Warriors right ship, Top 5 trade proposals, Lakers “Big 4,” Celtics bulk up | Hoops Tonight

Warriors right ship, Top 5 trade proposals, Lakers “Big 4,” Celtics bulk up | Hoops Tonight

All right welcome to Hoops tonight here at the volume happy Tuesday everybody hope all of you guys are having a great week we have a jam-packed day of basketball talk over here today we’re starting this morning with a breakdown of Warriors Nets from last night for our

Warriors fans and then after that we’re going to hit on five teams with five trades that I would like to see this year at the deadline and then later this afternoon I’m actually recording with Chris manx and with Colin coward separately so we’ve got tons of other basketball talk coming out later this

Afternoon as well then we’ll get back into some game breakdowns tomorrow morning before we get into the trade deadline on Thursday we got a fun night tonight of basketball we have Orlando Miami that should be interesting because both Miami needs a win Orlando’s playing really really well and then we have

Phoenix Milwaukee which is going to be an awesome game that we’ll be hitting in tomorrow’s show you guys know the drill for we get started subscribed to our brand new YouTube channel mean a lot to me if you guys would take a second to scroll down and hit that subscribe

Button don’t forget to about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcast under Hoops tonight it also is super helpful for those of you guys who use the podcast feed if you leave a rating and a review uh the Twitter feed _ jlt that’s where we put film threads as well as

Show announcements and then last but not least keep dropping mail bag questions we’re going to have our mailbag for this week in tomorrow’s show all right let’s talk some basketball so one of the beautiful things about the game of basketball something that I’ve always really appreciated is when you have a

Bad day you can typically turn around and fix it within a day or two you know whether it’s you know you’re playing in college and you have a bad conference loss there’s usually not a lot of time to think about it because you got to turn around and play another conference

Game usually two or three days later right or in the pros or even if you just go down to the gym and you have a Bad Day playing pickup you usually can turn around and go up the next day and make it feel better right just by playing

Better and writing those wrongs right well the Warriors had a heartbreaking loss on Saturday night in Atlanta where they wasted a 60-point Steph Curry performance and they writed a lot of those wrongs in some specific areas crunch time execution getting some support for Steph a big one was just

Getting better and sharper on the defensive end of the floor actually ironically it was the bench that fueled this win against Brooklyn there was a kind of a strange lineup there at the end of the third quarter that ended up springing the run as Brandon pmy with

Ler kones GE Santos another big forward that we haven’t seen much of this of this here that kind of just provided that size and motor which is so incredibly valuable in the NBA Some solid point of attack defense as well Jonathan kaminga was the offensive fulcrum of that run pushing out in

Transition drawing fouls he hit cavon Looney on a cut to the basket when the Nets lost him they straight ised him against male bridges on the left block and he just went to that little left shoulder Fay that he’s been hitting once again all season long we’ve been wondering whether or not Jonathan

Kaminga would slow down as like a post up kind of fulcrum weapon that they could go to especially as just like a a halfcourt option that is in Steph Curry and he just continues to be efficient and we’re going to get back to that when we start talking about crunch time but

Like that they ended up building a double digit lead going up by 10 points there in the early fourth quarter and that just kind of changes the calculus of the way the end of the game is going to go because then when Steph comes back

In he’s not in a situation where he’s in a dog fight and he has to hit shot after shot after shot just to stay punch for punch with a Trey young or punch for punch with a dear and fox or whoever it is that they’re going up against instead he’s

Hitting stiff arm shots he’s hitting shots that are maintaining the lead and and and keeping that you know distance or lower pressure there’s more margin for error and that’s the key because margin for error has been one of the biggest issues for the Warriors this year they can’t afford to really get

Into super close games late because they they’ve struggled so much particularly getting stops and getting offensive support outside of Steph and when you give yourself more margin for error then when Royce O’Neal gets hot like he did there in that fourth quarter he was the one guy for Brooklyn who really had it

Going just a guy that can get really streaky hot from the three-point line right and when Royce O’Neal got hot and made a bunch of shots he never was able to actually get the game to the point where it was in danger it was all just kind of stuff that kept the game

Somewhat in in reach right and so that margin for air made a big difference so shout out to those guys again Jonathan kaminga Leading The Way with uh on the offensive end of the floor and then everybody just playing really hard in that group specifically down the stretch

GE Santos and Brandon pmy were super super active on both ends of the floor defensively in help especially on the offensive glass those guys had five offensive rebounds some huge ones GE Santos just was constantly right around the front of the rim where he needed to be Brandon pmy got a contested offensive

Rebound I actually clipped this play and put it on my Twitter feed where he was going up over a bunch of 68 610 athletes and just rose up over everybody because he wanted the ball more and went to get it right like we talked a lot about this

Concept on the show the difference between you know talent and and and like discipline when it comes to a good defense and both parts are equally important there are Personnel limitations you’re going to need Gary pton back to be as good as you can be defensively right you’re going to need

Andrew Wiggins in the lineup to be as good as you can be defensively but but if you do all the right stuff if you’re in the right spots if you’re committed to the details if the communication is there your basketball character as I always call it if you can get there

That’s half the battle and particularly in matchups like this against the Nets a team that don’t have uh like they’re struggling in their own ways right like Mel Bridges is a number one option has some limitations Spencer dwit he’s had a bad season once again last night driving

Into traffic and throwing up BS and missing shots and complaining to the refs while they’re running out the other way he’s just had a rough year right and like they got some young guards that like uh like denn Dennis Smith Jr and cam Thomas that can struggle with

Decision making and defense and stuff like that so like in a group like that if you do the right stuff like if you just are in the right spot you can go a long way towards causing their offense to have issues and then when you play against the best teams in the league

That’s where you need both that’s where you need the Personnel strengths and the schematic strengths but I thought last night was a big step forward just in terms of the commitment that the Warriors need to make to being a better defensive team and then down the stretch I really really liked the versatility

That Golden State went with in terms of their offensive approach we talked a lot yesterday about the idea of like Steph Curry just kind of hunting his shot and when it’s working it’s great but when that starts to whether the defense starts throwing multiple bodies at him

Or whether it’s you know him just starting to cool off like you know jump shooting is a is a high variance thing even for the best player in the world world right or what the best shooter in the world I should say right so like that’s an important uh kind of like part

Of that process and so adding a little bit more variety to their attack can go a long way to kind of maintaining their offensive success and I I really like that they they they did run some pick and roll there was a Draymond short roll that led to a Jonathan kaminga dunk when

Steph Curry drew a blitz but they didn’t overdo that one of the things that becomes a problem that we’ve seen this season is teams just start to Blitz step super super aggressively and and the Warriors have struggled a little bit to work off of that and we we saw this a

Little bit in the Hawks game where Steph started just going straight ISO against Deonte Murray we saw a lot of that down the stretch and then Draymond instead of setting a ball screen he’d sit in the lane and basically like box out the help Defender like screen the help Defender

Just so that he can’t step over and help on Steph and then he ended up icing the game with the floater that was an and one where beat a guy in straight ISO then he was getting just kind of slowed down down and waited for the back

Pressure to come drew the foul and made the the the little floater but the big the big kind of thing that stood out to me was there was a big possession down the stretch of the game where the Nets kind of because again the Nets kind of

Kept it close with those Royce O’Neal 3s where they Steph just straight up went to Jonathan kaminga on the left Block in a post up against Royce O’Neal and he drew a foul and I thought a couple of different things one like the uh uh the trust that Steph was showing and again

We talked about this I actually was pitching this in yesterday’s show but like like before last night Jonathan kaminga was 7even for 13 in crunch time this season that’s over 50% you again this season a post up for Jonathan kaminga has been worth well over a point

Per possession and it it helps in a bunch of different ways it’s rest for Steph but it’s also it’s also just variety it’s a different thing for the defense to have to deal with and so I really really liked just the just the overall kind of variety that Golden

State brought to the table down the stretch in crunch time they’ve got a couple of tough games on the horizon here so we’re we’re going to find out a lot about the Warriors in the next week and week and half but I thought last night was a big step in the right

Direction you will not see Golden State on my top five trades list uh they might end up making some type of deal but Steve cerr is right the Warriors deadline basically amounts to guys coming back I would put the Warriors deadline down to three things you’re

Getting CP3 back to stab uh to stabilize your bench units you’re getting Gary Payton back to stabilize your perimeter defense and then the rapid rise of Jonathan kaminga is an infl of talent in his own way he had another 28 points and 10 rebounds last night we’re now at a 10

Game stretch of him averaging 25 points and seven rebounds on 61% from the field 54% from three and 80% from the line he’s getting to the line a half dozen times a game this year the foul drawing thing has been something that’s been consistent that’s what he did on that

Big late post up he just went to that same left shoulder fade but he could tell Roy was being physical with him so he just elevated straight up and down and baited Roy into uh bringing too much contact to the table starting to get a favorable

Whistle Too in a lot of ways the refs know that the that Jonathan Kinga has these Defenders out of position but really the only way you could truly substantially improve this roster is to trade Jonathan kaminga because he’s the one guy who has the value that could

Bring back a truly you know like a franchise altering talent but then you give up his substantial long-term potential and that’s just not worth it and so at this point you’re better off with the rise of Jonathan kaminga and some reinforcements from guys who are injured with trying to make a run at

That point and then you can make a call based on how Jonathan kaminga looks as a number two option in this year’s postseason which I do believe the Warriors will get into that play in tournament at least have a chance to uh to uh Play Seven games against a really

Good team so you can get a good read for how ready Jonathan kaminga is to contribute in the championship context looking for a super offer for super Super Bowl 58 well DraftKings has you covered new customers can bet on the big game and turn five bucks into 200

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Draftking Sportsbook an official sports betting partner of Super Bowl 58 with code Hoops again that’s h o o PS the crown is yours so we’re going to go through five trades that I would very much like to see this season trade number one the Suns get a wing that can play alongside Their

Stars the the framework of this trade would be Grayson Allen and nir little with two second round picks for dor and Finny Smith from the Brooklyn Nets now I know Suns fans are going to immediately be repulsed by this because of the idea of losing Grayson Allen and this is

Where I want to talk more about separating regular season results from the reality of your playoff matchups and one of my long-standing basketball philosophies which is the the the most important thing for a basketball team is to have a group of Five Guys that you can trust to go down against the best

Teams in the league this is an issue that I’ve dealt with a lot with uh with Lakers fans as it pertains to D’angelo Russell like D’Angelo Russell has been vitally important to the Lakers this year as a playmaker and as a scorer in a lot of ways especially as of late right

Like like similar to what Grayson Allen has provided to the Phoenix Suns alongside their stars that offensive Firepower and shooting has Grayson Allen’s been the best shooter in the League this year from three-point land right so like I understand the sentiment and like that’s the thing like when the

Lakers lose D’Angelo Russell if they decide to trade him in this deadline they’re losing playmaking they are losing scoring it is a there it is a trade-off but what I’ve always said to Lakers fans is the simple reality that you cannot win the NBA title starting Austin Reeves and d’angela Russell or

Closing with Austin Reeves and D’Angelo Russell next to each other why because when you get to the best teams in the league not the 82 games but you you can go and played quality basketball over the 82 games in in against a bunch of random opponents but when it comes to

Beating the Clippers four times out of seven beating the Nuggets four times out of seven beating the Timberwolves four times out of seven beating the thunder four times out of seven I don’t think that works and the same thing goes for the Suns Bradley Beal is 6’4 Devin

Booker is 66 and is not particularly strong or athletic the the the Suns have struggled against the bigger front lines in the League this year they struggled against quality opponents in general like they’re 0 and2 against the Clippers they’re 0 And1 against the Denver Nuggets the big I went through their

Schedule the big front lines they played are Philly Orlando Minnesota the Lakers the nuggets and the Knicks they’re 4- seven against those teams so it’s been a consistent issue especially when they run into bigger more physically imposing teams that they haven’t been able to win

That battle in terms of like let me out skill these guys as opposed to trying to match their physicality and so the way I look at it do I think Grayson Allen Devin Booker and Bradley Beal can all be on the same floor to start and close

Games against the very best teams in the league I don’t think so I I think it’s a little too small I think it’s a little bit lacking in that physicality Dorian finy Smith gives you a real option there he can take primary point of attack assignments he can really shoot the

Basketball he increases the physical profile of your lineup he’s not going to be as good offensively as Grayson Allen is but there’s a diminishing return and an off ball offensive role and what you’re gaining in the physicality area the game goes a long way towards addressing that specific concern I also

Think it gives you a clear fit in your starting and closing Five so let’s say for instance you need to go big against a team like Denver I like the idea of Bradley Beal Devin Booker Kevin Durant Dorian fny Smith Yousef nurkic you have a big body that can bang with joic you

Have a of offensive skill around him and you have two giant forwards on the floor I shouldn’t say giant but two big forwards on the floor that can help you in rotation around Yousef nkic okay you’re playing against the Clippers the Clippers sent zubot to the bench and you

Want to go you want to size down with them instead of sizing down into a much smaller version of the Clippers with Eric Gordon and and Grayson Allen and and literally just four guards next to Kevin Durant you can go Kevin Durant Dorian finy Smith Eric Gordon as a as a

Guard that sizes up a little bit with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker and just give yourself a more physically imposing version of that KD at the five group and so I just think I think again it’s when you look at the Suns situation because they don’t really have much draft

Capital aside from second round picks because they don’t really have easy salaries to swap around to make this type of of change Grayson Allen even though he’s been such an important player for them this year kind of turns into one of their more important assets and so that’s kind of the framework of

That deal and then for Brooklyn you’re getting two second round picks and a player in Grayson Allen that you can probably turn into more draft compensation Grayson Allen has a lot of value around the league for in he’s got affordable number best shooter in the League this year that that it’s really

That simple it kind of reminds me of this idea kind of reminds me of what Portland did this summer where like you’re getting draft compensation in these deals maybe not as much draft comp compensation as you could get elsewhere but you’re getting another player that you can then turn around and get more

Draft compensation for it’s almost like a domino effect in that sense so that’s trade number one trade number two Boston gets porzingis insurance so essentially the way this would work is there is a trade exception from the Grant Williams deal that would be able to take in Andre

Drummond’s uh um uh entire salary this year and so basically it’d be some form of draft compensation in the form of second round picks or swaps or something along those lines for Andre Drummond now here’s the idea chrisop porzingis has actually been Boston’s most important plus minus guy this year outside of

Derrick White and Jason Tatum who are arguably their two best players depending on how you feel about Jaylen brown right but ironically it’s not as much about the offense in my opinion as it is about the defense Christof porzingis is the only guy on the roster that provides a real Rim deterrent and

Again as I’ve talked about so much on the show when you actually combine perimeter defensive Talent with a aggressive uh with an aggressive approach to like just attacking the basketball basically you force guys to drive and when you force guys to drive into length real imposing length around

The basket it can be bothersome to uh uh to an offense right and I think I think we saw this a lot over the years with Robert Williams like there’s no doubt that the the Celtics offense kind of had more free flowing uh driving kick potential with Al Horford at the five

But when Robert Williams was out there they were they were able to reach defensive ceiling especially in that 2022 season that was higher than anybody in the league really so the idea there is like when you really dig down into it Derek White’s been mostly healthy this year

Jason Tatum’s been mostly healthy this year Jaylen Brown’s been mostly healthy this year I expect Drew holiday to be ready to go in the postseason chrisop porzingis has shown the propensity to suffer a little nagging injuries his ankle’s been bothering him a lot this year there’s just little things that

Have been bothering christops porzingis and with him going down it’s a pretty steep decline Al Horford and some of the bench centers that they have and this is an example of like a margin for error trade you’re turning basically some moderate draft compensation and a trade exception into a player that not only

Gives you some depth and some uh like I said some insurance on Chris Chris Ops porzingis but also gives you a real physical look I covered Andre Drummond very closely when he was with the Lakers obviously that was back when I was doing state of the Lakers and what I remember

About the Andre Drummond experience is like he he can’t be someone you’re leaning on really heavily from a talent perspective but he is truly physically imposing he’s inconsistent but he can actually win you games with some of the strength and physicality that he brings to the table he’s actually like a

Surprisingly active pick and roll Defender with his hands that can get deflections he’s a he’s always been a high steals Guy for a center this year he’s averaging 18 points and 19 rebounds per 36 minutes and again that doesn’t mean he would get that if he played 36

Minutes it’s just an indicator of how active he is within his minutes he’s as active in his minutes as a 36-minute player would be if he averaged 18 and 19 right so like I just think when you really look down the roster i’ I I see some other needs for Boston could they

Use a backup guard yeah but that’s a a tough one to go after and then also when you really look at the rotation it’s going to be Derek white and Drew holiday at the end of the day you kind of know what you have there right could they use

A bench Wing sure but the way I look at it I expect Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown to be ready the one real area of weakness in my opinion that’s a real vulnerability is like what if chrisop porzingis is just not able to play and this just gives you an additional look

There you can lean on Al Horford but if Al Horford doesn’t have it you at least have another high quality option you can go to in that spot all right trade number three the Bucks get a two-way guard to put next to Damen Lillard so the framework of this

Trade would be Maron Bo champ and a second round pick spe specifically a second round pick they have from Portland that is going is projected to be in the upper half of the second round so it effectively is like a very late first round pick if that makes sense uh

But the framework of the trade would be maren Bo champ and a second round pick for Chris Dunn now Chris Dunn for those of you guys who have been following the league in a more broad sense this year with the Utah Jazz has been one of the best

Perimeter defenders in the league he’s got super long arms he got like a 69 610 Wings span he’s very physical he’s very athletic very active he can actually guard up a little bit but he’s just one of the better point of attack defenders in the league and he’s actually been

Shooting really well this year he’s got uh 1.25 points per catch and shoot jump shot this year that’s outstanding he’s converting spot at possessions at 1.21 points per possession albeit not super aggressive but if you leave him open he has been making teams pay this

Year he Al also has like a little bit of off the dribble uh dribble pop where like late L clock like rescue possessions and stuff he’s a guard he can make make a a dribble combination into a pull-up jumper if he needs to he’s actually had a pretty solid

Offensive season at super super low volume but the idea here is like that that’s what Chris Dunn does for a living He defends this is an example of a player because like you when you look at Andre Jackson Jr and Maran Bo champ and some of the other options that the Bucks

Have tried at the two this year their athletic wings that have potential to be outstanding options in those spots but it’s the classic trade-off and Doc Rivers has shown you he’s not interested in playing the young guys anymore he wants to lean into the Vets right so

Like the potential that those guys have doesn’t really match up with what the actual goal is of this team within this season and so obviously you’re giving up a young potential Wing in Mars and Bo champ you’re obviously giving up a pretty high quality second round pick but you’re putting yourself in a

Situation where you have a different look in your back court to be clear Malik Beasley’s having an amazing season shooting the basketball ridiculously well I personally have been impressed with this just level of commitment and trying to get the defensive end right especially in the last like month or two

After it was a little dicey to start the year and I’m not even necessarily saying that that won’t still be your option that you go down with you may decide that you prefer the offensive upside of Malik Beasley over the defensive upside of a guy like Chris Dunn but the idea is

You have a look like you might end up in a playoff series and find out pretty quickly that Malik Beasley doesn’t have it that the shots not falling and you’re in a tough spot if you don’t have a reliable option you can go to there and

Like I I’m not sure Pat conon is that I’m not sure campaign is that right but you can imagine a universe we’ve seen before by the way the combination of of like really active perimeter defense with Rim protection with Giannis and Brook Lopez and we were just talking

About this with the Phoenix Suns a minute ago but like or excuse me with the Boston Celtics a minute ago but like real perimeter active perimeter defense combined with real Rim protection can go a long way towards disrupting an offense and so that’s an example of a deal that

Allows the Bucks to have a real option to go lean more into defense at the two spot next to game you might have to again we talk about winning different ways the Bucs can outscore people we know they can although their offense has faltered as of late but the uh the truth

Of the matter is it’d be really helpful if you could win in the mud too and Chris Dum would just give you a better chance to do that all right two more trades and then we’re out of here next one the Lakers form a big four so you

Guys have probably all seen the framework of this trade it’s been thrown around by a million people but the basic gist of it would be D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets Spencer Den witty and the Lakers 2029 first round pick to the Atlanta Hawks and Deonte Murray to the

Lakers now Deonte has been playing pretty well as of late so the Lakers might even have to throw more draft compensation on top of that uh but basically the gist of it is draft compensation in Angelo Russell with the Nets fulfilling the third team role in that to take on D’Angelo Russell and

Send Spencer dwy to the Atlanta Hawks but draft compensation is essentially what Atlanta is getting in the process so couple different things first of all I actually think D’Angelo Russell is a really good player is having the best season of his career and specifically is good with uh offensive organization

Which is a point of weakness for the Brooklyn Nets and so in a lot of ways like I actually just think uh D’Angelo Russell is a better fit for Brooklyn than Spencer dinwoody is a player that they’ve been pretty frustr traded with this year for the Hawks you get a highly

Valuable first round pick to use in your rebuild around Jaylen Johnson and Trey young now remember for the Lakers a 2029 first that’s after LeBron leaves this is an organization that has we’re not going to get into it today but they they have really really screwed the pooch on this

One in in so many different ways over the course of the last you know five years between letting Brook Lopez go for nothing letting Julius Randall go for nothing letting Alex Caruso go for nothing the Russell Westbrook trade just the sheer lack of understanding or appreciation for how important quality

Role players are alongside your stars it’s very possible that when LeBron James retires that this thing goes nose diving into the ground I would imagine if you ask the general managers around the league that 2029 Lakers first is very very valuable and again especially if they can squeeze some additional

Draft compensation out of the Lakers in lie of how well de Deonte Murray’s been playing specifically as of late deon’s been a big time clutch shot maker making a lot of Big Time pullup 15 Footers and things along those lines to tie games to win games to ice games he’s just been a

Really really good uh late game shot maker and I think that’s added some value to him around the league I think teams are seeing just how important it is to have guys like that that real Firepower in the lineup right so again like some D some highly valuable draft

Compensation to to help you rebuild around Jaylen Johnson and Trey young Jaylen Johnson’s so exciting he had tip dunk against the Warriors the other night where like he literally dunked it with his arms like out in front of him like this like his head was at the rim

And I was like this is just disgusting athlete that you’re that you’re building around with try uh so the idea for the Lakers Deonte Murray would help the Lakers improve in a bunch of key ways number one he would anchor their perimeter defense this is something that

Has been an issue for them all season was an issue uh again uh uh in the Knicks game when they were having trouble finding a body to throw at Jaylen Brunson it’s an even bigger issue now that Jared Vander builts out of the lineup Deonte Murray is not the best

Perimeter defender in the world he has been as committed in those areas but just in terms of actual physical tools for the position he’s way better than anything the Lakers have had there in a long time in the guard spot so basically since Alex Caruso and so that that that

To me is the first and biggest way Deonte Murray could help number two he provide more d uh reliable dribble penetration Deonte Murray can actually stare eye to eye with some of the best perimeter defenders in the league and beat them off the dribble which is immensely valuable in a bunch of

Different ways one it’s getting the defense into rotation creating advantage situations Two Rim pressure we’ve talked about Rim pressure as a value before that’s what kind of opens up that second wave of athleticism with LeBron and with you know their some of their other active offensive rebounders like Anthony

Davis Jared Vanderbilt when he’s healthy things along those lines you got to actually engage Rim protectors to open up those opportunities which is something the Lakers have not been very good at this year they the Lakers have been one of the worst teams in the league at driving to the basket uh that

Most of their activity in the paint comes off of uh touches in pick and roll that go to the rle man and and post ups and things along those lines they’re two of the most active teams in the league in those categories they’re not a team that beats people off the dribble Dean

Tim can help significantly in that area number three late game shop making this has been a big issue for the Lakers over the years LeBron has brought late game shot making to the table in a big way this year and it’s been super super helpful we just saw that recently again

In the Warriors game but it is an issue where LeBron can be a little inconsistent in that area Austin Reeves can make some big time shots but against some of the best perimeter defenders in the league is going to be a it’s going to be a little more challenging for him

To create those looks Anthony Davis can be inconsistent with his over the-top shot making Deonte Murray and his ability to just hit those tough pull-up 15-footers would go a long way towards just adding some margin for error in the Lakers clutch offense and then last but

Not least he would get you a gigantic step closer to a clear-cut starting lineup in a clear-cut closing lineup I personally would put Vanderbilt in that group but I even think you could get away with toian prince in a bigger way one of the big things I’ve noticed with

Torian Prince and this is something I’ve talked about all season my issue with starting toian Prince is gigantic minutes and playing him next to two non-athletes in D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reeves I don’t think uh torian Prince is not good enough to start in the NBA I think I think it’s one of

Those things where if he’s very clearly your fifth best player and if you can slot him properly meaning like he’s not guarding the other team’s best perimeter offensive weapon but maybe their second best perimeter offensive weap weapon if he’s getting higher quality looks because you’re generating more dribble

Penetration a lot of that can work I even think we’ve seen that this season in some of the better moments for the Lakers when you know that stretch right before the inseason tournament when cam reddish was at the two having a real athlete that could slot toian Prince

Properly as of late it’s been Max Christie having Max Christie out there as a real athlete that can take those higher uh higher difficulty perimeter defense assignments slotting torian Prince properly is the biggest issue like he just was in a in a in a situation where next to D’angelo Russell

And Austin Reeves he’s the guy that has to do all the dirty work and that’s just not his strength that’s not something that he that’s not what he gets paid to do in the NBA and so it he it to me Deonte Murray just kind of like balances

So many different things for the Lakers Lakers have won uh 10 of their last 16 games some things are starting to Trend in the right direction again one of those losses was uh um with Anthony Davis out of the lineup as well the offense in particular is getting way

Better it’s really interesting about a month ago I was just about all out on the idea of the Lakers five out offense one of the big things that’s kind of stood out to me over the years is like they prefer to play a real slow down bully ball style of basketball it’s much

More Brute Force offense than you would think and I always was I kept coming back to the same thing like they move the ball around and and play like some fluid basketball and then they just kind of like uh degenerate down into their Brute Force offense again and so I was

Skeptical as to whether or not the five out would ever work for this group simply because of the fact that they did not seem to be you know wired like that if that makes sense and a lot has changed on that front over the course of

This end of January and in early portion of February like it’s starting to look like this team is actually comfortable moving the ball around a lot staying in that you know pass screen cut Drive kick kind of like five out system which which is which which requires a commitment to

Ball movement and I’ve been impressed just with their kind of leaning into it in a lot of ways especially LeBron James and Anthony Davis because them in particular I’m not sure that’s the way that they’ve liked to play the most over the course of the last half decade but

It’s leading to some real offensive results we’re seeing some really high assist games for the Lakers they’re uh uh consistently getting these like 35 37 assist games that are that are just that just weren’t happening early on in the season and so a lot of encouraging stuff

On the Lakers front again like I said I want to see a 25 game stretch where they’re truly dominant 10 and6 over 16 is good but it’s not good enough they’ve got more work to do and it could go a long way you beat Denver on Thursday and

You beat the Pelicans I think it’s on Saturday both of those games are at home you win both of those games now we’re talking about a 12- six stretch capped off by some real quality wins between beating Boston in Boston beating the Knicks in mad Madison Square Garden

Getting the monkey off your back by beating Denver beating that Pelicans team that just beat them pretty badly when they went down to New Orleans that that’s what stands in front of them an opportunity to demonstrate a clear like we won 66% of our games over the course

Of a month and a half and beat a bunch of quality opponents that to me is like one of those like check boxes that you have to check if you want to really have a chance to win the NBA title and I thought this last week was a good step

In the right direction for the Lakers then lastly my last trade for today’s show the Oklahoma City Thunder finalized their core so the structure of this trade would be something like Josh Giddy and Alexi povi uh plus some large amount of draft compensation whether that’s you know

Five first round picks or four first round picks or whatever it is but that’s what I would offer if I was Oklahoma City for Lori marinan from the Utah Jazz so to me the Thunder core is clear Shay just Alexander in and and Jaylen Williams are your offensive initiators

They’re your number one option and your number two option in terms of the guys that are going to bring the ball up the floor and basically create that initial Advantage right um Lou Dort is the textbook three in D Wing he’s as good an option in the league as you can find to

Throw the other team’s best player and he’s very good at knocking down catch and shoot threes and attacking Closeouts right and then Chad hren is the ideal stretch five that can run pick and pop which is the one of the most difficult actions to guard in the NBA while also

Providing you real Rim protection on the other end of the floor but what they don’t have the one thing they do not have on the roster is a big athletic forward that can help them hold up better in the physicality areas of the game even despite being the number one

Seat in the Western Conference the Thunder are still the second worst defensive rebounding team in the league and so Lori could not be a better fit and to me there are three reasons why number one he does not need the basketball he’s averaging 24 points per game on 65% true shooting despite only

Running 17 isos post-ups and pick and rolls this year so he’s not a guy that is initiating the offense he’s doing almost everything as a play finisher he’s made 325 field goals this year 152 of them so basically half have been catch and shoot jumpers another 80 of

His made field goals have been off of cuts in offensive rebounds so like well over two-thirds of his offense is basically scoring off the catch scoring off the cut scoring off the offensive rebound that sign ific he’s only made 36 pull-up jumpers floaters and hooks All Season to me what

That means is he’s super easy just to add into the mold I wanted to shout out a buddy of mine just to provide this example so my buddy Chaz Mack he played at Cornell and he plays with me and my men’s league team on Sundays and it’s funny because our team has an

Interesting construct like me and this guy named Josh are basically the two primary ball handlers on the team we both played in college he Josh is more of like a pass first guy I’m more of like a Score first guy so we compliment each other in that way but Chaz is like

A perfect fit for us because he never puts the ball on the floor he often leads our team in scoring but it never disrupts the flow of our team because he only plays off the catch and so he’ll Sprint the floor in transition every single time so if you see him up the

Floor you can push the b ball ahead he’s going to get a layup or hit a corner three while he’s running in transition if you run and pick and roll and you draw an extra Defender over and chaz’s man sags you throw the ball to him he’s

Going to either knock down a catch and shoot three or is going to be able to attack a close out oh they run a Zone against us he’s really good at just catching and turning and hitting shots at like 15t oh he can run the Baseline

And finish there too he’s got good size he’s like 6’4 and pretty big and strong and like it’s so funny because I always talk I always compliment Chaz when I’m talking basketball with the guys around town because like I can’t tell you just how much better he’s made us because

He’s just super easy to play with he defends he plays his role he can score the out of the basketball but in a way that doesn’t disrupt the flow or of of your team at all whatsoever and that to me is what Lori marinan can do for

The Oklahoma City Thunder he can help them in the physicality areas he can Shore up the defensive glass Lori averages nine rebounds a game in just 32 point uh 32.6 minutes he’s an excellent athlete he’s like s feet tall brings like real power and force to the

Position but he also has the ability to just be a shoeing fit on the offensive end and make everything easy for them on that end of the floor I think you can also craft a pretty easy and achievable defensive role for him like you don’t need him to guard on the perimeter Lou

Dorton Jaylen Williams and Shay got that under control right like you don’t need him to Anchor your pick and roll defense or protect the rim because Jets got that under control you can give him a classic low man type of role where he’s always guarding the fifth best shooter where

He’s always in that weak side just stepping over to help whenever Chad gets engaged whether that’s cleaning up uh after a pump fake to block a shot or that’s cleaning up the defensive glass or rotating back out to the weak side I think it’s an obvious fit and most

Importantly he fits your timeline and you can afford him you have the assets to go out and get him and again the case so the the last piece of this and this is something that I’m sure a lot of Thunder fans thought about is like yeah but what about like the urgency element

Like do we need to overpay for Lori marinin we still have so much time with this core they’re still so young we still don’t know anything about what they’re going to look like in the long run and to me it really comes down to this he’s literally perfect he’s the

Perfect player for this position and then two the way I look at it repetition matters losing and building Scar Tissue matters this year the Thunder will have in all likelihood like they’ll probably be favored in their first round Series so they’re going to get at least two weeks of playoff basketball maybe

Four weeks of playoff basketball that could be very very important to the development of this core and to me I would I’d prefer to have my core five guys available for that and rather than kind of like getting a de a playoff run in with this core and not knowing what

The construct of the team is going to look like I I don’t think there’s a more clear-cut fiveman group to run with longterm than Shay Jaylen Lou Lori and Chad put those five together let them start their battles now let them start their Wars let them build their Scar

Tissue let them learn what they’re made of I I think I think that probably more than any other trade on this list is the one I want to see the most simply because I just think I think it’s one of those ones where like it would be an

Overpay in all likelihood because Utah would have all the leverage but the Thunder have the assets to me they have the group there is no more question mark surrounding the team at that point that to me is the direction that they should go all right guys that is all I have for

Today uh I will tweet out later this afternoon when uh when whatever I record with M Chris manx is finished and then also this evening when me and Colin get our show out I will tweet that one out as well as always I appreciate you guys and I will see you Then

Jason Timpf reacts to Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and the Golden State Warriors’ 109-98 bounceback win over the Brooklyn Nets. Is Jason confident in Golden State to reach the NBA Playoffs? Later, Jason lists the top five trades he’d like to see at the NBA Trade Deadline including LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers forming a “Big 4,” Kevin Durant’s Suns and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks getting help for a playoff push, the Oklahoma City Thunder making a championship-level move, and the the Celtics getting bigger.

Timeline:
00:00 – Introduction
01:24 – Warriors bounce back vs. Nets
11:44 – Trade #1: Suns get Kevin Durant help
17:07 – Trade #2: Celtics bulk up
20:47 – Trade #3: Bucks get guard next to Lillard
24:28 – Trade #4: Lakers form “Big 4”
33:26 – Trade #5: Thunder’s championship move

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