Speaker 1: Welcome to this League Uncut in the world of twenty
Speaker 1: four hour NBA news, this news.
Speaker 2: Hello, Chris Haynes, it's so time, Markstein, it's so time.
Speaker 1: This League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should
Speaker 1: be a good one. Friends, Hello and welcome. Thank you
Speaker 1: for joining us on another edition of this League Uncut.
Speaker 1: Mark Stein and Chris Haynes here with you. We are
Speaker 1: recording on a Sunday night, and as long as technology cooperates,
Speaker 1: this will have been posted and published on the same
Speaker 1: Sunday night, because we wanted to get a jump on
Speaker 1: the week. It's a huge week in the NBA. The
Speaker 1: Draft is in the rearview mirror Friday at six pm
Speaker 1: Eastern Friday, just not even five full days away. At
Speaker 1: this point, the free agency opens officially legally, of course,
Speaker 1: we know that there may be a stray conversation or
Speaker 1: two happening that hasn't supposed to happen, or wasn't supposed
Speaker 1: to happen by the letter of the NBA law. But
Speaker 1: that is uh. It was actually two years ago, the
Speaker 1: one of my first summer on substack. I believe in
Speaker 1: the reason I even am paying attention to this stuff.
Speaker 1: Sorry to bore you with my truvialities, mister Haynes. But
Speaker 1: this Sunday was actually today is actually the birthday for
Speaker 1: my Substack year two. I'm two years my Substack is
Speaker 1: two years old, so that's why I'm kind of thinking
Speaker 1: in those terms. And I just remember, in my first year,
Speaker 1: my first summer doing Substack, a very wise league observer
Speaker 1: gave me this line, which I absolutely love and I've
Speaker 1: now run into the ground. But it's totally true. When
Speaker 1: the opening bell sounds for free agency at six pm
Speaker 1: Eastern on June thirtieth, it's not really the opening bell.
Speaker 1: It's a lot closer to the end of free agency
Speaker 1: than the beginning because the all the big ticket players
Speaker 1: know where they're going or have a pretty good idea.
Speaker 1: That's just the way it's evolved. And look next year,
Speaker 1: next season, you know, the new CBA drops or the
Speaker 1: new CBA takes effect basically when free agency starts, and
Speaker 1: one of the provisions in the new CBA is the
Speaker 1: day after the finals, teams can start negotiating at least
Speaker 1: with their own free agents right away. And so that
Speaker 1: means that theoretically we can start having some verbal agreements
Speaker 1: that emerge shortly after the finals. It won't necessarily have
Speaker 1: to wait until June thirtieth. We will start to hear, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, so and so has reached a verbal agreement
Speaker 1: to sign such and such a deal that won't be
Speaker 1: executed until after June thirtieth. But because the CBA doesn't
Speaker 1: go into effect until June thirtieth, last July first, that
Speaker 1: particular rule did not take effect after the finals. We
Speaker 1: just saw so after the Nuggets win it all in
Speaker 1: five and finish off Miami this season, there was no
Speaker 1: such commencement of negotiating with your own free agents. But
Speaker 1: that'll be an interesting change next summer that before the draft,
Speaker 1: we're gonna have some free agent deals spill out. But look,
Speaker 1: enough of me blabbering. We got a lot to cover.
Speaker 1: Let's get to it. Let us start, mister Haynes with
Speaker 1: Draymond Green. Earlier on this Sunday, I reported that there
Speaker 1: are strong signals that the Warriors are headed to a
Speaker 1: multi year deal with Draymond Green. The latest projection i'm
Speaker 1: getting it's most likely three years. Look, I don't think
Speaker 1: that's really some surprise. Now that the Warriors have traded
Speaker 1: yours and pool away, they did that in large part
Speaker 1: to give themselves the financial flexibility to resign Draymond Green
Speaker 1: and re signed Klay Thompson in the future to do
Speaker 1: that comfortably. However, the Sacramento Kings, in Chris Haynes's adopted hometown,
Speaker 1: the nine to one six the Kings, they made a
Speaker 1: sneaky little draft night move to dumper Shawn Holmes and
Speaker 1: now they they technically have the ability to create more
Speaker 1: than thirty million in salary cap space, and that has
Speaker 1: led a lot of people to think the Kings would
Speaker 1: go hard after Draymond Green. Do your hometown Kings have
Speaker 1: any chance of recruiting Draymond away from the Warriors? I
Speaker 1: would say no.
Speaker 2: This reminds me and I don't know if it would
Speaker 2: get this far. But back when I was at ESPN,
Speaker 2: so this had to been trying to think the year
Speaker 2: I went was it twenty sixteen, sixteen seven? So one
Speaker 2: of those years it was sixteen and seventeen I was
Speaker 2: covering the Warriors for ESPN. Did I cover Andre Iglo
Speaker 2: dollars free agency? The Kings went after him hard hard,
Speaker 2: and I did a really in depth story. I was
Speaker 2: pretty I was, I was, I was you know, that
Speaker 2: was That was something that was a story that I
Speaker 2: was proud of going in depth on. If people want
Speaker 2: to get get an understanding of what free agency is like,
Speaker 2: especially when you have multiple suitors and you're taking meetings
Speaker 2: and you want to hear the pitches and kind of
Speaker 2: the elaborate things that these teams come up with to
Speaker 2: try to entice the player, please go I don't know
Speaker 2: if I want to go. It ain't too often I
Speaker 2: say go back and listen to it. I mean, go
Speaker 2: back and read the story from one about old stumping grounds.
Speaker 2: But if you find yourself doing that, go ahead and
Speaker 2: do it. I don't say that often, but it was
Speaker 2: really good. But the Kings are one of the teams
Speaker 2: that was in on andre Iguadala and they wanted you.
Speaker 2: You know how obviously the vet used to be who
Speaker 2: used to what it used to be minor one of
Speaker 2: the minority owners the Golden State Wars.
Speaker 1: Yeah, part of the part of the one of the minority.
Speaker 2: We know how he feels about the Warriors. He wants
Speaker 2: to take them down. He wants to be the team. Uh,
Speaker 2: he wants to be the biggest team the northern part
Speaker 2: of California, And so that was one of the ways. Obviously,
Speaker 2: Igwalla was a very good player still at that time,
Speaker 2: and he wanted I Dollar bad. He wanted the weakend
Speaker 2: the Golden State Warriors team, and he felt like bringing
Speaker 2: on Ingwa Dollar that would play a major part in
Speaker 2: that mission. And so that mission is still ongoing. See
Speaker 2: he got Mike Brown brought over Mike Brown, you know,
Speaker 2: a little by little, And there's no doubt in my
Speaker 2: mind Steinn that if Draymond Green gave them the time,
Speaker 2: or if Draymond went the route of taking meetings, I
Speaker 2: don't know if it to get to that point, but
Speaker 2: if you if you went the route of taking meetings,
Speaker 2: I would think he would give Sacramento a shot and
Speaker 2: the Kams will put all their efforts into trying to
Speaker 2: snag him away. That they would want nothing more than
Speaker 2: try to weakend that Golden State Warriors team. So, but
Speaker 2: I don't think it's going to happen. I definitely do
Speaker 2: think Draymond Green is resigning. You know, I've heard, you know,
Speaker 2: similar things to what you've reported in your substack. Congratulations
Speaker 2: of two years. But nah, I don't I don't see
Speaker 2: I don't see Draymond exit. Not right now.
Speaker 1: Well, look, one of the highlights. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: we're basically five months old now this podcast, and let's
Speaker 1: face it, one of the highlights we've had on this
Speaker 1: pod is having Draymond join us, and he said it.
Speaker 1: We talked at length on this pod about how much
Speaker 1: he wants to retire a Warrior, and then when the
Speaker 1: Warrior season ended, he really couldn't have said it much clear.
Speaker 1: He was up there at the podium and he said,
Speaker 1: I want to ride out with the guys I rode
Speaker 1: in with. And I also reported today that before Memphis
Speaker 1: traded for Marcus Smart, that I don't know how the
Speaker 1: Grizzlies were going to do it. I don't have the
Speaker 1: salary cap smarts to understand this, but I've had too
Speaker 1: many people I trust tell me that the Grizzlies were
Speaker 1: scheming somehow to make a credible run at Draymond Green.
Speaker 1: In the checking I've done on the math, even before
Speaker 1: the Marcus Smart trade, I don't think they had cap room.
Speaker 1: I think they only had the full mid level, which
Speaker 1: is twelve point four million. That's not enough to construct
Speaker 1: an offer to get Draymond Green. He's going to get
Speaker 1: a healthy, multi year deal wherever he goes. And again,
Speaker 1: I do think it's going to be Golden State, and
Speaker 1: I do think the three year projection is a wise
Speaker 1: place to start. I don't know how Memphis was going
Speaker 1: to do it, but I keep hearing that the Grizzlies
Speaker 1: wanted him, and that's that's just as delicious as the
Speaker 1: thought of Draymond talking to the Kings. Is Draymond talking
Speaker 1: to the Grizzlies after everything those two teams have been together.
Speaker 1: But he was never gonna lack for options. But I
Speaker 1: just whether he came on our pod or not, I
Speaker 1: just I cannot imagine Draymond Green not playing next to
Speaker 1: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Speaker 2: I can't pike sure. He was never going to have
Speaker 2: a lack of options, because you know, that's always been
Speaker 2: a false narrative about Draymond, is that, well, he's only
Speaker 2: valuable to the Warriors, he wouldn't have the same impact
Speaker 2: on a different team. Yeah, first of all, we don't
Speaker 2: know that. But second of all, Man, there are multiple,
Speaker 2: multiple star players who've been trying behind the scenes for
Speaker 2: years trying to persuade Draymond Green to leave Golden State
Speaker 2: and to partner up with them and lead their defense.
Speaker 2: So that narrative is just false. It comes out of
Speaker 2: I don't know where it comes from. Draymond has a
Speaker 2: unique skill set. It's probably a skill set that people
Speaker 2: probably don't like, but it's a winning skill set. He
Speaker 2: knows his road, he does it well. He's a perfectionist
Speaker 2: in what he does, and he goes out there and produces,
Speaker 2: He executes, doesn't have an ego when they're talking about
Speaker 2: on the basketball court, So he was going to have
Speaker 2: suitors and the Golden State Warriors. You think about it.
Speaker 2: You know, we've been here over the last couple of
Speaker 2: years especially you know we heard it with during the
Speaker 2: KD era in Golden State's Draymond Green, has you worn
Speaker 2: out as welcome? Are they gonna let Draymond go? We saw,
Speaker 2: you know, with the Jordan Poole incident. Oh this is it.
Speaker 2: You know, everybody was pretty certain that this is going
Speaker 2: to be the last year that Draymond was going to
Speaker 2: be on the team. Look what happened. Jordan Poole was
Speaker 2: was shipped out to Washington and sounds like Draymond Green
Speaker 2: is on the verge of resigning on a multi year deal.
Speaker 2: So that shows you the value not only other teams,
Speaker 2: but the value that Golden State Warriors still have is
Speaker 2: Draymond and the belief that they still have in him,
Speaker 2: that he can still do what he do what he
Speaker 2: does at a high level.
Speaker 1: Look, he has his flaws, he has his critics. He's
Speaker 1: been justifiably criticized on the number of occasions. He's a
Speaker 1: polarizing guy. A lot of fans don't like him, some
Speaker 1: opposing players don't like him. But the man is a
Speaker 1: winning basketball player above all. He is a defensive genius.
Speaker 1: But above all, he is a winning basketball player and
Speaker 1: that's why. Look, the Lakers have no way to get him.
Speaker 1: But I'm sure you saw the pictures of Lebron and
Speaker 1: Draymond on vacation together. I'm sure the Lakers would love
Speaker 1: they don't have a way to do it. I'm sure
Speaker 1: they would love to get Draymond Green. The team in
Speaker 1: my city, Dallas, I'm sure they would love if there
Speaker 1: was a way to get Raymond Green. But it's not
Speaker 1: gonna happen. He ain't switching teams. We should talk about
Speaker 1: Jordan Poole. I have to you know, I'm a little
Speaker 1: I got to give the Warriors credit here, and you know,
Speaker 1: Mike Dunley the first week on the job as a GM,
Speaker 1: I thought it would be much harder to trade Jordan
Speaker 1: Poole in this financial climate, after the struggles he had
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. That really, to me was the most
Speaker 1: surprising element of the trade that Washington. That's saying. We
Speaker 1: thought Washington was stripping this thing down all the way
Speaker 1: and you know, just didn't want any kind of long
Speaker 1: term money. So super interesting that Washington wanted Pool. Now,
Speaker 1: whether that's to keep him, whether that's to maybe look
Speaker 1: to move him down the line, we don't know yet.
Speaker 1: But I mean, did you did you think the Warriors
Speaker 1: could move Jordan Poole this quickly?
Speaker 2: No, it was. It wasn't on my radar. Jordan wasn't
Speaker 2: on my radar at all.
Speaker 1: Yeah, me, neither. I mean it was not this. That
Speaker 1: was not the move.
Speaker 2: I now I knew I was. Golden State had interest
Speaker 2: in Chris Paul. I think I brought I brought that
Speaker 2: up on our last part that was before the trade
Speaker 2: went down. I was pretty sold on the fact that
Speaker 2: I think Chris Paul was going to make his way
Speaker 2: to the Clippers. I think when Chris Paul speaks about this.
Speaker 2: I think he'll even say that as well. So I
Speaker 2: knew there was interest, I guess I didn't when I
Speaker 2: heard there was interest, I guess I assumed there was
Speaker 2: interest if Chris Paul was waived. That's the way, That's
Speaker 2: the way I kind of thought about it. I didn't
Speaker 2: know that there was going to be a full on
Speaker 2: trade to acquire Chris Paul Jordan Poole. That completely caught
Speaker 2: me off guard. And then I think for the most part,
Speaker 2: whoever the thinking was, whoever acquired Chris Paul, wherever, whoever,
Speaker 2: that he was going to be waved and his contract
Speaker 2: was not going to be guaranteed. And then we're seen
Speaker 2: that when Chris Paul was traded to Washington, got what
Speaker 2: about about nine to ten million more added to his salary,
Speaker 2: you know, due to that trade. And you know, I
Speaker 2: spoke to people over the Warriors. They are not waiving
Speaker 2: Chris Paul. He is a Golden State war remember the
Speaker 2: Golden State Warriors. That's crazy to say that he will
Speaker 2: be playing with Stephen Curry, Draymond, Greg Klay, Thompson, and Stein. Shocking, shocking,
Speaker 2: probably probably most shocking.
Speaker 1: Look, I cannot I cannot wait to see it. I
Speaker 1: can't wait to see it. I mean, it makes complete
Speaker 1: financial sense what the Warriors have done here to move
Speaker 1: Pool out, they had to get they had to shed
Speaker 1: one significant contract at least. And after the season we
Speaker 1: just witnessed. You knew that if they had a choice,
Speaker 1: it would be Jordan Poole. I just didn't think they
Speaker 1: would have the choice. But the trade became available, they
Speaker 1: made it. They've shed Jordan Poole's contract. It makes things.
Speaker 1: They've got flexibility now going forward because Chris Paul only
Speaker 1: has the one guaranteed year left on his deal, even
Speaker 1: if he gets the full thirty point eight million. And look,
Speaker 1: Chris Paul himself is a basketball genius. He is still
Speaker 1: a highly productive player, too smart and too good to
Speaker 1: joining a team full of very smart players. They're all
Speaker 1: two whys and they've all been around the block. They
Speaker 1: should figure this out. And that's what common sense tells you.
Speaker 1: But like you just hinted at it, just I can't
Speaker 1: see it. And that clip, I'm sure you've seen it.
Speaker 1: It's been making the rounds all weekend. Draymond Green appearing
Speaker 1: on Steven Jackson and Matt Barnes's podcast on showtime. Hey,
Speaker 1: I mean, here's what he says.
Speaker 2: I don't like CP at all, Like we don't have
Speaker 2: a good relationship at all. But I respect his hustle
Speaker 2: and I respect his I Q he's smart as hell.
Speaker 1: So how is that? How is that gonna go?
Speaker 2: How is that gonna I know they've talked. I know,
Speaker 2: I know Chris Paul have talked to Stephan Curry. He
Speaker 2: talked to Draymond. One thing about this is this is
Speaker 2: this is I'm gonna tell you about Draymond Starn And
Speaker 2: I know from experience and I know from close up
Speaker 2: and personal just you know, working the sidelines for T
Speaker 2: and T. In the heat of the moment, Draymond will
Speaker 2: say pretty much whatever. In the heat of the moment.
Speaker 2: Draymond's filter, there's no filter. The filter disappears in the
Speaker 2: heat of the moment. But then with these subside and everything,
Speaker 2: you know, he booves on, He moves on, you know,
Speaker 2: being him, has some has some disagreements, you know, my
Speaker 2: time covering the Warriors and we you know, he's had
Speaker 2: some things to me and I've said some things, and
Speaker 2: and he kept it moving. He kept it moving. We
Speaker 2: all keep it moving. And so that's one thing I
Speaker 2: respect about him, so as h so as as egregious
Speaker 2: as that might have that clip might have sounded Draymond
Speaker 2: those remarks he had about Chris Paul. You know, Draymond
Speaker 2: is somebody that I know that that's moved forward and
Speaker 2: it's looking forward to potentially looking forward to potentially teaming
Speaker 2: up with CP and doing you know, doing some making
Speaker 2: some magic happen. I will say that, you know, the
Speaker 2: Chris Paul Stephen Curry dynamic that that is, you know,
Speaker 2: that's something I'm looking forward to seeing. I know they
Speaker 2: I know they talked, know they had a good conversation,
Speaker 2: but you know, I want to see that.
Speaker 1: The way they've already connected, they've already connected. Even that
Speaker 1: is the list trying to imagine that. I mean, Chris
Speaker 1: Foulow is a constant, He's been a constant opponent throughout
Speaker 1: these eight nine years of Warriors glory.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and the thing about it, the Clippers were supposed
Speaker 2: to remember, the Clippers was the team that was supposed
Speaker 2: to be on that rise. Then the Golden State Warriors
Speaker 2: came in there and shook up the Western Conference and
Speaker 2: took it over and never really gave it up except
Speaker 2: for a few windows due to injuries. But you know
Speaker 2: it was supposed to be the Clippers run, and so
Speaker 2: it's gonna you know, it's gonna be interesting. I like it.
Speaker 2: That's why I like sports, man. I like because stein
Speaker 2: I play, you know, I'm just equated to my own
Speaker 2: little pickup experience. Thus far. There's guys that when I go,
Speaker 2: when I'm playing against them, man, I want to kill them. Start,
Speaker 2: I want to crush them. I look forward to going
Speaker 2: up against them because sometimes they get the best of
Speaker 2: me sometimes and a lot of times I should say
Speaker 2: I get the best of them. But then there are
Speaker 2: sometimes where we have to team up and I'm like,
Speaker 2: you know what, I would rather go against you, but
Speaker 2: there is a mutual respect I have for you. Let's
Speaker 2: go out there and get it done. And we go
Speaker 2: out there and we play. And so I like. I
Speaker 2: like this dynamic of being foes for so long, rivals
Speaker 2: for so long, then coming together, putting out all behind
Speaker 2: you and knowing that you know, there's mutual respect between
Speaker 2: both sides. Now let's go out there and see what
Speaker 2: we can accomplish together. And I like, I like seeing
Speaker 2: that that can happen.
Speaker 1: How crazy, How crazy would it be if Chris Paul
Speaker 1: finally wins that elusive ring. But it's as a warrior. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's just like I said, you just say that out loud,
Speaker 1: and it's just loud.
Speaker 2: I mean it is, and I know some people. Look,
Speaker 2: I didn't want to go down that rabbit hole I
Speaker 2: was about, you know, because then people you got people
Speaker 2: that were saying, well, he had to do it this way,
Speaker 2: he had to do well. It ain't like he picked
Speaker 2: the wars. He was traded to the wars. Yeah, oh yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean people people, yeah, like that's he was traded there.
Speaker 2: They want they want him, and so they feel like
Speaker 2: they need him or else they wouldn't have they wouldn't
Speaker 2: have done that. So you know, we'll know, we'll No,
Speaker 2: I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm definitely hey,
Speaker 2: I'll bet more Golden State Warrior games for sure. No.
Speaker 1: I was just gonna ask you. I mean, obviously you
Speaker 1: don't know your schedule for October, but if you were
Speaker 1: guessing first day of training camp, I mean, you gotta
Speaker 1: go to Golden State, right, you gotta see you gotta
Speaker 1: see this with your own eyes. I know you'd rather
Speaker 1: go to the Kings because it's a it's a short
Speaker 1: drive away from Charlene's beauty supply, but you might you
Speaker 1: might have to go to you might have to go
Speaker 1: to Golden State because one of the first questions to
Speaker 1: me is who kind of referee? Is this on the
Speaker 1: players to put it all behind them? Is this Steve
Speaker 1: Kerr has to get all these guys in this on
Speaker 1: the same thing.
Speaker 2: I think he's players.
Speaker 1: Kind of think the players are.
Speaker 2: Players, and I think most of those talks have been had,
Speaker 2: and I think most of it is in the rear
Speaker 2: view already. I think they're focused on the task at hand.
Speaker 2: And to answer your questions Stein about where I would
Speaker 2: be for media Day, I don't know if it's on.
Speaker 2: I was on the you know, I did the Lakers
Speaker 2: last year, and for the most part, they kept me
Speaker 2: on the Western Conference, which I'm ecstatic about. That's fine,
Speaker 2: didn't have to travel too far. But Bron still resonates,
Speaker 2: you know, he hasn't. I believe, you know, Bron's gonna
Speaker 2: come back and play next year, but he still hasn't
Speaker 2: came out and said anything himself on if he's coming
Speaker 2: back or when he's coming back. You know, he left
Speaker 2: it kind of vague out there. You know, he told
Speaker 2: me he doesn't know if he's going to be I'm
Speaker 2: going back what he got eliminated. Told me he doesn't
Speaker 2: know if he's going to be there and start a
Speaker 2: training camp. So that's the storyline. Go to State's the storyline.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't know where I would be.
Speaker 1: The Kings are a storyline too. I mean, they've got
Speaker 1: you know they're going to do I like I like
Speaker 1: I said, Draymond Green is staying with the Warriors based
Speaker 1: on everything I've been told. But the Kings are going
Speaker 1: to do something with that salary cap space, and they will.
Speaker 1: They will certainly extend Domana Sabonis. I think that's a
Speaker 1: big part of why they needed to create that extra room.
Speaker 1: But they are going to make upgrades they do. You know,
Speaker 1: they don't want to make this a one time playoff thing.
Speaker 1: So I think the Kings are going to do something.
Speaker 1: You had mentioned that you know, you had been hearing
Speaker 1: for days really that the Clippers had a real chance
Speaker 1: to trade for Chris Paul. And as I've reported once
Speaker 1: or twice, you know, the Lakers were really hoping that
Speaker 1: Chris Paul would be waived and make it to unrestricted
Speaker 1: free agency so they could have a shot at him.
Speaker 1: Who do you think it hurts more the Lakers or
Speaker 1: the Clippers that he ends up Chris Paul ends up
Speaker 1: with the war neither team was expecting.
Speaker 2: I think it's it hurts the Clippers more because I
Speaker 2: believe the Clippers felt like they had the best shot
Speaker 2: to get them and I and I can say, and
Speaker 2: you know, I don't want to speak for Chris Paul
Speaker 2: and I wait to eat, you know, till he addresses it.
Speaker 2: But you know, I think he probably believed that he
Speaker 2: was going to be a member of the Clippers. So
Speaker 2: with that being said, the Clippers felt like they needed
Speaker 2: needed a floor general, neither real floor general to kind
Speaker 2: of manage things over there with that roster. I was
Speaker 2: kind of, you know, even you know, even though I
Speaker 2: was under the assumption that I thought Cep would end
Speaker 2: up with the Clippers, I was still kind of questioning,
Speaker 2: you know, can Cep and Russ? Would that work? You
Speaker 2: know that so right now they don't have to worry
Speaker 2: about that problem anymore. But yeah, I think I didn't.
Speaker 2: I think it hurts the Clippers more because I think
Speaker 2: they were probably a little bit more invested in trying
Speaker 2: to get to get him any other team, but we
Speaker 2: saw the war is a lot more and probably a
Speaker 2: lot more invested, even the Clippers.
Speaker 1: And look it is. You know, I think the misread
Speaker 1: for me and probably other teams out there was Chris
Speaker 1: Paul did have trade value. You know, there was an
Speaker 1: assumption that when Washington took him on in the original
Speaker 1: Bradley Beal trade, that they would waive him before June thirtieth.
Speaker 1: But they did, as you already noted, they had to
Speaker 1: increase the value of the guarantee on Chris's contract initially
Speaker 1: had he just been in Phoenix. The original plan from
Speaker 1: the Suns, and yes, people, this was the original plan.
Speaker 1: I'm going to say it again. This was the message
Speaker 1: from the Suns to Chris Paul and his camp. We
Speaker 1: are going to waive you. The part that wasn't transmitted
Speaker 1: clearly was we're going to win if we don't trade you.
Speaker 1: Had the Suns been unable to trade Chris Paul, they
Speaker 1: would have waived him on June twenty eighth, and they
Speaker 1: would have gotten out of next season's thirty point eight
Speaker 1: million at only fifteen point eight million. But there was
Speaker 1: more of a trade market for Chris Paul than even
Speaker 1: the Suns realized. The Wizards clearly had no intention of
Speaker 1: waving Chris Paul. They were confident that they could turn
Speaker 1: around and do something with his contract. And the Wizards
Speaker 1: have been proven. The Wizards have been getting a lot
Speaker 1: of criticism for what they got for Beal, what they
Speaker 1: did in you know, turning Chris Paul around. What they
Speaker 1: got for perzingis you know, they didn't get first round picks,
Speaker 1: and either the deal for Bal or perzingis So the
Speaker 1: Wizards have been taking a lot of criticism, but you
Speaker 1: know what, the Wizards proved that they were able to
Speaker 1: move Chris Paul and they've been super active. And I
Speaker 1: don't think the Wizards are done. So he was never
Speaker 1: now we can say we didn't know it maybe a
Speaker 1: week ago or ten days ago, but the Lakers were
Speaker 1: never really gonna have a chance at Chris Paul because
Speaker 1: he was gonna get he was gonna get traded, and
Speaker 1: his contract was more moveable than initially thought. And the
Speaker 1: Warriors will zoom right to the top, maybe not undisputed
Speaker 1: number one, but they will be right up there with
Speaker 1: I mean, look, the Spurs are there with Wemby, and
Speaker 1: I'm sure we could list other teams, teams that are
Speaker 1: in that are generating the highest level of intrigue at
Speaker 1: the start of the season. We can make a list.
Speaker 1: But the Warriors will be in the top five. If
Speaker 1: you've got Chris Paul in that locker room, they will
Speaker 1: be in the top star.
Speaker 2: What about Santonio? You don't think I'll be media danced
Speaker 2: with the Spurs.
Speaker 1: I mean, I suppose it's possible, but no, I think actually,
Speaker 1: you're gonna get said. I think you're I think you're
Speaker 1: gonna be in Golden State.
Speaker 2: Okay, think you about right. We'll see go to State
Speaker 2: of the Lakers.
Speaker 1: For you. It's gonna be Lakers or Warriors. Let's be honest.
Speaker 2: No, you would get no complaints from me, No grtes
Speaker 2: for me. Easy trip.
Speaker 1: What you don't want to go to San Antonio?
Speaker 2: I would say I like Sanatorio probably more than most people.
Speaker 2: You know. I think people when they think of Texas,
Speaker 2: they think of Dallas and Houston for the most part.
Speaker 2: I would probably put San Antonio above Houston for me.
Speaker 2: I'm thinking Dallas san Antonio being Houston in that order
Speaker 2: for me.
Speaker 1: A preference I absolutely love San Antonio. It was one
Speaker 1: of the first stops on my first trip as an
Speaker 1: NBA writer, way way way way back in the second
Speaker 1: half of the nineteen ninety three ninety four season, covering
Speaker 1: the Clippers for the La Daily News. San Antonio was
Speaker 1: not the first stop, but it was on that first trip,
Speaker 1: and I don't know what it was. I just felt
Speaker 1: so at home there. I loved it. I've never lived
Speaker 1: in San Antonio. I've obviously lived in Dallas for a
Speaker 1: quarter century now, but I love it in San Antonio.
Speaker 1: Love visiting always felt incredibly welcome, so for my purely
Speaker 1: selfish traveling purposes, because remember, remember, people, sports writers, we
Speaker 1: root for hotels and restaurants, not.
Speaker 2: To hotales and restaurants. And one more in Miami. You
Speaker 2: and in Miami.
Speaker 1: I mean I love Miami too, but after March, that
Speaker 1: humidity is no joke. Up till March, I am good.
Speaker 1: October to March I am good. But uh yeah, so
Speaker 1: I'm not. I am not heartbroken that Victor wemen Yama
Speaker 1: ended up in the Alamo City, a short one hour
Speaker 1: flight away for me, and I hope that means that
Speaker 1: I will be making many more frequent trips to San
Speaker 1: Antonio my Feld. I mean, I'm such a I'm such
Speaker 1: a San Antonio nerd that I went to the I
Speaker 1: went to the game in the Alamodome this season just
Speaker 1: because I could not bear to miss it. The Spurs
Speaker 1: were playing in the Albumodome when I started, I could
Speaker 1: not miss it, and it was it was a very
Speaker 1: very weird and nostalgic trip back to that.
Speaker 2: Jim Stein, one thing I want to say before we
Speaker 2: transition to the next topic. We was talking about the Kings,
Speaker 2: the cap space they have. Now we kind of dismissed
Speaker 2: Dremond going there. What about another name? Just throw a
Speaker 2: possibility out there, Stinn, let's just talk. Nope, aggregators, I'm
Speaker 2: not reporting anything. I'm just throwing a name out there.
Speaker 2: What do you think about Kyle Kuzma? Stein?
Speaker 1: The Kings have been linked to Kyle Kuzma for many,
Speaker 1: many eons, and I personally am quite a Kyle Kuzma fan. However,
Speaker 1: Mike Brown, former guest on this podcast, neighbor in the
Speaker 1: nine to one six, Mike Brown, look, I know the
Speaker 1: Kings had this world record offense this season. I ain't
Speaker 1: buying it. Mike Brown is still a defense first coach,
Speaker 1: and so I just wonder he's already got some bonus.
Speaker 1: Kyle Kuzma is not known as a defense first player,
Speaker 1: so would Mike Brown. Is that the sort of player
Speaker 1: Mike Brown is looking to add? Don't aggregate me either,
Speaker 1: because this is purely my observation what I see, what
Speaker 1: I read. But that would be my question. And like
Speaker 1: I said, I am I am a huge Kyle Kuzma fan.
Speaker 1: I think he's an underrated player. I mean, he was
Speaker 1: a ridiculous bargain at thirteen million. He's obviously opting out
Speaker 1: of that to become a free agent now, so let's see.
Speaker 1: But I mean, you, what do you think You're closer
Speaker 1: to the Kings than me, and you're closer to Mike
Speaker 1: Brown than me?
Speaker 2: I think. I don't know. I don't know. I haven't
Speaker 2: heard anything. I'm just throwing it out there. It could
Speaker 2: it could make sense. But STEI, you know, Mike Brown
Speaker 2: has changed. He's going through a bit of a transformation period.
Speaker 2: He's now an offensive genius coach.
Speaker 1: That's what people say. But like I said, I ain't buying.
Speaker 1: That was actually one of the questions I wanted to
Speaker 1: ask him when we had Mike on the first time,
Speaker 1: but we were throwing so many things at him we
Speaker 1: ran out of time. I really want to ask him
Speaker 1: how comfortable he is with this label that he is
Speaker 1: now a supposed offense first coach, because I ain't buying
Speaker 1: it that he's good with that. I'm just not.
Speaker 2: I just want to throw that out there. I want
Speaker 2: to see what see what the no.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's a worthy question because if I
Speaker 1: if i'm if I'm if I am correct that, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, Raymond Green is essentially off the market, which again,
Speaker 1: those are all the signals I'm getting Sacramento's going to
Speaker 1: turn their attention to someone. Is that bringing back Harrison
Speaker 1: Barnes or is that going outside the organization to pursue
Speaker 1: a Kyle Kuzma or someone else. So we'll get our
Speaker 1: answers here shortly. But I do not think you're alone
Speaker 1: in asking about Kyle Kuzma and Sacramento. Same question pertains
Speaker 1: to Kyle Kuzma and Indiana the Pacers. They have a
Speaker 1: need at that position. I've written about how they have
Speaker 1: interested in Harrison Barnes. The Pacers have two huge Harrison
Speaker 1: Barnes fans in that organization. With Tyreez Halliburton, of course,
Speaker 1: his former King's teammate, and Rick Carlisle Barnes, former Mavericks coach.
Speaker 1: But Kyle Kuzma's another name that's come up in Indiana.
Speaker 1: So the Wizards, they've cleared Bell out, they've cleared Porzingis out.
Speaker 1: Are they going to participate in a sign and trade
Speaker 1: with Kyle or just lose him out?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: There's a you are wise to bring him up because
Speaker 1: there are a lot of questions pertaining to Kyle Kuzma
Speaker 1: that we don't quite have the answers for. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: ask you now about James Harden. The noise continue used
Speaker 1: to rise, the rumbles get louder that he's now staying
Speaker 1: in Philly. There's a lot of momentum behind that idea.
Speaker 1: From your seat, what do you think do the Rockets
Speaker 1: still have a chance to steal James Harden to lure
Speaker 1: him back to his beloved Houston? Do the Rockets even
Speaker 1: want that?
Speaker 2: This is a hard one to gauge for me right now,
Speaker 2: because it keeps changing. If you would have asked me,
Speaker 2: I don't know a month ago, I would have probably
Speaker 2: said with confidence that I believe these Leanatorius going back
Speaker 2: to Houston. I haven't heard that over the last few weeks.
Speaker 2: Ah it's June twenty fifth as we record this right now.
Speaker 2: If you're asking me, hey, I'm saying it sounds like
Speaker 2: he's staying in Philly. Sounds like that's what's going to happen.
Speaker 2: You know, think about think about last year starning, Think
Speaker 2: about last summer when let me see, he opted out,
Speaker 2: He opted out of his contract. He took less to
Speaker 2: bring on, to be able to bring on PJ. Tucker,
Speaker 2: Daniel House leaves somebody else. Then midway during the season,
Speaker 2: we start hearing Houston reunion rumors. I'm like, hold on,
Speaker 2: he took a major pay cut to help build the team,
Speaker 2: and you know, we thought with the hopes of him
Speaker 2: getting more on the back end next summer, and now
Speaker 2: he's gonna leave and just go. And so it was.
Speaker 2: It was weird. It was weird time timing and it
Speaker 2: was just weird. Just think about him going back, because
Speaker 2: you know, Houston had some nice young players that they're
Speaker 2: trying to build up. But we know that the owner
Speaker 2: over there, Tillman, he he wants to win. And so
Speaker 2: Philly is what I'm Philly is what I'm hearing right now.
Speaker 2: I'm not real confident in that because I think things
Speaker 2: can change, but if you're asking me right now, that's
Speaker 2: what I will say.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because it sounds like the max is not on
Speaker 1: the table in either case. At least that is the
Speaker 1: latest rumble we'll see. I mean there's been, like you said,
Speaker 1: there's been James Harden chatter for literally six months, maybe
Speaker 1: even longer, so there's a lot to sift through. I mean,
Speaker 1: the latest thing I heard was that he came out
Speaker 1: of his meeting with Nick Nurse, the new Philly coach,
Speaker 1: intrigued by what Nick Nurse had to say. But yeah,
Speaker 1: definitely the leanings. I think if you pulled thirty front offices,
Speaker 1: more than not would say that they expect James Harden
Speaker 1: to stay in Philly. But yeah, could be a long week,
Speaker 1: could be some changes there. You reported earlier on this
Speaker 1: Sunday that the Suns have now decided, Okay, we're gonna
Speaker 1: move forward and try to make the DeAndre ayten thing work.
Speaker 1: And I definitely do see that as a new development
Speaker 1: on this Sunday, because I reported this in my Sunday notebook,
Speaker 1: I was told strenuously that as recently as Thursday night.
Speaker 1: On Draft Night, the Suns very much did explore trade
Speaker 1: possibilities for Aight and so as of Thursday night, they
Speaker 1: were still looking for potential trade partners for Aighton. But
Speaker 1: they've been scouring the market. They're not getting anywhere close
Speaker 1: to the offers that they want. By all accounts, the
Speaker 1: offers that they've been presented with don't include future firsts.
Speaker 1: So and look, let's be on Frank Vogel really wants
Speaker 1: to coach this guy. Frank Vogel teams have always had
Speaker 1: a rim protecting center, and Vogel has spoken very openly
Speaker 1: about how much he wants the chance to get DeAndre
Speaker 1: Ayton to an all star level.
Speaker 2: So Ayden wants to be Yeah, Ayton wants to be
Speaker 2: in a situation where he feels his coach has is back.
Speaker 2: That's just that's just was It's something he felt prior.
Speaker 1: And we'll see because look, I mean, the case for
Speaker 1: trading Ayton is obviously if the Suns break his contract
Speaker 1: up into two or three pieces, that's one way they
Speaker 1: get some depth. Because they don't just need depth. They
Speaker 1: don't just need bodies, but they do need wings and
Speaker 1: shooting and more rebounding. So it's like that there is
Speaker 1: a case to be made that if the right deal
Speaker 1: presents itself, turning one long term deal into a couple
Speaker 1: contracts that are shorter, that could really work for Phoenix,
Speaker 1: because I mean, look, their main three going forward are Durant, Booker,
Speaker 1: and Beale. I think Ayton is very distinctly number four
Speaker 1: on that list, and I think he knows it. So
Speaker 1: as much as Frank Vogel wants to coach him and
Speaker 1: is trying to pump him up, I don't think there's
Speaker 1: gonna be any fooling DeAndre Ayton about that reality.
Speaker 2: And one thing, I just want to make sure that
Speaker 2: DeAndre Ayton is not untouchable. If the Sun's got a
Speaker 2: deal in their future or later down the road that
Speaker 2: they felt like they couldn't refuse, he would be traded.
Speaker 2: That's just what it is right now. But the intel
Speaker 2: that I gattered this morning was that they're moving forward
Speaker 2: with the plan that he will be their opening day
Speaker 2: start and seer.
Speaker 1: Yeah, if the offers are no good, they've got to
Speaker 1: try to make it work. But you know, again, I
Speaker 1: think I want to underline as recently as Thursday night,
Speaker 1: based on what I've been told, they were actively looking
Speaker 1: for potential trades. So let's not omit that very important clarification,
Speaker 1: all right, last thing probably the topic everybody's been wanting
Speaker 1: us to get to, but I don't know that there's
Speaker 1: really a whole lot new since Draft night. As the
Speaker 1: world's foremost damologist, what do you foresee? Is there anything
Speaker 1: this week that happens on the Damian Lillard front or
Speaker 1: does he? Does he give this thing a chance to see?
Speaker 1: You know, let free agency play out, Let summer league go.
Speaker 1: Let us get our first look at Scoot Henderson in
Speaker 1: summer league? Is this a later in July kind of conversation?
Speaker 1: What does what does Chris Haynes foresee?
Speaker 2: Here? So Damian Liller is expected to meet with general
Speaker 2: manager Joe cronin this week. There hasn't been There has
Speaker 2: not been a date scheduled yet for that meeting. So
Speaker 2: as soon as we get word of that, everybody else
Speaker 2: will be informed of that. How that meeting goes, I
Speaker 2: don't know, But what I do know is Blairs want
Speaker 2: to get in front of Damian lillar it kind of
Speaker 2: explain their approach, go through some of the targets that
Speaker 2: they're trying to lock in on going into free and
Speaker 2: see explain the vision the draft plans. Because I reported
Speaker 2: this on draft day, Stile that Dame had not communicated
Speaker 2: with the Portland trail Blazers in recent days and that
Speaker 2: is unusual style. I wanted to cut Dame's in Paris.
Speaker 2: And I know people that probably don't like hearing real news.
Speaker 2: They may say, well, he's in Paris. Of course he's
Speaker 2: not going to hear. No, you talked to your I
Speaker 2: was talking to Dame in Paris. You know, you can
Speaker 2: get in touch with them. You can get in touch
Speaker 2: with anybody while they're out of the country. And Dame
Speaker 2: was watching the draft, very important pick number three pick
Speaker 2: for the Portland trail Visers. So and Joe Cronin confirmed
Speaker 2: that the last time he spoke to Dame was Tuesday,
Speaker 2: which was two days before, but since then it's been
Speaker 2: just communication with his agent, Aaron Goodwin. So this will
Speaker 2: be the first time that he whenever this meeting is,
Speaker 2: this will be the first time that he was going
Speaker 2: to be able to sit in front of Joe Cronin
Speaker 2: and talk talk things out. I don't know how this
Speaker 2: is going to go. I don't know what Dame is
Speaker 2: going to say. I don't know what he's going to
Speaker 2: try to get done, but it hasn't changed. And the
Speaker 2: the explanation, as far as what I got on why
Speaker 2: Dame hasn't didn't communicate with the Blazers, I was just
Speaker 2: told that, you know, he's just trying to disconnect from
Speaker 2: everything for a little while. Take that for whatever's worth,
Speaker 2: however you want to take that. So that's what's that's
Speaker 2: that's just what we're happening. I guess we just got
Speaker 2: to wait to see how this meeting goes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can't sit here and say that I am
Speaker 1: as curious as Damian Lillard about those Portland plans. But
Speaker 1: I'm pretty darn curious too, because we know it's been
Speaker 1: well chronicled that they want to bring back Jeremy Grant.
Speaker 1: But beyond that, what else? What else is there? Or
Speaker 1: is this is this all about scoot going forward? A
Speaker 1: lot of questions, a lot of questions.
Speaker 2: I'll tell you one thing. One thing hasn't changed. He
Speaker 2: wants to win now, now, he wants to roster improve now.
Speaker 2: Nothing has changed, nothing at all. So you know it's
Speaker 2: going to be it's going to be riveting to see
Speaker 2: how this how that meeting I posed?
Speaker 1: All right, well, I know when that meeting happens, you
Speaker 1: will be all over it. So I'm going to defer
Speaker 1: further comment until that meeting, and maybe hopefully that meeting
Speaker 1: happens before the next pod so we can react to it.
Speaker 1: We are going to close with a trivia question Chris
Speaker 1: Paul Chris Haynes. Chris Paul has played twelve hundred and
Speaker 1: fourteen regular season games and one hundred and forty nine
Speaker 1: playoff games. How many times has he come off the bench?
Speaker 2: Whoo? I'm going to say zero, and.
Speaker 1: You win the prize of nothing. You do, win the prize.
Speaker 1: You are correct. He has never come off the bench,
Speaker 1: yet another layer of this amazing Chris Paul to the
Speaker 1: Bay Area Story. Cannot wait to see how it turns out.
Speaker 1: All right, guys, I think we covered a pretty good
Speaker 1: on this aditial.
Speaker 2: Thing to say, hold on, got losh, so you get
Speaker 2: put lower lower expectations, lower expectations if not one of those.
Speaker 2: I just want to say this at the end our
Speaker 2: next pot, which we're doing on Tuesday, that's going to
Speaker 2: be a live pot at me and my wife's store,
Speaker 2: Charlie's Goodly Supply Store elk Grove, California, Sacramento area. We're
Speaker 2: doing a live pot where it's gonna be fans and
Speaker 2: attendance and our guests will be Sacramento Kings Guard Davion
Speaker 2: Mitchell this Tuesday, June twenty seven, and I want to
Speaker 2: urge you because this pot is dropping in time for
Speaker 2: you guys that's in the Sacramento area to go to
Speaker 2: Charlotte's Beauty Supply Store open from ten to six, buy
Speaker 2: you a ticket to be in attendance. We got forty
Speaker 2: seats available, a little bit less than that now, but
Speaker 2: come in. The tickets will be fifty dollars. Get you
Speaker 2: in there. You can have a chance to engage. I'll
Speaker 2: have a little interaction segment for the fans with Devon
Speaker 2: after the pod, but come in and just check out
Speaker 2: live pod. I did not have enough money to fund
Speaker 2: to be able to fly Steyn from Dallas to Sacramento,
Speaker 2: but he will be there on on the pod, so
Speaker 2: you still will hear him, you still will see him.
Speaker 2: Will have a nice setup at the store. I got
Speaker 2: a big eighty four inch screen TV in the store.
Speaker 2: We kind of check us all out so please definitely
Speaker 2: for all our loyal listeners, please tune in for that.
Speaker 2: But s importantly, I want you guys to come out
Speaker 2: in sacrament Area. Come out, get a ticket and be
Speaker 2: a part of the audience. And if you still can't
Speaker 2: get a ticket, we'll still encourage you to come in.
Speaker 2: You know, you can hang outside the store. We'll have speakers,
Speaker 2: have a DJ. Stein. You missing out on everything, Stan.
Speaker 1: I know, and it's not your fault, it's my fault.
Speaker 1: I I just physically cannot get there on Tuesday for
Speaker 1: reasons that I'm not going to bore everyone with. But
Speaker 1: this is big news because this is the first live
Speaker 1: show in show history and it will be as Chris
Speaker 1: said at Charlene's Beauty Supply in Elk Grove, California, Chris
Speaker 1: Haynes and daveon Mitchell Live, the has been Stein check
Speaker 1: it in from Afar and it is it is. Let's
Speaker 1: just put it like this. It will not be the last.
Speaker 1: It will not be the last live show of the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three off season. It will be the first
Speaker 1: in history and not the last. That's the most we
Speaker 1: can say at this point. But it is our not
Speaker 1: so clever way of saying that we have further surprises
Speaker 1: plan for you. But that'll be that'll be quite a
Speaker 1: thing to see you and daveon together talking hoop, talking
Speaker 1: about the Kings, talking about maybe maybe he knows what
Speaker 1: maybe he knows what Mike Brown wants to and the
Speaker 1: front office want to do with that free agent cash.
Speaker 1: Maybe he'll break the news to us.
Speaker 2: Let's hope. So but Avion, he's one of the best
Speaker 2: defenders in the league, one of the most strongest guards
Speaker 2: we have in the league. So I'm sure he has
Speaker 2: a lot of stories that he can tell. And let's
Speaker 2: see what we can ask him what players he's looking
Speaker 2: to try to pick up in the off season. So
Speaker 2: all that more so, please y'all, if you're the sacrament area,
Speaker 2: please come out, come get a ticket. Tickets are running low,
Speaker 2: seats are limited. Please come get a ticket, Come check
Speaker 2: it out. That's all I want to stay STI I'm no,
Speaker 2: that's good.
Speaker 1: No, I was gonna no, that was good, and I
Speaker 1: was gonna I mean, we weren't going to admit that part.
Speaker 1: I wasn't like rushing you off the line. That is
Speaker 1: a huge development for our humble little show. So please everyone,
Speaker 1: please rate review and subscribe to This League Uncut via
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your pods, and remember
Speaker 1: just for your calendar Tuesday afternoon and we'll put that
Speaker 1: episode out asap Tuesday afternoon. Davion Mitchell on This League Uncut,
Speaker 1: and we do hope that the planets align and we
Speaker 1: can get in at least one more pod before free
Speaker 1: agency starts Friday at six pm Eastern Time, June thirtieth.
Speaker 1: Summer League is around the corner, Free agency almost here.
Speaker 1: Lots going on, tons to talk about, and like I said,
Speaker 1: I think we've covered be a very good amount of
Speaker 1: ground tonight. Everybody, Thanks for being with us. Back with
Speaker 1: you in just a couple of days and that'll do
Speaker 1: it for us. See you next time. This League Uncut
Speaker 1: it is and iHeartRadio production. Don't sake a look up,
Speaker 1: Christine did Mark Stime