Josh Giddey requested to be traded?! 👀 | The Lowe Post

Josh Giddey requested to be traded?! 👀 | The Lowe Post

and now the low post welcome to the low post podcast Joe moula and I are done talking about bank robbery plans fake bank robbery plans and NBA offseason news is trickling in trickle trickle trickle news non news all of it Bobby marks how are you I am doing great yeah I had I texted you after that that that podcast and I I was actually like taking notes if I ever did want to rob a bank that’s a pretty elaborate scheme there well Joe is not messing around coach is not messing around so we’ve got news already coming in the Lakers hired a coach there’s some Paul George Rumblings there’s a Malik monk contract but I’m not going to start with the Lakers Bobby marks because I love these trades that are kind of talent for talent trades no picks somehow no picks Oklahoma City has 9,000 picks somehow they kept all of them the Thunder acquire Alex Caruso in the final year of his deal and exchange for Josh giddy nine years younger eight years younger actually in the final year of his deal Josh giddy goes to Chicago where he will be handed the Reigns to the offense and Alex Caruso uh at age 30 comes to Oklahoma City I absolutely love the fit for Oklahoma City it’s unbelievable but we have to start with this press release that Sam presy just just put out because it’s a it’s a banger um I’m just going to read it yeah when we drafted Josh in 2021 he was an essential aspect of our vision for the next iteration of the Thunder since then our team has evolved rapidly and dynamically in ways we could never have anticipated therefore as we began our internal discussions this offseason it was determined that bringing Josh Off the Bench next season was our best option to maximize his many talents and deploy our team more efficiently over 48 minutes as we laid out to Josh how we could lean into his strengths and ultimately optimize our current roster and talent it was hard for him to Envision and conversations turned to him in in quiring about potential opportunities elsewhere AKA we asked him to come off the bench he said he didn’t like that and he demand at a trade and the first thing I thought of was this was the Manu jobi Crossroads for Josh giddy not to compare them he’s not going to be Manu job Manu job is one of my alltime favorite players he’s a Hall of Famer um but Sam pry has that Spurs DNA with him that moment when Pop went to Manu and said hey I think this we’ve got Tony we’ve got Tim there’s only one ball I think you’d serve our you’re better quote unquote better than this but I think this is the way to go and pop has told me on the record if if Manu had said no we would have just figured it out with him in the starting five because he had that stature Josh giddy does not have that stature he’s has not accomplished what Manu jino had accomplished at that time and he said no he’s on his way to Chicago Caruso an all Defense level player who shot 41% on threes last year on higher volume than he’s ever taken before who hit 48% on floater range shots a number he never sniffed before he’s more aggressive on the pick and roll this is not just a defense trade for Oklahoma City it’s an offense trade too we saw in the playoffs as we’ve been waiting for for two years this is what s pressie was talking about when he said I want to see the playoffs first well what he saw was Josh giddy getting played off the court because teams didn’t guard him the Mavericks put their centers on him he could not hurt them they replaced him in the starting lineup they cut his minutes and now he’s gone um to the Bulls I love the Caruso fit in Oklahoma City both both this year and going forward for the next two or three years I’m a little uh I I understand I think the Bulls are getting a little a little just just a smidge unfairly hammered because their own fan base hates their team so much and really this we’re reaching like epic levels of toxic fan self-hatred um Josh giddy is just 21 years old he’s 68 with absolutely Elite Vision it’s everything else that makes me curious and a little bit skeptical about what his ceiling is but what was your gut reaction to this one yeah I mean my original gut reaction is when it happened I got two texts from um two different teams asking me if I can find out what picks were involved that was my original that’s what and and there weren’t so okay so it’s a one for one deal I think I think it’s a it’s it for me yeah I mean you hit it everything as far as from from kuso the ability to to kind of slide into that rotation does not need the ball in his hands uh two-time all NBA Defender um extension eligible um in six months can actually renegotiate his contract also in six months if they if Oklahoma City has a little bit of cap space left to do um giddy for me um what happens with Kobe white um what happens are is now is that offense going to be centered around him because he does need the ball that’s what G one GM said to me like listen you like I like Josh giddy but if you’re going to trade for him now you have to basically you know you know um Center the offense around him now like you can’t be like what happened in Oklahoma City like that’s not the reason why you go out and trade for him um I do agree with you that the Chicago fan base you know anything they do they will be hammering away here it’s interesting that this is the first trade that Urus carnis has made player for player since theori marinin trade that was in 2021 I believe so it’s been almost three years whatever happened to whatever happened to Lowry Markin um yeah he make it at all do he make it um so like I think now it’s like you know okay you get he’s you know rookie extension eligible you get younger okay what’s next now is Chicago going to embrace a rebuild um you know artar was out front after the season end like you know two years in a row losing to playing that this roster is not good enough there’s some changes needed okay what is the change like what’s the change is it is it dumping trying to find a home for Zack LaVine trying to split that up there’s a lot there’s so many un you know those they were one of my um sleeper under the radar teams um when I wrote about them um just because the rozan Patrick Williams like they their salaries are High I mean they’re potential tax team if they bring both those guys back here uh I so I think it’s kind of what’s next and and really for me it’s about like Kobe white waking up this morning like okay what’s my role now right I just had a really good year how do I fit in now with kind of Josh giddy I think he fits in fine with Josh giddy um he’s a very good shooter uh I had Kobe white second on my most improved my fake most improved ballot last year I thought he he made a gigantic leap to the point that teams were game planning for him on and off the ball uh I think that’s a totally fine fit you know it’s it’s not like you want to give the offense completely to either player even if you feel like you have to give it a little bit more to Josh giddy um LaVine as a shooter lavine’s a great shooter so so that fits I just don’t know how you’re playing any defense with giddy plus LaVine plus white um but if you’re going to trade well okay I think the D rozan fit stinks um for obvious reasons and if you’re going to trade LaVine if that’s still your goal and you think that D rozan giddy fit stinks and you’ve just put a lot of your organization on Josh giddy’s back so you let the Rosen walk or sign and trade them or whatever it is and by the way you’ve already missed the window to trade demard d Ro and that window closed you you blew that one you’re you’re almost organically getting as close as the Bulls would ever get to kind of tanking a season depending on what you do in free agency you still have vuich you got the Pat Williams extension sitting there I don’t know if they want to resign him or not or free agency rather I don’t know if they want to resign him in restricted free agency or not there’s just not a lot of I mean dumu was all was good Off the Bench last year but he’s he’s a he’s a nice combo guard who’s probably a six seventh man maybe a fringe starter like are are is there any chance this team team playin team huray we lost in the playin again but we’re relevant crowd’s big like we’re selling the tickets the white socks are good is there any chance the Bulls might actually whether it’s on purpose or by accident kind of semi-tank this season I mean that’s that’s the string of transactions to do it trade LaVine let the Rosen walk see what the hell this giddy thing is and what these other young guys do and you’re just gonna be very bad yeah I mean I think the roster probably will allow it I mean look at we when you look at I mean look at their front court right now I mean they’re really I mean V is their only guy I mean that’s it v v was bad last year on both ends of the floor it was a steep drop off for Vu and I don’t feel good saying that Al Nicole he’s been a very good and skilled player it was a bad Vu year last year yeah so that I mean your front court and I think LaVine is interesting to me just because like you know we we talked all last year you know four for 165 he’s got so much money left and then all of a sudden now it’s three for 137 so it gets a little more I want to say appealing but it’s a little B more you know a team willing to take that back you know certainly where he is from a health standpoint here but I do think like if you’re Chicago I I don’t know trying to um take or tank or take a step back but I just think the the roster will allow it as I said like the roster right now isn’t good enough right so it doesn’t best thing it’s the it’s it’s probably the best thing that could happen to the Bulls if almost semi by accident like Josh GID is an interesting bet I I get what they’re shooting for and and we’ll talk more about him in a second it feels like a well we’re not willing to take a step back it it feels like their junior varsity version of the anobi trade where Toronto wanted players back and they got Emanuel quickley and RJ Barrett they didn’t want picks they didn’t want a rebuilding trade but it might be more of a rebuilding trade than the bulls actually think that it is despite the fact that giddy two years ago averaged like 167 and seven yeah I mean listen I mean I I do think the one year with Giddy and we’ll see what happens with if you know he’s extension eligible also here kind of gives you a form a plan or or formula as far as what we can if it works what else we can add around um around him here I do think it is um I do think it is pretty interesting as far as you know the D rozen piece is going to be interesting right like you know it was you know Casey Johnson and in um in Chicago had reported back in I think a uh April that they had offered two for 880 which if I was DeMar D rozan I would have signed up on a dotted line um for that it’s it’s hard for me to see him you know getting three years in free agency here but I do think Chicago I think this is the this is the window right like this is the window now to kind of just to do to you know take a step back here I’m gonna read you W’s tweet from what he broke the news of the trade the Bulls have been determined to find a playmaker to rep place Lonzo ball still on the books and giddy 21 comes with an All-Star potential that would unlikely be realized with the Thunder because of the playmaking star power who surrounded him the Bulls will offer him an opportunity to have the ball in his hands and so much more freedom to pass and score um I get it I get it that’s that’s what you could also read that in is Josh giddy will fit better here because the players we have around him are so much worse than the players that the Thunder had around him which is not an awesome way to justify a trade and here is the thing with giddy it’s the Sasha um I always it’s the I always give the example it’s the Sasha vuic um example when we traded for him um in from LA and we had worse players than what the Lakers did and he looked like a Allstar when he got him so when you get a guy he will usually flourish if the players around him are not very good here and you’re not going to go anywhere if that’s the case and so here’s the thing Josh giddy has often been compared to other non-shooting big ball handlers um Ben Simmons is a name that has come up a lot as sort of an optimistic you know pre whatever the hell has happened to Ben Simmons physically mentally all of it um when he was an all NBA player and the problem with that is if you’re if you’re a lead ball handler and you can’t shoot or you’re you’re played as a non-shooter Josh kidy has hit 32 33% of his threes he’s not a total zero but those are wide openen threes and you’re played from the top of the arc as a non shooter people are going under screens all of it you’ve got to be awesome at everything else he’s awesome at passing no question the Bulls will now become the best sideline out of bounds team in the whole NBA congratulations you get almost nothing for that um but you’ve got to be awesome at finishing at the rim and that’s where Josh giddy has fallen short for a lot of his career got to be awesome at defense he’s been disappointingly bad at defense um given his size he kind of he gets rebound totals that fake make you believe he’s doing something on defense he’s been kind of a pushover on defense um and if if you if he doesn’t again he’s only 21 so I don’t want to say that this is what he is but if you’re a non- shooter and you have the ball in your hand you got to be able to finish at The Rim or else you’re just not going to amount to anything close to the number one ball handling option on a good NBA team and if you can’t be that if your team is ever going to be good or great you’ve got to be a number two or a number three or a number four player on a good NBA team and there’s no evidence that he can be that either the lack of power and explosiveness in his game on both ends of the floor I think has been the single biggest question mark around him and the single biggest reason why people are skeptical including me frankly that he could ever become the number one offensive fulcrum on a great team it’s what distinguishes him from other sort of players of this archetype he’s a great passer he’s a great Creator he sort of brows his way in there and gets up for floaters and all that he just doesn’t finish him enough maybe that comes with strength added over time an experience but um I understand why Bulls fans are frustrated by this trade it’s it’s an interesting bet and I’ll bet you in the next two or three years there will be a moment a month where it’s like oh did Josh gidy average just average like 22 and 10 and looks kind of bigger and stronger maybe the Bulls didn’t whiff on this trade like everybody thought I just don’t know what the end game is for Josh giddy as a player really even if everything hits every part of his game hits It’s Apex and what kind of team you need around that player um it’s just a tricky it’s a tricky fit yeah I mean it’s it’s one of those to be determined listen when you trade Alex cruso who was probably your best or second best player um I mean and the numbers stay tell you know tell the story as far as the impact the plus minus when Caruso was on the floor and when he wasn’t um you know it’s it’s it’s pretty high level um and you are going to you trade for a player that let’s face it you were going to have to pay more than what you probably could have you know would have paid Caruso to retain um that’s where you kind of if you’re a Chicago fan you’re like as I said earlier like okay what is next like what you know like listen you know Josh giddy during the regular season there were a lot of good moments there were some good moments in that New Orleans series The Dallas series you know I mean that that when you when we started this and you said like you know when Sam prey said like this is going to be like an experiment right it’s almost like he’s looking at it it’s not that we’re the number one seed it’s like what works for next year what works for the for a year two or year three of this group here and and obviously that didn’t work when you have Shay with the ball in his hand or Jaylen Williams with the ball in his hand um I think the number that our that Matt Williams had sent it was like eight feet from the closest Defender which is you know pretty remarkable um for him but um but I am as I said like I am interested um like if I was giving it a grade I would give it an incomplete um because I don’t know what else is coming around him can’t be just him right it’s got to be other there’s got to be some you know as said build that roster around him let’s let’s talk about the team that’s actually good the Thunder who got better with this trade the the incumbent number one seed played Dallas very well in the playoffs played him better than anyone else in the west did actually um and they get Caruso presumably to slide into the starting five although you never know kuso has never played more than 28 and a half minutes a game in NB any any season so they’ll be interesting to see what they do but certainly we are going to see the SGA Caruso Dort Jaylen Williams Chad holgren lineup I mentioned the shooting numbers are just massively distinct from giddy in terms of accuracy and volume he is a very good screener and roller and playmaker in open space and the Thunder semi- revolutionized NBA offenses by that’s too strong but very creative use of guard guard screens um and he’s a good playmaker out of that he gives them another absolutely Elite generator of turnovers like this team team is going to gener I’ll you bet on it right now they were number one in turnovers forced last season they’re going to be number one in turnovers forced again that gets him going in transition and he’s also and and you and I talked about this offline they’ve got some other decisions to make with Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe who started for giddy in the playoffs and you can take us through those but um Lou Dort is on this pretty affordable deal with you know three more seasons on it 16 and a half 17 17 you’ve talked a lot about the window the Thunder have yeah before 2627 when Jaylen Williams presumably max deal kicks in and Chet’s presumably let’s just assume max deal kicks in if those two are just just if those two are 25% Maxes if neither of them hits the incentives necessary whether it’s Defensive Player of the Year for Chad all NBA to get it to 30 those are 25% Maxes Shay is under contra For That season and then we’ll get a big deal after that um Dort is at 17 For That season you you there’s a way where you could have those four plus Caruso and his new deal and still have like very substantial room under the tax and definitely under the aprons to fill out a team around them and I don’t know when that becomes untenable but this is this is a salary structure where the Thunder could have Star level talent and a decent for at least a bit I mean you can correct me if I’m wrong at least a bit a decent sort of support Talent around it too no doubt about it um when K Wallace was playing really well this year I said this is kind of the example in Oklahoma City when Josh giddy potentially could get more expensive down the road when he’s eligible for an extension that because Oklahoma City has all these draft picks you know they’ve got the 12th pick in this year’s draft they’re going to likely get a pretty good player down the road two years from now so Cas Wallace comes into the rotation now on inexpensive contract they can keep on churning this out here where you’re you’re building your depth out with all these young players or maybe you parlay that into a into you know they still have 15 16 future first one round picks the uh chat and jayen as you said extensions would their extension eligible next off season they would kick in in 26 Shay supermax would kick in in 27 so there is that twoyear ex window or you know if you want to maximize cap space and that that’s why when I look at their offseason here which is pretty interesting they’re sitting around $32 million in cap space that includes their first round pick like for me like I would go out and like offer Nick Claxton like a two-year here you go two years $50 million two years you know $60 million something like that um and then you know put another big against you know with with with the chat there I don’t see them going out and spending four years on on another you know four-year Max guy and stuff like that I don’t see that in the cards so it will be interesting with Oklahoma City because they that’s not how they have handled operated business they don’t go out and spend on other on free agents from other teams they trade for players they draft players you mentioned the Wiggins and Isaiah Joe’s situations both players have Team options they’re both different where Aaron Wiggins um if you don’t um exercise his team option could be an unrestricted free agent next off season um he’s extension eligible also Isaiah Joe um if you we see them uh exercise the team or decline the team option that means there’s likely a deal in place already um so those two guys I don’t see going anywhere but I do think it’s it’s interesting as far as how they go about operating with u with that room they have with that you know this kind of this you know this two-year window or three-year window before things start to get pretty expensive well and if they to your point if they use it on a contract that’s in that sweet spot in the middle now the middle is now like $20 million a year um where it’s a very easily tradable stackable contract and um you’re safely under the apron so you can do all sorts of different things trade-wise the teams above how many teams are going to be above the second apron next year man I think they’re probably about six or seven so that’s a big deal because that’s like a almost a fourth or a fifth of the league that they’re at the they’re at the kids table but they they can’t really Trade A lot of times with the other 75% of the league listen we’re going to see it we’re going to see it next week with the with the draft on Wednesday and Thursday with you know those teams you know Phoenix can’t go in and buy a second round pick you know Milwaukee can’t go buy a pick you know that you’re so limited and you know one of the apron rules um that you know you keep on you study you study you study and and you know one of the apron rules that’s stand out that we really haven’t talked about is the inability to sign and trade you you can’t acire player and a sign and trade that’s coming in that player was signed then trade it to you but you can’t like if Phoenix let’s for example wanted to sign and trade Royce O’Neal and take back a player they’re not allowed to do that they’re not allowed to take back salary that exceeds second apron but but Bobby Phoenix I mean 26 GMS would trade places with them they just doesn’t affect them they’re totally fine everything’s great how how many playoff games did they win this past year it was a lot right like everything’s going great um yeah everything’s great all right on Caruso um by the way I like speaking of sort of cap space and midsize contracts Oklahoma City was on my sleeper Klay Thompson list um uh uh before before this I just like a dead eyee shooter there would be terrifying despite the decline in Clay’s defense and all that to me I would I would guess this takes them out of the market for another guard but I I I liked that fit a lot and I do think the clay situation is obviously one of the ones we’re going to be talking about there’s there’s hurt feeling there that need to be mended if he’s going to return to Golden State and he’s going to have suitors around the league and I had Oklahoma City pencil in is like watch out and the Poetry of clay going back to the place where he ripped their souls out with a million threes in game six in 2016 would be would have been um would have been fun I just like if they add another piece in with their cap space that is probably they still need some size whether it’s a bigger four or five that can play with Chad they I mean we did a segment on get up today will they enter the West next year as the team to beat I still think Denver depending on what happens with kcp they need kcp he’s a big a big becoming a bigger fish every day in this in free agency I I we’ll see how it shakes out if if anything bad happens to any of the teams around Oklahoma City in the standings they may damn well enter the next season as like the betting favorite to win the West which is which is really crazy to think about um just think I mean just think like like they’re sitting there right now and basically kind of in the backseat of the car and like okay Denver you’ve got to figure out kcp um you know um Dallas you got to figure out can you create room to get you know to resign Derek Jones um there’s all these different all these teams have all these different issues to address where really it’s Oklahoma City’s like okay what are we going to do with $31 million how are we gonna go about using that um it’ll be interesting to see if teams try to put their centers on Caruso the way they did against giddy I mean um Caruso has not been the most trigger happy shooter but he got a little bit more aggressive last year and I’m I’m just not sure that will be super tenable and he’s Al also a great screener as I said I just think this fit checks a lot of boxes also interestingly he guards up in size really well the Bulls would use him on fours a lot that you would be like oh my God he’s going to get bowled over by this guy and Caruso stands them up pretty well which you know if a deal down the line comes and the the team on the other end is like we got to have lud Dort we just have to have him or or this deal for whoever is not happening the Thunder have a little more leeway if Kus was on the roster to to make a deal like just you just can’t have enough good two-way wings and they just got another one and they’re going to be loaded for bear um next it’s a good it was a very good trade for them and a player by the way um talking about the Bulls they these teams talked about Caruso at the trade deadline it’s been reported in a lot of different places I think that the Bulls turned down offers that included as many as two first round picks for Alex cruzo I was definitely hearing that up into the trade deadline now we don’t know the quality of those picks right not all firsts are CR equals now you’re getting two unprotected lottery picks for whoever what the Thunder have so many picks you don’t know what what they would have offered and I’m not saying the thunder offered to but but if that’s the opportunity cost and the BET ends up being on Josh Giddy and if you’re going to pay Josh giddy for that bet to hit he’s got to become an elite elite offensive player um I I understand the trepidation among Bulls fans that they went this direction and not the other but I I get what the Bulls are doing it’s everything other than the passing in giddy’s game that just and I’m not talking defense where I don’t think he’s ever going to be a big plus there I just don’t know what he’s going to really amount to um as as in the role that the Bulls are going to have him in yeah no I I mean I I totally agree I mean I totally agree with I mean if you’re GNA pay Josh giddy $26 million a year which is the average starting point guard salary in the NBA there’s got to be you know more to it I would like to see him develop a postgame too another another he’s got the size I mean he’s got the size all right let’s turn the page to um Paul George in Philadelphia yeah before we get to Malik Monk and the Los Angeles Lakers uh hiring a coach um Philly’s cap space is I think the single most important variable in the offseason because it is use it or lose it not use it or lose it but they’re going to use it they’re going to spend it on somebody multiple players whatever it ends up being every team that has a good free agent that can hit unrestricted free agent agency is in fear that Philly just says you know kcp okay we got to spend the money how about two years 60 million like just an insane offer and then we’ll pair you with Miles Bridges or whoever the name ends up being It will’ll Go two for one instead of just one Superstar every team is like what the hell is Philly gonna do and obviously the bigger name there has been Paul George um the Clippers and Paul George still as we’re recording this at 11:35 a.m. eastern time no deal no extension no nothing No Deal in kawai’s deal it’s been hard for me to gauge what’s going on there I’ve always thought the safest bet is he goes back to the Clippers um but something appears to be a miss here what are you hearing on PG yeah listen they’ve had the ability to negotiate a new contract since last July now we’re June what are we June 20th June 20 21st I think today it’s we’re almost a year if there was if there was a deal in place it would have happened already um Kawhi Leonard got extended in January for 3 for 150 um if Paul George was willing to take that same exact contract there would have been a deal in place here um he’s eligible for 4 for 221 to sign with the Clippers now or as a free agent as a free agent he can include a no trade clause which is certainly a taboo thing in this world when we saw what happened with Bradley Beal and you know try tra trading a player making at 36 37 years old 26 front offices Bobby and so I think I think the the I think the more logical if you asked me today eight days before free agency um I think the more logical thing would be for him to opt into his contract and then for them for the Clippers to work out deals and see what the market is with the with Paul with the cooperation of Paul because I think for him to become a free agent I think two things here really you’re limited you’re looking at a limited playing field really it’s Philadelphia right like that’s kind of it cap spacewise I think signing trades are very hard to do um based on a lot of different parameters team gets hard capped certainly um I do think opting in similar to what Chris Paul did was at 2017 when he got went from uh Clips to Houston I think that that makes it more instead of teams now there’s like six or seven teams um the the rules have changed now the extension rules because it’s an optin and trade na a sign in trade to be clear exactly exactly I mean still teams are going to be you know you have to balance your books differently because if you take back more money now you’re you know you’re hard capped at the first apron so there are a lot of you know I don’t we don’t need to go through a CBA 101 here variables for that but I do think it it is a little bit easier to do the sign and trade um the sign and trade route I think it’s a little bit easier too because the extend ition rules are changing as of July 1 where now you can um you can add a total of four years if a player is traded um right away including what’s left so you could do the basically what Paul George would get as a free agent and and extend him right off the bat here um I I think so if you if you see him opt in I don’t think it’s opting in to then extend with the Los Angeles Clippers it’s opting in that there’s a deal in place somewhere else all right well let talk me through it because my head has gone here off and on but not fully gone here um the tricky thing about that theoretical trade op in in trade similar to like you said the Chris Paul to the Houston situation so PG makes his option is 48.8 million that’s a lot of money um it’s one of those tricky things where it would be teams that are both trying to win trading with each other because the Clippers having paid Kawhi Leonard we don’t know what’s going to happen with Harden moving into a new building unless it’s a it becomes a total we’re just trading everyone are trying to win I personally think the Kawai PG this is why they’ve been interesting to me I think the Kawai PG harded model is the kawhai PG model by itself I just think the Windows shut I I just can’t ever have faith anymore that they’re all going to be healthy when it actually matters we’ve just seen seen the movie too many times and the Clippers have this habit of coming off the top rope with these trades That You Don’t See coming and and doing pretty well and pivoting when you don’t think they have any pivot moves left and I’ve been trying to Rack my brain like what is what is the off the-top rope pivot move for them I guess it just has to be something like this but then I’m like oh so they want to win any team acquiring Paul George in his early to mid3 on a gigantic deal is also going to want to win where is the overlap where is the match there yeah I mean I think you let’s take it from the Clippers perspective first like the goal is if if this ever came to came about is not that they’re going to take three steps back right like can you do that when you’re move certainly going into a new building and you’ve got you know now what you you got lent kaai starting this new contract what happens with Harden right there’s a lot of different variables there so you’re you’re you’re you would trade him to um you would trade him to get players back whether it be creating a trade exception whether getting one or two players back whether it would be working on a signning trade to acquire a player because You’ still have flexibility against the the hard cap I mean like realistically like like a team like and this is hypothetical this is I don’t have inside information to like like he did everyone hear that did everyone hear hypothetical this is just me putting on my salary cap like Paul Geor would fit great in Golden state right however like how do you go about doing that you’re basically you’re waving because where they are financially you can’t do that right now so you’re basically saying goodbye to Clay you’re basically uh waving Chris Paul you’re basically trying to rope in a third team because if you’re the Clippers you probably do you want Andrew Wiggins in his number do you want you know what else would come with it here so like that’s that would be like scenarios like that I’m just using Golden State as an example um where it helps kind of both sides here but it’s as I said it’s kind of it’s very very complicated to do it can I just go off the top of my head like can we just get crazy for a second go ahead well also the what what is this second apron Clippers situation like do they have to go dollar for dooll in a trade second apron yeah so if they trade Paul George who makes $ 48.7 million they have they cannot take back a dollar more than that right and if they if the goal is to resign um James Harden right like yeah you’re taking if you’re sitting at 48 I mean you ain’t taking Mac 50 so it’s dollar for dollar and I can’t I can’t stack right I got like stack limitations you can a uh you can aggregate coming in you can’t aggregate going out so you could take a 24 and a $24 million guy let me let me uh let me think of this is literally L off the top of my head I mean you can connect a lot of dots if you want if the Jimmy Butler situation was going to go sideways in Miami is that workable like a straight one for one yeah I mean yeah Jimmy’s I don’t have his number in front of me think he’s like 47 I think yeah that works you could do that uh well no because then it hard caps it that’s here’s the apron problem because then it hard caps the heat right so you’re basically it’s hard for apron teams to trade with each other that’s the that’s the challeng why does that hard cap the heat they’re Jimmy Butler is 48.7 N8 so what is Paul 48.8 hold on it I’m I gotta go back on my browser now I got it in front of me too I’ll pull it up on my 48787 I don’t even remember what the hell I just said to they’re like almost exact be like a like a couple of hamburgers um hamburgers don’t work it in the world of the apron though why you can wipe your hands on the apron if you’re the Paul Paul is 48787 okay Jimmy is yeah oh Jimmy is 48 798 what the hell that’s unbelievable um well I and I you know I don’t know what’s gonna happen with Jimmy Butler um I don’t think the heat are going to give him the extension that he wants that was signaled pretty aggressively by Pat Riley but there’s there’s an in between World um where they kind of come to a daant for a bit and he either plays out the contract and they just say hey let’s see what we can do uh or they eventually they do that and then they say you know what this is going well why don’t we sign a smaller two-year extension at some point uh I I I don’t know what’s going to happen there but I don’t I think it’s downgraded from like Defcon one to Defcon 4 right now I think it’s it’s calm a little bit all right so cross off Miami is there something we can do with Cleveland I I mean I was looking more new yorkish they’re on my list so to mechanically like what is the New York trade that opt in and trade that works that that’s you know so you’re taking back 40 so you’re basically looking at I’ve got the anobi thing hanging over my head and Philly Philly is the Philly is like the boogeyman for that too yeah I mean basically it’s I mean here’s another thing where if you bring if you if the goals are bring back OG and and Isaiah uh you’re s you’re close to the apron also here so you gota you gotta like manage your your books here but just hypothetically you’re looking at probably Boon Boon If he if you guarantee his contract which is at like 19 um you know where how does Randall you know Randall is a big number too right like that gets you that gets you close to that I think 19.03 2 million plus 28.9 39 million adds up to slightly more than Paul George what do we do doing right now I know is going on I am going to have to go to the Staples up the street to buy a bigger calculator to you know like who would have thought like this is where we are in this world where we’re basically like we’re like accountants right like we’re just figuring like do it has to be 100% right so that’s that’s this that’s the world that’s what everyone team as I said before we’ve talked about it like I talked to one team is like used to used to be I just went to my owner and said hey we’re going to add 10 million luxury tax and now it’s like all right five there’s there’s a fstep process to this all so I thought about the Knicks and I again plausibility like we’ll freaking see I thought about the Cavs um that would be a scenario where Donovan Mitchell I think stays in Cleveland and they find a find a way to P that’s just it’s a a lot of big pieces yep I thought about New Orleans Ingram yep you know after the Wolves got eliminated I went through fake Carl Anthony towns trades and what am i absolute favorite ones it’s almost a dollar Ford dooll match was cat for Kawai just just Clippers shake it up like we’re just done but um cat makes a tiny bit more next season than Paul George yeah he starts year one of the super max golden state was on my list I don’t that’s a tough one that’s yeah that’s that’s we really got to bring out our C and hat on that so you think this is where we are like this is a real possibility opt in and trade Chris Paul 2.0 like the the like things may be at this point this bad between Paul George and the Clippers listen we still have eight or nine days for something to happen I I think that if the a for if a fourth year is not on um on on the table and I don’t think it ever has been um you know fourth year at maybe less money um I think that’s kind of the road that we could be talking about next week when we why would Philly just not offer that yeah four for 212 then you just put it out there that’s what they can do is it so let’s see I mean like like let you know hey like if if if there’s a 4 for 212 number out there um and Philly alers it then this this becomes a moot point as far as the ability because you could just go there outright and sign it and maybe they want to split it I I mean I don’t know what Philly’s gonna do maybe they want to split it among multiple players instead of using it all in one one shot yeah listen you could um you know you could technically you know sign him for 49 you’d still have depending on what you do with Paul Reed and your first round pick you could still have 16 million left you go out and get another player you still have the roomid level exception you you still have you know there’s still some more other ways to to add to their roster um interesting times for the Clippers and into it dome listen I would just say that if if you’re if you’re the Clippers and they got a smart front office there is that I would just Rec you know just there you have to have your your ducks in a row as far as what your plan B and your plan C is going to be as far as who’s available with either with a trade exception and who’s available with um you know from a um you know who’s who’s the third team who’s a fourth team you know kind of lining all up I mean they’ve gone through the exercise before I mean all you know Lawrence was there when they did the Paul the Chris Paul trade um so it’s a it’s a smart front office here but I think they’re I think they’re fully aware just because as I said we we’ve gone this is it’s not like all of a sudden like free the free agent window opened and like here we are it’s like this has kind of been the dance for the whole year and on the Philly thing I mean they basically have to build a whole entire new team around embiid and Maxi now maybe they brings back some guys with bird rights maybe Batum comes back whatever but I do think you know an underrated issue for Philly over the last eight nine years has just been the constant turnover they just changed the Personnel around MB all the time they change the structure the the very makeup and Foundation of like what kinds of players are around him changes all the time and at least at this time Maxi and embiid have a couple years of chemistry now and one big year of reps in in a high stakes playoff series to but I the level of turnover is just it’s just constant and I it it has to have some kind of cost um for the Sixers who by the way still have not made um yeah I mean listen if you go if you go three guys at Max numbers right I mean the you’re basically going to go through the cycle of you know every year or for the next three years probably cycling through your bench again you know you will have some picks in in the future um but that’s you know that’s you know that’s the decision Daryl has to make do I want one big guy or do I want to chop that money up into maybe two or three guys an anobi by the way is the name I keep waiting for like if if we don’t hear anything about an anobi because he is their own free agent I guess even though he has an option he’s got to opt out of right soon too um another team I thought of just top of my head for Paul George and I and I don’t think this is a real possibility but it dovetails nicely with what I want to talk about next is the Kings just resigned Malik monk uh W broke that story last night four years 78 which is the most they could have offered Malik Monk on the early bird number it’s gonna be an important number for Isaiah hartenstein and some other free agents in the league um great deal for the Kings great deal for monk win-win like it’s the biggest deal of his career he’s worth more than that probably to the Kings especially given the jump and playmaking that he showed last year as a passer and a pick and rooll playmaker um you know the Kings have sniffed around cakam they sniffed around anunobi they have this sort of readymade Harrison Barnes plus herder plus draft picks package sitting there uh now they owed one pick to Atlanta from the original herder deal and the issue they’re facing is sabonis and fox are going to make a100 million combined over you know once once Fox’s next deal kicks in but it sabonis already got extended and they’ve been hesitant to commit themselves to a third monster salary which which just limits the amount of guys you can trade for but I think they’re also cognizant of we we need like Barnes and herder are just not good enough as two of five starters I mean herder’s really struggled in the playoffs and we need another another guy this like they’re one of my f favorite fake Jimmy Butler destinations again there’s nothing I just made that up out of whole cloth I think he fits everything they need in terms of Defense toughness shot making whole cloth I don’t see it and the thing with the heat also is we never see the Heat make just rebuilding trades like if they’d ever got to the point where they’re going to trade Jin Butler they’d want a player a real you know capital P player back um or the assets that they know they can right away turn around and get one but it just feels like the kings are still rip for something I I don’t know what um I like Malik monk I think it’s a good deal I think what we’ve seen from the kings in the last two years as Feelgood as it is is about what they are in a western conference that just gets better and better and better which is they might make the play in they might make the first round it’s hard to see much more than that unless really things break right or Fox hits another level they’re a team to watch for me not not necessarily for Paul George but I just like I thought about Markin in for then is that the guy they go in for I don’t I don’t I’m not sure they have enough to really even interest the Jazz in engaging in that conversation and again third big salary it’s it’s just a tough nut to crack you got the two big salaries if you have quals about adding a third one I don’t know how you get the right pieces arranged around those two yeah I mean that the big question for me you know outside of the ability to sign Malik bunk is kind of has the roster kind of plateaued and what does plateau mean like kind of is it is this going to be like a 464 s win team which is not I mean which is a if you’re in Sacramento it’s certainly a good thing but that’s a usually that’s that’s a playing that’s a you’re you’re a good team in if you win that many games in the Western Conference like the Warriors last year finished 27 and 12 won 46 games I think yep and lost everybody wants to break up the team they didn’t make like they’re a good team you’re starting from a pretty solid floor yeah I I I totally agree so now as you said like you’re you know if we take Kean Murray out of the mix right because that’s your your third guy your pieces are the two guys we’ve talked about forever which is Barnes and herder and then you’ve got picks you’ve got the 13th pick in the draft you’ve got some future stuff after you give up that one to Atlanta that’s protected next year um they’re another team though right we wake up this morning they’re they’re they’re basically $5 million below the first apron they’re $2 million over the luxury tax um after this this trade so the ability to put together you know 33 $34 million in contracts and then add maybe another player for a Jimmy Butler type becomes you know now that becomes the the challenge because now you’re aggregating now you’re hard capping yourself I should have mentioned Keegan Murray obviously the other road map to the Kings starting to to crack a new level is Keegan Murray becoming a borderline All-Star kind of player and I think he does have that kind of upside he slowed down a little bit toward the end of the season but I like his game he’s an easy player to fit and actually is is sort of yeah maybe maybe that’s just the maybe that’s just the patient route and and the problem is those four guys Fox sabonis depending on when and how fox signs his new deal when he’s eligible now for an extension you outlin this on ES years seems more likely to wait until after the year yeah see if he makes all NBA but Fox sabonis Murray on whatever he gets which will be a big deal when his rookie deal is up and monk you’re going to be at $150 million for four guys um and that’s going to leave you under with plenty of wiggle room under the tax but not that many vehicles to like really change your team this is just good team I I think the the benefit too not just Sacramento is that we’re kind of like a lot of teams are kind of just you know from because the Cap’s not increasing much eventually like we’re going to see this nice bump it’s going to go 10% 10% 10% so there’s going to be more flexibility down the road for teams to add um you know you know certainly you go from 141 to 155 as far as salary cap for next year and it’s going to continually continually increase and it just gives it will give teams more flexibility all right a question I I have a I’m looking at are those boats out there real in the background well first of all I’m in an office this is not a window this is just a TV a TV screen but it is showing the East River I don’t know if it’s live or on some kind of delay hey there’s a Brooklyn Bridge right there um and these boats are real they they Traverse the East River and go around New York and this is actually quite emotional for me to come to this office um because you can’t see it here but up this direction and you can see it from our Green Room is Long Island City yes where I used to live until the pandemic and I used to be able to take a ferry almost from the foot of my building to one Pier away from here in three stops and it was just the most delightful commute and I loved it so much and I loved Long Island City so much and we never would have moved if not for the pandemic and it’s been we’ve been back two or three times and I get legitimately gut punch emotional looking and seeing and being in Long Island City so thank you for that oh you’re welcome okay I just curious um JJ reick got hired as the Lakers coach ending a long and drawn out Saga we don’t need to go into the Saga y um every everyone wants to know is he going to be a good coach is this going to work for the Lakers the least the three least sexy words in sports television I don’t know like I don’t know what JJ is about I don’t know how this is going to work I know that the most important thing for the Lakers is their current roster is not good enough for if your definition of is it going to work like deep playoff run I don’t see this roster being able to do that this isn’t the west of two years ago where they did that and Darin ham was doing a nice job and I you know again every coach does a good job gets him deep in the playoffs gets fired it’s a different Western Conference now LeBron’s older ad’s older LeBron’s going to be 40 for God’s sake yeah um here’s what I know about JJ he’s not gonna get outw worked and it’s GNA be very hard to outthink him um he is going to sit there like if you go in a playoff series he will have thought okay here are the eight different ways we can play this particular pick and roll combination defensively and then here are the eight different ways we can play this different pick and roll combination defensively and well let’s think if we do that then the other team’s going to do this and if we change our rotation this way well the other team can do that as a counter he’s not going to be out thought tactically by very many coaches uh he there is going to be a learning curve in terms of making those decisions in a snap in real time because at the very highest level you cannot miss a beat like you cannot be late to make an adjustment or adjust to their adjustment but the work and the Tactical stuff is going to be there um all the other stuff managing personalities managing the Lakers expectations managing the crazy structure that is governing the Lakers is is a different story I think JJ will do fine it sounds like they’re going to round out his staff with veterans guys who know Anthony Davis you know Udonis hlin today mentioned ran Rondo as a as a coaching candidate I just I mean everyone wants to put out a referendum on whether he’s going to do well uh is he the next Steve Kerr Steve Kerr was a GM for a long time in the league before he got hired as a coach um I I I don’t know I’m optimistic I think JJ will do very well uh I just like what what’s what’s a fair expectation for a successful Lakers offseason they have three picks they can trade once the year turns over right um and then outgoing salaries you can tell us about it depends a little bit about DLo opting in or opting out um it’s it’s just I mean they won one playoff game this year I know they drew drew a nightmare first round matchup for them but every matchup in the west is going to be a nightmare of some kind yeah I mean like let’s start just with the higher in itself I think I’m I’m you know and I I said this yesterday in NBA today I kind of go back to 2013 when we hired Jason kid who had never coached but it’s under different circumstances Jason had just been done had just finished playing with the Knicks and uh JJ’s been out of the league for a couple years but has been doing the media circuit and has be able to sit with head coaches I think it gives him I think him coming in gives a fresh perspective of the ability to analyze all 30 teams and certainly analyze the team that he is taking over so I’m not concerned as you said from a tactical from a strategy um standpoint yes the ability to to put out a veteran put a veteran staff that you can trust the ability to be aligned with your general manager though all those things are important from a roster standpoint they’ve got to nail the draft like pick 17 where they are like they’ve got to get they’ve got to get like you know like a example um Jared mccane from from duke the shooter like if he’s there at 17 he’d be really good for them right gives him another guy that can make shots they last year they took jayon Hut chafino who was injured for most of the year we know the guys that came after right Brandon haime two guys make all NBA all rookie by speaking of which you know who the next two picks after Josh giddy were who uh not that Josh giddy was a bad pick I’m just think it’s interesting uh Jonathan kaminga and fron Vagner yeah yeah so you yeah sorry no so you’ve got so that’s I think that’s certainly the priority now the the roster um the roster is interesting because we we talk all along about LeBron and the option I’m like d’angel Russell dictates their offseason like what happens with D’Angelo Russell dictates a lot of where their flexibility is he’s got a you know close to a $19 million player option him and LeBron have until June 29th to decide it um if if D’Angelo Russell opts out two things for me there’s a deal in place somewhere you don’t opt out in this market and basically going to go into free agency with blinders on here so does that mean that he’s coming back at a less salary for the Lakers what does less mean 14 million $15 million what’s the cap room team where he’s a great fit I mean look listen you your cap room teams are Orlando not a great fit Detroit he’s not a bad fit in Orlando actually I take that he’s not a bad fit in Orlando it’s just not where I would use use my ammo yeah I mean um uh Utah I mean uh possibly San Anton San Antonio is interesting because you know I was having a conversation with a front office guy last week just about what what what’s been interesting to you about the playoffs and he said you know it’s been interesting to see how how well some of the small guards did in the playoffs because the narrative is always this is him talking The Narrative is always that small guards just get played off the floor defensively they get hunted and hunted and hunted and like Jaylen Brunson was amazing halberton was amazing I’m probably even missing somebody who was amazing um and that just led me to think about not that D’Angelo Russell is small but he’s a defensive liability it led me to think about Trey young and San Antonio yeah and I think one of the luxuries and I’m not saying this is real thing at all blah blah blah caveat caveat the Spurs have all the Hawks picks Etc um I just think one of the luxuries of having wanyama is going to be we can absorb all sorts of players on both ends of the floor up to an including weak defensive guards in part because this guy’s just everywhere all the time I don’t know how we got talking about this DLo DLo to uh so that’s I mean that’s kind of like so yeah so he so here here here’s where they are right now give you a little bit of snapshot with both guys on the books including your first round pick you are luxury tax team you are a first apron team and you’re nearing the second apron so that limits your and that does not include Max Christie who they’ve you kind of he’s been like all the you know when when we’re talking about Danny Hurley we’re talking about their young players he’s he’s been lumped in with that group right um who’s a restricted free agent so as is with this roster your Flex ibility is limited as far as from a trade standpoint if you are an apron team so that’s why I say the Russell decision basically you know listen he Ops out and he goes somewhere else that certainly gives you the maybe the ability to use your non- tax mid-level exception you’ll still be kind of have to figure that number but you also lose a guy that scores 181 19 points so that’s kind of like the counterbalance to that and they can trade three first right yeah they can trade start of the United draft draft they can trade 20 their 17th pick and then they can trade uh 20 2029 and 2031 yeah and I mean I’ve just been I I have intentionally sort of not Dove too deep into the bronny James Waters because I I’m just not familiar enough with this yeah I would I would you know listen um I think El I think Brony James will get drafted will he get draft for sure he’s getting he’s getting drafted um I think he’s two years removed he’s an undersized two guard um his ability to defend will keep him in this league that’s my my my my point is 55 is fine 17 you just cannot 22 if or 22 Phoenix 22 I will Hammer them on Wednesday night no can’t do it can’t do it um anyway so three first including 17 the the the other issue is like to get a real player whoever it is a third guy and the Lakers are going to hunt around for third guys um you just mechanically you’ve got to put salary into the deal and if the player is anyone that has positive trade value Austin Reeves is going to have to be like these teams are just not going to give away their players now the one exception might be LaVine uh because that situation seems to have run its course in Chicago yeah we can debate his fit in with the Lakers I don’t think that’s really worth a debate worth having right now um but other than that you’re like you’re sending significant Talent out the door to bring any significant talent in the door it’s gonna be be very interesting to see what the Lakers do because their roster is fine like like I said a play in team a first round playoff team of the West you’re a good team ad’s been phenomenal for them LeBron has been phenomenal for them it’s a good team it just gets harder and harder every year in the west and the west of two years ago is not the west of today yeah good I mean as you said when we talked about s like 46 47 wins I can certainly see the Lakers doing that but that I mean remember LeBron and AD played plus 65 games you know that’s that’s a big accom you know but they had that Swoon in I think it was November and December that really cost them they did win the inseason tournament though I’m not I mean no listen I hear you it’s going to be interesting to see how that’s regarded in five years because it was cool in the moment yeah it was cool like and the Pacers went for it and the Pacers I think that’s the ideal inseason tournament team young Rising National Spotlight all of a sudden okay we learned something about ourselves through this process it just feels like a whole different planet ago that that happened the silly courts all of it and when you get into the muck of the playoffs and it’s the best teams and they’re going adjustment for adjustment possession for possession it just felt felt so far removed from that that I care less about the Lakers or whoever winning it today than I did in the moment where I was like that’s a nice accomplishment I don’t mind that it’s a nice accomplishment I just I mean I just could not it would be hard for me to care less now than I do about about that as as as an accomplishment yeah I mean listen the Sacramento Golden State game that was like on a Tuesday or Wednesday night for like winner gets in to the to the you know the group of eight like that was awesome right like that that wasn’t going to happen but I think like my perspective on the inseason tournament for next year is really if you’re if I’m a player it’s really about how can I make $500,000 right like that’s really it’s like the cash component of it all well maybe it’ll help with the new TV all right anything else on the Lakers anything we’re missing any fits you like there in terms of potentially available players that we haven’t yeah I mean I just think I think it’ll be interesting you know um you know what happens in Cleveland um does that open and you know they’ve been pretty upfront as far saying that you know they’re not changing the parts of their roster here I mean what happens with Garland you know you know guys like that um but as you said like if you’re the Lakers really it’s you know anything any trade-wise starts probably with Reeves and hamur and you’ve got Gabe Vincent you got Jared Vanderbilt those are your big your your big salaries well JJ got the job it’s going to be it’s going to be good theater it’s going to be interesting to watch and I think he’s going to be more ready for it than people give him credit for Bobby marks NBA offseason is underway you are in Los Angeles we’re going to see you all over the airwaves in the next week to 10 two weeks we got the TCH your touch how’s your touchcreen game oh we got well we had we brought it out two days ago we’ve we did a modified uh free agency touchcreen six teams only if you tune in uh well this is going to come out after we do TV today we are going to bring it out I think we’re going to do a little Golden State uh Little Golden State on on Klay Thompson here okay yeah I feel good I feel good like you know I’m not in like I’m not in like I’m in preseason shape I’ll be in I’ll be in game ready that’s going to be on NBA today in three hours yes well this podcast will be out by then um and I will be on I’m going to run home and I’m also going to be on NBA today see you on there we’ll talk more there thanks Bobby thanks see you

Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks talk through all the angles of the Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey trade, look at landing spots for Paul George, weigh in on the Kings’ cap sheet and potential moves, and discuss the state of the Lakers now that they’ve landed a head coach in JJ Redick.
0:00 Welcome to The Lowe Post Podcast
0:30 Thunder acquire Alex Caruso in exchange for Josh Giddey
1:20 Sam Presti reveals Giddey asked for a trade
4:55 Bulls’ rebuilding plan
12:36 Josh Giddey’s limitations
17:02 What Alex Caruso brings to OKC
27:59 Paul George trade buzz
33:16 Fake Paul George opt-in and trade scenarios
44:07 Malik Monk re-signs in Sacramento
50:46 The Lakers hire JJ Redick

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