And now, below has welcomed to the low post podcast. Hope everyone had a good fourth of July. It's now the fifth of July. MPA free agency is mostly over minus the Christian wood and Grant Williams and P.J.
Washington over here. And over there, but trade season is not over as the Damien Lillard, James Harden, Nexus of disgruntled guard, whatever, continues to royal on. And we're very excited for the first time in a long time. A true pioneer in this business.
And I mean, that sincerely, the first guy ever to do cap, analytics, exes, and owes, humor, coffee analysis, all in one place from the former, I don't remember what your title was with the Memphis Grizzlies. I'll just say director of game operations, I assume you were responsible for all of Gris the mascots. Hi, Jinx, John Hollinger. How are you?
I'm doing great. How are you doing? I'm doing well. I'm doing well.
And you are going to be in a beautiful Las Vegas Nevada for Women Yama's debut, correct? Yes, I will. Exciting times. This will be the third time I've seen him in Las Vegas, though.
I saw him twice there, not over. I wish I had been at those games. Those must have been, were people just cackling and smiling and gaming games? Yeah, yeah, totally.
It was just looking at each other like, what? What did I just see? Yeah, it was unbelievable. And it wasn't like a big crowd or anything.
I'm going to say 98% of the seats were killed by NBA personnel at some time, you know, like there weren't like casuals coming into that. This is, it'll be different in Vegas. I'm sure Thomas and Matt can be completely packed to the kills. So it'll be a different experience.
Well, Portland Trailers did not get bigger when Yama. They moved up from, I think, 5th to 3rd and got Scoot Henderson. And we've already talked about it. And I was, you know, they did not trade to pick.
And Damian Lillard, about a day in the free agency, finally pulled the trigger on the trade request. The Spurs are kind of a natural transition to it. Our Ramona Shelburne has reported that I think the words used were that Damian Lillard has deep respect for the Spurs and that we should sort of have them on at least the backburner of the list with the list reading, mostly Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, other things. One thing I think Dame does have a deep respect for the stability and steadiness and what the Spurs stand for and certainly now they have a transcendent talent there.
But we are now in day 5 of Damian Lillard, official Damian Lillard trade watch. Not much noise has happened other than Portland making it known, oh, we're not in a rush. We don't love the Miami Heat's offer. We're not just gifting you to the Miami Heat.
We don't necessarily think we owe you that. Part of the reason for that is that we also currently owe you $200 million, so, you know, we've taken some care of you. I do think they will try to direct Dame to a place he would be happy with. But let's start with Miami.
Mr. Hollinger, if the Heat decided to throw everything in, and they may not ever decide to do that. They may say, we have the leverage of being his preferred choice by a mile, we don't have to throw everything in. But if they decided to throw everything in, which we mean waiting a few weeks, we'll get to.
They could get to. Tyler Hero, some salary filler you can pick. Three first round picks, if they were to amend to pick the Oklahoma City Thunder, not just two, think they could throw a swap in there somewhere. Yes.
Nicole Yovitch and Jaime Hakaz, if they waited a few weeks for him to be tradable. So let's review, Hero, talk about him. He's a very polarizing player. Salary, whatever.
This is again, the whole kid and kuboodle. Not saying they've offered this or they will offer it. So let's lay out exactly what it could be. Three first round picks, let's say they're all unprotected.
A swap, Yovitch Hakaz. What do you think of that offer? I think that's a good offer if you're, or I don't think that Miami D&D needs to go that far. I think they're offered with just three firsts.
And see, the key is, there's a tiny aspect for Miami because they need the only people trade to be part of this trade. This is why I have you on because you're always going to remind me of this wrinkle already happened and you forgot about it. So yes, I forgot the girl in Depot now plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yes, so if they can make it make it only people plus Hero, or nobody can talk about it.
There's only people plus Lowry. Like I don't know why Lowry is expiring. It's like being talked about as part of this. I guess my handy figure is a three way deal that gets something for Hero that's set at the Portland.
They may not want Hero and Miller both on the books for four years, too. But anyway, one of those two plus Olidibo plus Yovitch gets you there, right? And so I think when you do that and then add in three firsts, which they can do, you change protection with Oklahoma City. The Thunder should not fight them on this, right?
To change from top 14 protected to 25 and unprotected to 26 to just unprotected to 26 is a clear win for the Thunder. So they shouldn't have to be like, oh, you need to give us all this other stuff in order to do that. So then that opens the 24th deck and they can do 24, 2830 unprotected if they wished. You use the word good to describe that offer.
I have used the word palatable to describe my M is best possible offers. I'm glad you said the word good. I don't necessarily think I would go to good. I'll stick a palatable and be comfortable with that.
But I feel like I've been in not quite crazy town, but like something adjacent to crazy town where everyone is acting like the heats offer is a pile of dog poop. And I'm like, well, look, Tyler Hero, he's not amazing, but I think he's actually still a decent, I think he's a good NBA player. Like he's not, people have made the Jordan pool comps endlessly and now in the last week, it's been well, look, I mean the Warriors had to throw in a pick to dump Jordan pool. Well, hey, they got a good basketball player.
But good and Chris Paul. And B, like Tyler Hero has been demonstrably better than Jordan pool. He Tyler Hero is an actual legit elite three point shooter. Jordan pool is a career, 33 to 34% three point shooter who once the league started calling carries this year.
Remember they called him with like three carries in one game? I felt like his whole game was off-kilter from that moment on and the bizarro turnovers just continued. So I think Tyler Hero, yeah, maybe you can't flip him for two really good firsts or even one really good first in five seconds or whatever. I think he's fine, I think he's fine.
Three unprotected, and you get, I see, yo, yo, vision and hot kez are, you know, they don't profile as really good starters on a good team. Okay, like sure, you know that now, I don't know that what you think of those guys. I'm not a draft Nick like you. Like I don't know if it's graduated high school.
You'll be graduated high school like five months ago. Like what do we know about these guys? I like, I like cock heads a lot coming in the draft. I like them specifically for his ability to help a good team fairly immediately.
I think if it's a lot there in Miami and what they're trying to do, then he goes to be in Portland. So to me, Miami tries to keep cock heads and puts you up to the deal because you owe it just more like the speculative long-term guy. And then if it really got to three unprotected picks, the assumption everyone has is that well, when is a heat unprotected pick ever really paid off? The heat, as long as Riley is there and supposed to try to compete every year?
Well, sure, I'm sure they will. Sometimes they fail. Like it's not unfathomable for the heat to backslide for a couple of years. I mean, if they were to pull this off, they were almost 33, Jimmy Butler's 30, whatever.
Bam, it's amazing and young, but he's not a number one option on a great team who can like, well, as long as he's on the team, we're confident it will be good forever. Like I think unprotected heat, 28, 20, 30 picks are valuable assets if you were to acquire them. I don't think it's not the best offer. It's not an amazing offer.
It's not what the net's got for Kevin Durant. The email is also not Kevin Durant. He's not seven feet tall. It's actually worse.
He's what? It's contract is worse. Contract is now Durant makes in the next three years, Durant's contract is 48, 51, 54, gone, expired. Games is 45, so less year one, 49, less year two, 59, 5 million more in year three or whatever it is, 63, player option in year four.
So he's not Kevin Durant. And I don't think that offer is as bad or whatever as it is made out to be the other thing and I'll let you go is I think there are two trades we need to throw away as points of comparison. At least two recent ones. One is Beal, throw it away.
It's an anomaly. Do not use it as a comparison to any other trades. No trade clause. Just make that a complete anomaly.
The other is go bare. No one can explain what in the hell happened with go bare, but don't start stacking up. Well, go bare was worth this. So my guy must be worth this.
And go bare one is like, we're all just gonna remember that is what, how, where? So like throw those away. So that's the Miami offer. You think it's okay.
Are there any other, go through the list of plausible game suitors, start with whatever one you like and tell me how you think that offer compared to the one we just outlined. If you ever get there, cause we said they may not. That's why I think that that is the best offer. And Miami might not even need to go that far.
Cause you're like the other teams, they're plausible liller teams. What do they even have to put in? RBC training round has discovered potential in over 20,000 Canadian athletes and down. Your story could be next.
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So you're ready for whatever's nice. Learn more about their customizable plans. Let's go up back on. Like what does the Clippers offer even look like, right?
It's okay. Well, let's go through it. Cause I don't think the Clippers would even come up much cause people assume that they have nothing but they don't have nothing. So like let's go through what it is.
Right. It's going to be like basically a spider slop. Like they can put it not together with Morris Covington, whatever, maybe send Norman Powell back to Portland. And then you're looking at picks in 2830 versus 2830.
And then I don't know, like we have a future second from Detroit, like, you know, like you're going to have to throw in Terrence Mann and Kobe Brown, the guy you just drafted and maybe like Brandon Boston, you're like, if you throw all the good young players in the Clippers can at least throw bones in the Clippers can at least make a call and it's not like the Blazers can just be insulted that you even called. Like if you offer all the young guys and all the picks and whatever it is, they're going to swap it up. I don't know. Like it's not a good offer.
It's not going to win the bidding. But you've been on these calls. Like there are calls you are probably embarrassed to make. There are calls where the other guy would be justified and basically saying like, dude, do you call me when you have a real offer?
Like that's not a you call. That's like a call you can make in good faith. Yeah. Now let me ask you to have a clipper question.
Would they do Paul George for Daniel? No, I don't think so. Would you? Truthfully, I haven't even thought of that.
Because all the Paul George stuff was, well immediately like James Harden for Paul George and the Clippers were never doing that, that was never going to be a thing. I just, I don't think they view these lateral star for star trades involving Paul George as additive enough to help them in a Western conference in which if you go through the teams, they've probably lost the ground in this offseason. They've lost Eric Gordon. They got KJ Martin.
I think that was a great signing for them. You can play back a five. He adds a jolt of athleticism that they need. But Denver still Denver.
I think the Lakers got better. The Suns got better. The Warriors, I think, got better. The Kings will have the benefit of continuity.
I think they got a little better. I think the Clippers are looking around like now right now. And obviously, we all focus on the health of their two big guys. But I think they're looking around.
I was like, is this past us mind, which is why I think they will come back to the table at some point on Harden. I don't know if anything's on the table. Food has been served. Apertice have been consumed.
I don't even know what the state of the table is. But that's the Clippers. That's the Clippers. What else?
For Dan, for Dan. Well, OK. So San Antonio, I think, is preposterous. I just don't see why on Women Y'all's timeline, you would agree to have a 30-sick-year-old Danie Miller making $60 million.
That makes no sense to me at all. Raptors. So another person tried to pitch me on the Raptors. What is the trades, Scotty Barnes?
I don't think it was. Because I don't see a Raptors trade. But you could sell me on what the Raptors trade is. I think it's either Siaka, Miranda, Novi, and Three First.
Can they trade Three First? I mean, so the pick they owe to San Antonio is top six protected in 24. If you say, look, we're probably not going to suck this year. We're not going to be in the top six picks.
We'll be able to give you 26-28-30 with a very high probability. I think you can sell that. And you're getting Siaka, right? Like, that's pretty good, right?
Do I want Siaka if I'm the blazers on a $38 million expiring contract, and I might have to extend it. You may not have a ton of trade value for that reason. Is that interesting to me? Yeah, that's where a lot of these scenarios, really, are three-team scenarios, where it depends on how much of the league value is the main guy in the trade.
Because I mean, I think that was Miami's angle, was we can trade effectively trade hero for picks that we then send to Portland for a little, right? And the place that it seems like a little bit of something block, if the rumor mill is anything, is that they haven't really found that team for hero yet. And of course, the Portland guards has been subject to much discussion. Do we need to add another score first weak link defender to our collection of Scanderson and Anthony Simons and Cichard?
Well, very different games and skill sets. I guess that's a semi-legic concern. I'm not that concerned about it depending on who the player is, like, if it were Timey Smaxie, for instance, I don't think I would be that concerned about it, because I think his upside is that. Can we just stop on the Spurs for a second?
Because I agree with you. I don't think, conceptually, it makes a ton of sense for them to go all in and get Damian Lillard right now. It's also not the Spurs thing to do. They have a nice young core of, I love the sell.
I'm a big fan of the sell fan. Kelly Johnson is solid. I love So-Hand, Trey Jones is fine. Like, Malekai Branham, I think he's become an interesting player.
This year, people probably didn't watch it much later. I think he's gonna be solid. And obviously, Wendy. Don't sleep on Joey and Chef Danny.
OK, I won't, I'll stop sleeping immediately. I've now woken up. Yeah, and they have all their own picks. They have two unprotected Hawks picks.
They have a Charlotte lottery protected pick that they may never get because Charlotte and Charlotte may become second round picks. They have the Raptors pick and they have the Bulls pick. So they can throw a million picks. The question would be, what is the talent, the actual talent, going back, if any, because they have caps to make a lopsided trade.
So they can offer, like, make it turn it, plus another small salary plus all the picks. I just don't think Portland is making this trade without a real player coming back. And if you're the Spurs, is it worth trading one of our core young guys, if we're trying to win immediately, which we have to be, if we have Damian, it's a hard-nealed threat. I'm not seeing it.
Yeah, I don't think so at all. This is not, this is not for Robertson team, but it's a very different time now. Before we get to the Sixers and you connected on Happy Guard, can I take you through a few more fake ones? Yes, yes.
Boston, Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, and let's say three first round picks and three swaps. And maybe I have to add in a little more salary. Let's just pretend that that's easy to do. Brogdon, Robert Williams, three Boston picks.
But maybe we can do the Warriors pick that the Celtics now have, courtesy of your Memphis Grizzlies, which is top four protected, I think. Two unprotected Boston picks, three first round swaps. Pointedly, not Jalen Brown. I have said repeatedly, I don't think everyone's favorite fake trade Jalen Brown for Damian Lillard, one for one.
Makes sense really for either team. I expect Jalen Brown to come back. I'm a Supermax, the Boston. I know that hasn't been signed yet.
I don't think that's a sign that is going to be traded. I could be wrong. I think they're probably haggling over all the little fringe stuff that happens with Supermaxes. You know, no trade kickers.
No one will get no trade kickers ever again for a long time. Trade kickers, et cetera, et cetera. What do you think of that? I think the only hold up on that is how expensive a team to the Celtics want to have.
You have three players making a hundred and sixty years. You're going in a ballroom with that team. What you do? Brown's extension, Miller's extension kicks again.
Tatum's going to have a huge extension in 25. Those teams are going to be crazy expensive repeater tax. You're going full ballroom on that team. I think that's the part that makes it hard.
You can probably get to the point on contracts and picks where you feel pretty good about it. Maybe they have to put Derek White into their rubber Williams, which I can't do that now. Well, I guess I'm getting a guard back. I'm getting a guard back.
That's a good one because it's workable. That just gets to be such an expensive team. You go down the line. You're Phoenix basically.
You have four expensive guys and then I'll work. I do think the argument for that, the counter to that concern would be we can solve that problem in a couple of years with the trade. Maybe it gets harder to trade. Dame gets older and contracts get bigger.
So maybe that's, but, but in the short term, I think that Boston Celtics team vaults over Denver is the favorite to win the NBA championship. And depending on how big you think you are as favorites, I think you can stomach a little bit more of the, well, let's figure out the money stuff later. If we think we bumped our title odds up from, what are they now? I don't know what they would be now.
If we tripled them to the point that were the outright favorite of the NBA and I think Dame plus Brown plus Tatum plus four plus white, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff is like over. I think they would be. I think you're probably right, especially in these next two seasons. So that's why I think that is a really interesting deal.
The lillard raises their offensive ceiling. And I think that offensively is where they've run into a lot of trouble in these late playoff rounds where it's just tape, tape, tape, tape. And I think, I think Lillard gives him that. How much does he make him step back?
Because defensively Boston was really airtight. And now you take away smart and you put Lillard into the lineup. That changes some things at that end too. But overall, I'm probably more scared of them with Lillard than with those players you mentioned.
I think Portland might say the same thing they would say about the heat picks, although I think with more conviction, which is how interested are we in Boston Celtics picks? They have Jason Taylor Brown on their team. Like those going to be the 25th, the 28th, the 27th. You're just never, you're just never getting a good pick because Damon Brown could be their next decade.
Yeah. I think that's a real concern. I mean, I will say for anyone Portland is doing a game deal with, like you are not getting Charlotte's unprotected pick out of this, right? You're going to end up with a pick from a good team.
And you just have to hope they stop being good somewhere on that timeline of when you have those picks. So I think Miami is a better bet for that than a lot of other teams. Well, except for, you know, that's where like a Spurs deal, or I guess we have to talk about the jazz because they just have so much stuff. I run into the same timeline problem with them.
Yeah. That doesn't make any sense to me. You talk, you'd have to really be confident in like the Lillard marketing and Kessler, like that trio gets us into the top four of the West. And I'm not sure that it really does.
The West is just absolutely stacked again. It's not stacked with like 60 wins teams, but it's stacked with like 48 to 53 win kinds of teams, I think. But with San Antonio and Utah, I can at least wager against multiple teams if I wanted to. If I had my pick up of picks from their basket of picks, I could be like, let me take a Minnesota pick here and a Cleveland pick here with the Spurs.
Let me take a Charlotte pick here and Atlanta pick over here. And I can at least bet against multiple teams. But yeah, I don't love the Utah one. Okay.
I've got some crazier ones. You ready? Yeah. So one that I just wanted to, not dismiss right away, but people have, Christine said on his podcast, Minnesota may have reached out.
I can't verify that. I don't have that reporting. I love that as a fake trade, but I don't think there's any chance that would happen in real life. Well, I love it for Minnesota.
Yeah. Damn, go bare. Sign me up. I don't really think, you know, all this stuff we're saying about Lillard's contract, you can say about Cat's contract except he's younger.
Cat is 36 million, 52 million, 56 million, 61 million, 65 million over the next five seasons. His one zero playoff series, not necessarily has not, also has not shined in the postseason and has fouled out of a lot of games and has a lot of like 11 point Sincaramas. But I just, if I'm Florida, I'm like, is that? So I'm now building around Cat at that money.
I'm like that excited about that. I don't think I am. It's a little interesting that you already have those guards in Portland and then you bring in Cat. Don't tell me that.
I just missed it. It's a little interesting. It's a little interesting. It's a little interesting.
It's a little interesting. You probably don't do it if you're Portland unless they throw materials in, but just probably will pick things up the phone. Okay. Here's one that's a little out of the box.
Okay. You're fighting Chicago Bulls. Oh. Zach Levine, Patrick Williams, Patrick Williams is the big one for me because I'm on the lookout for rookie scale guys.
He's where the end of his rookie scale and not many rookie scale studs. We'll get to Maxi later that I can realistically take a look at and say maybe that team, that guy's team wants to be a little. Zach Levine, Patrick Williams. Portland gets its pick back from the Bulls.
They owe the Bulls a top. I think 8% top, whatever. Top 14 protected. 328.
I think it's through 2,500 and 73. Yes. I give you that pick back. Then if I really, if I just really feel like I got to beat Miami's offer and that's not enough because there are questions about Levine is polarizing his hero better, but polarizing and more expensive.
So maybe I got to get more creative. I call the Spurs and I say, hey, can we amend the protections on the pick? We owe you so that I can toss in two more first round picks to Portland. So I get up to three.
If I include the Portland pick that I'm giving back. Two of my own. Zach Levine, Pat Williams. I get Damian Lillard to be my point guard.
Don't really have a point guard on my team. Kind of a problem. Or one that I really trust. And I have Dame D'Rozin, which we will guard.
No one. But we're going to be amazing on offense. And we already, I was going to say we already don't guard anyone. We were top 10 defense.
I'm not really sure how that happened. So maybe it's the other way. Maybe like we magic up a top 10 defense once. We can magic up with Damian Lillard.
I, you have to be a Levine and Williams booster booster booster to get that excited about that trade for Portland. I don't know what Joe Cronin and the Blazers brain trust. Look at those guys. I don't think that's a totally bonkers trade.
I like that package better in a hardened trade than in a trade for Portland. I actually think that makes more sense for Philly than it does for the Blazers. I don't love the hard end of Rosen. Mix.
If I'm Chicago. Not Levine. Loki was awesome. The second half of last season.
Guy's bounce back. Guy's finishing back. Absolutely. You worry about the name with him though long term.
I think that's been, I think people talk about for a while. I mean, there was an exclusion in it. We're even in the opportunity to give a Sacramento way back. And he's been getting paid a lot of money.
Not like a big believer in Patrick Williams is more than just a guy. I have said, I have said before on this podcast that it will be 2029. And I will be saying things like that. Pat Williams is only 28 years old.
It can still happen. I know he averaged 11 points again. He shot 43% on corner threes. He never shoot.
Like he's only 28. It can happen. So count me as a Pav Williams. Stan is the kid's say.
All right. We're not done with my crazy trades. Chalk this one up is unlikely to the point of insanity. But I like it anyways.
I'm going to say it. Trey Young. I was saying that one for you. Okay.
The Kings pick. We can only throw one more in because we traded so many picks were just not too merry. So Trey Young, the Kings pick that we got for her. A 2028 swap unprotected 2029 pick.
Sure. I come up there too. Tell you Ruxman. And then I add name to this.
What becomes a weird team where like every age range in the NBA is now represented. I've got dame. I've got rookies. I've got the Andre Hunter.
I've got by division. Like it kind of fits as a win now. Now I've heard Quinn Snyder is very excited about the opportunity to work with Trey Young and vice versa. And I think the Hawks just have invested so much in that Trey Young is their guy.
He's their bankable super duper star forever. And it feels like a very, very abrupt shift. And it also as many of these trades do gives the players another small guard and a very defensively challenged small guard. So I don't love it.
But it's worth mentioning. You would need a 13 for Trey I think. And to me Hawks end up getting older and more expensive without really getting better or different. It's a different guy.
It's a different guy running high pick and rolling every play. Okay. Fine. All right.
Well then let's get to the matter at hand. Which is the Sixers and the hard and damn connection. So we've talked about on TV a lot the last couple of days. The idea that the Sixers should go all in for the Emulator which is code which is code for.
They should trade Tyree's Maxi and whatever draft assets they have which I believe they can only trade one first round pick is currently constructed. But they should make Tyree's Maxi touchable and not totally untouchable as has been reported by Brian Winhorse. He had a whole running bit on his last podcast about how they would trade Tyree's Maxi for prime blared and prime blared and prime blared and prime blared and prime blared and prime blared and prime blared and prime blared and prime blared. My issue with that is I don't have issue with it.
You are more creative and cap savvy with this stuff than I am. But the issue that I keep coming back to is it sounds really good to say the Sixers should go all in and get Damian Lillard and Perry and with Joellen B. And it does. It sounds amazing.
Joellen B is amazing. Damian Lillard is amazing. There will be amazing. The Sixers will be unbelievable in offense.
And B covers for everything on defense. I have this other disgruntled guard over here on the side with a long beard And maybe some of the stuff has to go to the Blazers because this becomes a 3 team extravaganza. So I get a portion of the hard and stuff. Maybe it's more power.
Maybe it's some expiring you mentioned coming from a pitoon and a pick. Have I made is all of that actually worth it to be a thunder Sixers. If the entire starting back court goes out the door and one guard and some more speculative pieces come in the door, Or can you separate these? I don't know if you can separate them.
Let's say I wake up one day and I say poison for Damian Lillard, we'll to come back. That's going to be our team. Is that real life I can't tell that's real life. What are your thoughts?
Is it worth giving up Maxi to turn James Harden into Daniel Miller to? I'm not sure it is. It's a harder question than you should they go all in for Daniel Miller framing. Yeah.
To be honest, I'm like, yeah, of course we should. But like you got to know how this hard thing works out. And then the other the other wrinkle to this obviously is dealing with the Maxi extension and there's a potential next year for the Sixers to have Max Cap room. I think Cap room has become much less valuable than it was four or five years ago.
You wrote a book on about this three years ago. Thank you. I wrote a comment about it. Anything.
Um, and I think a column is a thing where there are words on not. Yeah, it's like a printed podcast. You read it. Yeah, read it with your eyes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I should do it anyway. Uh, so yeah, I mean, all their money comes off after this year. So I think they at least look at that as an opportunity and that if they, you know, if there was somebody out there that they would probably be in the front pole position because usually the captain teams are that teens. So this will be a little different where you sign up to join Joellen need and he's talking, I guess.
I think it's a harder question. I don't know that that makes you better. Now, now, Hardin, let's separate Hardin. No, let's pretend Lillard is is not going to be in our trajectory and we just have to trade James Harden.
Do they have to trade James Harden? I guess we're going to see. Let's just say you hear a lot of competing noise about whether the idea that James Harden can swing back to the Sixers is a workable outcome. Um, I don't know that it is.
I'm not sure. I would lean. I don't even, I just don't, let's just say I don't know that it is. Um, I have heard like, I just don't think there's a lot out there right now for James Harden.
I just don't sense that there's a big appetite among teens to trade Philadelphia real stuff. And the reason why the name Lillard's name comes up for Philly is like, I kind of need real stuff because the other dude on my team is the MVP. And if he gets unhappy or unhappy or you might be, I'm just blowing everything up. And the process is going to smithereens without a conference final with nary, a conference finals.
With more number one picks who either forgot how to shoot or never knew then conference finals wins. So that's a problem. And like, I don't think the heat are super interested in James Harden. They're obviously focused elsewhere.
I don't think the nicks are super interested in James Harden. They get him on the ultra ultra cheap. That's one thing. I don't know that Philly wants to do that.
The Clippers, I like, I, from what I've heard, they have been reluctant so far to offer man picks, maybe even Powell. And I don't know that the two sides have really even had super significant dialogue. And I don't really know what to do from there. You like Carden with the Clippers?
Like, what would you, if you're Lawrence Frank, like how, how much do you put in the pot to get James Harden on an expiring contract? Because the Clippers are, are now team, I, I do think Carden makes some sense for them that they need one more guy who can dribble and make plays. And that guy probably shouldn't be Russell Westbrook. Like he's, he's much better with the second unit or whatever.
That's good. Like Westbrook was better than I thought he'd be for them at the end of last year. He was actually playing defense and doing some other stuff, but that makes us still a little funky with him with that sort of group. So I do like adding harder with them.
They like to switch a lot and hard, you know, he's, he can do that. You know, you know, harden likes to switch because it allows him to stand still as the body's move around him. As long as there's a lot in front of me, I'm good. Everyone's orbiting me.
I'm good. Yeah. Well, it's that. And then he's strong enough to actually hold his own.
When guys try to post him up. So, but what, what is there that the Clippers really should be willing to put in for a guy who's a little older and is expiring and the Clippers, you have to think to yourself, we don't have, we don't have any bullets. We do need to get this right. Uh, you know, I, I certainly like Morrison, I'm certain they will depart because they just aren't really in the plans anymore.
But like, they're, they're probably like, no, I'd be like, you know, you can have an island, you can have a future first, but I'm not going crazy on this. And then so the other part of this with the Sixers, it gets really interesting is so Darrymore gave us a roadmap for how this is going to go with defense and right, which is, it's going to be a water torture for everyone to fall asleep. Right. He's going to, he's going to start asking for the moon and then he's going to very slowly roll it back, roll it back, roll it back.
And he's totally comfortable taking this into the season or taking it even to the trade deadline, right? Even if, even if Hardin is doing whatever, he holds out or is acting out or whatever, like Darryl's going to write this out until he has the trade that he wants. And so I just think this is going to drag us and take a lot of time. So the wild card in that scenario, because obviously Darryl, as people like to say, is willing to get uncomfortable, Darrymore, he likes being uncomfortable.
Um, does Darryl and B have the appetite for another year that like that's, that's stressful. The load on him gets very big. He has to answer questions about it incessantly. Like, I just can't imagine that Joellen B wants to have a second season and three seasons where like, this is my life, like there's this whole drama swirling over there and all this other stuff has to be asked of me by the media and by my team.
That's the wild card there. I will say, um, I was listening to Bill Simmons and Ryan Risillo last week, talking about the heart of trade going back and looking at the heart of trade. If this ends in disaster for Philadelphia, do they ultimately regret trading Ben Simmons for James Harden over whatever alternatives might have existed? Like Tyree's Halliburton is often mentioned.
I thought Tyree's Albert is not the Murray's often mentioned. You know, I'd have to go back and try to recreate how and when those alternatives may or may not have ever been available, how seriously they may or may not have ever been available, what else would have been part of them? The dude turned a guy who doesn't play into James Harden, who was an all star, all NBA level player this year until he kind of peered out toward the end of the regular season, they were trying to keep him healthy. Like, the sixers won.
The Harden Simmons trade went from everyone lost and then the sixers won. The sixers won. That trade is fine. You know, when they were up three, two against the Celtics.
And yes, you can tell me that, of course, James Harden and the rest of the fellow part in game six and seven, fine. When they went to Boston and spanked their ass in game five, I didn't hear a lot of like, Oh man, regret. Like the other dude doesn't play and James Harden was really won the trade. No, absolutely.
I mean, not just won the trade. Like dancing in the end zone, 50 yard penalty for success. Yeah, two first round picks. That's Curry.
I don't care. You won the trade. Yeah, 100%. I agree with you that Harden fix the Clippers.
He's got a ton of experience running small, small, small pick and rolls with guards or wings and not the co-itlers, the small, but they would, he would screen for Harden a lot and they would try to get switches. I, the synergy is there. I just think Harden is paying the price now for if you're trading for James Harden, you know he's 33 or whatever. You know he's on an expiring contract.
He's going to want money. And you know now that like the pattern is flame out in the playoffs, blame everyone else as for a trade. Like it's just not that exciting experience for me to sign up for. And I can know everyone thinks about different with their team and maybe it will be.
But like, that's, that's the pattern. And I think most of that is fair, particularly the playoff flamels. The one harder thing I would push back on is everyone is now making fun of him for asking for a trade all the time. I have made fun of him for asking for a trade all the time.
I just did 45 seconds ago. The Brooklyn thing goes back to Kyrie for me. I think Harden looked around and was like, this thing is a mess. This dude's not playing.
He's not vaccinated. It's drama all the time. If that were copacetic, I still think that team is unbelievable. And we'll go down as the greatest one of like the last 15 years in the NBA.
But that's all I don't know what else to say on part of it. We should probably talk about the nets as a potential team. We haven't talked about that yet. I don't really see that one.
I know people have talked about it. I I just think the nets are better off kind of writing out what they have at these future versus Phoenix. I mean, Phoenix made legitimately have to completely dismantle their team at 26 just because of the cost of it and having the traffic frozen whatnot. I know that is very exciting about this right now.
But we start seeing those tax bills and the computer penalty and whatnot. Like I'm feeling very good about having 27, 29 Phoenix unprotected. I'm feeling very good about having Dallas 29 unprotected. I don't think I'm shedding those picks to turn them into dame right now.
I think if you're the dentist, we're taking our medicine on the Houston pick for the next couple of years, we have a halfway decent team. And then and then we start our rise after that, you know? I mean, it's tempting to turn Vents into the day, but obviously no question if they can pull that out. But I think even with two years left on Simmons, I don't know if they turn their nose up on that even.
Well, I guess if I'm Portland, I need all the Phoenix mix because those have upside. Yeah. Yeah. But you run into the question just like you said, if I'm Brooklyn, I can't trade can't turn around.
Literally can't turn around. It's not tradable, right? I I I'm not a trader trader. I think he hasn't signed yet.
OK, so I don't know. Obviously, I'm not trading him a kill bridge is because that serves nobody's purposes in this acquisition, similar with Nick Laxon. Like I want Nick Laxon on team if I'm going to go all in. I'm trading for David Lure.
So then the question becomes like other than the picks and maybe the picks are all you want. What player am I excited to get from the Brooklyn Nets, which is why in addition to Ben Simmons salary, which is like, I'm not like Dorian Finis Spencer didn't like these things don't do anything from the Portland Trailblazers. Maybe they're culture guys. I don't know, but I can do better than that somewhere else, which is why these three team trades start to come up.
The other one people bring up is the pelicans. I just can't find a pelicans one. I know they've got no walkie picks. They've got the Lakers picks still coming.
They've got a bunch of talented players. The presence of the column, they're just like, is my column going back to Portland? Am I doing DMCJ again? I can't trade Zion.
I just it's too early. Like I don't know how to value Zion either way. Like I just can't find into Orleans trade despite the fact that they've been murmured about and then the cost of the game salary on a small market team. I can see that they're fine.
They're never paying tax. That's the other issue with these guys. I just don't think they're ever paying a tax. And that makes it really hard to execute any kind of day trade.
I mean, you can do in the short term, you can do a college dance a lot. Like when you get into those out there, it's hard to have a real team built around Zion and Ingram and Danny making the kind of money they're going to make it. I agree. I don't really see that one.
Can we talk about this? Because I'm a little surprised we haven't heard more about that with Danny just because they built up these picks and these assets to chase exactly this kind of star. I thought. And it hasn't seemed like they're just really reluctant to put him next to Brunson.
Well, I think that's the answer, right? I think you have to build up all these picks and I'm bringing up their picks now. And they have a top 10 protected still from Dallas. Congratulations on the maths for taking their way into keeping that pick this year.
Worked out very well for them. I thought they might start a great draft. Protected Pistons pick and protected Wizards pick. I mean, not yet.
We'll see. It's one to eight and twenty six, one to twelve and one to ten before that. Wizard are taking like all hell. They have a bucks pick that I think they get if it's between five and thirty.
They're splitting that pick. They have a time share with the Pelicans on that pick. And they have all their own picks, which, you know, it's the Knicks. Like everything could go.
Who knows? What can I have with the Knicks? Yeah. I just think they've what they have learned in the interim is Jalen Brunson's an all-star level player.
I mean, I've made an all-star game, but you throw in what he did in the playoffs. Like that dude's an all-star. He's a point guard. He's undersized.
I mean, I think it's for an upgrade of the same kind of player. Now, could they play together offensively? Sure, Jalen Brunson obviously has a ton of experience playing next to another ball dominant player. You see more bullish on it than me.
I just kind of threw the Knicks out because of how the Brunson got in. I'm just I'm waiting on the other guy in Philly, if I'm the Knicks and other associated players who played that. How many would probably be a better guy? No, not hard.
The better guy in Philly. If I get quirkmised with MB, I'm waiting on guys like that. Can I ask you something to work for a team? Yes, sure.
You hear a lot of, well, one of the reasons the Blazers can should will take care of them, but which the people mean send it to Miami, provide the prices palatable at least, is well, it sends, if you don't do that, if you send them to Siberia, then you've sent a bad message to future potential, current Portland shareholders like Sue Henderson and Shannon Sharp, and future potential free agent trade acquisitions of the Portland shareholders is that you've got to take care of your guys to send that message out to the market. What is your take on that line of thought? I don't really think that's a thing. Like, honestly, I mean, look, 99% free agency decisions are based on one thing, right, which is what Steve can talk about is one.
And when you get into these situations with Max players, like, they only go to the same core cities and Portland Oregon is never going to be one of those cities. What are you doing here? Like, you've got to make the best deal for your team. That gives you the best asset haul.
Now, that may end up being Miami just because other teams are leery of him not being happy where he's sent, but we ran into the situation twice in Memphis. And inevitably, you're going to send a guy to a pretty good situation if he's an older player, because like a 20-win team isn't going to be going after him. Let's just run by Morons. So, you know, market it up going, it's around.
Because that end up being the best deal. Yeah, it might end up going to Utah because that end up being the best deal. And they both went to really good teams. Mark on the title, Mike's team, I think, had the best record in the league one year.
So, I just think that's inevitably what happens is they go somewhere good. And, but what a player did you will best of one destination? You're not required to accommodate that. I'm sorry, especially when you asked four years left on the deal, and you just extended that deal for two years, 120 million or whatever, and made him defact of GM for 18 months.
I tried to, I didn't do a total deep dive on it, but I did a brief thought exercise of like, what team became known as a team that like did right by their guys and were paid off for it in the long run with acquisitions. And I'm like, well, like the nuggets, like that was a big Tim Connolly thing. It's like, even like a simple thing of like Jimmy Nelson, they weren't going to trade Jimmy Nelson to a place he didn't want to go. They got paid back for that.
The most high profile was probably the Lakers with Kobe and the extensions they gave Kobe at the end of his career. The message to other stars being like, we take care of our stars. I don't think that really ended up making a difference for the Lakers. Like they had a long drought, and then LeBron wanted to live in Los Angeles.
So he went to sign with the Lakers. I don't think that, I'd actually like to interview LeBron. I think, I think, though, that was the thing that really lured the whole thing into the thing. Moss got to sign there.
Was Kobe's coach extension. The heat were pretty cutthroat with some of their finances. Like, remember the Amnesty Miller and that really pissed LeBron off? I think LeBron was great for us.
That was great for us. But the heat, I have paid no price in terms of like their market appeal. The one team I thought about, and it's unprovable. It's unprovable by its nature.
Boston got hit pretty hard with the, these guys are just ice cold after the Isaiah Thomas trade on top of the piercagey thing. But really after the Isaiah Thomas plays through a bit hip injury and they just dump them and move on with life. They've done one. They've got Kyrie Irving.
And then Kyrie Irving left there unhappy with, I'm not really sure what, but a lot of stuff, I guess. They kind of got hit around the league with like, that franchise is cold hard. And we have seen Anthony Davis kind of sitting like, I don't want to go there. I don't want to go there.
I don't want to go to the Lakers. And now they're, you know, we'll see if they even try to get into the little thing. And if that ends up being on his list, they have signed free agents when they've had the money, right? That has been a problem.
Whether it's Hayward or Horford or Kemba Walker. Yeah. So I'm not really, I'm not convinced that any reticence, a couple of big name players have had about Boston, has anything to do with like, Oh, wow, they engaged my trade. You know, who obviously doesn't work there anymore.
But I mean, but that was the one team I thought, like have they paid the opposite kind of price in the marketplace? That was a trade made for a player, right? That wasn't a, that wasn't a, oh, this guy's made a trade. We're like moving them on for assets, whatever.
This was like, no, we have a chance to get Kyrie Irving. Here's what we have to offer. Here's the match in salary. It makes no sense to play.
I say Thomas with Kyrie Irving. And oops, I say Thomas with damage to it too. But. All right.
I have no additional thoughts on Daniel Miller and James. Other than while we were recording this with T.S. Bible. Currently.