And now below post. Welcome to the low post podcast where Bobby Marks, we had a trade. We're 16 days away from the trade deadline and the Lakers and the Wizards. Oh my god, a barn burner.
This is going to turn everything around for the Lakers. Rui Hachamura disgruntled tweener forward in the last year of his rookie deal former number nine pick the latest or the not quite the latest, but one of the long line of disappointing Wizards rap picks between like eight and 16 in the last year of his rookie deal dealt to the Lakers for Kendrick Nunn. Would be savior Kendrick Nunn much hyped like this is the guy. We've been waiting on this guy Kendrick Nunn in three second round picks.
And here's what we find ourselves Bobby. I looked at the Western Conference standings this morning and you know intuitively like it's jam-packed. Oh my god, seeds five to thirteen. So that's nine teams, early 15 teams in the conference.
Seeds five to 13, which I believe is Dallas to Portland right now. All have either 23, 24 or 25 losses, which means any of them can finish anywhere from five to 13, including the Lakers who just will not die. Every time there's a trade like this, like only Wizards fans, 18 of them and sick people like you and I are actually watching the Washington Wizards. The rest of the people who are normal NBA fans only maybe watch the Wizards if their teams playing the Wizards, if even that.
But they've heard of Rui Hachamura. They know he's a top ten pick. He's world famous. And so when a trade like this happens, the reaction is instantly like, what a steal for the Lakers.
That's all the Wizards could get for Rui Hachamura. What a disgrace, contract, the franchise, that's it. I think all of that is slightly wrong headed. But what was your initial reaction to this other than, let's for now forestall the what does this mean for the Lakers cap space off-space which I think is quite interesting.
What did you think of the trade on its own? I thought that we always, I think we made too much into the Lakers first from picks that we talked about at Noisium 27 and 29. I just felt that if there was going to be a deal that it was going to involve seconds because they had seven, including one of them is the Chicago second that went back to Chicago. Ironically, two of those picks were part of the Westbook trade.
So basically came back like full circle here, the Chicago one and then the 2028, which is like a less favorable of the Wizards or the Lakers here. Well, between Beel rumors and Kuzma rumors that never stop, it's like, and Thomas Bryan and Troy Brown Jr, it's kind of like they've just become one franchise at this point in all the interchangeable parts. Like, how far would that franchise get in the playoffs? If you just combine the teams, it'd be a pretty damn good team anyway.
Keep going. Yeah, I mean, I mean, a couple of thoughts. I mean, everyone was looking at like, well, his former lottery pick, why couldn't you've gotten the first? And I said, well, he basically couldn't stay on the court.
You look at his games played, right? I mean, whether it be, you know, he was out last year for, you know, whether it be personal reasons, he had an ankle this year, his shooting numbers are down. I know his last game was at 30 point game against Orlando, but I think he was like 33% off catching shoot threes this year, I want to say. I think it was a little bit high, 47 last year.
I think what it signals is that that they're willing to spend on Kyle Kuzma. The Wizards are. The Wizards are. And likely that they think Kyle Kuzma will be receptive to them spending on him instead of lose or nothing.
Yeah, I think he was the big winner, traded a guy who was going to be a restricted free agent. I mean, you could have held on to them as an insurance policy in case. The Kuzma price tag was going to be big too high, but so I get it from the Wizards perspective as far as moving off. I just think and I'll get to the Lakers.
And I mean, I guess I'm a little bit disappointed where like the track record of drafting is not good in Washington. It's not good at all. I mean, it's not good. And eventually you're going to need one of these players to give two of these guys to hit unless you just want to be a 35, 36, when team.
I mean, that's the kind of the reality of it for from the Wizards perspective. For the Lakers, I think there's a lot of multiple ways we can look at it here. You know, you get a four. So basically, I mean, but when 80 comes back, you put 80 back at five, right?
Thomas Brine's been really good. I mean, really good. He's been good enough. And I wrote about this before the season.
I think they need to explore eight minutes a game of the two of them together. Because Thomas Brine can shoot it well enough. I mean, he had such a he had the one bubble year where he shot the hell out of it from three. And then he had injuries and the shooting fell off.
If that bubble year was anything like real, there is a world where the two of them can play together. I don't think you want to do that given how great AD has been as the only center on the floor. But he's been good enough that you got to explore that. Yeah, I mean, it gives you something they've lacked as bigs.
You know, there was a glut of guards there. None goes out. You know, you saw those two first here. I think it's a matter of like kind of what's next now, right?
Like what's going to be the next move? Because as you mentioned, you know, he's a restricted free agent here. It's a Woz said yesterday that there's the intent to resign him when he becomes a free agent. I know in talking in the off season, I guess in October, you know, there was, you know, in that $12 million number.
There was there was I think it came down to the wire. I think like 13, 14, 12 something in there and hot chamara wouldn't take it. And by the way, that given where the middle level is, like, that's a totally reasonable decision for him. Yeah, the middle level isn't seven or eight million dollars.
I mean, it's eventually it's going to be like 11 million. So it's it's close to that here. So I think you look at what the Lakers have done over the last, you know, whether it be the Memphis game or the Portland game. And I think they think internally, like we have a legit shot to get the crack the top six.
And you mentioned where the standings are. You know, they've got the Clippers coming up here. But my big my what I'm interested now is now are one of those first and play now, right? Or one of those first and play is Westbrook and play because let's face it.
If your goal is to bring hot, you more sign a really in the off season like so you're either going to act as a team with cap space or you're going to take a direction right now where we want to target players that are under contract for under 2023 24 or have their bird rights and basically acquire three or four players instead of going into the free agent game. Yeah, the Lakers are two and a half games and two in the lost column out of fifth. That's that's it. That's nothing like that's that's not nothing given just how many teams there are, but it's not it's not much.
And they have been playing all year long. You got to give them credit for as much of a show as they were for the first 15 games of the year. Are they going to start? Oh, my God, whatever, like they never stopped competing.
That's credit to the players. It's a credit to Darwin hand. They compete every game, like even the other day in Portland, they fall behind 71 46. The players are laughing it up the crowds, talking them.
They come out and they're like, we can win the game. Like we can still win. We're not rolling over. And it's just not AD out.
Reeves has been out. Walker's been out. Like those are two of their best perimeter players. And I do think I just want to talk for a second about LeBron because as he approaches the scoring record, a lot of the analysis on LeBron is like big picture retrospective.
He for the millionth time is the first person at his age to do X. It's remarkable what he's doing at his age. You look at his career in total, all the records he's going to break and he's about to break the most hallowed one probably in the sport. And I do think it's getting a little overlooked the fact that he's still amazing.
Like you're still amazing. And for a while, I think it was overlooked because the Lakers were losing. And some of the games they lost had to feel of like he just get the ball on the left block and be like, you know what, I'm going to kind of pivot and take a couple of fadeaways here just to see if I get some buckets and low stakes and I'll pull up from three a couple of times because why not? You know, I feel like going to the rim.
This game's not worth it. That that like there are stakes now. And here are the numbers. This is since Anthony Davis got hurt on December 16th, I think.
The Lakers since then with LeBron on the floor are plus 99 with LeBron off the floor. They are minus 114. That is crazy town. The plus 99 is a big number.
It means that his play is still winning winning play against teams that are trying to win like good teams. I mean, everyone in the West, every night is like it's like a freaking playoff game. And they're starting lineup right now. You could argue Dennis Schrueder, Patrick Beverly, LeBron, Thomas Bryant, whom I forgetting.
I don't know somebody else. They've been going a little too skano Anderson too. Right? Yeah, they've had J.D.
They've you could argue it's four backups and LeBron and they're still winning these minutes. And so I like this deal for them. Really is in the last I wrote this in 10 things either last week or the week before. The last month has been the best retcher, Bruey Hotch and Maris career.
He can score. Now, the fit is going to be interesting because as you said, the three point shooting has been mostly mediocre for his career with the exception of last season, we didn't play very much, but shot very well. LeBron's going to make all those looks easier, right? He's going to have to make him what he's really wanted to do in his career is take long to is off the dribble and out of post ups against switches.
There's going to be less room for him to do that with the Lakers. You have to make threes. He's also been an empty calories score for most of his career. He's like Alan Houston power forward.
Remember Alan Houston? I'm not saying that Alan used was not an empty calorie score, but he was the king of like 22 one and one box score lines, 22 two and two. That's really he's an awful passer. He's a bad rebounder.
His defense sort of lacks feel and his best position is the four, which is also LeBron's best position on defense. So they're going to have to figure all that out. But there's talent there and it's a good buy low for the Lakers. And for the Wizards, as you pointed out, like, I understand that people clown the wizards.
You mentioned you just want to be a 35 36 win team. They might just want to be a 35 or 36 win team that maybe one year wins 45 and gets the second round and is competitive. If they lock into Kuzma and Porzingis and the all season, that's what they're going to be. But they're still run by basketball people.
If they were a first round pick to be had for Ruhi Hachimura, they would have the first round pick today. There was no first round pick. The rest of the league has watched Ruhi Hachimura put up 12, 0 and 0 lines and play bad defense. Like, that's just what it is.
So I think it's a fair and gets a fair deal for both teams. It's disappointing for the Wizards because they need to turn those picks into real players, as you said, and they did it and they didn't turn Ruhi into a player who's going to their team going forward. I think it's a good deal for both teams and whether Ruhi starts or comes off the bench and I know there's reporting that they plan to start them. OK, we'll see.
It's worth a shot like Ruhi, LeBron, AD and two guards. That's worth a look. Well, yeah, I mean, I think I was asked yesterday on Radio in Washington that you should have just waited until we got closer February 9th and I said, well, the basically Kendrick none in three seconds would have went somewhere else. Right?
If it wasn't Hachimura, it would have been somewhere else. And that was, you know, basically the best deal. I mean, I think when you have currency and second round picks that that's more used in trade like we saw yesterday here and I think there is a little bit, you know, somewhat of a sense of urgency to get something more accomplished now than wait two weeks and that's what they did. Yeah, there's a lot of the disappointment.
The wizard screwed up faction will be like second round picks no matter who cares about second round picks and the wizards do have a long track record of selling or punting on second round picks. That's been less the case in recent years, but Jordan Clarkson, for instance, was a wizard second round pick to tie up the two franchises again. But at the same token, the Lakers just got Ruhi Hachimura with second round picks. So if you love the deal for the Lakers and hate the deal for the wizards, you can't hold those two diametrically opposed views of the worth of second round picks.
Can I throw a fake Russell Westbrook and first round picks straight at you? Let me put on my Bill Simmons hat and ask you who says no. OK, Zach Levine for Russell Westbrook and both first round picks. Let's say one is unprotected and the second one has the most limited possible protections that are allowable under NBA rules, which are whatever I don't have to ban with the look them up right now.
I'd love to have asked this question in the off season, but I can't because Westbrook's a free agent and I would love to go one more run with this group and a playoffs if they get into play in the playing, I guess. I would probably I would do it. Um, I would seriously consider if I was Chicago and I think my intent would be then now what's your direction? Are now what you do tomorrow and Nick?
Um, but I think two unprotected ones for I mean, that I'm just, you know, between him and Biel man, I don't think it's going to be pretty on the back into those contracts here. Well, I don't think Biel I don't think Biel is even a conversation right now. No, because it's because anybody and specifically for that package is a bill for Washington. Beals not a conversations act just because like the no trade, man, like like, like the no trade has a lot of weight, man.
Like, let's let's just throw out a hypothetical. Let's say, um, Toronto just came into and offered my offered for first to Tommy Shepherd. Right. Great.
I want to do it. Well, Bradley be able to just convene. All right. It's like the baseball players, like they have four teams where they want to go to here.
So I don't think Beals a conversation right now here, but for me with Zack, um, I would probably consider it because I don't, I don't see you this roster, although they've, you know, they had a good win against Atlanta. I guess at home. Um, I just, I don't see it getting into that top four, top five. I think there has to be some type of some type of pivot here with this group.
Here's my gut. Cause this is one of the few rust plus both picks trades that is still even in theory kind of viable and I stress in theory, because I'm going to make the argument for why Chicago wouldn't do it in a second. My gut is the Lakers would do it because that's their, that's their free agency in one fell swoop. It would come with some pretty painful tax implications.
That's a big, big contract. Um, and this is not a franchise that's like the Clippers or, you know, the Warriors or whatever, um, it would give them a playmaker. And I think Russ's ascension is their sixth man has shown that they need playmaking, Anthony Davis in particular needs someone to set him up on second unit and LeBron needs another playmaker. Although Dennis Ritter has been quietly fantastic for them in the starting five lately.
Um, I think that I got his Lakers do it. Here's the argument for why Chicago should do it. And I'm not saying they should, but if you think they should, this is the argument. We won't take that big of a st- the numbers and the evidence say we will not take that much of an on court step back if Demar DeRozan stays healthy.
Demar DeRozan gets injured. We're screwed. That's probably the case anyway. Vujevic has played very, very well for the last month.
We could probably flip this contract of an all star, two time all stars, actually, that is, I think has four years and $180 million left on it after this year. He said, new issues, he looks like himself again explosive wise, but you just never know. Teams are wary. We get two first round picks for that.
That's good business for us. We're off that contract on the court. Maybe we don't get that much worse. Uh, the case against it is a, we really like Zach Levine.
He's the main guy we got in the Butler trade way back when he's very good, shooting the hell out of it again this season, playing better and better as the year goes on. The Bulls are also quietly 11 and six in their last 17 games. Their next three games are Pacers, Charlotte or Lando. Now the Bulls have crafted bed against bad teams all season.
If they take care of business against those teams, they will be 25 and 24, one game over 500 exactly where I think if you told them a month ago, they would have been that when they were 11 and 18, they would be thrilled. They'd be right in the play in playoff, you know, outside shot at the six seed race. So I don't think they would do it. Um, I don't think they would do it, but I do think that's a deal that they should consider if it were ever a proffer.
So by the way, I asked you to make your 12 man, all star rosters, did them are make your a conference all season. My 12 guy. He was the second guy. He was the final wild card.
Yes. I had trouble with it. Both. I got to make, I got to write my all star.
I think, I think with, um, and you made, you're making really good points here. I think if, I think if you were a Chicago and this was a year from now and they just finished a year where they lost in the play in and they're 25 and 24 right now, right, same group, then I think yes, right. I think it's more of a like guys where we going here, right? I just think it's a little bit too fresh, right?
Just your one. Um, let's see where this group, you know, is there another, are we the Boston of last year? Right? Can we, you know, can we get into the, you know, you probably, you can we get the six?
I don't know. Thanks. I don't think so. My, my, my, my, my, my, it's built a little separation there.
It's getting healthy. Um, but yeah, I just think it's a, it's a look. I mean, I would look at it, but I think it's a little bit too. As I said, a little too fresh where if it was a year from now, I would think I would be probably more, more considerate.
I guess my Miami has actually not built much separation. I only game ahead of the Knicks who have lost four in a row and there, um, two games out of the Hawks who have lost two in a row after a nice five game running streak. They kind of quelled some of the hawksy melodrama that's been going on there. Um, but it just feels like Miami is set to kind of stabilize as a good team that wins, you know, three out of every five games and just sort of crawls up toward locking in six.
And, you know, I mean, five's gonna be tough. They're only three years out of Cleveland. But anyway, that's neither here nor there. The other thing with Chicago is it makes you older, right?
It makes you older, although Levine's not young anymore. He's younger than the other two all stars on their team. And it kind of like now I have to resign. Voushauvitch.
It, it, I got to resign. It decreases my leverage a little bit with him just the opposite of the wizards kind of, um, increase their leverage in trading. Like now if you want who's you have to come with a big, big offer, it may have heard their leverage, resigning, but it helped their leverage in trading. Cause I just think it's interesting.
Um, I also had tomorrow, uh, on my Eastern conference, all star swad as one of the, is either the second guard of the backups or one of the wild cards. I just think he's been, I'm not going to reveal the whole column now in part because I still have my decisions. I just think he's played a ton of minutes. I just think he's a little bit more consistent as a scorer and a playmaker than either jail and Brunson or Julius Randall.
I have him over both of those guys. Um, I don't know if either Nick is going to make my 12 man. I don't have a runner. It's, you know, people are people get.
They're having good years. They're having great, they're having hard man. It's hard to make the all that. That's the thing.
It's like, it always drives me crazy when people say people get snubbed and I always say, well, who's coming off? Right? Like, yeah, if you're going to say snub, give me like who's come, who's coming off? Like, you know, Hal Burton has missed some games, but you should be on it.
Has to be on it. Yeah. You see his impact with him, not on the roster. You know, leaving a league assist.
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Tyree's Hal Burton has to be on it. In fact, the second guard spot for me in the starting lineup and I have a ballot for the starters came down to Haliburton in jail and Brown. That's how good Haliburton has been despite his recent injury. The Pacers are 0 and 6 without Haliburton.
They play, I believe that next to two of the next three nights, they play. They have a bunch of games coming up. And that was my next question for you. They're now down to 23 and 25.
They are ninth in the east, a game tied now with the bulls, actually, at the ninth and tenth spots. The Raptors are not climbing. The Raptors are clinging to life, but they're clinging to life just two games behind the Pacers and they have a decision to make the wizard, you know, who are tied with the Raptors are coming for coming for tenth, baby, coming for tenth. Or they have their key.
You know, the wizards are accumulating some good play and experience. They're going to become like the play in like Charlotte. Charlotte had accumulated that, right? It wasn't pretty.
Charlotte is a Charlotte is not fun to watch. You know who this one to watch? Mark Williams. Yeah, they finally put that dude in the rotation.
He's good, man. I mean, it's so funny because I wrote that article in Wendy's column back in December. I basically just bludgeoned them about their draft history and then all of a sudden, like, you know, how it works. It's like the curse.
Like the next day, Mark Williams played in the end, like 17 and seven. I was like, whoa, where did you come from? Thank God. I watched them play the Rockets the other day.
Again, that is Hornets Rockets is a sign that I have a lot of problems. And the Rockets and dancers were like, Oh my God, Mark Williams is blocked. Every single shot since he's been on the go. He never stops dunking yet.
Like six dunks in the game. I like Mark with no on Charlotte. We're not talking about Charlotte except to say now that we're here on Charlotte. I think the intel I'm hearing.
Hey, word, who breaks hurt now? Hey, word to me. I love Gordon Hayward. He's a great player to me as a trade candidate as a buyer.
I just have to write him off as a zero. He just doesn't play. Trust them. He doesn't play.
And Rose, yours not had a great year. The guy that I keep mentioning is someone I would try to get his PJ Washington. The intel I keep hearing now is I think that's quieted down and they seem pretty determined to keep him and restricted free agency. Have you heard the same?
I have. I think that the bridges stuff also complicates a lot of things, right? Like what direction, you know, that because that went from, you know, things were maybe both sides were negotiating and then they came out. Like they were pretty adamant.
Like nothing is going on with Miles Bridges, the Hornets were. I think they sent out like a press release or a statement regarding that to the observer. So I think it's hard for them, you know, to move off PJ, not knowing what's going to happen with bridges. I think PJ is interesting just because, you know, his number, from what I understand, what was offered was like in that four years, 52, 53 area.
Same with Hachimura and they're not the similar players. I think PJ Washington's better, but similar number. And we'll see if that's a little bit north. So I would say, yeah, I mean, that was Mikey.
He was in my fake trade like to the Golden State, right? I remember that. So I would say probably less, you know, the other guys you mentioned, I think that they're all, you know, Mason Plumlee's having a really good year. You know, it's funny you mentioned that because it's please to the whole Plumlee family.
I apologize for what I'm about to say to all the Plumlee's Mason Marshall, Miles, Mr. and Mrs. Plumlee. I don't know if there is a sisters, a Plumlee sisters.
I hate watching Mason Plumlee play. I just, I hate it. I hate it. He's stiff.
He's awkward. He's shooting jumpers lefty now, not just free throws. He shot a pick and pop lefty jumpy the other day. I don't know why I'm even talking about this.
I think I need to see a therapist for how much I hate watching Mason Plumlee play. And yet, Bobby, it's every game. 16, 12 and five. Like he's I have to just say, I understand someone's got to put up numbers in Charlotte.
Someone's got to get these numbers. He's been good this year. I don't know that I would like trade for him and be like, you're my, you're, I'm going to play you 20 minutes as a backup center. But I need to get over my Mason Plumlee blind spot because he's been.
I can't talk about this anymore. Pacers, 23 and 25. The question that really matters is how it burns out a little bit longer. Let's say this swoon continues.
We've all kind of buried the Turner healed for us and two for Sir on pick steel and pivoted to his turn or going to sign an extension with Indiana. I don't think that that deal doesn't seem to be alive to me still right now, despite this pace or swoon. But I wonder, have you heard anything about if this feel good season ends now in term, if they keep falling and all of a sudden they look up and they're like, well, we're seven in the lottery standings. Does this change their approach at all?
I think the realest there was that this probably wasn't sustainable as far as being in the top six. Eventually, we're going to come back to Earth a little bit here. Although, as you mentioned, you have to make a decision with Turner, renegotiation. I wouldn't be, you know, I'd be interested to see if something gets done before the deadline or after we've talked about $27 million in cap space.
I don't think he's going to get the full amount, which is you can boost it up to like $36 million, $37 million. So it's another 18 there. I don't see the Lakers coming back with a rust and two ones for those two guys right now. I'd be surprised about that.
Especially the way Thomas Bryan is playing and Davis needs to play center. Like that's been the obstacle all along to that deal. Yeah. I mean, and then that's your kind of, you know, you sacrifice those two and those are your two free agents, basically.
You know, if you've resigned Turner and you have healed for another year here, but you look at, but you look at their roster besides those two players, like, I like TJ McConnell, he's having a good year and he's on a good contract, right? So there's not a pressing need to move off. But I think they're more of less upgrading their roster, which I thought we could have seen maybe with that Boston and that Cleveland pick, right? They've got Boston Cleveland pick or they buyers with those two picks, right?
We put those in play and see what you can get. But I think you're looking at more of like salary dumps, right? I think you're looking at, I mean, they've got 15 players, but you didn't have to wait. I think they're more of like, I had put in there like, you know, if Phoenix was looking to get off money, right?
If, you know, sorry, for example, right, you know, saves them $30 million in tax. Um, like that's the type of deal I was looking at more from from Indiana's perspective than some of these bigger names. Phoenix has got to do something. They're 24 and 24.
They've now won three in a row after a devastating stretch where they just didn't have, they didn't have bodies. Chris Paul is back. Booker will be back at some point, hopefully soon. Cam Johnson's back.
Um, they still don't have campaign eight and since the couple weeks, they're, they're going to get healthy. It would be hard for them to pivot down the standings, given that what I've heard about this new incoming owner is that he does not want to do that. He wants to win. And, um, obviously Chris Paul is 37 years older, 36, whatever he is and needs to win.
And if you have Chris Paul on your team being productive, he's been pre productive after a slow start, you need to win. Um, and you mentioned all these, the sham at Sarge contracts, they have a lot of movable contracts. Um, and they just have this crowder situation that, you know, every week, there's like, Oh, there was almost this 17 deal where a crowder went, it's always Milwaukee. And I was, I think I was the first one to say to be the season to keep an eye on Milwaukee for Crowder.
I think he fits there. I think they want him as the sort of PJ Tucker 2.0. I still think if you ask me what team is Jay Crowder on in April, maybe it's the Globetrotters. I don't know.
I would guess, I would guess the sun. I mean, I would guess the bucks. I would guess the bucks because I just think the interest is there. The sun's have to make a deal at some point.
They have all their picks. They have all the swap rights. You know, they were KD's team back when KD had a list that list is gone for now. Um, they got to do something.
Right. Is there any suns buzz out there? No, I mean, it's really, it's really Crowder. I mean, it's like, eventually time's going to run out, right?
I mean, we're two weeks, almost two weeks away here and, you know, you're not going to get a first warm for guy who hasn't played since last since the Dallas series here. I think if you're, if you're, you know, if you're, um, Phoenix, you know, like, I would be concerned. I mean, if I was Milwaukee, I would be concerned giving up like Pat Conantan and George Hill. Like that.
Like the thing someone pitched this to me last week and executive from an team. Hey, I heard this bucks me and Trey Pat Conantan for Jay Crowder. Like, is Pat Conantan just better than Jay Crowder? Like, why am I doing that?
I understand your hard is bigger, more switchable on defense. Like, Pat Conantan's good. Like, I don't, why am I doing that? And he's not a good extension and he's not a good, he just, his extension doesn't even kick in yet.
You got him for a few more years. I just like that's, for me, like, if I'm Milwaukee, like, what, how am I getting there? Right? Like how, I mean, it's, it's, it's probably George Hill and something else, but is it, I mean, I don't know if I'm going to go to Grayson Allen, right?
Like, that's why, that's why all these three teams, right? Yeah. Someone told me that it has some interest in Crowder that those, the sun seemed to want two of the following three things, a good young player, a first round pick and a rotation almost a starter, Crowder level player, two of those three. And it's like, that's cool.
Like, that's why Jay Crowder hasn't been traded yet because he hasn't, we're 50 games into the season. He hasn't played and he's in the last year of his contract. Like, throw the, the key of also been an obvious crowder. They've had Jay Crowder.
They liked Jay Crowder. He yelled at Jimmy Butler, Jimmy Butler, yells at him. It all works. Everybody yells at each other.
Hashtag he culture. Um, with the, should they trade Caleb Martin for Jay Crowder? Caleb Martin's been pretty good. He's younger than Jay Crowder's like a contract.
Like, I think Jay Crowder's to the average NBA fan. Jay Crowder's a better player, a bigger name and maybe he is a better player, certainly more rugged and playoff proven. Is that worth my while though? The heater, the heat are going to try to do something for sure.
I don't know if that ends up being it, but like, that's not a no brainer to me. I might not even do that far, am I? Well, I think what's hard too is that he, he hasn't played, right? I think if he would have been like, you know, when P.J.
Tucker was traded from Houston to Milwaukee, he was on the court, right? He played, right? Like, so I think there would be more interest if he, if he was out there, um, competing and see where got, you know, like maybe it becomes, maybe the two out of those three things on that Phoenix Wish List gets checked off here. But I just think, you know, his shooting numbers started to take a little bit of a dive.
What's, what type of role is he willing to accept? Is he willing to come off your bench for you? You know, like that's, for me, that's where I'm like, you know, hey, I'll give you, you know, an expiring and maybe a guy that got another year and a second like that. That's, you know, that's probably more of the price tag.
Did you have either Bam out of bio or Jimmy Butler on your 12 man Eastern Conference? I'll start team. I had Bam on my 12 man. Not, but I didn't have, I didn't have Butler.
He's on my reserve, my alternate list there. I think Bam has to be a lock. I think he's just been too good. I understand Randall scores more points.
Brunson is a little bit better of a playmaker. Bam's just, bams is better than those guys. Just better. Well, he helped.
I mean, when that thing was sinking with injuries and guy, they basically had like nine guys playing like, I mean, he basically kind of held that together for them. What I had a hard time with picking my East reserves are so in the West, you have four players who have played three of them have played well south of a thousand minutes, which is like nothing. Like you've barely participated in it, not barely, but like that's just not a lot of minutes. If you haven't played a thousand minutes and you're, and there's still out, which means they're just going to end up missing more than half their teams games by the time all certain games comes around.
And then there's another Devin Booker who's played just over a thousand minutes. It's Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, Jared Jackson, Jr. and Anthony Davis. Yeah.
And there's no, there's really no logic to putting one on and not putting all of them on. You're 12-man Ross. Like if you put Zion on Lakers fans have a real argument, like I understand, like 100 minutes. 80s played 100 fewer minutes and like that disqualifies him.
Phoenix fans, wait, you put Zion on? Yeah, the Pelicans are good. There are five games or 500 now. They're not like great.
And I realized they were much better with Zion, but we were much better with Devin Booker. He's not on. So it's hard to make a logical argument to include one, but not all three, all four, or maybe three. In the East, you have two guys who have played like five more games than that and like 200 more minutes than that.
So that's a significant, like somewhere in there is my line of demarcation. Like they've played like 35 games in 1100 to 1200 minutes. Like Jared Jackson, Jr. is played like 750 minutes, 80s, 830.
Those two guys are James Harden and Jimmy Butler. And what makes them complicated is if you look at the numbers and particularly if you look at all the advanced metrics, all of them, they leap out is like, they have to be on your all-star team. Like their advanced numbers are so much better than everyone else's in this sample other than Halliburton. And Janus, who's, you know, someone in that front court of MB Tatum, Durand, Janus is going to have to come off the bench.
Did you have Hardin on? No, here's my, and he's played well. I mean, they're on a great run right now. Hardin has been under the radar.
I just had like, I mean, maybe I'm just biased. I just have the sour taste in my mouth in that Oklahoma City game, that home game where they lost in his defense act might have been the worst I've ever seen anybody play. Like I, and I just can't get out of my mind. How bad he was defensively here.
And I know we have to look at the whole body of work here, but I mean, I think if I'm putting, if I'm looking at the East Guards, I drew Holiday on there. He's, he's, he's going to make it or be a very tough cut. Yeah. You know, I mean, I mean, certainly the Kyrie situation, he'll make probably make it as a starter, right?
Yeah, I do it. I start from scratch. You know, Kyrie's been incredible and they've won these last two games without Durand and he's been incredible in both of them. I just, you know, maybe I'm getting old, but if your own team decides that you need to go away for a little while, I don't, I think you sit out my all-star team that year.
If your own team is like, we don't want you around for a prolonged period of time. And it's nice that they've righted the ship. I just think you just, you sit, you sit, you sit all star, you sit out, you sit out, you tell the share. I'm like, I'm my fake ballot.
That doesn't really matter. I'm so, I'm not, it's not funny. Like I'm not being, I'm not joking. Like his own team was like, dude, you just got to go away.
Let me ask you a question here. You got Damian Lillard on your all star ballot. I know that sounds like a loaded, that sounds like, what, why would he ask that? But do you have Damian Lillard on there?
I do. I don't think it's a no brainer, but I do think he needs to be on it. Let's talk about Portland. Yeah.
Let's use that as a transition to talk about Portland. They are down to 22 and 25. They finally won last night against the Spurs who stink. That ended some amount of games losing streak that included that Lakers comeback.
They are in the middle of a stretch where they play a whole bunch of home games. And going into that stretch, I think they felt very, very good about themselves. They were 500 or maybe one game under. They had a bunch of road games already in the bag.
And here came this stretch and start with like Orlando, you know, Cleveland. I think Cleveland was missing somebody for that game. That was a winnable game. Laker is at home, winnable game.
And it hasn't gone well. And then you and I talked yesterday about the Damian Lillard post game media availability after the Lakers game when he was asked about the trade deadline and whether you wanted to see something action of some kind. And he kind of, I think I couldn't quite understand why the question made him so angry. I think he felt like he was being baited maybe into saying something that was either going to make that was just going to be maybe not reflect well on his current teammates or or something.
And he just didn't like the question. And it got the whole league sort of unnoticed. I'm like, wait a second. Is this something going wrong here?
We both kicked around, you know, checked in around the blazers and stuff yesterday. What'd you hear? Nothing. I think it's more of a player that's, you know, I think a Laker game and I the Laker game left a really sour taste in his mouth.
And he even commented after they beat San Antonio by 20, like how hard it was to come to the gym with what he like. He's like, I still have that mind that second half on my mind. I think he's just, I think he's looking at it like, you know, I just want to play basketball, stop asking these questions. And it's, it's really hard.
What they've been trying to do there is that you, you're basically kind of like retool on the fly. I mean, I've been writing about it. It's like extremely hard as far as what they're trying to accomplish. But I don't see, I don't see anything from, from Lillard's sample.
I mean, I think it's just hard with how the roster is that you're 67,000 below the luxury tax. You have basically no first round picks to trade because you owe Chicago top 14 protected for basically like the next six years, right? So it basically has to be two years after that. So we're, yeah, pick and that's the Larry Nance that was the Larry Nance trade that with Chicago and Cleveland and all that stuff.
But they're bench will be well documented. Bench has been bad, right? Bench is not good. It's been on health.
It's been now with less so. Yeah, you had an issue a little out for a while, just as when I was now, Nercage has not been good. Nercage has not been good. Then you've got four years of him.
I mean, that's a problem. You know, I've been at a $6, $15, $16 million number here. And then you've got the Jeremy Grant situation where as we've talked about, you know, we've got the extension is still sitting there, $113 million for four years. Could be a free agent this season.
And if you sign him, either to that or another number, like you're locked in, man, like between Lillard, Simon's Grant, you know, your commit and close to probably over $80, $90 million in those three players. They've become the team that I kind of thought they were before the season when I referred to them as meh, just vanilla and meh. And something is just not working. Offensively, it just doesn't feel like they know quite what their identity is on offense.
Like they don't want to be the Damian Lillard 70 pick and roll the game show that they used to be. All the pet kind of motion flex sets that Terry Statz ran are not there anymore, but they run Damian off screens a lot off the ball. It just doesn't quite seem like they know exactly what they want to do on offense. It's their office is fine.
And when Dame's on the court, they're winning those minutes by a lot. And then defensively, it just feels like, you know, Chauncey Billips has talked about how small they are across the board and it's like, well, yeah, that's the team that you guys built. It's not that we're that we're small last year before they when they had, that was the big complaint when they had Lillard, Simon's and Norman Powell, you know, the three guards, they were it's like an under six, three lineup as far as you know with that. And I just I just feel like we're living the same movie again, where the Lillard, Simon's back court is just never going to be able to defend.
They're just never going to be able to have a good defense with those two guys at the top of it. And I just don't know what to do. Like you mentioned, Nurgic, Nurgic has been wildly up and down the street a huge game last night against the Spurs. He's Nurgic just whatever.
He's fine. He's just an okay starting center. When people ask, you know, how could the Blazers pivot if they decide to go into sell mode? Well, they put and Dame listed a name there.
There's I have not heard anything about Dame being anything like names going to be on the blazer as far as I know. Could they trade Nurgic? I'm like, is anyone like, does anyone want? I mean, use of Nurgic is fine.
He has three years and $55 million left on his contract. And he's like a, like an old school starting center. Does anybody want, is anyone backing up the bring strut for that? Then, then it's like Josh Hart is a name that is very, very hot right now.
A lot of teams would like Josh Hart. We mentioned Crowder from Miami. I think Miami would probably express some interest in Josh Hart. He's a heat guy, he kind of guy.
And he has that weirdo contract where he's essentially probably going to be free agent after the show. He's got a, it's weird. It's got a player option. And if he, if he picks it up and comes back, then the contract becomes non-guaranteed.
So I think he's going to probably become a free agent. Well, Josh Hart is good. Despite his recent aversion to shooting three is, which seems to be a baiting. He's been shooting three.
Someone clearly spoke to him in the last week like, dude, you got to shoot. He's good. And here's the world we live in, Bobby. And it's very different from the world you lived in when you worked in the league.
Nobody cares about expiring contracts anymore. Expiring contracts like used to be this gold and ship of like, we can get picks and players. Nobody needs expiring contracts anymore. No one's captured his clog for the next four years.
No one has a really good player on a long term deal they need to get rid of. This just, they don't have the same currency anymore. So Josh Hart and I expiring contract. Like, what am I get?
What's the point of that for me? If I'm the player, it's not like it's going to make my team appreciably worse. I'm not going to tank because I traded Josh Hart. I don't see what the point is.
Yeah. I mean, you're right. They don't have the currency like they did. And we, we signed Chris Humphreys to a one year, $12 million deal on an expiring because we thought it had value, right?
I mean, that's like, that's not the mindset anymore that that, you know, that that teams have. And he's really kind of, if you break it, I mean, like, you know, Jeremy Grant, you know, basically to whoever, you know, if they ever put him on the market, he's not going to be able to sign an extension and you're basically going to have to over, you're going to have to over pay him. I mean, that's usually the cardinal rule, right? When you give up so much for a player that you have to overpay to retain him here.
And what does that do for Portland? Like that's, that's it. So there's really no easy answer as far as what they can, you know, what they can do unless it becomes a point where you look at Simon's, right? Like does that break you up into two, two guys, right?
That's what I was going to say. They're only, if they want to retool, if they just conclude this roster is not good enough, we need to retool around Damien loads. Like Damien loads are guy. He's 10 toes in.
We're never trading him. He's going to be a blazer for life. Your only avenues to do that are Grant and Simon's. That's it.
And Simon's seeing is dangerous because he's so young. He's the bridge to your post- It's like a 500 team. It's an interesting 500 team. They've just started to reintegrate Gary Payton a second.
As you mentioned, it's your little just came back. It's interesting team. I just and there's going to be a lot of noise around Josh Hart. And if they, if they, if they really kind of spiral the next two weeks, I think that may change their mindset a little bit, but I just don't know what they could do.
Well, yeah. I mean, that's, that's your guy because then what you probably do is that you probably, I mean, we've seen a little more of Shane Sharp, right? Kind of, you know, from a minute standpoint. Now, is he, you know, you basically go with him this year little, you know, eventually we'll see Winslow back, but you're right.
I mean, like the pain thing is like, and that's, that's the challenge when you have, when you're limited to what you can pay players and you have, you know, I'd love to go back and do a study on how many teams, the mid level or the tax middle level exception have its, it hasn't worked out and pain's been injured. So it's hard to say, but like you go back in history here. And if you miss out on that, basically one of your own little, you know, tools to sign guys, that, that certainly hurts you. Um, let's go back and talk about Toronto for a second because our old colleague, Chris Haines is reporting that Fred Van Vann, we've seen something that I heard last week and hadn't been able to nail down has changed agents, which is always interesting when it's time to someone's free agency.
And it doesn't say who is new agents going to be. I think I know who is new agents going to be, but I haven't confirmed it yet. But either way, um, you know, the Toronto thing, Toronto's 21 and 27, they're just not good. Like they don't show signs of being good.
Even when they win, you don't come out. You know, that's funny too. That was like, like, when I look at their lineup, I like, I like their lineup. I like their star, you know, like when you look at it before, you know, like, when you like, I just, I like it, but then when you're talking to the idiot who's told people to take the over on 44 and a half wins or whatever.
And then there's just something. Yeah. There's, I've seen it. We've seen enough, right?
There's enough body of work, I think, right? After 48 games to kind of, you know, look at this group here for, because for the most part, I know Siaka was out, you know, for a little bit, but for the most part, it's been, you know, somewhat healthy. Fred's been in and out a little bit, but they're, you know, there's a 35 game sample probably with this group. Siaka, make your all-star team?
Yes. Give me your 12. Just give me your 12 Eastern Conference. All right.
Let me grab a here. I have, um, Mitchell, Brown, Tatum, Durant, and Bead. That's my same story, going on. Holiday, Halberton, Giannis, Bam, Siakam.
I have Kyrie, just because I should have probably gone by your philosophy. I have Kyrie. He's been amazing. Kyrie and the Rose.
Fair enough. Um, so Siakam was on it. Yeah. Uh, so the Toronto thing, I don't know what direction they want to go, but I don't think they can look at their team and say the big run is coming.
This is a, a sleeping giant. There, it doesn't appear that way. So there are two different versions of the Toronto thing. There's the traditional sort of like, uh, whole hum, like Fred Van Vliet may not come back here.
Let's see what we can get for him and said losing it for nothing. Gary Trent may not come back here. Let's see what we can get instead of losing it for nothing. And he's been, I think the hottest, or at least seems to be the most likely Raptor to be moved.
Um, although I think he's playing very well for them. And I think the, you know, there have been murmuring over the years that he's not thrilled there. I, I have heard the opposite. I've heard he's okay there, but, um, uh, and then there's the big one, which is moving and an obi or Siakam.
Those are two completely different things. The first one, the Van Vliet Trent one is sort of standard team building stuff. The second one is we no longer believe in the Anonobi Barnes Siakam construction. We're going to sell as high as possible, likely on Anonobi, in which case, a lot of teams will register interest in Toronto will get some good stuff back for O'Jannon.
Those are two different things. My favorite van Vliet deal that I mentioned before the season before the season was Kyle Lowry back to Toronto, uh, along with the heat pick first round pick for Van Vliet. I still like that trade. I don't think the heat would do it because I just, I think they, they, if we're trading a pick, we're doing it in the mega, in the heat mega deal for the next big guy that comes to the heat.
I like that trade. I mean, Fred can go, Fred can go lots of different places. I mentioned the Clippers for him. You know, the Wolves have a point guard situation that I think is kind of quieted down with the Angelo Russell.
Daniel Russell's like kind of had a good year for them. Yeah. I've seen the ball really well. I had not heard a lot of deal of stuff anymore.
I don't know where the Fred Van Vliet journey ends this season. Maybe it just sends him Toronto. I like that Miami trade, but I don't sense a lot of traction on my fake trade. No, I mean, I had, I had in my fake trade, I had him with the Clippers, you know, just for a package of, um, you know, they have, I don't know if I would, if I was a Clippers, I would consider moving Terrence Mann, you know, like, it's too much for me.
So like basically like take, you know, take Batum and not Batum, uh, Covington and whatever you get to number and we'll throw in a first round pick and kind of go from there. Um, I think that my concern with, with, you know, certainly with Fred, um, four, four, four, one, 14, which is his number right now. Is it's a pretty good number. Um, I mean, that's what he's eligible for right now.
Um, he's, I mean, he's right that he's outplayed his contract. I think he's 19 among all point guards, um, in salary. Um, man, he's played a ton of minutes. Man, he has second behind hard in the last four years and minutes played.
I mean, there is a, there's a, there's a lot of wear and tear here and he's played pretty good. Um, the last few games, I think for me, I would, I would look probably more at OG. I mean, his, uh, his last five games have not been good. Um, I mean, I think he's 37% and 33, 37 from the field, 33% 11 points here.
It's going to be interesting because I think we're going to get some clarifications act as far as from a CBA standpoint. And then hopefully by this time, the, um, by the trade deadline comes into play. And I think one of it, and I wrote about it today and, and, uh, and windy's column, one of the things that we might be heading towards as some of these extension rules being tweaked, um, where like OG as is basically, we're going to, we're going to hear about his name forever, right? Because he's not going to sign an extension because he's limited for 120%.
But if they change the rules where basically it's, it's the percentage of the cap. Okay. So it's for him, like 30%. Then that might, that might change things a little bit here, but I think for him, as you've mentioned before, like he's got the most value and you said it, like, you know, we're, we're, we're looking for a, um, a Murray type package from that San Antonio got, you know, two ones, a pick swap, but maybe at first, from another team here.
Um, and I think if teams have an understanding that these rules are going to change or potentially change, I think that maybe even give us Toronto, even a little bit more, um, leverage here. Yeah. I think I said on a prior podcast and a fit of exuberance that I think their return could like approach Don of an initial levels of return. What I really meant to say, what I should have said was in draft equity only, like there's no marketing and coming back coming back in that trade.
There's no on court talent. I just, I just meant draft equity. And I think even that is overstating. I think the Murray one is a better comp because I think Toronto will surely ask for two first-year unpicks.
And if multiple teams meet that price, well, then that just sort of lead you to, you're going to get something else above that. You know, the other thing I want to say is again, every, every, not every team, but lots of teams have registered interest in OGN and OBE, right? Like he's just the player type that every team wants a big way. You can shoot three is although he's not shooting well this season.