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- [00:00]
Host/Interviewer
Ready to order?
- [00:01]
Law Murray
Yes.
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Dave DeFore
Everything.
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Host/Interviewer
Fire everything.
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Law Murray
The Capital One Saver card is at.
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Host/Interviewer
Table 27 and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back.
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Law Murray
Yes, Chef.
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Host/Interviewer
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Dave DeFore
Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining.
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Law Murray
And entertainment with the Capital One Saver card.
- [00:27]
Host/Interviewer
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- [00:31]
Law Murray
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- [01:14]
Dave DeFore
Welcome back to the NBA daily. I'm Dave DeFore here with Law Murray for the Los Angeles Clippers team preview pre pre season. We're not even to training camp yet, but I had to get Law in here. Give me his thoughts on this upcoming law The Clippers were 50 and 32 last year. Good for the fifth seed in the west, but a little bit of a sneaky 50 win team. You know, they only got 37 games.
- [01:41]
Host/Interviewer
Out of Kawhi Leonard.
- [01:43]
Dave DeFore
Do you feel like they underperformed last year or was that about what you expected? Knowing that they were going to be short of Kawhi for most of the.
- [01:50]
Law Murray
Season, they didn't underperform in the slightest. Like that team was projected to be bottom five in the West. Even by my, you know, understanding of how the Clippers are and especially when their expectations are depressed, they exceeded my expectations as well. Like I thought they'd be eighth place squarely in the play in tournament discussion. They needed every one of those 50 wins to avoid the playing tournament. They had the best finish that I think a Clippers team can ever claim to have. They won, I believe, 18 of their last 21 games. Right. So I felt like last regular season was an exceptional success and what they did in the playoffs was crushing. You know, it was a very disappointing result considering how well they were playing with the guys that they were having and the fact that unlike most Clippers postseasons, injuries were not a conversation.
- [02:52]
Dave DeFore
Right.
- [02:52]
Law Murray
So when you have that, when you're always talking about we need the luck and you had that and you were playing well for it to end in a Game seven on the road, the way that it did was very disappointing. But it shouldn't take away from what they did in the regular season, especially when you give the context of how they had to do it.
- [03:12]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. Although to go seven with the Nuggets, who went seven with the Thunder, who had to go seven to win the title, I don't know, man. That's, you know, at least you're not throwing, saying, let's throw the whole thing away. This was still a pretty good year. Right.
- [03:25]
Law Murray
That's why so many people are back.
- [03:28]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. Well, let's talk about some of the changes. What do you feel like is the most impactful change? Like just day one, the, the biggest difference between last year's team and. And this upcoming year?
- [03:39]
Law Murray
It's between not having Norman Po, who I thought was a borderline All Star and was a major reason they were able to sustain and be. I don't think they were good offensively before quiet got back, but they were obviously good enough to win some games. To not have him, but to have the opportunity that John Collins presents and to be able to backfill Norm and have Brad Bradley Beal, a player who, on paper, everyone's going to look at Washington. Brad, you know, star level. Brad, I don't think that Brad's that player anymore. But you know what? He has the best opportunity to show that he can impact winning with the. With what the Clippers need and losing from not having Norman Powell on the team. What John Collins gives you is something that the Clippers did not have last year, and that is the optionality that comes with athletic size, a perimeter threat and an interior threat on offense. And then because he's athletic and because he's six nine, you can, you know, protect your stars. Not just Kawhi, who everyone's like, oh, Kawhi is going to play more 3. But James Harden was the guy wrestling with the big power forwards throughout October. When Kawhi came back in January and even to start the playoffs against the Nuggets.
- [05:03]
Dave DeFore
Well, yeah, Aaron Gordon put back dunk. James Harden's the, the guy on the back line, you know, not boxing out. Yeah, yeah, I, I Get that.
- [05:12]
Law Murray
That's the biggest reason that John is there, that play right there. It's. It's why Norm's not on the team, that series, and it's why John Collins is finally on this team.
- [05:22]
Dave DeFore
Do you feel like John Collins is going to play up a little bit, allow them to, you know, I mean, he can stretch the floor, he can protect the rim. Like, maybe he can play a little bit of small ball. I mean, although he's pretty big, small ball five for them find ways to, to create offense to make up for when Zoo has to sit. Because the defense, when Zoo would hit the bench, I mean, it was not, you know, it was not the easiest time for the Clippers.
- [05:46]
Law Murray
Well, that's why Brook Lopez is there, too. I. I do think you're going to see, look, pick a position, guys are going to play it. You know, Kawhi is going to play three and four. I bet you Kawhi plays him one, to be honest with you. John Collins is going to play some four and five. Brook Lopez is going to play some five. And you know what? Brooke Lopez is going to play some minutes with Zubots as well. Like, they have things that you can credibly say, we need to see what this looks like, and they should be excited about those things, especially offensively. John is a player who I don't worry about as much offensively because as a play finisher, he cleaned up that jump shot like you remember, when his finger was absolutely mangled, you know.
- [06:31]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [06:32]
Law Murray
In Atlanta a few years ago. His jump shot recovered in Utah. That's huge. He doesn't have the same value, especially to a team like the Clippers who prioritize skill at those positions outside of center. Like, he doesn't have the same value if he shoots sub 30%, but if he's going to shoot 40% from three, as well as be a guy who can put pressure on the rim in a variety of ways, that's tremendous. Offensively, the Clippers are exciting. Defensively, I'm wondering if they keep that same energy. And that's where I question the John Collins fit. People think, oh, you're bigger, that means you're going to be sturdy. Defensively, that is absolutely not always the case. Defense is about focus and continuity and being in the right place more often than the other teams in the league. And we're going to see if that's going to be the case and how John fits into that.
- [07:21]
Dave DeFore
Is there anybody on the Clippers that, that you feel like could break out or like, take a Big leap forward or are you more looking at who's going to take a step back? I mean, this is an older team. There's not a lot of, you know, there's no like young star that, that is, you know, waiting in the wings. What, what are you expecting from the, the individual players this season?
- [07:41]
Law Murray
Yeah, I don't expect anybody to break out. This is going to be the oldest team in the league or close to it. There, there are no breakout candidates there. These guys are all known commodities and even the guys who aren't 30 and over are guys who have limited breakout capabilities. Like, what you see is what you get from Derrick Jones Jr. You know, what you see is what you get from even a guy. Like if it's Dubas, maybe he's the closest. But we saw what he did last year. Last year it was a function of increased opportunity, not that of its ubots. Learn how to play basketball. Last year he was always good. You know, he's also always been undervalued. So, you know, it would be great to see if he can make an all star push. But unless that dude comes back with a three point shot that he learns from Brook Lopez, you know, he's what you. He is what he is. I'm worried about James Harden. He was incredible last year from a leadership standpoint, from a consistency and reliability standpoint. I know everyone's going to talk about his decline over the course of the playoffs. I'm not talking about that. Talking about the fact that James Harden played a crazy amount of minutes being on the ball, being the play starter for this team. And when you have his body type and when you get to be his age and when you're coming off of that kind of season, you have to be concerned about the effects of that going into the next season. I saw it with Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris three years ago and again, James is a different body type. I believe that he can take care of himself and get himself ready to start the season and maintain himself as the season goes along. But James is not here to be a role player. He is here to be the guy who helps him get to the playoffs, which he's done every year of his career. He's never played in the playing tournament, he's always played for playoff teams. But then he needs a guy who helps him in the, in the playoffs. His game is such where as a series goes along, you get used to seeing what he does and he gets easier to defend. That's why he has that random game five where he lays an Egg or whatever. It's fine though, if he has enough guys around him so that it's not about what James does. It's how James can impact his teammates and impact the game as a whole. But I am very concerned about James. That's not to say this isn't me reporting all James is, you know, like James is going to be fine in those terms, but it's just science. It's just he's a human being though. That was a ton of minutes last year, a ton of games, and he was great. He was all NBA. You have to reasonably expect there to be some kind of residual effect. And that's why Brad's important and that's why Chris Paul is on this team.
- [10:25]
Dave DeFore
I mean, well, the guy that we haven't quite hit on yet. What about Kawhi Leonard? I mean, what are the expectations out of him for. For this season? I mean, you mentioned that they finished the year healthy, but they didn't start it healthy again. He only played 37 regular season games. He did look excellent in the playoffs and there were definitely times during even the series with the Nuggets where he was the best player on the court. This is the story that we always tell every single September when we talk about Kawhi Leonard is if he's healthy, if he's healthy, I mean, like, what are the expectations? Not just health because you're, you know, you don't have a crystal ball, but just what do they need him to do during the season and heading into the playoffs for them to say, hey, he had a great year.
- [11:09]
Law Murray
He needs to play about 60 games. There's a. There's 15 back to backs, I believe. And it doesn't make sense for him to play in any of those back to backs unless you get to April and you need some dubs. He's shown that situationally he can play a back to back. He did that last year. He didn't play it back to back until the very end of the season when they needed everyone they could get. So there's that. I think the team and Kawhi, they have a great relationship, man. Like, there's a great open lens of communication. Unfortunately, the media doesn't get that same transparency. But we're not as important as, you know, Kawhi and the coaching staff and the front office and his teammates. He needs to play enough games. Whatever position he plays, he needs to defend consistently well. The Clippers defended outstanding without him. They actually dropped off a bit with him for a change before picking it back up at the end of the regular season, Kawhi's reputation is. Is good when it comes to, like, one on one, taking the challenge on when you need it. But that needs to be. We're starting the game with that energy and game in, game out, quarter in, quarter out. Like, he's going to have to. He can tell his teammates what he expects, but he's going to need to uphold that level for himself. And I'm interested to see what that looks like considering Kawhi is, you know, 34 years old. Like, guys aren't the same defenders at, in your 30s as you are in your 20s. And then offensively, just as James is going to need more help because of the workload from last year, that's on Kawhi to be like, hey, I'm here starting the season and I'm going to be fresh. Like, he's healthy right now. He's dunking in Asia somewhere. You know, like, he's feeling good. And that's a blessing considering what Kawhi has been through every off season, the past four, the previous four years. So he needs to be good, he needs to be great, and the Clippers need to be responsible and accountable as far as making sure that he can do that in the regular season. But he's another guy. He's got to reestablish his greatness in the playoffs again. He was really good in the playoffs. He was not the level that, you know, was like, hey, if Kawaii's here, you're good. It. It wasn't good enough. So we're going to see if him playing a more normal regular season enables him to reach a level in the playoffs, considering he might be at the end of his great years coming up soon.
- [13:45]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. This is a team that, I think, you know, they just made a bunch of moves over the summer. You see them making any moves mid season if. If things aren't going the way that, that they feel like they ought to be or if there's an opportunity.
- [14:01]
Law Murray
Absolutely. This is every season with Lawrence Frank. Okay. The only year that Lawrence didn't move a guy mid season as far as a rotation guy is when they picked up James shortly after Halloween. Right. Like, that's the big move that they made then. That was an incredibly disruptive move. They lost six straight games, you know, after that move was reported and. And guys were flying cross country to try and take physicals. Like, this team has got 11 credible rotation players. If it doesn't work, then there are tradable contracts. That's just how it Is. I think Bogdan Bogdanovich is probably the guy with a bullet that I look at as, you know, if he's fits and he's playing really well, you know, like, is he going to be on the team if he doesn't fit, if he's not playing well, if he gets to be the odd man out, if he. The guy that winds up getting moved? Like, there's just too many guys and some of them are too old and too set to realistically bring anything back, they have exponentially more value to the Clippers than anyone. Like, Chris Paul is going to be on the team, period. You're not trading Chris Paul, for example. I don't think they would trade Nico Btoon, but like, yeah, a guy like Bogdan Bogdanovich, a guy who's not so critical that they, you know, it changes a lot, but also a guy who can reasonably get moved if you need to move him. That's how he got to the team.
- [15:37]
Dave DeFore
He's also a useful player, right? He's a useful player. I mean, you have a guy who can shoot enough, who rebounds enough, who, you know, can ball handle enough. He. He should get a. A spot here with the Clippers to, To maybe show they need him. Exactly. What you think about his run with them during the playoffs. I. I thought he was, he was instrumental in, in that fight against the Nuggets. I mean, it felt like every single time they needed a timely rebound and he was on the court, he was the one getting a hand on a ball.
- [16:07]
Law Murray
He needed to be better. He. He needed to be a lot better. His signature moment in the playoffs, in a positive way, was he capped the comeback in Game 4. But no one cares about that because of how game four ended with Aaron Gordon. Overall, Bogey was sub 40 from the field, sub 30 from three, and he was attacked repeatedly in the playoffs. And that's the kind of thing where you know that Bogey was really good in the regular season. Once he got comfortable, and him getting comfortable meant running pick and rolls, he unlocked a version of Zoo that he. We thought Zoo was already unlocked to begin that season. Like, Bogey actually enhanced Zoo even further from March on. And that was great. Like, there's a chemistry there. I say this about anticipating Clippers moves, not to say that, oh, they want to do something. We're just being plain. Dave and I were having a conversation about look at the history of what they've done. Every year they've made a move, who might be the most vulnerable. We've identified a guy that's not to say I think it would be great if the Clippers can say the guys that begin the year in October or the guys who begin the postseason in April. That is the best case scenario. That is the ideal case. You have to be prepared for if things happen where they go into January and February and say we need to tweak things if we're going to get to the playoffs.
- [17:35]
Dave DeFore
You know, I, I think that this team has done a really good job of reshuffling the deck when they've had to. I mean, it feels like almost every single summer, much less in mid season, they, they've had to kind of make changes, make tweaks. During this entire Kawhi Glennard run basically with the team, what do you see as the biggest swing factor for the team? Like what's the thing that's going to make the biggest difference for whether the Clippers are in title contention or not?
- [18:01]
Law Murray
I think that's going to be about, about Brad. We gotta, we gotta really be real about Bradley Beal here. His ceiling is when Kawhi's gotta miss these back to backs that he can scale up in a way that he's. He did not do in Phoenix. Brad first of all missed a ton of games. That was his single biggest issue. You can talk about the coaches, you can talk about the roster, you can talk about the role assignment, you could talk about fitting in with guys, you can talk about the incredibly terrible vibes on that Phoenix team. Bradley Beal did not play enough games and that was the case in Phoenix. That was the case his last two years in Washington. If Brad doesn't play 60 games, then Brad's gonna have the same issues in LA that he's had the previous four years. That being said, Kawhi is going to need help. James is going to need help. The Clippers, when I look at Norm, Norm was incredible. But Norm had one major deficiency and they couldn't trust Norm to be a guy who can handle the ball and make plays. You know, aside from James, that's why Chris Dunn started so many games, because they needed a release valve so the teams didn't, you know, harass James coming up the floor. Brad is supposed to be an upgrade in the ball handling department. A guy who can run a pick and roll and make good decisions out of those pick and rolls. Brad is a guy who is from St. Louis and Toronto. Lew is from Missouri. Like they're going, there's the relationship aspect is why Brad is here. If Brad and Brad's playing for money, Brad's trying to make that money up that he gave away in this buyout to get to the Clippers. So he's highly motivated. He's got to get his body and he's got to get his mind right and he's got to fit defensively because there's a chance that John Collins does start. And, I mean, someone's got to guard the point of attack and the Clippers can say whatever they want about, oh, we think that he can do this and do that. Defensively, we trust John Collins on switches. We trust Brad Beal to guard 94. I don't trust him, but who cares what I think it's. If you're going to use that lineup, he's got a guard. And if you do start Derrick Jones, guys just are going to have to suck it up and bring that same energy. Brad is a huge swing factor, not only on both sides of the floor, but just being on the floor to begin with, right?
- [20:16]
Dave DeFore
And offensively, look, he is excellent at coming off dho, which Zubot has gotten very good at DHO handoffs. Brook Lopez is pretty good at setting screens for dho. So, like, there's going to be options there for him, especially second units. Like, he's got to be the guy. And we, this is what we said when he got to Phoenix. He's got to be the guy who's like 18 to 20 a game for 65 games. That he has got to be able to be that guy. The guy that when Harden and Kawhi both have to sit, he can. He can get you a bucket. And I, I think he'll have an opportunity there. Ty Lue likes a guy who can, who can get a shot off, off the dribble. So you know he's going to get a chance to do it. But if it doesn't work, I just don't know where they go from there, you know, I mean, I don't. I don't know what their options are. Which leads me, finally, I guess, what's the most realistic outcome for the Los Angeles Clippers this season, in your opinion?
- [21:14]
Law Murray
The outcome is they better win a playoff series. Like, they haven't won a playoff series in either of the previous four years, and some of it is injuries. But you can't use that excuse for 2025, unless you want to say that certain guys ran out of gas because they had to compensate for Kawhi's absence. And Kawhi ran out of gas because he had to make up for the fact that he missed the first half of the year. Okay, there are the excuses. Shouldn't be a factor here. They need to win a playoff series and I think that they are good enough to win a playoff series. Beyond that, I'm not ready to say. The Clippers are contenders. They're led by two guys who I'm not sure they have the gas to get through multiple teams in the west in the playoffs, but they should be good enough to get through at least one. And so I, you know, I, I expect them to be in the semifinals. I think there will be some consequences for not winning a playoff series this year, but I also think that I'd be surprised if they got to the conference finals. It would be a good surprise. We'd have to analyze how it happens, but I don't think that team has the horses to break through to be one of the last two teams standing in the West.
- [22:30]
Dave DeFore
Thunder is so good. Nuggets got so much better. It's gonna be tough. I mean, the west again is looking like a bloodbath. Luckily, though, we got Law Murray covering so much of the Western Conference, all of LA now. And so we'll be following along with Law, and Law will be here with us all season long. Thank you, Law Murray. We're gonna see what the Clippers do this year, guys. Stick after the break. We've got more team previews coming your way.
- [23:03]
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- [23:29]
Host/Interviewer
Terms apply. Lounge access is subject to change. See capitalone.com for details.
- [23:33]
Matt from P1
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- [24:41]
Law Murray
Foreign.
- [24:47]
James Edwards
Folks, we are joined alongside James Edwards, the third of the athletic who covers the New York Knicks for us here. Look, it was, it was an interesting offseason for the Knicks just because it started out right after they got eliminated with a bit of a bang. The news of Tom Thibodeau being let go and then the, you know, coaching search that ended with Mike Brown. A couple of other kind of news items happened as well. A couple free agency signings, an extension. But generally, what do you think was the most impactful change for them this offseason? I'm assuming your answer is Mike Brown.
- [25:24]
Host/Interviewer
Well, I think that's hard to say because we don't. We don't know. Right. Obviously that was the biggest move of the off season. Yeah. Yeah. Firing a coach who had led you to heights you hadn't reached in quite some time. And listen, I. The offense struggled the second half of the year. It struggled against good defenses. Like, I understand why you may think that you need to make a tweak. And it starts with the easiest one, which is the coach to get to where you want to go. Mike Brown is a good coach. It's hard to say whether or not just him coming in will upgrade the team. Right. I think you just have to wait and see on that. In terms of impactful. I, I mean, you have to kind of go, I guess you would have to say the Mikhail Bridges extension, they've locked in their core. They spent a lot of picks on them. It wasn't always rosy for him. His first season in New York, he had some big moments in the playoffs defensively. So the fact that they locked down and made such a big commitment, I think that obviously was kind of what we all thought would happen when they traded the picks. But I thought there was a time too where you wondered, did both sides want to continue this? Obviously they did. But yeah, I would have to say that just because they've locked in the core for the next few years and now they're, they have to be very, very careful about second apron here going forward. If they don't, if they can't win a title.
- [26:56]
James Edwards
Yeah. And the locking in the core, like the way that they did it, obviously Brunson taking that pay cut, Mikhail Bridges providing them with a level of flexibility too. Like that aspect seems there seems to be a buy in collectively with what they're trying to achieve goal wise. I mean, making it to the conference finals last year and losing in the way that they did. I think there's a very clear goal in mind heading into this season of championship or bust, finals or bust type of mentality for a team that's. That's built to win. Right. In this current NBA, in the current Eastern Conference. I want to go back to Mike Brown, though, because there is a level of expectations now, especially with how important Tom Thibodeau was to the organization and building it from what it was before Tom Thibodeau and what it became just last season. Is there. Is there any sort of idea of what changes both organizationally and on the floor, or is it just a wait and see process with that?
- [27:57]
Host/Interviewer
I mean, I think they've. There's been breadcrumbs of what they want to do and even stuff kind of straight out of the bird's mouth. I mean, I think one thing that's big for New York is collaboration. Working with the front office, working with the coaching staff. I don't necessarily think that was Thibodeau's strong suit. Right. I don't know if people have ever noticed this. I think we've talked about. I think I brought this up on a show with you. If you ever watch, like when the Knicks called a timeout, most coaches.
- [28:26]
James Edwards
I remember this.
- [28:27]
Host/Interviewer
Yeah. Would deliberate with their assistant coaches and then go into a huddle. Tibbs never really. Coralest. Is that the right word?
- [28:39]
James Edwards
Coalesced.
- [28:39]
Host/Interviewer
Yeah, coalesce. I said coral.
- [28:41]
James Edwards
Hey, it's August.
- [28:41]
Host/Interviewer
We're good. It's the off season. Yeah. My brain's not working. He never would talk with his assistants. And it's not that he disliked his assistance. I think it was just. Tibbs is a. It's. This is what we're doing. This is my show.
- [28:53]
James Edwards
Yeah.
- [28:53]
Host/Interviewer
So I think collaboration's big. Mike Brown has talked about them wanting to play fast. I think this team does need to play fast. They were one of the slowest teams in the league. Playing fast means turning it up defensively, turning defense into offense. It doesn't necessarily mean just like pushing the pace when a team scores. I think it also means, like, moving the ball quicker in the half court. Cutting, moving. So the Kings played fast. Obviously, it's not apples to apples, dear. And Fox is a very fast player. Demonda Sabonis is one of the best passing big men in basketball. So there's going to be an adjustment period there. But I think there are certainly both organizationally and on the floor that they're at least going to attempt and, and hope unlocks whatever it was that they felt that needed to be unlocked last year.
- [29:41]
James Edwards
Yeah, it's interesting because, you know, I think when I, when I heard the Mike Brown news, I instantly thought of Sabonis and how much he put the ball in Sabonus, his hands in Sacramento and I was like, all right, are you going to be doing the same with Carl Anthony Towns, who I think from a standstill perspective can be a good playmaker, but on the go, making moves with kind of like utilizing his driving game to make plays. It's a little bit different of a story, especially because he can end up being a little bit more turnover prone. And I'm, I'm curious how he adjusts his offensive system, especially because Jalen Brunson also the, the team loves to isolate because their best player is such a good isolation score.
- [30:20]
Host/Interviewer
Right.
- [30:20]
James Edwards
So you look, you look forward at this team and you look at some of the players, who do you think needs to take the biggest step forward and maybe on the other side, is there a player that you're looking might have to take a step back?
- [30:34]
Host/Interviewer
I think offensively Mikel Bridges needs to take a step forward. If you look at the numbers, struggled from three this year, I think around 35%. Really couldn't hit a three above the break. Most of his three point makes came from the corners. Lived in the mid range, very efficient at it. One of the best mid range shooters in basketball. But those types of shots aren't necessarily conducive to overall team functioning. And he really didn't go the rim. Didn't draw a lot of fouls. I think just if I'm off the top of my head, I think just a hair over 100 free throw attempts on the season. Yeah, yeah.
- [31:07]
James Edwards
He doesn't like contact. Not a big fan of contact.
- [31:10]
Host/Interviewer
Yeah, it was, it was, it was definitely something that was noticeable throughout the year. His, his intentionality with just getting to the mid range and not necessarily getting to the hole.
- [31:21]
James Edwards
Yeah.
- [31:22]
Host/Interviewer
I'd be curious if Mike Brown utilizes him as the point of attack defender with the level of volume that Tibbs did. That's a lot of screens. He took a lot of responsibility there. Right. But that's why they brought him in. So I'm curious to see if they mix that up and take a step back. It's interesting because Jalen Brunson is by far to me the best player on the team. Jalen Brunson is one of the best players in the NBA and I don't think he should be the one to take a step back. But I think naturally with the way that Brown's teams played in Sacramento, which is our most recent example in kind of the breadcrumbs we've gotten up to this point, doesn't sound like he's gonna have the ball in his hands, but it sounds like they're gonna want to get the ball moving. They're gonna want to go side to side. They might use Cat as a hub. Yeah, he might have to adjust his game the most. I could be completely off and we get the season starts and Jalen's doing what Jalen does. I don't think he needs to take a step back, but I could see a world where he has to make an adjustment just based on the way we've seen Mike Brown's teams play in the, in the past.
- [32:40]
James Edwards
Yeah, that's really interesting because, I mean, you look at what Brunson did the last two years, I mean, he's an all NBA guard. He's a guy who, like you said, one of the very best players in the league. What he does well is shooting the basketball, isolating and scoring, finding ways to create from himself. You know, a lot of people will complain about like the foul baiting and whatnot, but in my opinion, it's an art. It's an art form. Maybe not one that's appreciated by many, but just the way that he does it is a craft that has to be learned and he has mastered that craft. If you're looking at Jalen Brunson and his game, and you kind of just mentioned that he might have to not necessarily take a step back, but assume a different role. What is the expectation for him moving forward this season?
- [33:29]
Host/Interviewer
I wonder if he'll play a little bit more off the ball. I wonder if we'll see him more as a spot up shooter in situations. I think when the game's on the line, the ball goes to the best closer in basketball, which is him. But I wonder if like we see a little bit, we see more spot up opportunities, more cutting, more stuff getting him like coming off pin downs, handoffs, stuff like that, just to get him moving side to side. I could see that. I think that would be maybe one of the bigger adjustments.
- [34:02]
James Edwards
This is kind of a random question, but what do you think the starting lineup is on day one? Because they, they are now deeper. They've added Gershon Yabaselli, they've added Jordan Clarkson. It can Go like about eight deep, sometimes nine deep. Mitchell Robinson is. Is starting the season healthy, all things considered. What is the starting lineup for this team moving forward?
- [34:22]
Host/Interviewer
I think that they go Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby Towns, Robinson.
- [34:28]
James Edwards
So hard off the bench. Gotcha.
- [34:30]
Host/Interviewer
I think they go hard off the bench. Do I think that Hart is a deserves to come off the bench? No. I like having guys who are low maintenance on offense. I like having guys who connect teams. I like guys who hustle like. But with that said, I think we found out as Minnesota did that Towns needs another center next to him. Yeah, I think Robinson, when healthy, is just a very dominant player in a very unique way. And I think you can get creative with the rotations. If you start like that, you can quickly go to bring Robinson out six minutes in, bring Yabu Selly or hard in. If you bring Yabu Selly in, then you have a. You could play a somewhat. Yeah, but Sulli has to hit 37% more than one year for me to call him a floor spacer.
- [35:22]
James Edwards
But yep, that's fair.
- [35:23]
Host/Interviewer
Like you could have five out, right? Pretty soon in the game you could go. You could go small with Yabu Selli at center, hard at 4. I think when you start Mitch, I think it sets the tone defensively. It sets the tone with physicality and then you can make the adjustments from there.
- [35:45]
Law Murray
Now.
- [35:48]
Host/Interviewer
How do they manage Mitchell Robinson's minutes I think is going to be fascinating. Does he play three games and then sit one? Do they. Do they do some type of plan for him to try to get him through the season? I'm curious to see how that goes. Yeah, but I do think that they go big to start games. I think the offense could get. Take a while to get rolling and get looking like how people want it to look. But I mean also like if you told me that they started like Brunson, Clarkson, Bridges and Anobi Towns, like Clarkson is a starter.
- [36:21]
James Edwards
Interesting.
- [36:21]
Host/Interviewer
I don't think so. But like if you told me they wanted to just embrace the five out. Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me. Nothing was. It wouldn't surprise me if Hart just stayed in the. In the starting lineup. Mike Brown is a big fan of Josh Hart, so I'm fascinated to see. I just think if there's a change, it would be Josh Hart because one, I think he's the only one that would like handle it well.
- [36:41]
James Edwards
Right.
- [36:42]
Host/Interviewer
Two, he would be the. He was the one that suggested that Mitch start for him in the playoffs. That's just the kind of guy he Is so it wouldn't surprise me, but I'm going to lean. Yeah. I think they go big to start the season.
- [36:54]
James Edwards
Yeah. And I think a big conversation last year and this is natural with the whole. You look at the starting lineup and the number of minutes that that that unit played together last year. You know, top minutes in the league for most of these players like Brunson Bridges, those guys were near the top of the league, if not at the top of the league. If I'm not mistaken, when it came to minutes per game and in the playoffs. And in the playoffs, it just didn't work. Right. And so you have a little bit more depth to rely on now that you can go eight, nine deep. Do you think that we will see that change because it is also a different coaching staff.
- [37:29]
Host/Interviewer
Yeah.
- [37:29]
James Edwards
Will. Will those minutes go down? Do you think that's the expectation?
- [37:32]
Host/Interviewer
I think that the minutes will go down. I think that they will consistently play. I just look at it like this. Like we know. All right, so we know Brunson, Bridges and an Obi Hart, Towns, Robinson. That's. We already got to six. Yabu Sellies playing that seven. Clarkson's playing. That's eight. Yeah. Miles McBride is playing. That's nine.
- [37:55]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [37:55]
Host/Interviewer
Like, I'd be shocked if any of those guys are not in the road in a rotation. Right. Yeah. So I think it's nine minimum. The question for me is, does he go to 10? They still have a vet minimum that they can sign and there's some decent players out there. Do they try to develop and throw spot minutes to a com. Daddy A Tyler Colic, Ariel Hook, Porty. Some teams have gone 11 deep. We see the Pacers who beat them. To me, it's like, what do the Knicks want to prioritize? Do they care about winning the east and maybe some of the disarray that comes with so many different lineups and so many different bodies. Not to say that they can't win the east by doing that. Right. I. I just wonder if they have. It's. It's a br. It's going to be a brand new team. That bench is going to be fairly brand new. They're adding again two pieces plus possibly a third. Do they maybe risk some of the regular season success to try to have everybody, like, know who they can count on in the playoffs? Because I do think that was a point of frustration last year where kind of shame. It played in the Piston Series, didn't play in the Boston series and then inserted in Indiana and had some good moments and Same with Delon Wright, didn't play. Inserted in Indiana and had some good moments. Right. Like yeah, I think the experimenting that late frustrated some. So yeah, I'm curious to see what what happens. I think they do at least go nine deep. Like I would be shocked if if any of the guys I named didn't play.
- [39:25]
Law Murray
Yeah.
- [39:25]
Host/Interviewer
At least to start the year.
- [39:26]
James Edwards
No, you're right. And to your point about the regular season, I think like experimenting especially for a team of this caliber that is in their championship contend. Contending window is the right thing to do because last year, you know, we've talked about this too. But from January on their offense became predictable in the sense that teams knew what to throw at throw at them to be able to limit what they can do offensively. Whether it was obviously the switching was a big part of it, but there were, there was a lot more to it than just hey, we're going to switch everything and focus on trying to stop a Brunson, stop a Carl Anthony Towns. I think it was an idea that hey, this team is a little bit one track minded offensively. How do you diversify your offense? I think is one of the questions the Knicks need to answer throughout this regular season. And I guess to, to that point a team that is probably it's either them or Cleveland, depending on who you ask, is the best team in the Eastern Conference. There's been a lot of conversation about the east being, you know, not as good this year with Boston being having a gap year, Indiana having a gap year, etc. What is the biggest swing factor for this Knicks team to go from the conference finals to finals or maybe a championship?
- [40:37]
Host/Interviewer
I think health. I. Well one Mike Brown has to be the right coach.
- [40:44]
James Edwards
Right.
- [40:45]
Host/Interviewer
Right. That's. And we won't know that for a while. He's a good coach and he's proven to be a good coach. Is he the right coach for this team? We'll find out. It was very clear that the what they did last year they were Halliburton prayer off the rim away from possibly going to the NBA Finals. Right.
- [41:02]
James Edwards
Yeah.
- [41:04]
Host/Interviewer
And to be fair, if I'm the Knicks, I complete. If I'm their front office, I completely look at the playoffs last year. It's like we're even fortunate to be this point. They what won the Pistons series by a total of five points and they were missing Isaiah Stewart and Jade Nivey. They were down by 20 or 14 plus three or four times in the Celtics series. Right. So there's things like yeah, they ended up Being very fortunate and they do had. They had resilience. But there's things that you could have looked at and like, okay, well, there's something not right here, given all the investments we have. So for now, for me, it's. Is Mike Brown the right coach for this team? And then injuries. I think it's important to remember, like, yeah, they knew going into last year that Mitchell Robinson would be out for a while, and that's part of why they made the trade for Cat. But other than that, they really didn't have any significant injuries. Brunson missed about a month from the start of March to the end of March with a sprained ankle, but that was really it. Like, guys missed stuff here and there. Like, they were relatively healthy. Healthy for most of the year.
- [42:13]
James Edwards
Yeah.
- [42:14]
Host/Interviewer
And when you factor in, like. Like, that's awesome for og, right? Like, he's. He's been working towards something like that. Mikhail still, Iron Man Towns didn't have, like, he had nagging injuries. Right. I think he was pretty banged up by the end.
- [42:27]
James Edwards
Yeah.
- [42:28]
Host/Interviewer
But nothing during the season that was like, super. That cost him to miss months or a handful of weeks at a time. Deuce McBride had some small stuff here and there. Right. But relatively healthy. For an NBA team that played such high minutes, they were pretty healthy. So, yeah, you have to hope that. That if you're a Knicks fan, that that stays again, because I'm. While I think that they improved the depth for sure, I'm not sure this is like, a team that can, like, go without one of its three best players for a long period of time and, like, still be NBA title contenders. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I think the bench is solid. I don't think it's like, game changing in that way unless you have the guys around. Still.
- [43:15]
James Edwards
No. And look, we're. We're in the off season right now, and on paper you can look at their depth and say, absolutely, we can count on nine guys. But sometimes, you know, Clarkson, he was a buyout guy, right? Like, for a reason. Right. So there's. There's that aspect to it, too. Maybe he just can't provide you what you. The ideal version of what Jordan Clarkson can do on a daily. Want to ask you this. Any. Any trades, anything you think might be on the horizon for this team, especially because they're locked into their core for the most part. Do you think there's anything to look out for on the trade front as we enter the season?
- [43:47]
Host/Interviewer
I think. I think the future Mitchell Robinson is worth taking a. Taking a look at he's extension eligible. If they extend him, like, they're, they're really, really flirting with the second apron the next year. He has an extensive injury history, really good player the last few years when healthy. Extensive injury history. Like, they're going to have to make a decision on somebody they can't keep and pay everybody. I think that's the one to watch. And I think what's fascinating would be if Mitch played like he did in the playoffs for the first 35 games of the regular season, and they're right there in the driver's seat. Do the Knicks try to capitalize on his. On his, on his play and his expiring contract, or do they risk him going into the off season and going somewhere else just to obviously pursue a title? It seems like their, their goal is to win a title. So whatever happens from there to help with that, I think will be important. But, yeah, I think Mitchell Robinson's future is probably the most intriguing one to watch. I don't see, like, obviously, Brunson's not getting traded. Yeah, Mikhail can get traded right before the deadline. I think the only way that they trade like a Mikhail or an OG is if, again, like a Giannis becomes available or if it's just not working. Like, they get to that point. It's not working. But, yeah, I think Mitchell Robinson's probably the one that everybody has their eyes on as a, As a guy who's extension eligible. And I'd be. I don't. I just. I just don't see him getting one prior to the start of the season.
- [45:21]
James Edwards
That's interesting, though, because, like, that big man position, like, we just talked about double big lineups and how important having a center is for Kat. Like, I think he's so important to what they want to do and their, Their ultimate goals. Speaking of ultimate goals, I mean, we talked about the fact that this team has their eyes on a championship and getting there, but what do you think if you had to, if you had a crystal ball, looking at, you know, August 2026, what is the most realistic outcome for this Knicks team this season?
- [45:49]
Host/Interviewer
I mean, I think that they have a legitimate chance to get back to where they did last year. It's always tough to tell, right? Like, there's so many factors that go into winning a championship and even just making the finals or the Eastern Conference finals, as the Knicks can attest to in that wild ride that they had the. The first two rounds before they got there. I think on paper, in the east, they're as talented as Anybody. They have had their issues with Cleveland. They could not beat Cleveland last year. Cleveland gave them their biggest beat down of the year. And Cleveland's coming back basically the same squad and a little more hungrier, too, just like. Just like the Knicks. So ultimately, in my head, I think it's going to be those two in the Eastern Conference finals. If you told me, like, in Orlando had, like, an Indiana run this year. If you told me Detroit had, like, an Indiana run this year. If you told me Atlanta had, like, an Indiana run this year, like, there's some teams that, like, I think, yeah, the east is unproven, but, like, there could be some fun stuff happening in the east this year.
- [46:54]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [46:55]
Host/Interviewer
And I always. I also keep forgetting to mention the most dominant players in the east. And Giannis, he's still playing. And I. Everybody plug your ears. Like, Philly is. We make fun of Philly all the time, and rightfully so. But yeah, yeah, I mean, on paper, they're good. They stay healthy. Like, that's an actual, like, legitimate team. So in my. My head says Knicks, Cavs, Eastern Conference finals. I don't think. Well, I got to see how the Thunder come out because I have, like, a theory that only certain guys and certain teams are wired to do it again and again and again. Like, I didn't think Denver, after they won one, I thought Denver would kind of relax their shoulders. I thought kind of Toronto would relax their shoulders. And obviously Kawhi left. That was a big thing. Yeah. Like, I need to see how hungry OKC is out of the gate to see if they want to do it again. But with that said, I think there's a few teams in the west that I would maybe put above, like the Knicks or Cleveland in terms of winning the title. But I think the Knicks can get there. I think it's going to be them in Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals. Yeah.
- [48:04]
James Edwards
I mean, look, as we look ahead to it, it is a long season, that it's a lot can change in eight to 10 months, and we'll see how that looks for the New York Knicks over the next course of the season. James, appreciate you as always, hopping on. Enjoy the rest of your off season. Thank you very much for everybody else tapping into the athletic. Appreciate you, James.
- [48:26]
Host/Interviewer
I appreciate you, man.
- [48:35]
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