- 05/07/2025
🚨 On GET UP, Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps dive into the latest wave of NBA free agency and trade rumors, covering:
✅ The Los Angeles Lakers officially signing Jaxson Hayes to bolster their frontcourt depth
✅ New buzz surrounding LeBron James potentially joining the Dallas Mavericks alongside Luka Dončić
✅ Fresh reports linking Bradley Beal to the Miami Heat, reviving a blockbuster trade possibility
The ESPN crew breaks down what Hayes brings to the Lakers' rotation, how realistic a LeBron-to-Dallas move would be, and whether Miami is finally ready to go all-in on Beal. Big names, big speculation — and a big shake-up coming in the NBA 2025 offseason.
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Hashtags:
#GETUP #Lakers #LeBronJames #Mavericks #BradleyBeal #MiamiHeat #JaxsonHayes #Windhorst #Bontemps #NBA2025 #NBARumors
Keyword Tags (Inside Description):
LeBron to Mavericks rumor, Bradley Beal Heat trade, Jaxson Hayes Lakers signing, Windy NBA free agency, Bontemps NBA trade talk, ESPN GET UP NBA, Lakers 2025 roster, LeBron James trade speculation, Miami Heat offseason targets, NBA superteam rumors
✅ The Los Angeles Lakers officially signing Jaxson Hayes to bolster their frontcourt depth
✅ New buzz surrounding LeBron James potentially joining the Dallas Mavericks alongside Luka Dončić
✅ Fresh reports linking Bradley Beal to the Miami Heat, reviving a blockbuster trade possibility
The ESPN crew breaks down what Hayes brings to the Lakers' rotation, how realistic a LeBron-to-Dallas move would be, and whether Miami is finally ready to go all-in on Beal. Big names, big speculation — and a big shake-up coming in the NBA 2025 offseason.
🔖 Hashtags + Keyword Tags (Inside the Description)
Hashtags:
#GETUP #Lakers #LeBronJames #Mavericks #BradleyBeal #MiamiHeat #JaxsonHayes #Windhorst #Bontemps #NBA2025 #NBARumors
Keyword Tags (Inside Description):
LeBron to Mavericks rumor, Bradley Beal Heat trade, Jaxson Hayes Lakers signing, Windy NBA free agency, Bontemps NBA trade talk, ESPN GET UP NBA, Lakers 2025 roster, LeBron James trade speculation, Miami Heat offseason targets, NBA superteam rumors
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SportTranscription
00:00A big donut hole in their lineup, agreeing to a two-year deal with center DeAndre Ayton.
00:05You'll remember that last year they acknowledged they needed a rim protector and a pick-and-roll
00:09partner for Luka Doncic, and they got it.
00:13Let's keep it Lake Show with our NBA reporter, Tim Bontemps, who's joining us now.
00:17Tim, where do LeBron, Luka, and the Lakers go from here after they added DeAndre Ayton?
00:22Well, Al, first off, they needed to get a center.
00:25So getting DeAndre Ayton in the fold is a big move for the Lakers.
00:28This is a guy who, if he'd been available at the start of free agency, would have been
00:31one of the most talented players on the board.
00:34This is a guy who obviously was a key part of the Suns' run to the finals in 2021.
00:39He was the number one overall pick in 2018.
00:40He's a guy that can be the lob threat that Luka Doncic needs in the paint.
00:44And if he does lock in and play well for the Lakers, he could be a real difference maker
00:48for this team.
00:49However, Al, this is a Lakers team that did lose in five games in the first round to the
00:54Minnesota Timberwolves.
00:55It was a Timberwolves team that went on to lose in five games to the Oklahoma City Thunder
00:58in the conference finals.
01:00So the Lakers, to improve from where they were last season, they've got to try to find
01:04some more perimeter shooting.
01:05They've got to try to find some more perimeter athleticism.
01:07They particularly are lacking in backcourt depth, particularly on the defensive end of
01:11the court.
01:12Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves, not exactly strong defenders.
01:15They need some help there.
01:16And just generally, they need to try to find some more depth overall.
01:19Obviously, if they didn't have LeBron James and Luka Doncic out there playing well,
01:22they've got a chance to contend with anybody, but they need the supporting cast to improve
01:25if they really want to be a factor in the West.
01:27Yeah.
01:27And we certainly saw that play out in the postseason.
01:29Lakers right now, by the way, seventh best odds to win the title at 14 to one.
01:33I want to keep it in the West.
01:34We have a coach in New York, but first, I think we should talk about the Lakers getting
01:38a center.
01:40That was them getting DeAndre Ayton on a two-year deal.
01:43I have to say, while DeAndre Ayton has flaws in his game, which we have discussed in this
01:50podcast over the course of years, when you don't have a center and you're limited in
01:55what you can spend, getting a player who can produce on that level for that money, which
02:02was about $8 million a year, is a decent save.
02:07So while he's not the perfect player, and nor do I think he's the long-term fit as the
02:14center for Luka, it is a much better position than they were in two days ago, Bontemps.
02:21Yeah.
02:22I mean, look, we've been talking about the Lakers getting a center literally from the moment
02:25they traded for Luka Doncic back in, I guess, late January, early February.
02:29I don't remember exactly what the date was.
02:32They obviously made the Mark Williams trade.
02:33They rescinded it almost immediately afterward.
02:35And ever since then, it's been like, all right, who are the Lakers going to get at center?
02:39And yes, DeAndre Ayton is a flawed player.
02:41He's far from a perfect player.
02:43There is a reason he was just bought out of the max deal he was on.
02:46That being said, he also is one of the most talented centers that was available this summer.
02:50I can argue he was the second most talented center after Miles Turner on the market.
02:55And the Lakers getting him on this deal, a two-year deal at less than the full mid-level,
03:00I think, player option on the second year, that is, to me, a real win for them to get
03:07this deal done.
03:08And that's not to say that DeAndre Ayton is going to be an all-star with the Lakers,
03:13but he is a guy with a lot of talent who fits in many ways what they need.
03:18He could be a presence inside, particularly on offense.
03:22He's not often played to the level he is capable of on defense.
03:26But if the Lakers can coax some good play out of him, he could really make a significant
03:31impact this year for them.
03:32It'd be a big upgrade over Jackson Hayes.
03:34And also, yes, he's not a max player, but it is a far different calculus to become a
03:40good signing when you have to clear being a guy that's not essentially what is the room
03:44mid-level, around $8 or $9 million, than if you're making $35 million.
03:48So the Lakers still have a lot of holes.
03:51They're still, I think, outside the top four in the Western Conference.
03:54But DeAndre Ayton will help them.
03:57I think it's a good signing and at least gets them started while they've seen several other
04:01teams in the West make upgrades over the past week or so.
04:04I would argue he was the most talented center on the market.
04:08He's the most physically gifted center on the market.
04:13You know, the problem with DeAndre Ayton has never been about talent.
04:18He's 7'2", 250, chiseled, athletic, has good touch.
04:22Like, he has all the talent in the world.
04:25Called him a talented doofus on GetUp.
04:28And I don't mean doofus as in a lack of intelligence.
04:30I just mean he tends to be foolish.
04:34I mean, he's, you know, just like he tends to just wear down his coaches, his veteran
04:41teammates, just with not malicious stuff, but he's late.
04:46You know, he's not paying attention to detail.
04:47He's snowed in, you know, all these kind of things.
04:52There was a, I did a piece on him a couple of years ago when he was sort of ascending,
04:57when the suns were ascending.
04:59And I remember finding all of these videos of Chris Paul screaming at him in the huddle.
05:07Like every single huddle, Chris Paul was yelling at him about something.
05:11Like, every single night.
05:15Now, if it's not a coincidence, that was the best stretch of his career when he had Chris
05:19Paul directing him around the court.
05:21To DeAndre Ayton's credit, he did play a significant role on a team that went to the NBA Finals,
05:27was up 2-0 in the Finals.
05:29You know, also to Chris Paul's credit.
05:31I was really down on the fit of DeAndre Ayton with the Lakers because I know, like, hey,
05:39if he's going to be not rolling hard and wanting post-ups and all that kind of stuff,
05:45Luka is not a guy known for an extraordinary level of patience with his teammates.
05:52I think J.J. Redick's patience could certainly be tested.
05:55And I talked to a couple people yesterday about DeAndre Ayton.
05:59I talked to one former Phoenix staffer, one former Portland staffer.
06:04And the former Phoenix staffer's like, this is not going to work.
06:08He's, you know, he's going to do this little half roll thing.
06:11Luka's going to just get fed up with him.
06:13You know, J.J. Redick's going to get driven crazy.
06:16This is going to be a disaster.
06:18The Portland, former Portland staffer was like, listen, everything that went wrong in Portland,
06:24some of it was on DeAndre, some of it was on the organization.
06:28His feeling, though, was Ayton's going to understand the situation here.
06:34He's not a max player.
06:36He's a guy who's been dumped by two franchises.
06:39And as you said, he's basically playing on a prove-it deal for the room mid-level here,
06:44you know, with a one-year deal plus a player option.
06:48And that that's going to create a sense of urgency.
06:51It's going to create a kind of hunger that maybe he has not had at his first two stops in the league.
06:57And I said, okay, is he going to do the things you have to do to thrive playing with Luka?
07:03And he says, if he knows he's going to get past two, he'll roll hard.
07:07You know, and he pointed out that he was a very effective roll finisher with Chris Paul
07:13during their time together with his son.
07:15So after that conversation, I am a little bit more optimistic about this.
07:21And the thing is, if Ayton, it's all about attitude.
07:24It's all about willingness to do dirty work.
07:27If he does those things, it does have a chance to be a long-term fit.
07:31I think it's either going to be a long-term fit or a short-term circus fire.
07:36Yeah, so I would also say, I think the Lakers need even another center because...
07:47Well, you need more than one.
07:48And right now they have one.
07:50You probably need a second one.
07:51I will also add one thing really quick.
07:53It is worth pointing out that I believe, and you guys can correct me if I'm wrong,
07:57I'm pretty sure that it was the DeAndre Ayton side of the equation that went to the Blazers
08:01and helped orchestrate this buyout.
08:04I think in part because they sort of saw the writing on the wall in Portland
08:07and saw that they drafted Donovan Klingon last year.
08:10They drafted Yang Hanson, I believe is how we're saying it, this year.
08:14And they clearly were going in a different direction at the center spot.
08:18And to McMahon's point, this is DeAndre Ayton's chance to reset what people think of him
08:24and his career going forward.
08:25Like, if this goes well, there's a lot of cap space next summer.
08:29He is an extremely talented player.
08:31I believe he's still only 26.
08:33Like, he could still cash in and have a totally different second half of his career.
08:39Or he could go the other way and be a guy that's looking at a minimum deal a year from now.
08:44And like, that's all entirely down to how he handles what is a pretty great opportunity in front of him.
08:52Well, and I think that was the concern from DeAndre Ayton and his agents when they went to Portland.
08:58But obviously, Portland was looking to move on from him.
09:00Portland was, you know, it made all the sense of the world for Portland to have phased him out this year
09:04and gone with their young bigs.
09:07And if Ayton's kind of in a – look, I don't think Ayton's a guy who's great at masking his feelings
09:13or preventing his feelings from being evident when he's on the floor.
09:18That's true.
09:19If he's feeling unappreciated, if he's feeling, you know, maybe even disrespected, unwanted,
09:25and all those kind of things, and he kind of mopes through a season,
09:28then he's looking at maybe being a minimum guy next year.
09:32Now, he gets basically all – I mean, he might have left a little bit on the table.
09:36I'm not sure I'm a minimum guy, but okay.
09:38Okay, but scrap heap guy, he's in a situation now he has a golden opportunity to restore his value
09:49with a franchise that has a glaring need for a long-term solution at that position.
09:58And if you are a big guy in the league, you've got to get over the post-up stuff,
10:04but there's no better point guard to play with than Luka Doncic.
10:09Derek Lively had more dunks during a rookie season in which he missed time with injury
10:15than DeAndre Ayton's had in any year in his career.
10:20That's a wild stat.
10:21I mean, all you got to do is roll hard and be willing to clean up the trash.
10:28And he's going to get four dunks a game, you know, plus whatever else.
10:35And, like, there will be – I think there will be opportunities for him to punish switches.
10:39Like, his post-ups have to come off of punishing smaller defenders on switches,
10:44not thinking, okay, this is a play call for me.
10:47Let me – or forget the play call.
10:49Let me go post up in the – you know, with the nail and try to operate.
10:53Like, that stuff's got to get scrapped.
10:54But he's got a chance to feast, just thriving as the pick-and-roll partner with Luka Doncic.
11:04Well, we'll be keeping an eye on the Lakers' offseason moves.
11:07It's still not clear what their roster is going to look like, so we'll see.
11:10It's now clear who the Knicks head coach is, Mike Brown.
11:16I met Mike Brown in 2005 when he was hired as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers,
11:22like, in the first week of June.
11:24And I remember at the press conference, the Cavs didn't have a GM yet.
11:29That was interesting.
11:30And so owner Dan Gilbert hired him, and at the press conference, he gave him a clock
11:37because he was giving him the gift of time.
11:42Oh, my God.
11:44Couldn't make this up.
11:45I thought he was giving him a clock because he was on the clock.
11:48I thought that's what you were saying.
11:49Right.
11:50Which is what he is in New York.
11:51He's already on the clock.
11:52Yeah.
11:53I thought it was going to be some morning on first take.
11:55I thought it was going to be some morning on first take.
11:57You said, is Mike Brown already on the hot seat?
11:59I said, obviously, because he obviously is already on the hot seat.
12:02No, there's no fault of his own.
12:04That's the situation he's walking into.
12:06During the playoffs, and this is a true story, there's another time during the playoffs
12:10where Dan Gilbert, I'm not saying he himself did it.
12:14He may have had somebody do it.
12:15He left a whoopee cushion on the seat for a playoff press conference on the podium.
12:23He left a whoopee cushion, and the Mike Brown sat on it.
12:28I tell you what.
12:29What was the point of that?
12:31To make fun of Mike Brown?
12:33Yeah, too embarrassing.
12:33Okay.
12:34I might see if I can pull that off at the live show with Bond Timps in Vegas.
12:40Dan Gilbert.
12:42Prime Dan Gilbert in the Twitter era really would have been, true Twitter era, really
12:46would have been something.
12:46The Comic Sans letter was obviously the nascent days of Twitter, but if you can imagine
12:50like the last few years, if that had happened in like 2023, the internet would have literally
12:55melted if that happened.
12:56So he bought the Cavs March 1st, 2005.
13:02Okay.
13:02On April 1st, one month in, one month as the owner.
13:07By the way, in that month, he fired the coach, and the Cavs were plummeting from being like
13:12in third or fourth place to out of the playoffs, just so you know.
13:15And on April 1st, he wanted to put out a release that said that the Cavs were signing Dennis
13:23Rodman to a 10-day contract as an April Fool's joke.
13:28Now, he didn't put it out because his PR staff talked him out of it.
13:32But that was one month into his time as owner.
13:37Well, you remember the Cuban agent.
13:37Not a boring fellow, Dan Gilbert.
13:39Not a boring fellow.
13:40So when he hired an actor to pretend to be a ref during a timeout, and then got into
13:48a fight with the actor, and Del Harris turned white as a ghost, freaked out, hurried to break
13:55it up.
13:56Oh, my God.
13:58So on Mike Brown, what you need to know about Mike Brown, and I don't think he does this
14:05anymore, but it just helps you understand a little bit about him.
14:12He, for years, used to bring his own iron on the road because he had the thing where he
14:24would iron, and an ironing board because he had this pre-
14:32He would pack an ironing board?
14:34He might have-
14:35I mean, you can't talk about anybody packing anything, given you pack 5,000 pairs of shoes.
14:40He definitely packed his preferred iron, and the man who was in charge of packing his iron
14:46ironing, was Jordy Fernandez.
14:49Jordy Fernandez was the lowest staffer on the Cavs staff, and just over from Spain, looking
15:00for a foothold in the NBA, and Jordy was kind of like, I think, I don't know what his role
15:06was, but he was basically Mike Brown's gopher.
15:09The iron man.
15:10I mean, he definitely helped out in practices and stuff, like he was doing coaching, but
15:14he was also Mike Brown's gopher, and he was in charge of packing the iron, and Mike had
15:19this thing where he, before every game, would have an ironing board set up in the coach's
15:23office, home and road, and he would iron his shirt.
15:28He wanted to be the one to iron it.
15:30It was like this zen thing for him to iron his shirt before he went out to the game.
15:34Not an OCD fellow whatsoever, Mike Brass.
15:37Right.
15:38Well, I think it's just, it more goes to the point of how sort of disciplined and persnickety
15:44he is.
15:44He was, he's the, he was raised in the air as an Air Force brat.
15:48He graduated high school at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.
15:55He was a dominant point guard, I believe, on the Ramstein Air Force Base high school or
16:00whatever, um, yeah, but anyway, um, I remember like early, you know, my years covering, covering
16:09Mike Brown, um, he, uh, he was so obsessed with defense.
16:15Um, like the Cavs, like the Cavs lose a game like 89, 86 or something.
16:22And so you'd be in the post game and you'd be like, coach, uh, offense really struggled
16:27tonight.
16:27You know, he needed some more, uh, he needs some more help for LeBron.
16:30He was like, we should have given, we, we, we lost 89, 86.
16:34We should have only given up 85 and that sort of process led to the 79, 77, uh, games in
16:44the conference finals against the Pistons.
16:47Um, it's going to be a great fit for Kat.
16:50Having said that, when the Kings won the, or got to the playoffs for the first time in
16:5916 years, two years ago, I think it was.
17:01And he, I think it was in 23 and he was named coach of the year.
17:05Um, they led the league in offense and I think they led the league in passes per game.
17:10And so it was the best offense in NBA history at that point.
17:14That's why every offense seems like it's that way every year.
17:16Right.
17:17So record that gets broken every year.
17:18Yes.
17:19So Mike Brown has come a long way in 20 years as a coach.
17:23He's really, um, he's still going to be hokey.
17:26I know that, um, that thing that's, uh, going around the internet, which was his, his, I
17:34don't know, he called a rant.
17:36Um, when he was talking about his thought process on how he wants the Kings to play.
17:42And he kept saying, we have to be good possession after possession, after possession.
17:46And he kept saying it like 17 times over just need to be methodical, but stacking or playing
17:52the right way.
17:53Possession after possession, after possession, after possession, after possession, after possession,
18:00after possession, after possession.
18:02And people thought like he was, there was a glitch in the matrix.
18:06Um, that is how he operates.
18:09He, you know, he's a pound the rock, Greg Popovich disciple.
18:14Um, so, uh, I can see how he would win a coaching search that mostly featured longevity as opposed
18:26to star power or whatever, because he, over the course of many conversations kind of wears you
18:33down and be like, you know what, this guy does it.
18:35So I don't know if it's going to mean the Knicks greatness, but that's who he is.
18:41He also had the advantage of actually not being employed by another NBA franchise as their head
18:46coach in this particular coaching search.
18:48But listen, it was a clumsy coaching search by the Knicks, but they have, like, he's a qualified
18:53guy, obviously he's been a two-time, uh, coach of the year.
18:58I do think he'll be able to, you know, walk into the Knicks facility and, and, you know,
19:03command respect from the players.
19:05The other thing in New York, I think it's important that you have a coach who's not
19:09going to be like intimidated by the, uh, media cesspool that is New York city to borrow one
19:17of my favorite Rick Cardile lines.
19:19I was going to say, I mean, these are your, these are your peers you're talking about there.
19:22I say, I say with love, Carlisle did not.
19:25He was mad at him because they were writing mean things like Mike Woodson's job was in
19:29Jeopardy, um, which was literally what he was upset about.
19:34But seriously, I think Mike Brown, you know, he, for as persnickety as he may be, he's a,
19:40he's an engaging guy.
19:42He's a funny guy.
19:43You know, I don't think he's going to have any issues kind of developing rapport and,
19:47and managing, um, you know, demanding media core, demanding beat core.
19:53I don't think that's gonna be a problem.
19:54Um, I, how much do you think his time, uh, as a warrior's assistant kind of changed him
20:01and altered his approach?
20:03A lot, a lot, um, completely altered the way he, he, he mellowed out.
20:11And I could tell Mike Brown stories for two, three hours.
20:15Um, but you know, he, he was a lot for, for players.
20:20He, he wore, you know, he wore out the calves his first time around a little bit.
20:25He wore out the Lakers in his time there.
20:27Um, uh, he was, he was kind of known for marathon practices and marathon, um, shoot arounds,
20:35especially, um, and I think being with that sort of very mature multi-championship winning
20:44team mellowed him out.
20:46Um, I think, I think it made a big difference in the way he approaches stuff.
20:50And, and for a team like the Knicks who has, you know, some pretty self, you know, Jalen
20:57Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikael Bridges.
20:59These are, these are, these are very mature dudes.
21:03So I actually think that that kind of, uh, that kind of, you know, arc in his career
21:09will probably help him.
21:10I was out there with the Warriors, uh, for a good chunk of Mike's time out there.
21:16And I, I definitely think it mellowed him out to some degree.
21:19I mean, he was always, as Brian laid out a very hard charging guy.
21:22I mean, I think he talked about that when we were on, uh, when he was on the pot a couple
21:26of years ago during the finals, I think it was after that, um, that first King seasons
21:31in 23.
21:32And he definitely, I think sort of watched how Steve Kerr handled things and took a bit
21:39of a different approach.
21:40And I do think it, it led to a lot of the things that went right in Sacramento.
21:45And the only thing I'd say about the general reception to Mike here is, um, use this analogy
21:51a few times today.
21:52I think you could draw a lot of parallels, at least if you want to be optimistic about
21:55it for the Knicks to 30 years ago, when the Yankees hired Joe Torre, when the Firebuck
22:01Showalter in a very similar circumstance, a guy that had gotten the Yankees back to the
22:06playoffs as a very popular guy with the media and in the city.
22:09And it was controversial by George Steinbrenner to fire him.
22:13And when they hired Joe Torre, who like Mike Brown was 55 years old, like Mike Brown had
22:18coached three places before, like Mike Brown hadn't won a championship before.
22:21Joe Torre's case, he hadn't won a playoff game before he got, they got destroyed for
22:26hiring him.
22:26The Clueless Show was the back page of the daily news.
22:29Nobody thought it was going to work.
22:30Everybody thought it was going to be a disaster.
22:31And that led to 12 straight playoff appearances and four titles.
22:35Now, I'm not saying the Knicks are going to become a dynastic team, but in my opinion,
22:40of the coaches that were available after, as McMahon said, they struck out on the currently
22:47employed guys who may have been potentially better fits.
22:50I always thought if it got down to people that were available, that Mike was the only real
22:55viable option among them.
22:57He's definitely going to be able to handle the media part of the job well.
23:00This is a Knicks team that needs to be picked up on the defensive end.
23:05Mike has all sorts of credentials as a defensive coach.
23:07And he showed with the Kings, he's got the ability to run a sophisticated offense.
23:13And, you know, one thing you could say about the Knicks is that their offense was a little
23:16predictable while being pretty good.
23:18And that some more ball movement and some more creativity at that end could improve things
23:24for them some.
23:25So, you know, we'll see how it goes.
23:27But I certainly think when you look at the options that were available, this is about
23:32as good as the Knicks could have hoped for.
23:34And now it's just a matter of whether he can live up to the very high expectations that
23:39are on him.
23:39Because whenever he gets introduced sometime next week, from then on, it's going to be,
23:44you know, finals or bust.
23:46I mean, I don't know if it'll be championship or bust here, but it's certainly going to be
23:50finals or bust.
23:50And if he doesn't do that, you know, the next spring is not going to be pretty here.
23:57Yeah.
23:58And that's why I would say to him, get your money, you know.
24:01Oh, he'll get his money.
24:03Yeah.
24:04Wasn't there a time when he was being paid by three teams?
24:07There was.
24:07Yes.
24:09He'll get his money.
24:10The man can negotiate.
24:11When he came back to Cleveland, you know, he got fired by the Cavs and he coached the
24:15Lakers and then he got fired by the Lakers and he came back to Cleveland and he was so
24:19skeptical because they hadn't gotten LeBron yet.
24:22And, you know, there was this long rebuild and I think he got a five-year contract or it
24:26might even have been longer.
24:27It might have been, it was a very long contract.
24:29It was like, okay, we're going to commit to you, Mike.
24:31Because, you know, he had, he'd gotten fired in Cleveland the first time around, despite
24:34five 50 win seasons and two 60 win seasons.
24:38He had back-to-back 60 win seasons.
24:39He had to keep talking, right?
24:40He got to keep the clock.
24:42They fired him.
24:43By the way, if LeBron, if you go back, like obviously they had LeBron James, those Cavs
24:49teams were not loaded with talent.
24:51Like he did an unbelievable job with those teams.
24:54Like seriously, like they were not, it was LeBron and a bunch of role players and he won
24:5966 games with them.
25:00Like he did a really good job with that Cavs team.
25:03In all honesty, you know, I know NBA TV like might even be going away.
25:07I don't know.
25:07But like, if you, if anybody has ever seen the famous, you know, 48 special where LeBron
25:13had 48 points in Detroit.
25:16By the way, if you ever watched that game, it used to be on NBA TV all the time.
25:19You will, you know, all these dudes who talk about how much better the league was in like
25:23the eighties and nineties, just go back and look at the thousands, the two thousands, forget
25:28about the nineties and see that game was, it's almost unbearable to watch.
25:32Sorry about the drilling in my wall next to me.
25:35Had to be done.
25:36That's all you got to say.
25:37It's had to be done.
25:39The life of the star.
25:40Anyway, if you go back and watch that game, yes, you will see LeBron have an incredible
25:46second half.
25:48You will also see some great coaching by Mike Brown in that game was an elite coaching game.
25:53But anyway, it's either here nor there.
25:55He's been fired four times.
25:57So he's far from the perfect coach, but he has a lot of success on his resume.
26:01Coaches get fired.
26:02That's just, that's a, you know, it's a matter of when, not if almost every single coach gets
26:08fired.
26:09Pop was an exception.
26:11There's not many exceptions.
26:13All right.
26:13We'll see if the Knicks, uh, we'll see if the Knicks do anything else to their roster.
26:18They look like they're set, but we've got some big unknowns out there in the league right
26:21now.
26:22We've got a lot more podcasts to do this summer, but, um, all right.
26:26So a little bit ago, as we're recording this, I don't know.
26:28Foreshadowing.
26:29Yeah.
26:30There's, there are, what do you want me to say?
26:32You know, I'm not getting into it right now.
26:35What you said?
26:36I'm not getting aggregated on July 3rd.
26:38Okay.
26:38We're just not going to do it.
26:39He's not, he's not locking any doors.
26:41No more door locking.
26:42He's not locking any doors.
26:44I had to hear that line all day today.
26:46That's for sure.
26:48Um, yeah, we're a little low on news at the moment.
26:53Um, okay.
26:54So Dwayne Rankin of the Arizona Republic reported that the, uh, sons are in, uh, buyout, serious
26:59buyout discussions with Bradley Beal.
27:00This is something that has been in the ether for a few days.
27:03Now, maybe by the time this pod comes out, it'll have been done.
27:07Maybe it won't be done, but we all know that this is true, that they are in serious discussions.
27:11And so on the heels of Dame Lillard getting bought out, getting basically waved and stretched
27:18on 113 million, Bradley Beal is probably going to get bought.
27:22It probably is not going to be that high because I think Beal is intending or at least discussing.
27:27Well, here, it can't be, it can't be that high.
27:31So there's a quirk in the rules.
27:33Uh, we talked about this with the Dame Lillard, uh, wave and stretch where a team cannot have
27:39more than 15% of the salary cap in dead money at any time.
27:43So in the past few years, the sons have at different points, waved and stretched EJ Liddell
27:51for Ohio state star and the Seer little.
27:55And those two guys this year are going to be on the books, according to Bobby Marks for
28:00about $3.8 million.
28:02So the maximum amount that you can have on your books is somewhere around $23 million this
28:11year in dead money.
28:12So because of that, Bradley Beal, who's currently owed about $110 million, I think it's just a
28:20little bit less than what Dame's deal was.
28:21Um, he's got to give back at least 13 or 14 million or so to allow it to be a legal buyout.
28:31So the sons are going to end up with basically the same Deb cap hit that the Bucks are going
28:38to have on their books.
28:39But because of this, the Seer little signing that they are this wave and stretch in the
28:43past, they have to get Brad to give back a little bit just so they can actually do it.
28:48And look, typically a buyout is a guy gives back the money he's getting on his next deal.
28:57You know, it's, I, I don't know.
29:00Is there, is there a situation now where Beal can get 14 million?
29:05Is there a team?
29:05Is there a team that has the full non-taxpayer mid-level?
29:10Well, I don't, I don't see one that would, there's a few, there's a few teams that would
29:16make sense for him.
29:19Um, I mean, I don't know how far in a realm go it.
29:22Yeah.
29:23I'm not looking for aggregation.
29:24I don't know how far in a realm of speculation.
29:25Okay.
29:25My point is there's a couple of places he could go.
29:28Well, my point is this, this is, this is a unique buyout.
29:30He doesn't have to get, he doesn't have to get, if he's, let's just say for the sake
29:34of the discussion, he's leaving 14 million on the table and he wants to be whole because
29:39for example, Deandre Aiden didn't quite get whole.
29:41He was a couple of million short of being whole, but he went from being a possible third
29:46stringer in Portland to starter in LA.
29:50Yeah.
29:51If Beal's looking to be whole, he just needs to make 14 million over two years.
29:54He doesn't have to make it all back this year.
29:57So just, just.
29:57So yeah, but there, he's going to get bought out.
30:04Well, very likely they're haggling about money.
30:08You know, I mean, I remember when I, when I went, uh, I was around the Suns for a little
30:13bit to, to write the story on the not so pleasant state of the Suns.
30:18And, you know, this was when Beal had heard his name and trade rumors for months, despite
30:24the fact he had a no trade clause.
30:25And I talked to him about it.
30:26He was honest about it.
30:28And by the way, he'd also been in his eyes demoted to a six man role for a while there.
30:33And, you know, he said he felt disrespected and, but, you know, he didn't, he mentioned
30:38like, Hey, there wasn't anything that, uh, that made sense before the trade deadline.
30:43He didn't want to just like KD, he didn't want to uproot his family or, you know, his
30:49personal life in his, in Beal's cases, his family, young kids, wife in the middle of season.
30:54But he pointed out like, you know, summer, there's a lot more options on the table.
30:58There's a lot more possibilities.
31:00I don't think Bradley Beal is in any way, shape or form opposed to getting his walking
31:05papers from Phoenix.
31:07I think he just wants as much of the money as possible to go along with them.
31:12Yeah.
31:12Um, so there might be some more, by the time we do our next podcast, there might be some
31:17more there, but I will just say like, um, if they do this buyout, um, it will save the
31:25sons somewhere in the neighborhood, you know, they haven't completed their roster yet.
31:30They could add more to it, but I believe Bontemps, it will save the sons.
31:36It will get them out of the tax or be very close to getting them out of the tax, which
31:39will save them $160 million this year alone.
31:45And it's the repeater tax thing.
31:48Also, is this our first indication that microwave Matt, isn't just about right now, right now,
31:55right now, maximize your chance of winning championship every single year?
31:59Is this, it's, I would say, I would say that there are a lot of parallels to a team I
32:05covered back in the mid 2010s, the Brooklyn nets.
32:08And you can, you can lay all the parallels out and it's eerily similar.
32:13The situation with the two teams, you've got two owners that were very brash that came
32:17in talking tough about how they were going to spend a bunch of money and immediately
32:21build a championship team.
32:22You got Mikhail Prokhor off with the nets back then.
32:24Obviously you got Matt ish being now you have teams that wind up having disgruntled stars.
32:29They ended up buying out and just waving and stretch it.
32:31Darren Williams back then you have Bradley Beal.
32:34Now you have two franchises that traded all their draft picks, went all in to try to win
32:38a title.
32:39Kevin Gardner and Paul Pierce trade back then.
32:41They obviously the Kevin Durant trade, and then the Bradley Beal trade subsequently.
32:46Now for the sons, they both only won one playoff series with those teams before they fell apart.
32:52And you also had those owners who traded all their picks and spent all this money and declared
32:58they were going to spend money till kingdom come.
33:00The picks weren't going to matter because they were going to be competitive after they
33:03started losing games.
33:05I said, you know what?
33:06Kind of sucks to lose games and also lose a mega ton of money.
33:11And so after that, you know what we're going to do?
33:13We're going to stop spending a mega ton of money.
33:15And what is that going to do?
33:16That's going to mean our team is going to stake.
33:18And what is that going to do?
33:20It's going to give other teams really good draft picks.
33:23That's why the Boston Celtics for the last decade have had Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown.
33:27That's why the team's coming up with the son's draft picks, the Memphis Grizzlies next year,
33:32the Houston Rockets after that, the Washington Wizards after that.
33:35They're sitting here rubbing their hands together.
33:37They're going, all right, this was the bet that we made.
33:39We made a bet that this run of spending was not going to last.
33:43And look, we've been saying for a while, and as you just pointed out, McMahon, we've been
33:48waiting for the sons and for Matt Ishpia to look in the mirror and say, you know what?
33:51We got to stop digging.
33:53We got to start trying to turn this thing around.
33:56And the Kevin Durant trade was an admission of that.
33:59We all said at the time there was not a big market for Kevin Durant.
34:02They got as much as they could, which wasn't much.
34:04This is another admission of that, the Bradley Beal trade, which at the time it was seen as,
34:09oh man, they didn't give up that much for him.
34:11Just a few swaps, no big deal.
34:13Just take out a guy with a no trade clause.
34:15He's going to be great.
34:16No big deal.
34:16It's going to be awesome.
34:17That didn't work out very well.
34:19This is a team that for two years has just been flying ahead, not looking at any of the
34:26ramifications, anything they've been doing.
34:28And the bill's coming due on all of it.
34:31And if you look at this sons team right now, this roster isn't very good.
34:35They're probably the 13th best team in the West or so.
34:39I see little to no chance of them being a real factor in terms of trying to get in the
34:44playoffs.
34:45The Grizzlies who just made this trade with the Magic, with Desmond Bain, are sitting
34:49there all but certainly getting a lottery pick.
34:53Which, by the way, they felt like that pick was the best asset they got in that trade.
35:00Yeah, for sure.
35:01That was a very targeted thing that they said, hey, we're going to get a lottery pick next
35:04year and it's worth, like we talked about the other day, we're going to take a bit of
35:07a longer view, try to have the same level team now and see if we get a really high level
35:12return with that pick and the other picks in the out years and try to give ourselves
35:16a higher ceiling going forward.
35:17But man, it's just a real reminder that for all these people who were like, oh yeah, the
35:24Suns are just going to spend.
35:25Issue is going to spend.
35:26It's all going to be fine.
35:27Everything's going to be great.
35:29Going balls to the wall like this, we've seen it over and over again in the history
35:34of the league.
35:35It tends to not work out very well and maybe the Suns are finally starting to figure that
35:40out and it's probably going to be a pretty painful stretch here as they try to reorient
35:45this team.
35:46And by the way, Phoenix, unlike Milwaukee, is a place where guys are going to want to go.
35:51So having, I mean, Milwaukee's not a free agency destination.
35:55Phoenix has been in the past.
35:56So for the rest of this decade, they've got $22 million of dead money on their books,
36:01like the Bucs.
36:03That's going to be pretty painful down the road.
36:05If Phoenix can't get out of this salary cap jail that they're in, they're going to be
36:10hamstrung and trying to build this team around Devin Booker, who, as Brian has said multiple
36:14times, is about to get a $150 million extension himself.
36:18Yeah.
36:18So it's actually going to be slightly less than that because next year's numbers came in
36:23a little bit lower than projections.
36:24But it's going to still be over $70 million.
36:29Yeah.
36:29He can still make all his car payments.
36:32And I would just say, Brad Beal did average 17 points a game this last year.
36:39He has shot over 50% in three consecutive years.
36:43He shot, you know, he shot 39% on threes last year.
36:46He is going to be a significant free agent if this goes through.
36:50Somebody will pick him up.
36:52Oh, for sure.
36:53Yeah.
36:53Brad Beal on a max salary with the no trade clause is a complete albatross.
36:58Brad Beal, you know, if he's signed in a one, like in some of these like middle level
37:04exception territory, it can be a huge addition to a good team.
37:10Now, I think in a lot of situations, he's probably going to be best utilized as a six
37:18man.
37:18I think that's something he's going to have to, you know, accept and embrace.
37:23But, you know, to your point, Brad Beal can still score.
37:28It's just 50 some odd million dollar salary on a team that had two guys who are better
37:35scorers.
37:36It was a terrible fit.
37:38I'm also seeing a lot of stuff about how the subs are going to do addition by subtraction
37:42with no Kevin Durant and now no Bradley Beal.
37:45The vibes will be better.
37:47All I'm going to say is they've replaced Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal with Jalen Green
37:50and Dylan Brooks.
37:51Which I'm not going to bet on that leading to more than 36 wins, the 36 wins they had
37:56last year.
37:57Just say that.
37:57Well, and listen, they dumped DeAndre Ayton for addition.
38:01Whoa, boy.
38:03That's the kind of renovations they're doing on the Phoenix Suns right now.
38:07They dumped DeAndre Ayton for the old addition.
38:10I said that whoopee question because it was a big whoopee question.
38:14Yeah.
38:15And, you know, say what you want about DeAndre Ayton.
38:19The Suns have not been better since he left.
38:21I think that's very fair to say.
38:25They have not won a playoff game since he left.
38:29No, they have not.
38:31All right.
38:31With that, we're going to wrap this up.
38:33We've done four podcasts this week.
38:35We're going to wrap this up.
38:35We're going to wrap this up.
38:36We're going to wrap this up.
38:36We're going to wrap this up.
38:36We're going to wrap this up.
38:37We're going to wrap this up.
38:37We're going to wrap this up.
38:38We're going to wrap this up.
38:38We're going to wrap this up.
38:39We're going to wrap this up.
38:39We're going to wrap this up.
38:40We're going to wrap this up.
38:40We're going to wrap this up.
38:41We're going to wrap this up.
38:42We're going to wrap this up.
38:42We're going to wrap this up.
38:43We're going to wrap this up.
38:44We're going to wrap this up.
38:45We're going to wrap this up.
38:46We're going to wrap this up.
38:47We're going to wrap this up.
Recommandations
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