WEBVTT - Mitchell contract is a Cavs MISTAKE, LeBron latest rumors, Darryn Peterson summer league debut 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:16.880 The volume. All right, Well, good hoops to night here 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:18.919 at the volume heavy Wednesday, everybody. I hope all you 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:20.600 guys are having a great week so far. I got 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:22.599 a jampackshow for you guys today. We're gonna be reacting 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:26.239 to some news around the NBA Donavan Mitchell four year, 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:29.000 two hundred and seventy three million dollar extension. I want 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.319 to talk about my thoughts there, as well as a 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:34.319 brief update on the Lebron saga. I want to talk 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:36.320 a little bit about the Philadelphia seventy six ers, who 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:38.440 are getting a lot of buzz in recent days, especially 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.240 as Bob Myers went on the podcast with Rich Paul 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.760 and Max Kellerman and essentially openly made his case for 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:48.360 Lebron to go to Philly. As Lebron's kind of bizarre 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:50.879 free agency continues to play out. I want to talk 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.560 a little bit about the Golden State situation with the 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.960 leverage involving Anthony Davis. Then after that, I want to 0:00:57.040 --> 0:00:59.960 talk about Darren Peterson's first couple of games in Summerly. 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:03.200 I think that that is a legitimate data point worth 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:06.320 considering when we're talking about Darren in his long term development. 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:11.240 He has looked amazing in a higher usage on ball 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.240 roll playing for the Jazz in summer League. Then at 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:16.000 to that as promise, we're going to get to eight 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.240 mail bag questions from around the league. We're in bounce 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:19.800 around with a bunch of other topics. You guys are 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:21.520 the job. Before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:24.199 in O YouTube channel so you don't miss any more 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:26.840 of our videos. We have a goal to get two 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:29.039 one hundred and fifty thousand subs basically by the end 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:31.680 of this week, so we need about eight thousand more. 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:32.920 It would mean a lot to me if you guys 0:01:32.959 --> 0:01:35.720 would scroll down and hit that subscribe button. If you're 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:38.160 already subscribed like this video, sign up for post notifications. 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:40.120 It helps us a lot. This will be our mailbag 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:42.200 for this week. We'll have another mail bag in about 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:44.240 a week or so, so if you want to get 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:47.240 questions into that mail bag, drop them into the full 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:49.840 episodes on YouTube. Right, mail bag colon, write your question. 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:51.720 We get to them in our mail bags throughout the 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.200 rest of the season. A right, let's talk some basketball. 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:57.840 So details of Donovan Mitchell's contract four years, two hundred 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:00.720 and seventy three million dollars and average, you will value 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:05.960 over sixty eight million dollars. And I'm just going to 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:09.920 essentially reiterate what I said after the Calves lost in 0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:15.280 the postseason this past year. I when it comes to 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:18.880 Donovan Mitchell, this was my greatest fear for the Calves 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:22.000 was you were staring down the barrel of this long 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:26.560 extension and Donovan is you know, I think Donovan versus 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:29.360 Jalen Brown is actually a really good kind of framework 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:33.040 to use when you have this discussion. When you're signing 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:37.359 up to pay this much money for a player. I 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:39.680 think there's a certain expectation that you're going to get 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:44.080 a superstar, right like in a legit, bona fide superstar. 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:47.000 But the reality is there just aren't that many guys 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:50.000 like that in the NBA as of right now. I've 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:56.120 got five on my list being just Yannis Jokich, Luca Shay, 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.440 and Victor Weman Yama put him in whatever order you want. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.120 Debate that over the course of the summer, but those 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.160 are the only five guys that I think are like 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:07.280 bona fide top tier superstar talents in the NBA as 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:09.480 of right now. And obviously we've got some young players 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:11.720 that are up and coming and entering into that conversation. 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:14.960 The reality is is that with the way the CBA works, 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:17.600 there will be players that are off of that tier 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:22.079 that sign these types of deals that kind of comes 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.160 with the territory. I've kind of had a similar conversation 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:26.919 when we were talking about Austin Reeves. Everybody wants Austin 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:29.680 Reeves to not make forty million because they don't because 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:31.240 they think it's going to tie up too much money 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:33.120 and they don't think he's worth it. And then you 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.400 forget conveniently that there are a lot of players in 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:39.120 the NBA that make over forty million that just aren't 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.120 that good, Guys like John Moran, Brandon Ingram, players that 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:45.040 Austin Reeves are just like clearly better then, right, And 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:47.840 that's just kind of the reality of the NBA is 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:50.119 a lot of dudes get paid, and that extends even 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:54.440 to the highest levels with these long term extensions. Donovan 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:57.960 Mitchell versus Jalen Brown to me is an interesting example 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:01.480 of when you're off that superstar tier or what caliber 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:05.520 player am I looking for in terms of a person 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.080 that I'm comfortable tying up this kind of money with, 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:12.000 and when I look at Jlen Brown for all the 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:14.960 flaws that exist in his game, and they're they're fair, 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:17.320 and we've talked about them at length over the course 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:19.440 of the last couple of weeks. He's an on an 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:22.640 Island player. There's a lot of like parts of his 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:26.680 game that can struggle over the short sample, right or 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:29.240 over the large sample. Excuse me with the way it 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.719 shows in the data in the in the sense that 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:35.440 the team doesn't necessarily score super well when he's involved. 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:38.400 But there are like two things with Jaylen Brown that 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:42.680 are trump cards for me in that specific conversation. One 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:47.599 and they both involve his his apex athleticism. One is 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:50.160 the fact that no matter what the caliber of the 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:53.080 defense is, I feel like Jaylen Brown can get a 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:57.080 good shot for himself because of his physical tools. Right. 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:00.000 So there's a certain amount of like his game because 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:04.560 immensely valuable in tight space situations at the highest levels 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:06.920 of the NBA playoffs, and I thought he showed that, 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:10.920 especially in his finals MVP in Eastern Conference Finals MVP 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:15.159 run in twenty twenty four. Then you look at it 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:17.680 the defensive end of the four Similarly, one of the 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:21.160 most iconic memories to me of Jalen Brown's career is 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:24.680 picking up Luka Doncic full court in the twenty twenty 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.400 four NBA Finals and doing about as good a job 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:30.880 as we've ever seen an individual defender do on a 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:35.320 superstar talent in a high leverage situation like the NBA Finals. 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:41.320 Jalen Brown brings enough alternative methods to impact winning and 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:45.600 enough physical imposition on the game that I'm comfortable with 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:48.039 paying him that kind of money, even though he's off 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.440 the top tier of superstars. I thought that that was 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:54.920 a relatively lame excuse from Boston in terms of moving 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:58.400 on from him. There were cases to be made. That 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:01.200 was one I didn't understand the life the financial side 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:03.040 of it. I just think I think Jalen Brown's worth 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:06.960 the money. Donovan Mitchell kind of tilts into a type 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:10.039 of player that I don't think is worth this kind 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:14.919 of money. His primary impact as an NBA player is 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:19.279 as a shot creator. Once you get beyond that, there's 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:21.599 not a whole lot else he brings to the table. 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:26.200 He had a miserable off ball scoring postseason. He was 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:30.359 ten for forty six on spot up threes in this 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.320 year's playoff run, just barely over twenty percent. That was 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:36.640 a huge problem for Cleveland throughout the playoffs. He is 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:40.000 not a good defensive player, either on or off the ball. 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:45.440 Donovan Mitchell doesn't bring a lot of impact beyond him 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:48.719 being a shot creator. But then when you did dive 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:52.400 into the shot creation data, he is a good not 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:56.520 great shot creator, and there are a lot of like 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.520 specific metrics with that that stand out, Like when you're 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.360 talking about points per possession metrics. To me, the high 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:04.880 volume pick and roll guys, I want them up over 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:07.680 one point one points per possession including passes. I want 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:11.560 a high level of efficiency from my primary shot creator 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:14.200 and pick and roll Donovan Mitchell is a level below that. 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.840 He's usually in the mid one point oh five territory 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:20.680 as a shot creator and pick and roll including passes. 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.400 I want strong on off data with the way that like, 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:26.520 because again, what is the role of the shot creator? 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.160 Like dating all the way back to the debate that 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:32.880 I had between Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson back before 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:35.160 their playoff series got what was that three years ago 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:38.680 now when they faced off in the playoffs. The main 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.680 thing that I was nitpicky about with Donovan Mitchell's game 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:45.760 is that he's not a good game manager, meaning there's 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.880 a job with a shot creator which goes deeper than 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:52.760 the singular possession, which is it's not about can I 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:56.400 score efficiently for myself or can I get a shot 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:59.440 that I can make. It's more about I'm about to 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:04.000 run or manage sixty to seventy possessions in this game, 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:06.640 either by running ball screens or even just getting the 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.120 ball to the floors versus ball pressure and getting the 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:12.080 ball to the appropriate spot to start the possession right 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:16.240 Like I am an offensive engine, I'm going to command 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:21.160 three four dozen possessions every single game, and I need 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:23.200 to be able to generate not just good shots for 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:26.640 myself but for my team. And that usually manifests in 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:29.880 those points per possession, including passes and pick and roll 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:33.040 being higher than the rest of the players in the league. 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:37.840 That manifests in strong on off data. And one of 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:41.160 the things that is consistently flashed to the surface with 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:44.080 Donovan Mitchell's game is that despite the fact that he 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:47.280 typically hovers in that even in the postseason, in that 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:50.520 twenty five to thirty points per game range and somewhere 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:52.800 in the high fifties and true shooting, which is fine. 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:55.920 He's not anywhere near as efficient as the upper tier 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:58.040 scoring guards in the league, but he's fine. He's right 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:01.400 around league averager above as is a high volume scorer, 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:06.920 right like. Despite that, when he's on the floor, it's 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:11.640 not generating good team offense. And that is the thing 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:15.520 that has consistently risen to the surface this last postseason run. 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.720 In the dating through first round, second round Conference Finals, 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:23.800 the Cavs offense was eleven points better per one hundred 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:27.800 possessions with him off the floor versus when he was on. 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:31.080 The year before, when they went to the second round 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:34.600 and lost to Indy, the Caves offense was fifteen points 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:38.880 better per one hundred possessions with him off the floor 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.920 versus when he was on. Now, there are some stronger 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:44.320 data points as you go further back in his career, 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:47.440 but now we're talking about a younger, more explosive player. 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:52.320 He turns thirty in two months. You want to know 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:56.120 why the Harden led offenses did better last year, and 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:59.319 this is what a This is a guy in James Harden, 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:02.040 who is it's not considered one of the great offensive 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.800 engines in this league. But it's really that simple. Harden 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:08.520 has always been a master of the game management piece, 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:13.200 understanding the goal of fifty to sixty possessions that are 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:16.120 under his command, and how important it is to make 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:20.000 easy reads early in the clock that generate flow and 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.200 get the defense in rotation and help generate quality shots 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:27.199 for his teammates. That has been where Donovan Mitchell has struggled. 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:31.960 And again, not every offensive engine has to be a 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:35.760 hardened level Lukadancch level, high volume pick and roll guy. 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:39.720 We've seen the likes of Shay Gilders Alexander as a 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:45.040 scorer drive that level of offensive impact. But how by 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:50.200 being surgically efficient like mid sixties true shooting percentage by 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:52.319 the way, Shay struggled to do that in the postseason, 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:55.840 but surgically efficient and they never turn the ball over. 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:58.000 Those are the two things you need if you're going 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:01.040 to be a score first guard to be one of 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:04.600 the great offensive engines in the league. And so when 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:07.880 I look at Donovan Mitchell about to turn thirty in 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:11.240 two months, I'm talking about his scoring guard who's not 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:16.800 particularly high volume or particularly efficient, who there's pretty strong 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.480 data points that show that the offense functions better when 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:21.800 he's off the floor, not to say that he doesn't 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:26.640 carry any offensive value, just that his offensive impact doesn't 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:30.400 necessarily lead to the team scoring at an extremely high level. 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:36.040 And then, beyond his shot creation talent, he doesn't impact 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:40.160 winning in any other way that tilts to a level 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:44.199 of impact that is below that Jalen Brown tier of 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:47.880 like non top tier superstar, but a guy that I'd 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:50.600 be willing to pay the thirty five percent max to. 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:57.080 I think that this was a mistake. I thought that 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:01.079 in his current situation, Donovan Mitchell was actually a pretty 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:05.120 valuable asset because there are teams out there that would 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:10.200 pay Donovan Mitchell and would pay you for his services, 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:16.320 and his value will never ever, ever again approach the 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:23.000 value he was currently holding before this extension. From this 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:27.000 point forward, as he's a thirty year old, and as 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:30.080 that extension starts to look more daunting, it will be 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:34.000 harder and harder to move him. And again, this isn't 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:38.199 Jaylen Brown, This isn't a caliber of player where you go, man, 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:43.000 I just think we need him to win. I don't 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:46.560 think Donovan Mitchell is that level of player for Cleveland, 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.760 so I thought they should have traded him this offseason, 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:55.400 even in the context to Lebron, I think they should 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:58.280 have moved him. I would have been Colin Dallas and 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.960 been like, y'all want Donovan Mitchell, We'll take Kyrie Irving. 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.800 I'm getting a better player with more financial flexibility for 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:10.520 the future. I just I was really really surprised when 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:12.480 I saw that deal. And I understand the idea of like, oh, 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:17.080 we want stability, we want to demonstrate that we're building 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:21.840 something here in Cleveland. I just think that Donovan falls 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:25.839 below that kind of mandatory minimum level of talent I'm 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:30.240 expecting when I'm tying up that kind of money, And 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:34.320 with or without Lebron, you've put yourself in a really 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:39.080 tough position in the future. Let's say Evan Mobley blossoms 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:41.719 over the next couple of seasons and you want to 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.559 make some sort of pivot two three years from now. 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:47.080 It's going to be a hell of a lot harder 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:50.400 to do when you've got a guy eating up seventy 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:53.520 plus million dollars on your cap, who's a thirty two 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:58.080 year old small guard who is years removed from when 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:03.400 he was a inefficient shot creator. And so I was 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:07.040 just really surprised by the deal. 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Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:53.480 gambling in Florida called one eight three to three play 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:55.640 wise in Indiana, If you or someone you know has 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:58.120 a gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.800 and nine with it, Arizona, Ohio, and Virginia call one 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:05.080 eight hundred my reset gambling problem called one hundred gambler 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:12.160 in Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, or Tennessee quick update 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:16.520 on the Lebron situation quickly. On the Cavs front, there's 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:21.640 been some sort of like explanation that Cleveland actually stands 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:24.920 to benefit more on the Lebron front with the Mitchell extension. 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:26.760 I don't really understand that at all. I don't know 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:32.280 why Lebron would care about Mitchell's extension in particular. I 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.480 won't reiterate this any more than I already have, other 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:38.960 than to just say everyone wants to say that Lebron 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.720 wants a better role, a better opportunity to command the 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.720 basketball and to be involved as a playmaker in the offense. 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:47.960 And all I can think about is, like, I'm not 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:50.920 one hundred percent sure Donavan Mitchell's better than Austin Reeves, 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:55.240 let alone Luka Doncic. And if Lebron was like going 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:58.040 on podcast talking about how he's fine playing that role 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:00.720 for now but not for long as it pertains to 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:04.320 Luka Freakin Doncic in Austin Reeves, I don't know why 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.080 he would suddenly be okay with doing it behind Donovan 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:10.040 Mitchell and James Harden. I AM going to have a 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:12.480 really hard time getting behind the Calves as a destination 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:15.679 unless they can make some sort of substantial pivot to 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:19.920 look like a different basketball team as as is, even 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.600 if they like especially if they dump strew Some and 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:25.720 Shrewder who like SHREWDERO I think are good basketball players. 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:29.840 I don't think the Calves are particularly good with Mitchell, Harden, Lebron, 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:33.480 Jared Allen, and Evan Mobley. I think they're just another 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.520 good team in the Eastern Conference. Not anything that really 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:39.399 moves me. On the Philly front, it's really the exact 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:42.119 same thing everyone wants to talk about, how there's this 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:44.600 open hole at the four spot. You've got Embiid, you 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:46.479 got Jalen Brown, you got vj Edge Comb, you got 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:50.359 Tyree s Maxey once again, Jalen Brown, as we've talked about, 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:53.280 kind of plays on an island. Maxi and MBI. There's 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:55.480 a two main game partnership there for the two of them, 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:57.400 but it's a spread, pick and roll attack with people 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:00.560 occupying the corners in the opposite wing. There is not 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:04.200 like a rhythm and flow offensively that will come naturally 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:06.199 with that group. I think it's a lot of like 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:10.480 diminishing returns, right, Like every basketball player has a fit 0:18:10.560 --> 0:18:13.760 that will maximize their talent and a fit that kind 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:17.679 of marginalizes their talent. And to me, Lebron going to 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:22.680 a place where he can fill roles physically as a big, strong, 0:18:22.800 --> 0:18:26.440 athletic forward that that team doesn't have, there's a a 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.520 like an enhanced return on that, right, that's like kind 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:32.199 of like just a physical profile. So, yeah, does Lebron 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:35.240 physically help the Philly at a position of need? Sure? 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:38.520 Would he physically helped Minnesota at a position of need? Sure? 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.879 Like those make sense to me physically, But then you 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:45.040 look at his skill set again, Like, do I think 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:47.840 Lebron will have a better jump shooting season next year? Yeah? 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:49.679 But do I think if you envision him as a 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:53.320 spot up shooter, I think you're gonna get diminishing returns. 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:56.280 This is why I've been so keyed in on Denver 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:59.560 and Golden State. Denver and Golden State are the two 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:03.520 teams that can offer Lebron a role that specifically highlights 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:07.800 his playmaking talent, or in a case of Denver. Want 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:10.159 you want to know why I'm high on Denver. Denver 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:14.400 can legitimately space out fives. Lebron has struggled to deal 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:17.720 with rim protection for years now because he's played with 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:22.960 bigs that can't shoot, including Anthony Davis, and somehow he 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:25.399 still gets to the rim a ton and he's still 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.200 super efficient when he gets there. Can you imagine a 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:32.200 Denver situation where Jokic is constantly pulling the rim protector 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:34.919 away from the basket and Lebron's able to drive with 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:37.280 impunity and not have to worry about dealing with rim 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:40.879 protection when he gets there, and they don't have another 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:44.240 ball handler that is reliable beyond Jamal Murray, So like 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:47.520 Lebron is literally your secondary ball handler from the perimeter, 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:51.320 and they play with so much flow that Lebron's not 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:54.240 going to spend very many possessions standing in the corner there. 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.879 He's going to be involved in the offense. So a 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:00.520 team like Denver can get an enhanced return for Lebron 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:04.600 physically and an enhanced return from Lebron in his skill set. 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:08.160 Same thing goes with Golden State. The Lebron would literally 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:10.879 be the second best ball handler on the team beyond Steph. 0:20:11.119 --> 0:20:14.520 Steph does play off ball a ton Steve Kurz offense 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:17.640 does involve high post playmaking in a variety of off 0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:21.119 ball screening action, and a ton of movement. Those are 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:24.359 the only two teams that can benefit from Lebron, both 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:27.240 physically and with this skill set. You go to these 0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:31.040 other teams and they can benefit physically. The Cavs would 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:33.320 love to have a big, physical forward that can help 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:35.080 them in a lot of ways. So would Philly, so 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:39.479 a Minnesota. They can't benefit from the skill side of 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:41.480 what Lebron brings to the table. There would be a 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:46.359 diminishing return there. And frankly, that's the part that I 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:49.119 think is being under discussed in all of this. I 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:52.520 just can't imagine Lebron wants to go spend his final 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:55.679 season in the NBA standing in the corner. Miami is 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:57.959 the other team, and this is why I think Miami 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:01.359 has to be taken seriously. They simil early Lebron would 0:21:01.359 --> 0:21:04.159 probably be be their most reliable ball handler. Like I 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:08.200 legitimately could see universe where it's Lebron Jiannis two man 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:11.159 game at the end of games and Lebron's either screening 0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:14.280 Foris or Giannis is screening for Lebron and they're dealing 0:21:14.280 --> 0:21:17.080 with switches. But I could see Yannis like straight up 0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:19.919 leaning on Lebron as a primary shock creator at the 0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:22.920 end of games, like that's a role where and they're 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:25.119 they're gonna have to be really good with their interior 0:21:25.200 --> 0:21:28.600 passing because they're basically playing two big lineups with Jannis 0:21:28.680 --> 0:21:33.240 and Bam. So like Miami can benefit from Lebron's playmaking 0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:35.600 town it would be a little clunky just because the 0:21:35.640 --> 0:21:38.640 team construct, but they at least have a specific need 0:21:38.680 --> 0:21:40.840 for Lebron's skill set. That's a part that I think 0:21:40.880 --> 0:21:43.960 it's under discussed in all of this. Lastly, on the 0:21:44.040 --> 0:21:46.919 Lebron front, this Golden State a d piece of it, 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:50.639 So it was It's been reported that Washington is asking 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:54.200 for the kitchen sink when it comes to the Anthony 0:21:54.240 --> 0:21:57.480 Davis trade, and I totally understand that. And my whole 0:21:57.480 --> 0:22:01.320 thing is is like, if they're there is an understanding 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:04.960 that Lebron's not going to Golden State unless they get 0:22:05.000 --> 0:22:07.960 ad it does put Golden State in a tough predicament 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:13.320 because paying multiple unprotected first for Anthony Davis would be 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:18.199 foolish simply because of the fact that that would be 0:22:18.320 --> 0:22:22.480 way more than Washington originally paid for Anthony Davis. That 0:22:22.520 --> 0:22:26.560 would be an overpay right, and you need to be 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:31.959 subsequently situated to make additional deals for perimeter talent. If 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:34.560 you bring in Anthony Davis and all goes well, there's 0:22:34.600 --> 0:22:36.720 a chance you're looking at February and you're like, shit, 0:22:36.720 --> 0:22:39.639 we're really good, but we need another guard and it 0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:41.640 would be really nice to have another first round pick 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:43.640 to trade if you had to at that point in time, 0:22:44.040 --> 0:22:47.240 or another wing, you know, with Moses Moody being out 0:22:47.280 --> 0:22:49.720 and with Andrew Wiggins's departure a few years ago, Like 0:22:49.760 --> 0:22:53.399 Golden State doesn't have your stereotypical primary point of attack 0:22:53.480 --> 0:22:56.520 defender right like, they need to be situated for a 0:22:56.600 --> 0:23:00.520 subsequent deal, so they kind of have to hold firm. 0:23:01.600 --> 0:23:04.679 But at the same time, Washington has no obligation to 0:23:04.720 --> 0:23:07.439 necessarily get rid of ad and so I think really 0:23:07.920 --> 0:23:10.879 where the Golden State part of this comes in is 0:23:10.920 --> 0:23:13.920 there needs to be a line of communication essentially that 0:23:14.119 --> 0:23:16.679 we're gonna get this done, but we're gonna play a 0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:18.800 little bit of hardball because we need to make sure 0:23:18.800 --> 0:23:21.400 that we are situated for subsequent moves, and maybe there's 0:23:21.400 --> 0:23:24.560 a happy place to be found here where it's you know, 0:23:24.640 --> 0:23:29.880 Jimmy Butler an unprotected first and like two second round 0:23:29.920 --> 0:23:32.199 picks in a swap or something like that, where you 0:23:32.200 --> 0:23:34.760 can situate it in a way where you find a 0:23:34.800 --> 0:23:39.520 happy middle ground between the urgency of the situation, the 0:23:39.680 --> 0:23:43.160 leverage that Washington has, and the fact that they're gonna 0:23:43.160 --> 0:23:45.080 want to get a decent payday before they just ship 0:23:45.119 --> 0:23:48.680 Anthony Davis to Golden State. But ultimately, if you're Golden State, 0:23:48.800 --> 0:23:52.320 it's not trading draft picks for Anthony Davis. It's trading 0:23:52.400 --> 0:23:55.399 draft picks for Anthony Davis and Lebron That's what you 0:23:55.480 --> 0:23:58.080 have to keep in mind. Everyone shits on the Paul 0:23:58.119 --> 0:24:01.000 George trade, but that's because Paul George and Kawhi couldn't 0:24:01.000 --> 0:24:03.520 stay healthy and couldn't get the job done. The actual 0:24:03.600 --> 0:24:06.119 deal in and of itself, if you really think about it, 0:24:06.359 --> 0:24:09.280 get traded Shay Goods is Alexander and the four first 0:24:09.320 --> 0:24:12.520 round picks or whatever it was for Paul George and 0:24:12.720 --> 0:24:16.199 Kawhi Leonard. That actually is a decent price tag for 0:24:16.320 --> 0:24:18.520 two of what at the time were the top six 0:24:18.600 --> 0:24:23.560 or seven players. In the NBA. Similarly, if you're Golden State, yes, 0:24:23.600 --> 0:24:26.160 I understand playing a little bit of hardball with Washington, 0:24:26.520 --> 0:24:28.879 but ultimately, you pay what you gotta pay if you're 0:24:28.920 --> 0:24:31.600 gonna get Anthony Davis or Lebron. If you're gonna get 0:24:31.640 --> 0:24:34.800 Anthony Davis and Lebron. And lastly, and this is the 0:24:34.800 --> 0:24:36.880 part that drives me the most crazy about it, if 0:24:36.880 --> 0:24:40.520 it's not a d make another move. I've never really 0:24:40.520 --> 0:24:43.960 seen anything like this with the team where they command 0:24:44.080 --> 0:24:48.359 basically the entire future of their draft, but they have 0:24:48.520 --> 0:24:50.439 multiple years in a row now where they've got a 0:24:50.520 --> 0:24:54.320 legendary superstar in his post prime that you seem uninterested 0:24:54.320 --> 0:24:59.080 in bolstering the talent level at all. And frankly, like 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:03.919 I I understand why if you had like one or 0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:08.200 two picks left and you had made efforts and nothing 0:25:08.240 --> 0:25:11.199 had really worked, and you were looking towards the future, 0:25:11.320 --> 0:25:15.639 that's fine. You've passed on everything. You passed out Ogenna, no, 0:25:15.720 --> 0:25:18.240 but you passed on Pascal Siakam. The one deal you 0:25:18.320 --> 0:25:21.800 made was for a distressed star in Jimmy Butler, and 0:25:21.840 --> 0:25:26.199 you gave up one pick. There has not been a 0:25:26.359 --> 0:25:32.119 steady intentionality to improve the team to make them better 0:25:33.000 --> 0:25:36.000 while also having some control of your future. The whole 0:25:36.000 --> 0:25:38.520 point is is you're gonna be bad. I'm sorry, the 0:25:38.520 --> 0:25:42.640 Warriors are going to suck in the late twenty twenties guaranteed. 0:25:43.520 --> 0:25:45.359 I don't care if they never sell. I don't care 0:25:45.400 --> 0:25:47.600 if they don't trade a single pick and they let 0:25:47.640 --> 0:25:49.679 Steph rode off into the sunset, they let Lebron go 0:25:49.800 --> 0:25:54.800 somewhere else, they make start accumulating draft picks right now. 0:25:56.920 --> 0:26:01.160 They're gonna suck in the late twenty Twentiesante they don't 0:26:01.200 --> 0:26:04.600 have a single good player in their young core that 0:26:04.640 --> 0:26:07.320 can actually lead a playoff team or anything close to it, 0:26:08.160 --> 0:26:11.119 They're going to suck. So if you're going to suck, 0:26:11.440 --> 0:26:16.600 while you're sucking, you can take in assets by taking 0:26:16.640 --> 0:26:22.119 in bad money, and you can quickly recoup the draft 0:26:22.119 --> 0:26:25.639 compensation that you sent out to improve the team. Like, 0:26:25.720 --> 0:26:29.720 don't suck for no reason. When you suck is when 0:26:29.760 --> 0:26:33.000 you can start accumulating what you need to not suck. 0:26:34.440 --> 0:26:36.840 And what bothers me about this situation is there is 0:26:36.880 --> 0:26:40.240 a pathway where the Warriors can be very good. Now 0:26:42.119 --> 0:26:46.439 for like two years, you can be really good, and 0:26:46.480 --> 0:26:49.159 then while you suck. In a couple of years, you 0:26:49.200 --> 0:26:52.400 can recoup what you've sent out and build for the future. 0:26:53.240 --> 0:26:55.439 But what I what I'm worried is gonna happen here 0:26:55.480 --> 0:26:57.639 for Golden State, is they're going to be sitting in 0:26:57.680 --> 0:27:02.680 a situation where it's twenty two, twenty eight. Steph's retired, 0:27:02.920 --> 0:27:08.760 Lebron's retired, Draymond's retired. You suck, and it's gonna look 0:27:08.800 --> 0:27:11.960 really bleak, and then it's gonna look really bleaked the 0:27:12.000 --> 0:27:14.879 next year. And then it's gonna look really bleaked the 0:27:14.920 --> 0:27:18.520 next year, and you're gonna be like, man, why didn't 0:27:18.560 --> 0:27:22.359 we capitalize on that more? Why didn't we make a 0:27:22.400 --> 0:27:26.600 greater effort to try to make the most of that group? 0:27:28.240 --> 0:27:30.320 And like, even if you don't get Lebron, Like if 0:27:30.359 --> 0:27:34.480 you go get Trey Murphy and you don't get Lebron, 0:27:35.480 --> 0:27:39.359 you're better this year and at least you have an 0:27:39.359 --> 0:27:43.760 opportunity to have more joy and more opportunity in what 0:27:43.920 --> 0:27:45.639 is the twilight of one of the great eras in 0:27:45.760 --> 0:27:49.679 NBA history. I just hope they do something, even if 0:27:49.720 --> 0:27:54.960 it's not involving Lebron. Darren Peterson. So one of the 0:27:54.960 --> 0:27:57.000 things I said before the draft. If you guys remember, 0:27:57.160 --> 0:28:00.520 is that I picked AJ Devonsa to go number one, 0:28:01.280 --> 0:28:03.600 but a couple of specific things. I did say that 0:28:03.640 --> 0:28:06.400 I think Darren Peterson is a better basketball player right now, 0:28:07.440 --> 0:28:09.480 and I said there was a good chance that he 0:28:09.480 --> 0:28:12.960 would be a better NBA player than AJ Debonsa in 0:28:13.000 --> 0:28:15.520 the short term. And I specifically said, we could be 0:28:15.560 --> 0:28:18.440 having a conversation twenty thirty games into the season where 0:28:18.480 --> 0:28:21.200 we're talking about Darren Peterson as rookie of the Year 0:28:21.440 --> 0:28:25.520 and did the Wizards make the wrong pick and all 0:28:25.560 --> 0:28:28.159 of that kind of stuff. But then I said, I 0:28:28.200 --> 0:28:31.439 think that Darren Peterson's ceiling is somewhere in that like 0:28:31.480 --> 0:28:34.960 Devin Booker territory, whereas I think AJ Debonsa has a 0:28:35.000 --> 0:28:38.000 higher ceiling. And so as the years go by, is 0:28:38.040 --> 0:28:41.800 where AJ Debonsa could make his number one overall pick 0:28:41.880 --> 0:28:47.160 decision the right decision. I felt strongly that way, despite 0:28:47.160 --> 0:28:49.320 the fact that I'm not the biggest draft guy in 0:28:49.320 --> 0:28:52.280 the world, as you guys know, but I also am 0:28:52.280 --> 0:28:55.960 a big believer in don't overthink things, and I also 0:28:56.000 --> 0:29:01.840 trust my eyes, and I think that this Darren Peterson's 0:29:01.840 --> 0:29:05.080 summer league debut is like a real data point it 0:29:05.160 --> 0:29:11.360 moves me. Does that necessarily mean that he was the 0:29:11.440 --> 0:29:14.920 wrong pick to take a J Deabonson number one? No, 0:29:16.080 --> 0:29:19.520 AJ debonce hasn't played yet. That is kind of an 0:29:19.520 --> 0:29:22.400 important detail here, is like we're all kind of getting 0:29:22.440 --> 0:29:25.560 excited and getting all worked up, and Ajdabansa doesn't play 0:29:25.640 --> 0:29:28.320 until tomorrow. Jackson and I will be there in the 0:29:28.360 --> 0:29:32.000 arena to watch. But what I do think is important 0:29:32.040 --> 0:29:35.120 to acknowledge is that it has been a very long 0:29:35.160 --> 0:29:38.800 time and it is exceedingly rare to see a guard 0:29:39.560 --> 0:29:44.479 that is this comfortable as a primary shot creator running 0:29:44.640 --> 0:29:48.120 high volume pick and roll, high volume ISO at this 0:29:48.240 --> 0:29:54.280 phase of his career. Darren, the biggest difference between these 0:29:54.480 --> 0:29:58.120 Summer League games and what you shot Kansas was the 0:29:58.120 --> 0:30:00.360 sheer amount of time that they put the bast cantball 0:30:00.400 --> 0:30:02.880 in his hands and let him get into his spread 0:30:02.920 --> 0:30:05.960 pick and roll attack. If you dig into the numbers 0:30:05.960 --> 0:30:09.680 at Kansas, Darren only averaged about seven point seven pick 0:30:09.720 --> 0:30:13.960 and rolls per game, including passes, a lot of off 0:30:14.000 --> 0:30:17.560 ball work, a lot of catch and shoot opportunities. We 0:30:17.680 --> 0:30:21.080 haven't seen very many at all in these couple of 0:30:21.080 --> 0:30:24.040 Summer League games. He's not working off the ball at all. 0:30:24.680 --> 0:30:28.360 It's him live dribble, running ball screens from the top. 0:30:28.560 --> 0:30:31.280 I obviously don't have the exact numbers, but I'm sure 0:30:31.320 --> 0:30:33.720 he's running over twenty pick and rolls of games, so 0:30:33.760 --> 0:30:38.720 we're talking like triple the volume of on ball opportunity 0:30:38.880 --> 0:30:42.400 compared to what he got at Kansas. What is interesting 0:30:42.520 --> 0:30:46.160 there is it's allowed him to like really find a rhythm, 0:30:46.360 --> 0:30:48.200 and you could see it like he's dribbling the ball 0:30:48.320 --> 0:30:51.200 so much and he's getting so many opportunities that he's 0:30:51.240 --> 0:30:53.520 really comfortable. He's really settling in. He's not afraid to 0:30:53.560 --> 0:30:55.920 make a mistake. He had eight turnovers in the first game. 0:30:56.240 --> 0:31:01.000 Certainly as missus shrif shots. He looks comfortable and confident 0:31:01.160 --> 0:31:04.520 on the ball by virtue of the high usage and 0:31:04.600 --> 0:31:06.840 the many opportunities he's getting to work and pick and 0:31:06.920 --> 0:31:10.440 roll from there. There's been a couple of specific things 0:31:10.480 --> 0:31:14.800 that have really stood out to me. One one of 0:31:14.800 --> 0:31:16.960 my concerns when I was scouting him was his first 0:31:17.000 --> 0:31:20.560 step quickness, and like, is he going to be able 0:31:20.600 --> 0:31:23.200 to just like look at really good defenders and just 0:31:23.240 --> 0:31:26.400 get by them off the dribble, And we did see 0:31:26.400 --> 0:31:28.760 some of that. He had a couple of straight ISOs 0:31:28.760 --> 0:31:30.560 at the end of the game against Centric Coward that 0:31:30.640 --> 0:31:32.760 were really nice. One off of the right wing where 0:31:32.760 --> 0:31:34.960 he kind of got a hesitation dribble, got to his 0:31:35.040 --> 0:31:36.800 left hand, bumped him and shot a little floater, and 0:31:36.840 --> 0:31:38.120 he had another one where he shot a little turn 0:31:38.160 --> 0:31:40.080 around fade away in the lane. And I think Centric 0:31:40.120 --> 0:31:43.000 Coward's the kind of a classic, really good NBA perimeter 0:31:43.080 --> 0:31:46.920 defender talent, so like he certainly can do that, but 0:31:47.600 --> 0:31:49.040 I don't think that's going to be I don't think 0:31:49.040 --> 0:31:51.080 he's going to be in Anthony Edwards esque, like you 0:31:51.360 --> 0:31:53.600 can't freaking guard me one on one type of talent. 0:31:55.640 --> 0:31:58.200 Where I was super impressed was how he worked in 0:31:58.320 --> 0:32:01.720 ball screens with like the timing of his attacks, the 0:32:01.760 --> 0:32:05.080 way he's set up defenders, the understanding of leverage and 0:32:05.200 --> 0:32:08.200 change of pace. If you don't have a great first step, 0:32:08.560 --> 0:32:10.720 that's the stuff you have to have if you're gonna 0:32:10.720 --> 0:32:13.720 be able to get to your spots. You have to understand, 0:32:14.240 --> 0:32:17.720 like when a defender is caught between steps and you 0:32:17.760 --> 0:32:19.800 have an opportunity to hit a gap. You have to 0:32:19.880 --> 0:32:22.800 understand when you can change pace. How if you like 0:32:23.000 --> 0:32:25.600 wait for the big to like if he's showing at 0:32:25.600 --> 0:32:28.120 the level, but then he recovers. You wait till the 0:32:28.120 --> 0:32:30.520 big starts backing off before the guard gets in, and 0:32:30.560 --> 0:32:32.360 then you can shoot the gap you had, like a 0:32:32.400 --> 0:32:35.120 little driving scooping layup on a similar type of shot 0:32:35.160 --> 0:32:37.440 off of the right wing. In one of the two games. 0:32:37.840 --> 0:32:44.840 He has this like combination of creativity and confidence but 0:32:44.920 --> 0:32:47.800 also an understanding of the angles and change of pace, 0:32:48.200 --> 0:32:51.760 where he was consistently just getting to his spots. Oh, 0:32:51.840 --> 0:32:54.680 I got you kind of trailing the action on the three. 0:32:54.760 --> 0:32:56.960 I'm gonna slow down so that you catch up. And 0:32:57.000 --> 0:32:59.560 you slow down, but then I'm gonna hit the poundurable 0:32:59.640 --> 0:33:02.360 sides and get plenty of separation and rise over the 0:33:02.400 --> 0:33:05.959 top like, Oh, I'm working you downhill on the ball screen. 0:33:06.280 --> 0:33:09.840 You're over pursuing towards my left hand drive. I'm gonna 0:33:09.840 --> 0:33:11.800 stop on a diamond, turn over my left shoulder and 0:33:11.840 --> 0:33:13.400 shoot a little hook. Or I'm gonna turn over my 0:33:13.480 --> 0:33:15.640 left shoulder and shoot a little fade away in the lane. 0:33:15.760 --> 0:33:17.960 I'm gonna bump you off with my right shoulder to 0:33:18.000 --> 0:33:22.760 get to space. Getting the little moves that help get 0:33:22.760 --> 0:33:25.440 the defender caught on the screen before he gets going 0:33:25.480 --> 0:33:27.760 downhill in the ball screen. There was just like a 0:33:28.480 --> 0:33:33.920 very natural feel for the pacing of an NBA pick 0:33:33.960 --> 0:33:36.560 and roll and how to get to his spots out 0:33:36.560 --> 0:33:38.720 of those actions. And then when you combine that with 0:33:38.760 --> 0:33:42.040 the shot making, and the shot making is ridiculous. And 0:33:42.160 --> 0:33:44.160 like I thought, one of my favorite shots was the 0:33:44.240 --> 0:33:45.840 dagger he ended up hitting in the I think it 0:33:45.880 --> 0:33:49.040 was in the game against Memphis where he gets a 0:33:49.080 --> 0:33:52.320 small on him and he dribbles off the ball screen, 0:33:52.360 --> 0:33:54.720 faces a hard hedge. The hard hedge pushes him way 0:33:54.720 --> 0:33:57.360 out to half court, but he ends up beating the hedge, 0:33:57.880 --> 0:34:01.240 and the hedge recovers and he's looking down at the 0:34:01.320 --> 0:34:03.800 dude and the dude is small as guarding him, and 0:34:03.840 --> 0:34:06.400 he just dribbles into a hesitation pull up because he 0:34:06.480 --> 0:34:10.080 knows I've got separation because of the hedge, so I 0:34:10.080 --> 0:34:12.560 don't have to worry about getting into a specific move. 0:34:13.000 --> 0:34:15.160 Let me just rise up over the top. The dude 0:34:15.239 --> 0:34:18.640 can't bother the shot, he's too short. There's just like 0:34:18.680 --> 0:34:22.120 a really good natural scoring Field've always talked about scoring 0:34:22.160 --> 0:34:26.600 talent to me as like it's a specific talent. We 0:34:26.680 --> 0:34:30.400 always think of individual basketball traits how well do you shoot, 0:34:30.480 --> 0:34:33.360 how well do you dribble, what's your footwork like? To me, 0:34:33.560 --> 0:34:37.120 scoring in and of itself is like a very natural 0:34:37.200 --> 0:34:38.920 trait that some people have. There are a lot of 0:34:38.920 --> 0:34:42.680 players that are great shooters that rep all the footwork, 0:34:42.719 --> 0:34:45.720 that rep all the ball handling, but they lack natural 0:34:45.800 --> 0:34:48.359 scoring feel. And again we've talked about all the time, 0:34:48.360 --> 0:34:52.720 the scoring feel is about creativity and audacity or confidence, 0:34:52.760 --> 0:34:55.120 whatever you want to call it, and then skill is 0:34:55.160 --> 0:34:57.920 the third piece of it. That doesn't work if you 0:34:57.960 --> 0:35:02.400 don't have supreme confidence and your ability and the creativity 0:35:02.880 --> 0:35:06.640 to constantly be kind of reacting to the defense rather 0:35:06.680 --> 0:35:10.160 than telegraphing what you're doing. That's what that flow is. 0:35:10.239 --> 0:35:12.360 When they talk about a basketball player that's kind of 0:35:12.400 --> 0:35:15.880 found his rhythm or gotten into a flow, he's just reacting. 0:35:15.920 --> 0:35:19.240 He's not thinking, he's just playing, and there's a natural 0:35:19.440 --> 0:35:22.120 scoring talent that just kind of rises out of the 0:35:22.120 --> 0:35:25.000 player in the form of that creativity. When you get 0:35:25.000 --> 0:35:28.200 to that like tough left shoulder fade away over Cedric Coward, 0:35:28.320 --> 0:35:30.360 it's not like he drove into the lane and thought 0:35:31.120 --> 0:35:33.680 I'm going like at the start of the possession, like 0:35:33.680 --> 0:35:35.160 I'm gonna drive at him and I'm gonna get to 0:35:35.160 --> 0:35:37.920 my left shoulder fade. No, he's just playing basketball. And 0:35:37.960 --> 0:35:39.799 when he makes that hard move to his left and 0:35:39.840 --> 0:35:42.680 he feels the defender over pursue, he knows he can 0:35:42.680 --> 0:35:45.320 turn over his left shoulder from there. It's a feel 0:35:45.360 --> 0:35:47.719 thing like, Oh, I've got a ton of space. I'll 0:35:47.719 --> 0:35:50.040 go to the hook like he did in the early one. No, 0:35:50.200 --> 0:35:52.160 I'm gonna actually need to get a little bit more 0:35:52.200 --> 0:35:55.000 separation here. Now I'm gonna turn and fade over my 0:35:55.080 --> 0:35:57.479 left shoulder with a little jump shot. It is very 0:35:57.800 --> 0:36:02.719 like impromptu improvisational and it requires a certain amount of creativity. 0:36:02.760 --> 0:36:06.719 And I just think that Darren Peterson's scoring talent was 0:36:06.840 --> 0:36:09.719 screaming off the screen in these games in a way 0:36:09.760 --> 0:36:13.239 that was like, Oh, this looks fundamentally different than it 0:36:13.280 --> 0:36:16.200 did at Kansas. And so again, I'm not no one 0:36:16.239 --> 0:36:18.320 should ever change their opinion about a player because of 0:36:18.400 --> 0:36:22.200 two summer leagues. Aj Debonsa hasn't even had his chance 0:36:22.280 --> 0:36:26.399 to play. But I also think it's important to acknowledge that, 0:36:26.520 --> 0:36:31.279 like what Darren Peterson showed in those two games is 0:36:31.560 --> 0:36:36.120 shit that really works in the NBA. And if you're 0:36:36.160 --> 0:36:39.640 a Jazz fan, you should be extremely excited because he 0:36:39.719 --> 0:36:42.799 looks a lot better in those two Summer League games 0:36:42.840 --> 0:36:45.120 than the guy we watched at Kansas last year. A 0:36:45.160 --> 0:36:48.560 lot of basketball to play. The challenges will continue to 0:36:48.560 --> 0:36:51.440 get tougher as the months go by, and as he's 0:36:51.440 --> 0:36:54.279 playing against real NBA competition, and when he's trying to 0:36:54.320 --> 0:36:56.759 share it, like, here's the thing, Kante George is gonna 0:36:56.760 --> 0:36:58.680 have the basketball a lot. How does that disrupt Darren 0:36:58.719 --> 0:37:01.919 Peterson's rhythm? I would argue that'll be helpful because he'll 0:37:01.920 --> 0:37:04.360 get more of those off ball opportunities too. But I 0:37:04.560 --> 0:37:08.160 just think if I'm a Jazz fan I am, there's 0:37:08.239 --> 0:37:10.719 a spectrum of how you could feel about a prospect 0:37:10.800 --> 0:37:14.719 between he's living up to expectations, he's exceeding expectations, or 0:37:14.719 --> 0:37:17.919 he's failing to live up to expectations. And through these 0:37:18.040 --> 0:37:22.520 very small, this very small data set, these couple of 0:37:22.560 --> 0:37:25.320 Summer league games, I think it's a strong data point 0:37:25.680 --> 0:37:27.880 that Darren Peterson looks even better than we could have 0:37:27.920 --> 0:37:35.880 hoped to this point as a prospect. All Right, We're 0:37:35.920 --> 0:37:37.600 gonna rip through this mail back quickly because I went 0:37:37.640 --> 0:37:41.720 long on the first part of the show. First question 0:37:41.760 --> 0:37:44.239 the financial return for a team. The financial return to 0:37:44.239 --> 0:37:46.200 the team would experience for just having Lebron on the 0:37:46.200 --> 0:37:48.760 team would be immense. I think the Warriors should mortgage 0:37:48.760 --> 0:37:51.280 a couple of first round picks to maximize Steph's final 0:37:51.320 --> 0:37:54.320 couple of seasons to acquire late twenties early thirties players 0:37:54.600 --> 0:37:57.120 who can be a transition leader heading into the post 0:37:57.120 --> 0:37:59.440 step era. That would also increase the odds of Lebron 0:37:59.520 --> 0:38:02.560 joining that roster would have an incredibly high stealing with 0:38:02.640 --> 0:38:04.960 a major risk of availability issues due to injury and 0:38:04.960 --> 0:38:07.160 load management. Still it'd be worth it. You only get 0:38:07.160 --> 0:38:09.759 Steph Curry once in a lifetime and Lebron is on 0:38:09.840 --> 0:38:11.720 the table. What do you think is the right balance 0:38:11.760 --> 0:38:14.080 for Golden State to invest their picks in capital now 0:38:14.320 --> 0:38:16.680 versus post Steph era? Put on your GM hat. I 0:38:16.719 --> 0:38:18.399 won't get too far into this because we just talked 0:38:18.400 --> 0:38:21.319 about it, but I would make a deal if your 0:38:21.360 --> 0:38:24.399 concern is the long term viability of the team. Don't 0:38:24.400 --> 0:38:26.680 get a d Go get Trey Murphy. Go get Trey 0:38:26.760 --> 0:38:29.480 Murphy at Dejante Murray, make some sort of splashy deal 0:38:29.520 --> 0:38:32.480 with New Orleans and again to your point, Like, I 0:38:32.520 --> 0:38:35.000 think there's this idea that draft picks lose their value 0:38:35.000 --> 0:38:37.000 as soon as you spend them. They only lose their 0:38:37.080 --> 0:38:39.520 value if you spend them on bad players. Like, yes, 0:38:40.160 --> 0:38:42.080 if you spend two first round picks on AD, you're 0:38:42.120 --> 0:38:43.480 probably not going to be able to turn around and 0:38:43.480 --> 0:38:46.440 trade AD for two equally valuable first round picks. But 0:38:46.960 --> 0:38:50.040 let's say you go get Trey Murphy. There's nothing stopping 0:38:50.040 --> 0:38:53.279 you from turning around trading Trey Murphy two years when 0:38:53.320 --> 0:38:56.040 Steph and Lebron retire and recouping some of what you 0:38:56.120 --> 0:39:00.880 sent out, especially if he looks awesome play alongside Lebron 0:39:00.920 --> 0:39:04.560 James and Steph Curry. If Lebron retires after a season, 0:39:04.640 --> 0:39:07.880 you train him in that offseason and you probably recoup 0:39:07.920 --> 0:39:09.440 a good amount of what you sent out. Just make 0:39:09.480 --> 0:39:12.480 your team better. Make your team better, because maybe it 0:39:12.520 --> 0:39:14.560 gets you Lebron, but if not, it just makes your 0:39:14.560 --> 0:39:17.920 team better. I think I think a lot of this 0:39:17.960 --> 0:39:20.080 has been overthought from the same point in the Warriors 0:39:20.120 --> 0:39:23.440 front office. Hey, Jason, keep up a good work with 0:39:23.480 --> 0:39:26.080 your content question. With the way that these superstars are 0:39:26.080 --> 0:39:29.120 getting paid three hundred million dollars, would the lower seeded 0:39:29.120 --> 0:39:31.359 teams are playing. Teams keep their superstars or trade them 0:39:31.360 --> 0:39:32.960 before they end up paying them three hundred and four 0:39:33.000 --> 0:39:34.680 hundred million. I don't think teams want to pay out 0:39:34.680 --> 0:39:37.680 massive contracts to just be a playing team. That goes 0:39:37.719 --> 0:39:39.680 to the conversation that we had early in the show 0:39:39.719 --> 0:39:41.840 as it pertains to the difference between like a Jalen 0:39:41.880 --> 0:39:44.640 Brown and a Donovan Mitchell. The main line of demarcation 0:39:44.760 --> 0:39:47.880 for me is like multiple areas of impact, and we 0:39:47.920 --> 0:39:51.239 talk about checking boxes on a basketball team on both 0:39:51.320 --> 0:39:52.919 ends of the floor. If I'm going to be paying 0:39:52.960 --> 0:39:55.000 guy at thirty five percent max, I want him checking 0:39:55.040 --> 0:39:57.840 a lot of boxes. The difference between a Donovan Mitchell 0:39:57.840 --> 0:40:00.200 and a Jalen Brown is with Donovan Mitchell, it is 0:40:00.320 --> 0:40:02.640 one box that he checks his offensive engine, and he 0:40:02.760 --> 0:40:05.279 doesn't check it very well, and there's nothing else that 0:40:05.320 --> 0:40:09.040 he provides. Is Jalen Brown a mediocre offensive engine? Two Yes, 0:40:09.440 --> 0:40:11.840 but he also comes with a lot of other utility 0:40:11.880 --> 0:40:13.719 as an athlete and as a defender on the floor. 0:40:13.760 --> 0:40:16.200 Even if he's not a perfect basketball player, he brings 0:40:16.200 --> 0:40:17.880 a lot of other value. And that's why with the 0:40:17.880 --> 0:40:20.800 guy like Jaylen Brown, he just kind of rises above 0:40:20.800 --> 0:40:24.480 what I'd be willing to pay versus you know, Donovan Mitchell. 0:40:24.560 --> 0:40:27.880 I'm in a different kind of bracket there. What is 0:40:27.880 --> 0:40:30.840 Minnesota's case for Lebron that you want to Why is 0:40:30.840 --> 0:40:32.839 Minnesota's case for Lebron that you wouldn't want to see 0:40:32.880 --> 0:40:34.879 Lebron stand in the corner while LaMelo and Ant put 0:40:34.960 --> 0:40:38.280 up bad shots. LaMelo came to Minnesota to help facilitate offense. 0:40:38.360 --> 0:40:41.480 The addition of playmaking directly decreases the style of offense 0:40:41.520 --> 0:40:44.719 he just described. Between Rudy McDaniels, TJ. Shannon Bones, and 0:40:44.800 --> 0:40:47.920 Johan Barne. That's a good squad LaMelo and Ants. Gravity 0:40:47.920 --> 0:40:51.080 would help Lebron creatively attack off the catch, find pockets 0:40:51.080 --> 0:40:53.279 to shoot, or put the or put the ball on 0:40:53.280 --> 0:40:55.640 the floor to kick out. I don't see Lebron standing 0:40:55.640 --> 0:40:57.640 in the corner. I do believe that generation gap is 0:40:57.920 --> 0:41:00.680 a factor, so that's a fair point. Adding Lebron to 0:41:00.719 --> 0:41:03.600 Denver does not fix their core weakness size and athleticism. 0:41:03.800 --> 0:41:06.200 Aaron Gordon's injury concerns aren't cured, and it's tough to 0:41:06.200 --> 0:41:09.160 say whether Watson will be retained. To be clear, I 0:41:09.200 --> 0:41:12.680 don't necessarily like Denver unless they can retain Watson too. Like, 0:41:12.680 --> 0:41:15.040 I think that's the whole thing, is lebron Ag and 0:41:15.200 --> 0:41:18.120 Watson kind of combine into the amount of front court 0:41:18.160 --> 0:41:21.040 size and athleticism that they would need the big difference. 0:41:21.239 --> 0:41:23.640 You know, LaMelo is an offensive engine, but he's a LaMelo. 0:41:23.800 --> 0:41:26.200 He's an offensive engine as a spread, pick and roll creator. 0:41:26.440 --> 0:41:28.760 He is not an offensive engine like Steph running around 0:41:28.760 --> 0:41:32.000 off the ball, or like Jokic inverting the gravity of 0:41:32.040 --> 0:41:34.360 ever inverting the rim protection of the defense to the 0:41:34.400 --> 0:41:37.040 perimeter and running a bunch of like dhos and keeping 0:41:37.080 --> 0:41:40.120 everyone involved. LaMelo is an on an island pick and 0:41:40.200 --> 0:41:43.839 roll shot creator. Anthony Edwards is literally a guy that 0:41:43.880 --> 0:41:46.400 loves to shoot over multiple defenders. So like to me, 0:41:46.480 --> 0:41:49.200 it's it's less like do I think that the Minnesota 0:41:49.239 --> 0:41:52.120 Timberwls have enough offensive talent? Of course they do. It's 0:41:52.200 --> 0:41:55.920 you're dealing with primary defensive players in Jada McDaniels and 0:41:56.000 --> 0:41:59.479 Rudy Gobert and who are not necessarily the greatest feel 0:41:59.520 --> 0:42:02.239 for the game offensive players, and then two kind of 0:42:02.320 --> 0:42:05.440 on an island offensive guards that are not going to 0:42:05.440 --> 0:42:07.640 be playing in a style or way that's going to 0:42:07.719 --> 0:42:11.000 heavily incorporate Lebron James as a playmaker, So to me, 0:42:11.280 --> 0:42:14.640 it does relegate Lebron to like a Ruy Hatchamura esque 0:42:14.800 --> 0:42:16.480 staying in the corner and shoot a bunch of catch 0:42:16.480 --> 0:42:19.120 and shoot threes and occasionally get to run a play 0:42:19.160 --> 0:42:20.960 when we're in our bench groups or when one of 0:42:21.000 --> 0:42:24.200 LaMelo or Ant is sitting out a game. But beyond that, 0:42:24.320 --> 0:42:26.800 I think, like when the Wolves are at their best, 0:42:27.120 --> 0:42:30.120 I think Lebron's offensive skill would be marginalized and from 0:42:30.120 --> 0:42:31.920 that standpoint, I just don't think it would be as 0:42:32.000 --> 0:42:36.000 much fun for him. Next question, Even though San Antonio 0:42:36.000 --> 0:42:37.359 made it to the finals this year, I don't think 0:42:37.400 --> 0:42:39.160 it's a guarantee. Like many people say that they're going 0:42:39.200 --> 0:42:40.640 to be back a ton in the next five to 0:42:40.680 --> 0:42:43.319 six years. The league is constantly evolving and teams are 0:42:43.320 --> 0:42:45.799 getting better. Even though I a Knicks fan, think we 0:42:45.800 --> 0:42:47.680 can reach the finals, there's so many factors that come 0:42:47.680 --> 0:42:49.840 into just making the finals again that don't make it 0:42:49.880 --> 0:42:53.080 a guarantee. Injuries, more hunger to win it than other teams, 0:42:53.160 --> 0:42:56.040 bad matchups, and second apron could dictate whether a team 0:42:56.080 --> 0:42:58.160 wins it all or is the first round exit. So 0:42:58.200 --> 0:42:59.960 my question is, do you think teams should be changing 0:43:00.200 --> 0:43:02.759 rosters every year. What we see big star movement each 0:43:02.840 --> 0:43:05.520 year going forward, like this current offseason, based on each 0:43:05.560 --> 0:43:08.319 team's success in the postseason. Love the Show. I do 0:43:08.400 --> 0:43:10.239 think that there is a certain amount of like the 0:43:10.320 --> 0:43:12.880 parody in the league right now is what's instigating the 0:43:12.920 --> 0:43:14.880 heavy amount of player movement. So I do agree with 0:43:14.920 --> 0:43:19.120 you there as far as the like get getting back 0:43:19.160 --> 0:43:23.360 to the finals piece, Yeah, absolutely, there's no guarantee specifically 0:43:23.400 --> 0:43:26.000 for san Antonio. Like, okayse he's running it back and 0:43:26.040 --> 0:43:28.120 they've got a damn good team, and if Jadab is 0:43:28.160 --> 0:43:31.480 healthy and aj Mitchell's healthy, like I they're like san 0:43:31.520 --> 0:43:33.640 Antonio's got their own improvements to make in order to 0:43:33.640 --> 0:43:36.239 be able to survive that matchup. And yeah, you're right, 0:43:36.280 --> 0:43:38.680 Like for the Knicks, there's just better teams in the East. 0:43:38.680 --> 0:43:41.319 This here, Toronto's gonna be better, Boston's gonna be better 0:43:41.360 --> 0:43:43.960 if Tatum can stay healthy. There's a like you know, 0:43:44.000 --> 0:43:46.280 we'll see if Lebron ends up going to Miami or Cleveland, 0:43:46.320 --> 0:43:48.640 like you're gonna have the Indiana's gonna be back, Like 0:43:48.880 --> 0:43:51.040 you're gonna have like real challenges in the East. And 0:43:51.120 --> 0:43:53.360 so no one has like an easy path to the finals. 0:43:53.400 --> 0:43:55.120 But the thing with San Antonio that I think is 0:43:55.120 --> 0:43:57.040 an important to understand is the best trade of their 0:43:57.080 --> 0:43:59.640 team is defense. Like, it's just really hard to beat 0:43:59.680 --> 0:44:03.240 the Spur four times out of seven when Steph Castle 0:44:03.360 --> 0:44:05.800 and Dylan Harper and Victor wemen Yama are all on 0:44:05.840 --> 0:44:08.000 the floor getting up in your jersey and funneling you 0:44:08.000 --> 0:44:11.239 into rim protection at the rim, and you also have 0:44:11.280 --> 0:44:13.200 the internal improvement, They're all gonna get a lot better 0:44:13.239 --> 0:44:15.600 over the course of this offseason, especially after an embarrassing 0:44:15.640 --> 0:44:18.200 loss in the finals. Like, do I think the Spurs 0:44:18.239 --> 0:44:20.400 are a safe bet to make the finals? No, but 0:44:20.480 --> 0:44:22.719 they're just I'm telling you right now, they're gonna be 0:44:22.719 --> 0:44:26.879 my championship favorite next year. Next question, Hey, Jason, Given 0:44:26.880 --> 0:44:30.240 Okase's offseason moves bringing in to a Deamara alongside Bennett 0:44:30.280 --> 0:44:33.880 Sturtz and Otega Away, how do you see Mark Dagnall 0:44:33.960 --> 0:44:37.959 adjusting Okaysee's frontline, defensive and playmaking geometry, specifically to counter 0:44:38.000 --> 0:44:40.000 the San Antonio Spurs. What do you think would be 0:44:40.040 --> 0:44:41.560 the lineups. I'm gonna be honest with you, I think 0:44:41.560 --> 0:44:44.759 it's gonna look exactly like next year. They retained Isaiah Hartenstein, 0:44:45.280 --> 0:44:48.240 you still have Jay, Will you still have Chet Holmgren. 0:44:48.640 --> 0:44:50.360 That's your front line. I don't think a Damara is 0:44:50.360 --> 0:44:52.160 gonna be more than just a regular season guy who 0:44:52.200 --> 0:44:55.000 pops in when guys are missing time. You know, we 0:44:55.080 --> 0:44:58.160 could see Bennett starts with the loss of Isaiah Joe 0:44:58.200 --> 0:44:59.920 and Aaron Wiggins. We could see him crack into the 0:45:00.040 --> 0:45:03.280 perimeter rotation. And I think that okay See in general 0:45:03.520 --> 0:45:06.200 is favoring shooting a little bit more and being a 0:45:06.239 --> 0:45:09.759 little less dependent on just defensive minded players understanding how 0:45:09.760 --> 0:45:12.440 they need to space out a team like san Antonio, like, 0:45:12.640 --> 0:45:14.880 it just doesn't matter how good you are defensively in 0:45:14.920 --> 0:45:17.560 the regular season if you can't score against Victor women Yama. 0:45:17.640 --> 0:45:19.399 So I think that's a big part of why they're 0:45:19.480 --> 0:45:22.560 kind of exploring more shooting talent on the perimeter. But 0:45:22.960 --> 0:45:25.640 a Demara is not going to bump one of those 0:45:25.680 --> 0:45:28.520 three centers from the rotation for all intents and purposes 0:45:28.960 --> 0:45:33.200 next year's game. If okay See and san Antonio run 0:45:33.239 --> 0:45:35.600 into each other in a series, will we see some 0:45:35.719 --> 0:45:39.560 Tobias Harris, Yeah, will we see you know, you know, 0:45:39.600 --> 0:45:43.719 maybe some Bennett starts or more j Dubb and aj Mitchell. Sure, 0:45:43.840 --> 0:45:45.560 But other than that, it's going to look exactly like 0:45:45.640 --> 0:45:47.759 last year. Guys. It's going to be a rematch. Those 0:45:47.760 --> 0:45:49.960 teams are basically more or less running it back in 0:45:50.000 --> 0:45:53.160 terms of their core rotation talent. Next question shout out 0:45:53.200 --> 0:45:56.160 to DNVR where I first saw you there. What roles 0:45:56.320 --> 0:45:59.279 could you see Nasried filling in Charlotte? I could see 0:45:59.320 --> 0:46:01.799 him taking a large or unexpected role. Totally agree. I 0:46:01.800 --> 0:46:03.799 think he's gonna have a lot of jump shooting opportunities 0:46:03.800 --> 0:46:06.359 in the flow of just how much that team can 0:46:06.360 --> 0:46:09.360 space teams out, and just having a reliable catch and 0:46:09.360 --> 0:46:11.279 shoot guy at the four. But Nas is like a 0:46:11.360 --> 0:46:13.800 legit matchup attacking forward. He's got some real ball skill 0:46:15.280 --> 0:46:18.680 attacking matchups. And so when Charlotte runs into switching teams, 0:46:19.200 --> 0:46:21.319 and that was a problem for them at various points 0:46:21.400 --> 0:46:23.799 last year, when Charlotte runs into switching teams, doas Reed 0:46:23.880 --> 0:46:25.759 is a legitimate switch beater, which I think is a 0:46:25.800 --> 0:46:29.200 real asset. All right, Three more, I know you'll be 0:46:29.239 --> 0:46:31.319 doing your player rankings at some point. It's something I 0:46:31.320 --> 0:46:32.880 look forward to every year. I was wondering if you 0:46:32.880 --> 0:46:34.840 would ever do a ranking of your all time favorite 0:46:34.840 --> 0:46:38.279 players For me, those two lists vary drastically. Thanks for 0:46:38.320 --> 0:46:40.359 all the great content. I don't have time to watch 0:46:40.440 --> 0:46:42.759 many games, so I can catch every episode to keep 0:46:42.840 --> 0:46:44.920 up with it all. Thank you so much for supporting 0:46:44.920 --> 0:46:48.480 the show. So this is interesting question. Lebron obviously my 0:46:48.520 --> 0:46:50.880 favorite player is the one player that I have like 0:46:50.920 --> 0:46:53.680 an actual, real rooting interest in in terms of like 0:46:54.000 --> 0:46:57.680 the way you think of like a traditional fan. I've 0:46:57.719 --> 0:46:59.279 told the story of the show before. I won't tell 0:46:59.320 --> 0:47:01.680 it in full right now, but Lebron was the guy 0:47:01.680 --> 0:47:03.120 that got me to fall in love with basketball. I 0:47:03.280 --> 0:47:05.920 grew up in a baseball football family and I just 0:47:06.040 --> 0:47:08.440 randomly turned on the TV and saw Lebron playing in 0:47:08.480 --> 0:47:10.920 the Eastern Conference semis in two thousand and six, and 0:47:10.960 --> 0:47:12.920 that was what kind of got me into basketball. So, like, 0:47:13.280 --> 0:47:16.160 Lebron is always going to have like I'm going to 0:47:16.200 --> 0:47:18.920 have like a little bit of that like young, youthful 0:47:19.040 --> 0:47:22.680 emotional fan rooting interest there, and when Lebron retires that 0:47:22.719 --> 0:47:25.000 will fade. But like I have a lot of players 0:47:25.000 --> 0:47:27.560 that I've really grown to like as an adult basketball fan. 0:47:27.800 --> 0:47:31.799 Steph Curry is like my favorite natural became a fan 0:47:31.840 --> 0:47:35.120 as an adult type of basketball player. Probably my second 0:47:35.120 --> 0:47:37.600 favorite player of all time, behind Lebron. It's probably the 0:47:37.640 --> 0:47:40.160 biggest reason why Lebron going to Golden State doesn't bother me, 0:47:40.200 --> 0:47:42.520 because I just really like Steph, I really like Lebron, 0:47:42.560 --> 0:47:44.480 and I just want to see them play together. I 0:47:44.480 --> 0:47:46.000 think it would be a blast. But there are a 0:47:46.080 --> 0:47:48.480 lot of players over the years that I've really liked. 0:47:48.680 --> 0:47:51.440 I won number fifteen in college because I was a 0:47:51.480 --> 0:47:55.399 big fan of Carmelo Anthony in his high post games specifically, 0:47:55.440 --> 0:47:57.960 and if you watch any of my college tape, it's 0:47:57.960 --> 0:47:59.920 a lot of like face up, jab step kind of 0:48:00.040 --> 0:48:01.600 mid post stuff. I did a lot of that kind 0:48:01.640 --> 0:48:03.040 of shit just because I was such a big fan 0:48:03.080 --> 0:48:08.480 of Carmelo Anthony. Anthony Edwards is a modern player that 0:48:08.520 --> 0:48:11.080 I've been a huge fan of. Kobe Bryant was a 0:48:11.120 --> 0:48:13.920 player that I became a much bigger fan of after 0:48:13.960 --> 0:48:17.080 he retired, really after he came back from his achilles. 0:48:17.520 --> 0:48:20.600 I just like had such an appreciation for the comeback. 0:48:20.640 --> 0:48:22.520 And you know how it is when you're a young fan, 0:48:23.000 --> 0:48:25.520 When you're a really young fan, you have your guy 0:48:25.560 --> 0:48:27.399 that you love and then you hate everybody that they 0:48:27.400 --> 0:48:29.520 compare him to. So That's why I didn't like Kobe. 0:48:29.520 --> 0:48:31.360 I didn't like Tim Duncan, I didn't like Steph. I 0:48:31.360 --> 0:48:34.160 didn't like KD when I was like young. But as 0:48:34.160 --> 0:48:37.760 I got older and I realized that, you know, actually, 0:48:37.800 --> 0:48:40.120 I just I'm a basketball fan and I love all 0:48:40.200 --> 0:48:42.479 these dudes. I became a huge KD fan. I became 0:48:42.480 --> 0:48:45.120 a huge Kawhi fan. I became a huge Kobe Bryant fan. 0:48:45.239 --> 0:48:48.400 Like Kobe. You know, I have a similar frame. I 0:48:48.400 --> 0:48:50.520 have long arms, and I'm six six, so like I 0:48:50.600 --> 0:48:53.240 play a lot of you know, high post, mid post stuff, 0:48:53.239 --> 0:48:56.000 and practiced a bunch of footwork that Kobe did just 0:48:56.040 --> 0:48:58.200 because I wanted to look like him, because I'm a 0:48:58.239 --> 0:49:00.960 fan and I just want to you know, it's just 0:49:01.280 --> 0:49:04.279 I just wanted. I just grew to love and appreciate 0:49:04.320 --> 0:49:08.520 all these basketball players for different reasons. And you know, 0:49:08.640 --> 0:49:10.600 I think that one of the most fun parts about 0:49:10.600 --> 0:49:13.520 being a basketball player is you can kind of pick 0:49:13.560 --> 0:49:16.759 and choose little pieces from everybody's game, and you can 0:49:16.800 --> 0:49:18.600 practice it and you can add it to your game. 0:49:18.680 --> 0:49:20.600 And that's kind of what I think is fun. When 0:49:20.600 --> 0:49:24.120 you watch any young up and coming NBA player, is 0:49:24.120 --> 0:49:26.960 they usually just look like kind of a collection of 0:49:27.000 --> 0:49:29.600 a bunch of previous players that came before them, because 0:49:29.640 --> 0:49:31.680 you can tell they watched those guys and they became 0:49:31.760 --> 0:49:34.040 fans of their games for various reasons, and they kind 0:49:34.040 --> 0:49:36.880 of implemented those things into their game. But yeah, like 0:49:36.920 --> 0:49:40.160 the truth of the matter is, is I I as 0:49:40.160 --> 0:49:43.719 an NBA fan. There are very few players that like 0:49:43.800 --> 0:49:47.040 I just don't like. I for the most part, end 0:49:47.120 --> 0:49:50.719 up finding things that I like about everybody's game just 0:49:50.719 --> 0:49:53.759 because I find their skill level so impressive. Two more, 0:49:55.080 --> 0:49:56.520 this is beside the point of the pod, but why 0:49:56.560 --> 0:49:59.040 aren't the Knicks considered first tier contenders? They just set 0:49:59.080 --> 0:50:01.120 a million records in one title. They went sixteen and 0:50:01.120 --> 0:50:02.759 three in the playoffs. They were so dominant that they 0:50:02.800 --> 0:50:04.839 set records that applied to the regular season as well. 0:50:04.920 --> 0:50:07.120 They should also improve next season since they can build 0:50:07.120 --> 0:50:08.960 off some of the offensive looks they stumbled upon in 0:50:09.000 --> 0:50:11.640 the playoffs. People criticize how easy their path was, but 0:50:11.640 --> 0:50:13.759 if you look at the seeding they had to beat, 0:50:13.800 --> 0:50:16.799 it's basically the same as previous champions. Definitely easier than 0:50:16.840 --> 0:50:19.279 the Celtics WHENU factor in injuries. Even though you could 0:50:19.280 --> 0:50:21.000 say the Spurs were a good matchup. Putting the Knicks 0:50:21.040 --> 0:50:23.280 in that tier would just form a rock scissors paper 0:50:23.520 --> 0:50:26.719 with the Spurs, okay see and the Knicks. So the 0:50:26.760 --> 0:50:29.520 big difference between the Knicks and a real top tier 0:50:29.520 --> 0:50:32.400 contender is the regular season. Like, how many of you 0:50:32.480 --> 0:50:36.080 guys throughout the season talked shit in the comments about 0:50:36.080 --> 0:50:39.759 how bad the Lakers were For various reasons, No one 0:50:39.800 --> 0:50:42.440 ever thought the Lakers were a top tier contender. I 0:50:42.480 --> 0:50:44.799 had best in March when they were fully healthy, thought 0:50:44.800 --> 0:50:48.200 of them as a second tier contender. The Knicks and 0:50:48.280 --> 0:50:50.319 the Lakers won the same amount of regular season games 0:50:50.400 --> 0:50:54.320 last year. Yes, did the Knicks face a relatively easy 0:50:54.320 --> 0:50:58.600 postseason run, Yes until the finals. Again, in their finals 0:50:58.680 --> 0:51:00.440 opponent was a team that I thought they matched up 0:51:00.480 --> 0:51:04.280 really well with. That's true. But yeah, Boston easy playoff 0:51:04.320 --> 0:51:07.080 run for the most part, okay see for the most part, 0:51:07.120 --> 0:51:10.400 easy fortunate playoff run. When it comes to injuries, denver 0:51:10.719 --> 0:51:13.200 relatively easy playoff run. You go down the line that 0:51:13.360 --> 0:51:17.560 most of these champions recently have had relatively easy playoff runs. 0:51:17.800 --> 0:51:21.400 The difference is is like Boston won sixty four games, 0:51:21.960 --> 0:51:24.279 okay see, I can't even remember how many games when 0:51:24.280 --> 0:51:27.360 it was in the sixties. Like, the difference between a 0:51:27.400 --> 0:51:30.560 top tier contender and a second tier contender is a 0:51:30.600 --> 0:51:33.120 top tier contender from day one of the regular season 0:51:33.239 --> 0:51:36.120 through the time that they hoist the trophy looks like 0:51:36.160 --> 0:51:40.200 a top tier contender. To me. The Knicks kind of 0:51:40.200 --> 0:51:42.480 fall more in line with like a Golden State, where 0:51:42.719 --> 0:51:44.880 they were more dominant in the postseason, but again, a 0:51:44.880 --> 0:51:48.920 big part of that had to do with their opponents 0:51:48.920 --> 0:51:51.160 that they faced in the Eastern Conference. They're more dominant 0:51:51.200 --> 0:51:54.680 in the postseason, but during the majority of the season 0:51:54.760 --> 0:51:56.640 they just looked like a second tier contender. I think 0:51:56.680 --> 0:51:58.200 that's the main difference. I think if you want to 0:51:58.239 --> 0:52:01.040 be viewed as one of the great champions NBA history, 0:52:01.400 --> 0:52:03.920 you need to win sixty plus games and then cruise 0:52:03.960 --> 0:52:06.799 through the playoffs. And by the way, that's kind of 0:52:06.840 --> 0:52:10.440 why that Thunder team isn't remembered as like super super dominant, 0:52:10.480 --> 0:52:12.640 because they were dominant in the regular season, but then 0:52:12.640 --> 0:52:15.520 they weren't dominant in the postseason. They won, but they 0:52:15.719 --> 0:52:18.480 scraped by and got some injury luck, right, Like, it's 0:52:18.560 --> 0:52:21.360 very rare that you see a team like Boston, for example, 0:52:21.680 --> 0:52:24.600 that has sixty four wins and then kicks everyone's ass 0:52:24.600 --> 0:52:27.239 in the postseason, and it's just a resounding top tier 0:52:27.320 --> 0:52:30.480 championship contender season. And I just didn't think the Knicks 0:52:30.719 --> 0:52:35.279 totality of a season rose to that last question, Hi, Jason, 0:52:35.320 --> 0:52:38.760 how would you assess Detroit's offseason? Trajan called out adding 0:52:38.760 --> 0:52:41.680 more ball handling, shooting, and shot creation prior to free agency, 0:52:41.719 --> 0:52:44.880 and thus he's so thus far he's only really addressed shooting. 0:52:45.280 --> 0:52:47.840 The Collins and Joe moves are certainly useful, but without 0:52:47.840 --> 0:52:51.400 that second initiator cough harrow, hero, I can't say with 0:52:51.480 --> 0:52:54.200 any confidence we've improved. The best way I've heard it 0:52:54.200 --> 0:52:56.279 described is that Cade's role will be easier given the 0:52:56.320 --> 0:52:59.840 additional play shooting and play finishing, but ultimately the usage 0:53:00.040 --> 0:53:02.879 remain unsustainably high as the only guy that can break 0:53:02.920 --> 0:53:05.200 down a set defense. Curious to hear your thoughts how 0:53:05.200 --> 0:53:08.120 we could proceed moving towards this free agency. Thanks as 0:53:08.120 --> 0:53:10.600 always for your content. So I've been actually pretty happy 0:53:10.600 --> 0:53:13.000 with the Detroit offseason in the sense that I really 0:53:13.040 --> 0:53:15.399 do like Isaiah Joe. I've been telling you guys, John 0:53:15.440 --> 0:53:17.600 Collins was my favorite power forward that was available not 0:53:17.680 --> 0:53:20.880 named Lebron, So they got my favorite power forward, Isaiah Joe. 0:53:20.920 --> 0:53:22.560 I think it is just a really good player. I 0:53:22.560 --> 0:53:24.000 think you guys are going to be impressed by him 0:53:24.040 --> 0:53:26.919 defensively as well. There's a lot that I really like there. 0:53:27.280 --> 0:53:30.040 To me, the one thing I would say about the 0:53:30.080 --> 0:53:33.680 ball handling piece is I don't mind them waiting as 0:53:33.719 --> 0:53:38.879 long as they eventually do something this season before the deadline, 0:53:39.040 --> 0:53:42.560 the trade deadline in February. Cauz Like Frankly, do I 0:53:42.560 --> 0:53:45.080 think Tyler Hero would help the Pistons? Yeah? But do 0:53:45.120 --> 0:53:47.040 I think Tyler Hero is the guy that elevates them 0:53:47.160 --> 0:53:51.680 top tier championship contender. No, So maybe they're holding out 0:53:51.920 --> 0:53:55.960 for a Devin Booker, Maybe they're holding out for a 0:53:56.440 --> 0:53:59.960 Kyrie Irving. Maybe they're holding out for a higher level 0:54:00.040 --> 0:54:03.160 player at that spot. For instance. The reporting is is 0:54:03.200 --> 0:54:05.840 that they put together a real offer for Austin Reeves. 0:54:06.320 --> 0:54:08.359 I'm on board with that. I'm a huge Austin fan. 0:54:08.640 --> 0:54:10.799 Austin I think is a much better player than Tyler Hero. 0:54:11.080 --> 0:54:12.560 I think he'd be the kind of player that could 0:54:12.600 --> 0:54:15.960 actually elevate Detroit to another level. So, like to me, 0:54:16.840 --> 0:54:21.240 it's them kind of moving on the margins with savvy moves. 0:54:21.680 --> 0:54:25.640 But waiting to pounce on the right guard is the move, 0:54:26.200 --> 0:54:29.560 and from all indications, guys like Booker Kyrie they're not 0:54:29.600 --> 0:54:32.720 available yet, so like, as long as they eventually do something, 0:54:32.760 --> 0:54:36.080 I'm on board. I'd rather have them wait and do 0:54:36.200 --> 0:54:39.960 something more splashy before this deadline than them take a 0:54:40.000 --> 0:54:42.040 move on Tyler Hero right now and then not be 0:54:42.080 --> 0:54:44.640 good enough to win the title next season. All right, guys, 0:54:44.640 --> 0:54:46.280 that's all I have for today. Is always as sincerely 0:54:46.320 --> 0:54:48.919 appreciate you guys for supporting us in supporting the show.