February 6, 2023 • 17 mins
Sarah is joined by Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Howard Beck and NBA.com Senior Writer John Schuhmann to discuss the impact of the reported Kyrie Irving trade on both the Mavs and the Nets, as well as the Lakers options, and other possible Trade Deadline moves.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
To mention, welcome into NBA Pulsar production of I Heart
Radio and the NBA. I'm Saracousta NBA analysts for the
y S Network and today is Monday, February six. We
got some terrific guests on to talk about some interesting
news that broke yesterday. Senior writer for Sports Illustrated, Howard
(00:27):
Beck and senior writer for NBA dot Com John Schuman. Howard,
thanks for joining us. We we appreciate having your shoes
normally just stuck with me myself. No, thanks for having me.
Um phenomenal planning by you guys seeing the future, like
asking me to do the show like seventy two hours ago,
somehow knowing that we would have major news to discuss on. Well,
(00:49):
let's get into it. We're gonna get into shoes power
rankings a little bit, and more so how this news
affects those rankings affects these teams. At this point, we
know the trade deadline is just three days away on
February ninth, But after Kyrie Irving requested a trade from
the Nets last Friday, um it was reported that the
Dallas Mavericks will send Spencer Dinwoodie and Dorian Phinney Smith
(01:11):
a unprotected first round pick and second round picks to
the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving and Marquis Morris. Um.
So she I'm gonna start with you, what was what
was your first reaction when you heard this news and
heard that this trade was going to go through. I
(01:33):
was surprised at how much the Nets were able to
get in return, in in getting two useful players plus
some a little bit of draft capital. I mean, Hour
and I were at the at the Nets Wizards game
on Friday and we're discussing this. You know, this is
after the trade request. And my thought was, like, man,
(01:55):
the best thing the Nets, The best scenario for the
Nets might be if they just hold onto Kyrie Irving,
mostly because I didn't think they were going to get
anything or get much of use um in return and
and in a kind of trade. And so they get
uh quality defender and Dorian Finney Smith, they get a
(02:15):
point guards or a place Irving and Spencer Dinwitty and
and I think it's especially important because with Irving out
the door, they have basically nobody, um who can go
north south with the ball, and din Witty is that
guy who can do that um, you know, not as
skilled and and doesn't as finish as well, but at
least will will be able to get into the paint um.
(02:37):
And then they got some draft capital that they can
maybe used for for for more trades going going forward,
whether it be this week or or in the summer
or whatever. Howard, what about you when when you first
heard this news? I'm sure nothing. I know. I know
you've been been around this Brooklyn team for quite some time,
for better or worse. But uh, not much as surprising
(02:57):
I think anymore. Um, I was the biggest surprise to me.
There were too surprises shoe hit on one of them.
That they actually got really good value back while under
duress and with Kyrie probably at the lowest point in
terms of his market value of his entire career. So
there's the payoff, but there's also how quickly this came together. Uh.
I did not expect this to happen on a Sunday afternoon,
(03:20):
less than or about forty eight hours after the trade
demand first came. I thought Shawn Marks might slow walk
this a little bit, or or need to. I thought
he might need to do as much as he could
to like blow as much smoke out there into the
marketplace to to get the offers up. I even think
there was some misdirection in some of the stuff that
was floated out there over the last couple of days,
(03:40):
but I'm just speculating on that. UM. I am impressed
at what they got. I I did a story back
in November in which I had talked to some gm
s about what what what could the Nets get for
Kyrie right now? This is in the wake of Kyrie's
controversy at that time, and and rival executives were not
all that enamored of Kyrie Irving or his trade value
at that time, and it maybe had improved a little bit.
(04:02):
I mean, he's had played some great basketball, but everybody
always knew he could play great basketball. The problem is
availability and reliability and for the Nets to get, as
John said, like one of the better three and D
guys in the league in Dorian Phinney Smith, Spencer Dinwidie,
who we know can do a few things with the
ball in his hands, who's shooting a career best from
(04:22):
three right now, who obviously has familiarity with the Nets
organization and with some of the guys on this team.
UM and draft capital and and because this came together
faster than I could have anticipated personally. Um, Shawn Marks
has several days left here to try to make further deals,
and I'll leave wrap up on this note. To me,
(04:43):
what that trade indicated above all else is that they
are not cashing out on this era entirely. They still
want to try to win with Kevin Durant. They could
have gone for a more draft capital heavy deal instead
of players, but by going for players veterans who can
help write now in Din Wittie and Pitti Smith, it's
a clear, clear indication that they are doing their absolute
(05:05):
best to keep building around Kevin Durant and convinced him
to stay even without his friend slash co star Kyrie Irving. Yeah,
and then Howard with that being said, UM, I'm interested
in what you both think the impact on these teams are.
Let's take a quick look at Shoes Power rankings for
this week. Boston is in the number one spot, up
(05:26):
for number two, Denver in the number two spot up
from number three the Milwaukee Bucks, and the third spot
up from number four. It's Philly that drops from that
top spot down to for Cleveland at five. Brooklyn is
at six, Dallas will drop down sits it at fifteen.
These are all rankings based on the current construction um
of the rosters and how the teams have played. But
(05:48):
when you look forward, you look at Kyrie Irving joining
Luca and this Dallas team playing for Jason Kidd, a
a player in point guard and someone that he idolized
growing up in his had that a relationship of course
with Nico Harrison. Um, what do you, Howard think the
impact this has on what Dallas can do? Well? This
(06:09):
is the funny thing, Sarah, because in general in this league,
if you're the team that got the best player in
the deal, especially a guy who's a multiple time All Star,
usually that's the team we focus on in the team
that we say won the deal and clearly, wow, you know,
look they finally got their co star for fill in
the blank. I think in this case, I feel much
more confident in what the Nets have accomplished here and
(06:30):
what it means for them than I do for the Mavericks. One,
Lucas never had a player of this caliber next to him,
right like Jalen Bronson could do a lot with the
ball in his hands when he was there, but he's
not Kyrie Irving. Um. Also, Kyrie Irving expects the ball
in his hands and and to get a lot of
share of the offense. I don't know how this will go. Um,
Luca certainly needs the help, and they definitely needed another,
(06:53):
you know, offensive creator there to alleviate some of the
burden on Luca Um to make sure the offense doesn't
fall off a clip when Lucas not on the court,
to keep him fresh, to make sure that when they
get to the postseason, he still has legs under him.
So like in the abstract, it looks like the right
kind of move. But Kyrie Irving is unique and presents
(07:13):
unique challenges to teams that he's on. And I, you know,
whether it's the basketball fit, personalities, UM, sharing the offense
all that, I think there's a lot up in the air.
And then the second part of that is they just
traded probably their best perimeter defender. Yeah, that's what I
was gonna say, Like, here's a little a little trivia
for you on which end of the floor to the
right to The MAVs rank in the bottom ten this season,
(07:35):
having seen the third biggest drop off from last season. Yeah,
the defensive defense, and now who are their three best players,
Luca don Chech, Kyrie Irving and Christian Would I guess
that's not exactly a defensive trio. Um. They just traded
their best, well, one of their two best defenders UM
(07:58):
out the door. And so now this is just like
a thought that comes to my head is, man, they
really need Maxi Cleber to be be and stay healthy
um whenever he comes back from his hamstring injury. Um,
because otherwise they just don't have much defense at all. Um.
(08:19):
They rank in the top ten offensively. Obviously they'll be
They're going to become a much better offensive team with
Irving UM and do just just together and you know,
apart also Irving the silent sir. But it's kind of
(08:39):
funny that, you know, the drop off has been been
on defense this season from last season, and they just
downgraded defensively. UM. So it's obviously, you know, you need
talent first of all, and you can sort of build
defense around that talent, uh slowly and surely. But it's
(09:03):
kind of interesting how how it sort of works out
that way. Dallas still sitting six in the Western Conference. UM.
And speaking of the Western Conference, another team that thought
they might have had a chance and wanted to bring
in Caybrie Irving was the Los Angeles Lakers currently in. Um, shoot,
what does this mean for the Lakers? And again, I
know we still have a couple of days before before
(09:24):
the trade deadline, but what does this mean for this
Lakers team and Lebron? I think they just get more desperate. Um.
And you know, I think they take those two first
round picks that they have and they aggressively shock them
I imagine, Um, you know, I mean they're they're so
far behind at this point. Even if they were to
(09:46):
get a serious upgrade, you have to wonder if it's
worth it this season. Um. But you know, time is ticking.
Lebron is sort of kept the pressure on and I think, um,
you know, they're gonna hear a lot of chatter about
the Lakers in the next few days, and making a
deal is obviously easier said than done. Um, but you know,
(10:09):
they do have a couple of assets that should be, um,
pretty coveted around the league, given that Lebron is gonna
not be a Laker in a few years and and
those picks could could be really valuable. Yeah. Um Beck
with with eyes on the Lakers, I think a lot
of people have and what those picks look like. Going
(10:30):
back to the Nets. With this trade, again we mentioned
those two players, but they also pick up the protected
first round pick in two second round picks. Um, do
you think the Nets have more moves in them that
they will make before the deadline? I think they're clearly
going to try. They also have some future draft capital
from the sixers, from the Hardened Simmons swap. I think
(10:53):
they even have some of their own Like they obviously
the Nets to give up a lot of the control
of their own picks in the Hardened acquisition, but they
have a little bit to play with their too, So
they also have a surplus of rotation guys now too.
Like the Nets on paper right now are really deep
and they can't use all these guys, and they clearly
clearly are all in for this season. I think the
other subtle thing that this trade suggested is that Kevin
(11:14):
Durant is expected to be healthy and back to playing
at m VP level. Right. You don't go all in
if you don't think he's gonna stay or want to stay. Uh,
if he's gonna ask for a trade again, and you
don't go all in uh in a in a deal
that's about the present if you don't think he's going
to be able to play at a high level again
the way he was before he went down a month ago.
So this is all a vote of confidence in their
(11:34):
ability to contend this season. I still think that they're
a notch behind Boston and Milwaukee. But what do I know? Um,
and I think that you know to the extent that
there are still any potential deficiencies in the rotation. They've
got time now to to make another deal. The problem
for the Nets, as with everybody else, is we don't
really know that there are that many sellers right now. Well,
(11:55):
the the truth will will come soon. We will we
will know finally soon if Toronto or Chicago or any
of these other teams that are kind of stuck in
the mediocre middle are going to pivot and become sellers.
But the Nets are in a very good position right
now to make another deal to fortify that that team
around Katie. All right, we're gonna take a quick break, um,
but after that we will get into some more potential
(12:17):
trade deadline moves. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to NBA.
Paul sarahcu Stock joined by the best of the best,
John Schuman, Howard Beck. Appreciate you both being here. We
are a couple of days away now from that February
nine trade deadline. Of course, the big news that came
(12:38):
yesterday Brooklyn Nets trading Kyrie Irving and Mark Kith Morris
to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwoodie during Phinney Smith
in a first round in a couple of second round picks. Um.
But will be interesting to see what happens in the
next couple of days with some other teams. Uh, Howard,
what what teams do you look at? Who are you
still eyeing? What move do you could possibly be made
(13:01):
here in the next couple of days? Uh? To help
fortify some of these teams, Well, we've touched on one
of them, I mean the Lakers. Obviously, all eyes I
think are on the Lakers. Um. Lebron James not known
for being patient, nor should he be at this stage.
By the way, he's thirty eight and in year twenty
last I checked. I believe that's the stat um and
he's playing like if you want to say he's playing
(13:24):
an all at an m v P level, He's playing
at a minimum at an all NBA level, and Anthony
Davis when healthy, has been playing at an all NBA level,
and you know, look, we know what what the deal
is there. They just don't have enough talent around them.
They have those two future picks, they have Russell Westbrook's contract.
They've been both depart with those future picks because they
fear falling off a cliff once Lebron retires, and those
(13:45):
are the tickets to their future. But when you have
Lebron James, you can't think about the future. There's only now.
And you know, Rob Polinka and that front office are
clearly under a lot of pressure right now to to
make a move. Now, we'll involve both picks, will involve
one of the picks. Will it even involved Russell Westbrooker?
Will they find a way to cobble together other contracts
to make a deal. I don't know what the ultimate
(14:07):
return will be or the deal will be, but I
would be shocked beyond belief if the Lakers don't do
something by Thursday to show Lebron a little effort and
to show their fans some good faith that they are
still trying to salvage this season. Now they're still under
five hundred, and there's still no guarantee that even make
the playoffs or the play in But when healthy Lebron
(14:27):
and Anthony Davis are potentially the best one to punch
in the NBA, they need help. And I would be
again shocked if the Lakers don't do something by Thursday.
I have no predictions as to what that is, but
I think they'll do something. Shoot, what about you? What
teams and our players are you keeping an eye on?
I think Toronto from a seller's perspective, is the most interesting. Um.
(14:50):
You know, they have Fred van Fleet who will probably
um decline his player option this summer and become a
free agent. Um do they want to keep paying him
um beyond this year for whatever salary he's going to command. Um?
They have O g n and Obie who has some
overlap with both Pascal Siakum and Scottie Barnes is in
(15:13):
regards to skills, And it's probably the of those three
guys the one that creates that that will that will
create the least offense, I guess, um. And so it's
a matter of, you know, what kind of assets could
they get back in an exchange for either one of
(15:33):
those guys? You know, it was two years ago where
we all thought they were trading Kyle Lowry at the deadline, UM,
and they never did. I mean, Kyle Lowry said his
goodbyes to everybody, said his goodbyes to Toronto that the
night before the deadline, and and basically never got traded.
And it's not like the Raptors ended up keeping him
beyond that season, right like they sent him away in
(15:55):
a sign and trade the following summer. But they just
didn't get the l they wanted for him at that deadline.
I'm sure they were willing to trade him, they just
didn't get the deal they wanted. And I assume Massia
you Jerry played hardball at that point. And then now
he can use that as an example for any potential
buyers this this year because he say, hey, you know,
(16:17):
if you don't give me what I want, I just
won't trade those guys. And I did it two years
ago and I'll do it again basically. UM. But you
know there are teams. Memphis is one example. The Lakers
are obviously another UM that have the assets to to
really make a strong play for those two guys or
one of the two. UM. It's just a matter of Uh,
(16:40):
you know, what does Missia Jerry think of about those
two guys and their future in Toronto. UM. I think
it's clear right now that the Raptors aren't doing anything
this year beyond maybe the eight seed at best. UM.
So that's that's an obvious seller with two players that
can make an impact somewhere. UM. And it's just a
(17:01):
matter of whether a deal can get done. Fun time
a year in the NBA for some UM, I know
you guys got a lot of work to get into.
So we certainly appreciates Shoe and Howard your time for
for joining us here this morning. Thanks for having me,
and on Wednesday we will be back. Steve Ashburner will
join me with the latest news in the NBA. NBA
(17:23):
Pulse with Syracustack is the production of the NBA and
I Heart Radio. Please rate, review and a subscribe on
the I Heart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
To mention, welcome into NBA Pulsar production of I Heart
Radio and the NBA. I'm Saracousta NBA analysts for the
y S Network and today is Monday, February six. We
got some terrific guests on to talk about some interesting
news that broke yesterday. Senior writer for Sports Illustrated, Howard
(00:27):
Beck and senior writer for NBA dot Com John Schuman. Howard,
thanks for joining us. We we appreciate having your shoes
normally just stuck with me myself. No, thanks for having me.
Um phenomenal planning by you guys seeing the future, like
asking me to do the show like seventy two hours ago,
somehow knowing that we would have major news to discuss on. Well,
(00:49):
let's get into it. We're gonna get into shoes power
rankings a little bit, and more so how this news
affects those rankings affects these teams. At this point, we
know the trade deadline is just three days away on
February ninth, But after Kyrie Irving requested a trade from
the Nets last Friday, um it was reported that the
Dallas Mavericks will send Spencer Dinwoodie and Dorian Phinney Smith
(01:11):
a unprotected first round pick and second round picks to
the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving and Marquis Morris. Um.
So she I'm gonna start with you, what was what
was your first reaction when you heard this news and
heard that this trade was going to go through. I
(01:33):
was surprised at how much the Nets were able to
get in return, in in getting two useful players plus
some a little bit of draft capital. I mean, Hour
and I were at the at the Nets Wizards game
on Friday and we're discussing this. You know, this is
after the trade request. And my thought was, like, man,
(01:55):
the best thing the Nets, The best scenario for the
Nets might be if they just hold onto Kyrie Irving,
mostly because I didn't think they were going to get
anything or get much of use um in return and
and in a kind of trade. And so they get
uh quality defender and Dorian Finney Smith, they get a
(02:15):
point guards or a place Irving and Spencer Dinwitty and
and I think it's especially important because with Irving out
the door, they have basically nobody, um who can go
north south with the ball, and din Witty is that
guy who can do that um, you know, not as
skilled and and doesn't as finish as well, but at
least will will be able to get into the paint um.
(02:37):
And then they got some draft capital that they can
maybe used for for for more trades going going forward,
whether it be this week or or in the summer
or whatever. Howard, what about you when when you first
heard this news? I'm sure nothing. I know. I know
you've been been around this Brooklyn team for quite some time,
for better or worse. But uh, not much as surprising
(02:57):
I think anymore. Um, I was the biggest surprise to me.
There were too surprises shoe hit on one of them.
That they actually got really good value back while under
duress and with Kyrie probably at the lowest point in
terms of his market value of his entire career. So
there's the payoff, but there's also how quickly this came together. Uh.
I did not expect this to happen on a Sunday afternoon,
(03:20):
less than or about forty eight hours after the trade
demand first came. I thought Shawn Marks might slow walk
this a little bit, or or need to. I thought
he might need to do as much as he could
to like blow as much smoke out there into the
marketplace to to get the offers up. I even think
there was some misdirection in some of the stuff that
was floated out there over the last couple of days,
(03:40):
but I'm just speculating on that. UM. I am impressed
at what they got. I I did a story back
in November in which I had talked to some gm
s about what what what could the Nets get for
Kyrie right now? This is in the wake of Kyrie's
controversy at that time, and and rival executives were not
all that enamored of Kyrie Irving or his trade value
at that time, and it maybe had improved a little bit.
(04:02):
I mean, he's had played some great basketball, but everybody
always knew he could play great basketball. The problem is
availability and reliability and for the Nets to get, as
John said, like one of the better three and D
guys in the league in Dorian Phinney Smith, Spencer Dinwidie,
who we know can do a few things with the
ball in his hands, who's shooting a career best from
(04:22):
three right now, who obviously has familiarity with the Nets
organization and with some of the guys on this team.
UM and draft capital and and because this came together
faster than I could have anticipated personally. Um, Shawn Marks
has several days left here to try to make further deals,
and I'll leave wrap up on this note. To me,
(04:43):
what that trade indicated above all else is that they
are not cashing out on this era entirely. They still
want to try to win with Kevin Durant. They could
have gone for a more draft capital heavy deal instead
of players, but by going for players veterans who can
help write now in Din Wittie and Pitti Smith, it's
a clear, clear indication that they are doing their absolute
(05:05):
best to keep building around Kevin Durant and convinced him
to stay even without his friend slash co star Kyrie Irving. Yeah,
and then Howard with that being said, UM, I'm interested
in what you both think the impact on these teams are.
Let's take a quick look at Shoes Power rankings for
this week. Boston is in the number one spot, up
(05:26):
for number two, Denver in the number two spot up
from number three the Milwaukee Bucks, and the third spot
up from number four. It's Philly that drops from that
top spot down to for Cleveland at five. Brooklyn is
at six, Dallas will drop down sits it at fifteen.
These are all rankings based on the current construction um
of the rosters and how the teams have played. But
(05:48):
when you look forward, you look at Kyrie Irving joining
Luca and this Dallas team playing for Jason Kidd, a
a player in point guard and someone that he idolized
growing up in his had that a relationship of course
with Nico Harrison. Um, what do you, Howard think the
impact this has on what Dallas can do? Well? This
(06:09):
is the funny thing, Sarah, because in general in this league,
if you're the team that got the best player in
the deal, especially a guy who's a multiple time All Star,
usually that's the team we focus on in the team
that we say won the deal and clearly, wow, you know,
look they finally got their co star for fill in
the blank. I think in this case, I feel much
more confident in what the Nets have accomplished here and
(06:30):
what it means for them than I do for the Mavericks. One,
Lucas never had a player of this caliber next to him,
right like Jalen Bronson could do a lot with the
ball in his hands when he was there, but he's
not Kyrie Irving. Um. Also, Kyrie Irving expects the ball
in his hands and and to get a lot of
share of the offense. I don't know how this will go. Um,
Luca certainly needs the help, and they definitely needed another,
(06:53):
you know, offensive creator there to alleviate some of the
burden on Luca Um to make sure the offense doesn't
fall off a clip when Lucas not on the court,
to keep him fresh, to make sure that when they
get to the postseason, he still has legs under him.
So like in the abstract, it looks like the right
kind of move. But Kyrie Irving is unique and presents
(07:13):
unique challenges to teams that he's on. And I, you know,
whether it's the basketball fit, personalities, UM, sharing the offense
all that, I think there's a lot up in the air.
And then the second part of that is they just
traded probably their best perimeter defender. Yeah, that's what I
was gonna say, Like, here's a little a little trivia
for you on which end of the floor to the
right to The MAVs rank in the bottom ten this season,
(07:35):
having seen the third biggest drop off from last season. Yeah,
the defensive defense, and now who are their three best players,
Luca don Chech, Kyrie Irving and Christian Would I guess
that's not exactly a defensive trio. Um. They just traded
their best, well, one of their two best defenders UM
(07:58):
out the door. And so now this is just like
a thought that comes to my head is, man, they
really need Maxi Cleber to be be and stay healthy
um whenever he comes back from his hamstring injury. Um,
because otherwise they just don't have much defense at all. Um.
(08:19):
They rank in the top ten offensively. Obviously they'll be
They're going to become a much better offensive team with
Irving UM and do just just together and you know,
apart also Irving the silent sir. But it's kind of
(08:39):
funny that, you know, the drop off has been been
on defense this season from last season, and they just
downgraded defensively. UM. So it's obviously, you know, you need
talent first of all, and you can sort of build
defense around that talent, uh slowly and surely. But it's
(09:03):
kind of interesting how how it sort of works out
that way. Dallas still sitting six in the Western Conference. UM.
And speaking of the Western Conference, another team that thought
they might have had a chance and wanted to bring
in Caybrie Irving was the Los Angeles Lakers currently in. Um, shoot,
what does this mean for the Lakers? And again, I
know we still have a couple of days before before
(09:24):
the trade deadline, but what does this mean for this
Lakers team and Lebron? I think they just get more desperate. Um.
And you know, I think they take those two first
round picks that they have and they aggressively shock them
I imagine, Um, you know, I mean they're they're so
far behind at this point. Even if they were to
(09:46):
get a serious upgrade, you have to wonder if it's
worth it this season. Um. But you know, time is ticking.
Lebron is sort of kept the pressure on and I think, um,
you know, they're gonna hear a lot of chatter about
the Lakers in the next few days, and making a
deal is obviously easier said than done. Um, but you know,
(10:09):
they do have a couple of assets that should be, um,
pretty coveted around the league, given that Lebron is gonna
not be a Laker in a few years and and
those picks could could be really valuable. Yeah. Um Beck
with with eyes on the Lakers, I think a lot
of people have and what those picks look like. Going
(10:30):
back to the Nets. With this trade, again we mentioned
those two players, but they also pick up the protected
first round pick in two second round picks. Um, do
you think the Nets have more moves in them that
they will make before the deadline? I think they're clearly
going to try. They also have some future draft capital
from the sixers, from the Hardened Simmons swap. I think
(10:53):
they even have some of their own Like they obviously
the Nets to give up a lot of the control
of their own picks in the Hardened acquisition, but they
have a little bit to play with their too, So
they also have a surplus of rotation guys now too.
Like the Nets on paper right now are really deep
and they can't use all these guys, and they clearly
clearly are all in for this season. I think the
other subtle thing that this trade suggested is that Kevin
(11:14):
Durant is expected to be healthy and back to playing
at m VP level. Right. You don't go all in
if you don't think he's gonna stay or want to stay. Uh,
if he's gonna ask for a trade again, and you
don't go all in uh in a in a deal
that's about the present if you don't think he's going
to be able to play at a high level again
the way he was before he went down a month ago.
So this is all a vote of confidence in their
(11:34):
ability to contend this season. I still think that they're
a notch behind Boston and Milwaukee. But what do I know? Um,
and I think that you know to the extent that
there are still any potential deficiencies in the rotation. They've
got time now to to make another deal. The problem
for the Nets, as with everybody else, is we don't
really know that there are that many sellers right now. Well,
(11:55):
the the truth will will come soon. We will we
will know finally soon if Toronto or Chicago or any
of these other teams that are kind of stuck in
the mediocre middle are going to pivot and become sellers.
But the Nets are in a very good position right
now to make another deal to fortify that that team
around Katie. All right, we're gonna take a quick break, um,
but after that we will get into some more potential
(12:17):
trade deadline moves. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to NBA.
Paul sarahcu Stock joined by the best of the best,
John Schuman, Howard Beck. Appreciate you both being here. We
are a couple of days away now from that February
nine trade deadline. Of course, the big news that came
(12:38):
yesterday Brooklyn Nets trading Kyrie Irving and Mark Kith Morris
to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwoodie during Phinney Smith
in a first round in a couple of second round picks. Um.
But will be interesting to see what happens in the
next couple of days with some other teams. Uh, Howard,
what what teams do you look at? Who are you
still eyeing? What move do you could possibly be made
(13:01):
here in the next couple of days? Uh? To help
fortify some of these teams, Well, we've touched on one
of them, I mean the Lakers. Obviously, all eyes I
think are on the Lakers. Um. Lebron James not known
for being patient, nor should he be at this stage.
By the way, he's thirty eight and in year twenty
last I checked. I believe that's the stat um and
he's playing like if you want to say he's playing
(13:24):
an all at an m v P level, He's playing
at a minimum at an all NBA level, and Anthony
Davis when healthy, has been playing at an all NBA level,
and you know, look, we know what what the deal
is there. They just don't have enough talent around them.
They have those two future picks, they have Russell Westbrook's contract.
They've been both depart with those future picks because they
fear falling off a cliff once Lebron retires, and those
(13:45):
are the tickets to their future. But when you have
Lebron James, you can't think about the future. There's only now.
And you know, Rob Polinka and that front office are
clearly under a lot of pressure right now to to
make a move. Now, we'll involve both picks, will involve
one of the picks. Will it even involved Russell Westbrooker?
Will they find a way to cobble together other contracts
to make a deal. I don't know what the ultimate
(14:07):
return will be or the deal will be, but I
would be shocked beyond belief if the Lakers don't do
something by Thursday to show Lebron a little effort and
to show their fans some good faith that they are
still trying to salvage this season. Now they're still under
five hundred, and there's still no guarantee that even make
the playoffs or the play in But when healthy Lebron
(14:27):
and Anthony Davis are potentially the best one to punch
in the NBA, they need help. And I would be
again shocked if the Lakers don't do something by Thursday.
I have no predictions as to what that is, but
I think they'll do something. Shoot, what about you? What
teams and our players are you keeping an eye on?
I think Toronto from a seller's perspective, is the most interesting. Um.
(14:50):
You know, they have Fred van Fleet who will probably
um decline his player option this summer and become a
free agent. Um do they want to keep paying him
um beyond this year for whatever salary he's going to command. Um?
They have O g n and Obie who has some
overlap with both Pascal Siakum and Scottie Barnes is in
(15:13):
regards to skills, And it's probably the of those three
guys the one that creates that that will that will
create the least offense, I guess, um. And so it's
a matter of, you know, what kind of assets could
they get back in an exchange for either one of
(15:33):
those guys? You know, it was two years ago where
we all thought they were trading Kyle Lowry at the deadline, UM,
and they never did. I mean, Kyle Lowry said his
goodbyes to everybody, said his goodbyes to Toronto that the
night before the deadline, and and basically never got traded.
And it's not like the Raptors ended up keeping him
beyond that season, right like they sent him away in
(15:55):
a sign and trade the following summer. But they just
didn't get the l they wanted for him at that deadline.
I'm sure they were willing to trade him, they just
didn't get the deal they wanted. And I assume Massia
you Jerry played hardball at that point. And then now
he can use that as an example for any potential
buyers this this year because he say, hey, you know,
(16:17):
if you don't give me what I want, I just
won't trade those guys. And I did it two years
ago and I'll do it again basically. UM. But you
know there are teams. Memphis is one example. The Lakers
are obviously another UM that have the assets to to
really make a strong play for those two guys or
one of the two. UM. It's just a matter of Uh,
(16:40):
you know, what does Missia Jerry think of about those
two guys and their future in Toronto. UM. I think
it's clear right now that the Raptors aren't doing anything
this year beyond maybe the eight seed at best. UM.
So that's that's an obvious seller with two players that
can make an impact somewhere. UM. And it's just a
(17:01):
matter of whether a deal can get done. Fun time
a year in the NBA for some UM, I know
you guys got a lot of work to get into.
So we certainly appreciates Shoe and Howard your time for
for joining us here this morning. Thanks for having me,
and on Wednesday we will be back. Steve Ashburner will
join me with the latest news in the NBA. NBA
(17:23):
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