Trade Deadline Recap with John Hollinger

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily – Trade Deadline Recap with John Hollinger

Date: February 6, 2026
Host(s): Dave DuFour, Esper Henny
Guest: John Hollinger

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Overview of the Episode

This NBA Daily episode delivers an in-depth and fast-paced recap of the 2026 NBA trade deadline with special guest John Hollinger, a leading basketball analyst and columnist. The discussion centers on notable trades, non-moves, and the broader implications for franchises and the evolving NBA landscape. The team evaluates which teams improved their postseason prospects, which are playing the long game, and highlights puzzling and impactful deals shaping the league’s immediate and long-term future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Giannis Antetokounmpo Non-Trade & Milwaukee's Strategy

[00:49 – 02:20]

• The Bucks surprised many by keeping Giannis at the deadline.
• John Hollinger: "I had always thought that they would have better offers this summer than they would get right now. It's unfortunate for Giannis because it burns another year of his prime. But the fact of the matter is the Bucks have a duty to their franchise and their future to secure the best deal." (01:31)
• John speculates that major offers from teams like OKC, Houston, and San Antonio will be even stronger in the summer than the current ones.
• Milwaukee's "tankathon" prospects: They could land a high draft pick despite swap complications with the Pelicans.

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2. Notable Trades and Creative Draft Protections

[02:58 – 04:51]

• Vita Zubots traded to the Pacers for two first-round picks, one with unusual protections: top-4 protected and 10-30 protected.
• John Hollinger: "It's rare. It is more rare now because you don't see teams extending the protections out for three, five, seven years anymore... This is a rare exception because it only applies for one year and then skips ahead to a much later year." (03:26)
• He labels the move "a really creative solution for both sides," protecting the Pacers while giving the Clippers a chance at a high pick.

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3. Impactful Trades for Contenders & Playoff Implications

[04:51 – 06:12]

• Pistons, currently East’s #1 seed, add shooter Kevin Huerter:
  • "Did they solve their problem? Kevin Herder going to Detroit? ... The lack of shooting has been glaring. So you bring in Kevin Herder… hoping he can kind of refind his mojo." (05:05)
• Luke Kennard sent elsewhere, surprising given his superior shooting to Huerter.
• Detroit’s approach characterized as "keeping the powder dry" for a future offseason move.

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4. Blockbuster: Anthony Davis to the Wizards & Future-Oriented Deals

[06:12 – 06:45]

• Anthony Davis lands with Washington alongside Trey Young, but Hollinger doubts their immediate impact:
  • "Trey Young and Anthony Davis get you to respectable certainly, but I don't think they're at a level where they can carry you to the top of the east by themselves." (06:45)
• More weight given to the Pacers’ Zubots trade for future impact.

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5. Memphis Grizzlies Enter a Full Reset

[07:36 – 08:34]

• Hollinger discusses Memphis’s complete teardown, forced by Ja Morant's unreliability, and predicts Morant will also be traded soon:
  • "I'm sure they're going to move Ja at some point now. I mean it's, it's the only thing that makes sense now. Just fully pivot toward younger guys." (07:40)

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6. The Non-Movers: Miami, Houston, and San Antonio

[08:38 – 10:20]

• Surprised Miami and Houston didn't make a move, especially post-Kevin Durant deal in Houston:
  • "Houston a little surprised because once you push the chips in for Kevin Durant, it's like, okay, what are we doing here?" (09:02)
  • Hollinger feels Houston's lack of floor spacing and Miami's focus on a possible Giannis run this summer kept them quiet.
• San Antonio’s inactivity also noted as surprising.

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7. Most Confusing Trades

[11:49 – 13:10]

• Hollinger didn't understand the Nets’ Hunter Tyson deal: "You’re doing Denver a favor at the same time, like, what was that?" (12:10)
• Dissects Sacramento’s DeAndre Hunter trade as puzzling:
  • "You have the worst record in the league. You need to be tanking... That was a puzzling deal." (12:54)

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8. Best & Worst Deals (Excluding the Pacers’ Move)

[14:08 – 15:20]

• Best under-the-radar deal: Atlanta getting Jock Landale "for nothing."
  • "That was amazing that they were able to get him for absolutely nothing." (14:21)
• Worst deal: Chicago eating $6 million of Gershon Yabusele’s salary from the Knicks for no return.
  • "I'm flabbergasted by that... Let's just eat his $6 million for next year and not ask for anything in return." (15:30)

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9. The Second Apron & New CBA as Trade Drivers

[16:54 – 19:20]

• The NBA's new financial restrictions (the "second apron") heavily influenced deals and non-deals:
  • "Eventually the second apron is going to get you, the repeater is going to get you, and you can't do that ad infinitum." (19:20)
• Harden-Garland swap cited as a function of tight salary constraints.

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10. Shifts in Free Agency & the New Path for Team Building

[19:09 – 20:21]

• Major takeaway: Free agency is "just isn’t a thing anymore."
  • "The Wizards had a bunch of cap room and they weren't going to be able to sign anybody with it. Right?" (19:19)
• Emphasis on the need to "move off guys sooner" and not overplay your hand, a recurring lesson from this year's market.

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11. Looking Ahead: Who's Ready for a Wild Summer?

[20:21 – 21:22]

• Miami, Golden State listed as teams poised to get aggressive this summer, plus Minnesota (despite limited assets).
• The Jared McCain trade discussed: Philly sold "high" at the right time.

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12. Kuminga Fresh Start & Final Winner/"Loser" Picks

[22:15 – 23:51]

• Kuminga's move to Atlanta described as a fascinating unknown for his development.
• Biggest Loser: "In a way, it's Dallas, right? Like you started with Luka and you ended with this like, okay, great." (23:15)
• Biggest Winner: "I just really like what Indiana did. I think Zubots is on a great contract... I thought that was absolutely the right move for Indiana to come back strong next year." (23:23)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It burns another year of [Giannis'] prime. But the fact of the matter is the Bucks have a duty to their franchise and their future to secure the best deal.” – John Hollinger (01:31)
• “This is a rare exception because it only applies for one year… a really creative and fair solution that the two sides came up with.” – Hollinger on the Zubots trade protections (03:26)
• “Eventually the second apron is going to get you… you can't just pay guys $40 million and figure you're going to be able to trade them later. It doesn't work like that anymore.” – Hollinger on new CBA realities (19:20)
• “Free agency just isn't a thing anymore.” – John Hollinger (19:09)
• On Dallas: "You started with Luka and you ended with this like, okay, great." (23:15)
• On Indiana: "I really like what Indiana did... that was absolutely the right move for Indiana to come back strong next year." (23:23)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Giannis & Milwaukee’s Strategy: 00:49 – 02:20
• Pacers-Clippers Draft Pick Swap / Zubots Trade: 02:58 – 04:51
• Contender Upgrades & Huerter to Pistons: 04:51 – 06:12
• Anthony Davis to Wizards & Impact: 06:12 – 06:45
• Grizzlies’ Full Reset: 07:36 – 08:34
• Why Miami/Houston/San Antonio Stayed Quiet: 08:38 – 10:20
• Most Confusing Trades: 11:49 – 13:10
• Best/Worst Deals: 14:08 – 15:20
• Impact of the Second Apron/CBA: 16:54 – 19:20
• Biggest Takeaways for Front Offices: 19:09 – 20:21
• Looking Ahead to Summer Moves: 20:21 – 21:22
• Kuminga in Atlanta/Final Winner & Loser: 22:15 – 23:51

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Summary

In this lively post-trade deadline episode, John Hollinger and hosts break down the league’s most intriguing moves (and non-moves), analyze the underlying financial and strategic motivations, and explore which franchises positioned themselves best for the present and future. The Cleveland-LA Harden/Garland swap, Indiana’s big pivot, and Memphis’s full tank all serve as prime illustrations of seismic change in the NBA's trade and team-building environment. The panel closes with clear warnings about overcommitting to big contracts and failing to act decisively – and a forecast of big action in the summer, particularly from teams with playoff ambitions that sat out this deadline.

Transcript

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Fragrance is designed to create small feel good moments throughout your day. Discover what your space [e-mail] moods foreign. And welcome to the NBA Daily. I'm Dave Dufour here with Esperahenny and our special guest John Hollinger for our trade deadline recap wrap up show John Kind of a not a dud of a day. There's been a lot of stuff happening but not the major ground shaking move that we anticipated. Giannis is going to stay put. How do you feel about the Bucks keeping Giannis?

[John Hollinger]

I had always thought that they would have better offers this summer than they would get right now. It's unfortunate for Giannis because it burns another year of his prime. But the fact of the matter is the Bucks have a duty to their franchise and their future to secure the best deal. If you look at it between Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Houston, at least one of them is definitely going out in the second round or earlier and they will definitely be disappointed in that and they will definitely reevaluate what they're doing and they are the three teams who can blow away any of these offers we've seen from Golden State or Miami. So I do think it's worth Milwaukee's while to wait. That offer from Miami will still be there in the summer, but they might also have much better stuff on the table from a Houston or a San Antonio especially.

[Dave Dufour]

How do you think this factors into Milwaukee's, I guess, tank? A thon that might happen in the second half of the season, especially because Giannis, for all intents and purposes is is trying to come back and play.

[John Hollinger]

I think Milwaukee has to be all in on that tank. They can still get the number two pick in the draft, although they cannot get Number one, because the Pelicans are also so bad. So Milwaukee has the lesser of their own picker, New Orleans, but they can still basically lock that into being a top seven or top eight pick and a great draft and still have a pretty good chance to end up in the top four. Even though it's the lesser of the two picks. It's kind of amazing.

[Dave Dufour]

So you just mentioned that and we just saw Vita Zubots get traded to the Indiana Pacers for two first round picks. One of those picks being the 2026 Pacers pick, which is top four.

[John Hollinger]

Excuse. Bless you.

[Dave Dufour]

Top four protected and protected 10 to 30.

[John Hollinger]

Yes.

[Dave Dufour]

One, have you ever seen a trade like that before? And two, is this going to be the most insane draft lottery ever?

[John Hollinger]

Yes, because we did one and, and there's been a couple others like that. We did, we did a trade with Cleveland in December of 2012 when I worked for the Grizzlies where we salary dumped Marie Spates and Wayne Ellington and sent Cleveland a pick that was protected 1 through 5 and 20 through 30. I want to say for a period, for a period of like three years before, before the bans expanded because Cleveland wanted to give itself a chance at a lottery pick and we didn't want them to end up in the top five. So that has happened before. It's rare. It is more rare now because you don't see teams extending the protections out for three, five, seven years anymore because it's just the step in rule. Handcuffs are just too tight with that. So nobody wants to do that anymore. This is a rare exception because it only applies for one year and then it, it skips ahead to a much later year whether when the Clippers reason that the Pacers will be maybe outside their champion window and have a better chance of conveying a high pick. So I thought it was a really creative solution for both sides where the Pacers could protect themselves from not having traded Darren Peterson for Evita Zubots basically. But the Clippers still give themselves the best chance at getting a true high pick for Zuba and basically two, because they have another unprotected coming from Indy also. So I thought, I thought it was a really creative and fair solution that the two sides came up with what.

[Esper Henny]

Trade is going to make the biggest difference for the rest of the season. As we're looking ahead to the playoff race and the push to the Finals. Is there anything that stands out to you as far as the team that oh, they solve their problems or they really put themselves over the hump?

[John Hollinger]

Here's one where it's like, did they solve their problem? Kevin Herder going to Detroit? I mean, the Pistons are the one seed in the east right now and they have enough of a margin that they're probably going to stay there. And but the, the lack of shooting has been glaring. So you bring in Kevin Herder, who's a knockdown shooter for the first four years of his career, then hasn't been able to make anything for the last three, and you're hoping that he can kind of refind his mojo on a team that might get him more open shots than he had in, in say Chicago or Sacramento. It's a really interesting play by the Pistons, but it's one of those where you say, I don't know how this is going to work out.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, it felt like they took, I don't know if pragmatic is the word, but like they didn't make that big splash trade that people were expecting or MICHAEL PORTER jr.

[Esper Henny]

They kept the powder dry.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, they kept the powder dry for the summer.

[John Hollinger]

So good. Them going for Porter was the move. I think everyone sort of was wondering if they'd make the other thing I wonder about. So Luke Canard got traded for a second round pick. Yeah, he's definitely a better shooter than Herder. So like Detroit not wanting to bring in Canard and wanting Herder instead, that, that surprised me.

[Dave Dufour]

Let's say another surprise trade, I think for a lot of people was Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards. Is that perhaps the most impactful future trade or is there another trade out there that, that you think of and say that's the one that's.

[John Hollinger]

I think the Zubas trade is the most impactful future trade because the Pacers are going to be really good next year. I mean, they solved their center problem with Miles Turner. They get Halliburton back next year, they maybe get a high pick in the, in the draft again. I think that, that in terms of impacting next year because realistically, the Wizards still aren't going to be good next year.

[Dave Dufour]

Right?

[John Hollinger]

They might be okay. I mean their, their kind of long term roadmap was that they would start being respectable next year. I think Trey Young and Anthony Davis get you to respectable certainly, but I don't think they're at a level where they can carry you to the top of the east by themselves. They're going to need a lot of help from the younger players that Washington has brought in. And I still think those guys are a year or two away from really doing that. So wasn't totally shocked by the Davis deal just because the price was, I mean, pretty cheap. At the end of the day, where I will be more shocked is if the Wizards go all in on extensions for these two guys. I'm really interested to see what their contractual situations are going to be going forward because that to me is really where the rubber hits the road as to whether Washington made a short sighted move or a really sharp opportunistic move.

[Esper Henny]

Are you bored of talking about the Grizzlies yet?

[John Hollinger]

Not yet. I mean it's, it's, you know, they, they did a full reset and it's basically like John Morant's unreliability forced them to trade the two reliable guys, right. With the Desmond Bain and Jaren. So it's unfortunate that way. They're doing a full reset. I'm sure they're going to move jaw at some point now. I mean it's, it's the only thing that makes sense now. Just fully pivot toward younger guys. I'm interested to see what they do in the, in the off season. I was a little surprised they didn't move Ty Jerome after the way he's played since returning from injury. Or contagious Caldwell Pope. Maybe there's just no market for him at 21 million. But I think there's going to be more opportunities for the Grizzlies to do more things. And I think they now are one of several teams who are trying to kind of moonwalk backwards into the, in the standings, into this draft lottery. So it's going to be. And an interesting tank race season bottom.

[Esper Henny]

Race to the body like a quarter of the league.

[John Hollinger]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

John, I have, I have to ask you, there were three teams that didn't make a trade. Miami, San Antonio and Houston. Are you surprised that any of those teams didn't make a move?

[John Hollinger]

I was, yes. I think Terry Rozier situation probably was an obstacle for Miami in terms of making a deal with his expiring contract.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[John Hollinger]

And so that, that was their, that was their best opportunity, I think, to do something. The other thing they could have done is something with Andrew Wiggins, but I, I think it would have been potato for potato at the end of the day if they did something for him. I just don't know if it would have, you know, rocked Miami's world or really change everything. And I think they just, they just wanted to stay put for, for Giannis and be able to come back and attack the Giannis thing in the summer. Houston a little surprised because once you go once you push the chips in for Kevin Durant. It's like, okay, what are we doing here?

[Dave Dufour]

You have your window now, right? Yeah.

[John Hollinger]

I thought maybe they had an opportunity to move Dorian, Finney Smith and get another productive player, especially another shooter. Their lack of spacing has been really glaring in their losses. They, you know, Kevin Durant is shooting all jump shots. He's had a tremendous year, but he literally never shoots at the rim because it's impossible to get there. And I think when, when you already have Shangun and Amen Thompson, like, you need knockdown shooting around those guys and they're sending out like, you know, Joshua Kogi. I mean no disrespect to him. He plays really hard, but like, he's, he's not the guy that teams are terrified of as a floor spacer. And so that, that surprised me.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Esper Henny]

Guys, we're going to take a quick break and when we come back, we'll talk about some of the bad trades or the confusing ones.

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[Esper Henny]

Okay, John, while we got you here, I. I know you like to dish out the pain when it's necessary. What's the most confusing trade that's happened this season?

[John Hollinger]

Confusing?

[Esper Henny]

Just one where you just looked at it and you were like, huh? What are they thinking?

[John Hollinger]

I didn't understand Brooklyn's Hunter Tyson trade at all. It was like you're going to trade a pick in the 40s in this draft to get a 2032 second and you're doing Denver a favor at the same time, like, what was that in terms of bigger swings? Sacramento's deal for DeAndre Hunter, you sort of understood in a way, but it's like, you have the worst record in the league. You need to be tanking you. Okay, you got rid of. You got rid of two bad contracts, but you had to give up Keone Ellis to do it, who is a guy you should have extended before the season in the first place. That. That. That was a puzzling deal.

[Esper Henny]

I mean, listen, anytime you can send out the best player and draft picks in a trade, isn't that kind of like you have to do it? The Kings have been confusing. I mean, my entire life, it feels like. Yeah, I'm not surprised by this at all.

[Dave Dufour]

I'm also surprised a little bit by the fact that they didn't move some of their other guys. And Demonta Sabonis, Dem. Malik, Monk. I know, yeah, it's tough to find a package that makes sense for those guys, but why do you think they couldn't get anything done for those?

[John Hollinger]

I think the only real thing they had on Sabonis was the Toronto trade, and they rightly decided that Jakob Pearl's contract was so bad that they just could not do it. So I'm not going to dunk on them for that one. And the fact is, I mean, they're terrible enough right now. They don't really need to shed talent because they're like 12 and 43 or whatever it is already.

[Esper Henny]

Yeah, I mean, I guess there is a. There is a limit to how much you can.

[John Hollinger]

How bad you can get. Yeah, okay. Yeah. I mean, maybe you can argue they should have kept Schroeder.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Esper Henny]

All right, before we get to the worst trade, I want to give you a chance. What's the best trade outside of the.

[John Hollinger]

The.

[Esper Henny]

The Pacers trade? Cause it feels like you really like that trade. What's the best trade that. That has happened today?

[John Hollinger]

Atlanta got Jack Landell for nothing. I mean, it's a small trade, but, like, that. That was amazing that they were able to get him for absolutely nothing. Feels like he fits on a bunch.

[Esper Henny]

Of teams, too, Right?

[John Hollinger]

Yeah. Right. And, I mean, the Hawks had no size, especially with Pozingus being so unreliable, so that. That one made sense. Golden State with the Przingis deal. I mean, I. I guess I sort of get it. I mean, I think the thing they really take away from that is there just wasn't any kind of market for Jonathan Kaminga at all. So this has kind of been the year of teams overplaying their hands. And that was another example Chicago pivoting too late to the tank just in time for an awful 2027 draft. That, that, that one stood out to me. Not, not the deals they made today, but the strategic choices over the last two years that led them to this point. I just think the, the overarching vision was kind of, kind of a fail there.

[Dave Dufour]

Okay, what is the worst trade, not just of today, of the trade deadline of this entire season, what has been the worst trade in your opinion?

[John Hollinger]

Well, there were only, I think two trades before this week. Right. Like it, like the Trey Young trade was the only trade the first four months of the season. So it's basically, we're basically down to this week. Chicago taking on the 6 million of Gershon Yabaselli for next year without even getting a pick or anything. Like, I'm flabbergasted by that. Yeah, because, because the Knicks were jonesing to move off that money. And so I just don't understand that deal at all. Especially in light of all the other moves Chicago is making to get second round picks left and right. And now it's like, oh, we need a, I guess we need a big. For our play in run, right? Was it, was that why they did. I don't know. I'm trying to find some kind of logic here. Let's just eat his 6 million for next year and not ask for anything in return. I, I don't know. I'm.

[Esper Henny]

Well, they're not making a play in run, are they? Like, I mean. No, they're the Bulls.

[John Hollinger]

They always are.

[Esper Henny]

Sitting right over here to my right. The Bulls aren't making a play in run. I don't believe.

[John Hollinger]

Okay.

[Esper Henny]

Apparently there's more to come on Yabu sale. That's Joe producer Joel Lorenzi sitting over in the corner.

[John Hollinger]

Okay, well if they, I mean if they are buying him out and getting that money removed next year, that obviously is a different situation. That's the thing that everyone speculated on when the deal was made because they were like, how are there no draft fix in this? So we'll see how that turns out.

[Esper Henny]

Is the second apron. Is it been the driving force you feel like behind a lot of the moves that we've seen.

[John Hollinger]

It'S been a force behind some of the moves we haven't seen. Certainly. I also think like the Harden for Garland deal, I think that came out in part because literally the only two guys that could be traded for was each other. Based on the, based on the salary constraints that each side was operating within. So they, I mean, James Harden just had to take a very small amount of his trade kicker to make his salary the exact same amount, but no more than Darius Garland's. And. And there we are. And it's somehow, you know, the Clippers still ended up getting. I actually, I can't. I can't remember if they got all the way under the tax or just were still like a million short, but they ended up saving money. Between that and the Zubot Steel and the CAVs with their second apron situation, they were able to trade Garland for another player of roughly equal caliber. I mean, people will debate this, obviously, going forward. I thought, I thought it was a really interesting trade. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it. Cleveland definitely shortened their sort of window of excellence here by adding 10 years. And James Harden is like, not historically a massive playoff performer. On the other hand, they. Garland was to the point where they couldn't necessarily rely on him. So. So I sort of understand the logic there. So there's. There's a lot of ways you can spin that one.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, I'm very fascinated to see from the Clippers perspective how they move forward too, just, just because of the OKC pick situation that's going on. They didn't trade Kawhi Leonard, but now they have Darius Garland, they have Ben Mather, and they have these two Pacers picks. It just feels like they are completely headed in a different direction. If you were to zoom out and look at the trade deadline and the trades that we've seen so far, how do you, what do you think the biggest takeaway is from how teams are moving? Obviously the second apron is a factor, but we saw two rebuilding teams and the Jazz and the Wizards go out and make these big additions. What do you think the biggest takeaway is from the trade deadline this week?

[John Hollinger]

The biggest takeaway is that teams understand that free agency just isn't a thing anymore. Like, the Wizards had a bunch of cap room and they weren't going to be able to sign anybody with it. Right?

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[John Hollinger]

You know, Brooklyn arguably was looking at the same thing, although they didn't move nearly as aggressively necessarily. And so I think that's one thing, and then the other thing is you got to move off guys sooner. You can't overplay your hand. I mean, we saw so much of that this year. And I just think with the, the way, the way the contract numbers are and the aprons and everything, you have to be a little more selective about who you pay, even if You're a quote unquote rich team that wants to shoot money at the fire hose. Eventually the second apron is going to get you, the repeater is going to get you, and you can't do that ad infinitum. So I think that's, that's the real lesson. You can't just pay guys $40 million and figure you're going to be able to trade them later. It doesn't work like that anymore.

[Dave Dufour]

I'm looking at a team like the Toronto Raptors and how different their trade line trade deadline could have worked if they won, did not extend Jacob Pertle.

[John Hollinger]

Absolutely.

[Dave Dufour]

If they had more expiring salary that they could play with, could they have gotten involved for Jaren Jackson or Zubots or whoever? Right.

[John Hollinger]

Yep.

[Esper Henny]

Just going to make you like, look ahead to the summer. Okay, how, how does this deadline affect this coming summer? Like, what teams do you feel like are going to be way more aggressive this summer because they weren't aggressive at the deadline?

[John Hollinger]

Well, Miami and Golden State certainly top that list. Yeah, I would argue for Minnesota too. I mean, we'll see. I think they're still really constrained. They just have no picks to trade, so it's hard for them to. But they're definitely going to try. I think they may try something more radical than trading for Ayo Dasunmu, let's say.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Esper Henny]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

What were your thoughts on the Jared McCain trade? Because this was a guy that about December of last year was probably leading the rookie of the year race and now he's on the defending champions. What'd you think about that move?

[John Hollinger]

Yeah, it's interesting because he really just hasn't been good this year at all. He's played a little better the last couple of weeks. I thought Philadelphia got about as good as return as they were ever going to get for him, given that he's locked in behind Maxey and Edgecomb. Definitely. And also Quentin Grimes. For as long as you're there, like, how much are you risk going to get for your fourth guard? You know, in his second year. Yeah, you can still sell the upside. When he gets to his third, fourth year and he's still your fourth guard, it gets really hard. So I think, I think Philadelphia was right to cash it, cash that stock in the way they did, because I, I just don't think his value to the Sixers was just never going to be that high. So I think getting assets and then being able to move forward and maybe getting, you know, another small forward, another power forward, whatever is the better move for Them.

[Esper Henny]

And it was the opposite of what the warriors did with Kaminga. I mean, to your point, they, they sold higher on McCain than they maybe would have if they wait, Kaminga probably goes for less if the war, you know, than the warriors could have gotten if they move him.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Esper Henny]

Earlier in this entire process. You got any Kaminga takes in Atlanta?

[John Hollinger]

Interested to see what happens. Seeing him outside Golden State, I think is the question everyone's wondering about. Just what does he even look like? Is he any good? Like, we don't even know. I do think especially when Jalen Johnson is off the floor, Atlanta's oddball shot creation stuff still isn't that great, even after adding cj and having one more guy that can do that when Johnson isn't there is really important. And then the Hawks were just really small when, when Pozingus wasn't there. And getting Landale, getting Kaminga, like a Ford with real size to him, I think that's going to help too. Yeah.

[Esper Henny]

I think him and Jalen Johnson, at least on paper, I think it might look good together. All right, before we get out of here, give me your Biggest Loser and your biggest winner. And let's end with the winner, because I like to go out on a, on a note.

[John Hollinger]

Biggest Loser. I mean, in a way, it's Dallas, right?

[Esper Henny]

Yeah.

[Advertiser/Host]

Yeah, right.

[John Hollinger]

Like you started with Luca and you ended with this like, okay, great. And then my biggest winner, I, I just really like what Indiana did. I think Zubots is on a great contract, has a couple years to run. He's not a flight. The Pacers are tax averse like that. They need a guy like that who makes that level of money. I thought that was absolutely the right move for Indiana to come back strong next year. I, I really like what they did.

[Esper Henny]

Yeah. Well, thank you, John, for hanging out with us. Everybody go and read all the trade deadline recap stuff from John Hollinger over at the Athletic. He's one of the best in the business at it, sir. For John Hollinger and Esperahenny, I'm Dave Dufour. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for hanging out with us.

[John Hollinger]

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[Advertiser/Host]

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[John Hollinger]

Up and open the door.

[Advertiser/Host]

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[John Hollinger]

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