June Mailbag

Justin and Carter answer listener questions on the Cleveland Cavaliers rotation, trade and free agent targets and tactical moves that should be considered over the offseason. As well as how the team stacks up to the Orlando Magic after the Desmond Bane trade, lessons from the Finals and more!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This crowd rises to it's being what Carl slammed it out,
Carlo left wing free ball perfect, Darl b pop then
he left block the shot at the rim. How with
the left hand and of fowl.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome to Chase Doown Podcast, part of the cast Beadia Family.
I'm your host, Justin Rowan. The Chasetown is presented by Fubo,
the official streaming partner of the Calves. Watch over three
hundred and fifty channels of live sports and TV, including
fan Duel Sports Network without cable. There's no cost and
no commitment. Try for free at FuboTV dot Com Slash Calves.
The NBA Finals are just about over. The Oklahoma City

(00:35):
Thunder have a three to two lead in that series
as Tyre's Halliburn and the Pacers get their own taste
of the injury bug. Joining me today to answer some
listener questions and talk about all things going around, going
on in the NBA, going around all that good stuff
is my co host, Carter Rodriguez. Carter, how are you doing, Buddy?
I'm doing good man. It's been an amazing finals. I
think the quality of play has been really, really good.

(00:59):
I think it's been such an aspirational finals. I think,
you know, because a lot of the things that makes
these teams special isn't you know, that's no discrediting Shaye,
but they don't have like Lebron, you know, or a
Luca even or a weird you know, construction like the

(01:20):
Celtics did last year. Stuff that's hard to replicate, you know.
Like I feel like a lot of the stuff that
we learned was about, you know, finding teams that were
more than the sum of their parts really all the
way through these playoffs, and it's been really really fun

(01:41):
to watch. I mean, if Haliburton is as hurt as
he looked, I think it's probably over. But you know,
it goes to you know, the thing I said coming
out of that Indie series, which is that no matter
what Indie plays, Andy basketball, and I think it's the

(02:02):
number one thing the Calves need to learn coming out
of the season, The number one controllable that they that
they can that they can learn is that Indie team
was within two points without Haliburton making a field goal,
right because of their relentless style of play, because of
their talent up and down the roster, because of the
way that all their guys are empowered to play decisive basketball.

(02:28):
And if that's not your takeaway coming out of this
for a Calves team who also don't have you know,
the insane you know, one of one type talent at
the top of their roster, but instead are combined, you know,
really are I think a team that if they want
to win a title, are going to need to be
more than.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
The some of their parts.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
I feel like watching that game five and even in
a loss, uh, you know, you got to be inspired
by what that indie team is. Yeah, I think it's
clear that they were better than we thought they were.
That doesn't change my opinions of where I think we
were relative to them, maybe how long the series would go,
how what level the Cavs would need to play at

(03:11):
in order to beat them. But that team plays much
much better than the some of your parts. And like
you said, they've found ways to be competitive when Halburn's
out of the lineup. They've found ways to you know,
still win when he's not.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Very productive as a scorer.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Right, Like, there are some limitations when it comes to
how Tyri's Halburn goes about getting his own buckets. He
is pretty risk adverse in terms of the shots he takes,
he doesn't really you know, drive to the rim very frequently.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
I mean, geez.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
In these playoffs alone, he has had three times as
many single digits scoring outputs as DG has had in
his entire playoff career. Like it's happened once to Darius,
it's happened three times for Haliburn in these playoffs. Like sometimes,
you know, they rely on other guys to get it going,
to produce for them, and it's they've found ways to

(04:01):
adapt to either him being out of the lineup to
him being limited. Maybe some of that has to do
with kind of these extended stretches that they've had, or
he's been dealing with nagging hamstring injuries or whatever the
case may be. But you're right, I think a lot
of teams are probably looking at these finals feeling like, hey,
we are maybe a move or two away from being
able to get into this mix. I think that's part

(04:24):
of the reason why the Cavs can't feel complacent when
it comes to this offseason. You know, teams like Orlando,
who's already struck and made a big move, are going
to be in the mix. New York is going to
be one By the way, I don't want to do
ten minutes on it, but what do you think it
is actually in our question? So I'm going to save
it for a little bit later. But yeah, I think
you know, from a Cavs standpoint, you have to feel like, hey,

(04:47):
we got to even though we feel like we're already there,
that we could have contended for a title. And trust
me that the feeling is going through my head where
I sit here thinking, man, we could have potentially won
it this year. You also have to the cognizant of
the fact that is probably the worst that OKAC.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Is going to be.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
I think Jalen Williams is going to get better. I
think Sha He's going to get better. I think Chet's
going to get better. And while he might lose some
role players along the way, they have a lot of
assets and they have a lot of depth. So shout
out Jared Culver without the defense, uh, you know, dropping
a forty spot in the NBA Finals. Niche niche reference.
But that is enough of us chattering on without these questions.

(05:27):
Big thanks to everyone that submitted questions today. For today's mailbag,
we're going to kick things off with Josh, who asked
if you were GM, how would you divide up who
you build around when making future roster decisions over the
next two three years? So, for example, if you had
one hundred percent to allocate here, how much would be Evan,
how much would be Donnie? How much would be DG?

Speaker 1 (05:48):
Would you factor Allen into that mix? Carter? What are
your thoughts real quick?

Speaker 2 (05:53):
Because I noticed that he said Donnie, and I feel
like we're the only people that call him Donnie.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'll tell you. Are we getting some market share here?
You know?

Speaker 2 (06:02):
I think this is just an example that Josh is
a loyal listener and a sicico. He has always provided
us lovely feedback and I appreciate him being part of
our community. Uh, you know, Okay, So to actually answer
the question, I think I'm gonna go seventy Evan, twenty

(06:27):
percent Donovan ten percent. Wow, Im, that's not far off. Yeah,
that's not far off where I was going. I was
going to go sixty percent Donovan or no, Yeah, sixty percent,
sixty percent Mobily, twenty five percent Donnie and fifteen percent DG.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
Can I make a caveat as to why I'm going
that high mobile?

Speaker 2 (06:50):
And you know, please do Donovan is comparatively low. I think
it's because I think just about any team building choices
like Donnie is going to be relatively well suited to
you know. Actually, you know what, I'm going to amend
a little bit. And here's why I'm gonna go sixty
thirty ten because I still am going to make some

(07:13):
accommodations for Donovan, right Like I like, I personally, very
strongly feel like he needs to be next to a
point guard. So and I am going to be thinking
about point guards. You know, when I'm building the team,
I am not going to go get you know, let's
say it, even if it's not Darius long term for

(07:33):
whatever reason, which I wouldn't choose, but you know what
I'm saying, Like, even if I were pivoting the direction
of the team in some significant way and Donovan was
a part of that future, I would still be like,
I wouldn't go get like a Kobe White or one
of these scoring guards. I would make sure I was
getting a setup man of some sort or or someone

(07:56):
with real size. You know, I would be accounting for
him in a legitimate way. So I do think I
have to give him a little more than the twenty
percent I was going to give because I think I
was doing an importance thing, not a team building thing.
And I think from a team building perspective, you know,
I don't really think they should make a ton of
choices to accommodate Darius Garland. I think he kind of

(08:19):
needs to sink or swim with what they're doing for
Donovan and Evan. But Evany is and will always be
the key. Yeah, And the reason why I also won
sixty percent for Mobile is I feel like he is
the one guy on this roster that has a chance
to be a top five player, that has a chance
to be that number one guy in terms of impact.

(08:40):
I still think Donovan's going to be a leading scorer
no matter what, but I'm going to make my decisions
around Evan Mobley because I think he has that chance
to be that APEX level player. He's already someone that
was averaging, you know, twenty two points per game per
thirty six with eleven rebounds, three four assists, and Defensive
Player of the Year level impact on the defensive end.

(09:02):
He's going to be that guy in building around.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
And you know, we.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Obviously have questions about this team's ability to make it
through a playoff run. I think if you go through
next year and both Darius and Donovan are hurt again
come playoffs and this is now, you know, a recurring
thing for both of them, I think you have to
evaluate all options and say, okay, well, what does this
mean for Mobley's timeline? How do we have to make

(09:27):
a move with one or both of these guys. Now
that's very, very drastic, but I think your decisions that
you're making in your calculus from a team building standpoint
would have to revolve around Evan Mobley in that instance
more than anybody else. Even though I'm recognizing that Donno
Mitchell is a first team All NBA type player, he is,
you know, our best player right now. I just think, well,

(09:50):
basically what we've been saying the last few years and
what the organization has said, Evan Mobley needs to be
the best player if this team is going to win
a championship. And because that is kind of, you know,
from an archetype standpoint, and also just a path to
making that possible and becoming a top five player, I
think he's the only player on the roster capable of
being that level of an impact player. Yeah, I think

(10:12):
that's absolutely fair and it is. Uh, it's a it's
a good question. I liked the framing from Josh. It
made me think and that's that's the dream for any
mail bag question. He also had a follow up question
as well, looking at the top seven. So in this example,
he's saying, you know, the top four plus Hunter, Strewson, Tie,

(10:34):
what would be the one swing skill or stylistic change
that you'd like to see each of them build this offseason.
Let's take out the top four guys for the Cavs.
Let's focus on Hunters, Strews and Tie. Is there anything
that you'd like to see them add to their game?
Because I think with the top guys, they need to
refine what they're doing and they need to work on,
you know, that composure, that maturity aspect from the supporting cast.

(10:58):
Is there anything you didn't see that you'd like to
see them add? I would like I don't know about
the skill to build on, especially with Hunter, who I
just feel like I was sitting just a couple of
days ago and just thinking about, you know, the team
and stuff.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
I was like, I feel like.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
I really still don't know DeAndre Hunter that well as
a player. You know, his time with us was so short,
and so much of it was like trying to like
latch onto a car hurdling two hundred miles an hour,
and like, as a result, I don't feel like I
know him as well as a player as maybe I
would like to. But I think I'd like to see

(11:35):
more ram attacks from him. Uh it was. It felt
notable the one or two times in the Indies series
where he just kind of put his head down and
tried to get to the ram, and it felt a
little bit like, Oh, we don't really have someone this
size that does this this way, and I would like
to see, you know, I still wanted to be a

(11:56):
high volume three point shooter. I like that he's a
break glass in case of emergency mid range guy, but
I would like to see how him getting from the
perimeter all the way to the rim on a drive
bends the defense and and and see what that opens
up for others. I know he's not really a playmaker
at all, but like, even just that destabilization is interesting

(12:20):
because like a big guy hurtling towards the rim does
inherently just draw some some gravity, how about you? For Hunter,
that was exactly I moved my head because I was
upset that you kind of took my point because in Atlanta,
Trey Young is obviously a very willing passer, but he's
going to pass to you in very specific situations. You

(12:40):
are going to be spotting up, You are going to
be spacing the floor for him running the pick and
roll with the Cavs, and particularly if we're going to
see more playmaking responsibility given to Evan Mobley, you're going
to have a lot of guys creating offense, especially, you know,
if they're going to do what we're hoping to see
this offseason. I think Deangehunter having a full camp with

(13:02):
this team, having the opportunity to learn about where his
spots can be on the court, where he can cut,
where he can find the soft spots in the defense,
if he's playing next to Evan Mobley as a four,
how he can get easy opportunities in the dunker spot
and provide that rim pressure. I think that that's going
to be really interesting and it's something that this team needs.
He's not a particularly strong finisher at the rim, and

(13:25):
I think some of that.

Speaker 1 (13:26):
Is super explosive leaper.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
No, he does do a good job drawing fouls, which again,
that's something that this team has been needing. But I'm
interested to see if he gets higher quality opportunities at
the rim because of where he's catching the ball, getting
the ability to basically catch and go up and either
draw a foul or finish. Is that going to improve
how he finishes at the rim just because he's getting

(13:50):
these better opportunities rather than all right, Trey Young kicked
it to me on the perimeter, I pump fake, I
you know, did my little dribble to get a mid
range shot. I saw some pressure and now I'm going
to try to go to the rim all the way. Like,
I just think the context of where he's getting these
touches might be different, and I'd like to see him
add to that aspect of his game.

Speaker 1 (14:11):
Very very fair.

Speaker 2 (14:13):
Anything for Jerome, how about Ty you go first? I
think I'd like to see maybe just a little bit
more off ball stuff from him. I really liked what
I saw with him on ball, but it just felt
like sometimes we were getting those hot Ti Jerome difficult
shot he checks, and for the majority of the year

(14:33):
he was hitting them. I don't think the shots he
was taken against Indy were any different than what he
took all season, he just wasn't making them, and I
would like to see him, you know, move and relocate
a little bit more off ball, try to get some
easier looks and just see if that helps our movement,
you know. Altogether, I think, you know, he was almost
a victim of his success because he was getting such

(14:55):
positive reinforcement with his shots basically all season that when
that shot died, I wasn't producing results. It was like
there wasn't a plan B. And I'd like to see a.

Speaker 1 (15:04):
Little bit more of a plan be developed there.

Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, I think, uh, I kind of just go to uh.
I just kind of felt he's so tough because he's
so new to us still as like this level of player.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yeah, and and.

Speaker 2 (15:21):
Also not a guarantee that he's going to be back
to begin with for sure. And he's also a little
bit older, you know, so I don't know if he's
got a you know, I'm curious to see how much
more he can give you than what he gave you
last year, I guess is the crux of what I'm
trying to get at. I will say I was a
little discouraged to see how wild the shot attempt Scott

(15:47):
you know, like I felt like he needed to find
himself a plan b Yeah, as a as a creator,
Like there were a lot of forced attempts, So figuring
out how to modulate the crazy a little bit, which
is like one of the hardest things you can ask
a player to do because it's like part of what

(16:08):
makes Tie had made Tie that, you know. The third
the second runner up for six minut of the Year
is the crazy confidence and the crazy shots he took.

Speaker 1 (16:18):
But uh, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (16:21):
I just I felt like there was a little left
on the table in terms of, hey, my jumper isn't
working or my floater isn't working, and maybe I need
to lean towards the pass a little more.

Speaker 1 (16:35):
You know.

Speaker 2 (16:35):
He plays twenty eight, thirteen, eighteen, and eleven. In the
last four games of the series, he has five total assists. Yeah,
like I just felt but it's so hard because that's
like the taste that's left in your mouth. But that
was like not the Ti Jerome experience at all all year,
So like I think I just kind of want to

(16:56):
learn exactly who Ti Jerome is next year. I think
that's what I want to see, is like, is it
going to be last year's run again or is it
going to be somewhere in the middle and we need
to like adjust our expectations a little bit.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, And when it comes to Max Strews, I honestly
don't have anything. I liked what we got from him.
I think, you know, if we're going to be asking
more of Evan Mobiley and we'd like to see, you know,
something expand with DeAndre Hunter and all that, I think
Max just slots into the role that he's had, whether
that's coming in off the bench or whether that's as
a starter. What we got from him last year was
what you want. He was a more consistent shooter. I

(17:34):
think he benefited from Darius, you know, being healthy pretty
much the entire time that he was out there. I
think he benefited from the playmaking and the offensive system overall.
So I wouldn't add anything for Max, but he just
feels like a guy that you were asking everything you
want to ask of that player in that role. Yeah,
totally agree, And you know he's added playmaking since he's

(17:56):
come to Cleveland.

Speaker 1 (17:57):
I've enjoyed that. But you know, keep doing with you
do Max?

Speaker 2 (18:01):
Sarah asks which position takes higher priority? If we don't
bring back Ty Jerome a backup point guard or a
backup big a backup point guard. If we don't bring
back Ty Jerome, I am not ready to h I
know some Cavs fans are, I'm not quite ready to say.
Craig Porter Jr. You know you run the show when

(18:23):
when Darius her Donovan sits. I like having multiple perimeter
ball handlers on the floor for most of the year.
Obviously the indie series is just such an outlier. It's
hard to hard to wash that taste.

Speaker 1 (18:35):
Out of your mouth. But like, I don't think.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
The answer to me is less less ball handling, less
less creation, And I just don't like how small Craig
makes us be as a as a forever choice, you know.
So I would definitely say I would want to go.
You know, I'd want to be in the Malcolm Brogden business.

(18:59):
I'd want to be in even looking on the trade
market in that context, you know, maybe you're in the
AO to soon move business or something like that. That's
a you know, he's been a long time favorite of
mine as a as kind of a combo guard. But
I would I don't think you just don't replace Tie
in the rotation. I'd still say I'd still say backup

(19:23):
big would be the higher priority for me because I
want to make my team building decisions based on who
what we would look like fully healthy with a Darius,
with a Donovan. I think an option you can go
to is basically what we saw two years ago, where
Donovan was functionally the backup point guard. That's one of
the ways that you can be much bigger as a
team around the two guards. Uh, you did see Craig

(19:46):
Porter Junior fill in in that role. I think you'd
still want to bring in a backup point guard. I
don't think it needs to be a high priority. I
think it can be you know, a veteran that doesn't
have a whole lot left, but it's just going to
handle the ball, run some offense, not turn the ball over.
I don't think you have to necessarily allocate resources towards that.
Backup big would still be much bigger parton. So it's

(20:08):
either you signed tie or you sign someone for the minimum.

Speaker 1 (20:11):
It's true, it's true. It's a very fair point.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
By I'm just saying, who rather resources towards that. I
think you know, I'd be fine with a minimum signing
and basically saying, you know, let Donovan be the backup
point guard. Functionally, for the record, I could I That's
where I did.

Speaker 1 (20:31):
I differ.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
I would go to the better free agent free agents
on the point guard market if if I if I'm
not bringing back Tie, which for the record is my
my stated preference is to bring Tie back. But I
would go to the veterans on the point guard market
and say, hey, I can only offer the minimum, but

(20:53):
you we expect for you to be in the rotation
and your strategy seems a little less firm, which means
you're not going to get you know, you're not gonna
be able to go to Malcolm Brogden and say, well
you might play, He'll go somewhere else for the minimum
if the answer is you might play. So like I

(21:14):
do think that is an important distinction to make. It's
a fair point, fair good question. I certainly would still
want to bring one in, but we don't know how
much time Darius is going to miss. But obviously that's
gonna has a factor on this, and I want to
keep gun and healthy during that stretch. And honestly, our
question from here basically kind of ties into that which is,

(21:35):
if Darius misses regular season time, what would you like
to see out of the current roster in terms of rotation?
Would should we operate under the the TI Jerome is
back assumption for this question or the TI Jerome Sure,
Let's let's say TI Jerome or free agent point guard

(21:56):
of your choosing, because that was your state of direction
that you wanted to go, is in the mix? Uh?
I think based on the current roster, I don't know.
I like starting Tie because he just kind of kept
Donovan as the two guard. I really I just think
Donovan is a two guard. In my heart of hearts,

(22:17):
I think that's what he is. So no matter kind
of what the context is, I kind of would like
to create an environment where he plays two. So in
that construct, I would probably start Tie. Uh played played
Tye Donovan. I want to start Hunter next year. I'm
ready to try that full time. Interesting so so so

(22:38):
Tie Donovan, DeAndre, Evan Jarrett, and then Uh. In terms
of the person the folks coming in, I mean I
think I am ready for the UH for the Jalen
Tyson experience. So it'd probably be some combo of Max Dean,
Jalen Tyson, and then Craig is like a ninth Yeah,

(23:01):
I'm mostly with you. I think you want whatever, you know,
your intended regular season rotation to look like I think
you want to mimic that to some extent. I think
if you're playing with you know, Donovan, Max, Hunter, Mobley
and Allen as an example for starting lineup, there's going
to be a big shift in terms of how you
play once you integrate Darius into that lineup. But however

(23:22):
much time he misses, I think there's a value to
having ty Jerom out there. I think you want to
get you know, Donovan comfortable playing off ball, you want
to integrate more Evan Mobley touches, and I would play
Greg Porter Junior in that spot, like I think I
would have him as a permanent part of the rotation.
I would have him as the functional backup point guard.
He is the same age as Darius Garland, Like, you know,

(23:44):
we can't talk about him like he's a twenty year
old that Hey, you know we're going to protect him
and you know develop him here at that point, like, hey,
Darius is going to miss some time, whether you know
it's a couple of weeks, whether it's a month, We
need you to play. We're going to find out what
we have in you. And you know he's stepped up
in those spots in the past. I think the Cavs

(24:05):
have enough depth to whether that for the regular season
in terms of approach, and it's just a good opportunity
to see what he has. Maybe you know, a few
more minutes from Jalen Tyson than you would have if
Darius were healthy, because obviously, you know, I still expect
them to manage ty Jerome's minutes given the health concerns
that he has, still expect them to manage the minutes

(24:26):
for a lot of these guys in the rotation. So
I just think it means more of an opportunity for
some of these bench ball handlers, whether it's Jalen Tyson
or whether it's someone else that they bring in.

Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, absolutely fair. It's a good question, really good question.

Speaker 2 (24:40):
Here's a good one from our buddy Mikey at Ultimate
Cleveland Sports Show when Justin and Carter link up in person.
Who picks the restaurant you get lunch or dinner at. Trish,
Justin's wife ficks very very correct answer, and if she's
not around, then it's me.

Speaker 1 (24:56):
It is me driving the ship. That's how this works.

Speaker 2 (25:00):
Buddy ben Cox also has a fun question here as
justin retired from pickup hoops, as Carter, I will say
I absolutely have. I will say that, you know, tearing
achilles is one of the worst things I've ever gone through.
It is still traumatizing. I am still dealing with tendonitis
and a whole bunch of other issues going through there.
It is not worth it. And if I were to
do that again, I don't know how I would get

(25:22):
up in the morning. Carter, what about you? I am
situationally retired in the sense that I don't have any
time to play pick up hoops, But if anyone wants
to do a run, let me know.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
Our buddy Adam also asks who would win in a
game of one on one?

Speaker 2 (25:36):
Now me, but I think in our primes it's you
because you could dunk at one point in your life
and I've never been able to dunk, and we are
the same height. Yeah, I'm going to say it's definitely you,
because you know I am not shuffling on defense.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
I would just catch and shoot any prime you could win.
I think I would. Yes, I think you would too.

Speaker 2 (25:54):
I'm going to say that Nate asks, if the Cavs
could get the same amount of picks for Darius's Memphis
god for Baine plus two great role players in areas
that the Cavs need, would you want them to pull
the trigger? No, I just don't think that's the kind
of I don't know, So I think want is the

(26:15):
imperative question. Yeah, the imperative word here, because like whether
they should or shouldn't, I think like that just kind
of comes down to, like what your value system is,
Like do you value those picks? Do you value you know,
first time, I don't think. I don't think KCP and
Cole Anthony would qualify as two great role players. So
this would be an even better package than the Bain package.

(26:39):
Let's be honest, those two were two of Orlando's worst contracts, Like,
they were two of the three worst contracts that they had,
and those probably factored into the pick return versus you know,
when you're giving up players of actual value exactly. So, uh,
I think it'd be interesting, you know, I think it
would represent a pivot, But I'm just not super interested

(27:03):
in getting worse in the short term in search of
a long term solution. At this point, in the team's journey. Now,
if they come up short again next year and like
you know, aren't making a conference finals run, or you know,
don't or can't stay healthy all the way through, then

(27:24):
like maybe I pivot my thinking a little bit, Like
but like, would I want them to do it? No,
I would not want them to do it. I think
you could reasonably make the case depending on what your
values are, that maybe that might up there, you know,
in some mathematical model, might up their chances for a

(27:45):
title and in the impending future. But like, it's not
really the way I would like to do business as
a Cavs fan right now. Yeah, I think I understand
it in theory and just in practice. When you actually
have to factor in you know, real names, real contracts, salary,
camp implications and stuff, it gets tricky because when you
say two great role players, I'm assuming you know just

(28:07):
that tier below All Star, which you know, maybe a
Desmond Baine would fit into that as.

Speaker 1 (28:12):
A great role player. I'm thenk gonna Cam Johnson.

Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yeah, I'm thinking of og Ananobi, Jalen Suggs, Cam Johnson,
Desmond Bane those types of players. And thus, but I
would too, I think he you know, I think if
he was in the if if you know, if it
was the right year, I think he could potentially be
an all star level player. But the thing is, when
you have players in that range their stars are approaching

(28:39):
where DG is at.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
You don't get to add two of those guys, right.

Speaker 2 (28:42):
You might not even be able to add more than one,
as you know, people have figured out like a rookie
scale guy or you know, right, and you know, if
you're also getting like four unprotected picks along with that,
your intention there would be I can repackage this to
go out and buy a star level player. Well, if
you're getting two role players, great role players, and you know,

(29:06):
the salary roughly adds up because you would have to
do that, you still don't have the ability to aggregate
salaries to make a trade to use those four first
round picks. So now your only real salaries above you know,
what you've taken in here are Donovan Mitchell and Evan
Mobley who you don't want to trade. You're not packing

(29:26):
in those guys with the picks. And as we've said before,
I don't think the Cavs get over the hump without
a top five player by losing all star level talent.
It's just not the way any team has gone over
the hump. So I understand the concept in theory, and
if you could find rookie skilled guys that you could
do it in four first round picks and you were
ready to make a pivot, I would understand that. In reality,

(29:49):
I just don't think that it's something that's possible. This
type of package I would not want to, right. I.
You know, even younger guys, even younger guys that you
really like that are on smaller contracts. Like let's say
Trey Murphy, the third someone you and I both really
really like, there's no guarantee that they are going to
be a playoff performer. Trey Murphy's played a good number

(30:10):
of playoff games, and he's shot below forty percent from
the field, right, Like you you had a very rough
playoff run as of late. Yeah, Desmond Bain's last ten games,
actually his last three playoff series, he shot thirty three
percent from three and that's with one of them being
at like forty eight percent. Dragging it all up, right, Like,

(30:31):
none of this is proven, right, And I just think
because you wouldn't be able to package those picks in
a realistic way, it's not something that would have an
interest in and I just, yeah, I think it's putting
too much of a strain on Donovan. It's also just
worth noting like the Grizzlies are not in the same
place as the Caves as a franchise there are. I

(30:54):
think they're having real doubts about their star player, who
uh has not looked goods, not look like himself over
the last year or two. I think that, you know,
they've made a couple of big swings that were just whiffs.
You know, they traded two first round picks for Marcus
Smart in an attempt to kind of speed up their

(31:17):
their ascension to contender status. And they I mean in
every way they feel like a team that is that
even before this trade, needed to consider what they were.
And I just don't think anyone thinks that about the
Calves yet, except like the most pessimistic fans. Yeah, yeah,
maybe we'll get there, but now it would not be

(31:38):
the time. Yeah, We're currently in a spot where I
think the national media is a lot higher on the
Calves than the local Like when you listen to the
you know, Zach Loow and even Simmons, who I think
is trying to wish Calf the calves blowing it up
just because Boston's in such a state of disrepair. But
I think people, if they are listening to the echo
chamber locally, should would benefit from from listening nationally and

(32:01):
taking note. And if you need help taking note, that's
what zumn Companion's here for. Because only you can do
your best work, zoom An Companion can help you do
the rest, but automatically taking notes, answering meeting questions, and
helping you respond to your coworker available and no additional
cost with eligible paid plans. We're happy with Zuomie Companion. Carter,
I snuck in a question for myself here. Hey Carter,

(32:21):
what are your thoughts on the Bain trade and where
Orlando stacks up in the East after it? Oh, look
at this, that's not a real mail bag question we
could have done at the top of the podcast. You've fraud,
but there's a mail bag question that ties into it,
So this is the starting point. I think it's a
fun trade. I think it's a good trade for Orlando.
I think Bain is just about as good as a

(32:44):
non All Star can be. I think in some ways,
like he'll be like if you aren't sure about these guys,
about this, this coaching staffs ability to get everything out
of this offensive group. I feel like the Desmond band

(33:05):
edition is kind of like a black light in the
hotel room, like you'll see everything. Like because they have
the spacing, they have the secondary creation, they have, they
this offense should be much much better with his addition,
he's a tough, physical player. You know, you look up
and down that Orlando team. They have some very very

(33:26):
good defenders. I'm not gonna pretend they don't, but like
you know, Franz is not like an elite defender. Polo
is not an elite defender. I'd push back on Franz
a little bit. I know I hate on him, but
I think he's a very very good defend I think
he's a good defender, not an elite one. Uh. And
I think that you know, guys like Paalo I don't

(33:47):
think is a particularly good defender. No one says Wendell
Carter Junior is one of the best defenders in the
league or anything like that. But I think they're a
team where they're defense, even though the some of their
defensive parts is very good. They're even better than that
because of the nastiness and physicality they all kind of
collectively agree to play with. And I think Bain is

(34:09):
a very good fit for that because he is just
a strong, physical dude. I don't think his defensive tools
are great.

Speaker 1 (34:18):
He's got a shorter wingspan than Darious.

Speaker 2 (34:20):
Yeah, KCP is a much better defensive toolkit than Baine,
I would say, but toolkit, yes, yes, But but I
think Bain actually might fit really well on that side
of the floor for them. And you know, he's a
movement shooter. He is, you know, one of the great
volume shooters in the league. He has had to get

(34:41):
a lot better at playmaking with all the Ja Morant foibles.
And I mean, I really really like this Orlando team.
I liked them this season too, and just felt like
they had their season from hell. You know, I'm higher
than on Sugs, I think than most in terms of
his ability to impact. And I now I feel like

(35:03):
it's just going to be a real test of Franz
and Pallo, Like are they real on the rise all
stars or are they going to settle in you know,
a tier or two below that, you know, where it's like, oh,
they're nice, but kind of who cares, you know, And
there's a lot of great players that are you know that,

(35:26):
and a lot of really really good players who can't
just like elevate good rosters up to that extra level.
And I think, really what this was is a show
of faith in those guys, and as the guy who
believes in those two as ascending great players in the NBA,
I think it's a very good trade. And I'm definitely
nervous about playing Orlando. I don't want to mess with them.

(35:48):
I think you should be to some extent, like I
think the Cavs would be favored, but I think they're
in that range where, hey, if you're not playing your best,
if they're knocking you out of your game, they can
be feisty. I think that they're good enough to beat
any team. And you know, I think that's one of
the lessons that we should take from this season is
don't take any matchups for granted. Even if you're the
most talented team, even if you're the better team in

(36:10):
the regular season, it's going to take another level of intensity.
And I think the Baine addition is a smart one
for them. I think it reminds me a little bit
of what the Boston Celtics did, where they're like, hey,
we're not going to have a true point guard here,
but we're going to have guys that can initiate at
every position. I think Bain probably settles into the number
three kind of behind Franz and Paulo, and then Suggs

(36:33):
comes in at number four, which I think is about
right for him. I think he's a nice, you know,
secondary playmaker that can run some stuff. It's going to
be the question of if Fronz and Powow are good
enough as playmakers to be the lead drivers of an offense.
I'm skeptical of that aspect, but if you are a
big enough believer in them, I think it can work.

Speaker 1 (36:53):
Now.

Speaker 2 (36:53):
I think it's worth finding out, and I think it's
worth finding to find out now. The other thing I
will say is why that works with Boston where you're
able to generate offense with you know, four or five guys,
which I think Orlando's kind of more a little more
limited when it comes to that, is those guys could
all shoot for Boston. If Sugs, Franz, and Paulo can't

(37:14):
shoot from three and Desmond Bane is your only legitimate
three point threat. I don't know how you're going to
be able to access that playmaking at the same level.
I think they're going to have a question about if
Jamal Moseley is the right guy to take that offense
to the next level. I think, you know, they're kind
of in that JB. Bickerstaff stage, which some coaches do
progress out of it and you know improve. Maybe he

(37:34):
just needed the right tools in place. Maybe it's going
to stall out and they're going to have to ask
themselves some questions there. So I do think it. I
think Orlando would have been in the mix for a
home court team if they were healthy last year to
begin with. I think they're firmly one now. I think
I might even put them over the next but you know,
I expect the Knicks to make.

Speaker 1 (37:55):
Some moves as well.

Speaker 2 (37:57):
But they are firmly a home court team, and they're
a team that probably nobody wants to play because we've
seen them even you know, banged up against Boston. That
series was short, but those games felt long, and I
expect that to be what it's like to play Orlando
at all.

Speaker 1 (38:11):
Times for the next several years.

Speaker 2 (38:13):
Yes, and we got a question from our discord that
ties into that from Mayher, who asks, what is more
relevant to you regarding the Magic trade, where they capt
their ceiling long term or how much better they got
over the next couple of years.

Speaker 1 (38:28):
I reject this framing. I don't.

Speaker 2 (38:30):
I think their ceiling is capped only by how good
fronts and pallo are. I think I think that's like
what matters more than like where you know, a pick
two years from now or four years from now meaningfully
like impacts their team building process. I think they've got enough.

(38:51):
They've got a lot.

Speaker 1 (38:52):
Of young guys.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
They've taken swings on on that roster. You know, Anthony
Black showed some stuff. They still have Jet Howard, they
still have came Houston, they still have Tristan de Silva.
They've got a bunch of black hits.

Speaker 1 (39:04):
It's really going to help them out.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
Yeah, they have a lot of young guys that like
they are going to be wanting to kind of give
the development reps too, where I'm not like, I don't
feel like they're a team that's thirsting for for the
late you know, you know, mid twenties first round picks.
That Phoenix pick obviously could be a big swing, but

(39:26):
like just as easily, because again Phoenix has no incentive
to actually bought them out. That might be the fourteenth
overall pick, and the success rate there just isn't that high.
So yeah, like it would. It's a flat nice thing
to have flexibility. But I still think their ceiling is
defined by how good those guys are, and I would
actually say that they have a much better chance of

(39:49):
finding out what that ceiling is with Desmond Baine on
the roster than they did before.

Speaker 1 (39:55):
I think love this trade.

Speaker 2 (39:56):
If it's not clear, Yeah, I like the trade. I
think my initial reaction was a little more sour, but
I've certainly warmed up to it. I've listened to a
lot of smart analysis on it. I thought the dunked
on guys did a terrific job of breaking this down.
I'm just a little skeptical of the fit of Palo
and Fronds together, and I think using one of those

(40:17):
guys as a chip with all of those future picks
may have allowed them to reconstruct their roster in a
better way.

Speaker 1 (40:26):
But again, if you do believe.

Speaker 2 (40:28):
In those guys and you think that they can take
a step forward, I think this is the type of
move that puts them in a really good position to
do so, and as you pointed out, they still have
guys that can get better. I am a believer in
Jalen Suggs. I think as a player, not necessarily as
a point guard, but I do think as a combo
guard and someone that can impact winning. He's very talented
Anthony Black. If he hits, that's going to make a

(40:50):
big difference, So I totally understand the move. And being
able to rectify and get off of the mistake that
was the KCP contract I think is a big benefit
to them as well. And you know, Cole Anthony in
a playoff series where they desperately needed anything from guard production,
I think he gave them two points per game, so

(41:12):
that's you know. I think that was beneficial for them
as well. Bald men gets paid asks assuming the core
stays together in all roster moves are middle of the
class rotation and further down, should the Cavs look to
match up better with the Pacers are what would that
kind of move look like? So I guess what would
you change in terms of how you use the rotation

(41:33):
to match up better against Indy? Would you modify your approach.
I would just I don't know, I feel like I've
already kind of like hammered this, so I don't want
to like eat up a ton of oxygen forty five
minutes into the pod. But I just I just would
use Evan Mobley to initiate. I don't actually think the

(41:53):
rotation was that problematic. I just think they need to
play better and play smarter, and play in ways that
and empower players in ways that do not play into
exactly what India.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
Is good at. Yeah, yeah, that's that's fair.

Speaker 2 (42:10):
Like I'm not changing up the starting lineup even you know,
maybe maybe with Hunter, I don't feel strongly there. But
for the most part, I just don't think what we
saw in the playoffs really was Calv's basketball, you know.
It just it just wasn't their best foot forward. And

(42:31):
I think between Darius with the toe, Donovan with the
calf mobiley Hunter, all that, I wouldn't change the approach
in terms of rotation, but maybe approach in terms of approach,
right like the tweaks that we've talked about in terms
of style of play.

Speaker 1 (42:46):
Jr.

Speaker 2 (42:47):
Dropping dimes asks, can you see any of the young
guys excluding Tyson making a season long impact next year.
Examplemani Bates, Luke Travers, Craig Porter Jr. Or Nakwon Tomlin.
My answer is no, I don't think so. I don't
think this team is really in a position to uh
because I expect them. You know, if I'm gonna ask that,

(43:08):
I don't expect them. I'm asking them to give Tyson
some run, give him a shot. See how that goes.

Speaker 1 (43:15):
I am not.

Speaker 2 (43:16):
Asking them to do that with two players in the rotation.
I think that's a really dangerous thing to do, especially
since these guys. It's not like these guys are coming
in with crazy pedigree where it's like, oh, they got
to give Tomlin a shot? Like, no, they don't. And
I don't think I didn't see enough for any of
those guys to be like they absolutely are gonna be

(43:39):
someone I am planning. I am not going to plan
for it. I can be pleasantly surprised by it. They
can earn the spot in camp and be like, WHOA,
I wasn't ready for this. Damn Nakuan is can't miss
from three? He is let's convert him to a full
time gun whatever. It is great if that happens, But
I'm not building the play out of it. I'm not

(44:02):
slotting time for the rotation with any of them. I
think the most likely to maybe get signed obviously, Craig
Porter Junior is already there, and you know if Darius
is missing time, he'll be part of the rotation, so
maybe he will have, you know, some impact to start
the year. I just don't think it's going to be
season long. I think none of these guys I would
expect to make season long impact. Amani Bits needs to

(44:24):
get it done in the G League before you can
even consider doing it at the NBA level.

Speaker 1 (44:29):
Tomlin, he had a rough year.

Speaker 2 (44:31):
He got hurt, and then his numbers weren't even very
strong in the G League. So I think that's a
very important point.

Speaker 1 (44:37):
To make from you.

Speaker 2 (44:38):
I think Tomlin is probably the closest to maybe earning
a roster spot. I liked what I saw in Flashes,
but I'm going to want more proven commodities. We feel
like the calves are close. You're not going to be
in the space to do something experimental. His follow up
question was, what are realistic trades that you can see
the Calves make. Slash want the cam to make, and

(45:01):
I'll start here by just saying what types of trades
I'd like to see the Cavs make. Is going to
be very much impacted by what is available to them
in a free agency, based on who they're able to sign,
what veterans they are able to get to commit to them,
and you know, make the sacrifice and sign for a minimum.
If they are guys that could potentially get more in

(45:21):
the market, that's going to impact who I target in
terms of trades.

Speaker 1 (45:25):
Right. So some of the names just you know.

Speaker 2 (45:27):
If we're assuming the top six are out of it,
you basically have to look at players that make less
than eleven million, right. And some of the names that
I find interesting are guys like Jonnis found Tunis, Naji Marshall,
Kelly Ubray, Junior Iota Sumo, who you mentioned, Sadiq Bay,
Jordan Hawkins, John Conchar. Maybe you package the cast future

(45:48):
first round pick and you bring in a Julian Champagnee
or someone that you know is less proven but has
some upside who you bring in, who you target in
a trade. I just can't answer it in a vacuum
yet because I don't know what free agency is going
to bring. And for that reason, I'd almost want to
hold off, But you know, at the same time, the

(46:11):
calves might have a better understanding of who's going to
be available to them in free agency and be able
to be proactive, and maybe that is the first move,
and by making the trade now or before free agency,
they're then able to pitch a different role to a
free agent when there's more certainty in terms of what
that gap is. So it's really hard to answer that

(46:31):
right now, but those are some of the names that
I keep an eye on. Yeah, I think to your point,
free agency probably should drive your trade strategy, which for
minimums normally that wouldn't be the case. But I think
where the caves are from an asset perspective, it does
make a lot of sense because it kind of you know,
if you you know, if you re sign tie and

(46:54):
then you're able to sign i don't know, like a
larian Ants or something like that, or a Yaba, a
Sala or someone really that you're really excited about, you know,
at a four or five. Well, you're certainly don't gonna
go trade for Jonas Valen Juno's right like that, that's
not a good use of your resources. And even if
you're gonna make Even if you want to make a trade,
you're probably gonna be looking elsewhere. So I think we

(47:15):
should almost delineate between players that I really only can
see one guy that really jumps out to me within
a reason that's even remotely reasonable that I would say,
I don't even care what's available in free agency.

Speaker 1 (47:30):
I'm interested in going to find it. And that guy's
Wyndell Carter Junior. Uh. He I've pined for him for years.
I love him. I think he's just going to start.

Speaker 2 (47:41):
The only reason I even bring it up is Orlando
just added a soon to be a wildly expensive player,
and they have so much dedicated to that center room
between Carter Junior, Goo Goobitzatse, Jonathan Isaac and Mo Wagner.
Like most teams do not going to give for sure. Yeah,

(48:01):
most teams do not roster for centers that all make
that are and none of whom are on a minimum.
So that's that's my only caveat there that you know.
I just I just if they are ever looking to
get out of the window Carter Junior business, I am
excited to get into it, regardless of what our free
agent strategy is.

Speaker 1 (48:22):
Outside of that.

Speaker 2 (48:23):
With all of your all of your names, mostly a
few names in addition that I'm a little interested in,
maybe not a lot interested in, but a little. Caleb
Martin is a guy that you know didn't have a
great year last year, might be a decent Bilow, a
guy who a lot of people are into that. I
am not into his Lonzo ball the the splits.

Speaker 1 (48:45):
Are not there. I could be into it.

Speaker 2 (48:48):
I could be, but probably just particularly if ties back,
I would just rather ensure I brought back the second
runner up to sixth Man of the Year rather than
get a guy who's going to be right around the
same slot that shot thirty six percent from the field
and whose numbers were down across the board. Ubray is

(49:09):
another favorite of mine. I just think he and it's
funny because I didn't used to like Kelly Ubray, but
I just think it's a spot worthy. The problem to
the dark side Carter, Yeah, the price falling in love
with a Hooper, the price, the style of play, what
the cabs have around it, all that stuff. I just
think it's easier to accommodate a player like that. I

(49:33):
got like Fantachio is interesting to me, though he didn't
get off the bench for Detroit in their playoff series,
and that it's one of those either either coach messed
up or he wasn't he didn't inspire enough faith, and
you don't know which one is the case. Great call
out with with Julian Champenny. Who is I think a

(49:54):
really really exciting player and you know, as a little
term at a real really affordable slot, super team friendly
like that, that might be a guy, Like I said,
you might attach a first round pick to a player
because you're able to reduce your salary and bring in
someone that you believe in that that could make a

(50:14):
difference in the rotation. Yeah, other than that, I mean,
there aren't a ton of folks that you know, jump
off the page. I think I had assume move is
is very high for me. You know, CDK Bay's name
has been floating around for a long time, but I
don't think i'd maybe, but yeah, it's one guy that
keeps coming up around in my brain and I don't

(50:36):
think it's gonna happen. But a Baji, you know, once
a cavalier, perhaps always a cavalier.

Speaker 1 (50:42):
I just I'd be interested.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
Well, it looks like Toronto might be consolidating some assets,
so I think they might end up hanging on to
him as a cheap very possible. But I mean, there's
a lot of interesting names, but if you'll notice, there's
not a lot of like WHOA the game done changed Again,
we're talking about seven through ten spots, right, So oh,
one last spot, one last guy who I every other

(51:07):
day decide I like him or don't like him? Is
Jalen Smith? Just enough shooting and just enough in the
rebounding percentiles justin are very good And I just think
he is. He's a player who who's on court impact
I don't adore, but archetypically he is. He does a

(51:29):
lot of things we don't do, and for that I
am at least a little interested.

Speaker 1 (51:35):
That is fair.

Speaker 2 (51:35):
I'm going to combine two questions here from our buddy
NOM as well as DH. Seems the Cavs have struggled
to pivot lineup wise in the playoffs. Are there specific
archetypes you'd like to see them give a try, dude,
to give themselves more flexibility.

Speaker 1 (51:48):
Then the question from.

Speaker 2 (51:48):
DH is what is your preferred approach for the back
end of the rotation nine through fourteen of the roster?
How would you balance rookie deal guys, second draft, young vets,
and other culture setting players? What are guys? What are
examples of players you would want? And let's lump it
in even further and go with collins question, which is

(52:09):
who are each of y'all's top five potential minimum signings.
I think answering these questions about how you'd want to
solve you know, eight through nine, nine through fourteen, and
what free agency target all kind of blend together. You
want to kick us off, Carter, and feel free to
answer any of these questions in the I'll just answer with,

(52:29):
like my most steadfast take, I think this team must must,
must explore a player who can play the four or
five reliably.

Speaker 1 (52:41):
I think I do.

Speaker 2 (52:43):
Not want another I don't want another series where I
have to because someone's nicked up, someone's in poule trouble,
where I say they do they need to give Tristan
a shot here, you know, or whatever it is, Like,
I just don't think that's where Tristan is at his career.
All the respect in the world to him as a
Calves legend, but like we're several years in a row

(53:05):
at this and like you can't say they didn't try.
They went and traded. You know, they traded to pick
up Damian Jones a couple of years ago. Obviously that
didn't work. But I really want to see them invest.
You know, they don't have resources to invest, right It's
gonna have to anyone they pick up for the most part,
unless they go trade for like a Jalen Smith or something,

(53:27):
It's gonna be a free agent signing. But I think
it's about how you present that pitch. Like like if
I'm Kobe and I'm running the Calves, which as always,
thank god, I'm not a I am banging down Gersha
Yabaseli's door. He is my number one pro fight as well,
edition with a bullet. No one even close because he does.

(53:49):
He to answer Nam's question, he is so different from
everyone on this Calves roster. He is I mean they
literally call him the dancing bear for a He is big,
he is strong, he is wide, he is physical. Uh,
he plays with a nastiness.

Speaker 1 (54:08):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (54:09):
He he can. He played a lot of minutes of
the five. I actually thought he was miscast in Philly
playing as much five as he had to play for
that team, just because Embiid was hurt and Andre Drummond
did not look good. But like I think, I think
like that is that man is a pure four that

(54:29):
can that can dabble in five town in a way
that I always felt I've I've always felt like when
they have to go wait at the five, it feels
thirty percent more gimmicky than I wanted to Whereas Yabu,
I just think is a four to five. So like
that is like I think Yabu kind of answers all

(54:50):
those questions, which is like I want to see them
go like really full court press some of these these
veterans in that in that mold. You know, Bouchet is
a different mold, but he's at least he is a
true shooter at the four or five with some real
length and and like that's but like I want to

(55:16):
see them organizationally say we are going to go out
into the market and hit up these these top guys
who are probably twenty to thirty percent better than the
minimum in some cases more than that, and say, hey,
we are a sixty four win team, we have a
dope culture, and you will we want you to be

(55:37):
in the rotation. I think even if that bumps out
players who have had good terms of service for the Caps,
even if that bumps them out, and even if it's
unfair to those guys, I just think you have to
be different stylistically a little bit after watching this team's
identity disappear or get run over by other team's identity

(56:03):
a little too much. Like That's where I'm not gonna
blame injuries. I am not going to say if only
Darius was healthy. I want to see some different flavors.

Speaker 1 (56:13):
Uh yeah, the deeper yeah, the deeper rotation.

Speaker 2 (56:17):
Guys weren't ready to step up in that moment, right,
like guys like Isaaca Corol, guys like Dean Wade.

Speaker 1 (56:22):
It didn't land.

Speaker 2 (56:23):
I thought Sam Merril did a very good job. But
you know, we've kind of touched on some of the
difficulties there of bringing them back, and you know, the
desire to want to feel different, And.

Speaker 1 (56:34):
I agree with you.

Speaker 2 (56:35):
I think pargaining a four or five, maybe even multiple
of them, is what the Cavs need to do. I
like the possibility of being able to go DeAndre Hunter
at the four, but.

Speaker 1 (56:47):
I really like it.

Speaker 2 (56:49):
I really prefer to that that not to be the
only option, particularly if the Orlando Magic are going to
be one of the teams you have to go through.
There's a very good chance you have foul trouble. Do
you what your plan A what a thin rotation in
the front court? That might not pan out for you,
and you have to be able to have the optionality
to change up lineups. You might want to close with

(57:13):
Evan Mobley at the five, and you might want to
have you know, other bigs that you can cycle into
the rotation. I think you know Dah's question about the
back end approach for the rotation nine through fourteen. That's
really the question here because the top six I think
are probably coming back. If I had to guess, you're
bringing in a point guard, whether that's Ti Jeromo or

(57:35):
you're you're signing a minimum player there, Craig Porter Junior
is being factored in that mix. Jalen Tyson, I think
is a very safe bet to come back because you
can't aggregate him as trade bait like we talked about
at the trade deadline. It has to be a one
for one and I don't see a lot of Jalen
Tyson one for ones that make sense for the Cavs.
So he's going to be back in the rotation. So

(57:56):
when I'm looking nine through fourteen, I probably only have
room for one kind of fliery type guy because you
already have one built into your top nine in Jalen Tyson.
I want to bring in veterans. I want to have
contingency plans in place. I want to have a four
to five. I might even like to have a true
five as well. So when I look at my top

(58:18):
five potential signings, Yabo, I agree if you can convince
him to sign for the moment, because I think he's
going to be worth more and I think teams are
going to offer more. But if you can pitch to him, hey,
you're going to have a serious role, You're going to
have a chance to be in closing lineups for the Cavs,
and you have a real chance to make an NBA
finals here, I think maybe that would be appealing to him.
Other names Chris bouchet Kevon Looney I would be interested

(58:41):
in if you can get him to sign for a minimum.
Larry Nanns Junior, if you can convince him to sign
for a minimum.

Speaker 1 (58:46):
Would be great.

Speaker 2 (58:48):
One fliery type name that I'd add to the mixes
Trendon Watford I just like him. I like his athleticism.
He'd be someone that I would consider bringing in and
my dark horse I know I'm naming, but someone that
I'd like to bring And everyone's going to boom me.
And the reason you're booing me is the reason I
want to bring him in. Orlando has to, you know,

(59:10):
decline the team option and make him a free agent.
I would bring in Mo Wagner for all the reasons
we hate him, because I think he is a talented
big with size. It's going to play a little dirty.
Teams are going to hate the play against him, and
I would bring in Mo. I am worried about a
big guy like that coming off a torny ACL but
for the minimum, absolutely yeah. I mean he just has

(59:33):
to park, you know, at the RAM and throw Ben
math and an elbow every now and then like that.

Speaker 1 (59:38):
That's all I'm really here for. I'm fine with that.

Speaker 2 (59:42):
Drew asks, do you think the NBA Playoffs are going
to be this physical every year in the future, And
if so, can the Calves compete? How do the Calves
keep the game from getting this physical in the first place?
I will say I think the Calves from a physicality
standpoint We're fine with it. I pointed this out before
they won the offensive rebound and points in the paint

(01:00:02):
battle by a larger margin than the Knicks did against
them two years ago. I think there was physicality on
the perimeter. I don't know if that would have been
as effective if the Cavs were healthy, and you know,
just modifying the approach in terms of more guys getting
involved in the playmaking, utilizing Evan Mobily more to beat
that kind of pressure. I think that they're fine with that.

(01:00:24):
I don't think playoff series are going to get more
physical than it did against the Orlando Magic two years ago. Okay, see,
is not that type of team, HINDI is not that
type of team. We impose our will physically against Indy
very successfully when it comes to points of the paint
and offensive rebounds. Don't give me that face. You're right,
that was the right reaction. It's not something I worry about,

(01:00:47):
I guess is the best way to say it. I
think honestly, letting the Caws play physical works to their
benefit more times than not in most matchups.

Speaker 1 (01:00:55):
I worry about it.

Speaker 2 (01:00:56):
I think I think it all the It's like, you know,
like people like talk about soft skills, Like I feel
like it's all the in between physicality. The Calves did
a good job against Orlanda against Indiana at all the
measurable physicality, uh stats, But I don't think they did

(01:01:17):
a good job against in the unmeasurables. Uh, you know,
giving up crucial offensive rebounds. Uh you know in crutch
time uh uh, in letting the full court press of
Indiana slow them down and all hold on, Yeah, don't

(01:01:38):
they let that that press slow them down? And and
uh and start initiating offense with thirteen seconds on the
shot clock. And yeah, you can point to injuries and
stuff like that, and yeah, they probably would have coped
with it better. But you know what this is, I'm
just gonna do. I'm just gonna broken record it until
I see it. Evan mobile usage, Evan Mobley usage. Yeah,

(01:02:00):
that is how you prepare. That is how you stop
teams from bullying your small guards and grabbing them and
pulling them. Is when you kill them somewhere else. The
Cavs have a player who had a unbelievable points for
possession in the postseason that did not attempt more than
thirteen shots. And until I see that number, creep towards

(01:02:21):
sixteen seventeen eighteen. I am not interested in other solutions. Yeah,
And while she asks, obviously the Kavs has struggled against
the Pacers press defense. It's hard to get that kind
of simulation in the regular season when teams aren't going
as hard. So what can they do to better prepare
themselves for when they run into that in the playoffs?
And again, yes, I think that ties into it. And honestly,

(01:02:45):
I think it's going to involve like us looking throughout
the regular season of do forget the results because I
think sometimes we brushed aside the fact that they'd go
away from MOBILEI late because the results were there. I
think we're going to need to be even more process
over results next season because I think they can get
away with that. I want to see, you know, a

(01:03:06):
more diverse offense. I want to see them keep the
ball moving. I don't want to see Donovan Mitchell and
Darius Garblin playing hero ball. I want to see them
practice those habits in the regular season so it comes
through in the playoffs. And I agree with you Carter,
like I think, you know, those mental toughness type stuff,
we need to see that I'm just not worried about
a physicality style in the sense that I don't think

(01:03:27):
the Cavs have the personality the personnel to beat that
type of style of play. I am worried about it
in can Darius and Donovan stay healthy? Donovan's gone banged up,
you know, five straight years, two straight years for Darius here,
right like, both of them have had an injury issues,
And are we going to be able to beat that
style play if they are playing banged up? We have

(01:03:50):
no reason to believe that right now in terms of
the sample that we've seen. So I worry about it
from that standpoint. I just don't think we need to
make personnel changes to deal with a physical style kind
of thing. I guess is the bare way of saying it.
Same Yeah, fair enough, Rees asks how do you think
this group can foster a killer instinct or more importantly,
avoid letting these postseason heartbreaks compound and go in spite

(01:04:13):
of how talented they are. I honestly, this is going
to be an unfun answer. I don't think that there's
anything we can do to, you know, assure ourselves of this.
I don't think that there is some drill. It's not
like there's a type of bench press you can do
to you know, physically prepare yourself for this kind of thing.
That's just something that the Caves were either going to

(01:04:34):
have or not. It might ultimately be why they don't
get over the mountaintop. It might be something that they overcome.
There are plenty of examples on both directions. I really truly,
when I look at this year, I think the mental
mistakes that they made were impacted by the state that
they were in physically, at least in the top end guys.
I think what we saw deeper down the rotation was disappointing,

(01:04:57):
and that's why the Calves should look aggressively at all
options available to them in those spots. But I do
think that what they dealt with wouldn't have been as
magnified if they were healthy. It's very possible though, that
if they were healthy, these issues would have creeped up
at some point that you know, even if Darius and
Donovan are fully healthy for a playoff run and we

(01:05:18):
finally get to see that that Darius you know, shrinks
in the moment or you know, turns down the shots
that we want him to take, or that Donovan gets
the blinders and teams are able to bait him into
you know, being a score at the detriment of the
team's overall offense. I think all of that stuff is
stuff that we've seen at times in the past and
might continue in the future. There is going to be

(01:05:39):
no way that you can feel confident about that until
the team goes down and displays it. We've seen individual
players turn it around before. We've seen you know, guys
have really bad playoffs series and bounce back. I like
to see that Darius has continued to become more and
more aggressive in the playoffs, even when he is playing
through injury. I think Donovan is shown a lot, but

(01:06:01):
in terms of the team's overall mental toughness and maturity, unfortunately, Like,
I don't think that there's anything we can do, you know,
from a Kumbaya standpoint, to better prepare ourselves. It's either
something that they do do or they don't. I just
I will say I don't really love the framing of
the question shout starboy Reese, But like, I mean, what

(01:06:25):
does a killer instinct mean to?

Speaker 1 (01:06:29):
Like? Does Inndy not have it?

Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
Because they turned the ball over like fifteen times in
the fourth quarter against OKC. You know, do the Calvs
not have it after coming back from nineteen down in
the four in the first half of Game of seven
last year? You know, do they not have it? Because, like,
you know, what what is killer instinct? It's either stepping

(01:06:53):
on people's throats when you're up and not giving them life,
or it's being resilient and fighting back when you fall down.
I guess that's probably the simplest way to put it, right.
And you know, we've kind of seen them show that
they can do it sometimes. You know, they they humiliate

(01:07:13):
Miami and never give them a second of oxygen through
that first round series. They come back, you know, from
down nineteen against Orlando in Game seven and and kind
of rip their hearts out on the way to a
series win, even while banged up and you know, missing

(01:07:35):
a lot of key pieces. But then, of course we've
seen the other side of the token where they got
punked by the Knicks. I would argue they kind of
got punked by the Pacers at points in that series.
So like, you know, I get I don't know if
anyone ever has a killer instinct all the time, because

(01:07:57):
because I guess, if you lose, you don't have it.
If you do, go look at Dame's like series by series,
someone that you know consider to, you know, be that
type of playoff riser. He's had some really brutal ones,
he's had some really great ones, right, Like, not everyone's Lebron.
I'm just more interested in their problem solving than their

(01:08:17):
killer instinct, because I think there's a thing I've been
disappointed by comparatively, It's not a killer instinct. It's that,
you know, they seem like they've hit more hard stops
and their ability to like get get through, you know,
the longer a series goes on, I don't feel like
I've seen them take command of the series yet. You know,

(01:08:42):
it feels like it's gone away from them more often
where a team makes a tweak or two against them
and then they can't figure out and it just kind
of feels like they're just trying the same thing over
and over and over again. And you know that's cross
multiple coaching staffs now, So like is that killer instinct
or is that problem solving? And maybe we're just coming
about the same thing now and just calling it a

(01:09:02):
different thing. But yeah, yeah, killer instinct didn't quite work
for me as a framing device. Yeah, and you know
it's what's going to be frustrating with this group, Like
they're going to have to do things that they've shown
that they can do before. It's just can they do
it consistently enough? Like even you know, Darius, the reason

(01:09:23):
why I have some confidence in him in the playoffs is,
you know, his first playoff series, you know, going into
Game two, must win game, he stepped up in the
moment and had a great game. Terrible game in Game
three against the next just absolutely atrocious. Didn't have a
great start to Game four, but then basically you know,
let a second half comeback and gave the Cavs a

(01:09:45):
real chance to win that game before Mobley gone into
foul trouble. Awful series against the Orlando Magic, but when
the series is tied to two, has a great Game five,
but really stepped up. I think the fourth quarter was
pretty brutal, but you know, really he's them the first
three quarters in that game and put up really good numbers.
Game seven, awful first three quarters, but stepped up in

(01:10:07):
the fourth quarter from a playmaking and obviously hit that shot.
We've seen it at Spurts and he was obviously very
good against Miami. So we've seen it in spurts.

Speaker 1 (01:10:16):
We've seen Donovan rise to the occasion. It's just going
to be them doing animal here.

Speaker 2 (01:10:20):
The word awful less for future, very very fair, very fair.
But you know, even if you just look at his
first round series, like you know, eliminating Boston where he
was on his own, banged up, and then whatever happened
in those Indies games with his toe busted, He's shot
forty six percent from the floor and forty percent from
three in the first round, you know, across the street

(01:10:44):
series like that's it's not like he can't get those
shots up. It's not like he can't hit those shots.
And that eight game sample of the second round, well
it's a smaller sample than Desmond Bane the last two
years in the playoffs, where he couldn't hit his shot
to save his life. Carter, I'm gonna let you walk
out of here on a walk off dunk because I
know exactly what your answer is going to be, the
stylish nihilist asks. I agree with Carter that the emphasis

(01:11:05):
for the cash next year should be to better establish
our identity and make teams feel what it means to
play Cavs basketball. How do we accomplish this next season?
Is there a specific offseason moves that you think can
help with that? Carter, what's the one change you want
to see. I'd like to see Evan Mobley initiate offense.
I mean, here's what to be not glib. I just

(01:11:27):
think they need to agree what Cavs basketball is and
show me that they really believe in it, because what
I saw in the series against the Pacers was a
bit of an abdication of that belief system. You know,
I want to see them show me over and over
and over and over and over again, in high met

(01:11:50):
leverage matchups and low leverage matchups up and down, that
they know exactly who they are and they never ever
break from it. Now they will. Of course, they're going
to lose games, and you know, they might lose more
games than they did last year. But like I want
to not I don't want to win games the quote

(01:12:11):
unquote wrong way, which I'm sure if a coach listened
to this, they'd probably fall to their chair and be
annoyed with me for framing it this way. But I
want to see them win games by not saying, hey, Donovan,
I want to go nuts I want to go nuts
in this mid February fourth quarter and oh, they're really

(01:12:31):
pressing us.

Speaker 1 (01:12:32):
Donald, what can you do?

Speaker 2 (01:12:33):
Like I want them to say, even when we're getting
pressed mobilely, we're going down with the sword.

Speaker 1 (01:12:40):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:12:41):
Oh, Evan, you're you're five of fourteen from the field.
Here's seven free field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.
Like that's what I want to see.

Speaker 1 (01:12:51):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (01:12:52):
I think you're right. We'll see if they learn the
lessons from this. You know, as a wise man once said,
why do we fall so we can learn pick ourselves
back up?

Speaker 1 (01:13:01):
Bat man begin. Thank you so much everybody for submitting
your questions.

Speaker 2 (01:13:05):
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