Hoops Tonight - NBA Mailbag: Why Steph Curry & Warriors are still a threat, LeBron James & Lakers

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responsible gambling resources. All right, welcome to hop tonight. You're at the volume. I hope all of you guys are having a great weekend. Today we're doing our mail bag. I have something like twenty four twenty five different mailbag questions that we're hitting in today's show. Thank you guys so much for taking the time to put those mail back questions in. All of you guys have not just questions, but so much good analysis in the comments as well.

It's been kind of fun to see the community of the show build towards just a group of a bunch of people or diehard basketball fans who love their team, who love getting into the weeds. It was a lot of fun this morning kind of reading through all of those comments. You guys are the drill before we get started. Subscribe to our brand new YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos. It would mean a lot to me if you guys would take a second to

scroll down and hit that subscribe button. Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts under Hoops Tonight, follow me on Twitter at underscore JSNLTS. You guys, don't miss any show announcements or any of the film threads that I do in the morning. And then, last but not Lea's keep dropping mail bag questions in those YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the season.

All right, First question, I have two questions, this person says. First, many people say that Jokic's best attributes are his tough shot making. I believe it's his strength, which I view as his base from which he can use a lot of his other skills, such as his tough shot making and playmaking, because at the end of the day, at any time, he could back down anyone, even the biggest players,

and pretty much just shoot right over them. All of this to say, do you think his strength is the most important part of his game or is it the tough shot making ability? Then the second question, who do you think would be the best player from any time period to slow down Yokic? One on one. As I said, I believe his strength is his best astribute, so I would go with the biggest player, Shack. As Jokic tends to struggle with players like Embid, I think Shaq could

do something similar, if not more. However, I could see Shaq struggling in the Jamal Murray pickin' rolls who do you pick? So always I'm going to go with the strength and the base over the tough shot making. It's not to say the tough shot making doesn't matter. I just always view tough shot making as like a ceiling razor. It's a thing you use in rescue possessions, late clock situations, maybe at the end of a game when a coverage takes away all of the easy shots that are available.

But more often than not, what's going to carry you through the forty eight or through the eighty two or through the seven game series is going to be your foundation, the thing that you use on more possessions than not. And to me, Jokic's strength and his ability to fight for position not just to catch the ball, but to get the spots closer to the rims that he can make shots, or to rise up through contact and still get good lift on those tough shots. It's all gonna

come down to the foundation. That over the top stuff is just what kind of pushes him over the top, I should say, a ceiling razor. It's a thing that allows him to, you know, make something out of nothing every once in a while, which obviously, like that was a huge role in that Lakers series last year. Right. I don't want to pretend like that stuff doesn't matter, but it always matters more what happens over the course

of the entire game rather than the small handful. It's why it gets really silly when we start talking about clutch shots as like only the final shot of the game. It's like, no, like in the fourth quarters, twelve minutes of basketball, there there might be twenty thirty possessions where you need somebody who can consistently generate good shots down the stretch of a game. And that's where your your actual bread and butter matters more than some of the

more fancy stuff that kind of dresses it up. If that makes sense. As far as the best player to guard, you'll catch one hundred percent agree. I actually thought Shack as soon as I was reading your question. It's just one of those things where he can kind of like fight Jokic off of those spots and keep him from

bullying closer to the ram. But as you mentioned, it's not as Yeah, it'd be great if the Sixers could just start a playoff series tomorrow to play against the Denver Nuggets and win the title, but that's not how it works. You have to be able to beat multiple different teams. Versatility is a very important part of the game of basketball. You have to be able to play and win different ways. And that doesn't just go for Shack.

That goes for Joel Embiid as well. And so again when it comes to Nikole Jokic, just because a guy might be able to give him some more issues one on one doesn't necessarily mean he's a better player. Obviously, Shack all Time is a better player than Nikola jokicch And we'll see what ends up happening in the long run. With Nikoliokich. I don't mean to undercut him there. I'm just more talking about Embiid and the fact that he's

able to guard Nikola Jokich. All right, next question, I've heard you say something before along the lines of Cleveland needing to make the tough decision of deciding between Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and Jared Allen and Evan Mobley. The small guard pairing in the back court doesn't seem to be working at a championship level, and neither does the pairing of Mobley and Allen in the front court. Does this recent surge with Garland and Mobley out confirm

that theory? Should Cleveland be going all in on the Mitchell Allen duo. Thanks love the show. First of all, thanks for the kind words. As it pertains to this lineup, there is some reality to like it just kind of slotting more into my kind of overarching basketball belief system. Right, like that group, the Jared Allen, Dean Wade, Isaacacorro, Donovan Mitchell, Max Struz. They're plus twenty one point two net in about three hundred possessions this year according to Cleaning the Glass.

And it's like Jared Allen is a versatile defensive anchor right that can guard in different coverages. That's that important piece that I always talk about. Dean Wade is a big forward. He's not as strong as I typically like that position, but he's a big forward that can switch that can help. He's good rebounder too, he gets about eight rebounds per thirty six minutes. Isaac Corro is your

perimeter oriented forward. Obviously a little shorter than i'd prefer there, but he's a guy that can guard all the forwards in the league. And then Donovan Mitchell and Nextrus are a good combination of size, strength, athleticism and skill for a backcourt. They kind of both are a little bit of both, if that makes sense. They're both a little bit of a skill guard and they're both a little bit of an athlete guard, right, So it does a

proper team construct. That said, I do think a big part of it is they're super fast, particularly Donovan Mitchell and Isaaca Korro. They're super fast and they play really hard all the time, and especially this time of year, that December January phase before the deadline, that's where you're gonna see the young fast teams kind of take a

leap forward. It's gonna be a theme in today's show because it's gonna be something we talk about when we get to the Utah Jazz really young, really fast teams when the older, slower teams are kind of struggling in the grind of the regular season, that's where they rise to the surface. So again, like I don't think that this group is better than what the Cavs are like when they're healthy. I just think that's an explanation for

how they're winning games. And as far as like being weird, because two small guards and two bigs is a weird kind of construct. If you're gonna be weird, it can be weird. In the NBA. The Nuggets are weird, the Warriors are weird. There are weird teas, the Kings are weird. But if you're gonna be weird, you have to be awesome at specific spots. Right, Like what makes the Nuggets being weird work is Nikol Jokich is the best player

in the world. What made the Warriors being weird work was Steph Curry was a top two or three player in the world for the entirety of the dynasty. Right, So, like that's the difference, is like you're weird and you're not good enough. As you mentioned, it doesn't work at a championship level. And so from that standpoint, I would invest in the big picture. And so that's why I keep talking about kind of trying to lean more into

that construct until you get the right guys. Again, like I always talk about, you want to find a number one first. Everything you do at first should be geared towards finding that number one, and then from there you kind of build out. And at this point it's about finding out whether or not Evan Mobley can be that number one. Next question, I don't have the foresure numbers, but when watching Pacers, it looks like Tyres and a lot of his assists in offensive dominance come from transition

or fast breaks. Do you think when the playoffs come this will be an issue for them when the games get more physical and more possessions in the half court situations are where they still be able to consistently run on teams. By the way, Sowarrow is better than Sabino. Shout out Chas Mac too. Those are I went to Sabino High School and Souarrow is their big rival. So clearly this listener is from Tucson. Chas Mack is on my men's league team on Sundays. Him and I have

won many many championships together. We've won four of the last five in that league. Chazz is a hooper, one of my favorite players. That I've ever played with, because he's just super super easy to play with. Like he's a guy that can get twenty points a game, but with like very few dribbles, which makes him a super easy fit along other good basketball players. I'd go to war with that dude any day. Shout out to Chas

mac now on that front, Tyree Saliburn. The numbers will tell you that he's a great half court player too. He's an outstate. He's one of the best pick and roll ball handlers in the league including passes. He's one of the best ISO players in the league including passes, well over a point per possession in both categories. He can beat switches of any kind, like he can toast

bigs off the dribble. He can drive by guards that are too slow to stay in front of him, and then he can beat every coverage in pick and roll right like if guy's duck under picks or die on picks, he can hit pull up threes. He's got a deadly floater. He can make every single pass in the books, skip passes, lob passes to backside cutters, lob passes to the role man, Like I just I understand that they do run a lot, and that's certainly part of it, and things will get harder.

And also make no mistake that teams will wear Tyre's Haliburton down in a playoff series. I don't expect Tyra's Aliburton to go to the playoffs and just automatically be the best player in the world. This is a journey. He's on a journey that will take a half decade to get to that, like you know, when he's in his late twenties where he could potentially be one of the very best players in the league. But I'm not

worried about his ability to get there. It's just going to be about learning the lessons and making the adjustments along the way. But he is an excellent half court player and I'm not worried about that at all. Next question. You have said a couple of times since the Lakers versus Nuggets Conference Finals that what separated those two teams during that series was the Nuggets late game execution, which

I agree with. You commented that the over the top shot making ability of Yo Kitchen Murray was far better than that of Lebron and ad and that it's the primary factor as to why the Nuggets won and the Lakers lost. Based on that rationale, I do not think the Lakers need to make any roster changes prior to the deadline because Lebron and AD are shot creating much better this year, which in theories, should close the gap

between the Nuggets and Lakers. I agree that the lack of point of attack defense is an issue for the Lakers, but I also believe that if you swapped this version of Lebron and AD with last year's version in the playoffs, the series would have gone six or seven. Do you agree or do you believe it is still not enough

with their current roster construction. So, first of all, I agree with the premise of what you're saying in the sense that, like one of my big points of optimism this season is like Austin keeps getting better, is like pick and roll numbers just keep ticking up. He's one of only eleven players in the league to run at least five hundred at at least a point per possession.

Lebron looks better than they did the last year. Anthony Davis playing the best basketball that he's played since twenty twenty, so I want to be And even though he's not making the shots, although he had a crazy shot making game against the MAVs. But even though his shot making isn't righte where it wasn't in twenty twenty, his playmaking is above that level. So you could argue AD's the best version that he's ever been and all of that

is encouraging. And I do agree that if you swap all those guys out, it's a longer series with Denver. But it wasn't just the over the top shot making. One of the biggest issues was perimeter strength and athleticism and size, right like it was just Dennis Schroeder. Was there one guy fast enough to stick with people and he was too short to guard Jamal Murray, right like

Bruce Brown literally took D'Angelo Russell out of the playoff series. Right, So they go to Ruey Hacha Mura, but he'd only be working in some matchups that played a certain style. Denver was one of the matchups where he was able to play. But to me, the problem is it's not just the over the top shot making, which is a positive trend for the Lakers. It's if you go into a playoff run with Austin Dilo and Torrian Prince you

are way too skinny and slow on the perimeter. Just end of sorry, You're not gonna be able to contend for four series with that lineup. So I have a lot of encouraging things that I've noticed from the Lakers this season, but they still absolutely need some kind of trade to bolster their perimeter speed and strength and athleticism as well. Moving on to the next question, can a player that is a bad playmaker slash passer be the

best player on a championship winning team. I feel like the scoring guard that can't pass is becoming less and less valuable archetype of a player, with most of them

coming off the bench in the past few years. Also, is play making the second most important skill after scoring because of all the top players in the league are good to great passers and be this season is a way better player than he was last season, and he seems to have only improved his vision, but it allows him to beat double teams and face more single coverage because they are reluctant to double him as much. I love the show and I've watched for a while. Love

your in depth analysis. Keep it up. Thanks again for the kind words. So here's the thing, I'm not gonna

say it can't happen. I mean, we just saw Kawhi Leonard in twenty nineteen win the title as a well below avera playmaker at that point in his career, although he's gotten better since he got to the Clippers, but that was a freaking awesome team in like almost every phase, and he was a guy that like that team won fifty something games, so it was like fifty nine games or sixty games a year before, and then Kawhi just kind of pushed him over the top. Right, So like

it's a little it's a little different. But as we go back, it's like last year Nikolay jokicch excellent playmaker, the year before that, Steph Curry excellent playmaker, Yiannis the year before that, huge playmaking leaps in that playoff run, right year before that, Lebron James, excellent playmaker. And then you go back and it's Stephan Kady, Stephan k Dy,

Lebron James, Stephan k d Right. So yeah, I think it's pretty obvious that the best player on your team, if you want to win, you certainly have a much better chance if he's a very very good playmaker. The reason why is really simple, and this is why I've always gravitated towards the big matchup, attacking playmaking forward in

terms of my star archetypes that I prefer. It's because of the fact that any playoff series, everything that the coaching staff is sitting down in their meetings and doing is geared towards trying to slow down your best player. Right, Like I remember the ch match of the Lakers and Warriors last year. It's like the Lakers are just constantly trying things to try to slow down Steph and the Warriors are constantly trying things to try to free up Steph.

Right Like that, That's where the game plan of the series goes around, Right, And so when you have to have a guy that can decipher everything that's happening in the five on five, that to me is a vital component of a championship leading superstar because that chess match is going to go a bunch of different directions in a playoff series, and that star has to be able to decipher and adjust to all of those things. Next question, why do you think Lebron has more success guarding someone

like Kawhi Leonard than Kevin Durant? Really simple. He's thirty nine years old, but he's still strong as hell. And Kawhi is not as fast. He's more of a strength player. Lebron can match up with that. Kevin Durant is more of a speed player at this finesse and like kind of side to side finesse, like he's he's trying to get around you, not go through you. And he's very shifty and very good at deceptively kind of hiding his angle of attack, and that can cause some slower players issues.

Next question is a Lakers question. What is making the version of the old starting lineup work when it struggled before. Is it simply Austin Reeves playing better defense or is there something else going on? A couple of different things. At the beginning of the year, the Lakers in general came out kind of flat in terms of their effort. Remember, even their wins, they would like wildly come from behind at the end of the game. Also, they were running

a new offense last year. They were a four out one in spread pick and roll, spread post up type of team, like cleared side post ups, cleared side pick and rolls, that kind of stuff. Like they were very brute force and this year they're a little bit of both. Like they ran a lot of five out to start the year, then they went a lot towards four out, and now they're going back towards five out with their groups.

Darvin's doing a good job job. I think of like running five out with his skill groups and then running four out with with his more power groups. Right. As for why it's looking so good as of late, it's a combination of they just have a lot more repetition in the in their back pocket from running five out this season, and they're desperate like the Lakers. This is

what happened with the Lakers. They came out the year kind of a bad effort and focus team, and then they tried really hard and they won the Ncason Tournament. And then as soon as they won the Ncason Tournament, they completely relaxed and everyone just started kicking their ass for a few weeks, right, But it got so bad that they literally went two games below five hundred, and that was enough to kind of wake them back up to the point where they're desperate enough to kind of

reapply themselves. Now. That does not make them good enough to win the championship right now, but that's why they're playing more like what I expected them to look like in this regular season, and honestly, that's the way to go. You lean that group if they're gonna play offense at that level, lean into that until the deadline. Reconfigure the

rotation and lineups from there. Next question, I recently watched an old video you did right after the Warriors last championship about how strong their organizational structure is, from Joe Lacup to Bob Myers, to Steve Kerr to the players. In your opinion, what has happened to this team since then? They where they are and seemingly such a bad spot now that we are witnessing the end of a dynasty. Love the show, Thanks for everything, Thank you for the

kind words. I really put it down to a couple of different things. Bob Myers just wanted to retire. I don't think Mike Dunlevy is incapable. I mean it's too soon to tell, obviously. I don't think Steve Kerr is unmotivated or lost his touch. I think it's just he's dealing with a lot of the personnel limitations of this roster. Everything to me comes down to just a couple of things.

I don't blame Clay, he's getting old. That was super predictable, Right, It comes down to three things, in my opinion, Andrew Wiggins went from being the second best player on the championship team and one of the best three and D players in the league to a bad NBA player like that, like overnight, Like it just to the point now where it's like you're hoping he gets it together, but it's

like he probably should be coming off the bench. Like it's like like he probably doesn't even belong, Like he probably doesn't belong in the starting lineup, right, So, and he has come off the bench for stretches this season. So it's like, like that's just a huge decline. How do you count for that? How do you count from like, like to take a really good team, take the Denver Nuggets.

What if Aaron Gordon went from being one of the most useful role players on a championship contender to a guy that wasn't good enough to start, and then suddenly they had to put Peyton Watson at the four, who's a very good player. But that'd be a downgrade, a significant downgrade, right, And so like that that's just difficult to account for. Secondly, Draymond Green removed himself from the team like like, Draymond Green took himself out of the

lineup for more than half the season. That's a that's a thing that's going to hurt your basketball team when he's one of your most important players. And then lastly, Steph Curry just hasn't been playing like Steph Curry for a few months. And what a lot of times, like people focus on lineups and coaches and role players and all these different things, but it's like, is your star playing like shit? Because if your start's playing like shit,

it's gonna be hard to win. And those three things kind of amount to why they look as limited as they have. I'm not worried about Steph. I think he's frustrated. I think he's annoyed, and I think he's not motivated by this group. But I don't think he believes in this group enough to like really apply himself at this point in time. And I think he'll re engage if they make a trade at the deadline. Draymond Green's back,

so that'll be fine. You just have to find a way to replace Andrew Wiggins from a talent perspective, you have the means with which to do so with Jonathan Kaminga. Although we'll talk about it in a little bit, but missing out on Siakam is definitely a blow there. Next question. First off, I really respect the way you conduct to the show. This is my far my favorite basketball podcast because you actually give useful analysis that helps both fans

and players. Secondly, what is a realistic trade the Sons can make using Grayson Allen and this here little who make it combined fifteen million a year? Obviously, the Sons could use a six to seven or above winging to play the three or the four who can defend and shoot the three point shot? The question to shoot? First of all, thanks again for the kind words that that

stuff means a lot to me. Obviously, as you guys know, I get a lot of crap in the comments that on social media and stuff, and I always just say, like, the kindness from you guys outweighs that every single day, and that's why I never complain about it. As for the Suns, here's the thing. Grays and Allen's are a really good player and he's having an outstanding shooting season.

I agree the Sons could use a forward. But you have to find a team that one has a lot of forwards, and two that needs shooting, and three that is close enough that they'd be willing to cash in a forward for a role player because they think that'll kind of push them over the top. And I literally can't think of a single one. I have three teams down here. I put Brooklyn because they have a lot of forwards and they could use some shooting. They're not

a good three point shooting team. But if I'm Brooklyn, why am I moving a forward for Grayson Allen instead of a draft pick? Right? Then I put down the Thunder. The Thunder have lots of forwards, but they don't really have any need for Grayson Allen. They have their guard corps awesome, right. And then lastly, I put down the Atlanta Hawks if they ended up being sellers, because they've got some forwards on the bench that they could give up.

But if I'm Atlanta, why am I not moving for a like to get assets to get a better play Like if they move to Jontey Murray and Clint Capella and DeAndre Hunter and Cidique Bay or something like Casidique woud be a guy that i'd target for the Suns right, Like he's in a contract year, you might be able to get him for a Grayson Allen and or something like that. Like maybe in terms of like value, they're kind of like similarly valued players. But why would Atlanta

do that? Why wouldn't Atlanta move Sadik Bay for a pick? Because with a pick they can package that and try to go get a star right to put next to Trey Young. So like it's one of those things where I don't really see an obvious option out there. Maybe it'll materialize at some point, but it's hard to find a combination of a team that would see value in Grayson Allen as a shooter and as a veteran guy that could start for them or come off the bench,

and also has a plethora of forwards. Like it's just it's hard to kind of like find that kind of combination. And that's why I keep saying with the Suns like it, like it, they're almost better off just kind of leaning into being the best version of themselves that they can be. But maybe a buyout guy comes available, maybe Gordon Hayward becomes available, But like, is he fast enough as a

as a defensive player, it's hard to say. Right. Next one, I think Kawhi is one of the most dependable jump shot makers in the league in the postseason, as we've seen every year before he's gone down with injury. PG and Harden can be can both be streaky, But does having both on one team offset the risk of one of them going cold with only one having a good night. I think they can overcome the other being off since Kawhi is so dependable, but maybe one being cold could

throw off the other. So again, yeah, you're right, Like ever since the twenty twenty bubble, there's just been nothing but injuries kind of disrupting any ability to see that. Right, And Kawhi shot the ball really well last year in the postseason before he got hurt, shot the ball really well in twenty twenty one before he got hurt. But in twenty twenty when things went off the rails, Kui was missing too. Like Kui went cold. So like it is possible that a team like from the top down,

bad shooting is contagious and good shooting is contagious. If you've ever played in a basketball game, you know that kind of thing, right, And just in general, I think The best way to confront shooting is to play good basketball. You play good good basketball, you get better shots. Get better shots, they eventually go in, right. But like at the end of the day, like, do I think Kawhi is gonna shoot the ball well this year in the postseason? Yeah?

Like I think he can. And if he goes out and he shoots insanely well, that buys you margin for error for Paul Georgian and James Harden to be more inconsistent. Right, one hundred percent agree with that. The question marks that I have around that team center around just as a team who's getting the easiest shots, and if Kawhi can kind of make up for that, great, But that's where health becomes an important kind of factor in all this.

But I do believe in Kawhi and his ability to make shots, and that's why I have the Clippers up at four. Only the Bucks, Celtics and Nuggets for me, are like safer bets to win the title this season. So I do believe. It's just the reason why I have them behind is when you factor in the defensive rebounding issues, when you factor in the leaning on the pull up jump shooting, they just have some more question

marks on that front. Next question, I love the optimism, but do you but do honestly believe the Warriors are one move away from turning their bottom twenty twenty fifth or worst defense into a top ten required of a championship team. Impossible to make a run this season. Personally, I feel like this season is gone, play it out with who you got make decisions once Chris, Paul, Clay and Kerr are gone or looking for extensions. So here's the thing. It can look really bleak right now. And

I get that. Trust me, as a Laker fan last year, I can familiarize with the feeling. But the dead giveaway to me is like Steph's not playing particularly well, and I can tell everyone's just kind of frustrated and annoyed at the situation. So January in the NBA, motivation plays a huge role in the outcome of games, and you make the right trade, you get to re engage Steph.

Everything kind of slots properly. Things can turn around like that, and then you start to look down the playoff field and it's like, if I'm Golden State, am I scared of Oklahoma City in a playoff series? If I have Steph and two really good players that I got back into trade, and Steph's re engaged, Like, no, I'm picking the Warriors right like you're gonna pick them over a lot of teams except for the really really big teams, right Like it's Minnesota, it's Denver, it's the Lakers that

would concern you. But like, the Warriors still have a chance to beat just about everybody else in the field

is currently constructed. And if they hit the if they get it, if I have a home run Warriors trade that I've pitched before, and I'm gonna mention again later on in the show, but like, if they hit on that trade, everyone gets re engaged and they go Like the Warriors are dealing with personnel limitations, no doubt, but they're also dealing with January basketball with a bunch of frustrated veterans, And that's what this can look like from

time to time. Next question, Hi, Jason, I love watching the NBA and fan reactions to their team winning and losing. My question is why do we as fans, including me, overreact to regular season wins and losses at this part of the season. I understand overreacting to wins and losses close to the end, but to the middle and beginning reactions are crazy in my opinion. For example, a team like the Lakers are just won team two in a row, people are talking about them being amazing and saying maybe

they don't need a trade. On the other hand, the Warriors who lost too and have fans begging for them to trade and saying they aren't contenders. Literally a week ago, the Lakers were the team that we're seeing who needs to make a trade in art contenders, and the Warriors were seen as contenders and didn't need to make a trade. Both fan bases want them to make trades, but they only seem to beg for them when they lose two games in a row or more. It's a long question

and an interesting one in my opinion. If you've listened to the show over the last couple of years, you guys know exactly where I stand on this. No matter how bad things have got for the Warriors this year, I never took them off my list of contenders. Not ever, right, no matter how bad things got for the Lakers this year, never took them off my list of contenders. Like regular season,

basketball comes down to so many factors. That go beyond just how good your basketball team is, and so it is it is possible to kind of get misled by results, right. I think part of the issue is is fans are emotional? What does fan mean? Fan means stands for fanatic, Like that's we're all emotional because we're fans, right, Like, that's just how we react. And then I think the television

product is part of it too. So you know, the a lot of national NBA shows, especially on cable, like on ESPN and stuff like, they they have legit pressure from production staffs and executives to be like, hey, time to panic or not with Team A, or time to panic or team not with Team B? Or is you know a young team with a young player wins ten games in a row and plays awesome, and it's like, is this player the best player in the league? Is

this team gonna win a championship? Right? Like that's kind of the that's kind of like the pattern of that kind of stuff. And I think that noise kind of colors the way we all see things. But more often than not, it's like like the Lakers play the Nets tonight. If there's a chance, I think the Lakers are gonna

win that game. But if they come out and they played super Lackaday's goal and the Nets kick their butt, like, it's just not gonna change my opinion on that team, because in the regular season, so much of this stuff is like that, Like the the Sacramento Kings went out and got their ass kicked last night, Like they've lost four games in a row. They blew a twenty point lead against the Suns the other day, Like you, they're

just going through the muck of January. They were one of the most impressive teams in the league over the first third of the season. They were going into opponents arenas like championship contenders arenas and kicking their ass. So like, this is just kind of part of that noise, and you kind of have to find a way to sort

through it as best as you can. Next question, now that Siakam got traded to the Pacers, what big trade do you see the Warriors make and do you think it'll make any difference should they jeopardize their future to have a chance to win it once again now and in the coming seasons With steph Okay, I'll answer the second question. First, Yes, you can't win the title unless you have a top tier superstar. You have a top

tier superstar. Unless you're under the impression that Jonathan Kaminga is going to be which there's a chance, but it's a long shot at this point, then you this is your chance to win, so you gotta go for it. You owe it to Steph, you owe it to the fans, because, like I promise you, guys, if you trade Steph for a bunch of draft picks and you trade and just build around Kaminga, we'll look up two years from now and they'll be thirty two and fifty and you'll be like,

but hey, Jonathan Minga is averaging twenty six. This is cool? Like it Like, don't forget that every team out there that doesn't have one of those guys desperately wants one of those guys. Yeah, you don't think Brooklyn would love to be like, hmm, what moves should we make at the deadline since we have Steph Curry on the roster right now? As far as which trade I think that they should make now that Seatcome's gone, it's gonna be

really tough. But the one that I pitched on the show the other day that I really like is I would call the Nets. I'd offer Hi Jonathan Kaminga, I'd offer Moses Moody, and I think it's Andrew Wiggins was the third guy, if I remember correctly, and I'd ask for mckail bridges and Dorian Finney Smith, and I'd run those two guys out between Draymond, Steph and Clay. I've got two excellent perimeter defenders that can both shoot. Mckailbridge is one of the best role players in the league.

And then I'd make another run at it with Steph. I'm not even sure if that deal is possible, but if I'm Brooklyn and I'm like, I can get Jonathan Minga, and we're gonna talk about Brooklyn in a minute. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna wait to kind of elect I'm just gonna wait until I get to the Nets on that front, because I did have a NETS question in there, Hi, Jason, with the d Lo and Ruie package as the base for the trade, if possible, would you rather get mckail bridges and Dorian Finnis Smith

or Dejontay Murray and DeAndre Hunter. I lean a Brooklyn deal because I think Austin Reeves can be a much better pick and roll ball handler with enough reps. First of all, I agree about Austin. He's consistently getting better, and I think we're also seeing that he's really good in their flow offense when he's playing off the ball. I think he gets a bad rap for some of

his on ball reps this year. He's, like I've said before, one of only eleven players in the league this year to have over five hundred pick and roll reps including passes and be over a point per possession. He also

is like one point zero eight points per ISO. So for all the complaining about Austin on the ball, like, he's been one of the best in the league at it, you know, in terms of high volume guys, it's just those lineups have so many other issues that it can look ugly sometimes, and offensive skill in a lot of those groups would be Austin Reeves out there with a bunch of unskilled forwards and he's just looking to hunt his own shot, right, So that's where it can get weird.

As far as the Hawks package of the Nets package, the Hawks package just more realistic. Atlanta's most likely going to make a significant trade at this deadline Brooklyn. I'm not sure they even want to move McHale Bridges. They might, but they might not, right, And so that's where it gets a little bit more complicated with Brooklyn. That said, would I rather have mckail bridges and Dorian Finnis Smith or Dejonte Murray and DeAndre Hunter. Of course, I'd rather

have mckel bridges and Dorian Phinney Smith. I think mckel bridge is one of the best role players in the league, and I think if you put him next to a Lebron James and Anthony Davis, I think that the Lakers would just be ridiculous. But it's just an unrealistic trade. And I think I think if I'm between the two packages, I just pitched, like if it was Ruy di lo in a first round pick, or it was Wiggins cominga

and Moody like, I'm taking Kaminga. I want Kamena more than a twenty twenty nine first from the Lakers, right. I Mean, that's not to say that's not a good asset, but Jonathan Kaminga is a really, really interesting young player in this league. Next question, Whenever I questioned Lebron's defensive effort, I normally get told he has to conserve energy for the offensive end. This makes sense given his age and the offensive load he has always carried. But my question

is always the same. Wouldn't Lebron be as productive, if not more so, if he turned the dials down on offense so that he can turn the dials up on defense, or is his offensive value worth too much sacrifice? I think he's turning it down on both ends right now. Offensively, Lebron has a physical exertion element that he can go to, a bullyball element that he can go to that he's just not really using right now, and in general, I

think he's just kind of floating around. But he's got such a high basketball queue and is such a great passer that it can look like he's super engaged offensively even when he's not really engaging himself physically. Like he had twenty five eight to eight the other day against God, who do they just beat? Now I'm blanken all of a sudden, but he had twenty five other maps, He had twenty five eight Nate nat game and was like a nice connective piece in their offense just because he's

so smart. But like it's when they get to the playoffs, where I see that being a thing if the offense continues to revolve around Anthony Davis the way that it has and they get it to John Tay Murray, or if they run Austin Reis and D'Angelo Russell, like the best version of Lakers will be Lebron James is a connective piece offensively who engages himself defensively consistently, and then for short stretches like Lebron is still one of the best helio centric guys in the league in short bursts

when he's locked in where it's like ten possessions in a row where he spans a post up, or ten possessions in a row where he's like I'm attacking use of Nurkic and pick and roll or whatever it is, Like, he's still one of the best at that in small doses. You just can't do it for a full game. And so again, I do see that as the goal when they get to the postseason. But I actually think he's conserving energy on both ends right now. Next question, actually, so fast forward to Utah before I go back to

this one, because I had two Jazz questions. Can you talk a bit about the Jazz incredible stretch lately and how they've been blowing out championship contender teams. Thanks. So it comes down to a couple of different things to me. First of all, my theory about young and fast teams.

So like Colin Sexton and Chris Don are two of the fastest guards that we have, better athlete guards that we have in this league, and they both are outstanding defending at the point of attack, Like Colin Sexton is like this has this power downhill game that's like kind of intense, and then John Collins can run up and down the floor like absolutely crazy, and Lori Markenen is

one of the best play finishers in the league. And then they do like a line shift approach where they'll like take all five guys out and then bringing all five guys on the bench, and then all of them are fast, and so it's just this like ridiculous, like

crazy just onslought of speed. And I think that's actually a big reason why they've been so successful in December and January, right, because like this is the stretch of the season where if you're young and you're fast and you play hard, you can cause teams a lot of problems.

I thought last night was a good indicator, like bringing another young, fast team who's just better and they'll lose, and they lose their first home game in ten tries, right, So, like it's fun and it's exciting, and honestly, the Jazz are going about the rebuild and we're gonna talk about this when we get to the nets. The Jazz are going about their rebuild the way I think you should

go about a rebuild. So compliment to the Utah Jazz, but the reason why they're winning right now in large part comes down to that, Like it's there is skill. Guys are playing really well, Collin Sexton, Soup and Lauri Market and soop and a lot of guys are hooping. But they're also just young and fast as hell, and they're defending and they're running right. So like that's what kind of ties it all together. Now, let me go

back to the other Jazz question. Do you think Utah will still trade Lauri Marking in with the way they're playing right now. I believe they'll do the exact same thing they did last year, and they'll move some role players. I wouldn't be surprised if they moved to Colin Sexton right that said, I don't know that. I haven't heard

much buzz at all surrounding Lori markin In. I think if someone threw a Godfather offer at them, they'd move him, but I don't think it's something that they're actively trying to do right now. Next question, with the Kings playing terrible basketball recently, including the missed free throws and blowing a twenty two point fourth quarter lead, what would it look like for them to trade Barns and some young guys to Atlanta for dejontey Murray, along with throwing Herder

and picks to Portland for Jeremy Grant. Murray could take more ball handling responsibilities and he's been shooting well, whereas the Aaron has been playing much better off the ball than he has previously. Plus, I think a pairing of Dejonte with more athletic guard would work better than him and Trey's fit. Grant is obvious and helps in so many ways, But would it makes sense for Sack to

just throw in Dejonte? Throw in for Dejonte with a low asking price in a solid contract to see if he can help them since they've been abysmal lately, they've been so bad. I think some trades would show up their rotations a little better since Brown has been messing with them too much and ruining easily winnable games. I don't think this team can afford to miss the playoffs, so I think it makes sense to press the panic button a sap and get what they can. I'm totally

I'm in a totally different spot with the Kings. I think they have a class. I'm thinking they're in a classic case of January basketball. Like last year they kind of fought through all this stuff because it was new and exciting, But now their team that's looking forward to April as well. I do not think they're going to miss the playoffs. I do not think they have any issues in the regular season. I think just struggling right now. A move for de Jontae Murray and Jeremy Grant would

be a half measure in my opinion. First of all, I'm not sure Jeremy Grant even wants to go anywhere else. It's not to say they can't make that type of move, but for me, you need a four, you need an Aaron Gordon esque type of four, and unless you find that guy, there's no reason to make a half measure. And like a pitching to Jeremy Grant that you want him to be the dirty work guy that he was in Denver, that he clearly has told everybody that he doesn't want to be anymore, then I think I'm not

necessarily sure that he's the guy. Now. If Lori markin it was available, yeah, you throw throw the kitchen sink at it, you get a deal done. But like right now, you're better off just kind of like hanging tight until the right move comes along. To Jontay Murray to me, like, can you play Dejonte and Malik Monk and Darren Fox at the same time. No, if you give up Malik Monk in the deal, is de Jontay Murray that much

better than Malik Monk. No, So, like it's a half measure, and so from there you're better off just like waiting and seeing if Kevin Herder and Keegan Murray become better players until you end up making some sort of all in move for that forward spot. Next question, Hey, Jason Love your knowledge on the game been my go to NBA show Slash podcast since I discovered you in early twenty twenty three. Thank you for the kind of words.

Since there isn't a big market for Levigne and and if Lakers could get get him without giving up Austin Raeves, wouldn't he be a perfect fit as an off ball score ability to beat guys off the dribble, an excellent three point shooter. Sure, his defense isn't great, but with the athleticism he is, couldn't he be better if bought in? And he already and be hidden as they already have a bunch of defensive guys. They can call it the

three star route. But as great as Lebron as he's too old to do it for eighty two games and he needs a perimeter guy who can carry help carry the load in the regular season. Plus Levin and Ad with Austin Raves is pretty good core going forward for the Lakers once Lebron retires or goes to play with Bronni. So, first of all, I agree that the Lakers need offense. This is something I've been on for a little while.

It's working right now because Dlo is playing well, but it's just typically not like this right like Delo do this for stretches or for games, but the it usually depends on the matchup too. Like other finesse scoring teams, he can kind of hang and then when they go against brute force, physical teams, that's where Delo really starts to struggle. Right, But zac Lavine's not the guy i'd go after. Of all the names I've seen mentioned, I'd preferred to Rosen even over him. I'd prefer to Dante

Murray over him. I probably even prefer a call In Sexton over him, because he's a really good athlete at the guard position on the defensive end as well. That's not to and then also Zaqulavine's hurt again. He twisted his ankle last night, so like I just and then we even heard from Brian Windhorse that there's a zero point zero percent chance that the Lakers make any sort

of move for zach Lavine. So I agree with you in the principle of like where they need to go, I just don't see it think Levine is the guy. Next question, do you think the NBA has a problem with the lack of carrying or travel calls or do you think the game is in a good place for the entertainment product. I don't even care. Like there's the

occasional missed bad carry or miss bad traveling call. And I get that they look ugly on TV, but they only happen every once in a while, and I don't think that there are any sort of significant impact on the game. To me, it all comes down to officiating. And there's another question about officiating later, and I'll give the second half of my answer when we get there. What would you do if I convinced Joe Side to fire Sean Marks and make you the next financially secure

GM of my Brooklyn Nets? Okay, so fake GM Jason of the Brooklyn Nets. What would I do? So here's the thing. Four of their five core starter players are all twenty seven or older, right Like Spencer Dinwood's older, Michael mckel bridges is older, Cam Johnson is older. They're they're like they're not young. They're they're not a team where like like they're not the Jazz, Like they're not young and fun and fast and like, oh, we'll see what this guy can be and we'll see what that

guy can be. Like all of these guys are really good NBA role players. They're a team full of really good NBA role players. Mckal bridge is for instance, the best player on that team. Right, if you ask any you know, random assortment of people probably vote Michael Bridges. Really like mckail Bridges. The mckail bridge is best player on a team or second best player on a team thing. It's it's just not gonna it's just not gonna work. Right. He's twenty seven years old. He is what he is

at this point. He's a good scorer that can go for twenty twenty five in a night, occasionally go for thirty. That's an excellent spot up shooter, excellent closed out attacker. But he's not a guy that you want to have as an offensive folkrum. So then from there, how do you remember I mentioned earlier I want to be more like the Jazz. So what I want to do is if I my number one goal is to get the guy right, And the only way I'm gonna get the guy is by taking in young lottery talents that teams

bailed on. So guys in that like twenty two, like like the Lakers with Ruby Hotchimurav for instance, right, and then two through draft picks. And the only way I'm getting those two types of guys is by taking my value and turning it into that type of resource. I have all these role players that all of these other teams would love to have, Dorian Finney, Smith Royce, so Neil McHale Bridge is like all these teams would love

to have these guys. Flip them for draft compensation and other really young players with some upside, and get a coach in there that, uh that will attack the regular season and build a play style that's fun and fast and and and be fun and fast and young while you're waiting to see what develops from your young players

and your picks. They're in the worst possible place to be because they're They're a blow average team that has a bunch of guys in their mid to late twenties that everybody else wants, and they don't have a single piece that's like, oh this is interesting. Like I like Cam Thomas. He's a sixth man. I like Cam Thomas, but the best version of him as an NBA player

is sixth man on a good team. Right, So, like like at a certain point, this is the this deadline is the time to do it, because there's all these teams out there that want these kinds of guys. How Like, how many teams are there out there, Like the Sons would love a six a guy who could shoot and defend. The Lakers would love a six eight guy that could shoot and defend. The Warriors would love a six eight

guy that could shoot and defend. Like even a guy like Roy O'Neil might be able to pull some stuff back. So like they've got to They to me, the worst thing you can be is have a group of these guys where we already know what they are. Go get guys like you know, like I love the Jazz getting

John Collins. It's like like, yeah, he was a bust in Atlanta, but like, why don't we bring him in here and let's be young, fun and fast and see what John Collins can do, and you know, and let's and then basically flip those guys at the deadline, like they that's what the Jazz do. Anytime they see a guy that has some value around the league that they don't see as a foundational piece, they just move them.

And they get more picks back, and they get more young players back, and they just keep trying to figure out what they can get. Laurie marketing in with the Jazz is another great example of a guy that was a castaway in Cleveland or a guy that they didn't necessarily believe in, and suddenly he looks like one of the best young players in the league. Right, So if I was running the nets, that's what I would do.

I'd flip all those rop this year for young, fun players and picks, and I lean into being young and fun until I found the guy. Once I find the guy, that's when I look for the second guy. Once I find the second guy, that's when I look for the role players that compliment those two guys. Next question, Hey, Jason, appreciate the content. Got a quick mail back question here. Do you think the Warriors and Lakers should do a trade surrounding Ruey Gabe in a first round pick for

Andrew Wiggins and a second round pick. Feels like this might help the Warriors with size and isoscoring bursts, whereas Wiggins is the perfect addition for the Lakers. So I actually heard from one of my friends who covers the league.

I heard that the Lakers, I guess called Golden State at some point and offered D'Angelo Russell for Andrew Wiggins, which would have been super hilarious because, like the first of all, D'anngel Russell was with the Warriors, and the Warriors traded him and then slandered him on the way

out the door, so that would have been funny. Also, I think you could argue that, given their contracts, d Angela Russell might be a better asset right now, which is actually kind of crazy just because of how poorly Andrew Wiggins is playing. But here's the thing, Andrew. If I could get Andrew Wiggins from twenty twenty two on

the Lakers, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I just if you really start to zoom out from the Andrew Wiggins thing, it's like we viewed it as like, oh, he was here in Minnesota, and then okay, he's with the Warriors and he's going up and then it's like tank. But if you zoom out, it's actually a lot of this in the one spot that's up high, meaning like it's actually more likely than not that Wiggins is who he is and that twenty twenty two is an outlier.

So it's an interesting trade idea. Ruy Hatchamura would help the Warriors a lot, so we Gabe, But I just think Rui's a better player than Andrew Wiggins right now, and so I don't think the deal necessarily works, and unless Andrew Wiggins can get it together, I don't in the next couple of weeks. I don't necessarily think he has a ton of trade value. Next question, are there any rule changes you would implement in the NBA? And why?

Just curious if you have any ideas. I thoroughly enjoy the show and appreciate your insight and takes on the game. So what I would do is I'd give the refs discretion to never call any sort of non basketball play. There was a play at the end of the Denver Nuggets game that I'll give you guys as an example. Joel Embiid went up underneath the basket and clearly got fouled I think by Aaron Gordon if I remember correctly, and he's complaining to the refs, and it was a foul.

One hundred percent agree with Joel Embid that it was a foul. Here's the thing. They didn't call it. And Embiid was underneath the rim and had an opportunity to power up and put the ball in the basket, and instead he stuck his arms out and went like that. To try to go up to the basket and Aaron Gordon came across his arms and they didn't give him the call. I would not give him the call either, because there's no place in the world where you teach

a basketball player to do that. It is not a basketball play to put the ball out and deliberately expose it to get knocked away. They do that because they get calls. It's a non basketball play that grifters used to try to get to the line. And he's not the only one. I'm not targeting Mbiad. I'm just using

that as an example. I would give the refs discretion any sort of non basketball play that you see in any way, shape or form, even if it's a blatant foul, just don't call it, because that would be what's best for the league. And I thoroughly believe that the ref watched him do that in that moment and made that call. I think he looked at it and was like, Oh, this is a nationally televised MVP showdown between Joel and Bid and Nikola Jokic. It's a close game late, I'm

not giving him that bullshit like that. That's what I think that was and I think if the NBA did that, it would go a long way towards helping helping the television product. All right, Four more questions. Dream trade at the deadline for any team, favorite showing YouTube? Keep going, man, thanks again for the kind words. I'm gonna go with that Warriors one for Dorian Finney Smith and mchal Bridges.

I just really want to see the Warriors have one last shot at things and I think that would be the most fun trade that would kind of change the landscape of the league. Next question, It seems as if the standings are not as important as they used to be, and I just want to know why that is. It seems as if the young teams at the top and the veteran teams at the bottom. And the funny thing is that most NBA fans, including me, trust the lower

seeded team more than the higher seeded teams. Now because of that, do the veteran teams do this on purpose? Or is it something else talked about this earlier in the show. But to make it simple, like, I think these veteran teams are just trying to get through to April, and I think that they love playing basketball, but that the grind kind of gets to them more. And these younger teams they love. They're not sick of it yet.

They love the grind. They love being in the middle of January, Like, do you think the Jazz are bored right now? No, They're having a blast. And so again it's our job to just try to sort through all of that noise. Two more, out of the Suns, Warriors and Lakers, who are you more worried about. I'm more concerned with the Suns as a team they have as the team they have is what they have, whereas the Lakers and the Warriors can make trades to be way better.

I enjoy this show and I just want your opinion. That's an interesting take as it pertains to the Suns not being able to make a trade. That said, the Sons have Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durrant and they I think they have the ability to play better than they have to this point in the season. I'm gonna go with the Warriors there just because since they missed out on Siakam, I think their job at this

trade deadline gets significantly more difficult. And I think the Lakers are just better than both teams as currently constructed, I'd pick them over I'd pick the Lakers over the Suns or the Warriors in the series that started today, So I just think they're in a better position. That's not to say that I think all three teams are gonna make the playoffs, and I think the Warriors will find something to do. I just think they have a little bit more of a long shot, So I have

them third in that group right now. Last question, what do you think of the recent trend of NFL guys saying the world revolves around the US and using American ratings to prove the NFL as lapping the NBA in popularity. As someone who's not American, it really bugs me because everyone outside the US knows that the NBA is far and away the most popular American league in the world. So, first of all, it's not necessarily a fair comparison, just because the NBA is a global game in a way

that football is not. But I do agree with your premise, Like every time NFL ratings get brought up next to the NBA, I'm just like, who cares? They're fundamentally different products, Like, yeah, every regular season game gets more views a lot more views. But like the NBA is an inventory product. They have

eighty two regular season games. So even if they only get two million views per game on an ESPN game or whatever, like or whatever it is that they get, Like, there's just the you know, the Lakers on ESPN thirty five times or whatever forty times in a season. Right, So like like again, they're just so fundamentally different as products, you know what I mean? And even above and beyond that,

they're just irrelevant. Like, the NBA is growing in popularity, So if the NFL is growing faster or is already bigger, who cares? They're over there. They're a different thing. The NBA is doing great, they have room for improvement. But the NBA is doing great, that doesn't It's not like the NFL is like pushing the NBA down. That's not what's happening. Right. It's like politics, right, Like these cable news stations, they're gonna crush everybody, especially this year with

the with the presidential election, right, Like, who cares? Like they're a different thing. They're completely different thing. They don't actually affect the health of the NBA at all. To me, the global potential of the NBA is what makes it so healthy. I think if we fast forward fifty years, you could probably have franchises in other countries. I think the league in general is just going to be incredibly healthy.

I wouldn't even be surprised if we had NBA sponsored leagues around the world, kind of similar to NBA Africa. I think the NBA and basketball in general is just in a really good place, and I don't understand how the NFL applies to that at all whatsoever. All Right, guys, that is all I have for today. As always, as sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show. I will be back on Wednesday when I get back from Denver. I appreciate you guys, and I'll see you then. The volume