Could LeBron be heading to the Mavs?! 👀 + NBA Offseason Grades | Get Up

Could LeBron be heading to the Mavs?! 👀 + NBA Offseason Grades | Get Up

got some offseason grades as the free agency frenzy rolls along. Tim Bontmps, what grade would you give the Houston Rockets off season? I’m giving them an A. Graz, if you look at the way the Rockets have gone through this summer, getting Kevin Durant in the trade with the Phoenix Suns, getting Fred Van Vleet locked up to a new deal, getting Dorian Finny Smith to fill in off the bench. Houston’s had arguably the best offseason of any team in the league, and they might be the biggest contenders to take down the Oklahoma City Thunder next season.
What do you think, David? Do you agree with that? Is Houston the top challenger at Oklahoma City right now? Yeah, I think it’s it’s really Houston and and the Nuggets. The There is now a real hierarchy in the West. It seemed like a mishmash going into the offseason with a bunch of teams in the middle, but now it’s the Thunder on their own island and then it’s the Rockets and the Nuggets. But the Rockets have built the things that you would want uh to worry about if you’re OKC scoring, defense, and bigs.
Yeah, they look like a strong offseason. Solid a very good grade from Tim Bontamps. Tim McMahon, how about the Milwaukee Bucks? What grade would you give their off seasonason? Howdy, Dan. Uh, I would give the Bucks a D. And I’m I’m familiar with those D’s. I got a bunch of them during my extended college tenure. And look, I’ve got empathy for the Bucks here because this was like getting a term paper with a question that had no right answers. How do you instantly construct a championship caliber supporting casty around Giannis when oh by the way the supermax superstar you brought in is out for the next season and I’ll give him credit for creativity did not see the wave and stretch coming of Damen Lillard to bring in a modest upgrade of Brook Lopez and Miles Turner but a championship contender it does not make bon Milwaukee do anything this offseason to make you feel like they’re closer to contending
no I the start of last season they had Damon Lord and Yasen and Koopo and now they have Miles Turner in Yasen and Koopo that is not an equitable trade and look while Miles Turner is a as McMahon said a nice upgrade on Brook Lopez a younger better version of him they still have not replaced the $54 million hole they have at point guard there’s a reason why the Bucks right now I believe are the eighth favorite to win the Eastern Conference which is very clearly seen as the junior varsity conference in the NBA at the moment so I understand why the Bucks did what they did obviously trying everything they can to keep Yaset Koopa on their team, but it is very hard to make a credible argument this team has anything close to a real threat to be is a real threat to be a championship level team.
All right, one more grade. The Lakers, David, what what grade do you give their offseason? We’re going to give the Lakers a C plus. Okay, on the bright side, LeBron is back. Asterisk probably maybe kind of uh for them, which is a huge deal. Uh and then also they upgraded at the center position. We say we want to say about DeAndre Aiden, which I have, and there’s concerns about him, but he’s better than Jack Hayes. At least they have somebody in that position. Now, why is it a C++? They still have to shore up that bench. They still have to get some depth. They still need maybe probably one more big for them to feel like there’s actual uh upgrade to this team. There’s also this weird LeBron situation that we’ve been talking about all week because he opted into his contract and then his agent put out a statement indicating that maybe he wasn’t really all in. So, uh, that’s obviously been a big topic around the league. Yesterday, our Dave McMenan had something very interesting to say about LeBron’s future. Dallas, I’m told that they would only be interested in LeBron in a buyout situation.
So, and again, we just because there is a deal to be made there. If they wanted to make a deal, there’s a deal.
Yeah, there’s a deal to be made there. But I I again, I don’t believe that’s happening. McMahon, what is the uh what’s your reaction to what Dave had to say there? I mean, it completely makes sense. Is there a deal to be made, a trade from the Mavericks to get LeBron? You can punch it up in the trade machine. All All the Mavericks have to do is completely gut the rotation. Give up guys like Daniel Gaffford and PJ Washington, you know, maybe a Naji Marshall, Max Christie, what you’re giving up three or four rotation players for potentially a ring chasing retirement tour. That that doesn’t make sense for Dallas. It doesn’t make sense for LeBron because he has no trade class. Hold on. I want to play with those guys, not have them go to LA. So, there is kind of curiosity around the league like could this end with LeBron bullying his way to a buyout? Now, why would the Lakers do that? That’s a great question. I don’t have a good answer for that one, but yeah, that is the only path I could see uh for LeBron James to come join Kyrie, Anthony Davis, a couple of his former championship teammates in Dallas.
How do you make any sense of all this?
You don’t. I mean, this is the NBA. This is what happens. We have a lot of conversations like this around the NBA where things just don’t make a lot of sense. And this doesn’t make really any sense. We’re not talking about the Milwaukee Bucks waving Damen Lillard who has a torn Achilles and they’re desperately trying to keep Yianis Ted Koopa. We’re talking about LeBron James, who was a second team allNBA player last year, who still is one of the best players in the world, if not the best player in the world, like he was for so much of his career. And again, as McMahon pointed out, yes, the the Lakers could in theory do LeBron a favor and allow him to just go play for whoever he wants. However, 5 days ago, LeBron James had a choice. He could be a free agent on Sunday. What did he choose to do? He choose to he chose to take $52.6 million. By the way, if I had a choice between 0 and $52.6 million, I too would take $52.6 million. So, I understand why LeBron James opted into his contract. However, by opting into his contract, the Lakers now have one of the 10 to 15 best players on the planet under contract for the 202526 season. When by the way, they have Luca Donuch, one of the five best players on the planet under contract and on their team. So, you would think the Lakers would love to have two of the best players on the planet playing together on their team next season, which last season when they were together, they won 50 games and were a top four seed in the Western Conference. So, I would say that’s how this is still going to end. But until, as you have said, Dan, repeatedly this week, we get something from LeBron or the Lakers saying LeBron James is going to be a Laker next season, we’re going to continue to have this kind of discussion.
It’s just kind of hanging out there, right? And we can talk all about how it’s not realistic and all the kind, but I mean, I I want to ask about the the Luca end of it, right? We’re talking about this is a team that has to build around Luca for the future regardless of what happens with LeBron, how much longer he wants to play, all that kind of stuff. So, so if you’re looking at it from his perspective, like what’s your read on the LeBron situation?
Well, imagine the Lakers going to Luca and saying, “Hey, we bought out LeBron James.” Saying, “Okay.” Lucas says, “Well, what does that mean for me?” And they said, “Well, your second best player is Austin Reeves. Your third best player is DeAndre Aiden. We got nothing back for LeBron James. We’re going to pay this dude $50 million to go to the Dallas Mavericks team and make that team better because we know how much you love the Dallas Mavericks right now.” There is absolutely no sale for this. Especially when you think about the fact that Luka Donic uh has to be, you know, he’s got to come back to this Lakers team after a year. They have to convince this dude to stay and saying that we’re paying for LeBron James to go somewhere else to make LeBron James happy.
We have talked a ton about this decision LeBron James made on Sunday. The biggest decision of the Laker off season was not whether LeBron James opted in out of his contract on Sunday. It’s whether or not Luca Donuch decides to extend his contract or not on August 2nd when he is eligible to do so. And the Lakers cannot jeopardize that. And to me, if I’m Luca Donic, if I look at the Lakers and they just, to David’s point, just let LeBron James walk to go anywhere, I’m not sure why I would look at the Lakers as a place I’d want to be long term because you’re just completely handicapping this team next year. And by the way, for Luca Donuch a year, two years ago, he’s in the NBA finals. He gets traded to the Dallas Mavericks this past season or from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers this past season. Team that’s not nearly as good that obviously hopes to be in that sort of conversation later. If LeBron James now walks away and he goes from being in the finals to now being on a team that’s all but certainly going to be in the lottery next year, that would be to me just a wild set of circumstances for one of the best players in the league.
McMahon, quick final word on this for now. Yeah, I I would just like to see Rob Pelinka, Jeannie Bus explain to Luca, hey, we’re donating LeBron to the Dallas Mavericks, the team that dumped you, stabbed you in the back, shamed you on the way out the door, but trust us, we know what you’re doing. You want to be here long term. We’re completely a competent franchise that you can put your faith in.
Amazing sales pitch.
I’d like to hear that conversation.
Yeah, it’s an amazing sales pitch.
Maybe we’ll get more information this weekend than we got last weekend about what the true intentions are uh in all of this. Buy or sell in the NBA. Let’s start in Denver. David Dennis Jr. Joic and the Nuggets are going to be in the Western Conference Finals next year. You buying that or selling it?
I’m going to give it a soft sell because I still think that the the Rockets are right there. I think they’re neck and neck with the Rockets, so I would not put them definitively in the Western Conference Finals just quite yet.
There’s an interesting I want to pause here for a second. There’s an interesting news item going on uh with the Nuggets right now. Uh fill us in. Bon or uh uh McMahon who’s got one one of the help me out.
So Yonas Valenunis, one of the key additions for the Denver Nuggets this off season, could potentially be going back to Europe to play for Greek powerhouse Panathanikos. Now, this is an interesting development because Denver just traded for Valenunis a few days ago to fulfill their hole as a backup center behind Nicole Joic. Something that’s been a long-term problem. Now, for this to happen, Denver has to agree to it. The NBA has to let him out of his deal. Something that has happened in the past for different players, but not for players like Valenudis, who are supposed to be key contributors on a team trying to win a championship next season. So, this will be a very interesting story to follow. And if Valenudis does leave, one of the big one of the big additions to this Denver bench this offseason suddenly will go away.
Yeah. McMahon, what what do you make of that situation in Denver? That’s that’s kind of a bigger deal, I think, than maybe got noticed uh the last couple days.
I mean, a complete stunner for the Nuggets. They felt like they finally after years of searching and scrambling and frankly failing to find a legitimate backup for Nola Joic. Found that guy. Then he’s like, I sorry, I’d rather go to Greece than Denver. So, we’ll see how that plays out. But uh reports out of Europe right now are that Valenunis is on his way to Greece to get his physical. Certainly seems determined to play in Europe and not in Denver. And so the search for the backup center for the Nuggets continues.
Fascinating uh situation out there in Denver. All right, back to our buy or sell segment. Bonds, you buying or selling that the Dallas Mavericks are a legit contender? I’m selling because of the guy you just saw dribbling right there, Kyrie Irving. We do not know what status Kyrie Irving is going to have this season. He’s obviously coming off the torn ACL he suffered back in the spring. If you could tell me Kyrie Irving was definitely going to be 100% healthy for the playoffs, I could see an argument that they could be right up there with Houston and Denver behind OKC in the West, but that’s too big of an if for me to put them up with those kind of teams. All right, one more for McMahon. Uh, buy or sell, Tim. The Warriors have blown this off season. Yeah, I sell that because when you look at the Warriors offseason, you’ve got to consider what they did before the trade deadline. They pulled off a blockbuster to go get Jimmy Butler. They went 22 and5 with Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry in the starting lineup together. That’s their big swing. They’ve got things to figure out. You know, primarily they’ve got to figure out this Kaminga situation. They’re hoping to get Al Horford on board, but it was a great trade deadline. You got to package that into the considerations of their summer grade.
It’s fair enough. and Warriors star Draymond Green uh had some similar thoughts uh on his podcast recently talking about the Warriors off season. Take a listen to what Draymond said.
The heavy lifting’s been done like we added Jimmy. I think that was the biggest thing that needed to happen. Now we got that. Now you can tool around that. Just going into it. Uh it’s just all about looking to see like, all right, now we know how it looks. Now we got that part figured out. Now what does it look like around that? So, I think we’re in a much better position heading into this one than we were last year. What do they need to be focused on right now?
Well, they need to be focused on Jonathan Kaminga, who’s probably the most interesting free agent left on the board. A very talented wing, a guy who in the second round when Steph Curry was hurt against the Minnesota Timberwolves, had some huge games and showed what people around the league, some of Le have thought for a while, which is he’s a guy who could be an impact player on the wing, the kind of player that frankly every team is looking to have. But he’s also had long stretches of inconsistent play with the Warriors, which is why he’s been in and out of the doghouse in Steve Kerr’s rotation and is why we’re sitting here a few days into free agency without any clear indication of a home for Jonathan Kaminga. And it’s always difficult to be a restricted free agent in the NBA. It’s by definition a restricted market. But this year with no salary cap space around the league, it’s even more difficult than normal. And for a guy like Kaminga who has been a very polarizing player, trying to find a home for him that makes sense, whether it’s with the Warriors or somewhere else at a number he wants is not going to be an easy task. I’m with Tim. The the Kaminga thing is the the last piece of the Warriors off season. They’ve really not meshed well. Him and Steve Curve not mesh well. Been going back and forth about minutes played and what the value is. He’s probably at the lowest value that he’s been in his career. But now they have to move on from him because you do not really want to start the season with him in the mix with all of this mess going on. The Warriors need to move on and get some stuff back. They need to get some athleticism back. They need to get some youth back. Uh sneaky move was they lost Cavon Looney which been a big part of their dynasty and all that stuff. They need to replace that. Al Horford should help. Uh they’re getting very old by adding Al Horford to that team of old guys. They need to move Kaminga for some youth and a little bit of depth. But the the Jimmy Butler move was huge. There may be a Steph Curry injury away from being in the Western Conference Finals. So, I think they’re on the right track. They just got to figure out that last piece.
Yeah. you mentioned, I mean, getting getting older. I mean, it’s a team that’s, you know, still probably trying to deliver at least one more for Steph and Draymond before it’s all said and done. Are they in a position to do that before before Steph’s career is over? I
I think they are in large part because Steph Curry is still playing incredible basketball. What he did in that first round with that Houston Rockets, one of the best defenses in the league where he broke their spirit by the time that series was over, he still can be the most disruptive offensive force in the league right there along with Joic. Jimmy Butler was banged up in that Minnesota Timberwolves series. So, I think that contributed to some of the the bad play there. But a full season of this team that was playing like a top team in the West since Jimmy Butler got there can only mean good things for the possibility of them getting one one last wing ring for Wardell
McMahon. Could they can they play like that? I mean, I like one of the top teams in the West. Can they be that good this year? I listen, the West is loaded. I think the Warriors can be good. I don’t think they can win the West. I you know and I I if they get Al Hortford that’s another proven championship piece who I think would fit very well but I’m not going to sit here and tell you I think the Warriors can go to Oklahoma City and and beat the Thunder. I I I don’t think that’s realistic. And honestly I think the Warriors are probably somewhere in that 5 to7 range in the Western Conference, not at the top. Funny you say that because at ESPN Bet they do have the seventh shortest odds to win the Western Conference, which means not a lot has changed because they finished seventh in the regular season uh this past year. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

On Get Up, Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon and David Dennis Jr. weigh in on the Dallas Mavericks’ potential interest in LeBron James, give offseason grades and more.

0:00 Offseason grades
3:50 LeBron to the Mavs?!
4:46 Is there any chance the Mavs could acquire LeBron?
8:22 Buy or Sell?
11:50 Has the Warriors’ offseason been a disappointment?
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