Giannis Traded to the Heat! | Real Ones

Summary

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The Ringer NBA Show – Real Ones

Episode: Giannis Traded to the Heat! | Real Ones
Date: June 23, 2026
Hosts: Logan Murdock, Raja Bell, Howard Beck

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Overview

This emergency “Real Ones” episode was called to discuss the blockbuster trade sending Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, marking one of the most seismic NBA moves in recent years. Logan Murdock, Raja Bell, and Howard Beck break down what the move means for Miami, Milwaukee, and the wider league—including its fallout for the Celtics, Jalen Brown, and Pat Riley’s legacy. The hosts analyze the implications for championship contention, organizational culture, and player loyalty, and reflect on how this trade echoes past superstar transactions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Reactions to the Giannis Trade

• Trade Details: Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami for Tyler Herro, Khalil Ware, three first-round picks, the #13 pick in the draft, pick swap rights, and other assets. Bobby Portis heads to Miami; the Bucks won't have their own first-rounder again until 2030.
  [01:20–02:30]

• Murdock’s Take (Logan):
  “This was basically a competition between two parties — teams that Giannis would sign an extension with.”
  [01:20]

• Raja Bell’s Immediate Thoughts:
  Likes the deal for Miami; praises their refusal to “flatline,” credits Pat Riley for swinging big.
  “Any team with Giannis, I don't care if he's healthy and he's playing in the Eastern Conference, I like them…you're going to be big, you're going to be physical, you're going to be defensive-minded, you're going to be punitive.”
  [02:33]

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2. Trade Mechanics: Why the Bucks Said Yes to Miami

• Howard Beck on Miami vs. Boston Offers:
  “I always thought Miami had the edge here…The point when you get to the end of the road with a superstar of Giannis's caliber is to give yourself as much optionality, as much flexibility as possible. And this trade gave them more of that than I think they would have gotten out of a Celtics deal.”
  [06:00]

• Contract and Flexibility:
  Miami’s package considered better for rebuilding compared to Jalen Brown’s massive contract. Multiple pieces are easier to keep, move, flip.
  [06:00–08:47]

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3. State of the Heat’s Roster and Cap Situation

• Logan on Team Building Challenges:
  “They are hard capped at the first apron at this point…But you have Andrew Wiggins, Bam, and Giannis all coached by Erik Spoelstra—already better than the Bucks of last year.”
  [04:50]

• Heat’s Team Culture:
  Historical ability to find value with role players, plug unexpected contributors around stars (Norris Cole, Ray Allen, etc.)
  “I think they uniquely kind of find those type of players…they have a track record of that.” – Raja
  [10:00]

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4. Giannis’ Relationship With Milwaukee & The “Era” Ending

• Howard Beck:
  “He earned a lot of benefit of the doubt from Bucks fans…But he was talking out of both sides of his mouth, one in public and one in private. And he did kind of, I think, mislead Milwaukee fans…The results are the results. The roster eroded. They did not do enough to rebuild around him after the 2021 championship.”
  [11:45–14:47]

• Giannis’ Mindset and Loyalty:
  “What Giannis is about has always been clear. He's a championship-or-bust guy…The front office has all this pressure from one guy: ‘I need to win a title.’ So what do you do? You mortgage the future, right?” – Logan
  [13:03–14:48]

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5. Jalen Brown Fallout: Loyalty, Value, and Perception

• Repeatedly Dangled in Trades:
  “I don't think Jaylen Brown is going to feel any different about this than he's clearly felt his whole career, which is that he's undervalued and not given enough credit for who he is as a player.” – Raja
  [16:16]

• Logan on Boston:
  “You never really feel a sense of like real loyalty to a franchise star like Jaylen should feel in a market like Boston based on what he has provided…If I'm him, I'm pissed.”
  [21:17]

• Howard Beck on CBA/Salary Complications:
  “It's hard to have multiple max guys or supermax type guys on a roster…Jaylen Brown has made some of this bed and I think, you know, maybe he gets traded, maybe he doesn't.”
  [23:53]

• Debating “Loyalty” versus Business in the NBA:
  Raja: “When as it relates to a club dangling a player over and over again and not execute, what do you tell the player when he's brought back into the fold?...’It's a business.’”
  [29:40–30:23]

  “He's done enough, right?” – Raja
  [30:29]

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6. Legacy Talk: Pat Riley and ‘Heat Culture’

• Pat Riley’s Reputation Enhanced:
  “Once every five to ten years, Riley's gonna get his guy…And these are the moments that he lives for. These…deals he lives for. Feather in Riley’s cap for sure.” – Beck
  [34:09]

• Heat Culture Revival:
  “The basketball culture down here is on fire…the streets are on fire right now. So, yes, the heat is on. Wade county, all of that.” – Raja
  [37:10]

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Memorable Quotes

• “Any team with Giannis… I like them. They’re not going to be a bottom-level team.”
  – Raja Bell, [02:33]

• “The end of the road with a superstar…is to give yourself as much optionality, as much flexibility as possible. And this trade gave them more of that than the Celtics deal.”
  – Howard Beck, [06:00]

• “He was talking out of both sides of his mouth, one in public and one in private. And he did kind of, I think, mislead Milwaukee fans.”
  – Howard Beck, [11:45]

• “He's always had these feelings about, you know, not wanting to fully commit, right? Like Boston never really fully committed to him…”
  – Logan Murdock (on Jaylen Brown), [21:17]

• “When…a club dangles a player over and over, what do you tell the player? ‘It’s a business.’”
  – Raja Bell, [30:19]

• “I would have traded his ass for Giannis. Don't get me wrong.”
  – Raja Bell, [31:13]

• “Once every five to ten years, Riley's gonna get his guy…these are the deals that he lives for.”
  – Howard Beck, [34:13]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:20] – Full trade details and first reactions
• [02:33] – Raja Bell’s initial feelings on the deal
• [04:50] – Miami’s roster and the challenge of building around the cap
• [06:00] – Beck’s rationale for why the Bucks preferred the Heat’s package
• [10:00] – Heat’s history finding role-players, team culture
• [11:45–14:47] – Giannis’ relationship with Milwaukee, breakdown of the separation
• [16:16] – Jalen Brown’s reaction to constant trade rumors
• [21:17] – Logan’s perspective on Boston’s treatment of Jaylen Brown
• [23:53] – Beck on the team-building and financial pressure in Boston
• [29:40–30:29] – Debate on business vs. loyalty in NBA transactions
• [34:09] – Pat Riley’s legacy and reputation
• [37:10] – Raja describes Miami’s reaction and the excitement on the ground

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Notable Moments

• Comparing Giannis’ exit to LeBron’s first departure from Cleveland:
  “It’s similar to, like, the late stage of the first LeBron run in Cleveland…you mortgage the future.” – Logan [14:48]

• Speculation on Boston’s future with Jaylen Brown and Tatum; is Tatum still the “golden child” after injuries? [32:19–33:59]

• Heat fans (and even Waffle House diners) are ‘on fire’ about Giannis:
  “The basketball culture down here is on fire…The streets are on fire right now.” – Raja [37:10]

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Conclusion

This emergency episode dove deep into the impact and significance of the Giannis-to-Miami trade. The Real Ones crew covered the rationale from both teams’ perspectives, what this means for Miami’s championship ambitions and Milwaukee’s rebuild, and specifically addressed how these superstar dynamics play out against the backdrop of loyalty and business in the NBA. They closed out by contextualizing the move as the latest feather in Pat Riley’s legendary executive cap and foreshadowed the cultural explosion sure to hit South Florida.

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For the full Giannis trade breakdown and more in-depth conversation, listen to the full episode of Real Ones.

Transcript

[A]

What's poppin Real ones. Emergency edition. Honestly, did a Kumba was a Miami Heat. So myself, Howard Beck, Raja Bell, get into a little emergency episode. Give you a quick 30 minutes on the trade. What it means for Giannis, what it means for the Bucks, what it means for Jalen Brown. Would you be pissed if you were Jalen Brown right now? I know I would be. Then we get into is he Colts are back. Is it back? Is it back? It's back, right? Shout out to Power Rally. Another feather in his cap. He'll figure it out. Put all the chips in just like we do on real ones and just like we're going to do for the next 30 minutes. Giannis trade reaction. Real ones up next.

[B]

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[A]

what's poppin' real ones. Logan Murdoch here. Roger Bell there. Hard motherfucking Beck there. Big news. Something we've all kind of been waiting on. Despite the fact that the person in play has been denying the fact that he was wanted to be traded for the last year publicly, Giannis Adeta Kumbo is now a Miami Heat. The Bucks will receive Tyler Hero, Khalil Ware, three first round picks and a couple of great ancillary pieces. They will receive the number 13 pick and this year's draft won't have their own pick until 2031 or 2030. Excuse me. They have a first round pick swap and yeah, that is the trade for Giannis. I did a Kumbo and I know that on the surface that is. We're going to talk about the. Just the trade and. And all that stuff, but we got to also realize that this was a basically a competition between two parties involved because it is a competition between teams that will that Giannis will sign an extension with. With that being said, Raja, I'll start with you and then go to Howard. Thoughts on the trade, Giannis to to Miami and to your neck of the woods, buddy. Are you going to go to a game now negative.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, for a team like the Heat, I like Giannis coming into the market. They're a team that we've talked about, or we talk about every year that doesn't really have interest in flatlining in a way that you, you have to at times in the NBA now to, to then kind of rise from the ashes. So Pat Riley took another big swing. I know that they're kind of bare around Bam. And Giannis right now. Bobby Portis comes over in the deal. But I think, I think what you have is like the making of what you want to be in the Eastern Conference. Right? Like any team with Giannis, I don't care if he's healthy and he's playing in the Eastern Conference. I like them. Now would I pick them? You know, I'd have to see what else, but I like them. They're not going to be a, a bottom level team. The Heat themselves rarely are, are, are a lower level team. And I just think, you know what you're going to be, you're going to be big, you're going to be physical, you're going to be defensive minded, you're going to be punitive. Now if you could get some pieces to go with that, that complement it, then that'll determine whether or not I pick you. But I actually like it for the Heat, for the Bucks. I, I mean, you were in a, I mean, sure. What were, what were your options at this point? You know, you got a bunch, you got a bunch of picks, you got some nice, you know, players. What do you look like as a team for next year? I'm not sure. I mean, if you're Milwaukee fans, you know, I don't know that you love watching Giannis walk out the door and then seeing what you got in return. Come back right now. What they turn it into, what the game plan for that looks like, that's going to determine whether or not it was a. You know, you could stomach that if you're a Bucs fan. But I like it for the Heat.

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[A]

yeah, I think before I get to Howard, I just want to give some extra clarity or extra context around this trade. Just from a Miami Heat standpoint, they are, they are hard capped at the first apron at this point right now they can do some maneuvering. Maybe they can have Andrew Wiggins decline his 30 million dollar player option to sign for less. So it's, it's going to be hard for them to build a team around them. But I will say this. You have Andrew Wiggins, bam, out of bio and Giannis Adeta Kumbo was all coached by Eric Spolster is already better than the Milwaukee Bucks of last year, right? Like no disrespect to Ryan Rollins and all the other guys and Kevin Porter, but that it was, it was a tough watch. It was literally Giannis and a bunch of just dudes. So for that he does go to a marginally better team. What are your thoughts on this, Beck? I mean there is some reporting out there that Tyler Hero, some people say that, you know, he could get flipped. I don't even think that there's a, there's been a decision made on Tyler Hero. But why was this trade package more enticive and, and, and more attractive, if you will, than the Boston pick in your eyes?

[D]

I always thought Miami had the edge here and I always thought that if I were in the position of the Bucks, I would want the deal that got me the most pieces. And I think that that's, that's, that's where they went here, right? Boston, you would get Jalen Brown, right? A top, whatever player, an all NBA caliber player. But Jalen Brown plus the Bucks roster that Giannis was just extracted from is not winning you many games either, right? Like the Bucks need to start over. So you're not starting over with Jaylen Brown. He's putting you right back into whatever treadmill of mediocrity territory. So now you're, now you have an extra step. Now you have to flip Jaylen Brown for the stuff you really want, which is some combination of young players and draft capital. Miami gave them a bunch of draft capital in addition to some good young players and they're also more movable, right? Like Jaylen Brown, as great as he is, also makes a shit ton of money. It's a harder contract to trade even, even if you're worth the contract. It. Those are just really hard to move in this Miami deal. You're getting back Tyler Herro, who, who if you don't want to win right now, you can flip Tyler Hero pretty easily. You know, a reasonable contract for, for what Tyler Herro does for you. Same with the Jaime Hakez. The rest of these pieces, they're all movable pieces. You can keep as many as you want, trade as many as you want, reconfigure as much as you want. The point when you get to the end of the road with a superstar of Giannis's caliber is to give yourself as much optionality, as much flexibility as possible. And this trade gave them more of that than I think they would have gotten out of a Celtics deal. And even though the Celtics could have put some draft capital in, once you're trading Jalen Brown, you're not. You don't want to trade anything else. Right. We haven't saw the reports of. They don't want to give up Ugo Gonzalez or other guys. That makes sense. You've already given up a stud of a player who's significant, not significantly younger, but several years at least younger than Giannis. So yeah, I think the Heat package was the right package for the Bucks to take. It's not blowing you away. You're, you're, you just traded a two time MVP and a Finals MVP for a package that's solid. It's not blowing you away. But as I wrote earlier this season, earlier this year, whenever the heck it was, that's what the market is now. It's just harder to get those kinds of blow you away packages, the all in kind of deals. And to an extent, Miami still is all in. But look, they, they kept their best player Bama to bio. They kept some other good pieces including Wiggins. They get Bobby Portis in this. They don't have any real guard play, any real playmaking shot making. Like there's a lot of freaking holes.

[A]

It's a better version of last year's Bucks team, if you're being honest. There's no point guard. There's just, it's just like you have better players on the front line, to be honest. That's really in a better wing.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And a better coach.

[D]

No, to an extent, I think this is, to the, to the extent that Giannis wants to, to resign there and this is one of the teams that he said, yeah, I'm willing to go to knowing full well they'd be giving up a lot to get him. To an extent, this is Giannis implicitly saying, I have more faith in Pat Riley and his group to build a contender around me than I do in Milwaukee, where I've been watching the roster erode around me for the last Several years. With good reason baked into this. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

I mean, like. I mean, yeah, with. With good reason to. Just. Just to piggyback Howard, I. You might be blown away by this if you're a Bucks fan, but to your point, you're. You were at the point as an organization where that's not going to come to fruition one way or the other for years to come, right? Like, you're going to have to wait to see how that. That matures and plays out. But I do think. I do think that the Heat are in a situation now where with. With the pillars of what you've. What you've got as, you know, as a kind of one, two punch or one, two, three, whatever you want to call it. I do think you're attractive to people in a way that you might get some people for less. Once you package that with the track record of the Heat, Pat Riley, their history with doing that, I think. I think they uniquely kind of find those type of players, like, they, they. They have a track record of that. Of finding bargain players that come in and, and, and can really supplement around the stars, you know, so I would trust them in that space. I think he's. There's good reason, too.

[D]

It's also a more attractive market, right? Yes.

[A]

Miami, literally a more attractive market, for sure.

[D]

Not for nothing.

[A]

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, they did the similar thing with the Big Three with the Heat, right? Like, it was basically those three guys signing a little under the max so they can, you know, get other pieces and get you down to Savage, but they really just. They found, you know, diamonds in the rut. They had Mario Chalmers there, they had, you know, Norris, Norris, Cole, they Bike Miller, they, they. But they found guys. Bray Allen, they found guys on the vet minimum and, you know, mid level exceptions and things like that to just kind of build around that. They have proven that they can be able to do that. I do want to talk about Giannis's relationship with the city of Milwaukee really quickly, though, right? Because for a year, Howard, he has literally said publicly, no, I want to be here. I want to be here for life. I want to do this. I want to see it through. I want to see it through. And, and I mean, everybody in, in the media and everybody around the situation knew the real that Giannis behind the scenes kept saying, like, I want out of here. I want out of here. And he was moving a little goofy towards, you know, the neck the, the last few months and how he was trying to act like he wanted saying one thing behind the scenes and then saying it. Yet another thing. Whenever, you know, he was put, a microphone was put in front of him. How do you think that's going to affect him over? I mean, I think it will subside at the end of the day, but, like, there are some scars there. Right. Because he was basically lying to the fan base for about a year.

[D]

Yeah. But they all still believe him, I think. No offense, Milwaukee. I mean, look, he earned a lot of benefit of the doubt from Bucks fans, and he said all the right things. He said all the right things probably too often and to a fault. Right. He was being passive aggressive. He was talking out of both sides of his mouth, one in public and one in private. And he did kind of, I think, mislead Milwaukee fans. But I think the result today now speaks for itself. The John Horst and ownership of the Bucks did not wake up one day and decide, you know, what we should do? Let's trade the best player we've had in a half century. They did it because he wanted to be moved. I think everybody can accept that now. And the question is, when did it start moving in that direction? I would say it started moving in the direction about three years ago when he gave that quote to Tanya Ganguly from the New York Times where he said, I want to win championships, and if it's not in Milwaukee, then it's going to be you.

[A]

I would argue even further in the. Back in 2019, when Malika Andrews, when she was a writer, broke that piece for ESPN after they got out of the 2019 playoffs, and he. It was basically like, if we don't win a championship, then Giannis is out. Like, he. He's been leaking this for a long time.

[D]

Yeah, but then they won a championship in 2021, and I think that that's the reset there. So not. Not. Obviously, Malika did a great job with that story back in the day, back when she was one of us. Yeah. No, but like that. Like what Giannis is about. To your point, Logan, and to the point of Malika's story, what Giannis is about has always been clear. He's a championship or bust guy. Not everybody is built that way in this league. Raja will back me up on this. Like, there are superstars. Everybody wants to win, and everybody says win. Not everybody pursues it to the same extent or has it valued as highly as others. Giannis is a guy who very clearly, and he has made this clear publicly and privately, it's championship or bust, and one was not going to be good enough. And he himself said one was not going to be good enough after he won the one. And ever since then, the roster has been doing nothing but eroding around him. And that, you know, that's. It's hard. Look, I will always stipulate this. It's really fucking hard. But the results are the results. The roster eroded. They. They did not do enough to rebuild around him in the wake of the 2021 championship. And then they started getting desperate. They did. They. They waited too long with the old crew that was getting too old, of Middleton, Lopez, Drew Holiday. And then when they finally did decide to break that up, they flipped Drew for Dame, and we know how that went. And then they waved and stretched Damon, they got Miles Turner. Like, first, they waited too long, then they got progressively more desperate and ambitious, and it blew up in their faces. And the result is Giannis finally hitting the end of his road and saying, like, I can't. I can't wait any longer. I need to go somewhere where I think I. There's. I think there's a path. And he clearly sees a better path in Miami.

[A]

I think that. I don't know. It's hard, right, because it's similar to, like, the. The late stage of the first LeBron run in Cleveland, right? Like, they're. They have all this. The. The front office has all this pressure from one guy. I need to win a title. I need to win a title. So what do you do? You, you know, you mortgage the future, right? And you try to get a Dame Willard and you try to, you know, make desperate moves. That's just what happens, right? Like, I'm not, I'm not faulting them for doing that. They're also the, The. The. They're also on the back end of bad luck when, you know, you do trade for a guy like Dame Lillard, and the guy you trade away goes to your biggest op. Like, that's, that's tough. That's really. That's. That's. And that's the game.

[D]

And helps them win a championship.

[A]

Yes, and helps them win a championship and happens to be in there. And, you know, and I think about that when. What. I do want to talk about Jaylen Brown in a second, but, like, even if they were to take the Boston deal, right, so they take the Boston deal, and they're basically trying to be contenders still. If you have Jaylen Brown in your roster and then you still have to play Giannis, like, four, three, four times a year, like, that's tough, right? But let's stay on Jalen Brown for a second Raja. Like, how should Jalen Brown be feeling in this moment? Right. He's been dangled so many times in trade talks throughout his career. I mean, the most notable is Kevin Durant. He was in trade talks even long before then. He went to a Finals mvp, has the best season of his career, and then he's once again dangled in trade talks. For a guy that's older than him, how should he feel about. Right. Right about this time?

[C]

Yeah, I don't think Jaylen Brown is going to feel any different about this than he's clearly felt his whole career, which is that he's undervalued and not given enough credit for who he is as a player. I don't think that's ever gone away from the fabric of who he is as a player and as a member of the Boston Celtics. Like, you can watch him play, can hear him speak on different platforms and know that that lives with him all the time. So this is no different for him. It's never, it's never a good feeling to know that you were part of a, of a potential trade and you were being dangled out there as bait and then that trade isn't executed. That's never a great feeling. But that is a part of the business. And so to whatever degree you can, you got to get over that, bury that and just use it and channel it in the right way. And he's done that so far. You know, I've heard him. It's interesting when you watch the media, like, you know, I'm sitting around coffee and stuff like that. Like, it's fascinating to me being on this side of the mic because I'm a little bit more in tune to what's going on than I was when I played. There are certain people in the media that it seems like there's a real agenda as it regards to Jaylen Brown right now and the way they try to paint him. And I think I just find it really fascinating. Right. Like, but I don't think this will change anything about him. Dude, he's always played like that. He's always worn this and it's always been a part of who he is. So this just adds to it.

[E]

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18 plus.

[A]

Yeah, I do think though, like and I profiled him, was going on three years now, three years ago now, and he's always had these feelings about, you know, not wanting to fully commit, right? Like Boston never really fully committed to him and you know, the contract was more of a signing of, you know, convenience than anything, right? Like, hey, damn, we, we, we kind of messed up with the trade talks and letting that get out with KD and he's playing really well. I guess we gotta sign him, right? But you never really feel, and I can feel Jalen on this, you never really feel a sense of like real loyalty to a franchise star like Jalen should feel in a market like Boston based on what he is provided for that city. If I'm him, I'm pissed, right? Especially like if you trade him for say if he went to get traded to Milwaukee for Giannis. I don't think that they're necessarily a better team, right? Like you're talking about a guy like Giannis who has an injury history, pairing him with Tatum, who, I mean, Raja, you talked about it all postseason. Like next season is going to be really, really interesting because I'm not sure he's going to get through it. We'll see. And you have now you're going to have two guys on the roster who you are unsure it can get through a season and you trade away Jaylen Brown, who's been the most durable and successful players in your franchise history over the last decade and he's feeling all of these feelings, right? He got to go now looking, go back again, once again, go look in that facility and be like, damn, y' all tried to trade me again after I have kept this franchise afloat when your golden child, Jason Tatum was out and he has that insecurity. So it's, it's going to be fascinating what's going to happen in Boston, Howard. I, I, that's the other thing about this that's going to be ancillary is

[C]

like, is that an insecurity or is that a fact?

[A]

Could be both. Well, the fact brings insecurity. The fact brings insecurity. The fact does bring insecurity. The fact that he has been. That he has been. Every time that you want to get an All Star or somebody else that's like a Hall of Famer, you say, oh, we got Jalen Brown to give you cool. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown has been like, again, carried your franchise, has been great throughout the. Not only was the Eastern Conference player of the year or Easter Conference playoffs player of the year, but was the Finals mvp, right? So, like, he's done so much for this franchise and yet, you know, he's still, he's probably gonna get dangled another trade, you know, like, you know, he's captain save an asset. That's what it is.

[D]

I mean, lest we forget, the off season for the Celtics began with Jalen Brown going on twitch and rambling on with a bunch of stuff that probably not go over well with Celtics brass, Celtics fans and everybody else there. Especially the idea of talking about like, this is his favorite season or his greatest season or whatever else it was when they got eliminated in the first round on their home court in game seven by the Philadelphia 76ers. I like that. That factors into this too. Like Jaylen Brown is not just some innocent victim here. If he's being dangled and if he eventually does get traded. And I think a lot of people feel like even without the Giannis deal, there's still the possibility of a Jaylen Brown trade before opening night. And I think there's multiple factors at work here. One is it's really, really hard and I don't have the numbers in front of me, but Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum together, the salaries there under this system with the second apron is really tough to sustain long term and still have a decent roster around them. There's a reason why we're seeing more and more teams, like, look at what the Knicks just did, right? Like, Jalen Brunson's on a submax deal and a submax extension that he agreed to in order to give them the flexibility to get a Mikhail Bridges and to pay other guys. It's hard to have multiple max guys or supermax type guys on a roster. And so there's, there are financial forces or cap forces, CBA forces at work here. And then there's what Jaylen Brown has said and done and made it seem like he's a guy who maybe, you know, is, is more about wanting to, to run the show himself, which again, we've talked about this ad nauseam on this podcast, but like, those were rumblings that go back years ago, long before they even won the championship. So Jaylen Brown has, has made some of this bed and I think, you know, maybe he gets traded, maybe he doesn't. If he doesn't, do they all have some things to patch up? Sure. But like we've seen worse or, or, or dicier situations in the NBA get patched up and teams move on. They have won a championship together there. They've had a ton of success there. And as long as Jaylen Brown's ambitions have not outpaced his, his role there. And look, they may still need to lean on him a lot with Jason Tatum still getting his legs back.

[C]

They've always had to lean on him a lot.

[D]

Of course, they're co stars. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah, man. This one's tough for me because, look, I said it when it happened, when he got in front of that microphone and said what he said, I probably would not have done that, you know, but it's tough, man. Like what? Yeah, it's tough. It's a tough one, man. It's tough because I just, I think Jaylen Brown has been, I think he's got a right to feel every way he feels about that. And if you said, let me parse through what I'm trying to say here. It's not always about what someone says. Like, you know, people can talk a lot of shit, look at their actions and then figure out if their actions support what they said or what they don't. At every turn, Jaylen Brown's done what you've asked him to do. Whether you put him in a co star role, whether you, as the Boston Celtics defended him as a true co star of Jason Tatum or not. Like, he has been there, he's been present, he's done his job. When you asked him to step into the leading role to secure championships, he did that. Got Finals mvp, got Eastern Finals mvp. When you strip the whole roster down because your other star, that that is, is the marquee, was hurt, you stripped the roster around him and gave him virtually. Well, no one gave him a chance to do Anything with it. He lifted it and carried it to heights that no one thought was possible. Then you bring your other star back and virtually fucked it up for the playoff run. And, like, all he's done is work his ass off and do that. And then he gets in front of a microphone and said, he had his most fun doing that, and now he deserves what he gets. I disagree with that. You got to look at what he did and at every turn for the Celtics. He's been a good soldier. Now, you might not have loved that, and I didn't love that, but his actions suggest that he is willing to do whatever is asked of him to win a championship, whether he's the marquee or he's the one B. And so that's a difficult one for me sometimes when I hear, like, oh, he. You know, he made his bet and this and that. I. His bet is, hey, I won you guys a championship. I've done everything the fuck you asked me to do.

[D]

Sure. And if the Celtics feel like his actions, as you articulated, Raja, fairly, if the Celtics feel like those actions are the thing that speaks the highest or speaks the loudest and is the most important thing, then they'll be comfortable keeping him thinking, you know, what. Whatever he said, he said. But we know what he's about once he gets on the court, and they'll be comfortable with it, and they'll. And they'll stay the course. But if those words did not go over so well internally as we all suspect, and that it causes them to doubt what his agenda. Agenda is a loaded term. What his ambitions might be in returning to this team, then I think it's fair to say, you know what? Maybe. Maybe things are a little bit. You know, the scales have tipped a little bit here, and. And we're not sure he's going to be willing to sacrifice as much or. Or, you know, you know, share the. The. The load as much. You know what I mean? Like. Like, it's.

[B]

It.

[D]

Those are no warning flags.

[C]

No, I agree with.

[A]

But also, like, if you're Jalen Brown right now, you're looking at the roster and you're like, okay, I just. Like. To your point, Raja, I just saw Tatum being hobbled right now. I am the best player on this roster, and I'm not being treated as such. You guys want to trade me for a guy that is injury prone, that has not gotten past the first round, when I have, like, put the team on my back for real, and then I gotta come back and I am the best player on this roster. Why? Like, why, why should, why shouldn't he be pissed off about this? And I, I get like, you know, that the Celtics maybe feel some type of way about these words or whatever, but, like, yo, man, it's professional sports.

[D]

But, right?

[A]

This is professional sports, bro. Like, who gives?

[C]

That's my thing. That's what. See, that's. That's my thing.

[A]

That's like the front office, if they are thinking that way. That's soft, man. Like, we are always.

[C]

You're right, though. And we are so, like, when we cover this or when, when fans talk about it, everyone is so, like, what's the word I'm looking for, dude? Like, you're, you're talking out of both sides of your neck. You're so hypocritical. Because when, as it relates to a, a club dangling a player over and over again and not execute, what do you, what do you tell the player when he's got to be brought back into the fold? Fold. And he might pout about it or feel some kind of way about it. What does everybody say to the player?

[A]

It's a business.

[C]

Soft to get over it.

[D]

Like, we got.

[C]

You know what I mean? Like, hey, bro, you'll be all right. That's what they say.

[A]

You got paid 300 million. It's cool.

[C]

So I'm saying what you're saying, basically, Logan, look, if the man feels that way, I mean, he probably, he's got a right to feel that way. We just like categorically went down all the things he's done to earn the right to feel that way as a club. Get over it. Like, now they have every right and may move him anyway, but, like, he's done enough, right?

[D]

But they need to figure out how to win. But they need to figure out how to win. That's a different conversation, right? And if they think that his mind is not in the right place or his, his ambitions are not in the right place anymore. And also, you know, look, yes, Giannis has been injury prone and he's older, but he's also a two time MVP in a finals MVP who does different things and fills a different need. And if you don't get me wrong all the way back, like, there's a lot. There's a logic to it.

[C]

No, but don't, don't get me wrong, Howard. Like, I would have traded his ass for Giannis. Don't get me wrong.

[D]

I agree with you.

[C]

I would trade his ass for Yanis. And I, and I agree with you, like, if, If I, I Guess what? I'm. I'm just defending him as a player again, because what I'm saying is I don't know what he's done other than get in front of the microphone, probably his worst moment, and. And say something that was important.

[A]

You got to get your. You do got to get your ass on Twitch, though. Yeah, that's the thing. Like, you got to. You got to get the hell off Twitch.

[C]

But Jason Tatum came back and we watched. It wasn't like, Jalen. Was there ever a narrative that Jaylen Brown wasn't playing with Jason Tatum down the stretch? Or, like, no. I mean, so that's all I'm. Look, man.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

If we're gonna judge him at his worst moment in front of a mic, like, who knows how much he had had to drink or what was going on? Like, that's what we're doing. When that man has got all this evidence to suggest that he'll do what you need him to do. Now, if they're. If they're, you know, money concerns and aprons and. And, you know, there are different things that I would totally agree with you. Howard and I would have traded him for Giannis. I'm being honest. I'm just defending that part a little bit.

[A]

My other thing, though, Roger, though, like, are we sure that, like, Tatum is the golden child at this point after he's been injured? Like, that's another question, right? Like, are we. Why. Why is he getting the benefit of the doubt after what we just saw in the postseason? Why is he getting the benefit of that? Oh, yeah. Tatum and Giannis, we don't know what they are going to be. Why is Tatum all of a sudden untouchable at this very moment? Like, we. We know what he is his best when he's fully healthy. Right? But we don't. That. That is a huge question mark. That. That's the other thing that I'm thinking about. It's like, are we sure that we need to bestow this on him right now considering his very recent catastrophic injury history?

[C]

Yeah, I don't know. But. But by the very essence of what they were trying to do there, they have. They told Jalen Brown, like, if people try to tell me, oh, the Celtics have never really. This is a made up, you know, fan thing about, you know, them not being co stars and, you know, the Celtics view it as such, and it's not 1A, 1B bullshit. Like, oh, it is Jalen Brown. Yeah, bullshit Jaylen Brown.

[A]

They've told him at every turn that he is one B, like, what are you.

[C]

What are you talking about? To the question. I don't know, Logan. You know, I. I honestly, personally, this isn't a game breakdown, but I like the. I think I like the attitude that Jalen wears a little bit better for. For me, that's just personal. Everybody's got a different attitude that they like to see someone play with, but if you made me pick one, you're like, yo, you could have one or the other. I like the attitude and shit that I get from. From Jalen more personally. But to answer your question, I don't know. I don't know. I hope Jason Tatum looks great. You know, I've always said that.

[A]

What does this do for Pat Riley? Howard Beck? What does this. This trade for Giannis do for. How. For. For Pat Riley? Putting his chips in once again, ready to go.

[D]

Just adds another name to the list, man. I mean, look, they was doubting Pat Riley.

[A]

They said. They said, nah, man, you ain't getting no more superstars. This is it. Nah, nah, nah. You washed. They called him washed. He called himself washed. It was over.

[D]

I mean, you. You. You can. You can't say that Pat Riley always gets this guy, because there have been plenty he didn't get, including, ironically, losing Dame Lillard to the Bucks, which kind of worked out in his favor. Like, if. Not if. If Dave doesn't go to the Bucks and have that absolutely go as badly as possible, is Riley in a position right now to then be trading for Giannis from the Bucks? It's kind of wild. Once every five to 10 years, Riley's gonna get his guy. He got Jimmy Butler, and you can say whatever you want about Jimmy Butler or about how that ended and everything else, but, like, they made two NBA Finals in a short span. He, you know, he got Shaq to pair with Wade back in the day. He got, obviously, LeBron and Bosch to. To join Wade. And, you know, I think every year for the last. Probably ever since the Heatles broke up, ever since LeBron left, which was, you know, one of Pat Riley's bigger, you know, just losses on the resume, right? Like, losing LeBron. Having LeBron spurn him was just a huge blow to. To his image, to his ego, to everything, and to the Heat as a franchise. And they've been kind of trying to recover from that ever since, and Jimmy Butler helped them kind of patch it up for a while, but there's always been this question of, can Riley get one more score before he walks off into the sunset? Like, is it? And this is A guy who, you know, look, never going to probably be willingly just walking off into the sunset like, Riley's a lifer to the nth degree. And, you know, these are the moments that he lives for. These. These are the deals that he lives for. This is like, I can only imagine what the celebration is like or the toast they're having now. They know they have a lot of work to do still. As we addressed earlier, the roster needs some work, but he got Giannis freaking out of the kumbo, and we can all say whatever we want about. He's 31. He'll be 32 this coming season, hasn't won a playoff series the next number of years, he's been hurt every spring, all that stuff. But the dude is still one of the top, whatever you want to say, five to 10 players in the NBA when healthy. And if you're the team that can keep him healthy, and that's what they're also betting on, and you can find the right guys to put around him, you know, absolutely incredible. You know, one last big feather in

[A]

Riley's cap for sure, as a Miami correspondent. Raja, is he culture back?

[C]

Yeah, man. That's gonna be great. You know why? Because. And I don't know if this was yesterday. I always hope it was yesterday. There was. There was video of Giannis working out at fiu, the Golden Pit.

[A]

Oh, shit.

[C]

And really broke. Yeah. Now, I don't know if that was, like, old video from him coming down one summer pass or something like that, but it hit my timeline today. And I would just say like this. I took. I took the kids. I told you.

[A]

I have.

[C]

I got. I got Kaya this morning and her cousin Cammie and Ty, and then Zen's at camp. So we got a little taste at basketball camp this morning of what the shorties were thinking about the trade. And it's. The basketball culture down here is on fire. And then we just went to Waffle House. Shout out to Waffle House, right? To have a little breakfast. And this is not a basketball crowd. And they were on fire.

[A]

So, okay, that.

[C]

Those only two places I've been today. But the streets are on fire right now. So, yes, the heat. The heat is on. Wade county, all of that.

[A]

Yeah. That's. People fucking go. And they were here yesterday. I'm looking at the Instagram right now. You like the Post? Yes, he is here. He was wearing a bucks. He was wearing a buck's warmup the day before he left at fiu. Giannis. This Giannis thing in a nutshell. Okay. We'll have more to talk about this. We have a podcast on a Thursday where me, Howard, Beck and a special guest will be talking about a lot of different stuff. Love you Rah. Talk to you guys soon. All the shits must be 21 years and older and present in select states. For Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and older and present in D.C. kentucky or or Wyoming. Gambling Problem Call 1-800-Gambler or 1-800-My Reset, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org backslash chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelpma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New York. For Louisiana, call 1-877-770-7867. You can't reason with the sun. Trust us, we've tried. This summer, it's time to put that angry ball of fire on mute. Columbia's Omnishade technology is engineered to protect you from the sun's harsh rays that can burn and damage your skin. The sun is relentless, but so is our gear. Level up your [e-mail] to spend more time outside and less time slathering on aloe lotion.

[C]

You're welcome.

[A]

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