- 6/23/2025
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00:00face. Good morning to Nick Friedle. And Nick, I'm going to ask you this point blank right
00:05here. What was the biggest takeaway for you yesterday? I'm going to give you three options
00:10to choose from. Was it the Thunder winning the NBA Finals? Was it Kevin Durant heading
00:16to the Houston Rockets? Or was it Tyrese Halliburton's injury? Good morning.
00:21Wow, I stumped him. There he is. Oh, Nick, we got you now. Rewind it. Go again.
00:32Hit the button, baby. Let's go. Spadone, Mr. Shasky, how we doing?
00:40What's up, buddy? I would say as far as the ramifications for next season, I actually
00:51would probably lean towards the KD trade. And Spadone, as you guys were going through
00:58everything that Kevin has done and all the different places he's bounced around, specific
01:05to the question, what's interesting to me is can you imagine being Kevin yesterday in
01:10that he gets traded, at least the news breaks, while he's up at that festival in New York
01:18City and it's happening live and in front of everybody. And then you fast forward, you know,
01:25six, seven hours and he's watching Halliburton deal with the exact same thing injury-wise
01:32that he dealt with in the finals from a few years back in Toronto. And then to cap it all
01:37off, the Thunder, the team that he's most known for being with all those years, they finally
01:44win their first title. So it's always an interesting day around KD in that orbit. But I think yesterday
01:51would have been right at the top of any day we've seen because of all the different ways
01:58in which the events hit him. But as far as that deal goes, I think the Rockets got a lot
02:05better. They got the guy they needed to go to late in games. And I know the conversation
02:10around Kevin, especially after the Phoenix trade and their inability to play with any consistency
02:17has kind of shifted and people think, ah, can he really make that big of a difference at
02:21this age? I still think he can. I think people are way too down on him given where his talent
02:29level is still at. And if you put him around a group of younger guys who are trying to find
02:35their way, I think it's a really solid addition because I think it will only revitalize him day
02:42to day in playing not only at the same high level he always does, but in being the kind
02:48of difference maker that he still can be for a really good team.
02:52Okay, so they make that move and in some way you've got KD, Schengen, Thompson. It's a heck
03:00of a trio. And then you look at what OKC pulled off, having an unbelievable regular season, going
03:06through the gauntlet in the West, and now they're the champs. Where does that leave the
03:10Golden State Warriors as you look at those two teams? And you have to assume there's going
03:15to be other movement. But today, how do you view the Warriors and what do you think they
03:21need to do here? Joe, I think they're really good if they can stay healthy as we know. Who
03:30knows at this point with Steph Draymond and Jimmy at the ages and the wear and tear they've
03:37dealt with through all those extra playoff years on their body. The Warriors are going
03:43to make another move, another couple moves, of course. And it remains to be seen exactly
03:47who those guys are, what happens with Kaminga, all the storylines you guys go through day
03:54to day. But where I am hesitant to make any definitive call on the Warriors right now is
04:01because I know Mike Dunleavy and Joe Lacob, once that trade deadline rolls around in the
04:09middle of next year, we're going to be sitting here talking about, all right, well, what happens?
04:13And is there a star, one more star that they can acquire to kind of piece together with what
04:20they've got now? I still think they have a puncher's chance to win one more because I still believe
04:28in Steph at the level that he's playing at right now. I still believe in Jimmy being able to show
04:35something different than what he did at the end of that Minnesota series because guys, I think we'd all
04:40agree, after he took that fall in Houston, he just wasn't the same. His body just wasn't moving
04:47the way that we're used to seeing him. So in my mind, as I look at the Warriors, you take OKC certainly
04:54ahead of them and maybe Denver, depending on what they do around Jokic. But I still think they have
05:01a chance. And that was the whole reason to make that Jimmy move, to give yourself one more chance.
05:07But I think this is the year coming. This is the moment. If they don't do it this year, then the door is
05:14probably shut.
05:15So you got them down to this year. All right. So this offseason, like, are any of these likely, are any of
05:21these scenarios like Giannis, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker? I mean, is that where they should be shopping
05:30right now? Like, or is that just completely unrealistic? I think there's always some semblance
05:37of a chance, Mr. Shesky, when you have Steph. He is the ultimate magnet of guys who you're always
05:47going to say, oh, I'd love to play with Steph. So in that regard, I don't think you can ever just shut
05:53it all down and say, oh, I don't think there's any chance whatsoever. I think a lot of it is very
06:00unlikely. And I'm cracking up thinking of the idea that here we go again, talking about Bradley Beal
06:07five, six years later, because he was the guy that we talked about for all those years. Oh, can they get
06:13Bradley Beal? Is he the difference maker? I don't think he's the same player he was when we were having
06:20those conversations originally. But with any of those guys, if you have the chance to play with
06:26Steph Curry, that's always something that's going to kind of fit in your mind. And if you're the
06:33Warriors, do I think it's realistic with Giannis? I don't. But if you're Giannis down the line and
06:41you're saying, hey, I've loved Milwaukee, but I want to win. Do you say to the Bucs, do whatever it
06:48takes to make this happen? I think the Warriors are going to look a lot like the Warriors we saw
06:55at the end of last year. That's what happens when you trade for Jimmy and you give him that extension
07:01and the money is where the money is. But the idea that they shouldn't even think about adding somebody
07:08of that tier on that level, I don't think that's the way they should go because they still have
07:14Steph Curry. And Steph is still playing at an incredibly high level. I don't know how much
07:20longer that level can stay the way that it is because he's at the age that he's at. But
07:27anybody in the league wants to play with him because you know that you're not only playing with
07:34a superstar for the ages, you're playing in an organization that will pay what it takes
07:41to try and win year after year. Talking with Nick Fidel here on the Morning Roast as insider calls
07:47are brought to you by Hyundai. Hyundai helps protect you and your family on the road. We put your safety
07:52first and everything else second. Nick Fidel, our Odyssey NBA sports insider. And Nick, is there a team
07:59we're not talking about right now when it comes to who's going to be wheeling and dealing this off
08:03season? I didn't see the Orlando Magic making that deal for Desmond Bain. That was kind of crazy.
08:08I understood it from their perspective. They need a young player. A guy can score. A ball handler.
08:12I actually love the deal. Maybe they gave up a lot in hindsight. But you know what? They're going
08:16for it at least. And now in the East with Halliburton's injury, that kind of looks wide open with Celtics
08:20and Tatum's injury. So they're going for it. Is there a team we're not talking about that could
08:24be wheeling and dealing this offseason? I mean, Spadone, I would have said the Magic prior to
08:30the Bain deal. And now it looks like they're moving in. I mean, I know the Timberwolves have
08:37some assets that they could turn around. I go back to what is going to happen in Denver.
08:45Because they were supposed to be the team a couple years ago after they won. I mean,
08:51that's always kind of what happens, guys. Oh, man, how long can this go? Oh, the Nuggets
08:55have Jokic and they have Murray. Oh, how many titles can they win? Oh, the Celtics finally won.
09:01Well, Tatum and Brown in that core, they can win and win and win. Now today, we're talking
09:06about the Thunder. Oh, my gosh, SGA, Sam Presti has all those picks. We'll see. But I go back
09:14to Denver and I think Jokic, to me, is still the very best player in the game. If you have
09:21the right pieces around him and you get not only your coach and your front office settled,
09:28but you put the pieces around that group that already knows that it has not only the ability
09:35to do it, but the confidence of having done it, that's the team I still keep an eye on.
09:41Because, I mean, Jokic, because he's so quiet and he doesn't want the media attention, people
09:45just kind of forget. That dude is incredible. I mean, they almost beat the Thunder with everything
09:52else going on in that organization this year. So, I don't know how many moves that they're
09:58going to make in the next few weeks, but Joe, as I look at where they're at, I sit there
10:04and go, everybody better keep an eye on that team. Because if you find the right piece that
10:10keeps everything moving, and Jokic is still the player that he has shown to be these last
10:15few years, everything looks pretty wide open there. But I'm with you on a broader note about
10:21the East, because I can't remember a time where it has been this wide open going into
10:25a new year.
10:27Speaking of wheeling and dealing, there are reports, they're all like internet reports,
10:32so I don't know how real they are, but all the Warriors and Jonathan Kaminga could settle
10:37on some sort of a multi-year, $30 million a year deal, somewhere in the $60 to $90 million
10:43range. If you had to guess today, is Jonathan Kaminga on this team come November
10:51first? And are they better if he's on this team, or are they worse if he's on this team?
10:59If I had to guess, I would guess that he would be on the team somehow. I say that, Joe, because
11:05we've been talking about Kaminga for the last few years, and it's always like, oh, well,
11:11what about this deal? What about this deal? What about including him for this? And the Warriors
11:16have shown time and again that they're going to stick with him, and it's very clear that
11:22Joe Lacob really likes him. And when you have that kind of backing, well, it's tough to move
11:29on from if you've got a young player that you believe is going to get a lot better. Are
11:33they better or worse if they keep him moving forward? I mean, it's all in the eye of the
11:39beholder. I, as I watch Kaminga from a distance, just don't think he fits in the structure.
11:46It's what you guys discuss on a daily basis. But when I watch the style of the way the Warriors
11:53want to play, and I think, all right, are they going to be able to bring the best out
11:58of him? And is he going to be able to bring the best out of them and Steph and the rest
12:03of that group? I really don't see the fit. It's why consistently for the last couple
12:08of years, I've been saying I would have moved Kaminga and gotten back other pieces to either
12:13push with towards trying to win a new title or getting somebody else in place of whatever
12:21you got back asset wise. But because of the contract, because of what could happen here
12:29in the next few months, it makes it a lot more intriguing. I just don't believe that
12:35Kaminga and the Warriors are ever going to get the most out of what each other wants in
12:42the relationship. And that's why if it were me, if I were Mike Dunleavy, I would probably
12:48make that move this summer. But it's easy to say that it's a lot harder to actually make
12:54a deal that works where you think you're getting the value you want for a young asset
13:00that is clearly valued in different spots around the league.
13:04Talk with Nick Fidel here on the Morning Roast, our Odyssey NBA Sports Insider. One more for
13:09you, Nick. We appreciate the time. What did you make of the Halliburton injury, playing
13:14through the calf strain? A lot's been made about all the Achilles injuries that have happened
13:18this season. Playoffs and regular season combined, five players now with devastating Achilles
13:23injuries. Does the NBA have a workload problem, or was this just an unfortunate season when
13:29it came to the Stars getting hurt?
13:31I think they have to go back and really look at the numbers, Spadone, because if it's happening
13:38over and over and over again, and it is just way too much now, there is some kind of issue.
13:48Are guys not getting the rest they need? Are they not playing the same minutes that
13:53they might have played in years past prior to all this rest and load management stuff that
14:01has become prevalent around the league? As I watched Halliburton last night, though, what
14:07made me sad on top of his short-term future is immediately you go from talking about a
14:13Pacers team that was the talk of the NBA, and they had earned so much respect for the way
14:20they played. And then all of a sudden, boom, the window's gone. It's over. And the Warriors
14:27lived it with KD. There are plenty of other teams. The Celtics obviously are living it with
14:33Tatum right now. That is a very difficult injury to come back from. You can. I mean, modern medicine
14:38has allowed and shown that guys can do it. But when you're that young and you suffer that
14:44kind of injury, it is a real struggle not only for the player himself, but the organization.
14:52And that's why I don't know what the answer is. The NBA doesn't have the answer either.
14:56But they have got to find a way for their best players to be out there on the floor. And for
15:03as much credit as Halliburton will get till the end of time for trying to be out there, the much
15:09larger issue is how much it can change everything, not only for the team, but for the league in
15:15the blink of an eye. So nobody has the clear cut answer. But if you're the NBA, you've got
15:21to study different ways to find a way to make sure that guys do not suffer these kind of
15:27catastrophic injuries, because there's no way there's not some sort of correlation because
15:33of how many different times it's happened now in the last couple of seasons.
15:36Nick, I actually lied. I have one more question for you. So now that the Pacers probably not
15:42going to win a title without their best player next year, Celtics, no Tatum, probably not
15:46going to win a title next year. If Giannis is the big guy this offseason, if I'm him, I'm
15:52looking at the East all of a sudden like, maybe I should just stay here, right? Why would
15:56I want to go to a Western Conference team? Is that looking too much into it?
16:00I don't think it's looking too much into it, Fedome, because if I'm Giannis, I'm thinking
16:04the same thing. The problem, though, is, and this ties into everything we're talking
16:08about, Lillard's hurt. The Bucs' chances, they're done. They're just not going to win.
16:14Somebody has to come out of the East. And as we saw, the Raptors' Warriors series is
16:20a perfect example of that. From a few years ago, KD gets hurt, Klay gets hurt. The Raptors
16:27find a way with Kawhi and they win. And when you win, you win forever. And that's what everybody
16:32will remember. But specific to Giannis, he has to decide this summer. Is it really about
16:39winning and trying to add more titles? Or is it about staying in one place? If it's about
16:45staying in one place, great. More power to them. But the Bucs are not good enough to get
16:50close to another title anytime soon. The money is where it is. Lillard's injury factors into
16:56all of it. And on top of the fact that Giannis is getting older, like everybody does. So if I'm
17:02him and I want to win 100%, I stay in the East because the East is wide open. And if you put
17:08Giannis on one of those East teams, immediately they become a favorite because he's still that
17:14good. But as usual in the NBA, the much larger issue is actually trying to find a deal that works
17:22for everybody involved. My much larger issue, guys, as we close it down here, is like all
17:29we're talking about in the league always is who's going to move to the next team and what's going
17:36to happen that's going to create some kind of runway for another team to get to a different
17:43place. And the focus is just never on the games anymore. And we're talking about injuries
17:50and what does the league have to look at so that these injuries don't continue to pop
17:55up the way they do. They've got to find some way to put the focus back on the games night
18:01to night. In San Francisco and in the Bay, people are into the games because of Steph.
18:07Same thing, LeBron in L.A. with the Lakers. But night to night across the league, people
18:12just don't care about the average regular season game anymore. And I think that is a huge problem
18:19that they've got to put under some kind of control and get an answer to because all we
18:24talk about in the discourse around the NBA is where is the next star going to play the
18:32next time they get a chance to move somewhere. And that takes away from still how good of
18:38a level these games can be night to night.
18:40Hey, Nick, great stuff. We greatly appreciate it. And he says, folks, puncher's chance for the
18:45dubs next year. Would it be the double bonus title? Is that what we're dubbing it, Nick?
18:50The one-and-one, and they made the first free throw. Absolutely. I like it.
18:55I love that. Nick, good stuff. We'll do it again sometime soon, man. Thank you.
18:59See you, buddy.
19:00All right, you got it, guys. Have a good one.
19:01There you go. That was Odyssey Sports NBA Insider Nick Friedle. Insider calls are brought
19:04to you by Hyundai. We put your safety first and everything else second. Learn more at HyundaiUSA.com.
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