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Speaker 1: The volume. This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What

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Speaker 1: is up Straight Fire, Fam, It's me Jason McIntyre, Straight

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Speaker 1: Fire for thus for Thursday, June thirtieth. I'm very excited.

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Speaker 1: As you can tell, I'm tongue tied. NBA free agency

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Speaker 1: is nearly upon us. And what we're gonna do here

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Speaker 1: on today's pod, We're gonna break down what I think

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Speaker 1: are the five biggest storylines heading into free agency. And

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Speaker 1: wouldn't you know it, Dame Lillard is not at the

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Speaker 1: top of my list. I know a lot of other

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Speaker 1: people have him at theirs. We've talked about Dave mad

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Speaker 1: nauseum at this juncture today, this moment as we record

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Speaker 1: here on you know, Wednesday evening, I do not think

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Speaker 1: Dame is going anywhere. I think he stays in Portland. Hey,

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Speaker 1: his choice, his career, his legacy. As the kids like

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Speaker 1: to say. All right, so I'm gonna start by tossing out,

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Speaker 1: We'll count down from five to one, Okay, and number one,

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Speaker 1: obviously he's the biggest dominoa fallen free agency. I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: start at number five and I'm gonna pick one of

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Speaker 1: Rob G's favorite teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and this

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Speaker 1: guy I would not have thought to put in as

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Speaker 1: a big name in free agency, but given the momentum

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Speaker 1: coming off that incredible playoff run where I think he

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Speaker 1: averaged like twenty one points a game against the Nuggets

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Speaker 1: in that four game sweep, shot fifty six percent from three,

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Speaker 1: did not miss a free throw fifteen to fifteen. Like

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Speaker 1: Austin Reeves value is sky high. I know they got swept,

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Speaker 1: but he was good against Memphis, good against the Warriors.

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Speaker 1: He is a you know, combo guard, Austin Reeves. Austin

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Speaker 1: Reeves the fifth most important player in free agency. And

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Speaker 1: why would he be fifth? Well, consider the Lakers Lebron

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Speaker 1: ad and that a whole lot of what ruiy Hachi Mora,

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Speaker 1: that ain't it. We don't know if d Angela Russell's

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Speaker 1: coming back. Personally, I would go with Max Struzer game,

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Speaker 1: but the Lakers seem to be hot for D'Angelo Russell.

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Speaker 1: But Reeves is instrumental. You've got a young guy who

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Speaker 1: is gonna get paid by the Lakers, and now they

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Speaker 1: have to worry about teams with cap space jumping in

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Speaker 1: and driving up his price. There's a lot of chatter

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Speaker 1: Austin Reeves could be a ninety eight million dollar man.

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Speaker 1: Do the Houston Rockets, Yeah, the same Houston Rockets who

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Speaker 1: are looking at Dylan Brooks and have like seven guys

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Speaker 1: under the age of twenty three. Yeah, they're in the

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Speaker 1: market for Austin Reeves. But maybe. And then the San

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Speaker 1: Antonio Spurs. Popovich has always had, you know, a friendly

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Speaker 1: feud with the Lakers, and would he like to tweak

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Speaker 1: them by saying, Hey, we're gonna Austin offer Austin Reeves

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Speaker 1: four years ninety eight mil. And then you get that

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Speaker 1: heavy on the back end where he's making thirty million

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Speaker 1: a year. I know Rob g is worried about this,

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Speaker 1: but Rob, I'm gonna point this out to you. I

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Speaker 1: called up the highest paid players in the NBA, the

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Speaker 1: highest cap hits for twenty twenty three. Even if you

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Speaker 1: give Austin Reeves twenty four million dollars a year and

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Speaker 1: his capt is twenty four mil, that doesn't even place

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Speaker 1: him in the top forty five among players next year. Okay,

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Speaker 1: guys who even if you give Austin Reeves four years

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Speaker 1: ninety eight mil, will be making more bigger cap hit

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Speaker 1: than Austin Reeves. We'll start with Gordon Hayward. Yeah, Gordon Hayward,

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Speaker 1: I mean hasn't been a factor for years. Thirty one

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Speaker 1: and a half mil cap hit. Next year, Kyle Lowry,

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Speaker 1: he's certainly washed. He's good for fifteen minutes. He's no.

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Speaker 1: Austin Reeves, not at the stage in his career, twenty

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Speaker 1: nine point six million. I go down the list. I

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Speaker 1: see John Collins, new member of the Utah Jazz twenty

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Speaker 1: five mil. Now, he'll give you stats, but they're they're now.

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Speaker 1: They don't really mean a whole heck of a lot.

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Speaker 1: I like John Collins, and I don't think it's a

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Speaker 1: bad move for Utah. But like, if Austin Reeves gets

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Speaker 1: the John Collins contract, I got no problem with it.

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Speaker 1: I keep going down the list. I see scary Terry

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Speaker 1: Rose year twenty three point eight million dollar cap hit.

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Speaker 1: I see Malcolm Brogdon fifty fifth biggest cap hit next

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Speaker 1: year twenty two point five million. Folk, What are we

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Speaker 1: doing here? You're telling me Austin Reeves isn't in a

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Speaker 1: caliber of those guys. He had a tremendous playoff run.

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Speaker 1: I'm just telling you, Rob Lakers better not lose Austin Reeves.

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Speaker 1: Under any circumstances, I mostly agree with you. Now.

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Speaker 2: If it was me and it's not my money, obviously,

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Speaker 2: i'd give Austinary whatever he wants. As soon as free

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Speaker 2: agency opens here in about forty eight hours, I'm offering

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Speaker 2: him the max they can offer, which is about four

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Speaker 2: years fifty I don't think he's gonna take it, because,

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Speaker 2: like you said, I believe somebody like the San Antonio

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Speaker 2: Spurs is going to come in over the top with

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Speaker 2: that four years, one hundred million dollars. And the only

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Speaker 2: reason why I would have a little little bit of hesitancy.

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Speaker 2: I'd probably still do it, but I wouldn't be as

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Speaker 2: happy about it is I fully expect that Lebron James

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Speaker 2: will be gone at you know, most two years from now.

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Speaker 2: If he plays this year, maybe one more year after that,

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Speaker 2: I'd be shocked if it's.

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Speaker 1: Beyond wait, gone from the Lakers or gone from.

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Speaker 2: Me, gone from the Lakers, gone from the Lakers period.

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Speaker 2: You know, if judge you by his Instagram stories, he

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Speaker 2: could be going to the Atlanta Hawks with the son Brownie.

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Speaker 2: We don't know, you know, we'll see what happens. But look,

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Speaker 2: if Lebron's not here, the Lakers are not in the

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Speaker 2: business of draft and develop. We've talked about that's not

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Speaker 2: their identity, that's never has been. They are a free

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Speaker 2: agent destination or swing big and make trades. If you're

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Speaker 2: coming in to the post Lebron James era and Austin

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Speaker 2: Reeves is making thirty plus million dollars a season, that

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Speaker 2: really hamstrings you in free agency with who you can

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Speaker 2: make the next guy, whether it's future Laker Jason Tatum,

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Speaker 2: future Laker Jalen Brown, you know, Trey Young, whoever, pick

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Speaker 2: whatever guy you want. That's the only that makes me

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Speaker 2: concerned is I believe Austin Reeves is fantastic as your

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Speaker 2: third best player, you can do a little bit of everything.

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Speaker 2: He was what's seventeen four and four in the playoffs

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Speaker 2: on forty six, forty four, ninety shooting splitz like he

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Speaker 2: was incredible. But if I'm paying you thirty million dollars

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Speaker 2: and I got Anthony Davis for fifty million, We'll say,

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Speaker 2: is it's really hard to build out the rest of

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Speaker 2: the roster and get that next star player what you're

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Speaker 2: gonna need in the post Lebron era.

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Speaker 1: I understand you're thinking ahead and your concern for three

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Speaker 1: or four years down the road. Yes, that's you're a

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Speaker 1: future GM rob smart thinking ahead. But I think the

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Speaker 1: reality of the NBA, just as we're seeing with Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brown and the Celtics, get the guy the money now,

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Speaker 1: lock him in and worry about the rest later. And

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Speaker 1: that's assuming you have to. You got to keep Austin Reeves.

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Speaker 1: And you know what, if he's a thirty million and

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Speaker 1: Lebron's gone, I think you figure it out then. And

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Speaker 1: you know what you might be figuring out with another

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Speaker 1: title if Austin Reeves could be that third best player

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Speaker 1: next year, Hey, that's a bit of a leap. But nevertheless,

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Speaker 1: let's go to the number four most pivotal free agency

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Speaker 1: guy to be on the move potentially next week, and

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Speaker 1: that'll be Fred van Vliet. Yes, I do believe FVV.

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Speaker 1: You down with FVV Yeah you know me looll old

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Speaker 1: school rap there for you, Freddie van Vliet. I'm just

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Speaker 1: telling you guys right now. I think there are teams

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Speaker 1: where he goes in and instantly improves the team by

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Speaker 1: like a five to six win pace. Some of the

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Speaker 1: teams he could put over the top. Now, I don't

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Speaker 1: like the idea of Houston at all. I just think

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Speaker 1: that's a waste of time and space for Freddy van Vliet.

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Speaker 1: I don't think the Spurs is awful. I know that

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Speaker 1: as we've talked about the Popovich stuff. You know, he

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Speaker 1: made some comments in twenty nineteen like that's water under

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Speaker 1: the bridge. We're grown ups. It's four years later. We've

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Speaker 1: got a new objective. Fred van Vliet, Victor Wabin Yama,

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Speaker 1: Keldon Johnson, blah blah blah. Maybe we win thirty five

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Speaker 1: games when we're frisky, who knows, we get to the

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Speaker 1: play in. I think Freddy van Vliet's not a bad

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Speaker 1: move to the Spurs. Obviously, you if you're the Raptors,

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Speaker 1: you'd love to see him go west And here's the

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Speaker 1: team rob that I haven't heard mentioned, but I'm just

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Speaker 1: putting it out there because yesterday we talked with Ian

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Speaker 1: Begley about Paul George being on the move. Well they

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Speaker 1: didn't get Chris Paul the Clippers. If Paul George is

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Speaker 1: on the move and they only want to bring back

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Speaker 1: Westbrook on the cheap, Freddy van Vliet and the Clippers

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Speaker 1: makes a whole lot of sense. Oh my goodness, Fred

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Speaker 1: you know he's gonna play and show up Unike Kawhi

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Speaker 1: and Paul George, and then you surround him with the

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Speaker 1: ancillary pieces. Norm Powell's a nice player. I think Fred

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Speaker 1: van Vliet, if you're asking me, I know this is crazy.

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Speaker 1: Who would you rather have? Twenty nine year old Fred

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Speaker 1: van Vliet? Who you know? I think he's no time

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Speaker 1: All Star. I don't know, Rob, you can check me

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Speaker 1: on that. He's never been an All NBA guy. But

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Speaker 1: I'm just telling you as a number two or number

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Speaker 1: three player, that dude is instrumental. I listen, he's a

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Speaker 1: veteran point guard. He's a steadying presence. I'm telling you

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Speaker 1: right now, I'd rather have him been over D'Angelo Russell

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Speaker 1: in a heartbeat. I trust him more than Kyrie Irving.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we're talking about the Sixers giving James Harden,

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Speaker 1: you know, backing up the brinks more. He's got to

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Speaker 1: get his guy. I'm just telling you right now, Rob,

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Speaker 1: I like Fred Van Vliet. I trust him. I know

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Speaker 1: he's a diminutive point guard, but he plays defense, high

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Speaker 1: IQ player, a good three point shooter. I like Fred

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Speaker 1: Van Vliet a lot.

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Speaker 2: I like Fred Revliet a lot too. And one time

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Speaker 2: All Star Fred van Vliet one time thank you update

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Speaker 2: that was in twenty twenty two, this past season actually,

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Speaker 2: or two seasons ago. The Fred van Vliet, He's gonna

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Speaker 2: be an interesting situation because unlike most of the guys

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Speaker 2: who usually hit free agency at you know, nearing age

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Speaker 2: thirty or right around age thirty, he's already got his championship.

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Speaker 2: So he's not gonna be one of these guys who's

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Speaker 2: gonna I would assume, say, oh, well, I don't want

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Speaker 2: to go here because I want to win, or I

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Speaker 2: don't want to go there because they're not really close

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Speaker 2: to contention. I believe he's just gonna try to cash

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Speaker 2: in as best he can, whether that's staying in Toronto

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Speaker 2: or going somewhere else. And the problem is, if you

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Speaker 2: look at the teams with cap space, the top five,

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Speaker 2: who you would assume have enough money to get him.

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Speaker 2: Number five Detroit piss the already got a point guard.

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Speaker 2: Number four Neanda Pacers, they already got a point guard.

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Speaker 2: Then you're left with Spurs, Jazz Rockets. If I'm san Antonio,

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Speaker 2: I don't know if I just earmark them for Austin Reeves.

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Speaker 2: I don't know if getting fred Van Vliet at age

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Speaker 2: thirty makes a whole lot of a sense if I

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Speaker 2: got Victor Winn Binyama moving forward, you know what I mean.

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Speaker 2: I think I'd rather have a younger player to grow

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Speaker 2: with him so that only he leaves two teams. And

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Speaker 2: if I'm Fred VanVleet, what I expect he's gonna get

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Speaker 2: is somewhere in the neighborhood of two years seventy two

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Speaker 2: years eighty, which sounds obscene to me considering that he's

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Speaker 2: a one time All Star. But I keep coming back

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Speaker 2: to the Houston Rockets and their desperation to just be

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Speaker 2: relevant and no longer be the worst team in the NBA.

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Speaker 2: I could see them overpaying in a big way to

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Speaker 2: get Fred Vanvliet and pair him with a I don't know,

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Speaker 2: like a Dylan Brooks or a brook Lopez, somebody like that,

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Speaker 2: just in an effort to be mediocre. So I think

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Speaker 2: he's gonna be headed somewhere in Texas here in a

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Speaker 2: couple of days.

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Speaker 1: Just so many cooks in that Houston kitchen, Jalen Green

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Speaker 1: in the backcourt, Kevin Porter, who they're paying handsomely in

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Speaker 1: the backcourt. You got one of the Thompson Twins you

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Speaker 1: just picked up. He's kind of a wing backcourt player. Like,

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Speaker 1: I don't know how you got to wonder about that

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Speaker 1: fraction in the locker room, old guy Fred van Vliet,

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Speaker 1: and then all these young pups who are who are

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Speaker 1: trying to make something of their of their NBA career

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Speaker 1: when they're like twenty one to twenty three. Feels clunky.

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Speaker 1: But but you're right, the Rockets are gonna spend money.

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Speaker 1: So number three on my list, Number five was Ree's.

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Speaker 1: Number four was Fred van Vliet. Number three, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: go with Chris Middleton of the Bucks. By all accounts,

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Speaker 1: he is a declining player. The injuries have really caught

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Speaker 1: up with Chris Middleton in these last two years. I mean,

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Speaker 1: he played thirty three games last year, sixty six the

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Speaker 1: year prior, and the numbers have just cratered. He averaged

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Speaker 1: fifteen points a game last year, shot thirty one percent

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Speaker 1: from three, the worst of his career dating back to

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Speaker 1: his rookie year. That being said, you have to wonder

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Speaker 1: how many guys out there in the league are like,

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Speaker 1: you know what, we could use just that steadying force,

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Speaker 1: a veteran presence, a guy who's been through some postseason wars.

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Speaker 1: Let's go get Chris Middleton, and you know what, we

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Speaker 1: don't have to pay a ton of money because he

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Speaker 1: opted out of I believe forty mil. So he's probably

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Speaker 1: looking at let's see here, Middleton is what thirty two?

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Speaker 1: He's thirty one, third thirty two next month or in August.

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Speaker 1: So talking about Chris, we'll give you three years ninety mil.

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Speaker 1: Do you think you would go for that? Rob? I

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Speaker 1: mean three years ninety mil locked in? And guess what

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Speaker 1: if I'm say the Sacramento Kings, who were not done

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Speaker 1: talking about is that an appealing small forward to fill

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Speaker 1: in for Harrison Barnes? If I'm Chris Middleton, I mean,

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Speaker 1: I don't see it happening. But would the Miami Heat

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Speaker 1: be interested? They don't appear to be going in on

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Speaker 1: Dame Lillard like Chris Middleton feels like the Andrew Wiggins

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Speaker 1: type move like a little bit older. It feels like

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Speaker 1: the Aaron Gordon type move. Man Middleton was really good

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Speaker 1: as your three in Milwaukee, but that team got old

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Speaker 1: quickly and kind of fell apart. Can we make Chris

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Speaker 1: Middleton our third guy and try to get something interesting

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Speaker 1: We've heard some Carl Anthony Towns chatter in the Milwaukee neighborhood.

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Speaker 1: What about some sign and trade. Chris Middleton goes to Minnesota,

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Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns goes to Milwaukee, and now you got

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Speaker 1: the Cat Yannis combo, and then Middleton is playing along

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Speaker 1: inside Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards. I don't know, I'm

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Speaker 1: just speculating, but I think Chris Middleton almost a bit

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Speaker 1: undervalued because he was injured and missed a lot of time. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: the medicals have to check out, but Rob, it's weird.

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Speaker 1: I was never the biggest Chris Middleton fan, and he

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Speaker 1: had a couple good playoffs series, and it's like, is

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Speaker 1: he almost undervalued?

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Speaker 2: Now?

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Speaker 1: Yeah?

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Speaker 2: And you know what, I actually in that same line

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Speaker 2: of thinking, I will disagree with you because I believe

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Speaker 2: Chris Middleton should be number one on your list, because,

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Speaker 2: as you mentioned, Sacramento is a team that's lurking out there,

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Speaker 2: that is had a taste of postseasons because as they're

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Speaker 2: desperate to get to that next level, whatever they think

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Speaker 2: that is, whether it's the second round, Western Finals, whatever

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Speaker 2: they want to be in that situation. So I could

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Speaker 2: see them throwing a huge bag Chris Middleton or cobbling

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Speaker 2: up together a bunch of other guys and making up

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Speaker 2: that thirty million dollar plus that they got available to him.

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Speaker 2: But the reason why I think Chris Middleton is so

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Speaker 2: important is his decision could have a huge impact on

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Speaker 2: Jannis and into Goopo. Giannis is up for an extension,

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Speaker 2: I believe in September coming up where he can where

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Speaker 2: he can extend off of the twenty twenty five season.

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Speaker 2: If you look at their cap sheet in Milwaukee, Chris Middleton,

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Speaker 2: we don't know to be determined. Drew Holliday has already

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Speaker 2: gone on record, that's saying he is going to retire

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Speaker 2: when his contract is up in two more seasons. Okay,

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Speaker 2: Brook Lopez is thirty five. He has a history of injuries.

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Speaker 2: Bobby Portois is a very good, very good role player.

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Speaker 2: You know, he at his best is probably a sixth man,

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Speaker 2: seventh man type guy. I like him, but that's just

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Speaker 2: what he is. Grace and Allan, nothing to right home about.

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Speaker 2: Joe Engles thirty five, Pat Connotton is thirty making ten

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Speaker 2: million dollars. Like you go down the list and they

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Speaker 2: don't have any up and coming guys. They don't have

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Speaker 2: any other dudes who are entering their prime or in

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Speaker 2: their prime outside of Jannis Middleton and Drew, and Drew's

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Speaker 2: going to retire. So if they can't keep Chris Middleton,

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Speaker 2: you better start keeping an eye on all these teams

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Speaker 2: in Miami and LA and New York and Golden State

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Speaker 2: even and watch how quickly they start clearing cap space

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Speaker 2: for the summer of twenty twenty five because Giannies and

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Speaker 2: Ntokompo could be available. And if I'm him and they

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Speaker 2: don't have Middleton, I know Holliday is retiring. I have

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Speaker 2: no reason to stay in Milwaukee. They're not a free

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Speaker 2: agent destination. The only way you're gonna get big name

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Speaker 2: players is via trade. And you saw what they had

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Speaker 2: to give up to get Drew Holliday. So I don't

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Speaker 2: know what their big situation looks like, but if Chris

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Speaker 2: Middleton does not stay in Milwaukee, that's gonna send shock

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Speaker 2: waves through the NBA for the next year, a couple

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Speaker 2: of years.

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Speaker 1: It's interesting. I just started to think about it when

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Speaker 1: you said it. So howards Milwaukee built, so they traded

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Speaker 1: for Middleton, who was drafted by Detroit Brook Lopez was

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Speaker 1: brought in via trade and Drew Holliday was brought in

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Speaker 1: via trade, So you gotta be savvy. And I think

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Speaker 1: a new ownership or one of the owners is now out.

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Speaker 1: And yeah, some people are wondering did he get out

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Speaker 1: because the future does not look bright salary cap wise,

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Speaker 1: the Middleton being a big domino in Milwaukee is huge.

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Speaker 1: I wonder if they retain him, that probably means brook

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Speaker 1: Lopez is gone unless brook Lopez is willing to take

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Speaker 1: less to stay in Milwaukee in a contender Travis Kelce style,

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Speaker 1: or would Brook Lopez say, you know what, I want

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Speaker 1: to chase that final bag. I'm gonna go to Xyz.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean. And the thing is what these guys

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Speaker 2: all have in common, and similar to Fred van Vliet,

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Speaker 2: they have their championships. So if you're brook Lopez and

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Speaker 2: he made a lot of money, I believe in Brooklyn.

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Speaker 2: But after that there was a time where he was

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Speaker 2: a you know, taxpayer exception kind of a guy. When

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Speaker 2: he was the Lakers think they got him for like

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Speaker 2: five million dollars. So if I'm him, why would I

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Speaker 2: want to take a discount to stay in Milwaukee. I'd

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Speaker 2: want to stay in Milwaukee. But I'm not going to

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Speaker 2: take half of what I can get on the open market,

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Speaker 2: you know what I mean. So this is going to

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Speaker 2: be a big summer for Milwaukee. Dude.

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Speaker 1: All right, So let's get to number two. It's actually

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Speaker 1: not a player, it's a team, the Sacramento Kings. The

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Speaker 1: Sacramento Kings the second biggest storyline in free agency. Why

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Speaker 1: is that? Because the teams with the most capped room

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Speaker 1: were the Rockets and the Spurs. They stink. They could

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Speaker 1: be decent, but they largely stink. Twenty two wins I

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Speaker 1: think for each of them. The Sacramento Kings were the

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Speaker 1: third seed in the West. They pushed the Warriors to

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Speaker 1: seven games. It took a Curry fifty point bomb in

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Speaker 1: Game seven to knock the Kings out. Given some of

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Speaker 1: the draft day machinations and the ability to dump Parrison Barnes,

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Speaker 1: the Kings all of a sudden. As Rob said, thirty

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Speaker 1: plus million dollars in free agency. Now, we've touched on

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Speaker 1: it a couple of times here on the pod since

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Speaker 1: the draft. Thirty mili you can do a lot with that.

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Speaker 1: A couple players that they could be looking at now.

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Speaker 1: I don't think Grant Williams is the thirty million a

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Speaker 1: year guy, but he is not a bad option you

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Speaker 1: stretch for alongside Sabonis. I mean you're looking at like

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Speaker 1: a Grant Williams who can defend centers, Sabonis, Fox, Monk Herd,

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Speaker 1: her Off Night. Like they got so many dudes, Grant

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Speaker 1: Williams would be a good fit. And I think there's

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Speaker 1: probably a war where they signed Grant Williams and Keith

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Speaker 1: Harrison Barnes. But other guys that could interest him, Jeremy

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Speaker 1: Grant in Portland. We'll see what happens with Dame. But

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Speaker 1: Jeremy Grant really ideal three and d Wing and you know,

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Speaker 1: we like to look at who's the best player. Can

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Speaker 1: you be a number one on a team and number two?

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Speaker 1: I would say Fox is the one, some Bonus the

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Speaker 1: two and folks Keegan Murray, Keegan Murray the three or

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Speaker 1: would it be Jeremy Grant because Keigan Murray is a

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Speaker 1: very good player they got out. Jeremy Grant could fit.

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Speaker 1: You could go small, although I will say the idea

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Speaker 1: of a center is appealing given Jokic is hanging out

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Speaker 1: in the West and another name besides Grant Williams besides

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Speaker 1: Jeremy Grant. Brook Lopez, who we touched on from the Bucks. Hey, Brook,

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Speaker 1: come and defend the rim, Come and defend Jokic and oh,

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Speaker 1: by the way, on offense, you just have to step

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Speaker 1: out and hit threes pretty easy. Like that's not about

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Speaker 1: if I'm brook Lopez. I don't know he feels about

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Speaker 1: going to Sacramento. He did go to Stanford. I don't

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Speaker 1: know if he's a California guy or not, but brook

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Speaker 1: Lopez could be a valuable piece for the Kings. A

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Speaker 1: couple others. Kyle Kuzma, Kuzmania, you know, kind of been

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Speaker 1: you know, in the wilderness since the Lakers kicked him

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Speaker 1: to the curb. He was in Washington, put up good numbers. Uh,

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Speaker 1: Kuzma is still a very valuable wing. I know people

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Speaker 1: think he's like, oh, he's got the dyed hair. He

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Speaker 1: was dating the supermodels. He's like a stylish fashion guy. Yo,

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Speaker 1: look at the stats from Kuzma last year. He was

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Speaker 1: a very good all around player. I don't know, he

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Speaker 1: could be instant energy sixth man. Maybe you could start

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Speaker 1: him at the four with Sabonis at the five, and

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Speaker 1: you could go some small ball Keegan Murray and KU's

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Speaker 1: at the forward positions like they've got options. I'm just

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Speaker 1: telling you this sacrament Of Kings team is dangerous. I'm

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Speaker 1: already on record that I believe the Kings are ahead

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Speaker 1: of the Warriors next year in the West. They already

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Speaker 1: were last year. So people are like, well, what does

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Speaker 1: that mean. Well, again, Warriors got to the second round

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Speaker 1: beat him. But I think we would all agree Rob

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Speaker 1: the Nuggets and the Suns are in a different stratosphere.

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Speaker 1: The next one is crowded and muddled Minnesota, Memphis Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Warriors.

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Speaker 1: I think right now the Sacramento Kings are positioned to

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Speaker 1: be out of that tier and not quite in the

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Speaker 1: Nugget Sun's tier, but bumping up against it with the

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Speaker 1: right move. With just thirty million dollars.

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Speaker 2: They're in a position to make a huge splash because

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Speaker 2: they could either, as you said, throw it all at

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Speaker 2: one guy like a Jeremy Grant or whatever, or this

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Speaker 2: is what I would do. I would split it up

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Speaker 2: and like you said, men get it. Kyle Kuzma, maybe

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Speaker 2: bring back Harrison Barnes, get both of them at eighteen

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Speaker 2: million a year. And however, Manlon you want to do it.

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Speaker 2: But what people are forgetting is that because they are

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Speaker 2: a cap space team, they're gonna have access to another exception,

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Speaker 2: which are worked like seven and a half. For my money,

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Speaker 2: you could probably get Grant William for like seven and

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Speaker 2: a half. Like there are other dudes you could bring

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Speaker 2: in that are big bodies to take some of the

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Speaker 2: wearing too office the bonus, because what we saw in

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Speaker 2: the playoffs is defense is not really his bag. He

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Speaker 2: likes to more of a finesse type of player. And

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Speaker 2: that's fine because he's really good. But if you're gonna

424
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,840
Speaker 2: go through the Western Conference and go through Jokic and

425
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,920
Speaker 2: Anthony Davis and for now even DeAndre Ayden, you're gonna

426
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:17,399
Speaker 2: need a little bit more size than what they have.

427
00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:20,400
Speaker 2: They just gave away with Sean Holmes. Maybe you throw

428
00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,000
Speaker 2: that seven million at ground with Maybe you throw the

429
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,640
Speaker 2: seven million at one of the plumb leaves. Right, you know,

430
00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:29,400
Speaker 2: nothing to write home about. But suddenly your team is eight, nine,

431
00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,720
Speaker 2: ten guys deep. And that's something that Phoenix can't say

432
00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,440
Speaker 2: to be determined on Denver because they're probably gonna lose

433
00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:39,440
Speaker 2: Bruce Brown. Hell, you can go get Bruce Brown from Denver. Yeah,

434
00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,120
Speaker 2: I'm saying you could is. Yeah, they have so many

435
00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:46,800
Speaker 2: different avenues they can go down, and whether it's one guy,

436
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,840
Speaker 2: whether it's three guys. They are one of those teams

437
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,000
Speaker 2: that's really gonna determine a lot of what happens in

438
00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:54,960
Speaker 2: free agency, because I don't think they're gonna be like

439
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,720
Speaker 2: Houston or Houston specifically, who's gonna throw forty plus million

440
00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,840
Speaker 2: at one guy. I could see that really cherry picking

441
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:02,560
Speaker 2: whoever they want.

442
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,320
Speaker 1: It's interesting you say two guys and they could be

443
00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:07,520
Speaker 1: ten deep. I just remember in that Game seven, rob

444
00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,800
Speaker 1: So they have a four four man backcourt, Fox Monk

445
00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:17,359
Speaker 1: Herder and off Night Davion Mitchell. Obviously, for whatever reason,

446
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,560
Speaker 1: Mike Brown decided to go with I think it was

447
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,720
Speaker 1: Terrence Davis in Game seven, and he played heavy minutes

448
00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,080
Speaker 1: and they reduced minutes from other guys, and it was like,

449
00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:27,040
Speaker 1: I don't really know about this move, but I think

450
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,600
Speaker 1: what he was showing was they can be flexible and

451
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,240
Speaker 1: go heavy guards as opposed to heavy bigs. And I

452
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,480
Speaker 1: know people are rolling their eyes Sacramento Kings, who cares.

453
00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,760
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, if you're asking me, Jay, who you

454
00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:38,880
Speaker 1: put money on when you go to Vegas X month

455
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:40,600
Speaker 1: to sign up for the gambling contest, who you put

456
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,040
Speaker 1: money on to win the title with the right moves.

457
00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,000
Speaker 1: I got some money on Sacramento. I already hit their

458
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,480
Speaker 1: overtotal last year. You guys were all over that. We were.

459
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:49,720
Speaker 1: I mean, I gave that out on the Herd after

460
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,440
Speaker 1: I gave it out on this podcast. If you didn't

461
00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,159
Speaker 1: hit it, I mean, come on, guys, that was felt good. Listen,

462
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,919
Speaker 1: We're in a new era. The Warriors they're on the

463
00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,479
Speaker 1: down tip. Meanwhile the Sacramento Kings are on the uptick.

464
00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,480
Speaker 1: I would say the final number one ranked player in

465
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,640
Speaker 1: free agency. I know everybody's like Dame Dame dam No, Nope, nope,

466
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,240
Speaker 1: no no, James Harden Nope, nope, nope, nope. Don't no

467
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:15,720
Speaker 1: think he stays in Philly. Kyrie Irving, my guy, Kyrie Irving.

468
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,600
Speaker 1: You guys remember back in the day Jason went out.

469
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,760
Speaker 1: We thought Kyrie Irving was so cool. He bought that

470
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:26,200
Speaker 1: burnt Orange Calves throwback. I was. I loved Uncle Drew.

471
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,320
Speaker 1: I thought that movie was fun. I like the commercials.

472
00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,520
Speaker 1: I liked Kyrie Irving at one point. Then he kind

473
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,800
Speaker 1: of went off the rails and he lost me. But

474
00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:36,680
Speaker 1: Rob I have him number one because it's something. Wold

475
00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:43,280
Speaker 1: reported on Wednesday that Kyrie Irving cares about guaranteed years,

476
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,960
Speaker 1: not dollars. That is a big red flag to me,

477
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 1: as if to say, hey, Dallas, if you don't give

478
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,280
Speaker 1: me the four thinking now for him the most, If

479
00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,480
Speaker 1: you don't give me the four guaranteed years, I'm gonna

480
00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,879
Speaker 1: look around and maybe take two from someone else. That

481
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:00,679
Speaker 1: that's the vibe I got.

482
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:00,840
Speaker 2: Now.

483
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:02,840
Speaker 1: I could be way wrong. That's fine, I've been wrong before.

484
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:06,840
Speaker 1: You hit you miss whatever. I'm just saying, the fact

485
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,199
Speaker 1: that this is coming out from WOJ makes me wonder

486
00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:13,120
Speaker 1: if Kyrie says, listen, if I know the MAVs don't

487
00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:15,399
Speaker 1: want to offer me for because of my recent history,

488
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,600
Speaker 1: well guess what. I'm not taking anything less than the

489
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,080
Speaker 1: most you can give me. And if you can't do that,

490
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,280
Speaker 1: well then I guess I gotta go look at the Lakers.

491
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,199
Speaker 1: And I don't really know Robbing Other than the MAVs

492
00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,439
Speaker 1: and the Lakers. Is there any landing spot anywhere for

493
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:36,280
Speaker 1: Kyrie Irving? Can we say, is Miami crazy enough to

494
00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,320
Speaker 1: try to rain him into heat culture? Would Yannis be

495
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:43,240
Speaker 1: desperate enough to add Kyrie Irving. I just don't know

496
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,919
Speaker 1: where he fits. So this feels like rob one of

497
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:49,080
Speaker 1: these nuclear scenarios where if he doesn't get the four

498
00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,960
Speaker 1: years that Dallas can offer him and guaranteed money, he's

499
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,920
Speaker 1: going to go to anybody who offers him less.

500
00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,399
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, he really could. I mean Kyrie, there's a

501
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:00,960
Speaker 2: reason why though I didn't believe it, but there's a

502
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 2: reason why people were saying he's considering opting out of

503
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,440
Speaker 2: his deal in Brooklyn and taking the Lakers exception six

504
00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,240
Speaker 2: million dollars right, Like, I thought that was crazy, But

505
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,439
Speaker 2: people who do this for a living and are in

506
00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:17,439
Speaker 2: the business of reporting things like no, this is actually

507
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,480
Speaker 2: out there. I don't know if he'll do it, but

508
00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:22,760
Speaker 2: this is like Kyrie is that kind of crazy, if

509
00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:24,960
Speaker 2: you want to put it that way. What makes this

510
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,640
Speaker 2: one so interesting is it could backfire no matter what

511
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:31,840
Speaker 2: Dallas does. If they say we're going to give you

512
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:35,200
Speaker 2: everything that you want, the four years, Max, we all

513
00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:37,399
Speaker 2: know that he's capable of burning that up, you know,

514
00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,360
Speaker 2: in six weeks. If they say we're going to give

515
00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:42,240
Speaker 2: you two years with a team option or there's some

516
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:44,720
Speaker 2: kind of stipulation, well, that's the same thing that Brooklyn did,

517
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:46,480
Speaker 2: and it's why he forced a way out of town

518
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,760
Speaker 2: from there. Okay, if you don't offer him and or

519
00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,680
Speaker 2: if you offer him something and he turns it down

520
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,720
Speaker 2: and goes to the Lakers or whatever, what happens to

521
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,320
Speaker 2: Luka Doncic, Like they've had a hard time building out

522
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,120
Speaker 2: a roster around him that fits his skills. And there's

523
00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:04,040
Speaker 2: the reason why they took this swing in the first place,

524
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:05,880
Speaker 2: is because they don't know when they're gonna be able

525
00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,000
Speaker 2: to get a free agent to come to Dallas because

526
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,120
Speaker 2: history says Mark Cuban's not like, that's not his forte

527
00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:14,960
Speaker 2: is getting these free agents and any one of those

528
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,440
Speaker 2: avenues has the potential to completely blow up in their face.

529
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,640
Speaker 2: So it's almost like they're screwed no matter what they do,

530
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:23,280
Speaker 2: you know what I mean.

531
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, Dallas is in a tough spot and it hurts

532
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,320
Speaker 1: me because on a personal level, I'm a huge Luka

533
00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:31,760
Speaker 1: Doncics fan. I think he's one of the best players

534
00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:33,040
Speaker 1: in the league. I said he was the best player

535
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:34,800
Speaker 1: in the league for two years they missed the playoffs.

536
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:36,760
Speaker 1: Like I can't keep pushing that. I could push it

537
00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:38,199
Speaker 1: when they make the conference finals, Like, I can't say

538
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,280
Speaker 1: it if you missed the playoffs. So I've got Kyrie

539
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,679
Speaker 1: Irving number one. Listen. Ideally he stays in Dallas. You know,

540
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,720
Speaker 1: everything works out great and MAVs make a run. But

541
00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:51,160
Speaker 1: there's a scenario I think he If you ask me today,

542
00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:53,600
Speaker 1: who do you feel more confident on, Kyrie Irving or

543
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,000
Speaker 1: Dame Lollard, I would say I think Dame Lollard stays.

544
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,440
Speaker 1: I don't know what Kyrie's gonna do because he's so unpredictable.

545
00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,280
Speaker 1: But as of now, those are my five story lines. Rob,

546
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,840
Speaker 1: did I omit anyone? Should? I have got a Pascal

547
00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,560
Speaker 1: Siakam in there? An og Anerobi, who's basically the new

548
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:10,640
Speaker 1: John Collins, like John Collins has been on the trade

549
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,600
Speaker 1: block for three years and now all I've been here Ognnoby.

550
00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,680
Speaker 1: Everybody wants him Ognanoby, Like, I don't know you would

551
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:17,280
Speaker 1: you put him in here?

552
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:19,879
Speaker 2: Anywhere? No? I mean, well, none of those guys are

553
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:21,960
Speaker 2: free agents, you know, so that makes it tough, especially

554
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:23,639
Speaker 2: because Toronto we have no idea what they're gonna do,

555
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,200
Speaker 2: Like they're kind of stringing this along. Yeah, exactly. The

556
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:28,960
Speaker 2: one I'm surprised you didn't bring up because I know

557
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,160
Speaker 2: you're a big fan of his. Dangela Russell, Oh love him.

558
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,919
Speaker 2: You know he he went from potential he's making what

559
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,440
Speaker 2: thirty plus million this past year. Then during the season

560
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:38,800
Speaker 2: when he had that nice little stretch, it was like,

561
00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:40,399
Speaker 2: well he can get you know, twenty five million a

562
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,320
Speaker 2: year on the open market. Then it was down to

563
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,679
Speaker 2: twenty after the season ended. And now you're hearing reports saying, oh,

564
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:49,679
Speaker 2: don't be surprised if he gets like two years thirty

565
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,000
Speaker 2: because nobody wants to pay him in free agency.

566
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:57,440
Speaker 1: So let me ask you. You you are a Laker guy.

567
00:27:57,680 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 1: D'Angelo Russell says, sorry, I get I'm fine, give me

568
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:04,160
Speaker 1: two years thirty mil. Or you could have Max Struss

569
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,880
Speaker 1: or Gabe Vincent from Miami who have that heat culture,

570
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,760
Speaker 1: who are grinders, who have worked their butt off for

571
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,479
Speaker 1: this day and they say, yeah, give me two for twenty.

572
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:18,480
Speaker 1: Who are you taking. I don't think.

573
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:24,080
Speaker 2: I would take Russell, No, only because the continuity. I'd

574
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,720
Speaker 2: rather have the continuity. It's worth. The ultra five million

575
00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:27,199
Speaker 2: to me is worth.

576
00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:29,440
Speaker 1: So every year when you go to Lakers games, there's

577
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:33,000
Speaker 1: a guy who people are oh gosh, it was Russell

578
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 1: Westbrook last year. For sure, I think it's gonna be

579
00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:40,080
Speaker 1: D'Angelo Russell off. He'saker. There were groans during that. You know.

580
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:42,120
Speaker 1: I went to the game where he played well against

581
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,560
Speaker 1: the Warriors, and I think he had like three threes

582
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:47,479
Speaker 1: in the first like three minutes and they ended up

583
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:49,920
Speaker 1: winning by a blowout. But you know, some of these

584
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:51,640
Speaker 1: other playoff games, you go to them and you're like

585
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,080
Speaker 1: the Minnesota game, he was benched I think at halftime

586
00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:56,800
Speaker 1: or for the fourth quarter. Remember the Minnesota play in game.

587
00:28:57,280 --> 00:28:59,920
Speaker 1: It was like his revenge spot and he was just awful.

588
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,120
Speaker 1: Like bro, stop shooting at this ain't it doesn't hustle

589
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:07,640
Speaker 1: back on d He's a frustrating player. I don't know.

590
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:09,720
Speaker 1: I'm not sure, Rob. It's a bit of a tough

591
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:14,320
Speaker 1: sell for me to think that D'Angelo Russell is gonna

592
00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:15,240
Speaker 1: get thirty million dollars.

593
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:18,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just amazing to me how far his stock

594
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,640
Speaker 2: is plummeted. That to me is most interesting thing.

595
00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess. So, all right, that's a long free

596
00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,120
Speaker 1: agent pot. What do we have thirty minutes? My gosh,

597
00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,880
Speaker 1: all right, enjoy free agency tomorrow. We have a great

598
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,080
Speaker 1: NFL guest ticketed, very excited for that heading into the

599
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:34,680
Speaker 1: holiday weekend. Talk to you tomorrow.