#26 NBA Western Conference Shakedown: Offseason Moves Explained! Part 2

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to the Huddle Within podcast, where we go beyond the
surface to uncover the real impact of sports on our lives.
Whether it's lessons of resilience, the passion that
fuels us, or the stories that connect us all, This is where
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and let's get into it. All right, we're back again.

(00:40):
Part. Two, Western Conference back
with Nathan today. We did this yesterday, thought
we'd have a break and get straight into it.
Lots of updated news today. So thankfully, we sort of took
that break and now we can prettymuch wrap up free agency with
the the new additions. We'll quickly touch up on them.
Kaminga has decided to stay, well, not his choice, but the

(01:03):
Golden State Warriors choice. And he'll be part of the
rotation. And that was the main thing
we'll caught sort of waiting on.And then Darren Fox signed a
massive extension, which we'll talk about once we get to San
Antonio Spurs. But Nathan, thanks again for
tuning in. Thanks for having me, it was
good fun yesterday and yeah, ready to keep going.
Yeah, we'll get the ball rollingstraight away.
And we'll start with the Dallas Mavericks, who had the headlines

(01:26):
last year for all the wrong reasons, starting with probably
the biggest blockbuster trade ofall time, Luka Doncic going to
the Lakers mid season for Anthony Davis and some scraps,
to be fair. And yeah, Nico Harrison got a
lot of abuse for that and luck certainly came on his end.

(01:46):
If it's luck, if it was rigged, we don't know.
We'll never know. Feels as though it's rigged, but
they end up getting Cooper flagged, which sort of he's not
Luka Doncic right now, but definitely has the potential to
be that star calibre player, being the number one pig, being
7 foot 4, being unbelievable in college and even in his second
summer league game. He got 30 points and the Dallas

(02:06):
Mavericks knew that they didn't need to to to see anything
anymore, just getting ready for for the season.
So he'll come in seamlessly and and be a starter and be a fit
there. On top of that, they re sign
Kyrie Irving on a three year $118 million deal.
They also get Dilo for some backup point guard minutes.
They re sign another Australian,Dante XM, who at The Mavericks

(02:27):
seems to be a very good player. Anywhere else, he seems to
struggle, but he's found a home at Dallas and he stays on there
for for another year, who I think will be a very serviceable
defensive role player. And this team, it's it's a team
where if they're healthy, they probably make noise in the
Western Conference. But given the Western Conference
is so competitive, it's going tobe really hard for us to say

(02:50):
that they'll win something this year.
But they're definitely lining upfor next year, especially when
Kyrie recovers from his ACL. If AD can stay healthy, another
player that has health issues, if he can stay healthy can be a
very prominent player for the team and I think this season
he's going to get what he wants and play at the four.
While we may see Cooper Flagg atthe five or if not, you've got

(03:11):
him at the three. We've got Daniel Gafford that's
resigned as well on a pretty lengthy deal with Derek Lively
as well rotating at 5 S Anthony Davis gets the opportunity to
play as a four. They've got Cooper Flagg, who
maybe one season under his belt after he wins the rookie of the
year, becomes a bona fide sophomore year player and they
can really make a a last ditch go at it in their second season

(03:33):
after next year. So I'm not really expecting too
much of them this year. And Even so, even if they they
bum out, it doesn't work out. You've got someone that's
generational to build your team across and you can say that it's
luck. You can say it's rigged.
But at the end of the day, they do get Cooper flag and they
don't really need to make too many crazy acquisitions, which

(03:54):
is what they haven't done in this in this offseason.
Yeah, the Dallas Mavericks, another team similar to Philly
that kind of lucked into it as well.
I know their roster probably it does project to be a lot better
than what it was last season. And for obvious reasons,
injuries and whatnot, they didn't quite meet their

(04:17):
expectations. But yeah, I think Kipper flag, I
know we're talking about capturing the flag for a while
and Dallas captured the flag andyou know, a lot of the fans, I
guess it's bittersweet losing one of their favourite players
like Doncic, you know, unreal player to watch.
And, you know, that trade happening was just, I couldn't

(04:41):
have saw it coming and I think. We knew when it when it
happened. Oh, I can't remember, but I just
remember going training and justthat's all we're talking about.
So I. Do remember that I was.
I was at a pool. I was just chilling in my
auntie's pool. I think it was summer at the
time or like closing in on on going into autumn.
And yeah, the trade came in and it was just crazy.

(05:05):
Like everyone went nuts. You thought it wasn't real.
I thought I got done by scams toAnya or I got sent to.
But no, it was legit. And Shams had to really put up
another tweet, a follow up tweetto say that his phone didn't get
hacked. So that's always going to be
probably one of the most core memory announcements that I've
seen. That and also when Kawhi Leonard

(05:29):
and Paul George signed with the Clippers, I remember I was
watching a movie then. But those two are probably the
most craziest acquisitions I've ever seen as an NBA fan.
And yeah, it's wild now that it's come to fruition.
And Lucas at the Lakers. But again, this is the Dallas
Maverick talk. So you continue on.
Yeah, and to go to go on that aswell, Luca was one of those guys

(05:51):
that I always thought would you know, be the one that never
leaves the safest play in the league.
And for that to happen, it was just, you know, no players safe.
And I guess in the end that's a business and that's what it is.
Yeah, just a little bit sidetracked there, but the the
overall roster construction withADI feel it's more balanced.

(06:13):
Obviously you've got Kyrie who'sgot to have the ball in his
hands. Luca was the same, so it makes
sense to me why they did it. Though it's obvious that AD
doesn't have as long run as Lucadoes, but I think it puts the
roster in a great position the next 2-3 years to really
challenge at the top end of the West and with a two way elite

(06:35):
player like Cooper flag projectsto be.
I think Dallas are really not only lucky, but they've got a
really strong roster and like you said, as long as I stay
healthy, I can see I'm causing damage to the West.
Yeah, I think they got pretty stitched up last season.
Like, obviously the trade itselfwasn't good, but it just didn't

(06:56):
help that they just ended up having a lot of injuries as
well, and that sort of just madethings a lot worse than it
should have been. Losing Quintin Grimes was also
an underrated loss in the trade that they tried to bring Caleb
Martin into, which that also flopped.
So that really didn't help as well because Quintin Grimes at
that stretch against Philadelphia ended up looking
like a close All Star the way hewas performing.

(07:19):
So look, they probably didn't have that luck when they got the
trade, but they definitely got the luck back getting Cooper
flag. And like I said, I think maybe
this season, maybe borderline playoff or just missing the
playoffs as they did when they close this out, but definitely
next season, they'll look to strap up and when their team's
fully healthy, really make a last.

(07:39):
Ditch push so. For that, I'll probably give
them maybe I'll doesn't really do much like Dealer.
We didn't speak much about him, but we know what Dealer is like.
It's obviously going to come offthe bench and give them a sort
of scoring option, but it's really hard to put your faith
into a into a player like him. So I guess for that alone, I'm

(08:00):
going to give them AC minus and just them getting Cooper flag is
not even anything to do if they're kind of offseason moves.
So C minus is probably what I'llgive them.
Yeah. And I think it's just to go on
that Quinton Grimes, he looks tobe a great player in Philly and
I guess underrated roof there aswell was acquiring Max Christie.

(08:23):
And he did show a bit in those minutes that he got there too.
So yeah, like I said, I really like the roster construction XM.
He's he just born to be a Maverick everywhere else.
Like you said, it's just not forhim.
But you know, the Kyrie one was kind of predictable. 3 years
he's injured, obviously need to keep him with that AD and that

(08:44):
timeline and dealer is just reassurance.
So yeah, like you said, I'd probably go with AC here because
they didn't do anything crazy. They've done the signings that
they need to do, and they just got the overall #1 consensus
pick. Yeah, nice.
Well, the next team that we're going to talk about arguably had

(09:05):
one of the best off seasons of the summer and is the Denver
Nuggets. And the Denver Nuggets have made
some pretty quality acquisitionsto a team that, well, one win
away from potentially winning another championship, just
proving how unbelievable Nikola Jokic is.
And everyone can safely say thatOK, C's biggest threat was this

(09:27):
Denver Nuggets team, and it was the team that.
Lost a lot of. Their sort of main role players
last season before winning a chip like a player like such as
Bruce Brown, who comes back to the Nuggets was quite pivotal in
their championship run and he's coming back for another season,
I think with motivations to potentially win another
championship. So that's an awesome

(09:49):
acquisition. You've got Jonas Valanciunas who
now they can sort of finally play someone that can really
play backup minutes to Jokic andand then not lose out as much as
when other centres used to get on the floor.
Obviously no one is going to be Nicola Yokich, but if he can at
least steady the ship for 5/10/15 minutes with a backup

(10:10):
centre and not really lose out as much, I think that is a big
plus and a big acquisition and Ithink Jonas Valanciunas will
definitely do that. People forget that he has been a
bona fide starter in the past. Obviously he's at the the tail
end of his career, but he can definitely offer have great
presence. He's a great Screener on the
pick and roll. He's an elite rebounder and his

(10:30):
touch around the rim is quite underrated.
It's a pretty solid finisher there too.
So we may lose out in the shooting and play making ability
and probably everything else that Jokic does.
But at the same time for 15 minutes to have a backup centre
they've been running with like DeAndre Jordan, who besides his
time at the Clippers hasn't really done much since.
And yeah, this is a big upgrade for them.

(10:52):
They get Tim Hardaway junior, who as we did mention last week,
he is a bit hot and cold, but atthe same time he offers some
depth on the bench. He can he can shoot the lights
out when he's hot. So that's another thing that
that can be offered as well. And then the most intriguing 1
is Cam Johnson. Now people are happy with this
trade because obviously Cam Johnson offers a lot on the

(11:13):
defensive end. However, I still think that
people quick to disrespect Michael Porter and his impact on
this Denver Nuggets team. I found that his spot up
shooting was a massive impact. It really upped Yokich's
assists. It really helped kind of space
the floor for other players. And Cam Johnson can shoot the
ball pretty efficiently, but again, not to the level that

(11:34):
Michael Porter has. But I think what that the thing
that Cam Johnson does offer is that defensive prowess and also
he's better at driving to the rack as well.
We saw that in Brooklyn that he was able to to drive to the ring
and he is a player that doesn't need to take as many shots as
Michael Porter junior. So all things considering, I
think it was the right move and the perfect sort of fit for this
Denver Nuggets team. And I think it really poises

(11:57):
them to really compete and go for an NBA championship once
again. When you have a player like
Yokich, it's really hard to say that this team can't make a
Western Conference finals if theseeding is correctly.
So I think look out for the Denver Nuggets.
They're one of the top, I think,offseason manoeuvres this year
as a franchise. So yeah, really, really happy
with their moves and kind of impressed with it as well.

(12:21):
Nuggets, they've blew me away this this offseason because we
could all see that they were really struggling with their
depth in their squad. And Nicole, Nicole Yokich alone,
he was just carrying the team and he was clearly the best
player in the world. And, you know, getting the
additions of Bruce Brown, who inthe championship run just looked

(12:42):
like such a good asset coming in, playing bigger than his, you
know, his body's playing up to aposition, playing power forward,
ball handling, you know, adds another dimension to this Denver
team that just seemed to be a 1-2 punch with Murray and
Yokich. And yeah, I really like the Tim
Hardaway pickup. I think it's sneaky good looking

(13:05):
at that roster. There's not much shooting on it.
So there was a need for shooting.
And don't be surprised if he gets 2025 minutes a night
because, you know, the looks that he'll get off your kids
being wide open. I wouldn't.
I wouldn't he made, he makes many, many role players look
good. So I wouldn't be surprised if
he's dropping 15 points here andthere.

(13:28):
And yeah, the Cam Johnson acquisition, I didn't see it
coming. I thought he was poised to be in
OK C or something like that. But to be able to flip MPJ who
has injury issues, has back issues.
No, Cam Johnson, not the best bill of health either.
But like you said, I think he's a more versatile player when the

(13:51):
shots are not going in from Porter junior, I think he really
struggles to make impact. And you know, you don't really
see him on the defensive end. But with Cam Johnson, like you
said, over the last few years, he's really turned into a lights
out shooter. You can see you can handle the
ball a bit, drives to the rack with intent.
Seen a few good slams from him as well.
So yeah, not to not to mention he's pretty solid defending on

(14:14):
the perimeter as well. So, yeah, I really liked their
moves and that Jonas Valanciunas1, you know, I was really hoping
that he just stuck around and, you know, he wasn't going to go
to Greece because, you know, like you said, I mean, DeAndre
Jordan, they're at the centre for a team like Denver in the
finals in, you know, 2025 just never made sense, you know, So

(14:40):
getting JV in there, I think he's, you know, had a lot last
season, had a lesser role. But I think he can definitely
play up to play the minutes if it's there.
If Yokish needs to rest, he would.
He's a double, double machine. And you would know from your
time at the Wizards. So yeah, I really like what
they've done and yeah, I'm happyto see where they go this year.

(15:03):
Yeah, I think for me that Johannes Valentinus that has 1-2
punch as well off the bench justseems to be a big issue for a
lot of teams in the future. I think going forward because
it's not already hard enough to defend Yokich, but then bringing
the player like Yonis Valanciunas, the gas doesn't
really fall off there too much. So this actually might be the

(15:25):
most underrated pickup of the four only because Yokich is so
good and when he's not on the floor, they lose out big time.
So if Yonis Valic shooters can be even half the player he was
when he was starting at the Raptors, then I think they're
really poised to do something special.
And I think they get a solid A for me as they're as their
offseason grading because of thefact that they were able to just

(15:48):
really improve their team, bringin some key role players and
also pinpoint the weaknesses that they have.
And without even diminishing players that they've got there
already, such as the young ones such as Christian Brown, sorry,
Peyton Pritchard and Julian Straw, that as well.
Not Preyton Pritchard, sorry, Peyton Watson and Julius Straw

(16:09):
that as well, who are three guysthat had a big leap last season.
Their minutes kind of improved as well.
And I think that they continue to be service suppliers for the
Nuggets and they need to be in in this season if they want to
seriously win the championship. So their development isn't going
to be diminished either. So for that, I'll give them an A

(16:30):
yeah. And.
The Denver Nuggets, they were upagainst the salary there as
well, whether it is the second apron or whatever it may be.
And they've manoeuvred within that constraint and you know,
look to have upgraded their roster, a few one year deals to
players that you know are going to make a solid impact for a
team without the most assets there to be active in the trade

(16:52):
market. I really like what they've done
and like I said before, just having Jokic there, he's getting
you to the finals and the piecesaround them could be enough to
push them over. So yeah, I really love what
they've done. And I'll have to second you with
an A nice. Moving on to the next team, and
probably the ones that have madethe least strides in free agency

(17:17):
pretty much have done nothing, like literally nothing we've
been heard or hearing about Jonathan Kaminga, whether he's
going to stay, go sign or trade.And as we mentioned at the start
of this episode and on the time of this recording, it appears as
though he's going to be still involved in the Golden State

(17:37):
Warriors rotation and be part ofthe roster.
They've announced that he won't be traded.
So if you want to count that as an acquisition in itself, given
the fact that he's been spoken about all free agency, then
that's I guess A plus for GoldenState, but a big minus for
Kaminga's development. I would have liked to see him in
another team. I feel like his talents are

(17:59):
being wasted in the Golden StateWarriors.
And they still haven't put pen to paper on Al Horford, where
every source and every media outlet is saying that he's
pretty much a lock for the Golden State Warriors.
But that's still not official yet.
But let's say that he has signed.
Given that there's been so much traction on it, doesn't really
change the trajectory of this team.

(18:21):
Probably not. Is literally A1 last ditch
other. All their players are very old
and don't think they'll be able to sustain an 82 win season and
also playoffs trying to play at their best rate.
So it's really up to them to seehow they can manage their
season. And you can't ever write the
Golden State Warriors off, especially when they have the

(18:44):
lux of the greatest shooter of all time.
They have one of the best ever role players in NBA history.
Whatever you think of him, whether you love or hate him,
Draymond Green is one of the best role players to ever play
in the NBA. And you still got Jimmy Butler,
who has a track record of carrying teams to NBA Finals
with the Miami Heat. And his playoff mentality is

(19:05):
second to none. So this team, I think their main
goal is to be able to just get aplayoff spot without needing to
guess, try too much in the season.
And what I mean try too much is just not overexert their energy
to a point when they get playoffs and sort of blow out.
If they have enough energy to gointo the playoffs and they are
in that in that top six, then you really can't rule them out

(19:28):
of making a deep run too. But I think the way the West is
constructed, the fact that they haven't really acquired anyone
that is young and fresh and still having Kaminga there,
don't really see what the GoldenState Warriors will do this
season that will equate to anything but at best a playing
spot for my for my thoughts. Yeah, there's not too much to

(19:52):
talk about with the Golden StateWarriors.
I mean, we're waiting for some cominga news, maybe a trade to
the Kings or to Phoenix. But it just looks like with the
news today that they're going tosit on their hands and pay the
man. And I get why they want to do
it. They.
We will have salary in the future.
You know, this team is coming towards an end.

(20:13):
You know, we've all lived through those moments where
Golden State was untouchable andeveryone was shooting like Steph
Curry. And we all love them for that.
But like you said, a playoff or bust mentality is what it is
right now. And, you know, as long as they
get there, you wouldn't bet against them because they've had
that, they've had that experience and, you know,

(20:35):
they've won couples back to backand they've been a force to be
reckoned with. But yeah, really, that can minga
trade And, you know, not resigning anyone, not drafting
anyone. It's yeah, it's it's not looking
too pretty for the Golden State Warriors.
Let me put it there. Yeah, I'll give them honestly

(20:56):
just AD only because they shouldhave made some more offseason
moves and I think that the team hasn't improved at all.
It's going to stay the same. A lot of rivalling Western
Conference teams have improved. The Denver Nuggets have made
strides. Some few other teams that we're
going to talk about have also made strides to improve.

(21:17):
And not to mention the other teams that even though they
haven't made massive improvements, are still where
they are. So I'll give them AD for that.
Yeah, and almost the 2nd that the, you know, the Warriors
they've set on their hands, they've not traded coming, they
haven't got assets, they haven'tgot free agents in.

(21:38):
It's hard to give them anything more than AD.
So for me, just because of the nature, like you said, they've
gotten worse by just sitting on their hands.
And it does look like the Warriors still need something in
the centre position. They still need things out there
to bolster their, you know, chances to make it past that
second round in the playoffs. So I'm going to go for D minus

(21:58):
here. All righty.
So in my opinion, the team that had the greatest offseason for
this year, and I think that it will be in a unanimous decision,
the Houston Rockets. We're going to talk about next
this team and I'm looking at thelist of all the things that
we've seen on my little list here.

(22:20):
This is the longest list by far.I'm actually just going to read
it out straight up just to show how good it is.
They resigned Steven Adams, theyresigned Aaron Holiday, Jeff
Green, Jabari Smith Junior on a cheeky 5 year, 120 million or so
extension Which? Is.
Criminally underrated. A lot of people love this, this
acquisition for them. They get Jay Sean Che on a new

(22:41):
deal, which I was surprised about because he didn't really
see the rotation, but he's on a new deal.
Fran Vleet's also on a new deal.They add Clint Capela on a three
year deal. They get Kevin Durant, which has
the wildest trade, a 17 trade. They get Dorian Finney Smith as
well, which the Lakers. Really.
Stuffed that one up. They get Joshua Kogi, who's a
serviceable defensive player as well, and I don't know too much

(23:04):
about JD Davidson, but they get him as well.
They obviously lose Cam Whitmoreto my Wizards.
They lose Jack Landale, the Aussie legend.
They lose Jalen Green, who I've got my harsh takes on Jalen
Green. I'll leave it for the Suns
analysis and Dylan Brookshire isprobably a bit of a blow there
losing him I think of all things.
But other than that, they've just extremely upgraded and

(23:25):
they've put themselves in prime position to be one of the best
teams in the Western Conference.A a lot for a top three seed in
my opinion. They obviously finished, I think
second or third seed last seasonand they've just gotten better.
And I don't know if it's the thethe no income state tax that
attracts free agents here, but they've managed to really

(23:47):
bolster their squad as well. And they still have an
unbelievable squad to begin with.
Amen Thompson is taking strides to become an athletic machine
and is just continuing to prove on the infestive end.
Alpha and St Goons on a pretty lengthy contract, but it is not
too expensive considering the player he is, and they get
someone that they've been looking to need and I think a

(24:09):
big loss for them in this year'splayoffs.
A bona fide superstar. Yeah, he's 3738 years of age,
but he is a clutch player. He's one of the best scorers to
ever grace the core. He's also in my DMS.
We always talk and all jokes aside, but it's Kevin Durant.
And for all jokes asides, they really needed a closer.

(24:31):
And Kevin Durant, if he's healthy, if he can ride out the
whole season, is definitely going to be an elite closing
player for them. And that was the hole that
they're missing. They also get a really decent
backup in Clint Capela 2, who I think is an extremely underrated
acquisition. We forget the times that he was
at the Rockets pairing up with James Harden.
He did some amazing things. So maybe when he puts on on the

(24:52):
Houston Rockets jersey again, hegets all that secret energy back
because I don't think he's been the same since.
But I just, I'm just very impressed with the Rockets.
I'm blown away by sort of the acquisitions.
I think it's the right time. I've got to give credit to their
GM Raphael Stone, who came in and pretty much teared the team
down. And six years later, they're a
contending team again. So nothing but praise for the

(25:14):
Houston Rockets. So here's the Rockets
undoubtedly in my eyes and probably had the best offseason
to date. The the additions just
strengthen their ready deep roster and they've added quality
in the positions with Jabari Smith.
I heard that he was one one of the only salaries around that 20

(25:36):
year 2020 a mil year slot, whichis crazy to me.
Another thing to do with the, you know, financial restrictions
of the new market. But it's good to also see Steve
Adams get a three year extension.
Super underrated when he plays normally thinks about it,
normally talks about it, but he's just a cool guy, good
culture guy, big screen. Exactly the player you need to

(26:00):
keep the locker room in check that Jeff Grey, this guy, he's
just the ultimate vet. I know we talk about having vets
all the time, but he's he's had a few stints there in Rockets
prior. Yes, yes, yes.
So him coming back there maybe to get a bit bittersweet chip
that, you know, that might be awesome and you'd like you said

(26:23):
Jase, Jase and Tay, I thought hewas out.
But yeah, that signed him up too.
So yeah, with the addition, the one of my favourite ones here is
the dying Finney Smith one, because it was just unexpected.
I knew the Lakers needed a play like that and for the Rockets to
just snap him up. He just seems like the perfect
fit for their culture and replacing that Dylan Brooks dog

(26:46):
mentality. And yeah, to be honest, I know
Jalen Green is a minor loss for me.
I never rated him like that. I thought that he can make
shots, but he's not a team firstplayer.
So the loss of him for one of the best scorers of all time,
Kevin Durant, you snap your fingers at that every day.
One of the worst half course offences in the playoffs, you're

(27:09):
getting a player that's a walking bucket.
Doesn't matter. People talk about his defence,
is this defence is that. But there's one thing we know
for certain, when he's near thathoop, he's putting in the
bucket. So KD big in the squad, they
didn't really give up much. They didn't lose 567 first round

(27:30):
picks like some of the old crazytrades.
I know he's an ageing style, buthe's got the pieces around him
and I think he could push them to a finals berth.
So I really love what they've done here, I can't lie.
And yeah, it's, it's going to begreat seeing them top two, top
three in the West for sure. Yeah, a plus for me.

(27:50):
I think it's unanimously they had the best offseason there.
And yeah, it's just really impressive that they were able
to sort of, again, like the Denver Nuggets, fill in the
pieces that they need. I was never high on Jalen Green.
I think he's a shot tracker and not someone that unfortunately
in a team that has a lot of depth and a lot of I guess

(28:11):
players that can really make a. Push fits that, sort of.
Role there maybe in Phoenix, maybe has a chance of again, I'm
not going to talk too much aboutJaylene Green, but an A plus for
me. The Rockets are poised to be one
of the main contenders in the Western Conference and that
extremely excites me. Yeah, and they cut the email

(28:32):
Doka acquisition few season back.
I think it's just a massive, massive in.
You can see what he's building there.
His Boston team played the same way and I think it's just a
recipe for success. Now he's got the pieces and I'm
ready for the Rockets to make noise.
Like you said, A+ all day. Love it.
Next team and I think another sort of playoff or bust or even

(28:56):
championship ship or bust team, the Los Angeles Clippers, who
are just going all in on veteranplayers.
They sign X Wizard legend Bradley Beal who flopped at
Phoenix. So glad he did.
We're getting good assets because of that now.
But he signs on a 2 year, $11 million deal, which for Bradley
Beal, whatever you think of him,the player that he was at the

(29:20):
Wizards was very serviceable, anelite scorer, someone that can
also play off ball. Obviously his motor on defence
wasn't as good at the Suns and sort of faded out before the
days of I guess after the days of I guess when he was teaming
up with John Wall. But a Bradley Beal on a 2 year
11,000,000 contract is a better Bradley bill than a than a four

(29:42):
year 200 and something million with a no trade course.
And I think for that alone the acquisition is extremely
underrated. He's someone that's still scored
18 points per game at the Phoenix Suns.
He's obviously going to be a third or fourth option.
But looking at them getting rid of Norman Powell, here's a great
direct replacement for him. Norman Powell was obviously

(30:03):
going to be asking for a lot of money and the Clippers weren't
willing to resign him there. So as much as of that is a loss,
I think Bradley Bill is the probably the best replacement
they could have got for him, especially with that contract
tied in. They get John Collins, which is
a sneaky underrated trade there.I think Josh, Josh Collins or
John Collins, sorry, is going tobe a very serviceable member and

(30:25):
someone that can offer paint presents.
And we forget that he was the second option in a team that
went to the Eastern Conference finals when he was back at the
Atlanta Hawks. So adding in him, adding him in
has is extremely underrated. They get Chris Paul, which is
sort of a throwback, probably last ride run for Chris Paul,
throwing it back with the Clippers.

(30:47):
And this might be a chance for him to win the championship.
But he still was a starting point guard for the Spurs.
And let's not forget that he played all 82 games last season.
So he's definitely got a lot of durability, Durability,
especially considering his age, being almost 40 years old as
well. He's going to be very
serviceable. So don't just think that because

(31:07):
he's on the older end. He's doing AI.
Guess a return story with the Clippers that he won't offer
anything. And then Brook Lopez is what I
like here on a two years, $18 million contract.
It's quite, quite solid. And I think they do need a big
man to sort of fill up with Zubach.
But Brook Lopez is an extremely underrated defender.
He's an unbelievable 3 point shooter and I do like the re

(31:30):
signing. Lastly, of Nicholas Batum.
I think he offers a great culture and he's a very strong
mentality player. If you go back and watch the
gold medal documentary, you can see that he was the spiritual
leader for that French team thatwent to two a final gold medal
matches. They didn't obviously win
because they took on a powerhouse U.S. team, but it was

(31:50):
definitely off the back of Nicola Batums sort of veteran
presence and his leadership thatthat got them to to that
position in the 1st place. So I think they've done a
really, really good job here. They do resign Harden as well,
which I can't forget there. He's making a lot of money and I
think he's pretty proud of that too.
So I think in this two year window that Harden has agreed

(32:11):
to, it's going to be all or nothing for them.
I do like the signings, but as Isound excited, I, I look back
and I think there's so many other really good Western
Conference teams in this, in this league.
And it's, it's really hard to say if the Clippers can really
improve off that. Obviously they, they had a
decent run last year and they sort of improved.

(32:32):
But yeah, it's really hard to tell whether they can really
improve or not. But I think if this team stays
healthy, their experience can prevail and they can potentially
make some noise in the Western Conference.
The LA Clippers are, I do reallylike what they've done this
offseason. I, I tend to look at their
roster and I think they've got alot of good old vets.

(32:56):
You know, you're looking at the Chris Pauls of this world, Brook
Lopez, Bradley, Bill even now and James Harden.
And I feel like it all falls down to how thick why is going
to be. I mean, a lot of the team's
ability to perform in playoffs comes to Kauai because you know,
the lists I've just given you there, they're all play playoff
busts if you think about it. And yeah, I really like how deep

(33:21):
their team is, how deep the teamlooks.
And like you said, I think it's a two year runway for this
roster because, you know, they've got some good deals in.
I really like how John Collins comes from basically Norman
Powell gives a different look for the team, someone that can
stretch the floor, someone can play centre as well.

(33:41):
And Brook Lopez, although I think he's coming towards the
end of his career, I think he can be a different option there
to Zuba choose in the paint aiding, whereas Brook Lopez can
bump away from three. And I think Ty Liu has shown the
ability to always give differentlooks in playoffs, which makes
them so dangerous whether they get there and if they've got a

(34:02):
full roster, they can compete. And I've seen crazy six to seven
game series with the Clippers. They've just not been able to go
over the line A-Team like this. You know, if we're talking about
the East, you're saying the top two, top three potentially.
But in the West, like you said, it's it's really dogged out
there and it's hard to see how far they go.

(34:25):
But I guess the Sky's the limit for the team if they all remain
fit because you know, a Bradley Bill, he might except a more let
ball and less ball and hand roll, you know, more 3 and D
like he was at the Wizards or Chris Paul just facilitating or
whatever it may be. These players want to win.

(34:46):
They're going to sacrifice and Ican see them being competitive.
But like you said in the West, who knows?
But I really like the additions of we've done here.
Yeah, it's going to be very interesting to see what their
closing lineup will be, especially a lot of those
players look to be strong closes.
I think that they will somehow find Chris Ball to close matches

(35:10):
just because I think he offers another ball handling option and
just having those shooters around.
It's just going to be very interesting.
And I think coaching is going tobe very important how Ty Lue
manages all these older players and their egos.
Is Bradley Beal willing on some nights to play maybe 20 minutes
a game? Is he willing to to start and

(35:32):
not closeout games? Because I do think that Bradley
Beal can start, but do I think that he can play crunch time
minutes? I don't know, especially from
what I've seen in the past with his kind of clutchiness and
whatnot. And what do they do with with
Brook Lopez, Zubach and John Collins?
I know John Collins is more of afour, but how do they sort of

(35:54):
work around? Do they even play lineups with
Zubach and Brook Lopez just shutting down the paint?
I, I, I'm very confused as to how they're going to sort of fit
all these pieces together. However, I still do like the
idea of having all these pieces around the one thing I'll also.
Say is that? Can they really trade these
pieces off for any picks? Do they decide to sort of shut

(36:17):
this down once it becomes a failed experiment or if it
becomes a failed experiment? There's a lot of factors here.
And I think the only answer thatI have is that they're just
really trying to gun for one more championship before they
literally set up shop. And I think it's really
unfortunate that they really showed that they lost the trade
with the OKC Thunder. And it's crazy how when that

(36:40):
trade happened, no one would have thought that they would
have thought that the Clippers would have been a contending NBA
championship team for multiple seasons.
And before that, they only made one Western Conference finals.
And it's just crazy to really tothink that, especially
considering the trades they've made and the players they've had

(37:01):
in this team. But again, one last go.
It's hard to really believe thatthey can do something only
because of their recent track record and.
Yeah, for that. Alone, I have to give them AABB
minus. I'd love to give them a higher,
a higher rating, but again, I just don't.
I'm looking into the future and I'm thinking what happens if

(37:23):
this team fails? And I think if you look at that,
you, you can't not be surprised if this was a lower rating.
I feel with the Clippers, like you said, there's a lot of
pieces to the puzzle, but we don't know what that puzzle will
look like. But I feel that through the
regular season, they're going tobe experimenting with different

(37:45):
lineups. You're going to have players,
vets out. You know, Kawhi is definitely
going to miss at least half those games like he usually
does. So I guess it really just
depends on playoffs and what playoff team you get what how
healthy you are. Can they afford to do that, do
you think? Well, over the last few years,
you know, it hasn't shown that they've got that ability to

(38:08):
bring it all together. So I wouldn't bet on it.
However, you know, through with the age of Chris Paul, with the
age of Brook Lopez, you know, who have had injuries in the
past and James Harden is no cleaner bill of health either.
And obviously, not to mention Kawhi, you can't see him
playing, you know, more than 60 games in the regular season
together. So in saying that it's all

(38:31):
playoffs or bust for this team, I don't think they'll have the
ability to trade anything off ifanything goes S given the length
of the contracts, one year, 2 year deals.
However, I feel that it is an under it's undervalued contract
that Bill is on and in that he'sa player that may not be the

(38:52):
same bill as he was averaging 30points, but he can have you
average you 1520 points easily. And it's just interesting to see
how that works with Harden. But I feel like the team can get
it together and with the additions without having much
salary space, not having many assets to trade.

(39:13):
They've improved the roster for me.
And I think that history plays apart when giving these ratings.
If the Clippers, you know, seeing that they had PG, see
they had Kawhi and then failed, but I've got to give them a
minus because they've worked within the constraints and I
actually really like the move that they've done.
That's a big call. I think that's probably the the

(39:35):
biggest disagreement that I think we're going to have today
because yeah, I just, I know, I know what you're saying, but I
just don't really see how this thing can improve, especially
with the landscape of the of theWestern Conference.
Like it looks on paper to be great in terms of the
acquisitions, but does it reallyequate to, to what they want to
do? And that's win a championship.

(39:57):
That's probably the question that I have for them.
Yeah, and I I get that. And I can see where you're
coming from because there's a push them over the top.
You know, maybe they needed another star in there to do
that. But they do have Kawhi, they do
have James Harden, they do have a former All Star and Bill.
And then you've got them veteranpresence in CP3.

(40:19):
You know, Lopez is no slouch either.
He's won a chip. These players together, it might
just be the perfect mix to somehow getting them over the
line. I would have bet on them to get
to a final. I would say that maybe their
limit is a semi final, but you know how the playoffs is.
If one team has a good bill of health, one team is missing one
or two players, it could be the difference between winning a

(40:42):
championship or not. So I go where you're coming
from, I really do. But I think their lineup has a
lot of versatility and a lot of options in this.
I think they'll be a fun team. They're not going to know what
they're going to throw out everynight, but I can't wait to see
what they put on for. Yeah, fair enough.
I'm interested to see it as well.
I think they're going to be a very intriguing team in the

(41:02):
West, that's for sure. We're going up to the biggest
team in the NBA. Annoys me to talk about this
team because obviously they get so much coverage around the
around the league and whatever they do is is on the spotlight
and it's the Los Angeles Lakers who look signing that three
extension for Luca Doncic that happened recently.

(41:23):
So three year 165,000,000. I think that's a massive win for
them. Most of the stuff that they've
done happened last year mid season with this trade with the
Dallas Mavericks. They get a nice skinny looking
Luca who looks unbelievable postseason, pre season.
Whether that's going to happen or stay the same as post season
is is another question. But I think he's got a different

(41:44):
chip on his shoulder. The fact that he got traded to
another team was probably just as much as a shock to him as it
was to to everyone else. So him is going to look like a
fresh player. He's a new signing for this
season. They have him for three years.
And if you have someone like Luka Doncic on your team, you're
pretty much poised to make a bigplayoff push.

(42:04):
There's a lot of talks on on what's going to happen with
LeBron James. He's been sitting down with
Yokich's agent on a yacht and a lot of people are saying that he
might move, but I might, I mightbeg to differ.
I might think that he's trying to probably lure Nicola Yokich
in. But again, LeBron James is still
there 41 or 42 years age of age.He hasn't announced that it's

(42:27):
going to be his last year. And I think when when a player
like LeBron James decides to retire, he's going to let
everyone know about it and it's going to be sort of a farewell
tour, exactly like the late and great Kobe Bryant did.
So another season of LeBron James, they're going to manage
him really I think heavily this year, especially now that
they've got Luka Doncic as well.I really do like the addition of

(42:50):
Jake Laravia. I think that's a really
underrated signing. They're signing for two years,
12 million, and I think he was areally good player for the
Memphis Grizzlies. We didn't see too much of him
and Sacramento, obviously, because of the trade.
But I think Jake Laravia is a very good player and I think
he'll offer a lot for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The one thing that I will criticise is the loss of Dorian

(43:10):
Finney Smith, which you spoke about.
I think they should have been able to give them give him the
right money and sign him up there and he would have been
very important for them. But they do pick up Marcus Smart
as well from the Wizards. We wave him and buy out his
contract and and Marcus Smart gets picked up there.
Now it's not the defensive player of the year Marcus Smart
was at Boston, but still someonethat can be an elite defensive

(43:32):
player, take on probably one of their best, best, better guards
and also offer a bit of offence that they probably need as well.
Look, he's probably not going toplay a crazy amount of minutes,
but he might instil a bit of a defensive culture and his modem
might be infectious to the team as well.
And then adding Deandra Aiden onAI guess free agent sign up

(43:53):
after being waved by your Blazers.
It's still a great pick up and there were a lot of gaps in in
that centre position. They obviously wanted Mark
Williams. They couldn't get him due to the
injury concerns and sort of, I guess not him being able to pass
his medical, but they get a really serviceable centre.
And DeAndre Aiden, for all the criticism that he's copped, if
he's someone that is locked in, he has a big motor.

(44:17):
I think you'll be able to do a lot of good things for the
Lakers and a team like the Lakers and a franchise like the
Lakers will not allow you to play 2 with no effort.
And he'll get a lot of media coverage, a lot of exposure.
So how he's sort of takes this role as as a Laker can be either
a detriment or a massive benefitfor him.

(44:37):
Fans can either really, really love him and he'll be on all
media channels being the saviouror he can be very hated there.
We forget that he is a number one pick in the same draught as
Luca Doncic. So again, they've got top 2
picks in their team as well. And I think with a team with
Luca and LeBron, you can't ever rule them out of playoffs.

(44:57):
And like the West is so good too.
So whether they make a deep run is really hard to say, but you
can't you can't go past Luca andLeBron.
So I think the Lakers, and hopefully this is the last time
I speak about how this franchisedo some good moves.
But I still don't think, and it's like the Clippers, it's
going to be enough to really make some crazy noise in the in

(45:20):
the Western Conference. But as long as they make
playoffs, their fans are going to be around, they're going to
stay relevant. And I think right now the Lakers
are a better when they're sort of relevant rather than them
being the team that they were towards the back end of Kobe's
career and still competing. So I think that's a good thing
in itself. It's great they got the Luca

(45:43):
Dodcic extension out the way. I mean, it's obvious that he is
going to be the face of the franchise and it will be Luca's
team. But I also don't see any sort of
LeBron getting traded things happening.
I I find it's all posturing. It's probably to put an image
just maybe to put them back in the media.

(46:03):
But LeBron is not getting traded.
I don't think Lakers want to be the team that trade him.
And I think it would come back down to the end of the season
where he makes a move if need be.
But it it just it, it amazes me to looking and watching LeBron
here in at 30 years, how old is he now, 40?

(46:24):
41 I think. Bloody old.
He's unreal. He just does everything.
I mean, in a playoff game, he'llaverage you 2010 and 10 almost.
And to be doing that at 40 plus years old is just remarkable.
When the more I see him play, the more he just kind of goes up
my GOAT rating. And you know, I was never a

(46:44):
LeBron lover, but I definitely respect to play his and the
ability to always, you know, make have his body right and
give it 100%. And he has been an underdog at
times too. So yeah, it's the Lakers.

(47:04):
They do have some quality in their team but losing Dorian
Finney Smith, who might have been the only player who could
guard a player in in front of them is a huge loss.
And I know DeAndre Aiden's come in and Aiden is not going to
solve all your centre issues. But the one thing I can tell you

(47:26):
is he is a scoring punch. His post game for a centre is
one of the best, has one of the best touches.
But yeah, just pairing him with Jake La Ravia, like Luca
Dontich, Rui Hochimura, Austin Reeves, I don't see much defence
there. So yeah, I really like the idea

(47:48):
of the Marcus Smart two years, but it's safe to say we haven't
seen that Marcus Smart in two, three seasons now.
Hopefully proves me wrong. And I like the heart and grit
type of player that he hears, and I'm sure Lakers need that,
but I don't think they've hit everything that they needed.
But in saying that, getting DeAndre Ayder for free basically

(48:11):
off the market is a win. But yeah, I don't see past
losing Dorian Finney Smith in this one.
I think he probably is just as important as Ayton, if not more
for what they are. And yeah, I would have to give
him BB minus rating. I'll give him AC plus I think

(48:33):
it's that is solid offseason, but losing Finney Smith is a big
loss. But they they got Luka Doncic
and I think before the Luka Doncic re signing, I would have
gave him a lot lower score, but that's a massive jump as well.
And they fill up that hole at centre and it was really gifted
to them. But at the same time, they were
the ones that ended up putting pen to paper on DeAndre Hayden

(48:57):
and getting his signature. So for that alone, I will give
them AC plus and any team with LeBron James.
And I agree wholeheartedly with you.
I'm not the biggest LeBron James, but as he continues to
sort of close his career, he continues to get closer to being
the greatest player that's ever lived and played basketball.
And anyone that sort of says he's the GOAT, it's really hard

(49:20):
to argue against that. Although Michael Jordan, I think
to me it still is, but it doesn't mean that I wouldn't
have a conversation. Maybe 3-4 years ago I would have
probably not but I at this pointof time and seeing what he's
doing at 41 years of age it's definitely worth a conversation
and having in there. I think he also re signed or
took his player option as well is another big plus too.

(49:43):
I would like to see LeBron Jamesstay another year for the Lakers
and do take a pay cut and I think that will open up a lot of
opportunities for the Lakers to compete for a championship.
But I do respect that he's putting himself 1st and his
family and his life first as well.
So it's not it's not something to criticise taking more money.
I would have been one to say that a lot of players are

(50:04):
selfish, but given the landscapeof the NBA and how these
businesses will trade you while you're in bed or while you're
playing a game, then just take your money if I'm honest.
Just wanted to take a moment to thank you guys for tuning in to
another episode of the Huddle Within podcast.
If you do enjoy episodes like this or this episode
specifically, be sure to leave acomment and a five star review

(50:26):
wherever you do get your podcasts.
It'd be also great if you could like and subscribe wherever you
do get your podcasts so we can continue to show this out to
people that see sports exactly the way that you do.
But without further ado, let's get straight back into it.
So the next team is the Memphis Grizzlies, who I was very happy
that they didn't make or they did make the playoffs.

(50:48):
They got bounced out in the first round because we were able
to get. That first round pick I love.
Importing my Wizards of bias into into.
These talks but that made it us get Will Riley.
But the Memphis Grizzlies, who are a very strange organisation
at the moment, when JA is healthy and when he's not being
very controversial, they are a top three seed.

(51:09):
And I don't know whether that's because JA Moran is an
unbelievable player or he's justreally the face of their
franchise and he really just elevates the the organisation,
but. When he's not playing.
It's extremely a big struggle. They struggle to really get near
the playoffs and they just find themselves in a position where

(51:30):
they they underwhelm and they underachieve and this season
they go on and and resign some few players.
Santiel Dama is a really nice resigning they're getting for
three years 50 million. I think that's a great pick up.
I like the Ty Jerome pick up. He proved to be a contending 6
man last year, made a massive jump from previous seasons.
I like that. I like the idea of having Cam

(51:52):
Spencer don't know too much about how much he can really
improve the team, but another serviceable role player there.
I do like that they traded up toget CJ Coward or whatever his
name is, Cedric, Cedric, Cedric Cedric Coward, who was meant to
be a Portland Trailblazer. But we'll get to get to your

(52:12):
Portland Blazers soon and draught picks and everything
else. But they pick him up and he
seems to be a decent player. I don't really know too much
about him, but they must be really high on him to get him in
in the 10th pick. So they get him as well.
They pick up Kentavious CaldwellPope and they also get the
legend Jacques Londe as well. And KCB has a chance to to

(52:35):
really become a a decent role player again and sort of make up
for his terrible season at Orlando.
And having Jar around this mightopen up a better kind of
position for him as well. But I think this team hasn't
really done much to for me to say that they're going to be a
significant team, especially losing Desmond Bain as well to
the Orlando Magic. It doesn't seem as though
they've improved significantly either.

(52:58):
And they're just at a point where, OK, they're keeping Jar
and they're keeping Triple J fora long time, but are they really
going to compete in this, in this Western Conference?
I think they won't. And it's pretty concerning for
me. Yeah, Memphis definitely is one
of the weird ones in the NBA because when you look through

(53:18):
their roster, they got so many young, exciting players that,
you know, in a couple of years may end up really forming a
strong team. But as it stands now, it's
really John Moran a bust at thisstage.
They need John Moran to John Moran to be healthy, need him to
play. And if he doesn't play, they're

(53:40):
just not level of a playoff team, as simple as that.
I really like John Jackson. He's a based on defensive end
and that's probably the most tradable asset that you have
now. But it's just really depends on
what Memphis think their timeline is losing Bane is no

(54:00):
doubt ably a loss. But with him in the in the team,
him with Moran, with John Jackson, they're not going to
win you a fine a Western Conference final.
And as good as he is, they have thought that, you know, instead
of going into cup cup hell, thengoing to go ahead and get some

(54:20):
picks. So look, I might not agree with
that, but Memphis Grizzlies still do have quite a long
runway. But the longer I see John Moran
injured, the less inclined they am to believe that they'll go
anywhere with this team. But yeah, to touch on that, the
Cedric Howard pick looks to be quite a solid pick, 6 foot 6

(54:43):
shooting guards, more forward, who is very, very similar in the
way he plays to Desmond Bayne. And I'm guessing that really
hope that he can eventually elevate into that role and
become that type of player because with him out the team,
there's definitely a hole in theoffence because he was such a

(55:04):
prominent shooter. So yeah, it's very interesting
to see what they'll do. But with the additions, I really
like the KCP edition. He didn't join for too much and
I really think he is one of those players that fit the
culture and I think in that alone you might see an increase
in how he plays next season and I'd like to see it because he
can be quite impactful player. The Ty Jerome move is also quite

(55:28):
a sneaky good move as well. Reason being is since Tyus Jones
I haven't had that studying presence off the bench and as
good as Scotty Pippen junior looks in that point guard
minutes, he, you know, is a stepdown in terms of both ends of
the floor. So I'd love to see Ty drone get
more more games, more minutes and see how it develops.
And I'm sure there'll be some point in season where Jazz out

(55:50):
and he'll get a chance to start and see what he really can do.
And the Jock 1 kind of insignificant at this point, but
he can chop out, get some good minutes there, here and there.
Athletic centre, maybe somethingthey've been crying out for.
I know they've been having issues with Brandon Clark and a
few of the other big men there. So yeah, it'll be interesting to
see what his minutes look like. Probably nothing too

(56:14):
significant, but with the Santi Al Dalma, I really like this
move as well. 50 mil feels like almost underpaid for the type of
player that he is. And even seeing him in the, you
know, fee by he he really can shoot the ball and he is a
dynamic option as well as havinghim in the squad.
I I do think he is quite important going forward and for

(56:36):
some reason I always thought he was older than what he is, but
he's still quite young 2423 something like that, isn't he?
Yeah. So yeah, with Memphis, like I
said, they have a long runway. I still think their squad is
quite young, but I think it's definitely a, you know, stage to
retool and, you know, build towards the future.

(56:57):
So for me, given my ranking, I'll probably go for AC Plus.
I do like, and someone that we haven't spoken about, Jalen
Wells, I think he's gonna take amassive leap this season.
So they're probably hoping that if not Cedric Coward, definitely
Jalen Wells can try to fill in the boots that Desmond Bain has
done, maybe not in the same sortof level or skill type, but

(57:19):
definitely in another way to really bolster up an option for
them. And we forget about the players
of JJ Jackson and Vince Williams, who in that year that
jar didn't play and before Jayden Wells was there, they
were pretty good as well. And Eddie's going to obviously
be injured for the start of the season, but he's someone that's
also in his second year that candefinitely improve as well.

(57:41):
So if you add in those players, that might be something for the
future. But just because we haven't
really seen much in terms of their improvements or roster
improvements, I'm going to give them AC minus and only because
there wasn't crazy acquisitions.They did lose Bane, but it is a
win keeping players like Aldama in your in your rostar in your

(58:03):
squad and also adding and extending Jaren Jackson Junior
too, who maybe in the future might not be part of their
timeline but can definitely be apiece in a trade as well as
things go go South there. So I'll give them AC plus as
well. Yeah.
And yeah. And to add on to that, they do

(58:23):
have those young assets. And like I was saying, they do
have a long runway there. And I think the thing that we
don't really look at or talk about is they needed that
flexibility going forward. You can't be tied down to John
around Jared Jackson and Bane. It was just not going to work.
And that flexibility with a few picks for the future, maybe a

(58:45):
free agent comes in, maybe they go ahead and trade for maybe
your friends like that. If something doesn't happen in
the future, you never know what it is.
But to have that flexibility andto still have that young core,
like you said, Jalen Wells, you know, first team or rookie, you
know, they've got players there that mean business.
And Jared Jackson, GG Jackson, sorry, he can be a hell of a

(59:09):
player. He's still only 20.
See second or third season. And if he starts getting more
minutes, he could really turn into that three and D type
player that could be one hell ofa force to be reckoned with.
So yeah, again, probably C plus is a bit generous, but I really
do understand what they're trying to do there are they are

(59:30):
in A rocky stage, but I think they have the young assets and
they will improve. Sweet.
We're moving on to shout out to Joseph.
He's Minnesota Timberwolves who resigned Julius Randle and Naz
Reid on some pretty lengthy contracts.
Unfortunately, that resulted in them losing the to Alexander

(59:51):
World Cup to the Atlanta Hawks, which we talked about, and that
is going to be a massive loss for them.
However, people are starting to have a look at their rookies
from last season who are going to their second year, the likes
of Rob Dillingham, who is probably there to sort of be
mentored by Mike Conley. But the one that I'm very
intrigued about is Trey Shannon Junior, who I think is going to

(01:00:15):
take a massive jump and his roleis going to improve
exponentially and. There's a player in that guy, he
is a motor on defence. They also have another player
there, if you can remind me, that is also a pretty solid
rookie. Joe's probably going to kill us
for not for not knowing the clock.
Is it is. It Jalen Clark is the one.
That's the player. He managed to play some pretty

(01:00:37):
decent minutes in the Western Conference finals.
They threw him out there to try,I guess, offer some some
defensive stops or find a way tosort of shut down Shay, which is
really impossible to do. But the fact that they
experimented with that shows that the Timberwolves have a lot
of belief in their young playerssuch as such as him and also,
yeah, Taryn Shannon junior. So we can sit there and say

(01:01:00):
Nikhil is a big loss, but we canalso look to the positives of
another young core coming in andsort of trying to fill that role
as well. And adding Nas Reed is any, any
can we know in the basketball perspective what he can do and
stuff. But the impact that this man has
on a city is also, I think, veryvaluable.
People love him. He is glorified in in Minnesota.

(01:01:23):
So being able to have him for anextra five years, this man is a
Teen Wolf legend. And I think that's extremely
underrated in itself. To have someone that is beloved
by the city and by the organisation is very underrated.
And I think it's going to give them such a massive boost.
It's almost like getting a new signing, like losing Nazreed

(01:01:44):
would have been such a big blow to a lot of Tim Wolves fans who
really love him. And I and I see that and you see
that through Joseph. Obviously he was our our friend
as well that has a Nazareed shirt.
He also mentioned, and you guys can have a look at that, that
podcast episode we wrote together that there's a lot of
bars in Minnesota that have Nazareed drinks and everything

(01:02:05):
and they've got menu items to his name.
And even like I watch wrestling and you always see this banner
of Naz Reed and in like these major wrestling events.
So he's a massive presence and he offers more than just
basketball. And I think that's huge.
As I've mentioned too. And going on basketball, you've
got Julius Randle there, who questionably didn't look as good
in the OK C series, but in that Lakers series was pretty

(01:02:28):
unbelievable. And also in that Golden State
series, look the power as well. You get another season of of
Rudy Gobert, who for the first time in a very long time, I
think since he's been an NBA player, didn't compete in your
basket. So it's going to be very fresh
coming in as well. And I'm pretty sure they did
pick up another French centre who led the league or LED the

(01:02:50):
their college or the draftees inin shop blocking as well.
So that's something to really look out for there.
That's another player that can fit into the development system
with I guess the Minnesota Timberwolves.
And yeah, maybe they didn't pickup a crazy free agent, maybe
they lost Mikhil Alexander Walker, but getting in Randall,
getting in even Ingles as a veteran presence, you may not

(01:03:11):
even step on the floor. But for the culture, I think
they're poised to do to do big things and stay kind of in that
same position, competing for a Western Conference finals.
And if they have Anthony Edwards, the Sky's the limit for
that organisation. So I think the Timberwolves are
haven't really upgraded, but I don't think they've lost as bad
as people would think. The Timberwolves just a solid

(01:03:36):
team on both ends and they showed it all through last year.
I guess the real question is, asit always has been, is can you
win with Rudy Gobert and on the defensive end, it's never been a
question what type of play he isdefensive player of the year,
multiple years, all defence typeof play.
He's he's unreal on the defensive end, but it just

(01:03:59):
almost seems as though the Wolves do need to make a change
there. And with that, that still in
Baron Jay, who looks to be a good centre and one for the
future. It may eventually end that time
with Gobert to get some assets to get a different player in and
give us a different look becausethe Wolves they I feel like

(01:04:22):
they've maintained where they were from last year.
I feel like the loss of nickel will be one.
However, you can't pay the man the same that the Hawks did, but
they're going to be around the same that 6th 5th seed like get
to the semi finals. But I still think that there's

(01:04:42):
still a move out of here and youknow, like you said, the signing
of Nazreed. He he really is Unicorn in the
way you watch him play, the way he shoots.
He just shoots like one of thoseguys just pulling up, wanking it
in your face. He really is a great player to
watch and I can understand why the city loves him because I'm
not so so sure about you, but I would love to have him in

(01:05:05):
Portland. Just watch watch him hoop.
He just seems like a fun thing and it'd.
Be a dream for me. Exactly right.
And I was always one big for theJulius Randall train just
because it was underappreciated in the Knicks.
He can ball handle. He can as shown in the playoffs.

(01:05:25):
He can score buckets too. He was their go to guy in one of
the series there as well. So the integrating of Dave
Vincenzo as well as Randall in their second season there, I
think it is now. I think that's a big plus.
They're only going to get better.
And like you said, they've got afew good youngies with
Dillingham being the main one there who can definitely add to

(01:05:46):
the squad. So look, I I really like what
they've done. They haven't.
They don't have all the leavers to make any drastic signings.
But who knows mid season when someone may be waved, I'm sure
they can pick up a role player that will help him.
They're definitely a playoff team for me.
We'll never forget what Julius Randle did when we saw him live

(01:06:09):
in Toronto. 5 threes in 6 minutes in the first quarter.
It's very right in our face. Right in our face, too.
It was. I couldn't believe it.
Yeah, incredible stuff. So from that alone, I think
that's where probably your Julius Randall session comes
with. And I think if anyone saw that
live, they would probably feel the same.
So for me, I will give them AB minus.

(01:06:33):
And the reason why I give them AB minus is because they keep
players that they need. They don't panic and sign the
kill accident underwater to. To a big deal.
They they have confidence in theplayers that they have,
especially the young players, which is something that I
respect. And I think that if they take
the leap that I suspect they will, then that hole would be

(01:06:55):
filled seamlessly. Yes, they probably didn't pick
up a signing there. They were probably looking to
get someone like Kevin Durant. But at the same time, when you
have a player like Anthony Edwards who's a generational
talent, you're always going to think that they are poised to be
a good playoff team. And we can't knock back their
coach as well. Probably one of the best coaches
in the league in Chris Finch too.
So I think they're going to be fine.

(01:07:16):
I think if they just make the top 6, they're going to be a
match up night fair for anyone. And I think the Western
Conference doesn't matter who which seed you finish, I think
as long as you're in that top six, anyone can sort of win it.
And that's where I suspect the Wolves will be.
Exactly right. They didn't freak out and pay
Alexander Walker too much at all, really.

(01:07:38):
And they're really trusting the young guys and Jalen Clark and
Terrence Swiss Junior. So yeah, I really like what
they've done. I mean they haven't made any
groundbreaking moves but gettingBaron Jay out of steel in my
opinion for me gives me AB minusthere.
Nice, we'll move on to the next team.

(01:08:00):
Who I think I'm wishing that they were in the Eastern
Conference. Hopefully with the expansion,
they might be one of the teams and also the team that I just
spoke about the team wars or we just spoke about the New Orleans
Pelicans, the guys next to our list.
And this team is just, I think riddled with bad luck.
I don't know if it's the voodoo that's going on in New Orleans.

(01:08:20):
We're we're big Saints fans. So we're familiar with the city.
We understand the voodoo that's happened there.
I'm pretty sure that city is cursed because of the the lack
of success their their sporting teams has had.
And I think Pelicans here's another massive example right
down the South. So they could be an east or a
Western Conference team. They are fit in the in the West.
And I think if they were in the East, we'd be having a whole

(01:08:42):
different conversation about thePelicans because they have some
really solid players. They resign Herb Jones, which is
a massive win. Trey Murphy the third made a
massive increase in in his load and also made a massive jump in
his career. And also they still have Zion
Williamson, who if healthy. And this is the the biggest if

(01:09:03):
in the NBA, in my opinion, I think ever.
If he's healthy, he's a bona fide all NBA player and he's
someone that can make strides toto get you to wherever you need
to be. And it's just been that the
issue of him being unhealthy, they lose CJ McCollum, they
bring in Jordan Poole. And I can talk to Jordan Poole.
His second season with the Wizards was a major improvement

(01:09:24):
to his first season. I think when he was at the
Wizards, just coming off the Golden State Warriors, I think
his mentality wasn't there giventhat he got punched in the face
by Draymond and was coming off achampionship winning team.
That would be pretty hard to adjust to going into a team like
the Wizards. But I think his second season,
he made such big strides in sortof not even in his game, but

(01:09:45):
more his mentality towards how he's approached the game.
He became a really big influential leader.
He mentored the young guys. He he really looked like he
wanted to play for the Wizards and wanted to be there.
And that was something that I, Ihad a lot of respect for.
I wasn't too happy with his first season coming to the team,
but his second season really changed my thoughts and opinions
on him. And if he's able to sort of

(01:10:06):
bring that to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The fact that Deonte, Deonte Murray, DeAndre, I'm losing my
head with all these players. Deonte Murray is injured with
his Achilles. He can definitely be a
serviceable replacement for him and someone that can shoot the
lights out but can also offer play making as well.
So they also pick up some some really solid rookies who I

(01:10:28):
really loved. I'm a big fan of Dairy Queen.
Unfortunately he's gone down forwith an injury, but they made a
crazy trade to get him and look that that trade is pretty wild.
Like they gave up an unprotectedfirst round pick and we forgot
to mention that in the in the sort of talk that we did.
Atlanta will be having a a firstround pick the following season

(01:10:49):
unprotected. So if the New Orleans Pelicans
this season just have another terrible season, that pick's
going straight to Atlanta and ina really weak Eastern
Conference, they can do a lot ofthings with that and getting him
for Dairy Queen. They must see something special
in him. So potentially he might be solid
for them at power forward. They've got Yuvis Misi, who who
was an unbelievable rookie for them last season.

(01:11:09):
He offered a lot of options scoring wise and also
defensively. So that was that was a big plus.
But getting him, getting Jeremiah Fears who was around
the Wizards kind of projection, we didn't get him.
We ended up getting Trey Johnsoninstead.
But I really do like Fears and Ithink he can be a very solid
role player as well. And even getting in players like

(01:11:31):
Sadiq Bay, who he didn't play ata minute with the Wizards
because of injury, we forget that he dropped 50 points in a
game. And I think anyone that drops 50
points in the NBA game can be a solo solid player on their
night. And and and he's a wild card
because we don't really know what he's gonna offer and bring
because we haven't seen anythingbut getting Kavon Looney.
There is also another solid acquisition and can be a very

(01:11:54):
big mentor to those bigs as welland offer solid rebounding too.
But. Like.
I say all these things with positivity again, and it's just
the fact that they're in the Western Conference is extremely
underwhelming because if we had this conversation and they were
in the East, you'd think that'd be a lock in playoff team.
And that's how weak the East is.And that's how strong the West
is right now. So again, mixed with Voodoo and

(01:12:16):
New Orleans and and the the historic lock and their stadium
historically being pretty poor as well, the way it's
constructed and how everyone feels about it, and also
basketball not really having massive hype in New Orleans.
They may seem nice, but I don't see anything happening with the
New Orleans Pelicans this season.
I think they're gonna miss the playoffs and they're gonna lose

(01:12:37):
their pick. So yeah, we're just gonna have
to hope that we might see something in those rookies to
really give us a bit of an indication of where they'll go
in the future. Yeah, the one thing I gotta say
about that the draught is 0 Fears.
It's it's a great nickname. I've got to give it to them for
that alone. I I like that pic and he looks

(01:13:00):
to be such a handy player, a player they're going to need
with Mario as well. But like you said, they're just
a city or a team just riddled with that voodoo because it
always seems that they get injuries.
And as we know, Zion is generational when he plays, but
he just doesn't play enough. And, you know, we've seen it
over a couple seasons now and it's it seems to be apparent

(01:13:23):
that he's just never going to bethat player that's going to play
a full season. The best thing or the one
takeaway I have from this seasonor the season that has just
passed is just the development of Trey Murphy.
The third. I mean, when I watch him, he's a
bona fide shooter, had a great height there, 6869 and his

(01:13:45):
offensive game really took a leap last season.
So just to see what he does in the future there as well is
going to be exciting for that team because I really think they
can or he can be a player that they build around in the future
because he has so many assets tohis game, the Tobe Jones one.
I mean, it's hard to, it's hard to not sign a player who has

(01:14:08):
shown that upside on the defensive end.
It just really depends on if he's going to be able to knock
down his shot consistently because defensively he does add
a lot of versatility to the roster.
And like you said, the roster isquite good.
When you look at it, it just seems as though they never had
the pieces at the their best pieces at the same time.

(01:14:29):
But yeah, like you. Yeah, like you.
Said the injury riddled like Herb Jones is unbelievable, but
he can't stay fit. I think the contract, it can
very much be a trade piece as well, which is probably a
positive as well because I thinka lot of contending teams could
really use a player like Herb Jones.
But yeah, again, they just, you've never, ever seen this
Pelicans team play fully healthyand fit together.

(01:14:51):
And when you had, they literallylook like a playoff team.
So yeah, there's some. There's some bad voodoo going on
in New Orleans. I think that's the only way I
can really describe it. Yeah.
And to 2nd that as well, they definitely look like a team that
eventually will be a seller. And it may not be this season
because like you said, they don't have their pick that's

(01:15:11):
going to the Hawks and that's a Big L for the organisation.
But I think they're definitely maybe not this season, next
season will be a seller's team because like you said, they have
so many valuable assets that youcan use, but they just don't
have that guy that can rely uponor even that a 3A four that will
help build out the squad. So really, I like the additions

(01:15:35):
that they've done. I mean, Sadiq Bay is just the
flyer. Like you said, 50 points in the
game is nothing to is nothing toscoff at because really it is
incredible to score 50 points ina professional game.
And Kevon Nuni I think will be agood addition off the bench, if
not starting because he is someone that has won a
championship. He has a pedigree to do a lot

(01:15:56):
more than just the regular centre.
He can pass a bit, doesn't scoreas much as you'd want to, but
defensively it's quite solid. Very much a system player and
they're taking a flyer on pool. Whether I trust the process in
Jordan Pool remains to be seen. I'm not the biggest buyer of
Jordan Poole, but you've swappedhim out for JJ McCollum.

(01:16:19):
Give it, give it a shot. He might develop into something
more. There may be those rough runs
that he had in previous organisations, more so Golden
State towards the end of the tenure and tanking in
Washington, you know, may may have built up that resilience
and that player he wants to beat.
Yeah, it's quite an interesting 1 here.

(01:16:40):
Yeah, I think I'll give them a Cminus because that that trade
can really kill them. And if, if they don't make a
higher seed, that pick is going to look really bad.
And if Dairy Queen just finds himself injury riddled all
season, he's already starting bad with an injury, then it's

(01:17:03):
just going to look a lot worse. And the moves that they've made
for what they've made, they weregood, but it just doesn't really
help them in in a sense that they're going to be anywhere
near the playoffs, in my opinion.
But it really depends if they'reall healthy or not.
And with Dejonte Murray out and him not being available for this
season, it's very much going to be a year to decide what they

(01:17:26):
will do. And they do have a new GM in Joe
Dumas. So he's probably going to be
viewing this very heavily and analysing what his next move is
going to be. So I'll give him AI think I said
AC minus. It almost feels like a lifetime
ago that they had drew a holidayto Marcus Cousins and AD and
even that team struggled to get past the first round other than

(01:17:49):
sweeping my Blazers. But we won't go there.
But yeah, the team that they've got here is injury riddled and I
think with the moves, although they've been opportunistic, you
could say, I think just trading,trading up to get Queen, losing
a first pick, which is unprotected when you're a team

(01:18:10):
that has shown to be injury riddled is mind blowing for me.
And although Queen looks like a prospect that can be something
that can develop potentially into something useful for them
in the future, he's also said tobe a powerful that plays like a
centre. And those players typically are
hard to develop within the league.

(01:18:31):
So for me, just with the trade alone, I have to give them AD
minus. Yeah, totally fair.
Let's not forget that that team with DeMarcus Cousins and
everyone else also had their injury problems as well.
So I'm blaming the New Orleans video on this organisation and I
think it's either relocate or move to the East when expansion

(01:18:51):
happens. And I think they're the one team
that I think need to move to theeast.
For that reason alone. We're going to.
Go with the. Defending champs or the reigning
champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who just locked up
their call for the next 4-5 years.
They resigned all their big three players to massive
contracts. They resigned Jalen Williams and

(01:19:12):
AJ Mitsu as well. By Jalen Williams, I'm talking
about the centre, the guy that'salways on the side.
And I'm going to spend 2 minutesbefore I go on anything about
the big three solely on Jalen Williams.
And why I'm going to do that is because the respect I have for
that man is undeniable. He is an ultimate locker room
guy, a culture guy. He may get a lot of stick for

(01:19:34):
being a cheerleader there, but when he's actually got onto the
floor, he's put up triple, double S.
He's been pretty solid as a as aplayer and I think for his role
and the fact that he's able to bring the culture, just be a
team first guy that's someone you want in your organisation to
win a championship. And I think that's extremely and
criminally underrated. And the Huddle talks about

(01:19:55):
players like this because we go into the deeper meaning of
sports and he is a player that is a massive example of that and
I think. It's respectful in itself that
he's able to really just put theteam first, celebrate like he's
one of them and he truly is. And that plays a big part in in
in a championship team and a culture and having that for
three years is extremely underrated in itself.

(01:20:17):
And that'll be it for my Jalen Williams sort of praise.
But I really hope he does get more minutes on the floor next
year because he's actually a really, really good player as
well. And I think that he'll offer a
lot to the Oklahoma City Thunderwith with more minutes anyway.
And especially if once they hit that second apron, a lot of
their existing players are probably not going to be able to

(01:20:38):
resign. So he'll be someone that can
probably help out in the future.But we're going to talk about
the big three and if you're ableto keep up that core for the
next 5 years, that means that this team is poised to go back
to back for sure. And I think it's crazy because
we literally say that every yeara team wins the championship.
But I think this year is a little bit different only

(01:21:00):
because this is the second youngest team in the NBA right
now and they won ANBA championship, so they look to be
a dynasty moving forward. They didn't need to sign anyone
else. Their team is already
unbelievable as it is, so addingthe likes of these three for
another four or five years is just a massive win.
And you've got to give it to SamPresti.

(01:21:20):
He's probably the greatest general manager in probably the
history of sports. And I know that's a crazy take,
but he's just proving that. And now with the NBA A
championship under his belt, I think that kind of backs it up
there. And he just he's not continuing
to slow down. He gets these guys.
Shay, obviously we know all about him, but J Dub as well is
just an unbelievable secondary player.

(01:21:42):
That 40 point game is going to be go down in history as one of
the best swinger games and most important.
And he did it all with like a massive injury too, which is
respectful in himself. And you mentioned Chet Holmgren
last time as a player. That is an unbelievable Unicorn
and someone that you need in thechampionship team to just really
be a presence in the paint. But also those 7 footers with

(01:22:06):
unicorns and have those Unicorn like abilities are kind of the
prototype to sort of winning a championship as well.
And having one of those on your team is never the worst thing.
So Oklahoma City, unbelievable offseason and there's nothing
more I can say about them. Then they're pretty much looking
to win another championship and don't be surprised if they win

(01:22:27):
another 3 or 4 in this dynasty and especially in this window of
these three guys on the on the team.
Oklahoma City Thunder, they've they've always been there.
It was never if it was a win with them and you could see what
they were building the young call when they were, you know,
poor team in the West and they've just built year on year

(01:22:47):
and that asset accumulation and the players that they have
become. It's it's really fitting to see,
but recall all could have seen it and you know, locking up
those their star players, the shed, the shades, the Jalen
Williams it it really can't be said enough how big these moves
are. It's a given that they've just
want a chip. These players are likely going

(01:23:09):
to resign, but to know that you have that window for the next
three to five years of being a young team, you're still going
to improve. You've kept all your players
that are involved in the Championship, you're moles ahead
of everyone offensively and defensively within the league
and you're going to get better. It's it's just crazy to say out
loud. And not to mention, they still

(01:23:31):
have almost 1015 picks in the future where if they need to
bolster their team, they can do it.
OKC really done what they neededto do their championship team,
they're going to be competing there again, like you said,
Williams, he got his little segment centre, the centre of
Jaylon Williams, he got his segment.

(01:23:52):
But I've read this crazy stuff the other day that in 50 games
one season he was he got the 4thmost charges in the history of
the NBA. And that's on limited minutes as
well. So this player can seriously
defend and if he does get the minutes, although it might be
hard in in the team that he is in, he's going to make an
impact. So just giving Jalen the flowers

(01:24:13):
there. And while I'm here, I might as
well give other Jalen a shout out there too, playing the
playoffs with a broken hand. And I don't know if you've seen
that T-shirt that he released. He was like an X ray and he's
like got his hand like this and it's a broken.
I don't know if you've seen it. No, I haven't.
That's. It's cold, it's cold, but hats
off to him. He really showed out this

(01:24:34):
playoffs at times even looking like that number one player.
But and I really love what Oklahoma did.
They did what needed to be done and they're going to be up
there, no doubt about it. Can I give one more player a
shout out from the Oklahoma CityThunder?
Arrogance. What a speech like I know it
happened ages ago. That's one of the best NBA

(01:24:56):
champs speeches I've ever seen in my life.
Unbelievable speech. Yeah, I just.
That's all I've got to say for those guys.
Like what a culture, what a team.
You'd love to be part of that team.
If you were a player, you'd haveso much fun and I think.
I look at their. Skill and I think it's
unbelievable and it's obviously the reason why they're winning
championships, but you can't go past the culture that is there

(01:25:17):
and I think that's a major contribution to why they're the
team and like how can you hate them?
They are just extremely likeable.
Like obviously people don't likethe fact that Shay gets baited
on the foul line so much, but other than that, he plays the
game with respect. He's got that that culture in
him as well, that sort of like mature older brother mentality.
Although he's one of the youngerplayers, he sort of is just like

(01:25:40):
the the Big Brother that everyone loves.
But that team just has vibes, and for that alone, and for the
fact that they're keeping their core for ages, I got to give
them an A. Yeah, and I echoed that, being
that the culture is so importantand you could see how much it
meant to all of them as brothersalways, you know, one player

(01:26:00):
goes off one game and they're all around it.
And as a fan, I'd just love to see it.
You see that they respect everything that they do, they
celebrate everything that they do.
They lose together, they win together and that's what it is
to be a club that's that's a well run club and not one player
would think I wouldn't want to be a part of that team.

(01:26:21):
So yeah, like I said, you can't fault their offseason.
I could. I could couldn't think of many
other things they could have done better.
So in that alone I'm giving it aname.
Nice. Well, we're going to the
complete opposite now. We had the team that was the
defending champions and now probably, and they're not the

(01:26:42):
worst team, but you can say in terms of situation and position
unanimously the worst team rightnow and the team that you would
say that you don't want to be. And that is the Phoenix Suns.
Talk about a position where they're right in the middle.
Talk about a clear out and talk about, I guess paying Devin
Booker the same money as Shay. This team is just the simply a

(01:27:07):
mess and it hasn't gone better for them.
The only thing that they had done that was significant was
that re signing and no one's sitting there saying that.
That was an unbelievable re signing.
One of the most expensive players in the league in Devon
Booker, who you can respect his game.
I I've said a lot of nice thingsabout Devon Booker, especially
the role that he played in the Olympics is not someone that you

(01:27:29):
want to build a team around to win a championship.
Unfortunately for him and losingKevin Durant, which is expected
and what they got for him was the best they could have got.
Basically buying out Bradley Bills contract which they have
to pay is is just really hard for them to kind of fathom and
see what they can do. They pick up Jalen Green and.

(01:27:49):
Look. Jalen Green can potentially
prove people wrong, but the way he plays is just someone that
doesn't look like a winning player.
He does remind me of Jordan Poole in his first season with
the Wizard. Someone that's just going to
Chuck the ball and how's he be able?
Is he going to be able to do that when there's Devin Booker
around there? I think this this is just got

(01:28:11):
writing to the wall to be a nightmare here at the Phoenix
Suns. And I'm all for it because the
Wizards are going to get all thepick swaps.
And as the Wizards grow and develop, you think that they're
going to get better. And as the Phoenix Suns kind of
also develop, they're probably going to get worse.
They've got no real kind of draught capital to begin with.
They didn't get much for Kevin Durant.

(01:28:32):
They gave away so many picks forthem.
And I'm pretty sure the BrooklynNets have all those picks or
they're just floating around in random teams.
And then the Bradley Beal pickupwas simply a disaster to a point
where they had to buy him out. And yeah, it's just that
honestly, it's just a shit show there.
I like Jared Butler, though. I think if I'm going to make any
positives there, Jared Butler's a pretty decent signing for

(01:28:54):
them. A former Wizard, too.
Another former Wizard in Jordan Goodwin as well, who probably
isn't going to be able to be. Serviceable for the.
Suns, even when he was there he wasn't.
But yeah, this team is rough. Mark Williams joins and they do
get Malwatch who I'm a big fan of who was a part of that Duke
big three with Conka Nipple and Cooper flag.

(01:29:15):
Yeah, it's just. I don't I don't get what they're
doing here, like even getting Mark Williams like they're
getting the they have the same centres with Nick Richards as
the Charlotte Hornets did. So where can you see the
progression and, and Nathan talkto me because I I.
I don't know. This, this team is, I think it's
cooked. I think simply said, and what

(01:29:35):
you're trying to say is they're just a shambles and you're
looking at the resigning here, the Booker one.
That money is crazy for Booker. He is a great player.
I know they want to keep that asset.
That is simply crazy money. But I guess you got to pay
someone and you know this, this team has come a long way since

(01:29:55):
it made the the Western Conference finals.
When you had vibes, you had campaign CP3.
You got Bridges in there. You got teams so much.
We did the Nevada when they usedto sing that before and doing
that dance. There were vibes, yeah, that's
what you that's what they neededto keep literally like.
KC. Exactly right.
And I feel like it was prematureto blow that team up and trade

(01:30:18):
it all the way for KD. And I guess This is why KD got a
bad rap, But I don't think it's completely up to him.
I I think a lot of it comes downto ownership and the ownership
there of trading in Bradley Bill.
I could have told you a mile away that having him with Devon
Booker was just not going to work.
And even with KD there, it's notthe play you need or wanted.

(01:30:41):
Having a no trade clause and then just buying them out.
It's just seems simply, it just seems like terrible management.
And I know Matt Ishbiel came in with that team.
He's like, I'm a billionaire. I'm going to win us a chip.
I'm going to do silly moves, buthe he just put them into the
into into the grave. Really.
They're going to be a poor team that made that pick for Mother

(01:31:02):
Watch. She looks like a great pick, but
on top of that, they've traded for Mark Williams.
It doesn't make sense to me. What's the reason of getting 2
setters? And these are the centres you
needed last year when you got Chris, Nick Richards.
It's just like it just seems toolittle too late for them.
And yeah, just on that, I reallythink the Jalen Green thing is

(01:31:25):
not going to work with Booker either.
It's just, again, I know they wanted an asset, but you're
better off with Pixar at that point.
So I insulted On the Sands and Ithink they'll be way towards the
bottom of the West. Yeah.
I'm giving them a straight if I think this is a failure in
offseason, they're already goingto be poised to have a terrible
offseason. But even the moves that they

(01:31:45):
have made, like signing back on that much money and then
drafting a centre and also trading for another centre who
played for the Charlotte Hornetsjust doesn't make any sense to
me. And I'm all for it.
Again, like I said, if this teamis bad, that means the Wizards
are going to get the worst of their picks and they're going to
look to be really bad. And maybe Devin Booker leaves.

(01:32:09):
And I think someone will take Devin Booker because I think he
can be a very good first or second option in a 2 All Star
team. I think he can offer so much for
that. But just being the Lone Star
there, I think he just wanted tosimply take where the money and
and see where that kind of takeshim for the future.
But yeah, definitely a failure here.
I think I would say one of the worst off seasons and probably

(01:32:31):
the worst team in the NBA right now in terms of where you want
to be in your position. And that is unfortunately the
Phoenix Suns for Phoenix Suns fans, not for me.
Yeah, and to echo that the Wizards will be licking their
lips like getting a future top pick from the Suns.
And you couldn't see them getting anywhere past 12th in

(01:32:51):
the West that 11th in the West. So yeah, for me, it's yeah,
I've, I definitely know that my Blazers are going to be above
them this year. I know that for a fact.
And all I can give them is a straight FF minus.
It's terrible. I can't.
I can't even. Yeah, I just can't even.

(01:33:13):
Totally fair. Well, Speaking of the Portland
Blazers, I'm going to give you the floor to introduce the team,
take away the limelight for myself and let you run this one
because obviously this is your team and I'm sure you're really
excited to talk about them todayso.
Go ahead, the Portland Trail Blazers.

(01:33:36):
Yeah, coming into this offseason, I really didn't know
what to expect. Really looked at the draught
thinking that maybe we could getlucky and get a top four, top
five pick. And you know, really we got a
10th pick or 11th pick, which albeit is where they were ranked
to get. So I understand that.

(01:33:58):
And for me, the Portland Trail Blazers team was really missing
an A1A2 and that team. And yeah, after the draught or
at the time of the draught, I was there was a few players that
I was looking at that I thought would make a difference.
Jackie Jonas, if we got CMB, if you drop, drop there card Bryant

(01:34:21):
and then we trade our pick, right?
And I was thinking, OK, OK, we're trading back to 16.
I think it was. And we're getting a future pick
for next year as well from Memphis, Memphis cities.
And I thought, you know, maybe that's a pretty good deal.
There's still some good players that look like solid role
players on the draught board, but comes the pick and I'm just

(01:34:44):
looking at it best available Becky Onus or whatever his name
is, and I'm thinking, all right,sweet, I'm sold on this.
We could use a player like that 66 guard.
And then I hear young Hansen andI started crashing out.
I just was like, who is Young Hansen?
I have not even seen this guy. Top 30 was gobsmacked.

(01:35:08):
I was gobsmacked. He actually.
Came from the stands. That's how much of a surprise he
was. He was.
Literally. In the stands, I had to walk
down to get his hat. And I, I don't know if it's just
me and I'm sure a lot of people,a lot of fans would have thought
that this might be the craziest pick ever because no one

(01:35:29):
expected young hunting. Some centre which is in the
stands had just been drafted by Portland, who took a centre the
prior year and had DeAndre Aytonon their roster.
It just, I just didn't see it coming.
And if there was someone that betted on it, gamble
responsibly. But if someone did make that

(01:35:51):
bet, they would be millionaires because I did not see that
coming. No draught experts saw that
coming. On that note, I know I'm
rambling on here, but the young hunts and experienced summer
league, it's the more I see him,the more I'm excited for the
future because this guy is the Chinese Yokich.

(01:36:12):
And you might call me crazy glass half full, but some of the
plays, first play he gets a backdoor screen bounce pass and
I'm just thinking, what have theBlazers been cooking up here?
And I actually cannot believe how crafty he looks.
The feel for the game is to teach that.

(01:36:35):
I don't know, maybe you can chime in.
But I will. I will because.
I'm a big fan of of Younghansen,you know this, I like the the
fact that obviously he's from China as well, who are a massive
basketball market is already a profitable advantage for the
Portland Trail Blazers in Melbourne here, big Chinese
community in the city. They're already getting

(01:36:57):
Younghansen jerseys on sale. And I was speaking to someone
there and they told me that there was a shit tonne of people
buying them jerseys. And honestly, they've been
scouting him for two or so years, so they've definitely saw
something in him to be able to draught him this high.
And I see it, the passing that he has for such a a raw big man

(01:37:19):
is is second to none. It is close to what Jokic has
done as a passing big man. And I can only speak for his
passing. I can speak for a bit if he's
rebounding, but he's definitely a massive project.
And. We spoke about this off camera.
The fact that you took a swing on a player that can potentially
be a star and getting him at 15 I think is very advantageous.

(01:37:42):
You had Brooklyn with five firstround picks.
What's to say that they didn't take a hit on him?
They obviously have a Chinese owner as well, so I'm pretty
sure that he knew a lot about Young Hansen.
So I think in that 10 to 20 range, there were a lot of
players that were really solid 3and D role players, which is
what I think the back end of thedraught was.

(01:38:02):
But taking a hit on someone likeyoung Hansen, who has the
potential to be a generational star and you can see it through
his passing. And again, everyone was
surprised at the pick. It's probably going to go down
as one of the biggest surprises in NBA draught history.
And for that alone, it gives Portland the exposure getting a
player like him that obviously as a repeat again have a massive

(01:38:25):
market and and and people that support him is also again, a
very big thing. And if he becomes the player
that is at his best, he can literally be Jokic and he's
going to get a lot of coverage. He's going to be someone that is
going to take time to develop. But I think it's a a wonderful
draught. And I think it's it's worst case

(01:38:47):
scenario if he doesn't become the player he is, at least
you're getting the money off Chelsea sales because they're
selling for fun. He's he's also got a great
nickname. Big tariff.
I love that one. But but yeah, even in summer
league I've seen him drop 3-4 threes in a game and I'm just
thinking he can honestly do it all under the offensive end.

(01:39:08):
And obviously the Chinese leagueis a little bit different to the
NBA, but he was a defensive player of the year there as
well. So yeah, the Sky's the limit for
Hansen or Yang Hansen or howeveryou say it.
He is a great looking player. And on that note, I got, I got
to say that the Summer League, 5.5 million people or something

(01:39:30):
tuned in to the watch the Blazers.
And that's what the TV's revenueor the TV viewerships is in NBA
Finals at certain times, Correctme if I'm wrong, the numbers
there, but I heard something about that as well.
And the Chinese market that got 1 billion people, you know, the
population of the USA is that amount they have as basketball

(01:39:54):
fans. So there's an untapped potential
market there alone. So if that's one to boost up
selling the organisation, because they're currently
selling, it's probably the best way to go about it.
But yeah, on that, that pic really had me surprised in a
way, but for the good reasons. But yeah, on that it was always,

(01:40:17):
you know, a few more additions being the Drew Holiday one,
which also caught me off surprise.
I knew we were trying to cut Anthony Simon's and I did have.
A like for him, but you could just say he was never working
and to get a player that was an All Star, All Star and had a
down year last year for Boston was opportunistic.

(01:40:38):
Whether I think it works with the current roster on the money
he is on is yet to be decided, but I can definitely say that
Drew Holiday fits into the team culture.
They looked to be a defensive first team and through the
second half of the year anyway, they looked to be making strides

(01:40:58):
without any. They were like a top 10 defence
I'm pretty sure in the. Yeah, there was top six or talks
top A. And with Benny Avia, Tomar
Tomani, Kamara and Donovan Klingen having blocked numbers
out of this world, they definitely can defend.
And yeah, due holiday we'll add to that identity.
Whether it's on the same timeline again, I'm not too sure

(01:41:21):
because I feel like they're kindof running a two different
timeline thing. But yeah, even on that, the
buyer of DeAndre Ayton, it made sense once Hanson Young was
gone. You're cutting, you're cutting
DeAndre Ayton. You don't need no locker room
distractions for that one year. And you know what?

(01:41:42):
You're not even in salary cut mayhem.
So just get rid of him. Make make room for the book.
And yeah, through that, I thought all that everything had
been done within the offseason. I was pretty content with where
we're at. I'm soldering.
Hanson, Yang, Yang, Hanson. And I was just like, you know
what, I'm happy. But to see that Dame got waved

(01:42:05):
and unfortunate circumstances didn't work for him and he's
obviously injured for the whole year, but to get him on a three
year deal on the mid level franchise icon, someone that was
my favourite player. He's pretty much the reason why
I go for Portland. Seeing him make that Game 6 or
game seven shot against the Rockets to send them home had

(01:42:27):
crazy moments like rebuilding OKC and helping him win a chip.
You know what I mean? It's just to have him back for
that alone, just for the nostalgia and being a cheap deal
and everything it means to the team and the organisation.
And I can't speak for everyone that lives there, but I know for
a fact that they all love and respect him.
And when you think of Dame, you think of the Blazers and it only

(01:42:49):
made sense. And I've seen all the media talk
about it and it just everyone was happy for him and, you know,
to be back home where his kids are, it's just just a great
touch for the offseason. And I really like what
Portland's done here. I like the direction they're
going in and they still got thatflexibility.
They still have their caps all tied up, some picks with the

(01:43:11):
Bucks, and it looks like they'regoing to blow up, so they have
some assets there. So yeah, I really love the
direction they're going in. I think the big winner of this
and someone that can really makebig strides in your roster is
Stu Anderson Point guard coach franchise all time greatest
point guard. One of the if not for Steph

(01:43:31):
Curry is probably the greatest shooter in terms of just range
and sort of off the dribble and clutchiness in in Damian Lillard
and at the one of the most defensively unbelievable guards
in Drew Holiday. I think Scoot Henderson has a
lot of mentoring and learning toget off all these guys.
And I think Damian Lillard is such a feel good story.
It's a it's a it's a very respectable contract and I think

(01:43:53):
one that he deserves given that he's just a Portland legend and
it's not the worst contract to be given.
And for someone that's able to rehab at the Blazers at home
where his family is, is quite advantageous and there's a
flexibility there. He has a player option in his
third year if he decides to continue to be of the Blazers.

(01:44:13):
You never know by year 3, you could make some massive leaps.
Young Hansen could be a generational all time centre and
we could be seeing a one or two band punch with with Damon Young
Hansen and and we've scooting Shade and sharp on the roster
with Kamara, who I think he's anunbelievable player and I think
he's a defensive specialist. He can be on an all defensive
team in the future for sure. Plus the resurgence of a former

(01:44:36):
wizard in Denny Advaia, who I could have told you towards his
closing time at the Wizards looked like flashes of being a
potential All Star in the Eastern Conference.
Now, I'm not saying he he was going to be, but he showed
flashes of that. And if he continues to to
transcend and go above the level, he's already an
unbelievable defensive player aswell, which is also underrated

(01:44:57):
and not people, a lot of people know about that.
But that's really what got him sticking on the floor with the
Wizards was that he was probablyone of our best defenders is
going to make the Portland TrailBlazers an extremely defensively
orientated and strong team. And I think for that alone, I
wouldn't be surprised if they can get that 10th or 9th seed.
I know it sounds crazy, but their defence at the end of the

(01:45:19):
season showed that they can really make strides and they
really took a massive jump. And Portland is a notoriously
winning organisation. What inspired me once about one
of the Portland teams is when they lost Lamarcus Aldridge and
a few other players that I can'tremember.
They ritually retooled their team the next year and people
forget that they got to a Western Conference finals and if

(01:45:40):
it wasn't for an unbelievable Gothen State Warriors team they
could have been playing an NBA championship.
So I think Portland are a great organisation head to toe and I
think the acquisitions that they've made, nor that it's
obviously a competitive Western Conference, may not be enough to
win a championship, but they're definitely going in the right
direction and there's a lot of different moving.

(01:46:01):
Parts and pieces. That they can work with.
The only thing that I will say is that I don't like the fact
that Jeremy Grant is still on the roster and if he does get
traded, I think they'll be very advantageous for you guys
getting off that salary. But I have to give this
offseason AB plus and the plus comes from Dame Lillard
returning and obviously getting in Young Hansen as well.

(01:46:21):
And I'll quickly touch up on Blake Weasley.
You got it from the Wizards. So you should always give us a
big thank you for that. Yeah, I do thank the Wizards for
that Denny, Denny Avia trade. Yeah, looking at him, he looks
to be a hell of a player. And people forget that their
team is young. They've got Scoot Henderson,

(01:46:44):
they've got Shane and Sharp. Denny, Avia, Kamara, Klingon,
all under 25, bringing in that veteran presence, even though
youth Jeremy Grant had a down year.
He came here for Dame. He was here to play with Dame,
and he was shooting 40% with Dame.
Here's a vibes guy. He's there in the locker room.

(01:47:05):
He had a poor season and he doesget paid, there's no doubt about
it. But what's to say that he
doesn't have an uptick in the next year?
And once that salary drops off 30 mil, 35 mil, they're not in
the apron. They still have their assets.
They still have flexibility. They have the options for
certain players to get out of contracts if need be.

(01:47:26):
They have the Scoot Henderson's or Shaden sharps if they need to
trade to consolidate. I, I, I really think the sky is
the limit for this Blazers team.Just I wouldn't say they would
be a top five or top 16 in the West because it's so strong.
But I definitely feel like therewill be a time in the next year,

(01:47:47):
not so much this year because Damon's out, but probably the
following year where this year Iwould be looking at developing
those young assets, seeing if you can get a top pick and then
really going at it next year. But for all the moves they've
made, for the draught picks, forgetting my favourite player
back, getting Dame back and, youknow, adding Holiday in, I just

(01:48:09):
got to give it an A for me, justthat that sentiment of being a
fan and that's what I give it. Totally fair.
We're going to go back to a downer and this teammate, they,
they make me sick. The Sacramento Kings getting
Zach Levine for what they got, given that they got some decent

(01:48:30):
picks back for him and DeMar DeRozan just doesn't make any
any. Sense at all They literally.
Saw what they did in in Chicago together and they're running it
back in in Sacramento. The organisation is just a mess
from head to toe. Getting rid of their coach,
which was now, which is now at the New York Knicks was was
really good for them, set the culture.

(01:48:50):
We talked about him running up and down the court.
It's probably the the hardest runner in that organisation in
my opinion is their coach. And he doesn't even play.
They lose him. That forces Darren Fox to to
leave, which we'll obviously talk about as well to the Spurs
and they're left with an unbelievable baby Jokic in in

(01:49:10):
the Mantis Sabonis with no one around him.
And yeah, they pick up Schroederon a three year deal.
But in my opinion, I think he's there to make some money and
he'll be serviceable. But I see him getting traded mid
season. They lose Valanciunas, which is
a big loss. The Razors also a pretty
underrated loss too for them. And they just pick up Eubanks

(01:49:33):
Surridge and Doug McDermott, whoplayers that are borderline
maybe one or two seasons off going to Europe or being at the
league, in my opinion, or just being very deep rotation
players. So I've got nothing but I guess
criticism for the Sacramento Kings because they were once an
organisation where they built a culture.
They had an identity with the light, the beam.

(01:49:54):
They had something special therewhere maybe they didn't win the
playoffs, but they made the playoffs for the first time in
almost 20 years and look to to have a really good culture and
something to build on. And it's been a shit show ever
since. And yeah, there's not really
much else I can really talk on on the Kings as well.
But yeah, I think they're going to be a really, a really big
mess next season as well. Yeah, they're definitely looking

(01:50:19):
to stare straight down the barrel of being mediocre.
And you've seen it in Chicago with Levine and DeRozan, and
they've just turned into the Sacramento Bulls.
And it's, it sounds crazy because they got a European
centre. The Bulls had a European centre
and they couldn't compete. And looking at this Sacramento
Kings team, they overachieved one season and they've just gone

(01:50:40):
in. And, you know, I think it was a
disaster for them, really. And you know, Derozan's coming
towards the end of his playing career.
He's still serviceable, but he'snot the player he once was.
And you're looking at their roster and mummy's had a down
yard. You got some young assets in
Devon, Carter, Kayon, Alice who seems to be a decent player, but

(01:51:03):
they definitely look to be a team that will be a seller
sooner rather than later. And for all the the great things
that the Monte Sabonis does, it's hard to win games with him
as your starting centre. And it's just the the limbo that
the kings are in. And you know, like you said, it

(01:51:23):
was so fun with the like the bean movement and you're seeing
the bean go up and all the fans were Jing up in the top three,
top four seed. But I can't see a world in which
they get back to that and with the moves that they've made.
Although Schroeder looks to be adecent addition and he's a good
player that have lost Loravia and Valentinus as well.

(01:51:46):
And really, it looks like the Kings need a shake up, and what
they've done here is definitely far from that.
Yeah, I'm giving them AD minus. Yeah, nothing.
Nothing more to say. Yeah, with the with the players
in might be on par with what went out, but yeah, they really
look like they're down. Got to have a down year.

(01:52:08):
So D minus for me as well. Moving on to we've got 2 left
and we've got the San Antonio Spurs coming up who most
recently just before this recording this morning for us,
we saw Darren Fox sign an extension with the San Antonio
Spurs. Was very expected that he was
going to do that. That was the place he wanted to

(01:52:30):
be and they looked to lock him up as well.
They get the legend Jordan McLaughlin as well, which I
don't see playing too many minutes unfortunately, but
someone that can maybe be serviceable when one of the
guards on injuries as well. They pick up Lou Cornett on a
very underrated deal, a very nice deal for the Spurs.

(01:52:51):
I think a great free agent acquisition there for four years
as well. They pick up Kelly Olynyk, which
would trade for the Wizards, andI think he's still someone that
can actually be very serviceablein an NBA.
Roster as well. And Lindy Walters, the third is,
is probably not someone that will will play a lot, but is
actually not a bad player when he does see the floor.

(01:53:11):
So there's nothing but praise tohave from the Spurs as well.
They've got Stefan Castle who's going into his second year and
he was the rookie of the year last year.
So there's some, obviously. Inspirations there for him to go
up and kind of continue to to develop and be a better player
as well. They pick up.
Carter Bryant in the draught andbefore I get on to Diller
Harper, Carter Bryant looks likea defensive pest, and if he can

(01:53:35):
be that defensive pest for this San Antonio Spurs team, I
wouldn't be surprised seeing himon the floor as well.
They still got young, talented players in Sohan and Versal that
offer versatility on the offensive end as well,
especially Sohan's playmaking and Devon Versal's ability to
really dropped 20 points per game.
And I see him being a really strong kind of third option for

(01:53:57):
the Spurs when he stays healthy,along with a generational talent
who is going to be just simply an alien when he steps on the
floor going into his, I think third or fourth season.
Victor Wenbanama, who when you have a player like him that's to
win once in a lifetime, you're always going to be poised to
want to compete for championships.
And, and that's what the Spurs are doing.

(01:54:17):
They still have a lot of their their first round picks.
They've obviously got really lucky in getting Dylan Harper,
which from what I've seen at Rutgers, looks to be an
extremely athletic point guard and an unbelievable player to
tie up with them. My question is how are they
going to be able to kind of split them in?
It's between Fox, Harper and andCastle as they're all pretty
solid guards. I can see Dylan Harper not

(01:54:39):
really seeing the floor as much as probably people expect, but
definitely will develop there and it's something for their new
coach to figure out. It's going to be crazy not to
see Gregg Popovich coach the team anymore, but anyone that
comes from the Popovich tree looks to be an unbelievable
coach. We've seen it with many coaches
in the league and I don't think that's going to be different

(01:55:00):
with the current coach that theyhave at the moment.
So I think they've done an excellent job here.
Picking up Blue Corner on that deal is criminally underrated
and they're just going to be able to just continue to push to
compete for. A playoff spot.
But I think this season it's notthe year that they'll probably
make a deep run, but getting a first round playoff spot is is a

(01:55:23):
plus for them because they're definitely going to be 1 to see
for the future and Spurs is an incredibly historic organisation
so nothing but praise for them. The San Antonio Spurs has always
been a class organisation and you know, from top down, it's
always been one that acts with humility, makes the right moves

(01:55:43):
and respects the players. And yeah, I I really like the
moves that they've made this offseason because they get to
build into the future with the young core they've got Victor,
obviously they got, like you said, Stephen Castle.
That looks to be that slashing scorer who might end up
developing into that clutch player and like you said, Carter

(01:56:05):
O'Brien at where they went or where he went is a steal.
Someone that can guard one through 4 and in the Spurs
system will be an asset to them for sure.
And looking deeper into their roster, they still got Devil
Vassell, they still got Carlton Johnson, and it almost feels as
though there may not be enough minutes to go around.

(01:56:25):
But yeah, they definitely got lucky with that Dylan Harper #2
pick. He looks to be a hell of a
bowler, 6 foot 6 guard. He could score, he can defend.
He looks like a player that willtake him into the future.
Whether that be with Darren Deyar and Fox in the foreseeable
future, who knows. Maybe when the time is right,

(01:56:47):
the keys will be handed over. But the additions that they made
is just to keep them ticking in the right direction and we can
all see it when Benyama is an alien and as long as he's
healthy, he's on the floor. The team is the Sky's the limit
for the team. I can see them lucking into a
7th, 8th spot or even potentially 6 seed with the

(01:57:09):
players they got. Just do the natural progression
of the players that they have been quite young and I really
think that Luke Corner is an an understated pick to back up
won't be there as well. I know Wemby said that he
doesn't want to play power forward, he's more of a centre,
but he can shoot the ball at, although it looks funny AT74,

(01:57:30):
whatever he is, he can shoot theball.
So yeah, I really like what the Spurs have done here and yeah,
I'm I'm really excited to see where the season takes them.
Yeah, I'm going to give them AB plus for their for their
acquisitions, getting the draught players.
Obviously Dylan Harper was handed to them, but being able
to get Carter Bryan is a win as well.

(01:57:51):
Obviously picking up Luke and onthat friendly deal is great and
resigning Fox. It's all positive moves and I
think that the Spurs continue tomake strides in in the right
direction and that's all you need from them.
I think Calvin Johnson, his timeis up with the Spurs.
I think they they look to trade him and I think they should do
that because there's really no minutes to give there and even

(01:58:13):
if a cell doesn't doesn't see the floor as much either due to
injury, then that's something that they could consider as
well. They.
They have pieces. They're able to move, but I
think the key thing for the Spurs is being able to
understand what lineups to put out there and which minutes to
kind of distinguish between, between the players.
But. That's also.
That's always a good. Problem to have when you have a

(01:58:34):
depth A squad with so much depth.
So yeah, B plus for me. Given that they've maintained
their financial flexibility, they're not kept tied.
They've got all their assets andthey've got a quite a nice young
roster. And the Spurs, they play a
special place in my heart. You know, the last first
basketball game we watched was in San Antonio.

(01:58:56):
And yeah, I still think that thesky is the limit for them.
And the moves that they have hasreally just continued that
trend. And I've got to give them AB
Plus there as well. Nice.
We're going to close it out withI think the team that will
probably have the worst record again in the NBA.

(01:59:16):
Talk about a team that is straight up tanking.
It's the Utah Jazz. And with a GM like Danny Ainge,
you're just going to see this team at the bottom.
And that's not a bad thing for for where they're kind of
situated right now. They obviously blew up their
team a few years back and now they're proper rebuilding.
And Laurie Markinen is still there miraculously, but I expect

(01:59:39):
him to be shipped off before theAll Star break.
They lose John Collins, they lose Sexton, Jordan Clarkson,
and those were all players that were even they're meant to be
their vets didn't really do muchfor them.
And for the stuff that they did was good enough to maybe win two
or three games. But there isn't a single player
that they've brought in to actually improve the roster.

(02:00:02):
They've got Kevin Love, Carl Anderson and Nurkic, who are all
pretty much veteran presents that are going to probably there
to sort of guide the players. Especially Kevin Love.
I find him to be simply a mentorthere.
I could see him playing a lot ofminutes, but at the same time, I
think his sole purpose is there to be mentored.
I like the the balls on Danny Edge for getting Ace Bailey.

(02:00:23):
I think that's a a great pick upfor them.
Although he said he didn't want to be there.
In the end of the day, if you get picked up by a team, he's
going to have the opportunity. And I think Danny Age was smart
to draught him. The Wizards did really want him,
but at the same time, it's not it's not the biggest loss for
us. I think I know that the talent
and the upside is there. And I think Utah is the perfect
place for him to showcase that they he'll they still have some

(02:00:46):
pretty solid guards in Isaiah Collier.
And I'm a big fan and I'm holding on to stock of Kiante
George and where I think he's going to be a very solid NBA
player. And I think someone that can be
very score can offer a lot of scoring and points per game in
this team. And I think he's got a lot of
potential and development to grow into someone.
And I'm going to hold all the stock.

(02:01:07):
I'm very high on on him and I think that he can be a very good
player. And other than that, there isn't
really too much to say. I think I'm missing a few
players in in my head that you can probably talk across, but
nothing for me to say that they're going to be anything in
the West, especially given that the conference is so strong.
And then miles clear the worst team in in in the conference as

(02:01:27):
well. So don't expect them to win more
than I reckon 20 games next season.
And I think they'll be OK with that knowing that they're gonna
get another pick in that top, inthat top six or five.
I think the lowest they can get when you're the worst record is
a top five pick. So they'll be more than happy
with with a pick like that for the next year for sure.

(02:01:50):
Matt, where to start with the Utah Jazz?
I mean, they're hard to like because they do everything
against the greater basketball put, you know, resting players,
star players, role players, justso they can get picks.
And it was almost like they wereblessed with a poor pick just to
say from the basketball God, thebasketball cards, you can't be

(02:02:12):
doing this every year. But yeah, it's a second what you
were saying before. They do have a few decent young
players. I really like what Carl
Filipowski is developing into and some of the one I forgot he,
he does look like quite a nifty big at the centre position and
can't forget that they did get asecond round or last pick of the

(02:02:34):
first round. So he looks to be something, I
don't know what it is, but he does look like he will develop
into a handy player. And I really do hope that Taylor
Hendrix does bounce back after that crazy leg break because he
could be a three and D type player.
And I know you've seen the footage as well.
When I don't want to speak on itbecause it's quite terrible to

(02:02:56):
look at it in all in time. Yeah, they do have some pieces,
but I think they're just lackingquality all over, really.
I almost feel sorry for Lori marketing.
I feel like he's being held ransom by the ball club and he
could definitely make impacts for that team trying to elevate

(02:03:16):
in the playoffs to push him overthe edge or even just the Spurs
that want to add that shooting power forward or a team like
that that, you know, Utah might as well, I said accumulate
because he isn't going to be a part of the next iteration of
this team because they're three,4-5 years down the track from
where they want to be. And although they did get Ace

(02:03:39):
Bailey, I think it says a lot when he comes out publicly and
says, hey, I don't want to play for the Utah Jazz.
And it just is where the Utah Jazz is at.
They're not a fav. They're not a team that you want
to play for. You know what the get deal is?
They're going to be the worst and the worst.
And it's just, yeah, yet to be seen whether they'll be locked

(02:04:00):
into AJ de Bandsta in the next draught or anything like that.
But yeah, with the additions they're made, they're just
veteran presents. They all look like they're in
their final pay packet, and they've lost strong collars for
not much. So there's nothing really to be
excited with. Just to maybe hope that Ace
Bailey does turn into that scoring guard that might elevate

(02:04:23):
them. I don't know.
Yeah. I'll give them, I'll be generous
and give them AC only because the moves that they're made are
fitting to what they want to do.So if a front office has a goal
or kind of a sort of achievementthey want to to do, then you can
maybe not respect it, but you can appreciate it and understand

(02:04:44):
that they know what they are andthis is what they want to be and
they want to rebuild and they want to tank.
So you can't see them improving their their roster, but it can't
even give them credit for reallydoing anything that was amazing
either this offseason because Chase Bailey was sort of around
their range. And you can only credit Danny

(02:05:05):
Ainge by just not caring what the player thought and just
bringing him over. And also the idea of just
bringing in some veteran playersis a nice touch to what they
sort of want to do and what theywant to create at the Jazz.
But yeah, nothing where you can say anything significant or like
wow, for for what they've done. So again, I'll give him AC.

(02:05:30):
It really is an insufferable process which they're going
through and tend to think about it.
It's been 2-3 years since they've started this journey and
it feels like they've just started it this season by
looking at their roster and the quality and assets that they
have. So it's really hard for me to
get around it, but I do agree that they've committed to one

(02:05:52):
way. And I'm sure that Utah Jazz are
not going to be settled until they get that first pick
multiple times or second pick multiple times.
However, history doesn't show that that will happen because to
my understanding, I don't think they've ever got the first pick.
So there's no guarantees that they're going to get a top pick
that's going to get them out of the hole.

(02:06:13):
And tanking is not a skill in myopinion.
Building a roster, making good moves and manoeuvring assets is
the skill. And I feel like there's still a
lot that can be done with this roster with the Lorry mark and
his own, this world and the Walker Kessler.
But yeah, for the pure factor, Idon't think they got that top
pick which they tanked so hard for, even though they did get a

(02:06:37):
Ace Bailey, they didn't get thattop one, top two, top three.
And it looks like they're just going to be in the same process
next year. And you know, to go on that
journey again for the fans wouldbe terrible.
But just for the love of the game and how the game is played,
I'm just giving them ADI. Just can't stand to watch them

(02:06:59):
tank the way they do. And the fact that they flatten
the odds is almost a justice in it.
Totally fair. Well, that pretty much wraps
everything up. It's been a very long 2 days and
the probably the longest podcasts I'll ever record.
I've I've record, I'm not going to rule it out, but honestly a

(02:07:19):
great, a great podcast and I really hope you guys enjoyed
sort of us breaking down each team.
Hopefully you guys feel as though that if you're a smaller
market team and you feel like your team is uncovered, we've
done it the best way possible. And you also.
Feel good about your organisation.
We try not to be too critical onon all the teams as well and I

(02:07:41):
think Nathan did a really good job jumping on for the first
time on the pod and working withme through through this NBA and
I I really enjoyed it and I hopeyou have as well.
I've been looking forward to it and I know we've been chatting
about it for a while and when I was going to get on and you
know, for myself and for you even where basically I'm chair

(02:08:02):
experts, you know, we've watchedall the sport, we talk about it
like we do now, so feels natural.
But yeah, it's been great. I've been having me on and
enjoying the process of going through the East and the West
teams and hopefully something comes from it in the future.
Yeah, for sure. And I think if you guys do enjoy
the episode, please leave a comment and a review, especially
doing it's something that we haven't done before.

(02:08:24):
It's it's it's talking about sport leagues and actually
showing and demonstrating the sport knowledge that we think we
have or maybe we do have. It's up to use to really tell us
and if it's the case, maybe we can do more sports side of
breakdowns as well. The Premier League's starting up
soon and there's definitely potential for that sort of
breakdown as well. So you guys let me know in the

(02:08:45):
comments. But again, Nathan, thank you
very much for jumping on today talking all things NBA two part
series. So if you haven't seen the first
part, be sure to check that out.We dive into the Eastern
Conference and that's sort of a little bit less time than this
one, only because the Eastern Conference isn't as strong as
the West. But it's been a pleasure doing

(02:09:06):
this with you now. Thanks for having me on the
podium. Cheers, guys.
So that's a wrap for this week'sepisode of The Huddle Within
podcast. I appreciate you for tuning in
and being part of this community.
Where we go? Beyond the game and into what
really matters. If this episode resonated with
you, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it

(02:09:27):
with someone who sees sports just the way that we do.
And hey, I'd love to hear from you.
Connect with me on my social medias, which will be linked
below, send in your thoughts, and even be part of a future
episode. Until next time, keep that
passion alive, stay in the huddle, and remember, it's
always deeper than the game. Cheers.

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