A show about basketball
0:00:00
Welcome to Gucci Row on the Rebel HD 2. I'm your host Kevin Kelly with co-host Will Despard. Thanks for tuning in to our court side conversations covering all things NBA.
0:00:14
Hi, welcome back. We're here again. I'm your host, Kevin Kelly.
0:00:21
Your co-host, Will Despart.
0:00:23
We got a really good one lined up today. A lot going on. We got, just going to take this
0:00:29
episode to spend one minute talking about all 30 teams. 30 teams, 30 minutes. We're going to try and keep them close to even, but some have a little more to talk about than others. So I guess I'll get us started. We'll go in alphabetical order and we'll start with the Hawks. So the Hawks were finally this offseason able to get off of John Collins' contract and traded him for Rudy Gay and the second. I think that they could have got more for him if they didn't wait so long, but it's just about that time. And then they also, it could be settled by the time this comes out, just for warning, but they also have to make a decision about DeAndre Hunter and Clint Capella, and I think that's also well overdue. Last thing I got is I want to see AJ Griffin grow in his role. I really like what he's able to do. I mean, yeah, it's good they got off the Collins contract. I mean, they they've been kind of hamstring So they need to I think tray is a good piece to build around but with what they had around him right now You can't really expect much so and shout out lemon pepper Louie retired talk great So now moving on to the Celtics They this offseason they had a lot they were busy. They traded Marcus smart and a three-teamer that brought back two seconds and they brought back Chris Dobbs in the same trade. I thought it was tough to lose Marcus Smart. He's the backbone of their franchise, been there for over half a decade and just a great point of attack defender and connect the piece on offense and locker room driver. Tough loss but I'm excited to see Tingis Pingis if I'm a Seas fan and I think that he can open up a big new facet of the offense stretch the floor and just continue to contribute to the room deterrence
0:02:32
yeah i think you make some better off things considered i know it's tough to lose marcus smart but
0:02:37
yet and then i guess lastly they ended up with jordan walsh in the draft a big range eversatile hard-nosed wing from arkansas can really defend and gets after it will be fair to him uh... going on to the Nets, they're in a, you know, what I'd say is a relatively good spot considering all things like losing the most talented super team ever with nothing to show for it. And this offseason they just extended Cam Johnson to four years, 100, signed Dennis Smith Jr. to a one-year deal. I like that fit a lot. And then they signed Lonnie Walker, gave him a one-year deal, sure.
0:03:12
I think they got to keep McHale. I think McHale could turn into a star. I mean, maybe not like a First team all-nba player, but he could be a backbone of your franchise and a player you can build around
0:03:22
Yeah, no, it's a good point You know, I think that I'd keep him too, but they also have reportedly gotten some insane offers last year So there's a good chance that they cash in and keep going on the rebuild they just drafted no clowny derek whitehead who are both i really like and uh... jaylen wilson and lastly i'm excited to see what cam thomas' role is like he had that sporadic stretch where he was dropping forty in like every game for a week and a half but uh... then was relegated back to the bench so see what's going on there next we have the hornets who you know at the time of this recording they uh... have not settled everything they still have to deal with pj washington this and Amari Bailey. All I guess W's, I'm, you know, I think Smith can develop into a really good shot creator and I'm even higher on Amari Bailey's perimeter defense. I do think they
0:04:37
missed on Scoot though. Do you disagree there? I don't think it's as big of a miss as others
0:04:42
did but I would have taken Scoot. I think the Hornets are just a dumpster fire in general. Yeah, yeah. I saw the answer Mitch Kupchak gave about drafting Brandon was uh, got a lot of laughs on Twitter, but um to go on to the Bulls, you know, I don't have a ton of say to say about them personally. I think they're in a pretty rough little purgatory with the core they have where it's just tough to shake it up in a way that makes sense. But also just pretending that you can compete and throwing them out there isn't isn't it either. So So yeah, I really hope to see Lonzo recover. It really sucks. See what he's going on and Yeah, um, they brought back Kobe white at 340 and signed Ron Carter and Torrey Craig I don't know if you have any thoughts about them From everything I've heard about Lamella. It sucks, but I don't think he'll probably play in the NBA again there's an NHL player named Gabriel Landis Cog who has the same injury to his knee got the same surgery and it's basically like a very long shot that he'll ever play hockey again.
0:05:44
So I can't imagine basketball where it's more strain on the joints.
0:05:47
That's just so demoralizing. I really, really hope the best for him. But yeah, next, the Cavs. Yeah, they haven't had an interesting offseason. They've gotten good grades from a lot of the people. I don't necessarily agree with that. They filled some roles like wing shooting by bringing in George Niang and trading for Max Struess, but they spent a boatload of money in doing so. Struess got $4.63, and George Niang got three years $26 mil, and they re-signed Karis Laverne on a two-year $32 mil. I'm not really a fan of any of those to be honest and they took a swing late in the second with Amani Bates Sure, and then you know recently Brian Wintor said his cryptic calves tweet Where you know we saw last time what happened when he wondered what's going on in Utah? He basically asked the same about Cleveland, so guess we'll see what's going on. Yes
0:06:46
The Mavs, you know, they re-signed Kyrie, which is the right thing to do.
0:06:48
You can't let him walk for nothing at this point. And they traded for Grant Williams, signed Seth Curry, Dante Exum, who made a little NBA return on a guaranteed deal, and re-signed Dwight Powell. Not game changers, but solid additions in my opinion. And they also got Derek Lively in the draft, who I think is a really great fit there. I thought Dante Exum was going to be better. You were big on him, huh? Yeah. I'm excited to see him back. I think he will see I know that that team needs defenders so he can hopefully contribute there. The Nuggets are next. The Nuggets I don't I'm not a fan really at all of their offseason. They they lost Jeff Green, Bruce Brown, Thomas Bryant and free agency signed Justin Holliday and re-signed Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan. signed justin holliday and resigned reggie jackson and andre jordan i definitely didn't expect them to resign either of those guys and today on even though his price tag was high they let bruce brown walk after hammered mike malone was uh... announcing bruce eb and going nowhere kind of just the perils of winning a championship for players values get driven up and then you can't keep them so yeah i think it's a staple of a championship team is having good rookie contracts that you know eventually age out. So it's a good point the Pistons Didn't do a ton. I like that. They're out there offseason now. They traded for Flint, Michigan native Monte Morris For a second rounder. I think that's really good value. He shot over 38% from three in the past two seasons He's one of the better backup point guards in ball Yeah, I think that's a good get they drafted a sar Thompson and Marcus Sasser. I'm really high in the Thompson twins I think it's ours Already a phenomenal defender and open core operator just from his athleticism And I think he has the makings and mindset to be really good in this league Sasser out of the U of Houston was a vet there drove the offense for a while was their leader So I like both of those. Yeah me too. I think they're both good picks. Yeah. The Warriors, I guess I'll let you cover. They traded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, extended Draymond and signed Corey Joseph. I don't like the Corey Joseph signing because he's terrible. I saw they were saying on Twitter they showed a highlight of him and it was Steve Kerr commentating the highlight, so it was from like 2012. Obama era. The Draymond contract, I like. It had to happen. I mean, he's the centerpiece of our defense if you trade him you're basically saying okay we're not winning a championship with Steph again at this point Jordan Poole for Chris Paul I mean it wasn't ideal but to get Poole's contract off the books and to get Chris Paul not I'm not a Chris Paul guy it's definitely a definitely not a 38 and I'm kind of the type of guy who prefers my adversaries to stay my adversaries. But I mean, to get the pool contract off was a big thing. So the Rockets had a really active, very, very active offseason. They had like $60 million open cap space and they definitely used it. They gave Dylan Brooks four years $80 million. They gave Fred Van Vliet three years, 130 million, and they gave Jeff Green a one-year deal and Jack Landau a four-year deal. On one hand, I'm very glad to see them go after vets and talent that helps now, but that is a lot of money to give guys who've shot a combined 39.45% from the field last year on a significant volume. Their draft, however, I'm a big, big fan of coming away with a man who I think I haven't met third in my big board from the whole draft, big He got five years to 60. I think that's a W Still it's interesting to see how like the Kings trade for Tyrese panned out for both teams, but They also signed Bruce Brown to two years 45 and traded for obi top and who I like as a fit and then they drafted Jairus Walker who for my money is probably the best fit in the draft from a player to team I think that he fits in there really well Next we have the Clippers. The Clippers traded for K.J.
0:11:17
Martin.
0:11:18
I think they just gave up second round capital for it. That's a big W to me. He's a really like wiry wing who can jump out of the ceiling and I think contribute a lot there. They waived Eric Gordon, which saved some money on that contract, and re-signed Mason Plumlee and Russ. I think Russ especially is a great deal for both of them. Well, for the Clippers, Russ has already made like the fourth most money of anyone. But I think it's a great place for him to like get back to where he was and we saw how the three can function on the court and have continuity. So I like that. The Lakers had an A++ offseason in my opinion. They brought back Rui Hachimura, D'Lo, and season for The Grizzlies let Dylan Brooks walk. They brought in Derrick Rose and Marcus Smart. I think that's two really big Ws for them. Because, you know, they needed a locker room presence and a voice, and those two bring exactly that. I'm excited to see what Smart can do to bolster this defense. And more importantly, I just can't wait to see the last two defensive players of the year running around causing havoc. That's going to be pretty insane. two defensive player of the year is running around causing havoc that's going to be pretty insane. Yeah I think that's that definitely made the Grizzlies a lot better I think and especially Derrick Rose in the locker room with Jaw I think that can only be a positive. 100% yeah because especially like you know D Rose had to deal with a lot of the young perils of a superstar too so I know I agree and then they resigned Desmond Bain to 5-2 of 7 which a lot of people are saying is high. Maybe, I'm a big fan of Bain though. I think he contributes a lot on both ends. They've got to deal with Jaws 25 game suspension, see if they can weather that storm. I'd imagine they can, they've done really well without him in the last two years. But that takes Jaws out of contention for awards and no NBA.
0:13:58
That's probably by design.
0:14:00
Yeah, I think Silver had that in mind for sure. Next is The Heat who re-signed Kevin Love, brought back Josh Richardson on a team-friendly deal and brought in Thomas Bryant to plug some back-up big depth, which we really needed last year. They lost shooting depth with Struce and Vincent going, and they traded Oladipo's contract to the Thunder in addition to some capital. Those moves, again, as time of recording, Damien Lillard is a trailblazer. But yeah, the Ola Depot trade opened up like $10 million in cap space, and Stoos and Vincent obviously opened some room by not giving them bags. But I heard Dan Lebitard talking about how he doesn't think this all the trip a all the people trade happens to get dame he think it happens because you're getting dame so um... yeah i think that it's about time i'd love to see dave in three of us at this point just will the blazers sign off on the return which they're trying to play hardball now but they kinda have to play hardball because when dave announced he wants to go to the heat and Nicola Jovic gained visible weight and has shown some real nice flashes. The Bucs signed Robin Lopez and brought in Malik Beasley. They also re-signed Jay Crowder, Chris Middleton, and Brooke Lopez. to might move to somewhere like the Rockets or one of these teams that had a big bag like the Spurs but I agree I think it's good to keep him there. Obviously he's a right hand man and contributed a lot to winning a championship. Next is the Timberwolves who extended Ant-Man on five years to 60. They re-signed Nikhil Alexander-Walker and brought in wings Troy Brown and Shaq Milton. a feel like Kat's going to want out. Yeah, I mean, I would definitely be surprised if they lock into both of these guys long-term. Especially, they also signed Nas Reed to 342, which I think is a great deal for a backup big, could really fill it up and open the floor as well. Next is the Pelicans, who re-signed Herb Jones to Fouriers 54. They signed Cody's Eller and they're one of those teams that's always popping up with some comes available They have the assets to be major players in the trade market I think they're in as good a position as any to be like most improved and Take a jump. So I think they can keep Z healthy and find like a good usage rate balance for BI and CJ. They can compete to be out of the play-in as we saw for some stretches. Next, we talk about the Knicks, who signed Dante DiVincenzo and brought the Villanova band back together with him, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson. I think it's a great spot to be for the Knicks. I think they're also one of those teams that's always players in the market and tied to names that become available. So, yeah, I'm not sure if the Nets are willing to part ways with their big dog but i definitely know another villain of a player in new york who loves the garden so if they are had a big move to make in new york i think that the fund to be a fun thing was uh... yeah next you got the thunder who uh... traded to take on the victory depot and patty mills contract something that they've loved doing for a while is taking on you know that contracts that these teams don't want for draft capital and I think it's worked out really well for them. They traded in the draft for Kentucky guard Kayson Wallace, who I'm a big fan of, and another guy who I think is a really good point of attack defender. But I'm most excited to see Chet and what he's up to this year. Yeah, I think Chet is definitely a Rookie of the Year candidate. I think the only one that could really compete with Wemby this year. Yeah, no, I agree. And I think between him, SGA, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, that might be as good a 26 and under core as there is in the entire league. Like, all fitting together, they play such different roles. Yeah, I think that they have a really good chance to get back into the play and make some noise this time and uh... depending on how their uh... regular season goes i think sga could be back in the latter for mvp yeah he could definitely be a contention i don't think he'll win it but yeah they'd have to make a big jump for sure uh... the magic uh... re-sign mo wagner brought in joe ingles at two twenty two you know i'm not i don't really understand that one uh... like i get one of the veteran presence in there but. Was he even in the league last year? Yeah, but he wasn't, he was hurt like all year with that knee injury. But yeah, but they, it's time for them to figure out the guard room, you know, like with Cole and Jalen Soggs and Markell and I think one of them's got to go. I'm interested to see if Paulo and Franz can continue to grow together i think it's one of the best young front courts uh... and then i'd really like what they did in the draft getting anthony black and jet howard i think both big w's uh... i've said it enough today one last time i think anthony black is another guard from this class who i'm really high on in terms of defensive ability he's a six seven point guard who can defend turn hips move his feet at an incredible level Especially for that height if a shooting comes around he'll be really really good in this league And then they also got Jett Howard out of Michigan who showed that he has a burners with over 73 point attempts a game at 37% and Some really tough shot making so I like what they did Next is the 76ers who signed Pat Bev and Mo Bamba in free agency and got Ricky Council out of Arkansas and Terquavion Smith from North Carolina State in the draft. I think the biggest thing for me, Harden opted in to iron out a trade with them, which I don't think anyone expected. At the time of recording, he hasn't gotten traded yet, but I'm excited to see what the return looks like He's on his last year. So I'm not sure what the package will be or what the leverage they have is but Yeah, I thought it was funny How when Brian Windhorst reported recently that the Sixers were like insanely Shutting everything down for maxi like his quote was if prime MJ or 25 year old Brown comes calling for Maxie, keep it pushing." So the Suns probably had the best offseason. Them or the Lakers, for my money. They traded for Bradley Beal, didn't have to give anything besides swaps In terms of draft capital they signed on the first day of moratorium K to beats D up drew you banks Eric Gordon Damien Lee Chimayze metu Joshua Kogi and you saw Watanabe much NPC character they are but they also like provide such different roles like I do think that they have a big lack at point guard still But you know between book Beal and Katie those guys can handle the ball There's not an issue there, but they added a lot of depth like these guys These NPCs like Okoge is a freak athlete defender we saw him have that like a snatch block on a three on Jalen green last season and go to the other floor and pound it on put him in the rim, but or Nah, but on a serious note, as we record, Dame has not been moved, it's years overdue, and the game of chicken they're playing is frankly just annoying. All the reporting, everyone outside of ESPN is saying it's Miami and no one else, and Woz and ESPN are adamant that there's plenty of players, and I guess we'll see, but I'm I think once they do, they're in a really, really good rebuild spot. They drafted Scoot, who I think is a generational ball handler. And then you saw last year's lotto pick Shaden Sharp take massive leaps all year and look like he could be an elite wing of the future. And also Anthony Simons, a 24-year-old who averaged 21 points per game and shot 40% over the last three seasons from three. They extended Jeremy Grant 5'1", 60. I don't really know how to feel about that. He's not old. I don't think it's a crazy figure but yeah, it's certainly a lot more than I expected. It seemed like a deal that would have precipitated Dame staying but obviously that's not happening. Yeah, you wonder if that was like part of why they did it to try and you know entice him but the kings um signed domas to tomatoes to an extension for five years 217. they re-signed alex lennon trey lyles and brought in rookie kobe jones from xavier i mean i just love celebrating their climb to relevance last year and all the antics with the beam team and um you know all the the vibes in that arena i'd just think it's really fun to watch i hope they continue to build on that uh... specially like when you talk about what mike brown has done their uh... but they're offensive tempo and uh... you know being able to really running down and get guys going the spurs uh... swam b time uh... excited to see what they're able to do what kind of role he's in on offense and defense and the kind of leash that he gets They also were a team like the Rockets that had a ton of cap to spend and didn't choose to Which is fine. I don't think you need to they resigned Trey Jones at two years 20, which I think is very good and Resigned Mamu at two years at basically the minimum Also, they drafted two G League ignite guys who we both got to see play against Wemby Here is in Leonard Miller and CD Sissoko But yeah, I'm excited to see What lineups they run what positions Vic finds himself in? One which I find particularly fun is him and Sohan in the frontcourt. I just think They're both really really good defenders Yeah, I'm excited to see what they can do. Next we got the Raptors who re-signed Jakub Pertl for four years 80-mil. They signed Dennis Schroeder and brought in Jalen McDaniels. Drafted Grady Dick who was one of the best shooters in the draft for a team that was third to last in percentage and third to last in makes last season. So that's a big win for them. I think he can come in and impact immediately. The biggest thing for me is what to do with Pascal. Yeah, I'm not sure what they do there.
0:27:22
Trade him to the Warriors.
0:27:25
Yeah, you know, because there was reports last year of him and Freddie having just issues in the locker room with the young guys and wanting more maturity or whatnot. But yeah, he's been in talks and I think we'll see them move him, especially if you consider the log jam they have there with OG and Scotty, who deserve their own paths to grow to. So last two, we got the Jazz. The Jazz traded, like I said earlier, but the Hawks, they traded a second and Rudy Gay for John Collins. I think that's a really big W. You really didn't have to give up much. He's a guy that's only like 25 years old. Wouldn't you imagine he's way older? He's only like 25 and he's a guy that I think can contribute there You know, we saw that like that. Well, they resigned Jordan Clarkson But yeah, I thought they did a good job on draft night with Taylor Hendricks Keonte George and Bryce sensible on the first But I just think so far they have like a pretty ideal blueprint in starting a rebuild. Like, they've acquired an insane amount of draft capital between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. And, you know, while displaying young star talent like Markanen and Marker Kessler, they've still been able to, like, compete and not just sit at the bottom of the standings. So to close it out, the Wizards, finally, finally in a rebuild. For years, it's bothered me that they have just been a team stuck in the purgatory of mediocrity. The appeal to fans to see players like Bradley Beal and Chris Stops always seemed to ownership too valuable for them to move them and start over to try and win. Which I completely understand from an ownership perspective, but from a fan perspective that wants to see winning, it bothers me not to see them just go through with it. So I'm happy they're finally here. And yeah, they brought in Jordan Poole, has allowed a chance to grow and re-signed Kuz to 4-100, which I think is a very, very good deal. And yeah, despite moving off Montaigne Morris, they kept their trend of collecting elite backcourt bench talent by adding tyus jones so i think they uh... they're in a good chance to build towards the future and um... yeah that's it for the wizards uh... and that's it for all of them i appreciate you guys tuning in thanks for being here that's a wrap for gucci row this week thanks for tuning in on the rebel hd2 with your hosts Kevin Kelly and Will Despard. You can find us on with your hosts Kevin Kelly and Will Despard. You can find us on Instagram at 1kevkelly and willdespard. We'll see you next time on the Rebel HD 2.