Bobby Marks Talks Wizards Trade Possiblities Ahead of NBA Draft
[Music] today’s top story from the perspective of someone who’s there you are looking live this just in not my beat our top story today is that we are just a couple days away from the NBA draft where the Washington Wizards are slated to pick second and there is a lot that could happen between now and then and nobody would rather talk about it with then ESPN’s NBA front office Insider Bobby Marx who joins us again here on the show Bobby great chat uh how are you doing I’m I’m good thanks for having me uh always a pleasure to to have you especially this time of year there’s so much that could happen between now and Wednesday what what to you is the thing that is most interesting whether it’s something like a Paul George extension or trade or some of the the extensions that could get signed some of the trades that get be made something with the actual picks themselves is there something that you were kind of waiting for a shoe to drop before we even get to Wednesday night yeah it’s like the buffet right what do I want to do I want the salad first or want to go somewhere else yeah I mean there’s I mean I think there’s so many different storylines I mean certainly we we can start with the draft um how wide open it is um is it Zachary rishe at one is it Donovan kingan at one who’s gonna fall you know I won’t say fall but who’s gonna be picking who’s going to be at number two where the Wizards are here I think I think that’s the biggest thing that we’re not in a situation where it’s um you know Victors a lock at one or even you know the year before when we had you know Ben Caro and and Chad holgren and jayen green and um you know Evan Mobley and you know that group of um you know that group of guys also so I I think that’s I think how wide open this year’s draft is um how little separation there is for from some of the players in the top four top five um how little separation there is probably for guys in the 20s uh where the Wizards are with that you know that later first round pick here um the ability to you know if you’re you know Washington do you move up at 26 you stay Pat do you move out um so I think there’s yeah there’s there’s that way you could look at it I think free agency the ability that you can start negotiating with your own free agents after the finals started which was last week is an intriguing um subplot because yeah we’re waiting to see what happens with Paul George who controls a lot of things um in free agency whether the ability to extend with the Clippers which has not happened the ability to go out and become a free agent is there a trade in place here for him um so definitely a lot of different story lines and then you mentioned the ex the extension guys I mean this isn’t a historic class of players that are extension eligible whether it be Donovan Mitchell or Brandon Ingram or uh Jaylen Brunson embiid Durant Curry I mean the list goes on and on as far as players that can uh can sign long-term contracts so I think what’s so interesting about that Bobby is I feel like in a lot of years something happens during the playoffs where we go oh well that team’s now definitely changing something or that that changes the way that we see the league because a team wins a title doing something that you’re like oh God the rest of the League’s got to react to that am I wrong that it doesn’t feel like that happened this year not that there’s not going to be stuff that happens obviously we have eyes on teams like Phoenix you mentioned the Durant extension potential but like it doesn’t feel like there was maybe that seismic shift this year where we’re waiting for a bunch of bombs to go off even if we know you just laid out all the bombs that could go off no I mean I think like list like Minnesota loses in the uh in the Conference Finals am I expecting them to trade Carl Anthony towns no I mean Denver loses in the second round I think that roster comes back um in whole does new New Orleans with Brandon Ingram maybe get to a point where they can’t work out an extension and go in a different direction possibly I think the same with you know Cleveland with Donovan Mitchell I think the likelihood is that he probably does extend long term but you’re right I mean there’s usually the playoffs kind of you know it makes the team think about you know heit we got to you know we got to change the parts to our roster maybe there’s a player that gets unhappy um I guess Chicago might be the closest to that a team that lost in the playe we saw it uh last week with the Josh giddy Alex Caruso trade Zack LaVine will be here we’ll hear about his name again Demar de R Roan’s a free agent Patrick Williams um guys like that so I don’t see a team you know trying to kind of shake up what they have you know Boston listen Boston’s the gold standard but trying to build your roster like Boston in this economic age of this this new CBA and spending and restrictions here I think if you’re trying to mirror what they’re doing I think you’re G to be I think you’re GNA get yourself in trouble which by the way is kind of how we saw the last mini Dynasty in the NBA was the CBA change and the way the warriors uh lucked into things with Steph’s extension and obviously the the the capat boom and they’re able to sign KD and a million things happened so um Celtics sitting pretty but they also know how hard it is to win uh because they just won their first not their third despite how good they’ve been um if you look at the wizard side of this though Bobby they have the second pick they have that later first which they could go any Direction with but they also have uh some cap space and you know a couple of players that I think if I was a contender I’d be interested in do the Wizards have a chance to be obviously not a player in terms of like wow they could make three moves and be a contender next year but a a crucial pivot point maybe for other teams to acquire things they want in the short term that could set up the Wizards better in the long term yeah I we Tim bonds and I wrote an article um kind of laying out all these apron restrictions on these high spending teams and the decisions they they have to face um and we put Washington in kind of like weighing like laying in the weeds you know like they’re in a position where they’ve got a bunch of high trade exceptions um we’ll see what happens with uh tyus Jones who’s a free agent but they’re in a position salary-wise where if a team wants to for example Trade A Mitchell Robinson and and and absorb it into salary or maybe you know swap out a player they can go about doing that here so I think there’s there’s a couple different directions where where where you’re looking I think certainly the draft is important where they’re at at at two and 26 and then they got a pick in the early 50s um I think they’ll get a really good player at number two um I think if they stay at 26 they can get a good player at 26 too kabali another year of development for um for uh for him you’ve got some stability at head coach I think with I think with Michael Winger and uh and Will Dawkins they have a better understanding as far as where this roster is kind of who fits and maybe who doesn’t um so there is a lot of flexibility where um you know they can go in this uh this off season here are they one or two moves away from competing for a plane probably not but I do think there’s a kind of a foundation in in in place here that that started last last offseason with the draft Bobby marks ESPN NBA front office Insider with us here on the Hoffman show one thing that I found very interesting Bobby in Reading mock drafts uh and and other articles about the Wizards is people mention tus of course he’s a free agent and Jordan P just kind of this forgotten guy and he quietly had an excellent final six weeks of the season it’s like everyone everyone got their memes and their jokes off because my God it was awful and meeme worthy the first you know three four five months of the season but if you were in will or Michael’s shoes and you’re in that front office and you’re planning for 2024 and Beyond how does Jordan pool fit into your plan seeing how strongly he finished the year especially once he got into the more familiar point guard role yeah I mean and that’s the big decision you know it they came out when um when tyus was out with with the back injury where um you know Jordan played probably his best basketball of the Season as you mentioned kind of in the last six weeks of of the year now you have to figure out is that sustainable um if the price tag to keep tus it becomes too high are you comfortable going in that direction for a full season you know it’s not just the last last six months of you know of the Season here so I do think there was yeah I mean we went from you know you know basically probably one of the most toxic contracts in the NBA and now like you know now he get you get a you get a comfort level you know when a player you know when a player gets traded we always think like you know all of a sudden the player is going to play like he did in Golden State or even the year before when they won a championship and when you have a coaching change I think that you know certainly changes the Dynamics of uh of things here so that’s that’s an interesting decision because you know I think tius Jones has a lot of value for the Wizards I think from a veteran standpoint but what’s the cost to keep them you know is it is it $18 million is it $19 million um you know that’s uh that’s that’s going to be the one thing to kind of follow all right Bobby I’m going to name three guys I’ll go one at a time here that are currently Wizards I want you to tell me your best understanding of what is their value across the league like what could the Wizards get in return and and what kind of teams might be looking at them uh the first guy is Kyle kosma yeah I mean listen he’s got a value kind of you know what we saw last year with h when PJ Washington got traded at the deadline here so are you looking to try to get two can you get two ones for him I mean you’re probably looking at kind of some type of some type of pick trade here um I think his s salary contracts manageable it’s declines uh I think it’s a little bit of a challenge with bonuses that are coming back here so I I do think uh at the minimum I think he’s got a you know first round grade to him all right so that’s uh probably the biggest fish that people would expect especially considering the age and the experience and everything when you go down the roster some of the younger guys Denny Avia do you think he could be on the move and and what kind of return could the Wizards get for him I I think he’s got a terrific contract he signed the rookie extension um I think it’s a matter of kind of you know what happens with kozma you’ve got kabali as far as kind of you your your big Wing um but as I said you know when you’re you know a 12 a guy making 12 to 13 million which is going to be below the average player salary I I’m not I’m in his is is still young I’m probably more it’s got he’s got value but I’m probably more hesitant moving off him uh so I guess the answer would probably be similar on my final guy that I want to ask you about but if I was a team like Golden State I would be beating down the Wizards door for Corey kissper yeah I would move him okay would move Cory heavily invested in trying to extend Corey kisper that’s my direction there when you have a guy that you drafted I know it it was under a different regime with with Tommy Shepard and everything U and who had a career season it was probably your most consistent player last year based on everything that happened I would be more looking to extend him than try to move off him yeah I would too he’s also like the rare Wizards draft pick of the last bunch of years under the old regime that you look at him you’re like he’s everything we want like the mental makeup all the leadership all of that stuff he’s a serious professional um yeah I can’t say enough good things I if they trade uh Cory kissper Bobby my media day gets worse he’s been my best interview two years running and that’s really what I care about on this show uh last thing for you Bobby on the way out where do you think Paul George is by the end of the week is he still in LA or just something happened around the draft that’s a great question I think listen if he uh if he becomes a free agent um that means declining that you know $49 million player option and I think you’re certainly looking at the Clippers or probably Philadelphia I think that’s kind of your your two Landing spots if he opts into his contract that opens up the playing field for a lot of teams whether it be you know Golden State or New York to potentially get into the mix to come um to come in in a trade I think the Clippers have basically drawing a Line in the Sand you know with the with the Leonard contract extension three for 150 U you know p George is in the fourth year of a contract would be 37 years old it’s hard to pay a guy $62 million when he’s 37 years old but on the other end you don’t want to lose him um so I would probably lean a little more towards the Clippers I do think they’ll eventually work things out but certainly I don’t think you can discount um you know Philadelphia with all that money they’ve got to spend it’s a fun time of year and it’s more fun than it’s ever been with some of these extensions being eligible to be signed now which means Bobby marks is busier than ever Bobby thank you so much for the time really appre appreciate it and look forward to watching you and the team on ESPN all week long and Wednesday night with the draft appreciate it thank you what’s up kiddos it’s your boy Clinton Gat from ESPN it’s the hoffin show on the team 980 tell your mama I said what’s up
ESPN Front Office Insider Bobby Marks joins the show to talk about what the Washington Wizards could do ahead of Wednesday’s NBA Draft. Whether they draft Alex Sarr or Zacharrie Risarche, they could also field offers for Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija, and Corey Kispert. Should they? And what could they get in return?
Plus, Marks predicts what he thinks will happen with Paul George and the Clippers.
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