The Ringer NBA Show — Group Chat: "We Know What You Did (to Your Roster) Last Summer" Episode Date: February 20, 2026
Hosts: Rob Mahoney & J. Kyle Mann

Episode Overview

This Group Chat episode finds Rob Mahoney and J. Kyle Mann (without Justin Verrier, who’s out due to a “T-shirt cannon related injury") taking a deep dive into some of the NBA's most talked-about, high-risk, or outright strange roster moves from the previous summer. Through candid relitigation, the hosts weigh whether teams should regret or stand by these decisions now that the dust has settled midway through the 2025-26 season.

Key Segments & Insights

[05:08] Setting the Table: Why Revisit Old Moves?

• The episode’s premise: looking back at major, controversial, or weird transactions from last offseason ("We know what you did last summer") and grading the logic in hindsight.
• The hosts set a playful but analytical tone. There’s plenty of ribbing about NBA weirdness, roster speculation, and cultural references (“We’re large children living in younger versions of ourselves”).

[06:00] Segment 1: Orlando Magic’s Desmond Bane Trade

Move Details

• Deal: Orlando Magic acquire Desmond Bane for the No. 16 pick (Hansen, later flipped), three unprotected firsts, a pick swap, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Cole Anthony.

Discussion Highlights

• Rob: “I was pretty high on the Magic… Even knowing what we know now, that architecture was worth a good, honest try... The Magic aren’t good... But to me, Desmond Bane isn’t really the problem there.” [08:02]
• Kyle: “It’s a symptom/disease thing... They brought him in but Bane hasn’t necessarily cured the disease... the biggest thing that’s undermined the Magic is their two stars, not Bane.” [09:18]
• The Magic’s bet was that Bane was the shooter/secondary creator they never had. Instead, spacing and injuries have rendered Bane’s impact marginal, and he’s become more hesitant from range.
• Rob: “He has to be willing to take [more shots]...and that’s easier said than done on a team with such a stuck-in-the-mud offense.” [11:35]
• Injuries to Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero have prevented the Magic from developing any offensive identity or synergy.
• On fit and off-ball shooting: Bane’s role has shifted from off-screens to more on-ball, partly due to Magic’s dearth of other ballhandlers.

Notable Quotes

• “The Magic just have not had an opportunity for any of this to settle. We’re saying that now year over year… It just hasn’t panned out.” – Rob [14:20]
• “Bane has come in to be the supporting actor when the leading man isn’t there to anchor all the scenes.” – Kyle [13:30]
• “The darkest timeline? We might be living it already.” – Rob [22:56]

Verdict

• Both hosts say they would still make the trade, believing Bane could fit a reconstituted Magic core (even if it means eventually splitting the Paolo-Franz duo), but it now “requires dramatic change.” [17:45, 23:03]
• They stress the Magic’s assets (Bane, Paolo, Franz, Suggs, Black) maintain value for a potential reorganizational trade.

[26:17] Segment 2: Kevin Durant to Houston Rockets

Move Details

• Deal: Rockets acquire Kevin Durant for Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, No. 10 pick, and five second-rounders.

Discussion Highlights

• Kyle: “Has there ever been a better price for Kevin Durant at this level of productivity…? I can’t imagine that there has been.” [26:55]
• Rob: “Dillon Brooks is having a great season, but we’d seen the ceiling… Kevin Durant was the perfect prescription for this team’s offense.” [27:29]
• The “burner controversy” is addressed as part and parcel of the KD experience; both hosts agree it can’t be factored into trade calculus but acknowledge it’s a distraction.
• KD's on-court value to Houston is beyond dispute, but bringing him in raises scrutiny and expectations for young Rockets like Jabari Smith and Amen Thompson.

Notable Quotes

• “When [KD] comes to your team… the volume around your team is going to crank up, and it’s going to be something predictable or something unpredictable.” – Rob [28:23]
• “Is the extracurricular stuff the only downside?” – Kyle [32:23]
• “Kevin Durant is here to be the world’s best and glitziest training wheels possible.” – Rob [37:36]

Future Facing

• Amen Thompson’s ceiling as primary creator compared with what the team needs (“supercharged Iguodala” is likened to his possible role; he’s more ‘wild card’ than offensive engine).
• Both would “do this trade again in a heartbeat,” but Rob wishes the Rockets had “leaned into the KD era a little more” post-VanVleet injury instead of stagnating. [39:08]

[40:27] Segment 3: Milwaukee Bucks Stretch Dame, Sign Miles Turner

Move Details

• Deal: Bucks stretch Damian Lillard’s contract to free up cap for 4-year/$107m Miles Turner.

Discussion Highlights

• Rob: “One of the most shocking moves in NBA history because no one has leveraged the stretch in quite this fashion.” [40:27]
• Both are sympathetic to the Bucks’ gamble for Giannis but question the logic of using precious cap space and flexibility on Turner, who, even at his best, isn’t transformative.
• The Giannis–Miles fit has been solid statistically (+9.2 per 600 minutes), but with limited ballhandling support, it’s no more than “okay.”
• Turner’s contract is player-friendly (rising salary, player option), and Giannis’s future in Milwaukee remains uncertain.
• “You do get to choose at what point you stop being desperate… It was already done.” – Rob [43:37]

Notable Quotes

• “For as much as we talk about Luka...this is also unprecedented in its way.” – Rob [40:27]
• “It’s a fairly anticlimactic next space from a move like that, right?” – Kyle [41:25]
• “This is the good phase… It’s going to get worse over time, the longer this goes on.” – Rob [46:24]

Verdict

• Both hosts would not do the move again in hindsight; the risk/reward is too skewed unless Giannis stays long-term, which seems tenuous.

[51:28] Segment 4: Denver Nuggets Trade Michael Porter Jr.

Move Details

• Deal: Nuggets trade Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 unprotected pick for Cam Johnson.

Discussion Highlights

• Major reason for the trade: financial flexibility, not on-court upgrade — Cam Johnson earns much less, allowing Nuggets to plan for future moves.
• MPJ has flourished (as a more dynamic, efficient, self-created scorer than many previously believed, “basketball kudzu” in terms of growing into a larger role [55:59]), but likely wouldn’t get the same opportunity on a championship-caliber Nuggets with Jokic/Murray.
• Peyton Watson’s emergence as a high-impact player changes the trade calculus; the hope is that flexibility will be used to keep Watson.

Notable Quotes

• “You don’t know what you had until it was gone.” – Kyle [53:52]
• “The opportunity cost… part of the trade off.” – Rob [63:32]

Verdict

• Both hosts rubber-stamp the trade for cap reasons—re-signing both MPJ and emerging talent like Watson would be infeasible. In December, Rob might have disagreed, but Watson’s leap changed his mind.

[64:00] Segment 5: Lightning Round — Lakers and Pelicans Moves

Lakers Sign Deandre Ayton

• Rob: Would do again—not because Ayton is inspiring, but because the alternative (heavy Jackson Hayes minutes) would be worse.

Pelicans/Wizards Trade: CJ McCollum for Jordan Poole & Sadiq Bey

• Sadiq Bey has improbably become the best player in the deal; both hosts agree it’s a win for New Orleans if they capitalize and move Bey or he becomes a core, but are skeptical the franchise will actually do it.
• The Pelicans are compared to a movie with a dream cast that, inexplicably, just doesn’t work ("preposterously juiceless”) [70:00].

Notable Quotes

• “The biggest disparity between, you turn them on, look at the pieces—it should work, and it doesn't.” – Kyle on the Pelicans [67:36]
• “For any other team… getting Sadiq Bey is an unqualified win… but their team is so bad [it] doesn’t change how bad they are.” – Rob [66:28]

Memorable Off-Topic Moments

• [29:32] KD’s burner controversy, accidental texts, and group chat etiquette.
• [52:08] Kyle’s Zune nostalgia (“I’m a Zune apologist all day long…mine was brown, too.”)
• [56:10] “Kudzu” as an analogy for Michael Porter Jr.’s unchecked confidence.
• [61:38] Donkey Basketball—a brief tangent into strange charity events.
• [72:26] “Shout out Retro Rick,” a YouTube nostalgia channel about rare video games.

Takeaways

• On the Magic: The original gamble makes sense, but the team’s deep structural issues (plus injuries) mean something dramatic has to change, even if Bane himself is a positive.
• On the Rockets: Trading for Durant was a no-brainer for the price, “extracurriculars” aside, though the development curve for the next foundation is still unclear.
• On the Bucks: Stretching Dame to sign Miles Turner may go down as a cautionary tale about bad timing rather than intention—the risks more clearly outweigh the rewards as Giannis’s status remains fluid.
• On the Nuggets: Porter’s success stings, but the trade was grounded more in finances than fit, and Peyton Watson’s ascendance validates the process.
• On the Pelicans: Sadiq Bey’s leap is bright, but the overall fit and team direction remain bleak unless management gets creative.

Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• [08:02] Rob: “Desmond Bane isn’t really the problem there…”
• [13:30] Kyle: “Bane has come in to be the supporting actor when the leading man isn’t there…”
• [27:29] Rob: “Kevin Durant was the perfect prescription…”
• [32:23] Kyle: “Is the extracurricular stuff the only kind of downside at this point?”
• [40:27] Rob: “This is one of the most shocking moves in NBA history…”
• [55:59] Kyle: “We were all afraid that Porter was going to be basketball kudzu…”
• [70:00] Rob: “Preposterously juiceless.”

Timestamps for Major Topics

• Opening Bantz/Intro: [01:41 – 05:08]
• Magic Get Desmond Bane: [06:00 – 24:47]
• Rockets Get Kevin Durant: [26:17 – 39:08]
• Bucks: Dame Stretch/Miles Turner: [40:27 – 50:45]
• Nuggets: MPJ for Cam Johnson: [51:28 – 63:41]
• Lightning Round: Lakers/Ayton, Pelicans/Wizards Sadiq Bey: [64:00 – 72:18]
• Memorable Off-Topic/Outro: [29:32, 52:08, 56:10, 61:38, 72:26]

For anyone puzzling through NBA front office logic or just loving wisecracking deep dives into team-building, this episode is a smorgasbord of hard-won wisdom, sharp (sometimes silly) analogies, and geeky enthusiasm.