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Andrew Schlecht
Welcome to the morning shoot around here on the Athletic NBA Daily. I'm your host Andrew Schlecht. With me this morning I've got Dave Dufour.
Brennan
What's up?
Andrew Schlecht
What's up? All right, I'm just going to try something.
Brennan
Just Dave.
Andrew Schlecht
We'll see how it goes. Esperani is also here with Us.
Chris
What up, people? Hello. Hello.
Andrew Schlecht
What's up? So, first, listen, you guys don't have a lot of time to talk about whatever you want on an NBA podcast because we have a pretty short NBA show that we do every day. So I just wanted to give you the floor. Is there, like, something that's on your mind league wide, Something going on that you would want to discuss before we get into the. The main topic of the day is trading John Morant, but I thought I would just open the floor to you real quick and see if you had anything else on your mind.
Chris
Dave, you got anything?
Brennan
Go ahead.
Chris
No, I mean, like, honestly, there's. There's a lot I'm kind of working on my weekly, like, five notes from the season piece that I do every week. The one thing that I've noticed. Have you guys watched Cade Cunningham in the fourth quarter any chance?
Brennan
Yeah, recently.
Chris
He is ridiculous to start this season in the fourth quarter. Like, absurd numbers. I think he's averaging like 15 points in the fourth quarter, something around 45. Shooting. Like, what does that even mean? Most of his shots this year and most of his opportunities have come in the fourth. That's just one thing that I've been looking at this morning. But he's been absurd. He's honestly been absurd. And the Pistons look really, really good, which is another part of this whole thing.
Brennan
Jalen Duran, man, looks good. This might be the year for him. You know, I, I'm. I like that they're going to be patient, or it looks like they're going to be patient, but they might be a guy away in the East.
Andrew Schlecht
It's.
Brennan
It's kind of crazy to say for a team that's, you know, it feels like they just got there. So what was it? Oh, I said in our group chat, I actually, I posed the question to you guys, what if KD had gone to the Pistons Just as. What does that team look like right now if it has that kind of guy? That's where they're at. You know, if. And obviously, if you can get a guy like kd, yeah, you're doing well. But, you know, I mean, but, you know, they're. They're really. That's one dude away from. From being like a finals contender is pretty close for a team that was just abysmal two years ago. So.
Chris
Yeah, I even the Rockets, by the way, like, their offense is pretty surprisingly good without Fred VanVleet right now. Like, yeah, they still need a guard.
Brennan
A lot of shot making, but their shot diet is tough. Right? Like, this is, like, my, my biggest takeaway, actually, if you want me to get in something. There are some teams living on hard shots right now, and Houston's one of them, and I just. Is that sustainable? Like, we know it's sustainable for Kevin Durant. Yeah, I don't know if it's sustainable for Shingoon and, and these other guys.
Andrew Schlecht
So, yeah, it's, it really becomes dependent on, like, do. Are they still the best offensive rebounding team of all time?
Brennan
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Right. That's how they've survived is, like, they get to the free throw line, they're shooting really well. Like said, like, they're shooting really well over the course, but, like, they're grabbing every available offensive rebound and they're getting to the free throw line, and it's, it'll be interesting to see where we're at in, like, the end of December. And, like, what, what do the Rockets look like then?
Chris
They're rebounding 42% of their shots.
Andrew Schlecht
That's, I mean, that just makes no sense. That's just incomprehensible. Some of it's like, Stephen Adams is an absolute beast of an offensive rebounder, and then everybody else is giant and has longer arms than everybody else. So, like, that helps, but we'll see if that sustains. Yeah, I, I wondered about the Eastern Conference with the Knicks looking a little rickety, with the Cavs not looking dominant, and obviously the Pacers are completely cooked. Like, we're just like six or seven. Six. Seven games in. Six, Seven.
Chris
Dave did not get that whatsoever.
Andrew Schlecht
I don't expect Dave to get it.
Brennan
No children.
Andrew Schlecht
But if you're listening with a middle schooler right now, Six, seven, everybody. Okay, there you go. But has your opinion changed on any team about, like, who could potentially be in the Finals as, like, a way, way too early Eastern Conference finals contender, or are we still, like, sticking with Cavs? Nicks?
Chris
I think we got to start with the Chicago Bulls, right?
Andrew Schlecht
Hey, they're winning basketball games.
Brennan
They are.
Chris
They are winning basketball.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
Yeah. I, I just, honestly, I, I feel like the east is actually open. If you, if you maybe pick someone right now, I'm probably gonna say maybe the Bucks just because of Giannis.
Chris
That's what I was thinking, too. Yeah.
Brennan
I just, I, I think Giannis, what he's doing to start the season, I mean, this is the best start of any season of his career, including his MVP seasons, including the championship season. This is the best start for him. You know, a career high in offensive rebounds, which is telling. I, I, I guess I would say the Bucks if I had to pick someone right now. That being said, I mean, once you, you know, get into a playoff series, I don't know if, I don't know if, if the Bucks have the juice for that because, you know, you throw everything at Giannis then, but yeah, I think right now. Yeah. Or the Hawks without Trey Young.
Andrew Schlecht
Yes. If Trey could just, how about that? Stay injured. I picked the Hawks.
Brennan
Dyson Daniels is ridiculous.
Chris
He does look good. Yeah.
Brennan
And also, you know, again, it Nikhil, Nikhil Alexander Walker, like, he's a two way player. I don't know, they, they make a, some sense without Trey, but I think they have a lower ceiling. But yeah, I, I, I guess I'd say Milwaukee, I mean, the Miami Heat are a little interesting just because of like the way that they're playing.
Andrew Schlecht
That team made the finals. I, I, I don't, I don't know, man. I got, I just be like, I.
Brennan
Hold the Eastern Conference at that point.
Chris
Yeah, yeah. Just make it a whole league thing. I, I'll, I'll say, I think the way the Heat are playing is a little bit unsustainable.
Brennan
Oh, I would agree.
Chris
I don't, I don't think you could do that offense, one for an entire season and two for a postseason run. I just don't think that that's the way to do it. Like the Shore driving kick as a foundation and like the Wheel offense and all that type of stuff makes sense if you are limited, which they are right now, without Tyler Hero. But at the same time, I just, I don't see a version where this team is as good to make it to the Eastern Conference finals as the team I'm about to mention, which is the Detroit Pistons. I think the Pistons can make a run. Cade is about as good as anybody in the Eastern Conference in a playoff series other than Giannis.
Brennan
Right.
Chris
Like, he can go toe to toe with Brunson, he can go toe to toe with, I don't know, Donovan Mitchell, whoever you want to call it. And they also have the younger guys, they play really hard defensively. They have like the wing stoppers to play against some of these other guys too. I don't know. I just think that's a team that's poised to make some sort of Eastern Conference finals run. And it's funny because I think a lot of people thought that would be the magic.
Brennan
Right, Right.
Chris
And it's not them. And I, I, I, I know that's an early reaction, but they just don't look the part at all right, now.
Brennan
Well, they don't have the Cade Cunningham guy, right? They don't have a drink stir like Cade Cunningham. Paolo, as much as he can create for himself, doesn't really lift other guys up. I know he had like a six assist game after all the criticism started coming toward him, you know, I mean, it just. They don't have Cade. Not a lot of teams have Cade. What Orlando is missing. They don't have like a point guard. They don't have a guy who is going to go out, just run a high pick and roll and get the ball moving. Paolo likes to stop the ball. Franz, like to a certain degree, reminds me a little bit of Josh Giddy. Just big will attack the basket. But he's driving into space where Paolo is occupying. Right? Yeah, yeah. They, they just don't have a cohesive offense. I mean, we, we hit on the Bane stuff yesterday. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's just that's, that's been rough. But part of that is because again, Bane needs a driving kick guy to play off of. I actually think we should be doing some Bane trades, by the way. Not just, I mean, like they're not.
Chris
Gonna get back what they spent, I'll tell you that.
Brennan
Yeah. Sunk cost though, you know, I mean, you know, if you ever owned an old house, I've got an old Volkswagen, you just say, hey, look, these things cost money. They cost.
Chris
I'll say this, there's like one guy that I've basically mentioned for every fringe contender, and that's Derrick White. Like, I think, yeah, everybody should be in on this guy. He's also had a slow start to the season, so maybe his value, quote unquote, isn't as high, but he just works for every contender. Everybody could use a Derek White, but.
Andrew Schlecht
His value would be through the roof.
Brennan
Yeah.
Chris
Because like probably Desmond Bain level trade. Right. In terms of the.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, yeah, it's true. Yeah, yeah, it's. And also like, maybe Orlando needs a coaching change.
Brennan
You know, I would say that we're probably sneaking up on that again. It's like they have an identity defensively. You know what they are, you know what they want to be. But that offense has never really been existent. It's never, there's never been a system again, easy buckets are important.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
And they just don't have that in, in them whatsoever. This is not a monster transition team. Right. Like, they can't play fast. They're not fast. They are big and they don't really play big, you know, like, does Orlando, like, does it Feel like a big team when you play them.
Chris
They used huge. They last year felt really big.
Brennan
Yeah. They don't mash. They don't really, like, offensively, like, who are they? I know that they've got a guy who's a black hole, who's not a good shooter, and then they've got another guy who's a great slasher who can't shoot, but that's it. They're. They're individual pieces.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. It's tricky. It's tricky. Yeah. I think the east is going to evolve a lot throughout the season. I still think we'll land back at, like, it still. It still should be Cleveland and New York. Yeah. By the end of the season. And if you don't, then, like.
Brennan
But if you're Detroit, would you go get a guy? I mean, like, would you find out.
Andrew Schlecht
Hey, if I get Larry Markin In 100%, yes, that's the guy. I would go do that because I think you go in the Eastern Conference Center, I don't think they could win it as presently constructed. I think they need another reliable piece.
Brennan
Like another relax get, like Devin Booker, hometown guy.
Andrew Schlecht
That would be cool. That would be cool.
Chris
I. I don't know if. I mean, he even said this yesterday. I think Devin Booker said, like, I don't want to leave Phoenix.
Brennan
Sure. Yeah. Phoenix should never let him go. Right. Like, they should keep him for as long as they can.
Chris
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. Speaking of trades, I'm gonna fire up the old trade machine. And listen, I know Memphis is probably not going to trade Jaw. The value's too low. Okay. He means too much. He's selling shoes and jerseys. And we like him. He's our guy. He's just. Okay. I really don't care because fake trades are fun. All right, so we're doing this anyways.
Chris
Also, like the play.
Brennan
Are we sure they're not going to trade John? I am not very much.
Andrew Schlecht
I'm just. I've just been listening to people out of Memphis and this is. These are the things that they are saying. Okay.
Chris
Yeah, but that's a little bit of coke.
Brennan
Keith Parish.
Andrew Schlecht
There's a little bit of copium being passed around in Memphis. But listen, part of the reason that Memphis is here is Jaws doing certainly. But we all act like, oh, the front office. So good they drafted Cedric Coward. That's great. That's. That's a really good hit. They've missed on a lot recently that has put them in this position where they got, like, really cocky and they're like, you know what? We're going to draft a guy and it's going to be David Roddy, who was on like seven teams in three months. Okay.
Chris
Zaire Williams.
Andrew Schlecht
Zaire Williams, like, they really missed in some crucial ways. That Zaire Williams miss was a huge one because you go back and look at that draft and that's a good draft. That's a bad, bad draft to have a miss.
Chris
They also traded up for that, if I.
Andrew Schlecht
Right, yes, they traded it. I think they wanted Josh Giddey, which today, that looks pretty great. But he went up, he went a lot higher. But you look at the guys that were in that draft, like Sengun went after him. Trey Murphy went after him. Jalen Johnson went after him. Like there were guys to be had there. Even if you just drafted Corey Kispert, for crying out loud. You're like, you're, you're feeling, you're not feeling quite as bad today, but they've had some like sincere misses. And that is part of the reason why they're here too. Because part of the story with Memphis back then was, oh, they're good. Even when jaws out like, oh, like that's a, that's a. They're just a quality team that has all this quality depth. And now, you know, I think part of it is that they've lost the depth and jaw has.
Chris
Well, this is also the guard depth.
Brennan
See, this is the other thing that we always forget with Ja. Ja was missing 25 games a season anyway. Yeah. Right. So like his value was lower. This was a guy who was only playing half to three quarters of the season before all of the, the other stuff started happening and he gets suspended and whatnot. So he was already a part time player. Where they always were good is that they had two good backup guards coming off the bench.
Andrew Schlecht
Yep.
Brennan
And once, you know, a couple years ago, Tyus Jones leaves and all of a sudden they don't have that continuity. They land on Scotty Pippen Jr. Luckily.
Chris
Can I be here? Can I be?
Brennan
And this year they had that, but they were going back is what I'm getting to. This is supposed to be the year that they were back to the old plan. And they start the season with both of those guys gone.
Chris
But they're also injured, like, right. Hi, Jerome. No, Scottie Pippen Jr. Right now. No, Edie. Like I think that does. To your point, they, they have the guard depth. They just haven't been able to see it. And so the jaw absence is more exasperated. I will say. This jaw situation is also the playbook we've seen from stars that eventually ask out, you know, or eventually get traded. And I don't think it's naive or, you know, kind of wishful thinking to say that Jaw might get traded this year because of how these type of things snowball. It's been a weekend, and we've already got two weird post game pressers from him basically saying, go ask the coaching staff. I. I just think we're already in a place where you have to open up this conversation for a trade. So.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. Okay, let's start in the Eastern Conference. We're going to work our way through everybody. Okay.
Brennan
By the way, just. Just to lay this out there, Ja has two years left after this one on his contract.
Chris
Yeah. 40 million.
Brennan
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
And. And 40. Like, it feels like. Oh, it's. I mean, it is a lot of.
Brennan
Money, but it's not that much.
Chris
But it's. It's a decent. It's not like a $55 million.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, yeah. Cleveland is a hard no. Right? Like, Cleveland should not trade for John Morant. That should not happen. No Boston.
Brennan
I'm interesting. I'm interesting.
Andrew Schlecht
All right, let's click it. Let's go in. Let's see what we got. Okay. John Morant to the Celtics. You start with Anthony Simons. Because part of what I would want if I was Memphis is I. I want cap relief.
Brennan
Yep.
Andrew Schlecht
Anthony Simons has a year left at 27.6 million.
Chris
That's great.
Andrew Schlecht
And then also to get there, like, Sam Houser makes 10 million.
Brennan
Yep.
Chris
That helps the Celtics, too, when it comes to their cap relief.
Andrew Schlecht
Then you probably need one smaller contract. So Jordan Walsh, Kada. My. Not. Who cares?
Brennan
Like, yeah.
Chris
I. I would. I mean, look, this is also. This is where we're going to come to with a lot of these teams. Where is the value in terms of trade picks and, like, what. What is John Morant's value here? Because I don't know, man. Even regardless of the fact that he only has two years left, this is a guy who is injury prone. This is a guy who obviously, like, has question marks about him offensively and how he's kind of trending towards a different direction than that face the league guy. Like, are you willing, if you're the Celtics, to pay two firsts?
Andrew Schlecht
No, no, no. Jockey.
Brennan
I don't think so.
Chris
Okay. All right. Okay. So I'm just trying to gauge where we're at with. With Jaws value, because I feel like that would be pretty crazy from the Celtics perspective.
Andrew Schlecht
And to be clear, for the Celtics, it's valuable for them to have a $27 million expiring contract.
Brennan
100%. Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
So I would. Would you give like a top 10 protected future first?
Chris
I mean, sure, I guess that.
Brennan
Yeah. Thanks. So. I don't know, man.
Chris
I. 2032. I don't.
Brennan
Whatever.
Chris
Like, you're trying to win with Jason Tatum.
Andrew Schlecht
So, like the, the trade jaw for Simons Hauser, Jordan Walsh, a top 10 protected 2032 first rounder.
Chris
God, that breaks.
Andrew Schlecht
Would you give this particular trade.
Chris
From whose perspective?
Andrew Schlecht
Give me both. Like, you. S. You give me the Grizzlies perspective. Dave, you give me the Celtics perspective.
Chris
If this is the Grizzlies perspective, they're like, I don't know, we're moving back to Vancouver. Like, this is, this is very depressing.
Brennan
Seattle, Las Vegas.
Chris
Yeah, yeah.
Brennan
Here we come out, New Orleans having the same conversation. By the way, if we were doing a Zion fake trade. Because this is what they're looking at too.
Chris
Yeah, it's this. If this is the market, I think we go back to, like, of course the Grizzlies aren't going to trade jaw because of what it is, but, man.
Brennan
Yeah.
Chris
What was the, what was the Jimmy Butler trade? What did that end up being?
Brennan
Was Wiggins. Let me see. It was Wiggins and some stuff.
Chris
Yeah, Wiggins and stuff.
Brennan
Right.
Chris
I was part of five team deal.
Brennan
But yeah, yeah, it was, it was very convoluted.
Chris
But yeah, basically Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Dennis.
Andrew Schlecht
Schroeder and like a first. Right.
Brennan
And yeah, it was a, it was a.
Chris
It was a couple of seconds, truthfully. And, and top 10. Yes. 20, 25 pick.
Brennan
Yeah.
Chris
So maybe that's the market right there. Yeah, something like that.
Brennan
I don't, I think, look, job maybe has more, more of a market than.
Chris
Jimmy than the older Jimmy Butler.
Brennan
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because say what you will jaw is marketable. Like, Brooklyn should be trying to trade for Ja and sell some tickets.
Andrew Schlecht
I disagree with that. But.
Brennan
Okay, I, I just. That's in their mindset is what I mean. Like, they want a guy like Ja. Like, Ja will sell jerseys, he will sell tickets.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, I wouldn't do it if I'm. I mean, I, I just think it's a bad idea for the Nets.
Brennan
But I don't think jock can be your best player if you're a serious basketball team.
Andrew Schlecht
And that's the benefit of this trade, is he's the third guy right in Boston. Also, he doesn't play Boston Celtics basketball. And so like, there would be some cons, like fit concerns There in. In a host of ways. I think this is like a pure, like, value grab. Like, hey, we have this giant expiring contract. We've got some picks available. We're willing to take a risk on this guy. Like, let's just. Let's just try it. I. I don't like it. I don't think it's. I don't. This is, like, not.
Chris
I don't think the Celtics.
Brennan
Hot take, Hot take. I just went through all the teams in the East. All of them would be trading for Jaw as, like, a. Hey, we could get him. We could bring him in. Maybe that's okay.
Andrew Schlecht
Maybe all of them.
Brennan
I think it's just who Ja is. All of them.
Chris
I don't think the cavalry.
Andrew Schlecht
Like, I feel like.
Brennan
No, no, no, I meant. I meant any team that brought him in is going to look at it as. Oh, yeah, yeah, we could get y'. All. Sure.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. Like, I don't think. Like, I'm not gonna go the Knicks way. I'm not gonna go the Pacers way with him. The Bucks. I don't. I know. Don't. I don't know that it's. Is it even possible?
Chris
It is possible.
Brennan
It is possible. Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay, well, how. Okay, help me. Help me. Help me help the Bucks.
Chris
Kuzma is the guy you're sending in the trade.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay, Kuz, we still have a ways to go. And this is one of the problems with that dame waving is that, like, you just have money that's just completely dead. You can do nothing with Bobby Portis, like. Yeah, but the problem is, like, Bobby's really important to them.
Brennan
Yeah, he is.
Andrew Schlecht
He's outrageously important to them. Okay.
Chris
It's. What else, like, was there.
Brennan
Even now you don't really have a lot.
Chris
You don't have to add too much. Like, yeah, sure, Kevin Porter.
Brennan
It probably has to be Portis and Kevin Porter Jr. And then I would.
Chris
Absolutely need picks here if I'm the Grizzlies, because this.
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, yeah. I mean, this. This is scary. Kpj, Bobby Portis, Kyle Kuzma for our franchise, guy that sells jerseys, that gets people into the arena, that he's our. He's our guy. And it's like. Like, this is.
Chris
And then I would need, like, two picks here. Do they even have picks to give out?
Andrew Schlecht
Like, can you trade the 20? It'd have to be, like, unprotected 2032, which you'd be kind of nuts.
Brennan
Do they have their 2032?
Chris
It says they do here on Fanspo. So shout out to them.
Andrew Schlecht
I don't know.
Brennan
Okay.
Andrew Schlecht
If they actually do this still doesn't work. It's just so hard to make a trade if you're Milwaukee. And I just think. I don't. I don't like the mix of he and Giannis. Like, they both occupy similar spots.
Chris
That's true.
Brennan
Couldn't run pick and roll with them, really.
Chris
Like, but as of again, like, as. Like Dave said, as a value play to convince Giannis, like, hey, we're going. You're playing well. We're gonna do this and get you a star. Feels like their MO Anyways.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Chris
I don't think the Pistons should do it, by the way.
Andrew Schlecht
Wait, what?
Chris
I don't think the Pistons.
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, don't think. I was like, oh, my gosh. You think the Pistons. Yeah, I wasn't gonna go there with.
Brennan
Not a good fit there.
Andrew Schlecht
Orlando.
Brennan
Not a good. I mean, you know, him and him. If it's him for Suggs, maybe. Right. Like, that's interesting because it's kind of.
Andrew Schlecht
What it have to be. Right. But then.
Brennan
But then again, he doesn't work with Paolo and Franz. I mean, Franz I think would work, but Paolo does not. Yeah, they. Again, I don't know. Ja is a tricky guy, even though he's this high volume pick and roll guy, this driving kick guy, you know, because of the lack of shooting.
Chris
I kind of like this, though.
Brennan
Possibly my favorite spot right now.
Chris
And maybe it's because we're just so down on how Orlando has looked, but, like, you know, Dave, you were mentioning it last night, but they need a guy who can get downhill, drive and kick, create opportunities for Desmond Bain.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, we just were just saying it. Yeah, I think he knows how to pass it. Asmund Bane.
Chris
You know, two. Two on the brake pods point here. The spacing issues in Orlando would be even worse, which is absolutely true. Yeah, like, he's not a guy who's gonna space.
Brennan
You know what? I. I will push back on that a little bit. Rim pressure can create space too. Right. Like, you collapse the defense and kick. And Suggs doesn't. Isn't doing a great job at that. And so I think, like, have again a drink. Stir. John stirs the drink. Yeah. You know, for. For whatever, you know, we say about his, you know, his ability to stay on the court. His defense is God awful, but he does. He does stir the drink. So.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay, so. So let's grade this real quick from Dave. You can be the Grizzlies and s. You can be the magic. Like, how would you feel if this.
Brennan
Trade happened today, you know, Grizzlies probably would feel okay with it.
Andrew Schlecht
I kind of agree.
Brennan
So he's a good player. He's a two way guy. It makes your defense a little better.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, I'd be pretty.
Chris
I'd be pretty worried if I was Orlando. Like, I. Like I. I'm still gonna go ahead and give this like a. A B minus in terms of trade value, just because you get the star value of John Morant. And maybe he does have a good season and bounces back. But I feel like this is just digging even deeper for Orlando after the Bane trade, you know?
Brennan
Well, once they. Well, after this one, once they trade Paolo for Jaren Jackson Jr. Maybe they could get Santi Aldama thrown in and Franz for Edie.
Andrew Schlecht
And it's a completely different way to relocate a team. But this is like a relocation for. For the Grizzlies. Yeah. Also, John Morant would look really cool in a Magic uniform. All right, I said it. It would.
Brennan
Yeah, he would.
Andrew Schlecht
It would be. That would be cool. Okay, let's move on. Atlanta shouldn't have interest, right?
Chris
Yeah, like a tray for.
Brennan
I mean, would you trade for job? I mean, Trey is just a better player by a lot. I just think that that is, like, what else is. Are the Grizzlies giving up?
Chris
I would just do swap. Straight swap.
Brennan
I need.
Chris
If I'm the Grizzlies, I'm like, straight swap. You're not signing.
Brennan
And if I. If I'm Atlanta, I'm saying you're Drun. Call me back when you sober up and come with at least. At least a first.
Chris
We don't. We don't even know if Trey's gonna resign with us is what I would say. You know, it's Memphis. We have a hard time resigning.
Brennan
The math. The math makes it pretty likely on Trey Young signing his next deal, and I'm just pretty sure he's gonna sign the big contract.
Chris
I like this little negotiation. I don't know. We never know. I've talked to his agent. He hasn't had a chance.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, I mean, if I'm. If I'm the Grizzlies, I would say I'm glad you're saying all of this, but when was the last time that the Hawks, like, won a significant amount of games?
Brennan
How many times has John Morant been to the conference finals?
Andrew Schlecht
Listen, in the. In the Eastern Conference. Doesn't make. Doesn't really matter. That's what I would say. Who cares? Who cares?
Chris
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
He can't win regular Season games. How? Like, what does it even matter?
Brennan
Trey is a bet. Trey is a better player than John Moran. I'm gonna need at least one first to do this. Also, Trey is not like a headache. He's gonna come in and play.
Chris
He probably a headache as much of the headache.
Brennan
Yeah, but there's some headache and trades. Now I know Trey's out right now with a knee sprain, but you know, this is an acute injury. He doesn't miss a lot of games. Yeah, he's small, but he is him.
Chris
And Jaren would be fun. That's a fun.
Brennan
They would, they would rip.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, yeah. I.
Brennan
Now I'll tell you what. If we could do a tray to Orlando. Now we're cooking.
Chris
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Like do a little three, three team trade.
Brennan
Trey Young. Trey Young in Orlando solves a lot of problems. Put puts guys where they should be.
Chris
And Suggs to the Hawks is kind of fun too.
Brennan
It's kind of fun, right?
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. I like Trey. I think Trey has become the basketball imagination point guard of the year is what I would rate him. Because we do this thing where we just have these basket. We have this, these images and of like what things should be. And Trey plays in a certain way that is really fun to think about. But the truth is like a Trey Young led team hasn't won a lot of basketball games. Just saying, just putting it out there that they. The expectations for a lot of these Hawks teams have been pretty high and they like, they just haven't. They frankly just haven't won enough basketball games.
Chris
But Andrew, the conference finals in 2021, listen, that's great.
Andrew Schlecht
That's really good. They have not won more than 43 games in a season.
Chris
Yeah, it's true.
Brennan
They are playing.
Andrew Schlecht
It's just a fact. Like a Trey Young led team has not won more than 43 games in a season. It just hasn't happened.
Chris
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
And is that all Trey's fault? No.
Brennan
No.
Andrew Schlecht
Is it a fact? Yes. I just think I. I would like to see Trey do a little bit more and become a. Like if you're a point guard and you're the leader of a team, you have to provide better leadership than what he's provided up to this point.
Brennan
This was supposed to be the year.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. This is supposed to be the year. And, and it maybe, maybe it will be. It may still happen. Yeah.
Brennan
I don't know, guys. Again, you watch this Hawks team without Trey Young and I don't know, imagine.
Andrew Schlecht
Start thinking player of the year Trey Young. Because all summer, all we talked about was how great the Hawks could be. And a lot of it is, like, he has a really. Like, he's a incredible passer. I think he's one of the best passers. He might be the most underrated passer in the NBA. Like, he's really, really good. Yeah, yeah, he's a great shot maker. He can shoot threes. And you know what? We like that as a basketball podcasting community. We like those things. Okay, but go win basketball games.
Chris
Going hard on Oklahoma native Trey Young.
Andrew Schlecht
Listen, we got to hold our. We got to hold Oklahomans accountable. Okay? This is. Accountability is what it is.
Brennan
All right?
Andrew Schlecht
Not hating. I'm holding him accountable. Okay?
Brennan
Anyway, the Grizzlies, if I. If I'm. If I'm Atlanta, I need. I need.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Chicago's too good to mess with this. All right? Just like we all expected.
Chris
I honestly wouldn't do it. I. I just don't see the mesh with him. And giddy. It doesn't make sense, I don't think.
Andrew Schlecht
No, no, no. Then you're like, hey, Josh. Hey. Remember that thing you did in Oklahoma City where you were asked to do the two things that you're worst at? And that's shoot corner threes and play defense? You want to do that? You want to do that again? It's like, no chance.
Chris
I also would cross out the Heat because of the whole coaching situation with them. They would hire.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay, explain it to our listeners because it would be hilarious if this is where he ended up.
Chris
So the Grizzlies hired a coach last year who completely rejuvenated or reinvented their offense to be this wheel offense where they weren't running a ton of picks. And John Morant, very pick and roll heavy guy, that led to Taylor Jenkins getting fired and to that coach also getting let go in the process. That coach went and started working for the Miami Heat this year, and now the Heat are running the exact same offense that the Grizzlies did last year, which is not a lot of picks, just wheel offense, tons of drives, etc. Etc. It would be hilarious if the Heat traded for John Morantz again because of this.
Brennan
So, yeah, guys, a little bit of breaking news. Oh, from. From reporting from the Athletic, Sam Amick, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are both potentially interested in John Morant if he's available.
Chris
I, I. First of all, I am not shocked at all about the Sacramento Kings being interested. That's. This says Sacramento all over.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. Have you heard the Wolves? This has that guy made All Star teams.
Chris
Yeah, exactly.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, we're interested.
Chris
Yeah. And then the Wolves, it's like, yeah, they need a point guard that Mike Conley's old Rob Dillingham has not turned out to be the guy they need yet. I mean, Bones Highland is playing over Rob Dillingham. Yeah, I. I could see that for them.
Andrew Schlecht
Hey, before we get to those teams, let's talk about your very own Toronto Raptors.
Chris
Sure.
Andrew Schlecht
And what. What interest.
Chris
Shout out to Xena for bringing this up on the show.
Andrew Schlecht
I know. I love that. I love that. Okay, let. Let's talk through it. If I am Memphis, I'm not touching that. Emmanuel quickly. Contract for the tempo.
Chris
Nope, that's all I got. That's all I got.
Andrew Schlecht
Next.
Brennan
No, I'm starting with. I probably am starting with RJ Barrett.
Chris
That's.
Andrew Schlecht
That's where I would go. I would go.
Brennan
Yep.
Andrew Schlecht
Jaw to the Raptors, RJ to the Grizzlies, and then stuff.
Brennan
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. I. I mean, tell me if I'm crazy like Ochai.
Chris
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's definitely in that.
Brennan
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Jacoby.
Chris
You'Re getting a little crazy here, you know. Yeah, just too. Yeah, I probably would. Push comes to shove, I probably would.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay.
Chris
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay. I think. I. I don't know.
Chris
Something like that. Yeah, I, like, obviously, from the Raptors perspective, I would love for them to trade IQ over rj, but.
Brennan
Sure.
Chris
That contract is just very hard to move. Also, RJ is clearly at a high point in his value just because he's kicking ass right now. Yeah, he's good basketball. So you capitalize on it and do this. Yeah. I could see it. I would be surprised if the Raptors got involved, but at the same time, Bobby Webster literally said this a week ago. We are not going to be the same team. We are to start the year. They're going to make some trades, so they're going to get involved. Yeah, they have to. We'll see. We'll see what. How do you guys feel about this from the Raptors perspectives? Because I'm always curious to see what, like, outside people think about John Morant.
Brennan
And this makes them better.
Chris
It does make them better. Yeah, of course.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. It starts to, like, shape the roster in a way that makes a little bit more sense now. Does it make the. The spacing is not ideal, clearly. Which is true. Whether you do this trade or not. Yep. Yeah, I. I wouldn't mind this. I think it's like a swing that could. Could really pay off.
Chris
I would say I would if I was the Raptors front office. I would rather attach picks and IQ than rj. Like that's how much of a difference it is for me to get off of IQ's money compared to RJ. But yeah, the spacing problem quickly is.
Andrew Schlecht
Like not redeemable because if you put like a real starting point guard there now IQ is like more in the role that he should be in.
Chris
Yeah, yeah, right.
Andrew Schlecht
You know what I mean? And I kind of like that because he can shoot it if he's in the right role. If he's not like being over taxed. I just wonder if it just makes the roster just like feel better overall even if he does stay.
Chris
Although their defensive problems would still persist like the jaws. Just a cone on that end, you know what I mean?
Andrew Schlecht
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Andrew Schlecht
Trey also does a great job of getting coaches fired and teammates traded. Listen, just stating facts. Just stating facts. All right. Just stating facts.
Brennan
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay. We'll start picking on your raptors, all right? And we'll move on. Nets. I find the nets. Like, I just don't. I think that they are Very focused on the draft. They hire one of OKCs like front office guys in the off season that is also like very draft centric. So I really think like they are full on like trying to like rebuild. The 76ers have too many guards that are good. The Hornets have Lamelo and like their own quasi point guard problems that at this point you wouldn't want to trade Lamelo for job. I don't think that makes any sense. And if I'm the Wizards, I just stay the course.
Brennan
No way.
Chris
Yeah. No, no, no way.
Andrew Schlecht
For the Wizards.
Chris
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay. On to the west and we'll hit those teams that we.
Brennan
That were mentioned, the Thunder. I mean I actually look, if I'm a Thunder, I'm saying, hey, how about you take Shay, Gilgis, Alexander and Jalen Williams? Is that enough?
Chris
Usman Jiang, Jalen Williams.
Brennan
I mean, let me ask you guys a question first. Would you it going forward, would you rather have John Moran or A.J. mitchell as your starting point guard?
Andrew Schlecht
I know one guy is not going to be a headache to your organization.
Brennan
Nope. I believe in AJ Mitchell. I think AJ Mitchell might be a star man. Like. Yeah, it's gonna be good. And he makes how much? What is he on a three year, nine million dollar contract.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. A descending contract.
Chris
Insane. Insane.
Brennan
Yeah. So give me A.J. mitchell. Yeah. And John Moran straight up.
Andrew Schlecht
Listen, you don't have to talk me into this. I'm a huge AJ Mitchell fan as a player and the person he's. He's a delight in, in every, in every capacity. Houston Sam also reporting that Houston is not interested in jaw. I don't, I don't think that's a fit either.
Chris
Yeah, I don't.
Andrew Schlecht
I can't imagine any space for him to drive whatsoever. The Lakers, I don't think so. They have, they have their guys, multiple players that can.
Chris
I would also rather Austin Reeves at this point.
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, no question.
Chris
Yeah.
Brennan
Oh yeah. I think Grizzlies fans would love to have Austin Reeves.
Chris
Oh yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, that'd be amazing. That'd be amazing. And also Dallas fans, just to needle you a little bit more. Hey, you didn't get Austin Reeves in the, in the Luca trade. Just to remind you.
Brennan
Yeah, insane.
Andrew Schlecht
Just to remind you. The Nuggets know the Clippers.
Chris
That's an interesting team.
Andrew Schlecht
The brakes right here. Let's go Clippers. All right, let's. Let's bring up the Clippers because I do think that they at some point are going to have to think a little bit more long term because you have a 36 year old point guard and a 34 year old in the body of a 68 year old.
Chris
And depending on how this aspiration thing goes, they may not have a future. First for 20.
Brennan
Nothing's happening with that. Can we all just, just let's stop pretending nothing is happening with.
Chris
Come on. It can't be nothing at this point. It can't be nothing. It could be not a lot.
Brennan
Yeah. Yeah. I'm telling you, they, the, the, the results of the investigation are coming out after the All Star Game. People are like, oh, I forgot about that.
Andrew Schlecht
What if that was the halftime entertainment where the NBA is like at halftime.
Brennan
We are bringing you the results. Judy.
Andrew Schlecht
The judge Silver, Adam Silver is going to read this letter from an attorney. Dude, how many people would tune in for that?
Brennan
Let's get Mariah Carey in. In a jersey dress.
Chris
That would actually get more views than game seven of the World Series.
Andrew Schlecht
Dude, it would be that, that would. Listen, NBA, I know this is not ideal for you, but if you, if we're just talking pure viewership, announce that we're announcing the aspiration investigation results. It'd be. That would, that'd be amazing. Okay, we could.
Brennan
Let's do that.
Andrew Schlecht
We.
Brennan
We got that. Let's do the, the gambling investigation also at halftime.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Chris
Shout out these guys right here.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. If that would be amazing. Okay.
Brennan
And by the way, someone said to be better than Kevin Hart. I agree. That would be more fun than Kevin Hart.
Chris
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, it would. Donkey 16. It's a good call. Let Pablo announce at halftime. Mike B. That's, that's a good call, Mike. Let's do Pablo. Tori finds out is. Is the halftime entertainment.
Chris
That is funny.
Andrew Schlecht
Sitting next to Ballmer. Yeah, that's a, that's a good call. Okay. John Collins has a 26 and a half million dollar expiring contract.
Chris
I like that. If I'm the Grizzlies.
Brennan
I guess I was gonna say Bogdan be the guy.
Andrew Schlecht
Bogdan.
Chris
And is that enough?
Brennan
That's enough.
Andrew Schlecht
What else do we have down here? Not a whole lot. Unless you're a Cam Christie guy.
Chris
Yeah. And then I need, I need two firsts or something.
Brennan
Yeah, you need picks which Clippers don't care about. Again, this is why the, the punishment's not gonna matter.
Andrew Schlecht
What if he did like swaps and 30 and 32. Would that be enough?
Chris
Sure, probably.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay. Okay.
Brennan
Now this is a Clippers move.
Chris
This is a very.
Brennan
I could see the Clippers doing this.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
Bogdan is. Bogdan's already. To me. He's A guy who's going to get moved this year.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, yeah.
Brennan
And. And moving on from John Collins this fast would make sense.
Chris
I like for them though, like, he's been really to start the year, but yeah, this. This makes a lot of sense for the Clippers. Does it make sense for the Grizzlies? It's basically just accepting defeat.
Brennan
Right. It's getting out. It's. You're getting out of the job business. Yeah. Picking up a couple of picks and then, you know, you. You're clearing your books for your. I don't know, maybe it's not even a rebuild, man. Like, it's. You're replacing John Morant. It's really not that like you're not replacing a top 10 player. Right.
Chris
Ty Jerome and Scotty Pippen get more usage and you probably are like a play in or out of playing team this year.
Brennan
Yeah.
Chris
You can tank or not tank.
Brennan
Maybe you could get Kobe White, you know.
Andrew Schlecht
God, you become so irrelevant though. That's like the scary part about this. And like I kind of joke about him being the man and everything, but yeah, Jaren's a good player, but if he's your best player, dude, no one wants to watch your team, but man.
Chris
He has been their best player for the last two years.
Andrew Schlecht
He has been. But like. But not in like attracting fans to watch.
Brennan
Yeah, he's.
Chris
He's not the face of the franchise.
Andrew Schlecht
And the way John is a nice player, but boy, he's not super fun to watch play basketball. Okay. Which is like the product that you're trying to put out there. I think that puts you in just a really rough spot.
Chris
Shout out to B. Tillaire who says the good thing for Jaws that there's no good nightlife in la.
Brennan
You know, people joke about that. I think it's true. It's actually true. It's a sleepy town, man.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. We have the go to bed emerging OKC nightlife. That boy. Okay. Of course. Okay, so let's go to the Timberwolves.
Chris
This is now interesting because I could see this.
Andrew Schlecht
Is there. Is there enough space in a franchise for both John Morant and Anthony Edwards?
Chris
I think that would be electric. I think that would be awesome.
Andrew Schlecht
Would be. It would either be amazing or it would be like, why did it would combine. How. How could we have done this? You know, can you have two guys on the bench screaming, they don't know who Jake Laravia is? Like, I don't know.
Chris
It would probably spell the beginning of the end for Chris Finch in Minnesota.
Brennan
Oh, yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
He'S out we're gonna preemptively fire you because we just know this is not gonna work well.
Chris
We know this is not gonna work out. Yeah.
Brennan
Yeah.
Chris
I would probably go. See, this is the thing with Minnesota. It's like, what do you move?
Brennan
Because Gobert is the guy I start with. Gobert's a guy who, to me, like, this is probably the year. It's either his last year there or they trade him this year.
Andrew Schlecht
Can you go Go Bear and Triple J and Zach.
Advertiser
Edie.
Chris
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Let, hey, this is, this is sort of what I was actually going to suggest. What if it was a Jaw and Edie for Gobert Randall and stuff?
Brennan
It's too much.
Chris
That's too much changing. Okay, fair enough. All right. I, I, I can kind of see where you're saying because Gobert is so.
Brennan
Important to that I think it's Goar Conley and picks for Ed.
Chris
But then they have no center. I would, I would if I was Minnesota, I'd rather knock Ed and J. Oh, for Edie.
Brennan
Edie.
Chris
Yeah, sure, I guess.
Brennan
But insane trade. I would rather have Gobert than Ja.
Chris
This is, this is where, this is where you get into a conundrum with the terminals.
Brennan
Right?
Chris
What are you trading?
Brennan
Yeah, but you know, Conley is going no matter what. This is last season. He's totally cooked.
Chris
God, I, I, I think that's such a weird trade.
Andrew Schlecht
It is very weird.
Chris
Like, like, if I was the Grizzlies, I would say, I don't want gobert. I want McDaniels or Randall, you know, good luck. Or Nas Reed. Give me Nas Reed.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
Really? Nas Reed.
Chris
Nas Reed and stuff. Of course.
Andrew Schlecht
And Triple J is kind of interesting. Dave's eyebrows disagree.
Brennan
It's like a lot of the same guy.
Chris
It is a lot of the same guy.
Andrew Schlecht
But, like, Triple J should be able to play center, though.
Chris
Yes.
Brennan
Yeah, should.
Chris
And you still have. I don't know.
Andrew Schlecht
He's, he's one of those, like, tweener power forward centers that never plays center.
Brennan
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Because he can't rebound, which is Right.
Brennan
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
You become a very bad rebounding team.
Brennan
Yeah. I don't know. I mean, I don't like, I don't like Jaw and Ant together. I don't like Ant not having the ball in his hands. You know, I just, I trust his decision making better. Ja can't really play off the ball and be effective. I don't like the fit. And I'd rather have Goar because even with the drop off, Gobert is still.
Chris
Wait, Wait, how did this end up being the trade? I. This is like, one of the worst trades for the Grizzl.
Brennan
But I. The thing is, like, I just don't. I don't think Minnesota's giving up Jaden McDaniels. Julius Randall, maybe. But if you're, if you're the Grizzly, Julius Randall fits worse next to.
Chris
Yeah. And then see that.
Brennan
Than Nas Reed. But also, like, Julius Randall's got a couple years left after this on his deal. Nas Reed has got four years left after this. You know what I mean? Like, these contracts are kind of long.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
Minnesota's locked in.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. I can't really think of a way for this to work. And maybe this is, this will end up being the team. And we're like, oh, I didn't think of it that way, you know, But.
Brennan
I mean, maybe it's Nas reed and Dante DiVincenzo.
Chris
Yeah. Like, re.
Brennan
Kind of close.
Chris
Yeah. Yeah. Reed DiVincenzo, Dillingham, like, throwing, like, Joe.
Brennan
Ingles, Leonard Miller, Terrence Shannon. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, yeah. I don't know. I hate it. I hate it.
Chris
So Reed DiVincenzo. I, I. Look, John only fits in Memphis and Dillingham.
Andrew Schlecht
Well, we're just punting Rob Dillingham to the moon already.
Brennan
I mean, he kind of, kind of playing basketball there, to be honest with you.
Chris
He's got to play basketball somewhere. He's not doing it in Minnesota.
Brennan
I was gonna say he might as well be there.
Andrew Schlecht
Yep. We gotta add some, some cash from.
Chris
From the grizzly side.
Andrew Schlecht
All right, sure.
Chris
John Contra. Come on down.
Brennan
No, there are no. No way. He's untouchable. There is no way. You know, pound for pound, minute for minute, best rebounder in basketball.
Andrew Schlecht
What does that mean?
Brennan
I don't know. It's just, it's one of those stats. He's 6. He's 6 5. And, you know, you don't expect much out of John Contra.
Chris
All right, well, it's really hard to make a Timberwolves trade, as we can see.
Brennan
Yeah. Okay. Hey, there's an interesting question in the, in the comments from. What is this? Strang C. How about stretching jaw like Damon Beal? That is. That would be insane.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
To do that because he's got 120 million left on his contract.
Chris
And they're also. Damon Bealworth are in their mid-30s.
Brennan
Yeah. This is a guy who theoretically is in his peak, in his prime.
Chris
Yeah.
Brennan
Which. Which part of the problem. Right. He's theoretically there, but he feels worse than he was two or three years ago.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Chris
All right, let's. Let's do the Kings.
Andrew Schlecht
Let's go Kings. Light them.
Chris
I love this.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay.
Brennan
All right. Levine.
Chris
I was actually gonna go Malik. Monk.
Brennan
Interesting.
Chris
Because. Because I think they. They've been trying to trade Malik for a while. So, like, Malik. Malik and Demar. Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay.
Brennan
Okay.
Chris
And you'd have to add picks and stuff to this, too, I think.
Brennan
What if. Hang on. What if it's Keegan Murray? I know he just signed his extension.
Andrew Schlecht
Then I. If I was a Kings fan and they traded Keegan Murray for Jaw, I would just. I would just give up. I would just say, like, listen, like, any hope is already. I was. I'm already dead inside. But, like, you take the soul that I have, and then you just grind it up and then you just throw it into the air and just like, you know what? You don't even have a soul anymore either. I, I don't know, man. I, I. You can't do that if you're trading for Ja. You have to have some kind of shooting that's real. Right? Can't do that. Devin Carter, though, it was like, here, we can sell hope that way. I don't know if this works or not. Yeah, it works. Hey, look at that.
Chris
Success and then some picks.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay. Yeah. Demar, Malik Monk, Devin Carter, and a pick for John Moran.
Brennan
You gotta throw. You gotta throw Schroeder in there just because he always has to get traded.
Chris
I. I've seen a couple of recommendations for a Levine jaw swap.
Brennan
Yeah.
Chris
See, my thing is I don't understand how John Demar would play together, and they don't.
Andrew Schlecht
This actually makes a little bit of sense to have, like, Zach. Yeah.
Brennan
Right.
Andrew Schlecht
You have some shooting now with Levine, Keegan Murray. You put Sabonis back in, like, some kind of, like, pick and roll, like, DHO situation. That's better. Schroeder has played well beside other point guards in the past. I think you have a team that makes a lot more sense than what you have now. And then if you're Memphis, this sucks, man.
Brennan
You know, Ja and Russell Westbrook, they are going to get along so well.
Chris
I forgot Russ is on the team. Honestly.
Andrew Schlecht
He's on the team. He's. He's. Listen, he. He's occupying. He's. He'll go to the corner. He sat in the corner in OKC the other night. It was very weird watching it because it was former Thunder, like, six man, bringing the ball up the court. And Dennis Schroeder, former Thunder MVP sitting in the corner with Sabonis in the middle of the floor. Like, this is so weird. Like, I've seen it. I've seen this before, but it wasn't like this. It was very strange. It was really strange.
Brennan
So Zach Levine has a player option for next season for 49 million.
Chris
Didn't he get extended? Am I. Did I misremember that?
Brennan
I don't think he got extended.
Chris
Okay, never mind.
Andrew Schlecht
Then what you're saying is Zach Levine has a. Has a contract that goes another year is what you're saying.
Brennan
49 million.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Chris
No, he didn't get extended. I'm misremembering that.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. That's wild. Okay, let's see Dallas.
Chris
Sure. Why not?
Brennan
Oh, man. Cooper, flag. Call it in.
Andrew Schlecht
We'll go ahead and throw Clay in here.
Brennan
Yeah, Clay for sure.
Andrew Schlecht
Clay's washed, man.
Chris
Why is Clay for sure?
Brennan
Because Clay is washed. And the contract is actually nice for trading. Like, 16 million is good. I think maybe you do Clay Gafford and, you know, I don't know, PJ or.
Chris
You don't even need to do pj.
Brennan
Jaden Hardy.
Chris
You could do Caleb Hardy. Take. Take PJ out and put Caleb Martin.
Brennan
Yeah. Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Okay. Huh?
Chris
Yuck.
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, yeah, that's. That's. That's some barf right there.
Brennan
Yeah. Hey, Jeffrey and Jaren Jackson is.
Chris
Yeah, but you already have Edie. You have Brandon Clark.
Brennan
Yeah, we don't have Edie. I honestly. Can we just talk about Zach? Edie. Yes, Zach. Eating is not good, buddy. All right, Zach. Zach. He's not good. He's a little slow. I don't think he's ever really going to be a plus defender. I would rather have Daniel Gafford as my starting center.
Chris
The.
Brennan
Zach.
Andrew Schlecht
Edie, you don't have to convince me.
Brennan
There we go.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
What about Kyrie? Straight up from the chat. I don't know. Kyrie with a torn acl. I, I. That's neck and neck with John Morant for me.
Chris
Yeah, I'm not doing that if I'm Dallas.
Andrew Schlecht
It'd be so funny if you do this whole, like, defense wins championship spiel and then you trade for John Morant.
Brennan
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
God would be so funny. Be so funny. Okay. Phoenix is kind of interesting.
Brennan
No, Jalen Green. Yeah, I mean, I think if, if that's actually. Look, Jalen Green is a good player. And could Jalen Green approximate. What's that help.
Andrew Schlecht
Help me with that last statement.
Brennan
I mean, listen, he's not, like, a good player. As in, I. I think that's so let me watch.
Chris
Jalen Green is a good player.
Brennan
Well, no, he's not a good player. Walk that back. Jalen Green is a fine player. Right. Jalen Green can score. Jalen Green can shoot.
Chris
Jalen Green is probably underrated relative to how much we are down on him currently.
Brennan
I like Jalen Green almost as much as I like John Moran. I would say that.
Chris
Wow. That's actually a lot. I would say.
Brennan
Well, I'm really down on Ja.
Chris
Okay.
Brennan
Yeah. Can't shoot, can't defend, can't drive, can't play. I. You know, is Johnny good anymore? That's the question I start to ask.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, I mean, just. I mean, Jalen Green, as a vehicle to get players is an interesting idea, I would say. So, like, Jalen Green, Nick Richards for Jaw.
Chris
I would need something else, to be honest with you.
Andrew Schlecht
If you're Memphis. Yeah, totally.
Brennan
Colin Gillespie. Enough.
Andrew Schlecht
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah, I would need more as well there.
Brennan
Yeah. Probably a pick or two. A first or two.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, yeah.
Brennan
Which I don't think they have.
Chris
I don't think.
Andrew Schlecht
I don't think. I mean, they've. They've found creative ways to get rid of draft picks, trailblazers, anything there.
Chris
Personally, I don't see it, but.
Brennan
Well, could you not just start something with Drew?
Andrew Schlecht
I would want to. I would want to keep Drew. I want to start something with Jeremy Grant.
Chris
Oh, well, yeah, well, yeah, sure, but.
Andrew Schlecht
That'S what I would want to do.
Chris
And then. But then you just make that backcourt crowded again.
Brennan
I mean. Well, hold on. If you're Portland, could you. If you threw in Scoot, would it just save you from having to throw in picks?
Chris
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Brennan
Absolutely.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. This. This is like a. This is just admitting to the entire world that, like, you've given up on.
Brennan
Scoot's not doing it.
Andrew Schlecht
If you trade. Yeah, I don't think.
Chris
Jeremy Grant and Scoot Henderson for John Morant. That's the deal.
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, you can't do that. I won't even. I won't even put it into the trade machine because, like, that is. I can't. I can't even.
Chris
You're also getting off of Jeremy Grant's contract, though.
Brennan
I was gonna say. I'd do that in a heartbeat. I would. I would do that. Absolutely.
Chris
He's. Jeremy Grant has been better this year. I will say that. Yeah, he's much better.
Andrew Schlecht
So you say he's no longer shooting 25 for six games. Okay. Like, let's.
Chris
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Hey, yeah, what am I?
Andrew Schlecht
Blazers jersey over there. Okay. San Antonio. No, no, New Orleans, you wouldn't do.
Brennan
Dear and Fox straight up.
Chris
No, absolutely not.
Andrew Schlecht
Utah shouldn't touch jaw with the ten foot pole. Okay, then we can go. We can have the Pelicans conversation to end the show.
Chris
All right, Jaw for Zion. Straight up.
Andrew Schlecht
Just straight up.
Brennan
What does that.
Andrew Schlecht
Who says?
Brennan
Who would you rather have?
Andrew Schlecht
Who says? No, faster.
Brennan
If you're. You're forced to. Okay, guys, you're forced to start an NBA team with one of these two guys. Zion or Ja. Who are you choosing?
Chris
I'm taking jaw. I'll tell you that right now. I'm taking jaw because I do not believe in Zion Williamson being able to stay healthy. Everybody talked about how healthy he looked to start the year, how lean he was, and boom, we're already a week without him because of a hamstring injury. I just. I don't believe in Zion Williamson being healthy anymore, unfortunately. I think he's, you know, better player. I think he's a better player than John Moran healthy, but I just don't believe in the fact that he's gonna play games. I think he is.
Brennan
Yeah.
Chris
So I think. I think Zion can be like 10 player, top 10 player in the league if he's fully healthy, but that if is 90 of the equation.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
Yeah. And by the way, I. I saw that injury. When that injury popped up, I thought it was the. Oh, okay, so they're gonna fire Will. Zion doesn't want to be around for a week. You know, Cool. Because, you know, you don't have to take questions then. But yeah, I mean, look, I would rather. I think all things being equal, if everybody's healthy, I'd rather have Zion. I think Zion is generational sort of talent jaws, had a better career.
Chris
Yeah.
Brennan
By virtue of being slightly more available. You know what I mean?
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
But. Yeah, I don't know. But John to the Pelicans is more interesting than. Than a lot of places.
Chris
Well, I just. I don't see it because they have a guy in Jeremiah Fears who could be really good. Okay.
Brennan
But Jai is already better. I mean, John is pretty good. And if you're the Pelicans, you know, think about this. Joe Dumars got both of his phones right now looking at highlights of John Morant. And I mean, Jordan Poole gets you real close. And Jordan Poole doesn't have a long contract. So if you're Memphis, that's interesting. Jordan Pool and a couple of, you know, a couple things, a pick here and there. We know already that the Pelicans do not value draft picks.
Chris
Yeah.
Brennan
What if they. Oh, man. Honestly, this is what the Pelicans should do. The Pelicans should trade. I like it. Pool and Murphy for jaw and kcp. That's from the YouTube comments. Call that one.
Chris
I'm not trading Trey.
Brennan
That would be amazing. For the Grizzlies.
Andrew Schlecht
I'm not sure, but. Yeah, no chance. I won't even.
Brennan
But that's an easy one. Start with Jordan pool and go from there. I mean, if you're. If you're. Memphis. Jordan Poole is fine, right? Like, he's fine. He plays.
Andrew Schlecht
What. What is happening? Where you're like, jordan Poole is fine. Jalen Green's a good player. Like, what. Like, what is happening? Is this too early?
Brennan
Okay. These are bad teams. They're not doing any. Anything right. Look, if this is. If this was the Golden State warriors talking about adding these guys, I would say no, they're bad players. They're awful. But when we're talking about teams that have no hope, they're fine. Going from John Morant to Jordan pool, not devastating.
Chris
Can I just. We were having this whole.
Andrew Schlecht
Absolutely devastating. In so many ways. It's devastating.
Chris
Very devastating. We were having the jaws on conversation in terms of availability. They both got drafted at the same time, obviously.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Chris
And Zion missed an entire year, yet he's only played a hundred less games than John Morant.
Andrew Schlecht
Wow.
Chris
So that, like, to put it into perspective, over the last couple years, they've basically been at a similar rate in terms of availability.
Brennan
That's what I'm saying. It goes under the radar with Ja that he's basically unavailable, but. Yeah, he doesn't play. Yeah.
Chris
Like, I guess you can. I wouldn't do Herb Jones or Trey Murphy in this trade.
Andrew Schlecht
I wouldn't either. Yeah. Especially if you're trading for John Morant. You kind of have to have Herb Jones.
Chris
Yeah. Yeah. Like, you could do, like, Sadiq Bay and Jordan Hawkins or something.
Brennan
I don't know. But.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, I wouldn't. I would not want Jordan pool back. What if you're like, hey, we'll take dejante. He's coming. He's going to come back this year.
Brennan
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
I'd rather take that.
Brennan
That's interesting.
Chris
That's an interesting one.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Brennan
I like dejante in Memphis, actually.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. And then, like, be pretty good. I would want Hawkins. I think Hawkins can play. He's not playing for them, but I think he can. And then maybe throw. Jose. Well, you don't really need another guard. And.
Chris
Yeah.
Andrew Schlecht
Sadiq Yes. I don't know. Sure. Yeah.
Brennan
This is John getting traded, guys. What do you think?
Chris
After looking at all of our options, I don't think he's gonna get traded.
Brennan
Feels like there's no market.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Chris
Has there been one. One team, one destination that we looked at over the last hour and we said yes, this is the one that makes the most sense.
Brennan
Well, I mean, the Kings make sense because of Kangs. Right.
Chris
100.
Brennan
But from a basketball perspective, no. New Orleans makes a little bit more sense than some of these other places, but I just don't know if they're going to do that.
Chris
Yeah, I think the Timberwolves make sense, but how you conjure up a trade is the hardest part.
Andrew Schlecht
That's really.
Brennan
I think the Timberwolves get worse.
Andrew Schlecht
It's really.
Brennan
No matter what.
Andrew Schlecht
I. I don't hate the Raptors and I don't hate Orlando.
Chris
Don't hate is a lot different than like it is.
Andrew Schlecht
I like it for the Raptors. I don't hate it for the Magic.
Brennan
Yeah, the Raptors could. Could use that.
Andrew Schlecht
The Raptors need. Need a point.
Chris
They do need a point guard. Absolutely. I like it for the Raptors just because from a talent play, it's like you get another guy who can potentially be a star for you.
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
Chris
Which is.
Brennan
Yeah.
Chris
Yeah. It's big.
Andrew Schlecht
All right. We went through every team. Let us know what your favorite trade is. Put in the YouTube comments. You can also comment on Spotify as well if you have been listening to the audio version of this. We appreciate you guys tuning in with us on this edition of the morning. Shoot around and we'll talk to you guys again very soon.
Brennan
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Date: November 5, 2025
Hosts: Andrew Schlecht, Dave DuFour (Dave), “Chris” (Esfandiar Baraheni), Brennan
The team dives full-on into the hypothetical and real-world possibilities of trading Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, discussing both the feasibility of a major star-for-star NBA trade in today’s league and what realistic packages could look like. In typical “Morning Shoot Around” fashion, the hosts also touch on other league trends — especially some surprising teams and young players standing out early in the season. The tone is candid, conversational, and sometimes biting, reflecting both the chemistry of the crew and their audience’s appetite for hard-hitting basketball debate.
Timestamps: 02:48–13:20
Timestamps: 13:20–70:26
The pod delivers a playful but incisive look at what it means to move a star in today’s NBA — perhaps more theoretical than practical. In the end, Ja Morant is likely in Memphis for the foreseeable future, not by intent, but by the reality of the NBA’s shifting incentives and risk aversion.
For fans craving sharp basketball talk, “Trading Ja Morant” offers a brisk, sometimes snarky, but always insightful, ride through rosters, front-office logic, and the league’s fascinating chaos.