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The Orlando Magic Renaissance & The Toronto Raptors "Situation" w/Muvsy Hoops
20 Plays11 months ago
Second Episode of the year LFG! Gotta say a quick thanks to my buddy Muvsy for helping me hash it all out!
Checkout Muvsy's breakdown of this enormous Orlando team on his Youtube Channel, (Link Below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieKTFGqWefM
https://www.youtube.com/@muvzyhoops
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Transcript
Social Media and Podcast Promotion
00:00:00
Speaker
You're you're cool like if I like certain parts of this I could clip it and like tag you and stuff and post it as of it if you want Yeah, yeah, that'd be that'd be sweet As long as it'd be meaner if you're like if I don't like some parts of it, can I post those?
00:00:20
Speaker
Now I do like short form content. So that's that's why I'm talking about like like clip clipping this stuff Yeah, I gotta get one. Yeah,
Basketball Passion and Podcasting
00:00:27
Speaker
dude. I'm a huge basketball guy. I'm a Portland fan and I'm whole Portland Huge podcast guy. I used to do a bunch I do stand up and I used to do a bunch of like comedy podcast and I've never
00:00:41
Speaker
I've never done any basketball comments. So I started doing shitty YouTube basketball shorts last summer and I stopped doing them because I'm like, I can't put good shit in there. And then I started a podcast and then I'm like, wait, I don't want anyone to talk to because no one knows that I like basketball. Bro, I know. I watch a couple of your vids and you're like, bro, none of my friends watch basketball. I'm like, well, that's rough. It's fine.
00:01:06
Speaker
Dude, I'd like two friends text me and they're like, all right, not none of your friends. I'm like, yeah, but isn't that the point? Like when was the last time we talked? That's like, dude, there is, there's so much wrong with the Chicago Bulls. And
Nikola Vucevic Trade Discussion
00:01:19
Speaker
I love is a conversation piece.
00:01:22
Speaker
that everything that's happened good for the bottom Eastern conference teams in the last few years, or the bottom Western conference teams in the last few years, all stems back to that goddamn 2021 trade deadline, Nikola Vucovic trade. And I want to revisit that sort of at the top of this. So it's the trade deadline.
00:01:42
Speaker
And at this point, I'm working a second job. I'm delivering groceries, doing like shipped delivery, which is like Instacart, but you're doing Target deliveries. So it's like carrots, corn, but like a picture frame too, which is just like that. So I'm halfway down the road and I get the notification from Woge or Shams or whoever on my phone that Nikola Vucevich is being traded from the Orlando Magic to the Chicago Bulls.
00:02:10
Speaker
I get all these emotions through my mind. None of them that strong. It didn't seem like a needle mover at the time. It didn't end up really being a needle mover, but God damn, it wasn't an interesting. Yeah. He shot 40% from three on six and a half attempts per game. Uh, in the 2021 season, he shot 40% from three the season before following that trade. Nikola Vucovic went 38%, 34% in this season, 26% from three.
00:02:39
Speaker
abject disaster, which the Chicago Bulls are not prone or immune to. Something that I like to call out and think about is that Larry Markinen went from having knees that didn't work and looking goofy in a Chicago Bulls jersey to an all American and all NBA dude for the Utah Jazz. Otto Porter Jr. was an important bench piece catching rebounds for a championship winning Golden State Warriors team.
00:03:09
Speaker
And Larry Markin, and by the way, centerpiece in the Donovan Mitchell trade, which is something that's put out there, Wendell Carter Jr. centerpiece in the landmark Nikola Vuchovitch trade, all of this to say,
00:03:22
Speaker
I think we could revisit the Chicago Bulls straight in an attempt to figure out how the hell Orlando Magic spun off nine straight wins.
Guest Introduction and Bulls Trade Analysis
00:03:31
Speaker
One went away from their franchise record. Today I've got my buddy, Muvzi, with me. I show up Muvzi cold email at Muvzi Hoops on YouTube. I didn't know he was 19 when I sent the email and I just want credit for that. I'm not emailing a bunch of 19 year olds.
00:03:50
Speaker
It's not advertised anywhere. So let's revisit this. Do you remember that trade? Do you remember what your reaction was to it? Sorry. What's that breakdown on that trade again? Because I know about the trade, but what are the specifics behind that trade again? Let's talk about it. So I've got it here exactly. On the trade deadline, 2021, the bulls trade, window Carter Jr., auto Porter,
00:04:16
Speaker
the number eight pick in 2021 ended up being Franz Böchner and the number 11 pick in 2023 this year, Jed Howard. In return, they got Bucevic and Alfaru Gomino, old Portland legend, CJ McCollum era. Alfaru Gomino, by the way, after that trade played six games for the Bulls
00:04:36
Speaker
and retired. My God, bro. That guy went from 3 and D to like a spot up guy to like a guy that it's like DNP's like it's crazy. That's it. His knees survived Portland somehow, but that's about all that happened. But do you remember your reaction to that trade when it happened? Yeah, like when I saw that trade, like I wasn't too hyped up about it, like whatsoever. Like I thought the Bulls like won that, right?
00:05:00
Speaker
But like the Bulls continuously year after year, they get unlucky every single time. Like they build a Rosser with Vusovich, Zach Levine, the Rosen, and that turns into poo. And now you have the magic that that know how to draft well, right? Franz Wagner, you got Wendell Carter Jr. who's still injured right now, and they're playing good without him.
00:05:22
Speaker
That's the crazy thing like this this magic team is playing better without their big man and they got bit Aussie there like that guy's playing decent to you. So Yeah, it's like it was it wasn't an exciting trade for me when I went when I first saw it cuz I didn't know too much about those players like auto Porter jr Yeah, he was he's decent. He's playing on the Raptors right now and playing like garbage minutes, right? And like I don't know it was it was like a 60 40 type trade where I thought the Bulls won and
00:05:51
Speaker
But yeah, that's mainly my thoughts around that trade. It wasn't too much of a needle threader at that time, but now it's insane. Like when you look at what they got.
Orlando Magic's Performance and Potential
00:06:03
Speaker
Well, what an exciting summer for Chicago, bringing into Marta Rosen for the two first round picks from San Antonio, they got Lonzo Ball, Nicola Vooch. I mean, they added, they extended, I should say, Zach Levine.
00:06:17
Speaker
But it just couldn't have gone worse. And with Wendell Carter playing better after he left the Bulls, Larry Markin and playing better after he left the Bulls, Otto Porter playing better after he left the Bulls. It makes me think that whoever ends up with Zach Levine is going to win the chip somehow this year. He's just going to be like a pretty 10 and 10 guy out of nowhere. You think? Is that where?
00:06:38
Speaker
Yeah, he's that guy's going to Lakers, bro. He was sitting in a press conference with a Lakers hat on like if that doesn't give it away. Not sorry, not Lakers, like a Dodgers hat on. Sorry. Oh, he's a UCLA dude, too. Like fucking. Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:54
Speaker
But that trade from the Orlando Magic side, they ended up getting Wendell Carter Jr., who is a decent big man. I mean, he's a plus three point shooter, shoots over 30% on like three and a half or so attempts per game. Decent rim protector. He can kind of facilitate a little bit. He's one of those dudes that has weird size too. He's 260 pounds, 6'11".
00:07:17
Speaker
Uh, 30 pounds lighter than Yusuf Nurkic, which is a quote that I like to throw out there really often, but he said it's like really fun picks. Uh, Franz Wagner, who's I think going to be a multiple time all-star has the chance to maybe be an all in gay guy at some point. Those, those brothers are insane. Like, wow. And Jed Howard who.
00:07:40
Speaker
controversial pick from the, I know everybody in the world wanted the magic with the 11th pick to take, uh, Grady Dick. So then they'd have the Jalen Suggs. Oh, please. No, please. No, Jalen Suggs. I don't know. Please. That is, there's no way I would like to see Grady Dick and that magic, like Grady Dick's a solid player. He please, he's playing for my Raptors. I just don't see how he could be good in the magic, you know, like sort of system that they play in, you know,
00:08:10
Speaker
But, I don't know, didn't they send him to the G League? Both Grady Dick and, what's his name, Jet Howard? They set them both to the G League. So, damn, like, both of them, they didn't even work out that well. Orlando's got such a deep rotation. I mean, they have like 13 guys who deserve, I mean, they have no chance at... Yeah, they have like a thousand point guards, a thousand power forwards, just a very deep roster, you know? That's like... That's sort of what I wanted to...
00:08:39
Speaker
Talk to you about if a very deep roster and they have a lot of things that Are sort of unbelievable about that team. So nine straight wins When I emailed you of course the next game they lost All good things come to an end, you know that 10 games would have tied their franchise record mickel bridges They played the nets and they lost the nets put up 26 points which was like third place all time and next quarter history
00:09:09
Speaker
He had 22 points with a minute 30 left in the first quarter, and the announcers were like, you think he's going for 84 tonight, Doris? There's no way they said that. That's crazy. He's not getting it. But they lost the game. They're still so promising. The game right after that, Paulo Bencaro throws 42-9. That was wild.
00:09:31
Speaker
crazy shit down. But you made a video on YouTube about your thoughts on magic. I'd like for you to just sort of share a brief version of that with us here. So basically, a lot of people talk about the magic being good on the offensive end, right? Super pretty young team.
00:09:48
Speaker
Fun to watch and stuff like that But like if you want to win in the Eastern Conference or in any conference period you need to have defense And you know a lot of people think that side of the ball is very boring But when you actually watch it and you look for more of those like stops from Jalen Suggs black guy like rips the ball off Especially when Jalen Suggs played against the Raptors, right? That was one of
00:10:11
Speaker
the biggest statement games that Suggs have had like probably ever like the Raptors passed upon him to get Scotty Barnes which is like you know it's obviously a better pick than Suggs but Suggs was there to just like make a statement you know that he could he could still be that fourth pick
00:10:29
Speaker
And he's not like looked at as a bust. But, you know, I digress from that point more on like the defense and stuff like that. They got like so many length, bro. I'm talking about Jonathan Isaac. That guy single handedly locked up Jason Tatum. I think he had like 20 something points that game Tatum. I think he had like twenty six. That's still a lot of points. But when Jonathan Isaac was on him, there was like three possessions where like Tatum airballed shots and he missed shots. He tried to do like a shimmy fade on him. I still didn't work.
00:10:59
Speaker
So I don't know. I think Jonathan Isaac is one of the most important pieces to the magic bench and they got to utilize them more and put them on like the best player on the opposing team. I think that's what's going to work out. So their defense is like top notch, although they aren't the best team in the league and defense, they're one of the best in the league. And I think that that's what sets them apart. Their offense on top of their elite, the defending, and that's something that's impressed me this whole season.
00:11:28
Speaker
Jonathan Isaac is making all those conservatives happy, locking up these black dudes night by night. I swear to God. I swear to God. Listen to this. Let me read through this. Anthony Black, 6'7", 200 pounds. Jalen Sugg, 6'5", 205. Wagner, 6'10", 220. Ben Cara, 6'10", 250. Wendell Carter, 6'10", 270.
00:11:47
Speaker
Bataze 610 250 Gary Harris 642 10 Mo Wagner 611 245 Cole Anthony 6 2 185 Joe Ingle 6 9 Jonathan Isaac 610 230 those are their top 10 rotation guys. They have two dudes under 6 4 period Wow Wow Like what unbelievable size do you know what I have to say about that like
00:12:14
Speaker
Size is a good thing in the league, but a good example of where size isn't a good thing is my Toronto Raptors. This is where I compare the Magic and the Raptors. The Magic are such an unselfish team. They move the ball around and this is where the length works.
00:12:30
Speaker
Whereas like the Raptors, they got like Scottie Barnes and Schroeder trying to like fight for who's going to play point guard. But that kind of messes it up. And whenever you're fighting for a spot and you don't know like what role you have on that team, that's when your team fails. And every person on that magic team knows their role. That's exactly why they're playing good with length. You know, length is not always a great thing, but for the magic, it's insane.
00:12:55
Speaker
I wrote down in preparation for this interview that this Orlando team is who Toronto thinks they are. Exactly. That's hands down. And this is coming from a person from Toronto. That's a diehard Raptors fan and I'm very biased and I agree with what you say, man. I completely agree with what you say.
00:13:12
Speaker
What do you guys think about Drake being really involved with the team? Do you guys love that? Is it indifference? You know, Drake's good, man. Drake's the reason why we have a lot of people behind this team. We've got a whole country behind this team. But you know, Drake's got to start to come to these lower level games. You can't just come to support Katie and his boys. Come on, man. Pull up to a couple more games. That's what I think.
Magic's Roster Challenges and Opportunities
00:13:39
Speaker
While this magic team has been remarkable early on, they are young. And this is the time where you start thinking, all right, is it this season? Is it next season? Is it the season after you start to pour a little bit of gas on this? Let's talk about how they're doing now. I'm going to throw out some stats for you. And then maybe what this looks like a year from now. So right now, they're the fifth youngest team in the NBA, average age 24 and a half.
00:14:08
Speaker
ridiculously young. I made a video about a year ago saying that I thought Orlando had the best young core in the league before they drafted Anthony Black or Jett Howard. Kind of crazy. This year, 35% from three, that's 19th in the NBA, 47% field goal percentage, that's eighth in the NBA, 15.9 turnovers per game with the ninth highest pace in the league.
00:14:34
Speaker
They're the Raptors in the best and the worst ways. And that's where this is a little bit weird. They can't really play half court basketball when the game starts slowing down. They really rely on those 10 to 14 footers to go in. There's like 16 foot contested shots, getting to the rim, getting foul calls, which that's what they do a little bit better than Toronto. Our defense is suffocating. Their half court offense is
00:15:03
Speaker
maybe unsustainably good though. Yeah, that is one very good point. Something that's so efficient that isn't that normal, right? Because it's going to eventually simmer down a little bit, right? What do you think about that?
00:15:24
Speaker
That's what's so weird. They don't have a primary facilitator. And Mark Hill faults his hurt, but I don't really believe he's a long-term part of the core of this team. I mean, it's Jalen Franz and Paulo and everything else comes secondary to those guys. And you got to give Paulo credit. Almost five assists per game in a second year in the league. That's bound to increase as his usage rate increases. Imagine if he had shooters around him. I mean, they're a bottom half three-point shooting team.
00:15:53
Speaker
I mean, he could be a 27 seven and seven guy. He's no LeBron, but I legitimately, he's insanely efficient. The guy had 42 points on like what 62% from the field. That's wild. He's so fun to watch. He's, he's got one of those shot. Bill Simmons always, uh, uses this term where it's just like, you just feel like it's going to go in. Yeah. It just looks good. You know?
00:16:19
Speaker
But they have no shooting, and they have limited playmaking. And it's really hard with the roster that they have now to see who the next guy up is. So an exercise I want to sort of walk through. I'm going to start here. What is Cole Anthony's ceiling on this team? Good sixth man or better?
00:16:36
Speaker
I think it could really be a starter on this team. Six men, the reason why they're winning games is because Cole Anthony is a six man. Once the starters are on the bench, you need that guy to set the tone and continue to play well. Look at the bucks.
00:16:52
Speaker
Cameron Payne they're playing right now Payne came off the bench He he actually made the Bucks play better and set the tone like they're like wake up We have to be the Pistons and I think right now it's a very close game Just because of Cameron Payne and I think that Cole Anthony is a reason why this magic team is winning games You know the guys coming off the bench and going crazy against the Celtics
00:17:15
Speaker
he turned up he had like a lobby dunked it and he just started flexing and stuff like that like those type of stuff is what makes your team win but I think going forward they need to put him into the starting lineup right and then
00:17:29
Speaker
you need to find someone off the bench that's gonna be like your spark plug, you know what I mean? And I think Black could be that spark plug that just comes off the bench and goes crazy until he gets more experience and stuff like that. So that's my thing. He'll be a nice starter on this magic team the next year.
00:17:48
Speaker
He's great. I mean, I love 15th pick a couple of years ago and he's just like really good. He's the kind of guy that could just go seven 11 or seven for 11 from three any night. Yeah. Just a ridiculous shooter. And he doesn't shoot you out of a game either. Like people talk about his basketball IQ and that's a criticism that I don't really understand. I feel like he's kind of a smart player.
00:18:10
Speaker
I don't know if you look at the contracts right now, and this is where it's hard if you're team building. Because if you're Orlando, you have the fifth youngest team in the league, let's not try to trade for fucking Zach Levine right now. What are we talking about? We're not ready to contend.
00:18:29
Speaker
You do have an opportunity with an expiring contract and $7 million or $17 million for Markel faults. And I don't think it's a long-term part of this team. So when you look at trade opportunities, is there any, is there any person that comes to mind or are there deals that you think about?
00:18:46
Speaker
To be honest, I think that magic hold off on deals right now. A lot of teams in the league lack something and it's patience, right? And I'm thinking there's so many young players on this roster. You got to give them a whole season and then really make your choices then, right? So I think that if they don't know what to do and they have to trade faults, I would trade faults for like,
00:19:13
Speaker
a decent role player and a couple of first-round picks if he's worth that much, which I don't think he's worth that. Maybe one first-round pick or just something that's going to go towards your future so you have time to make more decisions, right? Because the team is jam-packed.
00:19:29
Speaker
You were talking about Cole Anthony not being, like people saying that he's not, he lacks basketball IQ and stuff like that, but he was like one for four from three against the Cavs, right? But he still shot 60% from the field because he stopped chucking those threes, right? And he went right to going at the rim and, you know, passing the ball around and stuff like that. So I think they really stay put here, but if they make a trade, focus on your future and not like,
00:19:56
Speaker
a veteran that's going to like shake up your roster like Zach Levine. How much does consolidation of talent matter in today's NBA when you're building your roster? Because at one point, you don't want to accelerate your talent. You don't want to throw Zach Levine in there and try to contend and then flame out in the playoffs. But they're already playing one of the deepest rotations in the league and they have guys on the bench like Caleb Houston, 6'8 from Michigan, like two years ago. That's wild.
00:20:25
Speaker
10 men. It's not everybody gets minutes on this team and everybody deserves minutes. So is there any is there any solution like is consolidating those younger pieces just for the sake of getting them on the court meaningful?
00:20:41
Speaker
So are you asking if they should like cut their minutes and play like the starters more and like put them to G league? Think like fantasy football, fantasy basketball, like two for one trades for like young talent. Oh, okay. Okay. Okay. I get what you mean now. Yeah. It was just like consolidating. So the total number, I mean, there's no team that can play more than 10 guys at once. And the value of a player.
00:21:08
Speaker
If he can't get on the court, you draft him his team overall. Three years later, he never played. You're not getting a first round pick for that dude.
00:21:17
Speaker
Yeah, I think a very good example is what the Thunder are doing, right? They are stacking up a bunch of first round picks and stuff like that. But what are they going to do with that, right? They're going to have to draft those players. And when those players come to the roster and it gets deeper and deeper and deeper, and they're not going to play, like what's going to end up happening here, right? And I think the magic are sort of facing this issue, right?
00:21:40
Speaker
Like when we think of like fantasy basketball, you could trade two decent guys for one good guy. Right. And I think that if they're not going to use some of their younger players, you could package it for like a better role player or like a better center. Right.
Three-Team Trade Proposal Involving Lakers, Bulls, and Magic
00:21:56
Speaker
Yeah, I have two trades. But these are not outlandish. There's nothing crazy here. And it's your job to tell me if it's otherwise. So I think that you'll like one of these. I just don't know which one. This first one I think is really good. It's a three tamer. Look at how good it went for them trading with the bulls last time. Why not fucking run it back? I mean, it's just luck.
00:22:25
Speaker
The Lakers get Zach Levine, like you said. Something that's obviously happening. But the Lakers pieces are weird. I mean, they need some help to get to that number. And they have to move off of some guys. I mean, they don't have – Zach Levine makes $37 million a year. They don't have a $37 million contract that you could go with that. So, the Lakers get Zach Levine. The Bulls get Markel Faltz, Rui Achiemura, Gabe Vincent, a magic first, a Lakers first, two Lakers seconds, two magic seconds.
00:22:53
Speaker
Uh, the magic first, they give up, they, they own Denver's first next year so they can maintain their own first round pick. Um, and the magic at Austin Reeves. Oh, this is a hard one, dude.
00:23:08
Speaker
Dude, he's kind of like fun for them, right? It is. It is fun. Wait. So who are the magic of giving up again? The players. So you said Markel faults. Okay. Expiring $17 million contract. 17 a year. Austin Reeves makes 12 a year this year. Oh my God. All right. So they give up basically a first round pick Denver's first round pick next year. That'll be like a 26 overall two seconds and Markel falls for Austin Reeves.
00:23:36
Speaker
My god, yeah, I like that I think I would do that like in a heartbeat I'll do that because you like you see what Reese is doing coming off the bench for the Lakers just imagine having a guy like that to come off the bench for the magic and That's where you can then slot in Cole Anthony to the point guard
00:23:58
Speaker
And then, any point in time, this is something that no team has, but your guard rotation, you get to have Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, Austin Reeves, Cole Anthony, two of those guys on the court every minute. Yeah. I have to say, just spark plugs, like at any time they can go off and go crazy for you. And I think that getting Reeves
00:24:19
Speaker
At the value he's are right now his contract isn't that hefty, you know I think the Spurs could have paid him even more in free agency Then it's a little bit hefty taking on this contract, but it's a pretty fair contract for Reeves And I think that yeah, that's that's exactly
00:24:34
Speaker
Like that's that's the epitome of like the perfect trade just a slot in cool Anthony to the point guard swap That means the world. I love you. Thank you What about the Lakers do the Lakers do the Lakers do it with the Bulls make that trade? Is that enough for Levine? Is that too much for Levine for the Lakers? I Don't know wait, wait, so this is the same trade right where the like fault is going to the Lakers and
00:25:01
Speaker
Fault would go to the bulls. The Lakers just get Levine. Oh, oh, yeah. In a heartbeat. In a heartbeat. Because you're just trading Reeves for Levine and that's like a swap. And Levine is much better and the Lakers are in like a win now moment type thing, right? Like, let's just be real. Like, what are the Lakers going to do after Bronner retires? That's the real question.
00:25:26
Speaker
Davis is not going to stay. So they need someone to win now, get the championship, and bring it to California. That's it. That's it. That's the best possible situation for the Lakers is to get Levine and win now. So it's just a no-brainer for the Lakers.
00:25:43
Speaker
And then what about the Bulls? Is that a fair, is that a fair value for the Bulls? The Bulls getting faults. Like they got Kobe white, right? So, and he's been kind of recently. Yeah. He he's been going crazy. So do you want to try out faults and him possibly getting like 15, 18 minutes a night, they got IO Dasumu, right? Uh, he's also pretty decent.
00:26:07
Speaker
And I would think that fault is a little bit better than IO. So how many minutes will he get? That's a real question. But do the bulls really want him for Zach Levine? That's the bulls aren't really going to get much in terms of like pieces for the roster right now. They'd also get Hachimura and Vincent because you have to make the salaries work.
00:26:29
Speaker
Yeah. So that's where like, could you, if they get a first and two seconds from each team and could you flip Hachimura a year from now for another first, maybe I think that has to be.
00:26:41
Speaker
I think the issue here is not Hashimura, it's Gabe Vincent and Volts, because then you're quadrupling down on point guards, and you're stacking your roster with a bunch of guards, and then you're gonna have to end up dealing with those, and who's gonna play, and then the Bulls are gonna have the same issue that the Magic are having right now. What are we gonna do with these players?
00:27:02
Speaker
I think Hashimura is more of a good piece going forward for the Bulls. If it sounds crazy, it probably is. But I would rather have Hashimura over Foltz or Gabe Vincent. And I think that you get Hashimura, you try out Foltz for the season. And if Gabe Vincent and Foltz don't work out, you just flip him and you get some more wings. Because I guess it works in this day and age. 10,000 wings and one superstar.
00:27:31
Speaker
I wish Portland would figure that out. We've had three guards for like seven years in a row. Like, even this year, like we're not starting a scoot, Henderson. So that we draft scoot and we're like, yeah, we're going to have what? Scoot and sharp. Is that how that's going to work? And then they bench scoot. He's not starting, but they start Brogdon. So it's no matter. It's fucking ridiculous. All right. I have another trade. I want to, I want to build to this one a little bit.
00:27:58
Speaker
The magic need shooting. The magic needs shooting so bad. There aren't a lot of great shooters available who are more than shooters. They don't need Joe Harris. They don't need 34-year-old Bojan Bogdanovich. No. So here's the trade.
00:28:15
Speaker
I could smell it. Get Markel faults, Caleb Houston, jet Howard and a first round pick and the magic get. And for new Simons who, by the way, born in Altamont Springs in Orlando, bring the fucking kid home. Holy shit. Yeah. Oh my God. Hello. Anthony Simon. Damn.
00:28:40
Speaker
You might have to throw in like another, like you trade the Denver first and like a 2028 first of your own. You might have to overpay to take him from Portland, but he also might not. I love him. He's the only player I have a Jersey up. That's an active player too. I love him too, but you could get someone else for a quarter of that. It's yeah. Let me hear it. It's Gary Chen Jr. I love by low right now.
00:29:08
Speaker
He's playing a former blazer or also also a former blazer You can get him for so cheap. You could probably get him for two first round picks I mean, sorry two second round picks. Oh my god, two first round picks. Hell no Two second round picks my god, bro
00:29:28
Speaker
Yeah, but two second round picks in a player. For some raptors things I want to get to in a minute, but I want to ask Gary Trent Jr. We loved his Portland fans because we had that weird run in the playoffs where he just hit some weird clutch threes. And then he was a second round pick. Contract negotiations didn't really go well. And all of a sudden you guys end up with him and we get Norman Powell. And I like Norman Powell too. He just happened to suck as a blazer. And that's our fault.
00:29:58
Speaker
What was Toronto's reaction to that trade when it happened? Man, I was so happy. Gary's like my favorite player right now in the whole league. And when that trade happened, I went on TikTok and I opened up a Gary Trent fan page and I started getting like 20K views and 10K views every single video.
Gary Trent Jr. Trade Speculation
00:30:18
Speaker
And I'm just glazing this guy. I'm like, oh, step back green. Oh my God. Another step back. And I would just.
00:30:23
Speaker
he had a game against Cleveland he had like 44 points and I was like this guy is him bro he's the next star for Toronto I'm so happy Norman old Powell's gonna rot in Portland and he ended up rotting in Portland now he's in the Clippers trying to chase a ring and this and that yada yada I think the Raptors came out pretty strong in that trade but right now the guy's not being used well Gary still a very solid player that's what I'm saying
00:30:50
Speaker
If any team wants Gary right now, it's the best time because you're you're gonna get Gary and he's gonna turn back into that 20 points per game guy and And he just getting misused coming off the bench for dead Dennis Schroeder like I'm sorry Dennis is good He's amazing, but the Raptors need shooting and I think any team that wants a shooting guard that can shoot space the floor Orlando Magic get Gary
00:31:15
Speaker
If your heart had to tell you, do you guys keep or trade him by the deadline? Because he's an expiring. What does it say?
00:31:22
Speaker
Um, so on Twitter, I got a bit scared during summer, right? Um, I was lying down in my bed and it said Gary Tran Jr is signing a lucrative four-year deal with the Raptors and is extending. I was so happy. I was so happy. But then a week goes by, two weeks go by, three weeks go by and still no contract. And I think Chris Haynes put this out on Twitter and I will forever never trust that man. I am never trusting that guy. And now I'm sitting here.
00:31:52
Speaker
Knowing that we're gonna trade the poor guy and I'm gonna have to delete my tick-tock account cuz I'm gonna look like a complete in total dumbass so yeah, that's I think we're gonna trade him I I think so too and I love him and I love him for you guys He's the only guy you could fucking shoot for Toronto, but we're gonna get one and you're gonna bench him like come on. Come on. We go. Oh
00:32:16
Speaker
You know how, you know, like, you know, you got a, you have a friend and she starts dating, uh, someone new and you're like, Oh, you're dating Derek dude. Fucking cool. That's so cool. And then, you know, like two years later, they're like, Oh my God, you guys are, you're engaged. You guys are even married fucking.
00:32:36
Speaker
Congratulations. That's amazing. And then all of a sudden you, you look up and he's like drinking nine beers a night. He hasn't been going to work. And now, now you're like, how was, how's the Derek situation?
00:32:50
Speaker
That's the best way to describe what's happening in Toronto. That's fucking hilarious, bro. I've never put it that way, bro. This is definitely what a stand-up comedian would say.
Raptors' Roster and Trade Strategy
00:33:02
Speaker
You guys traded for Kawhi Leonard, and you're like, oh, dude, I'm so happy for you. You won the championship. Congratulations. Yeah, Kawhi's a situation.
00:33:14
Speaker
What happened? Oh my god, bro. We literally gave this guy free food, man. We were gonna give this guy free food. We told him that we'd give him a free penthouse, man. Everything was so nice. You win a championship. Marcus Sahl, Sergio Baca, Kyle Lowry, Norman friggin' Old Powell. That was the best situation, man. And this guy just leaves. Okay, I get it. You want to go back home.
00:33:40
Speaker
you want to go see your mom and dad, but wait, wait, one more year, man, mom and dad could wait, get your two championships, then go. And then he goes to the Clippers tears as ACL. And now they're playing like absolute shit and they look like the next Brooklyn. That's so that's what happened. How crazy is it that
00:33:58
Speaker
You guys were, by the way, rightfully heartbroken that Kawhi Leonard left, but it ended up being the best thing to happen. Like if you guys were stuck with him on a four year deal right now, you wouldn't have Scotty and you'd have Kawhi's knees loudly banging around the practice field. It's a blessing, but it's also not gone well for you guys either. It's a breakup. Not at all.
00:34:24
Speaker
the rough. So let's start with just talking about the state of things Raptors this year, 11 seed, nine wins, 12 losses, some okay wins, some rough losses though. And that needs to be said 24th.
00:34:42
Speaker
In average points scored per game, 23rd in field goal percentage, 25th in free throws made, 27th in three point percentage, bottom five in shots from 10 to 14 feet. My God. Where you guys do well, fifth in assists, fourth in rebounds, but that's just because you missed so many shots and that you can't play in the half court. So. Bingo. Bingo. Yeah.
00:35:06
Speaker
It's weird too, you guys have this crazy roster that I feel like is so much more talented than what the court product ends up with. But before we get to that, let's back up.
00:35:18
Speaker
You also added the summer in free agency, EuroLeague, NBA, MVP, Dennis Schroeder, who has kind of been like decent for you guys. But when you added Dennis Schroeder, when you replaced Fred Van Vliet, what is a Raptors fan reaction to that?
00:35:36
Speaker
We were all so happy. I promise you, the whole Raptors fan base absolutely despises Fred Van Vliet. There is a screenshot going on in Twitter, probably it was posted 10 hours ago, and it was someone comparing the box plus minus of Fred Van Vliet and Dennis Schroeder. Fred Van Vliet's out here shooting 39 from the field, and Dennis Schroeder's out here shooting like 44. Dennis, for the price that we got him, it was an absolute steal. If you look at the stats from Fred and Schroeder,
00:36:07
Speaker
Dennis is playing pretty up hard to Fred Van Vliet. Not better than Fred, but he's playing pretty good for a guy that's not on a max contract in Houston, Texas. So the whole fan base was kind of like iffy about who our point guard was going to be. I was iffy on who the point guard was going to be. And I think that's what the problem is right now with the Raptors is this shooter signing was amazing, but it was also like something that is causing us issues right now.
00:36:37
Speaker
To be honest is the thing with the Raptors roster construction. I understand the length thing and you know, Orlando missed a bunch too. Like you have to, you have to see the Mo Bamba picks the terrible years before we got to here. It was basically 10 years where they drafted. Nobody good. The only person they drafted between 2010 and Franz Wagner, that was at all remotely interesting was demonic. And he was traded on draft night to the thunder. So they went through their period. You guys aren't this. Um,
00:37:08
Speaker
But the Scotty Barnes thing is part of what's happening that they think he's a point guard, or does the rest of the NBA have that wrong?
00:37:16
Speaker
I think the rest of the league has that wrong because he's he's probably one of the most efficient playmakers in the league. And when you look at the numbers and stuff, he's like 96 percentile and passing creation and stuff like that. And all those like in depth statistics and stuff. There was a video on my channel where I compared Scotty to Giannis. And I titled it Scotty Barnes is about to do the unthinkable.
00:37:42
Speaker
And he's literally doing it right now. He's such an efficient guy that comes on there and passes the ball, you know? But then we got Schroeder on the other side, and this causes like a conflict. Who's going to be the point guard? Who's going to actually take the ball up? Who's going to start passing it? And I think that Scottie should be that type of guy. I think the first five, six games of the season, people got a sample size of who Scottie was. And when now they're comparing Scottie to Evan friggin shitty Mobley, who isn't even close, I'm sorry.
00:38:11
Speaker
like Mobley isn't even close to him. Cade's decent, but he's still, he's, he's still not better than Scotty. I think if Scotty has more of a cemented role as a point guard, that's where he's going to really start to excel and people are going to see that more. I think about Scotty and I just wonder.
00:38:32
Speaker
Can he thrive with the roster they've built? I like the Grady Dick pick. I actually think he's perfect. Like if he ends up being like Bojan Bogdanovich, then that's the best pick in the world. And that would be so great. But you think about like how to build a roster out around Scotty and I love Seachem. He's on my fantasy team and dude pays dividends. I love Ananobi. I love Schroeder. I've been the only Schroeder apologist. I felt bad for him when he lost the Lakers deal, but
00:39:01
Speaker
In the same way that some teams need to be careful not to be impatient, the Raptors are almost too patient. I don't know if there's a team that needs a deal more than them.
00:39:17
Speaker
Yeah, this is a big problem though, because now we're just waiting with three guys that have expiring contracts and just praying to God that we could like just talk sweet to them so they sign back. Like ideally it's the biggest free agency coming back for the Raptors. And if we don't sign Pascal, Gary, and OG, we're screwed. This team's screwed. Even I don't know what the plan is going forward. It's just so confusing.
00:39:47
Speaker
Everybody thinks, when I listen to pods and when I go on forums online, there's been this consensus that they need to move one of the three. It's like a coupling where it's not going to work. Clearly, Scotty is off the table. OG is younger, but he's also worse. And OG is good still, but I mean, Siakam is just underrated at this point.
00:40:11
Speaker
But he's 29 too. And the timeline thing is weird. The Jacob Purdle trade made no sense to trade for a 27 year old sinner last year. Do you, if you guys make a move, is it definitely a trade down or could you imagine a world in which you, you trade up and go get a guy? I think, I think what I've been thinking and a lot of people don't agree with me on this is I think trading down is a little bit better.
00:40:40
Speaker
And I really think that we should go out there, slot Scotty to the point guard, move Dennis down to the sixth man, which he's been good at for his whole career, and then trade Siakam for a player like, this is going to sound stupid, for Zach Levine, now you have Scotty, Levine, OG.
00:41:01
Speaker
We have Jaco Purdle and then we just slot someone into that power forward spot that could just do their job, you know, and lock down a guy. And there is where you have like a team where Scotty can actually like thrive and he's taking the ball up. He has a player like Zach Levine. They could run pick and rolls. It's kind of like a version of Giannis and Dane, if you think about it, but Scotty's a little bit smaller and not as dominant as Giannis is right now.
00:41:31
Speaker
in in lavine today miss lavine today miss they're pretty close lavine just isn't a i don't know they're both players that haven't won they're both players that are lethal when it comes to like shooting and like top of the key jumpers catch catch and shoot zach lavine has damion lillard like beat and in my opinion but i think that
00:41:57
Speaker
Zach Levine perfectly fits the Raptors roster because say Scottie drives and he gets like double teamed he just kicks it out to Zach Levine he just splashes it that's where I think OG should stay in the roster and when you have Pascal on the Raptors roster Pascal is a he's a very good player don't get me like wrong he's very good but he's not good on this Raptors squad because
00:42:19
Speaker
Our coach wants us to pass the ball around every second. That's why it's called 0.5 offense. And this guy Pascal always grabs it in the post and just isles for a good like six seconds and then we have to throw up a Hail Mary and something like that. Take off Pascal, trade him for someone else so we get the ball moving more. That's why teams in the league like the Kings and everyone are excelling. The Pacers, they got a guard and they pass it around to subpar players.
00:42:45
Speaker
that do their job. We don't always need Pascal Siakam to carry us to victory or Kawhi. We just need Scotty Barnes and four guys around him that are good enough. The Bucks are an exact representation of that as well. Siakam's always sort of had that thing where he's just like... Do you remember the controversy where he was spinning too much this season? Fucking Beyblade, bro. Swear to God.
00:43:09
Speaker
He's always just playing hero. I have two things. Firstly, how is Zach Levine four inches taller than Damien Lillard and still the same level of defender? My second thing is it's surprising to me, and I don't disagree with it necessarily. I don't have to think about it, but it's surprising to me that you would say if you're going to stay going for it as a franchise, if you're doing a Zach Levine trade,
00:43:38
Speaker
that you wouldn't say trade to Ananobi. Because in my mind, the bulls would rather have the younger asset, and Ananobi was 26 versus 29. And they can afford, they have the cap sheet to pay him whatever he wants to stay. So the expiring deal doesn't really matter. Yeah. That's just surprising to me. I need to process that.
00:43:58
Speaker
It's just more that OG is such an important part of this Raptors team and I think just trading Pascal will give him more of the role to get more shots because you can't find a lot of people like OG in the league. You got people like Jeremy Grant who is similar to OG in my opinion.
00:44:19
Speaker
but OG is that player that's gonna like be that lockdown and even if Zach Levine is four inches taller and he still can't play D that's where OG is gonna come and clean up his shit and where Pascal is a good defender not that good perimeter but that's why I think I'd rather have OG than Pascal on this roster because you can find a player like Pascal
00:44:41
Speaker
like a star player, you can go out there and trade for him, but a player like OG, a wing, 3 and D, lockdown, one of the best defenders in the league, you're literally not gonna find that anywhere else, but like a Beyblade, you can go to Toys R Us and buy for six bucks, you know what I mean.
00:44:59
Speaker
I love Siakam more than you. I didn't realize that. It's shocking to me. We'll take him in Portland.
Raptors' Trade Value Debate
00:45:06
Speaker
So the Siakam trade that you suggested that you want is the Zach Levine one. What's the Siakam trade that you expect? What I expect, if it isn't Zach Levine or with Zach Levine in it? Well, maybe it's Zach Levine still. But if that's what you would suggest if you were running the team, that's what you want to do. Knowing the Raptors organization, what do you expect them to do?
00:45:30
Speaker
Like do they re-sign them? And if there is a trade. They're going to re-sign everyone. And then moving on to summertime is when they're going to make the big deals. Cause our GM, Masai Ujiri and Bobby Well Webster don't like to make big moves. Like they've made the Kawhi move, but that was like.
00:45:49
Speaker
I don't know, that's something that's never going to happen again. We're always going to be that team that has like three, four pieces and always going to be in trade talks. We will always be in those trade deadline talks, but we're going to never make a trade move. We're just going to keep our players and just be a mid-team until summertime. And I think summertime is when
00:46:09
Speaker
people around the league are going to see those big moves. I don't know who's going to be available, who's going to want to come here, but I think at any given moment, the Raptors can trade for a star and just go on an upward trajectory, especially with Scottie Barnes as a roster.
00:46:26
Speaker
I want to ask you this before because I have two trades, but I'd like to ask you this before, um, I say this because I, knowing how you feel about the team's direction, I know you're not going to like my trade. So what is the first, what is the worst Raptors trade you've seen online in the last couple of years? Does something pop into mind? Like what's the most long last couple of years? Oh yeah. Yeah.
00:46:52
Speaker
I know like a trade suggestion like not a real trade like what's the worst thing someone was like yeah maybe we you know maybe the Lakers trade like Rui in a second oh my god they people were talking about getting Gary Tran June jr. for like a couple of picks and who who's the guy on the Lakers he's like
00:47:13
Speaker
Who was on the Lakers at that time? I don't remember who was on the Lakers at that time, but it was some like random role player, a first round pick for Gary when Gary was scoring like 20 points per game. And I was like, what the hell is going on? And then we're like, oh, Nick Nurse wants to go to the Lake Lakers too. Like everything was like, what?
00:47:33
Speaker
The Lakers won everything we have? What is going on? And there was like two weeks where the Lakers were just like hounding, the Lakers won OG on an OB, the Lakers won Gary Chen Jr. And I don't know if that was fake news, but if that was true, man, the Lakers are on our ass, man, they're on our ass.
00:47:52
Speaker
What an exhausting process it is to be anything but a Lakers fan and watch it. It's constant. So here are my trades. I've got a couple of things and we'll, one more thing after this and we'll try to get out of here. So trade one. I think that the Raptors should move on from Siakam as well from the simple fact that he's older. But I don't think that they should.
00:48:15
Speaker
I don't, not that I don't think they should go get a guy. If there was a different guy available, I'd be there. I just don't believe in Zach Levine like that. And it's health and it's who he is as a player as well. Like it's more than who he has shown he is. I mean, he has some knee injuries that are pretty serious. So trade number one, the Pacers I think are an obvious trade candidate. I wanted to do an obvious one and then an not obvious one. The Pacers get Siakam for,
00:48:44
Speaker
Benedict Matherin, TJ McConnell, Jalen Smith, Jordan Nora, Isaiah Jackson, Ben Shepard, one first round pick. And hear me out for a second, because I know what you're thinking. A six for one trade never happens in the NBA. I know, I just can't imagine them getting rid of Buddy Heels or Bruce Brown, and that's what the salaries would require. But all of those players are on five to six million dollar salaries.
00:49:09
Speaker
that are expiring this or next year. And the Raptors, more than any other team in the NBA, need depth. Some of you are like 13, 14 guys. Maybe we're wrong about this, but I feel like the deep Raptors bench guys might as well not even be basketball players. But Benedict Mathern is a Canadian native.
00:49:33
Speaker
And I would love to see your reunion. What do you think when you hear that? I love that trade. Especially, he's a Canadian guy from Montreal. He's solid. And I think you said Jalen Smith. The guy with the goggles, right? The guy with the goggles, right? Yeah. The goggle. Yeah. Although, window Carter is the guy with the goggles, because he had that moment with LeBron. Do you remember his goggles? Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:50:03
Speaker
Yeah, now I remember. Yeah, it's a pretty solid deal. We're going to get a lot of young guys on the team and knowing that we have good development, we could develop these guys and whoever isn't good, we're just not going to extend them.
00:50:19
Speaker
But the problem is with these six and one deals, who are we going to drop on this team? We have a lot of veterans, like two of them that help with the off the court stuff, which we didn't have last year. But if I'm negating the fact that you're supposed to have 15 guys on your roster,
00:50:38
Speaker
I really like this trade because let's say if even these players like don't work out right we could like dump them all and use it as like More salad recap to go ahead and get another start player during free agency or something like that
00:50:53
Speaker
So I think that's a very solid move and Benedict Matherin could very well turn out to be insane next to Scotty Barnes. Like a quality shooting guard or small forward that dunks and spreads the floor out for you. Although shooting has to get a little bit better, I think he'll be solid.
00:51:11
Speaker
Here's the second deal. I think the Hornets would be such a fun Siakam team. The Hornets get past called Siakam. They elevate it. They run a starting five of Lamello Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Siakam, Mark Williams. I mean, they're gigantic. Terry Rogier moves to the sixth. That's scary. That's scary. That's scary. They have six men. They have length.
00:51:34
Speaker
and shooting. I mean, all those fucking guys can shoot. Mark Williams aside, um, the Raptors get Gordon. Hey, we're expiring $30 million. Nick Smith, uh, 15th or something. Overall pick this last year. Um, a top three protected 2026 first rounder and a top five protected 2028 first rounder. And this is why I think this is interesting. It's what is the value of a of a Pascal see Occam to a Raptors?
00:52:06
Speaker
Like the value in terms of like, do I think he's a superstar? Like the value in terms of like, like if we were exchanging US dollars for pounds. Oh, okay. You get like a pick laden package.
00:52:22
Speaker
He's not a five first round pick superstar, you know, he's not like, uh, he's not a Kevin Durant, but. Or a Roody Go Bear. The Roody Go Bear trade. I don't want to get caught saying anything bad about it. I've seen what the Timberwolf subreddit is doing to the YouTubers who've been talking shit. Um, yeah, but it's two first round picks from a terrible organization enough.
00:52:51
Speaker
Um, on an expiring deal. No, it's not enough. If the deals, Oh yeah. Taking in that Pascal is on a expiring deal. If you give me two first round picks or three, and you give me like two solid players, like DeAndre hunter level level, I'll, I'll, I'll take it. I'll take it.
00:53:14
Speaker
Heard. This has been fun. We're going to get out of here in a minute, but the Pacers just advanced to the NBA Cup. Parlays, baby. Let's go.
NBA In-Season Tournament Insights
00:53:24
Speaker
Man, let's go. See, I live in the South and I can't bet down here. So I got to start funneling cash up or something. Pacers won 128-119. Just final parting thoughts. Wax a little bit on what you think about the in-season tournaments here.
00:53:41
Speaker
A lot of people hated it at the start. I hated it at the start, but now I love it. This part of the season is where everyone gets bored. You've drafted all your fantasy teams, two weeks goes by, and now you're getting bored just putting in your fantasy players.
00:53:58
Speaker
and there isn't much happening. You got players like Kawhi sitting out. You got all these star guys doing something called load management, but now there's something on the line. $500,000. This is some pocket change for some of the big guys, but you got some bench players that are willing to go out there, put their body on the line to go get that 500,000. There's a player on the Pelicans, Jose Al Alvarado, and he said that if he wins, he's gonna get the 500K and get something for his daughters and stuff.
00:54:27
Speaker
So I think this in season tournament is going to really show us who the up and coming new young teams are, you know, because the stars of the league are going to try, but they're not going to try as hard as if it's the real NBA championship. And I think the reason why the Pacers are doing so well is because they're hungry for something. They just want to win, you know, because it's been so long.
00:54:47
Speaker
even Tyrese Halliburton talked about him being tired of being a loser and stuff like that. And that just, like the Pacers are gonna set a new like norm now, them winning every single game and going out there and being those contenders. And that's exactly what this tournament's been. A lot of money for Adam Silver, a lot of my money for him. And he's gonna go out there and give everyone else $500,000, which is decent. No, Emil would have been,
00:55:15
Speaker
way better but it still is what it is. Yeah, it's very exciting. I did not like it at the start.
00:55:24
Speaker
Did you see the Jose Alvarado, Josh Hart beef on? Oh my God. He's like, bro, go and buy yourself some freaking chains, dude. Like, what are you doing with that 500K? Jose Alvarado said my financial. Oh, I got an ad. Well, it's like I said my financial team will act like I never made it. It's not for me. It's not in my hands. I'm living my life. Josh Hart said, what a loser. Go get you some ice.
00:55:49
Speaker
This has been fun. Thank you for hopping on with me if my mom or brother are listening Where might they find your YouTube videos?
00:55:56
Speaker
You go on YouTube and you go M-U-V-Z-Y then hoops and then you could listen to some nice vids. I got some vids where I make fun of a lot of players here and there and I do a lot of film breakdowns and stuff like that. So yeah, that's about it. Thanks for talking to me, buddy. It's been a good time. Thank you, bro.