Lester Holt (25:40)
All right, let's move around the league a little bit. This was a report Gary Woelfel reports that the Knicks are preparing a tsunami type offer for Giannis. The question was, what offer do you think this is? Maybe McHale and Towns. Here's the thing also, if they get out bid, should they shift towards a more achievable target like Kevin Durant? So a couple things. If the Knicks are preparing an offer for Giannis, what does it look like? Okay, from what I understand, I believe they only have access to one first round pick this summer, if I'm remembering correctly. So they don't have the draft compensation to get into a bidding war for a guy like Giannis in theory. Now if you get a third team involved or if you can convince the Bucks that they want to take back a Mikhail Bridges or you know, I would argue you might want to even look at trading OG because he plays the same position as Giannis. But whatever it is, if you're going to look to move one of those guys and the Bucks are like, yeah, we want win now pieces, sure, let's do it, that's great. But like I think that the Bucks are probably more interested in draft compensation and if that's the case, then you got to get a third team involved. And so now you're looking at getting a third team involved and trading basically OG or McHale or towns or whoever it is, whatever you decide to give up for draft compensation that then gets rerouted towards the Bucks in a Giannis deal. But like to me it's just the reality is is that there are teams that can absolutely outbid everybody with respect to Giannis. Like the spurs just have so many more picks to throw on the table. The Rockets have so many more picks to throw on the table. If one of those teams decides to get involved with Giannis, they can just so much easier get that Sort of deal done right and so view it as a long shot. But if they do get out bid, should they shift towards a more achievable target like kd? Absolutely. Their roster is pretty much guys in their late 20s, so they're a bit of a shorter window anyway. So I wouldn't be overly concerned about tying myself to an older player. KD's game translates super well in the late phase of his career, especially in a team like this that has so much talent that he wouldn't be depended on as much. And there's an easy vehicle in the form of Karl Anthony Towns. Phoenix really wants a kind of a franchise starting center if that's the framework of the deal and it's Karl Anthony Towns and a first round pick for Kevin Durant and the Suns get a younger star that's been to back to back conference finals. And look, do I think that makes the Suns a very interesting team? No, but I don't think the Suns are a very interesting team now. So at that point, whatever. And if you could somehow pull that sort of deal off and get Kevin Durant, that, that puts you in a pretty damn strong position going into next season. Especially in an Eastern Conference that is wide open with Boston falling apart, with Milwaukee falling apart. Like this is a, this is a winnable conference out east and I would view Kevin Durant as a target there that I think would put the Knicks into another echelon. Echelon in terms of reliable scoring talent. Also, Kevin Durant's a very good defensive player in a low man context when he can protect the rim, be a defensive rebound or things along those lines. So like again, if you need to get more draft compensation, maybe you do end up including like an OG in a separate, you know, three team structure that sends more draft compensation towards the Suns. But if you can get rid of Towns and keep one of your two forwards and keep Brunson and get Kevin Durant, I think that's a very interesting team in a wide open Western Conference or Eastern Conference. Excuse me, not quite related to this finals, but seeing how far the Knicks went and how open the east is next year, should the Pistons consider going in a bit harder next year seeing that they might not actually be that far away in general, what's a realistic move for them this summer? So again I, if I'm remembering correctly, if the Pistons let all of their cap holds walk, so if they let like Dennis walk and Tim Hardaway Jr. Walk and all these guys, I think the max cap space they can put together is about 19 million. It's like 19, 20 million. Something along those lines. That's not enough to bring in a super high level free agent. Right. Especially when I would argue that Tim Hardaway Jr. And Dennis Schroeder kind of if you can bring them back on team friendly deals, that's actually better than going out to get a free agent. I would try to get those guys tied up on relatively short term mid level contracts meaning around two years or less or like a team option for the third year. Sure. So that you have some flexibility. But like a two year deal somewhere in the 15 to 20 million range. If you can do something like that for those guys where they're in mid level contracts where like you know, one of them's in the you know, 5 to 10 million range and the other one's in the 10 to 15 million range or something, they become trade pieces at that point. Trade filler. If the right sort of move just kind of materializes this summer for you to jump on. But again, don't jump the gun on a player that is going to shorten your window. Cade is a franchise altering type of talent. He has proven that he can succeed at the highest levels of basketball. I'm a believer in him. You have Jaden Ivy coming back. You've got young role player talent in the Sar Thompson, you like, you have the ability to be patient here while also having guys like Tobias Harris, guys like Malik Beasley, guys like Tim Hardaway Jr. On team friendly deals that you can still be competitive in the short term but then turn your attention in the draft towards off ball scoring talent. That's the big one with the, you know, I think Sar Thompson obviously has the ability to be one of the better kind of like perimeter like DN3 types of players in the league. Right. As a guy that can guard the opposing best player, he's a guy that obviously they can unlock some of the vertical spacing stuff with that the Rockets do with the men. Thompson, he can become a better offensive player and we'll see how his jump shot develops over time. Ron Holland obviously is like another kind of like athletic type of young wing. What they're missing is like older college talent. So like guys that are in, you know, three, four year college guys that you can find in the middle of the first round, late first round guys that can that have been playing in a winning context as like weak side scorers, guy that can knock down jump shots and drive closeouts, things along those lines. I think there's a lot of opportunity in the draft for that sort of talent. So the point is, is like, let this thing grow slowly. Don't jump the gun for an Eastern Conference finals appearance that ends up shortening your window. Don't make the mistake that the Cavs did with LeBron in early, you know, in the early part of his career where they kept making these kind of mediocre, aggressive deals and getting guys like Antoine Jameson and Mo Williams that were good players, made team better, but didn't make them a championship team. And so patience is the name of the game, the specific type of talent they need. I like where they're at at center. I like where they're at with their shot creators. I like where they're at in terms of having athletic guys on the perimeter that can guard and fly up and down the floor. What they're missing is just off ball skill, basically. Guys that you can phase out Tim Hardaway and Malik Beasley and phase in younger versions of those players that you find in the middle to late portion of the first round in the draft. All right, we have five more questions. I heard Sam Versini suggest the framework of an Austin Reeves, Derek Lively trade. What are your thoughts on that from both sides? I said this a while back and I. It's kind of my current stance with respect to an Austin Reeves trade. I think it makes sense to trade Austin Reeves as long as you get back either one, a very good ball handler that can be that secondary ball handler next to Luka and is a better athlete. Okay. Or two, two high level starters. Okay. If I can turn Austin into Derek Lively and a guy like a PJ Washington, then sure, I think it starts to make some sense. But if I'm just getting Derek Lively, I feel like Austin Reeves just a better player, a better asset, even though I think Lively obviously fits the big picture goals of the Lakers. And so I would trade Austin for Derek as long as I also got PJ back as a legitimate starting caliber piece of forward depth. Right. And that's a guy that, when LeBron retires, PJ Washington could just slide in at the 4, you know, and obviously he brings a depth piece in that regard in the short term. Right. But. But like just flipping Austin for like a starter, he's a better starter. That doesn't make any sense. I think it makes some sense to at least look around trading Austin because I don't think it makes a ton of sense to have two unathletic guards in Austin and Luka as foundational players in your starting lineup. But you don't Just get rid of them for the sake of getting rid of them. You get rid of them for high value and nothing less than that. All righty. I changed my mind. I actually doubled up the, the Giannis question. So we actually have, we actually only have three questions left. Looking at this Pacers and Thunder team, what could they do in the offseason to further push them to the chip? Both have a good amount of draft picks and it seems the Thunder needs scoring and playmaking help. I think the Pacers could use an upgrade at the 2, 3 position. So I actually disagree with this. I, I don't think the Thunder should make a move for Giannis. They're obviously very, they're either a championship team, which the series isn't over, or they're very, very close to being a championship team. And Chet's going to get better, J Dub's going to get better. They're young, the sky's the limit. Like I don't think it makes a ton of sense to shorten your window to make, to give you a better chance at, you know, one single championship in this regard. Like I, and also I just think it'd be bad for the league if Giannis went to Oklahoma City. So I don't think Oklahoma City should do anything as far as the Pacers go. Like, like honestly there's a bit of a five out spacing concept with a guy like Siakam where even though Siakam's not as good as Giannis, I think there's a little bit of a diminishing return. The Pacers are very ball and player movement, heavy offense and Giannis is more of like a like brute force, you know, just sheer force of will and power type of weapon. He's not a guy that is known for being a super, super high level, quick decision, read and react player and three point shooter and all those things that are so important in the Indiana Pacers offense. So I don't really see that as, as a realistic type of move. And then as far as the two and three goes, I think, I think Nemhardt and Eastmith are strengths in this offense as ball pressure guys that can run action and shoot. Like, I don't necessarily think an upgrade. There is something that you look outside the roster for if anything, Ben Matheran in his potential and it continues to grow and develop in coming years and he becomes your upgrade at the 2 and 3 in the big picture. Highly unlikely that this would happen due to current circumstances and the beef, but I feel the Pacers are the perfect team. For Giannis, he'd elevate the defense and I feel Hallie would complement Giannis perfectly with east kind of in limbo right now. Thoughts on this? As I mentioned earlier, I just don't, I don't think Giannis fits as well with Indiana as he does in some other situations. That doesn't mean like Giannis would make the Pacers better. He's Giannis. But the point is, is like you'd have to give up a ton to get him and it is a little bit of a diminishing return in a system that prioritizes three point shooting and read and react quickness, which are two kind of weaknesses for Giannis relative to his strengths. Last question. Did we undervalue Indiana's shot making ability before the series? While weighing, while weighing Oklahoma City's ability to turn people over too much. Game is about getting buckets, making tough jumpers, and if the playoffs is any evidence, they do it better than almost anyone we've seen. This is an interesting question and I appreciate you asking it because it's caused me to look at things a little bit differently. I would argue that Shea and J Dub are better tough shot makers than Halliburton and Siakam as a unit, mainly on the strength of Shea, obviously. But where I think it gets interesting is as you go down the roster, I do think the Pacers are a better aggregate tough shot making team. Niecemith can make tough shots. Nemhard can make tough shots. Turner can make tough shots. TJ McConnell will make tough crazy fadeaways. Ben Matherin can make tough shots. Obi Toppin can make tough shots. I do think there's an aggregate tough shot making piece with the Pacers, which is really fascinating and has shown in a big way in this postseason run. And so honestly, with the way that their offense works and all the whirling around looking for great shots, it doesn't really matter where the ball ends in the sequence. You know, with four or five seconds on the shot clock, any of those dudes can put the ball on the floor and create a decent look for themselves. And I do think that that under, that, that aggregate shot making talent has been a little bit underrated as far as Oklahoma City's ability to turn people over and whether or not that's being weighed properly. We have one game and in the first half it worked marvelously and in the second half it did it. So I think we just need more data before we can really speak, you know, with conviction in that specific regard. All right, guys, that's all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting me and supporting the show again. We will be back tomorrow night after the final Buzzer of Game 2 of the NBA Finals with Colin Cowherd. So we'll have a breakdown with Colin, then we'll be heading over to playback after. Then on Monday morning I'll do more of like a detailed breakdown and then we'll do film on Tuesday. All right, I appreciate you guys. I will see you tomorrow. What's up guys? As always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting Supporting Hoops tonight. It would actually be really helpful for us if you guys would take a second and leave a rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if you could take a minute to do that, I'd really appreciate it.
