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- [00:03]
Alltrails Representative
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- [00:30]
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- [01:01]
Turtle Wax Representative
This is Car Tracks with Turtle Wax. Your car says a lot about you. So if we asked your car what it would say about you, what would it say? Listen, you dropped one of those tiny cheeseburgers under the seat like last week and now we're both dry heaving at the stench. Do us a favor, grab some Turtle Wax and let's get to work. This has been Car Tracks with Turtle Wax. You are how you car.
- [01:39]
Zena Keda
Good morning hoop fans. This is the NBA daily for Monday, June 30th and we're talking free agency. Well, not yet. It is pre free agency. I'm Zena Ko with Esper Henny and Dave DeFore in the Analyst seat. We got to break down. There's been a lot of big moves happening right before the free agency window opens to today at 3pm and then also a lot of names we haven't seen moving just yet. So let's get into it guys. Free agency seems a little dry this year.
- [02:09]
Esper Henny
It's boring.
- [02:11]
Zena Keda
Is it?
- [02:11]
Esper Henny
The NBA killed free agency.
- [02:14]
Zena Keda
How did this happen? Why is this changing? Now that I'm in the space and I'm really paying attention, I'm like damn, I want some blockbuster moves.
- [02:24]
Esper Henny
Yeah, it's a few things probably. I think one thing is, you know, contract extensions actually work, right? These max extensions guys take the money. They stay put. You don't have I mean Paul George was the biggest free agent to change teams via free agency last summer. In forever. Like I it just, it died because the power of the extension actually works. It's allowed more of these small markets to keep keep guys teams gotten Even more creative, I think, about the way that they use extensions. As we've seen over the weekend, we've seen a lot of extensions that are, you know, a little bit fake. I mean, I would say James Harden, it's not really, it's not a two year contract. It's a, it's an extra year and an extra option and it's, you know, partially guaranteed. Right. Like, so a lot of this is semantics too, where it's just, you know, it's funny, you know, pre agency because nobody gets the free agency anymore.
- [03:17]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. Because. Because teams are too scared to let a guy walk into unrestricted free agency unless you're the Chicago Bulls. You know, basically they're the only time that's like, yeah, sure, go test the market, no problem, it's not a big deal. But basically every other team is, is very worried about losing players for nothing. Yeah. And for the most part they are trying to either lock a player down via extension or trade them before they get to this point. So yeah, I think the whole pre agency conversation, it's funny because a guy who has talked about pre agency a lot lost his job this Friday. Messiah Jury just got let go and he. The Raptors are famous for pre agency over the last couple years, acquiring Brandon Ingram before he became an unrestricted free agent. Emmanuel Quickley, etc. Etc. A lot of teams do that now though. Like they like guys in beforehand. Yeah, exactly.
- [04:09]
Esper Henny
Yeah.
- [04:09]
Dave DeFore
Hurt in hand.
- [04:10]
Zena Keda
Yep.
- [04:11]
Dave DeFore
Yep.
- [04:11]
Zena Keda
Okay, well, let's get into some of the, the moves that have happened in pre agency. Dave, you just mentioned James Harden, of course, being able to return to the Clippers after a very successful season. I would say for what the Clippers look like in the playoffs and such, they want to keep building on that. Let me just make sure I got those numbers right. Declining is 36.3 million player option and intends to sign a new two year, $81.5 million contract. Again, as you mentioned, Dave, that second year with the player option, what are some other ones that we're seeing? Of course, looks like Bobby Portis intends to sign a three year, $44 million contract.
- [04:48]
Dave DeFore
Giannis watch to return to the Bucks.
- [04:51]
Zena Keda
We know Giannis is looking at every move that the Bucks front office is making from the youth that they're bringing in to obviously the players that they are returning. And once again, Bobby Portis with a player option in 20.
- [05:02]
Esper Henny
Now they're probably going to wind up losing Brook Lopez, which, I mean, frankly. And it also might be time for Giannis at the five a little Bit more than we see it currently. Just think about the league, right? Like there's not like he's going to be a big post up guy. It would allow them to maybe get more shooters on the court around him. So it makes sense if you can get Bobby Portis to come back. There's familiarity and this. If this is going to be a gap year for them, I still think that they want to compete. Obviously you've got Giannis, right? He, he maybe can. Will you in what should be fairly down east next season, he might be able to. Will you to the conference finals. You get to the conference finals, maybe you make the finals, maybe there's people available throughout the season. I've got some fake trades for the Bucks that are kind of fun, but.
- [05:49]
Dave DeFore
I actually have a, I have a quick fake trade here. I don't know where I heard this, but recently I think I saw it and it was a Bradley Beal for Dame swap. I don't know. You know, where it's like you get a player versus you don't have a player who's going to be out for the entire year with an Achilles tear.
- [06:06]
Zena Keda
Fair, fair.
- [06:07]
Dave DeFore
You know, and they both make similar money. Wouldn't take that much to get something like that done. I can't.
- [06:13]
Esper Henny
Yeah. Phoenix, it doesn't really work because they need a player who could play because their team, they need some bad. I don't know if you know, but they got a bunch of centers.
- [06:21]
Dave DeFore
But, but they have so many guards.
- [06:22]
Zena Keda
They also have so many guards. I was just gonna say this takes one guard out of the equation and, and you get a guard for the Bucks that can play really well in the pick and roll if Giannis remains. So. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's actually interesting. I like this, I like this hypothetical. Let's talk a few more before we get into the ones that might be showing something in the tea leaves. Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks agreed to a three year, 119 million deal. That's great. He opted out and lowered his salary which allows the Mavericks to have a mid level exception to add into that mix. Cooper flag may have another veteran teammate joining him alongside him.
- [07:02]
Dave DeFore
D' Angelo Russell.
- [07:03]
Esper Henny
Yeah, by the way, this, this Kyrie deal, it's another one of these. It's, it's, it's a fake extra, you know, year at the end where if everything works out right and he comes back off that knee surgery, you'll probably be looking for for that last big NBA contract. But good, good job. By the way, Dallas signed the sign. The injured Guy to the. To the deal. That's. That's good business.
- [07:27]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [07:28]
Esper Henny
No, really, I mean it. Like.
- [07:32]
Zena Keda
Sarcastic or not.
- [07:33]
Esper Henny
Nope.
- [07:33]
Zena Keda
I actually. Okay, good. Because I was gonna say, I mean, this is very similar to what the warriors did with Klay Thompson.
- [07:40]
Esper Henny
Yep.
- [07:41]
Zena Keda
And so I was gonna say I actually like it, but I couldn't tell if you're being sarcastic.
- [07:44]
Dave DeFore
So what I'm saying also, like, at this point, what.
- [07:47]
Esper Henny
What are you.
- [07:47]
Dave DeFore
What are you gonna do? You're not gonna trade no other option. You gotta sign this guy.
- [07:52]
Esper Henny
Well, clear. S. Now that. Now that the Mavericks, you know, won the lottery and were able to draft Cooper Flag, I think the vision is clear.
- [08:01]
Dave DeFore
Hopefully that was my big takeaway. The genius of Nico Harrison locking into 1.8% chance of winning the.
- [08:09]
Esper Henny
Yeah.
- [08:10]
Zena Keda
Okay, let's talk. Let's keep on this, this topic of vision, because there's a team up north that made two signings. That makes it kind of clear that there's a particular player whose vision on this team looks a little blurry. Nasrid and the Timberwolves signed a 5 year, 125 million dollar a year contract. Okay. Final year again, player option. Player options all around, folks. Okay.
- [08:34]
Esper Henny
Right.
- [08:34]
Zena Keda
But this is huge. Number one, let's just give credit to Nazri. You signed one of the largest contracts ever signed by a player coming off the bench. This shows that Minnesota wants to keep with that core pass that almost got, you know, past the Western Conference finals, and they want to keep to that core rotation and they just want to continue to utilize what NS Reed provides, especially with Carl Anthony Towns gone. The other thing they did, Julius Randall rumored to get three year, $100 million contract with the Timberwolves. So now you got Nas, you got Julius Randall locked in, and there's someone that really upped their stakes, showing off their defense, showing off their capability to shoot outside almost 40% from 3s. Do you know who that is?
- [09:21]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, man, I'm Canadian. I have to know who he is.
- [09:24]
Zena Keda
Let us know who's still wandering out there for the Timberwolves.
- [09:28]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, look, I think he's actually ending up being one of the most sought after free agents tomorrow. And that's Nikhil Alexander Walker, like you said. And you kind of listed out his resume very well. The dude can basically play everywhere because he can knock down shots, because he can defend on the perimeter, and because he could do a little bit of ball handling for you next to your guard. And so that's just the perfect.
- [09:51]
Esper Henny
You.
- [09:51]
Dave DeFore
You look at like the Oklahoma City Thunder. You look at a lot of these other contending teams. They have that type of player on the roster and so he makes a lot of sense for a lot of teams that are trying to take that next step. We'll see.
- [10:03]
Esper Henny
Let me ask you guys a question.
- [10:05]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [10:05]
Esper Henny
Do they have the other types of players that, that Minnesota just signed? Fair, right. Do they have a defensive big liability? Right? Like, do they have a guy who can't play up so that you can play smaller? Like this is actually I, I don't want to hate on it completely because it wasn't like this wasn't a successful team, but I think they learned along the wrong lessons from last season. And interesting look, Julius Randall is what, what's his new deal? Is it 31 million a year?
- [10:34]
Dave DeFore
They're basically like 32, 33 million, 33.
- [10:37]
Esper Henny
3 year, totally fine money. But the issue is you are going to remember how much he makes in both positive and negative ways every single night. And like that's the type of player it's tough to, I mean they are essentially locked in now to this roster and this is a year removed from trading away Carl Anthony Towns to give themselves more flexibility under the new cba. And I mean, look, I love Nas Reed as a player. I think he's, I mean he's obviously like this great energy, you know, scoring big that comes off the bench. That is this contract is the type of contract that in two years, this is where we point, we say, wow, if they hadn't signed Nas Reed to this deal, maybe they have some flexibility to go out and get some pieces. We've done this over and over again with teams that were close to contention. I mean, to a certain degree, a little bit. What Milwaukee did previously with, with Bobby Portis, when they double down and kind of overpay to, to keep that going. Right. I, I just, I, I, I would just say we have looked at the Nas Reed type of contract a few times now and we always kind of wind up in the same place. That being said, it, you're competing against Detroit, who probably knew that Malik Beasley was going to be dealing with the situation that he's dealing with, with, with the allegations against him. So they were going to have some money. So maybe they, they caught wind of that and they just felt the need, hey, we need to get this done. But I am surprised, especially after last season and you know, we talked about this team a lot and how hard it was to fit these guys in together. I'm surprised that they went back with both of them. I Thought it would make sure between the two. Right.
- [12:20]
Dave DeFore
I. I thought that we might see that, too, but at the same time, I will. I've brought this up with the Knicks, so I have to bring it up with the Wolves. They got this guy three days before training camp, and so there is this, like, workout period. I saw John Krasinski tweet about the same thing where it's like they're hoping the second year can get them acclimated a little bit more.
- [12:44]
Zena Keda
Right.
- [12:44]
Dave DeFore
And the fact that they already made the Western Conference finals despite not necessarily having everything all figured out, really getting into a stride towards the second half of the season, especially their defense, I feel like there's something there for them to double down on. That being said, you bring up something interesting contractually, because to me, I look at it, I'm like, okay, that's fair value for Nasri. That's fair value for Julius Randle in terms of, like, the dollar amount. But at the same time, I thought the same thing when the Bucks extended Brook Lopez. I thought the same thing when the Bucks extended Chris Middleton. That being said, they are older than Nas Reed and Julius Randle currently, but it's also. It's. It's similar in the sense, like, are you. Are you painting yourself into a corner here where you're not going to be able to get out eventually? Right, right.
- [13:27]
Zena Keda
So let me. Let me do a quick cleanup first on Dave's mention of Malik Beasley, just to clear up for those that are curious about it. Malik Beasley, currently under federal investigation by the U.S. district Attorney's Office for alleged gambling on NBA games, including player prop bets. He has not been charged, and his attorney, Steve Haney, has stated that the investigation does not equate to a charge. So that is referring to. There. Oh, go ahead.
- [13:54]
Esper Henny
I hope. I hope not for.
- [13:56]
Zena Keda
Oh, right, exactly.
- [13:57]
Esper Henny
Yeah, of course.
- [13:58]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. He was. He was a day away from a bag, a contract.
- [14:02]
Zena Keda
Right. And that's one of the biggest names, right. One of the free agents that we haven't heard, you know, where he's gonna land. Of course, this investigation is probably going to, in fact, not infect. Affect where that ends up. But one thing I will say, just to go back on that comment about the contracts of, like, you know, Julius Randall and Nas Reed, I think it is true. This is something that we all do as fans. When someone's playing incredibly well or incredibly bad, you're like, oh, that person we got for a deal. Or that person's right. Oh, my God, you're taking our entire Cap space, what's happening. But for. There is something to be said, too, about how much is Milwaukee also kind of paying back. Not Milwaukee, Minnesota. Kind of paying back Nas Reed for the work that he did under that really undersized contract. Yeah, right. Like, there's. I mean, I'm not sure that that's exactly what they're doing, but it's like, thank you so much for being such a. A cheap steal for so many years that we're now going to kind of pay you back. And I wonder if how much his agent, you know, utilized that to justify the numbers that he's gotten now. And then the other thing, too, is like, looking at Julia Trindle as a person that covered the Warriors. Julius was a problem.
- [15:18]
Dave DeFore
It was awesome.
- [15:19]
Esper Henny
Yeah. Hey, Draymond look like a child.
- [15:22]
Zena Keda
21.6 rebounds, the assists. I mean, he was a problem in these playoffs.
- [15:28]
Dave DeFore
So it's no shame to say that y' all lost to the worst. The best defense in the world. Right? It's not.
- [15:33]
Esper Henny
I mean.
- [15:34]
Zena Keda
Right.
- [15:34]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [15:34]
Zena Keda
Right. And I think for me, the biggest thing that I'm curious about, all the way back to Dave's original point of, you know, what did you sign or do? Do you still have the things that you need?
- [15:44]
Esper Henny
Right.
- [15:46]
Zena Keda
You know, Nick Alexander Walker, Nikhil Alexander Walker. I'm, like, all over the place right now. NIKHIL Alexander Walker, 40% shooting.
- [15:54]
Esper Henny
Yeah.
- [15:54]
Zena Keda
And when you look at some of the games that Minnesota had during the playoffs, shooting was.
- [16:01]
Esper Henny
Think about the parts season where DiVincenzo struggled. Nikil Alexander Walker was pretty steady for them. He is. He is the guy that they throw on the best player on the other team, the best guard.
- [16:14]
Zena Keda
Right.
- [16:14]
Esper Henny
Nikhil, go guard him. I mean, to me, he was a natural to slide it maybe into the. The Mike Conley role. I know a lot of people just worry you need more ball handling. I think he's probably enough because of how good Anthony Edwards and Randall are it.
- [16:28]
Dave DeFore
This.
- [16:28]
Esper Henny
That, to me, is a huge loss. I mean, again, the stuff that we just took away from this playoffs. All right, Depth. So you lose depth just because that's a piece that's been with you for a while. So that corporate knowledge is out the door, not to mention the talent of the player, but also extra ball handling on ball defense. Like, these are things that we're talking. It's not stretch bigs that we're constantly talking about in the playoffs. It is Nikhil Alexander Walkers. You know, I mean, Andrew Nemhart and Nikhil Alexander Walker. I mean, there's a Lot of comp.
- [16:59]
Dave DeFore
And man, you need those types next to your high usage guard. And like, if Ant is going to take that type of load offensively that he did last season, he needs a guy who's going to be able to help, help him out on the defensive end. Even though Ants can raise himself on defense as well, you need that guy who's just going to be sort of like the Swiss army knife for you. So I agree. Losing him is also like, are you gonna find a solution? Is there someone out there that you can get the money doesn't work for you to go out and get somebody. It's tough.
- [17:28]
Esper Henny
Maybe they think it's on the roster, right? Maybe, maybe it's Rob Dillingham, year two. Maybe it's a junior who played for them.
- [17:34]
Zena Keda
Yeah, right.
- [17:35]
Esper Henny
And I mean that's a. He's got a big NBA body and he's not scared to drive. So maybe, maybe it's that. I mean, again, they've done, they've done a good job up there of identifying the talent that they have. So. And they obviously have maximized it. I mean they've had a pretty good run the last couple seasons. But Nikhil, that's a tough one to lose. Speaking of, I, I think right now, what is it? Atlanta and Detroit?
- [17:56]
Zena Keda
That's what I was just gonna. Hawks are the front runners right now and Nikhil Alexander Walker could sign a contract starting at or above the, the mid level exception. About $14 million. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We got some more folks to talk about.
- [18:16]
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- [18:58]
Alltrails Representative
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- [19:14]
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- [19:55]
Zena Keda
Shout out to all of our friends that are on our stream right now. We literally put out a quick little note to say, hey, we're recording about pre agency etc on Blue Sky X and folks were in the line waiting to hear our thoughts. So we're excited about that. But as of right now, we're recording this on Sunday night ahead of free agency and looking in the tea leaves trying to figure out what's going on. So similar to a Nikhil Alexander Walker after signing Nas, after signing Julius, it looks like, hey, maybe it looks like Nikhil might be out the door. Well, there's someone else that might be out the door as well. But in Cleveland, Sam Merrill just signed his extension or new contract. Excuse me, I should say, yeah, four years, 100. Or excuse me, let me make sure.
- [20:46]
Dave DeFore
It was four years.
- [20:47]
Zena Keda
38 millions. Yeah, 138 million.
- [20:50]
Dave DeFore
That's a lot for Sam.
- [20:52]
Zena Keda
He's shooting, but not that much. Sam here, Sam Merrill gets aspirational. 38 million. And then of course we know about the trade that brings Lonzo Ball to the cast. So that makes the alarm bells go off for someone like Ty Jerome. And Dave, when I look at the way that Ty Jerome has like boosted his stock, I mean, literally last year I even did not know this, but I looked up his stats today. 51 from the floor, 44% from 3, 87% from free throw. 50, 40, 90. Almost like that's a crazy jump from what he was doing at the Golden State Warriors. Right now, Charlotte Memphis is in the running for a Ty Jerome. What are your thoughts around what he can end up doing? This is a guy that was voted third in the sixth man of the year conversation. He could end up being in significant roles in either one of those programs.
- [21:51]
Esper Henny
I mean, personally, I think Cleveland's dodging a little bit of a bullet here just because we've seen this happen time and time again. I don't think Ty Jerome has the track record that I want to give him the deal that he's probably about to get if I'm Cleveland, because Cleveland is looking to Win now. But that's the sort of contract that can just derail your plans. We saw him in the playoffs and look, it's one playoff run. You don't know.
- [22:14]
Dave DeFore
All I remember is the floaters being missed. It was terrible.
- [22:18]
Esper Henny
He played real tight. He did not. It was not 50, 40, 90 in the playoffs. That doesn't, that doesn't mean that he couldn't maybe be that guy. I think he's gonna wind up having more value for Memphis. I mean, and Charlotte. What they're trying to do here, it clear. Is pretty clear to me. Like the Colin Sexton deal, like even with the draft picks, like they're trying to change the entire character of their team. And Ty Jerome makes a lot of sense, right? Get another ball handler out there because you need another like caretaker, right? Low turnover guy that maybe you can play next to Lamelo and maybe it opens up something for Lamelo. I don't know. But I think for the Cavs this is okay. I think that this is a role that you could fill. I actually, it's funny because when I thought that he were going to lose Ty Jerome, Colin Sexton was one of the names I had on my list of. I wonder if the Cavs could get him back because he was.
- [23:09]
Zena Keda
Let's dive into that. Let's dive into that because I think that is the one, if anything, that kind of blew our minds in this pre agency. We are thinking we're talking about Colin Sexton being traded away from Utah Jazz to Charlotte and in exchange for use of Nurkic and a future second round pick.
- [23:33]
Esper Henny
Yep.
- [23:35]
Zena Keda
Whoa. Yeah. Did you have this on your God?
- [23:40]
Esper Henny
No.
- [23:40]
Dave DeFore
No. Absolutely not. It was. It was so bizarre because both of these guys are expiring contracts. They both make around the same amount of money. And we have talked about this before on this podcast, but Yusuf Nurkic was one of the most detrimental big men in the league last year. To the point where the Suns had to trade him. To the point where even in Charlotte, when he started playing for them, Musa Diabate was a guy who was getting more minutes than Yousef Nurkic. So it was like, it was tough to see Nerc be like that. So I don't see Utah's vision in this. I completely understand Charlotte's vision. You get a backup, you get a guy who can be like a. Honestly, like one of the biggest and like hardest working guards. If you see him on the floor, he's constantly busting tail, which is something I love.
- [24:29]
Esper Henny
He's not a bad defender because he doesn't Try hard.
- [24:31]
Dave DeFore
He tries.
- [24:32]
Esper Henny
There's a physical limitation for him.
- [24:34]
Dave DeFore
Oh my God. Absolutely. So, like that. You think of their draft too, with con canipple and obviously having lamelo. They just have a lot of offensive juice now. Charlotte seems like it's a well run organization.
- [24:47]
Esper Henny
Well, they have no centers. Okay. They've traded all their centers. Right. And.
- [24:52]
Zena Keda
And then they trade away, no use of Nurkic.
- [24:54]
Esper Henny
They trade away the center that they got from Phoenix. They got him out of there.
- [24:57]
Dave DeFore
So they got Moose.
- [24:59]
Esper Henny
No centers, no one touching Phoenix. I mean, I think that's a smart move. Yeah. It's shocking to me that a player as productive as Colin Sexton required a second round pick to move for a worst player. And you know, it just goes to show, I mean, there's a few things at play here. Right. Number one, what if this is a real tide shift in the trade market and the player market where it's just like you can't be a guard who is a defensive liability and expect us to pay any sort of premium.
- [25:29]
Dave DeFore
Interesting.
- [25:30]
Esper Henny
It could be. Right. It could just also be that a lot of folks are trying to keep their powder dry.
- [25:35]
Dave DeFore
And there's also just like Utah has too many guards, you know, too many guards. They had to offload one.
- [25:42]
Esper Henny
They have to do it. They have to open up space for these, for these young guys too that they have coming in and even the ones that aren't there yet. Yeah, yeah.
- [25:50]
Zena Keda
Okay. Well, let's talk about another team that doesn't have any sirs. But hey, they've got a potential goat and that's the Lakers. LeBron James opted into his 52.6 million dollar option with the Lakers for next season. This is after so much talk about him wanting to be on a contending team, him wanting to be a part of, you know, something that was building. According to some of the. The rumors that were set by Rich Paul, reported by Sham Sharania. We heard that Savannah, his wife, wants him to, you know, stop playing soon. I mean, we heard a lot.
- [26:26]
Esper Henny
We heard that from LeBron, by the way. So. By the way, for context, someone was eavesdropping on LeBron James having a conversation at dinner.
- [26:36]
Dave DeFore
Yes.
- [26:37]
Esper Henny
And recorded it. Because that's the world we live in. Because that's also the world we live in. It's news. It's part of our job, guys. And he says, and it's kind of joking, right? Savannah wants me to tire or retire in the next year. Okay. Yeah, you ought to retire. You've got. Yes, people, what a world. We live In. It's amazing. Right? That's just invasion of privacy. But yeah, he said it. But also. Is this breaking news to anyone?
- [27:03]
Dave DeFore
No, no, no, no, no.
- [27:05]
Esper Henny
I'm 41 soon. Right. Yeah.
- [27:08]
Zena Keda
With his son.
- [27:09]
Esper Henny
Yeah. I'm sure that she is ready for. To have him around the house. I don't. For now.
- [27:16]
Zena Keda
Right.
- [27:17]
Esper Henny
Give her a couple years of that and then she's probably like, please go get a hobby.
- [27:21]
Dave DeFore
Please go. Go to NBC, you know?
- [27:23]
Esper Henny
Yeah, but. Okay, but opting into the. To the full amount. This is the first time LeBron's opted into the final year of a contract ever. This is. This is a real shift career wise. Right. And my. My favorite thing, Xena. And this is like a tradition with LeBron. Every summer you got to put out whatever kind of passive aggressive message.
- [27:47]
Dave DeFore
Oh, yeah.
- [27:48]
Esper Henny
And he doesn't want to be a part of a rebuild.
- [27:51]
Dave DeFore
Absolutely not.
- [27:52]
Esper Henny
Who does at 40? I get it. Yeah. I get it. Right.
- [27:55]
Zena Keda
I think it makes sense. I think it makes sense. But now it's the number one conversation in the zeitgeist is. Is Rob Belinka building something that is winnable? Like, you got LeBron James back. Awesome. Luka Doncic seems to be in the, in the gym. Okay. We're seeing the, the content flow onto social media of him putting in the work. Skinny Austin Reeves, though, declined his extension. He's gonna, He's. He's gonna test the market a little bit.
- [28:25]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, he'll. He'll get his max next summer.
- [28:27]
Zena Keda
He'll get his max next year. 10 to $12 million more. Great. But you've got all these pieces, particularly on the outside, but you don't have Anthony Davis on the inside. You don't have anyone really on the inside. Jackson Hayes is still a free agent. That name was floating around, and so everyone else has talked about it. I want to ask you guys, like, what. Where do the Lakers stand right now, especially now with LeBron James opting.
- [28:49]
Esper Henny
Are we gonna do the thing.
- [28:50]
Dave DeFore
So we'll. Hold on.
- [28:51]
Esper Henny
Are we gonna do it in a two.
- [28:53]
Dave DeFore
We'll do it in two parts, Dave.
- [28:54]
Esper Henny
All right, all right.
- [28:55]
Dave DeFore
First of all, obviously, more recently, everybody has saw the deandre Ayton news, which is bizarre in its own way.
- [29:02]
Esper Henny
It's right up there with the Colin Sexton thing as far as trade value. Right.
- [29:06]
Zena Keda
DeAndre, let's just be clear, has bought out his contract in Portland, basically allowing himself to go test out the market and find a better fit. Interesting. Because of how much money he still had left on his contract.
- [29:20]
Dave DeFore
$35.5 million.
- [29:24]
Zena Keda
There's a number. That's right.
- [29:25]
Dave DeFore
That's why.
- [29:26]
Esper Henny
And we don't know what the buyout number was yet.
- [29:29]
Dave DeFore
Right.
- [29:29]
Esper Henny
By the way. So we don't know what the agreement is. That being said, I, I will say shout out to Portland. They got him out before free agency. He gets to go out and look for another job. Right?
- [29:40]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [29:41]
Esper Henny
And. And again, we still don't know what the number is. But I, I mean again, what is going on with the val, like trade value around the league? And I'm not saying deandre Ayton should have teams clamoring, but I mean this guy.
- [29:53]
Dave DeFore
But you couldn't do anything.
- [29:55]
Esper Henny
Number one overall pick. Yeah.
- [29:57]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. That's bizarre to me.
- [29:58]
Esper Henny
You think someone would take the talent.
- [30:00]
Dave DeFore
Flyer, a Colin Sexton and I don't know. I don't know. Walker Kessler is probably too much.
- [30:06]
Esper Henny
But now we're rearranging deck chairs because sure, it's just trading off the flotsam that, that neither team wants, that nobody wants. This Ayton move is. Was shocking and now he's free to sign anywhere. I mean he's theoretically one of the better free agents that are available tomorrow.
- [30:24]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, it's like Miles Turner. It's him. It's. Yeah. I mean that's the Nikki Alexander Walker, obviously. Okay, more one.
- [30:33]
Zena Keda
What's more surprising, the Sexton move or deandre Ayton?
- [30:38]
Dave DeFore
I would probably say. Oh really?
- [30:40]
Esper Henny
I would.
- [30:41]
Dave DeFore
I think I would say Ayton just.
- [30:43]
Esper Henny
Because for me Sexton is a better player. I. And it's a guy who is. Has a positive impact on your locker room.
- [30:51]
Dave DeFore
That's true. That's true. You know what isn't what's surprising to me about the AEN deal though? The fact that an expiring 35 million dollar player couldn't go anywhere.
- [31:03]
Esper Henny
That's joking.
- [31:04]
Dave DeFore
To the point where they couldn't. They just couldn't house him somewhere else. You know, and this is a guy who still averaged like 14 and 10 last year and was obviously was not the number one overall pick.
- [31:16]
Esper Henny
He was not dominating.
- [31:18]
Dave DeFore
He was not dominating.
- [31:19]
Zena Keda
You know guys, by the way, this is a nickname that deandre Ayton himself came up with. By the way. Dominating is.
- [31:30]
Dave DeFore
Anyways, I'm just saying that is.
- [31:31]
Zena Keda
That is fetch happen folks. We're not trying to make fetch out. Look, let's keep going.
- [31:34]
Dave DeFore
That is, that is part one to this. Maybe the Lakers just say, well hey, deandre Ayton, would you like to be the starting center for the Los Angeles Lakers? And Play with Luka Doncic. Okay, that's part one. The other part, the more fun, the more interesting part is for them to potentially trade LeBron James for. For a.
- [31:52]
Esper Henny
Who has a no trade clause, by.
- [31:54]
Dave DeFore
The way, who has a no trade clause, who makes $56 million. So it makes it that much harder to trade him. And because he has a no trade clause, there's not that many teams that he would be willing to go to. But Dave, there is one team he's willing to go to.
- [32:07]
Esper Henny
I've been saying it for months, guys, what if LeBron James is the playmaker that the Cavs need to get over the hump? And of all the years to do.
- [32:18]
Dave DeFore
It, I love it.
- [32:20]
Esper Henny
Next year, he's not as wide open as it's ever been. You add LeBron James to the number one seat, they both go, yeah, send them home. Yeah, we're coming home.
- [32:34]
Dave DeFore
We'll do.
- [32:34]
Esper Henny
We'll do the whole thing all over again. We're doing a bunch of stuff from the.
- [32:38]
Dave DeFore
We're coming all over again.
- [32:40]
Zena Keda
We're coming home.
- [32:42]
Esper Henny
Let's send our boys home to Cleveland.
- [32:47]
Dave DeFore
And.
- [32:47]
Esper Henny
And I actually think that this works for, for Cleveland on the court. It gets them into the Finals, in my opinion.
- [32:54]
Zena Keda
Great story. That's for.
- [32:55]
Dave DeFore
Look, the. The trade would. Would be. There's a lot of moving parts in the trade because the Cavs are above the second apron. And so they would have to gut a couple of players. Jared Allen would have to go to the Los Angeles Lakers. DeAndre Hunter would have to go to Los Angeles Lakers. They would have to reroute Max Druce or Dean Wade. And a couple bunch of teams would.
- [33:15]
Esper Henny
Be in on either one of those guys, by the way, because as we talked about so many times, depth and Max Struse and Dean Wade, by the way, guard and shoot. Yeah, put them anywhere.
- [33:26]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. And by the way, the Lakers would probably like. I think Jared Allen is a perfect big to put alongside Luka Doncic. Just the perfect lob threat, vertical spacer, all that type of stuff. I don't know. It makes too much sense and that's why it probably won't happen.
- [33:40]
Zena Keda
Okay, I'm seeing it. I'm already seeing the. The billboards that are going up in the buildings across Cleveland.
- [33:48]
Dave DeFore
It's Bronnie and Braun together.
- [33:50]
Zena Keda
Right. You know what I mean? I can see it. I can visually see it. The marketing, the CMO of the Cleveland Cavaliers would have a ball with that. We got to close this out.
- [33:59]
Esper Henny
The Lakers need to do the league a favor right they were done a favor, as we all know. Send LeBron to Cleveland.
- [34:11]
Dave DeFore
Oh, man.
- [34:15]
Zena Keda
By getting Luca secretly apparently under the table. It feels. I feel like the Lakers are like, we did you a favor already. We don't need to do more. Interesting.
- [34:24]
Esper Henny
Well, we see the vision for the, for the baby.
- [34:26]
Zena Keda
We see the vision, of course, yes. Let's button this out because it is pre agency we're talking about, but free agency is coming up. 12pm Pacific, 3pm Eastern, June 30. What is a name who is a person that you haven't heard enough about yet? And particularly you're like, where in the heck is this deal? This should have been done weeks, months, forever ago.
- [34:50]
Esper Henny
Dave, I'll jump here. I think that the best free agent available is Miles Turner. And you know, the Pacers are just coming off this title run. I expect him to stay. I think this is. This will get done. I mean, I haven't heard anything otherwise.
- [35:05]
Dave DeFore
Wouldn't surprise me.
- [35:06]
Esper Henny
Yeah, I mean, there's just not a lot of teams I think that can afford them number one, but not a lot of fits out there. I think he's kind of perfect for what they're doing. Obviously. I mean, they did just make the finals and push the Thunder to seven games, but I, I kind of would have thought we would have heard that it was done by now. And maybe this is a flexibility play. Obviously they've got some shuffling to do themselves with the Halliburton injury, but yeah, I think Miles Turner is kind of. It's an interesting name that. Still sitting out there.
- [35:36]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, I mean, somebody in the chat.
- [35:38]
Esper Henny
Said the best free agent available is Messiah. Jerry, I don't know if you got an opinion on that.
- [35:44]
Dave DeFore
Look, I mean, yeah, maybe. Maybe that's the case. Apparently there were conversations about him maybe going to Atlanta. I know that they have found their own kind of structure there.
- [35:54]
Esper Henny
Denver doesn't have a GM go back, right?
- [35:58]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, he could. He could go back. Maybe there's a conversation.
- [36:00]
Esper Henny
Yeah, I could say I don't have that Toronto money, though.
- [36:03]
Dave DeFore
Oh, yeah. I would wager that Messiah probably waits until one of those expansion teams pops up and then jumps on the wagon there because Seattle was also going to be run by Tim Lewicki. Tim Lewicki and Messiah have a connection. That's. That's sort of my hunch here. He probably waits, sees what happens there. Okay. I was going to say Kavon Looney is my big free agent. Just because we're loon dog people here. Yeah, that would be awesome. I'm Very excited to see where he goes. I can't really put my. Like, maybe I would say Dorian Finney Smith is the other guy. And we haven't talked about Houston yet. Jabari Smith Jr. Got his extension, which was similar to Nas Reeds, I believe it was five years, $125 million. So he gets about $25 million a year. $122 million actually.
- [36:51]
Esper Henny
Right.
- [36:52]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [36:52]
Zena Keda
Which can only happen after Fred Van Vlietz agreed to a two year extension. $50 million. Significantly lower.
- [36:58]
Dave DeFore
100%. Yeah.
- [36:59]
Zena Keda
Than you expected him to do. So. Yep, that definitely helps.
- [37:03]
Esper Henny
So these guys are kind of buying in.
- [37:06]
Zena Keda
Yeah. It seems like they want to figure out how do we run this back, but better. And the guys are realizing, you know, who's the talent to kind of put the spotlight on. Including a Jabari Smith Jr. For sure.
- [37:18]
Dave DeFore
Yeah. So I, I mean, I think like Dorian Finney Smith. We were kind of talking about this before the pod started, but like the rotation for the Rockets would just be. Absolutely. If Dorian Finney Smith signs there for the mid level exception, you think of like they're starting five, plus they have Tari Eason off of the bench. Plus if they would, they'd have Dorian off of the bench. You might include a Reed shepherd in there, Aaron Holiday. Like they have guys, they have so much depth. And we've talked about depth ad nauseam when it comes to this playoff run and what it means. Houston has that right now and they have the top end talent.
- [37:49]
Esper Henny
Right. And didn't really make a full consolidation trade. Right. Like, they kept still all the guys that they wanted to keep. Even Cam Whitmore, who I don't think they necessarily want to keep. They didn't include, you know, in the KD trade. So, yeah, Houston is a team that we're getting to them late, but they've been nailing everything the last week.
- [38:07]
Dave DeFore
And can I just say, like, people were kind of surprised online about the Jabari Smith Jr extension just because he was the first of his draft class to get extended. I think that's a great deal both for him and for Houston. It's basically Nas Reed money and it's a bet to say, hey, we expect you to be about as good as Nasrid. If you're better than. Than that. Cool. We've. You've made your money and we've got the option contract and you got the option.
- [38:33]
Esper Henny
If you're just. Reminds me of the Jailing Green deal, right? Yeah, same blueprint as the Jalen Green deal. If. Okay, let's See what happens this year, next year, you're still young. Some team might be interested in you even if you're not going to work here for us. Still a good piece and that contract's great. I mean it, it's low end starter money. And Jabari Smith Jr. I think is be. He's maybe not your start next year, but.
- [38:56]
Dave DeFore
Right.
- [38:56]
Esper Henny
That's right. He could be your fourth. If he's your fourth starter, that's, that's a good place to be.
- [39:02]
Zena Keda
Well, in case Houston needs a shooter, which I think we all can agree they do. Duncan Robinson declined his 20 million dollar early termination option and became a free agent. So you never know. Okay. You never know. I think for me it might be a little obvious. Jonathan Kaminga did not get a deal done, ends up being extend. Extended an offer and now is officially a restricted free agent. 7.9 million was the extension that was put out there. And I just feel like it, it's the, the, all of the cards are in the warriors hands right now. It feels like it's going to be up to the market to see what Jonathan Kaminga, you know, can garner. And, and I think right now the Nets are of interest. The Heat haven't been, have been interested as well, but even the Heat have apparently said that their interest has been overstated. And so very curious.
- [40:04]
Dave DeFore
Feels like Miami's interest in everything is overstated, you know.
- [40:08]
Zena Keda
Yeah, that's true. That's actually a really good point. Miami, if we're looking at their roster.
- [40:13]
Esper Henny
I'm not sure how, how interested in good players that they are sometimes.
- [40:16]
Dave DeFore
Right?
- [40:16]
Zena Keda
Yeah.
- [40:18]
Esper Henny
Yeah. Kaminga is going to be an interesting case. Like, what's his market?
- [40:23]
Zena Keda
Correct.
- [40:23]
Esper Henny
Is he gonna. What if he winds up a guy who's sitting around in restricted free agency for a little while and that's it.
- [40:30]
Zena Keda
You don't want that. Like, it kind of gives you a sink, right? It kind of gives you a little bit of like, what's, what's wrong with that guy? Why is everyone. It's kind of like when you go to the grocery store and you're going to go get this one product and it's the one left all the way back in the shelf.
- [40:43]
Dave DeFore
You're like, why is that one, why.
- [40:44]
Zena Keda
Is that one just sitting there? And the thing is, Dante coming, it doesn't deserve that sort of label. He is capable of being a significant star role player. Excuse me, star on a team. Not just some role player. And that's what he's looking for. He wants to be someone that comes in With. Oh yeah.
- [41:01]
Dave DeFore
I have a question.
- [41:02]
Zena Keda
Oh yeah.
- [41:03]
Dave DeFore
Do you think that he stays with the Warriors? Like if you had to pick Right now at 12:52am Eastern, is John staying or going from the, from the Warriors?
- [41:19]
Zena Keda
I mean, it's up to the warriors, right? Like.
- [41:24]
Dave DeFore
Okay, you know what I mean?
- [41:26]
Zena Keda
At this point it's up to the warriors of if whatever offer is extended to Jonathan coming, if they have the right to match it or let him go or do a sign and trade situation. Like I think that if Jonathan Kaminga ends up back with the warriors, it is now we can no longer ever say anything about Jonathan Kaminga's game. Whether he plays well, plays poorly. It is on the Warriors. Now you made the decision to match. Keep him on your roster. Incorporate him. Integrate him. Give him a role. Figure it out with Jonathan Kaminga and Jimmy Butler. This is on you now because this man has just been kind of waiting around trying to figure out where he fits and they need to put him in a position. So at this point you want to hold the cards. Awesome warriors. Like, I love that for you. That's awesome. But this man needs a role next year if you end up matching.
- [42:17]
Esper Henny
But that's why I think he winds up on a different team. I think he's. It's signing trade all day. Chicago, I don't. It's. I think Chicago makes some, a lot of sense. Kobe White would be awesome on the Warriors. The Duncan Robinson stuff with Miami makes no sense to me. The warriors hard capping themselves for Duncan Robinson is just.
- [42:38]
Zena Keda
Yeah.
- [42:39]
Esper Henny
Unrealistic.
- [42:39]
Dave DeFore
Again, it's also not what they need, you know.
- [42:41]
Esper Henny
No, it's not gonna happen. So. Yeah, yeah. But I'm with you. I, I think Kaminga, I actually expect him to be on different team. Think it's out.
- [42:49]
Zena Keda
I'll be deeply sad. We just mentioned one of our comments was about basketball Africa League. Obviously Jonathan Kaminga did not play in basketball Africa League, but he is one of those big awesome stories out of the continent coming up from G League Ignite. Absolutely. And I just. I want him to win in this league. I am biased towards him. I will say that because I. He works so hard and he has an amazing, amazing story. So I just hope they all figure it out. All right. Well, as mentioned, it is almost 1am on the East coast and we can't go for four hours. I know our producers are already going to be annoyed with the fact that this is going on almost 40 minutes. Okay. We were supposed to wrap this up a long time ago, but hey, we could talk about this forever. But good news, we're going to be talking about it tomorrow, so make sure you tune in. Free Agency will be going live, I believe, to talk through it throughout the day. Make sure you guys are up to date.
- [43:44]
BetterHelp Representative
Yeah.
- [43:45]
Zena Keda
All right, well, on behalf of David4Esperahenny, I'm Xena Keda telling you first and foremost go like and subscribe this video. Go like and subscribe to the podcast and then get ready to come back and talk to us about Free Agency. Enjoy the rest of your day.
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