1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: The Volume. All right, welcome to Hoops to night here 2 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: at the Volume. Happy Sunday, everybody. I hope all of 3 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:20,639 Speaker 1: you guys are having an incredible weekend. I'm coming to 4 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: you guys from Ennis, Montana on vacation. We were planning 5 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: on not working, but I knew there was one thing 6 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: that could happen that could potentially make us work while 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: we're out here, and it was Bradley bial getting traded. 8 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,480 Speaker 1: And I was actually just joking with Ryan, our producer, 9 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: and we were saying, if you got traded to Miami 10 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: might not have been as big of a deal. But 11 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: a trade to the Phoenix Suns that does not include 12 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: DeAndre Ayton puts together most definitely the most talented top 13 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: four in the NBA, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, 14 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: and DeAndre Ayton. From a sheer talent perspective, we'll go 15 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: ahead to toe to toe with any group of four 16 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: players probably that's played together in the history of the league. 17 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: It's definitely gonna be an interesting group there, but it 18 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: presents some basketball issues that they're gonna have to address. 19 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: And so I just want to share a couple of 20 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: quick thoughts on the move and how I think it's 21 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: gonna impact the Suns this season. You guys know the 22 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 1: drive before we get started. To subscribe to the Volumes 23 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos. 24 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: Follow me on Twitter and underscore Jason LT so you 25 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: guys don't miss any show announcements. And if for whatever reason, 26 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: you guys miss one of these shows and you can't 27 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:21,400 Speaker 1: get back over to YouTube to finished, don't forget. You 28 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: can find them wherever you get your podcasts. Under Hoops tonight. 29 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: All right, So with Bradley Beal as a basketball player, 30 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna go too deep into that again because 31 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: we did that in kind of our trade when he 32 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: first when the first report came down that it was 33 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: kind of imminent that he would be traded. I did 34 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: a deep dive into the basketball side of things. So 35 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: if you want to see that, go a little bit 36 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: further back on the Volumes YouTube feed and you'll find 37 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: the video where we did that deep dive that said, 38 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 1: quick synopsis, he's way better than people think he is. 39 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: This is very common thing that happens in the NBA 40 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: as soon as the guy signs a long term max 41 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: contract and has a couple of seasons where the team 42 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: isn't very good instantly starts to be viewed as a 43 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: negative asset, which I don't understand a couple different reasons 44 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: for that. First of all, it's a max contract, Like 45 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: you can't just pay a max contract to Steph Curry 46 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: and Janna Santana Kumpo and Nicole Jokic. Like, there's a 47 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: lot of stars in the league, so just about every 48 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: team in the league is good. If they have any 49 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: intention of winning a championship's gonna have to pay a 50 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: max contract to certain people. Not to mention the fact 51 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: that in the long run, as a new TV deal 52 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: gets signed, these numbers may not seem as intimidating as 53 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: they seem at this particular moment in time. But just 54 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 1: like with anything in life, you get what you pay for, 55 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: and if you want a really good basketball player, he 56 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: might be expensive. Bradley Beal is a very similar type 57 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: of player to Devin Booker in the sense that he 58 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: relies heavily on pull up jump shooting, but at the 59 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 1: same time, like Devin Booker, he gets to the rim 60 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: really well compared to a lot of the guards at 61 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:47,959 Speaker 1: his position. As a matter of fact, Kevin Durank gets 62 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: to the rim a tiny fraction as often as Bradley 63 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: Beal and Devin Booker do, so it kind of helps 64 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: them with some of their rim pressure things. I do 65 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: see some redundancies there. I've talked about this con before, 66 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: but it's like diminishing returns. So when you have three 67 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: really high level ball handlers like this, is there a 68 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: point where the value of what the third ball handler 69 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: brings to the table is lessened by the simple fact 70 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: that you already have two players at the position who 71 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: are better at what he does. Right. So I'll give 72 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: you an example. If I have Devin Booker and Kevin 73 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: Durant on a basketball team and those two guys are 74 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: creating lots of defensive rotation situations where you've got a 75 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 1: guy in a closeout situation, Devin Booker. Excuse me, Bradley 76 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: Beal might be many times better than Kantavious Caldwell Pope 77 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: at attacking a set defense, But in pure closeout situations, 78 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: when it's just knocking down open threes or driving a 79 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: close out making a play when the defense is already warped, 80 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: how much better is a guy like Bradley Beal than 81 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: a guy like Kantavius callwoll Pope really in that specific role. 82 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: That's what I mean by the concept of diminishing returns. 83 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: I think it's important to have multiple top tier shot creators. 84 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: That's why the Booker Kevin Durant pairing makes a lot 85 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: of sense on the surface. Once you get to that 86 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: third guy, though, I really start to look at what 87 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: are you good at that doesn't involve having the basketball 88 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: in your hands? And that's gonna be the big challenge 89 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: for this big three, for Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and 90 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: for Bradley beal Is. Even though they managed to keep 91 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: Deandratan in the deal, chances are, like you're gonna have 92 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: to fill out the rest of the roster with veteran 93 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: minimum contracts. And like we talked about in our ten 94 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: Characteristics of Champions video, every recent NBA champion's got highly paid, 95 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: highly qualified role players down the roster, and this Sun's 96 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: team is not going to have that. It's gonna be 97 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: a lot of veteran minimum contracts. Maybe, if they're lucky, 98 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: they can poach a really good forward on the mid 99 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: level exception to help them on the wing. But what 100 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:52,160 Speaker 1: that means is you're gonna have a lot of guys 101 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: on the team that aren't necessarily great at anything, and 102 00:04:57,760 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: that's gonna put a lot of pressure on guys like 103 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,280 Speaker 1: Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant to take on 104 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: duties that go beyond their ball handling. So if the 105 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: question is, hey, Jason, can this big four work, the 106 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: answer is yes. As long as Kevin Durant plays like 107 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: an all defense player, as long as Bradley Beal and 108 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: Devin Booker bring enough to the defensive table to make 109 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: up for some of the inability to surround them with 110 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: higher quality role players, It's gonna be a lot of 111 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 1: pressure on those guys to be great in those areas. 112 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: That said, this is a very competitive group. Devin Booker 113 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:34,160 Speaker 1: in particular, is very competitive. Bradley Beal, I know a 114 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: lot of people are down on him, but I've seen 115 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: enough high leverage basketball from him, especially in playoff situations, 116 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: to know that he's a gamer and he's gonna fight 117 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: in those situations. So I definitely think it can work. 118 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: That's just gonna be the delineation right there. If they 119 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: try to play the same way they've been playing at 120 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: all their previous destinations, it will fail. If all three 121 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: of them embrace the dirty work to another level, it 122 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: will succeed. That's gonna be the your entire payroll is 123 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: taken up by four stars. Those stars better do the 124 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: dirty work. They got to do what Bam and Jimmy 125 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: Butler do. They got to do what Lebron James and 126 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:10,719 Speaker 1: Anthony Davis did in twenty twenty. They've got to do 127 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: what Giannison, Tannakoopo and Drew Holliday did in twenty twenty one, 128 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: or even like that Warriors group where you've got a 129 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: bunch of different archetypes of players and only one supreme 130 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: ball handler, but they're all stars in their roles in 131 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: different ways. So that's going to be the challenge. Definitely 132 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: need to try to use that mid level exception slot 133 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: to track down a good small forward that they can 134 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: put out there, an athlete that can help them in 135 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: those specific areas of the game. And then all three 136 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 1: of them on the offensive end are going to have 137 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:41,359 Speaker 1: to really work on being active off the ball to 138 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: maintain rhythm. Rhythm is gonna be the biggest challenge when 139 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: you have three guys that work off the dribble and 140 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: high pick and roll a lot, and are looking for 141 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: pull up jump shots and things along those lines. It's 142 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,479 Speaker 1: going to disrupt their rhythm as they divide their usage, 143 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 1: and so having one of them in particular, potentially dive 144 00:06:57,080 --> 00:06:59,919 Speaker 1: into more of an off ball roll could help Kevin Durant, 145 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: guy who's had a lot of success in off ball 146 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 1: situations in his career. But then you run into the 147 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: problem where if you put him off ball, then you're 148 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: not getting the high end benefits of him being on 149 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: the ball. So I'm really curious to see how it 150 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: all comes together. I will do a deeper dive into 151 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: this trade in all of the ensuing details when I 152 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: get back into town, but I just wanted to give 153 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: my initial two cents. I really don't understand why Washington 154 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: did this. I feel like that there was probably a 155 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: better opportunity out there if they were more patient, maybe 156 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: try to get some more bidders involved, But it's always 157 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: complicated when there's a no trade clause. There may or 158 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: may not have been some nepotism at play, with the 159 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: agent for Bradley Beal and his son being highly involved 160 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: in the basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns, So who 161 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: the hell knows what's going on with all that, But 162 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: if this trade gets finalized and goes through, it's the 163 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: most talented top four in the league and one of 164 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: the most talented top fours of all time, and it's 165 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 1: going to be really really interest staying dynamic from there. 166 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: All right, guys, that is all I have for today. 167 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: I'm gonna enjoy the rest of this trip and I'll 168 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: see you guys for the NBA Draft and some other 169 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: stuff next Thursday. The volume