← Green With Envy: A Boston Celtics Podcast
Green With Envy: A Boston Celtics Podcast
Super Bowl Hangover, Tatum's Injury Update, and First Impressions of Nikola Vucevic
00:56:16
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- [00:00]
Commercial Announcer 1
Gentlemen, whether you're two dates in or going 20 years strong, a Valentine's Day gift is always a good idea, even if you let the kiddos pick it out. Just hit the Walmart app and get it delivered in an hour with express delivery. Sound good?
- [00:12]
Will
Great.
- [00:13]
Commercial Announcer 2
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- [00:45]
Greg
This is Mike Gorman and you're listening.
- [00:47]
Will
To Green with Envy with Will and Greg. Super bowl hangover for sure. Sunday did not go the way that we planned it in the bean. Didn't go well to start the day. Didn't go well to end the day. But somebody's got to recap it. Somebody's got to talk about it, damn it. It's gonna be us. So this is Green with Envy. You guys know the deal. Let's lock in. What up, what up, what up? Welcome into another edition of Dream with Envy recording live here on a Monday morning, February 9th. Post Super bowl woes, post matinee blowout at the Garden. Rough Sunday for everybody. That was a Boston sports fan as always. This is your boy, Will. We're checking in. How you doing? How you living? Join me as he does each and every time, my best friend, co hosts and the coach of our podcast, one and only Greg Manakis. Greg, I kind of miss doing these morning podcasts with kids and getting them out the door. It's a little bit harder for us to set this up, but good old fashioned coffee and seas. I love the setup. Wish the the preface to this from Sunday was a little bit better for us to talk about.
- [02:12]
Greg
Man. Where do you want to start? You want to start talking about the super bowl we got together? Just pull the curtain back. Will and I got together, our buddy Matt Lip Tac's house. Liptac is a Knicks fan, so he had a lot to chirp about last night. Friend of the end of the show, Matt Lip Tac. But you want to just start talking about the Super Bowl?
- [02:28]
Will
I mean, let's do it. I mean it's not going to last super long, much like the chances the Patriots had last night, because we felt pretty early on that it didn't look great. So Pats lose Super Bowl 2913. Congrats to the Seahawks. Kenneth Walker takes home the MVP trophy. Yeah, I mean, listen, you asked me how I felt about this when we were together last night or how I felt going into the game. And, you know, it was one of those games where, like, almost everybody was kind of picking the Seahawks. So it was. You know what? I'm starting to get a little confident that I think, just like we're the. You know, as Bill Simmons said, nobody believes in us team, right? Like that. That can be dangerous. And we've been that team been a while since the Patriots have been that team. But we remember that team back when it was Pat's Rams, you know, the first super bowl that really started, you know, this whole dynastic run that is potentially looking to take a second run at it now. And honestly, it was hard for me to get too worked up last night because it felt like a team that should never been there. Right. This is a team that probably should have never really been to the Super Bowl. But at the same time, you never know how many chances you're gonna get at it, right? Like, there's no guarantee this might be the one and only Super Bowl Drake May ever plays in. In fact, that's more likely than the fact that he gets another crack at it. Like, if you had to, like, bet the odds, it's more likely he doesn't ever get a crack at it again. Just based on NFL history, Right. And the way things work. So when you're there, you got to make the most of it. And I think the biggest disappointment from last night is that Seahawks were clearly the better team. But if the O line was a little bit better, which also led to Drake May just, you know, all playoffs, he hasn't looked like the Drake May that came in second place. And MVP voting was second team AP or, you know, whatever it was. You know, if the O line was a little bit better, it felt like the rest of the team gave us a shot. And it was the O line, which eventually led to Drake, Macy and Ghost that just completely fell apart and didn't give the paths really a chance at almost any point in this game.
- [04:31]
Greg
Yeah, the ultimate irony last night, right? Drake May seeing ghosts against Sam Darnold, where Sam Darnold, that was kind of the downfall of him with the Jets.
- [04:39]
Will
What a what, What a world. Sam Darnold super bowl champion that we're living in right now.
- [04:44]
Greg
Yeah, there's, I mean if you go back and look at the, the quarterbacks that have won Super Bowls in the past, I'm sure we could find a few other Sam Darnolds. But it's great for him, man. The career, the career turnaround is, is wild to see. You know, he's somebody that a lot of people had written off, myself included and you saw like in, in the game last night. Although he had about four passes in the first quarter that could have been picked off or pick sixes, his pocket presence was great. You know, the Patriots were bringing the heat on him all night. He made, he made the plays that he, he missed a couple big plays as well, but he was just better than Drake May. And although the, the counting stats, at the end of the day, if you just look at like yards, Drake May versus Yards, Sam Darnold and stuff like that, they're. Drake May has more passing yards in the game than Sam Darnold, but they're garbage passing yards, right? Garbage time passing yards. And Drake was just not good, man. And the Will Campbell left tackle experiment, it's, it's pretty depressing. You know, when you have the, the top five pick in the draft and you want the opportunity to get a franchise altering player and you end up with someone who might need to switch over to left guard, that's, that's not great. And Drake May, he, as you said, he was seeing ghosts all night. He was sped up. He's a guy that anytime I've tuned in to watch Drake May play, I'm always impressed by how he's able to keep the game at his pace and he was just completely sped up. He missed a ton of throws. That interception on the, when he threw it from the 50 yard line to the middle of the field where I don't know who he was throwing to.
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Will
I mean the thing was I, I forget who, who the target was but if he had led him out to the right like there at least was like space that, you know, he just. Very weird.
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Greg
It's one of those plays where I don't. It was just like a amateur mistake. Like professional quarterbacks do not make that throw. And it was bad. It was bad. Like it honestly reminded me of like me playing high school quarterback and seeing somebody and throw it when he's open, not throwing it to get him open. Right. And it's just like that's such a basic thing that you learn when you're a freshman in High school, you know what I mean? So like, I don't know, man, it was really bad out of Drake May. It was depressing. I was starting to believe after the, the touchdown to Matt Collins and then the stop and you know, we get off the goal line and all of a sudden we're at the 50 yard line and we just need a couple plays. And all the, the pressures on the.
- [07:09]
Will
Seahawks had a chance. There was a chance.
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Greg
A chance. And that's a, that was cool that we had like an opportunity to, to Root said, dude, I going in the game I was like the Seahawks are better than Patriots. Like I. Anytime I watch the Seahawks play, I was so impressed with them. The speed. Kenneth Walker, I called it, I said he was going to be Super Bowl MVP just because, just because of his speed and we couldn't contain him, man.
- [07:32]
Will
Yeah. And the thing was, I mean the defense did their thing though, right? Like, like for the, for the Patriots. Like you're right. Kenneth Walker, I think he ended up with like close to like 200 total yards or something. Like he was a problem, no doubt. But like jsn, who's the best receiver in the league. I forget what he ended up with, but not much. Right. I know he got a little bit banged up throughout the game as well. But the, the Pat's defense was. I mean Christian Gonzalez, you know, basically like the one play he didn't make was like that big first down to Cooper cup towards the end of the game, but he made like seven other plays. So I don't really know how I can look to that and say like man, that one play though, you know, like he, he made, he saved two touchdowns, you know, with different deflections. I mean part of that was Sam Darnell could have made better throws, but Christian Gonzalez still deserves his credit. And so the defense was there, but it's. The thing was I think between the Patriots first drive and basically like the end of the third quarter, they had like one first down. Yeah, like it was all three. Now it's like it wasn't even like six, seven plays or something. Like it was just three and out non stop. And yeah, it was, it was, it was a really disappointing way to end the season. End of the day, you know, O line had two rookies on it. You know, you pointed out with, with Will Campbell and you know, I don't think he was as bad before the injury. So I'm holding out hope that the injury just. He can't tried to come back and. Because it really has been really bad since he came back, but before he went out. Like it, I, you know, I, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend like, especially where we're a basketball podcast, that I'm locked into o line play and I can tell you exactly what, what he was before the injury, but I don't remember the conversation and watching and being like, oh, that guy just gets smoked four, five times a game, you know.
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Greg
Right. So the bones are there o line play. I'm kind of on, on the idea that how does my quarterback react when he's going back in like a just basic three to five step drop?
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Will
Right.
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Greg
If he's going back in a basic three to five step drop and you see him like getting jittery feet and happy feet in the pocket because he knows he can't protect his blind side. Like, no one's there to protect his blind side and that. That's what it is. Like the, the impact on Drake May's that game tells you all you need to know about how bad the left side of the line was. It was brutal. The Seahawks rushed four and were able to put pressure on them with just four. And you can hear the secondary, the.
- [09:56]
Will
Absolute disgusting Collins word's voice, and he's like, they're just rushing four. He said it a couple different times and I was like, he's like disgusted by the fact that it's like they're just getting four and, and they have a good D line, but there's no Miles Garrett over there. There's no, you know, T.J. watt, J.J. watt. Like they, they've got a good line but, but they don't have someone that's like a wrecking crew. That's like cool. We're bringing for like, remember like when we played the Giants back in the day and it was like they had Stray Hand, they had Omen Yora, they had Kiwanuka. Like, they had like four. They had like two of the best guys and then like two other backup guys who are like, oh, these would be like high end players and there's four of them coming at you like, okay. Like that made a little bit more sense that you have like four Pro Bowlers, four All Pros kind of coming at you. Yeah. Where, you know, you just, you just couldn't block four last night. Never mind. When the blitzes came, it, it was game over. When the blitzes came, like, there was just no chance. So, you know, this Pats team, we're never supposed to be here, but you never know when you're going to get back and the bones are there, though. Like, I'm. Like, I'm in on this team. Like, I'm in, like, disappointing end for Drake. May. The things I saw this year, like, he's a real dude. I. I still believe he's a real dude. You got to bounce back from this, though, because it's. It's. It's been. Most of the playoffs have been pretty rough. In that last impression last night, it's not going to sit well in the off season. But it now becomes on this team to go draft and to go to the free. Go to free agency or. Or trades, whatever you need to do, and go shore up the O line, get probably one more explosive guy in that offense. And you know, defensively, like, I. I was very impressed with the defense throughout the playoffs for the most part. So if that can. Can be consistent, like, no reason this team shouldn't be back in contention next year. But again, you just. You just never know. So. Tough night for the Pats. Tough nights for PAT Nation. Halftime was fun, though. I had a great time. Halftime, we got everybody dancing. That was fun.
- [11:50]
Greg
That was fun. That was a good time. Yeah, that, and then we both left after halftime, and then things just went super downhill from there. But, yeah, Bad Bunny was great. It was great.
- [12:00]
Will
Let's move on. Shout out to Benito. It was awesome. I love the end of it. When he shouted out, all in North America went through all the countries, had the together, we are America. Great Spike. Spike at the end was great. I thought that was fant grog Spike to end it there. That was. That was the way it should have been. So I enjoyed the show. That's, you know, I've seen. That's. Honestly, that's where most of. I was looking at, like, hey, what are people saying about the game? Most of the things I could find were about halftime. This versus the racist show on the other YouTube channel. So, yeah, you know, Benito for the win in our books. But should we talk a little hoop Greg?
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Greg
Yeah, let's talk. Can we start with the positive news with Jason Tatum? I need to. I need to go positive first.
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Will
I got you. Well, we've missed a lot, so I'm gonna do a quick timeline reset for us here, and then we can. We can kind of jump in throughout the week. So last time we recorded was right after Celtics Mavericks, and the trade had gone down with Anthony Simons and Nicola Vucevic since then, pretty eventful week. So I'm glad that we're here now that we can kind of look back on it. As a whole. So from that point Celtics play back to back in Houston. Jalen Brown sits out to get some rest. The trade is not finalized yet between Simons and Vuch. So no sign Diamonds, no Vuch back to back against Houston playing all of their stars, playing all of their their main guys. Joe Missoula pulls off maybe his coach of the year. Top of the resume game so far this year. Celtics dominate the Rockets in a back to back on the road without their main guys and just you know, got contributions up and down. Nemi is maybe his best game of the year. Ron Harper Jr. Came out of nowhere. Hello. He's in the power rank rankings by the way. Now we're have to do we're going to redo a power rankings here later. Ron Hart, Josh Minot, appreciate the the week to start the season. Ron Harper Jr. Has now taken your place in the power rankings so we'll talk about that. But just contributions all over. Unbelievable win come home Friday night against Miami Heat. It's Vuch's debut. Joe Missoula sticks with this double big lineup that he went to out of kind of necessity against the Rockets. He stuck with it. Stuck with the last two nights. Doesn't work in the first half. Celtics just stuck in mud. Look, look real bad. Energy's real dead down I think 22 points. Second half felt like a playoff game. Completely flipped the game on its head. Biggest comeback I think Celtics have had. I think they said in five years they get the win in Vuch's debut. Shout out Brazil night actually as well at TD Garden. Had it feeling alive at the end of that game. Unbelievable night for, for the Celtics. Then we get to Sunday and of course we know how it ended. Celtics lose to the Knicks yesterday, 111 to 89, ending their five game win streak. Now sitting in a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference. Theoretically Knicks are ahead because they have the season series lead 2 to 1. But before that, as you alluded to, Greg Shams gave us a report before that, Jason Tatum is now starting, I believe he called it soft five on five, which essentially is him playing five on five with coaching, staff, trainers, all that type of stuff. Part of the kind of rehabilitation process which I think I saw is Keith Smith or another reporter was kind of laying out. This is all part of the check marks, much as Brad Stevens alluded to in his press conference earlier this week, that Tatum still has some check marks that he's got to get to. But playing five on five, we're approaching the all star break Greg, this is the time where it starts to get. It's either going to be real or it's just not happening. But it's these next couple of weeks where we're going to find out. So let's start like you said, with the Jayson Tatum news. And what were your thoughts on getting that report from Shams right before tip off?
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Commercial Announcer 1
Gentlemen, whether you're two dates in or going 20 years strong, a Valentine's Day gift is always a good idea, even if you let the kiddos pick it out. Just hit the Walmart app and get it delivered in an hour with express delivery. Sound good?
- [15:48]
Will
Great.
- [15:48]
Commercial Announcer 2
Subject to availability restrictions and fees apply.
- [15:51]
Will
We heard you. Nine years of bring back the snack wrap and you've won. But maybe you should have asked for more.
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Commercial Announcer 1
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- [16:01]
Will
Now you've really won. Go to McDonald's and get it while you can.
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Greg
I'm so excited, man. I thought it was going to be the start of a great day. You know, I thought we were going to get that good news and then this, the, the, the Celtics would at least show up against the Knicks and the Patriots would at least show up against the, the Seahawks. We didn't get any of that. But I'm wondering, you know, that five on five, is this another opportunity for the, the Celtics media to, to get an opportunity to play 5 on 5 against the coaches and Jason Tatum or maybe Jason Tatum becomes the captain of the media team and then you go five on five. Just, just ideas to throw out there. Call us up. You boys will make the trip back and, and we can be there for, to take part in the Jason Tatum recovery. Five on five, soft five on five. And there's nothing softer than playing with the Celtics.
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Will
Media keyword, soft keywords. I don't want any, I don't want any of these is coming anywhere near Jason Tatum on a close out.
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Greg
Can you imag. Yeah. Can you imagine like Bobby Manning, you know, closing out hard on Tatum and spraying his ankle?
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Will
Yeah. Rolls his ankle. Bobby Manning hard, close out.
- [17:07]
Greg
Oh, that'd be great. Yeah, man. But, you know, with the Tatum news, I think he, he, he said that he wanted to come back for a home game. There's one, I think one home game left after the all Star break in February. And then we get the, the game on his birthday early March. Right. And then after that, it's like if he doesn't come back early March, I just can't imagine him coming back because you're too close to the playoffs and everything like that I did hear for the first time Chris Forsberg and Tom Giles, they were talking about bringing Tatum off the bench. So there is some, a little bit more, a little momentum behind that. The idea I floated about a month ago. And you know, even if it's for a game or two, I think that's probably the smart way to do it. That'd be pretty fun to see Tatum come off the bench and see the.
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Will
Guardian bring up an interesting point, Greg, that I started thinking about and I hadn't really looked at until, until just now, but I was thinking about this last night, right. Like we are in that stretch of the season where it's either going to happen or it's not going to happen.
- [18:06]
Greg
Right.
- [18:07]
Will
So just to set this up for the audience here, right now we're recording this Monday morning. There's one game left before the break, ironically versus Chicago Bull. So Anthony Simon, I have to wait long to get back to TD Garden. We'll get that reunion on night. But then after that there's not a game until Thursday. So one game from now until Thursday you get about one game in, you know, 10ish days. Right. And then there's the All Star break, which only Jalen Brown and Ron Harper Jr. Are going to be participating in. So for everyone else it's just a complete rest and reset until they start a west coast trip right after the break. So I think we can likely rule out that west coast trip as an option for Tatum coming back. So it starts to your point. Last game in February, February 27, Friday night against Brooklyn at home. And then you get into a pretty relatively home heavy March. A lot of home games here. And so I don't know if you're looking at the schedule, Greg, but what I want to figure out here is what's like the line of demarcation, basically, like it's either happening or it's not happening. So when they come back in March and what is Jason Taylor's birthday? I think It's Wednesday. It's March 4th is what I think everyone pointing to as the, as the potential. Yeah. So that's that first week in March. There's three home games out of the four games that they have that week. Then they're on the road for three games and after that it's, it's again pretty home heavy the next two weeks. And you're approaching the end of the season here. The end of the season is, is April 12th. Right. So I, to me it feels like you would want roughly about a month of Tatum around the team, getting into the rotation, feeling out what this looks like. Because after that, when you get to the two, it seems hard that you're going to throw Tatum into the mix with two weeks left. Right. Like, the longer you close, you get the end of the season. It just seems unlikely. So where do we think the line of demarcation is that, like, if he doesn't come back by this game, it's just not happening?
- [20:09]
Greg
I think he needs 15 games. Right. And that would be the Celtics Suns game on March 16 would be. He comes. If he comes back in that day. So either if the 14th against the Wizards at home or the 16th against the Suns at home. If he's not back in one of those two games, I think you can pretty much assume that Jason Tatum is not coming back. And it's probably not a good idea to bring him back with only a handful of games to get him ready for playoff action. Especially when you consider the next games are against the. So we go Warriors, Grizzlies, and then it's T. Wolves, Thunder. Right. Hawks who are a long, physical team. Hornets who are playing great basketball. Long, physical team. We're getting into the dangerous territory where you're putting Tatum into some games that he might not be ready for, which he's not playing.
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Will
Backs. There's no.
- [20:59]
Greg
Would you be open to throwing Tatum into the G league for a game?
- [21:03]
Will
No, probably not. Again, it has nothing to do with his stature. It's just. I couldn't. I don't know if I could live with myself that he got hurt in a G league game coming back. Like, that's fair. I just. I just don't know if. If we can do that. But I'm with you. I think there needs to be a ramp up, so. So I'm actually gonna amend it. I think it's the 14th against Washington because if he's gonna play the 16th on a Monday night against Phoenix, why wouldn't he play two days before that? Right. If he's ready, like. So it would just be those back to back. Because there's three straight Homes games, right? Three straight home games, all with the day off in between. No back to backs. Like, I think that's the. That's. That's the move is multiple home games. So outside. I, I just, you know, we haven't heard anything yet. I mean, we're still just under a month away, but I would say the two dates are kind of correctly. What everyone was looking at is that March 4th date. You get that game in Dallas at home. Back to back before you hit the road. So you get two games. So it's either that March 4 game or I think it's March 14. Those are the two dates that I'm looking at. That if he's not back by specifically that second date, I just don't think it's happening this year.
- [22:11]
Greg
Yeah, I almost wonder if there's a, a way to like play him on his birthday just to see how his body responds. Right. See how his body responds and then give him another week so that he's playing that home game 14th and 16th against the Wizards and in the sun. So get like a soft launch game on his birthday, you know, 15, 20 minutes, see how his body responds. And you don't want to rush him back out there for like a game quickly after that, Right. The next game after that is when it's.
- [22:41]
Will
So there's, it's basically an entire week of game, no game. Game, no game. It goes Charlotte day off, Dallas day off. And then this is where, this is where I thought you were going here is it's a pretty tough week of games where you're playing Cleveland is all road games, Cleveland day off, San Antonio, which by the way, we gotta, we gotta talk about, we gotta get down there for that game. San Antonio day off, OKC day off. And so if you think about Cleveland's going to be important standings wise, right? Like Cleveland's been playing a little bit better. They got the whole James Harden element to it now. So it's a different feel. You got to kind of understand what that might look like in the playoffs. San Antonio's two seed in the west, okc, the one seed in the West. Like that's a tough stretch if that's what you're coming back for. And you know, Tatum's been more open about his, his, his mental, you know, going into it and how, you know, and that was also part of the Shams report, is that, you know, he wants to come back when he feels like Tatum, not 80% of Jason Tatum, not 90% of Jason, not Jason Tatum, light, you know, he wants to come back and feel like Jason Tatum. And so I think we are starting to get a little bit of breadcrumbs here that there's a, a larger chance he just may not come back this year.
- [23:49]
Greg
Yeah, but I, I, I think your point is, is, is well taken there if he comes back on the fourth, right? And then you have another, you avoid the super high intense games against the Cavs, the Spurs and the Thunder. Just avoid them, him right we don't need him there against like playoff level competition right now. Where are the soft launch games for him to come back and play the, the game on the fourth and then he could play the game on the six against the Mavs. Right. So you get two games there and then you give him a week off against the Cavs, the Spurs and the Thunder and you bring them back for the home games against this, the, the Wizards and the Suns. Right. And the Suns can be your first like real ramp up because you got Dylan Brooks and you know Dylan Brooks is going to want to take his lunch money in that game. Right. So that can be the, the ramp up game. And then it gets a little easier with the warriors and the Grizzlies and now we're back t Wolves, Thunder where he's ramped up, ready for those games. Yeah, I'd be okay with that.
- [24:45]
Will
Yeah, I think, I think that's the area that we got to look at here. That's, that's where it's going to be make or break and that's where we'll know kind of like what we're going to expect for, for the Celtics season. And I think that directly ties into kind of Vuch in his debut this week. Right. Because end of the day when you look at that trade, this is what I said immediately when they made it and I feel it probably even more so now, having watched two games with the Celtics and Vuch is that you replace Simons with Vuch and you strengthen your front court, you weaken your backcourt, we'll get into the positives and negatives. I think they're both pretty obvious. I think they're kind of what we thought and I think at the end of the day this is a hedge that hey, if Tatum is able to come back though, this will make us a better team. If and when that happens, it will make us a more well rounded team, which is what Brad Stevens alluded to. Right. Just kind of balancing out the roster is a big part of what that move was. Of course, all the cap stuff too, that's the other side of that hedge is like, hey, if it doesn't, we weren't going to win championship with just Simons and we didn't have anything else added to this. We add Vuch, remove Simon, we're not winning the championship unless Tatum comes back anyways. So let's get a bunch of cap savings and if Tatum comes back, we're in a better, more well rounded position. But let's talk about Vuch and, and how he looks so Celtics get a win that night against Miami on Friday night get blown out against the Knicks. I'm not sure there's gonna be much to take away from that game. That was just kind of a stinker overall. But Greg, you were, you were going through some ups and downs on Friday night in our text messages with your your thoughts on Vuch. So walk us through where you were at that night and where you're at today.
- [26:19]
Greg
So Vuch is so bad on defense, like abysmal. He's one of, in my opinion he's one of the worst big men defenders in the league. I just don't think he offers you anything on that side. He does rebound so I will amend that. He does rebound. Like against the Knicks he had one really impressive box out of Mitchell Robinson and just like one handed a rebound keeping him, keeping him off which is not easy to do. Like we haven't been able to keep Mitch Robinson off the glass in two years. So it was nice to see that. But I just one I'm not a fan of trading up 10 years in age. Okay. So when you go from Simon's to Boots, you're basically trading up 10 years in age and I'm just not a fan of that to you have guys that are playing well above what they have been expected to do in Keda and Garza and bringing in Vuch who is a talent upgrade on offense but you risk losing what was making those two guys special With Keda and Garza there's just a, a veteran kind of like looming over them. Garza's already like they're trying to play the double big so that Garza still has minutes on this team and it probably just doesn't make sense to have to play three bigs. Right. So it probably is going to be Luca Garza going to the bench. Okay. But now you lose that like added element of the weird Luca Garza. 10 offensive rebound games and he was just like bringing so much energy. Keita is now looking over his shoulder. Is he going to keep his starting job with Vuchevic there? You're already seeing more and more opportunities where offensively Vuch offers more than Keda does on the offensive side of the ball. Just with his ability to pass, his ability to make great reads out of the short roll. Like there is a lot that Vuch can offer. I just don't think it makes the team better. I really don't think it makes the team better. And trading up 10 years in age, to me it doesn't make much Sense. So I'm not a fan of the trade. I see, see the vision with Vuch, but I just don't like it. That's where I'm at.
- [28:17]
Will
I'm gonna push back on the, on the trading up 10 years in age because I think generally that's, that's a pretty good call. Right. I think the difference here is they're, they're two guys on expiring contracts that. It's a, it's for 30 games. So. For 30 games. I don't think it's that big of a deal if this, if both guys were on two three year deals. Yeah, I'm with you. That's a, that's. You never do that. I mean, unless you're Nico Harrison.
- [28:40]
Greg
Here's the thing. My, my thing is not just trading up 10 years in age. It's. You traded up 10 years in age for an expiring contract where there were other centers on the market that you could have traded Simons for that are 27, 28. Right. So it's not just Simons. It's the, the center that you could have gotten that's eight to nine years younger than Vuch is right now.
- [29:00]
Will
So is that, is that Zubot you're talking about or like which centers that, that moved? Are you Gafford?
- [29:05]
Greg
Gafford, Zubots.
- [29:06]
Will
I mean, so the Gaffer one's complicated. There's a lot, there's a lot of cap stuff with the Gafford one that, that makes that one pretty complicated. Would had have been a pretty intricate deal. Yeah. Because of the maps. Yeah, they're hard cap, they're, they're, they're at a weird spot. So that one's a little bit tougher. Zubot obviously moved. Claxton didn't move. Who was the other guy that you mentioned? Sharp or Sharp? Yeah. And Sharp would have just been a, you know, a cheaper alternative. I think he's making like, like 4 million or 5 million or something. So. So I think really it comes down to the, to the Claxton Zubot combo.
- [29:41]
Greg
Right.
- [29:41]
Will
Like, those are probably the two guys that would have fit. And I think Zubac is worth talking about because when you look at what the Celtics were rumored to offer and what the Pacers ended up, you know, given up, I don't think the Celtics were that far off. The biggest difference being that the Pacers can offer an opportunity for the Clippers to end up with potentially 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9.
- [30:04]
Greg
They can't match that.
- [30:05]
Will
Yeah, we can't match otherwise. It Came down to do you like Simons or Mather? Because they're both on expiring deals. Which one do you like a little bit more? Maybe they do like Mather a little bit more. That's possible. But they're fairly kind of offering you similar aspects, right? Like bucket getters in different ways. Like, Simon's a little bit more of a knockdown shooter. Math's going to kind of hunt free throws and, you know, get to the line a little bit more going downhill. Like, but they're both like kind of volume scorers that get you similar aspects. So those are kind of even. And then we offered one, I think one unprotected pick and then a swap. Whereas the pacers, even if that 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 doesn't. They were willing to go to that next level and have you just get two unprotected picks. But point being, Celtics weren't that far away. And yes, I'm with you. I would have much preferred the Zubotch. And I even said on the show like I was. I really like Zubac. I would have actually probably gone a little bit more aggressive. I'm not super disappointed they didn't because it ends up being a pretty steep price. I like that trade for both teams. I think that's a really nice Clippers Pacers trade. I think both teams got good value, but that would have been a guy that I would have gone a little bit harder at with, you know, Simons for Vuch. I. Again, if Vuch is. If Tatum doesn't come back, we're probably slightly worse and we're less fun. That's. That's the truth of it. We're just slightly less fun. Fun. That's a big part of, I think, what this equation is. It's not going to be as fun to watch, but I do think if Tatum comes back, I think Vuch is 100. It was the right move just to hedge on the chance that he comes back. And as far as him versus Garza, like, I know Garza's been giving good energy. Butch is just better. Like, I. I get like, defensively, what is Darza really giving you that much more? Like, yes, you can see visibly that he tries really hard and, like, that's a little bit like energizing, but that's about it.
- [31:55]
Greg
I mean, he shut down Sengun.
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- [32:12]
Will
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- [32:41]
Greg
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- [32:46]
Will
Yeah, I mean Shanghai is also a guy that doesn't move very fast. Right. Like that's, that's kind of the, the matchup where I, I would expect V to in a matchup versus Sengun than he would versus, you know, other centers in the league.
- [32:58]
Greg
Yeah, yeah that's fair. I, I do think my final point as you asked me, like all my thought processes. Yeah with I think this trade was also a bet on Keda, right. Where if you trade for a Claxton or you trade for a younger person like there's much more competition for who should be the starting center. This trade is like hey Kate is your starting center.
- [33:23]
Will
Yeah.
- [33:23]
Greg
Vuch is coming off the bench. Right. Even though Vuch could potentially play his way into the starting lineup this year just because he, he is good, like Vuch is not a bad player.
- [33:33]
Will
I honestly don't think that's happening. Like I like I'm really like for me that would be a massive shock in my opinion honestly if Keda got supplanted. He's been that good. And I think to your point, like this is, this is a bet on like hey Cato, when we get to the off season like get. Tell your management to get ready. Like we're gonna sit down, we're having a conversation. I don't know what the number is going to be or, or if we're gonna find a place but like there's a conversation coming because Kate has proved himself to that point. So yeah, I think for that I'm not quite as, as worried. One of the things I will say that I really enjoyed from Vuch in that especially in the second half of that Miami game. His passing was really good. Like the Celtics don't have a lot of high level passing. He made a couple reads in that where he was actually probably a little too passive at times. Whether I think there were times you could have just looked at the hoop because he was just like really punishing any of the Switches to get them, you know, into the middle of the lane or down the low block. But he made a couple of really high level reads where it's like we've been excited for some of the reads. We're like, oh man, I didn't expect Cada to make that read. And it was like Mooch just instinctively came in and made like three or four or five reads that we just don't usually see. And I think it's not going to feel as fun as an inferno, but I think those are going to be pretty big for the sake of Celtics in this offense.
- [34:47]
Greg
Definitely. Yeah. I think the, the positives, as you said, the positives and the negatives are glaringly obvious with what Vuchevic has and does not have. And you know, the Celtics, it wasn't just the Vuch deal. They ended up trading off Josh Mina, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman. So they're completely out of the tax and that does.
- [35:08]
Will
And signed Amari Williams to two year deals though. Mario Williams is now activated with the big team team.
- [35:13]
Greg
Right. So Amari Williams is with the team. Ron Harper Jr. Is probably going to get converted. Just like we just have to wait a little bit longer before we convert him just to save a little bit more money. So those things are happening right now. Amari Williams is interesting just because if Kada plays himself out of the Celtics price range, you hope that you can develop Amari Williams into the next Seamius K. Right? That, that's probably the hope with that. But. But then you run the risk of just this being like a big man development school where you get, you know, you get them for two years, you develop them and then somebody else pays him a ton of money. And you just keep having to go back into that and hope that you're. You're betting on your development team there, which you know, can. Can be tough to find those diamonds in the rough like we did with Keda and hopefully like we're doing with Amari Williams.
- [35:59]
Will
So started with Luke. Finding Luke. Yeah.
- [36:03]
Greg
And speaking of developmental wins, I think we got to transition and talk about Baylor because Baylor.
- [36:11]
Will
Was so getting updated here for the Wings.
- [36:14]
Greg
It's gonna get updated. But let's talk about Baylor against the Knicks because Baylor was the one guy on the court last night that I felt like was awake for a 12:30 start. Like, like everybody else just had this like weird lethargic energy. Derek White played well in the first half. Jalen had a couple moments in the game, but for the most part it was just Baylor Charman Doing all these things, grabbing 13 rebounds or whatever he ended up grabbing. I was like this is why I compared Bayless Charman to Marcus Smart. And people started talking like this is why Bayless Charmin looks like Marcus Smart to me.
- [36:47]
Will
Yeah. Two out of the last three games Baylor Scheiman has double digit rebounds. Like Baylor's been a bit of a revelation. And you know I mentioned before like the, the two big lineup that Joe used in Houston, he's used the last couple nights. Like it's got to go and like I think Baylor is actually because I like the idea of Pritchard back on the bench, like coming as a sixth man. I like the idea of Baylor sticking in the starting lineup. Like I like the idea of going Derrick White, Jalen Brown, Baylor, Sam Houser and Keda. Like I think that until, until Tatum comes back. Like I kind of think that should be the starting lineup that the Celtics roll.
- [37:22]
Greg
We, we've at different points in the season made arguments that it should be Ugo, that it should be Josh, that it should be Jordan Walsh. Now we're Baylor Shire. This is, this is one of those things where all those guys have had moments. But yeah, this is what I said earlier in the year. It's like when you've got 12 guys, you don't have any guys, right?
- [37:41]
Will
100.
- [37:42]
Greg
So like Baylor, if he can play the way that he's played over the past couple of games and I do think there is a lot there with Baylor Charman. Like I've been really impressed with this development. Like he, he should stick in the starting lineup. But this could just be another one of those hot stretches that we've seen every three weeks.
- [37:58]
Will
Every three weeks we just kind of rotate through this and this is why we have the big board, right. Because we keep going through it and it keeps changing. So let's do it here real quick. Josh Minot. Appreciate the first week of the season, man. Never got injured, never, never really bounced back into the, into the contention here. So Ron Hopper Jr. You're going to get an honorary spot. We're going to put him at four because I don't think there's any way we can rank Ron Harper Jr higher at this point. Although his was game in Houston impressive and you know he's going to all star weekend team Harper, Greg, just so you know, the Harpers are related. Dylan Harper, Ron Harper, they're gonna, they're gonna be part of the shooting stars you'll get to see. That's great.
- [38:31]
Greg
Also he had a great block on Jalen Brunson had a couple nice possessions defensively.
- [38:36]
Will
He's, he's getting some juice. So. All right, so we're gonna put him four. So that leaves us with Baylor Ugo and Jordan Walsh. Give me your three, Greg, and I'll give you my three.
- [38:45]
Greg
I mean, he just named him. I think that was a Freudian slip there. It's Baylor Hugo and Jordan Walsh.
- [38:50]
Will
That's how I wrote it in my notes because that's, that's what I have. That's why y.
- [38:54]
Greg
Ugo. You know, that's what was funny. When we were talking with Lip Tac, he was like, what? So what's up with Ugo? Like, Bill Simmons said he should be like a top 10 pick in a redraft of last year's class. And we were like, yeah. I mean, he's had those moments. Ugo's had moments where you can talk yourself into him being the steel of the draft. And then there are other moments where you see the limitations in what, what he can do out there on the court. Like, he doesn't really have a one on one badge bag. He doesn't have a jump shot. So if he's not like doing all the, the stuff that Baylor Charman can also do defensively, I don't know that he's ever going to play over Baylor Charman unless he develops a little bit more of a one on one bag or a little bit more of a reliable jump shot.
- [39:36]
Will
Yeah, he's willing to shoot it though. You know, I'll give him that. Like, it's one.
- [39:40]
Greg
I feel like he hasn't made it three in like a month since he hit that one in the corner to win, to tie the game, to send a double overtime or whatever. It was like, I don't think he's hit a three since that, since that game.
- [39:51]
Will
As we were talking, I looked it up. I was like, I was like, I wonder what he's shooting from three this year. It's actually better than I thought because I feel like the same point to you is I don't think other than that 1:3. I think it's the 1:3 I've seen him hit in like a month. He's shooting 33 from 3, which is obviously not good, but given the fact that he is a willing shooter and just hasn't made any, I actually, I was expecting it to be in the high 20s or mid 20s, to be honest, but I think it's one of those things where I like take that. He feels empowered to take those shots. I Think that long term those could have some benefits, like those could be long term beneficial misses. Now maybe they're just misses. There's a real possibility that he just never is a jump shooter and that's what it is. But you know, given his age, given, you know, where he's at in the, in the league, I, I like that he's willing to take it, but to your point, it's going to consistently put him behind Baylor and certainly, you know, taking any Sam's minutes. That's just not going to happen with the way Sam shoots. And you know, I, I do want to have a little bit of a Jordan Walsh conversation.
- [40:51]
Greg
Can I pause you there though? Because I do want to, I want to update you on the Hugo Gonzalez three point shooting. So it was the game against the Nets that he, he hit the, the shot in the corner. So that was January 23rd. Since then he hit 13 against the Bulls and then that game against the Hawks where we got blown out, he went three for four from three, right. So he's had, he's, he's had four three point makes since January 24th. He hasn't made a three pointer since January 28th and he is O for his last 15.
- [41:26]
Will
So that's why it feels we haven't seen him make a great. While he's over 15. Yeah, that will, that, that will do it for you. And so yes, that, that's gonna be probably the biggest thing for the rest of this year that keeps him in and out of the lineup is can he make a jump shot? Right? Like, what's he going to be able to give to you on the offensive end? What I'm curious is, and I, you know, listen, I gotta trust in Joe. Joe's probably the coach of the year right now. I feel like Jordan Walsh, like after his hot streak has been kind of sentenced to the back of this leaderboard and I, he just isn't getting the same opportunities and when he does play, I'm, it's in such small increments that it's hard to make a general.
- [42:11]
Greg
He's had a lot of dumb fouls, he's had a lot of dumb files.
- [42:15]
Will
Okay. I'm trying to figure out what it is that, that is really preventing Joe from giving Walsh more time. And that's got to be what it is because I don't think, when I watch him, I'm like, it's, you know, it's not, it doesn't glare at you. Like, I know why Ugo's not playing, right? Like, Ugo isn't hitting a jump shot and you can't have just a black hole on offense constantly. You can see that's a downfall in the NBA with Jordan Walsh. He's gotten more confidence with attacking closeouts. He's a, he's a pretty good rebounder. We talk about Baylor being a good rebounder, Walsh is a pretty good rebounder. And so I guess it's got to be these follows because I feel like he's not. I wish he was being given a little bit more of an opportunity, but it might be those fouls that are holding them back. I wanted to get your thoughts.
- [42:56]
Greg
I mean, let's see. So going back to January 23rd against the Nets, I'm going to give you his minutes per game.
- [43:03]
Will
Yeah. Yeah.
- [43:03]
Greg
Okay. 15, 18, 3, 21, 16, 20, 10, 15, 0, 13. So that I think that game against the Heat, not playing at all probably stands out as, like, where was Jordan Walsh in that game? Yeah, but he's still getting about 15 minutes per game. Right. So is it. Do you want Jordan Walsh to have more than 15 minutes per game?
- [43:31]
Will
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I mean, again, maybe, maybe he's just not making the impact that he was, you know, earlier in the season. But I mean, one thing that did jump out to me is just like the inconsistency of it. Right. Like it's three minutes, it's 10 minutes, it's 20 minutes, it's five minutes. Like, I think that's a little bit difficult of a, of a roller coaster to ride. But to your point, he is still getting in. And this has kind of been Joe's mo. It's what's happening with Ugo. Like it's only been recently that it feels like Baylor's getting consistent in 15 to 20 minutes.
- [44:01]
Greg
Right?
- [44:01]
Will
Like, yeah.
- [44:01]
Greg
And it makes sense, Joe, this has been a meritocracy all season.
- [44:04]
Will
Yeah.
- [44:05]
Greg
If you're playing the best basketball of that crop of young wings, you will be on the court. And Baylor Shireman's been. Been the best. He's at the top of our leaderboard for a reason. I think with Jordan Walsh, he's also a little bit scared to shoot. So in a lot of games, he's just not getting those three point shots up against Trailblazers. Took one three against the Hawks, no threes against the Mavs, one three against the Rockets, two against the Knicks last night, didn't shoot any three pointers. Like people aren't respecting him, they're daring him to shoot and he's not willing to shoot. So I think that's another thing is, like, he's got to get over whatever mental hurdle he's. He's dealing with right now and just let the thing go when it comes to him. But at the same time, like, there is something to be said to get the ball, drive a closeout, make the next pass, get it to a better shooter, and he has proven that he's able to do that. But he's not playing a whole lot.
- [45:03]
Will
Yesterday at the rim. Up and under. Nice finish yesterday. Yeah, at the rim. So, yeah, I mean, I think it's just like this. It's. It's this funky, you know, young wing leaderboard. It's just gonna keep rotating through, you know, and right now and again, Ron Harper Jr. Gotta start in Houston. So, like. And he's fourth in this list, right? He's fourth.
- [45:21]
Greg
He's fun. I like Ron Harper. He's got a. He's got a nice jump shot. He's got the pedigree. His dad was an unbelievable defensive player. His brother was a number two pick in the draft. Like, y. There is some talent there. And I think the fact that he's representing the. The G League All Stars or whatever it is this. This weekend, I think it says a lot. Even though he's a little bit older, he's like 25. So it'll be interesting to see if he becomes a guy, because that's another interesting idea of the. The Simons trade is like, could we get 70% of what Simons did this year from Ron Hopper Jr. Next year, like, maybe be. Who knows, right?
- [45:58]
Will
Oh, and that's the thing for the. For the rest of this season, right? Like, and let's. Let's say this is without Tatum. One of the things after the. The Booch Simon trade that we talked about last night, that's really missing is ball, an extra ball handler and some juice, right? Just. Just like that little insertion of. And it's like, I don't know if any of these guys. Like, I think Baylor might get a little bit more ball handling dudes, because just because he has to, like, I don't know who else is. Is really going to step into that until Tatum comes back. But from a juice standpoint, like, it might be these guys. Just hoping that one or two out of these four every night can give you a little bit of juice. Not in the same way that Simons did, but in that hustle, in that, you know, making these, like, plays that energize the crowd and energize the Team, like, I think it's just going to be Missoula going through. Can I get two out of you four any night, any given night to, to give me 20 minutes of whatever that juice is that we need and get us to a point where then, then we're at the end of a game and I can say, all right, Pritchard, White, jb, you guys offensively go win this game for us, you know, and then you guys. But you guys are what helped to get us there.
- [47:04]
Greg
So, yeah, it'll be interesting. Baylor Charman, two double doubles in his last three games. He's, you know, his minute distribution. 20 from the most recent game to the, to the least recent game. 29 minutes, 19 minutes, 23, 28, 13, 31, 17, 13 6, 34. Yeah. So Baylor, Baylor seems to be the favorite son right now. Yeah.
- [47:31]
Will
Yeah. Big uptick for Baylor right now and he's earned it. So excited to see what happens there again. Celtics, one more game before the All Star break Wednesday night. Anthony Simons and his cavalry of guards for the Chicago Bulls come into Boston and we'll see what that looks like. Last thing here, Greg, before we sign off for the morning. We've had now about four or five days since the trade deadline. Told you before, I wanted to ask you this here. Give me just one move from the trade deadline that you either have grown to love, you hate maybe even more, or you just still don't understand.
- [48:06]
Greg
I think it's got to be the Nets waving Cam Thomas who just signed with the Bucks or signing with the Bucks like I know you, you weren't going to pay him. And a lot of these organizations want to do. Right. Great by players. Right? So it's like, hey, we're not paying you. We know we're not paying you. You're not going to play for us. Let's, let's just give you a chance elsewhere. Like we want you to get the opportunity to go prove yourself and make, generate, you know, generational wealth for you and your family. Right. I think that is a good thing that organizations seem to be doing for guys. But it's just like one, there wasn't a guy, a team out there that wanted to, you know, throw a heavily protected second round pick at the Nets for Cam Thomas. And two, it's like, man, the, the fact that he was just out there for anybody to grab. And I think the Bucks are like, they grabbed Kevin Porter Jr very similar type of player where a ton of talent but wasn't working out anywhere and can't now they get Cam Thomas for free. It's. It's interesting because there are a lot of other teams that could have used Cam Thomas's services. And I wonder what the bidding war was for him and him off the waiver wire versus when he was still on the Nets.
- [49:15]
Will
Well, apparently, it was nothing. He's on the Nets, like, I imagine, because he wasn't making a lot of money, so it wouldn't have been hard to find, you know, salary to make.
- [49:22]
Greg
Sign a qualifying offer for, like, $6 million.
- [49:25]
Will
Exactly. So I think the Bucks. God, I. I'm really hoping for everyone and I just. Everyone involved that the Bucks aren't doing what I think they're going to try and do, and that's play. Honestly, when he's healthy, they're going to. That is.
- [49:40]
Greg
I told you that he's gonna play.
- [49:42]
Will
It's literally the worst decision for everyone involved. Like, every single. There's not. There's not a good part of that for the Bucks. There's not a good part of that for Giannis. There's not a good part of that for, like, fans, like, anywhere. Not just Bucks fans. Like, I want to see Giannis back playing competitive postseason. He's been. It shocked me when I heard this other day he hasn't been in the second round since 2022, too. Yeah, like, it's been four years, and they're not getting there this year. So it's been four plus years since he's been in the second round playing competitive basketball, and he's one of the 2025 greatest players of all time. Like, that's a long stretch for a guy in his prime. As good as Giannis is to not be in the second round of the playoffs, and him coming back to play is just such a disaster for everybody. Like, it's only bad things can happen. So know, I'm. I hate the Cam Thomas move because I think it's signaling exactly that, and I don't like that for anybody. The one move, Greg, that I wanted to talk about, that's been sticking with me, that I keep. I. I start. I'm starting to love more and more just the idea of it. I like the Wizards, man. I like what the Wizards did, getting Trey Young, guys that I'm just like, kind of not that. That high on, but for a team that has absolutely nothing going for them. Them, It's. It's crazy when you think about it. The two best assets they gave up to get Trey Young and Anthony Davis were Corey Kispert and the Oklahoma City first round pick this year, which is going to be the studio.
- [51:11]
Greg
They give up nothing to get to two guys that are controversial players. Right. And polarizing players. But, I mean, you gotta take. If you're willing to pay, like, take the talent, man.
- [51:25]
Will
Like, and they have. And everyone else on the Wizards is like young rookies that are making really small money. So they have plenty of space for it. And I think the one thing the Wizards are missing is, like, unless you really like Alex. I think Alexar has impressed me that, you know, I'm not watching a ton of Wizards basketball. But, yeah, Alexar was good. Like, he's like, he's solid. People seem to like Trey Johnson, the kid out of Texas that's a rookie this year. Like, the last part of this for them that would really make this. And them. And the paces are in the same spot.
- [51:52]
Greg
Spot.
- [51:53]
Will
Their trade deadlines are amplified if they get a top four pick. Because then when you bring that in, like, looking at it from the Wizards, there's so many ways that this could work out beneficially for them. Because you're only committed to Trey Young. He's a player option. He's likely going to pick that up. Anthony Davis has one year and then a player option. So even if it's just next year, like, you're gonna find out if you just get like, Trey and AD Are both going to be incentivized to play play. And if they play, like, there's no doubts, especially in the east, like, that they'll raise you into that playing by default. Just the two of them. Right? And so you mix that with your young talent. And too many times, teams are just like, we'll just have all these young guys, they play together, and you don't know what's real or not. You end up paying guys because you're like, well, you scored a bunch of points. It's like, yeah, for losing basketball with losing habits, and it's just trash. And now you're just continuing to set.
- [52:43]
Greg
Your franchise and now you have Cam Thomas on your team.
- [52:45]
Will
Team. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And so I think with the Wizards, like now, it's like, hey, maybe they don't have, like a blue chip guy, depending on what happens in the draft. But if AD and Trey get them to playing, you know, close to 500 basketball competitive, you're going to find out like, are these guys actually something? Yes or no? Is Koula Bali anything? Is Sar? The real deal is Trey Johnson is, you know, Kaishan George, whatever. And, you know, and then all names.
- [53:12]
Greg
I like, you just named Four players I like.
- [53:14]
Will
Right. That's what I'm saying. So they have something and then worst case scenario, Trey and AD don't play and you're in the same position that you were going to be in anyways or just a bunch of young guys playing. So I love what the Wizards did and they might even be able to, you know, if AD and Trey show out, because they're going to be on expiring deals at different points, like, they might be able to flip them for.
- [53:33]
Greg
A. Yeah, you just got to hope if you're a Wizards fan that you don't overpay both of those guys. That would be like the biggest scenario. Yes.
- [53:39]
Will
100. Like, if this is a two year experiment with these guys, max, like, you can't be paying them. But I love what they did. I think it makes a lot of sense and I think, yeah, more teams at the bottom should do this, especially when you're not going to get, you know, free agents. Like, go get these guys on bargains and see what happens. And they kind of started this previously with like the Middleton, the Marcus Smart, the CJ McCollum gets that led them here. So I like what the Wizards are doing.
- [54:04]
Greg
Where do you think is going to end up?
- [54:07]
Will
So what? I haven't seen anything with him. I'm assuming the Mavericks are going to buy him out is most likely what's going to happen. And he'll be, he'll be on the market. It's a great question. Does he go back to the Bucks?
- [54:21]
Greg
I was actually just thinking that, like, could. Could he end up back on the Bucks? I would love to see him in Boston. I think that'd be a really good addition.
- [54:28]
Will
That's interesting. That would be that. That's a, That's a good one. Because I think, number one, he's. He's a better ball handler than he gets credit for.
- [54:37]
Greg
Right. Can run a nice pick and roll.
- [54:40]
Will
Exactly. And if he's really just being asked to be kind of like a knockdown shooter, play 15, 20 minutes, handle the ball a little bit. We know the defense isn't what, like, he was a decent defender in his, in his, in his prime. He's not going to be that anymore. Yeah, I think it's a, It's a decent move. It then just gets to. Okay, if you're gonna do that, then you're the, the whole wing conversation we just had, that gets a little weird. Weird, right?
- [55:03]
Greg
Yeah.
- [55:03]
Will
Because now you're, you're probably guaranteeing 15 minutes of that is going to go to Middleton, because he's going to guarantee you the shooting that we don't have from any of those guys that we just mentioned, it's not guaranteed.
- [55:12]
Greg
It's like a couple minutes from Hauser, a couple minutes from Ugo, a couple minutes from Baylor, and all of a sudden you're at 10 minutes. You know, it's like things that could happen. But yeah, I, I'm not gonna go too much into theoretical because we have no idea if it's even on the horizon. But I think it would be an interesting, interesting pickup for the Celtics. But I know right now it's like we got under the tax. The whole point now is like, we can't. I think we have like $800,000 that we can spend to stay under the tax. So I doubt he'd come to Boston on that, on that money anyway. So I would imagine it's going to be a Ron Hopper conversion and then maybe we convert Tanje, play it out until it's.
- [55:47]
Will
They're gonna play out the Ron Harper situation until it's at whatever the prorated amount is under whatever the cash.
- [55:53]
Greg
Exactly.
- [55:53]
Will
They can be.
- [55:54]
Greg
And. Exactly.
- [55:54]
Will
And then that will be it. That's. That's, that's probably it. And then it's just either Tatum comes back or he does. He doesn't and Tatum doesn't. This is the team. Let's enjoy it. We'll have some fun. We'll probably make it to the second round of the playoffs. Maybe we'll sneak into the conference finals. And then if Tatum does come back, you know, then it's nope, chips are in. Let's see what happens because the east is up for grabs like Pistons.
- [56:14]
Greg
Can I say one more thing? Because I gotta go. I, I gotta get out of here, but one more thing. Boston Celtics. Please, please, please, please. When you are mismatch hunting and you get somebody like Jalen Brunson on you, or you get somebody in the past, it was Darius Garland. You don't have to use the mismatch to embarrass that player and have some sort of ego game going on there. Allow the double team to come and make the simple pass. Every year it's the same shit. We get like Jalen Brown yesterday got Jalen Brunson on him on two back to back possessions. We hack a Mitch Mitchell Robinson and he tried to have some sort of ego trip to embarrass Jalen Brunson, score on him when the double team triple team were coming, and he ended up making some bad plays when he could have Just found an open shooter. Drives me crazy. I just want to see us not have to play that game. I don't mind mismatch hunting, but mismatch hunt in order to get your teammate an open shot.
- [57:09]
Will
Yeah. Not just for the one on one. Like that's an option. But it's not the only option. I feel you. I feel you. All right, that's gonna do it for this episode here. Celtics back at it Wednesday against the Bulls. And that's the last game for about a week and a half here, guys. So we'll for you guys probably after that game on Wednesday, the Anthony Simons return game. So stay tuned. We'll have that. Then we'll be the All Star breaks. We probably won't have anything until the after the All Star break weekend. Is not gonna lie. I don't really plan on tuning into too much of All Star Weekend. Just kind of. They've lost me. They've lost the plot. But we'll be back Wednesday after the Bulls game. That's gonna do it for this episode of Green with Envy. Appreciate you guys. Hope you guys go get some coffee. Enjoy your day. Forget about the Super Bowl. Forget about yesterday with the Celtics. Move on. It is what it is. Is peace out, y'. All. Peace. No more.
- [58:03]
Greg
Until I hit the floor.
- [58:06]
Will
Every time I get this high it's.
- [58:08]
Greg
You I find it don't take much no more.
- [58:14]
Will
Until I'm at your door.
- [58:17]
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- [58:29]
Greg
Great.
- [58:30]
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