Team USA's Red Card Robbery, Warriors Building a Super Team & NBA Free Agency Is INSANE

Hey Hotties NBA Free Agency is an absolute circus right now.

The Warriors are literally taking pay cuts to build a spite team. Draymond Green declined his $27.7 million player option to sign for less money and free up cap room so Golden State could chase LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They're pulling off the wildest financial manipulation to poach established players instead of developing young talent. It's villain-coded and we're here for the drama.

LeBron's decision is the biggest story of the offseason. He needs to go to Cleveland. Riding off into the sunset where it all started in his hometown is the only move that makes sense. The Heat and Cavaliers are also in the mix, but Cleveland is the only team where if they lose in the finals, his legacy isn't damaged. That's the narrative that needs to happen.

But that's just the beginning, the Knicks-Celtics beef is about to be INSANE. Giannis went to the Heat. LaMelo Ball is heading to the Wolves. John Morant quietly went to the Blazers. Kawhi Leonard is returning to the Raptors after the Clippers traded him back. James Harden is expected to go to Cleveland. Everyone is moving. Everyone is switching.

This free agency class is delivering chaos, betrayal, and storylines for DAYS.

0:25 Quick FIFA Fan Fest Update
6:00 Transitioning to NBA Talk
42:20 The Beautiful Things Happening in the NBA Right Now
43:07 LeBron James' Free Agency & Future
43:37 The Three Teams In the Mix Heat, Warriors, Cavaliers
43:55 Why LeBron MUST Go to Cleveland
44:06 Warriors Building a Super Team Out of Spite
44:14 Draymond Green Taking a Pay Cut for Cap Space
44:40 Warriors Chasing Both LeBron & Anthony Davis
44:51 Chris Paul Signing With the Warriors
45:56 Lakers Building Around Luca
46:17 Knicks-Celtics Beef is Now PERSONAL
46:27 Mitchell Robinson Betrays the Championship Knicks for the Celtics
46:35 The Context of Robinson's Decision
46:44 Giannis Going to the Heat
46:47 LaMelo Ball to the Wolves 
46:50 Why John Morant to the Blazers Is Underrated
46:57 Kawhi Leonard Returning to the Raptors
47:01 Kawhi & the Clippers Drama
47:04 James Harden Expected to Go to Cleveland
47:08 The Complete Free Agency Recap
47:16 Why Steph Curry's Legacy is Affected

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Let’s chat, hotties! 🔥

🎥 Watch on YouTube: @hoopsforhotties
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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, Hoddies. Welcome back finally to the Hoops for Hotdies Live Show. Oh my god, do we have so much to talk about today? I'm kind of stressed out. I'm kind of overwhelmed, but we're gonna get through it all together. Happy Fourth of July weekend. I have on my America t-shirt. This is my 4th of July t-shirt. Shout out Barack. I'm feeling good going into this weekend. Last night I went to the FIFA Fan Fest, and of course I vlogged it for you guys, so that'll be up. You know, there'll be a timeline on that. I won't give you too many details on that, but it will be up. I'm doing a bunch of different FIFA fan experiences as we get through the World Cup. And I feel like going to Fan Fest, I finally felt like I was actually a part of the World Cup in America because people aren't as immersed in the football world. It doesn't feel so different. The traffic is bad because of the World Cup and this and that. And I don't feel like anything is that different in Atlanta, and we're hosting the World Cup here. But last night, when I went to the fan fest, it felt like a new experience for me. I mean, I'm talking the downtown scene was all cleaned up. They really put on their good clothes and good shoes for you guys. Like it, it looked like a new place. I was like, I'm so proud of my little city. So definitely had a good time at FIFA Fan Fest. I watched the game, Team USA uh playing Bosnia, and we won. Woo! Go USA. But there was that crazy red card against Valer and Balogun that I listen, I didn't want to go too crazy on this or make a crazy video about this. I probably still will because football isn't really my jam. But that was not a red card, y'all. He would that was not intentional or malicious, y'all. Like that was ridiculous. And when I found out that that didn't just mean that he was being taken out of this game and we had to play with less players, that means that he is suspended from the next game. If you guys don't watch football and you don't understand what a big deal that this is. Team USA, they obviously in this country we've made a lot of jokes about them. We don't care about Team USA, we don't care, we don't care, we don't care, we don't care. And this year they're doing really well in the World Cup. I am proud of our team, okay? But last night in their win in the round of 32 against Bosnia, our best player who made a goal and did the LeBron Celly got a red card for stepping on the ankle, kind of of another player. And in the moment, it seemed like a small thing, right? It seemed like a very quick, small thing. They both hit the ground. Sometimes with football or soccer players, when they hit the ground, I'm like, can I take this seriously or not? Like, are you foul are you flopping or not? This actually looks serious and actually looks painful. They did a video review of it, and in slow motion and in the still image, it looked bad for the American player. It did. It looked bad. It looked like he stepped on his ankles and was trying to break that shit. It looked like he was stepping on a crack to break his mama's back. It was it was ghetto. It was bad. In slow motion. In regular speed of the game, not a big deal. Nothing you would like bat an eye at or look at twice. However, they reviewed it and they ended up, no foul was called originally. And then obviously there was contact, so they used video review. When they reviewed it, they gave him a red card, which meant that he couldn't play the rest of the game and he is suspended from our round of 16 game, which is a toss-up. So everybody is looking to see how Team USA responds and comes back from that. The messiest part about this, oh, no pun intended. Messi did something very similar previously, and it wasn't called a foul, no yellow card, no red card, no nada. But that's Messi. And I watched a lot of analysts talk about this situation and this red card. And a lot of people are in agreement that it's not that big of a deal. The interesting thing about football or soccer is there's no appeals process. The rule is the rule, the red card is the red card. So they can't, they can't repeal that. Chat is saying there's a difference from a calf and an ankle that can snap in half. The red card was overkill for sure, and they have been so inconsistent on rulings. And that has been the sentiment amongst the analysts all throughout the morning, all throughout last night after the game. Everyone has kind of been in agreement that okay, a yellow card, fine. If you want to say that was dangerous, he endangered a player, whatever. But that was not malicious and it was obvious. And team USA responded, well, playing with one man down, it's not like basketball where you know your player gets subbed out and they have to go back to the locker room because they got a flagrant two and they can't play for the rest of the game. They just have to play with less people. And it's a big field, and that is very tiring. And they were able to bounce back from that and win. So shout out to Team USA. We'll see how this affects them in their round of 16 game on Monday. I am so locked in and so gagged out by the World Cup. I could spend all day on it, but I won't. I will say I watched the Germany game against Paraguay, was it? Where it went into penalty kicks. So if it ties at 0-0 or 1-1, let's say, if it ties, then it goes to extra time. And if it's still tied after extra time, then they go to penalty kicks. And in penalty kicks, they basically get the opportunity to shoot a free throw. It's like them and the goalie, they kick the ball and you know they try to make it, right? That is the whole thing. And if they line up and five of them do it and they count how many they make out of five, they tied in penalty kicks too. Gag me, gag me to hell, gag me to hell. And then and then they just get one opportunity to kick it. They just get one opportunity to kick a bitch. And I felt so bad for Mr. Germany when he kicked that ball straight over the goal. Like, I was like, dwell, damn, that is crazy. But that gagged me for sure. Brazil's Comeback Win gagged me for sure. Like this World Cup really has been insane, and we're at the point now. If you don't know and you're not paying attention, where we were in the group stage before everyone was getting to know each other, things were really cutesy, everyone was just getting acquainted, you know, it was fun, it was cute. Now we're at the point where every game matters. And if you lose, you go back to your country, no Donald Trump. And Uruguay, I believe it was, their team lost in the group stage, even, and they took away their private plane. They took away their private plane. They they made the fly commercial back. Now I read up on this, and this story has been everywhere that they took away their private plane. And this just goes to show how much this means to these countries. I mean, Brazil literally covered their plane with holy water before their team came over for the World Cup, right? I did read up that Uruguay, basically they were always gonna fly commercial back, but I don't know. Now, today's episode is not about the World Cup. I'm definitely going to start covering the World Cup in a lot more detail on TikTok now that I'm so locked in. It's just a little nerve-wracking. I'm not even gonna lie to y'all, because football fans are so particular about their sport, but I have a genuine interest and I want to talk about it and I wanna let y'all know what I'm seeing, what's happening, and keep the girls up to date because I genuinely think if the girls were up to date on what was happening, a lot more of the girls would be like interested. So I'm definitely gonna keep y'all up to date on the World Cup, all things World Cup on TikTok, as well as stay locked on YouTube because I will show you my vlog of all my World Cup experiences. I might be going to the semifinals. So that is to come. But let's get into our hot girl headlines for this week. And there is no better place to start than the Jalen Brown trade heard around the fing world. Jalen Brown was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers. And okay, I have to read y'all what the details of this trade are because the Boston Celtics basically gave away their finals MVP for a hug and a high five. And that is insane. That is insane to me. Philadelphia gets Jalen Brown, who has three years and $183 million remaining on his Supermax extension. And Boston gets Paul George, who is owed $54.1 million next season with a $56.6 million player option for 2027-2028, a 2028 first-round pick, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, and two future second-round picks in 2028 and 2030. So for the girls that don't really know basketball, to give you context on this trade, Jalen Brown is a finals MVP. Okay, the Boston Celtics won the championship. It was Q and whatever. They won the championship. And the best player in that NBA finals was Jalen Brown. As voted on by the media and the people who vote for finals MVP, they all were in agreement that the most valuable player on the team when they won a championship was Jalen Brown. And then you move into last season, which I think makes this trade the most egregious. Jason Tatum was out with the Torn Achilles, and this was supposed to be an off-year, an off year for the Boston Celtics. Jalen Brown knew that this was his opportunity to show that he wasn't just a second-rate guy. He wasn't just a supporting character in the Jason Tatum show. And what a lot of people don't get who don't particularly pay attention to basketball, when you look at the Boston Celtics and the face of the team is Jason Tatum, Mr. Bootup, baby bad, boot up, yeah, the the wag to Miss Boot up. When you look at the Boston Celtics, you see Jason Tatum. That is their face, that is their star. And a lot of people think that Jalen Brown is just second fiddle. He's just second fiddle to what Jalen Brown has or to what Jason Tatum has going on. But when you watch basketball, you know that they were a two punch. They were a one-two punch, those two. Jalen Brown is just as good. I mean, obviously there are moments where Jason Tatum shines, and there are moments where Jalen Brown shines, but they are both very talented players, and the Boston Celtics are lucky that they have these two very talented and young. Young Jalen Brown has 29 years old players on their roster. And that's why they won a championship. These are two players that have been going to the conference finals basically since they've been in the league, y'all. Basically, since they've been in the league, these two have been in the conference finals. They are good together. It's always been rumblings though about who's better. And is Jalen Brown ever going to get frustrated with the second fiddle thing? Or is there beef there? Basically. Are the bitches beefing? And they kept looking at us and saying, what, two bad bitches can't be best friends? Like y'all always trying to, y'all always trying to pit two women against each other. Like, what the fuck is that about? Y'all always trying to pit two women against each other. What the fuck is that about? But now we we get to a moment where this is last year, Jalen Brown has the opportunity to be the first man up. He gets the opportunity to be the main bitch. He gets an opportunity to be the main girl. And he not only lived up to that expectation, he exceeded it. The Celtics were supposed to have an off-year last year, and they were the second team in the Eastern Conference. And a lot of people, including myself, thought that they had an opportunity to make it out of the East. Like they were good. And not only that, that's not even that's not even the shocking part. Because you could say, okay, the team was good, whatever. Who cares? If the team is good, then who fucking cares what happens now, right? And then Jason Tatum came back and it was like it was pretty decent for them. The thing is, he was sixth in MVP voting. He was in the MVP conversation. And he was kind of fucked because when he played Wimby, who was also in the MVP conversation, he got ejected and it was whole drama, and we didn't even really get to see him like go up against Wimby. Was that Wimby or Shaggy Alexander? The detail doesn't matter there, but he he did get kind of fucked. And there were a few moments where he got kind of fucked throughout the season. But the important part is he was in the conversation of one of the best, the B E S T players in the entire NBA last season. Like this man is good. He was talking his shit, talking about I'm the best two-way player in the NBA. That means somebody who plays offense and defense very well, exceptionally well. And that's an argument you can definitely make. You get a guy, and for my girls who don't watch basketball much, you have a guy like Luka Doncic, right? Who's extremely talented, one of the most plat talented players in the entire NBA. He could do great things, he could be in great conversations, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Luka is a great offensive player, but he might be a traffic cone. He might be a cement block on defense at times. You know, the the Dallas Mavericks traded him because they were like, he's a little chunky bunk, not a chunky bunky. Oh my god. Thank God he's white because that would have been that would have been like crazy. I was thinking of the ice cream. Guys, not too much of me. Not too much of me. But he's a little chunky, chunky, chunky, and I don't know if he's gonna be able to play defense or he's gonna be able to stop nobody. He can score as many points as he wants, but if the other team could score just as many points as Luca because Luca ain't playing no fucking defense, then he gotta go. So Jalen Brown is a player that doesn't really have that problem. I'm not saying he's Luca on offense, don't come for me, but just to illustrate for the girlies, basically Jalen Brown doesn't have a flaw on like either end. That's the point. There have been rumblings throughout his career, though, about things that have nothing to do with how good of a basketball player he is, and that is his mouth. And I don't mean that in uh my mom telling me I have a smart ass mouth kind of way. I mean that in a he has an insane IQ. He, if you don't know, was called too smart to be an NBA player in his draft profiles before he even got to the NBA because a lot of scouts thought that he might get bored of playing basketball and decide to go do something else because he's so smart. This is a man who turned down a job at NASA to be an NBA player. This is a man who gives speeches at MIT about climate change. The guy is fucking educated. He's educated and he's outspoken and not just about, you know, the science of it all and climate change. He's politically outspoken. He is an activist, he is very aware of his position as a black man in this country. And I don't think people like that. You look at a situation where Jalen Brown was the finals MVP, the champion. And I think of the time when Giannis said that Steph Curry was the best player in the league because he won the championship. Obviously, if you won the championship, you're the finals MVP, you're the best, right? At that time. Jalen Brown was that, and it was the time of the Paris Olympics. And we're looking at the team. Jason Tatum is obviously on the team. That was a whole drama in and of itself because he didn't play. But Jason Tatum is obviously on the team. Kawhi Leonard is on the team, and I don't know what his ass thought he was doing on the Olympic team, anyways. But he he slipped and fall on the pavement one time. He was slip and fall on the pavement away from his career ending. Like the bro was made of sandpaper. I don't know what he thought he was doing in the in the Olympics, but anyways, child. They were like, you know what, girl, why why don't you go home and rest? Why don't you go home and rest? You know your clumsy ass friend. You can't bring her to the club. She's gonna be sloppy drunk, she's gonna be falling everywhere, just embarrassing the group. Just you know what? I want you to make it to work on Monday. Why don't we why don't we sit this weekend out? That's what they did to Quiet Letter. They plucked him up off that team, right? So who's gonna take his place? We're looking around, who's gonna take his place? They look to the Celtics, so I know what y'all are thinking, right? Jason Tatum's already on the team, so the finals will be. Duh. Didn't he carry Jason Tatum's ass through the finals low-key? Like Jalen Brown. No, they took Derek White. Listen, a lot of my girlies who watch my channel are casuals. Y'all probably don't even know who the fuck that is. And that's no disrespect to Derek White. He's very talented. But come on, they look right over Jalen Brown, and that's because he has a whole beef with Nike, who is the font the apparel sponsor for Team USA basketball. He he called Nike out of their bullshit when they were doing Kyrie Irving kind of dirty because Kyrie Irving was kind of bugging at that time. But they they were fucking with Kyrie Irving and Jalen Brown tweeted Since when does Nike care about ethics? This is a man who turned down $50 million in shoe and apparel endorsement deals to start his own company. He he's very, I mean, and he did all this shit with uh with liberation as his profile picture on Twitter. The guy is very outspoken, okay? Am I already starting with y'all? Am I already starting with y'all? Am I already pissing y'all off and we just fucking we just fucking got started? Sometimes people see a darker skinned black man who is outspoken and has things to say. Listen, in a respectful manner, I ain't talking about KC from Love Island. We can get, we can get buck, we can get buck about that another day, bitch. I'm not saying, I'm not saying, you know. I'm just saying sometimes people that that rubs people the wrong way. That's all I'm saying. Because the talent speaks for itself. We get to yesterday. Well, it doesn't even start with yesterday. It starts with a couple weeks ago because well, it starts in 2022. Because that's the first time the Boston Celtics, you know, they saw Kevin Durant was on the market. You know, girls, you know, girls, we when when a man because let's be real, women, women don't act like this. Like so, some some girls do they dogs, but we won't gender it. When a person is dating another person, okay? They're in a relationship, they're locked in, they're happy, right? It's cool. It's not the best thing ever, but it's cool. It's pretty damn good. Honestly, it's like it could be the best thing ever. Like it's everything that you possibly could want, but something's just off, right? Anybody else would be super happy in the relationship that you're in. All your friends with their dusty ass dating lives are looking at you like, how could you not be happy with them? Shit. They're in this relationship, and then they see, ah, shit, the baddest bitch in school. It looks like her man about to dump her. Hold on, what's going on over there? That's what happened with the Boston Celtics and Jalen Brown when Kevin Durant was getting shopped around by Brooklyn. They were like, Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant. Get the fuck, Jalen Brown. I didn't even like him. The fuck, I didn't even like him. It wasn't even that serious, like it wasn't even that serious. We weren't even, we weren't even locked in like that. It wasn't even that serious. You can have him, you can have him seriously. Please, here, fuck, here, here. Take his homeboy too. You can go, go. Kevin Durant, please. And Brickland was like, nah. That ain't enough. Nah. So now, now Boston's in an awkward conversation. My bad, Jay. You know, it's Kevin Durant. Fuck. I mean, what were we supposed to do? Give him Jason Tatum. Hell nah. Fast forward to now. Giannis. Giannis about to hit the market. You know, they they finally get their relationship back to a good place. And they manipulated Jalen so bad, he trying to earn, he's trying to earn respect from them. He got them second best in the East. Well, it's supposed to be a down year. Shit. Fuck, Jason's out. Man, at least hope. I hope we can get some draft capital out of this because we're gonna be ass. That that's not what happened. They were in, they were championship contenders. He was he was top five in MVP conversation for most of the year, right? That's still not good enough. Giannis is about to hit the market. Giannis, damn, that might be an even better bitch than Kevin Durant. They're looking at Jalen like Yeah. They're looking at Jason, they're looking at Jason Tatum with his with his her ass Achilles, and they're like, they're looking at Jalen Brown, who was in top five in MVP voting, and they're like, yeah, you can go. You can get the fuck. You can you can get the fuck. And here's what a lot of people don't know about the situation. What happened was Jalen Brown was about to be up for an upwards of a hundred million dollar, $150 million-ish extension, contract extension. They didn't think they didn't want to give him that fucking money. They didn't want to give him that fucking money. They didn't want to run him his money. That's literally what this is about. They didn't want to run him his money. And on top of that, they they put him, they dangled him out for Giannis. They were like, but Giannis, but Giannis. But Milwaukee didn't take that deal. They weren't taking the bait, right? Because they wanted a couple younger players that Boston had and a couple other things. And Boston was like, I mean, fuck Jalen Brown, but you can't have these guys. No. So Giannis goes to Miami, which good for him. I mean, fuck. You're going from Milwaukee to Miami. I mean, ain't nobody trying to live up in Boston. Y'all can keep that. And people got people got this to say and that to say about Giannis going to Miami. And here's my thing, y'all. Giannis is a champion. And I don't believe in having NBA conversations because this is something people do a lot, is like, who has the most pressure in the NBA right now? I am never going to be the person that puts a player that has already won a championship in those conversations. Except Kevin Durant. Story for another day. I am never going to say there's pressure on someone who's already won a championship to win a championship because no shade. I'm in the champion conversation. Let them boys who ain't won shit battle it out to try to win a championship. Luca and Wimby and those people battle out to win a championship. I got mines. I got mines. I've got MVPs, I've got defensive players of the year. I'm trying to go be in the sunshine. Put my toes in the sand. The fuck? I've been living in Milwaukee all this fucking time. Please, I'm trying to stretch out on a lawn chair. I'm trying to go uh kiki on the river. I'm trying to have a peach bellini with Drake. Like, I mm-mm. Yeah, who gives a fuck? So, anyways, Giannis goes to Miami. They let Giannis slip. Now they got another awkward conversation they gotta have with their guy who was who was in the MVP conversation just a year ago about why they were dangling him out to give away to get somebody else. Well, since they fucked up the Giannis trade, they're in a situation now where fuck we might have to give Jalen Brown this insane amount of money that he has earned and deserved. That he has earned and more than deserved. We might have to pay him this money that he earned and deserved, right? We got to give This promotion that he earned and deserved are our best are best. Like, imagine this at your job, y'all. You're you're outperforming all your fucking co-workers. The guy who's supposed to be your manager has been out, you know, with circumstances that are out of his control, but he's been out and you've been carrying his job and your job to the best of your ability. But when it's time for you to be up for a promotion, they trying to, they're trying to trade you to other companies. They're trying to get you to leave. They're trying to push you at the door because they don't want to give you the promotion that you deserve. Huh? Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, no. And since they couldn't get the talent that they wanted, they said, fuck, I'm not trying to have this awkward conversation. So you know what? I'ma I'm gonna send you to another company and I'ma hire an old ass man who's about to retire and barely show up to work. And you know what? I'm gonna pick up four future, about four future interns along the way. Interns I don't have yet, but but in the future? In 2031, is it 2031? 2031. I'm gonna have a great intern then. Who gives a fuck about 2031? Are we serious? I'm gonna be 31 years old. 2031? We trading Jalen, but we traded our finals MVP for 2031? And I guess the best thing they got in this whole trade is the 2028 first round pick. You you get a 2028 future player that you don't even know what he fucking looked like yet over Jalen Brown and Paul George? Podcast P. Am I stupid? Am I missing something? Paul George is old and hurt, and he be he be playing. I'm sorry, Paul George be playing. I'm not trying to come for nobody. This ain't this ain't that time, but they someone said they're trading a streamer for a podcaster. And guess what? Let's keep it a bean and a buck. Streaming on the come up. The the big podcasters are already podcasting, you know what I'm saying? They traded, what's a good example? They they traded one of them late night show hosts that's about to retire for Kai Sanat. I mean, if you were a if you were a network actually trying to make money, who the fuck would you pick? Like, what? I think the Jalen Brown trade is not only egregious and they look stupid, but I think that it is disrespectful. And I hope. Oh, I didn't even say the worst part. I didn't even say the worst part. The worst part of the trade isn't the disrespect. The worst part of the trade isn't the blatant disregard for Jalen Brown. The worst part of the trade is where the fuck they sent him. The worst part of the trade is where the fuck he's going. That's the worst part of the trade. The 76ers? You sent your best player to the team that knocked you out the playoffs? You sent your best player to your division division rival? You handed your best employee to your biggest competitor the obstacle in your way if you want to be the most successful company in the market. You hand your best your best talent to them? How the fuck does that make sense? That's like me telling my up, hey, you can have my boyfriend. It's cool. Fuck. He's only planning to take me to Japan. And he planned all of it. I'm not giving him the box up. Have you lost your mind? That's stupid as shit. Stupid as shit. Stupid as shit. Dumb as fuck. I was so fucking irritated. So fucking irritated, but let me tell you something right the fuck now. Let me tell you something right the fuck now. If there's anything I love in sports, it's seeing Celtics fans unhappy because they're racist as shit and seeing somebody get their lick back. Listen, I'm a Hawks fan. I don't know how we didn't end up in the Jalen Brown market. I've been saying forever Jalen Brown need to come to Atlanta, but that's besides the point. I'm a Hawks fan, so you know who cares? And when my Hawks inevitably lose in the playoffs, I usually start rooting for the Golden State Warriors because Steph Curry is my favorite player of all time, right? But, but, but let me say this. If there's anything I love in sports, it's Boston Celtics fans being unhappy because they're racist as fuck. And if you disagree with me, don't ask me, ask LeBron James. And somebody getting their lick back. And Jalen Brown has the opportunity to get the wettest, fattest, juiciest lick back ever, bitch. Because creating an op, creating an enemy out of your best friend, out of somebody who's on your fucking side and rode for you and put their body in harm's way for you, creating an enemy out of that person and saying, it's cool, we're gonna figure it out. They're basically saying they're not scared of Jalen Brown. I don't give a fuck. I don't give a fuck if he's going to our division rival. He can't stop Jason Tatum. That's what they're putting their trust behind. The guy who couldn't be finals MVP, even though his face is the one in the fucking rafters. But but he's not the finals MVP. Okay, bitch. Okay, bitch. And I'm not even trying to come for Jason Tatum like that because I don't got an issue with Jason Tatum. It's just like, why does he get all this and all that? Why don't he ever get shopped out? Blah blah blah. You put your trust in him. Cool. That's fine. I'm not wishing death on Jason Tatum. You know what I'm saying? I'm not wishing death to his career. I wish all the best for Jason Tatum. But they're saying Jalen Brown, we're not fucking scared of you. We're not fucking scared of you. So I'm gonna say this right now. I'm gonna look at my camera. Joel Embiid, start icing now. Start icing now. From head to toe. I want every strand of your hair in that ice bath. I need you in the hyperbaric chamber, brother. Because listen, Joel Embiid will injure his left hair follicle and be out for the season. I need you icing today. I need you in that sauna. I need you on the treadmill, walking on incline, no running, because you'll you'll you'll rupture an Achilles, you'll tear your ACL doing that. We don't need no extra stuff. We already know you're talented, bruh. Just do enough to keep in shape, bruh. Just walk on the treadmill. You need to go work out with the old ladies and you need to come with me to Pilates class to yoga sculpt. You don't need to be touching no weights, you want to be do nothing. I don't want you bowling. I don't want you hiking. I don't want you climbing. I don't want you jumping in pools. I don't want you scooter scootering. I don't want you roller skating. I don't want you. I don't even want you want to watch you. I don't even want you watching Love Island because it's too fucking stressful. I need you in the ice bath and in the hyperbaric chamber, brother. And and listen, it's 2026, so there gotta be some type of special medicine. You need to go to them Asian countries and get you maybe go get some Korean skincare, get injected with something, something, something. You need to figure it the fuck out because you are always hurt, and now is not the fucking time, brother. Now is not the fucking time, brother. Now is not the fucking time, brother. Because we know what we know what Tyrese Massey gonna do. You ice, ice today, today. You need to be in the ice bath yesterday. Don't even think about doing them little pickup games and you all that shit. He's gonna look like Squidward looking out the window and everybody playing but him. Uh-uh. You need to be inside this summer. No drinking, no smoking, no hookah, no traveling. I don't even want Joel Embiid on a plane because I need Jalen Brown to get the fattest, juiciest, biggest lick back he could ever fucking ever imagine on them Celtics for how they did him. I'm sorry, I need you embarrassed Brad Stevens yesterday. Smoke a little weed if that's all it takes. Smoke a little weed if that's what it takes. You feel me? Now, you guys, we are going to move on to our hot girl lesson of the day. I love this for us. I am going to be explaining free agency for the girlies. And listen, it's not gonna be a long lesson, so so don't get turned off, guys. I just need my girls to understand and know how free agency works because listen, y'all are going to be hearing a lot of this, a lot of that, a lot of movement, and then we're gonna get into the other free agency moves. But before I explain the other free agency moves and go through those, you guys have to understand what free agency is, right? Come on, girls. Come on, girls, come on, girls. Can I get a little woo-woo? Can I get a little? All right. So this is free agency explained for the hot girls. So here's how this works: every single player in the NBA has a contract, okay? When that contract ends, the player becomes a free agent. It's kind of like when your relationship ends, right? Because you can choose to extend the relationship, you can choose to commit, you can choose to go on to the next steps of commitment to this person, or you can choose to be single and you can go out and see what the market has to offer you. And everybody who goes out and enters the market has different value, they have different things to offer, and they have different things to figure out, different, different trade-offs as they date, right? So when your contract ends, you become a free agent, which is basically just a single girl. So when you become a free agent, this means that your team no longer has you locked in and you are single and ready to hit the market. Free agency opens right after the NBA season and the finals wrap. So we are currently in the thick of it. Into the thick of it. This is the chaotic window where everybody is texting. Everybody is hot girl summer, bitch. Woo! It's hot girl summer, bitch. And you know every girl wants to spend a hot girl summer different. Some girls wanna be booed up, some girls wanna be temporarily booed up. You feel me? Some girls wanna be locked in, right? It just depends on the person. Everybody has different ones and different things that they need. Now, there are different types of free agents. Number one is an unrestricted free agent. This is a fully single girly. The contract is up, there are no strings attached. She's not in a situation ship, she's not in a relationship, she's not in an imagination ship, okay? This means that her team no longer has her locked in and she can go wherever she wants and no one can stop her. Miami, Drake's house in Toronto, Houston, Bora Bora, Turks and Caicos. Wherever you want, bitch, you can go because you're unrestricted. And that's what happens when you're not in a situation ship, a relationship, or an imagination ship. Proud of you, girl. If the Lakers want her and she says yes, done. If the Heat want her and she says yes, done. She's out there on the market. And the hotter you are, the more options you have. Yes, I love this for her. Now, a restricted free agent. Some of you can relate, some of you can relate, you know, to a restricted free agent. Someone in the chat is saying, I'm a number one draft pick. I feel you, I'm a number one draft pick as well. I've been picked and chosen, and I'm, you know, I'm I'm Kobe Bryant. One team, one team for the rest of my career. You feel me? I'm locked in. Love this for me. But you know, different types of girls. Restricted free agents are the ones whose exes still have a say. Another team can make her an offer, but her old team still gets the opportunity to match it, to keep her if they want. So she's on the market, but she's still in love with her ex. She's still in love with her ex and she's still waiting on him to change. She's still waiting on him to change. So, yes, she can go get offers from other people. But her ex can match that energy and keep her if he so chooses to. You feel me? So she can flirt with a new guy, she can bring the offer home, and her original team gets to say, actually, no, we're keeping her, and matches the money. So she stays put. It's kind of toxic, but those are the rules. Okay, restricted free agents still kind of are on their team, but they still get to go out and see what's on the market. And if their team wants to match the money they're being offered by other places, they can. And if they don't, good riddance, goodbye. So those are the two different types of free agents, girls. Now, we have to talk about the salary cap because the salary cap is very important for girls who want to get into basketball and who are paying attention to all the moves happening in the league. It's very important for you guys to understand the salary cap. The salary cap is a budget. Every team has a budget for how much money they are allowed to spend on talent. It keeps the NBA from becoming baseball and having the richest owners have the best teams, and that just be how it be. Okay? But to explain in more detail, every team has a budget called the salary cap. They can't just spin infinitely and say, we want LeBron, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, uh, Giannis Sakumpo, everybody, and we'll give everybody $300 million because we got it. They can't do that. Free agency is teams doing math, trying to afford the guys that they want without blowing the whole bank. A team with a lot of open cap space, so a lot of money left in their budget, are the ones showing up with roses and a full wallet to date night because they have a lot to offer and a lot to give. A team that is capped out is broke and can only really resign its own people. Now, here are some of the plot devices that you're going to be hearing about throughout this free agency period. Number one is a max contract. This is the biggest possible bag a team can offer a player. This is reserved for the baddies, the best of the best, the stars. Okay? Now, bird rights are the loyalty perk. If you've played with the team for long enough, the team is allowed to go over the cap to re sign you. Okay? They're allowed to, they're allowed to go out of budget to buy you a ring if they want to put a ring on it. You feel me? It's giving, we have history, so I'll fight for you forever. Now, teams can't formally sign players until 12.01 p.m. Eastern on July 6th. So technically, everything I'm about to tell you about what's happening so far in free agency is agreed in principle, okay? Which in our language means they're together, but they haven't posted the hard launch yet. For our film study segment, we are going to talk about the new look Lakers and how the Lakers have changed to build around Luka Doncic because LeBron James is out. LeBron James is headed out. He announced uh that the Lakers can move on with their business and what they want to do in the offseason without him, because he has decided yes, he is going to continue his career. He's not going to retire, but he is not going to continue his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. So here are some of the moves that the Lakers have made so far to build around Luka Doncic. Because girls, Luca is under a lot of pressure to win an NBA championship. Because if you think about the stars that have played for the Los Angeles Lakers, they all brought the Lakers championships from Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant to LeBron James. So now Luca is the latest in the line of Lakers stars who has to bring LA a championship and he has to be in that conversation. And he has to get his lick back from Dallas. He has to prove that Dallas was wrong. He is a guy that can win the championship. And Rob Palenka, who is the general manager, he is the big man upstairs that is making all the decisions, trying to make the Lakers into a great team surrounding Luka Doncic and his flaws. Because when you're building a basketball team, you have a great player who has flaws. Every single player has flaws. And you want to bring in players that don't have those flaws that can make a perfect little unit, right? And that is what Rob Polinka is working on right now, trying to build a puzzle. So in our film study, we are going to be over the going over these moves that he has made so far. So let's talk about first who they kept. Austin Reeves got a four-year, $185 million maximum contract. This is the richest deal ever for an undrafted player. He wasn't even drafted into the league. They didn't even believe in him at the point where he was drafted. You know what I'm saying? You waiting, you waiting for your name to be called, and your name never gets called. Now he his name is getting called next to 185 million fucking dollars. I know that's right, Austin. I know that's right, Austin. Go get your money. Period. I love that for you. This is basically the Lakers locking him in before anyone else could slide in because the word on the street was Detroit was looking at that like, Austin, Austin, call me. If your man can't, if your man can't get you right, call me. I'm willing to give you everything. And the Lakers said, hell no, pause off. Austin is ours. So they locked him in. And hopefully this keeps Luca happy. I mean, every move they make is intended to keep him happy, right? Now, who did they bring in? The center problem. I don't know if you guys have heard that sound on TikToks, on TikTok, where there will be like a tall girl in the grocery store and it's like, I don't know what you're doing here. The Lakers need a center. And every time I see a tall person out and about, I'm thinking, the Lakers need a center. Because the Lakers been needing a center forever, right? But they solved their center problem. Walker Kessler is coming in from the Jazz on a four-year, $130 million deal, taking one of the best available big men off the market, and he is going to LA. I love this for him. He is a rim-running lob threat, which basically means he can dunk. He can dunk. Luca can throw it up real high and he can dunk. Okay. That's all that means. Um, he's exactly the type of player who plays well next to a player like Luka Doncic and exactly what Luca needs. And shout out to him for getting out of Utah. Shout out to him from shout out to him for getting away from Taylor Frankie Paul and the secret lives of Mormon wives. I mean, good for them. You know what I'm saying? Good for them. I can't say how it's gonna turn out, guys. I can't say how the chat is like they didn't solve shit. Walker Kessler is very injury prone. Listen, everybody got their flaws, but they they they're trying, all right? Y'all would have something to say about anybody. And let's be real, okay? Anybody that fucking tall is injury prone, bitch. I'm sorry. Anybody that fucking tall needs to be watched a little bit. You feel me? Like he he big as hell. No. Colin Sexton signed a two-year $19 million contract, and Quentin Grimes, who you guys, the girls might know him from TikTok. He really had it like an era on TikTok. Um, but Quentin Grimes signed a four-year $60 million deal. They also added a name that I will not pronounce, Sandro Mama Mug, Quentin Grimes is the young athletic wing. They said that they wanted and sexon is an in is instant bench scoring. Now, who walked? LeBron James, obviously. LeBron James told the Lakers that the franchise can move on without him because he will be playing elsewhere and not retiring. And role player Marcus Smart declined his $5.4 million option to become a free agent, and he is reportedly headed to Houston. I know that's right. Go get you some Megan the Stallion, Marcus. Now, our next segment is tea time. Yes! The girlies love this one. This is where I spill the tea. Let's talk free agency tea. The number one name on everybody's lips until Jalen Brown got traded yesterday was LeBron James. LeBron left the Lakers, and this was the biggest headline of the week. My Lakers fan friend almost didn't come to watch movie night for Love Island with me because she was mourning the loss of LeBron James. And I'm thinking, girl, what are you sad about? Y'all might be better. But then I started getting sad in a weird way because it's the end of an era, right? Like it's it's it's weird for me. Like, I'm not really ready for the LeBron retirement. Actually, I lied. The only reason I'm not ready for the LeBron retirement is because Steph Curry is my favorite player, and I'm not ready for Steph Curry to retire. And I feel like LeBron retiring is like a domino falling, and I'm not ready for what that will cause. But I will say, I will say, that this finals did give me a lot more hope for what the future of the NBA is going to look like. I used to be really nervous about losing our Steph and LeBron and KD era. I used to be really nervous about that and think, what the fuck is the future of the NBA gonna look like? Am I gonna still care? And the way this finals was the perfect catalyst for getting the world to be locked in on basketball again and it not have to do with those three names. And as heartbreaking as it is for me to think about an NBA without Steph, not too much. I do think that we're in really good hands with, I mean, Jalen Brunson. Uh, Jalen Brunson became a hero in New York. Victor Wimbenyama, whether you hate him or love him after this NBA finals, doesn't matter. He entertained us all. From what he did on the court to what he did at the end off the court, not shaking hands, being sassy with the media, right? We are in great hands. Shea Gilders Alexander pisses y'all the fuck off every chance he fucking get. But it's something to talk about and it's entertaining. Like Anthony Edwards just linked up with LaMello Ball, which is another one of our headlines we're going to talk about. The two baddest kids in class are in the same classroom. The two baddest kids in the grade in the same classroom. It's gonna be entertaining as hell. I wanna sit right next to him so I can laugh. Shit. We're not learning nothing in geography this season, this year, you know? Like uh Jared McCain is another one that we really love. The chat reminded me of that one. Like, there's a lot of really beautiful things happening in the NBA right now that I think we can be optimistic and really excited about that I feel like, okay, LeBron, okay, you can ride off into the sunset. And him leaving the Lakers was like my first twinship. Ooh, like this is about to happen. And if I were LeBron James, this is my last year. This is my last year no matter what. I know he still has so many abilities and capabilities, but go out while you're on top. Don't nobody want to see a LeBron James that that's limping and lugging and he he can barely move and his hip hurting, and he like we don't want to see Wizards, Michael Jordan, LeBron James. I my hope is look, there are three teams that are really in the mix. People have mentioned Minnesota, people have mentioned a lot of other names, but the three teams that I've seen that are the most in the mix are the Heat, the Golden State Warriors, who seem to be moving money around to make room for LeBron James, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. And I am here to tell you that that's where I want him to go. I want to see LeBron James right off into the sunset, where it all began, and Akron, his home. Hometown. I know it's the Cleveland Cavaliers, not Akron. People love to correct me when I say that. But I want to see him right off into the sunset at home. And I want to see him in that era. And not only that, I think that the Cleveland Cavaliers have a shot to be good and to make noise this year. So that's where I want to see him. And it feels like if he goes to Cleveland, it's the only space where if he doesn't win the championship, it doesn't matter because we still got this beautiful bow wrapped around his career. Whereas if he goes to Golden State and they lose, it's kind of like I also don't really like what it does for Steph Curry's legacy or the other guys in Golden State because it's like they are constantly chasing these older, already established players to try to build a championship team instead of, and this is Steve Kerr's flaw, trying to develop young talent to be better. They're just bringing somebody in to try to like bandage a bullet hole. And I don't think that that's good for Steph. I don't think that that's good for Steve Kerr's legacy. I don't think that that's necessary. They're gonna be old and hobbled. And if somebody gets hurt, it's gonna be depressing. I think the only non-depressing if a loss comes at the end of the season, only one team ends up happy at the end of the NBA season. The only way that that'll work out to where it's not depressing if LeBron's career ends on a loss is in Cleveland. If he goes to the 76ers or he goes to Minnesota or he goes to any of those places that are random and he loses, it's not satisfying at all. So I think that LeBron should go to Cleveland. He should take whatever money they got to give him and he should have his farewell tour. And it'd be awesome if they won. Awesome. And I would really eat that up because I was a LeBron hater before Cleveland, this is for you. And so seeing him back there would be really incredible. The Warriors are trying to build a super team out of spite. Watch the math because it is very villain art coded. Draymond Green declined his $27.7 million player option so he can resign for less money annually and free up room, which lets Golden State go out and chase both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who they were looking at. It doesn't look like Anthony Davis is going there, but they were trying to build like the oldest, most injury-prone fucking super team ever. They already signed Christoph Sporzingis, and they're basically a rich team trying to take a pay cut so they can afford to poach more baddies on the market. Okay. Then we've got the Lakers who have pivoted fast, which we already talked about. They are trying to build around Luca. Let's see what Luca has to do next season. The Celtics, Knicks beef intensifying. Mitchell Robinson left the championship Knicks for the Celtics on a three-year $47.4 million contract, leaving the team you just won a championship with to join one of their rivals. Is definitely an interesting storyline, but it tracks for Mitchell Robinson, if you know anything about that man. Err. Then we also have Giannis DeCumpo to the Heat, Lamella Ball to the Wolves, John Morant to the Blazers, which I feel like has made no noise. Like, why doesn't anybody give a fuck about that? Kawhi Leonard is returning to the Raptors. Not on my bingo card either, uh, with the Clippers trading him back to Toronto. James Harden is expected to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Draymond Green back to Golden State. Guys, this free agency has been incredibly, incredibly entertaining. I'm excited to watch this recoupling unfold in the NBA. Someone in the chat said Kawhi trying to beat that Rico. Guys, that is funny as shit. That comment is funny as shit. And if you don't know what that's referring to, I have a video up on my TikTok page about Kawhi Leonard and his scandal with the Clippers. So definitely look that up. But guys, this is the final bell. Oh, this was so hold on. Final bell. Thank you so much for watching the Hoops for Hoddies live show. Please make sure to subscribe to Hoops for Hoddies on YouTube. If you were, if you missed any part of this live show, please go check me out on YouTube at Hoops for Hoddies. You guys, I post these lives in full on YouTube at 7 p.m. Eastern on the same day that I record. So make sure you go check it out on YouTube and subscribe. Help me keep the lights on in this bitch. And if you want to listen while you're on the go, I also post the audio version of this show onto wherever you get your podcast Apple Podcasts, Spotify. And make sure you leave me a comment or a review on my podcast so I can know what you want me to talk about more of, what you want me to talk about less of, what your notes are. I gotta note that they wanted bookmarks so they can move, move about the episode. Girl, I want to get past the fluff and get to what I'm interested in. Boom, done. You know what I'm saying? So we locked in like that. Please leave me a comment. I read them all. Make sure to subscribe, follow Hoops for Hoddies on Instagram and TikTok so you can stay up to date on when I'm going to go live next. And I love you. I mean it. Free agency is insane. The World Cup is beautiful. Happy 4th of July. And I love you. Bye.