On this episode of the e Check, We've got a special guest, Keith Smith spow Track, who brings us up to date on everything from the Caruso trade to the JJ Reddick Hire and more. Anthony, take that victory lap, my man, because you scowp woes like the og that you are on the JJ Reddick Hire. Let's celebrate by dropping that motherfucker beat that should be rhunt. All right, we're joining this bonus episode with my guy, Keith Smith's bow Track, who's going to the moon because it Selfish
just won the championship. He joined me on my other show bet MGM Tonight, where I was joined by my post Nick Ashu. Bet MGM Tonight airs seven to eleven on the radio most major markets and also live on video on twit. So let's get right.
Into it, oh Track as well, and let's start with JJ Reddick Keith, because now we can finally say it's official, he's actually the head coach. No more speculation on who they're talking to or Dan earlier, any of that anymore. So as we now look at JJ Reddick the head coach for the Lakers, I know we have no resume, we have no real way to truly know what type of coach he'll be, but we can speculate it. We can play that game. So we'll play that game with you.
What type of season one do you think the Lakers will have with JJ Reddick as a head coach.
I think a lot of what will answer that question is not really as much about JJ Redick as it is about what happens with the roster. This roster needs work. As it stands right now, they're probably somewhere around the seventh or eighth best team in the Western Conference. Now, they can make moves for sure, but what we'll have to see, you know what Rob Polinka does with that. But I don't think JJ Reddick is going to come in and lift them to twenty more wins or anything
like that. I don't think he's going to come in and drastically, you know, downgrade them as far as his coaching either. I think what we'll see it they should be a pretty sound x's and O's team. I think he's going to come in and design good stuff. That's been a strength of his as an analyst, whether it be on the broadcast of games or on his podcasts and the like. I think, well, mostly what will determine his success will be how he handles the relationships with
the players. Every head coach that I've ever talked to you says, it's like one percent about the x's and o's. Everything else is being a people manager and making sure you know, when a guy's in a five team shooting slump, that he knows, hey, we're not out on you. We're still here with you. Let's try to get you right and and do those kind of things. That's going to be the stuff that in in game management is going to be what JJ Rex's gonna have to learn and learn on the fly.
Yeah, and JJ Reddick not known for his positive spin or his affability on the broadcast, at least I don't know him personally, so that should be I should be a fun experiment to watch live, especially when we see maybe some three or four game losing streaks. And I guess what I've noticed, just as a follow up from some of the players with Darvinham, is that they felt comfortable lambasting and throwing Darvin Ham under the bus, even sneak dissing him in the media. Is that something that
we should expect going forward with JJ Reddick. In these players or is there a way for him to prevent that type of stuff.
Yeah, I think that has to be like an organizational wide thing of hey, we're not going to put up with it, Like we need to be in a place where if you have an issue with the coach, go talk to the coach. You don't need to do it through the media. And it's become this weird kind of thing I think with players not fully grasping that the coach is the one who's in front of the media every single day every day. Not every player does media every day, some.
Of them don't, but the coach is the one. He's there.
The coach is the one who's generally there answering for a lot of the stuff the front office does and doesn't. Two too, because it's pretty rare that the GM more than a handful of times a year does a press conference.
So that's one of the things where when a coach is talking about, yeah, you know, a guy's not playing so well, you know a player, then, more often than I can ever remember at any point, a lot of these players then when they get their chance like, well, I don't think he's always coaching well, and it's like that's not you know that that's not productive for anybody to kind of go that route, and I think that's
gonna be a little bit of a challenge. As you said here, Reddick is not He's going all the way back to when he was a player at two. He was never really warm and fuzzy. He was always a guy who in Brake's being the villain. He's openly talked about he loved being booed as a player because that meant other teams smeared him and they felt like he
might do something to beat them. So he's gonna have to work on the relationship side of it for sure, and that's going to be a huge part of what will determine his long term success.
Lost in the shuffle, well maybe not lost, but another team that was a evaluating JJ Reddick shockingly, the Detroit Pistons. I've been banging the drum that Moni Waiam's probably not the right coach for this rebuilding team all of last year, but to do it a week before the NBA Draft was very surprising to me. Apparently Moni himself was also blindsided. What was your take on that and just kind of how that went down and what kind of hire. Do you expect now with Trajan Langdon in Detroit?
Yeah, This to me is one of the things that it always comes off surprising. I kind of have been conditioned to expect when there's a new front office that takes charge, they're probably going to move on from the coach more.
Times than they're not.
But this one seemed like Langdon was there for a little bit and there was no news, no news, and then they finally moved on. I don't know if that was a finally convincing Tom Gored, Hey, we just got to eat the money. We've got to move on.
One of the.
Biggest mistakes I think NBA teams, really sports teams in general, but especially did the NBA make, is they'll hire a coach, pay that coach a lot of money, doesn't really go well, and everyone can see, oh man, this is not going well, or they sign or trade for a player, and then one of the things that they love to do is say, well, we have to give it time because we just got them.
I think when we all know things aren't going.
Well, it's fine to rip the band aid off and say, you know what, we made a mistake, because otherwise all you're doing by giving it more time is compounding that mistake. And I think for Detroit this is a chance for them to really have a fully fresh start yet again. But you know, this is probably ultimately for the best if they believe the best thing to do is get somebody new in there, somebody can coach up the young guys and get the moving forward.
That's probably the best path.
Is that Brego too.
I think it may be. So I've been doing a little bit of connecting the dots here where trad and Langding came in from the New Orleans Pelicans about you know, in the last week they announced that we're gonna hire Fred Vincent as their top assistant coach, which is a little weird because then he turned around and fired the head coach. But Fred Vinson came over from the Pelicans. James Rego last job assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans. So I think we might be seeing Tradon Langton going
with a couple of guys. He's comfortable with a couple of guys who have pretty good development track records and kind of owning, hey, this is not gonna be a fast track thing. We're gonna play through our kids We're gonna build this thing up and I'm gonna bring in these guys, So it wouldn't be surprised if it's James Rego. I thought if something had really gone sideways with the Lakers and JJ Reddick, that maybe it would be James Barrego. Two slides in there. Now that that job's off the board,
maybe the Cavs you'll go that direction. We'll see, but I think he'd be a good hire for the for the Pistons.
Yeah, and Barrego the favorite two to one to be the next Pistons head coach. And then Chris Quinn is in there at six to one after that with Sean Sweeney and Sam Cassell talking to Keith Smith bet MGM. Tonight, we know this time of year means Lebron James. Rumors means Lebron James. Anything to control the narrative, do you put any real I guess substance to the like Phoenix Suns or Dallas Mavericks. And then Lebron's son only working out with the Suns and the Lakers is just gonna
be one of those things. When it's all said and done, he just he goes back to La and it's kind of one of those that's probably gonna be the most likely scenario. Why did anybody believe anything else?
Yeah, I think that's exactly what it's gonna be. I think he's gonna be back with the Lakers. Now, maybe he throws the ultimate curve ball, but I think he'll opt out and then I think he'll sign a new deal with the Lakers. That kind of puts him in a position where whether it definitely finishes there or you know, puts himself in position to finish off his career there. The Sun stuff, it's did these things that people are saying, Well, the Sons are gonna you know, he's gonna go there
on a minimum contract. It's just so nonsensical, Like, this is a guy who very famously said he's never taking a dollar under the main because if he does, then then the owners and GMS can go to every other player in the league and say.
Lebron did it? Why not you.
Now we're obviously in a very different phase of his career, but he's still not a guy who should be taking a minimum deal.
Now.
I don't even know why he would do that anyway. I don't know that he's looking at the Suns and saying, man, let me sign up for this, this is great. I mean, the Lakers were just as good as the Suns were last year.
So I don't.
Understand, you know that that seem to be, you know, just some people dreaming things up out of fantasy and definitely not going to be a thing. So I think he'll stay with the Lakers, And I think what ultimately happens is I think Bronni probably gets drafted fifty fifth overall by the Lakers and then they move it forward that way, which honestly is fine.
Fifty fifth.
You're not going to miss out on a kid you probably couldn't get as an undrafted player on a two way contract.
Anyway, can you explain to me the trade, the Alex Caruso for Josh Giddy trade, and like maybe put that into context in what you think the Bulls might be trying to do, see it was.
Gonna cheat and tell you I could explain it from the thunder side because I fully understand what they're trying to do. Sure, yeah, well I can try with the Bulls. I guess I really don't know. I'm confused on the bull side of this trade. I don't understand how when you're trading with the Oklahoma City Thunder and you're giving away the better player. I don't care that he's significantly younger than ounced Carus, so that part doesn't really matter to me.
You should be coming away without a minimum.
Protected first round pick or a couple seconds, so Thunder have more picks than they could ever possibly use.
I don't know how the Bulls didn't come away with at least.
One pick in this trade, so that part of it's a little confusing. As far as getting Josh Kitty. If this is followed up by we're not resigning to mar Derozen, We're gonna move Zach Lavine, we're gonna move Nick Mucovich, and we're gonna kick off a rebuild, then I'm okay with this. Then it starts to make a lot more sense why you would make a move like this. But as it stands right now, it seems like they're still
in let's try to bring back the Rosen. We're gonna probably trade Levine, but we don't want to just move him for young players and pick. We want back guys who can play, And that seems like this never ending quest to be the eighth Seed is still going to continue in Chicago, and I don't get it. For the Thunderside, they get one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, Alex Screws so could have been a first team All Defense guy, but was a second team All Defense guy.
He's he's really really good and he can shoot. He can shoot.
Now they lose a little bit more rebounding, which I think they're gonna figure that out, you know, with subsequent moves here, because the thing what the Thunder is even after the trade, even though I took on a little bit of money, about one point five million, they still have over almost thirty four million dollars in cap space. And this is a team that's only got like one
or two rotation spots that they're looking to fill. And now we're in a spot where they may be able to kind of hand pick whoever it is they want to get and say, hey, come on in here, be a part of this. This is what we need you to do and move this thing forward. That's a team that's going to be very very carry next.
To Thunder are just so well run in the position. I know never best GM in the NBA, don't Keith Smith front Office show spoll track. We love having you on, buddy, thanks for coming.
They call it just hang up.
Yeah, I'm gonna let me count it real quick. Brad Stevens might be the best GM in the NBA.
Haith congrat congratulations.
Fair enough, you're right, and congrats to the self.
Appreciate it. Thank you as Keith.
I guess Brad Stevens Sam Presty both really good. I would take either one in my organization. That's for Tampa Shure.
Oh good stuff from Keith Smith. Thank you so much for joining us. That's all the time that we have for this episode of The Heat Check. We've got to get into some more rumors and some news, so come back Monday for an all new episode. Check out the feet for past episodes and many episodes which drop unexpectedly like a Chicago Bulls trade out of nowhere. We're also gonna be taking some some needed vacation now that the finals are over at some point soon, so do not
forget to follow the heat Check. That means download, let me subscribe, let me tell your friends. Even Kendrick Lamar say, hey, what you did on Juneteenth, Kendrick was historic. Now that you're done dancing on Aubrey's grave with the Marta Rosen and Russell Westbrook. Why don't you throw on an episode? Heat checked with Trista to mellow yourself out and don't forget to follow a sudden He checked at Tristan Criek on TikTok, Twitter and instagratch, and that's