Deep Dive | INSTANT REACTION! The Trade Deadline Show

to do, and do it at a high level. We also take a look at what this deal says about the roster and why it was important to keep it in tech. I'm I'm Devon Gibbons and I'm Brian Seltzer. It's a Friday deep dive this week on a Thursday, as we bring you instant reaction to the NBA trade deadline. The trade deadline, guys, it happened. I don't know if it happened happened, but it happened. Seventy Sixers, the tea leaves indicated were active, they were participants. We heard things,

we saw things reported. But then in the end, I think a quality move to deepen the depth at an important spot on this roster while keeping the core in place. How would you grade this in terms of just the pop factor, because I think that's the trade deadline. It's one of those ten pole moments of the year right where we talk about pop and splash and all that. Let's go on the scale of one to five. We'll

start with you divine splash factor. What would you give this trade deadline for the sixers A splash factor for the seventy sixers one to five. I definitely have to go with a three because I do believe people were good with George Hills as an option. So when that happened, and it happened relatively early, people were excited it was going to be the follow up, as you mentioned, with any other names that could have been mixed in there as well. So a splash factor I would say three.

Good player coming into town. Definitely the ball handling, trusting him in the playoffs and being that he has experienced in the playoffs deep runs to the finals. We know who George Hill is, secondary ball handler, someone who can take a little bit of a pressure off of Shake Milton at times as well. So I like it, and I think the splash factor's three and real quickly just to put this into context, arn splash, there's gonna be

a follow up to this. Let's just talk about splash on the surface, because I'm gonna then have a follow up one to five splash factor. I think I know what your follow up is, and I'm more confident about my answer there, so I think I'm just gonna go follow suit. Give about a three on the splash factor, looking forward to getting to know George Hill. I've heard he's a great guy. Give it at three. Okay, so that's splash. I'm gonna go two on the splash scale.

But now, what about the impact factor? The impact on this team splash an impact different reverse order, Lauren, your impact grade ranking, what would you give it? One to five? I don't know if my man answering the question the way you want me to, but I think the impact of the lack of a bigger move might get a higher score on my impact scale. So to me, the overall impact on what happened today to me is about

a four and a half. Today is in Thursday, it's about a four and a half because I think the doubling down on the existing roster, the faith that today's moves and lack of moves showed in the existing roster, in the existing chemistry, and the exist the status quo of this team is believed in by the people in charge, and it's a vote of confidence for these guys to keep doing what they're doing and to continue growing in

the direction that they're growing. And to me, I almost feel heartened by the lack of extra moves because it shows how much confidence this organization has in the team

that they've put together. Okay, well, I think that I think that's the correct answer to it, just understanding that the importance end of what he brings to the team with the experience, the fact that to your point, Lauren, that they do trust the players that are there, and at the end of the day, for me, no matter the name value, the splash factor, even if it was a five with another player that didn't end up here, I think the splash really comes to Joel emb Ben Simmons,

and Tobias Harris. That's where I always felt it relied on those three, specifically the other two and Simmons MB because of while there are the three core players for this team, the foundation started with them and we've seen them in the playoffs longer than Tobias Harris with those two players, and then everyone else just mixed them with Curry and Green and the rest of the rotation that you have. But when it all came down to it, for me, it was about the two All Stars, the

two Oil NBA players, all defensive level players. So for me, again, I'm with you, Lauren where I go with the four, But it's simply because of the importance of those two those three I don't want to leave to buy us out and what they do in the second half and certainly in the postseason for this basketball team. So that's my answer. Sets I hope I answered that as well. Now, both of you doing terrific jobs getting the heart of these two questions. I do think the move makes the

team better for sure. I like George Hill. He's a guy who's been around. He's one hasn't won a title, He's been to playoff runs in each of his seasons in the league except for one. So I like the move and I think it helps out in the spot where the seventy sixers need help. I'd probably put it like, yeah, four point five, four point six seven, something like that.

But there's two parts of the conversation and we're not trying to overlook Ignas pres Dacas, a really high quality big at the G League level who the seventy six Ers a quality average early twenty one points per game and eight rebounds and three assists with Westchester for the next last two seasons. The Sixers actually worked him out two years ago going into the twenty nineteen draft he

played for Michigan. But really this conversation centers around Hill in the immediate short term future, but it also speaks to what the seventy Sixers front office thinks about the rest of the roster and the corps. I don't want to move on from George Hill just yet. He's a guy who's been around for a while. He's I think in kind of a Tobias Harris like way. He's bounced around between a handful of different teams because he is such a quality, dependable and respected player. His defense is solid.

He was the leader in three point shooting percentage in twenty nineteen twenty at forty six percent. We know he can hit a three if he needs to. And he's just a quality veteran guy. And like you said, divan a ball handler. Another one of those is something the Sixers needed, and I think this is a guy who's been through it. He has experience. He has deep postseason experience with the Milwaukee Bucks, most recently going to the

Eastern Conference Finals not too long ago. So I think in many ways, the Sixers did not have to do the old proverbial mortgaging of the future while acquiring guy who has a proven track record. I like the fact that they got some way in the fold now where

you just believe you can trust them. You can put the ball in his hands out there to run a unit whenever the situation calls for, whether it's in the fourth quarter, when we're talking about free throws at the end of the game, and you may worry about who your personnel is. We're not going to go back to the NBA Finals where he split the pair that led to the of course Jr. Smith infamous gaff. But he's

the guy who knocks down free throws. He can hit his open shots from distance, run a team, and I think he commands the respect as well that the players trust him. They know who he is. From Milwaukee to Cleveland to Indiana. He's always been in the mix, as you alluded to, and he is just one of these guys that can do it on both ends of the floor. It's not all on him, but it is certainly something to look at with this team where that trust will

be there, not just the players the coach. The coach knows, the coach has seen him, the coach has played against them, he has coached against them. They trust him, and I think that's key with what he now brings to this club. I like what you say about leadership, Devon, because we know that we have a lot of strong leaders on the seventy sixers team in guys like Danny Green, Dwight Howard,

Tobias Harris. Danny Green and George Hill overlapped for a few years in San Antonio, so we know that they understand each other's vibes and certainly Danny will probably be I mean, regardless of who the Sixers would have brought in, you imagine Danny Green would be a large part of helping them acclimate to the team. But I like the fact that the two of them have overlapped, that there could be mutual respect there. You mentioned Doctor Vers playing

against him. He also played for Dave Yeager in Sacramento, so it's a cool fit because he has experienced with some of the most important players on this team, and I look forward to seeing sort of how they all reunite together in probably just a few days, right, you would have to think and hope, I think something will probably learn a little bit more about, at least as of the taping of this pod as we react to some fresh news. George Hill has not played in the

game since January twenty fifth. He appeared in the first fourteen games of the season for Oklahoma City than he had a thumb injury in the beginning of February. And obviously, given where Oklahoma City is right now in terms of its evolution in this current iteration of its franchise, the fact that George Hill didn't play in recent weeks, I think that that probably was somewhat linked to where OKAC is right now and where OKAC might be trying to go in terms of its rebuild. But yeah, you think

he'd be able to come in. He's a guy who gets it, can jump right in the mix, fills a need, and I think that listen, this speaks to perhaps the even bigger story that I would have to assume that within the last couple of weeks, the seventy six Ers front office decision makers probably began to believe even more, or perhaps their belief was even reinforced that much more

about what this team is right now. Team has played great shorthanded after the All Star break, and I think we'd all admit here that the Sixers haven't played in terms of caliber opponent the most demanding and rigorous of schedules. It's not like game after game after game is against a top four seed from either conference, but they're playing against teams that are in the hunt for a playoff picture, whether it's to move up in their respective conference or to get in in one of the play in spots.

And the Sixers have dominated a lot of these games, and they figured out how to do it without either Joel Embiide or Ben Simmons. And I think that some of these guys who might have called like maybe fringe guys that you could count on for the postseason, they're showing you more and more the role in need they

might be able to fill. They're making it work with what they have, which is what they've expressed they want to do all year and now, of course, without massive moves or changes to the roster they're going to get to continue making it work with what they have. Tobias Harris has talked a lot lately about the winning culture that they've set up over the last few months and how he really believes in that culture and he believes

that his teammates believe in that culture. And I think because they've all bought into the system that they're playing in, they have seen a lot of success regardless of who's available or who the opponent is. And I think regardless of who they've played or when they've played them, the Sixers have had a lot of really big quality wins this season as well, regardless of who the opponent is, or who's available or who's injured. It's a team that's figured out ways to make it work all year long.

And I just think that that's a great sign. We've talked about it a lot, and it continues to be true. We have. We have spoken about that quite a bit and always talking about those benchmarks, right Lauren, where we talk or can they get over the hump here? Can

they do this one? Here? They they keep being presented with all these challenges and they continue to pass them and get over those those hurdles that we thought might have been there in the past and we've seen maybe them failing at it, And in this particular case, we are seeing the opposite where they're starting to passing and as the winds come. It's always about the winds. If the winds continue to pile up, then the confidence just grows.

And even when you are missing Joel n b as important as he is when you miss him, but you continue to win in different ways. I have questions of how were they going to do it? How are the offense going to change a little bit with mb not there, How's the defense going to function without him even though Ben Simmons is a candidate of the Defensive Player of the Year as well in the first team, or how

are they going to function with him? Basically being the the safety with everything going on behind you kind of let everyone know what's going on. But it has worked

and they perform very well. Sometimes they have us on the edge of our seats, maybe biting our fingernails, but at the end of the of the day, they come away with the W. And as you do that, and you continue to pick up these winds and you continue to add these ws to that left column, which is most important, gives you that confidence that even when he does come back, or even when you do add a player being the trade deadline, that nothing is going to

rock the boat of what you are accomplishing right now and what the endgame is for this basketball team. Sixers went into Thursday's game against the Lakers with a record of thirty one in thirteen. I mean, that's really good. That's second best in the NBA. Good And there's something to that. And I think that obviously, the question that was confronting Darryl Moray this isn't like me breaking any news here is how much do you rock the boat in the short term, in the immediacy for this year,

in the long term. And I think that when you look up and down the seventy sixers roster, when you're talking about some of the key regular members of the rotation, if you pose yourself the question, well, what would the Sixers world look like without player X, you could see some consequences. I mean, there's some guys who are looking like they're beginning to scratch the surface a little bit deeper.

You know, Amatista, the way he's played defense, but also the way he shot the ball better in the second half of the season so far, makes it go for con Cork. Mose has been showing up more in timely spots with his shot. He shot over forty percent last year. He's creeping up towards three seventy five this year. Is he had a point in his career where you can view him as a reliable shooter. I mean, I think that he's shown that he can come up big in

certain spots. We know what Shake Milton can do, and it just it seems like the core of this team is in a good place where between what we've seen on the court and some of the intangibles. And I don't want to like overblow intangibles, but I think in this case they actually do represent something that's meaningful this year. If you're thirty one and thirteen heading to the home stretch, maybe you owe it to the court to see how

far it can go without risking too much for your future. Yeah, with the entire deadline that was upon us for the trade deadline, I'm like many where Okay, as you pointed out, what's the splash? How can you how can you just get better? I mean that's the fan in me and

seeing how it plays out. But I also looked at it logically and thought that this would be a possibility with how you are now and when we now look at it and we go forward and talking about the trust, those are now the checkpoints, seals and learn that we are now looking for in the second half of the season. Can you continue to play this way when it b comes back? How do you now adjust again to him returning?

Then when George Hill comes in the players that he's now coming off the bench with, is everyone because we thought they have already? Is everyone now continuing to buy into what your role is on this basketball team to be sells that contender that you alluded to at this point of the season. It's real now, at least it appears to be. So if it's that and you continue to do this for con Chorkmise, we've seen you in the playoffs and sometimes it has not worked out for you.

That was a learning curve shake Milton. Your role has elevated, but now you have someone to go with you that you can even learn from to do these things, and on and on and on. Where it's normally an eight nine man rotation. I want everyone to push Doc Rivers where it needs to be longer. And that's what I like about this team, that it's going to be about playoffs.

It's going to be about playoff rotation, playoff minutes. Who's going to do this, who's going to do that, And at the end of the day, are we going to

be able to win in this way? And that's what I look at this for possibly a buyout as well of the marketplace there, and if that doesn't happen, then again it's something one more time that hey, we may have looked, but at the end of the day, we like you guys, and we think you can do it, and we know Doc Rivers said the other day he loves the team as it's currently constituted when he was asked about where things stood heading into the trade deadline,

and I didn't think that was lip service. I think that he really feels like this group is starting to come together at an important time of the year line for sure, and I think that the guys agree. I mean, clear, they just enjoy spending time with each other. And I like what you said Van about depth. You have to feel pretty solid about the Sixers step even prior to the buyout market. Obviously, regular season and playoffs are different.

But like you said, if you're looking at an eight nine man rotation, the Sixers have plenty of people that could be considered now for that eight or nine man rotation, and maybe a few outside candidates at cracking that eight or nine man rotation. I know people worry a little bit about youth when you talk about a shake Milton of a tiskibla for concorkmonths, but look at how much those guys have grown since a year ago. So I'm excited to see how those guys respond to a late

season situation to a playoffs situation. Keep in mind, the three of them, I guess, aside from fir Con, their only true playoff experience was in the bubble, so they haven't even had a real playoffs yet. And I look forward to watching those young guys embrace the end of a traditional end of the season and a traditional playoffs, as traditional as this season can be, of course, but with a more normal schedule, fewer intangible variables that they

were dealing with last year in the playoffs. I really look forward to seeing how this group the way that they've embraced the regular season, and sure they'll embrace the postseason in a similar way, if not in a more intense type way, and I'm excited to see how it

goes for them. Another thing that Doc Rivers said in recent days, sometimes the biggest move you make is the one you don't make, and it seems like in this situation, the seventy six has found a nice way to balance the good, the great, and what they've had so far while also deepening the roster at a key spot and quickly. The other one is the one that you didn't have to make because you're just waiting for it to return

in Joel NB correct, yep. I think that is a point that we, at least me guilty is charged because of the way that the six has been playing as of late. They lost once in overtime to the second best team in the conference. That's your only loss, and you're playing with that. Joe's played twenty minutes since the break. You're totally right. I think that that can't be shouted loud enough. That point that he is coming back at some point when he does, that only makes the Sixers

that much scarier. I do want to hit before we're done highlighting some of the other moves that were reported to have been made on trade deadline day. We have to start, I believe in South Florida. Yes, good move, Good move South Florida. Victor Oladipore. You're talking about that one, right,

Victor Oladipo. The Mina Blizzia from Sacramento as well, So they get a stretch big where they move Kelly Olenik out in that particular deal with Oladippo, but they bring in another with the Mania Belizzia, and it's a good move. I've liked Victor Oladipo from Afar, I've had my questions, but now they're going to Miami with what they have there.

We know about the culture that's always spoken about their medical staff and what they do for any injuries that he has, that is probably a good place for him to to, you know, maybe just kind of fix some of those little little band aids that need to be fixed with Victor Oladipo. So a nice move. It makes them better as their backcourt acts of their flexibility as well with their overall wing depth as well. I think

it's interesting. I mean, you said self that sometimes the biggest movie you make is the movie you don't make, and I'm intrigued by the fact that let's say the primary competitors in the Eastern Conference, the biggest move that was made was was in Miami and was with Victor Oladipo. In my opinion, there weren't any truly earth shattering I mean, PJ.

Tucker joining the Bucks is a big one. I suppose Blake Griffin could end up being a big ish one in with the Nets, but huge groundbreaking moves didn't really happen with the Sixers primary competitors. And I'm looking forward to seeing again how this all shakes out, knowing that these are the squads, right, these are the squads that these main teams are going to take down the stretch.

I'm excited about the Sixers squad. I'm excited about the fact that their competitors outside maybe Miami, didn't get significantly better at the deadline, and I'm just looking forward to seeing seeing how it all shakes out. There's like a sense of calm when the deadline passes that you just Okay, this is the group we're rocking with, this is who they have, this is who we have. Let's move and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all goes. I just have a question would it be hard that was

actually the biggest one. Ear Yeah, absolutely right. It's almost like we forget about that because so much time has passed. It's almost like the MBI move right right after this is done, trade deadline has passed. I think that the James Harden trade still stands way by itself as the biggest blockbuster of the season. Another one I wanted to touch upon real quick intriguing in my opinion, the Hawks and the Clippers swapping re Gen Rondo for Lou Williams.

Lou Williams going back to Atlanta. Clippers needed another ball handler or a primary ball handler, for sure, but man, Lou is such a huge part of that identity for what the Clippers had for such a long period of time. It's gonna be really interesting to see sort of what the Clippers new nucleus is. I agree with you selves. He's sort of the face obviously, Paul, George Kawhi, Leonard,

those are their guys. But Lou Williams is sort of like the core of that team, right He's the soul of that team, and it'll be interesting to see how they change without him. And then the Hawks have been very good lately, so it'll be interesting to see if he kind of locks something. Lewis had a harder season. He's not playing like the sixth man of the year that we're used to. But maybe he goes home he's energized.

He's in a new situation with a new coach and new teammates, and the Hawks have been really, really good eight and two in their last ten. Interesting to see if he can unlock something different in his hometown. And intrigued to see what Rondo back in La now just across the hall means for the Clippers. I like the move for the Hawks with that bench scoring that you can trust something you can It's a different dynamic to what you had with Kevin Herder now Bogdanovich as well.

So Lou Williams does a lot of different things. The one thing that I do know also is that Nate McMillan likes defense, and you know Lou's gonna have to go out there and even though he's established and we know who he is, but those minutes, you know he's gonna go out there and score, and defense is a key priority for what Niate nickmillan likes to do. With the great job that he has done thus far with the Atlanta Hawks. But that's just been his calling card

from Portland to Indiana and now here in Atlanta. So I like it. The Clippers. I mean, you look at their two point guards with Beverly and now Rondo, two similar type of guys. I don't know that it put puts them over the top, but it is someone who again commands, commands the respect while on the floor, and he is one that can grab hold of the basketball and say, hey, no, we're running this, we're doing this, and see how it all works out. So I'm curious

to see how that all please out. Maybe that was the change that was needed. Maybe Lou needed to change. Maybe the Clippers needed Rondo as much as you know, Lu just needed to maybe move on and have a fresh start back in Atlanta for the second time as a member of the Atlanta Hawk. So I didn't expect Rondo for Lou Williams. But interesting. Always a day that leaves you excited. I love waiting with anticipation. Exhausted in the end, but very fresh quality analysis from you both.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yeah. The craziest part after the trade deadline passed on Thursday, only seven hours until late night game between the seventy Sixers and the Lakers. Whole lot of basketball activity on Thursday. Love it Trade deadline always always exciting, and yeah, the seventy Sixers bolstering some depth at any did spot heading into the stretch run of what has been so far a really successful and strong twenty twenty twenty twenty one season. So this

was a Friday deep dive released on a Thursday. That's going to be our deep dive for the week. Lord and I have an episode of mail Bag Monday. We think a special guest being lookout for news about that on Monday. We will talk to you that see it.