Jaylen Brown TRADED to 76ers + Lakers make BIG moves

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily

Episode Title: Jaylen Brown TRADED to 76ers + Lakers make BIG moves
Date: July 2, 2026
Hosts: Zena Keda, Esfandiar “S.” Behrhini, Dave DuFour

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Episode Overview

This special emergency episode dives deep into the NBA’s seismic offseason shakeup: the blockbuster trade sending Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers and Paul George (plus picks) to the Boston Celtics, as well as a series of bold moves by the Los Angeles Lakers. The hosts react in real-time, dissect the massive implications for league power dynamics, and offer sharp takes on both the winners and losers of a wild day in NBA free agency.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Jaylen Brown Traded to the 76ers (01:40–17:49)

Trade Details (02:24):

• 76ers receive: Jaylen Brown
• Celtics receive: Paul George, 2028 first-round pick (swap, most favorable Clippers/Sixers), 2031 unprotected first-round pick, 2028 & 2030 second-round picks
• Paul George’s contract: $110M/2 years (includes a player option)

Philadelphia’s Perspective

• “This is a great trade for Philadelphia. You got off the Paul George money. ... Jalen Brown will be 35 and, and Embiid will be 37 and maybe not even on the team. Like, this is the team that’s going to be able to compete in the east as long as Embiid, if he can be healthy, they’re going to be very competitive.” – Dave DuFour (04:15)
• Team is fully in win-now mode, especially under new GM Mike Gansey:
  • “We’re well past the process years, and this is a team that ... just made a front office change. ... Magic Mike pulled off a heist on this. He pulled Jalen Brown out of his hat.” – Dave DuFour (04:41)
• Jaylen Brown’s durability and star caliber seen as a major upgrade over an aging George. New starting lineup featuring Embiid, Brown, Maxey, and promising young talent VJ Edgecombe.

Boston’s Perspective

• “I think this is an insane trade from the Boston Celtics. ... [The Brown] relationship with the front office and ownership must have been so untenable that they just had no way to bring him back into the fold at all.” – S. Behrhini (06:32)
• Hosts suggest the trade is so bad for Boston, it hints at major behind-the-scenes discord.
• “They are not contenders without Jaylen Brown. And even with Paul George here, they’re not as good as they were yesterday.” – S. Behrhini (07:36)
• Celtics now have picks, but it’s questionable whether they can flip those into equivalent star power, especially as their core ages out of contention.
• “This is not a trade that you make for basketball reasons ... this feels like a private equity trade ... we’re just going to be worse and we’re going to take on worse money.” – Dave DuFour (10:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Johnson and Johnson wrote: ‘most disgusting trade in NBA history.’” – Zena Keda relaying chat feedback (09:32)
• “Jaylen Brown is kind of a like ... Iron man ... able to stay healthy ... so I don’t necessarily understand this from the Celtics perspective at all.” – S. Behrhini (08:23)
• “This moves the Sixers way closer to making a championship run ... than they were before.” – Dave DuFour (13:34)

Trade Market Reflection

• Charlotte, Portland, Milwaukee, Houston considered but none made a play for Brown.
• “Maybe teams are starting to hold their powder dry for [Anthony Edwards]...” – Dave DuFour (15:13)

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2. Lakers’ Aggressive Moves & Analysis (19:15–32:04)

Key Acquisitions:

• Walker Kessler (acquired for four firsts/unprotected swaps; signed: 4yrs/$130M)
• Sandra Mamu Kelashvili (4yrs/$52M)
• Collin Sexton (2yrs/$19M)
• Quentin Grimes (4yrs/$60M)

Reactions

• “This is the most egregious trade today. ... To give up two first round picks in 2031 and 2033, completely unprotected, two pick swaps, completely emptying your draft cupboard. ... I don’t know who the Lakers were bidding against.” – S. Behrhini (19:57)
• Dave DuFour sees Kessler as a decent fit but is baffled by L.A.’s overpayment in assets and their depleted flexibility.
• The new “Snowtime Lakers” roster is discussed with some humor:
  • “Their starting lineup could very well be Austin Reeves, Luka Doncic, Jake Laravia, Mamu and Walker Kessler ... the Minneapolis Lakers are back.” – Dave DuFour & S. Behrhini (23:01–23:12)
• Deep concern about the Lakers’ ability to defend: heavy dependence on Kessler as a go-between for a small, defensively suspect roster.

Notable Quotes

• “They have nothing else that they can trade ... They spent $260 million in an hour ... I think I like the talent that they added but it’s just so much risk.” – S. Behrhini (26:43)
• “I like what the Lakers did better than I like what Boston did.” – Dave DuFour (26:39)
• The Lakers’ loss of Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard, and what that means, is discussed (32:17–33:13)

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3. Rapid Fire: Other Major Moves (32:04–36:41)

Free Agency & Trade Recap

• John Collins to Pistons
• Marcus Smart (ex-Laker) to Rockets: 2yrs/$13M – “To lose Marcus Smart for that low of a dollar amount is pretty wild.” (32:23)
• Norman Powell to Bulls: 2yrs/$45M
• Nikola Vucevic to Magic: 1yr/$3.9M
• Mike Conley to Celtics
• Mitchell Robinson to Celtics – “It feels like a lot of money for a guy that can’t play more than 22, 23 minutes a night.” – Dave DuFour (34:48)
• De’Anthony Melton back to Warriors (2yrs)
• Kelly Oubre leaves 76ers for Pacers (2yrs/$17M)

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4. Projected Depth & Outlook for the 76ers (36:41–38:41)

• Philadelphia is “clearly better” than before with Brown.
• Concern remains about depth, especially behind Embiid, and the ongoing question of Embiid’s health.
• “Jaylen Brown can be your number one guy [when Embiid rests].” – S. Behrhini (36:54)

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5. What’s Next? Big Unanswered Questions (38:50–43:45)

LeBron James’ Future

• “It’s LeBron. ... That’s the last piece.” – Dave DuFour (39:12)
• Speculation on possible destinations: Cavaliers, Miami, Minnesota, Boston, Knicks, Denver, even Thunder/Spurs.
• “It is fascinating that [LeBron’s] leaving the Lakers; I think the Lakers are making a mistake letting him walk.” – Dave DuFour (40:55)

Other Watch Items

• Jalen Duren’s status; Pistons’ cap space
• Denver Nuggets’ inactivity; possible structural moves (Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson)
• “The best opportunity [Denver] had for a Murray trade felt to me like the Jalen Brown swap ... this has been a decline ... as far as Jalen Brown’s value.” – Dave DuFour (42:30)

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Most Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “This is a trade you make when you have to – not want to.” – S. Behrhini on Boston’s position (06:32)
• “This is not a trade you make for basketball reasons.” – Dave DuFour (10:11)
• “It feels like the Celtics and Lakers are forever competing ... but this time it’s to see who can mess up their offseason the most.” – Fan comment read by Zena Keda (26:28)
• “Jaylen Brown was on Twitch the other day saying Embiid ruined the game of basketball because he’s a flopper and now they’re teammates. What a time.” – S. Behrhini (36:54)

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Timestamps for Segments

• Jaylen Brown Trade, First Reactions: 01:40–06:58
• Breakdown: Sixers’ vs. Celtics’ Angles: 06:32–14:53
• Market for Jaylen Brown, Other Suitors: 14:53–17:49
• Major Lakers Moves Analyzed: 19:15–27:19
• Lakers’ Depth, Defensive Issues, Cap Situation: 27:19–32:04
• Other Free Agent Moves: 32:04–36:41
• Sixers’ New Depth & Eastern Conference Outlook: 36:41–38:41
• Big Remaining Questions (LeBron, Nuggets): 38:50–43:45

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Original Tone

The discussion is candid, lively, and often incredulous, fully mirroring the shocking and chaotic nature of NBA free agency. The hosts mix analytic breakdowns with off-the-cuff banter, drawing in fan comments and trade rumors for a fully-rounded, entertaining, and informed reaction.

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Listeners walk away with:

• A detailed understanding of the Jaylen Brown/Paul George trade
• Analysis of the Lakers’ all-in strategy and potential pitfalls
• Quick hits on the rest of the NBA’s cascading moves
• Insight into what dominoes could fall next—especially LeBron James’ decision
• Clarity on why both Boston and LA have many questioning their front office direction

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For more coverage:
Stay tuned to The Athletic NBA Daily as free agency continues to surprise.

Transcript

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[Zena Keda]

Hello and welcome to an emergency episode of NBA Daily. I'm Zena Cana, joined by S. Behrhini and Dave DeFore. And y' all know we have to go live to understand what in the world just happened in the NBA atmosphere. Jaylen Brown is headed to the Sixers. And let's break us all down in terms of what the Celtics are going to be getting. What the Sixers are going to be. Yeah, make sense of this. We're kind of like David Aldridge who's right now on our live blog saying 30 minutes later, I'm still trying to make sense of this. We are all here to do this in community, so let's break it down. S first and foremost, lay out the trade. What is 70, what are the 76ers going to get? And what are the Celtics going to get?

[S. Behrhini]

Yeah, so the 76ers are getting Jalen Brown. As you guys all know, 2024 Finals MVP. All NBA player. Thank you very much. It is a nice shirt, Coco. Appreciate you. And the Philadelphia 76ers are. Or the Boston Celtics, excuse me, are going to be getting Paul George A first round pick in 2028, which could be a swap. It's the most favorable between the Clippers and the Sixers, which could be a pretty good pick. The first pick, first round pick in 2031, an unprotected first round pick, and two second round picks in 2028 and 2030. So to, to summarize that Paul George, two first round picks, two second round picks for Jalen Brown and one of

[Dave DeFore]

those first might be a swap depending on the protections and one of those

[S. Behrhini]

first might be swapped depending on the productions.

[Dave DeFore]

So this is like a dump. This is like a, a dump. I mean the Paul George contract is not good. Paul George, it was fine as a role player for them last year, but this is such a drop off in talent.

[S. Behrhini]

$110 million over the next two years, including a player option.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay, I would say this I want

[Zena Keda]

to back up and see real quick. I want to kind of set the stage of what the mindset might be in Philadelphia. Of course, over the last few years, especially since the arrival of Joel Embiid, it's been trust the process, trust the process. And it wasn't until really last year, or not last year, this past season that just ended, Paul George comes back after that suspension. And, and we're starting to see pieces put together for the 76ers. Tyrese Maxey's looking good. Vijay Ed's looking good. Kelly U. Is playing well. Paul George was playing really well. And of course Joel Embiid came back from injury and was playing well, pretty, you know, during the playoffs. And it felt as if, okay, maybe another year, maybe another two years, but now you get rid of your upcoming future in terms of these picks.

[S. Behrhini]

And I don't think it's that.

[Dave DeFore]

No, they, they made a good. This is a great trade for Philadelphia. You got off the Paul George money. The picks that you gave up. Listen, you're not worried about that anyway, like, I think Jalen Brown will be 35 and, and Embiid will be 37 and maybe not even on the team. Like, this is the team that's going to be able to compete in the east as long as Embiid, if he can be healthy, they're going to be very competitive in the East. They're really, really good.

[Angie Hicks]

I'm not saying.

[Zena Keda]

My question is.

[Dave DeFore]

And they signed Dean Wade. They're starting lineup really solid. Oh, I Mean, I think that the process ended a while ago. You know, like, I mean, remember, James Harden's been through there. You know, the Paul. They get Paul George. I think that we're well past the process years, and this is a team that, you know, look, they just made a front office change. I think Mike Gansey comes over from Cleveland. We're have to call him Magic Mike. This guy pulled off a heist on this. He pulled Jalen Brown out of his hat. And then again, like, I think the Dean Wade signing this team now is really set up to compete big time. They look really. Yes. Win now. I mean, you know, you got win now players as far as I'm concerned. Embiid has been a win now guy. And, you know, I think you've got to win now with him. You're not thinking about the future. You want to win this season. Right. Every year with him. And then I, I think Maxi is ready to go. You know, the funny thing is, like, you. You kind of luck into VJ Edgecombe last year, you know, in the draft, and now you've got, you know, he gets to. To play with these veterans that are ready to carry the load. And, you know, I, I think that this was a great move by Philadelphia.

[Zena Keda]

Absolutely.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. They've operated big time.

[Zena Keda]

The way I set that up was from the perspective of, in my opinion, reviving the process and, and doing it now and doing it in a way that it's like we're putting all of our chips in. Let's go. We woke up this morning and everyone was saying there's not a market for Jaylen Brown. And they found. They found this opportunity as from a Celtics perspective. Why would you pick up this contract? Why would you put yourself in this position? Especially where it felt like, when it feels like you were just there, maybe you needed another big. To add into the equation. Of course you need to move off of Jaylen Brown, but you just didn't feel that much off. Now where do you feel like the Celtics are?

[S. Behrhini]

I think this is an insane trade from the Boston Celtics. I think it's genuinely an insane trade. This means that the relationship between Jaylen Brown and the front office and ownership from the Celtics must have been so untenable.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah.

[S. Behrhini]

That they just. They had no way to bring him back into the fold at all. Because if this was the trade offer, if these were the offers that were floating around, then if I was the Celtics gm, I would just keep Jaylen Brown.

[Dave DeFore]

That's right.

[S. Behrhini]

Not make that trade. I. I will also say, from Boston's perspective. Paul George will be a good player for you. He's a role player at this point in his career. He's 36, 37 years old. He's getting paid $110 million over the next two years. So that contract like this is not a good contract in the NBA. It's, it's not one of those steel type contracts. You are actively swapping one contract that you didn't want to pay or a contract extension in Jaylen Brown versus another guy in Paul George that you are also going to have to deal with. I know the, the first round picks might be valuable.

[Dave DeFore]

Cool.

[S. Behrhini]

That makes sense. Maybe they can somehow structure that into trading for someone else down the road. But the Celtics, who for all intents and purposes was, were like the, the tent pole of the Eastern Conference, like one of the pillars of the Eastern Conference over the last, I don't know, seven, eight seasons. I don't think that exists anymore. I don't think that's the case for this Celtics team anymore. They, they are not contenders without Jalen Brown. And even with Paul George here, they're not as good as they were yesterday. The Sixers on the other side, they absolutely are better than they were yesterday. And it's purely an availability thing. Paul George has not been healthy. He's obviously older. Jalen Brown is kind of a like. What is it called? Iron man or whatever it is.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[S. Behrhini]

Like he's able to stay healthy. He's able to have good, healthy seasons for you and, and star usage. And so I, I don't necessarily understand this from the Celtics perspective at all. I, I think if you think about it like, they were almost going to trade for Giannis a week ago and then to go from, to go from. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna pay too much for Giannis and the kumpo. I, I'm okay to. I'm gonna trade my second star for Paul George and some picks. It just feels like such a deviation from what they are, which is what

[Zena Keda]

makes me wonder if there was such. Well, one, I agree with you in terms of the relationship must have been so bad that they didn't feel like it was redeemable. But also a value on picks. Right. And the value on the future for the Celtics and looking outward. But it feels so strange considering Jason Tatum is right there. Like, why would you not want to capitalize on that? So I'm seeing in our comments here, Johnson and Johnson wrote most disgusting trade in NBA history. Now, obviously, there is one that comes to Mind that might be a little bit worse, but.

[Dave DeFore]

Oh, this is more lopsided than that. I mean, outside of the fact that Luca is maybe what it's worth player

[Zena Keda]

for those that might not know what we're referring to. Luka Doncic to the Lakers.

[Schwab Announcer]

Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

For Anthony Davis and

[S. Behrhini]

Max first round pick Max Christie.

[Zena Keda]

Compare those two for me.

[S. Behrhini]

Oh, I mean, the Luca trade is more ridiculous. Let's be real.

[Dave DeFore]

It's ridiculous. But it's also, I think that, like that Dallas at least got a really good player who wound up not playing for them. But at the moment I think better player. This is pretty bad. And Luca is a better player than, Than Jalen Brown. But this is pretty absurd for. I mean, he was Finals MVP two years ago. He just had a really good. He was sixth in MVP voting. Yeah. And I have to wonder now, like, number one, how much was his market affected by the. All the twitch streaming that he's been doing, the analytics, maybe grievance airing? I don't think the analytics really had anything to do with it. But how much of this is just like teams were like, well, we don't want to deal with that and become. It became a distressed asset. Right. Like trading Jaylen Brown became difficult for the Celtics because nobody really wanted to give up anything. And so, you know, the s. The Sixers wind up capitalizing on bad PR and whatever else they're hearing. Right. I. I mean, for the Celtics to give him up like this, I'm assuming we're going to get some kind of a, an expose. Here's what went wrong with Jalen Brown and the Celtics, you know, probably by the weekend. Right. And I, I just. This is not a trade that you make for basketball reasons outside of it is affecting your locker room or whatever. Right. Like, this is a, this feels like a private equity trade is a joke I made earlier. Right. Like, this is just like we're, we're just going to be worse and we're going to take on worse money. And there's a lot of people right now that I've seen, you know, reacting to this. Brad Stevens must have another deal lined up. Must have.

[Schwab Announcer]

For who?

[ADT/Best Western Announcer]

For who?

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, what's the other deal? There's no one out there that we know of that they're going to go and get. And now if you're thinking maybe next summer and you've got that big Paul George expiring and maybe Jokic wants out, you can get in the mix for Jokic. I don't know. But this is a crazy trade. For the 26, 27 NBA season and the Celtics got a lot worse. A lot worse.

[Zena Keda]

I agree.

[S. Behrhini]

I'm also like spinning on the Sixer side of things. Like, I think it's, it's very clearly an upgrade. But at the same time, you know, we have Adrian Mass saying nobody realized, nobody paid attention to the Celtics Sixers playoff matchup where Paul George outplayed Jalen Brown. Yes, Paul George did outplay Jalen Brown for, for six games. Right.

[Zena Keda]

But not quite statistically though. I mean, Jaylen Brown did his thing, but yeah.

[S. Behrhini]

And look, look also Paul George. Paul George was great defensively in the playoffs for the Sixers. He was really, really good. He is very good for what he is to currently as a player. If you are going to ask him to assume Jaylen Brown's usage for the Celtics team throughout an 82 game season at this age, that's way different of a conversation. That's, that's not even comparable to what Jaylen Brown did for this Celtics team just last season.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[S. Behrhini]

Ended up being an MVP vote getter. Like that's, that's how talented and that's how good this guy is. And now you bring him into the fold with a young backcourt in Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecomb who I, I don't think the fit is perfect, but they clearly are. Are better than they were yesterday talent wise. They now have another guy next to Tyrese Maxey who can create on the perimeter. I, I like you guys. I don't. I mean, I will say, unlike you guys, I don't think the Sixers are contenders today. I think with the Embiid question, I just do not trust Embiid. Is their ability to get healthy 1000% all I would toss out. Yeah. Contender stuff because it's just like how do you, how do you even bank on that ever?

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[S. Behrhini]

And ye.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, we can say the same thing about Kawhi, right? Like, because Kawhi's traditionally not been healthy. But again, like we, if we're going into this season and we're saying Embiid was actually pretty healthy last year up until late in the season and then obviously he had the unlucky stuff. Yeah, right. It's some unlucky stuff. Okay. So I'm trying to look at it, you know, like with rose tinted glasses here because if he's healthy, that team is fantastic. And especially in the east, we, I mean we watched the way that they destroyed the Celtics when he was on the court and he looked pretty good. So I I think adding a piece like Jaylen Brown, that can carry the workload. I mean, Maxi's another guy that could use help like this. You know, Edgecombe, not quite the. The same sort of creator that Jaylen Brown is. I. I don't know. I think that this is. This moves the Sixers way closer to making a championship run or, or a finals run than they were before. Like with Paul George.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, that starting lineup is insane.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Also real quick, by the way, Jalen Brown played 71 games last year. Paul George has played 70 or more games one time since 2019. Yeah. So I mean, being able to play, like, availability, like, we're seeing more and more that that has real value. And I think Jalen Brown, just from that perspective, he raises that floor for the Sixers so much.

[Zena Keda]

I think we're all on the same page on that. Before we get off of this trade, I want to talk about the market. There's a few folks in our comments asking, like, why didn't Charlotte move for Jalen Brown? Why, you know, where else would you have seen Jalen Brown actually make. Make sense?

[Dave DeFore]

We had heard, you know, we had heard Portland was interested, and obviously they, they had some ways to get there. And then they make the John Morant trade, and it seems like that sort of just took the. Took the wind out of the sails of getting Jalen Brown. Milwaukee was interested for a minute there, but before they wind up taking the. The Miami package, the Charlotte question is kind of interesting because it does feel like Charlotte had set themselves up to be the team that was able to take on a disgruntled star. I just don't know if Jalen Brown, maybe he's just not the guy that they wanted, you know, you think Anthony Edwards might be a guy who's itching to get out in the next year or two, and maybe teams are starting to hold their powder drive for that. I mean, that's how the NBA works, right? We're already thinking about who's the next guy that's going to be available for trade. And Jalen Brown's 29 years old. He doesn't necessarily line up age wise with the Hornets. I think that's less important these days where I just think you need, you know, you need 10 good players and it doesn't really matter. Like, you need a bunch of young guys and you need some vet vets, too. But it does, it does kind of feel weird that we didn't hear about Houston making a play also, you know, they didn't really make a play kind

[S. Behrhini]

of hindsight is 2020 etc. Etc. But because these trades happened so recently, you know, 35 year old Kawhi Leonard just went more for it than a 29 year old jalen Brown. Like to to consider that like the Raptors spent more for Kawhi Leonard than the the Sixers just.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, who's going to make more money on their next extension though? S Because Jalen Brown. Yeah, I think that that is the biggest, one of the biggest things and that's a lot of these trades. The Lamello trade very much about not paying that. Oh yeah, it's better than Jalen Brown.

[S. Behrhini]

So like that that part of it exists. But it's just I guess it's interesting to look at what Jalen's value is around the league. It seems again, clearly he was not as valued in the around the NBA. I I think it's crazy. Also yeah, Donkey16 mentions this walker Kessler went for more than both.

[Zena Keda]

Well, we're gonna, we're gonna talk about that on the other side of the break. But just to close this out, the Sixers are now committed to paying $501,666,252 to the trio of Joelle Embiid, Jalen Brown and Tyrese Maxey over the next. Shout out to Adam Aronson on Blue sky for that math. All right, stick with us folks. There were some other trades. We got to break them down.

[Angie Hicks]

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[Ben Green]

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[Zena Keda]

Alrighty. So right before the break, s, you shouted this out. Walker Kessler to the Lakers. And the Lakers picked up a few more folks to be a part of their team. Sandra Mamu Kashvili. Yep, perfect for four years, 52 million. Colin Sexman, two years, 19 million. And Quinton Grimes, who is a person that was, you know, supposed to be a little bit of a score threat in, in Philly, but he signs for four years, $60 million. What are we thinking about what the Lakers just gave to Walker Kessler?

[S. Behrhini]

Man, I think this is. Wait, no, let me go in because

[Dave DeFore]

you go and I have a take. You go and I have a take.

[S. Behrhini]

This is the most egregious trade today. Even beyond the Jalen Brown trade. This is the most egregious trade today. I think Walker Kessler is a good player. I think he's a fine rim protector, a very talented rebounder, obviously a seven footer. Maybe even he's like seven or seven two. Very, very good connection with Luka Doncic. I can see all of those things. I understand the vision. But to give up two first round picks in 2031 and 2033, completely unprotected, two pick swaps, completely emptying your draft cupboard. They have no more picks to give. They are done. They are locked into a core of Luka Doncic, Austin Reeves and Walker Kessler. And they also signed Walker Kessler to a four year, $130 million deal, which gives them about 32 and a half million dollars. I think the contract, whatever the contract is mostly fine. It's basically what players are. 130 million for Walker Tesla, like that's what players at his tier make. Like Hartenstein made that much, you know, Jakob Hurdle they assumed was going to be that level of player. He's making that much. Hopefully he ends up getting healthy. Like that's the tier you're looking for, money wise. But the four first round picks in order to acquire him to me is just absurd. Especially when you know that you are locked into this team forever. I think it's a massive overpay. I, I don't know who the Lakers were bidding against.

[Dave DeFore]

Who were they bidding against? This is what I want to know.

[Zena Keda]

But it kind of feels like it's balancing out the universe. Right? They got Luca for almost nothing.

[S. Behrhini]

Sure, I guess, yeah, that makes sense.

[Dave DeFore]

So you got to overpay for the guy that you've got to because like you need a Guy like this with Luca, you need a guy, he's a good finisher around the basket. He's got soft touch, but he's going to be able to. To anchor their defense in a way that, that you just have to have with Austin Reeves and Luka Doncic out there. And, and frankly, like, if Mamu winds up starting for them at the four, even, even more important to have a guy like Walker Kessler out there.

[S. Behrhini]

The.

[Dave DeFore]

The money is a lot, and that's why I'm. I'm surprised. Like, I don't know if Utah wanted to pay this sort of money. So how did you wind up having to give up the two first and two swaps? That's.

[Zena Keda]

That.

[Dave DeFore]

That's what I can't figure out. But I did look at this deal and I, again, I'm going to spin it ahead a year, guys, and I'm thinking about, like, okay, with this kind of money, you can start putting this together with some of these deals that you've got on the books if Jokic is available, right?

[S. Behrhini]

Oh, okay. But what picks are you going to use to go?

[Dave DeFore]

That's the problem. Well, this is the problem, right? Like, by giving up so much, I don't know how you, you know, how do you rope Denver into a situation where they're giving up Jokic a year early or whatever? So, like, the money, to me, I, I would have actually maybe, you know, sign him to something even a little bit bigger to have him as that trade piece. But the. But to give up all those picks just feels pretty egregious. I. I do like the team. I think Quentin Grimes is the sneaky, great signing for them. His ability to play in transition, I think he's gonna eat pretty well.

[S. Behrhini]

Someone called them the Snowtime Lakers, which I think is hilarious.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, their starting lineup could very well be Austin Reeves, Luka Doncic, Jake Laravia, Mamu and Walker Kessler.

[S. Behrhini]

Listen, the Minneapolis Lakers are back.

[Zena Keda]

Oh, man.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, I mean, it's hard to think.

[Zena Keda]

Every guy in the photo is white.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, look, the Magic signed Vuch to. To a small contract. Maybe. Maybe the Lakers could some. I haven't looked at the Capitol. Maybe they could get Goga. You know, we have a whole orthodox thing happening there with the Lakers.

[Ben Green]

Nice.

[Dave DeFore]

You know, it'd be a good time, but they are going to be able to get out and run, which I think will be pretty interesting to watch.

[S. Behrhini]

I think they will be very poor defensively, and it's a lot of pressure on Walker Kessler to be everything for you defensively like, you think about, they and Claire De Lune had a really great tweet about this, but, like, they established an identity last year, which is like, hey, we're going to play zone defense. We have these athletes and like Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimora and obviously LeBron James, who can be, like, the linchpin, be these defensive playmakers. They decided that they're opting against that, like, we're not playing this style of defense anymore. It's going to be probably very heavy drop coverage with Walker Kessler being like, that rim protecting paint presence for them, which I think can be good. But you also have Luka Doncic and. And Austin Reeves as your backcourt. You also have Sandra Mamu Kailashvili, who, hey, I love Mamu, but not the greatest defender in the world. And you look around the roster and it's like, Quinton Grimes, a little bit small on the wings. Cameron Carr, who they drafted for a little bit small on the wings. Colin Sexton, even for his possession position, a little bit small at the guard spot. So they're small, and they're relying heavily on Walker Kessler to save everything for them. I just think it's a lot of pressure on that guy to be like Rudy Gobert, prime Rudy Gobert. And do I think he's that. I. I don't. I do not think that he is prime Rudy Gobert.

[Dave DeFore]

I. I don't think we saw enough.

[Zena Keda]

I mean, we were like, telekinetic. I was literally gonna ask, do we think we saw enough?

[Dave DeFore]

No, because he was injured. And then obviously the. The Jazz have been doing so much weird tanking stuff with him, which is part of the reason why he. He wanted out. Right. And so at least I would say this. I think that he's a. He's a competitive guy, which is good. You're gonna have to have that with how he's gonna have to play defense. So you're not gonna have motor issues with Walker Kessler. And again, his finishing around the basket. I mean, the guy is north of 70%.

[S. Behrhini]

He's awake.

[Dave DeFore]

He's very good as far as.

[S. Behrhini]

And Luca is going to give him so much easy, right?

[Dave DeFore]

He's gonna eat and he's gonna have a lot of EAs. He can work the dunker spot really well. I. I think that the fit is going to be pretty good. The biggest thing is what happens, you know, defensively around them. Like what? He's not going to be a guy you can switch with. And I don't think that come like, you Know, second round of the playoffs when you really need to be able to switch some. I don't think that that's going to be a good strategy for them, but they're going to be a good zone defensive team again with him clogging up the lane. And they, they showed a lot of that last year where they were pretty good there. So I, I don't know. I mean I do think that losing LeBron feels worse now to me because LeBron on this team, I, you know, his playmaking, it really and his would

[S. Behrhini]

have helped a lot. Hey, maybe defense.

[Dave DeFore]

I know, look, we're getting to IG posts. It's, that's, it's over. They've hard launched the breakup, you know, it's, it's done.

[Zena Keda]

I really love this comment. Brian King. 7757 Celtics and Lakers forever competing. But this time it's to see who can mess up their off season the most.

[Dave DeFore]

Listen, I like what the Lakers did better than I like what Boston did. I agree, I agree.

[S. Behrhini]

If I had to put like if I had to pick two losers of this offseason so far, I would probably pick the two most storied franchises.

[Angie Hicks]

Wow.

[S. Behrhini]

In the Boston Celtics. I'm sorry, it's like that's like asking 4 million people to come and hate on me. But I, I think the Celtics are completely, I mean this was a bad trade for them and I think the lakers, they spent $260 million in an hour, you know, between all of the guys that they spent. And I think I like the talent that they added but it's just so much risk. They have nothing else that they can trade. I mean, I was going to ask

[Zena Keda]

you what the crux of your, your beef with the Lakers decision was, but it does feel like it's just what they, they spent to get what they're getting.

[Dave DeFore]

And they like, they don't have no flexibility anymore.

[Zena Keda]

They have no right. And that was going to be the thing is like you talk about, you know, Walker Kessler can't do it all. And in my mind I'm like, maybe they can hobble together something. They can cobble something to get another big to come in. You know, you look at the 76ers, they just got Ariel Horti, like could they do something like that? But it's like, you're right. They just cleaned out the kitchen cupboard to get this one piece of talent. And they're like, I mean as you're our resident gm, what else do they have? What could they do to go Dave,

[S. Behrhini]

Dave is Our resident.

[Zena Keda]

Well, I just mean like you're always telling me about caps and.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, yeah, well, he's, you know, the Raptors GM for sure. I feel like he's got that salary sheet.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, my resident GMs, y' all know more than me about what's available in terms of cap space, in terms of, you know, picks, second round picks. What else do the Lakers have to work with right now?

[S. Behrhini]

Not much. Yeah, not much left. I mean, they did spend most of their money. It felt like they were like, hey, we got vacation to get to, so let's just wrap this up today. And like that's, that's kind of what they did. They've locked in their roster. I'm curious to see where Rui Hachimura goes. I think he's an important piece for them, but feels like Detroit or somewhere else might be the place.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, Detroit, with the John Collins move, I mean, it's. It maybe is like a one year deal, you know, with some guaranteed stuff on the second year. So I don't know if they have room. Our guy Tobias Harris signed with the spurs, so that's probably a team that would have been good. A good Rui spot. That's out of the mix now. Yeah, Rui is, is an interesting piece to me and I think that it's going to be worse for his career to leave playing with Luka Doncic. He's sort of a perfect. Yeah. I mean, again, this is the most efficient three point shooter in NBA playoffs history.

[S. Behrhini]

Hey, but you know what, like, if there was, if there was someone that could kind of replicate what Luca does, I would say Kate Cunningham is not bad. Like that's kind of the, the type of guy that could do similar things to Luka Doncic on the floor.

[Zena Keda]

You know what, that's a really good point. I just feel like we haven't seen it because he hasn't had a shooter like Rui beside him.

[Dave DeFore]

I wonder, you know, a lot of this I think is going to depend. Like we're still waiting to figure out where LeBron's gonna go. And like the news coming out saying he might take a minimum is super interesting because I don't know, what if he decides to go to Minnesota and he's there for that? They're missing, but I mean, I wonder if Minnesota could they possibly find a way to get Rui that's. I mean, again, like a four man that, that can finish.

[S. Behrhini]

He'd be great for them, right?

[Dave DeFore]

You got Rudy Gobert. I mean, I just think Rui is A good player that, that works in a lot of different places.

[S. Behrhini]

I will, I will also say from the, from the Lakers perspective, like, this is a team that won 53 games last year. They, they found an identity for themselves defensively. They still have Luka Doncic, who at worst is like the fourth or fifth best player in the NBA. Like, that is an incredible floor to work off of. And I think they, they, they added to that floor. But to what end? You know, if, if the point is winning a championship, if the point is competing, then are you closer to that goal than you were yesterday? Kind of removing LeBron James, adding Walker Kessler, adding all of these pieces. Are you closer to that, the state of the Western Conference? I'm not necessarily sure. I don't really know.

[Zena Keda]

It's still too tough in the west. And you'd have to make some monumental moves in order to catapult yourself within the atmosphere of the Spurs, OKC and Denver.

[Dave DeFore]

How often do we see teams sign a bunch of guys and then like the Lakers especially, they've done this, it feels like every year. And then at the deadline they completely rework the roster. I think that take. Taking away any of the tools that they would be able to use to do that. Yeah, right. All those first being being shipped out or, or accounted for, it really is going to make it hard to adjust on the fly, you know, because you just don't know even what the chemistry is going to be like with these guys. The defense may be completely unpassable for NBA standards and, and if that's the case, you're going to want to get off soon. And I think, you know, you've hamstring strung yourself for this trade deadline a little bit. Obviously teams in the NBA are very good at this and they probably have, you know, a plan B that involves something to get a couple of seconds to, to move off guys if they need to. But I, I don't, I don't love it either. I, I think it is, it's good that you've got some good young players on the roster, and I think that there's some guys that could pop for the Lakers, especially Quentin Grimes. But I, I'm. You're locked in and, and I don't know if that's necessarily good.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, guys, I'm gonna do a little rapid fire to kind of close this out. Things that have happened as of July 1. You mentioned John Collins going to the Pistons already. Dave and then Marcus Smart leaving the Lakers going to the Rockets.

[Dave DeFore]

This one's crazy to me. Like to lose. Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Two year, two two year thirteen million dollar deal.

[Dave DeFore]

Right. I mean like Colin Sexton's two years nineteen. Now I know the second year could be one of these fake, fake deals. I don't know because I haven't seen the specifics. But to lose Marcus Smart for that low of a dollar amount is pretty wild. And then Luke Canard like it feels like wouldn't, couldn't the Lakers have maybe brought both those guys back? I'm not sure it hurts them quite a bit. I think the Marcus Smart one especially. But that being said, great signing for Houston. I mean they needed a guy like Marcus Smart and so I, I will say this. What Houston's done really makes me wonder what's going on with Reed shepherd and if, if his opportunities are, are kind of drying up because I don't know is he may going to play him over Marcus Smart? Definitely not. I don't, I don't see that happening at all.

[S. Behrhini]

That's also Ima's guy like they right go right to Celtics days and I, I think that makes sense for them. Yeah, I agree with you guys. You know in terms of Luke Canard and Marcus Smart for the Lakers again it's kind of a change in philosophy for how the Lakers want to play. Like I think they're going to be a very team. They're going to be able to run and play fast and Mamu's going to be able to be awesome for them at that four spot for the Rockets. I, I, they just need more guards. Marcus Smart as a guard. Marcus Smart is a guard that can guard and that's, that's basically the gist of that.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

There is the other side of basketball for the Lakers that they're gonna have to think about. Let's keep going. The Bulls get Norman Powell. This one surprised me mainly just because I thought pal wanted to be with a contender but he gets a two year 45 million dollar deal. They've got veteran score guy that can get in, do the job great. But there's not much else there. Vucevich going to the Magic, right. That one year three nine deal he was done. He was done. His with his experiences with these teams. But going to the Magic, I mean that is a low number for Bootsovich but he goes there. Mike Conley heads to Boston. Yeah, Boston. Why not as well as sure. Mitchell Robinson heading.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, I hate that signing actually.

[S. Behrhini]

You hate Mitchell Robinson.

[Dave DeFore]

I, I hate the signing. I don't hate Mitchell Robinson but I just don't. It feels like a lot of Money for a guy that can't play more than 22, 23 minutes a night and can't hit the rim on.

[S. Behrhini]

But is, isn't that what they need with Keda and Garza there already?

[Dave DeFore]

Maybe.

[Schwab Announcer]

Maybe.

[Dave DeFore]

I just.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, I feel like they got a.

[Dave DeFore]

That's a, that's a great point. Cena. You kind of got a double of Keda and I think Kate is so cheap. I don't know. I mean, maybe you give it a shot, you see how it goes and maybe you can move them, but I feel like it was a lot of money for, for Mitch Robinson.

[S. Behrhini]

You know, it's funny, the, the Celtics, they trade for Paul George, they have Keda, now they have Mike Conley. What a weird roster.

[Dave DeFore]

Like, that's, that's why everyone is. That's why we're seeing a lot of people saying Brad Stevens isn't done. Brad Stevens isn't done. I hope not.

[S. Behrhini]

Well, I'll say this would do what, you know, okay.

[Dave DeFore]

At least they held on to Hugo Gonzalez. Yeah.

[S. Behrhini]

Yeah, that's true.

[Zena Keda]

So I, I did think that D. Anthony Melton might be someone that ends up in Philadelphia or Detroit or Houston. Any of these teams that, you know, need some guards, need some outside play. He ends up signing back with the warriors. Two years million. I thought that was a pretty low number for the way that, you know, Melton had provided for what Melton had provided for the warriors, but he resigns with them. They keep some youth. In the midst of this conversation about whatever is happening at the warriors, we're still trying to figure that out. And then closing this back out with the Sixers losing Kelly Oubre, who goes to Indiana, gets a two year deal, about 17 million.

[S. Behrhini]

I actually really like this for them.

[Zena Keda]

Like it for the Pacers?

[S. Behrhini]

For the Pacers, absolutely. I think like another wing that can play fast, hopefully. I'm really excited to watch Tyrese Halliburton have like a redemption tour. Hopefully he is healthy next season, but he's uber. Is another guy who's going to be able to play really fast for them, push the pace. He can put up numbers for you.

[Dave DeFore]

He was really good for the Sixers, like very important. Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Who also is really good for the Sixers? Tobias Harris. You know, obviously we talked about him going to the Spurs. You get Jalen Brown, obviously you get. And you have the starting five. What's their depth looking like for you guys?

[S. Behrhini]

It's a great question. It's a phenomenal question. They added Ariel Huckporty as well. I think they Have a lot more guard depth now. Like, you can scale up or down with Jalen Brown being your two or your three, and sometimes even your four. The big question for them always is, like, do they have enough depth behind Joel Embiid? Like, can they just figure out the days when he is not playing? Because, you know, the, the. The Sixers record when Embiid was playing last year versus when he wasn't is. Is night and day. I do think they have a little bit more of a foundation to work off of now with Jaylen Brown. Like, when Embiid is not playing, Jaylen Brown can be your number one guy. He can play incredibly well. It's so funny, dude. Jaylen Brown was on Twitch the other day saying, Embiid is ruined the game of basketball because he's a flopper. And now they're teammates. What a time. But I, I think it will be fire. I think it'll be a lot of fun to watch those three play together in Edgecomb and Maxi and Brown. It just like, what is. Is that a top four team in the Eastern Conference to you guys?

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, I think so. If. If it needs healthy, right? Like, we gotta do that, that whole jump rope game with Embiid. But I, I think that they're. They're better than they were. It's a huge upgrade over Paul George, just because of the fact that Jalen Brown is way more available and just more reliable. I think right now at this stage of his career, especially on the offensive end, he can carry. He can have a 30 usage, and it's no big deal.

[S. Behrhini]

They should have just sat down with Jalen Brown, been like, hey, man, I'm sorry, we apologize. Giannis is a good player. Don't you agree? You don't agree.

[Dave DeFore]

The crazy thing is crazy that we

[Zena Keda]

went to the market, we went into

[Dave DeFore]

this thinking Jaylen Brown is at the peak of his value, maybe because of the season that he just had and clearly was not.

[S. Behrhini]

This doesn't make sense.

[Dave DeFore]

It doesn't. It doesn't make sense. And all I can think is there's stuff we don't know, which happens sometimes. I mean, it happens a lot, right?

[Zena Keda]

Okay, y', all, we got to close this out. We got to just go live, make sure we could get our feelings out on this Jalen Brown, Paul George, Celtics, Sixers situation. But free agency isn't done. There's still some pieces out there. What's your biggest, the biggest thing you still have on your mind? Obviously, LeBron's a big one, but, yeah, what's the only one.

[Dave DeFore]

It's LeBron. It's only one. That's it. That's the last piece. I mean, and, and it's funny because so the east and we've been talking about this. The east has been seeing this influx of talent and I think like the reshuffling of the decks. And what if LeBron does wind up on one of these Eastern Conference teams? I think that it. You're adding an All Star to a team that like, like Cleveland, that's. They need, like LeBron can really carry them at times in the playoffs. Would you rather have LeBron doing stuff for James Harden? I think I'd rather have LeBron even at this stage of his career. I mean, if he goes to Miami, I think he helps him. It's. That's a weird fit, but he helps him. I mean, what if Boston. What if their, their bird in the hand is that they. LeBron is going to come there and then all of a sudden, maybe people don't feel as bad about the Jalen Brown trade, which they absolutely should. I don't know yet. Right. Like, I do think that he can be this, this interesting swing piece. And it's fascinating to me because he's so old, but he's still so good. I. I keep thinking, wow, he'd be great in Minnesota.

[S. Behrhini]

Could we get him awesome in Minnesota?

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, yeah.

[S. Behrhini]

No shot. He goes there, though.

[Dave DeFore]

No way.

[S. Behrhini]

Yeah, there's no way.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, Denver would be very cool if you could go to Denver.

[Zena Keda]

So.

[Dave DeFore]

And I think it is pretty wide open. Like if we're, if we're believing the reporting, it feels as if it is a wide open. It's almost two.

[S. Behrhini]

He'll go anywhere he can win. So then just sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs. Just.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, the spurs apparently don't want to. Don't want to do that. I don't think the Thunder would want to do that. But like, I think about the Washington Wizards, you got Anthony Davis there. You got AJ Devonsa.

[S. Behrhini]

How about the Knicks?

[Dave DeFore]

How about the Knicks? Right? I mean, he would help the Knicks. I think this is the number. And I've been. I feel like I've been talking about LeBron all week, but it is fascinating that he's leaving the Lakers. I think the Lakers are making a mistake letting him walk.

[Zena Keda]

Has there been any reporting on Jalen Duran?

[S. Behrhini]

So the, the reporting. The last reporting that we got was that one. The Lakers were interested, and I don't think they're interested anymore.

[Dave DeFore]

They have. Well, Detroit, Detroit wasn't going to do a sign and trade, period. And they were going to match any offer.

[S. Behrhini]

And the Pistons, they have. I saw this tweet earlier, but they have $38 million in cap space now. So that's basically the most that they can give Jalen Dern if they decide to. They can obviously go beyond that, you know, spend more than that. But I think that's probably around the range that they feel comfortable maybe in paying him. I'm curious to see what happens with the Sacramento Kings in Jalen Duran. That seems like an intriguing. Maybe the Boston Celts like this Jalen Duran. The report was that he wants to play for the Boston Celtics. So what if there's something else? What if Paul George gets rerouted? What if this is what Jalen Dern is? What if this is what Brad Stevens is? Genius mind is cooking up. Anyways, the other thing I wanted to mention, the one other thing that I'm looking for. Been a pretty quiet offseason for the Denver Nuggets. They haven't done anything yet. And I think given where they are, they've had to. They need to do something structurally big.

[Schwab Announcer]

Right.

[S. Behrhini]

What is that thing?

[Dave DeFore]

You know, Christian Brown's got to probably get dumped. I think Cam Johnson's another guy that.

[S. Behrhini]

Are they going to trade Jamal Murray? Are they going to trade Aaron Gordon?

[Dave DeFore]

I think that the, the best opportunity they had for a Murray trade felt to me like the Jalen Brown swap. Because from a talent perspective, you don't have this huge drop off. I don't think you can, like, Denver can't afford to move Jamal Murray for a guy who isn't somewhere close to all NBA. You can't just do this thing where, oh, we're gonna get a couple picks and see young players. I, I don't think you can do that because you bet.

[Zena Keda]

Did they know that Jalen Brown was available? I don't know.

[Dave DeFore]

I. I mean, I do. I think that some of the reporting around a possible Jamal Murray for Jalen Brown swap that. That tracks. I just don't think that they were willing to give up. I mean, remember Boston was asking for four first round picks like three days ago. This is not. This is not. I mean, this has been a, a decline. Like going down at the top of a roller coaster.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

As far as Jalen Brown's value. So I, I just think a lot of this stuff kind of came pretty fast and it seemed like Denver wasn't interested. But I, I agree. I think that we should start hearing them doing something.

[S. Behrhini]

Santi Aldama also got traded, by the way, just to throw.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. To the Dallas Mavericks. I mean the Grizzlies, they kind of have a lot of fours right now.

[S. Behrhini]

So many fours.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, they added Jeremy Grant, you know, so I think it was time.

[S. Behrhini]

Yeah, I agree.

[Zena Keda]

All right.

[S. Behrhini]

He'll be good for the Mavericks.

[Dave DeFore]

He's a good player.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, that's gonna do it for our emergency episode. Appreciate you guys tuning in. Everyone in the comments tuning in as well. Keep it locked on the Athletic. We obviously have our live blog. We've got stories up, people breaking this down, giving opinions, giving the details. 4s bear, Henny and Dave to 4. I'm Zena Keda. Appreciate you all. Enjoy the rest of your day, enjoy your free agency and yes, we will be back very soon.

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