Which teams became CONTENDERS or PRETENDERS during 2025 NBA Free Agency 😳

Which teams became CONTENDERS or PRETENDERS during 2025 NBA Free Agency 😳

Welcome into CBS Sports HQ on this Wednesday after an insane day of NBA free agency yesterday. Today we are trying to breathe, trying to assess the landscape of where things stand now in the East and the West. We’re going to take a deep dive into the East as it is now wide open. But first, taking a a look, excuse me, at the new top 10 free agents. You get Jonathan Kuminga there, restricted free agent with the Warriors who are now below the apron, but they don’t really have any more wiggle room. What will happen to him? Also, keep a close eye on the likes of DeAndre Aton, Al Horford, the Lakers desperate for a center, and one of those guys could potentially be the answer. Notable Eastern Conference moves. Uh it was all about the Bucks yesterday, waving Dame Lillard, signing Miles Turner. A lot of our experts saying they don’t think that’s good enough for Giannis. Could he potentially request a trade? The Celtics last week trading away Chris Tus Porzingis to Atlanta. And Drew Holiday to Porton. The Knicks adding Jordan Clarkson. The updated odds to win the East. Things have changed a little bit. The Cavs now sitting at plus 270. If you remember, they finished the regular season on top of that conference, followed by the Knicks. The Magic moving up to plus 410. Hawks to 10 to1. Celtics dropping 11 to1. and then the 76ers and the Pistons. So, we’re going to dive into it. We have Ashley Nicole Moss, Brad Vodkin here with us. Uh, we’re going to go over about 10 teams in the East because Brad, how I is it try to paint a picture of the East and how wide open it is.
Well, it is wide open, but you know, the Cavs theoretically should be they were the best team in the East all of last year and then they flamed out due to injuries. They should be probably the prohibitive favorite. Um, but I think certainly any of these teams that we’re going to talk about or most of these teams um can get into their war room and say we’ve got a chance if the matchups go our way and the injuries go our way.
Okay. So, let’s start with the Cavs. We’re going to give them to you. We’re going to alternate here. Uh, as mentioned, look, they were dominant. They dominated this conference for a lot of the season. Didn’t go their way in the postseason. They lost to the Celtics.
And as you just said, you think they’re sitting pretty on top right now is the favorite.
I do. Yeah. And then they know that they’ve blown past the second apron as we see all these other teams trying to cut expenditures. They’re going for it. They they go out and get Lonzo Ball. They bring back Sam Merrill. They’re a team that that clearly knows that the window is like right now before Boston gets healthy, before Indiana gets healthy, while Philadelphia still may be a mess. Um and so they’re spending money. So they haven’t done a ton in terms of bringing in outside talent other than Lonzo Ball, but they’re keeping their guys. They’re not trying to cut anything. And you know, look, they lost to Indiana last year in the in the playoffs, but they weren’t healthy. You know, Darius Garland was was not healthy. Played, you know, at the end, but but wasn’t himself. And they believe and and I think rightfully so. They were right there with Oklahoma City as the best team in the league last year for all of the regular season. Uh and and were a legit legit title threat, and it didn’t go that way. But that’s the way that things go in this new parody era. Just because you don’t win doesn’t mean you need to to break things up. They know that they’ve got a window here and and I think should be going in as we’re we’re calling the East wide open. I I think they should be the prohibitive favorite. Um and and they’re attacking it that way. They’re not trying to cut expenditures.
The betting markets agree with you as they are the betting favorite as of right now. Things could change uh as free agency rolls along. Let’s go to the Knicks. Ashley.
Yeah, let’s go to the Knicks.
You guys proved so many people wrong last season, especially this guy. You made it. You made him a believer. I told you lose in the conference finals.
You made him a believer. I think it’s fair to say.
The biggest thing right now for the Knicks, they need a head coach. How are you feeling about the Knicks in the East? I’m feeling good about the Knicks in the East. Obviously, Jordan Clarkson’s not a done deal yet. It is expected to happen the next few days, but I think that he is the scoring punch that the Knicks have been looking for. Obviously, a six-man of the year in 2020, 2021. He’s been phenomenal off the bench, especially when you talk about what he was doing in Utah. But he also has opportunities to play in that closing lineup along Brunson, add some late game playmaking. And I think that when you talk about a Knicks bench that logged fewer minutes and scored fewer points than any other reserve group in the NBA. Now, that’s not necessarily the bench’s fault. That is Tom Tibido’s fault, which is why a head coach who goes to his bench is going to be number one on the New York’s list of things of qualities rather they want in a head coach. I think look, this Knicks team did not need a lot of work. This was a team that does really well, did really well. Some may say they overperformed and they were just a couple of pieces away. I think that starting unit is good to go. The bench, a scoring punch is what you needed. A head coach is also what you need. So 50% of the puzzle has been solved. I’m I’m hearing or I was reading this morning a lot about uh potentially Mike Brown, widely regarded as a front runner. You like that?
I like Mike Brown. I do think he got the short end of the stick in Sacramento. I think he’s a lot better of a coach than Sacramento gave him credit for. I think Sacramento is just kind of looking for someone to blame for their misfortune and the things that the front office did not do well when it came to organizing that team and that roster. I think Mike Brown would be a really really good fit and he has experience with um a team that is expected to do a lot and also another former coach of the year
and they got Yabu too. I mean we got to we got to talk about Yabelli. He’s he’s a good guy from you know every came to fame in the French national team but you know outfitting their their their bench. He’s he can play and he he can defend. Um he he was well he was good for the 76ers last year. So the so the Knicks have have have done pretty well.
I think he’s trying to jump on the Knicks train early. so he doesn’t have to jump on it late.
If you want to, you got to submit your request early. I have a lot to look at in the offseason.
She’ll go through those papers. Uh let’s jump to the Magic who’ve jumped up in the odds there. They finished right at 500 last season. They made it out of the plan. They were bouncing the first round of the playoffs. So, what do you like, Brad? What do you not love about what they’ve been doing? Because they are getting a lot of love right now.
No. Yeah. And they should be. They were aggressive. They made the move for Desmond Bane. Gave up four picks for him. Now, people who, you know, when that trade goes down, similar to when Muel Bridges went to New York, people look at that and say, “Desmond Bane never been an all-star, four first round picks.” But you can’t look at it in a vacuum.
Well, I’m I think a lot of people would say that in in a vacuum because look, Kevin Durant gets one pick. Luca Donuch gets one pick. We’re talking about there might not even be a market for LeBron James, but Desmond Bang goes four picks. Doesn’t make sense on paper, but in the context of the Magic, elite defense, need offensive punch to go with Paulo Beno and France Bogner, they get that in Bane. A legit three-point shooter can do point guard stuff, can create five assists a game guy. Um, probably not their actual prototypical point guard, but they bring back Jaylen Suggs. Uh, and then they sign Taius Jones, uh, who can come in and probably be a second unit um, point guard and take that Cole Anthony spot. And suddenly you have a team with an elite defense that now has really three really good offensive players in Bogner, Bonero, and Bane. And in this quote unquote wide openen Eastern Conference, you know that I I think we can I think we can have an honest discussion about you probably should need to add more than Desmond Bane to become a contender, but that’s the reality in the Eastern Conference. add one pretty good player if you’re already a good, you know, foundational team and you’re in the mix. So, Orlando’s in the mix.
Okay, they’re in the mix. What about the Hawks, Ashley? Uh, look, they they made some big signings. They also traded. They now have Christophs Porzingis. Hawks fans, I I read a lot of your little articles online. They want Giannis. That is way far down the line. That would be wild. Who doesn’t who doesn’t want
That’s like Tom’s uh Tom Tim Doyle saying that Ace Bailey was the second coming of Tracy McGrady. That’s up there.
Still shots fired at um him for that. What does Atlanta look like?
Listen, I it’s going to pain me to say this, but I think Atlanta has done a really nice job. Let’s start with Alexander Walker. Versatile player, can contribute on both ends of the court, offense, defense. You have um Luke here, Canard. He’s a reliable scorer, shooter to the back court. And then with all the moves that they have made just overall, they have filled 12 roster spots, three with two-way player slots gives them more flexibility and depth, which is what they kind of struggled with because Brad says this all the time. You know, when you talk about Trey Young, the way that he plays his position and his game is is very antiquated with the way that the NBA looks right now. And he needs a lot of help. He needs a lot of those two-way guys around him to be better at what Trey Young can do so well. and that is being a facilitator and and things like that. So, I think that the Atlanta Hawks did a really good job at finally building a team around Trey Young that they have been trying to build around him in different variations throughout his tenure with the Hawks. It has not worked out. It’s been a struggle. It’s been a tugof-war, if you will. And I will say this is Trey Young’s best shot. This is his best team. And if he can’t get it done, I’m not saying I believe this is a championship team. Let me make that very clear. But this is a team that on paper could go conference finals. And if they do not do that, it is not a front office problem. It is not a coaching problem. It just might be a Trey Young problem. And he is the odd man out when you come to when it comes to building a team in Atlanta. And then you have to have a very real conversation about what your future with him looks like. It’s been a long time. Go ahead.
Best off season outside of Houston, I think. Atlanta.
I think Denver’s up there, too.
Yeah, they very good, too. But Atlanta’s hit a home run. Okay. Well, they hit a home run. Uh, they now have Chris Taps Porzingis, of course, the team that does not have them anymore is the Celtics. Uh, hard to know what this is going to be for the Celtics. I mean, Jason Tatum is hurt. You don’t have Drew Holiday anymore. You don’t have Christopheringis anymore. They shed that salary. Brad, how are you feeling about the Celtics?
I mean, fine. It’s a gap year. We knew this was going to be the case um or presumably we knew this was going to be the case even before the Tatum injury. They were going to have to shed salary. They were going to blow past half a billion dollars with tax implications. So Holiday was going to go. Porzingis was going to go. So nothing surprising there. What I’m still waiting on is Anthony Simons. They signed him in the in the Holiday trade from Portland and he’s a good player. Really really good offensive player. Uh, and they could say, “Hey, in defensively we
in this wide open Eastern Conference with Jaylen Brown and and and Derek White and Anthony Simons, maybe we go for it.” Or maybe they continue to shed salary. And here’s where I think this could get interesting. You know, Milwaukee makes the move for Miles Turner, which I don’t support. But if you’re going to go for Miles Turner, you better keep going because that’s not enough. And there could possibly be a deal for the Celtics to keep trimming salary. send Anthony Simons to basically become the Damen Lillard replacement in Milwaukee, ship out Kyle Koosma and a couple of picks and Boston gets to continue shedding salary, go further into the gap year they were already going to take. And Milwaukee gets a true offensive guy, not as good as Damen Lillard, but in that mold to go with Turner and Giannis and at least triple down this half measure when you’re paying all this money to Damen Lillard for the next five years is you better make it worth it. So, I I’m actually kind of waiting on that. I think Simons is available. I think Boston would be willing to shed more salary, and I think he’s a pretty logical fit to replace Damen Lillard and form, if you want to call it a big three in Milwaukee.
So, do you think then that Boston should consider this? We keep talking about how open the Eastern Conference is, and it is. So, you think that Boston should treat this as a wash year? They shouldn’t try to compete at all.
I I don’t I just think it’s an option. And I think they were
because Tatum Tatum may return depending on how fast his rehabilitation goes and depending on where the Celtics are in contention or in the standings in the Eastern Conference.
I wouldn’t think until I mean it’s
it would be definitely after all way deeper. They would have to gauge it. But my point is if you are if you’re going to commit to just completely shedding this team and thinking that you have no chance to do anything, I’m not saying go for a championship, but if you think you’re not even a playoff team without Tatum on the floor and you do that, then you have to make sure you stick by that because if if by a miracle if by a miracle he is, you know, the Celtics are say in playoff contention, now you’re now
they’ve already they’ve already got rid of Holiday and and and uh uh Porzingis. So, if you further that, but if Jason Tatum does come back and it’s Kyle Kosma instead of Anthony Simons, you pretty much can still do what you were going to do. I I just think it’s something to watch. I think they’ll have to decide that internally if they think Anthony Simons is there and Jason Tatum could come back and we can still make a run. I think they were probably sort of looking at this as a gap year all along. And I just think it’s an option. And I think they can continue to shed salary and I think Anthony Simons for for
I don’t agree with what the the Bucks did for Miles Turner, but now that they they dip their foot in,
yeah,
you can put both in and go get Simons and at least in an Eastern Conference that’s obviously winnable, you can uh I think that’s something to watch.
All right, let’s keep going on here. We got the 76ers a horrific season last year. 24 and 58 was the record. They have VJ Edge in the draft. Ashley’s already struggling.
I’m going to I’m going to keep it short and sweet here. Everything is depending on health. Paul George’s health. Joel Embiid’s health. I do love the pick that they got in the draft, but none of that matters if nobody can play. And that’s really what it comes down to. And it’s unfortunate because on paper, this is a phenomenal roster. I mean, it’s not their roster, but it’s a piece of it. Um, but it does not matter because if you don’t have that big guy right there, Joel Embiid, and you don’t have Paul George, or you don’t have a combination of one of the two, uh, this is just another failed experiment for the 76ers. So, great roster, a lot of talent, health concerns, health, bad luck, and that’s really all this is going to come down to.
A lot of questions there, and there’s really a lot of questions with the Pistons right now. Uh Malik Beasley, look, things that they’re trying to figure out there if they don’t have him. They they did go out uh and got Duncan Robinson in the past 24 hours,
which makes it seem to me like they they be they see the writing on the wall.
Kind of a be.
Could this potential potentially, excuse me, be a contender team? Yeah, I I’m disappointed with Detroit because I think they were right there to take the next step and I had high hopes for them to get they were they were really heavily rumored to be in the market for Nikquil Alexander Walker who ends up in Atlanta and Santi Alama who stays in Memphis. I think if they would have got one of or both of those guys, you’re looking at a top tier Eastern Conference team. They strike out on both of them uh and and they end up with, you know, kind of some leftovers. So they’re because of what they already had and what they showed in the playoffs, they could have beaten the Knicks last year. um a legitimate team. Uh I wouldn’t bump them up into contender status because I don’t think they got enough better. I think that they had high hopes for this off seasonason and and and I think those two guys that they were really in the market for and didn’t get set him back a little bit.
That happened yesterday. Also, uh all the news with the Bucks happened yesterday. Waving Dame bringing in Miles Turner. The biggest question mark on this team is Giannis. Let’s say he is still on this team. Ashley, how do the Bucks look?
Look, Miles Turner isn’t a scrub. He’s also not a premier center. He’s not the creme deme creme in the NBA. I don’t think that this ultimately is the team that’s going to keep Giannis in Milwaukee his entire career. It’s basically putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. And that’s the analogy I keep using. I think at most this keeps Giannis satisfied maybe a season, maybe until the trade deadline. Maybe it keeps him satisfied for the remainder of his contract. But I have without a shadow of a doubt, unless LeBron tells the Lakers, “Send me to Milwaukee right now. I want to play with Giannis.” Uh, Giannis is one and a half feet out the door when you talk about Milwaukee. There’s no future with this franchise at all. That’s why I say watch for the Simons because they know this isn’t enough.
We have one minute left. We got to talk about the Pacers. Tyresese Hallebert with an injury. Each of you get 30 seconds. Brad, I am timing you. 30 seconds of the clock.
So, it’s just so depressing. I mean, they it sucks because they were I think they had earned the right to be the favorite even over the Cavs going into next year. They go to game seven of the finals. So, it it just sucks. Hallebertton blows his Achilles. They lose Turner now. They they they don’t go into the tax because they lost Hallebertton. So, it’s just a bad trickle down effect and it’s just going to unfortunately be a gap year and they got to try to rebuild when Hallebertton gets back.
25 seconds. Pretty good for Brad. Ashley, go ahead. Everything Brad said it’s extremely unfortunate. I think that as somebody who thought that last year was a fluke for the Pacers, this year completely proved me wrong. And it’s going to be a setback because Tyres Halleurn is a lot of the engine that makes this system go. He’s a facilitator. He’s become a scorer. He’s become reliable, his clutch gene, and they’re gonna have to figure out just how deep they are this season without Tyrese Halleurn on the floor. Guys, I appreciate it. I know it was a long day yesterday. Uh we’re all trying to wrap our heads around exactly what is going on in the NBA. What have you got? What are you focusing on on Triple Threat, Ashley?
So, Chris Walker believes that LeBron is going to get bought out by the Lakers and take his talents to the Dallas Mavericks. You heard it here first. Yes.
Don’t listen to that.
You heard it here first. Man, that guy had some hype dreams. Uh, check it out. Triple threat with Ashley Nicole Moss. Back here on CBS Sports HQ. Although the Eastern Conference feels wide open, you can’t say the same about the West. Everyone’s chasing the champs heading into 2025. As you take a look at the odds to win the Western Conference in this upcoming season. The Thunder, of course, the favorite sitting up there at plus 150. However, a few teams like the Rockets, the Nuggets, maybe even the Lakers. Uh, just a few signings away from challenging for that top spot. and it still makes uh decisions very difficult. We’re showing you again our top 10 remaining free agents. You’ve got names like Al Horford and Russell Westbrook, veteran players who can maybe take the top off of a team. You also have Jonathan Kaminga, our number one ranked free agent. But is it enough to dethrone the current champs? Let’s dive into the conversations with our Ashley Nicole Moss and Brad Batkins. Guys, the rich just get richer. We saw SGA sign that supermax extension and I thought this was interesting uh one way one outlet put it. SGA essentially making a million dollars every time he steps on the floor to play a basketball game next year. Brad, I know we floated the conversation of a dynasty and it’s maybe too early to tell, but when you look at the moves that the Thunder are making right now to set them up for success, all spearheaded by that SGA signing, how are we feeling about the Thunder for the next few years?
I feel great about the Thunder. Uh I it’s very very difficult to forecast a dynasty in this era as we’re seeing with the Celtics. It’s the aprons change everything. We don’t need to dig into the weeds of of how that stuff plays out, but it is hard when guys come up for contracts to pay all of your guys. It’s hard to keep the team together. So, you have two or three years like the Celtics had, and then guys get too expensive. But with the Thunder between now and 2031, including this year, they had 13 first round draft picks. So, they have got cheap labor incoming. So, they can surround when Chad eventually gets his max deal, which he will. when Jaylen Williams eventually gets his max deal, which he will, they will always have that support system in place to stay financially feasible. And that is to the credit of Sam Prey and the way that he has designed this thing. Some luck has played into it. Nobody knew SGA was going to turn into this. Nobody knew Jaylen Williams was going to turn into this. He was 11th or 12th overall. Didn’t know much about him coming out of Santa Clara. It has all fallen into place for OKC and they are one of the few teams in the league that truly have a two-time uh a two-prong timeline right now. They can win now and they are set up to sustain it.
Yeah, that that roster is scary for everyone in the West, but let’s see if maybe some of these contenders with the moves we’ve seen to this point could challenge for that. Of course, we’re starting with the Houston Rockets. Ashley, a team who made headlines trading for Katie last week, but they’ve also done some other moves internally as well. They uh signed Fred Van Bleed and Jabari Smith two extensions here. We saw this young Rocket squad go toe-to-toe with the Warriors last year. What do you think about them contending with the Thunder now that they’ve made some moves?
Also signed Clint Capella, who they did not need, but why not if we’re spending money? Um the Houston Rockets, I believe, have become the official number one threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference. I mean, obviously when you add Kevin Durant, you add a lot. You add experience. You add a guy who’s just so skilled with the basketball, an exceptional basketball player, went healthy, top 10 still in the NBA today. But I think the biggest thing about this situation in Houston, specifically when you talk about Kevin Durant, is the biggest concern was is KD going to require this young Houston team who you said gave the Warriors a run for their money and second in the Western Conference? Would KD cause them to have to uproot everything they have been working on and to get him? And it absolutely did not. Such a lowrisk situation. so much promise even post Kevin Durant whenever that time comes for him whenever he ultimately decides to hang it up and I think that for me outside of the talent that already exists on this roster the fact that they were able to make the move for one of the best players we’ve ever seen play the game and it cost them virtually nothing hats off to the Houston Rockets this is how you build the next iteration of your organization and like I said I would not be surprised if they take it to the conference finals this year and they just gave their head coach an extension as well too. EA
phenomenal D was a great coach, by the way. Love him. Love him. Love him.
All right, so we love the Rockets on this side. Let’s see what the Nuggets have to say. Brad, what do you think about the jump scare that the front office gave everyone last week talking about trading the Joker? Um, but it seems like everything that they want to do is to keep him around and keep him happy. Um, when you look at the moves that they have done already, Jonas Valentunes, Cam Robinson are in. We know Michael Porter is out. What do you think? Can the Nuggets contend?
Yeah. Yeah, they can contend. I think that I think Ashley’s right. I would I think it is flip a coin between the Nuggets and the Rockets for the the biggest threat with the Warriors being a wild card. See what they do with Jonathan Kaminga. The Nuggets, their biggest problem has been their depth. And they literally got the guy that that when their depth started disappearing after the 23 championship, Bruce Brown was sort of the poster player for oh my god, we’re letting him go. And they literally got that exact same player back. not a replica, not a guy that plays the same role. Bruce Brown, they got him back only now they get him on a much cheaper contract. Uh very versatile, can exist, I think really thrive is the word in the Joic ecosystem. Um and then yeah, they get they take care of those backup center minutes with Valenunis that have always killed them when Joic is off the court. But the big one is Cam Johnson. They have been trying to unload Michael Porter Jr. or I I shouldn’t say they’ve been trying, but it has been something we’ve all been talking about. That third guy when he makes max money, but he’s not a max player makes it very difficult to out your roster with appropriate depth to get off him for a better player for a better player. Cam Johnson is a better player, one of the better movement shooters in the league, which will fit perfectly with Nicole Joic. Um, but they also do it by adding depth on top of that. So, a phenomenal offseason, I think, for for the Denver Nuggets. All right, let’s keep it pushing there as we talk about the Lakers next. And Ashley, last week you and I spun the wheel. You know, we played that fun game when we landed on the teams and we got the Lakers and you said without a doubt the piece that the Lakers need is a center. So, when we look at them as contender number one, they still haven’t signed one yet. There’s still a couple out there, but what do you think about LA? Um, yeah, they’re definitely not a contender. They’d be lucky to make the playoffs at this rate. Uh, it’s look, LeBron and Luca, they’re going to do what LeBron and Luca do. Um, they desperately need a center. Unfortunately, there’s only two centers available. One cleared waiverss today, and that is DeAndre Aton and then there’s Al Horford. They each come with their pros. They each come with their cons. Obviously, for me, Al Horford is the better option of the two. But this is just a roster that is just so all over the place. It’s so depleted. It doesn’t do any justice to the greatness of LeBron and Luca. If we’re going to be honest, it’s going to require those two guys once again to play majority of the minutes, to play majority of the season. They’re not going to get any rest. They’re going to be gassed by the time they get into the playoffs, if they get into the playoffs. And in a Western Conference that has just become younger and harder, and the changing of the guard is before us. The Lakers have not done anything to make this a better team. It’s pretty much the same team, and they’re going to get a center that might help them. It’s not going to move the needle. So, it’s just the center that you’re worried about.
There’s everything. There’s not enough offensive firepower, I feel like, on this team. The center obviously is the biggest piece. The schemes just aren’t correct. There’s just there’s just they’re in a limbo stage between life after LeBron, but LeBron’s still on the team and life with Luca, but they can’t make the team around Luca because it’s still about LeBron.
That’s the key. I think the Lakers are sort of without actually saying it, if you if you read their actions, I think they’re almost daring LeBron to go in and say and demand a trade and take the onus off of them from a PR standpoint and and put it
would be the best thing to happen to them
because they they want to start planning for life without him and you can’t do it while you’re still paying him 52 million. I really think they’re daring to do that.
All right, we’ll keep our eye on that. Maybe some bold news coming out of one LA team if we flip the switch, Brad, and talk about the other side. Uh the Clippers here. It was just so good to see Kawhi Leonard playing and being healthy. Now he gets James Harden back next to him. So hopefully that health will extend. But when you look at the Clippers, I guess is their season hinging upon health and being successful in that way or how do you see them? Yeah, they get Lopez uh which is, you know, for a backup center really to Zubos to come in and stretch the floor and he can still protect the rim. So they add in that regard. Everybody’s looking for depth these days. And so, yes, uh, you know, point A about the the Clippers is the health of Kawhi Leonard and is James Harden going to show up in the playoffs. The health showed up for Kawhi Leonard. James Harden had some of his disappearing acts in the playoffs. Um, but they signed back up for more years and more money for Harden. Uh, they’re they’re pretty committed to those guys and so they’re going to keep outfitting themselves with with depth. But the Clippers were an elite defense last year. Uh they have a one of really the one of the explosion players of of the season last year in Norm Powell. Um Tyoo and is gonna get the most out of the team. They’re going to be I think one of these slow play teams in the in the regular season. Don’t bet on them to be I think scrapping for a top three seed, but they’re a team that like just like last year. Look, a lot of us last year were picking the Clippers as an honest threat to go to the finals.
Yeah. And they didn’t get out of the first round. They’re to me a a really high variance team. You you can make a case that even the Thunder don’t want anything to do with the Clippers in a playoff series, but you can make a case that, you know, Kawawaii’s not 100% and Harden has some bad games and they’re out of the picture. They’re they’re they could go a lot of ways
between the Clippers and the Lakers. Which way are you leaning?
Clippers.
Yeah, I think the Clippers.
I figured
I think the Clippers, but none of us liked the Lakers last year and for a minute they’re
they’re a lot better than we thought. We’ll see. We’ll see.
Okay. All right. Ashley, I know you talked about the Timberwolves earlier. They are next on this list and we talked about if we inserted Dame Lillard into this team, it would be a great fit. We’ve got to think about them without Dame Lillard for a moment and we’ve seen them already resigned both Nas Reed and Julius Randall, two key pieces to a year ago. Is that enough for Anthony Edwards?
No, this is the same team essentially. Um, I mean, they have a lot of financial constraint constraints which has made it difficult for them to make any moves in free agency. I mean with Nas Reed and Julius Randall and that payroll right now it’s close they’re close to the second apron which then limits their amount of spending ability and then in a mistake that they made they traded Alexander Walker before free agency and I guess they were anticipating a bigger market for him and they couldn’t match that. It just it was mismanaged by the Minnesota Timberwolves. They hopefully can play better together after a season playing together and post the Carl Anthony Towns Julius Randall trade. But this is a team that didn’t really make any moves to push them into a next conversation, that next echelon, and we’re looking at a team that’s going to struggle with a lot of the issues that they had last season. All right. Yeah, they’re always in the mix, it feels like, but maybe they will find a way to take themselves over the top this year. Brad, if we pivot over to the Warriors, another team you mentioned earlier that would be a good landing spot for Damen Lillard, but as it sits right now, they’ve already dealt Cavon Looney to New Orleans. There’s a decision waiting on Jonathan Kuminga here.
Yeah, that’s the swing thing.
And it just seems like the window is getting smaller and smaller for that group.
All of all of the reporting seems to indicate that that Kaminga might be on his way back to Golden State. I think everybody was thinking they can make a big splash with with a sign and trade and there just doesn’t appear to be a huge market for Kaminga right now. He’s he’s kind of an an unproven commodity in the sense that everybody knows how athletic he is. Everybody knows that in small samples and inconsistent samples, he shows that he can be an all-star level scorer. Um terrific athlete, but the Warriors have and and maybe this is holding him back and maybe it’s hurting his value, but the but the Warriors didn’t really give him the opportunity for consistent minutes over a long stretch of games um to prove what he can be. And so and so teams don’t exactly know. They don’t know what to pay him. They don’t know what he’s worth. And so it seems to me that it looks like Kaminga is going to come back. He’s going to sign a deal that the Warriors can maybe then try to move by the trade deadline. Maybe this thing drags out a few a few more months. But the guy that they need to get is Al Horford. He’s still out on the market. He’s been linked to them for the past three days. They need a stretch center. It would open up their offense in a lot of different ways. I don’t know why we’re not talking about Chris Buchet more. We should be talking about him with the Lakers as well. All these teams that need centers, he’s really good and in fact like better than DeAndre Aiden. I I don’t know why that Aton’s getting the talk. Buché can play. He’s a stretch big, shoots the three, protects the rim. He’s like a 39% three-point shooter. He’s really good. So, the Warriors need a stretch center and a guy that can defend the rim. Horford is option A. To me, Buchchet should be option two, option B. and and if they get that, then they can settle in and maybe bring Kaminga back for a few months and test the waters again at the trade deadline. All right, we’ll keep our eye on the Warriors. I’m keeping my eye on the Mavericks. This has been such an emotional swing for fans in Dallas, guys, because we went from trading away our generational talent to drafting the number one overall pick in Cooper Flag, who by the way, he just signed his rookie deal, so he is officially on the team, expected to make his summer league debut as early as July 10th. So, we keep our eye on that. And then Ash, they turn around and go get Kyrie Irving’s replacement, at least temporarily, and D’Angelo Russell here. Am I looking at this starting five with rosecolored glasses here, or do the Mavericks kind of have a whole squad going on here? I’ve been high on this Maverick’s roster, and I said to a lot of people, they’re kind of flying under the radar with all of the hype around Houston and some of the other teams. I think the biggest thing obviously is health. You have Anthony Davis. We know how health has kind of plagued his career. Kyrie Irving is going to miss some time. What version of him are you going to get when he comes back? Can Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell play together? They didn’t do well in LA together. Obviously, Cooper Flag is ready to go NBAwise, but there’s always that acclamation period between coming from the collegiate game to the professional game. How long is that going to take him? We know Klay Thompson sometimes we don’t get that version of the Golden State Warriors splash brother that we know and love. But on paper, health permitted, this is a team you have to look out for. To my in my eyes, despite all the issues I just mentioned, health obviously can plague any team in the NBA. And even with the issues of Kyrie Irving not starting the season, this to me is still a playoff team.
Yeah, I’ve been holding a grudge against Dallas ever since they traded away Luca, but I feel that grudge may be starting to dissipate a little bit going into 2025. We’ll have to see, guys. We certainly appreciate it. Plenty more free agency moves uh coming in the coming days. And we know Ashley and Brad will be all over it. Ashley also taping a new episode of Triple Threat earlier today. You can catch the replay on YouTube. And as always, it streams every Wednesday, 1 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network. [Music] Well, the busy day of free agency continues as we shift the conversation to the coaching carousel. Mike Brown set to take over at MSG. Our coach of the year weighing in on another. Straight ahead on HQ.

Brad Botkin and Ashley Nicole Moss join CBS Sports HQ to discuss the Championship contenders of the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

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[00:00:00] – Cleveland Cavaliers
[00:03:30] – New York Knicks
[00:05:52] – Orlando Magic
[00:07:35] – Atlanta Hawks
[00:09:54] – Boston Celtics
[00:13:24] – Philadelphia 76ers
[00:14:01] – Detroit Pistons
[00:15:14] – Milwaukee Bucks
[00:15:53] – Indiana Pacers
[00:17:23] – Oklahoma City Thunder
[00:19:53] – Houston Rockets
[00:21:34] – Denver Nuggets
[00:23:20] – Los Angeles Lakers
[00:25:22] – Los Angeles Clippers
[00:27:13] – Minnesota Timberwolves
[00:28:24] – Golden State Warriors
[00:30:24] – Dallas Mavericks

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