The Ringer NBA Show - Kyrie Irving Trade Demand Reaction With Kevin O’Connor. Plus, Other Potential Trade Deadline Deals With Mo Dakhil | Weekend With Wos

Episode Date: February 3, 2023

Wos is back with breaking news! He and Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer sit down to discuss their initial thoughts upon hearing that Kyrie Irving is requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the deadline. Later on in the show, Wos talks with Mo Dakhil of ‘Bleacher Report’ and ‘The Athletic’ to discuss other potential trade deadline deals including the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, and more! Host: Wosny Lambre Guests: Kevin O’Connor and Mo Dakhil Producers: Jade Whaley and Ben Cruz The Ringer NBA squad is coming to Salt Lake City for NBA All-Star Weekend! Get your tickets here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're lost in the darkness, look for the pod. Specifically, the Prestige TV podcast on the Ringer Podcast Network, where we're breaking down every new episode of HBO's The Last of Us. On Sunday nights, grab your battery and join Van Lathen and Charles Holmes for an instant reaction to the latest episode. Then head back to the QZ on Tuesdays for a deep dive with Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin. From character arcs to video game adaptation choices, story themes to needle drops, we'll parse every inch of this cordyceps-coded universe.

Watch out for mouth tendrils and follow along on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. What's popping, everybody? This is Logan Murdoch from Real On I have some big news to share. On Saturday, February 18th, the Ringer NBA show will be hitting the row for All-Star weekend for a live show in Salt Lake City. You heard that right. We are taping the pod in front of a live audience in Salt Lake next month and we want you

to join us. Pull up on us at the State Room in the heart of downtown Salt Lake. You can grab your tickets now at theStatroom.com. That's the Stateroom.com. Doors open at 9 o'clock. Show is at 10. It's going to be a 21 and up event. Come hang with the gang and chat, mid-season updates, draft preview, and even have a Q&A with us.

Space is limited, so grab your tickets while they last at the stateroom. Or click the link in the description of this show. Hope to see y'all in there. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the latest edition of weekends. I'm your host, Bigwas, aka Washington Lambrey. And we got to be transparent here because transparency is what we do here up at weekend. I recorded a whole last podcast yesterday with Mo Doc Hill. We talked about potential trades for contenders.

It was a great. It was a great thing. And, you know, I'm just hanging out on a Friday afternoon, chilling. And it's one of those things where certain people call you and you just know that it's not urgent. That, like, for instance, my dad just calls me just to call me. I know whatever he's calling me about is not something that needs to be dealt with in the moment. However, when Ringer Podcasts are Benjamin Cruz calls me ever, I know it's for something important. I see the phone and I'm like, yo, call me back immediately.

I'm like, yo, what's up? Yeah, Kyrie just demanded the trade. Oh, my Lord. So, of course, we get KOC, man. Kevin O content. I mean, that's your name for a reason, Kevin. When it comes to social, when it comes to video, audio, live show in Salt Lake City.

You do every single form of it. Thank you for being on with me, man, for this podcast emergency. Thank you so much, Waz. I'm happy to be. I mean, oh, my goodness, dude. Kyrie Irving. Jesus. Well, thank you, Kyrie for the content, I suppose, huh?

Okay. So, let's, you know, Kyrie is just, he is so much, just with some sort of background, right? In the past week in change or so, you've been hearing, if you got your ears to the streets, that Kyrie's kind of grousing about an extension, the guy wants to get paid. That was out there. It's like, whatever.

Yeah, so do I. You know, whatever. Who cares? Like, that's not a thing. I kind of ignored it, to be honest, KOC. And of course, Shams Charania of the athletic, he reports that Kyrie has now required. requested a trade less than a week before the trade deadline.

How did this news hit your ears, Kay? I mean, I think this last week when Chris Haynes reported the, had the quote from Kyrie's agent saying, oh, you know, it's in the balls in Brooklyn's court. You know, that's kind of where like some people around the league were like, huh, could something actually go down here? Like, that was kind of the first moment where you're like, okay, maybe this net's, you know, feel good run here even without Kevin Durant. isn't going to last very long.

This trade demand today, it did kind of floor me that it came out the way it did. My thought right now was is a couple of things. It's could this be his way of saying send me to the Lakers, a team that I know will re-signed me, go back with LeBron, you know, with AD and they become one of the favorites in the West, or could this be his move saying, look, if you're not going to give me this extension, I'm going to blow up the whole F and season and it's over. It could be one of those two things here that's happening or both. He might be happy with either path knowing he'll get the money with the Lakers or the other team.

Or it's like, re-sign me or your season's over and you're going to have to deal with getting, you know, 25 cents on the dollar back. Here's what makes this so fascinating. The Lakers, even with the Rui situation, can get essentially to max money this summer. They can do that. So that looms quite large where it's like Brooklyn, like you can try to, you know, bully me or say, oh, I'm going to send you to the highest bidder. But it's like, whoever that bitter is, just know I'm Kyrie Irving.

And I have shown you an ability to blow a situation up in various ways. Yeah, many times throughout his career. The diversity by which Kyrie can deploy his blood. low-up methods. I don't think we've ever seen somebody with this type of bag. In a elite talent. He has an elite bag. And he has an elite bag on the court, but his ability to sabotage elite bag, that's a real threat to potential suitors, Kev. Like, that's, these are not empty threats. This is, you know, Jimmy Butler getting the hell up out of Minnesota level type of threats where it's like, no, I can blow this up.

And it's the reason why it's so interesting, and I'm sorry if my thoughts seem scrambled because literally I just found this out 10 minutes ago. But the reason why it's so interesting is that logically it makes sense. Not that we would ever want to ascribe too much logic to Kyrie Irving and his thinking, but logically this makes sense

because not only is Kyrie Roland, The Nets have reached a sort of equilibrium of, yeah, Ben Simmons is still a basket case. KD is rehabbing an injury. But like the team reached a level of professional basketball normalcy that they had been so craving. And Kare's like, guess what? That's over. That's over. You guys didn't want to reward me with an extension.

Not that he necessarily deserved it. But you didn't want to reward me with an extension. and so therefore get me out of here. And I think the Lakers specter looms so large because they can sound this guy outright over the summer. And if Kyrie won't, and again, to the other suitors, Kyrie can credibly tell them he will sink their goddamn ship if he so chooses.

For sure. I mean, that's why there just won't be a lot of suitors out there for him. It's not like Kyrie Irving demands a trade and, you know, you have seven, eight, nine teams interested. And it's, that's why, like, you know, after this dropped, I tweeted out Kyrie to the Lakers question mark because it's, you know, how many other teams would there actually be for Kyrie Irving? I mean, like, is it the Dallas Mavericks? Somebody like that. So that's what I was going to say.

Whoever are in the Fred Van Vliet sweepstakes, you kind of should be theoretically if you take all of the basket case stuff out of it. you should be in the Kyrie Irvin sweepstakes too. Not that you can. Not the Suns, though. Not Phoenix. Not Phoenix. Probably. But maybe? Yeah, if they were to trade Chris Paul, but I just don't see that happening. Chris Paul, you know, trending up.

So to me, that leaves the Lakers, the clipper, but the clippers would have to contort themselves in ways to make the salaries. Yeah, that'd be so tough. To work. How about the Rockets? It's like a team at the bottom of the league where they can afford to win some more. That would be the most insane thing I've ever heard of in my life. To add Kyrie to what Kevin Porter and Jalen Green are doing.

I know. It would be really such a bad idea. That's so crazy. The Bulls, somebody like that, I just don't see it. Wizards? Man, I really truly think it's Dallas, the Lakers, and if the Clippers can be creative enough, the Clippers. And that'd be tough, but like not impossible.

I mean, it depends on also what the Nets would want back. It also depends on, let's remember last year when Kevin Durant demanded a trade that was in part due to the Kyrie Irving situation then with them not giving him a deal then. Right. So I wonder now, is this just Katie and Kyrie breaking up or is the is the next domino Kevin Durant saying, oh, I also want to be traded again? And then the whole situation just implodes for the Nets. And then both of them are gone. Could that be the next domino here? It's Kevin Durant demanding a trade.

I mean, the KD thing blew up because the Nets could just wait them out. It's like, you're going to try to do this for four years? And they could do it again. They could still wait out. Exactly. So I think KD is kind of stuck. He has to dance with the date that he brought to the dance. But when teams be willing to give more now was, like, remember they wanted that all-time

great package, you know, a whole bunch of first round. picks with the Pelicans at this point. Say, you know what? Screw it. We'll give you nine first round draft picks. For Kevin Durant or for K.D. I don't know. Is there a team out there that can make that offer that meets Brooklyn's insanely high threshold?

I don't think so. And I just think, I don't know. If you're in Brooklyn, you are in such a bad place. You were in a horrible place this summer. It's felt like you were getting to a better. place, but now it's just obvious. And here's the thing. And this isn't a cop-out.

I see the case on both sides. I understand why Kyrie's like, when I play, I'm one of the best players in the league. Extend me. I'm a great player. I should be paid like one. And I see the side of the nets where it's just like, you are so unreliable, bro. Like, how can you really, in good faith, ask me. to commit to you long term, knowing your past.

So I understand where both sides are coming from. I just think Kyrie kind of, this is brilliant negotiating on his part. You got a week. And if that deadline comes, I'm going to make your life miserable. It's going to happen. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's just started.

Is there a way, like, the nets are miserable. rule, right? So like from the net side, you're right. You get it from both sides. And I agree with you. I get it from Kyrie's side, especially if he knows the Lakers are an option where he can go and compete for finals with LeBron and AD. From the net side of things, I get it also because of everything you're saying, Kyrie is an elite disruptor, right? Like this won't be the last time something like that happens where, you know, he shakes the foundation of an organization. Is there an out here for the Nets? Like could they get back a collection of three, four good role players and some draft picks or something along those lines? Not from the Lakers. They can't. Not from the Lakers, but like a three

way. So like the Lakers have been talking about, you know, a deal with the jazz for, you know, Conley, Beasley, you know, Vanderbill, whatever the group is, Olenick, whatever the group of players is. What if, you know, Mike Conley went to the Nets and Malik Beasley went to Nets and something along those lines, like some of those names, a Vanderbilt type, is there any salvaging this for the Nets? Or like, are they just completely effed without Kari Ervick, who's averaging over 30 points per game over the last couple of weeks without Kevin Durant out there? And it's been absolutely outstanding. He's been unbelievable. That's not the worst consolation prize that I've ever heard. But this is, this is why this is so fascinating. Because you wonder at the same time,

It's like, how much can they really extract from teams? Yeah. What leverage do they have was? Like, exactly. Like, how, how much? Like, we're just going to expect Kyrie to show up the work and be a good soldier, even if we don't trade them. Can they really say that with a straight face to the people they're going to be trying to negotiate with? This is crazy.

This is, it's so funny because after Kyrie had. his whole situation with the Amazon link and all of the craziness, the anti-Semitism and all of that ridiculousness. I remember we did a discussion on group chat where it was like we were buying low or selling high on people's stock. And I was like, yo, I'm buying Karee's stock right now. This is back when he was suspended. I'm just like, I have to believe that this guy has an ability to show up to work and just hoop. Like, you have to be able to do. do what 360 other guys in the NBA do every single day with no... Like, I have to believe you can do that.

And he did. And he did. And I took a little victory lap a few weeks ago. I was like, look at Kyrie. He's playing like an All-Star. He's being a good soldier. He's even playing leader guy, whatever. Like, look at Kyrie.

I'm an idiot. Well, was, you were right in the moment. It's just... It's just, Kyrie's not capable of sustaining that. And in this case, it clearly has something to do with the financial aspect. Yeah. But this is just another, like you said, he's got in the elite bag. And it's so interesting, too, because of the contradictions of Kyrie Irvin, right?

Like, there's this idea of just like, oh, I don't care about money. I don't care about this, blah, blah, blah. I'm free. I'm, you know, I'm so detached from these worldly trappings. What's money? Who cares? And he's throwing a stink over money right now. Man wants to be paid.

And listen, this is the fucking zenith of capitalism here in America. I'm not going to begrudge somebody within our system who wants to be paid, who wants to get money. Because guess what? When you don't have money in America, you're a piece of shit. That's just how it goes, right? And so I understand why somebody is doing whatever it takes to get the money. It's just this contradicts everything. Kareas tried to sort of portray about himself and his ideals, you feel me?

I mean, he's a walking contradiction. That's what he is, right? Yeah. And just to reiterate to the nuts and bolts of it, I think Dallas, if they have the stomach for it, should be going out and trying to get him. I think he's a great fit with Luca, honestly. He does enough of the shock-creating stuff where Luca can legitimately get wind. You know, he can wait till the very most important moments to, to sort of go to Luca ball. Like throughout the course of a game, he doesn't have to be exerting himself

on every single possession, orchestrating every single look, right? When he's not orchestrating for himself, like that would be incredible to me. And even still, Luca would still be the main distributor, playmaker for the team. It's just he would have somebody

who was elite in the secondary role of shot creation. And even when he wants to, creating for others, I don't know how Cuban feels about Kyrie. And it's not as if Cuban has presided over the most, shall we say, tranquil work environment in Dallas in the first place.

So that would be weird if he was, you know, if all of a sudden that became a consideration. But if I'm being honest, Kay, I want to see him in the Lakers. We're here in L.A. This would be box office stuff for me. My buddy already calls the Lakers the greatest sitcom on television as presently constructed. They'd become the best drama if they got to.

not Kyrie Irving. Oh, no doubt about it. If he goes to Dallas, it'd be cool to see Luca adapt to another mega star and Kyrie Irving. But with the Lakers, it'd be drama. It's great box office because, A, it'd be amazing basketball. I mean, we know we know how Kyrie and LeBron can play together. Anthony Davis, Kyrie, pick and rolls would be just what a pleasure to watch those guys play together. But then obviously the drama aspect with Kyrie going to LA and everything Kyrie's about, as we've been talking about all season long with him. It be, do the,

do the Lakers become the favorites if they get Carrie Irving? I mean, or are they still, you know, a couple of levels below a Denver, best case warriors. Because I mean, like being the biggest show,

box office means being a contender. They're at least a contender. I don't know if they'll have enough defense, if they'll have enough shooting, to really be like, oh, we're better than Denver right now. But, man, will they be tough? Mm-hmm. Just what they, the problems they will present in a half-court offense

in a playoff setting is just like, they're going to be tough to deal with. LeBron walking up every single possession, play-by-play orchestrating, man, AD playing at his peak capacity as in his, his role as one of the best defenders, top three defenders on the planet when he's on, yeah, they present a lot of problems. But I just don't think, I don't think the skeleton crew around the three stars thing is sustainable

anymore over the course of four rounds. You're just going to run into so many problems. But it's going to be fun. You say it's going to be fun as if it's going to happen. Well, I hope it happens. I hope it happens. I really hope, I really, really hope it happens. Be wild.

I mean, the Lakers defense this year, I mean, we mentioned their half court offense, but anytime AD's been on the floor, they have one of the best defenses on all of basketball. Statistically, I test doesn't matter. AD, when he's been, he started off a little slow. Yes, he did. Because he had the back injury. But ever since he got right and then ever since he returned again, the dude is apps, like the block he had on Hallibur and the other night, I jumped out on my couch watch.

of that. It was crazy. I mean, that dude does that so consistently. He erases mistakes, which is why, like, that skeleton crew we're talking about, I mean, with Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving, I don't think the Lakers supporting cast with Kyrie feels nearly as bad, especially, especially if they could add one more guy in a three-way deal, like, through that process. If they're literally just bringing in Kyrie for Ross and shipping out a pick or two. Yes, it's an interesting team. And then, obviously, on the buyout market,

they're going to have the right of first refusal on any veteran worth a damn. It gets, it gets interesting. It gets, it gets interesting. Wonder if the Nets would want Russ. You think they'd want Russ or would they want to flip Russ for parts? Kind of like the Lakers are trying to do. He might be the sixth man of the year.

The Nets are so fucking. They really are. What a shame. Oh, my goodness, dude. Oh, boy. All right, man. Obviously, we'll be watching this thing all weekend and all next week. This is just, this is the NBA in a nutshell. Kyrie Irvin absolutely sticking the knife in the back of the Nets organization at the most opportune moment.

Stay locked to the ringer. ringer.com, ringer NBA feed. Obviously, you know Bill going to have something to say about this. Stay locked with us. Mo Doc Hill and myself discuss contenders and their trade options right after this. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the latest edition of Weekends. I'm your host, Big Wasa, K.A. Waziland-Land-Bray, and I'm joined by the one and only. Mo Doc Hill, you've read them in Bleacher Report.

You heard him on the athletic podcast. He's a frequent guest of mine here up on weekends. My boy, what's going on, Mo? Not a whole lot. But I got a question for you, Was. Wouldn't your AK be Bigwaz and not Oaznick? No, no. You didn't see you the first person in the access?

No, my real name is Bigwaz. Okay. You know, and Wazney-Lambria is just what the people call me. You know what I mean? It's just the government name. That's it. That's what the people know me as. That's what the social is under.

But my real name is Big Walsh. Everybody knows this, Mo. I'm obviously listening to you on so many pods. And every time I'm just like, that's not how that works. But okay, hey, I'm not going to argue. Okay, Waiz. So before we get into today's show, I want to let everybody know who is going to be in Salt Lake City

for this year's NBA All-Star game. We are having a live show, The Ringer's NBA podcast, the whole crew, You name it, me, Syrit, Logan, Kyle, everybody, KOC. The whole crew is going to be in Salt Lake City for our live show. That's going to be on February the 18th in Salt Lake City. You can follow the link in the show description, the show notes. Go straight to that.

That's Salt Lake City. Tickets are flying by. So you want to get on that quickly. So if you're going to be in Salt Lake and you want to come hang out with the ringer NBA crew. Not only will be have a show, we'll be hanging out. We'll be doing the whole thing. So if you want to hang out with the ring of NBA crew, check the show

notes and descriptions. Hit the link. Mo, let's get to brass tax here. As you know, like you, do nothing but consume NBA content, whether that's watching games, listening to podcasts, reading articles, buy people like yourself, a bunch of my homies at the athletic,

my colleagues at the ringer, you name it, ESPN homies. Trade season is in the air. and it's all you're hearing. I haven't noticed. Haven't noticed at all was. It's pretty much all you can consume. And so people who are coming here thinking I was going to zag.

No, we're going right into trades up here too. And on group chat on Wednesday, we kind of tried. We did this thing called Matchmaker. When we picked some guys from lesser kind of teams that we would like to see go, where we would like to see them go teams we think they can help. I wanted to do something a little bit different, Mo. I wanted to pick contenders. I wanted to sort of pick your brain as to what you felt like their fatal flaw was

or potentially could be in the playoffs as they try to reach their ultimate goal in an NBA championship. And what you thought they could realistically achieve on the high end? And, you know, everybody, we don't always get what we want despite how hard we try, Mo. What they might be able to do if they just settled for something less in a bid to improve some of their weaknesses. And, you know, for no particular reason, I want to kick this off with my Denver Nuggets, currently number one in the Western Conference.

Tough loss to Philadelphia over the weekend. I think a lot of people who want to be Denver skeptics, Modocke Hill, felt like they were exposed. I'm not getting it as a Denver ex-skeptic. I'm just telling you, I was, let me just tell you, I was in on Denver. But like literally watching that game and then watching other games since then and kind of going back and watching a few others that I saw about wanting to go double check on some things. Yeah, like I have serious concerns.

Serious concerns. It's understandable. And luckily for Denver, they're not the only team in the NBA or even teams that call themselves contenders, more importantly, that have serious concerns. And I think that's what we want to talk about today. So to your mind, what is the most glaring weakness of Denver? their attack and who do you think would be the ideal fit to bring in to address that problem? Well, I think the biggest concern is really just their bench and who's it's who's backing up Yokic. You know, we saw the Sixers with Embed against Toronto that series a few years ago.

It was such a massive swing when he was on the court versus when he was off of it. Like the nuggets are kind of heading towards that a little bit. And I think just the backup center position. I know they just got Jeff Green back and he's getting going. They're not playing DeAndre Jordan anymore. That's usually a positive sign. But I think you're more just watching it and going like, okay, that's a concern. And then I just think I know they just put Bones Highland on the block.

I think they just need an upgrade over him in that position. They need a veteran. They need an adult at that position and not him. But I think those are like the two concerns. And I would like them to be defensive focus just because I think that's going to be their biggest problem come playoff time. So you're thinking they need veteran backup point guard help or a steady hand, whether the guy's a veteran or not a steady hand, a backup big center specifically, which is funny, Mo, because we always hear about, oh, big man, you don't spend on it.

It comes a dime a dozen, blah, blah, blah, blah, so you need a solid backup if you're trying to win four rounds in the NBA playoffs. And so, yeah, I asked you like if you were Denver, and we're talking about realistically, not, you know, sort of pie in the sky, sort of aspirations. What kind of guy would you like to see them go out and get? I don't know if they really can do it, but I think a guy like Mike Connolly does really well for them. I think that's kind of a really fit and just steady in everything that you.

You don't need him to go score. You're going to be playing in the second unit with Jamal Murray and things. And I think he brings a lot of toughness, a lot of experience. I think that's just like a great solid dude. I don't know if they have a way of getting. getting him in terms of the guard position. And then, I mean, the center position, I just think, man, go call up the Knicks and get Isaiah Hartenstein.

Let's go. Like, you know, this is a guy who's going to be able to help you. I don't feel like he fits the Knicks all that well. You know, Tibbs kind of plays him intermittently. I know, you know, losing Mitchell Robinson, they're now playing him a little bit more. I thought Tibbs liked him at first. And then as the years gone on, it's like, ah, maybe not so much. Tims liked him for a couple of games going like, it's okay.

Like, look, he's trying on defense. He'll get better. And then he didn't get better defensively in that sense. And then Tim's was like, wait a minute. You know, and I think that's the case with a lot of guys. Don't get me started on tips-wise. That's a whole- Yeah, we won't do. We're talking about contenders today.

We don't need to talk about the middling New York Knicks and their outfit over there. But go ahead, Mom. But like, just a big, even just at that level, like, it's not Yacca Purdle. It's not like, you know, Hartenstein, maybe Moabom. You know, and, you know, I like the Moamba idea. It's something, you know, just because really what we're asking for is five minutes in the first half, five minutes in the second half in playoff games. Like, that's all we're asking for.

Like, just give Yokic a chance to breathe. You have 10 minutes not to fall off of a cliff, please. And thank you. Just don't make it where we build up a lead, a 10 point lead, and then next time Yokch comes back in, down five. Like, it's that kind of stuff that's concerning. think those are the things. And that's the stuff I think they need to upgrade on, you know, looking at the trade deadline. Those were the things I'd be focused on if I was Denver. Defensively speaking, I was wondering, and I know, and here's the thing, everybody wants

more wing depth. Everybody wants big wings that can guard the hell out of the Kauai Leonard, Paul George types, you know, Brandon Ingram types that they're going to face in the playoffs. but I wonder if they could just get better at the point of attack and how much that would matter when you consider the weaknesses that Yokic has on the defensive back line. And I wonder to myself, and I wonder what you think about this. What do you think it would take to bring Gary Harris back home?

Oh, I don't think he'll take that much. I'm actually not a Gary Harris guy. Oh, you don't mess with Gary Harris, not even defensively? I think that's come and gone now. I think we're done with that. I'll tell you the guard who they should get that just popped in my mind that I should have mentioned even before. The guy that would actually be perfect for them is Alex Caruso.

I mean, come on. You're a man after my heart right now, Mom. No, but I mean, just, just, it would put them in a situation when they're in the pick and roll with Yokic. They don't have to switch. And that's the key. Right. But that's the key, right? The dude's a steady hand.

He can play with Murray. He can defend. it's going to be, that would be probably the prime thing. That would probably cost them too much. I think the Bulls will. I think Chicago would want a lot of draft capital for that one. Yeah, but I also think at a certain point, too, you can't be sitting there going like,

Chicago has got to understand. Like, nobody's giving you two first round picks for Alex Caruso. That's craziness. Like, that's just absurd. That's an absurd price. Like, it doesn't, but if I give you, can, but if I put Bones Highland in there. That's a sweetener.

And, you know, and maybe just a protected pick, maybe we're talking here a little bit. I think that's going to be the kind of stuff they have to look for. And if you're Chicago, you're going nowhere. Yeah. Like, you really are at this point. Like, a soft rebuild, a nice young player in bones, and start to try to figure out what you're doing. It's going to be a draft pick that's going to come to you because odds are they're not going to be in the lottery for a while. So, you know, it's just those are the types of things I would look at if I was Denver.

but I actually have fallen in love now in my own mind with the idea of Caruso being a nugget. That would be, my God, that would make my brain and my heart explode. Reunite him with our guy, Kenny, KCP, in the back court, just menacing people. It would work wonders. And also, again, even on offense, Caruso isn't the world's best shooter. We know he's not exactly Chris Paul with the handle, obviously.

But he's such an intuitive player on both offense. and defense, and he's an amazing cutter. The freaking, you know, the leakouts. The basketball IQ just playing off of Yokic. I mean, he might finally be the MVP that he was getting those chance for when he was a Laker. He might finally, that's just kidding. We're going nuts.

Yeah, he may find, he may yet earn them in Denver. I haven't heard anything about Caruso being on the block. I think his deal is so sweet. And what he does is so valuable to literally any kind of team. a rebuilding kind of team you think to yourself this guy's level of professionalism and his ability to play off ball not be ball dominion you bring in a young guard in he can just play next to caruso uh i think because he's so good and so you know cheaply paid is going to be tough but that would that would definitely be it's it's hard to make it work i'm literally on the trade machine right now well we're

talking like i'm already like let me go see if i can make this work and come up with a deal but it's it's hard because also bones make so little yep and and and and you and and you're And you're in a tough spot, you know, it's to make the money work. And are we sure Denver wants to take on more money? Historically, that hasn't been their thing. Well, let me put it you this way. To any owner, if you're considering yourself a contender and you're not willing to take on money, you're a joke.

You're not a contender. Exactly. You're not a contender. Beautifully said. That is beautifully said. Moving on. Next contender, I think the team that most people still think is probably going to come out the West when it's.

It's all said and done. The Golden State Warriors, they took a bad, bad loss to a depleted Minnesota Timberwolves the other night. I watched that game. And I was just like, there's just something off about what they're doing. They've taken Kavanaughan Looney out the lineup, out the starting lineup, because I think Steve Kerr has realized, like, I have two centers on this team. And I need to play one of them at all times. if I want to be serious about winning basketball games. But at the same time,

I think it still throws off the equilibrium of the team to not have Looney out there in the starting lineup. Again, another one of these teams, I think they just need more athleticism. They need more wing depth. There's just something they don't feel like a team that plays with force right now. The Jamichael Green thing, man.

We all love the idea of Jamichael Green. Listen, Mo, so many of my reference. on the show go back to 1920 being around that Clippers team and them just swearing up and down that everybody on the team was just the perfect role player and our superstars

are just perfect and everything sham it is just perfect and Marcus Moritz and Steele and oh my goodness and Jim Michael Green was one of those clippers you know we was just like oh and he's shooting the three now and he's so versatile and he's so switchable and he was just

people were just over the moon about this dude and this thing has just clearly not worked in golden state and they need to upgrade that spot mode yeah i mean there's this is this is going to be funny because it's all a caruso wherever anywhere caruso's like ogena novi wherever he goes he helps every team should want it but we'll leave caruso alone yeah the the idea of jamaical green has tantalized so many general managers and coaches that's how the dude stays in the league and god bless him good for him i wish i could be that kind of guy where it's like... Wish you could be that tantalizing?

Yeah. In anywhere, in any... In anywhere. In any department of life, you know, in that sense. But, like, he just kind of, like, everybody, just the idea of it, and we'll get the most out of him here. It just never pans out the way you hope. And you'll have spurts where he'll be like, damn, like, he's shooting the hell out of

the ball. This is great. And then he'll turn back to me who he is. Yeah. And that stuff. I'm with you on the Looney thing. I don't like them not taking Looney out of the starting line. lineup. I mean, I don't like him not being in the starting lineup. It just doesn't make sense to me. You've won championships with him in the starting lineup. Like, this is an important piece. I think they've gotten good minutes out of Jonathan Caminga. I think he's coming along pretty well. We'll see how Dante DiVenzo's knee holds up, but he's playing pretty well for them. He's been a damn good Golden State Warrior. You know, but now we're venturing in, like, you do need an upgrade over Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome. And I think Lamb's going to actually, I think they'll end up converting Anthony Lamb's contract and he'll end up

playing in the playoffs. But they need to get guys that can play that weren't on two ways contracts coming into the season that they probably weren't expecting to play heavy minutes, but they're getting major minutes in the regular season. So I think they got to start looking at one backup big, maybe even if it's a rental like Yaka Pertil, they want to get bigger with size. I think that that's a guy that's really interesting for them. I think the low end will go back to Mo Bamba.

That's just an easy switch for them. Is Mopamba's stock So low in Orlando That he's seen as Just extremely and eminently getable? I think he's getable. I don't think it's gonna I wouldn't say I don't think the sky the price is too high for him

You know I don't feel I feel like you could probably even just get him with a couple of seconds You know I think they kind of have what they want in their big rotation in Orlando Wendell Carter Jr. is playing well They got bowl bowl rolling it's it's I think they're kind of set up I don't know if they necessarily need him. So maybe it's not a skyrocketing price. But the Warriors need something. I think they need Wiggins to be healthy.

That's an important one that I think we kind of forget about. Yeah. But I'll tell you what it was because I was texting you over the weekend because this is how you ended up calling me the Denver Nugget, a skeptic. It is lining up perfectly for the Warriors. Nobody's really pulled away. Nobody's really scaring anybody. Separated themselves.

Nobody, like, there's nobody who I feel like is, supremely positioned to exploit what they don't have. You know, I guess theoretically, you can say the Clippers with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers are theoretical, period. Right, right, right. You don't know what we're going to have. The theoretical Los Angeles Clippers, you know, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, like

Golden State doesn't have, they got Wiggins and they don't really got nobody else to deal with the other guy on that team, unless you want to throw Draymond on there. but I don't think anybody's well positioned to exploit them. I think Yokic is going to give them a hard time as far as defensively. But on the other end, you know, Yokic's trying to deal with Steph Curry and pick of roll is going to be a nightmare, right? And so that's why just like if gold estate's in the playoffs and they're reasonably healthy, when the games count, it's hard to pick against that.

My favorite thing is going to be if another Western Conference team trades a piece to the Warriors that helps them. I could just see all the other teams. No, we had them where we wanted them. Like, what are you doing? Right? Like if the Spurs send them, Jakapurtle and Devin Vassell or whatever,

it's just like, all of a sudden, you're going, like, what are we doing? And I think that's the thing there. But it's just at the end of the day, I just don't know. And I'm worried about their record on the road. I think that's the thing that really has me kind of concerned about them,

the bad loss against Minnesota last night, very sloppy. but they're the only team in the NBA I feel confident can just flip the switch. Yeah, on the road, I mean, come on. In a big game, a big spot, crowd going nuts.

Yeah, I just see Steph Curry draining four threes in a row and he's dancing and he's holding his index finger to his mouth and he's doing the whole thing. But, you know, I think the elephant in the room of this conversation, as you say that they only have two centers on the team. Last I checked, the number two overall pick is still on the roster.

He's an afterthought, man. Like, nobody even, I forget he's there. Okay, so that's why I wanted to ask you, Mo, like, is his value so piss poor and abysmal that it doesn't even make sense to trade him at this point? Like, that nobody respects this kid and his ability enough to give up something of consequence for him so they can't move him. Like, is that where we are with the number two overall pick James Wiseman? I don't think so.

I think you could actually probably get, he would be the piece, he would be the centerpiece in it, because I think you need to put him in a situation where it's unfortunate for him. Number two pick and gets, Darko Milichich, right? Like, ends up getting drafted,

going to the Pistons team that's trying to contend. There's no ability to develop. And it's the same thing there, and they tried the two timelines thing. He got hurt. Everything got screwed up from there with all the stuff they were doing. There's value for a team that's not contending.

A team like Charlotte. would be a very interesting place for him to land to just be like, we got nothing to lose, let's pour our resources in and develop him as a big. I think that's an important aspect there with what you're looking at for him. So I think there's still value. I think teams have that understanding of like he's in an incredibly impossible situation to develop. But I also don't think teams are going to go nuts and overboard to pay for him to get the Warriors to give him up.

And I think the other issue with the Warriors is it's an admittance of failure. We really screwed up the second pick in the draft by trading him now, you know? And I think that becomes a bigger issue for them. Can they bring in PJ Washington and bring home Kelly Ubre in this deal? Because I think those guys could help Golden State right now. Kelly Ubre can't help anybody wise. Every now again he makes a three, Mo. First off, the Warriors have done this with Kelly Ubre.

Like, no. Like, Kelly Ubre ain't going to do it. That's, no. Like, don't even, no, not having it. You're done with Kelly Ubrey. I still like the guy. I just like that he plays really hard. That's what I like about Kelly UB.

He doesn't play very smart, the shot selection. But you can't play. You can't be a dumb player and be on the Warriors. Yeah. Like, let's just be honest. Like, that's their offense is so predicated on you being smart

and understanding things. And we've just seen it. And I'm just, I'm even kind of twitching a little bit at just the thought of like him going back there again. Like no, no, no, no, no. He's shooting. Hold on. Hold on, hold on. Hold on.

Yeah, he's shooting 30% from three this year. No, and he's hurt. Like, it's just like not going to work. Yeah, Ubray, sorry. You're staying in Charlotte for the foreseeable future. Okay, third team on the list, who I think is in my mind. more troubling people realize, and that's the Milwaukee Bucks. I know a lot of people, they've been linked to Jay Crowder forever now.

They're taking meetings with the guy or whatever. What's Jay Crowder, by the way, like, this dude has set out an entire season. He's going to come back. Of a temper tantrum. Excuse me, an entire half season off a temper tantrum because he doesn't feel respected enough by the team that's paying him to be there. It's quite absurd, but whatever. That's neither here nor there. I think the bucks need to upgrade their offense, Mo.

They got to get guys that can shoot in there somehow. They need a, they need athleticism. I mean, not even just off, like, that's what I felt like hurt them in the playoff series against the Celtics. And this is really the showdown we're heading for probably in the conference finals, right? unless Philly can change some things there. But they got kind of just out-athleticized. I don't know if that's the word, but I'm just making one up.

But, like, they weren't able to hang with Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown. They had unbelievable moments. They almost win the series. No, Chris Middleton. We all said that Chris Middleton's not healthy at all. It doesn't look right. He's just kind of getting back into form. Hopefully he's ready to go by the playoffs.

But, like, hard to bank on that, right? And I think I'm with you in that they need another wing that I think more than can shoot can defend. I think Joe Ingalls is going to help them on the offensive end. I think another playmaker and ball handler as he's working his way back. But they need a guy that can come in and when the playoffs come down can help guard a wing. And I don't know if Jay Crowder is that guy. I really don't think he's that. It's funny like, you know, you hear Jay Crowder like theoretically again, he's this three and

D guy. And, you know, I think in the, in Phoenix, for sure, he's definitely felt like a bigger threat than he's ever had in the past from three. However, like, I don't see him as this stout defender. Certainly not. It reminds me of Memphis. They're so excited about getting Danny Green back. I love Danny Green.

He is up there in age and coming off of a major injury. How is Danny Green supposed to be like some boon when he comes? comes back, like, God bless the Green Ranger, but like, I did it. You're banking on this dude to get that done. That seems a bit odd, and that's the same for Milwaukee. I would like to see them get some shooters in there, man, because, you know, I'm somebody who really does believe in Janice and Brooke Lopez's ability to just stop anything in their tracks.

But, man, I think they need to open things up, man. They need some guys that can make some shots. So should they make a run at like Gary Trent Jr? Or Fred Van Vleet? Like I don't think they can get Fred. They don't have the juice for Van Vleet. But I mean, a lot of people have soured on this guy. God knows my brother Rob Mahoney has.

Beasley. What's wrong with Beasley? Oh, in Utah. That's a good one. I like that. That'd be a great fit for them. And another dude that can help them with athleticism along the wings. Like, I like that.

That's a good name. Also, it's just fun. There's so many names also. we tend to forget guys. Yeah. But I think that's, I think that's a good one too. I think that's,

that's something, I think he's getable too. Utah has made it known. They're only, the only guys that are untradable is the, the young wing, Kessler, and, and Markinen.

After that, they're, they're open. And I think that's kind of, they might be able to kind of swing something there and try to get him. That's a good call there was. Yeah,

I mean, you know, theoretically you come in and take over Grayson Allen's minutes, which like, you know, Yeah. Like, that would be a nice thing.

That would be a nice thing if the bucks weren't. I mean, they're trying to win a championship with Pat Connettin and Grayson Allen. And I like Pat Conantin. Allen's okay. But it's like, when we're in round three or even the finals, like, that's like who you're banking on. And it's not because of injuries. That's concerning. And that's the stuff that you got to be kind of worried about with them.

Yeah. I mean, the bucks, man, again, it's been like seven, not seven, but. a bunch of playoffs in a row where I've watched their offense just ground to a halt. Look, the year they won the championship, they played world historic defense. I get that. And much respect to that. They're going to make their bones on defense in the playoffs. They're going to win because of their defense.

At a certain point, though, the floor of your offense has to be raised than what your roster, especially when you can see, even the best of times with Middleton feeling good, this hasn't always exactly been, you know, Doug Mo Nuggets, you know what I'm saying? Well, I mean, no. But I think you're right on on the half-court offense, though. The half-court offense, because it slows down. It's exactly what happened last year in the playoffs.

Middleton is so important to that, and that still might not be enough, was. Yeah. Very quickly, I'd like to throw a fourth team at you, your favorite team, the Los Angeles Clippers. I hear they're trying to get upgraded. at point guard. I just read a story in the athletic that Reggie Jackson isn't exactly happy.

He's at a quote-up. He's at the, you know, the dreaded crossroad with the team. I don't know if we have the rights, but can we just play the bone stugs-and-harmonie song at the crossroads? Like, it's almost kind of perfect. Boom, bum, bum, bum. I think about the guys that are out there. We know Mike Conley is for sure on the block.

Fred Van Vleet, again, another team, you just don't. I don't think y'all got enough to swing that Van Vleet deal. They would have to be willing to give up basically every single thing else they got in the future. And even then, I don't know that they would be able to. I don't think the price is that high on Van Vleet. He's a free agent. I don't see why it should be. That's why I don't think the price is going to be that high on Van Vleet.

Because it really does feel like if the Raptors keep him, they're losing him for nothing in the offseason. So I don't think it's going to be crazy high, unless it turns into a bidding war, which might happen because there's not a lot of sense. sellers. Yeah. And so it's Fred Van Vleet. It's Mike Conley. Definitely as point guard help. I would just love to see Fred Van Vleet on the clippers. That would just be so incredible because he's such a he's such a heady dude off of the ball. And he could just do the mundane, get yourself into offense stuff that you no longer have to rely on Paul and Kauai for. And it would just be perfect. And then of course his shooting range, it's just incredible. He would be an incredible fit.

But what do you think about Chris Paul coming back? I'm all about the homecomings today, Mo. Yeah, what is your deal today? What is this? All of suddenly we're just bringing everybody back. What do you think about Chris Paul coming back home to crypto.com arena? I just don't see a reason for Phoenix to do it. You know, I just think when you look at it with Phoenix and it sounds like Devin Booker is going to come back on early next week, and then he's going to have the All-Star break to really recover and then get fully going.

Steve was pretty good when they were fully healthy. They weren't great. I don't think they're contenders or anything like that, and we know all of that. But, you know, when they're healthy, they're still pretty good. That starting lineup is really damn good. I don't know if it's worth it to them

to just throw Chris Paul to the Clippers and take a step back, because whatever they're going to get back from the Clippers is not going to be something. something that's going to be amazing. Well, let me just say the reason why I bring them up, bring Paul up as a potential, because I think the clippers, again, they're itching to make a move. They're itching to upgrade that point guard spot.

The reason that I bring it up is because we're still hearing D'Andre Aiton's on the block, you know, and I was listening to my man Tim McMahon the other day, and, you know, he's on with Zach Lowe, and they're talking about, you know, he's got the no-tray calls in McMan. It's like, I don't know that there's that many teams that he would deny the trade. to because he's sick of them and they're sick of him. And so if they let Aiton move, I feel like logically the next

thing to do is to move Paul as well. Yeah, I think here's the thing. Like, if you move Aiton, I think you can get enough back that can make you... To make you at least very competitive. You know, and I feel like if you trade Chris Paul, you're almost

kind of giving up because Nick, Chris is a thousand years old. He's old. Right? Like, he, I mean, he was getting old when I was with the clippers and that was a thousand years ago so and to be honest the responsibility that he had in Phoenix is too much for him now

yeah it's for sure being the third person with ball handling duties and shot creation duties would be perfect for him the second guy the second most responsible person on that and his body can't handle that at this

point no not at all but also should the clippers really be trading for another dude who's body probably can't make it through four series. That's a great. That's a great question. It's a relevant question. I actually like them going after Fred Van Blit, just for the fear of fact of all the names they've mentioned, he's the youngest one. Like, can we stop?

They just keep getting older and older with the point guards. They love old fogies, yeah. The John Wall stuff, which I thought was going to be, was going to play out differently, hasn't worked out for them. They went, you know, Reggie Jackson, hasn't panned out for them. You know, remember when they were trying to make Landry Shammit a point guard was, and he couldn't even bring the ball at the court? The dead eye.

Yeah. I mean, there's just so many different guys. Yeah. They've been trying to fill this spot forever and haven't been able to kind of find somebody. So I don't even know if they need to go that crazy. But I think going for Chris Paul is swinging too much and would cost them a little bit more

than they should. I think, you know, I would try to make a run at Fred Van Vleet and go from there. All right, man. That's our contender trade deadline rundown. There's a few others. I think Memphis should be.

trying to do something, but their history, especially with this group has been like, we're not going to go crazy. We're not swinging for the fences. I think they should. I think they got the horses right now, and they can compete in the West. Again, as we said, is wide-ass open, and they should be looking to do something. But, yeah, I think this trade deadline is going to be fascinating. You know, even with Indiana, who took Miles Turner off the market.

But I don't know that he's really off the market. I feel like that makes him a sweeter trade ship. with the extension. I think I think he's he's off the market. Otherwise, Rick Carlisle is going to try to be going with him. So I think that's kind of the, I think that's more of the deal. Carlisle's been going nuts about it. I at one point thought it was just, oh, he's just like trying to raise the price.

But unless, again, leverage this way, almost everybody's getable. If you could find somebody that's going to make a dumb offer to you. And if somebody comes around and makes a dumb offer. And it might be a case that time, enough time needs to pass from the Rudy Gobert deal that these teams get recalibrated as to what they need to be expecting for dudes that barely make all-star teams. Just because one team made a stupid trade

doesn't mean all the other teams need to make stupid trades. And I think that's kind of the problem and part of the holdup for just some of the trades and everything that's going on. But you're right about Memphis. I know you're wrapping up,

but you're right about Memphis. Just the window is never as open as wide as you think it is and it closes faster than you think. And, you know, when you have the chance, you got to go all in. Yep. I love it. Okay, so we'll see you guys next week here on weekends. Of course, make sure you're checking out every single other property on the Ring of

NBA feed. Group chat, real ones, the answer. Really excited about the deadline. Stay locked with the ringer for the latest and breaking news. Peace out.