Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 164: Harden Trade Reaction
34 Plays1 month ago
Alex and Corey give their reaction to the Darius Gatland for James Harden trade. We also discuss other trades around the league and talk about about first game with Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis against the Clippers.
Twitter: @CavsPickandRoll
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cavspickandroll
Instagram: CavsPickandRoll
Email: CavsPickandRoll@gmail.com
Facebook: Cavs Pick and Roll Podcast
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Cavs Pick and Roll Podcast
00:00:16
Speaker
I'm Alex. I'm here with Corey. This is the Cavs Pick and Roll Podcast. And Corey, let's get right into it.
Cavs' Major Trade at Deadline
00:00:23
Speaker
The trade deadline has passed at 3 p.m. today.
00:00:27
Speaker
We have some trades to talk about. The Cavaliers made a blockbuster trade. don't you give us the details? but Before we get into that, Alex. Oh, come on. 10 years ago. I gave you that beautiful setup. I know. I know. tent but this This is how I'm going to segue into this.
#allin216 Strategy Revisited
00:00:44
Speaker
10 years ago, the Cavs went all in, and the hashtag allin216 was born.
00:00:51
Speaker
Have the Cavs gone all in yet again, Alex, a decade later, and now the hashtag is allin206? Yeah.
00:00:59
Speaker
Think that flies? Think that works? Think that'd go viral? 206? 2026. Oh, okay. I don't know. I don't think so, Corey. all right, all right. That was a good try, though. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I
Shocking Trade: Garland for Harden?
00:01:12
Speaker
thought about it a little bit earlier before started recording. No doubt you were correct, though. The Cavs have gone all in. All the chips are on the table for this season. That is 100%.
00:01:20
Speaker
that is one hundred percent i think I think none of us were quite ready for what the Cavs did this week. We kept hearing the Cavs were aggressive. They were involved, taking calls, receiving calls, being active, which is great to hear, right?
00:01:37
Speaker
Especially for this team who kind of sat still the last couple years, right? They didn't do anything last trade deadline, rightfully so. The Cavs were cooking. They decided to do nothing on the offseason over the summer, right?
00:01:49
Speaker
Run it back. And this week, Alex, they started to right their wrongs. the the The thing is, though, Alex, they traded for a player that in this era is on my personal top five player list that I never would never wanted to see or would ever have thought would be in a Cavs uniform.
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah. And James Harden. Correct. Yeah. So they traded Darius Garland and a pick, second round pick. Yes. For James
Garland's Potential vs. Harden's Experience
00:02:20
Speaker
Harden.
00:02:22
Speaker
it's still it's still It's been 48 hours, Alex. You were just telling me ah this has been covered nonstop since this happened. You've been telling me how you've been just absorbing and binge listening, watching, whatever.
00:02:36
Speaker
It still feels so surreal. Until we see him out there on the court, it it just it doesn't sound real. doesn't feel real. But it is. And it's James Harden. And yeah, you traded away who I thought was, or who I was hoping was going to be the next Kyrie, to be honest with you.
00:02:52
Speaker
Like he never was going to be Kyrie, but he, he had the same quickness. He had the same ball, you know, um, dribbling capabilities. He had the shot and and Darius Garland. Right.
00:03:03
Speaker
And, uh, it just, it didn't work out. Unfortunately, the injuries have, have been there and the calves decided to, to move on. um which is fine. I think I'm good with that. I think you're good with that. I think we both like
Concerns About Harden's Fit
00:03:17
Speaker
DG. I think a lot of fans like DG, but the shocking part was it was for somebody 10 years older and, and a player like, like James Harden. It feels like it's the first time uh,
00:03:30
Speaker
Maybe, just maybe, they're not so worried about ego, locker room, or chemistry, per se. Because everybody else in that locker room is a good guy, yeah for the most part.
00:03:42
Speaker
james James Harden is completely different. You know what He kind a wild card. He's a wild card. Yeah. Yeah. He's forced himself out of every situation prior. he forced That's how he got here, no matter what he says, right? So this is, again, the first time in a long time the Cavs are kind of not worried about that ego. They're they're worried about, can this guy produce?
00:04:02
Speaker
Is this guy available? Which he is. You're bringing up the only scary part of this for me, right? There's only one? The age, he's almost 37 years old.
00:04:12
Speaker
Right. And the fact that, yeah, he tends to leave teams pretty quickly.
Harden's Offensive Impact
00:04:20
Speaker
No, you're right. There is another. Yeah, yeah. So, and then.
00:04:25
Speaker
Money. Oh, man. There's the money thing. I'm still in shock over this. I know it's been like a day, but I still can't believe it. And I don't think I'm going to believe it until I see him wearing a Cavs jersey out on the court for us. Like.
00:04:38
Speaker
and here I still can't believe it. And here's the thing, Alex, when he, when he scores 30 points, you know, that first or second, get whatever it is, the fans will go nuts, right? We'll, we'll, we'll eat it up. We'll gobble it up. Right.
00:04:51
Speaker
Cause on paper, man, Harden and Mitchell, there isn't a better offensive duo in the NBA than that. Right. So on paper, it sounds great. And Harden is averaging what 25, 26 points. I think I heard this year, which is the most he's averaged in, in, in a few years now at the age of 36. I mean, he's cooking this year.
00:05:12
Speaker
Right. So that's great. And he's, he's bigger than Garland. He can, so we know he can score. He's also a pretty good passer. Um, him in a pick and roll with Jared Allen or Evan Mobley teams aren't stopping that Donovan Mitchell in a pick and roll with Evan Mobley or Jared Allen. They're not stopping that James Harden and, and, and Donovan Mitchell playing too, man. Like they're they're not, they're not stopping that.
00:05:38
Speaker
Right. And then throw Tyson out there in the mix, just causing hava havoc. Havoc. Right. Because now he is the fifth option, fourth option out there. Right. um So on paper, man, its it sounds great.
00:05:50
Speaker
And there are some pros
Playoff Strategy with Harden
00:05:53
Speaker
to that. Right. The biggest one to me being he's available, Alex. DG is not available. And even if he would have came back a week from now after the all-star break,
00:06:03
Speaker
We don't know what's going to happen three weeks down the road, a month down the road, so so on and so forth. So that's that's what I'm trying to hold on to the most right now is, granted, Harden can stay healthy himself. um You know, he he he should for provide a big offensive boost by just being available, and we know he's going to get you, you know, 20-plus points a night.
00:06:25
Speaker
he's ah He's a bigger guard. he's six five He's He's strong. He plays good defense. um He's a combo guard. he you know He'll play the one-two. He can shoot lights out. you know He's got that step-back jumper.
00:06:42
Speaker
i mean...
00:06:46
Speaker
all all i All I can think... I just keep comparing him to Garland. like Was it... Is it... Was it a good trade? Is it a good trade?
00:06:56
Speaker
And it's... Yeah, hardens Harden's a better player. He's a better player this season than Garland, like you said, and he's available. And the Cavs have a window, right? So they're going for it. So ah so I'll give the Cavs props for for for that, for making the decision instead of kind of gambling a bit. they're They're gambling with this as well, but it feels like the odds might be a little bit more in their favor versus, you know, Garland and his feats and the unknown there, right?
00:07:29
Speaker
Right. um The other thing that I like is that We shouldn't see any more Donovan Mitchell point guard. I've talked about this for two years now. I hate Donovan Mitchell point guard because I don't want him bringing up the ball. I want him playing off the ball, catching the ball and and creating, right?
00:07:46
Speaker
He's not someone that's going to run an ah offense. James Harden can can play point guard. he he He averages eight and a half assists per game. yeah Again, like Mitchell can be waiting for him to come off a pick or in the corner, whatever, go up for the alley-oop.
00:08:00
Speaker
Whatever. So I, so I love that, that Mitchell doesn't have to do that. I think another sneaky part about this as well is we we talked about in the last episode with the DeAndre Hunter trade, and we're going to get to the Clippers game and all that, but with with Schroeder here now as well,
00:08:16
Speaker
Playing in that backup point guard role, i that's a nice rotation between
Roster Changes and Financial Strategy
00:08:22
Speaker
Harden, Schroeder, Mitchell, um and then throw in whoever else, you know Sam Merrill, port Porter Jr. The rotation is going to get real interesting here. It's probably just going to depend who the other team has out on the court, what those matchups are. but yeah Correct.
00:08:39
Speaker
Correct. But I feel like we also improve there and I want to stay on Harden for a while, but I but i do feel like Schroeder, I think fans are going to be pleasantly surprised with him.
00:08:51
Speaker
And he had a great debut game in the Clippers game, by the way. So I feel like we we somewhat upgraded it in both the starting and and the backup role because Lonzo Ball was supposed to be that backup point guard.
00:09:03
Speaker
Right. He got waived. That was another transaction that the Cavs did. He's no longer here. Like Porter Jr., like Proctor, like the young guys running around out there. But Schroeder's going to take those minutes from those guys. Well, Lonzo didn't get exactly waived.
00:09:18
Speaker
Oh, he got traded. I'm sorry. He didn't get traded. He didn't get traded. he got waived by Utah. And we lost two second-round picks just to get rid of them. Well, that's the crazy thing. is That's what we traded Okoro for.
00:09:28
Speaker
We lost Okoro, and we lost two second-round picks for... A few months of Lonzo which was terrible. Yeah, but but again, at least the Cavs righted their wrongs. They didn't hold on to him and like, well, we'll do something within the summer, right? Because they could have done that, right? And that money would come off the books either way.
00:09:49
Speaker
I'm glad they decided to cut ties now. um And now this opens up a spot for Tomlin, for them to convert him. Right. and And their roster is is is
Defining Success with Harden
00:10:00
Speaker
secure now. Right. There'll be some interesting names out there. Maybe they get waived. Cam Thomas was one of them.
00:10:05
Speaker
um i don't know if I see the Cavs doing anything else beyond what the roster is. Right. I don't think so. I thought that they might be for the end of the deadline after the after dumping ball salary. But yeah. And that gave him the roster spot. But no, they filled it with Tomlin, which I'm happy for.
00:10:25
Speaker
Well deserved by Tomlin. Yep. Yep. So another another thing with Harden that, uh, kind of sticks with me is that, you know, 16 seasons, 16 trips to the playoffs, zero rings.
00:10:39
Speaker
What do you, what do you think about that? Yeah, that's one of the biggest, um, arguments that, that, that came up. Right. Um, Mitchell hasn't the exactly down of mitchellizing out of the second round.
00:10:55
Speaker
Guess what? He's still a top 10 player in the NBA. Like piss off. If you're going to go like if Donovan Mitchell got traded to your team and someone's going to say, well, he hasn't ever been on a second round. You're taking Donovan Mitchell all day. Right.
00:11:06
Speaker
Again, James Harden, 36 different style player. I don't like his game. You don't like his game. We're going to watch him shoot 15 free throws in a game. It's going to be you know kind of boring. Right. um But at the end of the day, like you said, maybe he's due.
00:11:19
Speaker
And he doesn't have to be the guy, right? Donovan Mitchell is still the guy on this team. So
Championship Urgency
00:11:25
Speaker
who knows? Maybe maybe it works out. I was just going to ask, you know, he's 36. So DG's career is going to last a lot longer than what Harden's is.
00:11:36
Speaker
But for the Cavs tenure of James Harden, what does success have to look like for you in your opinion? Like to say like that was a good trade. It ended up working out. It ended up being a good trade.
00:11:50
Speaker
For me to say this trade was a success? Yes. What's your bar at? I'm curious.
00:11:58
Speaker
I think it's got to be a championship. That's probably what it is for a lot of people, and that's fair. I think that's fair. That's that's a very high bar. but It is a very high bar, and I i don't know if we still had Garland.
00:12:13
Speaker
You know, the... the optimism the aspirations was always a championship right in it but we never got close
Cavs' Current and Future Outlook
00:12:22
Speaker
no we never got close and we did it three four four years in a row we tried with the core four and we and we just never got there and we were repeating the same thing again this year right so we had to shake it up and i think we upgraded So to me, if we still had Garland this season, i would say, oh we have to be in the finals.
00:12:48
Speaker
But now I'm saying we we threw it all in. The window was really small. We have Mitchell this season and next season. we We have to win now because yeah we don't know if Mitchell's going to resign.
00:13:04
Speaker
Yeah, no. We weren't going to go win a ring running it back again. This season was already... looking pretty inconsistent tumulous, right? and and and and there And you sent me something the today, Alex. um You know what I'm talking about. but there's There's been reports that have come out that you know um ah they kind of had ah a come to Jesus moment as a team, if you will, back in January that like we can't keep blaming our inconsistencies on, on injuries.
00:13:35
Speaker
We don't, we're not a good enough team. We need to do something. There was also other reports of, of Mitchell kind of starting to get into, to the, the you know, into the ear of a Cavs leadership as well. Like we need to do something here.
00:13:49
Speaker
And, and even goes back as far as saying that they first started talking about acquiring James Harden six, six weeks ago. And Mitchell was in the know on that. Right. um It's funny all the stuff that comes out after something happens. You know, you don't know what to believe and what not to believe. But I do feel like there is some truth to that.
00:14:09
Speaker
likes Let's be honest. If the Cavs don't win a finals this year, the smart business move by Donovan Mitchell is to opt out of his contract this year. right? Then you go into next season in panic mode because you don't want to lose him for nothing, but he's also too good of a player to actually trade away.
00:14:25
Speaker
So between this trade deadline and this off season are the last two chances for the Cavs to really try to bolster their roster and, and prove the Donovan. Sure. I guess they would have next, next year's trade deadline as well. But like you said, they, they have two years basically.
00:14:44
Speaker
yeah So, again, I'm glad they they decided to to finally start to do something because it would have been a shame if they just would have kept sitting on their hands, and that's ultimately why we don't get there.
00:14:55
Speaker
If we still don't get there, at least we can say they shook things up, they tried to bring somebody else in. you know it is what it is, right? it' I mean, it's not easy winning an NBA Finals, right? um How many seasons have we sat here saying the core four...
00:15:13
Speaker
They're getting older, they're learning, they're gaining experience, they're reaching their maximum potential, they're going to win a ring. And it's season after season after season. Yeah, oh yeah.
00:15:25
Speaker
It didn't happen. It didn't happen. And they kept getting to the first or second round over and over and over. Right. You know, we were just going to do that again this season. We were probably going to be saying the same thing again next season.
00:15:37
Speaker
And now I feel like we're on a totally different timeline. We are, and it really makes you... it it last year was tough because last year the cows were so hot And everybody was so stunned when they got knocked out at any of the Indiana Pacers.
00:15:55
Speaker
and and and And then we watched them all the way the finals and be maybe an injury away from winning the whole damn thing. It was always an injury. every Every year for the past four seasons, it was injuries. Right. But my point is, it probably was easy as an organization and even as a fan to think, wait a second.
00:16:16
Speaker
We won 60-something games last year. We were killing it. We just ran in. Luck of the draw. We just ran into a buzzsaw, the wrong matchup. But if that didn't happen, we would have made it to the final. We would have beat New York. We would have beat whoever, and and and we would had a chance, right? So it's easy to run that team back, and this year started how it started, right?
00:16:37
Speaker
but in But in reality, the Cavs probably should have made some of these moves over over the summer, right? Doesn't matter. What's in the past is in the past. Again, the point is, is the Cavs took a step, in my opinion, as an organization with what they tried to accomplish this
Past Playoff Struggles and Shake-ups
00:16:52
Speaker
week.
00:16:52
Speaker
Because I think they both got better, Alex, and they also put themselves in a better financial situation to continue to try to improve this team. They're not completely under, but now they're only a little bit over that second apron than what they were ob weekque ago. And that gives them options in the offseason.
00:17:11
Speaker
And this was the season to do it. You know, like we said, two seasons left of Donovan Mitchell. we We have to win. We got to do better. And then the other thing was... ah
00:17:28
Speaker
I lost my train of thought. Oh, no. You were going to give a eulogy to Lonzo Ball. Ball. Hey, I... How happy are you, Alex? Come on. I'm elated. I'm elated. You know, I'm not happy about losing the two the two picks.
00:17:43
Speaker
I know they were second round picks. They weren't worth nothing, but it was something that we did didn't need to do. shouldn't have had to Shouldn't have had to have done, I guess, is what I should say.
00:17:56
Speaker
Nobody was going to take Lonzo Ball for free or to actually play. so you got to give up something. And I was thinking about it um earlier today. I'm like, you know what? The Cavs really have done so-so with with first round picks, right? Like DG is another example of that really not working out.
00:18:15
Speaker
um Colin Sexton, another one. Isaac Okoro, another one, right? Mobley hopefully is still a hit, right?
NBA Trade Implications
00:18:22
Speaker
But it feels like the Cavs find,
00:18:26
Speaker
more value and in in later round picks or second round picks. um So, but it doesn't matter because you're in a win now mode, right? At some point when this thing does go south and they start fire sailing their pieces, that's when, when they start trading players for picks, that's when you know we're going into rebuild mode. Yeah. Right. Yeah. That's, that's, that's what I was going to say. it cares about like least three years from now? Like, yeah, the East is wide open this season.
00:18:53
Speaker
I think that's also part of part of it, right? The timing, just the whole timing of it coming together. The bucks are doing terrible, even though they, and they still have Giannis, right? Giannis didn't go to New York or Detroit or one of these other rival teams that are hot right now that we would, you know, have a chance of running into another buzzsaw. Right. Uh, uh,
00:19:15
Speaker
you know okay ah Indiana Pacers, they're playing well, but they're also hurt. Too far out of it. They're basically out of it. you know the The East is wide open. you know You got Detroit, you got New York, you got Celtics, even though the Celtics don't have Tatum.
00:19:33
Speaker
So those are the three. you know The yeah three big teams that we're going to get past. Right. And um outside of the Celtics, nobody else in the East that's a contender did anything.
Roster Dynamics Post-Trade
00:19:50
Speaker
Like you said, nobody got Giannis. got John Morant. Nobody got Sabonis. Like none of these guys got got moved, right? Celtics got a nice player and in Vukicic and have a center now, right? But besides that, nobody else in the East did anything. And that's fine. You know, those teams might feel like they didn't need to do anything.
00:20:12
Speaker
But the Cavs now, they're they're they're in a position where nationally, I'm hearing a lot of people say the Cavs are the favorites again. which is crazy because you haven't seen them play a game together yet.
00:20:25
Speaker
But that's what this trade has done. it has made them very relevant again. And i was telling we were talking before we started recording Alex. I do. I feel like the Cavs won the trade deadline.
00:20:35
Speaker
The moves that they made were both were the most impactful. They got rotational players that are going to help you win now, and they also help their salary situation at the same point, which is going to help you this offseason, next year, etc. They didn't go deeper.
00:20:53
Speaker
They didn't fire sale. They got better. um um They improved both those situations, which is amazing. Which is amazing. Nobody else did that. Agree with you 100%.
00:21:04
Speaker
ah The one thing that I thought that they might do would be to go get another big wing. Yeah. ah You know, an upgrade over Dean Wade or Tomlin or, you know, I think that's the only area where we're kind of lacking is like a big player that can play the three and four.
00:21:22
Speaker
Agreed. And that's probably why Dean Wade didn't get moved. He was my number one candidate going into the season that I thought was going to get moved. um and And they didn't move him.
00:21:32
Speaker
and I think he's due for a contract now. We'll see what happens with him. Tomlin, nice young player, high energy guy, i still very raw. And I'll be honest with you, when when we actually get to real life playoff rotations, we're talking nine guys, right? Which I hate, by the way.
00:21:51
Speaker
Tomlin's not going to be in that top nine. Tomlin's going to be that 10, 11, you know, situational type things, right? Where you just need a spark. You need somebody to come in for three minutes and just cause them some some chaos out there.
00:22:03
Speaker
Oh, that's fine. He's going to continue to develop. He's in a good spot. I want the Cavs to convert him. I want to see him to continue to grow. He's he's very fun to watch out there. But I'm with you. I would have liked to see another another wing or another big added to the mix.
00:22:16
Speaker
um But you know we'll see what happens now. We'll see if Larry Nance Jr. or someone else like that can actually step up. Dean Wade, what does he do the rest of the season? you know Can these guys continue to to play rotational minutes and actually make an impact?
00:22:30
Speaker
Cause Dean Wade's another one of those guys. He's like the longest tenured guy on the calves right now. I think I heard like seven years, six years, seven years. And, um, I like Dean as a player. I feel like he's kind of stalled out a bit as far as a ceiling, but where I want to see him is in the playoffs. And and can he, can he help us?
00:22:49
Speaker
Can he help us and and make a little bit of an impact? That's what I need out of
First Game After Trade
00:22:54
Speaker
Dean Wade. Yeah. Yeah. i like Dean. yet I think he's a good player. yeah I have no qualms with Dean. I think he does a good job.
00:23:01
Speaker
yeah He pulls his role for sure. so So Alex, the Cavs, man, shipped out some faces, brought in some new faces, um and and and excited to see um you know those pieces come together and how they look on the court.
00:23:18
Speaker
Was there any of other trades around the NBA that kind of caught your attention?
00:23:24
Speaker
don't
00:23:28
Speaker
George Nian got traded. He did. The G-Wagon. He got waved. He got waved, though, in Memphis. Yeah, yeah. Ty Jerome, by the way, killing it in Memphis.
00:23:39
Speaker
Last three games. Oh, yeah. He's been lighting it up. ah Ty Jerome. It's tough to watch because he's out there by himself. He's like, he is the Ja Morant because Ja Morant is, you know, not like,
Player Chemistry and Leadership
00:23:53
Speaker
caring, playing, whatever. and like There's like nothing going on out there in Memphis. I just feel bad that he's out there just killing it, but with no like real aspirations of that team doing anything.
00:24:04
Speaker
um One that stood out to me was Porzingis going out to the Warriors. um Kaminga going to Atlanta, um which that's a nice piece for Atlanta.
00:24:16
Speaker
right Atlanta's going to be a good team here. They're they're they're a young and upcoming team. I think they're going to be Um, they're going to make that kind of Detroit type leap here. I think next year they'll be in the mix a little bit.
00:24:29
Speaker
Um, and then Anthony Davis going to the Washington wizards to pair up with Trey young was another one that, that caught my attention. That'll be an interesting mix. That will be. I mean, buddy of mine texted me. He's like, Holy crap. Those two together. i was like, it'd be scary if it was like seven, eight years ago that I'd be
Playoff Seeding Predictions
00:24:48
Speaker
scared. But now it's like,
00:24:51
Speaker
you know it's gonna be healthy is he gonna be healthy like both guys like he's past his prime trey's at his prime it depends i guess what else washington can put around him another one that caught my eye was uh colin sexton young bull went to the bulls yes yes went to the bulls um for for for a hot second and ah and And listen, it was not reality anyways, but when they did announce ball to Utah, they didn't say what the Cavs got back right away.
00:25:26
Speaker
right They just announced what we gave up. And for just ah just a small fraction, Alex, I was like like, what if it's Caleb? What if it's Caleb? Oh, that would have been awesome. I'd love to have Kevin Love back. That would have been something. I don't know what his salary is. don't know if he's down to a vet men deal yet not. Yeah, he's like around $4 million, I thought I saw.
00:25:46
Speaker
That would have been fine. $4 million, so not too bad. But then the Cavs would they be even farther away from getting the second apron still. still in the second apron by four. Well, I'm saying there'd be an even deeper in it is what I'm saying. Yeah.
00:25:59
Speaker
So there was a lot of trades, Alex, but it was a lot of smaller trades.
Final Reflections on Trades and Future
00:26:04
Speaker
um Not a lot of stuff that's going to move needles. and and And more importantly, not stuff that's going to move needles with teams we we're contending with, which is primarily the three you listed. But even like Philadelphia didn't do anything to get better.
00:26:20
Speaker
Miami didn't do anything to get better. Orlando didn't do anything to get better. Those teams that are also below you, right? ah But it still comes down to the Cavs clicking, playing good basketball.
00:26:31
Speaker
And this is going to be the time where it really matters. Going in the second half of the year, in the postseason, who cares about the first 30 games or whatever, 50 games of the year? are going the last 30 games here? How are you going position yourself?
00:26:45
Speaker
and And what are you going to do when these games really matter? So that's the only thing is that those guys got to figure out how to how to you know work those three new players in. Atkinson's got to figure out what his rotation looks like now, right?
00:26:58
Speaker
At some point, Struis is going to come back. He was a candidate we thought might get moved. um You know, he'll he'll be in the mix. how do you how do you How do you fit all these? How do you fit Maryland? How do you fit all these guys in now, basically?
00:27:09
Speaker
Because you're still guard heavy. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's that's why I thought they would do one more deal and get go for a big wing, maybe trade a guard. Yeah. Get, you know, another four million off the books to get under the second apron because you don't want to keep getting that repeat offender tax because it just keeps getting worse and worse.
00:27:29
Speaker
Right, right. So you had mentioned that you had watched the Altman presser. I did. i did. it I just saw it posted today.
00:27:39
Speaker
um Kobe Altman took a bunch of questions about the trade. He danced around a lot of them like you know he would, but they did ask him a lot of good questions. They asked him um you know how the trade came to be, if he was concerned about you know Harden's age, you know ah about Harden's history of of not winning in the playoffs, and I recommend you watch it, but I'll tell you, you're not going to get the, the you know, the hard hitting answers that you, you wish Kobe would say you're going to get the, the train dance, ah dance around the question. answers
00:28:22
Speaker
At least somebody asked him those questions though. Yeah. Yeah. right ah there were There were some good questions. Props to the reporters. Kobe said, well, you know, we'll, a lot of the, lot of the answers were, we're going to keep that internal.
00:28:35
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I also watched um Darius Garland's arrival in the at the Clippers. He walked through the locker room and out onto the court, and they had to welcome Darius Garland going around the arena. was pretty cool looking. That was cool. Yeah, he was all wowed.
00:28:57
Speaker
um I watched them ask. I watched Darius's... media availability to the Clippers where they asked him if he knew he was going to be traded and how far in advance did he know and he said i knew i knew of the trade and they and then they asked him you know how much time did you have and he's like and he's like well let's just say i knew I knew I knew the trade was coming or I knew of the trade you know he wouldn't say how long he knew it was coming but it was
00:29:31
Speaker
I was kind of sad to watch. feel bad for him and i should talk I'll miss him. That's a tough question because nobody's going to say that they got blindsided and they basically got the like they learned on Twitter.
00:29:45
Speaker
I really do wonder though like how if he knew... if he really knew was i also saw like a interview with rich paul where he was saying that he had told like him and garland said he had told garland that this was going to be his last season in cleveland and i don't know it's kind of some snaky stuff that rich paul you know kind of gross but yeah i i would really like to know like how it all went down like you know did kobe go to him like trade day or the day before the trade and be like hey we're
00:30:22
Speaker
sending you out you know and like and and what did Mitchell say and you know it's really interesting what could might have went on behind the scenes absolutely absolutely they asked Kobe in his media availability if Mitchell was one of the reasons h and Kobe said ah that Mitchell knew the trade was happening he supported the trade but he didn't He didn't make it the trade happen. He didn't ask for it to happen.
00:30:56
Speaker
But when they approached him about it, he was was supportive. Yeah, he was supportive of it. Yeah. And I saw, and there wasn't a ton of it. There was only like one or two kind of reports that I saw that like, you know, Mitchell and Garland didn't like playing together.
00:31:12
Speaker
Right. And I, I was curious if more of that kind of negative stuff was going to come out. And then Mitchell came out and said, he'll be at my wedding. So it's like, you know, squash that ah for the most part. Right.
00:31:26
Speaker
yeah. Yeah, we're going to miss Darius. I mean, I i i think LA will be a good spot for him. I hope he gets healthy. I hope he has a great career. I'm glad he's out west somewhere. He's not going to kill us. like He's not on Detroit right now and going part of the reason that And the Cavs can't, you know, continue to grow and evolve.
00:31:45
Speaker
So I want to see him be successful. it was very easy to root for. Right. But it was time. It was just time. The contract that he got, um which will, I hate to say it, be be deemed as one of the worst contracts in in franchise history probably for a while only because it's the most expensive contract and in, in Cavs history. And, you know, he he, he signed that what two years ago or whatever. And, and what, what, what's come of it, you know, yeah second round exit and and a foot injury, right. Two all-star appearances, I guess. Well, I mean, it was injury after injury after injury, right. It was, yeah I, they were joking on the radio the other day, I think was like on NBA radio, the starting lineup, uh,
00:32:25
Speaker
they made a joke about it's the longest toe injury in and NBA history. it just keeps dragging on. it It first started happening in April of last year.
00:32:36
Speaker
It's been almost an entire year that he's had this toe injury and then it was the other toe. And then, right you know, before that it was the broken jaw. And and before that was the, the ice, the eye socket. And, Yeah, it's always something. So it's always something. So it's just, again, the Cavs writing their wrongs a bit there. i understand why they gave him that contract, but it just it's it's going to be looked at as as one of the worst contracts and in franchise history, at least in our lifetimes.
00:33:05
Speaker
ah But rooting for him, you know, hope hopefully he can continue to have, gets healthy and and has ah has a great career. um So Alex, the trade deadline has come and gone.
00:33:16
Speaker
Very exciting. Would would argue the Cavs won the trade deadline again. ah But now it's back to business, right? We have the all-star game right around the corner. Cavs do you still have some games here.
00:33:27
Speaker
And, oh, they've already played one game with some of their new faces. um Funny enough, against the Clippers, DG was in the building for that game. Before we talk about that a little bit, it was pretty cool at the end how, you know, all the Cavs players came over to DG, showed them love, doing their handshakes and all that. That video is anywhere and everywhere on social media right now.
00:33:50
Speaker
So that was cool. um But the Cavs, as far as in this game, pretty much dismantled the Clippers. Mitchell had some extra pep in his step.
00:34:01
Speaker
Schroeder came in, did his thing. um Everybody that was dressed played in this game, Alex. And it was it was a great team victory on the road, to be honest with you.
00:34:12
Speaker
Yeah, the Cavs came in with fired up, tons of energy. i think there's a lot of emotion in this game, a lot of a lot of feelings because of the trade that had just went down. Neither player was there, um not even on the bench.
00:34:28
Speaker
Um, yeah. Schroeder played Keon Ellis played, they played, they played very well. Schroeder was electric. He was so fast. He was pushing the ball up and down the court.
00:34:42
Speaker
He was getting steals. He was making plays. He wasn't hesitating to drive to the hoop and lay it up. He, he, he laid it. He went right down the lane and laid it up multiple times.
00:34:54
Speaker
Um, Yeah, on the defensive end, you could tell that they were a little like, you know, oh, where am I supposed to stand? know Who am I guarding? You know, trying to figure out how to fit in. Well, even on the offensive end, right? Like they would look to, you know, is there a guy in the corner? Is there supposed to be a guy in the corner for me to pass it to? You know, you know you could tell they were a little out of sync, of course, and it'll take a couple of weeks.
00:35:17
Speaker
They even asked Schroeder about it ah during a practice, and he said it would probably take them a couple of weeks before They would you know fit into the you know the system and and learn all the plays and really start gelling together on the court.
00:35:33
Speaker
But yeah, they they looked great. I couldn't be happier. Keon Ellis really reminds me of Okoro. Oddly enough, he's very defensive-minded. He's pesky. He's strong. he He takes on the challenge of whatever player they put him on to defend that player.
00:35:53
Speaker
he you know puts up four to six shots a game. Yeah, just totally remind me of Okoro. Yeah. yeah Yeah, that's great because him him and tyson ah Tyson, most nights is going to get matched up with whoever their best guard or or wing player is. like That's his assignment. right And when Tyson goes out, Ellis can pick up where where where Tyson left off you know if that player is still in right or or he's guarding the best guy in the opposing team's second unit or whatever.
00:36:24
Speaker
He's a Coro with attitude. He's a Coro with attitude. with the edge With a little bit of edge. yeah With a little bit of edge. And then, yeah, Schroeder, I talked about this on the last episode. He's not going to be shy. He's going to be aggressive again. and in his Him and Thomas Bryan are the same to me.
00:36:41
Speaker
Because to me, it's like Schroeder thinks he's Mitchell and Brian thinks he's Mobley. Right. Because they're theyre they they just it's Brian's the same. Like he does not. he If he gets that ball, he's hoisting it.
00:36:52
Speaker
He's hoisting it. Schroeder international Mitchell. He is He was the MVP of FIBA and the MVP of, you know, the world championship, the championship game over there. Yeah. And he's what only one of six players to win both of those titles or or something like that. I read ah funnily enough, you bring that up, you know, yeah and he thinks he's he's the lead. He brings some leadership to the team when yeah he was shooting free throws. He like brought the team in and they huddled up and he's told them something. And then it's like, I don't know what's happening here, but he's he's already like taking over. It's like, I hope he's not, you know, stepping on anybody's leadership toes, especially when Harden gets there. I wonder how they're all going to mesh. I think I made this comment to you the other day that, you know, we got a lot of chiefs instead of a lot of it. One chief and a bunch of Indians, you know, that's all right. How it goes. We'll see how it goes. What what I'm most curious about, especially with Harden the most.
00:37:50
Speaker
is Is he going to buy in? Is he truly going to buy in? I think he will. For 100%, not a doubt in my mind. He's at the end of his career. He doesn't have a ring. He knows he might have two, three seasons left.
00:38:07
Speaker
ah he's all in. He needs a ring for, you know. needs contract. Hall of Fame. His contract. He needs a contract. And he needs a contract. He needs a ring and he needs a contract. He's going to be balling out.
00:38:23
Speaker
I hope. I hope. I hope so. That's what I'm curious to see, though, is how this all comes together. It's going be fun to watch, man. It really is. And the Cavs next game, they're on their West Coast trip, Alex.
00:38:36
Speaker
they They have a nine o'clock game Saturday night against the Sacramento Kings. We're going see our old buddy DeAndre Hunter suited up for the Kings. i don't know if that'll be his first game or if he's played a game for them not or not yet.
00:38:50
Speaker
ah That'll be Harden's first game for the Cavs. um you know Schroeder and Ellis' first game against their former team. a lot of storylines there. Right. Um, but that'll be the beginning of the new era with Harden, you know, in it, you know, in this team. And I, I think everybody's just waiting to see how it looks.
00:39:12
Speaker
And, and again, the Cavs are radding off wins and, and, and Harden's going nuts out there. Everybody's going to love it. Right. um But yeah, I really hope that he embraces it and and is serious about trying to come out of the East because that's what he's kind of said was his motivation, right?
00:39:29
Speaker
um Is seeing a chance, a real chance to to win the East. so You know, another angle of this I like is that you kind of mentioned this with ah him shooting 15 free throws a game, but he draws fouls. He does. And the Cavs have...
00:39:45
Speaker
Always had that problem of of you know the other team shooting a bunch of free throws and the Cavs shot six free throws. So he's going to bring that, and I think that's really cool. um You said going fun to watch or not fun to watch.
00:40:00
Speaker
I don't care as long as we're winning basketball games. another Another little tidbit, the starting five on Netflix, season two. James Harden is one of the and NBA players that they follow around.
00:40:13
Speaker
So you get to see all the behind the scenes, his house, his family, cars he's driving. you get to really see his personality for better or worse. So if you really want to get to see behind the scenes, look at James Harden starting five on Netflix season two. Check it out.
00:40:33
Speaker
There you go. Last thing, Alex, that I can think of from my end, the Cavs now sit alone at the four spot in the East. Now that the Cavs have made these trades, where do you think they end up? Where do you think they end up and in this season, in this seeding?
00:40:57
Speaker
I don't know if they'll catch up to Detroit. Detroit's got, what is this, seven-game lead? Yeah, there they're pretty far ahead still. Yeah, and there's only 30 games left. That's another thing. We only got 30 games to get this all these pieces working together.
00:41:14
Speaker
Correct.
00:41:18
Speaker
I think they can catch up to the Knicks and the Celtics, which you know we're only two and a half games back. So yeah I very well think we could end up in the two seed, which would be great.
00:41:30
Speaker
That would be great. i i The Celtics and Knicks are starting to play good basketball as well. Knicks were 8-2 in their last 10, Celtics 7-3, Pistons um So it's it's really now about can the Cavs start to really turn it on and put some pressure and and string some wins here here in a row. They haven't had many win streaks, and their longest win streak of the year was that five-game win streak so far.
00:41:57
Speaker
So it'd be nice. I'm not expecting you know craziness like last year, Alex, where they win 17 games in a row whatever it was. But it'd be nice if they could start to string some win streaks here ah together.
00:42:09
Speaker
and And I'm with you. I think they have a shot to get up to two, but it's also going to depend on what these other teams do as well. So It'll be an interesting, you know, finish to the season.
00:42:21
Speaker
and I'm excited because before you know it, Alex, the weather is going to get nice again. Playoff basketball is going be back again. and then we're back into playing meaningful games again. And we'll see if, ah you know, the Cavs have some some different luck this year. You know, anything can happen. Anything can happen.
00:42:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Kind scatterbrained at the minute because all the content I just finished watching about this trade. but And then thinking about the game they just played, another thing that kind of pops in my mind is Schroeder asked to be taken out of that game because he was tired.
00:43:00
Speaker
And when he was walking back to the bench, he said, man, you guys... ah run, you know, move the ball fast, run fast. when It was kind of Schroeder was the one that was yeah doing really pushing the pace. He probably just had that adrenaline running. Funny moment, I thought.
00:43:17
Speaker
first First game with a new team, you want to show up, you want to ball out, all that stuff. Adrenaline was pumping. yeah Adrenaline's pumping, you know what i mean? so ah But that is funny that that that he said that. Yeah.
00:43:28
Speaker
That was something that ah Kobe said in the ah his presser. And my my my favorite my favorite Alex quote of the of the week.
00:43:39
Speaker
okay Alex sends me a text. Oh, no. Alex sends me sent me a lot texts this week. Goes, fat camp all over again.
00:43:52
Speaker
It's been an emotional couple days. In which I quickly came back to his defense and said, well, you know, Alex... ah Fat Kemp had the best statistical year of his career while he was wearing a Cavs uniform. I think it was the second year he was here. yeah Maybe, Alex, we'll see what happens.
00:44:09
Speaker
That was my initial reaction. My initial reaction was complete shock. I didn't know what to think. but And then I was like, oh, no, we just traded our young all-star point guard for...
00:44:20
Speaker
old fat kept ass Harden. Yeah. It's fat Kemp all over again, but that shack, fat Kemp, right? at hard Great for us. You know, yeah, he was hard and will also be great for us. Let's hope so. Let's hope so.
00:44:35
Speaker
All right, Alex, let's wrap this one up to podcasts in, in one week, but it was fun doing it. Talking, talking, yeah. have Record talking calves, basketball and trades. Cavs shake things up.
00:44:46
Speaker
And we'll see what happens. But thank you, at always, Cavs fans, for tuning in and listening. And Alex, let them know where they can follow us and connect with us. Follow us on x at Cavs Pick and Roll. Shoot us an email, cavspickandroll at gmail.com.
00:44:59
Speaker
Follow us on facebook Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr. Watch this episode on YouTube. Wherever you're listening, click like and subscribe. Leave us a rating or review. We'd appreciate it. right, Cavs fans. There it is. We will talk you again soon.
00:45:11
Speaker
Peace out, Cavs fans.