NBA offseason REACTIONS: Durant to Rockets, Jordan Poole trade, Warriors future | BEST OF DRAYMOND

What needs to happen this offseason for the Warriors to be real contenders again?

I think, you know, the heavy lifting's been done. Like, we added Jimmy. I think that was the biggest thing that needed to happen. Now we got that. Now you can tool around that. You know, our team was too around Steph. Now you know how Jimmy looks in the system. You know how Jimmy likes to play. You can also tool around that as well. So I think, you know, just locking in from that front, understanding what we got, where we can get better, and making those pushes, you know? But free agency is tough, man. You know, you trying to court people and make the best offer.

Right.

And you don't always know what it is, right? Like for some guys it could be the highest dollar amount, for other guys it could be totally different. So—

Totally.

I think just going into it, it's just all about looking to see like, all right, now we know how it looks, now we got, that part figured out. Now what does it look like around that? So I think we're in a much better position heading into this one than we were last year.

Yeah, yeah, I got some— yeah, I got some money to play around with. Yeah, I got some, you know, some young talent that, you know, is not taking up a lot of the salary cap. You gotta adjust Kuminga, you know, things, uh, free agents in this class. So yeah, yeah, I got some work to do, but like you said, shoring up the, uh, you know, the unks. That's what I'm gonna start calling y'all. We gonna show up the unks.

The unks is crazy. Also, y'all gotta stop with this unks stuff. In my hood, my hood, uncle's a crackhead in my hood. Y'all be calling people unks.

Yeah, no. Crackhead.

Yeah, I don't do it. I don't do it.

Y'all gotta chill.

Y'all gotta chill. That'll never be okay with me. Like, uh. The ughs.

The Bay Area ughs. That's sick.

Hey bro, you letting your hair grow back in?

No, I'm about to cut it.

What's going on?

You all right? That hurt.

No, I'm just asking the question, champ. That's it.

Draymond is eye for eye. Hey man, look, I'm just trying to see what happens, see if my hair grow, grow back. You know, I like them little curls. I like to have my hair nappy. Like the little naps. I like that.

You gotta go to Turkey.

To Turkey?

Yeah, you gotta go to Turkey.

For what? What's in Turkey?

Hey, they waiting for you.

You gotta go to Turkey. Uh, moving right along. All right, if you could say one thing to Warriors fans right now, unfiltered, what would it be?

I don't really got nothing to say. What up, Dub Nation?

Just about the season, like, well—

I ain't got no gripes. Oh, just about the season, like—

Yeah, like, oh, like, you know, we gonna come back better, or—

Oh, well, I ain't hyping no Dubs fans up. They know what it is, you know, they've been around.

'Cause you did say y'all was gonna win it all.

I ain't no woulda, coulda, shoulda type of guy, but you know, you know what I'm saying? It's all good. We gonna leave it where it's at. It's all good. I'm gonna congratulate the Oklahoma City Thunder 'cause I'm not one of them hatin'. You know, these guys out here be hatin'. I'm gonna leave it at where it's at and I'm gonna congratulate them guys 'cause they are champions.

All right, so with that said, what has been your best moment or moments, uh, in the 2024-2025 season?

Uh, best moment of the 2024-25 season, man?

When you got the dunk.

Huh?

When you got that dunk.

What dunk?

When you went down the lane. I forget what team it was. I think he hit a 3, then he went down the lane and got a dunk. He was going crazy.

Oh man, that's light work.

Shit, you barely got that motherfucker.

That's light work, man. You know, we ain't moving off no play, you know what I'm saying? No regular season plays.

I understand.

I be watching the game. Plays gotta happen in the playoffs for it to really matter.

Right, right, right.

When did you dunk on Karolinko?

In the playoffs, everything matters.

All right, that's the only reason it matters. Yeah, everything happens in the playoffs. Only reason it matters. Yeah, it only matter, you know, so we ain't tripping on that. You know what I'm saying? That's light work, playoffs.

What about the night-night moment? When you hit your first night-night?

That was fun. That was fun. That was fun.

That was fun. That was a good one.

That was fun. And then you know what? I enjoyed the season though. You know, like, hey, I came out of this season feeling better than I did 3 years ago, you know? And so I think most importantly that, you know, that just health continuing to grow.

Yeah.

I think overall net positive. Now just keep it rolling and win this championship next year. Overall net positive, man. So I'm looking forward to this next one. Obviously getting this team right, getting the roster right, knowing what we looking like rolling into next year. But you know how I'm rolling in. Championship or bust, baby. You know how we roll.

That's the pedigree. Y'all back, y'all back to pedigree.

Absolutely. So that's how we rolling.

But I also wanna send out some love to To Tyrese, you had two teammates tear their Achilles. How hard can a team bounce back when one of your best players get hurt?

I think it's tough, man. You know, we obviously had Klay go down, KD went down, but he left. Same year Steph went down. Like, it's tough. You're not winning without your best player in this league. Like you could put together a decent season, but it ain't happening. But man, I do send my love and well wishes to Tyrese though, just on a speedy recovery. Leaving it all out there on the floor. You know, these Achilles, these calf to Achilles injuries are tricky, man. I put on my Threads account as soon as it happened. Like, man, that look too familiar.

Yeah.

NBA Finals elimination game. Guy get to cooking, cooking.

Cooking.

KD got to cooking. Like it was just look—

KD was cooking.

Cooking.

Oh my gosh.

And so, man, I just wish him well and a speedy recovery.

Oh my God.

'Cause that sucks, man. But I'll tell you what, it does. When you look at the Indiana Pacers about to go into the tax, for the first time. It'll be interesting to see if they change their tune because you got Halle out for a whole year now.

Yeah.

More than likely. So man, you just want it from everything changing, man.

Totally, totally, man. I went down, I was, I damn near wanted to cry for my bro. 'Cause you know, to not get a chance to finish is heartbreaking and he deserved it. He fought to a game 7, he fought with injury. We talked about it on this show that playing with that calf muscle was going to be risky. Remember, we talked about if he can show up and give us a Willis Reed. He did that game 6, 23 minutes. That was a little bit more, but coming into game 7, it's like you forget that, that the way you feel going into a game 7, you feel so much better. Yeah, but you not so much better.

You still the same, right?

It's more damage, if anything.

Yeah, still the same. When I say still the same, I mean you still dealing with the same—

you still dealing with the same thing. And a lot of times, like, you so hyped and you feel good. Like, how many times— I can remember so many times, like, man, I feel good, and then jump and land and be like 'Now how did this happen?' Right? You forget, you forget, you forget that, oh, you still injured, are you still nursing the injury? So it was tough to watch that because that young man deserved to be, be able to finish that game, uh, and walk off that court on his own. But he will be back, I know that's right. He'll be back. Most definitely.

Most definitely will.

Most definitely.

So shout out to Tyrese, man, and the Indiana Pacers. They had a great year. Get to the NBA Finals. Sucks when you get there and lose, but they had an incredible year. So congratulations to those guys as well.

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KD was at Fanatics Fest, which we just spoke about, in the middle of an interview, um, when he was traded to the Houston Rockets. And there are some conspiracy theories floating around, so I must ask you, before we get into the trade, what side of the conspiracy theory do you stand on? They said KD chose for that news to come come out on Sunday because he wanted to overshadow the Thunder. I personally don't think KD is that type of guy.

Yeah.

But that's what people tried to say.

No, I ain't rocking with that.

Me either. That's crazy.

I'm not rocking with that.

I can't rock with the conspiracy theories.

A lot of times, you know, these trades, they happen and they just happen. Like, the desperation of the team to get it done, and then information travel fast in our sport, right? So KD, the player is the last person to know that they're getting traded.

Facts.

Always. So him finding out on stage and, you know, uh, at the festival, uh, for Fanatics, that could possibly be you know, real. I mean, maybe he knew, maybe he had to just like— he— I mean, maybe he knew it was coming, but at the same time, during the interview, the fan reaction, right, and the call out from the fan, that's what I liked about the content. Uh, you know, seeing fans and seeing how media travels so fast, you know. Now the player is really the last person to know. If you're not on social media or like a KD, you don't feel like answering your phone for 2 days, you chilling. Then everybody find out, then you find out like, damn, for real?

Is it possible that we can create this situation for everyone? Like you think about how many guys have the backstory, Harrison Barnes getting traded while on the bench, DeMarcus Cousins getting traded. Finding out he's traded in the middle of an interview after the All-Star Game. Do you think that this is a way the NBA, like, should this be a requirement for the NBA, just like for guys not to look stupid? Or, you know, because those—

Yeah.

As happy as KD was, right? Like, for most, to your point, for most guys, they could find that out sitting on that stage and they down though.

Right. I think, uh, I mean, I'm kind of like yes and no, because part of working for a team or part of being on team management is, you know, what if you just want to trade somebody just because you think it's a good deal? Now you got— I mean, if you said the first person, I think the first person that should be told is the actual player.

That's what I'm saying.

Yeah, I agree with that.

Because I think, you know, for most players, right? Like, of course you're not gonna be in the driver's seat like Kevin Durant was, but there should be some type of system, some type of fine system. Like, yo, let's get out before these players and this player's camp is alerted. Like, that's an issue. You know what I'm saying? But I think there should—

Yeah, go ahead.

I think there should be ultimately some type of, guideline to be upheld, you know, that because it can be a great thing, right? But at the same time, like just finding out wherever your feet stand, that's crazy.

It is, it's hella great, right? 'Cause think about it, like the media is always gonna find out before you that you got traded 'cause they the one doing all the digging. Right? So soon as the trade happened, one side or the other side, I mean, obviously they should contact the player, but the player's still gonna feel like he didn't know.

Yeah.

Right? I remember getting traded from the Clippers to Cleveland, and Vinny Del Negro sat down and was like, "Oh man, you know, we like what we like. We gonna sit you down." you know, don't even worry about playing, don't worry about playing New Orleans. I'm in the locker room and the media lady came up to me. She was like, you know you're getting traded, right? I was like, hell no, for real. I was like, hell no, for real. Hey bro, it was shocking. I was shocked, right? I was shocked.

So how did you react to that though?

Like, you know, I still fire. I stood firm, but by the time the game was over, by the time I got to the bus, they was like, well, the trade ain't happening, uh, it ain't happened yet. I gotta say, you know, I got family in New Orleans, say bye to my family, get on the bus, and then now my teammates finding out, right?

Uh-oh.

Look like— then we get on the plane and it happened. So I gotta fly back home with the Clippers with Vinny Del Negro all the players on the team. So I decided that, you know, I've been quiet over here for 2 and a half years. I ain't really said that. I ain't really said nothing to nobody. I've been, you know, keeping it low-key. So I just went up to each person and just kind of told them how I felt about them and how I'm going to continue to feel about them. Some of it was love, some of it was just like, you know, critique, but it was more so like I wasn't really tripping. By the time I got off the plane, I wasn't really tripping anyway, right? I was like, it is what it is. But it was important for me to kind of like get that angst off my chest because I was, you know, you dealing with some— when you're not winning, you dealing with some busters and at a certain point of the league, the league was shifting to like where it is now. So there was going to be a conflict between what's old and what's new. Did they work hard for it? Are they entitled? Like, we have to do all this, they're not doing nothing, you know. And then to your point, like, the media knowing, management not really— I'm, you know, I got beef with management, so it can happen at any time. They did approach me and ask me for a buyout, which I probably should have took, you know, considering the circumstances. If I look back, it wasn't as bad a deal as I thought it would be to like get up out of there. But yeah, I just let everybody know how I feel. Sat down with everybody, sat down with the young dudes. Like DJ told them like, yo bro, like you could, you could really do something, you know, like don't get caught up in all the shit that you saw me caught up in, you know, just hope, you know, it's gonna be different for you. You know what I'm saying?

So. Question, after this happened and you could have taken the buyout, but you didn't, your next deal, what was your next deal you signed after this contract that you were currently thinking about taking the buyout on? What was the next deal you signed?

I think it was like, this was like my, I was already like 2 years into my last deal. So my next deal was like a 2-year deal 'cause I was hurt.

But 2 years, how much? Like was it more than minimum? I don't need to know exactly.

I think it was like around the minimum.

Okay, 'cause the question I had was, I feel like when you do take buyouts in this league, where you say it may have been a great situation, but I feel like when you do take buyouts in this league, it's almost hard to get off the minimum from that point moving forward.

Yeah, I think, well, I would've probably not been hurt, went to Charlotte, right? Got a chance to get back with Jay Rich and Stack in the East Coast. So I wasn't worried about, the minimum, you know what I mean? Because I was still, I was still one of the illest, but it was just, I was playing for the Clippers.

Okay.

Right. And so it was hard, it was hard to wake up every day and you got to deal with so much drama before you can actually play basketball. You got to do all this talking before you can shoot a basketball. You got to do all this scouting and all this shit. And it's like, man, can we just like 5 on 5 one day and everybody shut the fuck up? Like, that's how we get better, right? But it was just, you know, it was just like, where, you know, it just wore on me. It just wore on me. So, but I was still good and I was still, you know, I can get whatever numbers at that point. I can get whatever numbers I wanted depending on how the flow of the game or what my perspective on the game. So leaving I probably would've had a better opportunity to like, I was not hurt to pick up and then take off again somewhere else, right?

Uh-huh. Obviously the Phoenix Suns has agreed on a blockbuster trade sending 15-time NBA All-Star, 2-time final MVP Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Draymond Green, Dillon Brooks, the number 10 pick in this year's NBA draft, and 5 second round picks. So just taking that into account, obviously the deal is done now. You know, what's your take on these new look Rockets? Add KD in, you know.

Man, that was gonna be my—

Draymond Green.

That was gonna be my question to you. You know, I've been saying that KD is an upgrade when you think about what the Rockets needed. They need efficient scoring. And what KD brings in presence, his offensive awareness, his defensive awareness, his overall I'm aiming to win a championship. I think it's a fair trade, right?

Right.

I wanted to know how you felt because I was analyzing y'all game and y'all series as the reason why this trade happened. Because when you look at a Jalen Green and you look at Dylan Brooks and you say when they played well, did the Rockets win?

More than likely, you know, they were—

Yeah, yeah, I'm saying no, in, in that series against Golden State.

Oh, right, in that series, uh, Jalen Green had one great game, right?

They won. Dylan Brooks Let's say he was as consistent, he was consistent, right? He didn't like, he had a consistent series. Jalen Green had an up and down series, right? Now you start looking at who could they rely on? VanVleet, Senghor, and Thompson.

Yep.

And so Thompson leapfrogged.

I would say that, here's what I was saying. I know no one gives him credit. But also, I thought Jabari Smith was really—

That's what I was saying. Yes, I thought so too.

And I thought Jabari Smith worked his way back from almost going the wrong way as the number 2 pick to like, hold on, I don't feel like I can compete at this level. And I think he worked his way back and will probably be in the starting lineup on this Rockets team moving forward. And I think well-deserved. So, you know, when I look at it and, you know, you mentioned those two guys that, listen, Anytime you can add a Kevin Durant, it's an upgrade. I don't care who you are as a team, any team in the, in the world in basketball, if you add Kevin Durant, it's an upgrade. Now you start speaking on like, if you add Kevin Durant for Steph Curry, now those are different conversations. But if you're just in this case, you know, or in most cases you add Kevin Durant to the roster, it's that it's going to be an upgrade. So, Make no mistake about it. You know, everybody trying to make like these conversation pieces. It's KD.

Yeah.

You add him to the roster, your roster is better. Now you talk about, now if you wanna discuss the business of basketball, then you have a different discussion when you start talking about salary and what happens with caps and all. That's a totally different question, but that's not what we're talking about here. What we're talking about here is you add KD to that team, is that team better? And where they struggled was, you know, Jalen had a very tough playoff series. You'd like to think if he had a better playoff series, they win. Who knows? But you, you'd like to at least think that Dylan Brooks was, like you said, he was consistent all year. Uh, he played well, he shot the ball really well this year. Dylan Brooks is who he is. On a contract like Dylan Brooks on, you will always kind of be the throw-in piece.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. You know, and that's just kind of the nature of the business. I don't think Dylan Brooks was traded because Dylan Brooks did anything wrong in this situation. I think Dylan Brooks was traded because quite honestly, that's how this business works and your contract make the money work. They want Kevin Durant, your contract make the money work. And you know, when you look at the way this team has been built, of course they're gonna trade, throw Dylan Brooks in to make that money work before they throw Jabari Smith in.

Dylan Green.

Or before they throw— Tyrese, like these, these young guys that were drafted by this general manager. Now, Draymond Green was as well. He ain't gonna just get rid of all the people he drafted. You know, he got rid of one. And so I think when I look at this, it's an upgrade. KD has his familiarity with Ime Udoka as a coach. I think KD still wants to compete at a high level, and I think this team Like when you look at the rosters of everywhere we heard KD may go, this team did the least gutting of a roster that a team may have had to do. To make an upgrade. To still make an upgrade and still keep the roster in a good spot. So that's what I think happens for the Rockets. That's the way I think it looks for them, for KD. Talk about Phoenix on the other hand, I think it's a little different situation, but for the Rockets, I think it's good. Also, shout out to Freddie V. Got a new 2-year deal to stay with the Rockets. Well deserved, man. The way I saw him lead that team in the playoffs. And they gonna need his leadership. Yeah, I seen it too. They gonna need his leadership with that team. I think with Fred's demeanor and how Fred go about things, and with KD and how KD go about things, I think it'll be a good match. Yeah, you get more— Because some of the stuff that— exactly, some of the stuff that K don't wanna do, and people try to make it like an indictment on K's character. No, there's just some stuff that we're all human beings and there's some, we all have strengths, we all have weaknesses. And certain things that KD don't like to do, Fred will do that. And guess what? On a basketball team and team sports, that's actually how it's supposed to work. You need that. And so, you know, I think this puts them in a really good position. I think they're obviously gonna be a team to be reckoned with. You expect Senghor to make a big jump after the playoffs he had. You know, you expect Tyrese and all those guys to make jumps. So it'll be interesting. I think, you know, I think that team is in a really good position and I definitely think it's an upgrade.

Shout out to our boy Franklin Fleek again. I mean, I just, I totally agree. The New Orleans Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Draymond Green, Sadiq Bey, and the number 40 overall pick in the second round of the NBA draft. What does this trade mean for both teams? Draymond, what does it mean for the Pelicans?

Uh, what this means for the Pelicans is that Joe D's coming in, um, he's making some changes. He wanted to see, you know, just acquire some young talent in Jordan Poole to see if he can still make it work with next to the Zions, uh, you know, Trey, uh, Herb Jones, you know, see if you can put it together, uh, with these young guys. I think, um So when I look at this Pelicans, this move, you got DeJounte Obi coming off an Achilles injury. When I look at this Pelican move, I like it. I think when you add a talent like Jordan Poole, you know, CJ is kind of who CJ is, you know. Jordan, Jordan still has room for growth. I don't think we've seen the best of his growth yet. And I think getting in a, in an organization like New Orleans under Joe Dumars leadership, you know, with Willie Green as a coach, I think it would be a really good situation for him. I think Washington, the first year he spent adjusting, last year he had a really good year numbers-wise, but when you're on that team, it don't matter. And so I think, you know, when I look at this for the Pelicans, I look at this as a net loss. You know, you didn't, you didn't have to go crazy from a salary cap standpoint. I think Jordan may make a little less than CJ or right around the same amount, you know, but yeah, I think you still got time for him to prove himself. A couple more years left on his deal, uh, 2 or 3 more years left on his deal. I think he still got time to prove himself and with some young guys who also looking to take that next step. And so I think they become a team that you gotta watch out for in the West, you know what I mean? They got a lot of talent. They gonna, they can put it together. They gonna creep up and can possibly have a good year. So that's what I think this move mean for the Pelicans.

The Wizards, go ahead.

What you got for the Wizards? You, you, you, when I look at that trade for the Wizards, you know.

I actually like it for the Wizards. Why? Because I think CJ McCollum is, what the Wizards need. You need some veteran leadership. You need someone who can play basketball. You need someone that can talk to your young guys and get them in positions to play NBA basketball. You got a Linick there who's like a, you know, a bridge player, somebody who can come in, learn the system, be a vet. So you really trading, you know, young energy, from Poole, who is a dynamic scorer, but you bet on Poole to be, you know, your next all-star superstar player and leader. I think you're gonna get the leadership in McCollum. You're gonna get more consistency out of what do you have. Now, I don't know how, uh, how many years McCollum got on this contract, but I, I, I just like that I like this trade in favor of CJ, and then I also think for Washington it's a good move to start cement your organization with some veterans around, especially the young guys you have, because they're going to take some time to develop. Or if they develop properly, they could skyrocket over half a season with their talent.

No doubt, no doubt. I think what we're starting to see more is —teams went so far left with the youth movement that they're realizing that, no, you can go young, but you gotta have some veteran leadership in there, or it's the blind leading the blind, and that don't work. Yeah, bingo. And so I think that's what we're starting to see. You know, when you look at this OKC team, they started with all those young guys, but throughout those years, they brought in Chris Paul, you know, and different guys that has helped continue to show from a veteran leadership standpoint the way to Shai and for Shai to take the reins. So I think teams are starting to realize that, I know Will Dawkins comes out of the OKC tree and you know, just to watch him put those veteran leaders around those young guys, I think it makes sense. I expect CJ to go in there asking for an extension to extend that money. And, but I think overall, I think it's a good move for both groups. But the NBA draft is currently going on. NBA draft ain't one of my fondest nights. You know, if you was the third pick, so maybe you wanna like get all hyped for the draft. I think that shit don't matter.

You don't. It's all about where you go, man. I always say the draft is whatever team you go to, what system, it don't matter where you, what pick you go, you just wanna go to the right situation. And we've seen that countless amount of times with, you know, players in the second round. You look at, I think, you know, the story that's most relevant in my time was, Rashard Lewis, you know, being a first-round pick and getting drafted in the second round, being upset, but wind up going to Seattle and wind up becoming the man.

Yeah.

Faster than he would if he would've, you know, went to a Portland at the time or Indiana at the time and had to sit behind some vets, so. You know, the draft for me, it was incredible, you know, being the third pick. I didn't really know nothing about Charlotte. I didn't really know who was on the team until I got drafted. Yeah, I went to a good team. I went to a vet team, a playoff team, a team that was, you know, trying to make it in the playoffs in the tough Eastern Conference. And I got a chance my rookie year to sit on the bench, which I did not like, as the number 3 pick, 'cause the coach told me I should be starting by midseason. But it was cool. If I would've got drafted earlier, later, who knows what kind of system. But I went to a system where I was able to grow and then ultimately become an All-Star and get a 3.

No doubt. No, I think, you know, I think where you go, like you said, is far more important.

Where was you at, O'Japheth?

It all works out in the end. I was in Saginaw, the Dow Event Center, baby, with a terrible suit on. And how was it?

How did it go for you? 'Cause you were supposed to be a lottery pick, right?

Yeah, I wasn't necessarily gonna be lottery, but I definitely was like projected to be top 25. Top 20, top 25.

Yep.

And you know, to go 35th pick, it's like, dang, you see the end of that first round coming, you're like, man, you know? So it's a great night, you know, but it was very bittersweet for me.

Was people overreacting at the party or at your event? Were more people overreacting than you, or were you— I know you were disappointed. But like, what was the hype? And then like the whole, the down—

I don't think anybody overreacted. I think people were all shocked. You know, you could kind of feel like the angst, like, man, like when is it gonna happen? But I don't think anybody overreacted. Nobody made too much of it. I probably felt the most about it. You know what I'm saying? Just because I know the work that I had put in and I knew what I had to offer. And so going in the second round was baffling to me. But in saying that, to get your name called—

Special.

Special, in the NBA draft is special. And so I'm forever grateful for that moment. I hope these guys enjoy it, enjoy that night, and then understand that tomorrow, man, yeah, one guy may get an opportunity faster, but tomorrow everybody on an equal playing field. You gotta go prove that you belong in the NBA and what you can bring to a team.

Reaction to Jrue Holiday, man, getting traded. To the Blazers for Anthony Simons and second round picks. What's your thought on that?

Yeah, I think it's just funny to see Drew traded back to the Blazers after the Celtics got him from the Blazers in order to help them win the championship. But in saying that, they say Drew don't wanna be there. I think that was the case the first time he was traded there as well. But you know, contract situation is different. I think he 3 years left on the deal, so it's kind of not up to you at this point. But we'll see what happens. But you know, you signed the contract, it is what it is. So, you know, the Blazers gonna do what's best for them and they've made that very clear. You know, the best player in Blazer history wanted to be traded to certain places he wasn't traded to those places that he wanted to be traded to. So they've shown that as a franchise, they gonna do what's best for the Blazers. And you know, so—

And it's a good pickup.

Stay tuned to see how it play out. But I think Jrue can also, whether he, if he stay there, I think, you know, he can be a great asset for Chance, you know, bridging that gap between Chance and, you know, these young guys and kind of being that coach on the floor, that veteran leader who still got game, so. You know, I think still got a way to see how it play out, but you know, this is a team that is young, um, and definitely rebuilt. So be that it's draft night, I think that's— that may still shake something.

Yeah, okay. Yeah, I can see that still shaking up. But, uh, you know, the Anthony Simons with Boston, uh, for Drew, I can understand why Boston is doing this. Uh, we can understand how he can fit in, because Boston doesn't really— they need scoring, they need more scoring guards now because of, you know, one, I would say Jason Tatum going, going down, you know, looking for, for scoring is their dynamic, shooting threes is their dynamic. You got another dude that can really get out, stretch the floor, catch fire. I think it works in their system. But for Drew I think it's great for Portland and it's great for Drew. You get to mentor, you get to hoop, you gonna be in at the end of the games. You don't have to worry about, you know, you gonna be the closer, right? And part of that closing team for the Blazers and you get to bring Scoop along. And I like what Portland had last year. If, as we get closer to see what they do, I'm gonna probably call Portland as my sleeper team last year or this year, you know, my sleeper team was Houston at the beginning of the year. You see what they did. So, you know, Portland, I've been looking at analyzing. If they make a couple more moves and put a few pieces together, I look at Portland as a team that can make that jump because their young dudes are talented and play hard.

All right, well, we're going to see as the team shape up. Free agency ain't even started.

Right, that's what I'm saying, man.

Free agency has not started and this man giving a sleeper team. This is ridiculous. What are we doing here?

I'm on it. You know, I be doing my scout, man. I got a scout. I got a scout, play GM. I play GM at home.

Free agency ain't started. The draft is just starting and this man is talking about who he got as a sleeper. And listen, they also, the Celtics also traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks. The Celtics, listen, this is all about the second apron. People said they didn't want super teams anymore. Well, here you have it. All these moves are being made to dodge that second apron. For those out there that don't know what the second apron is, in layman's terms for you, it's a hard cap. It is a hard cap that no owner is dealing with because the penalties are crazy. You lose draft picks, you lose the mid-level exception, you lose roster spots, you lose the ability to get better and compete as a team. And the amount of money that you lose is insanity. And so the Boston Celtics would have had a salary cap with luxury tax bill of $540 million. It is now at $280 because they got rid of those contracts. So for those that don't understand what the second apron is, as, as basic as I can put it for you, it is a hard cap. And when I said this before the deal was signed, that this is ridiculous and it's going to hurt players in the end. No one wanted to listen and everybody wanted to act like the PA was making a great deal. The PA made a shit deal, as the PA has done for years now. And every year the pot gets bigger and the business gets better and the players get screwed more. That's just how this business works. And so in saying that, back to the Boston Celtics. That's what all of these moves are about, people. That's why they got rid of Porzingis. That's why they got rid of Jrue Holiday. That's why you're hearing so many people call on Jalen Brown. You're hearing so many people call on Derrick White. It's because they know they want to get away from that second apron tax. And Jason Tatum being out, things are up in the air. You trade for Anthony Simons, I think, listen, they're the Boston Celtics. They gotta be competitive, but At the end of the day, it's an expiring deal, cap situation, all of those things.

They can recalibrate, yeah.

And you got Jayson Tatum hurt, right? So if I had to guess, Jalen Brown, if he have any nicks and nacks this year, probably won't be in the lineup because you're gonna recalibrate, you're gonna let your books settle, and then next year with Jayson Tatum coming back, then you try to retool and start going for it again. And that's just how these things work. You'll see this all over the NBA for years to come because that's just the way this CBA works. And so you'll see this happen over and over again. That's my spiel. That's the second April. That's the Boston Celtics.

Yeah, we asked for no more super teams, so we definitely gonna get no more super teams, but we're also gonna get teams that rise in the draft, do great things in free agency, and they're gonna— it's gonna be more broken up teams than the teams that you grow up on being like, yo, this team has been together for 5 years. That's gonna be hard to do, especially, you know, having young players becoming great and getting better, uh, with that cap. Desmond Bane gets traded to the Orlando Magic for KCP, Cole Anthony, 4 unprotected first-round picks and a pick swap. What do you think about the Magic move, and how does Bain fit with the current Magic team? Okay, potential lineup: Suggs, Bain, uh, Paolo, uh, uh, Franz, uh, Wagner, and, uh, Carter Jr. Oh, um, that's Did somebody get fleeced?

4 unprotected first round picks in a pick swap. That's a lot.

That's wild. That's wild.

So when I saw the trade, I was like, man.

No way.

That's a lot. And I like Bain.

Yeah.

That's a lot. And then I saw what Orlando's general manager said. I saw a quote he made. And, um, it made complete sense to me why they would make that deal.

Yeah.

He said something along the lines of, if you went into a lab and created a basketball player, you go into the lab and create Desmond Bane. And I said, oh, Okay. That's why he gave up so much. All right, cool. Well, the reality is, I think Desmond Bane's done great. I think he's a very good player. But if I go in the lab and create a basketball player, I'm gonna create Kevin Durant or LeBron James or like a 6'6" dude with Steph Curry's jump shot. Desmond Bane is 6'5" with a 6'4" wingspan or 6'2" wingspan or something of that nature. I'm not going in the lab and creating Desmond Bane. No dis— with all due respect to Desmond Bane, I'm not going to create a basketball player with short arms. So when he said that, I would— I— that— those are the things that went in my mind, like, wait, he got short arms. You gonna go create a basketball player with short arms? I don't quite understand that. And so I was a bit surprised by the statement, but I understood what he was trying to get at. Like, Bane played both sides of the ball, but like, you gotta find a better way to articulate that.

You can't like be like, you going to laugh.

When you go create a player on, when you go create a player on 2K, you ain't creating Desmond Bane size. You creating like— Oh, my bad. 6'9", 6'10", where I handle and shoot. You not creating Draymond Green. But it made complete sense to me. Oh my gosh. On why they made that move. And I'll take it a step further. I don't know this to be factual. This is just my guess. My guess is they've been looking for a point guard. My guess is they called on Ja, Memphis somehow formed it and curved the ball back around and it was Desmond Bain in the trade. 4 first round picks and an unprotected pick swap is insane. So it's obviously a move that says they, they believe in Paulo, they believe in Franz Wagner, and we're going to put someone around them, some shooting. That can add, you know what I'm saying? That can take some pressure off of them.

Bane is nice though.

You know, he can play.

Bane nice.

And he more than just a shooter. Like he can get to a bucket, you know? And so—

Yeah, he a bucket.

That move, what the move signals to me is that they believe in those guys and they want to try to go for it with those guys. And also what that move says to me is, which I agree with, they think the league is wide open and right now is to take your shot. I just don't know if that's the shot I would've taken with 4 first-round picks unprotected and a pick swap. I'm not sure that's the shot I would've taken. Just, it seems like a lot. But I do understand where they at. I understand what they're doing, what they're thinking is. And I respect anybody who's willing to go for it.

All right, where does the Bain trade leave the Memphis Grizzlies?

I think it leaves Memphis sorta in the same position that they were in. Not that Desmond Bain is just easily replaceable, but They still got Jaren, they still got Ja. They got a young Zach Edey. They got a young Jalen Wells. They got a young Gigi Jackson. They got a young Scottie Pippen. So I think it leaves them like, again, I always say this, I don't think, and I try to tell people this, all organizations ain't trying to win championships. Here they are. That's essentially a shred salary cap move for Memphis. Take all the picks back, shred some salary cap, see what we can do with these young guys. But if we can't really, and it don't matter, we got all these picks for the future, right? That's a salary cap move. So where does it leave them? I think it should be clear as day to Ja. You gotta understand how this business work, clear as day. Is that, is that organization really trying to win a championship? When I see the move, I say, no, you're worried about other things and you're pulling away, but y'all just pulling back the taxes. Y'all pulling back, y'all don't wanna get the tax. So you let, you know, but this has been a thing with them. This has been a thing with Memphis. They've been doing it over and over again. They had a team where it seemed like they had a chance. They let D'Anthony Melton, They send De'Anthony Melton away to Philly. They let Kyle Anderson walk, right? Now you fast forward, it's Bain. So this is a thing for them. I think they're a team that don't want to get to the tax and they make moves based on that. That's where I think this leaves Memphis.

All right, you know, there's been also, I would say a lot of sayings or a lot of chatter about Memphis players being reluctant to play in Memphis because it's a dangerous place to live. Do you think that also adds to it? I think Memphis is a great place. I think that we should be, one, trying to uplift and highlight like all the positive things. And so when you hear statements like that from people, like they don't, necessarily be tapped in, right? And I don't like statements like that because it undermines, you know, the goodness, the positivity, the true essence of, you know, a city that needs to be uplifted. You watching First 48 and shit like that, and then you making assessments off that. That's television, that's entertainment, right?

Mm-hmm.

We talking about people who, Blood, Sweat and Tears, you know, come and support, you know, the Grizzlies, right?

Yep.

I'm talking about people who, you know, support kids and Memphis basketball on all levels. The work, you know, Penny doing. So you can't, you can't, it's just buster comments to me, you know?

I got a lot of love for the city of Memphis. I got people from Memphis too. People from Memphis has always shown me love. Even they staff, when we in they building, they show love. Everybody in Memphis has always shown love. So, and I was about to go to Memphis 2 years ago. So I wholeheartedly disagree because the last thing that was on my mind was this is a dangerous place to live. I can't go. Every city in the world has a dangerous part. Every city in the world. Yeah. Has a dangerous part to it. So I'm not gonna sit here and single out that city and be like, yo, a player can't go to that city because it's too dangerous. Come on, man.

That's a wild statement.

There's a dangerous part of Los Angeles. There's a dangerous part of Detroit. There's a dangerous part of Miami. There's a dangerous part of New York. There's a dangerous part of Dallas. There's a dangerous part of Houston. There's a dangerous part of Indianapolis. There's a dangerous part of Charlotte.

Philly, Philly.

You name it. There's a dangerous part of every city. You name it. So to single out that city, that franchise, and try to make it like nobody wanna go there 'cause that place is dangerous. Don't do that to that city. I disagree with that wholeheartedly. Like I said, I was about to go there 2 years ago. And the last thing that was on my mind was, I'm not gonna go play with that team 'cause that's dangerous.

This is who? This is who?

We're here to play basketball. Raise our family. Come on, man.

And be great pillars in the community. Absolutely, man. How can I help that community?

Stop it, man.

That's what I mean. We should have called that one Buzz Off or something like that.