Dray reacts to Durant, Westbrook, Wiseman trades & NBA trade deadline reports | Draymond Green Show

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. Trade deadline special. As you know, I said I was not going to do a podcast until next week, but then big moves start happening in the NBA and I just have some thoughts to share. So let's lock straight into 'em. The Phoenix Suns got a lot better, you think? Hey. Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns and TJ Warren to the Phoenix Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, a 2028 pick swap, and 4 first-round picks. Number 1, the Phoenix Suns, um, new majority owner of the Phoenix Suns team, Matt Ishbia, my Spartan dog, Spartan brother, 2000 national championship. Yeah. Was, excuse me, 2000 national champion Matt Ishbia takes over the Suns yesterday at about 12 noon was the press conference. And within 12 hours, he makes the biggest splash in the NBA. Who's surprised? I'm sure everyone else is surprised, but quite frankly, I'm not surprised at all because We Spartans go about things a certain way. When you're a Spartan, everything's all about winning. And quite frankly, Matt Ishbia runs his company United Wholesale Mortgage like Tom Izzo runs his basketball program. Very Spartan to the core, Spartan through and through. Still holds on to all of those same principles. And he's taking that to the Phoenix Suns. Okay, so you take over the Phoenix Suns and you come in right away and you're swinging. You gotta respect that. To trade 4 first round picks, you're pretty much saying, I'm going for everything right now. We have a window and while we're in this window, let's go all in. And I respect that because when you do have a window in this league, you have to be, you have to go all in if you expect to maximize. Yeah. That window. And you also don't know how often those windows are going to come around. One person acts out, one move made, and one injury, and it can completely kill a window. So when you have that window, you have to take advantage of it. And Matt Ishbia come in, taking over as the owner. Number— what this says to me, number one is he's all in, he wants to win. Number two is that I plan on having this franchise for a very long time. Because although I'm trading these 4 picks, I'm going all in right now, I'll ride it out until we get picks back. And you add Kevin Durant to Devin Booker, Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton. Phew. That's a tough lineup. Monty Williams is a great coach, as we know. That's a tough lineup. Losing Mikal Bridges is not a small thing. Number one, Mikal Bridges continues to get better. He's gotten better with the ball. His shot has gotten better. His mid-range is money. And as we all know, he's an incredible defender. And he's an iron man. He's never missed a game in the NBA. I mean, plays every single night. And that right there alone is an asset. That right there alone is a huge asset. They always, they say the best ability is availability. Mikal Bridges has not missed a game in his career. That is impressive. I mean, you sprain ankles, your back's hurting, you travel, all of it. That's very impressive. So that right there was a big deal. Now you think about, now here's where you have to think, a player in your franchise like that, that does all of that right, that's model citizen, kind of a great moral compass, and obviously talented. Taking that away from a team also does something to a team. Now you're adding Kevin Durant, so Kevin Durant can definitely make up for what that does to a team. But just from a spirit standpoint, that can do something for your team because Mikel was the guy who no matter what, no matter what's going on, if Book's hurt, CP's hurt, if Ayton's out, No matter what's going on, everybody in that locker room know they could look to their left and Mikal's gonna be in that lineup. So just from a spirit standpoint to your team, that can do something. But like I said, I have a lot of respect for Phoenix going all in the way they have. Now, what could be the downside for Phoenix? Obviously, we know the long-term downside, they have no picks, but who gives a damn? Yeah. You trying to win championship now, you figure out the picks later. And the reality is this, you have Devin Booker, you always have picks because at any point you say, "All right fellas, this ain't working, we gonna blow it up and start over." You get what, 5 first round picks if you trade Devin Booker? So you always have picks anyway. So the long-term effect, like that doesn't matter. But where's the downside? Or where does Phoenix still have to improve? The biggest worry I think for Phoenix right now is the depth. Although getting TJ Warren back in that trade was a very big deal because TJ Warren helps with that. You already have Torrey Craig, you already have Dee Lee, and I'm not sure what's the deal with Cam Payne's injury. Will he be back? Is it something that could linger? I don't know, but you have Cam Payne. That right there is what? Is an 8-deep rotation? In the playoffs, you really only playing 9. So I've heard Will Barton is gonna go there on the buyout market. Phoenix, when you sign, when you bring in a player like Kevin Durant and you're all in on championship, now you go to the buyout market and you can get the best players on the buyout market. Or, you know, maybe you, you, you're gonna get some of the top guys on the buyout market just because they're gonna think, A, I have a chance to win a championship. And if we win a championship and I play well, I can then go and get some money from somewhere. So you do have that opportunity. So in saying all of that, to trade and get Kevin Durant on that roster, I take my hat off to Matt Ishbia, James Jones. I'm sorry. Their entire front office staff for going all in and getting that done. Because that's a major, major, major move. Major. You don't trade for players like Kevin Durant. Guys like Kevin Durant, they don't get traded. So to pull that off on day one of ownership-ish, I don't know where you go from here, brother. I don't know if you can make a bigger splash in this league. Than what you did last night. But like I said, I'm rooting for my Spartan brothers. So kudos to that. Job well done. Are the Suns favorites in the West now? On paper, they have to be favorites in the West. Definitely on paper. But you know, the Dubs still in the West and it's the Dubs Invitational until further notice, baby. So that's it on the Phoenix Suns. The Los Angeles Lakers, one day after LeBron James becomes the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers do what most had been thinking they would do since last year, which was traded Russell Westbrook. Along in that trade was Juan Toscano-Anderson plus a 2027 first round pick. 1 through 4 protected for D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jared Vanderbilt. The Lakers got better. And the reason they got better is not necessarily because they got better players because Russell Westbrook is still Russell Westbrook. Point blank, period. But D'Angelo Russell's a hell of a player. Malik Beasley's a hell of a player, is a good player. And Jarred Vanderbilt's a good player. And what do these guys add to the Lakers? Well, Malik Beasley is a shooter, which the Lakers need shooting, as we all know. D-Lo is a scorer, but obviously can catch and shoot, and the Lakers need that. Jared Vanderbilt is energy, is defense, is rebounding, is dirty work. You know, he's doing all those little things. So they got better. They got length. Jared Vanderbilt adds length. So they definitely got better. I think the thing that I would watch in this trade is D-Lo's fit next to Bron, that's going to be a big thing because D-Lo plays at a certain pace. And although since he's been with the Timberwolves, he's picked up that pace a bit, but D-Lo still likes to play at his pace. And so just to see that fit and how that's all gonna come together, I think that's important to how this trade will be judged. Obviously the trade— Yeah. In the end is ultimately judged by the results. And that fit is gonna be a key to watch in that trade. The Lakers also traded Patrick Beverley and bought back Mo Bamba, which was huge because they sent Thomas Bryant to Denver. And sending Thomas Bryant to Denver, you lose a big man, but you bring back Mo Bamba, who hasn't really lived up to the hype of the draft pick coming out. But Mo Bamba can shoot the ball and he has great length, great rim protection. So if you can pair him next to AD for say 10 minutes a game, that could be something dangerous. So I'm also hearing that Patrick Beverley is gonna get bought out by the Orlando Magic and it'll be interesting to see where Patrick Beverley goes. But through overall, the Lakers got better. D'Angelo Russell comes off the books next year. Jared Vanderbilt has another year on his contract and Malik Beasley has a team option. And I think $1 million or $3 million of it is guaranteed. So the Lakers got better. They also left themselves some flexibility for free agency this year, which I think is a big deal to not make a move and getting off Russell Westbrook where you got $47 million coming off the cap. If Russell were, if they just held on to Russ for another couple months, you got $47 million coming off. I think they still leave themselves a lot of flexibility as D-Lo will be a free agent, as Malik Beasley's on a team option and you can make that decision when you need to make that decision. They leave themselves an opportunity to still go out in free agency and make a big splash. So I think job well done there for the Lakers. One thing I did not like is the way Russell Westbrook has been scapegoated. And not that Russell Westbrook wasn't the best fit, but like to hear guys get on TV and say a vampire in the locker room. Now I'm not in their locker room, so I can't say what the energy was in their locker room. But to say a vampire in the locker room, like you better be certain that that is the case because that right there could really affect someone's livelihood. That right there could, make a team that was like, will sound Russell Westbrook be like, ah, but do I want that in my locker room? Because he was in the locker room with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. And if he's a vampire in that locker room, then what's he gonna be in the next locker room? And so I think if you're gonna go on TV and say that he was a vampire in the locker room, number one, you better be very certain. As I said, I'm not in their locker room, but that's almost, that's a hit at character. Like that is a huge hit at character. And as you know, I'm very big on it. You take a shot at someone's character, you better be sure that that is the case. And then you ask yourself the question, what was the reason that he was vampire-like in that locker room if that is the case? Was it just a fit thing? Like, you know, like you just know the pieces doesn't fit on the court. Yeah. Because again, if that's the case, then that's what's dragging the energy down is that we just know these pieces don't fit. Again, to say that he's a vampire in the locker room would almost be implying that he's selfish, that he's a bad person in your locker room, that you don't really want him in the locker room around your younger guys if you have younger guys. Like, and so even if you go out and say that, like, you have to have more details. You can't just throw that boom and then leave it there. Like, you have to have more details in saying that. So I didn't like that because it just felt like a shot at character. And me personally, I know Russell Westbrook does not have bad character. I know Russell Westbrook is an incredible dude. And so I didn't love that. But again, I can't 100% dispel that because I'm not in the locker room. But like I said, I am gonna say, if you are gonna say that, you better be damn sure that that is the case. And if you do say that, and if you even are sure, then goddamn it, you gotta give some facts. You can't just say, I heard he's a vampire in the locker room. You gotta get facts, 'cause we need to hear those facts if you gonna say something like that. Because again, talking basketball is one thing. Saying this guy shooting isn't that well, may turn the ball over, it's one thing. But then when you start taking shots at character, you gotta make sure that's certain and you have to back that with evidence. So. Yeah. That's it on the Lakers. The Golden State Warriors. Number 1, I wanna say to James Wiseman, man, Jimmy Wise. Not an ideal start to your NBA career. I mean, not ideal at all. Being moved to the Detroit Pistons gives James an opportunity to restart that. And I think that's such a beautiful thing. I feel like in this trade, James Wiseman gets what he needs. The Warriors got what they need. James Wiseman needs to go somewhere where he can play, where he can get minutes and reps, and he's not expected to compete at a championship level. And he did that, or they did that. Yeah. It's happened for him in going to Detroit, where you're with a bunch of other young guys who's gonna make a ton of mistakes, and you just get to play through those mistakes and learn through those mistakes. Because as we know in life, experiences— experience is life's greatest teacher. So for James Wiseman to go to a situation where he will have the opportunity to play and play through mistakes, it's great for him. Because he's super talented, super skilled, just haven't had the reps. Played 3 games in college, 20 games his rookie year, no games his second year. He's probably played 15 games this year of actual NBA games. Like you just, how do you get the reps? How do you see that picture that everyone wants to see, that development that everyone wants you to see? If you never get the reps. Yeah, you can watch as much film as you want, but you need the reps. And so Jimmy Wise, good luck. You're a champion. And it's a lot of guys that been in this league for 10, 15 years that don't check that box. You're a champion. You're going to a situation where you'll have the opportunity to play, where you'll have the opportunity to get better. And I would just say, man, go into it with an open mind. Go into it hungry, understanding that I got a new beginning and I got new life and take that energy from that and go and be who James Wiseman was expected to be coming out. I give credit to the Warriors for making that move and understanding that James Wiseman could very well still become an all-star. But what's the timeline on that? And does that timeline fit where you are right now? And so I give the Warriors credit on that. What you have to understand about James Wiseman is he's up for an extension this summer. What decision do you make then if that comes up? And so ultimately the Dubs end up moving James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons for 5 first round, 5 second round picks, excuse me, sending Sadiq Bae and Kevin Knox to the Atlanta Hawks. Those 5 second round picks that the Warriors took back for James Wiseman has been moved to Portland for the Young Glove, GP2. I'm excited about this move. Number 1, we have struggled with defense. We've really struggled on the defensive end. Bringing GP back, we all know what GP's capable of on the defensive end. Can plug GP right in. He knows the system like the back of his hand. We know him. There's really no, I mean, there's always gonna be an adjustment. This is a different team. But you start looking at different lineups, you know, you look at a lineup with GP and Dante in the same lineup and Andrew Wiggins possibly in that lineup. You start thinking about the defense and just the different combinations that you can put out on the court. I like this trade for us. You always hate to see a guy go. Jimmy Wise is a guy who I've been here now for 3 years and just watching him grow up. But like I said, I'm very happy for a move. I'm happy for him because this is what he needs. That move before shifting, shipping the 5 second round picks to Portland for Gary Payton II, would have saved the Warriors $131 million in taxes, salary and taxes over the next 2 years. That's a boatload of money, a boatload of money. So the Warriors could have, credit to Joe Lacob, the Warriors could have taken that money back and said, we just gonna stay pat and then we'll see what happens from here. Now, the Warriors will save about $40 million in tax as opposed to $130. So the move to get GP will cost the Warriors essentially about $90 million, 90, close, maybe $100 million, or close, somewhere in that range. So, gotta give credit to Joe Laker. For being willing to say, "Oh no, we not just gonna sit on that." Because also then what message does that send to your team now? What message does that send to your face of your franchise and Steph Curry if you just stay pat? And so those are all the things that you have to take into account when you're seeing these things take place at the deadline. It's cap hit, tax hit, long-term, can you pay a guy, different things. All of those things go into play when you're watching this deadline happen. So— Yeah. Incredibly active trade deadline. The Clippers made a move. They actually sent out Reggie Jackson, they sent out John Wall, they sent out Luke Kinnard to get back Eric Gordon, Bones Hyland, and Mason Plumlee, I think they also brought back. I like that move for the Clippers. You get a young Bones Hyland who plays with a ton of energy, who may have the opportunity to walk in there and start. And that's what Bones want. Bones wants a starting opportunity. I give credit to Bones. I love Bones' demeanor. Bones can play. I always tell young guys, especially young backup point guards, is be certain that you're ready for that when you ask for that. Because as long as you are a great backup point guard, you always have the thought in someone else's mind of, man, this guy may be able to start for us. And as long as you keep that thought in someone's mind, you can negotiate off the fact, off the thought of them thinking you may possibly be a starter. Anybody in the league, you, that is a negotiating chip. And so I always say this with younger guys, especially backup point guards, but younger guys in general, the thought of what you could be is sometimes better than the sight of what you could be. And that's what young guys really need to understand. So Bones wanted this, Bones asked for this. You got to go deliver now. And by the way, delivery is— Clippers trying to win a championship. So you got to deliver at that level. Or if you don't, then now people know you're a backup. And if they know you're a backup, your salary drops significantly, as opposed to if they think you're a possible starter. To see Bones in his second year already ready for that, I respect it. Yeah. And the young fella got dog, he got heart, he going after it. So I respect it. But it's gonna be interesting to see how it plays out because starting every night is a totally different monster than coming off the bench. Totally different monster. The Clippers also getting Eric Gordon back. It's good to see Eric. It'll be good to see Eric Gordon play some winning basketball, man. It's been years just watching Eric Gordon in Houston. Under, as we know, not the best circumstance, to see him back in LA with the Clippers as he once was before, but also just to see him get the opportunity to compete at a winning level. Like you see EG on the court in Houston and it's just like the life was sucked out of him playing that basketball. And you saw an interview not long ago where he was speaking on it. And so, happy for him for that. And then also Mason Plumlee, I think is a good pickup. Mason Plumlee's a very solid big. You go from Zubac to Plumlee, Plumlee to Zubac, however you wanna look at it, however you go about it, whoever you start, that's solid as well. So I think the Clippers, I think ultimately they probably got better. Luke Kinnard wasn't playing much. Reggie Jackson had collected DNPs as of late. John Wall collected DNPs as of late. So I think the Clippers got better. Very marginal, but I think they got better. And if Bones come become a legit starting point guard in this league and, you know, keep getting better like he's been getting better, Clippers definitely got better. The Eastern Conference, before we get outta here, they made a few moves. The Bucks get J. Crowder, which they've been trying to do for about 4 or 5 months. The Celtics get Mike Muscala. From OKC. The 76ers gets Matisse, I'm sorry, they send out Matisse Thybulle and Jalen McDaniels comes back to the 76ers. I like that move 'cause Jalen McDaniels is a good defender, long defender. He has a decent shot where Thybulle struggled to shoot it a little bit. McDaniels can shoot it a little bit. So I think that helps. You know, it's not a move that's gonna win you or lose you a championship, but it ultimately helps and that's what you need. And then the Knicks get Josh Hart from Portland for pretty much nothing. First round pick, but something that doesn't help Portland much right now. So yeah, those were the moves in the East. There was a lot of noise around Toronto. Also we had Jakob Pertl. Jakob Pertl. Draymond Green go to Toronto. That's an interesting one because I already feel like there's like a logjam of like kind of bigs, bigs kind of in Toronto. And there was a lot of noise about Fred VanVleet will get moved, OG Anunoby will get moved, Gary Trent Jr. will get moved. And quite frankly, nothing happened. They brought Toronto, Where seller, seller, seller, seller, all you heard was seller and they ended up a buyer and not selling pretty much anything. So that was an interesting deadline for them. We'll see what happens this summer with them. I think their idea would be to see how this works with Pirtle for the next 2 to 3 months, however long their season may go, and then you can make a decision on OG. This summer you can make a decision on, are you putting Fred in the sign and trade? Are you extending him? He hasn't opted out. What's the deal with that? You can make a decision on, are you re-signing Gary Trent or what's the deal? So I feel like they're, you know, are you keeping Pascal past this year? So I feel like Toronto just put themselves in a position to give themselves what, 20, 30 games to see what it is that they have. And then maybe they're a seller this summer, maybe they're a buyer, who knows? But overall, my favorite move from the trade deadline, I mean, come on, it has to be Kevin Durant. You just don't see players like Kevin Durant get traded and definitely not at the deadline. So that has to be my favorite move. To the Brooklyn Nets fans, and this is it before we get outta here. I know y'all don't like Kyrie. I know y'all think Kyrie messed over y'all, but I'm gonna give you a different perspective because most fans don't really have this perspective and don't really understand the business. Kyrie Irving should be the most loved Brooklyn Nets player of all time. Tell you why. Kyrie Irving deciding that he was going to go to Brooklyn It didn't quite produce what everyone wanted it or thought it would produce, or at least Kyrie thought it would produce, and a lot of people thought it would produce, which was a championship. Didn't produce that. But what did it produce? Well, let's see what it produced. It brought you back Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, 5 or 6 first round picks. Now you gotta say, how did it bring us back all of that? Because if Kyrie never goes to Brooklyn, there's a 0% chance Kevin Durant goes to Brooklyn. Kevin Durant only went to Brooklyn Nets strictly because Kyrie was gonna go to the Brooklyn Nets and he was going to play with Kyrie. Yeah. So Kyrie brought you Kevin Durant. Kyrie brought you James Harden because the Kevin Durant-Kyrie pairing brought you James Harden. You also got what, a pick or two back, a first round pick or two back for James Harden. So in total, Kyrie Irving delivered the Brooklyn Nets about 6 to 8 first round picks. And the players that I just named for you. Instead of the Kyrie hating, the Kyrie slander, learn the business and appreciate Kyrie because he did y'all just about a good as a solid as anyone could do for a franchise without delivering a championship. That's a wrap from the trade deadline special. So yes, like I said, Love the Kevin Durant move. Those just don't happen. But GP too, coming back to the dubs. I'm rolling. It's a wrap from this episode. Peace. What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward.