Nick Whalen and Brandon Kravitz discuss the top fantasy basketball news items of the day and debate which players deserve the final spots on the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star teams.
0:00: Intro + Rasheed Wallace beanie baby talk
9:00: Terry Rozier trade reaction + fantasy fallout
20:10: Bucks fire Adrian Griffin, set to hire Doc Rivers
32:10: Scoot vs. Grayson Allen ROS
34:35: Pick up Josh Giddey (drop McConnell)?
36:10: Trae Young, James Harden, Chet Holmgren, Lauri Markkanen blockbuster trade question
38:00: Fox/Collins/Ayton for Maxey/Grant?
39:40: Evan Mobley trade question
41:10: Scoot vs. Ausar vs. De’Andre Hunter as a stash
42:40: Brook Lopez for Terry Rozier?
44:15: Jazz fantasy outlook + Collin Sexton
45:30: Curry/Sabonis trade
46:40: Miles Bridges ROS + Finals week schedule
48:45: Jaren Jackson + Cam Johnson for Anthony Edwards?
50:10: Donovan Mitchell trade question
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Welcome in to the Roa wire fantasy basketball pod Nick whan Brandon kravits here with you as we are every Wednesday morning around 10:30 a.m. eastern time Brandon uh suffice it to say we have a lot to get to I know our guy Steve Alexander he had Raphael Johnson on the
Pod with him yesterday they were able to break down the Terry Rosier trade but we’ll offer some more insight on that I have a lot of thoughts especially as far as what that means for Miami and of course we got to talk Adrien Griffin and it sounds like Doc Rivers as well who
Who seems to be reportedly I guess uh shakely reported the the successor to Adria Griffin in Milwaukee uh but we’ll get to that in a moment Brandon first and foremost how are you man I’m doing been great it’s been a whirlwind these last couple of days and on top of it all
We had some monster performances the other day in the NBA seemingly all happening at once so something crazy in the water the other night 39 from Tatum 43 from KD in a winning effort somehow Carl Anthony towns gets up to 60 against the Hornets and they lose makes no sense
And bead drops 70 so uh it’s been a wild few days I as far as my Magic schedule goes they played a back-to-back Sunday and Monday um I had some golf tournament media day responsibilities so I was it was a whirlwind for me over a couple of
Days and now everything has just settled down the magic don’t play till this weekend and um I’m just smooth sailing so kick back relaxed and and ready to chat with you very charitable of you to mention the Jason Tatum 39o game the other night uh that was you know most
NBA nights that would be like yeah that was the the performance of the night uh kind of got buried by by talents getting to 44 in the first half like you mentioned it be 70 uh but we’ll look back on those in a bit I I’m catching a
Flight in like I don’t know five hours out of here going to going to Arizona got golf on the books 54 holes over these next couple of days so um you know this is this is kind of my excuse me my last work obligation before that so I’ll
Do my best to to not be like you know mixing in all these like golf puns because that’s all I’m thinking about is getting to warmer weather playing for the first time in weeks and also a little concerned about what the game’s going to look like yeah I uh so I and
I’m not I’m not the golfer that you are but um I love covering the sport especially when the Arnold Palmer Invitational comes around and they had their media day on Monday and you’ll love this we went out to the course and every year they set up a different media
Challenge it’ll be just some sort of game that they create and there’s usually some sort of theme to it this year we had to recreate Kirk kitayama’s 50 foot putt to win he had to two Putt in order to win and he was like an inch away from the cup in the actual
Tournament and so they wanted they had us shoot from the exact same spot on 18 uh it was a really it was just a cool to sort of reenact that and try and hit it exactly the way that he did and um I missed but but was close for somebody
Who doesn’t golf I felt pretty good about my so did you leg it into into GI me distance you know you got to you got to kind of hit hit the ball to the left and then it breaks right but you don’t want to hit it too hard because then you
Know the the roll will take you into the water so you got to have to a little bit of little bit of muscle but touch you know it’s like uh there’s a fine line there but uh I think I think I did well um even even in the M but he missed too
That’s the thing you go back to last year so you know and he’s a pro he is he is I I know the process very well uh for puts like that it doesn’t always doesn’t always go my way I would say that’s a pretty glaring weakness of my game as
You know we’ve played together before flter that’s not an easy you know that’s no easy ask I will say though I I have since obtained a new putter since we played in Vegas uh I was I was at the time using a mini golf putter after I I
Had you know my my previous putter had suffered an incident where the head literally fell off um and I actually kind of was putting okay by my standards with the mini golf putter but we’re back to a standard one I’m no longer embarrassed to pull that out when I’m
Playing with people that I don’t know so we’re moving in the right direction there all right a couple business items to take care of before we dive in as usual you know we’ll talk some fantasy notes in the first half of the Pod and then we will take all of your fantasy
Questions in the chat over the second half of the Pod so feel free to throw those in there now we are not ignoring them by any means we will hit those we’ll hit as many as we can over the second half so keep stacking those up in
The chat those always make for a good pod we’re brought to you by Underdog Underdog fantasy is the number one platform for NBA best ball and DFS player pickup contests if you haven’t tried Underdog yet new users receive a firsttime deposit bonus up to a 100 bucks and a free six-month subscription
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Prizes all right um I should address by the way Brandon you can see my my room the backd trop behind me continues to evolve we no longer have like wallpaper that’s peeling off the walls we got all that down great well we’re going we’re going with more of an asylum look look
Right now it’s very white in here um I have some of the other walls painted um once we get back from from Arizona we’ll finish it up so this will continue to look better and better and less and less like I’m in some sort of lockdown
Situation and just want to get out ahead of the narrative on that um eventually you know I’ll have some memorabilia and things of that nature behind me such as my Rasheed Wallace uh Beanie Baby that I I’m dyed to display can we get we need to get yeah I mean at least temporarily
Could you put up like a fat head or something like that there it oh the bla a Blazers Rasheed Wallace oh yeah as you can see it’s a it’s a collector item number 7,154 out of 10,000 I’m surprised there are that many that’s wild I I assume
This must have been a giveaway at some point but I you know I’m sure you you do the same thing every now and then I’ll go on these spre where I’m like trolling eBay and and sites like that for just like random Emilia and look when you
Could buy a rashed Wallace Beanie Baby for 350 you got to do it that’s $3.50 not $350 to be clear oh for sure that’s a that’s a steal Steel in the Rasheed in the rashed Wallace Beanie Baby Market yeah I bought the dip on rashed Wallace beanie babies all right I think
You should put together like an entire mid 2000s Allstar team with Beanie Babies let’s let’s get four more in the rotation if that was if that’s a possibility I I am absolutely in that is there there’s a certain Nostalgia for people around our age with that era of
Basketball even though it was it wasn’t a Great era in terms of the overall Talent like I think we have like twice as much Elite Talent in the league now as we did in 2002 um you know post Jordan there was kind of a low there for a little bit but there’s there’s
Something about like the the uniforms the logos the guys who were making all-star teams at that time that is um incredibly nostalgic in a positive way well that’s your childhood right there it is right you’re telling me that’s the heart of it my my introduction into the
NBA was the mid 90s so everything like that that’s not touchable for me and I think you you were a couple years later in terms of your I was born in 92 okay yeah so I’m seven years younger than you so that makes sense in terms of what we view as Untouchable Nostalgia
NBA Perfection whatever you started with is usually the in your head the best version of it yes rashed Wallace in a Blazers jersey exemplifies the start of your basketball love yeah uh it was a tough one to explain to my parents like why I like why why is it rashed Wallace
Jersey on your Christmas list as an eight-year-old in Wisconsin um but anyway that that we’ll do a full episode on that at some point um all right let’s talk Rosier he he now plays for the Miami Heat uh this this happened yesterday morning probably about 24
Hours ago um got that that that trade news Kyle Lowry headed out to to Charlotte doesn’t sound like he’s going to be playing for the Hornets at any point no surprise there I think they’ll try to reroute him if they can I don’t know like I think teams are interested
In Kyle Lowry I don’t know who’s going to be willing to trade for him given the number um you know you’d have to be kind of sending out like a similarly bad veteran contract that you don’t really want so my my guess is he makes it to
The buyout market and then that becomes interesting I mean obviously he hasn’t really done anything the last year and a half like the numbers have completely fallen off a cliff but I think there’s still some value with Kyle Lowry and I think you know teams like Philly and and
Milwaukee would be in the mix for him but obviously that’s not the exciting part of this trade the exciting part is Rosier Landing in Miami he’s having a career year man I mean I still think you know you you when you’re first thinking about Terry Roser it’s like all right
Yeah he’s back toback 20 plus Point per game Seasons but he’s doing it in Charlotte does it really matter this team’s not winning games I I I think he’s been fantastic man 23 points a game 6.6 assists four rebounds super efficient by his standards you know he
Shot 41% last year he’s up to 46% this year free throw shooting is up three-point shooting is up um you know I was on Alex yesterday on the NBA show like if I’m Miami and I basically had a choice between trading for LaVine and Rosier you know I think coming into the
Year obviously everybody would have said lavine’s the better player like they’re at the very least comparable and I think Rosier is actually a better fit for Miami like he he just seems like a heat culture guy and I think you know Miami’s has a history of bringing these guys in
Elevating them to a new level and I think rosier’s numbers likely Fall Off you know as a byproduct of joining a much better team but fitwise I think this is a home run and and Miami didn’t really have to give up that much that’s the interesting thing about it and I’ve
Been thinking about that with all these trades that we’ve been seeing the Raptors guys that have already been sent away and and now with Terry roier it seems like the trade market is uh really affordable this year we’re not seeing any trades that to me seem like like
You’re having to break the bank in order to improve your roster look at what Miami was able to do they weren’t even starting Kyle Lowry anymore and they have seriously upgraded at the point guard position position uh and all they had to do really was was move off of a
2027 first round pick uh and I don’t want to act like first round picks aren’t valuable look at what haime hakz picked at the back end of the first round is doing for Miami so if you hit right th those can be great cheap assets but you only have so many first round
Picks over the years that you can really fit into a rotation so this is a huge win for Miami not only because you have improved that Kyle Lowry piece in your rotation but because you didn’t have to mortgage your future in order to do it uh the Rosier part I completely agree I
Think he’s a better fit than a guy like LaVine would have been because he answers that point guard problem that this franchise has had for a couple of years it’s the reason they were in the Kyle Lowry Market to begin with they’ve been trying to figure this part out Zack
LaVine doesn’t really answer that question um doir is more of a combo guard but I think he can play that point guard position allows Tyler hero to play more off ball and I I I think it’s just going to help overall he’s a pesky Defender so you know that should be a
Hash heat culture sort of a fit as well I think it’s a win across the board for Miami um fantasy-wise not as good for Terry roier but but certainly an uptick for the Miami Heat yeah it’s definitely a downgrade fantasy-wise for roier um but you know
Rosier had also you know his numbers had kind of regressed back to what you’d expect with lamelo ball back in the lineup I think part of the reason numbers are what they are this season is lamelo missed so much time and you know concurrently with that like PJ
Washington’s out Mark Williams is out Gordon hayward’s out so it was it was a Terry Rosier show in Charlotte for a solid month and it went about as you’d expect you know last three games before the trade 17 points 19 points 11 points you he’s still taking a ton of shots
Usage rate was still up there just really wasn’t shooting the ball well he’s one of his last 18 from three so I don’t read too much into that but yeah I think for Fantasy purposes you kind of knew the Rosier run was probably coming
To an end once LEL ball came back um but this is definitely a downgrade I mean obviously you’re still fine with him you know if you want to try to capitalize and and swing some sort of trade maybe you could but it’s it’s not like this is a disaster necessarily for Rosier you
Know Miami now has a really interesting roster because you know you have with Rosier now four like all four of your your top four Butler adab bio hero and Rosier all these guys kind of do it all right they they all rebound well for their position they all average at least
Four assists per game it’s like you have so many options where if you’re in a playoff game and T Tyler herro doesn’t have it well there’s Terry Rosier or if Terry Rosier doesn’t have it there’s Tyler herro like it gives them there is a little overlap specifically with those
Two players but I think it builds in a lot of insurance um you know if one of those guys is having an off night in you know Miami it felt like somewhat of a Cinderella run to the finals last season it’s it’s certainly difficult to replicate a run like that but they were
Also without hero for the vast majority of the postseason and you get him back uh you add Rosier to the mix like I I think their roster is in significantly better shape now plus hakz of course way better shape now than it was going into the playoffs last year absolutely and
Look at what they had to overcome in order to get to the point where they were in the playoffs last year the Miami Heat were a playin team they had no business they had to knock off a number one seed um or or I think it was number
Two seed that in order to make it to that point and then and then eventually the Boston Celtics as well but um yeah they’re not going to have to do that this year this team is probably going to be in the playoffs not the playin and so they’ll have better seating they’ll be
Able um to set themselves up for a better chance to advance without having to kill themselves in the process Jimmy Butler went into god mode last year in the playoffs but like anybody would that was playing at that level unless you’re Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant or Lebron
James and that’s the that’s the whole list uh what was that Rasheed Wallace oh rash of course yeah sorry I apologize Rasheed please send my regards to the beanie baby uh you’re going to run out of gas and that’s exactly what happened to Jimmy Butler last year I think this
Allows them to be in a better position when the playoffs start and then also make sure that you keep enough in that Butler tank because at the end of the day terms of how far this team can go it’s all going to come down to can Jimmy Butler produce at that
Level when you need him to I go back to you know what they gave up 2027 protected first Lottery protected in 27 uh if it does not convey then it could get a little bit dicey for Miami uh would become unprotected in 28 but that’s kind of what you have to do
In the modern NBA if you look at just about every team that’s contending right now they’re pretty highly leveraged in terms of future draft picks that’s just how it works so I don’t I I don’t have any problem whatsoever with the price Miami paid I actually it was a little
Bit less than I expected and you know getting out of the Lowry deal that’s big um he wasn’t really giving them anything kind of disappointed in how that whole situation worked I thought it was a pretty nice fit on paper but you know you forget how many miles are on Kyle
Lowry at this point in his career so pretty massive upgrade there I you know I I do wonder if Charlotte could have done better obviously I’m sure they shopped Rosier around to some other teams but you know in general I think picking up that that extra asset I mean
We’re to me we’re likely heading toward like kind of another full reset for the Hornets around the melow you know it’s like does PJ Washington become available I think they’ll certainly they’ll certainly attempt to trade Gordon Hayward you know at at his contract figure that’s going to be a pretty
Difficult one but you know right now it’s like how many how many keepers are on this roster for Charlotte like obviously Brandon Miller’s played well lately you feel pretty good about the trajectory he’s on lamelo already a star in this league but other than that I mean obviously Mark Williams when he’s
Healthy he’s looked fine you know they I still think they’re they’re very much you know in the mix for trying to find you know their future number two number three number four type of guys I mean I bringing in Gordon Hayward a few years ago that was always kind of a weird move
And never felt like it was was going to make that much of an impact but I I think he could be next I think there could be a few more moves coming for Charlotte if teams are willing to pay up yeah I I think the only pieces in terms
Of the big names that are on the Charlotte Hornets that you can be confident aren’t going anywhere would be Brandon Miller who has played really well as of late and lamelo ball they’re going to continue to try and keep him healthy and build the franchise around
Him as their star guard um I don’t know if Steve Clifford’s long for the tet but that’s probably a postseason move or an offseason move but this team has 10 wins so I think everybody everybody’s on the Block and they’re going to try and position themselves for the draft um
Interesting to see what happens tonight two of the worst teams in the NBA go head-to-head and you have the Pistons as three and a half Point favorite so uh have fun with that one but uh yeah I mean this Charlotte Hornets team I think you’re I think Gordon Hayward is
Definitely gonna find his way out and and could even be a buyout candidate if um if they don’t end up finding a trade partner for him I think Miles Bridges is another one that if they can find a trade partner they’ll move off of him too uh thinking about the Terry roier
Part of it and why it was why they were able or didn’t get it a lot for him from Miami or anybody else that may have been in the market I think it all comes down to Dollars and cents he he makes 20 about $24 million a year and he’s not an
Unrestricted free agent until 2026 so you were committing years to Terry rier a lot of teams that get into the trade market if they’re going to commit to several years down the road they want a superstar if not they want flexibility and that’s the one thing that Terry roier doesn’t really
Provide that’s true uh he is under contracted almost 25 mil next year but 25 26 partially guaranteed that’s his his age 31 season so I I think Miami does have a reasonable amount of flexibility here and you know obviously I think they view Rosier as as part of
This core so it’s it’s not like you have a problem with him being under contract Beyond this season and you know you’re not you’re not taking him up through like age 34 or anything so again I think this is pretty clearly a home run for Miami especially when you factor in the
Fit of Rosier let’s talk Adrian Griffin let’s talk bucks here and then we’ll hit some questions in the chat I’ve been waiting to talk to you about this since I saw the news break you’re you’re up in that area I I’m I need you to fill me in
On what the hell is going on with this situation I I’m just pure speculation mode over here well none of this is surprising to be totally honest it’s not surprising at all uh it’s it a little surprising that they did it you know in the midst of it’s been a pretty decent
Stretch you know back-to-back wins over over Detroit uh you had the big win over the weekend as well I I you know this has been bubbling under the surface since Terry Scots was let go since three games into the season you know it sounded like there was a mini revolt
Against Adrian Griffin’s defensive schemes I think Milwaukee made the right move like I I asked our guy barutha on XM last night straight up I’m like obviously you don’t want to fire your coach 43 games into the year that’s not a it’s not a positive typically you know
I think the only time it’s really worked out was the David blat situation which was eerily similar although that was his second season and of course they brought in tyo and went on to win the title but um you know I I asked him do you feel
Better about the Bucks chances to win the title right now than you did at the time eight hours ago when Adrian Griffin was still the coach and he said yeah absolutely like how how could you not right I think this team it’s actually amazing to me that they’re 30 and 13
While very clearly not believing in their coach playing you know the wrong schemes on both sides of the ball and you know I I think that just speaks to the level of talent and the kind of season that Giannis is having where you know you could be poorly coach nobody
Could be on the same page and you’re still the second best team in the Eastern Conference I my read on this and you know there’s been a lot of reporting in the last 12 hours of you know kind of thing some of the the typical postmortem
That you get in these situations I I don’t think anybody like disliked Adrien Griffin the guy you know I don’t I don’t think this was a situation where they just couldn’t stand him and you know nobody nobody was receptive to what he was saying I think they didn’t respect
His coaching Acumen right I mean all all the reporting has been everybody gave him a chance everybody was patient and it just didn’t work out so if I’m Milwaukee I’m okay pulling the plug at this juncture doing it early enough in the season that you can you can install
Somebody it certainly looks like it’s going to be Doc Rivers uh stepping in which we can get to that in a moment I’m not sure how I feel about that decision but you know I I I think rather than waiting this out you know obviously the
Front office was well aware of of how the players felt about about Griffin as a coach I I think they knew it was a sinking ship right so it’s a dramatic move you know it’s going to to cause Ripple effects it’s going to be a big
Story in the NBA all week I get that I think it was absolutely the right call for Milwaukee absolutely the right call I I think it is probably the right call but the fact that it’s the right call and and it’s this early in the season you just passed the halfway mark you
Should take a good hard look at whoever made the decision to bring him in and I think that their job should be in question why move off of Mike buen holer who has been a peren perennially successful coach to bring in if you’re G to do it then you bring in somebody who
Has experience that can help develop the chemistry between a pair of superstars that are now playing together Adrien Griffin obviously wasn’t that guy because they made this decision so quickly um I don’t know what they saw in him from a resume standpoint a personality standpoint that made them
Say this was the right move uh so that is a huge swing and a miss and for you to admit that youve made a mistake this early in the season especially after the coach has helped the team win at least we think 30 of their first 43 games it
Is a huge red flag for the decision-making in that franchise look at the there are only two coaches in NBA history that have been fired quicker for their first stint with the team so this like David blat wouldn’t qualify Mike Brown with the Lakers would qualify what
Was that John beine that would be my guess uh not on the list Jerry tanian in the 90s with the San Antonio Spurs started 9 and 11 got fired after 20 games couldn’t went over the locker room and he was having panic attacks on the sideline the other one was Bob Weiss who
Coached the Seattle SuperSonics when they had Ray Lewis or not Ray Lewis Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis um and they went he went 13 and 17 through the first 30 games that was it those are the two so 9 and 11 13 and 17 with David Robinson on
One team Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis on the other so clearly there were expectations that were not being met that’s the confusing thing about Adrien Griffin you’re falling short defensively but how can you say the expectations aren’t being met when you’re the second best team in the Eastern Conference so I
Am miffed by this I get that I get that and John beine by the way he made it 54 games that’s way longer than for some reason I was thinking he got fired like two months in uh so apologies to the beine family for dragging him into this mess but uh I I
Totally fair what you’re saying you know the process has to be questioned I think the reporting has danced around it in some ways I think it was giannis’s decision right I I think I think the Bucks front office wanted to hire Nick nurse I think Giannis did not want to
Play for Nick nurse for whatever reason there’s been Rumblings that it came back to hey I want to play for somebody who played in the NBA and Adrien Griffin technically did play in the NBA he was a decent role player uh in the in the late
90s and early 2000s he was actually on the the Mavs 06 team that lost to the heat in the finals which I I didn’t realize he had played like that recently which I know is long ago at this point but um nevertheless you know obviously
The record is one thing but I mean you you probably don’t watch the Buc quite as closely as I do obviously you’re you’re more of a magic guy but something was off with this team man something was off and again I I give credit to the
Bucs for not just saying hey we’re we’re 30 everything’s okay because it clearly wasn’t it it really was not I mean there’s been some I wouldn’t say off court stuff but more like you know kind of weird moments postgame you know it’s like oh we won but nobody really feels
Like we won you know Giannis you pretty openly talking about you know some of the questions with the defensive scheme in particular Brook doing the same thing um I I I think this was Milwaukee getting out in front of something that was not going to end well and they knew
It wasn’t going to end well um there’s no guarantee that bringing in Doc River salvages this right I would actually I’d actually be okay with just handing it off to to Joe pry it’s like see if you could talk Terry stots to coming back in now with no Adrian Griffin it seemed it
Seemed like that was a onetoone issue I don’t think there was some sort of problem between STS and the players or STS and the organization I think he has an issue with Griffin uh but I don’t know that this Bucks team needs someone like Doc Rivers like Doc Rivers when he
Comes in he kind of becomes the the CEO the face of the franchise in some ways and obviously that’s still Giannis and Dame you know Doc’s not gonna overshadow them but I just don’t know if that’s the right type of Coach I think you need you you need somebody who’s just kind of
Focusing on strategy I don’t know that the Bucks need the personality higher right yeah I mean Doc Rivers you talk about a guy that can ensure an early playoff exit and that is Doc Rivers uh that is that that’s been consistent over many seasons now with
Him as a head coach he’s still chasing after the that second championship and he’s lived off of that that title that he got with the Boston Celtics for a long long time now basically since Adrien Griffin was playing in the NBA if you want to timeline it well and that
Was that was at a time and you know whatever doc you know Doc’s got a coach of the year with the badic as you know um that was at a time when the league was in my opinion a little bit Talent deficient you know the the Celtics roster was completely loaded at that
Point right I mean you had kg Allen Pierce you had good role players as well and you know I I I’m not trying to take anything away from Doc but you know I think a lot of coaches would have won the finals with that Celtic team is
Basically what I’m saying and it’s been failure after after failure after failure since then so I you know Doc is a name absolutely if if you’re Milwaukee and you’re looking to make a splash Doc Rivers is about as big of a name as you could bring in I just I don’t I don’t
Know that this is exactly what the team needs he did play in the NBA so apparently that’s a big deal to yanis um somebody now I don’t think you can just bring somebody in that is that is like Adrien Griffin in the fact that they never coached in the NBA I don’t think
You can throw somebody in in the middle of the Season that needs to learn how to be a head coach and all of the responsibilities and the um the Tactical nature of it and every just everything else it’s a big job there’s a lot that goes into it managing not only the
Personalities on the team but also assistant coaches and media responsibilities you need somebody that’s done it before that’s been through the car wash for that reason doc makes sense but it’s just so disappointing now with the benefit of hindsight you go back to the start of this whole process this was a premier
Job being able to coach Giannis and then they add Damen Lillard to being able to coach a team that had those two players on it you could have hired anyone you wanted and they would have taken this job if they were available and they blew that opportunity so we’ll see what
They’re able to do now you’re right last thing I’ll say on this I I’m very interested to see you know is there an immediate change for this team uh they’re they’re home for the Cavaliers tonight A team that blew them out I mean Cavs been blowing everybody out somehow of late so maybe
That yeah dude my God I put I put him in a fantasy lineup this past week just hoping I was like all if I could just get like five total threes on the week that that’d be a win um you know but he had eight on Monday so you
Swing he’s been a monster I I don’t know what’s going on with the Cavs but I’m interested to see is there an immediate change right like does this team kind of snap back to looking like they did the last few years because I I think that’s kind of the undercurrent from the
Veterans is like hey we had a really good thing going here and obviously you fired the coach who was the ahead of that so there there’s going to be some sort of change expected but I I think this team is like hey we we know what to
Do we have for the most part the same guys you know we think we can replicate you know how we were rolling in past regular seasons like it almost feels like the players you know have their own system that they want to install right and I think they were trying to instill
That on Griffin earlier in the year you know I think one of the biggest faults for Griffin offensively and you know the defense is a whole different ball game but you watched this team and like I think if you didn’t know who Damen Lillard was if you were just somehow
Blindly watching a Buc game I I don’t know that you would look at you’d be like oh that’s the guy that they brought in you know to to be the number two that’s a guy who’s a borderline top 10 player in the NBA like he hasn’t really
Been used that way and I think part of that credit to Dame for I think he’s going out of his way to try to fit in but he’s not he’s not really taking over games in the way that he used to there’s been a few spots here and there um but
He’s just he kind of just looks like another guy out there and he’s he’s a very high level guy for the bucks but I don’t think that’s how you want this team to operate you know I think we we sometimes we criticize the turn your turn type of offenses but when you have
Somebody like Giannis and you have someone like Dame like I I almost think that’s okay and I’d like to see a little bit more you know of Dame as the featured option and I I think we do get that by default so I mean it sounds like
They just maybe they don’t have a good combo game but then but they also don’t necessarily need to get in each other’s way um so interesting I will be watching tonight because I think this is this is tracking to be a Milwaukee Bucks blowout whenever players in any sport get their
Way when it comes to firing a coach they lock in to prove themselves and the Cavs are due they are overdue uh after eight wins the longest win streak in the NBA this season is nine so it’s hard to get there and they would have to beat a team that is as
Focused as they’ve been all year and at home I think this uh this will be a Milwaukee blowout so I’ll be on the Bucks minus six and a half tonight watching on League Pass unless it’s on national TV I don’t believe it is I don’t know what the national TV game is
Tonight I would be pretty believe that is the map yeah no that one’s not it’s the Mavericks and the Suns that’s a good one too yeah that’s a banger all right let’s get some questions in the chat uh schisel 09 says 12 team nine cat League scoot or Grayson Allen rest of
Season boy the uh these Blazers are a tough watch I’ll tell you that um I think I’d give my shot to to scoot though I um you know I I know the percentages can be a little rough around the edges but um I I think he’s starting
To put it together a little bit more and Grayson Allen is just I like Grayson Allen but if you’re comparing the two he can fade into the backround too much with that that sun team that’s rounding into form I would lean Grayson Allen uh partially as I’ve said on the show many
Times because I’m a wuss when it comes to these type of situations I want the safer option and I think that’s Grayson Allen right and you know he’s obviously been on a crazy heater over the last few weeks and that’s going to come back down to earth at some point but especially in
A nine cat League the turnovers with scoot are a big issue I mean that’s like three to four turnovers a game sometimes more uh the percentages obviously have been terrible like his last 15 games have been easily his best stretch of the season 14 points six assists that’s
Great you know almost four boards not really giving you a whole lot defensively you know he has one multi- steal game in that span despite playing close to 30 minutes and he’s 36% from the field 74% at the line on on decent volume almost four free throw attempts
Per game so like in a points League I I think there you know scoo is is defensible but I think the percentages and the turnovers really kill you in nine catch so we we’ll split on that one um George says good morning Nick and Brandon Good morning George good to see
You uh I George was was also asking where uh where we’re from or where we are I’m in Orlando and Nick is in Milwaukee yes yes get the EAS conference covered on this podcast yeah golf season also very far away uh up here in in Milwaukee but uh head heading to Arizona
We’re getting South this weekend uh I can tell you right now we have like still eight inches of snow on the ground so we will not be playing golf in Wisconsin anytime soon uh Adia says what up Nick Brandon shout out from Jakarta Indonesia it’s 10 37 p.m here wow all
Right shout out to Indonesia expanding the brand I love it yeah uh and Adia follows up with a question he says Josh giddy was just dropped in his league is he worth a grab this is a yahoo head-to-head 12 Team 15 category League um and for context this
Is your typical nine cat plus field goals made free throws made three-point percentage double doubles triple doubles and flag fowls all right interesting um he says TJ McConnell would be his drop has halberton on iil so basically would he would you drop McConnell to pick up
Giddy um I don’t think I would and and I and I think the halberton factor in your lineup is a big reason why uh one for one I would rather have giddy than McConnell but when I I I’m guaranteeing that I have the Pacers starting point guard I think that’s more valuable than
Giddy so I would hold and then swap when halberton comes back in a couple days yeah I mean the McConnell think’s been weird like I I thought we were set up for a pretty nice run here for McConnell with with hurn out and the minutes have kind of been all over the place
Obviously he’s been mostly coming off the bench um you know even with Halbert nelt the other night he only played 12 minutes um so I you know there there’s certainly some steals upside there’s there’s a little bit more assists upside with McConnell but I I think in this
Situation I would just grab Giddy and you’re hoping you know halbert’s back by the end of this week right it could be only two more games and then he’s back in the mix and McConnell becomes a little bit more Rel relevant especially in the 12 Team league so not not the
Biggest Josh giddy guy but I think there’s there’s a little bit more there and certainly going to be more consistency with him than there would be McConnell um all right zip says hi he’s in a 10 team nineat Roto League he’s punting points and he does not need
Blocks so with that in mind what are our thoughts on potentially trading Trey young and Chad holgren for James Harden and lri marinin he says instead of Harden he could also ask for halberton or or Curry so a potential Blockbuster cooking up here wow uh could ask for halberton or Curry
Instead of instead of James Harden I I assume that that’s what that means I like that yeah and especially when you put it the way that you do points uh that’s primarily what you’re getting from Trey young blocks you get a bunch of those from Chad hren so not worried
About that um Lori Marin’s filling up the stat sheet love the way the Jazz have been playing outside of uh last night’s disaster and yeah I’m I mean Tyrese halberton is such a fantasy Monster uh I would I would I would go for halberton and marinan personally but
You can sell me on James Harden for the 14th time this year yeah I mean I really any of those guys are fine for me um you know I I don’t know that you necessarily need to make this trade I guess if you’re if you’re super heavy on blocks and you
Feel like you’re okay there then you know parting ways would chattis fine marinin doesn’t really block shots he’s just points rebounds threes and percentages there so I don’t really have a problem with that I mean Trey Trey young versus halberton versus Curry versus Harden those guys are all in the
Same general range I I I think excuse me I’d probably I’d probably prefer halberton the most out of those especially if you think he’s gonna stay healthy so I would start there and then kind of go down the ladder um you know obviously you’re buying somewhat low on
Steph Curry which you know we’re speaking in Steph Curry term so’s he’s still an elite player but I yeah I I think this is a fine deal um given your category needs Ian says he’s in a nine cat League he’s got a trade question here should he trade dearen Fox John Collins and
DeAndre Aton for Tyrese Maxi and Jeremy Grant so I guess I I shouldn’t say I know which side he’s on here but basically Fox Collins and Aon or Maxi and Grant which side you want I definitely want Tyrese Maxi but I’m not really in love with the idea of
Giving up dearn Fox uh I think I’d rather have the uh the first end of the deal dear and fox John Collins take my chances on him and and DeAndre Aton I know has been frustrating but you get him back in that lineup and he’s going
To put up numbers uh with the Blazers I don’t know who else is really grabbing rebounds there yeah I’m I’m with you I mean Maxi is the best player in the deal so I get the appeal I you know the percentages are better um you know they there I I’m
Not going to tell you that not go get tyres Maxi but I do think this being a three for two makes the makes the difference for me like I think i’ just rather keep the three side of this one and I know aon’s kind of a depressing
Player to own and Collins is all over the place but I I think on aggregate that’s still the better side here Jeremy Grant super inconsistent um not really as good of a fantasy player in category leagues as you think I mean he’s outside the top 100 on the year uh despite
Scoring pretty well you know there’s nights where he just doesn’t really give you anything else so if you know if there’s a third player that you could attach you know to the Maxi Grant side maybe that evens it out um and you know certainly I would I would again much
Rather have Maxi than Fox but yeah I would I would stick with the the three player side of this one um Ian also asked when is the return of Evan Mobley and would you trade him for Aton and John Collins okay so kind of a followup here no idea on Moy uh you
Know Cavs have been playing so well that like we haven’t even thought about M and Garland in a while uh there was a report about a week ago that Moy had begun doing some conditioning work that was last Monday uh they said the the projected six to eight we timeline that
That we got in mid December is still on track so that would mean that he could be back as early as the week before the All-Star break I wouldn’t be surprised if they just take it easy and and he’s not back until February 22nd when they resume play against Orlando um so that
Would be the mo side of things I don’t know man I if you need the immediate help then yeah because I I think you you know you’re getting three extra weeks potentially out of Aon and Collins yeah I tend to agree I’m not in love with making this move February
Mid-February will be here before you know it but if you’re scratching and clawing for wins you got to do what you got to do and you could certainly do worse than Aon and Collins um but if you have a suitable replacement for Evan Mobley and it’s just a it’s just a bit
Of a downgrade from those other guys I I wouldn’t Panic just yet um he’s clearly going to be a Factor he’s a defensive player of the year candidate type of player and I know the Cavs have played well without him but they’ll welcome him back with open arms when he’s
Available all right we’ll hit a handful more of these before we head out um all right so here’s a good one who would you stash for the rest of the season in a 12 team nine cat League scoot Henderson DeAndre hunter or assar Thompson um DeAndre Hunter
Is SAR Thompson I’m out on at this point um love what we got from him at the start of the year I think those days are are over um scoot I I I can’t quit scoot Henderson so I’d between I’d be between Scoot and DeAndre Hunter I think it just
Depends on what you need yeah I I I think if you’re shooting for upside scoot you know if you’re talking about somebody that is not going to be in your lineup most weeks and you just kind of want the option to throw him out there that would probably be my
Choice again I’m not the biggest scoot guy I think there’s a disconnect between like his actual value and his future as a player versus his immediate fantasy value but not out of the question that you know he could be good down the stretch especially if Portland you know
Trades B brogen pulls back on some other veterans you know we saw it with shanen sharp at the end of last year had that incredible like 10 game run at the end of the season so I don’t know I I would say either scoot or assar just because
If you’re holding somebody for like a late season cash in I just don’t know like DeAndre Hunter what’s the ceiling here right he’s like the 85th best player over the last few weeks of the year like I don’t know they got sadique Bay they got Jaylen Johnson so I would
Go scooter assar if you’re shooting for upside yeah he hasn’t played since December 20th but he is he’s an excellent player when he’s out there so that’s the appeal is Brook Lopez for Terry Rosier a fair trade man I haven’t yeah I haven’t thought a lot about Brook Lopez lately I
Don’t has he faded into the uh into the the background Abyss in the uh fantasy landscape he got off to a great start I mean he’s still a top 30 guy on the year he’s missed zero times but every game um you know he’s kind of giv you your
Typical Brook Lopez stat line you know underwhelming as a rebounder scoring’s down a little bit 2.9 blocks per game though and that’s really what you’re after as the Box yeah yeah the the Bucks overall haven’t been as good defensively but his stats are still good um I uh is
Brook Lopez I yeah I mean I think that’s a fair trade yeah yeah I think that’s fair obviously you’re targeting the block with with Lopez and you know you’d be if you’re selling Rosier you’re selling high but you know I also think we expect a a bit of a c down you know
Now that he he’s in Miami um you think people should wait if they’re gonna if they want to trade for Terry rier wait to see depressed numbers in Miami a little bit of panic because um he plays a more efficient but less volume based role yeah uh we got a followup from
Adithia by the way Brandon says he went to high school 1 hour south of Orlando in Melbourne Florida great beaches down there I’m sure I bet that was a good experience I I would certainly imagine probably probably better than going to high school in in rural Wisconsin where
There are zero beaches great experience love it wouldn’t trade it for anything but no beaches um all right good question about the Jazz who are the most valuable fantasy assets on the Utah Jazz for the remainder of the season and how valuable is Colin ston uh I mean Jazz
Continue to play well I think they’re they’re obviously not a title contending team so anything could be on the table as far as what direction they choose but um I mean seon has been awesome over the last few weeks you know if you held on in the early portion of the season when
They were playing him 17 minutes off the bench uh you’ve cashed in I mean ever since he entered the starting lineup he’s been at 23 points two and a half rebounds five assists really good percentages 52 4289 over the last 22 games for seon yeah I um I’m
They’ve been starting Simone funio uh recently they knocked down some threes so I I mean as long as they’re going to keep him in the starting lineup that’s sort of an under the radar on and off the waiver wire kind of guy that you could look at we talked about John
Collins as part of the mix um but I I think it’s really just it’s the big names that that’s what’s been carrying the load for Utah they’ve been playing great marketing Clarkson and sexon has really been the reason why uh they’ve been successful over everything else so
I I don’t I’m not falling over myself just because they’ve been playing well to add a bunch of jazz players all right we’ll do a couple more and then we’ll be out of here uh Guilford says you got Curry for sabonis in a 12 team Roto League what are our
Thoughts interesting deal for sure um anytime you can add damont sabonis I’m a I’m a fan of that you know uh Steph Steph is still amazing but um I think we’re seeing a a bit of a decline I mean definitely a decline with the Warriors overall um but sabonis is just
Such a well-rounded player and the more categories you got to worry about the more interested I am in Damonte sabonis because he he does a little bit of everything so I like it yeah yeah I I like both sides of this I think they’ve been they’ve been very comparable this
Season um you know very different players of course like you know if you’re if you’re giving up sabonis you’re sacrificing rebounding um you’re sacrificing field goal percentage but you’re gaining a ton in terms of Threes uh you know pretty comparable in terms of assists at this point um but you know
Really it’s the rebounds it’s the field goal percentage and so bonus does kill you at the free throw line too I mean 5.2 attempts per game 67% so if you’re getting Curry you know it’s a big boost in threes it should be a big boost in free throws as well uh George says
Thoughts on Miles Bridges rest of season love owning him so far but just concerned with the two game week during our finals week in week 21 um interesting you know good idea always be looking ahead yeah who would you target if you were to trade miles Bridges so Bridges ranks about 50th
Overall on the season um I I I like him as well um you know you do worry a little bit you know we talked about somebody that could be moved at the deadline if they don’t want to resign him you know he is expiring after this
Year I I shoot for players in his range right I mean it’s sounds obvious I guess but you know could you get could you get Bam atabo um could you get deardo Rosen you know Anthony Edwards only ranks a few spots ahead of him probably can’t
Pull that one off but maybe that be tough um you know someone like fron Vagner I’d have to take a look and kind of you know Zoom ahead in the schedule to to see what the game weeks look like but um yeah if you’re if you’re in
Sitting in a good spot and starting to look ahead at at your finals week that that means you’re having a pretty good season absolutely um yeah I’d be lying if I said I knew what the uh what the gamees tracked like for all these teams coming the end of the regular season but
I think some of the names names that Nick brought up um would be yeah phenomenal ads uh fron Vagner I can speak to for sure in terms of just him coming back from injury and and uh you know he looks like his old self again
And so I wouldn’t be I think some people may look at the game log and and get a little spooked because of all that Miss time missed nine games and then came back and was a little slow out of the gate but I think he looks pretty good um
Brandon Ingram be another one love the way the Pelicans are playing as well um Desmond Bane with all of the work that he has on his back now and um who knows with the way that the Memphis Grizzlies season is tracking he could end up being
A guy that lands in an even better situation um Kate Cunningham back from injury tonight if you can find a way to get him on your roster I’d be game for that too James asked should I trade jiren Jackson for Ant-Man uh and then he he followed up and said he’s thinking about
Offering jiren Jackson Plus cam Johnson for Anthony Edwards even even with it with the T attaching cam I think I’m okay with this um you know jiren Jackson could very well go on a crazy run over the next month but the efficiency is going to be all over the place like the shot
Blocking has kind of fallen off a cliff like when he has to operate as their number one option he’s just not the same guy on defense and you could find comparable players in terms of what he does offensively like the whole reason you took jiren Jackson early in the
Draft or paid up for him in an auction was because you thought you were getting you know 2.5 plus blocks per game on top of what everything else he does and that just has not been consistent so I know I know ant’s been a pretty big disappointment you know he ranks quite a
Bit lower than you’d think on the year I would I would rather have ant the rest of the way so I would do that deal yeah and I think the reason why is just he’s not really giving you a lot outside of he’s got good scoring outputs
But um I I don’t think if you were to Compare the numbers that he was that he’s been as prolific as he was a year ago doesn’t really do a lot on the defensive end because their defense is anchored by those front line guys and those bigs and he doesn’t really have to
Do much so um and the three point percentage is way down so yeah I I still like Ant-Man but I I understand the question I think I think I would go Anthony Edwards and just kind of hope that there’s a turnaround coming all right last one then we’ll get
Out of here is nurkic and Canard for Donovan Mitchell a fair trade I would say if you if you’re if you’re getting doin Mitchell then do this deal right now I I don’t know that this is fair I I know Canard not yeah canard’s been better of late uh you
We’ll see how sustainable that is like you know even over the last couple weeks when he’s been taking off he’s still like outside the top 100 nur’s had a fine season feels like he’s you know gonna get injured at some point like he does every year so if somebody’s
Offering you this deal and you’re getting D Mitchell do it uh I think if you’re offering this deal to somebody they’re probably goingon to turn it down yeah um scoring assisting steals you’re getting a lot with Donovan Mitchell and none of that’s going away it doesn’t matter when Darius
Garland comes back or any of that so slam the button no it’s not a fair deal and that’s why you should take it if you can yes all right thanks for all the questions in the chat guys uh you guys make this fun pod for us to do hopefully
It’s informative every week uh we’ll have Rick Cela and Dr a back on the mic tomorrow afternoon or actually no tomorrow morning it should be around uh 11: am Eastern and then Alex barua Ken Kitz and Shannon mckune coming to you on Friday they’ll be talking all things
Waiver wire do a little weekend preview Brandon enjoy the rest of your week man I know it’s been a crazy couple weeks for you uh but enjoy watching the Orlando Magic I will enjoy playing golf the next few days and we’ll talk next Wednesday good luck out there
3 Comments
Should I trade miles bridges? Also how’s Tatum for Wemby? I’m in 10T points league. I have Brandon miller, lamelo ball, and bridges don’t want to have all three hornets playeds
Would you trade Simons for Jalen Johnson? Roto league
Cat league: Drop Fultz for Santi Aldama?