EMERGENCY POD: Jimmy Butler Traded To Warriors, KD's Future

Summary

Podcast Summary: EMERGENCY POD: Jimmy Butler Traded To Warriors, KD's Future

Podcast Title: Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Host/Author: ESPN, NBA, Brian Windhorst
Episode Title: EMERGENCY POD: Jimmy Butler Traded To Warriors, KD's Future
Release Date: February 6, 2025

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Introduction

In this emergency episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective, hosts Brian Windhorst, Zach Lowe, and Tim MacMahon dissect the shocking trade of Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat to the Golden State Warriors. The discussion delves into the implications of the trade, Kevin Durant's uncertain future, and the broader landscape of the NBA post-trade deadline.

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Overview of the Trade

The episode opens with Zach Lowe announcing the headline news: Jimmy Butler has been traded to the Golden State Warriors.

Zach Lowe [02:24]: "Oh, no. Jimmy Butler got traded to the Golden State Warriors."

Brian Windhorst provides detailed context about how the trade unfolded. Initially, there were talks of a three-way trade involving the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns, aiming to exchange Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler along with Andrew Wiggins.

Brian Windhorst [02:24]: "Yesterday, Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns were in talks to do a three way trade."

However, Kevin Durant expressed his reluctance to join the Warriors, leading to the finalization of Jimmy Butler's deal instead.

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Miami Heat's Perspective

Brian Windhorst analyzes the trade's impact on the Miami Heat, highlighting the positive aspects despite losing a star player.

Brian Windhorst [04:00]: "They made a really good shooter for them, you know, fits the way they want to play. I think it's a good, really solid outcome."

The Heat acquire Andrew Wiggins, who fills the small forward position effectively, and secure a top 10 protected first-round pick. This move aligns with the Heat's strategy to build a sustainable team without overextending financially.

Brian Windhorst [04:00]: "Miami's playing Khalil Ware, their rookie, big next to Bam Adebayo... They also get a top 10 protected first-round pick very likely to convey this year."

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Golden State Warriors' Perspective

The Warriors' acquisition of Jimmy Butler is dissected, focusing on team chemistry and future strategies.

Brian Windhorst [05:45]: "Putting Jimmy Butler for this return, I get it and I think this ultimately was a good deal for both sides."

Butler's integration with Steph Curry and Draymond Green raises questions about shooting and ball distribution.

Brian Windhorst [07:45]: "Jimmy's one of the smartest players in league and I think it's going to be a seamless fit in the way Steve Kerr wants to play with all the read and react stuff they do."

However, concerns remain about the Warriors' shooting capabilities, as highlighted by both Windhorst and MacMahon.

Tim MacMahon [08:31]: "Depends on which big is out there, it's tough to have three of those out there in 2025."

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Kevin Durant’s Future

The discussion shifts to Kevin Durant's uncertain future, questioning potential destinations and contract implications.

Zach Lowe [19:52]: "Durant is now an interesting situation in the summer. We'll see how this season ends for the Suns."

Windhorst speculates on Durant's options, dismissing Golden State as a possibility.

Zach Lowe [20:51]: "I think KD would have gone to Phoenix for Durant... But he did not want to go to Golden State."

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Trade Mechanics and Speculations

The hosts explore the mechanics behind the trade, including what wasn’t included, such as Durant, and the strategic moves by franchisees.

Tim MacMahon [06:17]: "He didn't have a no trade clause... And you know, we'll see what happens."

They also touch upon other potential moves, like the Cleveland Cavaliers' discussions about acquiring wing players and the Chicago Bulls' dealings with Lonzo Ball.

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Players' Sentiments

Brian Windhorst provides insights into the Miami Heat players' reactions to the trade, noting a sense of relief and optimism.

Brian Windhorst [14:16]: "Player wise... everyone is pretty happy for Jimmy that he's going to a situation that he is going to get what he wants."

Tim MacMahon adds a light-hearted take on Jimmy Butler's move, emphasizing his empowerment through the trade.

Tim MacMahon [15:49]: "Jimmy got traded and he got paid. He got his money."

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Future Implications

The episode concludes with a broader look at the NBA landscape post-trade deadline, anticipating more moves and the impact on future seasons.

Brian Windhorst [21:57]: "The league is pretty wide open... And the Kevin Durant thing is going to be smack in the middle of it."

Discussion touches on contract movements, team strategies, and the ongoing evolution of team rosters.

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Notable Quotes

• Brian Windhorst [04:00]: "I think it's a good, really solid outcome. They also get a top 10 protected first-round pick..."
• Tim MacMahon [06:17]: "He didn't have a no trade clause... And you know, we'll see what happens."
• Zach Lowe [08:49]: "Jimmy Butler got his money and got traded."
• Tim MacMahon [15:49]: "Jimmy got traded and he got paid. He got his money."

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Conclusion

The emergency pod provides a comprehensive breakdown of Jimmy Butler's unexpected trade to the Warriors, examining its ramifications for all involved parties. It underscores the strategic decisions by the Miami Heat to sustain competitiveness while addressing team needs and highlights the Warriors' pursuit of enhancing their roster with a high-IQ player like Butler. Additionally, the episode sets the stage for ongoing discussions about Kevin Durant's future and the dynamic shifts expected in the NBA landscape.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Zach Lowe]

Welcome to Nadia Yada island, next on Metro's Nadia Yada island podcast. I almost fainted when the four new bombshells arrived. Four free Samsung Galaxy A16. 5G phones at Metro. No way. And finding out the fourth line is free. Things got heated. That's wild. Join Metro and get four free Samsung 5G phones only at Metro plus tax. Bring four numbers and an ID and sign up for any Metro Flex plan not available currently at T Mobile or have been with Metro in the past 180 days. Foreign welcome to Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which you're doing late on Wednesday night. Joining me from the center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he was with the Miami Heat tonight and I'm gonna be honest with you, Bontem says we record this podcast. I have no idea who won that game against the heat in the 76ers.

[Brian Windhorst]

The Miami Heat won the game against Philadelphia 76ers. And I assume we're here to talk about Pete Alonso resigning with the New York Mets. The one transaction of trade deadline week my was extremely happy about. Oh, and I called her and told her and she was overjoyed. She had no idea that Jimmy Butler got traded.

[Zach Lowe]

Shout out, by the way, shout out. Something we're not going to talk about, but shout out to Lonzo Ball getting a contact extension with the Bulls because it's a great success story. Joining us from the Paycom center in Oklahoma City where there's a game going on right now. Shane might be on his way to 50 for all I know. Band McMahon.

[Tim MacMahon]

Howdy partners. He is indeed on that pace. At least 28 in the first half and getting buckets here early in the second. But listen, Oklahoma City Thunder, they made a big trade today. What do we think about that second round pick and Daniel Tice are getting from the Pelicans.

[Zach Lowe]

Really brave for the Thunder to play tonight facing, you know, with Tice not in the lineup. You know, that's.

[Tim MacMahon]

I wouldn't hold my breath to see him in the lineup, but let's, let's keep it moving.

[Zach Lowe]

By the way, food for thought. I did TV today with Adonis Haslam. Miami Heat retired player. He points something out. He goes, you never see Shay Gillis Alexander ever sweat, dude.

[Tim MacMahon]

You also never, it seems like you never see him go full speed and he blows by people. He just kind of cruises and glides.

[Zach Lowe]

He had like 28 points at the end of the first half and he's like, you don't see a beat of sweat on this guy.

[Tim MacMahon]

He's cool, man. I asked Dagger about him in Vegas. Remember he said he's always the coolest guy in any room that he's in.

[Zach Lowe]

I think UD said he's. He's cooler than a polar bear's toenail.

[Tim MacMahon]

Oh, he likes them toes too, huh?

[Zach Lowe]

Oh, no. Jimmy Butler got traded to the Golden State Warriors. So yesterday, Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns were in talks to do a three way trade. I don't know how close it was. Everybody's going to have a different story. We'll see in the coming days just how much they say. But there was a time, if you listen to the podcast that Bobby Marks and I recorded, we stopped in the middle of that podcast, froze the podcast. Bobby and I went out and got on our phones. We alerted our editors that we thought that that trade was about to happen. So it got to some level of nearness. The folks that I talked to involved with the team said it was one phone call away. Okay. And it was going to be Kevin Durant going to Golden State, Jimmy Butler going to Phoenix, Andrew Wiggins going to Miami. Sources tell me I have to say that or whatever, I like that. And obviously other pieces and parts, but that was essentially what it was. And yes, it was going to be Jimmy Butler and not Kevin Durant in Phoenix. I'm not saying who called who, whatever, but I'm just telling you that trade was close. On Wednesday, Shams reported and I assume KD made the made it known. I don't know how he made it known, but he did not want to go to Golden State. Shortly thereafter, though, he gave permission to the warriors to negotiate with Jimmy Butler formally. They came up with an agreement on a two year contract extension and they did the deal. That's what happened. Bon Temps. What do you think about it?

[Brian Windhorst]

I think it's a pretty great outcome for everybody, I think, you know, we said the whole time the Miami Heat were not going to make a bad trade. They did not make a bad trade. They made, I think, a good to very good trade grade given the situation they were in. Andrew Wiggins will slot right in as a starting power or small forward on this team. Miami's playing Khalil Ware, their rookie, big next to Bam Adebayo. They've got Tyler Herro, who deservedly made his first all star team this year with Duncan Robinson in the backcourt. They had a pretty glaring hole at the small forward spot where Jimmy Butler has been playing. Andrew Wiggins will slide right in there. It's a really good shooter for them, you know, fits the way they want to play. I think it's a good, really solid outcome. They also get a top 10 protected first round pick very likely to convey this year. Miami also probably will make the playoffs and avoid having two unprotected picks out in the future. So I think for the position the Heat we're in, it's a real win for them. I think for Golden State, obviously getting Jimmy Butler, putting him with Steph Curry, this team is obviously going to be very interesting to watch over the next couple of months. I'm surprised that the Heat gave or that the warriors gave Jimmy Butler any sort of a contract extension, even though it's really basically just adding one year onto his deal. He had a $52 million player option. He had turned it down to get this extension. He gets about a million and a half dollars more next year and then a new deal for the 26, 27 season. But him and Steph together I think will fit together really well. The question I have with them is there's not a lot of shooting between Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and the centers they currently have. Makes me wonder if the warriors are going to try to get some shooting at the five spot between now and the trade or some other front court.

[Zach Lowe]

They still have. Shoot, they still have a bunch of. They still have a fair amount of I think 17 or 18 million in expiring money plus other draft picks they can trade.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, they do have to do and they're probably going to have to figure something out. But getting Jimmy Butler for this return, I get it and I, I think this ultimately was a good deal for both sides.

[Tim MacMahon]

They do have one shooting big and he's actually started some recently. And second round rookie draft pick Quentin Perimeter, not Quentin Post because he can't score down there, but he can shoot.

[Zach Lowe]

Wow, that was a basketball nerd joke that I never thought you'd ever make.

[Tim MacMahon]

I've got a lot of nerd jokes. The most interesting thing about this trade is, is what didn't happen though is that the, the KD part didn't happen is that Katie shot down and he didn't have a no trade clause. But it made it clear like, listen, I do not want to go to Golden State as Sean reported and you know, Golden State has dealt with an unhappy Kevin Durant before his final year there is very tumultuous. You know, I don't know if it's that he didn't want to play for the franchise, period. You know, I don't know how the dynamic is with him and Draymond Green at this point, whatever it is, he didn't want to go back there. And that to me is the most fascinating part about this, you know. And you know, we'll see what happens. You know, we can't guarantees with the Suns until the trade deadline buzzer hits or the Suns come out and declare on the record. And even then it's not a guarantee, but at least they're on the record or even, you know, high ranking sources, whatever. But I think it's, I don't think it'll be a smooth trans transition with Jimmy. I think if things gel over time, the warriors could be a tough playoff matchup. Obviously playoff Jimmy is a beast, but you mentioned the, the, the lack of shooting. You know, he's going to need the ball a lot. I think it could be kind of a bumpy transition as a lot of times it is when you add a star mid season. Whereas with kd, you know, there's history there. Plus he's so easy to fit. That would have been.

[Brian Windhorst]

I don't, I don't think the fit, I don't think the fit with Jimmy on the court is going to be that hard. I mean Jimmy's one of the smartest players in league and I think it's going to be a seamless fit in the way Steve Kerr wants to play with all the read and react stuff they do and moving around like Jimmy Butler I think will fit fine. I think the bigger problem is to fit around Steph Curry because the Warriors, I mean we've seen Steve Kerr play Quinton Post more recently because this team didn't have enough shooting and after this trade they still don't have.

[Tim MacMahon]

But I think another not, not he's a, that he's a total non shooter, but he's a guy that opponents are completely comfortable shooting threes. Yeah, same with Draymond. And depending on which big is out there, it's tough to have three of those out there in 2025.

[Brian Windhorst]

I get that. I just don't think that. I think Jimmy Butler, the player is a very easy fit to put on a lot of teams because he's such a high IQ player. He could do so many different things. I, I think the, the larger problem is the same one they had, which is that they need more shooting. And it's why I'm curious to see if they're not done between now and 3pm on Thursday.

[Zach Lowe]

So, okay, so there was a window for Kevin Durant to be traded to the Miami Heat and once the warriors were out Instead of it being a three team thing, it was sort of a two team thing with the Suns and the warriors both potentially being able to negotiate with the Heat for Jimmy Butler. And I think the Suns were willing to negotiate. I don't think they were anxious to trade Durant. And you know what you're going to hear going forward is the Suns never wanted to trade Durant and oh my gosh, you know, people called us and wanted our wonderful future hall of Famer and you know, we just were polite, didn't hang up the phone. But there was a window there for there to be a trade.

[Tim MacMahon]

Listen, they considered it and they tried hard to trade Bradley Beal and how that's going to go over and how they're going to massage egos and kind of Kumbayala coming out when they'll probably be 500 after the night will be interesting.

[Zach Lowe]

Well, I just, I think that the Sun's asking price was going to be pretty high for Durant partially because of what they gave up to get him. And I think the reason that they were close on the three way trade was that the Suns were going to be able to get Jimmy Butler. Plus, as I was calling it in my conversations today, it was going to be Jimmy Butler plus some other things from the warriors to get Durant. If it was just the Heat negotiating directly with the Suns, you were looking at Jimmy Butler and not so much else. The Heat weren't really as motivated to offer that and I think that was an issue. The other thing is, I don't think that the Heat wanted to put in. I don't think that the Heat necessarily think Wiggins is a better player obviously, but I think they think Wiggins the cost was better versus Yeah, I mean.

[Brian Windhorst]

This is the real crux of it, right? I mean, ultimately if you look at it, it's a choice between Andrew Wiggins and a good first round pick or getting Kevin Durant, but sending out probably one or two young players and maybe one or two first round picks. And this is a Miami Heat team that already is out two future first round picks. So now you're talking about and potentially being out three or four future first round picks. And again, Kevin Durant's still a great player. But look, I think if we're all being realistic here, the Miami Heat are not a team that was going to win the title with Kevin Durant. They're not a team that's going to win a title after this trade. And as we know, the Miami Heat are always thinking about the next big move they can make right. It doesn't necessarily make sense to push your chips in with Kevin Durant at 36 now when now you get a draft pick back in the trade, you're down one draft pick going forward. You have Andrew Wiggins, you have all these young guys and you sort of live to fight another day. Let this group of young guys grow together and see what options come down the road including by the way, in free agency in 2026 when they are still going to have at least one max slot available to them to go chase players.

[Tim MacMahon]

So I was going to say especially in the summer of 2026 and as you've pointed out many times this that was an absolute must in this deal was no money past 2026.

[Brian Windhorst]

And by the way, just to say it right now, Luka dodges got traded five days ago. The idea that Luka Doncic is 100% going to be locked into a contract then when everybody assumed he was going to be on a supermax deal, not necessarily the case now. So they they there's all the more reason to have money available that summer.

[Tim MacMahon]

Now yeah, the Mavericks cost Luka a lot of money and provided teams at least reasonable hope. Now if you I'm not saying he's.

[Brian Windhorst]

Going to Miami or leaving LA or anything, but there's a lot more of a possibility than when he could have signed a supermax extension.

[Tim MacMahon]

If you had me put a bet down, I would still bet on him staying with the Lakers. Look, I think, I think the Lakers are going to be able to like lob catching bigs are going to be lining up to go to la. Are you kidding me? The Lakers have never had though is.

[Brian Windhorst]

Just the point though is Miami still has all the things in front of it it wanted to do when they began looking at stuff for this trade.

[Tim MacMahon]

More Hoop Collective podcast after this.

[Brian Windhorst]

In case you didn't know, these young men are driven, quite remarkable, magnificent and unmistakable. These are the prodigies, the savants, the.

[Tim MacMahon]

Ones we've been waiting for. And they are not asking for you to pass the baton. They are methodically planning the perfect moment to take it.

[Brian Windhorst]

A new generation of Toyota drivers are.

[Tim MacMahon]

Here and they want you to know one thing.

[Brian Windhorst]

You can't stop my drive.

[Tim MacMahon]

Yeah, and I also point out though Lucan, it'll be very interesting to see how the friendship between him and JJ Redick kind of evolves as coach player. But even though Reddick wasn't in Dallas long, they did have a very, very good relationship.

[Zach Lowe]

What did the Heat players say anything after the game? I don't know if you saw the video, Bontemps, but there was a fan in the front row or. It's not the front row, but the row right behind the Heat bench who, after Shams reported the trade, was reading the trade to the Heat bench live. That's how the Heat players found out, was from a fan from the bench. But you were in the Heat locker room after the game.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, I mean, the Heat players, I mean, I was, you know, I was talking to Tyler Hero and Duncan Robinson about the mechanics of Jimmy's extension and they, you know, bam, didn't realize at first they got a first round pick in the deal and like, they were figuring out they. I don't think they knew right away that Josh Richardson was in the deal. I mean, they just finished the game and came in and were trying to like, sort out what was going on. But, you know, look for the Heat, for the players on the Heat and for the coaching staff and the front office and everybody, they've had this situation hanging over them for the better part of two months. And I think for everybody involved, there was a, I think a sense of relief and I. In the locker room, player wise. Like, I think all the guys are pretty happy for Jimmy that he's going to a situation that he is going to get what he wants and get, you know, he gets a new deal, he's in Golden State place. He wanted to go. Like, I, I don't think there's any real ill will towards him, but I do think at the same time, everybody is happy to be able to stop after answering questions about it, be able to move forward and, you know, get a good player in Andrew Wiggins and stop having to wonder what their team is going to look like on February 6th and just roll forward with the.

[Tim MacMahon]

Group that they have, it's kind of a mediocre, maybe a little bit better than that finish to what was a miserable saga. So see you later, Jimmy. No harpoons, I guess, whatever, but the Heat actually get to just focus on basketball now.

[Zach Lowe]

Jimmy Butler got his money and got traded.

[Tim MacMahon]

Well, player empowerment took a pounding on the Luca deal, but Jimmy got it. Not exactly what he wanted because he was fixed on going to Phoenix, but boy, he got. He got. He got traded and he got paid. He got his money.

[Brian Windhorst]

Look, it was a good situ. It was a good outcome for everybody. I think it's a good situation for Jimmy Butler. He gets an extra $60 million. The Heat get a good return for him. Like, I think when you go back and look at the six year, whatever, five and a half years Jimmy Butler was in Miami, it was a hell of a run for everybody involved. He made three conference finals, two finals. Butler had some incredible moments with this team. They end up. They got him for Josh Richardson, assigned Whiteside and a first round pick. They end up. They end up getting Andrew Wiggins in a first round pick back for him. Yeah, I'd say the five and a half years in between were pretty damn good. The same thing.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah.

[Tim MacMahon]

Andy, what do you. What do you think he'll say during his speech when they retire his jersey number?

[Zach Lowe]

What color will his hair be at the press conference?

[Tim MacMahon]

Maybe. Maybe that. That golden blue, baby.

[Zach Lowe]

How about green for money? But yeah, here's the other thing. Like, Jimmy, you know, hasn't played that much, and so they're going to get a fresh player. And, you know, Jimmy, at times, I think, has not been as motivated to play, to say it, to put it kindly. Now that he's paid, now that I think he can make a difference, I think you will see a motivated Jimmy Butler. And if he stays healthy, that he could help the Warriors. How far can he help them? I'm not sure, but it was a. You know, Golden State's been trying for a year to get some sort of star player, and they got tired of waiting. And they saw, you know, they. At one point today, I think they thought, damn, Kevin Durant might go to Miami and Jimmy Butler might go to Phoenix, and we may be holding the bag here, but something motivated them to basically go to that 60 million they were going to add. I'm not sure that they had been there before. And, you know, I had reported last, you know, four or five days ago, something like that. I think four days ago that Jimmy didn't want to go to Golden State because he wasn't interested. Well, two things happened since then. One, the Phoenix thing kind of dimmed. He wasn't going to be able to go play with Kevin Durant. They gave up on a Beal trade. And secondly, the money that was coming from Golden State was an attractive number.

[Tim MacMahon]

Yeah. And, you know, I think they desperately chased a star. I don't think they paid a desperate price. And I guess if you accuse them of paying a desperate price, it would be in the money paid to Jimmy Butler. But in terms of, like, Steph's whole thing and what Draymond had talked about and Steve Turner talked about, about not doing something that mortgages your future, you know, they didn't trade any of their young guys. They didn't, you know, the, the 1 pick this year, but they didn't trade. You know, it's not like they coughed up a bunch of future first round picks. You know, Kaminga is really interesting, though, because I would say, what was it, a month, six weeks ago, I thought he was getting traded this year. I don't know how you guys, I'm not going to speak for you.

[Zach Lowe]

Look, I'll just say it. I think Kaminga would have gone to Phoenix for Durant. Well, I mean, I, you know, I don't know for sure. You know, somebody can deny it and put me on blast if they want, but that was certainly what was in the air. I'll just put it this way. I think Kaminga and his camp thought for a minute that they might be getting traded to Phoenix, so.

[Tim MacMahon]

Yeah, well, I, I would say that. I think that his value within the organization skyrocketed in the two or three weeks before he went down with that ankle injury.

[Zach Lowe]

Well, we'll see if that results in a contract in the summer, I would assume.

[Tim MacMahon]

Fair point.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah.

[Tim MacMahon]

More Hoop Collective podcast after this.

[Zach Lowe]

So. And speaking of the summer, Durant is now an interesting situation in the summer. We'll see how this season ends for the Suns. He's got one year left on his contract. At least part of the reason why the Suns looked into moving him, no matter what they want to say, was some level of concern about what Durant would do this summer. And we'll see how it finishes. I know I am, I am out of the. I've maybe done this in the past. I'm out of the business of trying to guess or trying to project what Kevin is thinking. I will not do that. But certainly that contract was a factor in the way this week played out well.

[Tim MacMahon]

And I would think that he would at least spends some time as he's putting his toes in the sand, pondering potential destinations, at least pondering, like, how could you not.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah, well, I know one destination he wasn't interested and that's Golden State.

[Tim MacMahon]

I don't think he'll ponder that one.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brian Windhorst]

I mean, look, the, the Phoenix situation obviously is going to be a very interesting one to monitor. And, you know, look, the league, as we've talked about all season, the league is pretty wide open. There's a lot of teams that think they have a chance, and that's going to lead to a lot of teams that are disappointed, and that's then going to lead to a lot of teams that are looking to do stuff. And I think you've seen this week that there have certainly been several teams that have seen opportunities to make moves to get better from San Antonio to obviously the Lakers in Dallas, mega trade to this deal with Golden State. And I think we're going to see more of that across the board this summer. As you know, there's disappointment and frustration over how these various seasons end. And you know, you're still going to have, you're going to have, you know, Minnesota and Boston's ownership situation are going to resolve and teams like Houston and San Antonio are going to see how they do the rest of the season and what they want to do then. I mean, there's going to be a lot of stuff going on all over the place. And you know, the Kevin Durant thing is going to be smack in the middle of it after the way this all played out.

[Tim MacMahon]

Remember, remember when we said we how hard it was going to be to move big contracts and all that? How many max contracts have been traded now and there's cowards.

[Brian Windhorst]

What we did say was that generally though, if those deals were going to move, they were going to move for each other.

[Tim MacMahon]

And that's.

[Brian Windhorst]

That is basically what we've seen across the board. Like Zach Levine is in the De'Aaron Fox deal and obviously Luca and Anthony Davis getting swapped for each other. But as one long time GM has said to me throughout the process, if teams are motivated to get deals done, they will find a way to get deals done. And ultimately, no matter what the rules are, that is going to remain the case. And it's been the case over the past week.

[Zach Lowe]

All right, so before we go real quick here, just some things we might see tomorrow and maybe they'll all be done by the time you hear this pod and we'll sound like we stole them. But Marcus Smart. Keep an eye on Marcus Smart. The Grizzlies have been in trade talks for weeks about things. There may be a possibility they might move Marcus Smart. There was some discussion that they may send Marcus Smart for Lonzo Ball actually with Chicago. Chicago signed Lonzo to a contract extension. He won't be going in anywhere. I like that move, by the way. I've almost never said that I like a move that the Bulls do. I like that move.

[Brian Windhorst]

It's a great, It's a great contract extension. It's been a huge success for Lonzo. Like you said at the beginning, it's been a great year for him and he's been awesome whenever he's been on the court. So hopefully he could stay healthy and keep playing because it's been really fun to see him back out.

[Zach Lowe]

Billy Donovan, by the way, Tonight called timeout 45 seconds into the game because the Bulls gave up four offensive rebounds on the first possession. So just in case you want to know how the Bulls are playing rough.

[Brian Windhorst]

Times in Bulls land, who still, by the way, are in 10th place in the east in the the race.

[Zach Lowe]

Who cares? They got their pick. They. They got their pick that they were already going to get.

[Brian Windhorst]

I just was saying they still don't.

[Tim MacMahon]

Have to worry about the protection anymore. That's right.

[Brian Windhorst]

I'm saying they're just still out of the six.

[Zach Lowe]

Also popped up on my radar today. Keep an eye on the Cleveland Cavaliers. I think they're in some discussions about acquiring a wing player. Whether they pull the trigger or not, we will see. They had a loss to the Celtics two nights ago that sort of lost to history because so much crazy stuff has happened.

[Tim MacMahon]

I was there. I was there.

[Zach Lowe]

You were. How was Cavs corner that night?

[Tim MacMahon]

Cav's corner was great. Cav's corner night was phenomenal. Darius Garland, I mean, they melted down, dude. Let it be a tie game late, but Darius Garland, a buzzer beater from the logo in Detroit. I know. Cav's corner was phenomenal. The hospitality was great. I really enjoyed my trip to the dirty sea, as Tristan Thompson referred to it. I don't think that's an official nickname.

[Brian Windhorst]

That's a new one.

[Zach Lowe]

You guys. You and Bon Thompson spent a lot of time in Cleveland this year. I haven't made it there yet. I was there for training camp, but they were in Florida. So maybe may later. But yeah, I think the Cavs keep an eye on what they do with Caris Lavert. I thought that they might. I still think there's a good. A decent chance they're going to keep him, but he's an expiring contract. The Cavs may be willing to take on some money. They might need some extra wing defense right now. They're hurting a little bit because Dean Wade is hurt. They could use a little bit more size, but none of their core players.

[Brian Windhorst]

Also might try to get out of the tax. Only a couple million over the tax and go a lot of different directions.

[Tim MacMahon]

Yeah, they got the 4 f o u r the land that huge. Is that on the old Witness building?

[Zach Lowe]

Is that what that is?

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes. Yes, it is.

[Tim MacMahon]

It's a sharp thing there. It looks good.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah. The four. Four for the land will not be going anywhere. I heard you met the Moon. I heard you met Moondog.

[Brian Windhorst]

We talked about that on the podcast.

[Tim MacMahon]

The people are very familiar.

[Zach Lowe]

We did.

[Tim MacMahon]

Yeah.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes, we did.

[Tim MacMahon]

Bon Temps is dead last thing. Yeah, I mean, we could reiterate.

[Zach Lowe]

I literally.

[Tim MacMahon]

Or the. The runner, you know, he's like the Bulls in three way trades.

[Zach Lowe]

I gotta tell you something. This is where I'm at this week. I have no recollection of that. And with that, we're going to sign off. We're going to have our post trade deadline annual podcast. We're going to record tomorrow, so you can catch that on Friday. Thank you for listening to this emergency pod. Thank you to Jackson for putting it up. Thank you for watching. Listen, who collected. We'll talk to you Friday.

[Tim MacMahon]

Adios, amigos.