|FULL POD| Pacific Division Preview & Bill Reiter!

CBS Sports Radio and NBA insider Bill Ryder oh Man. Folks, the NBA season is just right around the corner. We already got preseason games, So come on, William, do me a favor and drop that generic ass beat what should.

on the Suns. So let's preview the division and get into it, because I'm sure there are some things that you need to remember. We will not miss any of the news. You know that we're not going to miss any of the tea. So I wanted to make sure, though, while it's still the quiet season, that maybe we get everybody up to speed for every damn team. We start

out with the Pacific Division. They have five teams, all of which you can make a very serious argument could win the title this year if the right things happen right, if the right, right right things happen for the team. But we gotta start with the team that I affectionately call our dubs. Long time everyone knows, longtime lifelong Warriors fan,

that's me. So we gotta start there. Gotta give the Kings of the Hill their props. Yeah, I know, they didn't even get to the Western Conference Finals last year, but that is not There was a lot happening around the team. You know what I'm saying. Oh, Draymond punched, fucked up the vibe anyway. Golden State Warriors, their win total is sitting there at forty eight and a half wins, which means that Vegas thinks they're gonna win me somewhere between forty eight and will they Let's get into it.

The new editions. Chris Paul Brandon, Pojaempski, Poja Semski. You know what I mean. You know what I mean, dar Yo Sarich, Rudy gay Uzman Garuba, that's a sneaky one. Remember he was the first round pick. Rodney McGruder who has beef currently probably still with Clay Thompson and Draymond Green. Remember Clay called him, I think he called him a bitch or something like a couple of years ago, made

NBA TV. Everyody's like, oh, Clay's the Savage Clay Clay Clay, and then Draymond got on National TV and said something else I mean about him, But he's on the team. Corey Joseph from the Detroit Pistons also on the team sneaky pickup. Out is Jordan Poole. Out is Dante DiVincenzo, Andre Igwa Igwa gimme Igwa Dalla and James James I got taken second overall and no one knows why Heisman the Warriors started out last season. It was just a mess. Is who has the tape? Who leaked it? Why did

Jordan Poole get hit in the face? What he say to Draymond apparently the new leaks coming out, or that he said that Draymond Green was Steph Curry's overpriced backpack, which I heard it was actually even worse than that. The puncher ends up getting one hundred million dollar extension for all the trouble, doesn't get suspended for all the trouble that he calls, and Jordan Poole, the guy who got assaulted, ends up in Washington, DC on one of

the most dysfunctional franchises in the NBA. Seems fair, seems fair? Right, that's Siberia, Folks. Rough break for Jordan Poole. But at least he's got Kuzma to show him off in Chocolate City, little nightclub actions, show him where all the fashion is. See what's popping off on U Street, and I tell you the block is hot. I know it from personal experience. The block is hot on U Street twenty four to seven.

The big addition, of course, is Chris Paul, the point god CP three, The same guy that I said might be a big issue for the Suns is now on the Warriors. Why why did I say he might be a big issue? Let me recap what I said after the trade went down. Chris Paul averaged twelve five and seven in the playoffs, which was which was off his twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three season average of fourteen four and nine. So that's obviously in itself the

least productive number in his entire seventeen year career. Even in Chris Paul's rookie year he averaged sixteen to five and eight, and that was his worst statistical season until last year. And remember this, Chris Paul's final game as a Phoenix Sun. He was a minus three nine And I think he's thirty nine years old, so sweet justice. He missed twenty three regular season games last year. Yep, thirty nine years old. Yep. We did a little mass school.

What exactly Golden State expects from this slow, undersized point guard who could probably give you twenty two minutes fifty eight sixty games. And then, of course we know about the playoffs what he's gonna do there, which is not a lot. Apparently Steph thinks the world of Chris Paul because they've been playing pick up, according to Steph all summer, to help them prep for the season. I know this though.

The one thing I will say that's a positive is I saw Chris Paul get like just throw an absolute dime back door to Klay Thompson. He did not even expect because he's probably never seen it in his pro career from a teammate. The Warriors team obviously had had some issues. It's not just chemistry. Staying healthy is going to be the biggest one. And it's not Paul only and his what was that Chris Paul's secret juice, secret stuff,

but Klay Thompson as well. He needs the secret stuff of him himself because he is on the back end of his career with an acl and an achilles tear that happened not too long ago. Steph, of course, always has to be healthy. When he's not healthy, the team is a lottery team, and especially Draymond Green, who's, by the way, check's notes already hurt, already hurt yep our Dubs.

Little ankle injury for our Dubs. In addition, the team needs to learn how to win on the road again, because they were an absolute disaster away from the Chase Center. I do think the biggest issue is probably depth. They brought in a seventeen year vet. Let me say that again. They brought in a seventeen year vet, not seventeen year old. A seventeen year vet in Rudy Gay and a journeyman Rodney Magruder, Dario Sarich and twelve year pro Corey Joseph.

They were like, remember when we said we're gonna go two timeline thing, we are, but the timeline word going is back back in the time. We're only taking guys that have been in the league fifteen years and longer twelve if you're really good. There's still Kaminga and Moody, the babies of the crew. Although Kaminga all off season was rumored to WANTA Trade was not happy with his

usage in the playoffs. Not exactly a super deep bench, But listen, our Dubs always contenders as long as they have Steph Curry, Kevon Looney and a very healthy, very productive Draymond Green. They have Klay Thompson who's now playing power forward full time and who many people say is washed, but did lead the NBA somehow with three hundred and one made three pointers last year. They also have the unsung hero, which I just referenced. I'm talking about Kevon Looney. Tough,

durable on court IQ is out of this world. He's one of the most effective rebounders in the league. Steve Kerr had many glowing things to say about Keavon in the playoffs, but this one stuck out. He said, I think Loune is one of the best centers in the league. I really do. People don't recognize it because he's not dunking, shooting threes and all that stuff. But the guy is a flat out winner. He's a machine. We wouldn't be here without him. That's facts. They wouldn't have gotten out

of the first round without Kevon Looney last year. I know it, I saw it, and he was effective. Golden State is going to be at least a regular season force this year because in the Steph era, they usually are I'm not sure that this team is any better than last year when they won forty four games. I see him about the same this year. I can see them very easily being a playing team, or I could see them being a five or six eight seed. This is gonna be one of those things that comes down

to the world. As an aside, maybe the biggest loss of the off season was Bob Myers, their longtime GM, the architect of the dynasty. When this team needs help, it's always been able to find a rabbit of the hut because Bob Myers. What is my man, Mike Dunleavy Junior going to do to fill his shoes? Big shout out to Mike Dunleavy Junior. You have made it in life. You are a Portland legend. One thing is for sure. Of course, the Warriors are gonna be very fun to watch.

I am not sure our dubs are. I can't actually say is dynasty, Baby, We're back, can't mush us. Let's move on to the LA Clippers. Their win totals sitting there at forty six and a half by Vegas. This is who they've added kJ Martin. They have re signed Russell Westbrook, they got Josh I don't wear underwear, Primo, Xavier Moon, and Jordan Miller out of Miami. They lost Eric Gordon. But let's be real, this team just hasn't

made at many moves. They've been looking and trying and waiting to scoop up James Harden for a discount, and that has not happened yet. But let's be real. No team has more questions coming into this season, and no team has done less to address their issues than the LA Clippers. That is why the Clippers are my team of this division. Ah, I want to believe, I want to, but they are in desperate need of a real point guard and are currently holding up the Philadelphia seventy six

ers kind of at gunpoint for James Harden. You will take this one first round pick and you will like it. They're offering Marcus Morris, Rob Covington, Oh my god, Roco a first round pick and a swap. Daryl Morey is like, bitch, please, I do not want Roco, Are you fucking serious? No? I want Terrence Man Baby, the versatile six seven long wingspan, can't play point guard, can't play small ball five. And the Clippers were like, no, we don't have a lot of young assets, so we kind of don't really want

to give them up. So that's where we're at on the trade. Even though Woj says they are disinclined to up their offer because there is no other offer, we know that everyone knows that any NBA fan knows there are no other offers for James Harden. They did bring in a couple of young players of interest. kJ Martin played the right way when he played for the Houston Rockets. He's Kenyan Martin's son. Kenyan Martin lives in LA. This is gonna be an amazing fit. I think for him,

a new star for his career. He gets out from under what was clearly a very dysfunctional organization until emy Udoka came in. He probably is gonna carve himself out a nice little role. They signed Josh Primo on a two way contract because let's be honest, they're not giving him anything more than that after what he's been accused of doing. But the player, Josh Primo, outside of all the semantics involved, this is a fine, fine young player.

Clippers loved him. I remember talking to Jerry West about Josh Primo right after the draft two summers ago. He loved him. They wanted to pick him up before San Antonio snaked them. So they are thinking, we got Josh Primo at a discount. Baby, Oh boy, we have a guard of the future. So what are these Clippers other than the forty four and thirty eight fifth seed from

last year? Very talented, pretty much off an injured team facing a bunch of new crackdown rules from the NBA on you guessed it, what we're calling the Kawhi Rule low management. Kawhi is saying he's healthy. PG is saying he's completely healthy. But with those two, those guys are like the basketball version the LA Chargers, And I can't tell which one is Keenan Allen and which one is Mike Williams. Who is gonna be the Mike Williams of this year's LA Clippers. I don't know. It's like whack

a mole. One year it's PG, one year it's Kawhi, then back and forth and back and forth again. Kawhi has never played more than fifty seven games, never played more than fifty seven games in his time in Los Angeles. Paul George has averaged forty seven games per season in LA as well. Harden not exactly the guy that you want leading your franchise when you have multiple marquee stars down with an injury. So I don't know how he really helps them. The upside in theory great. Do you

really want to give up Terrence Man for him? Does it really move the needle for you? Does it? Because it doesn't for me. The Clippers have been skating by on their potential for a very long time, and I just can't believe anymore. I've been I've been hoodwinked. I have been bamboozled for too many years. I've been on the Clippers hype train now for since they got Kawhi,

since twenty nineteen, and I am done. If I have to be super optimistic, like I said, I'm gonna try to put a brave face on Josh Primo could be very good, maybe bones Highland. I saw him throw behind the back pass to Kawhi Leonard in a preseason game tonight, so there's that. Xavier Moon. I watched him be absolutely unguardable in Summer League. I called him trash. I'm sorry, I didn't know. I wasn't familiar with your game. Xavier Moon.

I wasn't familiar with the fact that you are a mid range machine, and so if he's that at the next level, this could get very interesting. Maybe they'll be very fun. Maybe it'll be Josh Primo and Xavier Moon the back court of the LA Clippers future. Just in time, those household names, just in time. Today debut a very new stadium that's very expensive. But mostly I'll be waiting. I'll be sitting there, waiting for the inevitable injuries which will derail the team that I was sure was going

to the finals the past three years. Fool me once, shame on me, foom me twice. Can't get fooled again.

Let's move forward. Let's move forward to the LA Lakers win total sitting there at forty seven and a half. They re signed Austin Reeves, which was highway robbery. I'm not sure how they were able to sign him at that low of a deal, but he wanted to stay in LA to play with Lebron and I don't blame him. They re signed D'Angelo Russell to a team friendly deal. They re signed Jared Vanderbilt, and they drafted Hood Schafino over there from Indiana. They drafted somebody else who's not

as important to this list. They added gave Vincent, Christian Wood, gave Vincent from Miami, Christian Wood from the Mavericks. Cam Reddish, who was on a bunch of different teams. I think Portland was his last team. Jackson Hayes and Torrian Prince. They lost Mobileau and the Lakers. They lay it's been woh, it's been a roller coaster of a year. They've remade their entire roster over the course of the trade deadline. They took momentum from that move to the Western Conference Finals.

They did get swept, but it was competitive all four games. That's like what me as a Portland Trailblazer fan tells myself and others when I talk about how we competed against the Warriors in twenty nineteen. So I get it. It's like totally fair. They went from oh, boy is Rob plink of the worst GM in the league to like, wow, he made some fucking money moves. He I gotta give some a little bit of shine to Jesse Buss. I've

been told I don't give enough shine to him. So they finished forty three and thirty nine seventh place, won the play in balled out before getting into the buzz saw that Jokic and Jamal Mury Jamal Nba as they call him, they put an end to a very we'll call it a quick run in an emphatic fashion. That Lebron James pretended he was going to retire after that was how bad the demoralization was. He said at the post game conference, I'm not sure if I'm ever gonna

play basketball game. That's where we're at this year. I think they're better. They did lose Lonnie Walker, Tristan Thompson, and like I said, Mobamba adding gave Vincent I think is interesting. Although Miami Heat fans are already saying that Laker fans are gonna hate him, so I don't know about that. Cam Reddish was supposed to be the most talented duke player in the class of Zion and RJ. Barrett,

but he just hurt his ankle. He's a lot of upside and I don't know if he's going to be able to ever live up to that Pelican Center and Jackson Hey says a ton of potential, very long, very athletic, can do a bunch of different things. One of those I would call it modern centers and Tourian Prince, who I love. Torrian Prince is a dog. He is going to be an integral part of whatever the Lakers do. And then you add Christian Wood and they stole them.

They stole them, stole them. Vet Minimum that is some nice depth. Team was very very thin last year. They only played eight guys in their close out game against Denver and only one of them. One of them got six minutes. So the Lakers have an insane amount of length, athleticism, a lot of versatile pieces. If they can get something out of Ruey Hachi Mura, who played really well in

the playoffs. By the way, Ruey Hachimura worked out with Lebron and Phil Handy strength and conditioning coach, skills coach for the Lakers. But Phil Handy's been working out with Lebron for a very long time, and what do they do. They tried to teach Ruey how to be Lebron James woo wooh. That's exciting. Lakers won sixty six percent of their games after the trade deadline last year. If that carries over to this year, they'll win fifty four games.

They're gonna be able. I think to hum on all cylinders like they did after the trade deadline last year, except for now there's more depth, so you don't have to worry as much about your star players being healthy the entire season. Of course, you still have to all of it hinges on Anthony day to day Davis and Lebron James playing a bunch of games. But Christian Wood, who averaged eighteen and ten last year, and Jackson haz are very very serviceable backups who have a ton of potential,

a ton of upside, and now they basically have baby Lebron. Right, basically have baby Lebron. This is a very dangerous team. They can very very easily make the Western Conference Finals again. I am bullish yet hoping for their demise. As a Portland Trailblazer fan and obviously a lifelong Dubs fan, let's move forward of Phoenix Suns. Fifty four and a half games is their win total by Vegas. They add buw

Bull Love Bu Bull from the Orlando Magic. They add Utah Watt Nabe aka Johnny Utah from the Brooklyn Nets. They add Eric Gordon from the Clippers. Oh that's a sneaky pickup. Nas Little and Keon Johnson come over in their trade, Grayson Allen comes over from the trade, Yusuf Nurkic comes over from the trade to Portland, and of course Bradley Beal has been stolen from the Washington Wizards for I think a dirty muffin a couple second round picks.

They lose domin Ayton Aton, they lose DeAndre Aton, they lose campaign to Moni Kamara, and of course Chris Paul. I am very surprised by what the Phoenix Suns have been able to do. I'm not gonna lie to you. I thought they were barbecue chicken on a habachi. After the Bradley Beal trade, I was like, ooh, three guards, and like, well, that's I think eighty five percent of yours.

What are you gonna do now? I think they have four guys on their roster At that point, I was like, Okay, you guys all need the ball, and you have no depth and you have no money, So what you're about to do? Then they went out and signed a bunch of guys on very low contracts who want to get a ring and love playing with Kevin Durant. They went out and made some judicious trades and all of a sudden,

they got very solid. It's very important because at the top of the roster are some players they get hurt all the time, all the time. So let's start with a detailed look at the losses. Three major pieces from the twenty twenty one finals run Chris Paul, DeAndre, Aiden campaign all have taken their talent somewhere else. Right, huge part of what made that team so special, so they had to get some return. The return was massive. Bradley bealver Bradley Beal. Let's be real. He is not a closer.

He's never gonna do shit for you in a fourth quarter, even in January. But I tell you what, when you need some buckets, like midway through the second quarter, Bradley Beal can do that for you. Oh boy. Bradley Beal was a scoring leader in the NBA a couple of years ago. He is an absolute bucket, a pure sweat guy, true and true. Cannot play defense worth a lick. But I don't know if it matters. I don't know if it matters. He is a bucket. The issue with Beal

is the same as the issue with Kevin Durant. Durant hasn't played more than forty seven games in three of the last four seasons. Bradley Beal hasn't played a full season since twenty eighteen. Fifty seven games, sixty games, forty games, and fifty games. Maybe you could say he was loafing maybe one of those seasons, maybe two, but come on now,

not all four. He's been hurt. They traded DeAndre Ayton, who was a number one overall pick, for Yusuf Nurkic, who was discarded from Denver because they had a guy named Jokic, and then he became the primary center for Portland. Broke his leg and it's never been the same really since doesn't really play deepense. Great guy in the locker room,

I hear. I don't know how that helps you win a championship in terms of defending, but hopefully Frank Vogel will figure it out because that's his specialty with big men. They wanted to get rid of the locker room problem and that was DeAndre Ayton, so they discarded him, and they said, and they sold it to the world that Nurkic was a better fit, even though we know he's not as good. But also, to be fair to new

owner Matt ISSHPIA. They have spent a lot of money and they had to give DeAndre ad In a MAX because they had to pick up that restricted free agency contract when he got offered the MAX from Indiana. So they said, let's shed some salary cap and let's get on with our lives. ISHPI and crew have worked over time to surround a starting five of Nurkic kd Okog,

Booker and Beale with some firepower off the bench. They bring in Grayson Allen, a certified pest and a three point sniper, Eric Gordon kind of the same certified pest three point sniper Utah Watt Nabe can do so many damn things, but also really good three point shooter. Na's little athletic can defend a lot of upside was buried on the bench in Portland. Bull Bull. You've seen him be able to do some things as well. From the perimeter. He's one of those unicorn seven footers. Keon Johnson can

jump out of the gym. He's still very young, very raw, but ultimately you need bodies. When you have guys who consistently go out with injury. It is shocking, shocking in some ways because I thought the bench absolutely sucked for Phoenix, and now it might be one of their more strong points. The Suns, like the Lakers and the Clippers, are gonna be pretty much a slave to their injured list. If they stay healthy, awesome, If they don't, not so awesome.

Red alert WI bad shit. Even if one of the Big three has injury issues, it's gonna be tough to beat them anyway. You need multiple guys to go down in order for them to be kind of fucked. I do think, though, there's a real shot that the Suns could be, if people get injured, a playing team. But that's a bold prediction that we'll talk about another time. The Sun's finished fourth last year with a forty five

and thirty seven record. But let's be real. There was a huge storm cloud looming over the team because Robert Sarver, their owner. He was removed for all the isms misogyny, racism, probably plagiarism, sexism, homo eroticism, I don't know out of all the isms. He gotta let go. They said, you gotta sell a team, boy, This is a team to watch, though, team to watch, and then finally is it a finally it is the final? Isn't it, Yes, is the finally, I can't even get them all straight. There's so many

damn good teams on this division. We got to talk about the Sacramento Kings. Their win total fucking shady forty four and a half. That is a shady ass win total. This was a team that was third in the West last year. Were they not? They were additions Sasha Vizenkov euro League MVP, Neurlans Noel big Man, JaVale McGee big man. Jalen Noel played really well for the Minnesota Timberwolves as a bench piece, went from a ten day guy, two way guy to a real rotation dude. Jeremy Lamb I

think he's washed. And Chris Warte, who I think there's a lot of potential around. They lose Rashaun Holmes, but let's be real, Rashan wanted out of there. They lose to me as Kta, who they didn't have a spot for. They sadly lose Terence Davis who's still a free agent, Matthew Dilodova and some other scrubs. The Kings, of course, were d the surprise team last year. They won the Pacific Division. What was it forty four to one? That was a nice little ticket. Forty eight and thirty four,

forty a and thirty four. They get better this year, and what the fuck does Vegas do? They say, we don't believe, we don't believe forty four and a half wins We're gonna give you. That's some bullshit. Anyway, back to the Kings, they were so much fun to watch. They took the Warriors to the brink. They were Harrison Barnes opened three away from moving on in the playoffs. They do lose a little bit of minor pieces, nothing too great of importance. We talked about the losses. Delavdova's

losses a clubhouse leader, of course, will be felt. But they do add Sasha for Zenkoff first basket in the preseason game, dribble handoff off the screen from Alex lenn

three splash, get used to it. Daron Fox just did an interview the other day and he said, if Zenkoff made one hundred and forty three out of one hundred and fifty shots in one drilling practice, the dude six' nine beast to guard gonna take him some time to move up in the, ROTATION i. Think but when he, does he has the ability to hit some big shots in big. MOMENTS i think a lot Of kings, FANS i think a lot Of kings fans are expecting, things

hoping things will work out with. Him but to, me the THING i like about This kings team is that they know how to. Win we cannot neglect the fact That sabonis had a torn ligament in his thumb the entire, year did not shut it, down did not get, Surgery he continued to. Play he looks much better, already AND i think that's only going to get. Better so, far he's very. Underrated Darren fox very focused on HIS mvp campaign that he's telling, everyone Fuck TEAM. USA i don't

care about. Them Keegan, MURRAY i think is gonna take another. Step he's gonna be better following his rookie. Year you watched him in the playoffs last year and he got really. Good come Like game, Three game, four he made a RECORD nba number of threes for a first year. Player Malik monk turned into a player that we always hoped he would. Be six man off the. Bench Davion mitchell was Strapping steph in games one and. Two he's joined

By Chris duarte And Jalen, noel which means more. Defense one of the weak up week spots in this team last year was a backup. Center so what do they. Do they Add JaVale, McGee three TIMES nba champion for multiple teams badly needed, experience and then they Add Neirleans, noel who also has a lot of. Talent if those guys, contribute woo. Wooh this is a fifty win. Team it was a fifty one, team. Folks maybe even, more maybe a fifty two fifty two win. TEAM i think this

team could be number one in The. WEST i. DO i think this will be the top team in The Western. CONFERENCE a lot of people are saying The kings are gonna take step back this. Year not. Me i'm ten toes. DOWN i think it's the. Opposite this is a fifty two to four win team and once again one of the most fun teams to watch the. League that is it for our division. Preview preseason games have just, started so we'll get into a full overview of what's popping

around the league in the next. Episode but the big news since the latest episode is That Joel embiid has declared that he will play For TEAM, usa WHICH i think is. Garbage not me as the patriot and me as AN nba, fan why because that's just too. Stacked put him On Team. France see what they figure, out Is Rudy gobert gonna get kicked off the? Team are they gonna try to play the two center? Thing what's gonna happen With victory? One But yama or Maybe, Cameroon

i'd be fine with that. Too, france where he has. Citizenship there was lots of speculation when he played For. France there was a lot of. Friction, Ooh, rudy what do you? Think? Who oh Gil, bin Oh, Rudy oh bonjous aauvois and they're, like, no he's. Coming SO i think it's. Fascinating THE us needs a center. Badly but let's. See if If Joel embiid isn't healthy In, april do you think he's healthy In? August he's healthy In? AUGUST

i don't. Know maybe if he gets bounced in Early april then he will be because he'll have four months to. Prepare he will be a big boost to THE us if they want to get the gold next, year Which i'm sure they. Do as for the rest of the. League it's, chrip, chup, quiet, quiet nothing new on the hard in. Front Somehow Peyton, pritchard who was asking for a, trade gets a fucking extension four, years thirty, million and

they're like he's, like fuck, you fuck, you fuck. YOU i went, OUT i went, out all, out and they're, like, hey how about seven and a half millionaire and he's, like, okay sign on the dotted. Line Evan fournier is still pissed that The knicks haven't traded, him so they'll probably give him. Extension, right and Sniper Reggie bullock signed a

one year deal In houston for what. Reason who, knows but with the preseason, underway shit's gonna change in a. Heartbeat up, next, finally special, edition we have a very informative interview With Bill, ryder host of THE cbs sports Show writer Than you and LONGTIME nba. Writer bill joined me and my co Host Ryan horvat And Nick ashew on our show BET mgm. Tonight he gave a nice ot review of what's popping around the. League so let's get into.

wait anymore to get SPORTS nba insider right Than YOU Cbs Sports. Radio, yeah if you're mad, that if you watch the show and you hated the way that it didn't, it feel free to jump that In. Bill but let's start with Also James, harden who is with The sixers in, camp And Joel embiid says he's not a. Distraction of course he's gonna say, that what do we make of this? Situation and where do you see this actually?

for the price to go. Up they take some strength and some some some some you, know the a sense of optimism from what went down With, lillard even though that wasn't as ugly THOUGH i think That harden's going to be out of shape and, miserable AND i Think Darryl moore and The sixers are going to, say, politely to hell with, You we're not trade me until we get what we.

Chris middleton is even dealing. With how do you feel about this team if they don't have an entirely Healthy middleton for the entire, year or maybe if he never returns to what he was when he was in his.

not very. Good it's the point of this executive, made so you've got to make that up with more. Offense it's a similar model What boston's doing leaning. OFFENSIVELY i think you Need middleton to be in the mix at least in the, postseason given how good The celtics, are AND i think still how many land mines there are in The Eastern conference from other.

defensively he's also well. Respected guys around the league love, him but he's known to be easy to work with for, coaches, right not gonna undermine yet there's a different kind of. Edgy it comes out on the, floor not in the locker. Room so For holiday as a, player and frankly is a guy who's gonna make life a little leader on a head coach who's under a lot of, PRESSURE i love.

IT i think it's really interesting to see What porzingis can be and what he can, do and whether or not some of the players who were moved out who are defensive focus, guys whether that's gonna hurt The celtics as it relates to what they want to. Do but we Know missoula is much more offensively inclined than. He Mayo dooka he leans that. Way SO i love The holiday. MOVE i love The, celtics but it's gonna be really

interesting how these pieces. Fit because this is a team that's made at game seven of The Eastern Conference finals the last two. Years they obviously made the finals a couple of years, ago and it's very they've retooled this basketball team pretty.

face him in the finals for that to. Matter in the, PLAYOFFS i Love, denver AND i think there's a lot of question marks in The Western conference that makes their road. Easier i'm not as high On phoenix as other. PEOPLE i know they got some depth in that. Trade John moran's gonna miss a huge chunk of the. Season what Is memphis gonna be your third best player here IN la with The? Lakers Is Austin Reeves now that that's the end of the, World But i'm not sure that

it's a. Guarantee And Anthony, Davis Anthony humpty Dumpty. DAVIS i know he wants to play eighty two. GAMES i love. It it's a guy played seventy two. Games lebron's, amazing but he's one hundred and five years. Old so you just sort of you go to The Western. Conference there are potential, challengers but at least on, paper nobody to me is as. Sure thing is The Denver.

YEAR i think the moves that are going Around Eastern conference and what's happening right now is force And harden to Stand. Philly it's all about the fear That yannis will be the guy that won't, stay Or mv'll be the guy that gets them happy and doesn't. Stay and doctor GM's around THE. Nba there's a, hope right if you're not The DALLAS, gm then in a year or two just gonna be the guy who doesn't want to be. There and SO i Think dallas has massive pressure without

a roster that can make good on. It i'm not a Big Kyrie irving, guy so Maybe i'm swinging and missing on a level of greatness he brings to the table That i'm somehow not. Seeing but the moves they've, made the team they, have the roster they, HAVE i don't think it's very. IMPRESSIVE i Know dodgas is. Amazing you guys Know dodgers is. Amazing the guy's an incredible, Player but he's not on a team THAT i think is gonna live up to anything remotely resembling even conference championship,

appearances let alone the. FINALS i think they're in.

Wizards could you make the case for any other team in The southeast other Than miami this.

said Gwinn snyder is extremely well. Respected it sounds Like TREY. J young wants to do the things he needs to do For quinn in that. ORGANIZATION i. WASN'T i think that place is a mess in terms of their political dynamics at their front. Office But quinn's a really good. Coach he's now gonna have obviously an entire training camp

team in late last, year a very weird. Situation so there's gonna be a, surprise and maybe it's the heat trail off a little, bit or there's injuries Or Emo jimmy so emotionally can't get out there that haircut and play for. Me atlanta would be the other.

Trade nobody seems to know what they're gonna. Do do you think that this is a team that, finally let's say even just come trade, deadline they finally start selling that team, off or are they still committed to actually winning with essentially the roster that they.

avoid that play. In i'm not sure how realistic that, is AND i do think that if the wheels come, off if things go, badly if they're not in the, mix they very well could be sellers and you can move on for most of those guys and see that team basically go into bring an, assets do What portland's doing do to a degree with The thunder did lose a bunch of games focus on draft. Picks so depending where the total is for what's their win toal right, now like forty, TWO i don't even.

Me or is that organization kind of toxic right?

Leonard it was a crazy. Spark there were multiple injuries that were significant in that series against The warriors that got in there not taking anything. Away they had a crazy bounce Against, philly AND i think that there's just a chance That massai doesn't understand that they got lucky and that there were some things that need to be, retooled especially When kawhi moved on to answer your. Question

yet they're absolutely. Toxic it is a miserable. Place and this is part of the debate about where you bet on their win. Total he thinks they're good enough on paper and that these guys aren't living up to. Expectations and in that locker room they think that he's a delusional strong but he is overestimating the roster that he's put.

twenty nine first round. Pick they don't Think annas is gonna be there regardless of what happens with lower than the next year or, two and that The bucks are going to be an utter and total, disaster and that those picks are very potentially extremely, valuable and whatever happens In, toronto it's just a more desirable market than it used to be because there's a lot of guys who are international players if we know in THE nba who will play.

There SO i don't. KNOW i don't know What toronto, offered BUT i do know That portland thinks that what they got From milwaukee and what they're still getting because they're gonna move on To Malcolm brogy and obviously they traded your, holiday they think that return is by far the best that was. Offered what do you.

ON i think their, window or they think their window for really competing is probably not this, season but the season. After but we've seen teams and The warriors are one of those teams make really big leaps that that are earlier than people. Expected so, YES i think that's entirely. POSSIBLE i have a soft spot in my heart For Golden, state largely BECAUSE i JUST i Love Steph, curry class,

act amazing. Player but they're. OLD i don't know. THAT i Believe Chris paul is going to, work and forget whether he, STARTS i don't know if he, finishes which is what really. Matters, yeah we Know Bob myers is. Gone Steve kerr has become you talk to beat writers and folks there a little. More he's a nice, guy but a little more, frustrated maybe a little more burned

out in a long term. SENSE i do think there's some, vulnerabilities AND i think The kings of the kind of team if things, click because they have so many young, guys and young guys tend to make big leaps in years two and three and sometimes. Four The kings are police potential to be one of those teams that make a pretty big leap this.

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