May 13, 2025 • 44 mins
The 2025 NBA draft lottery was an all-time shocker, and not in a good way for the Rockets. Despite entering with very low odds of moving up, divisional rivals Dallas and San Antonio are now slotted to pick at No. 1 and No. 2, where Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Rutgers’ Dylan Harper are considered the consensus top prospects. Houston will pick at No. 10 in the first round.
In Tuesday’s show, our Ben DuBose reacts to all the immediate implications and storylines. Topics include why the Mavs or Spurs making an imminent trade push for Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo is unlikely, but the longer-term concerns might push the Rockets to be a bit more aggressive in the short-term, themselves.
In Tuesday’s show, our Ben DuBose reacts to all the immediate implications and storylines. Topics include why the Mavs or Spurs making an imminent trade push for Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo is unlikely, but the longer-term concerns might push the Rockets to be a bit more aggressive in the short-term, themselves.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Cheers, Rockets fans, Welcome to The lagger Line, an exclusive
podcast from the home of the Rockets, Sports Talk seven ninety,
The Logger Line. It's proudly served to you by Carbox
Clutch City lagger It is God o Ye Red Nation.
(00:23):
Get Ready, Ready, Get Ready. The lagger Line starts now.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome aboard, Welcome into a special emergency episode of The
logger Line. Again serve to you courtesy of Carback Brewing.
My name is Ben Dubos. I'm your host, editor of
USA Today's Rockets, who are a contributor to Sports Talk
(00:50):
seven ninety official flagship rodeocation of your Houston Rockets. Today,
on this Tuesday, May thirteenth, we're going to be talking
about the NBA's twenty twenty five draft lottery, which was
absolute chaos on Monday night, with implications all across the league,
including some not so favorable ones here in Houston. Now,
the Rockets ended up at number ten via the Phoenix Suns.
(01:13):
That's the pick they got from that mega trade with
the Brooklyn Nets last year, giving the Nets back control
of two of their picks in twenty twenty five and
twenty twenty six for four assets, three from the Phoenix
Suns and one from the Dallas Bavericks in future years.
The Suns, of course, were extreme disappointments this year, finished
at thirty six and forty six, and so the Rockets,
(01:35):
unexpectedly relative to expectations before the year, end up with
a top ten pick and a pretty decent draft. So
whether the Rockets actually draft there and develop whoever the
rookie is likely in the G League because of how
deep the NBA team is at the moment. Rockets just
finished up at fifty two and thirty season at number
two in the Western Conference. That's certainly an option, or if,
(01:59):
as Rafelstone to at his end of season press conference
last week, maybe they trade the pick for future assets
and sort of roll it forward so that as this
team gets more expensive with the core seven of first
round prospects drafted in.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
The twenty twenty one through twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Draft classes, as they get on their second contracts become
more expensive, you have these rookie scale deals waiting in
the wings to fill out your rotation with cheap role players.
So there's multiple ways the Rockets could go about this.
We'll talk over the next six weeks until the June
twenty fifth draft about some of the options the Rockets
(02:37):
have at number ten. As we've done every year around
this time. I'm sure we'll bring in some draft experts
and go through some of the options for the Rockets,
but that's for another day. We've got plenty of time
to get to that today's show. And the reason why
I think we need an emergency episode is to react
to the bigger picture implications for the Rockets and really
the entire NBA of the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio
(03:00):
Spurs to in state divisional rivals jumping up to number
one and number two in the twenty twenty five first round. Obviously,
the Rockets didn't do anything wrong. Actually, from a Houston perspective,
when you zoom out you look back at that Net
Sun trade from a year ago, that's aging even better
than we thought. The Nets fell to number eight, so
(03:21):
basically the Nets moved up, but wapping two slots from ten,
the pick they would have had to number eight by
regaining control of their own pick, and the Rockets get
all these future assets from the Suns in twenty seven
and twenty nine, which are among the most valuable future
picks in the entire NBA for reasons we've discussed ad
nauseum in the past, and so the Nets getting almost
(03:43):
zero value at the twenty twenty five flop, all that's
left is twenty twenty six. So Rafelstone, in terms of
controlling what you can control, that deal is aging extremely well.
The Rockets still have a very promising future. I want
to start there because it's important to note that while
definitely there's some pessimism, at least on the social media
(04:05):
streets today, it's not because of anything the Rockets themselves
did wrong. In fact, they've done a lot right, and
the lottery was more proof of that. It's just their
rivals got an unexpected gift, and so that's where there's
a lot to unpack, and we'll talk about this, I'm
sure in future episodes as well. There's no Palo Alves today,
(04:26):
my usual co host. We'll get to him later in
the week. We'll have guests on from across the NBA
and this period leading up to the draft and free agency,
looking at the options the Rockets sat both in term
for draft prospects, trade possibilities. We've got lots of time
over the weeks ahead to mull through the various considerations.
This is just an immediate reaction show trying to look
(04:49):
at the short and long term implications of your two
in state rivals jumping up unexpectedly. The Spurs had the
eighth best odd slot going into the draft and up
to number two. The MAVs had the eleventh best odds
and jumped up to number one, just a one point
eight percent chance of that happening. And we said last
(05:11):
week that beyond wanting good things for the Rockets, and
it's not a disappointment that the Rockets are at ten
because they only had a seventeen percent chance of jumping
up into the top four. And they literally had the
lottery gods smile upon them last year when they entered
in that same number nine odds slot and jumped up
to get Read Shepherd at number three overall. So it
(05:32):
shouldn't come as a shock when you defy the odds
one year ago and then you're back in that exact
same odds slot with a below twenty percent shot that
it doesn't go your way for a second consecutive year.
Hopefully Read Shepherd proves worthy of not just the selection,
but that being the same type of break that the
MAVs and Spurs got this week. Only time will tell
(05:56):
anyway as far as Monday night and what the immediate
emplay cations are. Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it.
People inside the building are pissed, they're frustrated. Obviously, it's
nothing within their control. It's just a stroke of luck.
But the MAVs got a lifeline when after the Luca
trade a few months ago they were the laughing stock
(06:18):
of the NBA. The Spurs, who two years ago got
probably the most generational prospect that we've seen since Lebron
James in Victor Wembanyama, somehow jumped into the top two,
and assuming they stay there, would likely draft Dylan Harper,
not a perfect prospect, but a very good one who
perhaps could be your lead guard in the lethal pairing
(06:39):
with Wenby a few years from now. This definitely sucks.
And you know, we said in our most recent pod
that aside from wanting the Rockets to move up, what
we really wanted was that top tier talent to go
to the East, and that's not happening yet. Again, it's
a Western Conference team that has the stroke of luck
(07:01):
when it's a really good prospect or two. It seems
like that's happened over and over again for quite some time.
And we've got to talk about the context, because even
though the optimism regarding the Rockets what they built under
a Felstone and ema Udoka, nothing has changed relative to
midday Monday before.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
The lottery had happened. At the same time, the context
does matter.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
When the goal is to ultimately win a championship or
ideally multiple championships in a league where it's tought to
be the last team standing out of thirty. And you
look back to the James Harden Daryl Morey era Rockets,
they are a classic example of a team that, even
though they had built a legitimate contender, the timing just
(07:47):
wasn't right. The context of the league at that time,
specifically going up against a historically dominant Golden State Warriors
team all those years kept them from winning a title.
If the same Rockets team had reach their peak in
the early twenty twenties, I feel very confident in saying
they went at least one, if not multiple titles. Unfortunately,
(08:08):
timing wasn't on their side. They reached their peak in
the late twenty tenth at the same time as the
Warriors had this generational team, including the two three years
whatever it was that they had Kevin Durant. Timing matters,
and that's why, even though it'll be tempting to say,
just stay the course, if your direct competition in the
(08:29):
West and in this case, in the same state, in
the same division is getting a.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Lot tougher, yeah, that matters to the formula.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
When you're trying to build the best team out of thirty,
it's not just about you. The context does matter. So
this is definitely a hit. I'm not going to sugarcoat
that aspect of it. However, I do think some of
the reactions are more short term based when it should.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Be more long term.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
In regards to the Fears, and specifically, I've seen a
lot of talk on social media and the message boards
about whether one or both of the MAVs and Spurs
might trade one of those two picks, perhaps both of
those picks, in exchange for the type of short term
upgrade that could threaten the Rockets as soon as next
(09:17):
season and thus they're place in the Western Conference hierarchy.
I personally don't see that happening, as we've noticed time
and time again with the Rockets drafting in the top
four in four consecutive years from twenty twenty one through
twenty twenty four. There's always this speculation regarding a top
four pick and potential trades, and teams aren't gonna shut
(09:41):
it down because you should always do your due diligence.
You should always be open to hearing what's out there. However,
it's really difficult for the value to line up. And
that's why even though rafel Stone basically said every year, yeah,
we're open for business, a trade never happened.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
You rarely see a top four.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Pick dealt because there's so much upside even if it's
theoretical to having a cost controlled elite prospect, that it's
only worth it if you can trade that pick for
a superstar. And then the question becomes, is there a
superstar available that makes sense for the timeline because teams
(10:23):
picking near the top of the draft generally they're not
ready made contenders. So does the superstar want to go there?
Does it fit with both the player's timeline and the
team's timeline. And if it turns out that the alignment
isn't there in a league where you want to be
the best team out of thirty which is really hard
to do. You have to think upside, and unless the
(10:47):
fit is perfect, age alignment, contractual alignment, goals being in
the same place, unless all the boxes are checked, the
higher upside play is usually to just draft the super
talented nineteen or twenty year old and hope that he hits,
because in the league where it's so tough, you always
(11:10):
have to think in terms of upside, and so usually
the upside is on the side of keeping the pick
unless the fit is so perfect that it just overrides that,
and for a number of reasons that's unlikely to be
the case, especially with the types of teams that are
typically in the top four in the first place, which
(11:31):
means they're coming off of a bad season. And so
in this case, I think the MAVs it's pretty simple
they're going to keep the pick and draft Cooper flag
I would be stunned if they don't. This is a
pr godsend for them after the hit they have taken
from the Luca trade to have not a generational prospect,
(11:52):
but an elite prospect in Cooper flag Land in their laps.
We've seen this with the Spurs the last two years,
and we'll get to them. But even though they won
just twenty two and thirty four games, the vibes were
immaculate in San Antonio because when you have an elite
young prospect on his rookie deal those first couple of years,
(12:15):
there are no expectations. Even if the team isn't performing well.
The fan base is just excited to watch a young
guide play, And for a MAVs team that's coming off
perhaps the biggest fan backlash against their own team in
the history of sports, this is a godsend for them,
and in a year where they're not going to be
(12:36):
whole relative to I know Nico Harrison traded for Anthony
Davis because they thought, you know, defense wins championships, and
you pair these veterans in ad, Kyrie Irving Klay Thompson. Well,
Kyrie Irving is probably done for next season anyway with
the ACL tair, so I don't see a roadmap to contention,
even if they tried, even if they were open to
(12:58):
theoretically aiding Cooper flag for Yiannis, which I don't think
they are, and we'll definitely get to Jannis.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
When I talk about the Spurs.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
In a minute, it looks to me like Jiannis's camp
Soft launched the trade request earlier Monday. There was the
story that Jannis, for the first time in his career,
is open to playing for a team outside of Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
We know the story there, We've talked about it in
the past.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
The Bucks they basically cashed in Alder chips and now
Damian Lillard has a torn achilles. They've lost early in
the playoffs several times since that championship season of twenty
twenty one.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
So this could be the year.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
With Giannis at thirty and in you know, his dwindling
prime years, this might be the time, especially coming off
the Damian Lillard achilles tear, that he makes his move
in much the same way James Harden made the identical
move when he was also at thirty with the Rockets
a few years ago. The same calculus could be the
(13:57):
case this offseason with Giannis and the Rockets certainly be
in the mix there. Kelly Eco and Sam Amock at
The Athletic reported that of all the trade possibilities this
off season, the Rockets are most interested in Yanis. From
everything I've heard, I would agree with that assessment. They
will definitely do their due diligence. And so when a
lot of Monday was spent talking about the hypothetical of
(14:19):
Yanis going to Houston to then see your in state
rivals get this lottery luck, there was a lot of
fear that maybe this changed the equation.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I honestly don't think it did. And with the.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
MAVs, I just think, besides the pr angle, a team
with Jannis and Ad is basically just a poor man's
version of the Lakers with Lebron and Ad the last
few years, and that's what the mav would be In
a season where there's no Kyrie Irving and there's a
clear absence of shooting of backcourt scoring. I don't see
(14:56):
it making sense for the MAVs, and I also don't
see Yannis wanting to go there because it's not anywhere
close to a championship level team. Yeah, you might could
win forty five games and be competitive, but that's not
what Dallas should want. And even if you subscribe to
the theory that the MAVs are just idiots and are
looking for the biggest name possible, well, I don't think
(15:18):
it's what Giannis is gonna want either. I think the
logical thing for the mass from a basketball perspective and
from a PR perspective, is to simply make the pick,
hope that Cooper Flag can be a homegrown superstar, and
let this thing breathe. And even if you don't win
a lot in the next year, it's fine. You can
(15:40):
perhaps get another high pick, and if nothing else, fans
will still tune in. They'll still come out to see
you play because you can hype up Cooper Flag as
your star of the next generation in much the same
way that Luka was the star after they lost dark Novisky.
I think on every level, the MAVs simply making that
pick and taking the good PR low expectations. I'm sure
(16:03):
some listening will say if the MAVs cared about PR,
why they do the Luca trade in the first place.
I think it's pretty clear they did not anticipate the
backlash being anywhere as severe.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
As it was. This caught them by surprise.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Now you can call them idiots for that, but I
think it fairly clearly was a surprise to them, and
so I think for a PR perspective, From a basketball
perspective and a season where because of the Kyrie injury,
there wasn't a realistic roadmap to doing anything of significance. Anyway,
it makes sense to stay the course and hope that
(16:35):
you hit on Cooper in much the same way that
you hit on Luca seven eight years ago whenever he
was drafted. I think twenty eighteen would have to go
back and look. So I think the MAVs stayed the
course at one, and then the Spurs it too.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
After the Rockets.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Spent most of Monday in the pole position in the
betting markets. That is of if you honest isn't playing
for Milwaukee, who is he going to play for next year?
That's flipped and the odds makers suddenly have the Spurs
as the top destination outside of Milwaukee. I really don't
think anything has fundamentally changed there, at least from the
(17:17):
standpoint of if the Rockets want you honest now, they
might just prefer to stay to course with the young core.
But if that's the case, then the Spurs jumping up
in the lottery doesn't really change anything from a Houston perspective.
So I'm going to look at this through the lens
of let's assume the Rockets really do want you honest
and are going to bit aggressively because they're coming off
a fifty two and thirty year.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
He's a perennial All Star and MVP.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Candidate, and they think that they can make some real
noise as far as next season and make a serious
contending push. If you look at it through that lens
and you're optimistic about what the Rockets and Yannis could
be as soon as next season, I get the fear
of the Spurs and Wemby now having a prime said
(18:00):
in that number two overall pick, which is highly likely
to be Dylan Harper, the guard out of Rutgers. But
I just I find it very unlikely that it substantively
changes the Yannis landscape because I think there are questions
on every side of the potential equation there. So let's
start by looking at it from Janis's perspective. The Spurs
(18:23):
the last two years have won twenty two and thirty
four games. Now, I know they tank some at the
end of those years and when he didn't play after
the All Star Game this year due to the blood
clot but this is not a ready made contender. They
are still much earlier in their development cycle than the Rockets.
So even if you added Yannis to the Spurs. I
(18:45):
think it's a real stretch to expect them to have
a serious chance to be at that OKC tier and
be a true contender within the next year or two.
And for Yiannis, that's what matters. He is in his
prime right now, He's got a legacy in Milwaukee, happy there.
If he's just going to be playing for the Vibes,
he can just stay where he is if he makes
(19:06):
a move and everything that accompanies that in terms of
getting messy and these dragged out trade negotiations that'll probably
go into the draft and maybe even free agency. It's
not worth it if you're not going to contend. And
Sean Sharania, a ESPN spelled out Monday that for Yannis,
it's about title contention. That's the frustration in Milwaukee, especially
(19:28):
in the aftermath of the lit Lord injury. But some
of the things predate that as well. If he makes
the move, it's going to be about winning. I don't
think the Spurs, even with Yannis, will vault to the
top tier of contenders, and so I personally would be
surprised if they're at the top of Yiannis's wish list,
(19:51):
And if they aren't, then it probably doesn't make sense
for the the Spurs to trade for him. He's got
a player option in twenty twenty seven. We know how
much power starts having the modern NBA if he's not
keen on being there and you can't win a title
with him anyway, We've seen superstar trades get scuttle for
far less, so this is a league where stars have
(20:12):
all the power. I doubt the Spurs are appealing enough
to him based on where they are in their development cycle,
and know that landing the number two pick doesn't change
that equation because the number two pick would be in
this deal. So it's not like, oh, well, now I
can go to Santarnio and play with both.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Wemby and Dylan Harper.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
No, Dylan Harper would be the caret to Milwaukee, So
that doesn't change it from your honest's perspective at all.
From the Spurs perspective, I don't know if it makes
sense for them think about where they're at, especially contractually,
because they made the Deer and Fox trade a few
months ago with the Kings, so Fox is going to
(20:53):
be making above forty million dollars a year after next
season when he's due for a new contract. Obviously, you
don't make a trade like that. I'd given up I
think four future picks if you don't have a plan
to keep the guy long term. So you're gonna have
Fox at a max or extremely close to max level.
Obviously Wemby in two years is going to be at
a max level, and Giannis is basically the supermax of
(21:16):
all super maxes. He's going to be on his ex
contract making over seventy million dollars per season. It is
very difficult, as we've seen time and time again in
the modern NBA, under this collective bargaining agreement, to have
three max level players, and that's especially the case if
one of the maxes is a Supermax, and in the
(21:38):
case of the San Antonio Spurs it's one of the
league's smaller markets as well. I find it extremely difficult
to believe that three years from now the Spurs would
have Wemby, Giannis, and to yearn Fox all at max contracts,
and in the case of Yannis at being the supermax.
I find that extraordinarily unlikely. So for the Spurs, whether
(22:01):
it makes sense to push up your timeline, which is
what this would do. Dylan Harper, I think is nineteen
or twenty years old. Yannis is thirty turns thirty one
in December. It would be about the next two years.
You would do it if you genuinely believe that you
can win a title in the here and now. And
(22:22):
if that's the case, then sure you bite the bullet
and you can deal with the consequences of tomorrow tomorrow.
I get it, but I think the Spurs are a
very disciplined and measured organization. I don't think they're going
to view a Yannis deal involving the number two pick
as that transformative to where they would cut short their
(22:45):
cycle and put themselves potentially in financial hell three years
from now over a CBA that is crippling. We're seeing
examples of this all across the league, most notably with
the Phoenix Suns, who the Rockets are now the beneficiaries
of I don't see the Spurs really being interested in
that now. They should do their due diligence. If nothing else,
(23:06):
they can using the number two pick perhaps nudge the
price up for the Rockets or any other bidders. And
if Wemby really wants it to happen, then yeah, of
course you want to make it seem like you're listening
to your superstar player and at least making an effort.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
But is this actually going to happen.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
I don't know that it makes sense for the Spurs
to me, for san Antonio, it makes more sense for
them to just keep building, get another player that's in
timeline alignment and can grow with Wimby and with that
young core.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
They have in place.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And finally, let's look at it from the Milwaukee perspective
in this so, one of the big reasons why the
Rockets and lots of the national podcasts have talked about
this would be a good trade partner for Milwaukee is
because the Bucks don't have control of their first round
picks for years to come. So the Rockets having guys
(24:02):
and I'll just be blonde. I assume that all for
Echion Goon would be in the deal because I don't
see a world where Giannis, all for Innsion Goon and
a Men Thompson can win a championship. There's enough individual
dynamic play there that certainly you'd still be good, But
to win it all with three non spacers, I have
(24:24):
a top time seeing it happen. And I know for
a fact the Rockets are not trading him and Thompson
he is truly untouchable. They believe he will be a
legitimate All NBA level player. So if all for Echion
Goon is in this deal, and you can argue against that,
he's a twenty two year old All Star. But if
hypothetically he's in the deal, and I think he would be,
and you have other young players as well that you
(24:46):
could throw in from this young core that are in.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
A position to contribute.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Now that appeals to Milwaukee team because they don't have
their picks. I think, especially for Bill wall Alprin, Shongoon
is a better asset than Dylan Harper.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
The one way that would change is if a couple
of Milwaukee's picks. I think it's unprotected swaps are controlled
by the New Orleans Pelicans from the believe it's.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
The Drue Holiday trade a few years ago.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
So if somehow the Bucks could get those back and
bottom out, then maybe they'd prefer Dylan Harper and a
true rebuild in this especially in this cycle without Damian Lillard.
But I don't I struggle to see the Pelicans giving
up those unprotected swaps unless they're getting Harper themselves, because
(25:37):
I just don't see San Antonio's other young players being
worth it to the Pelicans. I think they'd rather take
the gamble of what happens if the Bucks without Lillard
and with Giannis potentially wanting out, and I think he does.
I just think this week's league was a soft launch.
If that's what you believe, why would a bunch of
(26:00):
of B level prospects for the Spurs be worth it
to the Pelicans as opposed to just staying the course,
rolling the dice and hoping you get lucky in the
lottery of the twenty twenty six or twenty twenty seven
draft classes, which are both supposed to be pretty strong.
By the way, there's a world now where the Rockets,
between the Phoenix pick and the Nets swap could perhaps
(26:21):
have two bites at the Apple and the twenty twenty
seven lottery and a chance to move up really high
in that draft. It's another little takeaway that could benefit them.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Now. You could also point out that by the Maps getting.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Cooper Flag, it potentially diminishes the value of that twenty
twenty nine pick the Rockets have from the Dallas Mavericks,
which increased in value when Luca was traded a few
months ago. It probably comes out of wash. But regardless,
as we've said plenty in the past, with these superstar trades,
it just comes down to do you have enough and
if you have enough to be in the game, which
(26:54):
the Rockets do the Spurs do. It often comes down
to what does.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
The player want.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
As far as the box angle of this, and again
that's less important in my opinion than beyond a angle.
I don't think they can get back those picks from
the Pelicans, those unprotected swap rights unless there's an elite
asset going to the Pelicans, and I don't know who
that would be from San Antonio unless it's Harper, and
(27:28):
then if it's Harper, it's not worth it to the Bucks.
The deal wouldn't make sense to them. The only world
where I think it makes sense for the box is
if you can both get Dylan Harper and your own
picks back in twenty twenty six and twenty seven, and
so you can do a quick rebuild, play Dylan Harper,
let him develop. Young guys typically don't contribute to winning anyway,
(27:50):
so we might help you tank if you will as
a rookie. If that happened. It could appeal to the box,
but I have a tough time seeing the Pelicans do that.
And unless they do, then I think a package from
Houston that offers much more ready made talent to help
them win in the short term. That's the direction they're
(28:11):
going to go because they don't have draft picks, so
bottoming out doesn't make sense. They're small markets, so they'd
love to sell tickets if they can. They want to
stay relevant. The East is winnable, I mean, one of
many implications of this wild lottery. As we said earlier,
as the West gets stronger, well conversely, thet the weaste
(28:32):
to the East gets even weaker. They do have Damian
Lillard under contract, and he's going to come back in
a year or so. The incentive for Milwaukee is going
to be to win games unless they get their picks back.
So because of that, a package from Houston based around
a twenty two year old All Star is likely going
to have more appeal than a package from San Antonio
(28:54):
based around a nineteen year old that's done nothing. And
you know, Harper's a good prospect, but not a generational
one by any means. He couldn't even lead Rutgers to
above five hundred record last year, and that's not his
fault that I just bring out the contacts to point
out this is not a Wimby level prospect. And unless
the Bucks truly believe in him and our outliers and
(29:17):
see him as legitimately like a franchised, changing level prospect,
I think Houston's bid would be for Yannis. That is
more appealing to the Bucks. So when you think through
the scenarios, I think for Yannis, for the Spurs, and
for the Bucks. There are reasons to question whether a
Yanis to San Antonio deal makes sense. I just think
(29:40):
it's being hyped up because and we all know how
the media landscape works. Seam dropped that story on Monday
morning because the draft lottery was Monday night. In a
lot of ways, it's reminiscent of Christmas Day of twenty two,
(30:00):
when Wode dropped the story about James Harden being interested
in leaving the Sixers to return to the Rockets in
twenty twenty three free agency, which obviously did not end
up happening. Nothing magically materialized on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
He had this story waiting for some time. He just
dropped it because it was Christmas Day, ESPN had a
(30:21):
full day of inventory ESPN and ABC that is, and
so it provided something to talk about and a reason
for viewers to tune in to the halftime shows and
the pregame shows and all the coverage in between the
games themselves. If the same concept with the lottery, you
dropped that story on the morning of the lottery so
that there's interest beyond just the draft prospects, Viewers all
(30:44):
across the league will want to tune in. And it's
not that there's no correlation. There could be a correlation
between the draft lottery and this apparent Yiannis trade request.
I think it is, even though it's not officially there yet. Again,
soft launch, how I would characterize it from media perspective,
it's just drop the bomb on the day that you
(31:07):
have this inventory, this need to get people consuming your product,
and naturally, especially among the more casual viewers, people are
gonna assume there's a correlation, and when teams unexpectedly jump
up to the premium asset picks at the top of
the first round, there's a lot of dot connecting that
(31:27):
goes on. In reality, I think these situations are largely independent.
Jannis has been thinking about this for some time, and
he's gonna if he moves on, want to go to
a team or he can win. That's probably not going
to be a team that was bad enough to be
in the lottery. I can't promise that'll.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
Be the case.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
There is a world where if Yannis just wants to
play with Wemby that bad you know, original Freak and
Freak two point zero, that he comes out with a
list and says, basically, I want san Antonio. And if
that's the case, you know he can leverage other teams
like Houston out of the bidding or maybe Milwaukee because
he's probably the best player in franchise history, just wants
(32:10):
to do right by him. There's a world where he
can more or less bully his way to san Antonio.
It's possible, but the possibility is the same now as
it was before the lottery because it has nothing to
do with a number two pick. It has nothing to
do with the available assets that san Antonio has for
a deal.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
The risk factor is just.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Does Giannis want san Antonio because of Lemby, And even
if Houston or other teams want him, he's willing to
get messy and bully his way to his one preferred destination. Again,
I don't think that will be the case based on
where the Spurs are at and all the reports about
Giannis either wanting to win or wanting a bigger market.
But if it's what he wants, could it happen. Sure,
(32:51):
But that was always the case. That was always the risk,
regardless of whether the Spurs stayed at number eight or
jumped up to number two. It just comes down to
what Yannis wants. And you know, that's the way mega
trades typically go in the player empowerment era of the NBA.
That's why I really would be surprised if Yiannis goes
(33:13):
to either the MAVs or the Spurs, especially the MAVs,
but even the Spurs. Again, it's getting hyped up a
lot on social media because would Wemby and Yiannis be fun? Yeah,
of course it'd be wonderful for viewers, and so folks
are cheerleading it. I think it's good for the league
if Wemby is on a team that's relevant in the
national conversation. And because of when the Honest News dropped
(33:36):
and the Spurs unexpectedly moving up in the lottery. There's
a lot of people that are connecting dots, but when
you dig deeper, I'd be surprised. Not impossible, and will
await more information in the coming weeks. Maybe it truly
is what Yiannis wants, but based in the criteria that
we've heard to date, I personally don't think it is.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
Now.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
With all that said, the lottery was very harmful to
the Rockets, at least potentially, but it's.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Not in the short term to me.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
It's about the long term and there are some implications
there that tie into what the Brockets do this off
season and their approach. The word I keep coming back
to is lifeline. That's what Cooper flag gives the mass
in much the same way that the MAVs gifting Luca
to the Lakers. That gave a lifeline to the Lakers
(34:30):
because it felt like the Lakers are never going to
be irrelevant simply based on market size and history. But
there was considerable uncertainty, a huge cloud over that franchise
as recently as a few months ago, regarding what the
future would be once Lebron inevitably hangs it up in
the next year or two. Now that's gone, you can
(34:51):
build around a twenty five year old Luca, and that's
the brilliance of the trade. People hyped it up as oh,
Luca and Lebron, let's see what they do twenty twenty five.
Now anything this year was gravy where that trade is
so massive for the Lakers, especially giving up a thirty
three year old Anthony Davis who's injury prone. That's another
reason why I have a top time seeing Giannis want
(35:11):
to go to Dallas, even if the Mauge were theoretically interested.
Now there's a path for the Lakers in the future.
You can build around Luca. Other stars around the league
will likely want to play with him. It won't be
a situation like the mid twenty tens post Kobe, where
the Lakers are star chasing every year but nobody wants
to go there by themselves.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Luca made the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Relevant, and even though they're not an in state rival,
they're a Western Conference rival. They've always historically been in
the conversation when the Rockets are contenders themselves, and so
the Lakers outlook even if they're not a contender just yet,
there's a path that they can be for years to come,
not gonna say Cooper Flag is that same level of prospect,
(35:55):
but he certainly gives the Mavericks hope at a time
in which they had none. Soo franchises the Lakers before
the Luca trade and the MAVs after the Luca trade
that looked dead in the water in terms of their
let's say three plus year outlook, and the MAVs especially
because you had a thirty two year old Anthony Davis
(36:15):
whose injury prone is only gonna get worse as he
ages in a likelihood. Now those franchises have hope, and
the Spurs, who already had wemby potentially get the lead
guard that they need in Dylan Harper or some other
top asset that results from landing the number two overall pick.
A franchise that historically might be your biggest rival all
(36:35):
time and already had the best prospect of this generation.
Now adds the number two overall pick in a year
where they entered with the number eight odds slot.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
It sucks.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
And so in the big picture, yeah, those things hurt,
especially because as good as this Rockets team is number
two in the West fifty two and thirty, the big
question is who's the alpha, Who's the A one. Now,
the Rockets will argue that they believe in and Amn Thompson,
that he is and will be an all NBA level player.
(37:05):
But even if they're right, that's one. Typically to win
a title, you need at least two of those. So
even if the Rockets have all this young talent, and
they do have trade optionality at the moment in terms
of the true top tier, they're not in any better
of a position long term relative to several other teams
(37:28):
in the West. And that's where I keep coming back
to the concept of window, where the Rockets really have
an advantage over the Western Conference, over every team at
Oklahoma City. But you know, as of this recording, the
Thunder tied it to in the second round with the
Nuggets since the second year in a row. Where some
of Oklahoma City's regular season advantages, the turnovers they force.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
And offensively how well we get to the free throw line,
those erode a little bit in the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
And so while still very good and they may win
the title this year, I don't know that they're quite
as dominant in the playoffs as a near seventy win
record in the regular season would suggest.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
But even if you are all in on. Ok.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
See, well that's just one team. You can argue that well,
certainly in the standings of the Rockets were number two,
but also with a relatively young rotation, the Rockets are
better suited to improve year on year than many of
the teams they're competing with. So the advantage for the
Rockets relative to certainly the Spurs and MAVs, and probably
the Lakers as well, even with Lebron, it's the here
(38:31):
and now. It's the short term outlook, and that's where
when you have more elite talent coming to the West,
coming to your conference, your division rivals, your in state rivals.
That's where I wonder does this draft lottery make it
more likely that the Rockets look to make a big
move this offseason or perhaps at the trade deadline next year,
(38:56):
because where I think the landscape is changing, it's not now.
I don't see these teams being legitimate contenders next year,
probably not even two years from now, even if it's
Furst traded for Yannis.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
It's the three to.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Five year timeframe and beyond that's where this is potentially
a seismic event. And so because of that, and it
comes down to context, as we know, the Rockets built
a championship team in the twenty tens under Jerald moriy
and James Harden. It just you know, the context wasn't
right at the time, as talked about earlier.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
Does it maybe make sense.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Now for the Rockets to prioritize the next three to
five years a little bit more? Perhaps it plays into
a Giannis trade. If not, maybe they circle back to
the Suns. We know the future picks the Rocket's own
and talk about Kevin Durant and or Devin Booker. Maybe
there's someone not even on the radar right now, at
least perception wise, that becomes available. You know, the Celtics
(39:54):
suffered what could be a crippling injury to Jason Tatum.
They're a very expensive team. They could go out in
the second round. So maybe someone like a Jalen Brown
or Jerk White becomes available this offseason with that team
getting super pricey, and if Tatum is out for all
or most of next season, they won't have a chance
to win anyway. Maybe something like that happens. I want
(40:14):
to be delicate in how I phrase this, because it's
nothing the Rockets did wrong themselves. The blueprint that we've
talked about for years is still there, but in the
long term their odds definitely took a hit last night. Now,
there's no guarantee that Cooper Flag or Jellen Harper are
going to pan out. They're always risk with young prospects.
(40:35):
But seeing those types of talents go to your direct competitors,
especially when they didn't even bottom out to get those assets,
it sucks. And so if you're the Rockets. Again, none
of this is concrete. You can make a case for
staying the course, but I also think there's a world
(40:58):
where you look at all this talent consistently going to
the West and teams that should have been dead in
the water getting these lifelines. You might see a shift
in the thinking. I doubt they ever acknowledge it, at
least publicly, but you might see a shift in the
thinking that, hey, our advantage relative to most teams in
(41:20):
the West is in the short term, in the next two, three,
four years. It's not that they can't have an advantage
beyond that, but it gets a lot murkier, especially with
these lottery results taking in. Now, that's not to say
if the Rockets trade, to be honest, they go to
the top tier of contenders. Obviously Okac is Okac, but
that's one team. When you see the volume of deals
(41:43):
stacking up to build up the long term outlook of
your rivals, the Lakers with Luca, now, the Spurs and
MAVs with the twenty twenty five lottery. This is all
in the span of like three months. That's where I
do wonder if maybe the Rockets look at this and say, hey,
the context is going to be better for us us
if we make a push in the next few years
(42:04):
and worry about twenty thirty and beyond when we get
to twenty thirty and beyond. And quite frankly, if the
men Thompson is who the Rockets think he is, then
they're always going to be relevant simply with him on
the roster.
Speaker 3 (42:16):
So just food for thought, and I'll wrap the pod here.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
I don't think anything necessarily has to change, but yeah,
it was. It was a tough day for the Rockets.
There's some interesting ripple effects certainly here and around the league.
And the one I wonder about, does this potentially prompt
the Rockets to, you know, move the timetable forward a
little bit since there's more clouds on the horizon when
(42:42):
it comes to what the Western Conference is going to
look like as we get closer to twenty thirty. To me,
that's the debate we should be having, and in terms
of be honest, does it make perhaps a bit more
sense to go after him and potentially push up the
timeline and even shrink it a little bit depending on
(43:03):
what you give up when you consider Jannis's age urns
thirty one in December. That's the debate I think we
should be having. It's not so much, Oh, are the
Spurs or MAVs gonna land Giannis and make a push
for the division title and edge out the Rockets next year? No,
I don't think that's how it plays out. But short term,
(43:24):
medium term, long term, you want to make sure that
your best window in a perfect world, it lines up,
you know, your peak window as a team with an
era of reduced competition around the league, and perhaps for
the Rockets that ends up being sooner rather than later.
To me, that's the discussion to have. Anyway, I'll wrap
(43:46):
it there. We'll talk more about the micro of the Rockets,
who they might draft at number ten, what some of
the options are in future pods will have Polo back,
I'm sure I just wanted to give you a few
thoughts today about the draft lottery. It sucks for the Rockets.
There are some negative implications. It's not of their own doing,
but sucks. Nonetheless, However, I think there are more long
term concerns than short term ones in my opinion, and
(44:10):
I would argue it might actually make the short term
out look a little bit brighter because perhaps it incentiviizes
the Rockets to look a little more aggressively at upgrades
this offseason.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Anyway, that'll do it for today.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
If you want more content before the next show, best
place to get it, as always, is online. I'm on
Blue Sky at Njubo's. The show is on Twitter slash
x at the logger line and if you go to
the logger lines link tree on Twitter slash x, you
can find links to a friends partner sponsor to the
program far By Brewing Sports Talk seven ninety USA. Today's
Rockets are Please consume their content. Also, you've got links
(44:42):
to distribution partners of the program, Apple, Google, Spotify, those
types of places. If you've not already subscribed left to
positive review, please do. That's how we can look good
to the aforementioned sponsors. And keep this program running as
one of the most active podcasts covering used in Rockets basketball.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
All Right, that'll do it for today. We'll be back
soon with more
Cheers, Rockets fans, Welcome to The lagger Line, an exclusive
podcast from the home of the Rockets, Sports Talk seven ninety,
The Logger Line. It's proudly served to you by Carbox
Clutch City lagger It is God o Ye Red Nation.
(00:23):
Get Ready, Ready, Get Ready. The lagger Line starts now.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome aboard, Welcome into a special emergency episode of The
logger Line. Again serve to you courtesy of Carback Brewing.
My name is Ben Dubos. I'm your host, editor of
USA Today's Rockets, who are a contributor to Sports Talk
(00:50):
seven ninety official flagship rodeocation of your Houston Rockets. Today,
on this Tuesday, May thirteenth, we're going to be talking
about the NBA's twenty twenty five draft lottery, which was
absolute chaos on Monday night, with implications all across the league,
including some not so favorable ones here in Houston. Now,
the Rockets ended up at number ten via the Phoenix Suns.
(01:13):
That's the pick they got from that mega trade with
the Brooklyn Nets last year, giving the Nets back control
of two of their picks in twenty twenty five and
twenty twenty six for four assets, three from the Phoenix
Suns and one from the Dallas Bavericks in future years.
The Suns, of course, were extreme disappointments this year, finished
at thirty six and forty six, and so the Rockets,
(01:35):
unexpectedly relative to expectations before the year, end up with
a top ten pick and a pretty decent draft. So
whether the Rockets actually draft there and develop whoever the
rookie is likely in the G League because of how
deep the NBA team is at the moment. Rockets just
finished up at fifty two and thirty season at number
two in the Western Conference. That's certainly an option, or if,
(01:59):
as Rafelstone to at his end of season press conference
last week, maybe they trade the pick for future assets
and sort of roll it forward so that as this
team gets more expensive with the core seven of first
round prospects drafted in.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
The twenty twenty one through twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Draft classes, as they get on their second contracts become
more expensive, you have these rookie scale deals waiting in
the wings to fill out your rotation with cheap role players.
So there's multiple ways the Rockets could go about this.
We'll talk over the next six weeks until the June
twenty fifth draft about some of the options the Rockets
(02:37):
have at number ten. As we've done every year around
this time. I'm sure we'll bring in some draft experts
and go through some of the options for the Rockets,
but that's for another day. We've got plenty of time
to get to that today's show. And the reason why
I think we need an emergency episode is to react
to the bigger picture implications for the Rockets and really
the entire NBA of the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio
(03:00):
Spurs to in state divisional rivals jumping up to number
one and number two in the twenty twenty five first round. Obviously,
the Rockets didn't do anything wrong. Actually, from a Houston perspective,
when you zoom out you look back at that Net
Sun trade from a year ago, that's aging even better
than we thought. The Nets fell to number eight, so
(03:21):
basically the Nets moved up, but wapping two slots from ten,
the pick they would have had to number eight by
regaining control of their own pick, and the Rockets get
all these future assets from the Suns in twenty seven
and twenty nine, which are among the most valuable future
picks in the entire NBA for reasons we've discussed ad
nauseum in the past, and so the Nets getting almost
(03:43):
zero value at the twenty twenty five flop, all that's
left is twenty twenty six. So Rafelstone, in terms of
controlling what you can control, that deal is aging extremely well.
The Rockets still have a very promising future. I want
to start there because it's important to note that while
definitely there's some pessimism, at least on the social media
(04:05):
streets today, it's not because of anything the Rockets themselves
did wrong. In fact, they've done a lot right, and
the lottery was more proof of that. It's just their
rivals got an unexpected gift, and so that's where there's
a lot to unpack, and we'll talk about this, I'm
sure in future episodes as well. There's no Palo Alves today,
(04:26):
my usual co host. We'll get to him later in
the week. We'll have guests on from across the NBA
and this period leading up to the draft and free agency,
looking at the options the Rockets sat both in term
for draft prospects, trade possibilities. We've got lots of time
over the weeks ahead to mull through the various considerations.
This is just an immediate reaction show trying to look
(04:49):
at the short and long term implications of your two
in state rivals jumping up unexpectedly. The Spurs had the
eighth best odd slot going into the draft and up
to number two. The MAVs had the eleventh best odds
and jumped up to number one, just a one point
eight percent chance of that happening. And we said last
(05:11):
week that beyond wanting good things for the Rockets, and
it's not a disappointment that the Rockets are at ten
because they only had a seventeen percent chance of jumping
up into the top four. And they literally had the
lottery gods smile upon them last year when they entered
in that same number nine odds slot and jumped up
to get Read Shepherd at number three overall. So it
(05:32):
shouldn't come as a shock when you defy the odds
one year ago and then you're back in that exact
same odds slot with a below twenty percent shot that
it doesn't go your way for a second consecutive year.
Hopefully Read Shepherd proves worthy of not just the selection,
but that being the same type of break that the
MAVs and Spurs got this week. Only time will tell
(05:56):
anyway as far as Monday night and what the immediate
emplay cations are. Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it.
People inside the building are pissed, they're frustrated. Obviously, it's
nothing within their control. It's just a stroke of luck.
But the MAVs got a lifeline when after the Luca
trade a few months ago they were the laughing stock
(06:18):
of the NBA. The Spurs, who two years ago got
probably the most generational prospect that we've seen since Lebron
James in Victor Wembanyama, somehow jumped into the top two,
and assuming they stay there, would likely draft Dylan Harper,
not a perfect prospect, but a very good one who
perhaps could be your lead guard in the lethal pairing
(06:39):
with Wenby a few years from now. This definitely sucks.
And you know, we said in our most recent pod
that aside from wanting the Rockets to move up, what
we really wanted was that top tier talent to go
to the East, and that's not happening yet. Again, it's
a Western Conference team that has the stroke of luck
(07:01):
when it's a really good prospect or two. It seems
like that's happened over and over again for quite some time.
And we've got to talk about the context, because even
though the optimism regarding the Rockets what they built under
a Felstone and ema Udoka, nothing has changed relative to
midday Monday before.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
The lottery had happened. At the same time, the context
does matter.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
When the goal is to ultimately win a championship or
ideally multiple championships in a league where it's tought to
be the last team standing out of thirty. And you
look back to the James Harden Daryl Morey era Rockets,
they are a classic example of a team that, even
though they had built a legitimate contender, the timing just
(07:47):
wasn't right. The context of the league at that time,
specifically going up against a historically dominant Golden State Warriors
team all those years kept them from winning a title.
If the same Rockets team had reach their peak in
the early twenty twenties, I feel very confident in saying
they went at least one, if not multiple titles. Unfortunately,
(08:08):
timing wasn't on their side. They reached their peak in
the late twenty tenth at the same time as the
Warriors had this generational team, including the two three years
whatever it was that they had Kevin Durant. Timing matters,
and that's why, even though it'll be tempting to say,
just stay the course, if your direct competition in the
(08:29):
West and in this case, in the same state, in
the same division is getting a.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Lot tougher, yeah, that matters to the formula.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
When you're trying to build the best team out of thirty,
it's not just about you. The context does matter. So
this is definitely a hit. I'm not going to sugarcoat
that aspect of it. However, I do think some of
the reactions are more short term based when it should.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Be more long term.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
In regards to the Fears, and specifically, I've seen a
lot of talk on social media and the message boards
about whether one or both of the MAVs and Spurs
might trade one of those two picks, perhaps both of
those picks, in exchange for the type of short term
upgrade that could threaten the Rockets as soon as next
(09:17):
season and thus they're place in the Western Conference hierarchy.
I personally don't see that happening, as we've noticed time
and time again with the Rockets drafting in the top
four in four consecutive years from twenty twenty one through
twenty twenty four. There's always this speculation regarding a top
four pick and potential trades, and teams aren't gonna shut
(09:41):
it down because you should always do your due diligence.
You should always be open to hearing what's out there. However,
it's really difficult for the value to line up. And
that's why even though rafel Stone basically said every year, yeah,
we're open for business, a trade never happened.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
You rarely see a top four.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Pick dealt because there's so much upside even if it's
theoretical to having a cost controlled elite prospect, that it's
only worth it if you can trade that pick for
a superstar. And then the question becomes, is there a
superstar available that makes sense for the timeline because teams
(10:23):
picking near the top of the draft generally they're not
ready made contenders. So does the superstar want to go there?
Does it fit with both the player's timeline and the
team's timeline. And if it turns out that the alignment
isn't there in a league where you want to be
the best team out of thirty which is really hard
to do. You have to think upside, and unless the
(10:47):
fit is perfect, age alignment, contractual alignment, goals being in
the same place, unless all the boxes are checked, the
higher upside play is usually to just draft the super
talented nineteen or twenty year old and hope that he hits,
because in the league where it's so tough, you always
(11:10):
have to think in terms of upside, and so usually
the upside is on the side of keeping the pick
unless the fit is so perfect that it just overrides that,
and for a number of reasons that's unlikely to be
the case, especially with the types of teams that are
typically in the top four in the first place, which
(11:31):
means they're coming off of a bad season. And so
in this case, I think the MAVs it's pretty simple
they're going to keep the pick and draft Cooper flag
I would be stunned if they don't. This is a
pr godsend for them after the hit they have taken
from the Luca trade to have not a generational prospect,
(11:52):
but an elite prospect in Cooper flag Land in their laps.
We've seen this with the Spurs the last two years,
and we'll get to them. But even though they won
just twenty two and thirty four games, the vibes were
immaculate in San Antonio because when you have an elite
young prospect on his rookie deal those first couple of years,
(12:15):
there are no expectations. Even if the team isn't performing well.
The fan base is just excited to watch a young
guide play, And for a MAVs team that's coming off
perhaps the biggest fan backlash against their own team in
the history of sports, this is a godsend for them,
and in a year where they're not going to be
(12:36):
whole relative to I know Nico Harrison traded for Anthony
Davis because they thought, you know, defense wins championships, and
you pair these veterans in ad, Kyrie Irving Klay Thompson. Well,
Kyrie Irving is probably done for next season anyway with
the ACL tair, so I don't see a roadmap to contention,
even if they tried, even if they were open to
(12:58):
theoretically aiding Cooper flag for Yiannis, which I don't think
they are, and we'll definitely get to Jannis.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
When I talk about the Spurs.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
In a minute, it looks to me like Jiannis's camp
Soft launched the trade request earlier Monday. There was the
story that Jannis, for the first time in his career,
is open to playing for a team outside of Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
We know the story there, We've talked about it in
the past.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
The Bucks they basically cashed in Alder chips and now
Damian Lillard has a torn achilles. They've lost early in
the playoffs several times since that championship season of twenty
twenty one.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
So this could be the year.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
With Giannis at thirty and in you know, his dwindling
prime years, this might be the time, especially coming off
the Damian Lillard achilles tear, that he makes his move
in much the same way James Harden made the identical
move when he was also at thirty with the Rockets
a few years ago. The same calculus could be the
(13:57):
case this offseason with Giannis and the Rockets certainly be
in the mix there. Kelly Eco and Sam Amock at
The Athletic reported that of all the trade possibilities this
off season, the Rockets are most interested in Yanis. From
everything I've heard, I would agree with that assessment. They
will definitely do their due diligence. And so when a
lot of Monday was spent talking about the hypothetical of
(14:19):
Yanis going to Houston to then see your in state
rivals get this lottery luck, there was a lot of
fear that maybe this changed the equation.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I honestly don't think it did. And with the.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
MAVs, I just think, besides the pr angle, a team
with Jannis and Ad is basically just a poor man's
version of the Lakers with Lebron and Ad the last
few years, and that's what the mav would be In
a season where there's no Kyrie Irving and there's a
clear absence of shooting of backcourt scoring. I don't see
(14:56):
it making sense for the MAVs, and I also don't
see Yannis wanting to go there because it's not anywhere
close to a championship level team. Yeah, you might could
win forty five games and be competitive, but that's not
what Dallas should want. And even if you subscribe to
the theory that the MAVs are just idiots and are
looking for the biggest name possible, well, I don't think
(15:18):
it's what Giannis is gonna want either. I think the
logical thing for the mass from a basketball perspective and
from a PR perspective, is to simply make the pick,
hope that Cooper Flag can be a homegrown superstar, and
let this thing breathe. And even if you don't win
a lot in the next year, it's fine. You can
(15:40):
perhaps get another high pick, and if nothing else, fans
will still tune in. They'll still come out to see
you play because you can hype up Cooper Flag as
your star of the next generation in much the same
way that Luka was the star after they lost dark Novisky.
I think on every level, the MAVs simply making that
pick and taking the good PR low expectations. I'm sure
(16:03):
some listening will say if the MAVs cared about PR,
why they do the Luca trade in the first place.
I think it's pretty clear they did not anticipate the
backlash being anywhere as severe.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
As it was. This caught them by surprise.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Now you can call them idiots for that, but I
think it fairly clearly was a surprise to them, and
so I think for a PR perspective, From a basketball
perspective and a season where because of the Kyrie injury,
there wasn't a realistic roadmap to doing anything of significance. Anyway,
it makes sense to stay the course and hope that
(16:35):
you hit on Cooper in much the same way that
you hit on Luca seven eight years ago whenever he
was drafted. I think twenty eighteen would have to go
back and look. So I think the MAVs stayed the
course at one, and then the Spurs it too.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
After the Rockets.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Spent most of Monday in the pole position in the
betting markets. That is of if you honest isn't playing
for Milwaukee, who is he going to play for next year?
That's flipped and the odds makers suddenly have the Spurs
as the top destination outside of Milwaukee. I really don't
think anything has fundamentally changed there, at least from the
(17:17):
standpoint of if the Rockets want you honest now, they
might just prefer to stay to course with the young core.
But if that's the case, then the Spurs jumping up
in the lottery doesn't really change anything from a Houston perspective.
So I'm going to look at this through the lens
of let's assume the Rockets really do want you honest
and are going to bit aggressively because they're coming off
a fifty two and thirty year.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
He's a perennial All Star and MVP.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Candidate, and they think that they can make some real
noise as far as next season and make a serious
contending push. If you look at it through that lens
and you're optimistic about what the Rockets and Yannis could
be as soon as next season, I get the fear
of the Spurs and Wemby now having a prime said
(18:00):
in that number two overall pick, which is highly likely
to be Dylan Harper, the guard out of Rutgers. But
I just I find it very unlikely that it substantively
changes the Yannis landscape because I think there are questions
on every side of the potential equation there. So let's
start by looking at it from Janis's perspective. The Spurs
(18:23):
the last two years have won twenty two and thirty
four games. Now, I know they tank some at the
end of those years and when he didn't play after
the All Star Game this year due to the blood
clot but this is not a ready made contender. They
are still much earlier in their development cycle than the Rockets.
So even if you added Yannis to the Spurs. I
(18:45):
think it's a real stretch to expect them to have
a serious chance to be at that OKC tier and
be a true contender within the next year or two.
And for Yiannis, that's what matters. He is in his
prime right now, He's got a legacy in Milwaukee, happy there.
If he's just going to be playing for the Vibes,
he can just stay where he is if he makes
(19:06):
a move and everything that accompanies that in terms of
getting messy and these dragged out trade negotiations that'll probably
go into the draft and maybe even free agency. It's
not worth it if you're not going to contend. And
Sean Sharania, a ESPN spelled out Monday that for Yannis,
it's about title contention. That's the frustration in Milwaukee, especially
(19:28):
in the aftermath of the lit Lord injury. But some
of the things predate that as well. If he makes
the move, it's going to be about winning. I don't
think the Spurs, even with Yannis, will vault to the
top tier of contenders, and so I personally would be
surprised if they're at the top of Yiannis's wish list,
(19:51):
And if they aren't, then it probably doesn't make sense
for the the Spurs to trade for him. He's got
a player option in twenty twenty seven. We know how
much power starts having the modern NBA if he's not
keen on being there and you can't win a title
with him anyway, We've seen superstar trades get scuttle for
far less, so this is a league where stars have
(20:12):
all the power. I doubt the Spurs are appealing enough
to him based on where they are in their development cycle,
and know that landing the number two pick doesn't change
that equation because the number two pick would be in
this deal. So it's not like, oh, well, now I
can go to Santarnio and play with both.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Wemby and Dylan Harper.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
No, Dylan Harper would be the caret to Milwaukee, So
that doesn't change it from your honest's perspective at all.
From the Spurs perspective, I don't know if it makes
sense for them think about where they're at, especially contractually,
because they made the Deer and Fox trade a few
months ago with the Kings, so Fox is going to
(20:53):
be making above forty million dollars a year after next
season when he's due for a new contract. Obviously, you
don't make a trade like that. I'd given up I
think four future picks if you don't have a plan
to keep the guy long term. So you're gonna have
Fox at a max or extremely close to max level.
Obviously Wemby in two years is going to be at
a max level, and Giannis is basically the supermax of
(21:16):
all super maxes. He's going to be on his ex
contract making over seventy million dollars per season. It is
very difficult, as we've seen time and time again in
the modern NBA, under this collective bargaining agreement, to have
three max level players, and that's especially the case if
one of the maxes is a Supermax, and in the
(21:38):
case of the San Antonio Spurs it's one of the
league's smaller markets as well. I find it extremely difficult
to believe that three years from now the Spurs would
have Wemby, Giannis, and to yearn Fox all at max contracts,
and in the case of Yannis at being the supermax.
I find that extraordinarily unlikely. So for the Spurs, whether
(22:01):
it makes sense to push up your timeline, which is
what this would do. Dylan Harper, I think is nineteen
or twenty years old. Yannis is thirty turns thirty one
in December. It would be about the next two years.
You would do it if you genuinely believe that you
can win a title in the here and now. And
(22:22):
if that's the case, then sure you bite the bullet
and you can deal with the consequences of tomorrow tomorrow.
I get it, but I think the Spurs are a
very disciplined and measured organization. I don't think they're going
to view a Yannis deal involving the number two pick
as that transformative to where they would cut short their
(22:45):
cycle and put themselves potentially in financial hell three years
from now over a CBA that is crippling. We're seeing
examples of this all across the league, most notably with
the Phoenix Suns, who the Rockets are now the beneficiaries
of I don't see the Spurs really being interested in
that now. They should do their due diligence. If nothing else,
(23:06):
they can using the number two pick perhaps nudge the
price up for the Rockets or any other bidders. And
if Wemby really wants it to happen, then yeah, of
course you want to make it seem like you're listening
to your superstar player and at least making an effort.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
But is this actually going to happen.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
I don't know that it makes sense for the Spurs
to me, for san Antonio, it makes more sense for
them to just keep building, get another player that's in
timeline alignment and can grow with Wimby and with that
young core.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
They have in place.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And finally, let's look at it from the Milwaukee perspective
in this so, one of the big reasons why the
Rockets and lots of the national podcasts have talked about
this would be a good trade partner for Milwaukee is
because the Bucks don't have control of their first round
picks for years to come. So the Rockets having guys
(24:02):
and I'll just be blonde. I assume that all for
Echion Goon would be in the deal because I don't
see a world where Giannis, all for Innsion Goon and
a Men Thompson can win a championship. There's enough individual
dynamic play there that certainly you'd still be good, But
to win it all with three non spacers, I have
(24:24):
a top time seeing it happen. And I know for
a fact the Rockets are not trading him and Thompson
he is truly untouchable. They believe he will be a
legitimate All NBA level player. So if all for Echion
Goon is in this deal, and you can argue against that,
he's a twenty two year old All Star. But if
hypothetically he's in the deal, and I think he would be,
and you have other young players as well that you
(24:46):
could throw in from this young core that are in.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
A position to contribute.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Now that appeals to Milwaukee team because they don't have
their picks. I think, especially for Bill wall Alprin, Shongoon
is a better asset than Dylan Harper.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
The one way that would change is if a couple
of Milwaukee's picks. I think it's unprotected swaps are controlled
by the New Orleans Pelicans from the believe it's.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
The Drue Holiday trade a few years ago.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
So if somehow the Bucks could get those back and
bottom out, then maybe they'd prefer Dylan Harper and a
true rebuild in this especially in this cycle without Damian Lillard.
But I don't I struggle to see the Pelicans giving
up those unprotected swaps unless they're getting Harper themselves, because
(25:37):
I just don't see San Antonio's other young players being
worth it to the Pelicans. I think they'd rather take
the gamble of what happens if the Bucks without Lillard
and with Giannis potentially wanting out, and I think he does.
I just think this week's league was a soft launch.
If that's what you believe, why would a bunch of
(26:00):
of B level prospects for the Spurs be worth it
to the Pelicans as opposed to just staying the course,
rolling the dice and hoping you get lucky in the
lottery of the twenty twenty six or twenty twenty seven
draft classes, which are both supposed to be pretty strong.
By the way, there's a world now where the Rockets,
between the Phoenix pick and the Nets swap could perhaps
(26:21):
have two bites at the Apple and the twenty twenty
seven lottery and a chance to move up really high
in that draft. It's another little takeaway that could benefit them.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Now. You could also point out that by the Maps getting.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Cooper Flag, it potentially diminishes the value of that twenty
twenty nine pick the Rockets have from the Dallas Mavericks,
which increased in value when Luca was traded a few
months ago. It probably comes out of wash. But regardless,
as we've said plenty in the past, with these superstar trades,
it just comes down to do you have enough and
if you have enough to be in the game, which
(26:54):
the Rockets do the Spurs do. It often comes down
to what does.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
The player want.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
As far as the box angle of this, and again
that's less important in my opinion than beyond a angle.
I don't think they can get back those picks from
the Pelicans, those unprotected swap rights unless there's an elite
asset going to the Pelicans, and I don't know who
that would be from San Antonio unless it's Harper, and
(27:28):
then if it's Harper, it's not worth it to the Bucks.
The deal wouldn't make sense to them. The only world
where I think it makes sense for the box is
if you can both get Dylan Harper and your own
picks back in twenty twenty six and twenty seven, and
so you can do a quick rebuild, play Dylan Harper,
let him develop. Young guys typically don't contribute to winning anyway,
(27:50):
so we might help you tank if you will as
a rookie. If that happened. It could appeal to the box,
but I have a tough time seeing the Pelicans do that.
And unless they do, then I think a package from
Houston that offers much more ready made talent to help
them win in the short term. That's the direction they're
(28:11):
going to go because they don't have draft picks, so
bottoming out doesn't make sense. They're small markets, so they'd
love to sell tickets if they can. They want to
stay relevant. The East is winnable, I mean, one of
many implications of this wild lottery. As we said earlier,
as the West gets stronger, well conversely, thet the weaste
(28:32):
to the East gets even weaker. They do have Damian
Lillard under contract, and he's going to come back in
a year or so. The incentive for Milwaukee is going
to be to win games unless they get their picks back.
So because of that, a package from Houston based around
a twenty two year old All Star is likely going
to have more appeal than a package from San Antonio
(28:54):
based around a nineteen year old that's done nothing. And
you know, Harper's a good prospect, but not a generational
one by any means. He couldn't even lead Rutgers to
above five hundred record last year, and that's not his
fault that I just bring out the contacts to point
out this is not a Wimby level prospect. And unless
the Bucks truly believe in him and our outliers and
(29:17):
see him as legitimately like a franchised, changing level prospect,
I think Houston's bid would be for Yannis. That is
more appealing to the Bucks. So when you think through
the scenarios, I think for Yannis, for the Spurs, and
for the Bucks. There are reasons to question whether a
Yanis to San Antonio deal makes sense. I just think
(29:40):
it's being hyped up because and we all know how
the media landscape works. Seam dropped that story on Monday
morning because the draft lottery was Monday night. In a
lot of ways, it's reminiscent of Christmas Day of twenty two,
(30:00):
when Wode dropped the story about James Harden being interested
in leaving the Sixers to return to the Rockets in
twenty twenty three free agency, which obviously did not end
up happening. Nothing magically materialized on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
He had this story waiting for some time. He just
dropped it because it was Christmas Day, ESPN had a
(30:21):
full day of inventory ESPN and ABC that is, and
so it provided something to talk about and a reason
for viewers to tune in to the halftime shows and
the pregame shows and all the coverage in between the
games themselves. If the same concept with the lottery, you
dropped that story on the morning of the lottery so
that there's interest beyond just the draft prospects, Viewers all
(30:44):
across the league will want to tune in. And it's
not that there's no correlation. There could be a correlation
between the draft lottery and this apparent Yiannis trade request.
I think it is, even though it's not officially there yet. Again,
soft launch, how I would characterize it from media perspective,
it's just drop the bomb on the day that you
(31:07):
have this inventory, this need to get people consuming your product,
and naturally, especially among the more casual viewers, people are
gonna assume there's a correlation, and when teams unexpectedly jump
up to the premium asset picks at the top of
the first round, there's a lot of dot connecting that
(31:27):
goes on. In reality, I think these situations are largely independent.
Jannis has been thinking about this for some time, and
he's gonna if he moves on, want to go to
a team or he can win. That's probably not going
to be a team that was bad enough to be
in the lottery. I can't promise that'll.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
Be the case.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
There is a world where if Yannis just wants to
play with Wemby that bad you know, original Freak and
Freak two point zero, that he comes out with a
list and says, basically, I want san Antonio. And if
that's the case, you know he can leverage other teams
like Houston out of the bidding or maybe Milwaukee because
he's probably the best player in franchise history, just wants
(32:10):
to do right by him. There's a world where he
can more or less bully his way to san Antonio.
It's possible, but the possibility is the same now as
it was before the lottery because it has nothing to
do with a number two pick. It has nothing to
do with the available assets that san Antonio has for
a deal.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
The risk factor is just.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Does Giannis want san Antonio because of Lemby, And even
if Houston or other teams want him, he's willing to
get messy and bully his way to his one preferred destination. Again,
I don't think that will be the case based on
where the Spurs are at and all the reports about
Giannis either wanting to win or wanting a bigger market.
But if it's what he wants, could it happen. Sure,
(32:51):
But that was always the case. That was always the risk,
regardless of whether the Spurs stayed at number eight or
jumped up to number two. It just comes down to
what Yannis wants. And you know, that's the way mega
trades typically go in the player empowerment era of the NBA.
That's why I really would be surprised if Yiannis goes
(33:13):
to either the MAVs or the Spurs, especially the MAVs,
but even the Spurs. Again, it's getting hyped up a
lot on social media because would Wemby and Yiannis be fun? Yeah,
of course it'd be wonderful for viewers, and so folks
are cheerleading it. I think it's good for the league
if Wemby is on a team that's relevant in the
national conversation. And because of when the Honest News dropped
(33:36):
and the Spurs unexpectedly moving up in the lottery. There's
a lot of people that are connecting dots, but when
you dig deeper, I'd be surprised. Not impossible, and will
await more information in the coming weeks. Maybe it truly
is what Yiannis wants, but based in the criteria that
we've heard to date, I personally don't think it is.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
Now.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
With all that said, the lottery was very harmful to
the Rockets, at least potentially, but it's.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Not in the short term to me.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
It's about the long term and there are some implications
there that tie into what the Brockets do this off
season and their approach. The word I keep coming back
to is lifeline. That's what Cooper flag gives the mass
in much the same way that the MAVs gifting Luca
to the Lakers. That gave a lifeline to the Lakers
(34:30):
because it felt like the Lakers are never going to
be irrelevant simply based on market size and history. But
there was considerable uncertainty, a huge cloud over that franchise
as recently as a few months ago, regarding what the
future would be once Lebron inevitably hangs it up in
the next year or two. Now that's gone, you can
(34:51):
build around a twenty five year old Luca, and that's
the brilliance of the trade. People hyped it up as oh,
Luca and Lebron, let's see what they do twenty twenty five.
Now anything this year was gravy where that trade is
so massive for the Lakers, especially giving up a thirty
three year old Anthony Davis who's injury prone. That's another
reason why I have a top time seeing Giannis want
(35:11):
to go to Dallas, even if the Mauge were theoretically interested.
Now there's a path for the Lakers in the future.
You can build around Luca. Other stars around the league
will likely want to play with him. It won't be
a situation like the mid twenty tens post Kobe, where
the Lakers are star chasing every year but nobody wants
to go there by themselves.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Luca made the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Relevant, and even though they're not an in state rival,
they're a Western Conference rival. They've always historically been in
the conversation when the Rockets are contenders themselves, and so
the Lakers outlook even if they're not a contender just yet,
there's a path that they can be for years to come,
not gonna say Cooper Flag is that same level of prospect,
(35:55):
but he certainly gives the Mavericks hope at a time
in which they had none. Soo franchises the Lakers before
the Luca trade and the MAVs after the Luca trade
that looked dead in the water in terms of their
let's say three plus year outlook, and the MAVs especially
because you had a thirty two year old Anthony Davis
(36:15):
whose injury prone is only gonna get worse as he
ages in a likelihood. Now those franchises have hope, and
the Spurs, who already had wemby potentially get the lead
guard that they need in Dylan Harper or some other
top asset that results from landing the number two overall pick.
A franchise that historically might be your biggest rival all
(36:35):
time and already had the best prospect of this generation.
Now adds the number two overall pick in a year
where they entered with the number eight odds slot.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
It sucks.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
And so in the big picture, yeah, those things hurt,
especially because as good as this Rockets team is number
two in the West fifty two and thirty, the big
question is who's the alpha, Who's the A one. Now,
the Rockets will argue that they believe in and Amn Thompson,
that he is and will be an all NBA level player.
(37:05):
But even if they're right, that's one. Typically to win
a title, you need at least two of those. So
even if the Rockets have all this young talent, and
they do have trade optionality at the moment in terms
of the true top tier, they're not in any better
of a position long term relative to several other teams
(37:28):
in the West. And that's where I keep coming back
to the concept of window, where the Rockets really have
an advantage over the Western Conference, over every team at
Oklahoma City. But you know, as of this recording, the
Thunder tied it to in the second round with the
Nuggets since the second year in a row. Where some
of Oklahoma City's regular season advantages, the turnovers they force.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
And offensively how well we get to the free throw line,
those erode a little bit in the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
And so while still very good and they may win
the title this year, I don't know that they're quite
as dominant in the playoffs as a near seventy win
record in the regular season would suggest.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
But even if you are all in on. Ok.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
See, well that's just one team. You can argue that well,
certainly in the standings of the Rockets were number two,
but also with a relatively young rotation, the Rockets are
better suited to improve year on year than many of
the teams they're competing with. So the advantage for the
Rockets relative to certainly the Spurs and MAVs, and probably
the Lakers as well, even with Lebron, it's the here
(38:31):
and now. It's the short term outlook, and that's where
when you have more elite talent coming to the West,
coming to your conference, your division rivals, your in state rivals.
That's where I wonder does this draft lottery make it
more likely that the Rockets look to make a big
move this offseason or perhaps at the trade deadline next year,
(38:56):
because where I think the landscape is changing, it's not now.
I don't see these teams being legitimate contenders next year,
probably not even two years from now, even if it's
Furst traded for Yannis.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
It's the three to.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Five year timeframe and beyond that's where this is potentially
a seismic event. And so because of that, and it
comes down to context, as we know, the Rockets built
a championship team in the twenty tens under Jerald moriy
and James Harden. It just you know, the context wasn't
right at the time, as talked about earlier.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
Does it maybe make sense.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Now for the Rockets to prioritize the next three to
five years a little bit more? Perhaps it plays into
a Giannis trade. If not, maybe they circle back to
the Suns. We know the future picks the Rocket's own
and talk about Kevin Durant and or Devin Booker. Maybe
there's someone not even on the radar right now, at
least perception wise, that becomes available. You know, the Celtics
(39:54):
suffered what could be a crippling injury to Jason Tatum.
They're a very expensive team. They could go out in
the second round. So maybe someone like a Jalen Brown
or Jerk White becomes available this offseason with that team
getting super pricey, and if Tatum is out for all
or most of next season, they won't have a chance
to win anyway. Maybe something like that happens. I want
(40:14):
to be delicate in how I phrase this, because it's
nothing the Rockets did wrong themselves. The blueprint that we've
talked about for years is still there, but in the
long term their odds definitely took a hit last night. Now,
there's no guarantee that Cooper Flag or Jellen Harper are
going to pan out. They're always risk with young prospects.
(40:35):
But seeing those types of talents go to your direct competitors,
especially when they didn't even bottom out to get those assets,
it sucks. And so if you're the Rockets. Again, none
of this is concrete. You can make a case for
staying the course, but I also think there's a world
(40:58):
where you look at all this talent consistently going to
the West and teams that should have been dead in
the water getting these lifelines. You might see a shift
in the thinking. I doubt they ever acknowledge it, at
least publicly, but you might see a shift in the
thinking that, hey, our advantage relative to most teams in
(41:20):
the West is in the short term, in the next two, three,
four years. It's not that they can't have an advantage
beyond that, but it gets a lot murkier, especially with
these lottery results taking in. Now, that's not to say
if the Rockets trade, to be honest, they go to
the top tier of contenders. Obviously Okac is Okac, but
that's one team. When you see the volume of deals
(41:43):
stacking up to build up the long term outlook of
your rivals, the Lakers with Luca, now, the Spurs and
MAVs with the twenty twenty five lottery. This is all
in the span of like three months. That's where I
do wonder if maybe the Rockets look at this and say, hey,
the context is going to be better for us us
if we make a push in the next few years
(42:04):
and worry about twenty thirty and beyond when we get
to twenty thirty and beyond. And quite frankly, if the
men Thompson is who the Rockets think he is, then
they're always going to be relevant simply with him on
the roster.
Speaker 3 (42:16):
So just food for thought, and I'll wrap the pod here.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
I don't think anything necessarily has to change, but yeah,
it was. It was a tough day for the Rockets.
There's some interesting ripple effects certainly here and around the league.
And the one I wonder about, does this potentially prompt
the Rockets to, you know, move the timetable forward a
little bit since there's more clouds on the horizon when
(42:42):
it comes to what the Western Conference is going to
look like as we get closer to twenty thirty. To me,
that's the debate we should be having, and in terms
of be honest, does it make perhaps a bit more
sense to go after him and potentially push up the
timeline and even shrink it a little bit depending on
(43:03):
what you give up when you consider Jannis's age urns
thirty one in December. That's the debate I think we
should be having. It's not so much, Oh, are the
Spurs or MAVs gonna land Giannis and make a push
for the division title and edge out the Rockets next year? No,
I don't think that's how it plays out. But short term,
(43:24):
medium term, long term, you want to make sure that
your best window in a perfect world, it lines up,
you know, your peak window as a team with an
era of reduced competition around the league, and perhaps for
the Rockets that ends up being sooner rather than later.
To me, that's the discussion to have. Anyway, I'll wrap
(43:46):
it there. We'll talk more about the micro of the Rockets,
who they might draft at number ten, what some of
the options are in future pods will have Polo back,
I'm sure I just wanted to give you a few
thoughts today about the draft lottery. It sucks for the Rockets.
There are some negative implications. It's not of their own doing,
but sucks. Nonetheless, However, I think there are more long
term concerns than short term ones in my opinion, and
(44:10):
I would argue it might actually make the short term
out look a little bit brighter because perhaps it incentiviizes
the Rockets to look a little more aggressively at upgrades
this offseason.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Anyway, that'll do it for today.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
If you want more content before the next show, best
place to get it, as always, is online. I'm on
Blue Sky at Njubo's. The show is on Twitter slash
x at the logger line and if you go to
the logger lines link tree on Twitter slash x, you
can find links to a friends partner sponsor to the
program far By Brewing Sports Talk seven ninety USA. Today's
Rockets are Please consume their content. Also, you've got links
(44:42):
to distribution partners of the program, Apple, Google, Spotify, those
types of places. If you've not already subscribed left to
positive review, please do. That's how we can look good
to the aforementioned sponsors. And keep this program running as
one of the most active podcasts covering used in Rockets basketball.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
All Right, that'll do it for today. We'll be back
soon with more
Popular Podcasts
United States of Kennedy
United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com