Hoops Tonight - Why Bronny James is BETTER than you think, will he help LeBron & Lakers?

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at the volume heavy Friday. Everybody, hope all if you guys are having a great end to your week, well as promise, we're gonna get deeper into the NBA Draft today and we're just gonna do it mailbag style. I had planned on doing a mailbag at the end of this week anyway, and so many of you guys had so much, so many questions related to the draft and some of the trades that took place around the draft, that I figured we'll just use that as the format

for today's show. So the main guys from the draft that we're gonna be hitting today obviously Bronny Broughny to the Lakers' biggest story in the league today, so we're gonna be hitting that. Baylor Shireman to Boston, this was a pick at the tail end of the first round that we didn't have a chance to hit yesterday. Ryan Dunn to the Phoenix Suns is another pick we're gonna be taking a look at. And then day Ron Holmes to the Denver Nuggets in their pursuit of finding a

backup center for Nicole Joki. So those are the main draft prospects we're gonna hit today. But we're also gonna bounce around the league with a bunch of your guys's mail bag questions. So tons and tons of stuff to get into. You guys know the drive before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't miss

any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore json LTS, you guys don't miss you announcements, don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcast under Hoops Tonight, and then keep dropping mail bag questions in the YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the rest of the summer. And I sincerely appreciate you all of you guys for participating in the We had tons of questions to choose from. Obviously can't get to all of them, but we're gonna get to a

bunch of them today. All Right, let's talk some basketball. So we're gonna start with Bronnie our first mail bag question. Hey, Jason, I appreciate the way you break down the game. Do you think Bronni can meaningfully contribute to the Lakers this season? Forget the fact that he is Lebron's son. Isn't Bronnie the type of archetype that the Lakers are looking for. He's an athletic guard who can defend on the perimeter and has the potential to be a really good spot

up shooter and close out attacker. So rather than diving right into his fit with the Lakers, I want to kind of hit the story as a whole first, and then we will get into that question, because that is true, his archetype is exactly what the Lakers need. But the question is whether or not Bronni is actually that type of player at an NBA level at this point, which is what we're gonna get into. So first of all, the story is going to be centered around nepotism, right.

That's the main kind of point of contention in the media space today and among all basketball fans today. And I think it's unfair that it's even a topic, to be honest with you, because this is just a thing that is rampant around the league. As Adrian Woljnowski pointed out yesterday on ESPN, he said, quote people talking about nepotism. The NBA is full of nepotism, the ownership level, the

front offices, coaching. I don't want to hear about it all of a sudden because Brownie James's father plays for the Lakers. It is rampant in this league. And this is something that I've personally learned just in my time covering the league. There are many people that I talk to around the league where I hear about this front office has this guy that's in this major role, This coaching staff has this guy that's in this major role.

We've all made fun of or had moments where we've gotten some humor out of watching fanasas Antennakoumpo playing for the Milwaukee Bucks. It is rampant. So if you're like suddenly upset about it now, then it clearly has something to do with the way you feel about Lebron, which is a whole other topic, right that I don't have any interest in getting into. So the nepotism thing just

it just doesn't matter to me. And then also just to be honest, and this is something that this is something that I try to generally do when I'm confronting these types of situations, I try to just put myself

in that type of person's shoes. So like, for instance, if I had a child, and I had the capability to present my child with an opportunity that would give them a better chance of success, even if it wasn't necessarily the most fair thing in the world, would I say no, Would I not give my kid that opportunity out of some vain pursuit of fairness, or would I

try to take care of my kid? And I don't have children yet, but like I have a feeling that if I have that capability, if I have the ability to give my child opportunities, I'm going to try to write and I certainly, certainly am not going to be critical of a parent for trying to give their children opportunities.

you can to help your kid. And that's exactly what lebron James did. Right. So, now that we can move back past the basic fact that, yes, Brownie James benefited from nepotism. Yes, it's rampant throughout the league, and no, none of us could actually say we wouldn't do the same if we were in that position. Now, let's talk about the basketball side of it. Bronnie is a lot better than his numbers at USC would lead you to belief. Right,

he was shortly removed from heart surgery. Anytime you go an extended amount of time not playing basketball and then try to get back into playing basketball, there is a ramp up phase. Any of you guys who have dealt with an injury have felt this before. I personally, I broke my foot in my in between my first and second season playing in college, and I had to take a couple of months off. I came back in the first half of the season in non conference play, I

literally was so bad. My coach removed me from the starting lineup and had like sit down meetings with me about what was going on with my production. And I was one of two full ride scholarships on that particular team, so I just wasn't living up to what the investment was from the coaching staff, and it was totally fair criticism. And then in the second half of the season, I

played well enough to be an All conference selection. So like, I was two completely different players, because when I came back from that foot injury, I was just so distant from the game even though I was there, even though I was like back healthy, it took me forever just to like get back up to basketball speed to even

look like myself. I was two completely different players. Several months apart just because of that turnaround, and this what Bronni went through beyond forget about just being disconnected from the game, talk about the trauma and everything that comes from that horrific situation that happened to him, But most importantly, he was away from the game for a while, and so stepping into Division one PAC twelve basketball from being

disconnected from the game like that is a challenge. So I do believe that Bronni is a much better player than what his numbers would have led you to believe at USC. That said, I also don't think he's ready to play in the NBA yet, right, And that's the

important kind of like sub context to the question. Right, Yes, his archetype is exactly what the Lakers need, a super athletic guard who can defend at the point of attack and knock down threes and attack closeouts and all that sort of stuff, Right, But he's too far away from being able to do that at the level. He needs to be a rotation player on a good NBA team,

and that's what the Lakers are. Yes, they are a team that's perennially been in the play in but the last year they made it to the two years ago they made it to the conference finals. Last year they have forty six to forty sive wins, but they were every bit as good as the teams in the middle of the pack in the West. That more has to do with just how deep the West is with talent.

The Lakers are a good NBA team, and Bronnie is not ready to be a rotation player on a good NBA team, right, So the truth of the matter is this is a developmental opportunity for Bronnie. This is just an opportunity for him to learn how to play potentially NBA basketball and to see if he's capable of it. Right.

I'm not sure if he's gonna get a roster spot or if he's gonna get a two way spot, but chances are the majority of his on court reps over the next few years will either be in g league games or in garbage time of NBA games, Like if the Lakers actually need a young guy to play point of attack defense and play off the ball offensively this year, in meaningful minutes, it's gonna be Max Christie. It's not gonna be Bronnie James. So this is he's not just

gonna get jammed into meaningful NBA basketball. If he does, Bronnie ends up playing meaningful minutes this year and he doesn't deserve it in the rotation, then we will have a different conversation and I will come on the show and talk about how this is now becoming a problem because the nepotism is extending into affecting the Lakers' ability to win basketball games. But that is not where I expect this to go. I think he'll be in the G league, and I think he'll play in garbage time

in the NBA. And if he does play meaningful minutes, it will mean that we all were way off in our evaluation of Bronnie and he's better at this point than we expect it. I don't expect that to be the case, but if we do see Bronnie play meaningful minutes, it will be because he got better at basketball. But the truth is he's gonna have to learn on the fly, and he's gonna have a few years to do it.

And if he can convert his considerable athletic gifts into a functional NBA role player, then he'll stay in the league. And if he can't, and three years go by and it's clear that he's still really far away. Then he'll go play overseas or stay in the G League for a while, or he'll retire and do something different. He's

gonna get his opportunity, right, And that's the thing. That's what I mean when I say it's a developmental opportunity, Like his opportunity has been gift wrapped for him, but he's not gonna get real NBA minutes unless he earns it. So I don't have any problem with it at all whatsoever. Obviously it's cool that Lebron gets to play with his kid. You'd be lying if you didn't say you were gonna watch and see what happens. Like he's the first Summer

League game. It is gonna be him in Dalton connect playing against Houston and Reed Shepard and like we're all gonna be watching, right and so like it's interesting. I don't have any problem with it. If you have a problem with it, then you've conveniently looked the other way with every other example of nepotism in the NBA over the last forever. So it is what it is. It's a developmental opportunity for Brownie. We're gonna find out if he's an NBA player over the next few years within

the Lakers organization. Next question, wish you discussed the Celtics selection of Baylor Shireman. Baylor seems to be one of the more pro ready guys in the draft and fits the current mold of what teams are looking for. Thought that was a great pick. Well, you're right, we didn't get a chance to hit him yesterday, so why don't we hit him today. So here's my little quick scout on Baylor shire Man. He's sixty six movement shooter, lefty out of Creighton. His jump shooting numbers from last year

really good. Thirty nine percent on jumpers overall, thirty nine percent on catch and shoot jumpers, twenty six percent when he was guarded in forty nine percent when he was unguarded. That wasn't surprising to me on tape because he's a little bit of a ground bound shooter, a little bit of a set shooter with a low release point, so that means he needs more separation to get clean looks. He was thirty nine percent on pull up jump shots, hit a lot of pull up threes as well, so

he was up over a point per shot. Attempt He was actually pretty successful on the ball at Creighton. He shot fifty nine percent field goals fifty nine percent as the shooter in ball screens overall, in ball screens including passes, he was ninety eight percent tile in efficiency one point three to three points per possession including passes. Albeit lowvall.

He was only one hundred and forty reps all season long, so he was more of like a guy who's flying off the screens off ball, but he did have some on ball reps in ball screens. Not an ISO guy. He only ran sixteen ISOs all season, But as we know, within Boston's offense, he's not going to be used on the ball. What I think of him as within Boston, within the context of Boston's offense, is just a movement shooter, and he was a good movement shooter. Last year. He

shot forty two percent coming off of screens. That was fifty five percent in effective field goal percentage when you weigh it for threes. Movement shooting in particular is very

valuable within the context of Boston's offense. And the reason why is that's usually where you hide your weakest defender, right you hide your weakest defender typically on a movement shooter because they're not going to do as much stuff on the ball, and asking a guy just to chase and stay glued up to a shooter is probably the easiest defensive responsibility among all of the many different things

that you can do at the NBA level. Aside from guarding a complete non threat offensively, guarding a movement shooter is the next easiest responsibility, right. So, like, that's where you tuck your weakest defender, right, So if you're tucking your weakest defender on, let's say Baylor Sirenman and you're Jason Tatum, or're Jalen Brown, or you're Derek White, you're

trying to bring that weakest defender into the action. We saw this a lot in the finals when the the the Mavericks put when they put Luka Doncic onto Sam Houser right, and we saw lots of spamming Jalen Brown sam Houser two man game where Howser comes at the screen and Luca would end up switched on to Jalen

Brown and then Jalen Brown would get downhill. And one of the reasons why that works is Sam Houser is a movement shooter, and so if Luca throws a hedge, then Houser can slip out of it and shoot a three. In Dallas, because Luca was so slow footed, they didn't have him hedge very much. They would just switch, and so as a result, that ended up with Luca on Jalen Brown or on Jason Tatum so much he'd give up dribble penetration and then their defense would fall apart.

defender into the action. They'll have no choice but to either hedge or to switch. And if they hedge, you're gonna be able to get Baylor wide open, catch and shoot threes on the move. If they switch, then Jason Tatum or Jaylen Brown can attack inferior individual defenders. That is the thing. It's it's part of it's fastating because it's clear that Brad Stevens has this like very clear basketball philosophy, right, and this is something that I think

is important for a front office to have. You need to have like a year over year consistent philosophy. It tells me that you believe in something as a basketball mind. And it's clear that Brad Stevens wants everybody to be a threat. All eight rotation players for the Celtics last year were a threat. Baylor Shireman is going to be able to step onto an NBA floor immediately and take advantage of the attention that the Jays get, the attention that Derek White and Drew Holliday gets. He's going to

get clean looks. Really, it just comes down to what he can do on the defensive end of the floor. Can he follow the path of Peyton, Pritchard and Sam Houser as lesser athletes who learn how to do well enough defensively to be a functional player that can stay on the floor. And I'd actually argue Pritchard and Howser both did a good job last year on the defensive end of the floor. Howser got multiple stops against Luca,

Pritchard got multiple stops against Kyrie. Those guys did great, right, So the question is Cam Baylor shireman do that in a similar way to what Pritchard and Houser did. But I like it. It was just a It's a for a late first round pick to get a guy that can play rotation minutes in the NBA regular season and just kind of be another functional piece of that Boston five out attack. I really like the move.

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I was watching film of him this morning, multiple plays one against Georgia Tech that I saw in one against Duke where he blitzed a ball screen out like thirty thirty five feet from the basket and then recovered. As the blitz came, the guard made the over the top pass to the short roll man. The short rollman came down the lane and engaged the low man and dropped

it off to a cutter along the baseline. And on both plays, Ryan Dunn literally came from the blitz thirty thirty five feet away from the basket and recovered to the rim to block the guy cutting along the baseline. Imagine that like blitz, quick pass, over the top drop off for a cutter, and he was throwing the blitz and blocking the cutter at the rim multiple times in my film session this morning. That is ground coverage. That

is the ability to be multiple places at once. He has the ability to throw an aggressive coverage to force a ball handler to get rid of the basketball and be the same guy who cleans up the mess that coverage produces on the back end. That is unbelievable defensive potential. He had crazy closeouts. There's just play against wake Forest

where he got kind of caught. It was a cleared corner on the right side and the shooter was kind of relocating along the along the right wing and he got caught a little bit high and the swing pass was made and the offensive player caught it in the corner and done was way up on the high side, so there was an easy rip through move available. The way forest player rips to the baseline and Ryan Dunn closes out, chases him off the line, somehow manages to

funnel and push him behind the backboard. The player tries to bully him back underneath the rim, Dune just swallows it up and swats him out of there, like just unbelievable ground coverage. He's a quick two foot jumper. He's got great instincts to kind of snuff out plays. It was just a lot of fun watching Ryan dun tape this morning. But at this point he's a legitimately bad offensive player. He was five for twenty seven on unguarded jump shots last year. That's an issue. He was fifty

eight percent on layups. That's an issue for a player as big as he is. He can't put the.

a similar experience further along with Jared Vanderbilt. Right, like Jared Vanderbilt when he's actually like healthy, is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, who's also an excellent defensive rebounder, who also is an excellent help side defender. He's this like Swiss army knife, do everything type of athlete that can do so much, but it's just really

difficult to find a functional role for him. Two years ago when they made the Western Conference Finals run, he was such a bad corner three point shooter and he kept getting those wide open corner threes that it became an issue and the Lakers had to bench him. But that was in a four out offense where he was

consistently spotting up beyond the three point line. Suddenly, in the springtime this year, before Vanderbilt got hurt, the Lakers actually managed to build a functional role for him as a dribble, handoff and roll guy, kind of like as

a cutter. He was operating a lot more in movement in the floor rather than standing still in the corner, and he had a bunch of double figure scoring games and became like legitimately a functional part of the Laker offense, and that was when they were playing some of their best basketball in that time period, Right, So, like, that's what you've got to do with Ryan Dunn. You've just got to find a way to make him useful offensively.

If you do, then he becomes this profoundly impactful player because of what he can do on the defensive end of the floor. But I just have a hard time believing that within the short term they're gonna be able to get enough out of him offensively for him to be a guy who's like a significant rotation player for them.

But we will see, and Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley be able to do bring in a lot of attention, and so if there's anything in there for him in terms of functional offensive ability, this is a situation where he should be able to show that, But we will see. I kind of view him as more of a long term prospect for Phoenix. I'm gonna leave you, guys before we go to the next question with this quote from

Sam Vassini. As you guys know, he's the guy that I trust the most when it comes to the draft. He said, quote, I cannot overemphasize Dunn's defensive level. He is in the top tier among all wings I've evaluated over the last decade and is on an All defense candidate long term and is an all defense candidate long term if his offense allows him to stay on the court. I thought he was one of the two most disruptive defenders in college basketball this season. That's quote from Sam Vassini.

By the way, guys, he's he's literally the best. Is A draft guide that he has on the athletic is unbelievably comprehensive as information on family background, tons of information on strengths and weaknesses, extensive statistical history. It's just you guys got to check it out. He also will bring those guys on his show and go over tape on his YouTube channel. Like I can't say enough about the quality of Sam's content. You guys got to get over there and check him out. Next question, this was an

interesting one. Which is the better foundation for a modern NBA roster a star guard center combo like Chet and Shake Kild justs Alexander or two star wings like Jalen and Jason for starters. I don't want this to become a debate about specific players. Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum at this point in their careers are a better duo than shake Yieldess Alexander and chet Holmgren. They're older, they're

more experienced. They're just better basketball players right now. So I'm not trying to make it an argument between those two pairs.

build of the players. Is the guard a good point of attack defender with size who can switch on to wings. Is the center a legit rim protector, but one that can also switch onto guards and slide his feet and guard in space. If so, I want the guard in the big and the reason why is they are more versatile. A guard center duo can attack and defend in multiple ways. On offense, they can run pick and roll, they can run pick and pop, but they can also match up

Hunt with size and quickness. Right Like Chet in the long run will be able to beat switches by just shooting over the top and using his size. Shay gets a big on a switch, he's gonna be able to drive off of him or score with his like kind of step back mid range game. Right. So like a guard center combo can attack in traditional pick and roll, traditional pick and pop, and in switch situations attack matchups right.

On defense, you can run a deep drop coverage right, you can keep Chet holmgun buy the rim and a drop right. You can play aggressive comfort coverages with him using his length, and you can switch. You can have Chet guard a guard on the Perimeter's got the length and quickness to kind of handle that sort of thing, right, Like, if you've got a guard that is also big enough to switch onto forwards, into guard in space, and to

guard in the post and things along those lines. That is the versatility element that comes from a guard center combo. If you have wings, they're just a little bit more focused in what they can do right right, Like they're always going to be a switching look on defense. Can't run a drop coverage with a forward. They're just not tall enough to bother lob passes, right, So like you're gonna be you're gonna be switching almost exclusively with that

type of kind of construction. And for the record, that's what the Celtics do a lot of switching. And then they run drop with chrisops porzingis right, who's their rim protector, kind of fitting the mold of this question right. And then on the on the offensive end of the floor, if you don't have a versatile offensive center, then scoring

and pick and roll is harder. Just asking just just just take a look at that Dallas Minnesota series, right, like you've got you've got Rudy Gobert setting screens and rolling into the lane. It's an issue, right, It's hard to score that way. And so basically, like if you have a four type of setup where you just have a couple of scoring forwards, they're primarily gonna be hunting matchups.

It's uniquely Chet's ability, or let's just say a star center's ability to function in multiple different ways offensively to be a dribble handoff Fulkrum, to be a pick and pop guy, to be a pick and roll guy, to be a guy who can be a vertical spacer in the dunker spot, like that dunk he had in Game six that put the put the Thunder up one before the final possession, just him sitting under the basket and just being a release valve for a quick little lob

pass for a dunk. Like There's just a lot of different ways that those guys can look to attack on offense and on defense. You can run drop, you can run aggressive coverages, you can switch, and so again, like the guard center duo just has more versatility in the way that they can play on both ends of the floor. That said, it has to do with the physical build, because if the guard center duo involves some limitations, then it doesn't function as well. Right. Let's take Trey Young

and Anthony Davis for instance. This is a trade that has been proposed a lot over the course of the last few months involving the Lakers and the Hawks. It's a trade I do not want to see. The main reason why is that's a small guard who cannot defend in multiple different ways in a big and Anthony Davis that can't shoot. So now most of those advantages that I just discussed don't exist. Your optionality on defense is

not there. You pretty much have to either hide Tray somewhere or ask him to chase over the top of screens. You can't get away with a ton of switching with Trey Young on the floor, right, So like your optionality goes away. So it's a complicated question. If I had to pick between a big guard who is versaal and can defend multiple ways and a seven foot rim protector that has guard skills, then I want that over two wings.

But if it's a tiny guard and just a rim protector that doesn't have a ton of versatility, then obviously I'd take the forwards. And that's why these kinds of conversations are always difficult, because it really has to do with just how good are you at basketball overall? Because you know, that sort of thing kind of complicates this questions, these questions. But foundationally, give me a versaal guard and a versaonal center just because I have more different, more

coverage options on both ends of the four. Next question, why didn't the Thunder trade for KD They have the picks. I think the fit on defense would be awesome, as he can give them the length and maybe the rebounding that they need. And offensively he fits everywhere also would be a great story. And if he helps okay so you get a title, he can kind of redeem his whole career. It's just about the timelines. Kd's going to be thirty six by the start of training camp, and

like you're looking for sustainable success. If you're Oklahoma City, like you trade for KD, You're the title favorite next year, no doubt, But any sort of injury disrupts that. Now Kd's thirty seven the following season, Like you're Sam Presty and those guys are going to be looking for sustainable success. It's like the it's kind of like what we've heard out of Denver. It's like they're more interested in winning three titles in five years than one title next year.

Does that make sense? And so I think as much as Katie is a perfect fit, they got to look for somebody that matches their timeline better. Also, the Suns would want win now pieces, not picks. Okoloma City has more to offer in the way of picks. It just isn't a really good trade partnership in that regard. Next question, what about Denver getting to Dyron Holmes. Well, this is going to be our third draft evaluation here in the show,

or fourth, I should say. It's just clear that Denver is trying to find a long term option at backup center. Daron Olmes is considered undersized for an NBA center. He's only six foot eight and three quarters without shoes, but he does have a longer wingspan and a higher standing reach than Zeke Naji, so he's a bigger frame than what they had at backup center last year. Obviously, I

don't think DeAndre Jordan is an option either. Obviously I covered him with the Lakers, and yeah, his moments with Denver, but all of you guys who are fans know exactly what DeAndre Jordan is. He's a locker room guy, right. But what I like about de Ron Holmes is he's a prototypical five out big, especially on the offensive end of the fourdy He's one of the best role men in the country last year. He can roll hard and

finish lobs above the rim. He can short roll out of traps, and he can pass pretty well out of those situations and he kind of demonstrated a little bit of a pick and pop game last year for Dayton. He's a really quick decision maker and ball mover. This is one of my favorite things about a center who plays in a five out system. You've got to be able to quickly flow into the next action. And one of the things I like about de Ron Holmes is when he catches on the perimeter, he makes quick decisions.

If he doesn't see something that he likes as a shot attempt or as a role attempt, he's just going to quickly either make it out, let pass and go set the next screen, or flow into a dribble handoff. Like you'll watch these possessions where you'll see Darren Holmes set five ball screens and he's just like flowing into the next one, gets it, flows into the next one, rescreen rescreen, like the dude is just a super active set in five out that greases the wheels in the

sense that he just flows into the next action. And as we know, in five out, ball reversal is vitally important getting the defense to switch sides, and the only way you're gonna do that is if you have a big that can quickly flow into actions on both ends of the floor. I just think he's gonna be a really natural offensive fit with Jamal Murray, a really nice ball screen partner. And we think about those bench units

when Yo kich is off the floor. Especially in the playoffs, it's been mostly Aaron Gordon at center, and they're probably still gonna do that when they get into the postseason next year. But in the regular season last year, it

was a lot of Zeke Nagy, Right. This gives you kind of like more of a traditional center type of option to run with Jamal Murray in those situations, so that Jamal can kind of run a similar style of offense to what he runs with Nikola jokicch and the sense that there's gonna be flow, he's gonna be coming off of dribbil handoffs. He's gonna have an option to throw in the short role that can make quick decisions,

a guy who can hit picking pop threes. Again, Like the main issue with him as size, and that's what everyone's gonna be talking about as a negative, like will he be able to defend and rebound at the NBA level. But the Nuggets don't need him to become a starter.

They just need him to be able to play when Nikola Jokic is off the floor, right, So like that's an advantage Denver can give him an achievable role in the way that if you were drafting him as a foundational piece to be your starting center, then those concerns about defensive rebounding and size in general become an issue. But like I like this move for Denver. If you look at the center market, it just isn't great this summer in terms of free agency, So the draft was

just a great place to look for discounted options. Holmes was actually one of the guys that I had my eye on for the Lakers at seventeen because they also need a better option at backup center. So I really like this pick up for Denver as a discount just a functional five out big that can set screens and roll and pop and at least try on the defensive end of the floor to do an effective job in those bench units for Denver. Next question, what do you

think about the Washington Portland trade. I view it as a pretty weird move by the Wizards, especially after a big leap season from Avidya, which still has a lot of upside. I was surprised too. Denny was already tied up on an extension that has descending numbers, So like in the year twenty twenty eight, Denny Avdy is going to be making less than twelve million dollars, and I'm pretty sure that's after the new TV deal kicks in. So that's like, a, that's pretty crazy. I figured Dave

trade Kyle Kuzma. He has more trade value around the league. Excuse me, he has more trade value around the league, and he's on a more expensive deal, so you could get more back in terms of trade return. And maybe they still will trade Kuzma, So we'll see in the long run. But I just looked at it as like an asset accumulation move, Like they clearly did not view

Avdia as a foundational piece, otherwise you would have kept him. Right, They got the fourteenth pick in this draft, which they used on bub Carrington, who's got a big kind of scoring guard. Right, they got a future first round draft pick out of it, and the Malcolm Brogden, who they might be able to flip for even more draft compensation this summer. Right, so like they're just trying to start their rebuild, Right, I should say, restart their rebuild right

like they took Alex Sar at number two. You're going all in on youth. If you have a guy in the rebuild that doesn't fit your timeline or doesn't fit the build that you're going for, you got to move in for compensation. That's what they did with Avdya as far as Portland goes. From what I understand, it was just a move about saving money because apparently they're in the luxury tax Yeah, you heard that right. The Blazers

are a luxury tax team right now. Before the deal, they had four players on the books for next season, combining to make one hundred and twelve million dollars in trading. Malcolm Brogden helps them relieve some of that. Next question, what makes you think JJ's going to run five? That isn't Darvin's team anymore. JJ Redick's offensive pilosophy is five out.

It's also the setup that most benefits this roster. The stretch that they had in the second half of the season was the best offensive basketball the Lakers have played in the Lebron era. It's just what makes the most sense given their personnel. I think JJ's gonna add complications and make it even better. I think he's gonna help them get it to the next level. And then the Lakers do not have a movement shooter, and so bringing Dalton Connect into that situation is a huge value in

five out. When you have these bigs running these dribble handoffs and ball screens, having a guy that can fly off of that and if you're not attached, can shoot. That forces the screen defender to actually show on Dalton Connect as he's coming off of those actions. That's what opens up roles and slips for Anthony Davis and Lebron James. That's a dynamic in the offense that wasn't there last year. So JJ is a five out coach, it's the perfect fit for this roster. And with him just kind of

adding complications. In the addition of Dalton Connect, I just expect a better version of the Laker off heading into next year. Why do you talk about Julius Randall as if he's just some sort of ancillary piece and not a two time All NBA player that is a key cog on this team. I have a ton of respect for Julius Randall. I think he is a player that's a little bit underrated in terms of what his ceiling is, as we've seen him make all NBA teams before. It has a couple It has to do with a couple

of things. One, injury history has just been consistently unavailable and as a result unavailable and or playing injured, which has led to poor results. That's been part of it. And then two it's I don't think it's the right type of fit with this offense. The Knicks, I think are going to be a pretty active five out team next year with a lot of ball in player movement.

Julius Randall is a ball stopper. In order to play in five out you have to be able to read and react and make quick decisions, and those are not strengths for Randalls. So it's not about whether or not Randall's good enough to be your second or third best player on a championship team. It has everything to do with whether or not he's the appropriate use of resources for this team, because he does make a lot of money.

Because you do need to get a player that can play alongside McHale, bridges In Jalen Brunson and Dante Devincenzo and og And andob and So here's the thing. You just look at the trade market. And by the way, I in my breakdown talked about what it would look like if Randall stays. Randal stays, I'd probably take Dante Devincenzo to the bench and play mckal bridges at the two. I'm a big believer in like play your best players, So like I'd play Brunson, Bridges og Randall. You know,

just just go all in your on your talent. If you do that, you have a small ball look for the Celtics where you can play Devincenzo at the two and play Bridges, An andob and Randall at the three four five. Like there's a version of this that works with Randall. My thing is I would just I would pruise the market. I'd pruise the market, and I would just look to see what you can get for Randall, because if you can get quality pieces or assets back that fit the actual motion of the team better, then

that makes sense to me. Or like, like, let's say, for instance, from a money standpoint, what if you have the ability to withstand a lot long term deal for Isaiah Hartenstein by virtue of getting rid of Randall. I'd rather have Hartenstein at the five alongside Anonobe, Bridges, Devincenzo, and Brunson than have Randall on the team, but lose Isaiah Hartenstein a free agency right. So like they just got to figure out what makes the most sense in

terms of what Randall's value is this summer. But at the end of the day, I just view him as a little bit of a clunky fit, even if I do respect him as a player, and so I would at least be exploring options to make better use of his salary slot. Next question, my buddies were having an argument on whether or not Caruso should start over Dort. I'm of the belief that Dort would be better in their driving kick offense than Cruso, but Cruso on some nights might be on the floor and closing lineups over

Dort because of his knack to make winning plays. Also, my buddy feels like Chet is best with this group at the five, but I feel like they should look at him at the four. What are your thoughts couple things. Let's start with Chet as far as whether or not he plays the four or the five. It all just depends on what kind of player. Like if you're getting

Isaiah Hartenstein at the center. I like that alongside Chet at the four because Isaiah Hartenstein is just a complete just just a pain in the ass on the glass right, which would address a specific need for Oklahoma City. He's a great five out, big, great dribble handoff folkram who can score on the roll and is a great offensive rebounder, also a great passer out of those situations. Love the fit there. Chet is a shoe in obvious fit at

the four. If that's the case, I like Chet at the five if you can get him a big power forward, Like if you got a Jeremy Grant at that position. I like Jeremy Grant Chet home grind four to five. It all just depends on the type of player you can get. I don't want Chet at the four next to a bad center, and I don't want Shed at the five next to a bad power forward. It just depends on what kind of player that you can get. As far as Cruso and Dort, they're two very different

types of players. Dort is like a more confident shooter and a guy that has a little bit more offensive upside, but Cruso is a higher floor offensive player. He is a better decision maker. He's not going to hijack as many possessions, really active off ball as a screener and a cutter watching him play on offense alongside Lebron James as a as a result of that kind of thing, I think defensively, he's a different type of player. I think Cruso is probably a better defensive player in terms

of the overall number of guys he can guard. But Dort, I think is better for the bigger forwards, which is especially valuable in the later rounds of the playoffs when you run into your Lucas and your Tatum's and your Lebron's and your Kds and your Kawhi Leonards and just those all these huge forwards that we have in the league. So, like Dort, in all in all likelihood, it's it's just it's just optionality, right, Like there will be games where

you close with jub Shay, Dort, Crusoe and Chet. There will be games where you close with Cruso in for Dort and with another big on the floor. There will be games where Cruso doesn't close, right, So like it's all about optional. Optionality is a good thing. You have the ability to tweak your approach based on your opponent, And so again you can't have enough. You can't have too many good basketball players, right and Cruso is just

another really good basketball player. And again you turn the players didn't fit in your team and giddy into a player and cruise so that you're gonna be able to play one way or another. It is just a question of how often. Next question, with the Knicks acquiring McHale Bridges, do you now have them as the second best team in the East. If so, who would you have as your top four teams in these absolutely would have the

Knicks at number two right now. I think Milwaukee and Philly will end up being the three and four, and both of those teams are capable of passing the Knicks for me at number two. But it's just so much as up in the air with them. I have no idea what Philly's roster is going to look like next year, and I have no idea what Milwaukee's roster is going to look like next year. Philly damn near has a clean cap sheet, and Milwaukee is probably going to look

to make several trades this summer. So like, I just don't know what those teams are gonna look like I also think Orlando could crack into that mix this year, especially if they get some more off ball shooting. Like the East is gonna be tougher next year and certainly more deep with talent. But I think at this point, given what we know for sure, I think the Knicks are clearly the second best team in the league. Did

you watch the JJ Reddick press conference. I think he showed that he has the right mentality about taking the job and knows what he's getting into and still seemed very confident. His answers in Chrismo were very impressive. In my opinion, I think he'll be able to connect with the players. Well, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Everyone knew JJ was gonna n aile the press conference. I liked the JJ higher, but the press conference for me wasn't going to be a major swing factor in that regard.

Is just he's a professional. He's ammediate professional. Like it's just like he's good at being in front of camera and communicating his thoughts. And the thing that stood out to me like his attitude came through in a big way, which is like we see JJ Reddick as the media professional,

but we forget he was a basketball asshole. And that's a good thing in my opinion, right, Like, that's the competitiveness, right, Like that's the best kind of guy that you want, is the guy that, like, when it's go time is a motherfucker, and then when it's off the court is a nice guy. Right, And like that's the kind of like competitive energy that you're looking for.

of thing resonated with me better. But I had teammates that like needed more coddling, that needed more positive reinforcement, right, and so like it just it's that's the type of personality dynamic that JJ is gonna have to to figure out. And I actually think he's got the ability to do both. Like he can do the good cop bad cop thing,

and he can bring that competitive energy. I think, Like I think the attitude about when he got asked the question about when he got asked the question where he basically said, like, I don't give a when he was talking about what people think, Like, I think that energy will serve him well because this is a job that's gonna come with a lot of criticism, this is a job that's gonna come with a lot of negative energy online, and there's gonna be a certain amount of mental toughness

that he's gonna have to show. But did the press conference surprise me in anyway? No, JJ's a professional. But I just I loved it. We got to see a little bit of his nasty side because I think that's gonna be a significant part of what makes him a good coach. All Right, we have three non basketball things before we get out of here. Jason, I'm listening to basketball content. I don't want spoilers for an episode I haven't seen yet. That's not cool. I am sincerely sorry.

In our we did a mail bag, not a mail bag. I had a comment about the Acolyte the other day and I kind of spoiled what happens in the first couple of minutes of the show, and I should not have done that. That was a mistake. I am so sorry. Second one, comments about my nose. There were like twenty or thirty of you guys who asked what happened to my nose? I had that scratch on it. Those of

you who guessed basketball were correct. I was high pointing a rebound and a guard tried to like swipe up at the basketball as I was coming down with it and like just missed everything, and like it was weird, like just straight up came across the tip of my nose with his fingernail, so like I didn't bust my nose or anything, but I just had this like really clean cut, which was super bizarre, like immediately started bleeding and everything. I obviously was super annoyed, but it is

what it is. It's part of the game. I'm actually I was actually thinking about it. I am shocked that that hasn't happened to me more often since I started doing this, Cause, like I've been doing this on camera every day for two and a half years, and this is the first time I've had like a significant, like obvious face injury, right, And like it's not the first time it's happened to be playing basketball. I've got busted

in the nose a bunch of times. I've had cuts and scratches, And I remember when I was just before I started playing in college. I was playing pickup at the University of Arizona one time, and this guy tried to take a charge on me at half court. Like I made a move in the open floor, running full speed, and the dude's slid in front of me and fell down and I ran into his head, and I had like an inch long Harry Potter scar which I still have right here, that goes up my forehead literally split open.

He was bleeding. Ever, it was actually kind of funny because the kid who did it was a med student. So like suddenly as soon as I am like laying on the ground bleeding everywhere, the guy like started taking care of me as if he was a medical professional, and it was so funny because he was doing he was super nice and he was doing all the right things and he was just trying to take care of me. But at the same time, I'm like, you just took a charge on me in a pickup game at half court.

Now my forehead's busted. I was just I was so damn annoyed. But it's part of the game. Like I played basketball competitively four or five times a week, and so it's not the first time or it is. It's not the first time I've had a scratch on my face or some sort of laceration from basketball, and it probably won't be the last. And thankful that it hasn't happened too many times since I got started with the volume.

Last question, Hey, Jason, loved the show. Wanted to start watching Star Wars, but I don't know where to start. Do you have any ideas? And again, before I get into this, I wanted to remind you guys, I do have a podcast where I cover TV shows and movies. Right now, I'm covering House of the Dragon as well as The Acolyte. I do it with my buddy Luke, who's my best friend. We do it right here in this studio. Very different vibe than Hoops Tonight, but it's

another format that I use. This is the name of the show. It's called Two Sons as spelled exactly as it sounds. You can find it on YouTube as well as on your podcast feeds wherever you get your podcasts. We do pretty much like bi weekly content on that account. You guys can check that out there. But no secret, I'm a diehard Star Wars fan, and if you were starting from scratch with Star Wars, I'd start with the movies and I do them in order because I think

that would make the most sense. So I'd watch Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, then a New Hope, Empire strikes Back, Return of the Jedi. The sequel trilogy sucks, but you gotta watch it, just by virtue of just being aware of what happened after that. Clone Wars and Rebels are really really good. Those are two. There are two cartoons that are on Disney Plus. But don't let the cartoon thing fool you. They are like deep, deep,

deep Star Wars content. There's a little bit of like a childish element that you'll run into on occasional episodes, but the majority of it is really good. Rebels in particular was just an awesome, awesome show. All the Disney Plus content is good. Mandalorian Kenobi was good, Ahsoka the Acolyte, and then books if you're into the book side of it, Darth Baine books are really good. The Darth Plagis book is really good. The Throng books are some of my favorites.

They're getting into thrown in the Ahsoka TV series that would be a good one. And then if you had the High Republic, a series I'm struggling with right now because it's a little bit weird, but that is some stuff that helps set up the world for the Acolytes, so it might be worth checking out. But that's just like an initial kind of list if you're looking to

get into Star Wars. But again, those of you guys who are already fans, don't forget I had that other podcast for where we break that sort of thing down.