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Bring The Thunder EP.14 - Draft & Trade Talks! · Bring The Thunder Podcast

0:02
What's going on? OK, C fans, welcome back to
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another episode of the Bring the Thunder podcast.
0:09
We are back to our normal episodes now because our Thunder
0:13
won the Finals. So no more playoff discussions.
0:17
We got nothing else to discuss about that.
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You guys know how that went. So today we're going to get into
0:21
some draft stuff. You know, we're just now
0:23
finishing up with the second round and then we're going to
0:26
get into some of the trades that have been happening.
0:27
But yeah, let's go ahead and start with the draft on our end.
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We'll talk about both of our picks, our first rounder with
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Sorber and then our second rounder that we just made today.
0:37
So savvier. If you want, you can go ahead
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and lay out the the the picks and whatnot.
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Any details with that? Yeah, so Oklahoma City Thunder
0:46
selected Thomas Sorber at the number 15 pick in this draft.
0:50
I actually really loved the draft.
0:52
The more I looked at it. I think I've mentioned like 5
0:56
key things that I liked about him.
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He has length, strength, he's great passer, great on the
1:03
defensive end, great in the interior, just brings the energy
1:07
and chemistry we're also looking for.
1:09
Like he kind of gets it and it's pretty evident with kind of his
1:13
interviews and everything else. So those kind of five key points
1:16
that I was looking at kind of makes him the perfect player.
1:20
I think I mentioned in our previous video on the channel,
1:23
just only talking about Sorber was I gave him like an A minus
1:27
grade at 15. I think he was the best player
1:30
available. And also he's the second best
1:34
defensive like front court guy that we could have picked at #15
1:39
So I think Presti worked as magic, got the right guy.
1:43
He probably fell a little bit due to his injury because I've
1:46
looked at his highlights like before his college highlights,
1:51
and this kid was something else. Like he's not he, he brings a
1:55
lot of energy. So I'm excited about it.
1:58
Yeah, I mean, I I remember kind of waiting for this pic, not
2:01
really knowing where we were going to go.
2:03
There were definitely Sorber had been mentioned a lot and I was
2:05
seeing him get mocked to us a lot.
2:06
So I was thinking about it, but I was just excited to see who it
2:09
was going to be. And the second they said Sorber
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and they started showing some of those highlights as physicals
2:14
and whatnot. I mean, it does just feel like a
2:16
great, a great pick, a very Sam Presti pick.
2:19
He does everything Sam wants. And then you see him dropping
2:22
Dimes and hitting the hitting the back door cuts and passes
2:25
and whatnot. You're like, yeah, all right,
2:27
that makes sense. But the wingspan, 7 foot, 6
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wingspan is ridiculous. It's already 1 of the top in the
2:33
entire league. That is crazy.
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Listen, the the guy, he fits the need.
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He the the backup big. We can run if we're running our
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small ball and throwing him in at the five.
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I love that. I think that's great for him.
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If you look, he shot very poorly from three.
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It was like 16%. I believe.
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It's not a bad looking shot It it it doesn't look broken.
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It doesn't look awful. I, I don't, I'm not saying he's
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going to come out as a stretch big, but there's potential
3:02
there. He, he, he can, he can shoot
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from the mid range. There's some potential with the
3:06
shot. I'd like to see him work on
3:07
that. But outside of that, like, like
3:09
Savier said, the, the, the chemistry side of it, he, he
3:13
almost felt like a Thunder fan. I mean, he knew we, we were
3:16
talking to him obviously with Preston what not, but he had
3:19
been retweeting Thunder related content.
3:21
He'd been going to playoff games.
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He went to our game two against Minnesota.
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He talked about OKC being the loudest home crowd in the NBAI
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mean. And then of course, you see the
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the Tik Toks and all that fun stuff and it's just an exciting
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pick and. He also visited OKC before the
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draft. Which is just awesome to hear I
3:41
mean that's always good to know that Presti's it's not like
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Presti went out on a whim and just chose him at the last
3:45
second like this was intentional.
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But another last thing I want to mention was it's always good to
3:50
see the player you pick cry when he gets picked because it, it,
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it means something to him. And nowadays there's not a lot
3:56
of players that get as emotional as they probably should be.
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So he was very emotional. It was cool to hear a story.
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He's got a super nice story. So I'm hyped for it.
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I it's, I'm not saying it's like the greatest pick in the history
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of NBA and he's going to be an All Star, but it, it's a good
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pick. Presti does job and I'm happy
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with it. Yeah, I like to pick, like you
4:16
said, the story like his character, which is kind of what
4:20
OK CS built on. And then you go to the talent
4:25
savior mentioned it, length, size.
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He's 610. He can roll to the rim pretty
4:32
well. He's a work in progress.
4:35
He's a he was a freshman, right? So I think he could step in and
4:40
and play minutes right away. I know he had the foot injury in
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February. So we'll see if we get to see
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him in summer league or not. I don't know if that's even come
4:48
out yet, but capable passer. And yeah, if he works on that
4:54
three, it looks like he is a decent form.
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And we have guys who come into OK, so you can't shoot a a lick
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and now we have Lou Dort shooting.
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Damn, you have 50% from from three in the finals, right?
5:05
So gives you hope. Lot of potential out of upside.
5:08
And I hate to say it, but if there is a a world where we have
5:12
to move Hartenstein, not this year, obviously, but next or the
5:15
year after, this kid hopefully could slide right into that
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role. He he looks like he's got a lot
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of potential. I'm going to give it, you know,
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not that we're grading it here, but I get like AB he's good.
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I mean, he's a soft player. I think he could step in.
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I just don't know what this the ceiling is.
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I know the floor is going to be solid.
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So we'll see. Yeah, for sure.
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I I really hope he does despite the injury.
5:38
I I really hope he does come around for some believe because
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I I just want to see you just immediately want to see him.
5:44
You know when you see a player, your team gets and we and.
5:49
We missed out on our first round of last year.
5:52
So I would love to see those two get get some action together.
5:55
So hopefully that injury doesn't affect him too bad, but.
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He's going to be a great lob threat with Topich on the pick
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and roll, they're going to be wreaking some havoc.
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One thing I wanted to mention as well that you'll notice from his
6:05
highlights, he's a great face up player when it comes to mid
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range shots. So that kind of gives me a lot
6:09
more hope than just looking at free throws.
6:11
Like that's usually an indicator.
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But if someone can hit or mid range pretty consistently like
6:16
you've seen, I'm not going to compare them obviously.
6:19
But Shay went from like a mid range shooter to developing his
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three-point shot. So when I see him facing up and
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being very comfortable taking face up guarded, you know, mid
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range shots, you know, I think that bodes well for him
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considering his form is good. So I'm actually pretty excited
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to see, but also speaking about his ceiling, his ceiling is he
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can be an impact player this year.
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He's a young guy. He's going to be 20 going into
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this season. Like he's 19 now, but he'll be
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20 later on into the season. And I feel like he's a guy like
6:53
he's going to come on quickly in the first couple months and then
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start earning minutes similar to Kayson Wallace.
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Like we saw Kayson Wallace come in and he got more and more
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minutes as the season went on. I think the same case is going
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to be this guy, Like it's going to be hard to keep him off the
7:07
floor just because of his size. Like we don't have that many
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other guys that are coming in with the size and strength of
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him. So it's like it's so easy when
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you have so much spacing on the floor where even if he's the
7:21
foreman instead of Hartenstein, like we don't really need him to
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shoot. Like he'll get so many easy open
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buckets, especially at the dunker position.
7:30
He's going to be living there. And this is kind of exactly what
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I was looking for, for Presti to draft for so long.
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Like last person I could think of that we had similar to this
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is like Serge Ibaka. So I'm I'm, I'm really pumped up
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for this. We haven't had a guy like this.
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I honestly think he's a he's kind of like kind of very
7:50
similar to Isaiah Hartenstein, maybe a little bit better of
7:54
shot blocker, a little less of a offensive engine, but very
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similar players. And it's if it's a need.
8:02
If it's a need, yeah. I just want to stress the
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defense. I mean, the dude was known for
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his defense, two blocks and about two steals, and in college
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stepping into the best defense in the NBA or last year's best
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defense in the NBA, it should be a pretty good fit.
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The way the way I I wanted to say this real quick, he can be
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an offensive engine in my opinion because of the way he
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handles the ball and he play makes.
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We needed another additional playmakers and we got two of
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them in this draft. We'll obviously move over to the
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other person here real quick, but his play making ability is
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really underrated. Like from a young age, there's a
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bunch of highlights of him. He's been a shot maker, like off
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of the dribble, but his play making is right up there as
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well. Like it's actually really
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impressive. So the Hartenstein comparison is
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right there, but I think he can be a step above that 'cause he's
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a little bit more mobile. He can go out and guard twos and
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ones even. That's a special talent to have
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at 6:10. I feel like Hartenstein can do
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it, but maybe not for long stretches or anything.
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That's why he kind of got, you know, less and less minutes as
9:09
the playoffs went on. That won't happen with this kid.
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I think the other thing that he needs to focus on is his motor.
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You know, you can bring in energy for spurts, but I want to
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see him do it, you know, for a full season.
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I think that'll be something new for him.
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So hopefully he keeps that up too.
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Yeah, there was one more thing I want to mention about him.
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Something about it's not just the concept of something, but
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being drafted by the team that just won the finals, but more
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specifically by Sam Presti. That's a that's a big confidence
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booster. That's a big that's a big thing
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for the for the the motivation for him as well.
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I mean, Presti is not known as a guy who's just going to draft
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you because he got tired of looking at players and just
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chose a guy like he saw something in Sorber.
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Clearly he saw a long time ago because he had meetings with him
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pre pre draft workouts and what not and he went with Sorber.
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So I, I'd like to think that Sorber, you talk about that like
10:00
motor and whatnot, that's a huge, that's a huge confidence
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booster. I mean, Sam Presti has faith in
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you to go out and, and choose you at pick 15 that that's a big
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thing. So I, I hope that, I hope he
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really understands like, and that's not a pressure thing.
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It's not to say like if you mess up, Presti was wrong about you.
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Like that's not what it is. It's a Sam Presti, the GM who
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just built this team that won the finals for the drafting has
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chosen you like that is a very, very impactful thing.
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So I'm expecting great things from him for sure.
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I'm excited. Yeah, let's move over to the
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Thunder selecting Brooks Barnheiser with the 44th pick in
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the 2025 draft. He's a defensive minded 66 wing
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out of Northwestern. He averaged 17 points, 41%
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shooting overall, 88 or 8.8 rebounds, 1 1/2 offensive
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rebounds. So that bodes well for his
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rebounding. 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.3 or 1.1 blocks.
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So in a total he's averaging 3.4 stocks last season with that
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team. So he's definitely a Sam Presti
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type of guy. Hard working guy.
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We can see that from his highlights from his interviews.
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I think he's going to be a perfect fit in Oklahoma where if
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you're given like a two way contract that he can work
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himself, you know, into the lineup or you know, you know, at
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least have an opportunity to do so.
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So what? What are y'all thoughts on him?
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I mean, in the nicest way possible, I I feel like he's
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more of a, let's see how the summer league goes kind of guy.
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He's a, we might as we have the pick, we might as well draft
11:45
him, let him play in the summer league.
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Presti has to like him to an extent, obviously.
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So it's AI like the guy, let's have him, let's see what he does
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in the summer league. And if he earns a spot in the
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summer league, he'll stick around.
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If he doesn't, if he isn't showing signs and what not, I, I
12:02
see a world where he essentially doesn't end up sticking with the
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team. And I, I hope that's not the
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case because I do like him. I, I like what he offers.
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I, I, I don't think he's some terrible player.
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I don't think it's like a awful pick or anything.
12:15
It, it's a late second round pick or a mid second round pick
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like that's, that's just kind of what the second round offers.
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So on one hand, like I, yeah, I'm OK with giving anybody that
12:26
Presti thinks has opportunity a chance.
12:28
Like if Presti sees something, I I'll trust him.
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Like I'm OK with watching in the Summer League.
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Do I think he'll turn out to be super good?
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I'm going to say no, but that that's nothing against him as a
12:40
player. It's just our team is too good
12:42
for a player of this caliber. So right now I'm excited to see
12:46
what he does in the Summer League.
12:48
I will be surprised if he's with us in the regular season.
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Yeah, I I completely agree. I actually like the player, just
12:55
don't see the fit. It's another guy who's going to
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play hard as hell and tall wing but has shooting woes.
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Another guy with a foot injury, by the way, coming off a foot
13:09
injury. So yeah, I I agree with Gabe.
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I think this kid had a lot of potential to be a solid player
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for a team, but I just don't know if it's going to be OK.
13:16
C We'll definitely see in the summer league.
13:21
That's really all I have. It's it's a mid to late round,
13:23
second, second round pick. So you don't put much into it.
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Not everyone's going to be Jokic or Aaron Wiggins or, you know,
13:30
Draymond, Draymond Green, right, and Drayon Brunson.
13:33
So yeah, it's a it's a in complete grade and we'll just
13:36
we'll just see what happens. But I mean, the kid himself, I
13:38
mean, seems like a hard, hard worker, good ball player.
13:42
So we'll see. I mean, we'll see.
13:45
Yeah, I I truly hope he don't. I mean, obviously I'm not going
13:48
to sit here and act like I don't want him to be good.
13:51
Like he's a likable guy. He he had promising flashes.
13:55
Like I truly hope he comes out in the summer league and and
13:58
really balls out and kind of proves me wrong here.
14:00
So hopefully you're right. Not everybody's Yokich and
14:03
Wiggins, but hopefully he is. I think something about Presti
14:07
taking this guy with as deep of a roster as we have, I think
14:11
this guy recognizes his uphill battle.
14:15
For him to have that conversation with Presti and say
14:17
like, take me anyways, I'm going to try to fight through this
14:21
shows a lot kind of just about his character.
14:24
So I think at least for a season or two, he can be a two way guy.
14:27
We can evaluate him. You know, at worst he's in the G
14:31
League, you know, or even at best he moves on to a different
14:35
team and he shows out for us. And we may not have space for
14:38
him, but I'm sure there's a bunch of other teams that
14:40
probably could. If he develops with us.
14:42
And we've seen guys like Alex Crusoe come in with us, the
14:45
Lakers pick him up. There's a lot of teams that need
14:48
guys right now that are on like first apron teams, second apron
14:51
teams. So I'm sure they'd love to take
14:54
a chance on this type of guy. So I think it's a great fit both
14:57
ways because anyone coming into OK C at least has a chance to
15:00
show out to the rest of the league.
15:01
And we've seen Charlotte and the Wizards always snatching up guys
15:06
that we have. So at least you know you're
15:09
guaranteed another shot in the NBA where is like if you end up
15:11
on the Nets as a two way player, you may not even get another
15:16
look at it. So I think from that
15:18
perspective, big ups to him for taking on the challenge.
15:22
Yeah, that's a great way to look at it for sure.
15:24
Yeah. It'll be interesting that that
15:26
I, I agree there's definitely a team that could afford to have a
15:29
player like this. So hopefully, maybe it's with
15:32
us, Hopefully it's, it's with somebody 'cause I like him so.
15:37
Awesome, we can transition over to trading our pick #24 to the
15:45
Sacramento Kings, who had selected Nick Clifford.
15:50
OKC reportedly received a 2027 first round pick that belong to
15:55
the Spurs that's top 16 protected.
15:58
It could become two 2027 second rounders if it doesn't convey.
16:03
So either way, it's like a win win scenario.
16:06
Like we kicked the can. We didn't have space for this
16:10
player. We kind of got the guy that we
16:12
wanted. Otherwise we would probably
16:13
would have moved up if we thought, you know, who's going
16:15
to get drafted any higher than where he was going to be at.
16:18
So I'm sure Presti at least made a couple calls and he was like,
16:22
OK, you know, it looks like we're probably going to get our
16:25
guy from how the drafts falling and we've seen him make moves in
16:30
the past. So what do you guys think about
16:32
this? It's just Presti being Presti.
16:35
I mean, you don't have an NBA draft without Sam Presti trading
16:39
for future picks, so it made sense.
16:42
Honestly, I probably would have been somehow a little bit upset
16:45
if he did end up making that pick because it just kind of
16:48
felt useless. I mean, and that's not to say
16:50
that our second today was useless, but it would have then
16:55
I would have been counting on him to trade the second.
16:56
So I'd rather him trade the more valuable of the two.
16:59
Get something out of it. It just, it makes sense.
17:02
It's exactly what you expected. So yeah, makes sense.
17:07
Yeah, you had to, you had to trade one of these.
17:09
I mean, do the roster space and why not trade the one that has
17:14
more value than the 40 whatever pick.
17:17
So it's whatever, it happens every year.
17:21
Sam Presti knows what he's doing, so.
17:23
Yeah, we'll have an open two way spot for the 44th pick.
17:27
We'll open up at least one roster spot and maybe move one
17:31
of the players down to a two way position or something like that
17:34
in the starting line up. So it shouldn't be too much of
17:37
an issue. I don't really see us doing any
17:41
kind of major trades or anything like that, so we'll definitely
17:44
bring in our guys here. So I'm kind of just excited also
17:48
to mention in 2027, I think we can all predict the Spurs will
17:55
be in the playoffs, so they won't be having this top 16
18:00
protection. So we'll definitely end up, you
18:02
know, having a load 24 to 2628 draft pick at that time.
18:07
And the 2026 and the 27 drafts are way more stacked than this
18:11
one. So I understand why Presti moved
18:13
off of it when you know you're going to get around the same
18:15
spot, especially when the Spurs are probably going to be in the
18:19
back end of the play in and playoff tournaments.
18:22
So we'll get solid picks at that range.
18:27
So I don't, I really don't mind it.
18:28
Like it's pretty much equal value like 2 years out.
18:32
So I'm cool with that. And I guess the other thing we
18:36
want to talk about for the draft is 1 loser and one winner.
18:43
So does anyone want to go first or should I kick it off?
18:48
I mean, I I can go first here. I actually want to start with my
18:52
loser first. Just kind of get that out of the
18:53
way. If I am, let me just let me just
18:57
be straightforward. If I'm a Nets fan, I.
19:00
If that was mine bro. If I'm a Nets fan, we had five
19:06
first round picks we drafted. I believe it was.
19:11
Let me double check before I say this, let me double check 1-2,
19:16
three, yeah, 4 guards. And then the one guy who wasn't
19:21
a guard is a forward who thinks he's a guard.
19:25
And none of them, none of them can shoot.
19:27
What are we doing, bro? I'm truly when they were, they
19:31
were, they were gassing up the Nets all night long saying,
19:35
well, they see what Sam Presti did and they're going to do it
19:37
too now. This is not what Sam Brasty did,
19:40
bro. The only one I'm like, OK, maybe
19:44
is I can see a little bit of the potential in Igor, but not at
19:49
pick eight bro, not at 8, no. And honestly, there were rumors
19:54
that Presti was going to trade out for Igor.
19:56
That would have upset me greatly.
19:59
I hope that's just a rumor, but whatever.
20:02
Back to the Nets. What are what are we doing 4
20:05
guards on a team that did not need guards?
20:08
They don't. That's the one thing they had
20:09
going. They got Cam Thomas, they have
20:12
DLO, they I mean like they didn't need guards by any means.
20:16
And they just drafted 4 of them and then a forward who plays
20:19
like a guard. Like I, I'm blown away that they
20:22
just wasted five first round picks in a pretty solid draft
20:26
class. So that's pretty easily my
20:28
loser. Sorry to take that one from you,
20:30
Joe, but that shows the audience here how blatant that one was.
20:36
But for my winner, this was kind of tough.
20:40
I feel like a lot of teams did good.
20:42
I I enjoyed this draft and I really liked it.
20:45
I'm actually gonna go with the Sixers here because they they
20:49
had to deal with something pretty tough here.
20:52
There was the talent and the ceiling of Ace Bailey that is so
20:55
incredibly tempting because the ceiling is very high.
20:59
He is a athletic scoring machine.
21:02
His his size is good. His athleticism is good.
21:06
Everything about Ace Bailey on the basketball standpoint I am a
21:09
big fan of, except the guy blatantly has told you he
21:13
doesn't want to play here. So now what's the decision there
21:16
and going? I just like them ending up with
21:19
VJ. I don't hate this decision.
21:20
I think VJ's got a lot of potential.
21:23
He needs to be molded. I think he's a bit raw.
21:25
He needs to be molded. But I could see us coming back
21:28
to this draft class in a few years and thinking, wow, the
21:30
Sixers did a good job of taking VJ instead of forcing Ace Bailey
21:34
into their system. So I am excited to see Vji like
21:38
what the Sixers did. I like that they avoided Ace
21:40
even though they could have forced him to play there and
21:43
they didn't. They they went with VJ and I, I
21:46
was a big fan of that. So that's what I got.
21:49
Yeah, I definitely agree with Philly.
21:50
I like VJ, especially the way Ace was conducting himself and
21:55
how his team was setting up his drive.
21:57
I mean, listen, he's got great potential, but that's just not
22:02
how things are done, right? It's just not how it's not how
22:04
you handle yourself. So getting VJ, great defender,
22:07
like you said, raw offensive talent, but definitely a talent.
22:11
You pair them with MB, Maxi, Paul George and a few other
22:15
guys. E is wide open.
22:17
Philly, I mean, McCain from last year.
22:20
Philly has a chance here, man. Philly has a chance for sure.
22:24
But for me, I'll start with the winner, San Antonio Spurs
22:29
getting Harper at 2. I think he's going to be
22:32
excellent pairing with Fox and Castle, which is crazy to think
22:37
about. And then they go and get Carter
22:41
Bryant, which I was pretty high on him.
22:44
Another raw, raw talent, but just super athletic, plays hard
22:49
to shoot the ball. Kind of fits right into what San
22:52
Antonio was looking for. So they they got a squad, bro.
22:55
If these players pan out, they got a squad and they're going to
22:58
be around for a long time. So I'm I'm give it to San
23:01
Antonio. I know it's kind of easy because
23:02
they had a second pick, but whatever.
23:05
And then the loser, I mean, I was going to go Brooklyn.
23:08
What a fucking joke that was. But I'm going to go with
23:11
Minnesota. Minnesota drafted, had two draft
23:14
picks this year, didn't fill 1 roster need first round.
23:20
They drafted a big Joan Brinjer, whatever his name is.
23:29
And then second round they go to Australia and draft Rocco
23:34
Zakarski, another 7 footer. So now you draft 27 foot centers
23:40
that are super young. I think the first kids like 18
23:45
years old, not even like a player yet.
23:51
I mean, you, you made it to the conference finals, yes, but your
23:56
roster's super incomplete. Super incomplete.
23:59
You need to upgrade a bit. There's not many free agents.
24:01
So you're going to go out to make a trade and if you want to
24:03
upgrade your roster and or you could have done it through the
24:06
draft and grabbing 27 footers that have upside, but I don't
24:12
see them making any noise this year.
24:15
It just kind of sucks to be a Timberwolves fan right now.
24:18
I feel like they're pretty much admitting that they think
24:20
they're going to lose Nas raid, which is crazy that that's the
24:24
one that they're OK with losing is Nas.
24:27
You got to let NA go, not Nas. Like Michaela Alexander Walker's
24:31
a great player, but at the end of the day, you're keeping Nas
24:34
and this felt like a waving the white flag of saying we need
24:37
centers. And that's like you do like,
24:41
that's not good. Another thing what they did is
24:44
they they moved back twice. That was dumb too.
24:46
They could have had. The second move, the trade back,
24:49
they moved back nine spots and they only got cash back.
24:53
They didn't get any picks. No, not nothing.
24:56
They just got cash. So miserable.
24:59
Just doesn't add up. Yeah, they pretty much said
25:03
whoever wants them, come, come do your best offer sheet and
25:07
take them. I'm sure the Nets are going to
25:08
give them a nice offer sheet. I'm going to move towards who I
25:13
think was the biggest loser in this draft, bigger than the
25:16
Nets. Nets were up there, but the
25:19
Pelicans taken Derrick Queen and then the Hawks absolutely
25:24
stealing Ossen Newell that fell in the draft at 23.
25:29
They moved down 10 spots and on top of it, the Pelicans don't
25:34
own their next 2026 first rounder, which is the most like
25:40
stock draft that will come around in a long time.
25:44
On top of the fact that that was completely unnecessary, they
25:48
could have mixed in some seconds, maybe some future
25:50
firsts that are practically useless at most times, but they
25:54
decided they're going to give their 2026 and then on top of
25:58
it, they made it unprotected. It's absolutely ridiculous.
26:03
Like I don't care what player you know, you think you're going
26:07
to go get, and I'm not going to sit here and project and say
26:10
Derek Queen, is it going to end up being good or isn't going to
26:12
be good around Zion or any of that.
26:14
Like he's a solid player, but I think it's one of the worst
26:18
trades I've seen in a long time. I was live for it and like my
26:22
jaw dropped. I was like dude, I'm so confused
26:25
what's going on? I literally kept saying what's
26:27
going on? Like is this real?
26:28
Is this a prank? I legit thought it was a prank.
26:30
Like I thought this was like centel or something at least,
26:34
but it was actually real. I don't know what the Pelicans
26:39
are doing. So yeah, I'm not even
26:42
disappointed. I'm not like I was shocked, but
26:44
I wasn't disappointed. I understand that they're not a
26:48
very well run franchise overall. Don't know what's going on over
26:52
there. Absolute dumpster fire.
26:55
But the Hawks made out pretty well with this.
26:57
But I guess the team that I'll mention as I guess winners in
27:03
this one, I feel like I don't know, it's between.
27:09
I'm going to I'm going to choose the Hornets, man.
27:11
The Hornets haven't had a solid draft pick and Lord knows how
27:15
long to be honest. And Con Knipple going to them at
27:19
#4 I'm just honestly happy like they always take a white guy,
27:23
but at least they took the right white guy in this draft.
27:26
And I feel like MJ not being a part of the ownership group is
27:32
probably helping a lot where he doesn't have a lot of influence
27:34
because he's like horrible at picking guys.
27:38
And so they finally have started picking way better starting last
27:42
season into this one. They needed a surefire guy that
27:46
can space the floor, one of the worst three-point shooting
27:48
teams. And we know Con Kanipple is
27:51
going to, you know, end up being a knock down shooter.
27:55
Overall, I love the pick for them. 41% from 391% from the
28:02
line. Like he's just a pure shooter.
28:05
They also get rid of Mark Williams in the trade and I
28:09
believe they get to number pick #29 and a future 3031.
28:15
So they're stacking up on some picks there.
28:18
And also, you know, they don't move absolutely out of the draft
28:21
as well. So just overall, like it can't
28:23
get any better. If you're a Hornets fan, I
28:26
believe they took Liam Mcneely back in that he's another great
28:30
shooter to help out. So I feel like they had two
28:33
really good draft picks overall, great draft.
28:36
And I have not said that about the Hornets in the whole time
28:41
I've been alive. Yeah.
28:42
So. One quick one quick update.
28:48
Not a winner but I love this. Can't believe he wasn't drafted.
28:53
Milwaukee just signed Marcus Spears to a two way con.
28:59
Alabama point guard all American to me super super similar to
29:08
Jalen Bronson. Like obviously don't don't take
29:10
it the wrong way to play guard. Might not be Jalen Bronson but
29:13
like super similar play styles, super similar, similar frame.
29:17
Smart player. Look out for him wherever he
29:20
ends up. Tonight, it's always interesting
29:23
after the draft to see which, which kind of like forgotten
29:26
players get signed. You see so many names that
29:29
you're like, you will watch them play this year in college and
29:31
you're like, how did no one pick that guy up, you know?
29:33
So, yeah, that's a good one for sure.
29:35
There have been a lot of players.
29:37
Hunter Dickinson, shockingly, just got to deal with the
29:39
Pelicans. That's another name that's, like
29:41
I said, shockingly, that's also a little bit of a little bit of
29:46
a little bit of bias there from the Iowa State fan.
29:49
That's shit. Not 100.
29:50
I want to go on a rant, but one more thing about these Pelicans
29:54
fears from Oklahoma. Good player Evie Smith goes on
30:00
live television on ESPL and he says he's the second coming of
30:04
Kyrie Irving. The dude has never watched him
30:07
in his life. They don't play anything alike,
30:10
not at. All statement bro.
30:12
Not at all alike. I love.
30:14
I think Fierce has that should be a very good six man in this
30:17
league. I hate that he went to New
30:18
Orleans because. They're a dumpster.
30:21
They're a confused dumpster fire right now.
30:23
But Steven has fucked. What an idiot.
30:27
Bro dude he has handles nowhere close like his handles are like
30:32
so far away the. Game is completely different.
30:35
Doesn't even play he's. It's not even just about the
30:38
game, but like, his handles are nowhere close, Nowhere close.
30:42
But I'm glad you mentioned that. Let's move to the most
30:47
interesting trade of the summer so far, the one that's probably
30:52
the most anticipated, second most anticipated if you think
30:56
Giannis is being traded, but I don't think that's happening.
30:58
So Kevin Durant has been traded to the Houston Rockets.
31:03
They extended Fred Van Vleet, they extended Steven Adams.
31:08
They've got pretty much a lot of their core rock like locked up.
31:11
They're probably going to add some depth pieces here and
31:13
there. But overall, the offseason is
31:15
pretty much, you know, locked and loaded.
31:18
They send Jalen Green, I believe, over to the Suns along
31:24
with the demon defender. So I feel like it's a solid,
31:30
solid trade overall. I think the Suns got like 5
31:34
seconds, maybe one or two first in that deal, so.
31:39
Yeah. Yeah, and they got the 10th pick
31:42
that turned into Kaman Malawak. The Suns also turned, I believe
31:48
possibly one of the picks into Mark from the Hornets.
31:53
So it's been a crazy, I think turn around for both teams.
31:57
One team, you know, is trying to go to contender status with the
32:00
Rockets and the Thunder trying to make their way back into the
32:04
playoffs. And I feel like both teams are
32:07
kind of accomplished accomplishing that slowly.
32:10
But I would say my opinion before you guys shoot it off is
32:14
they're right there, but I don't think either team thinks, or at
32:19
least I don't think either team is as close as they think they
32:22
are to both of their objectives. Like I think the Suns are more
32:25
of a play in team now than a playoff team, which is what
32:28
they're hoping. And instead of contenders, I
32:31
think they're closer to pretenders.
32:34
Were there a second round exit with the Rockets versus like
32:37
they're going to win the Western Conference?
32:39
I just don't see them beating Jokic.
32:42
I don't see them beating us. I don't see them beating even
32:47
Anthony Edwards. They don't have the personnel
32:50
for that and they traded one of their best perimeter defenders
32:53
as well. I think that's a really
32:54
underrated move. That's just my initial thoughts
32:58
on it. Now you guys can, you know, go
33:01
ahead. I think I definitely agree with
33:05
what you're saying about Houston.
33:06
I am seeing people act like Houston is a guarantee to win it
33:09
all next year, and I don't think that they're understanding.
33:13
My biggest thing is I just do not think Katie's going to work
33:15
with Houston. I, I see so many problems coming
33:18
between him and Sang Goon crowding the floor.
33:21
I think Sang Goon's, I think Sang Goon's production is going
33:25
to drop off of a Cliff when Kevin Durant is on the court
33:28
offensively. I, I don't know how they're
33:30
going to work together. I mean, I know they're not
33:33
playing the same position, but it just feels like Sangoon is no
33:36
longer going to be the guy at times.
33:38
And he's going to have to understand that and become more
33:40
of a traditional big man doing more of crashing the boards,
33:44
getting rebounds, trying to swing it out.
33:46
But Durant, I also just don't think he fits the culture.
33:50
This Houston culture is rough. I mean, they are rough.
33:53
They, they play hard. They they are just very contact
33:56
heavy. Kevin Durant is not a contact
33:59
heavy player as we know he is. He is a very surgical, very, I
34:04
mean, slices and dices through, gets his shots up.
34:06
I just don't like the fit, frankly.
34:08
And that's funny because I predicted that he would go to
34:11
Houston and I didn't like it when I thought he would go
34:14
there, but I still thought he would end up there.
34:15
So I agree with you, Savier. Getting rid of Dylan Brooks is a
34:18
much bigger deal than they realized.
34:20
Dylan Brooks, people hate the guy.
34:23
He is a dog. He he is their version of Alex
34:25
Caruso. He does the same thing.
34:27
He's a aggressive, annoying defender who can knock down the
34:31
three at a high volume. Like, yeah.
34:34
He's a good player. He's close to like a Lou Dort
34:36
level defender with how much defensive output that he puts
34:41
out. Like his the amount of energy
34:44
that it takes to defend at the level that he defends at.
34:47
Like there's not many NBA players willing to put that much
34:50
energy into defense nowadays. So just to lose that and think,
34:54
you know, you're going to be solid with just one solid
34:57
perimeter defender. Like Katie's going to get picked
34:59
on and pick and roll. Singun is going to get picked
35:03
on, Fred Vanvleet. Like they just have a lot of
35:05
holes that I don't think they're recognizing all the way.
35:09
Jabari is a solid defender, like he's he's solid.
35:12
They have some other defensive pieces like Tari coming off the
35:15
bench, whatever. But in the starting lineup, you
35:19
can't have three guys that are getting picked on and that's
35:21
what I see with them so. Well, the thing that I hate,
35:26
Amen Thompson, is their new shooting guard.
35:28
That is terrible. Yeah, that's not a good.
35:30
He better not play. He can't.
35:32
He seriously can't. Do you know what the first word
35:34
of shooting guard is not Amen Thompson Dog.
35:37
He ain't shooting that they they are not going to be spacing the
35:42
floor well. Amen.
35:44
Thompson cannot shoot the ball. They just signed an extension
35:47
for Fred Vanvleet who is still making more money in his
35:50
contract than like minutes played, which is just
35:53
ridiculous. Fred Vanvleet is not I'm about
35:57
to start hating for evidently is not a good basketball player.
36:00
Dog. He's not.
36:01
He's fine, but I don't want him as my.
36:04
Champion you're talking about? Yeah 4-5 years ago, buddy I
36:09
don't it was shit anymore I I got to chill.
36:11
I'm Houston fans are going to go out my head.
36:13
I don't like him as your starting point guard and I hate
36:16
Amen Thompson. You're starting a shooting
36:17
guard. I love the player, great
36:19
potential. No world should he be anywhere
36:22
other than the three or four, and no world at all.
36:25
And at this point, like right now.
36:28
They traded their two floor spacers.
36:30
Gabe like this is hilarious. It's terrible.
36:32
And and right now their their depth chart at this moment has
36:36
Jabari coming off the bench and them starting Terry Eason.
36:40
What? That guy fouls out quicker than
36:43
I can even think, man. Well, if they if they're afraid
36:47
of shooting, don't get me wrong, I don't think Jabari Smith is
36:49
like incredible. I'd rather him on the court than
36:52
Terry Eason. Terry Eason is fine.
36:56
That's K DS dog, KD fucked with him coming out of Oliver and so.
37:00
That's great. You're not gonna win games like
37:03
so Houston. Like, I feel like we dog on
37:06
Houston a lot on this podcast. We get Houston fans pretty
37:09
upset, but I'm still here where I just don't like this.
37:12
I don't even like their depth, their backup guards or Reed
37:15
Shepard, who they gave up on like a week into the season and
37:18
put him in the G League. And then Aaron Holiday is their
37:21
backup point guard they had. They do not have depth other
37:25
than Steven Adams. And and like Cam Whitmore, like,
37:29
yeah, he's great in the G League.
37:31
That's about it. He'll maybe drop a 16 point game
37:34
here and there. But Houston?
37:36
Cam's the one bright spot coming off the bench.
37:39
We know Steven Adams is going to be solid.
37:43
Ari is OK coming off the bench, but if he has to start playing
37:46
way more minutes, like I don't trust him on the court to not
37:50
pick up 5000 like 15 minutes or something.
37:54
So they do have some issues, hopefully.
37:56
I think they're betting on Reid Shepard to improve a bunch.
38:00
They're making a lot of bets on a lot of young guys very early,
38:04
and I didn't see enough offense from a lot of those guys.
38:09
Man. I'm going to let Joe hop into
38:12
the conversation because I feel like we're dragging on this team
38:14
right now. Yeah.
38:15
I was going off I that's. All yeah, so the way I see it,
38:19
and Savio disagrees with me, but I think Phoenix is just, they
38:25
have no idea what they're doing, man.
38:26
I mean, if you think Durant, Beale and Booker or you saw
38:29
Durant, Beale and Booker didn't work, you think Green, Beale and
38:33
Booker is going to work, Bro, you got to move Green.
38:35
I think it's time to fully rebuild.
38:37
If you even want to move. Booker I don't really believe in
38:40
building around Devin Booker. I don't really see that vision
38:43
there. I've never seen it at all with
38:45
Devin Booker. So Phoenix and then you draft a
38:48
big and trade for a big in the same 32nd span one's injury
38:53
prone one I'm not super high on Phoenix is a dumpster fire.
38:59
And then they traded a first round pick for Mark 2 and they
39:03
don't have any first to give up. So a joke of of a team over
39:07
there. I don't believe they'll be
39:08
sniffing play offs. They'd surprise me if they did.
39:12
I wouldn't. I wouldn't be shocked if they
39:14
snuck into the play offs. I'm not going to lie like they
39:17
can every A lot of teams can sneak in because of the play in.
39:21
So there can be injury. There can be a lot of stuff
39:24
where they can end up as like a eight seed.
39:26
I definitely don't think they're going to be like a seven seed or
39:29
anything. They even make they can do it
39:30
in. Durant I don't believe that
39:33
they're going to make it with Jalen Green anyway.
39:35
Houston What I I understand, I understand you lost James, you
39:43
haven't had a star in a while. Your team's getting good.
39:45
You want to go out and get a star, but damn, bro, you got a
39:49
guy coming up, he's got one year left on his deal.
39:52
Durant They're they're going to extend it for two years. 120
39:56
million fucking dollars for a guy who's going to retire after
39:59
in Houston. That's what he's planning to do
40:01
anyway. We don't know if that's going to
40:02
end up actually end up happening.
40:04
And like the other guys said, I mean no bench depth.
40:07
Are you going to go out and try to get like a Drew Holiday to
40:09
pay Kevin Durant? Like that's 2 old guys.
40:12
There's not a lot of moves left to make for this team and and
40:15
it's a really incomplete roster. Don't get it wrong, I fuck with
40:19
Fred Van Fleet, but yeah, I don't think he's a top tier
40:21
point guard. I think Eamon should be running
40:26
one. I low key like Eamon at the one
40:28
or the four for them, but not the two.
40:32
Jabari's still raw, super young still, but and he gets to learn
40:35
from Kevin Durant now, but that's.
40:37
That's a plus. Bro, that trade doesn't just it
40:40
just does not make you a contender in this W.
40:43
They're still not beating Jokic, they're still not beating OKC.
40:46
I don't think they'll beat the Lakers when their roster's all
40:48
set and done the Clippers. I don't think they're beating
40:51
the Clippers if they're fully healthy.
40:54
I mean, guys, it's a lose, lose situation for both of these
40:57
teams and I'm loving it because screw Houston.
41:00
They talk all that treasure, Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant.
41:02
When does Kevin Durant lead his own team to a championship?
41:06
That's another thing that's fags are.
41:08
You going to play this, this 38 year old dude from 37, whatever
41:12
he is, sign him for three years, give him all the money in the
41:15
world with a bunch of young guys who haven't proven shit.
41:20
And it's Adams. Yeah, it's it's going to set you
41:24
guys back a minute. They're going to be set back a
41:26
while. Yeah, I agree.
41:28
I want to hop in and mention who is the leading scorer on the
41:33
Houston Rockets guys. Last.
41:36
Year, yeah. Jalen Green bro.
41:39
Exactly, that's my point man. They just got rid of their like
41:42
leading scorer at age 23. I think the Sun's future just
41:47
like opened so wide because it's like you went from like a 37
41:53
year old Kevin Durant to a possible future cornerstone
41:56
player next to Devin Booker. Obviously Devin Booker's not too
41:59
young, but he's 28. But still you got a really young
42:02
piece that you can test out for a while.
42:04
If it doesn't work out, you can trade him or trade both of them
42:07
and rebuild whatever. But now your future doesn't look
42:11
bleak as you know, all heck, man.
42:14
So I think the Suns, even if they don't do anything this year
42:18
and they get into a playoff or play in situation, they at least
42:21
have an opportunity to rebuild. Whereas I feel like the Houston
42:25
Rockets are worse off because now they have this blind hope of
42:29
Katie's going to lead us there. If Katie couldn't do it at age
42:33
freaking 23, you think he's going to do it at age 37?
42:37
Like I really don't think so. Just to get.
42:40
The cost are super incomplete, super incomplete.
42:43
And unless you're thinking about going out and getting like
42:46
someone else, I don't even know who's available.
42:49
Like Drew had is probably super available right now.
42:51
He doesn't want to be in Portland but like outside of
42:52
him. I'm sure there's going to be a
42:55
bunch of guys that open up and stuff.
42:57
They'll definitely fill out some more vets because they do want
43:00
to contend. So they'll have some solid depth
43:02
coming in because I don't think they believe in their rookies
43:06
anyways. So I I see them making some more
43:10
moves, but even if they make a couple moves around the edges, I
43:13
just don't think that's enough to compete in this type of
43:16
Western Conference. I haven't seen Kevin Durant
43:20
engaged on the defensive end in outside of the two years he was
43:26
at Golden State Warriors. And I don't know what magic
43:29
Steve Kerr had to tell him to play defense.
43:32
But outside of those two years, I've literally not seen Kevin
43:34
Durant defend at a high level. He's been mediocre at best.
43:38
And we would know that as Thunder fans.
43:40
So, yeah, I, I don't know about this trade, but let's let's keep
43:46
it rocking and rolling to some more.
43:49
OK, Go ahead, Go ahead. Durant hasn't had a fully
43:51
healthy season since I was like 5 years old.
43:54
So that's it. And and they traded their
43:57
defense. Best defender, The guy who came
44:00
in to Houston and changed the whole culture.
44:03
Yeah, they just traded, they just traded their their
44:06
essentially their logo for their culture.
44:08
Just traded him and I'm on side to your side.
44:11
I am AI am a big fan of Jalen Green.
44:14
I I think there is so much potential for him.
44:17
Joe is not. Joe, he's going to be, he's
44:19
going to be nice next to Devin. But I think there's a lot.
44:21
Of people, it's good for Phoenix because they could trade him for
44:26
something. Yeah.
44:27
And they seem to want to kind of a theory is that he is they are
44:30
looking to ship him which. But I still think that's a way
44:34
better off situation than you're stuck with KD about to retire
44:38
like. Absolutely, I'm just like if
44:41
there's plenty on keeping Jalen. It'll be interesting.
44:46
I think even if they keep him and he works out great and if he
44:48
doesn't work out from 2 years from now you trade him away.
44:52
Still got value because he's so young.
44:54
Should have picked up his shoes first though.
44:56
They only got one. They should have.
44:57
Instead of 5 seconds, they should have picked up another
44:59
first round. They definitely could have, but
45:02
well, they got rid of KD. That was a whole win on its own
45:05
so. Yeah, I think it's a win
45:07
regardless. Let's move over to the Boston
45:10
Celtics. They've been making a lot of
45:13
moves here, moving on from Panic Drew.
45:16
They've also moved on from KP, Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks.
45:21
Hawks are destroying the draft, also destroying it on the trade
45:25
end. Which trade do you guys want to
45:28
get into first? Let's do the Drew one since it
45:31
happened first. All right, so we can look at
45:35
that real quick. That's an interesting for sure
45:38
I'm. Yeah, so they had Simons joining
45:44
on an expiring contract from the Portland Trail Blazers, Anthony
45:49
Simons and two second round draft picks and they trade Drew
45:56
to Portland, which saves them 40 million in luxury tax payments
46:02
next this upcoming season, I guess.
46:04
And they total in total they save 72 million on his contract
46:08
in total. So I feel like it's a great move
46:11
for them from the Portland and I'm going to give my initial
46:15
thoughts and let you guys take over on this trade package.
46:18
But I think this is the most ridiculous thing you can ever do
46:22
if you're like a rebuilding team.
46:24
I think the only silver lining to this is like Drew's very
46:27
valuable even at age 34. He's probably looked at like a
46:32
as a Crusoe level contending type of piece where I could see
46:37
like a bunch of contenders essentially going after him.
46:41
I'm sure Milwaukee would love to have him back.
46:43
I'm sure the Rockets would love to have him right now.
46:46
I'm sure the Lakers need a guard that's a defensive minded guy
46:50
next to Luca. So I'm sure every team that's a
46:54
contending team outside of I guess OKC and a couple others
46:59
wouldn't mind having him and you know, shelling out some first
47:03
rounders or something. So I'm sure that's what's
47:04
happening with that situation. But Infrony Simon's solid pick
47:10
up. He's a solid 3 point shooter.
47:14
I feel like it's, I mean they're going to be better off with a 26
47:19
year old guard that's comfortable shooting from the
47:22
three-point line. He shoots a high volume 9 threes
47:25
per game, which is right along with what Joe Missoula wants to
47:28
do. I feel like it's solid.
47:31
It's a solid move. He's on an expiring deal.
47:35
You can move him after this season or try to keep him.
47:38
If you want to keep him, you'll probably get some value.
47:41
I think they're just going to extract some picks while Tatum's
47:44
gone and a great move for them. Yeah, I mean, we see this happen
47:49
with super teams that they're not even super teams, just very
47:52
good teams. At some point, you just can't
47:54
handle those contracts. You can't handle the second
47:56
apron it it just starts to fall apart.
47:58
And that's kind of what we're watching here with Boston.
48:00
I mean, it, it's kind of they're kind of retconning the whole
48:03
thing. And it doesn't help that Tatum's
48:04
out, you know, that that's really the cherry on top of this
48:07
season's kind of a wash to them, essentially, in my opinion.
48:11
I mean, they're going to want to see what they can do, but
48:12
there's no, there's no chance of competing.
48:16
There's just not unless they make some kind of other trade or
48:18
a sign. But I, I don't, I'm very mixed
48:22
on this for Boston because on one hand, I think you do good at
48:25
getting the return of Anthony. Anthony is young enough.
48:28
He's a good player. He's shown that he has a lot of
48:31
a lot of spurts and whatnot. The other thing that I'm not
48:34
sure how I feel about is just kind of him in a role on this
48:37
team because right now are you having him run the point or are
48:41
you having like I who's the point?
48:43
Is he, is he coming off the bench?
48:44
Is he his JB dropping to the three instead and he'll be the
48:47
two? He'll probably be the two.
48:50
He's been a combo guard his whole career pretty much.
48:54
He's not trusted really as a number one.
48:57
That's why they picked up the point guard on on the Blazers
49:01
recently, Scoop. So he he's definitely someone
49:05
that can be a primary ball handler.
49:06
Do I want him to be? Probably not.
49:09
I just want him to space the floor so.
49:11
Yeah, I, I'm, I'm just anxious about his fit with this team.
49:15
I, I agree with what you're saying about the high volume of
49:17
threes. That's obviously something Azul
49:19
is going to love. However, that's also a player
49:21
who was on a Blazers team that was pretty much given the ball
49:24
every single time and told to do whatever he wants.
49:28
He's not going to be shooting 9 threes on a Celtics team unless
49:31
it's like this where they're kind of the skeleton of what the
49:34
Celtics were last year. But I, I don't hate it by any
49:37
means. Trail Blazers, on the other
49:39
hand, like what are we? What's what's the point?
49:42
What's the goal other than thinking he has value so we can
49:45
ship him? But like even then, I, I think
49:47
you could have gotten a very similar package, if not more for
49:51
Anthony Simons from a team that wants a young guy like that.
49:53
Like Anthony has value. It's not like he's like, I just
49:58
don't really see the whole idea and let's just get Drew and then
50:01
immediately ship him. I mean, that that feels like
50:04
pretty much Boston just called them first and said, hey, we
50:06
need to dump this contract, give them to us and we'll, we'll let
50:10
you do whatever you want and whatnot.
50:11
So I, I don't get it. I, I, I don't like it.
50:15
But we'll see what Portland does.
50:16
Maybe they can flip it and, and make a good choice.
50:19
And As for Boston, this is going to be a weird season for their
50:22
fans because it's not going to be what they've what they've
50:24
been used to. Yeah.
50:25
Absolutely. For me, I was going to dive into
50:29
like a lot of Boston, I'm not going to try to predict what
50:31
Brad Stevens is doing over there.
50:32
Whatever he's doing, he has a he has a plan.
50:35
I don't know if they're done, if they're just getting started.
50:38
I don't know if they're going to keep Simons.
50:39
I don't know if they're going to let him go.
50:42
I'm not going to try to predict that.
50:44
But good trade for them dumping Drew's salary.
50:50
What what is Portland doing? You're you're you're a team that
50:55
just missed the play in last year played pretty damn well
50:59
towards the end of the season, like they went on a huge winning
51:02
streak. Then you just give up one of
51:04
your better players for Drew Holiday solid player, but he
51:09
looks like he's meeting, you know, father time.
51:13
Are are they going to flip him or if they flip him, does that
51:18
put them in a better position? I I don't think so.
51:21
And you gave up picks terrible. But that's all I'm going to say
51:26
with that because I do think sooner than later we will have
51:30
another Boston update, so. Yeah, I think we'll have a
51:34
Portland update on Drew as well. Let's move over to the Kristaps
51:39
Preezingis move that they made. It was a three team trade.
51:43
I'll cover it here real quick. Celtics and center Kristaps
51:47
Preezingis a second round pick to the Hawks, while Terrence
51:51
Mann, Atlanta's number 22, goes to goes to the Nets.
51:56
And finally, Georgie's Nyang, a second rounder, landed with the
52:00
Celtics, which is a funny story in itself.
52:04
The Celtics end up saving 180 million in luxury taxes between
52:09
the two players that they got off their books.
52:12
Their tax relief overall is going to be was going to be over
52:17
I believe 500 million. So they save 180 million on
52:20
that, which is ridiculous amount of savings, especially when you
52:24
know you're not really going to be anywhere because it's should
52:28
be ring or bust for every team. And I think that's how the
52:31
Celtics always play their seasons.
52:33
So Boston also receives like Cleveland's 2031 second round
52:38
pick. Hawks had the rights that
52:42
Atlanta also will take Boston's least favorable 2026 second
52:48
rounder in this trade. Let's let's start talking about.
52:52
I'll let you guys start this off because I've got some thoughts
52:56
on. It all I know is George Yang is
53:00
one of the most one of the winningest players in the NBA.
53:05
You get George Yang, you're getting a you're getting a dog
53:08
all right, a straight winner on a serious note.
53:12
I mean, that is serious note, but on the more serious note, I
53:16
think the Hawks are finally getting over the line of
53:20
mediocrity and I'm happy for them because I am.
53:25
You guys might not like this. I don't know.
53:26
I like Trey Young. No one else does.
53:29
I like Trey young. I liked him in college, which is
53:31
crazy 'cause I'm, and I was safe and I watched him belt to ass
53:35
every time we played him. But I like Trey Young.
53:38
I really do Trey Young is great. I, I, I love watching him play
53:42
other than the turnovers, but great guy.
53:45
He needed help bad. He's needed help bad.
53:48
Other than, I mean, Jalen Johnson's coming on, that's
53:50
great. But I, I hated the Dejonte
53:53
Murray duo with him. It just one of them was off the
53:56
court with an injury. The other one played good.
53:57
And then when the other one's on the court, like they just could
53:59
not work together. I like KPI think that's a good
54:02
fit. I could see those two playing
54:04
very well together. And then with the draft, they
54:06
just had like Atlanta's doing something.
54:09
They're, they're going straight for the East.
54:11
They know it's open right now. I really like that for Atlanta,
54:15
Boston again, man, I don't like this one.
54:20
I get it. I get why they did it.
54:21
They had to do it no other choice.
54:23
But I, I don't love this one. I I think the Anthony return was
54:27
good for Drew. I don't think this is a good
54:29
return kit. Christoph Porzingis.
54:31
I know he's injury prone. He is a good player.
54:33
He he is a he. He is the Unicorn.
54:36
We were literally calling him the Unicorn when he first got
54:38
drafted. The guy is good.
54:40
Like it's undeniable that he is a useful player if he's healthy.
54:43
So I I do wish Boston could have gotten a better return.
54:46
But yeah, Atlanta. That's that's my take away from
54:50
this trade. Atlanta's they're on the come
54:52
up. Yeah, both of you guys
54:55
completely disagree with me, but I think Atlanta's a bunch of
54:59
morons. I, I, I actually like Trey Young
55:02
as well, but. Joe breaking news Joe does not
55:05
like the NBA. No, Joe.
55:08
Loves the NBA but there's just so many morons that run teams.
55:12
Atlanta's been stuck in like a purgatory type setting for the
55:17
last couple years. They're decent, then they're
55:19
bad, then they're OK, then they're bad, then you add
55:23
Porzingis and his contract which is not going to make you any
55:26
better per SE. Maybe a little bit if he's on
55:30
the court, he might be a bit better.
55:32
I watched Luka Doncic and and Kristaps Pwarzingis play
55:35
together and they didn't win shit.
55:36
I'm telling you right now, Trey Young and Porzingis won't and
55:39
Jaylen Johnson. I mean sure I know Sapir likes
55:42
him, but sure he's up and coming.
55:44
But that the core of Trey Young, Kristaps and Jaylen Johnson is
55:48
not going to win you anything. And now you're just picking up
55:50
more cash that why are you spending on Kristaps?
55:53
Why are you spending money on Kristaps Pwarzingis this late in
55:56
his career? I I'll never understand them.
55:59
Good for the Nets. I'm getting Terrence Mann and
56:02
the 22nd for not giving up anything.
56:04
So good for them. And yeah, I mean, this is
56:07
another salary dump for Boston. I think they could have got more
56:11
in return draft capital wise because I don't think they won
56:16
players back. I mean, they're they're trying
56:18
to dump salary. But yeah, I mean, the Hawks are
56:25
stupid. I like Trey Young.
56:28
I like Trey Young. I rooted for him when he was in
56:31
the playoffs, when he beat the Sixers, when he lost to
56:33
Milwaukee. Adding that much money in the in
56:38
a Porzingis contract is not going to make you better in the
56:41
long term or the short term. I'm sorry.
56:44
Let me, let me hop in here. Dude couldn't breathe in the
56:47
playoffs. There's something going on with
56:48
him. He wasn't sick for 90 days.
56:51
Let me protect the Atlanta Hawks fans.
56:53
I did an offseason guide for them.
56:55
That was my first video on my other channel.
56:58
Aneka on Congo has moved into the starting lineup.
57:01
They're going to probably trade Clint Capela for some resources.
57:04
They also have the number one overall pick that people have
57:07
all forgotten about, Zachary Richarche.
57:09
The worst one pick ever. And they also made well with
57:13
Austin Newell, I believe, in this draft.
57:17
So overall, they're starting to accumulate talent around Trey
57:22
Young and that's really all you can hope for if you're a Hawks
57:25
fan. And honestly, if you're Trey
57:26
Young, that's all you're asking for is just put some guys around
57:29
me. I'm going to be a dog.
57:31
We've seen him do it his whole career.
57:33
Like he he's one of those guys where it's like he just steps up
57:36
to the plate when you have enough players around him to
57:39
kind of cover up his gaps. And he doesn't have that many
57:42
gaps other than defense. Like it's hard for him to defend
57:44
at his size. But outside of that, like he's
57:47
one of the best offensive engines.
57:48
He averaged the most assists. He's probably an average even
57:51
more assists this season. That's unheard of for a player
57:54
at his size. He's doing crazy things.
57:56
His three-point shooting kind of took a dip, but he needed some
57:59
floor spacers. I think he they brought in some
58:01
good floor spacing. Now they also have Dyson Daniels
58:04
next to him. So I feel like overall they've
58:07
been making well. Like they got rid of Dejante
58:09
Murray, they've done amazing in the draft.
58:13
They picked up KPI, mean they're trying to do everything they
58:16
can. I think the biggest factor, Joe,
58:18
I do agree with you, is the help of this team.
58:20
They've already seen some injuries over the years.
58:23
If they have a healthy season, I could see them in the Eastern
58:26
Conference Finals pretty easily. Them versus the Magic, I could
58:30
see that. It'd be a fun Eastern Conference
58:33
finals. They could knock out your
58:34
Knicks. I definitely believe in Trey
58:37
Young a little bit more than I would believe in in a one-on-one
58:41
match up against Jill and Brunson.
58:42
I'm taking Trey Young in my opinion, especially with the
58:45
roster that they have right now. You may not agree with that
58:48
take. That may sound laughable to you,
58:51
but no, no, no, no. I'm.
58:52
Actually, not laughing at that. There's just one thing I'm just
58:56
you can continue on. Yeah, I was just going to say
58:58
like the depth of the Knicks don't really impress me from
59:01
what I've seen, and the depth of this Hawks team is just getting
59:05
better and better. Brooklyn made out good with this
59:09
trade, solid for them. Cool, they get another piece,
59:12
some more draft capital. I feel like I love what the
59:16
Atlanta Hawks are doing right now.
59:18
If I had to choose three teams that I had to predict that would
59:21
go to the Eastern Conference finals, Magic Hawks and the
59:27
Cavaliers are probably my top three picks and New York's
59:30
probably 4th on the list for me. And those are probably the only
59:33
competing teams, unless somehow they.
59:37
What if Philadelphia? Somehow the bucks, huh?
59:40
What if Philadelphia is healthy? Dude, asking Philadelphia to
59:46
make the Eastern Conference finals is like asking for like
59:49
the fucking Clippers to make it, dude.
59:51
Like I'm tired of it. Stop bringing both of those
59:53
teams up into the conversation like.
59:55
Super fair. Super fair.
59:57
I'm not bringing up either of them.
59:58
Like I don't even bring them up into contending teams because
1:00:01
like. The Clippers have been a
1:00:04
dumpster fire and so is the 76ers.
1:00:08
Also, Daryl Morey had his presser recently and that was a
1:00:13
super dumpster fire, which I loved watching, by the way.
1:00:17
I enjoyed every minute of it because all he didn't know what
1:00:20
to say. He was super flustered by all
1:00:22
the extremely hard questions that they were asking him about,
1:00:25
like Paul George's health and beads health, because there's no
1:00:29
really response for him to give. And they're also going to lose
1:00:33
Yabi Sully over there. So, downfall of Daryl Morey.
1:00:37
Let's go. Yeah, One last thing for me, if
1:00:42
you're Atlanta, I mean, yeah, they got some players.
1:00:44
I don't necessarily I don't agree with the conference finals
1:00:47
pick at all. Another thing is like, yeah, you
1:00:53
traded away Dejante's 28 million, now you could pay
1:00:57
Kristaps 31. Come on, bro.
1:00:59
Like not only are you paying Kristaps 31, you're helping the
1:01:05
Celtics unload what they needed to to better them in the long
1:01:09
run. And you're a direct team who
1:01:11
plays against Boston 8 * a year. That's a decent point, I'll give
1:01:16
you that. One, I'll take that point.
1:01:17
The other point that I'll take Joe is we haven't mentioned this
1:01:20
and I thought someone would. Kristaps has a unknown disease.
1:01:25
He's. Got COVID 21 so like.
1:01:28
Bro's got COVID 3000 or something he.
1:01:31
Couldn't breathe for 90 days. They were running amid the
1:01:36
playoffs and he could not breathe bro.
1:01:38
So like. Yeah, he's definitely got
1:01:40
something going on, on a serious note, so hopefully they can
1:01:44
figure out what that is. I would never take the risk on
1:01:47
an unknown illness on a player. It's.
1:01:51
Not even that. It's like, sure, the unknown
1:01:53
illness, yeah, and the injury history, but then the 31 mil.
1:01:59
It's a big contract, yeah. Come on.
1:02:01
I mean, the contract, he's going to outplay it like the player he
1:02:04
is now isn't the same player he used to be.
1:02:06
He's saw it off the block, he's good at floor spacing, whatever,
1:02:11
but he's going to play that contract pretty well.
1:02:13
Like, it's not the worst situation contract wise.
1:02:17
I think injury and illness is a little bit worse for him.
1:02:21
So that's kind of be TBD for them.
1:02:24
But honestly, if they have a healthy roster like the last
1:02:28
month of, you know, the Eastern Conference season.
1:02:34
Maybe I'll give you that. I think they can maybe push, but
1:02:39
I don't see conference finals. I think they could if they have
1:02:42
the right matchups. Let's let's say they play like
1:02:44
the Bucks, who lacked depth, and they play the Knicks.
1:02:47
They could easily end up, you know, they, they, they could
1:02:52
even play like a Boston team that super, you know, low on
1:02:57
depth and everything. I can see Boston still making it
1:02:59
and being like a six, seven seed or something.
1:03:03
But if they ran into like Detroit or something, it'd be
1:03:05
tough for them. So really interesting to see for
1:03:10
sure. I I'm just interested this,
1:03:12
we're not even like remotely close to the next season and
1:03:15
stuff's already like super interesting.
1:03:17
So I'm looking forward to this offseason.
1:03:19
I'm looking forward to all these games, especially the magic.
1:03:21
That's a fun one. We kind of talked about that in
1:03:23
an earlier episode with Bane and whatnot.
1:03:25
But yeah, the East is the East is open.
1:03:28
We'll see who who gets aggressive and really tries to
1:03:30
take it here. So think we can probably wrap up
1:03:34
the episode there. Ran a little over an hour for
1:03:37
you guys. They're just talking about draft
1:03:38
and trades. But yeah, so weekly episodes
1:03:41
will be back now that the actual playoffs are done.
1:03:45
So expect more content than normal.
1:03:48
Expect more posts on all social media platforms.
1:03:50
We'll be doing what we can. But yeah, as always, thank you
1:03:53
guys for listening. And yeah, we'll catch you guys
1:03:55
in the next actual episode.