:19.840 team in the NBA by division, starting with Oh Yeah, 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:25.560 the Rolls, Royce, the Golden Goose, the Jordan Number one 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:32.600 type of division. That's the Pacific Division, the Big Boys, Kings, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:35.640 and Sons. So many damn stars in this division and 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:39.040 it's likely all five teams are gonna make the playoffs 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:42.040 this year. So also, we have a great interview with 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:47.559 CBS Sports Radio and NBA insider Bill Ryder oh Man. Folks, 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:49.680 the NBA season is just right around the corner. We 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:52.960 already got preseason games, So come on, William, do me 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:55.360 a favor and drop that generic ass beat what should. 0:00:55.160 --> 0:01:01.080 Be Rihannes all the biggest NBA storylines, Lord till did 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:02.279 so the heat Check. 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:05.280 The heat Check was just a crazy the. 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:08.280 Best podcast covering all the drama around the association. 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:14.040 NBA camp is under way, folks, so it's about that time. 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:18.400 Time to preview the NBA divisions for the new season. 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.959 There's a lot that's happened so far in the off season. Obviously, 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:29.200 the Damian Lillard thing was overwhelming. Yeah, it was. It 0:01:29.319 --> 0:01:32.640 was pretty much what we all thought about all offseason. 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:35.360 That in Harden and so a lot of the players 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:38.040 who have moved teams. I bet you forgot Bradley Beal 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:40.600 was even on the Suns, right, happened so long ago. 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:44.319 I bet you didn't even remember that Eric Gordon is 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:48.400 on the Suns. So let's preview the division and get 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:51.560 into it, because I'm sure there are some things that 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.880 you need to remember. We will not miss any of 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:58.040 the news. You know that we're not going to miss 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:00.640 any of the tea. So I wanted to make sure, though, 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.920 while it's still the quiet season, that maybe we get 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:06.919 everybody up to speed for every damn team. We start 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:12.160 out with the Pacific Division. They have five teams, all 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:15.600 of which you can make a very serious argument could 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:18.480 win the title this year if the right things happen right, 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:21.560 if the right, right right things happen for the team. 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:26.239 But we gotta start with the team that I affectionately 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:34.919 call our dubs. Long time everyone knows, longtime lifelong Warriors fan, 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:39.160 that's me. So we gotta start there. Gotta give the 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.760 Kings of the Hill their props. Yeah, I know, they 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:44.760 didn't even get to the Western Conference Finals last year, 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:46.880 but that is not There was a lot happening around 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:49.440 the team. You know what I'm saying. Oh, Draymond punched, 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.320 fucked up the vibe anyway. Golden State Warriors, their win 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:56.240 total is sitting there at forty eight and a half wins, 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:58.720 which means that Vegas thinks they're gonna win me somewhere 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:03.079 between forty eight and will they Let's get into it. 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:11.480 The new editions. Chris Paul Brandon, Pojaempski, Poja Semski. You 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:13.360 know what I mean. You know what I mean, dar 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:18.720 Yo Sarich, Rudy gay Uzman Garuba, that's a sneaky one. 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:22.320 Remember he was the first round pick. Rodney McGruder who 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:27.520 has beef currently probably still with Clay Thompson and Draymond Green. 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:29.519 Remember Clay called him, I think he called him a 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:31.680 bitch or something like a couple of years ago, made 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:35.360 NBA TV. Everyody's like, oh, Clay's the Savage Clay Clay Clay, 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:38.720 and then Draymond got on National TV and said something 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:40.240 else I mean about him, But he's on the team. 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.840 Corey Joseph from the Detroit Pistons also on the team 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:50.960 sneaky pickup. Out is Jordan Poole. Out is Dante DiVincenzo, 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:57.760 Andre Igwa Igwa gimme Igwa Dalla and James James I 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:00.520 got taken second overall and no one knows why Heisman 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:07.960 the Warriors started out last season. It was just a mess. 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:11.920 Is who has the tape? Who leaked it? Why did 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:14.240 Jordan Poole get hit in the face? What he say 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:18.640 to Draymond apparently the new leaks coming out, or that 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:23.440 he said that Draymond Green was Steph Curry's overpriced backpack, 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.240 which I heard it was actually even worse than that. 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:30.200 The puncher ends up getting one hundred million dollar extension 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:33.320 for all the trouble, doesn't get suspended for all the 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:36.240 trouble that he calls, and Jordan Poole, the guy who 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:40.360 got assaulted, ends up in Washington, DC on one of 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:45.760 the most dysfunctional franchises in the NBA. Seems fair, seems fair? Right, 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:50.800 that's Siberia, Folks. Rough break for Jordan Poole. But at 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:54.760 least he's got Kuzma to show him off in Chocolate City, 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:57.440 little nightclub actions, show him where all the fashion is. 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:01.480 See what's popping off on U Street, and I tell 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:04.680 you the block is hot. I know it from personal experience. 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:08.280 The block is hot on U Street twenty four to seven. 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.760 The big addition, of course, is Chris Paul, the point 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:15.440 god CP three, The same guy that I said might 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:17.640 be a big issue for the Suns is now on 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:20.760 the Warriors. Why why did I say he might be 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:24.160 a big issue? Let me recap what I said after 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:29.400 the trade went down. Chris Paul averaged twelve five and 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:34.240 seven in the playoffs, which was which was off his 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:36.680 twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three season average of 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:40.719 fourteen four and nine. So that's obviously in itself the 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:45.240 least productive number in his entire seventeen year career. Even 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.200 in Chris Paul's rookie year he averaged sixteen to five 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:51.640 and eight, and that was his worst statistical season until 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:56.240 last year. And remember this, Chris Paul's final game as 0:05:56.279 --> 0:06:01.680 a Phoenix Sun. He was a minus three nine And 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:05.360 I think he's thirty nine years old, so sweet justice. 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:09.479 He missed twenty three regular season games last year. Yep, 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:12.159 thirty nine years old. Yep. We did a little mass school. 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:17.640 What exactly Golden State expects from this slow, undersized point 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:21.000 guard who could probably give you twenty two minutes fifty 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:24.000 eight sixty games. And then, of course we know about 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:26.440 the playoffs what he's gonna do there, which is not 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:31.320 a lot. Apparently Steph thinks the world of Chris Paul 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:35.599 because they've been playing pick up, according to Steph all summer, 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.799 to help them prep for the season. I know this though. 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:40.800 The one thing I will say that's a positive is 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:44.080 I saw Chris Paul get like just throw an absolute 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:47.880 dime back door to Klay Thompson. He did not even 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:50.520 expect because he's probably never seen it in his pro 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:54.320 career from a teammate. The Warriors team obviously had had 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:58.240 some issues. It's not just chemistry. Staying healthy is going 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:00.760 to be the biggest one. And it's not Paul only 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:05.679 and his what was that Chris Paul's secret juice, secret stuff, 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.520 but Klay Thompson as well. He needs the secret stuff 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:13.360 of him himself because he is on the back end 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.200 of his career with an acl and an achilles tear 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:19.920 that happened not too long ago. Steph, of course, always 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:22.360 has to be healthy. When he's not healthy, the team 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:25.680 is a lottery team, and especially Draymond Green, who's, by 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:32.120 the way, check's notes already hurt, already hurt yep our Dubs. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:37.240 Little ankle injury for our Dubs. In addition, the team 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:39.800 needs to learn how to win on the road again, 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:43.600 because they were an absolute disaster away from the Chase Center. 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.120 I do think the biggest issue is probably depth. They 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:51.360 brought in a seventeen year vet. Let me say that again. 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:56.320 They brought in a seventeen year vet, not seventeen year old. 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:59.840 A seventeen year vet in Rudy Gay and a journeyman 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:06.320 Rodney Magruder, Dario Sarich and twelve year pro Corey Joseph. 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:08.360 They were like, remember when we said we're gonna go 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:13.119 two timeline thing, we are, but the timeline word going 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:17.679 is back back in the time. We're only taking guys 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:20.800 that have been in the league fifteen years and longer 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:25.120 twelve if you're really good. There's still Kaminga and Moody, 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:29.880 the babies of the crew. Although Kaminga all off season 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:33.040 was rumored to WANTA Trade was not happy with his 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:37.040 usage in the playoffs. Not exactly a super deep bench, 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:41.840 But listen, our Dubs always contenders as long as they 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:45.719 have Steph Curry, Kevon Looney and a very healthy, very 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:49.560 productive Draymond Green. They have Klay Thompson who's now playing 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:55.800 power forward full time and who many people say is washed, 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.640 but did lead the NBA somehow with three hundred and 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:02.440 one made three pointers last year. They also have the 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:07.199 unsung hero, which I just referenced. I'm talking about Kevon Looney. Tough, 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:12.000 durable on court IQ is out of this world. He's 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:14.679 one of the most effective rebounders in the league. Steve 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:18.719 Kerr had many glowing things to say about Keavon in 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.760 the playoffs, but this one stuck out. He said, I 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:23.960 think Loune is one of the best centers in the league. 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:27.040 I really do. People don't recognize it because he's not dunking, 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:28.959 shooting threes and all that stuff. But the guy is 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.640 a flat out winner. He's a machine. We wouldn't be 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.480 here without him. That's facts. They wouldn't have gotten out 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:38.120 of the first round without Kevon Looney last year. I 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.080 know it, I saw it, and he was effective. Golden 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:43.600 State is going to be at least a regular season 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.679 force this year because in the Steph era, they usually 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:49.640 are I'm not sure that this team is any better 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:51.880 than last year when they won forty four games. I 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:54.120 see him about the same this year. I can see 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:55.959 them very easily being a playing team, or I could 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:57.959 see them being a five or six eight seed. This 0:09:58.000 --> 0:09:59.640 is gonna be one of those things that comes down 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.040 to the world. As an aside, maybe the biggest loss 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:06.480 of the off season was Bob Myers, their longtime GM, 0:10:06.640 --> 0:10:09.840 the architect of the dynasty. When this team needs help, 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:11.760 it's always been able to find a rabbit of the 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:16.120 hut because Bob Myers. What is my man, Mike Dunleavy 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:18.880 Junior going to do to fill his shoes? Big shout 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:21.360 out to Mike Dunleavy Junior. You have made it in life. 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:23.920 You are a Portland legend. One thing is for sure. 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:27.199 Of course, the Warriors are gonna be very fun to watch. 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:31.960 I am not sure our dubs are. I can't actually 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:36.440 say is dynasty, Baby, We're back, can't mush us. Let's 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.000 move on to the LA Clippers. Their win totals sitting 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:42.480 there at forty six and a half by Vegas. This 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:46.480 is who they've added kJ Martin. They have re signed 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:51.320 Russell Westbrook, they got Josh I don't wear underwear, Primo, 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.800 Xavier Moon, and Jordan Miller out of Miami. They lost 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:59.680 Eric Gordon. But let's be real, this team just hasn't 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.760 made at many moves. They've been looking and trying and 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:05.800 waiting to scoop up James Harden for a discount, and 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.880 that has not happened yet. But let's be real. No 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:13.560 team has more questions coming into this season, and no 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:16.640 team has done less to address their issues than the 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:22.280 LA Clippers. That is why the Clippers are my team 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:26.319 of this division. Ah, I want to believe, I want to, 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:29.920 but they are in desperate need of a real point 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:33.280 guard and are currently holding up the Philadelphia seventy six 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:36.679 ers kind of at gunpoint for James Harden. You will 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:39.319 take this one first round pick and you will like it. 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:46.800 They're offering Marcus Morris, Rob Covington, Oh my god, Roco 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:53.240 a first round pick and a swap. Daryl Morey is like, bitch, please, 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:57.600 I do not want Roco, Are you fucking serious? No? 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:03.480 I want Terrence Man Baby, the versatile six seven long wingspan, 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:08.120 can't play point guard, can't play small ball five. And 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.400 the Clippers were like, no, we don't have a lot 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.640 of young assets, so we kind of don't really want 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:14.840 to give them up. So that's where we're at on 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:20.440 the trade. Even though Woj says they are disinclined to 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:25.000 up their offer because there is no other offer, we 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:28.480 know that everyone knows that any NBA fan knows there 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:31.720 are no other offers for James Harden. They did bring 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:35.360 in a couple of young players of interest. kJ Martin 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:38.000 played the right way when he played for the Houston Rockets. 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:41.400 He's Kenyan Martin's son. Kenyan Martin lives in LA. This 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:43.800 is gonna be an amazing fit. I think for him, 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:46.880 a new star for his career. He gets out from 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:51.160 under what was clearly a very dysfunctional organization until emy 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:53.320 Udoka came in. He probably is gonna carve himself out 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:57.640 a nice little role. They signed Josh Primo on a 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.880 two way contract because let's be honest, they're not giving 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:03.319 him anything more than that after what he's been accused 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:07.480 of doing. But the player, Josh Primo, outside of all 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:12.840 the semantics involved, this is a fine, fine young player. 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.880 Clippers loved him. I remember talking to Jerry West about 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:19.320 Josh Primo right after the draft two summers ago. He 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:21.640 loved him. They wanted to pick him up before San 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:24.560 Antonio snaked them. So they are thinking, we got Josh 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:27.480 Primo at a discount. Baby, Oh boy, we have a 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:33.000 guard of the future. So what are these Clippers other 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:35.640 than the forty four and thirty eight fifth seed from 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:40.760 last year? Very talented, pretty much off an injured team 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:44.600 facing a bunch of new crackdown rules from the NBA 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:48.160 on you guessed it, what we're calling the Kawhi Rule 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:53.880 low management. Kawhi is saying he's healthy. PG is saying 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:58.959 he's completely healthy. But with those two, those guys are 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.480 like the basketball version the LA Chargers, And I can't 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:04.160 tell which one is Keenan Allen and which one is 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:07.520 Mike Williams. Who is gonna be the Mike Williams of 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:10.360 this year's LA Clippers. I don't know. It's like whack 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:13.640 a mole. One year it's PG, one year it's Kawhi, 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:16.920 then back and forth and back and forth again. Kawhi 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:21.120 has never played more than fifty seven games, never played 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:23.440 more than fifty seven games in his time in Los Angeles. 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:28.920 Paul George has averaged forty seven games per season in 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:34.320 LA as well. Harden not exactly the guy that you 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.440 want leading your franchise when you have multiple marquee stars 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.760 down with an injury. So I don't know how he 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:46.320 really helps them. The upside in theory great. Do you 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.280 really want to give up Terrence Man for him? Does 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:50.520 it really move the needle for you? Does it? Because 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.920 it doesn't for me. The Clippers have been skating by 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:56.960 on their potential for a very long time, and I 0:14:57.600 --> 0:15:01.120 just can't believe anymore. I've been I've been hoodwinked. I 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.840 have been bamboozled for too many years. I've been on 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:07.440 the Clippers hype train now for since they got Kawhi, 0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:11.040 since twenty nineteen, and I am done. If I have 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.560 to be super optimistic, like I said, I'm gonna try 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:16.440 to put a brave face on Josh Primo could be 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:21.240 very good, maybe bones Highland. I saw him throw behind 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:23.760 the back pass to Kawhi Leonard in a preseason game tonight, 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:28.200 so there's that. Xavier Moon. I watched him be absolutely 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:32.440 unguardable in Summer League. I called him trash. I'm sorry, 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:36.080 I didn't know. I wasn't familiar with your game. Xavier Moon. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.680 I wasn't familiar with the fact that you are a 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.800 mid range machine, and so if he's that at the 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:46.840 next level, this could get very interesting. Maybe they'll be 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:50.120 very fun. Maybe it'll be Josh Primo and Xavier Moon 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:53.520 the back court of the LA Clippers future. Just in time, 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:57.400 those household names, just in time. Today debut a very 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:01.920 new stadium that's very expensive. But mostly I'll be waiting. 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:06.440 I'll be sitting there, waiting for the inevitable injuries which 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:08.600 will derail the team that I was sure was going 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.560 to the finals the past three years. Fool me once, 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:14.880 shame on me, foom me twice. Can't get fooled again. 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:18.560 Let's move forward. Let's move forward to the LA Lakers 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:22.000 win total sitting there at forty seven and a half. 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:27.680 They re signed Austin Reeves, which was highway robbery. I'm 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:29.160 not sure how they were able to sign him at 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:30.560 that low of a deal, but he wanted to stay 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:32.880 in LA to play with Lebron and I don't blame him. 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:36.280 They re signed D'Angelo Russell to a team friendly deal. 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:41.520 They re signed Jared Vanderbilt, and they drafted Hood Schafino 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:47.080 over there from Indiana. They drafted somebody else who's not 0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:51.520 as important to this list. They added gave Vincent, Christian Wood, 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:57.480 gave Vincent from Miami, Christian Wood from the Mavericks. Cam Reddish, 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:00.200 who was on a bunch of different teams. I think 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:04.520 Portland was his last team. Jackson Hayes and Torrian Prince. 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:13.080 They lost Mobileau and the Lakers. They lay it's been woh, 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:16.640 it's been a roller coaster of a year. They've remade 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:19.120 their entire roster over the course of the trade deadline. 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:23.240 They took momentum from that move to the Western Conference Finals. 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:26.040 They did get swept, but it was competitive all four games. 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.760 That's like what me as a Portland Trailblazer fan tells 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:31.880 myself and others when I talk about how we competed 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.960 against the Warriors in twenty nineteen. So I get it. 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:38.639 It's like totally fair. They went from oh, boy is 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:41.560 Rob plink of the worst GM in the league to like, wow, 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:46.360 he made some fucking money moves. He I gotta give 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.800 some a little bit of shine to Jesse Buss. I've 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:52.480 been told I don't give enough shine to him. So 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:56.680 they finished forty three and thirty nine seventh place, won 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.520 the play in balled out before getting into the buzz 0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:04.120 saw that Jokic and Jamal Mury Jamal Nba as they 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:08.280 call him, they put an end to a very we'll 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:11.800 call it a quick run in an emphatic fashion. That 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:15.439 Lebron James pretended he was going to retire after that 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:19.159 was how bad the demoralization was. He said at the 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:23.080 post game conference, I'm not sure if I'm ever gonna 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:26.560 play basketball game. That's where we're at this year. I 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:31.760 think they're better. They did lose Lonnie Walker, Tristan Thompson, 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:36.600 and like I said, Mobamba adding gave Vincent I think 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:42.560 is interesting. Although Miami Heat fans are already saying that 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:44.240 Laker fans are gonna hate him, so I don't know 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:47.120 about that. Cam Reddish was supposed to be the most 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:51.400 talented duke player in the class of Zion and RJ. Barrett, 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:53.879 but he just hurt his ankle. He's a lot of 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:55.760 upside and I don't know if he's going to be 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:59.320 able to ever live up to that Pelican Center and 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.800 Jackson Hey says a ton of potential, very long, very athletic, 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.680 can do a bunch of different things. One of those 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:10.120 I would call it modern centers and Tourian Prince, who 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:13.199 I love. Torrian Prince is a dog. He is going 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:15.320 to be an integral part of whatever the Lakers do. 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:18.360 And then you add Christian Wood and they stole them. 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:22.520 They stole them, stole them. Vet Minimum that is some 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:26.800 nice depth. Team was very very thin last year. They 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:29.760 only played eight guys in their close out game against 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.200 Denver and only one of them. One of them got 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:36.560 six minutes. So the Lakers have an insane amount of length, athleticism, 0:19:37.000 --> 0:19:39.480 a lot of versatile pieces. If they can get something 0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:42.679 out of Ruey Hachi Mura, who played really well in 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:45.600 the playoffs. By the way, Ruey Hachimura worked out with 0:19:45.720 --> 0:19:49.800 Lebron and Phil Handy strength and conditioning coach, skills coach 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:52.200 for the Lakers. But Phil Handy's been working out with 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:54.080 Lebron for a very long time, and what do they do. 0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:58.240 They tried to teach Ruey how to be Lebron James 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:03.720 woo wooh. That's exciting. Lakers won sixty six percent of 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:06.679 their games after the trade deadline last year. If that 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:09.720 carries over to this year, they'll win fifty four games. 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:11.920 They're gonna be able. I think to hum on all 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:15.040 cylinders like they did after the trade deadline last year, 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:18.000 except for now there's more depth, so you don't have 0:20:18.040 --> 0:20:21.359 to worry as much about your star players being healthy 0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:25.199 the entire season. Of course, you still have to all 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.120 of it hinges on Anthony day to day Davis and 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:30.840 Lebron James playing a bunch of games. But Christian Wood, 0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:33.560 who averaged eighteen and ten last year, and Jackson haz 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:36.560 are very very serviceable backups who have a ton of potential, 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:39.520 a ton of upside, and now they basically have baby Lebron. Right, 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:43.680 basically have baby Lebron. This is a very dangerous team. 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:47.959 They can very very easily make the Western Conference Finals again. 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:52.760 I am bullish yet hoping for their demise. As a 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:56.200 Portland Trailblazer fan and obviously a lifelong Dubs fan, let's 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:59.520 move forward of Phoenix Suns. Fifty four and a half 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:04.680 games is their win total by Vegas. They add buw 0:21:04.760 --> 0:21:08.680 Bull Love Bu Bull from the Orlando Magic. They add 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:12.760 Utah Watt Nabe aka Johnny Utah from the Brooklyn Nets. 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:15.280 They add Eric Gordon from the Clippers. Oh that's a 0:21:15.280 --> 0:21:18.560 sneaky pickup. Nas Little and Keon Johnson come over in 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:22.200 their trade, Grayson Allen comes over from the trade, Yusuf 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:24.960 Nurkic comes over from the trade to Portland, and of 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:29.200 course Bradley Beal has been stolen from the Washington Wizards 0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:33.679 for I think a dirty muffin a couple second round picks. 0:21:34.520 --> 0:21:41.040 They lose domin Ayton Aton, they lose DeAndre Aton, they 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:44.399 lose campaign to Moni Kamara, and of course Chris Paul. 0:21:45.760 --> 0:21:48.639 I am very surprised by what the Phoenix Suns have 0:21:48.640 --> 0:21:50.159 been able to do. I'm not gonna lie to you. 0:21:50.760 --> 0:21:54.680 I thought they were barbecue chicken on a habachi. After 0:21:54.720 --> 0:21:57.400 the Bradley Beal trade, I was like, ooh, three guards, 0:21:57.400 --> 0:21:59.840 and like, well, that's I think eighty five percent of yours. 0:22:00.600 --> 0:22:02.560 What are you gonna do now? I think they have 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:07.200 four guys on their roster At that point, I was like, Okay, 0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:10.080 you guys all need the ball, and you have no 0:22:10.200 --> 0:22:12.480 depth and you have no money, So what you're about 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:16.240 to do? Then they went out and signed a bunch 0:22:16.280 --> 0:22:18.959 of guys on very low contracts who want to get 0:22:18.960 --> 0:22:21.520 a ring and love playing with Kevin Durant. They went 0:22:21.560 --> 0:22:26.000 out and made some judicious trades and all of a sudden, 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:30.639 they got very solid. It's very important because at the 0:22:30.680 --> 0:22:33.640 top of the roster are some players they get hurt 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:38.080 all the time, all the time. So let's start with 0:22:38.560 --> 0:22:43.080 a detailed look at the losses. Three major pieces from 0:22:43.119 --> 0:22:47.920 the twenty twenty one finals run Chris Paul, DeAndre, Aiden 0:22:48.600 --> 0:22:52.399 campaign all have taken their talent somewhere else. Right, huge 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:55.280 part of what made that team so special, so they 0:22:55.320 --> 0:22:59.439 had to get some return. The return was massive. Bradley 0:22:59.480 --> 0:23:03.480 bealver Bradley Beal. Let's be real. He is not a closer. 0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:06.400 He's never gonna do shit for you in a fourth quarter, 0:23:06.480 --> 0:23:08.919 even in January. But I tell you what, when you 0:23:08.960 --> 0:23:13.480 need some buckets, like midway through the second quarter, Bradley 0:23:13.480 --> 0:23:16.080 Beal can do that for you. Oh boy. Bradley Beal 0:23:16.200 --> 0:23:18.399 was a scoring leader in the NBA a couple of 0:23:18.440 --> 0:23:23.040 years ago. He is an absolute bucket, a pure sweat guy, 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:26.080 true and true. Cannot play defense worth a lick. But 0:23:26.119 --> 0:23:28.280 I don't know if it matters. I don't know if 0:23:28.320 --> 0:23:31.960 it matters. He is a bucket. The issue with Beal 0:23:32.440 --> 0:23:35.679 is the same as the issue with Kevin Durant. Durant 0:23:35.720 --> 0:23:38.560 hasn't played more than forty seven games in three of 0:23:38.600 --> 0:23:41.720 the last four seasons. Bradley Beal hasn't played a full 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:45.720 season since twenty eighteen. Fifty seven games, sixty games, forty games, 0:23:45.720 --> 0:23:49.080 and fifty games. Maybe you could say he was loafing 0:23:50.000 --> 0:23:52.800 maybe one of those seasons, maybe two, but come on now, 0:23:53.000 --> 0:23:56.879 not all four. He's been hurt. They traded DeAndre Ayton, 0:23:58.119 --> 0:24:02.320 who was a number one overall pick, for Yusuf Nurkic, 0:24:02.760 --> 0:24:06.200 who was discarded from Denver because they had a guy 0:24:06.280 --> 0:24:10.800 named Jokic, and then he became the primary center for Portland. 0:24:11.080 --> 0:24:13.040 Broke his leg and it's never been the same really 0:24:13.080 --> 0:24:18.240 since doesn't really play deepense. Great guy in the locker room, 0:24:18.280 --> 0:24:20.280 I hear. I don't know how that helps you win 0:24:20.320 --> 0:24:23.520 a championship in terms of defending, but hopefully Frank Vogel 0:24:23.520 --> 0:24:25.880 will figure it out because that's his specialty with big men. 0:24:27.280 --> 0:24:29.360 They wanted to get rid of the locker room problem 0:24:29.600 --> 0:24:32.320