WEBVTT - Trade Deadline Thoughts With Jake Fischer 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:02.880 You're tuned into Heat Check with trist Quick. 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:08.960 On this episode of the Heat Check, We've got an 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:14.480 interview with Yahoo senior NBA reporter and friend of show, 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:18.320 Jake Fisher. He gives us some really good info on 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:21.920 how the trade deadline went down, how the nets KD 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:25.680 Kyrie Harden arrow will be looked at over time, why 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:28.320 the Toronto Raptors were never going to make a move 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.600 at the deadline except for to be a buyer. 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:33.280 Who is going to tank moving. 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:36.320 Forward this NBA season, and much much more like to 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:38.880 get into Nick, So do me a favor and drop 0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:49.640 that generic ass beat. Let's just felt like the trade 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:53.080 deadline as a whole, because I felt like, to a 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:56.400 degree it was like one of the more dramatic trade deadlines, 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:59.960 and then outside of the two real pieces of shot 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:04.280 and all, there wasn't really anything of note. 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:10.800 Yeah, I mean that's kind of what we with inside 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:13.880 information were kind of saying for a while, right that, 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:20.240 like there wasn't a lot of like starting level players 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:24.960 that were actually going to move teams. And then the 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:27.959 Kyrie Urbing thing obviously throw a giant monkey wrench in 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:32.200 the entire trade landscape. But just like with Kevin Durant 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.480 requesting the trade like an hour before free agency started. 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:39.800 Like those two situations kind of happened in a vacuum 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:43.479 outside of everything else, Like forre agency started at six 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:47.680 o'clock on June thirtieth, even though KD, you know, asked out, 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:50.600 and you know, the wheels still spun, the world still 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:55.320 moved on. And like the fact that Kyrie's trade happened 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:58.080 to Dallas, like he requested them on Friday, so it 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:00.800 was six days before the deadline, and then he was 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:03.480 already dealt by Sunday. I mean, the reporting has been 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:06.440 pretty clear since that KD requested his deal out of 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:09.800 Brooklyn on Monday, but the Nets, they weren't willing to 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:11.960 discuss it with anybody. He wanted to go to Phoenix. 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:14.400 He's wanted to go to Phoenix all along. So the 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:18.760 other twenty eight teams kind of operated as we were expecting, 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.520 which was pretty much Toronto dangling players and having a 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:25.520 lot of calls around the league. But they didn't make 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:28.400 any selling type moves. They were interested in Naka Purtle, 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:31.720 like we had known about since you last trade deadline 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:33.200 when they were registering interest there. 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:35.960 And there's a lot of activity. 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:38.880 I mean I wrote today, yeaho's seventy one second round 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:42.160 picks got traded between January first and the deadline. The 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:45.560 other past four years, the most was thirty two second 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:48.160 round picks traded because there just weren't a lot of 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:51.360 players out there that were actually worthy of first round picks. 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:55.520 And I think that's illustrative of the level of talent 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:56.680 that was actually on the market. 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:00.400 To when did it become clear to everybody was in 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:02.720 the know that Phoenix was like the only place. 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:08.720 I mean, I didn't know for certain until the deal happened, 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:14.480 but when Kyrie's stuff dropped on Friday, everyone around the 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:17.200 league said, well, just just like just like my Twitter feed, 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:19.840 just like yours, the timeline was going off, what does 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:20.600 this mean for KD? 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:21.560 Is KD next? 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:27.240 And the impression that everyone got, and especially by everyone, 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:32.200 I mean like rival teams inquiring and especially after Brooklyn's 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.200 return for Kyrie was Spencer Dinwiddie, Dori and Phinney Smith 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:39.560 first and a couple of seconds, I believe that was 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:41.440 a win now move, right like that was a move 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:43.840 just like they did throughout the summer with going and 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:48.400 get Royce O'Neil and resigning Claxton, TJ. Warren and other 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:51.880 things to try to build a contender around KD. So, 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:57.080 I mean, the thought was still prevalent of well, if 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:00.000 he does if I mean he's he's changed his mind 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:00.720 left and right. 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:02.560 That's that's kind of been his mo. 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:07.400 So the thought kind of prevailed, well, he could still 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:09.600 do that before Thursday, he could decide it turns out 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.560 he did it on Monday, right, And at that point 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:17.200 in time, it was a holdover thing that everyone around 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:21.280 the situation believed that if he was leaving Brooklyn, and 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:25.120 even why he requested a trade originally from Brooklyn was 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.080 the thought that that Phoenix could happen, that Phoenix was there, 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.520 he could play with Devin Booker, Chris Paul. So it 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:35.000 just kind of felt like an inevitability if this came around. 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:39.760 I mean, Memphis definitely lobbed an offer. Let's say, I 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:42.080 don't know the specifics, but I know it was definitely 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:45.120 all their picks and they're willing to trade anybody not 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:48.760 named John Dylan Brooks and Jared Jackson Junior. But he 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:51.320 wanted to go to Phoenix and that was the only 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:54.440 thing that was going to happen. So I didn't know, 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.400 like I said, until you know when's did it. When 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:00.839 the trade went down, it was like I mean, I 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.720 remember saying on the radio on Tuesday night in Philly 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:07.960 at WIP and my family because I'm from the area, 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:09.919 was like listening to my brother, so like, oh, like 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:12.480 you called Katie the Phoenix on Tuesday night, I didn't. 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:15.279 I just like I had an understanding if he was 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:18.040 going to get moved, the overwhelming likelihood was to the Sun, 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:19.120 so that's where he wanted to go. 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:22.159 And then the second thing that you mentioned earlier too, 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:25.239 was like that Toronto was just going to dangle everyone. 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:28.920 How close do you think they actually were to ever 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:31.400 selling the parts that they were dangling. 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:35.919 So I don't have that definitive answer, but what I 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:40.760 can say is that they were telling rival teams. And 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:42.840 only the reason I don't have that definitive answers I'm 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.880 on the phone right and like you're hearing stuff. At 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.520 the end of the day, the job is to tell 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:52.039 the public what you believe to be true based off of. 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:53.159 The information that you hear. 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:55.840 A lot of times you're hearing, you know, falsehoods or 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:58.880 things that are a little bit misleading. To try to 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.960 paint a certain picture, and it's your job to or 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.680 it's my job to try to sift through all that 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:06.920 and come and bring like the clearest picture I can. 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:11.120 Right So with that, like Toronto was telling other teams 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:13.760 starting at the showcase, like, we don't know what we're 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:17.159 gonna do. We're gonna take out until the final minutes 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.400 of the deadline. We're gonna have this long like eight 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:21.560 game road trip or whatever it was, six games something 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.880 like that, all throughout the West Coast before they came 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.440 back that Sunday night before the deadline, and they were 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:29.880 gonna regroup on Monday and figure out what the direction 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:32.880 they wanted to go and sure Fred van Vliet's contract 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:35.520 he could be a free agent this summer if he 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:39.240 opts out. Gary Trent can opt out. Ojiananobi's guaranteed to 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:43.920 be unrestricted for agent in twenty four because he can't 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:47.520 buy CBA limitations get more than one hundred and twenty 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:51.359 percent salary increase, which is well below his market value, 0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:53.760 being that he's eighteen ninety million that our player right now. 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:55.200 But they were telling. 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.760 Teams like, we don't know what we're gonna do, And 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:01.640 they were telling teams we might be buyers. So to me, 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:04.440 like I'm looking at reading all these te leaves and 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:06.880 operating at the thirty first front office and trying to 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:08.800 figure out what these teams are going to do because 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:11.119 they don't know what they're gonna do. All that stuff 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:14.520 I just said to you never signaled a team that 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.280 was really going to sell. And it signaled a team 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:20.160 just like they did with Kyle Larry in twenty one, 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:22.680 they were going to talk and talk and see what 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:26.040 the market was looking like and then probably the result 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.880 would really come in the summer. So that at a 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:32.240 certain point was really what I expected to be the case. 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:35.000 I didn't know, I didn't like, I didn't wake up 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:37.800 on Thursday confident, but I fully believed that they were 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.680 going to go after Yaka Perle and the rest was 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:43.920 kind of undetermined. And it seems like even though there's 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:47.040 a finality to it right now, I mean it's late 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:51.200 February already, like juven's pretty close. So we'll see what 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:55.120 happens come this offseason, especially if they don't continue to 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.480 rise up the East. They're still I mean, there are 0:07:57.520 --> 0:07:59.600 ways away from getting out of the play in tournament, 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:02.080 which is you know, obviously not where they want to 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.040 be when they've got all these guys will who are 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:06.280 up for thirty million dollars paydays coming up? 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:08.600 Yeah, you know, I thought that that to myself. I 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:12.240 was sitting in the lawn in Arizona and right before this, 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:14.000 you know, on Super Bowl Week, and I was like, 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:18.440 do we really actually believe these guys are gonna do anything? 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.160 Like I they really gonna move og Ananoby when he's 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:26.080 under team control for another Yearine change Like it just doesn't. 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:29.280 It never felt like a MASSI move, like a full 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:30.400 fire sale. 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:32.839 You know what I mean. So I think you're I 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:33.520 think you're right. 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.560 It is interesting that they didn't do anything really at 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:41.040 all except for you know, purchase Yaga Purtle former play. 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:43.640 In fairness like they can say no one met her 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.520 asking Christ like the Pacers offered three first right the 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:51.280 Pacers picks, I believe, one's almost Cleveland, one's Milwaukee, Like 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:54.199 those aren't those aren't great first round picks that they're 0:08:54.240 --> 0:08:57.000 their late twenties. The Grizzlies offering a bunch of picks. 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:00.360 The Grizzlies are gonna they're projecting to be a top 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:02.120 five record team in the league, like they have been 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:04.920 for the next half decade, like how pick is. 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:05.240 Going to be? 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:09.720 So I can understand, you know that the Rappers thinking, well, 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:11.760 we did a good job of drawing up this interest 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.160 to get the quantity of first rounders, but the quality 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:16.240 isn't what we're looking for. That could be a fair 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:21.600 counter argument. But I don't know, three first round picks, 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:26.480 no matter where they land for a player that I 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:28.680 don't know. I don't know if OGM was ever going 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:31.120 to be more than what he is in Toronto. That's also, 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:35.520 you know, why would a team give up so so, 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:38.240 so much more than what we just stated because they 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:40.840 wanted to pick from everything I've heard the Rappers wanted 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:44.880 to picks and players and the player when that that's 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:49.120 let's say it's Memphis or in Indiana, but Memphis probably 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.559 it's greater stakes for them being that they're they're at 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:55.000 the top of this, uh you know echelon here? Are 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.520 they going to just willingly mortgage all that stuff? 0:09:57.520 --> 0:09:58.000 To be right? 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:00.400 In the situation Toronto is where he can be an 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:02.880 unrestricted for agent with no guarantees to re sign in 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.440 twenty four that's a lot that's a big price to pay. 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.520 Yeah, and it's not that much cheaper than say, like 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:12.320 a Donovan Mitchell or you know, it's it's more than 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:16.439 a Kyrie Irving at this stage, it's just slightly cheaper 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:19.200 than Kevin Durant. Just feels like the drop off from 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:22.160 like a A list player to let's be honest, like 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.920 probably a B minus player, but a really good wing defender. 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:29.760 It's like Toronto's very Danny Angish when it comes to 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:32.960 getting what they want. So, I guess, how do you 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:35.360 think the trades actually fit into the rest of the season, Like, 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:37.959 do you think anything really makes an impact outside of 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:41.679 Katie and Kyrie to their respective destinations. 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:42.240 I do. 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:45.160 I mean, I think the Clippers got better and they're 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:50.040 going to end up being just a talkable team until 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.960 their season ends because Kwi and Paul George are so 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:57.959 good when healthy and active, and that has not been 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:00.920 the case consistently, right, and people love to talk about 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.880 they're the big poster argument against you know, load management 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:09.280 and whatnot. But and this is also like the fourth 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:13.120 year of this expensive iteration. And you know, they were 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:17.440 across the aisle of the k D Kyrie experiment in Brooklyn, 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:21.760 like those tandems came together the exact same offseason in 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:27.480 July twenty nineteen, So like one potential super team dynasty 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:30.800 already crumbled, Like is the time running out on this 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:34.360 iteration in LA where there was already talk around the 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:37.600 league back when they made that Western Conference Finals run 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:39.760 against the Suns in twenty twenty one of like if 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:41.439 they didn't make it that far, what was going to 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:42.200 happen up top? 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:44.520 Like there's I'm not I'm not here to. 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:47.760 Say that, Like I know definitively that there's hot seats 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:51.520 in LA, but like this conventional wisdom would suggest he 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:54.319 paid all this money to put together this you know contender, 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:57.400 that maybe they don't make it to the Western Conference 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.680 Finals more than once in a four year window like 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:03.320 that be below expectations, Right, So they got better with 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.800 Eric Gordon and Mason Plumley, And I really do like 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:11.360 Bones Island. I know there's been some you know, personality 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:14.960 stuff that's come up in Denver, but I mean he's 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:16.679 a damn good players in the second year of the 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:17.160 rookie deal. 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:18.920 That's a pretty good, you know gamble. 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.600 I think from LA, the Nuggets got better with Thomas 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:26.640 Bryant and Reddy Jackson's the nice buyout signing Golden State, 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.600 getting Gary Payton the second back, Like I don't think 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:33.520 he's a world changer, but you at least turn James Wiseman, 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:35.319 who's was not going to play for them this year, 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.720 into someone who was a really valuable or tation piece 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:38.080 for them. 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:39.760 I mean the Lakers got a lot better. 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:42.480 Obviously they're starting five to pull the doors off the 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:46.839 Pelicans without Zion, but the other night, so I mean, 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:50.240 the whole conference, I think outside of Portland really got better. 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:55.120 Your Blazers, like they didn't exactly buy to move. 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.240 This thing forward here, Trista, what what's going on? 0:12:57.559 --> 0:12:58.640 It doesn't feel like it. 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:02.360 No, they got it for Trump pick that is only 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.040 lottery protected, so that will convey I think this year 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:08.480 they're gonna need to figure something out, right like Jeremy Grant, 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.720 whether he ends up getting a deal done this summer, 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:15.560 I don't know. I saw something earlier today that I 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.160 forget who was writing it, that in order to keep 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:21.880 Dame really supported that most likely they would have to sign, 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:24.680 or they would most likely have to trade Anthony Simon's 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:27.960 and Shade and Sharp, which I very much disagree about 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:30.440 trading Shade and Sharp but it just doesn't feel like 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:37.360 their philosophy is much different than neiel' shase was outside 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:40.520 of just finding more athletic dudes. I think Neil Shan 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:42.920 would have been fine with Cam Reddish, Like I think 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:46.200 neil'sha would have been fine with Jeremy Grant, Like maybe 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:48.640 he doesn't, maybe he doesn't draft Shade and Sharp, maybe 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.240 he ends up with like I don't know, some white 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:55.080 guy from Gonzaga that's not Chet Holmgren, But like, I 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:58.280 don't know that this is a defensive first team really, 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:00.960 and to me, it doesn't feel like they're doing Dame 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:20.640 any favors. Just real quick about the Nets, Like I 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:23.800 think there's gonna be books written about the Nets, Like 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:25.840 for sure, I think maybe you write a book about 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:26.240 the Nets. 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:31.040 Do you think like there was any other way? What'd 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:31.360 you say? 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:33.760 So it'd be an interesting endeavor, right? 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:35.640 I do think there was any other way out of 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:40.480 this situation, like a series of unfortunate events around injuries 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:44.080 and like a weird pandemic happening once in a lifetime. 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:50.480 So yes, But also like that's what happens in every 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:54.760 big stakes environment in this league, and it's why people 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:58.120 are looking at the Kyrie Luka Dontrich pairing as like 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:03.640 a potentially combustible situation, right, I mean, do you trade 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:06.560 for the superstars every time in this league? That's just 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:12.120 kind of them around front offices, because worst case scenario, 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:16.160 typically you can be where Brooklyn is right now, where 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:19.040 they are at a hell of a better starting point 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.880 in this moment than they were in twenty sixteen when 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:25.800 their asset cover was dry and you know, they screwed 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:28.200 the pooch with the KG Paul Pierce, you know, deal 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.920 because those guys were well past their prime and whatever. 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:32.920 Like, if you do it with guys who are ready 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:33.800 to play right. 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.520 Now and at the peak of their powers, like Brooklyn did, 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:38.880 if it doesn't work out, you'll be able to get 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:42.560 a pretty good return back. That being said, like when 0:15:42.640 --> 0:15:46.920 you do mortgage young players and first round picks in 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:50.800 the moment, it's hard to continue to add anslar pieces. 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.560 The Bucks just had to send out five second round 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:57.560 picks to add Jake Crowder to this team. And when 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:02.160 as the Lakers have seen, especially like when your roster 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:05.960 is so top heavy with salary and so much of 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.320 the success is dependent on just a couple of guys 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:10.760 and a couple of guys getting along in an environment 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:16.840 that is pretty self centered and ego driven and a competitive, 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:20.920 you know, small sphere where your contract and your riches 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:23.680 and your fame are all dependent on how could you 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:26.240 perform on TV in front of millions of people every night. 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:28.960 That's a conflicting idea to. 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.440 The essence of basketball, where you share it amongst your 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:37.520 teammates to try to be a collective other. So there's 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:41.280 just a natural situation where these tensions and these pressures 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:46.560 can can blow up. And I think it gets so 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:50.000 much easier for things to fail when the stakes are 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:52.600 that high and there's such a pressure cooker and you 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:54.800 are in an environment where you put the onus on 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:58.480 yourself to be championship or bus So, whether it's you 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:00.560 know the Celtics Big Three to KG and Paul Pierce 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:02.520 that we just talked about, you know, Ray Allen left 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:04.720 and there was an emotions there and he goes to 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.280 the heat and the heat thing crumbles with Lebron. Everyone 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:10.359 talking about that locker room when they lost the Spurs. 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:12.919 They were so exhausted and they were just glad it 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:16.399 was over. And KD and Golden State and like just 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:23.000 these marriages, the honeymoon period always always ends, So I 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:26.600 don't necessarily think it was like doomed to fail from 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.040 the beginning or like how could they have avoided it? 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:33.240 But like to for any team build to be successful, 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:36.240 it's going to take so much luck and so many circumstances, 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:40.560 and I just think the odds are are more against 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:44.280 you to sustain it long term, just because of the 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:46.520 ultimate stakes that come in those situations. 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:50.160 I actually like Brooklyn now more than I did last year. 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.199 I did, like, I think this trade's going to go 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:58.600 down to me as an incredible opportunity for Micheale Bridges 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:02.440 to prove that he can be an offensive power as well. 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.440 Like he was a defensive specialist for the Phoenix Suns 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:07.679 and that was his role, and he was never going 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:09.120 to be the guy with the ball in his hands 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:11.600 at all times. And I was curious to see how 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:15.120 the ball sharing would go between him and Spencer Dimwity, 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:17.359 because Spencer doesn't like to share the ball with anyone 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:20.320 unless their name is Luca, and he's like, that's his role. 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.679 But Mikhale already putting buckets up at forty five the 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:30.000 other night shows that he was sort of underutilized in 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:31.480 a lot of ways in Phoenix. 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:32.520 Yeah. 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:36.480 I mean, look, there's a situation where the Nets put 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:40.280 together a fun little run down the stretch and they 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:42.240 make some noise in the playoffs, take a team to 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:47.800 seven or something, and then there's a star that decides, 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:50.160 you know what I want out of my team this summer, 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:53.040 And I'm looking at Brooklyn because they got a bunch 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:54.920 of picks they just got from Phoenix and a bunch 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.680 of players I want to go there, Like mckailberd just 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:01.000 could be my number two. Cam Johnson could be my 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:06.320 number three, like the Clackson's our defensive anchor. Like, I'm 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:08.320 not saying that's going to happen. I'm not saying that's 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:13.000 absolutely what Brooklyn wants to do, but they're excited that 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:14.040 that's a possibility. 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:16.280 So it is an interesting place to be in. 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:18.639 If I was Sean Marks, I would say no to 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:20.080 any star that wanted to go there. 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:21.160 Again, I think that's. 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:24.800 The only way you build the fan base to some 0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:28.000 level of real loyalty, because the one thing that I 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:30.879 realized from being on the fan was the fans just 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:35.280 don't care because they feel no connection to these players 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:40.880 and Brooklyn's never been really the place for New York 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:42.480 fans to like clamor around. 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:43.919 It's always been the Knicks. 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:47.159 And so unless they figure out some way to organically 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:48.440 build something. 0:19:48.680 --> 0:19:50.680 Buying stars, I don't think is a really. 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:52.720 Great and I don't think Sean Marks does well with 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:56.840 stars truthfully, Like I don't think that's his forte. 0:19:56.320 --> 0:19:57.000 You know what I mean. 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:02.360 I mean the has not been exemplary so far. 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:17.160 Who do you think shut it down? 0:20:17.920 --> 0:20:22.080 My curiosity is obviously always with Okay, see because even 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:26.280 when they're teetering on success in prior years, they've been, 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:29.480 you know, very reluctant to keep success going, right, Like 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:31.920 they shut down Shay last year, they shut down Giddy 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:35.119 last year, they shut down like even Kenrick Williams. I 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:37.479 think at one point, like anybody who had a pulse 0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:39.400 wasn't playing for this team. 0:20:39.680 --> 0:20:41.120 Obviously we mentioned Portland. 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:44.400 Portland is not on a trajectory for a play in spot, 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:48.840 despite what Dame thinks or what Chauncey Billups thinks, Like 0:20:49.119 --> 0:20:52.879 who do you think goes or do you like full 0:20:54.160 --> 0:20:56.680 I'm going to sell mode like for the rest of 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:59.560 the season, I'm just gonna whether they shut down players 0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:00.000 or they. 0:20:59.920 --> 0:21:03.080 Just lose games like semi intentionally. 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:04.679 I think it'll happen. 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.960 Can I pinpoint where I'll pinpoint where I don't think 0:21:07.960 --> 0:21:11.680 it will. Orlando seems pretty content on trying to win 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:15.840 games and trying to compete, and Magic want to take 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:19.800 steps forward. The Pistons, I mean, they haven't had the 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:21.919 bench guys to be the worst team in the league, 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:23.760 so I don't think. I don't think. I don't think 0:21:23.760 --> 0:21:25.680 we'll see that either. I think don but are still 0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:30.480 gonna be chasing thirty every night. You know, San Antonio's 0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:34.160