February 9, 2023 • 35 mins
Jason Smith and Mike Harmon discuss the massive trade in the NBA of Kevin Durant heading to the Pheonix Suns! Plus, the breakdown of the incredible win for the Suns and the future for the league with these massive moves before the trade deadline!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two a m. Eastern seven to eleven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station
for The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Fox
Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every night
on the I Heart Radio app by searching fs R.
(00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Greetings and welcome inside
our four of The Jason Smith Show with my bas
friend Mike Harmon. Take off your uniform, take off your cleats,
take off your jockstrap. Live from the tire rack dot
com studios will help you get there in unmatched selection,
(00:46):
being bag free, shipping free road as of protection over
ten thousand recommended installers ti iraq dot com The Way
tire buying should be Yep. Headed to Vegas tomorrow, shows
next two nights in the wind Casino. Looking forward to
having all kinds of fun and convincing the city of
Las Vegas that they do not need Aaron Rodgers. And
(01:06):
that's better get him or there's gonna be trouble. I'm
just saying I've been working on the cricket machine will
make some signs and they'll look all nice and uh
and and proper to uh to really get a protest
going a big rally to say, bring Derek Carr back
or Ryan Tannehill. Yes, any of those guys is fine.
(01:29):
Bring in is the answer you need, Mark Davis. Yeah,
because you know that's what's gonna happen. They'll sign Mike
White and suddenly, oh, look at Mike White. Three touchdowns
a week. These guys, I'm as seen, that's the Raiders. Boy. Yeah.
But if even the Raiders can make the Jets look
like the Raiders, right, Like, if there's any other team
(01:51):
that the Raiders were involved with over over somebody, the
Raiders are gonna lose because they're not. They'll just lose spectacularly,
where the guy will choose the other team and will
have a great career and the guy the Raiders get
will stink. But because the Raiders and the Jets all
the guy the Raiders is gonna get, oh, he's gonna
be great, and the Jets will get the wrong guy
and he's gonna stink and they'll be looking at the
Raiders with envy. That's kind of how it works. The
(02:13):
Raiders are lucky. It's the Raiders and the Jets that
are in this thing for Aaron Rodgers. Raiders. Yeah, that's
a nice battle, uh, because it's entertaining to the rest
of the football watching world. It really, it's almost like
they should have a reality show off it. NFL Network.
We got some extra programming time. We don't have any
more Angry runs after this week or anything, so we
(02:33):
can move into other or or would be movie trailers
or whatever else they're prop it up this week. No,
we can move into a reality show. And you know,
you get a football, and you get a football, you
get nothing. No, no, I got it for you. I
got you know what it is watching the Jets and
Raiders battle it out for Aaron Rodgers, it's like on
(02:54):
the old American Gladiators show when they would fight with
the big Q tips, when they would hit each other
with the big the big spongey. That's what the Jets
the Raiders are like fighting for. What did they call him,
the pugeon pugel sticks or the pugil sticks. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
the pugel sticks, big que tips. Like looking on, we
(03:18):
can make it a whole hygiene theme show and that's
all the different things. Here you are running through tubs
of twothpaste. I mean looking at, looking at They're gonna
battle is out the dentists of America. So that's tomorrow night.
Tonight we saw the ending of a story that I
don't know. We've talked about this, what what five hundred
(03:41):
times in the last eighteen months. The Lakers have to
trade Russell Westbrook. I'm really disappointed though. I thought it
was gonna be the never ending story, Buddy, never ending story.
They're gonna trade Russell Westbro. They gotta trade Russell. It's
like people go to sleep, going gonna trade Russell Westbrook,
gotta chat. Well, today they finally traded Russell Westbrook, a
(04:04):
day ahead of the trade deadline. The Lakers get back
D'Angelo Russell, his laptop, Nick Young his laptop, Iggy Azalea
her only fans account. Uh. They get D'Angelo Russell back
from Minnesota, the Lakers also getting Malik Beasley and Jared Vanderbilt,
the Timberwolves getting Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook, and a
(04:26):
somewhat protected first round pick of the Lakers goes to
the Jazz. So the Lakers get the big haul. They
get D'Angelo, Russell Leak Beasley, Jared Vanderbilt, the t Wolves
getting Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook and seven first round
pick that is top four protected goes to the Jazz
as the Lakers turn the page on Russell Westbrook. And
(04:47):
you know this trade and and the first part is
and let's let's get to the frustrating part. This is
the frustrating part about this trade is when you think
you know more than a front office member of an
NBA team, Because even someone who's watched the NBA for
five minutes the last couple of years knows this is
never gonna work with Russell Westbrook on the Lakers. What
(05:08):
the hell are they thinking? This is never gonna work now.
I thought it was gonna beginning I said this is
gonna work. Very shortly after I said, oh, this is
not gonna work. The Lakers aren't gonna uh use him
like he's used in his career. They're gonna try to
make him change. He's not gonna change. He's not that guy.
This is failing spectacularly. And the Lakers could have made
a move a lot sooner than not wasted last season
(05:29):
and half of this season. Everybody knew this was not working,
but the late we're gonna wait, We're gonna wait, We're
gonna wait, we're gonna wait, and now right before the
trade deadline, we're gonna do it. I mean, this has
been overdue for like a year and a half. It's
like even knowing the answer on this for so long.
But no, no, no, no, We're not gonna actually do
anything for a real long time, right up until the
(05:50):
point where you almost think it's too late. Then we're
gonna finally do it. That's the most frustrating part is
that the most average NBA fan knows, boy, this wasn't
gonna work, work, and and and it took them now
to figure it out. Hey, way to go, front office. Well,
sometimes you move a little slowly and you think something's
gonna coalesce or people are gonna meet in the middle. Uh.
(06:11):
Past performance is not indicative of future returns. People can
change because if I could change and you could change,
and all of that comes into play. And that you
think being around Lebron James, he'll figure it out, right,
He'll know what he needs to do to assimilate and
(06:31):
make the be the best version of himself for this team.
Right right now. Uh, and we watched this time and
time again, and wherever you may be, however you may
be listening to the show the I Heart Radio app
all our affiliates nationwide, thanks to all the p ds
that make us part of the lineup. Uh and however
you're listening, thanks for being part of the extended family.
(06:53):
You know this in your in your place of work,
there's always that you know process of you've learned it,
institutional all knowledge. And you you bring someone in maybe
they they're in the same industry where it's a little smaller,
so you get a little bit of a reputation or
or even if they don't, you watch the first couple
of days like I got this. It's like, no, you don't.
You're screwing it all up. You're making the work harder
(07:14):
for all of us. And now we're missing our quotas
and all of these things. And but you have to
try to uh massage it as best you can until
you don't because eventually the rubber hits the road. Why
were you delayed and shipping all this stuff? Well, that
guy or that woman or whoever, or sub combination, it's
slowed down the process working in the kitchen, where working,
(07:37):
wherever you are, you're driving and and trucking, right, you
need folks loading, unloading, etcetera. Whatever part of that process.
Here in the NBA and in sports in general, you're
gonna be pulling in the same direction or really gonna
flow terribly, no matter how much you might like the
heroics of a Lebron James or somebody else. We talked
to Dan Wake last hour, He's just like, yeah, last
(07:59):
night was pretty much everybody just watched Lebron do his thing.
Some liked it, some did, some got mad, some boiled over.
Anthony Davis a little bit of Russell Westbrook with with
coach Ham. But in the end he's now gone and
you move into a new phase where you got three
guys that at least on the on paper, Jason, the
(08:21):
team looks better, doesn't it on paper? Right? D' angelo
Russell two point oh is really the most curious part
of it. The other the other two parts they're new.
It's like reruns. It's it's new to you. Uh, it's
you see part two of him and in theories, some
maturation and recognizing his space because the load isn't on
(08:44):
him to build this squad the load is to be
as supporting piece to whatever Lebron James Heights can be.
And I think for him, and for Beasley and and
for Vanderbilt, I mean those you come in there good
ancillary piece is. So now perhaps you can live up
to a little bit of preseason expectations. I you're on
(09:06):
the back end of the playoffs and and fighting, and
you get a puncher's chance if you get in Fox
Sports Radio that Jason Smiths with Mike Carmon live from
the Tirak dot com studio. So they had no choice.
They had to make this trade. It was way overdue.
But that's five minutes ago. What did I say about
(09:28):
an hour and twenty minutes ago? You know, is KB
gonna follow Kyrie Irving out of Brooklyn? And I said, well,
most likely it's gonna happen in the off season. But
there's one team I can see pulling the trigger and
trading for Kevin Durant before the deadline tomorrow. There's one team,
(09:49):
I said, because they had the framework in place previously,
they almost did it in the off season. About DeAndre
eight Is upset in Phoenix, I said, the one team
Katie could get traded to by the deadline. Is the
Suns too difficult for other teams to put stuff together
(10:09):
this late time because of the Kyrie Irving trade request
a few days ago, It's really difficult. Kevin Durant has
just been dealt. Steve to Seger has the details right
now with breaking news from Fox. Can't you tell us
what team Kevin Durant traded to? Phoenix Suns have a
(10:30):
new owner, man Shpa, and he hits the ground running.
Multiple outlets, including the Athletics, saying the Nets are trading
Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns for a package that
includes Mcal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first round picks, additional
draft compensation. Suns are trading Jay Crowder to the Nets
(10:50):
as part of the deal as well. Huge, huge NBA
story just coming down again. Chris Haynes also saying Phoenix
sending Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, four first rounders and a pick
swap for Kevin Durant. Oh now that Wow, that's a haul.
That's way more than I thought anybody would get for
(11:11):
Kevin Durant. Right now, Well, he clearly well, he clearly
wanted to go be part of the Super Bowl festivities.
Already Wednesday night, we really have to talk a lot
of Super Bowl. Oh, he's gonna be there. K D
is gonna be on radio Row six o'clock in the morning, going, hey, guys,
you're ready for interviewers. I'm feeling good, now, I'm healthy,
Now I'm ready to go play. Kevin Durant is a
(11:35):
Phoenix son. I can be an NBA insider. I I
told you an hour and a half ago, the one
team that could make the move as the Sun's. It
would have been too hard for anybody else the whole
Kyrie Irving when it came up. Okay, the Net's got
to take care of Kyrie. Now, Kevin Durant, can we
move him? Our other team's gonna put together a good
(11:56):
enough offer for him. Do they want Kevin Durant? Is
he still the same guy? It's gonna be too tough
to get it done in this short amount of time
because you're talking about Kyrie Irving making his trade demand
about a week before the trade deadline. So to suddenly
get a deal for Kevin Durrett when you need a
long time to work wasn't gonna happen. But why did
I say the Sons? Because they had it worked out already.
They had it worked out of the right. He's wanted
(12:18):
to be. He wanted to be a son, the sons.
I mean, they held on a DeAndre Ayton, and this
DeAndre Atan is going great. I wanted out so bad
now I'm stuck here. Great. Thanks, But Eyton was the
first part of the package. So was Bridges, who is
now part of the package going to Brooklyn. Uh. They
had the parameters of it before and it didn't work.
But I told you the son's desperation, the son's desperation,
(12:40):
because here they are sitting in the middle of the
pack in the West. And yeah, you could say if
we get that when Devin Booker is back now unhealthy.
We missed him for a long time. We lost a
lot and and we're getting Booker back. But boy, we
really needs something to go over the top because we're
not getting over the top. We weren't enough. We were
a better team last year getting past these teams. Now
there's better teams in the West than we are. Denver
(13:02):
is better, Memphis is better. Were now amongst those other
teams at level below. We were at the top a
year ago. Let's go, let's go get gutsy and let's
go get Kevin Durant. He's that missing piece. They were
death erate. They were the most desperate team they had
had the parameters. Here they are Man and Kevin Durant.
To the Sun's I'm an NBA insider, Well, two things
(13:23):
I really enjoy um new ownership of teams that just say,
you know what, I have a lot of I like
your Mets. I got a lot of money. Let's go
let's do something crazy. Let's get nuts. You want to
get nuts, Let's get nuts. Channeling Michael Keaton Batman for
that one, smashing things up. But you have the sitting
(13:44):
on on on on Batman. Yeah, so you've got that.
But what it gives Brooklyn is Cam squared. Now it's
Cam Johnson and Cam Thomas. That's it. Those are your
new superheroes into the next next run. Here, Cam Thomas
the best LSU player on that roster, looking at you,
Ben Simmons. That's now. I mean, that is an insane
(14:09):
haul they got for Kevin Durant. Look, I love the
gutsiness by the Suns. But wow, did the Nets get
wait more than I thought it? Say, Hey, we're all in.
It's gonna take something crazy to get. That's what we
talked about. That that the the asking price. There's gonna
be too much to turn around right now and make
(14:30):
this flip and lo and behold, here we have it.
Here's a mountain of first round picks. Lakers are looking around,
going we still got ours for right looking at Yeah,
the dynasty that never was, now that's it, right, I mean,
now we create another big three in the desert. More
(14:51):
on this breaking story coming up next to Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon, Kevin Durant. The k D era
in Brooklyn is now over. The k D era in
Phoenix is just beginning. New York's asleep. They have no idea,
No did Nick? Come on? We got Josh Hart. That's
all we need. The next going to the finals. It's
all goods are better than the next, right now? All good?
(15:13):
Right now? People are in bars late in New York. On,
come on, playing New York. We break it all down.
Coming up next. K D is now a Phoenix sun.
This is Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays
at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific. When I was
(15:33):
traded to the Sun's Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith
Show with my best friend Mike Harmen. Sorry sorry it
is um. Yeah, uh NBA insider Jason Smith Show with
my best friend Mike Carmen. Um lead analysts to car
back over here. There you go, both lobbying for raises
(15:54):
with the boss right now. It was an hour of
twenty minutes. I told you, Hey, Kevin Durant is gonna
get traded, right, the big experiment is over in Brooklyn.
It's done most likely in the off season because for
most any other NBA team to try to put together
a deal for k D when only a few days
is gonna be tough, right, because this is a new thing.
(16:15):
The Nets had happened to them. They were thinking everything
was awesome. Hey, when Katie and Kyrie were healthy, they
were back up at the top of the East, and
suddenly it was hey, this is great, this is what
we expected for three years. And then Kyrie gets hurt.
K D gets hurt, Kyrie wants out, and then a
week later it's well, what do we do. The only
team that I told you could make a deal for
(16:38):
k D before the deadline tomorrow was the Son's because
they had already talked framework in the off season. He
wanted to be a Son. The Sons were desperate. They
had they already talked the pieces, which would be Bridges,
potentially DeAndre eight and a couple others, and boom. Fifteen
minutes ago, little after one am East Coast time, the
(16:59):
deal was consummated. Kevin Durant is now a member of
the Phoenix Suns. The Nets get back a package including
mcaal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first round picks, an additional
draft compensation. The Sons are trading Jay Crowder to the
Nets as well as part of the Durant deal. So
(17:20):
this is what they're getting back this. I mean, look,
they're not getting superstars by any means, the Sons. I mean, look,
you're getting Bridges, who is pretty decent. Right. I like Bridges,
and I like Cam Johnson, he's a nice little piece.
But you're getting four first round picks, right, You're getting
Jay Crowder, who a lot of people wanted it. I would,
I would guarantee you the Nets move Jay crowd or
someplace else, like the Nets don't need anything with Jack
(17:42):
Crowder for now. I got there because he remember Rick
Bucker told us last week. Crowder is the guy holding
up the trade deadline because he wants out. There's a
lot of teams interested, because there's a lot of players
like him, but he's the best. So once he goes,
you'll see something. So I wonder if the it's gonna
wind up being that the Nets are gonna move him
someplace else after getting him. But this is really a
(18:03):
huge haul. I did not think Katie was worth this, right,
Kad is thirty four years old and he can't stay healthy.
When he is healthy, he is unbelievable, right, you see
him the way he is, you know, the way he
was this year when he was healthy. Then he and
the Nets, they they were winning games by points, right,
they were blowing teams away. But he's just not that
guy all the time. So what are you gonna get? Well,
(18:24):
the Sons are able to say, you take advantage of desperation,
and this is what desperation gets you four first round picks,
which are like gold, and a couple of nice pieces
like I really let you know, Bridges is a really
good player. You know, they didn't get anybody that's gonna
be a big All Star and someone's but they did
what they could and this is a complete tear down
by the nets. Uh, And suddenly the era of K D. Kyrie,
(18:47):
the Big Three with Marten basically is over before it
even got a chance to get going. Well, that's the
amazing thing, right you look at it. In a year's time,
you traded three guys who as much as we made
bemoan what the qualifications are for a basketball Hall of Fame?
They're all Hall of famers, right, and and so just
to flip that quickly to this doesn't work all right,
(19:10):
that sleft that piece off, and now in less than
forty eight hours to uh, you know, clap your hands
and be done with all of it, is just pretty amazing. Uh,
as you look at it for this one, right, I
think we'd we've both been kind of perusing all the
information that had been out there, and certainly the durant
(19:34):
Um three years, one fifty three remaining on his deal
expected to be ready sometime in short order after the
All Star break, which comes up in a couple of
weeks here. So the hope is that you can get
a push down the stretch and and maybe he can
stay healthy and motivated and all of those fun things
(19:55):
to roll you know you threw up the four first
round picks. That kind of shrug because most of the
time those are um if this works, those those are
late first round picks, so they have right, but they're
more but but their gold because their assets that make
other trades happen. Hey we can get this star player,
we have to include a first round pick. Oh we
can give two first round picks. We just got four
(20:16):
of them. Sure, you know so teams that like that,
I don't look at it as they're going to get
a star player. But the way they're treated because they
can make other trades happen for proven players. That's why
it's such a big deal. Yeah for me, I just
always chuckled. He's like, because here and take a couple
more of those. Right, there's the old Simpsons joke of yeah,
take some more stock on the way out the door.
You know, I p o startup company. Yeah, you just
(20:39):
grab another role of that. We don't have any money
for you, but to grab that same thing here here,
I don't have any viable players, but we've got this
potential lottery pick for you. Assuming everything goes to hell.
Otherwise it's capital to spin off to the next bad
trade you're gonna make when you're dissatisfied with the next
guy you signed, and take a big swing and miss
(21:01):
on a lot of learning, a lot of institutional learning
for the Brooklyn Nets over the last twelve months. But
for the Suns, you make the move. You got an
owner that wanted to make a splash, went out, got
his guy. All the stuff we had talked about in
terms of Durant's leanings and when he had asked for
(21:22):
the trade, at least what was reported him asking for
the trade, what's real, what's imagined, and all of those
timelines how angry a guy is versus a yeah, you know, hey,
see what can happen while he's playing a video game,
hanging on Twitch or you know, creating content somewhere else.
All of those kind of things that now you make
it happen. Draft picks, a couple of players, as you say,
(21:44):
the crowder thing gets moved, probably from more draft picks
or another young player or two or both, and and
you burn it to the ground and start over in
Brooklyn altogether. For the Suns, I like it. I like
when teams roll the dice, same thing like we were
(22:05):
talking about with Westbrook coming to the Lakers. Did it
make a sense fully? No, but couldn't have worked. I
don't know. Maybe a snowball's chance in hell, but you're
saying there's a chance. Instead, they burned that off and
they made that deal earlier today, and then the Nets said,
hold my beer, and now we have a full flight
(22:27):
of people that are gonna have to go meet up
with the Nets. Well, I'll tell you what before we
get to the k D to the Nets. Part to
the Son's part of it is that think about what's
going on. The Nets went all out to bring when
when keep to bring k D and Kyrie to Brooklyn,
that's not enough. Let's go get James Harden. James Harden
is not working out. Hey, we'll turn that into Ben Simmons.
(22:49):
Will wait for Ben Simmons to play and see what
happened Jason. Ben Simmons is gonna get a lot of
shots now, man, he's gonna have to. There's no But
I'm still not shooting, Ben, You're the only guy in
the floor. Doesn't matter, I'm not gonna shoot. Still gonna
go over oh from the floor. But you know what
this does is that this is going to absolutely murder
(23:09):
ideas of big time stars teaming up again, right, because
the Nets and the Lakers have ruined this. Hey, superstars
teaming up? Right, it was It's like we could put
the headstone on it. Right now here lies superstars teaming up.
It was a great twelve year run from two thousand
six when Lebron James and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh
(23:30):
side of the team up and everybody wanted a team
up and let's collect all stars, let's do this. But
the Lakers and the Nets have failed so spectacularly. Teams
aren't gonna do this anymore. I mean, this is you're
talking about. You're talking about a collection of some of
the most talented players in the game. You're talking Lebron James,
Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, James Harden.
(23:53):
Couldn't make that the superstars getting together work. What team
is gonna say, Let's go get a bunch your talent
and put them all. Let's go get three superstars together
and see what they can do. That's not happening anymore. Now,
this in in in Phoenix. This is a run for
this year. You know, with Booker and k D and
Chris Paul. Chris Paul's at the end of his career, however,
But for for teams deciding, hey, let's go out and
(24:15):
try to team stars together, that's done. I mean that's done.
When when the most talented guys in the NBA flame
out spectacularly, you are never seeing that happen again. Never. Well,
I never say never. There's still gonna be an owner
that just thinks it's cool to have three players who
collectively are top twenty, top fifty, whatever. Because even think
(24:36):
about Brooklyn James Harden gets sput off what they do.
We're gonna be the team to fix Ben Simmons. Don't
want to shoot right joke about it, but you look
at Cam Thomas, what he's done. All of a sudden,
he's a superstar and everybody's raising an eyebrow, go what
the hell? Uh? And Ben Simmons is a jag all right,
(24:58):
He's a guy that somewhere along the way, it just
you know, it's a knoblock plus in terms of where
his game is. And I hope he's okay. Yeah, you know,
I wanted to mix mix sports where we can get
guys where suddenly inexplicably things go awry with what their
career was or what it looked like it was gonna be. Uh.
(25:19):
But the next swung forward again, right. They brought in
another guy was was a lesser version than Hartture, but
it was still a guy with a big pedigree and
a big name, and that failed just as equally. But
that doesn't mean there's not gonna be someone that's still
gonna give it a try. I mean, roo pretty spectacular.
There's there's room for a third guy on the street lights,
(25:42):
over spotlights, billboards. Okay, the way they've fixed those, they
could go impose another head on that clippers, uh, on
all of those banners and all of those signages. That's
what I mean. And buddy, let's go Look, no one's
gonna do it. No, Look you not only did you
(26:04):
see the way this this fails. You see the way
all the other big teams in the NBA are built there,
they're built around They're going back to the nineties where hey,
let's build around the one superstar and then we get
a one a next to him, and then a bunch
of role players that really are able to do what
what we need them to do. Right, So it's the
way the Bulls were built in the nineties. Teams are
going back to that. We're gonna build around Janice and
(26:26):
a bunch of other guys. Will get a one A
and Chris Middleton and a bunch of other guys around
him in seventies sixers, we're gonna build around em Bead.
We'll get a one A guy in Harden because that's
what he is at this point, and then we'll go
all the way down the road. Same thing in Denver
we got Yokich and then Murray's are one A and
we build down around the way and Memphis John Morants
are one. But that's how teams are doing it. That's
what we're getting back to now, because that's what's working.
(26:48):
You're seeing that win. Just throwing these guys together doesn't
work anymore. I mean, it's it's decent. I mean like,
you're talking about the most talented guys in the league,
and they failed that, and so you're gonna try it
with other guys who aren't as talented. I don't see it.
It's a lot of a lot of egos in the room.
We've always we've always talked about that, all right, It's
(27:08):
it's tough when people are used to being ones all
the way through. I mean, we've talked about it from
the psychology of the NFL and a lot of these
things going back to we talked about Terry Bradshaw on
the idea of getting ratings by dying on air. But
you know the compensation he was having with Sean Payton
(27:29):
about quarterbacks and all of those things. And we've talked
a lot about Kyler Murray. And you go from being
number one guy here, win a lot of state titles
in high school, go and be a Heisman winner, Go
be a top draft pick in baseball, Go be the
number one pick in football. Suddenly people are telling you
how to operate in in this other group dynamic, and
(27:52):
how to adjust how you've learned and how you communicate
that with that you adapt to me, right, same thing
with the NBA guys. I've always been the A list guy.
I've always been the number one guys. You're gonna acquiesce
to how I do business. And then you've got three
guys in the room, this Barry Bonds having his own
section in the clubhouse. Hey, you got one over there too.
(28:13):
How we're building little compounds within a clubhouse and within
a locker room. It just cannot stand. But someone, someone
will be bold enough to try it again, and we'll
watch that one. Watch that burned down to Jason, what
about all the ones that have worked though, like Steve
Nash and Dwight Howard. Oh that was so great, right,
(28:34):
that was so hey? Hey, the Lakers just they tho
they have three more first round picks that the other
teams have to take it right in the Nash trade,
they have three more first round In fact, I think
this is the four first round picks that the that
the uh Sons traded. We're all the Steve Nash picks.
I'm pretty sure. I think the Sons are now paying
little Dan and they might. Alright, So here here's the
(28:57):
best of two things for you. Well, you'll like this
from August twenty, two thousand and twenty. I don't ever
want to leave heart at Sons Michael Bridges twenty six
minutes ago. Michael Bridges at Michael Underscored Bridges. Oh my god,
l O L How long before Ben Simmons puts up
(29:19):
the will Smith gift from the fresh Prince, just standing
in the living room by himself at the empty room
that I can't believe it's that up there already. I
gotta feeling I can't believe that's oh the Will Smith
and then the Denzel Washington when he touches his heart,
going like trade all that for Katie? My goodness and
(29:42):
everybody else going? Where's Ben Simmons getting traded to? Oh many?
And or if he stays, does he start? Be sure
to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific
on Fox Wards Radio and the I Heart Radio app
(30:03):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with My bass
friend Mike Harmon. Who are You? We'll get to the
play that I coming up in a couple of seconds,
But wow, did we really get a lightning bolt of
a story? About forty minutes ago? Adrian Mozarowski of ESPN
Chris Haines of Yahoo reporting Kevin Durant is now a
(30:26):
member of the Phoenix Suns. The Nets trading Katie to
the Sons for a package that includes Mickel Bridges, Cam Johnson,
four first round picks other draft compensation. Sons also trading
Jay Crowder to the Nets as part of the Durant deal.
This is a big haul from the Nets if you
have a Kevin Durant who's thirty four years old, who
(30:47):
was someone who in the off season was gonna have
to go someplace else to continue to chase the respect
that he wants that he didn't get in Golden State
for winning the championship because no one was coming to
Brooklyn anymore. He would have to go someplace. He was
they had, he had his chance, right, he had his
chance to build the team. He picked Kyrie Irving to
be his guy. Whoops, I would do that again. Uh,
(31:08):
they picked James Harden. That didn't work. So we knew
we'd have to go someplace else. So you think, oh,
you don't like to trick. No. I actually love this
move for the Phoenix Suns because the Sons, as part
of their desperation, said we were at the top, and
we recognize now that we're not there anymore. Even with
a healthy Devin Booker, we're not quite as good as
(31:29):
the Nuggets and the and the Grizzlies. We were at
the top. We came very close last couple years to
winning the championship. It didn't happen for us. We've had
this mix of guys including Bridges and Johnson, and it
hasn't been enough. You know what, screw it. We gotta
take a chance because right now we're meandering the middle
of the pack. Yes, Devin Booker is is back now
and and that's gonna be a big deal. One of
(31:49):
the best scorers in the NBA. But let's get bold,
and let's go get something, and by going to get
Kevin Durant. And this is why I like the deal, Mike.
It's not that the team was a team that got
ke and Durant had everything else. I needed to PLoP
k D and and hey, you go be our superstar
and you carry the team because Kadi is not that
guy anymore. Right, He's have a tough time staying healthy
(32:10):
and just staying in the lineup. But the Sons went
and got it. Kevin Durant, who now only has to
dominate occasionally, doesn't have to do it night and a
night out, because there's nights where KD can have an
eighteen point night. But Devin Booker scoring thirty eight and
everything's gonna be fine, And the threat of k D
on the floor is gonna separate everything else. And then
he's healthy, it's even better. But even if you get
(32:31):
a k D like we've gotten the last year and
a half, where hey, when he's playing, he's great, but
then he's gonna then he's gonna be out. If you
have a guy you don't need to count on to
be that number one guy to put all the pressure
on him, and now he's a guy that you're counting
on alongside Booker and Chris Paul. Yeah, that's a great
gamble to take, because it is a gamble, but it's
a great one to take because, yeah, can you can
(32:52):
you I convince myself relying on Kevin Durant to be
a great player maybe seventy percent of the time instead
hundred percent of the time is a good enough gamble.
I love that. Well, No, that's the beauty of this. Right,
you kept your core, I your veterans to say, all right,
let's make the push. You're looking at Booker coming back
off injury. You're eight and two in your last ten.
(33:15):
You got DeAndre Ayton, who looked pretty fired up last night. Right,
they were the uh, the uh appetizer for the lebron
with love fest. But see seeing the three of them
add Chris Paul back in all guys that have had
some injury issues, and that's it. You get three out
of four stealing from meat loaf and extending it two
(33:38):
out of three ain't bad. Now we got three out
of four. They've been playing pretty good basketball. You didn't
give up the component parts. You were the number one
seed last year. Why not push one more? I like
the all in and if it fails, fails spectacular. That
is my general rule to anything in life. Had they
it's the half ass They don't go half ass. Give
(34:00):
it your all if you're gonna put your time in
effort towards something fully, But why have that T shirt?
Never go half ass about two things, go whole ass
on one. It's the h ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation.
It's the just the idea. If you're dabbling in a
bunch of things, you're gonna be good, but not great
(34:21):
in any of them. Here they decide, let's make a push.
Memphis may not be able to hold up. We've seen
Denver with their injury issues in the past. Why not us?
And you got a new owner that wants to be
on the you know, comes strutting into the next meetings.
Come on now, time now for the Play of the Night,
(34:42):
brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Kyrie Irving his debut
for the Dallas Mavericks. Back to Irving, George closes out
on him, Kyrie gets by him. That met by Leonard hanging,
banking and scoring, tumbling through the paceline. You want a
foul call, didn't get it. But there's some Kyrie magic
there there. It is Kyrie magic for the Dallas Mavericks
(35:03):
and his debut against the Clippers. And then it was
great because Katie got traded. Yeah, that's because the odds.
Tomorrow in Vegas. Ben Miller's got more. Next, This is
Fox
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two a m. Eastern seven to eleven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station
for The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Fox
Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every night
on the I Heart Radio app by searching fs R.
(00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Greetings and welcome inside
our four of The Jason Smith Show with my bas
friend Mike Harmon. Take off your uniform, take off your cleats,
take off your jockstrap. Live from the tire rack dot
com studios will help you get there in unmatched selection,
(00:46):
being bag free, shipping free road as of protection over
ten thousand recommended installers ti iraq dot com The Way
tire buying should be Yep. Headed to Vegas tomorrow, shows
next two nights in the wind Casino. Looking forward to
having all kinds of fun and convincing the city of
Las Vegas that they do not need Aaron Rodgers. And
(01:06):
that's better get him or there's gonna be trouble. I'm
just saying I've been working on the cricket machine will
make some signs and they'll look all nice and uh
and and proper to uh to really get a protest
going a big rally to say, bring Derek Carr back
or Ryan Tannehill. Yes, any of those guys is fine.
(01:29):
Bring in is the answer you need, Mark Davis. Yeah,
because you know that's what's gonna happen. They'll sign Mike
White and suddenly, oh, look at Mike White. Three touchdowns
a week. These guys, I'm as seen, that's the Raiders. Boy. Yeah.
But if even the Raiders can make the Jets look
like the Raiders, right, Like, if there's any other team
(01:51):
that the Raiders were involved with over over somebody, the
Raiders are gonna lose because they're not. They'll just lose spectacularly,
where the guy will choose the other team and will
have a great career and the guy the Raiders get
will stink. But because the Raiders and the Jets all
the guy the Raiders is gonna get, oh, he's gonna
be great, and the Jets will get the wrong guy
and he's gonna stink and they'll be looking at the
Raiders with envy. That's kind of how it works. The
(02:13):
Raiders are lucky. It's the Raiders and the Jets that
are in this thing for Aaron Rodgers. Raiders. Yeah, that's
a nice battle, uh, because it's entertaining to the rest
of the football watching world. It really, it's almost like
they should have a reality show off it. NFL Network.
We got some extra programming time. We don't have any
more Angry runs after this week or anything, so we
(02:33):
can move into other or or would be movie trailers
or whatever else they're prop it up this week. No,
we can move into a reality show. And you know,
you get a football, and you get a football, you
get nothing. No, no, I got it for you. I
got you know what it is watching the Jets and
Raiders battle it out for Aaron Rodgers, it's like on
(02:54):
the old American Gladiators show when they would fight with
the big Q tips, when they would hit each other
with the big the big spongey. That's what the Jets
the Raiders are like fighting for. What did they call him,
the pugeon pugel sticks or the pugil sticks. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
the pugel sticks, big que tips. Like looking on, we
(03:18):
can make it a whole hygiene theme show and that's
all the different things. Here you are running through tubs
of twothpaste. I mean looking at, looking at They're gonna
battle is out the dentists of America. So that's tomorrow night.
Tonight we saw the ending of a story that I
don't know. We've talked about this, what what five hundred
(03:41):
times in the last eighteen months. The Lakers have to
trade Russell Westbrook. I'm really disappointed though. I thought it
was gonna be the never ending story, Buddy, never ending story.
They're gonna trade Russell Westbro. They gotta trade Russell. It's
like people go to sleep, going gonna trade Russell Westbrook,
gotta chat. Well, today they finally traded Russell Westbrook, a
(04:04):
day ahead of the trade deadline. The Lakers get back
D'Angelo Russell, his laptop, Nick Young his laptop, Iggy Azalea
her only fans account. Uh. They get D'Angelo Russell back
from Minnesota, the Lakers also getting Malik Beasley and Jared Vanderbilt,
the Timberwolves getting Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook, and a
(04:26):
somewhat protected first round pick of the Lakers goes to
the Jazz. So the Lakers get the big haul. They
get D'Angelo, Russell Leak Beasley, Jared Vanderbilt, the t Wolves
getting Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook and seven first round
pick that is top four protected goes to the Jazz
as the Lakers turn the page on Russell Westbrook. And
(04:47):
you know this trade and and the first part is
and let's let's get to the frustrating part. This is
the frustrating part about this trade is when you think
you know more than a front office member of an
NBA team, Because even someone who's watched the NBA for
five minutes the last couple of years knows this is
never gonna work with Russell Westbrook on the Lakers. What
(05:08):
the hell are they thinking? This is never gonna work now.
I thought it was gonna beginning I said this is
gonna work. Very shortly after I said, oh, this is
not gonna work. The Lakers aren't gonna uh use him
like he's used in his career. They're gonna try to
make him change. He's not gonna change. He's not that guy.
This is failing spectacularly. And the Lakers could have made
a move a lot sooner than not wasted last season
(05:29):
and half of this season. Everybody knew this was not working,
but the late we're gonna wait, We're gonna wait, We're
gonna wait, we're gonna wait, and now right before the
trade deadline, we're gonna do it. I mean, this has
been overdue for like a year and a half. It's
like even knowing the answer on this for so long.
But no, no, no, no, We're not gonna actually do
anything for a real long time, right up until the
(05:50):
point where you almost think it's too late. Then we're
gonna finally do it. That's the most frustrating part is
that the most average NBA fan knows, boy, this wasn't
gonna work, work, and and and it took them now
to figure it out. Hey, way to go, front office. Well,
sometimes you move a little slowly and you think something's
gonna coalesce or people are gonna meet in the middle. Uh.
(06:11):
Past performance is not indicative of future returns. People can
change because if I could change and you could change,
and all of that comes into play. And that you
think being around Lebron James, he'll figure it out, right,
He'll know what he needs to do to assimilate and
(06:31):
make the be the best version of himself for this team.
Right right now. Uh, and we watched this time and
time again, and wherever you may be, however you may
be listening to the show the I Heart Radio app
all our affiliates nationwide, thanks to all the p ds
that make us part of the lineup. Uh and however
you're listening, thanks for being part of the extended family.
(06:53):
You know this in your in your place of work,
there's always that you know process of you've learned it,
institutional all knowledge. And you you bring someone in maybe
they they're in the same industry where it's a little smaller,
so you get a little bit of a reputation or
or even if they don't, you watch the first couple
of days like I got this. It's like, no, you don't.
You're screwing it all up. You're making the work harder
(07:14):
for all of us. And now we're missing our quotas
and all of these things. And but you have to
try to uh massage it as best you can until
you don't because eventually the rubber hits the road. Why
were you delayed and shipping all this stuff? Well, that
guy or that woman or whoever, or sub combination, it's
slowed down the process working in the kitchen, where working,
(07:37):
wherever you are, you're driving and and trucking, right, you
need folks loading, unloading, etcetera. Whatever part of that process.
Here in the NBA and in sports in general, you're
gonna be pulling in the same direction or really gonna
flow terribly, no matter how much you might like the
heroics of a Lebron James or somebody else. We talked
to Dan Wake last hour, He's just like, yeah, last
(07:59):
night was pretty much everybody just watched Lebron do his thing.
Some liked it, some did, some got mad, some boiled over.
Anthony Davis a little bit of Russell Westbrook with with
coach Ham. But in the end he's now gone and
you move into a new phase where you got three
guys that at least on the on paper, Jason, the
(08:21):
team looks better, doesn't it on paper? Right? D' angelo
Russell two point oh is really the most curious part
of it. The other the other two parts they're new.
It's like reruns. It's it's new to you. Uh, it's
you see part two of him and in theories, some
maturation and recognizing his space because the load isn't on
(08:44):
him to build this squad the load is to be
as supporting piece to whatever Lebron James Heights can be.
And I think for him, and for Beasley and and
for Vanderbilt, I mean those you come in there good
ancillary piece is. So now perhaps you can live up
to a little bit of preseason expectations. I you're on
(09:06):
the back end of the playoffs and and fighting, and
you get a puncher's chance if you get in Fox
Sports Radio that Jason Smiths with Mike Carmon live from
the Tirak dot com studio. So they had no choice.
They had to make this trade. It was way overdue.
But that's five minutes ago. What did I say about
(09:28):
an hour and twenty minutes ago? You know, is KB
gonna follow Kyrie Irving out of Brooklyn? And I said, well,
most likely it's gonna happen in the off season. But
there's one team I can see pulling the trigger and
trading for Kevin Durant before the deadline tomorrow. There's one team,
(09:49):
I said, because they had the framework in place previously,
they almost did it in the off season. About DeAndre
eight Is upset in Phoenix, I said, the one team
Katie could get traded to by the deadline. Is the
Suns too difficult for other teams to put stuff together
(10:09):
this late time because of the Kyrie Irving trade request
a few days ago, It's really difficult. Kevin Durant has
just been dealt. Steve to Seger has the details right
now with breaking news from Fox. Can't you tell us
what team Kevin Durant traded to? Phoenix Suns have a
(10:30):
new owner, man Shpa, and he hits the ground running.
Multiple outlets, including the Athletics, saying the Nets are trading
Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns for a package that
includes Mcal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first round picks, additional
draft compensation. Suns are trading Jay Crowder to the Nets
(10:50):
as part of the deal as well. Huge, huge NBA
story just coming down again. Chris Haynes also saying Phoenix
sending Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, four first rounders and a pick
swap for Kevin Durant. Oh now that Wow, that's a haul.
That's way more than I thought anybody would get for
(11:11):
Kevin Durant. Right now, Well, he clearly well, he clearly
wanted to go be part of the Super Bowl festivities.
Already Wednesday night, we really have to talk a lot
of Super Bowl. Oh, he's gonna be there. K D
is gonna be on radio Row six o'clock in the morning, going, hey, guys,
you're ready for interviewers. I'm feeling good, now, I'm healthy,
Now I'm ready to go play. Kevin Durant is a
(11:35):
Phoenix son. I can be an NBA insider. I I
told you an hour and a half ago, the one
team that could make the move as the Sun's. It
would have been too hard for anybody else the whole
Kyrie Irving when it came up. Okay, the Net's got
to take care of Kyrie. Now, Kevin Durant, can we
move him? Our other team's gonna put together a good
(11:56):
enough offer for him. Do they want Kevin Durant? Is
he still the same guy? It's gonna be too tough
to get it done in this short amount of time
because you're talking about Kyrie Irving making his trade demand
about a week before the trade deadline. So to suddenly
get a deal for Kevin Durrett when you need a
long time to work wasn't gonna happen. But why did
I say the Sons? Because they had it worked out already.
They had it worked out of the right. He's wanted
(12:18):
to be. He wanted to be a son, the sons.
I mean, they held on a DeAndre Ayton, and this
DeAndre Atan is going great. I wanted out so bad
now I'm stuck here. Great. Thanks, But Eyton was the
first part of the package. So was Bridges, who is
now part of the package going to Brooklyn. Uh. They
had the parameters of it before and it didn't work.
But I told you the son's desperation, the son's desperation,
(12:40):
because here they are sitting in the middle of the
pack in the West. And yeah, you could say if
we get that when Devin Booker is back now unhealthy.
We missed him for a long time. We lost a
lot and and we're getting Booker back. But boy, we
really needs something to go over the top because we're
not getting over the top. We weren't enough. We were
a better team last year getting past these teams. Now
there's better teams in the West than we are. Denver
(13:02):
is better, Memphis is better. Were now amongst those other
teams at level below. We were at the top a
year ago. Let's go, let's go get gutsy and let's
go get Kevin Durant. He's that missing piece. They were
death erate. They were the most desperate team they had
had the parameters. Here they are Man and Kevin Durant.
To the Sun's I'm an NBA insider, Well, two things
(13:23):
I really enjoy um new ownership of teams that just say,
you know what, I have a lot of I like
your Mets. I got a lot of money. Let's go
let's do something crazy. Let's get nuts. You want to
get nuts, Let's get nuts. Channeling Michael Keaton Batman for
that one, smashing things up. But you have the sitting
(13:44):
on on on on Batman. Yeah, so you've got that.
But what it gives Brooklyn is Cam squared. Now it's
Cam Johnson and Cam Thomas. That's it. Those are your
new superheroes into the next next run. Here, Cam Thomas
the best LSU player on that roster, looking at you,
Ben Simmons. That's now. I mean, that is an insane
(14:09):
haul they got for Kevin Durant. Look, I love the
gutsiness by the Suns. But wow, did the Nets get
wait more than I thought it? Say, Hey, we're all in.
It's gonna take something crazy to get. That's what we
talked about. That that the the asking price. There's gonna
be too much to turn around right now and make
(14:30):
this flip and lo and behold, here we have it.
Here's a mountain of first round picks. Lakers are looking around,
going we still got ours for right looking at Yeah,
the dynasty that never was, now that's it, right, I mean,
now we create another big three in the desert. More
(14:51):
on this breaking story coming up next to Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon, Kevin Durant. The k D era
in Brooklyn is now over. The k D era in
Phoenix is just beginning. New York's asleep. They have no idea,
No did Nick? Come on? We got Josh Hart. That's
all we need. The next going to the finals. It's
all goods are better than the next, right now? All good?
(15:13):
Right now? People are in bars late in New York. On,
come on, playing New York. We break it all down.
Coming up next. K D is now a Phoenix sun.
This is Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays
at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific. When I was
(15:33):
traded to the Sun's Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith
Show with my best friend Mike Harmen. Sorry sorry it
is um. Yeah, uh NBA insider Jason Smith Show with
my best friend Mike Carmen. Um lead analysts to car
back over here. There you go, both lobbying for raises
(15:54):
with the boss right now. It was an hour of
twenty minutes. I told you, Hey, Kevin Durant is gonna
get traded, right, the big experiment is over in Brooklyn.
It's done most likely in the off season because for
most any other NBA team to try to put together
a deal for k D when only a few days
is gonna be tough, right, because this is a new thing.
(16:15):
The Nets had happened to them. They were thinking everything
was awesome. Hey, when Katie and Kyrie were healthy, they
were back up at the top of the East, and
suddenly it was hey, this is great, this is what
we expected for three years. And then Kyrie gets hurt.
K D gets hurt, Kyrie wants out, and then a
week later it's well, what do we do. The only
team that I told you could make a deal for
(16:38):
k D before the deadline tomorrow was the Son's because
they had already talked framework in the off season. He
wanted to be a Son. The Sons were desperate. They
had they already talked the pieces, which would be Bridges,
potentially DeAndre eight and a couple others, and boom. Fifteen
minutes ago, little after one am East Coast time, the
(16:59):
deal was consummated. Kevin Durant is now a member of
the Phoenix Suns. The Nets get back a package including
mcaal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first round picks, an additional
draft compensation. The Sons are trading Jay Crowder to the
Nets as well as part of the Durant deal. So
(17:20):
this is what they're getting back this. I mean, look,
they're not getting superstars by any means, the Sons. I mean, look,
you're getting Bridges, who is pretty decent. Right. I like Bridges,
and I like Cam Johnson, he's a nice little piece.
But you're getting four first round picks, right, You're getting
Jay Crowder, who a lot of people wanted it. I would,
I would guarantee you the Nets move Jay crowd or
someplace else, like the Nets don't need anything with Jack
(17:42):
Crowder for now. I got there because he remember Rick
Bucker told us last week. Crowder is the guy holding
up the trade deadline because he wants out. There's a
lot of teams interested, because there's a lot of players
like him, but he's the best. So once he goes,
you'll see something. So I wonder if the it's gonna
wind up being that the Nets are gonna move him
someplace else after getting him. But this is really a
(18:03):
huge haul. I did not think Katie was worth this, right,
Kad is thirty four years old and he can't stay healthy.
When he is healthy, he is unbelievable, right, you see
him the way he is, you know, the way he
was this year when he was healthy. Then he and
the Nets, they they were winning games by points, right,
they were blowing teams away. But he's just not that
guy all the time. So what are you gonna get? Well,
(18:24):
the Sons are able to say, you take advantage of desperation,
and this is what desperation gets you four first round picks,
which are like gold, and a couple of nice pieces
like I really let you know, Bridges is a really
good player. You know, they didn't get anybody that's gonna
be a big All Star and someone's but they did
what they could and this is a complete tear down
by the nets. Uh, And suddenly the era of K D. Kyrie,
(18:47):
the Big Three with Marten basically is over before it
even got a chance to get going. Well, that's the
amazing thing, right you look at it. In a year's time,
you traded three guys who as much as we made
bemoan what the qualifications are for a basketball Hall of Fame?
They're all Hall of famers, right, and and so just
to flip that quickly to this doesn't work all right,
(19:10):
that sleft that piece off, and now in less than
forty eight hours to uh, you know, clap your hands
and be done with all of it, is just pretty amazing. Uh,
as you look at it for this one, right, I
think we'd we've both been kind of perusing all the
information that had been out there, and certainly the durant
(19:34):
Um three years, one fifty three remaining on his deal
expected to be ready sometime in short order after the
All Star break, which comes up in a couple of
weeks here. So the hope is that you can get
a push down the stretch and and maybe he can
stay healthy and motivated and all of those fun things
(19:55):
to roll you know you threw up the four first
round picks. That kind of shrug because most of the
time those are um if this works, those those are
late first round picks, so they have right, but they're
more but but their gold because their assets that make
other trades happen. Hey we can get this star player,
we have to include a first round pick. Oh we
can give two first round picks. We just got four
(20:16):
of them. Sure, you know so teams that like that,
I don't look at it as they're going to get
a star player. But the way they're treated because they
can make other trades happen for proven players. That's why
it's such a big deal. Yeah for me, I just
always chuckled. He's like, because here and take a couple
more of those. Right, there's the old Simpsons joke of yeah,
take some more stock on the way out the door.
You know, I p o startup company. Yeah, you just
(20:39):
grab another role of that. We don't have any money
for you, but to grab that same thing here here,
I don't have any viable players, but we've got this
potential lottery pick for you. Assuming everything goes to hell.
Otherwise it's capital to spin off to the next bad
trade you're gonna make when you're dissatisfied with the next
guy you signed, and take a big swing and miss
(21:01):
on a lot of learning, a lot of institutional learning
for the Brooklyn Nets over the last twelve months. But
for the Suns, you make the move. You got an
owner that wanted to make a splash, went out, got
his guy. All the stuff we had talked about in
terms of Durant's leanings and when he had asked for
(21:22):
the trade, at least what was reported him asking for
the trade, what's real, what's imagined, and all of those
timelines how angry a guy is versus a yeah, you know, hey,
see what can happen while he's playing a video game,
hanging on Twitch or you know, creating content somewhere else.
All of those kind of things that now you make
it happen. Draft picks, a couple of players, as you say,
(21:44):
the crowder thing gets moved, probably from more draft picks
or another young player or two or both, and and
you burn it to the ground and start over in
Brooklyn altogether. For the Suns, I like it. I like
when teams roll the dice, same thing like we were
(22:05):
talking about with Westbrook coming to the Lakers. Did it
make a sense fully? No, but couldn't have worked. I
don't know. Maybe a snowball's chance in hell, but you're
saying there's a chance. Instead, they burned that off and
they made that deal earlier today, and then the Nets said,
hold my beer, and now we have a full flight
(22:27):
of people that are gonna have to go meet up
with the Nets. Well, I'll tell you what before we
get to the k D to the Nets. Part to
the Son's part of it is that think about what's
going on. The Nets went all out to bring when
when keep to bring k D and Kyrie to Brooklyn,
that's not enough. Let's go get James Harden. James Harden
is not working out. Hey, we'll turn that into Ben Simmons.
(22:49):
Will wait for Ben Simmons to play and see what
happened Jason. Ben Simmons is gonna get a lot of
shots now, man, he's gonna have to. There's no But
I'm still not shooting, Ben, You're the only guy in
the floor. Doesn't matter, I'm not gonna shoot. Still gonna
go over oh from the floor. But you know what
this does is that this is going to absolutely murder
(23:09):
ideas of big time stars teaming up again, right, because
the Nets and the Lakers have ruined this. Hey, superstars
teaming up? Right, it was It's like we could put
the headstone on it. Right now here lies superstars teaming up.
It was a great twelve year run from two thousand
six when Lebron James and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh
(23:30):
side of the team up and everybody wanted a team
up and let's collect all stars, let's do this. But
the Lakers and the Nets have failed so spectacularly. Teams
aren't gonna do this anymore. I mean, this is you're
talking about. You're talking about a collection of some of
the most talented players in the game. You're talking Lebron James,
Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, James Harden.
(23:53):
Couldn't make that the superstars getting together work. What team
is gonna say, Let's go get a bunch your talent
and put them all. Let's go get three superstars together
and see what they can do. That's not happening anymore. Now,
this in in in Phoenix. This is a run for
this year. You know, with Booker and k D and
Chris Paul. Chris Paul's at the end of his career, however,
But for for teams deciding, hey, let's go out and
(24:15):
try to team stars together, that's done. I mean that's done.
When when the most talented guys in the NBA flame
out spectacularly, you are never seeing that happen again. Never. Well,
I never say never. There's still gonna be an owner
that just thinks it's cool to have three players who
collectively are top twenty, top fifty, whatever. Because even think
(24:36):
about Brooklyn James Harden gets sput off what they do.
We're gonna be the team to fix Ben Simmons. Don't
want to shoot right joke about it, but you look
at Cam Thomas, what he's done. All of a sudden,
he's a superstar and everybody's raising an eyebrow, go what
the hell? Uh? And Ben Simmons is a jag all right,
(24:58):
He's a guy that somewhere along the way, it just
you know, it's a knoblock plus in terms of where
his game is. And I hope he's okay. Yeah, you know,
I wanted to mix mix sports where we can get
guys where suddenly inexplicably things go awry with what their
career was or what it looked like it was gonna be. Uh.
(25:19):
But the next swung forward again, right. They brought in
another guy was was a lesser version than Hartture, but
it was still a guy with a big pedigree and
a big name, and that failed just as equally. But
that doesn't mean there's not gonna be someone that's still
gonna give it a try. I mean, roo pretty spectacular.
There's there's room for a third guy on the street lights,
(25:42):
over spotlights, billboards. Okay, the way they've fixed those, they
could go impose another head on that clippers, uh, on
all of those banners and all of those signages. That's
what I mean. And buddy, let's go Look, no one's
gonna do it. No, Look you not only did you
(26:04):
see the way this this fails. You see the way
all the other big teams in the NBA are built there,
they're built around They're going back to the nineties where hey,
let's build around the one superstar and then we get
a one a next to him, and then a bunch
of role players that really are able to do what
what we need them to do. Right, So it's the
way the Bulls were built in the nineties. Teams are
going back to that. We're gonna build around Janice and
(26:26):
a bunch of other guys. Will get a one A
and Chris Middleton and a bunch of other guys around
him in seventies sixers, we're gonna build around em Bead.
We'll get a one A guy in Harden because that's
what he is at this point, and then we'll go
all the way down the road. Same thing in Denver
we got Yokich and then Murray's are one A and
we build down around the way and Memphis John Morants
are one. But that's how teams are doing it. That's
what we're getting back to now, because that's what's working.
(26:48):
You're seeing that win. Just throwing these guys together doesn't
work anymore. I mean, it's it's decent. I mean like,
you're talking about the most talented guys in the league,
and they failed that, and so you're gonna try it
with other guys who aren't as talented. I don't see it.
It's a lot of a lot of egos in the room.
We've always we've always talked about that, all right, It's
(27:08):
it's tough when people are used to being ones all
the way through. I mean, we've talked about it from
the psychology of the NFL and a lot of these
things going back to we talked about Terry Bradshaw on
the idea of getting ratings by dying on air. But
you know the compensation he was having with Sean Payton
(27:29):
about quarterbacks and all of those things. And we've talked
a lot about Kyler Murray. And you go from being
number one guy here, win a lot of state titles
in high school, go and be a Heisman winner, Go
be a top draft pick in baseball, Go be the
number one pick in football. Suddenly people are telling you
how to operate in in this other group dynamic, and
(27:52):
how to adjust how you've learned and how you communicate
that with that you adapt to me, right, same thing
with the NBA guys. I've always been the A list guy.
I've always been the number one guys. You're gonna acquiesce
to how I do business. And then you've got three
guys in the room, this Barry Bonds having his own
section in the clubhouse. Hey, you got one over there too.
(28:13):
How we're building little compounds within a clubhouse and within
a locker room. It just cannot stand. But someone, someone
will be bold enough to try it again, and we'll
watch that one. Watch that burned down to Jason, what
about all the ones that have worked though, like Steve
Nash and Dwight Howard. Oh that was so great, right,
(28:34):
that was so hey? Hey, the Lakers just they tho
they have three more first round picks that the other
teams have to take it right in the Nash trade,
they have three more first round In fact, I think
this is the four first round picks that the that
the uh Sons traded. We're all the Steve Nash picks.
I'm pretty sure. I think the Sons are now paying
little Dan and they might. Alright, So here here's the
(28:57):
best of two things for you. Well, you'll like this
from August twenty, two thousand and twenty. I don't ever
want to leave heart at Sons Michael Bridges twenty six
minutes ago. Michael Bridges at Michael Underscored Bridges. Oh my god,
l O L How long before Ben Simmons puts up
(29:19):
the will Smith gift from the fresh Prince, just standing
in the living room by himself at the empty room
that I can't believe it's that up there already. I
gotta feeling I can't believe that's oh the Will Smith
and then the Denzel Washington when he touches his heart,
going like trade all that for Katie? My goodness and
(29:42):
everybody else going? Where's Ben Simmons getting traded to? Oh many?
And or if he stays, does he start? Be sure
to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific
on Fox Wards Radio and the I Heart Radio app
(30:03):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with My bass
friend Mike Harmon. Who are You? We'll get to the
play that I coming up in a couple of seconds,
But wow, did we really get a lightning bolt of
a story? About forty minutes ago? Adrian Mozarowski of ESPN
Chris Haines of Yahoo reporting Kevin Durant is now a
(30:26):
member of the Phoenix Suns. The Nets trading Katie to
the Sons for a package that includes Mickel Bridges, Cam Johnson,
four first round picks other draft compensation. Sons also trading
Jay Crowder to the Nets as part of the Durant deal.
This is a big haul from the Nets if you
have a Kevin Durant who's thirty four years old, who
(30:47):
was someone who in the off season was gonna have
to go someplace else to continue to chase the respect
that he wants that he didn't get in Golden State
for winning the championship because no one was coming to
Brooklyn anymore. He would have to go someplace. He was
they had, he had his chance, right, he had his
chance to build the team. He picked Kyrie Irving to
be his guy. Whoops, I would do that again. Uh,
(31:08):
they picked James Harden. That didn't work. So we knew
we'd have to go someplace else. So you think, oh,
you don't like to trick. No. I actually love this
move for the Phoenix Suns because the Sons, as part
of their desperation, said we were at the top, and
we recognize now that we're not there anymore. Even with
a healthy Devin Booker, we're not quite as good as
(31:29):
the Nuggets and the and the Grizzlies. We were at
the top. We came very close last couple years to
winning the championship. It didn't happen for us. We've had
this mix of guys including Bridges and Johnson, and it
hasn't been enough. You know what, screw it. We gotta
take a chance because right now we're meandering the middle
of the pack. Yes, Devin Booker is is back now
and and that's gonna be a big deal. One of
(31:49):
the best scorers in the NBA. But let's get bold,
and let's go get something, and by going to get
Kevin Durant. And this is why I like the deal, Mike.
It's not that the team was a team that got
ke and Durant had everything else. I needed to PLoP
k D and and hey, you go be our superstar
and you carry the team because Kadi is not that
guy anymore. Right, He's have a tough time staying healthy
(32:10):
and just staying in the lineup. But the Sons went
and got it. Kevin Durant, who now only has to
dominate occasionally, doesn't have to do it night and a
night out, because there's nights where KD can have an
eighteen point night. But Devin Booker scoring thirty eight and
everything's gonna be fine, And the threat of k D
on the floor is gonna separate everything else. And then
he's healthy, it's even better. But even if you get
(32:31):
a k D like we've gotten the last year and
a half, where hey, when he's playing, he's great, but
then he's gonna then he's gonna be out. If you
have a guy you don't need to count on to
be that number one guy to put all the pressure
on him, and now he's a guy that you're counting
on alongside Booker and Chris Paul. Yeah, that's a great
gamble to take, because it is a gamble, but it's
a great one to take because, yeah, can you can
(32:52):
you I convince myself relying on Kevin Durant to be
a great player maybe seventy percent of the time instead
hundred percent of the time is a good enough gamble.
I love that. Well, No, that's the beauty of this. Right,
you kept your core, I your veterans to say, all right,
let's make the push. You're looking at Booker coming back
off injury. You're eight and two in your last ten.
(33:15):
You got DeAndre Ayton, who looked pretty fired up last night. Right,
they were the uh, the uh appetizer for the lebron
with love fest. But see seeing the three of them
add Chris Paul back in all guys that have had
some injury issues, and that's it. You get three out
of four stealing from meat loaf and extending it two
(33:38):
out of three ain't bad. Now we got three out
of four. They've been playing pretty good basketball. You didn't
give up the component parts. You were the number one
seed last year. Why not push one more? I like
the all in and if it fails, fails spectacular. That
is my general rule to anything in life. Had they
it's the half ass They don't go half ass. Give
(34:00):
it your all if you're gonna put your time in
effort towards something fully, But why have that T shirt?
Never go half ass about two things, go whole ass
on one. It's the h ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation.
It's the just the idea. If you're dabbling in a
bunch of things, you're gonna be good, but not great
(34:21):
in any of them. Here they decide, let's make a push.
Memphis may not be able to hold up. We've seen
Denver with their injury issues in the past. Why not us?
And you got a new owner that wants to be
on the you know, comes strutting into the next meetings.
Come on now, time now for the Play of the Night,
(34:42):
brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Kyrie Irving his debut
for the Dallas Mavericks. Back to Irving, George closes out
on him, Kyrie gets by him. That met by Leonard hanging,
banking and scoring, tumbling through the paceline. You want a
foul call, didn't get it. But there's some Kyrie magic
there there. It is Kyrie magic for the Dallas Mavericks
(35:03):
and his debut against the Clippers. And then it was
great because Katie got traded. Yeah, that's because the odds.
Tomorrow in Vegas. Ben Miller's got more. Next, This is
Fox
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
Popular Podcasts
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. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!