Kevin Durant bitter, Trae Young Trade, and the League’s Changing Power Balance

Untitled project from SquadCast === [00:00:00] Jose: Alright, it's time to talk basketball. I'm Jose Salviati, Editor at thePeachBasket.net. He's Steve Purciello, longtime educator, vice principal, high school basketball coach, athletic director, and also the host of Celtic Chalk Talk. Celtic Chalk Talk is a pod dedicated to the latest news and opinions surrounding the Boston Celtics from a lifelong fan. Steve, that pod will drop new episodes every Monday, but this is the shot clock pod, the best 24 minutes of random BA. Thoughts online anywhere. This podcast was born out of the contents of Steve's 13 rules, random NBA Thoughts articles which he publishes weekly. Steve and I have exactly 24 minutes to discuss what's on his mind around the MBA today. We'll discuss his latest 13 rules, random NBA thoughts article where he shares his random thoughts after a busy week 12 of the 20 25 26 NBA season. Steve, are you ready? Let's go. Clock is running. All right. We start in the [00:01:00] west with what seemingly came outta nowhere. You wrote about KD and him being mad at the Phoenix Suns. Was his anger justified? What was all that about? Steve: son's, he believes the son's scapegoating him for being bad last year and in a nice way Earth to Kevin. When you make 60 million a year and you've made 598 million. I guess you're expected to win. not paying you 'cause you're a good looking guy. so it, it just makes no sense. CA Duran is a very sensitive man and it appears to be, from all the things you read and all the things he says, but at some point, you have to sit there and just say yeah, I'm supposed to carry a team. He almost carried the nets couple years ago to the championship. If his foot was off the line he would've probably beaten Milwaukee. They probably might, they probably would've won it. But since then, come on. Compare. Phoenix was [00:02:00] 11th. 11th last year with Kevin. They trade him, they get Dylan Brooks, who's having a tremendous year and ~what's his name?~ ~The escapes me, but he's~ Jalen Green and he's been out, he's only played two games, a good player, but Brooks has played well, but all of a sudden now they're in seventh and they're 23 and 15. Doesn't that make you think maybe, there's gotta be more, I've gotta produce, I've gotta win to be, to justify making all that money. Jose: Yeah. It's an interesting question 'cause I'm trying to put on, I am trying to look at the other angle here, right? When an employer pays you money, obviously the expectation is that you produce. Undeniable. Whether I pay you 1 million or $60 million, just produce. So is it fair to say that if you're getting paid more, you know you've got a higher responsibility? Is that fair? Isn't the responsibility just to produce. Steve: for Phoenix not being good last year? [00:03:00] O'Neill. Come on. Who? You. You're expecting him. And let me just say something, Kevin. Kevin Durant's, a great player. Just a great player. One of the greatest Jose: Yeah. Steve: Top 15 type player of all time. Just great. However, also, and I'll add this, Kevin's not a guy people pay to see. He's got a great game he can shoot, but people don't say, I wanna go see Kevin Durant tonight. They do say, and this is crazy, but they do say, and there's a point to what I'm going to, they do say a guy like Trey Young. Who doesn't win has had trouble winning. But people wanna see him 'cause he can play with the, he's a showboat in a lot of ways people don't mind paying to see him. So I understand we're gonna talk about that in a little while. I understand a team like Washington dealing for him. 'cause some Washington people and their attendance is way down, will show up for that. But with Durant, you are getting paid for one reason. Win. [00:04:00] That's it. It's not people Jose: Yeah. Steve: When Durant comes to town, are buying tickets, great player, but not the charismatic, fun guy Jose: Yeah. So my argument is, are you paid to win or are you paid to produce? 'cause KD produced his numbers. I'm looking at 'em right now with the sons equal. What he did, before and even after with the Rockets he produced, the team just didn't win. Is that his fault or is that the GM's fault for putting the wrong team together? Steve: but does the owner make a lot of money if a team goes to the finals and wins? More money than he would if the team Jose: Yeah. Steve: So therefore, Kevin is an investment by the owner, and the owner's hoping for a return. He's a big investment. He's Jose: Yeah. Steve: 12 million or something to Royce O'Neill, he's paying 60 million. Think about that for a while. That's five times what other guys get five and a rookie. It's almost, what Jose: Yeah. Steve: 25 times what they get. [00:05:00] So I, who are you gonna blame? Who are you gonna Jose: Yeah. Steve: I look at the best player on a team and hope that he can produce and he can win you a championship. Kevin has had a type thing he went to, to golden State, and I guess he was happy being the number two guy, and to win a championship and he won too. And that took that pressure away from him. But Kevin making 60, usually 60 million is your number one player. How many titles does he have? Two. he get 'em? With Steph Jose: Yeah. As number two, I got it. All right. Let's pivot a little, right. We'll stay in Phoenix, but we'll move off of KD and we'll talk about the Suns. You brought it up. They're playing really good basketball. They're fun to watch. They're young and they're hungry, and they're playing like it, right? So the Suns moved from that superstar KD to a roster of young and hungry teams, and somehow got better. That doesn't, that math doesn't math up, right? How are they better? What do you think [00:06:00] the key is in Phoenix? Steve: thing I'll say is about the young legs and young players. I think the league is turning over to a young league young Jose: we talked about that. Yeah, Steve: but putting that aside, when they traded, dylan Brooks is v the villain, Dylan the villain. and, but you know Jose: sure. Steve: He's overs, Jose: I. Steve: 20 points a game. He has the ability, he's the guy that if he's on your team, you love him. If he's on any other team against your team, you hate Jose: Yep. Steve: He's an agitator. Jose: Yep. Steve: a good defender, and he's a good player. Guys like that who play hard and play to win. Those guys are infectious. There's more to it. Matt ish, be the owner of Phoenix Thought and naturally anybody who buys a team and he bought the team a couple years ago, I get the best players I win and I look brilliant. he learned a lesson. He bought Beal and he bought Kevin Jose: Yeah. Steve: a lot for him. what he found was it's not that easy and it's more [00:07:00] about dynamics among a team. And by the way. Booker, Devin Booker is good enough to be the number one guy on the team and you surround With some players. The other thing that was interesting, and I just wanna remind you, the guy played with the Lakers, but they got Mr. I'm not played. He was traded to the Lakers and then he canceled the deal Was Williams. Yeah, Playing real well. He is only playing 23 minutes or so. 24. He's averaging 12 and eight, which isn't bad. And the Lakers would've loved to have a guy like that. And they canceled the deal for medical reasons, but he's in another one. And then they're getting con contributions from Grace and Allen. And then the interesting find is Colin Gillespie, 13 points near five assist a game and he can play. And he was a on the scrap heap. So what the owner's learning, you don't necessarily have to go out there and get the best names as much as it's putting a team Jose: Right. Steve: why we talk about a little bit, and I've said to you [00:08:00] teams that are trying to hold on, go out and just get bodies and name players, but sometimes they don't fit. This team fits together. You watch them play and they almost like playing together and they do the little things the other night against the x Roy Soill down the stretch. Two point game hits a three. He's getting the ball. Oh, do you think for a minute if Luca had the ball, and I'm using Luca, I'm not trying to pick on him, but if he had the ball with a minute left down Jose: Yeah. Steve: by two, you think Luca would be thinking of throwing the ball at Royce O'Neill? If you do okay. But I don't think he would, there's a difference there. Jose: Yeah. Steve: It showed. Jose: Outstanding. Yeah, we talk a lot about it before, the difficulty of a GM putting, a team together and you have to have the right pieces, not the right, not the best player, right? The rest payer player isn't often times the right piece. And so that's a lesson learned and it's good to see success in Phoenix. Let's talk about, Steve: should be the last [00:09:00] piece of putting a team together, not the first piece. Those are the Jose: There you go. Steve: and trying to get people that fit into Jose: Yeah. Steve: then maybe were one player away, and then not for a star as Like a Dylan Brooks who can bring you, help you. Jose: Okay, so this is, that is a great segue. A great lob, a great softball. There was a trade this week and it was a big one, right? The Washington Wizards have gone all in. They didn't give up much, admittedly. They brought in Trey Young. Trey Young's, excited to be there, which you know, is pretty rare because not a lot of people want to go to Washington to play basketball. Trey Young wants to be there. He's a phenomenal talent. Again, they didn't get a lot back. It was basically cap space. Are you surprised at that Rey and basic on what you just said is just Washington just trying something out to see what happens. Steve: to that we're not talking about. first piece to that is the. Washington Wizards are in a long rebuild, [00:10:00] and what they're finding is nobody's showing up. Their attendance is worse in the Jose: Yeah. Steve: So now the owner's gonna get involved and he's gonna want, obviously he's trying to make money. So Ted Leonis what he's doing, he probably, I believe he put the owners there. Let's get somebody here that'll bring people here. So that, Trey Young's perfect for that. Now the price was very cheap. Jose: Yeah. Steve: McCollum's still good, he's still a good player, but he's got an expired contract. So Jose: Yeah. Steve: that and then he can go out and get a free agent. And they also got Corey Kiper who can shoot the ball. But he's, he's a mid-level player at best. But for Trey Young. value and it tells you where the game is. He doesn't defend he's small. The league is placed at a premium on bigger guards. He can't defend. He's not that big. And it used to be cute when he'd throw up those 30 foot shots and 'cause he made some of them, he doesn't make 'em as much as he used to. [00:11:00] So his game has gone back. You begin to wonder if you can win with him for Washington. He's perfect at this time. Washington is just trying to draw some people and let their young people begin to develop. And they do have some young people who can develop so it, it fits Jose: Yeah. Steve: and they get 'em cheap. And by the way, don't be surprised if Trey Young doesn't play a lot for the rest of the year because Washington though, they've been bad. Have not gotten a great pick number, pick, in the draft the last couple of years. So I think, and this draft is good, and if you can finish in the bottom four, the chances are you're going to, get a pretty good player, meaning worst records in the league. So I think Jose: Yeah. Steve: figures get one. Big time player and maybe, we can turn this thing because I believe sars a pretty nice player. I like Johnson. There's a couple guys that aren't bad alibi. Bob [00:12:00] Carrington, Sherington Carrington is pretty good so that they've got some pieces. They still need a big time player and it might come. Star would be a good number too. You know My take. Jose: yeah. Steve: think about, what do you Jose: Interesting. Oh, yes. Again, we talk about it all the time. I'm in the West coast. I don't get to see a lot of East Coast basketball. So I, all I know is what I see in the highlights, and really I haven't seen him play a game beginning and end. It mattered 'cause they haven't been in a lot of games that matter, so I don't know man. I think that he's a fun basketball player to watch, I think defensively challenged, right? So when you take a look at, he's young and we talk about the league, he's being young, that, that kind of, that witty mentality. Before we started the show, we talked a little bit about, that, that switch that some teams and some players don't have. It doesn't seem to me that Trey Young has it, but he hasn't had an opportunity to prove that he has or doesn't have it. So to me, I don't know. He's just a player right now. I don't know a whole lot about him other than, what I've seen in the highlight reels, [00:13:00] but I do know a lot about Anthony Davis. Steve: That's a Jose: How's that for a smooth segue? Anthony, thank you very much. Anthony Davis is heard again, no surprise. He played in only 18 to 38 games for the Mavs. Which stops any likelihood of a trade. He was on the trade block, at least there was some discussion. On the other hand, Luke is an MVP candidate for the Lakers. I just feel for the Mavericks man, although they've got a great player in Cooper Flagg, but this is a really bad trade, a shockingly bad trade, and it just keeps getting worse for Dallas. What's your take? Steve: of all, he's played 20 games, I believe. I think maybe I'm wrong but I thought anyway, not important. He's got a two more years he signed through 20, he's got a player option in 27, 28. So he is got this year, next year and the year after. 'cause he'd be crazy not to take the 60 million player option. So he'll have two years left after the season. On a deal one year plus, and I'm sure if he got traded, he'd put the pressure for them to extend them,[00:14:00] Jose: Yeah. Steve: The mavericks lose the chance to deal him this year probably, unless somebody takes an injured man and he could be out for a while if he gets surgery, and so on and so forth. But my thought about Davis is talent. I don't know if he really loves playing, and I don't know if he really, has that, that, desire, desire to play. And like a Jalen Brunson who, he just exudes the. Playing and loves to play, and you just watch it and it's just, it's fun to watch. I don't know if he's got that and I don't know if he takes himself, he came into to the season heavy. I just, you don't do that. If and you're making 60 million, you're really saying a nice thing to the owners. But the point being, my take is the most important piece is that he's gonna be out. Probably not gonna get traded. Dallas wants to begin their rebuild. I think they're also going to have to talk to Kyrie after the season. Kyrie, do you wanna stick around or what do you wanna do? [00:15:00] Because they, they've got some real problems here and they've gotta begin to start over with it. Jose: Yeah, and you're right I wrote it down wrong. It was 29 18, so we gotta give ad his props for those two extra games. But yeah, tough situation at the end of the day for Dallas. And again, to me it's just a bad trade just keeps getting worse and worse. Steve: of these guys we're talking about today. Two years ago, they would've gotten a heck what Davis got Luca. There would've been a great Trey Young two years ago. Teams would've, and I would think Quin Snyder came in and thought maybe he can be the one that unlocks Dave Trey Young Jose: yeah. Steve: Davis he did Jose: Yeah. Steve: with LeBron, Jose: I Steve: in that dark year where nobody was there but. He did win a title and so you Jose: yeah. Steve: due but you just have to wonder. Jose: Yep. Yep. That's funny. I envision Quint Snyder going. I can change him. I could change him Steve: just one Jose: but yeah. Steve: That play in the NBA, guys are made to be your top player and be [00:16:00] like, LeBron. LeBron's great but also they're Jose: Yeah. Steve: for the rest of the team. And there's a bunch of them. Jaylen Brunson, again, going back to him, he's one of them where he works hard, practices hard, plays hurt and is always ready to go. The rest of the team follows that. Anthony Davis is your top player, what does the rest of the team see with him? And that's an important piece because the guys, that Jose: Yeah. Steve: And bust their ass every day are the ones great examples for the rest of the team. Jose: Yep. Yep. Undeniable. Let's talk about another guy who is likely now gonna be traded. Trey wasn't traded for much. Do you expect a different haul for the often injured John Mart outta Memphis? Steve: I think the biggest thing with him is the shooting numbers have gone down from the outside, and I think every person thinks I think he'll a tad more than what the, what was dealt for Trey Young Memphis is in a, they're technically, I think they're gonna start building [00:17:00] around Jaron Jackson, which is the right thing to do. Will they get a haul? I don't think so, but they'll get something, even if it's expiring contracts. What's really interesting to me, one of the teams that's supposedly interested in him is the Milwaukee Bucks. And think about that for a while. That gets really interesting. I guess they can send Kuzma and Portis and all to match the money, but just think about that. You got John now with Giannis. That that, that's interesting. It, it could be fun. I don't know how good it could be, but it could be fun. To watch. There's a couple places the Clippers have been mentioned as a place that he can end up. So yeah, I think there's a more of a market for him than there was for Trey Young. I think Washington was the only team interested in Trey, where, there's a couple teams so they, maybe they can get more for him. Jose: Yeah. Interesting. I am looking at this contract 40 million roughly annually, which today's standards, that's, that [00:18:00] almost feels like a bargain, which is crazy. But yeah, I, it'll be interesting to see where he, where he ends up at probably will not be Memphis at your end though. Let's talk about this. 'cause I love the poetry of it. The Knicks owner came out and talked a little bit not directly, talking about Coach Thibodaux. And he said one of the reasons he's no longer the coach is 'cause he did not collaborate with the hierarchy of the Knicks, which to me is poetic. But what does that mean and why is it important to the Knicks? Steve: when you hear owners talk. And you wonder why they never want a title. When he talks like that, then you understand you hired Tom Thibodaux years ago. You knew what he was. He likes to run the show and do whatever, he's very hardheaded, I guess would be the way to put it. You knew that the team was getting better every year. Last year, they pulled an upset off and they beat the defending champions in the playoffs. [00:19:00] Not bad. better. You're Jose: Yeah. Steve: I know he plays everybody too many minutes and all the other stuff, what, as an owner, do you wanna be collaborating with these people? In other words, he was upset. Nobody was listening to his opinion and so on. Do you wanna be a collaborator or do you like winning? If I'm the owner, first of all, I know, I don't know as much basketball as these people, so just listen and don't talk. And second of all, that's why I hired these people and I paid 'em a lot of money. I like winning. So if I have to shut up and just sit in my seat and watch the games, I'll do it to win. It's not my e my ego is the fact that we win, not that I got to say something about getting Jalen Brunson or somebody. So it just it just strikes me as one of the craziest things that I've heard, and then you begin to say to yourself, that's why they don't win, [00:20:00] but they don't win titles. What's your take? I. Jose: Again, east coast team. So I'm gonna preface everything I say with, I, they're not under a microscope for me, but, it's interesting to me. I'm looking at their record and, yeah, they improved. It was incremental 37 to 47 of the years under T'S 47 to 50 or 50, the next year. 47, 50, 50, 51. So they were getting better. It's undeniable. And then all of a sudden you pull the rug out from under, a coach that you hired. I, I, my, when I think about what I would do as a coach, or not a coach, if I were fortunate enough to ever own a team, you nailed it. Really. You hire people and then you're hands off and you get involved when it becomes, the opposite of what we were seeing with the Knicks. Instead of incremental progress, I'm seeing incremental. Traveling in the other direction, then I get involved. So it sounds to me like, there are, coaches who've got that reputation. The gentleman in Sacramento. Getting a little too involved. There, [00:21:00] there was an owner in in I think Memphis, the young guy in Memphis who originally got a little too involved. It, it happens now. People are thinking maybe even here in la right? Bombers get a little too involved and making some mistakes. I don't know, man. I just feel for the Knicks and the Nick fans great fans, I know that's debatable, but Was around Steve: Yeah. Jose: a playoff game. I have, I was lucky enough to be in New York around a playoff game. I didn't get to go in Madison Square, but I was outside. Talk to some fans and they're passionate basketball fans and they just deserve, they deserve a good team and they deserve a good season. I'm hoping that happens for them at some point, but that's my take. I don't. Steve: the crazy thing too, and if you look it up, I believe Tibs had about three or four more years. They just resigned him the summer before to three or four more years at a high. So in other words, Dolan worried about his little, I don't know, money or whatever he is worried about not money about his day. Say a word about a say in the team. He's going to eat 30, $40 [00:22:00] million. It's just absolutely crazy to me. But, it makes no sense. And by the way, if you really think about tibs, perfect place for him right now, Sacramento. Perfect place. Perfect because he can go in and he can clean house and figure out where to go with the gm and just, but you know what? GMs don't wanna lose power with him, so he won't get hired. But again, you know what you're getting when you are the Knicks hiring him or anybody else, but he, Sacramento's been looking for something for years. like that, Jose: yeah. Steve: be able to give them away. Now you talk about bomber. Bomber tells his vision he wants to be competitive every year. Those people have to, Jose: Yep. Steve: make their decisions accordingly, if you understand what I'm saying. So it's different teams like The owner knew they were bad. He, look, it's gonna be a project, so it'll take 4, 3, 4, 5 years, do what you have to do. It's a different vision. So that's an important piece to[00:23:00] Jose: Yeah. Steve: together. Jose: Yeah. Not an easy job. Undeniably a difficult job. But let's talk about a team. The buzzer went off, but we got one more topic. We'll go, rapid fire on this one. But this is a team that has really had some incredible success putting their team together. And that's the Oklahoma City Thunder. We played around thinking, I asked the question tongue, chica, they're gonna go 82 and oh. And it certainly looked like it was possible, maybe an 80 and two win. But now the 73 win Golden State Warriors look like they have nothing to worry about from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Just a road a speed bump in an 82 game season, or are you worried about the thunder? Steve: it did was it made every team who's thinking, ah, this isn't our year. We got any, all I think about six teams maybe. Now Sam, we might have a shot and maybe we gotta look at the trade Jose: maybe, yeah. Steve: and see what we can do. And by doing that might mean trading a future number one and things like that. But you know what, when you have a shot, you gotta go all in. So that's what that Jose: Yeah. Steve: They've been six in four and six in four over the last 10 games. That's not [00:24:00] good for them. Their standards Jose: Yeah. Steve: just about every Jose: Yeah. Steve: they're the favorite. And that's on the road as well as home. So it really, I don't know, I don't know what exactly happened, but it's just not good. I. Jose: Yeah, for the first time, since we've been tracking this year, this the two and two, they had a two and two week this week and it dropped them out of the number one in our objective power rankings. Detroit is now the number one team, so there's a little bit of a 'cause we haven't released that yet, but if you're watching this now, the pistons passed them because yeah, the thunder are struggling a little bit, but I, listen, I'm not worried, but this shot clock went off. Another shot clock violation for us is what we do, but our time of course is up. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Make sure to read Steve's entire 13 rules, random BA thoughts article. We'll link it wherever you're watching or listening to the show to get all of his thoughts after week number 12. And of course, please subscribe, comment. Follow all of that stuff means the world and we're grateful for all of it. Join us next [00:25:00] week for more NBA random thoughts as we recap week number 13. We'll talk then. Thanks Steve.