Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective - Analyzing The NBA Draft’s Top Prospects + Reacting To Celtics’ Trades

Episode Date: June 25, 2025

Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to react to the Boston Celtics moving on from Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in two trades involving the Blazers and the Nets & Hawks. The guys talk about the impact of these deals and what it means going forward around the league. Then, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony joins to help us analyze the top prospects in the upcoming NBA Draft including what makes Cooper Flagg so special and why the draft intrigue starts with the 3rd pick. Plus, why Kyrie Irving declining his player option is good for the Mavs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Hello and welcome with the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Tuesday evening. And if you're eagle-eyed as you watch this podcast, if you were watching it on ESPN2 or on YouTube,

you'll see me and us in multiple different outfits because this podcast, for various reasons, was recorded at different times on different days. But we hope this is going to be the last time we record it. Joining me from New York City down the road is Tim Bonti. Temps. This is one of those magical days where we do a whole whole segments of the podcast and stuff is good. We have good pods and then we have to just completely redo it because events change as the day goes on. It happens. Fontemp's will be covering the draft on Wednesday night. I will be. I know from earlier that's his 13th career draft.

Something like that. It's in New York every year. So I'm always at it. I don't know how many years it's been. It's been enough. Joining us. We're calling it Sunday night. It is game eight of the finals. It's about right. Yeah. Joining us from Dallas, Texas, back home where he's going to be going to the Mavericks drafting of Cooper Flag on Wednesday night is Ban McMahon. Howdy, partners. I think that the Bond Temp's 13th draft is about all we'll keep from the stuff that we

recorded earlier in the day. Please do. It was good practice for us, though. We haven't done a podcast in latest. We don't bought enough. Please hope now that sees the light of day. All right, we're going to talk about something the Mavericks did a little later. They had some business that they got done tonight with Kyrie Irving.

But first, let's talk about the Boston Celtics, Bontemps. They made two trades in the last 24 hours, sending off two of their core pieces from their 2004 championship run in salary dump maneuvers. Two very different trades, although they both accomplished salary relief, sending Drew Holiday to the Portland Trailblazers, and sending Chris Apps Porzingos to the Atlanta Falcons. Before we talk about... Whoa, what's he doing? Is he tight end?

Is he playing a wide receiver? He would be an incredible wide receiver because you know you throw those fade routes to the corner. You're not defending them. How would I say the Atlanta Falcons? It's crazy. It's just where we are. Square we're at the last 24 for the 2025 NBA draft.

An indirect windy sleep-up. I tell you what, I think walks and field goals, though. Oh, my God. Just put him right on the line. Although, I bet you could low bridge them and take him right out. No, on those 50 yards, you just put them back by the goalposts and have like a, there's no such thing as gold tending. I'm sure that's worth 30 million a year. All right.

The Atlanta Hawks, Bontemps, the Celtics knew that they were going to have some salary crunch this year, even before Jason Tatum got hurt. When he got hurt, there was just no way they could justify spending this type of money. And so these two trades, I believe, have saved them close to 200. million dollars in actual money in savings in salary and luxury tax because they're a repeater. So each tax dollar is worth $4, $5, $6, $7. I don't even know it's a lot. So humongous cash savings. But more importantly, it drops them out of the second apron, which takes the shackles off

in a number of different ways. I'm sure it's a tough moment for Boston fans, but if you're listening to Hoop Collective, you knew this was coming. and it was covered heavily in the media the last few weeks. We just didn't know how it was going to go and they ended up doing their business all in the day before the draft. Well, then I would, the one thing that we did talk about earlier besides the 13 drafts

that's going to carry over is I think there's a chance to sell things get out of the luxury tax completely. And they didn't save almost $200 million total. They saved almost $200 million in taxes. So, you're talking, they are, they have gotten from having over $500 million projected payroll to well under 300 million. And they're now only, I want to say,

$16, 17 million over the luxury tax line completely because they saved about $22 million in payroll on the Porzingis deal, getting back Pod favorite and pod legend, George the Mini Van Nyang, Boston native, from the Hawks. And they saved several million dollars getting the expired contract of Anthony Simons back

from the Portland Trailblazers. And look, obviously, Celtics fans are going to see Drew Holiday and Chris Asper's Ingus leave and Anthony Simons and Georgianne come in and not be thrilled about the on-court situation. But as you said, there was no way this was going to be a $500 million team this summer. And frankly, the fact that the Celtics traded these two guys, in particular trading Drew Holiday to Portland and a deal that really doesn't make any sense from the Portland side and ending up plus one second round pick on the two trades,

that is a far, far better return than I would have expected to save this kind of money. I mean, when I was at the finals, there was a lot of discussion around from people around the league as to whether boss would have to incentivize people to get off of both of these guys, given the financial ramifications that were came along with it. And the fact that Porzingis had a great year when he was healthy. He obviously had the weird illness over the second half of the year, has been banged up at times in his career.

and Drew Holiday is three years and over $100 million left on his deal, and that was seen as a negative contract. So to come out of this the way they have with basically being up slightly on assets, having saved an absolute ton of money and still having Anthony Simon so they could either keep or move on again in another deal and some other flexibility to do stuff. We'll see what happens with the rest of the roster over this week. I think it's been a great week for them.

The Hawks part of the trade is super interesting. Well, I don't know about a great week. but it's been an effective salary. I would say it's been a great week in terms of them accomplishing what they needed to. I mean, look, they had to save. Accomplishing goals that aren't very pleasant. Yeah, I'm not trying to say that if I'm a fan of the Celtics, I'm having a parade. But for the front office, they have saved a gazillion dollars and have done it while adding assets, not subtracting.

So they have to do work on the roster, obviously, but they weren't going to be a championship level team next year. you'll out next year anyway. And they have positioned themselves for the future without sacrificing any assets to do so from a financial standpoint, which like I said, most people did not think. I do think the Portland deal side of the holiday deal is very interesting. And I think Atlanta did a really nice job on the Porzingas part. Well, we'll talk about that in a second. We'll talk about that in a second. Outdated nickname for George Nyang. He's now the G-Wagon. Darius Garland gave him that. because he's a little sleeker now, a little bit more expensive,

but certainly not compared to Chris Stap's Porzingis, which is why this deal made sense for the Celtics and why former Hoop Collective guest, George Nien, continues his tour of the Eastern Conference. But look, man, like, it's a, it's good business by the Celtics and just not much fun. And, you know, for Celtics fans, they knew this was coming.

they knew the payroll was going to get slashed, and they bid farewell to the two finishing pieces from their recent championship team. But two guys who look, this is going to have to be a gap here for the Celtics. It's not like they have a choice. The franchise player, unfortunately, is going to miss most, if not all, of next season. And they were already in a situation where they needed to shed salary. So, you know, they will likely take not just a step back, but. you know, they'll fall back significantly and but be in position to hopefully

bounce back. It's going, it will be interesting to see how over the next, you know, not this summer, but next summer, how they try to replace the, the impact and production of these two guys. You know, again, the two guys who were the finishing pieces to their championship puzzle. Well, they are going to get a big trade exception out of this deal. I would think. And, you know, they are going to have, I think, some levers of flexibility they can move in different directions. We'll see what other trades they make, too. They're probably going to do more stuff, I would think, from where they sit now.

So there's probably a lot of work left to be done before the roster is complete. But, you know, look, it's, what I would say is this is a continuing sign of Boston having a really good front office that is able to accomplish its goals at a pretty high level. and while in the moment, I agree, this is not a fun thing to hear for Celtics fans. This series of moves is not what a lot of other teams could pull off without having to sacrifice future assets. And the fact they have all those future assets leaves them in a position to, you know, turn around and add pieces down the road and have different ways to do stuff. And that trade exception is going to be one avenue to eventually do so in the future. All right. So Portland, they made a very aggressive. move here. They finished the season, 25 and 25, missed the playoffs. They extended Chauncey

Billups, you know, which, you know, at one time that wasn't seen as a given. And Joe Kroen and their general manager also got extended based on that 25 and 25 finish. 23 and 18 in the second half, so even a little bit more impressive. 23 and 18. Good, good correction. That's what they would probably prefer, I highlight. So, but they, you know, and look, Drew Holiday is a winning player. McMahon, you want to use the line you used earlier? Yeah, this guarantees that Portland is going to win the 25, 26 NBA championship. When you trade for True Holiday, you win a championship the next season.

That's an optimistic way to look at it. The pessimistic way is to say that streak is probably in some serious jeopardy. Yeah. So the thing is surprising about this is Holiday is, 35 and he's owed 102 million. Oh, he's only two years guarantee, but the third year's a player option for almost 40 million. When he'll be how old? 38. Right. So I'm wagering. They should bake that. He's a pick he'd be picking that up. And so I'm surprised

that a team that is not in position to get a finishing move, you know, would do this. And I'm also surprised the team would do it, um, who's on the block. You know, they're for sale. Yeah. So typically you wouldn't take on a $100 million contract to your books. Now. Well, most of the NBA is surprised about particularly them taking it on and not having to be incentivized by Boston to do so. Right.

And look, Anthony Simons has a value. He's a, you know, he's an offensive specialist. He's a gunner. He averages, you know, nine three-pointers a game, which will fit in with Joe Mazzula if they indeed decide to keep him. but this wasn't like they got him for nothing. Like, you know, Simon's has value. And so they did that plus of two seconds. Yeah, I was going to say, and they gave up the fix.

So, now, I will say, like, it's possible that Portland is in the middle of making a move here. They have between DeAndre Aidan, Matisse Seibel, who picked up his $11.5 million player option today. Who else did they got his expired? And Robert Williams. They have $60 million in expiring contracts with those three guys. Well, and I think Williams in particular would be attracted to certain teams, you know, especially a team that say would need a defense of anchor and lob. I mean, the problem with that is, I mean, I love Big Bob as much as anybody, but he can't stay on the court. And again, missed a ton of time last year.

More knee surgery. Yeah. So, I mean, if he can play, he could definitely be an impact player. But, you know, that's been a problem basically his whole career. it certainly has been basically this whole time in Portland. I mean, to me, this just feels like a team that is way too optimistic about its chances based off of winning a bunch of games in the second half of the year when most of the teams they were playing were not being very competitive.

Like, if you look at a Western Conference, you know, we're going to talk about the other trade that was made today with the Pelicans and Wizards. I think you can make a decent argument that Phoenix and Portland are fighting for 13th in the West right now. And if you're in that kind of position or at best, you're maybe knocking on the door or being in the playing tournament. Take on this Drew Holiday money to now have 40% of your cap tied up and Drew Holiday and Jeremy Grant the next three years. It just doesn't really make a lot of sense for where this team should be sitting. And it also could be, again, blocking minutes for both Scoot Henderson and Shaden Sharp to guys that were drafted very high in the lottery.

Sharp in particular has not really had a chance to get going in his career. Henderson likely will be the starting point card next year. We'll see. Thadavin Klingin was the backup for a lot of the year behind DeAndre Aiton. We'll see if Aiton's on the roster, if he's starting or not. Like they just have, it feels like this should be a team that's turning the team over to its young players and letting them grow and letting them play and seeing what they have. And instead, they keep adding veteran players ahead of those guys.

and this move to me screams they believe they can make the playoffs next year, and I just, I do not see that in the cars. It is a very aggressive, expensive win-now move for a team that it's going to be tough to crack even the play-in in the Western Conference. And look, I think Portland's got a solid roster. I think if they're in the East, we'd be talking about them as a potential playoff team, but they're not. Now, if I want to kind of put.

put my rose garden color glasses on, then I would say, hey, they did go 23 and 18 in the second half last season. They had the third best defense in the league during that half season stretch. You know, you add Drew Holliday as the veteran leader of that core. And, you know, I can make an argument that them having something to play for late in the season, you know, being put in competitive situations can benefit the development of guys like Scoot Henderson, Shaden Sharp, Donovan Klingin. I can make that argument, but man, it's a really expensive route. Certainly, I think Drew Holliday is going to be a consummate pro. He always has been. Got to be a tough pill for him to swallow too, though. You know, this is a guy who since he got traded to Milwaukee,

What was that in 2020, has been in nothing but contender situations. And, you know, Portland can be a scrappy bunch, but again, it's going to be hard for them to crack the plane in the West. How do you feel about the fact that Drew Holiday had his lowest field goal percentage in nine years and his lowest three point percentage in five years this year, Fonton? Well, I mean, again, again, like, this is why people did not think he was going to be a guy who would be, you'd be getting positive return for in a trade if you're Boston. And look, Drew also is a good.

a guy who has always sort of slotted in whatever the team needs. And he was on a team with a bunch of guys who needed the ball. So I think he was happy to take steps back. And whenever they needed him to do something, like I remember one of the games against Orlando, he had, I think, two or three threes and a couple steals in the final couple minutes of one of the playoff games to win the game. Like, he is a guy that makes winning plays and is absolutely the kind of guy you want to have on your team.

But yeah, look, I really hate the deal for Portland. I just do. I don't get what they're doing. they keep making a lot of moves to try to aggressively, try to speed up their timeline when I don't think they really, they really should be. And, you know, we're probably going to see Phoenix. We talked about in the last pod, make a lot of trades this week to try to improve their roster too. And I think they're both in similar boats where I just don't see how either of those teams is getting into the eight in the West. And I think it's going to be a real struggle for them to get into the 10, which is why taking on all this money and doing so at a cost is,

just very confusing. All right. So let's take a look at Atlanta's spot. I think Atlanta was, you know, sort of sitting on the sidelines. They were, they've got some big trade exceptions. And so they were almost acting like a capspace team this week. And I think they were involved in some three team trades. In fact, pretty sure that they were involved in some conversations on some Durant,

possible three team trades that ended up not happening. And they're watching, and they're like, Boston's taking pieces apart. We're not sure it's going to happen with Indiana with the Halliburton injury. We're not sure if it's going to happen with Milwaukee, just with their roster or with Janus. Look, they also had Terrence Maynard they were trying to get off to. Well, that's true. They were definitely part of it. Yeah.

And so I think they're looking around. You know, they're, I don't even know what their record was. They've been a playing team like three or four years in a row. But they had some significant injuries to their team, including, you know, their dynamic young wing, Jalen Johnson. He missed a bunch of the year with a shoulder injury. I think they looked around and said, hey, is there something we can do here? They were involved with Boston on Drew Holiday. They didn't get that deal done, but then they get a deal done with Boston. And so considering what the Trailblazers sent for Drew Holiday, what they sent,

they sent the 22nd pick in this draft, they already have a lottery pick, right? They got like the 13th They have the 13th pick, which they have from Sacramento, from the Kevin Hutter trade years ago. Obviously, their pick was the 14th pick, which went to the Spurs as part of the Dejante Marie, the first Dejante Murray trade. And then they had the 22nd pick from, which was the Lakers pick from back in the... This is the last piece of the Anthony Davis trade. Last piece of Anthony Davis trade. It also was part of the second Dejante Murray trade, where Dyson Daniels and that pick came over last year. And look, the way to look at this...

Yeah, can I pause you right there for a second? second. When that Dejante Murray trade happened a year ago, almost like a year ago right now, the return for Dejante Murray was sort of deemed a little tepid. However, not by some people. Well, whatever. Dyson Daniels has become an all defensive team player. So they've gotten that player in a league. And now they've used, you know, basically the remnants of this to also acquire Chrisaps Porzingis. So now, Porzingis's health is obviously paramount. But if I told you that they traded for an all-defensive team player and Chris Abse Porzingis for Dyson, for Dejonte-Marie, you'd feel a little different about it. So I'll just point that out. Well, and they used that pick.

I mean, again, Boston didn't get that pick. One other, the very quick thing on the Nets, Nets now have five first round picks in Wednesday's draft, four of them after the 19th selection three in the 20s. They got the 19th pick to take on Terrence Mann. They have a ton of cap space this summer. So they still have over 30 million even after that deal. They got the just for housekeeping. They got the 22nd pick to take on Terrence Man.

Picks 19 and 26 they got from the Knicks for McHale Bridges. Right. So they have five picks in the first round. It seems unlikely they would draft five players. So it'll be interesting to see what they do. but yeah look you know Boston ended up I think swapping to a better second they got Cleveland second and gave up a bad second um to get off porzengis and take on the ang save a whole ton of money you're here Atlanta like you come out of this you've got you know assuming jalen Johnson's healthy they're starting five as of this morning trey young Dyson daniels Zachary rishishie last year's number one overall pick Janeland Johnson and yucca congouf four big long athletic defensive guys with some some of them with varying offensive ability around tray young now you had chrystass porzingis who last year shot 41% from three has refined his game

quin snider certainly is going to find ways to take advantage him offensively like i really like to fit there and at the cost of the 22nd pick and getting off this future money for terence man which is pretty negative money on their books they don't have any bad money going forward they've got Clean books. Jalen Johnson's on a really good extension. We'll see what happens with Dyson Daniels this summer. He's got some interesting extension negotiations. Trey Young with a player option for the 26-27 season.

Super interesting extension negotiations for him this summer. We'll see what happens there. I'd be stunned if he gets offered enough that he wants to take it. Well, it depends, I think, on what he decides his market is. I don't know if there's going to be a super frothy market for Trey Young next summer. And there could be some value. would lock it in at a lower number long term with the only team he's ever played for because it is a decent fit for them there roster-wise.

No, I'm not saying they want to get rid of them. I'm just saying they don't necessarily want to pay them the max. No, I'm agreeing with you. I think it could make sense on both sides to sign something lower. We'll see where it lands. But Atlanta's in a pretty interesting spot.

And when you look at all these teams in the east of all these injuries, like the Hawks who have been kind of floating in an in-between spot, like I think giving up the 22nd pick to get off a man and get Porzingis while having a lottery pick, it's a pretty good business for them. Also, they don't have control their next two drafts because of the Dejante Murray trade acquiring him with San Antonio. So they're incentivized to try to hit the gas a little bit. And they still didn't harm their long-term flexibility. I am told that they had not negotiated an extension with Porzinga. So he's on the last year of his contract. Maybe they do. Maybe they don't. Also, they got to check out Porzingas because if you remember,

he had that illness. I don't know it was a virus or whatever. And the last I heard from him, I was with you, Bon Temson, the Celtics locker room after they lost game six to the Knicks. He was like, I'm going to go to the beach

and hope that resetting my body makes me feel better. So I don't know. I would check on that. I'm sure they did before they did this trait. He also said he was playing on playing in Eurobasket with Latvia. So, I mean, there's recent fraughtsons,

but look, he's also on an expiring deal. So, you know, if they get out of this Terrence man money, which was not good. That was truly a negative deal. around the league. And, you know, look, I think it's an interesting upside swing for them. Porzingis is another guy. If he's healthy, they could potentially get him on a pretty good extension going forward. And, you know, like suddenly the Hawks have some optimism, I think, and are in an

interesting spot after not too long ago, like a year ago this time, you're looking at and saying, man, they got these two point guards, where are they going? What are they doing? Now, things look a lot different. Jalen Johnson is a dynamic player. Risha Shea had a very good second half. Dyson Daniels was a revelation. They just traded for Porzingis. Trey Young is an all-star level player. And they got a lottery pick. And they have a lottery pick, and

they have not damaged, they're not like headed for the second apron or anything, unless they give Trey the max. By the way, Porzingis on his Instagram stories today, he said, thanks for all the support and questions about my health. I've been feeling excellent all offseason and looking forward to a healthy and strong

European championship tournament. with my national team. That was well before the trade. He might have known the trade was in the works at that point. But look, when you have Tray Young, you know, you've got a guy who's an elite offensive engine that needs to be protected immensely on the defensive end. They've put together a group around him. Daniels is one of the best on-ball defenders in the league.

Johnson and Rysoucher, there's some lengthen athleticism at the forward spots. So Congu's a very solid defense player. Porzingis, one of the better rim protectors in the league. And in the east that's wide open, I think the Hawks, after kind of being a perpetual playing team, at least qualify as intriguing going into the next season. Well, and they've also got some, to Brian's point, I mean, they've still got some flexibility to potentially go add another decent size piece this summer,

maybe, if they position things right. So, yeah, it's, you know, they're in an interesting spot. And all this movement, I think, just portends what's going to be a very active day, Wednesday, and a very active offseason from a trade standpoint, where there's not a lot of salary cap space, and now there's less because the Nets got Terrence Mann. But you've got a lot of teams, especially with these injuries, are going to be looking to potentially move pieces around and figure out where they're at. And, you know, I think there's a lot of fireworks ahead.

More Hoop Collective Podcast after this. Now joined by Jonathan Giovanni of Draft Express for Holt. a long time because he founded it and it's still an iconic brand in the NBA draft world. And of course, our drafts reporter and analyst here at ESPN, Jonathan, I don't know how much sleep you're going to be getting this week, but this is what you spend here is getting ready for. Yeah, I mean, the work has mostly been done, but, you know, there's some changes that could happen here with potential trades.

I'm sure we'll talk about them and there's definitely some drama at the top. but this is the best time of year, and so I love it. Yeah, so Cooper, there's no drama at number one. Cooper Flag is going number one. He'll be a Dallas Maverick. There's been a lot discussed about Cooper Flag. Let me ask you this, Jonathan. How long ago did you know the Cooper Flag was going to be the number one pick?

Well, the first time I saw him was three years ago at the under 17 World Cup in Malaga, and he was 15 years old at the time playing up by two years. and just his performance in the finals against Spain, against Hugo Gonzalez, and Adi Mara was absolutely spectacular. Just the things that he was doing defensively, just the level of intensity that he brought, the physicality. You know, usually guys who were 15 playing up two years or, you know, they're a little meek at that stage.

But he was like he was best player on the floor. And it started to become evident already then that this guy has a chance to be an absolutely special player. and just the progression that he's made since with his offensive ability. You know, he was really, he was playing the five back then, and he was just like incredible defender who was switching one through five and rotating for blocks and getting in passing lanes and getting every rebound and finding ways to score, like in ways that guys usually do at the youth level

and transition and off to offensive glass and cutting. But just the way that he's improved since, whether it's shooting and his ball handling and his passing is remarkable. And especially in season. Like since he turned 18, you know, in December, just he was on this absolute heater as a shooter. And the Duke put the ball on his hands. He was playing pick and roll. And he was the best player in college basketball, which, you know, which absolutely cannot be understated for a guy who should have been still a senior in high school.

It's a major transition to make a, you know, even for a 19 year old high school senior, let alone a 17 year old. So he's absolutely a special player. and I expect him to be an all-star and a franchise player and maybe a guy that, you know, is even able to reach higher than that. People know me. I'm not, I don't like to gush about players. I don't like to put, you know, insane expectations, talk about Hall of Fame and all that.

But like, he has everything that you look for from a player at that age to be an all-NBA guy and more than that. Well, for a guy who's 18 years old, he has very good bulk. You know, so many times we see really talented guys. And obviously, he'll still develop. He'll still physically develop. But sometimes you see guys, you're like, well, he's going to come into the NBA and get pushed around. Like, you just see it.

And I mean, there will be nights. I'm sure where Cooper Flag has to learn what the physicality of the league is. But, you know, he's 220, I think is what he weighed. And, you know, he'll get stronger. But when I look at him, I say, that's a guy who will not be physically dominated in the NBA, which so many 18-year-olds are. Yeah, no question about it. he's got a great frame that is going to continue to grow. And, you know, he's actually like, he's grown in stature over the last year. He's added almost an inch here. He's added 12 pounds.

Like you said, he's 221 pounds. He might not be done growing, which is pretty scary for everybody, you know, in that Southwest Division with the Dallas Mavericks. Okay. So you've had Dylan Harper solidly to for a long time. what is the most important thing for somebody who's just now turning their eyes to the draft to know about Dylan Harper? Yeah, I mean, since the playoffs have started, I think that Dylan Harper's stock has only increased. I just think about that opening round between the pistons and the Knicks, and you just see the level of physicality that was on display on both ends of the floor

is how much of a war it is, of like having a guy who is big and strong and can get to the rim and take hits and play through contact and draw fouls finish at the rim but also find teammates on the move that's Dylan Harper and that's and that's what he brings is you know there's some comps to guys like like James Hardin like Kate Cunningham that is the level of shot creator that Dylan Harper could become. And I think with NBA spacing, with better teammates around him, I think we're going to see more in terms of him as a passer. Also, things that we saw in flashes Duffy this year at Rutgers, but his feel for the game and the way that he embraces contact and physicality and just the way that he's

able to finish with creativity and the way they can get to spots on the floor, every team in the NBA is looking for that right now. And that's why Dylan Harper is a very high floor, but also a tremendous ceiling. And you talk to people, you know, that I've spoken with San Antonio, even before the lottery, they've been in love with this guy for a very long time. And they, you know, the moment that they got that number two pick, there wasn't even a thought there about entertaining trades, about looking at other prospects. They haven't worked anybody else out for that number two pick. It's just been Dylan Harper. I'm glad you brought that up. Yeah. I'm You brought that up.

Go ahead. People are saying like, well, Deerrin Fox, Stefan Castle, you know, you need shooting around Victor, which is all true. But they're saying, guys, we are in this for the long haul. We're looking to build long term. And you need an all-star caliber guy alongside Victor, you know, like to handle the ball and take pressure off him and all that. And so, you know, that's why, you know, people are, you've seen some speculation online,

like, oh, they're entertaining trades and all. Yeah, people behind them would like to, people have been calling about that number two pig. But I don't think there's ever been a moment where the Spurs have, you know, even entertained the idea of drafting anybody other than Dylan Harper at two. Yeah, I think there was an idea that like, well, maybe if Janus was available. Sure. That that number two pick would come into play. Janus has not been available. Yes.

You know, future Hall of Famers like knocking on their door saying, trade me there. Right. You know, you know, Jonathan, obviously you and I spent a lot of time getting a number. Victor Wenban, you even longer. And I was the one, you know, a year ago saying somebody is going to want to get themselves to San Antonio to be aligned with this guy. It turned out Deeran Fox got there first. Right. But here's the Spurs in position where Kevin, and by the way, not only was Kevin Durant knocking on their door, the Spurs could have done that deal.

The Spurs could have made a Kevin Durant deal. Sure. And them saying, you know, with all due respect, no, we want this guy more. And I think that's important to. because we're going to talk about Ace Bailey in a minute, and I think a lot of people, for better or worse, especially who haven't been following year coverage, may connect Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper a little bit

because they both played at Rutgers and Rutgers underachieve this year, and Dylan Harper has been the story of the draft lead-up. But as you said, Dylan Harper's stock has only grown. The Spurs have only locked into that, despite their depth on the perimeter and despite, you know, the interest from other players. So I do think that that's relevant.

Okay, so the number three spot in your mock has been where you spent a lot of time. I'm sure the time you've had discussing with the executives and scouts. Let's tell us who you have on your list as number three and then who you have it in your mock as number three, because that's where this is, that's where the draft really starts. Yeah, I have, I have Ace Bailey third on my book. big board, but I have VJ Edgecom going there in my mock draft. I don't necessarily, I'm not sure that this decision has been made from Philadelphia. Even yesterday, Saturday, it sounds like they were in all-day meetings trying to figure out what direction to take. You know, now you're hearing,

oh, maybe they, you know, they might entertain, you know, trade possibilities. I'm not sure that, you know, if how much like ownership, for example, be excited about that. But, but, you know, But, yeah, I think that's going to be, that's where the draft starts, like we've talked about at three. Ace Bailey's decision not to work out there, to schedule a workout and then cancel, definitely threw a wrench in their plans. Vijay Edgecombe may have been ahead of Ace Bailey already before that. You heard a lot of positivity coming out of Vijay Edgecom's workout, not necessarily in terms of what he showed on the court. I heard that he was very nervous, the very unnatural setting, that one-on-zero setting. but just the, I mean, I think what resonates more is the meeting, you know, like the dinners and the

breakfast and getting to, you know, meet with guys like Tyrese Maxey and ownership and all that in the front office. I mean, I think that's what people really care about more with those visits. And Ace Bailey deciding, you know, to bail on that entirely. Duffy puts, you know, Philadelphia in a tough position because I, Daryl More is the kind of guy who could still draft Ace Bailey third. But this is a tough season. that they're coming off of. And there's, you know, a lot of questions about Embed long term with his knee, which, by the way, there's some positivity that we're hearing around, you know, M.B.'s

availability. But still, Paul George's contract, a lot of people think that might be the worst contract in the NBA right now, along with Bradley Beale. And so you draft a guy who doesn't want to be there. And if it doesn't work out, if it doesn't start off, you know, on the best light, that puts a lot of pressure on you as a front office. And so, and there's quite a few people in the NBA who think VJ. Edgecom is a better prospect regardless.

It's not a big gap between three and four. Vijay is fourth on my big board. So, yeah, I mean, it's going to be a really interesting decision to see what they do. You know, they take Edgecombe. Do they take Bailey? Do they trade down? I think all those possibilities are still in play right now. So what do you like about Edgecom as a player?

Just the explosiveness. I mean, just first of all, the trajectory that he's on. He played his high school basketball in Long Island. And so I've been able to watch him here for over the last two, three years. He was really just a defender early on in his career. He was even ranked in the top 100 the first time that I saw him. But just the intensity that he brings, the defensive versatility, that toughness, that edge. But his ball skills have gotten significantly better.

He's become a guy that you could legitimately see playing point guard at some stage in his career. I think what already sold people was what we saw from him in the Bahamas national team this past summer, playing in the Fibba Olympic qualifying tournament against Spain, against Poland. He was playing point guard alongside Buddy Heeled, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Aiton, he was the best player on the floor. When you have that level of explosiveness, you can get to anywhere you want on the court when you're that dynamic in transition. And the type of shooting that he showed in the Big 12, in front. flashes. It wasn't consistent, but the upside with VJ. Edgecom is through the roof. Now, again, Shades of Dylan Harper situation in San Antonio, how does VJ. Edgecombe fit on that

roster with Tyrese Maxie, with Jared McCain, with Quentin Grimes? You know, I think in Vijaychcom's mind, at least in his camp's mind, having that runway to play on the ball and to develop into a guy that can be a point card, I think is going to be important for him. How much room is he going to have there to explore that on, you know, what, I mean, this is a team that was projected to contend for a championship this past season. And so there's going to be a certain amount of pressure on him. But I think everybody that's drafting at the top, I think you really have to throw fit out the window. You have to take the guy who's going to be the best player five years from now. Roster's changed.

But, you know, like when you do a redraft, you want to feel like you drafted the guy who is the best available talent at that slot, regardless. the position. And I think that feels like that's the way that Philadelphia is leading right now. The Vijay Edgecom is that guy at three. Yeah. So you talked about last summer, obviously last summer when Cooper Flagg played in the team USA select team, that was actually a big moment. So that was that was a big thing. Joyce Bailey, Jonathan, do you, how much of it do you think is a strategy and how much of it do you think is a mistake the way his process has gone? I think it's a clear strategy and I think it's not that unique honestly we saw this last year with alex sarah basically trying to maneuver himself to Washington at two passing up a

workout with Atlanta it was more tastefully done it feels like I mean just the scheduling and the canceling I think that you know that maybe may have rubbed some people the wrong way but every agent in this business is looking to position their client to get to that second contract and to reach their full potential as a player, which ideally involves minutes, a roll, shots, development. You know, you look at like Reed Shepherd. He was drafted third last year, too. A situation not all that different than Philadelphia right now was barely able to get on the court for Houston. The guy drafted behind him, Steph Castle, you know, became rookie of the year.

And so obviously it's way too early to write off Reed Shepherd. I think he's still going to have a very good NBA career. But that's a situation that a lot of agents are following what's going on right now with Ace Bailey and saying, you know, there might be a method to the madness here where if Ace Bailey has a preferred destination in mind, be it Washington at 6 or New Orleans at 7 or Brooklyn at 8, there's a lot more opportunity there in those back courts than. in Philadelphia at three or even Charlotte at four with Lamello Bowen and Brandon Miller. So I don't think that, you know, the criticism that we're hearing for Ace Bailey, I think maybe a little bit over the topic or this is something that we see every year. And in the past, agents used to be able to hide the medical, you know, and really be a little bit more forceful in saying like, do not draft my client here.

You're not, you know, we're not going to give you the, and the medical part was scary. Now they've changed the rules and everything. team in the lottery is getting access to the medical, so it makes a little bit harder to to pull this off. But if Ace Bailey is able to get himself drafted to Washington at 6 and we find that that that's where he wanted to be all along, then Ace Belli's agent did well for his client. If it obviously works out, you could say, I mean, Utah, I mean, I think that's a good situation. I think that I don't quite understand why they don't like Utah with the coaching staff there, the fan base there, the opportunity on the perimeter. But, I mean, to each his own, I mean,

geography plays a big role in this too. So what do you think about this, Brian? Well, so I think if you look, first off, talking about the second contract when you haven't played a minute and you didn't have a killer college year, it's a little bit of a turnoff to me. However, what you said is all accurate. Like, if you are an agent and you want your player to be not, because like, here's what's happened.

What's happened is in this top three picks, the teams that got ended up in the, the top three are all teams that are more built out than your typical top three, right? Dallas is more built out. Now, granted, Kyrie is hurt. Obviously, San Antonio has had the last two rookies of the year, and they have some other veterans, you know, with starting jobs, you know, Vassell and Harrison Barnes are starters. I mean, they may not be starters when the season starts, but they're in the starters role right now.

Obviously, Philadelphia is, you know, a complete anomaly to have the third pick. And so I kind of get that. I kind of get your looking and say, man, my guy could be the franchise player. My guy could wake up as the franchise player in Brooklyn. Because, you know, Brooklyn's sitting there at the eighth pick. And, you know, they don't think they can have a chance to draft a talent like this. Like it's, you know, they could help maneuver. And the guy has to take, you know, a couple of weeks of bad headlines to maneuver himself to Brooklyn.

Yeah. Or where you've got him in the mock right now, which we haven't quite got there. but you mentioned Washington. You've got Ace Bailey, Washington. Washington doesn't have a franchise player right now. Now, maybe Alex Sar will have, you know, he had a good finish to his rookie year. Maybe a year from now,

we'll say Alex Sar is their franchise player. But he didn't- He's always going to be on the defensive side, though. It's not going to be a guy who's creating his own shot who's, you know, averaging 20, 25 points a game, like Ace Bailey could potentially become if he hits. So what I'm basically saying is,

I don't like it, but I kind of get it. Right. But, you know, there's this stuff around Bailey. Like, you know, he was listed at 610 and he comes in and he measures at 6, 7 and half. I don't know whether you care about that. That's their foot, you know, that's, you know, in shoes, he's 6.9. He's got great size.

So he's an inch shorter than people. Right. Right. But I'm just saying there's all these things about him that like, you know, that teams would, you know, kind of put down as a red mark on their, on their board. So, but I've called him like the, now, this is your world. But every year or, you know, maybe there's one or two, there's a dangerous player in the draft because they're dangerous, not because drafting them

is bad. They're dangerous just because if you pass on them, you could have egg all over your face. You get fired for passing on. Like, this is a situation with Luca Donchich, right? Not that I'm comparing Ace Billy to Luca Donchage. Three teams said no to Luca, potentially even more. And those guys, it's on their records forever. Yeah. Like Vladi Divots, well, his executive is it, By the way, Vladdy was in a motorcycle accident with Passmar Best. Vladi passing on Luca is to find his era, you know, passing on a guy. Obviously, you take a guy who's- Especially.

Correct. Obviously, you take a guy that's a bust, and that's a problem. So it's the thing. Here's a guy who's got some red marks on the sheet. You take him, he ends up being a bust. That's bad. You pass on him, and he goes to Brooklyn and wins rookie of the year, and averages 27 points his rookie year.

Yeah. The teams that passed on him look bad. So that's why I think he's the most dangerous prospect in the draft. Not that that's a bad thing. It sort of goes both ways. Right. And a lot of it's just from listening to you about him. I'm not, you know, this is not, this is just my perception from learning from you.

All right. Now let's talk about a guy that you've been, you, obviously I knew, you know, Con Cinnipple was, you know, he goes to Duke as a five-star recruit. certainly was a ticket as a lottery pick. But when we start talking about these guys early in the season, you were extremely high on Khan and you have remained there. And he has gone up the boards. I don't know where he was on your mock at the start of the season, but now you got him forth going to Charlotte.

I mean, he was like seven or eight, but a lot of that was because I went to preseason practices. You know, I saw a scrimmage. And just talking to John Shire, the entire year, leading up to Khan in rolling at Duke, he was like, man, keep your on con, keep your on con, keep your on con, this guy is way underrated, you know, like he's, he was saying he's cut from the same cloth as like a Reed Shepherd, just in terms of his feel for the game, his competitiveness, the versatility, but he's six foot seven. And so, I mean, that, if Reed Shepherd was six foot seven,

he may have probably would have been the number one pick in the draft last year. And so he, I mean, he had so much belief in him. And now as part of the, I mean, I mean, I mean, I went to do an interview with Cooper Flagg, the only one-on-one that he did all year. But I was able to watch Khan scrimmage, and he absolutely dominated that scrimmage, even more so than Cooper Flagg. And I was like, this guy's, you know, easy top 10 pick, maybe top five. And so, and, you know, he just grew and grew as the year moved on. And similar to Cooper, like the coaching staff, put the ball on his hands, let him play pick and roll, let him show his, you know, his playmaking ability, his feel for the game. The way he plays off two feet, and then he's a movement shooter.

He's an outstanding spot-up shooter. He brings toughness. He's a great teammate. He's on selfish. So I think already in October, I was saying, this guy could be Clay Thompson, you know? Yes, I remember it quite well when you said that. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, that's, and right now it's looking like he's going to get drafted, probably

fourth or fifth. And so you feel, do you feel that Charlotte's probably pretty settled on that? somebody like jumps ahead of them and I think that they're still making up their mind I think there are several guys I mean they haven't totally ruled out the idea of drafting ace Bailey I think Jeremiah fears even though he hasn't worked out for them is someone that they're deafy considering trade Johnson could fit very nicely into their into their roster but you know just you look at con and you know his fit with lamello ball with brandon Miller you look at just a feel for the game the ability to, you know, be a guy that can be the face of your franchise.

You put them in front of, you know, every practice, press conferences, all that. Yeah, don't underestimate taking a Duke guy in Charlotte. Like, I mean, not that that would be the driving force, but. Yeah. Their owner and the fan base. Exactly. Yeah, that would be very exciting for them, I'm sure. So I think there's a lot of smoke pointing to Khan, but I don't think that they've made up

their mind either way. And again, I think we could see some movement here, you know, like in that. that three through eight range. And, you know, I don't think that like a team outside the top eight moves into the top eight, but I could really see some musical chairs being played here between those teams between three and eight, especially with the Ace Bailey situation. Yeah, that's true. So number five, which is Utah, we have a brand new lead executive there, Austin Age,

although his father, Danny and Justin Zannock long entrenched there. It's not like he replaced anybody. this is one that's moved around in your mock, and I'm not even sure where you will be on draft night. Your mock could change several times. So reading Utah seems to be a challenge. This is going to be where mock drafts could go sideways here. Yeah, a lot of it is because the Ace Bailey situation, you know,

like if he ends up going, he doesn't want to be a three, four, or five. And so do people respect his wishes? And as he end up going behind Utah. And that means we're introducing like a new group of players here at four and five. And that's where a lot of the uncertainty has come from. And, you know, how do they value the guys on their roster? They've drafted a lot the past few years. Doesn't feel like any of those guys are really long-term keepers, like surefire guys.

And you feel like, I don't want to put a roadblock. Their franchise player right now is Larry Marketing. and that's not producing that that alignment is not producing greatness right right so you know how married will austin age be to kiante george or isaiah collier i would think not at all you know that's when we have germia fears there at five i mean that would raise some some eyebrows because they drafted point guards the last two years and so now you're drafting a third one on top of them and so um i mean there's some thought about trey johnson here obviously I mean, I'm sure they're going to look at the Ace Valley situation, too.

I don't think, I mean, Austin Ains gives them, you know, like whether Aisbrii wants to be there or not, if he thinks he's the guy, he'll take him. In Utah, you can't run the jazz and worry about whether a guy wants to be there. You'll never get anywhere. I mean, that's just. And once he gets there, he'll be like, this place is beautiful. This fan base is insane. You know, like they've been to love this team.

This coaching staff is incredible. And so, I mean, I'm sure you get over very, very quickly. because there's a big runway there too. They need a star in the worst way also. I mean, and allegedly they're trying to win. So we'll see. I mean, you know, they've been tanking for three years. Of course, they're trying to win.

But they could actually do some things to upgrade the roster here in this summer. Okay, you mentioned Jeremiah Fears. This is a guy, point guard out of Oklahoma. He has been a riser. You think there's a possibility he could go in the top five. What about Jeremiah Fears has him going up the draft boards in your mucks? Just, you know, six foot four, can get anywhere he wants on the court. Tremendous ball handler, tremendous pace, gets to his spots, can find guys, finishes with both

hands. 18 years old, doesn't turn 19 until October. He made a late decision to reclassify, you know, was one of the youngest players in college basketball, but had a great season at Oklahoma, you know, playing in the toughest conference in college basketball in the SEC, led them to the end. to the NCAA tournament, had, you know, some incredible games in the SEC tournament and the NCAA tournament against Yukonnie, which fantastic. And so, you know, that kind of really dynamic shot creating guard who can get to his spots on the floor, play pick and roll score as well.

Those guys are not easy to come by, you know, and so it might take him some time because his frame is still filling out. His defense is just okay right now. He's shooting his streaky. but if you're projecting the out, you know, three to five years, and Jeremiah Fears could absolutely be one of the best players in this draft. You have these guys in five, six, seven. There's a lot of potential fluidity there. Do you think Washington passes on Ace Bailey if he's there at six? I would be surprised if they did.

I would agree. And at seven, you and Jeremy Wu have talked about how the pelicans at seven are in an advantageous position because they're almost assured of had, because you mentioned Trey Johnson, he could still be there. People like Trey Johnson. Yes. The seventh pick is not a terrible place to be for New Orleans because there's almost assuredly going to be a guy there of, you know, the picks are hard to pick there because

the talent level is equal. Their pick is farther down, but they may not, they may be in a decent spot. But what if they decide, we love Ace Bailey and they say, here's seven and 23 and something, and let's move up to five, you know, and then. Yeah, they picked up Indiana's first round pick last week. And they move ahead of Washington. They take Ace Bailey. And then, you know, they're, and then Utah is still, I mean, I don't know how many picks Utah already needs, to be honest with you, you know, but is there somebody on Utah's roster that they like?

Sorry, New Orleans roster. I'm obviously, Erb Jones, Train Murphy. Those guys probably aren't going anywhere. But, yeah, I mean, that's where I think you could see these musical chairs being played, you know, at this part of the draft. Okay. You mentioned Kamon Malewatch out of Duke, the center. Very rarely do I be able to say I saw a guy two years before he got to the draft. I remember talking to you about Kamon when I saw the South Sudanese team play in the World Cup in 2023.

He's come a long way since then. Obviously, a lot of people saw him play at Duke. You've got him to Brooklyn right now at 8. By the time his pod comes out, there could be changes. But what do you think about Kamon? Actually, I didn't think he was going to be a top 10 pick when I saw him two years ago, but he's gotten a lot better. That's exactly right.

He's gotten so much better. The first time I saw Come On was four years ago at the NBA Academy Games in Mexico. He was scrawny. He was uncoordinated. I mean, he could barely chew gum and run at the same time. And his skill level was bad. He couldn't catch the ball. He couldn't finish.

He was unathletic. And just to see the way that he's improved year after year, what he's done with his body, what he's done with his skill level, what he's done with his mobility, just the impact that he had this year. Defensive, Duke was one of the best defensive teams in the country. And a lot of it was because of Cooper Flag, but obviously a lot of it was because of Kamamalawatch,

anchoring the paint being this huge deterrent, teams wouldn't even drive into the paint because he's so long, 7-7 wing span, 9, 6 standing reach. But he's not just a guy that just parks under the rim with his arms up. He can also, he can hedge out to the perimeter. you can show really hard. He can switch and slide his feet. And the scary part about Kamada is that he hasn't been playing basketball for that long.

And so what is he going to be three or four years from now? People talk about his character, his work ethic, you know, just what he brings to every room, how he lights it up, how he's beloved by coaches and by teammates. You look at the NBA finals right now. You need that kind of rim protector inside, you know, Chet Holmgren for OKC, Miles Turner for Indiana. and I mean, you go and watch him work out. You're seeing him drain three after three. The touch, the way the ball comes out of his hand, it gets you excited.

And you really start to wonder, you know, like, how high could this guy's upside be? And I mean, so that's why Kamamalovic is going to get picked in the top 10. And it might end up being, you know, like, you know, like seven or eight. I know New Orleans is looking really hard at him. I know Brooklyn's looking very hard at him. Is there some movement here in this stage of the draft? And so I think Kamamanawatra, is going to be a very, very good NBA player.

Let me just ask you before we go, if there's one other guy in the lottery of the draft who's a Gavoni favorite, who you really like, who is another guy that you would want to mention, even if he's not in the top 10 pick? Yeah, I mean, I would say Casparis Yakuchonis is somebody that people have kind of forgotten about a little bit in this process.

Six-foot-six, great pick and roll player, makes every read out of ball screens, has a great brain, great toughness about him, shot making prowess. The strides that Casperus, Yakuchonis, has made over the past few years, has been astounding. And I think that, you know, the ability to play one, two, three, you could put him on to pretty much any roster in the NBA. He's going to find a way to add value. So I think he's going to be, you know, someone that comes off the board pretty quickly,

you know, like in this nine through and say 12 range. it feels like. And he's going to be a guy that's, you know, maybe not the most explosive player round, you know, kind of finished off the year a little bit of a not a great note in terms of the turnovers. And he got beaten up really in the Big Ten. But I think Caspera Zecchio, Jonas, is going to be an outstanding NBA player long-term. Yeah, another interesting point guard of good size that you've got in top of this draft.

And because there's a lot of him, maybe he slipped back because of it. But all right, Jonathan, we literally just a fraction. literally a fraction of what you provided insight. Good luck with all of the demands that you have this week. I'll see you in Brooklyn later this week. Thank you for spending some time with us and helping our listeners get smarter ahead of this draft, including me. And we'll talk to you soon.

Of course, my pleasure. Great to be with you. More Hoop Collective Podcast after this. Thank you to Jonathan Gavoni. Business for the Dallas Mavericks today, as he was within a couple hours of the deadline of his player option, McMahon, Kyrie Irving agrees to a new deal

ops out of his contract as he recovers from his torn ACL agrees to a new deal with the Celtics I got him. It's been a Celtic for a long time. With the Mavericks, three years, 114 million of the last year of that. 119.

119. 119 million. The last year of it is a player option. McMahon, what are we to make of this? Very good news for the Mavericks, a very good development. certainly earlier in the day, perhaps even when we podcasted earlier, the anticipation was that Kyrie was going to opt in,

which would not have been good news to the Mavericks, because when a player of that stature opts in, it means they didn't get anything done on a long-term deal. And it sounds weird, but an opt-in means that that relationship's probably not going to last a whole lot longer. But there was middle ground. That's what happened on his last deal. He opted in with the nets, and it was like an indication he ain't going to be there for very long and eventually got traded to the Mavericks.

Right. And there was middle ground reached here. Now, look, before Kyrie had the knee injury, the anticipation was this would be more like a three or $150 million deal where things got sticky aside from simply the fact that this is a guard in his 30s coming off a torn ACL, where things. really got sticky is the clearest path to the Mavericks acquiring a fill-in for him for the first half or so of the season that he's going to have to miss, a guy who can start at point guard and then transition into a six-man type of role. The clearest path is their taxpayer mid-level. And so they had to get Kyrie. I think this is like the tip-top of the range that they could signed Kyrie to and preserve that taxpayer mid-level, you know, not be a second-apron team

where that thing goes poof. And so, you know, I mean, we'll see what they're able to do with it. You know, there's candidates out there. Same kind of candidates, by the way, that the bucks will be going after. Guys like Dennis Schrooter, we'll see if, you know, he might end up staying in Detroit. I think there's certainly interest there. Yeah, by the way, Detroit, who was a team that we wondered whether or not how aggressive they would be because they looked at some other teams in the East who were dealing with injuries and they have capsule flexibility and they're an ascendant team. Their team president, Trayson Langdon, said today he does not plan to be aggressive in this offseason and hopes to keep the team relatively stable. Now, he's not under obligation to file through with that, but that would indicate that Detroit wants to re-sign a guy like Dennis Schrooter, resign a guy like Malik B's. maybe re-signed Tim Hardaway, Jr.

I don't know. Right. But they made a massive leap last year, so that makes some sense. But Dennis Schroeder, Chris Paul, Malcolm Brogden, Dan Joel, Jules, Tice Jones. That's the kind of pool that you're looking at there. But I mean, the most important thing here is what could have been a messy situation if Kyrie's opting in and then it's like, oh, how temporary is this?

It's not messy. You know, Kyrie, his stepmom and agent, Shetellia, Riley Irving, Nico Harrison of the Mavericks. They got something worked out that, you know, made sense for everybody involved. It's a three-year deal. It's really, you know, it's a two plus one. He's aligned with Anthony Davis contractually.

And, you know, they're adding Cooper flag to the mix. You know, obviously Cooper Flagg is... Some needed good news for the Mavericks, quite frankly. And, I mean... And on the heel, of the Daniel Gafford extension, which I think was a very good deal for the Mavericks. And, you know, they like having that depth at center with Gafford. And with, but it's three years like 54 guarantee.

There's trade kickers and all that. It's a quality starting center deal that is immensely tradable. Whether he started. We can be traded tradable immediately, just which I think is an important distinction to add. too. Now, I do think, especially with them having this taxpayer mid-level available, they really like the idea of having that depth. Derek Live at the second is a heck of a young big. Unfortunately, he has had durability issues for the first couple of years of his career. You know, having that as a tag team alongside AD. That was Nico Harrison's defense wins championship vision. Now you're

adding Cooper Flagg, who's a heck of a young defensive prospect. In addition, to being, you know, in the eyes of Jason Kidd, a potential Grant Hill type of point forward. You know, there's not, like the noise around the Mavericks has not, I'm not going to say, been silenced, but been quieted. This Kyrie situation had a chance to be messy. It's not. That's great news for the Mavericks as they're bringing in this generational talent that they fell ass backwards into being able to draft number one overall.

Well, and it's also worth pointing out that Sean Sweeney's left to go be with the San Antonio Spurs. God sham God, likely is on his way off Jason Kidd's staff. Sean Sweeney, they're lead assistant. Right. And listen, that that, the coaching staff stuff's not great. Well, hold on, just hold on. We talk too fast over that. Sean Sweeney, lead assistant is leaving to go be Mitch Johnson's leadist.

Yeah, they're associate head coach down in San Antonio. And look, that's a situation where the Mavericks didn't put up frankly, enough of a fight to try to keep a guy who's been Jason Kidd's right-hand man at every single stop for J-Kids' head coach and career. The guy who has been coordinating both the offense and the defense for the Mavericks. The guy who, you know, twice was able to construct quality defenses around Luca Donchich, which, you know, obviously there's some challenges that come along with that. And Sweeney's going to be a head coach.

my understanding is the nix have even sniffed around there i don't think that that he's going to merge as a candidate there but um just to be expediting here the lead assistant left his secondary assistant jared dudley is reportedly leaving to join the calves and the development assistant god sham god is significant is uh reportedly considering leaving as well i don't know if that's a done deal yeah likely will end up with the orlando magic and in the case of sweeney the Mavericks didn't make it a tough decision because he got a title promotion, he got a longer deal, and he got significantly more money. They've had three assistant coaches leave, and Jason Kidd had some interest, maybe more than some,

in the next job. Yeah. Nick still don't have a coach, and Jason Kidd still didn't have a contract extension. So roster-wise, I think they've had a really good week. I mean, hell, a really good, whatever, month and change going back to the lottery. Coach and staff-wise, they've got some stuff to figure out. Okay, there was also a deal on Tuesday involving the Wizards and the Pelicans. Most significantly, Jordan Poole, still riding high on that max contract that he got from the Warriors, traded to New Orleans.

C.J. McCollum, former podcast guest, who veteran obviously has a shorter contract than a shorter contract than a pool goes to to Washington real quick from Washington standpoint they by doing this have potentially given themselves a hunt well let me just tell you what the whole deal Jordan Poole Sadiek Bay and the number 40 pick you know mid to early second round two New Orleans for C.J. McCollum, Kelly O'Lennick, and a future second round pick. But this move puts into the wizards in position to have up to $100 million in salary caps. I don't think the team's ever had $100 million in salary cap space for the summer of 26.

I'm not sure what they're going to do with it. They could do 50 different things between now and then. Well, and they also have the reason they have that they have that kind of money in expiring contracts. so they can be aggressive or opportunistic leading up to the deadline too. They have the number six pick in this draft, and maybe that trade, maybe they have a good idea of who they're taking with the six pick, and they made this deal to better position their team for that. It does open up since Jordan Poole is a high-usage player,

it does open up some time for their young guards like Bob Carrington, Baloch, Bally, and Kai Shan George. It does it because I think C.J. McCollum wants to, to play it probably Marcus Smart does too. Well, we'll see. So really what happened was a year ago, the Wizards were on pace to be the worst team point differential wise in NBA history.

Just getting absolutely eviscerated and blown out every single night. And they have made three trades since that time to acquire Marcus Smart, Chris Middleton, and now C.J. McCollum, all known for their leadership and character. And Middleton picked up his $33 million player option this week,

which was not a surprise. He's one of those expiring contracts, keep an eye on. But it seems like the Wizards, I would like to get some more veterans in there to maybe inspire some higher competition level. But okay, McMahon, you were talking about the Pelicans. I was?

I'm much more interested in the Wizards. I'm much more interested in the wizard side of this deal, honestly, just because of what you laid out with, the cap space and um you know and again you can look at the free agency list next year and say okay what are they doing this the cap space can also be very very useful uh in the trade market um you know they've got a decent collection of young players they'll add to that with number six picked the latter that i assume with what will be another lottery pick next year um but you're at starting to see the potential for this rebuilding thing to enter into a phase two for 26-27.

And honestly, the Pelicans side of it, I don't know, man. I'm not that intrigued by it. Yeah, I mean, look, I think for New Orleans, I don't mind it for them. Like, that is not a free agency destination. And with Dejante Murray out for likely a big chunk of the season, if not all of it, and he needed a point guard. Jordan Poole had pretty good stretches of play for Washington last year. He did he's a point guard.

Well, he played point guard for them. He played point guard for a stretch for them last year, and I thought he did fine with it. Now, again, I'm not trying to say the Pelicans are going to be lighten the world on fire, but they got a second round pick. They got Sadiq Bay, who was a guy who had offers, you know, well into the mid-to-high teens before he tore his ACL on an extension. he signed a very favorable deal. He's making $6 million the next couple of years.

He's a guy that could potentially turn around if he looks like anything like he was before the injury and could either flip him in a deal or have him there long term. And, you know, I think turning C.J. McCollum and Kelly Illenick, yes, two expiring contracts, but two guys that did not have any value really anywhere into a guy in Jordan Pool, who's a talented young player and Bay, who's a good flyer. Like, I think that's fine business for them. man, they get a decent second out of it. Like, you know, I don't hate it.

I just, I just think that it's going to be really, really tough for the Pelicans to. I mean, we talked about Portland really having an uphill climb to a playing end spot. I think the Pelicans are in that same type of territory. Yeah, I don't disagree. I just also think this deal makes some sense for where their team is at. Like, at least Jordan Poole has a chance to grow with some of these younger guys they have on the team if it's a fit. as CJ was not anything for them at this point. So I get it.

But yeah, look, Washington has been sort of treading water for a couple of years, obviously, as they go through this rebuild. And, you know, they're probably going to have a pretty rough record year again this year. We'll see who they draft. You know, certainly seems like there's at least some possibility that Ace Bailey winds up there who, if he does, he's going to be a guy that's going to need time. And, you know, they're slowly adding a lot of interesting, long athletic players, and they do have now an absolute ton of salary cap space.

I mean, there's currently one guaranteed contract on their books for next year, and then they're going to pick up options that guys like Alex Sar and Kool, Bali, and Karendon and stuff. But they've got $13 million that's guaranteed on their books for 2026, 27 at the moment, and that's it. So it's going to be interesting to see what directions they go in and if they can start to turn the thing in a different direction. All right.

welcome back to the Hoop Collective. A couple of things. Remember, July 12th, Saturday night in Vegas, first Saturday night of Summer League at Brad Garrett's Comedy Club at the MGM Grand, our third annual Hoop Collective Live Show. You can get tickets at hooplive. Eventbright.com. All kinds of enjoyment there. We've got the Hoop Collective Draft Special. I don't even know what the technical name of it is. That's just what I'm going to call it, with the numbers on the board, folks. maybe it's like a crossover. It's on YouTube during the first night of the draft. And afterwards, we'll have a podcast as our traditional thing

that we'll post on Thursday morning, a little bit out of our rotation. But a new hoop collective pod with McMahon and Bontemps on Thursday morning. I don't like to promote that. Should be a busy night. Should be a lot to talk about. Thanks for all of your support and you're listening. And thank you to Jonathan Gavoni for giving us,

his insight on the draft. And all right, that's all I'm going to say. Talk to you guys later. Adios amigos.