Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
OKC Thunder NBA Champions + Durant/Desmond Bane Trades image

OKC Thunder NBA Champions + Durant/Desmond Bane Trades

The Love Of The Game Podcast
Avatar
9 Plays21 days ago

Thunder Crowned NBA Champions

  • Potential Dynasty ?
  • What next for the Pacers

NBA Hot Stove

  • Durant to Houston
  • Desmond Bane to Orlando
  • Boston trade Jrue Holliday + Porzingis
Recommended
Transcript

Return from Hiatus: NBA Playoffs & Break Experiences

00:00:09
Emeka
Welcome, welcome, welcome. Back like we never left. Three weeks since our last episode. You thought we were finished. Nah, nah, we still back, man. You know, welcome to episode 28 of Love of the Game podcast. You know, we took a little hiatus during the playoffs. You had to lock in, but we back to discuss all the crazy happenings in the NBA.
00:00:32
Emeka
I'm joined with my man, Chinna. How you living, man?
00:00:35
Chino Onwuka
Did you miss us? I know you missed us, man. Don't be shy. Nah, it's good to be back.

Guest Introduction: Chinna & Chukwu's NBA Finals Excitement

00:00:41
Chino Onwuka
you know You know, sometimes you got to take a little break, you know, refresh, you know, recharge the batteries so we can come back and be as sharp as ever.
00:00:50
Chino Onwuka
You know, we decided to to wait for for nba playoffs to wrap up before we were back with Joe. And that's done. And we're back. And we're glad to be back. So let's get it.
00:01:01
Emeka
Glad to be back, too. And obviously, we also got my man Chukwu joining us. Even a longer break. It wasn't the last episode. it's been a month. How you living, Chukwu?
00:01:11
Chuku
What's up, what's up, what's up, guys? Good to be back. I'm just know glad to be back in this new episode, ready to give the people what they want, new product, new content.
00:01:23
Chuku
And know it was a little hiatus. I had some issues. and We can talk about it later on after we get through um the topics for today. But the main thing is I'm back. And yeah, we're ready to do this, you know ready to have some, excited for this no chance to Chop it up with the boys, and we got a lot to discuss. So I there's going to another banging episode today, guys.
00:01:47
Emeka
Yeah, spoiler alert. We're not going talk about technical issues at the end of the episode.

2025 NBA Finals Recap: Thunder vs. Pacers

00:01:52
Emeka
What we will talk about, though, is obviously recording this after Game 7 of the NBA Finals, 2025.
00:02:02
Emeka
Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers. Just generally, right, you know, I'll start it off with ah with with an easy question. What were your thoughts about the Finals and especially Game 7? Obviously, you know, Game 7 started off...
00:02:17
Emeka
Prayers up for Tyrese Halliburton blowing his Achilles. And we'll we'll get to that. But just, you know, watching the Game 7 of the NBA Finals, a very rare thing. First one and in seven or nine years, I think. So highest excitement, the closest thing to Super Bowl in the NBA.
00:02:31
Emeka
What was your thoughts after watching Game 7 of the NBA Finals?
00:02:35
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I can go first. Like you said, like it doesn't get any better than a game seven. the The drama, the stakes, you know, the coronation at the end for one team heartbreak, you know, on the other end for the other team. And, you know, I guess honestly my take from it is that a champion was crowned and it was the most improbable champion. You know, Oklahoma City were the best team in the regular season.
00:03:10
Chino Onwuka
They were the favorites to to win it all, and they did. You know, with the MVP SGA, you know, who did something that hasn't been done since since what? Shaq, with the triple crown of regular season MVP, scoring champion, finals MVP, and a whole bunch of other awards.
00:03:30
Chino Onwuka
You know, you've got that amazing trio of SGA, J-Dub, and Chet. know That seems built to to last for a long time. They still got so much depth you know around them.
00:03:44
Chino Onwuka
Still go have a ton of picks. So this looks like a... I'm not going to use the word dynasty because you know it's a different and NBA now. But this is a team. These are the guys you know you have to be equipped, built to to beat. They're the one that everyone in the and NBA is looking up to, and I think they'll be that team for a while.
00:04:07
Chino Onwuka
I think it just sucks that we didn't get to see both teams, you know, at fully equipped for such a big game. You know, I think it's a shame that, you know, happened to Tyrese, to Halle the way it did, and that it happened so early, you know.
00:04:27
Chino Onwuka
Indiana Pacers put up such a fight throughout the whole playoffs, honestly.
00:04:34
Chino Onwuka
series after series, they kept confounding the expectations, you know, thrilling NBA fans, you know, the drama, the comebacks, the fun they played with, the grit that they showed, which, you know, no one really expected from them. And, you know, in spite of everything, this was one thing that they couldn't overcome. Who knows if what would have happened if Hal Burton didn't get injured, but, know,
00:05:02
Chino Onwuka
You know, I just want to give a a shout out to the Pacers. You know, I think they opened a lot of eyes during this run.
00:05:11
Chino Onwuka
sucks the way it ended up for them, you know, with the injury and the loss. But I think they gained a lot of respect and a lot of fans throughout this run.

Pacers' Playoff Journey & Halliburton's Impact

00:05:23
Chuku
Yeah, I'm just going to just piggyback off you know what my boy Chinel was talking about. I mean, look, I definitely do think the better team won. The team that had the more talent or the more talented team ended up winning the championship this year.
00:05:41
Chuku
And it does suck that it will be remembered as... the game where Halliburton blew out his ACL, as much of it as you will recall and remember OKC winning the championship, is definitely going to have Achilles.
00:05:54
Chino Onwuka
is key reason.
00:05:56
Chuku
Sorry, my Achilles, yeah. So, yeah, it's definitely going to be one of those situations where it may not be the same historic as the COVID NBA championship, but there will be a mini asterisk there for sure with the with with what could have been, you know? Because, I mean, when you look at the stats behind it, I mean, I can understand why.
00:06:14
Chuku
You know, I mean, just to touch on it, like, can't remember the exact stats. Maybe one of you, if you guys are familiar with it, can tell me. But basically, there's a stat that goes when Halliburton gets 20-plus points in a game, Pacers tend to win.
00:06:31
Chuku
And, you know, for those who may not have been all been living under a rock and may not have been tuning in, Halliburton, just before he got hurt in the first quarter, already had nine points, was looking to have one of those type of games, shooting three or five,
00:06:44
Chuku
from three, you know, so it really ruined what could have been a huge possibility from the Pacers end, but you know what? Such is sports. And, you know, it is what it is. OKC are the, you know, are the victors and that's what history is going remember from, you know, from time to come.
00:07:01
Chuku
I really hope Halliburton, you know, obviously recovers. It's going to be interesting to see what the Pacers look like or end up doing, you know, with basically the one year he's going to be out because Halliburton is going to be a,
00:07:13
Chuku
Huge miss, no doubt about it. But, you know, the Pacers, one thing I would say is they have shown, you know, the trademark as to what a team, today's NBA in this current circumstance needs to be built by in order to compete. And that's pretty much having two max players, would say, or close to max players,
00:07:39
Chuku
with a bunch of death around depth around them, it seems to be no what's working. you know like The importance of depth in today's NBA can't be you know overshadowed or over-talked about because that's what tends to show out and win. you know Before it used to be the days, gone are the days of building super teams, I believe. I think that era of basketball is pretty much...
00:08:02
Chuku
done especially with today's you know hard caps you want to call it with the second EPR and whatnot and I'm sure we'll talk more about that when we discuss trades and you know what's been going on with the NBA but you know long story short I definitely think you know the main takeaways I got from this was OKC are going to be here to stay they're know with how they're built.
00:08:25
Chuku
They have so many job picks. They have so much flexibility.

Thunder's Future: Dynasty Potential?

00:08:29
Chuku
You know, basically you keep your, if you keep your main guys, you know, Jalen, SGA, Chet, and then just find ways to, you know, maneuver all your depth with the job picks you have.
00:08:41
Chuku
And obviously, you know, we can expect at some point in the next year or two, they are going start to lose their first core of depth players that they currently have. But, Who cares? Because at end the day, they're going to be able to, with Sam Presti and the work he does behind the scenes, they're going to be able to identify talents in the draft.
00:09:00
Chuku
And if you're going to bet on any club or any team with front office to be able to find you know guys in the draft to surround themselves or surround their current core max players with, it will be OKC and San Presti and OKC. So I definitely think, you know, they have a chance to be maybe not your typical dynasty per se, but I mean by that is with typical dynasties, you know, I look at dynasty a little bit different than maybe what someone else might look at it. Like if you're a team and you've won, you know, three championships in the last five years, in next five years,
00:09:38
Chuku
even if it's not back-to-back, let's just say, you know, they they win this year, or they won this year, they lose next year, they win again, know, the following year, they lose after that, and then win again, the following year after that, to me, that's still going to be a dynasty. I'll look at it as a dynasty, even though it wasn't back-to-back, but,
00:09:55
Chuku
What I'm trying to say is OKC over the next several, no I'll say the next five years, have a chance to definitely win more than one with how they're set up. So it'll be something to watch out, you know especially in the brutal West.
00:10:07
Chuku
And as far as the Pacers side of things, Pacers, know, honestly give me hope that, you know, if things are done correctly, and as far as team building, you don't need to have, you know, the biggest names in, you know, in basketball in order to make it to the, you know, pinnacle of the game in terms of the finals.
00:10:28
Chuku
If you build your team correctly around core pieces, it's shown, know, what the Pacers have shown that you you are, you can be rewarded. in the form of wins. And I definitely think that's going to be something to watch in the next couple of years with how teams, you know, go about building their their squads.
00:10:48
Chuku
And I definitely think the emphasis just having very solid players are around, you know, you know, one or two or maximum three max or close to max players is going to be the new kind um movement, you know, that we're going to be watching closely over the next couple of years.
00:10:55
Emeka
you
00:11:06
Chuku
So it's going to very interesting to see how it goes. And I mean, next year, I'm pretty sure, I don't think any of us have Pacers, going super far, you know, with Halliburton out. But it'll be interesting to see what they do in the offseason to try and, you know, mitigate the one year that they're going to be without Halliburton and see if they're able to keep, you know, a lot of their core group from this championship run

How Many Titles Will Thunder Win by 2030?

00:11:30
Chuku
the full-in year when Halliburton comes back. So it'll be something to keep an eye on.
00:11:35
Chuku
But, yeah.
00:11:35
Emeka
Still down the Pacers. Still down the Pacers. People never learn. People never learn. mean, you guys have hit the nail in him on most of it. Like, as someone who's been repping the Pacers all playoffs,
00:11:47
Emeka
You really wanted to see them take a swing at it like Halliburton came out just, you know, house on fire. It was so terrible. I wonder how moving forward teams are going to handle calf injuries because it it's just a shot for shot repeat of KD's injury in the 2019 finals, even down to starting hot when they come back from the and the game.
00:12:06
Emeka
And then, you know.
00:12:08
Chino Onwuka
Definitely. Definitely. Like almost like ah calf strain is almost like an automatic shutdown. Don't even try to play on it until you're fully you're fully back.
00:12:19
Chino Onwuka
Like i think it was a couple of of years ago and and and honestly now i'm thinking thank God when Giannis had that calf strain and he didn't come back.
00:12:30
Emeka
Yeah, no, it's...
00:12:30
Chino Onwuka
And he took his time and it's like, you know what, thank God because with with what we're seeing now that that could have been That could have been something else.
00:12:39
Emeka
Yeah, it's something, man. It's it's scary. You know, I should not reset it, but already Shade, Triple Crown season, like what a season. And, you know, remember earlier in the in the playoffs, we did our Who We Want to Win a Ring, and I said Shade because, you know, after stomping and for him to win MVP, I just felt people wouldn't appreciate this season Enough until unless he won it with the ring andla and he did. And when you really look back, people take some steps back and look at this season. She had,
00:13:08
Emeka
It's one for the, literally one for the ages. Like Chin already said, scoring title, finals MVP, regular season MVP. Only happens four times. And last time was 2000, 25 years ago.
00:13:22
Emeka
This is a rare thing. You know, shout out to Shea, Oklahoma City Thunder. But both of you, you know, threw around the the dynasty word, and which is funny because it leads to the question I had for the panel.
00:13:33
Emeka
And finally, Chuka really set the question up already perfectly. In the year of our Lord, 2030, July 1st, God willing, we're in season six of this podcast, making big money on ESPN. yeah The Oklahoma City Thunder have how many championships?
00:13:51
Emeka
And I will start with you, you know.
00:13:55
Chino Onwuka
Ooh-wee! Including this one, they have two championships.
00:14:04
Emeka
I would agree. I was going to say three, and then, and man, it hit me how hard it is to win a chip. And, like, they were in two Game 7s, these playoffs.
00:14:13
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:13
Emeka
Aaron Gordon's hamstring holds up. You know, Halliburton's Achilles holds up. we might have a different entire champion. So I think um think it's, you know, as much as it's hard to win a chip, I'm pretty good going to win one more.
00:14:25
Emeka
But I think it's it's a healthy two two chips. What do you think, Chukwu?
00:14:29
Chino Onwuka
And and just just with just before we go to Chukwu, just my reasons why. It's like you never know what could happen. Just a poorly timed injury here.
00:14:42
Chino Onwuka
You know, something unfortunate happened. Like, look at the look ah ah look at the LeBron, D-Wade, Bosh, Hedals. They won, what, two?
00:14:55
Chino Onwuka
That team only won two together.
00:14:58
Chino Onwuka
the
00:14:58
Emeka
I remember them saying not one, not two, not three, not four, not five.
00:15:01
Chino Onwuka
yeah just
00:15:03
Emeka
It was two.
00:15:03
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. They only won two together. The but Dynastic Warriors won three.
00:15:10
Emeka
Four.
00:15:11
Chino Onwuka
I mean, there was a pause between the 20, the last, they just won a couple of years ago, right?
00:15:12
Emeka
Four.
00:15:19
Chino Onwuka
And I'm just like, that initial stretch where it looked like they would win everything, they only won three.
00:15:19
Emeka
Fair, but the same guy.
00:15:25
Chino Onwuka
And then there was a gap before they won the other one. And the only reason they won three is because they won one. Then the next one that everyone thought they would win, they actually lost, and then they got KD, which is just a whole different story.
00:15:39
Chino Onwuka
Then lot if we if you if you asked us the same question last year, how many is Boston going to win? We probably would have said two, three, and we see where Boston is at now. So that's what I'm saying, too.
00:15:51
Chuku
Yeah, I mean, I'm in total agreement. Like, I mean, as much as I was throwing the world down, the possibility of OKC, you know, being the closest thing that we have in today's year and age to possibly being a dynasty with how they're set up, I probably would, as a betting man, I probably would go and I'll go two.
00:16:15
Chuku
I'll go two. I mean, I want to say three, but like You know, in today's day and age, man, like, there's so many things that can happen in in an offseason. And, like, the West is just so stacked that all it takes is literally, you know, one injury here or there. And that could be the difference between, you know, being ah being able to go on a championship run or blowing things up.
00:16:39
Chuku
Yeah. you know, the next offseason. So, I mean, it's tough to say, but, you know, I think you can at least book it with the amount of resources they have, the players that they have currently, with the ages that they're at and how young this team is.
00:16:56
Chuku
I think they're safe bet to have at least one more championship before the end of season. yeah, I'll too, for sure. so so um yeah i'll go to sure
00:17:09
Emeka
And there you have it. The NBA season comes to an end. Congrats again to your new champions, Oklahoma City Thunder.
00:17:21
Emeka
What a season it was. First of of many, first of two, first of a dynasty, who knows. That's for next year. But, you know, just want to give a a wrap it on a bow. Like, shouts out to Shea, J-Dub, Chet, you know, Dagnol, and all the Oklahoma City. Like, you know...
00:17:36
Emeka
Said that from the start. The most probabilistic champion. You know, you were you would really think were going to win, but it shows even the favorites got to scratch and claw for it. So, shout out to the Thunder. Season ended.
00:17:48
Emeka
Season didn't even end. And day of morning of Game 7 on a Sunday, you know, we're getting ready. We're watching. i don't know what you're doing. You're trying to get your life together for the

Kevin Durant's Trade to Rockets: Impact Analysis

00:17:58
Emeka
game.
00:17:59
Emeka
And all our phones blew up but it with a Shams bomb. NBA never stops. 24-hour league because the morning of Game 7, the Phoenix Suns decide to do a little minor move and trade Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for just a minor, slight you know just the ah ah adjustment.
00:18:15
Chino Onwuka
Minor move, yeah. yeah
00:18:21
Emeka
Kevin Durant traded for Jalen Green, the 10th overall pick, and my Canadian guy, Dylan Brooks. There's a lot to go from this. Who even knows right now? I'm going to start with you, Chico.
00:18:34
Emeka
When you saw the alert for the KD trade, what was your first thought?
00:18:38
Chuku
Houston are contender. Houston have a real good chance of winning the NBA championship, barring all things stay healthy healthy um in terms of all the players staying healthy.
00:18:52
Chuku
The first thing that came to my mind is that's a huge W for Houston. I mean, you get to replace a guy in Jalen Green who I think is a very, very promising player.
00:19:03
Chuku
young talent, got athleticism out no at the gym. like He's crazy. His hops are insane. But what was the one issue that he had? I mean, for a player of his talent, the amounts single-digit scoring games he had in these in these playoffs that we just watched that just went by was just, to me, ah guy of that caliber should just should never be ah ah in that position to be scoring single digits. And You get to replace that with a guy who has never scored or averaged, I should say, less than 25 points in his entirety of his career since his rookie season.
00:19:45
Chuku
Like, to me, this is just like it's a no-brainer, like huge upgrade. I mean, KD truly makes them title contenders. This is one of the reasons why you know it's hard to say to the earlier point about OKC and their ability to become a dynasty when you have to deal with such you know obstacles like the Houston Rockets currently right now with the addition of a KD to this squad.
00:20:13
Chuku
And you did this without giving up any of your other young guys with you know Jabari Smith. You didn't give up, you know, the Alman Thompson. didn't you really You only gave up Jalen Green, who I would have do that swap any day.
00:20:30
Chuku
Dylan Brooks, sure, you lose some defense and toughness, but who cares is is is Dylan Brooks. And a couple second-round picks, like, what are we doing, man? I mean, it's chris is crazy with how far, you know, health โ€“ and technology has come in in the sport for players to be playing well into their Because, I mean, if you asked me 10 years ago, the you know I thought KD would be still playing by the time he's 37 plus and probably sign another two-year deal to be around even longer.
00:21:06
Chuku
i would have been like, yo, you're crazy. But, I mean, We're here now. KD's 37 years old. Had one of the most efficient seasons of his entire career at age 36, 37.
00:21:21
Chuku
And, I mean, I don't know about y'all, but, I mean, do we see him stopping next season? I don't think so. like This is somebody that, you know, with the way he plays the game, he doesn't need to be super physical. He doesn't need to be not you knowing to be super athletic.
00:21:37
Chuku
He just plays the game the right way in terms of, like, with his style, his all skill, like his jump shots, his ability to get to his spots, shoot over the the defender in front of him.
00:21:49
Chuku
And, you know, it goes in. Like, and, you know, one thing Houston lacked was having a somebody who can take the pressure off in the in the dying minutes to be able to bring a game home in terms of being able to put the ball in the basket in high-pressure situations.
00:22:07
Chuku
What does Kevin Durant do? He puts the ball in the net in high-pressure situations. He is one of the best offensive talents that we've ever seen in the game. And you add that to an already crazy defensive squad in Houston, coached by one of the, i would say, top five best coaches in the league, and Emi Oduka.
00:22:26
Chuku
I just think it's a mixture to to for great things. So when he asked me about what I saw you know after the deal was made, i just saw... i saw another tough matchup in the West and a true title contender in Houston arise with that move. So I think Houston are going to be very good, very fun to watch. And Phoenix, on the other hand, someone got to tell me what the hell they're doing because I don't know how, i mean, we can't believe, we can't think that the Suns are going to enter the season with Jillian Green, Devin Booker,
00:23:05
Chuku
and Bradley Bill in the same roles in the same team, same roster entering the season. I gotta believe before the beginning of training camp, one of those or two, but most likely one, will either have been traded, cut, or something, because there's just no way I can see the Suns entering the season with with those three guys on the team.
00:23:30
Chuku
but So it'll be very interesting to see what but they do, but Yeah, I think my main takeaway from everything is, you know, Houston are going to be fun to watch. They're going to be one hell of a team.
00:23:42
Chino Onwuka
So, yeah, Chukwu, KD plus pretty much the GOAT, Amen, Thompson. thats that it dan That's five championships right there, right?
00:23:51
Chuku
I never said anything about five championships, but ah where's that coming from?
00:23:55
Chino Onwuka
not not No, no, no. I'm just saying you don't even remember the the way you the way you were glazing on it. Like, I love Amen, but, like, you know Just hearing you talk, a man's like the best player in the NBA.
00:24:10
Chino Onwuka
I'm exaggerating here. Man, was just teasing you, man. You just messed it up because you don't remember.
00:24:14
Emeka
meliss Listen, I remember, a man. Amen. Amen was Defensive Player of the Year. it was a future All-Star.
00:24:21
Chino Onwuka
Thank you.
00:24:21
Emeka
Listen, man.
00:24:21
Chino Onwuka
Thank you.
00:24:22
Emeka
but
00:24:22
Chino Onwuka
I'm like, i'm like this guy just just killed the whole thing.
00:24:24
Emeka
i But the one thing Amand did is Amand took Jalen Green's franchise from him. it's It's crazy to think about. like
00:24:31
Chino Onwuka
i I told Jalen it was a men's franchise now.
00:24:31
Emeka
Jalen Green had all the hype.
00:24:35
Emeka
Yeah, he took Jalen Green's franchise from him.
00:24:35
Chino Onwuka
You're always saying Shang-Gin, and I'm like, nah, it's our mess.
00:24:36
Chuku
Wait, let me just be clear.
00:24:38
Emeka
I don't think Houston makes this trade unless Amand makes that jump.
00:24:38
Chino Onwuka
But anyway, can't mute yourself you just ruined what I was trying to do, so mute yourself.
00:24:44
Chuku
Okay.
00:24:45
Emeka
But, like, it's a point, but I mean, we joke, but it's a point. I don't think Houston does this trade if a man doesn't take the leap he is and then they lose all faith in Jalen Green. Like, listen, exciting young player.
00:24:56
Emeka
It's a guy living off his draft pick because what I saw in the playoffs, the idea of Jalen Green is a lot better than the actual player. I just couldn't believe that the Suns couldn't get Jabari Smith in this trade. that's That's for me.
00:25:08
Emeka
i don't know how you don't get either him or Reed Shepard. Like, come on, he's still KD. Like, you got to get something back for him, but...
00:25:14
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, look, i will I will always...
00:25:15
Emeka
so
00:25:16
Chino Onwuka
It's not looking good right now, but I will always have stocks in Jalen Green because I think there's a lot of talent there to unearth. Now, will it ever turn into something? I don't know, but he's extremely talented.
00:25:28
Chino Onwuka
We see the big flashes, and he's still really young, so maybe at some point he'll put it together. We have seen it happen before.
00:25:36
Emeka
yeah
00:25:36
Chino Onwuka
To me... Yeah, go ahead.
00:25:38
Emeka
I said we'll see. but ah go.
00:25:40
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, we'll see. To me, you know, the thoughts on this deal, I'll start with, you know, Chuku spoke a lot about Houston, so I'll start with Phoenix, is how did they

Phoenix Suns Post-Durant Trade Challenges

00:25:51
Chino Onwuka
put themselves in in in this position?
00:25:54
Chino Onwuka
Right? you we Before we forget, this is a team that had a core that was in the and NBA Finals a couple of years ago with with
00:26:07
Emeka
Booker, Ayton, Chris Paul, and Mikael Bridges.
00:26:08
Chino Onwuka
Booker, Chris Cole, and Aiden and Mikkel Bridges. And, you know, they got to the final. They were a young team on the up, and they just blew it away.
00:26:21
Chino Onwuka
And feels like each decision they've made since then.
00:26:21
Emeka
Oh, you don't have to cut you off real quick. I i found on your point a little bit because not only were they in the finals, people forget. They were up to nothing in the finals.
00:26:32
Chino Onwuka
Yep.
00:26:32
Emeka
60-win team up 2-0 in the finals. This shows us how life comes at you fast in the NBA.
00:26:36
Chino Onwuka
and And I think Chris Paul got a little hurt and that derailed them. So that, that, that was the thing. And so it's just like, and then every decision they made to try to force it back that way has just been worse and worse. You know, they make the, the big trade for Katie, which is looking like a portrait in hindsight. And then they doubled down by getting Bradley Beal, which is just a disaster. And so,
00:27:02
Chino Onwuka
What this shows you, I know we talked a little bit but before the pod on, you know, why it was such a low return for KD, even at his age, is still in the top 15 players in the league, in my opinion. And it was because they had no leverage.
00:27:20
Chino Onwuka
Everybody knew that KD was on the market. And so they tried to play teams off against each other. You know, it's ah ah it's a thing of supply and demand.
00:27:31
Chino Onwuka
But what did KD do? KD said, oh, nah, like, I keep moving around and this isn't working. I'm going to make sure about my my next destination. And so he had three teams he wanted to go to based on the reports, Houston, San Antonio, and Miami.
00:27:47
Chino Onwuka
You know, i'm a Spurs fan, so I can talk about the details behind what we were giving up. And, you know, I think it's a difference between Houston and San Antonio because, Houston already has the foundation of what they need to do, where they see themselves as a contender, and they just need maybe one or two missing pieces to get there. They were second in the West.
00:28:08
Chino Onwuka
They already know what they have, and so they know what they need to add to it. I don't think the Spurs are there yet, and it's clear they didn't feel that way either. You know, KD could have come in and been the missing piece, but we haven't even made the playoffs yet.
00:28:24
Chino Onwuka
We haven't even made the plane yet, so I think you know, they weren't ready to cash in all their chips yet. Like people forget we did just trade for Darren Fox already used some our assets there.
00:28:35
Chino Onwuka
Does it make sense to, you know, we have a war chest now, yes, but does it make sense to add to it with Wemby unless you're sure that that's the missing piece to win your championship? So, you know, we only offered Vassell,
00:28:52
Chino Onwuka
of Harrison Barnes or Jeremy Sohan at number 14. So that was the offer. Phoenix tried to push for more, you know, okay, at the very least, make it Fussell, Sohan, Barnes, and 14, and we said no.
00:29:09
Chino Onwuka
So, I mean, if you compare that to Houston, Houston's offer was was better because you get Jalen Green and and Dylan Brooks. So that's one of their competitors, and that's all one of their competitors were offering.
00:29:22
Chino Onwuka
One of the competitors to who Katie had indicated he'd be willing to go. Then we all saw what Miami's offer were. And I'm sorry, I'm not even going to waste my time detailing what Miami's offer was. So that's all Houston had to beat.
00:29:38
Chino Onwuka
So it wasn't even about how didn't they get Jabari? How didn't they get this? It's like, once they sniffed out what the other offers are, it's like, I'm not even putting that on the table. You take it or or or you leave it. So decide what you want because...
00:29:53
Chino Onwuka
Okay, the Phoenix got their number 10 pick back this year, but Houston still has, i think, two or three more other of their of Phoenix's draft picks. So Phoenix can't even tank still in the upcoming year. So it's a very poor return for Phoenix, but they only have themselves to blame for putting themselves in this...
00:30:17
Chino Onwuka
position where ideally of the three, the person you want to trade is Beal, but the person you have to trade was KD because Beal has a no trade. So yeah, Phoenix, I don't know what's next for them.
00:30:29
Chino Onwuka
like you would think there's another trade coming, but you know, what can they realistically get for Jalen Green at this point? I think their best bet is to try and rehabilitate him a little bit and then maybe trade him at the next deadline.
00:30:43
Chino Onwuka
Now for Houston, I think this was a a brilliant move for them. This is, and don't think we've had the chance to talk about Desmond Baintrade on the pod yet, but this is just another, you know, move by a young team that has a lot of the pieces and just needs maybe one more piece to to to shoot them up to another level of contention. And this is,
00:31:03
Chino Onwuka
Exactly what Houston needed to do. you know, they're a gritty young defensive team, but the weakness that they had, which, you know, was really glaring in the playoffs was offensively, you know, scoring the ball in certain situations and spacing and Katie brings all of that. You know, he blends so well with their team where, you know, he can come in and play the four and he has all these young guys who can come in and and defend for him and and his job is to score.
00:31:33
Chino Onwuka
You know, the pieces they did give up, Jalen Green and Dylan Brooks. Yeah, those are important players, but it does allow some of the other young, talented players they have on the bench to actually get minutes.
00:31:46
Chino Onwuka
You know, I'm looking at Jabari Smith. I'm looking at Eason. I'm looking at at the third overall pick from last season, Reed Shepard, who didn't even get a lick. You know, Cam Whitmore as well. So I've just listed four players who will have more opportunities to shy. Again, they still have lots of picks.
00:32:02
Chino Onwuka
that they can use. So they didn't really have the need for the 10 overall pick this year. So I think this is a, this is a great move for them. I, to me, honestly, at this point, I think this puts them firmly in the top four in the West next year.
00:32:15
Chino Onwuka
you know, I'm thinking it's Thunder, Houston, you know, Mavs. And I think maybe with a couple of moves, the Lakers will be there as well. So no, not the Mavs, sorry, the Nuggets, Nuggets.
00:32:23
Emeka
Did my guy see the Mavs? one Man, my ears were ringing.
00:32:28
Chino Onwuka
I'm sorry.
00:32:29
Emeka
I said, what?
00:32:29
Chino Onwuka
yeah Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for correcting me. So, Yeah, a great move for Houston, exactly what they needed to do. And yeah, like Chuku said, another big threat in the West.
00:32:41
Emeka
Yeah, I mean, Kevin Durant is Kevin. Chukuri nailed the point. Kevin Durant is Kevin Durant. Say what you want about him off the court or whatever. On the court, he's a bucket getter. And... The Houston Rockets getting KD for Dylan Brooks, who I like, Jalen Green, who I don't like, and the 10th overall pick is a coup. And, you know, you you shouldn't have listed it out how all the teams didn't want to do it. I think that's insane.
00:33:05
Emeka
For the record, I don't get how the Spurs don't trade for KD if the price to beat is that. Like, it's still KD. And you're not cashing all your chips because... the The Rock has gone in for 25 cents, but, you know, neither here nor there.
00:33:20
Emeka
Miami, Pat Riley, you are washed. You know, yeah.
00:33:22
Chino Onwuka
if If there's time, I can go in on in on that little bit more. but But if we don't have time, we can move on to other things.
00:33:28
Emeka
You got your soapbox already. And then we got we got another soapbox pending in the next trade we talk about. But just closing thoughts. I'm really curious to see how the Suns deal with $160 million dollars in three shooting guards who are essentially different versions of the same player. It's actually kind of crazy how Jalen Green, Ballyville, and Devin Booker are rich man, middle class man, and lower middle class man version of the exact same guy.
00:33:55
Emeka
And We've tried Point Booker in the past, and it's clear that it's not working. The build, no trade clause. Good luck convincing him to to get to move. So it probably has to be Jalen Green who gets traded, and very very curious of his value.
00:34:11
Emeka
when If or you know when he gets moved by the Suns, because there's no chi ridden and na there there's no way they can go through the season with all their cap tied on three identical players, essentially.
00:34:23
Chino Onwuka
i like Let me just ask you a real question real quick cause I'm actually curious. Which team is better? Houston as they are right now or if KD had gone to the Spurs and we'd given up what Phoenix was asking for?
00:34:37
Chino Onwuka
Which team would ah you have rated better?
00:34:38
Emeka
Houston is better because Houston are better right now.
00:34:40
Chino Onwuka
Exactly.
00:34:40
Emeka
So, yeah.
00:34:41
Chino Onwuka
Both.
00:34:42
Emeka
But you don't have to be championship or bust. You can win more games. There's not a crime to win more games. Look at the Indiana Pacers. Sometimes it's good to just win games. And when they traded for Siakam, I'm sure if I asked you, do you think the Indiana Pacers going be in the NBA Finals next year? You'd say, nah, they're trying to win some games.
00:34:58
Chino Onwuka
but But they already had their foundation and they'd already seen what they had with their foundation, right?
00:34:59
Emeka
never know.
00:35:03
Chino Onwuka
We don't even know what we have with our foundation because Fox and Wemby didn't even play together. So it's like, there's so many things we need to figure out.
00:35:11
Emeka
What was the Pacers foundation before they traded for Siakam?
00:35:14
Chuku
Yeah, was about to say, what was the Patience Foundation?
00:35:16
Emeka
what was up Because they made the Gizukov finals after they traded for Siakam. So what was the foundation before?
00:35:21
Chino Onwuka
But have they been in the playoffs before that?
00:35:24
Emeka
i would assume so, but I don't even know the head.
00:35:26
Chino Onwuka
Exactly. Exactly.
00:35:28
Emeka
Hey, you got to start somewhere.
00:35:29
Chuku
Okay, I guess, yeah.
00:35:29
Emeka
You got to start somewhere. But, you know, if you are committed to the long haul,
00:35:31
Chuku
but as you
00:35:32
Chino Onwuka
I would have loved to get KD. I think that's spoken. and i think it would have been really good for us, but I understand the reasoning why it's like, you know what? Yeah, just because we have a bunch of assets doesn't mean we should make every move. We literally just gave up a lot for, lot, but we just gave up some stuff for Fox.
00:35:54
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, KD is available, but if we use some stuff on KD now and then that keeps us from getting potentially something else in the future that might have aligned more with Wemby's timeline, then you kick yourself a little bit. Because we've seen that happen with Anthony Davis, where he was at you know in other places. And for Houston, they're already the number two seed, so it made more sense for them to put their chips in.
00:36:20
Chino Onwuka
Spurs could have beat that offer, and I would have loved it, but I understand the reasoning.
00:36:26
Emeka
Hey, I understand the reason, too.
00:36:26
Chino Onwuka
Whether do it or not, understand it.
00:36:29
Emeka
I just disagree. But, nope, neith i aint neither here nor there. On the opposite end of the spectrum, as my man Chino alluded to beforehand, there was a team that said, you know what? Screw holding around for the right pick.
00:36:41
Emeka
Let's just toss it all on the table and trade for another shooting guard. And the Orlando Magic... Before the Halliburton injury, which is funny, looking back, I would thought happened after. Because even before, they saw the future. They said, Tatum's out, Dame's out, and we know Halliburton's going to be out.
00:36:56
Emeka
Let's make a run for it. And they said, you know what? F them picks. And traded four first-round picks, including the Suns pick next year, full circle, and a pick swap. and a bum named Contevio Caldwell-Pope, and a guy named Cole Anthony for just one Desmond Bain.
00:37:12
Emeka
So as a resident Orlando Magic fan on this pod, we'll give you a tight five minutes to what

Orlando Magic's Roster Boost with Desmond Bain

00:37:19
Emeka
are your thoughts about Orlando? And entering next season, in your opinion, Orlando is the blank best team in the East.
00:37:28
Chuku
Yes, sir! But I don't mind time. Oh, man. Y'all don't understand. Y'all don't. yeah I'm taking the full five minutes, boys. Put a timer.
00:37:39
Chuku
I'm taking all the time. Okay. So here's the thing. All right. When I saw this trade, you know, y'all my witness. I was.
00:37:50
Chuku
I don't know to explain. I was in cloud nine. Because I don't think people understand, okay, how good the Orlando Magic team is or were this past season.
00:38:04
Chuku
Considering the fact that we were missing two, no, not three, of our top players. And we still found a way. i don't know it's to say the East is shit. i don't know about all that stuff. People can make those comments. Cool, whatever.
00:38:18
Chuku
not one of those people. Obviously, we know East is you know not as competitive competitive as the West. We get all that. But the fact is, for a team to lose three... Actually, you know what? Let me just ask you all a question. i don't know if you all follow the magic close enough to know this, but I'm very curious.
00:38:37
Chuku
Can you guys venture to just guess how many games this past year? Franz, Paulo, Suggs, how many games you think those three played together all year?
00:38:51
Chino Onwuka
Nein.
00:38:53
Chuku
Good guess. Emeka?
00:38:54
Emeka
twenty
00:38:56
Chuku
Horrible guess. Six, my guys, six games all year. Paulo, Franz, Wagner were on the court together.
00:39:08
Chuku
All right. We still, with all that being said, found a way to make it to the play-in, made it to the playoffs, and came seed, and yes, we got gentlemen swept by the Celtics.
00:39:24
Chuku
We get all that. But we made those games competitive ah ah as much as we could. all right It wasn't like it was just blowouts on blowouts. and Although they did beat us Did it beat us fair and square and you know give us a ah ah good beating?
00:39:39
Chuku
Cool. But what I'm trying to say is we at least made things competitive. And we were doing this with what I call a negative, and I cannot repeat this enough, a negative player in our starting lineup.
00:39:56
Chuku
And that negative player goes by the name of KCB. see p I don't think people understand for how much we offered this brother in the offseason as a free agent signing.
00:40:10
Chuku
Something that, again, you know, Orlando would never truly attract, obviously, the best talents in the world. you know, it's hard to get talent come to come into play in Orlando. But even I was a little bit... I shouldn't say even I, but I was definitely...
00:40:27
Chuku
shocked with the drop in performance from what, you know, KCP was expected to bring in. Like, I was not expecting to be, like, something crazy in terms of, like, you know, I was asking this brother to come and drop, you know, 15, 20 points a game.
00:40:46
Chuku
But for goodness sake, the one thing we asked, we thought you were going to bring to this club, hit open or hit the jumpers that you were hitting in Denver when you're open or when you get the ball in catch-and-shoot situations.
00:41:03
Chuku
This brother shot a career low in all stats. I couldn't, in all shooting stats, I couldn't believe my eyes. Watching him in the playoffs was egregious work.
00:41:16
Chuku
I mean egregious work. like I get it. Orlando as a whole, we shoot terribly. But I need people to understand. The one player we signed for the purpose of providing us 3 and D could barely provide us the D. And pause.
00:41:36
Chuku
But the fact is, you couldn't provide much defense in it for for my ball club. So basically, it was a From the first year, could already tell you that was going to be a bad contract.
00:41:49
Chuku
And you're telling me after the first season of watching this club, we're able to replace him with someone who, on the opposite side of things, i did i in a million years, did not think he would be available.
00:42:05
Chuku
And that's you Desmond Bain, who I can tell you right now, easily, and I I'm not even trying to, I'm not even glazing, I'm not even trying to overhype this, easily, right now, is a top 50 player in the NBA, easily, I'm not even gonna, I would venture to say top 35, but I don't wanna argue with guys today, I'm just gonna say a top 50 player in the NBA, and you're telling me we got him And we somehow only lost KCP.
00:42:32
Chuku
And I love Cole Anthony. I think he's a great player. shouldn't say great player. But I think he's a good piece to have in terms of bench option that can, you know, Score points in bunches, but doesn't really provide much in defense.
00:42:46
Chuku
Yada, yada. Great guy. You know, wish him all the best in Memphis. But you're telling me we lose those two rotational pieces? And sure, we lose draft picks. I get it.
00:42:57
Chuku
But the only draft pick I look at that was the Phoenix pick for next year that, again, possibly could be a lottery pick with how things are going with the loss of KD. Sure, could possibly be ah no top five or top ten pick with how as she things are looking at the moment.
00:43:14
Chuku
But you know what? I don't give a damn. Because at end of the day, we don't need that pick, man. We need a player that can come in now and help us right now. We have identified our max players in France and Paulo Bencaro.
00:43:33
Chuku
Now, what we need to do is surround them with the proper depth, which, again, going be harder to do now with this deal a little bit with the fact that lost some flexibility with our draft picks and whatnot.
00:43:47
Chuku
But when you get to add... Jalen Suggs, who is on a friendly no friendly contract that we signed, and bring in a Desmond Bain, who's already locked in for the next four years, for what seems to be a decent deal that I think, you know as the cap goes up, you know I think should be considered one of the better contracts in the you know in the league for a guy that produces the way he produces.
00:44:11
Chuku
And we think we'll continue to produce that same way. I definitely think, no question, to answer your original question that you're asking me, where I think Orlando is, I have to say we are a top three club.
00:44:23
Chuku
We have to be ah top three team in the East. I mean, people want to talk about the Pacers. Well, Pacers prior to the injury, i could have heard it. But but not with injury now, think we're better than the Pacers.
00:44:36
Chuku
Boston, I think we're better than Boston. The Cavs, Me personally, I definitely think we give a cat the Cavs a run for their money. I think we're better than the Cavs, but obviously we've not shown that yet.
00:44:48
Chuku
But if you're asking me right now, I'm taking my core over the Cavs core any day of the week. That's me. Milwaukee, I think we're better than Milwaukee. I mean, it's gonna you're going to be hard-pressed to tell me three teams right now in the East that are comfortably better than my Orlando Magic.
00:45:06
Chuku
The Knicks probably, they're a team that, you know, kind of scared me a little bit.
00:45:12
Chino Onwuka
Honestly, that's a really good point because, yeah, it's really just y'all, the Knicks, and Cleveland.
00:45:17
Chino Onwuka
That's it.
00:45:17
Chuku
Really, that's it. That's really it.
00:45:19
Chino Onwuka
Y'all could be at the top of that list.
00:45:19
Chuku
Like, with all the injuries, like, You have to put...
00:45:23
Chino Onwuka
Legitimately, right?
00:45:24
Chuku
Like I mean you would have been like i been different conversation if not for the Tyrese Halliburton injuries. And, you know... Yeah, I mean... Because even with Dame, I'm so sorry. i don't think the Bucs...
00:45:37
Chuku
as a team collective, I don't know if they're a team that have enough pieces to, again, go, you'll be honest against, you know, against five, basically. I mean, sure, Dame, Dame is Dame, but either way, apart from those two, they ain't got much depth to go around, know, at the moment.
00:45:56
Chuku
So, like I said, I liked the way my team is looking, you know, with the fact that I can name you four guys, Paolo, Franz, Desmond Bain,
00:46:06
Chuku
and Jalen Suggs that I think all have a possibility of being really, really good, averaging at least 15, anywhere from 15-plus points a game from all four of all four of those guys.
00:46:21
Chuku
Then you add a guy like Wendell Carter as your five. You know, we still got decent all-rights. You know, guys that we have, you know, we don't know what they are yet, but we think as an additional year goes on, these are guys that can possibly improve in Anthony Black, Jed Howard, Tristan Da Silva.
00:46:43
Chuku
And we have guys that are still kind of proven talents that, again... and hopefully can become you know trade pieces here in Jonathan Isaac. Maybe we re-sign Mo Wagner and then we have Gogo Bataze, who is a quality big man off the bench.
00:47:02
Chuku
I just think we are set as things are set up at the moment, if we can make key additions, because I still think We could use some guard help. If we can somehow, again, somehow my dream free agent signing would be a Chris Paul.
00:47:17
Chuku
If we can get a Chris Paul and as a mentor, someone that can help come in, play 15, 20 minutes, be able to you know put guys in positions to you know to to to to you know facilitate and no get them get them their shots in in their you know in their positions where they like, that could be the difference from not just being a top three seed, which I think as things stand, I think we have a very good shot of being.
00:47:45
Chuku
a top three seed at the moment, but having a real solid contention to actually go all the way and get to the, you know, get to to an NBA finals and possibly, you know, who knows at that point, you you know, you're four games away from winning it all. So again, I'm just ecstatic. I think Desmond Bain is going to bring so much needed shooting,
00:48:07
Chuku
to the team without having to, you know, lose or get a drop off on defense. You know, he has size. You know, people talk about his T-Rex arms, but goddamn, I don't give fuck.
00:48:19
Chuku
I don't care. I'm trying to say is I just think the fact that you can add a 20-point game scorer to this team that, again, going to be able to help alleviate a lot of the stress that Paolo and Franz have to you partake with the lack of spacing.
00:48:39
Chuku
I don't think people understand. I can't emphasize this enough.
00:48:41
Emeka
episode
00:48:42
Chuku
The lack of spacing these guys have had to deal with on a bad Orlando Magic team. Do you guys know what Orlando shot from three this past year can anyone just guess an average of what these they saw
00:48:59
Chino Onwuka
Tell us.
00:49:01
Chuku
they shot they shot 31% from three that ranks bottom hmm yeah no kidding let me tell you how bad it is guys half the league shot better
00:49:06
Chino Onwuka
that's probably That's probably not too good, hey? That's probably not too good, hey?
00:49:19
Chuku
from contested threes than we did from non-contested threes. Like, oh, man, it was, like, we were basically building bricks all year is what we're doing.
00:49:32
Chuku
And you go and add a player that has a career 40% shooter, does it not just the type of shooting that's from catch and shoot that KCP has relied on in his career. He's a player that can catch and shoot, come off screens, amazing shooting, can do it off the dribble.
00:49:51
Chuku
He does it all. And I think people are going to truly... Maybe, i don't know, maybe for the casual fans, like, I can understand you hear a name of Desmond Bain associated with four draft picks.
00:50:03
Chuku
I can understand. I get it. But I'm sorry. Like, I mean, we've seen what anthonyy Anthony Simons went for from the Blazers. And I know people want to, know, I've heard people talk about, oh, that's that's the guy that they, you know, that Alonso should have gone for should should have been trying to get.
00:50:21
Chuku
But quite frankly, I'm so sorry. Like, Desmond Bain, to me, I know people people are trying to say it's close, but I don't think it's close. I'm sorry. I think Desmond Bain is clear of Anthony Simons.
00:50:34
Chuku
And that's coming from him being, in my opinion, just as good, if not, I think is better offensively and light years better defensively.
00:50:47
Chuku
And... Bain is not even like as known as a top, top-tier defensive player. Anthony Simmons is just that bad on defense. And that's something I feel like doesn't get talked about a lot when his with his game.
00:50:59
Chuku
So either way, hey, look, I'm not here to bash Anthony Simmons. I think he's still a good player. Very great heat check player. can go off, can drop 40 points on a given night.
00:51:12
Chuku
But Desmond Bain is, I cannot, he's the prototypical. If there was a player out there that we're trying to build that this Orlando Magic team know needed to be able to join in the mix, if you go to a lab and put in the stats, put in the numbers they're looking for, put in the attributes and whatnot, you're going to get a Desmond Bain outcome.
00:51:33
Chuku
And that's who we got. And that's why to us, He's worth those four first-round picks and that pick swap because what he's going to be able to bring to this team is going to help us out in a major way.
00:51:49
Chuku
And i can't wait for, you know, can't wait for the product to be shown next season because I just think, you know, Baron, you know, health-wise, of course, if people can stay healthy, I definitely think, you know, Orlando is in the prime position to make some noise.
00:52:04
Chuku
All our top players, the four guys I mentioned, Franz, Paolo, Bain, Suggs, all signed through to 2029, 2030, all signed, all signed long-term deals on, you know, with the team. And, you know,
00:52:20
Chuku
with With all of those draft picks that we gave up in the later rounds, if the team is living up to what we think they're going live up to, like Bane is the oldest at 26, about to turn 27. And in four years, he'll be 31. Paulo only 22, 23.
00:52:32
Chuku
Franz is like 23, 24. Suggs around the same age, 23, 24. Like, this is a young core france is like twenty three twenty four suugs is around the same ma as twenty three twenty four like this is a young core group that I think is only going to get better with time.
00:52:48
Chuku
And I'm just excited to see where know where what things take us. And hopefully, you know we'll be knocking at the door of of a finals run pretty soon. But that's my take on the...
00:52:58
Emeka
I said five minutes. This has been going on 15 right now. This is just, you know, theres apologize podcast listeners, but this is the Orlando Magic. They finally got on the news, so we have to let my guy cook. But, you know, hey, I mean, it's a big trade.

NBA's Second Apron Rule: Effects on Teams

00:53:12
Emeka
More than KD, apparently, because a lot of time was spent here by Tristan Da Silva and Jet Howard and all the other...
00:53:20
Emeka
12th man on the Magic. But, hey, I truly think the Magic are going to be a top four at least team next year in the in the East because, as we mentioned, all the all the injuries that happened. And you'm my guy took some time out of praising Desmond Bain to slander Anthony Simons.
00:53:34
Emeka
But, you know, jumping off that point, Anthony Simons did get traded, finally. This guy, I feel like he's been trading rumors for the last three years. And somehow โ€“ Portland had to add picks to Anthony Simons to trade for Drew Holiday.
00:53:50
Emeka
And I don't know, man. I like Anthony Simons. Probably because I watched him live three years ago on a random de ah of of dead Houston versus Portland game. And he was going off.
00:54:01
Emeka
So I've always had in my mind Anthony Simons is an above, you know, is a scorer. can do something for you. I guess Portland disagrees. And in fairness to Portland, they have Scoop and Sharp and all the other guys. So they figured it was time to move off for him.
00:54:14
Emeka
And Boston, well, Boston decided we're going to save some money this this summer. And in two moves they made about 24 hours apart, Boston shipped off Drew Holiday for Anthony Simons.
00:54:27
Emeka
And then the next day shipped off Porzingis for nothing. Just shipped him off for, I mean, gorge George Niang, but yeah, we'll see about that.
00:54:39
Emeka
And in total saved $200 million in real money. and real money and gutted the team that won the championship two years ago. Like my man Chinna said, if we did this podcast last year and we asked how many chips would Boston win, we'd be saying high numbers. And now here they are selling assets.
00:54:54
Emeka
So after Boston have made these two moves, Chinna, what is your outlook for their future? i assume they get Tatum back next year. They got Jalen Brown. They got Derek White.
00:55:05
Emeka
What is your feeling of the Boston Celtics franchise now after they've adjusted?
00:55:10
Chino Onwuka
I don't know if Tatum is coming back next season, and if he does, it'll be
00:55:15
Emeka
Oh, yeah. No, no. Excuse me. Just moving forward in general. But, yeah.
00:55:17
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. What are my feelings about Boston? to me, i have larger thoughts than just Boston. I like parody, but I don't know if I like the way it's being done. Because, okay, if you look at Boston, and the reason i don't like the way it's being done is,
00:55:41
Chino Onwuka
Boston is a team that has built really smartly, you know, developing their young players, making good trades, and using their assets wisely.
00:55:54
Chino Onwuka
And even they're being forced to strip off parts so early. i don't know. I feel that, like, you know, maybe when you have a team that's just spending egregiously and just making stupid moves, then yeah, it's you know, it makes sense for the second apron to hit them hard. But when you have teams like, you know, Boston having to, you know, after one year having to sell off parts, you know, Denver can't make any moves and maybe you can say they overplayed some players.
00:56:25
Chino Onwuka
I don't know. I think it's it's it's it's a bit too harsh. Maybe they need to balance it a little bit more. Maybe we just need more years or teams and need more years to find out how to balance it a little bit more effectively.
00:56:37
Chino Onwuka
But, yeah.
00:56:38
Emeka
I challenge that point real quick though. They didn't have to trade them. They chose to. Obviously, they chose to do it because Tatum Blue is Achilles and it's cool to spend $500 million when you're competing for championships.
00:56:50
Emeka
It's a lot less interesting for an owner to spend $500 million when you're about to win 45 to 40 games. So they didn't have to chip these guys off. They could have kept them and paid money.
00:56:59
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I guess I guess I think maybe what it is, is they need to make it punitive for teams to decide to spend to the sake apron.
00:57:01
Emeka
They chose to.
00:57:12
Chino Onwuka
But it's the point where it's impossible, where even if a team wanted to do it, they almost can't. You get what I'm saying? Like.
00:57:19
Emeka
But again, they could, though. Look at Phoenix. Phoenix are in deep in the second apron. But that was their choice to trade for KD, trade for Beal, and just go. That's my only challenge.
00:57:30
Emeka
I feel like owners use it as an excuse to do these moves.
00:57:31
Chino Onwuka
and and And you need to be like a super, super duper billionaire to to to do that. Like, let's say you you have a ah ah good team and you're just like worth 2 billion and you want to keep your team together. Like, there's not a lot of owners who can actually do that.
00:57:50
Chino Onwuka
I guess it's my thing. Like, I get what you're saying, but I think my thing is a little, it's a little bit, it feels a little bit too punitive right now if, Like almost no teams are doing it, right?
00:58:01
Chino Onwuka
Those teams, like how many teams
00:58:01
Emeka
But like, what did Lakers sell for? If you're off $2 billion and you you want to pay up, sell the team, and the Boston sold their team, and these guys bought it for like $6 billion.
00:58:13
Emeka
So if you got $6 billion to buy a team, you know If it's worth it to you, I just want to make fun about Matt Ishbia and new owner syndrome. He bought the Suns and he's been, I'm willing to pay the money for it.
00:58:24
Emeka
So like it's no one's forcing you. It's just about these owners are using it as an excuse to be like, second apron, second apron.
00:58:32
Emeka
You can keep your guys.
00:58:33
Chino Onwuka
nah.
00:58:33
Chino Onwuka
I'm um'm never one to cape for billionaires and owners, but like you know you see some of the taxes in in other sports who like baseball.
00:58:44
Chino Onwuka
like this This one been in the NBA is crazy. like It's not even just how much extra you have to pay for every dollar, but then you can't trade. There's so many levels to it.
00:58:55
Chino Onwuka
I just think it's it's a lot. Again, we're just it's pretty neat.
00:58:58
Emeka
Very primitive, I agree.
00:58:59
Chino Onwuka
Maybe teams will adjust, but Like if it's the point where you have teams that are contenders
00:59:08
Chino Onwuka
not spending into it to keep their team together.
00:59:13
Emeka
I guess I put to you, if Tatum was healthy, would they have this straight?
00:59:13
Chino Onwuka
Like even if, like even like we saw the reports, even if Tatum was there, they were already talking about having to let people go. So maybe they're doing it quicker, but even with Tatum there, Boston was going to have to let some of those guys go.
00:59:27
Chino Onwuka
So when you have teams that, like Boston and Denver not being able to do anything. I think maybe you're like, not that they can, you don't want teams like this isn't even that they can't add a start. They can't even add depth.
00:59:43
Chino Onwuka
I think, you know, the the reason some of these rules were put in play was to stop what happened with Katie going to worry from happening. But I feel like we're at one extreme, but I think it's early. So to get to your point and to not belabor the point, you know, what does this mean for Boston?
00:59:58
Chino Onwuka
hey, Brad Stevens, you lucked out with the Tatum trade. You lucked out with with the trades with with the with with Brooklyn. Now, you know your skills are going have to be put to the test to rebuild this this Boston team. you know so They've made some good picks in the last bit, but you know up until a certain year, we haven't seen as much development in some of the younger players, and we're going to have see some of that younger development come back.
01:00:30
Emeka
I mean, you know, I agree with a lot of what you're saying about the second apron is very punitive and everything. But I guess for my stance, I've always maintained it for especially for NBA franchises.
01:00:42
Emeka
If you don't want to pay the tax, sell the team. There are people literally lining around the block begging to buy a team, as we've just seen by how the latest and so forth.
01:00:49
Chino Onwuka
You've just seen how much it's worth. like Let's be real. how many There are not that many people that can afford and NBA teams at that valuation.
01:00:57
Emeka
And yet, whenever they go for sale, someone seems to buy it.
01:00:58
Chino Onwuka
It's literally not that easy.
01:01:02
Emeka
So, I don't know. 10 billy for the Lakers. 10 billy.
01:01:06
Chino Onwuka
it's so one One, that's the Lakers.
01:01:06
Emeka
The Celtics we're talking about literally just got sold.
01:01:08
Chino Onwuka
like You can't compare other teams to Lakers.
01:01:12
Chino Onwuka
And they're too broke to spend that kind of money.
01:01:15
Emeka
I mean, hey, listen. I'm in the alternate reality where...
01:01:17
Chino Onwuka
Like you can buy the team, but again, not everybody can buy the team and make that expense. And like, it's, we're talking about two different things. You can buy the team, but being able to bankroll that year over year is a totally different proposition.
01:01:32
Emeka
It is, but i again, i want to so I want to live in the alternate reality where Tatum is healthy and see what they do. But, and even if they did chose to broke it to break it up, I don't think it's the end of the world that a team can't have six starters making $40 million a year.
01:01:45
Emeka
And if you want to have six starters making $40 million a year, well, you better be Steve Ballmer. But that's a different story for a different day.
01:01:52
Chino Onwuka
And that's not my issue, but these teams that have three players on max deals and you've developed younger players, okay, maybe those guys who develop and they turn into stars can go, but you can't even keep your depth pieces?
01:02:05
Emeka
But that's not Boston, though. They signed Drew Holiday. They traded for Horford. They traded for KP.
01:02:10
Chino Onwuka
Sure. I'm just talking in general. like i'm Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:02:13
Emeka
I know what just and people think about that all the time, and I agree it's a thing, but
01:02:14
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:02:17
Emeka
That never happens because inevitably, unless you're Oklahoma City, but we'll see what that happens when they come up. You always trade for guys. And like, if you want to pay, if you want to pay guys maximum, and and i I think it's going to be the biggest change from the second apron stuff is a lot of these negotiations that teams took for granted, i.e.
01:02:35
Emeka
you you average 21 points a game.
01:02:37
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, yeah you you're
01:02:38
Emeka
You're in your fifth year. You're a free agent. Get the max.
01:02:41
Chino Onwuka
yeah. Your Porter Juniors aren't getting the max anymore.
01:02:43
Emeka
Exactly. I think teams and now have to actually sit down and i actually negotiate. And I forget.
01:02:48
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
01:02:49
Emeka
think it's Bobby Marks. Someone reported always says that. He's like, teams just assume they they they they can't negotiate. Oh, the feelings will be hurt. Their feelings might be hurt, but guess what makes feelings heal?
01:03:01
Emeka
Money. You sure we didn't pay you $70 million. We paid you $60 million. I don't think there's very few people in the world who will truly crash out over $10 million a year. So we'll see. I think it and it started last year. I remember at the time I was thinking like, man, Houston are cheap.
01:03:17
Emeka
Houston didn't give Shang-Goon the max. They negotiated, negotiated, negotiated, negotiated until the last possible second they could sign him an extension. And he he broke and he signed for less. Now they traded for KD.
01:03:28
Emeka
And who knows, in two years, the pay cut he took might be the difference between them signing Tariq Eastern or not.
01:03:34
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, no, no.
01:03:34
Emeka
You know?
01:03:35
Chino Onwuka
It's going have to be an attitude adjustment on the team side and the player side as well.
01:03:40
Emeka
I agree. going on both teams now.
01:03:41
Chino Onwuka
need to get the player side to adjust because what might happen is, you know, we might see more guys not sign that deal and bet on themselves to go to the open market.
01:03:44
Emeka
And...
01:03:53
Emeka
But there's no cash space nowadays, so who knows?
01:03:54
Chino Onwuka
Which is fair, but not a lot of teams have cap space.
01:03:57
Emeka
that's why That's why you can negotiate.
01:03:58
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:03:59
Emeka
That's what I'm saying. So, you know, you wanted 70. I'm giving you 65, bro. Like, we really going to crash out over this? And down the line, a thing thought ah about all the second second apron stuff is I'm super, the team we talked about to start this podcast.
01:04:15
Emeka
This summer, Chet, J-Dub, and SGA are all extension eligible. I am very, very curious if they all three sign for the absolute max. Because I know Sam Presti is pulling up spreadsheets of numbers and he's saying, my guys, if you guys just take three mil less each, that might be a difference between us keeping a Kaysen Wallace or an Aaron Wiggins down the line versus not.
01:04:37
Emeka
And I'm really curious to see if all three of them who just won a chip Say, you know, let's work to, you know, they're all vibes on the stage. They're all yeah passing the trophy around and not hugging and dancing.
01:04:49
Emeka
All right, contract time. Are you guys willing to vibe out and actually give away like four five mil each and then keep your team? Or you guys all want the max? and No. Next thing we look up and Caruso's getting shipped off, Harnstein's getting shipped off or they lose a piece here and there.
01:05:03
Emeka
And then that's how we started off with them winning multiple chips down the line. That's how it happens. So, you know, it's I'm really curious to how the and NBA adjusted this moving forward. Like, I get, for the record, I fully understand your point of view, Chana. I'm just pushing back, partly devil advocate, but also partly because I don't like that the owners use as an excuse to say, we have to do this.
01:05:24
Emeka
Denver's owner, Arsenal's owner, came out today for no reason and was like, man, if something happens, we might have to trade Jokic. No, you don't. Like, what are talking about? Just pay money and keep Jokic.
01:05:35
Emeka
Like, no one's making you trade these guys. Like, it's just an excuse.
01:05:37
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, that was a wild comment. Like, how is Jokic going to be the first name that comes out of your head?
01:05:42
Emeka
You know what saying? And that's the...
01:05:44
Chino Onwuka
Big red flags there, bro.
01:05:46
Emeka
And that's the that my beef with second apron.
01:05:46
Chino Onwuka
Big red flags.
01:05:48
Emeka
it It gives owners an excuse. ah You just say the word second apron and suddenly you can do anything you want. My man really said, because it's second apron, we might trade Jokic. What does that mean? That means absolutely nothing. like So I'm just saying like it is what it is.
01:06:01
Emeka
It's punitive. They agree to it, whatever. You still can, pay it's not a hard cap. You still can pay it. My man, Matt Ishbia has proven if you got the money where your mouth is, you can pay it and enter the second apron.
01:06:14
Emeka
It doesn't guarantee success, as we've clearly seen from the Phoenix Suns. But, yeah, it is what it is. And we've talked about, you know, we've talked about the KD trade, Desmond Bain, Boston in general.
01:06:27
Emeka
Open it to the floor now,

Recent Trades & Extensions: Kyrie Irving's Contract

01:06:28
Emeka
free for all. beam with Many moves, like we could talk about Atlanta getting Porzingis, the Jordan Poole for McCollum trade. What move has been made over the last week that has caught your eye in the NBA?
01:06:41
Chino Onwuka
Amongst all the trades,
01:06:43
Emeka
We talked about the three big ones, but there have a lot of minor trades and signings, extensions, anything. What transaction move has caught your eye you know in the last week of the NBA following the finals?
01:06:53
Emeka
And I can start real quick because for the Kyrie Irving extension, piggybacking off our our second apron talk, is something that i was I've been looking out for now. All of these, it was what, five, six years ago, KD and Klay both blew their Achilles out in the NBA Finals.
01:07:11
Emeka
And people forget that summer they both signed max contracts. Because back in the old NBA, everyone got a max. It didn't matter what. As long as you average 20 points a game, you got a max. Kyrie Arvon blew his ACL. He's a little older, but he blew his ACL out.
01:07:25
Emeka
And the Mavs pressed him, and he signed a deal less than $40 million. Now, don't get me wrong. $40 million is a lot of money. But $40 million is nowhere near his max money. And I'm sure Kyrie's agent was like, that we'll I'll get you the max, no problem.
01:07:38
Emeka
That's just going to show that the mindset now these GMs have. And that, to me, the is the is the second apron's benefit or fact the fact of second apron is you've got to actually negotiate for contracts now. You can't just be giving everybody, like Chinon said, the Michael Porter Juniors, Jamal Murrays.
01:07:54
Emeka
You can't just be giving everybody a max now. Now we got to down the table, talk numbers. I'm still paying you $40 million. as's a funny thing about the max card that blows my mind. I'm still paying you ah ah absurd amount of money.
01:08:06
Emeka
Yes, it's not the absolute maximum money I can pay you, but is it's pretty good. And these players have to adjust their mindset now. And I'm sure there's going to be a lot of players with hurt feelings when they want to negotiate with their team.
01:08:19
Emeka
And the max they assumed, all of a sudden, it's it's a little bit less than that now.
01:08:24
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, no, that was, uh, I did see that news come in just before we recorded. And I thought that was really interesting. I'd seen that speculated a lot that he was going to opt out. And we're probably going to see that with a lot of, of guys. I think going to see similar things with Van Vliet, with KD, where they opt out of their deal and then sign for long-term at a more cap friendly, know, they get more money in the long haul, but you know, it's more cap friendly for the team. So I think we're going to see that a lot more often.
01:08:52
Chino Onwuka
Actually, you know, I think, you know, we let Chukku cook on on with Orlando, but think that that Desmond Bain move is just, you know, Houston and Orlando made the perfect moves for them.
01:09:07
Chino Onwuka
I guess what I'm going to comment on is just an aside, you know, Washington, you know, did make a trade, you know, CJ McCollum is at Washington now. and And I don't know if you guys had a chance look at this.
01:09:20
Chino Onwuka
I was looking at their roster and some of their cap holds. Yo, did y'all know Ian Mahaney was still in the league and making $23 million a year? Ty Lawson is apparently still in the league.
01:09:34
Chino Onwuka
What?
01:09:35
Emeka
They're not in the league. Their contracts in the league, and they're living my dream.
01:09:37
Chino Onwuka
You know what I mean.
01:09:39
Chuku
You can this
01:09:39
Emeka
My dream life is to get stretched, and you pay me for like 10 years in the future for me to sit at home and drink pina coladas.
01:09:39
Chino Onwuka
These...
01:09:47
Emeka
Yamahimi, I lost it.
01:09:47
Chino Onwuka
Dream life is to be, yeah, a Ty Lawson or a third goalkeeper for a big six team the Premier League because you just get paid to to do nothing.
01:09:58
Chino Onwuka
Like, what?
01:09:58
Emeka
That's my dream, man. My dream is get stretched.
01:09:59
Chino Onwuka
just give What? Nah, I was like, Ian Mahoney shocked me and then I saw Ty Lawson made my jaw drop.
01:10:04
Emeka
Yeah, that shocked me.
01:10:08
Chino Onwuka
I ain't got nothing else to do.
01:10:09
Emeka
Hey, man. NBA Players Union, say what you want about them. Guaranteed contracts are the greatest thing you can give somebody. you Come hell, come high water.
01:10:20
Emeka
Come me blowing my Achilles out. Come me doing whatever.
01:10:22
Chuku
They're getting our money.
01:10:24
Emeka
You got to pay me. And sure, I'll agree. Pay me over 10 years. With interest, I'm cashing out. like It's a dream. It's always been my dream to get stretched if i was a professional athlete because, man, the money you make is sweet.
01:10:40
Chino Onwuka
I'm going to put a pause in there for you.
01:10:43
Emeka
Pause, pause, pause.
01:10:45
Chuku
Yeah. No.
01:10:47
Emeka
What about you, Chico?
01:10:47
Chuku
those
01:10:48
Emeka
Besides Desmond Dane and Orlando, do you got any other moves that tickled your fancy? Extensions?
01:10:53
Emeka
Or even just non-trades?
01:10:56
Chuku
I mean, you know, obviously not mentioning Desmond Bean again. i definitely think
01:11:04
Chuku
Alana is interesting with them going in for Porzingis, for sure. definitely think they're one to watch because... You know, I mean, for for one thing, it's like, obviously, we we know how about the East and all the different injuries, issues that's going on with the several teams there.
01:11:23
Chuku
But being able to, you know, it's good to see teams at least trying. you know what I'm saying? Alana have been a very, you know, wishy-washy team for the longest time. So, I mean, for them to, you know...
01:11:38
Chuku
make this move to you know get go ahead and get a acquire a talent like Porzingis, you're going to be getting back a player that, in my opinion, one of the most underrated top 50 players as well in the league in a Jalen Johnson coming back from injury.
01:11:56
Chuku
And, you know, you but put that with, you know, another year from, know, we should say, you know, maybe I'm pronouncing name wrong, but in the former number one overall pick from the past year's draft with a Trey Young.
01:12:09
Chuku
You know, you could be you could be cooking something, you know what I'm saying? You could be cooking something here. i mean, they're not going to, you know. win a championship or anything but you know it'd be a fun it'd be a fun watch to see you know maybe they could be a top six team in the east you never know so yeah it'd be very interesting to see and you know can never count off porzingis on a contract year that brother one thing about porzingis whenever it's a contract year he comes to play he's ready to get that money so you know seeing him next to a pair next to jalen johnson we should say we should say and uh trey young
01:12:45
Chuku
I mean, that's a very, very interesting mix. So I'll i'll say the Alana Hawks, man, just for trying to make things interesting in the East.
01:12:54
Emeka
To your point, something that kind of, not maybe not the level of Yamahimi and Ty Lawson, but something that shocked me today is realizing Pujikis has only made one all-star team his entire career.
01:13:06
Emeka
And he's played a lot of his career in the East. It's kind of wild to me. You'd think just, you know, injuries obviously had a huge

Kristaps Porzingis: Injury Concerns & Career Impact

01:13:12
Emeka
deal, but in my mind, the Knicks, yeah, but in my mind, the those Knicks years seem longer than that and actually were.
01:13:13
Chino Onwuka
I think he just always get europe gets injured. open
01:13:19
Emeka
I felt like he was there for like six, he was there for like three years, four years.
01:13:22
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, and he always gets hurt. So I think at some point when they're comparing him to other players, they always he always gets dinged for games played.
01:13:24
Emeka
Oh, yeah.
01:13:30
Emeka
It's crazy. I mean, I just would, if you, would without, before this trade happened, if you just put me on randomly, how many all-star games did Porzingis make? have said like three, four. He only made one, you know? It's kind of wild. For a guy nicknamed the Unicorn.
01:13:41
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, fair.
01:13:41
Chuku
Yeah.
01:13:42
Chino Onwuka
Fair.
01:13:43
Emeka
It's crazy how his career planned out. But, hey, i agree. i Look, I love the Hawks, man. Shouts out to man Ice Trey. I think they got a real nice

Eastern Conference Rankings Predictions

01:13:49
Emeka
starting five. And outside, like we we talked you talked about, the Cavs and Knicks, I think, should be clearly the two best teams in the East.
01:13:57
Emeka
I would have Orlando pretty solid number three. Then you got a whole mix of, like, the Pacers, Pistons, Bucs, and the Hawks, and even Boston. All these teams in there. Someone's going to surprise people in winning 50 games. just Just how it is. and Whoever stays healthy and beats up on these batter teams. you know so there are Next year might be interesting to look forward to.

NBA Draft Insights with Experts

01:14:16
Emeka
but you know were we're Our plus in this podcast, we'll talk about the NBA. and Our listeners probably don't realize, but speaking...
01:14:26
Emeka
on me on this podcast are two draft experts who know all the prospects, all the strengths and weaknesses, and it just digging film, grinding tape, catching buses, catching planes to these small gyms, and are ready to school you guys on the upcoming NBA draft, which is somehow tomorrow.
01:14:47
Emeka
I don't get how the finals end on a Sunday and the draft is on a Wednesday, but and NBA never stops. So

Aurelius Ace Bailey: Scoring Potential & Management Concerns

01:14:53
Emeka
before we sign off, as someone who has done absolutely zero draft prep and knows only two names in this draft, to ask my man, Chinon Chukwu, to give me just one prospect of yours.
01:15:04
Emeka
It could be any you. could Cooper Flagg. could be some French guy in the second round. One prospect that intrigues you and you're looking forward to how they pan in the and NBA next year and moving forward.
01:15:15
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I'll go first. I'll go with probably the guy who is garnering the most intrigue speculation in regards to the NBA draft right now, and that is Aurelius Ace Bailey, six foot eight small forward, coming out of Rutgers.
01:15:34
Chino Onwuka
coming Coming into the season, there was a big debate whether he would be, if he was truly the number one player over Cooper Flagg. That's That's what he was thought of outside of high school. He was an athletic forward, you know, who can score the ball.
01:15:54
Chino Onwuka
Now his college season didn't go the way it could and his pre-draft process has been, you know, really

Jeremiah Fierce: Elite Guard Potential & Comparisons

01:16:02
Chino Onwuka
strange. You know, he's been declining workouts.
01:16:05
Chino Onwuka
Apparently, you know, there's questions about his management and what his agent's asking for. So a lot of teams were, are interested in him because if you're looking at you know number one option in the nba scoring potential with size you know he's he's that prototype and he's what a lot of teams look for and there are those type of players if they pan on a hard to get but i think there's a little bit of hesitancy in you know how mature is his game you know
01:16:36
Chino Onwuka
does he have the right mindset for winning basketball? He's really young. He's almost as young as, as, as Cooper flag, which a lot of people forget about. So yeah, there's a situation where, you know, he could fall either because, you know, their concerns are about him or because they're intentionally trying to fall to get to a certain team so that, you know, he can, he can land in a place where he has more time to, to shine and, and,
01:17:05
Chino Onwuka
as opposed to maybe a Philadelphia where he'd just be ah know an off-the-ball option.
01:17:12
Chuku
Yeah, my pick for in this situation, i mean, i definitely I'm definitely going with no one of the younger players as well in the draft.
01:17:21
Chuku
I think not getting as much... Hypers say some of the other big names in the draft, but someone I believe has all the makings of being an elite guard in the making.
01:17:37
Chuku
You know, someone that people in the NBA circles have mentioned has a possibility of becoming an all-star within the next three years. And that's Jeremiah Fierce.
01:17:48
Chino Onwuka
I knew he would be the type of player you like.
01:17:49
Chuku
This brother.
01:17:50
Chino Onwuka
i Yeah, Jeremiah Fiers is your kind of guy.
01:17:51
Chuku
Oh, you know this. You know this. He's my kind of guy. Like, if this brother ever gets a jump shot, holy Lord have mercy, bro.
01:18:02
Chuku
theres just So, I'm pretty sure my cousin doesn't who he is, but think John Wall... Derrick Rose-ish type athleticism. Obviously, no one has athleticism with Derrick Rose. Let me just calm down. But the kind of like this ability to go from, you know, like top speed end-to-end court, being able to finish, you know, in transition with layups, you know, athleticism, dunking ability. Like, he is a fun player to watch. And I mean...
01:18:33
Chuku
The dude is 18 years old. Literally reclassified. him Same with Cooper. like His age mates just are graduating high school this past summer. And he was busy playing ball and about to get drafted now in the top... He's probably to be top 10 pick in the NBA draft.
01:18:50
Chuku
yeah I've seen people have him as high as top 5. you know with The way things are shaping up, probably... The same bet will be he's going to go somewhere in top 10. And, yeah, he's the type of player. Like, if Orlando were in top 10, I would โ€“ I mean, as much as we need shooting, he's just the type of player that you you just take a gamble on because his athleticism is just through the roofs, has all the qualities to be, you know, an elite guard in the making.
01:19:16
Chuku
And I definitely think, you know, yeah, I mean, you know, when people talk about Dylan Harper, you know obviously being easily the number two pick in the in the draft, one of the top guards in the and the draft coming up.
01:19:28
Chuku
But Jeremiah Fierce is definitely one to to keep an eye on. I definitely think he is he's a star in making or has all the potential to be one.

Ace Bailey's Draft Positioning & Representation Issues

01:19:37
Chuku
At least we'll have to see how that pans out.
01:19:42
Emeka
I definitely don't know who the hell that guy is. I'll give you props. I got someone to look forward to in the draft tomorrow. And I hope that you guys have learned something too. I have heard of Ace Bailey, and I'm very curious how he panned out. Like Chinon said, the stories you hear about off the court are insane.
01:19:57
Emeka
Representation things, and I don't know what's going on there. I'm very curious how it pans out.
01:20:01
Chino Onwuka
ah ah yeah Just to be clear, the the issues aren't with him, per se. you know Off the court, maybe they're questions on the court in his ability to translate all his amazing gifts. Off the court, the issues aren't with him. They're just with his representations.
01:20:15
Emeka
And like I tell football fans every time they blame the agent, Ace Bailey pays his agent, not the other way around. He chooses who represents him. And if I had an agent he was stepping out of bounds, I'd fire him. Same way all these footballers hide behind, Rayola and all these guys, Mendez, you can't hi hide your agent.
01:20:30
Emeka
If they do something, it's because you agree to it.
01:20:31
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, but this is different though. He's 18. He's literally 18.
01:20:35
Chuku
Exactly.
01:20:36
Chino Onwuka
He's 18.
01:20:36
Chuku
He's a kid, bro. Like, come on.
01:20:37
Emeka
Hey, man, hey, team, you can go to war and fight people.
01:20:39
Chuku
He's a kid.
01:20:41
Emeka
you can't hire a good agent? I don't know.
01:20:43
Chino Onwuka
i mean And it's really interesting. I don't know if you all have watched the the Shaq documentary about Reebok on Netflix. And it's actually interesting because this is where you see another element to it and in the timing of that documentary is interesting. Anyway, it's background. It's a It's a documentary where Shaq and AR are trying to bring bring Reebok back. you know they were the they were the They were the main guys for Reebok back when Reebok was number two to Nike.
01:21:13
Chino Onwuka
Adidas bought them over, Reebok tanked, and then Shaq has bought Reebok to try and basketball division, try and bring them back. And so what they're trying to do is they're trying to rebrand and you know look to the next generation to to be there to be their marquee athletes, you know, with the, what do they call it? When they have their own shoe.
01:21:36
Chino Onwuka
Anyway, that sort of signature shoe, their signature athletes.
01:21:36
Emeka
The signature shoes.
01:21:39
Chino Onwuka
And so one of the guys Shaq's team identifies is Ace. And so they reach out to Ace. They're supposed to meet him at a tournament. You know, he doesn't show up, which I think is a little bit more legitimate because he doesn't play for a Reebok school.
01:21:55
Chino Onwuka
But then they try to set up a meet with him. you know, his agent's being shady. You know, they eventually make an offer to him and his agent comes back with this crazy counteroffer. And Shaq ends up saying no. So, you know, through that documentary, you can you could even see that side with the representation and what they're doing coming coming out there. So, yeah, I hope the best for him because he's a great player, good kid. But, you know, sometimes, you know, you have the the wrong people around you.

NIL Deals' Influence on Draft Choices

01:22:22
Chino Onwuka
You know, again it can make things more difficult. And we've seen that before in sports.
01:22:28
Emeka
I will say there's a part of me that respects the hustle of, I don't want to go to a better team and sit in the corner, put me on the worst team, give me the ball in my hand, let me cook. I kind of respect the hustle on that. I can't lie.
01:22:39
Emeka
So we'll see how it works out for him and all ah ah everybody else in the draft. i You know, draft is tomorrow. That's just that's just insane. Two-day draft again.
01:22:49
Emeka
i Last year, they they got the high behind LeBroni card. and Very, very, very interested to see how many sickos are there watching day two.
01:22:56
Chino Onwuka
The ratings for the second round are going to be so bad that feel like it might force them to go back to one day.
01:22:57
Emeka
Really?
01:23:00
Emeka
Some sickos, man.
01:23:06
Emeka
They got brawny last year. People didn't watch it. It was waiting for them to announce brawny. This is this is ridiculous. but
01:23:13
Chino Onwuka
Because workers for who are listening who don't know who who don't know what's happening, what's happening now in the NBA is because of the proliferation of NIL main image and likeness,
01:23:13
Emeka
I get why, but hey.
01:23:27
Chino Onwuka
Players in college are getting paid. They are getting paid. So what's happening is prospects who aren't guaranteed first rounders can make more money in college than they can as second round picks.
01:23:41
Chino Onwuka
So a lot of guys who would have normally been really good second round picks, none of those guys are in the draft because they all went back to college. So what you see now is one and dones.
01:23:53
Chino Onwuka
maybe a couple of euros because even the euros, if they don't like what they're hearing, then they can just go to college as well and get paid there. And then a whole bunch of seniors who don't have eligibility left. So that's that's what your draft is really going to become.
01:24:08
Emeka
it's a We'll see how teams adjust to it because, you know, Chinon nailed right on the head. If you don't like where your draft stake is at, go back to college and make one, two million because that's the beauty of it now.

Episode Conclusion & Future Discussions

01:24:21
Emeka
Well, this has been a great episode. We missed you guys. you know We have to go extra long because it's been three weeks and Orlando Magic did something worth talking about. But know we got a couple more episodes left before we break for the summer.
01:24:34
Emeka
Episode 28, I feel like you know we get to 30 and end on a round number. We still got football. that i know there's a little tournament going on in the States right now. There's transfers of coming. The and NBA draft is next. Free agency is coming up. Sports never stops. There's always something.
01:24:48
Emeka
We're going to be sitting here talking about baseball even if we need to. I hope as I get to that, and we'll see you next time on the Love of the Game podcast.