Speaker 1: De Jontay Murray, Bruce Brown, Kyle Kuzma, and a very
Speaker 1: talented big man whose name you haven't heard much about lately.
Speaker 1: We're gonna get into all that as we dig into
Speaker 1: the latest from NBA Trade season. Here on the latest
Speaker 1: edition of This League Uncut.
Speaker 2: Welcome to This League Uncut in the rule of twenty
Speaker 2: four hour NBA.
Speaker 1: News, this news you'll.
Speaker 2: Chris Haynes, it's so time, work's time, it's so time.
Speaker 2: This League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should
Speaker 2: be a good one.
Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Welcome in to the latest edition of This
Speaker 1: League Uncut. Mark Stein here with Chris Haynes, Taping on
Speaker 1: a Sunday night. It'll be Monday morning by the time
Speaker 1: this episode drops. Where within three weeks, now less than
Speaker 1: three weeks to go until the NBA trade buzzer February eighth,
Speaker 1: three pm Eastern Time. That's when the deadline sounds. The
Speaker 1: buzzer sounds. Rather, we've already seen Oganaobi traded, We've already
Speaker 1: seen Pascal Siakam traded. But rest assured there will be
Speaker 1: plenty more action. So Chris and I today what we
Speaker 1: came up with, we are going to do some trade deadline,
Speaker 1: give and go two topics each. I'm gonna put the
Speaker 1: ball in your court first, mister Haynes, because on Friday afternoon,
Speaker 1: you got everybody revved up. You did a live stream
Speaker 1: on Bleacher Report, and you reported that the Milwaukee Bucks
Speaker 1: are trying to barge their way into the chase for
Speaker 1: de Jonte Murray in Atlanta. I think, with Siakam and
Speaker 1: n and Obi off the board, with all the struggles
Speaker 1: Chicago has had trying to find any sort of trade
Speaker 1: market for Zach Levine, de jontey Murray, you can definitely
Speaker 1: make the case that he is the most decorated player
Speaker 1: who is who would be classified as likely to move
Speaker 1: between now and the deadline. He is certainly more likely
Speaker 1: to move at this point than Levine, and I think
Speaker 1: he is also more likely to move than Jeremy Grant
Speaker 1: in Portland. The signals from the Blazers to this point, anyway,
Speaker 1: have been that Portland is not very interested in fielding
Speaker 1: pitches on Jeremy Grant. So you know you've been saying,
Speaker 1: you've come on this pod multiple times here in recent weeks,
Speaker 1: you said you thought Dejante Murray was going to be moved.
Speaker 1: You said you thought Siakam was going to be moved,
Speaker 1: and that happened already. Do Jon Tay Murray? Do the
Speaker 1: Bucks have any chance here? The question I have really is,
Speaker 1: you know, Atlanta is known to want two first round
Speaker 1: picks at least for to Jon Ta Murray. That's what
Speaker 1: they're hoping to recoup after they traded so much to
Speaker 1: get him. Can the Bucks manufacture two first round picks
Speaker 1: to become a factor in this chase?
Speaker 3: Yeah, the only way, you know, I've heard that. As
Speaker 3: well as far as what Atlanta is seeking in return,
Speaker 3: you have to remember what they gave up to get
Speaker 3: de Johonte. Again, that was a different regime, that was
Speaker 3: before Landrew Fields took over as general manager. But they
Speaker 3: got let me see, they gave away three first round
Speaker 3: picks in a first and a first round pick swap
Speaker 3: in that deal, so they're not getting that back in return.
Speaker 3: So you know, I was told as well, it's going
Speaker 3: to take at least to first and I was told
Speaker 3: also a quality place layer. So with that being said,
Speaker 3: the Bucks do not have the picks. So if the
Speaker 3: Bucks were really serious about getting engaged in trying to
Speaker 3: acquire the John Ty Murray, it's going to take some
Speaker 3: assistance because because they do not have the picks. Now
Speaker 3: you can make the case that maybe they have a
Speaker 3: quality player that Atlanta might find attractive. But now it's
Speaker 3: the tall order of finding those picks. Where do you go?
Speaker 3: Who has that, who can help facilitate? And I think
Speaker 3: that's where the Milwaukee is at right now. Again, I
Speaker 3: when I when I brought up Milwaukee, there is nothing
Speaker 3: to the sentiment of their being dialogue where they're exchanging
Speaker 3: offers and nothing. It hasn't gotten to that point. But
Speaker 3: I do know for sure Milwaukee has reached out and
Speaker 3: expressed interest and trying to see what Atlanta wants to
Speaker 3: do the like because of them moving to Johntay, things
Speaker 3: of that nature. So I wouldn't dismiss Milwaukee just because
Speaker 3: they lack the picks right now. They're they're calling for
Speaker 3: a reason, and that's that's the start. But I do
Speaker 3: think Steyn to piggyback on what you said, I feel
Speaker 3: pretty strongly about the John T. Murray being moved before
Speaker 3: the deadline. I would echo that.
Speaker 1: And I guess, look, the reason that the Bucks would
Speaker 1: be interested is pretty clear. I mean, they are just
Speaker 1: not defensively what we've seen in recent years. Damian Lillard
Speaker 1: has certainly given the offense a gear it didn't have before.
Speaker 1: But with no Drew Holliday there, they are struggling defensively
Speaker 1: in the backcourt and something they need to address.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean they're struggling all over the over the board,
Speaker 3: but yeah, they they will. They do require a point
Speaker 3: of attack defender. And when you look at the names,
Speaker 3: you know, we talked about the John Tay and you
Speaker 3: know there's a there's a lot of guys out there
Speaker 3: that fit that mold. And I know we're playing this game,
Speaker 3: but allow me Steyn to just throw out some names
Speaker 3: out there that that could help Milwaukee. You're talking about
Speaker 3: somebody like Alex Caruso, talking about somebody like Dorian Finney Smith,
Speaker 3: talking about somebody who we're going to I'll let you
Speaker 3: get to that. I won't bring up his name, but
Speaker 3: we get to that when you when you come about
Speaker 3: but uh, somebody like Matisse Stible. So these are all
Speaker 3: names out there that are circulating that that has some
Speaker 3: links to the Milwaukee Bucks as being that guy that
Speaker 3: they can plug in to be that point of attack defender.
Speaker 3: So they definitely look need help and I will say
Speaker 3: this stein Milwaukee is being very aggressive about there. That's
Speaker 3: what I've heard. They're being very aggressive and surveying the market,
Speaker 3: seeing what's available, seeing what players are available. So they're
Speaker 3: John Horst, the GM over there with the Bucks. He's
Speaker 3: he's working those falls for sure.
Speaker 1: And that's probably, I guess the most important takeaway here
Speaker 1: that we know the Bucks are obviously limited what they
Speaker 1: have asset wise, after all, they gave up to trade
Speaker 1: for Damian Lillard, but the realization that they do need
Speaker 1: to make a move, they still need more. The way
Speaker 1: this first half of the season has unfolded, yes, the
Speaker 1: Bucks are incredibly potent offensively. Yes, as an offensive duo,
Speaker 1: Damian Lillard and Gianna Santetokumpa have a very high ceiling.
Speaker 1: But even though the gap and the standings between Boston
Speaker 1: and Milwaukee is not significant, not that significant, clearly the
Speaker 1: Bucks feel like they need something else in season to
Speaker 1: make sure that they can get out of the East.
Speaker 1: Because Boston has been tremendous. Philadelphia has not made its
Speaker 1: major post James Harden move yet, but the Sixers are
Speaker 1: right there and now even the chasing pack in the
Speaker 1: East is tougher given that Indiana has just upgraded significantly
Speaker 1: by bringing in Pascal Siakam and giving Tyrese Haliburton a
Speaker 1: max player sidekick. Cleveland has been fantastic, resilient to really
Speaker 1: hang in there without Garland, without Mobiley. They've weathered their
Speaker 1: injuries and you know they're still in the mix for
Speaker 1: a top four seed. The Knicks look better since getting Anonobe.
Speaker 1: We know the Heat are always on the prowl. So
Speaker 1: you know, the whole East at least the top half
Speaker 1: of the East ladder with Orlando still at number eight
Speaker 1: as one of the surprise teams in the league this season.
Speaker 1: But the East overall one to eight is better than
Speaker 1: it was. And so just the fact that the Bucks
Speaker 1: are so aggressively looking that does say something.
Speaker 3: For sure, give me a name that you're hear as
Speaker 3: far as who you think could be moved, or just
Speaker 3: give me a name that you think, well, give me
Speaker 3: a name and what you're hearing about this particular player
Speaker 3: that could be dealt by the trade.
Speaker 1: That line, well, look, since the Siakam trade and Toronto
Speaker 1: made the trade when it did for multiple reasons. On
Speaker 1: one level, the Raptors, they did the deal with Indiana
Speaker 1: because I think they realized that they weren't going to
Speaker 1: get a stronger offer anywhere else. The Pacers were very
Speaker 1: motivated to bring in Pascal Siakam. They had the leverage
Speaker 1: to do it without including guys like Benedict Maturin and
Speaker 1: Jarris Walker, Jalen Smith Andrew Nebhard. It was a deal
Speaker 1: for the Raptors to be able to acquire multiple first
Speaker 1: round picks. But they got Bruce Brown in that deal,
Speaker 1: and they knew that if they got Bruce Brown with
Speaker 1: three weeks to go before the trade deadline, which is
Speaker 1: basically when they acquired him, they knew that they could
Speaker 1: potentially trade Bruce Brown on his own and potentially recoup
Speaker 1: further assets, which would certainly change the way that the
Speaker 1: Raptors are being graded for this trade. There is so
Speaker 1: much talk in Toronto, and Messiu Jerry sat the other
Speaker 1: day for an hour taking every single possible question from
Speaker 1: the Toronto press pack because Massiu Jerry's getting questioned louder
Speaker 1: than he ever has since he's been running the did
Speaker 1: you hang on to og Anobi and Pascal Siakam and
Speaker 1: Fred van Vliet too long? These are the questions that
Speaker 1: Messiau Jerry is facing louder and more frequently than he
Speaker 1: ever has. But again, we might have to reevaluate how
Speaker 1: we grade this trade and the Raptors haul for trading
Speaker 1: Pascal Siakam might look different if the Raptors can get
Speaker 1: another important asset or two by moving Bruce Brown before
Speaker 1: February eighth. So that was my long winded intro to
Speaker 1: the Bruce Brown situation because I wrote about this on
Speaker 1: my sub stack on Sunday. What I'm hearing is the
Speaker 1: Raptors are telling teams they want at least a first
Speaker 1: round pick and a quality player in exchange for Bruce Brown.
Speaker 1: And what is motivating the Raptors to pursue that kind
Speaker 1: of asking price is their belief that multiple contenders want
Speaker 1: Bruce Brown, and with that very trade friendly contract that
Speaker 1: he has, he is very movable. The Raptors cannot aggregate
Speaker 1: Bruce Brown with any other Raptor between now and February eighth.
Speaker 1: They can only trade him on his own. But Bruce
Speaker 1: Brown is making twenty two million this season next season
Speaker 1: is a twenty three million dollar team option. It's just
Speaker 1: like the Evan fourty A contract in New York. So
Speaker 1: basically a team can trade for him, and if they
Speaker 1: want to avoid the cap hit completely next season, they can.
Speaker 1: So the question is who will ultimately trade for Bruce
Speaker 1: Brown between now and the deadline. I think the expectation
Speaker 1: around the league is that there will be another trade
Speaker 1: that he would be on the move, and I do
Speaker 1: think there are multiple contenders interested. I'm not even sure
Speaker 1: we know them all yet. The Lakers and the Knicks
Speaker 1: have been mentioned the most frequently, but I think the
Speaker 1: field will expand, and the Raptors certainly believe that if
Speaker 1: they're expecting to get a first and the player as well.
Speaker 1: We'll see if in the end they can actually meet
Speaker 1: those lofty ambitions.
Speaker 3: The way it was explained to me starying on Bruce
Speaker 3: Brown's that the Raptors are receiving an apt normal amount
Speaker 3: of calls regarding bb Now, that that which is amazing
Speaker 3: considering the fact that, I mean Bruce even said it
Speaker 3: himself last free agency he really didn't have a market,
Speaker 3: you know, before he went to before he signed with Denver.
Speaker 3: He I forgot how he said it. I'm paraphrasing, but
Speaker 3: he said nobody wanted me. And now now he's in
Speaker 3: a situation where team, some teams feel like he's the
Speaker 3: difference maker. He's going to be that guy that that
Speaker 3: puts them, puts him over the top, push them over
Speaker 3: the top, I should say. And so, uh, kudos to
Speaker 3: Bruce Brown for just improving his game, stick sticking with
Speaker 3: it and have in the market. Now, now with that
Speaker 3: being said, Bruce Brown is also a guy that you know,
Speaker 3: we're talking about the Milwaukee Bucks point of attack defender.
Speaker 3: That's him. It doesn't you know, it doesn't get any
Speaker 3: better than the the than the skill set of a
Speaker 3: Bruce Brown. And so I would be he's another guy
Speaker 3: I would be surprised if Toronto kept I think they
Speaker 3: won't have a problem at all getting a first and
Speaker 3: a player of value back in return. I don't see,
Speaker 3: I'll be surprised. Again, I haven't. I haven't heard anything
Speaker 3: concrete outside of the Lakers and Knicks interest, but I
Speaker 3: know there's a lot a lot of other teams that
Speaker 3: have that definitely have reached out and I think Toronto, again,
Speaker 3: Toronto won't have any problem getting what they want to return.
Speaker 3: Bruce Brown is that hot of a trade candidate.
Speaker 1: Well, it's interesting with the Knicks, you know that they
Speaker 1: were a team that was interested and Brown in the summertime,
Speaker 1: but now you know they have again. They've since since
Speaker 1: the Siakam to Indiana trade went down. The Nicks have
Speaker 1: been mentioned frequently when it comes to Bruce Brown.
Speaker 3: To me, Stein, before you say that, before you go
Speaker 3: any further, I did want to say this I have.
Speaker 3: I was told the Denver Nuggets would love to have
Speaker 3: Bruce Brown back, But again, they're in a similar situation
Speaker 3: like Milwaukee where they just don't have the picks. They
Speaker 3: don't have the picks to try to do that, but
Speaker 3: they Bruce Brown knows how they feel, is what I've
Speaker 3: been told. So that's something to keep an eye on,
Speaker 3: even down the road. Not even talk.
Speaker 1: I've heard the same thing that Denver would absolutely love
Speaker 1: if there was a way, if it was in any
Speaker 1: way feasible, Yeah, for them to try to get Bruce
Speaker 1: Brown back. They would love to do so. But when
Speaker 1: you look at the Nuggets contract situations, it's just hard
Speaker 1: to see a feasible pathway for them to be able
Speaker 1: to trade for him now without messing with their their rotation.
Speaker 1: I just don't think they can do it. And back
Speaker 1: to the Knicks, Yes, they have had interest in him
Speaker 1: in the past, but the Knicks have really been looking
Speaker 1: for a scoring guard since they were forced to put
Speaker 1: Emmanuel Quickly in the og Annobie trade. And so to me,
Speaker 1: again this is this is not this is more analysis
Speaker 1: than reporting. This is my observation of the situation. I
Speaker 1: did report last week that the Knicks are a team
Speaker 1: with interest in Jordan Clarkson. That part is reporting. To me,
Speaker 1: a pursuit of a Jordan Clarkson or a Malcolm Brogden
Speaker 1: would make more sense for the Knicks than trying to
Speaker 1: get Bruce Brown, because again I think they are looking
Speaker 1: for some backcourt scoring punch to try to replace, to
Speaker 1: replicate in some way what Quickly used to give them.
Speaker 1: And so I do wonder. You know, the Knicks have
Speaker 1: one of the strongest reserves in the league in terms
Speaker 1: of trade assets, so they can get in the trade
Speaker 1: mix really for anyone they'd like to, depending on how serious,
Speaker 1: how far they want to go. So I imagine with all
Speaker 1: the winning that Utah has been doing lately that Danny
Speaker 1: Ainge has regained some leverage when it comes to Jordan Clarkson.
Speaker 1: Colin Sexton, who's been great as a starter for the Jazz,
Speaker 1: Kelly Olynnick if anybody wants any of these Jazz veterans,
Speaker 1: it's going to be costlier than it was when this
Speaker 1: team was seven and sixteen compared to the five hundred
Speaker 1: team they were entering play on Sunday. But yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: just my senses. The Knicks need a scoring guard more
Speaker 1: than they need Bruce brown particular skill set. And then
Speaker 1: the Lakers, you know, the Lakers thought they were going
Speaker 1: to be leading the chase in free agency for Bruce Brown,
Speaker 1: and then that's when Indiana, you know, the teams chasing
Speaker 1: Bruce Brown were mid level exception teams. The Lakers probably
Speaker 1: win that race if Bruce Brown was only commanding the
Speaker 1: mid level exception last summer. But then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: Indiana came in with salary cap space, and that just
Speaker 1: has to go down as such a smart trade because
Speaker 1: not only did they manage to outbid the competition with
Speaker 1: a year one salary for Bruce Brown of twenty two
Speaker 1: million as opposed to twelve million in the mid level range,
Speaker 1: they tacked on that second year where it was a
Speaker 1: team option, which made his contract so tradable. And the
Speaker 1: Pacers that was such smart business for them, the way
Speaker 1: they handled Bruce Brown's free agency last summer. We'll see,
Speaker 1: now if the Lakers decide, you know what, Bruce Brown
Speaker 1: is the guy we should go for. Is Bruce Brown
Speaker 1: more gettable? Is Bruce Brown available at a price that's
Speaker 1: more palatable than it would be for the Lakers to
Speaker 1: try to make the run at de Jontay Murray. Because
Speaker 1: when it comes to the Lakers trying to get de
Speaker 1: Jonte Murray, to me all right, we know the Lakers
Speaker 1: do not want to include Austin Reeves in that deal.
Speaker 1: The Lakers are pretty much all but treating Austin Reeves
Speaker 1: as untouchable. Even if the Lakers are prepared to use
Speaker 1: their last available first round pick in an offer for
Speaker 1: Dejontay Murray, it's basically impossible for them to do that
Speaker 1: deal without including Di'angelo Russell. And my senses, the Hawks
Speaker 1: really aren't interested in DiAngelo Russell, and I don't know
Speaker 1: that even with a Laker first thrown in, are the
Speaker 1: Hawks going to be willing to take a deal that's
Speaker 1: built around DiAngelo Russell's contract. So making a play for
Speaker 1: Bruce Brown it might be easier for the Lakers than
Speaker 1: trying to win the race for de Jontay Murray. All right,
Speaker 1: in this trade deadline give and go. Now, I pitch
Speaker 1: it back to you, who is the player or team
Speaker 1: whose trade situation you want to get into.
Speaker 3: It could be a big name and could hold significance
Speaker 3: next season. But I'm going to tell people about the
Speaker 3: Portland Trailblazers. They are There are some teams that are
Speaker 3: pondering making a move for Robert Williams. Now, I know
Speaker 3: Robert Williams is he's out for the season, had another
Speaker 3: surgery on his right knee. But teams feel like he
Speaker 3: would be somebody that can get on the cheap right
Speaker 3: now and allow him to continue recovering, continue rehabing, and
Speaker 3: and hopes that next season he would be he can
Speaker 3: blossom back into the Robert Williams that we've seen when
Speaker 3: he was playing at at a high level with the
Speaker 3: Boston Celtics. And so you know that is a scenario
Speaker 3: that could play out. There are teams, are a couple
Speaker 3: of teams that I that I'm not quite ready to reveal.
Speaker 3: I want to. I want to make a few more calls,
Speaker 3: but I know there are teams that are pondering making
Speaker 3: a deal, trying to trying to make a deal with
Speaker 3: the Portland Trailblazers to get Robert Williams where his market
Speaker 3: value is just not what it what it used to be,
Speaker 3: so they feel like this is a good time to
Speaker 3: make a move in hopes that it can work out
Speaker 3: for that for that team and Robert Williams in the future,
Speaker 3: as early as next season. So that's something that, yeah,
Speaker 3: something that won't you know, won't be a big significance
Speaker 3: in the short term, but long term very well could be.
Speaker 1: Well tell me this. I know you said you can't
Speaker 1: reveal the teams that you've heard could be interested in
Speaker 1: such a trade scenario, and I understand that you've got
Speaker 1: more reporting to do before you can identify those teams.
Speaker 1: But do we have any sense about the Blazers and
Speaker 1: how willing they would be to actually trade Robert Williams
Speaker 1: when he's out for the season and by all accounts,
Speaker 1: we're not going to see him until next season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the Blazer will be very open. That's that's not
Speaker 3: up for debate. They'll be very open if they feel
Speaker 3: like they can they get the right deal in place.
Speaker 3: You know, they're they're open. The Blazers as we as
Speaker 3: we know they're they're in the youth movement right now,
Speaker 3: so they have they have nothing but time on their side.
Speaker 3: And you know, some players don't fit the development arc
Speaker 3: of most of the the youth they have on that team.
Speaker 3: So Robert Williams is somebody who is definitely available given
Speaker 3: the right price. And now I will say this, em
Speaker 3: Uduka is has always and still remains very fond of
Speaker 3: Robert Williams. And so I wouldn't be surprised if if
Speaker 3: Houston could be in a mix for something like that.
Speaker 3: No firm reporting on that, but just knowing he may,
Speaker 3: knowing the relationship he has with Robert Williams, how he
Speaker 3: how he feels about him still to this day, wouldn't
Speaker 3: wouldn't be surprised if if if Houston, you know, went
Speaker 3: out there and tried to try to make something happen.
Speaker 3: So maybe down the road in a in a in
Speaker 3: a in a podcast very soon I have more firm
Speaker 3: reporting on what I'm hearing on Robert Williams.
Speaker 1: All right, sounds good. We'll take that.
Speaker 3: All right, Stein, give me your final guy team player,
Speaker 3: what you got.
Speaker 1: I want to talk about Kyle Kuzma in Washington, a
Speaker 1: player who I've always rated very highly, not that my
Speaker 1: rankings really factor in much here. But I think kuzma
Speaker 1: situation is incredibly interesting and bears monitoring, not just now
Speaker 1: before this deadline, because he might not move in this
Speaker 1: transaction window. But Washington resigned Kyle Kuzma to a really
Speaker 1: good value contract ninety million over four years. This is
Speaker 1: year one. Kuzma's in the twenty five million range this season,
Speaker 1: but the value of the contract descends, it goes down
Speaker 1: all it goes all the way down to nineteen million
Speaker 1: in year four. And he is. I think he could
Speaker 1: be such a product, active player on a good team.
Speaker 1: We've seen that before in stretches with the Lakers. You know,
Speaker 1: obviously I'm not I'm not gonna pay too much attention
Speaker 1: to what's going on with a really bad Wizards team.
Speaker 1: You know, he's not gonna win Defensive Player of the
Speaker 1: Year playing in Washington. I think that's clear. But he
Speaker 1: is he can do a lot of things on the court.
Speaker 1: I think Kyle Kuzma is a much better defensive player
Speaker 1: than he's given credit for. And I know I reported
Speaker 1: this on my sub stack Sunday as well. I know
Speaker 1: that the Mavericks have inquired with Washington about Kuzma's availability.
Speaker 1: I reported that on my sub stack as well on Sunday.
Speaker 1: I know the Sacramento Kings remain very strong admirers of Kuzma.
Speaker 1: And though when you think about those kind of teams,
Speaker 1: you know, Dallas has Luca and Kyrie, Sacramento has Darin
Speaker 1: Fox and Demonta Sabonis. Pascal Siakam, who was in the
Speaker 1: market for a max contract and by all accounts is
Speaker 1: going to get a max contract from the Pacers or
Speaker 1: something close to it. He's a very expensive player to
Speaker 1: add to your team. But Kuzma on the deal he's on,
Speaker 1: I mean that deal in the current marketplace, in today's
Speaker 1: NBA is an absolute bargain to me because of how
Speaker 1: productive and how versatile Kuzma is. And that's why the
Speaker 1: word is the Wizards don't just want two first round
Speaker 1: picks for Kuzma. The way it was framed to me
Speaker 1: is they want picks better than what Toronto got and
Speaker 1: the Siakam deal. And the reason the Wizards think they
Speaker 1: can get that is because Kuzma's on this deal, this
Speaker 1: four year deal that is so much easier to plug
Speaker 1: into a team payroll than it would have been to
Speaker 1: trade for Siakam when he's had a diffree agency and
Speaker 1: is looking for a four year max. So the Wizards
Speaker 1: do not have to rush. The truth is, it's not
Speaker 1: just Kyle Kuzma. Daniel Gafford and Tias Jones are also
Speaker 1: generating lots of interest, and I would expect the Wizards
Speaker 1: to be patient here. They maybe one or even two
Speaker 1: of these guys, maybe all three. It is. I don't
Speaker 1: want to say it's impossible that we see these players
Speaker 1: traded before the trade deadline on February eighth, but the
Speaker 1: Wizards absolutely have to maximize the return that they get
Speaker 1: for a Kyle Kuzma, for a Daniel Gafford, for a
Speaker 1: Tias Jones. Remember last June, the Wizards traded Bradley Beal
Speaker 1: and Chris Stops Porzingis and did not get a single
Speaker 1: outright first round pick in either trade. Yes, they got
Speaker 1: some pick swaps in the Bradley Beal trade, but the
Speaker 1: Wizards had no leverage. Bale, of course, had the only
Speaker 1: no trade clause in the league at that time. Porzingis
Speaker 1: was gonna just he had an offer from Utah. He
Speaker 1: could have gone to Utah in free agency, and the
Speaker 1: knowledge that the Jazz had interest, is what enabled him
Speaker 1: to force the trade that ended up happening with the
Speaker 1: Boston Celtics. And so Washington traded away two former All
Speaker 1: Stars and got back no first round picks. You know
Speaker 1: that the Wizards want to make up for all the
Speaker 1: first rounders they didn't get when they had to send
Speaker 1: Bial and Porzingis away. And so I'm gonna that's something
Speaker 1: I think, besides the Jonte Murray, besides Bruce Brown, I
Speaker 1: think that's one of the most significant stories that we
Speaker 1: really need to watch here in these last two plus
Speaker 1: weeks before the deadline. Will anyone out there come up
Speaker 1: with the draft capital needed to satisfy the Wizards and
Speaker 1: pry a Kuzma, a Gafford, or a Tias Jones away.
Speaker 3: From them m And again regarding Kuzma, they want a
Speaker 3: return that was loftier than what Toronto got for Pascal Huh.
Speaker 1: And the re And here's in.
Speaker 3: Terms of get the reason yea, in terms of picks.
Speaker 1: Because look, the Raptors got three first round picks, but
Speaker 1: two of them are in this coming draft, which the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four draft is much maligned. So getting two
Speaker 1: firsts in the twenty twenty four draft doesn't really wow people.
Speaker 1: They did get a twenty twenty six pick from Indiana,
Speaker 1: that's I believe top four protected. But the draft capital
Speaker 1: that Toronto got in the trade has not been treated
Speaker 1: as some absolute Rudy gobert as call. And that's why
Speaker 1: I think the Raptors are so excited about this ability
Speaker 1: to maybe do something with Bruce Brown in the next
Speaker 1: two plus weeks so they can make the overall package
Speaker 1: they got for Siakam look better on paper than it
Speaker 1: does right now.
Speaker 3: Hmm, okay, I do want to say something. I want
Speaker 3: to go back a little bit Portland. We're talking about Portland.
Speaker 3: You brought up Malcolm Brogden. He's somebody to look out
Speaker 3: for as well at the deadline. I do want to
Speaker 3: say this Stein on my last I believe it was
Speaker 3: my last Bleacher live stream I did where I had
Speaker 3: use of nurkice.
Speaker 1: On your second guys, second.
Speaker 3: And last, thank you, second and last. I have Phoenix
Speaker 3: Sun centered use of nurkice on and y'all go look
Speaker 3: that up. I haven't seen it, Stein said he can.
Speaker 3: You can go back and go on VRS page and
Speaker 3: go look at my interviews on my live streams. But
Speaker 3: I had nurkice on and I reported prior to Nurkish
Speaker 3: coming on, and I reported about the Suns out there
Speaker 3: in the market for a defensive wing, for a Ford
Speaker 3: type player, and Nurkis came on and I told Nurk
Speaker 3: and I said, yeah, I just reported about you know,
Speaker 3: the Suns, this is what they're looking for, looking for
Speaker 3: athletic for that's what they're looking for. And they're not
Speaker 3: in the market for a point guard. And I told
Speaker 3: nurk that, and so he started talking, you know, he
Speaker 3: started talking about like, you know, he can see that,
Speaker 3: he can see the need for that. But then he
Speaker 3: brought up Brogden by himself. He said, but if there's
Speaker 3: somebody like Brogden as available, I don't know how you
Speaker 3: can't try to go after him and try to get him.
Speaker 3: Y'all might want to check that out. I'm paraphrasing what
Speaker 3: he said. But he brought up Brogden out the blue.
Speaker 3: Wasn't even asked about him, didn't ask about him. I
Speaker 3: didn't say anything about him. I didn't even mention the
Speaker 3: point guard. Again. I was reporting about the Suns feel
Speaker 3: like they don't need a point guard because they got
Speaker 3: so many players that need the ball in their hands,
Speaker 3: and they don't want to take the ball out of
Speaker 3: their three stars hands. When you're talking about Devin Booker,
Speaker 3: Bradley Bill and Kevin Durant, and then Nurkish just unprompted
Speaker 3: say hey, yeah, but if somebody like Brockdon is available,
Speaker 3: I don't see how you don't try to go after them.
Speaker 3: So I don't know if you know, I don't know
Speaker 3: if that's saying much. I don't know if that is.
Speaker 3: You know, the front office may have its own obviously,
Speaker 3: they have their own, their own idea of the front office.
Speaker 3: I don't think so. Last last time last I saw,
Speaker 3: I think his title was center. That's the last last
Speaker 3: I saw. The title was center. I don't think there
Speaker 3: was no front office title. Uh, but it's still it's
Speaker 3: still interesting, intriguing to hear from a player's standpoint, somebody
Speaker 3: who's in the thick of it kind of hear what
Speaker 3: they feel like they need. So y'all go check that
Speaker 3: out when y'all get a chance.
Speaker 1: Well, I think we've at least covered in this time together.
Speaker 1: We've found a way to mention numerous players who are
Speaker 1: being talked about as the trade deadline approaches. We've discussed
Speaker 1: a bunch of different scenarios and introduced some new trade ideas,
Speaker 1: and we will do it again. You and I will
Speaker 1: get together very soon, and I'm sure we will continue
Speaker 1: to talk trade deadline. Remind me, what is your what
Speaker 1: does your TV slate look like this week? Where you headed?
Speaker 1: How many games do you.
Speaker 3: Have just this week? I have one game this week,
Speaker 3: but it's a very spicy, very spicy game. Going back
Speaker 3: to La Baby Tuesday. Clippers Lakers.
Speaker 1: All right, well, something tells me, Clippers Lakers you will.
Speaker 1: When it was thunder at Clippers last week, you came
Speaker 1: away from that with a notebook burst with Jim, so
Speaker 1: I fully anticipate the same when you return from time
Speaker 1: in that Clipper huddle with your guy Russ Lakers. Lebron's
Speaker 1: got the special towels that no other player in the
Speaker 1: NBA has. I remember that from his Cleveland days. He
Speaker 1: has these industrial strength personal towels with him on the bench.
Speaker 1: So I have no doubt that, even though it's only
Speaker 1: a one game week for you instead of two in
Speaker 1: terms of sideline assignments, by the time we do this again,
Speaker 1: and I'm guessing it will be probably a Wednesday night taping.
Speaker 1: Will pencil that in. You will have no shortage of
Speaker 1: material to share with us.
Speaker 3: No, I'm looking forward to it excited, and you know
Speaker 3: you know how much I love La so very much
Speaker 3: looking forward to But stein before you close, I want
Speaker 3: to say something. I got a little bit of a
Speaker 3: confirmation on the last story I told in our last
Speaker 3: episode about how I like to go when I was
Speaker 3: a kid, how I would go into restaurants and I
Speaker 3: would go to the restroom and check out the restroom,
Speaker 3: see how nice and tidy the restroom was, and that
Speaker 3: would determine.
Speaker 1: To be before you say it, before you say anything else.
Speaker 1: So last week, after we ended the show not our
Speaker 1: last show, we ended with ten minutes of urinal talk.
Speaker 1: That was enough you felt you felt like you needed
Speaker 1: to bring it back for one more.
Speaker 3: I said yes, because I got confirmation. I am not alone.
Speaker 3: So anyway, as y'all know, I have a great host
Speaker 3: when I do my Bleacher Report live streams. Her name
Speaker 3: is Page You probably most people probably know her as
Speaker 3: that sports page PK. Before we did our live stream,
Speaker 3: she said, Chris, I listened to you guys' podcast, and
Speaker 3: she said, I have a friend who does is today.
Speaker 3: She would go into the restroom today, not as a
Speaker 3: kid when I did it. Today, she goes into the
Speaker 3: restroom and she checks it out, and that gives her
Speaker 3: some type of inclination or a feeling of how the
Speaker 3: food is going to be. And just like I did,
Speaker 3: she said, most oftentimes if the restroom is clean, the
Speaker 3: food is good. And so she felt she felt very
Speaker 3: strongly about sharing that with me, Stein, because she didn't
Speaker 3: want me to feel like I was alone, like I
Speaker 3: was alone in this world, out of place, like I
Speaker 3: was an odd ball. So she confirmed that for me.
Speaker 3: She said, there's a lot of other people like that,
Speaker 3: and so I wanted to share that with people who
Speaker 3: might have thought, why is Chris sharing his secret? Why
Speaker 3: is Chris doing this? I'm doing it because there's more
Speaker 3: of us out there, and I want us to all
Speaker 3: to stand proud. And that is it. Stein.
Speaker 1: I'm somewhat speechless. I was never questioning your strategy. My
Speaker 1: only two questions about it were a why this was
Speaker 1: such a focus for you at the age of six, seven,
Speaker 1: and eight. I think in adulthood, I in adulthood I
Speaker 1: would understand it more so. I'm not disputing the methodology
Speaker 1: of it. It was really more that it took over
Speaker 1: your mindset at such a young age, but really just
Speaker 1: that you were like that, you felt that a ten
Speaker 1: minute chunk of this league uncut should be devoted to
Speaker 1: this topic. That was really more my curiosity.
Speaker 3: Well, Steve Bamber, you have to remember Steve, Steve Bomber
Speaker 3: opened the door he raved about the urinals. No, you're right,
Speaker 3: so I can't.
Speaker 1: I cannot dispute that. Ye, now that we talked, Now
Speaker 1: that we've talked about it on two straight episodes, I
Speaker 1: think we're done.
Speaker 3: I think we're done. I think we put until until chapter.
Speaker 1: Until the first time you or I go to the
Speaker 1: into It dome and then.
Speaker 3: Oh for sure, Oh no, it's coming back. There actually
Speaker 3: no back there.
Speaker 1: You said on the last episode. The most important thing
Speaker 1: you said on the last episode was that Steve Balmer
Speaker 1: wants to come on the show.
Speaker 3: You say, oh, come on for sure?
Speaker 1: All right, So we gotta we gotta stay on that
Speaker 1: after the trade deadline and see if Steve Balmer will
Speaker 1: come on. I might just have to mute and let
Speaker 1: the two of you guys just take over, since I
Speaker 1: you know.
Speaker 3: So, let me apologize. Yes, So we have at minimum,
Speaker 3: and I won't say minimum, we have max two more
Speaker 3: episodes within the next two in the next seven or
Speaker 3: eight months, of which Urino's will be brought back up,
Speaker 3: because it will be brought up when we have Steve
Speaker 3: Balmer on and it has to be brought up when
Speaker 3: me and you fishlely a visit into it dome, because
Speaker 3: I have to see if the fuss is really what
Speaker 3: has been worked up to be. That's it two, and
Speaker 3: that's it two for the rest of twenty twenty four,
Speaker 3: and you won't hear no more talk from me. That's
Speaker 3: it all right.
Speaker 1: We will hold you to that promise, and we will
Speaker 1: try in our next episode to bring it back and
Speaker 1: keep it focused on the on rushing NBA trade deadline.
Speaker 1: That will do it for this edition of This League Uncut.
Speaker 1: As always, if you haven't already, please follow the show,
Speaker 1: Please rate and review the show, Spotify, Apple, wherever you
Speaker 1: get your podcasts. You heard it directly from mister Haynes.
Speaker 1: He'll be on the sidelines for TNT Tuesday Night Clippers
Speaker 1: and Lakers at Crypto dot com arena. He and I
Speaker 1: will get together as soon as possible after that to
Speaker 1: record another episode of this show. Everyone, stay tuned, we
Speaker 1: will be back with you.
Speaker 2: Do it for us, See you next time.
Speaker 1: This League Uncutta is an iHeartRadio production
Speaker 2: Put Circle, Lockup, Chris Haynes and Mark Stein