February 9, 2023 • 19 mins
Sarah is joined by NBA.com Senior Writer Mark Medina for a Trade Deadline Roundup Special to discuss the fallout from Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, Clippers and more trades across the NBA.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, welcome into NBA Pulse to production of I Heart
Radio in the NBA. M Saracustack NBA analysts for they
S network in today. Well it's Thursday, February nine, a
few hours after three pm Eastern. You know what that is?
That is trade deadline day and I am joined by
(00:23):
one of our absolutely fabulous writers of our core group
from NBA dot Com, Mark Medina and uh market. Lot
going on my head spinning. Obviously, there's been trades galore
in some I think that may have been anticipated, a
lot that we're not. We will try and touch on
as many big ones as we can get into. Of
(00:45):
of course, some of the teams that were most focused
on are those who have an opportunity to contend. And
uh now the Phoenix Suns just just bolted to uh
some of the top top lookers in the West after
a monster trade that sent Kevin dury Aunt to the
Phoenix Suns. The Nets and Return got Michael Bridges, they
got Cam Johnson, they got a couple picks to go
(01:08):
along with it. But the headline of all that is
Kevin Durant joining Devin Booker DeAndre Ayton. What that team
will look like Chris Paul, of course, and you know
my reaction obviously was one a little bit of surprise.
Kevin Durant obviously had asked for the trade during the
off season, um and after the trade of Kyrie Irving
(01:29):
to the Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn and Shawn Marks and the
group tried to put together a team that's still looked
like one that could be something that Kevin Durant felt
like can compete for a title, and clearly that that
was not the situation, the circumstance that he most wanted
to be in. The team worked with him, so uh
so now he will be a member of the Phoenix Suns. Mark.
I'm curious your thoughts upout hearing this news. Well, Sarah
(01:53):
a good senior, first of all, but I share your
thoughts exactly when you said, my head is spinning, That's
how I felt in the last four hours. I mean,
first of seeing Lebron James break Kareem abdul to Bar's
all time scoring record in the NBA, then seeing Kyrie
Irving's debut with the Dallas Mavericks, and just to provide
some color behind the curtain here, I was among the
press corps that's waiting for Kyrie Irving's postgame interview following
(02:17):
the Mavericks win against the l A Clippers, and all
of a sudden, I felt this heard and felt this rumbling.
I thought it's an play here in l A. No,
it was the reaction to Kevin Durant gaining trade to
the Phoenix Suns, a different kind of seismic shift, if
you will. And then literally minutes later, Kyrie Irving enters
the press room. I my hunches. He probably knew about it,
(02:39):
but we all couldn't wait to share the news with
Kyrie about Kevin Durant's trade, and he was like, hey,
can we talk about my game first? But then, to
his credit, he talked about Kevin Durant's departure to Phoenix.
He was saying, hey, look, I'm glad he got out
of there in Brooklyn. Obviously, both players had some different
misgivings and a lot of different perspective was on why
(03:00):
that ended. But you know, when it comes to just
looking at the NBA landscape, Kyrie Irving was thinking, hey,
like now I'm going to face my former teammate a
lot more times in the regular season and maybe in
the playoffs. And I think that that's a feeling that
has been expressed basically league wide, especially in the Western Conference.
And I want to be surprised that when he as
(03:23):
with any trade deadline, when you look at major dominoes
that fall, that then creates a lot of activity, both
big and small. And obviously Kyrie Irving was the first
major domino that happened earlier in the week. Kevin Durant
next domino, and then a flood of trades. I'll be
fun to get into and break down here. Yeah, And
(03:44):
as I said, we'll try and get into many of these,
but there were so many that had occurred that is
will probably be allowed that we're gonna be discussing in
the coming weeks. But I mentioned this trade and obviously
uh some few other pieces with the t J. Warren
as well returns back to Phoenix, a place where um
he had started his career, and the Nets also received
Jay Crowder, of which he has been rerouted and now
(04:07):
will be a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, um which
they improve a little bit. I think on that will
we'll see what Jake Crowder looks like, having not played
yet this season. But back to Phoenix, the way their
roster sits the lineup. Kevin Durant, it seems like he's
going to be somewhat close. We didn't know exactly with
him here in Brooklyn, but I was doing some on
(04:27):
court work, had not done physical contact yet with playing,
but should be returning sometime soon. You expect him to
be at his m v P level that he was
playing at. Does this make in your mind Phoenix the
front runner UH title favorites? Yeah, without a doubt. I mean, look,
you have a lot of star power and Kevin Durant
(04:47):
and Devin Booker and Chris Paul to lesser extent, DeAndre
Aden and the Sons were in an interesting precarious position
this year. They're currently ranked fifth in the Western Conference,
but they had started out really strong and basically a
lot of their growing pains had a lot to do
with just health, with overlapping injuries to Chris Paul and
Devin Booker, and so I think moving forward, it's not
(05:08):
a guarantee that they're going to win a championship, but
very rarely UH is the case that a team is
predestined to win an NBA title. But um, I think
that on paper they're the heavy favorites. Now the big
question mark is just gonna be health. Um, you know,
Devin Booker is still trying to come back. The Sons
had struggled without them, Chris Paul had nursed and earlier injury,
(05:29):
Kevin Durant trying to get back as well. And while
I do think that there is a scenario and I'm
fully optimistic that they can be fully healthy, I think
that they're probably gonna be aware that you know, it's
only one injury away from changing the landscape. So my hunches,
you know, they're going to be very cautious and proactive
with managing these star players health. But from a a
(05:49):
talent and chemistry standpoint, it's really plug and play. I mean,
Kevin Durant is one of the best scores in the NBA,
Chris Paul's one of the best point guards. Still, Devin
Booker and DeAndre and I think this season have really
played their role as well. So while they certainly gave up,
you know, some of their depth, most notably in McHale
bridges that cream of the crop talent you know will
(06:11):
rise to the top, no doubt about it. Yeah, and
I know there's been a lot of talk to defensively
about Phoenix and losing bridges. What he had brought to
the cable Cam Johnson, he can't overlook. I got to
see it up close and personal throughout the course not
only of previous seasons, but this season. Kevin Durant defensively
was excellent this season and he was a big reason
why the Nets defense had improved significantly him playing alongside
(06:33):
Nick Clackson. So, uh, yeah, Phoenix, If Phoenix is going
to be a beast, let's go to another team in
the West. Um that improved. And then we've been talking
about had our eyes on You had mentioned you were
in the building and got an opportunity to see Lebron
James break that all time scoring record. Uh. Some moves
though made for Los Angeles, and there was a three
(06:55):
team trade involving l A, Minnesota in Utah, initially of
which Russell Westbrook was sent to Utah expected that he
will likely be bought out um Clippers maybe a potential
landing spot for him. Utah also received want to Skane Anderson,
Damian Jones first round pick Minnesota part of this trade,
(07:18):
of which they get Mike Conley, Nikila Alexander Walker in
a couple of second round picks Los Angeles, though they
received D'Angelo Russell, so Delo goes back to the place
where where everything all began, returns to l A. Lakers
also get Malik Beasley, they get Jared Vanderbilt, and then,
in a separate trade that just occurred as well earlier today,
(07:41):
the Lakers sent Patrick Beverley to Orlando and get Mo Bamba.
They had also sent Thomas Bryant out to Denver. Just
listed off a lot of things happening, So a lot
of moves were made for the Lakers. But Mark and
breaking that down most notably, I think you look at
the fact that D'Angelo Russell now comes over to the team,
Beasley in Vanderbilt, also our solid pickups Mo Bamba. What
(08:04):
does this Lakers roster look like for you? Look, Sarah,
even if the Phoenix sun Sten get Kevin Durant. I
don't think any of these Laker deals automatically put them
in championship contention, but it at least increases their od
substantially for entering the playned tournament or even getting into
the playoffs as a sixth seed or higher. Um, you know,
(08:26):
I think there are a few things in play where
it looked like the Lakers really thread the needle of
not having to choose either or of no moves or
a move that puts them into contention. Uh, they were
able to fulfill positional needs with getting quality shooting in
D'Angel Russell and Malik Beasley. Russell Westbrook might have a
better Hall of Fame resume as a point guard, um,
(08:49):
but I think D'Angelo is a better fit when it
comes to his outside shooting when you're looking at Jared Vanderbilt.
This is tied to some of their other deals where
Jared Vanderbilt is going to help their front court depth
after losing Thomas Bryant in a related move that you
mentioned in Denver. But you know that's also why they
traded Patrick Beverley to Orlando to get Mobomba to reinforce
(09:11):
having some of that front court depth. So I think
the common denominator with this is that they still maintain
their cat flexibility. D'Angel Russell and the Leak be easily
could be free agents this summer, so if things don't
work out, they still have the cap space to try
to improve the roster. They fulfill positional needs with their
shooting um, now, there are still a lot of question marks.
(09:32):
I mean, there might be optimism that they can still
play well defensively, but even if there's been some incremental
improvement over the years, D'Angel Russell has never been seen
as an elite defensive player. But I think compared to
where they were before, whether Russell Westbrook bought in or not,
I mean, I think that that was a gray area
throughout the season. The reality is the Lakers were thirteenth
(09:53):
in the Western Conference, so they had to make moves
that at least would get their odds maximized make the
playoffs so that they can move closer to championship contention.
If I'm Lebron James, you know, one hand, you're always
hoping an ideal world how you get a superstar player
like Kevin durmp But given the Lakers caps of situation
(10:14):
and their lack of assets, and the fact that they
only had two first round picks, the fact that they're
able to make this move while only giving up one
first round pick, I think that this is a huge
success for the Lakers given the struggles that they had
with a flawed Ross for the last one and a
half seasons without a doubt. Let's move over to the
other Los Angeles team, the Clippers, who made some moves
(10:35):
as well. Most notably, they get Eric Gordon from Houston.
They get Bones Highland from Denver. Who else am I missing?
They got Mason Plumley coming over from in Uh, Mason Plumley,
they will pick up from Charlotte. Yeah, and I think
the last thing is setting Luke Canard to Memphis. Oh,
that's right, that's right, which I do think will help Memphis.
(10:58):
But for the Clippers with those individuals added to the
roster um and will continue to watch the buy out market,
I do think that the Clippers could be a team
that proves to be a desirable landing spot for for
a handful of these bio candidates. What do you think
the Clippers and some of these moves that they made. Yeah,
it's really interesting because even a month or so ago,
(11:18):
it seemed like, after talking to the Clippers that they
weren't going into the trade line with the intent with
dramatically changing their roster. And look, I mean, obviously Paul
George and Kawhi Leonard are still on the team, but
there was this feeling that, hey, as long as guys
stay healthy, the lack of continuity or the chemistry concerns
aren't gonna matter. And clearly that hasn't been the case.
(11:41):
I mean they're still in the mix and the playoffs,
but you know, they will be the first to admit
that they have played below what they thought that they
could achieve through the trade deadline, and so by making
these moves, this was a concession that they really needed
to change things at the point guard position. You know,
John on Wall had shown flashes of his former self
(12:03):
and then other times not so much. And then the Clippers,
whether it was being too cautious or not, they would
sit him a lot with back to back and limit
his minutes. So they never really quite found the right
fit with John Wall point guard, but out of respect
for him, they didn't really have other great fits anywhere else.
Reggie Jackson was very inconsistent. They would put Terrence Mann
(12:26):
at point guard sometimes, but he's on a traditional point
guard and so it makes sense that they decided to
make moves to try to address the point guard situation.
But what's ironic when you look at guys like Eric
Gordon and Bones Highland, they're certainly gonna accumulate backcourt minutes.
But none of those guys are traditional point guards either.
So ty Lou is a masterful tactician. He knows how to,
(12:49):
you know, try to make the most out of out
of lineups. But when you look at it this objectively,
he still might have his handsful because he's been very
creative with finding rotations to make up for the fact
that Or isn't a traditional point guarden. Even though these
guys I think have really great talent and skill sets,
that still might be a challenge moving forward. And then
you know the bigger pictures, how healthy can the Clippers
(13:13):
be through the rest of the season. And it's been
very predictably unpredictable as far as who's going to be
available in and out of the lineup. So they made
some moves, but we'll see if it was enough predictably unpredictable. Mark,
I'm stealing that one. I like it uh more to
get to right after the break, we're gonna touch on
a couple of moves and who looks like they're still
(13:33):
sitting as front runners over in the Eastern Conference, don't
go anywhere. Welcome back to NBA Pulse. Sarracousta joined by
Mark Medina and Mark. We get a lot going on
a bunch of trades that occur today on this trade deadline,
(13:55):
but I can't get to all of them. We will
get to some of the most important ones as we discussed,
but one though that jumps out is Golden State. Um.
They moved James Wiseman in a three team trade. So
with Atlanta, the Hawks received City Bay UM, the Pistons
are the ones that received James Wiseman, and then the
Warriors received Kevin Knox and UM five second round picks
(14:19):
from the Atlanta Hawks. So what do you make of
moving a player a pick like James Wiseman after obviously
it wasn't seeming like a great fit early on here
in his career with Golden State. Yeah, it's really interesting
because the Warriors, as of last offseason, after winning the
NBA Championship, they philosophically decided, hey, let's try to do
(14:41):
this two timeline approach even more still Lena in on
the All Stars, but get more minutes for guys like
James Wiseman, and you know, in the interests of Koream
more playing time for him or Jonathan Cominga and Moses Moody,
as well as trimming some of that looming luxury tax bill.
Let's part way, as with guys like Gary Payton, the
(15:01):
second Auto Porter Junior when they hit free agency, and
in James Wiseman's case, clearly it didn't work out as hoped.
You know, he had always gone through you know, starts
and stops because of different injuries as well as just
playing on a championship contending team, so minutes weren't always
readily available. But I think that this is a clear
(15:22):
sign that even in the worst case scenario, just grooming
someone like Wiseman to be ready to play, you know,
ten fifty minutes in a playoffs setting didn't seem realistic.
And so I think that it's telling that the net
result for trading of James Wiseman was getting five second
round picks Kevin Notts and then a second deal reuniting
(15:42):
back with Gary Payton the second. My hunch with us
is maybe the Warriors were trying to also pursue other deals,
maybe the Toronto Raptors, for example, which was a team
that was expected to be sellers because they have a
lot of good players, yet that are they haven't been
good in the standing, so there was a thought that
may they would decide to just start over. That wasn't
the case. But I think, you know, on this deal alone,
(16:05):
it's a clear sign that, you know what, they might
not have as much faith in the young player development
while leaning on the All Stars on the fly. So
let's go back to some of the more dependable veterans. So,
you know, the Warriors have been either barely above or
below five hundred all seasons, so maybe this is a
push as well as Steph Curry returning to health and
(16:28):
the other All Stars like Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson
building off of their season into then getting back into
into the championship picture. But you know, this is easier
said than done, most notably because of what the sun
set with getting Kevin Durant. Yeah, and speaking of that
that Kevin Durant trade, let's go to the Eastern Conference quickly.
It feels like the three teams up at the top
(16:50):
continue to separate themselves a bit. In Milwaukee, Boston, Philadelphia
all made some some smaller moves that could prove impactful.
Um with that Durant deal. Part of that was an
eventual move to put Jay Crowder in Milwaukee. Boston picks
up Mike Muscala and Philly picks up Jalen McDaniels in
a three team trade, of which the Portland Trailblazers will
(17:13):
receive Matisse Thybel What do you make of these moves
of those top teams in the Eastern Conference and how
it impacts who you view as the favorite? Yeah, well,
these these moves are definitely significant, but certainly not as
significant as the Kevin Durant trade and other teams trades.
But that's because these teams have already been considered major
(17:34):
players in the Eastern Conference landscape. But if I had
to pick my favorite move out of it, I think
it's Jay Crowder with the Milwaukee Bucks. While there's certainly
questions from a at least a short term standpoint, how
he's gonna look because he hadn't played at all this season,
he is a guy that's considered really reliable, especially in
the playoffs, as far as having that three n D presence.
(17:55):
And so when you're looking at the Milwaukee Bucks pathway
to a POI will return to the NBA Finals two
years later, they're gonna have to go through teams like
the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia's seventy Sixers and can
we lean on a guy to defend their best player,
and that player could be Jay Crowder Um. So I
really like that move. I do like what the Sixers
(18:17):
did as much as Matisse Thyble is a really great
defensive player, um, and they're certainly losing those credentials. It's
a reason why Portland's want to pick him up. He
was really struggling the offensive end, and so the Sixers
society that Jane McDaniels would be a better fit. They
needed some front court depth, and uh, they'll really enjoy that.
So it'll be interesting to see to what degree some
(18:38):
of those minor moves will make a difference. But I
think at the end of the day, because of how
town of those teams are, it's gonna be on primarily
the health of all their stars. But when you're trying
to compete for an NBA championship, having those reinforcements on
the bench or defensive specialists can sometimes go a long
way and deciding a potential seven game play officers, Yeah,
(19:01):
it is going to be fun to watch. Today was fun,
more fun for for some than others. However, we as
always appreciate your time. Mark I feel like we we
could have talked for two hours on what we tried
to jam the twenty minutes, But I know we've got
a lot more weeks in the NBA season to come
that will continue to see how these trades play out.
No doubt about a future, great content for other amazing podcasts,
(19:24):
but appreciate if you break it all down as a blast.
NBA Pulse with Saracu Stack is a production of the
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to your podcast
Yeah, welcome into NBA Pulse to production of I Heart
Radio in the NBA. M Saracustack NBA analysts for they
S network in today. Well it's Thursday, February nine, a
few hours after three pm Eastern. You know what that is?
That is trade deadline day and I am joined by
(00:23):
one of our absolutely fabulous writers of our core group
from NBA dot Com, Mark Medina and uh market. Lot
going on my head spinning. Obviously, there's been trades galore
in some I think that may have been anticipated, a
lot that we're not. We will try and touch on
as many big ones as we can get into. Of
(00:45):
of course, some of the teams that were most focused
on are those who have an opportunity to contend. And
uh now the Phoenix Suns just just bolted to uh
some of the top top lookers in the West after
a monster trade that sent Kevin dury Aunt to the
Phoenix Suns. The Nets and Return got Michael Bridges, they
got Cam Johnson, they got a couple picks to go
(01:08):
along with it. But the headline of all that is
Kevin Durant joining Devin Booker DeAndre Ayton. What that team
will look like Chris Paul, of course, and you know
my reaction obviously was one a little bit of surprise.
Kevin Durant obviously had asked for the trade during the
off season, um and after the trade of Kyrie Irving
(01:29):
to the Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn and Shawn Marks and the
group tried to put together a team that's still looked
like one that could be something that Kevin Durant felt
like can compete for a title, and clearly that that
was not the situation, the circumstance that he most wanted
to be in. The team worked with him, so uh
so now he will be a member of the Phoenix Suns. Mark.
I'm curious your thoughts upout hearing this news. Well, Sarah
(01:53):
a good senior, first of all, but I share your
thoughts exactly when you said, my head is spinning, That's
how I felt in the last four hours. I mean,
first of seeing Lebron James break Kareem abdul to Bar's
all time scoring record in the NBA, then seeing Kyrie
Irving's debut with the Dallas Mavericks, and just to provide
some color behind the curtain here, I was among the
press corps that's waiting for Kyrie Irving's postgame interview following
(02:17):
the Mavericks win against the l A Clippers, and all
of a sudden, I felt this heard and felt this rumbling.
I thought it's an play here in l A. No,
it was the reaction to Kevin Durant gaining trade to
the Phoenix Suns, a different kind of seismic shift, if
you will. And then literally minutes later, Kyrie Irving enters
the press room. I my hunches. He probably knew about it,
(02:39):
but we all couldn't wait to share the news with
Kyrie about Kevin Durant's trade, and he was like, hey,
can we talk about my game first? But then, to
his credit, he talked about Kevin Durant's departure to Phoenix.
He was saying, hey, look, I'm glad he got out
of there in Brooklyn. Obviously, both players had some different
misgivings and a lot of different perspective was on why
(03:00):
that ended. But you know, when it comes to just
looking at the NBA landscape, Kyrie Irving was thinking, hey,
like now I'm going to face my former teammate a
lot more times in the regular season and maybe in
the playoffs. And I think that that's a feeling that
has been expressed basically league wide, especially in the Western Conference.
And I want to be surprised that when he as
(03:23):
with any trade deadline, when you look at major dominoes
that fall, that then creates a lot of activity, both
big and small. And obviously Kyrie Irving was the first
major domino that happened earlier in the week. Kevin Durant
next domino, and then a flood of trades. I'll be
fun to get into and break down here. Yeah, And
(03:44):
as I said, we'll try and get into many of these,
but there were so many that had occurred that is
will probably be allowed that we're gonna be discussing in
the coming weeks. But I mentioned this trade and obviously
uh some few other pieces with the t J. Warren
as well returns back to Phoenix, a place where um
he had started his career, and the Nets also received
Jay Crowder, of which he has been rerouted and now
(04:07):
will be a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, um which
they improve a little bit. I think on that will
we'll see what Jake Crowder looks like, having not played
yet this season. But back to Phoenix, the way their
roster sits the lineup. Kevin Durant, it seems like he's
going to be somewhat close. We didn't know exactly with
him here in Brooklyn, but I was doing some on
(04:27):
court work, had not done physical contact yet with playing,
but should be returning sometime soon. You expect him to
be at his m v P level that he was
playing at. Does this make in your mind Phoenix the
front runner UH title favorites? Yeah, without a doubt. I mean, look,
you have a lot of star power and Kevin Durant
(04:47):
and Devin Booker and Chris Paul to lesser extent, DeAndre
Aden and the Sons were in an interesting precarious position
this year. They're currently ranked fifth in the Western Conference,
but they had started out really strong and basically a
lot of their growing pains had a lot to do
with just health, with overlapping injuries to Chris Paul and
Devin Booker, and so I think moving forward, it's not
(05:08):
a guarantee that they're going to win a championship, but
very rarely UH is the case that a team is
predestined to win an NBA title. But um, I think
that on paper they're the heavy favorites. Now the big
question mark is just gonna be health. Um, you know,
Devin Booker is still trying to come back. The Sons
had struggled without them, Chris Paul had nursed and earlier injury,
(05:29):
Kevin Durant trying to get back as well. And while
I do think that there is a scenario and I'm
fully optimistic that they can be fully healthy, I think
that they're probably gonna be aware that you know, it's
only one injury away from changing the landscape. So my hunches,
you know, they're going to be very cautious and proactive
with managing these star players health. But from a a
(05:49):
talent and chemistry standpoint, it's really plug and play. I mean,
Kevin Durant is one of the best scores in the NBA,
Chris Paul's one of the best point guards. Still, Devin
Booker and DeAndre and I think this season have really
played their role as well. So while they certainly gave up,
you know, some of their depth, most notably in McHale
bridges that cream of the crop talent you know will
(06:11):
rise to the top, no doubt about it. Yeah, and
I know there's been a lot of talk to defensively
about Phoenix and losing bridges. What he had brought to
the cable Cam Johnson, he can't overlook. I got to
see it up close and personal throughout the course not
only of previous seasons, but this season. Kevin Durant defensively
was excellent this season and he was a big reason
why the Nets defense had improved significantly him playing alongside
(06:33):
Nick Clackson. So, uh, yeah, Phoenix, If Phoenix is going
to be a beast, let's go to another team in
the West. Um that improved. And then we've been talking
about had our eyes on You had mentioned you were
in the building and got an opportunity to see Lebron
James break that all time scoring record. Uh. Some moves
though made for Los Angeles, and there was a three
(06:55):
team trade involving l A, Minnesota in Utah, initially of
which Russell Westbrook was sent to Utah expected that he
will likely be bought out um Clippers maybe a potential
landing spot for him. Utah also received want to Skane Anderson,
Damian Jones first round pick Minnesota part of this trade,
(07:18):
of which they get Mike Conley, Nikila Alexander Walker in
a couple of second round picks Los Angeles, though they
received D'Angelo Russell, so Delo goes back to the place
where where everything all began, returns to l A. Lakers
also get Malik Beasley, they get Jared Vanderbilt, and then,
in a separate trade that just occurred as well earlier today,
(07:41):
the Lakers sent Patrick Beverley to Orlando and get Mo Bamba.
They had also sent Thomas Bryant out to Denver. Just
listed off a lot of things happening, So a lot
of moves were made for the Lakers. But Mark and
breaking that down most notably, I think you look at
the fact that D'Angelo Russell now comes over to the team,
Beasley in Vanderbilt, also our solid pickups Mo Bamba. What
(08:04):
does this Lakers roster look like for you? Look, Sarah,
even if the Phoenix sun Sten get Kevin Durant. I
don't think any of these Laker deals automatically put them
in championship contention, but it at least increases their od
substantially for entering the playned tournament or even getting into
the playoffs as a sixth seed or higher. Um, you know,
(08:26):
I think there are a few things in play where
it looked like the Lakers really thread the needle of
not having to choose either or of no moves or
a move that puts them into contention. Uh, they were
able to fulfill positional needs with getting quality shooting in
D'Angel Russell and Malik Beasley. Russell Westbrook might have a
better Hall of Fame resume as a point guard, um,
(08:49):
but I think D'Angelo is a better fit when it
comes to his outside shooting when you're looking at Jared Vanderbilt.
This is tied to some of their other deals where
Jared Vanderbilt is going to help their front court depth
after losing Thomas Bryant in a related move that you
mentioned in Denver. But you know that's also why they
traded Patrick Beverley to Orlando to get Mobomba to reinforce
(09:11):
having some of that front court depth. So I think
the common denominator with this is that they still maintain
their cat flexibility. D'Angel Russell and the Leak be easily
could be free agents this summer, so if things don't
work out, they still have the cap space to try
to improve the roster. They fulfill positional needs with their
shooting um, now, there are still a lot of question marks.
(09:32):
I mean, there might be optimism that they can still
play well defensively, but even if there's been some incremental
improvement over the years, D'Angel Russell has never been seen
as an elite defensive player. But I think compared to
where they were before, whether Russell Westbrook bought in or not,
I mean, I think that that was a gray area
throughout the season. The reality is the Lakers were thirteenth
(09:53):
in the Western Conference, so they had to make moves
that at least would get their odds maximized make the
playoffs so that they can move closer to championship contention.
If I'm Lebron James, you know, one hand, you're always
hoping an ideal world how you get a superstar player
like Kevin durmp But given the Lakers caps of situation
(10:14):
and their lack of assets, and the fact that they
only had two first round picks, the fact that they're
able to make this move while only giving up one
first round pick, I think that this is a huge
success for the Lakers given the struggles that they had
with a flawed Ross for the last one and a
half seasons without a doubt. Let's move over to the
other Los Angeles team, the Clippers, who made some moves
(10:35):
as well. Most notably, they get Eric Gordon from Houston.
They get Bones Highland from Denver. Who else am I missing?
They got Mason Plumley coming over from in Uh, Mason Plumley,
they will pick up from Charlotte. Yeah, and I think
the last thing is setting Luke Canard to Memphis. Oh,
that's right, that's right, which I do think will help Memphis.
(10:58):
But for the Clippers with those individuals added to the
roster um and will continue to watch the buy out market,
I do think that the Clippers could be a team
that proves to be a desirable landing spot for for
a handful of these bio candidates. What do you think
the Clippers and some of these moves that they made. Yeah,
it's really interesting because even a month or so ago,
(11:18):
it seemed like, after talking to the Clippers that they
weren't going into the trade line with the intent with
dramatically changing their roster. And look, I mean, obviously Paul
George and Kawhi Leonard are still on the team, but
there was this feeling that, hey, as long as guys
stay healthy, the lack of continuity or the chemistry concerns
aren't gonna matter. And clearly that hasn't been the case.
(11:41):
I mean they're still in the mix and the playoffs,
but you know, they will be the first to admit
that they have played below what they thought that they
could achieve through the trade deadline, and so by making
these moves, this was a concession that they really needed
to change things at the point guard position. You know,
John on Wall had shown flashes of his former self
(12:03):
and then other times not so much. And then the Clippers,
whether it was being too cautious or not, they would
sit him a lot with back to back and limit
his minutes. So they never really quite found the right
fit with John Wall point guard, but out of respect
for him, they didn't really have other great fits anywhere else.
Reggie Jackson was very inconsistent. They would put Terrence Mann
(12:26):
at point guard sometimes, but he's on a traditional point
guard and so it makes sense that they decided to
make moves to try to address the point guard situation.
But what's ironic when you look at guys like Eric
Gordon and Bones Highland, they're certainly gonna accumulate backcourt minutes.
But none of those guys are traditional point guards either.
So ty Lou is a masterful tactician. He knows how to,
(12:49):
you know, try to make the most out of out
of lineups. But when you look at it this objectively,
he still might have his handsful because he's been very
creative with finding rotations to make up for the fact
that Or isn't a traditional point guarden. Even though these
guys I think have really great talent and skill sets,
that still might be a challenge moving forward. And then
you know the bigger pictures, how healthy can the Clippers
(13:13):
be through the rest of the season. And it's been
very predictably unpredictable as far as who's going to be
available in and out of the lineup. So they made
some moves, but we'll see if it was enough predictably unpredictable. Mark,
I'm stealing that one. I like it uh more to
get to right after the break, we're gonna touch on
a couple of moves and who looks like they're still
(13:33):
sitting as front runners over in the Eastern Conference, don't
go anywhere. Welcome back to NBA Pulse. Sarracousta joined by
Mark Medina and Mark. We get a lot going on
a bunch of trades that occur today on this trade deadline,
(13:55):
but I can't get to all of them. We will
get to some of the most important ones as we discussed,
but one though that jumps out is Golden State. Um.
They moved James Wiseman in a three team trade. So
with Atlanta, the Hawks received City Bay UM, the Pistons
are the ones that received James Wiseman, and then the
Warriors received Kevin Knox and UM five second round picks
(14:19):
from the Atlanta Hawks. So what do you make of
moving a player a pick like James Wiseman after obviously
it wasn't seeming like a great fit early on here
in his career with Golden State. Yeah, it's really interesting
because the Warriors, as of last offseason, after winning the
NBA Championship, they philosophically decided, hey, let's try to do
(14:41):
this two timeline approach even more still Lena in on
the All Stars, but get more minutes for guys like
James Wiseman, and you know, in the interests of Koream
more playing time for him or Jonathan Cominga and Moses Moody,
as well as trimming some of that looming luxury tax bill.
Let's part way, as with guys like Gary Payton, the
(15:01):
second Auto Porter Junior when they hit free agency, and
in James Wiseman's case, clearly it didn't work out as hoped.
You know, he had always gone through you know, starts
and stops because of different injuries as well as just
playing on a championship contending team, so minutes weren't always
readily available. But I think that this is a clear
(15:22):
sign that even in the worst case scenario, just grooming
someone like Wiseman to be ready to play, you know,
ten fifty minutes in a playoffs setting didn't seem realistic.
And so I think that it's telling that the net
result for trading of James Wiseman was getting five second
round picks Kevin Notts and then a second deal reuniting
(15:42):
back with Gary Payton the second. My hunch with us
is maybe the Warriors were trying to also pursue other deals,
maybe the Toronto Raptors, for example, which was a team
that was expected to be sellers because they have a
lot of good players, yet that are they haven't been
good in the standing, so there was a thought that
may they would decide to just start over. That wasn't
the case. But I think, you know, on this deal alone,
(16:05):
it's a clear sign that, you know what, they might
not have as much faith in the young player development
while leaning on the All Stars on the fly. So
let's go back to some of the more dependable veterans. So,
you know, the Warriors have been either barely above or
below five hundred all seasons, so maybe this is a
push as well as Steph Curry returning to health and
(16:28):
the other All Stars like Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson
building off of their season into then getting back into
into the championship picture. But you know, this is easier
said than done, most notably because of what the sun
set with getting Kevin Durant. Yeah, and speaking of that
that Kevin Durant trade, let's go to the Eastern Conference quickly.
It feels like the three teams up at the top
(16:50):
continue to separate themselves a bit. In Milwaukee, Boston, Philadelphia
all made some some smaller moves that could prove impactful.
Um with that Durant deal. Part of that was an
eventual move to put Jay Crowder in Milwaukee. Boston picks
up Mike Muscala and Philly picks up Jalen McDaniels in
a three team trade, of which the Portland Trailblazers will
(17:13):
receive Matisse Thybel What do you make of these moves
of those top teams in the Eastern Conference and how
it impacts who you view as the favorite? Yeah, well,
these these moves are definitely significant, but certainly not as
significant as the Kevin Durant trade and other teams trades.
But that's because these teams have already been considered major
(17:34):
players in the Eastern Conference landscape. But if I had
to pick my favorite move out of it, I think
it's Jay Crowder with the Milwaukee Bucks. While there's certainly
questions from a at least a short term standpoint, how
he's gonna look because he hadn't played at all this season,
he is a guy that's considered really reliable, especially in
the playoffs, as far as having that three n D presence.
(17:55):
And so when you're looking at the Milwaukee Bucks pathway
to a POI will return to the NBA Finals two
years later, they're gonna have to go through teams like
the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia's seventy Sixers and can
we lean on a guy to defend their best player,
and that player could be Jay Crowder Um. So I
really like that move. I do like what the Sixers
(18:17):
did as much as Matisse Thyble is a really great
defensive player, um, and they're certainly losing those credentials. It's
a reason why Portland's want to pick him up. He
was really struggling the offensive end, and so the Sixers
society that Jane McDaniels would be a better fit. They
needed some front court depth, and uh, they'll really enjoy that.
So it'll be interesting to see to what degree some
(18:38):
of those minor moves will make a difference. But I
think at the end of the day, because of how
town of those teams are, it's gonna be on primarily
the health of all their stars. But when you're trying
to compete for an NBA championship, having those reinforcements on
the bench or defensive specialists can sometimes go a long
way and deciding a potential seven game play officers, Yeah,
(19:01):
it is going to be fun to watch. Today was fun,
more fun for for some than others. However, we as
always appreciate your time. Mark I feel like we we
could have talked for two hours on what we tried
to jam the twenty minutes, But I know we've got
a lot more weeks in the NBA season to come
that will continue to see how these trades play out.
No doubt about a future, great content for other amazing podcasts,
(19:24):
but appreciate if you break it all down as a blast.
NBA Pulse with Saracu Stack is a production of the
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