July 4, 2025 • 36 mins
As the offseason dust begins to settle, Trysta dives into all the major moves shaking up the NBA landscape.
She breaks down the Pelicans' chaotic draft night trade, Milwaukee’s shocking decision to waive Damian Lillard, and wonders what exactly the Lakers' plans are... Plus, the Nuggets quietly make a string of smart moves, and Trysta dishes out her early offseason winners and losers.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
On this episode of the Heat Check. You think the
season's cool enough, You think it's time to just go
out and eat your smoked rips. You think it's time
to go over the local butcher store and get you
a hot link, not before listening to this podcast wrong again.
I look at teams that became more of a contender,
(00:21):
teams that won in the off season. So far, we
don't know what's gonna happen moving forward, but we're kind
of like coming to a close and what teams fell
off of a cliff or which ones I'm very low on.
Some teams made some shitty moves, some teams made some
great moves. We got a lot too to get to.
On this fourth of July, Wyatt dropped that motherfucker beat
that should be Rihanna. You're listening to the Hottest, the Hottest,
(00:45):
it be a podcast out here. I said what I said,
it's the heat Chet Check check which things are still
popping around the league, but we've got dust settling. Give
enough dust settling, give us a nice overview of what
teams I think have become much better or at least
(01:06):
made smart moves, and who has been falling off the
wagon in the wake of free agency. Who's fallen off
the wagon? Lakers? Lakers anyway, Let's talk about the teams
that I like. I don't. Didn't anticipate this, didn't anticipate
saying this. I am in on the Atlanta Hawks, who, yes,
(01:30):
I am. I'm in on them. I know you can't,
but if you've been a long time listener, you can't
believe it either. But you know what's changed. Everything's changed.
The owner hasn't changed. But all those people who are
making decisions, they're smart people, not dumb people. So out
goes dumb Landry Fields and all of his little lieutenants
(01:53):
and incomes Anzi Sala, and Sala has already been putting
in work. The Hawks not only got rid of Terrence
Man's awful contract to get Kristaps Porzingis in a three
team deal, they pick up Nikaile Alexander Walker, who was
the bell of the ball the three and D wing
(02:14):
everybody was salivating for pause. They needed shooting when they
got rid of George Niang and Karris LeVert, and they
pick up Luke Kennard, literally the best shooter in the
league from three this year forty three point six percent.
And then on Draft Day. This happened after draft Day,
but let's talk about draft day. They fleece New Orleans
(02:38):
out of what could very easily be the number one
overall pick next year in a loaded draft because they
traded their thirteenth pick in the twenty twenty five round
for the twenty in the twenty twenty fifth year. Excuse
me in the why I say twenty twenty five round
for the twenty third pick in this last year's draft
(03:04):
for New Orleans's unprotected twenty twenty six first rounder and
that twenty third pick. It's okay, let me just say
it again. They traded their thirteenth pick in this year's draft,
and what they got back was ten flocks later in
the same draft and an unprotected twenty twenty six first rounder,
which is gonna be either the better of either Milwaukee
(03:26):
or New Orleans. Both those teams are dumpster fires, baby,
the better of them that could very well be the
number one, number two, number three pick. It's such an
egregious trade that I think we're gonna be writing about
this thing for decades, the Joe Dumar's era. I just
(03:48):
can't get enough. This trade was so egregious, and I'm
absolutely loving this Joe Dumars era because I always want
to see one or two dumb guys get fleeced. That's
just like what I love. I just this is the
stuff I live for. Chaos. It was such a bad
trade that it's reported that the Hawks had to ask
(04:10):
for clarification multiple times from the Pelicans' assistant GM, Troy Weaver, who,
if you're a longtime listener, you know how much I
hate Troy Weaver, a former GM of the Detroit Pistons
who was a complete dumpster fire. And he confirmed, Okay, yes,
this is the trade. And they offered it to Atlanta.
(04:31):
They it wasn't like Atlanta asked for it. They say,
we'll give you next year's for a Trump pick. They say,
what unprotected, completely unprotected, the better of Milwaukee and yours
and they're like yeah, yeah yeah. They're like, we need
to get Joe Dumars on the phone, like this doesn't
sound right. Joe Dumars was like, Yep, that's what it is.
We're fine with it. And they're like are you sure
(04:53):
and they're like, well sure, And they called their friends
and family and they said, oh boy, we just flee somebody.
They didn't believe anyone would be stupid enough to trade
their unprotected first round pick for anyone. What a theft.
Shout out to Derek Queen. I hope you're a Hall
of Famer. I hope it all works out. Not really
(05:13):
sure how Derek Queen and Zion worked together, but that's
wild anyway, that we're not talking about the Pelicans. We're
talking about the Atlanta Hawks. So now you've got the
first opportunity we've ever seen. And we're not going to
take the Eastern Conference Finals run where it was John
Collins and fucking Clint Compett. We're not doing that the
first time really that the Hawks have surrounded Trey with
(05:35):
players to protect him, to maximize his talent. You have always,
well not always, but you've had Jalen Johnson. He's awesome.
He's coming back from injury. He's one of my favorite
players in the league period, hands down. He's an offensive monster.
I think he's going to be an All Star, he
could be an All NBA guy. He's got all the tools.
You've got the steel King in Dyson Daniels, who is
(05:58):
not only most improved player, he also an All defensive
team and he's going to continue to be a menace,
awesome figuring things out on the offensive side of the
game as well. You've got christ As Porzingis, who's if
he's out there, which a big caveat I know, and
he didn't trade much to get him. He's a great
lob threat and he's a really good rim detector. Even though,
like I said, sometimes you're only getting like forty five
(06:19):
games out of Kris STAPs, let's backload those games. You've
got Nikail Alexander Walker, who, by all intents and purposes,
was the heart and soul and, as John Krasinsky would say,
the conscience of the Minnesota Timberwolves during their Western Conference
Finals runs. He can guard the best player on the
other team. He can shoot the three, he can come
(06:40):
around screens. He's a sniper. He's savvy, he's physical. He's
just a great guy and he doesn't take anything for granted.
And those guys are rare. He's going to be a
vocal leader. I think he's just the guy. I think
he's just like the one of the glue guys on
this team. Go read John Krasinsky's piece by the way
on Nikole Alexander Walker, because I teared up reading it anyway,
(07:05):
Atlanta's gonna find out how great he is. They also
added Asa Nowell in the draft, but again, they could
end up having the number one overall pick in twenty
twenty six. So this team is on the rise. They
are looking up. What do they give up for this? Nothing?
They really gave up nothing. They've got link, They've got athleticism,
they've got two way versatility, they've got size, they got
(07:28):
ball deflectors all over the place. They got three point shooting,
they got upside. You can protect Trey Young from being
a cone on defense. All he has to do is
just do his little like get hey, you got ole,
ole ole, and then he just, you know, pokes the
ball away. It's incredible. So the San Antonios Furs are
probably upset because now the Hawks are gonna be a
(07:49):
lot better than they want them to be, considering they
have a pick swap with San Antonio and that de
Jonte Murray trade they did a few years ago when
our boy Landry Fields was still running things. This could
be an Eastern Conference Finals team. It could be Nick's
Hawks again, but in the Eastern Conference Finals, not the
first round. And if we get Trey Young in the garden.
(08:09):
We already know what kind of time we're on, which
is just an electric factory. Moving on, we have the Nuggets, man,
the Nuggets. I tell you what you have now. A
team that was on the ropes with no real depth,
(08:32):
actually no depth at all, and the only asset that
you had that you were willing to give up at
all was Michael Porter Junior. And I was wondering how
that deal could get done. I asked, even people who
work for the team, that's what you gotta do. How
are you gonna do it? They're like, we think we
can get a lot for them. I'm like, I'm not sure.
And you trade Michael Porter Jr. For Cam Johnson, who
(08:56):
if you look at the nerd websites, dunks and threes,
Cam Johnson's expected plus minus is better than Michael Porter Junior.
And he's making half as much money as him. He's
a better defender than him, not as good of a rebounder,
he's not as big, he's not as much as a sniper,
but he can shoot threes. You then use that money
(09:18):
to go get as Michael Malone used to say, Bruce
E b. Bruce E B comes back and Bruce Brown
he now fulfills the Aaron Gordon backup role, the Russell
Westbrook role. He's now like a guy who's just kind
of on the baseline, you know, backcuts, dunks, rebounds, he
can guard one through five, he can play one through five.
(09:40):
He gets you a little small ball five minutes. So
you lose MPJ, You add Cam, you add Brucey b
and then guess who else you add? You add another
role player that can shoot the three in Tim Hardaway Junior.
That's what you need. You need guys to stand on
the corner when Nicole Jogics and Jamal Murray's are doing
their thing that can hit shots. And then we already
(10:04):
know the non Jokics minutes have been atrocious awful, So
they'll go out and get Yonis valentiunas Yonness Valentinis for
what for who who they have to trade? Oh? Just nobody,
Just a guy that hasn't really cracked the rotation in
years and Dario Sarach. That's just it, that's the deal.
That's that's all it is. So now they just have
(10:26):
a really good backup center for whatever Jokics needs to blow.
So now you've got a starting lineup of Jokis, Aaron Gordon,
Christian Brown, Cam Johnson, and Jamal Murray. That is going
to be a problem, folks. Cam Johnson evers nineteen four
and three on forty eight, thirty nine and eighty nine shoots.
Shooting splits. Yoki's gonna love him. And on top of that,
(10:51):
he's just a more pleasant guy. Honestly, he's just a
more pleasant guy. That's how I would say it. And
he's making less money. Michael Porter Junior basically the exact
same numbers eight seven and two rebounds are much better.
I will give you that. Shooting splits a fifty forty
and seventy seven bat man. His free throw shooting is bad. Also,
(11:15):
really quick side road free throws. Shooting was the reason
that the Denver Nuggets lost the Okay See Thunder and
some of those were Michael Porter Junior's free throws that
he missed. Anyway, he's making thirty seven million dollars, thirty
six million dollars a year. He's got almost eighty million
dollars on the books of the next two years. Cam
Johnson's making twenty one million twenty three next year. Just
(11:35):
incredible value. Just a masterful, masterful performance. From this new
Denver front office. I'm pleased. I'm very pleased. And if
anybody what Jones Valentoo's is not coming, latest breaking news
right here on this pod is that Jones Valentounas is
(11:56):
rejecting his contract with Denver and signing a three year,
fourteen million dollar deal with Athens. Well that sucks. This
just kind of rejects everything that I was saying about
having a backup center for the non Yolkish minutes. But
breaking news is breaking news. Who are they gonna get? Now?
(12:18):
How about a little Al Horford anyone? How about a
little Al Horford? Hey, Al Whrford. You don't have to start.
We can have you in at four, we can put
you in at five, we can slatch in. We don't
even have to really use it until the end of
the season. Maybe a little Jock Landell anyone, I don't know.
Very fascinating stuff. I love what Denver did here. I
(12:41):
think that they have joined. Okay, see is the team
I want to see the most moving forward? But they
sh they gotta sort that JV replacement now, I'm actually
shook by that. All right? Moving forward, san Antonio was
rumored to make a lot of moves, major moves. They
were the player. It was literally the shortest thodds for
(13:04):
Kevin Durant. I think it was minus one eighty at
one point, meaning like not a surefire thing, a pretty
much sure brother. Anyway, they still have enough ascids to
get you, honest, because they obviously didn't get Kevin Durant.
But instead of making flashy, rash moves, which we know
a lot of teams to do, like the Milwaukee Bucks,
(13:26):
I don't even think that was flashy. I think what
the Milwaukee Bucks did was just clearly rash and reckless.
They always do what they always do, and they did
it again. They made the prudent move, the non sexy move,
the move that just continues to push the ball forward.
They drafted Dylan Harper, which they were gonna do at
number two. That was just a no brainer. He's gonna
(13:46):
be awesome. He is a leader. He's big, he's a
big kid, six', five kind of, thick pause gets to the.
Rim he's a. LEADER i think he's just a really
Great San antonio Spur how does he fit with the
other guard on the, ROSTER i don't, Know but in a,
Vacuum Dylan harper is a perfect. SPUR i think he's
gonna be productive right, away and If Darren fox was
(14:09):
on the, team may be even. Better then they go
out and Get Carter bryant From, arizona who who is
WHAT i wanted The blazers to do at. Eleven he's,
awesome three AND d, guy very, long very, rangy. ATHLETIC
i like. Him so they do, that and then they
had a player that probably nobody was thinking, about and
(14:31):
that was the guy on the top of their, list
and they went out and got. Him Luke. Cornett Luke,
cornett you say that was the guy that was on
the top of their. List that's who they. Wanted Luke
cornett was BORDERLINEY g, league veteran minimum. Guy we had
people saying he was probably gonna spend his entire career
(14:52):
In boston and then just becoming like a local folk
hero and then working at LIKE Csn, BOSTON Nbc Sports
bot as a, commentator like Like Brian. Scalabrini oh shade
To Brian, scalabrini he would give you. Book it's. Anyway,
No Luke cornett got, paid. Y'all he got Almost he
got ten over ten million dollars a. Year his lifetime
(15:15):
earnings are like ten million dollars a. Year he's making
more in one season than his lifetime. EARNINGS i love
this move for San. ANTONIO i love this move For Luke.
Cornett they finally get that guy to back up With
Victor weberyama that they thought they were gonna get In Zach.
Collins he was supposed to. Be this was funny because
(15:35):
he's supposed to be this like three point shooting big
and NOW i don't know where his three point shot,
went but it's. Gone it's not coming. Back so he's
evolved his game and now he's like back to the basket.
Guy he's a really good rim. Protector his defense is
why he's so. Valuable here's a. Stat Luke cornett allowed
a field goal percentage of just fifty two point two
(15:56):
percent when he was the closest defender at the, rim
and he contested almost eight shots in that area per
thirty six. Minutes for, Comparison Victor, wembanyama Who's Defensive player
of The year type caliber, player allowed fifty percent on
eight point eight shots in thirty six. Minutes you are
(16:17):
getting a damn near elite rim protector and he's a.
Backup he's also a pretty good, rebounder a lot better
rebounder defensively THAN i think he gets credit. For so
for a. Team actually The nuggets probably didn't have the,
money but like that would have been a good backup
for them. Too but he is going to eat up
(16:38):
a lot of those innings When victor Webb yama needs to,
sit and he's going to be capable and is going
to be able to like stop them from having these
like thirty five forty point quarters against them When Victor
wembinyama needs a. Blow AND i think that's. Awesome and
a lot of people won't see this as. SEXY a
lot of people won't see this as like a move
that you should feel excited. About but that's what San antonio.
(17:00):
Does they just continue to make the smart, move not
an interesting, move but the smart. Move and there's a
reason that he was at the top of their target
list in free. AGENCY i love what they've. Done they
took the, piece they'd let the defense tell him what to,
do you know WHAT i, mean like let the game
come to. Them San antonio is not a contender or,
anything BUT i think this team's gonna be very pesky
(17:22):
and what can we see From victor Women yama after
going to His showlin. TEMPLE i don't, know we'll, See
like if he comes out in these prime Fucking Lebron
james the type, dominance then, shit, yeah this's gonna be
a playoff team right. Away all, right let's talk about
the team's falling. Off The lakers are just a. DISASTER i,
(17:47):
mean we got reports today saying things like The lakers
would rather not Have lebron on their, Team Lebron, james
they would rather get out of The Lebron james. Business.
WOW i just need that to sink in for a.
Second any team being like we would prefer if this
(18:09):
guy would leave is fucking. Wild AND i think Maybe
Lebron james would prefer that he would, leave but he
didn't because he wants those fifty ms and if it
wasn't fifty, ms he would be, GONE i. Think AND
i have The lakers in the loser, category but we
have to put them in the goddamn they are so
(18:29):
fucking terrible category because just the character Of Rob polinka
Is i've been banging my drum about, this you, Know
God rest The dead And Jerry, west but he fucking
Hated Rob. Polinka he. Did he said that guy is a.
Snake that guy is an absolute. Snake AND i, agree
what a snaky ass thing to do To Dorian Finney.
(18:51):
Smith the rumor THAT i have heard confirmed AGAIN i
only Have i'm only one person AND i only had
a couple of people tell me that this was true
is that he went around With brin to other gms
That Dorian Phinney smith wasn't healthy so that other teams
then pick him up on free agency and give him
a longer term deal than they were willing to give
(19:12):
him so that they could tank his value and keep
him on the. Team that is such nasty. Work that's
fucking incredibly snaky. Behavior Dorian Phinney smith found out about
it and was, LIKE, Ao i'm fucking out of, here
even if it's less. Money so he ended up declining
his fifteen point four million dollar player option and he
(19:33):
signed for thirteen million dollars a, year a two million
dollar discount with The. Rockets that's how pissed he. Was,
also you've got the no state taxes thing In, texas
so it kind of works out either which. Way Fuck Rob,
polinka but you, know how snakes. Are they don't have any,
feet so they can't land on, them but they they're
always on their back and always on their. Fronts you,
(19:55):
know they're. Unkillable and The Portland, trailblazers my team did
him a little solid by buying Out DeAndre ayton's contract
and minutes after he cleared, Waivers robin Rob polink assigned
him two, years sixteen million. Dollars so they got the
center and they got it for a. Bargain but we'll
see how it, goes you know WHAT i. Mean the
rumors are That deandreton was missing practices and planes and
(20:18):
physical therapy sessions and all kinds of things you shouldn't
be missing that you should be coming up early for let,
alone maybe not being the hardest working guy in, practice
and let alone kind of wanting his post paint touches
post touches not getting, them and he's starting to get.
Upset all those things are not. Great on top of,
that to Replace Ryan Infhinny, smith they Signed Jake, laravia
(20:41):
which you gotta be a pretty hardcore fan to Know Jake.
Laavia i'm not gonna lie to you If Dorian Finney
smith is like you're the upper echelon OF nba fans
to know him like you are the ultra elite. Fan
if you Know Jake, Laavia he's not a, Replacement he's
AN ok role. Player he's. Pesky are The lakers? BETTER
(21:02):
i don't think that they. Are, Really maybe you have.
TO i, mean they didn't have a center and that was.
Garbage they're not better than they were twelve months ago
when they Had Anthony davis on the team AND i
was telling them they need to Trade Anthony. Davis but
not for. This this is. Bad this, mitigates the mitigates
the impact of someone Like ayton because now he's gonna
(21:23):
be asked to do a lot more, defensively which we
know he's not gonna. Do and it's not just the
drama With braun and what he's planning to do after
opting out of his, contract because opting into his, contract
because let's be, honest he's trying to hostage them in some.
Way there's some sort of gamesmanship going. On i'm not
really sure what it, is or what the impact of
it is or what the outcome is gonna. Be but
(21:47):
who really we should keep an eye. On is This
Luka doncic, guy because IF i was, him and this
is coming from an organization that had all kinds of
toxic workplace harassment stuff with the, maps AND i think
that The lakers basketball, wise you look around as a
player and you, SAY i don't like this at. All
(22:07):
this is just not How i'm. Rolling we got fucking
lack of. Loyalty and remember if you don't Think Dorian
Phinney smith And luca are, talking oh they're absolutely. Talking
Dorian Finnie smith Was luca's teammate In dallas and they are.
Boys SO i bet You dodo Called luca right up
on the phone and, said these motherfuckers are. Snakes you
(22:29):
better Not and maybe he still will because the money be.
Talking but when you get burned By Nico harrison the
way you, did and they throw dirt on your name
the way they, did and then your new team throws
dirt on your former teammate's name and that wasn't even,
true saying they had an injury that he did not even. Have, oh,
(22:49):
dog we can See luca be A i don't, know
sax San antonio SPUR i don't. Know we'll give, You Dylan,
Harper we'll give you its visell we'll give you, this
we'll give you. That we'll see how this all. WORKS
i am not. Optimistic lakers insiders say that the lack
of movement is to front load twenty six twenty, seven
(23:15):
When Lebron james is likely somewhere else or. Retired holy
fuck The. LAKERS i don't know what to. Say another team,
though that is, like also just goofy and reckless and
irresponsible and all the things are The Milwaukee. Bucks The
Milwaukee bucks had no cap. Room they were expected to
(23:39):
do pretty much nothing but retain their, guys so they
let go of Brook. Lopez brooklopez signs with The. CLIPPERS
i don't know why they couldn't just sign them for
whatever it. WAS i think they signed for eight million or,
something but they, said, no we Want Miles. Turner and
to that, point cap experts would, say, well you can't
(24:02):
Afford Miles. Turner and what they decided to do was
not on Anyone's bengo, card not on anyone's. Radar no
one was discussing. THIS i, mean if you were a
cap Like novice and you were, like, well there's no,
(24:22):
rules what WILL i, do maybe you'd come up with this.
One it was to Waive Damian, lillard who's making fifty
something million dollars a, year forty eight, whatever and stretch
his contract that you owe him out for five. Years holy,
(24:44):
Shit holy? Shit What so this man is not even
on the team and you have to pay him after
his contract is over so that you can Get Miles.
Turner Mill turner's a Fine i've said this many, Times
Miles turner's a fine. Player but is he worth taking
(25:07):
out a second mortgage on the house, for which is
essentially what you're. Doing you're gonna be twenty, million twenty
million in change in the whole every year for the
next five. YEARS i don't think so they needed to
do something Against giannis was, like cool with. It donnas
is always cool for a little. Chaos jannis is always
down to switch it. Up trade For, drew trade For,
(25:29):
dame get rid Of, drew get rid Of, dame trade
For Si Miles. Turner are any of these outside of
The Drew holiday, move any of these impactful? Moves, No,
giannis you play for a stinky. Organization stop trying to
get them to make decisions that are not in their
(25:50):
best interest because you are plying pressure on. Them you
look like a bad, guy you look. Stupid are you
Gonna are you gonna leave or? Not because this Seems
i'm not gonna content. Content if contending's the thing that
you're looking, for you're out of here. Now if you're,
looking if you're like one of those guys or girls
that have boyfriends or girlfriends that are, Like i'm just
(26:11):
looking for reasons to. Stay they just need to give,
me like some level of confidence that something is gonna
happen at. All, FINE i guess that he. STAYS i
guess he's just a loyal, bitch not like a not
like a, bitch but you know What i'm, saying like
a loyal, woman like a loyal, man like just. LOYAL
(26:32):
i just this is maybe the dumbest Thing i've ever
seen a team, do besides The New Orleans pelicans On Draft.
Day but good For, Dame happy For. Dame not really
exactly sure why they wouldn't Tell dame ahead of, time
and you had to find out on social. Media but,
hey IF i was getting TWENTY ms a, year and
(26:52):
THEN i could go and sign and work for another
place and get more money and extend how much earning
POWER i had and choose my destination and maybe go
to a. Contender i'd be pretty fucking, juiced especially CONSIDERING
i don't Think dame ever Liked. MILWAUKEE i don't quiet
part quiet, PART i don't Think dame really liked playing
(27:13):
with the Honest why CAN i find? Out we're gonna
find out. Anyway Miles turner kind of a better version
Of Brook, lopez but now a lot more. Expensive and
this team wasn't. Contending and where's The dame? Replacement where
is The dame? Replacement is It Gary trent who they
signed for three million? DOLLARS i don't think. So is
(27:35):
it gonna Be Kevin Porter? Junior he's a, Bucket he's A.
Bucky he's a. Bucket, no what is this team? Doing
why do you still Have kuzma on the. Roster why
couldn't you have waived and stretched? Him i'm. Baffled it
just feels. Desperate The bucks have a lot of hard
decisions to. Make giannis isn't really like a kind sweet.
(27:55):
Character he's gonna continue to apply pressure IF i, Was
IF i was The, bucks fuck, It i'm just Trading giannis.
Anyway if you don't want to, go you're going we're
trading you through The San Antonio spurs and we're getting
we're Getting Dylan, harper and we're getting anything we want
that's not Named Victor Webbin, yama and we'll. See we'll
(28:17):
end some picks and we'll see how that. Goes you
wanna apply, Pressure, yannis here's the. Pressure so that's WHAT
i would. Do very very. INTERESTING a lot of teams
with assets are scrolling their them away in the cupboard
to win That yianna, sweepstakes AND i just cannot wait
to see how this shakes. Out The Indiana pacers all
on the other end of That Milwaukee bucks baffling. Decision
(28:39):
and on one, HAND i can't really Blame indiana for
surveying the marketplace and, saying nobody's got money for, him
nobody's got money For Miles. Turner this is what we're
gonna offer, you and you're gonna take, it and you're
gonna like it because we just went to the finals
and we like you and you like, us and you Like.
(29:00):
Tyrese they didn't anticipate that a team would make a
decision not in the best interest of their long term,
Franchise LIKE i don't if you can't anticipate a lack of,
rationality a lack of self. Preservation you can't think, Like,
oh a team's gonna be so desperate that they do
(29:21):
something so out of the, ordinary it's gonna open up
magical cap space for them when They WHEN i found
out That Myles turner was Signing, milwaukee the first THING
i was, like is the math ain't math in the?
Math is Not. Mathan on the good, side they did
get their twenty twenty six first round pick back less
than forty eight hours Before Tyrese haliburton tore his, achilles,
(29:44):
which let's be, honest even if he had torn his,
ACHILLES i bet you The New Orleans publicans would have
given it back to them. Anyway but you Allow Miles
turner to walk for. Nothing you've Been he's been on
the trade walk for four fucking years SINCE i started this.
Podcast the one constant is That Miles turner's been on
the trade, block or at least been talked about being
(30:05):
on the trade. Block why didn't you just offer him
four years one? Hundred did that like herbs that fucking
pressed for the. Tax he's, LIKE i really With Tyrese
haliburt and just don't just don't want to do. THAT
i just. Don't kid's got no. Achilles i'm not Paying
Miles turner a cent more THAN i have. To and
(30:25):
now you're not Paying Miles turner at. All that's Who
that's the the reality is is now you're not Paying
Miles turner one. Cent SO i Think aliburton's injury changed a.
Lot it changed a lot for a lot of. Teams
dame's injury did as Well tatum's In, literally you have
three achilles that have sent a bigger ripple than the
(30:49):
look of an achilles tear through the throughout the Whole Eastern.
Conference The Milwaukee bucks waving Stretched dame because he tore his,
achilles The Indiana pacers end up not, well and Because
Miles turner was, available The Indiana pacers do not Sign
Miles turner for whatever it takes to sign. Him because
It's Tyreese haliburton tour his. Achilles you end up Training
(31:12):
drew and christasporzingis bow bow just like that Because Jason
tatum tore his. Achilles it's, crazy it's. Crazy, WELL i Love.
Indiana i'm hoping that this is a bounce back here for.
THEM i don't really know who they're gonna get, again How, harford,
(31:34):
anyone How. Horford this team's not probably don't even going
to do anything next. Year that's the whole, thing is
this gap. Year so you just wait and. See maybe
get a Little Derek, lively Little Daniel. GAFFORD i don't.
KNOW i don't know what to. Do stretching the. Floor
three point shooting big men are very difficult to. Find
they might have to just change their. Offense things might
(31:55):
have to go Through Andrew nemhart a lot. More we're
gonna get a lot of obi toppin' and you know.
Stopping i'll be. Topping just a quick piece of news
from around the. League starting out In New, Orleans pelicans
insider Sham At duo obliterated this. TEAM i love, THIS i,
DID i really do, loved loved love this on his
(32:16):
substack as the Only pelicans reporter at the, draft which
is fucking bush, league, Right like what one. Reporter he's
the only, one and that guy has a. Substick they
got what what is going? On and you moved. Up
it was such an impactful draft for. You you had to
have two picks in the top thirteen and you had
(32:38):
one reporter covering it who has his own. Substack, anyway
he confirmed what everyone has been saying That draft day
trade was worse than you. Thought so as we, Said
pelicans traded up from twenty three to thirteen with The
hawks For Jered, queen and all that cost him, was,
(32:58):
oh just a mere protected first round, pick most favorable
of two of the most dumpstery teams in all of THE.
Nba you read that and you probably thought that's pretty, bad,
right that's. Bad, uh this is way worse than. That
not only have The pelicans given up what could be
a very well at top five pick in a loaded,
draft they may have given up number one. Overall it
(33:21):
was immediately labeled one of the worst trades in MODERN nba.
History ONE nba executive called it the worst Non luca
trade we've seen in at least a. Decade another said
they should all be fired next year when it becomes
a top five. Pick it was just roasted. Mercilessly but
(33:43):
now we're hearing about the trade from The hawk side Via,
dua and it's somehow even. Worse Sham At dua posted
to his substack his reaction From. Atlanta there had to
be a. Mistake surely this is one Of seam's famous,
typos and he would delete the tweet and issue a. Correction, nope,
(34:04):
unprotected incredulous but, nope no. Mistake Even atlanta was, like
are we sure it's? Unprotected like? Unprotected unprotected like raw,
dog like, none like, no kind of, no. Nothing they
were so stunned they had the call A svp of
(34:26):
A hawk's operations Department bryce And, graham formerly an ASSISTANT
gm of The, pelicans was so, stunned like these, dudes he.
Said graham asked for a clarification multiple times to confirm
the unprotected pick was indeed part of the. Deal it
got to the point Where HAWKS Gm Anzie sala Called
Joe dumars directly. Himself The hawks waited nervously For dumars to,
(34:48):
confirm hoping he would not realize what was going on
and walk the trade, back but The pelicans persisted and
The hawks got their. Steal, wow it's so. BAD a
global view of the TRADE i think makes it much
worse because the twenty third pick swapped with The hawks
(35:09):
for the thirteenth pick came via very RARE Nba finals
trade Where indiana traded the number twenty three, pick the
twenty third, pick And Mohave king to The pelicans for
The pacers first, rounder Which New orleans. Held in other,
Words Derek queen cost them multiple shots at a high lottery.
(35:33):
Pick milwaukee's their own In. Indiana three draft picks from
teams with point guards who have all had Major achilles. Injuries,
well two, teams excuse, me two out of those, three
and another team, that let's be, honest we don't even
know what they're. Doing they got Like Jeremiah fears over,
there six feet. One, ANYWAY i don't know who's calling the,
(35:54):
shots BUT i know both of, Them Joe dumars And Troy,
weaver are not instilling a ton of confidence for. ME
i need to get to The Summer league. IMMEDIATELY i
need to know more about what was happening. There i'm
gonna have, to you, Know i'm gonna have to go
to Some pelicans games just to sort of stand around
and see what people had to. Say, regardless this could
go down as one of the worst trades of all,
(36:15):
time depending on how next season shakes. Out that's all
the time that We after this, episode he checked come
Back tuesday for an all new episode and check out
the feed for past episodes in the occasional mini, episode
which will come back and expectedly at you like fireworks
on the fourth Of. July do not. Freak those are,
unexpected but, hey they're, regular just like to he. Checked
do not forget to follow he checked off season off
(36:36):
seasons because the tea is. Hot that means. Downloaded to
subscribe and then tell your, friends even the ones you
haven't talked to in many, years and follow us on
TikTok and at this heat checking thats just to click On,
Twitter instagram and dreads metage in the social media platform
WHERE i post it every. Day we'll see you next.
Time
On this episode of the Heat Check. You think the
season's cool enough, You think it's time to just go
out and eat your smoked rips. You think it's time
to go over the local butcher store and get you
a hot link, not before listening to this podcast wrong again.
I look at teams that became more of a contender,
(00:21):
teams that won in the off season. So far, we
don't know what's gonna happen moving forward, but we're kind
of like coming to a close and what teams fell
off of a cliff or which ones I'm very low on.
Some teams made some shitty moves, some teams made some
great moves. We got a lot too to get to.
On this fourth of July, Wyatt dropped that motherfucker beat
that should be Rihanna. You're listening to the Hottest, the Hottest,
(00:45):
it be a podcast out here. I said what I said,
it's the heat Chet Check check which things are still
popping around the league, but we've got dust settling. Give
enough dust settling, give us a nice overview of what
teams I think have become much better or at least
(01:06):
made smart moves, and who has been falling off the
wagon in the wake of free agency. Who's fallen off
the wagon? Lakers? Lakers anyway, Let's talk about the teams
that I like. I don't. Didn't anticipate this, didn't anticipate
saying this. I am in on the Atlanta Hawks, who, yes,
(01:30):
I am. I'm in on them. I know you can't,
but if you've been a long time listener, you can't
believe it either. But you know what's changed. Everything's changed.
The owner hasn't changed. But all those people who are
making decisions, they're smart people, not dumb people. So out
goes dumb Landry Fields and all of his little lieutenants
(01:53):
and incomes Anzi Sala, and Sala has already been putting
in work. The Hawks not only got rid of Terrence
Man's awful contract to get Kristaps Porzingis in a three
team deal, they pick up Nikaile Alexander Walker, who was
the bell of the ball the three and D wing
(02:14):
everybody was salivating for pause. They needed shooting when they
got rid of George Niang and Karris LeVert, and they
pick up Luke Kennard, literally the best shooter in the
league from three this year forty three point six percent.
And then on Draft Day. This happened after draft Day,
but let's talk about draft day. They fleece New Orleans
(02:38):
out of what could very easily be the number one
overall pick next year in a loaded draft because they
traded their thirteenth pick in the twenty twenty five round
for the twenty in the twenty twenty fifth year. Excuse
me in the why I say twenty twenty five round
for the twenty third pick in this last year's draft
(03:04):
for New Orleans's unprotected twenty twenty six first rounder and
that twenty third pick. It's okay, let me just say
it again. They traded their thirteenth pick in this year's draft,
and what they got back was ten flocks later in
the same draft and an unprotected twenty twenty six first rounder,
which is gonna be either the better of either Milwaukee
(03:26):
or New Orleans. Both those teams are dumpster fires, baby,
the better of them that could very well be the
number one, number two, number three pick. It's such an
egregious trade that I think we're gonna be writing about
this thing for decades, the Joe Dumar's era. I just
(03:48):
can't get enough. This trade was so egregious, and I'm
absolutely loving this Joe Dumars era because I always want
to see one or two dumb guys get fleeced. That's
just like what I love. I just this is the
stuff I live for. Chaos. It was such a bad
trade that it's reported that the Hawks had to ask
(04:10):
for clarification multiple times from the Pelicans' assistant GM, Troy Weaver, who,
if you're a longtime listener, you know how much I
hate Troy Weaver, a former GM of the Detroit Pistons
who was a complete dumpster fire. And he confirmed, Okay, yes,
this is the trade. And they offered it to Atlanta.
(04:31):
They it wasn't like Atlanta asked for it. They say,
we'll give you next year's for a Trump pick. They say,
what unprotected, completely unprotected, the better of Milwaukee and yours
and they're like yeah, yeah yeah. They're like, we need
to get Joe Dumars on the phone, like this doesn't
sound right. Joe Dumars was like, Yep, that's what it is.
We're fine with it. And they're like are you sure
(04:53):
and they're like, well sure, And they called their friends
and family and they said, oh boy, we just flee somebody.
They didn't believe anyone would be stupid enough to trade
their unprotected first round pick for anyone. What a theft.
Shout out to Derek Queen. I hope you're a Hall
of Famer. I hope it all works out. Not really
(05:13):
sure how Derek Queen and Zion worked together, but that's
wild anyway, that we're not talking about the Pelicans. We're
talking about the Atlanta Hawks. So now you've got the
first opportunity we've ever seen. And we're not going to
take the Eastern Conference Finals run where it was John
Collins and fucking Clint Compett. We're not doing that the
first time really that the Hawks have surrounded Trey with
(05:35):
players to protect him, to maximize his talent. You have always,
well not always, but you've had Jalen Johnson. He's awesome.
He's coming back from injury. He's one of my favorite
players in the league period, hands down. He's an offensive monster.
I think he's going to be an All Star, he
could be an All NBA guy. He's got all the tools.
You've got the steel King in Dyson Daniels, who is
(05:58):
not only most improved player, he also an All defensive
team and he's going to continue to be a menace,
awesome figuring things out on the offensive side of the
game as well. You've got christ As Porzingis, who's if
he's out there, which a big caveat I know, and
he didn't trade much to get him. He's a great
lob threat and he's a really good rim detector. Even though,
like I said, sometimes you're only getting like forty five
(06:19):
games out of Kris STAPs, let's backload those games. You've
got Nikail Alexander Walker, who, by all intents and purposes,
was the heart and soul and, as John Krasinsky would say,
the conscience of the Minnesota Timberwolves during their Western Conference
Finals runs. He can guard the best player on the
other team. He can shoot the three, he can come
(06:40):
around screens. He's a sniper. He's savvy, he's physical. He's
just a great guy and he doesn't take anything for granted.
And those guys are rare. He's going to be a
vocal leader. I think he's just the guy. I think
he's just like the one of the glue guys on
this team. Go read John Krasinsky's piece by the way
on Nikole Alexander Walker, because I teared up reading it anyway,
(07:05):
Atlanta's gonna find out how great he is. They also
added Asa Nowell in the draft, but again, they could
end up having the number one overall pick in twenty
twenty six. So this team is on the rise. They
are looking up. What do they give up for this? Nothing?
They really gave up nothing. They've got link, They've got athleticism,
they've got two way versatility, they've got size, they got
(07:28):
ball deflectors all over the place. They got three point shooting,
they got upside. You can protect Trey Young from being
a cone on defense. All he has to do is
just do his little like get hey, you got ole,
ole ole, and then he just, you know, pokes the
ball away. It's incredible. So the San Antonios Furs are
probably upset because now the Hawks are gonna be a
(07:49):
lot better than they want them to be, considering they
have a pick swap with San Antonio and that de
Jonte Murray trade they did a few years ago when
our boy Landry Fields was still running things. This could
be an Eastern Conference Finals team. It could be Nick's
Hawks again, but in the Eastern Conference Finals, not the
first round. And if we get Trey Young in the garden.
(08:09):
We already know what kind of time we're on, which
is just an electric factory. Moving on, we have the Nuggets, man,
the Nuggets. I tell you what you have now. A
team that was on the ropes with no real depth,
(08:32):
actually no depth at all, and the only asset that
you had that you were willing to give up at
all was Michael Porter Junior. And I was wondering how
that deal could get done. I asked, even people who
work for the team, that's what you gotta do. How
are you gonna do it? They're like, we think we
can get a lot for them. I'm like, I'm not sure.
And you trade Michael Porter Jr. For Cam Johnson, who
(08:56):
if you look at the nerd websites, dunks and threes,
Cam Johnson's expected plus minus is better than Michael Porter Junior.
And he's making half as much money as him. He's
a better defender than him, not as good of a rebounder,
he's not as big, he's not as much as a sniper,
but he can shoot threes. You then use that money
(09:18):
to go get as Michael Malone used to say, Bruce
E b. Bruce E B comes back and Bruce Brown
he now fulfills the Aaron Gordon backup role, the Russell
Westbrook role. He's now like a guy who's just kind
of on the baseline, you know, backcuts, dunks, rebounds, he
can guard one through five, he can play one through five.
(09:40):
He gets you a little small ball five minutes. So
you lose MPJ, You add Cam, you add Brucey b
and then guess who else you add? You add another
role player that can shoot the three in Tim Hardaway Junior.
That's what you need. You need guys to stand on
the corner when Nicole Jogics and Jamal Murray's are doing
their thing that can hit shots. And then we already
(10:04):
know the non Jokics minutes have been atrocious awful, So
they'll go out and get Yonis valentiunas Yonness Valentinis for
what for who who they have to trade? Oh? Just nobody,
Just a guy that hasn't really cracked the rotation in
years and Dario Sarach. That's just it, that's the deal.
That's that's all it is. So now they just have
(10:26):
a really good backup center for whatever Jokics needs to blow.
So now you've got a starting lineup of Jokis, Aaron Gordon,
Christian Brown, Cam Johnson, and Jamal Murray. That is going
to be a problem, folks. Cam Johnson evers nineteen four
and three on forty eight, thirty nine and eighty nine shoots.
Shooting splits. Yoki's gonna love him. And on top of that,
(10:51):
he's just a more pleasant guy. Honestly, he's just a
more pleasant guy. That's how I would say it. And
he's making less money. Michael Porter Junior basically the exact
same numbers eight seven and two rebounds are much better.
I will give you that. Shooting splits a fifty forty
and seventy seven bat man. His free throw shooting is bad. Also,
(11:15):
really quick side road free throws. Shooting was the reason
that the Denver Nuggets lost the Okay See Thunder and
some of those were Michael Porter Junior's free throws that
he missed. Anyway, he's making thirty seven million dollars, thirty
six million dollars a year. He's got almost eighty million
dollars on the books of the next two years. Cam
Johnson's making twenty one million twenty three next year. Just
(11:35):
incredible value. Just a masterful, masterful performance. From this new
Denver front office. I'm pleased. I'm very pleased. And if
anybody what Jones Valentoo's is not coming, latest breaking news
right here on this pod is that Jones Valentounas is
(11:56):
rejecting his contract with Denver and signing a three year,
fourteen million dollar deal with Athens. Well that sucks. This
just kind of rejects everything that I was saying about
having a backup center for the non Yolkish minutes. But
breaking news is breaking news. Who are they gonna get? Now?
(12:18):
How about a little Al Horford anyone? How about a
little Al Horford? Hey, Al Whrford. You don't have to start.
We can have you in at four, we can put
you in at five, we can slatch in. We don't
even have to really use it until the end of
the season. Maybe a little Jock Landell anyone, I don't know.
Very fascinating stuff. I love what Denver did here. I
(12:41):
think that they have joined. Okay, see is the team
I want to see the most moving forward? But they
sh they gotta sort that JV replacement now, I'm actually
shook by that. All right? Moving forward, san Antonio was
rumored to make a lot of moves, major moves. They
were the player. It was literally the shortest thodds for
(13:04):
Kevin Durant. I think it was minus one eighty at
one point, meaning like not a surefire thing, a pretty
much sure brother. Anyway, they still have enough ascids to
get you, honest, because they obviously didn't get Kevin Durant.
But instead of making flashy, rash moves, which we know
a lot of teams to do, like the Milwaukee Bucks,
(13:26):
I don't even think that was flashy. I think what
the Milwaukee Bucks did was just clearly rash and reckless.
They always do what they always do, and they did
it again. They made the prudent move, the non sexy move,
the move that just continues to push the ball forward.
They drafted Dylan Harper, which they were gonna do at
number two. That was just a no brainer. He's gonna
(13:46):
be awesome. He is a leader. He's big, he's a
big kid, six', five kind of, thick pause gets to the.
Rim he's a. LEADER i think he's just a really
Great San antonio Spur how does he fit with the
other guard on the, ROSTER i don't, Know but in a,
Vacuum Dylan harper is a perfect. SPUR i think he's
gonna be productive right, away and If Darren fox was
(14:09):
on the, team may be even. Better then they go
out and Get Carter bryant From, arizona who who is
WHAT i wanted The blazers to do at. Eleven he's,
awesome three AND d, guy very, long very, rangy. ATHLETIC
i like. Him so they do, that and then they
had a player that probably nobody was thinking, about and
(14:31):
that was the guy on the top of their, list
and they went out and got. Him Luke. Cornett Luke,
cornett you say that was the guy that was on
the top of their. List that's who they. Wanted Luke
cornett was BORDERLINEY g, league veteran minimum. Guy we had
people saying he was probably gonna spend his entire career
(14:52):
In boston and then just becoming like a local folk
hero and then working at LIKE Csn, BOSTON Nbc Sports
bot as a, commentator like Like Brian. Scalabrini oh shade
To Brian, scalabrini he would give you. Book it's. Anyway,
No Luke cornett got, paid. Y'all he got Almost he
got ten over ten million dollars a. Year his lifetime
(15:15):
earnings are like ten million dollars a. Year he's making
more in one season than his lifetime. EARNINGS i love
this move for San. ANTONIO i love this move For Luke.
Cornett they finally get that guy to back up With
Victor weberyama that they thought they were gonna get In Zach.
Collins he was supposed to. Be this was funny because
(15:35):
he's supposed to be this like three point shooting big
and NOW i don't know where his three point shot,
went but it's. Gone it's not coming. Back so he's
evolved his game and now he's like back to the basket.
Guy he's a really good rim. Protector his defense is
why he's so. Valuable here's a. Stat Luke cornett allowed
a field goal percentage of just fifty two point two
(15:56):
percent when he was the closest defender at the, rim
and he contested almost eight shots in that area per
thirty six. Minutes for, Comparison Victor, wembanyama Who's Defensive player
of The year type caliber, player allowed fifty percent on
eight point eight shots in thirty six. Minutes you are
(16:17):
getting a damn near elite rim protector and he's a.
Backup he's also a pretty good, rebounder a lot better
rebounder defensively THAN i think he gets credit. For so
for a. Team actually The nuggets probably didn't have the,
money but like that would have been a good backup
for them. Too but he is going to eat up
(16:38):
a lot of those innings When victor Webb yama needs to,
sit and he's going to be capable and is going
to be able to like stop them from having these
like thirty five forty point quarters against them When Victor
wembinyama needs a. Blow AND i think that's. Awesome and
a lot of people won't see this as. SEXY a
lot of people won't see this as like a move
that you should feel excited. About but that's what San antonio.
(17:00):
Does they just continue to make the smart, move not
an interesting, move but the smart. Move and there's a
reason that he was at the top of their target
list in free. AGENCY i love what they've. Done they
took the, piece they'd let the defense tell him what to,
do you know WHAT i, mean like let the game
come to. Them San antonio is not a contender or,
anything BUT i think this team's gonna be very pesky
(17:22):
and what can we see From victor Women yama after
going to His showlin. TEMPLE i don't, know we'll, See
like if he comes out in these prime Fucking Lebron
james the type, dominance then, shit, yeah this's gonna be
a playoff team right. Away all, right let's talk about
the team's falling. Off The lakers are just a. DISASTER i,
(17:47):
mean we got reports today saying things like The lakers
would rather not Have lebron on their, Team Lebron, james
they would rather get out of The Lebron james. Business.
WOW i just need that to sink in for a.
Second any team being like we would prefer if this
(18:09):
guy would leave is fucking. Wild AND i think Maybe
Lebron james would prefer that he would, leave but he
didn't because he wants those fifty ms and if it
wasn't fifty, ms he would be, GONE i. Think AND
i have The lakers in the loser, category but we
have to put them in the goddamn they are so
(18:29):
fucking terrible category because just the character Of Rob polinka
Is i've been banging my drum about, this you, Know
God rest The dead And Jerry, west but he fucking
Hated Rob. Polinka he. Did he said that guy is a.
Snake that guy is an absolute. Snake AND i, agree
what a snaky ass thing to do To Dorian Finney.
(18:51):
Smith the rumor THAT i have heard confirmed AGAIN i
only Have i'm only one person AND i only had
a couple of people tell me that this was true
is that he went around With brin to other gms
That Dorian Phinney smith wasn't healthy so that other teams
then pick him up on free agency and give him
a longer term deal than they were willing to give
(19:12):
him so that they could tank his value and keep
him on the. Team that is such nasty. Work that's
fucking incredibly snaky. Behavior Dorian Phinney smith found out about
it and was, LIKE, Ao i'm fucking out of, here
even if it's less. Money so he ended up declining
his fifteen point four million dollar player option and he
(19:33):
signed for thirteen million dollars a, year a two million
dollar discount with The. Rockets that's how pissed he. Was,
also you've got the no state taxes thing In, texas
so it kind of works out either which. Way Fuck Rob,
polinka but you, know how snakes. Are they don't have any,
feet so they can't land on, them but they they're
always on their back and always on their. Fronts you,
(19:55):
know they're. Unkillable and The Portland, trailblazers my team did
him a little solid by buying Out DeAndre ayton's contract
and minutes after he cleared, Waivers robin Rob polink assigned
him two, years sixteen million. Dollars so they got the
center and they got it for a. Bargain but we'll
see how it, goes you know WHAT i. Mean the
rumors are That deandreton was missing practices and planes and
(20:18):
physical therapy sessions and all kinds of things you shouldn't
be missing that you should be coming up early for let,
alone maybe not being the hardest working guy in, practice
and let alone kind of wanting his post paint touches
post touches not getting, them and he's starting to get.
Upset all those things are not. Great on top of,
that to Replace Ryan Infhinny, smith they Signed Jake, laravia
(20:41):
which you gotta be a pretty hardcore fan to Know Jake.
Laavia i'm not gonna lie to you If Dorian Finney
smith is like you're the upper echelon OF nba fans
to know him like you are the ultra elite. Fan
if you Know Jake, Laavia he's not a, Replacement he's
AN ok role. Player he's. Pesky are The lakers? BETTER
(21:02):
i don't think that they. Are, Really maybe you have.
TO i, mean they didn't have a center and that was.
Garbage they're not better than they were twelve months ago
when they Had Anthony davis on the team AND i
was telling them they need to Trade Anthony. Davis but
not for. This this is. Bad this, mitigates the mitigates
the impact of someone Like ayton because now he's gonna
(21:23):
be asked to do a lot more, defensively which we
know he's not gonna. Do and it's not just the
drama With braun and what he's planning to do after
opting out of his, contract because opting into his, contract
because let's be, honest he's trying to hostage them in some.
Way there's some sort of gamesmanship going. On i'm not
really sure what it, is or what the impact of
it is or what the outcome is gonna. Be but
(21:47):
who really we should keep an eye. On is This
Luka doncic, guy because IF i was, him and this
is coming from an organization that had all kinds of
toxic workplace harassment stuff with the, maps AND i think
that The lakers basketball, wise you look around as a
player and you, SAY i don't like this at. All
(22:07):
this is just not How i'm. Rolling we got fucking
lack of. Loyalty and remember if you don't Think Dorian
Phinney smith And luca are, talking oh they're absolutely. Talking
Dorian Finnie smith Was luca's teammate In dallas and they are.
Boys SO i bet You dodo Called luca right up
on the phone and, said these motherfuckers are. Snakes you
(22:29):
better Not and maybe he still will because the money be.
Talking but when you get burned By Nico harrison the
way you, did and they throw dirt on your name
the way they, did and then your new team throws
dirt on your former teammate's name and that wasn't even,
true saying they had an injury that he did not even. Have, oh,
(22:49):
dog we can See luca be A i don't, know
sax San antonio SPUR i don't. Know we'll give, You Dylan,
Harper we'll give you its visell we'll give you, this
we'll give you. That we'll see how this all. WORKS
i am not. Optimistic lakers insiders say that the lack
of movement is to front load twenty six twenty, seven
(23:15):
When Lebron james is likely somewhere else or. Retired holy
fuck The. LAKERS i don't know what to. Say another team,
though that is, like also just goofy and reckless and
irresponsible and all the things are The Milwaukee. Bucks The
Milwaukee bucks had no cap. Room they were expected to
(23:39):
do pretty much nothing but retain their, guys so they
let go of Brook. Lopez brooklopez signs with The. CLIPPERS
i don't know why they couldn't just sign them for
whatever it. WAS i think they signed for eight million or,
something but they, said, no we Want Miles. Turner and
to that, point cap experts would, say, well you can't
(24:02):
Afford Miles. Turner and what they decided to do was
not on Anyone's bengo, card not on anyone's. Radar no
one was discussing. THIS i, mean if you were a
cap Like novice and you were, like, well there's no,
(24:22):
rules what WILL i, do maybe you'd come up with this.
One it was to Waive Damian, lillard who's making fifty
something million dollars a, year forty eight, whatever and stretch
his contract that you owe him out for five. Years holy,
(24:44):
Shit holy? Shit What so this man is not even
on the team and you have to pay him after
his contract is over so that you can Get Miles.
Turner Mill turner's a Fine i've said this many, Times
Miles turner's a fine. Player but is he worth taking
(25:07):
out a second mortgage on the house, for which is
essentially what you're. Doing you're gonna be twenty, million twenty
million in change in the whole every year for the
next five. YEARS i don't think so they needed to
do something Against giannis was, like cool with. It donnas
is always cool for a little. Chaos jannis is always
down to switch it. Up trade For, drew trade For,
(25:29):
dame get rid Of, drew get rid Of, dame trade
For Si Miles. Turner are any of these outside of
The Drew holiday, move any of these impactful? Moves, No,
giannis you play for a stinky. Organization stop trying to
get them to make decisions that are not in their
(25:50):
best interest because you are plying pressure on. Them you
look like a bad, guy you look. Stupid are you
Gonna are you gonna leave or? Not because this Seems
i'm not gonna content. Content if contending's the thing that
you're looking, for you're out of here. Now if you're,
looking if you're like one of those guys or girls
that have boyfriends or girlfriends that are, Like i'm just
(26:11):
looking for reasons to. Stay they just need to give,
me like some level of confidence that something is gonna
happen at. All, FINE i guess that he. STAYS i
guess he's just a loyal, bitch not like a not
like a, bitch but you know What i'm, saying like
a loyal, woman like a loyal, man like just. LOYAL
(26:32):
i just this is maybe the dumbest Thing i've ever
seen a team, do besides The New Orleans pelicans On Draft.
Day but good For, Dame happy For. Dame not really
exactly sure why they wouldn't Tell dame ahead of, time
and you had to find out on social. Media but,
hey IF i was getting TWENTY ms a, year and
(26:52):
THEN i could go and sign and work for another
place and get more money and extend how much earning
POWER i had and choose my destination and maybe go
to a. Contender i'd be pretty fucking, juiced especially CONSIDERING
i don't Think dame ever Liked. MILWAUKEE i don't quiet
part quiet, PART i don't Think dame really liked playing
(27:13):
with the Honest why CAN i find? Out we're gonna
find out. Anyway Miles turner kind of a better version
Of Brook, lopez but now a lot more. Expensive and
this team wasn't. Contending and where's The dame? Replacement where
is The dame? Replacement is It Gary trent who they
signed for three million? DOLLARS i don't think. So is
(27:35):
it gonna Be Kevin Porter? Junior he's a, Bucket he's A.
Bucky he's a. Bucket, no what is this team? Doing
why do you still Have kuzma on the. Roster why
couldn't you have waived and stretched? Him i'm. Baffled it
just feels. Desperate The bucks have a lot of hard
decisions to. Make giannis isn't really like a kind sweet.
(27:55):
Character he's gonna continue to apply pressure IF i, Was
IF i was The, bucks fuck, It i'm just Trading giannis.
Anyway if you don't want to, go you're going we're
trading you through The San Antonio spurs and we're getting
we're Getting Dylan, harper and we're getting anything we want
that's not Named Victor Webbin, yama and we'll. See we'll
(28:17):
end some picks and we'll see how that. Goes you
wanna apply, Pressure, yannis here's the. Pressure so that's WHAT
i would. Do very very. INTERESTING a lot of teams
with assets are scrolling their them away in the cupboard
to win That yianna, sweepstakes AND i just cannot wait
to see how this shakes. Out The Indiana pacers all
on the other end of That Milwaukee bucks baffling. Decision
(28:39):
and on one, HAND i can't really Blame indiana for
surveying the marketplace and, saying nobody's got money for, him
nobody's got money For Miles. Turner this is what we're
gonna offer, you and you're gonna take, it and you're
gonna like it because we just went to the finals
and we like you and you like, us and you Like.
(29:00):
Tyrese they didn't anticipate that a team would make a
decision not in the best interest of their long term,
Franchise LIKE i don't if you can't anticipate a lack of,
rationality a lack of self. Preservation you can't think, Like,
oh a team's gonna be so desperate that they do
(29:21):
something so out of the, ordinary it's gonna open up
magical cap space for them when They WHEN i found
out That Myles turner was Signing, milwaukee the first THING
i was, like is the math ain't math in the?
Math is Not. Mathan on the good, side they did
get their twenty twenty six first round pick back less
than forty eight hours Before Tyrese haliburton tore his, achilles,
(29:44):
which let's be, honest even if he had torn his,
ACHILLES i bet you The New Orleans publicans would have
given it back to them. Anyway but you Allow Miles
turner to walk for. Nothing you've Been he's been on
the trade walk for four fucking years SINCE i started this.
Podcast the one constant is That Miles turner's been on
the trade, block or at least been talked about being
(30:05):
on the trade. Block why didn't you just offer him
four years one? Hundred did that like herbs that fucking
pressed for the. Tax he's, LIKE i really With Tyrese
haliburt and just don't just don't want to do. THAT
i just. Don't kid's got no. Achilles i'm not Paying
Miles turner a cent more THAN i have. To and
(30:25):
now you're not Paying Miles turner at. All that's Who
that's the the reality is is now you're not Paying
Miles turner one. Cent SO i Think aliburton's injury changed a.
Lot it changed a lot for a lot of. Teams
dame's injury did as Well tatum's In, literally you have
three achilles that have sent a bigger ripple than the
(30:49):
look of an achilles tear through the throughout the Whole Eastern.
Conference The Milwaukee bucks waving Stretched dame because he tore his,
achilles The Indiana pacers end up not, well and Because
Miles turner was, available The Indiana pacers do not Sign
Miles turner for whatever it takes to sign. Him because
It's Tyreese haliburton tour his. Achilles you end up Training
(31:12):
drew and christasporzingis bow bow just like that Because Jason
tatum tore his. Achilles it's, crazy it's. Crazy, WELL i Love.
Indiana i'm hoping that this is a bounce back here for.
THEM i don't really know who they're gonna get, again How, harford,
(31:34):
anyone How. Horford this team's not probably don't even going
to do anything next. Year that's the whole, thing is
this gap. Year so you just wait and. See maybe
get a Little Derek, lively Little Daniel. GAFFORD i don't.
KNOW i don't know what to. Do stretching the. Floor
three point shooting big men are very difficult to. Find
they might have to just change their. Offense things might
(31:55):
have to go Through Andrew nemhart a lot. More we're
gonna get a lot of obi toppin' and you know.
Stopping i'll be. Topping just a quick piece of news
from around the. League starting out In New, Orleans pelicans
insider Sham At duo obliterated this. TEAM i love, THIS i,
DID i really do, loved loved love this on his
(32:16):
substack as the Only pelicans reporter at the, draft which
is fucking bush, league, Right like what one. Reporter he's
the only, one and that guy has a. Substick they
got what what is going? On and you moved. Up
it was such an impactful draft for. You you had to
have two picks in the top thirteen and you had
(32:38):
one reporter covering it who has his own. Substack, anyway
he confirmed what everyone has been saying That draft day
trade was worse than you. Thought so as we, Said
pelicans traded up from twenty three to thirteen with The
hawks For Jered, queen and all that cost him, was,
(32:58):
oh just a mere protected first round, pick most favorable
of two of the most dumpstery teams in all of THE.
Nba you read that and you probably thought that's pretty, bad,
right that's. Bad, uh this is way worse than. That
not only have The pelicans given up what could be
a very well at top five pick in a loaded,
draft they may have given up number one. Overall it
(33:21):
was immediately labeled one of the worst trades in MODERN nba.
History ONE nba executive called it the worst Non luca
trade we've seen in at least a. Decade another said
they should all be fired next year when it becomes
a top five. Pick it was just roasted. Mercilessly but
(33:43):
now we're hearing about the trade from The hawk side Via,
dua and it's somehow even. Worse Sham At dua posted
to his substack his reaction From. Atlanta there had to
be a. Mistake surely this is one Of seam's famous,
typos and he would delete the tweet and issue a. Correction, nope,
(34:04):
unprotected incredulous but, nope no. Mistake Even atlanta was, like
are we sure it's? Unprotected like? Unprotected unprotected like raw,
dog like, none like, no kind of, no. Nothing they
were so stunned they had the call A svp of
(34:26):
A hawk's operations Department bryce And, graham formerly an ASSISTANT
gm of The, pelicans was so, stunned like these, dudes he.
Said graham asked for a clarification multiple times to confirm
the unprotected pick was indeed part of the. Deal it
got to the point Where HAWKS Gm Anzie sala Called
Joe dumars directly. Himself The hawks waited nervously For dumars to,
(34:48):
confirm hoping he would not realize what was going on
and walk the trade, back but The pelicans persisted and
The hawks got their. Steal, wow it's so. BAD a
global view of the TRADE i think makes it much
worse because the twenty third pick swapped with The hawks
(35:09):
for the thirteenth pick came via very RARE Nba finals
trade Where indiana traded the number twenty three, pick the
twenty third, pick And Mohave king to The pelicans for
The pacers first, rounder Which New orleans. Held in other,
Words Derek queen cost them multiple shots at a high lottery.
(35:33):
Pick milwaukee's their own In. Indiana three draft picks from
teams with point guards who have all had Major achilles. Injuries,
well two, teams excuse, me two out of those, three
and another team, that let's be, honest we don't even
know what they're. Doing they got Like Jeremiah fears over,
there six feet. One, ANYWAY i don't know who's calling the,
(35:54):
shots BUT i know both of, Them Joe dumars And Troy,
weaver are not instilling a ton of confidence for. ME
i need to get to The Summer league. IMMEDIATELY i
need to know more about what was happening. There i'm
gonna have, to you, Know i'm gonna have to go
to Some pelicans games just to sort of stand around
and see what people had to. Say, regardless this could
go down as one of the worst trades of all,
(36:15):
time depending on how next season shakes. Out that's all
the time that We after this, episode he checked come
Back tuesday for an all new episode and check out
the feed for past episodes in the occasional mini, episode
which will come back and expectedly at you like fireworks
on the fourth Of. July do not. Freak those are,
unexpected but, hey they're, regular just like to he. Checked
do not forget to follow he checked off season off
(36:36):
seasons because the tea is. Hot that means. Downloaded to
subscribe and then tell your, friends even the ones you
haven't talked to in many, years and follow us on
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