Speaker 1: And all things first, Shantle, he loves those corners. Welcome
Speaker 1: to New York.
Speaker 2: This is what the people want to see.
Speaker 1: Look man into NBA Pulster production of iHeartRadio and the NBA.
Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Kustack, NBA analyst for the s Networking Today
Speaker 1: is Tuesday, January two. From our extraordinary core group of
Speaker 1: NBA journalists, We're joined now by NBA dot Com senior
Speaker 1: writer Sean Poll. And Sean, we saw the Knicks get
Speaker 1: a win over Minnesota last night, Toronto get a win
Speaker 1: over the Cleveland Cavaliers, but with some new pieces in
Speaker 1: their uniforms. Trade that occurred over the course of the
Speaker 1: weekend the New York Knicks receiving og An Andobi, a
Speaker 1: guy that was talked about in a lot of trade
Speaker 1: rumors for quite some time. Sewan, what were your initial
Speaker 1: reactions of this trade and how you felt like both
Speaker 1: teams fared well.
Speaker 3: I think that there are a lot of teams in
Speaker 3: the NBA that are envious of the Knicks because they
Speaker 3: have been trying to get og Anenobi from the Raptors
Speaker 3: probably for last year. As you mentioned, he's a good
Speaker 3: two way player, obviously, and suddenly if you put him
Speaker 3: in the NXT system. Maybe he's better in that system
Speaker 3: than he was in Toronto system. And I say that
Speaker 3: because he has a top flight point guard. He's playing
Speaker 3: for a coach that emphasizes defense and that's his specialty.
Speaker 3: And he'll get a chance to you know, you know,
Speaker 3: you know, develop offensively. So this could be career change
Speaker 3: for him. And and oh, by the way, his contract
Speaker 3: is up this summer and the NIXT. When you make
Speaker 3: a trade for a player who's in the final year
Speaker 3: is your contract, you're basically found that player. Hey man,
Speaker 3: we're gonna pay you whatever it takes because we're not
Speaker 3: going to give up all these assets for a rental,
Speaker 3: so we're gonna make a commitment to you. And so
Speaker 3: this is if you're og Ananobe, this is just such
Speaker 3: a great situation to be traded in the last of
Speaker 3: your contract. That means a team that just got you's
Speaker 3: gonna pay you. So it's I think it's just good
Speaker 3: all around for the Knicks, uh to get a player
Speaker 3: of his caliber, young player of this caliber, unflappable, professional, hardworking,
Speaker 3: everything that Tom Thibodeau wants in the player og Anenobe provides.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and couldn't agree more, and you said it with Tibbs.
Speaker 1: I mean, what a guy that fits his type of system.
Speaker 1: Defensive minded, this og last year led the league in steals,
Speaker 1: he was second in deflection, second all team defense. But
Speaker 1: also what he can bring and just kind of his
Speaker 1: fluid fit as a three and D player on the
Speaker 1: offensive side. Wants a corner.
Speaker 2: Three with this third three corner of the afternoon. We've
Speaker 2: talked about og Ananoby and all the things he brings,
Speaker 2: will continue to tell you forty three percent from the
Speaker 2: corner three.
Speaker 1: When you look at the Knick and where they're at
Speaker 1: now in this position seeing that move made. They're currently
Speaker 1: sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference eighteen and five record
Speaker 1: that win against Minnesota, the top team in the Western Conference,
Speaker 1: snapping a three game losing streak. What do you see
Speaker 1: for the Knicks moving forward, Well, it's twofold.
Speaker 3: I think the team is going to be very competitive
Speaker 3: this season. I think they're going to flirt around that
Speaker 3: you know, that four or five sixth spot in the East.
Speaker 3: And they have a nice core now with og Ananobi,
Speaker 3: Julius Randall, and Jalen Brunson and a group of about
Speaker 3: three or four very good role players Josh Hart, Dante,
Speaker 3: deep Incenzo. You know, you know now that Emmanuel quickly
Speaker 3: is no longer on a team now his role gets elevated,
Speaker 3: and he really has played well the last couple of games.
Speaker 3: So I think there's a nice core there. Obviously, it's
Speaker 3: it's missing the main dish. And the main dish is
Speaker 3: a superstar player. Obviously, how do you get them that?
Speaker 3: They don't grow on trees, as you know, Sarah, But
Speaker 3: this team is set for that type of player to
Speaker 3: come into the mix next year, the year after next.
Speaker 3: It's not like Brunson is, you know, over the hill.
Speaker 3: You got to win with them right now. Same thing
Speaker 3: with Randall, same thing with Og. You can hang on
Speaker 3: to these players for a few years until you get
Speaker 3: the big fish, you know, for the big fish in here,
Speaker 3: and then all of a sudden, now you can challenge
Speaker 3: a team like Milwaukee that has Gianni's team, like Philadelphia's
Speaker 3: got Joe o Embiid, the Boston Celtics who have Tatum.
Speaker 3: The Knicks don't have a caliber a player like that,
Speaker 3: but they've got everything else, Sarah. So I think that
Speaker 3: it's a good young team, a defensive minded coach, a
Speaker 3: group of players that seem to enjoy playing with each other,
Speaker 3: and a team that's just sitting right there in the mix,
Speaker 3: not in the top shelf of the East, but if
Speaker 3: they were to ever get a a game changer, then
Speaker 3: they're going to be right there.
Speaker 1: And they flirt with it like that's where to your point,
Speaker 1: they've got everything they need and if laid a foundation.
Speaker 1: What I really like is just the patience that they've
Speaker 1: shown with that. I think this is a good trade
Speaker 1: for both sides. You don't always see that in a trade.
Speaker 1: We'll get to the Toronto side of it in just
Speaker 1: a second, but I think to your point, just the
Speaker 1: solid foundation, the core they've laid and the way that
Speaker 1: they've consistently now shown to be a proven playoff team
Speaker 1: and how they want to play under Tom Siboto, And
Speaker 1: I think that is the area we expected them to
Speaker 1: be a much better middle of the pack defense, but
Speaker 1: a much better defensive team, but how can they continue
Speaker 1: to improve on that end with these players but also offensively?
Speaker 1: And I think say what you want, I think we
Speaker 1: all say it. You know, NBA basketball is better when
Speaker 1: the Knicks are good, and I think you will always
Speaker 1: at some point when you continue to show this type
Speaker 1: of consistency, find a star player that wants to come
Speaker 1: play in the garden and wants to come play for
Speaker 1: the Knicks. I think that's the foundation that's been laid
Speaker 1: as of late. So I'll be curious to see if
Speaker 1: any move trade deadline approaching, I'll be curious to see if,
Speaker 1: potentially any moves will be made. But for now, yeah,
Speaker 1: I think the East, you know, other than what you
Speaker 1: see towards the very top with Boston, with Philadelphia obviously
Speaker 1: Milwaukee up there, but just kind of where things are at,
Speaker 1: I think there certainly is opportunity for the Knicks to
Speaker 1: make some moves Toronto making moves and curious to see
Speaker 1: if they will make some more. As I mentioned, last night,
Speaker 1: they got a win over Cleveland. Pascal Siakam thirty six points,
Speaker 1: five rebounds, RJ. Barrett, Emmanuel quickly in the starting lineup,
Speaker 1: Barrett with nineteen to nine, Quickly with fourteen points, six rebounds,
Speaker 1: two steals. They looked really good. But the cornerstone of
Speaker 1: this team now has become and I think that was
Speaker 1: what we saw at the early part of the Raptors.
Speaker 1: Scottie Barnes he is the guy for this Raptors team.
Speaker 1: Twenty two years old. Pascal Siakam continues to put up
Speaker 1: big numbers as a former All Star. But I think
Speaker 1: that's the direction where Massaiyu Jerry will go in terms
Speaker 1: of building around what did you make not just of
Speaker 1: the trade in bringing in Barrett back to his home
Speaker 1: country of Canada Barrett and quickly, but also what this
Speaker 1: means for the Raptors moving forward.
Speaker 3: So here we are, and I think change is inedible
Speaker 3: for the Raptors, and it just was just a matter
Speaker 3: of time before they start parceling off some of these
Speaker 3: pieces and start building on the next days. And so
Speaker 3: the domino to fall obviously was og Ananobi, who normally
Speaker 3: you would want to keep a young player like that,
Speaker 3: but I think the Raptors feel that they can pivot
Speaker 3: and find someone on the roster to sort of take
Speaker 3: his place and put him through player development. And the
Speaker 3: other piece is Pascal Siaki What are they going to
Speaker 3: do with him. I'm ninety six ninety six point five
Speaker 3: percent sure that he is going to be dealt by
Speaker 3: the trade deadline, because number one, he's on the last
Speaker 3: year of his contract, and I'm not so sure he's
Speaker 3: willing to re sign with the Raptors. Look, he already
Speaker 3: has his championship, so it's not like he's desperate to
Speaker 3: go to a championship contender. But I think if given
Speaker 3: a choice, does he want to be part of a
Speaker 3: rebuilding situation in Toronto or does he want to leave?
Speaker 3: And I think he wants to leave. And you're right there.
Speaker 3: I think Scottie Barnes is the future of this team.
Speaker 3: Scotty Barnes rook of the Year the following year, I
Speaker 3: just thought he plateaued a little bit. But this year
Speaker 3: he's posting career highs across the board showing that he
Speaker 3: is indeed that guy.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 3: And because he has made that leap, now Toronto can
Speaker 3: look and say, Okay, we've got this guy. You know,
Speaker 3: we're going to give him a contract extension. We got
Speaker 3: this guy. Now let's see who else we can get.
Speaker 1: So RJ.
Speaker 3: Barrett, as you mentioned back in Canada, grew up watching
Speaker 3: the Raptors. Uh, he's a guy. You know, Look who's
Speaker 3: a number three pick? High pick? Is he going to
Speaker 3: be a superstar?
Speaker 1: Nup?
Speaker 3: But I think he's a very good player, hardworking professional.
Speaker 2: Schroder finds Gary close out by Streus r Joe Fires
Speaker 2: from Mississauga.
Speaker 1: That is here.
Speaker 3: I mean, you can with him and your nucleus, you
Speaker 3: can win games. And the wild card is going to
Speaker 3: be Manuel Quickly.
Speaker 2: Talked to both Barrett and Quickly yesterday and they came
Speaker 2: early today to run through some sets. He knocks it
Speaker 2: down from T o.
Speaker 3: He finally has a team. I mean, all of a sudden,
Speaker 3: he's away from Jalen Brunson. He has a team. He
Speaker 3: can run. How good is this guy going to be?
Speaker 3: He's playing, He's gonna be playing for a big contract.
Speaker 3: He's motivated, you know. But when you move that one
Speaker 3: seed over from being a supporting player to the starting
Speaker 3: player and you're giving the ball, it can get a
Speaker 3: little tricky. The true you will be revealed. So we'll
Speaker 3: learn a lot more about Emmanual Quickly in this situation.
Speaker 3: But the Raptors right now, they're in twelfth in the East.
Speaker 3: Obviously they're not a title contender. They may not even
Speaker 3: make the playoffs, but they have to start building now
Speaker 3: for the future.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and couldn't agree more. And I think that always
Speaker 1: is the question. When players get elevated roles change roles,
Speaker 1: how they respond and I want to turn it back
Speaker 1: and put you on the spot. Sean. Sorry with Pascal Siakam.
Speaker 1: With that being said, we've seen him in different roles
Speaker 1: obviously with that championship team and Kawhi Leonard part of that,
Speaker 1: but he was brilliant throughout the course of the playoffs,
Speaker 1: a big reason why they did win that championship. You
Speaker 1: talk about a three and D guy, but his role
Speaker 1: has increased what they've expected out of him from the
Speaker 1: offensive side, his three point accuracy has varied, but the
Speaker 1: ability to run create off the dribble obviously, what he
Speaker 1: can do defensively and in transition. Where do you see Siakam?
Speaker 1: Is there any spots or place is that you see
Speaker 1: him being a good fit.
Speaker 3: I think any contender or any semi contender would love
Speaker 3: to have him. But the trick is, you know, signing
Speaker 3: him to a contract extension, you have to believe that
Speaker 3: you can do that. So from that standpoint, the balls
Speaker 3: in Saams court a little bit here. If he gives up,
Speaker 3: if he gives a suitor the wrong vibes, no one's
Speaker 3: going to give Toronto a bunch of assets for Seacam.
Speaker 3: It's just not going to happen. Having said that, I
Speaker 3: think he would be agreeable to any place where he
Speaker 3: feels he has a chance to win and make decent money.
Speaker 3: He's already made a lot of money, so maybe that's
Speaker 3: not you know, the biggest priority for him. Not to
Speaker 3: say he's going to give some team a huge discount,
Speaker 3: but I just think he wants to go to a
Speaker 3: place where he feels he can fit. I mean, what
Speaker 3: place is that. Well, first of all, it's got to
Speaker 3: be a place that can squeeze in. You know, his contract.
Speaker 3: You know, you always hear about the Miamis of the world.
Speaker 3: You know, they were in a running for Damian Lilo
Speaker 3: this summer. All the teams that were in a running
Speaker 3: for players this summer and didn't get him obviously going
Speaker 3: to be on the board. I think a wildcard here
Speaker 3: would be Philadelphia, not necessarily the trade for him now,
Speaker 3: but to maybe hope to get him next summer. The
Speaker 3: Sixers will have forty million dollars to spend next summer.
Speaker 3: Forty That's very rare for a title contender with an
Speaker 3: MVP on board to have that much money to spend,
Speaker 3: so they don't even really need to trade for Siaka.
Speaker 3: They can just wait till the summer and just sign them.
Speaker 3: So I think Philadelphia is a wild card if Siakam
Speaker 3: is not moved, they may be the wildcard even if
Speaker 3: it is moved, because he might want to play there
Speaker 3: because he can go right to Joe and be played
Speaker 3: for next to an MVP winner, play on the Contender,
Speaker 3: and then there you go and.
Speaker 1: Play for his former coach and Nick Nurse, and you
Speaker 1: talk about timelines and Siaka will be thirty in April,
Speaker 1: in his eighth year, so a lot of things with
Speaker 1: that lineup. Sean love it. We are going to talk
Speaker 1: about another team that has title contention on their mind.
Speaker 1: Big matchup here tonight between the Boston Celtics and the
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City Thunder. We'll get to that after the break.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to NBA pul Sarahkustak, joined by the great
Speaker 1: Sean Pile and Sean. We got a good one on
Speaker 1: the slate here tonight. A couple of top teams in
Speaker 1: the East and Western Conference. The Boston Celtics, of course,
Speaker 1: number one in the East. They have been clicking and
Speaker 1: rolling in the number two team in the Western Conference,
Speaker 1: the Oklahoma City Thunder twenty two and nine they have
Speaker 1: won four straight and that's the team I want to
Speaker 1: get into. Continue to impress under Mark Dagnall. You got
Speaker 1: a player in the MVP discussion in Shay Gildas, Alexander
Speaker 1: One in the Rookie of the Year conversation, maybe the
Speaker 1: front runner and Chet Holmes when Jalen Williams continues to
Speaker 1: be part of that trio that creates continuity and has
Speaker 1: this team really cooking. When you look at the Oklahoma
Speaker 1: City Thunder, they've been towards the top of the West
Speaker 1: for quite some time. Now here throughout the course of
Speaker 1: the season, made the playoffs because of the play in
Speaker 1: last year, took a bigger leap, probably than a lot
Speaker 1: of us had expected in how they're playing at the
Speaker 1: early part of the season. What do you see in
Speaker 1: this team through the remainder of the year and do
Speaker 1: they need to make some moves to continue to be
Speaker 1: in those title contention projections.
Speaker 3: Well, the crazy thing about Oklahoma City is that up
Speaker 3: until now, uh, they've always been sellers, you know, just
Speaker 3: trying to acquire ass ats to the you know, the
Speaker 3: draft and really you know, give other players other teams
Speaker 3: their players. But now all of a sudden, they put
Speaker 3: themselves in position to win. Now they've got a certified,
Speaker 3: as you said, an MVP contender in Shakes Alexander averaging
Speaker 3: thirty one a game. He is just tremendous to watch,
Speaker 3: just the way he plays the game. He's not reckless,
Speaker 3: He's got a nice mid range game, gets to the line.
Speaker 3: His teammates seem to enjoy playing next to him, fees
Speaker 3: off them. Well, so he is just he's a type
Speaker 3: of centerpiece you want if you're a franchise under contract,
Speaker 3: so you don't have to worry about anything with Shay.
Speaker 3: And you know, you see Oklahoma City sitting, you know,
Speaker 3: number two in the West, and you're like, okay, so
Speaker 3: when is Denver coming up, when the Clippers coming up,
Speaker 3: when someone's going to overtake them? Well, Sarah, you know
Speaker 3: the scary thing is maybe someone may not overtake them.
Speaker 3: Maybe you know, we're still seeing them sitting there after
Speaker 3: the All Star weekend, and maybe we see them sitting
Speaker 3: at least in the top three when the playoffs began.
Speaker 3: And I think that that would be just a crowning
Speaker 3: achievement for Oklahoma City, a team that's grown organically for
Speaker 3: the most part, brought these young players together really got
Speaker 3: four to five when chet Holmgen joined the team. Obviously
Speaker 3: didn't play last year, was hurt. But this guy has
Speaker 3: coming and matured, averaging seventeen points seven rebounds, really strong
Speaker 3: defensively blocking shots. Jalen Williams loudor. I mean, look, this
Speaker 3: team is young, good, and fairly deep. I would not
Speaker 3: be shocked if they tried to make a movie. The
Speaker 3: trade trade deadline added another piece because they have a
Speaker 3: lot of draft capital that they have acquired, so they
Speaker 3: don't have to parcel out one of their main guys.
Speaker 3: They can just package one of their bench players with
Speaker 3: a number one pick and get a pretty decent player
Speaker 3: and say, you know what, going to wait another year
Speaker 3: to try to be a contender. No, we want to
Speaker 3: be a contender right now. We've got Shay, We've got Chet,
Speaker 3: We've got a good nucleus. We add something to that
Speaker 3: nucleus and let's go. And the West is wide open.
Speaker 3: Look at the teams at the top. Minnesota, Oklahoma City,
Speaker 3: Golden State is down. The Lakers are still for whatever reason,
Speaker 3: they're still struggling. Even though Lebron and Anthony Davis are
Speaker 3: having good years. There's nobody in the West, I think
Speaker 3: is just you know, running away with it. So if
Speaker 3: you're Oklahoma City, why not say why not?
Speaker 1: US could not agree more. I just saw them defeat
Speaker 1: the Nets on New Year's Eve. It was and I
Speaker 1: love the team, love how they play play fast. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the compilation of player Sam Presty did a really beautiful
Speaker 1: job in not only finding these young talents but also
Speaker 1: the way in which they fit. They've been top ten
Speaker 1: in offense and defense. I think there's a real great
Speaker 1: blend the one area though they are vulnerable on the
Speaker 1: glass and they struggle mightily rebounding, and you look at
Speaker 1: just the importance of possessions. A team that does play fast,
Speaker 1: when that translates into the end of the postseason, how
Speaker 1: that changes. So can can you find there's not you know,
Speaker 1: you're not going to get one player that's going to
Speaker 1: solve that. But I think just in terms of they're
Speaker 1: super efficient from three, but don't take a lot of threes.
Speaker 1: So can you fortify and find a player that brings
Speaker 1: you some size, helps you on the glass, continues to
Speaker 1: be a more high volume three point shooter to go
Speaker 1: along with a lot of the mid range game that
Speaker 1: you see. So many of their key players playing. I
Speaker 1: think they're they're a team that should have title contentions,
Speaker 1: but I do think there's a little more room for
Speaker 1: them to potentially grow. And they're fun. They're fun. As
Speaker 1: you mentioned, the West is wide open, so it'll be
Speaker 1: interesting to see how how those things continue to shake out. Sean,
Speaker 1: Happy New Year twenty twenty four.
Speaker 3: How you feel, I'm feeling pretty good, you know, anytime
Speaker 3: you can turn that calendar and you're still upright and
Speaker 3: looking forward to the next twelve months at least, if
Speaker 3: not beyond. I'm just grateful, and Sarah, I'm sure you
Speaker 3: feel the same. Just grateful, Lucky to be doing this
Speaker 3: for a living, yes, Lucky to be around professional people, yes,
Speaker 3: enjoying the game, just watching you know, things develop, you know,
Speaker 3: the great unknown, and then we'll see what happens in June.
Speaker 3: Who's lifting the trophy?
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know what. It's day to day. It's day
Speaker 1: to day. But we made it this far to this day,
Speaker 1: and Sewn, as always, we appreciate you your time. Will
Speaker 1: continue to read all your stuff on NBA dot com,
Speaker 1: watch you on NBA TV, and look forward to talking
Speaker 1: with you again.
Speaker 3: Appreciate you, Sarah.
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