would the clippers do wall and house for Ibaka, Kennard and Bledose and does that make sense?
- As for this trade, I don't think I'd want to do it as LA because Wall is just such a large chunk of salary it makes it tough to trade for other guys. Ibaka and Bledsoe are expiring, and Kennard has been relatively helpful this year. So taking on that $47 million for next year doesn't seem like a great idea, and it reduces your further trade flexibility. It's taking on more money for this year and WAY more for next year, and might or might not be an upgrade.
Ignoring salary filler and draft compensation, how would you see a Cam Reddish for Joe Ingles trade impacting both teams this season, especially in the playoffs?
- The theory of Reddish is a little better than the reality at this point on both ends. I think I'd only want to make this trade as Utah if I'm thinking Reddish could potentially supplant Royce O'Neale or Bogdan in the closing lineup. I guess the idea is you'd play Cam and O'Neale together to get more defense on the floor, but then does that hurt what makes their offense so special? I'm not sure Cam has shown he can be the special type of defender they'd need. I think the shooting they have is what makes them so unstoppable, and I don't think Reddish takes them enough in the opposite direction. For Atlanta, I'm not sure that Ingles gives them a ton they don't already have. He's maybe a little better PnR passer than Bodgan or Huerter, probably equal as a shooter with more ability to make standstills but less versatility. Maybe he'd also replace Gallo in some groups. They'd probably be doing the deal more for assets, but Utah can't trade a pick until 2026 at the earliest.
Hi Nate hope you're doing OK.
What are your thoughts on a Porzingis VS Siakam trade? Who needs to add more
If you're Utah how many 1rst round picks do you trade to get Lu Dort or Melton?
Screen navigation for guard on defense seems very underrated as a skills (ask the Grizzlies) who caught your eyes doing it this year?
- I'll take the Dort idea --I was hoping Utah could find a way to do something like 2 firsts and Favors for Dort this offseason, but maybe OKC wouldn't have been into that. With how Dort is playing offensively this year and the number of picks OKC already has, I'm not sure they'd want to move Dort given his contract and age. They might rather ride it out and see where his ceiling is offensively. It'd be.....2026 and 2028 Utah firsts? Depending on the protection maybe you'd consider that, but I think moving Dort might also push the optics too far as far as OKC continuing to tank. He's one of the few reasons they're watchable right now, and recall that trading MCW (though it was the right move) was one of the big things that got Hinkie in hot water.
What would be a realistic trade for Thad Young? I'm thinking if Minnesota would be a nice destination for him as an upgrade over Naz Reid
- Reid fits very well into what they want to do offensively with his shooting. He's not KAT, but he helps them play at least similarly. Adding Young would give them more versatility on the perimeter defensively, maybe they could go to some switching lineups when Russell is off the floor and also let Thad trigger some of the offense as a passer. But it would be such a huge change that I'm not sure it would be a huge upgrade. He might be an interesting upgrade on Vanderbilt in the starting lineup playing at the 4--as everyone knows that lineup has been really successful but Young is better in most areas. If they could do it for Prince and a 2nd I'd go there, anything more than that I'd pass.
Who has been the most overrated draft prospect in your eyes by national media in the past 10 years?
- Oooh, fun question. Obviously there have been a lot of busts. I'll limit it to when I started first seriously following the draft in 2014. And also to ones that I saw at the time, and guys who weren't really messed up by injuries. I've obviously had a million misses myself so I'll leave those out. (E.g., Okafor, Fultz, Smith, Lonzo) So this will be guys I thought were overrated at the time that turned out to be overrated. Candidates: Wiggins, Hezonja, Kris Dunn, Josh Jackson, RJ Barrett, Jarrett Culver, Jaxson Hayes, Killian Hayes, Obi Toppin. Of these, I'd have to go with Josh Jackson. I just didn't really see how he was going to be successful with his jump shot, and he didn't have the size of a true wing stopper defensively. Anybody I missed on that?
Bagley.
- Hendrik mentioned Bagley. I actually don't think he was particularly overrated by the national media. Most had him well down their boards, which is why the pick was so egregiously bad.
Do you think if you and Danny were co-GMs of an nba team starting tomorrow you would be above average GMs? If no, what would hold you back, if yes what would be your biggest advantage over other GMs
- Biggest advantage would be that if I were hired as GM I'd have enough money to just retire even if I got fired right then, so I'd be totally honest about where my team was and would have the willingness to tear down to potentially build up for a championship later on, and would refuse to do moves that didn't work to that end e.g. the chase the 10th seed bullshit. Disadvantages would be a total lack of relationships in the league, zero experience running the day to day, ability to deal with the personal hand-holding aspects of the job with players/coaches/agents/owner, and inability to work the crazy insane hours GMs need to at all times. I can do it for like 3 months at a time during the playoffs thru free agency, but then I get 2 months to kinda cools my heels after. I also generally require 7-8 hours of sleep at night to be at my best. Ultimately I think that while I'd potentially have some advantages I'd be a below avg GM, although not the worst. The other thing is the quality of the worst GM is WAY higher than it was 5-10 years ago. I'd be better than, say, Vlade was for sure, but I don't think there are any Vlades around these days.
A game-watching question Nate - listening to y'all and being on the discord has encouraged me to watch games closer over the past few years. Something I struggle with is being able to absorb both on-ball and off-ball actions, by both offense and defense. Is there a good way to do this, or this something you focus on one aspect over the others?
- My number one piece of advice is to get a feel for when nothing is going to happen on the ball and you can steal a glance away from the ball. Usually when guys post up and don't try to back down right away, or someone is just dribbling up top without an intent, that's when to shift off ball. Number two is that if someone just got wide open and you don't understand why, hit that 6 seconds back on your remote and rewatch in real-time until you do understand it.
Hey Nate, gonna add to the chorus of Cavs questions here. I've been mulling over ways the Cavs could upgrade at SF via trade, and have come up with four names that I think could meet the right criteria of salary, youth, fit, and upside. They are, in no particular order:
Keldon Johnson, Cam Reddish, Lu Dort, and OG Anunoby.
Do you see any of these players as being worthy gambles for the Cavs long term? Relatedly, do you expect that any of these players will be available at the deadline for a reasonable price? (I would personally guess that OG in particular won't be available for any price the Cavs want to pay.) And lastly, in devising a trade, if you had to pick one, would you rather include Okoro, or first round draft capital? Thanks!
- Generally I think it's way too early to look to upgrade via trading future draft capital. It's fun to think about, but they don't really have an idea of what the finished product of Mobley will look like offensively in particular. And whether their team functions best with him at C, in which case they could look to move Jarrett Allen who has been a nice value on his contract so far despite my expectations to the contrary. Also, is Sexton still around and how much is he giving them on offense? Do they end up needing a second big offensive perimeter player? Would they ultimately be fine with a 3 and D type at the 3? Also they can have cap space in the summer of 2023, perhaps they could overpay for that year's Jerami Grant to fill that spot. They really have only 3 core pieces right now in Garland, Mobley, and Allen, and their peak should be a minimum of 4 years from now. The most likely way to get complements to those guys is likely in the draft, even if they will be drafting lower than expected. It would take a minimum of 2 firsts to get any of the players you mentioned except for Reddish. As exciting as this season has been, they aren't a championship contender this year. They could be in 4 years, so save the ammo for then and keep building up. Trading picks now to me closes off too many potential avenues of improvement later on.
i still don’t understand how Cleveland is good. what the hell happened? they were basically a joke last year and somehow could be a 4-6 seed this season, with their main “upgrades” being a rookie and someone who could have gotten their rookie option declined.
- 1. Their defense is WAY improved. They are extremely difficult to score on inside. Allen has been largely healthy, and Mobley is a revelation with how many shots he's able to contest at the rim even while playing a lot of power forward. 2. Darius Garland is way improved. 3. Ricky Rubio has given them competent backup point guard play which they haven't had in the post LeBron era. 4. The coaching has been really good. We forget they were actually competent for the first 20 games of last year as well until they kinda tore it down with the Allen trade and putting Drummond on ice, plus got destroyed by injuries. But they went from a bottom 5 defense to top 5. That's your biggest summary.
If you could have one (1) realistic trade occur this year (realistic meaning you're not trading Dame for Danny Green and picks or anything like that)(whether to free up a player you think is in a bad position or to improve a team, your choice), who would you want to see traded and why?
- I'd really like to see Myles Turner on another team where he can lift the team with his shooting and rim protection rather than using those skills to allow Sabonis to fit in next to him. I'd absolutely love to see him in Charlotte, New Orleans (if Zion came back), Memphis, or Portland. I just don't know what his value is to Indiana and league wide. Could the Hornets get him for one unprotected first? If it takes 2, that's complicated by being out a first from the Kai Jones trade, and that pick maybe not going for awhile. I think Turner in Memphis playing next to Jaren Jackson would be unbelievable, and Memphis has picks to move. So maybe Turner for Lakers 2022 and GSW 2024 plus Steven Adams? Is that enough?
Nate, if you were GM of the top 5 teams in the 21 draft how would the picks go?
- How would they have gone at the time? Here was my draft board: 1. Cunningham, 2. Green, 3. Mobley, 4. Kuminga, 5. Suggs. I was lower on Barnes which is looking bad so far. If I were redoing it now: 1. Mobley, 2. Cade (I'd still think pretty hard about Cade at 1 due to position) 3. Barnes, 4. Kuminga, 5. Green 6. Giddey. Green is probably the toughest to place, I'm wary of lowering him this much, but I wasn't expecting so much of a struggle from him. Maybe he can be better now that they're playing Wood at C when he returns from the hamstring. The fit between him and KPJ was also terrible.
If you were LeBron and decided to force your way to a new team to win a title, which team would you pick?
- Hahahaha. How about the Clippers for Kawhi Leonard? Guessing Clips wouldn't want to do that though. Golden State for Wiggins would be the easiest fit. Golden State has assets too.
What can Memphis do schematically to maintain their recent defensive improvements after Ja returns from his injury? Shooting luck and schedule have played a role, but team looks so much more active now than early in the season
- This is a tough call. I do think that Ja/Adams PnR defense combo is pretty rough, but they hide Ja relatively well anyway. Maybe they'd feel more comfortable playing Ja fewer minutes and trying to get him to improve his defensive effort in the minutes he does play?
Going forward what order would you rank having Andrew Wiggins, Mikhail bridges, or Ben Simmons? Top line numbers for the year as of 12/19 per Bbal ref. Wiggins: 59% TS 24% USG, 17.4 PER, Bridges 62% TS, 13% USG 13 PER, Simmons attended 1 practice.
- No you're way way way off. Simmons attended 2 practices.
I'd say Bridges, Wiggins, Simmons for a high level team, if we're just talking what they can do on the court this year and not contract status. Y'all know my concerns about Simmons' fit on a good team. For a team like, say, Minnesota or Indiana, then maybe Simmons rises.
Nate, which non-Beal gettable veteran on the market does the most to increase the warriors title odds?;
- I guess this first begs the question of what the Warriors need once Klay is back. And I think we have to see how Klay looks--with the January return we may not get enough info by the trade deadline, unless he looks awesome right away. I think their biggest weakness right now is ability to beat guys one on one offensively. I don't really see a player available who would be in their closing 5 and also has that ability, who would also be available. Sorry to kinda not answer the question, but I just don't see anyone available for them who would be worth giving up big assets for unless there's an injury. Who is an upgrade on Steph, Klay, Wiggins, or Draymond? I guess another wing who can shoot would be nice, maybe a healthy TJ Warren? But we probably won't see him either until right before the deadline. And I think other teams need him more and would outbid the Warriors, who would also struggle to match salary without Wiseman or Kuminga in the deal.
What do you think D'Angelo Russell's contract extension will look like if he signs one this coming summer? Before the season, I wanted no part of an extension for him, but he has been a positive player this year and there is a lot of good publicity from local media about his leadership . I have no idea what kind of contract he'll sign so I wanted to know your thoughts
- Do you mean positive player in the sense that he's above replacement level? Above average as a starting PG? I realize the defensive numbers with him have been good, and maybe he's a little better there but I don't give him credit for their good D with him on the floor. He's shooting basically career lows from 2 and from 3 this season. So maybe something in the $15-18 m a year range is what I'd be willing to pay? Granted, I remain lower on him than most, so he probably doesn't accept that.
Who is the best in the league at gambling for steals (in terms of strike rate, not totals) - and who is the 2nd worst gambler for steals after Russell Westbrook?
- Ok, we'll wrap with this one. I'd say Gary Payton is one of the best at gambling for steals without getting caught. Throw Lonzo in there as well. I agree Russ is probably the worst now that Monta Ellis is retired. Guys generally are taught to stay a lot more solid than years ago. Rondo would probably be next if he still counts. Ja also gambles a bit too much among young guys.