Welcome in to the newest edition of the Just In Time Sports Podcast.
I am your host, Justin Jackson.
In this week's episode, or in today's episode rather, we'll be discussing the NBA free agency
as it is in full-fledged swing.
And we'll also be touching on Jack's hot take, which will be talking about the UW-NBA
and the growth of the league.
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Welcome into the show
Season 5 episode 16 of the Just In Time Sports Podcast
I am your host, Justin Jackson
And welcome in to the NBA Free Agency Special Show
I purposely waited a couple of days into Free Agency
To try and get as much of the news to you guys as possible in this show
If for some reason you're not following the Just In Time Sports social medias
Again with the social media handle at Jtime Sports
J-T-I-M-E-S-P-O-R-T
All lowercase on all social medias
Other one, Twitter, I believe it's all caps
I repeat, the at symbol for my older generation
J-T-I-M-E-S-P-O-R-T
S is where you will find my social media handle
You'll see the blue check on X and on Instagram I believe
But you will definitely see the blue check on Twitter
And then you'll see all my posts
So for those of you who have not followed my social media
I wanted to wait a couple of days in the Free Agency
Kind of wait until some of the big dominoes fell
Before really diving into this show
Because I wanted to be as encompassing as possible
Heading obviously into July 4th weekend
July 4th is always the anniversary of not only America becoming free from Britain
But also the Kevin Durant fireworks that went off in the Hamptons
When he signed with the Golden State Warriors
So July 4th is always kind of the NBA Free Agency
Woosah, period, can I have just a day off on July 4th
That's why the Kevin Durant news was so huge when it happened
Because everybody was off and everybody was home and everybody was looking at it
And then boom, Kevin Durant is a Golden State Warrior
So that's what made the news so big
Was that usually people kind of take July 4th off
It's one of those things where it's not understood that it's off
But the Americans are off and everybody kind of woosahs
Even if you agree on 4th you kind of announce on the 5th
You kind of just give everybody a break
But again, Kevin Durant bombshell the NBA on the 4th of July
But back to this current NBA Free Agency
Back to what's happening now
I woke up myself to a bombshell
And that was LeBron James signed a 2-year max extension
Or 2-year max contract with the Los Angeles Lakers
And the figures came out to 2 years, $104 million
So this is significant for a multitude of reasons
The contract includes a player option and then no trade clause
So remember a couple years ago there was talk that the late Genie should trade LeBron
Get as many assets as he could
At that point he was on the contract for 2-3 more seasons
Get as many assets as you could with him and begin the rebuild of Anthony Davis
And you could allow LeBron to go wherever he wants
A popular pick was Philly because of Joe LMB
And they had Hardin at the time
Philly was a popular pick
People were discussing going back to Cleveland
People were discussing going back to Miami
But there were options in New York
Obviously would have given the Lakers whatever they wanted for LeBron
And so that was the discussion there
So that's shut down now with the no trade clause
And then of course there's the 2nd year being a player option
We have not seen LeBron James do this in a few years
LeBron basically, I don't want to say invented
But he popularized the 1 plus 1
Which was a 2 year contract but the 2nd year is a player option
And it's done that way for a multitude of reasons
Number 1, it keeps the pressure on the organization
He has not signed to my memory
And if I get aggregated it is what it is
But to my memory he has not signed a multi-year true contract
For designing with Lakers since he was in Miami
And he signed the sign and trade to go to the Heat
Even going back to Cleveland it was a 1 plus 1 for a multitude of years
Then he went to the Lakers, I believe it was a 1 plus 1 the first year
Then he signed a 2 plus 1
Which was the last that he just opted out of
And then he signed a 1 plus 1 again
But it's designed, back to the topic
It's designed for a multitude of reasons
Number 1, it keeps pressure on the organization
You must get better as fast as possible
Or I leave, or I have the ability to walk out for nothing
Number 1
Number 2
It gives LeBron flexibility in his decision making
Because now, okay, I can start putting pieces together
I can talk to guys, I can text guys, I can get in communication with guys
Hey, how about next year?
But what I can do, I can opt out of my deal and create the money for you to come
That's the second option
The second thing, the third thing that it does is
It puts a level of security in LeBron James' pocket
Without being beholden to the organization
Because remember, he can opt out after this summer
And he's back to free agency and we're doing this dance all over again
However, let's just say
Knock on wood, hopefully I don't speak any TNT
Let's say something happens
There's a precipitous decline, there's an ankle tweak
There's something that would
Prevent the Lakers from in their minds saying LeBron James is worth max dollars
LeBron can opt into his contract and he can't do a thing about it
So it gives a level of security
Without being beholden to the team for LeBron
It puts the pressure on an organization again from LeBron
To say, hey, I can walk next year for nothing if you don't work to put a better team around me
And also it gives LeBron freedom to again talk to guys and say, hey
What do you think about dealing
What do you think about joining this team? How much money would it take?
Is there some way we could do salary plus MLE?
Etc, etc, etc
It allows a whole lot of flexibility
For LeBron James to really truly control his future
Something that he believes he cannot do if he's in a multi-year guaranteed locked in contract
Because at that point he doesn't control his future
He can't get out truly when he wants
He can't get free when he wants
He's beholden, he's stuck in the organization
Something he hasn't done truly since he was in Miami
He signed a three plus one in Miami
So that was his longest term contract since his rookie max extension
His rookie extension he did with Cleveland coming off his rookie deal
But what this also means
So we talked about the LeBron angle
Let's go to the front office angle
Let's go to the organization angle
Let's go to the other side of the coin
This also means that the Lakers cannot land anybody
Be a free agency
That's what it's telling me
Because it came out with a lot of reporting
Myself included
That LeBron James is willing to take less if it means creating an MLE slot
For one
And it means bringing in a third guy
So bringing in for the right piece
Names that got floated
Jonas Valanchunis, Klay Thompson, Damar DeRozan, James Harden
Were the four names that were very popular on the LeBron James want list
I can tell you right now three of those guys are signed elsewhere
And we'll talk about
Well we won't talk about Jonas Valanchunis
He signed three years 30 million dollars with the Washington Wizards
And so that was a guy off my pelicans
That hurt a little bit
But I kind of figured that divorce was coming
Because of how it kind of ended last year within the media
You can kind of start to see posturing was starting to get done on both sides
So it makes sense that that relationship is over right
But he's gone
And we'll talk about Harden
And we'll talk about Klay Thompson in a second
Right but those two guys are also
As you may know or should know possibly know
They're not also in Laker uniforms
And so this was done with LeBron on the contract
So you had his cap space
This was done with the LeBron Will and Network of the Organization
This was done with you know fathers wanting their sons to be on the team
And you still couldn't get it done
And so that's the situation where it hurts if you are the Los Angeles Lakers here
Because LeBron basically told you I don't trust you
But I'm going to protect myself
I'm going to two year max it
I'm not going to three year max
I'm not going to trust
I'm not going to guarantee trust the rest of my career to you
I'm going to do a one plus one
Thank you for drafting my son
Thank you for hiring the coach that I liked
Thank you for doing these things
But the biggest thing about I wanted to do was get on court help
And get on court for me in AD
That's not done
So you can consider me a one plus one kind of guy
So that's huge
Rob Pelinka has been under one plus one pressure from LeBron since he arrived in LA
Truly
Because the one plus one pressure was the magic
Pelinka got the two plus one
So this is the first time he's ever dealt with this level of pressure being applied from LeBron and Rich Paul and the rest of the camp
To get things done or there could be changes
So that is huge there
But little bit of note on the Lakers cap situation
So there is a possibility that this does not end up being a max
It's being reported as a max
It's being agreed to as a max
However, there's the potentiality of LeBron James agreeing to take one million dollars less per year to avoid the second apron in the luxury tax system
Now what does avoiding the second apron does that allow the Lakers a path forward to being better
Much easier path forward to being better
It does not demand they go player for player and dollar for dollar in trades
So let's just say there was a big name guy who was looking to move
I'm not going to say names
I'm just going to say there was a big name guy who was looking to move
Let's say his contract was 35 million
If they were in the second apron they would have to trade a player, one player for that player for 35 million dollars
Or they'd have to put pieces together to equal it out
So they'd either one player, one player for 35 million or let's say that player A on the other team with 35 million and they got a player on the team who makes 5 million
So that means two players is 40 million
So that means the Lakers have to trade two players for 40 million
Like dollar for dollar player for player
It makes trading almost impossible
Unless you're trading a role player for a role player
Then they kind of can balance out
But for the most part dollar for dollar player for player is almost impossible
By being just one million dollars under the second apron they no longer have to apply to that
They don't have to do that anymore
So let's say player A is 35 million dollars
He wants out, he wants to go to the Lakers
The Lakers could put D-Lo who's at 18 million after his opt-in
Roy Hatsumura, I think it's about 8 or 9
And then a couple of, and then they could be traded of course with assets on either side whatever
And then the Lakers can go to the second apron
And that is what it is but they already would have achieved the trade dollar for dollar
They don't have to do a dollar for dollar player for player trade
They also could acquire and use second round picks and trades
If they don't go in the second apron
They also don't, they can also participate in the buyout market if they don't go into the second apron
That could be huge
There's always two to three impact players a year that gets bought out by teams
That could be big for the Lakers if in turn they decide to not go into the second apron
And get LeBron to agree to not go into the second apron
So that would be big as well
So huge, huge, I mean one million dollars could change the scope of the Lakers offseason
So that is something to keep our eye on there
Damar DeRozan appears to be the last piece of the LeBron puzzle
And what I mean by the piece of the LeBron puzzle is yea or nay
Valenzuelas is a nay, Clay is a nay, Harden is a nay
We'll discuss the last two later
But Damar DeRozan seems to be the last piece in the reporting that's available
That could possibly be a Los Angeles Laker
In his case there would need to be a signing trade
Because of course with LeBron agreeing to the max
There's no room for Damar DeRozan's salary
So there would need to be a signing trade
In which case the Lakers would have to go under the second apron in order to acquire him
Like I said I would assume D-Low and Vincent maybe
Until that Lakers had it their way
It's D-Low, Vincent and probably a first in the signing trade deal for Damar DeRozan
In which case Chicago probably bounces D-Low out
Well they don't have a point guard
So they're going to keep D-Low
But regardless that would probably be in a fever dream scenario
That's what happens for the Lakers is that they take D-Low and picks for Damar
Just D-Low and a pick for Damar DeRozan
Vincent in a fever dream way
The Lakers get shoved into the second apron
And then this is their team
Which would be Austin Reeves, LeBron, Damar DeRozan, AD
I don't know who's playing the other spot
Maybe J.R. Randlebo, I don't know
And then you have a solid, wait we just had Ruey
So then you have a solid team on the bench
That's not a bad team, right?
And so that's something that they could obviously look into
But Damar DeRozan appears to be the last piece of the LeBron possibility train
So that's, you know what I'm saying
I woke up to that news this morning
It broke, I mean it broke probably two minutes before I
Well I woke up before it and then put my phone down
And then came back to the five minute date and it broke in that five minute span
So that was pretty wild this morning
Waking up to LeBron James
News again with so many different things
They told you so much about what's going on in LA
You put all the pieces of the puzzle together
They told you what's going on in LA
Rob Pelinka can't get it done
He's only had one big acquisition in his career as a Laker GM
And it was Anthony Davis
And that was spearheaded solely by LeBron James
Russell Westbrook has big name value
But that was a major bust
And again that was spearheaded by LeBron James and Anthony Davis
Going to his house
Instead of Rob Pelinka
I actually had locked in Demar DeRozan the first time
And LeBron and AD undercut it
And went to Russ' house in the Greek
That was what they wanted to do
And told Pelinka we're going to do that instead
So can't blame Pelinka on that one
But also can't give him credit for AD
So you know
That is definitely what's happening with the Lakers
Is that they're just not a desirable organization right now
Either through management, ownership, or agent reputation
They're just not the place to be at this moment in time
Alright, but off to the Lakers
We're off that
We're going to move into Donovan Mitchell re-upping with the Cleveland Cavaliers
3 years, $150.3 million max contract
Not the 4 year max he could have signed
And it was a 2 plus 1
Remember how LeBron James did the 1 plus 1
Donovan Mitchell did a 2 plus 1
Why is this significant?
Because number 1, Donovan Mitchell can still be traded
So if you sign the 4 year big max
Well I know the super max you can't get moved for a year
You can't get moved for the first year of the contract
But the 3 plus 1 or just a full 4 year max
It would be a commitment to the organization
Like hey, I know I don't want to be here
Also you can get things like talk about no trade clauses, etc.
When you get to that point
He however, again signed a 2 plus 1
So he's not obligated by any of the trade restrictions
Besides the recently signed trade
So he can get traded
He can get traded to the trade airline this year if he wanted to
He's not obligated to the Cleveland Cavaliers at all
In terms of the refusal of being traded
Him saying I don't want to be traded
Also, he's only tied to the organization for 3 more years
He's only tied to his contract for 3 more years
Which means before the 2027 season he cannot stop
And now he's an earnstead free agent
And he's able to hit contractually
He's able to hit the market one more time
To try and get
Sorry, I got distracted there
There's a news report that's saying it's 118 degrees in Vegas
Insanity
But he can get back into the market again and re-up contractually
So definitely a move
It's a half trust move
It's like people talk about the pool
You can step in
It's fine
Or the ocean
Step in, you're not going to fall off
You stick one foot in
And kind of pat around a little bit
But you don't go full deep in
That's kind of what this move was
He kind of stuck a foot in the organization
Okay, I'll see where you're going
And reportedly he believed in Kobe Altman
Who was the DM's vision for the organization
That's part of the reason why he agreed on the contract
That he wanted to see where Kobe Altman's vision was for the organization
So it's definitely a
Okay, Kobe, I'll give you a chance
I'll give you a chance
I need my money though
But I'll give you a chance to work your magic
And to see what you can do for us
You know, running the team of course
And what you can do for me
Trying to maximize me
Now, what does that mean for Darius Garland?
And I spoke about on the podcast
On the preview podcast
That I expected some things to get split up
So far I'm on a 100% hit rate
I expected Trae Young and DeJontay Murray to get split up
DeJontay Murray's in New Orleans
I expected Kawhi and Paul George to get split up
Paul George, who we'll talk about actually next, is in Philly
I expected the Golden State Warriors back court to get split up
Klay Thompson, who we'll talk about after Paul George, is in Dallas
So all those people that are expected to have split or splitting
Well, no, I'm still winning our brand of Ingram and Zion
And then of course Mitchell and Garland was my next team that I said I
I saw a path back for Ingram in New Orleans
I did
I didn't see a path back for Mitchell and Garland in Cleveland
And I still don't
So now to me, especially when
Reportedly Mitchell believes in the plan from Kobe Altman
There's not much planning he can do with Darius Garland on the books
So obviously to me Darius Garland must be on the way out
They're going to have to do something
Because they don't have a wing
J.D. Osment cannot be your starting three in the NBA
And your back court tallest person is 6'3 and either one of them plays defense
So again, I assume the plan has to be moving Darius Garland out of Cleveland
Where? I don't know
But I'm just going to say that has to be the plan
Because otherwise this makes literally no sense
To re-sign in Cleveland in my opinion for Donovan Mitchell
I would have kept applying pressure by not re-signing at all
If there was no plan to get Darius Garland off the organization
But shifting away from Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland
I'm going to take a moment here to bask in being right
Oh that felt good
Okay, for two months plus, three months plus
A long time
This guy, me, Justin Jackson, Justin Thomas Sports
Has been saying Paul George will be a sixer
This was, I mean I'm talking like during the season
I'm like Paul George is going to the sixers
And for no other reason than the plan was in place
It was the only thing that made sense logically
The sixers had a plan
They had a year long plan
They were going to go after Paul George
If Kevin Durant popped open or something like that
That was a different conversation
Really valuable when you get there
But for what was common sensually seen
They're going to go after Paul George
I spoke about it a long time ago
That that was an easy path to acquire Paul George
It was simply sign him
Let Tobias Harris walk, sign Paul George
Because with the way it was set up
The Philadelphia 76ers had a full max slot available to them
Why? James Harden was gone and Tyrese Maxey hadn't re-signed yet
So I'm like, you can use bird rights on Maxey
So all you got to do is just sign Paul George in free agency
And then sign Tyrese Maxey
His full rookie max extension
You got a big three, Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey
And I kept saying it and I kept saying it and I kept saying it
And what happens?
And when the Warriors reports popped up
Oh, Paul George is going to end up in the Warriors in the sign-and-trade
Okay, when Miami rumors popped in
Okay, I saw stuff about Paul is going to want to leave California and the West Coast
And he might end up in Sacramento and Orlando
I just ignored it
I reported on it, sure
But I didn't believe in it
And lo and behold, Paul George, PG-13
One of the smoothest players in the game
Is a Philadelphia 76ers
And again, it's not a sense of
Oh man, I was right
Which it is
It was also a sense of it's the only thing that logically made sense
Now the Cynx actually made other moves
During the hush and they brought back Kelly Oubre
They signed Eric Gordon
They signed Andre Drummond
And of course they bring in Paul George on his full max contract
Four years, $212 million
Now that I did not expect
I didn't expect the full four year max
I would have thought a two plus one
Two year max with a mutual option
If either side says no, it's no
Kind of thing
You know, it's a mutual option
If either side disagrees, it's a no
But a full four year max at $212 million
I believe it has a player option
But it's definitely a four year max contract
I would say that $212 million
That, that I didn't expect
I didn't expect the number
The location, totally not shocking
The number itself
That, that was shocking
And so kudos to Paul George
For landing at 30, 40, 35 years old
But kudos to the Sixers, man
They had a plan for a year
And the plan was executed perfectly
It's rare that a plan like that is executed
As well as the Philadelphia Seven Sixers executed this plan
I mean, they got Paul George
Max, he developed
Joel and Bea had one of his healthier seasons
You found some role guys who can play
You got out of Tobias Harris' contract situation
You end up netting
You basically presto change old
Tobias Harris into Paul George
And then on top of that, you also bring in a backup center like Andre Drummond
So as far as the Sixers have an offseason
This was a great offseason for the facility in Philadelphia
Because they did everything they wanted to do
Now it's on them
In terms of what they're going to accomplish
My expectations for them
I can say they could be amazing
They could actually make it to the finals
Now my expectations is
They'll be battling the Knicks
To find out who has the right to play Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals
The Knicks, the Sixers, and the Bucks
I feel like those three teams have clearly moved ahead of
I feel like those three teams have clearly moved ahead of everybody else in the East
And then of course, Boston is the creme de la creme
We'll talk about them for sure in a couple of seconds
But to me, the Paul George move solidifies Philly as Eastern Conference Finals robust
To me, because of Boston, I don't see them as Finals robust
But there's no way they could be a second round team
There's no way
Like, again, Milwaukee, Boston, New York, and Philly
Those are the top four teams
Boston should be thinking Finals robust
Milwaukee should be probably thinking
And the other three should be thinking Eastern Conference Finals robust
Because that second three is so close
I mean, Yannis, Dane, Brook Lopez, might maybe back
But that team is deep enough where it's like, you got Yannis and Dane
They can get you to Eastern Conference Finals
New York, you got the Nova Boys, plus Randall, plus Mitchell Robinson
Plus Alec Birx is still there
They've got some depth there as well
And then of course, like I said, Philly with MB, Paul George, Maxey, Kelly Oubre, Andre Drummond
And the rest of that team, Paul Reed, and the rest of that team that's on that bench
They can still make noise
So to me, there's no way why if you're the Philly FF 76ers
You should not be looking at the fact that you're in the Eastern Conference Finals robust
Injuries happen
I understand that, we understand that
But this is a situation where you've got to
If you're healthy, even if it beats 90% going into the playoffs
Paul is 90%, Maxey is usually pretty healthy
You have to be in the Eastern Conference Finals
And don't get smashed in them
Like, you've got to be in the Eastern Conference Finals and go 6 or 7 if you lose
And where we can go back and point to and be like, okay, there are a couple of plays here
A couple of shots there from being in the Finals
So that's expectations in Philly
I'm sure Paul George knows that
I'm sure Joel Embi knows that
I'm sure Tyrese Maxey knows that
Because he just signed his rookie max extension
So all four, three of those guys are looking like we've got to be in the Finals
Their mindset is to be, we should be playing in June
We should be playing in the Finals
Otherwise, the season was a failure
Me personally, I'm saying Eastern Conference Finals are bust
But if I'm in the Philly FF organization
If I'm one of those three guys especially
I'm saying Finals are bust
I'm saying Parade are bust if I'm one of those three
If I'm in an organization, I'm probably saying Finals are bust
But Paul George, Maxey, and Embi should be thinking about
We have a parade in Philly
Or we failed
As their ideals for their trio
But again, Paul George to Philly
Four years, $212 million max contract
Another staple
This one actually, to the common basketball fan hurt
And it's weird
Because he helped torture everybody's favorite team for 13 years
Specifically, the last eight
Klay Thompson
The Splash Brothers are over
The Big Three in Golden State is over
The Dynasties in and of itself is over
Klay Thompson has signed a three year $50 million deal
With the Dallas Mavericks
Ending the Dynasties
Before I go too far into that
They also picked up Najee Marshall
That's another move as well
I can't think of who it is right now
But they picked up Najee Marshall as well in their offseason
But going back to Klay Thompson's exit from Golden State
And they wrote an article
Golditer wrote an article mentioning his All-Stars
Mentioning his four titles
Six Finals appearances
The infamous game 6-Klay
Where he still holds the most points in a quarter in NBA history
NBA playoff history
The most threes made in a game in NBA playoff history
Truly legendary moments
His number 11 is going to go in the rafters
I'm sure he's going to have a statue outside of Chase Center
Truly legendary moments
Truly legendary patches
His, what you call it, tape
His tribute video
Might be eight minutes long
In Golden State whenever he goes back for the first time in Dallas
In a Dallas Mavericks uniform
There's going to be emotions when he steps on that court
I wonder how he's going to feel entering the visitors locker room
You know what I'm saying, it's different when you go into the visitors tunnel
And you go down to the visitors locker room
And when they're doing the Golden State introductions
You're not in the list
Like I said, it's just certain things
And that's going to be so weird, right?
But again, he helped torture everybody's favorite team
My favorite player is LeBron James
And I'm a Pelicans fan
I remember all the travesty they caused
Both of my fandoms
Of course beating them three times in the finals
Both Kevin Durant's
No, just two times in the finals
Yeah, I remember the Kevin Durant finals
I remember Steph and Klay in New Orleans
Steph hit the shot over AD, falling out of bounds
Whatever
I remember but there's also the moments where it didn't affect me directly
I remember games since Klay against Oklahoma City
I remember the three point contest on each bout or each other
I remember them coming up and just being like
Mark Jackson basically inventing this style of play
For Steph and Klay to just be free
Like they were in the park
Or like youth basketball with two best shooters
Because they shoot whatever they want
The elevator door screens
I remember they had different hair
It grew out, it was short, it was straight, it was wavy
It was a beard, it was no beard
Like the uniform changes
The closing of the bay but opening up Chase Center
There was all these different moments in this
And of course there's the tragic moments
Where in the finals against the Raptors
Kevin Durant is already gone with the Achilles
And then Klay on just a regular play
On why that play is so dangerous though
He's going up for a dunk, somebody hits his arms
He's a little bit off balance
Comes down on the leg, tears his ACL
Gets up, shoots the free throws
And then walks back to the locker room
And the reason why he shot the free throws is
If you leave a game due to injury
And you don't shoot the free throws
You can't come back in the game
Famously Kobe Bryant did this
When he popped his Achilles and basically ended his career
He tore his Achilles
They made the move on Harrison Barnes
At that point Kobe was carrying a nothing
Rosh into the playoffs
But he made a move on Harrison Barnes
Achilles pops
He knows immediately
He told the story like I knew immediately what it was
That's why he starts grabbing
He didn't even do the traditional look back
Hop around what just happened to my leg thing
He sat down and immediately starts massaging
And grabbing, you can feel him
You can see him feel his way up his leg
Like, okay, that's what happened
He walks, clubbed for the free throw line
Nails the free throws and walks out the court
Well, Klay does the same thing
Klay, of course, is an ACL tear
So Klay thinks, um
He don't know what's going on
But he knows he shoots the free throws
Then he checks out
He jogs off the floor
And you see his dad asking what happened
He goes out, heard a pop and just keeps running
Then it comes out, no, it's a serious knee injury
Klay's done
And, you know, so
And then on the recovery from the Klay Thompson ACL injury
He pops his Achilles and licking the other leg
So that's another recovery
So he missed two full seasons
When like right in the middle
And that sets up the pool of moody Kamenga Wiseman situation
And the double timelines
And ends up indirectly leading to German punching Jordan Poole
Like it was a lot of stuff happening
Because Poole ends up getting a lot of Klay Thompson minutes
Because Klay Thompson isn't there
So now Poole gets paid big
And that kind of leads to some of the discourse
And, you know, a lot of it falls out in that
And it was, you know
So many memories from that era
30 minutes from that time
The Golden State Warriors were an afterthought of a franchise
Before them, before Steph and Klay
They were just the we believe Warriors were like the only time
In my life they mattered
Now there was Run DMC I think they were called
When they had Hardaway and Chris Mullen
And I can't think of the other guy on the team
But it was those three guys in the 80s
You know what I'm saying
So from that team to the we believe team
The Warriors were irrelevant
And then from the we believe to Steph and Klay
In 2013-2014 tearing the league up
They were irrelevant
So the valuation of the franchise
Going from $360 million to what is it like $7 billion
Some ridiculous amount of money that it is now
And so all this was done during the Steph and Klay era
And it was just like I said
They tortured your favorite team
Steph and Klay, boom, boom, boom, boom
Back in the back threes and they were the Splash Brothers
And all this stuff and it's over
The big threes over, the Splash Brothers over
The dynasty is over, right
You know, Draymond Green told a story on his podcast
About how eerily similar it felt to last summer when he almost left
He thought he was going to the Memphis Grizzlies
And he was like, you know, he said how eerily similar it was
When Klay picked up the phone and called him
He was going to Mavericks, how crazy it was
And it came down to financials
It came down to respect
Klay felt he was disrespected
Because Rick Jeffords told a story of how he talked to Klay
Like Christmas and Klay was like, yeah, it's great
Paying my money, you know what I'm saying
So it was a respect thing, it was a financials thing
It was just in general, you know what I'm saying
Klay thought he would always get paid as much as possible by the Warriors
For the rest of his career and it just didn't happen that way
And so now he's in Dallas, right
And he's in Dallas, could have been a Laker
His father wanted him to be a Laker, Michael Thompson
Former number one overall pick for the Lakers
Wanted his son to be a Laker for obvious reasons
And he ultimately is not a Laker
He's a Maverick and that could be the piece
That's the kind of piece that puts you over the top
Because what the Mavericks are really, really good at doing
Is shooting corner threes
What the Mavericks are not really good at doing
Is shooting above the break threes, as they are called
Which is not which wing threes
They're not good though, so in that Boston talks about it during the finals
But Boston would start cutting off the corner and then Dallas couldn't shoot
Klay Thompson can't shoot from anywhere on the court
So that's going to be huge because now what do you do when
Luke and Kyrie end it and it will be right through the defense
You're going to leave Klay Thompson open
You're going to have to rotate
But if you rotate off, now those corner threes are open
So that's going to be huge
There it was a sign and trade deal in which
Josh Green was dumped to the Charlotte Hornets
And in the two second round picks went back to the Golden State Warriors
And so Dallas gets Klay Thompson for three years, $15 million
They basically pressed their change old Josh Green into Klay Thompson
Derrick Jones became Najeeb Marshall
Everything else is pretty much back
So that is what's going on in Dallas
And it's huge for what they can do
I think Dallas is going to have a chance to be really, really good next season
James Harden is staying with the Clippers, two years, $70 million
He had him over a barrel
I mean I'll do this quickly
But he had him over a barrel when Paul George went to the Sixers
Because now I know you got the money
And you need stars to open this new arena with
Yeah, pay them the money
He didn't max, but he got a bigger, big, big bag
Probably way bigger bag than he would have had Klay
I mean had Paul George stayed of course
But his options out there probably wasn't that high
And then the Celtics paid their own, spent money
They were in the news
Hey them, sign a five-year, $314 million supermax
It is the largest contract in NBA history
So kudos to him and his family
He already had generational wealth coming off of the rookie extension
Now he has multi-generational wealth, deuce his grandkids
I've taken care of now
So kudos for the Tatum family, say Jason Tatum
Derek White signs his generational deal
Four-year, $125.9 million
Huge, huge money for him
He deserved it, he fought the long way
He went up through the Spurs and then basically got dumped
And then ended up in Boston
And had some major plays in the finals
One of the best two-week players in the league, congratulations to him
Xavier Tillman Sr. was a great sleeve for the first couple years of his career
Ended up in Boston, wins the ring
He signed a two-year deal to stay
And then the ownership group led by Wick Rusbeck
Is selling the team
Him and his partners in Boston Basketball Company, LLC, bought the team in 2002
And so they stewarded the team in 2008
And they stewarded the team in the Fort Lowey title and this last title
And through the next four years, they will be transitioning ownership away from Wick, Rusbeck, and company
They'll be selling the majority of their shares planned by spring 2025
Wick will stay on as governor through the final stage of the sale through 2028
So there's still four more years where Rusbeck will be in charge
However, he won't be footing a majority of the bill
The majority of the bill being the fact that
This is going to be the most expensive roster in NBA history, bar none
2024 all season to have a luxury tax slash salary bill of $450 million
Which is 80-ish million more than the Warriors had when they broke the record for most expensive roster ever
This roster, the top six players, or starting five, top six, whatever
Have about a billion dollars worth of contracts that are owed
And so they're going to push the salary cap and the luxury tax bill as high as they can go
So that's what's going on in Boston
Tobias Harris, couple of quick hitters real fast
Tobias Harris is having a two-year, $52 million deal with the Detroit Pistons
Detroit sneakily had a solid offseason
They gave Cuddingham his Rookie Max
They traded for Tim Hardaway
They signed Tobias Harris
They've had a sneaky good offseason
They also hired J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach, replacing Monty Williams
But that is all, Trehan London, who was the GM for the Pelicans
He's not running the basketball operations in Detroit
So he's had a sneaky good offseason in Detroit
So kudos to them, they won't be god-awful
Hopefully they'll be pretty solid
Chris Paul was weighed by the Golden State Warriors
However, he, within a day, signs a one-year, $11 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs
So he's going to be their vet on the floor, their coach on the floor
He's always had a good relationship with Pop
And importantly, Pop helps sell them on the culture and what they're trying to do
And so he's going to be there as the point god, as always, to lead the team
The Chris Paul effect is real
So the Spurs were 120% of their games
It would not surprise me if they're a 37-38 win team
If for no other reason than A. Wimby's going to get better
B. Chris Paul's there
So now when I spoke about last podcast, some of those are awful
And I do mean awfully hard
Possessions where it looked like, does any of them ever played NBA basketball before?
Those possessions no longer exist
They don't exist because Chris Paul's there, right?
And so he can't give you 37-38 minutes a night anymore for 82 games
But 30 minutes a night for 70 games, for 65 games is very reasonable
They'll probably be above 500 in the games he plays
Probably below 500 in the games he don't
But that's the games where Trey Jones will take over and others
Hopefully, the Spurs can be a team that'll push for a playing spot in the West
Because let's be honest, the NBA is better when more people get to see Wimby
Personally, I enjoy watching him play
Just the Spurs as a group was so hard to watch
So I know a lot of the world will be watching the Olympic games, the Olympic basketball trials
I always watch as much Team USA as possible
I'm going to put France on my list
I'm going to watch as much France as possible just because of Wimby, right?
They're in an advantage because they're automatically in
Due to the fact that they're the host country
So I think the host country automatically qualifies for everything
So that's always interesting
Because sometimes even when they're bad in an event
They'll enter it and get destroyed, but they're in it, right?
So they're automatically in being in the host country
So they're just practicing getting ready for the Olympic trials itself
Getting ready for the Olympic games itself
But I definitely put France on the list due to Wimby
And I think that it's late in the season and teams are getting flexed out of national TV spots
And it's a 30 and 37 Spurs team currently the 11th seed in the West
Versus a 32 and 35 Warriors team or something that's 10th seed in the West
And they're TNT Saturday night, like everybody gets to watch Wimby, right?
Or TNT Thursday night, everybody gets to watch Wimby
And so I think that's good for the NBA
And I think hopefully Chris Paul and of course the development of Wimby in general
Will help out the Spurs get to a bigger, better place
And then lastly, but certainly not least, Isaiah Hardenstein
Who would have been the last piece of the Knicks puzzle
Many said they might have predicted them to lock up the East on loan with Boston
Isaiah Hardenstein goes to Oklahoma City on a three-year, $87 million contract
A couple Knicks fans were upset that I knew one in particular
Hardenstein, but the Knicks did everything they could
The most they could offer him due to contractual, just the CBA and other restrictions
Do what I was just overlaying, say the CBA, they could only offer four years 72
Which is $18 million a year
When Oklahoma City went to damn near 30 a year, that was the end of that negotiation
And so Isaiah Hardenstein heads to Oklahoma City, three years, $87 million
But up next, we're going to have our Jax Hot Take
Which is going to be a discussion on the WNBA and how we're looking so far in this season
Welcome back into the show
And we're going to discuss the WNBA as they are barreling towards their All-Star break
The All-Star game, I believe, is July 20th
In Phoenix will be the All-Star game
This year, due to the Olympics, it is set up like Team USA versus the WNBA All-Stars
They do it every four years, it is July 20th, 730, watch on ABC in Phoenix
But they do it every four years whenever the Olympic break is in the season
They, of course, do the Team USA versus the WNBA All-Stars
A lot of fans were, before I talk about the teams and how the game is going to go
A lot of fans were complaining about the voting process
And they were saying certain players may have made it if the Team USA players weren't included on the list
I understand the argument
Because the average fan, most fans, myself included, I didn't think about it when I voted
Weren't going to think about, oh, Aja Wilson is on Team USA
I don't have to vote for Aja Wilson, she's going to be in the game anyway
Oh, Diana Taurasi is on Team USA
I don't have to vote for Diana Taurasi, she's going to be in the game anyway
Oh, like me, I'm a huge Aja Wilson fan
I don't have to vote for Brianna Stewart, Brianna Stewart is going to be in the game already
Instead, the top six vote getters were on Team USA
So they had to take them out
And then whoever else filled in, the next six or so spots were fan vote
And then the last six on the All-Star team were coach vote, where coaches picks
So, yes, could a Camila Cardoza maybe have gotten more votes if you took out Brianna Stewart, Brittany Greiner, Alissa Thomas, Aja Wilson, and Nafisa Kallier weren't even on the list
For the forwards, maybe a Camila Cardoza gets a lot more votes
Maybe she gets an All-Star game or fan vote, we don't know
But what I do know is, number one, there was a couple of snubs on the All-Star team from the coaches, we'll talk about that in a second
But number two, in the normal All-Star game, a lot of those players still get voted in and the bench is still decided by the fans, still decided by the coaches
It's just like the NBA, where the fans vote the starters and then the coaches vote the reserves
The fans vote the starters in every NBA All-Star game and the coaches do the reserves
So in the grand scheme of life, it might have affected one or two people, but it wasn't a big, oh my, there's this massive snub from the fans
That may not have happened if that person, if Team USA wasn't on the ballot at all
So, like I said, Camila Cardoza wasn't named, I heard it floated out, probably makes it if there's no Team USA, Marina Mabry may get in
If there's no Team USA vote, that sort of thing may have happened if Team USA is not even eligible for the All-Star voting
But since they were, this is the team we have
So the NBA All-Star team is, DeWanna Bonner, Aliyah Boston, or DeWanna Bonner, the Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever
Aliyah Boston, Kaitlyn Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell
Also the Connecticut Sun, Brianna Jones
Alicia Gray from the Atlanta Dream
Derrick Ahimba from the Los Angeles Sparks
John Corleone Jones from the New York Liberty
Kayla McBride from the Minnesota Lynx
Arike Ogumbwale from the Dallas Wings
Nneka Ogumike from the Seattle Storm
And Angel Reese from the Chicago Sky
Kaitlyn Clark and Angel Reese headlining the team, why are they headlining the team?
A. They're the two biggest stars on the team
B. They are the first time since 2014 two rookies have made the All-Star team
So they were the pillars of this draft class
They continue to be the pillars of historic success
Maybe a Cameron Brink might have gotten in, I don't know, because she was hurt
But they are the pillars of this draft class, star power wise
They've been the pillars of this draft class on the court
And so they're showing what they can do
And so they continue to make history
They were both fan voted in, and I think even if they weren't
I think they would have been in from the coaches
So now the situation is, oh, they got in because of fan votes
Yeah, fan votes voted them in, but I think they were both in regardless
I think they're two of the best 24 players in the world
So they were in regardless, right?
So kudos to them
I have a couple of problems with the team
Number one, or one major problem I have was Kennedy Carter
Not being an All-Star
And the person, and of course when you do that you always go, who do you take out?
And I think it's Kayla McBride or Brianna Jones
Now I get why you have a Kayla McBride on the team
She would be the only Lynx on the All-Star team
Now of course, Nafisa Collier is on Team USA
So she'd be there, and Kayla McBride's going 15 a night
Not a big thing, and then Brianna Jones I think was another one I was kind of iffy on
Because she is 13, 5, and 2
I would have gone Kennedy Carter in that spot
Because she's actually 15, 3, and 3
But I just don't see how the Fever can have three players
And be one of the worst teams in the WNBA
And the Sky have one player
So that was kind of my issue there
But Kennedy Carter would have been my high pick
Like I said, probably either instead of Brianna Jones or Kayla McBride
But other than that, no real big snubs off the top of my head I can think of
So pretty good list from the WNBA, solid by them
It's going to be a great game
I expect it if it's close late to pick up
But I don't think it's going to be close late
I think Team USA is going to run away and hide in the first half
And then it will be a Kaitlyn Clark
If the 4 point line is there, it might keep it close
Because Kaitlyn Clark may shoot all 4s
Like if they have the 4 point spots again
Like last year they had the 4 point spots and Kelsey Plum hit one
I think the game was like 2 for 20 from the 4 point spot
Like if that's 4 point spots there, Kaitlyn may keep minute
Because she will hit like 4 or 5 4s
And just keep the all-stars in it
Angel Reese and the way she plays is going to be a killer
Because a lot of times it's not very physical down low
So her going for rebounds and stuff, she may score a lot
But I'm just looking at the star potential of Team USA
It's just too much, I think Team USA is going to run away and hide
Couple of quick hitters in the WNBA
Shout out to the New York Liberty
They're the best, one of if not the best start
20 game start in WNBA history
They're 17-3, they're absolutely rolling
If they only have one loss on their schedule, they probably regret
And that's the Commissioners Cup
They lost it to Minnesota in a game
I just don't think they were totally, they were locked in
But it was effectively a road game, it was a road home game
Because instead of playing in Barclays
Something was happening in the Barclays
So they ended up having to play in Long Island
Which the team took it as an opportunity of a new set of fans get to see us
But instead of our usual Brooklyn fans
But at the same time it wasn't your normal arena
It wasn't your normal sight lines
It wasn't your normal home court advantage
Your crowd was not as big and boisterous as it would have been if it was in Brooklyn
And then something else was happening in New York that kicked them out of the Barclays
And so that's what to me all those fights kind of led to Minnesota
Minnesota had a great shooting night
Minnesota winning the Commissioners Cup
The Aces are back, in case anybody was wondering
They've won five straight games
All of them would just agree back in the lineup
Oh and an update, AJ wasn't the best player in the world
She is A1
She is the best player in the world playing in simple
She is the best female dribbling a basketball
And then the Rookie of the Year race is simple
To me it started off the year like this
And then it kind of dipped for a second
And kind of expanded for a little while
Cameron Brink might have put her nose in it
The Rookie of the Year race is two people
It's Andrew Rees and it's Kailyn Clark
It's the only two rookie All-Stars
It's simple
It's going to come down to which level of history you want
Kailyn Clark is going to have probably the best all around rookie season
In the history of the WNBA
In terms of points she bronze in assists
She's also got an WNBA record turnover pace
Going comfortably
On the other side, Andrew Rees is going to be a historic level of double-double
She's got her 11 straight double-double
I don't, I mean, the streak could end at any time
But like, that's never been done in the history of the WNBA
Regardless, rookie or not
She may end up averaging near a double-double
Which I think if she averaged a double-double
It would be the first time a WNBA history rookie's ever done that
And then they're both, their teams are fighting for playoff spots
So this is two historic level rookies
They're again, they're the pillars of the future
They're going to battle it out
I, in a perfect, I don't know what the phrase is
I don't want co-Rookies of the Year
And I think that's where this could be headed
And the thought just hit me
That's where this could be headed
Was that co-Rookies of the Year
Almost to avoid narrative
They would just go co-Rookie of the Year
You know, Angel and Kailin
And so that's, I don't want that to happen
Again, for like, I don't want it just to be like a narrative dodge
Oh, we dodged it
We tried to avoid controversy, whatever
They both deserve it
Whatever, pick one
You know, like Carmella Anthony doesn't have a rookie of the year
And he's house is because of LeBron James
Like, pick one
Like, um, so that's what I don't want
I don't want co-Rookies of the Year
Right now I've had to pick a rookie of the year
I'm picking Angel Reese
Um, and it's just from a leadership perspective
It's just from, she's doing something EW NBA historic
Like, Kailin's doing a lot of stuff for rookies
So this just a couple of EW NBA records
Her fandom is insane in terms of how they're traveling to see her, watch her play
The Aces had the biggest crowd in Las Vegas ever to watch a basketball game
And the fifth biggest attendance ever
Stay in the room only in certain spots
Um, like, her fandom's ridiculous, right?
Like, she's doing stuff marketing-wise that's been, that's insane
Um, but on the court, she has a bad body language
She turns the ball over a lot
She has a bunch of bad shots
She's horribly inefficient
Um, Angel Reese is inefficient in her own right
But she's doing stuff, again, from a rebounding and point perspective
That hasn't been done in the history of the WNBA
So right now I would lean Angel, and her team's records a little bit better
Um, right now I would lean Angel Reese for my Rookie of the Year
I would not be mad, obviously, if it is Kailin Clark
But that is all I have for you guys today
Thanks for rockin' with me, rockin' with me over this hour
Um, have a great Fourth of July
Spend time with your family, stay safe, pop some fireworks
For those of you who are Aries that you can
For those of you Aries that you cannot
Watch fireworks on television
Barbecue, jump in a pool if you're into that
Hang out with your family, enjoy the off day
Um, for all of us that get off
Enjoy the off day
Um, have a great time
This is your host, Justin Jackson, signing out
Be happy, be happy, be happy, be haa-