Who's The Better Matchup For The Knicks? | Where Will Giannis Land? | NBA Weekly

Who would be the tougher playoff matchup for the New York Knicks: the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Detroit Pistons?

CP The Fanchise is joined by Dexter Henry to break down the Knicks’ potential Eastern Conference Finals path, why Detroit’s physicality could create problems, and why Cleveland’s offense still demands respect. 

The conversation includes:

•  Why Detroit’s defense and athleticism make them dangerous 
•  How Mikal Bridges could defend Cade Cunningham 
•  Why the Knicks’ defense looks COMPLETELY different now 
•  Karl-Anthony Towns’ role in the offense moving forward 
•  Mike Brown’s playoff adjustments & offensive wrinkles 
•  Why the Knicks may have the deepest roster remaining 
•  Giannis trade rumors heating back up 
•  Adam Silver’s proposed anti-tanking “321” draft reform 

CP and Dexter also debate whether the Knicks should even WANT Giannis if it means sacrificing their depth and chemistry.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Alright, here we go. Salute to NBA Nation and Knicks Nation on this Friday afternoon. Another NBA report, Knicks Fan TV, Simulcast, TV the franchise in the building. Joining me on today's show. Returning to the show, friend of the program. You can catch him on New York Post Sports Podcast and Properties. He's the host of New York Got Game, play-by-play analyst, basketball analyst, sports analyst. He wears many hats, man. Our guy Dexter Henry is in the building. Like, share, and subscribe. And let's get into it. A lot to talk about. We are going to talk about uh this Eastern Conference semi-finals matchup still going on between the Cavaliers and the Pistons and which one would be the tougher matchup for the New York Knicks. Once again, as we get closer to the NBA all season, the Giannis rumors are percolating. And uh we'll talk about where would be his best destination for a potential trade. Plus, Adam Silver sheds a bit more light on the 3-2-1 anti-tanking policy. So we will react to that as well. As I said, like, share, subscribe. Salute to the replay gang. Let's get into it. Alright, Dex, how are we feeling, man?

SPEAKER_01 1:16

You and I were just talking about this a little bit before we started. Uh a little bit rested because, you know, we got a little bit break with the Knicks, but a little anxious because we don't know who they're gonna play, when they're gonna play. And, you know, both of us we're trying to figure all that out. I know the fans want to get the games going, but kind of low-key hoping for uh two games on Sunday.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

A little more, a little more days off would be. A little more rest. A little more rest, man. Yeah, how's the Achilles, man? I didn't I didn't get a chance to uh to Yo, thanks for yeah, thanks for asking.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

You know what's funny? Yesterday, for the first time, I went and just took a nice walk. Like I had something to do with an errand, and I walked, so I'm I got off crutches this week. That's a big thing. I'm off crutches. Um, and so I was like, okay, you know, my doctor was saying to be a little bit more active, my physical therapist too, and walk, so I walked for a little bit, and uh, it just felt good to just walk again. Yeah, in a boot. Yeah, I'm in a boot. Yeah, walking in the boot, so I'm still in the boot, but just like I was able, you we take for granted our mobility sometimes, and to be able to just walk and just, you know, I was a little fatigued at the end of it because I hadn't walked that much in quite some time, but it's a blessing, man. So getting stronger, getting better. Yesterday was seven weeks in surgery.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Um I'm scheduled to be out of the boot in July. So yeah, everything's going good.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

That's good. You know, because you you're watching your content, you would never know. So that's why I'm like, oh, I can't I can't wipe you out. I appreciate you asking, brother. Appreciate it. Because you're watching this stuff, you would you would never know that uh that you were recovering from that, but that's glad to hear that that you're making progress. Um let's kick it to tonight, 7 p.m. Eastern time, Pistons and the Cavs in Cleveland. Cleveland with that impressive overtime victory over uh the Pistons and one win away from a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Knicks. What are you thinking about just in terms of this matchup, and then we'll we'll uh talk about the Knicks uh matchup with both teams?

SPEAKER_01 3:05

So this matchup's been so interesting for me, CP. And and the other night was so interesting, game five, because you're thinking Detroit look like they had all the momentum. They're up nine with what, just under three minutes ago. It looks like this game is done. But you saw the reasons people have had questions about that team. Uh, who's gonna score except for K? When they put two on the ball with Cade's hands on the ball, that offense struggled and stalled, and you gotta give Cleveland all the credit. They made the shots down the stretch. Um, they won a road game, the first road win of the playoffs. Now they have a chance to close it out at home. Do I trust them to close it out at home? Kinda don't. Yeah, yeah. I kind I kinda don't. Um I can see Detroit winning tonight. Um, I can see this being a very ugly game. Here's the other factor is James Harden gonna show up in a game six. Is and then Evan Mobley, who I don't want to kill, who was actually fantastic in game five, he was great in the way that they needed him to step up because he has been sometimes invisible.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Um you know, and the bigs haven't been that great in the series, you know, Jalen Duran on the other side hasn't been that great. Thanks. But if Evan Mobley is plays like the way he played on the uh the other night in game five, and Max Shrews is hitting the shots the way he was, because Max Schrews was big for them, then I think Cleveland can win this at home. But I don't know why my gut's telling me Detroit's gonna win this tonight and push this to seven. I don't know why. I just have a feeling I think it'll be ugly, they're gonna make the game ugly. Um, they're gonna be desperate. We saw them do this. Now, look, is Cleveland gonna be Orlando? Are they gonna have the Orlando choke job? No. I don't see that. Yeah. But I see this game being really ugly, and I think, but it it could go either way. I'm gonna lean Detroit here tonight. But maybe part of me is selfishly rooting for a couple more days off.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

I want that game seven, so that could be it too.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

I'm with you in that in watching that game unfold in game five, it was it was first off, it it beginning that fourth quarter was typical Detroit. I was literally doing a podcast where these guys were asking me about Detroit and why they're dangerous. I said, well, you know, if you're not careful, if you're throwing the ball away, they'll easily go on a 10-0 run and turn that defense into offense. And as I'm telling them that, they're literally going on a 10-0 run to get back into the game on the Cavaliers. And so that's why they can be so dangerous, because you can't be sloppy with the ball. They are athletic, they can be dogs, and they will score quickly. That is kind of the their you know makeup for not having a true secondary scorer and superstars, that their defense can get it done and collect those points for you. And but just as you said, you know, watching Cleveland, when when that game got into overtime, I said, well, this is advantage of Cleveland. Because what you saw is that their role players were complementing their stars way better than Detroit. And that was why they were able to win the two on the ball advantages, because I'm like, all right, you funneling into Karis Levert. We'll take that. We'll even take a Tobias jumper, even though, you know, Tobias at times has come through for them, especially with no Duncan Robinson as a three-point threat. You know, Jenkins, he's very spotty in terms of his shooting. He could be on fire one night, he could be pricky, and his decision making when it comes to shot selection could be a little off. He's a young player. So that went right into Cleveland's hands. I'm with you. I thought Mobley was very impressive in that game, and I thought Struuss was even more impressive on that game. I mean, he hits the three, then comes back, picks Cade's pockets, feeds it to Donovan Mitchell for his for a scoop layup. I thought Max Struess with the 20 points, he was brilliant in that game to complement Harden's 30 plus and then Mitchell as well. So I'm with you tonight. I think it can go either way, but it's gonna take a Cade classic. You know, I'm not going home. I'm playing most of this game. It's gonna take a Cade, I think northwards are 35 points for Detroit to get it done.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

I don't disagree with that. You know, I was I had to look up the stat while you were talking because I I remember at on Wednesday night, I remember just looking at that game, CP, and being like, man, if you're Detroit, you really gotta be disappointed about this loss. Because you talked about how they were able to change the game, get the turnovers, which is sort of their their I forgot the exact term you use, but it's a really good thing for them because they don't have that secondary shot creator, right? But they got the Cavs 16 turnovers. Detroit only turned the ball over 10 times, and they lost that game, and you gotta be really, really disappointed on that. Now, when you look at some other things in this game too, you know, Cleveland out rebounded them 44 to 40, so they got a little bit of an edge on the glass. But when you're plus six in the turnover battle, and that's been your thing, getting the points over turnovers, and you still lose that game. That's it's their offense went so cold down the stretch.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

And they and to give Cleveland credit, late in the fourth quarter, they and overtime, they took care of the ball. And then Detroit had some inexcusable turnovers. Yeah, yeah, overtime. You that one steal that where Cade got ripped by Matt Struce off the inbounds. They can't have those kind of mistakes. That's the problem with Detroit. Their offense is so based on one player that late in games they can't afford to have the mistakes. They're untimely mistakes, it's really gonna cost them.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

So that's something to watch tonight. I think do I do agree with you? It's gonna take a big performance from K. It's gonna take a big performance from K. Or somebody else got to step up. Is it a Tobias Harris? Is it Jalen Duran finally showing up? Is it Dennis Jenkins um showing up? But somebody else has got to help K. But I think he's gonna need at least. You said 35? Yeah. Yeah, it feels like a good number if they're gonna win.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

100%. Now, as it relates to the New York Knicks, the New York Knicks are chilling. They are at home, they are practicing, implementing new sets. Uh, news just came out. OG Ananobi, full participant in practice today. And so the squad, the New York, the Orange and Blue Boys look like they're gonna be ready to go. Who do you think, man? Tougher matchup, Cleveland or Detroit.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

I think Detroit's a tougher matchup. Um, because of the physicality and what they could bring. Now, I say all that to say CP, I think we know this as people who uh cover this team. This is not the same Knicks team. You know, one of the things I said when the Knicks the third loss, the first law, the first game after the All-Star Break, and they got lost to Detroit. I was on a live stream and I said, this is embarrassing. They got punked, they showed no fight back in that. I was really disappointed with the Knicks effort in that game. This Knicks team has shown physicality. You've heard Nick Nurse bring up that word. Um, you've heard Atlanta bring up that word about the Knicks.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

A word that we don't think that would have been used around the Knicks earlier in the season. So I think the Knicks have something from Detroit, but I do think it's the tougher matchup just because, like you said, they can force turnovers. I think the Knicks are the most balanced of the teams, three teams left in the Eastern Conference. Um I think Cleveland's a little bit of an easier matchup just because they're not as good defensively. Now they're good, really good offensively, but I think the way the Knicks are playing defense, they can slow them down and their backcourt is weak defensively, and I think you can have some problems for James Harden. And also, you get late in the series. I don't know if that man is gonna show up. So that's my thing. I'm gonna lean Detroit, but I still think where the Knicks have the advantage over Detroit is if the game is tight, I trust Jalen Brunson over everybody else. I also trust the rest of the Knicks team over everybody else because they were the best team in the fourth quarter in that rating during the regular season. We've seen it in the postseason now. There hasn't been a lot of close games lately, but when there was game two against Philly, you know, it was a little tight. They were able to execute well down the stretch. I think the Knicks will be fine, and I trust their execution, but I do think Detroit, because of their physicality, their length, I do think they owned a tougher matchup.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Shout out to uh Willen, 8664 on the KFTV side. Five hour super chat says. I have a theory that Cleveland has crappy strip clubs, which is why Harden is more focused. I don't know anything about that, sir. I I went in there one day, I left, in and out, an overnight trip. I don't I saw the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I couldn't tell you about any other amenities there in Cleveland.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Okay, so I can't tell you either. I've been to Cleveland, but uh let's just say I wasn't looking for those types of things.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

I wasn't looking for those type of things. But anyway, I I'm with you. I think Detroit would be a tougher matchup based on the physicality. And it's, you know, you look at Detroit and you look at their struggles against Orlando and what they're doing against Cleveland, doesn't mean it's necessarily the case against the Knicks. Every matchup, every series is different in terms of the matchups. And so I look at that Asar matchup on Jalen Brunson. That's a very difficult matchup for Jalen Brunson. You know, how would Detroit attack Carl Anthony Towns defensively? Would it be Duran or would it be Thomas Harris, where your post-ups might be a little dice here, right? And the one thing that Detroit's not going to do that Philly did, all those cuts and things of that nature, that's gonna get a little bit trickier, a little tougher to execute in the half court. They're not Philly that was giving up gashes left, right, and center. That was way disconnected defensively and much slower with a laboring embead. Detroit's advantages is that they have versatility across the board defensively. They turn you over, they're very aggressive, and they are they play playoff style defense. And that will be the toughest defense that the Knicks see at this stage of the playoffs. Where I am confident in the Knicks against Detroit is that, you know, when you look at the standings and you look at the rankings right now, Detroit is the third best defense. The Knicks are the second. So as you said, this is a different Knicks team that they would be facing here that is locked in on the string defensively. And I think the same way that they got the ball out of Maxie's hands and forced him into uncharacteristic turnovers, they'll do the same with Cade and force him into the characteristic turnovers. He's been turnover machine in the playoffs against tough defenses. And so the Knicks will force the other guys in Detroit to beat him in the half court. And that's where if they are in a tight game, you know, the Knicks may not be able to be that 130.5 offensive rating team, but they'll have enough in terms of turning the ball over and getting those points and also generating more offense in the half court through their depth. I think they will have enough to uh to beat Detroit.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Yo, so what's a couple things that you said there? One that was interesting to me. You talked about how the Knicks could play offensively and what Detroit's defense could do, one against Jalen Brunson, and then against Kat. And so a lot of the questions I think for people have been well, is the Knicks' offense still gonna look the same? And I we just did a film study in New York God game about how the offense is looked different to through with Kat. I still think you have to have Cat as the hub of the offense out of the pinch post in those flex actions the way they've been having it. I do think you still have to do that. I agree with you. Those passes, those back cuts you've seen, they can be there. It won't be as easy. No, now that doesn't mean that the Knicks should abandon that. That's and I don't think you're saying that either. I don't think they should abandon the CP. What I think, what I'm very intrigued to see, is with this time off, and I've been calling this next spring minicamp, is what I've been calling it. What wrinkles is Mike Brown gonna add to those actions? Because we saw some wrinkles between the Atlanta series and the Philly series. Um teams were so worried about OG going backdoor that then it allowed the guards in those actions that to start screening for OG and pop out to the three-pointer. Right, right. And so are those shots gonna be available? Are there other variations that they can have in that flex action? That's what I want to see because you know this. The playoffs is all about the chess game. What's the counter to the counter, right? And and listen, the Knicks also have more time to watch Detroit if they play Detroit and see what they're doing and have more film on them. They've had less film on the Knicks because of the Knicks sweep, which is an advantage for them, and now they don't know the wrinkles that are coming. So, that to me is what I'm gonna be watching. I think the Knicks are still gonna have to make Detroit work. Yeah, I still think it's gonna be about movement, they cannot get back into old habit habits of stagnant ISO ball. There's gonna be time for that, and we still haven't seen a lot of Brunson Cat pick and roll throughout the playoffs the next 10 games. I still think you can see that if the games are tight, but I still think they're gonna have to make Detroit work, just probably in different ways, because Detroit is more size than Atlanta. Philly had size, but they had guys that needed to drop, N and B couldn't move. So completely different in what you're doing. The other point you made that I think is a really good one is about the way the way the Knicks defense is playing, and particularly Mikhail Bridges. Mikhail Bridges did a tremendous job on Tyree SmackS. Can he keep the same kind of energy against Cade Cunningham? I think he can. I think he's been fantastic defensively through these playoffs. If he can do that, that's a huge advantage for the Knicks. If the Knicks can get points over turnovers, we know that's dope for Detroit, but if the Knicks can do that, that's a huge advantage for them in their offense to get easier buckets. So to me with the Knicks is that if they're playing as well, they played on both sides of the ball, CP, I think they beat either of these teams in five or six games.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

Yeah, I'm with you on that. And I think if if they can get a win using McCall to guard Cade, it'll be by committee who's definitely want to close with OG at times. But to me, I I would take a chance at putting OG on Harris to cut him off completely, shut him down completely. Because he isn't confident. He plays with physicality and he has the ability to turn around and shoot jumpers over guys like a Hart. I remember Hart had struggled with that matchup a little bit last year. And but I want to put Hart on Asar Thompson and keep him off the glass. Because the kid is just playing, I mean, just incredible defense. I mean, if you saw that one block late in that game that he had on uh was it Evan Moley, I mean, or Jarren Allen. It was and the one where you caught Donovan from behind with the strip down.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

The block that he had, I mean, the kid is just jumping through the roof, but I would try to put heart on him because putting Brunson on him, Brunson has that ability to get to lose his guy when the shot goes up. And that's when you get Osar crashing the boards, he's crashing for a dunk, he's crashing. You can't give those guys second chance opportunities. You gotta demoralize him, end one possession, and get back and go offensively. So I'd be interested in that matchup. Cleveland-wise, I think the Knicks would be fine in terms of getting their offense off on Cleveland, as you said, putting Hart in, putting Mitchell to the test. I think they'd be fine there. I think going double big with Towns and Mitch, they will certainly have a lot more advantages there. I remember that last game of the season, the last matchup of the season between those two teams. Again, just one game, but Hart had a tough go against Allen, and the Knicks couldn't enforce their rebounding advantage. So, but as soon as they put Mitch in there, it was over with. Mitch completely shut Allen out. So I think Knicks going double big will be advantages there. Now, look, you have to respect Cleveland supporting casts way more firepower. They can get hot. The Merrills, the Struces, the Wades, the Schroeders off of the bench, right? Like, how do they, you know, you gotta deal with the Schroeder factor. So they will have firepower. When Donovan does get going, he can he can get going. He can be unstoppable at times. So, you know, I think we do we would have to certainly respect their offensive potential, but defensively, I don't think they can slow the Knicks down. Honestly. I really don't I don't see it.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Yeah, I don't think so too. I like your I like your idea about putting Hart on Asur Thompson, who is, in my eyes, the best on-ball defender in the league. Um, and it's tremendous at crashing the boards. Now, when you put you make a good point about Brunson, and this was also the worry in the first series of Brunson on Dyson Daniels.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

The one concern I always had about that was the offensive rebound. Dyson Daniels, another good offensive rebounding wing. Um, you get concerned about that for sure. So how they match up there is going to be interesting against Detroit. Um, I think you're right, you can see a good amount of double big against Cleveland. Don't be shocked if you see some double big against Detroit, too. I think they will bust that out um from time to time. The Knicks have the Knicks to me have the most depth left of all the teams, too. And I think that's a factor here. And they also have guys off the bench that are playing with confidence. And I think that's a huge factor um right now. So yeah, maybe you can get you know, Brunson's on Duncan Robinson if he's back and starting. I think you feel fine with that. Um you know, Duncan Robinson might make him work a little bit, and you might be worried about that, chasing him off some screens and things of that nature. But yeah, I I'd be I'd be fine with that matchup. I think Ashore Thompson, now look, defensively, when you the Knicks are defending, you want to make him shoot. If he's gonna shoot, fine, fine. He hits the shot, take the hat, God bless, and keep him moving. Um, but you got to keep him off the glass. Got it. And that team is very athletic and they know who they are. They don't shoot too many threes because they know they're not a good three-point shooting team, but they're gonna try to outwork you, get on the glass, and so Knicks have to be cognizant of that for sure.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

CPU franchise, Dexter Henry in the building. Uh KFTV NBA report simulcast. We got the um the Cavaliers and the Pistons tonight at 7 o'clock, and then you will have the Wolves and the Spurs at 9.30. So we'll see what happens on both games and see. Hey, could the Spurs advance and will the Cleveland advance? We'll see if we can wrap this up and get to the conference final stage of the game. Now, uh, as we're getting closer to June, time is flying, man. You already know the Giannis rumors are flying again. Here we go again. We got a nice little break from it for a couple of months. Because it was like once a month. He was like, well, Giannis doesn't know. He doesn't know, he doesn't know. So now the Bucks are pretty much confirming that uh it's a wrap. They're gonna look to trade him. Where do you think he goes? Best team for Giannis.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

I thought about this, man. It should be Houston. Okay. Because CBI say this because they've got the assets. Here's the thing, though, for me to Houston. You're probably gonna give away a lot of your youth. What are you doing with Kevin Durant? Now you're too best play. You're gonna have to probably give up Amen Thompson.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Yeah, or Sangoon.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Or Sangoon. This is the problem, this is the problem with talking about this. It it really comes down to well, how do teams feel about Giannis and what are they willing to give up? And when I asked how teams feel, because you were gonna say, Well, it's a former MVP, multiple times defensive player of the year, he's a champion, all all this stuff, finals MVP, all this stuff. But he's had the injuries, body's been breaking down. I've always had concerns about Giannis's game and how it would age.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Um, and then you're putting him if you're keeping Durant with another superstar. Now, I'm also saying this in the world of I don't know if the Rockets might want to move on from Durant with everything that happened around the team last year. Allegedly. Allegedly, with the burner accounts and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

You know, there was some reporting coming out from the athletic that that was more of an issue in the locker room than maybe people thought. Um but they feel like they're a good partner for him. I mean, listen, San Antonio could be a partner for him, but I don't know if that'll happen. I don't think there's that many good partners for Giannis. I mean, listen, the Knicks are gonna be there because depending on what happens with the Knicks, do they get to the finals, do they not get to win the whole thing? Um, I think their name will come up. Miami's always gonna be in there. I kind of low key think while Houston feels like it's the most plausible because of their assets, Miami might be the best fit for Giannis to go where they need someone like him. I don't think they have enough assets to get him to satisfy Milwaukee.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

But it feels like culturally and what he wants and he could fit, I could see that working there. Um I don't know. I don't know if there's any other teams that legitimately can get into this with Giannis that he also wants to go there. That's the other thing, too.

SPEAKER_00 23:16

He's gonna want to sign. He's gotta want to sign, right? And this was according to um Bobby Marks. Now, Bobby Marks had an article for ESPN about some destinations, what they could offer. So Miami could trade the 13th pick starting the night of the draft with first rounders in 31 and 33. They can also do swaps 29 and 33. So we're talking about three first rounders plus some swaps, and then you're probably talking about you got to throw in uh hero. You know, hero's at 33 million. You got to get to like 50 something, right? So you got to throw in hero. You're not trying to trade Bam, right? Wiggins is 30, that'd be a little bit too much. So, I mean, they might be able to scrap something together if he wants to stay there. Norman Powell. Well, well, according to Marx, they would be trying to re-sign Norman Powell, but it would be kind of tricky to for them to avoid the second apron and and uh and do that at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

That that no, I I'm sure I know you're gonna read some more, CP, but like that's the problem with the Giannis trade. It's hard for a team that's either trying to avoid the second apron, bring in his big salary, and have enough outgoing salary while also satisfying the c the Bucks to give them the requisite assets that they want in draft picks. And how many, like how many picks is it gonna take to satisfy the Bucks? You know, because if you trade those picks, are you thinking my are you are you more are you more inclined to want these these picks that are five years down the road, like the 31, the the 33? Is that attractive to you? Because that's when you think Miami won't be good.

SPEAKER_00 24:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Um, but does that accelerate your process of actually rebuilding? That's the that's the interesting thing there. But Miami, I could see being a good fit. Do you think he fits well with Bam though? That feels a little clunky, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Feels a little clunky. It feels a little clunky.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

If Bam was a better shooter as a big, I'd probably like it better. Now they're both great defensively.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

Yeah, capable shooter, but good shooter, I wouldn't c I wouldn't put Bam in like a you know, for floor spacing bank type of situation.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

Okay, so so Miami was I I didn't even see Bobby Marks' article, but Miami is one there too. Who else did he have?

SPEAKER_00 25:22

He's got, I think the Warriors would be intriguing.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Oh, I should have mentioned them. Yeah, that's that only.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

I should have mentioned that. I think the dubs would is to me the most intriguing one. You know, like if he was really set on the Knicks, and I hope the Knicks want nothing to do with him, I want nothing to do with him. Um maybe the dubs, you know, it was Curry's kind of swan song. You got Jimmy Butler coming back, you get Draymond up out of there, you upgrade with Giannis, you still got Porzingis. Now, they would have, let's go to Marx's article here. They would have uh they have the 11th pick this year, and then they have 28, 2030, which is top 20 protected, and 32. Then they would also have swaps in the next seven years.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Golden State seems like the best trade partner because if you're banking as the as them, you know, if you're Milwaukee, you're like, okay, 28. You can get the issues pick, you get 28, you said 30 and 32. Yeah. You can swap. You have some swaps in there. Maybe you get because you're thinking past 28, how good is that Golden State team's. That's right. That's right. Immediately you could maybe get some of the return on this. It's good for Steph. He gets another good defensive player. I just I'd be curious as what Golden State would give up. You said Draymond.

SPEAKER_00 26:38

Yeah, they would still have to give up a lot of salary, though. That's the thing, because um Curry, Butler, and Draymond constitute 79% of the payroll. Remember, you gotta get to like 50-something million. So you're talking about.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Draymond Porzingis gets it done?

SPEAKER_00 26:52

You're talking about um where's Porzingis at? Porzingis is a free agent. Oh, I forgot about that. Yeah, Porzingis is a free agent.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

So you're throwing talks about him extending Atlanta, he did it.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

You're talking about Jimmy at 56, Draymond's 27, Moody 12. You're pretty much gonna have to give up like damn near the entire team. So that would, that's the only thing with Golden State where it's like, what are you left with after you trade for him? And that's that's it with a lot of teams. It's a big salary. You know, in this second apron era, it's not. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

Now, does that put him in title contention? I don't think so. No.

SPEAKER_00 27:33

Puts him old and injury prone.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Yeah, and it's gonna be really hard to fill out the rest of that roster, right? Like that's the other thing too. In the West, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:40

Are you beating OKC? You know, young whippersnappers, you not even close. San Antonio. San Antonio.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

Uh and I'm sure there's look, I'm sure there's people who like, why are we talking about this at this time, but you know, we're doing this for a national discussion as well, too. But but um and to your point about the Knicks, I think there's gonna be a knee-jerk reaction to what you just said, and it's like you said you want nothing to do with him. And yeah, I'm inclined, I'm in agreement with you because of my concerns about the way Giannis's game is gonna age. Not that I don't think he's a dope player or so something, but he's been injured a lot recently. He's 32. I I I don't if you're the Knicks, I'm not sure that's what you need. And he's gonna gut a lot of your depth. And as you're seeing in the playoffs, in the way Mike Brown is coached, in the way Mark Dagano is coached, we saw Rick Carlisle last year, you have to use the depth that you have. The days of playing 7-8 in the playoffs, those days are over with. Yeah, you gotta be 9-10 deep. You gotta be able to be flexible. And so when you're so top-heavy in your roster, I don't think that works. So, but you know what? Yeah, Golden State, because of the picks and the flexibility they have, they will gut the roster. But I think they're probably most them than maybe Houston. I'll probably put them over Houston now. Golden State and Houston.

SPEAKER_00 28:49

Well, 100%. Um, now on this next topic, you know, Adam Silver met with uh the media this week to roll out the iteration of their anti-tanking proposal, the 3-2-1 proposal. And in this proposal, they would expand the lottery from 40 teams to 16 teams, and essentially the worst three teams would not have the best odds at getting the top pick. They would actually be moved up, and in basically they would have those teams in a regular relegation zone. Okay, so um, I'm just we're going through it right now. Teams with the bottom three record, the relegation area, would have only two lottery balls, but have a floor of the 12th pick. Rest of the 13 lottery teams could fall as far as the 16th pick. Number nine and number 10 play-in seeds each in each conference receive two lottery balls each, and the losers of the 7-8 play-in receive one lottery ball each. Right? And then in addition, no team would be able to win the top pick in consecutive years or be able to win three consecutive top five picks. And says teams also would not be able to protect picks in 12 in slots 12 to 15 slots going forward. In picks 12 to 15 slots going forward. Your thoughts.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

Um, it's one of the better things I've heard in terms of tanking reform. This is one of the better ones. I I'm always a fan. Listen, I wish there was relegation in American sports. I'm a big English Premier League soccer fan. I wish there was relegation in American sports, but there's not. Now, here's my thing. I like this. People are always going to try to find a way, as long as there's tank, as long as you have a lottery, people are gonna try to find ways to manipulate the odds and get what they have to do. But this strips away a good amount of it. Because honestly, where I stand on all of this, if you truly want to eliminate tanking, if this is what you truly want to get out of the game, you have to get rid of the draft pivot. Yeah, yeah, I'm I'm a I'm a big Ballister draft guy. There's no need for us to do this. People will then say to me, Well, Dex, well, how are you gonna do it? How are you gonna get talent? You can do it the same way you do in college, you can have a signing day. And yes, this is a so everybody's also gonna say, well, Dex, all the players are gonna want to go play in New York or LA or Miami, and it's like, no, there's only a finite amount of jobs, there's a finite amount of money. Teams still have to manage the cap and their their space. So you're gonna actually see if you don't have a draft, who are the best teams at really identifying talent, developing talent, keeping them, giving out contracts for good value, you're gonna see that. And it takes away all of this. Have it an open market. CP, if you want to go get a job someplace and you're coming out of college, you should be able to go choose where you want to go, just like I think any player. Now, you might want to go to a certain company, but that company may not have a spot for you. Yeah. Just like in sports. And I think that's okay. But of everything we've heard with tanking, so you asked me how I feel about this, of everything we've heard with tanking reform. If you're gonna keep the draft in the lottery, which the NBA doesn't want to get rid of because it's a nice TV show they could sell. Even though I still think they could sell like a signing day. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. I think that would work and people would be into it. This is one of the better reforms I've heard because it it truly penalizes you for losing. You can't just say, ah, I want to be one of the worst three teams in the league and I'm gonna get a top pick. Well, no, no, it takes it out of it. You should actually you're now gonna have to fight against to not be in that bottom three if you want your odds to be better. So again, my again, I know it's a I know people say it's crazy. I don't think it's as crazy if you really think about it. I think you should abolish the draft in all sports, but since that we know that's not gonna happen, this is one of the better solutions you could have.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

What do you think? I think it's worth a shot. You know, you see people like, ah, it's terrible, it's terrible. Look, I think it's worth a shot. It will incentivize teams. Hey, go out there and try to go get a veteran and try to go make the play in. And then you get into the draft, and maybe you get the number one pick, maybe you get the number five pick, and now you've got that veteran with a young team, and maybe now you're getting more and more competitive. It's gonna force teams to one up their scouting, right? Like put your resources where you don't have it in salary cap, put your resources into your scouting, into your play development, and things of that nature. I think it's gonna be very interesting. Now, it was interesting to see the Wizards who went out there and got Trey Young and Anthony Davis. You know, if you if you put that in future years where they put this in place, hey, maybe they're in position to get out of the relegation zone. Now they go out and they get the number one pick. So they're gonna get AJ as well. I think that's interesting. But, you know, look, I uh will it impact those lower market teams or the Utah's other world? Go out there and make moves, man, to improve your team.

SPEAKER_01 33:23

Yeah, I don't like no, I'm glad you brought that up. I don't see how it's gonna actually hurt them in any worse way than what it is. Listen, the NBA has sometimes you could say uh uh you know a real estate problem. Like, listen, most of the young players in it, nobody's trying to live in Utah. Nobody wants to live in Milwaukee. You know, you're like, let's just keep it a buck about what it is. But again, there's still just like my point I was making before, there's still only a certain amount of jobs and a certain amount of opportunities. I don't want to see Utah doing the egregious tanking they were doing this year, right? And we don't want to the Nets, the Nets have been tanking for the last three seasons and they dropped to the sixth pick. It hasn't really worked out for them. Now, this is supposed to be a loaded draft and they can still get a good player at six and all this other stuff. But yeah, the other thing I like about it that you mentioned there too is it still puts value on the play-in. You don't have to try to like then duct the play-in, you can still get into the play-in and still jump up in the draft and really improve your team if that happens. I like the rules about you can't have the back the number one pick in back-to-back years. Love that. You can't have a top five pick. What is it, three out of five years? Yeah, something like that. I like that too. Because you it's really gonna move the balance around and have teams really, we're really gonna see who the best front offices are. We really are. It if you're a good well, you know what? Put your money in player development, put your money in scouting, find the diamonds in the rough. That is exactly what works now. The good organizations are doing that now. We we like to, I think there's a romanticized idea that the top of the draft is where you are going to get so many of your stars. And it does look at the league right now. We just talked about Giannis. Giannis was the 15th pick in the draft. Nicole Yokich, who many people consider the best player in the world, was in the set a second round pick. Jalen Brunson on the Knicks. Second round pick. Yeah, yeah. Right? Sure, you'll have your K Cunninghams, you got your Victor Wammy Yama, but look at the couple you and you have Anthony Edwards in Minnesota. So you'll you'll tell me about well, look at Dex, look at the top the three of the four teams that are left. They have number one picks on their team. The Knicks also have a number one pick in Carnegie Towns. But Jalen Brunson's their leader and their best player, and he was in the second round. OG Ananobi is a find. We can we keep talking about the Knicks. The Knicks just last year finding Mohammed Di Awara, who looks like a promising prospect.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

You gotta, there's talent everywhere. You really gotta scout, find, and develop that talent. You can go through the any of these good rosters, it's not just about the number one pick. It's about these other guys that they found and how they've developed them. Jose Alvarado, undrafted. Right? Like you gotta do the work. And I think when you have this, you strip this away. It's really gonna separate the men from the boys in this. And who's really a good front office or really is not. Now, again, I'd love it if we just got rid of got rid of the draft. But I understand that's too radical for some people. Yeah, I don't think it's that radical, but yeah. This this is a better this is better than some of the other stuff I've heard. For sure. You also, CP, I think you agree with me on this. You can't keep doing what you're doing. No.

SPEAKER_00 36:22

It ain't working. No.

SPEAKER_01 36:23

You gotta change. You gotta do something.

SPEAKER_00 36:24

Something's gotta change. Gonna be very interesting indeed, man. So while we wait on hoofs, uh, you have any content plan? What do you what do you got lined up? Waiting. Well, we got the subway series this weekend, though.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

Not subway series. So on tap, uh straight out of flushing. Uh we'll we'll be over the Mets Yankees Subway series. Uh hopefully uh the Yankees don't come in and inflict some pain on the Mets uh at City Field. We'll see about that. If they play, if the Knicks play the Cavs, we will have a series preview tomorrow. We'll be live at some point in the middle of the day. Uh if it's the Pistons, we'll probably do something Sunday evening or Monday morning uh to get you guys ready for that. So a lot of stuff going on. Uh excited to see what you guys have going on, CP. I know a lot of watch parties and and things of that nature. Um, so yeah, some good stuff. So we'll hopefully be able to announce more news after tonight. Yes. That's what'll be.

SPEAKER_00 37:19

Hopefully, we'll have some more clarity, man. Well, great show as usual, my guy. Uh, we'll catch up in person soon. Enjoy the weekend. Until then, and everybody at home, enjoy your weekend. Let's go, Knicks. Let's see who beats each other up tonight and who gets out of it. Cleveland and Detroit, 7 o'clock. You got San Antonio and the Minnesota Till Moves at 9 30. I think San Antonio will ultimately end it. And we'll get into conference finals play. We out of here, man. Like, share, subscribe. Remember, these shows are available in audio podcast format as well.