If you're tuned into Heat Check with Trista.
Crick On, this bonus episode of the heat Check Free Agency is here on Friday. So I'm here to talk about three under the radar moves in free agency that you need to keep your eye on. I'm joined on this episode by my co host Nick ash You as it was recorded on my betting show called BETMGM. Tonight, Nick, do me a favor and drop that generic ass beat that should be Rihanna.
I know something you were talking about before the show. You had three sort of more low key free agents out there. We've talked about the bigger names like a Fred van Vliet maybe this offseason or obviously on the TRADEMARKT Damian Lillard, but you said there are three guys that you saw that were gonna be maybe low key names, but could make a huge difference and change sort of the dynamic and the dominoes of where this offseason can go.
Who are absolutely so Tonight we talk about the three most interesting low key free agents in the NBA. The wind kind of got taken out of the sales a little bit in an NBA free agency because.
Listen, trades are now all the rage.
The salary dumps are becoming something that's very standard. We get porzingis from Marcus Smart today or yesterday. Excuse me, the Hawks traded John Collins to the Utah Jazz, like we just talked about for like a bag of potato chips and Rudy Gay you got two of potato chip two bags they got to excuse me too, Yeah.
One with sour cream.
So that was pretty good.
You've got free agents like Kyrie Middleton Hard and a bunch of guys that are gonna probably opt back in. So who are these low key dominoes that I think could impact the actual NBA landscape? Number one is already the dominoes already dropped. Baby, The domino has begun, and now what comes next? We had Kurt Healing on from NBC Sports. He referenced it a little bit, and the low key move was nos Reed. Nas Reed went back to the Timberwolves assue three years, forty two million dollars.
I will forgive casual fans if they don't know who Nasried is. But there were about fifteen teams that were out there being like, yeah, you know, nos Reed would be a really good center for us. Sacramento was thinking that Portland was thinking that there were a lot of teams that needed Dallas was thinking that rim protecting need seeing teams. So but they already have a couple of rim protectors, don't they ask you.
You've got Rudy Gobert.
And you've got Karl Anthony Towns, and now you've got NOAs Reed sticking around. So, uh, why would they do that?
That's the question. Let's do a little maskol for you.
The Wolves have ninety one million dollars tied up in the center position, the same position that most teams don't even have one traditional center.
The Wolves have three. So I believe given all of that, that means the car Anthony Towns is for sure getting traded. They're not trading Rudy Gobert.
They've already traded a boatload of assets and young players to get him.
They're not going to move off of that rock anytime soon.
The Timberwolves, we know that they're not winning like in any real level with Karl Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Nasriy. We know that the Timberwolves have appeared in exactly three playoff series in his entire eight year career. He has been largely neutralized.
In those series.
I know he was pretty good in the Memphis series, but outside of that, he's largely in foul trouble, can't keep his emotions in check, and more importantly, in today's CBA and in today's NBA, his Super Max extension carries through with the Wolves till twenty twenty seven to twenty twenty eight. He has two All NBA Third Team nods in eight season, and he's owed two hundred and fifty six million dollars over the next five.
Years, a whole lot. Wooooo.
It looks like Silver Surfer, the Herald of Galactus, and the MCU change is a coming, and I think that ends up with Carl Anthony Towns in some place like New York or Goldenwall State or maybe Dallas.
Up next.
The second low key free agent move Dylan Brooks Baby after being jettison from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Memphis Grizzlies that we know put out an official statement two seconds after they got eliminated that said, we are not bringing back Dylan Brooks under any circumstances. And now you've got Marcus mart coming in to replace one part Dylan Brooks replace one part tyas Jones, and now we know for sure he's going on the move.
John Hollings, you're at the.
Athletics, said that Brooks is one of the more interesting free agents for any team with cap space and defensive issues. I don't know a team like Houston could use them. Dallas was at one time plus three hundred to sign Dylan Brooks. There are a lot of reasons to look at him because he's a second team All defensive player.
That's just what it is. He's just really good at that.
Bee Ball Index has Dylan Brooks in the ninety fourth percentile in defensive position versatility, so he can sw one through five. He's not a great shooter, but he's a defender who you could really use. A lot of people thought he was gonna get the mid level exception at around twelve million dollars. Now it looks like he might get twenty million dollars. Jake Fisher, friend of Show, reported that Brooks might sign a four year, sixty million dollars deal.
So what like fifteen fifty fifteen seventy million, So Brooks as a rocket, I think that would mean no way that Harden returns. I think that is great for Ema Udoka. I think that helps him. I think that helps him from a locker room perspective and from a defensive standpoint, And we know that if he can stop chucking threes and he can take better shots, he could be a very valuable t piece on a team that's looking to rebuild. And then number three, the third most low key free
agent that nobody's quite talking about, because it's will he won't? He? Will he request? Will he not request? Dame Lillard and Jeremy Grant are about as peas and carrots in terms of free agency as it gets. So Jeremy Grant all set to re sign with Portland and then the Dame drama comes in and rolls in like the Kraken, and.
Now we don't know. Now we don't know. It has everything to do.
Whether Grant is going to stick around on a team with Dame or maybe not. As I said, the signing is very interesting because Detroit is rumored to want him back. He has a really good relationship with GM Troy Weaver. It's a fresh new system. There's a lot more talent on this team than there was the last time he was there in Detroit. He was kind of the man there, but there was no other infrastructure around him, so he ends up trying to play with Dame. The Pacers could
be another really interesting fit. They need defensive versatility as well. You pair him with Jeris Walker, you pair him with Myles Turner, and now you are cooking with gas with Tyrese Halliburton and Chucker Buddy Heeled and Chris Dwarte. Oh my god, Jeremy Grant plays three to four until Jeris Walker is a starter, and all of a sudden, Rick Carlisle has his man. Rick Carlile loved Harrison Barnes, so it's either Jeremy Grant or Harrison Barnes in terms of
who's going to take that spot in the lineup. The money, of course, is going to be tricky because Portland can offer him five years, two hundred and thirty three million dollars. That is absurd. That's forty six million dollars a year. No chance that's happening. He'll probably get like four years, one hundred and thirty one hundred and twenty million. But I think that there are a lot of teams that are gonna want them. Sacramento is another one as well. That he gets slot right in and take them to
a whole new level. So that's the big Three. Well, I guess it's like the low key three today. With free agency just a few days away, we have a lot to cover between now and then, but that is that's going to be a very interesting thing to watch moving forward. That's all the time that we have for this bonus episode of the Heat Check. Check out the feed for past episodes and mini episodes. This dropped unexpectedly like rainbows from the Sky, and follow the Heat Check
as the offseason is heating up. Follow us on social at this heat check Trista Crick on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, and do not forget to download, subscribe, and tell your friends, every single damn one of them.
Thank you.
Big shout out to my producer, Nick Berlanski and all of you guys for listening.
We'll see you next episode.