Hoops Tonight - NBA Free Agency reaction: Kevin Durant requests trade from Nets, Kyrie to Lakers?

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all season long. We're gonna have Carson back today to gonna dive into all things NBA Free Agency, including this Kevin Durant drama, this Kyrie Irving drama. I'm gonna share with you guys six moves that I either loved or hated, and we'll get into the weeds a little bit, and then all of you guys that are watching at the

end for as long as we feel like it. We're going to be taking questions from the audience, so drop some questions in the chat and later on in the show, we will be hearing from you guys, and we will get into your favorite moves before we get started, If you guys could uh subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channels, you don't miss any more of our content, as well as following me on Twitter at Underscore Jason lts you guys don't miss any more of my video your content

as well as show announcements things along those lines. We're gonna get started with k d as I have been talking about a lot since the end of the season. The playoffs are all revealing. There is no hiding from that stage. Whatever there is to learn about your basketball team, we're gonna learn on that stage. And the Nets were was clearly different on that stage than any of the other teams that performed. Everybody else managed to win at least one basketball game. Now, don't get me wrong, they

caught a bad draw. But when you've got Kevin Durant Kyrie Irving on your team, you expect to be able to get a win, especially with as flawed as that Boston team was, and then Damn Near losing to Milwaukee, and then dan Near losing to Miami, and then blowing three games in a row the way they did against the Warriors. That was a series where the Nets should have been able to be more competitive. Did you guys feel like the Nets were one Ben Simmons away from

getting the job done? Didn't think that was the case. And I think that's a big part of why the Nets played hard ball with Kyrie, because you put up with the drama if there's a trophy at the end of it. Just ask every team that's dealt with with Lebron James over the years. But two years ago, Kyrie Irving took two separate personal leaves of absence for no particular reason, and one time was even caught partying with

his family during that stretch. And you know, if things go well, you looked at something like that over but they didn't this past year. The Lakers. Excuse me, the Nets had no business playing the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. With as talented as that team was. They should have had a higher seed. They should have been able to play a team like Chicago or you know, uh, any of those lower seeds in the Eastern Conference to get more time for the team to get healthy and

ready as they made a deeper playoff run. But that's not what happened. They had to play the Celtics in the first round. Why because Kyrie Irving refused to get the vaccine, made a big spectacle out of it, missed a huge chunk of the season, and the Nets ended up being the seven seed. And so when they lost all of a sudden, Joe Sigh and Shawn Marks and these guys in the Brooklyn Nets front office, they're sick of it because the drama was no longer worth it.

So they played hard ball with Kyrie Irving. And when they played hardball with Kyrie Irving, Kyrie Irving tried to leverage the Lakers against them with that alleged six million dollar taxpayer mid level exception that he was going to take. The Nets were like, cool, go ahead, take it. He didn't take it. He opted in, and once again the Nets were poised to go at it again this season.

And it was only a matter of time before someone like k D, who cares about the basketball more than anything else, would look at this situation and read the writing on the wall, which is that the Nets were not good enough. Boston is going to be better next year. Tatum and Brown will be one year better. They've learned a lot from this playoff run. You know they're gonna be addressing their ball handling concerns that were problematic as they made there towards the end of their playoff run.

They're gonna be better. Milwaukee with Chris Middleton's gonna be significantly better. I loved the Joe Joe Ingles picked there or moved there. We're gonna get into them a little bit deeper later on in the show. Miami is poised to uh potentially make some moves this offseason. The East is gonna be better. Brooklyn is not good enough. And Kevin Durant read the writing on the wall. He accepted reality,

and he demanded a trade. And I'm happy for him in the sense that he seems to finally be getting his priorities right because he went to Golden State, because he prioritized the basketball. He cared more about what his role on that team would be, the ease and the free flowing nature with which he would be able to play the game of basketball. He cared about that, so

much more than anything else. And unfortunately, because things went the way they did while he was there, he started to start caring about other stuff, like the narrative and what all of you think about what he did while he was there, and it allowed him to lose sight of that priority, and he chased a situation based on

the narrative instead of based on the basketball. So he partnered with his friend Kyrie Irvin, who obviously was proven to be an unreliable teammate, just like he was in Cleveland,

just like he was in Boston. And as a result of that, because he did not prioritize the basketball, he found himself in a situation where he was at a disadvantage on the basketball court where he had to play, you know, two years ago, the best basketball he's ever played in his life, just to lose to Milwaukee and seven or this year to run into a situation against Boston where doesn't seem like they have enough horses. And

so it's good to see that he accepted that reality. Now, the question that I have is I wonder where the relationship with Kyrie is at. I believe that him and Kyrie are still close, but I think Kira, I think Kevin has at least come to terms with the fact that maybe that partnership is an't the same. You could be friends with somebody but not be good business partners and I believe he's come to terms with that. So the question is where's Katie going to end up now?

He put as his prior prioritized destinations, his favorite destinations, Miami and Phoenix. I don't necessarily understand the draw for Brooklyn there because if I'm Brooklyn and I'm getting back Tyler Harrow and salary filler and a bunch of picks,

Tyler Harrow is not moving the needle for me. If I'm going to Phoenix and I'm getting DeAndre Ayton on a sign in trade Max and I'm getting Mikal Bridges, who's very good, but he's not a star and he makes twenty million a year, that's not moving the needle for me. And again with DeAndre Ayton, and I really like DeAndre and he plays the most replaceable position in the NBA. If you're not Nickel Yokit or Joel Embiid, I can probably get seventy of your production for a

tiny fraction of the salary. And so the question is if you think DeAndre Ayton can be Joel and beater, Nicola Yokich thinks, great, the sons are your partner, go after DeAndre Ayton. But I would imagine that Sean Marks does not think that DeAndre Ayton is Nicola Yoki or that DeAndre Aton is Joel Embiid. So as much as Katie wants to go to those destinations, I don't necessarily see the assets there as being worthwhile for Brooklyn. So

how much cache does KD have has Kadi? Is the relationship broken between Kyrie and Sean Marks and Joe Si but solid and healthy between k D and those guys, I don't know. Because if that bridge is burned or if that bridge is not in great shape, then if I'm Brooklyn, I'm looking at those situations that I'm going that's great, k D, but I'm going to where the

better assets are. You know, We're gonna find out a lot about Katie's casche with the Brooklyn front office in this next couple of weeks, depending on where he gets traded, Because the way I would look at it, Katie should theoretically fetch the largest trade package in the history of basketball. This is not James Harden coming from the Rockets. This is not Paul George. This is not Kawhi Leonard after he had any tendant apathy. This is not any of

those situations. This is Kevin Freakin Durant at the peak of his powers, under contract for four more years, and even if you believe he's aging, at least two or three of those years, he's gonna be a top five player. So in theory, he should bring back a ridiculous package. If I am Brooklyn, I want draft picks. I want absolute slam dunk, home run guaranteed great young players to go with it. And I'm not getting that from Miami or from Phoenix. If I'm Brooklyn, I'm calling Toronto and

i want Scotty Barnes. I'm calling New Orleans and i want Zion Williamson and all the picks, because then at the very least, I can come back to this situation with a bona fide young superstar prospect, a sure thing, and the hope of what those draft picks might be. I get it. I get on Laker fans about this all the time because they want to be protective of their assets, and they go, oh, well, that's the future

of the franchise. What are the real statistical chances that first is going to be a top five player in the NBA, even if it's a lottery pick, it's extremely unlikely. Zion Williamson and Scottie Barnes both project to be guys who are probably on the low end for at least a few years in the top ten. That's the type of prospect they are. So if you're a Toronto fan, why would you want to give up Scotty Barnes for

that exact same reason. If you're a New Orleans fan, why would you want to give up Zion for that exact same reason. It's not guaranteed that they will develop into that level of prospect, but right now you're a playoff team without that guy. Zion Williamson was out and the Pelicans pushed the Suns to six games and looked really good. Herb Jones and Trey Murphy looked like awesome three and D wings for them. Brandon Ingram looks like

a star in the making. C J. McCollum would be as good of a second or third option as you'll find in the league. Toronto with Pascal Siyakum, you know o g Na, nob Ken Birch, Chris Boucher, They've got all of this talent there. If you can convert Zion or Scottie Barnes into Kevin freaking Durant, you become a top tier contender. And for both of those teams, it was the alpha dog talent that was lacking for them

in this playoff run. So I get it the excitement behind players like that would cause you to have some hesitation there. But if I'm Brooklyn, that to me is the starting point of where I'm looking. And if I'm New Orleans, especially New Orleans because his Zion's health issues and his weight issues, I would be willing to flip those guys for Katie in a heartbeat. Now, what you guys might think is why in the world with Kevin

Durant want to go to Toronto? Why in the world with Kevin Durant want to be buried down in New Orleans. He's the only guy that I feel like would want that. You know why, because Kevin Durant cares and only cares about the basketball. If you if I could, and you know, Brandon Ingram, for instance, is very much a hoop head, is very much wired, just like k D wasn't into the drama in l A, just wanted to focus on the hoops. That might be the perfect situation for him.

Katie is kind of uniquely mentally equipped to go to a smaller town relative to the rest of the NBA and play with a guy like Brandon Ingram and play with a guy like c. J. McCollum and be happy. But most importantly for both Toronto and for both New Orleans, they provide k D with a solid basketball situation where

he could focus on what he's great at. When he was in Oklahoma City and when he went to Brooklyn, he had to do everything because in Oklahoma City they didn't have enough talent, and in Brooklyn they prioritize the wrong kinds of talent. They focused on offensive skill instead of on size and athleticism, and then they ended up

getting physically dominated by the Boston Celtics. If he goes down to two New Orleans or goes up to Toronto, he can fit into a team that will do the dirty work for him, play for great coaches, and be able to just fall into a role and be great at what he's great at, which is exactly what he did when he was in Golden State. So yes, I understand why he wants to go to Miamire Phoenix, but

I don't think they're realistic destinations. And the two that I would keep my eye on is Toronto and New Orleans. Who the hell knows what's gonna happen, though, intel is that every single team is calling the nets. Intel is that their prioritizing assets as they would. This whole experiment with Katie and Kyrie has been a disaster. Why would they do them any favors. Let's move on to Kyrie.

I don't have any intel on this other than the stuff you've heard on from your regular important reporters, but it's starting to feel like almost like an eighty percent chance that Kyrie is going to be a Laker. The only other team that it really makes any sense for is Dallas having lost Jalen Brunson. But the intel there is that they're more interested in building wing depth and that they like the idea of maybe having Gore on dragets side fall into that third role in upgrading Spencer

Dinwiddie into the Jalen Brunson role. Not a lot of teams are willing to put up with the Kyrie circus. The Lakers don't have the luxury of turning away talent because they are at a talent deficiency. So it makes sense the reports you're hearing from Brian wyn Horrison, from Stephen A. Smith that Kyrie wants to be a Laker, they actually makes sense and it's and as far as the basketball fit, we already know how the Lebron Kyrie

thing works. And most importantly, just to get into a little bit of an xs and ose a fit there. One of the things that causes problems for the Lakers over the last couple of years with their high pick and roll with Anthony Davis is they haven't been able to run it. Why because when they run it with Lebron, they just switch because it's two forwards, And when they ran it with Russ, or when they ran it with Dennis Shooter, or when they ran it with Ray Jean Rondo,

the three of those guys can't shoot. So you can run dramatic drop coverage against it, and you can have the guards go underneath the screen. Kyrie Irving is a ball handler that can run pick and roll with Anthony Davis and one not allow you to switch because they're two completely different defensive assignments, and to force you to chase over the top of the screen and bring your big up because Kyrie will pull every single time coming

off of that screen. It completely flips the dynamic of the way you can guard Anthony Davis as a screener and will open up so many more things for Anthony Davis as a rollman or for Kyrie Irving coming off of those screens. To me, it's a home run basketball fit. We're gonna get a little bit more into the other moves the Lakers made later, But again, as is always the case with Kyrie, the idea of him is better

than the reality of him. The problem is is that when he's on the floor, it looks great, but he's not always on the floor. The problem is that even when things are going well, his brain can be elsewhere. Famously, in the two thousand seventeen playoff run, when the Calves were clicking and beating the ship out of everybody, Kyrie Irving was emotionally pulling away from the team. That's the risk. The problem is that the Lakers don't have the flexibility to say no to him because of their lack of

talent as far as the machinations of the trade. That the problem is is you can't just trade Russ for him, because Russ makes a eleven million more dollars and is a significantly worst basketball player. But a first round pick feels like too much for Kyrie right when no one else is bidding on it, So you got to find a delicate balance there. The way I see it, there

are two options. You can either ask for Seth Curry in the deal and include the first round pick, or you can remove the first round pick entirely and offer to take the Joe Harris contracts Now, Joe Harris was an excellent three and D player two years ago, and the nineteen to twenty million I think he makes some of the next two seasons doesn't seem like that big

of a deal for an excellent three D player. But I have heard from people that would know that his ankle is still nowhere near ready to go, and he may not be ready to play until about halfway through this next season, so he's actually become a bad contract. So that might be an interesting way to get a player back that you won't be able to use for a little while. But that might be available for your next playoff run and save that first round pick so

that you can use it for something else. But either way, it just feels like all the momentum is heading towards Kyrie going to the Lakers, and that to me feels like a realistic option. And also, Kyrie is doing the work behind the scenes through his agent and letting everybody know that's where he wants to go, and more often than not, that will scare away teams when it comes to paying real assets when push comes to shove, I think Rob would do it for a first round pick anyway.

But I do think Kyrie will end up with the Lakers and that might be just the thing that can get them back into the mix of things with their talent. Okay, so before we bring Carson on, a couple of quick announcements, you guys that are listening, If you guys could please subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel, I would sincerely appreciate that. Please like this video it really helps us a lot. Follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason lt so you guys don't miss any more of O show announcements and

things along those lines. Unlast, but not least, if you missed part of this for whatever reason, and you can't get back to you to subscribe to our podcast feed, which for the time being is under Lakers tonight. Lastly, we are going to at the end, Carson is gonna come on and we're gonna go over some moves, other free agent moves around the league. But we are going to do a mail back at the end, So submit your questions in the chat. We will get to you

guys after we get through these moves. Carson, what's up man. It is good to see your face again. It is good to see you as well, and it is a great time to be an NBA fan as always, because you never know what's gonna happen. It seems felt like this was gonna be kind of a boring offseason for a couple of days, and then obviously we have the k DNS. So, like you said, we're gonna walk through some of the most interesting moves of the day, and we're gonna play a game called love it or hate it.

You are gonna tell me if you love or hate the moves, and we will start with the slew of signings that the Lakers made today. They brought in Damien Jones on a two year deal, and Lonnie Walker the fourth Wantascano Anderson and Troy Brown Jr. All On one year deals. So, Jason, do you love that or do you hate that? For the Lakes, I'm I love the Damien Jones signing and I hate the Lonnie Walker signing, the Troy Brown Junior and Juant Toscano Anderson signings. These

are veteran minimum contracts. So when it comes to this sort of thing, there's not an exact science there. Everything is a complete gamble. It's it's either old guys that a good percentage of them don't pan out, and then a good percentage of them do. So it's like it's

a total coin flip. You know. It's like you get a mellow who ends up fitting great for you as a spot of three point shooter, but then you get like a you know, you'll you'll end up getting a um, um, some other old guy that won't paying out like a like a a DeAndre Jordan for instance. Um. The young guys,

it's a completely different story. You're usually getting a great deal of athleticism and enthusiasm and guys who play hard for you and stay bought in, but they're usually too inexperienced and too inconsistent to be reliable for you in a road patian, especially when you get into the postseason.

But it is what it is. The Lakers had, though, this mid level exception that every team gets once a season, and I had said many times throughout the end of the season that they had to spend it on a wing that was at least six eight that could guard multiple positions, and that could absolutely certainly be in your

late game rotation. You're late like postseason rotation and close games for you, especially when you're strapped like this and you don't have the ability to offer money to other players.

And for them to use their mid level exception on another undersized, very athletic tons of potential, but for them to use that slot on a player like Lonnie Walker, who I like, who's a fine young player, the upside of the of them signing is great because he's a great athlete, he has extended stretches where he shoots the ball well, and then overall he's pretty inconsistent. I think

he's a career thirty four percent shooter. Can get into it, can get into the lane, can defend when he's really committed. All that stuff is great. The problem is is, are you certain, like beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Lonnie Walker can close basketball games for you in the second round of the playoffs. I don't know, and that to me makes it the wrong use of those resources. The one thing I will throw the bone to Rob Polinka.

How many times have I preached about old plotting centers and how useless they are in this NBA, and how I almost prefer a six ten guy to a seven foot guy who can run and can cover ground. You need to be able to get up and down the floor and transition when teams play fast, and you need to be able to cover ground in five out. Damian Jones is that guy. I watched him play for the Lakers two years ago before they dumped him for Andre Drummond.

He was a great fit while he was there. He was really good towards the end of the year in Sacramento last year. I will say that that was the right direction for them to go at the center position, But I just I just can't believe that they didn't use mid level exception slot on a on a on a more traditional wing. So you've obviously talked a lot about the need not just for Lakers but across the league of having those guys wings in the six six

to six nine range who can guard multiple positions. And obviously all three of these guys are on the low end of that spectrum, if not below that spectrum. There are really long like abnormally, so I think all three of the Wings have six ten plus wingspans. You also talked about how part of what made the Warriors so strong this year, for example, is just that they had good basketball players, Guys who were smart, who make good decisions, who played hard. J. T A I think has those traits.

Troy Brown Jr. Is not a great basketball player, but he has some of the playmaking, some of the two way abilities. So do you have any positive thoughts in terms of, you know, outside of Lonnie Walker, with those other two wings investing obviously very little resources and guys who at least are in kind of the right mold, or how how comfortable would you say you are with

those two signings specifically. Well, what's funny about it too, is I swear Rob Polinka just like listens to all the Twitter trolls and then does the exact opposite of whatever he did. The previous season, it's like it's like, oh, we lost to the Suns and no one could shoot,

no one could score. It's like, Okay, I'm getting all guards and wings that don't guard and only play offense, you know, and then it's like, uh, the entire narrative last year was they're too old, they're washed up, and so now it's all young, freaky athletic guys that you know, that have all this potential. And you know, as far as the uh, they're limited offensive skill goes, you know, this is the issue. When you've got Lebron James and

Anthony Davis on the roster. Let's forget about Kyrie Irving for a second, who I believe will be a Laker. If you have Lebron James and Anthony Davis on your roster, you're going to pack the paint. That's just you. It's the only thing you can do. You can't hope to contain them any other way. It's what every team did this last year. It's what every team did the year before,

It's what every team did the year before that. So you constantly find your guys in close out situations, and in close out situations you need to do one of two things, really well. You either need to be a dead eye three point shooter, which Troy Bound Jr. Is not. J Wants Uskano Anderson is not and Lonnie Walker is not. Or you need to be a very very smart, savvy close out attacker. I want you guys to think about

like a andre Iguadala for something like that. You know, think about an Auto Porter Jr. These are guys that are not, you know, necessarily overly athletic at this phase of their careers, but you can count on them to rip through when the guy closes out on them, get into the lane, collapse the defense, and make the next read and that sort of that sort of close out attacking that those making those reads requires a great deal of experience and savvy and basketball like you not to

say that those guys won't be able to do that one day, but it's really hard to do. There's a reason why he Wants Uskano Anderson fell out of the rotation for the Warriors. It's because the Warriors typically are running a ton of four on three as a result of Steph Curry traps and the overall chaos that is caused by the Splash Brothers and wants us annoy Anderson was less reliable as an intelligent decision maker in those situations. Doesn't mean they won't have moments. Anytime you have young

athletic players like this, they will have moments. There will be a game where the Lakers beat the ship out of a good team and Wantasconna Anderson has fifteen and Lonnie Warker is eighteen and they're locking up and everything looks great. But with young players, it's always about consistency.

They struggle to identify the things that are working for them so that they can replicate them, and they struggle to identify the things that are not working for them so that they can get them out of, you know, their list of habits. So it's just it's one of those things where I wish Rob Polinka would just kind of learn all the lessons from all of the things that happened over the last couple of years and build a more well rounded roster. If that makes sense. Yeah. Absolutely.

Let's move on to the traditional free agency signing of the day, if you will, and one that we've heard a lot about because obviously the pure market wasn't overwhelmingly intriguing for this year, but Jalen Bronson was the name that kept coming up, and the Knicks were the team him. They kept coming up being attached to him. It seems as if he has very least headed to the Knicks on a four year, close to one hundred and ten million dollar deal. Jason, what are your thoughts on that?

Do you love it or hate it? Well? I hate it, but they this interesting. The situation is is super interesting because like, uh, we don't really know what's happening. It seems like everyone's reporting that he's going to the Knicks. But then we got that weird Agrian war Zanowski tweet that he's going to meet with the Knicks armed with a five year, one six million dollar deal from the Mavericks. So here's the one thing we know for sure, Jalen Brunson is going to be very rich after after today

or whatever this all gets gets settled. As far as the Knicks go, I just don't understand with a brand as big as the Knicks, with the theoretic capable theoretical capability, they have to be able to bring big name free agents if they could just demonstrate consistent competence, and like this is a six one guard who is not an All Star or close to an All Star. He was a pretty good playoff player in specific matchups. He's very good against the Jazz, was good for stretches against Phoenix,

was good for stretches against Golden State. But he also struggled for stretches in both of those series. Everybody struggles to the in the playoffs to certain extents. You don't want to overread into that. But he was also doing it against bench lineups primarily, or against the secondary defender. As Luca was gathering the best defender going against or going into New York, he will get the best perimeter defender every single night. He will be going against first

units primarily. He'll be in the Luca don Che's role. And here's the thing. It's very likely that he puts up decent numbers, but that this team has a clearly defined ceiling, and that probably is first round exit in an Eastern Conference that has a team as good as Miami, a team as good as Boston, a team as good as Milwaukee, and his team as good as Feeling. So the way the problem that I have with it, if I'm the Knicks, like man, keep developing your young players.

Do what the Lakers did. Keep developing your young players, have your brandon Ingram, your Kyle Kuzmo, your Josh Hart, you know, your your Lonzo Ball, have them already, and keep that cap space open something each passing summer so that you have the ability to get a real big name free agent and then flip the rest of your young players for one of his buddies. It's a proven method. We saw the Clippers do it, we saw the Lakers

do it. It works. It is a proven method. And I just don't understand this, like it's like a race to mediocrity. It's like they're sprinting fast as they possibly can to lose to to Boston in the first round next year. I just don't understand the idea. And I like Jalen Brunson. It's just and I'm happy that he's getting paid. It's just as we're looking from the perspective of the Knicks, I just don't understand what their goal is. I completely agree with you. I think Brumpson is very good.

I think he's fundamentally a willing, winning player. He does a lot of things really well. But it's an overpay, and it's especially an overpay given the direction of the franchise. So if you were the Knicks, how would you have gone about this offseason? Like, what would be the direction to take from your perspective? So I mean, well, look at what the Lakers did over the last couple of years.

Essentially they only tie up their core players that they know are part of their future, right, so they had Lebron tied up, Anthony Davis tied up. Outside of that, there was no big money any anywhere else on the uh on the roster, and they consistently signed their supporting pieces to one year deals, so you can essentially rotate

them through each passing summer. It's okay to be towards the bottom of the league as long as you're demonstrating competence, if you have a good coach, if you guys play hard every single night, if you're competitive, if you draft well, and if you show you demonstrate to the rest of the league that you're building something. What happened with the Lakers in two thousand nineteen, they demonstrated to Lebron over

the previous years. Because here's the thing. The Lakers are an absolute ship show, as everybody knows, but they have one department in their front office that's one of the best in the league, and that's their college scouting department. They consistently year and in year out find high quality NBA players on the margins. This past year they did

it again with Austin Reeves. It makes you really wonder what this Max Christie kid can do, because it's like his kid who didn't shoot well at Michigan State and I think only average like nine points a game, and you're like, you almost can just bet that he's gonna be a rotation player for the Lakers next year because that's just what they do. So that one piece of competence in the Lakers front office demonstrated over a half decade that they knew how to accumulate quality young players

that the rest of the league wanted. And then they kept their cap space open, and then when Lebron came, they immediately flipped all of the assets for Anthony Davis. You can absolutely do something like that. I'll give you an example. Let's say that you had all this cap space open and you went after Bradley Beale and Bradley Bill already signed with the Wizards. I just want to give you guys an example of what I'm talking about

Bradley bal Is really good friends with a Jason Tatum. Right, Let's pretend you know the uh something things didn't go as well with the Celtics last year. You sign a Bill and Bill goes Tatum's my best friend. Let's trade for him. Again, that's not going to happen. But there are little friendships like that all around the league. All you have to do is catch the right free agent in the right summer, and the right friend who's in a situation where he's not overly happy, and have the

requisite assets to make the trade. If you can pull off those three things just like that, you can have the star talent you need to compete. And again, this is not Milwaukee, this is not Oklahoma City. You don't have to, you know, build on the margins and hope that things break your way. You are the New York freaking Knicks. Okay, you absolutely if you can demonstrate competence, you absolutely provide these players with a world stage, the Mecca of basketball, the all all of the history that

comes along with it. You can absolutely pull these huge personalities in the NBA. You just have to kind of have, uh, you gotta have the opportunity ready each passing summer as these guys come available. As we all know, it just depends on which which particular summer you catch, and you catch the right star who's ready to make that move. Al Right, Well, we do have word from Woes now confirming Jason. It is a four year, one hundred four million dollar deal for Bronson with the Knicks, with a

player option on the final season. So there you go the march. But I'm glad you got all that money. Man, He's gonna be rich. I'm happy for Jalen. This is not a Jalen take. This is a This is a New York Knicks take. Yeah, and I don't think anybody can really be opposed to a New York next take. So, but you mentioned Bradley deal there in the example that you gave with him and Tatum. He did, of course signed the super Max to stay in Washington, or at least to be paid by Washington in five years two

hundred and fifty one million dollars. Jason, do you love or do you hate that move? It makes sense for both sides. It's very similar to what happened with Janice, right, Like Janice is a little bit unhappy with how things are going. You know, Milwaukee can provide him the biggest, most financially lucrative contract, and so you basically just signed the guy and you tell Janice like, hey man, two years go by and this isn't going well, we'll trade you.

But then maybe things break well and you win a championship, and now he's gonna be there forever, right Like That's that's kind of the way it can break the other way. But like, if you're the Wizards, you never want to lose the asset for nothing. You sign him. If things aren't going well around the deadline and you're way below five hundred or next year's deadline or whatever it is, you can at that point trade Bradley Beale and get some sort of asset return for him. If you're Bradley,

this is just where all the money is. You take all the money and you have that flexibility. This is where that cachet matters. And this is what I'm so curious about what the glen nets as it pertains to k D and Kyrie. You know, we have seen that franchises, when they feel a sense of loyalty from a player that they're willing to work with them, but when you burn that bridge and the working relationship suffers, they're less

willing to do you favors. And Bradley Beale has built up a great deal of cash a with the Wizards. Obviously I don't have intel on this, but I would be willing to bet that the conversation was, Hey, dude, signed with us, You've been so good to us. When you're ready to go, we'll ship you off and if you give us a list of three or four teams that you like, will get you to one of those three or four teams based on who gives up the

most assets. To me, that's kind of like the new modern day free agency, where you're basically just you're chasing the money and getting that sort of uh, you know, freedom of choice from the trade market. All right, well, Jason, we've got a Lakers related move to get your thoughts on here. Malik Monk the King's for two years, nineteen million dollars. Do you love? Do you hate? That? So?

I would love it for the Lakers if they didn't promptly go sign another small guard with the mid level exception. My whole theory was this entire Laker off season was you have to. Even though I love Malik Monk's game and he deserves every penny of that deal, with this particular Lakers roster, he did not fit a specific need for them. His there was a there was a diminished return on his specific skill set because of their perimeter

size weaknesses. So I wanted them to use the mid level exception on a bigger forward because that was their specific weakness. That's where I wanted them to allocate those resources. Same goes for the Kings. In this case, You've already got a small guard and deer and fox That's already an issue there, okay. And so from that standpoint, like I don't like the idea of partnering, and I get I get it the Kentucky connection and the guys are

good buddies and all that stuff. If you're the Kings, you just put a hard ceiling on your own individual or your own team success because in this league, perimeter size does matter. Your ability to contain ball handlers on the perimeter matters, and night in and night out around

the league. Just like Malik was attacked with the Lakers, and just like Daron Foxes is still attacked to this day, they're gonna struggle to contain teams on the perimeter, especially in the Western Conference, which is freaking loaded with guards. What if Kyrie comes, Man, it's gonna be Jamal Murray one night, Kyrie Irving the next night, Steph Curry the following night, Damian Lillard the next night. Like that. It's gonna be night after night of dominant guard and you

don't have the perimeter defensive pieces to contain that. Okay, so you're gonna, um, gosh, I'm blanking on his name. What's the little guard they signed last year? Uh? The kid out of Louisville. Do you remember, um, the little stocky defensive guard. Yeah, the King's uh it's uh oh man Mitchell, Davean Mitchell. So like Davion Mitchell, great defensive player, right, So he put him out there to help with dribble contain.

And now you got a bench malik or you're playing three tiny guards, you know, Like I just I don't, As is always the case for the Kings, I just don't understand what their plan is. And and like you literally um u Ivy was there for the take in taking at the draft, and then you took the plotting forward. Who would have made more sense with a team that's closer to the to the title, you know what I mean. So I just the Kings are gonna Kings. That's what we said after the draft. And and again I'm really

happy from a leak that he got paid. I just think he would have made more sense going to a team that already had a great deal of size on the perimeter, so that you can compensate for his specific size weakness. Well, like you, I have quite an affinity from Leak's game individually, but the King's not Unlike the Knicks. I agree, continue on the march to mediocrity, and this deal is a continuation of that for a team that is actually in contin pending mode. You've got an interesting move.

The Bucks bring in Joe Ingles with their midlevel exception, obviously coming off of his injury. Jason, do you love that or do you hate that? I love it again? The playoffs don't lie. They reveal everything, and you got to pay attention to what that you know, all revealing playoff run will show you what did we learn about the Bucks this year? Obviously, Chris Middleton's injury was a big impact there, but there was where was the weak

spot in the rotation. Kind of felt like it was Grace and Allen right, kind of felt like a little bit of like Pat Conaton inconsistency. Right, what you need is another guy who can guard on the perimeter. Now, Joel Ingles is coming off an injury, so it remains to be seen. But I mean, this is a player that, before he got hurt, was as reliable of a three D guy that you'll find in the league. This is the guy that completely shut down Paul George when they

upset the Oklahoma City Thunder a few years back. Like, this guy is a very good perimeter defensive player with size. It was a lights out three points. And most importantly, like we talked about earlier, Carson, when you have guys that forced you to pack the paint and Janice might literally might literally be the quintessential player that fits this mold in the entire league. Boston was literally ignoring everybody on Milwaukee to clog the paint on Janice and in

Game seven, they just couldn't make a shot. Having a guy like Joe Angles who can knock down the shot and is an intelligent closeout attacker, a guy that can get into the lane and make smart reads to other perimeter players on kickouts. I loved it. This to me is an example of using your mid level exception on a player that addresses a specific need and that you know can play in a playoff series. I know Joe Angles can be your fifth player in a closing lineup,

not sure that Lonnie Walker can be that. So just again, this is a smart team behaving smarter than the other teams around the league. I loved Angles to the Bucks. Yeah, and he will be thirty five, and I did think he regressed a bit even pre injury, but two years ago I thought he should have been six Man of the Year. Genuinely. I mean he is a winning basketball player to the extreme, and so to get that with

the m l E is pretty good. All Right, last specific couple of moves here that we're gonna get your take on before we go to some questions. Jason, the Philadelphia seventy six ers brought in p. J. Tucker for three years thirty three million and Daniel House for two years eight and a half. Do you love that or do you hate that? For Philly? I love it. But first of all, guys, before we before I finished this

particular take. Remember we are about to do a mail back, so if you guys have any questions about anything related to free agency, please drop it into the chat and we will get to it here in just a minute. UM. The numbers seem big, right, particularly for Tucker three years thirty three million. It was the biennial exception on Daniel House that means it hardcaps the team. So I'll be curious to see if that restricts some of their flexibility as they get closer to the deadline. UM this year.

But at the end of the day, again, the playoffs are all revealing. What did we learn about the seventy six ers this year? I felt like they were soft. I felt like they struggled against a very tough team in Miami to match their intensity, to match their competitiveness.

When you when the star of your team, is it Joe l Embiid who is a foul grifter, relatively inefficient in terms of putting the ball in the basket compared to other bigs around the league, guy who relies on jan Kie basketball and can be pouty and can be dramatic and can fall on the ground a lot. And then your other stars James Harden who arguably is the least you know, in terms of like the fight or flight response. He might be closer to flight than any

superstar star in this entire league. You need somebody to help bolster their own psychological weaknesses. And so I love the idea of bringing in p J. Tucker and Daniel House to just tough s O B S dude, just tough dudes that are just gonna come in there and compete.

And when a team like Miami comes and punches him in the mouth, even if James Harden enjoy the Beach struggled to match that with their competitiveness, you know, damn well, p J. Tucker and Daniel House are gonna be right in there, barking back, getting in their faces, being physical, and doing the things necessary to try to rest that

battle back into their favor. You know, Draymond, that Draymond J. J. Reddick pod was so interesting the other day, and and J. J. Reddick was he was, I don't know if you heard this part card of a J. J. Reddick was giving Draymond crap for his antics in the finals, and at one point He's like, why are you such a dick?

You know, Draymond's like defending himself. But you know what's funny is what Draymond was saying was true because they were showing some of the clips of him, like doing ridiculous stuff in the finals, fallon the hell out of people. There's some truth to what Draymond was saying. When there's someone on the court doing that stuff, it rattles people. It don't like. I know Jalen Brown doesn't believe it, and I know he pushed back on again again on

it today. That kind of thing does rittle people. It gets in your head. And the Sixers needed needed people like that in their locker room, people that are willing to fight back in that department to help win that mental battle because you're just not going to get that type of fight response from Embden. From Harden, I agree with you completely there, and I think we've seen that time and again. All Right, So let's get to the mail back here, because we've got some good k D stuff.

Some theoretical trades will start with this from from Taylor O'Neill Jason. Should the Nets send Katie to the Rockets for their draft picks back plus some young projects. Oh man, that'd be so me into. Katie would us. Well again, this is this is where we get into the cache stuff, because like, like if I was Brooklyn and I really want to disturb the pot, especially you know, we're also coming up on some CBA negotiations here relatively soon, and the word around the league is is that the owners

are gonna be trying to rest back some control. That would be one hell of a power move from Brooklyn. The ship Katie off to NBA Siberia and Houston. Here's the thing, there's absolutely no reason for Houston to do it because they don't have enough talent to make a run with Katie, and I believe that Brooklyn can get

better young players elsewhere around the league. So as I get why as a Houston fan that might be interesting, it just is completely unrealistic and quite frankly, like I'm sure Kg's at Katie's agent would throw an absolute fit. All Right, how about this one? Jason, Katie to the Pacers for Malcolm Brogden, Miles Turner, t J. Warren, t J McConnell in three first round picks. That's a lot of money. So you're gonna have to throw some stuff

in with Katie there. But what do you think of that in theory, and then we're going We're going out with Katie and Tyrese Halliburton at that point just the same, the same same thing as the Rockets, Like it's it's one of those things where it burns the bridge with Katie because him and his agent are gonna be piss you shipped him off somewhere where he can't win. The Pacers are still not gonna win. And if I'm uh, if I'm the Nets, I'm not getting enough back for

that to really move the needle. Like even all of that, I'd rather have Scotty Barnes, even all of that, I'd rather have Zion Williamson. I'd rather have even some of those theoretical packages from Phoenix involving Aton and Bridges, I'd rather have those. Yeah. Well, like you said, all thirty teams are calling, and I'm sure all thirty fan bases want to try to find a way to get Katie in there. What do you think is the single least logical or perhaps cruelest location for Katie to go in

the league. Oh, I got one for you, Carson, Okay, Kevin Durant in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan cominga and Moses Moodie and we run it back. Yeah. Can you imagine could someone photoshop a couple of those really quick for us? No. I was thinking about that the other day because, like I, I don't think the Nets would do it, because I mean, I know the Warriors fans love their young prospects, and Colin Coward in particular is very high and Jonathan Comedica and I like Jonathan Comigo two,

He's just not a home run. None of those guys, none of their young players are sure things. And I would imagine that Brooklyn will be able to fetch a sure thing. But that is an interesting idea in the sense that, like, you know, the basketball fit is great, and I'm sure the Warriors would make that trade. It's just it's just one of those things where I just think they'll end up getting something else elsewhere. Yeah, that would be hilarious. Though. Oh wait, can I can I

throw out one? So I got roasted the other day for my proposed Lakers Nets trade, and I understand the skepticism because I and again, guys, this is fake trade season. Almost everything we're saying is unlikely. So I'm not over

here trying to to be prescient or anything. But I am genuinely curious to see when it's all said and done and the moves are made, whether or not Brooklyn gets much more than Anthony Davis first, because you have to think, even if you didn't think Anthony Davis was in your timeline, Brooklyn could theoretically flip him for a huge package, right. And so it's one of those things where like, again it's super unlikely, but that Russ and a D and the two first for k D and

and Kyrie. I just it's not as insane as everyone thought it was. That's all I'm gonna say. That's I it's not likely. Not put my name on it, but I'm just saying I I didn't think it was that outland this all right, Well, let's take a quick break from some Katie talk here to look at a team that was on the biggest NBA stage this year and fell just a little bit short, and that of course

is the Boston Celtics. So you got this question from steel O Green Jason, who do you think the Celtics should look to bring in to help the core guys on their roster? So the big one that stood out to me, and there's some intel in this department already. The intel is that they're targeting t J. Warren and Daniella Gallinari. But I think both of those guys want the mid level exception um and they may end up going somewhere where they can get a little bit more

of a bigger role. Daniella Gallinari is a name that I've thrown out that I'd love for the Warriors to get um in terms of a great way for them to elevate their ceiling the late The Celtics need ball handling and they need someone who can can consistently get

shots at the rim. So this year, I can't remember the numbers exactly off top my head, but Daniella Gallinari had about a hundred and forty something post ups hundred forty six post ups I think, and he was about fifty six percent from the field in those situations, got to the line thirty eight times, made thirty six of them only at ten turnovers. He was one of the more efficient post up players in the league this year in a decent volume. He was doing over two post

ups per game. I liked him as an option that you know, theoretically, if you've got Marcus Smart on the floor, Jason Tatum on the floor, Jalen Brown on the floor, and their ball pressuring the hell out of those guys. Daniella Gallanari is probably gonna fetch a slower forward that's gonna struggle with ball pressure. So you could see him as a guy who they could use as a release valve to bring the ball up the floor when they're

struggling to get into the paint. Because guys are sitting on the right hands, you could throw the ball into the post to Daniella Gallinari. And again, post ups that draw double teams are another great way to get into your driving kick game. And driving kick is where Boston's at their best. So again they're they're all they're gonna have at their disposal is going to be you know,

veteran minimum contracts and mid level exception type stuff. They're all all of their players in their rotation in our under team control this year. Grant Williams has got a team option, but it either already picked it up or they're going to um. But that the guy that I'd be looking at there is Denila Callinari on the mid level exception. Okay, I said we were going to take a break from Katie. I hope that was enough to recharge, because you've got another Katie questions one from Neo Verdon.

Is it possible that Katie wants to join the Suns besides the fact that they have Book and CP already, because I have his new super team in the West and therefore get a chance to beat Lebron and Steph in the same playoff run and win the championship in that style. Do you think that's a factor, Jason, I don't, because I mean, for those of you guys who listen to the beginning, I think the valuable lesson that Katie

learned here is that he can't control the narrative. And as much as he tried to in Brooklyn, as much as much as he put that at the top of his list of priorities, it ended up being the wrong way for him to go about this. I think Kate he cares about one thing and one thing only moving forward, and that's basketball, and I think he would pick a destination based on the potential basketball fit. Phoenix in Miami,

what were they compared to the rest of the league? Phoenix, we said most of the year was the most talented roster from top to bottom. Not counting their stars right in Miami is basically Golden State East without enough talent. K D in theory fixes those problems for both of the teams. The problem is is, like we talked about earlier, I'm just not sure if I'm Brooklyn and I'm getting

anything back there that moves the needle for me. So, as we learned, because of an obscure cb A rule having to do with the Designated Rookie extension, the Miami Heat cannot send bam At a bio to the Brooklyn because they already have Ben Simmons on the roster. I mean, I mean, I suppose the in theory could send Ben as well in the trade, but it would get a lot more complicated. So it's like, is Tyler Harrow and some draft picks from a team that's gonna perennially be good.

Is that moving the needle of your Brooklyn? No? Probably not. And then DeAndre Ayton Phoenix doesn't want him, you know if you heard some noise from Detroit, but then they didn't want him. Why because just like the NBA, just like the NFL, figured out that running backs were kind of a market inefficiency that you could get of Ezekiel Elliott for of the salary. You can do the same

thing with centers in the NBA. Damien Jones for the Lakers will be you know what, sixty sevent as good as a Clint Capella for veteran minimum, Like that's that's just what you're getting. When that role, when that position on the floor screens and dives to the rim and sits in the dunker spot and guards and drop coverage and occasionally guards a guy on a switch and doesn't do anything else, then an A plus plus plus at all those things is only a little bit better than

a B minus at all of those things. And so I just don't if I'm Brooklyn, the idea of getting back DeAndre Aton on a super max or max excuse me, it doesn't make much sense. And then you know, Michael Bridges, you and I talked all year Carson about what it might look like if he had an opporunity, opportunity to do more offensively. He had that opportunity against Dallas, and

he couldn't really do it. And I really like Michael Bridges, and I do think he will get better, But to me, his peak will be kind of like what Andrea Iguadala was for the two thousand fifteen Warriors, a really really dumbinant perimeter defensive player that can have scoring punches and will be a smart, you know, third fourth option. But

I just don't ever see him being that guy. And so it's just as much as those destinations are k ds preferred destination, they'd have to give up too much talent to get him, and then they'd be right back in the same predicament. And then most importantly, if I'm Brooklyn, I can just get more elsewhere. So I think you make some really interesting points about eight and there and just how he sort of relates to the state of the NBA overall that we will get back to in

one second. But before we do that, just looking at Katie's path, if he were to end up in Phoenix, specifically right where they literally had the best record in league this past year, or even Miami where it's a reigning one seed, do you think there's an argument that he closes his path to being a top ten player of all time if his championship resume is joined a seventy three and nine most talented team ever won A couple of Rings there, tried to build a super team,

failed miserably, then goes joins the best record in the NBA, even if they give up some talent to get him, Like how much stock could you put into Rings that he continues to win in that fashion compared to if he had actually had to fight an uphill battle from this point forward in Brooklyn, or if he goes to a Pelicans or Raptors, where yes he's asking out, but he's not going to teams that were at the apps

loute top of the league this past year. So the problem is is I think the damage is already done. But to Katie's credit, I really think he's come to terms with that. Like I think he's at peace with it. I think he knows that he'll never get the amount of credit he deserved in Golden State. I think he knows, And we did a whole I did a whole thing

on this the other day. But like the the the revision is history with those Warriors teams to where it's because they won in this two season, all of a sudden, k D is being erased from the two thousand seventeen two thousand eighteen seasons. I agreed with Raymond, Like I think the Warriors losing two thousand and seventeen, if if the uh, if the Calves run it back and the

Warriors don't get k D. It's really the simple. Hey, Warriors fans, did you guys think you were way better than the Celtics because you won three games in a row at the end, Yeah, you probably do well. The Calves beat you three times in a row in two thousand sixteen. They kind of figured you out and to Draymond's credit, and I thought I thought Draymond was wrong when he said that that that staff couldn't create a shot back then. But he is right about the fact

that Steff has gotten a lot better. Stuff is the stuff is doing two teams what he did in two thousand sixteen, even though they're much better at defending him. Now, that's the credit to Steph as defensive. As defenses have evolved, he's evolved with them. As far as k D goes, though, it's like, dude, there is no version of this story that ends with you not having those fair or unfair, those marks on your resume. So like my thing is, like, Dude, if you can't win the court of public opinion, win

the trophies, because the trophies last forever. You know that that they can't ever take those away from you. So I would continue to pursue the best available basketball situation and say, screw the narratives, screw all the talking heads that are that are beating you down. The Warriors fans, They're never gonna like you the same way they used to ever again anyway, So who cares? You know, like, at this point, dude, control what you can control, which

is what happens on the basketball court. Go out there and win all the trophies. Alright, We've got one last hypothetical Katie scenario for you, This one courtesy of Mike h who says Katie liked his tame time in the Pacific Northwest when he was in Seattle. What are the odds he gets traded to Portland? And how good could they be? So the fit I love him and Dame, you know, I I like the direction Portland has been going,

targeting wings. That Jeremy Grant fit is awesome. The problem is, once again Portland's just will not be able to hang in the UH in the actual bidding war that's about to take place, Like they just don't have any realistic prospects that are going to like Anthony Simon's played really well last year, really started to blossom, but he just signed that big deal, which I don't think he's gonna be able to be I don't even think he's legally

allowed to be traded until this year's deadline. And most importantly, if i'm Brooklyn Is, Anthony Simon's moving the needle for me now. And in terms of draft picks, they don't have the same amount of picks that they can offer compared to some of these other teams in the league. Actually, Carson, I got one for you. Yeah, what it? What if the Boston Celtics traded every single pick they had and Jalen Brown for Kevin Durant. Wow. I I think that that would be a win win, genuinely, right. I mean,

why is it that one getting talked about more? That's a good question. I think that Jalen may not be like, you know, number one guy building block, but he's very good number two guy building block. He's all star caliber player already, and you get the future draft assets, although obviously those picks probably won't be great. But I think for Boss and it's a no Brainer. I mean, you're giving up a current, you know, all star levels scoring

wing for an all time great scoring wing. So that's interesting, that's very interesting. But but let's let's just let's frame it like this, that's a that's a package that probably won't get the deal done. That is way better than anything Portland's can offer. That is way better than anything you know, these other teams that we've thrown out can offer. Like even to me, that's a better package than what

Miami or Phoenix can offer. Like, if you're a GM, would you rather have Jalen Brown under team control for with the long contract that's a Max or DeAndre Aton? I want Jalen Brown. Yeah, do you want Tyler Harrow or do you want Jalen Brown? I want Jalen Brown. So, like to me, like, that's that's an example of like the way this like this bidding war should result in

the largest return in the history of NBA trades. And so that's where we need to frame this, Like we just presented a trade of Jalen Brown in a ton of first round picks and that probably really doesn't get it done. That's the way that we gotta look at this, Like it's just that's why, that's why my brain keeps

going to Toronto into New Orleans. Like if I'm Brooklyn and I can get Zion Williamson in a bunch of picks, or I can get you know, uh, Scottie Barnes in a bunch of picks, that to me is gonna beat anything else because I'm getting a bona fide superstar prospect and I'm sending Katie to a good basketball situation, and you know, it's just and to me. To me, those are the directions that I'd look over the course the next couple of days. Al Right, guys, that is all

we have for tonight. I'm headed down to Mexico with my wife for the next four days. But I'm bringing all my stuff with me, so yeah, might as if anything crazy happens, you guys will get some sort of reaction. Uh As, I'm gonna finally get a chance to relax. It's been a wild couple of months with a whole lot of basketball, and I'm actually excited to take a little bit of a break that's set. Any big signings,

any big trades, any anything. I promise I will get at least something up on YouTube for you guys, um as there has always been the case. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely appreciate you guys supporting us and supporting the show, and I'll see you guys in a couple of days. The volume