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The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Hoops Tonight - Warriors Deep Dive: Is LeBron joining, Anthony Davis trade takes, Yaxel's upside, building w/ Steph
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Podcast Announcer
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Colin Coward
Guaranteed Human hi, it's Colin Coward from the Colin Coward Podcast. Every goal starts with an assist. As Official partners of U.S. soccer, this team is ready to deliver Sensodyne dentist recommended defense of your sensitive teeth Centrum Fueling your day with science backed nutrients. Advil of course. Powerful inflammation fighting pain relief Voltaren Arthritis Gel helps penetrate deep, keeps the joints moving and tums ready to counterattack with fast heartburn relief. Learn how Halion can assist your game day goals@helionassist.com Con Amazon Health AI presents
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Sam Isfandiari
painful thoughts I I can't stop scratching my downtown.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah, but I'm not itching to go
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Sam Isfandiari
downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
Some things you'd rather type than say out loud. There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health AI.
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Sam Isfandiari
Chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24. 7 Healthcare just got less painful.
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Daniel Cormier
This is Daniel Cormier from the Daniel Cormier Show. This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. Power doesn't wait in the octagon or outside of it. You either made the move or you missed a moment. That's why you need a network that's just as powerful as you are. With Total Wireless you get unlimited 5G data keeping you in the action from the walkouts to the knockouts. Now that's a total power move. Make your total Power move today. Visit totalwireless.com or stop by your neighborhood Total Wireless store. Additional terms apply. See totalwireless.com for details.
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Sam Isfandiari
Get that AMEX Gold Card ready. I'm too tired to cook.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
All right. Welcome to Hoops Tonight here at the volume. We are at the C SiriusXM studios at the Wynn in Las Vegas. We have a very special guest today, my good friend Sam isfandiari, my go to guy for all things Warriors. Sam, earlier today we heard from Rich Paul that that the LeBron saga is fun for the fans as it drags out and I'm in the content space and it was fun for like a week or two. I'm no longer having fun. I'm ready to know what's gonna happen. So as as our our representative of the warriors fan base for Hoops tonight, how are you feeling about this Whole saga. How are warriors fans feeling? Where are you at with the LeBron James thing?
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Sam Isfandiari
So if I was to rank the possible scenarios, it goes one, you acquire the players you actually want to acquire. Two, you have hope you're going to acquire the players you want to acquire. Three, you don't get them and you're in the sunken place and everything is miserable. So the way I'm looking at it, given that the warriors have, you know, kind of striked out more often than not like the last four years. Like, I know they got Jimmy, but outside of Jimmy, it's been a lot of that's too many picks. Oh, they don't want to trade him here. Oh, we can't afford him. The xyz. I'm looking at it through the lens of look, we haven't heard no yet. So as long as I haven't heard a no, I'm in an okay place. I can't speak for everyone, but I can't speak for me.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
You know, it's interesting because I would argue the warriors probably need LeBron more than all of these other teams in the sense that like Cleveland was a conference finalist. Wiggins, Bam Giannis, Davion, Mitchell. It's pretty strong foundation in Miami. Regardless of what happens, Minnesota is going to be fine. I mean, obviously they need a power forward, but Denver's going to be fine. Golden State's in this weird predicament where if they pull off something and we're going to talk about Anthony Davis in a minute, but if they pull off something involving LeBron plus another player, the difference between them as currently constructed, we're going to get into the roster. There's exciting things. Yaks looks great in his first couple of summer league games, but they're looking at being a play in team if they don't pull something like this off. But at the same time, I also don't necessarily think they have another great option in the sense that other than like making a, an all in trade around just Steph versus making an all in trade around Steph and LeBron. There's a lot at stake here. Do you guys feel that?
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Sam Isfandiari
Yes, I'm 100% on the same page as you hear like when you're describing those teams, you're leaving out kind of the obvious point, which is the warriors have the potential to be a incredibly depressing story for the end of Steph's career. Look, if you told me three years ago they were going to try to acquire LeBron, I would say I'm good. I. There's got to be a different route to go. It's actually not a disrespect thing. I just think, like the rivalry is cool and let's keep it separate, that sort of thing. Then the Olympics happened in 2024, which I think everyone will agree was awesome.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
It was fun to watch.
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Sam Isfandiari
And then you have kind of the reality of where we're at with the warriors, which is Jimmy Butler got injured, the roster is subpar. They don't really have a lot of options. And Steph's 38 years old. He'll be 39 next season. So when I look at through all those lines, even taking like the romanticism of how fun it would be for the two of them to play, you're just not going to get an opportunity to add an all star caliber player. And let's be clear, LeBron is still an all star caliber player. I could argue he's better, but at worst he's an all star caliber player. You do not get the opportunity to add a player of that caliber for the mid level exception or below. Like, we're, we're seeing this around the league. The Celtics just traded Jalen Brown not because he was bad, but because he's too expensive.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah.
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Sam Isfandiari
And we're seeing more and more of that around the league where it's about value. It's about your ability to, you know, control contracts and maneuver. Dude, LeBron. I don't care that LeBron's 41. LeBron willing to take between 3 and 15 million a year is like a godsent team building, wide team building wise. Sorry, you got to go for it. And then just to take it back to my first point, bro, if he says no and they do nothing and we go into next season with this idea that Jimmy's going to be back sometime in January, who knows what that looks like? 37 year old off an ACL tear with a roster of okay players, asking Stephen Curry at his age to average 30 to keep them in games. Like, I just. He's going to get hurt. I don't want to see his career end like that. Like, I don't know that adding LeBron and let's just say Anthony Davis makes them a contender. I do know it puts them in the mix and makes the end of his career far less depressing than the opposite.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
And it puts them within striking distance, especially if they have the tools to make another deal, to potentially be in a situation in February where they feel comfortable making that kind of move. I want to zoom in on like the, the fan piece of this for a second though, because like, you and I met on Twitter, we met being fans of our teams, of our players. You are a staunch defender of Steph Curry. And I have been known as a person who got into the sport of basketball literally because of LeBron James. I'm a huge LeBron James fan and I don't want to play fan police. I hate telling people how to be fans. And if there are people that get a sick feeling in their stomach at the idea of LeBron and Steph playing together, I'm not going to tell them they're wrong. But, like, as the years have gone by, I've just grown to love and appreciate and respect Steph so much, to the point where he's literally become my second favorite player behind LeBron. And I know that you have a great deal of respect for LeBron as well. The idea of LeBron and Steph playing together was quite literally never a negative feeling for me at all. It was immediately like, this is awesome. Like, I. I just think these are the two greatest competitors of our era. Both of them are completely stamped. They have four championships each. They don't have anything else to prove at this point. It's just their basketball games fit fantastically well. I think the two of them just want to win together. I just, I only experienced, like, positive feelings about the two of them playing together. Did you have any hesitancy at all about the partnership at this point?
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Sam Isfandiari
No. Like, being honest with you, would I have had had hesitancy two years ago, four years ago? The answer would be different. Yes, of course. But I'm like, looking at through a realist lens, which the Olympics honestly was a big thing for me. Watching the two of them together, it made me. It made it easier for me to reframe this as just like, look, dude, if they play together at the end of their career, it does not change anything that's happened before. You need to stop looking at it through the 90s lines. You need to stop giving credence to like, I'm not going to name players or ex players. Like, oh, it's not the way we used to do things. Well, you know, back in the day, you didn't have 25 year careers. It's hard to stay one place for 25 years. So the way I look at it is this would be fun for the end of their career. And that really only came to me through the lens of they're old, man. It's been a long time, you know, Like, I don't know if you feel this way. I don't know how much you're into the World cup right now, but you're watching the World cup, you see, like, Ronaldo, you see Messi. These guys are past their prime. Messi's still more capable than maybe Ronaldo is at this point. They've moved how many clubs, they're at different stages, and there's a certain level of who cares about the narrative, who cares about the rivalry. This is their last tournament they're going to play in at this point, so let's just appreciate it because they're two of the best who've ever done it. And it's. It's going to be fun. And you're going to enjoy it. You're going to enjoy it far more than the other side, where they, like, proudly retire verse play with each other. And then we're sitting here with what ifs, which, ironically, is kind of how people look at Michael Jordan's career in certain ways. And, like, I love Jordan. I'm a Jordan guy. But, like, a lot of mystique is tied to the fact that he retired before he wanted to, and there's a lot of what happened if he kept going, what happened if this happened. So I've evolved on this view. I don't. I don't. The right word for it is change. Whatever. I'm into it because, look, man, the alternative of them retiring or, like, having this crappy team where they win 31 games, like, that sucks.
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Daniel Cormier
Yeah.
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Sam Isfandiari
I just have some fun with it.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah. I think, to me, the point you're making about the World cup is the interesting one to me, because essentially, I just am enjoying watching these guys. That's the key. And, like, I like watching Steph play in that play in game. Watching LeBron get to be the primary ball handler for a playoff series. Again, like, the fact that I was watching, like, a big, huge Game 6 on the road in Houston, LeBron's going to be the primary ball handler in the year 2026. Like, you don't think that was fun for me as a fan to watch. And I actually think they're in this unique situation where they kind of need each other in the sense that Steph is stuck in this situation. We're going to talk about the warriors in a minute. He's stuck in this situation where the team's just flat out not good enough. And then with LeBron, as you look at the options, I. I'm not excited about the idea of watching him play the Rui Hachimura role for Donovan Mitchell. And James Harden, I'm not excited about him doing that for Anthony Edwards and Lamella Ball, I'm not excited about him in this weird, janky spacing situation with Giannis and Bam like this. The specific situation that Golden State presents is an opportunity for both of them to increase their chances of competing for a title, but also to play in a style that reminds us of why both of them were great.
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Sam Isfandiari
Yeah, they get to do it their way. And I think that's. That's actually a great point, too, because, look, like, this is true of LeBron, but this can be true of Stephanie. Year or two, Steph can chase a title as, like, a shooter off the bench for five more years if you. He can. He could play the Ray Allen in the Miami Heat role if he wants to. But is that satisfying to me as a fan? No. Like, only in so much as, like, he's my favorite player and he means something to Warrior fans. But what you really want to see is them have the ability to compete with the best in a role that, you know is suited for them. And so I agree with you. That way, like, if you look at the basketball situations, there are situations that are easier for LeBron. I don't think there's any other situation that allows him to play the role he wants to play while also not demanding him to play the role of hero and Savior 24 7, which, like, physically is probably not realistic for a guy in his age range.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
Probably for either of them.
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Sam Isfandiari
Yeah, exactly. And, like, that's. That's kind of the fun of it, which is, like, they're the protagonist of the team. They're the necessary engine of the team. But the way that the warriors play also allows them to. I don't say take games off, but, like, kind of play in the flow a little more. Whereas, like, in Minnesota, to your point, I'm, you know, I'm just gonna use an example. It's going to be Ants Lamello, and it's kind of going to be a different version of what you saw last year with Luca and Austin Reeves and him having to be, like, the gap filler playing, like, a supercharged Sean Marion role, like, with a little more upside.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah, it's. I'd include Philly in this list, too, where it's like, I think there's. I think there are basketball situations for every player that. Where they become almost a force multiplier versus something where there's a diminishing return.
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Sam Isfandiari
Sure.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
And I think, like, do. I think LeBron can fill gaps and do all these Little things to help a basketball team. Yes, but I think he could do that anywhere. Like rebounding, defending, making plays off of advantage. Like that exists in every single basketball situation. You're going to have an opportunity where you're attacking a closeout or you're playing on a four on three, like that exists everywhere. Golden State has the unique situation of actually having an offense built around having bigger players that have the basketball at a. For their split cuts and for their five out action where they're operating with the dribble handoffs out, you know, at the elbow extended. And so that's a specific situation where with all the off ball movement whirling around, it takes advantage of LeBron being a threat to score and pass out of those spots on the floor. And we literally saw France get beat. Steph hit the shots, but it was a two man game. It was a. It was Steph and LeBron attacking Gershon Yabaselli with inverted screens and regular screens with the two of them and just getting open shot after open shot because you have this incredible shooter and this incredible power forward that you can't switch the action with. And I think there's a lot naturally fitting there. Now I want to, I want to quick describe what I think is going on here and then I want you to tell me if you think it's a fair characterization. Let's do it from your perspective. I think LeBron knows deep down the basketball situation. He wants. He knows what playing in Philly will look like. He knows what playing in Cleveland will look like. He knows a playing in Miami will look like Denver, Golden State, so on and so forth. And I think he knows deep down he's. I mean, he said it. I mean, on the day of the Lakers report, his podcast released a clip talking about how playing with the Team USA was like the most fun he's had in years playing basketball. So I think deep down he knows playing with Golden State would be a blast. I think, and you and I have talked about this in the last few days, I think that LeBron is waiting for one of these teams to make a move to bolster whatever he thinks that situation is. Golden State did make a move for Jimmy and it's worth mentioning that they put a first round pick on the table to get Jimmy Butler. That is worth mentioning and at least giving them some credit for. But there have been multiple opportunities over the past.
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Sam Isfandiari
He burnt the house down after.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
He burnt the house down after, after. It went very far south there. Over the course of the years there have been lots of opportunities like they missed on OG Anobi. OG Anobi led his team to a championship, didn't lead, but was a key factor in a championship team they passed on. Pascal Seakam literally was one win away from a championship and might have gotten Finals MVP depending on how the rest of that Game seven would have gone if Indiana won. And I'd even argue like the last year and a half like not making a move on like a Trey Murphy not making a move that's a bigger, splashier move. Do you think that one of the potential hangups Here is potentially LeBron's concern that Golden State has this incredible control over their draft future? But they might be has they might hesitate when it comes to pushing their chips in around LeBron stuff. Today's show is brought to you by presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bed, Florida's Sportsbook we talk a lot of basketball here, but the world's biggest soccer tournament is here. Everyone is watching. National pride is on the line, Superstars are chasing immortality, and for the next month, every match feels like a final. If you haven't tried Hard Rock Bet yet, there's no better time to get in the game. Hard Rock Bet is a top rated sportsbook app built to viva lacopa. Whether you're backing your country, betting on your favorite superstar, or building a same game parlay for the biggest matches of the tournament, Hard Rock Bet is your way to get in on the action. And if you're ever late to kickoff, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet lets you live bet all match long from the first minute to the final whistle. Plus, Hard Rock Bet has new promos daily. We're talking profit boosts, no sweat bets, bonus bets and more. And be sure to check out no goals, no problem and Super Sub two promos designed to give your bets insurance all tournament long. Sign up with Hard Rock Bet today and place a five dollar bet. If it wins. You'll also score $150 in bonus bets, a winning bet plus an extra $150 bet with. Now that's how you get this summer's party started. Hard Rock Bet is Florida's only legal sportsbook, but you don't have to be in Florida to join the party. Hard Rock Bet is also live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado and Michigan. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today. Roll with us. Go with us. Hard Rock Bet payable and bonus Bets Not a cash offer Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida, offered by Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. To play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1833 playwise in Indiana, if you or someone you know has gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it in Arizona, Ohio and Virginia, call 1-800-my reset gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler in Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey or Tennessee.
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- [20:04]
Sam Isfandiari
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- [20:07]
Host of Hoops Tonight
Find out your welcome offer after you
- [20:09]
Sam Isfandiari
apply, which could be as high as 175,000 points. Learn more and find out your offer@americanexpress.com explorer Platinum Terms app potentially. I mean, I think there's a trust factor with Steph and Draymond, but those guys haven't been able to push the front office to move things in a different direction. Now, if you listen to the warriors talk and there's always kind of like, read in between the lines, my general impression has been that those two players have also been aligned with the front office more often than not. Doing the whole, oh, we'd rather make the bigger swing for Giannis. Like, and maybe they're being upsold by the front office. Maybe that's a thing. But like, the reality is, like, it's not like those guys have got into like a pissing match at the front office and like walked out the door. So you can't like say they're not culpable in some capacity. But yeah, I think that's part of it. I do, I think, taking back to your original point, look, if LeBron signing for less than the max, this isn't about cap space.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah.
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Sam Isfandiari
So why hasn't he signed yet? I don't buy Rich Paul saying he's going through a process, that he knows what he wants to do. This is the most calculated player of all time. I think they're waiting for something, and it could be like, the most obvious thing would be, like, waiting for a trade to prove that the roster they're going to matches their expectations because you're dealing with parties they haven't worked with in the past. Like, no matter how much he likes as Stefan A. Draymond, he hasn't worked with the Lake of. He hasn't worked with Mike Don Levy the way maybe he worked with Pat Riley or Dan. Who is it Dave Griffin in the past and those stops. Right. Like, so maybe it's that or maybe it's something else. I'm not sure. But, like, I agree with your initial point, which is this is being dragged out for a reason, and the reason's not money, because we know it's not money. He's not like, he's not waiting for someone to clear cap space. He's waiting for someone to do something, and we're just waiting to see what it is.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah. And that's where I think, unless he's literally just playing with us in the sense that he's dragging this out for fun, to make a story and by the way, as possible, it's possible that that's at least part of it.
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Sam Isfandiari
Sure.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
But I, I. So let's say, for instance, that he is thinking, okay, Golden State. But if they get a guy like Anthony Davis, how would you feel about the risk for the warriors in potentially making an Anthony Davis deal but not being 100% sure that LeBron's going to come? Because I would argue if LeBron was like, hey, because we talked about this in the last couple of days, if LeBron's like, I'm going to Golden State deep down. Like, deep down, he's like, that's where I want to play, then he should know that they probably need AD and another move, because this is a team that's a little thin on wing depth that especially at the 2 in the 3 spot. And so with that being the case, LeBron has to know that they probably need to make a second trade, and if they do, the last thing they need to do is get raked over the coals by Washington for Anthony Davis. So then you go, okay, well, why doesn't LeBron approach Golden State privately and go, let's. I'm coming to you guys. I want A.D. you guys want A.D. we're going to do this. But we need to hold the line a little bit with Washington to get a better deal. If that was the case though, he would have agreed. So if there is risk in going after a guy like Anthony Davis, how would you feel as a Warriors fan if you made a deal for AD and LeBron didn't end up coming to the team?
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Sam Isfandiari
Me personally, which does not speak for every warriors fan, I'd be okay with it assuming the price is not, you know, so prohibitive that like you're effed for like five years. I think this sucks to say I'm be honest with you, because I was on an island saying they should trade for Jimmy Butler when the vast majority of people were opposed to it because the fit wasn't there and he's old and xyz and to be fair, the old thing kind of played out.
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Host of Hoops Tonight
He looked good when he was healthy.
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Sam Isfandiari
He did, and it worked when he was healthy. But anyway, putting all that aside, I have very little faith that the version of Jimmy Butler we're going to see when he returns from an ACL tear in January or February. And I think it's more. I know the warriors are posturing that he's attacking his rehab well and I have no reason to believe otherwise. He's always been maniacal with physical training. Older players take longer to recover.
- [24:52]
Host of Hoops Tonight
They do, yeah.
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Sam Isfandiari
Average player takes 12 months to come back from ACL. He tore his ACL on January 20th. I would be thrilled if we saw him before the All Star break and I would be thrilled if he looked anywhere like Jimmy Butler at any point next year. I think it's unrealistic. I think the most likely scenario is he comes back. He's minutes restricted. He's a smart player because he's always going to be a smart player. Yeah, but there's that lack of like star level pop on a game to game basis that he used to be capable of because he's 37 years old off an ACL tear. So from that perspective I'm like, I don't know what you have to lose. I know it sucks because he fit in the culture and oh, he's great, he's awesome. I like him. But it's just like if you want to be serious about putting a team around Stephen Curry that has a puncher shot, you got to move off him. And to take it home to your final point, I think Anthony Davis is being undervalued right now mostly because the last year has sucked for him. He was Playing really good basketball before the Luka Doncic trade gets traded to Dallas. At least part of the reason he didn't play post trade deadline is because the backlash and like, they ended up in a deep tank and players get rested when they're tanking. I know he had like a abductor strain, but like, look, if they had a chance to make a run, he's playing, you know, so I think that's part of it. And then everything fell out on the other side of it. I mean, Nico Harrison got fired. They traded him. He goes to the Wizards. The Wizards didn't just rest him, by the way. People are going to say he was injured. Trey Young played five games. I don't care what anyone says. They were deep in the tank of. We want to get the topic. And to their credit, it worked out for them. So I think he's being a little undervalued here because the situation he's been in has been as much of a factor of him not being on the floor as his health, which, like, to be fair, has been dubious. And so when you take that all into it, if you believe he's not completely cooked physically, that's a very good player. And a player that, no matter where you land in terms of the final comp, like compensation would help them. Like they would be a playoff team with Anthony Davis and Stephen Curry and some semblance of depth.
- [27:20]
Host of Hoops Tonight
Absolutely. I think, I think one of the most under discussed parts of that specific decision is what happened at the end of last year. Stephen works his butt off all year to try to carry the team. Jimmy gets hurt, he's pushing it even harder, ends up taxing his knee to the point where he has to take time off. When he comes back, he straight up says, like, this is something I'm going to have to deal with now with his knee. And so I would argue above and beyond anything involving how you feel about Anthony Davis as a player having a salary slot that large occupied by a player who's going to miss two thirds of the season, especially as a star shot creator, which is going to foist more usage and responsibility onto Steph, which could then lead to the bulky knee continuing to become a problem like that. That to me is, it's deeper than just, oh, we got to survive Jimmy being out for the next two, two, three months, two thirds of the season. We got to. We have to find a way to get STEPH because say LeBron comes. You got to find a way to get Steph to April for any of this. To make any sense. And so to me, with Anthony Davis, it just makes your basketball team better. In the stretch from October to whenever, Jimmy would have come back and give you a better chance of surviving with Stephen. To your point, there is no guarantee that Jimmy will be ready by the All Star break. There's no guarantee you won't have a setback. There's no guarantee he'll be ready for the role that they need him to fill. And it is unfortunate as it is, and I get it, because he's such a good fit for the team. And when they were healthy, they were legitimately scary when, when that team was all put together. But it's just, it's an unfortunate casualty of the situation. Jimmy, you can't play for the most of the part this year. As much as we would love to just be loyal to you and have you stay here, it has these trickle down effects that could hurt the team. And I do think Anthony Davis is a very good basketball player. Like, again, I, I've been through this roller coaster with him rooting for the Lakers. When he would be healthy and in rhythm, he was an absolute monster. And then he would get hurt and then he'd be out for a little while and then he would come back, and when he would come back, he'd be out of rhythm for a little while. But like, even when he was out of rhythm and out of shape and a little overweight, he's just so good at so many little things that just raise your floor as a basketball team. And I would take it a step further to say in a Western Conference with San Antonio and okc, Anthony Davis is like the archetype of player that gives you a fighting chance in those types of series. If you can really protect the rim and if you can actually have enough offensive skill at the five spot to make Wemby think twice before he leaves the paint or before he decides to stay in the paint for one reason or another. I think it's a talent play. And again, irrespective of LeBron, you're kind of operating in a space where how often do you get to add a player with that type of upside without mortgaging your entire future? And you should be able to, in theory, if you hold the line, get Anthony Davis at somewhat of a discount.
- [30:15]
Sam Isfandiari
I agree with you there. I think the other thing with Anthony Davis is he's held to the standard of Tim Duncan and Wemby because when he came out of the draft, he was painted as the next Garnett, the next Tim Duncan, the franchise big, who's going to win 5, 6 titles to his credit. He's been excellent. I mean, he's been all star every year. He's been healthy. They did win a title with him. I mean, he's been great. Like, the biggest criticism you can give of him is he has not been the best player in the world. He's just been like the eighth best player in the world. Right. But the reality is, to your point, like his bad seasons, he's still giving you 24, 25 points per game. And when you look at the warriors single biggest issue, and they have a lot of issues, but the single biggest issue is if you're asking Steph to give you a 30 and be 2016 Steph, in terms of usage, three guys chasing him at all times. I don't think his body's going to hold, hold up. I don't think it will in any capacity. And that's where it's like, the Jimmy injury sucks, but you have to find an alternative because if you don't, this whole. We're going to fight to hold it together till he's back. I think Steph's. I think Steph's gonna get hurt again. I think he is. Whereas in your scenario where you get Nancy Davis and, you know, LeBron comes on like veteran minimum, now it's the scenario of nobody has to be Superman. Everyone can give you 30ish minutes average, 20ish. One night's a Steph night, one night's an ad night, and all of a sudden everyone's a little healthier that way. So I think that's what they need to do. I don't think they're getting that scoring boost from internal development. As much as I loved Axl so far, as much as I'm a fan of pods, Gi, like, the guys they have, like, those are not guys who score effortlessly. Anthony Davis scores. Anthony Davis, bad games are 20 points.
- [32:15]
Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah, he. He's a great play finisher and offensive rebounder in a way that he kind of just finds his way to 18, 24 points, even on nights where he's not involved in the offense. I mean, the. One of the biggest critiques of Anthony Davis with the Lakers, and it's more of a critique of the Lakers, was that he wasn't involved enough. And it came down to several different reasons. Some of it was AD's fault. And again, like, I'm glad you mentioned this, because if you start to compare AD to Giannis or, or, or Victor women, Yama or yo, you're gonna be disappointed. You're gonna be frustrated. And. And I. I thought even Laker fans, when they would try to put AD in that tier, I'm like, hey, listen, like, this is not a conversation you really want to get into, but again, you're talking about a guy who is still in the NBA as a top 20 player, and when he's healthy, probably closer to top 15, top 12. I'd say the exact same thing about LeBron. And if you could theoretically get both while still having enough draft compensation left to make an additional move, you're talking about interesting team there. And I like betting on AD because you mentioned this earlier, and it's the truth. Like, we have to at least account for the fact that it's been a rough year for him. Okay. Like, you're. You are sent out in a trade that is universally panned as certainly the most shocking trade in NBA history. And one of the worst traits.
- [33:27]
Sam Isfandiari
Do you remember where you were, by the way, when that trade went down?
- [33:29]
Host of Hoops Tonight
I was on a ski trip. I was at dinner. I had a couple of beers, and next thing you know, I'm like. I, like, can't even focus. I'm looking at the TV, and there's shams on TV.
- [33:39]
Sam Isfandiari
Yeah, it was my dad's 70th birthday, so we had a nice night. I had a couple of glass of wine. I get home, I put my son down. I fall asleep on the couch at 9, like an old man. I wake up, and my phone has 500 text messages 30 minutes later. So, like, I have this very vivid memory of it.
- [33:58]
Colin Coward
But you're right.
- [33:58]
Sam Isfandiari
It's, like, the most shocking thing ever. Like, I wake up, and I'm like, why are people texting me? Like, what is this, Dude?
- [34:05]
Host of Hoops Tonight
It was. It was unbelievable. And, like, so then he goes out, and he immediately is on a team that has no shot to compete, and then he gets traded to the Washington Wizards. So, like, imagine going from playing in la, one of the meccas of basketball in The World, with LeBron James, and you're like.
- [34:26]
Sam Isfandiari
And everything is championship or bust, by the way. That's the other part of it. Like, the expectations are like, we're competing. And then you get sent somewhere where it's like, it'd be great if you just rested.
- [34:36]
Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah.
- [34:36]
Daniel Cormier
And now.
- [34:37]
Colin Coward
Now.
- [34:37]
Host of Hoops Tonight
And it's like, I know Trey Young makes things a little bit more interesting in Washington, but now you're just playing on a young, rebuilding team. And so I do think, like, if you were to get AD to the warriors, there's a version of that story where you get a I'm gonna prove everybody wrong about me kind of season. And he's just in that age too, in his early 30s. Whereas, like, there's. There's enough juice in there for like one or two epic flashback Anthony Davis seasons. And that, that, that's to me, where I like the. And there's. It's hard to find a team that makes sense for ad. It's hard at his salary and with his injury history. And like, given the fact that, you know, Washington's gonna want at least one first round draft pick back, like, there's a lot that goes into that. Let's talk a little bit about the roster, though. Irrespective of anything with LeBron and AD, how are you feeling about the rest of the warriors roster? How do you feel about Jax Lindenberg? How did you feel about losing Quinton Post? Like, where are you at with the rest of what the warriors have to offer?
- [35:36]
Sam Isfandiari
I mean, they've built the Perfect roster for AD and LeBron. Like, the fun thing about their roster is they've done a good job the last four years. Sorry, four is wrong. Last couple years of acquiring these young, energetic players who help you win in the margins, but none of them are going to be guys you really build an offense around. Now, maybe Axel is better than that. I don't want to put a ceiling on him right now, but, like, let's just go through the list. Like, Pajemski is objectively a good player. Most teams could use him.
- [36:08]
Host of Hoops Tonight
I understand LeBron's going to like him because he plays hard. I think he'll. I think he'll take two or three shots a game that drive him insane. Sure. But I think he's going to like how much he likes scraps.
- [36:16]
Sam Isfandiari
You know, it's going to actually annoy LeBron. It's the same thing that annoys Draymond and Jimmy. It's the two or three shots he doesn't take. Oh, where he gets past the ball and he's thinking instead of just putting it up. Cause like, LeBron's maybe the best driving kick passer of all time. He's certainly one of the best, like, point forwards of all time. Kicks it to the guy in a corner. They get fed up when they kick it to someone, passes in rhythm, hit the shot and they think about it too much. And pods, that's was his biggest weakness. Like, you could literally define his good and bad games by in his own head versus letting it rip. So putting him aside, he's a good player though. Overall G. Santos Good player, scraps competes Sometimes the offense is there, sometimes it's not, but he's always going to get rebounds. I was going to defend, do these little things. Will Richard he may be a good player, he may not. Same concept Yaksel better version of GI Santos. Like all the guys they've acquired the young players, they are hypervaluable multi skill role players players and they make sense and I like them all. And maybe Pods and Yaxel Underberg have higher upside than that. I would argue against it because usually guys who are like foundational pieces let you know it immediately. Offensively, I think it's more likely they're going to be really good glue guys. I think that's all useful if you acquire the main guys to go with them, you know, so that they're kind of in this weird situation where they've built this perfect roster for Steph and a true second third option. But they don't have the true second third option.
- [37:51]
Jacob Goldstein
This is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? You probably think of Walmart as the store that carries just about everything under the sun and maybe not as the place to discover small brands. Well, two things can be true at the same time because Walmart is home to thousands of small brands founded by people who had an idea, took a chance and built something of their own. Behind everyone is a real story and a lot of hard work. So why not take a little time to recognize all the people building small brands across the country and support everything they're creating? Walmart is proud to give those brands a place on its shelves and online. It's never been easier to find and support small brands. So take a look at Walmart. You might come across something new, something unexpected, or a brand whose story speaks to you. You never know what you're missing until you look discover thousands of small brands@walmart.com
- [38:48]
Host of Hoops Tonight
yeah, there's a lot of slotting issues that the warriors have had with the injuries to Steph and Jimmy that like if you watch pods and he's running 25 pick and rolls in a game, it's going to come with some frustrating shots. It's going to come with some side eyes from Kristaps Porzingis. It's going to come with some of those kinds of things. But if he's in a situation where he is allowed to function as a glue guy, that's where the stuff that he's great at, like he's an amazing rebounder for a guard, he's a very good connective passer. He's a guy that like, is very good at making the reads that naturally manifest in Golden State's offense when, when they're in the flow. And to your point, if you get a LeBron, if you get an Anthony Davis, it's slots everyone properly. I think an underrated part of this roster specifically for a LeBron ad discussion is front court depth. Like if, if LeBron needs to take a night off, Yox and and GI Santos are both like guys who can start in a pinch at a power forward spot in the NBA. If AD has to take a night off, like Kristaps Porzingis, if he happens to be healthy, can Al Horford can play like you can? There's even. It's like, okay, Horford and AD are both out tonight and Kristaps is sick. Okay, Draymond at the 5, LeBron at the 4, Yaks at the 3. Like, we're big still, you know, like they, they're, they're set up specifically to handle front court depth related issues in the regular season. Like that. I, as someone who rooted for the Lakers for years, like a team built around a younger version of LeBron in AD when one of them got hurt, it was a huge problem. It was a huge problem. Cause they didn't have any forwards other than LeBron. That was why they made the RUI trade to begin with is they didn't have any forwards and their backup centers were bad. And so they had no, like, if. That was the discussion for years was like, what if LeBron and AD are healthy? And it's like Golden State has the flexibility in their front court. The flip side of that though is, and I do like pots, like you said. You and I were talking a little bit over the last couple of days about the Anthony Melton. We really like the Anthony Melton. I think, I think he's just another one of those like glue guys who does everything really well in the role player spot as a guard. And once again, there were times last year where even in the playing games where I thought he was a little overtaxed as a ball handler and he's like driving into traffic and throwing up stuff that doesn't have much chance of going in. But it's like, that's not going to be anything he has to do when, when the team is healthy in this, in this theoretical universe. I do think that's the next piece of this though, where I think if, if you get AD and LeBron and you find yourself in January February and the team looks good. I think there's a secondary deal here that has to be done for some sort of like higher level 2, 3 either a multiple piece kind of depth move or like oh we like a Trey Murphy, like we think this guy could be like in our closing five kind of move. I do think that that is the one weak point of this roster is like like rotate playoff rotation level two, three like swing players. Yeah.
- [41:40]
Sam Isfandiari
You're betting on Melton being more the player he was pre injury another year removed from his injury. Maybe pods takes a step, maybe G Santos or yes, I'll take a step but if they don't then clearly you need a swing player. Like you said like the, the point of attack defender, the hyper athletic 3 and D wing. The, the players they have on their roster right now are. I don't call them gambles, but they're young players coming into. Maybe they come into it, maybe they don't. We don't know. I, I still think you're in a good spot. If you're actually able to acquire an Anthony Davis and a LeBron and you build the Expendables or whatever the hell you want to call them. I think you're in a good spot to win enough games from October to January with those young players to then make a informed decision in January that you know, yeah, you know pods, he's fine, it's just not going to be good enough in the playoffs. And let's move him for you know, a KCP type or a Caruso type or whoever's available who's like ready to play that role in the playoffs or like Melton who we talked about. I actually think Melton can be that player because he was that player before his injury. But there's always a chance that it just never comes fully back. You never know. Like I think the reason he shot 30% from three last year is because Stephen Jimmy got hurt and he had to play first option basketball and he's not that guy. Yeah, I think it's highly likely in the construct we're talking about he'll probably shoot 38, 39% and be that 3 and D guard everyone wants. But maybe he isn't. Maybe he isn't. Maybe you got to readdress that. The point is if they were actually able to make these things happen and they get LeBron for again. I keep coming back to this. If he's willing to sign for a veteran minimum or a mid level exception like you just don't add talent like that at any Age at that price.
- [43:36]
Host of Hoops Tonight
That's why it's the story in the NBA.
- [43:38]
Sam Isfandiari
It's impossible. And then, you know, hopefully you get Anthony Davis without giving up all your draft capital. You have the ability, to your point in January to add that final piece if it doesn't happen internally. And I think that's what's really exciting about. They have the, you know, everyone's favorite. What they have the optionality.
- [43:58]
Host of Hoops Tonight
Well, and that's why the Melton thing, I think was big, them being able to retain him, because I actually do think he's a legitimate placeholder. Like, he's a guy that is like a, a, A real, like, can give you the facsimile of a starting level two way two guard. And then if to your point, if you get to January and his body's feeling great and he's doing awesome and he's filling the role and he's like, he's like KCP was on the 2020 Lakers, and he's just a great fit, then, sure, then we're great. But then also, if you find yourself in a position where you're like, I like him, but I wish he was our seventh man in our playoff rotation, you can make that type of move before we get out of here. What has been your first impression of Yoel Lindberg?
- [44:33]
Sam Isfandiari
He's awesome. He's fun. He's a fun personality, by the way. Like, one of the more underrated things is getting young guys who have personality who, like, bring it a little bit that way. Like, he has no filter when he talks. Yeah, it's, it's hilarious in that standpoint. But the other part of it, getting back to the basketball point, I think people are underrating his upside. Everyone knows he's 23. Everyone points out the, like, older college story. What they often lead out of it is he didn't play high school basketball. He's late to the game. I think there's more to unlock there. And when you're talking about a guy who has not just positional size, plus positional size 610, 74 wingspan, I mean, he's built like, he's built like somewhere in between OG Anobi and LeBron. Not going to compare him to LeBron physically, but, like, he's a big wing and he reads the game at an incredibly high level. I think people are sleeping on the upside there because typically guys who see the floor well and have plus physical measurements, like, they only get better. You know, the shot looks amazing right now. Coming into the draft, the number one weakness that People would point out about him was the shot. Maybe he's a shooter. Maybe he could become a shooter. Why can't he become a better ball handler? He's already a good ball handler. He's a fun player. He's an interesting player. Honestly, this draft in general has been great. These are fun young players to watch. Watch.
- [45:54]
Host of Hoops Tonight
I'm so glad you brought up this point about the. The ceiling because I think people get hung up on the age piece of it. But I really do think that, that it's more about like, how long have you been playing basketball? And more importantly, how long have you been playing basketball under a structure that's actually helping you get better every day? Because, like, I didn't play high school basketball either. And the time in my life when I improved most as a basketball player was from 25 to 30 because I, I hit a phase that most players hit younger in their life. And it's like it didn't matter because I was done playing at that point. So I just became unnecessarily good for men's leagues and stuff like that. But like, the point is, is like I would. I. The dramatic improvement in myself as a basketball player took place after the how old Yoxel is right now. And again, I. And the other thing too, like Yaks actually came up through Arizona Western and my. One of my JUCO coaches who was coaching at a different school at the time in Utah, but then he was originally from Yuma and he went back to Arizona Western to coach their Carter Rowe. He, him and I were working together quite a bit around the draft because like NBA people were hitting him up and asking about Yaks and he was like, love the dude, hard worker, just a guy you wanted to have in the locker room. And he had him back when he was raw and like nowhere near as good as he is now. And like, all I had, all I had heard from Carter was like, he's just a dude that just keeps getting better because he's always putting in the work. And so if he's on a similar trajectory where he didn't play in high school and he's kind of like developmentally where many 16, 17 year olds are, and he's going to continue to improve, I'm comparing him to like a kid who's been playing since he's 7, you know what I mean? If he's still on that trajectory, there's no reason in the world why he can't continue to get better. And there's like key factors that you're always Looking at there, what is the touch look like? Well, when I looked into the stuff with Jax, he was great shooting when he was open, sure. And some of the drop offs came in off the dribble and in movement shooting situations. That tells me that he's got the touch, but he just has to improve some of the fluidity and some of the stuff that comes with tons and tons of reps. I the feel for the game stuff. And I think this is an underrated part of that position because when you start to dig into some of the other fours like Kaminga, Rui Hachimura, John Collins, like when you start to dig into some of those guys, like one of the big separators for that position is like, do you. Are you just a good catch and shoot guy? Or like, can you play in the flow and can you play with other good basketball players and make the reads? And I, I've seen this in all the summer league games. Yaks just makes every simple easy read. When he's, when he's got the ball in his hands, he just plays easy, breezy flow basketball. And I think that just fits wonderfully with what Golden State likes to do. And then you'll see flashy plays. Like that transition play where he goes in jackhammers the dog. He had that spin move yesterday was disgusting. Like that was a nasty move. Like he has. There's clearly flashes of upside in there as well.
- [48:32]
Sam Isfandiari
And then like just the last point, which is all that's true. He's doing it in like an ideal NBA body because that's like the real separate. Like I could say everything you said about pods late to the game, innate feel, touch, all those things. But he's fighting the fact that he's 6 4, he doesn't have the quickest first step. Everything is a lot easier and harder to find when you're talking about a guy 6, 9, 610 with a 74 wingspan. So like even if he isn't the most explosive athlete, you can make up for a lot of your deficiencies in terms of like lightning first step when you're 6 10, just be pretty when you have a 6, 74 wingspan. Like a lot of his Michigan highlights were him kind of allowing guys to get on his hip because he knew he could just block him from behind because he knew he could, because he knew he could do it. And a lot of. And you listened to him talk about it, he knew it the whole time too, which lets you know he has feel for it. He understands the game. Because ultimately what matters is did you stop the play? Right. There's not one specific perfect way to do it, but he had a feel for a wants to play. So, like, I, I'm with you. And the last point I want to say on him is he's a perfect warrior because the trade I would define most by Draymond and Stephen Curry is being overlooked in their case, it's size. Steph. You know, everyone knew Steph could shoot, but it's like, how good can he really be? In Draymond's case, Okie knows how to play basketball, but what position does he play? In Yaxel's case, it's kind of the same concept. Like, okay, he can play, but he's 23. Like, how good is he really going to be? So I think from that standpoint, it's easy to root for him and I think he's got higher upside because they know what to do with players like that far more than they knew what to do with a Jonathan Kuminga or James Watson.
- [50:20]
Host of Hoops Tonight
I, like, I. Last thing I'll say about it is just I think some of the concerns with him, like the ball handling and there was a couple sloppy reps in some of the summer league games. Again, especially if the warriors are able to pull off something with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, I don't think he's going to have a ton of ball handling responsibility early so he can develop that in time. The switching piece of it, like, can he guard quick guards? Like, he picks up a couple fouls against Ryan Nemhard yesterday when Ren Nemar just as hard right handed drives and he just kind of fouls him. And like, I, I, all I can think about is like, if I had to have a defender that has some deficiencies in certain types of switches, I want him in a Draymond Green led defense where he can cap, he can scram him out of switches, he can captain from the back line, give him pointers in the game, like, hey, he just beat you with this dude. Try this next time. Like that kind of stuff. Like, I just, I think the warriors have the infrastructure to take the most advantage of yaks, both in the short term, but in the long term as well.
- [51:12]
Sam Isfandiari
I agree they do better with players who have kind of feel, but they got to work through some skill stuff and some of like the fine points than taking like a raw ball of clay where they have all the athletic tools but no feel. And that's been proven over the last decade.
- [51:27]
Host of Hoops Tonight
Yeah. Nope, Totally agree. Last thing before we get out of here. Just briefly define where you're feeling in terms of optimism on the LeBron front.
- [51:36]
Sam Isfandiari
I want to believe it there. It's like we believe we want to believe. Probably more optimistic than the current public consensus. Current public consensus is Cleveland or Miami. Yeah. And my thought on it is if he went, if you want to go to Cleveland, he will do it by the end of this weekend and he hasn't so far. So we'll see. It could still happen. But maybe I'm holding out hope. Maybe it's cope, I don't know. But like I feel better about it than I did a couple days ago and I'm gonna ride with that.
- [52:10]
Host of Hoops Tonight
Copium is the drug of the NBA off season for every, for every fan base. And I, I, I thought Golden State made the most sense from the beginning. And what I keep coming back to too is like if it was as he's going home, he would have committed already. Like so I, I, I, I, my heart still says Golden State. I actually have a little group chat with some of my friends at the volume and they we that we made each other make our final prediction today. And I did say Golden State was my final prediction. I was the only one who said Golden State. But it is.
- [52:38]
Sam Isfandiari
Did anyone say anything other than Cleveland?
- [52:40]
Host of Hoops Tonight
Everyone else said Cleveland.
- [52:42]
Sam Isfandiari
There was no Miami, guys.
- [52:43]
Host of Hoops Tonight
No Miami. There was no, like did bam punch LeBron out of Cleveland today? That's the other question that I have there. But anyway, Sam, thank you so much for taking the time to come by today. I really appreciate you man.
- [52:54]
Sam Isfandiari
Appreciate you man. Anytime.
- [52:55]
Host of Hoops Tonight
That is all we have for today, guys. As always, I sincerely appreciate you for supporting us and supporting the show. We will see you next time.
- [53:09]
Jacob Goldstein
This is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? When you think about discovering small brands, what store pops into your mind? Well, it should be Walmart. Seriously. Walmart has thousands of small brands and they're all in one place. Just go online or in store. Discover and shop. It could not be easier. Every one of these brands has a real story and real people behind it. They're true American success stories and you can find them all at Walmart. Discover thousands of small brands@walmart.com today.
- [53:43]
Sam Isfandiari
Get that Amex Gold card ready. I'm too tired to cook.
- [53:45]
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- [53:58]
Podcast Announcer
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