Kevin Durant Trades + Knicks Coaching Madness | Morning Shoot Around

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily: Kevin Durant Trades + Knicks Coaching Madness | Morning Shoot Around

Release Date: June 12, 2025

Hosted by Dave DuFour, Zena Keita, and Esfandiar Baraheni, The Athletic NBA Daily delivers a comprehensive and engaging recap of the most pivotal moments in professional basketball. In this episode titled "Kevin Durant Trades + Knicks Coaching Madness | Morning Shoot Around," the hosts delve deep into the latest NBA developments, focusing on the Oklahoma City Thunder's performance, the New York Knicks' tumultuous coaching search, and the swirling rumors surrounding Kevin Durant's potential trade.

---

1. Oklahoma City Thunder's Recent Performance and T.J. McConnell's Impact

The episode kicks off with an in-depth analysis of the Oklahoma City Thunder's recent games. Andrew spearheads the discussion, highlighting the team's shooting percentages and overall performance metrics.

• Shooting Statistics:
  • "The Thunder shot 25% in the mid-range yesterday brutal 3 of 3 of 12 in the paint non-restricted area." — Andrew [02:11]
  • "They shot 58.8% in the mid-range." — Andrew [03:04]

The conversation shifts to standout player T.J. McConnell, whose versatile performance has garnered attention.

• T.J. McConnell's Versatility:
  • "He's one of 15 players to have 10 points, five assists, and five steals. He's on a list with Michael Jordan." — Cam Jordan [03:39]
  • "T.J. McConnell is the Michael Jordan of Matthew Dellavedova." — Zena [03:51]

The hosts marvel at McConnell's capabilities, comparing his impact to legends, and discuss his potential to elevate any team he joins.

2. New York Knicks' Coaching Carousel

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the Knicks' ongoing search for a new head coach following Tom Thibodeau's abrupt exit. The hosts express skepticism over the Knicks' current strategy in securing a suitable replacement.

• Challenges in Hiring:
  • "The Knicks have just been knocking on another door... It's almost like they're selling something." — Andrew [10:43]
  • "If an organization was willing to allow you to interview their coach, there would be a reason for that." — Zena [11:42]

The discussion highlights potential candidates such as Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins, debating their fit and the implications of hiring seasoned coaches versus emerging talents.

• Candidate Analysis:
  • "Mike Brown makes more sense than Taylor Jenkins for the Knicks for sure." — Cam Jordan [15:34]
  • "Tom Thibodeau is one of the greatest defensive coaches of this generation." — Cam Jordan [16:19]

The hosts critique the Knicks' approach, suggesting that the organization may be acting hastily without a concrete plan, drawing comparisons to other teams like Memphis and Denver.

3. Kevin Durant Trade Speculations

Transitioning to one of the episode's major topics, the hosts engage in lively speculation about Kevin Durant's potential trade destinations. The conversation is filled with humor and camaraderie as they propose various fictional trade scenarios.

• Potential Destinations:
  • "It's been narrowed down to five, correct?" — Zena [32:36]
  • "Miami. Miami. Miami." — Cam Jordan [33:09]

The hosts debate the feasibility and strategic sense of Durant moving to teams like the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, and Minnesota Timberwolves, considering the fit with existing rosters and team needs.

• Trade Dynamics:
  • "The Spurs could do this and also Trey Free, like they have enough to be able to do both." — Paige [37:34]
  • "Durant getting traded to the Wolves makes a lot of sense considering the relationship and the fit KD next to Gobert." — Cam Jordan [39:51]

The segment underscores the complexities of NBA trades, balancing star talent distribution with team chemistry and long-term strategies.

4. Predictions and Closing Remarks

As the episode draws to a close, the hosts share their predictions for upcoming games and reflect on the day's discussions.

• Game Predictions:
  • "The Thunder always bounced back after a loss. My expectations are that they'll bounce back after the loss." — Andrew [42:26]
  • "Close win. Okay. All right. Thanks so much for listening to the morning shoot around." — Andrew [42:45]

They encourage listeners to stay tuned for future episodes, promising more insights and lively debates on NBA happenings.

---

Notable Quotes:

• "T.J. McConnell is the Michael Jordan of Matthew Dellavedova." — Zena [03:51]
• "Mike Brown makes more sense than Taylor Jenkins for the Knicks for sure." — Cam Jordan [15:34]
• "Money is just this... It is never enough." — Andrew [24:18]

---

Conclusion

In this episode of The Athletic NBA Daily, listeners are treated to a thorough exploration of the Oklahoma City Thunder's performance nuances, the New York Knicks' fraught coaching search, and the swirling possibilities surrounding Kevin Durant's future. The hosts' insightful analysis, coupled with their engaging banter and strategic breakdowns, provides a rich listening experience for NBA enthusiasts seeking to stay informed and entertained.

Transcript

[Jessica Hawke]

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[Cam Jordan]

We're really focused on the X's and Nos. It's fun because it's a strategy game.

[Paige]

As well, and I think that transitions.

[Cam Jordan]

Well into the business world.

[Unknown]

There's so much data underlying every single thing that you're doing in your business and having a way to unify all that data. This is like electricity. This is a major platform shift and I think we're all learning together.

[Jessica Hawke]

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[Andrew]

Welcome to the morning shoot around here on the athletic NBA Daily's YouTube stream. We're also you can also listen on Apple, Spotify, wherever else you want to listen, but we would love for you to join us live each and every week. This day it's on Thursday. We were we thought about doing it yesterday but we needed some fresh content. You know I think I made a bad decision. I think I would have much rather done the podcast yesterday. Thinking about it now. Oh I was just listing out some stats for you guys. Some left, some leftovers, some okc. Just want to feel worse about your day. If you like the Thunder, here's some stats for you. The thundershot 25% in the mid range yesterday brutal 3 of 3 of 12 in the paint non restricted area. You Guys want to guess what their percentage was in the paint, non restricted area against the pace?

[Zena]

40. 40.

[Andrew]

Okay. 40.

[Paige]

Yeah. I'd say like 60.

[Andrew]

Okay. Yeah. Non restricted.

[Paige]

Yeah. No, actually like. Yeah, I go with the 30 restricted area. Like 70.

[Andrew]

Yeah, Dave. 30. 33.3%.

[Paige]

Yep.

[Andrew]

And the. The Pacers in the mid range. We just said 25% for the Thunder. They shot 58.8% in the mid range.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

In the paint, non restricted area for the Pacers, 61%. And then in the restricted area. You're right, Zena.

[Cam Jordan]

Welcome to the Oklahoma City Thunder coping session.

[Andrew]

Listen, this is what we do. We. We cope. We try to figure out what to do and we don't. Here's number one thing we don't do. Throw the ball. T.J. mcConnell. That's what we don't do.

[Cam Jordan]

Amazing. Wow.

[Andrew]

Three times. Three times.

[Zena]

Hey.

[Cam Jordan]

He's one of. One of what, 15 players to have 10 points, five assists and five steals. He's on a list with Michael Jordan.

[Andrew]

Seems right.

[Zena]

I saw a tweet that was that said T.J. mcConnell is the Michael Jordan of Matthew Della Vadovas.

[Andrew]

I like that a lot.

[Paige]

Interesting.

[Zena]

I think that's perfect. I'm sorry, I don't know who tweeted that.

[Cam Jordan]

Listen, if we took TJ McConnell and dropped him off in the 60s, Bob.

[Zena]

Koozie wouldn't stand a chance.

[Cam Jordan]

No, he would have. He would have been the best player in the league by far, man. Amazing.

[Andrew]

I don't know. He. He is also the Michael Jordan of JJ Bareas too. It feels like. Yeah.

[Paige]

Oh, that's. I like that one.

[Cam Jordan]

Berea here. Right.

[Paige]

I think the high comparison talking about is there.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

Carlisle is willing to do things.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Just like what?

[Cam Jordan]

Got another guy.

[Andrew]

I know.

[Cam Jordan]

Do you.

[Zena]

Andrew, I was kind of asking you this beforehand, but do you feel like any less confident of a Thunder win here?

[Andrew]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I am. I'm a changed man. You know, I've been beaten down.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah.

[Zena]

The Pacers have a tendency to do that to people.

[Andrew]

Yeah. I still think the Thunder should win the series. They should definitely win the series. But they should, like I said earlier, they should also not throw the ball to the Michael Jordan of Della Dovas. So there are things that should and shouldn't happen if you just look at things on paper. But this is why you play the game, man. That's why you play the game.

[Cam Jordan]

It's. Do you think it's going to go seven?

[Andrew]

I. I don't know if my. If my. I don't mentally I don't know if I can handle Game seven, but I kind of do think it's going to go seven.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Like, I don't. I think the Thunder will win. I think the Thunder will win this next game. I think it'll play out a lot like the Denver series, where I think the Thunder will win the next two games. I think this. The Pacers will win Game six, and we'll go back to OKC for Game seven in a. Who knows what's going to happen?

[Zena]

Last time we got a game seven in the finals was 2016, so. It's been a while.

[Andrew]

Listen, that's just. I don't want to talk about 2016. I don't like that year. That year is. It's a terrible year. It's a terrible year overall. Good thing the Thunder don't have any free agents. Okay.

[Paige]

Sorry.

[Andrew]

That was. That was kind of. Kind of a mean laugh. Xena and I will listen. It's kind of a mean laugh. I. I could walk you through what my July 4th was like, if you'd like, but, you know.

[Cam Jordan]

Oh, my God.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Paige]

Oh, tough, tough.

[Cam Jordan]

And.

[Zena]

And it's funny because Xena probably.

[Andrew]

Sorry, she's on the other side.

[Zena]

In that moment, she was very happy.

[Paige]

Well. Well, no, no, no. I was. I was still with the Heat in Miami, you know.

[Zena]

Right, right.

[Paige]

We were still licking our chops from the decision, so. Or not. Licking our chops. Licking our wounds. Excuse me.

[Andrew]

Right. Yeah.

[Paige]

But. So wasn't there yet?

[Andrew]

You were a Heat fan growing up? You were a Heat fan?

[Paige]

I wasn't growing up a Heat fan. I just lived in Miami, and so I was always at the Heat games.

[Zena]

So you were a Heat fan?

[Paige]

We could have an entire podcast on me. And. Because I. I didn't grow up a fan of things like, in our family, we just didn't. Sports wasn't really a thing. It wasn't until I started playing sports that we were like, oh, there's this thing called basketball that we should pay attention to. Or, you know, we watch soccer. We watched tennis. I was. For me, I was a fan of Serena and Venus Williams growing up. I was a fan of Andre Agassi. Like, that was like. And then Paris Saint Germain. Like, there was not. Basketball wasn't really a thing for me and my household.

[Zena]

P.S. i'm so sorry. Oh, God.

[Paige]

Yeah. Well, I mean, I'm literally from Paris.

[Zena]

I know, I know, I know. I had to do the little.

[Paige]

It was forced upon me. It was forced upon me, even though. Which is hilarious. I have now Been in two cities with purple as their main colors. Now that I'm with the. Don't say Valkers. Anyways, long story short, I have always just been a. That's why we were talking last night as to why I'm so. I feel shifty. I feel real shifty between the Pacers and the. And the Thunder is because I've always just loved the underdogs. Like, you throw any game on its TV for me and I don't know who's up. I don't know who's supposed to be better. I don't know who is expected to win this game. I'm gonna go. Who looks like people are cheering against them? Like, who isn't? You know, who's not being.

[Cam Jordan]

So if you flip on Star wars, the go Empire. Yeah, like Star Wars.

[Paige]

I mean, again, yeah. Sports events. Sports events. But yeah, yeah. I just. I always find myself kind of like, oh, I want. And that's why even watching the game last night, when you guys were saying, like, did you feel yourself rooting for the Pacers? I'm like, I kind of was like, I kind of felt like people aren't expecting this for them. And so it was kind of like, go, go, go.

[Zena]

Yeah, yeah, it's the underdog, but like, you just, you feel they also, they.

[Cam Jordan]

Also play a little bit of a chaotic style. Right. Like, it's a. Whereas Shay is just. He's a hot knife through butter, right? He can just get to the basket just non stop. The. The Pacers, sometimes it just feels like, oh, my God, I can't. How do they get a shot out of this? Because they're moving so fast. And I think that lends itself a little bit that excitement, like the way that they play pulls. Pulls you in quite a bit. It's why this, you know, and we watched this both of these teams all year. It's why all the hand wringing over. There are no stars in this series. The. The teams are the throw up. It's fun, right? The way they play.

[Zena]

So, yeah, yeah, it's. It's silly. The whole star conversation, TV rating conversation. This is.

[Cam Jordan]

They're all famous. They're all famous.

[Zena]

Yeah. And by the way, these type of moments make them more famous.

[Cam Jordan]

Right?

[Zena]

Can you imagine, right.

[Cam Jordan]

How DJ McConnell right now, come on. Yeah.

[Zena]

You know how they do the.

[Cam Jordan]

Can he walk around Oklahoma City now? I know that he could for the first two games, but I bet he can't in the middle of the game.

[Zena]

They'll do the like, Google trend ESPN thing. I guarantee you. TJ McConnell was skyrocketing.

[Cam Jordan]

Those are fake, right? Oh, yeah, those are fake. No one's. No one's.

[Paige]

I actually genuinely don't know.

[Cam Jordan]

Nobody's hopping on Google.

[Paige]

I've always been very curious.

[Cam Jordan]

Who's T.J. mcConnell? No, they're not doing that. Come on. It's just not real.

[Paige]

They might be asking who his sister is. They might be asking who. Megan.

[Cam Jordan]

I mean, I.

[Zena]

Okay, I did a little segment on that.

[Paige]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you guys are funny.

[Cam Jordan]

The Knicks are on Google.

[Andrew]

We should talk about the Knicks and. And what's going on.

[Paige]

Okay.

[Andrew]

With. With the. With the Knicks. Because it is. Hilarious is one word I would use every alert that I get. It's like, here's another door that they've knocked on and have been. It's. It's almost. It's almost like they're going door to door, you know, like selling something they.

[Cam Jordan]

Don'T have Tinder for coaches. So, yeah, they're calling up.

[Zena]

That's an idea, though. That's an idea.

[Andrew]

You know, but yeah. So then. So the Knicks have just been. They. I think they thought, listen, we're going to pay these guys more than they're getting paid now, and we're just going to be able to call them up and say, hey, we will give you 5, 10, 15 million, 20 million more than what you're making now, and you come coach the Knicks. And it turns out maybe they didn't know that you had to get permission to talk to coaches. And pretty much every organization's like, no.

[Zena]

Okay. So see, my thing is, like, if an organization was willing to allow you to interview their coach, there would be a reason for that.

[Cam Jordan]

Right.

[Zena]

If they like their coach, if they're happy with their coach, they're probably not going to let you interview them. So what is the point of reaching out? If the coach that you're reaching out for accepts, and if the team accepts, then there's something wrong there. You know what I mean? Something like if. If. I don't know.

[Paige]

I feel like. But there's. There's some coaches that you allow them to have that conversation.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah.

[Paige]

Because you don't want to hold them back. Like, you. There's respect and there's mutual respect there. Like, okay, I mean, I look at Kenny Atkinson. Like, people didn't want to let go of Kenny Atkinson at the Warriors.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Paige]

But they knew that he wanted to grow, etc, and he had an opportunity. So, like, they allowed him to have that conversation. But I think one. First, I think it's worth listing out all the coaches. Like, there's been Chicago with Billy Donovan. There's been Houston, Rockets, Ema. They obviously love their coach. I mean, I don't know about Chicago, but Houston definitely loves ime, Minnesota, Chris Finch, Atlanta, Quinn Snyder, and now Dallas Jason Kidd. I think any of those coaches, like, have enough rapport with their organizations to be like, you know what? Go check. And we would assume that we have enough of a good relationship that you're not going to find better on the other side. Like, you're not going to find a better situation. And if they try to offer you more money, we'll probably come back with more money because we really like you. But I don't know if, I don't know if organizations would like, keep their coaches. If anything, it would kind of be like, yeah, see if you want that. See if you want to be with.

[Zena]

But to me, if it's like an assistant like Kenny Atkinson was and a head coach like the guys that we're mentioning right now, like, I think it's a little bit different if they, yeah, you know, name. Name a possible assistant, like if Sam Cassell was someone they wanted to talk to. Yeah, okay, I understand. I'm going for that. But with head coaches, it feels a little bit different in the sense that they probably already have guaranteed money from the team that they are signed on to. And on top of that, if you are reaching out to a team that wants to get rid of their head coach, then it, I don't know, it feels kind of counterintuitive to reach out to someone that wants to get. That's about to get let go or is willing to get let go to go to another team. You know what I mean? That's. That's the only thing that jumps out.

[Paige]

Yeah, I, I get you.

[Cam Jordan]

I mean, I, I agree with that. It's different from a head coach professionally, right. To, to say, hey, look, the Knicks have called to ask if you'd be interested. Would you be interested? I think that that's probably how some of this has gone. Yeah. The funnier thing is just that all of this gets leaked. Like, we're at the point where everyone is conspiring to make the Knicks look bad or, or is the Knicks front office leaking stuff. Leaking stuff to make somebody.

[Zena]

Well, well, have you heard the Knicks never leak? Because Knicks fans have been very quick to remind me of that over the last couple days. The Knicks never leak. There's no leaks ever in the Knicks organization. Leon Rose doesn't even speak to the Media. How dare you. You know, that's, that's something that I've heard a lot of over the last couple days. I, I, my, my question about this whole coaching hire thing. And by the way, today, Sam Amick, our guy, he reported that Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins are kind of at the forefront of their mind. So now they're going to former coaches instead of current coaches.

[Andrew]

Available coaches.

[Zena]

Available coaches instead of not available coaches. I like those guys. For them, I think both kind of make sense. I think Mike Brown makes more sense than Taylor Jenkins, to me at least, because he's ran an offense against the Kings. I think he's good at like elevating offensive teams. Now you could probably get into the assistance that helped him do that too. But I don't know. I think Mike Brown kind of makes.

[Cam Jordan]

Sense if that's, I think Mike Brown makes more sense than, than Taylor Jenkins for the Knicks for sure. But I don't, I don't think if the Knicks know that their option is Mike Brown if they fire Tom Thibodeau.

[Zena]

Right.

[Cam Jordan]

I mean, you're, because your floor, I think your floor probably drops a little bit. You know, like you said, he can coach an offense and we know that, you know, what he did in Sacramento was pretty impressive, but I just don't know if he can coach up this defense. And yeah, he has been a defensive coach. Like, I mean, yeah, Cleveland, Right. Did a pretty good job when he was running the warriors defense, but he didn't have the personnel. And Tom Thibodeau is one of the greatest defensive coaches of this generation.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

And you know, he didn't have the personnel, but it's a little bit different thing. I don't know. The Knicks have really botched this. I, I can't imagine that they, I guess they thought people would be lining up. But why would you, if you're, if you're a coach, why would you sign up for something like this? Tom Thibodeau just gave him the best five year stretch they've had this century. Yeah, they, they improved over last year. In, in. And they had a trade 12 hours before the season started. A major trade that completely and fundamentally changed their team.

[Zena]

Yep.

[Cam Jordan]

So I, I just don't know, like, why would you sign up for that if you already had another job? I mean, maybe you cannot play Devil's coach who likes to get paid to not work, but I, I mean, there's you, you would have getting gotten a job in Phoenix.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

That's what you wanted to do.

[Zena]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. You get paid in Phoenix.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah.

[Zena]

Okay. I'll play devil's advocate here for just for a second. Right. The way this has gone out in the media has made it sound and look really ridiculous because it feels like the Knicks didn't have any sort of plan after firing Tom Thibodeau. But do teams usually have, like, a plan after firing a coach as abruptly as they did? You know, like, it felt like such a. Irrational might not be the word for it, but haste, you know, like, very, very quick.

[Cam Jordan]

I think it's sometimes. But is there a place sometimes not. I mean, if you look at. Look at Memphis and what they did, they clearly had a plan. You look at Denver and what they did, they didn't. I, I don't think anyone in Denver assumed that David Adelman was going to wind up winning that job.

[Zena]

Yeah, fair enough.

[Cam Jordan]

But they gave him a chance, which I. I think is better than most teams. You know, I. We're in a brave new world in a lot of ways. With the way that NBA front offices are handling coaching, I think we're getting more and more like European soccer, to be honest with you, man.

[Zena]

The updates we get. Oh, my God.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah. Well, that's. That's the news cycle. But, you know, I, I think that there's less news than. Than cycle. And. But just with the way that things are being handled, just the fact that Memphis brought over the replacement for. For their active head coach before the season and essentially realigned under the assistant. When you look at the offense and the changes that they made, that's weird, right? Compared to how things have been in the NBA. But, you know, but I mean, then just last year, Doc Rivers came back and took a, you know, took a job essentially from, From a younger coach. So I don't know. I mean, that happened.

[Zena]

That was.

[Cam Jordan]

I know. And it was just last year, so there's just. I don't know. I think we're getting to a point where the, the ownership is different.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

And that is changing the way that they're handling these situations. But it's odd that we haven't seen this trickle into the front office yet. We haven't seen. I, I haven't seen anything that's kind of different. I mean, most of these front office changes that we've seen, it's, you know, it's been a little ways coming.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Jessica Hawke]

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[Cam Jordan]

A football player, we're really focused on the X's and Nos. It's fun because it's a strategy game.

[Paige]

As well, and I think that transitions.

[Cam Jordan]

Well into the business world.

[Unknown]

There's so much data underlying every single thing that you're doing in your business and having a way to unify all that data. This is like electricity. This is a major platform shift, and I think we're all learning together.

[Jessica Hawke]

Ready to raise your AI game? Find your winning edge at Microsoft.com challengers.

[Paige]

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What's interesting about Mike Brown, though? Sam Amick wrote this on the Athletic Mike Brown had interviewed for the knicks job in 2020 and he didn't get it. And then, you know, two summers later was hired by the Kings. But Sam Amick said that he had left a strong impression on New York back then. And so it makes me think like, even if Mike Brown gets hired for this role now, this whole media maelstrom of you're asking all these other people and I've been sitting right here, I was interested in 2020. It's five years later. I'm, I you're now there's like rumors that you're interested again. I just, I would feel like, I don't know, leftovers. I would just feel like the second option.

[Zena]

The side piece.

[Paige]

The second option. Exactly. The side piece. So I don't know how enthusiastic I would be to take the job at this point. And. And that's the problem with that. They have set up now, knocking all these doors. It's like whoever you end up with now, you obviously weren't the first option when they fired Tom Thibodeau. They didn't think of you immediately. And so I'm looking at. And you know, Mike, Nice, understandably, is a. Is a great guy. Super. One of the nicest guys I've ever met. But he also is proud. Like, he is a. He's been a head coach.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Paige]

And he's been a great assistant coach, obviously. And if he is re. Entering this world, I know he wants to be a head coach. I don't know if. I don't know. I don't know how I'd feel if the Knicks came calling now, the next.

[Cam Jordan]

Half, after what happened, they have something working to their advantage. There's only 30 jobs.

[Zena]

Right. That's true.

[Cam Jordan]

And this is the only one that's still open.

[Zena]

So it's still New York.

[Cam Jordan]

Yep. I mean, that all of that's working to their advantage. I mean, you know, Rick Carlisle worked for the Pacers before, so you can't take any of this stuff personally, especially if you. I mean, if you lose out to Tom Thibodeau, I don't think you can feel too bad. You know, that's. That's a pretty good guy to be runner up to. I don't know. I guess it's going to be Mike Brown.

[Paige]

But now it's not just Tom Thibodeau. You're runner up to everyone else. They knocked Jason.

[Zena]

Kidding.

[Andrew]

Somebody wants to pay me $10 million to be the side piece. Count me in, baby.

[Cam Jordan]

Put that on a T shirt. Put it on a T shirt.

[Andrew]

I would not care a bit if. If I'm like, 30th on the list and they get to me and it's like, hey, Andrew, let me list out the people that said no to this. Would you like to take it? And by the way, we're going to pay you handsomely for it. And we'll probably fire you before the contract's up, and you'll get to go to the beach and make 10 million here in a few years. It's going to be great. I'd be like, sign me up. Let's do it.

[Paige]

Do you already have 20 million from doing nothing from the Kings?

[Zena]

You know, there's no such thing as not enough money.

[Andrew]

That's true. I know. But like, like, that's the thing about money. Money is just this. And this is More philosophical. You can. It is never enough. It's never enough. And whenever you think that you've had enough, actually. Well, who has ever thought that? No one ever thinks that there are billionaires that are like, actually should have more. It's like you could never spend it. You could never ever spend it. You know, I mean, we've all been in positions where like, you get more money than you've ever had and you're still like, you know what? More would be good. It's just, it's one of those tricks in life that will, that will continue to trick us until the day we die, you know, and it will trick these NBA coaches until the day they die too.

[Zena]

Hey, man, Monty Williams is welcome to the NBA Daily.

[Cam Jordan]

I'm with Xena though. If I had 20, I'd be like, I'd probably be done coaching. I find a high school.

[Andrew]

Listen, Dave would just walk all day. Was just walk.

[Zena]

Yeah. It doesn't make sense. Dave would be one of those guys that walks, doesn't like, doesn't disappear.

[Cam Jordan]

No one would ever see me again.

[Andrew]

Yeah, Dave, you're. You're exceptional in so many ways. And I think you're exceptional in this way too.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah. Oof, man. I'm gonna take sailing lessons this, this fall. So.

[Andrew]

Is that true?

[Cam Jordan]

Anybody? Yeah, that's true. Yeah.

[Andrew]

Yeah, of course.

[Cam Jordan]

I mean, I live at the beach, you know, I need to learn how to. How to sail just in case, but.

[Paige]

How to sail just in case.

[Zena]

You need a bigger boat.

[Cam Jordan]

But yeah, with that in mind. Yeah, somebody. If someone wants to give me $10 million to disappear, I am extremely down for that. That's just.

[Zena]

Go on a go with $10 million.

[Cam Jordan]

I'm out. See you guys.

[Paige]

Do you guys think there's any chance, I mean, bringing my WNBA into this? There's a lot of conversation, actually. Our show today coming out is about the seven brand new first time head coaches in the WNBA right now. Which is like insane. Yeah, but there's only 13 teams, so. But just to give you that perspective, that's a lot of new coaches. Two of which. Exactly. Over half the league. Yeah, but that is two of them are from the college space. What are the chances that the Knicks end up having to call someone from.

[Zena]

I feel like it's like 5%. There's no chance on this type of team the way that they need to like bring in a guy. That's why I, I saw people.

[Paige]

What about Calipari? What if. What if Califari was rolling?

[Zena]

I just, I don't Know, see, the.

[Cam Jordan]

Thing with college, he didn't have the same juices.

[Zena]

I wonder. I wonder how you guys feel, especially Dave, like, how you feel about this. But, like, the adjustment from college to the NBA for coaching, that's a different job hurdle compared to what it is. You know what I mean? If you're just going from assistant to head coach in the NBA, it's like a way bigger difference who.

[Andrew]

You know, who's the last college coach that you feel like was very successful?

[Zena]

Billy Donovan. Does that count?

[Cam Jordan]

I mean, he's had a successful career. Yeah. As far as getting paid. Listen, but has he.

[Andrew]

I said it the right way. He said it with a question at the end of it, like, yes, that's the answer. Who else besides Billy? Because Billy. Billy's a. Billy is a good coach. Is he like a great coach?

[Zena]

Does. Does. Does Brad Stevens count?

[Andrew]

Yes, he is probably the last one.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Paige]

But just throwing a hypothetical.

[Cam Jordan]

No, it's a different job.

[Andrew]

It's a good.

[Cam Jordan]

So, like, college coach, your biggest job is recruit, recruiting good players. And, I mean, Caliperi recruited the best of the best, but I was never impressed with the way he could. And also, you know.

[Paige]

Yeah. It's also preparing these guys for professional.

[Cam Jordan]

Right.

[Paige]

Like being professional athletes. Right.

[Zena]

Terrible, by the way.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah. I think he would be awful. I think. I mean, unless he's gonna completely change everything I've seen about him. Everything. Even, like, the faces that he makes.

[Zena]

Well, because it's about relationships. I don't know.

[Cam Jordan]

You know, you can't have this thing where it looks like you're. Your face is puckered all the time. It's a. It's a bad look. You gotta have some.

[Zena]

Does the squint.

[Cam Jordan]

No, no, no, no. But Dagnot smiles and laughs with his players, man. Like, yeah. Like.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

Dan Hurley looks like he's just mad and I'm sorry.

[Zena]

That's the entire time.

[Cam Jordan]

Bad way to have sustainability. But especially with adults, they're just not going to handle it. And rich adults definitely not going to take that. So. Yeah, it's just a different world. NBA coaches like, it is. The environment is extremely corporate. Like, the way that you come up through it, like, you kind of have to learn the ins and outs. I think it's why, you know, Thomas Isola in Memphis is kind of. This is going to be interesting. But he was a player for a long time.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

It sets you up differently. Right. Like, if you're a professional player, you kind of learn the ins and outs of how. What it means to exist in like a professional basketball organization. The jump from college head coach, where you're, you're the king in the castle.

[Zena]

Tough.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah. Like, it's an ego thing. I mean, this is like I've said for years. I think the first time I said this was 2018, when the bull. The last time the Bulls were looking for a head coach. Hey, Dawn Staley would be an amazing NBA head coach. She knows how to run an organization, but she's smart. Never leave South Carolina. It makes no sense. Why would you ever do that to yourself? You got it made because she is, she gets to be the queen down there. And so, you know, I, I think that it's just there's a different mentality and it would be very difficult for one of these higher level coaches. I mean, Dan Hurley, right, A guy who's won and is the king to come and what is he going to go to New York and Josh Hart's going to be like, nah, man, I'm going to play 40 minutes tonight. Yeah, I'm not coming out the game and.

[Zena]

Yeah, exactly.

[Andrew]

A lot of these newer coaches have similar dispositions too. Like, they are all extremely emotionally intelligent people and they look, they think more outwardly than they do inwardly. You know, it's not all about them. Like they, they don't. In fact, they don't want it to be about them. They want it to be about the players is how a lot of these guys think. And the NBA has. And it almost has to be like that with the way that I think money has a lot to do with it because these guys, the players have so much more power than the coaches do. And so you have to be almost like they're like serving the players and helping them get to where they want to go rather than like, hey, yeah, I am the sun and you are revolving around me. And if you don't, we're gonna banish you from the galaxy. Like, it, like you can't, you can't operate that way anymore.

[Zena]

I don't think the Knicks are going to take that approach of finding this young guru, though. No, I don't, I don't think they're gonna be as. I mean, look, they are technically looking through all their options, but I do not think they're gonna go after some like, young guy who's having his first time as an NBA coach or maybe his second or third opportunity. I think it's going to be a vet. That's why Mike Brown kind of makes sense. Maybe Taylor Jenkins, I don't know. But I just Doubt they would go for that approach, Andrew, because I don't know, like, how are you going to former player? Maybe.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah, maybe Chris Paul. That's the trend, you know, that's. That's developing. I think we're back to getting more former players coming in as coaches without even being assist. That's. That's a thing. But then the other one is. And to your point, Andrew, the assistants that have come up and through. They've come up through the NBA. They were development guys. A lot of. They were in the film room. Right. So they've understood, like, kind of understand how to be around NBA players.

[Andrew]

Yep.

[Cam Jordan]

And the. And the environment there, again, it's corporate for better or worse. Right. Like in. There are a lot of good ways in which this standardization is improve coaching. I mean, we're gonna. We're gonna see new stuff in the next 10 years because of these new coaches that are coming up and coming in. I'm for sure. I'm really excited to see what happens with Memphis next year and their. And their style of play. I. If they can figure out a way to go 10 deep, I think that. That they can maybe pull something off. But it's just such a different world from college to the NBA. I couldn't imagine anybody being able to make the jump now.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Shall we talk about Kevin Durant?

[Zena]

Yes. I've been waiting all day. This coaching higher stuff.

[Andrew]

Shall we come up with some fake trades? Are there particular destinations that we like for kd?

[Zena]

Okay, wait.

[Cam Jordan]

It's been narrowed down to five, correct?

[Zena]

Yeah, but there's like the wild cards and whatever. Anyways, I do agree that it's the five if out of the five, which were the Rockets, the Spurs, the Miami Heats and the Wolves. And I believe there was one more team that was kind of involved. Nicks. Right. Which one would be your favorite? Which?

[Cam Jordan]

Miami. Miami. Miami. It has nothing to do. Listen. Gross. Listen to me. Listen to me.

[Paige]

Wow. Dave. I'm actually quite disappointed.

[Cam Jordan]

Can we look, I thought we were.

[Paige]

I thought Houston and Minnesota.

[Cam Jordan]

What do we do? Minnesota would be great if you could do a Randall for KD swap. It's great. You figure something out there. But the reason for Miami is they stink. They stink. So can we just get them some talent? I just want to bet another better team in the east. Like just.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Cam Jordan]

That way we just have better games throughout the year. So Andrew distributing talent.

[Paige]

Okay, I. I agree with. I agree with you in that. Yeah. The West.

[Cam Jordan]

That's the only reason right now because.

[Zena]

And they're Duncan Robinson But Miami, you probably need a little bit more like, I don't know, Haywood High School.

[Cam Jordan]

Man, they get so much worse losing Wiggins or Jovic.

[Zena]

Probably Jovic.

[Paige]

Yeah. Oh, gosh.

[Cam Jordan]

They just have nothing. That's it. That's the problem. I'm feeling.

[Zena]

And then charity.

[Paige]

Throw Alec Burks in there. Take Wiggins out. Throw Alec Burke in there. Burks is a little bucket. Like, not a little bucket. He could be a big bucket if you want.

[Zena]

No, I would want Wiggins. I want one. I want.

[Andrew]

You want. I mean, you could put wear in there as like a.

[Zena]

I'm not trading where.

[Paige]

A big. To play with. No, you can't move Khalil Wear.

[Zena]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Cam Jordan]

Wow. It's too much. It's too much.

[Andrew]

That's too.

[Paige]

That's a lot. He is the future of that franchise.

[Andrew]

I don't know.

[Zena]

I would rather trade picks and some of the other young guys in Jovich or Jame Hawkes or whatever.

[Andrew]

Thank you.

[Zena]

You know.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

There's too much, man. We got to get an ad blocker for you, Andrew. We're giving. We're giving money away here.

[Zena]

Yeah, yeah. Tedpool versus Wolverine.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I. And 10 picks and like, two picks.

[Zena]

Yeah, whatever, man. Whatever. And. And like Jovic or Jame Hawkes, whichever one you really feel. That's your trade. That's gross. Yeah, that's a gross.

[Cam Jordan]

So bad. Okay, so the Heat. You're stuck. Sorry. I tried. I tried. I really. I've just. We gotta distribute some talent out there.

[Andrew]

I know. I. I do agree with that. Going east would be. Would be.

[Zena]

Well, the other team that's interested is the Knicks.

[Paige]

That's the only thing, if he goes to the Knicks is that distribution of talent.

[Zena]

That's just a swap. They're just swapping Carl Anthony Towns for.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah. Cat for kd.

[Andrew]

Would you do that if you're the Knicks?

[Zena]

Personally, I wouldn't do that because that means Mitchell Robinson playing 35 minutes a night at center, and unless you get.

[Cam Jordan]

Can I get Rudy Gobert or something.

[Zena]

Yeah. Can I trade for someone else, too, to be a center? That's sort of Daniel Gaffer.

[Cam Jordan]

Could Daniel Gafford somehow wind up.

[Zena]

If you could somehow do it with. With like Josh Hart plus Mikhail Bridges plus picks, I would do it, but that's not possible. I don't even think.

[Cam Jordan]

What picks.

[Zena]

Yeah, right. I don't think the Knicks have picks to be able to do it.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah, those. Those picks were already sent for Mikhail Bridges.

[Andrew]

Yeah, they were. Yeah. It's a problem. You can do this right.

[Cam Jordan]

The. Kale Bridges has been traded for Kevin Durant and a ton of picks.

[Andrew]

If you're just. If you're the Suns, you should do this.

[Zena]

Yes, yes, absolutely. Yeah, for sure. I think that's a sick trick.

[Paige]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah. I don't think Booker and Carl Anthony Towns.

[Zena]

So it actually doesn't work. You need to add one more minimum salary from the Knicks to do this. Yeah. Like Pacomb Dotier or Tyler Cola.

[Paige]

What about Precious Achua?

[Zena]

He's a free agent.

[Cam Jordan]

Any of those guys go to Michigan State?

[Andrew]

Oh, oh, yeah, those guys go to Michigan State. Tyler Cole didn't, but you could probably convince him that he did.

[Zena]

Yeah, yeah, I did. I definitely did.

[Cam Jordan]

So that's a Michigan State.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

I don't.

[Zena]

I don't necessarily love this for the next. To be honest with you.

[Paige]

Michigan State name.

[Cam Jordan]

All right.

[Zena]

I don't love it. You guys are wearing Michigan State green.

[Andrew]

Right now, I think. Does that make the Knicks more dangerous next season?

[Cam Jordan]

Not unless they upgraded Mitchell Robinson. And. And I like Mitchell Robinson.

[Paige]

But.

[Cam Jordan]

But like S. Said, you can't depend on him to give you 35 minutes a night.

[Paige]

He doesn't have any backups. Yeah, yeah.

[Zena]

And no backup center, too. Yeah, that's the issue.

[Cam Jordan]

And they'd be hamstrung, I think.

[Zena]

I think the spurs have the cleanest trade, you know.

[Cam Jordan]

Right.

[Paige]

Yeah. Because they, they. And that's the thing that. That's the reason why Houston and San Antonio makes so much sense. Because they have so much talent that they can piece together, cobble together and trade for Kevin without it. Without a completely crippling their actual team.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Zena]

Pretty crazy that like the spurs could do this and then also trey free, like they have enough to be able to do both. I know.

[Andrew]

Okay, what is. Okay, what is. What's the trick? What is the trade do you think is the cleanest with the San Antonio?

[Paige]

Just.

[Zena]

I would probably go Keldon Johnson.

[Cam Jordan]

Okay.

[Zena]

Devin Vassell and Vasel.

[Andrew]

Yeah, maybe I overrate the Cell, but I like him.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah, I think a lot of people overrate the Cell.

[Zena]

I like the Cell, but like you. You got to get something to get Kevin type of thing. And then picks and salary to match, you know, whatever that requires. Maybe the 14th pick in this draft. I know they have the 14th pick.

[Cam Jordan]

They have 8 and 14, right?

[Paige]

What?

[Cam Jordan]

The Suns 2 and 14, not 8.

[Paige]

Do the Suns want a. A vet that's good for the locker room, like a Harrison Barnes?

[Zena]

Yeah, sure. Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

I think the spurs would want to keep him if they Could. Oh, right.

[Zena]

Maybe you could. You. Maybe you could do something as well. I don't know how you guys feel about trading Jeremy, so I would absolutely sign me up.

[Andrew]

Okay. Question, Question.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Is it worth it for the spurs to go this all in now?

[Cam Jordan]

No.

[Zena]

For Kevin Durant? For 36 year old Kevin Durant, I would say no.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Cam Jordan]

Right.

[Andrew]

So why are they being listed?

[Cam Jordan]

That's what I don't.

[Zena]

You can get them for cheaper. I don't know. You know, like, it's either do this or you trade.

[Cam Jordan]

What if it's a fake? Like, or not fake, but what if it's just a leak to get other teams to be more aggressive? Right. The spurs have all these assets that they could move. Oh, if the spurs are interested now all of a sudden. Oh, well, we need to act right fast. I. I mean, they may be the new leverage team for everybody.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Zena]

I think he ends up with the Wolves, to be honest with you.

[Cam Jordan]

It makes. That makes a lot of sense when you consider the relationship and honestly, the fit KD next to go Bear works. But I, I wouldn't trade go there works.

[Zena]

I would.

[Cam Jordan]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Zena]

It's signing or whatever. Yeah, but.

[Cam Jordan]

Yep, absolutely. I think that that's a big thing. By the way, shout out to the chat on YouTube. You guys are great. Yeah, the conversation in the chat has been awesome the entire show. But yeah, I'm. It's got to be Randall and I mean Randall and Booker. Like, it's not like the Suns fall off a cliff. It's not bad. They get a guy who, who at least plays a lot of games and will be productive. Yeah, I think they, you know, you get another piece. I mean, this is a way for the, the Suns to sort of put more cards in their hands because they could get a couple picks out of Minnesota. Maybe. I think so. I don't know. Do they have picks?

[Zena]

Minnesota's tight on picks right now.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah. Because it's a Gobert trade.

[Zena]

Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

But you get players who can play and. And you might be able to get.

[Zena]

One of those young guys. Like, I don't think the Wolves would trade Rob Dillingham, but maybe you get Terence Shannon.

[Andrew]

I.

[Paige]

Do you think Shannon might be a.

[Cam Jordan]

Good Terrence Shannon looks good.

[Zena]

He does look good.

[Cam Jordan]

Right. Like he was.

[Zena]

But he's also.

[Paige]

He just needs opportunity. He needs opportunity.

[Zena]

Terrence, is he 26? He's like 26. Yeah.

[Cam Jordan]

Yeah, man. So old.

[Andrew]

His sons are so screwed, though. Guys like, they're so screwed like that. You have to get like a Good. Like a good young player out of this and not the Randall. Like, what are you doing? Like, we got Julius Randall and Devin Booker now. Like that going to make everything better for you. You're going to stay. No, like this is not like they need to build for the future. They need to accept where they're at and they need to try to figure. Figure out a way out of this.

[Cam Jordan]

Dude.

[Zena]

Then the answer to that is trading Devin Booker.

[Andrew]

It is. That's absolutely is. Or trading it out.

[Zena]

Jay Barrett and picks.

[Andrew]

That's right.

[Paige]

One. Just a clarific. Terence. Terence Shannon Jr. Is just 24, so it's a bit.

[Zena]

Okay.

[Andrew]

But rookie rook 24. Listen, I've got a bounce, guys.

[Zena]

Okay. All right.

[Paige]

So yeah, it is 840.

[Andrew]

Yep.

[Paige]

All right.

[Andrew]

Sorry to end this abruptly, but okay. There will be a lot more. There will be a lot more Kevin Durant discussions.

[Zena]

Yeah, we promise.

[Cam Jordan]

He's getting. He's getting traded before neck before, like 10 days from now.

[Andrew]

I think in the next 10 days, maybe next week.

[Paige]

Can we just close it really quickly, Andrew, because I don't think we got your opinion on what is going to happen in Game 4.

[Andrew]

The Thunder. The Thunder always bounced back after a loss. My expectations that they'll bounce back after the loss.

[Zena]

Close win. I think for okc. That's. That's it.

[Andrew]

That's probably. You just. You said. You said the two worst words in pro sports.

[Paige]

Okay.

[Andrew]

Close win. Okay. All right. Thanks so much for listening to the morning shoot around. We'll be back with you guys next week. Be sure to tell your friends about the show and be sure to tune in live on YouTube when you can. Be sure to subscribe. We would very much appreciate that. Enjoy the rest of your day. We'll talk to you guys again after game four. Foreign.

[Paige]

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Ouch.

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