← Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Biggest Winners & Losers of Free Agency Day 1
01:04:53
Hoop Collective: Biggest Winners & Losers of Free Agency Day 1
Loading summary
Transcript238 lines
- [00:00]
Brian Windhorst
This message is brought to you by Abercrombie and Fitch. I've been ready for summer for a while and now it's finally time for summer outfits. With a trip coming up, the A and F vacation shop has me covered. Abercrombie really knows how to do a lightweight outfit. Their tees, sweater, polos and linen blend shorts never miss. I wear Abercrombie denim year round. Their shorts are no different and have the comfort I need for summer prep. For your next trip with the A and F vacation shop, get their newest arrivals in store online and in the app foreign.
- [00:36]
Tim Bontemps
Welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Monday evening. Joining me from New York City is Tim Bontemps.
- [00:44]
Brian Windhorst
Hello, everybody.
- [00:45]
Tim Bontemps
Joining us from Dallas, Texas, the new home of D' Angelo Russell is Bam McMahon.
- [00:49]
Bam Adebayo
Howdy, partners. You know what they say, D' Angelo wins championships, huh?
- [00:55]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah, not bad. All right, so first day of free agency is mostly in the books. I'm sure that there will still be transactions that happen from when we record this to when it posts, but that's the nature of the beast. However, we've seen a lion's share of maneuvers across the league. On the first day. We're going to kind of go over some winners and losers. Should we do the winners or the losers first?
- [01:16]
Bam Adebayo
Oh, you know what you want to do.
- [01:18]
Tim Bontemps
Well, I'm just a little bit skeptical of calling the team a loser on the first day of free agency because.
- [01:23]
Brian Windhorst
Where would you like to start, Brian? That's the question. We can decide which way to go.
- [01:28]
Bam Adebayo
Can you hit their arena with a rock right now if you had a good arm?
- [01:32]
Tim Bontemps
You know, every year in and around July 4th here in downtown LA, they have the anime convention. And every year it gets bigger and every year it gets a little bit weirder and the anime folks are starting to move in around here. So I have free agency in anime every year this time of year. Anyway, the Lakers, I thought for sure would have a center done by tonight. They don't. And the night is not over. The sun is still up here in la, so it could still happen. But a number of centers have come off the board and they're not. They're not Lakers. And as we do this, Deandre Ayton has not signed, but I don't know if he's going to be a Lakers, so we'll see. What I'm interested in when it comes to the Lakers is that they agreed to a contract with Jake Laravia, who is a. You know, he's a backup wing player combo forward. You know, they lost Dorian Finney Smith to the Rockets on a four year deal. I will be interested to see how much of those four years are guaranteed. The the Rockets are known for doing team options and non guaranteed money. But the Lakers lost a wing defender in Dorian Finney Smith and they replaced him with Jake Laravia. And what I'm a little bit what I totally you know, again we're first night free agency is ongoing but they used $6 million bond temps and that $6 million allowed the Clippers to outbid Brook Lopez. Allowed them to outbid for Brook Lopez. Now I don't know if Brook Lopez's decision came down to money. Brook Lopez ended up signing with the Clippers to do to be a backup for 9 million a year. The Lakers had less than that because they had promised Jake LaRavia the 6 million. As far as far as I understand and again I'm not saying it was the only decision but that was, that was a factor. And then Clint Capella, who I think was an option for them ended up going to Houston. So bon temps. I'm not sure, maybe the Lakers didn't prioritize. Brook. I don't want to make it sound like they were out totally outmaneuvered, but if I were the Lakers I would have had my first signing be a center, not a backup forward.
- [04:12]
Brian Windhorst
I mean if you look at the way pre h he's played out so far. You know, as you said, we're still we saw the DeAndre situation outstanding. He's still got a little ways to go before he clears waivers. You know, Luke Cornett assigned with the San Antonio spurs, good big like would have been a potential starter for the Lakers. He's off the board. Capella obviously wouldn't have been a super exciting option, but at least as a lob threat he's off the board. Brook Lopez, which I think we all thought was going to wind up with the Lakers. That was sort of what the trending belief was to your point. He goes off the board. And not only goes off the board, goes to the Clippers who have an incredibly deep and interesting team now. Getting Nick Batum back, getting Brook back. Him and Vitz Zubox are tremendous combo inside. Like the complimentary skills really like that. You know, Al Horford sitting out there still. We'll see what happens without Horford. I don't think he's going to the Lakers. Like what have we talked about since the moment the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic? Well, they got to find A long term center. They took about five minutes to trade for Mark Williams, then bailed on that five minutes later. And now we're sitting here five months later and the one deep position in the market, the center spot, virtually every option's off the board. The Lakers don't have anybody signed. It's not really clear what direction they're going to go in. And to your point, like Jake Laravia is a nice player, like I think that's a fine signing for them, but maybe this means that they're going to do a trade with one of these various expiring contracts they have or with Austin Reeves or something to get a center. But you certainly have to assume the Lakers are going to come out of this offseason with some sort of center long term. And as of now it looks like the only way that's going to be is via trade. And you know, I'm not sure immediately who makes sense for them to go get on that front.
- [06:17]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, now I will say Capella or Lopez would not have been long term solutions for la. They'd have been stopgap solutions. And, and Capella, frankly at this point is a quality backup. I was surprised that he landed back with Houston simply because, you know, they have two good bigs, Al Parin Shingoon and Stephen Adams. You know, they valued him as a, as a third big. They want to play a bunch of dual big lineups, whatever. You know, I thought he was going to land with the Clippers. I thought he was going to reunite with James Harden, not with the Rockets. But when Lopez, like you said, everything kind of the intel was pointing toward Brook Lopez signing with the Lakers. When you saw Lopez to the Clippers, it's like, ooh, okay, that's an issue. But you know, regardless, there's no like long term solution on the horizon for Luca unless I in terms of pick and roll partner for Luca, unless like you said, they, they pull a trade and I don't know, man. And again, you're telling me you don't think deandre Ayton lands in with the Lakers? I'm telling you, I don't think he'd be a good fit with Luke anyway. If you're Luca and they haven't figured something out by August 2nd when you're eligible to sign your extension. Maybe you just want to say let's revisit that next summer.
- [07:55]
Tim Bontemps
Look, I mean Jason Quick, who is a long time writer based in Portland who's covered the Blazers for many, many, many years and he currently writes for the Athletic he wrote a story tonight that, that detailed one of the re. Some of the reasons why the Blazers, you know, moved on from Deandre Ayton and you know, I'm not going to get into all of it right now. It's nothing like, you know, it's bad habits. Not like it's anything sinister but you know, if I read that I, you know, and assuming it's accurate, which you know, Quick is known for his accuracy, I wouldn't necessarily be, you know, saying that this guy is a make or break.
- [08:37]
Bam Adebayo
Well, and the other thing is it's not like that any of that stuff came as a surprise to anybody in the league.
- [08:41]
Tim Bontemps
That's true.
- [08:42]
Bam Adebayo
It's the same reason that Phoenix wanted to move off of them.
- [08:45]
Tim Bontemps
That's true. I agree. But yeah, but you know, the issue is, is that, you know, there's only so many times that you can, you know, add to your team and this, this couple of days is one of them. And the Lakers have no centers on.
- [09:01]
Bam Adebayo
Their roster and Dorian Finney Smith was a critical mid season trade acquisition for them that ended up being a short term piece and it's not necessarily what they gave up to get them. But Finney Smith was a huge part of the Lakers drastic defensive improvement in the second half of the season. And you can argue Laravia is a much more versatile offensive player but it's definitely a defensive downgrade.
- [09:29]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah, we'll see. I'm, I'm considering LeBron and you know, Rich Paul came out and said we'd like to see if they build a championship team. And then the first night of free agency didn't exactly produce steps forward. Like there was a lot of assumptions. You know, maybe not the best night for the Lakers, but there's more days and there's more assets to use. They have expiring contracts, they have some draft assets. Aiden stats look impressive and I'm sure that Laker fans would have been happy to have him especially on some sort of discount, but I certainly would not declare them in the winter category.
- [10:04]
Bam Adebayo
Well, especially as other teams in the west get better around them.
- [10:08]
Tim Bontemps
All right, here's a team that's been a winner for a lot of the last few years, but their team's just been depleted and that's the Celtics. The Celtics are, you know, they, they traded away Chris Esperancus, they traded away Drew Holiday and they came into this week pretty sure that they were going to lose both Luke Cornett and Al Horford. Cornett who I think has pretty much played on a minimum his Whole career Bontemps, don't you think like two ways and minimums.
- [10:37]
Brian Windhorst
I think Bob, he signed one just above the minimum deal for a couple years with the Bulls.
- [10:44]
Tim Bontemps
Okay.
- [10:45]
Brian Windhorst
A few years ago and sort of it's actually a pretty, pretty fascinating story for him because he was a guy, he came in with the Knicks, he came out of Vanderbilt and he was a guy who was seen as kind of a, you know, sort of a Brook Lopez light guy, was seven footer who could shoot the three a little bit and has his shot completely deserted him and he's reworked himself into a guy who you know, sort of operates around the basket now, doesn't really shoot at all and has turned into a very good center. Been a really nice piece for the Celtics the last couple of years and you know I think it's going to be a very interesting fit. Playing next to Victor Wembanyama now with the Spurs.
- [11:22]
Bam Adebayo
I remember a certain USWB telling us that Cornell was just going to stay with the Celtics on a minimum his whole career because he's loved in Boston. He'll transition to a media gig.
- [11:33]
Tim Bontemps
Things have changed.
- [11:34]
Bam Adebayo
Well thank goodness saying his agent oh.
- [11:38]
Brian Windhorst
Listen last he was he was convinced to stay there last year. And it's one thing if you're staying on the Celtics and they have chances to win a title and it's another thing when the Celtics are not a team that looks like they can make the playoffs and I think right now they look like a team that could struggle to make the playoffs, let alone be a contender.
- [11:54]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah. So he Jackson says the average career highs in minutes, rebounds and assists this year and anyway he goes to the, the spurs on a four year, four year $41 million contract. Bobby. I think Bobby Marks said that his career earnings to this point were 9 million total. So a huge moment for Luke and his family. When I was flying during the finals, conference finals and finals over the, over the last few years sometimes I flew with his family. He's got several kids and his wife and kids would fly. Sometimes in the playoffs you end up flying with the, with the players families. You get to kind of know him a little bit. So I'm really happy for his family. We'll see if all four years of it is guaranteed. But you know, and honestly I'm not going to focus on that because it's great for him. He will be a high level backup the spurs hope to Victor Wembanyama but Al Horford is almost certainly going to sign elsewhere. The, the, you know it looks like he's going to sign with the Warriors. That didn't get done tonight. Maybe he'll get done the next couple of days. So they're going to have lost, you know, basically their whole. All three of their centers that they played in their rotation. They reacted to that by signing Luca Garza over away from the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lost Nikhil Alexander Walker and Luca Garza tonight. But Boston, you know, you know, you said Bon Temps that they may struggle to, to make the playoffs. We'll see. I think they're still, they still have some pretty good talent on their roster and the east is in flux. But I would just say that my position on this is they have identified, assuming there's no Jaylen Brown trade coming, which I don't think there is, they've identified who their core three players are and they're going to retain them and build around them and yeah, they're going to have to work to rebuild the team around them. But they've identified their core three players. All three of them are in their twenties. Actually. How old is Derek White? Is he in his 30s?
- [13:48]
Brian Windhorst
Yes, I believe so. Leaves 31.
- [13:50]
Bam Adebayo
Double check.
- [13:51]
Tim Bontemps
Okay. But he's in his prime and so.
- [13:55]
Brian Windhorst
Yeah, he I believe is turning 31. In fact, it's actually turning 31 on Wednesday. Happy pre birthday to Derek White.
- [14:05]
Tim Bontemps
All right. That's what they're going to do. They're going to have to restructure their role players around those guys. But those are their three core players. They're very good. They're a championship core. They can climb back up the mountaintop. But this is the second apron at work.
- [14:19]
Brian Windhorst
Well, I mean, yes and no. It's the second apron at work, sort of. It's also they had arguably the most consequential injury in the history of the league happened in the second round of the playoffs and it caused them to have to go in a completely different direction. Like I still think if Jason Tatum was get hurt in game for that series, that they win the next three games and win that series and they might have won the east. And I mean they very well could have won the title still, right?
- [14:42]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah, but they still weren't paying Luke Cornett 40 million.
- [14:45]
Bam Adebayo
Well, sure, but take from a man who lives in New York, but go on.
- [14:50]
Brian Windhorst
Well, listen, the Celtics, that injury totally shifted so many different things in the East. I don't think Desmond Bain gets traded to Orlando. If that injury doesn't happen, obviously Indiana goes on to make the finals. You know, the way the Celtics team has been taken Apart, obviously, some of that stuff was going to have to happen because they weren't going to be able to go quite to that number. But it's Celtics who won the title. It would have been a fascinating question how much would they have been willing to spend this year to try to go for the first three peat since the Lakers 25 years ago? Like, that would have been something that would have had to be a real discussion, even if it's just for one more year. So that happens. And you know, look, again, like Al Horford, if Jason Tatum's healthy, Al Horford I can't imagine is not playing on the Celtics this coming season. But Jason Tatum's not healthy. The Celtics are not going to be a contender. Al Horford is going to go somewhere else. You know, like it is. It is going to be fascinating to see exactly how Boston approaches this season and what they do over the next couple of weeks and the next several months. I mean, look, I still think there's a very good chance they try to get fully out of the luxury tax. It would make a lot of sense for them to reset their books completely and get out of the tax. And they're only 13, $14 million into the tax right now, and they've got some expiring money. They could potentially move around, but they don't have a lot of size inside. You know, they obviously have Tatum out probably for the year. Jaylen Brown is recovering from a knee injury. We'll see how he is at the start of the year. But, you know, I don't think the Celtics are going to win 20, 22 games. But I also think that if you told me right now to rank them in the East, I think they're a playing team. So, you know, that's. Well, there's a lot of. It's been a fascinating few weeks there, and it's probably going to be a very interesting week or so ahead to see what their team looks like after free agency is over.
- [16:38]
Bam Adebayo
Well, and shedding salary was going to be a priority for the Celtics, regardless of the circumstances. Like, you know, they're all season long. One of the big questions about the Celtics moving forward was, okay, hey, which of their core guys are they going to move to save money? Because they were so far into the tax, but it went from being a priority to the priority, like, if Tatum's healthy, I don't think they're moving both Holiday and Porzingis and letting Horford go and not keeping Cornet. And, you know, my understanding is they made the offers they felt that they could go to with with Horford and Cornett, and it wasn't close. It wasn't like difficult decisions for those guys to leave. But you know, like with Cornett, $41 million from Spurs. Like, I don't know what that math works out to with the Celtics, but it's well into nine figures when you throw in tax and so, you know, a gap year or reset year, whatever you want to call it, if they end up missing the playoffs, it's almost like, okay, cool. Then you get to add a lottery pick to the mix as you build back up around that core, you know, once Tatum returns for 26, 27. But you know, it's not sexy, it's not fun. But slicing payroll is priority A, B and C for the Celtics this summer. More Hoop Collective podcast after this With.
- [18:07]
Tim Bontemps
A Venmo debit card, you can Venmo more than just your friends. You can use your balance in so many ways. You can Venmo everything. Need gas? You can Venmo this. How about snacks? You can Venmo that. Your favorite band's merch? You can Venmo this. Or their next show? You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuit of license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Card may be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted.
- [18:36]
Brian Windhorst
Venmo purchase restrictions apply. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile.
- [18:38]
Tim Bontemps
With the price of just about everything.
- [18:40]
Brian Windhorst
Going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down.
- [18:43]
Bam Adebayo
So to help us we brought in.
- [18:44]
Brian Windhorst
A reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mint Mobile Unlimited trimmium wireless get 30, 30 better get 30, get 202020 better get 2020 better get 151515 15. Just 15 bucks a month. Sold. Give it a try at mintmobile.com/switch upfront payment of 45 for three month plan.
- [19:01]
Tim Bontemps
Equivalent to 15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra.
- [19:06]
Brian Windhorst
Cmno.com shop 4th of July savings at the Home Depot right now and get up to 40% off plus up to an extra 600 off select appliances with free delivery like Samsung from all in one washer dryers to smart refrigerators. Upgrade to tech you can trust with Samsung appliances. The Home Depot has what you need to simply simplify your routine. Don't miss 4th of July appliance savings at the Home Depot. Free delivery on appliance purchases of $396 or more offer valid June 18 through July 9, US only. See store online for details.
- [19:42]
Tim Bontemps
All right, let's talk about some of the winners here. Let's start with the Atlanta Hawks. They acquired Alexander Nikhil Alexander Walker in a sign and trade with Minnesota. We could kind of tell that there just wasn't enough room. I think we talked about it on yesterday's podcast and that turned out to be the way it was. And Minnesota accommodated NA because the Hawks had a trade exception so they couldn't have signed him outright to this kind of money. So it was four years and was it 62 million?
- [20:15]
Brian Windhorst
62 million 462 yep.
- [20:17]
Tim Bontemps
By the way, Bontem's not bad value for Nikhil Alexander Walker. Fifteen and a half million a year. Like yeah, that's, that's pretty like, I mean like in addition to you're acquiring a strong multi talented, you know, combo guard who defends, has great length that you can put alongside Dyson Daniels. Like I don't think they overpaid for him. I think that was pretty good value.
- [20:39]
Brian Windhorst
No, I mean look, he was, he was the most popular free agent on the market this summer in terms of guys who were going to be realistic options to change teams. And look, it's been an incredible week for the Hawks. The port they get Christoph Porzingis last week in a really slick deal with the Celtics, getting off the Terrence Mann contract for the cost of the 22nd pick in the draft. Getting, getting in a guy who's an elite rim protector slash three point shooter when he's healthy. Every expectation is going to play in Euro basket this summer and be over the issues he had in Boston. Then they have the draft night trade with New Orleans. We've talked plenty about that. That obviously could be Darren Peterson or A.J. deBancer or Nate event, one of these elite prospects in next year's draft. Then it followed up by getting Alexander Walker, who's an incredible fit alongside can play him next. Trey Young play him next to Dice Daniels can play him on and off the ball. Very good three point shooter, borderline 40% three point shooter who can defend. And look the Hawks, if you look at what they've done, they've and they also signed also tonight by the way, they signed Luke Kennard. You know, I think there was some potential for Caris LeVert to also come back. But when the bleep beats the situation happened, Detroit goes and gets Carris LeVert to replace his production there. That leads to the Hawks getting Luke Canard, another great shooter on the wing. And if you look at what the Hawks have done this last week under Ansi Sala across the board they've gone out and gotten shooting and length and at least in the case, Alexander Walker and Porzingis, defensive impact from those guys and you can see a real vision of how this team is going to want to play under Quinn Snyder. And there's I think, a decent look at sort of what the, what Quinn did with the Jazz in what this Hawks team is going to be. Not that, not exactly the same, but Rudy Gobert and Chris Esperzingis are similarly sized. You could do some similar things to porzingis at the 5. And yucca congo last year, started shooting a lot more threes towards the end of the year. They've got length and athleticism all over the place. They're going to be a terrific defensive team. And you know, this is, we don't, we haven't really looked at Atlanta as a destination in a while. And like I said, Alexander Walker had his pick of teams. He could have gone 10, 12 teams maybe. And yes, Atlantic could go over the mid level. It's not like Atlanta, to your point, Brian gave him 30 million over the mid level. Right. Like he, he chose to go to Atlanta.
- [23:12]
Tim Bontemps
So they, they paid a premium to make sure they could outbid all those other teams. But they didn't go crazy.
- [23:18]
Brian Windhorst
No, I mean if he wanted to go somewhere else, the money was negligible. Like you could have taken a mid level deal from somebody else if you wanted to be somewhere else. So I think the Hawks, I mean, you know, we'll probably get to another team that we've talked about a bunch lately too. But I think the Hawks, at least in the east are the clear biggest winners so far in free agency. And again we go back to the Boston conversation. Like right now, I think Atlanta going into the season zooming health, is the top four team in the East. Like they got a chance, I think to be really, really good.
- [23:45]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, I think you can definitely make an argument that Atlanta is the most improved team in the east, that they've had the best summer in the Eastern Conference. I agree with you there that the reason I kind of grimaced a little bit when you compared this to the Jazz. I think the Jazz, after they scrapped the two big thing with Favors, they definitely leaned into being an offense first team that was propped up on the defensive end by one guy. You know, I mean they were a good defensive team because Rudy Gobert was like a generationally great defensive presence. Where I think this is a team, it Obviously, look, Trae Young has major defensive limitations. He's a brilliant offensive player and I think they've done a really good job of putting a cast around him that can mask his defensive issues. Dyson Daniels, one of the best on ball slash wing defenders in the league. You know, you mentioned Porzingis Akongu is also very effective defensive anchor type of guy. Alexander Walker, you know, when he's on the floor with Daniels, like they're going to be really tough defensively. Resource.
- [24:54]
Brian Windhorst
They were two of the top deflection guys in the league last year.
- [24:57]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, Resashe and Jalen Johnson, both long, you know, athletic. Johnson's like special at just like a top 2% in the NBA type of athlete. Look, Canard's not going to improve your defense, but I think he led the.
- [25:15]
Tim Bontemps
League in three point shooting this year.
- [25:16]
Brian Windhorst
I mean, it's a lot. Yeah, and you're totally right, it's obviously not exactly the same thing, but it's just like you can see the basic vision. Right. The Jazz had that big center in the middle who could protect the rim and then had a ton of shooting around him. And obviously this team doesn't have the same level of shooting. It's a little different mix. But like the clear priority this summer has been to get shooting and defensive length combined around Trey Young. And it's going to be very interesting to see if this Hawks front office can get an extension done with Trey Young, who could be a free agent in a year. He's got a player option for next summer, but they, they've minded their books. These contracts are good. They, they have a team that really makes sense around Trey. Like they've had a great summer and it's going to be very fun to see what they look like next season.
- [26:04]
Bam Adebayo
And then Asa Newell, you know, who they traded down to get. I don't know how ready he is, but you know, maybe he's ready to help as a rookie as well.
- [26:13]
Tim Bontemps
They also have to, they don't have to, but Dyson Daniels is up for an extension.
- [26:17]
Brian Windhorst
So that will also be a very.
- [26:19]
Tim Bontemps
Interesting negotiation for sure because, you know, he was a guy who had, you know, explosive improvement defensively this last year.
- [26:27]
Bam Adebayo
So I mean, defensively he's the same guy. Offensively he improved and he was the most improved player in the league and all defense and was a guy they identified as a guy to have them in the Dejounte Murray deal and ended up being a phenomenal acquisition for them.
- [26:45]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah. Okay. Cav's corner.
- [26:49]
Bam Adebayo
Oh, Cav's Corner.
- [26:50]
Brian Windhorst
Okay. Cav's corner.
- [26:52]
Bam Adebayo
Wait. Winner or loser?
- [26:56]
Tim Bontemps
The Cavs fans are really upset about Ty Jerome leaving to go to Memphis. He signed for three years and 28 million slightly.
- [27:06]
Brian Windhorst
Third year player option, right?
- [27:09]
Tim Bontemps
Less per year than Sam Merrill agreed to Merrill 4 and 38, basically the same deal.
- [27:16]
Brian Windhorst
I think it might be negligible difference.
- [27:20]
Tim Bontemps
All right. Well, one is. That's right. That's true. And the Cavs fans who fell in love with Ty Jerome last year and was a driver in their bench production, he was third and sixth man of the year. The Cavs fans don't understand why Sam Merrill was re signed and Ty Jerome was not. They don't understand why they couldn't have signed them both. And Lonzo Ball, the Lonzo Ball trade. You know, Lonzo's health issues have been well documented, even though defensively he is better than Ty Jerome, assuming health. And he's more, potentially more effective in a playoff setting where Ty Jerome was exposed by the Pacers last year. The Cavs fans are feeling a certain way about this. So would you call them a winner or a loser at this point? Bon temps.
- [28:10]
Brian Windhorst
Well, I mean, the Cavs fans can get mad, but I mean, they didn't resign Ty Jerome because they're currently, according to Bobby marks, his numbers, $36 million into the luxury tax. That. That's why they didn't resign Ty Jerome. I think it would have cost them $100 million to a four year, $38 million deal. And that's the whole point of the, the apron system and why things are set up the way they are. Now. You could say why is Cleveland being penalized for spending money? But Dan Gilbert has just about as much money as anybody in the league, ownership wise, south of, you know, this side of Steve Ballmer.
- [28:44]
Tim Bontemps
Dan Gilbert did spend $250 million on Monday because he was awarded a WNBA expansion franchise.
- [28:51]
Brian Windhorst
That's right. Cleveland Rockers, I assume, will be. They'll be called the Rockers. We had the Portland Fire back with the Detroit Shock. Probably back. I didn't feel.
- [28:59]
Tim Bontemps
I don't know if they'll be. I guess they'll be the Rockers, but they're, they're the, the, the Twitter handle, the X handle just says Cleveland wnba. So I don't know if it's yet.
- [29:11]
Brian Windhorst
I guess. I guess we'll see. But, but yeah, so like Dan Gilbert could spend all the money in the world he wanted if it was just about the money. But look, at the end of the day, I, if, if you ask me what I Rather have if I was a Cavs fan. Lonzo Ball and Sam Merrill or Ty Jerome and Isaac Caro? I'm taking Lonzo Ball and Sam Merrill.
- [29:32]
Bam Adebayo
Okay, hold on. Why is it like, why is it Lonzo Ball and Sam Merrill and why isn't it like to me it's Merrill or Jerome?
- [29:43]
Brian Windhorst
Well, because.
- [29:45]
Bam Adebayo
Ball and still had Jerome and not Merrill.
- [29:48]
Brian Windhorst
Well, here's why I would say the Cavs, I think at times this offset and Brian can check me on this. He's certainly the, the denizen of Cavs corner. But I think the Cavs at times this summer hope they could potentially keep both Sam Merrill and Ty Jerome. And it wasn't sure. They were not sure they'd be able to. The Cavs were working to get rid of Isaacoro in part to free up some salary to protect potentially, I think keep both of those guys. And then when this Lonzo Ball deal came along and they could get Lonzo Ball for Isaac Koro, who is a perfect fit for the Cavs team and also has a contract that they can get completely out of after this season, then it turned into okay, like what are you, you know, what are both of you guys going to do? And Sam Merrill took a deal from the Cavs and Ty Jerome looked elsewhere for a contract. So I think like it's a. You're correct to ask, like, why isn't it Sam Merrill or Ty Jerome? I think the way it worked out, it had a chance to be both of them coming back. And then when Lonzo Ball showed up, then Sam Merrill resigns and then there isn't really room for Ty Jerome in their rotation or in their balance sheet anymore. But I, but so to me, if you just look at that trade, it's a win for the Cavs. I think Sam Merrill is a better fit as a potential playoff player. He's a better defensive player than Ty Jerome. He can play off the ball and he's a great shooter. Obviously the Cavs have plenty of on ball stuff with Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and even Evan Mobley maybe doing more of that. And Lonzo Ball, when he could stay on the court and his knees were fine last year, his wrist was the reason he didn't play down the stretch in the season. If he can be on the court, he's exactly the kind of guy the Cavs need. He's a 6, 7 guy who can guard bigger wings. He's become a really good three point shooter. Incredible connector, incredible guy getting teams to outrun in the fast break. Something the Cavs did excellently last year, I think. I really like where the Cavs are at overall. And if you say, hey, we come out of this summer, we're into the second apron and the one piece we lost was Ty Jerome, and we essentially replaced him with Lonzo Ball. I think if I'm a Cavs fan, I'm feeling pretty good about where they sit in the East. And the question now is just, can these guys all be healthy when they get to the playoffs, which they obviously were not in part during their loss to the Pacers.
- [32:06]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah. So I don't really want to go too far deep into just analyzing the Cavs bench, but they had three players, Isaac Okoro, Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill, and they were only going to be able to keep two. Long story short, and their evaluation. By the way, they could have traded a coral away and just traded him into somebody's space, but that was going to cost them something, you know, draft capital. And so this could argue they should have had to.
- [32:31]
Brian Windhorst
You could argue they should have had to pay draft capital to the Bulls, but the Bulls don't really like to get draft capital in trade, so they didn't.
- [32:37]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, to get Lonzo Ball for him was definitely a win. It wasn't to the level of the Caruso trade, where it's like, how many picks did they get? None. But when you saw that trade, you.
- [32:48]
Brian Windhorst
Definitely said it was a similar chorus though, of are they really not getting anything with them? Really anything.
- [32:55]
Bam Adebayo
I mean, that that was definitely a good trade for them. And look, you know, Lonzo Balls minutes can have managed and all that, but he's like, that's an upgrade for their bench for sure. More Hoop Collective podcast after this.
- [33:09]
Tim Bontemps
The Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University helps you go from I know the way to I've arrived with our top 10 ranked online MBA. Gain skills you can learn today and apply tomorrow. Get ready to go from make it happen to made it happen and keep striving. Visit strayer.edu Jack WelchMBA to learn more. Strayer University is certified to operate in Virginia by Chev and has many campuses, including at 2121 15th Street north in Arlington, Virginia.
- [33:38]
Bam Adebayo
Close your eyes, exhale, Feel your body.
- [33:41]
Tim Bontemps
Relax and let go of whatever you're carrying Today, while I'm letting go of the worry that it would not get my new contacts in time for this class, I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry, I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they Gave me on my first order.
- [34:00]
Brian Windhorst
Oh, sorry.
- [34:01]
Tim Bontemps
Namaste.
- [34:02]
Bam Adebayo
Visit 1-800contacts.com today to save on your first order.
- [34:06]
Brian Windhorst
1-800-Contacts.
- [34:08]
Tim Bontemps
This episode is brought to you by Polestar. There's only one true way to experience the all electric luxury SUV Polestar 3, and that's to take a test drive. It can go from 0 to 60 in as little as 4.8 seconds with the dynamic handling of a sports car. But to truly understand how it commands.
- [34:23]
Brian Windhorst
The road, you need to be behind the wheel.
- [34:25]
Tim Bontemps
Up to 350 miles of range. The 3D surround sound system by Bowers and Wilkins. It's all something you have to experience to believe. So book your Test drive for Polestar 3 today@Polestar.com all right, here's another team. I have a question about factoring in Desmond Bain. The Grizzlies, they get Jaren Jackson Jr. On a $240 million extension. They bought out Cole Anthony to help make room to do that extension. They traded up to get Cedric Coward on draft night with some of the Orlando capital. They. They lost Luke Canard, they lost Desmond Bain, and they signed Ty Jerome. Are the, Are the Grizzlies in the winner or loser category?
- [35:21]
Brian Windhorst
I mean, I'm not sure I'd put them in either.
- [35:24]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, I, I think a lot of that probably depends on how Cedric Coward pans out. You know, like the one certainty with Memphis coming out of last season was they were going to be building around Jaren Jackson Jr. I suspect that had there been a robust trade market for John Morant, even dating back to before the previous deadline, that perhaps Ja could have been the one traded and not Desmond Bain. But the way it played out was they.
- [35:56]
Tim Bontemps
I forgot to. I'm sorry. I forgot to include that they got Kentavius, Caldwell, Pope in that trade, too. I'm sorry.
- [36:00]
Bam Adebayo
Right. But. But that trade was. That trade was about the draft capital and return and about acknowledging that the, you know, the, the we find in the West Grizzlies weren't fine in the west and that that group had hit its ceiling that wasn't that high and, you know, needed to be reshuffled and again, needed to be reshuffled with Jaren Jackson Jr. As the centerpiece moving forward. I don't think that the Grizzlies got better this off season. I do think that the. I know that the Grizz has got more flexible moving forward. And you know that that wasn't a trade that was about. I mean, Davis, Caldwell, post been the final piece before. That's not what this is. You know, this is about acknowledging, hey, we're not close to contending and gathering ammo to try to, you know, take steps forward in the, in the years to come, not right now.
- [37:02]
Brian Windhorst
So you know what? I. Oh, sorry, I didn't mean, I mean cut you out, Big Band. I was thinking about it as you were talking and I. They are clear winners and they're clear winners because of what you just said that Zach Kleiman, the GM of the team, looked at them and we can go back to his press conference after the season. Right. It was a very refreshingly honest answer when he was asked about where they're at. And he said, look, if you want to try to argue that we're close to where we want to be, we're not, we're not close to being a contender. Right. And so the piece that is sort of unsaid here is they have this pick, either this Washington or Phoenix pick next year, very likely the Phoenix pick. And the Suns are worse than they were a few couple of weeks ago without Kevin Durant. And that's probably going to be a very juicy pick. May not be quite as juicy as the pick that the Hawks got, but it could be in the same range. And this is a team that has, again, part of it's, let's see what Cedric Howard looks like and how good he's going to be. But the Grizzlies were not in a position to be a real contender. I don't think they're a lot worse than they were at the end of the season. They might even be about the same team and they have a lot more long term upside. So from that standpoint, I do think they're winners, even if it's not in the same vein as like a Houston or an Atlanta where it's like they got meaningfully better. But I think by recognizing where they sat and pivoting and attacking the situation they were in, they've come out of this summer at a better position than they were a few weeks ago, even if that included trading a really good player and a really good guy, Desmond Bain.
- [38:34]
Bam Adebayo
And they had been a team that was acting as if they were close. Like the Marcus Smart trade was about trying to get a finishing type of piece. You know, they were aggressive. They, they were on the, they felt like they were on like the five yard line to get the Dorian Finney Smith deal done last year and then obviously he lands with the Lakers. But I was about trying to, they.
- [38:53]
Brian Windhorst
Tried to get OGN and Obi and McHale bridges in the past too. Like guys that were the kind of trades where you'd go, hey, we got a chance to really contend for a title with this group or contend for a West title. Didn't get them. But they were trying to.
- [39:03]
Bam Adebayo
And this is about surveying their team, surveying the west landscape and realizing like, hey, you know, let's reload in terms of assets, take our foot off the gas and give ourselves a better chance long term because short term you're kind of butting your head up against the wall.
- [39:21]
Tim Bontemps
All right, what about the Denver Nuggets?
- [39:25]
Brian Windhorst
I like it.
- [39:26]
Bam Adebayo
I like it. Go on and lay out what they did.
- [39:29]
Tim Bontemps
So they made.
- [39:30]
Bam Adebayo
Okay, they.
- [39:32]
Tim Bontemps
Oh, here we go. They made a big splash tonight. Look, they haven't made a. Off top of my head, this is the biggest transaction they made since trading for Aaron Gordon. Do you disagree with that?
- [39:43]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, no, for sure.
- [39:44]
Brian Windhorst
Okay, for sure. The only argument the same team since then, right?
- [39:48]
Bam Adebayo
Well, no, the only argument is when they. This summer when they added KCP and Bruce Brown, you know, as the finishing pieces of the championship team.
- [39:56]
Brian Windhorst
But yeah, oh yeah, that's true. That was the next year.
- [39:58]
Bam Adebayo
But you know, they're.
- [40:00]
Tim Bontemps
They get kcp. I can't remember. They traded for.
- [40:02]
Brian Windhorst
Well, Barton. Yeah, traded Will Barton and somebody else to Washington. Okay, KCP and somebody else, whatever.
- [40:11]
Tim Bontemps
Anyway, they traded.
- [40:12]
Bam Adebayo
This is huge for financial reasons and roster reset reasons.
- [40:16]
Tim Bontemps
Right. So they traded Michael Porter Jr. And a 2032 unprotected. Unprotected first round pick two Brooks, one pick to trade.
- [40:28]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah.
- [40:28]
Tim Bontemps
This was it for Cam Johnson. I believe just this year Cam Johnson makes about 16 or $17 million less than Michael Porter. There's some unlikely bonuses in there. They count which is relevant with apron but it saved them a lot of money. And then subsequently they signed Bruce Brown who was one of their unsung heroes or just heroes of the 2023 championship team back to a contract. This transaction enabled them to a open up their full mid level exception of 14 million should they want to use it. Which that's a key clause.
- [41:07]
Brian Windhorst
Should they want to use it.
- [41:09]
Tim Bontemps
Which is what I watched when it happened live us on, on our free agency special on espn. I was like, wow, this trade gets a. A quality player and it could enable them to sign a, a piece or two to like help their depth. But then Bontemps, you know, text me what I was talking about. He's like, you know, it got him out of the tax is what it did.
- [41:31]
Bam Adebayo
Yes. As a repeater team.
- [41:36]
Tim Bontemps
So it led me to believe Especially after I saw Bruce Brown sign for the minimum. It led me to believe whether this was a tax move. But. Okay, you said you liked it, McMahon, so tell me why you liked it.
- [41:47]
Bam Adebayo
Well, because they needed some financial relief. And to me, if they use, if there's a reason to use the mid level, okay. But if they conduct the tax as a repeater team, that's huge. Just to reset the clock there. And look, Cameron Johnson has a lot of similarities to Michael Porter Jr. In terms of like, movement, shooter, big time three point threat. A guy who's going to feast off of feeds from Nikola Jokic. You know, I think he's a pretty significant upgrade on the defensive end. Not as good of a rebounder and then, you know, to bring Bruce Brown back. Look, we all understand why Bruce Brown left Denver. Could not compete by rule with the offer that he got. The man had a chance to make $45 million in two years. It's more than he's made in the rest of his career by like multiple times. But it was such an awesome fit with the Nuggets to bring him back and basically he's taken Russ's spot in the rotation. It's such a better fit. I think that's a big boost for their bench. So I just think this makes sense financially. I think it makes sense for basketball reasons. And look, the 2032 pick, that could very well end up being a steep, steep price to pay. But it's a price that you're paying after Joker's prime. And you know, to me, you gotta do what you can to maximize your chances to contend during Joker's prime. And I think this was a step in the right direction, a big step in the right direction on multiple fronts there.
- [43:29]
Brian Windhorst
That's where I agree wholeheartedly with the first part. You have to do whatever you can to compete in Jokic's prime. And I vehemently disagree on the second part because I don't think this actually made them any better. Like when you're talking about an on court thing, right? Michael Porter Jr. And Cam Johnson are basically the same player. There's a little bit of different strengths and weaknesses. But Michael Porter is a big forward who's a close to 40% three point shooter, good rebounder, flawed defender, iffy health, but when he's out there, he's a solid player, durable.
- [44:01]
Bam Adebayo
The last couple of years, yes. He's even playing through a significant shoulder injury this playoffs.
- [44:07]
Brian Windhorst
That's right. Cam Johnson in the past has had his own health issues. He's been healthier in recent years and is a bigger wing, good shooter, like okay defender, like same player, right? One guy is way cheaper. The Nuggets had one real trade asset. They traded it. It sure looks like to get out of the tax when they have the best player on the planet. They just went seven games with the Thunder. Right? And what did we all say coming out of that series? Denver's got to get more depth. They don't have enough players right. And they come out of this summer and Bruce Brown replaces Russ in the rotation. Bruce Brown has been pretty bad the last two years. I'm sure he'll be better playing with.
- [44:53]
Bam Adebayo
Jokic, but still he was pretty damn good in Denver.
- [44:56]
Brian Windhorst
But he was and I think he'll be a good fit and he could be a better fit than Russ, but he's not. He's been banged up and in and out of the lineup and like he just hasn't really been anywhere near the same player since he left. So we'll see what he is when he comes back. It doesn't seem like Westbrook's coming back. Obviously Westbrook's a very flawed player. But we're sitting here now. Denver's traded their one chip. They're not any deeper. They're a year older. They could use the full mid level exception to Brian's point to go add an impact player of some sort or even the tax Emily if they want. I'm going to bet that they're not going to do that and they're going to stay out of the tax. And yes, you could say that Denver needs to reset the repeater tax. But this is not a team with a six year window and unlike the Celtics, they have Nicole Jokic healthy. They pushed the Thunder as much as any team last year and if they had two more players who could play, they might have won that series, they might have won the title and if they'd had more depth the year before, they might not have blown a 20 point lead in game seven against Minnesota. And I think they could have won the title that year. So now you're coming back with a team a year older without any way to really improve. And we're going to be talking about the same question potentially in February and March and April and May of does Denver have enough depth? And to me this is just a massive missed opportunity when the only real material change to the roster is that they just got a lot cheaper. If you have one trade chip and that's what you do, that's pretty hard to swallow for me when you've got the best player on the planet who, if he had a little more help, you could look at them against the Thunder, anybody, and think they got a real chance to win.
- [46:34]
Tim Bontemps
So Jokic is going to get offered a contract extension here. It's three years and like 205 million. It's a lot of money.
- [46:43]
Brian Windhorst
Sure is.
- [46:43]
Tim Bontemps
You probably should not say. If anybody ever offers you that, you probably should not say no. However, if he waits till next summer, he can sign for four years. I'm not saying that this decision is going to affect his decision, but if I was Jokic and the Nuggets come to me when they, I mean, Josh Kroenke, their governor already said they flat.
- [47:10]
Brian Windhorst
Out said they're going to offer it to him. Yeah.
- [47:12]
Tim Bontemps
When they come to you with the contract offer, I might ask them what their plans are with the salary for the next few years.
- [47:21]
Bam Adebayo
Well, and here's the thing. If you stay out of the tax this year, it's so you can be aggressive next year. Right. It, it, it's too. Maybe it has to be. Now if with Joker, that, that, that's the one acceptable bit of logic to, to duck the tax this year. It's to reset so you're not a repeater team and hey, next year, full mid level, you know, blah, blah, blah. Also like where's their depth coming from? They need some of these young players to take steps. Peyton Watson's become a solid rotation player. He is an improved jumper away from being a really good role player. We'll see if he can make that kind of development. Julian Strother, you've seen flashes. Can he become a reliable reserve? You know, Jalen Pickett, fewer flashes, fewer opportunities. He's probably going to get more opportunities. What can he do? You know Daron Holmes, the second.
- [48:23]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah. He was their first round pick last year. Missed all year with an Achilles. Right?
- [48:26]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, yeah. And so you know, what's he look like? It'll be interesting to see. I, I believe he's playing summer league. That probably, I'm not certain on that, but you know, be interesting to see what he. But my point is they need, they need some of the internal development. Honestly, one of the massive whiffs for the, for the Nuggets is they use their full taxpayer mle last year on Dario Sarge and he was in the rotation for like a week and a half and they realized, oh geez.
- [48:54]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah. And he had a player option which he picked up. Yeah, yeah.
- [48:57]
Bam Adebayo
And that, that's tough when you have as few kind of bites at the apple as the team, their position did to, to just.
- [49:04]
Brian Windhorst
I just can't believe we're going to go into another season going to Denver Nuggets. Young guys have to be better. Like that. Just. That's just not acceptable to me. It's just not an acceptable outcome when you have Nicole Jokic. Like this isn't a theoretical situation.
- [49:17]
Bam Adebayo
I mean, well, hold on. I'm going to say that was their, you know, their take last year with letting KCP go and promoting Christian Brown to the starting line. And Christian Brown had a hell of a season and.
- [49:31]
Brian Windhorst
But Chris, But Christian Brown, we knew Christian Brown was good. The issue with that was not him being good. It was that they lost a good player.
- [49:40]
Tim Bontemps
Don't they have to extend Christian Brown this summer?
- [49:42]
Brian Windhorst
Yes, they have to pay him this summer. See what he extends for like they, like the issue was they lost another good veteran player who fit with their team and they didn't replace him. Just like they didn't replace Bruce Brown and they didn't replace Jeff Green before that. And I under. We understood at the time why they did that they weren't going to pay Jeff Green what he got paid. They weren't certainly going to pay Bruce Brown when he got paid. They couldn't. I get that. But we're now going into a third straight year with the same exact issue for a team with the best player on the planet, on the team, in his prime, doing insane things on the court to the point where he feels inevitable when he's playing that he's going to win and to just again, have the exact same situation. And it even would be one thing if the, if, if these guys had three or four firsts and he used one to get out of the tax and then could use another one to go turn like say Zaji and Darius Arch into another player. Yeah, I'd feel totally differently about it. Like, hey, sure, good move, smart to get out of the tax, etc. You have one chip and you turn it into basically getting out of the tax for the same team. Hard to. It's hard for me to stomach that.
- [50:52]
Bam Adebayo
You keep saying one chip. I, I don't think Michael Porter Jr. On that contract had some kind of immense trade value.
- [51:02]
Brian Windhorst
Well, I mean, my point. My point is. No, I. The chip is the draft pick. They use the draft pick to get the same. Basically the same player just for half the money like that. The team isn't better. Like, the team is the same. They're just a lot cheaper. Sam Crockey's Got a gazillion dollars. Like I'm sure Nicole Okic is sitting there going, yeah, like we got the same team. We didn't have enough talent before.
- [51:28]
Bam Adebayo
I guess I'm looking at, I'm looking at getting out of the tax as a, as part of a two year strategy to improve the roster. And you're looking at it as being cheap. So I think that's where probably we're sure. Differently.
- [51:43]
Tim Bontemps
All right. The last team I want to talk about is the Rockets. I said on TV tonight that they're on an organizational hot streak from their draft picks to their development to their free agency, to their trades.
- [51:55]
Brian Windhorst
Somebody talked about that yesterday.
- [51:56]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah. Anyway, they signed Dorian Finney Smith today. They signed Clint Capella. They're gonna have to. I think they, I think they're gonna have to offload a salary which some people think is going to be Cam Whitmore.
- [52:08]
Brian Windhorst
Well, they could also just cut Jock Landale.
- [52:10]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, they're gonna have to do some sort of sign and trade to fit Capelli. And I'm not.
- [52:15]
Brian Windhorst
No, they. I think that that should go. That should be part of the Durant trade once it's all done.
- [52:20]
Bam Adebayo
All right, well, we'll. Whatever.
- [52:23]
Tim Bontemps
Anyway, Houston, we've already talked about him a lot, but they use their mid level essentially on Dorian, Finney Smith and also Brian Clint Capella. I will say this. In the Western Conference, you have to have size. One of the things we talked about for the last six, eight months was size and depth, depth and size. You need to have that in the modern NBA by retaining Steven Adams and going and getting Clint Capella and then you have Sengun and then you have Jabari Smith. I mean, they have incredible optionality quality and how they can organize their front.
- [52:54]
Brian Windhorst
Line and can also get Stephen Adams time off during the regular season.
- [52:58]
Bam Adebayo
Because now I was a little surprised by the Capella signing.
- [53:03]
Tim Bontemps
So was I.
- [53:05]
Bam Adebayo
Honestly, I, I thought Capella was gonna end up.
- [53:07]
Tim Bontemps
I think Sean said it was fully guaranteed, which that would surprise me as well too.
- [53:11]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, I thought he was heading for a reunion with Harden, but obviously Lopez ended up there and he does join a very crowded center rotation. But the Rockets really liked that two big center lineup that they kind of found and rolled with late in the season and was a big factor for them in their playoff series against the Warriors. They want to have the option of playing the two big center lineup on a night to night basis. They understand and accept that, hey, Stephen Adams is not playing 82 games. He's not playing 70 games. Maybe he plays 60 games. Maybe it's a little bit fewer than that. You know, we'll see.
- [53:57]
Brian Windhorst
I mean obviously now they could play him 40 games. I mean you could basically just alternate him and Clint every other game and get him through the season. I think that's the, to me that's the biggest reason to do this deal.
- [54:05]
Bam Adebayo
Exactly. They, they, they're going to be very careful managing Stephen Adams minutes now. They can do that with Capella and still have the, you know, the flexibility to play two bigs. There's, you know, it's insurance in that way and just with whatever health things might come up. The Finney Smith signing I love, I mean I am a, like I've always liked Finney Smith. Obviously saw him develop himself from an undrafted guy into a really good role player in Dallas. I think he's the kind of guy who can make good teams better and has proven that in Dallas. Proved that with the Lakers last year and they lost some, some toughness. They lost, you know, defense. With Dylan Brooks being part of the KD trade, he's not going to guard the Steph Currys. He's not going to be the primary on ball defender against star guards. But he damn sure can, can hold his own against bigger wings and power forwards and even a lot of centers. And he's a, he's a really good spot up three point shooter. So I think Vinnie Smith's a great fit for them and they are deep man. They've got a deep wing rotation, they've got a deep big rotation. And then you know, I think, I think Reed shepherd, you know, how much he can give them next year is going to be kind of quietly a key factor in how good the Rockets are.
- [55:34]
Brian Windhorst
Did we talk about during Finney Smith leaving the Lakers as part of the Laker thing or do we mention just talk about centers? I just, it is interesting that a guy who's incredibly close to Luca left the Lakers and they could have kept him. That's I think just something to monitor.
- [55:48]
Bam Adebayo
A guy drastically improve their defense. Also I'm not certain they could have kept him. I really think being able to get back to Texas for family reasons, for tax reasons, for comfort reasons, for as he says, a, a country boy. I think those are all factors too. I'm not, I'm not sure that this was a case of the Lakers could have just, you know, paid him and, and everything would have been fine. I think Finney Smith liked the situation. He used him better.
- [56:19]
Brian Windhorst
That's fair. But it is, it is worth mentioning or monitoring That a guy who's incredibly close to Luca, who they got last year, left this summer and didn't leave for, like, this wasn't a Bruce Brown situation right now. It may have been exactly what you said. I'm not saying it isn't. But they didn't get outbid on him. Like, he ended up signing for less, guaranteed next year. They had on the option he had. So just another reason this was not exactly a banner opening day for the Lakers.
- [56:47]
Tim Bontemps
All right, A banner opening day for you. Buntemps.
- [56:50]
Brian Windhorst
We should. It's always a banner day for me.
- [56:52]
Bam Adebayo
Was it.
- [56:53]
Tim Bontemps
Can I. Can I say something amazing that happened today, please? McMahon.
- [57:00]
Bam Adebayo
Yeah, it's your podcast.
- [57:01]
Tim Bontemps
So I was here in the hotel in la, and I'm on the phone with Bontemps.
- [57:07]
Bam Adebayo
Sorry.
- [57:07]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah.
- [57:08]
Brian Windhorst
So very unfortunate for you.
- [57:09]
Tim Bontemps
And I'm walking, you know, I got AirPods in. I'm walking through the lobby of the.
- [57:14]
Bam Adebayo
Hotel during the windy shuffle.
- [57:16]
Brian Windhorst
Yeah, doing the windy shuffle.
- [57:18]
Tim Bontemps
That's exactly right.
- [57:19]
Brian Windhorst
Being recognized. McMahon, you'll be shocked to know.
- [57:21]
Bam Adebayo
With AirPods. So he can.
- [57:24]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah.
- [57:25]
Bam Adebayo
Okay.
- [57:26]
Tim Bontemps
So I see a friendly face, a friend of the pod, in fact.
- [57:30]
Bam Adebayo
Oh.
- [57:31]
Tim Bontemps
And I embrace him. And he's getting that.
- [57:36]
Bam Adebayo
Okay.
- [57:37]
Brian Windhorst
Let him tell the story.
- [57:38]
Tim Bontemps
Let him call. Have a back and forth. It's an NBA. Someone from the NBA who's been on the podcast. You know him. And Bontems just hears his voice. Just hears his voice. And it's not a guy whose voice you hear very often. And I cannot believe he knew. He recognized his voice and knew who it was. It was James Capers, the referee, who was here with his family members to go to the Dodgers game tonight.
- [58:07]
Bam Adebayo
Oh, okay.
- [58:08]
Tim Bontemps
Which is, I'd love to go to the Dodgers game, but.
- [58:11]
Bam Adebayo
Nice guy, about five.
- [58:12]
Tim Bontemps
Doesn't that, like. I'm just gonna say it kind of freaked me out that Bon Temps recognized James Caper's voice over my AirPods.
- [58:20]
Bam Adebayo
I mean, he's on Listen with him and he's somebody.
- [58:24]
Tim Bontemps
We're friends. I didn't say, hey, how was the refereeing this year? You know, I said nothing about who it was.
- [58:32]
Bam Adebayo
There's a couple things here. One, Capers was on the pod. Two, like, he is a man, you know, all Bon Tims pays close attention during those replay challenges and whatnot. Crew chief gets a lot of airtime.
- [58:43]
Brian Windhorst
I was Soham during the finals.
- [58:45]
Bam Adebayo
3, nobody kisses ref butt more than Bon Tims, guys. Oh, my God. I mean, it is just like Hobnobbin.
- [58:53]
Brian Windhorst
And I have to. I have to try to make up for your attacking them all the time to make sure that we don't get bad, bad reviews on the pot.
- [59:04]
Bam Adebayo
Well, I also feel Bon Tims is especially friendly with all the wee little fellows in there. Oh, yes, he's.
- [59:14]
Brian Windhorst
We should. We should. We should probably talk about the. The Bucks a little bit too before we go. Right.
- [59:20]
Tim Bontemps
The Bucks are in flux and there may be another signing that they do tonight. And so we're gonna. We're gonna put them. Yeah. We're gonna try to give Jackson a break and not have him having to do form redditing.
- [59:30]
Brian Windhorst
Fine by me.
- [59:31]
Tim Bontemps
So we'll. We'll. The Bucks are. We'll see what happens with the Bucks. I don't think it's like, you know, they're not trading Yanis tonight, just to be clear. Like, it just.
- [59:40]
Brian Windhorst
No, that.
- [59:41]
Bam Adebayo
I know he didn't make any inappropriate jokes. Jackson has said it out this time, so that's good.
- [59:46]
Tim Bontemps
I didn't think that joke was inappropriate.
- [59:48]
Bam Adebayo
I didn't either. I thought. I think Jackson's gone a little bit soft. I think he's.
- [59:52]
Tim Bontemps
You know what?
- [59:52]
Bam Adebayo
Jackson's management now, so he's gotten a little uppity, a little stuffy.
- [59:56]
Tim Bontemps
Yeah. There was a joke that was edited. It actually wasn't a joke. It was just a passing line. It was just a. It was a remark.
- [60:02]
Bam Adebayo
You know, he'll probably edit out my. My ref. Short jokes because I did give Jackson multiple two smalls during the media pickup run in okc.
- [60:11]
Tim Bontemps
He probably has edited all this out. This is all probably not going.
- [60:14]
Brian Windhorst
I would hope so. I hope so for his sake and the list for sake.
- [60:18]
Tim Bontemps
All right. Thank you for listening and watching Hoop Collective. Thank you to Blair who helped us out on the pod tonight, who we learned that Blair is in the middle of the summer here. It's July, for crying out loud. And you're. You know, you don't have air conditioning in your apartment. It's not working. I mean, this is terrible news. I mean, it's 2000.
- [60:31]
Bam Adebayo
They're also a. A poor post defender, man.
- [60:35]
Brian Windhorst
Can you. Can you just leave everyone alone?
- [60:38]
Tim Bontemps
What?
- [60:38]
Bam Adebayo
Just give everybody a break, dude, listen.
- [60:41]
Brian Windhorst
People here helping us out with the pod, they're trying to get it out to the people and you're just slaughtering.
- [60:45]
Bam Adebayo
I'm just. I'm being. It's an honest scouting report, dude.
- [60:48]
Brian Windhorst
Sure. Just like the. Just like the Okich. 30, 30. Just like the Yokich. 30, 30, 30. Scouting report from your own game is.
- [60:56]
Bam Adebayo
Oh, hang on. Those boys are confirmed.
- [61:00]
Brian Windhorst
Yes, sure.
- [61:01]
Tim Bontemps
All right. We'll talk to you. I don't know. I don't know how many times we're freaking potting this week, okay? It check every day. I can't do it much more. I can't take much more of you people.
- [61:11]
Bam Adebayo
Wow, Pontemps. We got a little diva on our hands also.
- [61:15]
Brian Windhorst
We sure do.
- [61:17]
Bam Adebayo
I understand the sensitivity. I'd like to apologize and just bid you farewell with adios, amigos.
- [61:40]
Tim Bontemps
In 1979, the first words spoken on ESPN weren't just an announcement.
- [61:45]
Brian Windhorst
If you're a fan, they were a sports prophecy.
- [61:49]
Tim Bontemps
What you'll see in the next minutes, hours and days to follow.
- [61:53]
Bam Adebayo
Glad you're with us tonight.
- [61:54]
Brian Windhorst
May convince you you've gone to sports heaven.
- [61:58]
Tim Bontemps
And right now, you're standing on the edge of the tomorrow. This fall, the next era of ESPN begins. Sports forever.