NBA Mailbag: Don’t sleep on Steph Curry & Warriors, LeBron & Lakers trade options | Hoops Tonight

Jason Timpf answers listener questions including what has happened to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Are they closer to being dangerous NBA Finals contenders than most people think. Jason also discusses moves LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers can make to join the NBA’s elite teams, if the Los Angeles Clippers are ready to make a playoff run with James Harden, and if Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns will be firing on all cylinders come playoff time.

Timeline:
00:00 – Introduction
01:00 – What’s most important part of Jokic’s game?
03:10 – Pick any defender ever to guard Jokic
04:05 – Should Cavs make changes?
07:06 – Will Pacers break down in playoffs?
09:15 – Can Lakers contend with Nuggets?
12:16 – Does best player have to be a top tier playmaker?
14:30 – Why LeBron guards Kawhi better than Durant
14:58 – Why is Lakers’ old starting lineup now working?
16:42 – What has happened to Warriors?
19:08 – Realistic Suns trade
21:53 – Clippers ready for playoff run with Harden?
23:48 – Are Warriors one move away from fixing defense?
25:32 – Overreacting to regular season games
28:24 – Warriors next trade target
30:12 – Lakers trade options
32:02 – LeBron conserving energy
33:42 – Jazz have been hot
35:23 – Will Jazz trade Lauri Markkanen
35:47 – Will Kings trade for Dejounte Murray?
38:01 – Lakers trade for Zach LaVine?
39:41 – Is traveling an issue in the NBA
40:05 – What Jason would do as Nets GM
44:13 – Lakers-Warriors potential trade
45:41 – Rule changes Jason would apply
47:28 – One trade you want to see
47:46 – Why younger teams are surging
48:29 – More worried about Lakers, Warriors or Suns?
49:22 – NFL vs. NBA

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All right welcome to Hoops tonight here at the volume I hope all of you guys are having a great weekend today we’re doing our mailbag I have something like 24 25 different mailbag questions that we’re hitting in today’s show thank you guys so much for taking the time to put those

Mailbag questions in all of you guys have not just questions but so much good analysis in the comments as well it’s been kind of fun to see the community of the show build towards just a group of a bunch of people are dieh hard basketball fans who love their team who love

Getting into the weeds it was a lot of fun this morning and kind of reading through all of those comments you guys know the drill before we get started subscribe to our brand new YouTube channel so you don’t miss any more of our videos it would mean a lot to me if

You guys would take a second to scroll down and hit that subscribe button don’t forget about our podcast feed wherever get your podcasts under Hoops tonight follow me on Twitter atore jlt so you guys don’t miss any show announcements or any of the film threads that I do in

The morning and then last but not least keep dropping mailbag questions in those YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the season all right first question I have two two questions this person says first many people say that jokic’s best attributes are his tough shot making I believe it’s his strength

Which I view as his base from which he can use a lot of his other skills such as his tough shot making and playmaking because at the end of the day at any time he can back down anyone even the biggest players and pretty much just

Shoot right over them all of this to say do you think his strength is the most important part of his game or is it the tough shot making ability then the second question who do you think would be the best player from any time period to slow down joic one-on-one

As I said I believe his strength is his best attribute so I would go with the biggest player Shaq as joic tends to struggle with players like embiid I think Shaq could do something similar if not more however I could see Shaq struggling in the Jamal Murray pick and

Rolles who do you pick so always I’m going to go with the strength and the base over the tough shot making it’s not to say that tough shot making doesn’t matter I just always view tough shot making as like a ceiling razor it’s a thing you use in rescue possessions late

Clock situations maybe at the end of a game what a coverage takes away all of the easy shots that are available but more often than not what’s going to carry you through the 48 or through the 82 or through the seven game series is going to be your foundation the thing

That you use on more possessions than not and to me jokic’s strength and his ability to fight for position not just to catch the ball but to get to spots closer to the rim so that he can make shots or to rise up through contact and

Still get good Li lift on those tough shots it’s all going to come down to the foundation that over-the-top stuff is just what kind of pushes him over the top I should say a ceiling razor it’s a thing that allows him to you know make something out of

Nothing every once in a while which obviously like that was a huge role in that Lakers series last year right I don’t want to pretend like that stuff doesn’t matter but it always matters more what happens over the course of the entire game rather than the small

Handful it’s why it gets really silly when we start talking about clutch shots as like only the final shot of the game it’s like no like in the fourth quarter there’s 12 minutes of basketball there there might be 20 30 possessions where you need somebody who can consistently

Generate good shots down the stretch of a game and that’s where your your actual bread and butter matters more than some of the more fancy stuff that kind of dresses it up if that makes sense as far as the best player to guard joic 100% agree I actually thought Shaq as soon as

I was reading your question it’s just one of those things where he can kind of like fight yic off of those spots and keep him from bullying closer to the rim but as you mentioned it’s not as simp yeah it’d be great if the Sixers could just start a

Playoff series tomorrow to play against the Denver Nuggets and win the title but that’s not how it works you have to be able to beat multiple different teams versatility is a very important part of the game of basketball you have to be able to play and win different ways and

That doesn’t just go for Shaq that goes for Joel embiid as well and so again when it comes to Nicole yic just because a guy might be able to give him some more issues one-on-one doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a better player uh obviously Shaq all time is a

Better player than Nicole yic and we’ll see what ends up happening in the long run with Nicole yic I don’t mean to undercut him there I’m just more talking about embiid and the fact that he’s able to guard Nicole yic all right next question I’ve heard you say something

Before along the lines of Cleveland needing to make the tough decision of deciding between Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and Jared Allen and Evan Mobley the small guard pairing in the back court doesn’t seem to be working at a championship level and neither does the pairing of Moy and Allen in the

Front Court does this recent surge with Garland and Moy out confirm that theory should Cleveland be going all in on the Mitchell Allen Duo thanks love the show uh first of all thanks for the kind words uh as it pertains to this lineup there there is some reality to like it

Just kind of slotting more into my kind of overarching basketball belief system right like that group The Jared Allen Dean Wade Isaac aoro Donovan Mitchell and max stru they’re plus 21.2 net in about 300 possessions this year according to cleaning the glass and it’s like Jared Allen is a versatile

Defensive anchor right that can guard in different coverages that’s that important piece that I always talk about Dean Wade is a big forward he’s not as strong as I typically like that position but he’s a big forward that can switch that can help he’s a good rebounder too

He gets about eight rebounds per 36 minutes Isaac aoro is your perimeter oriented forward obviously a little shorter than I’d prefer there but he’s a guy that can guard all the forwards in the league and then Donovan Mitchell and Max stru are a good combination of size strength athleticism and skill for a

Backourt they kind of both are a little bit of both if that makes sense they’re both a little bit of a skill guard and they’re both a little bit of an athlete guard right so it is a proper team construct that said I do think a big

Part of it is they’re super fast particularly Donovan Mitchell and Isaac aoro they’re super fast and they play really hard all the time and especially this time of year that December January phase before the deadline that’s where you’re going to see the young fast teams kind of take a leap forward it’s going

To be a theme in today’s show because it’s going to be something we talk about when we get to the Utah Jazz really young really fast teams when the older slower teams are kind of struggling in the grind of the regular season that’s where they rise to the the surface so

Again like I don’t think that this group is better than what the Cavs are like when they’re healthy I just think that’s an explanation for how they’re winning games and as far as like being weird because two small guards and two bigs is a weird kind of construct if you’re

Going to be weird you can be weird in the NBA the nuggets are weird the Warriors are weird there are weird team the kings are weird but if you’re going to be weird you have to be awesome at specific spots right like what makes the Nuggets being weird work is Nicole yic

Is the best player in the world what made the Warriors being weird work was Steph Curry was a top two or three player in the world for the entirety of the dynasty right so like that’s the difference is like you’re weird and you’re not good enough as you mentioned

It doesn’t work at a championship level and so from that standpoint I would invest in the big picture and so that’s why I keep talking about kind of trying to lean more into that construct until you get the right guys again like I always talk about you want to find a

Number one first everything you do at first should be geared towards finding that number one and then from there you kind of build out and at this point it’s about finding out whether or not Evan Moy can be that number one next question I don’t have the for

Sure numbers but when watching Pacers it looks like Tyrese and a lot of his assists and offensive dominance come from transition or fast breaks do you think when the playoffs come this will be an issue for them when the games get more physical and more possessions in

The half court situations or will they still be able to consistently run on teams by the way saaro is better than Sabino shout out Chaz M too those are I would to Sabino high school and Saro is their big rival so clearly this listener is from Tucson Chasm uh is on my men’s

League team on Sundays him and I have won many many championships together we’ve won four the last five in that League Chaz is a Hooper one of my favorite players that I’ve ever played with because he’s just super super easy to play with like he’s a a guy that can

Get 20 points a game but with like very few dribbles which makes him a super easy fit along other good basketball players I’d go to war with that dude anyway any day shout out to Chaz Mack now on that front Tyrese alurn the numbers will tell you that he’s a great

Half court player too he’s an outstand he’s one of the best pick and roll ball handlers in the league including passes he’s one of the best ISO players in the league including passes well over a point per possession in both categories he can beat switches of any kind like he

Can toast Bigs off the dribble he can uh uh drive by guards that are too slow to stay in front of him and then he can beat every coverage in pick and roll right like if guys duck under picks or die on picks he can hit pull up threes

He’s got a deadly floater he can make every single pass in the book skip passes lob passes to Backside Cutters lob passes to the rle man like I just I I understand that they do run a lot and that’s certainly part of it and things will get harder and also make no mistake

That teams will wear Tyrese halberton down in a playoff series I don’t expect Tyrese halberton to go into the playoffs and just automatically be the best player in the world this is a journey he’s on a journey that will take a half decade to get to that like you know when

He’s in his late 20s where he could potentially be one of the very best players in the league but I’m not worried about his ability to get there it’s just going to be about learning the lessons and making the adjustments along the way but he is an excellent half

Court player and I’m not worried about that at all next question you have said a couple of times since the Lakers versus Nuggets Conference Finals that what separated those two teams during that series was the Nuggets late game execution which I agree with you commented that the over-the-top shot

Making ability of joic and Murray was far better than that LeBron and AD and that it’s the primary factor as to why the Nuggets won and the Lakers Lost based on that rationale I do not think the Lakers need to make any roster changes prior to the deadline because

LeBron and AD are shot creating much better this year which in theory should close the gap between the nuggets and Lakers I agree that the lack of point of attack defense is an issue for the Lakers but I also believe that if you swapped this version of LeBron and ad

With last year’s version in the playoffs the series would have gone six or seven do you agree or do you believe it is still not enough with their current roster construction so first of all I agree with with the premise of what you’re saying in the sense that like one

Of my big points of optimism this season is like Austin keeps getting better is like pick and roll numbers just keep ticking up he’s one of only 11 players in the league to run at least 500 at at least a point per possession LeBron looks better than he did last year

Anthony Davis is playing the best basketball that he’s played since 2020 so I want to be and even though he’s not making the shots the although he had a crazy shot making game against the Mavs but even though a shot making isn’t quite where it was in in 2020 his

Playmaking is above that level so you could argue ad is the best version that he’s ever been and all of that is encouraging and I do agree that if you swap all those guys out it’s a longer series with Denver but it wasn’t just the over-the-top shot making one of the

Biggest issues was perimeter strength and athleticism and size right like it was just Dennis schroer was there one guy fast enough to stick with people and he was too short to guard Jamaal Murray right like Bruce Brown literally took D’Angelo Russell out of the playoff series right so they’d go to ruy haimura

But he’d only be working in some matchups that played a certain style Denver was one of the matchups where he was able ble to play but the to me the problem is it’s not just the over- the-top shot making which is a positive trend for the Lakers it’s if you go into

A playoff run with Austin DLo and tan Prince you are way too skinny and slow on the perimeter just end end of story just you’re not you’re not going to be able to contend for four series with that lineup so I have a lot of encouraging things that I’ve noticed

From the Lakers this season but they still absolutely need some kind of trade to bolster their perimeter speed and strength in athletic I ISM as well the NBA season is in full swing and when I can’t get enough of the action on the court I spice things up by betting on

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A player that is a bad playmaker SLP passer be the best player on a championship winning team I feel like the scoring guard that can’t pass as becoming less and less valuable archetype of a player with most of them coming off the bench in the past few

Years also is playmaking the second most important skill after scoring because of all the top players in the league are good to Great passers embiid this season is a way better player than he was last season and he seems to have only improved his vision but it allows him to

Beat double teams and face more single coverage because they are reluctant to double him as much I love the show and I’ve watched for a while love your in-depth analysis keep it up thanks again for the kind words so here’s the thing I’m not going to say it can’t

Happen I mean we just saw kawh Leonard in 2019 win the title as a below well below average playmaker at that point in his career although he’s got gotten better since he got to the clippers but that was a freaking awesome team in like almost every phase and he was a guy that

Like that team won 50 something games it was like 59 games or 60 games a year before and then kawhai just kind of pushed him over the top right so like it’s a little it’s a little different but as we go back it’s like last year Nicole yic excellent playmaker the year

Before that Steph Curry excellent playmaker Giannis the year before that huge playmaking leaps in that playoff run right the year before that LeBron James excellent playmaker and then you go back and it’s Stephen KD Stephen KD Lebron James and KD right so yeah I I I think it’s pretty obvious that the best

Player on your team if you want to win it you certainly have a much better chance if he’s a very very good playmaker the reason why is really simple and this is why I’ve always gravitated towards the big matchup attacking playmaking forward in terms of my star archetypes that I prefer it’s

Because of the fact that in a playoff series everything that the coaching staff is sitting down in their meetings and doing is geared towards trying to slow down your best player right like I I remember the chess match of the Lakers and Warriors last year it’s like like

The Lakers are just constantly trying things to try to slow down Steph and the Warriors are constantly trying things to try to free up Steph right like that that that’s where the game plan of the series goes around right and so when you have to have a guy that can decipher

Everything that’s happening in the five on five that to me is is a a vital component of a championship leading Superstar because that chess match is going to go a bunch of different directions in a playoff series and that star has to be able to decipher and adjust to all of those

Things next question why do you think LeBron has more success guarding someone like Kawhi Leonard than Kevin Durant really simple he’s 39 years old but he’s still strong as hell and kawhai is not as fast he’s more of a strength player LeBron can match up with that Kevin

Durant is is more of a speed player at this finesse and like kind of side to side finesse like he’s he’s trying to get around you not go through you and he’s very Shifty and very good at deceptively kind of hiding his uh his angle of attack and and that can cause

Some slower players issues next question is a Lakers question what is making the version of the old starting lineup work when it struggled before is it simply Austin Reeves playing better defense or is there something else going on couple of different things at the beginning of the

Year the Lakers in general came out kind of flat in terms of their effort remember even their wins they would like wildly come from behind at the end of the game also they were running a new offense last year they were a four out one in spread pick and roll spread

Postup type of Team like cleared side post-ups cleared side pick and rolls that kind of stuff like they were very brute force and this year they’re a little bit of both like they ran a lot of five out to start the year then they went a lot towards four out now they’re

Going back towards five out with their groups Darin’s doing a good job job I think of like running five out with his skill groups and then running four out with his with his more power groups right um as for why it’s looking so good as of late it’s a combination of they

Just have a lot more repetition in the uh in their back pocket from running five out this season and they’re desperate like the Lakers this is what happened with the Lakers they came out this the the year kind of a bad effort and focus team and then they tried

Really hard and they won the in-season tournament and then as soon as they won the inseason tournament they completely relaxed and everyone just started kicking their ass for a few weeks right but it got so bad that they literally went two games below 500 and that was

Enough to kind of wake them back up to the point where they’re desperate enough to kind of reapply themselves now that does not make them good enough to win the championship right now but that’s why they’re playing more like what I expected them to look like in this

Regular season and honestly that’s the way to go you lean that group if they’re going to play offense at that level lean into that until the deadline reconfigure the rotation and lineups from there next question I recently watched an old video you did right after the Warriors last championship about how strong their

Organizational structure is from Joe lob to Bob Meers to Steve CER to the players in your opinion what has happened to this team since then why are they where where they are in seemingly such a bad spot now that we are witnessing the end of a dynasty love the show thanks for

Everything thank you for the kind words um I really put it down to a couple of different things Bob Meers just wanted to retire I don’t think Mike dun leevy is incapable or I mean it’s too soon to tell obviously I don’t think Steve Kerr is unmotivated or lost his touch I think

It’s just he’s dealing with a lot of the Personnel limitations of this roster everything to me comes down to just a couple of things I don’t blame clay he’s getting old that was super predictable right it comes down to three things in my opinion Andrew Wiggins went from

Being the second best player on a championship team and one of the best 3 andd players in the league to a bad NBA player like that like overnight like it just to the point now where it’s like you’re you’re hoping he gets it together but it’s like he probably should be

Coming off the bench like it’s like like he probably doesn’t even belong like he probably doesn’t belong in the starting lineup right so and and he has come off the bench at for stretches this season so it’s like like that’s just a huge decline how do you account for that how

Do you account for him like like take a really good team take the Denver Nuggets what if Aaron Gordon went from being one of the most useful role players on aamp Championship Contender to a guy that wasn’t good enough to start and then suddenly they had to put pton Watson at

The four who’s a very good player but that’ be a downgrade a significant downgrade right and so like that that’s just difficult to account for secondly Draymond Green removed himself from the team like like Draymond Green took himself out of the lineup for more than

Half the season that’s a that’s a a a a a thing that’s going to to hurt your basketball team when he’s one of your most important players and then lastly Steph Curry just hasn’t been playing like Steph Curry for a few months and what a lot of times like people focus on

Lineups and coaches and role players and all these different things but it’s like is your star playing like because if your star’s playing like it’s going to be hard to win and and those three things kind of amount to why they look as limited as they have I’m not

Worried about Steph I think he’s frustrated I think he’s annoyed and I think he’s not motivated by this group I don’t think he believes in this group enough to like really apply himself at this point in time and I think he’ll reengage if they make a trade at the

Deadline Draymond Green’s back so that’ll be fine you just have to find a way to replace Andrew WI from a talent perspective you have the means with which to do so with Jonathan kaminga although we’ll talk about it in a little bit but missing out on seak is

Definitely a below there next question first off I really respect the way you conduct the show this is by far my favorite basketball podcast because you actually give useful analysis that helps both fans and players secondly what is a realistic trade the Suns can make using

Grayson Allen and nir little who make a combined 15 million a year obviously the Suns could use a 67 or above Wing to play the three or the four who can defend and shoot the three-point shot the question is suit first of all thanks again for the kind words that that stuff

Means a lot to me um obviously as you guys know I get a lot of crap in the comments and on social media and stuff and I always just say like the kindness from you guys outweighs that every single day and that’s why I never complain about it um as for the Suns

Here’s the thing Grayson Allen’s a really good player and he’s having an outstanding shooting season I agree the Suns could use a forward but you have to find a team that one has a lot of forwards and two that needs shooting and three that is close

Enough that they’d be willing to cash in a forward for a role player because they think that’ll kind of push them over the top and I literally can’t think of a single one I have three teams down here I put Brooklyn because they have a lot

Of forwards and they they could use some shooting they’re not a good three-point shooting team but if I’m Brooklyn why am I moving it forward for Grayson Allen instead of a draft pick right uh I then I put down the Thunder the Thunder have lots of forwards but they don’t really

Have any need for Grayson Allen their guard core is awesome right and then lastly I put down the Atlanta Hawks if they ended up being sellers because they’ve got some forwards on the bench that they could give up but if I’m Atlanta why am I not moving for a a like

To get assets to get a better play like if they move to jonay Murray and Clint capella and and DeAndre Hunter and sadique Bay or something like because sadik Bay would be a guy that I’d Target for the Suns right like he’s in a contract year uh you might be able to

Get him for Grayson Allen and and or something like that like maybe in terms of like value they’re kind of like similarly valued players but why would Atlanta do that why wouldn’t Atlanta move sadik Bay for a pick because with a pick they can package that and and try

To go get a a star right to put next to Trey young so like it’s one of those things where I don’t really see an obvious option out there maybe it’ll materialize at some point but it’s a hard to find a combination of a team that would see value and Grace Allen as

A shooter and and as a as a veteran guy that could start for them or come off the bench and also has a plethora of forwards like it it it just as hard to kind of like find that kind of combination and but and that’s why I

Keep saying with the Suns like it it like they’re almost better off just kind of leaning into being the best version of of themselves that they can be but maybe a buyout guy comes available maybe Gordon Hayward becomes available but like is he fast enough as a as a

Defensive player it’s hard to say right next one I think Kawai is one of the most Dependable jump shot makers in the league in the postseason as we’ve seen every year before he’s gone down with injury PG and Harden can be can both be streaky but

Does having both on one team offset the risk of one of them going cold with only one having a good night I think they can overcome the other being off since Kawai is so dependable but maybe one being cold could throw off the other so again yeah you’re right like ever since the

2020 bubble there’s just been nothing but injuries kind of disrupting any ability to see that right and Kawai shot the ball really well last year in the postseason before he got hurt shot the ball really well in 2021 before he got hurt but in 2020 when things went off

The rails kawhai was missing too like kawhai went cold so like it is possible that a team like from the top down bad shooting is contagious and good shooting is contagious if you’ve ever played in a basketball game you know that kind of thing right in just just in general I

Think the best way to confront shooting is to play good basketball you play good good basketball you get better shots get better shots you they eventually go in right but like at the end of the day like do I think kawhai is going to shoot the ball

Well this year in the postseason yeah like I think he do I think he can and if he goes out and he shoots insanely well that buys you margin for error for Paul George and James Harden to be more inconsistent right 100% agree with that the question marks that I have around

That team center around just as a team who’s getting the easiest shots and if Kawai can kind of make up for that great but that’s where Health becomes an important uh kind of factor in all this but I believe in Kawai and his ability to make shots and that’s why I have the

Clippers up at four only the Bucks Celtics and nuggets for me are like safer bets to win the title this season so I do believe it’s just the reason why I have them behind is when you factor in the the defensive rebounding issues when you factor in the Leaning on the pull-up

Jump shooting they just have some more question marks on that front next question I love the optimism but do you but do honestly believe the Warriors are one move away from turning their bottom 25 25th or worst defense into a top 10 required of a championship team impossible to make a run this

Season personally I feel like this season is gone play it out with who you got make decisions once Chris Paul clay and kerr are gone or looking for extensions so here’s the thing it can look really Bleak right now and I get that trust me as a Laker fan last year I

I can familiarize with the feeling but the dead giveaway to me is like Steph’s not playing particularly well and I can tell everyone’s just kind of frustrated and annoyed at the situation so January in the NBA motivation plays a huge role in the outcome of games and

You make the right trade you get a re-engage step everything kind of slots properly things can turn around like that and then you start to look down the the the playoff field and it’s like if I’m golden state am I scared of Oklahoma City in a playoff series if I have Steph

And a and two really good players that I got back in a trade and and Steph’s re-engaged like no I’m picking the Warriors right like you’re going to pick them over a lot of teams except for the really really big teams right like it’s Minnesota it’s Denver it’s the Lakers

That would concern you but like the Warriors still have a chance to beat just about everybody else in the field that’s currently constructed and if they hit the if they get if I have a home run Warriors trade that I’ve pitched before and I’m going to mention again later on

In the show but like if they hit on that trade everyone gets re-engaged and they go like the Warriors are are dealing with Personnel limitations no doubt but they’re also dealing with January basketball with a bunch of rated veterans and that’s what this can look like from time to time next question hi

Jason I love watching the NBA and fan reactions to their team winning and losing my question is why do we as fans including me overreact to regular season wins and losses at this part of the season I understand overreacting to wins and losses close to the end but to the

Middle in beginning reactions are crazy in my opinion for example a team like the Lakers just W team two in a row people are talking about them being amazing and saying maybe they don’t need a trade on the other hand the Warriors who lost two in a row have fans begging

For them to trade and saying they aren’t contenders literally a week ago the Lakers were the team that were seen who needs to make a trade and aren’t contenders and the warriors were seen as contenders and didn’t need to make a trade both fan bases want them to make

Trades but they only seem to beg for them when they lose two games in a row or more it’s a long question an interesting one in my opinion uh if you’ve listened to the show over the last couple of years you guys know exactly where I stand on this I no

Matter how bad things have gotten for the Warriors this year I never took them off my list of contenders not ever right no matter how bad things got for the Lakers this year never took them off my list of contenders like regular season basketball comes down to so many factors

That go beyond just how good your basketball team is and and so it is it is possible to kind of get misled by results right I think part of the issue is is fans are emotional what does fan mean fan means stands for fanatic like that’s that’s we’re all emotional

Because we’re fans right like that’s just how we react and then I think the television product is part of it too so you know the a lot of uh National NBA shows especially on cable like on ESPN and stuff like they they have legit pressure from production staffs and

Executives to be like hey time to panic or not with Team a or time to panic or team not with Team B or is you know a young team with a young player wins 10 games in a row and plays awesome and it’s like is this player the best player

In the league is this team going to win a championship right like that’s kind of the that’s kind of like the pattern of that kind of stuff and I think that noise kind of colors the way we all see things but more often than not it’s like

Like the Lakers play the Nets tonight if uh there’s a chance I think the Lakers are going to win that game but if they come out and they play uh super lacad isical and the Nets kick their butt like it’s just not going to change my opinion

On that team because in the regular season so much of this stuff is like that like the the Sacramento Kings went out and got their ass kicked last night like they’ve lost four games in a row they blew a 20-point lead against the Suns the other day like you they’re just

Going through the the the muck of January they were one of the most impressive teams in the league over the first third of the season they were going into opponent’s Arenas like Championship contenders Arenas and kicking their ass so like this is this is just kind of part of that noise and

You kind of have to find a way to sort through it as best as you can next question now that se yakum got traded to the Pacers what big trade do you see the Warriors make and do you think it’ll make any difference should they jeopardize their future to have a

Chance to win it once again now and in the coming Seasons with Steph okay I’ll into the second question first yes you you can’t win the title unless you have a top tier Superstar you have a top tier Superstar unless you’re under the impression that Jonathan kaminga is

Going to be which there’s a chance but it’s a long shot at this point then you you this is your chance to win so you got to go for it you you you owe it to Steph you owe it to the fans because like I promise you guys if you trade

Steph for a bunch of draft picks and you trade and and just build around kaminga we look up two years from now and they’ll be 32 and 50 and you’ll be like but hey Jonathan kaminga is averaging 26 this is cool like it like don’t forget that every team out

There that doesn’t have one of those guys desperately wants one of those guys you don’t think Brooklyn would love to be like hm what mov should we make at the deadline since we have Steph Curry on the roster right now as far as which trade I think that they should make now

That siakam’s gone it’s going to be really tough but the one that I pitched on the show the other day that I really like is I would call the Nets I’d offer him Jonathan kaminga I’d offer him Moses Moody and I think it’s Andrew Wiggins was the third guy if I remember

Correctly and I’d ask for male Bridges and Dorian finy Smith and I’d run those two guys out between Draymond Steph and Clay I’ve got two excellent perimeter Defenders that can both shoot Mel bridge is one of the best role players in the league and and then I’d make another run

At it with Steph I’m not even sure if that deal is possible but if I’m Brooklyn and I’m like I can get Jonathan kaminga and we’re going to talk about Brooklyn in a minute as a matter of fact I’m going to wait to kind of allow I’m

Just going to wait until until I get to the Nets on that front because I did have a Nets question in there hi Jason with the DLo and ruy package as the base for the trade if possible would you rather get male Bridges and Dorian fin Smith or dejonte Murray and DeAndre

Hunter I lean a Brooklyn deal because I think Austin Reeves can be a much better pick and roll ball handler with enough reps first of all I agree about Austin he’s consistently getting better and I think we’re also seeing that he’s really good in their flow offense when he’s

Playing off the ball I think he gets a bad rra for some of his on ball reps this year he’s well like I’ve said before one of only 11 players in the league this year to have over 500 pick and roll reps including passes and be

Over a point per possession he also is like 1.08 points per ISO so for all the complaining about Austin on the ball like he’s been one of the best in the league at it you know in terms of high volume guys it’s just those lineups have

So many other issues that it can look ugly sometimes and offensive skill in a lot of those groups it be Austin Reeves out there with a bunch of unskilled forwards and he’s just looking to hunt his own shot right so that’s where it can get weird as far as the Hawks

Package or the Nets package the Hawks package is just more realistic Atlanta’s most likely going to make a significant trade at this deadline Brooklyn I’m not sure they even want to move male Bridges they might but they might not right and so that’s where it gets a little bit more complicated with

Brooklyn that said would I rather have male Bridges and Dorian fin smth or Deonte Murray and DeAndre Hunter of course I’d rather have Mel Bridges and Dorian finny Smith I think Mel Bridges is one of the best role players in the league and I think if you put him next

To a LeBron James and Anthony Davis I think that the Lakers would just be ridiculous uh but it’s just an unrealistic trade and I think I think if I’m between the two packages I just pitched like if it was ruy DLo in a first- round pick or it was Wiggins

Kaminga and Moody like I’m taking kaminga I want kaminga more than a 2029 first from the Lakers right I mean not that’s not to say that’s not a good asset but Jonathan kaminga is a really really interesting young player in this league next question whenever I question LeBron’s defensive effort I normally get

Told yes to conserve energy for the offensive end this makes sense given his age and the offensive load he has has always carried but my question is always the same wouldn’t LeBron be as productive if not more so if he turned the dials down on offense so that he can

Turn the dials up on defense or is his offensive value worth too much to sacrifice I think he’s turning down on both ends right now um offensively LeBron has a physical exertion element that he can go to a bullyball element that he can go to that he’s just not

Really using right now and in general I think he’s just kind of floating around uh but he’s got such a high basketball queue and is such a great passer that it can look like he’s super engaged offensively even when he’s not really engaging himself physically like he had

258 and8 the other day against um God who do they just beat now I’m blanking all of a sudden but he had uh 25 the maps he did 2588 in that game and was like a nice connective piece in their offense just cuz he’s so smart but like

It’s when they get to the playoffs where I see that being a thing if the offense continues to revolve around Anthony Davis the way that it has and they get it to jonte Murray or if they run Austin Reed and D’Angelo Russell like the best version of the Lakers will be LeBron

James as a connective piece offensively who engages himself defensively consistently and then for short stretches like LeBron is still one of the best heliocentric guys in the league in short bursts when he’s locked in where it’s like 10 possessions in a row where he spam a post up or 10

Possessions in a row where he’s like I’m attacking youf nurkic and pick and roll or whatever it is like he’s still one of the best at that in small doses he just can’t do it for a full game and so again like I I do I do see that as the goal

When they get to the postseason but I actually think he’s conserving energy on both ends right now next question actually I should fast forward to Utah before I go back to this one because I had two J Jazz questions can you talk a bit about the Jazz incredible stretch lately and how

They’ve been blowing out Championship Contender teams thanks so it it it it comes down to a couple of different things to me first of all my theory about young and fast teams so like Colin seon and Chris Don are two of the fastest guards that we better athlete

Guards that we have in this league and they both are outstanding defending at the point of attack that like Colin ston is like this has this power downhill game that’s like kind of intense and then John Collins can run up and down the floor like absolute crazy and Lorie

Marinin is one of the best play finishers in the league and then they do like a line shift approach where they’re like take all five guys out and then bring in all Five Guys on the bench and then all of them are fast and so it it’s just this like ridiculous like crazy

Just onslaught of speed and I think that’s actually a big reason why they’ve been so successful in December and January right because like this is the stretch of the Season where if you’re young and you’re fast and you play hard you can cause teams a lot of problems I

Thought last night was a good indicator like bringing another young fast team who’s just better and they’ll lose and they lose their first home game in 10 tries right so like it’s fun it’s exciting and honestly the Jazz are going about the rebuild we’re going to talk

About this when we get to the Nets the Jazz are are going about the rebuild the way I think you should go about a rebuild so compliment to the Utah Jazz but the the reason why they’re winning right now in large part comes down to that like it’s there is skill guys are

Playing really well Colin seon’s hooping Lori Marin’s hooping a lot of guys are hooping but they’re also just young and fast as hell and they’re defending and they’re running right so like that’s what kind of ties it all together now let me go back to the other Jazz

Question do you think Utah will still trade Lori in with the way they’re playing right now I believe they’ll do the exact same thing they did last year and they’ll move some role players I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved to Colin seon right that said I don’t know

That I I haven’t heard much Buzz at all surrounding Lorie marinan I think if someone threw a Godfather offer at them they’d move him but I don’t think it’s something that they’re actively trying to do right now next question with the Kings playing terrible basketball recently including the missed free

Throws in blowing a 22p point fourth quarter lead what would it look like for them to trade Barnes and some young guys to Atlanta for Deonte Murray along with throwing herder and picks to Portland for Jeremy Grant Murray could take more ball handling responsibilities and he’s been shooting well whereas dearen has

Been playing much better off the ball than he has previously plus I think a pairing of Deonte with more athletic guard would work better than him and Tre fit Grant is obvious and helps in so many ways but would it make sense for sack to just throw in Deonte uh throw in

For Deonte with a low asking price and a solid contract to see if he could help them since they’ve been abysmal lately they’ve been so bad I think some trades would show up their rotations a little better since Brown has been messing with them too much and ruining easily

Winnable games I don’t think this team can afford to miss the playoffs so I think it makes sense to press the panic button ASAP and get what they can um I’m a totally I’m in a totally different spot with the Kings I think they have a CL I’m thinking they’re in a classic

Case of January basketball like last year they kind of fought through all this stuff because it was new and exciting but now they’re a team that’s looking forward to April as well I do not think they’re going to miss the playoffs I do not think they have any

Issues in the regular season I think they’re just struggling right now a move for dejonte Murray and Jeremy Grant would be a half measure in my opinion first of all I’m not sure Jeremy Grant even wants to go anywhere else it’s not to say they can’t make that type of move

But for me you need a four you need an Aaron Gordon esque type of four and unless you find that guy there’s no reason to make a half measure and like pitching to Jeremy Grant that you want him to be the dirty work guy that he was

In Denver that he clearly has told everybody that he doesn’t want to be anymore then I think I’m not necessarily sure that he’s the guy now if Lori Markin was available yeah you throw throw the kitchen sink at it you get a deal done but like right now you’re

Better off just kind of like hanging tight until the right move comes along Deonte Murray to me like can you play Deonte and Malik Monk and uh Daren Fox at the same time no uh if you give up Malik monk in the deal is Deonte Murray

That much better than Malik monk no so like it’s a half measure and so from there you’re better off just like waiting and seeing if Kevin her and Keegan Murray become better players until you end up making some sort of all-in move uh for that forward spot next question hey Jason love your

Knowledge on the game been my go-to NBA Showp podcast since I discovered you in early 2023 thank you for the kind words since there isn’t a big market for LaVine and if and if the Lakers could get uh get him without giving up Austin Reeves wouldn’t he be a perfect fit as

An off ball scorer ability to beat guys off the dribble an excellent three-point shooter sure his defense isn’t great but with the athleticism uh is couldn’t he be better if bought in and he already and be hidden as they already have a bunch of defensive guys they can call it

The three star route but as great as LeBron is he’s too old to do it for 82 games and he needs a perimeter guy who can carry help carry the load in the regular season plus LaVine and ad with Austin Reeves is pretty good core going forward for the Lakers once LeBron

Retires or goes to play with bronny so first of all I agree that the Lakers need offense this is something I’ve been on for a little while uh it’s working right now because DLo is playing well but it’s just typically not like this right like it DLo do this for stretches

Or for games but it usually depends on the matchup too like other finesse scoring teams he can kind of hang and then when they go against Brute Force physical teams that’s where DLo really starts to struggle right um but Zack LaVine is not the guy I’d go after he of all the names

I’ve seen mentioned I’d prefer D rozan even over him I’d prefer Deonte Murray over him i’ probably even prefer Colin seon over him because he’s a really good athlete at the guard position on the defensive end as well um that’s not and then also Zack again he twisted his

Ankle last night so like I just and then we even heard from Brian windhorse that there’s a 0.0% chance that the Lakers make any sort of move for Zack LaVine so I agree with you in the principle of like where they need to go I just don’t see think LaVine is the

Guy next question do you think the NBA has a problem with the lack of carrying or travel calls or do you think the game is in a good place for the entertainment product I don’t think car like there’s the occasional missed bad carry or missed bad traveling call and I get that

They look ugly on TV but they only have every once in a while and I don’t think that there any sort of significant impact on the game to me it all comes down to officiating and there’s another question about officiating later and I’ll give the second half of my answer when we get

There what would you do if I convinced joei to fire Shawn marks and make you the next financially secure GM of my Brooklyn Nets okay so fake GM Jason of the Brooklyn Nets what would I do so here’s the thing four of their five core starter players are all 27 or older

Right like Spencer dwood he’s older Mich Mel Bridges is older um uh cam Johnson is older they’re they’re like they’re not young they’re not they’re not a team where like like they’re not the Jazz like they’re not young and fun and fast and like oh we’ll see what this guy can

Be and we’ll see what that guy can be like all of these guys are really good NBA role players they’re team full of really good NBA role players Mikel bridges for instance best player on that team right if you ask any you know random assortment of people he probably

Vote muel Bridges really like Mikel Bridges the Mel Bridges best player on a team or second best player on a team thing it’s it’s just not going to it’s just not going to work right he’s 27 years old he is what he is at this point

He’s a good scorer that can go for 2025 in a night casionally go for 30 that’s an excellent spot up shooter excellent close out attacker but he’s not a guy that you want to have as an offensive fulcrum so then from there how do you remember I mentioned

Earlier I want to be more like the Jazz so what I want to do is if I my number one goal is to get the guy right and the only way I’m going to get the guy is by taking in young Lottery talents that teams bailed on so guys in that like 22

Like like like the Lakers with ruy haimura for instance right or and then two they draft picks and the only way I’m getting those two types of guys is by taking my value and turning it into that type of resource I have all these role players that all of these other

Teams would love to have during and FY Smith Royce O’Neal male Bridges like all these teams would love to have these guys flip them for draft compensation and other really young players with some upside and get a coach in there that uh uh that will attack the regular season

And build a play style that’s fun and fast and and and be fun and fast and young while you’re waiting to see what develops from your young players and your picks they’re in the worst possible place to be because they are they’re a below average team that has a bunch of

Guys in their mid to late 20s that everybody else wants and they don’t have a single piece that’s like a oh this is interesting like I like cam Thomas he’s a sixth man I like cam Thomas but it his the the best version of him as an NBA

Player is Sixth Man on a good team right so like like at a certain point this is the this deadline is the time to do it because there’s all these teams out there that want these kinds of guys how like how many teams are there out there like the Suns would love

A 68 guy who could shoot and defend the Lakers would love a 68 guy that could shoot and defend the Warriors would love a 68 guy that could shoot and defend like even a guy like Royce O’Neal might be able to pull some stuff back so like they they’ve got to they to

Me the worst thing you can be is have a group of these guys where we already know what they are go get guys who like you know like I love the Jazz getting John Collins it’s like like yeah he was a bust in in Atlanta but like why don’t

We bring him in here let’s be young fun fast and see what John Collins can do and you know and Le let’s and then basically flip those guys at the deadline like they that’s what the Jazz do anytime they see a guy that has some value around the league that they don’t

See as a foundational piece they just move him and they get more picks back and they get more young players back and they just keep trying to figure out what they can get Lori Markin in with the jazz is another great example of a guy

That was a Castaway in in Cleveland or a guy that they didn’t necessarily believe in and suddenly he looks like one of the best young players in the league right so if I was running the Nets that’s what I would do I’d flip all those role players this year for young fun players

And picks and I’d lean into being young and fun until I found the guy once I find the guy that’s when I look for the second guy once I find the second guy that’s when I look for the role players that compliment those two guys next question hey Jason appreciate the

Content got a quick mailbag question here do you think the Warriors in Lakers should do a trade surrounding ruy Gabe in a first round pick for Andrew Wiggins in a second round pick feels like this might help the warriors with size and ISO scoring burst whereas Wiggins is the

Perfect addition for the Lakers so I actually heard a uh uh from one of my friends who covers the league I heard that uh the Lakers I guess called Golden State at some point and offered uh um D’Angelo Russell for Andrew Wiggins which would have been super hilarious

Because like the the first of all D’Angelo Russell was with the Warriors and the Warriors traded him and then slandered him on the way out the door so that would have been funny uh also I think you could argue that uh given their contracts D’Angelo Russell might

Be a better asset right now which is actually kind of crazy uh just because of how poorly Andrew Wiggins is playing but here’s the thing uh Andrew if I could get Andrew Wiggins from 2022 on the Lakers I’d do it in a heartbeat but I just if if you really start to zoom

Out from the Andrew Wiggins thing it’s like we viewed it as like oh he was here in Minnesota and then okay he’s with the Warriors and he’s going up and and then it like tanked but if you zoom out it’s actually a lot of this in the one spot

That’s up high meaning like it’s actually more likely than not that Wiggins is who he is and that 2022 is an outlier so um it’s interesting trade idea uh ruy hamura would help the Warriors a lot so with Gabe but I just think Ru is a better player than Andrew

Wiggins right now and so I don’t think the deal necessarily works and um unless Andrew Wiggins can get it together I don’t in the next couple of weeks I don’t necessarily think he has a ton of trade value next question are there any rule changes you

Would Implement in the NBA and why just curious if you have any ideas I thoroughly enjoy the show and appreciate your Insight and takes on the game so what I would do is I’d give the refs discretion to never call any sort of non-basketball play there was a play at

The end of the Denver Nuggets game that I’ll give you guys as an example Jo and beid went up underneath the basket and clearly got fouled I think by Aaron Gordon if I remember correctly and he’s complaining to the refs and it was a foul it was I 100% agree with Joel

Embiid that it was a foul here’s the thing they didn’t call it and embiid was underneath the rim and had an opportunity to power up and put the ball in the basket and instead he stuck his arms out and went like that to try to go

Up to the basket and Aaron Gordon came across his arms and they didn’t give him the call I would not give him the call either because there’s no place in the world where you teach a basketball player to do that it is not a basketball play to put the ball out and

Deliberately expose it to get knocked away they do that because they get calls it’s a non-basketball play that grifter used to try to get to the line and he’s not the only one I’m not targeting embiid I’m just using that as an example I I would give the ref’s discretion any

Sort of non-basketball play that you see in any way shape or form even if it’s a blatant foul just don’t call it because that would be what’s best for the league and I I thoroughly believe that the ref watched him do that in that moment and

Made that call I think he looked at it and was like oh this is a nationally televised MVP showdown between Joel em be and nicoa yic it’s a close game late I’m not giving him that like that that’s what I think that was and I

Think if the NBA did that it would go a long way towards helping um helping the television product all right four more questions dream trade at the deadline for any team favorite show on YouTube keep going man thanks again for the kind words I’m going to go with that Warriors one for

Dorian finy Smith and Mel Bridges I just really want to see the Warriors have one last shot at things and I think that would be the most fun trade that would kind of change the landscape of the league next question it seems as if the standings are not as important as they

Used to be and I just want to know why that is it seems as if the young teams at the top and the veteran teams at the bottom and the funny thing is that most NBA fans including me trust the lower seated team more than the higher seated

Teams now because of that do the veteran teams do this on purpose or is it something else talked about this earlier in the show but to make it simple like I think these veteran teams are just trying to get through to April and I think that they love playing basketball

But that the grind kind of gets to them more and these younger teams they love that they’re not sick of it yet they’re they love the grind they love being in the middle of January like do you think the Jazz are bored right now no they’re

Having a blast and so again it’s our job to just try to sort through all of that noise two more out of the Suns Warriors and Lakers who are you more worried about I’m more concerned with the Suns as a team they have uh as the team they

Have is what they have whereas the Lakers and the Warriors can make trades to be way better I enjoy the show and I just want your opinion that’s an interesting take as it pertains to the Suns not being able to make a trade that said the Suns have Devon Booker Bradley

Beal and Kevin Durant and they I think they have the ability to play better than they have to this point point in the season I’m going to go with the Warriors there just because since they missed out on SE yakum I think their job at this trade deadline gets

Significantly more difficult and I think the Lakers are just better than both teams as currently constructed I’d pick them over I’d pick the Lakers over the Suns or The Warriors in the series that started today so I just think they’re in a better position um that’s not to say

That I think all three teams are going to make the playoffs and I think the Warriors will find something to do I just think that they have a little bit more of a long shot so I have them third in that group right now last question

What do you think of the recent trend of NFL guys saying the world revolves around the US and using American ratings to prove the NFL is lapping the NBA in popularity as someone who’s not American it really bugs me because everyone outside the US knows that the NBA is Far

And Away the most popular American League in the world so uh first of all it’s not necessarily a fair comparison just because the NBA is a global game in a in the in a way that football is not but I do agree with your premise like every time NFL ratings get brought up

Next to the NBA I’m just like who cares they’re fundamentally different product prods like yeah every regular season game gets more views a lot more views but like the NBA is an inventory product they have 82 regular season games so even if they only get 2 million views

Per game on an ESPN game or whatever like or whatever it is that they get like there’s just you know the Lakers are on ESPN 35 times or whatever 40 times in a season right so like like again they’re just so fundamentally different as products you know what I

Mean and even above and beyond that they’re just irrelevant like the NBA is growing in popularity so if the NFL is growing faster or is already bigger who cares they’re over there they’re a different thing the NBA is doing great they have room for improvement but the

NBA is doing great that doesn’t it’s not like the the NFL is like pushing the NBA down that’s not what’s happening right uh it be it’s like politics right like these cable news stations they’re going to crush everybody especially this year with the with the presidential election

Right like who cares cares like they’re a different thing they’re a completely different thing they don’t actually affect the health of the NBA at all to me the global potential of the NBA is what makes it so healthy I think if we fast forward 50 years you could probably

Have franchises in other countries I think the league in general is just going to be incredibly healthy I wouldn’t even be surprised if we had NBA sponsored leagues around the world kind of similar to NBA Africa like I I think I think the NBA and basketball in

General is just in a really good place and I don’t understand how the NFL applies to that at all whatsoever all right guys that is all I have for today as always I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show I will be back on Wednesday when I get back from

Denver I appreciate you guys and I’ll see you Then