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Truth Behind the Numbers
Trades & Free Agency
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Going through Trades and signings as well Ranking the best spots for LeBron James!
New Episode Coming Soon!
Alrighty guys, we are back. Season two of The Truth Behind the Numbers. And it's it's a weird time for basketball. We got the WNBA starting to pick it up, getting close to their playoffs, and we got the offseason of the NBA, which is one of the most undescribable, craziest things that can ever happen, always happen in an NBA offseason. It's almost like reality TV, the WWE, and the NBA all mix up into one. And so this episode is just going to be breaking down all the transactions. We had over a hundred transactions between teams talking about trades, free agent signings, re-signing, two-way contracts all since the NBA finals. Congratulations to the New York Knicks for winning the NBA championship. Kudos to them. We'll see what they can do, who they've re-signed, who they've lost on the push two repeat, which no one has repeated since the Warriors, which was the 2017, 18. Oh, 2016, 2016, 17, 17, 18. Those years with Kevin Durant and all that. So we're going to go through, not going to hit all of the 100 is too much. We hit the heavy hitter. Some I think that are very interesting. Alright, so the first interesting one, which everyone knows about, is um Jalen Brown being traded for Paul George in a couple of picks. Now the reason this is crazy is because the Sixers have been trying to get off of Paul George's contract for a long time. So you're talking about they were saying that they had to put up a first-round pick just to get off of his contract. So if Boston only got two first-round picks back, it's actually a net that means that you really only got one pick for Jalen Brown. One first round pick and a couple of second-round picks. And then you got Paul George. Now, Paul George has not been somebody who's been otherworldly. He has not been consistent, but you just traded him for Jalen Brown, who is an all-NBA player, finals MVP, conference finals MVP. Probably, I would say one of the best two-way players in the game. Maybe Wimby had a little thing for their Aunt Edwards. You know, but he's in that top five of best two-way players in the game. And you trade him. And then they also lost Vucevic. I don't think he was a big deal. But then they pick up Mitchell Robinson from the Knicks. They signed him to a deal. The Knicks don't get him. They also signed Mike Conley. And then they brought back Cada and Ron Hopper Jr. Alright. So that's that's something to watch to see. And I think the Boston Celtics are kind of looking at now, does money come into play there? Or was it, you know, off-court thing that people didn't like, or how Jalen Brown is perceived for some reason I don't agree with. But then also, Jalen Brown just took this team to the second seed in the East and a blue lead in the comp in the first round to the same 76ers. But do they believe that okay, Jason Titman is better than Jalen Brown? And we believe at Mitchell Robinson, all these people getting Paul George back, we can still make a push to be championship contenders because we think a better player is coming back. So that's on them. We'll see. Then you have um the Nets getting Julius Randle, uh losing Nick Claxton. Not really a big deal. It's more for Minnesota getting off Julius Randle. They didn't really get anything in return. It was more a couple picks, and that was it. More like a cash dump. Um, which we'll see why in a little bit, because then you get to uh the Hornets trading away LaMelo Ball for Nas Reed. Now, you're giving Anthony Edwards, his backcourt running mate, who probably gonna be with him for they probably have the same extensions and all that.
SPEAKER_00They're gonna be the backcourt in Minnesota for a long time. But then you get off of Nas Reed, who was really big in the playoffs for them.
SPEAKER_01Um you already got off Julius Randle. So now you're kind of spinning that power forward um position, and we'll see how they try to add on to that as they go on in freegancy. But then the Horns also get off of Mikhail Bridges. I mean, not sorry, Miles Bridges, send him to Phoenix, um, and they get back uh Royce O'Neill, uh Dorian, Finney Smith, and then Grayson Allen in that deal. All right, they also signed back Kobe White to a big deal. So, like, it seems as if over that last season they had the best season they've ever had, with um the likes of uh Kobe White playing great, um, Colin Koneppo playing great, a lot of these younger players. And so it seems as if they were trying to get off the players that they were pushing as were headaches in the locker room, headaches off the court, whatever it is, they're trying to clean up the locker room. And so we'll see how this goes because you just had your most successful year and you don't run it back, so we'll see.
SPEAKER_00Um let's see, let's see, let's see.
SPEAKER_01Okay, very something to look at is um the Pistons getting John Collins, but losing Tobias Harris. Um, Tobias Harris was big, uh big loss to them in free agency for nothing. Because he was another person with the ball in the hole. So they still need that person. And right now they're still limbo with Jalen Duran, whether or not what contract he's gonna get, what he's not gonna get. So he'll be on their list of probably returning, or they're gonna match whatever someone does. But there are also some flaws in the system because if no one has cap space and the most anybody can offer Jalen Durant is $25 million, but he's a restricted free agent. If you're the team who has his rights, why wouldn't you just not overpay for him? Let somebody give him a deal, and then you just match it. Now, yeah, he may not be happy, all that stuff, but I mean, if it's the money thing, you kind of have you got him tied up.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Um, big pickup for the Rockets.
SPEAKER_01One, they got Bogdan Bogdanovich, who was really good. People might remember him from the uh Team USA when they played against uh oh man, they were playing against uh where is Bogee at? Because he hit the he hit the three to the head right in front of Melo before the um Team USA came back and won that game. I'll get that later. I'll put it on the screen when I figure it out. Um they also poached Marcus Smart from the Lakers. I think this is a big loss for the Lakers. I think it's a huge game for the Rockets because you get someone who is poised under pressure, veteran, defender, put the ball in his hands and end the games and let him run two-man action with Kevin Durant or with Singoon, and it's more sure it up because last year, not having Fred Van Fleet, him coming back as big too, but he may not be the same. So having a uh cushion of Marcus Smart is really good.
SPEAKER_00The Clippers, my goodness.
SPEAKER_01The Clippers go and get Rui Hachemura, another big loss for the Lakers. So so far, we've seen two out of the five players that beat the Rockets in the first round for the Lakers, and they're starting five, already gone to other teams. Clippers pick him up. They also get Brandon Ingram in the trade they gave away Kawhi Leonard. Um Kawhi going back to the Raptors. This is, I mean, it's crazy. He's going back to the Raptors, gonna be with Scotty Barnes, gonna be with R.J. Bear, gonna be with quickly, gonna be with um uh uh uh uh what's my big man name? My goodness, I'm drawing a blank. But great roster, great team, great fit for Kawhi in the East, which we'll see if the Knicks are gonna be able to punch right back in or somebody's gonna pick it up. Um, who they lost first, right? So they already told you about Rui, told you about Luke Kennard, they traded DeAndre Aiden to the Washington Wizards. Really a cash dump. And you lose Marcus Smart, and then we all know LeBron is not coming back. So you're starting five that beat the Rockets in the first round are all gone. They re-signed Austin Reeves to a humongous contract. They bring in Quentin Grimes, they bring in, they did a sign and trade for Walker Kessler where they gave up two first-round picks. Now, mind you, again, they gave up two first-round picks for Walker Kessler, but Boston only got two for Jalen Brown. Make sure y'all can see where this is going. They get Sandro Mamu from the Raptors, and they get Colin Sexton. I mean, I think they still lacking defensive ability on the wings, their speed, their size, all that, especially being in the West. If this team was in the East, I would probably think differently about them, but in the West, I don't think the Lakers really have the pieces still to go get over that hump. Alright. We have the Memphis Grizzlies trading John Morant to the Portland Trailblazers for Jeremy Grant. Now, this is crazy because now you got the backcourt, you got John Morant, you got Dame Lillard, you got uh Drew Holiday, you have all these great players. So I think Portland will be a sleeper. I mean, especially if Dame's coming back to be Dame, and you got John. That's a dynamic backcourt if I've ever seen one.
SPEAKER_00Right?
SPEAKER_01Then you got the Krem de la Krim, right? You got Giannis out of the cumpo and Bobby Portis uh coming in to Miami, uh trading away Tyler Hero, Jami Haquez, uh Killilware, Carpers, Jalontius. They also lost Norman Powell, just not resigning him. Um they signed uh Andrew Wiggins back, and they signed Tim Hardaway. So for Miami, this is uh this is your home run hitter, right? You you you want to get back in the championship aspirations, you need to bring somebody a big name in there. So they go and get Giannis out of the Kumpo. Now I think this might be so far one of the best four players I have in your starting lineup being probably the best defense in the league. You're talking about Bam and Giannis and Andrew Wiggins, and you have um Davion Mitchell in your front in your starting five. You need one more piece to fill it in, um, with speculations it could be LeBron, which is also crazy. Alright.
SPEAKER_00Um you have another big trade.
SPEAKER_01I told you guys Lamela going to Timberwolves. The Knicks losing Mitchell Robertson. They got Andre Drummond. They resigned Jose Alvarado, Landry Shaman. That's good for them. Um the Thunder resign Isaiah Hartenstein. Uh they lose Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins. Make sure I don't miss any more big one before I go ahead and that's everything. All right. So now we've gotten through all these trades, we've gotten through all these things. Now we're going to start talking about which teams are possibly in the running for LeBron James. Because that's the last domino to fall off. Everyone's waiting on. That's what everyone wants to know. So Rich Paul put out this uh whiteboard, right? And on his whiteboard he had all these teams lined up, listed where he thought LeBron could go. And I think people are taking it a little too serious. Um, and the reason I say that, I think you're taking it too serious, is because I think he's showing you what he's done to lay out things for LeBron. Don't mean that's where they're gonna go. Like, I think you could have switched any of those teams out. But what I'm gonna do right here to try to break down all this stuff, I'm gonna make my full bull right here in front of myself we can talk about it.
SPEAKER_00Got LeBron in the middle, and to the left, he had Maxie, VJ, Brown, and B. Right? Over to the right, you had Harden, you had Mitch Mitchell, you have Mobley, Alex. Then you have um Murray, uh you had Joker, Gordon, and uh Johnson. Can't Johnson be. Um who else that you have in here? Miami, obviously. So you have Mitchell Wiggins. And you have Bamborne. I believe so. Yes. It was uh Lamelo, Edwards, uh Daniels. You ought to have other teams outside, right? So let's break down these these five.
SPEAKER_01So two things. One, I think at this point in time in LeBron's career, he needs to go somewhere who whereas they're defensively um locked in where he's not having to be the best defender like he was with the Lakers. Just not it's not sustainable for him at this age. I think he also need some people who can still create their own shot. Need some shooters, and he need a good coach that he can mesh with, right? So the two that I'm looking at that I think are really big.
SPEAKER_00So let's go for coaches, right? So you got Nick Nurse. You got Spo. You got Kenny Atkinson. Um is the me. Make sure I get this right. And then for the T-Wolves, you have finch. And then for the Nuggets, it's my new guy. And there's my boy, uh David Adleman. Rick Adleman. So David Addleman. Alright.
SPEAKER_01So this is what I don't think we're doing enough. Let's go down the thing. So coaching, very important, right? So if I ranked these coaches, I'd probably go Spo number one. Nick Nurse is number two.
SPEAKER_00Chris Finch is three. Still gonna go David Adam and four.
SPEAKER_01I think Kenny Atkinson is five. So we listed these teams, so and how many first place votes they get, right? So you said you had heater first right now, and you go 76ers, then you go uh T-Wolves, then you got Nuggets, and Cavs, right?
SPEAKER_00So that's the coaching point.
SPEAKER_01Now let's go defensively. Which teams will have the best defense? I think number one is Miami again. They'll get another number one, and then number two, I think now goes to the T-Wolves.
SPEAKER_00I think three defensively has to go to the 76ers.
SPEAKER_01And then I'm saying four is probably the Cavs, five is the Nuggets. So you got the Heat in first place, Seven Sisters and the Wolves are tied, and the Nuggets and the Cavs are tied. Now let's go to fit.
unknownRight?
SPEAKER_01So I think you got coaching, you got defensively, and you got the fit. I don't think he really fits with the Cavs. I'm putting them five. Tell you why. I don't know what the difference between Hard Mitchell Braun is from Luca A.R. Braun, right?
SPEAKER_00So I think the Cavs are five.
SPEAKER_01I think that's where it gets tough because I see shades of the 2020 Lakers in Miami having two good bigs, AD, and then it was AD Howard McGee and all that, but now you have Giannis Bam, right? Two good bigs in there, defending wings, like Wiggins, which is like your Avery Bradley's and your uh KCPs of the world, and then you have our and Mitchell, right? Will be over here too. Then you have your Braun running point guard. So I like that fit a lot because that's where I think he's that his best now is being the facilitator coming out. Anybody involved, score when we need you to score, right? I think the 76ers are also a good fit because there's so much creation. You can't help off anybody, they can shoot the ball, but and B's health worries me. So then it goes over to the T-Wolves. I think the T-Wolves are a good basketball fit, but I don't know they're in a good personality fit. I think him and Ant can get together. I think him and Daniels can rock. Him and Melo just seem a little too far away from each other. If I had to rank it again, it would probably go one to Miami, two to the 76ers.
SPEAKER_00Three to the Wolves, four to the Nuggets is because I just don't think it works out there based on how they play.
SPEAKER_01Alright. So from the five that he had in the thing, I think your options, me personally, I think it should go to Heat. I think then it goes 76ers, then T-Wolves, Nuggets, and the Cavs. Alright, so that's how I would put it. Um, I think the overall best basketball fit out there that they didn't have on the list is the Spurs. I think if he goes to the Spurs, I think they have automatically win two championships back to back. I don't think there's any question about that. I think the Spurs are the best basketball fit. I think after that, then you go to Miami. But that's just me. Um we will probably have another episode coming out after LeBron announces where he's gonna be, so we can break down that fit, break down, you know, how the next year's gonna go, have these new teams in there. Who do I think is a favorite? Who do I think has the best continuity? Who has the best team, who has the deepest team, who still is a piece away, who is really further than they think they are, um, and things like that. So this is the free agency podcast. Um just getting back from Vegas, went and watched a WNBA game, went and go watch the uh Aces versus the Fever. A little disappointed that uh Caitlin Clark and Andrew, uh Aja Wilson are both injured. Uh can't wait to see them back on the court because both those teams direly need their best players. Um I think this this year is is really great for WBA because you see Paige Becker starting to get off. You got all of these these young rookies that are playing out of their mind. Uh people dropping 53. Like this is this is the this is where I'm talking about the WNBA taking this this rise. Um, them going to 52 games next year is going to be amazing. I'm trying to save up to get Houston Comets tickets because I do want to watch the comments back in Houston. So, Connecticut Sun, keep losing. We want to get Juju Watkins here in Houston. All right. But uh this is episode one of season two. I'll get you guys more information when the next episode's coming out. Tell me what do you think the biggest free agency move is in the comments? Who do you think the favorite is, and where you think LeBron is going. Thank you guys again for tuning in. The truth behind the numbers presented to you by S4G. If you don't like the numbers, you don't want the truth. If you want the truth, go find those numbers. Thank you again. We'll see y'all soon.