How Can The Detroit Pistons Make Upgrades To The Roster? | Pistons Talk Podcast
Hey guys, I want to welcome you back to another episode of Pistons Talk podcast. Hope you guys enjoyed that sweet belt ass against the Milwaukee Bucks. Got her lick back. I am joined by Sean Murphy, credential Pistons reporter and the host of From Half Court. Definitely should be subscribed to From Half Court and follow us on if you’re not already. Sean, welcome to the show, man. How you doing? What’s going on, Anthony? You know the Pistons one again. Yeah, they did. Crazy. Yeah. No, it’s uh it’s it’s uh what a time, man. It’s great. They said it on the broadcast, but you know, they you know, they didn’t they they got their 19th win tonight, which they didn’t even reach that mark over, you know, the past couple years before uh before last. So, definitely a lot different of a time covering Pistons basketball than it was before. You and I were just talking right before this like this could be the first time in a while. We’re doing some some real game like some live game coverage into May and possibly June. Who knows? Yeah. I mean, you’re you’re first place in the East and for people that are, you know, watching right now, usually these are postgame podcast, but we are not doing a postgame podcast. Anytime I have Sean on, it’s a long form podcast. It’s a fun podcast. So, we got a lot of topics that we are going to get into tonight. So, for people that are coming on in, um, if you want to follow Sean and his work, I have everything linked in the description. His Twitter if you want to catch him on Hornets fans or just pissing off any other NBA fan base. I mean, Sean’s a good follow. Have from Halfcourt’s YouTube channel, definitely should be subscribed to that if you haven’t already. Again, it’s in the description of the YouTube channel. And if you want to follow me, if you you’re not already, go for it. If not, doesn’t hurt my feelings. But we’re gonna get into uh today’s show. I wanted to start with the Isaiah Thomas stuff. Um he was on the broadcast yesterday for George Blahasa’s uh bobblehead night, 50 years of broadcasting. Shout out to George. And he he had said something that I think Pistons fans maybe took the wrong way. Uh he’d said that, you know, he’s wondering if Kade does have a mentor. like what did you kind of like think he meant by that? Because I feel like a lot of Pistons fans uh took it as an insult rather than just like a a genuine question by Isaiah Thomas. Yeah, I think it’s one of those comments on the surface when you initially hear you’re like, well, you know, when you when a lot of times when you hear a young player needs a mentor, um that’s when you have questions about their maturity and that’s when you have questions about their leadership. And you think a lot about whenever you hear about like a guy needing a mentor, you think about someone, you know, teaching a player how to be a pro, which when you look at Kate Cunningham, that’s just he’s been a pro since he’s come into the building. So that’s just that’s not what Isaiah Thomas is talking about. What I think he’s talking about, and I think the the way that you probably took it as well, is I think he’s talking about having that, you know, that that star veteran or that person with deep playoff experience who has been there before, who has been the number one or number two option on a championship caliber team or a team who has expectations of competing for a championship and having someone who can tell Kade exactly what it takes to get through those moments, to get deeper into the playoffs. Like I think he’s talking about like how you know in Houston right now like for example like I don’t think anyone would say Alprren Shingun has a maturity problem but he has a but he what he does have is a Kevin Durant who can help him with elevating his game even further in taking another step. I think you look at like Tyrese Hallebertton he didn’t have a maturity problem but you brought in a Pascal Seakum to the Pacers who was a you know a champion who could take that team to another level. I think, you know, kind of like what Isaiah is really talking about is going and getting that guy alongside Cade, like kind of that that star level player who’s been there and who’s done that. You can tell Kade exactly where he needs to take his game next to get him to the level that we know he can get to. So, I I think to your point, it’s like whenever a lot of times whenever you hear people, especially like former uh like players of the team, like speak uh like critically about players on this team. I think we all immediately go back to the Dave Bing comment where he said that I don’t think Kade’s like a franchise level player, which has clearly just been proven to be categorically false. Kade’s a top five player in the league this season, top 10 at the very least. But, uh, when you look at, you know, just like like what’s it going to take for Cade to bring the Pistons to that championship level, like we even saw Luca Donic when he went to his first finals a couple years ago struggle, you know, struggle through that. We see players all the time get into the playoffs and see, okay, this is clearly the element in his game that he’s going to have to overcome in order to get to that championship level. So, I that’s the way that I took it. Yeah. I didn’t take it as like disrespect because I thought he was coming from a good place. Uh Isaiah mentioned like when he was playing um him and Magic Johnson were very close. You said I had Magic in my ear. Um you mentioned Dave Bing like Dave Bing used to go in the locker rooms after his games and give him words of encouragement and words of advice. I will say I know Cade um you know Canon his brother Ashton his trainer like they’re in his circle. They’re they’re in his ear. They spend a lot of time with him. I think what Isaiah was just kind of saying is just like I wonder if Kate does have that mentor. And I was thinking about this today like I think Kevin Durant could be a mentor. I mean for the amount of time that we’ve seen you know Kate Cunningham and Kevin Durant um we just saw him on a a boardroom podcast last month. Um even before Kate got drafted uh there was an interview of just KD checking on him, see how he’s doing. Like I I think Kate does have mentors. It’s just not out in public. It’s just not out in the open. And we’ve seen former NBA legends like, you know, Carmemelllo Anthony saying, “I want to work out with Kade.” I was just about to bring that up. Yeah. Rajan Rondo saying, “I’d love to work with Kade.” I I I think um if Kade wants to, you know, invite those guys and kind of pick their brain, I’m sure he will. He’s just a basketball junkie. I didn’t really have any problems with what Isaiah Thomas said. I think some fans get very protective of him and that’s your franchise guy. I get it. But I mean, you have to realize like that’s a two-time champion. Um, he is, in my opinion, the greatest Detroit Piston um in in the franchise history. I mean, he’s a guy that, you know, put them on the map. Uh, the Bad Boys were some of the toughest, grittiest basketball teams in NBA history. So, I really didn’t have a problem with it whatsoever. I know some fans were just kind of upset with it, but if you kind of just break it down, it wasn’t really an insult whatsoever. Yeah, I think we’re conditioned to uh older players or as they’re referred to on on NBA Twitter, the old heads. Um I think we’re used to them coming in and being negative instinctively and talking down on the game almost from a point of self-preservation, but like you said, like I I I think he I I think I don’t even think it is a debate. like he is the greatest missing of all time, especially if you’re just going off a resume and accomplishments. You know, he’s the, you know, uh he’s he’s the guy who helped bring, you know, two of the three championships to Detroit. Um and he’s someone who no matter what is about the Pistons succeeding. And um I I I think when you look at like an Isaiah Thomas, like he he’s someone who he’s he’s going to give you exactly what he thinks and he’s not going to sugarcoat it. And um you know like with like with uh you know like with a Kade Cunningham like you said uh like he I I think like I think Kevin Durant already is a mentor when you look at the way that um the way that uh when you just listen to that boardroom podcast it’s clear that there’s already a pre-existing relationship there. Uh Kevin Durant’s known Cade since he was in high school. Uh I also know you know just beyond wanting to work out. Um, Cade mentioned at media day that they that him and Melo did have uh uh some conversations this summer and he didn’t want to delve into those very much because I think Cade’s one of those guys where you know like some guys like uh like Wimi for example like uh he market he pretty much marketed everything he did this last summer, right? Like he um like uh he he worked with Matumbbo like there’s guys where it’s like you gotta you got to have a photo from every single workout you do with someone so that you can make sure it’s known. But like I think Cade, at least the way that I see him approach some of those things is I think part of him like recognizes like the fan and him is still there. And it’s like I think like I like for example like I think if him and and Dirk Noitzky were to have a workout or were to have conversations I don’t think he would necessarily be going out and talking about it because like that’s his favorite player ever and that means like that means a lot to him you know like so I think he’s just he’s he’s one of those guys where he’s never had to flash everything he’s done in front of people’s faces. But I I you know all like all that to be said like when as like we kind of talk about like the way that like you know like could the Pistons make a move or like what do they need roster-wise like I think it’s just an interesting like additional perspective and element to discuss of you know like like what could that role model type player be or that person be for Kate Cunningham. Yeah. I mean, if I if I remember correctly, correct me if I’m wrong, he mentioned that he was working with somebody in a press conference, but he wouldn’t say who it was. So, I mean, it could be a mentor. I mean, like we we touched on Kevin Dan. He he could have been working with KD. I mean, Kade to me, I think, is a pretty private person. Yeah. Um, ever since the uh, infamous Instagram live, I I think he learned his lesson about being very transparent and open with fans. Uh, the draft night kid, if you know what I’m talking about. But, I mean, I I I think he has a lot of people in his ear. I think he is getting good advice. Again, I don’t really think Isaiah Thomas meant any ill towards it whatsoever. Right. Like if there’s anyone that you do not have to worry about their maturity or not having people in his corner that are telling him what he needs to hear and not what he wants to hear. Like I think what like like one of the things that makes Kate Cunningham like like his ceiling so high is when you look at like his camp and the people in his corner like I’d put that up against anybody as far as the superstars in the league as far as like they they push him to be the best version he can be and they will tell him if he’s not being that. Yeah. I mean I don’t really think we have any issues there. But I did want to touch on it. And I know uh some Pistons fans, especially yesterday and last night, they were kind of upset with um how it kind of came off, but you know, knowing Isaiah Thomas, it just came out of uh just a genuine question in respect. Um I I I did want to kind of ask you um just the games this week, what was kind of like your overall thoughts. go three and one. Only lost one game to the Milwaukee Bucks and you know they get their their win back against the Bucks tonight. But like what did you think of the games this week so far? Yeah, I think a couple things that just stood out is I think you saw the impact of a Duncan Robinson on this team the second he’s on the floor versus when he’s not. Um you know just the the level of shooting that he’s brought. But just on top of that, like just the stable veteran presence that he’s been, like I tweeted like a couple weeks ago, but it’s like Duncan Robinson’s like genuinely been like a phenomenal signing for this team. And he’s like I think he’s like I’d put this season up against like any of his career thus far as far as like his quality of basketball. If anything, I’d say this would be the best basketball of his career because this is probably the most he’s been relied on as a veteran throughout his career. Um, so, um, definitely, you know, definitely really solid there. I brought it up in the, uh, in the press conference yesterday, and the way I said it to JB, like he he had a little bit of a chuckle, but like legitimately like the only way I could think of saying it is the constants for this team are death, taxes, and Ron Holland makes winning plays. Like, come hell or high water, he comes into a game and turns like turns the tide in the Pistons fortune just about every single time. Like if you look at the f like if you look at you know whether in against Portland like when he was you know like making plays on the offensive end and hitting multiple shots or you look at some of the different games where like he has all these different steals and blocks like he’s just such a disruptive presence um on on the defensive end and then you know the other piece JB Bickerstaff said it himself the other night of Isaiah Stewart’s the best defensive center in the world and I think we’re there like I like it’s like that conversation it’s time for that to be had. So, like I I think like I don’t think based off of how things have gone over the last like week or so, I think this team like is I think we can officially like kind of like put any like reservations of like, okay, but like is this really who the Pistons are? Like this is who they are. We’re 20 like we’re 24 25 games into the season. They’re going to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. The question is with some of the flaws that they have and with some of the, you know, things that we’re seeing now that guys are coming back to into the rotation, what if anything changes come deadline time and what if anything holds them back from playing into June? Yeah. I mean, I I think a lot of people, and I don’t know if you experienced this, but just on my timeline during the winning streak, I I think Pistons fans were really excited that they had a a team that they could, you know, go out and support. Um, I I think the vibes in the city were really high. Like, could they break that all-time franchise winning streak? Obviously, they came a little bit short, but they were able to, you know, tie with some previous championship teams. I think the expectations went a little bit out of control because when they did lose a game against the Celtics, you started seeing the negative comments. Um, and I don’t know if it’s just, you know, Pistons fans that started tuning in during the winning streak or maybe it was just like a maybe a fan that hasn’t watched the Pistons, you know, since the last time they were pretty good during the going to work era. But I felt like the expectations from a fan perspective um, have gone like really really high. Like I remember me me and you having conversations like I asked you I was like, “Is this a 51 basketball club?” up and you’re like, “Yeah.” I said, “I think so, too. I I think this they could easily win 50 games.” Um, but just from my point of view, I think expectations is from the fans is like I haven’t seen expectations like this probably since the last time they had a championship squad. B like based off of what I’m seeing, I based off of the way fans are talking about this team, it feels like fans at the minimum are expecting a conference finals appearance. Like it feels like people are expecting this to be one of if not the last team standing in the East, which like the fact that we’re saying that with a straight face is just like like that’s just a again it’s just a reality that we have to adjust to. I mean for me and for you like I don’t think it’s like entirely new territory. If anything it just feels like what the Pistons should be or what the Pistons have been in the 2000s and in in the in years past. But for a lot of Pistons fans, it’s it’s almost like they’re like they’re it’s very similar like a lot of them are Lions fans, too, where it’s like they have never tasted this level of success before. And I think especially just with where the East is with the injuries, with how open things truly are. It almost feels like there’s an urgency to get it done now because of the of the opportunity at hand. But what I would tell people who are like who are having those types of concerns is I think the openness in this Eastern Conference like allows this team to not have to go out and spend any major assets and see what they can really do now before you know guys do start coming back because I think once you do have a Tatum and a Tyrese Hallebertton back like I don’t think the Pistons are going anywhere. I think like I think like those those guys are gonna have to contend with the Pistons the same way the Pistons are gonna have to contend with them. I know. I was just kind of like reflecting on my like kind of goals for this team this year and I was like make the playoffs one but win a playoff series. Like if you win a playoff series to me like you’re competitive. If you win, let’s this say, you know, 52 games this year, whatever it is, or 48, whatever, and you win a playoff series, like that’s a whole another monkey off your back, like you haven’t won a playoff series since 2008 against the Boston Celtics when Ray Allen and Rajan Rondo and Kevin Garnett were on the that squad. So, yeah, I mean, like I I think where they’re trending is they’re going to have home court in the playoffs. They have a chance to win a playoff series. Like I’m never gonna tell a fan how to fan, right? Like it’s it’s really interesting to see how their perspective switches up with expectations. And I love it, man. Like I’ve been I’ve been loving doing these postgame podcasts at night. I’ve been loving interacting with Pistons fans that know, hey, like we we had someone in the chat today talking about how they they’re from Albania. They’ve been a fan since 2001 and it’s 4:30 in the morning and they stayed up to watch the Detroit Pistons. Like it’s it’s really cool to see just like how many fans that the Detroit Pistons have worldwide. Yeah. And again, like like you said, it’s like it’s awesome to see that people have these hopes and these expectations now, you know, and it’s like uh it’s it’s one of those things where it’s like I haven’t been here before. I don’t really know I don’t really know how to carry myself, you know? It’s like how do you how do you act? What do you say? What do you do? But like what got you here was the patience and the the things that the Pistons have been doing up to this point, right? As far as like the last couple years specifically. So I think what I would urge like to those people is if it ain’t broke like like we we don’t need to fix it right away, you know, like so I think I think especially with the Boston loss like with like for one it was breaking the losing streak, but also I think it was really easy for a lot of like the casual observers because there was one major change that week and it was Jaden Ivy returning to the lineup. Yeah. You know, so for people it’s like, oh, he returns to the lineup and we lose that week. He’s instantly the problem. It’s like, well, nope. This is not a two plus two situation here. Man, I don’t know how many people I saw in Hatewatch, especially after one, and not even Pistons fans, just NBA fans when they lost uh when the winning streak was over. Uh because the Pistons were getting a lot of national attention that they haven’t gotten in 20 years. But two, I know there are a section of the Detroit Pistons fan base that don’t care for Jade Ivy, and that’s fine. Like, we all have our favorite players. I have my favorite players. Um, and I root for them regardless of how they do. But yeah, ju just the hate watching. I’ve seen on the timeline is honestly wild. It’s so interesting how you can get to such a deep level of fandom for a team that it becomes subfandoms where like you said it’s like there’s like there’s different factions within this tribe of like you have your like you have your your Ivy truthers you have your you have like your you have like your Thompson twin like true believers like you have your uh like you know you have your Cunningham FC’s you have your Dur Dur uh your Duran dieards. It’s it’s a rather fascinating thing to to maneuver. Now I know how Twilight fans felt when they had to go up with Edward and Jacob, you know. I remember that in high school so many girls were just like, “I’m team Edward. What are you?” I was like, “Who?” Yeah. I had no idea like what that was. I can’t believe we did a Twilight reference on a Pistons podcast. the like let alone a Twilight a Twilight reference in 2025. Like if you’re talking about the hip stuff, you get it right here. Um that’s why I bring you out, man. It’s always a good time at Good Labs. Like I never know what what you’re going to say and it’s just honestly hilarious. Honestly, I never know what I’m going to say. So we’re we’re along for the ride together. Yeah. I mean that’s that that’s why we do podcasts. They’re fun like that. But there was some news this week as it pertains to Jaylen Dur. You mentioned him a a little while ago and I know we both talked about contract extensions this summer. Um I was under the impression that Durn would have got one uh just because I felt like, you know, he was healthy. I didn’t really know what his camp was asking for. Now, Vinnie Goodwell, who does work for ESPN, um, you know, talked to some people and the reporting that came out of that was he’s hearing that, you know, Jaylen Duran could be seeking a 5-year deal worth $185 million. Now, not saying that he’s not worth it, but my question to you is, do you think that the Detroit Pistons could actually offer him what he’s really seeking? So, first of all, if anyone’s questioning this figure, what I’ll say is Vinnie Goodwill is as well tied in as anyone. So, it if it’s coming from Vinnie, that’s that’s as good that’s as reliable of a piston source as you can get nowadays. Having said that, it definitely doesn’t surprise me from the standpoint of you look at the the ascension on the offensive end and you look at kind of the fact that he’s been, you know, the talk of the town of the league. Uh, you know, I I would say based off of what we’ve seen thus far, I would be shocked if he’s not an all-star this year. Um, I would be shocked if he’s not gonna be, you know, like he at least heavily considered to be on like on the 2028 Team USA team if he continues to keep playing like this, you know, like he’s he’s one of he’s one of the most intriguing up and cominging bigs in the league. And with that, I would say if there’s anything I’ve kind of like other like observations just over the last week and just, you know, like things that we’ve watched is during like I I’m not going to say like has like come back down to earth, but it’s like there’s definitely been like, you know, like there’s there’s been those super dominant games and there’s been the games where you struggled a little bit more. And specifically like I think if there’s anything we’re really, you know, like kind of starting to see trend to being a little bit more of a problem, it’s the turnovers. uh sometimes specifically on the offensive end. Uh he he is a great like he’s great at initiating his offense and he’s great at you know creating uh his own opportunities but there’s also times where he just should not be doing it and just doesn’t make sense for him to be doing it at least the way that he has been doing it. And if you look at some of the turnover numbers like the like uh like he had a he had a season high six against Portland last night and that one in particular there were just a lot of of drives or uh or takes that he was like it’s sometimes he just once he gets the ball there is no other thought than I am going to the rim. And when you’re playing against teams, especially like Portland where it’s like they have guys who have long and active hands who can put pressure on the ball, who can make things really uncomfortable for you, like you have to play a lot more selective than that. And I think if you look at some of the games where Detroit’s played a bit closer than they should, I think you can kind of track Duran’s struggles and turnover issues with it. I feel like, and this is no knock at him, I think he’s taken that next step in terms of putting the ball on the floor more. Um, he’s getting to the free throw line at a really high clip. I I I just kind of didn’t expect him to take the leap that he’s taking right now, and I think that’s good. Yep. My my only thing with like I go back to what Tan said on the Zack Low podcast when he was asked about uh you know contract extensions, how close were they? He said that they had a lot of conversations but you know no deals were getting done and he kind of touched on like being able to still build a competitive team while trying to keep as much core guys as possible. Y I’m not I’m not saying $37 million a year is going to break the bank for the Pistons, but if you add up Kate Cuttingham’s like 46 $50 million contract and just reported like $37 million, those two would be accounting for 50% of your cap space. You have a You have a Sar Thompson up the bat next summer. Yeah. And then Ron Holland the year after that. I’m not saying that Duran’s not going to get paid. I’m not saying that the Detroit Pistons don’t value him. I think they value him a lot. I I think Kate Cunningham loves playing with Jaylen Duran. Like the chemistry those two have um I I think is next level. I I just I don’t think he’s going to get the full 185. Now, the Pistons might say, “Hey, you know, we we’re not really feeling the 185. How’s 165? How’s 170?” Um you always ask for more than you actually want. There might be a number where like Dur might be asking for 185 and they if they offered him like 170 like 172 he’d probably take it or maybe they kind of pulled the Jaylen Green thing which I know you had mentioned saying like why don’t you just frontload it for three years and he gets his 40 million and he’s happy for three years and kind of revisit it. So I I think there’s a lot of avenues that the Pistons can take. Um but I was pretty uh intrigued once I saw this figure this week. I don’t know about you. Yeah, I mean it it definitely it it was an eye openener to say the least of like okay this is where the conversation’s gone. Like I remember I remember you and I right before the season started did a pod where where we were having this exact same conversation but the question wasn’t is he worth five years 185. The question is was he worth five years 150 was he worth 30 a year. Yeah. you know, and now like I remember at the time I I compared like I I brought up the stats and the center that you know that would have put him next to was Bam Adabio. Well, now you’re talking about the contract that Alpin Shenon got which Alprin Shenun isn’t just one of the most intriguing like like he’s not just one of the best bigs in the league. He’s like one of the most intriguing upand cominging all star in the league. And so now you’re framing the conversation like you know at the time I remember it’s like okay now you’re framing that conversation in a different light. Now we’re having it in an even higher one. So when we sound when we sound like we’re nitpicking or if we sound like we’re criticizing it’s not because we’re criticizing Jaylen Duran the player as like who he is now. What we’re doing is we’re judging him from the context of like let’s say this is who he is right now at five years $185 million. What are the biggest drawbacks from keeping you competitive? These things, right? Like and especially like when you talk about and and and this is before you talk about okay well what is it even going to look like if the Pistons do decide to also talk about a Jay Navy extension? What does it look like with Assar Thompson where let’s be honest he’s probably gonna command 30 plus million a year and I think you and I probably agree with his defensive prowess like you know like there like there’s not many numbers where I wouldn’t go okay that makes like that doesn’t make sense um with just some of the things he can do. So, like you said, it’s just when you look at like the ways that teams like have to build throughout the league, it’s like realistically speaking, you can really only pay two or three guys at at max level. And so, if if you’re putting Duran right there, you’re essentially saying these are this is number one, number two, and this is going to be our championship core. Like, you’re locking that in. Yeah, it’s that that’s where I think the conversation gets interesting because I was curious Whoops, almost hit my mic over. I was curious to see like who are the top paid centers in the league and obviously you have Jokic, Carl Anthony Towns, and Joel B. They’ll make $50 million. And then it’s kind of like the tier one, right? Then you have the the tier two with Evan Mobley. Um, and I I believe I don’t think the Monta Sabonis is at 40 million off the top of my head, but I I think it’s kind of like around the LP Sangon uh Sabonis around there, like around the 38 to like $40 million range, which I think if he wants that, cool. You you just got to prove it. Like you you can you have to continue to develop your game. You have to continue um you know, developing his post moves, which I I think he’s developed quite a bit. I’d like to see him continue to take mid-range jump shots. I know that it’s a very small sample size in his mid-range game, but I’ve been, you know, pretty pleased with, you know, just his development in that aspect of his game. I think it’s just really interesting to see what Traan does because I I think a lot of people look at the Pistons right now from a national perspective and we’re going to get into trades in a in a little bit. Um I I think a big reason why the Pistons might not make any moves is they have a lot of financial commitments they have to think about not only for this summer but next summer. Yeah. No, I mean, you know, Jaylen Duran’s asking for 5 years, 185. You touched on Jaden Ivy. What What could he be seeking? Um, we don’t know. Is Jaden Ivy seeking a hund00 million contract. Could he be seeking more than that? So, I think there’s a lot of like commitment that the Pistons obviously have to make decisions on. Um, I’d like to keep Jaylen Duran here. Obviously, you know, the Pistons have his birthrights there. There will be teams that do have cap space. I don’t know too many teams that have cap space that are gonna go into a bidding war with the Pistons personally if this if this was the price point because I think there’s a lot of NBA teams right now that are scared to death of this new CBA and the new aprons. I don’t really think a lot of teams want to be in the aprons. Like you don’t want to be in a situation like Cleveland’s a good example. Like Cleveland is in the apron right now. They’re very tax of what they can do. you look at their books and the guys that they’ve paid like if you know they don’t make the conference finals this year like they’re probably trading Jared Allen. They’re probably retooling. They might trade Darius Garland too. It’s it’s interesting. And like let’s call a spade a spade. They’re not that good right now. Like if you look at the if you look at the Cavaliers in the standings specifically, like they’re by Philly and Atlanta, which is like like I I remember like having the conversation at the beginning of the year. It’s like this is the like this is the Cavaliers like conference finals to lose. Like this is like like like they better get to the finals this year. But what we’re finding and what we’re constantly seeing over and over again is these teams that build like build through the draft, build young, you know, like uh uh like don’t go very deep into those like like uh those like cap areas like those are the teams that are doing well right now. And so that’s kind of the other piece where it’s like like for the Pistons where it’s like you don’t necessarily want to like get deep into those aprons because it’s like what success has that brought anyone thus far in this new era. It hasn’t. No. I mean look what Boston did. They freaked out as soon as they got in the second apron. They traded Christops Porzingis and Drew Holiday immediately and retoled because they didn’t want to be in the second apron and they have new ownership obviously and that probably had some kind of factor. But uh just kind of circle it back to Jaylen Duran. If he does want that 5 years 185, I think he’s just got to prove it on the court. And you know, Tjan Langden and the Pistons front office brass. We’ll have those conversations with him and Jaden Ivy uh this summer for contract extensions. But man, we were talking about Yeah. 5 years, 125. We’re like, yeah, we could do that 130. Uh we obviously had no idea that he was looking for closer to 40 million. We thought it was a $30 million thing. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he he he he he radically changed the conversation of who he is and who he can be as a player overnight by some of the level like by the level of play that he’s had this year. Just props to him, man. I mean, he’s he’s looking like the guy that I think we all knew he could be for years. Yeah. I mean, like the the offensive growth is great to see. Um and he’s he just turned 22. Uh, right. It’s not a saying that like he he can’t keep continuing to develop because you could kind of like look at the contract as just investing like long term. Like if he keeps developing his offensive game, um, matures more, uh, you know, locks in a little bit more consistently defensively, then maybe the contract does age gracefully because the cap space will go up. I believe it’s not going up 10% this year. It’s going up 8%, but it’s go it’s projected to go up 10% each year. So, yep. you know that 38 37 million um might not look as bad in in a few years. Only thing that will be interesting to see with the uh with with like those salary cap increases is like obviously from the national media deal standpoint. I think everything’s looking great right now. Uh ratings are up. Everything’s going really well from that standpoint. I think over the next couple years though, and like this is just this could be a whole other podcast. I think we’re about to see a real like reckoning and um like confrontation of like the RSN’s and um like the regional sports networks and local viewership rights and all those different things. Like I think that model is going to change and that could definitely have an impact. But all that to say I think like yeah like with Jaylen Duran this is a good problem to have. Yeah. I mean, you you want you wanted someone to take a leap and I don’t think too many people this summer confidently could look you in the eye and say, “Yeah, Jaylen Duran’s taking that leap.” It was like Asar Thompson. Everyone was was like, “I’m the Assar.” Yeah, obviously Assar has taken leaps this year, but Jaylen Durren has taken a huge leap in his offensive game, which I’m happy to see. Um, I’m I’m happy that he was able to kind of get those touches early on because without Jaden Ivy, I mean, you you kind of find out like what players are made of, different guys step up. So, um, him being able to put the ball on the floor, have the mid-range post moves. I mean, he had like a little dream shake uh, yesterday against Portland against Robert Williams. It was like, oh man, that footwork was beautiful. So, I mean, I’m happy he’s on the team. It’ll be interesting to see what he does get though this summer. Yeah, no question. Did you see our guy Eric asked Kade about his Cowboys Super Bowl prediction, by the way? He did not. He did. What did he say? Uh, he he posted he posted it on Twitter. I’ll drop the link. I I’ll drop the link here in the chat, but Oh, you troll. Uhhuh. Our guy Eric actually went there. That is so funny. Oh, man. I I uh I told Cody Davis to ask uh Kade if he thinks he’s better than Dak Prescott because he said a year ago on uh Funny Marco when he was with Bleacher Report that he could be the quarterback uh of the Cowboys. That’s that’s that’s hilarious, man. Like as soon as he said that, the Lions just put belt ass. Oh yeah. 100% 100% li heard that Kade. Kade walked out. I haven’t watched it. I’m gonna watch it towards the end of the podcast uh when we uh hang up with you guys, but it’ll be a treat treat for me to uh watch it. Shout out to Eric, man. Eric’s just been asking some funny ass questions this. Yeah, absolutely. He he has not been afraid to to to ask the elephant in the room questions for sure. I know. He asked JB about Bobby Portoris and JB’s like, “Nope.” He’s like, “We’re not focused on him at all.” I think he finished with one point tonight. That’s funny. Speaking of Milwaukee, um I’ve never seen a superstar in Giannis ask for such a soft trade proposal, right? It’s not like the Jimmy Butler where, you know, he’s not talking to the team, he’s not showing up, he’s late to flights. Like, it’s like you hear whispers that Giannis wants to trade, but like then you also hear that he wants to be here. What was kind of like your takeaway? Because I saw a lot of Detroit Pistons fans saying like, “Hey, if Giannis is available, the Pistons should go all in.” I mean, do you think the Pistons should be looking at a Giannis, a guy that’s a top five player and a former MVP? So, here’s the interesting thing about a Giannis onto the Kumbbo trade conversation, right? Number one, Giannis without a doubt on the short list, top three at the very least of best players in the world when he’s healthy and when he has everything going. Um, he he’s one of those guys where you have to at least pick up the phone and hear what they what they’re looking for as far as a trade offer goes. Here’s a couple of things I would implore Pistons fans to keep in mind when having a discussion about a Giannis trade. The first thing I would say is when Treyan was brought into Detroit, the Pistons actually tried to interview general manager John Horst before they tried to interview Tjan Langden. and the Milwaukee Bucks actually uh declined that interview request for the Pistons to interview their general manager. So, if that’s how the Bucks were with the Pistons just about a front office executive, yeah, I wonder how they’re going to be about their franchise player. That’s number one. N Now, let’s say that’s Now, let’s say we clear that barrier. the the Bucks aren’t worried about division rivals or about Giannis ending up in the same conference. Like, let’s say those things aren’t aren’t the concern. Let’s get to trade package because this is where things get really complicated because more than likely the Bucks the the way that they have set things up for themselves is they are like insane levels of like when you just look at like they don’t own any of their picks. They don’t have any cap space. There’s no incentive for the Milwaukee Bucks to be bad. Truly. Yeah. For years. At least until I think literally there’s no incentive for them to be bad until 2032. Legitimately, I think every year until then, they have either a a first round pick that they don’t own the right to or they swapped the pick. So, they’re going to get the worst of whatever the the the pick value is. So, all that to all that to be said, if they’re going to trade Giannis, they either need to get really good players back. So, Assar, Ron, to like they’re they’re going to be asking like for Ivy, Assar, like they’re going to be asking for multiple young prospects on top of the picks that the Pistons have. Now, in part, I think what makes a Pistons deal less interesting to Milwaukee is the fact that if you trade Giannis to to Detroit and you get Detroit’s picks back, well, those picks aren’t going to be very good because you’re going to have Kate Cunningham and Giannis on the same team for years. In theory, that’s going to be an awesome regular season team at the very least. So, those picks are going to be awful as far as like value. The other piece o of of that is as well is do you really like for Detroit why they might not be as eager is I don’t know if you really want to give up I like you know like Assar and probably an Isaiah Stewart and like like by the time you trade Giannis like trade like trade for Giannis what’s the supporting cast that you have around them so when I look at teams that are like interesting Giannis teams you have to look at teams like Atlanta where they own like a lot of other teams picks. You have to look like like San Antonio where they own young prospects and other teams picks, right? Like like those are the types of teams that that are probably going to have the best chance to get Giannis because they can give Milwaukee a really enticing package while also still fielding a good team around him. And I just don’t think Detroit can do both. I agree with what you said. The reason why I wanted to touch on this is because Pistons fans are very funny. Anytime a superstar is available, they are like, “Let’s trade for him.” Right? It’s just like that taxes and a superstar’s available, let’s trade for him, right? That’s Pistons fans with just when a superstar wants out or it’s available. And like I get it, you you want to pair Kade Cunningham with a top five player, former MVP, but it’s it’s going to be expensive. Um, we touched on the uh the second apron. Um, and when you look at Giannis’s contract, you know, he signed a max deal. I mean, Kade and Giannis would be your team. Um, you still have some guys that are on rookie deals, but you’re eventually going to have to pay them. Um, I think your team would be gutted. Your depth wouldn’t be as strong as it is currently. You would have very little guys on your bench. you’d probably have a bunch of G-Leaguers that you convert it to two ways or just vet minimums or try to sign, you know, aging vets and vet minimums. I don’t think Detroit is a honest team. Now, you you mentioned Atlanta. I’ve heard Atlanta thrown out there. A lot of the teams that I’ve heard thrown out there have multiple draft picks. Like, I’ve heard San Antonio, which I think would just be unfair. San Antonio has a bunch of picks um from other teams. I’ve heard teams like Golden State, like Golden State kind of being thrown out there. I mean, Steph Curry and Giannis had said that they wanted to team up at some point. I mean, if you give freaking Steph Curry Giannis, I I will crash out. I’m I’m just saying right now. I will crash out. Well, who would they even have, though? Like, who’s there? Like, oh, cool. We got Brandon Penski. I I think you would have to do like a three-team trade. I think you’d have to get like maybe the Phoenix Suns involved. like maybe send Jimmy Butler to Phoenix, reroute Kaminga, Moses Moody, and the Warriors have some draft picks, but I feel like the Bucks, if they are going to move on from Giannis, they probably know that the draft picks that they’re getting aren’t going to be lottery bound. They probably want proven players back, right? That’s why I think the Knicks make sense even though they had conversations. Like I I I saw a trade package involving like Carl Anthony Towns in OG Anobi um till Milwaukee, which I think would be a good package. Like if you don’t want to start from ground zero, you still want to be somewhat competitive in Milwaukee. Like I think those are the type of players that they’ll probably be looking at. They’re they’ll be looking for proven players personally. Right. Right. I think where the I think where Detroit’s at, they’re in a very good spot because they have a young core that’s building. Um, I think eventually they will make a big splash like this, but I just don’t think the time right now makes a whole lot of sense for a team that just got to the playoffs last year. I know a lot of Pistons fans want to go all in for a move. I understand it. I get it. I just don’t think Giannis is the player that this front office is like really zeroing on in to pair Nexicate Cunningham for the next five years. And to me, it’s not even like like let’s say let’s say all of that organizational stuff wasn’t there, right? Like because I I think if if I’m a if I’m a Pistons fan who’s been waiting for that star for a long time, if I’m like putting myself in the headsp space of of that person, I’d be hearing this conversation. And I think one of the questions I could see I could see them like screaming at their TV right now is if you don’t trade for Giannis then who do you trade for, right? Like I think like if you’re thinking of like the quality of player and like the guy that could like get you over the hump like from that concept, I understand where people are coming from, right? I think you just have to throw in like unfortunately this is not in a bubble. This is the reality of if you’re the Milwaukee Bucks, like if you’re making this trade, there’s a very realistic chance you’re not getting a Giannis again like for at least a decade. At least based off of how things are going right now. There’s very legitimate chances that they could be waiting another one or two decades on top of that. It took them about 40 or 50 years to get Giannis after Lu Al Cinder, Lu Al Cinder, now known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, left Milwaukee. Okay, like when we’re talking about the fears and the things that go into some of these decision making, like into this decision-m, this is real. Okay. So, um like I I I think when you just throw in all those aspects plus just the other thing of if you’re trading your star player like like Milwaukee, why in God’s green earth would you want to have to see that player four times a year, right? like like like realistically like one of the worst things about about the Luca trade for Mavericks fans is that you have to see Luca four times a year. Plus, if you’re going to be making the playoffs, you have to go through him now, too. You know, like that’s like if if you’re if you’re a Bucks fan, like at least send him to the West so that whatever fake conceptions I have of us being anything, I don’t have to think about like I don’t have to think about him being in the way of it. You know what I’m saying? Yeah. I mean, if if he does get dealt, which I I’m not really sure if he he does or not. It’s it’s just been like I can’t remember the last time that there was like a a MVP like a top five player arguably when he’s healthy like asked for a trade. Like obviously like Luca never really asked for a trade. He just got traded like Durant. Yeah. I mean like well even then was he really that guy when he when he asked for the trade? I mean, he was coming off an injury. I mean, it it it’s just so weird because you hear two different sides of like what is actually going on behind the scenes. Like, I know Chris Hayne said that he he had talked to Giannis and Giannis was like, “No, was I want to be in Milwaukee.” He’s like, “I want to build this thing through.” I mean, Giannis had talked about not taking the easy way out. Um, I feel like a lot of Bucks fans would dig that tweet up, that interview up. Him saying like, you know, the way I won this championship is, you know, the hard way is like I value the hard way. um if if you go to a team that’s like stacked um with young talent or you know draft picks like I think a lot of Bucks fans would bring it up but just to c just to circle back for Pistons fans I don’t think that the organization is looking to trade Giannis um I was listening to Trajan he was on Rick Buer’s podcast which I didn’t even know he had a podcast um I had no idea I had no idea like outside of like first things first he does like a I’m laughing because I I had no idea either. Like like Yeah, dude. I I went down this rabbit hole like he had Tan on his YouTube channel and it got 10 views. I’m like, “Bro, what what?” Yeah. I saw like uh Woge had JB Bicker Staff on his podcast like a day or two ago and that only has like 320. And I’m like, “What the hell, man?” Like, “What’s going on?” But um I was I was listening to this podcast and how it relates to the Giannis conversation we’re just having. Tan had mentioned his time in San Antonio with Greg Papovic and RC Buford and he said that like the Spurs had a chance to get a Hall of Fame player um a small forward and he was surprised when the Spurs didn’t go out and get him. Um, and kind of like the continuity that the Spurs had and the patience of just kind of, you know, growing with their core, which was like Tim Duncan, Mano Ginobi, and Tim Duncan. And it made me think of kind of what he has in Detroit right now with like Katie Cunningham, Jaylen Duran, and maybe it’s possibly a Sar Thompson, right? like maybe JB tries to take or JB maybe Tjan kind of tries to take that same kind of approach in San Antonio because you know he he he’s been under like a lot of great basketball minds like after listening to that podcast which if you guys um haven’t seen it I I’ll I’ll link it after we’re done because there’s no way you’re gonna find it on YouTube. Yeah, it’s Yeah, I I mean it Yeah, it’s it’s it’s it’s utterly insane how the amount of podcasts that are out there nowadays. It’s unreal. But I mean, I I’ll tell you what, man. Like, when when you think of like like like like the the job that Traan’s going to have over the next couple of years and all the decisions that he’s going to have to make, don’t envy him one bit. Not one iota. No, I I don’t I don’t envy Tan at all because I think he has a lot of difficult decisions to make. And yeah, it’s it’s funny because like when he first came in like he said, “Yeah, I didn’t think this team was going to make the playoffs and then they make the playoffs and the very next year the number one seed.” He’s probably like, “Man, what the fuck?” Yeah. Well, like Yeah. But when he came in, I remember like I remember his first like media day, he said something to the effect of like, you know, we have a long way to go before we’re having the championship conversation. And it’s like, was that long way like a year and a half? Was that long was that long way like just like a hop, skip, and a jump? I feel like every time he says something, the complete opposite happens. Yeah. And like I don’t And I don’t think it’s him like lying. I think it’s just like things just going like like I think it’s just his guys just completely surpassing his expectations. It’s honestly hilarious like because like I remember him saying like yeah I didn’t think this was a playoff team. Like he he said it on multiple like interviews. I remember he uh before the season started. He was at a conference with like JB Bickerstaff and Greg Kelzer. Um I think it was like at the Detroit Business Club or economic club if I remember correctly. Yeah. And he’s like Yeah. He’s like, I I didn’t think that this team was going to make the playoffs. He’s like, I actually wasn’t going to make a move until like a week before the trade deadline. He’s like, cuz I I didn’t even know like is this team like are we going to be buyers? And like it took him that long to actually buy in. So, I mean, again, do not envy the guy whatsoever. I think he has a lot of good problems to have, but you could probably ask him straight up. He probably didn’t think the Detroit Pistons would be 19 and5 right now. Yeah. No, I I don’t think so. I think they they were very excited about what this season could be. I know that for a fact. He said it himself. Uh JB said at the beginning of the year, this is the most excited he’s been about about a season going into it that he’s been as a coach. I don’t think he would tell you that they would only have five losses right now. Yeah. Pistons fan 11 said he had 28 wins in that interview. Like, yeah, man. Like, that’s that’s that’s honestly funny. He was just like, “Yeah, if they got 28 wins, it’d be a successful season for last year.” They went they went 44. So, yeah. They’re like, “Yeah, if we could contend for a playin spot, that’s a cons that’s a successful season.” And then and then it came down to, oh, they almost had home court in the first round. Yeah. I mean, they were they were like fighting for that fifth, fourth seed like the last week of the season. Yeah. There was a point where it looked like they could have been the third seed. Yeah. It’s crazy, man. Um, we have one more topic for tonight’s podcast and I think a lot of you guys will like this because it is pretty trade centric. So, good people over at Bleach Report made a I know I made an article talking about trade targets for every NBA team, which you know I thought it was like a a pretty good like kind of just idea. So, for the Detroit Pistons, they had these three players, Sean, and we we can kind of talk about them individually. So, Trey Murphy from the New Orleans Pelicans, Michael Porter Jr., uh, don’t put a podcast mic in front of Michael Porter Jr., and, uh, Lori Markin. So, I don’t know which player you want to start with first, but um, I’ll I’ll let you do it since you’re the guest on this podcast. Yeah, I mean, we can start with Michael Porter Jr. because that one’s really easy. We can just go No. Um, he just doesn’t just doesn’t fit what this team’s about. Doesn’t fit the If you’re talking about getting the getting the right people in the locker room, I don’t even think it’s about the content of what he said. I mean, if you threw in the content of what he said, that probably would disqualify him, too. But the fact that he could potentially even be a distraction at all like that, I just don’t think they would want that. Um, to me that’s like a pretty easy I just don’t see it. Um, now the the Trey Murphy name, that’s the one that makes my ears perk up a little bit because you have New Orleans having a bit of a sideways season, things not going well. you have a team that that pretty clearly wants to start heading towards a rebuild around Derrick Queen, around Jeremiah Fears, about around like some of these, you know, intriguing prospects that they have. And in being realistic, they’re not going to get the assets that they want to rebuild by just trading Zion Williamson. That that’s going to be an Andre Drummond level return where it’s like, okay, we’re just getting them off our books. Uh whereas with you know like a you know someone like a Trey Murphy that’s someone that could potentially command you know some assets and be a really interesting player and it’s someone that we’ve talked about for a long time as someone that fits the mold. Oh yeah and he also was a traan in New Orleans. So, just a lot of those make a ton of sense. And quite frankly, based off of all reports, it would cost infinitely less than going to get Lorie Markin, who’s the third player on this list, which we’ve talked before about how great of a player Lorie Markin is. He’s awesome. Like, if we’re just in a vacuum going and getting a basketball player without worrying about what the returns are, yeah, go get that guy. He’s great. However, makes a lot of money. He is uh he is like he is 28 like you know almost 30. So you you wonder how much longer this run is gonna is going to go on for as far as this level of play and quite frankly I know I personally don’t want anything to do with trading with Danny A. So I imagine I’m not the only one on that. Yeah. Um Michael Porter Jr. I agree with you and it has nothing to do with his basketball skill. I think he’s a very skilled basketball player. I think offensively he’s probably what a lot of Pistons fans are looking at for like just secondary third option. The guy guy can score the basketball. I think the reason why I would probably be out on Michael Porter Jr. is I don’t know. I don’t know him personally. I I I don’t I think that he would be a very big distraction in a Pistons locker room. Um I don’t really think that you hear JB and Tan talk about good character culture setters. I don’t really know if he fits the bill of that’s a Detroit Piston. Is it does the talent outweigh the distraction? I I I don’t think so. Um, I know the Nets owner basically told him, “No more podcast.” Yeah. From from what I from what I heard with his time in Denver, um, the one of the phrases that I that uh someone told me was it was apparent right away he didn’t need a microphone. Um, and also, um, the way like the vibe of like the way that it was, you know, just kind of described to me, it almost just kind of felt like Antonio Brown in Pittsburgh where it was like once he got out of the walls of a stable organization, you can just kind of start to see some of the other stuff leak out. And this isn’t an Antonio Brown level talent or or like pro like producer on like this isn’t that level of comparison from NFL to NBA. So, yeah. I mean, I I I like him as a basketball player. I I just think I don’t really know if the talent outweighs uh you know, the the possible headache that could come. Um I I don’t know for a fact if you put him in the this Detroit Pistons locker room if the antics would still be the antics that he’s uh having in Brooklyn. And obviously like you could kind of contextualize being on a rebuilding team, not having a really good team. um you might act a certain type of way, but um I I think he’s talented. Brooklyn could probably get a haul for him personally if they they really want to just ship them and, you know, continue to stockpile draft picks. Um their last draft was puzzling to me. I don’t know why you draft five guards and you only play one of them. It’s the wildest thing. Yeah, quite literally. the throwing darts at a board and seeing what sticks method. Never seen it in professional sports before. Yeah. No, it’s uh it’s weird. So, second guy on that list was Trey Murphy. I think Trey Murphy to me is very appealing because he does play small forward, but I think the way the NBA is trending, he could definitely be a stretch for um maybe not every night, but I I think he would fit on this team really well. Obviously, you look at the contract he has. His contract I I think is probably the best out of everyone on this list. Um he doesn’t make an absurd amount of money whatsoever. Um it it’s honestly puzzling like what he’s actually um under contract. I I and I forgot by the way. I’m so I forgot how bad things were in New Orleans this year. Do you know what their record is off the top of your head? Do they have five wins or no? No. No. They’re three and 20. They they haven’t won a basketball game. Okay. They won no They won November 24th. That’s better than I thought it was going to be. But they went about like they won November fourth and fifth and they went almost three weeks without winning a basketball game. So like even looking at some of the stats and like I know people have been worried about like some of the production and like some of the dips from Trey Murphy. I would wager he’s one of those guys that he just needs to get into a competitive environment again. Like I think he’s one of the guy those guys who he needs to feel something as a competitor again. Yeah. I know you mentioned that’s a traion draft pick as well. Yeah. Um, we have former Detroit Pistons executives in the front office now in Joe Dumarz and in Troy Weber. I know how probably trade conversations with go Troy would probably want Isaiah Stewart back. That’s not going to happen. I don’t really know what New Orleans is looking to do. Well, I’ll tell you this. I mean, we we know one thing about Troy Weaver. We know he likes re reacquiring assets and players that he likes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he would want to give Jaden Ivy a like a fresh start and a and a place to try and reboot his career. Like I know they already have Jeremiah Fierce. I know they already have Jordan P. That hasn’t stopped uh uh Troy Weaver from massively overstocking at a position before, but uh you know like I just like it’s one of those things where there’s a lot of things there where like you said relationally there’s already ties. Um, you know, there’s already been transactions that have been made between the two teams in the past and like it’s just when you talk about the type of player that just he just fits what the the bill of what they’re looking for, it’s Trey Murphy to me. Not to mention like we need three-point shooting this year desperately. like our we’re not the same perimeter shooting team we were last year and it it’s so evident like Duncan Robinson being back these past two games you can just see the gravity that he kind of uh gets defensively from opposing teams and it opens up so much for the Pistons uh getting another caliber shooter like a Trey Murphy I think is a no-brainer. I just think it’s probably going to cost you a couple draft picks which I would be completely fine with because I I think he’s a type of player that he can grow with Kate Cunningham. someone had mentioned it um in in the live chat that um as soon as he saw Kate Cunningham and Trey Murphy work out together in a uh you know a summer run together. He could kind of see the chemistry and like what it could possibly look like. I I I would love a Trey Murphy on this team. I’ve always been a fan of his from afar. I’m sure Tanjan would love to have one of his guys back in Detroit as well. And it’s kind of funny he has not actually brought in any of his guys that he’s drafted in New Orleans yet. Yeah, I mean I would imagine if there was a guy that he would want to bring in, I think Trey Murphy would be kind of the top of the list. Yeah, Trey Murphy or Herb Jones, I think, are probably the two that he would probably try to target. I mean, Fred Vincent worked pretty well with Trey Murphy in his time in New Orleans. Yeah, that that too. Herb Jones I I feel like Herb Jones is just going to be a Laker. I feel it. I feel it in my core. Yeah. I mean, Herb Jones, like that’s like a that’s that’s one that’s hard to predict, but it’s like I just I know that, you know, again, like if there if there are guys from New Orleans I think they would go out and get, it would probably be it would probably be those two guys at the top of the list if I were to guess. Someone on Facebook says that we need James Wiseman or Kevin Knox to sweeten the deal. You guys are trolls. Throw throw throw in throw in Sadique to sweeten it. I forgot he was back in New Orleans and I did not know they only had three wins. That’s That’s crazy. I thought they at least had five, but Oh, dude. I haven’t been paying attention. Oh, dude. And it’s bad. Like if you go to their uh like cuz like if you go to like basketball reference, they’ll show you the game results as like the as like kind of like the red and green bars of if they’ve won or lost. It’s a lot of deep red bars that go very far down. Bro, that’s so sad. They fell off so hard. I saw earlier today and we we’ll talk about Lori Markin in a minute that you could get into a Pelicans game on tick pick for free. The the tickets for zero zero dollars. Yeah. Like I I it is it is starting to get to a point where like it is getting uncomfortably real the conversations about relocation are getting about New Orleans. Like uncomfortably real. And it’s crazy because you look back at the 2019 draft class and you look at when Memphis and New Orleans like both went one and two in that lottery. Like like do you remember like their like their like New Orleans like their season ticket line like they sold out like that night? And uh like like with Memphis like they like their their hype was very real too. And now, just six short years later, if you’re having a conversation of who are the two most likely teams to be relocated in the NBA, it is New Orleans and Memphis in that same order. I throw Dallas in there. But hey, that’s just me. [Laughter] If you know, you know, if you know, you know, the the owners there, you know, you know, after after the Cooper Flag thing, like if if if they took Cooper Flag with him to Vegas, I think I think Patrick Dumont legit might get like like he might have to up his security. That’s all I’ll say to keep you monetized. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I don’t I don’t That would that would be honestly funny. But um Yeah. Poor Pelicans. I I didn’t know it was going to be that bad. I I see them definitely rebuilding. I mean, they even said like if we get a good offer for Zion, he’s out the door. But I don’t think so many teams are lining up for Zion Williamson outside of Charlotte, maybe. But yeah. Yeah. Pastor Dumont might want to be careful otherwise they might be consuming their food for a straw. Yeah. Yeah. So, the uh the last guy that Bleacher Report mentioned was Lori Markin. Now, we’ve talked about him, I think, multiple times over the last year or so. Um, it sounds like there was actually internal conversations with the Pistons and the Jazz. Danny A for Sar Thompson. It was reported uh by your buddy Jake Fischer and um that’s not going to happen. Yeah. It’s like a hang up the phone like all right cool click. Yeah. Yeah. Uh if you remember Danny A tried to trade up with the Pistons at five. He because I believe the Jazz had two draft picks that year. They really wanted um Assar Thompson. They uh settled for Keon George and Taylor Hendris. So, I mean, there’s always been appeal from Danny A and Assar Thompson uh just with his defense. Utah doesn’t really have a lock down defender like an Assar Thompson on the roster, but I I think for Lori, the price is going to be very expensive to pry him away from Danny Age. And I don’t really think you’re going to hand over three, four draft picks and one your best perimeter defender for Lorie Markin. I just don’t think it makes a lot of sense when you’re trying to build a team to eventually win a championship. Um I said last week, Sean, I think if the Pistons do make moves, it’s very marginal and it’s three-point shooting. I mean, I I I told I told you and Eric like some of the guys that I I think they could target like a a Dante Devenzo. Um, even though him and Ron kind of tried to choke each other out. Um, I mean, him and Duncan kind of fought too. I mean, I I feel like Dante um, and Ron would probably hug it out. Um, that would be that would be a three-point shooter I’d love on the Detroit Pistons. And Minnesota’s season is kind of like kind of going on a seessaw and teetering. You know, one week they’re hot, next week they’re not. So, I mean, and they need a point guard right now really desperately, too. Yeah, there’s there’s a lot of teams right now where things are not quite going as expected. And I definitely think, you know, I think we’re going to see trade conversations intensify quite a bit throughout the league. I just I just think, you know, with with a guy like Lori, he’s just one of those guys where the the the value is just never quite matched the reality to me. Again, I know he’s playing awesome hoops right now. I know offensively he’s piecing a lot of things together. He looks like an all-star, you know, caliber player. He looks exactly like that type of player that you could slot in. I know he’s played under JB. There’s a lot of things that make sense. I just if until Utah has a different frame of mind about what that price is going to be, then that’s just that’s just where we’re at. That’s just what it is. Yeah. I mean, they even reported this week that they’re trying to build it around Lori now. The teams don’t want to give them um you know, five, six draft picks for Lori Mark. And I mean, for for crying out loud, John, he was trying to get two first round picks for Walker Kesler, right? It’s Yeah. It’s like at that point if you’re if you’re not willing to like if if if you’re just not willing to move off of them off of anything you’ve heard like if you if you have a price that pe that people just aren’t willing to reach for what’s the point of of trying to keep moving him? Like what’s the point of keep having this conversation, you know? So, like I I I mean again like I you know I think if you know if there is like I I definitely think Detroit is a team that makes sense if it’s like a reasonable like trade package or more like agree like agreeable upon you know uh compensation package but we just haven’t heard that yet. It just keeps going in the wrong direction. Yeah. I mean, like, and I know you touched that on Twitter about just the Pistons lack thereof of of three-point shooting. Um, and how much they do rely on Duncan Robinson, and you touched on just like what he’s been to this team and the presence and the signing that the Pistons had with him this year. But like I honestly think though, like at this deadline, their needs this year is perimeter shooting. Um, yeah, I mentioned Dante Devenenzo. Uh Grayson Allen could be a a fit. He he reminds me of like a a mini Billier. Yeah. Like he could shoot threes. He might make an occasional dirty play. Uh I feel like Bill Ambir was a guard. It’d be Grayson Allen without a doubt. And he’s taken such a stride in his three-point shooting, too. I don’t think a lot of people realize what a good three-point shooter he’s been over the past couple of seasons. Um, obviously he’s a different type of three-point shooter than Duncan Robinson, but I feel like he’s a player that could really help this team out. I I don’t know how you feel about him. Yeah, I mean, I I I definitely think he he makes a lot of sense as well. I mean, anyone that just, you know, kind of kind of fits that mold, like you said, of of of bringing additional shooting, I don’t think they need to go get someone that’s like a a world beater as far as, you know, anything like that. Grayson Allen is like he is one of those guys where when the the dirty plays aren’t the conversation like he like he the reason he’s still in the league is because he’s a legitimately good basketball player and especially when you look at like what he’s done in Phoenix like he’s really raised his level of play quite considerably compared to where he has been and he definitely fits that identity and that mold of like what Detroit’s about and I mean you know Tan former Duke guy so He definitely knows like what uh you like what Grayson Allen’s all about as far as like that regard goes. Um you know I I I I want to do some more research and kind of like go team to team and just see you know like like what potential pieces could be available come the deadline because I I do think we’re going to start seeing some teams do some disgusting things to tank and put themselves like Oh yeah. Yeah. Like like and I don’t even think it’s just to get the number one overall pick. I think teams are going to be fighting with like fighting o over each other to get into the top five, you know. So, um I I think you’re going to see a lot of teams like go, “Hey, maybe this isn’t our year.” And maybe like like you said, maybe a Minnesota maybe they recognize there’s only so much we can do as far as continuing to like to hit our head on this wall of getting to the conference finals every year cuz it’s like let’s say they even just figure things out right now as is with this group. Is there anything about we’ve what we’ve seen from them that says they could beat Houston, Denver, or OKC? No, because like when Lor’s or when Lori got Lorie Mark on the brain when uh Rudy Go Bear is off the court, they are a horrific defensive team. Y and I I know they they drafted a a French prospect that um I think in a few years he’ll probably take over for Rudy Gobear, but I don’t think he’s ready right now. Um only reason why I mentioned Dante Debenzo is because I know he can put the ball on the floor. I know he can shoot threes, play some defense, talk some I think a lot of Pistons fans would really just kind of fall in love with the guy. I mean, there are other players that I’ve looked at like Gary Trent, who we just saw tonight. I mean, he’s a good three-point marksman as well. He might be a pretty getable kind of considering um the Bucks. I mean, AJ Green, he he killed the Pistons this week with his three-point shooting. I mean, there’s a lot of under the radar three-point specialist that I think that the Pistons uh could target. I mean, Chicago doing Chicago things are being buyers, right? Um I I really I mean, they didn’t they didn’t want they didn’t want Malik Monk in the summer for what they could have gotten them. I wonder if that price has gone down quite considerably seeing that they’re not doing much better than New Orleans over in Sacramento right now. A lot of more deep red bars on basketball reference. Yeah. I mean, Malik Monk actually does two things that you need. You need more playmaking and you need three-point shooting. Um, and I know that there were reports of, you know, the Pistons, you know, being internally interested in Malik Monk and the the whole Dennis Schroeder thing. And you have a trade exception as well, which I think more Pistons fans are probably going to be talking about over these next, you know, two months. like the Dennis Schroeder signing trade, you’ve got, you know, 14 million of a TPE, so you can use that um to, you know, get trades. I don’t know if they’re going to use their full trade exception. They might use a little bit of it just to kind of even out the salary, but Malik Monk’s an interesting name. Um another name. Yeah. What do you think of Kobe White? Love it. like if you’re able to bring in uh like $12 million expiring contract uh a he’s averaging about 24 points a game right now. Uh he’s so he’s definitely someone where at the very least he’d be a rental. Um but he’s you know you’re you’re probably bringing him in with the with the desire of wanting to you know like bring him into the fold long term. He’s not even 26 yet. like when you talk about like timeline like like fits a lot there and I don’t want to have this conversation tonight because I know we’re probably going to be having it at Nauseium uh going forward but I think you would have a lot more clarity uh with him as your two guard than another certain young Pistons guard at the moment. Yeah, I I talked about this last week and a lot of Pistons fans got upset over it because like you have Sasser, you have Ivy, what like what are you going to do with Kobe White? I was like, well, one of those guys is probably involved in the trade. So, um, he’s been a he’s been a Yeah, I mean, he’s been a guard that I think has been underappreciated. And I I thought I thought once they traded Zack Lavine, he really started to put solid games together, like great games together. And Chicago, they have kind of like a three-headed monster with their guards. They have Josh Giddy, they have Trey Jones, and they have Kobe White. I don’t know if they’re willing to move on from him. I know Vinnie Goodwell had touched on, you know, him being a possible trade candidate with the Bulls, but the Bulls look like they want to be buyers and try to compete for that playin tournament. They started out the season really redot, but they’ve kind of come back down to earth. Um, it’s a team that reminds me so much of the very early Andre Drummond led Pistons where we were okay competing for eight seeds every damn year. Um, but I mean they’re they’re buyers, man. Like I I don’t understand it whatsoever. I mean I mean they like if like they might think they’re buyers right now, but like they just lost by almost 20 to the Pacers yesterday. Yeah. like if if things start if if things continue to head in this direction and the because the only way I could conceivably like see Chicago be a buyer is like let’s say they can somehow bring in Anthony Davis and and get like the bring the star home, right? And like make the Bulls interesting again. I don’t even think that’s as uh like as like uh glad and and set in stone because once they threw in uh like once once they threw in Ryan Nemhard into the lineup and Anthony Davis has been back, Dallas is starting to look more competitive and realistically speaking, if they keep winning games, they’re losing their incentive to to lose a whole lot of games, too. So, um, it’s just going to be like like Chicago is just one of those situations where, like you said, if you’re just operating operating upon logic, they would have blown things up years ago. Yeah. But, yeah, they almost won the lottery last year. They got hosed. Yeah. In the in the pre- lottery, they won it. Um, and then I I’ve never seen a lottery like last year. like one team falling. Sure. But Sean, there were so many teams that fell in that lottery last year. If legit, it’s crazy. If you go back and look statistically like if if Josh Giddy didn’t hit that halfcourt shot against the Lakers to win like that crazy game, the Bulls get Cooper flag. Yeah. Like a game winner that everyone was like hyped about in the moment. It’s like, all right, cool. Imagine finding out that cost you K Cunning like imagine like the Pistons made a halfcourt shot and that would have cost you K Cunningham. Oh man. Yeah. I mean you’re stuck with Jaylen Green instead or Evol. Evan Mobley. Yeah. Yeah. I mean there I mean there’s no guarantee like Right. Except for Chicago it wasn’t the difference between one and two like with Detroit. It was the difference of one and 13. I know. That’s what I’m saying. Like the uh the drafts lottery last year was crazy. Um this year’s draft I haven’t really got too into it because we’ve been winning so much, but I haven’t Yeah, I haven’t even had to think about it. I’ve been watching a lot of college basketball. Uh I like the kid Boozer out of Duke. Uh, I think Peter Peterson is gonna go like if he goes to Atlanta with their pick, I think they trade Trey Young. I mean, I think they should trade Trey Young anyway based off of how they’ve been playing without him. Yeah. Like I think I think Jaylen Johnson like he’s I think he’s proven he’s your he he’s your he’s your franchise player. He he he just had his second triple double in two nights. He had it at halftime. Like if like what else does Atlanta need to see? Like that’s your guy. He’s I know Grant Hill because he’s a minority owner with the Hawks. Yep. He loves Jaylen Johnson. Yep. Um speaking of potential mentors for K Cunningham, by the way. Yeah. Hey, you never know. You never know. But um yeah, I mean Atlanta has played a lot better with him out. I mean the kill Alexander Walker has been such a good fit for them. Um I don’t even know where you you would trade Trey Young to. I don’t see a lot of I mean Sacramento. Do you hate the man? No. I Well, no. I don’t hate I don’t I mean I’m not a I’m not I’m not a Trey Young truther. I’m just thinking of who like what team I really really like if like realistically I know we’ve talked before offline like I know I know Orlando is like a really always been like a really fun Trey Young concept. Um I feel like if you’re looking at like other potential teams like like I feel like the Clippers are so desperate that any level of like star power or like even though that doesn’t make any sense because they have they have James Harden but like I mean the Clippers are gonna clip at this point. Um, it just feels like that’s like a like Sacramento. They just they just need anything at this point to get people excited. I know you’re talking about the Clippers and I actually start this comment um from our guy Rocky because he’s he’s really funny and I want to put it on the screen because it’s just pure chaos. He said, “I’d very much like to see Zion go to the Clippers just for the drama, just for entertainment purposes.” Oh, if you want to talk about the drama, I want to see LaMelo go to the Clippers for the same reason. If you want to talk about like my petty ass, I want to see LaMelo go to the Clippers. I I honestly feel like we’re going to see a lot of trades at this deadline. And the return on these stars are going to be like dirt. It’s not Oh, yeah. It’s not It’s not going to be high. It’s not going to be multiple draft picks. It might be like players and like a sec like just a stash of second round picks or maybe a very heavily protected first round pick. Like I I think I think in I I think two I think there’s a couple things like at play here. Like I was even listening to Ryan Winhorse like talk about like what the like what the return for a Giannis trade would look like. And he’s like he’s even been saying like just based off of what I’ve heard it’s not going to be like multiple stars and all these picks. Like I think you’re seeing based off of what’s happening with the with the Clippers right now um based off of what the Thunder are doing, but then on top of that just how strenuous and crazy this um salary system is. I think you’re seeing more teams going the most valuable commodity in the league right now is a first round pick. And so like we like like we can’t conceivably trade a lot of those like even Oklahoma City like people are like oh well why don’t they just go and trade for Giannis and give up a lot of those picks like like they could just you know they could just become mega unstoppable. Well, the reality of like what makes those first round picks so dangerous for OKC in particular is they’re going to be able to supplement all these guys that they’re going to eventually have to let walk because they’re just not going to be able to pay everybody because they keep getting all these awesome players like like AJ Mitchell for example right now is like going off and being incredible for the for the Thunder. Let’s say for whatever reason like a team wants to pay him like 30 or 40 million a year. Oh, no. They have four lottery picks next year to go and replace whoever they’re gonna lose. Yeah, it’s it it’s crazy. Um I had to look up where AJ Mitchell was drafted cuz like I’ll be completely Oh, yeah. I already saw this the other day. It’s painful. Go ahead. Yeah, I know. I’m I’m not going to say his name, but like go look where AJ Mitchell was drafted because I’ll say it for you. It’s okay. I’m okay with people hating me. He was drafted, right? He was drafted the pick after Bobby Clintman. He pick after Bobby Clipman was AJ Mitchell, which no disrespect to Bobby Clintman, that’s just that this isn’t a Bobby Clintman problem. This isn’t blaming the Pistons. This just shows you like what a crapshoot the second round can be. But you go and look at that and it’s like, man, OKC the the way they draft players like they they had a lottery pick this year and I remember watching the draft. They they drafted this big I believe out of Georgia or Georgia Tech. I don’t remember what college he went to and I remember watching the draft and everyone’s just like, “Wow, really?” Like I had this guy projected like you know 25 to 30 and he goes like lottery right? Yep. And he like I believe tore his ACL or had some kind of like surgery and he’s going to be out for the remainder of the year and it’s just like OKC doesn’t even need any more talent. like uh Nola Topic who was drafted in the lottery. Um he still hasn’t played and he’s going through like procedures or like where he had testicular cancer and it’s just like they have so much talent Sean it almost gets to the point where like I’m listening to other podcasters and they want to have something called the prestige rule where teams can’t have multiple draft picks like OKC because it’s unfair. That is insane. Like I mean that just speaks to just the level that he’s operating at in comparison to everyone else in regards to evaluation, but also it’s like I just you got to you got to wonder how many owners right now are just so pissed at Steve Balmer and the Clippers just not like not only because of the fact that they just completely just allowed, you know, Oklahoma City to just essentially build a dynasty off the backs of like one of the worst, if not the worst trade in the history of professional sports. But on top of that, you throw in all the unwanted attention that the Clippers are getting with this aspiration stuff. Oh my god. And like all these owners, like do you have any idea the potential like doors you’re opening here for for investigation? Like like like all the owners are like all the stuff that I have in my closet that could be dug up by Pablo Tore now. Yeah. So, I was just curious to see how many draft picks uh OKC has too many. So, they have the Rockets pick this year, which is currently sitting at 26. So, that’ll probably be a late first. Yep. Um they have Philly’s pick. Yeah. Currently sitting at 19. Um and then you kind of go up. They have Utah’s pick, but that is top nine protected. Utah’s currently sitting at nine. Yeah, they’re they’re not getting that pick. And then they have the Clippers pick that’s sitting at four. I think like I I there is a very real chance the the that we are going to be sitting there on lottery day and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the very least have a top three pick. Yeah. Like like do not be shocked. Like if anything like I know the Clippers they might try and make a trade to save their season. Like who knows what they’re going to do. I mean, they they you know, they got rid of Chris Paul, which shows that they can literally do anything at this point. Although, they technically still have his contract under the books. So, um like they might be trying to try and like include him in whatever moves they make financially, but I just I just don’t see because it’s like what’s the what’s the piece that like what what are the desirable assets that they have? There’s only two. It’s It’s James Harden who like you’re not getting much for like a 30 plus year old James Harden who we saw yet again crap the bed in the in a game seven last year. And then the other guy is is Zubac, which like no like no disrespect to Zubac, but if that’s your best asset, then good god. You know what’s funny? So, I was scrolling the timeline this week and I I see these uh these guys, they they did a podcast about the Pistons. I could only take about 30 minutes of it. And I let them know like I didn’t agree with their assessment of the team whatsoever. So, this Nick reporter says, “If I’m the Pistons, I would trade for James Harden and pair him next to Kate Cunningham.” And it took everything in me because I wrote something really mean. I was like, “You know what? I I I’ll be civil.” I said I just disagree with everything he said. James Harden would be a disaster next to Kate Cunningham. I just what there are so many things that come to mind, but I’ll just say the most PG inappropriate one. I cannot think of a player that would be a worse pairing with JB Bicker Staff as a coach, right, than James Harden as a player, especially at this age. And you talk about like all the things that James Harden needs to succeed. Like he like even at this age, he still needs the ball in his hands pretty much at all times. Oh, 100%. Yeah. which if you if if you watch K Cunningham play basketball, you kind of want the ball in his hands a lot. Yeah. And not like I said, I I I it took me about 30 minutes and I’m watching this and I was like, “Okay.” I had to look up this guy. I was like, “Oh, he’s a Knicks reporter. He He just wants He wants the Pistons to go away.” Yeah. I got you. I got you. Sabotage. You uh You know what? like as like just as like a sheer like basketball fan, agent of chaos. Like you know what would be my favorite Zubac team? Who’s that? Boston. Oh, that would make sense. Like they need a big badly. He’s someone that could come in. Shoren is at the very least is just like a very reliable rim protector and as a as a really good rebounder. Like I know that they’re not really in a position where like they’re looking to win anything this year necessarily, but like don’t look now. They’re 14-9. Like they’re right there with Orlando and Miami. Like they have they’re better than Cleveland right now. Yeah. I mean they they they have a good system. I think Zubox would fit in there as well because he’s white. Um that team has so I swear, man, they have the most white guys in the NBA have never like I you know it’s true. Boston has so many white guys and people in Boston people in Boston be like, “Hey, he’s white.” I mean, I can’t say you’re wrong. Like, I can’t like historically speaking, I just can’t dispute that argument. I mean, look at Danny A. He came from Boston. Look how many white guys he has in Utah. Perfect city for it. Well, I mean, that’s I mean, that’s I mean, that’s Utah. That’s just like I mean, they’re just that that’s just that’s that’s where that’s where it is, man. Yeah. Um I know. I’m I’m wild in the night, man. It’s Well, I was going to say we are we might want to press the end live stream on before we get deeper into before I get in trouble without talking about Utah. So, two white guys saying that Boston’s a white city. We might get cancelled for it. I guess we’re we’re prejudice on on our own skin color. I guess I know he’s Europe. I know he’s European and he’s not white. Like I I know I know that, but I I know some people probably say they get my sense of humor. They get the joke. Other people might not find that funny. But um I did see I did see someone say uh just because we were talking about Boston, I saw someone say, “What about Anthony Simons?” Yeah, I was gonna put that on the screen actually. Yeah, he’s one of those like in like Anthony Simons is one of those guys where like offensively he can piece a lot of things together, but like he’s kind of been struggling to to consistently have a spot in Boston’s rotation or like have like a defined role. And on top of that, statistically speaking, Anthony Simons is one of the worst defensive players in basketball. I think he literally is statistically the worst defensive player in the NBA. At least he has been in years past. Oh yeah, 100%. He he’s he’s not a good defender, but if you’re just talking about bucket getter, um Oh, for sure. A guy that if you need a bucket in in a moment, like I I’ve seen that that him just go for 45 on any given night. I think his role in Boston is really weird. Um and I think it’s an adjustment period for him because he was starting a lot of games in Portland. Um, and funny enough, Jaden Sharp is actually coming off the bench, and that’s who Johny Bops was starting over Anthony Simons, and now TI Splitter has him coming off the bench. But, um, I I I like him as an offensive threat. I don’t know if he would be a solution as a long-term two guard. I think the Pistons are still trying to puzzle that together because I don’t even think they know who’s going to be their long-term long-term two guard and what the backourt of the future may look like. I think a lot of people still have stock in Jaden Ivy. I would just say Jaden Ivy to me is actually a better defender and Anthony Simons and that’s not saying a whole lot because Jaden Ivy isn’t really known uh for his defense. I mean he hacks like a mofo still. But I mean that could just be him you know still rehabbing on that leg because I thought you know last year he did show a little bit of progressions of at least staying in front of his um opponent. But I wouldn’t be opposed to Anthony Simons. I think it’s an intriguing piece and I know when Boston as soon as they traded for him like yeah he’s available if you want him I was like what I think he’s to me he’s in the uh he’s in the Cam Thomas class of players where where you can without a question see that he like he’s good enough to be in this league. You can see that like he like he is like he is very good at putting the ball in the basket like like there’s no no questioning that. But I think what is pretty clear and I think like what is hard to decipher is what it’s like okay but like what is their value like what is their value really in this league like like what is because right now like let’s say if Detroit were to trade for him like he he like currently Anthony Simons he’s on an expiring deal but his salary this year is 27 million which yeah you’re not paying that entire 27 million salary but you’re you’re figuring that into your salary cap and So, like just for this season, that would be taking up a pretty significant chunk. So, like it’s just one of those things where like what is the market for an Anthony Simons going forward? Like, does he even get to 10 million? I’m imagining he’s probably not going to want a 100% pay cut. Yeah. I mean, I I I think he’s interesting. thing. The Pistons could definitely use their trade exception and you would only really have to, you know, match $14 million of salary if you wanted to do that for like an expiring. I I think there’s ways that, you know, Tan Langden and Michael Blackstone could kind of get a deal done there. But I think it’s kind of in the right ballpark of like the type of players that they might look to be targeting. I think they’re just looking for playmakers and three-point shooters because that’s what they that’s what they need right now. Like they desperately miss Dennis Schroeder. Like they they really do. Like they they they’re they’re still trying to figure out who’s going to be the backup point guard. I mean I don’t know how many times this week I’ve seen Dannis Jenkins take a stab at it. Caris Svert try to play point guard when it’s not really his natural position. And then Jaden Ivy on a minute restriction try to do it. I mean, I think JB’s just trying to see who’s going to be that backup point guard because I don’t even think they know right now who’s going to be that like come playoff times like who who’s going to be leading the second unit. And unfortunately, it’s like uh Dennis Shruers like it’s almost kind of like the Jeremy Grant problem where it’s like Yeah. where it’s like you miss him right away of like what the of the impact that he brings, but unfortunately the millisecond he signed his name on the dotted line for the amount of money that he got. Yeah. He be like it became like a he can never come back. It’s like unfortunately like even like like with how I know things have not been going great for Dennis Shruder uh in uh in Sacramento. I mean it’s just been like Sacramento’s just a disaster in general. That’s not even a Dennis Shruder fault. It’s just unfortunately like unless things change, I just don’t see a world where Dennis Shruder just doesn’t play out that contract in Sacramento. Yeah. I mean, get get the money while you can, man. Like I don’t I don’t I don’t blame him whatsoever for, you know, getting the bag in Sacramento. Well, I don’t either. I just I don’t think Sacramento is going to be able to move him. Like I think they I think they like I think they are stuck together now because of that deal. And unfortunately, this this might be his last stop of his career. And I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’m wrong. I saw some reporting about the Pistons being in contact with uh the Kings about Dennis Schroeder and I was like, I can’t even like work because you can’t trade him to the Pistons because the new CBA rules. he’d have to get rerouted to another team and then you could trade for him, which good luck trying to find someone to take his contract because he signed a a pretty big deal. So, when I saw that report, I was like, that kind of seems like bologoney to me when I saw it. But, I mean, I I I appreciate you coming on, man. And it’s it’s always been fun. I know we talked about trades. You talked all about a lot of different players, which I think a lot of people will uh love the podcast when I I do release it on the audio side, but I want to give you the floor to plug and promote uh where people can find your work uh your work on YouTube, Substack, um you irritating Hornets fans on Twitter, just all that all that good stuff, man. Appreciate you, man. Yeah, you can uh you can find me on Twitter at Sean Halfcourt. That’s where you’re going to find a lot of like my day-to-day, you know, kind of conversation and analysis. any questions and stuff from press conferences. If you want any of the podcasts, you want to hear more of these uh you know, controversial takes and hear me and my boy Troy just go through all things Pistons and NBA, you can go to youtube.comrohalfcourt where you’ll find all that content. And then yeah, you can also go to Substack from Halfcourt as well. We’ll be uh posting even more content there. And yeah, man, appreciate you as always having me on. I’m really excited because in uh in the in the calendar year 2026, I’m going to be moving to the Detroit area full-time. So, that’s just going to mean a lot more room for me to just keep doing more content and just means I’m only going to be pushing even further. So, just be sure you’re following along because I’m going to be only going even harder beyond this year. Yeah, maybe uh you can get uh JB to laugh more in press conferences. Uh, but I do have all of your social media links down in the description below. If people are watching live on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter, uh, you can follow us on on his YouTube channel from half court. Um, I know you do Substacks, uh, when you do have the time to do that. Um, if I did miss anything, I do apologize, but Oh, no. You you’re perfect. We will probably see you guys later next week. Maybe we uh will tease a little podcast with you guys with Sean and myself and maybe some others next week. Be on the lookout for that. But uh hope you guys have a great rest of your weekend and as always, go Pistons. Peace.
Tonight on the Pistons Talk Podcast, we were joined by Sean Murphy Detroit Pistons reporter to discuss the latest NBA trade rumors and what types of moves would make sense for the Pistons.
Sean’s Twitter:
https://x.com/seanhalfcourt
Sean’s Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/@UCoCoPjONW814ugZfmY1FkUw
#detroitpistons #detroitbasketball #NBA
18 comments
Pistons have nothing the bucks want for GIannis, Holland isnt that good
Could we try for jackson jr?
Do we trade Ausar in pkg for him?
Would memphis move him
Sneaky guy from memphis also know one talks about is
Aldama could he be moved?
I just wanna say I can't stand how the NBA salary cap is set up what does CBA deal… In a way it penalizes markets like Detroit Cleveland Washington cuz free agents are likely to pick those teams I don't think the salary cap penalties should affect any player that you you acquire through drafting or a player that's been with you for 5 consecutive years… I'm just spitballing I don't know but I just don't like the salary cap how it is right now
We obviously can't afford to do trades to obtain a future piece but we can obtain some expiring contracts to ensure we have the cash to resign Duren, Ausar and Ivey for the future. I feel Stew can and should be our starting PF moving forward. Just let him play his game. He can shoot the 3 now and defend the perimeter. We got a great bench setting up also in Jenkins , Lanier and Holland. If Klintman gets involved they cooking but I feel they will draft a PF and a C this year with they first round pick. Watch out for them to make a trade at that time to move up in the draft for a good backup PF that can score they can develop much like what they doing with Ron Holland
Run the table with the full 18 roster stack. JB is making big bucks to figure this rotation stuff out. NO Pending Trades for a team winning at an 80% rate.
Cade is NOT a top 5 player in this league, not even top 10. Please stop falling in love with your own players. Cade is still a turnover machine and an inconsistent 3 point shooter (I would say bad). He is a legit all-star but come on with some of the hyperbole.
No trades!
Lavert and ivy for trey Murphy sounds good to me.
I think Isiah Thomas would be a great mentor for Cade.
“We play to win the game”
– Dennis Green
Best duo. 100%
Even with Ivey 100% healthy in previous years, he's just never really done it for me. Wish we had drafted Sharpe in 2022
Trae should go to the Suns
31:03 if we have to pick btwn paying Duren or paying Ivy im 100% paying JD.. love Ivy but we proved we can win w/o him 🤷🏽♂️
37:58 i would only trade for giannis if he himself says he wants to play for us and also im not gutting the roster for him.. maybe would do tobias, ivy, and lavert for giannis
The aprons mean you can't pay guys big money just because they are good, they need to be great, you're better off paying $15-25M per for guys that you know bring something to the table that will help you win, rather then signing a guy like Duren for close to $40M per. Langdon will be making at least one big move before the deadline, consolidating some of the depth and moving guys he won't be signing
We don't have to worry about signing Ivey, he's not gonna be here….he's getting traded at the trade deadline or in the summer!!
To start things off I can hope JPP half of what he was. Moving on.. I feel we can win this one the Falcons have a different attitude this year than they had last year when they were LEADING the division before their flame out that has never ended it seems. I feel we win this game until we lose it but Bowles needs to find a new way to attack and Grizz needs to let Chuk start at RG the rest of the season. They really need to give the Center nod to the vet in Brederson over Barton who is still learning the position and is in a situation to where he has to make the adjustments he maybe was promised he wouldn't have to make especially right now without Mauch. Good to hear Mike and Jmc are returning back. That will certainly open the offense up especially if they take advantage of not giving big spots to the guys just returning. Would love to see Kaevon start in place of Tykee also. Izien needs to work his way back on ST also.