Can the Knicks repeat or will LeBron spoil it? | Atlantic Division Preview

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily — “Can the Knicks repeat or will LeBron spoil it? | Atlantic Division Preview”

Date: July 29, 2026
Hosts: Dave DuFour, Esperahenne (Esfandiar Baraheni), Andrew Schleck

---

Episode Overview

This lively episode of The Athletic NBA Daily offers a comprehensive, fast-paced preview and offseason report card for all five teams in the NBA’s Atlantic Division. The hosts dig into the big storylines:

• Can the defending champion New York Knicks repeat?
• Has Philadelphia, newly armed with LeBron James and Jalen Brown, finally built a team to end their Finals drought?
• Did Boston’s Jalen Brown/Paul George swap doom their window?
• Do the Raptors’ bold moves make them contenders or just highly intriguing?
• Is there any hope for the rebuilding Brooklyn Nets?

With sharp banter, clear-eyed analysis, and frequent jabs at front office “second apron” paranoia, the crew weighs the real contenders and pretenders in a now super-stacked Atlantic, throwing in grades, predictions, and pointed hot takes.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New York Knicks: Can They Repeat?

(Start – 09:40)

• Minimal Offseason Turnover: Knicks largely “run it back” after the title, losing only Mitchell Robinson (to avoid the second apron). Andre Drummond comes in as a replacement.
  • “Let’s give them a round of applause for that! Because so many teams...just say, ‘Oh wow, the team's too expensive’...they figured out how to do this.” (Esperahenne, 02:33)
• Debate on Robinson’s Loss: Andre Drummond can rebound but not match Robinson’s defensive prowess.
  • “Andre Drummond can do a really good impersonation of Mitchell Robinson, but that guy’s not taking off his toenail and signing it. That’s not happening.” (Andrew, 03:11)
• Playoff Readiness vs. Regular Season Grind: Knicks’ resilience and heavy-minutes identity works in the playoffs, but can it hold for 82 games?
  • “They kind of slow rolled it last year, but they’re more set up to beat good teams.” (Esperahenne, 06:03)
• Towns' Impact and Looming Decisions: Karl-Anthony Towns was critical in the postseason but financial questions about his future and the second apron lurk.
  • “I still kind of don’t know whether Kat is a long term guy for the Knicks.” (Dave, 08:47)
  • “If I had to pick, I would pay Karl-Anthony Towns and go into the second apron. But if they are not willing to…” (Dave, 08:48)
• Repeat Odds: Hosts agree Knicks have a clear playoff formula, are favorites in the East, and should be resilient, but repeating is tough in today’s parity era.
  • “No team has gone back to back since the last Warriors back to back...But this team has just been healthy. I don’t know, I think they’re in the mix.” (Esperahenne, 11:38)

Offseason Grade: B+/A

“I’d say even an A because you brought everyone back...but the looming decisions are the interesting ones...” (Dave, 09:41)

---

2. Boston Celtics: Did They Fumble the Window?

(12:32 – 19:59)

• Jalen Brown Out, Paul George In: The hosts see this as a significant downgrade.
  • “This is a massive downgrade...Paul George is a lot older...he’s just not as good of a basketball player. He’s not going to play as many games.” (Andrew, 12:51)
• Paul George's Fit & Health Questions: PG can help the regular season with threes and defense but less reliability than Brown, both in durability and playoff ability.
  • “We had this idealized version of Paul George in our head...but what if that suspension happened at the end of April? Like, then what?” (Andrew, 13:03)
• Celtics’ New Ceiling & Floor: Likely still a regular season juggernaut thanks to schematic organization, but playoff questions loom larger than ever.
  • “They have a high floor, but I don’t think that they have the highest ceiling in the East by a lot.” (Esperahenne, 18:37)
• Offseason Grade: D/D+ — unless PG is flipped for a big star, which is unlikely.
  • “Like a D...D plus.” (Dave & Andrew, 18:52, 18:55)
  • “If they were to flip Paul George and the picks...that could just…” (Dave, 18:58)
  • “Ifs were fifths, we’d all be drunk. It’s about the bird in the hand.” (Esperahenne, 19:12)

---

3. Philadelphia 76ers: LeBron, Jalen Brown, Embiid, Maxey – Is This The Year?

(22:57 – 37:51)

• Best Starting Five in the East?
  • “On paper, this is a legendary team.” (Andrew, 23:37)
  • Dave points out Embiid’s injury woes: “Joel Embiid has played less than 40 games in three straight seasons.” (Dave, 23:44)
• Load Management to the Max:
  • “If they can get Embiid there healthy...they have enough good players to make it through the regular season.” (Andrew, 24:08)
  • “LeBron is going to be 42 years old in December. It’s smart to have him ready for the playoffs.” (Esperahenne, 24:36)
• Jalen Brown’s Fit:
  • “He wanted to be the number one guy and now he’s the number three...that’s a hurdle.” (Dave, 25:43)
  • “I don’t know if you want Jalen Brown as your best defender...he’s a very good defender, but…” (Esperahenne, 27:26)
• Depth and Defense Concerns:
  • Lack of center depth behind Embiid and aging LeBron are risk factors, but the depth is better: “Having Anthony Simons...LeBaron Filon as their rookie guard...Dean Wade...Don Barlow” (Dave, 30:36)
• Championship Contenders — If Healthy:
  • “If you had to make a bet...Knicks or Sixers to the Finals...which do you pick?”
    • Knicks: Dave & Esperahenne
    • Sixers: Andrew (“It’s time.” 31:51)
• A+ Offseason Grade:
  • “They gotta get an A plus for their off season.” (Dave, 29:50)
  • “You make a...trade for a Finals MVP and sign LeBron James to a minimum contract—what a way to introduce yourself on the job [Mike Gansey].” (Esperahenne, 30:11)

Memorable moment: “If the Sixers somehow win the title...LeBron passes Steph for me.” (Esperahenne, 36:13)

---

4. Toronto Raptors: All-In (Again) with Kawhi?

(37:51 – 45:59)

• Pending Blockbuster: Kawhi Leonard likely traded back to Toronto for Brandon Ingram (with picks), but trade isn’t finalized.
• Title Contender – If Healthy:
  • “Adding a guy like Kawhi Leonard...seventh in MVP voting last year...if he can replicate that, then they’ve vaulted into championship contention.” (Dave, 38:33)
  • Risk: “A lot of the things we just talked about with the Sixers in terms of injuries and health applies to this Raptors team.” (Dave, 39:56)
• Comparison to Clippers: Panel doubts Raptors have the depth the Clippers had to withstand Kawhi absences.
  • “If Kawhi’s out, who slides into his spot? It’s a pretty big drop off. The Clippers’ rotational floor was so much higher.” (Esperahenne, 40:28)
• Defensive Monsters:
  • “They probably end up as one of the five best defenses in the NBA...Toronto is right there.” (Dave, 42:40)
  • Scottie Barnes’ development and leap are crucial — “He was 24, 6, and 8 in the playoffs—that’s a crazy stat.” (Andrew, 44:12)
• Offseason Grade:
  • “If the trade goes through: A+/A; If not: B/B-” (Hosts, 45:09)
  • “I think the question marks around the trade keep me from making it an A because I do think Kawhi is such a better player, but let’s see what happens...” (Esperahenne, 45:00)

---

5. Brooklyn Nets: The Long Slog, but a Decent Summer

(45:59 – 55:57)

• Roster Overhaul: Lost Nic Claxton, added Julius Randle, Mo Wagner, Keon Ellis; trade for Julius Randle; focus on Jaegor Droman, Mikal Brown Jr. development.
  • “They did get some good players. Like Julius Randle can eat a lot of innings; Mo Wagner is a good center.” (Esperahenne, 46:48)
• Development, not Winning:
  • “They shouldn’t be trying to win games because they gotta lose that pick and give it to Houston.” (Dave, 49:06)
  • “You have to find a path forward because they don’t have their pick...they need to develop their young guys.” (Andrew, 49:24)
• The Toll of Bad Trades:
  • “This is why you don’t make some of the decisions that they’ve made...this is the downside of trading all your picks for win-now players that are finicky.” (Andrew, 50:55)
• Offseason Grade:
  • “C plus... they didn’t mess it up any worse than they could have, and honestly they got good players.” (Esperahenne, 55:26)
  • “With where they landed in the draft and what they had to work with, I'd probably give them a B minus. They did a little bit better than average.” (Andrew, 54:40)
• Lighthearted moment:
  • “Kids, we’re moving to Canada. Everyone’s getting A's now, baby! Here we go.” (Andrew, 57:02) (re: Canada’s easier grading scale)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On NBA Owners' Second Apron Excuses:
  • “Stop with this. The second apron’s forcing us out of this. That’s a bunch of garbage—for the teams that are elite, it’s a bunch of garbage.” (Andrew, 10:42)
• On Boston’s Downgrade:
  • “Paul George’s nickname for the playoffs is Way off P. Okay, so, like, we’re talking about a pretty massive downgrade.” (Andrew, 14:04)
• On Philadelphia’s Decades of Heartbreak:
  • “You have to ask if all the goodwill...is enough to counteract the superstitious bad luck and craziness that has happened for the Sixers for the last 25 years.” (Dave, 35:29)
• NBA Parity:
  • “This is the parity era. It is harder and harder to win a title two years in a row, but this team has just been healthy.” (Esperahenne, 11:38)
• On Embiid’s Load Management:
  • “I don’t think he should play more than 40 games, period. That should be the plan going in—tops 40 games.” (Esperahenne, 34:59)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Knicks Repeat Hopes: 02:29 – 12:21
• Celtics Offseason (Brown for George): 12:32 – 19:59
• Sixers Superteam (+ LeBron/Brown): 22:57 – 37:51
• Raptors (Kawhi Trade): 37:51 – 45:59
• Nets (Rebuild, Draft, Youth): 45:59 – 55:57

---

Final Thoughts & Atlantic Division Outlook

• Division Outlook: Atlantic is an “arms race” and arguably the most stacked division, with three legit Finals contenders if roster health holds.
• Favorites: Hosts lean Knicks as repeat East champs, though Andrew takes the new-look Sixers.
• Boston’s Demise: Celtics’ loss of Jalen Brown for Paul George lowers their ceiling, especially for playoffs.
• Raptors’ Wild Card: Kawhi in Toronto is a high-upside swing with big health risks.
• Nets in Limbo: Playing for youth development and survival, with hopes for brighter days (and eventually, their own picks).

“The main question: can anyone actually spoil New York’s path to back-to-back titles, or does LeBron have one more miracle run left in him?”

---

This summary captures the feisty, detail-rich, and occasionally irreverent banter of The Athletic NBA Daily team as they dissect the ever-dramatic Atlantic Division.

Transcript

[Advertiser]

Everyone treats summer like it owes you happiness. Long days, pool parties, your best life on a loop. So what does it mean when you feel worse? The summer blues are real. It's why summer is one of the busiest stretches of the year for people starting therapy. Grow Therapy is here for all the moments when you decide you want more. More support, more clarity, more tools. Grow connects you with thousands of high quality licensed therapists across the US Offering both virtual and in person sessions, nights and weekend. The therapist you want takes your insurance on Grow grow accepts over 125 insurance plans. Sessions average $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit growtherapy.com startnow today to get started. That's growtherapy.com startnow growtherapy.com startnow availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

It's smart to always have a few financial goals and a really smart one. You can set earning cash back on what you buy every day. And with Discover you can get this. Discover automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Seriously, all of it. And we trust you to make smart decisions. After all, you listen to this show see [e-mail] credit card when you own

[Andrew Schleck]

your own business, you own every decision.

[Dave DeFore]

Catch the red eye or take the 6am Make a new hire or promote internally.

[Andrew Schleck]

Celebrate a win with the toast at

[Dave DeFore]

the gate or unwind at the lounge. Big props to this team.

[Andrew Schleck]

Some decisions are a win win like earning eight times points on Chase Travel. Chase Sapphire reserved for business. The business card that gives back all you put in. Visit chase.com ReserveBusiness to learn more. Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank. Any member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply.

[Esperahenne]

Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. I'm Dave DeFore here with Esperahenne and Andrew Schleck. Coming up, we take a look at the Atlantic and give our off season grades. Good morning everybody. What's up guys? Thankfully Lebron has landed the plane or maybe a helicopter in Philadelphia. Man, an arms race happening not just in the Eastern Conference, but specifically the Atlantic Division. Just like completely changed.

[Dave DeFore]

If division mattered anymore, this would be the hardest division in basketball.

[Esperahenne]

Well, the divisions matter for us just for organizational purposes here, right? Yeah, absolutely. But outside of the Knicks, guys, it's just a lot of changes up and down the Atlantic Division. Let's start with the Knicks. I want to jump right in, essentially running it back after winning a title. Right, let's. We got to give them a Round of applause for that. Because so many teams we've seen, they just say, oh, wow, the team's too expensive. We heard a little bit of, I would say, a little bit from James Dolan. Hey, we're not going to pay the tax, blah, blah, blah. They figured out how to do this. The only guy they're going to be missing really is Mitch Robinson.

[Andrew Schleck]

That's a big thing, though, Dave. That's a, that's a really important player. And Andre Drummond can do a really good impersonation of Mitchell Robinson, but that guy's not taking off his toenail and signing it like that's not happening. Okay. And he's not the defensive player that Mitchell Robinson is either. He's the. Maybe the rebounder. And if the corner three is real, that could be kind of interesting for them. But I do think that's a pretty big loss for the Knicks also. I just have to mention that I don't think it's the Atlantic Division that's beefing up. I think it's east group B of the NBA Cup. Knicks, Cavs, Sixers, Heat, Pacers. Yeah, I mean, there's not a weak link there. Shout out to east group B.

[Dave DeFore]

Who's going to get to Indianapolis first?

[Esperahenne]

That's right, the Pacers. The. I think those teams will just let the Pacers win.

[Andrew Schleck]

Oh, no. They're beefing up.

[Esperahenne]

What?

[Andrew Schleck]

Come on.

[Esperahenne]

Listen, guys, the interview Cup. Let's take this off the rails. NBA cup is not going to have the same allure without the trip to Vegas. I mean, it's going to steal some of the competitive juice.

[Andrew Schleck]

I don't know that Vegas is what they cared about. All they care about is this. They just want the money, the moolah. And the more you talk to players about it, they want the money.

[Esperahenne]

I think they will get money back.

[Dave DeFore]

How about the. The opportunity for the Knicks to be the back to back doubles or triples or whatever you want to call it?

[Andrew Schleck]

Double.

[Esperahenne]

The summer title.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

Summer league title would be the triple.

[Dave DeFore]

Right. So. So the double. If they get back to back doubles, it would be unprecedented. Double, double, double, double. Which is a drink here.

[Esperahenne]

Is that in play?

[Dave DeFore]

Canada?

[Esperahenne]

Do you feel like that's in play for this team? Do you feel like they can run it back?

[Dave DeFore]

I think they can run it back. I think everything we saw from them in the postseason shows us that they have the ab play with an identity that leans very much into what that team is good at and specifically what Karl Anthony Towns is very good at. I think the, the big question for them is, you know, of course you, Andrew mentioned it with Mitchell Robinson not having a guy who can be a rim protector that can be double big lineups with him and Kat together or just kind of like spot minutes for you. I love Andre Drummond, but Mitchell Robinson is a markedly better defender than what Drummond is at this point in his career. I also am curious about their guard depth in general. Feels like Jose Alvarado and Deuce McBride and obviously Jordan Clarkson, like those guys will be able to fill in to what they need. Next to Brunson, we saw some of that ball handling limitation, especially in the finals. The big question for me is with the east all stacked up and, and loaded.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Are they, are they on pace to have a dominant regular season or are they going to slow roll it like they did last year and kind of gear up for the playoffs?

[Esperahenne]

It's interesting because I've thought about this a lot with them. The Celtics were able to rack up a lot of wins. Pistons, they were bum hunting. They, they just absolutely always beat the Wizards. They always beat, you know, any team in the, in the east that was bad. They would stomp them the Nets with the Knicks. Like you said, they kind of slow rolled it a little bit. But I think the Knicks are more set up to beat good teams. So to win the big head to head matchups, I think the Knicks are, are better than pretty much anybody in the East. I think that's what we saw come playoff time. Does that work in the regular season when you've got guys, you know, do you want to even have guys playing 40 minutes a night to try to win games in a regular season? I think that that's the bigger question. But these, this team has proven to be pretty resilient as far as avoiding injury and the ability to play heavy minutes. So I don't know. I think that they're of the good teams, they're the best one right now. And I think that they can. In the head to head matchups, they just stack up very well.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, they found their identity. There was a portion of the season where they lost nine out of 11 games. And we were all looking at each other saying, is Towns even going to be on the team past the deadline?

[Dave DeFore]

Yep.

[Andrew Schleck]

Like, is Mike Brown going to have his job before the playoffs? Like we were all saying that. Like everybody was saying this stuff in New York, out of New York, everybody was saying it. So I do think like it's important to remember that, that they found their identity and now it's like, can that identity be the identity of that team for 82 games plus the playoffs, I think, like, building upon that is really important for them. And then also as far as like winning the title again, we have to remember they ran into an absurdly young San Antonio team that was just not ready to win the title. And the Thunder team that was injured, they had two of their best four players out in the Western Conference finals. So it's about like who they play in the finals too. If they run into San Antonio again, I don't think they're beating San Antonio.

[Esperahenne]

Right.

[Andrew Schleck]

If they run into okc, I don't think they're beating okc. Now, there's no guarantee that both those teams, either one of those teams make it out of the West.

[Advertiser]

Sure.

[Andrew Schleck]

But I do think that whoever they face in the finals will likely be a better opponent than the young spurs that they played to.

[Dave DeFore]

I'll also say this, the Knicks, of course, the reason they didn't pay Mitchell Robinson was because they didn't want to get into the second apron. And they do have a Karl Anthony Towns decision looming. And so that aspect of things, you know, you mentioned, Andrew, the fact that they, they almost didn't know whether Kat would be on the team again, I still kind of don't know whether Cat is a long term guy for the Knicks.

[Andrew Schleck]

Oh, no.

[Dave DeFore]

And he was incredible for them. Don't get me wrong. I would, if I had to pick, I would pay Carl Anthony Towns and go into the second apron. But if they are not willing to, and if Cat is not willing to take that discount as he.

[Esperahenne]

Their Jalen Brown.

[Dave DeFore]

Is he there? Jalen Brown? Yeah.

[Andrew Schleck]

Oh my. Okay. He's not seasoned.

[Dave DeFore]

No, it's, it's not this season. But it's just something that's looming that you have to eventually answer.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

And I just, I think that to me is, is something every Knicks fan should have in the back of their mind, where we've seen these title windows that feel enormous suddenly start to shrink because of financial decisions and financial decision making off season wise. Between losing Mitchell Robinson and retaining all their guys for, for good value, they get like a B or a B plus.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah. But I'd say even an A because you brought everyone back.

[Dave DeFore]

You're the NBA championship.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah. Yep.

[Dave DeFore]

But the looming decisions are the interesting ones, like a Jalen Brunson extension, a Josh Hart extension, a Cat extension. Like suddenly it becomes kind of unfeasible for this team to stay the way that it is right now. And so they have to eventually make some kind of move also.

[Andrew Schleck]

Eventually, some of these owners are going to have stop. Have to stop using the second apron as an excuse. Well, okay, Ca. That is not the Jaylen Brown. Because the Knicks just won the NBA championship. And the reason that Jaylen Brown was Jalen Brown is that the Celtics decided this team is not good enough. This team is not good enough to pay this much money to this particular player and Jason Tatum and everybody else that we needed to pay. They're not good enough. We need to find a path to get good enough again. And Jaylen Brown was not going to help us on that path. They just won the championship. Like, what else do you need to see?

[Esperahenne]

I get it. I get it.

[Andrew Schleck]

Like, to me. To me, it's about, like, these owners, they need to stop with. With teams that are good enough.

[Esperahenne]

Right.

[Andrew Schleck]

That's the caveat. There are a lot of teams that aren't good enough to pay the second apron. A lot of them. Denver, who's the only team that's currently on track to pay the second apron? Probably not good enough to pay the second apron. Yeah, but like the Thunder, that's a team that's good enough to pay the second apron. The Spurs, a team that's good enough to pay the second apron. The New York Knicks, who won the title, good enough to pay the second apron. Somebody needs to do it, because the CBA is not telling these teams they can't do it. The ownership groups are saying, we don't want to pay that. We don't want to do that. And as these valuations go up and up and up, and for teams like the Knicks, who have owned these teams for forever, printing money like, like, stop it. Stop with this. The second apron's forcing us out of this. That's a bunch of garbage. For the teams that are elite, it's a bunch of garbage.

[Esperahenne]

Running PR against player agents is really what's happening with a lot of that.

[Andrew Schleck]

Sure.

[Esperahenne]

I mean, look, no team is. Has gone back to back since that last Warriors. Back to back.

[Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

This is the parody era. I think it is harder and harder to win a title two years in a row, obviously, but even to just be competitive. And a lot of that is injury stuff. But this team is just been healthy. I don't know. I think they're in the mix for it. And once you get, you know, you get to the conference finals, it's a crapshoot. But I think that this is one going to be one of the two or three best teams during the regular season in the East. And I think once it comes Playoff time. They have a formula that just works. They win games in the playoffs. So I think that it's. They. I would have them as my favorite to make it out of the east today. Obviously, they just won a title. That's simple. But I do think that even given what we know about how hard it is to repeat, I think they got a good shot.

[Dave DeFore]

So the. The consensus is, in my opinion, that the Knicks are the favorites, but the other teams in this division have something to say about that. Right?

[Advertiser]

Right.

[Esperahenne]

All right, let's. Let's move on to Boston.

[Andrew Schleck]

Okay.

[Esperahenne]

Boston's big change. Jalen Brown's out. Paul George is in. Is how much of a downgrade or is it an upgrade?

[Andrew Schleck]

Wait, what? Wait, what? No, from Jalen Brown to Paul George.

[Esperahenne]

Tell me how much. How much of a downgrade.

[Dave DeFore]

I feel like

[Andrew Schleck]

this is a. This is a massive downgrade for a host of reasons. One, Paul George is a lot older. We just had a. I mean, Paul George is not going to come in and be, like, fifth in MVP voting this next year.

[Esperahenne]

Definitely not that.

[Andrew Schleck]

Like, that's not going to happen. Also, we have to remember, like, we. We had this, like, idealized version of Paul George in our head. From what we saw in the playoffs, that guy got to take a huge, huge time off because of a suspension during the season where he was juicing or whatever he was doing, and he got suspended, and so he came back, and, yes, he looked good. If almost any NBA player that gets to take that particular time off in the calendar and just come back and play in the playoffs looks pretty good. This is a huge downgrade. We don't even know if Paul George is going to be healthy come playoff time. Like, what if. What if that suspension happened in at the end of April? Like, then what? This is a massive downgrade. He's just not as good of a basketball player. He's not going to play as many games. I mean, I think he. He's 36. Like, he just turned 36 in May. It's not happening. Plus, taking into account the fact that, like, Jalen Brown was the finals MVP of the NBA and Paul George.

[Esperahenne]

Two years ago, by the way, not that long ago.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah. And Paul George's nickname for the playoffs is Way off. P. Okay, so, like, we're talking about a pretty massive downgrade. It. Stylistically. Yes. You can talk yourself into it. You can use your basketball imagination.

[Esperahenne]

Fits into the Missoula system.

[Andrew Schleck]

Oh, it's going to be so good. No huge downgrade.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay, so let me do the stylistically Back and forth pitch to you guys. This team is going to be a regular season juggernaut, I think because their stylistic identity should work really well to winning regular season games. They still have the exact same playoff questions that they did last year. I know Mitchell Robinson is a huge upgrade in terms of having another backup big. But this is a guy who has limited availability and injury issues of his own. And so I think the Celtics front court situation is a little bit better just because they have Mitchell Robinson and they invested to add that depth. He also leans completely into the offensive rebounding, second chance opportunity stuff that they like to do. This team should win a lot of regular season games because they know who they are. And Paul George should lean into philosophically, catch and shoot threes, defense, defending. He's also, he was a very good isolation defender last year, especially for the Sixers down the stretch of the playoffs. Like that's the version selling it for, for, for the short term, can they win a championship? Can they compete with the Knicks? I think a lot of that rests on the shoulders of Jayson Tatum, who we saw come back, had moments in times where he looked like himself again, but obviously was still nursing and kind of figuring out the, the, I don't know, cardio aspect of playing off of an Achilles or coming back from an Achilles injury. One full season of Jason Tatum, in my opinion, is clearly better than one full season of Jalen Brown. And so if you look at last year's Celtics team and the, the regular season success that they had, they should be more successful this season with Jason Tatum running the show instead of Jalen Brown. Can we agree on that?

[Esperahenne]

Doesn't work that way. I, I, I wish it did because this would be a much more clear cut, you know, argument here that, okay, so you have Tatum and no Jalen. Last season you had Jalen, no Tatum. And it worked out like this. The east got tougher. And I think it discounts the job that Jalen Brown did on that team, especially with those bench units.

[Dave DeFore]

He was awesome.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah. And he was out there. A tough shot maker like this is honestly one of the reasons why in the playoffs, Jaylen Brown, there's not, there's not much of an efficiency drop off for him from regular season to playoffs. He can hit tough shots. And I just think that you don't, you don't have that guy anymore. Number one, let's say Tatum's your best player. Jalen Brown is the release valve is someone you always have to pay attention to, you always have to guard. You can't sag off and he can attack that. Now they don't have that guy.

[Dave DeFore]

What if Paul also do that aspect?

[Esperahenne]

Jalen Brown was, was good. Jason Tatum insurance. If Tatum, if Tatum has any kind of issues with his, with his Achilles or his knee or he needs to be load managed in any single way, you now don't have that workhorse.

[Andrew Schleck]

That's true.

[Esperahenne]

Who can, who can play 72 games and is always going to show up and you know, you know you're going to get 25 a night. Paul George is not that guy. So I don't know that, that they're going to be the same regular season. So look, you know, sort of machine that we saw last year.

[Dave DeFore]

Let me ask you guys this, all right? Over, under. Are they a top six seed this year or are they a play in team this year? That's kind of the over, under scale.

[Andrew Schleck]

Top six. Undoubtedly. There's no question.

[Dave DeFore]

If I were to list the teams. I don't know if that's necessarily true. Undoubtedly.

[Andrew Schleck]

I think that they, I mean I would use like a lot of your reasoning. Most of what I'm talking about is more playoff driven.

[Esperahenne]

Yep.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, yeah.

[Andrew Schleck]

Conversation. But regular season, like they have a coach that has cracked the code for the regular season. Like he knows, like there is a formula to win regular season games and they have a good roster for it. But when it comes to the playoffs, I don't believe in them as a playoff team, but I do believe in them as a team that heck, they could have more wins than the Sixers. I know that we're talking about like six years being this like juggernaut team, but like they could have a substantial, you know, more wins than, than the Boston or than the 76ers. I think they could do that. And it's purely based on scheme, purely based on like, like the personnel that they have. Like it's built well, but I just don't know that I believe in them as a player.

[Esperahenne]

They have a high floor, but I don't think that they have the highest ceiling in the east by a lot.

[Andrew Schleck]

No, no, no.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah, yeah. What do you give them on the off season? Basically, what's your Jalen Brown for Paul George Trade grade man.

[Dave DeFore]

Like a D. Yeah, I was going

[Andrew Schleck]

to say D plus.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah, yeah, I think it's D. Look,

[Dave DeFore]

the, the for what it's worth to kind of shoot them some bail, if they were to flip Paul George and the picks and their other picks to go out and get another star that maybe works well, that could just, you

[Esperahenne]

Know what they say about a fifth? If it, if, if, if ifs were fifths, we all would be rich Drunk. No, you'd be drunk. With that kind of logic. This is the thing that you can't say. It's. It's about the bird in the hand.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

What do they have right now? They have Paul George and they have some picks. I, I just think that. What a failure.

[Andrew Schleck]

Who's even the player at this point?

[Dave DeFore]

What if. What if. I don't know. I guess Donovan Mitchell is a guy. Devin Booker is a guy. I'm just naming guys. Really.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, Booker. I mean, Booker. Booker's a good name. Booker's a good name. He would.

[Esperahenne]

Well, there.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, but like. Well, then it comes back to the thing where it's like, wouldn't you rather have had just Jalen Brown?

[Esperahenne]

Yes.

[Advertiser]

Yes.

[Esperahenne]

I think so. Yeah. Yep. Wow. Yeah. That's sad. To talk about the Boston Celtics right now. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to hit the rest of the Atlantic division.

[Advertiser]

Everyone treats summer like it owes you happiness. Long days, pool parties, your best life on a loop. So what does it mean when you feel worse? The summer blues are real. It's why summer is one of the busiest stretches of the year for people starting therapy. Grow. Therapy is here for all the moments when you decide you want more. More support, more clarity, more tools. Grow connects you with thousands of high quality licensed therapists across the US Offering both virtual and in person sessions, nights and weekends. The therapist you want takes your insurance on. Grow grow accepts over 125 insurance plans. Sessions average $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit growtherapy.com startnow today to get started. That's growtherapy.com startnow growtherapy.com startnow availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

It's smart to always have a few financial goals and a really smart one. You can set earning cash back on what you buy every day. And with Discover, you can get this. Discover automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Seriously, all of it. And we trust you to make smart decisions. After all, you listen to this show. See [e-mail] creditcard Most people don't realize

how much of their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the Internet, then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent. That's how your information Lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where Aura comes in. Aura actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. But Aura goes beyond data protection. With one app, you get a vpn, antivirus, password manager, spam call protection, dark web monitoring, monitoring, and even up to $5 million in identity theft insurance. All backed by 24. 7 US based fraud support. Other companies might sell just credit monitoring or even just a vpn. Aura gives you all of it together at the same price. Competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial [e-mail] safety protect yourself [e-mail] safety foreign.

[Esperahenne]

76ers week here at the NBA Daily. A lot of talk about commutes with Mike Vorkanov. The other day, LeBron made his decision. He's joining Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecomb, Joel Embiid. On paper, guys, that's. Is that the best starting five in the East?

[Dave DeFore]

No, the Knicks are still the best starting five in the East.

[Andrew Schleck]

Okay, I disagree. I think that's a better starting five.

[Esperahenne]

Okay, how about.

[Dave DeFore]

What if I were to say 25 games of Joel Embiid, 60 games of a Dembona.

[Esperahenne]

See, now you're. Now you're splitting hairs here.

[Andrew Schleck]

Okay, so, like, that was not the question was. On paper. On paper, this is a legendary team.

[Dave DeFore]

Can't be blind to the fact that Joel Embiid has played less than 4, 40 games in three straight seasons.

[Andrew Schleck]

It's fair. It's fair. Yeah. You can't, you can't count on Embiid. But if they, if they sincerely just basically put them on ice for the season, they have enough. They have enough good players to make it through the regular season to be a top six seed.

[Esperahenne]

Top six, though.

[Andrew Schleck]

I think they will be. I think they'll make the playoffs. I think they'll be fine. If they can get him there healthy. Where it's like, why don't they put him on the Paul Georgia plan? Hey, Joel, take this. Take. Take this. Take this pill here in February, okay? And we'll do a drug test next week.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay? That would be a funny thing for. You know what?

[Andrew Schleck]

We're.

[Dave DeFore]

We're slipping down an August rabbit hole of things. You know, it would be a funny.

[Andrew Schleck]

It works.

[Esperahenne]

Last year.

[Andrew Schleck]

Did it not work?

[Esperahenne]

Okay, well, let's talk about last year. Though, I mean, I think, look, Joel Embiid, when he was out there and healthy, he was amazing. You know, they don't beat the Celtics. If he isn't able to come back and have a great end of that series, he gets a little hurt against, you know, the Knicks and it's over. Right. He just didn't have the juice. That's a. That's a problem for the playoffs. I think regular season wise, the problem is going to be the lack of availability for Joel and for LeBron. Now LeBron, it's going to. I think they've got to load manage him also. I mean, he's going to be 42 years old in December. It's smart to have him ready for the playoffs. But this is where Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Brown and you want to talk about guys that will give you 40 minutes a night, the consistency. I mean, we just talked about Jalen Brown and the fact that he always plays 70 games. I think that this team, like you said, Andrew, I think they've got enough guys that they can probably be one of the six best teams in the East. And then once you get to the playoffs, I don't know. You betting against LeBron, he's got that kind of talent around him.

[Dave DeFore]

I think the main question for me is how will Jalen Brown work within this Celtics offense? Because we just talked about it with. Or, sorry, the Sixers offense. See, you know, you kind of imagine Jalen as being the Celtics guy, but how does he work in this Sixers offense? Because ultimately he wanted to be the number one guy and now he's the number three. Four, two, four might be too harsh. He's probably the third or second guy on the team, right? Yeah, I think that's something you have to. That's a hurdle you have to come across. And I just. Between Maxi being the league leader in minutes, I think the LeBron acquisition will help him a lot. I think it'll help VJ Edgecomb get to better and more efficient shots. I think Embiid will be able to rest and play a more like, I guess, reserved role defensively. But with Jalen Brown, like they're going to ask him to guard the opposing team's best player defensively. He slipped defensively with the amount of offensive usage that he had for Boston last year. Theoretically, he could be better on defense for Philly, but at the same time, I don't necessarily know if he will be able to get the offensive opportunity, the usage, the touches necessary for him to get his full game. Off. So he, he to me is the biggest offensive domino, where it's like, if he buys into what they need from him, they could be an elite offense. And if they struggle to figure that out, they'll only just be good, which, which will be enough to win regular season games. But if you want to win a championship, especially the Sixers team, they need to be elite.

[Esperahenne]

I don't know if you want Jalen Brown as your best defender and that's not a knock on him. He's a very good defender, especially an issue for them because of how good he is on the offensive end. But if he's going to be the guy that's guarding the opponent's, you know, best on ball guy every single night, that's not a great defense. Especially if Embiid is not out there and able to give you the sort of rim protection that, that he normally provides. I think Edgecombe is going to have to be a better defender.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah. VJ is going to have to step

[Esperahenne]

up in that regard big time on the ball, especially against point guards.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, I see it, but he's also still young and he's like 6 4, you know.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

And so I'm thinking of who are the guys in the Eastern Conference that have to be guarded? There's Kawhi.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah. Jaylen Brown guards. Kawhi. Right. Because he's the guy who matches up with them, size wise. Yeah. But do you want him guarding Jalen Brunson? No.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. No, not at all.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah. Yeah. And I think that that's tough. Right. You got a second year player and, and he's okay. He's not like a bad defender.

[Dave DeFore]

No, he's not.

[Esperahenne]

He definitely high effort, but I don't know if that's. Again, it's. The defense is going to be a problem for them now come playoff time. It's different. I actually think that they're going to be okay defensively come playoff time. Everything slows down so much. But regular season is going to be a bit of a grind for them on the defensive end for sure. Especially without high level center defense. I mean, Andrew, you talk about this all the time. If you want to, if you want to be bad, get yourself a bad defensive center and you can have a bad team. But if you want to, if you want to raise your floor, the easiest way to do that on defensive end is to have a guy who can block shots and rebound.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, they need, they need like a legit backup center. Like I think some of the guys they have are fine, but I Do think that they need to find a real backup center there? Because I don't Even know, like, LeBron theoretically could be a backup center, but, like, that's not really been a thing that's happened in the past. So I just wonder if that's like, really where they need to upgrade is like finding a true backup center. And they, they have time to figure that out. Like, they can. They can test out who they have and then go get somebody at the deadline.

[Dave DeFore]

For what it's worth, like, these are all incredible problems to have. These are great problems to have. If you're the six, for sure. Figuring out the defensive questions, if the offense will be good enough because you're trying to win a championship. Like, we, we couldn't say that about the Sixers last year.

[Esperahenne]

Right.

[Dave DeFore]

They were a middling team that was very, very dependent on their star center eventually showing up and helping them. And while I feel like they still are, that they now have Jalen Brown and LeBron James to kind of give them a better foundation in the regular season and in the playoffs, for that, they got to get an A plus for their off season.

[Esperahenne]

Oh, it's an A plus. Yeah. Mike Gansey. What a way to introduce yourself on the job. You make a. You trade away one of the worst contracts in basketball for a guy who was Finals MVP two seasons ago, six in MVP voting last season, and you sign LeBron James to a minimum contract.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. And by the way, like, they're the. I know a lot of people we haven't talked about. Exactly.

[Andrew Schleck]

And his guy, Dean Wade.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, they are. They are a little bit deeper than they were last year. Like having Anthony Simons there to back him up. I like LeBaron Filon as their, as their rookie guard. And then Dean Wade and Don Barlow. That's like, good.

[Esperahenne]

Dean Wade will allow you to load, manage LeBron, and you're going to. It's going to be a drop off, obviously, from, from an offensive standpoint, but Dean Wade is a defender. He could be their best defender going into the season, just in their rotation.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, I think that's probably accurate.

[Dave DeFore]

If you had to make a bet whether it is the Sixers that make it to the NBA Finals or the Knicks starting today, which team would you pick?

[Esperahenne]

Knicks. I made it sound like it was a tough choice, but it's not a tough choice. Knicks.

[Dave DeFore]

Andrew.

[Andrew Schleck]

I think I'm betting on the Sixers.

[Advertiser]

Wow.

[Andrew Schleck]

Wow.

[Dave DeFore]

Things have changed, man. The Philadelphia 76ers, the trust, the process. Sixers, the. The Sixers who haven't Made it to the conference finals since 2001.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yep.

[Dave DeFore]

That Sixers team. I like it.

[Andrew Schleck]

It's time. It's time.

[Dave DeFore]

I'm also, yeah, I'm wearing a Knicks shirt right now, but I'm also still picking the Knicks. If I had to pick between those teams individually. Because how can you trust Joel Embiid, man?

[Andrew Schleck]

I mean it's. It's not about trusting Joel Embiid. It's really about like coming up with a plan. Like, I just think that it's. It's time for both LeBron and Joel to have like a plan. Like how do we you to the playoffs? Like what is the minimum number of games you need to play?

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schleck]

And how do we get you there? You already have a sciatica planned out. It's probably like on the calendar for LeBron where it's like, you know, January 1st to February 14th, sciatica. It's there.

[Esperahenne]

Well, let's see when that schedule comes out, you know.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, yeah, we'll wait for the schedule and then for Embiid. I mean seriously, if anyone needs to be load managed in the NBA, it's him. And it's about like finding pockets for him to get his body right. And if you can get him to the playoffs like he was last year. Now it didn't last all that long, but like if you can, if you can get him to the playoffs. I even.

[Esperahenne]

I wonder if just play him like twice a week. Andrew, like just. You're never going to play more than two games a week.

[Andrew Schleck]

I mean. Well, I don't mind that. I really don't mind that. But you also, I think you have to get him to the playoffs. But it's, it's keeping him healthy through the duration of the play. So that will be the scariest part because that is going to be a really big challenge. But if they can get a backup center that's worth anything, they may be able to get there. Anyways.

[Dave DeFore]

What, what was that thing you were, you were mentioning Dave, about bully beat up with the Pistons? The. The Pistons were bully beat up eaters or something? I don't know.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah, no, they were bum hunting. Right. They destroyed bad.

[Dave DeFore]

Do the same thing with embiid and be like you are gonna.

[Esperahenne]

Traditionally they have done this with Embiid because a lot of the games Embiid would play, it's against the Washington Wizards of the world and, and the Brooklyn Nets of the world and it wasn't against like the Denver Nuggets.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

You know, say.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

And so they already picked their spots there. They have to beat the bad teams. Yes. Because that sets your floor. But they're, they're gonna have to figure out a way to win regular season games against Toronto and Boston and, and the Knicks in order to be in that top six. They just play each other too many times. I, I don't, I don't worry about them making top six because I, I think they've added LeBron James. That is a lot of corporate knowledge on how to win basketball games. Yeah. I just think, you know, when you look at his, his track record, not an issue. Jaylen Brown won more games than any player in the NBA in the last 10 years. Which is one of my favorite stats to come out of this whole Jalen Brown summer that we had. So I'm not really that concerned. But the, the, the embiid health come playoff time is there. That's got to be the top priority for this team. I, I don't think he should play more than 40 games, period. That should be the plan going in tops 40 games. Agreed. Yeah, agreed. With a nice long break in March.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yep.

[Dave DeFore]

There's. There's also a version of this for the Sixers. And not to get too long winded, but there's a version of this where it's a disaster. Like Embiid 2012 Lakers. Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

Sort of disaster.

[Andrew Schleck]

No, like the Sixers the last decade, Dave. Like there's a, there's a version of the Sixers every single year. That's a disaster. That's just been their MO. This team drafted Markel Fultz number one guys.

[Esperahenne]

You basically have to ask LeBron James or Ben Simmons.

[Andrew Schleck]

It's a tough question.

[Dave DeFore]

You basically have to ask yourself if like all of the goodwill and like you said, corporate knowledge of LeBron James is enough to counteract the superstitious bad luck and craziness that has happened for the Philadelphia 76ers for the last 25 years.

[Esperahenne]

I don't know, but we just watched the Knicks. Yeah. And they ended their drought. And they did it in one of the most dramatic ways possible. I don't know. Basketball is a sport like that, right? Like momentum matters, the vibes matter. I guess we're going to find out a lot about what's. What sort of rising tide is 42 year old LeBron James. I get it. Listen, if, if the Sixers someh somehow win the title. LeBron passes step for me.

[Andrew Schleck]

He beat, he beat the step for, you know, come on now.

[Dave DeFore]

We, this is August. We can have this conversation. Dave believes that Steph Curry is the greatest.

[Esperahenne]

Everyone knows this.

[Andrew Schleck]

I've not.

[Esperahenne]

I've been doing this. This for years.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah. I was going to say that LeBron beat the Rockets, you know, with. With, you know, a. A. A supporting cast. That was not great.

[Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

So with a box of scraps.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah. Get LeBron to the best. I also do want to mention that, like, adding LeBron to the Sixers is adding an elite passer, which they have not had on this team.

[Dave DeFore]

Yep.

[Andrew Schleck]

Like, this version of. I mean, really, since Ben Simmons. Like, that sounds crazy, but, like, they have not had, like, a truly great passer on this team and someone that can link all these, like, really good scores and good shooters on this team. They haven't had that. And so if LeBron has shown a willingness.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schleck]

To be that guy. He was that, like, he. He took a backseat behind Austin Reeves.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schleck]

Like, this will be. This will. This will. I think this will work.

[Dave DeFore]

In Philly, people used to bring up the. The 2019 Sixers as the most talented team around a bead. Right. That was the Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, J.J. redick, all those guys. Ben Simmons, of course, this is undoubtedly the most talented team that Joe Allen beat has ever had in his career. I would even argue it's like the most talented Sixers team since Moses Malone was on the roster. Like, I know that finals run with Philly and Allen Iverson and.

[Esperahenne]

No, but. Yeah, it was AI.

[Andrew Schleck]

But that was not the talent.

[Esperahenne]

Eric Snow wouldn't be in the rotation for this team.

[Dave DeFore]

Exactly, Exactly. So this is the most talented team since Moses Malone was on the Sixers.

[Esperahenne]

Slander right here from Esperani. All right, let's move on. We got to talk about the Raptors. The Kawhi trade is on hold as we're recording this because we're still waiting to find out what's going to happen. But we will assume that Kawhi Leonard has been traded back to Toronto for Brandon Ingram as, like, this is the big upgrade because you're adding an all NBA level guy, obviously MVP level player to a team that. I don't know. I mean, they had a pretty good run last year and. And they're young and they're exciting and a very good defense at this, like, with this core group that is all under 25. How you feel about the Raptors summer?

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, as far as upgrades go, changing Brandon Ingram and Grady Dick and obviously they, they, they. It cost them three. We'll see if it costs them three unprotected picks, but at the same time, adding a guy like Kawhi Leonard to that roster, a guy who was seventh in MVP voting last year, all NBA player, probably had one of his best seasons yet in terms of efficiency. I mean, he, he really did have one of the best seasons of last year. If he can replicate that, then of course they've, they've vaulted themselves into championship contention. And I think what the Raptors showed in the playoffs, especially Scotty Barnes doing this trade, is more of a testament from the front office of how much they believe in what that series was as a proof of concept moving forward. But a lot of the things we just talked about with the Sixers in terms of injuries and health applies to this Raptors team with Kawhi Leonard. If Kawhi ends up playing 30 games, 40 games, or if he's suspended and he can only play in 40 or 50 games, that clearly changes the regular season floor of this team. And I know again, much like Joel Embiid, it's like, just get Kawhi to the playoffs and we'll see. And we've seen what Kawhi can do in a postseason series. I think that's a large question looming. It's like, can you get the healthy version of this guy? And if you can, sure, they're championship contenders, but if you can't, then you've kind of put yourself in a, in a different situation. I would, I'll ask you, I'll ask you guys this just as kind of unbiased participants here. Do you think this current Raptors team is more talented than the Clippers have been over the last couple years in the sense that they could win more regular season games with Kawhi missing games than the Clippers did when Kawhi was missing games?

[Esperahenne]

That's tricky because I think the Clippers have so overperformed. Ty Lue is such a good coach. Great coach, he figures out.

[Dave DeFore]

Great player.

[Esperahenne]

Great player the Clippers have been. They've had a, a pretty high floor as far as players go. You know, I mean, even without Kawhi and when PG was out, it was like Chris Dunn and Nick Batum and Norm Powell and Avisa Zubak. Like, these are guys who are pretty good players. Yeah. With Toronto, what I, what I think about is if Kawhi's out, who slides into his spot in the starting lineup? It's a pretty big drop off. And not that, not that it wasn't for the Clippers, but the Clippers rotational floor was so much higher.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Advertiser]

All around.

[Esperahenne]

I think that the Clippers probably had been better without him. Then. Then Toronto will be this coming without him.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

But also the Clippers had years to build that team to be this way, to create a deeper regular season team so that they could get through the season. It's, you know, sort of like when we're talking about Miami and how they just lack guys. And maybe this season is about. Actually about next season, but with Kawhi's 35 years old, this season has to be the season that you really go in for it. So I think he's got to play. I think he's got to play 65 games. I don't think you can play around with load management because they need to be top six in the East.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, I, I actually think they'll be fine. I. I think they kind of need Pearl to be healthy. Like, I think they just need like a competent big man that's healthy. And I think Scotty is, like, taking a big enough leap. I think RJ is capable. Like, he's gonna. RJ's gonna be in a pretty diminished role for the Raptors, and he's a guy that can step up and be a score on. On any given night. So I do think that they can survive stretches where Kawhi doesn't play. I think that they're gonna. They're good enough, but the east is better. But I do. I do like the collection of talent. Like, I think CMB is going to step up. He's going to be better than he was last year. He's already just a Wizard defensively. And then offensively, I think he's developing. So I do think there's, like, there's room for development here for the Raptor squad. But regular season, I think they're fine. I think defensively they're going to be a monster.

[Dave DeFore]

I was going to say deal with they. They probably end up as one of the five best defenses in the NBA. Like, you put. Put San Antonio, you put OKC in there. Maybe Miami cracks into that. I feel like Toronto is right there as well.

[Andrew Schleck]

I think so.

[Esperahenne]

A lot of it's going to depend on. On center, though. Andrew made a good point. Like, if Pearl can be healthy and play, then your floor is just higher, basically. You know, it's going to be kind of interesting, you know, like, how does he. When he's bouncing back and what does that look like they'll need that offense

[Dave DeFore]

look like the version of Scotty Barnes to the point of Andrew and the leap that he's made, like the version we saw in the playoffs versus the Cavs. It wasn't necessarily the version we saw in the regular season. Like he had an all NBA type of season, mostly on the defensive side of the floor, where he was one of the best defenders in the league. But the scoring output, the aggression, I'm very curious to see if he can do that for an entire regular season. We saw him do it through seven games. Can he do it for 82 games? It's a huge question not only for their, their playoff hopes and you know, the regular season floor foundation that they set, but just if they want to win a championship with Kawhi Leonard and Scotty Barnes. Scotty Barnes has to be the version that we saw in the playoffs for this team to have any chance, especially in this absolutely stacked conference. Like, you compare them to Philly, you compare them to New York or Boston or whoever. I think they have as much of a chance as most of those teams. It's just, you know, a lot of things have to go right for them.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah. And, and they, I mean, Scotty ran the show for them in the playoffs. He was 24, 6 and 8 in the playoffs. Like, that's a crazy stat. Line up from his 18, 7 and 6.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schleck]

In the regular season. Like, he, he really was amazing in the playoffs. And if you have a, a scorer like Kawhi that has the gravity as a score like Kawhi, plus Scotty, I do think that's a one, two punch with, I mean, Jacoby Walter, somebody we haven't mentioned, who I think is an emerging player. I think obviously RJ Barrett and you've got CMB and Pearl. Like, I just think like that is a really good team. And if Emmanuel Quickley can be healthy, who I know because of his contract is viewed as like, not a, not the best player, but like he's a helpful player.

[Esperahenne]

Oh yeah.

[Andrew Schleck]

Regardless of the contract, he's a helpful player.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Look, I don't know if Brandon Pajimski is going to get $25 million from the Warriors. I think the Emmanuel quickly feel not, not that bad.

[Esperahenne]

That's amazing. I, I, I think you got to give them, I, I'll give him a B. I think, I think get you get Kawhi. That's a, that's a really good move. You didn't lose lot. You know, they, they do lose Mamu. I think that that'll hurt them a little bit just as far as their bench depth goes. But I think you get more cmb. You know, hopefully his offensive game expands a little bit too. But yeah, I'll give Him a B. I, I, I think that the question marks around the trade keep me from making in an A because I do think Kawhi is such a better player. But, you know, let's see what happens if, if Kawhi gets suspended for 40 games, it's maybe not as good of a trade.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, if the trade goes through, it's an A plus. If the trade goes through, it's a complete A plus.

[Dave DeFore]

If the trade goes through, it is an A. Like it's, you know, but you just kind of have to wait and see, which is the funny part about.

[Esperahenne]

All right, last and certainly least, the Brooklyn Nets.

[Dave DeFore]

Wait, sorry. Actually, Jalen Brunson is walking to the club. Can we just wait a second? Okay, you're allowed in. Did you not, did you not see that video?

[Esperahenne]

I did not see that.

[Dave DeFore]

Michael Porter Jr. Just got stopped as he was trying to walk into a club. The, the bodyguards did not let him while Jalen Brunson was walking right in.

[Esperahenne]

So was this being streamed somewhere or something?

[Dave DeFore]

No, it wasn't being streamed anywhere. It was just someone was recording Jalen Brunson walking into the club. And in the back it was like Michael, Michael Porter Jr. Was just like, hey, I'll slide you a 20 if you let.

[Andrew Schleck]

There's no. That's amazing. I've not seen this either.

[Dave DeFore]

So that it, it's tough, a tough time to be a Brooklyn Nets fan, I would say.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah, Tough time to be a Brooklyn Net is what it sounds like. They, they, they, they send out Nick's Claxton Zaire Williams gone in free agency. They signed Keon Ellis, they make a trade for Julius Randall and they sign Mo Wagner. This is actually a pretty good summer for them considering what they've done in previous years, which is nothing to set up their team to be bad on purpose. I am not going to give them an A for this, but they did get some good players like Julius Randle can eat a lot of innings for you, Mo. Mo Wagner is a good center. Keon Ellis is this theoretical guy that we all like. We'll see if we still like him when he's playing for Brooklyn because he, I, I do believe he will play. They got to at least have a floor of 30 games to stay out of that relegation zone. Right. This is what this is about for you.

[Dave DeFore]

Can I make the pitch for you?

[Esperahenne]

There are 35 win teams.

[Dave DeFore]

I think they, I think they are a 35 win team, but I don't think they want to be a 35 win team. I think they Want to be in the relegation zone because they do not own their pick. And so it actually is an incentive for them to suck next year and to. To win 20 games.

[Esperahenne]

Well, D' Angelo Russell is going to be a free agent.

[Andrew Schleck]

Hey, back to the glue guys. Back to the glue guy. Nets.

[Dave DeFore]

Come on, guys. Yeah, I will say downgrading from Nick Claxton, you know who I think is. Is like a more serviceable center to asking Mo Wagner and Daron Sharp to like step up and be more usage guys. You talked about ways to lose regular season games. It's like asking your center depth to be a little bit different. Jaeger Droman was awesome in summer league. I think there's an opportunity for him to take a leap this year, which would be really, really great. A great sign for Brooklyn Nets fans. And then the other aspect is, can you get any outlier development? Mikel Brown Jr. Really looked interesting in Summer League 2. Can he just get so much opportunity to develop and understand the feel for an NBA game and get reps to be able to run pick and rolls like he's, he's the other thing for the Nets to watch out for this season. But they shouldn't, they shouldn't be trying to win games because they got to lose that pick and give it to, I believe, Phoenix or Houston. One of those two. Two teams owns their pick.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, it's. I mean, Mikel should be the thing, right? Yeah, like Mike L. Brown is. Is he. He and Jaeger should be the two guys, right? I think it goes to Houston, by the way.

[Dave DeFore]

Houston. Yeah, I just checked that.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah, that, like, those are the. That's. Those are your development pieces.

[Dave DeFore]

You.

[Andrew Schleck]

You acquire some of these other guys because you have cap space to do so. I don't know. I mean, maybe these are guys that you flip at some point during the season if possible. But this is, this is, this is all about the development of these young guys. Like, you have to find a path forward because they don't have their pick. And so it's super important that they develop the young guys that they have and that they try to bring them along. I think that they have to compete without thinking about picks or relegation zone or anything. I just think that they need to go out there and like, try to help their young guys develop into the best players possible. I think that's really the only thing you can do if you're the Nets because it does look pretty bad. And now it's about making these two young guys that I think have a lot of potential into Guys that are all stars, near all star type players so that you have a future because you look at how they're trying to sell tickets. My guy Mike Smelts sent me a. A text the other day because I keep bugging him to restart the Glue Guys podcast, which is a Brooklyn Nets podcast that no longer exists. And he just. He just sent me back a picture that had a picture of Jaegor. It had Mikel Brown, and then I. I think it had Michael Porter Jr. On the front of it. And he was like, this is how we're trying to sell tickets. He's like, and this is why the Glue Guys is not coming back. So it is. It is tough times in Brooklyn. They are.

[Dave DeFore]

This is.

[Andrew Schleck]

This is why you don't make some of the decisions that they've made, you know, throughout the years. Like, this is the. This is the downside of trading all your picks for win now players that are finicky. And here they are today as a team with. I mean, their hope rests on Mikel Brown. Really, like, that's amazing.

[Esperahenne]

This is the fallout of the trade with the Celtics. You know, like, if we. If you really trace it back.

[Dave DeFore]

Two trades.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah. Just started there. And. And it's been a decade of this. Who's going to trade for Michael Porter Jr. This season? Who should trade for Michael Porter Jr.

[Dave DeFore]

Honestly, there's. I would say a handful of contenders could probably use a Michael Porter Jr. Just floor spacer. How about like the Lakers could use Michael Porter Jr. He would be a really nice addition next to Luca and Austin Reeves instead of Kuminga, instead of Kaminga. Yes, absolutely. Just a way better fit for them. You know, also, they. They have the ability to trade Julius Randle, who I suspect will have a good season for the Nets. Like, yeah, I think he will get opportunities and he will be the perfect type of innings eater to allow Mikel Brown Jr. And Joman to just develop. Those two guys will have good seasons. And we know Jordy Fernandez is a good coach. He'll be able to get the most out of his young guys, allow them to develop. But I don't think winning should be the goal here for the Nets. It's like developmental. Winning should be the wins and lessons as tanking teams say. I think that should be the. The motive for the Nets.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah. Yeah. Who I. MPJ's $40 million expiring contract is going to be a topic this this season. That would be a topic. The fact that he has just this year left is helpful for a lot of teams. I don't I don't know what his next contract looks like.

[Dave DeFore]

Definitely not $40 million.

[Andrew Schleck]

But I do think that there will be a team. Whether you, you use it as a way to clear cap space.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schleck]

For the summer or you acquire him to give him a lesser contract in the next season. I do think that he's a guy that is probably worth trading for. I don't know that you get a whole lot back. Like maybe you can get an interesting young player back and some second round picks, but I don't think you're getting a whole lot back.

[Esperahenne]

I mean, maybe a team like the warriors will take a swing. Just added like it seems like they

[Andrew Schleck]

don't really would get along every single day. It'll be just peachy. It'll be so good.

[Esperahenne]

You know, we had, we had talked about Orlando and how that. That's a potential decent Detroit.

[Dave DeFore]

Maybe.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah, Detroit.

[Andrew Schleck]

I mean, like those teams make sense.

[Esperahenne]

Yeah. Maybe even San Antonio depending on. On how things work out as far as Tobias Harris goes. Something like that. But yeah, I think that that's probably. We're probably getting a MPG trade at the deadline.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Esperahenne]

If I had to, if I had to guess. Okay, so what do we give them? What's their grade? C plus.

[Dave DeFore]

It's tough for me because. And you guys make fun of me because I did this with the Wizards too, but they, they kind of lost in the NBA draft because they fell a few spots. Like they were hopeful to get one of the four blue chip prospects. I think Mikel Brown Jr. Has a chance to be a very, very, very good player. Probably one of my favorites of that glut of guards. I do like the Julius Randle trade. I think it makes sense for them. I like Joman's development. It's been interesting. I'll give him a C plus.

[Andrew Schleck]

They did also get Joshua Jefferson, who I don't know who's been able to sign yet because of. There's something weird with that trade. Did they, did he sign? Do we know? I don't know. Does anybody care? I don't know. I like Joshua Jefferson.

[Dave DeFore]

I like Joshua Jefferson too.

[Andrew Schleck]

He'll be on the team. I think that with where they landed in the draft and what they had to work with, I'd probably give them a B minus. I think that they did a little bit better than average. They could have really screwed it up in the draft. I think there are probably players that they could have taken

[Dave DeFore]

better than average. For Americans,

[Andrew Schleck]

people say C is average.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay.

[Esperahenne]

Cs get degrees okay in America. S. No, no, no.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, they get them here too. I know, I'm just.

[Andrew Schleck]

Okay, okay. You have to tell me what you're talking about right now.

[Dave DeFore]

So I think, I think a B is average for us here. I believe.

[Andrew Schleck]

Okay.

[Dave DeFore]

I believe. Yes. I just wanted to clarify.

[Esperahenne]

I gave him a C. C plus because they didn't, they didn't mess it up any, any worse than. Than they could have. And honestly, they got good players and I think that they will be more competitive just because they have that period until they start trading these guys away there. If. If you give a good coach players that, that know how to play basketball, you're just going to be better than. Than they have been, period. And they haven't had guys like this Julius Randall pretty good at basketball. Is he. Is he an all star? No, but he is not a tanker. Like that is not a guy you can have on your team.

[Andrew Schleck]

He is a tank, though.

[Esperahenne]

He is a tank.

[Dave DeFore]

So a B in Canada is 70 to 74% or a 3.0 GPA.

[Esperahenne]

Oh, okay.

[Dave DeFore]

So I think our scale is probably different. You're. That's a C for you guys.

[Esperahenne]

That's a long range of A's.

[Andrew Schleck]

Yeah. What is the range of A. Yeah,

[Dave DeFore]

I'm kind of curious about that now. Let me see.

[Esperahenne]

Seems very easy to get an A there.

[Dave DeFore]

Hey, hey, I was an A student in high school, right? Not college. Let me see.

[Esperahenne]

We gotta, we gotta grade this like, like the exchange rate. The Canadian.

[Advertiser]

Wow.

[Dave DeFore]

An A. Wow. AN A is 80 to 100%. That is what that is. A Wild what that is.

[Esperahenne]

That's absurd.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay, hold on, hold on. Let me, let me break it down for you guys. An F is 0 to 49. A D is 50 to 59%. A C is 60 to 69%. B is 70 to 79%. An A is 80 to 89. 90 to 100 is 8 plus.

[Esperahenne]

Okay, see, we just have different scales. F is 59 and below.

[Andrew Schleck]

Kids, we're moving to Canada. Everyone's getting A's now, baby. Here we go.

[Esperahenne]

We're gonna set up that. That's Toronto stud starting tomorrow. All right, that's going to do it for the show. For Andrew Schle and Esperani, I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us. Thanks for listening. Make sure you hit the subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode if you enjoyed it. Drop A, like leave a rating or let us know in the comments. Thank you guys for waking up with us,

[Advertiser]

It's smart to always have a few financial goals and a really smart one you can set earning cash back on what you buy every day. And with Discover, you can get this Discover automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Seriously, all of it. And we trust you to make smart decisions. After all, you listen to this show see [e-mail] credit card with my Sapphire

[Dave DeFore]

Preferred card, we took a trip to

[Advertiser]

a desert Oasis, earning five times the

[Andrew Schleck]

points on Chase Travel, two times the

[Dave DeFore]

points on all other travel, plus $100 hotel credit.

[Advertiser]

Chase Sapphire Preferred a card that's preferred for a reason.

[Esperahenne]

Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase bank and a member FDIC subject to credit approval

[Advertiser]

Terms apply Most people don't realize how much of their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the Internet, then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent. That's how your information lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where Aura comes in. Aura actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. But Aura goes beyond data protection. With one app, you get a vpn, antivirus, password manager, spam, call protection, dark web monitoring, and even up to $5 million in identity theft insurance, all backed by 24. 7 US based fraud support. Other companies might sell just credit monitoring or just a vpn. Aura gives you all of it together at the same price. Competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial [e-mail] safety protect yourself [e-mail] safety.