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Speaker 1: presented by Fan Duel here at the Volume. Happy Thursday, everybody,
Speaker 1: Happy Trade deadline Day. We are live on AMP. Don't
Speaker 1: forget if you're watching this on YouTube or the podcast
Speaker 1: fee that AMP is the very first place that you
Speaker 1: guys can get this analysis. We're gonna be breaking down
Speaker 1: the trade deadline at least three biggest moves and maybe
Speaker 1: some more as well. We have two special things going
Speaker 1: on today. First of all, we are going to be
Speaker 1: giving away some free merch based on a trivia question
Speaker 1: that I think is very interesting. We're gonna be doing
Speaker 1: that at the tail end of the show, so stick around.
Speaker 1: We'll be asking the question, and the very first person
Speaker 1: to get that question right in the chat is going
Speaker 1: to get some free volume merch. And we have a
Speaker 1: very special guest today, somebody that I have admired and
Speaker 1: respected from a distance for a very long time, and
Speaker 1: that I'm very excited to talk basketball with today um
Speaker 1: senior writer for Sports Illustrated and host of Three Points
Speaker 1: Here at the volume, Mr Chris Mannix, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 1: My guy, how are you? I'm good man. How you doing?
Speaker 1: I'm doing very good. So we I had a feeling
Speaker 1: that this was gonna be a particularly busy deadline. I
Speaker 1: thought that the wide open Western Conference kind of made
Speaker 1: it so that if you were in some of these houses,
Speaker 1: in some of these front offices, that you could talk
Speaker 1: yourself into thinking that you were one or two moves
Speaker 1: away from having a real chance. And I think that's
Speaker 1: exactly what we saw, and we saw a ton of
Speaker 1: talent shift over to the Western Conference. The Lakers make
Speaker 1: a big move, the Suns make a big move, the
Speaker 1: Warriors make a big move, and we're gonna be hitting
Speaker 1: them all. But we have to start with Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: to the Phoenix Suns. So the machinations of the deal,
Speaker 1: we got Michal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jake Crowder, four first
Speaker 1: round picks, and a swap going out for Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: and t J. Warrens. My first question, Chris, what do
Speaker 1: you where's your head at with the Phoenix Suns right now, man,
Speaker 1: you know they're taking a big swing, and it's a
Speaker 1: It's a move that comes with a pretty significant downside
Speaker 1: if it doesn't work. I mean, if this team collapses
Speaker 1: in the next couple of years and doesn't win a championship,
Speaker 1: then they're gonna see a lot of quality draft picks
Speaker 1: going uh Brooklyn's way. That being said, it's the right
Speaker 1: play to make. Uh. You know, guys like Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: don't come on the market very often. And if you
Speaker 1: can get a transformative player without giving back a player
Speaker 1: of equal value, with due respect to Mchael Bridges, Cam Johnson,
Speaker 1: uh whatever, Jay Crowder is right now, Um, you're going
Speaker 1: to take that all day long. So look, they've given
Speaker 1: themselves one of, if not the most dynamic one to
Speaker 1: scoring options in the entire NBA. I think Chris Paul
Speaker 1: is the right point guards. Try to meld all that together,
Speaker 1: and you look at that starting lineup with eighting at
Speaker 1: the top of it, You've got as formidable a starting
Speaker 1: five as any team in basketball. So risky, but the
Speaker 1: move that I you know you have to make if
Speaker 1: you're the Phoenix Suns, the shot creation is going to
Speaker 1: be completely off the charts. I was looking at it
Speaker 1: earlier today. Kevin Dury basically has been the best pick
Speaker 1: and roll ball handler in the entire NBA this year.
Speaker 1: His ability to draw multiple defenders and start those four
Speaker 1: on threes has been highly underrated as people focused on
Speaker 1: his scoring over the years. This is where I have
Speaker 1: two main concerns, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts
Speaker 1: on it. So let's start with the Chris Paul element
Speaker 1: to this, um, how much sense does he even make
Speaker 1: to be on the floor, particularly with closing groups, now
Speaker 1: that you have Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on the
Speaker 1: floor as shot creators. Given that Chris Paul is not
Speaker 1: the same defender that he used to be, that he's
Speaker 1: not the same score that he used to be, He's
Speaker 1: going to be in a spot up position a lot more.
Speaker 1: I like him coming off the bench, running bench groups
Speaker 1: and things along those lines. And obviously I have the
Speaker 1: utmost respect for what Chris Paul does on a basketball court.
Speaker 1: But is there a redundancy there now? Uh? I mean,
Speaker 1: what's the alternative? Are we talking Campaign as the point guard?
Speaker 1: A we're talking Booker playing the one? I mean, I
Speaker 1: guess about like a defensive guard, Like what about something
Speaker 1: like going with Damian Lee getting a lot of minutes
Speaker 1: in the backcourt? Primary re you looking at that as
Speaker 1: a defensive role? Do you think that's something that's going
Speaker 1: to be an issue for them or do you think
Speaker 1: they'll lean have defense? Defense is definitely going to be
Speaker 1: an issue for them, Like you know, you don't have
Speaker 1: a lot of plus defenders on that team right now,
Speaker 1: especially with Bridges out the door, and they're gonna have
Speaker 1: to figure out who's now going to be in that rotation,
Speaker 1: you know, night and night out. I just think the
Speaker 1: upside that Chris Paul is going to bring at least
Speaker 1: this season is getting these guys all on the same page.
Speaker 1: I mean, very rarely do you see a superstar trade
Speaker 1: switch teams in mid season and that team have championship
Speaker 1: level success. I think Chris Paul is gonna have to
Speaker 1: be the guy that makes sure Kevin Durant knows where
Speaker 1: he needs to be, make sure Devin Booker knows where
Speaker 1: he needs to be with Durants on the floor, And look,
Speaker 1: DeAndre and you gotta get him involved, Like you can't
Speaker 1: have DeAndre Ayton, you know, basically being John Collins in
Speaker 1: in in in Phoenix, Like he's got to get his
Speaker 1: touch as Russy's gonna check out on the other end
Speaker 1: of the floor. That's where Chris Paul. I think he's
Speaker 1: gonna bring a lot of value to this team. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's definitely not what he used to be defensively, but
Speaker 1: I think as a floor general, as a playmaker, I
Speaker 1: think most of these games he's gonna have more value
Speaker 1: than anybody else. Yeah, and I'm terrified of like Chris
Speaker 1: Paul running Spain pick and roll with Devin Booker and
Speaker 1: needing to bring a third defender over to contain that
Speaker 1: role man, and then Kevin Durant just attacking a close
Speaker 1: out on the backside, or maybe that's Devin Booker. If
Speaker 1: it works out the way, I am excited about that.
Speaker 1: I'm with you. I'm I'm really concerned about the wing.
Speaker 1: All of their wings now are very upright and slow.
Speaker 1: Tory Craig is a little bit upright and slow. He's
Speaker 1: more of like a power forward than he is a
Speaker 1: traditional wing. Kevin Durant can struggle sometimes with quickness and
Speaker 1: strength when he's defending on the perimeter. DeAndre at and
Speaker 1: struggles a little bit with quickness, and so I I
Speaker 1: worry about them against teams that are are really quick
Speaker 1: off the dribble. So teams like the Sacramento Kings and
Speaker 1: the Golden State Warriors that are gonna try to uh
Speaker 1: really driving kick you to death. I worry about them
Speaker 1: against those types of teams. So this is my question.
Speaker 1: So Fan Duel says that they are the favorites to
Speaker 1: win the rest of the West right now. So do
Speaker 1: you agree with that? No, I don't think so. Um.
Speaker 1: I want to see how they play first and foremost.
Speaker 1: And second, you're talking about three guys that lead the
Speaker 1: team that are injury prone. You know, Kevin Durant is
Speaker 1: not even back yet from a knee injury. Devin Booker
Speaker 1: just sat out a bunch of games. Chris Paul has
Speaker 1: a long history with injuries, oftentimes that occurred during the playoffs. So,
Speaker 1: like I I'd be a little nervous about that if
Speaker 1: I'm Phoenix, given the fragility of my team and the
Speaker 1: chemistry does matter. Like Kevin Durant really is kind of
Speaker 1: a plug and play guy because you know, he can
Speaker 1: do it all all of his own. But you know,
Speaker 1: the integration I think they're gonna be a lot of
Speaker 1: nights early on where they just get you know, run defensively,
Speaker 1: like they're just not gonna be able to get stops
Speaker 1: or enough stops to win to win some games. Um.
Speaker 1: And we'll see, we'll see. But if I'm a betting man,
Speaker 1: I'm still probably leaning towards the Nuggets, or really just
Speaker 1: the Nuggets, and we can talk about the Grizzlies. I
Speaker 1: have some issues with what the Grizzlies did but or
Speaker 1: didn't do. Um. But you know, I'd still probably lean
Speaker 1: towards Denver right now because that's a team that is
Speaker 1: on the same page with each other and is clicking
Speaker 1: pretty well. Yeah, I would probably put them second or
Speaker 1: third as well, because I've I've always been very bullish
Speaker 1: on the Warriors. It's just I've always been the kind
Speaker 1: of guy that doesn't pay too much attention to regular
Speaker 1: season results for teams that have a championship pedigree. Um,
Speaker 1: But that's that. I kind of look at this deal
Speaker 1: similarly to the Dallas Mavericks going after Kyrie Irving, and
Speaker 1: obviously on a much greater level because they have more
Speaker 1: top end talent, But I don't look at it so
Speaker 1: much about this year as I do about next year.
Speaker 1: Specifically for Dallas and for Phoenix, they can now because
Speaker 1: they have that core top end talent look this summer
Speaker 1: to find the complementary pieces to put around them, and
Speaker 1: specifically with moves for guys like Kyrie and guys like
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant. Like you said the plug in play element.
Speaker 1: A big part of it too is Devin Booker and
Speaker 1: Chris uh and Kevin Duran are so good at shooting
Speaker 1: over the top of the defense, so you don't have
Speaker 1: to worry as much about spacing with guys like them,
Speaker 1: and you can do things like find, you know, dirty
Speaker 1: work guys that aren't great offensive players to put around them.
Speaker 1: So I I think going into next year, I'd probably
Speaker 1: be very inclined to pick the Suns to come out
Speaker 1: of the West. But I'm with you this year, when
Speaker 1: you look at continuity, when you look at some of
Speaker 1: the physical mismatches that Phoenix is gonna deal with, I'm
Speaker 1: a little bit worried about them. Um, what do you
Speaker 1: think was the biggest reason that the Kyrie Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: pairing was a failure? Look, A lot of it was
Speaker 1: bad luck and bad timing. For all this, Like, you know,
Speaker 1: if if Kyrie doesn't get injured and James Harden doesn't
Speaker 1: get injured in this that Milwaukee series a couple of
Speaker 1: years ago, did they beat the Bucks? Probably right? So
Speaker 1: they were. I mean, we say it all the time,
Speaker 1: they were Kevin Durant t o I from doing it. Anyway,
Speaker 1: you have James Harden who was out for what almost
Speaker 1: the entirety of that series, and Kyrie Irving who was injured,
Speaker 1: Like yeah, that that was bad luck in that season.
Speaker 1: Then they come back the next year, it's the pandemic
Speaker 1: and everything that kind of goes into it, and Kyrie
Speaker 1: camp play half the games and and all that turned
Speaker 1: off James Harden and you have to wind up dealing him.
Speaker 1: So I think they were victims of circumstance. But towards
Speaker 1: the end it was all Kyrie, Like that's why it
Speaker 1: didn't work. I mean, before Kevin Durant went out, they
Speaker 1: had won eighteen in the last twenty. They were twelve
Speaker 1: and one in December, like what are we talking about here?
Speaker 1: Like that was that led the look of a contender
Speaker 1: before Kevin Durant's injury. Kyrie wants to be traded because
Speaker 1: he wasn't getting the contract offer that he liked from Brooklyn.
Speaker 1: I mean, he can say now that he feels disrespected,
Speaker 1: and you know, things were ugly behind the scenes. But
Speaker 1: if the Nets had offered him in January a extension
Speaker 1: to his liking, whatever he signed there, he he wanted
Speaker 1: out because he wanted his bird rights changed to another team.
Speaker 1: And that's what Dallas has, like in DA else could
Speaker 1: be in a position where they're so desperate to appease
Speaker 1: Luca that they'll sign him for the kind of deal
Speaker 1: that that he wants in the off season. So I
Speaker 1: think I would have liked to have seen what this
Speaker 1: next team could have done with healthy Durant, healthy Kyrie,
Speaker 1: some pretty good defenders. You know, Royce O'Neil has had
Speaker 1: a pretty good year on that team. I think that
Speaker 1: they could have been a tough out in the playoffs
Speaker 1: with those two guys playing at a high level. But
Speaker 1: Kyrie decided to be about Kyrie in that moment, and
Speaker 1: that was the last, you know, vestiges of one of
Speaker 1: Like I said this earlier, like now Sports Illustrated back
Speaker 1: in twelve did one of the most absurd in retrospect
Speaker 1: covers of all time with Steve Nash and Dwight Howard
Speaker 1: saying this is gonna be fun. These guys might have
Speaker 1: exceeded the lowest of expectations that they had coming in
Speaker 1: like that. To not be able to win more than
Speaker 1: one playoff series with three in their prime all NBA
Speaker 1: All Star m VP candidates is really a remarkable achievement. No,
Speaker 1: it really is that. I'm I'm with you. I would
Speaker 1: have loved to have seen them play, now, I I
Speaker 1: to be clear, I think I would have. I would
Speaker 1: have been a hundred percent certain that the Celtics would
Speaker 1: have beat them. It was just such a series, like
Speaker 1: the Celtics series last year, Like the entirety of that
Speaker 1: series was decided about like seven points. So even though
Speaker 1: she's a sweep, they you know, Celtics had some problems
Speaker 1: with them, for sure, But there's kind of like a
Speaker 1: perimeter strength mismatch in that in that particular matchup that
Speaker 1: that I think really worked against Brooklyn. But aside from
Speaker 1: that matchup, I might have picked Brooklyn or given them
Speaker 1: a very good chance to win in any other matchup
Speaker 1: in the n b A I'm with you. I wanted
Speaker 1: to see what they could do and from the moment
Speaker 1: Kyrie got suspended to the moment k D got hurt,
Speaker 1: you could make an argument that they were the best
Speaker 1: team in the league. And so if there's one thing
Speaker 1: that's genuinely impressive about this is I have never seen
Speaker 1: a player blow up a championship intending bona fide championship
Speaker 1: contending team within the season. It's it's it's seriously impressive,
Speaker 1: and like I mean, in retrospect looking back, Uh, honestly,
Speaker 1: this was probably the most reasonable move that Kyrie made
Speaker 1: because it really did make sense. There wasn't many There
Speaker 1: weren't many good cap space teams out there this summer,
Speaker 1: so the bird rights thing really was his best bet
Speaker 1: to try to get to a team where he could
Speaker 1: sign a good deal. I'm with you, I actually, I
Speaker 1: know there's intel that the Mavericks are still considering it,
Speaker 1: but I would be shocked if Mark Cuban didn't make
Speaker 1: him a MAX offer this summer. I believe. I don't
Speaker 1: think he guess full max. I think they do three
Speaker 1: years aligned. That aligns Kyrie with Lucas contract, which he
Speaker 1: can opt out of after six, and you can sort
Speaker 1: of keep them together as that goes. Look, I don't
Speaker 1: disagree that it was the right move for Kyrie, but
Speaker 1: he just told his teammates I'm more important than you,
Speaker 1: like for sure. I mean, and I saw Nick Claxton
Speaker 1: say afterwards like Kyrie is the best teammate I've ever had,
Speaker 1: or something to that effect, like he just blew up
Speaker 1: your season. Like you went from being a team that
Speaker 1: in a year you, Nick Claxton, are one of the
Speaker 1: defensive Player of the Year candidates. You are now going
Speaker 1: from a deep playoff team to one headed for the
Speaker 1: lottery most likely or at least the play in at
Speaker 1: this point. So that to me is not the hallmark
Speaker 1: of a great teammate. I would agree with you. I
Speaker 1: do have a quick bonus question before we go to
Speaker 1: the Lakers. Do you think there's any chance in the
Speaker 1: world that he ends up getting a sign in trade
Speaker 1: to the Lakers after this season. I think there's a chance. Um,
Speaker 1: I think Phoenix remarkably might actually be in play as well. Really,
Speaker 1: although if Kevin Durant hitches himself to Kyrie again, I
Speaker 1: don't I'd have to question the sanity of that decision. Um,
Speaker 1: I do think there's a chance, Like I don't think
Speaker 1: the look whatever we however, we play this out, Kyrie
Speaker 1: is gonna do whatever it takes to get the contract
Speaker 1: that he wants. And if the Lakers, who could still
Speaker 1: decide that, you know, D'Angelo Russell's not for them, uh
Speaker 1: rui hashi more is not for them, and they could
Speaker 1: clear the necessary space to give Kyrie the deal or
Speaker 1: close to the deal that he wants. I could see Dallas,
Speaker 1: in an effort not to lose him for nothing, do
Speaker 1: a deal that gets something back in return. Yeah, someone
Speaker 1: like D'Angel Russell to basically be a backup shot crater
Speaker 1: kind of like a double signing trade type of deal Russell.
Speaker 1: If they give 'angel Russell big money, Like, you know,
Speaker 1: I don't know how that apieces Luca. I don't know how,
Speaker 1: you know, Like, hey, Luca, like, here's our solution to
Speaker 1: your problems. You know. We let Jalen Brunson go, we
Speaker 1: let uh to Kyrie go, but here comes d'An angelo
Speaker 1: Russell to be your you know, backcourt made for the
Speaker 1: next three years. That's I'm not sure how well that's
Speaker 1: gonna go over with Luca do Yeah, the worst guy
Speaker 1: of the three. Um So we're looking back at the
Speaker 1: Lakers deadline. They basically turned Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, and
Speaker 1: a second round pick and a lightly protected first round
Speaker 1: pick into D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jared Vanderbilt, and Mo Bamba.
Speaker 1: So my question for you this and I have some
Speaker 1: strong opinions here, but I want to hear. I want
Speaker 1: to hear your take on it. Did the Lakers do
Speaker 1: enough to make themselves a legitimate threat to get out
Speaker 1: of the Western Conference? Look, I thought they had a
Speaker 1: great deadline. I do, and you extend the deadline back
Speaker 1: about a week when they made the Hashi Moor trade.
Speaker 1: That's kind of part of it. They are operating like
Speaker 1: a team that has Lebron James should operate. They are
Speaker 1: putting shooters around him. That's what Miami did, That's what
Speaker 1: Cleveland did, That's what l A bizarrely the last couple
Speaker 1: of years refused to do. They are now doing that
Speaker 1: so Beasley can shoot. Russell January, he shot from three
Speaker 1: this month, He's at like fort um. You know, Ruey
Speaker 1: Hashi more from certain spots on the floor is a
Speaker 1: pretty efficient three point shooter, and guys that can shoot
Speaker 1: traditionally thrive playing off of Lebron James, like, how many
Speaker 1: extra years did Kyle Korver get on his career because
Speaker 1: he was playing with Lebron James like, he just he's
Speaker 1: looking to find guys and because of the attention Lebron draws,
Speaker 1: these guys get open looks, so they're doing the right thing.
Speaker 1: I thought that Thomas Bryan deal was interesting because Bryan's
Speaker 1: played really well for them. And I don't know if
Speaker 1: Davon Reid has a spot in the rotation, but maybe
Speaker 1: they needed a guy that can play defense with that group,
Speaker 1: so he might be it. But I thought they had
Speaker 1: a really good deadline. I thought they got measurably better
Speaker 1: UM overall, and if Anthony Davis is healthy, if Lebron
Speaker 1: is healthy, if they can get a spot in that
Speaker 1: final late UM, I like their chances of of knocking
Speaker 1: off one of the top four teams in the West,
Speaker 1: They're gonna be dangerous. I think that the two biggest
Speaker 1: weaknesses that I had for the Lakers coming into this
Speaker 1: season was athletic size, like size that could move and
Speaker 1: backcourt skill uh specifically pull up jump shooting and spot
Speaker 1: up jump shooting. And D'Angelo russell affective field goal percentage
Speaker 1: on pull up jump shots this year. He's been very
Speaker 1: good in pick and roll this year. Did you know
Speaker 1: that D'Angel Russell has been the best isolation player in
Speaker 1: the league to run at least fifty this season. He's
Speaker 1: averaging one point to nine points per possession. Classic contract
Speaker 1: year stuff, you know, as he's been probably working harder
Speaker 1: than he has in recent years. Malik Beasley actually is
Speaker 1: having a down year in terms of his ability to
Speaker 1: convert spot up possessions. But he's been gunning in Utah
Speaker 1: in a way that he probably won't with the Lakers,
Speaker 1: and he'll get better. Um uh, he'll get better opportunities
Speaker 1: with the Lakers. I really like Jared Vanderbilt. He's actually
Speaker 1: my favorite guy probably in in in these deals because
Speaker 1: I think of him is just a much better version
Speaker 1: of when you and Gabriel the Thomas Bryant thing um.
Speaker 1: And I really appreciate what Thomas Bryant did over the
Speaker 1: last couple of months with Anthony Davis getting hurt and
Speaker 1: just him playing his ass off to to help build
Speaker 1: the Lakers stay in games. But he's kind of like
Speaker 1: another Montrese Harold, a guy that I genuinely think would
Speaker 1: be disastrous for the Lakers in a playoff rotation, and
Speaker 1: so I think the idea there was you move Thomas
Speaker 1: Bryant to bring in Davon Rudy probably won't ever play
Speaker 1: with how much depth they have on the wing now,
Speaker 1: But what you do is you make it so that
Speaker 1: Darvin ham has no choice but to go to Jared
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt and Mo Bamba, and when you in Gabriel in
Speaker 1: those front court minutes, and Mo Bamba is like interesting
Speaker 1: to me. He's been very good in spot up situations
Speaker 1: this year, but he's never been as good defensively as
Speaker 1: people hoped he would be. Overall, I do think that
Speaker 1: Rob killed it this deadline. But here's my question for you.
Speaker 1: My concern before the season when Rob and Geennie decided
Speaker 1: to kick this can down the road was I do
Speaker 1: believe you can get marginally better trade packages than you
Speaker 1: could over the summer, but I was concerned that it
Speaker 1: would cost them in the standings. And here we are
Speaker 1: in their twenty five and thirty. There are four games
Speaker 1: from getting out of the plan, two games to even
Speaker 1: get into the plan, and here Lebron's gonna miss tonight.
Speaker 1: So it might even be even worse after tonight. And
Speaker 1: so the Ruey Hatcher Mura deal was unrelated to the summer.
Speaker 1: They could have made that at this deadline, no matter what.
Speaker 1: The Mobamba deal was unrelated to this summer. They could
Speaker 1: have made that deal no matter what you. I believe
Speaker 1: that Buddy Healed is a better player than Malie Beasley.
Speaker 1: I believe Myles Turner is a much better player than
Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt the swing piece. There's D'Angel Russell, who's interesting.
Speaker 1: So I would say that our arguably it was a
Speaker 1: little bit better than what they could have done this summer,
Speaker 1: and you saved one first round pick. Uh as a result,
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis and Lebron James now from the middle of
Speaker 1: February all the way through to whenever they lose and
Speaker 1: or the middle of June have to hit the Jets
Speaker 1: while Denver can chill, while Memphis can chill, while Boston
Speaker 1: can chill, you know. And so as a result of that,
Speaker 1: I I again, results are going to tell the story,
Speaker 1: and maybe this all works out. But my concern is
Speaker 1: that the real urgency here was Lebron's late prime and
Speaker 1: your twenty and maybe you're twenty one if you're lucky
Speaker 1: and so I'm I'm worried that this gamble might have
Speaker 1: put them in a position where it wasn't worth that
Speaker 1: extra bit of trade capital. So what what's your take
Speaker 1: on that? Do you think the Lakers made the right
Speaker 1: decision by waiting? Uh? Hindsight, Look, the Lakers have made
Speaker 1: some bad non calls in the past, like one they
Speaker 1: should have gone and gotten Kyle Lowry. You can debate
Speaker 1: whether they should have gotten out this past summer and
Speaker 1: made that deal or whatever. The deal was available for
Speaker 1: Turner and healed. Uh, they were holding out and had
Speaker 1: been holding out for one of the big names to
Speaker 1: come available today. Basically, they were looking for Bradley Beale
Speaker 1: hit the market. They were hoping that Portland's pulled the
Speaker 1: shoot on the Damian Lillard experiment. None of that happened,
Speaker 1: so they couldn't turn Russell Westbrook into the star player
Speaker 1: that they were looking for. Given that, again, I think
Speaker 1: they did pretty well here. I think they built a
Speaker 1: team that you're right, is going to have to claw
Speaker 1: to get into the playoffs and are one bad Lebron
Speaker 1: game or one Anthony Davis ankle turn from getting beat
Speaker 1: in the play in tournament. That's a huge risk. But
Speaker 1: if that team gets into the playoffs, I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: bet necessarily that Denver is gonna beat them four at
Speaker 1: a seven. I'm not gonna bet that Memphis is gonna
Speaker 1: beat them four at a seven. Like, if that team
Speaker 1: gets in the playoffs with those two guys healthy and
Speaker 1: the guys around them making shots in a weird season
Speaker 1: where the number one team is a lot is pretty
Speaker 1: close in terms of overall talent and potential. As the
Speaker 1: number eight team, I like the Lakers chances in that position.
Speaker 1: So it's really about the next couple of months, you know,
Speaker 1: jelling getting into that play and mix getting into the playoffs.
Speaker 1: But once they're there, to me to look out, because
Speaker 1: that would not be the team I'd want to play
Speaker 1: in the first round, that's for sure. I agree. I
Speaker 1: Like I said earlier with the Warriors, I've always been
Speaker 1: very bullish on championship cores that i've seen win it before. Um,
Speaker 1: and you can always make up ground, Like say, for instance,
Speaker 1: it's you get into the first round and you get
Speaker 1: Memphis and and Lebron and a d are just on
Speaker 1: level one hundred and they beat Memphis in five games.
Speaker 1: Then you get that rest and things could work out.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying it can't work, but I do think
Speaker 1: it was a risk to put them in that position
Speaker 1: to have to gun the way they will the rest
Speaker 1: of the season and then a d going against Steven
Speaker 1: Adams one round and then Yokich and you know what
Speaker 1: if he has to play zoo Bach in the second round,
Speaker 1: you know, like it could be one of those things
Speaker 1: where physically it gets difficult for him. But I do
Speaker 1: agree with you, and I think you hit the nail
Speaker 1: on the head, like, regardless of what you feel about
Speaker 1: what they did this summer, in the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: Rob Linka has done an excellent job and and and
Speaker 1: they like moving Westbrook was the right move because it
Speaker 1: was getting bad there with the last couple of days,
Speaker 1: especially not just the report to blow up in the
Speaker 1: locker room, but you know, Lebron has been out there
Speaker 1: basically saying do something or you know, talking about roster
Speaker 1: moves for for weeks, if not months down and any
Speaker 1: roster moved Russell Westbrook knows involves him, like it knows
Speaker 1: he's got to go. Um I thought, I mean the
Speaker 1: report that day mcmnhimon said on ESPN, where he's like
Speaker 1: and he with the vampire sucking the blood out of
Speaker 1: locks somewhere. Like I'll tell you what. I didn't get
Speaker 1: that exact quote from people in that involved there, but
Speaker 1: I got some version of it like that. You know,
Speaker 1: this is addition by subtraction. Russ was sucking the life
Speaker 1: out of that team. Like I got some version of
Speaker 1: that from from people in and around that organization. Uh So,
Speaker 1: the knives are out for Russell Westbrook right now. And
Speaker 1: it just tells me that, you know, taking him off
Speaker 1: that roster and plugging D'angela Russell, in, plugging Milik Beasley,
Speaker 1: in plugging the guys, they're gonna add to that group
Speaker 1: in um that that's gonna relieve some tension that was
Speaker 1: going on within that team. Yeah, you don't have to
Speaker 1: tell me, man I. Uh I. In my time being
Speaker 1: a basketball fan, I can't remember many things like rooting
Speaker 1: for Russell Westbrook has been. It has been one hell
Speaker 1: of an experience. But let's move out to the Gold
Speaker 1: State Warriors. So there are a bunch of different uh
Speaker 1: details in this trade, guys getting rerouted like Seek Bay
Speaker 1: and Kevin Knox. But the gist of it is is
Speaker 1: the Warriors managed to flip James Wiseman for Gary Payton.
Speaker 1: A second. I had somebody very close to the Warriors
Speaker 1: tell me this morning that, uh, Steph basically made an ultimatum.
Speaker 1: Uh not really. Ultimatum is probably the wrong word, but
Speaker 1: he made his voice hurt. Apparently he went to the
Speaker 1: front office and said, I want Wiseman out of here.
Speaker 1: I don't think he fits with us. I don't think
Speaker 1: he's made the efforts to try to to become a
Speaker 1: winning impact player with us. There's a conversation to have
Speaker 1: about Wiseman, but the gist of it is they have
Speaker 1: flipped him for Gary Payton. The second, So my question
Speaker 1: is does this renew any optimism for you with the
Speaker 1: Golden State Warriors. Well, in Gary Payton, they at least
Speaker 1: they're getting a guy that they know they can count on,
Speaker 1: who knows the system, who knows how to play opposite
Speaker 1: Russ or Clay or whoever else he's on the floor with,
Speaker 1: who can play defense at a high level. And that's
Speaker 1: the piece they were missing. I mean, they people inside
Speaker 1: the Warriors would liberally bring it say it that they
Speaker 1: know they needed something as while they publicly say, you know,
Speaker 1: we just need these guys to develop, give them time,
Speaker 1: commend to all that stuff. They knew they needed a piece.
Speaker 1: They were going to get a piece at this trade deadline,
Speaker 1: and it was Wiseman was an obvious candidate to go,
Speaker 1: and you knew they'd have to sell low on him
Speaker 1: to get anything back in return. I'm just a little
Speaker 1: surprised they sold this low. Whatever you think of James Wiseman,
Speaker 1: he is the former number two pick in the draft,
Speaker 1: and I know summer leagues not the end all be all.
Speaker 1: When you watch him play, you can see there's talent there,
Speaker 1: and he's had a couple of moments with the Warriors
Speaker 1: during this season where it's like, Okay, I know that guy,
Speaker 1: that guy, that guy can play. So I thought maybe
Speaker 1: they'd sell for like Alex Caruso, who is more of
Speaker 1: a two way player, a little bit of a juiced
Speaker 1: up version of Gary Payton with championship experience to sell
Speaker 1: for effectively Gary Payton also to throw five second round
Speaker 1: picks in there, that's a lot of picks um to
Speaker 1: do that. You know, I guess if that's the only
Speaker 1: thing they could possibly do, and you needed to get
Speaker 1: something to upgrade that bench, it is what it is,
Speaker 1: But I thought Wiseman would be able to bring back
Speaker 1: more in a deal for Golden State. Yeah, you're right,
Speaker 1: it's the desperation thing. Um. Them selling low, everyone knew,
Speaker 1: but they had to do something and the only guy
Speaker 1: they could use to do that would be Wiseman or
Speaker 1: maybe Moody. Um. I thought the Warriors made two huge
Speaker 1: mistakes in the in the in this last couple of years.
Speaker 1: From the front office standpoint. First of all, James Wiseman
Speaker 1: was a star potential big, not a dirty work big.
Speaker 1: And what they needed from that second overall pick was
Speaker 1: a dirty work pig uh big. So I thought from
Speaker 1: a strategic standpoint that pick was such a huge mistake.
Speaker 1: Then obviously Gary Payton the second. I mean, if you've
Speaker 1: watched the games, you could see it, but it especially
Speaker 1: showed up on the scoreboard in the playoffs last year.
Speaker 1: The Warriors were plus three per one hundred possessions when
Speaker 1: Gary Payton was on the bench, and they were plus
Speaker 1: sixteen per one hundre possessions when Gary Payton was on
Speaker 1: the floor. They played at their best when he was
Speaker 1: out there, because, like you said, he's that connective tissue
Speaker 1: piece within the Warriors. He's such a good cutter, he's
Speaker 1: such a good you know, uh passer he makes keeps
Speaker 1: that engine moving while at the same time being able
Speaker 1: to do the things that he does on the defensive
Speaker 1: end of the floor. I thought letting him go was
Speaker 1: a serious mistake. But to Joe Macop's credit and to
Speaker 1: Bob Meyer's credit, they acknowledged it. We messed up. We
Speaker 1: messed up on Wiseman, we messed up on Gary Payton,
Speaker 1: So why don't we clean this mess up? And yes,
Speaker 1: in retrospect, you can look back and be like, man,
Speaker 1: you could have had both, you know, like, obviously it's
Speaker 1: an issue. But at the end of the day, within
Speaker 1: the urgency of this season and how good stuff is
Speaker 1: right now, I respect the fact that they just had
Speaker 1: admitted that and decided to move on at that point.
Speaker 1: And I forget what it was like at the time
Speaker 1: because moving Wiseman actually saves them money at the time
Speaker 1: bringing back Gary Payton would have cost them like thirty
Speaker 1: million dollars or something like that in luxury tax penalties.
Speaker 1: Like I I know it's we we always say that's
Speaker 1: not you know, billion their billionaire owners. They can do
Speaker 1: whatever they want. But the Wars have been spending the
Speaker 1: last few years. They have highest salaries I believe in
Speaker 1: NBA history, highest payroll. Rather when you factor in luxury tax,
Speaker 1: Like I almost don't blame them for not, you know,
Speaker 1: giving Gary Payton that that contract because of what it
Speaker 1: would have cost them on the back end. Yeah, I agree,
Speaker 1: And it's not it's not like the Crusoe thing or
Speaker 1: they're a little bit in the tax and they absolutely
Speaker 1: could have afforded to bring him back. Like this, I'm
Speaker 1: with you. I understand Crustal Wiseman would have worked straight
Speaker 1: up like you could do that deal. And I mean,
Speaker 1: look Chicago, it's a different story altogether. Like they are
Speaker 1: in that weird place where losing doesn't do anything for
Speaker 1: them because Orlando gets that draft pick. So they weren't
Speaker 1: from what I know, they weren't eager to make a
Speaker 1: significant deal at the deadline. But you know that. I
Speaker 1: look back like Caruso two years up in his contract,
Speaker 1: manageable money, really good two way player, that's the guy
Speaker 1: would have done everything to try to extract out of
Speaker 1: the bulls. I agree. I'm as big a Crustal fan
Speaker 1: as you'll find I I I really, really enjoyed covering
Speaker 1: him when he was with the Lakers. So I got
Speaker 1: two quick questions for you before you get out of
Speaker 1: here today, Chris, who was the biggest winner of the
Speaker 1: trade deadline in your opinion? I mean, Phoenix got Durant,
Speaker 1: So like it's it's oftentimes the player that that makes
Speaker 1: the biggest impact, and the Sun's what they forked over.
Speaker 1: The highest value was probably those four first round draft picks,
Speaker 1: which five years from now we'll be able to look
Speaker 1: back gone and say, you know that right or wrong
Speaker 1: move at that point. But Kevin Durant for the next
Speaker 1: three years is now a member of the Sons. He's
Speaker 1: going to be with Devin Booker for at least this year,
Speaker 1: possibly next. He's going to be with Chris Paul. And
Speaker 1: they've given themselves more than a puncher's chance to win
Speaker 1: a championship this year. And you know that that to me,
Speaker 1: you know that represents the biggest winner. Yeah, it's really
Speaker 1: that simple. They went from a team that I thought
Speaker 1: had zero chance to win the Western Conference to the
Speaker 1: team that's the Fame Dual favorite. I think that automatically
Speaker 1: makes you the winner at the deadline. Who do you
Speaker 1: think was the biggest loser of the trade deadline. Oh,
Speaker 1: that's easy, Memphis. Memphis was a loser with a capital
Speaker 1: l you know, they like I can't criticize the organization
Speaker 1: because they have built something there, like not just drafting
Speaker 1: high with John Rant and Jaren Jackson Jr. But you know,
Speaker 1: getting the Desmond Baines, getting the Dylan Brooks. Like they're
Speaker 1: one of, if not the best drafting team in the
Speaker 1: entire league. But they should have been operating with the
Speaker 1: same mindset that Phoenix was. Like Phoenix is sitting there
Speaker 1: right in the middle of the Western Conference, playing for
Speaker 1: the playing field behind Memphis, and they took a big swing.
Speaker 1: Like Memphis has all their draft capital, They've got one
Speaker 1: extra pick from Golden State that they could use in
Speaker 1: a deal. They've got some intriguing tradeable young talent on
Speaker 1: their bench, Zie Williamson probably the most marketable. They have
Speaker 1: the contract of Dandy Green, and all they walk away
Speaker 1: with is Luke Kennard. And I like Luke Kennard. But
Speaker 1: there's a reason that the Clippers, who just totally shredded
Speaker 1: their bench, We're willing to deal Luke Canard in every
Speaker 1: trade permutation possible, like they were everything you talked with
Speaker 1: the Clippers, including Luke Nard going out, that tells me
Speaker 1: something that that maybe Luke Nard is not the answer
Speaker 1: that that some teams think. Look on paper, I get
Speaker 1: it because Luke Canard shoose the three that teams a
Speaker 1: bottom third in the NBA three point shooting team. Um
Speaker 1: doesn't defend the three. They're also bad at that, but
Speaker 1: that that can help them at the back end of
Speaker 1: their rotation. But I'm telling you, if this team goes
Speaker 1: out in the playoffs and gets cooked by Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: or cooked by Luca don Ch or cooked by the
Speaker 1: Kauai PG transformer out in l a Like, they're gonna
Speaker 1: look back and say, gee, maybe those three first round
Speaker 1: picks they're all gonna be in the twenties might have
Speaker 1: been worth it to get o Gianna Nobi out of
Speaker 1: Toronto or to get Michael Bridges as part of a
Speaker 1: multi team deal with Brooklyn. Brooklyn was sitting out there.
Speaker 1: That deal wasn't official till like a couple of hours ago,
Speaker 1: because they were looking to expand that deal to maybe
Speaker 1: get more draft capital back in return. I think Bridges
Speaker 1: was available for an high price, but a price uh
Speaker 1: and the Grizzlies don't do it. I'm not saying they
Speaker 1: didn't try, but this was the year they should have
Speaker 1: gone all in. That team might be one piece away
Speaker 1: from being, if not the favorite to win the conference,
Speaker 1: maybe the favorite to win the whole damn thing. So
Speaker 1: if they get into the playoffs and they get beat by,
Speaker 1: you know, one of these top tier teams because they
Speaker 1: can't defend on the perimeter at the level day to defend,
Speaker 1: we're gonna look back on February nine as maybe the
Speaker 1: day that that they should have done something. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: don't take Memphis seriously. I think in the half court defensively,
Speaker 1: they have too many entry points that you can attack
Speaker 1: them from. And then offensively in the half court, they've
Speaker 1: never been able to score because John Ran it's the
Speaker 1: only guy on the team that can really warp the
Speaker 1: defense the way that he does. And then you mentioned
Speaker 1: the three point shooting, and I mean, maybe they're looking
Speaker 1: to be aggressive sometime in the in the future, but
Speaker 1: I was concerned with them as well. My biggest loser
Speaker 1: to tread that on is Portland' um. I really don't
Speaker 1: understand how turning Josh hart um by, how getting back
Speaker 1: tees sty Bowl and Kevin Knox and Cam Reddish for
Speaker 1: basically what was it Josh harden Um, Gary Payton the
Speaker 1: second how that improves them. I don't understand what exactly
Speaker 1: their vision is for the future. I don't Portland is
Speaker 1: the team that I can't figure out. I I genuinely
Speaker 1: don't know what direction they're looking to move here in
Speaker 1: the next couple of years. You know, they're like their
Speaker 1: goal is to like immortalize Damian Lillard is like on
Speaker 1: solo kind of you know whatever they call that carbon
Speaker 1: fiber or whatever the hell is carbonite. Yeah, Like it's
Speaker 1: just like at the end of when he's finally done playing,
Speaker 1: they'll just preserve him and put him outside the Modus
Speaker 1: Center there, Like I've never like and Damian Little is
Speaker 1: one of my favorite players, Like he is unreal, But
Speaker 1: I'm just wondering if there's ever gonna be a time
Speaker 1: Little is like what are we doing here? Like it's
Speaker 1: a year after year where a five hundred team or worse,
Speaker 1: and you know, unless Shaden Sharp turns out to be
Speaker 1: this superstar in the next two years, the clock is
Speaker 1: ticking a little. It's like what early thirties at this point.
Speaker 1: You know, he's had some injury history the last couple
Speaker 1: of years. Like I just I'm with you. I don't
Speaker 1: know exactly what their players And I I actually kind of
Speaker 1: tried to pick Joe Cronin's brain on this at Summer
Speaker 1: League briefly when they announced the Lilid extension. And I
Speaker 1: still don't get it. I still don't know what the
Speaker 1: plan is except to be competitive and to make Damian
Speaker 1: Little the face of that competitiveness. It just it does.
Speaker 1: And I come, look, I'm from Boston, so I've I've
Speaker 1: grown up in journalism around Danny h and Danny always
Speaker 1: operated with the same kind of mindset, like you're either
Speaker 1: really good or you're really bad. There should not be
Speaker 1: any in between. What is the point of just making
Speaker 1: the playoffs? Like what who gains anything out of that?
Speaker 1: And that's how he's conducted himself during his time as
Speaker 1: executive including it right now, just gutting that that Jazz
Speaker 1: team before the deadline. So I don't Maybe it's because
Speaker 1: Portland's a smaller market, Maybe this is what Lillard wants,
Speaker 1: But just being like a playoff contender year after year
Speaker 1: with one of the great players of this generation just
Speaker 1: doesn't make any sense. Yeah, they've been healthy and bad
Speaker 1: for a long time. Um, that's the thing. This year
Speaker 1: healthy healthy, Like, you know, they haven't had significant remember
Speaker 1: looking this up, you know a couple of weeks ago
Speaker 1: where like most of their starting guys or minute high
Speaker 1: minutes players that played forty plus games like Lillard was
Speaker 1: in the mid thirties at that point. But they can't
Speaker 1: point to like, oh, if this guy came back, they'd
Speaker 1: be a lot better, or that they've been healthy and
Speaker 1: they've have been a middling team. Yeah. I was looking
Speaker 1: at the date of the other day and it was
Speaker 1: like Dame Anfrey Simons and uh Jeremy Grant all on
Speaker 1: the floor at the same time, and they were barely
Speaker 1: positive this season, which is just insane. He deserves he
Speaker 1: deserves to be like and look, he never do this
Speaker 1: because he is so committed to that city, so committed
Speaker 1: to that organization. But I just hate to see a
Speaker 1: situation where he's like thirty six and not at the
Speaker 1: level he used to be, kind of hoisting jump shots
Speaker 1: in Portland. Like, I just he deserves better because he
Speaker 1: is one of the generation's great talents. Me too, man,
Speaker 1: that would be so sad um, but bonus points for
Speaker 1: the Star Wars reference. Chris, You're someone I've respected for
Speaker 1: a very long time. I had so much fun talking
Speaker 1: basketball with you today. I sincerely appreciate you hopping on
Speaker 1: The show Man anytime. Jason the Volume