ESPN on Best Free Agent Fits: Horford to Warriors, Giddey to Wizards & What’s Next for Kuminga?

SportsLand

avant-hier

🏀 On ESPN, analysts discuss the best landing spots for top free agents and players on the move this offseason. Among the biggest storylines:

Al Horford to the Golden State Warriors, bringing veteran leadership and championship experience

Josh Giddey landing with the Washington Wizards, where he’s expected to play a central role

Ongoing speculation around Jonathan Kuminga, with multiple teams reportedly interested in his two-way upside

From locker room fits to roster needs and contract values, ESPN breaks down why these destinations make sense — and how they could shape the 2025 NBA season.

🔖 Hashtags + Keyword Tags (Inside the Description)
Hashtags:
#NBAFreeAgency #AlHorford #JoshGiddey #JonathanKuminga #ESPN #NBA2025 #GoldenStateWarriors #WashingtonWizards #NBARumors #NBANews

Keyword Tags (Inside Description):
Al Horford Warriors signing, Josh Giddey Wizards trade, Kuminga trade rumors 2025, NBA free agent landing spots, best free agency fits 2025, ESPN NBA offseason breakdown, NBA team needs 2025, Warriors frontcourt depth, Wizards young core 2025, Kuminga potential suitors

🏷️ Keyword Tags (Outside Description – Upload Tags)
Al Horford Warriors signing, Josh Giddey Wizards trade, Kuminga trade rumors 2025, NBA free agent landing spots, best free agency fits 2025, ESPN NBA offseason breakdown, NBA team needs 2025, Warriors frontcourt depth, Wizards young core 2025, Kuminga potential suitors, NBA roster shakeup

Catégorie

🥇

Sport

Transcription

Afficher la transcription complète de la vidéo

00:00Jenny Dell here on this Thursday afternoon. Welcome to CBS Sports HQ. We are one day away

00:07from the fireworks to the 4th of July, but the fireworks, they've been going on non-stop when

00:11it comes to the NBA free agency. It's been crazy. There's still so much more work that needs to be

00:16done. Checking out the top available free agents right now. Now, restricted free agent Jonathan

00:21Kaminga, he tops our list at cbssports.com. You can check out that whole list online. If he's

00:25taking a look at number three, you see Malik Beasley. Well, he is currently the subject of a

00:31federal gambling probe, so any deals with him currently are on pause. And restricted free

00:36agent Cam Thomas rounds out our top six. Lucky enough to be joined by Ashley Nicole Moss, now on

00:43the desk. We're going to talk about some of the best landing spots for these remaining free agents.

00:48You're busy away on that laptop. It is a non-stop for you, girl. I don't know how you're still

00:52standing right now, but let's start at number one with Kaminga. Where do you see him fitting in best?

00:58Yeah, so Kaminga is going to be interesting, right? I think that more than likely he's sticking

01:02with the Golden State Warriors for a multitude of reasons. I think the biggest reason for me

01:07is that obviously the Warriors have a qualifying offer to Kaminga, making him a restricted free agent.

01:12They could still re-sign him. We all know how that works, but here's the thing. Kaminga wants to be in a

01:18situation where he's going to have a bigger role. That's been the contention between him

01:22and this organization, Steve Kerr specifically, is that he's never really found his footing. And as

01:27somebody who is a Knicks fan, I know once upon a time we had the same issue with Obi Toppin, and Obi

01:32wasn't really able to flourish into his own as a player until he got where? The Indiana Pacers. So

01:38it's going to really rely on Kaminga's desire for a larger role, consistent minutes, and a lucrative

01:45contract. Now the Warriors, on the other hand, though, they need to weigh their potential asking price

01:50and fit within their current roster. So they have to weigh what Kaminga's going to want against what

01:56they're able to provide. And as we know, these aprons have drastically changed the way these teams

02:00are doing business. But it seems now on July 3rd, this could change, obviously, that what Kaminga is

02:07looking for. There's not a lot of teams who can pay him that. The Warriors are the only team that has the

02:12dibs on him right now. It's just a matter of they can come to an agreement with what his role is going to be.

02:18I will say this, the Golden State Warriors should start preparing for life after Draymond Green and

02:23Steph Curry. And Jonathan Kaminga may be the piece that they can start doing that with.

02:29They just have to find a middle ground between what he wants and what they can provide.

02:33Still so young, too. He will be just 23 years old at the start of next season. Next up on our list,

02:37I want to ask about Josh Giddey, traded from the Thunder to the Bulls in June of 2024 for Alex Caruso.

02:43He had career highs in many categories last season. What do you think is going to happen?

02:47This one's hard because the Bulls are in the best position to give him what he wants money-wise,

02:53right? But when you talk about what Josh Giddey is looking for, obviously, the paycheck. Let's be

02:58very clear about that. But I think also there are teams out in the league that necessarily aren't

03:04going to be contenders. They may not even be playoff teams. But neither are the Chicago Bulls.

03:09But they are looking to kind of rebuild and go younger. And the team on my list for him,

03:15if it's not Chicago, the Washington Wizards. We see the moves that they have made so far. They're

03:20not making these catastrophic, life-changing, franchise-changing moves. But they are trying to

03:26get younger and trying to figure it out as they go. So if it's not Chicago for me, I think the Wizards

03:31would be a good spot for him. That would be a nice landing spot for sure. Up next, we have Alf Horford,

03:36an unrestricted free agent. The other two were restricted. Entering his 19th season, 39 years

03:43old. You know him well, Jenny Dell. You know him well. I know. So what happens with Horford?

03:47Horford's interesting. I think the unfortunate reality of the situation is the Jason Tatum injury

03:52has kind of just thrown the Boston Celtics in complete disarray. This was a team that was in prime

03:59position to run it back. This devastating injury to their star has kind of forced this new ownership

04:05to really start looking at life, the next iteration of the Boston Celtics. And we already saw the

04:10movement with Porzingas. We already saw the movement with Drew Holiday. And Al Horford's an

04:15interesting piece. Veteran guy, phenomenal at his position. In Boston last season, averaged 9.6.5

04:23rebounds, 2 assists, 42% shooting from the field, and almost 37% from the three. I think his shooting

04:30would be ideal for the Golden State Warriors front court with Butler and Green. And he's also a guy

04:36that's not going to cost you a lot of money. You could pay him the vet minimum, maybe a little bit

04:40above that. It's not going to put the Warriors over the edge. We already know the Lakers are probably

04:45out of this conversation after signing DeAndre Ayton. I think if it's not Boston, it's probably the

04:51Golden State Warriors. That would be the best fit for him. Any concern with his age, getting up there a

04:55little bit? No, I mean, Al Horford's not a guy who's going to log a lot of minutes. He's not a

04:59starter. He's the guy that comes off the bench. He's the guy that kind of gets that movement with

05:03that second unit. But the best thing about Al Horford is, yes, he is a particular age, but he is so

05:09reliable that he is a guy you want in your locker room. And also, if we're going to be realistic, it could

05:16also come down to the fact that Al Horford just maybe retires. You mentioned his age. He's won a

05:23championship. He's had a lucrative career. Obviously, I believe he's going into the Hall

05:27of Fame. That's a big debate in the NBA world whether or not he will or he won't. But we always

05:32forget when we talk about guys in this stage of their career, there's always a chance that they

05:36don't want to go elsewhere. They just will hang it up before that happens. But I think the Warriors

05:40are a good fit if he ultimately decides not to do that. Yeah, a 2024 NBA champ with the Boston Celtics.

05:47Had to throw that one out there. Five-time All-Star. Yeah, he's done his part. That's for sure.

05:51What about a player like Quentin Grimes? So you look at his numbers last year, 21.9 points

05:56per game, five rebounds, four assists, and 28 games with the Sixers. Dealing with multiple

06:02injuries, though, last season, where do you see him ending up? I would have loved to bring

06:06him back to the Knicks. That would have been an ideal situation for me. I just don't see

06:10that's feasible because Quentin Grimes is looking to get paid. And obviously, as we know, the

06:1476ers acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks via a trade. And his performance with the 76ers,

06:20especially because of how injured this team was, when you talk about Joel Embiid and Paul

06:25George and those guys, really put him in a different light. He put him kind of in the

06:30center and increased his scoring average. He has raised his profile. He's gotten more

06:35attractive to other teams. I think, again, when we talk about a landing spot, if it's not

06:41the 76ers, who more than likely will try to retain him, I think the Wizards are another team

06:46to look at. They are a team that's trying to build young, talented players or trying to

06:52bring in young, talented players to kind of revamp this just disastrous tenure of the

06:57Washington Wizards for I don't even know how many years. It feels like most of my

07:01existence. And he's 25 years old, so he fits that profile. But they're going to have to

07:06weigh his potential against their financial limitations. And that's where things get

07:10sticky. So again, if it's not the 76ers who can retain him and more than likely will,

07:16for me, the Washington Wizards would be a nice fit. You're talking about the Wizards needing

07:20to get a little bit of help. Is there a team, before we move on, that you feel like that's

07:25still out there that needs a lot of work still at this point?

07:31I mean, it depends. Are we talking teams that are trying to do something? Or are we

07:36talking teams that just need to rebuild? Because the Brooklyn Nets are a disaster.

07:40And I just realized, I know Boney's probably yelling at me in the control room right now.

07:44Josh Giddey was to the Nets if he didn't go back to Chicago. So I'm sorry, Boney, don't

07:50yell at me. It's a lot to remember off the top of my head here. But I think the Nets are

07:55interesting. I think the Wizards, the Bulls, but these are all teams that, for lack of a

08:01better term, are in a black hole when it comes to their future. It's going to take them a very

08:05long time to be back in the conversation. I think these aprons and the lack of

08:10money going around the league has made it very difficult for a lot of these other

08:14teams that are in contention to do other things. The Timberwolves are a perfect

08:18example of that. I think they should have made a move, but they have financial

08:21limitations, especially since re-signing Nas Reed and Julius Randle, that have

08:26prevented them from making their team a next level better. We're going to be

08:29talking about some of those teams in our next segment. You mentioned the Nets there.

08:33That brings us to Cam Thomas. Career highs in points per game, rebounds, assists, played

08:3925 games there for the Nets before he lost the remainder of the season with that left

08:45hamstring strain. What happens with a guy like Cam?

08:49Cam Thomas is more than likely coming back to Brooklyn. I mean, he has made it clear he

08:55wants to return to Brooklyn, and Brooklyn's really the only team that has the cap space

08:59to afford him. He's probably looking for anywhere between $80 to $100 million over four

09:05years. And like I said, the Nets have ample cap space and are likely to offer Cam Thomas

09:11a competitive deal. Now, they obviously, I believe, view him as a cornerstone player

09:16and are motivated to retain him. And I just don't see a market where Cam Thomas is going to

09:23get A, the playing time that he gets in Brooklyn, B, kind of the centerpiece option that he gets

09:29in Brooklyn, and more importantly, the money that he gets in Brooklyn because everyone's

09:33broke. Nobody has any cash to spend. And if they do, they are trying to retain it and

09:39maintain themselves under the second apron. So, Brooklyn's in a very nice situation. Like

09:45I started off by saying, they're essentially bidding against themselves for Cam Thomas. I would

09:49be very surprised if he landed anywhere else but Brooklyn. Brooklyn must be happy about

09:56that. Listen, you got to get some goodness over there, Ash. Yeah, I mean, I'm a Knicks fan,

10:01so I'm fine. Of course you are. We got more coming with Ashley Nicole Moss, but you can also

10:07check her out on Triple Threat. Been an incredibly busy offseason so far, even though I feel like

10:12the championship game was just like a couple weeks ago. There's so much that has already

10:18changed. And what do we do here in sports? Well, we already think about next year. Ten teams who can

10:24win the NBA title next season. Number one, you see the Thunder taking over that top spot,

10:30followed by the rest. And we are ready to break down this list with our Ashley Nicole Moss because,

10:35you know, it's just something fun that we do. We talk about these projections and then we can go back

10:41at the end of the year and see how we did. And I feel like you. I did call OKC right this season.

10:45You did. You did. Just saying. So we're going to start from ten and work our way down, okay?

10:50And we saw the list there, who's going to be number one. And I would imagine you still agree that the

10:55Thunder are going to take that top spot. But let's start with the Milwaukee Bucks at number ten,

11:00okay? They waived their injured Damian Lillard. That was like a whole conversation,

11:05stretching his salary over the season to help clear space for Miles Turner. That was a big move

11:10that just went down. Talk to me a little bit about the Bucks and what you expect from them

11:15this year. So Lakers fans are going to be mad because they're not on my list and these guys are.

11:19But I'm putting them on my list strictly because of Giannis, the strength of him, and also a really

11:25weak Eastern Conference. The Lakers have a bigger task going through the West. It's going to be a

11:29different conversation to get out of that. We'll hit that when we get there. But here's the thing.

11:34I'm strictly putting this on the strength of that guy right there, number 34. And that's really the

11:40only explanation that I have if anybody can take this team. And Miles Turner is a lot better than

11:45people are kind of, you know, been saying these past few days since he's become a Milwaukee Buck.

11:52He's coming off an exceptional season. I don't think he is a needle mover. I don't think he's going to be

11:57this drastic difference maker. But he is a talent that Giannis will appreciate if Giannis ultimately

12:04ends up staying in Milwaukee. That could change. It could change today, tomorrow, a week from now, a month

12:10from now. I don't know. But on June 3rd, 2025, give me the Walkie Bucks at 10. And this is again strictly

12:17because I have a lot of respect and faith in the big man Giannis. I love you so much for thinking

12:24that it's June 3rd. Oh, sorry. July 3rd. It's been a long time. The girl needs a break. The girl needs a

12:33break. I remember when we were talking about the Bucks news coming out. You're like, find someone

12:39that loves you. For sure. Love Giannis. For sure. And we'll just do anything to appease you and make

12:44you happy. We'll see what happens over there. We're going to work our way now. Down to number nine,

12:48we have the Orlando Magic. They lost in the first round against the Celtics last season. They did make

12:53some moves this offseason. Your take. I like the moves that they made. I think Desmond Bain was a great

12:57acquisition for them. It's going to help them with their offense. It's going to help them from a scoring

13:01standpoint, both of which they really struggled with last season. I do still think, though, this is a very young

13:07team. And I know that narrative has been squashed by the Oklahoma City Thunder after they won the championship

13:12this year. But this Magic team is not that OKC team. And I think that they are a couple of seasons away

13:19from really being in the conversation. But I think this is going to obviously be a playoff team.

13:24I think, again, with how broken the Eastern Conference is, this is a prime position for a lot

13:30of these teams that get lost in the mix to really make some noise as an actual playoff contender.

13:35And I think the Orlando Magic were plagued by injury. And that's really what helped. That's really

13:40what suffered them last season or made them suffer last season. The injuries to Paulo and then Franz

13:45Wagner. I think health permitted and the addition of Desmond Bain. This is a team to definitely look

13:50out for in the Eastern Conference. We do have an L.A. team on our list. You mentioned off the top,

13:55it is not the Lakers. We have the Clippers coming in at number eight. James Harden signed a two-year

14:00$81.5 million deal with the Clippers after declining that $36.4 million player option. Brooks Lopez agreed

14:07to a two-year deal over there. Well, they haven't won a playoff series since reaching the Western

14:11Conference Finals in 2021. Again, we're taking a look at teams that we think could make it

14:16to win the title next year. So what do you like about them? I think the Clippers, honestly,

14:22I was very surprised by what they did this season because the wild card is to Kawhi Leonard and his

14:29health and his availability. And I can tell you just as a basketball fan how exciting and just

14:34heartwarming it was to see Kawhi playing the way he was playing in the postseason towards the end of the

14:40regular season. And just really watching a cool version of Kawhi Leonard that we've missed.

14:45And it's due to just the up and down with his injuries, the rehabilitation. I think health

14:50permitted, this Clippers team is a lot better than a lot of people thought earlier this season.

14:57Obviously, James Harden is James Harden. Sometimes he shows up, sometimes he doesn't. But when he

15:03shows up, man, is he special. And then again, when you get a healthy Kawhi Leonard, it changes

15:09the conversation of the Los Angeles Clippers. It changes the conversation, what this team can do,

15:15and it changes their ceiling. That is the biggest thing. It's not lack of talent. I do think that

15:19this Clippers team is a lot more, it's sneaky talented. It's like on paper, you're kind of like,

15:24eh, this is not a good team. They're not going to, you know, too much stock on two guys who are

15:29unreliable. And then you saw them this postseason and then this regular season. And you said, oh,

15:34okay, like this actually looks better in real life than it does on paper. But it's all about Kawhi

15:40and how healthy he can say. But I'm going to give them the respect to putting them at number eight

15:44because of what I saw this off this postseason. The respect is there. Number seven, we have the

15:49Minnesota Timberwolves. They re-signed Naz Reed. We talked about that off the top. Julius Randall for

15:54that combined $225 million contract. Added Rudy Gobert, who's extension Kings in this season.

15:59And the T-Wolves have $334.5 million committed to their bigs. And that's even after trading Towns

16:06away. So talk to me a little bit about Minnesota. So Minnesota's tricky for me because they didn't

16:12get better. They stayed the same, which is not the worst thing, especially when you talk about a

16:17team that was in the playoffs this season. But you always want to try to get better. But you always want

16:21to try to get better. And you definitely want to try to get better in the Western Conference.

16:25And my concern about the Minnesota Timberwolves is, look, Anthony Edwards, phenomenal. Every season

16:30he gets experience under his belt is better for Anthony Edwards' development as a player and as

16:36the leader of this Minnesota Timberwolves team. And I think the chemistry, another year under their

16:41belt of the chemistry of Julius Randall and Anthony Edwards and just all the new acquisitions and all the

16:46new pieces that they had via that trade and what they did in that prior offseason.

16:51It's all beneficial. But my issue is, is that it's, I feel like it's going to be more of the

16:58same. And the same isn't necessarily bad because as we saw, this was a playoff team. And the year

17:04before that, although they had Carl Anthony Towns, this was a team that went to the Western Conference

17:08Finals. So it's hard for me to say it's going to get worse, but it's also not going to get better,

17:15which is why I kind of put them at the middle of the road. I think they're one of the better

17:19teams in the West. But it's hard for me to put a lot of stock in a team when they're going to be

17:26going against guys like the Thunder, the Houston Rockets, who look filthy, even the Dallas Mavericks.

17:32But I'm putting them at number seven on the strength of Anthony Edwards and what we saw this

17:36team do this particular season. And even, although they didn't come out victorious in the postseason.

17:42Okay, so not necessarily better, the same, which could be.

17:46That's why they're in the middle of the road. They're not at the bottom, they're not at the top,

17:49they're in the middle.

17:49They're, yeah, in the middle.

17:51At number six, we have the Hawks. Now, they spent the past two summers trying to kind of create a

17:55roster around Trey Young. This offseason made a big trade for Christoph Sporzingis over there.

18:01But you look at what they've done in the past, they finished as an eight seed in the East last season.

18:05Why do you like them this year?

18:06In the Eastern Conference, this is, in my opinion, the third best team in that conference after the

18:12Cavs and after my New York Knicks. And when you talk about what the Atlanta Hawks have been able

18:16to do, they've been really struggling to kind of find the right team for Trey Young. It's been a lot

18:22of a revolving door, if you will. There's been a lot of turmoil, right? It was the DeJounte Murray

18:27situation that didn't work. And they got to trade DeJounte, but there wasn't a trade market for Trey.

18:32And I'm just trying to figure out the pieces that can work with him. And you bring in Alexander Walker,

18:36who's a versatile player who contributes on both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively.

18:41Luke Kinnar, you see him there at the bottom, signed a one-year deal. He's a reliable scorer

18:46and a shooter to add to their backcourt. You obviously have Chris Atporzingas, who can help

18:51stretch the floor when he's healthy. You know what he can do, former Boston Celtic. Also,

18:56former New York Knicks. He's been around. But with these additions, I feel like the Hawks have

19:01really filled multiple roster spots and added a lot of two-way players, giving them more flexibility,

19:06more depth. And I said this yesterday, and I will say it again. This is the best team

19:12that Trey Young has had his entire tenure, tenure as an Atlanta Hawk. And if he can't get it done

19:19with this team, he's the problem, not everybody else.

19:23No pressure there. I do want to ask about a player who just said gets around quite a bit.

19:28He has missed 65 games over the last two seasons. Is there any concern level with just his health?

19:35For sure. And there's always been a concern level about this with Porzingas. This is not a new thing.

19:40It was an issue in Dallas. It was an issue in Washington. It was an issue in New York.

19:44It was an issue in Boston. And now, more than likely, it's going to be an issue in Atlanta.

19:50The better option here, though, or the silver lining, I should say, is that they do, Atlanta

19:57does have a lot of pieces that maybe they won't feel his absence so strongly. But it's definitely

20:03a concern. This is a guy who deals with injury a lot and has in his career.

20:07You always say your best ability is your availability.

20:10Your availability is your best ability. Absolutely.

20:13Yeah. We're going to look at number five now. Right in the middle of the road, we got the Cavs.

20:17They lost in five games against the Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

20:22Some of the moves they made, Sam Merrill returning on a four-year deal. They're adding Lonzo Ball

20:26via trade with the Bulls. Lance, oh, sorry, Larry Nance Jr. agreed to a deal over there.

20:34What are your thoughts on them? I had to put the Cavs at number one, although in my head

20:39and in my heart, it's the New York Knicks. But look, the Cavs were the number one seed

20:43in the Eastern Conference. They were plagued by injury at the worst possible time. That has

20:48nothing to do with talent and everything to do with luck or bad luck. As Phil Jackson said it best,

20:53winning a championship is part talent, part luck, and the luck has to do with health.

20:57But they're bringing everybody back. They're also adding talent in Lonzo Ball. I think that this team

21:03could have went further, should have went further than they did. I believe that a lot of people

21:08thought they were going to knock the Pacers out and make it all the way to the conference finals,

21:12possibly even the NBA Finals. And it was a health issue, not a talent issue for this Cleveland

21:18Cavaliers team. So for me, that's why I have them at the middle. When you look at some of the other

21:22teams, you'll see why. But I definitely have them atop the Eastern Conference as the number one

21:28contender to make it all the way. This next team at number four, I feel like needs no introduction.

21:34We have your New York Knicks. The big news coming out yesterday, I believe that was, that they are going

21:39to be hiring Mike Brown as the next head coach. Ash, take it away.

21:43Yeah, so we're still waiting for the official signing of Jordan Clarkson. Jordan Clarkson's

21:46going to be great because he's one of the best bench scorers in the NBA. You saw that when he was

21:51with Utah, won six man of the year in 2020 and 2021. Average is 16 points, 3.7 assists. He's going to be

21:58great because you'll be able to bring him in those closing lineups and really help Brunson when it comes

22:03to late game playmaking. It's that scoring punch off the bench that the Knicks have been looking for. There's already a lot of

22:09gems on the bench. One, you need a coach who's going to go to him. That's why Mike Brown's there.

22:13But Jordan Clarkson's an additional piece that I think the Knicks have been looking for. For me,

22:18they were the second team in the Eastern Conference as a true contender. And I'm going to say this,

22:23as devastating as the injuries to the Pacers and the Boston Celtics have been, it has changed the

22:28landscape of the Eastern Conference. And I believe this is the Knicks' best chance to not only go to the

22:34Conference Finals again, but to go to the NBA Finals, it's just the name of the game. When things

22:39change, you've got to take advantage of it. And I think that this is a great basketball team. They

22:45have a year under their belt. They have the experience of the postseason of the Conference Finals from a

22:49chemistry standpoint. Remember, Carl Anthony Towns was a late trade, and that kind of throws things a

22:54little bit off your learning chemistry in real time. But there is no reason why the Knicks should not be

22:59able to get it done this season. They have everything at their disposal. They have everything

23:03that they need. And if they can't, there's going to be some questions. Because as you know, then the

23:07following year, the Celtics come back, the Pacers come back, and the East looks a lot

23:11different. They are your top contender in the East over there at number four. You have your New York

23:16Knicks. We're going to go to the West now for the top three. And we're going to start with the Rockets.

23:21This is a team that before you just called filthy. So just take it away. I'm not even going to go

23:27too in-depth here. They've just absolutely killed this offseason from the trade of Kevin Durant,

23:33the low-risk trade of Kevin Durant, only having to give up two pieces when it comes to players and all the

23:41other acquisitions. I mean, they recently signed Clint Capella, who they didn't even need. It's just like,

23:46you know, if I got the cash to spend, why not make it rain? And that's exactly what they did.

23:50I think this Houston Rockets team is well-coached. I'm a big fan of Emei Yudoka.

23:53I think they were already talented. Western Conference, second seed. You add Kevin Durant,

24:00you add just a lethal scoring machine that's going to help not only uplift the other guys

24:06he's playing with, but it's just going to give them that punch, that offensive punch that they

24:10struggled with. This was a team that did really well defensively, sometimes struggled offensively.

24:14Kevin Durant changes that for me.

24:16Definitely changes things. You know that they're going to be just a winner this offseason by that

24:20deal alone. That's without question. At number two, the Nuggets. Trading away Michael Porter Jr.

24:26to the Nets for Cameron Johnson. That was one of the headlines over there. What do you like about

24:31Denver? Do you think they're just going to continue to find success? Everything. I actually saw a tweet

24:35yesterday from a big Denver Nuggets fan that I might agree with. It said that this iteration of the

24:40Denver Nuggets might be better than the Denver Nuggets team that won the championship in 2022.

24:44This is what we've been waiting for. The help that Jokic has been waiting for. The help that he

24:50deserves. Ever since they won the championship, you saw those pieces kind of dwindle. You brought

24:54Bruce Brown back. You finally figured out what to do with Michael Porter Jr., who made a lot of money.

24:59He didn't get a lot of return on your investment. You bring Cam Johnson, who's one of the best in

25:04motion shooters, I believe, in the NBA. You give Jokic that help. You have the best basketball player in

25:11the world on your team. This is no knock to SGA. I know you're the reigning champ, but you know how

25:17much I love the big man in the Mile High City. And all you needed to do was give him some pieces, some slight

25:23pieces to make his job slightly easier. You didn't have to do much. And the Denver Nuggets did exactly what they

25:29needed to do. This might be the year that the Denver Nuggets make some real noise and bring it all the way back to

25:37where it started in the Western Conference Finals. There's going to be one team that's in their way

25:41for sure when it comes to winning it all, and that is the Oklahoma City Thunder. Your champs

25:47over there, we still have them as the number one team projected to win next year. Why is that?

25:52They're the reigning champs, and you've got to give the respect to the reigning champs. I think that

25:56they've squashed the narrative that young teams can't win basketball games, that young teams can't

26:01win championships. And you have the league MVP, the finals MVP, now supermax player in SGA. The key is

26:08going to be keeping these guys together, which I don't think they'll have an issue doing at all.

26:13For me, though, I just think that they now have a year of experience in the regular season being the

26:19top dog in the NBA, the top dog in the Western Conference, a postseason, some big battles against

26:24the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers, and now a championship under their belt. This is dangerous

26:29because once upon a time, it was you don't know what you don't know. Well, guess what, everybody?

26:33Now they know. So now you know. I feel like that was just a mic drop moment right there.

26:38Now you know, and now we're done. You just rolled through that like an absolute pro.

26:43My 10-minute drill. I think it was longer than 10 minutes, girl. Odds to win the NBA Finals. You can

26:50see it right there. The Thunder are the favorite, the heavy favorite at plus 260, followed by Ashley's

26:56New York Knicks at plus 750. You know she loves seeing that. After that, it gets a little fuzzy.

27:02The Nuggets, the Rockets, and the Cavs, all at plus 850 there.

Recommandations